All gifts soever unto God are due, Yet special gifts from special "Names" ensue; At every breath one "Name" annihilates, And one creates all outward things anew.[3] THE GOD BEHIND THE VEIL "O fairest rose, with rosebud mouth," I sighed, "Why, like coquettes, thy face for ever hide?" He smiled, "Unlike the beauties of the earth, Even when veiled I still may be described." Thy face uncovered would be all too bright, Without a veil none could endure the sight; What eye is strong enough to gaze upon The dazzling splendour of the fount of light? When the sun's banner blazes in the sky, Its light gives pain by its intensity, But when 'tis tempered by a veil of cloud That light is soft and pleasant to the eye. THE DIVINE SELF-SUFFICIENCY Absolute self-sufficiency is a quality involved in Divine Perfection. It signifies this, that in a general and universal manner all the modes, states, and aspects of the One Real Being, with all their adherent properties and qualities, in all their presentations, past, present, or future, manifested in all grades of substances, divine and mundane, are present and realised in the secret thought of that Divine Being, in such wise that the sum of them all is contained in His Unity. From this point of view He is independent of all other existences; as it is said, "God most glorious can do without the world." OUR NEED OF THE BELOVED O Thou whose sacred precincts none may see, Unseen Thou makest all things seen to be; Thou and we are not separate, yet still Thou hast no need of us, but we of Thee. None by endeavour can behold Thy face, Or access gain without prevenient grace; For every man some substitute is found, Thou hast no peer, and none can take Thy place. Of accident or substance Thou hast nought, Without constraint of cause Thy grace is wrought; Thou canst replace what's lost, but if Thou'rt lost, In vain a substitute for Thee is sought. In me Thy beauty love and longing wrought; Did I not seek Thee, how wouldst Thou be sought? My love is as a mirror in the which Thy beauty into evidence is brought. O Lord, none but Thyself can fathom Thee, Yet every mosque and church doth harbour Thee; I know the seekers and what 'tis they seek-- Seekers and sought are all comprised in Thee. THE UNIVERSE A NUMBER OF "ACCIDENTS" The universe, together with its parts, is nothing but a number of accidents, ever changing and being renewed at every breath, and linked together in a single substance, and at each instant disappearing and being replaced by a similar set. In consequence of this rapid succession, the spectator is deceived into the belief that the universe is a permanent existence. THE HIDDEN TRUTH