From the Risale-i Nur Collection

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the transient and fluctuating phenomena we see here will yield the fruit of eternal and immutable
form.
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6. You will find what this Aspect alludes to in the Ninth Truth. The vernal equinox is equivalent to the beginning of
spring. As for the green plain covered with flowers, this is the face of the earth in springtime. The changing scenes
and spectacles are an allusion to the different groups of vernal beings, the classes of summer creation, and the
sustenance for men and animals, that the All-Powerful and Glorious Maker, the All-Wise and Beauteous Creator,
from the beginning of spring to the end of summer, brings forth in orderly succession, renews with the utmost
compassion, and dispatches uninterruptedly.
The Words / Tenth Word – p.67
All the variations we observe in this world are then, for the sake of a supreme happiness, a lofty
tribunal, for the sake of exalted aims as yet unknown to us.
• Eleventh Aspect: Come, o obstinate friend! Let us embark on a plane or a train travelling east
or west, that is, to the past or the future. Let us see what miraculous works that being has
accomplished in other places. Look, there are marvels on every hand like the dwellings, open
spaces and exhibitions we see. But they all differ with respect to art and to form. Note well,
however, what order betokening manifest wisdom, what indications ïf evident compassion, what
signs of lofty justice, and what fruits of comprehensive mercy, are to be seen in these transient
dwellings, these impermanent open spaces, these fleeting exhibitions. Anyone not totally devoid
of insight will understand a certainty that no wisdom can be imagined more perfect than his, no
providence more beauteous than his, no compassion more comprehensive than his, and no justice
more glorious than his.
If, for the sake of argument, as you imagine, no permanent abodes, lofty places, fixed stations,
lasting residences, or resident and contented population existed in the sphere of his kingdom; and
if the truths of his wisdom, compassion, mercy and justice had no realm in which to manifest
themselves fully (for this impermanent kingdom is no place for their full manifestation) – then we
would be obliged to deny the wisdom we see, to deny the compassion we observe, to deny the
mercy that is in front of our eyes, and to deny the justice the signs of which are evident. This
would be as idiotic as denying the sun, the light of which we clearly see at midday. We would
also have to regard the one from whom proceed all these wise measures we see, all these
generous acts, all these merciful gifts, as a vile gambler or treacherous tyrant (God forbid!). This
would be to turn truth on its head. And turning a truth into its opposite is impossible, according to
the unanimous testimony of all rational beings, excepting only the idiot sophists who deny
everything.
There is, then, a realm apart from the present one. In it, there is a supreme tribunal, a lofty place
of justice, an exalted place of reward, where all this compassion, wisdom, mercy and justice will
be made fully manifest.
• Twelfth Aspect: Come, let us return now. We will speak with the chiefs and officers of these
various groups, and looking at their equipment will inquire whether that equipment has been
given them only for the sake of subsisting for a brief period in that realm, or whether it has been
given for the sake of obtaining a long life of bliss in another realm. Let us see. We cannot look at everyone and his equipment. But by way of example, let us look at the identity card and register
of this officer. On his card, his rank, salary, duty, supplies and instructions are recorded. See, this
rank has not been awarded him for just a few days; it may be given for a prolonged
The Words / Tenth Word – p.68
period. It says on his card: “You will receive so much salary on such-and-such a day from the
treasury.” But the date in question will not arrive for a long time to come, after this realm has
been vacated. Similarly, the duty mentioned on his card has not been given for this temporary
realm, but rather for the sake of earning a permanent felicity in the proximity of the king. Then,
too, the supplies awarded him cannot be merely for the sake of subsisting in this hospice of a few
days’ duration; they can only be for the sake of a long and happy life. The instructions make it
quite clear that he is destined for a different place, that he is working for another realm.
Now look at these registers. They contain instructions for the use and disposition of weapons and
equipment. If there were no realm other than this, one exalted and eternal, that register with its
categorical instructions and that identity card with its clear information, would both be quite
meaningless. Further, that respected officer, that noble commander, that honoured chief, would
fall to a degree lower than that of all men; he would be more wretched, luckless, abased, afflicted,
indigent and weak than everyone. Apply the same principle to everything. Whatever you look
upon bears witness that after this transient world another and eternal world exists.
O friend! This temporary world is like a field. It is a place of instruction, a market. Without doubt
a supreme tribunal and ultimate happiness will succeed it. If you deny this, you will be obliged
also to deny the identity cards of all the officers, their equipment and their orders; in fact, you
will have to deny too all the order existing in the country, the existence of a government in it and
all the measures that the government takes. Then you will no longer deserve the name of man or
the appellation of conscious. You will be more of a fool than the sophists.
Beware, do not imagine that the proofs of the transfer of creation from one realm to another are
restricted to these twelve. There are indications and proofs beyond counting and enumeration, all
showing that this impermanent, changing kingdom will be transformed into a permanent and
immutable realm. There are also innumerable signs and evidences that men will be taken from
this temporary hospice and sent to the eternal seat of rule of all creation.
I will show one proof in particular that is stronger than all the twelve aspects taken together.
Come now, look, in the midst of the great assembly visible in the distance the same noble
commander whom we previously saw on the island, adorned with numerous decorations, is
making an announcement. Let us go and listen. See, that luminous and most noble commander is
conveying a supreme edict, beautifully inscribed. He says:
“Prepare yourselves; you will go to another and permanent realm, a realm
The Words / Tenth Word – p.69 such that this one will appear as a dungeon by comparison. You will go to the seat of rule of our
king, and there receive his compassion and his bounty, if you heed this edict well and obey it. But
if you rebel and disobey it, you will be cast into awesome dungeons.” Such is the message that he
conveys. If you look at the decree, you will see that it bears such a miraculous seal that it cannot
in any way be imitated. Everyone apart from idiots such as yourself knows of a certainty that the
decree is from the king. Moreover, the noble commander bears such bright decorations that
everyone except those blind like yourself understands full well that he is the veracious conveyer
of the king’s orders.
Is it at all possible that the teaching of transfer from one realm to another, challengingly
conveyed by that noble commander in the supreme edict he has received, should at all be open to
objection? No, it is not possible, unless we deny all that we have seen.
Now, o friend, it is your turn to speak. Say what you have to say.
“What should I say? What can be said to contradict all of this? Who can speak against the sun at
midday? I say only: Praise be to God. A hundred thousand thanks that I have been saved from the
dominance of fancy and vain imagination, and delivered from an eternal dungeon and prison. I
have come to believe that there is an abode of felicity in the proximity of the monarch, separate
from this confused and impermanent hospice.”
Our comparison indicating the truth of resurrection and the hereafter is now complete. Now with
God’s grace, we will pass on to the most exalted truth. We shall set forth twelve interrelated
Truths, corresponding to the twelve Aspects discussed above, as well as an Introduction.

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The Words / Tenth Word – Introduction – p.70
Introduction
[By means of a few indications, we refer here to several matters explained elsewhere,
that is, in the Twenty-Second, Nineteenth and Twenty-Sixth Words.]
• First Indication
The foolish man in the previous story and his trustworthy companion correspond to three other
pairs:
• The instinctual soul and the heart;
• The students of philosophy and the pupils of the All-Wise Qur’an;
• The people of unbelief and the community of Islam.
The worst error and misguidance of the students of philosophy, the people of unbelief and the
instinctual soul, lies in not recognizing God. Just as in the preceding story the trustworthy man
said, “there can be no letter without a scribe, no law without a legislator,” we too say the following:
A book, particularly one in each word of which a minute pen has inscribed another whole book,
and in each letter of which a fine pen has traced a poem, cannot be without a writer; this would be
entirely impossible. So too this cosmos cannot be without its inscriber; this is impossible to the
utmost degree. For the cosmos is precisely such a book that each of its pages includes many other
books, each of its words contains a book, and each of its letters contains a poem. The face of the
earth is but a single page in the book of the cosmos. See how many books it contains. Every fruit
is a letter, and every seed is a dot. In that dot is contained the index of the whole tree in its
vastness. A book such as this can have been inscribed only by the mighty pen of a Possessor of
Glory Who enjoys the attributes of splendour and beauty, and Who is the holder of infinite
wisdom and power. Faith, then, follows inevitably on the observation of the world, unless one is
drunk on misguidance.
Similarly, a house cannot arise without a builder, particularly a house adorned with miraculous
works of art, wondrous designs, and amazing ornaments. As much art has been put into one of its
stones as into a whole palace. No intelligence will accept that it could arise without a builder;
definitely it needs a master architect. Moreover, within the building, veritable
The Words / Tenth Word – Introduction – p.71
rooms take shape and change each hour with the utmost order and ease, just as if clothes were
being changed, or as if scenes were passing across a cinema screen. We can say even that
numerous little rooms are constantly being created in each of those scenes.
In like manner, the cosmos also requires an infinitely wise, all-knowing and all-powerful maker.
For the magnificent cosmos is a palace that has the sun and the moon as its lamps and the stars as
its candles; time is like a rope or ribbon hung within it, on to which the Glorious Creator each
year threads a new world. And within the world that He thus threads on the string of time He
places three hundred and sixty fresh and orderly forms. He changes them with the utmost
orderliness and wisdom. He has made the face of the earth a bounteous spread that He adorns
each spring with three hundred thousand species of creation, that He fills with innumerable kinds
of generous gifts. This He does in such a fashion that they all stand apart from each other, quite
separate and distinct, despite their being at the same time so close and intermingled. Is it possible
to overlook the existence of the Maker of such a palace?
Again, to deny the existence of the sun, on a cloudless day at noon, when its traces are to be
observed and its reflection is to be seen in every bubble on the surface of the ocean, in every
shining object on dry land, and in every particle of snow – to make such a denial would be to rave
like the deranged. For if one denied and refused to accept the existence of the single, unique sun,
he would be compelled to accept the existence of a whole series of minor suns, each real and
existent in its own right, as numerous as the drops and bubbles of the ocean, as countless as the
particles of snow. It would be necessary to believe that each minute particle contains a huge sun,
even though the particle is large enough only to contain itself. It would be an even greater sign of
lunacy and misguidance to refuse one’s assent to the attributes of perfection of the Glorious
Creator, even while beholding the well-ordered cosmos that is constantly changing in wise and
regular fashion, that is being ceaselessly renewed in disciplined manner. This, too, would be like the ravings of a lunatic, since it would then become necessary to believe and accept that absolute
divinity is present in all things, even a particle. For every particle of air is somehow able to enter
and work its effects upon every flower, fruit and leaf, and unless the particle be entrusted with
this task by a Creator, it must know of itself the structure and form of all the objects it penetrates
and affects. In other words, it must possess all-encompassing power and knowledge.
Every particle of soil is potentially capable of giving rise to all the different seeds that exist. If it
is not acting under command, it must contain within itself equipment and instruments
corresponding to all the various trees and plants in the world. Or, to put it differently, one must
attribute to the particle
The Words / Tenth Word – Introduction – p.72
such artistry and power that it is aware of the structure of each of them, knows the forms that
each of them is caused to assume, and is capable of fashioning those forms. The same is true with
respect to the particle and other realms of creation.
From this you can understand that in all things there are numerous and manifest proofs of God’s
Unity. To create all things from one thing, and to make all things into one thing, is a task possible
only for the Creator of all things. Pay heed to the sublime declaration: “There is naught but
proclaims His Glory with praise.” For if one does not accept God, the One and Unique, one must
accept gods as numerous as created beings.
• Second Indication
In our story, we made mention of a Most Noble Commander and said that whoever is not blind
and sees his decorations and medals will understand that he acts in accordance with the
commands of a monarch and is his favoured servant. Now that Most Noble Commander is the
Most Noble Messenger of God, may peace and blessings be upon him. The sacred Creator of so
ornamented a cosmos must of necessity have a Noble Messenger, just as the sun must of
necessity have light. For the sun cannot exist without giving light, and Divinity cannot be without
showing itself through the sending of prophets. Is it at all possible that a beauty of utter
perfection should not desire to manifest itself by means of one who will demonstrate and display
it?
Is it at all possible that a perfection of beauteous artistry should not desire to make itself known
by means of a herald that will draw men’s gazes upon it?
Is it at all possible that the universal monarchy of all-embracing dominicality should not desire to
announce its unity and eternal besoughtedness throughout the different levels of multiplicity and
particularity by means of an envoy possessing two aspects? By the two aspects, we mean that he
is both the envoy of the realm of multiplicity to the Divine Court, by virtue of his universal
worship, and also the messenger of the Divine Court to the realm of multiplicity, by virtue of his
closeness to God and being entrusted with His message.
Is it at all possible that a possessor of infinite inherent beauty should not wish both to behold
himself and to display to others, in numerous mirrors, the charms of his beauty and the allurements of his fairness? God’s Messenger is His beloved, making himself beloved of Him by
means of his worship and holding up a mirror to Him, and he is also the bearer of His message,
making Him beloved of men and demonstrating to them the beauty of His Names.
Is it at all possible that the owner of treasuries full of wondrous miracles, rare and valuable items,
should not wish and desire to display them to men’s

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The Words / Tenth Word – Introduction – p.73
gaze by means of an expert jeweller, and eloquent describer, thereby revealing his hidden
perfections?
Is it at all possible that the One Who manifests the perfection of all His Names in the cosmos by
means of artful adornment for men to look upon, so that the cosmos comes to resemble a palace
decorated with all kinds of wondrous and subtle art, should not also designate a teacher and a
guide to the wonders of his creation?
Is it at all possible that the Lord of the cosmos should not solve, by means of a messenger, the
complex talisman of the aim and purpose of all the changes that take place in the cosmos, and the
riddle contained in the three difficult questions posed by all beings: “What is our origin? What is
our destination? What is our purpose?”
Is it at all possible that the Glorious Maker Who makes Himself known to sentient beings by
means of His fair creation, and Who makes himself loved by means of His precious bounties,
should not also communicate to sentient beings, by means of a messenger, what His pleasure
desires of them in exchange?
Is it at all possible that God should create mankind in a form predisposing it to suffer the
consciousness of multiplicity but also containing the ability to engage in universal worship,
without at the same time wishing to turn it away from multiplicity to unity, by means of a teacher
and guide?
There are numerous other functions of prophethood, each of which is a decisive proof that
Divinity necessarily implies messengership.
Did anyone ever appear in the world more worthy and more in possession of the abovementioned
qualities and functions than Muhammad, the Arabian Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon
him? Has time ever shown us one more fitting and suited to the rank of messengerhood and the
task of conveying God’s message? No, by no means! He is the master of all messengers, the
foremost of all prophets, the leader of all pure ones, the closest to God of all those who have
drawn nigh unto Him, the most perfect of all creatures, the monarch of all guides to
righteousness.
Quite apart from the countless indications of his prophethood deriving from more than a thousand
miracles, such as the splitting of the moon and the flowing of water from his fingers, that all
scholars unanimously confirm, the supreme miracle of the Glorious Qur’an -an ocean of truth and
a book miraculous in forty different respects- is itself enough to demonstrate his prophethood as
clearly as the sun. Since we discuss the forty different aspects of the Qur’an’s miraculousness in other treatises, particularly the Twenty-Fifth Word, we curtail our discussion of the matter here.
The Words / Tenth Word – First Truth – p.74
• Third Indication
Let it not be thought that petty man is too insignificant for this vast world to be brought to an end
and another realm to be unfolded simply for the sake of his being brought to account. For
apparently petty man bears great importance as the master of all creatures, by virtue of the
comprehensiveness of his disposition, as the herald of God’s monarchy, and the manifester of
universal worship. Also let nobody ask: “How can one earn eternal torment in the course of a
very brief life?” For unbelief seeks to drag creation, something as valuable and exalted as a letter
written by God, down to the depths of meaninglessness and purposelessness. It is an insult to all
being, since it denies and rejects the manifestations and impresses of God’s Sacred Names that
are visible in all being, and it seeks to negate all the infinite proofs that demonstrate the veracity
and truthfulness of God Almighty. Hence, unbelief is a crime of infinite proportions, deserving of
infinite punishment.
• Fourth Indication
In the story, we saw by means of twelve aspects that a king who had one realm resembling a
transient hospice must of a necessity have another realm, one eternal and permanent, manifesting
his splendour and the sublimity of his power. In the same way, it is not at all possible that the
Eternal Creator of the transient world should not create also an eternal realm. It is not possible
that the Everlasting Maker of this fine but unstable cosmos, should not create another cosmos,
permanent and lasting. It is not possible that the Wise, Powerful and Merciful Creator of this
world, which is like an exhibition, or a testing-ground, or a field, should not create also a
hereafter in which the purposes of this world shall be made manifest. Entry is to be had to this
truth by means of twelve gates, and the twelve gates are to be unlocked by means of twelve other
truths. We will begin with the shortest and simplest of them.
FIRST TRUTH
The Gate of Dominicality and Sovereignty,
the Manifestation of the Name of Sustainer
Is it at all possible that the glory of God’s dominicality and His Divine sovereignty should create
a cosmos such as this, in order to display His perfections, with such lofty aims and elevated
purposes, without establishing a reward for those believers who through faith and worship
respond to these aims and purposes? Or that He should not punish those misguided ones who
treat His purposes with rejection and scorn?
The Words / Tenth Word – Second Truth – p.75
SECOND TRUTH

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The Gate of Generosity and Mercy,
the Manifestation of the Names of Generous and Merciful
Is it at all possible that the Lord of this world, Who in His works demonstrates infinite generosity,
infinite mercy, infinite splendour and infinite glory, should not give reward in a manner befitting
His generosity and mercy, and not punish in a manner befitting His splendour and glory? If one
looks at the disposition of affairs in this world, one sees that all animate beings -from the weakest
to the most powerful- are given some fitting form of sustenance.
7
Indeed, the weakest and most
powerless are given the best form of sustenance. This largesse and bounty is distributed with such
lofty generosity that a hand of infinite generosity is manifestly at work.
For example, in the spring, all the trees are garbed in clothes as fine as silk, just like the houris in
Paradise; they are encrusted with flowers and fruits, as if with jewels, and caused to offer us
numerous varieties of the choicest fruits, on branches delicately outstretched like the hands of a
servant. Similarly, we are given wholesome and sweet honey to eat, from the hand of the bee
with its sting; we are clothed in the finest and softest of clothes by means of an insect that has no
hands; and within a small seed a great treasure of mercy is preserved for us. It is self-evident that
all of this is the effect of a most beauteous generosity, a most delicate sense of mercy.
Then, too, the fact that, with the exception of man and certain wild animals, all things, from the
sun, the moon and earth to the smallest of creatures, perform their functions with the utmost
exactitude, do not overstep their bounds by an inch, and observe a universal obedience in a spirit
of great awe – this shows that they act by the command of a Possessor of great glory and dignity.
It is also apparent that the fashion in which all mothers, in the vegetable, animal and human
realms, succour their weak and powerless infants with the delicate nurture of milk, in tender
compassion, is a manifestation of God’s all-embracing mercy.
8
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7. All licit nourishment is obtained not through the exercise of strength, but through the existence of need. The
decisive proof of this is that powerless infants enjoy the finest of livelihoods, while strong wild beasts suffer from all
kinds of deficiency, and that fish, for all their lack of intelligence, wax fat, while the cunning fox and monkey remain
thin in their quest for livelihood. There is, therefore, an inverse relationship between sustenance on the one hand and
strength and will power on the other. The more one relies on strength and will power the more difficult it will be to
sustain one’s livelihood.
8. The fact that a hungry lion will prefer its offspring to itself, and give to it a piece of meat it would otherwise have
eaten; that the cowardly rabbit will attack a lion in order to protect its young; that the fig-tree contents itself with
mud while giving pure milk to its offspring, the fruit – this shows to anyone not blind that they act in accordance with
the commands of a Being infinitely merciful, generous and solicitous. Again, the fact that even unconscious plants
and beasts function in the wisest and most conscious of fashions demostrates irrefutably that One Utterly Knowing
and All- Wise has set them to work, and that they are acting in His name.
The Words / Tenth Word – Second Truth – p.76
Since the master of this world has, then, such infinite generosity, mercy, splendour and glory, it
follows that His infinite glory and splendour require the chastisement of the discourteous; that
His infinite generosity requires infinite bounty, and His infinite mercy requires a bestowal of
favour worthy of itself. Now in this transitory world and brief life, only a millionth part of all this, like one drop from the ocean, establishes and manifests itself. There must therefore be a
realm of blessedness appropriate to that generosity and worthy of that mercy. One would
otherwise have to deny the existence of the mercy that is visible to us, and this would be like
denying the existence of the sun that fills every day with its light. For irrevocable death would
transform compassion into disaster, love into affliction, blessing into vengeance, intellect into a
tool of misery, and pleasure into pain, so that the very essence of God’s mercy would vanish.
There must in addition be a realm of punishment appropriate to God’s glory and dignity. For
generally the oppressor leaves this world while still in possession of his might, and the oppressed
while still subjected to humiliation. These matters are therefore deferred for the attention of a
supreme tribunal; it is not that they are neglected. It sometimes happens too that punishment is
enacted in this world. The torments suffered by disobedient and rebellious peoples in previous
centuries show that man is not left to his own devices, and that he is always subject to the blows
that God’s splendour and majesty may choose to inflict on him.
Is it at all possible that man should have the most important duty in all of creation and be
endowed with the most important capacities; that man’s Sustainer should make Himself known to
him with all His well-ordered works, and man should then fail to recognize Him in return by way
of worship – or that God should make Himself beloved of men through the numerous adorned
fruits of His mercy, and man should then fail to make himself beloved of God through worship –
or that God should demonstrate His love and mercy to man through His variegated bounties and
man should then fail to respect Him with thanks and with praise – is it at all possible that man
should remain unpunished, left to his own devices, or that that powerful Possessor of splendour
and glory should not make ready for him a realm of requital?
Is it at all possible, on the other hand, that He should not prepare a realm of reward and eternal
bliss for those believers who respond to the Merciful and Compassionate One’s making Himself
known by recognizing Him in faith; to His making Himself beloved by loving Him in worship;
and to His mercy by offering thanks and veneration?

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The Words / Tenth Word – Third Truth – p.77
THIRD TRUTH
The Gate of Wisdom and Justice,
the Manifestation of the Names of Wise and Just
Is it at all possible
9
that the Lord of Glory, Who demonstrates His dominical sovereignty in the
wisdom and order, the justice and equilibrium that pervade all things, from the atom to the sun,
should not bestow favour on those believers who seek refuge beneath the protective wing of His
dominicality, who believe in His Wisdom and Justice, and whose acts are for the purpose of
worshipping Him?
Again, is it possible that He should not chastise those rude and discourteous men who disbelieve
in His wisdom and justice, and rebel against Him in insolence? Now not even a thousandth part
of that wisdom and justice is exercised with respect to man, in this transient world; it is rather
deferred. Most of the people of misguidance leave this world unpunished, and most of the people of guidance leave it unrewarded. All things are, then, postponed for a supreme tribunal, an
ultimate bliss.
Yes, it is apparent that the Being Who controls this world does so in accordance with an infinite
wisdom. Do you require a proof? It is the preservation of interest and benefit in all things. Do you
not see that numerous wise benefits are intended in all the limbs, bones and veins of man, even in
the cells of his brain and in every particle of his body? Do you not see that from certain limbs
wise benefits are to be had as numerous as the fruits of a tree? All of this shows that matters are
done in accordance with infinite wisdom. The existence of the utmost regularity in the making of
all things is a proof of the same truth.
The compression of the exact programme of development of a beautiful flower into a minute
seed, the inscription on a small seed by the pen of destiny of the scroll of deeds of a tree, its lifehistory and list of equipment, show that a pen of utmost wisdom is at work.
The existence of a high degree of fine artistry in all things proves that there exists also the
impress of an infinitely Wise Maker. Further, the
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9. The sentence “is it at all possible?” is indeed repeated many times, because it expresses a most significant mystery.
Misguidance and lack of belief generally spring from the habit of imagining things to be impossible, far removed
from the realm of reason, and therefore denying them. Now in this discussion of resurrection it has been decisively
demonstrated that true impossiblity, absurdity and irrationality pertain to the path of misbelief and the road of
misguidance, whereas true possibility, facility and rationality are characteristics of the path of faith and highway of
Islam.
In short, the philosophers tend to unbelief on account of their regarding things as impossible, whereas the Tenth
Word (discussion of resurrection), by means of the repeated sentence, “is it at all possible?” shows where
impossibility lies, and thus deals them a blow in the mouth.
The Words / Tenth Word – Fourth Truth – p.78
inclusion within the minute body of man of an index of all being, of the keys to all the treasuries
of mercy, and of the mirrors of all the Divine Names, demonstrates the existence of wisdom
within that infinitely fine artistry. Now is it at all possible that the wisdom that thus permeates the
workings of dominicality should not wish eternally to favour those who seek refuge beneath the
wing of dominicality and who offer obedience in faith?
Do you wish for a proof that all things are done with justice and balance? The fact that all things
are endowed with being, given shape and put in their appropriate place in accordance with
precise equilibrium and in appropriate measure, shows that all matters are done in accordance
with infinite justice and balance.
Similarly, the fact that all things are given their rights in accordance with their disposition, that
they receive all the necessities of their being and all the requirements of life in the most fitting
form – this too is the sign left by a hand of infinite justice.
Again, the fact that answer is always given to every petition and request made by the tongue of disposition, and of natural need or necessity, demonstrates the existence of infinite justice and
wisdom.
Now is it at all possible that the justice and wisdom that hasten to relieve the pettiest need of the
smallest of creation should fail to provide immortality, the greatest need of man, the greatest of
creatures? That it should fail to respond to his greatest plea and cry for assistance? Or that it
should not preserve the dignity of God’s dominicality by preserving the rights of His servants?
Man, whose life is so brief, cannot experience the true essence of justice in this transient world; it
is for this reason that matters are postponed for a supreme tribunal. For true justice requires that
man, this apparently petty creature, should be rewarded and punished, not in accordance with his
pettiness, but in accordance with the magnitude of his crime, the importance of his nature and the
greatness of his function. Since this passing and transient world is far from manifesting such
wisdom and justice for man, who is created for eternity, of necessity there will be an eternal Hell
and everlasting Paradise of that Just and Awesome Possessor of Beauty, that Wise and Beauteous
Possessor of Awe

[Anonim]

FOURTH TRUTH
The Gate of Generosity and Beauty,
the Manifestation of the Names of Generous and Beautiful
Is it at all possible that infinite generosity and liberality, inexhaustible riches, unending treasures,
peerless and eternal beauty, flawless and everlasting perfection, should not require the existence
of grateful supplicants,
The Words / Tenth Word – Fourth Truth – p.79
yearning spectators and astounded onlookers, all destined to stay an eternity in an abode of bliss,
a place of repose? Yes, adorning the face of the world with all these objects of beauty, creating
the moon and the sun as its lamps, filling the surface of the earth with the finest varieties of
sustenance and thus making it a banquet of bounty, making fruit-trees into so many dishes, and
renewing them several times each season – all this shows the existence of infinite generosity and
liberality. Such unending liberality and generosity, such inexhaustible treasures of mercy, require
the existence of an abode of repose, a place of bliss, that shall be everlasting and contain all
desirable objects within it. They also require that those who enjoy such bliss should remain in
that abode of repose eternally, without suffering the pain of cessation and separation. For just as
the cessation of pain is a form of pleasure, so too the cessation of pleasure is a form of pain, one
that such infinite generosity is unwilling to countenance. It requires, then, the existence both of
an eternal paradise and of supplicants to abide in it eternally.
Infinite generosity and liberality desire to bestow infinite bounty and infinite kindness. The
bestowal of infinite bounty and infinite kindness require in turn infinite gratitude. This
necessitates the perpetual existence of those who receive all the kindness so that they can
demonstrate their thanks and gratitude for that perpetual bestowal and constant bounty. A petty
enjoyment, made bitter by cessation, and lasting for only a brief time, is not compatible with the requirements of generosity and liberality.
Look too at the different regions of the world, each like an exhibition where God’s crafts are
displayed. Pay attention to the dominical proclamations in the hands of all the plants and animals
on the face of the earth
10
and listen to the prophets and the saints, the heralds of the beauties of
dominicality. They unanimously display the flawless perfections of the Glorious Maker by
demonstrating His miraculous arts, and thus invite the gazes of men.
The Maker of this world has, then, most important, astounding and secret perfections. It is these
He wishes to display by means of His miraculous arts. For secret, flawless perfection wishes to
be manifested to those who will appreciate, admire and wonderingly gaze at it. Eternal perfection
requires eternal manifestation. Such eternal manifestation in turn requires the perpetual existence
of those who are to appreciate and admire it. The value of perfection will always sink in the view
of its admirer if he is devoid of perpetual existence.
11
Again, the beauteous, artistic, brilliant and
adorned creatures
____________________
10. The existence of a brightly designed and brilliantly adorned flower, a most artfully conceived and bejewelled
fruit on a twig as thin as a wire, affixed to a dry, bonelike tree – this is without doubt a proclamation to all animate
beings of the fine arts produced by a most skilled, wise and
miraculous maker. This holds true not only of the vegetable kingdom, but also of the animal realm.
11. There is a proverbial occurrence pertaining to this point. A celebrated beauty once expelled from her presence a
common man who had become infatuated with her. In order to console himself, he said, “how ugly she is!”, thus
denying her beauty.
Once a bear stood beneath a vine trellis, and wished to eat the grapes. But he was unable to reach out for the grapes,
or to climb up the trellis. So he said to himself, by way of consolation, “the grapes must be sour,” and growling went
on his way.
The Words / Tenth Word – Fourth Truth – p.80
that cover the face of the globe, bear witness to the fairness of a peerless, transcendent beauty,
and indicate the subtle charms of an unparalleled, hidden pulchritude, just as sunlight bears
witness to the sun.
12
Each manifestation of that sacred, transcendent beauty, indicates the
existence of countless hidden treasures in each of God’s Names. Now so exalted, peerless and
hidden a beauty, just as it desires to view its own fairness in a mirror and to behold the degrees
and measures of its beauty in an animate reflection, desires also to become manifest, in order to
look on its own beauty through the eyes of others. That is, it wishes to look at its own beauty in
two ways; firstly, by beholding itself in mirrors of variegated colour; secondly, through the gaze
of yearning witnesses to itself, of bewildered admirers of its beauty.
In short, beauty and fairness desire to see and be seen. Both of these require the existence of
yearning witnesses and bewildered admirers. And since beauty and fairness are eternal and
everlasting, their witnesses and admirers must have perpetual life. An eternal beauty can never be
satisfied with transient admirers. An admirer condemned to irreversible separation will find his
love turning to enmity once he conceives of separation. His admiration will yield to ridicule, his
respect to contempt. For just as obstinate man is an enemy to what is unknown to him, so too he
is opposed to all that lies beyond his reach, and love that is not infinite will respond to a beauty

[Anonim]

that deserves unending admiration with implicit enmity, hatred and rejection. From this we
understand the profound reason for the unbeliever’s enmity to God.
So endless generosity and liberality, peerless fairness and beauty, flawless perfection – all these
require the existence of eternally grateful and longing supplicants and admirers. But we see in
this hospice of the world that everyone quickly leaves and vanishes, having had only a taste of
that generosity, enough to whet his appetite but not to satiate him, and having seen only a dim
light coming from the perfection, or rather a faint shadow of its light, without in any way being
fully satisfied. It follows, then, that men are going toward a place of eternal joy where all will be
bestowed on them in full measure.
In short, just as this world, with all its creatures, decisively demonstrates the existence of the
Glorious Maker, so too do His sacred attributes and Names indicate, show and logically require,
the existence of the hereafter.
____________________
12. Although all beings that act as mirrors for God’s beauty constantly vanish and disappear, those that succeed them
display and manifest in their forms and features the same beauty and fairness. This shows that the beauty in question
does not belong to them; the visible instances of beauty are rather the signs and indications of a transcendent and
sacred beauty.
The Words / Tenth Word – Fifth Truth – p.81
FIFTH TRUTH
The gate of Compassion and Muhammadan Worship,
the Manifestation of the Names of
Answerer of Prayer and Compassionate
Is it at all possible that a Lord possessing infinite compassion and mercy, Who most
compassionately fulfils the smallest need of His lowliest creatures in the most unexpected
fashion, Who heeds the muffled plea for help of His most obscure creature, and Who responds to
all the petitions He hears, whether vocal or mute – is it at all possible that such a Lord should not
pay heed to the greatest petition of the foremost among His servants, the most beloved among his
creatures, that He should not hear and grant his most exalted prayer? The kindness and ease
manifested in the feeding and nurturing of weak and young animals show that the Monarch of the
cosmos exercises his dominicality with infinite mercy.
Is it at all possible that a compassion merciful to this degree in the exercise of dominicality
should not accept the prayer of the most virtuous and beautiful of all creation?
13
This truth is
explained in the Nineteenth Word, but let us repeat our statement of the matter here:
O friend listening to these words together with my own soul! We said in the comparison that a
meeting took place on a certain island, and a most noble commander delivered a speech there. In
order to find out the truth indicated in the comparison, come, let us depart from this age, and in
our mind and imagination travel to the Arabian Peninsula in the blessed age of the Prophet, in
order to visit and watch him while he is performing his duties and engaging in worship. See, just
as he is the means for the attainment of eternal bliss, by means of his messengerhood and
guidance, so too he is the cause for the existence of that bliss and the means for the creation of Paradise, by means of his worship and prayer.
Now see! That being is praying for eternal bliss in such supreme supplication, with such sublime
worship, that it is as if this island, or even the whole world, were praying and supplicating
together with him. For the worship he performs contains within itself not only the worship of the
community tha
____________________
13. He whose kingdom has lasted one thousand three hundred and fifty years, who has generally had more than three
hundred and fifty million subjects, to whom his subjects daily renew their pledge of allegiance and to whose
perfections they continually bear witness, whose commands are obeyed in perfect submission, whose spiritual hue
has colored half of the globe and a fifth of mankind, who is the beloved of men’s hearts and the educator of their
spirits – such a being is without doubt the greatest servant of the Lord Who holds sway over the universe. Also, since
most of the realms of beings applauded that being’s function and duty through each bearing the fruit of his miracles,
he is for sure the most beloved creature of the Fashioner of the cosmos. Similarly, the desire for perpetuity existing
in all men by virtue of their very nature, a desire that lifts men from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high,
is the greatest of all desires and petitions, fit to be presented to the Provider of all Needs only by the greatest among
His servants.
The Words / Tenth Word – Fifth Truth – p.82
follows him, but also that of all the other prophets, in its essential form, by virtue of the
correspondence existing between him and them. Moreover, he performs his supreme prayer and
offers his supplications in such a vast congregation that it is as if all luminous and perfect men,
from the time of Adam down to the present, were following him in prayer and saying “amen” to
his supplications!
14
He is praying for so universal a need -immortality- that not merely the people
of this earth, but also the inhabitants of the heavens and the entirety of creation are participating
in his supplications and silently proclaiming, “yes, o Lord! Grant his prayer; we too desire it.” He
petitions for everlasting bliss with such touching sadness, in so yearning, so longing, and so
pleading a fashion, that he causes the whole of the cosmos to weep and thus to share in his
prayer.
See, he desires and prays for bliss, for such a purpose and goal that he elevates man and all
creatures from captivity in the abysmal state of utter annihilation, from worthlessness,
uselessness, and purposelessness to the apex of preciousness, eternity, exalted function, and the
rank of being a script penned by God.
See, he makes his petition with such elevated plea for succour, makes his supplication with so
sweet a request for mercy, that it is as if he caused all beings, the heavens and God’s throne itself
to listen, and to echo his prayer ecstatically with cries of “amen, o Lord, amen!”
15
____________________
?

[Anonim]

15. Indeed, it is not at all possible that the Master of this world, all of Whose doings are self-evidently inspired by
consciousness, knowledge and wisdom, should be unaware and uninformed of the acts of the foremost among all of
His creatures. Again, it is not at all possible that the All-Knowing Master should remain indifferent to the deeds and
prayers of that foremost among His creatures, and deem them unimportant despite being aware of them. It is further
impossible that the Powerful and Merciful Master of the World should not accept his prayers, having not remained
indifferent to them. Yes, through the light of the Muhammedan Being the form of the world has changed. The true
essence of men and all beings in the cosmos became apparent through that light; it became clear that they are each
missives of the Eternally Besought One proclaiming the Divine Names, precious and profound beings with Godgiven functions and destined to manifest eternity. Were it not for that light, beings would be condemned to utter
annihilation, they would be valueless, meaningless, useless, confused, the result of blind chance, sunk in the darkness
of illusion. It is for this reason that just as men say “amen” to the prayer of the Prophet, so too all other beings, from
the face of the earth up to God’s throne, from the soil to the stars, all take pride in his light, and proclaim their
connection with him. The very spirit of the worship of the Prophet is indeed none other than this prayer. Again, all
the motions and workings of the cosmos are in their essence prayer. For example, the progress of a seed until it
becomes a tree is a form of prayer to the Creator.
The Words / Tenth Word – Fifth Truth – p.83
See, he requests bliss and eternity from a Being, One so All-Hearing, Generous and Powerful, so
All-Seeing, Merciful and Knowledgeable that He sees, hears, accepts and takes pity upon the
most secret wish, the slightest desire of the most obscure of his creatures, this, in observable
form. He answers all pleas even if they are silently proffered. He bestows all things and answers
all pleas in so wise, percipient and merciful a fashion that no doubt remains that all that nurturing
and regulating can derive only from One All-Hearing and All-Seeing, One Generous and
Merciful.
Let us listen to what the Pride of All Being is requesting, that source of honour for all of
mankind, that one unique in all of creation, who bears on his back the burden of all men, who
standing on this earth lifts up his hands towards God’s throne and offers up a prayer which in its
reality contains the essence of the worship of all of mankind. See, he is asking for eternal bliss for
himself and for his community. He is asking for eternity and Paradise. He is making his plea
together with all the Divine Sacred Names that display their beauty in the mirrors of all created
being. You can see, indeed, that he is seeking intercession from those Names.
If there were not countless reasons and causes for the existence of the hereafter, a single prayer of
that exalted being would be enough for the creation of Paradise, a task as easy for the power of
the Merciful Creator as the creation of spring.
16
Indeed, how could the creation of spring be difficult for the Possessor of Absolute Power Who
each spring makes the face of the world into a plain of resurrection, and brings forth there a
hundred thousand examples of resurrection? In just the same way that the messengerhood of the
Prophet was the reason for the foundation of this realm of trial -the saying “were it not for thee,
were it not for thee, I would not have created the spheres”
17
being an indication of this- so too the
worship he performed was the cause for the foundation of the abode of bliss.
Is it at all possible that the flawless perfection of artistry, the peerless beauty of dominicality
expressed in the order of the world and the comprehensive mercy that reduce all to bewilderment, should not answer his prayer, and thus tolerate an extreme form of ugliness, cruelty and disorder?
Is it possible that it would listen to the most petty and insignificant desires and grant them, but
dismiss significant and important desires as worthless, and fail to
____________________
16. To display wondrous samples of art, and examples of resurrection on the face of the earth that, compared with the
hereafter is like a narrow page, to inscribe and include on that single page, in perfect order, all the different species
of creation, that resemble three hundred thousand separate books, is certainly more difficult than building and
creating the delicate and symmetrical structure of Paradise in the broad realm of eternity. Indeed, it may be said that
to whatever degree Paradise is more elevated than the spring, to that degree the creation of the gardens of spring is
more difficult and wondrous than the creation of Paradise.
17. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa, i, al-Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa, ii, 164
The Words / Tenth Word – Sixth Truth – p.84
fulfil them? No, a thousand times no! Such beauty can never accept such ugliness and itself
become ugly.

[Anonim]

18. It is unanimously agreed the total reversal of truths is impossible. It is quite impossible that something should
become the very opposite and reverse of itself, and impossible to the thousandth degree that something should retain
its own nature, and yet at the same time become identical with its opposite. Thus infinite beauty cannot become
ugliness, while yet remaining beauty, and, in our example, it is not possible that the beauty of Dominicality, a beauty
perceptible and manifest in its existence, should retain its quiddity as the beauty of Dominicality, but become the
very essence of ugliness. This would be the strangest of all impossible and false notions in the world
The Words / Tenth Word – Sixth Truth – p.85
of being tested in service. The abode itself changes each hour. Again, all of the monarch’s
subjects stay only for a few brief minutes in order to behold the samples of the precious bounty of
the Glorious Maker, to look on His miraculous works of art in the exhibition of the world with
the eye of a buyer. Then they disappear. The exhibition itself changes every minute. Whoever
leaves it, never returns, and whoever comes to it, will ultimately depart.
Now this state and circumstance definitively shows that behind and beyond this hospice, this
testing-ground, this exhibition, there are permanent palaces and eternal abodes that fully manifest
and support God’s everlasting sovereignty; there are gardens and treasurehouses full of the pure
and exalted originals of the forms and copies we see in this world. If we strive here in this world,
it is for the sake of what awaits us there. We work here, and are rewarded there. Bliss awaits
everyone there, in accordance with his capacity, as long as he does not squander his share. Yes, it
is impossible that such eternal kingship should concentrate exclusively on these wretched
transient beings.
Consider this truth through the telescope of the following comparison. You are travelling along a
road. You see a caravanserai ahead of you on the road, built by a great personage for people
coming to visit him. Millions are spent on the decoration of the caravanserai so that guests should
enjoy their one night’s stay there, and for their instruction. But the guests see very little of those
decorations, look at them for a very short time; briefly tasting the joys of what is offered them,
they go on their way without being satiated. But each guest takes a photograph of the objects in
the caravanserai by means of his special camera. Also, the servants of that great personage record
with great care the conduct of all the guests and preserve the record. You see, too, that he
destroys every day most of the valuable decorations, and replaces them with fresh decorations for
the newly arriving guests. After seeing all this, will any doubt remain that the personage who has
constructed this caravanserai on the road has permanent and exalted dwellings, inexhaustible and
precious treasures, an uninterrupted flow of great generosity? By means of the generosity
displayed in the caravanserai, he intends merely to whet the appetite of his guests for those things
he keeps in his immediate presence; to awaken their desire for the gifts he has prepared for them.
So too, if you look upon the state of the hospice of this world without falling into drunkenness,
you will understand the following nine principles:
• First Principle: You will understand that this world does not exist for its own sake, any more
than does the caravanserai. It is impossible that it should assume this shape by itself. Rather, it is
a well-constructed hospice, wisely designed to receive the caravan of beings that constantly
arrive to alight before departing again.
The Words / Tenth Word – Sixth Truth – p.86 • Second Principle: You will understand, too, that those living within this hospice are guests.
They are invited by their Generous Sustainer to the Abode of Peace.
• Third Principle: You will understand, further, that the adornments of this world are not simply
for the sake of enjoyment or admiration. For if they yield pleasure for a time, they cause pain for
a longer time with their cessation. They give you a taste and whet your appetite, but never satiate
you. For either the life of the pleasure is short, or your life is short, too brief for you to become
satiated. These adornments of high value and brief duration must, then, be for the sake of
instruction in wisdom,
19
for arousing gratitude, and for encouraging men to seek out the perpetual
originals of which they are copies. They are, then, for other exalted goals beyond themselves.
• Fourth Principle: You will understand also that the adornments of this world
20
are like
samples and forms of the blessings stored up in Paradise by the mercy of the Compassionate One
for the people of faith.
• Fifth Principle: You will understand, too, that all of these transient objects have not been
created for the sake of annihilation, in order to appear briefly and then vanish. The purpose for
their creation is rather briefly to be

[Anonim]

19. Now the life-span of everything is short, although its value is high and the subtleties of its artistry are most
exalted and beautiful. This implies that everything is only a sample, a form of something else, that it has the function
of drawing the gaze of the customer to the authentic and original object. This being the case, it may be said that the
variegated adornments of this world are the samples of the bounties of Paradise, prepared by the Compassionate and
Merciful One for His beloved servants.
20. There are numerous purposes for the existence of everything, and numerous results flow from its being. These
are not restricted to this world and to the souls of men, as the people of misguidance imagine, being thus lost in
vanity and purposelessness. On the contrary, the purposes for the existence and the results of the being of all things
relate to the following three categories.
The first and the most exalted pertains to the Creator. It consists of presenting to the gaze of the Pre-Eternal Witness
the bejewelled and miraculous wonders He has affixed to the object in question, as if in a military parade. To live for
a fleeting second is enough to attain that glance. Indeed, the potentiality and intent for existence is enough, without
ever emerging into life. This purpose is fully realized, for example, by delicate creatures that vanish swiftly and by
seeds and kernels, each a work of art, that never come to life, that is, never bear fruit or flower. They all remain
untouched by vanity and purposelessness. Thus the first purpose of all things is to proclaim, by means of their life
and existence, the miracles of power and the traces of artistry of the Maker and display them to the gaze of the
Glorious Monarch.
The second purpose of all existence and the result of all being pertains to conscious creation. Everything is like a
truth-displaying missive, an artistic poem, or a wise word of the Glorious Maker, offered to the gaze of angels and
jinn, of men and animals, and desiring to be read by them. It is an object for the contemplation and instruction of
every conscious being that looks upon it.
The third purpose of all existence and result of all being pertains to the soul of the thing itself, and consists of such
minor consequences as the experience of pleasure and joy, and living with some degree of permanence and comfort.
If we consider the purpose of a servant employed as a steersman on some royal ship, we see that only one hundredth
of that purpose relates to the steersman himself – i.e., the wage he receives; ninty-nine hundredths of the purpose
relate to the king who owns the ship. A similar relation exists between the purpose of a thing related to its own self
and its worldly existence, and its purpose related to its Maker. In the light of this multiplicity of purposes we can
now explain the ultimate compatibility between divine wisdom and economy on the one hand, and divine liberality
and generosity – in fact, infinite generosity – on the other hand, even though they appear to be opposites and
contradictory. In the individual purposes of things, liberality and generosity predominate, and the Name of Most
Generous is manifested. From the point of view of individual purpose, fruits and grains are indeed beyond
computation, and they demonstrate infinite generosity. But in universal purposes, wisdom predominates, and the name of All-Wise is manifested. However many purposes a tree has, each of its fruits contains that many purposes,
and these can be divided into the three categories we have established. Their universal purposes demonstrate an
infinite wisdom and economy. Infinite wisdom and infinite generosity and liberality are thus combined, despite their
apparent opposition. For example, one of the purposes for raising an army is the maintenance of order. Whatever
troops are available for the purpose will suffice or be more than enough. But the whole army will be barely enough
for other purposes such as protecting the national frontiers and repelling enemies; its size will be in perfect balance
with utter wisdom. Thus the wisdom of the state will be joined to its splendour, and it can be said that there is no
excess in the army.
The Words / Tenth Word – Sixth Truth – p.87
assembled in existence and acquire the desired form, so that these may be noted, their images
preserved, their meanings known, and their results recorded. This is so that, for example,
everlasting spectacles might be wrought for the people of eternity, and that they might serve other
purposes in the realm of eternity. You will understand that things have been created for eternity,
not for annihilation; and as for apparent annihilation, it has the sense of a completion of duty and
a release from service, for every transient thing advances to annihilation with one aspect, but
remains eternally with numerous other aspects.
Look, for example, at the flower, a word of God’s power; for a short time it smiles and looks at
us, and then hides behind the veil of annihilation. It departs just like a word leaving your mouth.
But it does so entrusting thousands of its fellows to men’s ears. It leaves behind meanings in
men’s minds as numerous as those minds. The flower, too, expressing its meaning and thus
fulfilling its function, goes and departs. But it goes leaving its apparent form in the memory of
everything that sees it, its inner essence in every seed. It is as if each memory and seed were a
camera to record the adornment of the flower, or a means for its perpetuation. If such be the case
with an object at the simplest level of life, it can be readily understood how closely tied to
eternity is man, the highest form of life and the possessor of an eternal soul. Again, from the fact
that the laws -each resembling a spirit- according to which large flowering and fruit bearing
plants are formed and the representations of their forms are preserved and perpetuated in most
regular fashion in tiny seeds throughout tempestuous changes – from this fact it can be easily
understood how closely tied and related to
The Words / Tenth Word – Seventh Truth – p.88
eternity is the spirit of man, which possesses an extremely exalted and comprehensive nature, and
which although clothed in a body, is a conscious and luminous law issuing from the divine
command.
• Sixth Principle: You will also understand that man has not been left to graze at will, with a
halter loosely tied around his neck; on the contrary, the forms of all his deeds are recorded and
registered, and the results of all his acts are preserved for the day when he shall be called to
account.
• Seventh Principle: You will understand, further, that the destruction visited upon the beautiful
creatures of summer and spring in the autumn is not for the sake of annihilation. Instead, it is a
form of dismissal after the completion of service.
21
It is also a form of emptying in order to clear
a space for the new creation that is to come in the following spring, of preparing the ground and making ready for the beings that are to come and assume their functions. Finally, it is a form of
Divine warning to conscious beings to awake from the neglect that causes them to forget their
duties, from the drunken torpor that causes them to forget their obligation of offering thanks.

[Anonim]

• Eighth Principle: You will understand this, too, that the eternal Maker of this transient world
has another, everlasting world; it is to this that He urges and impels His servants.
• Ninth Principle: You will understand, also, that so Compassionate a Being will bestow upon
His choice servants in that world such gifts as no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, nor
has their image crossed the heart of any man.
22
In this we believe.
SEVENTH TRUTH
The Gate of Protection and Preservation,
the Manifestation of the Names of Preserver and Guardian
Is it at all possible that God’s attribute of Preserver, which protects all things with the utmost
order and balance, -things in the heavens and on the earth, on dry land and in the ocean, dry and
wet, large and small, commonplace and exalted- and as it were, sifts their results by way of
accounting
____________________
21. Yes, it is fitting that the fruits, flowers and leaves on the tips and branches of a tree, proceeding from the
treasuries of sustenance provided by divine mercy, should depart when they become old and their duties are at an
end. Otherwise the gate will remain closed to those that come after them, and a barrier will be erected against the
expansion of God’s mercy and the services to be performed by their brethren (i.e., other members of the species).
Moreover, with the passing of youth, they will become wretched and distraught. Spring is like a fruit-bearing tree
that in turn is an indication of the plain of resurrection. Similarly, the world of humanity in every age is like a tree
inviting contemplation, and the world as a whole is like an amazing tree the fruits of which are dispatched to the
market of the hereafter.
22. Bukhari, Bad’ul-Khalq, 8; Tafsir al-Sura, xxxii, 1;Tawhid, 35; Muslim, Iman, 312.
The Words / Tenth Word – Seventh Truth – p.89
– is it at all possible that this attribute should permit the deeds and acts of man, man who has been
given the lofty disposition of humanity, the rank of God’s supreme vicegerency, and the duty of
bearing the Supreme Trust, not to be recorded, not to be passed through the sieve of accounting,
not to be weighed in the balance of justice, not to be punished or rewarded fittingly, even though
his acts and deeds closely pertain to God’s universal dominicality? No, it is not in any way
possible!
Yes, the Being that administers this cosmos preserves all things in order and balance. Order and
balance are the manifestation of knowledge and wisdom, of will and power. For we see that the
substance of every created object is fashioned in well-ordered and symmetrical fashion. Not only
is each of the forms it changes throughout its life well-ordered, but the totality of these forms is
also marked by the same orderliness. We see, too, that the Glorious Preserver preserves many
forms of all things the life of which comes to an end when they have performed their function and which depart from the manifest world, in the memories of men, that are like a kind of
preserved tablet,
23
or in a form of archetypal mirror. He also writes and inscribes a brief history
of their life in a seed, that is like the result and outcome of the whole. Thus He causes all things
to be preserved in mirrors pertaining to both the outer and inner worlds. The memory of man, the
fruit of the tree, the kernel of the fruit, the seed of the flower – all of these demonstrate the
universality and comprehensiveness of the law of preservation.
Do you not see that all the flowers and fruits of the vast spring, the records of their deeds in
appropriate form, the laws of their formation, and the images of their forms, are all inscribed into
the finite space of a minute seed and are there preserved? The following spring, their record of
deeds is set forth, in a form of accounting appropriate to them, and another vast world of spring is
brought forth, with the utmost order and wisdom. This demonstrates with what powerful
comprehensiveness God’s attribute of Preserver exercises itself. Considering that the results of
such transient, commonplace, impermanent and insignificant things are preserved, is it at all
possible that men’s deeds, that yield important fruit in the world of the unseen, the world of the
hereafter, and the world of spirits, from the point of view of universal dominicality, is it at all
possible that they should not be guarded and preserved, should not be recorded as a matter of
importance? No, by no means!
Yes, from this manifestation of God’s attribute of Preserver it can be deduced that the Master of
all creation devotes great care to the orderliness of all things that come to pass in His realm. He
pays great attention to the function of sovereignty, and lavishes extreme care on the dominicality
of kingship. Thus He records, or causes to be recorded, the pettiest of happen

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