There is often mixed joy and sorrow when traveling abroad, sometimes discovered in the journeying, sometimes found at the destination. Such a mixture was mine on a recent trip with Hizmet to India, where interfaith dialogue and its wonderful fruits across the many faiths of that subcontinent were very clearly evident, but that alongside increasing communal discord and even serious and extensive street violence in the face of protests against government policies of division and exclusion. Unfortunately, such social upheavals are today not limited to India; they seem to be spreading like fires in drought-stricken forests around the world, engulfing too many developing and developed countries, alike.

Early one morning around 2am, when sleep evaded me, I deeply felt the poignancy of this turbulent travel, while my mind drifted to recollect some stories often told of St Francis of Assisi preaching not only to human beings but to birds, as well as other creatures of creation:

When he drew nigh unto Bevagna he came unto a spot wherein a great multitude of birds of divers species were gathered together. When the holy man of God perceived them, he ran with all speed unto the place and greeted them as if they shared in human understanding. They on their part all awaited him and turned toward him, those that were perched on bushes bending their heads as he drew nigh them, and looking on him in unwonted wise, while he came right among them, and diligently exhorted them all to hear the word of God, saying: “My brothers the birds, much ought ye to praise your Creator, Who hath clothed you with feathers and given you wings to fly, and hath made over unto you the pure air, and careth for you without your taking thought for yourselves.” While he was speaking unto them these and other like words, the little birds—behaving themselves in wondrous wise—began to stretch their necks, to spread their wings, to open their beaks, and to look intently on him. He, with wondrous fervour of spirit, passed in and out among them, touching them with his habit, nor did one of them move from the spot until he had made the sign of the Cross over them and given them leave; then, with the blessing of the man of God, they all flew away together. All these things were witnessed by his companions that stood awaiting him by the way. Returning unto them, the simple and holy man began to blame himself for neglect in that he had not afore then preached unto the birds. [Saint Bonaventura, The Life of Saint Francis, 12.3]

And so I wondered (dreamed?), what might the birds tell us of their lives and struggles in this newly disruptive age?

The Birds: A Parable

Once upon a time, there was a bountiful flock of birds, all with iridescent blue-green plumage and a melodic trilling song of thanks through God for their heritage as a single community: together they preened, together they sang, together they lived and thrived upon the resource-laden land God gifted to their stewardship.

As time passed, other flocks were drawn to this same rich territory, as well, all with their varied distinctive plumage—fiery yellows and reds, subdued grayish-browns, and dazzling whites—and all with their individual God-given songs of praise.

The original flock generously welcomed all these newcomers, judging that sharing was better than selfish hoarding, opening better than closing ranks, and accepting different characteristics better than demanding uniformity in attributes. Together they fashioned a unity in their very diversity, sharing the riches of the land, extolling their variegated colors in songs to their Creator, generating a harmonious chorale that exemplified the Creator’s love for all of His making, as stewards of land and of one another, together…together. Generations passed in peace, colors and songs filled the land, and unity was manifested.

But a season came when a spirit of fearful possessiveness arose among some of the descendants of the blue-green flock, who began looking askance at those whose colors and songs differed. “What place have these foreigners amongst us? Have they not intruded into our way of life, depleted our resources and now threaten our very existence? Let them depart to other lands, apart from us, with their own kind.”

Though few in actual number in the beginning, these dissident voices seeded fear and discord, which took root and grew widely where once unity had thrived. For although the ones they called “foreigners” had passed many generations upon the shared land and even now comprised only a small proportion of the overall population, hardship borne of dissimulation had come to many of the birds across all the flocks. Stewardship of the land had been overshadowed by exploitation of resources for the benefit of a greedy few, and the detriment of many. Now, a scapegoat was needed to divert attention from the real causes of increasing distress and hardship.

Arbitrary hierarchies were manufactured and enforced, purporting to be inherent and according to “purity” of color and song. Only those deemed worthy now had a proper place in society, and their numbers were strictly circumscribed by documented ancestry via sole descent from the first flock. All others were relegated to some separate, ignoble status. And now, uniformity and unison in song, rather than harmony of distinctives, became the priority: “How else could the Creator receive proper praise? So-called harmony was really just cacophony, and no God could be pleased with that!” If the song were different, it had no arena, even when the song was echoing celestial praise; if the bird’s color and song were different, the bird was no longer welcomed, it had no place.

Unity was shattered, harmony disappeared, estrangement normalized. Jealously ostracizing others became the common rule. Harsh words became the norm…violence the ready remedy…destruction, injury and death the ultimate result.

More fully awake, now, I considered, “Can the birds recover themselves? Can they listen anew to St Francis’ call together joyously to offer praise to their Creator and so be content? Or is it too late?”

Perhaps more importantly, is there more than a fanciful story, here? what might these birds tell us of today’s challenges to our societies…to our very humanity? Can we, today, respond to the call of St Francis as did the birds of the field near Bevagna, to live together in peace unto the praise our Creator, seeking only His commendation?

When President Trump recently visited India, banners were emblazoned with the slogan that the world’s oldest democracy was meeting with the world’s largest democracy. Thomas Mann, in 1947 testimony before a U.S. congressional committee, noted a depressing increase in “spiritual intolerance, political inquisitions, and declining legal security,” that typically foreshadows an ultimate breakdown in democracy itself, which can only finally usher in a breakdown in societal peace and prosperity (subsequently realized in the fever of McCarthyism in the US, and the violent partition of India). Where there is no sense of the sacred through acceptance of difference and mutuality in dialogue, there is eventually only polarization: there will be those who agree to think the same way who are called friends; while all the rest are demonized as enemies. And where there are only friends and enemies, insiders and outsiders, “us” and “them,” civil war—metaphoric at least, actual bloodletting at worst—is inevitable.

So, can India recover itself? It was once the standard bearer of secular/multi-faith democracy in the developing world—or is it too late? Can we in the US recover ourselves? We were once the standard bearer of an immigrant-filled country grounded on practicing civil discourse in the developed world—or is it too late?

May the Creator grant that we all together comprehend and affirm His path of acceptance, affirmation, and peacemaking:

The Spirit has never ceased brooding over the waters … ever creating, superintending, re-creating, all that is, according to the counsel of God’s own purposive will. Together with the angels and saints, we rejoice in faith, hope and love, as the Only Holy One continually, eternally renews the face of the heavens and the earth.
Our Only Creator
through His creation
is creating us
is sustaining us
is provisioning us
is re-creating us
unto the restoration
of all His creation.

“Good grades pay off literally. Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts… Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso last week promised to spend more than $935,000 to give high school students as much as $110 each to improve their scores on state graduation exams… The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states-Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington-won spots in an Exxon/Mobil-funded program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement (AP) college-prep exams.” (USA Today, 01/27/2008)

The above is just one example of how some educators have developed additional incentives to motivate their students in hopes of them increasing their performance in school. A majority of students have gone through educational systems in which such rewards are present, albeit not as extreme as in the example above. In such systems, money, student awards, honorary degrees or advanced placement opportunities aim to improve student performance and motivation toward meeting expected goals through increased competition. Some of these rewards may not be tangible: simple praise, public appreciation and positive feedbacks are examples of intangible or verbal rewards. Both tangible and intangible rewards are advocated and implemented by many educators. Today they constitute a crucial part of our educational system. The reasoning behind rewarding or praising students is simple: If one reinforces a behavior by bestowing a reward for it, it is believed that behavior is more likely to be developed and maintained by the recipients of the reward, but is this really the case?

Some psychologists, known as behaviorists, believe that human nature is utilitarian: behaviors are influenced by their consequences. The use of reinforcement and punishment to control and manipulate human behavior reflects this view. The former allows educators to increase the likelihood of a behavior, while the latter is employed to decrease its likelihood. They argue that one can improve and nurture a particular behavior through reinforcement. An educator with a behaviorist point of view, therefore, believes that learning can be achieved in part by reinforcing desired behaviors with rewards, medals, degrees, grades or praises.

Even though these concepts have been valued and applied widely by many educators for decades, there are some psychologists and educators that do not agree with the current use of either tangible or verbal rewards for educational purposes. Their reasoning is based in part on motivation theory. According to motivation theory, people are motivated by either extrinsic or intrinsic drives. Extrinsic motivation is defined as any reinforcement to support, develop or maintain a behavior provided by external conditions, such as rewarding a student with money or an award. Intrinsic motivation, in contrast, implies doing an activity for its own sake because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable. The most important distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation lies in their source: an internal (intrinsic) versus external (extrinsic) source of motivation. Money, praise, awards or promotions are examples of external motivators, which are used to nurture some behaviors, while inner willingness and ambition, are sources of intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

There are educators who advocate motivation theory but disagree with the idea of rewarding their students since they believe that external rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. As students are extrinsically rewarded, they are more likely to lose their intrinsic motivation to sustain their behavior. Empirical studies have shown that students who did not receive any tangible rewards previously will begin to associate their behavior to rewards they have been given, eventually leading students to neglect performing an activity for its own sake when there is no reward present.

Amabile, Hennesey and Grossman (1986) examined the influence of rewards and perceptions of activity on creativity. In their study, children were rewarded with the opportunity to take pictures with instant cameras after they completed a task requiring creativity. For young children this reward was pretty attractive. The perception of the activity was manipulated by calling the activity “play,” “work” or by not specifying its nature. They found that children with the perception of play but without the promise of a reward showed a higher degree of creative performance than other children who were promised a reward. It appears that the “label” of the activity and the existence of rewards influences the creative performance of children. Another phenomenon considered in this study was the variation of the children’s behavior in activities in which they were given choice and no choice at all. The authors showed that in activities where participants were not given options, rewarded participants outperformed non-rewarded participants while non-rewarded participants were superior to rewarded participants in choice situations. There were three educational implications discovered as a result of this study:

1. The way a teacher presents an activity or responsibility counts! The presentation of an activity as “play” is correlated with higher performance than if it is presented as “work” or if its nature is not specified.
2. Rewards may undermine activities requiring intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is important for creativity. Biographies of inventors show that inventions are the result of perennial attempts and thus require a high degree of intrinsic motivation. Therefore, educators need to think twice about whether rewarding their students encourages or suppresses creativity in a given situation.
3. Rewards are detrimental when people have intrinsically chosen to do something, but not necessarily when an action is required of them. This point leaves some room for rewarding students. A good portion of the educational curriculum might be outside of students’ interests. For those kinds of activities, rewards may work to motivate them to participate in these activities, however, if students choose an activity, and if they have already had the motivation to do it, rewards will most likely not improve their performance.

This study shows that educators need to answer the following three questions before deciding whether rewards should be used:

1. Do the students already have intrinsic motivation to complete this activity?
2. Did the students choose to complete this activity?
3. Has someone else already asked or encouraged them to complete this activity?

Another study by Mueller and Dweck (1998) revealed the influence of praise on performance. In a culture of appreciation, praise is expected to encourage people and motivate them to be more successful. This study questions whether praising students is necessary and how praise can affect students. The authors of this study designed six experiments to examine the effects of praise for intelligence and praise for effort and how they influenced the participants. The authors discovered that when praising students for their intelligence the students’ achievements and motivation were lower than those students who were praised for their effort. Children whose intelligence was praised cared more about performance goals while children whose effort was praised cared more about learning. Moreover, the students whose intelligence was praised displayed lower levels of task persistence and enjoyment, increased low-ability attributions, and worse task performance when they experienced failure than children praised for their effort. Another crucial result of the study concerns the concept of intelligence. The same group of students, who were praised for their intelligence, considered their intelligence to be a fixed trait whereas the other group considered it a flexible trait. While the first group (students who were praised for their intelligence) tried to look smart even by sacrificing learning, the second group (students who were praised for effort) attempted to learn new things even if doing so was difficult or risky. Another interesting result was in the discrepancy in performance between the two groups of students when they encountered difficulty in their tasks. The study found that the performance of the students in the first group was impaired in comparison to the second group whose performance increased.

Considering the controversy surrounding rewarding versus not rewarding, the authors of this study focused on the issue of “what to praise.” Praising some traits such as intelligence, ability or creativity might be detrimental for the traits’ continuity in students while praise for endeavoring towards utilizing their intelligence; creativity or any other ability appears to increase the likelihood of learning. This issue raises some serious questions about the current practices of gifted education. Today, most education systems in the United States and other countries “identify” gifted students through tests and other means of determining intelligence, some even group students in separate classes. These students are well aware why they are being treated in this way. In other words, the system itself is continuously providing implicit rewards for the students identified as gifted. From Dweck’s point of view, this policy would impair learning because the student’s performance is not rewarded, while their “intelligence” is.

Another important question raised in this study is the “appropriate time of rewarding.” In research by Kamins and Dweck (1999), the influence of praise and criticism was observed in several ways: when directed variously toward the person performing an activity, toward the process of the activity itself, and toward the activity’s outcome. In their research some of the participants were praised with “I’m very proud of you”; some as “That’s the right way to do it,” whereas others were told: “You found a good way to do it, can you think of other ways that may also work?” When these groups were compared, the researchers found that the process-praised group was superior in rating the products of their work in comparison to the outcome-praised group. It was also noticed in that participants that were members of the process-praised group had increased self-esteem and were more persistent than the other groups. Those findings were the same when criticism was used in place of praise. The lesson to take from this research is clear: we should provide feedback, praise or criticism, about the process rather than the person and the end product.

There are other side effects of rewarding students. When we reward, we actually teach two different things in a very subtle way. First, we teach the student to do something for the purpose of another thing rather than for its own sake. Second, we teach the student not to do anything for free. Both of these have important drawbacks: we kill their enthusiasm and intrinsic motivation because they have been given another reason to do their activities and we implicitly redirect their valuation to external things that then could cause them to undervalue the task itself. This means that they will no longer repeat the same behavior when the rewards are discontinued. There is a paradox here. On the one hand, behaviorist psychologists defined learning as an overt change in behavior. Since the behavior (or learning) fades away later along with the rewards, we cannot argue that rewards did make a permanent influence on behavior. On the other hand, by using these methods we teach students to be independent individuals who do not care about others. Especially in today’s conditions, when many jobless, homeless, and hungry people are trying to survive all around the world, self-centered individualism should not be the desired outcome of education. Infusing people with seemingly innocent notions of “money talks” or “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” might function as a rationale for unethical and socially irresponsible behaviors. Educators should not bolster a self-centered individualism by excessively rewarding students. Such rewarding may contribute to the kind of irresponsibility that allows for the kinds of unwise decisions that lead us to the current recession.

The overall point that I have advocated in this article is not an argument strictly against rewarding. Rather, knowing more about the individual, the conditions, and possible consequences related to rewards are vital for an effective education. How can this be achieved? An example is the treatment of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) toward a child who was making fun of the Adhan (the Muslim call to prayer). He approached one of them and praised one of them by saying, “What a beautiful voice that you have.” Caressing his hair, he continued by asking the boy “Would you mind to give the call to the prayer in the masjid with such a beautiful voice?” He took the child to the masjid and this child, known as Abu Mansura, later became a well-known muezzin (the individual who makes the Muslim call to prayer). This example stands as evidence of the importance of rewarding. On the other hand, in traditional Sufi thought, the purpose of praying and good works is not merely entering Heaven or avoiding Hell, instead, acquiring the acceptance and approval of God is seen as the ultimate goal for a person. Such a purpose may not apply to everyone, because the majority of people may need a tangible reward to do something, just like majority of students want to achieve a certain goal primarily in order to gain rewards, however, higher levels of spirituality can be developed toward an overarching goal that can be achieved by only a select few. Therefore, these two examples do not in fact conflict. The messages derived from educational and psychological literature, as well as religious teachings, seems to converge, even though rewards may help most people to perform better, rewarding is not helpful and even detrimental to a minority group of people who already display high levels of motivation and ambition to achieve.

As a result, rewarding is not necessarily helpful or detrimental. Educators should give up applying their ready-made methods to all students. Ideally, intrinsically motivated students should not receive external rewards because this would switch their focus to material prizes. When needed, educators should try to provide feedback directed toward the process rather than the outcome or the person. Also, they should foster student’s efforts rather than their ability. The decision about rewarding should be based on knowledge regarding the person to be rewarded, the target or direction, and even the timing of the reward. Otherwise, for some individuals the rewards might produce an effect diametrically opposed to its intended purpose.

References

• Skinner, B. F. 1953, Science and Human Behavior. New York: The Free Press.
• Kamins, M. L. & Dweck, C. S. 1999. “Person versus process praise and criticism: Implications for contingent self-worth and coping.” Developmental Psychology, 35, 835-847.
• Mueller, C. M. and Dweck, C. S. 1998. “Intelligence praise can undermine motivation and performance.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 33-52.
• Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions.” Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67.
• Amabile, T. M., Hennessey, B. A. & Grossman, B. S. (1986). “Social Influences on Creativity: The Effects of Contracted-For Reward.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 14-23.

Particles that are the size of a nano (a billionth of a meter) are of great interest to science today. The most common saying in the engineering world is “the smaller the better,” and thus nanotechnology (technology of nano sizes) has become very popular in almost no time at all. Everybody is now trying to nanosize their ultrahigh technological instruments to catch up with ongoing nano-fashion. Taking this new technology into account, the use of the word “particles” instead of “atoms” that we encounter while reading about how the Law of Wisdom bestows important duties to inanimate and unconscious particles helps to unravel the mystery of how nanosized particles act under the Highest Command.3

As organisms made up of zillions of cells, we human beings are amazing biological systems. No moment passes without millions of reactions happening in our body. Most of them, indeed, all of them are being carried out by molecules, in particular supramolecular structures (also called enzymes) supplied with hands, arms or some other robotic units of several atoms. These are the actual “particles” on which the world is running.

The verse Not an atom’s weight of whatever there is in the Heavens or in the Earth escapes Him, nor is there anything smaller than that, or greater, but it is recorded in a Manifest Book2 has only clearly been understood since nanoscience has emerged. Some still interpret the meaning of zarrat (the original word used in Qur’an) as meaning atoms instead of particles, but it will not be long before they recognize that the actual work is being done by particles which are made up of molecules that consist of more than one atom, a state that is in agreement with Qur’an.

Zarrat are, first of all, the bricks used to build beings, worlds, and universes. They act in the name of the Glorious Creator, doing the work necessary for the continuity of systems. They work together as a team, in most cases without any trouble, demonstrating that the One Supreme Being is in command.

Secondly, the zarrat act as a multi-purpose cultivation field for all different crops, addressing the infinite treasury of His mercy and giving samples of His endless power.

The renewal of the zarrat each spring like an endless flood flowing through the world from the infinite treasury of His power, while preserving the property of being recyclable is a clear indication of the Absolute Commander.

Obviously, the so-called nanoscale sciences use these zarrat in action. Those particles work, doing whatever they have been told to do as they are obedient slaves of the Greatest King; however, some scientists fool themselves, assuming that each one of these particles is equipped with all-encompassing knowledge and power.

Above all else, the verse, “There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise, proclaiming that He is free from having any partners and all praise belongs to Him exclusively,”4 perfectly sums up the situation: the zarrat, the particles, have all been created to praise Him, the Creator, the Only Owner.

Notes

1. Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said, The Words, (translated by Sukran Vahide), Sozler Publications, 1998, page 570.
2. Qur’an, 34:3.
3. Nursi, ibid, 1998, page 580.
4. Qur’an, 17:44.

Consider how great a source of power is a chick’s weakness, on account of which a mother hen will attack even a lion. Or how the weakness of a lion cub subjugates to itself so great a beast as a lioness, which suffers hunger to feed her baby. How remarkable is the powerful appeal inherent in weakness, and what a spectacular manifestation of Compassion for importunate beings.

In the same way, loved children obtain their goals through weeping, wishing, or making a sad face, all of which can cause mighty people to serve them. If they relied on their own strength, they would never realize any of this. On account of their weakness and powerlessness, in fact, feelings of affection and protection are so motivated in their favor that a single gesture may allow them to subjugate powerful people.

If such children become so arrogant as to deny the care and affection shown to them and say, in accusation of the protection over him: ‘I do all this with my own power, they deserve to be punished. We also will deserve to be punished if we deny our Creator’s mercy to us by attributing all that we achieve to our own power and knowledge, thereby accusing God’s wisdom in ingratitude for what Divine Mercy has bestowed upon us. We will be like Korah, who said: I have been given it [my possessions] on account of my knowledge (28:78).

This shows that our observed dominion in nature, as well as our advancement and progress in civilization and technology, have not been realized solely through our own power, effort, and success. Rather, we largely owe them to our essential weakness and helplessness, which attract Divine aid. Our poverty is the source of Divine provision, our ignorance is made up for by Divine inspiration, and our need draws Divine favors. Also, it is Divine Mercy and Affection, and Divine Wisdom, not our own power and knowledge, that have empowered us with dominion over creation and have put things at our disposal. Only Divine Authority and Compassion enable us, who are so weak that we can be defeated by a blind scorpion and a footless snake, to dress in silk made by a silkworm and to eat the honey produced by a bee.

Since this is the truth, renounce your arrogance and do not put your trust in yourself. Rather, affirm your impotence and weakness in the high presence of God by asking for His help, and by praying and entreating Him. Declare your poverty and insufficiency, and show that you are His true servant. Then say: God is sufficient for us. Most sublime is He in Whom we trust (3:173), and ascend to the higher ranks.

Do not say: ‘I am nothing. What significance do I have that the All-Wise Creator should intentionally put creation at my disposal and demand from me universal gratitude? You are almost nothing with respect to your physical being, but your duty or rank makes you are an attentive observer of this magnificent universe, an eloquent tongue of beings declaring the Divine Wisdom, a perceptive student of this book of creation, an admiring overseer of the creatures that glorify God’s praise, and a respected master of worshipping beings.

You are an insignificant particle, a poor creature and a weak animal as far as your physical being and soul are counted, and so are carried away by the huge waves of creation. But if you are perfected through the light of belief, which comprises the radiance of Divine love, and through the training of Islam, you will find a kingliness in your being a slave, a comprehensiveness in your particularity, a world in your small entity, and a very high rank in your insignificance. The realm of your supervision of creation will be so broad that you can say: ‘My Compassionate Lord has made the world a home for me. He has given me the sun and the moon as lamps, spring as a bunch of roses, summer as a banquet of favors, and the animals as obedient servants. He has put the plants and vegetation at my disposal also, as ornaments and provisions for my home.

In conclusion, if you obey your evil-commanding selfhood and Satan, you will fall to the lowest level. But if you follow the truth and the Qur’an, you will ascend to the highest level and become the most excellent pattern of creation.

Fifth remark

We have been sent to this world as guests with a special responsibility and endowed with important potentials. We have been assigned important duties in accordance with these potentials, strongly urged to carry out those duties, and are gravely threatened if we do not. To make the mystery of ‘being the best pattern of creation more comprehensible, we summarize the essentials of the worship and duties required of us.

Our worship consists of two aspects. One is implicit and concerns reflection and consciousness. The other is visible prayer, done in direct supplication in God’s presence.

The first aspect is that we submissively confirms the Sovereignty of His Lordship over creation, and observe in amazement the works of His Beauty and Perfection. We then draw the attention of our fellow beings to the intricate, ornamented works of art that are manifestations of the sacred Divine Names. We also measure in ‘units of due perception and discernment the gems of the Lord’s Names, each of which is a hidden spiritual treasure, and evaluate them with grateful hearts.

After this, we make a close study of the pages of creation, the sheets of the Heavens and the Earth, each of which is a missive of Divine Power, and contemplate them in great admiration. As we gaze in amazement and admiration at the subtle ornamentation and refined skills in creation, we ardently desire to know their Beautiful Creator and yearn to enter His Presence, where we hopes to be received into His favor.

The second aspect is that we turn toward our Majestic Creator, Who wants Himself to be known through the miracles of His artistry. We unburden ourselves to Him in sincere belief and try to acquire knowledge of Him. By doing so, we discern that a Compassionate Lord wants Himself to be loved through the beautiful fruits of His Compassion. In response, we makes ourselves loved by Him by devoting our love and adoration to Him.

Seeing that a Generous Provider nourishes us with the best and dearest of His material and spiritual favors, we respond to Him with gratitude and praise, expressed through our works, deeds, lifestyle and, if possible, all our senses and faculties. We then observe that a Lord of Beauty and Majesty manifests Himself in the mirror of beings, and draws attention to His Glory and Perfection, and His Majesty and Beauty. In response, we proclaim: ‘God is the Greatest! Glory be to God! and prostrates before Him in wonder and adoration.

He also notices that One of Absolute Riches displays His limitless wealth and treasuries in an infinitely generous fashion. In response, we glorify and praise Him and, displaying our need, ask Him for His favors. Then, observing that the Majestic Creator has arranged the Earth like an exhibition that displays His matchless works, we appreciates them and say: ‘What wonders God has willed and created! Confirming their beauty, we say: ‘God bless them! Showing our wonder, we say: ‘Glory be to God! Expressing our admiration, we say: ‘God is the Greatest!

Also, we see that the Unique One demonstrates His Oneness in creation through His particular signs and His unique decrees, and through His inimitable stamps and seals, which He has places on each creature. He inscribes the signs of His Oneness on everything, and raises the flag of His Unity throughout the world, thus proclaiming His Lordship. We respond to this with belief and affirmation, admission of and testimony to His Unity, and with devotion and sincere worship.

We may attain true humanity by all such types of worship and reflection. We may demonstrate that we are the best pattern of creation and, through the grace of faith, become a trustworthy vicegerent of God on this Earth.

Now, those of you who heedlessly go toward the lowest level by misusing your will although you were created as the best pattern of creation, listen to me! To see how ugly is the face of the world that turns toward passions and desires, and, by contrast, how extraordinarily beautiful is its other face that turns toward the Hereafter, look at the ‘tables given below.

The First Table

(This table depicts the true spirit of the world of the heedless.)

Do not invite me to the world; I came and found it evil and mortal. Heedlessness was a veil; I saw the light of Truth concealed. All things, the whole of creation, I saw were mortal and full of harm. Existence, indeed I put it on. Alas! It was non-existence and I suffered much. As to life, I experienced it; I saw it was torment within torment. Intellect became pure retribution; I saw permanence to be tribulation. Life was like a wind that passed in whims; I saw perfection to be pure loss. Deeds were only for show; I saw ambitions to be pure pain. Union was in fact separation; I saw the cure to be the ailment. These lights became darkness; I saw these friends to be orphans. These voices were announcements of death; I saw the living to be dead. Knowledge changed into whims; I saw in science thousands of ailments. Pleasures became unmixed pain; I saw existence to be compounded non-existence. I have found the True Beloved; Ah! I suffered much pain because of separation.

The Second Table

(This table describes the true spirit of the world of the people of guidance and peace.)

Heedlessness has disappeared; I have seen the light of Truth to be manifest. Existence is a proof of Divine Being. Life is the mirror reflecting Truth. Intellect has become the key to treasuries. Mortality is the door to eternity. The spark of self-attainment has died. There is the Sun of Grace and Beauty. Life has become pure action. Eternity is pure life. Darkness is a thin membrane enclosing light. There is true life in death. All things have become familiar. All sounds are the recitation of Divine Names. All the particles in creation: Each recites God’s Names and glorifies Him. I have found poverty to be a treasury of wealth. In impotence lies perfect power. If you have found God,all things are yours. If you are a slave of the Owner of All Things,His property is yours. If you are egotist and claim self-ownership,it is endless trial and tribulation. It is infinite torment you are to experience,it is an unbearable calamity. If you are truly a slave of God,devoted to Him,it is an infinite delight. Taste its uncountable rewards,experience its boundless bliss… Glory be to You! We know nothing but what you teach us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. O my Lord, relieve my mind and ease my task. Loosen a knot from my tongue so that they may understand my speech. O God, bestow peace and blessings on Muhammad, his pure, unique essence, who is the light revealing all the mysteries, the manifestation of light, the point upon which manifestations of God’s Majesty are centered, the pivot around which the world of His Grace and Beauty revolves. O God, for the mystery of him in his relation to You, and for his journeying toward You, secure me from my fears, protect me from falling, diminish my sorrows, and purify me of my passions. Be with me, take me away from myself unto You, favor me with effacement from myself. Do not leave me obsessed with my self and veiled by my feelings. Unveil to me every mystery. O Eternally Living and Self-Sustaining, O Eternally Living and Self-Sustaining, O Eternally Living and Self-Sustaining! Have mercy upon me, upon my companions, upon all believers, and upon all the people of the Qur’an. Amen. O Most Compassionate of the compassionate, O Most Generous of the generous! The conclusion of their call will be: All praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds.

Adapted from Bediuzzaman’s Twenty-third Word, Second Chapter.