Chapter X: Remembrance of Death
them as insane and mad. If they had seen you, they would call you devils. So the worldly educated men deny any wonderful event of religion. God says: Those who do not hope to meet Me and remain satisfied with this world's life get consolation therein. God says" Whoso is heedless of remembering Me and does not wish except this world's life, it is the limit of his knowledge. It is only the Prophets who combined in themselves the knowledge of this world and the next. They were helped by the Holy Spirit and given divine powers.
MEANS OF ACQUIRING SPIRITUAL POWERS: Know, o dear readers, that there are different conditions of knowledge which are not all necessary. Some of them fall suddenly in mind called Ilham and some of them are acquired by efforts.
Knowledge not acquired by efforts is of two kinds. One kind of such knowledge is not known from where it comes or how it comes. Another kind of such knowledge comes through an angel who throwsjit into one's soul. That is called Wahi or revelation. It is revealed <mly to the prophets. Ilham of the first kind is thrown on the souls of Prophets as well as other religious personalities.
In short, human soul is the place of disclosing truths of all things, but the obstacles mentioned earlier stand as screens. Those are screens between Lauhe Mahfuz'CGuarded tablet) and the mirror of soul. Picture of everything that will occur up to the Resurrection Day have been preserved in this Guarded Tablet.
Real condition of every affair is reflected in the mirror of soul.
That is like the picture in front of a mirror. If there is no screen between the two, it is see in the mirror of soul from the Guarded Tablet. The wind of Latifa or essence sometimes removes the screen from the mirror of soul, so as to disclose what is in the Guarded Tablet. Sometimes the future events can be seen in dream. By death, all the screens are removed. In wakeful state also, sometimes the screen is removed provided secret mercy is showered on soul. Then gosts of knowledge spring forth in soul from unseen things. It lasts for a short time. Ilham and Wahi (inspiration and revelation) cannot be obtained by human will.
God says: It is not for a man to talk with God except by means of Wahi or from behind the screen or by means of a means of a messenger who reveals with His permission what He wishes.
MERITS OF KNOWLEDGE BY ILHAM: The Sufis love knowledge through Ilham or inspiration. For this reason, they
24 Soul and its Attributes Vol-III