Shaykh Nazim: The divinely ordained personality is always sound and intact, but as, for example, a consistently strong wind may cause a tree to grow crooked so one’s environment can affect one’s development. We must draw a distinction between “essence” and “attribute.” There is an essence to everything. You are tall, for example, but without a body “tall” is a meaningless adjective. Similarly, “good” and “bad” manifestations are impossible without a person to manifest them. It is only the adjectives that are influenced by the atmosphere. One hundred years ago there was a religiously observant
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