Introduction

Introduction

By way of certain indications, we point now to certain issues that have been fully clarified in other places - in The Twenty-second, Nineteenth, and Twenty-sixth ‘Words’.

The First Indication: There are ‘three realities’ relating to the foolish man and his trustworthy friend in the allegory.

The First: My evil-commanding nafs, and my heart.

The Second: Students of philosophy, and disciples of the Wise Qur’ān

The Third: The nation of belief (ummah), and the nation of disbelief.

The most alarming aspect of the misguidance of students of philosophy, the nation of disbelief, and the evilcommanding nafs lies in their non-recognition of Allāh.

As the trustworthy one said in the allegory: ‘There can be no letter without a writer, nor a law without a ruler.’ We concur in saying:

‘A book; a book within the each word of which another entire book is written with a tiny pen, and within each letter a magnificent, artful poem written with a fine nib - for such a book to be without a writer is an absolute impossibility.

The notion of this universe and these creations being without inscriber constitutes, in the same way, an absolutely impossible impossibility. For this universe is a book the each page of which contains manifold books, and indeed there is a book in each of its words, and a poem in each of its letters.