88
Besides the soul and understanding in
the ass and cow, there’s a sense and soul in man
that’s different. Again, besides this human sense
and intellect, the saintly souls in bliss
have higher cognizance. The souls of brutes
possess no unity; from thatanimavitalis
don’t seek for oneness. If a single base
man eat some bread, another man who’s base
will not be full, and if one brute bears weights
his neighbour’s not distressed. No, he rejoices
to hear he’s died, or dies of jealousy
when good accrues to him or profit sees
has come to him. Thus, souls of dogs and wolves
are set in castes apart: yet there’re no halves,
but only wholes in lions’ souls.^46Therefore, it is wrong to assert we enter into the world devoid of all faith and belief
and only subsequently personally select a religion for ourselves. On the contrary, each
person is born with love for the Good, Beautiful and True innately instilled within
him. If he doesn’t deviate from the ‘straight path of his original disposition’, this pri-
mordial love will mature and develop within him and direct him along his course in
life. The sole purpose underlying the mission of the prophets in the various religions
is to bring people back to that original disposition. The reason we need to hearken to
their summons is that our original spiritual disposition, exactly like our physical
metabolism, is constantly plagued by myriad diseases, afflicted with moral and/or
metaphysical amnesia due to various hindrances which impede its healthy progress
and block its natural advancement. The different heavenly scriptures of the world’s
faiths brought by their prophets are analogous to medicinal cures for these ailments.
They are reminders to men, while their various legal codes – Canon Law (sharī‘a) –
must be considered as different paths of development and maturation adapted to the
diverse religious needs of various peoples. Insofar as the original disposition of man is
one and the same, and all the prophets have been sent by the One God, it is unrea-
sonable to assume that the religions of mankind should or can differ in their funda-
mental principles from each other. The mission of the prophets is thus precisely
tailored to suit the original disposition of man, comprising a summons to contemplate
the Good, Beautiful and True. In the words of Maḥmūd Shabistarī (d. after 740/1339):
That Day when Faith was written down
within the heart, the clay of man
was moulded in the human form,
The word of God was sent down then
and holy books revealed to men
so you’d recall your vow again.^47ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry