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ARGUMENTS FOR DIVINE EXISTENCE AND
UNITY AND TO ACQUIRE A FIRM CONVICTION OF
DIVINE UNITY
In the name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate.
So God sets forth parables for
men in order that they may bear (them) in mind and
take lessons (through them). (14:25)
Such parables do we set forth for
men so that they may reflect.(59:21)
The
existence of God is too evident to need any arguments
The existence of God is too evident to
need any arguments. Some saintly scholars have even stated
that God is more manifest than any other being, but that
those who lack insight cannot see Him. Others have said
that He is concealed from direct perception because of the
intensity of His Self-manifestation.
However, the great influence of
positivist and materialist schools of thought on science
and on all people of recent centuries makes it necessary
to discuss such arguments. As this now-prevalent “scientific”
worldview reduces existence to what can be perceived
directly, it blinds itself to those invisible dimensions
of existence that far vaster than the visible. To remove
the resulting veil, we will review briefly several
traditional demonstrations of God’s necessary existence.
Before doing so, let us reflect on one
simple historical fact: Since the beginning of human life,
the overwhelming majority of humanity has believed that
God exists. This belief alone is enough to establish God’s
existence. Those who do not believe cannot claim to be
smarter than those who do. Among past and present-day
believers are innovative scientists, scholars, researchers
and, most importantly, saints and Prophets, who are the
experts in the field. In addition, people usually confuse
the non-acceptance of something’s existence with the
acceptance of its non-existence. While the former is only
a negation or a rejection, the latter is a judgment that
requires proof. No one has ever proven God’s
non-existence, for to do so is impossible, whereas
countless arguments prove His existence. This point may be
clarified through the following comparison.
Suppose there is a large palace with
1,000 entrances, 999 of which are open and one which
appears to be closed. No one could reasonably claim that
the palace cannot be entered. Unbelievers are like those
who, in order to assert that the palace cannot be entered,
confine their (and others’) attention only to the door
that is seemingly closed.
The doors to God’s existence are open
to everybody, provided that they sincerely intend to enter
through them. Some of those doors-the demonstrations for
God’s existence-are as follows by way of a parable:
A
Parable to Understand God's Existence and Unity
Once two men washed themselves in a
pool. Then, under some extraordinary influence they fell
into a trance-like state and when they opened their eyes,
they found themselves in a strange land. It was a land in
perfect orderliness and harmony-as it might be a
well-ordered state, or a single city, or even a palace.
They looked around in utmost amazement: from one point of
view, it was a vast world; from another, a well-ordered
state; from yet another, a splendid city. If it was looked
at from still another point of view, it was a palace
though one that was in itself a magnificent world. They
traveled around this strange world and saw that there were
creatures of diverse sorts speaking a language they did
not know. However, as could be gathered from their
gestures, they were doing important work, carrying out
significant duties.
One of the two men said to his friend:
This strange world must have
someone to administer it; this well-ordered state
must have a lord, and this splendid city, an owner,
and this skillfully made palace, a master builder.
We must try to know him, for it is understood that
the one who brought us here is he. If we do not know
him, who else will help us here? What can we expect
from those impotent creatures whose language we do
not know and who do not heed us? Moreover, certainly
one who has made a huge world in the form of a
state, or a city, or a palace, and filled it from
top to bottom with wonderful things, and embellished
it with every sort of adornment, and decorated it
with instructive miracles, wants something from us
and from whoever comes here. We must know him, and
find out what he wants.
The other man objected:
I do not believe that there is
such a one as you speak of, and that he governs this
whole world alone by himself.
His friend responded to him:
If we do not recognize him and
remain indifferent towards him, there is no
advantage in it at all, but it may be very harmful,
whereas if we try to recognize him, there is little
hardship in it, but it may be very beneficial.
Therefore, it is in no way sensible to remain
indifferent towards him.
The other man insisted:
I find all my ease and enjoyment
in not thinking of him. Besides, I am not to bother
myself with things like this which do not concern
me. These are all confused things happening by
chance or by themselves. They are no concern of
mine.
His intelligent friend replied:
This obstinacy of yours will get
us and many others into trouble. It sometimes
happens that a whole state is ruined because of one
ill-mannered person.
The other man turned to him and said:
Either prove to me decisively
that this vast country has a single lord, a single
maker, or leave me to myself.
In reply, his friend explained:
Your obstinacy has reached the
point of insanity, and through it you will bring
upon us a great calamity. So I will show you twelve
proofs that this world, which is like a palace, this
state which is like a city, has a single master
builder, and that it is only he who administers it.
He must be completely free of all deficiency. This
builder, who is invisible to us, must be seeing us
and everything, and hearing all voices. All his
works seem miraculous. All these creatures whom we
see but whose languages we do not understand must be
his officials [working in his name].
A hidden hand is working in everything
Come and look around! Be attentive to
whatever is happening! In all these things a hidden hand
is working. For something which has not even an ounce of
strength (a tiny seed) is bearing loads of
thousands of pounds (a huge tree). Something that has no
consciousness at all (a bee, a silkworm) is doing
much intelligent and purposive work. That means they are
not working on their own. A powerful, hidden one is
causing them to work. If everything were happening on its
own, it would require that all the work which we see being
done everywhere in this place must be itself a miracle and
everything a miracle-working marvel.
If all people came together, they would
not be able to produce a single seed or leaf or fruit
Come and be attentive to the things
with which all these plains, fields, and residential
places are adorned! On each of them are marks pointing to
that hidden one. Like a seal or stamp, each gives news of
him. Look, what he is producing before you from a few
grams of cotton! See how many rolls of cloth, linen and
flowered material have come out of it! See how much sweet
food and how many other sorts of delights are being made.
(Consider how,
for example, a poppy seed as tiny as a particle, or an
apricot stone the weight of a few grams, or a melon seed,
each produce from the treasury of Mercy woven leaves more
beautiful than broadcloth, flowers whiter or yellower than
linen, and fruits sweeter than sugar, and finer and more
delicious than conserves, and they offer them to us.)
If thousands of people like us were to clothe themselves
from these or eat of those, they would never be able to do
that. Again, look! He has taken a handful of iron, earth,
water, coal, copper, silver, and gold, and made some
living creatures out of them.
(This refers to the creation of animal bodies from
elements, and living creatures from sperm.) Look
and see! These sorts of work are particular to one such
that he holds all this land together with all its parts
under his miraculous power and all submissive to his will.
An individual animal or human being,
even a seed, is a miniature specimen of the whole
universe
Come and look at these priceless,
moving works of art! Each has been fashioned in such a way
that it is simply a miniature specimen of this huge
palace. Whatever there is in this palace, it is found in
these tiny moving machines. Is it at all possible that
someone other than the builder of this amazing palace has
included the whole of it in a tiny machine? Again, is it
at all possible that chance or something purposeless could
have intervened in the machine the size of a box which
contains a whole world? That means that however many
artistically fashioned machines you can see, each is like
a seal of that hidden one. Each is also like a herald or
proclamation. In their language of being they announce:
‘We are the works of art of one such as can make this
entire world of ours as easily as he made us.’
Every thing is interconnected with
every thing, needs every thing and comes to the aid
of every thing
O obstinate friend! Come, I will show
you something stranger. Look! All the things in this land
do not persist in one state: they are all changing. Notice
that each of these lifeless bodies and unfeeling ‘bones’
have started to move toward certain purposes, as if each
thing were ruling all the others. Look at this machine
beside us! (Referring
to fruit-bearing trees. For, as if bearing on their
slender branches hundreds of looms and factories, they
weave wonderful, richly adorned leaves, flowers and fruits
and then cook fruits to offer to us. On the other hand,
majestic trees like the pine and cedar have set up their
workbenches on hard, dry rock, and work.)
It is as though it was issuing commands and all the
materials necessary for its adornment and functioning were
running to it from distant places. Look over there: that
seemingly lifeless body is as though beckoning; it makes
the biggest bodies serve it and work for it (Referring
to grains, seeds, and the eggs of flies. For example, a
fly leaves its eggs on the leaves of an elm tree. All of a
sudden the huge tree turns its leaves into another’s
womb, and a cradle, and into a store full of honey-like
food. It is as if the tree, which is not fruit-bearing,
produces fruit which is animate.).
You may compare the rest with these.
Everything seems to have subjugated to
itself all the creatures in the world
Everything seems to have subjugated to
itself all the creatures in the world. If you do not
accept the existence of that hidden one, you will have to
attribute all his skills, arts, and perfection to the
stones, earth, animals, and creatures resembling man
everywhere in this land to the things themselves. In place
of a single miracle-working being, whose existence in your
mind seems improbable, millions like him have to exist,
who are miracle-working, and all opposed to one another,
and yet similar and one within the other, without causing
any confusion and spoiling the order. Whereas if two
rulers intervene in the affairs of a state they cause
confusion. For if there are two head-men in a village, or
two governors in a town, or two kings in a country, chaos
arises. So what of the existence of absolute rulers in
infinite number in the same place at the same time?
How can all those purposeful
ornaments, splendid embroideries and artistic
inscriptions be attributed to unconscious causes,
blind chance and deaf nature?
O skeptical friend! Come and look
carefully at the ornaments of this huge palace, look at
the adornments of the city, see the orderliness in this
land, and reflect on all the artistry in this world! Look!
Assume the pen of a hidden one with infinite miracles and
skills is not at work, or that all these ornaments are
attributed to unconscious causes, to blind chance and deaf
nature. Then all the stones and plains of this land will
have to be each a decorator so miracle-working and an
inscriber so wonderful that each can write a thousand
books in a letter, and display infinitely different forms
of artistry in a single ornament. For look at the
inscriptions on these stones; on each are the inscriptions
of the whole palace, the laws for the order of the whole
city, and the programs for the organization of the whole
state. That means that to make all these inscriptions is
as wonderful as making the whole state. So, each
inscription, each instance of art, is a proclamation of
that hidden one, and one of his seals.
A letter certainly indicates the one
who wrote it, and an artistic inscription undoubtedly
makes known the inscriber. How is it, then, that an
inscriber, a designer, a decorator, who inscribes a huge
book in a single letter and displays a thousand ornaments
in a single ornament, should not be known through his
inscriptions and ornaments?
Existence is continually renewed with
no single confusion and disorderliness
Come, we’ll go out onto this vast
plain. On it is a huge mountain, the top of which we will
climb so that we can see all the surrounding area. Also,
we will take binoculars with us to make distant objects
seem nearer. For in this strange land curious things are
happening; every hour things are happening that we have
never imagined.
Look! These mountains, plains, and
towns are suddenly changing. They are changing so that
millions of new things take place with perfect orderliness
one within the other and one after the other. The most
curious transformations take place as though various
cloths of innumerable kinds are being woven inside and
among others. Look, the flowery things, with which we have
been so familiar, have disappeared; these have been
replaced in orderly fashion with others of similar nature
but of different form. Everything is happening in a manner
as if these plains and mountains are each a page, and on
them are being written hundreds of thousands of different
books. They are being written without any flaw, without
any defect.
Thus, it is inconceivable that these
things come about on their own. For these things
displaying infinite instances of art and skill, and
exactness of an infinite degree, to happen of themselves
is utterly inconceivable, for rather than themselves, they
show the artist who brings them about. The one who does
all these things displays such miracles that nothing at
all can be difficult for him. It is as easy for him to
write one thousand books as to write one book.
An absolute wisdom and all-encompassing
favoring are manifest in existence
Again, look all around you! He puts
everything in just its proper place with such wisdom, and
on everyone needy and deserving he pours his favor so
generously, and he draws back and opens general veils and
doors so bountifully, that he satisfies the desires of
all. Also, he lays out tables, so munificently that a
feast of bounties is given to all the people and animals
of this land, indeed, bounties particular and suitable for
each group and individual. (Referring
to the face of the earth in spring and summer, when
innumerable individuals of hundreds of thousands of
species are brought into existence one among the others,
they are ‘written’ on earth. They are recruited and
may undergo changes without flaw and with perfect
orderliness. Thousands of tables of the Most merciful One
are laid out, then removed, and replaced with fresh ones.
All the trees are as though bear trays. All the gardens
are like cauldrons.)
So, is there anything more
inconceivable of this world than that anything in all that
we observe could be attributable to chance, or that
anything in it could be purposeless or vain or that many
hands should be interfering in it? Could it be otherwise
than that their maker is powerful over everything, and
that everything is subjugated to him? So, O friend, in the
face of all this, find, if you can, a pretext to persist
in denial of that unseen one!
All the things in this world, as if
all positioned face to face, help one another. As
though seeing one another, they co-operate
with one another. In order to perfect each other’s
work, they support one another, and work
together
Come, friend! Leaving these particular
matters, we will turn our attention to the mutual
interrelations of the parts of this amazing world in the
form of a palace. Look! Universal things are being done
and general revolutions taking place with such perfect
orderliness that all the rocks, earth, and trees in this
palace act in accordance with the general rules of this
world as if each were free to do whatever it wills. Things
that are most distant from one another come to each other’s
aid. Look! A strange caravan has appeared, coming from the
unseen on mounts resembling trees, plants, and mountains.
They are carrying trays of food on their heads. Look! They
are bringing the food for the various animals waiting on
this side. (Referring
to ‘caravans’
of plants and trees bearing the sustenance of all animals.)
Look, again! That mighty electric
lamp (the sun) in that dome, besides furnishing
them with light, cooks their food so well that the food to
be cooked is attached to a string by an unseen hand and
held out and offered. (The
string and the food attached to it denote the slender
branches of trees and the delicious fruits thereon.) Look on this side and see these
impotent, weak, defenseless little animals; over their
heads are arranged small pumps like two springs, full of
delicate sustenance. They have only to press their mouths
against the ‘pumps’ to be fed. (Referring
to the breasts of mothers.)
In short: All the things in this world,
as if all positioned face to face, help one another. As
though seeing one another, they co-operate with one
another. In order to perfect each other’s work, they
support one another, and work together. The ways of
co-operation among them are too numerous to count. All
these things demonstrate as decisively as two plus two
makes four that everything is subjugated to the builder of
that wonderful palace, that is, to the owner of this
strange world. Everything works on behalf of him;
everything is like a soldier carrying out his commands.
Everything takes place by his power. Everything moves by
his command. Everything is arranged through his wisdom.
Everything helps the others by his munificence. Everything
hastens, rather, is made to hasten, to the aid of the
others through his compassion. O friend, raise an
objection to this, if you can!
In this palace of the world are
uniform elements and minerals (namely earth, water,
air, and light) which encompass the whole world:
everything appearing in the world is made from them.
That means that whoever owns them also owns everything
made from them
Come, O friend who supposes himself to
be intelligent as does my own selfhood! You do not want to
recognize the owner of this magnificent palace. Whereas
everything points to him, shows him, and testifies to him,
how can you deny the testimony of all these things? You
have therefore to deny the palace as well, and say: ‘There
is no world, no state!’ Deny your existence, too, and
disappear! Or else come to your senses, and listen to me!
Look! In the palace are uniform
elements and minerals, which encompass the whole of the
land: everything appearing in the world is made from them.
That means that whoever owns them also owns everything
made from them; whoever owns the field owns its crops
also; to whomever the sea belongs, to him also the things
in the sea belong. (Elements
and minerals denote the elements of air, water, light, and
earth, which perform numerous systematic duties: they
hasten by Divine leave to the aid of all needy beings,
enter everywhere by Divine command and provide help,
convey the necessities of life, and ‘suckle’ living
creatures, and function as the source, origin and cradle
for the weaving and decoration of Divine artifacts.)
Again, look! These textiles, these
decorated woven clothes are made from a single substance.
It is evidently the same person who brings about the
substance, prepares it, and makes it into yarn. For such a
work would not allow the participation of others.
Therefore, all the things skillfully woven out of it are
particular to him.
Also, look! All types of those woven
things are found in every part of the land; they are being
made all together, one inside or among the others, in the
same way, and at the same instant. That means they are the
work of a single person, who does everything with a single
command. Otherwise their correspondence and conformity at
the same instant, in the same fashion, of the same
quality, would be impossible. So, each of these skillfully
made things is like a proclamation of that hidden one and
points to him. It is as if each kind of flowered cloth,
each machine that has skillfully been made, each delicious
morsel, is a stamp, a seal, a sign of that miracle-working
one. Each one is saying in the language of its being: ‘Whoever
owns me as a work of art, also owns the boxes and shops
where I am found.’ Each decoration says: ‘Whoever
embroidered me also wove the roll of cloth in which I am.’
Each delicious morsel says: ‘Whoever cooked me also has
the cooking-pot in which I am.’ Each machine says: ‘Whoever
made me also makes all those like me that are found
everywhere in the land, and the one who raises us in every
part of the land is also the same. That means it is also
the same person who owns the land. Therefore, whoever owns
this land, this palace, must own us, too.’ This is
because, for example, in order to be the real owner of a
single cartridge-belt or even a button belonging to the
state, one also has to own all the factories in which they
are made. If an outrageous irregular claims ownership of
it, it will be taken back from him, and he will be
punished because of his false pretending to the property
right of the state.
In short: If each element in this land
has permeated through every other, encompassing the whole,
their owner can only be the one who owns all the land.
Since the instances of art found everywhere in the land
resemble one another and display the one same stamp, then
all the things that have spread throughout the land are
evidently the works of a single person’s art and he
rules over everything.
There are certain things which are
uniform, without like, and of the same nature, yet
all-encompassing. Certain other things, though various
and in great number, display a unity of grouping since
they resemble one another and are found everywhere.
This points to a single owner of the world.
Thus, O friend, since there is a sign
of oneness, a stamp of unity in this land, in this
magnificent palace-it is so because there are certain
things which are uniform, without like, and of the same
nature, yet all-encompassing. Certain other things, though
various and in great number, display a unity of grouping
since they resemble one another and are found
everywhere-unity declares the one of unity. That means
that the builder, the host, and the owner, of this land
must be one and the same. In addition, look attentively:
see how, from behind the veil of the Unseen, a thick
string Then look, see how thousands of strings have hung
down from it. See the tips of the strings: diamonds,
decorations, favors, and gifts have been attached to each.
There is a gift particular to everyone. (The
string and the things attached to it denote the slender
branches of trees and the delicious fruits thereon has
appeared.) Do you know how great
a foolishness it is not to recognize and not to thank the
one who stretches out from behind the strange veil of the
Unseen such wonderful favors and gifts? For if you do not
recognize him, you will have to argue: ‘It is the
strings themselves which make the diamonds and other gifts
on their tips, and offer them.’ In which case, you will
have to attribute to each string the status and function
of a king [who has a miraculous power and knowledge to do
whatever he wishes]. Whereas, before our very eyes, an
unseen hand is making the strings themselves, and
attaching the gifts to them. That means that everything in
this palace points to that miracle-working one rather than
to itself. If you do not recognize him, by denying all
these things happening in the palace, you will display
stupidity of a kind that a truly human being must not sink
to.
If we recognize the single owner of
the world, the, this world and whatever there is in it
in such abundance, will be as easy to understand as a
single thing in it. If we do not recognize him, then a
single thing will be as difficult to explain as the
whole world, because everything is as skillfully made
as the world.
Come, O friend! You do not recognize
the owner of this palace, and you do not want to recognize
him, because you deem his existence improbable. You
deviate into denial because you cannot grasp his wonderful
arts and manner of acting. Whereas it is infinitely
difficult, even impossible, to explain all these exquisite
things, this wonderful existence, without recognizing him.
For if we recognize him, all this palace, this world, and
whatever there is in it in such abundance, will be as easy
to understand as a single thing in it. If we do not
recognize him, and if he did not exist, then a single
thing will be as difficult to explain as the whole palace,
because everything is as skillfully made as the palace.
Things would not be in such abundance and so economical.
No one, including ourselves, could possess any of these
things that we see. Look just at the jar of conserve
attached to that string (The
jar of conserve denotes the gifts of mercy such as melons,
water melons, pomegranates, and coconuts like tins of
milk, which are each a conserve of Divine Power.)
If it had not been made in his hidden kitchen, where
everything is made miraculously, we could not have bought
it for all we have, while we buy it now for a few cents.
In truth, every kind of persisting
difficulty and impossibility follows from not recognizing
him. For, since a tree is given life from one root,
through one law, in one center, the formation of thousands
of fruits is as easy as that of one fruit. If the
formation of fruits had been dependent on different,
particular centers and roots, and on separate, particular
laws, then each fruit would have been as difficult to form
as the tree. Also, if the equipment of a whole army is
produced in one factory, through one law, and in one
center, it will be as easy as equipping a single soldier.
If, on the contrary, the equipment of each soldier is
procured from all different places, then to equip one
soldier there would have to be as many factories as for
the whole army.
Just as in these two examples, so too
in this well-organized palace, this splendid city, this
progressive state, this magnificent world, if the
invention of all these things is attributed to a single
being, it becomes so easy to account for the infinite
abundance, availability, and munificence that we see.
Otherwise everything would become so costly, so difficult,
that the whole world would not suffice for purchasing a
single thing.
In no way can we have been left to
ourselves; we cannot wander about and cause disorder
among creatures so delicate, well-balanced, subtle,
skillfully made, and instructive as these.
Come, O friend, from whom I expect some
fairness! We have been here for fifteen days (An
allusion to the age of fifteen, the age of responsibility.)
If we do not know the rules of this world and do not
recognize its rules, we will deserve punishment. We have
no longer been left any excuses, because for fifteen days,
as though given respite, we have not been interfered with.
But in no way can we have been left to ourselves; we
cannot wander about and cause disorder among creatures so
delicate, well-balanced, subtle, skillfully made, and
instructive as these. The punishment of the majestic lord
of this land must be severe. How majestic and powerful he
must be to have arranged this huge world like a palace and
turn it as though a light wheel. He administers this vast
country like a house, missing nothing. See, like filling a
container and then emptying it, he continuously fills this
palace, this city, this land, with perfect orderliness,
and empties it with perfect wisdom. Also, like setting up
a table and then removing it, he lays out, as though with
an unseen hand, throughout the land, diverse tables with a
great variety of foods one after the other and then clears
them away to bring new ones. (The
tables are to denote the face of the earth in summer,
during which hundreds of tables of the Most Merciful One
are prepared fresh and different in the kitchens of mercy,
and they are laid down and then removed continuously.
Every garden is a cooking-pot, every tree, a tray-bearer.)
You see this too, and if you use
your reason, you will understand that there is an infinite
munificence inherent in that awesome majesty.
As whatever is and takes place in
this world testifies to its single owner and
administrator’s existence, their disappearance and
replaced by their likes indicates his permanence
Also see, just as all these things
testify to the unity and sovereignty of that unseen being,
so too these revolutions and changes that happen one after
the other in succession bear witness to his permanence.
For the causes of things disappear along with them,
whereas the things which we attribute to causes are
repeated after them. That means, nothing can be attributed
to causes; everything takes place as the work of an
undying one. For example, the sparkling bubbles on the
surface of a river come and go, but the new ones coming
after them also sparkle. That means, what makes them
sparkle is something constant which stands high above the
river and has a permanent light. In the same way, the
speedy changing in this world and the things that replace
the disappearing ones assuming the same attributes show
that they are the manifestations, inscriptions, mirrors
and works of art, of a single one who is permanent and
undying.
The Prophet Muhammad is the greatest
proof of the Creator’s Existence and Oneness
Come, O friend! Now I will show you
another decisive proof as powerful as the previous ten
proofs put together. Come and let us go on a ship and sail
to that peninsula over there. For the keys to this
mysterious world are there. Moreover, everyone is looking
to that peninsula, and expecting something and receiving
orders from there. See, we are sailing towards there. Now
we have landed on the peninsula. Look, there is a huge
meeting, as if all the important people of the country
have gathered there, there is a great concourse. Look
carefully, this great community has a leader! (The
ship refers to history, the peninsula to the place of Time
of Happiness, the age of the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings. Taking off the dress of modern civilization
on the dark shore of this age, sailing on the ship of
history over the sea of time and landing on the Arabian
Peninsula in the Time of Happiness, and visiting the Pride
of the Creation, upon him be peace and blessings, as he is
carrying out the duty of his mission. We know that he is a
proof of Divine Unity so brilliant that he illuminates the
whole of the earth and the two faces of time, the past and
future, and disperses the darkness of unbelief and
misguidance.)
Come, we will draw nearer; we must be
acquainted with him. Look! What brilliant decorations he
has, more than a thousand of them. (A
thousand decorations signify the miracles of Muhammad,
upon him be peace and blessings, which, according to
meticulous researchers, number around one thousand)
How forcefully he speaks! How pleasant his conversation!
During these fifteen days I have learnt a little of what
he says, you could learn the same from me. See, he is
speaking about the miracle-displaying sovereign of that
country. He says that that glorious sovereign has sent him
to us. See, he is displaying such wonders that we are
bound to admit that he is a special envoy of the
sovereign.
Look carefully, it is not only the
creatures on this peninsula that are listening to what he
says; he is having his voice heard in wonderful fashion by
the whole country. Near and far, everyone is trying to
listen to his discourse. Not only human beings but also
animals are listening to him. Look, even the mountains are
listening to the commandments he has brought so that they
are stirring in their places. Those trees move to the
place to which he points. He brings forth water wherever
he wishes. He even makes his fingers like an abundant
spring, and gives to drink from them. Look, that important
lamp (the moon) in the dome of the palace splits
into two at his gesture. (The
important lamp is the moon, which split into two at his
gesture. That is, as Mawlana Jami remarked: ‘That
unlettered one who never wrote, wrote with the pen of his
finger an alif [the first letter of the Arabic alphabet]
on the page of the skies and made one forty into two
fifties.’ That is, before it split, the moon resembled
the Arabic letter mim, the mathematical value of which is
forty. After splitting, it became two crescents resembling
two nuns, the value of which is fifty.)
That means this whole land together
with all the beings in it recognizes that he is an envoy.
As though understanding that he is the most eminent and
true translator of an unseen miracle-displaying one, and
the herald of his sovereignty, and the discloser of his
talisman, and a trustworthy envoy communicating his
commandments, they heed and obey him. All those around him
who are sensible affirm whatever he says. Indeed, through
submitting to his commands and answering his beckoning,
everything in this land-the mountains and the trees,
etc.-and the huge light that illuminates everywhere, also
affirm him. (The huge light is the sun. On one
occasion, the noble Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings, was sleeping in the arms of ‘Ali, may God be
pleased with him, who did not wake him up out of deep love
and respect for him. When the Prophet woke up, the sun was
about to set, and ‘Ali had not been able to perform the
afternoon prayer. Upon the Prophet’s order, the earth
revolved a little backwards and the sun appeared above the
horizon, so ‘Ali could perform the prayer. This is one
of the famous miracles of the Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings.)
So, O friend! Could there be any lie or
deception in the information which this most illustrious,
magnificent, and serious of beings, who bears a thousand
decorations from the royal treasury of the king, gives
with fullest conviction? Could there be any deception in
the information which is confirmed by all the country’s
notables, about the miracle-displaying king, and in his
description of his attributes and communication of his
commands? If you consider it possible that there could be
deception in them, then you have to deny this palace,
those lamps, and this congregation, both their existence
and their reality. If you can, raise any objections
against these, but you will see that they will be refuted
by the power of the proof.
The Qur’an is another greatest
evidence of God’s Existence and Oneness
Come, O friend, who must have come to
your senses a little! I will show you further proof as
strong as the sum of the previous eleven proofs. See this
illustrious decree, which had descended from above and
which everyone looks upon with full attention out of
either amazement or veneration. That being with a thousand
decorations is explaining its meaning to everyone. The
decree has so brilliant a style that it attracts everyone’s
admiration, and it speaks of matters so important and
serious that everyone feels compelled to give ear to it.
For it describes distinctively all the acts, attributes,
and commands of the one who governs this whole land, who
made this palace, and exhibits these wonders. And there is
a mighty seal on the decree as a whole. Look! There is
also an irresistible seal on its every line and sentence,
and, moreover, the meanings, truths, commandments, and
instances of wisdom it provides are seen to be in a style
particular to him which functions like a stamp or seal.
In short: That supreme decree shows
that Supreme Being as clearly as the sun, so that anyone
who is not blind can ‘see’ him.
So, O friend! If you have come to
your senses, this is enough for now. Do you still
have any objections?
The stubborn man replied:
In the face of all these proofs I
can only say: All praise be to God for I have come
to believe. I believe in a way as bright as the sun
and clear as daylight that this land has a single
Lord of Perfection, this world a single Owner of
Majesty, this palace a single Maker of Grace. May
God be pleased with you for saving me from my former
obstinacy and foolishness. Each of the proofs you
have offered is sufficient to demonstrate the truth.
But with each successive proof, clearer and finer,
more pleasant, agreeable, radiant levels of
knowledge, scenes of acquaintanceship, and windows
of love, were opened and revealed. I listened and
learned.
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