if this be the case, how could ye
refute their arguments, invalidate their proofs, and challenge them
concerning their faith and their understanding of their Books and the
sayings of their leaders?

15 And should they reply: "The Books that are in the hands of this people,
which they call the Gospel and attribute to Jesus, the Son of Mary, have
not been revealed by God and proceed not from the Manifestations of His
Self", then this would imply a cessation in the abounding grace of Him Who
is the Source of all grace. If so, God's testimony to His servants would
have remained incomplete and His favour proven imperfect. His mercy would
not have shone resplendent, nor would His grace have overshadowed all. For
if at the ascension of Jesus His Book had likewise ascended unto heaven,
then how could God reprove and chastise the people on the Day of
Resurrection, as hath been written by the Imams of the Faith and affirmed
by its illustrious divines?

16 Ponder then in thine heart: Matters being such as thou dost witness,
and as We also witness, where canst thou flee, and with whom shalt thou
take refuge? Unto whom wilt thou turn thy gaze? In what land shalt thou
dwell and upon what seat shalt thou abide? In what path shalt thou tread
and at what hour wilt thou find repose? What shall become of thee in the
end? Where shalt thou secure the cord of thy faith and fasten the tie of
thine obedience? By Him Who revealeth Himself in His oneness and Whose own
Self beareth witness to His unity! Should there be ignited in thy heart
the burning brand of the love of God, thou wouldst seek neither rest nor
composure, neither laughter nor repose, but wouldst hasten to scale the
highest summits in the realms of divine nearness, sanctity, and beauty.
Thou wouldst lament as a soul bereaved and weep as a heart filled with
longing. Nor wouldst thou repair to thy home and abode unless God would
lay bare before thee His Cause.

17 O thou who hast soared to the realm of guidance and ascended to the
kingdom of virtue! Shouldst thou desire to apprehend these celestial
allusions, to witness the mysteries of divine knowledge, and to become
acquainted with His all-encompassing Word, then it behoveth thine eminence
to inquire into these and other questions pertaining to thine origin and
ultimate goal from those whom God hath made to be the Wellspring of His
knowledge, the Heaven of His wisdom, and the Ark of His mysteries. For
were it not for those effu