Many of the people of the scripture long to make you disbelievers after you have believed from the envy of their own souls after the truth has become clear to them; yet pardon and be forgiving till God brings His com- mand; truly God has power over all things. Those among the heedless who have lost understanding wish that not even a star would rise over those who are in peace and safety salāma and those who are possessed by envy would like the sun to stop shining over those whom they envy. These are the attributes of disbelievers so God abases and humbles them. The allusion in this is to the state of those who possess spiritual desire irāda in the beginning when they embark on their travels. If they do not find help and success in companionship and they live among people following externals these people will prevent them from traveling and will not stop giving advice to them. They will frighten them with weak- ness and threaten them with poverty until they divert them to the way of heedlessness and cut them off from the path of spiritual desire. These are truly the enemies of God those who have been overtaken by the enmity of the moment. Their punishment is being deprived of smelling any of the fragrances of sincerity ṣidq. Yet pardon and be forgiving... for the way of the aspirant is to protect his innermost self from anyone or anything other [than God]. He tries to employ his best nature with each individual and spares no effort in kindness for soon the Real will open the way for him on his path.
