The Twenty-Third Word
[This Word contains Two Chapters]
In
the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the
Compassionate.
Indeed, We have created
man on the most excellent of patterns, * Then sent him down
to the lowest of the low, * Except those who believe and do
good deeds.
First Chapter
We shall explain in Five Points only
five of the virtues
of belief out of thousands.
FIRST POINT
Through the light of
belief, man rises to the highest of the high and acquires a
value worthy of Paradise. And through the darkness of unbelief, he
descends to the lowest of the low and falls to a position fit
for Hell. For belief connects man to the All-Glorious Maker;
it is a relation. Thus, man acquires value by virtue of the
Divine art and inscriptions of the Dominical Names which become
apparent in him through belief. Unbelief severs the relation,
and due to that severance the Dominical art is concealed. His
value then is only in respect to the matter of his physical
being. And since this matter has only a transitory, passing,
temporary animal life, its value is virtually nothing. We shall
explain this mystery by means of a comparison:
For example: among man's arts, the value of the materials
used and that of the art are entirely different. Sometimes
they are equal, sometimes the material is more valuable, and
sometimes it happens that five dollars' worth of art is to be
found in material like iron worth five cents. Sometimes, even,
an antique work of art is worth a million while the material
of which it is composed is not worth five cents. And so, if
such a work of art is taken to the antiques market and related
to a brilliant and accomplished artist of former times, and
announced mentioning the artist and that art, it may be sold
for a million dollars. Whereas if it is taken to the scrap dealers,
the only price received will be for the five cent's worth of
iron.
Thus, man is such an antique work of art of Almighty
Allah. He is a most subtle and graceful miracle of His
power whom He created to manifest all his Names and their inscriptions,
in the form of a miniature specimen of the universe. If the
light of belief enters his being, all the meaningful inscriptions
on him may be read. As one who believes, he reads them consciously,
and through that relation, he causes others to read them. That
is to say, the Dominical
art in man becomes apparent through meanings like, "I am the creature and artefact of the All-Glorious
Maker. I manifest His mercy and munificence."
That is, belief, which consists of being
connected to the Maker, makes apparent all the works of art
in man. Man's value is in accordance with that Dominical
art, and by virtue of being a mirror to the Eternally Besought
One. In this respect insignificant man becomes Allah's
addressee and a guest of the Sustainer worthy of Paradise superior
to all other creatures.
However, should unbelief, which consists
of the severance of the relation, enter man's being, then all
those meaningful inscriptions of the Divine Names are plunged
into darkness and cannot be read. For if
the Maker is forgotten, the spiritual aspects which look
to Him will not be comprehended, they will be as though reversed.
The majority of those meaningful sublime arts and elevated inscriptions
will be hidden. The remainder, those that may be seen with the
eye, will be attributed to lowly
causes, Nature, and chance, and will fall utterly from
value. While each is a brilliant diamond, each becomes a piece
of dull glass. His importance looks only to his animal, physical
being. And as we said, the aim and fruit of his physical being
is only to pass a brief and partial life as the most impotent,
needy, and grieving of animals. Then it decays and departs.
See how unbelief destroys human nature, and
transforms it from diamonds into coal.
SECOND POINT
Just as belief is a light
which illuminates man and makes legible all the missives of
the Eternally Besoughted One inscribed upon him, so too it illuminates
the universe, and delivers the past and the future from darkness.
I shall explain this mystery with a comparison I saw during
a vision, which concerns one meaning of the verse:
Allah is the Protector of those who
believe; He leads them out of darkness into light.
It
was like this:
I
saw in a vision an awesome bridge built between two high mountains
situated opposite one another. Beneath the bridge was a valley
of great depth. I was on the bridge. A dense darkness had enveloped
every part of the world. I looked to my right and saw a vast
grave swathed in an unending dense gloom, that is, I imagined
it. I looked to my left and as though saw violent storms and
calamities gathering amid terrifying waves of blackness. I looked
beneath the bridge and imagined I saw a profound abyss. I had
a dim torch in the face of this terrifying darkness. I used
it and could see a little with its light. A most horrific situation
appeared to me. In fact, such awful dragons, lions, and monsters
appeared around me and on the bridge in front of me that I exclaimed:
"Oh! This torch brings me only trouble!", and I angrily cast
it to the ground and broke it. Then on smashing it, the darkness
suddenly dispersed as though I had turned on the switch for
a huge electric lamp that lit up the whole world. Everywhere
was filled with the lamp's light. It showed everything as it
was in reality.
I
saw that the bridge I had seen was a highway through a plain
passing over even ground. The vast grave I had seen on my right
I realized consisted from top to bottom of beautiful, verdant
gardens and gatherings for worship, service, conversation, and
the rememberance of Allah under the direction of luminous men.
The precipices and peaks on my left which I had imagined to
be tempestuous and stormy I now saw fleetingly to be a vast,
lovely, and elevated place of feasting, recreation, and enjoyment
behind mountains that were adorned and pleasant. And the creatures
I had thought to be terrifying monsters and dragons, I saw were
familiar domestic animals like camels, oxen, sheep, and goats.
Declaring, "All praise
be to Allah for the light of belief", I recited the verse,
Allah is the Protector of those who
believe; He leads them out of darkness into light, and
I awoke from my vision.
And so, the two mountains were the beginning
and end of life; that is, this world and the intermediate realm.
The bridge was the road of life. To the right was the past,
and to the left, the future. As for the small torch, it was
the human ego, which is egotistical, relies on
what it knows, and does not heed the heavenly revelation. The
things imagined to be the monsters were the the events and strange
creatures of the world.
Thus, one who relies on his ego, who falls into the
darkness of heedlessness and is afflicted with the blackness
of misguidance resembles my first state in the vision, which,
like with the pocket-torch and due to deficient and misguided
knowledge, saw the past in the form a huge grave amid darkness
imbued with non-existence. It showed the future to be a stormy
place of desolation bound to coincidence, and displayed events
and beings which are each a submissive official of One All-Wise
and All-Compassionate to be like monsters. Such a person as
though manifests the verse,
And those who reject belief, their protectors are the evil ones; they
lead them out of light into darkness.
But if such a man attains to Divine guidance
and belief enters his heart, and if the tyranny of his soul
is smashed and he heeds Allah's Book, he will resemble my second
state in the vision. Then the universe will suddenly take on
the colour of day and be filled with Divine light. The world
will recite the verse,
Allah is the Light of
the heavens and the earth.
Then he will see with the eye of the heart
that the past is not a vast grave, but where the groups of purified
spirits who each century having performed their duties of worship
under the leadership of a prophet or saint exclaim, "Allah is
Most Great!" at completing the duties of their lives, and fly
to elevated abodes, moving on to the past. He will look to the
left and through the light of belief distinguish in the distance a feasting-place of the Most Merciful
set up in palaces of bliss in the gardens of Paradise beyond
the mountainous revolutions of the intermediate realm and the
hereafter. And he will realize that the storms and earthquakes
and tempestuous events are each submissive officials, and understand
that they are the means for instances of wisdom which though
apparently harsh are in fact most gentle, like the storms and
rains of spring. He will even see death
to be the introduction to eternal life, and the grave, the door
to everlasting happiness. You can deduce further aspects
for yourself. Apply the reality to the comparison!
THIRD POINT
Belief is both light
and strength. Yes, one who obtains true belief may challenge
the whole universe and be saved from the pressure of events
in accordance with the strength of his belief. Saying, "I place my trust in Allah," he
travels through the mountainous waves of events in the ship
of life in complete safety. He entrusts all his burdens to the
hand of power of the Absolutely Powerful One, voyages through
the world in ease, then takes his rest in the intermediate realm.
Later he may fly up to Paradise in order to enter eternal happiness.
Otherwise, if he does not rely on Allah, rather than flying,
the burdens of the world will drag him down to the lowest of
the low. That is to say, Belief necessitates affirmation of Divine Unity,
affirmation of Divine Unity necessitates submission to Allah,
submission to Allah necessitates reliance on Allah, and reliance
on Allah necessarily leads to happiness in this world and the
next. But do not misunderstand this, reliance on Allah
is not to reject causes altogether; it is rather to know that
causes are a veil to the hand of power and have recourse to
them. Knowing that attempting causes is a sort of active prayer,
it is to seek the effects only from Almighty Allah, recognize
that the results are from Him alone, and to be thankful to Him.
Those who place their trust in Allah and
those who do not, resemble the two men in this story:
One time two men loaded heavy burdens onto
both their backs and heads, and buying tickets, boarded a large
ship. As soon as they boarded it, one of them left his load
on the deck, and sitting on it guarded it. The other, however,
since he was both stupid and arrogant, did not put down his
load. When he was told: "Leave that heavy load on the deck and
be comfortable," he replied: "No, I won't put it down, it might
get lost. I am strong, I'll guard my property by carrying it
on my head and back." He was told again: "This reliable royal
ship which is carrying you and us is stronger, it can protect
it better than you. You may get giddy and fall into the sea
together with your load. Anyway you will gradually lose your
strength, and by degrees those loads will get heavier and your
bent back and brainless head will not have the power to bear
them. And if the Captain sees you in this state, he will either
say that you are crazy and expel you from the ship, or he will
think you are ungrateful, accusing our ship and jeering at us,
and he will order you to be put into prison. Also you are making
a fool of yourself in front of everyone. For the perceptive
see that you are displaying weakness through your conceit, impotence
through your pride, and abasement and hypocrisy through your
pretence, and have thus made yourself a laughing stock in the
eyes of the people. Everyone's laughing at you."
Whereupon that unfortunate man came to his
senses. He put down his load on the deck and sat on it. He said
to the other: "Ah! May Allah be pleased with you. I've been
saved from that difficulty, from prison, and from making a fool
of myself."
And so, O man who does
not place his trust in Allah! You too come to your senses like
that man and place your trust in Him, so that you may be delivered
from begging before all the universe, trembling before every
event, from pride, making a fool of yourself, misery in the
hereafter, and the prison of the pressures of this world...
FOURTH POINT
Belief makes man into
man, indeed, it makes man into a king.
Since this is so, man's basic duty is belief
and supplication. Unbelief makes man into an extremely impotent
beast.
Out of thousands of proofs of this matter,
the differences in the ways animals and man come into the world
are a clear indication and decisive proof. Yes, these differences
show that humanity becomes humanity through belief. For when
animals come into the world, they come complete in all points
in accordance with their abilities as though having been perfected
in another world; that is, they are sent. They learn all the
conditions of their lives, their relationships with the universe,
and the laws of life in either two hours or two days or two
months, and become proficient in them. Animals like sparrows
and bees acquire in twenty days the power to survive and proficiency
in their actions that man only acquires in twenty years; that
is, they are inspired with them. This means that the animals' fundamental duty is not to be
perfected through learning and progress by acquiring knowledge,
nor to seek help and offer supplications through displaying
their impotence, but in accordance with their abilities to work
and act. Their duty is active worship.
As
for man, he needs to learn everything when he comes into the
world; he is ignorant, and cannot even learn completely the
conditions of life in twenty years. Indeed, he needs to go on
learning till the end of his life. Also he is sent to the world
in a most weak and impotent form, and can only rise to his feet
in one or two years. Only in fifteen years can he distinguish
between harm and benefit, and with the help of mankind's experience
attract things advantageous to him and avoid others that are
harmful.
This means that man's innate duty is to be perfected through
learning and to proclaim his worship of Allah and servitude
to Him through supplication. That is to say, it is know
the answers of the questions: "Through
whose compassion is my life so wisely administered in this way?
Through whose generosity am I so kindly raised? Through whose
graciousness am I so delicately nurtured and ministered to?"
It is to beseech and supplicate the Provider of Needs through
the tongue of impotence and poverty; it is to seek from Him.
It is to fly to the high station of worship
and servitude to Allah on the wings of impotence and poverty.
This means that man came to this world to be perfected by means
of knowledge and supplication. In regard to his nature
and abilities everything is tied to knowledge. And the foundation, source, light, and spirit of
all true knowledge is knowledge of Allah, and its essence and
basis is belief in Allah.
Furthermore, since man
is subject to endless tribulations and afflicted with innumerable
enemies despite his boundless impotence, and suffers from endless
needs and has innumerable desires despite his boundless poverty,
after belief, his fundamental innate duty is
supplication. As for supplication, it is the basis of
worship of Allah and servitude to Him. In order to secure a
desire or wish he cannot obtain, a child will either cry or
ask for it, that is, he will supplicate through the tongue of
his impotence either actively or verbally, and will be successful
in securing it. In the same way, man is like a delicate, petted
child in the world of all living creatures. He
has to either weep at the Court of the Most Merciful and Compassionate
One through his weakness and impotence, or supplicate through
his poverty and need, so that the things he wants may be made
subject to him, or he may offer thanks for their being made
so. Otherwise like a silly child who creates a fuss over
a fly, saying: "With my own strength I subjugate things it is
not possible to subjugate and things a thousand times more powerful,
and I make them obey me through my own ideas and measures,"
he displays ingratitude for the bounties. And just as this is
contrary to man's innate nature, so too he makes himself deserving
of severe punishment.
FIFTH POINT
Belief necessitates supplication
as a certain means of securing needs, and just as human nature
has an intense desire for it, so too Almighty Allah decrees,
Say, 
'My Sustainer
would not concern Himself with you but for your supplication,'
which has the meaning of: What importance would you have if you did not
offer Me supplications? He also commands: 
Call upon Me and I
will answer you. If you say: "We
frequently offer supplications, but they are not accepted. But
the verse is general, it states that every supplication is answered."
The Answer: To answer is one thing, to accept is something
quite different. Every supplication is answered, but
its being accepted and exactly what was sought being given is
dependent on Almighty Allah's wisdom. For example, if a sick
child calls the doctor, saying: "Doctor! Doctor!", and he replies:
"Here I am, what do you want?", and the child says: "Give me
that medicine!", the doctor will either give him exactly what
he asks for or something better and more beneficial for him.
Or knowing that it is harmful for his illness, he will give
him nothing.
Thus, since Almighty
Allah is all-present and all-seeing, He responds to the supplications
of His servants. Through His presence and response, He transforms
the desolation of loneliness and solitude into familiarity.
But He does this, not in accordance with man's capricious and
importunate demands, but in accordance with the requirements
of Dominical wisdom; He gives either what is sought or what
is better than it, or He gives nothing at all.
Also, supplication is
a form of worship and recognition of man's servitude to Allah. The fruits of this pertain to the hereafter.
The aims pertaining to this world are the times of a particular
sort of supplication and worship. For example, the prayers and supplications for rain
are a form of worship. Drought is the time for such worship.
Worship and supplications of this sort are not in order to bring
rain. If they are performed with that intention alone they are
not worthy of acceptance, for they are not sincere worship.
Sunset is the time of the evening prayers. And eclipses of the sun and moon are the
times of two particular prayers known as salat-i kusuf and salat-i husuf. That is to say, with
the veiling of the two luminous signs of the night and day,
Allah's tremendousness is proclaimed, so Almighty Allah calls
his servants to a sort of worship at those times. The prayers
are not so that the sun and moon will be revealed (whose appearance
and how long the eclipses will continue have anyway been reckoned
by astronomers).
In
just the same way, drought is the time for the prayers for rain.
And the visitation of calamities and infliction
of harmful things the times of certain supplications when man
realizes his impotence and through his supplication and entreaty
seeks refuge at the Court of One Possessing Absolute Power.
Even if the calamities are not lifted despite many supplications,
it may not be said that they were not accepted. It should rather
be said that the time for the supplication is not yet over.
If through His graciousness and munificence Almighty Allah removes
the calamity, light upon light, then the time for that supplication
is over and done with.
That is to say, supplication has the meaning
of worship and man's acknowledging his servitude to Allah. As for worship and servitude to Allah, it should
be purely and sincerely for Allah's sake. Man should
only proclaim his impotence and seek refuge with Him through
supplication, he should not interfere in His Dominicality. He
should leave the taking of measures to Him and rely on His wisdom.
He should not accuse His Mercy. Indeed, what is in reality established
by the Qur'an's clear verses is that just as all beings offer their own particular glorification
and worship, so
too what rises to the Divine Court from all the universe is
supplication. This is either through
the tongue of innate ability like the supplication of
all plants and animals by which each, through this tongue, seeks
a form from the Absolute Bestower and to display and manifest
His Names. Or it is through the tongue of innate need. These
are the supplications for all their essential needs beyond their power to obtain - offered
by all animate beings. Through this tongue, each animate being
seeks certain things from the Absolutely Generous One for the
continuance of its life, like a sort of sustenance. Or it is
supplication through the tongue of exigency, through
which all beings with spirits who find themselves in some plight
or predicament make supplication and seek urgent refuge with
an unknown protector; indeed, they turn to the All-Compassionate
Sustainer. If there is nothing to prevent it, these three sorts
of supplication are always accepted.
The fourth sort of supplication
is the most well-known; it is our supplication. This too is of two sorts: one is active and by disposition, and
the other, verbal and
with the heart. For example,
having recourse to causes is an active prayer. To gather
together causes is not in order to create the effect, but through
the tongue of disposition to take up an acceptable position
in order to seek the effect from Almighty Allah. To plough a
field is to knock at the door of the treasury of mercy. Since
this sort of active supplication is directed towards the Absolutely
Generous One's Name and title, it is accepted in the great majority
of cases.
The second sort is to offer supplication
with the tongue and the heart. It is to seek certain wishes
which the hand cannot reach. The most important aspect, the
most beautiful aim, the sweetest fruit of this is this:
"The one who offers the
supplications knows that there is Someone Who hears the wishes
of his heart, Whose hand can reach all things, Who can bring
about each of his desires, Who takes pity on his impotence,
and answers his poverty."
And so, O impotent, needy
man! Do not neglect a means like supplication, which is the
key to the treasury of mercy and to an inexhaustible strength.
Cling to it! Rise to the highest peaks of humanity! Include
in your supplications those of all the universe, like a
king! 
Say, From You alone do we seek help,
like a servant and deputy representing all the universe! Be
on the Most Excellent Pattern of creation!
