from a tiny worm and feeds him honey from a poisonous insect is not his own power, but the subjugation of his Lord and Sustainer and the bestowal of the Most Merciful, which are the fruits of his weakness.

O man! Since the reality of the matter is thus, give up egotism and arrogance. Proclaim your impotence and weakness at the divine court with the tongue of seeking help, and your poverty and need with the tongue of entreaty and supplication. Show that you are His slave. Say:

God is enough for us, for He is the Best Disposer of Affairs,(3:173)

and rise in degree.

Also, do not say: “I am nothing. What importance do I have that the universe should purposefully be made subject to me by an Absolutely All-Wise One, and universal thanks be required of me?” Because for sure you are as though nothing with respect to your soul and form, but in regard to duty and rank, you are an observant spectator of this majestic universe, an eloquent, articulate tongue of these beings so full of wisdom, a discerning reader of this book of the universe, a supervisor of these creatures full of wonder at their glorifications, and like a foreman of these beings full of respect for their worship.

Yes, O man! In regard to your vegetable physical being and animal soul, you are a miniscule particle, a contemptible atom, a needy creature, a weak animal, who, tossed on the awesome waves of the flood of beings, is departing. But being perfected through the light of belief, which comprises the radiance of divine love, and through the training of Islam, which is enlightened, in regard to humanity and servitude to God, you are a king, and a universal within particularity, and within your insignificance, a world, and within your contemptibility, a supervisor of such high rank and extensive sphere that you can say: “My Compassionate Sustainer has made the world a house for me, the sun and moon lamps for it, and the spring, a bunch of flowers for me, and summer, a table of bounties, and the animals, He has made my servants, and plants the decorated furnishings of my house.”

To conclude: If you heed Satan and your soul, you will fall to the lowest of the low. But if you heed truth and the Qur’an, you will rise to the highest of the high and become the Most Excellent Pattern of the universe.

Fifth Remark

FIFTH REMARK

Man has been sent to this world as an official and guest, and has been given abilities of great significance. And he has been entrusted with important duties in accordance with those abilities. In order to employ man in