The Fourth Principle

If you wish to understand the Qur'an's exalted rank among all divine words and its unique superiority over every other form of speech, consider the following two comparisons.

First comparison: as is well known, a sovereign has two ways of speaking.

One is an ordinary conversation with a common citizen about a minor personal matter, for example through a private line.

The other is an important conversation with his envoy or a high-ranking official concerning his vast and universal sovereignty and the important responsibilities entrusted to his foremost representatives. Its purpose is for the ambassador or official to convey his commands to others, accompanied by an exalted decree that displays his majesty and greatness.

The second comparison: imagine two men. One holds a mirror in his hand and turns it toward the sun. Through that mirror he receives the sun's light and its seven colours, according to the mirror's capacity to reflect them. In this way, he enters into a relationship with the sun, as though communicating with it. When he directs the reflected light into his dark house or his roofed garden, he benefits not from the sun itself, but only from what the mirror is able to convey.

Another man, however, opens broad windows in his house or in the roof above his garden, allowing the sun's light to enter directly and without obstruction. In this way, he receives the sun’s true light directly and expresses his gratitude, saying:

"O sun, beauty of the world and beloved of the heavens! You adorn the earth with your light and make the faces of all flowers smile. Just as you have warmed and illuminated them, you have also warmed and illuminated my humble home and garden."

The man with the mirror, however, cannot speak in this way. The sunlight reflected in his mirror is limited, and its effects extend only as far as the mirror allows.

Now look at the Qur'an through the telescope of these comparisons, so that you may behold its miraculous nature and understand its sacredness.

Indeed, the Qur'an declares: "If all the trees on earth were pens and the seas were ink, they still could not exhaust the words of Allah." The reason the Qur'an has been granted the highest rank among the infinite words of Allah is this:

The Qur'an proceeds from the Ism-i AzamThe Greatest Name of Allah. (the Greatest Name of Allah) and from the highest manifestation of all His names. It is the word of Allah as the Lord of all the worlds; the decree of Allah as the God of all creation; a message from Allah as the Creator of the heavens and the earth; a divine discourse concerning His absolute and universal Lordship; and an eternal address flowing from His all-encompassing sovereignty. It is also a record of divine mercy, springing from His all-embracing compassion, and a book of divine communications whose opening passages sometimes contain mysterious codes.