name of the Qur’an: “You take a place relative to your size!” And if man’s submarines were to ask for a place from the Qur’an’s verses, the submarines of that sphere, that is, the earth and stars which swim in the vast ocean of the atmosphere and the ether would say: “Your place beside us is so small as to be negligible.” And if the brilliant, star-like electric lights were to demand the right to speak and ask to be included in its verses, the electric lights of that sphere, the shooting stars, lightning, and stars and lamps which adorn the face of the skies, would say: “You may enter its discussions and explanations in relation to your light.” If the wonders of civilization were to demand their rights with a view to fineness of art and seek a place from its verses, then a single fly would bid them to be silent, saying: “Your rights are not equal to even one of my wings! For if all the fine arts and delicate instruments achieved through man’s faculty of will were to be gathered together, they could never be as wondrous as the fine art of my delicate members and tiny body.” The verse,

Those on whom you call besides God cannot create [even] a fly, if they all met together for the purpose.(22:73)

bids you to fall silent!”

If the marvels of civilization were to go to the sphere of worship and demand their rights, they would receive a reply like this: “Your relations with us are very few and you may not easily enter our sphere. For our programme is this: the world is a guesthouse, and as for human beings, they remain there only a short time. They are guests with many duties and in a brief lifetime are charged with preparing all the necessities for eternal life. The most important and essential matters will be offered to you. But most of you see this fleeting world through a veil of heedlessness, as an eternal abode, coloured and shaped by worldly feelings. So your share of worship, the basis of which is love of the truth and thinking of the hereafter, is very small. However, if there are among you respected craftsmen and artists and inspired inventors, who, purely for the benefit of God’s servants, serve the general interest and public well-being and betterment of social life, which is all valuable worship, these signs and indications of the Qur’an are surely sufficient for those discerning people, who of course form a minority, in order to encourage their efforts and appreciate their art.”

#### The Second

THE ANSWER TO THE SECOND QUESTION

If you ask: “None of my doubts remains now after these investigations, and I affirm that together with other wonders, in the Qur’an are allusions to and indications of the wonders of modern civilization, indeed, to further advancements. Everything necessary for human happiness in this world