39. Part Two — 19
1To be brief: We were much astonished to find that by these statements he only wished to intimate that he possessed all these sciences, though I swear by God, he hath not felt a breeze from the garden of Divine Knowledge, nor is he informed of a single letter of the mysteries of Supreme Wisdom. Nay rather, should the meaning of Knowledge be explained, he would undoubtedly be confounded and the mountain of his being would be levelled. Notwithstanding his trivial and shallow statements, what extravagant claims he hath made!
2Glory be to God! How We wonder at the people who have accepted and followed such a person! They are contented with the dust and adhere to it, rejecting the Lord of Lords; satisfied with the cry of the crow and visage of the raven, renouncing the melody of the nightingale and the beauty of the rose. Many things were seen among the spurious words of this book. Alas indeed that the pen should be employed in the mention of them, or that time should be wasted therein. But should a touchstone be found, truth would be distinguished from falsehood, light from darkness, and sun from shadow.
3Among the sciences which this man professes is that of Alchemy. We earnestly desire that a king or a man of influence should require him to demonstrate this science from the world of words into the world of actuality, and this humble and unlearned one who hath not professed such sciences, nor considered their possession or lack either conducive to knowledge or ignorance, would undertake the same achievement in order that the truth and falsehood might be known. But of what avail! We have experienced nothing from the people of this day but the wounds of spears, and tasted naught else but deadly poison. The marks made by iron are still visible upon the neck, and the signs of oppression are still apparent upon the whole body.
4Concerning the grades of his learning, ignorance, knowledge and assurance, it is recorded in a Book, from which nothing is omitted, "Verily (the fruit of) the tree of El-Zakkum (shall be) the food of the Atheem (sinner)" (K. S. 44). Then other statements are made, ending in this saying: "Taste thou this, thou art the mighty Karim" (honorable person). Notice how clearly and explicitly his description is given in the Perspicuous Book. In his own book this person hath called himself the "Atheem servant," by way of humility: "Atheem" in the book, mighty among the "common people," "Karim" in name.
5Reflect upon the blessed verse so that the meaning of "(there is) neither a green (wet) thing, nor a dry thing, except it is (written) in the Perspicuous Book" (K. S. 6), may be inscribed upon the tablet of the heart. Notwithstanding all this, a number have followed him, turning away from the Moses of Knowledge and justice, and clinging to the Sameri of ignorance. They have rejected the Sun of Significances which is shining in the eternal Heaven of Divinity, deeming it not to exist.
6To be brief: O my brother, the gems of the Supreme Knowledge can only be obtained from the Divine Mine, the fragrance of the Ideal Myrtle can only be inhaled from the Rose-garden of Reality, and the Flowers of the Knowledge of Unity only grow in the city of pure hearts. "From a good ground shall its fruit spring forth (abundantly), by the permission of its Lord; but from the land which is bad it shall not spring forth but scantily" (K. S. 7).
7As it hath been shown that no one can enjoy the melodies of the Divine Nightingale save those who are custodians thereof, it is necessary and obligatory for everyone to submit the difficulties of the Divine questions and intricacies in the references of the Dawningplaces of Holiness, to the possessors of brilliant hearts and the bearers of the mysteries of Unity; so that the questions may be solved through the supreme confirmation and Divine bounties, and not by the assistance of acquired sciences. "Enquire, therefore, of those who have the custody of the Scriptures" (K. S. 16).
8But O my brother, when a seeker intends to turn the step of search and journeying into the path of the Knowledge of the King of Pre-existence, he must first cleanse and purify his heart which is the place of the appearance and emanation of the splendor of the hidden mysteries of Divinity, and he must cleanse and refine his breast which is the throne for the accession and establishment of the love of the Eternal Beloved from all the gloomy dusts of acquired learnings and from the allusions of satanic appearances. He must likewise sanctify his heart from attachment to water and clay that is, from all phantasmal forms and spectral images in such manner that no trace of love or hatred may remain in the heart, lest that love may cause him to incline toward a direction without guide, or that hatred prevent him from another direction; just as in this day, most are bereft of the immortal Face and of the threshold of Meanings, because of these two tendencies, and are grazing shepherdless in the deserts of error and oblivion. He should at all times trust in God, and turn away from the creatures; be severed and detached from the world of dust and united with the Lord of Lords; not preferring his own self before any one, but cleansing the tablet of the heart from pride and vainglory; attaching the heart to patience and self-restraint; observing silence and avoiding useless speech; for the tongue is a smouldering fire and loquacity is a deadly poison. Material fire devours bodies, but the fire of the tongue consumes souls and minds. The effect of the former vanishes in an hour, but the latter continues for a century.