Look, then, to the signs of God's mercy-how He restores life to
the earth after its death-verily He it is Who quickens the dead, for He is
powerful over all things(Quran,
30;50)
A fine point concerning this mighty verse, together with
another about the following mighty verse,
God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self
Subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep,
together with a manifestation of the Name of Ever-Living, which
is the Greatest Name or one of the two lights of the Greatest Name or one light
of its six lights, appeared to my mind in the distance in the month of Shawwal
in Eskisehir Prison. I did not record it, for at the time I was unable to
swiftly capture that sacred bird. Now after it has drawn away, I shall at least
point out briefly by means of a number of `Signs' a few rays of that supreme
truth and sublime light.
The index-like answer to the questions "What is life?" "What is
its true nature and purpose?", which are a greatest manifestation of the Names
of Ever-Living and Giver of Life, is this:
Life is:
- the most important aim of the universe;
- and its greatest result;
- and its most brilliant light;
- and its subtlest leaven;
- and its distilled essence;
- and its most perfect fruit;
- and its most elevated perfection;
- and its finest beauty
- and its most beautiful adornment;
- and the secret of its undividedness;
- and the bond of its unity;
- and the source of its perfections;
- and in regard to art and nature, a most wondrous being endowed with
spirit;
- and a miraculous reality which makes the tiniest creature like a universe;
- and in addition to its being the means of the universe being situated in a
tiny animate creature, and its showing a sort of index of the huge universe in
the creature, it is a most extraordinary miracle of Divine power which
connects the animate creature to most beings and makes it a tiny universe;
- and it is a wondrous Divine art which enlarges a tiny part to being the
greatest whole and makes a particular like a universal or world, and shows
that in regard to dominicality the universe is an indivisible whole or
universal that cannot be broken into parts and which accepts no participation;
- and it is the most brilliant, the most decisive, the most perfect of
proofs testifying to the necessary existence of the Ever-Living and Self
Subsistent One; and among Divine artefacts is the lightest and most apparent,
and the most valuable and the most abundant, and the purest, most shining, and
most meaningful embroidery of dominical art;
- and it is a graceful, refined, delicate manifestation of Divine mercy
which makes other beings serve itself;
- and it is a most comprehensive mirror of the Divine attributes;
- and it is a wonder of dominical creation comprising the manifestations of
numerous Most Beautiful Names like Merciful, Provider, Compassionate,
Munificent, and All-Wise, which subjects to itself many truths like
sustenance, wisdom, grace, and mercy, and is the source and origin of all the
senses like sight, hearing, and touch;
- and life is a transformation-machine in the vast workshop of the universe
which continuously cleanses everywhere, purifies, allows progress, and
illuminates. And living bodies, the dwellings of life, are guest-houses,
schools, barracks for instructing and illuminating the caravans of particles,
enabling them to perform their duties. Quite simply the EverLiving
Self-Subsistent One makes subtle this dark, transient, lowly world,
illuminates it and gives it a sort of permanence, preparing it to go to
another, everlasting world;
- and life's two faces, that is, its inner and outer faces, are both
shining, elevated, and without dirt or defect. It is an exceptional creature
on which apparent causes have not been placed, veiling the disposal of power,
in order to show clearly that it has emerged directly without veil or means
from the hand of dominical power;
- and the reality of life looks to the six pillars of belief, proving them
in meaning and indirectly. That is to say, it is a luminous truth which looks
to and proves
- both the necessary existence of the Necessarily Existent One and His
eternal life,
- and the realm of the Hereafter and everlasting life,
- and the existence of the angels,
- and the other pillars of belief.
- Also, just as life is the purest essence of the universe, distilled from
all of it, so is it a mighty mystery yielding thanks, worship, praise, and
love, the most important Divine purposes in the universe and most important
results of the world's creation.
- So consider these twenty-nine significant, valuable characteristics of
life, and elevated, general duties. Then look and see the tremendousness of
the Name of Ever-Living behind the Name of Giver of Life. Understand too how
with these immense characteristics and fruits of life, the Name of Ever-Living
is a Greatest Name.
Also understand that since life is the greatect result of the
universe, and its greatest aim and most valuable fruit, life too must have a
great aim and result as vast as the universe. For like the tree's result is its
fruit, the fruit's result, too, by means of the seed, is a future tree. Yes,
just as the aim and result of this life is eternal life, one of its fruits too
is thanks to the Ever-Living Giver of Life and worship and praise of Him and
love for Him. And just as this thanks, love, praise and worship are the fruit of
life, so are they the aim of the universe.
Understand also from this, with what ugly ignorance and denial,
indeed, unbelief, those who say that the purpose of life is "to live
comfortably, enjoy oneself heedlessly, and indulge oneself in pleasure"
denigrate and insult the most valuable bounty of life, gift of consciousness,
and bounty of reason, and what ghastly ingratitude they display.