Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 836
836 AL-ISTIFTA' SUPPLEMENT TO ḤAQIQATUL-WAḤI O people! I have come to you with a serving table from my Lord to feed those who are [spiritually] poor and in need. Is there anyone among you who would partake of this table and save themselves from baneful hunger? Those who do not find this food congenial are indeed unfortunate, but those who partake of it will enjoy immense reward, followed by abundant grace. Allah desires to relieve you of your burdens and rid you of all chains and shackles; He wants to deliver you from the famine-stricken land and lead you to a territory that is enriched by bounty and prosperity. He wants to deliver you from the darkness that is accompanied by fierce winds, and guide you towards palatial homes enlightened by brilliant lamps; He wants you to be free of sin and falsehood, so that you may become like a person who has just returned from the Hajj accepted by God. But you are pleased to be soiled by the dross of sinfulness, and content to be forever away from the threshold of the Beloved. I offer you the water of life, but you prefer the chalice of death. I invite you to the Ancient House [the Ka'bah], but you hasten to worship idols. I bear all kinds of hardship and pain for your sake. In times of darkness of grief, I pray for you as if offering [last prayer of the day offered after nightfall] 'Isha' prayer. Certainly the matter rests with Allah. He does what He pleases. The time is nigh when the stone [i. e. the obstinate heart] will soften. How long will this anxiety last? O people! Do not follow the masses, for they have already turned away from the paths of peace. Should you be astonished, then there is nothing more astonishing than their statement that 'Īsā is alive in the heavens with his physical body; but in spite of this, he has joined the dead and entered Paradise along with them. They also say that during the Latter Days he would part company with the dead and descend of the world where he would live for as many as forty upon some part years and then depart from this world and join the dead again until the end of time. This is the gist of their beliefs and the essence of their absurd ideas. I am amazed at what they claim. I remain perplexed by