Page:Folk-lore of the Holy Land.djvu/32

8 at certain seasons through the darkness; but what there is beyond the darkness Allah knows! Do you ask me how all these wonders came to be known and understood of man? Know then, that, having thus created the world, Allah next called Intellect or Mind into being. And Allah said to the Mind “Imbibe Knowledge,” and it imbibed knowledge. Then Allah said to it “Receive the ability to manage matters,” and it did so. Then said Allah, “Of all things which I have created by My glory and majesty, I love none but thee. By thee will I deprive; and by thee bestow; by thee will I confirm; and by thee punish.” Therefore also Allah has declared by the mouth of His Prophet, on whom be prayer and praise: “The wise man is he who is truthful and patient in his temper; and it is Mind that delivers mankind from Evil.” For this cause Allah allows mind an entrance into Paradise to discover all mysteries, and He will not punish the wise in the day of Resurrection in the same manner in which He will punish the ignorant, who flatter with their lips, and lie with their tongues, and meddle in matters that concern them not by asking questions about things which they are unable to comprehend, even though they may possibly know how to read and write.