s incident spread throughout the city,
and Moses was full of fear, as is witnessed by the text of the Book. And
when the warning: "O Moses! of a truth, the chiefs take counsel to slay
Thee"(43) reached His ears, He went forth from the city, and sojourned in
Midian in the service of Shoeb. While returning, Moses entered the holy
vale, situate in the wilderness of Sinai, and there beheld the vision of
the King of glory from the "Tree that belongeth neither to the East nor to
the West."(44) There He heard the soul-stirring Voice of the Spirit
speaking from out of the kindled Fire, bidding Him to shed upon Pharaonic
souls the light of divine guidance; so that, liberating them from the
shadows of the valley of self and desire, He might enable them to attain
the meads of heavenly delight, and delivering them, through the Salsabil
of renunciation, from the bewilderment of remoteness, cause them to enter
the peaceful city of the divine presence. When Moses came unto Pharaoh and
delivered unto him, as bidden by God, the divine Message, Pharaoh spoke
insultingly saying: "Art thou not he that committed murder, and became an
infidel?" Thus recounted the Lord of majesty as having been said by
Pharaoh unto Moses: "What a deed is that which Thou hast done! Thou art
one of the ungrateful. He said: 'I did it indeed, and I was one of those
who erred. And I fled from you when I feared you, but My Lord hath given
Me wisdom, and hath made Me one of His Apostles.'"(45)

And now ponder in thy heart the commotion which God stirreth up. Reflect
upon the strange and manifold trials with which He doth test His servants.
Consider how He hath suddenly chosen from among His servants, and
entrusted with the exalted mission of divine guidance Him Who was known as
guilty of homicide, Who, Himself, had acknowledged His cruelty, and Who
for well-nigh thirty years had, in the eyes of the world, been reared in
the home of Pharaoh and been nourished at his table. Was not God, the
omnipotent King, able to withhold the hand of Moses from murder, so that
manslaughter should not be attributed unto Him, causing bewilderment and
aversion among the people?

Likewise, reflect upon the state and condition of Mary. So deep was the
perplexity of that most beauteous countenance, so grievous her case, that
she bitterly regretted she had ever been born. To this beareth witness the
text of the sacred verse wherein it is mentioned that after Mary had given
birth to Jesus,