t, and measure it not;
for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread
under foot forty and two months."

This reed is a Perfect Man Who is likened to a reed, and the manner of its
likeness is this: when the interior of a reed is empty and free from all
matter, it will produce beautiful melodies; and as the sound and melodies
do not come from the reed, but from the flute player who blows upon it, so
the sanctified heart of that blessed Being is free and emptied from all
save God, pure and exempt from the attachments of all human conditions,
and is the companion of the Divine Spirit. Whatever He utters is not from
Himself, but from the real flute player, and it is a divine inspiration.
That is why He is likened to a reed; and that reed is like a rod--that is
to say, it is the helper of every impotent one, and the support of human
beings. It is the rod of the Divine Shepherd by which He guards His flock
and leads them about the pastures of the Kingdom.

Then it is said: "The angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of
God, and the altar, and them that worship therein"--that is to say, compare
and measure: measuring is the discovery of proportion. Thus the angel
said: compare the temple of God and the altar and them that are praying
therein--that is to say, investigate what is their true condition and
discover in what degree and state they are, and what conditions,
perfections, behavior and attributes they possess; and make yourself
cognizant of the mysteries of those holy souls who dwell in the Holy of
Holies in purity and sanctity.

"But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not;
for it is given unto the Gentiles."

In the beginning of the seventh century after Christ, when Jerusalem was
conquered, the Holy of Holies was outwardly preserved--that is to say, the
house which Solomon built; but outside the Holy of Holies the outer court
was taken and given to the Gentiles. "And the holy city shall they tread
under foot forty and two months"--that is to say, the Gentiles shall govern
and control Jerusalem forty and two months, signifying twelve hundred and
sixty days; and as each day signifies a year, by this reckoning it becomes
twelve hundred and sixty years, which is the duration of the cycle of the
Qur'an. For in the texts of the Holy Book, each day is a year; as it is
said in the fourth chapter of Ezekiel, verse 6: "Thou shalt bear the
iniquity of the house of