3. Divine Vicegerency[70]
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Iqbal, Muhammad, Sir and Nicholson, Reynold Alleyne
If thou canst rule thy camel, thou wilt rule the world
And wear on thine head the crown of Solomon.
Thou wilt be the glory of the world whilst the world lasts, 895
And thou wilt reign in the kingdom incorruptible.
‘Tis sweet to be God’s vicegerent in the world
And exercise sway over the elements.
God’s vicegerent is as the soul of the universe,
His being is the shadow of the Greatest Name. 900
He knows the mysteries of part and whole,
He executes the command of Allah in the world.
When he pitches his tent in the wide world,
He rolls up this ancient carpet.[71]
His genius abounds with life and desires to manifest itself: 905
He will bring another world into existence.
A hundred worlds like this world of parts and wholes
Spring up, like roses, from the seed of his imagination.
He makes every raw nature ripe,
He puts the idols out of the sanctuary. 910
Heart-strings give forth music at his touch,
He wakes and sleeps for God alone.
He teaches age the melody of youth
And endows everything with the radiance of youth.
To the human race he brings both a glad message and a warning, 915
He comes both as a soldier and as a marshal and prince.
He is the final cause of “God taught Adam the names of all things,”[72]
He is the inmost sense of “Glory to Him that transported His servant by night.”[73]
His white hand is strengthened by the staff,[74]
His knowledge is twinned with the power of a perfect man. 920
When that bold cavalier seizes the reins,
The steed of Time gallops faster.
His awful mien makes the Red Sea dry,
He leads Israel out of Egypt.
At his cry, “Arise,” the dead spirits 925
Rise in their bodily tomb, like pines in the field.
His person is an atonement for all the world,
By his grandeur the world is saved.[75]
His protecting shadow makes the mote familiar with the sun,
His rich substance makes precious all that exists. 930
He bestows life by miraculous works,
He founds a new system to work by.