Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 817
CHAPTER TWO 817 one of its recipients and of those who have personal experience. And it is with it that we clinch the argument against the deniers. After all, what good is a religion that is like a house whose relics have been oblit- erated or is like a garden whose trees have been uprooted? No reasona- ble person would be content with a religion that is like a ruined house, or a broken staff, or a barren woman, or a sightless eye. Therefore, all praise belongs to Allah that Islam is a living religion that quickens the dead, grants verdure to the barren land, and imparts lustre to life. By God, I am deeply astonished at those who claim to belong to one of the sects of Islam, yet deny the blessings of this religion and the blessings of our Prophet, the Best of Mankind, and deny converse with the All- Knowing God. What has gone wrong with them that they do not wake up from their slumber and do not open the eyes of their reason? So I seek refuge with Allah from the like of the state in which they are, and I am surprised at them and at their assertions. Certainly, I have stood among them as the appointee from Allah, but they do not believe. I invite them towards Allah, but they do not come; and they pass by as if they have not heard, though they do hear. Have not the stories reached them of the people who used to reject their Messengers and who did not desist from it? Or is there an exception for them in the Quran that they hold fast to? By Allah, I am truly from the Gracious God. My Lord speaks to me and grants me revelation by His grace and beneficence. I searched for Him until I found Him, and I sought after Him until I attained Him. And I have been granted life after death. I found the Truth after for- saking the transitory things. Verily, our Lord does not waste the people who seek, nor does He leave in doubt the one who seeks conviction. Certainly you have exercised all kinds of connivance and, if it had not been for the grace and mercy of God, I would have been annihilated. My Lord addressed me and said: إِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا You are, certainly, under Our watchful care.