n, and inclineth you unto that
which is unprofitable unto you. Verily, the thing that deterreth you, in
this day, from God is worldliness in its essence. Eschew it, and approach
the Most Sublime Vision, this shining and resplendent Seat. Blessed is he
who alloweth nothing whatsoever to intervene between him and his Lord. No
harm, assuredly, can befall him if he partaketh with justice of the
benefits of this world, inasmuch as We have created all things for such of
Our servants as truly believe in God.

147 Should your words, O people, be at variance with your deeds, what then
shall distinguish you from those who profess their faith in the Lord,
their God, and yet, when He came down to them overshadowed with clouds,
rejected Him and waxed proud before God, the Incomparable, the Omniscient?
Shed not the blood of anyone, O people, neither judge ye anyone unjustly.
Thus have ye been commanded by Him Who knoweth, Who is informed of all.
They that commit disorders in the land after it hath been well ordered,
these indeed have outstepped the bounds that have been set in the Book.
Wretched shall be the abode of the transgressors!

148 God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty of teaching His Cause.
Whoever ariseth to discharge this duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His
Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy
character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are
receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his
hearers. Thus doth God instruct you. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving,
the Most Compassionate.

149 They who exhort others unto justice, while themselves committing
iniquity, stand accused of falsehood by the inmates of the Kingdom and by
those who circle round the throne of their Lord, the Almighty, the
Beneficent, for that which their tongues have uttered. Commit not, O
people, that which dishonoureth your name and the fair name of the Cause
of God amongst men. Beware lest ye approach that which your minds abhor.
Fear God and follow not in the footsteps of them that are gone astray.
Deal not treacherously with the substance of your neighbour. Be ye
trustworthy on earth, and withhold not from the poor the things given unto
you by God through His grace. He, verily, will bestow upon you the double
of what ye possess. He, in truth, is the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous.

150 Say: We have ordained that our Cause be taught through the power of
utteranc