he layeth down his life and offereth up his soul. He bareth his breast to
meet the darts of the enemy and raiseth his head to greet the sword of
destiny; nay rather, he kisseth the hand of his would-be murderer and
surrendereth his all. He yieldeth up spirit, soul, and body in the path of
his Lord, and yet he doeth so by the leave of his Beloved and not of his
own whim and desire. Thou findest him chill in the fire and dry in the
sea, abiding in every land and treading every path. Whosoever toucheth him
in this state will perceive the heat of his love. He walketh the heights
of detachment and traverseth the vale of renunciation. His eyes are ever
expectant to witness the wonders of God’s mercy and eager to behold the
splendours of His beauty. Blessed indeed are they that have attained unto
such a station, for this is the station of the ardent lovers and the
enraptured souls.

39 And when this stage of the journey is completed and the wayfarer hath
soared beyond this lofty station, he entereth the City of Divine Unity,
and the garden of oneness, and the court of detachment. In this plane the
seeker casteth away all signs, allusions, veils, and words, and beholdeth
all things with an eye illumined by the effulgent lights which God Himself
hath shed upon him. In his journey he seeth all differences return to a
single word and all allusions culminate in a single point. Unto this
beareth witness he who sailed upon the ark of fire and followed the inmost
path to the pinnacle of glory in the realm of immortality: “Knowledge is
one point, which the foolish have multiplied.”(27) This is the station
that hath been alluded to in the tradition: “I am He, Himself, and He is
I, Myself, except that I am that I am, and He is that He is.”(28)

40 In this station, were He Who is the Embodiment of the End to say:
“Verily, I am the Point of the Beginning”, He would indeed be speaking the
truth. And were He to say: “I am other than Him”, this would be equally