ance of
His glory. It is evident, therefore, that, in such circumstances, He is
closer to him than his own self. He will, indeed, so remain for ever, for,
whereas the one true God knoweth all things, perceiveth all things, and
comprehendeth all things, mortal man is prone to err, and is ignorant of
the mysteries that lie enfolded within him....

Let no one imagine that by Our assertion that all created things are the
signs of the revelation of God is meant that--God forbid--all men, be they
good or evil, pious or infidel, are equal in the sight of God. Nor doth it
imply that the Divine Being--magnified be His name and exalted be His
glory--is, under any circumstances, comparable unto men, or can, in any
way, be associated with His creatures. Such an error hath been committed
by certain foolish ones who, after having ascended into the heavens of
their idle fancies, have interpreted Divine Unity to mean that all created
things are the signs of God, and that, consequently, there is no
distinction whatsoever between them. Some have even outstripped them by
maintaining that these signs are peers and partners of God Himself.
Gracious God! He, verily, is one and indivisible; one in His essence, one
in His attributes. Everything besides Him is as nothing when brought face
to face with the resplendent revelation of but one of His names, with no
more than the faintest intimation of His glory--how much less when
confronted with His own Self!

By the righteousness of My name, the All-Merciful! The Pen of the Most
High trembleth with a great trembling and is sore shaken at the revelation
of these words. How puny and insignificant is the evanescent drop when
compared with the waves and billows of God's limitless and everlasting
Ocean, and how utterly contemptible must every contingent and perishable
thing appear when brought face to face with the uncreated, the unspeakable
glory of the Eternal! We implore pardon of God, the All-Powerful, for them
that entertain such beliefs, and give utterance to such words. Say: O
people! How can a fleeting fancy compare with the Self-Subsisting, and how
can the Creator be likened unto His creatures, who are but as the script
of His Pen? Nay, His script excelleth all things, and is sanctified from,
and immeasurably exalted above, all creatures.

Furthermore, consider the signs of the revelation of God in their relation
one to another. Can the sun, which is but one of these signs, be regarded
as eq