and thou wilt be a lamp of
guidance from which the lights of knowledge will emanate and spread in
those far countries and distant lands.

"O thou who art imploring God!..."

O thou who art imploring God!

I was indeed acquainted with the great misfortunes and afflictions which
have befallen thee, but I hope that through the bounty of thy Lord, He may
ordain unto thee heavenly fragrance and spirituality, attractive and
internal perceptions and incorporeal susceptibilities; that He may grant
thee strength after weakness, give thee rest after trouble, bring thee
nigh to Him, and make thee a sign of His love among all His maid-servants,
and forgive thy father, mother, brother and grandfather their sins.

Verily, He is the Pardoner, the Forgiver.

"O visitant of the Resort of spirits (who are) sincere in..."

O visitant of the Resort(69) of spirits (who are) sincere in the Religion
of God!

Blessed is the mother who bore thee and the breast whose milk suckled thee
and the bosom wherein thou wert nurtured, because thou hast apprehended
the Day of the Lord, hast prepared thyself to enter in unto His kingdom,
hast set thy face singly toward His Gracious Countenance, hast believed in
the Manifest Light, hast rejoiced in the Abundant Grace, hast responded to
the Voice of thy Lord with a sincere and beating heart and hast presented
thyself from those regions at the Glorious Threshold and hast marked thy
forehead with the pure, holy, fragrant Tomb(70), the breaths of whose
sanctity are spread abroad throughout the lands as fragrant musk is
diffused unto the distant place! Then thank thy Lord, the Merciful, the
Clement, for this great salvation (or fruition, achievement, or
attainment) and exceeding grace!

Now as to what thou askest concerning the spirit and its "return" to this
world of humanity and this elemental space: Know that spirit in general is
divided into five sorts--the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human
spirit, the spirit of faith, and the divine spirit of sanctity.

The vegetable spirit is the virtue augmentative, or growing or vegetative
faculty, which results from the admixture of the simple elements, with the
co-operation of water, air and heat.

The animal spirit is the virtue perceptive resulting from the admixture
and absorption of the vital elements generated in the heart, which
apprehend sense impressions.

The human spirit consists of the rational, or logical, reasoning