THE BOOK OF IGHAN
CHAPTER I
IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD, THE EXALTED, THE
SUPREME!
THE following chapter explains that verily the servants (of God) shall never attain to the shore of the Sea of Knowledge except by complete severance from all that is in the heavens and earth.
Sanctify yourselves O people of the earth, that perchance ye may attain to the station which God hath ordained for you and enter the tabernacle which God hath elevated in the Heaven of the Beyan.
The quintessence of this chapter is that travellers in the Path of Faith and seekers for the Cup of Assurance must sanctify and purify themselves from all material things; that is, the ear from hearing statements, the heart from doubts which pertain to the veils of glory (sabahati jalal[1]), the soul from depend-
- ↑ Veils intervening between man and the Truth of God, which must be rent before the real light of that Truth is seen. One of these veils is literal interpretation of the Divine Texts preventing true understanding of Revelation, such as the statement of the ascent of Christ into Heaven, His descent, the station of Mohammed as the “Seal of the Prophets,” etc.
1
