Letters ( revised ) | THE EIGHTEENTH LETTER | 110
(101-111)

O God, show us what is indeed the truth, and make us follow it!

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.(2:32)

 

THIRD MATTER

 

An important matter that has not been solved by philosophy and reason.

 

Every  day  in  [new]  splendour  does  He  [shine]!(55:29)  *  Indeed,  your Sustainer is Doer of what He will.(11:107; 85:16)

 

Q u e s t i o n :  What is the reason for the astonishing unceasing activity in the universe? What is the wisdom in it? Why do these fleeting beings not stop, but are continuously changed and renewed?

T h e   A n s w e r : To explain the wisdom in this would require a thousand pages.  So  we  shall  leave  aside  a full explanation  and  condense  in two  pages  an extremely brief summary of it.

If a person performs  a natural function or social duty enthusiastically,  anyone who observes  him carefully will certainly understand that there are two things that make him act in this way:

The First are the benefits, fruits, and advantages resulting from the duty, which are called the ultimate cause.

The Second: Such things as love, desire, and pleasure cause him to perform the duty enthusiastically, and these are called the necessitating cause and reason.

For example, eating food; the pleasurable longing arising from appetite drive a person  to  eat,  and  afterwards,  the  result  of  eating  is  nourishing  the  body  and perpetuating  life.  In the same  way,  “And  God’s is the  highest  similitude,”(16:60) based on two sorts of divine names, the awesome and astonishing endless activity in the universe occurs for two vast instances of wisdom, each of which is also infinite:

The First:  Almight y God’s Most  Beautiful  Names  have  incalculable  sorts of manifestations. The variety in creatures arises from the variety of the manifestations. The names require to be manifested  in a permanent  fashion;  that is, they want to display their embroideries; that is, they want to see and display the manifestations of their beauties in the mirrors of their embroideries; that is, they want every instant to renew the book of the universe and missives of beings; that is, they necessitate the continuous meaningful writing, and to display each missive to the attentive gaze of the Most Pure and Holy Essence, the One signified, as well as to all conscious beings; they require to make each of the missives read.

No Voice