67.

In the name of God, the Ever-Living, the Great, may the sublime Light be glorified.

An angel calls from outside and teaches Adam, the man. He says to him: "Do not slumber, Adam, and do not sleep, and do not forget what your Lord has charged you with. Do not be a son of the earthly house, and do not be called a wrongdoer in the Tibil. Do not be captivated by fragrant wreaths, nor by the charm of a lovely woman. Do not love perfumes, and do not neglect the prayer of the night. Do not love deceiving shadows, nor dalliance with seductive women, nor lying phantoms. Do not drink, and do not be immoderate, and do not let your Lord slip from your mind. At your entering and your going out, take care that you do not forget your Lord. At your standing and your sitting, take care that you do not forget your Lord. At your going and your coming, take care that you do not forget your Lord. At your resting and your lying down, take care that you do not forget your Lord. Do not say, 'I am a favoured one who, whatever I do, remains free of folly.' Adam, look at the world, which is wholly a thing without substance, in which you must put no trust. The scale stands set up, and from a thousand it chooses one. One it chooses from a thousand, and two from ten thousand. The fragrant wreaths pass away, and the beauty of women becomes as though it had never been. The perfumes pass away, and the pleasure of the night ceases. All works pass away, come to an end, and become as though they had never been."

When Adam heard this, he lamented and wept over himself and spoke to the angel of life as follows: "If you know that this is so, why was I brought from my place into captivity, and cast into the hardship of this world? Into the hardship of this world I was cast, into the consuming fire I was hurled, so that daily the stench rises."

Then he answered him: "Be silent, be silent, Adam, head of the whole race. The world that is to be, we cannot suppress. Arise, arise, worship the Great One and submit, that God may be a redeemer to you. May God be a redeemer to you, and may you ascend and behold the place of light."

And God is victorious.