| Kitáb-i-Íqán | 158 |
behooveth thee to exert thine utmost to attain unto
this Elixir which, in one fleeting breath, causeth
the west of ignorance to reach the east of knowledge,
illuminates the darkness of night with the
resplendence of the morn, guideth the wanderer in
the wilderness of doubt to the well-spring of the
Divine Presence and Fount of certitude, and conferreth
upon mortal souls the honour of acceptance
into the Ridván of immortality. Now, could this
gold be thought to be copper, these people could
likewise be thought to be the same as before they
were endowed with faith.
O brother, behold how the inner mysteries of "rebirth," of "return," and of "resurrection" have each, through these all-sufficing, these unanswerable, and conclusive utterances, been unveiled and unravelled before thine eyes. God grant that through His gracious and invisible assistance, thou mayest divest thy body and soul of the old garment, and array thyself with the new and imperishable attire.
Therefore, those who in every subsequent Dispensation
preceded the rest of mankind in embracing
the Faith of God, who quaffed the clear
waters of knowledge at the hand of the divine
Beauty, and attained the loftiest summits of faith
