The Thirtieth Flash

And just as these wise acts—ordering, balancing and measuring, beautifying, and cleansing—point to a single Creator, each operating as one unified act throughout the vastest sphere of the universe, so too do most of the Beautiful Names, perhaps even each of the thousand and one Names, have a supreme manifestation within this vast sphere. The act arising from each such manifestation demonstrates the Wāhid-i AhadAllah, the One and Unique, whose oneness is manifest throughout all creation. with a clarity and certainty proportionate to its greatness.

Indeed, the many clear truths and unified acts that illuminate the universe—such as the all-encompassing wisdom that subjects everything to its law and order; the all-pervading providence that adorns and beautifies everything; the far-reaching mercy that brings joy and satisfaction to all beings; the universal provision of sustenance that nourishes all living things and makes their food pleasant and enjoyable; and life and the giving of life, which connect all things and make them beneficial to one another—demonstrate unmistakably the existence of the One, Who is All-Wise, Generous, Merciful, Providing, Living, and Life-Giving, as clearly as the sun demonstrates the existence of light.

If, however, even one of these numerous far-reaching acts, each of which is itself a brilliant proof of Divine Unity, were not attributed to the Wāhid-i AhadAllah, the One and Unique, whose oneness is manifest throughout all creation., hundreds of impossibilities would necessarily follow in countless respects.

For example, suppose that, leaving aside such self-evident truths and proofs of Divine Unity as wisdom, providence, mercy, the provision of sustenance, and the giving of life, even the single act of cleansing were not attributed to the Creator of the universe. According to the unbelieving reasoning of the people of misguidance, one would then inevitably have to accept the following:

• Either every creature involved in the work of cleansing throughout the universe—from the smallest particle and the fly to the elements and the stars—would have to possess the ability to know, consider, and act in accordance with the adornment, balance, order, and cleansing of the entire universe;

• Or every one of these creatures would have to possess the sacred attributes of the Creator of the universe;

• Or, in order to regulate the adornment and cleansing of the universe and maintain the balance between its income and expenditure, there would have to be a council of consultation as vast as the universe itself, with countless particles, flies, and stars serving as its members.

And so on.

Hundreds of similarly absurd and nonsensical impossibilities would have to be accepted for the universal, all-encompassing, and sublime adornment, purification, and cleansing plainly observed everywhere to come into existence. This would entail not just one impossibility, but a hundred thousand impossibilities all at once.

Indeed, if the light of day and the miniature suns reflected in all the shining objects upon the earth were not attributed to the sun itself and recognised as reflections of a single sun, it would be necessary for a real sun to exist within every piece of glass, every drop of water, every snow crystal upon the face of the earth, and even within the tiniest particles of air, for that universal light to exist.