The Third: As has reached your ears in previous discussions, no [being] obstructs [other beings] in regard to benefiting [from things]. For just as the sun in its entirety is Zayd's and its light is his place of relaxation and promenading, so in its entirety is it 'Amr's and a garden for him. If for example Zayd were all alone in the world, he would benefit from it no more than if he were together with all the world's people - with the exception of that part that looks to 'the two caves,' [like food, for these might be the object of scrummaging and obstruction].

The Fourth: The universe does not have only one fine facet; it has layer upon layer of different, general facets the benefits of which [also] have numerous general and interconnected facets. And the ways of utilizing them are numerous and various. For example, if you have a garden, you benefit from it in one way and the people benefit in another, by receiving pleasure from it through the faculty of sight for instance. For of course man derives benefit through his five external senses, his inner faculties, and his body and spirit, and also by means of his intellect and heart, in his life both in this world and in the hereafter, and from the point of view of taking lessons; you can think of further examples in the same way. There is nothing preventing him utilizing any of these facets of anything on the earth, or even in the world.

The Fifth:

• If you were to ask: The verses here and others in other places indicate that this vast world was created for human beings and that their utilization of it is the ultimate aim of its creation. However, the planet Saturn, which is larger than the earth, is not proportionately more beneficial for man; it is just a sort of adornment and pale light. So how could this be an ultimate reason [for its creation]?

You would be told: A person who profits [from a thing] loses himself in the facet of it that he utilizes, he focusses his mind on it and forgets everything else, and he looks at everything else from his own point of view. Also, [in his view] the aims and purpose of a thing are confined to the facet that looks to himself. Hence there is nothing exaggerated or inaccurate if in the context of gracious bestowal it is said in connection with that person: "Although Saturn's Creator gave it existence for thousands of instances of wisdom, each of which has thousands of facets, and every facet can be benefited from in thousands of ways, He created it for that person to benefit from."

The Sixth: As you noted earlier, for sure man is small but [in meaning] he is great, hence for him some minor, particular benefit becomes universal and great. So there is nothing futile and useless.