The Honour of Prophets — Page 3
3 individuals from humanity at large who possess a special distinction in their nature should serve as mediators between God Almighty and mankind. These people are such whose natures should have taken on a portion of divine qualities and the best of human qualities. Thus, on account of their affinity with the Divine, they draw the grace of God towards themselves and on account of their association with the earthly realm, they convey the grace, which they have received from above to their fellow man below. It is quite correct to say that people of this type, on account of the perfection of their heav enly and earthly qualities, possess a special distinction among men—as though they are a different species alto gether. The passion with which such people are granted for the manifestation of God’s glory and greatness, and the degree of devotion with which their hearts are filled, and the overflowing sympathy for humanity with which they are bestowed, is such an extraordinary phenomenon that it is difficult for others to even fathom. Nonethe less, it ought to be remembered that all these individuals are not equal in rank and in these inherent excellences; some possess a loftier station than others, while some are lower in rank, and others even lower still. And so the undimmed conscience of an intellectual person can grasp that the question of intercession is not a hypotheti