g, hath been
pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal cup of
true knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace of the
holy Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously recorded:
"Hearts have they with which they understand not."(88)

In another passage of the Gospel it is written: "And it came to pass that
on a certain day the father of one of the disciples of Jesus had died."
That disciple reporting the death of his father unto Jesus, asked for
leave to go and bury him. Whereupon, Jesus, that Essence of Detachment,
answered and said: "Let the dead bury their dead."(89)

In like manner, two of the people of Kufih went to 'Ali, the Commander of
the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell it; the other was to be
the purchaser. They had agreed that this transaction should be effected
and the contract be written with the knowledge of 'Ali. He, the exponent
of the law of God, addressing the scribe, said: "Write thou: 'A dead man
hath bought from another dead man a house. That house is bounded by four
limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the other to the vault of the
grave, the third to the Sirat, the fourth to either Paradise or hell.'"
Reflect, had these two souls been quickened by the trumpet-call of 'Ali,
had they risen from the grave of error by the power of his love, the
judgment of death would certainly not have been pronounced against them.

In every age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and their
chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual significance of
the terms "life," "resurrection," and "judgment." If one will ponder but
for a while this utterance of 'Ali in his heart, one will surely discover
all mysteries hidden in the terms "grave," "tomb," "sirat," "paradise" and
"hell." But oh! how strange and pitiful! Behold, all the people are
imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried beneath the nethermost
depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to but a dewdrop of the
crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true
life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life
of the flesh is common to both men and animals, whereas the life of the
spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the
ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life knoweth
no death, and this existence is crowned by immortality. Even as it hath
been said: "He who is