Worldly means; apparent occasions.

“Unlike a human king, who is essentially weak and destitute, God Almighty does not use officials to exercise His authority. Although everything seemingly occurs according to the principle of cause and effect, this is to preserve the Power’s dignity in the superficial view of the mind.

Like a mirror, everything has two faces. One looks to the visible, material world, resembles the mirror’s colored face, and may be a way to account for various ‘colors’ and states. The other face is like the mirror’s shining face and looks to and consists of the inner dimension of things, where Divine Power operates directly. In the apparent, material face of things, there may be states that are seemingly incompatible with the dignity and perfection of the Eternally Besought One’s Power. In this face, Divine Power veils His operations behind cause and effect so that those states may be ascribed to causes. But in reality and with respect to the inner dimension of things, everything is beautiful and transparent. This dimension is fitting for the direct operation of Divine Power and that the Power should be associated with it. Whatever occurs in this dimension is not incompatible with Its dignity. Thus the function of causes is purely apparent and they have no effect in respect to this dimension.”¹⁾

“Divine Dignity and Grandeur require that causes should be a veil before Divine Power’s hand, while Divine Unity and Majesty demand that causes withdraw their hands from the true effect.”²⁾

“Divine Power operates in the inner, incorporeal dimension of things (the metaphysical kingdom). Like a mirror, the universe has two sides: corporeal (resembling a mirror’s colored face) and incorporeal (resembling the mirror’s shining face and looking to the Creator). Opposites exist in the corporeal side, which manifests beauty and ugliness, good and bad, big and small, difficulty and ease. The All-Majestic Creator of the universe veils His Power’s acts behind the veil of observed causes in this side so that those who lack understanding do not regard His Power’s relation to simple things as unbecoming to Him. His Dignity and Majesty require this. Causes have no real effect upon creation, for that would violate His Oneness and Unity. The incorporeal world, absolutely clear and transparent, contains none of the physical world’s grossness. As Divine Power operates directly there, cause and effect have no effect, obstacles cannot interfere, and creating a particle is as easy as creating a sun.”³⁾

“In that situation there was no apparent means or causes to which Jonah could have had recourse for salvation; he was in need of one who could command the whale and the sea, and the night and the sky if he were to be saved. The night, the sea, and the whale were united against him. Only one who could subject all three of these to their command could bring Jonah forth on the shore of salvation. Even if all of creation had become Jonah’s servants and helpers, this would have been of no avail.

This means that apparent means and causes have no part of their own in the production of results. Since Jonah saw with the eye of certainty that there was no refuge other than the Causer of Causes, and as he, through his utmost conviction of God’s absolute Oneness and His dominion over the universe, fully perceived that in addition to His overall manifestations that reign supreme over all of creation, God also has manifestations particular to each thing and being as the All-Compassionate, his supplication served to be a means for the night, the sea, and the whale to be subjected to him.”⁴⁾

“For the most part, those who immerse themselves in philosophy and overuse reason end up straying. The intellect must be sacrificed for God. For the path of reasoning proceeds upon the demonstration of the reasoned fact (burhan al-limmi) or the demonstration of the effect (burhan al-inni). Yet, from the very beginning, God manifests Himself within the conscience as a burhan al-inni. When the conscience feels that truth in the depths of its being, it casts aside all arguments and books. At the moment it senses its own impotence and poverty, it turns to Him in prayer for support. And when causes fall utterly silent, if one can but listen to oneself with the ear of conscience, one will witness—across vast dimensions—realities of an entirely different order.”⁵⁾

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