who subject themselves to all manner of austerities before the gaze of
others in the hope of perpetuating their names, whilst in reality no
mention shall remain of them save in the curses and imprecations of the
dwellers of earth and heaven.

87 Say: Would it profit you in the least if, as ye fondly imagine, your
names were to endure? Nay, by the Lord of all worlds! Was the idol
'Uzza(10) made any greater by this, that its name lived on amidst the
worshippers of names? Nay, by Him Who is the Self of God, the
All-Glorious, the All-Compelling! Should your names fade from every mortal
mind, and yet God be well pleased with you, ye will indeed be numbered
among the treasures of His name, the Most Hidden. Thus have We sent down
Our verses that they may attract you unto the Source of all Lights, and
acquaint you with the purpose of your Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Abstain, then, from all that hath been forbidden unto you in the Book, and
eat of the lawful things which God hath provided for your sustenance.
Deprive not yourselves of His goodly bestowals, for He, verily, is the
Most Generous, the Lord of grace abounding. Subject not yourselves to
excessive hardships, but follow the way We have made plain unto you
through Our luminous verses and perspicuous proofs, and be not of the
negligent.

88 O concourse of divines! It is not yours to boast if ye abstain from
drinking wine and from similar transgressions which have been forbidden
you in the Book, for should ye commit such deeds, the dignity of your
station would then be tainted in the eyes of the people, your affairs
would be disrupted, and your name disgraced and dishonoured. Nay, your
true and abiding glory resideth in submission to the Word of Him Who is
the Eternal Truth, and in your inward and outward detachment from aught
else besides God, the All-Compelling, the Almighty. Great is the
blessedness of that divine that hath not allowed knowledge to become a
veil between him and the One Who is the Object of all knowledge, and who,
when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a beaming face towards
Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the learned. The inmates of Paradise
seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth its radiance over
all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered with the
inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath, verily, beheld the
True One, and he that turneth towards him hath, verily, turned towards
Go