Fourth Topic

If you were to say: “In the First Topic, you proved that everything that comes from QadarDivine decree; Allah’s pre-eternal knowledge, determination, and measure of all things and events. is good and beautiful, and that even apparent evil is in reality good, while ugliness contains beauty in its essence. But how can the disasters and trials in this world not cast doubt on this truth?”

O my soul and my friend, who suffer intense pain out of deep compassion: the fact that all beauty and perfection arise from existence, while all sins, calamities, and deficiencies have their origin in non-existence, proves that existence is pure good, while non-existence is pure evil.

Since non-existence is pure evil, all states that lead to non-existence or contain a form of non-existence also contain evil. Therefore, the brightest light of existence—life itself—gains strength by being exposed to different conditions. It is refined through various states, passes through different situations in order to produce the desired fruits, and moves through different stages in order to display beautifully the manifestations of the divine names of Wāhib-i HayātAllah, the Giver of Life..

On the basis of this truth, living beings are sometimes subjected to pains, misfortunes, and trials. Through these experiences, the light of existence is renewed in their lives, while the darkness of non-existence recedes. Their lives are thereby refined and purified. Stagnation, rest, inactivity, and monotony are all forms of non-existence. Even the greatest pleasures lose their value in monotony.

In short, since life displays the manifestations of the beautiful names of Allah, everything that happens to life is, in essence, good.

For example, imagine an extremely wealthy and skilled craftsman. In order to display his masterpieces and wealth, he has a simple poor man serve as a model for a wage. He clothes him in a beautifully adorned and artistically made garment. To display his artistry, the craftsman adjusts the garment and changes the man’s posture. He cuts, shortens, lengthens, and works on it.

Can this poor man then complain and say:

“You are causing me hardship, making me bend and move, and by changing the garment you are harming my beauty”?

And does he have the right to accuse the craftsman and say:

“You are acting without mercy and without justice”?

In the same way, Sāni-i Dhu’l-JalālAllah, Who creates with perfect artistry and Whose greatness and majesty are boundless., Fātir-i BīmisālAllah, the Incomparable Creator., clothes living beings in a body like a garment, adorned with senses such as eyes, ears, intellect, and heart. He causes them to pass through different circumstances and states in order to display the manifestations of His beautiful names. Thus, rays of mercy are hidden within trials and difficulties, within flashes of wisdom; and within those rays of mercy are subtle beauties.