The Honour of Prophets — Page 45
45 converse. Converse with God does not refer to the dubious words for which common people claim the dignity of revelation. Questionable revelation amounts to nothing; in fact, it is even inferior to reason itself. On the contrary, what is referred to here is actually the sure and certain revelation of God Almighty, which is both pure and perfect, and which is necessarily accompanied by heavenly signs as a part thereof. Such revelation possesses an inherently sublime glory and grandeur, and penetrates the heart like an iron nail with its awe inspiring and exquisite words, and bears the shining seal of divine signs and extraordinary phenomena. The first thing a man requires to have perfect faith in God is that he himself is blessed with the revelation just mentioned, or that he holds a strong relationship with one who is blessed with it—one who draws hearts towards himself by his spiritual influence. Therefore, any religion that cannot claim fresh revelation accompanied by living signs may be likened to decaying bones that have more or less turned to dust. It is absolutely impos sible for such a religion to bring about any real transfor mation. Only those individuals take pride in such doc trines who are content to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and in their souls they neither search for the truth, nor do they desire it. In fact, due to their immense