| Kitáb-i-Íqán | 117 |
He bade the erring and wayward arise and speed
out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed them
with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened
them with the breath of a new and wondrous
life. Thus at the hour when Muhammad, that
divine Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries
hidden in the symbolic terms "resurrection,"
"judgment," "paradise," and "hell," Gabriel, the
Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying: "Erelong
will they wag their heads at Thee, and say, `When
shall this be?' Say: `Perchance it is nigh.'" (1) The
implications of this verse alone suffice the peoples
of the world, were they to ponder it in their hearts.
Gracious God! How far have that people strayed
from the way of God! Although the Day of Resurrection
was ushered in through the Revelation of
&Muhammad, although His light and tokens had
encompassed the earth and all that is therein, yet
that people derided Him, gave themselves up to
those idols which the divines of that age, in their
vain and idle fancy, had conceived, and deprived
themselves of the light of heavenly grace and of
the showers of divine mercy. Yea, the abject beetle
can never scent the fragrance of holiness, and the
