O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Proclaim that which hath been sent down
unto Thee as a token of the grace of the merciful Lord, for if Thou do it not,
Our secret will never be made known to the people, [Qur’an 5:71] while the
purpose of God in creating man is but for him to know Him. Indeed God hath
knowledge of all things and is self-sufficient above the need of all mankind. 
O people of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious
honor which the supreme Remembrance of God hath conferred upon you? Verily ye
have been especially favored by God through this mighty Word. Then do not
withdraw from the sanctuary of His presence, for, by the righteousness of the
One true God, He is none other than the sovereign Truth from God; He is the
most exalted One and the Source of all wisdom, as decreed in the Mother Book.…
O Thou Mother of the Remembrance! May the peace and
salutation of God rest upon thee. Indeed thou hast endured patiently in Him Who
is the sublime Self of God. Recognize then the station of thy Son Who is none
other than the mighty Word of God. He hath verily pledged Himself to be
answerable for thee both in thy grave and on the Judgment Day, while thou hast,
in the Preserved Tablet of God, been immortalized as the “Mother of the
Faithful” by the Pen of His Remembrance.
Say, He Whom God shall make manifest is indeed the Primal
Veil of God. Above this Veil ye can find nothing other than God, while beneath
it ye can discern all things emanating from God. He is the Unseen, the
Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Best-Beloved.
Glorified art Thou, O my God! I invoke Thee by Thy Most
Great Name through which the hidden secrets of God, the Most Exalted, were
divulged and the kindreds of all nations converged toward the focal centre of
faith and certitude, through which Thy luminous Words streamed forth for the
quickening of mankind and the essence of all knowledge was revealed from that
Embodiment of bounty. May my life, my inmost being, my soul and my body be
offered up as a sacrifice for the dust ennobled by His footsteps.
O people of the city! Ye have disbelieved your Lord. If ye
are truly faithful to Muhammad, the Apostle of God and the Seal of the
Prophets, and if ye follow His Book, the Qur’án, which is free from error, then
here is the like of it—this Book, which We have, in truth and by the leave of
God, sent down unto Our Servant. If ye fail to believe in Him, then your faith
in Muhammad and His Book which was revealed in the past will indeed be treated
as false in the estimation of God. If ye deny Him, the fact of your having
denied Muhammad and His Book will, in very truth and with absolute certainty,
become evident unto yourselves.
Verily We made the revelation of verses to be a testimony
for Our message unto you. Can ye produce a single letter to match these verses?
Bring forth, then, your proofs, if ye be of those who can discern the one true
God. I solemnly affirm before God, should all men and spirits combine to
compose the like of one chapter of this Book, they would surely fail, even
though they were to assist one another. [Qur’an 17:90]
He is, verily, the eternal Truth come from God, and
according to the divine judgment given in the Mother Book, He is the most
distinguished among the writers of Arabic and most eloquent in His utterance.
He is in truth the Supreme Talisman and is endowed with supernatural powers, as
set forth in the Mother Book.…
Unto every people We have sent down the Book in their own
language. [Qur’an 14:4] This Book We have, verily, revealed in the language of
Our Remembrance and it is in truth a wondrous language.
As to those who deny Him Who is the Sublime Gate of God, for
them We have prepared, as justly decreed by God, a sore torment. And He, God,
is the Mighty, the Wise.
O concourse of the people of the Book! Fear ye God and pride
not yourselves in your learning. Follow ye the Book which His Remembrance hath
revealed in praise of God, the True One. He Who is the Eternal Truth beareth me
witness, whoso followeth this Book hath indeed followed all the past Scriptures
which have been sent down from heaven by God, the Sovereign Truth. Verily, He
is well informed of what ye do.…
O people of the earth! Whoso obeyeth the Remembrance of God
and His Book hath in truth obeyed God and His chosen ones and he will, in the
life to come, be reckoned in the presence of God among the inmates of the
Paradise of His good-pleasure.
…God hath set aside earthly possessions for such as have
denied Him; for unto Him Who is your Lord shall be the most excellent abode, He
Who is, in truth, the Ancient of Days.…
Were We to bring thee to a reckoning, thou wouldst prove
thyself empty-handed; We in truth know all things. Hadst thou uttered “yea” on
hearing the Words of God, thou wouldst have been seen to have been worshipping
God from the beginning that hath no beginning until the present day, never to
have disobeyed Him, not even for the twinkling of an eye. Yet, neither the
upright deeds thou hast wrought during all thy life, nor the exertions thou
didst make to banish every thought from thy heart save that of the good-pleasure
of God, none of these did in truth profit thee, not even to the extent of a
grain of mustard seed, inasmuch as thou didst veil thyself from God and tarried
behind at the time of His manifestation.
Hadst thou observed the contents of the Epistle We sent unto
thee, it would have been far more profitable to thee than worshipping thy Lord
from the beginning that hath no beginning until this day, and indeed more
meritorious than proving thyself wholly devoted in thine acts of worship. And
hadst thou attained the presence of thy Lord in this land, and been of them
that truly believe that the Face of God is beheld in the person of the Primal
Point, it would have been far more advantageous than prostrating thyself in
adoration from the beginning that hath no beginning until the present time.…
We are cognizant of thy righteous deeds, though they shall
avail thee nothing; for the whole object of such righteousness is but
recognition of God, thy Lord, and undoubted faith in the Words revealed by Him.
Thy vision is obscured by the belief that divine revelation
ended with the coming of Muhammad, and unto this We have borne witness in Our
first epistle. Indeed, He Who hath revealed verses unto Muhammad, the Apostle
of God, hath likewise revealed verses unto ‘Alí-Muhammad. For who else but God
can reveal to a man such clear and manifest verses as overpower all the
learned? Since thou hast acknowledged the revelation of Muhammad, the Apostle
of God, then there is no other way open before thee but to testify that
whatever is revealed by the Primal Point hath also proceeded from God, the Help
in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Is it not true that the Qur’án hath been sent
down from God and that all men are powerless before its revelation? Likewise
these words have also been revealed by God, if thou dost but perceive. What is there
in the Bayán which keepeth thee back from recognizing these verses as being
sent forth by God, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious?
Indeed God hath permitted no one to pass unfair judgment,
and if thou wouldst fain do so, then soon shalt thou learn.
In the estimation of them that have fixed their eyes upon
the merciful Lord, the riches of the world and its trappings are worth as much
as the eye of a dead body, nay even less.
I swear by Him Who createth all beings and unto Whom all
shall return, if anyone at the hour of death beareth hatred towards Me or
disputeth the clear tokens wherewith I have been invested, then naught but
afflictive torment shall be his lot. On that day no ransom will be accepted,
nor will any intercession be permitted, unless God so please. Verily He is the
All-Compelling, the All-Glorious; and no God is there other than Him, the
sovereign Ruler, the Almighty, the Most Severe.
If thou art of them that truly believe, thou hast no other
alternative than to bear allegiance unto it. This is the Way of God for all the
inhabitants of earth and heaven and all that lieth betwixt them. No God is
there but Me, the Almighty, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted.
This is an epistle from God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting, unto Sulaymán in the land of Masqat, to the right of the Sea.
In truth there is none other God but Him, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.… Indeed, were all the inhabitants of heaven and earth and
whatever existeth between them to assemble together, they would utterly fail
and be powerless to produce such a book, even though We made them masters of
eloquence and learning on earth. Since thou dost adduce proofs from the Qur’án,
God shall, with proofs from that self-same Book, vindicate Himself in the
Bayán. This is none other than a decree of God; He is truly the All-Knowing,
the All-Powerful.
Ye cannot alter the things which the Almighty hath
prescribed unto Me. Naught shall touch Me besides that which God, My Lord, hath
preordained for Me. In Him have I placed My whole trust and upon Him do the
faithful place their complete reliance.
Ever since the Cause of thy Lord hath appeared none of thy
deeds hath been acceptable, and thou hast been lost in palpable error while all
thou couldst see appeared to thee as deeds performed for the sake of thy Lord.
In truth thy day is nigh at hand and thou shalt be questioned concerning all
this, and assuredly God is not heedless of the deeds of the wicked.
I swear by the truth of God! Wert thou to know that which I
know, thou wouldst forgo the sovereignty of this world and of the next, that
thou mightest attain My good-pleasure, through thine obedience unto the True
One.… Wert thou to refuse, the Lord of the world would raise up one who would
exalt His Cause, and the Command of God would, verily, be carried into effect.
Whatever reacheth Me is ordained to reach Me; and that which
hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will it revert… For assuredly whatsoever
God hath decreed for Me shall come to pass and naught else save that which God
hath ordained for us shall ever touch us. Woe betide him from whose hands
floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good. Unto no one do
I take My plaint save to God; for He is the best of judges. Every state of
adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
Verily, the One True God beareth Me witness that in this Day
I am the true mystic Fane of God, and the Essence of all good.
As to those who truly believe in God and are well assured in
the signs revealed by Him, perchance He will graciously forgive them the things
their hands have committed, and will grant them admission into the precincts of
His mercy. He, in truth, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Compassionate. But the
verdict of divine chastisement is pronounced against those who have turned away
disdainfully from Me and have repudiated the conclusive proofs and the unerring
Book with which God hath invested Me, and on the Day of Severing they shall
find no protector or helper.
I swear by the Most Great Lord! Wert thou to be told in what
place I dwell, the first person to have mercy on Me would be thyself. In the
heart of a mountain is a fortress [Máh-Kú] … the inmates of which are confined
to two guards and four dogs. Picture, then, My plight.… I swear by the truth of
God! Were he who hath been willing to treat Me in such a manner to know Who it
is Whom he hath so treated, he, verily, would never in his life be happy.
Nay—I, verily, acquaint thee with the truth of the matter—it is as if he hath
imprisoned all the Prophets, and all the men of truth and all the chosen ones.…
In brief, I hold within My grasp whatsoever any man might
wish of the good of this world and of the next. Were I to remove the veil, all
would recognize Me as their Best-Beloved, and no one would deny Me. Let not
this assertion astound Your Majesty; inasmuch as a true believer in the unity
of God who keepeth his eyes directed towards Him alone will regard aught else
but Him as utter nothingness.
By the righteousness of Him Who hath called thee into being
and unto Whom erelong thou shalt return, if thou remainest, at the moment of
death, a disbeliever in the signs of thy Lord thou shalt surely enter the gates
of hell, and none of the deeds thy hands have wrought will profit thee, nor
shalt thou find a patron nor anyone to plead for thee. Fear thou God and pride
not thyself on thine earthly possessions, inasmuch as what God doth possess is
better for them that tread the path of righteousness.
Thou [Muhammad Shah] pridest thyself in the things thou dost
possess, yet no believer in God and in His signs, nor any righteous man would
ever deign to regard them. This mortal life is like unto the carcass of a dog,
around which none would gather, nor would any partake thereof, except those who
gainsay the life hereafter. Verily it is incumbent upon thee to become a true
believer in God, the All-Possessing, the Almighty, and to turn away from the
one who guideth thee into the torment of hellfire.
God hath in truth testified in His Book and so also have
testified the company of His angels, His Messengers and those endued with
divine knowledge, that thou hast believed in God and in His signs and that
everyone is guided aright by virtue of thy guidance. This is indeed a boundless
grace which God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, hath graciously
conferred upon thee aforetime and will confer hereafter. And since thou didst
believe in God before the creation, He hath in truth, at His own behest, raised
thee up in every Revelation. There is no God but Him, the Sovereign Protector,
the All-Glorious.
He who doeth good unto Me, it is as if he doeth good unto
God, His angels and the entire company of His loved ones. He who doeth evil
unto Me, it is as if he doeth evil unto God and His chosen ones. Nay, too
exalted is the station of God and of His loved ones for any person’s good or
evil deed to reach their holy threshold.
Through the grace of God nothing can frustrate My purpose,
and I am fully conscious of that which God hath bestowed upon Me as a token of
His favor. If it were My will, I would disclose to Your Majesty all things; but
I have not done this, nor will I do it, that the Truth may be distinguished
from aught else beside it, and this prophecy uttered by the Imám Báqir—may
peace rest upon Him—be fully realized: “What must needs befall us in
Ádhirbáyján is inevitable and without parallel. When this happeneth, rest ye in
your homes and remain patient as we have remained patient. As soon as the Mover
moveth make ye haste to attain unto Him, even though ye have to crawl over the
snow.”
Following his [Governor of Isfahan] ascension to the eternal Kingdom, the vicious
Gurgín, resorting to all manner of treachery, false oaths and coercion, sent Me
away from Isfahán with an escort of five guards on a journey which lasted seven
days, without providing the barest necessities for My travel (Alas! Alas! for
the things which have touched Me!), until eventually Your Majesty’s order came,
instructing Me to proceed to Máh-Kú.…
 |
| Manuchihr-Khan the governor of Isfahan |
While I was in Shíráz the indignities which befell Me at the
hands of its wicked and depraved Governor waxed so grievous that if thou wert
acquainted with but a tithe thereof, thou wouldst deal him retributive justice.
For as a result of his unmitigated oppression, thy royal court hath become,
until the Day of Resurrection, the object of the wrath of God. Moreover, his
indulgence in alcohol had grown so excessive that he was never sober enough to
make a sound judgment. Therefore, disquieted, I was obliged to set out from
Shíráz with the aim of attaining the enlightened and exalted court of Your
Majesty.
In that same year [year 1260] I dispatched a messenger and a
book unto thee [Muhammad Shah], that thou mightest act towards the Cause of Him
Who is the Testimony of God as befitteth the station of thy sovereignty. But
inasmuch as dark, dreadful and dire calamity had been irrevocably ordained by
the Will of God, the book was not submitted to thy presence, through the
intervention of such as regard themselves the well-wishers of the government.
Up to the present, when nearly four years have passed, they have not duly
presented it to Your Majesty. However, now that the fateful hour is drawing
nigh, and because it is a matter of faith, not a worldly concern, therefore I
have given thee a glimpse of what hath transpired.
God beareth Me witness, I was not a man of learning, for I
was trained as a merchant. In the year sixty [1] God graciously infused my soul
with the conclusive evidences and weighty knowledge which characterize Him Who
is the Testimony of God—may peace be upon Him—until finally in that year I
proclaimed God’s hidden Cause and unveiled its well-guarded Pillar, in such
wise that no one could refute it. “That he who should perish might perish with
a clear proof before him and he who should live might live by clear proof.” [2]
By the righteousness of Him Who is the Absolute Truth, were
the veil to be lifted, thou wouldst witness on this earthly plane all men
sorely afflicted with the fire of the wrath of God, a fire fiercer and greater
than the fire of hell, with the exception of those who have sought shelter
beneath the shade of the tree of My love. For they in very truth are the
blissful.…
I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all
created things. I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be
obscured, the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade. Whoso recognizeth Me,
assurance and all good are in store for him, and whoso faileth to recognize Me,
infernal fire and all evil await him.…
I swear by the righteousness of Thy Lord, the Lord of all
created things, the Lord of all the worlds! Were a man to rear in this world as
many edifices as possible and worship God through every virtuous deed which
God’s knowledge embraceth, and attain the presence of the Lord, and were he,
even to a measure less than that which is accountable before God, to bear in
his heart a trace of malice towards Me, all his deeds would be reduced to
naught and he would be deprived of the glances of God’s favor, become the
object of His wrath and assuredly perish. For God hath ordained that all the
good things which lie in the treasury of His knowledge shall be attained
through obedience unto Me, and every fire recorded in His Book, through
disobedience unto Me. Methinks in this day and from this station I behold all
those who cherish My love and follow My behest abiding within the mansions of
Paradise, and the entire company of Mine adversaries consigned to the lowest
depths of hellfire.
I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of
God. Whosoever hath recognized Me hath known all that is true and right and
hath attained all that is good and seemly, and whosoever hath failed to
recognize Me hath turned away from all that is true and right and hath
succumbed to everything evil and unseemly.
The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay
out of which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the
worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover.…
This is an epistle from the letter Thá [1] unto Him Who will
be made manifest through the power of Truth—He Who is the All-Glorious, the
Best-Beloved—to affirm that all created things as well as myself bear witness
for all time that there is none other God but Thee, the Omnipotent, the
Self-Subsisting; that Thou art God, there is no God besides Thee and that all
men shall be raised up to life through Thee.