Since this is so, the book's Writer will certainly make it known and explain a part of it to each group according to their capacity. He will instruct in all the contents of the book the individual who has the most extensive and comprehensive view, the most universal consciousness, and the greatest ability. Wisdom requires that He should take the individual on a lofty journey in order to teach him all the contents of such a book and its universal truths. That is, He should cause him to travel from the furthest extreme of the levels of multiplicity, which is the first page, to the sphere of Divine oneness, which is the final page. Thus, through this comparison, you can look to an extent at the exalted instances of wisdom in the Ascension.

Now, we shall consider the atheist who is listening, and, listening to his heart, we shall learn what state it is in. And so it comes to mind that his heart would say: "I have begun to believe in it now, but I still do not have a clear understanding of it. I have three more important difficulties.

"The First: Why was this mighty Ascension special to Muhammad the Arabian (Peace and blessings be upon him)?

"The Second: How is he the seed of the universe? And you say that the universe was created from his Light, and also that he was its farthest and most illumined fruit. What does that mean?

"The Third: In your explanations above you say that he made his Ascension in order to rise to the celestial realm and to see the machinery and workshops of the works of art found in the realm of the earth, and the treasuries of their results. What does this mean?"

The Answer

Your First Difficulty: It has been analysed in detail in the first thirty Words, so here we shall set out a concise list briefly indicating the perfections of Muhammad (PBUH), the signs of his prophethood, and the fact that he was the most worthy to make the Ascension. It is as follows.

Firstly: Despite numerous corruptions in the texts of Holy Scriptures like the Torah, Gospels, and Psalms, in recent times even, an exacting scholar like Husayn Jisri extracted one hundred and fourteen good tidings of Muhammad's prophethood (PBUH), which he set forth in his Risale-i Hamidiye,¹²

Secondly: It has been proved historically that there were many predictions accurately forecasting the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), like those of the two soothsayers Shiqq and Satih, which, a while previously to his prophethood, gave news of it and the fact that he was to be the final prophet.<sup>13

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12. Husayn al-Jisr, al-Risâla al-Hamidiyya. Tıırk. tr. Manastırlı İsmail Hakkı. 4 vols. (istanbul: 1308); Suyüû, al-Khaşâ'is al-Kubrâ, i, 26,73.
13. Ibn Sayyid al-Nâs, 'Uyun al-Âthâr, i, 29; Qâdî Iyâd, al-Shifa', i, 364-6.</sup>