In another passage He likewise saith: “And if ye be in doubt as to that
which We have sent down to Our Servant, then produce a Súrah like it, and
summon your witnesses, beside God, if ye are men of truth.”(155) Behold,
how lofty is the station, and how consummate the virtue, of these verses
which He hath declared to be His surest testimony, His infallible proof,
the evidence of His all-subduing power, and a revelation of the potency of
His will. He, the divine King, hath proclaimed the undisputed supremacy of
the verses of His Book over all things that testify to His truth. For
compared with all other proofs and tokens, the divinely-revealed verses
shine as the sun, whilst all others are as stars. To the peoples of the
world they are the abiding testimony, the incontrovertible proof, the
shining light of the ideal King. Their excellence is unrivalled, their
virtue nothing can surpass. They are the treasury of the divine pearls and
the depository of the divine mysteries. They constitute the indissoluble
Bond, the firm Cord, the Urvatu’l-Vuthqá, the inextinguishable Light.
Through them floweth the river of divine knowledge, and gloweth the fire
of His ancient and consummate wisdom. This is the fire which, in one and
the same moment, kindleth the flame of love in the breasts of the
faithful, and induceth the chill of heedlessness in the heart of the
enemy.
O friend! It behooveth us not to waive the injunction of God, but rather
acquiesce and submit to that which He hath ordained as His divine
Testimony. This verse is too weighty and pregnant an utterance for this
afflicted soul to demonstrate and expound. God speaketh the truth and
leadeth the way. He, verily, is supreme over all His people; He is the
Mighty, the Beneficent.
Likewise, He saith: “Such are the verses of God: with truth do We recite
them to Thee. But in what revelation will they believe, if they reject God
and His verses?”(156) If thou wilt grasp the implication of this verse,
thou wilt recognize the truth that no manifestation greater than the
Prophets of God hath ever been revealed, and no testimony mightier than
the testimony of their revealed verses hath ever appeared upon the earth.
Nay, this testimony no other testimony can ever excel, except that which
the Lord thy God willeth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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