Old Age: Consoling Hopes

Then the verse

حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكٖيلُAllah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Protector. — The Qur’an 3:173

came and lifted the veil. I saw, felt, and experienced with the certainty of haqq al-yaqīnCertainty through direct experience; the highest level of certainty, attained through personally experiencing a reality and becoming fully convinced of its truth. that the joy and happiness of my own eternal existence are found, in the same measure and in an even more perfect form, in my firm belief and conviction that the Absolutely Perfect and Eternal One exists eternally, and that He is my Lord and my God.

The proofs of this truth are set forth in the Fourth Ray through twelve profound and subtle reflections and insights of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). that can awaken wonder in the most perceptive minds.

The Second Luminous Degree of HasbiyyaRefers to the Qur’anic expression Hasbunallāhu wa Ni‘mal-Wakīl, meaning “Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs."

Amid the afflictions of old age, exile, loneliness, and isolation, and burdened by my boundless innate helplessness, I was subjected to the attacks of worldly-minded people through their schemes and spies.

I then said to my heart:

“Entire armies are advancing against a single weak and sick man whose hands are bound. Is there no support upon which I can rely?”

At this, I turned to the verse:

حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكٖيلُAllah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Protector. — The Qur’an 3:173

Through this verse, I came to understand that, by virtue of my īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., I am connected to an Absolutely All-Powerful Sovereign Who, every spring, equips the armies of plants and animals—comprising four hundred thousand species across the face of the earth—with everything they require, in perfect order.

Moreover, He provides all the sustenance needed by the vast army of living beings, particularly human beings. He places the essences of every kind of nourishment within seeds and kernels—concentrated extracts of Divine mercy, a hundred times more perfect than the concentrates of meat, sugar, and other foods recently discovered by modern civilisation.

He then encloses these essences within the Divine prescriptions of destiny, which determine their maturation and unfolding, and stores them for safekeeping in tiny caskets.

From these little chests, living things are brought into existence with such extraordinary speed and ease, and in such abundance, through the factory of Kāf–NūnThe two Arabic letters ك (Kāf) and ن (Nūn) that form the divine command كُنْ (Kun), meaning “Be!” They symbolize Allah’s absolute creative power, through which He brings things into existence simply by His will. contained within the Divine command كُنْ“Be!” — The divine command by which Allah brings things into existence through His will. (“Be!”), that the Qur’an declares:

“The Creator commands, and it comes into existence.”

Since, through the bond of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., you can find such a source of support, you can rely upon limitless might and power.

As I received this lesson from the verse, I gained such spiritual strength that, through the power of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., I felt capable of challenging not merely my present enemies, but even the entire world.

And with my whole being, I declared:

حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكٖيلُAllah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Protector. — The Qur’an 3:173