The Thirty-Third Word (33.Söz, Englisch)

[EMRE]

The Thirty-Third Word

 

This Word consists of

 

Thirty-Three Windows

 

While being the Thirty-Third Letter,

 

this is also the Thirty-Third Word.

 

 

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

 

We shall show them Our signs in the furthest horizons and in themselves, so that it will become clear to them that this [Qur'an] is indeed the Truth. Is it not enough that your Sustainer witnesses all things?1

 

Question: We would like a concise explanation of the ways man and the universe, that is, the microcosm and the macrocosm, point to the necessary existence and Unity of God and His Dominical attributes and functions, which the two parts of the above verse denote. For the unbelievers have gone too far, they are saying: "For how long shall we say: 'And He is powerful over all things', and have to raise our hands?"

 

Answer: The thirty-three Words that have been written form thirty-three drops from the ocean of this verse and from the seas of truth which flow from it. If you look at them, you will find your answer. What we say now is only a sort of hint to the sprinkling of a single drop from the ocean.

 

For example, if a wonderworker wants to build a mighty palace, he first of all sets the foundations in a wise and regular fashion, and plans them in a way suitable to their future purpose and results. Then he skilfully divides them into sections and apartments. Next, he orders and arranges the apartments, and decorates them with tapestries, then illuminates them with electric lights. Then, in order to renew his ingenious works and favours in that magnificent and adorned palace, he makes fresh creations and new changes and transformations in every level of it. And then he installs a telephone in each apartment connected to his own abode, and opens up a window from each, so that his may be seen.

 

In just the same way, And God's is the highest similitude,2 the Peerless Creator, Who is named with a thousand and one sacred Names such as All-Glorious Maker, All-Wise Sovereign, All-Just Arbiter, willed the creation of the palace of the universe and tree of the cosmos, which forms the macrocosm. He set the foundations of the palace, the tree in six days through the principles of wisdom and laws of His pre-eternal knowledge, then He divided and formed it into the higher and lower levels and branches through the principles of Divine Determining and Decree. Next, He adorned everything, each world in an appropriate manner, like the heavens with the stars and the earth with flowers. Then He manifested and made luminous His Names within the arena of those universal laws and general principles. And then in a special way sent to the assistance of individuals crying out at the constraint of those universal laws His Names of Most Merciful and All-Compassionate. That is to say, within those universal and general principles He has special favours, special succour, special manifestations, so that everything may seek help from Him and look to Him at every time for every need. Then from every apartment, every level, every world, every realm of being, every individual, from everything, He opened up windows which would show Himself, that is, make known His existence and Unity. He left a telephone in every heart.

 

For now we shall not attempt to discuss those innumerable windows, which is anyway beyond our power. Referring them to the all-encompassing knowledge of God, we shall only point out in a concise and brief manner Thirty-Three Windows-since it corresponds to the blessed number of the tesbihat following the prescribed prayers, and for a more detailed explanation of this, which forms the Thirty-Third Letter and Thirty-Third Word and consists of gleams from verses of the Qur'an, we refer readers to the rest of the Words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Window

 

If we look, we see that all things and especially living creatures have numerous different needs and numerous different wants. And those wants and needs are given them at the appropriate time, in unexpected ways, from places they do not know and their hands cannot reach; succour comes to them. But the power of these needy beings is not sufficient for even the smallest of those endless things they wish for; they cannot meet their needs. Consider yourself. Of how many things are you in need that your hands cannot reach, like your external and inner senses and their needs? Compare all other living creatures with yourself. See, just as singly they testify to the Necessary Existence and indicate to His Unity, so too in their totality do they show to the reason a Necessarily Existent One behind the veil of the Unseen, a Single One of Unity, among titles of Most Generous, All-Compassionate, Nurturer, and Disposer.

 

And so, O ignorant unbeliever and dissolute heedless one! With what can you explain this wise, percipient, compassionate activity? Deaf Nature? Blind force? Senseless chance? Can you explain it through impotent, lifeless causes?

 

Second Window

 

While in their existence and individuality, things are in a hesitant, bewildered, and shapeless form among innumerable possible ways, they are suddenly given a most well-ordered and wise aspect of individuality. For example, each human being has on his face characteristics which differentiate him from all his fellow humans, and it is equipped with utter wisdom with external and inner senses. This proves that the face is a most brilliant stamp of Divine Oneness. And just as each face testifies to the existence of an All-Wise Maker and points to His existence, so too the stamp which all faces display in their totality shows to the mind's eye that all things are a seal peculiar to their Creator.

 

O denier! To what workshop can you refer these stamps which can in no way be imitated, and the stamp of Eternal Besoughtedness which is on the totality?

 

 

Third Window

 

The army of all the various species of animals and plants on the face of the earth consists of four hundred thousand different groups.3 Their being managed and raised with perfect balance and order through their sustenance, papers, weapons, uniforms, instructions, and demobilizations, which are all different with nothing being forgotten and none of them being confused, is a stamp of the Single One of Unity as brilliant as the sun which can in no way be doubted. Who other than One possessing boundless power, all-encompassing knowledge, and infinite wisdom could interfere in this administration, which is wondrous to the utmost degree. For if one who cannot administer and raise all together these species and nations, which are one within the other, interferes with one of them, he will throw the lot into disorder. Whereas according to the meaning of,

 

So turn your vision again, do you see any flaw?4

 

there is no sign of confusion. That means not so much as a finger can interfere.

 

Fourth Window

 

This is the acceptability of the supplications offered through the tongue of latent ability by all seeds, and through the tongue of innate need by all animals, and through the tongue of exigency by the desperate.

 

Indeed, just as each of these innumerable supplications is observedly accepted and responded to, so too in a large measure do they in their entirety self-evidently indicate to and point to an All - Compassionate and Generous Creator, the Answerer of Prayer.

 

Fifth Window

 

We see that things and particularly living beings come into existence of a sudden, instantaneously. But, while things which appear suddenly out of a simple substance should be simple, formless, and without art, they are created with an art and beauty needing much skill, they are decorated with painstaking embroideries needing much time, and adorned with wonderful arts needing many tools. Thus, just as each of these instantaneous, wondrous arts and beautiful combinations indicates to the necessary existence of an All-Wise Creator and the Unity of His Dominicality, so too in their totality do they show in most brilliant fashion an infinitely Powerful, infinitely Wise Necessarily Existent One.

 

So now, O stupefied denier! Come on, with what can you explain this? With Nature, which is unconscious, impotent, and ignorant like you? Or do you want to make an infinite mistake and call that All-Holy Maker 'Nature', and on the pretext of naming Him that, attribute the miracles of His Power to it and perpetrate an impossibility compounded a thousand times over?

 

Sixth Window

 

In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day and the boats which travel through the seas for the benefit of men, and in what God sends down from the sky as rain and with it raises to life the earth after its death and raises in it every sort of living being, and in the circulating of the winds and the clouds subjugated between the heavens and the earth, are signs for a people who thinks.5

 

Just as this verse points out the Divine existence and Unity, so too is it a most large window displaying a Greatest Name.

 

The gist of the verse is this: all the worlds in the higher and lower levels of the universe show with all-different tongues a single result, that is, the Dominicality of a single All-Wise Maker. It is as follows: just as in the heavens - and astronomy even admits to it - extremely well-ordered movements for extremely extensive results show the existence, Unity, and perfect Dominicality of an All-Powerful One of Glory, so too on the earth - and geography even testifies to it and acknowledges it - most orderly changes, like in the seasons, for most extensive benefits show the existence and Unity and perfect Dominicality of the same All-Powerful One of Glory.

 

Also, just as, being given their sustenance with perfect mercy, and being clothed in different forms with perfect wisdom, and being decked out with all sorts of senses through perfect Dominicality, each of all the animals on the land and in the sea again testifies to the existence of the All-Powerful One of Glory and indicates to His Unity, so too in their totality do they show on a vast scale the tremendousness of His Godhead and the perfection of His Dominicality. And so also, just as each of the well-ordered plants in gardens, and the finely adorned flowers which the plants display, and the well-proportioned fruits which the flowers display, and the embellished embroideries which the fruits display, testifies to the existence of the All-Wise Maker and points to His Unity, so too in their totality do they show most brilliantly the beauty of His Mercy and the perfection of His Dominicality.

 

Also, just as the drops of rain sent from the clouds in the sky charged with duties for important instances of wisdom and aims and necessary benefits and results again demonstrate to the number of their drops the the necessary existence and Unity and perfect Dominicality of the All-Wise Maker, so too do all the mountains on the earth and the storing-up in them of minerals with all their different properties for numerous different benefits show with the strength and firmness of a mountain the existence and Unity of the All-Wise Maker and the perfection of His Dominicality.

 

Also, just as, being adorned with numerous varieties of well-ordered flowers, the small hills in the plains and among the mountains each testifies to the necessary existence of an All-Wise Maker and points to His Unity, and all together show the majesty of His Sovereignty and the Perfection of His Dominicality, so too, do the great variety of the orderly shapes of all the leaves of the grasses and trees, and all their different stages and states and well-balanced and ecstatic movements again show the necessary existence and Unity and perfect Dominicality of the All-Wise Maker.

 

Also, just as the regular development at the time of their growth of each of all living bodies, and each being equipped with all sorts of organs and their being directed consciously towards numerous different fruits again testify to the necessary existence of the All-Wise Maker and indicate to His Unity, and in their totality show on a truly vast scale His all-encompassing Power, and all-embracing wisdom, and the beauty of His art, and the perfection of His Dominicality, so too souls and spirits being situated in all animal bodies, and their being armed in most orderly fashion with numerous sorts of systems and faculties, and their being sent on numerous different duties with perfect wisdom testify to the number of animals rather to the number of their faculties, to the necessary existence of the All-Wise Maker and point to His Unity, so too in their totality do they show most brilliantly the beauty of His Mercy and the perfection of His Dominicality.

 

Also, just as the inspirations from the Unseen imparted to all hearts, which make known to man every sort of science and knowledge and truth and teach the animals how to procure their needs, make known the existence of an All-Compassionate Sustainer and point to His Dominicality, so too do their external and inner senses, which like rays gathering immaterial flowers from the garden of the universe are each a key to a different world, demonstrate as clearly as the sun the necessary existence, Unity, Oneness, and perfect Dominicality of the All-Wise Maker, the All-Knowing Creator, the Most Compassionate Creator, the All-Generous Provider.

 

Thus, from the twelve windows, the twelve aspects, mentioned here a vast window opens which displays with a twelve-coloured light of truth the Oneness, Unity, and perfect Dominicality of Almighty God.

 

And so, O unhappy denier! With what can you close this window which is as broad as the globe of the earth, indeed, as its yearly orbit? And with what can you extinguish this source of light which shines like the sun? Behind which veil of heedlessness can you hide it?

 

Seventh Window

 

The perfect order of the works of art scattered over the face of the universe, and their perfect proportion and balance, and the perfection of their adornment, and the ease in their creation, and their resembling one another, and their exhibiting a single nature demonstrate on a vast scale the necessary existence and perfect Power and Unity of an All-Wise Maker.

 

And so too, just as the creation of innumerable, different, well-ordered complex beings from inanimate and simple elements again testifies, to the number of those composite beings, to the All-Wise Maker's necessary existence and points to His Unity, so also in their totality do they demonstrate in most brilliant fashion His Unity and the perfection of His Power.

 

And so too does the utmost distinguishing and differentiating of beings as they are renewed while being assembled and dissolved - that is, during what is called the composition of beings - amid the utmost degree of intermingling and confusion, for example the distinguishing of the shoots and growth of seeds and roots without confusing them in any way although they are all mixed up, and the mixed-up substances entering trees being separated to the leaves, flowers, and fruits, and the nutrients which enter the body in mixed-up form being differentiated and separated out with perfect wisdom and perfect balance for the cells of the body, again demonstrate the necessary existence and perfect Power and Unity of the Absolutely Wise One, the Absolutely Knowing One, the Absolutely Powerful One.

 

And so too does the making of the world of minute particles into a boundless, broad arable field and every instant sowing and harvesting it and obtaining the fresh crops of different universes from it, and those inanimate, impotent, ignorant particles being made to perform innumerable orderly duties most consciously, wisely, and capably again show the necessary existence of the All-Powerful One of Glory and Maker of Perfection, and His perfect Power and the grandeur of His Dominicality and His Unity and the perfection of His Dominicality.

 

Thus a large window is opened onto knowledge of God through these four ways, and they display the All-Wise Maker to the mind on a large scale.

 

And now you unhappy heedless one! If you do not want to see Him and learn of Him in this way, divest yourself of your reason, become an animal, and thus be saved!

 

Eighth Window

 

The testimony of all the prophets (Upon whom be peace), who are those with luminous spirits among mankind, relying on their manifest and evident miracles, and the testimony of all the saints, who with their luminous hearts are the spiritual poles, relying on their illuminations and wonder-working, and testimony of all the purified scholars, who possess luminous minds, relying on their researches and verifications, to the necessary existence, Unity, and perfect Dominicality of the Single One of Unity, the Necessary Existent, the Creator of All Things form a truly vast and luminous window.

 

Oh you unfortunate denier! In whom do you place your trust so that you do not heed these? Or by closing your eyes in the daytime do you imagine the world to be plunged into night?

 

Ninth Window

 

The universal worship in the cosmos self-evidently demonstrates an Absolute Object of Worship. Indeed, the perfect obedience and worship of all angels and spirit beings, which is established by the testimony of those who have penetrated to the spirit world and the inner dimension of things and have met with the angels and spirit beings, and of all living beings self-evidently performing their duties in perfect order and in a worshipful manner, and of all inanimate things self-evidently carrying out their duties with perfect submission and in a worshipful manner all demonstrate the necessary existence and Unity of a True Object of Worship.

 

And so too the true knowledge of the knowing, which bears the power of consensus, and the fruitful thanks of all those who offer thanks, and the radiant glorification of all those who recite God's Names, and the praises, which increase bounty, of all those recite God's praises, and all the demonstrative proofs and descriptions of Divine Unity of all those who acknowledge it, and the true love and passion of all lovers of God, and the true will and desires of those who seek Him, and the earnest searching and penitence of all those who turn to Him demonstrate the necessary existence and perfect Dominicality and Unity of that Pre-Eternal All-Worshipped One, The One Who is Known, Mentioned, Thanked, Praised, One, Beloved, Desired, and Sought.

 

And so too all the acceptable worship of perfected human beings and the spiritual radiance and supplications, visions and illuminations resulting from their acceptable worship again demonstrate the necessary existence and Unity and perfect Dominicality of that Eternal Being, the Enduring Object of Worship. Thus, these three aspects open up a broad, light-giving window onto Divine Unity.

 

Tenth Window

 

And He sends down water from the sky and brings forth with it fruits for your sustenance; and He has made subject to you the ships, that they sail through the sea by His command; and He has made the rivers subject to you; * And He has made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses; and He has made subject to you the night and the day. * And He gives you of all that you ask Him. But if you count God's bounties, you will never be able to number them.6

 

The mutual assistance and solidarity of beings in the universe and the fact that they respond to one another show that all creatures are trained by a single Instructor, are organized by a single Director, are under the jurisdiction of a single Disposer, are the servants of a single Lord. For through an all-embracing law of mutual assistance, the sun cooks the necessities for the lives of living beings on the earth through a Dominical command, and the moon acts as a calendar, and light, air, water, and sustenance hasten to the assistance of living beings, and plants hasten to the assistance of animals, and animals hasten to the assistance of human beings, and the members of the body hasten to assist one another, and particles of food even hasten to the assistance of the cells of the body. This most wise and generous mutual assistance of these beings, and their responding to one another's needs and their supporting and strengthening one another under a law of generosity, a law of compassion, a law of mercy show clearly and self-evidently that they are the servants, officials, and creatures of a sole, unique Single One of Unity, a Peerless Eternally Besought One, an Absolutely Powerful, Absolutely Knowing, Absolutely Compassionate, Absolutely Generous Necessarily Existent One.

 

And so, O wretched bankrupt philosophy! What do you say to this mighty window? Can your chance interfere in this?

 

Eleventh Window

 

For indeed in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.7

 

Through knowing a single Creator, all spirits and hearts are delivered from the distress and confusion arising from misguidance, and from the spiritual pains arising from distress. They are saved by attributing all beings to a single Maker. They find assurance through the remembrance of a single God. For, as is proved decisively in the Twenty-Second Word, if all beings are not attributed to a single being, it becomes necessary to ascribe a single thing to innumerable causes, and then the existence of a single thing becomes as difficult as all beings. For if attributed to God, innumerable things are ascribed to a single being, and if they are not attributed to Him, it becomes necessary to attribute everything to innumerable causes. Then a single fruit becomes as difficult as the universe, indeed, more difficult. For just as if the management of one soldier is given to a hundred different people, a hundred difficulties arise, and if a hundred soldiers are given to the direction of one officer, they are as easy to manage as a single soldier, so too the coinciding of numerous different causes in the creation of a single thing is difficult to the hundredth degree. And if the creation of numerous things is given to a single being, it becomes easy to the hundredth degree.

 

Thus, it is only recognizing the Unity of the Creator and knowledge of God that delivers man from the boundless distress arising from the curiosity and desire to search for the truth inherent in his nature. Since there are endless difficulties and pains in unbelief and associating partners with God, that way is certainly impossible and contains no truth. While since suitably to the ease, multiplicity, and fine art in the creation of beings, there is a boundless ease in affirming Divine Unity, that way is surely necessary and the truth.

 

And so O you miserable people of misguidance! See how dark and full of pain is the way of misguidance! What is it that makes you take it? And see how easy and pleasant is the way of belief and affirming Divine Unity! Take that way and be delivered!

 

Twelfth Window

 

Glorify the Name of your Sustainer, the All-Highest, * Who has created, and given order and proportion, * And Who has determined [the nature of all things] and guided [them towards their fulfilment].8

 

According to the meaning of this verse, all things, and especially living creatures, have been given a form and well-ordered proportions in accordance with wisdom as though they have emerged from a mould. And there are intricate extremities in those measured proportions for benefits and various uses. And the form of their clothes and their proportions, which they change throughout the periods of their lives, are each immaterial and well-ordered and measured, and are composed of the appointed events of their lives again in a fashion suitable to wisdom and benefits. This shows clearly that those innumerable creatures, whose forms and proportions have been planned in the sphere of determining of an All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection, and who have been given forms fashioned in the workshop of Divine Power, point to that Being's necessary existence and testify to His Unity and perfect Power with endless tongues. Look at your own body and its members and the fruits of its intricate and complex places! See the perfect Power within the perfect wisdom!

 

Thirteenth Window

 

According to the meaning of:

 

And there is nothing but extols His limitless glory and praise,9

 

everything recalls and declares to be holy its Creator through its own particular tongue. Indeed, the glorifications which all beings utter through the tongues of utterance and disposition demonstrate the existence of a single Most Holy Being. The testimony of innate disposition may not be rejected. Especially if the evidence it presents has many aspects, it may not induce doubt. Look! Each of the well-ordered forms of these beings, which comprise endless testimony through the manner of their creation and bear witness in innumerable ways through the tongue of disposition and look to a single centre like concentric circles, is a tongue. And their well-proportioned and balanced assemblages are each testifying tongues. And their perfect lives are each glorifying tongues. Thus, as is proved in the Twenty-Fourth Word, their glorifications, benedictions, and testifying to a single Most Holy Being through all these tongues demonstrate a Necessarily Existent One as light shows the sun, and point to the perfection of His Godhead.

 

Fourteenth Window

 

Say: who is it in whose hands is the governance of all things?10 * And there is nothing but its treasuries are with Us.11 * There is not a moving creature but He has grasp of its forelock.12 * Indeed my Sustainer watches over and records all things.13

 

According to the meaning of these verses, all things are in need of a single All-Glorious Creator in everything, in every matter and circumstance. Indeed, we look at the beings in the universe and we see that there is the manifestation of an absolute force within an absolute weakness. And the traces of an absolute power are apparent within an absolute impotence. Like, for example, the wonderful states and stages plants display when the life-force awakens in their seeds and roots. And there is the manifestation of an absolute wealth within an absolute poverty and dryness. Like the poverty of trees and the soil in winter and their glittering wealth and riches in the spring. And the sprinklings of an absolute life are apparent within an absolute lifelessness. Like the transformation of the elements into living matter.

 

Also, there is the manifestation of an all-encompassing consciousness with an absolute ignorance. Like everything, from minute particles to the stars, acting consciously and conforming to the order of the universe and to the demands of wisdom and the things benefiting life. Thus, this power within impotence, and strength within weakness, and wealth and riches within poverty, and life and consciousness within lifelessness and ignorance necessarily and self-evidently open windows on every side onto the necessary existence and Unity of One Possessing Absolute Power and Absolute Strength, a Possessor of Absolute Riches, an Absolutely Knowing, All-Living and Self-Sufficient One. In their totality they point to a luminous highway on a vast scale.

 

And so, O you heedless one who has fallen into the swamp of Nature! If you do not quit Nature and recognize Divine Power, you have to accept that in everything, in every minute particle even, reside an infinite force and power, a boundless wisdom and skill, and the ability to see, know, and administer most other beings.

 

Fifteenth Window

 

According to the meaning of the verse:

 

Who has created everything in the best way,14

 

everything is cut out according to its innate abilities with perfect measure and order, and put together with the finest art, in the shortest way, the best form, the lightest manner, and most practicable shape. Look at the clothes of birds, for example, and the easy way they ruffle up their feathers and all the time use them. Also, things are given bodies and dressed in forms in a wise manner with no waste and nothing in vain; they testify to their number to the necessary existence of an All-Wise Maker and point to that Possessor of Absolute Power and Knowledge.

 

Sixteenth Window

 

The order and ordering in the creation and disposal of creatures, which are renewed season by season on the earth, show clearly a universal wisdom. Since an attribute cannot be without the one it qualifies, this universal wisdom necessarily shows an All-Wise One. And the wonderful adornment within the veil of wisdom, self-evidently shows a perfect beneficence. And that perfect beneficence necessarily points to a gracious, All-Generous Creator. And the all-encompassing benevolence and bestowal within the veil of beneficence show self-evidently an all-embracing mercy. And that all-embracing mercy shows necessarily an All-Merciful and All-Compassionate One. And the sustenance and foods of all living creatures above the veil of mercy, all perfectly appropriate for their needs, show clearly a sustaining Providence and a compassionate Dominicality. And that sustaining and administering necessarily point to an All-Generous Provider.

 

Yes, each of the creatures on the face of the earth, thus raised with perfect wisdom, adorned with perfect beneficence, bestowed upon with perfect mercy, and nurtured with perfect compassion, testifies to the necessary existence of an All-Wise, Munificent, Compassionate, Providing Maker, and points to His Unity.

 

So also look at and consider all together the universal wisdom which is apparent on the face of the earth as a whole and is to be seen in its totality and shows clearly purpose and will; and the perfect beneficence embracing all creatures, which comprises the wisdom; and the all-encompassing mercy, which comprises the beneficence and wisdom and includes all the beings of the earth; and the most generous sustaining and nurturing, which comprises the mercy and wisdom and beneficence and embraces all living creatures. Just as the seven colours form light, and the light, which illuminates the face of the earth, shows without doubt the sun, so too that beneficence within wisdom, and mercy within beneficence, and sustaining and nurturing within mercy show brilliantly on a large scale and at a high degree the Unity and perfect Dominicality of an utterly Wise, Generous, Compassionate, Providing Necessarily Existent One.

 

And so, O you stupefied and heedless denier! With what can you explain this wise, generous, compassionate, providential sustaining, this strange, wonderful, miraculous state of affairs which is before your eyes? With chance and coincidence, which are aimless like you? With force, which is blind like your heart? With Nature, which is deaf like your head? With causes which are impotent, lifeless, and ignorant like you? Or do you want to give the name of 'Nature', which is utterly impotent, ignorant, deaf, blind, contingent, and wretched, to the All-Glorious One, Who is utterly holy, pure, exalted, and free of all defect and absolutely Powerful, Knowing, Hearing, and Seeing, and thus perpetrate an infinite error? So with what force can you extinguish this truth brilliant as the sun? Under which veil of heedlessness can you conceal it?

 

Seventeenth Window

 

Indeed in the heavens and earth are signs for those who believe.15

 

If we observe the face of the earth in the summer, we see that an absolute munificence and generosity, which necessitates confusion and disarrangement, is to be seen within a total harmony and order. Look at all the plants which adorn the face of the earth!

 

And the utter speed in the creation of things, which necessitates imbalance and disorder, is apparent within a perfect equilibrium. Look at all the fruits which decorate the face of the earth!

 

And an absolute multiplicity, which necessitates unimportance, indeed, ugliness, is apparent within a perfect beauty of art. Look at all the flowers which gild the face of the earth!

 

And the absolute ease in the creation of things, which necessitates lack of art and simplicity, is to be seen within an infinite art and skill and attention. Look carefully at all seeds, which are like the tiny containers and programmes of the members of plants and trees and the small cases containing their life-histories!

 

And the great distances, which necessitate difference and diversity, appear within an correspondence and conformity. Look at all the varieties of cereal grains sown in every part of the earth!

 

And the total intermingling, which necessitates confusion and muddle, is on the contrary to be seen within a perfect differentiation and separation. Consider the perfect differentiation of seeds when they sprout, despite being cast into the earth all mixed-up together and all resembling one another with regard to their substance, and the various substances which enter trees being separated out perfectly for the leaves, flowers, and fruits, and the foods which enter the stomach all mixed-up together being separated out perfectly according to the various members and cells. See the perfect power within the perfect wisdom!

 

And the great abundance and infinite profusion, which necessitate unimportance and worthlessness, are to be seen as most valuable and expensive in regard to the creatures and art on the face of the earth. Within these innumerable wonders of art, consider only the varieties of mulberry, those sweets of Divine Power, on the table of the All-Merciful One on the face of the earth! See them within the perfect mercy, the perfect art!

 

And so, just as the day shows the light, and the light the sun, the great value together with the utter profusion; and the boundless intermingling and intermixing together with the utmost differentiation and separation within the utter profusion; and the great distance together with the utmost conformity and resemblance within the limitless differentiation and separation; and the infinite ease and facility together with the infinite care in the making within the utmost resemblance; and the absolute speed and rapidity together with the total equilibrium and balance and lack of waste within the most beautiful making; and the infinite abundance and multiplicity together with the highest degree of beauty of art within utter lack of waste; and the utmost munificence together with absolute order within the highest degree of beauty of art, all testify to the necessary existence, perfect power, beautiful Dominicality, and Unity and Oneness of an All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection, an All-Compassionate and Beauteous One. They demonstrate the meaning of the verse:

 

His are the Most Beautiful Names.16

 

So now, O you wretched, ignorant, heedless, obstinate, idle one! With what can you interpret this mighty truth? With what can you explain this infinitely miraculous and wonderful state of affairs? To what can you attribute these truly extraordinary arts? What veil of heedlessness can you draw across this window as broad as the earth and so close it? Where is your chance and coincidence, your unconscious companion on which you rely and call 'Nature', your friend and support in misguidance? It is totally impossible for chance and coincidence to interfere in these matters, isn't it? And to attribute to 'Nature' one thousandth of them is impossible a thousand times over, isn't it?

 

Or does lifeless, impotent Nature have immaterial machines and printing presses within each single thing, made from each, and to the number of each?

 

Eighteenth Window

 

Do they not consider the government of the heavens and the earth? 17

 

Consider this comparison which is explained in the Twenty-Second Word: A fine, well-ordered, well-crafted work like a palace self-evidently points to a well-ordered act. That is to say, a building indicates to the act of building. And a fine, well-ordered act necessarily points to a proficient agent, a skilful master, a builder. And the titles of proficient master and builder point self-evidently to a perfect attribute, that is, to a faculty for the craft. And that perfect attribute and that perfect faculty for the craft self-evidently indicate to the existence of a perfect innate ability. And a perfect innate ability indicate to the existence of an exalted spirit and elevated essence.

 

In just the same way, the ever-renewed works which fill the face of the earth, indeed the universe, show clearly acts of the utmost perfection. And these acts, which are in the sphere of total order and wisdom, point clearly to an agent whose titles and Names are perfect. For it is clearly obvious that well-ordered, wise acts cannot be without the one who performs them. And titles of the utmost perfection point to the utterly perfect attributes of that agent. For just as according to the rules of grammar, the active particle is formed from the infinitive [that is, what is called 'the root' in Arabic grammar], so also the source and roots of nouns, names and titles are attributes. And attributes at the utmost degree of perfection point indubitably to utterly perfect essential qualities. And those perfect essential qualities - which we are unable to describe - point most certainly to an essence which is at the utmost peak of perfection.

 

Thus, since in every part of the world all the works of art and creatures are each a perfect work, each testifies to an act, and that act testifies to a Name, and that Name to an attribute, and that attribute to a quality, and that quality to the Essence. Thus, just as to the number of creatures they each testify to the necessary existence of the All-Glorious Maker and indicate to His Oneness, so too altogether they form an ascension in Divine knowledge as strong as the chains of beings. They form a proof of reality in continuous sequence into which doubt can in no way enter.

 

So now, O wretched, heedless denier! With what can you smash this proof which is as strong as the chain of the universe? With what can you close this latticed window with its innumerable spaces which show rays of truth to the number of these creatures? Which veil of heedlessness can you draw over it?

 

Nineteenth Window

 

According to the meaning of the verse:

 

The seven heavens and the earth and all within them extol His limitless glory,and there is nothing but it extols His limitless glory and praise,18

 

the All-Glorious Maker has attached so many meanings and instances of wisdom to the heavenly bodies it is as if, in order to express His Glory and Beauty, He has adorned the heavens with the words of the suns, moons and stars. And to the beings in the atmosphere also He has attached instances of wisdom and meanings and aims, as if to make it speak through the words of the thunder, lightening, and drops of rain, and give instruction in the perfection of His wisdom and beauty of His mercy.

 

And just as He causes the head of the earth to speak with its meaningful words known as animals and plants and displays the perfections of His art to the universe, so too He makes speak the plants and trees, each a word of that head, through the words of their leaves, flowers, and fruits and again proclaims the perfection of His art and beauty of His mercy. And their flowers and fruits, too, He makes speak, through the words of their seeds, and gives instruction to the aware and conscious in the subtleties of His art and the perfection of His Dominicality. And so, out of these innumerable words of glorification, we shall lend our ears and listen to the manner of expression of only a single shoot and a single flower, and learn in what way they testify.

 

Indeed, all plants and all trees describe their Maker with numerous tongues in such a way that they leave those who study them in amazement, causing them to exclaim: "Glory be to God! How wonderfully they bear witness to Him!"

 

Yes, the glorification of all plants at the time their flowers open, and the moment they produce new shoots, and when they offer their smiling words is as beautiful and clear as themselves. For the order demonstrating wisdom through the beautiful mouth of each flower and the tongue of its well-ordered shoots and the words of its well-measured seeds is observedly within a balance which demonstrates knowledge. And the balance is within an embroidery of art which demonstrates skill and craft. And the embroidery of art is within an adornment which demonstrates favour and munificence. And the adornment is within subtle scents which demonstrate mercy and bestowal. And these meaningful qualities one within the other form such a tongue of testimony that it both describes the All-Beauteous Maker through His Names, and portrays Him through His attributes, and expounds the manifestation of His Names, and expresses His making Himself loved and known.

 

And so, if you hear such testimony from a single flower, when you listen to all the flowers in the Dominical gardens on the face of the earth and hear with what elevated strength they proclaim the necessary existence and Unity of the All-Glorious Maker, will your doubts and suspicions and heedlessness be able to persist? If they do persist, should it be said of you that you are a conscious human being?

 

Come, now look carefully at a tree! See its delicate mouth within the orderly emergence of the leaves in spring, and the blossoms opening in a measured manner, and the fruits swelling with wisdom and mercy and dancing at the blowing of the breeze in the hands of the branches like innocent children. See the just balance within the wise order expressed through the tongue of the leaves becoming green at a generous hand, through that of the flowers smiling with the joy of a favour received, and through the words of the fruits laughing through a manifestation of mercy. See the careful arts and embroideries within the balance demonstrating justice; and the mercy within the skilful embroideries and adornment; and the differing sweet tastes and delightful scents, which indicate to mercy and bestowal; and the seeds, each of which is a miracle of Power within the agreeable tastes: all these point in most clear fashion to the necessary existence and Unity of an All-Wise, Generous, Compassionate, Beneficent, Bountiful Maker, a Bestower of Beauty and Favours, to the beauty of His mercy and perfection of His Dominicality. Thus, if you can listen at the same time to the tongues of disposition of all the trees on the earth, you will see and understand what exquisite jewels are to be found in the treasury of the verse:

 

All that is in the heavens and on the earth extols God's limitless glory.19

 

And so, O you unhappy heedless one who supposes himself to be free through his ingratitude! If the All-Generous One of Beauty, Who makes Himself known to you and loved by you through these innumerable tongues had not wanted you to know Him, He would have silenced them. Since they have not been silenced, they should be heeded. You cannot be saved by closing your ears in heedlessness. For the universe does not fall silent at you stopping up your ears, the beings within it will not be silent, the witnesses to Divine Unity will not hold their tongues. And for sure, they will condemn you...

 

Twentieth Window20

 

So glory be to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things.21 * And there is nothing but its treasuries are with Us; but We only send it down in a measure defined. * And We send forth the winds to fertilize [the plants], and We send down rain from the skies providing you with water therewith, and you are not the keepers of its stores.22

 

Just as perfect wisdom and beauty of art are apparent in particulars and results and in details, so too do the universal elements and large creatures take up their positions in accordance with wisdom and art, despite their apparently being mixed up together by chance without order. Thus, as its other wise duties show, light shines in order to proclaim and make known the Divine creatures on the face of the earth, with the permission of its Sustainer. This means that light is employed by a Wise Maker; by means of it, He makes manifest His antique works of art in the exhibitions of the market of this world.

 

Now consider the winds! According to the testimony of their other wise, generous benefits and duties, they are hastening to extremely numerous and important tasks. It means that that movement in waves is a being employed, a being despatched, a being utilized by an All-Wise Maker; it is a working expeditiously to carry out speedily the commands of its Sustainer.

 

Now consider the springs, the streams, and the rivers! Their welling-up out of the ground and out of mountains is not by chance. For it is demonstrated by the testimony of their benefits and fruits, the works of Divine Mercy, and by the statement of their being stored up in mountains with the balance of wisdom in proportion to need, that they are subjugated and stored up by an All-Wise Sustainer, and that their flowing forth is their conforming exuberantly to His command.

 

Now consider all the varieties of stones and jewels and minerals in the earth! Their decorations and beneficial properties, the wise benefits connected to them, and their being prepared in a manner appropriate to human and animal needs and vital necessities all show that they are made in that way through the decoration, arrangement, planning, and forming of an All-Wise Maker.

 

Now consider the flowers and fruits! Their smiles, tastes, beauties, embroideries, and scents are each like an invitation to and menu for the table of a Most Munificent Maker, an All-Compassionate Bestower of Bounties; they are given as various menus and invitations to each species of beings through their different colours, scents, and tastes.

 

Now consider the birds! A certain indication that their twittering and chirruping is an All-Wise Maker's causing them to speak is the astonishing way in which they express their feelings to one another with those sounds, and state their intentions.

 

Now consider the clouds! A definite indication that the pattering of the rain is not a meaningless sound and that the crashing of thunder and lightening is not a futile din is that those strange beings are created in empty space. Also drops of rain like the water of life are milked from the clouds, suckling the living creatures on the earth so needy and longing for them. These facts show that the pattering and crashing are most meaningful and full of wisdom. For at the command of a Most Generous Sustainer, the rain calls out to those longing for it: "Good news! We are coming!" They express this meaning.

 

Now look at the sky and consider carefully only the moon out of all the innumerable bodies in it! That its motion is at the command of an All-Powerful and Wise One is demonstrated by the important instances of wisdom connected to it and concerning the earth. Since we have explained these in other places in the Risale-i Nur, we cut this short here.

 

Thus, the universal elements we have enumerated from the light to the moon open in large measure a most broad window. They proclaim and show the Unity of a Necessarily Existent One, and the perfection of His Power, and grandeur of His sovereignty.

 

And so O heedless one! If you are able to silence this voice like the crashing of thunder and extinguish this light brilliant as the sun, forget God! Otherwise come to your senses! Say, All Glory be unto You! And,

 

The seven heavens and the earth and all within them extol His limitless glory! 23

 

Twenty-First Window

 

And the sun runs its course to a place appointed, that is the determining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.24

 

The universe's lamp, the sun, forms a window onto the existence and Unity of the universe's Maker that is as brilliant and luminous as the sun itself. Indeed, despite their great differences with regard to size, position, and speed, the twelve planets including our globe known as the solar system are in motion and revolve with perfect order and wisdom and perfect balance without a second's confusion, and are bound to the sun through a Divine law known as gravity, that is, they follow their leader as though in prayer. This demonstrates on a vast scale the tremendousness of Divine Power and the Unity of their Sustainer. Those lifeless bodies, those vast unconscious masses, are rotated and employed within the utmost order and wise balance, in various forms and over varying distances and in varying motions, proving the degree of the power and the wisdom; you compare for yourself. If chance were to interfere the tiniest amount in this vast and complex matter, it would cause an explosion so great it would scatter the universe. If it were to arrest the motion of one of them for a minute, it would cause it to leave its orbit and open the possibility of its colliding with another planet. You can understand how awesome would be the collision of bodies thousands of times larger than the earth.

 

Now we shall refer to the all-encompassing knowledge of God the wonders of the solar system, that is, the twelve planets which are the sun's followers and fruits, and consider only our own planet, the earth, which is here before our eyes. We see that our planet is made to travel on a long journey around the sun by a Dominical command as a most important duty - as is described in the Third Letter - in a way that demonstrates the grandeur of Dominical majesty and the loftiness of the sovereignty of the Godhead and the perfection of His Mercy and Wisdom. It has been given the form of a Dominical ship filled with the wonders of Divine art and of a travelling dwelling like an exhibition, for God's conscious servants to gaze on. And the moon has been attached to it with precise reckoning for mighty instances of wisdom, like being an hour-hand for telling the time. The moon too has been given various mansions through which to journey. Thus, these aspects of this blessed planet of ours prove the necessary existence and Unity of a Possessor of Absolute Power with a testimony as powerful as the globe of the earth itself. You can make an analogy with the rest of the solar system from this.

 

Furthermore, the sun is made to turn on its own axis like a spinning-wheel, in order to wind into a ball the immaterial threads called gravity and tie the planets with them and set them in order. So too is it impelled together with its planets at a speed of cutting five hours' distance a second towards, according to one estimate, the Constellation of Hercules, or towards the 'Sun of Suns'. This most certainly occurs through the power and at the command of the All-Glorious One, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity. It is as though He makes the solar system perform these manoeuvres like a platoon of soldiers under orders, and so demonstrates the majesty of His Dominicality.

 

And so, O you astronomers! What chance can interfere in these matters? The hands of what causes can reach them? What force can draw close to this? Come on, you say! Would an All-Glorious Monarch such as this display impotence and permit others to have a role in his sovereignty? Would He give to other hands living creatures in particular, which are the fruit, result, aim, and essence of the universe? Would He permit another to interfere? And especially man, would He leave him to his own devices, the most comprehensive of those fruits, the most perfect of the results, His vicegerent on earth, and mirror-like guest? Would He refer him to Nature and chance and reduce the majesty of His sovereignty to nothing? Reduce to nothing His perfect wisdom?

 

Twenty-Second Window

 

Have We not made the earth a cradle, * And the mountains as pegs, * And created you as pairs? 25 * So behold the signs of God's Mercy, how He raises to life the earth after its death.26

 

The globe of the earth is a head with a hundred thousand mouths. In each mouth are a hundred thousand tongues. On each tongue are a hundred thousand proofs, each one of which testifies in numerous ways to the necessary existence, Unity, sacred attributes, and Most Beautiful Names of an All-Glorious One.

 

Indeed, we consider the first creation of the earth and we see that rock was created from matter in a fluid state, and that soil was created from rock. If that matter had remained fluid, it would not have been habitable, and if after becoming rock, the fluid had become hard as iron, it would not have suitable for use. So what gave it its state was surely the wisdom of an All-Wise Maker Who saw the needs of the earth's inhabitants. Then the layer of soil was thrown over the pegs of mountains so that the earthquakes arising from internal upheavals could breathe through the mountains and they would not cause the earth to be shaken out of its motion and duties, and so that the mountains would preserve the earth from the encroachment of the sea, and each would be storehouse for the vital necessities of living beings, and would purify the air from noxious gases so allowing living beings to breathe, and so that they would accumulate and hold water reserves, and would be a source and mine for the minerals necessary for living creatures.

 

Thus, this situation testifies most clearly and powerfully to the necessary existence and Unity of a Possessor of Absolute Power, an All-Wise and Compassionate One.

 

Oh geographers! With what can you explain this? What chance could make this Dominical ship full of these wonderful creatures into an exhibition of marvels, and spin it at a speed of covering the distance of twenty-four thousand years in one year while not allowing a single of the objects arranged on the face of it to fall off?

 

Consider also the strange arts on the face of the earth. How wisely the elements are employed in their functions! How well they attend to the guests of the Most Merciful One on the earth through the command of an All-Wise and Powerful One, and hasten to serve them!

 

Also look at these embroidered lines within strange and wondrous arts on face of the earth, multicolored and full of strange wisdom! See how the brooks and streams, seas and rivers, mountains and hills have each been made as dwellings and means of transport suitable for His various creatures and servants. See how then with perfect wisdom and order He has filled them with hundreds of thousands of varieties of plants and animals, and given them life and made them rejoice, and how regularly minute by minute He discharges the creatures and empties those dwellings with death, and then again in orderly fashion refills them in the form of 'resurrection after death'. This testifies with hundreds of thousands of tongues to the necessary existence and Unity of an All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Wise One of Perfection.

 

In Short: The earth, the face of which is an exhibition of marvels of art, a display of wonders of creation, a place of passage for the caravans of beings, and a mosque and dwelling for the ranks of worshippers, is like the heart of all the universe; it thus displays the light of Divine Unity to the same degree as the universe.

 

And so, O geographer! If the head of the earth has a hundred thousand mouths and with the hundred thousand tongues in each it makes known God, and still you do not recognize Him and plunge your head in the swamp of Nature, then ponder over the greatness of your fault! Know what a grievous punishment it makes you deserve! Come to your senses and extract your head from the swamp! Say, I believe in God in Whose hand is the sovereignty of all things.

 

Twenty-Third Window

 

Who creates death and life.27

 

Life is the most luminous, the most beautiful of the miracles of Dominical Power. It is the most powerful and most brilliant of the proofs of Divine Unity. It is the most comprehensive and most shining of the mirrors displaying the manifestations of the Eternally Besought One. Yes, on its own, life makes known a Living and Self-Subsistent One together with all his Names and acts. For life is a light, a medicament, like a potion blended from numerous attributes. Just as the seven colours are combined in light, and various drugs are blended together in a medicament, so also life is a reality made of numerous attributes. Some of the attributes in its reality expand by means of the senses; they unfold, and are differentiated. However the greater part make themselves perceived in the form of the emotions; they make themselves known by welling up out of life.

 

Furthermore, life comprises sustenance, mercy, grace, and wisdom, which are dominant in the planning and administration of the universe. It is as if life fastens them on behind it and draws them into the place it enters. For example, when life enters a body, the Name of All-Wise is also manifest; it makes its home well and orders it with wisdom. In the same way, the Name of All-Generous is manifest, and it organizes and decorates its dwelling according to its needs. At the same time, the manifestation of the Name of All-Compassionate is apparent; it bestows all sorts of bounties for the continuance and perfection of life. And again at the same time, the manifestation of the Name of Provider appears; it produces the sustenance, material and immaterial, necessary for the perpetuation and unfolding of the life, and in part stores them up within its body. That is to say, life is like a point of focus; various attributes enter one another, indeed, they become one and the same. It is as if in its entirety life is both knowledge, and at the same time power, and at the same time wisdom and mercy, and so on... Thus, with regard to this comprehensive essence, life is a mirror of the Eternally Besought One reflecting the essential Dominical attributes. It is due to this mystery that the Necessarily Existent One, Who is the Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One, creates life in great abundance and plenitude, and scatters it far and wide and broadcasts it, and gathers everything around life and makes it serve it. For life's duty is great. Yes, it is not easy to be the mirror of the Eternally Besought One, it is not some petty duty.

 

Thus, the sudden and continuous coming into existence from nothing of these countless, numberless lives which we all the time see before our eyes - and of spirits, which are the origins and essences of lives - their being sent, demonstrate the necessary existence, sacred attributes, and Most Beautiful Names of a Necessarily Existent and Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One as clearly as rays show the existence of the sun. Just as someone who does not recognize and accept the existence of the sun is compelled to deny the light which fills the day, so also one who does not recognize the Sun of Divine Oneness, Who is Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent and the Giver of Life and Death, has to deny the existence of the living creatures which fill the earth and even the past and the future; he has to fall a hundred times lower than an animal, to fall from the level of life to become something utterly ignorant and lifeless.

 

Twenty-Fourth Window

 

There is no God but He, everything will perish save His countenance, His is the command and to Him shall you return.28

 

Death is a proof of Dominicality as much as life is a proof of it; it is a most powerful proof of Divine Unity. As the verse,

 

Who creates death and life29

 

indicates, death is not non-existence, annihilation, non-being, an authorless extinction, rather, as is shown in the First Letter, it is a being discharged from service by an All-Wise Author, a change of residence, an exchange of bodies, a rest from duty, a being freed from the prison of the body; it is a wise and orderly work of wisdom. Indeed, just as the living face of the earth and the well-fashioned and living creatures upon it testify to the necessary existence and Unity of an All-Wise Maker, so too with their deaths do those living beings bear witness to the Eternity and Unity of an Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One. Since it is proved and elucidated in the Twenty-Second Word that death is an extremely powerful proof of Divine Unity and Eternity, we refer the discussion to that Word and here only explain one important point. It is as follows:

 

Just as with their existence, living beings point to the existence of a Necessarily Existent One, so too with their deaths do those living beings testify to the eternity and Unity of an Ever-Living Eternal One. For example, the face of the earth, which is a single living creature, points to its Maker with its order and circumstances, and so too does it point to Him when it dies. That is, when winter conceals the earth's face with its white shroud, it turns the gazes of men away from itself - the gaze moves to the past behind the corpse of that departing spring - and it shows it a far wider scene. That is to say, all the past springs of the earth, which were each a miracle of power, make it understood that new living springtime creatures of the earth will come, and since they each testify to the existence of those future wonders of Divine Power, each a living earth, they testify brilliantly and powerfully and on a vast scale to the necessary existence, Unity, everlastingness, and eternity of an All-Glorious Maker, an All-Powerful One of Perfection, an Ever-Living Eternal One; they demonstrate such brilliant proofs that whether one wants to or not they make one declare: "I believe in God, the One, the Unique!"

 

In Short: According to the meaning of the verse,

 

And gives life to the earth after its death,30

 

just as this living earth testifies to the Maker with the spring, so too with its death it turns the gaze to the miracles of Divine Power lined up on the two wings of time, the past and the future; it indicates to thousands of miracles of Power in place of one miracle. And each of those springs testifies more certainly than this present spring. For those which have departed towards the past have gone together with their apparent causes, and after them others like them have come in their places. This means that apparent causes are nothing. Only, an All-Powerful One of Glory creates the springs, and tying them to causes shows that He has sent them. And as for the faces of the earth lined up in future time, they testify more brilliantly. For they will be made anew from nothing, from non-being, and sent; they will be put on the earth, made to do their duty, and then sent away.

 

And so, O heedless one deviated into Nature and drowning in its swamp! How can something which does not possess hands wise and powerful enough to reach all the past and all the future interfere in the life of the earth? Can your total nonentity of Nature interfere in it? If you want to be saved, say: "At the very most, Nature is a notebook of Divine Power. And as for chance, it is a veil to hidden Divine wisdom which conceals our ignorance." Draw close to the truth!

 

Twenty-Fifth Window

 

Like one struck points to the striker, and a finely fashioned work of art necessitates the artist, and an offspring requires a parent, and an under surface demands a top surface, and so on... like all these qualities known as relative matters which are not absolute and cannot exist without each other, contingency too, which is apparent in particulars in the universe as well as in it as a whole, points to necessity. And the state of being acted upon which is to be seen in all of them points to an act, and the createdness apparent in all of them points to creativity, and the multiplicity and composition to be seen in all demand unity. And necessity, an act, creativity, and unity clearly and necessarily require one who is not contingent, acted upon, numerous, compounded, and created, but bears the attributes of being necessary, an agent, one, and a creator. In which case, all contingency, states of being acted upon, createdness, multiplicity and composition testify to the Necessarily Existent One, the One Who acts as He wills, the Creator of All Things, the Single One of Unity.

 

In Short: Just as necessity is apparent from contingency, the act from the state of being acted upon, and unity from multiplicity, and the existence of the former indicate the latter with certainty, in the same way, qualities like createdness and having all their needs provided for which are to be seen in beings clearly point to the existence of attributes like Making and Providing. And in turn the existence of these attributes point necessarily and self-evidently to the existence of an All-Compassionate Maker Who is a Creator and a Provider. That is to say, each being testifies to the hundreds of the Necessarily Existent One's Most Beautiful Names with the tongues of the hundreds of attributes of this sort which they bear. If this testimony is not admitted, it becomes necessary to deny all the attributes of this sort pertaining to beings...

 

Twenty-Sixth Window31

 

The ever-renewed instances of beauty and fairness passing over the faces of the beings in the universe show that they are shadows of a sort of the manifestations of an Eternal Beauteous One. Yes, bubbles sparkling on the surface of a river and then disappearing, and other bubbles coming after them and sparkling like those that preceded them shows that they are mirrors to the rays of a perpetual sun. In the same way, the flashes of beauty which sparkle on the travelling beings in the river of flowing time point to an Eternal Beauteous One and are signs of Him of a sort.

 

Also, the ardent love in the heart of the universe points to an Undying Beloved. For sure, as is indicated by the fact that something which is not found in the tree itself will not be present in authentic form in its fruit, the ardent love of God present in human kind, the responsive fruit of the tree of the universe, shows that a true love and passion is to be found in all the universe, but in other forms. In which case, this true love and passion in the heart of the universe points to a Pre-Eternal Beloved. Moreover, all the attractions and magnetic forces which appear in numerous forms in the heart of the universe, show to aware hearts that they are thus through the attraction of a drawing truth.

 

Also, according to the consensus of the saints and those who uncover the mysteries of creation, who are the most sensitive and luminous of creatures, relying on their illuminations and witnessing, they have received the manifestation of a Beauteous One of Glory and through their illuminations have perceived that All-Glorious One of Beauty making Himself known to them and loved by them. Their unanimously telling of this again testifies with certainty to a Necessarily Existent One, to the existence of a Beauteous One of Glory, and to His making Himself known to man.

 

Also, the pen of beautifying and adorning which works on beings and on the face of the universe points clearly to the beauty of the Names of the pen's Owner. Thus, the beauty on the face of the universe, and the love in its heart, and the attraction in its breast, and the uncovering and witnessing in its eye, and the beauty and adornment on it as a whole, open up a most subtle and luminous window. It displays to aware minds and hearts a Beauteous One of Glory, an Undying Beloved, an Eternal Worshipped One all of Whose Names are beautiful.

 

And so, O heedless one who flounders amid suffocating doubts in the darkness of matter and obscurity of delusion! Come to your senses! Rise to a state worthy of humanity! Look through these four openings, see the beauty of Unity, gain perfect belief, and become a true man!...

 

Twenty-Seventh Window

 

God is the Creator of all things, and of all things He is the Guardian and Disposer.32

 

We look at things which appear to be causes and effects in the universe and we see that the most elevated cause possesses insufficient power for the most ordinary effect. This means that causes are a veil, and something else makes the effects. To take only a small example out of innumerable creatures let us consider the faculty of memory, which is situated in man's head in a space as tiny as a mustard seed: we see that it is like a book so comprehensive - indeed, like a library - that within it is written without confusion the entire story of a person's life.

 

What cause can be shown for this miracle of power? The grey matter of the brain? The simple unconscious particles of its cells? The winds of chance and coincidence? But that miracle of art can only be the work of an All-Wise Maker Who, in order to inform man that all the actions he has performed have been recorded and will be recalled at the time of accounting, writes out a small ledger from the great book of man's deeds to be published at the Resurrection, and gives it to the hand of his mind. Thus, as they are comparable to man's faculty of memory, make an analogy with all eggs, seeds, and grains, and then compare other effects to these small and comprehensive miracles. Because whichever effect and work of art you look at, it contains such wonderful art that it is not its common, simple cause, but if all causes were to gather, they would declare their impotence before it.

 

For example, suppose the sun, which is imagined to be a large cause, to possess will and consciousness; if it is said to it: "Are you able to make a fly?", of course it would reply: "Through my Creator's bounty, there is plenty of light, heat, and colours in my shop, but such things in the fly's being as eyes, ears, and life are neither in my shop, nor are they within my power."

 

Furthermore, the wonderful art and adornment in effects dismiss causes, and indicating the Necessarily Existent One, the Causer of Causes, in accordance with the verse,

 

And to Him goes back every affair,33

 

hand over matters to Him. In the same way, the results, purposes, and benefits attached to effects demonstrate self-evidently that they are the works of an All-Generous Sustainer, an All-Wise and Compassionate One, beyond the veil of causes. For unconscious causes certainly cannot think of some aim and work for it. And yet we see that each creature which comes into existence does so following not one, but many aims, benefits, and instances of wisdom. That means an All-Wise and Generous Sustainer makes those things and sends them. He makes those benefits the aim of their existence.

 

For example, it is going to rain. It is obvious how distant the causes that apparently result in rain are from thinking of animals and having pity and compassion on them. That means it is sent to their assistance through the wisdom of a Compassionate Creator Who creates the animals and guarantees their sustenance. Rain is even called 'mercy'. Because, since it comprises numerous works of mercy and benefits, it is as if mercy has become embodied as rain, has been formed into drops, and arrives in that way.

 

Furthermore, all the finely adorned plants which smile at creatures and the embellishments and displays in animals self-evidently point to the necessary existence and Unity of an All-Glorious One behind the veil of the Unseen; One Who wants to make Himself known and loved through these beautifully adorned fine arts. That is to say, this adornment in things and these displays and embellishment indicate of a certainty to the attributes of making known and making loved. While the attributes of making known and making loved self-evidently testify to the necessary existence and Unity of an All-Powerful Maker Who is Loving and Known.

 

In Short: Since causes are extremely commonplace and impotent and the effects attributed to them are most valuable and full of art, this dismisses causes. And the aims and benefits of effects also discharge ignorant and lifeless causes, and hand them over to an All-Wise Maker. Also, the adornment and skill on the face of effects indicates a Wise Maker Who wants to make His power known to conscious beings and desires to make Himself loved.

 

Oh wretched worshipper of causes! With what can you explain these important truths? How can you deceive yourself? If you have sense, rend the veil of causes and declare: "He is One, He has no partners!" Be saved from innumerable delusions!

 

Twenty-Eighth Window

 

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variations in your tongues and in your colours; verily in that are signs for those who know.34

 

We look at the universe, and we see that a wisdom and ordering embrace everything from the cells of the body to the totality of the world.

 

We look at the cells of the body, and we see that through the command and according to the law of one who considers what is beneficial for the body and administers it, there is a significant management in those miniscule cells. Just as a sort of sustenance is stored up in the stomach in the form of fat and expended at the time of need, so too in those tiny cells there is a regulation and storing up.

 

We look at plants, and a most wise planning and nurturing is apparent.

 

We look at animals, and we see a rearing and nurturing which is generous to the utmost degree.

 

We look at the mighty elements of the universe, and we see a majestic government and illumination for momentous aims.

 

We look at the universe as a whole, and we see a perfect ordering for exalted instances of wisdom and elevated aims, as though it was a country, a city, or a palace.

 

As is described and proved in the First Stopping Place of the Thirty-Second Word, from minute particles to the stars, not the tiniest place is left for associating partners to God. All are in effect so interrelated that one who cannot subjugate all the stars and hold them in his hand, cannot make a particle heed his claims to be its lord and sustainer. It is necessary to own all the stars in order to be the true sustainer of a particle.

 

Furthermore, as is described and proved in the Second Stopping Place of the Thirty-Second Word, one not capable of creating and arranging the heavens cannot make the individual features on the human face. That is to say, one who is not Sustainer of all the heavens cannot make the distinguishing features on a single human face.

 

Thus, this is a window as large as the universe, which, if looked through, the following verses will also appear to the mind's eye, written on the pages of the universe in large letters:

 

God is the Creator of all things, and of all things He is the Guardian and Disposer * His are the keys of the heavens and the earth.35

 

And so, he who does not see these has either no mind or no heart. Or he is an animal in human form!

 

Twenty-Ninth Window

 

And there is not a thing but extols His limitless glory and praise.36

 

One spring I was setting out on a journey, a stranger, and deep in contemplation. While skirting a hill, a brilliant yellow buttercup struck my eye. It immediately brought to mind the same species of buttercup I had seen long before in my native land and in other countries. This meaning was imparted to my heart: whosesoever this flower is the seal of, the stamp of, the signature of, the impress of, all the flowers of that species throughout the earth are surely His seals, His stamps. After this notion of the seal, the following thought occurred to me: just as a seal stamped on a letter denotes the letter's owner, in the same way, this flower is a seal showing the Most Merciful One. And this hillock which is inscribed with the impresses of these species and written with the lines of these plants so full of meaning, is the letter of this flower's Maker. And this hill too is a seal. This plateau and plain has taken on the form of a letter of the Most Merciful One.

 

After this thought, the following fact came to mind: like a seal, everything ascribes all things to its own Creator. It proves each is the letter of its own Scribe. Thus, everything forms a window onto Divine Unity that is such that each thing gives all things to a Single One of Unity. That is to say, there is an impress so wonderful, an art so miraculous in each thing, and especially in each living being, that the one who makes it and inscribes it so meaningfully can make all things, and the one who makes all things is certainly Him. That is to say, one who cannot make all things cannot create a single thing.

 

And so, O heedless one! Look at the face of the universe! See the pages of beings one within the other like letters of the Eternally Besought One, each letter stamped with innumerable seals of Divine Unity! Who can deny the testimony of all these seals? What power can silence them? Whichever of them you listen to with the ear of the heart, you will hear it declaring: "I testify that there is no god but God!"

 

Thirtieth Window

 

If there were in the heavens and the earth other gods besides God, there surely would have been confusion in both.37 * Everything will perish save His countenance; His is the command, and to Him shall you return.38

 

This is the Window of all the scholars of theology, based on contingency and createdness, and their highway for proving the Necessarily Existent One. For all the details, we refer you to the scholars' great books like Sharhu'l-Mavâqif and Sharhu'l-Maqâsid, and here only demonstrate one or two rays which occur to the spirit from the effulgence of the Qur'an and this Window. It is as follows:

 

It is the requirement of dominion and rulership not to accept rivals; they reject partnership; they repudiate interference. It is because of this that if there are two headmen in one village, they will destroy its tranquillity and order. Or if there are two chief officials in one district, or two governors in one province, they will cause chaos. Or if there are two kings in a country, they will cause complete and stormy confusion. Since a pale shadow and petty example of dominion and rulership in impotent human beings needy for assistance does not accept the interference of rivals, opponents, or peers, then you may compare how fully a rulership which is in the form of absolute sovereignty and a dominion at the degree of Dominicality will carry out that law of the rejection of interference in One Possessing Absolute Power. That is to say, the most definite and constant necessity of Godhead and Dominicality are unity and singleness. The clear proof and certain testimony to this are the perfect order and beautiful harmony in the universe. There is such an order from the wing of a fly to the lamps in the heavens that the intellect prostrates before it in wonder and appreciation, declaring: "Glory be to God! What wonders God has willed! How great are God's blessings!" Had there been an iota of space for partners to God, and had there been interference, as the verse,

 

If there were in the heavens and the earth other gods besides God, there would have been confusion in both39

 

indicates, the order would have been destroyed, the form changed, and signs of disorder would have appeared. But as the verses,

 

So turn your vision again: do you see any flaw? * Then turn your vision a second time; your vision will come back to you in a state dazzled and truly defeated 40

 

state and point out, however much the human gaze tries to find faults, it can find none anywhere, and returns worn out to its dwelling, the eye, and says to the fault-finding mind who sent it: "I am worn out for nothing; there are no faults." This shows that the order and regularity are most perfect. That is to say, the order in the universe is a definitive witness to Divine Unity.

 

Come now, let us consider 'createdness'. The scholars of theology stated:

 

"The world is subject to change. And everything which is subject to change is created. Every created thing has a creator, a maker. In which case, the universe has a pre-eternal creator."

 

And we say, yes, the universe is created. For we see that every century, rather, every year and every season one universe, one world, goes, and another comes. This means that there is an All-Powerful One of Glory Who, creating the universe anew, creates a universe every year, indeed, every season, and every day, and shows it to the aware and conscious. Then He takes it back and puts another in its place. He attaches one universe behind the other like the links of a chain, and hangs them on the string of time. For sure, the universes which appear from nothing and disappear before our eyes every spring, each a new universe the same as this world, are miracles of the power of the Omnipotent One Who creates them. The One Who continuously creates and changes the worlds within the world most definitely created this world too. And He made this world and the face of the earth a guest-house for those great visitors.

 

Now let us come to the discussion of 'contingency'. The scholars of theology said:

 

"Contingency is equal in regard to both existence and non-existence." That is, if existence and non-existence are both equally possible, one who will specify, prefer, and create is necessary. For contingent beings cannot create one another in uninterrupted and never-ending chains of cause and effect. Neither can one create another, and that the next, in the form of causation. In which case there is a Necessarily Existent One Who creates them. They rendered null and void the never-ending causal sequences with the famous twelve categorical proofs called 'the ladder argument', and demonstrated causality to be impossible. They cut the chains of causes and proved the existence of the Necessarily Existent One.

 

And we say this: it is more certain and easier to demonstrate a stamp peculiar to the Creator of All Things on everything than causes being cut at the extremities of the world with the proofs refuting causality. Through the effulgence of the Qur'an, all the Windows and all the Words are based on this principle. Nevertheless, the point of contingency possesses an infinite breadth. It demonstrates the existence of the Necessarily Existent One in innumerable respects. It is not restricted to the way of the scholars of theology - cutting the chains of causes, which in truth is a mighty and broad highway. It opens rather a path to knowledge of the Necessarily Existent One by ways beyond count. It is as follows:

 

We see that in its existence, its attributes, and its lifetime, while hesitant among innumerable possibilities, that is, among truly numerous ways and aspects, each thing follows a well-ordered way in regard to its being in innumerable respects. Its attributes also are given it in a particular way. And all the attributes and states which it changes throughout its life are specified in the same fashion. This means it is impelled on a wise way amid innumerable ways through the will of one who specifies, the choice of one who chooses, and the creation of a wise creator. He clothes it with well-ordered attributes and states. Then it is taken out of isolation and made part of a compound body, and the possibilities increase, for they may be found in that body in thousands of ways. Whereas among those fruitless possibilities, it is given a particular, fruitful state, whereby important results and benefits are obtained from that body, and it is made to carry out important functions. Then the body is made a component of another body. Again the possibilities increase, for it could exist in thousands of ways. Thus, it is given one state among those thousands of ways. And through that state it is made to perform important functions; and so on. It progressively demonstrates more certainly the necessary existence of an All-Wise Planner. It makes known that it is being impelled by the command of an All-Knowing Commander. Body within body, each has a function, a well-ordered duty, in all the compounds that one within the other themselves become components of larger compounds, and has a relationship particular to each - in the same way that a soldier has a function and well-ordered duty in his squad, his company, his battalion, his regiment, his division, and his army, and a relationship particular to each of these sections, one within the other. Just as a cell from the pupil of your eye has a duty in your eye and a relationship with it. And has wise functions and duties in your head as a whole and a relationship with it. If it confuses these the tiniest jot, the health and organization of the body will be spoilt. It has particular functions with regard to each of the veins, the sensory and motor nerves, and even the body as a whole, and wise relations with them. That specified state has been given it within thousands of possibilities through the wisdom of an All-Wise Maker.

 

In just the same way, each of the creatures in the universe testifies to the Necessarily Existent One through the particular being, the wise form, the beneficial attributes given it among numerous possibilities. And so too when they enter compounds, those creatures proclaim their Maker with a different tongue in each compound. Step by step till the greatest compound, through their relations, functions, and duties, they testify to the necessary existence, choice, and will of their All-Wise Maker. Because the one who situates a thing in all the compounds while preserving its wise relations, must be the Creator of all the compounds. That is to say, it is as though one single thing testifies to Him with thousands of tongues. And so, from the point of view of contingency, the testimony to the existence of the Necessarily Existent One is as numerous, not as the number of beings in the universe, but as the attributes of beings and the compounds they form.

 

And so, O heedless one! One who does not hear this testimony, these voices which fill the universe, must be dead and unreasoning, is that not so? Come on, you say...

 

Thirty-First Window

 

We have created man in the best of forms.41 * And in the earth there are signs for those who are certain * And in your own selves; will you not then not see?42

 

This Window is the Window of man, and it is concerned with man's self. For more elaborate discussions of it in this respect, we refer you to the detailed books of the thousands of learned and scholarly saints, and here only indicate a few principles we have received from the effulgence of the Qur'an. It is like this:

 

As is explained in the Eleventh Word, "Man is a missive so comprehensive that through man's self, Almighty God makes perceived to him all His Names." For the details we refer you to the other Words, and here only demonstrate three Points.

 

FIRST POINT

 

Man is a mirror to the Divine Names in three aspects.

 

The First Aspect: just as the darkness of the night shows up light, so too through his weakness and impotence, his poverty and need, his defects and faults, man makes known the power, strength, riches, and mercy of an All-Powerful One of Glory, and so on... he acts as a mirror to numerous Divine attributes in this way. Even, through searching for a point of support in his infinite impotence and boundless weakness in the face of his innumerable enemies, his conscience perpetually looks to the Necessarily Existent One. And since he is compelled in his utter poverty and endless need to seek for a point of assistance in the face of his innumerable aims, his conscience in that respect all the time leans on the Court of an All-Compassionate One of Riches and opens its hands in supplication to Him. That is to say, in regard to this point of support and point of assistance in the conscience, two small windows are opened onto the Court of Mercy of the All-Powerful and All-Compassionate One which may all the time be looked through.

 

The Second Aspect of being mirror-like is this: through particulars like his partial knowledge, power, senses of sight and hearing, ownership and sovereignty, which are sorts of samples given to him, man acts as a mirror to the knowledge, power, sight, hearing, and sovereignty of Dominicality of the Master of the Universe; he understands them and makes them known. For example, he says: "Just as I make this house and know how to make it, and I see it and own it and administer it, so also the mighty palace of the universe has a Maker. That Maker knows it, sees it, makes it, administers it." And so on..

 

The Third Aspect of being mirror-like: man acts as a mirror to the Divine Names the imprint of which are upon him. There are more than seventy Names the impresses of which are apparent in man's comprehensive nature. These have been described to a degree at the start of the Third Stopping Place of the Thirty-Second Word. For example, from his creation, man shows the Names of Maker and Creator, from his 'Most Excellent of Patterns', the Names of Most Merciful and All-Compassionate, and from the fine way he is nurtured and raised, the Names of All-Generous and Granter of Favours, and so on; he shows the differing impresses of different Names through all his members and faculties, all his organs and substances, all his subtle senses and faculties, all his feelings and emotions. That is to say, just as among the Names there is a Greatest Name, so too among the impresses of those Names there is a greatest impress, and that is man.

 

O you man who considers himself to be a true man! Read yourself! Otherwise it is possible you will a man who is either animal-like or inanimate!

 

SECOND POINT

 

This points to an important mystery of Divine Oneness. It is like this:

 

The relationship between man's spirit and his body is such that it causes all his members and parts to assist one another. That is, man's spirit is a commanding law from among the laws pertaining to creation - the manifestation of Divine Will - which has been clothed in external existence, and is a subtle Dominical faculty. Thus, in administering the parts of the body, and hearing their immaterial voices, and seeing their needs, they do not form obstacles to one another, nor do they confuse the spirit. Near and far are the same in relation to the spirit. They do not veil one another. If the spirit wishes, it can bring the majority to the assistance of one. If it wishes, it can know, perceive, and administer through each part of the body. Even, if it acquires great luminosity, it may see and hear through all the parts.

 

In the same way, And God's is highest similitude,43 since the spirit, a commanding law of Almighty God's, displays this ability in the body and members of man, who is the microcosm, for sure, the boundless acts, the innumerable voices, the endless supplications, the uncountable matters in the universe, which is the macrocosm, will present no difficulty to the all-embracing Will and absolute Power of the Necessarily Existent One. They will not form obstacles to one another. They will not occupy that All-Glorious Creator, nor confuse Him. He sees them all simultaneously, and hears all the voices simultaneously. Close and distant are the same for Him. If He wishes, He sends all to the assistance of one. He can see everything and hear their voices through everything. He knows everything through everything, and so on...

 

THIRD POINT

 

Life has a most important nature and significant function, but since it has been discussed in detail in the Window on Life [the Twenty-Third Window] and in the Eighth Phrase of the Twentieth Letter, we refer you to those, and here only make the following reminder.

 

The impresses in life, which, intermingled, boil up in the form of emotions, point to numerous Names and essential Divine qualities. They act as mirrors reflecting the essential qualities of the Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One in most brilliant fashion. But this is not the time to explain this mystery to those who do not recognize God or do not yet fully affirm Him, and so we here close this door...

 

 

Thirty-Second Window

 

It is He Who has sent His Prophet with Guidance and the Religion of Truth to make it prevail over all religion, and God is sufficient as witness.44 * Say: Oh men! I am sent unto you all as the Prophet of God, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, there is no God but He; it is He Who gives life and death.45

 

This is the Window of the Prophet Muhammed (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the Sun of the skies of prophethood, indeed, the Sun of suns. Since it has been proved in the Thirty-First Word, the Treatise on the Ascension, in the Nineteenth Word, the Treatise on the Prophethood of Muhammed (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and in Nineteen Signs of the Nineteenth Letter, how luminous and evident is this most brilliant, most large, and most light-giving window, we shall think of those two Words, and that Letter and its Nineteenth Sign, and refer the word to them. For now we just say this:

 

Muhammed (Peace and blessings be upon him), the living, articulate proof of Divine Unity, demonstrated and proclaimed Divine Unity throughout his life with the two wings of prophethood and sainthood, that is, with a strength that comprised the consensus of all the prophets who had preceded him and the unanimity of the saints and purified scholars who came after him. And he opened a window onto knowledge of God as broad and brilliant and luminous as the World of Islam. Millions of purified and veracious scholars like Imam Ghazzali, Imam-i Rabbani, Muhyiddin al-Arabi, and Abdulkadir Geylani look through that Window, and show it also to others. Is there a veil that can obscure a Window such as this? And can the person who accusingly does not look through this Window be said to possess reason? Come on, you say!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty-Third Window

 

Praise be to God, Who has revealed to His servant the Book, and has allowed no crookedness therein.46 * Alif. Lam. Ra. A Book which We have revealed to you, in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness into light.47

 

Think of all the Windows we have mentioned as being a few drops from the ocean of the Qur'an, then you will be able to compare how many lights of Divine Unity like the water of life there are in the Qur'an. But even if the Qur'an, the source and origin and fountain of all those Windows, is considered in an extremely brief and most simple manner, it still forms a most brilliant, luminous, comprehensive Window. To see how certain and shining and luminous this Window is, we refer you to the Treatise on the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, the Twenty-Fifth Word, and to the Eighteenth Sign of the Nineteenth Letter. And beseeching the Merciful Throne of the All-Glorious One, Who sent us the Qur'an, we say:

 

Oh our Sustainer! Do not take us to task if we forget or unwittingly do wrong!48 * Oh our Sustainer! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have guided us!49 * Oh our Sustainer! Accept this from us; indeed You are the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing!50 * And turn unto us; for You are the Oft-Returning, Most Compassionate.51

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Note

 

God willing, this Thirty-Third Letter of Thirty-Three Windows will bring to belief those without belief, strengthen the belief of those whose belief is weak, make certain the belief of those whose belief is strong but imitative, give greater breadth to the belief of those whose belief is certain, lead to progress in knowledge of God - the basis and means of all true perfection - for those whose belief has breadth, and open up more brilliant vistas for them. You cannot say, therefore, that "One window is enough for me." Because if your reason is satisfied, your heart wants its share as well, and so also does your spirit want its share. The imagination too will want its share of that light. As a consequence, the other Windows are also necessary, for each contains different benefits.

 

In the Treatise on the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), it was primarily the believer who was being addressed, while the atheist was in the position of listener. But in this treatise, it is the denier who is addressed, while it is the believer in the position of listener. This must be taken into consideration when looking at it.

 

Unfortunately, due to an important reason, this letter was written with extreme speed and has also remained in the state of the first draft. There will certainly therefore be some irregularities and defects in the way it is expressed, which are due to me. I request of my brothers then that they look at it with tolerance, and correct it if they are able, and pray for my forgiveness.

 

Peace be on those who follow Guidance, and may those who follow their own desires be censured.

 

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.52

 

Oh God, grant blessings and peace to the one whom You sent as a Mercy to All the Worlds, and to his Family and Companions, and grant them peace. Amen.