The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 377
376 Α'ΙΝΑ-Ε-ΚΑMĀLĀT-E-ISLAM-DAFI UL-WASĀWIS Divine permission within 10 or 15 days. I too am ready for Istikhārah; I shall perform it when, in respect of these three things, you have had a Divine inspiration that this Istikhārah will be free from Satan's interference and that, whether a friend or a foe performs it, the outcome in all cases would be the same. I shall perform the Istikhārah, and I shall wait for a month for a good and proper reply. By reply, I do not mean a reply to the letter of my humble self but rather, what guidance you receive about Istikhārah after you have prayed and concentrated your attention on this affair. Third: There should be some extraordinary Sign so that truth may be brought home to the people. I most respectfully beg, in the name of God, to give your attention to these three matters, for much dialogue has already taken place, and doubts are increasing day by day. The stage of argumentation is over, and we should now attend to the other side. پائی استدلالیان چوبین بود پائی چوبین سخت بی تمکین بود The legs of logicians are legs of wood— And wooden legs are exceedingly weak. گر باستدلال کار دین بدی فخر رازی راز دار دین بدی If Faith had rested on argumentation alone, Fakhr[-ud-Din] Rāzī would have found the secret of Faith. And I adjure you most humbly, in the name of that One Supreme Being, who has brought you and me into being and who has created the whole universe, to kindly pray with con- centration for all three of these matters mentioned above. In the prayer, please also beseech for a short span of time and not a longer term [in which the matter should be settled].