| Kitáb-i-Íqán | 48 |
may ask, could it be to man? Moreover, it is evident
and manifest that no such hand as could be
seen by human eye could accomplish such deeds,
or could possibly be ascribed to the exalted Essence
of the one true God. Nay, to acknowledge
such a thing is naught but sheer blasphemy, an
utter perversion of the truth. And should it be supposed
that by this verse are meant the Manifestations
of God, Who will be called upon, on the Day
of Judgment, to perform such deeds, this too seemeth
far from the truth, and is surely of no profit. On
the contrary, by the term "earth" is meant the
earth of understanding and knowledge, and by
"heavens" the heavens of divine Revelation. Reflect
thou, how, in one hand, He hath, by His
mighty grasp, turned the earth of knowledge and
understanding, previously unfolded, into a mere
handful, and, on the other, spread out a new and
highly exalted earth in the hearts of men, thus
causing the freshest and loveliest blossoms, and
the mightiest and loftiest trees to spring forth from
the illumined bosom of man.
In like manner, reflect how the elevated heavens
of the Dispensations of the past have, in the right
hand of power, been folded together, how the
