And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival
after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from
the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of
God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and
centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will
endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and
power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes,
and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty. The movement of My Pen is
stilled when it attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory
of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will
invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other
earthly agency describe. Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its
separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the
peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the
Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of
Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the
Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship. With them
that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it
hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If
any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the
worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below, his
whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that
most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station.... The nature of
the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and
permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The Prophets
and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding
mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their
revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of
death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute
detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls
radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement
of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of
being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and
wonders of the world are made manifest. Through them the clouds rain their
bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must
needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls
and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to provide, the
supreme moving impulse in the world of being. The world beyond is as
different from this world as this world is different from that of the
child while still in the womb of its mother. When the soul attaineth the
Presence of God, it will assume the form that best befitteth its
immortality and is worthy of its celestial habitation. Such an existence
is a contingent and not an absolute existence, inasmuch as the former is
preceded by a cause, whilst the latter is independent thereof. Absolute
existence is strictly confined to God, exalted be His glory. Well is it
with them that apprehend this truth. Wert thou to ponder in thine heart
the behavior of the Prophets of God thou wouldst assuredly and readily
testify that there must needs be other worlds besides this world. The
majority of the truly wise and learned have, throughout the ages, as it
hath been recorded by the Pen of Glory in the Tablet of Wisdom, borne
witness to the truth of that which the holy Writ of God hath revealed.
Even the materialists have testified in their writings to the wisdom of
these divinely-appointed Messengers, and have regarded the references made
by the Prophets to Paradise, to hell fire, to future reward and
punishment, to have been actuated by a desire to educate and uplift the
souls of men. Consider, therefore, how the generality of mankind, whatever
their beliefs or theories, have recognized the excellence, and admitted
the superiority, of these Prophets of God. These Gems of Detachment are
acclaimed by some as the embodiments of wisdom, while others believe them
to be the mouthpiece of God Himself. How could such Souls have consented
to surrender themselves unto their enemies if they believed all the worlds
of God to have been reduced to this earthly life? Would they have
willingly suffered such afflictions and torments as no man hath ever
experienced or witnessed?