ELEVEN GLAD TIDINGS FOR HUMANITY

The Twentieth Letter – I

بِاسْمِهٖ سُبْحَانَهُIn His Name, glory be to Him.

وَ اِنْ مِنْ شَىْءٍ اِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهٖAnd there is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise of Him. – The Quran 17:44 

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحٖيمِIn the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate 

لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرٖيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيٖى وَ يُمٖيتُ وَ هُوَ حَىٌّ لَا يَمُوتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَ هُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدٖيرٌ وَ اِلَيْهِ الْمَصٖيرُThere is no god except Allah. He is One. He has no partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty, and to Him belongs all praise. He gives life and causes death, and He is the Ever-Living who never dies. In His hand is all goodness, He has power over all things, and to Him is the final return.

Within each phrase of this declaration of Divine Unity lies a glad tiding, and within every glad tiding is a healing that brings spiritual joy.

The First Phrase

لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُThere is no god except Allah.

This phrase contains the following glad tiding:

A person overwhelmed by limitless needs and exposed to the assaults of countless enemies finds in this phrase a point of refuge that opens for him the treasury of the Most Merciful, where all his needs are fulfilled. He discovers a source of strength that introduces him to his Creator, the only One worthy of worship, and shows him who his Owner and Lord truly is. It thereby makes known to him the All-Powerful One Who grants him security against every evil. In this way, his heart is delivered from utter loneliness and his soul from crushing sorrow, and both are filled instead with everlasting joy and enduring happiness.

The Second Phrase

وَحْدَهُHe is One.

This phrase contains the following healing and glad tiding:

The human soul and heart, bound to countless beings throughout the universe and almost overwhelmed by this attachment, to the point of becoming lost in confusion and distress, find in the phrase

وَحْدَهُHe is One.

a refuge and a means of deliverance from all bewilderment and misery.

Thus,

وَحْدَهُHe is One.

proclaims the following to humanity:

"Allah is One. Do not exhaust yourself by turning to anything besides Him. Do not humiliate yourself by considering yourself dependent upon others. Do not submit to them through flattery. Do not burden yourself by chasing after them. Do not tremble in fear of them. For the Sovereign of the universe is One. The key to everything is with Him, and the reins of all things are in His hand. Everything is resolved by His command. If you find Him, you will find all that you seek, and you will be freed from endless dependence and countless fears."