Page:Alchemyofhappiness en.djvu/37

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Ghazzali's Alchemy of Happiness.
29

designated a sorcerer. Although as has been seen, the power of performing signs, miracles and sorceries belongs to the heart when its faculties are in perfect operation, yet there are important destinctions between these powers. And whoever is of a narrow mind will not be able to appreciate that signs and miracles are influences proceeding from the heart of man, unless he should learn it by external teaching.

The heart has dominion and control through three channels. One is through visions, by which revelations are made to all men. But the kind of mysteries generally revealed to people in visions, are revealed to prophets and saints in the outward world. The second kind is through the dominion which the heart exercises over its own body, a quality, which is possessed by all men in general, though prophets and saints for the good of the community, possess the same power over other bodies than their own. The third source of dominion of the heart is through knowledge. The mass of men obtain it by instruction and learning, but it is bestowed by God upon prophets and saints directly, without the- mediums of learning and instruction. It is possible also for persons of pure minds to acquire a knowledge of some arts and sciences without instruction, and it is also possible that some persons should have all things opened up to them by the will of God. This kind of knowledge is called "infused and illuminated," as God says in his word: "we have illuminated him with our knowledge."[1] These three specialities are all of them found in certain measure in some men, in others two of them are found, and in others, only one is found : but whenever the three are found in the same person, he belongs to the rank of prophets or 'of the greatest of the saints. In our Lord the prophet Mohammed Mustafa, these three specialities

  1. S., 18:64.