The Fourth Truth

The Gate of Generosity and Beauty: The Manifestation of the Names al-JawwādAllah, the Most Generous. and al-JamīlAllah, the Infinitely Beautiful One and the Possessor of all beauty.

Is it at all possible that Allah’s infinite generosity and munificence, His inexhaustible riches and treasures, His everlasting and peerless beauty, and His flawless and eternal perfection would not require an abode of bliss where grateful needy ones, yearning beholders, and astonished admirers will dwell forever, continually enjoying every kind of blessing?

Indeed, adorning the world with countless artistic creations, appointing the sun and the moon as its lamps, spreading the face of the earth as a table laden with the finest varieties of food, presenting fruits through trees as though they were platters, and renewing them season after season—all this bears witness to an infinite generosity and liberality. Such infinite generosity and liberality, together with inexhaustible treasures and boundless bestowals, necessarily require an abode of bliss in which every delight the heart desires is found and every kind of blessing is enjoyed without end.

Moreover, they also unquestionably require that those who partake of these blessings remain there eternally, so that they never suffer the pain of decline and separation. For just as the end of pain brings joy, so too the end of joy brings pain. Such infinite generosity and liberality can never permit such pain to arise. This means that they require not only the existence of an eternal Paradise, but also the existence of needy inhabitants who will remain there forever. For infinite generosity desires to bestow infinite blessings. And infinite bestowal requires infinite gratitude and thankfulness, which in turn require the continued existence of those upon whom these blessings are bestowed, so that they may forever express their gratitude and thankfulness in return for those everlasting favors. Otherwise, a fleeting pleasure that is embittered by its end cannot be reconciled with the demands of generosity and liberality.

Furthermore, look at the exhibitions throughout the world where the divine works of art are displayed. Pay attention to the divine messages conveyed by the plants and animals across the face of the earth,^[2] and listen to the proclamation of the prophets and the awliyā(sing. walī) Those who seek the pleasure of Allah and attain elevated spiritual ranks through worship, obedience, and sincerity. concerning the artistic and perfect acts of Divine Lordship. See how they unanimously proclaim the flawless perfection of the Glorious Maker through His wondrous works of art and draw the attention of humanity toward them.

This means that the Creator of this world possesses a profoundly meaningful, wondrous, and hidden perfection that He wishes to reveal through His miraculous works of art. For hidden, flawless perfection naturally desires to make itself known to those who appreciate it, admire it, and behold it with the words, MāshāAllāhAn expression meaning “What Allah has willed,” used to express admiration or appreciation while acknowledging Allah’s will.. And eternal perfection requires an everlasting manifestation, while such an everlasting manifestation requires the perpetual existence of those who appreciate and admire it. For if the admirer does not endure, that perfection loses its value in his eyes.^[3]