the knowledge of unveiling and elucidation, and the knowledge of the turning of night and day. When I attained it, night departed and daylight remained throughout the whole day. No sun set or rose for me. This unveiling informed me from God that I have no share in wretchedness in the Hereafter.
I asked Hud, peace be upon him, about a question, and he made it known to me. It occurred in existence as he had made it known to me. This extends to my present time.
Among the messengers[5], I have associated with Muhammad, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Hud, and David. The rest I have seen, without companionship.
(The Terms of Authority and the Constant Invocation of Polehood)
Know that each of these Poles has a duration of remaining within the world—I mean their call among those to whom they are sent—with particular, named terms that end before being abrogated by another call, just as Revealed Laws abrogate Revealed Laws. By their call I mean their ruling and effect within the world.
Let us mention the lengths of their lives in this world. One had a lifespan in his authority of thirty-three years and four months. Another’s term was thirty years, three months, and twenty days.
Another’s term lasted twenty-eight years, three months, and ten days, and another’s term twenty-five years.
Among them were those whose term lasted
Notes
[5]
(These witnessings and companionship are related within the context of the author’s unveiling, as he explicitly states in passages of this chapter.)
