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Preface

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the All beneficent, the All merciful.

Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, no hath He any protecting friend through dependence (al-Isra’, 17:111).

Say: O Allah! Owner of Sovereignty!1Thou givest sovereignty unto whom Thou will, and Thou withdrawest sovereignty from whom Thou will (Ale Imran, 3:26).

Greetings upon the founders of the castle of happiness, the erectors of the banner of guidance, the callers for peace and security, the guardians of the standards of justice and equity, and those who have been chosen as the messengers of God. In particular, greetings upon the one who has fulfilled the last prophetic message – the exalted caller to faith, lasting flame, helper of the people of the world, Seal of the Prophets – Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and to his household and honorable successors.

God Almighty, the source of all powers has created man in the last and long line of perfection. Man is the most perfect of life's composition. With this composition and spiritual and physical makeup. God placed him naked and in total want without any mean on this earth. And while He has made the various elements of man's need dependent upon the delicate and sensitive nature of humankind, He has rendered difficult the acquisition of necessities in order that such pressing and delicate needs - avoiding hunger, thirst, cold, heat, sickness, etc. - awaken inner potentials, activate possessive impulses, direct attention to essential things, open eyes in order to elicit thought and to prompt appropriate measures for every challenge, increase effectiveness, and enhance fulfillment of critical necessities. And with the endowment of good vision allows mankind to perfect its possessions, so that with the perception of the world’s order, cohesion, mystery and beauty, the human race may receive intellectual rewards, and on the path to perception may also take along provisions for life from the signs and attributes of the Creation.

  • 1. Translation of the Qur’anic verses are from Marmaduke Picthall’s The Glorious Koran (Albany: State University of New York, 1976); all subsequent citations are to this translation. Wherever Taleqani’s interpretation of a Qur’anic verse is at variance with Pickthall’s translation, direct translation from the Persian has been attempted (tr).