ievous sin, but for their ignorance of the inner
core of mysteries and the fact that they paid no heed to His splendours
and regarded not His proofs. Else would they have acknowledged His words,
and borne witness to the verses He revealed, confessed the truth of His
utterances, sought shelter under the protective shadow of His banner,
learned of His signs and tokens, and rejoiced in His blissful tidings.

Know thou that the Divine Essence, which is called the Invisible of the
Invisibles, never to be described, beyond the reach of mind--is sanctified
above any mention, any definition or hint or allusion, any acclamation or
praise. In the sense that It is that It is, the intellect can never grasp
It, and the soul seeking knowledge of It is but a wanderer in the desert,
and far astray. 'No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision: He
is the Subtile, the All-Informed.'(18)

When, however, thou dost contemplate the innermost essence of all things,
and the individuality of each, thou wilt behold the signs of thy Lord's
mercy in every created thing, and see the spreading rays of His Names and
Attributes throughout all the realm of being, with evidences which none
will deny save the froward and the unaware. Then wilt thou observe that
the universe is a scroll that discloseth His hidden secrets, which are
preserved in the well-guarded Tablet. And not an atom of all the atoms in
existence, not a creature from amongst the creatures but speaketh His
praise and telleth of His attributes and names, revealeth the glory of His
might and guideth to His oneness and His mercy: and none will gainsay this
who hath ears to hear, eyes to see, and a mind that is sound.

And whensoever thou dost gaze upon creation all entire, and dost observe
the very atoms thereof, thou wilt note that the rays of the Sun of Truth
are shed upon all things and shining within them, and telling of that
Day-Star's splendours, Its mysteries, and the spreading of Its lights.
Look thou upon the trees, upon the blossoms and fruits, even upon the
stones. Here too wilt thou behold the Sun's rays shed upon them, clearly
visible within them, and manifested by them.

Shouldst thou, however, turn thy gaze unto a Mirror, brilliant, stainless,
and pure, wherein the divine Beauty is reflected, therein wilt thou find
the Sun shining with Its rays, Its heat, Its disc, Its fair form all
entire. For each separate entity possesseth its allotted portion of the
solar light