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It is by no means possible that our Creator should possess this world resembling a temporary guest house, but not possess another, perpetual world that is stable, and that is the locus of the manifestation of His sublimity.
From the Fourth Indication of the Tenth Word
It is in no sense possible that the Ever-Abiding Creator of this transient world should bring this world into existence yet not bring into existence a world that is enduring.
And it is impossible that the Eternal Artful Maker of this unique and transient universe should create this universe, but not create another stable, perpetual universe.
And it is also impossible that the Wise, Almighty, Compassionate Originator of this world that is an exhibition, testing-ground and a sowing field, should create it, but not create the realm of the Hereafter that constitutes the locus of the manifestation of all of His purposes.
The gate of Lordship and the kingdom (The First Reality)
Being a manifestation of the name al-Rabb (The Lord)
Is it at all possible for the station of Lordship and the kingdom of Divinity that it would bring this universe into existence showing great concern for very lofty purposes and high aims in order that its perfections become manifest, and for there then not to be a recompense for the believers who by way of servanthood accepted those purposes and aims, nor a punishment for the people of misguidance who responded to those purposes and aims with denial and insult?
The gate of generosity and mercy (The Second Reality)
Being a manifestation of the name al-Karīm (The Generous) and the name al-Raḥīm (The Compassionate)
Is it really possible that the Lord of this world, who possesses endless generosity, mercy, elevated qualities and jealousy, as evinced by the effects that He has made manifest, would not give a recompense befitting His generosity and mercy, and would not give a punishment befitting His might and jealousy?
Yes; if the way things proceed in this world is carefully observed, one sees that all living beings, from the most powerless and weakest of them1 to the strongest, are given the provision befitting them. The weakest and most powerless of them are given the best provision of all.
A remedy and a healing are made to reach the each afflicted one, coming whence they never expected. Banquets are put on and gifts are given with immensely lofty generosity, that indicates self-evidently that a hand of infinite generosity is working in [this world].
For example:
In spring the way in which, like houris of Paradise, the trees are dressed in garments resembling silk brocade; they are inlaid with ornaments of flowers and fruits, and subjected to our service.
The sweetest and most artful, multifarious fruits are presented to us upon their branches, their delicate hands; moreover, look at how we are fed the sweetest, healing honey from the hand of a poisonous flying insect; furthermore, how we are dressed in the most beautiful and softest of garments by means of an insect that has no hands; likewise, how within a little kernel, a vast treasury of mercy is stored up for us.
If one carefully looks at all of these things, it is understood self-evidently that they are all the effect of a generosity of surpassing beauty, and a mercy of surpassing delicacy. Moreover, the striving of all beings other than man and certain predatory animals, from the sun, moon and earth to the smallest of creatures, to carry out their tasks with perfect meticulousness, and the fact of their not overstepping their own bounds even the length of a fingertip; and the very existence of universal obedience in sublime dignity – all of this indicates that all things only act by the command of One possessing tremendous majesty and might.
Whether they are plants, animals or human beings, it is self-evidently understood from the care of mothers2 for their weak, powerless children with compassionate pity and with the most wonderful nourishment of milk that the manifestations of a singularly vast mercy work within these matters and direct them.
The Actor in this universe possesses the like of this endless generosity, endless mercy, and endless majesty and might.
Now, endless majesty and might necessarily entail that the transgressor be disciplined. Endless generosity entails endless hospitality, and endless mercy entails a beneficence befitting to it.
Yet the fact of the matter is that only a one millionth part like a drop in the sea becomes realised and manifest in this transient world and this short lifespan.
That is to say, there must thus exist a realm of happiness befitting that generosity and mercy – otherwise, one would be forced to deny the very existence of this manifest mercy, which would be like denying the existence of the sun that fills the day with its light.
For extinction without restoration would turn pity into affliction, love into burning [torture], blessings into punishment, the intellect into a sinister tool, and pleasure into pain. Extinction without restoration entails the coming to an end of the very reality of mercy itself.
Likewise, there must be a realm of retribution befitting that majesty and might. For how often does the oppressor remain in his might, and the oppressed in humiliation, the both of them then departing from this world in these states. The matter must then be postponed to a Supreme Court of Justice, and delayed – but not neglected.
Sometimes retribution takes place even in this world. The multifarious punishments that have afflicted the rebellious and recalcitrant nations of previous ages demonstrate that man is not unattended and unrestricted. Indeed, he is susceptible at all times to the blows of majesty and jealousy.
Yes; the duties and capabilities of man stand out in their importance when compared with those of the rest of existing beings.
If man does not know his Lord through faith after his Lord has made himself known to him through the like of such harmoniously ordered works of art, and if he does not try to endear himself to his Lord through servanthood after His Lord has so endeared Himself to him by way of the ornamented fruits of His mercy; and if he does not reverence Him with gratitude and praise after His Lord has manifested His love and mercy upon him through the diverse blessings that He has bestowed upon him, is it at all possible that this man not be punished, or that he be left unattended and unrestricted?
[Is it at all possible that] the might and jealousy-possessing Majestic Being would not ready a realm of retribution? And is it really possible that the Merciful and Compassionate would not ready a realm of recompense, and bestow eternal happiness upon the believers who, in return for His making Himself known, know Him through faith, and who in return for His endearing of Himself to them, love him through worship and service, and causing others to love Him, and in return for His mercy for them, have gratitude and reverence?
The gate of wisdom and justice (The Third Reality)
Being a manifestation of the names al-Ḥakīm (The Wise) and al-‘Ādil (The Just)
Is it at all possible3 that the Majestic Being who manifested the kingdom of His Lordship with wisdom, harmonious order, justice and a balance that runs through all things, from particles to suns, would not recompense and reward the believers who take refuge under the wing of protection of His Lordship, and who only act in faith and servanthood in accordance with that wisdom and justice? [And is it really possible] that He not discipline those who transgress the bounds, who rebel against that wisdom and justice through disbelief and tyranny?
However, not even one in a thousand of that which is befitting to that wisdom and justice is implemented on man in this temporary world; [the matter] is rather postponed.
The majority of the people of misguidance depart from this world without having received their punishment, just as most of the people of guidance depart without finding their recompense.
The matter must then be postponed to a Supreme Court of Justice, and ultimate felicity. Yes; it is visibly apparent that the One who acts within this world does what He does with infinite wisdom.
Do you wish for a proof of that? The proof of that is the fact of His carefully attending to their best interests and to what is of benefit to them in all things.
Do you not see the careful attending to the benefit and wisdoms existing within man’s every limb, bone and vein, and indeed in the very cells of his body – they are in every place therein, and every part therein; even adorning certain of his limbs with as many wisdoms as there are fruits on a tree – all of this indicates that these things are being made to take place by a hand of infinite wisdom.
Moreover, the existence of a harmonious order in the artful making of all things demonstrates that matters are working according to an infinite wisdom. Yes; the insertion of the exact blueprint for the development of a beautiful flower within its tiny seed, and the writing down, with the spiritual pen of destiny, of the scroll of works, life story and the list of apparatus pertaining to a vast tree, within an extremely small seed, all makes clear that a pen of endless wisdom works within these matters.
The fact that there is an exceedingly beautiful art inherent in the making of all things indicates that it is all the inscription of an Artful Maker Who is Endlessly Wise. Yes; the insertion into the body of tiny man of an index of the entire universe, the keys to all of the treasuries of mercy, and the mirrors of all of His names, indeed points to wisdom in endlessly beautiful artistry. And now, is it at all possible that this governing, dominant wisdom, carrying out such enterprises of Lordship as these, would not wish to honour them and honour them eternally, those who take refuge in the wing of that Lordship, those who through their faith obey Him? Do you also wish for a proof that all things are made to proceed according to justice and balance?
The bestowal of existence upon all things, and their being dressed in their particular forms and placed in their appropriate places in sensitive balances and according to particular specifications all indicates that they are made to proceed by way of an endless justice and balance.
Further, the granting of rights to all those entitled according to their innate capacity; that is, His bestowal upon them in the best way possible of all things necessary to their existence, as well as all of the apparatus that is requisite to their living on [forever], indicates a hand of absolute justice.
And furthermore, the fact that all needs that are requested and desired in the language of capacity, of innate need, and of desperate need are continually responded to, points to endless justice and wisdom.
Now, is it at all possible that a justice and wisdom that hastens to relieve the most insignificant need of the most insignificant creature, would neglect the greatest need, like that of eternity, of man, the greatest of creatures; and is it at all possible that He would leave them without a response to the greatest thing in which they ask for help, and the biggest request that they have; and that He would not both preserve and safeguard the sublimity of His Lordship by protecting the rights of His servants? The fact is, man, who lives out his short life in this transient world, is not able therein to attain the like of the reality of justice; rather, [this attainment] is postponed to a Supreme Court of Justice.
For true justice requires that that very tiny man attains recompense or meets a punishment not in accordance with his small size, but rather according to the immensity of his crime, the importance of his quiddity, and the sublimity of his vocation. And since this transient, temporary world is extremely far from being the type of place in which the like of this justice and wisdom could become manifest for man who was created for endless eternity, surely that Just Being, August Possessor of Beauty, the Wise Being, Beautiful Possessor of Majesty, must possess a perpetual Hell and an enduring Paradise.
The gate of the compassion and servanthood of Muḥammad [PBUH] (The Fifth Reality)
Being a manifestation of the names al-Mujīb (The Answerer) and al-Raḥīm (The Compassionate)
Is it at all possible for a compassionate Lord, the pity and mercy of Whom is endless, Who is aware of the least need of the least of His creatures, and comes to their aid with perfect compassion and whence they would never expect; Who hears the softest voice of the most hidden of creatures and helps them – Who responds, in the language of both state and speech, to every requester; would it really be possible for such a being to then be aware of the greatest need of the greatest of servants, and the most beloved4 of all creatures to Him, yet not then fulfil it or come to his aid? For Him to hear the most sublime prayer, but not accept it?
Yes; the kindness and facilitation clearly manifest with respect – for example – to the provision and rearing of animals’ weak and young, both indicate that the Owner of this universe acts therein with a Lordship of surpassing mercy.
Now, is at all acceptable [a notion] that one who has such compassionate pity in Lordship would not accept the most beautiful prayer of the best of creation?
Here, I will explain this reality again, just as I have explained it in the ‘Nineteenth Word’.
O friend, listening to this alongside my own nafs! In the allegory we mentioned, a gathering was taking place upon an island. A noble lieutenant was delivering a speech; the reality to which this points to runs as follows:
Come! Let us abstract ourselves from present time, and journey in thought to the Age of Bliss, and in our mind’s eye to the Arabian Peninsula, so that we can visit the Most Noble Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and witness him as he fulfils his vocation of perfect servanthood.
Look; this person is the cause of the attainment of eternal happiness, and the means of arriving at it, through his messengership and guidance. He is likewise, through his servanthood and prayer, the cause of the very existence of that happiness, and the means of the creation of Paradise. Look now! This person is making a prayer of supreme importance, and engaging in the most sublime worship, all for the sake of endless happiness. It is almost as if this peninsula and indeed the earth in its entirety is joining in his supreme prayer, and supplicating. For just as it is the case that his servanthood contains that of the entirety of the nation that follows him, so too does it contain the secret of the servanthood of all of the prophets, by way of the secret of concordance. He makes this supreme prayer and supplication in such a vast group that it is as if the perfected and luminous of the children of Adam, from the time of Adam upon whom be peace to our time and even to the Day of Resurrection are following his example and saying ‘amin!’ to his prayer.5
Look! He is praying for a universal need to be realised – that of endless life. It is not only the people of the earth that are joining in his prayer and supplication; the inhabitants of the heavens are doing so, and indeed, all that is in existence. In the language of their states, they are saying ‘O! Yes our Lord, give him that which he is asking for! Accept his prayer! We too ask for the same!’ Then look; he is asking for endless happiness in a way that is brimming with melancholy, love, longing and humility, making the whole universe weep, and join in his prayer.
Look! Requesting this happiness for so great a purpose and aim, he makes a prayer that raises man and all creatures above tumbling into absolute annihilation, and saves them from the lowest of the low, the state of worthlessness, futility and purposelessness, to the highest of the high – to true value and ever-enduring life, to lofty vocations, and the status of written messages of the Independent and Eternally Besought. Look! He supplicates in so lofty a state of weeping and asking for help, and in a state of begging for mercy, makes so sweet a prayer, that it is quite as if all being, and the heavens and the Throne are made through him to hear, and the ecstasy of their love incited.
To his prayer,6 he makes them say ‘Amin! Oh Allāh Amin!’ And look: he asks for happiness and endless life from the All-Hearing and Generous Almighty, the All-Seeing and Compassionate All-Knowing One Who witnesses, hears and accepts the most hidden desire and hidden prayer of even the most hidden living creature, and has mercy upon it.
Even if the request is only in the language of the state of that thing, He answers it. His bestowal and answering is brimming with such wisdom, insight and mercy that He leaves not the slightest room for any doubt that this training and this direction are those particular to One who is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, one Generous and Compassionate. What does he ask for, the Pride of Creation, blessings and peace be upon him, the source of honour of the species of man, the unique one of the universe and of time? He is standing upon the earth, having gathered all of the children of Adam behind him, with his hands raised, turned to the Most Sublime Throne, praying inside the reality of the servanthood of Ahmad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), which brings together an encapsulation of the servanthood of all men. Let us hearken to him!
Look! For himself and for his nation, he is asking for eternal happiness. He is asking for endless life, and Paradise. All this he asks, with all of the holy Divine names that manifest their beauty in the mirrors of all of the beings in existence. He asks for the intercession with those names; you see all this.
Ever were the limitless factors necessitating the existence of the Hereafter not to be, nor the proofs of its existence, a single of his prayers would cause Paradise to be built; for the power of its Merciful Creator, creating it is as easy as the creation of spring.7 Yes; how could it be difficult for the Absolutely Almighty to create Paradise, who in spring makes the surface of the earth into a Gathering place, and brings hundreds of thousands of samples of the Resurrection into existence?
That is to say, just as his message caused this world of examination to be opened, and attained the secret of لولك لولك لما خلقت الفلك ‘But for you, I would not have created the celestial sphere’, so too did his servanthood cause the opening of the realm of happiness of the Hereafter.
Is it at all possible thus that artful beauty without deficiency, and the peerless comeliness of Lordship, the both of which have bewildered the intellects of all, and become manifested in the harmonious order of this world and in vast mercy, could accept such ugliness, harshness, randomness and chaos inherent in not answering that prayer? That is, to listen with careful concern to the least and most insignificant desires and voices and to fulfil and realise them, yet to not hear, understand or fulfil the most significant and necessary desires?
No, absolutely not! A thousand times far be it from Him to do such a thing! The like of this beauty could never uglify itself by accepting such ugliness.8
That is, just as the Most Noble Messenger opened the gate of this world through his messengership, so too does he open the gate of the Hereafter through his servanthood.
Blessings of the Merciful be upon him, blessings that fill this world and Paradise. Oh Allāh, send blessings upon your slave and messenger, that beloved who is the master of the two worlds and the pride of the worlds, the life of the two realms, the means of the two happinesses, the possessor of the two wings, and the messenger of men and jinn; and upon all of his family and companions, and his brothers from amongst the prophets and messengers. Amīn.
The gate of protection and preservation (The Seventh Reality)
Being a manifestation of the names al-Ḥafīẓ (The Preserver) and al-Raqīb (The Overseer)
Is it at all possible for a preservation that preserves all things in perfect order and balance, whether wet, dry, great or small, run-of-the-mill or lofty, in the heavens and upon the earth, land and sea, who sieves out their outcomes in a way that resembles accounting, to not preserve the deeds and actions of man, who possesses a sublime nature, and whose level is that of the supreme khilāfah [vicegerency], and whose immense vocation is that of carrying the greatest trust, deeds and actions related to universal Lordship? That they not be sieved out with accounting’s sieve?
That his actions not be weighed upon justice’s balance? That man not be recompensed nor meet a punishment that corresponds to his actions?
No, absolutely not!
Yes; the one that directs the universe preserves all things according to an order and a balance. Now, both order and balance are themselves a manifestation of knowledge and wisdom and volition and predestination. For we see that the body of every artful being is created according to absolute order and balance. Moreover, its changing of form throughout its life is harmoniously ordered, and so too is its overall form masterfully ordered.
For we all witness the way in which the Majestic Preserver preserves a great number of the images of all things, the lifespan and vocation of which have ended, and which have departed from this witnessed world, within memories, which are like unto preserved tablets, like archetypal mirrors. He inscribes and writes the majority of their life-stories in their seeds and outcomes, and causes them to endure within inner and outer mirrors.
For example: The memory of a human being, the fruits of a tree, the kernel of a fruit and the seeds of a flower all indicate the sublimity of the all-encompassing nature of the law of preservation.
Do you not see that all flowering, fruit-giving beings in the vast spring, and the scrolls particular to them of their actions, and the laws governing their creation, formation and the samples of their forms, are all written and preserved within only a limited number of tiny seeds? The following spring, in spreading open the scrolls of their actions within the account particular to them, with perfect wisdom and order He forms another vast world of spring, thereby revealing the extent to which preservation has become manifest in such powerfully all-encompassing fashion.
Now, if such preservation takes place within such temporary, run-of-the-mill, transient, trivial things as these, is it conceivable that as part of preservation’s supervision, the actions of man would not be carefully recorded – actions that bear important fruit in the unseen world, the world of the Hereafter, the world of spirits and in universal Lordship? No, absolutely not!
Yes; it is understood from this preservation being manifested in this way that the Owner of all beings in existence is deeply concerned to monitor and preserve everything that takes place in His kingdom. Furthermore, in His rulership, He possesses maximal sensitivity. He has care and concern in the kingdom of His Lordship to such a degree that He records, and causes His officials to record, the most minor event and the smallest service. Within diverse things, He preserves the images of everything that occurs in His kingdom.
Now, this preservation points to the fact that a momentous accounting book of actions is going to be opened, recording especially the great deeds and pivotal actions of man. For with respect to quiddity, he is the greatest, noblest and most honoured of creatures, and thus, his great deeds and significant actions are to be subjected to an important taking to account and balance, and the scroll of his deeds is to be spread open.
Now, is it at all possible that man be honoured with the khilāfah and the trust, and be made to ascend to the degree of lieutenant and witnesser by his becoming interposed into the worship and glorification of most existent beings, due to his proclamation, within the realms of multiplicity, of Allāh’s unity through his witnessing of the universal enterprises of Lordship – and for him to then enter his grave and lie in repose without being awoken? Without being asked about all that he has done, big and small, and without journeying to the Resurrection to behold the Supreme Court of Justice? No, absolutely not!
And how could man possibly depart to non-existence, thereby fleeing from the Majestic Almighty One whose past actions – miracles of His power – testify that He is able to create all of the possible beings that are going to come into existence in the future?9 He that brings into existence the winter and the spring, both of which resemble the Resurrection to a vast extent – how could man flee from Him, and go into the earth and conceal himself? Since he is not taken to account befittingly in this world, he must therefore be going to a Supreme Court of Justice, and ultimate felicity.
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References:
1) The conclusive evidence that licit sustenance is not acquired by means of one’s ability, but is bestowed based upon one’s poverty, is the excellent provision of babies and small children, who have no ability and strength, and the meagre provision of strong, able predatory animals; as well as the corpulence of stupid fish and the scrawniness, that comes with the anxiety of acquiring sustenance, of clever, crafty foxes and monkeys. That is, provision in relation to ability and volition is thus in reverse proportionality; that is, the more that one depends upon one’s own ability and volition, the more one is afflicted with the anxiety of attaining provision.
2) Yes; a hungry lion’s preferring its weak cub over itself, and its abstaining from eating the piece of meat that it has procured, giving it instead to its cub; a timid hen’s attacking dogs and lions in order to protect her young; also, a fig tree’s itself eating mud and feeding its fruits which are its children, pure milk – all of this makes self-evidently clear to anyone who is not blind that they only move by the command of One Endlessly Compassionate, Generous and Pitying. Yes; the fact of unconscious creatures, like plants and beasts, carrying out singularly conscious and wise acts necessarily points to there being a superlatively Knowing and Wise being, and that he is employing them, and to the fact that they act in his name.
3) Yes; the expression ‘is it at all possible?’ has been repeated many times, for it conveys an important secret, which is that most disbelief and misguidance stems from deeming things improbable. That is, the people of disbelief and misguidance deem something to be impossible or absurd and so they deny it. It is for this reason that in the ‘Resurrection Epistle’, it has been conclusively shown that real improbability, real impossibility, absurdity, real difficulty, and indeed difficulties that are at the degree of logical inconceivability lie upon the road of disbelief and the method of misguidance – and that true possibility, and true intelligibility and indeed ease of the degree of necessity are all upon the road of faith and the way of Islam.
The upshot: philosophers are going into denial by deeming things improbable. ‘The Tenth Word’ shows which side [of the argument] is truly improbable through that expression [is it at all possible… ?], and slaps them in the mouth.)
4) Yes; he who ruled for one thousand three hundred and fifty years and still rules, the community of whom has reached numbers of more than three hundred and fifty million in most times; the one the subjects of whom daily renew their allegiance to, testify to the perfections of, and perfectly submit to the commandments of; half of the earth and a fifth of humanity have become dyed with his dye, which is to say that they have taken on his spiritual colour – he is the beloved of their hearts, and the trainer of their spirits; he is surely the greatest servant of the Lord who acts within this universe. Moreover, most of the types of creations have applauded his vocation and his messengership in their bearing one of the many fruits of his miracles.
There is no doubt that he is the most beloved of the Creator of this universe’s creatures. All human beings have a need like everlasting life that they request through every one of their innate abilities, a need that raises them from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high. This need is doubtlessly the greatest of needs – and the greatest servant will request from the Fulfiller of Needs in the name of all.
5) Yes – all of the prayers carried out by the Islamic ummah, and all of the [canonical] prayers, as well as the prayers for blessings that have been sent upon the Messenger up until now after his own supplications constitute a perpetual ‘amin!’ to and universal participation in his prayer – such that the each prayer for blessings is an ‘amin!’ to that prayer. The prayer of each individual from his ummah and their sending their greetings of peace upon him in each canonical prayer, and the prayer that those who follow the Shāfi’ī school [of Islamic Sacred Law] make for him after the second call to the Prayer [al-iqāma]; all this is a universal ‘amin!’ of great strength to his supplication concerning eternal happiness. This is what the Most Noble Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, asks in the name of all humanity: the eternity and endless happiness that all human beings hope for and request with all of their strength, in the language of the state of the innate disposition of humanity. The luminous of mankind following him say ‘amin!’ Is it at all possible that this prayer not be joined to an acceptance?
6) Yes; all of the actions of the Actor in this world are witnessed as being characterised by consciousness, awareness, knowledge and wisdom. In no way whatever is it thus possible that this Actor not have consciousness and knowledge of the movements of the finest individual of all of His works of art; and it is not possible in any way whatever that this All-knowing Actor would not care or be concerned about that finest individual, although He knows of his movements and his prayers. It is not possible in any way whatever that that Almighty, Compassionate Actor would not accept those prayers, although He is not ignorant of them. Yes; the universe’s state was transformed by the light of the Most Noble Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. Man’s true quiddity was revealed thereby and became clear, as did the entire universe. It became clear [by means of that light] that the beings existing in this universe are messages of the Independent and Eternally Besought, urging [us] to read the Divine names, and that they are employees under orders – that they are precious, meaningful, and candidates for eternity. Had that light not come into being, existent beings would have languished in the darknesses of delusions, condemned to absolute annihilation; they would be without value, meaning or benefit; they would be futile, random, confused – a game of chance.
It is on the basis of this secret that all existent beings from the Throne to the earth and from the soil to the heavenly lamps take pride in his light and demonstrate their having a connection to him, just as humankind say ‘amin!’ to his prayer. The truth is that the spirit of the worship of the Most Noble Messenger, the blessings and peace of Allāh be upon him, is supplication; indeed, the movements and striving of created beings are a type of prayer – for example, the movement of a kernel is a type of prayer to its Creator that it becomes a tree.
7) Yes; the manifestation of numberless, countless samples of miraculous wonders and examples of the Gathering and Resurrection upon the face of the earth, which is like a tiny page with respect to the Hereafter, and the writing down of the species of unique, harmoniously ordered works of art which are like three hundred thousand books upon that one page, and their being incorporated therein with perfect mastery and order; there can be no doubt that this is more difficult than building benign, harmoniously ordered Paradise, and than bringing it into existence in the vast Hereafter. Indeed, the following could be said: the degree to which creating the gardens of spring is more difficult than creating that Paradise is the same degree to which Paradise towers above the spring, and is indeed even more prone to stir wonderment.
8) Yes; the transformation of essences is by consensus impossible, and the most extreme of impossibilities with respect to the transformation of essences is an opposite transforming into its opposite; and the most severe impossibility by a thousand degrees, which is self-evident, in the transformation of opposites, is an opposite being the opposite of its being, whilst remaining characterised by its [original] quiddity, like absolute beauty’s being, for example, absolute ugliness whilst being true beauty.
The beauty of Lordship in our example, witnessed and proven as it is, would thus be ugliness itself, despite remaining characterised by the beauty of Lordship – this is the most striking of all of the examples of impossibilites and absurdities in this world.
9) Yes; past time – that begins at the present moment and extends back to the beginning of the creation of the world – is made up of events and occurrences, and every day, year and age that ever came into existence is a line and page and book calligraphed with the pen of predestination; and the hand of power has written therein the miracles of His signs in perfect wisdom and harmonious order. As for future time, that begins from the present moment and extends on to the Resurrection and on to Paradise and on to endless eternity; it is made up of possibilities. That is, the past is events, and the future is possible beings. Now, if we were to place the chain of these two tenses of time facing one another – there is no doubt whatsoever that the One Who created yesterday and brought the beings particular to it into existence is also capable of creating tomorrow along with its [particular] creatures; and there is also no doubt that the existent beings and miracles of this past time which constitutes the sphere of wonders, comprise miracles of the Almighty Possessor of Majesty, and that they conclusively testify that that Almighty One is able to bring the entirety of the future into existence, and to bring all possible beings into existence, and to manifest all of His wonders.
Yes; just as the one who would create a single apple must necessarily be able to create every apple in the world, and able also to create the entire spring; and just as the one unable to create the whole spring is also unable to create a single apple, for that apple is woven upon that workbench, and thus the one able to create an apple must be able to create the spring. For a single apple is a miniaturised exemplar of a tree and indeed of a garden – and indeed of the universe. It is a miracle of art in that the apple’s seeds bear the entire life-history of the vast tree. Thus, the One Who creates it upon this form must not be powerless to create anything whatsoever, and moreover; the One who creates this day is able to create the Doomsday, and the One who created the spring must be able to create the Day of Resurrection.
The One who attaches all of the worlds of the past upon the ribbon of time with perfect wisdom and order and who reveals them must indubitably be able to attach other universes upon the ribbon of the future and reveal them; indeed He will actually do so.
In many of the ‘Words’, especially the ‘Twenty-second Word’, we have conclusively proved that ‘whomsoever is not able to create everything cannot create anything, and whomsoever is able to create a single thing must be able to create everything. Then, if the creation of all things is assigned to One, creating all things becomes as easy as the creation of a single thing; yet if it is to be assigned to numerous causes and to multiplicity, then the creation of a single thing becomes as difficult and problematic as creating everything, to the degree of impossibility.