Upon the crest of the rock stand these two human beings, regarding
the fading stars and the rising sun, hand-in-hand--they, too, a part
of the holy universe created by Allah in the fulness of his grace.
And their souls and hearts are as innocent as were those of the
first human pair in paradise, before the alluring voice of the
serpent had yet been heard. The light of day still shines, as
through a veil, but a rosy hue gradually overspreads the heavens,
and, at last, the sun rises, in all its splendor from out the sea,
as on the first morning of creation, and on each succeeding morning
since, comes this holy, ever-renewed mystery of the sunrise, that
tells of the surpassing glory of God. A wondrous murmuring rises up
from the sea, and the birds are all awake, exulting in the
brightness of the morning. The palm, the olive, and the myrtle
groves, rustle in the breeze. The lark soars heavenward, singing its
morning greeting. Even the eagle has spread his pinions, and is
mounting aloft from his nest in the neighboring rocks, to do homage
to the sun. It is as though all Nature were crying, exultingly, "The
new day has awakened!"
"The sun has risen, Masa," cried Mohammed--"the night is past. As
often as I have wandered among these rocks, never before has morning
seemed so fair--never before have the sun's rays so filled my heart
with warmth. Heretofore, the sunrise was but the signal for me to go
in pursuit of game, or to prepare to cross over to Imbro, to look
after the fishermen's nets, set out the day before.
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