It is related that at the time of the Call, they were like the teeth of a comb; no person surpassed another in hearing the Call. Within them was the portion granted to them from the substance of intellect, the power of hearing, the returning of the answer, and the sound vision in which there is no doubt—Glory be to the One powerful over what He wills—as justice from the Creator—Exalted—and as a bounty from Him upon them.

The Sublime said: {And when your Lord took from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This]—lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."}¹ That is: as you have witnessed and realized. The first to respond with obedience and say "Yes" were the Orphans and those who followed them from the masters of the luminous ranks, just as they answered in the First Call. The first to affirm obedience from the world of intermingling were the seven ranks of the Small World; the Near Ones submitted with the answer, followed by those who succeeded them, one after another, to the last of the Followers, then those believers who followed them.

(339) This is supported by the saying of al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory: "By God, none believed in his 'today' except he who believed in his 'yesterday.'" And the words of the Mighty and Sublime: {And it was revealed to Noah that, "None will believe from your people except those who have already believed, so do not be distressed by what they have been doing."}²

The first to fail in answering was the Iblis of all Iblises—he is the Second, the accursed Satan—may God curse him, his followers, and his factions. He was followed by those who succeeded him from the world of darkness and disbelief; he is the root of their denial, their leader, and their misguider. They were distinguished at that moment: the world of affirmation was on the right, and the world of rejection and denial was on the left.