33. The Sufi Message
33. 蘇菲神聖訊息

In all periods of the world-history and all ancient traditions one finds traces of a call from above given to communities, nations, races, and the world at large. In the Qu’ran it is said: We have sent our Messenger in all parts of the earth that people may not say they were not warned in time. All traditions hold that a Messenger is given to the world at the time of the world’s need. No doubt people have given unnecessary and greater importance to the personality of the Messenger instead of to the Message. And this is the great error that humanity made at every age. While taking the Messenger instead of recognizing the Message they regarded the pen that wrote the letter instead of the letter’s contents. The letter and the writer are important, the pen is only the instrument. Thus differences came in religion. The Message had always been given in periods when it was more needed loudly given, when it was less needed gently.

在世界歷史的每一個時期，以及所有古老的傳統中，都可以找到來自上方的召喚痕跡；這召喚曾賜予不同的群體、民族、種族，以及整個世界。《古蘭經》中說：「我們已將我們的使者派往大地各處，使人們不能說自己未曾及時受到警示。」所有傳統都認為，當世界有所需要時，便會有一位使者被賜予世界。毫無疑問，人們往往不是重視神聖訊息，而是對使者的個人身分賦予了不必要而且更大的重要性。這正是人類在每一個時代所犯的重大錯誤。他們接受使者，卻沒有認出神聖訊息；就像只注意寫信的筆，而沒有注意信中的內容。信與寫信的人是重要的，筆只是工具。宗教之間的分歧便由此產生。神聖訊息始終會在不同的時期被賜下：當世界更需要它時，便以響亮的聲音傳出；當需要較少時，則以柔和的聲音傳出。

Christ has said: I am the Alpha and the Omega. This means that He is first and last and thus is ever there, not that He is absent in between times. The prophecy of Muhammad was: Now that the world has received a Message through a man who is subject to all limitations and conditions of human life, the Message will in the future be given without the claim.

基督曾說：「我是阿爾法，也是奧米加。」這意指祂是最初，也是最終，因此祂始終都在，而不是在兩者之間的時期便不存在。穆罕默德的預言是：如今世界已經透過一位同樣受人類生命一切限制與條件所約束的人，領受了神聖訊息；未來，神聖訊息將不再伴隨這樣的身分宣稱而被賜下。

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