Number 15

Your boundless attributes are the talisman guarding the treasure of Your essence; and the treasure of Your essence lies hidden behind the spell of those attributes. The whole world is nothing but the design of the talisman guarding Your treasure; yet no mystery is ever solved by talisman or image alone. Your attributes are the painter working in the workshop of both worlds; the image of all creation is only a shadow of the light of Your attributes. The shadow that is the image of creation appears only from Your light, for its spreading reaches across every possible thing. A shadow is a mere reflection of light; it has no will of its own, and so it never holds still for a single moment. The worthless shadow keeps saying to the light: 'You appear only through me, so I too exist in my own right, just like You.' The shadow looks as if it exists, but it has no real being; if you could tell nothingness from true being, you would find your salvation. How could Khizr ever drink a single draught from the water of eternal life, so long as you mistake mere darkness for the water of life? O heart, lost and bewildered on the western plain, if you are truly seeking the placeless One, pass beyond all places and directions.