“One day we shall change this earth into another earth.”
And after this change the earth and heaven will be annihilated; the earth will be like pure silver, and upon this earth no sin whatever will be committed: in all this, the day of resurrection, heaven, and hell are rendered present. As to what is asserted that this earth will be changed into another—the Orientals say, this is meant to relate to a vision which is called the region of symbolic truth. And the rendering present heaven and hell; this also refers to an attribution of good and bad. Whoever assumes the form of Hur or Kásur, serpent or scorpion, is rendered happy or miserable. As to the transmutation of the earth—this needs no interpretation: what wonder is it that the culture of a region passes into that of another country; and the passage from the region of the sensible into that of allegory is evident in the transformation of the folded heavens. It has also been maintained that “the book of God” is one thing, and “the word of God” another: because the word is derived from the world[121] of commands, which has its purport from the invisible and rational world; whilst the book is from the world of creatures; that is, the material world; the word, when written down, becomes a book; a command which is brought to pass becomes an action; and this is, with these believers, the meaning of the words: Run fa yakun.
“(God said) ‘Let it be,’ and it was.”
The world of command is devoid of contradiction and multiplicity; it is pure in its essence but the world of creatures contains contradiction and multiplicity, and no atom of all atoms of beings is out of the material world.
“There is nothing fresh or dry but in the true book (the Koran).”
Besides, the world of forms and of perceptible things is to be considered as the book of God, and every thing as a Surah, “a chapter,” of the Surahs of this book; the alternation of days and nights, the changes and alterations in the horizon and in the phenomena are the vowel points of this book; the days and nights of this book, Surah after Surah, verse after verse, letter after letter, follow each other, as in writing the lines are read in succession; thus thou proceedest, from line to line and from letter to letter, until thou findest the meaning which is hidden in the subject of the words and expressions, until thou knowest and renderest evident to thyself the purport of the book:
“We shall show our verses (of the Koran) in the horizon (every where), and in their souls, until it become evident to them that it is the truth.”
And when thou understandest the book and hast satisfied thy desire, certainly the book is then closed and put out of thy hand.
“On the day on which we shall fold the heavens, as the angel folds the book—the heavens will then be folded by his grace, power, and strength.”
And it was said, “On the right hand,” that it may be manifest, that those who are at the left can have no share in the possession of heaven.