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4: Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, ...
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1 |
Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, and hath fashioned all that is, Him Who hath raised up the
sincere to a station of honour
[Qur'án 17:81]
and hath made the invisible
world to appear on the plane of the visible--yet still, in their
drunken stupor,
[Qur'án 15:72]
do men wander and stray.
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2 |
He hath laid down the foundations of the lofty Citadel,
He hath inaugurated the Cycle of Glory, He hath brought
forth a new creation on this day that is clearly Judgement
Day--and still do the heedless stay fast in their drunken
sleep.
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3 |
The Bugle
[Qur'án 39:68; Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 133]
hath sounded, the Trumpet
[Qur'án 74:8]
hath been
blown, the Crier hath raised his call, and all upon the earth
have swooned away--but still do the dead, in the tombs of
their bodies, sleep on.
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4 |
And the second clarion
[Qur'án 39:68]
hath sounded, there hath followed
the second blast after the first,
[Qur'án 79:6]
and the dread woe
hath come, and every nursing mother hath forgot the infant
at her breast
[Qur'án 22:2]
--yet still the people, confused and distracted,
heed it not.
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5 |
And the Resurrection hath dawned, and the Hour hath
struck, and the Path hath been drawn straight, and the
Balance hath been set up, and all upon the earth have been
gathered together
[Qur'án 34:39]
--but still the people see no sign of the
way.
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6 |
The light hath shone forth, and radiance floodeth Mount
Sinai, and a gentle wind bloweth from over the gardens of
the Ever-Forgiving Lord; the sweet breaths of the spirit are
passing by, and those who lay buried in the grave are rising
up--and still do the heedless slumber on in their tombs.
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7 |
The flames of hell have been made to blaze, and heaven
hath been brought nigh; the celestial gardens are in flower,
and fresh pools are brimming over, and paradise gleameth
in beauty--but the unaware are still mired down in their
empty dreams.
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8 |
The veil hath fallen away, the curtain is lifted, the clouds
have parted, the Lord of Lords is in plain sight--yet all hath
passed the sinners by.
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9 |
It is He Who hath made for you the new creation,
[Qur'án 29:19]
and
brought on the woe
[Qur'án 79:34]
that surpasseth all others, and gathered
the holy together in the realm on high. Verily in this are
signs for those who have eyes to see.
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10 |
And among His signs is the appearance of omens and
joyous prophecies, of hints and clues, the spreading of many
and various tidings, and the anticipations of the righteous,
they who have now attained their goal.
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11 |
And among His signs are His splendours, rising above
the horizon of oneness, His lights streaming out from the
dayspring of might, and the announcement of the Most
Great Glad-Tidings by His Herald, the One, the Incomparable.
Verily in this is a brilliant proof for the company of
those who know.
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12 |
Among His signs is His being manifest, being seen by all,
standing as His own proof, and His presence among witnesses
in every region, among peoples who fell upon Him
even as wolves, and compassed Him about from every side.
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13 |
Among His signs is His withstanding powerful nations
and all-conquering states, and a host of enemies thirsting for
His blood, intent at every moment upon His ruin, wheresoever
He might be. Verily this is a matter deserving the
scrutiny of those who ponder the signs and tokens of God.
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14 |
Another of His signs is the marvel of His discourse, the
eloquence of His utterance, the rapidity with which His
Writings were revealed, His words of wisdom, His verses,
His epistles, His communes, His unfolding of the Qur'án,
both the abstruse verses thereof and the clear. By thy very
life! This thing is plain as day to whoever will regard it
with the eye of justice.
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15 |
Again among His signs is the dawning sun of His
knowledge, and the rising moon of His arts and skills, and
His demonstrating perfection in all His ways, as testified by
the learned and accomplished of many nations.
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16 |
And again among His signs is the fact that His beauty
stayed inviolate, and His human temple was protected as
He revealed His splendours, despite the massed attacks of
all His foes, who came against Him in their thousands with
their darting arrows, spears and swords. Herein is verily a
wonder and a warning to any fair judge.
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17 |
And among His signs is His long-suffering, His tribulations
and His woes, His agony in His chains and fetters, and
His calling out at every moment: `Come unto Me, come
unto Me, ye righteous! Come unto Me, come unto Me, ye
lovers of the good! Come unto Me, come unto Me, ye
dawning points of light!' Verily the gates of mystery are
opened wide--but still do the wicked disport themselves
with their vain cavillings!
[Qur'án 6:91; 52:12]
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18 |
Yet another of His signs is the promulgation of His Book,
His decisive Holy Text wherein He reproved the kings, and
His dire warning to that one
[Napoleon III]
whose mighty rule was felt
around the world--and whose great throne then toppled
down in a matter of brief days--this being a fact clearly
established and widely known.
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19 |
And among His signs is the sublimity of His grandeur,
His exalted state, His towering glory, and the shining out of
His beauty above the horizon of the Prison: so that heads
were bowed before Him and voices lowered, and humble
were the faces that turned His way. This is a proof never
witnessed in the ages gone before.
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20 |
Again among His signs are the extraordinary things He
continually did, the miracles He performed, the wonders
appearing from Him without interruption like the streaming
down of His clouds--and the acknowledgement, even
by unbelievers, of His powerful light. By His own life!
This was clearly verified, it was demonstrated to those of
every persuasion who came into the presence of the living,
the self-subsisting Lord.
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21 |
And yet another of His signs is the wide-spreading rays
of the sun of His era, the rising moon of His times in the
heaven of all the ages: His day, which standeth at the summit
of all days, for its rank and power, its sciences and its
arts, reaching far and wide, that have dazzled the world and
astonished the minds of men.
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22 |
Verily is this a matter settled and established for all
time.
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