|
This brings us to the activity and attributes of man and creation: "Every created thing in the whole universe is but a door leading into His knowledge, a sign of His sovereignty, a revelation of His names, a symbol of His majesty, a token of His power, a means of admittance into His straight path." "All things, in their inmost reality, testify to the revelation of the names and attributes of God within them." "If there were no man, the perfections of the spirit would not appear, and the light of the mind would not be resplendent in this world." (Gl 160; Bwf 117; Bwf 314) (33:3) "Briefly, the intellectual realities, such as all the qualities and admirable perfections of man, are purely good, and exist. Evil is simply their non- existence... In the same way, the sensible realities are absolutely good, and evil is due the their non- existence... Nevertheless,... it is possible that one thing in relation to another may be evil, and at the same time within the limits of its proper being it may not be evil." (Saq 301- 2) (33:4) "In creation there is no evil; all is good... In creation and nature evil does not exist at all; but when the natural qualities of man are used in an unlawful way, they are blameworthy." "Man... is at the last degree of darkness, and at the beginning of light... He has the animal side as well as the angelic side." (Bwf 320; Bwf 331) (33:5) "O son of desire!... Wings have I bestowed upon thee, that thou mayest fly to the realms of mystic holiness and not the regions of satanic fancy. The comb, too, have I given thee that thou mayest dress... My hair, and not lacerate My throat. "Be fair in your judgment. Every good thing is of God, and every evil thing is from yourselves." (Hwp 50; Bwf 119) (33:6) "Human knowledge is of two kinds. One is the knowledge of things perceptible to the senses... The other kind of human knowledge is intellectual... A reality of the intellect... is not perceptible to the senses." (Saq 95- 6) (33:7) "Know that beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual; those perceptible to the senses and those intellectual." "Man is in the highest degree of materiality, and at the beginning of spirituality." (Saq 301; Saq 331)
(33:8)
|