We should also affirm of the intercession of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this was handed down in traditions from the Prophet and from his Companions. By intercession we mean the Divine Light with which the essence of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is brightened, and this holy essence will cause light in respect of those essences which are related to the holy essence, because of their deep love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) or their ability to translate the traditions into actions, or remembering God, with blessings for the Prophet. This intercession can be likened to the light of the sun. Suppose its rays strike the surface of water and there is a wall standing close by. The light is reflected on a particular part at the wall, and not on the whole of it. This is so because there is a likeness between water and that particular part of the wall as regards shape. This likeness does not exist between the surface of water and other parts of the wall, which are left blank. If you draw a line from the particular reflected part of the wall to the surface of water lit by the sun's rays, you will find an angle formed (towards the direction of earth) which, if measured, will be equal to the angle formed in water, when a line is drawn towards the round and flat plate of the sun. lt would be neither greater nor smaller than the other angle. This would happen only on a special part of the wall. Now just as the special properties of a space demand a specific reflection of light, spiritual attributes also demand a light of Divine nature, a ray of Divinity. Those who are governed by Divine Unity stand directly exposed to the Divine Light which falls distinctly on their hearts. This Divine Light is a principle in the soul untouched by time and thresh, flowing from spirit, remaining in the spirit, itself altogether spiritual. In this principle God, ever verdant, flowering in all the joy and glory of His actual self, appears. This light, this ground of the soul, has no earthly temporal origin. It is the same nature as God Himself. It is a point in common between the soul and God. There are others who devote themselves, all their lives, to the love of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and follow what has been laid down in the traditions. It is they whose feet do not yet stand firm on the way to Unity. They are in need of the intercession of the Prophet, so as to get the required illumination indirectly, like the part of the wall which needs water for causing the reflection. In like manner the intercession of the Prophet is needed. For instance, a vizier, being a reliable man, is a favorite of a sultan or king who forgives some of the sins of a person who happens to be a friend of the vizier. The person concerned escapes punishment, not because the personality of the vizier is identical with that of the king, but because the person, through ties of friendship, is related to the vizier, who is related to the king. Had there been no intercession between the king and the guilty person, the king would not have forgiven the criminal. There are several traditions showing that those who love the Prophet, i.e., pray for Divine blessings on him or visit his tomb or answer the call to prayer, or pray for him after the call to prayer, deserve the recommendations of the prophet. This intercession means the reflection of light indirectly.

We should believe also that the Bridge (al-Sirat) is real. It is a bridge stretched over Hell, sharper than the edge of the sword and finer than a hair. The feet of the unbelievers slip on it, according to the decree of God, and they fall into the fire, but the feet of the believers stand firm upon it by the grace of God, and so they pass into an everlasting life. The utter negation of physical qualities not being possible, religion enjoins upon us the choice of the mean between all opposite extremes in morals. Tepid water, which is neither hot nor cold, aloeswood which is neither black nor white, the dividing line between a shadow and sunshine, which is neither shadow nor sunshine, are equally free from either of the two opposite qualities. One should neither hoard wealth, nor squander it away, for the one will engender avarice, while the other will make him a spendthrift. Similarly, one should neither shrink back from everything, nor meddle with everything, for the former is cowardice, while the latter is rashness. In the first case he ought to aim at generosity, which is the mean between miserliness and extravagance; in the second, at courage, which is the mean between cowardice and rashness, and so on to all other moral qualities. The Bridge (al-Sirat) is the mean between all opposite extremes in morals. It is like a geometrical straight line, which has no breadth. The ones who have avoided opposite extremes during their lifetime in this world and have chosen the mean between them will safely pass into everlasting life, when they will be required to cross the bridge on the Day of Judgment. God says: "..." [There is not one of you, but shall approach it (al-Qur'an, xix. 71)]. God also says: "..." [Ye will not be able to deal equally between (your) wives, however much ye wish (to do so). But turn not altogether away (from one) leaving her as in suspense (al- Qur'an, iv. ]29)]. Since this bridge is possible, it is necessary to assent to this possibility in accordance with religion, and to stick to what the Qur'an means. He who disagrees with you and asks as to why one should believe in God, His angels, His sacred books and His apostles as well as in Resurrection will not be satisfied with a detailed discussion, while he who has been instructed in the orthodox faith disciplines himself in the etiquette of the Law and holds his peace in matters revealed to the Prophet without questioning the realities of these things. When you know that your existence has emanated from God and that you cannot exist even for a moment without help from God, the Sustainer of all beings, this knowledge will satisfy your mind and lead you to belief in God. An insight into Divine realities will also force you to the conclusion that you are such an essence as knows itself and its Creator, as well as all the realities of spiritual existence. If we hear millions of times that there is no soul, still we cannot be convinced entirely that we shall cease to exist after death, we cannot think of such a state. We cannot believe that our individuality will be lost after death. Such solutions do not appeal to our reason, do not satisfy the innate longing for immortal or deathless life with which each one of us is born, nor do they bring to us consolation of any kind. Taking these facts into account, we cannot but believe in the immortality of the human soul and in the Day of Judgment. There are two days for you, the one which you call today, when you are preoccupied with the requirements of your physical existence, and the other you call tomorrow or the Hereafter, when your celestial soul will have no connection with your body. When the connection of the soul with the body is weakened through constant worship, the agony caused by the soul's separation from the body will not be very great. On the contrary, it will learn to enjoy those Divine things which it will have discovered after the death of the body. This will shortly obliterate the effects of its departure from the world and its lingering inclination towards worldly things. The condition of the soul after death depends upon the degree of purity and knowledge it has attained in this life. A soul that is both pure and complete, or at least possesses one of these qualities, does not suffer long from being separated from the world, which is the object of love of most men in this life. It is only the soul that is both impure and incomplete or ignorant that suffers incessant pain in being separated from the world. God does not grant Divine knowledge to the common folk and laymen as it is reserved for His chosen Prophets and saints. You should also know that this type of knowledge is mystical rather than reasoned knowledge, and this mystical knowledge is the highest thing to which man can attain. Some of the learned possess a knowledge which lies between them and their God - which they cannot reveal to anyone, as it contains those secrets which are beyond the confines of understanding and which defy description. This spiritual existence connotes their knowledge of God spiritually, without in any way postulating their being aware of their own individuality. When they attain to a state of absolute purity, they lose their personal attributes; by this loss they are wholly present in God, they are wholly lost to themselves, and thus they are present before God, while absent in themselves: absent and present at the same time. They are where they are now, and they are not where they are. At the height of ecstatic contemplation the soul is beyond itself, caught up, and the inner eye beholds the Divine Light without medium and attains an intuition of God. Now it is hoped that you would realize the value of ecstasy and understand how the Prophets attain to the knowledge of God through this medium, and how the Divine messages are revealed to them, when they are awake or asleep. This belief will further convince you that everything which has been mentioned in the Qur'an is true. When God wills to do a certain thing, He does it in two ways either directly or indirectly through His agents, i.e. angels. It is not possible to give arguments about the existence of the angels, a secret the depth of which cannot be scanned by human understanding. But if you believe in the Prophets, it means that you also believe in the angels, for the former have affirmed that the latter really exist. You should be satisfied with this explanation regarding the existence of the angels, for, in the very act of trying to doubt it, you would be forced to admit its reality. God says: "..." [Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks (al-Qur'an, lviii. 11)].

The things of the Hereafter promised to us, i.e. the physical pleasures like those of eating, drinking, wearing and smelling, are not impossible for Divine Omnipotence; therefore it is obligatory to believe in them. As a matter of fact, all the pleasures of this life dwindle into insignificance in comparison with intellectual and spiritual pleasures. But people cannot be enabled to understand the latter, until they are symbolically represented through such things as may be observed in this life. This is the reason why physical pleasures like drinking milk, wearing silk-dress and eating bananas, etc., are promised to us. God created desires and placed pleasures under their control. There are many hypocrites who profess their love for God, but true love implies that the lover's secret shall remain untold in regard to what it manifests to the lovers of the visions of the unseen. The reality of love is the purification (khalas) of the nature of the spirit from all impurities and the annihilation (fana') of self against all fortunes and interests. Those endowed with special spiritual qualities are those whose enjoyment of the vision of God on the Day of Judgment would be the result of their strenuous spiritual efforts. This would be so, since God would take complete possession of them, after removing from them both of their physical and of their spiritual perception. God says: "..." (Firmly established in the favor of a Mighty King (al-Qur'an, liv. 55)]. Anything which a man would like to have in Paradise would present itself in his thoughts of its own accord. The existence of the thing would depend upon his desire, and the moment the thing is supplied, he would be able to see and enjoy it. The Prophet said in one of his traditions: "..." [There is a bazaar in Paradise where people buy pictures]. Here the word suq (bazaar) means Divine generosity, according to which wonderful gifts would be offered to His believing servants. Suppose a man sees in his vision that there are beautiful streams containing milk, honey and wine, which are flowing near a palace, the walls of which are made of gold and silver and decorated with jewels. In the premises of this palace, there are a number of trees, the branches of which are loaded with jewels, rubies and pearls of rare variety. At the gate of this palace a number of sentinels wearing dazzling uniforms are standing to welcome him. Now there are many types of those devoted to the interpretation of such visions, according to their own knowledge and taste. Some would infer the pleasure of gaining knowledge from some of the objects seen in the vision, while others would explain, on the basis of this vision, the value of ecstasy and the soul's struggle to attain this pleasure. Another type of persons would say that the vision foretells the victory over an enemy or his conquest of foreign lands or his visit to old friends, etc. Though all these states create pleasures, yet they are not identical with one another. Each of these is different from others in nature. Similarly, spiritual or intellectual pleasures promised to us may be of different varieties. There are two arguments to prove that intellectual pleasures are worthier than physical pleasures. Firstly, the state of the angels is nobler than that of animals including man. Now the angels do not experience sensuous pleasures like those of mating and eating, etc. Their pleasure consists in the consciousness of perfection and beauty which characterize them, because of their insight into the realities of things and their approximation to the Lord of the universe (not in space, but in order of beings). Since all beings emanate from God in order and through intermediaries, it is obvious that the intermediaries nearer to Him should possess a higher rank. Secondly, man himself often prefers intellectual pleasures to sensuous pleasures. For instance, one who seeks victory over an enemy renounces for its sake the comforts of home and hearth. Again, sometimes a brave man sallies forth to face vast hordes of warriors, because he holds the danger of death in contempt, being more absorbed in what he imagines to be the pleasure of posthumous praise and admiration for his intrepidity. One who is interested in the maintenance of his dignity and prestige hesitates to deal with his mistress in such a way as to be known to others. At last he decides to preserve his dignity and restrains his passions, lest the contemptible passions should disgrace him. Obviously the preservation of dignity is more pleasant to him. So the intellectual pleasures in the Hereafter will be far superior to the sensuous pleasures of this world. But for this fact, the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) would not have reported God to say: "I have reserved for My virtuous worshippers what no eye ever saw, no ear ever heard, and which never occurred to the heart of man." If you say that the things of Paradise which have been promised to us are intellectual or spiritual pleasures, which have no connection with body, and it is the body which feels the pains or punishment or the pleasure of reward, how could one reconcile these two contradictory doctrines?