The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 103
IO2 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS or darkness is felt clearly and palpably. No other scripture has pre- sented it with such firm clarity and truth. The miraculous nature is made even more manifest by considering that no other acceptable method comes to mind answering this question. Any other answer would invite a host of objections that would be impossible to escape; for God Almighty's universal law of nature clearly proves to us that all the benefit that our souls, faculties, and bodies receive from His Being the Source of Grace—are received through the agency of var- ious other things. For example, although He indeed bestows vision upon our eyes, that vision is granted to us through the agency of sun- light. Similarly, the darkness of the night, which provides our souls comfort and in which we can satisfy the needs of ourselves, is also in reality from God, for He is the Cause of causes for all creation. Thus, we see that there is an eternally appointed law for our ben- efit that we receive every bounty of Almighty God through the agency of some other thing. It is true, of course, that we possess the faculties to imbibe those bounties; for instance, in order for our eye to receive light, it maintains a kind of sight perception within itself, and in order for our ears to receive the sounds which are transmitted through the air, they maintain a kind of sensory perception within their nerves. However, it is certainly not the case that our faculties maintain their structure in a manner so perfect and independent that they do not need and require any external aid or assistance. We never observe that any physical faculty of ours can function solely by its inherent capability without the need for outside help or a helper. For example, even though our eyes may possess exceptional sharpness of vision, we still need the light of the sun, and no matter how good the hearing of our ears may be, even then we are in need of air, which envelops the sound within it and carries it to our ears. This proves that our faculties alone are not sufficient to make the machin- ery of our humanity function. We certainly need external helpers and assistants. Nevertheless, the law of nature telling us that although God Almighty Himself, being the Cause of all causes, is that Outside