45 Wert thou to consider in this station the last of them to be the first,
or conversely, thou wouldst indeed be speaking the truth, as hath been
ordained by Him Who is the Wellspring of Divinity and the Source of
Lordship: “Say: Call upon God or call upon the All-Merciful: by
whichsoever name ye will, invoke him, for He hath most excellent
names.”(32) For they are all the Manifestations of the name of God, the
Dawning-Places of His attributes, the Repositories of His might, and the
Focal Points of His sovereignty, whilst God—magnified be His might and
glory—is in His Essence sanctified above all names and exalted beyond even
the loftiest attributes. Consider likewise the evidences of divine
omnipotence both in their Souls and in their human Temples, that thine
heart may be assured and that thou mayest be of them that speed through
the realms of His nearness.
46 I shall restate here My theme, that perchance this may assist thee in
recognizing thy Creator. Know thou that God—exalted and glorified be
He—doth in no wise manifest His inmost Essence and Reality. From time
immemorial He hath been veiled in the eternity of His Essence and
concealed in the infinitude of His own Being. And when He purposed to
manifest His beauty in the kingdom of names and to reveal His glory in the
realm of attributes, He brought forth His Prophets from the invisible
plane to the visible, that His name “the Manifest” might be distinguished
from “the Hidden” and His name “the Last” might be discerned from “the
First”, and that there may be fulfilled the words: “He is the First and
the Last; the Seen and the Hidden; and He knoweth all things!”(33) Thus
hath He revealed these most excellent names and most exalted words in the
Manifestations of His Self and the Mirrors of His Being.
47 It is therefore established that all names and attributes return unto
these sublime and sanctified Luminaries. Indeed, all names are to be found
in their names, and all attributes can be seen in their attributes. Viewed
in this light, if thou wert to call them by all the names of God, this
would be true, as all these names are one and the same as their own Being.
Comprehend then the intent of these words, and guard it within the
tabernacle of thy heart, that thou mayest recognize the implications of
thine inquiry, fulfil them according to that which God hath ordained for
thee, and thus be numbered with those who have attained unto His purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account