veth His
servants and sifteth them, separating the believer from the infidel, the
detached from the worldly, the pious from the profligate, the doer of good
from the worker of iniquity, and so forth. Thus hath the Dove of holiness
proclaimed: "Do men think when they say 'We believe' they shall be let
alone and not be put to proof?"(23)

33 It behoveth him who is a wayfarer in the path of God and a wanderer in
His way to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on the
earth. He must renounce all save God, that perchance the portals of mercy
may be unlocked before his face and the breezes of providence may waft
over him. And when he hath inscribed upon his soul that which We have
vouchsafed unto him of the quintessence of inner meaning and explanation,
he will fathom all the secrets of these allusions, and God shall bestow
upon his heart a divine tranquillity and cause him to be of them that are
at peace with themselves. In like manner wilt thou comprehend the meaning
of all the ambiguous verses that have been sent down concerning the
question thou didst ask of this Servant Who abideth upon the seat of
abasement, Who walketh upon the earth as an exile with none to befriend,
comfort, aid, or assist Him, Who hath placed His whole trust in God, and
Who proclaimeth at all times: "Verily we are God's, and to Him shall we
return." (24)

34 Know thou that the passages that We have called "ambiguous" appear as
such only in the eyes of them that have failed to soar above the horizon
of guidance and to reach the heights of knowledge in the retreats of
grace. For otherwise, unto them that have recognized the Repositories of
divine Revelation and beheld through His inspiration the mysteries of
divine authority, all the verses of God are perspicuous and all His
allusions are clear. Such men discern the inner mysteries that have been
clothed in the garment of words as clearly as ye perceive the heat of the
sun or the wetness of water, nay even more distinctly. Immeasurably
exalted is God above our praise of His loved ones, and beyond their praise
of Him!

35 Now that We have reached this most excellent theme and attained such
lofty heights by virtue of that which hath flowed from this Pen through
the incomparable favours of God, the Exalted, the Most High, it is Our
wish to disclose unto thee certain stations in the wayfarer's journey
towards his Creator. Perchance all that thine eminence hath desired may be
revealed unto