ordain, even were He to decree the sea to be land, or to pronounce earth
to be heaven, or that the former lieth above the latter or below it, or to
ordain any change or transformation, for He, verily, is aware of the
celestial mysteries, the unseen subtleties, and the ordinances of God.

31 Were the peoples of every nation to observe that which hath been
mentioned, the matter would be made simple unto them, and such words and
allusions would not withhold them from the Ocean of the names and
attributes of God. And had the people known this truth, they would not
have denied God’s favours, nor would they have risen against, contended
with, and rejected His Prophets. Similar passages are also to be found in
the Qur’án, should the matter be carefully examined.

32 Know, moreover, that it is through such words that God proveth His
servants and sifteth them, separating the believer from the infidel, the
detached from the worldly, the pious from the profligate, the doer of good
from the worker of iniquity, and so forth. Thus hath the Dove of holiness
proclaimed: “Do men think when they say ‘We believe’ they shall be let
alone and not be put to proof?”(23)

33 It behoveth him who is a wayfarer in the path of God and a wanderer in
His way to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on the
earth. He must renounce all save God, that perchance the portals of mercy
may be unlocked before his face and the breezes of providence may waft
over him. And when he hath inscribed upon his soul that which We have
vouchsafed unto him of the quintessence of inner meaning and explanation,
he will fathom all the secrets of these allusions, and God shall bestow
upon his heart a divine tranquillity and cause him to be of them that are
at peace with themselves. In like manner wilt thou comprehend the meaning
of all the ambiguous verses that have been sent down concerning the