Among the sciences which this pretender hath professed is that of alchemy. We cherish the hope that either a king or a man of preeminent power may call upon him to translate this science from the realm of fancy to the domain of fact and from the plane of mere pretension to that of actual achievement.
Gracious God! How great is our amazement at the way the people have gathered around him, and have borne allegiance to his person! Content with transient dust, these people have turned their face unto it, and cast behind their backs Him Who is the Lord of Lords.
We were surprised exceedingly when We observed that his one purpose was to make the people realize that all these learnings were possessed by him.
In this day, they that are submerged beneath the ocean of ancient Knowledge, and dwell within the ark of divine wisdom, forbid the people such idle pursuits.
Gracious God! Such is the measure of his understanding. And yet, behold what cavils and calumnies he hath heaped upon those Embodiments of God’s infinite knowledge!
For instance, a certain man, reputed for his learning and attainments, and accounting himself as one of the preeminent leaders of his people, hath in his book denounced and vilified all the exponents of true learning. This is made abundantly clear by his explicit statements as well as by his allusions throughout his book.
Inasmuch as they have not apprehended the meaning of Knowledge, and have called by that name those images fashioned by their own fancy and which have sprung from the embodiments of ignorance, they therefore have inflicted upon the Source of Knowledge that which thou hast heard and witnessed.
باری، چون معنی علم را ادراک ننمودهاند و افکار مجعوله خود را که ناشی از مظاهر جهل شده، اسم آن را علم گذاشته، بر مبدء علوم وارد آوردهاند آنچه ديدهايد و شنيدهايد.
Likewise, in the verse concerning the “Spirit,” He saith: “And they will ask Thee of the Spirit. Say, ‘the Spirit proceedeth at My Lord’s command.’” As soon as Muhammad’s answer was given, they all clamorously protested, saying: “Lo! an ignorant man who knoweth not what the Spirit is, calleth Himself the Revealer of divine Knowledge!”
For instance, when Muhammad, the Lord of being, was questioned concerning the new moons, He, as bidden by God, made reply: “They are periods appointed unto men.”139 Thereupon, they that heard Him denounced Him as an ignorant man.
Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth must needs be pondered, and should their significance be not grasped, enlightenment should be sought from the Trustees of the depositories of Knowledge, that these may expound their meaning, and unravel their mystery.
