towards the creation. He performs every task at the same time, in all places, without difficulty, without hindrance.
Thus, it is through these mysteries of the assistance of unity, facility of unity, and manifestation of oneness, that when all beings are attributed to a single Maker, the creation of all of them becomes as simple and easy as that of a single being. And each being can be as valuable as all beings as regards the fineness of its art. This truth is demonstrated by there being within the boundless plenitude of beings endless subtleties of art in every one of them. If the beings are not attributed directly to a single Maker, each becomes as problematical as all beings and the value of all of them decreases, it falls to that of a single being. If it were the case, either nothing would come into existence, or if it did, it would be without value, worthless.
This mystery led the Sophists, who were the most advanced philosophers, to realize that the path of associating partners with God was infinitely more difficult than the way of truth and path of affirming divine unity; that it was irrational to the utmost degree. So because they had averted their faces from the way of truth and looked to that of unbelief and misguidance, they were compelled to renounce their reasons and deny the existence of everything.
T h e F o u r t h
The creation of Paradise is as easy as that of the spring in relation to the All-Powerful One’s power, who administers the universe with acts that are plain to see. The creation of spring is as easy as that of a flower. The loveliness of a flower’s art and the fineness in its creation may be as beautiful and valuable as the spring. The mystery of this truth is threefold:
First: the necessity and total detachment of the Maker.
Second: the complete otherness of His essence and His unrestrictedness.
Third: His not being bound by space and His indivisibility.
First Mystery: The fact that necessity and total detachment give rise to infinite ease and facility is an extremely profound mystery. We shall facilitate understanding of it with the following comparison:
The degrees of existence are different. And the worlds of existence are all different. Because they are all different, a particle from a level of existence that is deeply rooted in existence is as great as a mountain from a less substantial level; it contains the mountain.
For example, the faculty of memory, which is the size of a mustard-seed in a head from the Manifest World, takes on an existence the size of a library from the World of Meaning. And a mirror the size of a fingernail