question thou didst ask of this Servant Who abideth upon the seat of
abasement, Who walketh upon the earth as an exile with none to befriend,
comfort, aid, or assist Him, Who hath placed His whole trust in God, and
Who proclaimeth at all times: “Verily we are God’s, and to Him shall we
return.” (24)

34 Know thou that the passages that We have called “ambiguous” appear as
such only in the eyes of them that have failed to soar above the horizon
of guidance and to reach the heights of knowledge in the retreats of
grace. For otherwise, unto them that have recognized the Repositories of
divine Revelation and beheld through His inspiration the mysteries of
divine authority, all the verses of God are perspicuous and all His
allusions are clear. Such men discern the inner mysteries that have been
clothed in the garment of words as clearly as ye perceive the heat of the
sun or the wetness of water, nay even more distinctly. Immeasurably
exalted is God above our praise of His loved ones, and beyond their praise
of Him!

35 Now that We have reached this most excellent theme and attained such
lofty heights by virtue of that which hath flowed from this Pen through
the incomparable favours of God, the Exalted, the Most High, it is Our
wish to disclose unto thee certain stations in the wayfarer’s journey
towards his Creator. Perchance all that thine eminence hath desired may be
revealed unto thee, that the proof may be made complete and the blessing
abundant.

36 Know thou of a truth that the seeker must, at the beginning of his
quest for God, enter the Garden of Search. In this journey it behoveth the
wayfarer to detach himself from all save God and to close his eyes to all
that is in the heavens and on the earth. There must not linger in his