eye-salve to anoint thine eyes that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me. He that overcometh I will give to him to sit with Me on My throne. SELECTION XXXII. Lo! a great multitude which no one can number, out of every nation and all tribes, and peoples, and tongues, stand before the Throne clothed in White Robes, and Palms of Victory in their hands; and they cry with a loud voice, saying: Salvation is from Our Father, who sit teth upon the Throne! blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power be to Him for ever and for ever! And then respond all the angels who stand around the Throne, saying: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power be to Him for ever and for ever! 2. These who are clothed in the White Robes are they who came out of great tribulation, who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of self-sacrificing consecration; therefore are they before the Throne of Our Father and serve Him day and night in his Temple; and He will make His abode with them. They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more; neither shall the sun fall upon them with burning heat; for He is as a shepherd to them and will lead them to the Fountains of the Waters of Life; and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 3. And lo! a messenger flying in mid-heaven having the everlasting message of Glad Tidings to proclaim to all who dwell on the earth; to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people, saying: reverence Our Father and give glory to Him! the hour of His triumph, Who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and the fountains of waters, has come. And lo! a voice from Heaven, saying: Blessed are the dead who die in righteousness! yea, saith the Spirit, from henceforth, they shall rest from their labors and their works shall follow them. After these things lo! as it were a loud voice of great multitudes in Heaven, sayand ing: Hallelujah! salvation, glory, and power, belong to Our Father; for true and righteous are His judgments; and again they said, Hallelujah! 4. And lo! new heavens and a new earth; for the old heavens and the old earth had passed away and a Voice out of the Throne is saying: behold, My tabernacle is with men and I will dwell with them, and they shall be My children and I will be with them as their Father; and I will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall mourning, nor crying, nor pain be any more; for the former things are passed away and, behold, I make all things new. 5. And He saith I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end! to him that thirsts I will give of the Fountain of the Water of Life freely; whosoever overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his Father and he shall be My son. But the cowardly and unbelieving, the polluted with abominations and the murderers, fornicators, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire; which is the second death. 6. And, again, He saith: the time is at hand! He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; he that is holy, let him be holy still! for My reward is with me, to give to every one according as his work is. Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have a right to the Tree of Life and may enter by the Gate into the City; but without shall be sorcerers and fornicators; and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 7. The Spirit and the Bride say: Come! let him that hears say: come! let him that thirsts come! whosoever will, let him come and take the Water of Life freely. ISLAMIC SCRIPTURES-GENERAL SELECTIONS AL-LAH: Heaven Parent, Father-Mother, Our Father, Our Mother. SELECTION I. THE All-Merciful One sleeps not, neither does He slumber; to Him belong the heavens, and the earth, and all that they contain. He knows the past and the future; but no one comprehends His knowledge, except those to whom He is revealed. He glass as it were a glistening star. He is Light upon Light. 4. Hast thou not seen how all in the heavens and in the earth utter the praise of the All-compassionate One! the very birds, as they spread their wings praise Him; every creature knows its prayer and its praise. is the only One, the High and Mighty whichever way we turn, there is His The East and the West are His; One. 2. With Him are the keys of secret things; He knows whatever is on the land and in the sea. No leaf falls but He knows it; neither is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor a green thing or sere, but it is noted in His decree. Thou needest not to raise thy voice; He knows the secret whisper, and what is yet more hidden. No vision can take Him in, but He embraces all vision. 3. All that is in the heavens and in the earth praise the All-merciful One. He is the mighty and the wise, the seen and the unseen, the first and the last. He knows all things. He will bestow upon us Light to walk in. He is the Light of the heavens and of the earth; His Light is like a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp encased in glass, the face. He will guide unto Himself all who seek Him; all who believe in Him and whose hearts rest securely on His thought. 5. Thou art the Eternal Harmony in whom all order is centred; Thou art Ruler of all things, visible and invisible; Thou art the Parent of mankind, the Protector of the Universe; from Thee all wisdom descends upon the rulers of the earth; Thou dost embrace all things. 6. Thou art Ruler of the eternal Fountains of Light; from Thee all Light comes. Thou art the Ordainer of all good things, who gives inspiration and guidance unto all. 7. All-merciful One, who art exalted above all imperfections, descend into our intellects, and purge us from every ill! Turn our sorrows into joys; to Thee do we cling. 8. From Thee all things seek their Light; Thou art the Helper of mankind, one and all; Thou art the Hope of the worlds. 9. In Thy name, O All-gracious and Merciful! to thee we offer thanks O All-loving One! Thee we adore, from Thee we implore help! Guide us in the right way; in the way of them Thou dost bless, with whom Thou hast not been displeased! thus shall we not be misled. 10. O Unseen One, when shall we find Thee! Thou hast answered: When thou seekest me, thou hast already found me. SELECTION II. We believe in the Supreme One and that He has been revealed to us as truly as to Abraham and to the Tribes, to Moses and to Jesus; we make no difference between any of the great prophets or religions of mankind; for we trust in the Allembracing, the All-compassionate One. 2. Will ye dispute with us about His Name? He is our Ruler and your Ruler; we will answer with our actions, and you shall answer with yours; in Him we place our reliance. 3. All have a quarter of the heavens to which they turn; but the East as the West belong to Him; therefore, whichever way we turn, there is He. 4. Nothing has been said to us which hath not been said of old to apostles before us; we see every na tion kneeling to Him. By its own. Book shall every religion be judged. 5. Our prophet is no more than an apostle; for he said: other apostles have already passed away before me; if I die, will ye turn back? He who turns back shall injure only himself. 6. Jews and Christians say they are sons of the Eternal One and that they are His beloved! Nay, they are but a part of the men whom He has created and to every one alike has He given a rule and a beaten road. 7. If He had pleased He would surely have made all men as one people; but He would test us by what He has given to each. 8. Wherever ye be, prove yourselves emulous in good deeds. The All-merciful One will one day bring us all together; to Him shall we all return, and He will enlighten us concerning the subjects of our disputes. 9. Jesus came and abolished the law of Moses; I, Mohammed, follow him and introduce five prayers a day; the followers of both of us say: After our prophet no other is to be expected! and they occupy themselves talking thus idly from morning to evening. 10. But, meanwhile, you who are living under these dispensations, tell me: Do you enjoy the sun and the moon more than others, or less than others! 11. Whatever is thy religion associate with those of other persuasion; if thou canst mix with them freely, and art not the least moved while listening to their discourse, thou hast attained peace and art a master of creation. SELECTION III. 13. Verily, hypocrites sink into a lower abyss than any other sin ners. 14. Learning was given to promote good actions, not empty dis ONE hour of justice is worth sev- putes. enty years of prayer. 2. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a just balance. Expend not but according to the measure of your goods. 3. Adhere so firmly to the truth that your yea shall be yea, and your nay shall be nay. 4. Hide not the truth when ye know it; and clothe not the truth with falsehood. 5. Woe to them who give scant measure, and exact full measure from others. 6. Let none of you treat his brother in a way he himself would dislike to be treated. 7. It is good to overcome evil with good; it is evil to resist evil by evil. 8. Let us be like trees that yield their fruit to those that throw stones at them. 9. To endure and to pardon is the wisdom of life. 10. Consider only what is for the good of each, and think not of wrong that has been done to thyself. Pardon others readily, and do only good unto all. Fair is the dwelling-place of those who have bridled anger and forgiven their adversaries. 11. There is no offence too great to be pardoned. 12. Make the best of things. Enjoin what is just. Lay burdens on none but thyself. 15. Temperance is a tree which has contentment for its root, and peace for its fruit. 16. O Man! there is no kind of beast on the earth, nor any fowl which flies with its wings, but the same is a people, like unto yourselves; we have not omitted any thing in the book of our decrees. SELECTION IV. BE good to parents and kindred, to orphans, to the poor, and to a neighbor, whether he be of your own people, or a stranger; also to a fellow-traveller, a wayfarer, or a slave. 2. Speak to thy parents with respectful speech; defer humbly to them, out of reverence, and say: Allmerciful One, have compassion upon them, even as they had upon me, rearing me when I was a child. 3. One came and said to the Prophet: My mother has died, what shall I do for the good of her soul? the Prophet thought of the panting heat of the desert, and he replied: Dig a well, that the thirsty may have water to drink; the man dug a well, and said: This have I done for my mother. 4. Every good act is charity; giving water to the thirsty is charity, removing stones and thorns from the road is charity, smiling in your brother's face is charity. |