In lhe Name t>f God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
So God sets forth parables for men, so that they may bear ļihem] in mind.'¹ * Such are the similitudes which we propound to men that they may reflect.²
One time two men were washing in a pool. Under some extraordinary influence they lost their senses and when they opened their eyes, they saw that it had transponed them to a strange land. It was such that with its perfect order it was like a country, or rather a town, or a palace.
They looked around themselves in complele bewilderment: if it was looked at in one way, a vast world was apparent; if in another, a well-ordered country; and if in another, a fine town. And if it was looked al in still another way, it was a palace which comprised a truly magnifcent world. Travelling around this strange world, they observed it and saw that creatures of one sort were speaking in a fashion, but they did not understand their language. Neverthless, it was understood from their signs that they were performing important works and duties.
One of the two men said to his friend: "This strange world must have someone to regulate it, and this orderly country must have a lord, and this fine town, an owner, and this finely made palace, a master builder. We must try to know him, for it is understood that the one who brought us here was he.
if we do not recognize him, who will help us? What can we await from these impotent creat-ues whose language we do not know and who do not heed us?
Moreover, surely one who makes a vast world in the form of a country, town, and palace, and fills it from top to bottom with wonderful things, and embellishes it with every sort of adornment, and decks it out with instructive miracles wants something from us and from those that come here. We must get to know him and find out what he wants."
The other man said: "I do not believe it, that there is a person such as the one you speak of, and that he governs this whole world on his own." His friend replied to him: "If we do not recognize him and remain indifferent towards him, there is no advantage in it at all, and if it is harmful, its harm will be immense. Whereas if we try to recognize him, there is little hardship involved, and if there is benefit, it will be great. Therefore, it is in no way sensible to remain indifferent towards him."
The foolish man said: "I consider all my ease and enjoyment to lie in not thinking of him. Also, I am not going to bother with things that make no sense to me. All these things are the confused objects of chance, they are happening by themselves. What is it to me?"
His intelligent friend replied: "This obstinacy of yours will push me, and a lot of others, into disaster. It sometimes happens that a whole country is laid waste because of one ill-mannered person."So the foolish man turned to him and said: "Either prove to me decisively that this large country has a single lord and a single maker, or leave me alone."
His friend replied: "Your obstinacy has reached the degree of lunacy, and you will be the cause of some disaster being visited on us. So I shall show you twelve proofs demonstrating that this world which is like a palace, this country which is like town, has a single maker and that it İs only he who runs and administers everything. He is completely free of all deficiency. This maker, who does not appear to us, sees us and everything, and hears our words. АП his works are miracles and marvels. All these creatures whom we see but whose tongues we do not understand are his officials."
FIRST PROOF
A hidden hand is working within all these works. For something which has not even an ounce of strength,³ something as small as a seed, is raising a load of thousands of pounds. And something that does not have even a particle of consciousness⁴ is performing extremely wise and purposeful works. That means they are not work¬ing by themselves, but that a hidden possessor of power is causing them to work. If they were inde¬pendent, it would necessitate all the works which we see everywhere in this land being miracles and everything to be a wonder-working marvel. And that is nonsense.

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l.  Qur-an  14:25
2. Qur-an  59;21.
3. This alludes to seeds, which bear trees on their heads.
4, This indicates delicate plants like the grapevine, which themselves cannot climb or bear the weight of fruits, so throwing their delicate arms around other plants or trees and winding themselves around them, they load themselves onto them.