146 Say: He from whom, in this day, the sweet savours of the remembrance
of His Lord, the All-Merciful, have not been diffused, is indeed unworthy
of the station of man. He, verily, is of them that have followed their own
desires, and shall erelong find himself in grievous loss. Doth it behove
you to relate yourselves to Him Who is the God of mercy, and yet commit
the things which the Evil One hath committed? Nay, by the Beauty of Him
Who is the All-Glorified! could ye but know it. Purge your hearts from
love of the world, and your tongues from calumny, and your limbs from
whatsoever may withhold you from drawing nigh unto God, the Mighty, the
All-Praised. Say: By the world is meant that which turneth you aside from
Him Who is the Dawning-Place of Revelation, and inclineth you unto that
which is unprofitable unto you. Verily, the thing that deterreth you, in
this day, from God is worldliness in its essence. Eschew it, and approach
the Most Sublime Vision, this shining and resplendent Seat. Blessed is he
who alloweth nothing whatsoever to intervene between him and his Lord. No
harm, assuredly, can befall him if he partaketh with justice of the
benefits of this world, inasmuch as We have created all things for such of
Our servants as truly believe in God.
147 Should your words, O people, be at variance with your deeds, what then
shall distinguish you from those who profess their faith in the Lord,
their God, and yet, when He came down to them overshadowed with clouds,
rejected Him and waxed proud before God, the Incomparable, the Omniscient?
Shed not the blood of anyone, O people, neither judge ye anyone unjustly.
Thus have ye been commanded by Him Who knoweth, Who is informed of all.
They that commit disorders in the land after it hath been well ordered,
these indeed have outstepped the bounds that have been set in the Book.
Wretched shall be the abode of the transgressors!
148 God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty of teaching His Cause.
Whoever ariseth to discharge this duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His
Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy
character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are
receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his
hearers. Thus doth God instruct you. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving,
the Most Compassionate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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