And they who do not know say “Why does God not speak to usḍ; Why does a sign not come to usḍ” So spoke those before them the like of what they say; their hearts are much alike. Yet We have made clear the signs to a people who are certain. The speech kalām of God سبحانه is connected to all created things in their entities aʿyān and their traces āthār by the command to “Be!” amr al-takwīn [and it is also connected to] those who have been charged [with the law] by the prescriptive command amr al-taklīf. But whoever lacks the ear of comprehension is deaf to hearing the Real. He سبحانه addressed some among the people of the Book and they heard His address but they were not able to bear it and after they recognized the enormity of the signs they engaged in distortion and alteration. Included in the signs which He made manifest were that which removes the defect of anything other [than Him] al-ʿilla min al-aghyār and quenches the thirst from things that are better al-ghulla min al-akhyār. But what proofs even if they were plain and clear would suffice those whose due is wretchedness whose [wretch- edness] has already comeḍ
