lower, and fresh pools are brimming
over, and paradise gleameth in beauty--but the unaware are still mired down
in their empty dreams.

The veil hath fallen away, the curtain is lifted, the clouds have parted,
the Lord of Lords is in plain sight--yet all hath passed the sinners by.

It is He Who hath made for you the new creation,(12) and brought on the
woe(13) that surpasseth all others, and gathered the holy together in the
realm on high. Verily in this are signs for those who have eyes to see.

And among His signs is the appearance of omens and joyous prophecies, of
hints and clues, the spreading of many and various tidings, and the
anticipations of the righteous, they who have now attained their goal.

And among His signs are His splendours, rising above the horizon of
oneness, His lights streaming out from the dayspring of might, and the
announcement of the Most Great Glad-Tidings by His Herald, the One, the
Incomparable. Verily in this is a brilliant proof for the company of those
who know.

Among His signs is His being manifest, being seen by all, standing as His
own proof, and His presence among witnesses in every region, among peoples
who fell upon Him even as wolves, and compassed Him about from every side.

Among His signs is His withstanding powerful nations and all-conquering
states, and a host of enemies thirsting for His blood, intent at every
moment upon His ruin, wheresoever He might be. Verily this is a matter
deserving the scrutiny of those who ponder the signs and tokens of God.

Another of His signs is the marvel of His discourse, the eloquence of His
utterance, the rapidity with which His Writings were revealed, His words
of wisdom, His verses, His epistles, His communes, His unfolding of the
Qur'an, both the abstruse verses thereof and the clear. By thy very life!
This thing is plain as day to whoever will regard it with the eye of
justice.

Again among His signs is the dawning sun of His knowledge, and the rising
moon of His arts and skills, and His demonstrating perfection in all His
ways, as testified by the learned and accomplished of many nations.

And again among His signs is the fact that His beauty stayed inviolate,
and His human temple was protected as He revealed His splendours, despite
the massed attacks of all His foes, who came against Him in their
thousands with their darting arrows, spears and swords. Herein is verily a
wonder and a warning to any fair judge.

And among Hi