all these things, and declares that they are bad, displeasing to God, and worthy of punishment. So also Conscience approves of righteousness, truth, sincerity, mercy, kindness, purity, justice, and all other acts which men everywhere agree to term good and well pleasing to the Most High God and deserving of reward from the treasury of His bounty.

Hence it is evident that the True Revelation must accord with and give authority to the voice of Conscience, since the things which Conscience declares to be evil and unjust and displeasing to God and deserving of punishment must be condemned by that Revelation, if it be true and be from God the Creator of mankind and the Implanter of Conscience in man's breast. Similarly the True Revelation, because it comes from the Just Judge of all the earth, must approve of the things approved of by Conscience. It is not possible that the Word of God (كلام الله) should contradict the Conscience which He has given us as our guide. On the contrary, such a Revelation must confirm the decrees of Conscience with all the authority of a Divine Message, lest perchance men should be led to mistake their feeble Judgement for their Conscience, or should be drawn away to sin and destruction by the allurements of this transitory world and the temptations of the flesh and the Devil.

III. Since Conscience, throned in man's spirit, declares that God Most High is Just and Holy, the friend and rewarder of the good but the punisher of evildoers, therefore the True Revelation must undoubtedly reveal Him as possessed of these very attributes. And as Conscience urges men to the acquisition of goodness and purity, so must the True Revelation also draw men towards this noble goal, so that they may become pure and holy in thought, word, and deed, internally and externally, because God Most High is Holy and loves Holiness in His creatures.

IV. Reason declares that God is one, and all the

Universe is evidently the work of One Mind. As Sa'di says:

Every¹ leaf of a tree in a prudent man's eyes
Is a volume of knowledge of God the All-Wise.

Or again it has well been said:

Each² thing on Earth's a sign to thee
That God exists in Unity.

Or again:

Each³ grass-blade from the earth that grows
Proclaims that He no Partner knows.

Reason also informs us that God Most High is Eternal, Almighty, and in Nature (ذات) and Attributes pure and free from all change and alteration, that He is Good, and that He is possessed of an eternal and unchanging Purpose in the creation and preservation of the Universe. Therefore the True Revelation must confirm this evidence, for He has already revealed this much regarding Himself to the thoughtful in the pages of the Book of the Universe and in man's own Reason. That is to say, when we gaze intelligently at Creation (الموجودات ) it becomes clear to us that God is One, Eternal, Almighty, Good, Merciful, Righteous, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Hence any Revelation which is from Him must agree with the Book of Nature, of which God Himself is the Author, in ascribing these Attributes to God Most High.

V. The True Revelation must make clear the way of salvation, and in its teaching upon that subject there must be no contradiction in meaning (خلاف معنوي). It is quite possible that this Revelation may have been given in different portions during a long period of time. There may therefore be different degrees of spirituality