Walt Whitman's "Great New Doctrine" (Part 4)

A parable on the abandonment of "salvation" or "lifeboat" religion. In chapter 18 of the Qur'an, Moses meets up with a mysterious traveling companion and the two set out on a journey together. Along the way, they have a number of strange adventures. At one point, they board a ship; Moses' companion punches a hole in the bottom of the boat. Moses remonstrates with him: "You will destroy us all!" His companion simply observes that Moses does not understand. At the conclusion of the story, the mysterious traveler offers Moses an explanation for his actions. There is a logic to them that makes sense from one perspective, but does not clear up the mystery altogether--unless you accept Henry Miller's assertion that there is no place of safety, really. There are tests demanding faith. Moses' companion was a great-souled one met upon the road. This is a tale that may illuminate these Qur'anic stipulations:

Piety does not lie in turning your face to the east or west; piety lies in having faith in God, the Last Day and the angels, the Scriptures and the prophets, and giving of your wealth out of love for God to kin and orphans, to those less fortunate, to the son of the road and mendicants and in [ manumission] of slaves, in establishing the prayer-rite and paying the tithe. Those who fulfill their pledges and are patient in hardship, adversity, and danger—they are the true [souls], conscious of God (Qur'an 2:177).

Special dispensation is granted to the "son of the road." Why? Why are the pious challenged to see to the welfare of the wayfarer? Consider these lines from the NT's Letter to the Hebrews: "Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. 13:1-2).