Perish the hands of Abū Lahab, and perish he! What did Abū Lahab do in the Beginningless that his portion was the brand of deprivation? What did Abū Bakr bring forth in the Beginningless that the crown of felicity and generosity was placed on the head of his passing days? You say that Abū Lahab came to be wretched because he was an unbeliever and that Abū Bakr came to be felicitous because he was a submitter. The reality is the opposite. Know that unbelief lies in wretchedness, not wretchedness in unbelief, and submis- sion lies in felicity, not felicity in submission. This is a work that was over and done with in the Beginningless. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Alas for the decree that has gone before me! Alack for the words spoken by the Self-Seer! I do not know if I should live happy or distraught. I fear what the Power- ful said in the Beginningless.” The dog of the Companions of the Cave had the color of unbelief, and the garment of Balaam Beor had the embroidery of the religion. But beginningless wretchedness and felicity were waiting in ambush from both directions. Hence, when good fortune showed its face, the form of that dog's skin was placed on Balaam: So his likeness is the likeness of a dog [7:176]. And Balaam's cloak was put on that dog, for it was said, “They were three, and the fourth of them was their dog” [18:22].
