The Twenty-Second Flash

“Thus, in this age of freedom and this new era of republics, we have adopted the principle of equality and abolished domination and the abuse of power. This has become for us a kind of constitution.

Yet your outward conduct and the history of your former life show that, sometimes as a master and sometimes as an ascetic, you attract public attention and seek to acquire social influence and standing independently of the government's authority.

Such conduct might perhaps have been acceptable under the oppressive domination of the bourgeoisie. But now, with the awakening and rise of the masses, and with the principles of complete socialism and Bolshevism, which we regard as more beneficial, your conduct is burdensome to us and contrary to our principles. You therefore have no right to complain of the pressure we exert upon you or to turn away from us.”

The Answer: Whoever embarks upon a new course in human social life cannot achieve anything good or make progress unless he acts in accordance with the laws of creation. His entire undertaking will instead lead to evil and destruction.

Since human conduct must conform to the laws of creation, the principle of absolute equality can be put into practice only by altering human nature and abolishing the essential wisdom underlying the creation of humanity.

By birth and way of life, I belong to the common people; and in my conduct and outlook, I am among those who uphold equality of rights. Out of compassion, and in accordance with the principle of justice arising from Islam, I have always opposed the oppression and domination of the so-called privileged class.

Thus, with all my strength, I stand for complete justice and against injustice, the abuse of power, domination, and oppression.

Human nature and the profound wisdom underlying creation, however, are incompatible with the principle of absolute equality. For just as the All-Wise Creator manifests His perfect power and wisdom by bringing forth much from little, inscribing many books upon a single page, and causing one thing to perform many tasks, so too does He cause the single human species to fulfil the functions of thousands of species.

By virtue of this great mystery, Allah has created the human being with a nature capable of giving rise to thousands of variations and displaying as many degrees of distinction as there are thousands of species among animals.

Unlike other living beings, the faculties and senses of the human being have not been confined within fixed limits. They have been left unrestricted, and he has been endowed with a capacity to ascend or descend through countless degrees. Thus, although humanity constitutes a single species, it has become, as it were, thousands of species. In this way, the human being has become the vicegerent on earth, the fruit of the universe, and the sultan among living beings.