Creation: beginning, dependence, and renewal

A sprinkling from the unfathomed deep of His sovereign and all-pervasive Will hath, out of utter nothingness, called into being a creation which is infinite in its range and deathless in its duration. The wonders of His bounty can never cease, and the stream of His merciful grace can never be arrested. The process of His creation hath had no beginning, and can have no end.

As for existence, creation and origination, these are requirements of God's names and attributes, for there can be no Creator without creation, no Provider without those provided for, no Lord without subjects, and no Sovereignty without citizens. God's sovereignty is eternal and everlasting without beginning, and the kingdom of that true Sovereign, His subjects, His majesty and His beauty are likewise eternal and everlasting.

Regarding creation, say to that historian that just as there was no beginning to God's Divinity and Lordship, likewise there will be no beginning or end to His creative power, sustaining power and divine perfections. That is, creation has existed from a beginningless beginning to an endless end and will continue to exist.

If we determine a beginning and an end for creation, it is as if we determine a beginning and an end for God. There can be no creator without a creation.

The Kingdom of God is pre-existent and, since He is the Creator, without doubt He has always had a creation.

The purpose of creation is spiritual existence and divine being; otherwise, if one reflects a little, even children can understand that this infinite universe, this endless existence, this mighty system, this workshop of the Ancient Power is not merely six thousand years old - it is far more ancient than that. This has been proven through conclusive rational and scientific evidence to the learned and scientists in this illumined age. Today, remains have been discovered which conclusively establish their existence from ten thousand years ago. From the science of geology this hidden secret becomes evident - that the age of the world far exceeds human conception.

This globe is indeed millions of years old, and its Creator has had no beginning and will have no ending. He has been, is and will be the Alpha and Omega.

He has ever been in the heights of exaltation, grandeur and glory, and will ever be in the summit of might, power and majesty, even as He was in the beginning that has no beginning.

For Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be, existing before all things when naught was with Thee, and Thou wilt continue to be even as Thou wert, remaining after the passing of all things when naught shall be with Thee.

No sign can indicate His presence or His absence; inasmuch as by a word of His command all that are in heaven and on earth have come to exist, and by His wish, which is the Primal Will itself, all have stepped out of utter nothingness into the realm of being, the world of the visible.

All that is in heaven and all that is in the earth have come to exist at His bidding, and by His Will all have stepped out of utter nothingness into the realm of being.

Through a hundred thousand means He brought creation from nothingness into being, and confirmed it with all that leads to the elevation of its station and the exaltation of its rank.

Consider, for instance, at the time of the manifestation of the universal Manifestation, before that Ancient Being maketh Himself known and uttereth the creative Word, the world existed but none had knowledge of Him. Likewise, He was the Creator but no creation existed with Him, for at that moment the spirit is withdrawn from all to which the name "thing" can be applied.

Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things.

Answer: Certain sages and philosophers hold that there are two kinds of pre-existence, essential and temporal, and that there are likewise two kinds of origination, essential and temporal.

Essential pre-existence is an existence which is not preceded by a cause; essential origination is preceded by a cause. Temporal pre-existence has no beginning; temporal origination has both a beginning and an end.

The universe has never had a beginning. From the point of view of essence it transforms itself. God is eternal in essence and in time. He is his own existence and cause.

The Truth hath ever been, and will ever be, and likewise creation, except that the latter is preceded by causation. In this case the principle of unity is established and realized.

Apart from this, absolute non-existence lacks the capacity to attain existence. If the universe were pure nothingness, existence could not have been realized. Thus, as that Essence of Oneness, or divine Being, is eternal and everlasting--that is, as it has neither beginning nor end--it follows that the world of existence, this endless universe, likewise has no beginning. To be sure, it is possible for some part of creation--one of the celestial globes--to be newly formed or to disintegrate, but the other countless globes would continue to exist and the world of existence itself would not be disrupted or destroyed.

Notwithstanding this, we read in Genesis in the Old Testament that the lifetime of creation is but six thousand years. This has an inner meaning and significance; it is not to be taken literally.

To be brief: Our purpose is to show that the divine sovereignty, the Kingdom of God, is an ancient sovereignty, that it is not an accidental sovereignty, just as a kingdom presupposes the existence of subjects, of an army, of a country; for otherwise the state of dominion, authority and kingdom cannot be conceived of.

Indeed He was a hidden treasure. This is a station that can never be described nor even alluded to. And in the station of 'I did wish to make Myself known', God was, and His creation had ever existed beneath His shelter from the beginning that hath no beginning, apart from its being preceded by a Firstness which cannot be regarded as firstness and originated by a Cause inscrutable even unto all men of learning.

When the existence of the Eternal Essence is established through His own existence and not through any other - as indicated by "O Thou Who hast proven Thy Essence by Thy Essence!" - then the existence of originated things is established through creation itself, not from anything else.

All praise to the unity of God, and all honor to Him, the sovereign Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who, out of utter nothingness, hath created the reality of all things, Who, from naught, hath brought into being the most refined and subtle elements of His creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from the abasement of remoteness and the perils of ultimate extinction, hath received them into His kingdom of incorruptible glory. Nothing short of His all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading mercy, could have possibly achieved it. How could it, otherwise, have been possible for sheer nothingness to have acquired by itself the worthiness and capacity to emerge from its state of nonexistence into the realm of being?

Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein, He, through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him -- a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation, as mentioned in the well-known sacred tradition. He honored and distinguished man with the robe of honor - "We have created man in the best of forms" - and with the mantle of grace and favor - "Blessed be God, the most excellent of creators". Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self. Alone of all created things man hath been singled out for so great a favor, so enduring a bounty.

These energies with which the Daystar of Divine bounty and Source of heavenly guidance hath endowed the reality of man lie, however, latent within him, even as the flame is hidden within the candle and the rays of light are potentially present in the lamp. The radiance of these energies may be obscured by worldly desires even as the light of the sun can be concealed beneath the dust and dross which cover the mirror. Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted through their own unaided efforts, nor can it ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross. It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out from the face of the mirror it can never represent the image of the sun nor reflect its light and glory.

And since there can be no tie of direct intercourse to bind the one true God with His creation, and no resemblance whatever can exist between the transient and the Eternal, the contingent and the Absolute, He hath ordained that in every age and dispensation a pure and stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Unto this subtle, this mysterious and ethereal Being He hath assigned a twofold nature: the physical, pertaining to the world of matter, and the spiritual, which is born of the substance of God Himself. He hath, moreover, conferred upon Him a double station. The first station, which is related to His innermost reality, representeth Him as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself. To this testifieth the tradition: "Manifold and mysterious is My relationship with God. I am He, Himself, and He is I, Myself, except that I am that I am, and He is that He is." And in like manner, the words: "Arise, O Muhammad, for lo, the Lover and the Beloved are joined together and made one in Thee." He similarly saith: "There is no distinction whatsoever between Thee and Them, except that They are Thy Servants." The second station is the human station, exemplified by the following verses: "I am but a man like you." "Say, praise be to my Lord! Am I more than a man, an apostle?" These Essences of Detachment, these resplendent Realities are the channels of God's all-pervasive grace. Led by the light of unfailing guidance, and invested with supreme sovereignty, They are commissioned to use the inspiration of Their words, the effusions of Their infallible grace and the sanctifying breeze of Their Revelation for the cleansing of every longing heart and receptive spirit from the dross and dust of earthly cares and limitations. Then, and only then, will the Trust of God, latent in the reality of man, emerge, as resplendent as the rising Orb of Divine Revelation, from behind the veil of concealment, and implant the ensign of its revealed glory upon the summits of men's hearts.

From the foregoing passages and allusions it hath been made indubitably clear that in the kingdoms of earth and heaven there must needs be manifested a Being, an Essence Who shall act as a Manifestation and Vehicle for the transmission of the grace of the Divinity Itself, the Sovereign Lord of all. Through the Teachings of this Daystar of Truth every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hath been endowed. It is for this very purpose that in every age and dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men, and have evinced such power as is born of God and such might as only the Eternal can reveal.

Can one of sane mind ever seriously imagine that, in view of certain words the meaning of which he cannot comprehend, the portal of God's infinite guidance can ever be closed in the face of men? Can he ever conceive for these Divine Luminaries, these resplendent Lights either a beginning or an end? What outpouring flood can compare with the stream of His all-embracing grace, and what blessing can excel the evidences of so great and pervasive a mercy? There can be no doubt whatever that if for one moment the tide of His mercy and grace were to be withheld from the world, it would completely perish. For this reason, from the beginning that hath no beginning the portals of Divine mercy have been flung open to the face of all created things, and the clouds of Truth will continue to the end that hath no end to rain on the soil of human capacity, reality and personality their favors and bounties. Such hath been God's method continued from everlasting to everlasting.

However, after the appearance of these holy Countenances in the world of manifestation and witness, some souls and people become afflicted with the darkness of ignorance - the fruit of their own deeds - while others become occupied with passing vanities. And since that hidden Beauty calls all people to complete detachment and sacrifice, they therefore turn away and stretch forth their hands in harm and injury.

And since these Monarchs of existence, in the world of the spirits, accepted with utmost desire and yearning all tribulations in God's path, they therefore deliver themselves into the hands of their enemies, such that whatever harm and injury they can inflict upon the bodies, limbs and members of these sanctified Essences in the realm of earth and witness, they carry out. And since the believers and loved ones are like the branches and leaves of this blessed Tree, whatever befalls the root of the Tree must surely befall its branches, twigs and leaves.

This is why in all ages such tribulations and afflictions have been and will be the portion of the lovers of the All-Glorious Beauty. There has never been a time when these Manifestations of Divine Unity appeared in the earthly realm without such tribulations, afflictions and ordeals. Though outwardly imprisoned and the victims and outcasts of the land, yet inwardly they are the recipients of God's hidden favors. And though they are deprived of physical comfort and bodily pleasures, yet they partake of spiritual comfort and the delights of the fruits of inner meaning and the holy celestial yields.

Were people to observe with the eye of insight, it would become evident that these trials and tribulations, these hardships and calamities, which have descended upon the sincere ones and the believers, are the essence of comfort and the reality of bounty, while this comfort and glory of those who have turned away from the truth is itself affliction, torment and hardship. For the consequence and fruit of these tribulations is the supreme comfort and the cause of attaining the highest horizon, while the recompense and effect of this comfort is great hardship and affliction, and the cause of descent to the nethermost depths. Therefore, at no time should one be saddened by the descent of trials and tribulations, nor should one be sorrowful and grief-stricken by the manifestation of ordained events and calamities. Rather, one must hold fast to the firm handle of patience and cleave to the strong cord of forbearance, for the Lord hath ordained a measure and reckoning for the reward of every good deed except patience, concerning which He saith: "Verily, the patient will be paid their recompense without measure."

I remember and long for Aqa Mirza Ismail with the utmost yearning and attachment. God willing, may you ever abide secure and at rest beneath the shadow of God's grace.

The All-Merciful on the throne is established, and He is God who hath power over all things. Verily God created all things through His power, in truth by truth as a creation, and He is the One who originated the heavens and earth and what lieth between them by His command, in truth from around the fire as an innovation, that people might know that God's Command hath existed in the Mother Book in truth by truth from around the fire.

Thou seest all things while nothing beholdeth Thee, and Thou dost witness all things while nothing beareth witness to Thee, for all have been created by Thy command out of nothingness, and Thou art He Who hath brought the universe into being from naught.

He is the Truth, there is no God but Him. He giveth life and causeth death, and unto Him shall all be turned. He is the One Who creates what He willeth by His command 'Be!' and it is.

Thou art He Who existed before all things in the eternity of Thine essence, and Thou art He Who will endure after all things in the everlastingness of Thine existence.

When thou hast understood this, thou wilt be certain that creation hath no beginning whereby thou mightest reckon from its inception, and preserve this as one of the bounds of thy religion. In every Revelation all things are renewed and created anew.

O servant of God! Days shall pass and times shall come to an end, but the favors of the Blessed Beauty shall remain steadfast and enduring, and the bounties of the Most Great Name shall eternally embrace the everlasting and the infinite. Therefore seek thou that which is eternal, and desire thou that which is everlasting.

It was you who made that very time; nor could any periods of time pass by before you made them. But if no time existed before heaven and earth, why do they ask what you were doing then? There was no 'then' when there was no time.

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All praise and glory be to God Who, through the power of His might, hath delivered His creation from the nakedness of non-existence, and clothed it with the mantle of life.

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Creation/bringing into existence is in accordance with the Writings and this is absolutely certain.

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