and not when their steeds
shall stumble, their beds be rolled up, their

[Pages 81-94]

swords be blunted, and their footsteps slip. I know not how long they
shall ride the steed of desire and wander erringly in the desert of
heedlessness and error. Of glory shall any glory endure, or of abasement
any abasement? Or shall he endure who used to stay himself on high
cushions, and who attained in splendor the utmost limit? No, by My Lord
the Merciful! 'All that is thereon is transient, and there remaineth
[only] the face of My Lord' the Mighty, the Beneficent. What buckler hath
not the arrow of destruction smitten, or what pinion hath not the hand of
fate plucked? From what fortress hath the messenger of death been kept
back when he came? What throne hath not been broken, or what palace hath
not been left desolate? Did men but know what pure wine of the mercy of
their Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, was beneath the seal, they would
certainly cast aside reproach and seek to be satisfied by this Servant;
but now have they veiled Me with the veil of darkness which they have
woven with the hands of doubts and fancies. The White Hand shall cleave an
opening to this sombre night. On that day the servants [of God] shall say
what those caviling women said of yore, that there may appear in the end
what began in the beginning. Do they desire to tarry when their foot is in
the stirrup? Or do they see any return in their going? No, by the Lord of
Lords, save in the Resurrection! On that day men shall arise from the
tombs and shall be questioned concerning their riches. Happy that one whom
burdens shall not oppress on that day whereon the mountains shall pass
away and all shall appear for the questioning in the presence of God the
Exalted! Verily He is severe in punishing.

"We ask God to sanctify the hearts of certain of the doctors from rancor
and hatred that they may regard things with eyes which closure overcometh
not; and to raise them unto a station where the world and the lordship
thereof shall not turn them aside from looking toward the Supreme Horizon,
and where [anxiety for] gaining a livelihood and [providing] household
goods shall not divert them from [the thought of] that day whereon the
mountains shall be made like carpets. Though they rejoice at that which
hath befallen Us of calamity, there shall come a day whereon they shall
wail and weep. By My Lord, were I given the choice between the glory and
opulence,