7. Al-A'raaf

Had the folk of the towns had faith and been godwary, We would have opened up for them blessings from heaven and earth. Had the folk of the towns had faith; had they assented to the truth of My promise, and been god- wary, wary of opposing Me, I would have illuminated their hearts with the contemplation of Me, which is the blessing of heaven, and I would have adorned their bodily parts with serving Me, which is the blessing of earth. He called the heart's contemplation the “blessing of heaven” because the heart pertains to the celestial world, whose root is from light. He called the service of the bodily parts the “blessing of earth” because the bodily members pertain to the terrestrial world, whose root is from dust. We would have opened up for them blessings. By way of allusion He is saying, “What is taken into account is not manyness-what is taken into account is blessing.” He did not say, “We will multiply their blessings.” He said, “We will put blessing into the favors that they receive.” On the Day of the Moat, one thousand of the Messenger's companions were working. They all became hungry but there was no food. Jābir ibn ʿAbdallāh said, “O Messenger of God! We have a half-bushel of oats and one sheep. What do you command?” He said, “Make the oats into flour, prepare a dough, kill and clean the sheep, and place a pot on the fire.” MuṣṬafā went and placed his blessed hands on that dough. He moistened his finger with his mouth and put it on the top of the pot. Then they called the companions group by group and cooked bread with the dough. They ate from the pot until one thousand men had eaten, and there was still some left over. This was so that you would know that blessing gets the work done, not manyness.

Did they feel secure from God's deception? Naṣrābādī said, “How can the sinner feel secure from deception? And which sin is greater than the sin of him who witnesses something of his own acts? Is that anything other than pouncing on the Lordhood and contending with Unity?”