In another passage
of the Gospel it is written: “And it came to pass that on a certain day the
father of one of the disciples of Jesus had died. That disciple reporting the
death of his father unto Jesus, asked for leave to go and bury him. Whereupon,
Jesus, that Essence of Detachment, answered and said: “Let the dead bury their
dead.” [Luke 9:60]
In like manner, two
of the people of Kúfih went to ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful. One owned a
house and wished to sell it; the other was to be the purchaser. They had agreed
that this transaction should be effected and the contract be written with the
knowledge of ‘Alí. He, the exponent of the law of God, addressing the scribe,
said: “Write thou: ‘A dead man hath bought from another dead man a house. That
house is bounded by four limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the other to
the vault of the grave, the third to the Ṣiraṭ, the fourth to either Paradise or hell.’” Reflect, had these two souls been quickened by the trumpet-call of ‘Alí, had they risen from the grave of error by the power of his love, the
judgment of death would certainly not have been pronounced against them.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
