BH00034: Suriy-i-Sabr (Lawh-i-Ayyub)

Section 1: “The remembrance of God in the City…”

In the Name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High!

The remembrance of God in the City of Patience concerning His servant Job, when We sheltered him beneath the sacred Tree in his heart and caused him to witness the Fire that was kindled and shone within his inmost being. We revealed Ourself to him through his own self, and called unto him from that Spot of God round about which blessing hath been vouchsafed, saying:

“Verily, He is God, thy Lord and the Lord of all things, and He is, in truth, powerful over all things, the Self-Subsisting.”

When his countenance was illumined by the Fire that burned within him, We clothed him with the garment of Prophethood and commanded him to summon the people to the Fountainhead of grace and bounty, and to call them to the shore of sanctified love. We established him in the earth and rained upon him the showers of bounty, and made him rich above all who dwell on earth. We bestowed upon him abundance of wealth and made him prosperous in the realm, and provided him with a portion of all things. We strengthened his arm with a company endued with power, and granted him sons of his own loins, and established him in an exalted station in the land.

For successive years he dwelt among his people, counseling them with the jewels of hidden knowledge wherewith We had taught him, and reminding them of the days that were destined to come. He said: “O people! The oceans of knowledge have surged within the Self of God, Who standeth for justice—hasten ye thereunto that ye might find a way unto them. The Sun of loving-kindness hath truly risen and now standeth at its noontide height. The Beauty of the Divine Countenance hath appeared from behind the holy pavilions—present yourselves before Him that ye might be illumined by His beloved sanctified lights. The heavens of grandeur have been raised up and adorned with the stars of knowledge and wisdom—thus hath the Cause dawned from the holy horizon.

“O people! Messengers came unto you aforetime with God’s messages and delivered unto you that which would guide you to the shore of exalted glory. The Hours have come in truth, the Lights have shone forth in justice, the Bird of Eternity hath warbled, the Dove of the Cause hath cooed, the clouds of Light have been upraised, the seas of grace have surged, yet ye, O peoples of the earth, have been deprived of all these things. Fear ye God, and spread not corruption in God’s land of wisdom, but hearken unto the Word which hath descended from the heaven of nearness.”

Thus did We counsel Our servants through the tongue of the Messengers from the beginning that hath no beginning unto the end that hath no end. Yet all turned away from God’s counsel and retraced their steps, save those whom Our loving-kindness had preceded, who heard God’s call from behind the veils of hidden glory, who answered God’s summons with their inner and outer beings, and who were attracted by the melodies of the Beloved. These attained unto the stations of guidance—upon them be God’s blessings and mercy. God granted them that which none knoweth and brought them to a station that was hidden from the eyes of all created things.

God shall soon manifest His Cause and separate truth from falsehood, raise up the banners of guidance and utterly demolish all traces of the idolaters. He shall cause His servants to inherit the earth—they who have detached themselves unto God and have not drunk the love of the Calf in their hearts, who have turned away from those who disbelieved and associated partners with God after clear proofs had come unto them from every direction. Thus hath the decree been inscribed by the Finger of Glory upon the Tablets of Light.

Remember Our servant Job, when he appeared with the banners of wealth in the realm, and his people envied him and slandered him in their gatherings, and thus were their deeds preserved in the hidden scrolls. They imagined that he called upon God because of the ornaments of the world bestowed upon him, though he was sanctified above their imaginings and certitudes and above all in the realm together. When We desired to manifest the signs of truth in his detachment and his reliance upon God, We sent afflictions upon him from all directions and tried him with trials. We took from him his sons and cut off from him the bounty We had bestowed upon him in truth, and We took from him each day something known.

Not a day passed except that there descended upon him from the direction of fate what was inscribed by the Pen of Decree. Misfortune and hardship seized him according to what was ordained by the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting. Then We burned what was harvested from his fields by the hands of the angels of command and made it all as scattered dust. When We had sanctified him from the ornaments of the realm and purified him from the filth of earth and cleansed him from all worldly conditions, We caused a scorching wind from the angels of wrath to blow upon his skin. Thereby his body weakened, his form was afflicted, and his members trembled to such extent that no part of his body larger than a dirham remained unwounded.

Yet each day he increased in thankfulness, and he was patient at all times and did not lament what befell him. Thus did We account him among the trusting ones, the thankful ones, and the patient ones.

His people drove him from the village wherein he dwelt, showing no shame before God their Creator, and they harmed him according to their power, and We found him oppressed in the earth. The gates of wealth were closed in his face and the gates of poverty were opened, until days passed and he found nothing with which to satisfy his hunger, and thus was the matter decreed for him. There remained for him neither companion nor friend nor associate, and he became solitary in the realm save for his wife who believed in her Lord and served him in his tribulation, and We made her a means for him in all matters. When his companion found him in that grievous state, she went to his people and asked of them a loaf of bread, but these embodiments of tyranny would not give it to her, and thus did We record all things in a clear book.

When she was driven to extremity in her need, she went to one who was among the most evil of women on earth, who refused to give her a loaf until she took from her what she desired—and by God, the Pen is ashamed to mention it, and God was witness to their deeds. She came to the servant with a loaf, and when he looked upon her he found her hair cut off. Then did he cry out in his heart, and thereby the heavens and earth cried out, and he said: “O handmaiden of God! I perceive in thee a matter forbidden to the truth. Why didst thou cut thy hair which God made the ornament of thy beauty?”

She said: “O Job! Whenever I asked thy people for a loaf for thy sake, they all refused, until I entered the house of a handmaiden among the handmaidens of God and asked her for a loaf. She denied me until she took my hair and gave me this loaf which I have brought before thee. Thus did she transgress against God and show pride toward Him, and thus was the matter decreed between me and her. O Job! Forgive me.”

O Job! Pardon me and take me not to task for my sin, for I was helpless in Thy Cause. Have mercy upon me and forgive me, for Thou art verily compassionate and forgiving. And that which was decreed between them was decreed, and grief arose to such degree that the heavens were nigh to being cleft asunder, the earth of forbearance to be rent, and the mountain of patience to crumble. Then he laid his face upon the dust and said:

“O Lord! Affliction hath touched me from all sides, and Thou art He Whose mercy hath preceded all things. Have mercy upon me through Thy bounty and bestow upon me through Thy grace, for Thou art ever merciful unto Thy servants.”

When We heard his cry, We caused to flow beneath his right foot a spring of sweet, refreshing water, and We commanded him to immerse himself therein and drink therefrom. When he drank, he was healed of all ailments and appeared in the most excellent form. And We restored unto him all that We had taken from him, and more besides, such that We rained down upon him from the heaven of bounty that which enriched him above all who dwell on earth. We solaced his eyes through his family and fulfilled for him what We had promised to the patient ones in the preserved tablets of holiness. We set aright all his affairs and strengthened him with the arm of the Cause which was mighty in truth. Through him We exalted the lowly and destroyed those who had waxed proud before God and were wretched upon the earth. Thus do We do what We will by Our command, and fulfill the reward of the patient ones, and bestow upon them from the treasuries of holiness an abundant recompense.

O concourse of earth! Be patient in God and grieve not for that which befalleth you in the days of the Spirit, for ere long shall ye witness the reward of the patient ones in a holy and inaccessible Paradise. God hath created a garden in the precincts of eternity and named it Patience, a name which until that day had been treasured in the repositories of infallibility. Therein hath He ordained that which He hath ordained in no other paradise, and We have now unveiled its covering and mentioned it unto you as a mercy from Us unto all the worlds. Therein are rivers of the shade of God’s loving-kindness, which God hath forbidden unto all save those who have shown patience in tribulations, seeking the face of God, Who is in truth praiseworthy.

None shall enter therein save those who have not altered God’s favor unto themselves, who have entered beneath the shadow of the Tree of the Spirit, who have feared no one, and who have soared on the wings of glory in the atmosphere of patience. They have shown patience in afflictions, and the more tribulations increased upon their souls, the more did they grow in their love for their Lord. They turned with their whole being toward a holy and exalted direction, the ardor of longing grew intense in their breasts, and the breezes of spiritual taste increased in their souls, until they sacrificed themselves and gave up their possessions and spent all that God had bestowed upon them through His grace and bounty. And in all these severe conditions they remained thankful to their Lord and sought no one’s help. God hath inscribed their names among the patient ones in the preserved tablets of holiness.

Blessed then is he who is adorned with the robe of patience and steadfastness, who changeth not in adversity, whose feet slip not at the blowing of the winds of force, who is content with his Lord at all times and in Him ever trusteth. By God! He shall soon cause him to appear in the pavilions of grandeur, attired in a luminous garment that shall shine as shineth the light from the horizon of the Spirit, in such wise as to dazzle all eyes that behold it. And above his head shall the herald of God proclaim:

“This is he who showed patience in God during the vain life of this world despite all that the idolaters wrought against him.”

The denizens of the highest paradise shall seek his blessing, and the dwellers of the chambers and the chaste-eyed damsels in the tabernacles of beauty shall yearn for his presence.

O people of the Bayan! Be patient in these fleeting days and grieve not for what hath escaped you of worldly ornaments, neither be ye troubled by the hardships of affairs which were ordained in the scrolls of divine power. Know ye that for all good deeds a limited recompense hath been ordained in the Book, save for patience. Thus was its decree established aforetime through Muhammad, the Messenger of God. Verily, the patient shall be paid their reward without measure. Thus did the Spirit of Truth descend upon the heart of Muhammad in the Arabic tongue, and thus was revealed in all the Tablets what was ordained for the patient ones in wondrous books of glory.

Know ye then that God hath made patience the garment of the Messengers, such that He hath sent no Prophet or Messenger save that God adorned His temple with the robe of patience, that He might be patient in the Cause of God. Thus did God take the covenant from every Prophet sent forth. It behooveth the patient one at the outset to be patient with his own self, such that he restraineth himself from tyranny, indecency, and lusts, and from all that God hath forbidden in the Book, that he may be recorded in the Tablets among the patient ones. Then must he be patient in the tribulations that descend upon him in the path of his Creator, neither being disturbed when the winds of destiny blow and the seas of power surge in the dominion of execution. He must remain steadfast in the religion of God and be patient with what cometh upon him from his loved ones, showing fortitude regarding those who have believed, seeking the face of God, that he may be well-pleasing in the religion of God.

Await ye then the day when the clouds of patience shall be lifted up, and the Bird of Eternity shall warble, and the Sacred Peacock shall appear with the ornament of the Command in the Kingdom of Meeting, and the weary tongues shall be loosed in the melodies of the Dove, and the Dove of Paradise shall hover between earth and heaven, and the trumpet shall be sounded, and the temples of existence shall be renewed, and the fire shall be kindled, and God shall come overshadowing from the Spirit with a beauty of impregnable glory.

Then hasten ye unto Him, O peoples of the earth! Be not occupied with aught in the kingdom, let not the prohibition of any prohibitor prevent you, neither let scientific affairs veil you, nor rational proofs obstruct you. Hasten ye to an exalted and holy retreat, for if ye tarry in the endless beginning of beginnings and hesitate on that Day less than a moment, the decree of patience shall not apply to you. Thus hath the decree been sent down from the Pen of the All-Knowing Glory.

Say: O people of the earth! Fear ye God in these days and fabricate not against His trusted ones, and say not that of which ye have no knowledge, for ye are powerless in the earth and destitute in the lands. Be not proud within yourselves, but hasten to the land which was in truth accepted. By God! This world shall pass away and all wherein ye rejoice, and the angels of divine wrath shall gather you together before a mighty and powerful sovereign King, and ye shall be questioned concerning what ye did in your days, and nothing shall be left of what is in the heavens and the earth save that it is recorded in the Tablet of Knowledge. Then shall no one avail you, nor shall any soul plead for you, nor shall aught profit you save what ye have sown in the fields of your deeds. Be ye wakeful, O company of the wretched!

Section 2: “Then hearken to the counsel of this Kind…”

Then hearken to the counsel of this Kind Friend Who counseleth you for the sake of God and desireth from you neither recompense nor thanks. His reward is only with Him Who sent Him with the truth and revealed unto Him the verses, that His proof might be complete unto all the worlds. How long will ye slumber upon the couch of heedlessness? How long will ye follow those who are naught on earth but as worthless insects? Say: By God! Those whom ye have taken as lords besides God—their names and their beings are not even mentioned before God. Have mercy, therefore, upon your own selves and fear God, your Creator. Then turn unto Him, that He may forgive you your evil deeds, for verily He is forgiving toward His servants.

Say: By God! Those to whom ye attribute knowledge and whom ye have taken as your learned ones—these are, in God’s sight, the most wicked of men; nay, the very essence of wickedness fleeth from them. Thus hath it been inscribed in the scrolls of knowledge. We testify that they have not drunk from the fountains of knowledge, nor have they attained to a single letter of wisdom, nor have they penetrated the mysteries of the Cause, but have remained immersed in the land of their own desires. No Prophet, nor Successor, nor Holy One hath ever been opposed or denied save by their leave. Thus have they passed judgment against the Manifestations of Holiness.

Say: O concourse of the ignorant! Did We not reveal aforetime “the Day when God will come in the shadows of the clouds”? Yet when He came in the clouds of the Cause in the temple of Ali, in truth, ye turned away and waxed proud and were a ruined people. Was it not revealed “the Day when thy Lord cometh, or some of the signs of thy Lord”? And when He came with clear signs, why did ye turn away therefrom and remain veiled behind the veils of self? Say: God is sanctified from coming and descent. He is the Single, the All-Sufficing, Whose knowledge encompasseth all who are in the heavens and on earth. He will never come in His Essence, nor be seen in His Reality, nor be known in His Identity, nor be comprehended in His Attributes. He Who cometh is the Manifestation of His Self, even as He came in truth in the name of Ali, yet ye gathered against Him with the claws of hatred and pronounced judgment against Him, O concourse of divines, and were not ashamed before Him Who created you and fashioned you. Thus have We recorded your deeds in preserved tablets of glory.

O Ear of Immortality! Hear what these unbelievers say: that God hath sealed Prophethood with His beloved Muhammad, the Apostle of God, and will never raise up anyone after Him, and that His hands are bound from bestowing grace, and that no more shall the Temples of Holiness appear after Him, and that the lights of grace shall no longer shine forth, and that divine outpouring hath ceased, and power hath ended, and loving-kindness hath terminated, and the gates of bounty are sealed, though the breezes of bounty have ever wafted from the paradise of might. Say: Your hands are bound, and ye are accursed for what ye have said. Nay, His hands encompass all who are in the heavens and on earth. He raises up whom He willeth through His power, and He shall not be questioned of His doings, for verily He hath power over all things.

Say: O people of the Qur’an! Reflect upon the Book which was sent down in truth to Muhammad, wherein He sealed Prophethood through His Beloved until the Day of Resurrection—this Resurrection wherein God hath arisen in the Manifestation of His Self, while ye remained veiled therefrom, even as the peoples of the earth were veiled from the Resurrection of Muhammad aforetime, and ye were submerged in the depths of heedlessness and aversion.

Say: Were ye not promised the meeting with God in His days? Yet when the promise was fulfilled and Beauty shone forth from the horizon of Glory, ye closed your eyes and were gathered on the plain of assembly, blind. Say: Hath it not been revealed in the Qur’an through His true Word: “Thus have We made you a middle nation, that ye may be witnesses against mankind, and that the Messenger may be a witness against you”? Ye have interpreted this verse according to your own desires, while firmly believing and acknowledging that which was revealed in truth, that none knoweth its interpretation save God and those firm in knowledge. Yet despite your conviction in this, ye have interpreted the words of God and explained them after having been forbidden to do so, and have risen in opposition and denial against those firm in knowledge. Nay, ye slay them as ye slew them aforetime, and ye rejoice in your deeds. Shame upon you for that which your hands have wrought and for your thoughts concerning God’s Cause on a day when the lights of guidance were manifest from the dayspring of knowledge.

Ask them then how they read that which was sent down from the heaven of might unto Muhammad in the Arabic tongue, and what they say concerning the meaning of “middle” if Prophethood was sealed through Him—how then was His community described in the Book as the middle of nations? Know then their measure, as though they had never heard the cooing of the Dove, and even had they heard it they would not have understood. Thus was the proof from their own Book conclusively established against them. And this is what all peoples have declared in the time of every Prophet: whenever Messengers from God came unto them, they said “Thou art no Messenger,” and claimed Prophethood was sealed with Him who came before. Thus did Satan make their deeds and words seem fair unto them, and they were far removed from the shore of truth. Remind them of the account of Muhammad aforetime, when He came with manifest authority. He said: “O people! These are the signs of God which have been sent down in truth. Dispute not concerning God’s Cause, but gather ye upon the shore of transcendent glory.”

O people! Look upon Me with the eye of God, and follow not your idle fancies, nor be like those who called upon God by day and by night, yet when He came unto them they turned away from Him and denied Him, remaining utterly devoted to the idols of their own selves. The Jews declared: “By God, this is he who hath fabricated a lie against God, or he is possessed of a demon, or is under a spell.” They said: “God hath sealed Prophethood with Moses, and this is God’s decree as set forth in the Torah. The Law of the Torah shall never be abrogated throughout God’s eternity, and he who shall come after must arise to promote its laws unto all who dwell on earth.”

Thus was the command sent down from the heaven of divine decree unto Moses. And those who were given the Gospel spoke likewise, and remained expectant from that day until this. God banished them by that which He revealed unto Muhammad, the Arabian, in the Surih of the Jinn: “They imagined, as ye imagined, that God would never raise up anyone after him.” By God! This verse that hath been sent down, and the mysteries of God concealed therein, suffice all who dwell on earth, if they would but walk in the paths of recognized glory.

Say: God hath raised up Messengers after Moses and Jesus, and will continue to send them until the end that hath no end, such that the outpourings of grace may never cease to rain from the heaven of divine bounty. He doeth what He willeth and is not asked of what He doeth, while all else shall be questioned concerning all things in the presence of justice. Hear then what these objectors say, imagining concerning God as did those servants who came before. Say: By God! The matter hath become confused for you. The Hour hath come to pass in truth, and the Resurrection hath arisen, despite your wishes and the wishes of those who were deaf to the melodies of God. Say: Ye speak as spoke the peoples of old in the time of God’s Messenger, and ye wait as they waited, and your feet have slipped on this Path that hath been stretched forth in truth. Reflect then on the implications of this verse, that ye may receive your portion from the table of knowledge that descendeth from the heaven of holiness according to a decreed measure.

O Solace of Eternity! Witness what the idolaters testify concerning this Tree that hath put forth leaves, this blessed Tree that hath been raised up upon the mountain of musk, whose branches have grown until they reached the station that was concealed behind the pavilions of holiness. These idolaters desire to cut off its boughs. Say: It hath sought refuge in God’s stronghold and protection, and God hath caused the hands of the hypocrites and unbelievers to fall short of reaching it. The hands of those who have disbelieved and turned away shall never attain unto it. God shall soon gather beneath its shade all who are in the kingdom, and this is what the Truth hath prescribed for Himself, and this hath been irrevocably sealed in the tablets of glory by the Pen of Knowledge.

O Solace of Beauty! Remind the servants with spiritual remembrances in these days, then let them hear a melody from the melodies of eternity, that they may perchance perceive in themselves something less than a mote, and that they may not suppose as their associates supposed before, and may be assured that God is able to raise up a Messenger in every age. Say: O assemblage of hatred! Die in your wrath! This is what hath been decreed in truth by the Pen of transcendent glory. Therefore cast upon them that which the Dove of the Spirit warbled in the paradise of holy and beloved beauty, that they may follow what was explained in the Seal by the tongue of him who was firm in knowledge concerning the visitation of God’s name, ʿAli.

He said—and His word is the truth—“The Seal of what has gone before and the Opening of what is to come.” Thus did he mention the meaning of the Seal with an eloquent holy tongue. Even so did God make His Beloved the Seal of the Prophets who preceded Him and the Opening of the Messengers who would come after. Therefore ponder, O people of the earth, on what We have cast upon you in truth, that ye may perchance find a way to the source of the Cause on the holy shore. Be not veiled from what ye have heard from your learned ones, then ask concerning the matters of your religion from him whom God hath made firm in His knowledge, and from whose countenance the lights were resplendent and luminous.

O people! Fear God and take not knowledge from turbid springs which flow from the direction of self and ignorance. Take it rather from the flowing, palatable, pure, running, sweet springs which stream from the right hand of the Throne, and of which God hath given the righteous their portion. O Dayspring of Holiness! Bestow upon all contingent beings that which God hath bestowed upon thee through His bounty, that they may arise from the sepulchres of their bodies and become aware of the Cause which hath in truth come to pass. Then send upon them from the perfumed, musk-laden breezes which God hath given thee in the particles of eternity, that perchance thereby the decayed bones may be quickened, and that the people may not deprive themselves of this Spirit which hath been breathed from this ancient, eternal, everlasting Pen, and may be gathered in this good and blessed land before God in the most beauteous form.

O Pen of Command! Thou dost witness and behold how all created things, in infinite oceans, turn away from this all-encompassing, outpouring mercy that hath enveloped all who are in the heavens and on earth. They turn not toward the countenance from which the lights of the Spirit have dawned, by which all in the kingdoms of command and creation were illumined—and of this thou art indeed witness. They run in the valley of self and desire, and wade among those who attained not Thy presence in Thy Day, after Thou didst give them glad tidings aforetime through a glorious and mighty Pen, and Thy sweet utterance in the heaven of eternity declared: “On that Day all sovereignty shall be God’s.” Thus was the decree of that Day inscribed upon tablets of glory by the finger of the Spirit from time immemorial.

But when the Day came and the hours arrived and the matter was accomplished and the lights of Beauty were established at the meridian, then all rose up in hypocrisy against this Light that shone forth from the horizon, and veiled themselves behind thick veils of unbelief. Thus may ye recognize all peoples throughout all ages: after they awaited that which was promised in the days of God, when the promise was fulfilled they denied it through what Satan cast into their souls, and remained far removed from the holy shore. Even as ye witness today these idolaters who waited in their days for what was promised by the tongue of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, and whenever they heard His name they would rise up and cry “May God hasten His advent!”

Yet when He appeared in truth they denied Him in their souls and opposed Him and disputed with Him falsely and imprisoned Him amid the mountains. The rancor of their hearts and the fire of their souls was not quenched until they perpetrated against Him that which caused the very livers of existence to be consumed in the temples of being, whereby the pillars of the cities of eternity were shaken in the heaven of blindness, and the Beauty of the Unseen lamented in Its hidden sanctum of holiness.

O Day-spring of Glory! Make mention to the believers among the people of eternity what the idolaters spoke in former times in the days when Husayn was slain by the embodiments of tyrannical wickedness. They would visit his shrine each day and curse those who oppressed him, and would recite a hundred times each morning “O God! Curse the first oppressor who oppressed the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad!” Yet when Husayn was raised up in the holy land, they oppressed him and killed him and did unto him what none had done before. Thus doth God distinguish between the truthful and the false, between light and darkness, and cast upon you that which revealeth all the deeds of the oppressors.

Section 3: “Remember then in the Book one who was…”

Remember then in the Book one who was a pious servant of God, who believed in God on a day when the Cause shone forth resplendently from the Dayspring of the Spirit, and who aided his Lord to the extent of his power at the time when the Vahid entered the eastern land of love. He said:

“O people! God’s proof hath come with the truth and the Face hath appeared. O concourse of the Furqan! Hasten unto Him and turn not back upon your heels. O people! Beauty hath dawned from the horizon of holiness and the Promise hath come with truth. Hasten ye unto the Paradise wherein that Face shineth with radiance. Beware lest ye deprive yourselves and your eyes from the meeting with God, for this is God’s Day, a day grievous unto the unbelievers. O people! The Book hath been set down in truth, and the deeds of all in the world shall not escape it by so much as a date-stone’s weight or a date-thread. O people! Be not veiled from the Beauty of God after He hath come overshadowed by clouds, with holy angels round about Him—thus was the matter decreed from before the Throne.”

And when the Vahid said:

“O people! I have brought you a Tablet from the Spirit, from before the Self-Subsisting. Be not divided in God’s Cause, but answer the call of Him Who summons you with pure truth and teaches you that which will draw you nigh unto the right hand of glory beloved. O people! In all the Tablets ye were promised the meeting with God, and this is the day wherein Beauty is unveiled, the Light hath appeared, the Herald hath called out, and the heaven hath been cleft asunder with clouds. Fear ye God and close not your eyes to a Beauty brilliant as the morning star. This is what ye were promised by the tongue of the Messengers aforetime, and God took from you a covenant concerning this in the realm of pre-existence. Therefore fulfill your covenants and be not detained in the lands of allusion.”

Among the people, some fulfilled God’s covenant and answered the call of Truth, while others turned away and were rebellious against God. And among them was he who was named ʿthe Pious One’ in the Book, who believed in God his Lord and was faithful to His promise. He appeared before the Vahid and held fast to the Most Great Handle, divided not God’s word, and remained steadfast in the true religion. He aided his Lord in all conditions with all that lay within his power, and thus did God cause his name to be inscribed by the Pen of Glory in the lines of eternity. Tribulation and adversity befell him, and he bore all hardships in his own person, yet in all these conditions remained thankful and patient.

Verily they who aid God with their wealth and their persons, and who endure hardships seeking God’s face—these were from all eternity victorious through God’s help, even though they be slain and burnt on earth, for they were created from spirits and soared in the atmosphere of the Spirit by God’s leave. They pay no heed to their physical bodies in this realm and long for trials in their Creator’s path as the guilty long for forgiveness and the infant for its mother’s breast. Thus doth the Dove remind you with spiritual remembrances, that perchance the people may detach themselves from their selves and their wealth, and return to a holy and manifest seat.

The days passed until there gathered around Vahid a band from the village which God had blessed among all villages and had exalted its name in the Tablet from which the Mother Book had been separated. They followed God’s decree and circled round His Cause, spent their wealth and sacrificed all the ornaments they possessed, fearing none but God—and God is indeed aware of all things. Their hearts were as blocks of iron in God’s aid, the blame of no blamer took hold of them, nor did the rejection of any rejecter prevent them. In the cities of the earth they were like sacred banners raised in God’s Name. The matter reached such a point that the chief of oppression, who had denied God, associated partners with His Beauty and turned away from His proof—and who was the most wretched of people on earth, as testify to this the men who were concealed in the pavilion of eternity—heard of it.

O people of the village! Give thanks to God your Creator for having favored you with the truth and preferred you above all who dwell on earth, in that He honored you with His presence, made you know His Self, and nourished you from the fruits of the Lote-Tree of Paradise after all had been deprived thereof. He caused you to attain His days, sent upon you the breezes of holiness, turned you toward the right hand of oneness, and drew you near to the blessed spot of glory. Thus does He bestow His favor upon whomsoever He willeth and singles out for His mercy such servants as are cut off from all who dwell on earth. Therefore rejoice within yourselves and take pride over all who are gathered in the kingdom.

Know that God has inscribed your names in the holy scrolls and ordained for you in Paradise a praiseworthy station. By God! Were the station of but one of you to be revealed to those on earth, they would sacrifice their souls in their longing for this station which was created by God’s hand. But it has been veiled from the eyes of men that the evil might be distinguished from the good. Thus does God try them in the kingdom that what lies in their hearts might be revealed, as indeed it has been revealed, and you were witness to this. How many were the servants who worshipped God in their days, commanded people to righteousness and piety, wept over the tribulations of the family of God, and closed their eyes in prayer and in reciting visitations to show their orientation toward a holy, worshipped Source! Yet when the truth came to them they turned away from it and denied it, even to the point of killing it with their own hands, and they were delighted with their deeds. Thus does God render void the deeds of those who showed pride against Him, and accepts the deeds of those who turned to God, humbled themselves before His countenance, and walked the paths of His good-pleasure.

Remember, O people of the village, the bounty of God which He hath in truth bestowed upon you, and taught you that which none of the divines of the earth have known—they who, by reason of the weight and size of their turbans, can scarcely walk upon the earth, and when they move, they move as though a mountain of hatred doth move across the land, detested. By God! It behooveth you, O friends of God, to sanctify yourselves from all that ye have been forbidden, and to thank God throughout all days and nights for having singled you out with a grace whereof others have no share, and to speak of God, your Creator, in such wise that the fragrance of God may waft from you, and ye may thus be distinguished from those who have disbelieved and joined partners with God.

Thus doth the Dove counsel you and teach you the paths of knowledge, that ye may be firmly grounded in God’s religion and steadfast in His love. Fear God, and let not your deeds be rendered vain through heedlessness, and boast not to God of your faith in the Manifestation of His Self; rather God bestoweth His favor upon you in that He hath aided you in His Cause, shown you the paths of glory and piety, and inspired you with wondrous and hidden knowledge. Well is it with you, O people of the village, for having been patient in God’s days through hardship and tribulation, and for having heard with your ears and witnessed with your eyes. God shall soon reward you with the most excellent of rewards and grant you that which shall satisfy your souls, and shall inscribe your names in a holy and hidden Book.

Strive, then, that your patience be not nullified through complaint, and be content with whatsoever God hath decreed for you and with all that He shall decree hereafter, for the world and its ornaments and embellishments shall pass away in less than a moment and shall not endure, and ye shall be brought into a seat of glory well-beloved. Blessed are ye and those who have sacrificed themselves in the days of God and were among those who soared in the atmosphere of love and attained unto a station that was forbidden to all others.

Wherefore, O Pen of Holiness, make mention of what befell the Vahid at the hands of the enemies of God’s own Self, that his cause may be remembered in the Concourse on High with truth. When he who disbelieved and was wretched, then grew arrogant and rebellious, heard thereof, he dispatched the hosts of infidelity and commanded them to slay those the like of whom the earth had never borne in their faith in God, and to shed blood whereby all things were purified. The wicked one gave commands among the people contrary to what God had revealed in the Book, and thus was his decree irrevocably fixed. He appointed two chiefs over the hosts, who denied God and His signs, and sold their religion for worldly gain, thereby purchasing for themselves everlasting and perpetual torment, and through their tyranny were destined for God’s wrath.

They came with the hosts of infidelity and the armies of idolatry until they besieged God’s hosts and His loved ones, and were inscribed by the Pen of Command in the Mother Book as the most evil of men. They warred against God’s companions, disputed with them, contended with them, and fought with all their might to overcome the hosts of truth, but God caused them to be defeated at the hands of the believers in their battle. When they proved powerless against the party of God and His friends, they plotted and schemed within themselves and took counsel together until they sent a messenger to the Vahid with deceitful words. The messenger of Satan entered unto Vahid and said:

“You are the son of Muhammad and we acknowledge your excellence over us. We have not come to contend with you, but rather we desire reconciliation in your cause. We will hear what you command us and follow your word, and we will not oppose your judgment in the least degree.”

Then the Spirit opened Its mouth and the Holy Spirit spoke through the tongue of the Vahid, saying: “O people! If you acknowledge my excellence and recognize that I am the son of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, why have you come against us with the hosts of infidelity and besieged us, turning away from God’s Cause and rebelling against it? O people! Fear God and spread not corruption in the land, cast not God’s Cause behind your backs, and fear God Who created you and sustained you and sent down unto you wondrous verses of might. O people! The kingdom and your hosts shall perish, then he who sent you with tyranny. Consider what befell the nations of old and be mindful of matters that were decreed aforetime.

O people! I am but a servant who has believed in God and His verses revealed through the tongue of Ali in truth. If you are not content with my presence among you, I will depart unto God. I desire nothing from you. Fear God and shed not the blood of His loved ones, seize not people’s property unjustly, and deny not God after having claimed faith for yourselves. Thus do I counsel you with justice; follow my counsel and stray not from the Cause which has dawned from the horizon of the Spirit. O people! Would you slay a man for saying ʿMy Lord is God,’ when he has brought you signs that confound the minds of all creation? Have mercy on yourselves and follow not your desires. You shall depart from this transient world and appear before the presence of the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. You shall be questioned concerning what you did on earth and be recompensed for all that you wrought in the false dominion. This is what hath been irrevocably decreed in the mighty tablets.”

Thus was His decree established in the Tablets with invincible might. Messages and missives were repeatedly exchanged between them until they set forth God’s Book amongst themselves, swore by it, sealed it and dispatched it to the Beauty of Glory, the Vahid. Thus did they seek to practice deception in God’s Cause, making promises with their tongues that were absent from their hearts. The hatred in their breasts was like a fire concealed behind veils of deceit. They beseeched Vahid to honor their places and gatherings with his presence, emphatically renewing their covenant and pledge, while they lay sleeping upon the couch of self and passion.

When God’s Book came before Vahid, he arose and proclaimed to those around him:

“O people! The promised time has come and destiny’s decrees have been fulfilled in truth. I shall go to them that what lies ordained for me behind the pavilion of destiny may be made manifest.”

Thus did he ever place his trust in his Lord. Vahid entered among the hosts of tyranny and the armies of Satan with but a few souls. They arose to welcome him, giving him precedence over themselves in walking and sitting, and he remained among them for numbered days. Through him they wrote to the people of the village to disperse, assuring them they would not be harmed, until they had scattered them. Then the forces of unbelief entered their quarter and practiced a mighty deception against them.

When their hearts and souls were at ease, they broke their covenant, violated their pledge, transgressed God’s decree among them, and breached the Book’s covenant through their passions. Thus were their names inscribed as accursed in the Tablets by God’s Pen. They seized Vahid, violated his sanctity, stripped his body, and perpetrated such acts as caused the eyes of the denizens of Paradise to shed crimson tears. God’s curse be upon those who wronged him and those who continue to commit injustice in these days when the Sun is veiled behind sacred clouds. Not content with what they had done, they slew the villagers over successive years, took their women captive, plundered their possessions, and showed no fear of God Who created and nurtured them. They vied with one another in oppression and in what Satan cast into their hearts, while God witnessed their deeds.

They raised heads upon spears and lances and entered the land which God had honored above all other regions of earth, wherein the All-Merciful was established upon the throne of a magnificent Name. When they arrived in the city, people gathered around them—some reviling them with their tongues, others stoning them with their hands—while the dwellers of the heavens bit their fingers in astonishment at what these unbelievers had done to these radiant and luminous countenances. They brought them into the city, and God knows what befell them after their entry, for He keeps account of all things in a noble and precious Book.

Section 4: “O Divine Beauty! This is not the first…”

O Divine Beauty! This is not the first time that the idolaters have acted thus on earth. They slew Husayn and his companions, then took his family captive, and now they weep and lament for him morning and evening. Say: O concourse of brutes! Have ye not inferred the truth of Husayn and his companions from how they sacrificed themselves and gave up their possessions, and ye were mindful of this? How then do ye brand these martyrs with unbelief after they gave up their wealth and their women in the path of God and strove therein until they were slain in diverse ways such as no ear hath heard and no eye of creation hath collectively witnessed? And when it is said unto them, “Why did ye slay those who believed in God and His signs?” they say, “We found them to be unbelievers in the land.”

Say: By God! Thus did these same words issue from your mouths aforetime against the Prophets and Messengers until ye slew them with the sharpened swords of hatred, and God doth encompass all things. Woe unto you for having denied God’s Messengers and risen up to wage war against them until ye shed their blood without right, as attesteth what hath been inscribed upon the Tablets, preserved and hidden. Say: Hath not God established in His Book that which distinguisheth between the truthful and the liar through His true word “Then wish for death, if ye speak truth”? Why then did ye deny those whose truthfulness God hath attested in His Book, which no falsehood can approach and which was sent down from the Tablet?

Ye perceived it not, cast God’s Book behind your backs, and slew those who wished for death in God’s path—to this your eyes, your tongues and your hearts bear witness, and beyond all this God is the Witness. Shame upon you for having shed the blood of those the like of whom the eyes of creation have never seen, and for having denied them after their truthfulness was confirmed by the explicit text of the Book, and for having followed those who would not consent to the diminution of even an atom of their prestige in God’s path, and whose only concern in this world is to consume the wealth of the people and to occupy the highest seats in assemblies, thereby priding themselves above all who dwell on earth.

By God! It behooveth you to take these transgressors as your lords instead of God and to follow them until ye enter with them into the fire that was created for the idolaters. Say: By God! If ye were to become aware for less than a moment, ye would destroy your books which ye have written without God’s leave, strike your heads, flee from your homes and dwell in the mountains, eating naught but fetid black mud.

Say: The souls of those who were martyred upon the earth have taken flight, and now they soar in the atmosphere of nearness and circle round the mighty throne. At every moment the angels of grace descend upon them and give them tidings of a station of praiseworthy glory. Each day God reveals Himself to them with such splendor that were it to appear to the dwellers of earth and heaven, they would fall down unconscious. Say: O assemblage of the wretched! Rejoice not in your deeds, for soon shall you return to God and be gathered before His glory on the Day when the pillars of all creation shall quake. God will then call you to account in His justice for what you have wrought against His loved ones in the days of falsehood. Not a single deed of yours shall be overlooked but shall be laid bare before you. You shall be rewarded according to your works, for nothing escapes God’s knowledge and He encompasses all things.

The wrongdoers in the nethermost depths of the fire shall say: “Would that we had not taken these divines as our friends!” O people of the village! Remember God’s favor upon you when you were on the brink of the abyss of unbelief, and He saved you through His grace and guided you to the court of His unique Name. When you were enemies, He united your hearts, brought you together in truth, exalted your name, and sent down verses unto you from a tongue of beloved glory. Remember too when We passed by you with hosts of angels and opened unto you the gates of Paradise. You were gathered when passing by the fortress, but Satan whispered to some among you and cast terror into your hearts. Then We found some of you disturbed and shaken, but We pardoned those who were troubled, as a mercy from Us upon you and upon all who dwell on earth.

Say: Those who have disbelieved among the people of the village are the most evil of men, just as you are the best of servants. Thus have We recorded the matter in a Tablet sealed with the seal of glory. Those who did not present themselves before Vahid, who warred against him and disputed with him falsely—these are cursed in this world and the next, and the word of punishment from One mighty and wise is decreed against them.

O loved ones of God from that village! Hold fast to the cord of God, then thank Him for having chosen you in truth. You have become, through God’s mercy, steadfast upon the paths of holiness. O trees of the village! Prostrate yourselves before God your Creator, for the breezes of spring in a season of unique glory have wafted over you. O earth of that village! Thank your Lord, for God has transformed you on the Day of Resurrection and the lights of the Spirit have shone upon you from a horizon of glorious light. O air of the village! Remember God, Who has purified you from the dust of self and passion, raised you up in truth and caused you to be presented before Him.

Blessed art thou, O Yahya, for having fulfilled thy covenant on the day when the heavens and earth were created. Thou didst take the Book of God with the power of thy faith and wert drawn by the melodies of His days to the sanctuary of Beauty. Then did the Concourse on High give thee glad tidings of what was recorded in a Tablet to which clung the spirits of the Books and beyond them the Mother Book, which was preserved in the fortress of infallibility. Thus doth God reward His servants who have believed in Him and His verses, and He seizes those who have wronged on earth. Verily, the curse of God be upon all wrongdoers.

O Delight of Eternity! Change thy melody and chant with the notes of the warbling doves from behind the pavilions of names in the heaven of attributes, that perchance the birds of the Throne may detach themselves from the dust of their own selves and wing their flight to their true habitation in that station which is sanctified above all sanctification. O Essence of Truth! Sing and trill with the sweetest of melodies, for the maidens of Paradise have emerged from their chambers and from the pavilions of God’s protection to hearken unto thy song which was chanted concerning the tales of truth in the Qayyumu’l-Asma’. Deprive them not of what they seek from the wonders of thy bounty, for verily thou art the Generous One in the precincts of eternity and the Lord of great bounty in the heaven of the unseen, and thy name hath been known for bounty in the Supreme Concourse.

O Beauty of Holiness! The idolaters will not allow this melody to issue forth from this soul, and when the voice seeketh to emerge from my mouth, they place upon it the hands of hatred. Yet Thou, despite Thy knowledge of this, commandest me to raise the call in the atmosphere of this heaven. Verily Thou art the Doer of what Thou willest, the Judge of justice, doing what Thou pleasest and remaining wise over all things. And shouldst Thou hear Thy servant’s call and fulfill his need through Thy grace, then excuse them with the most gracious words and gentlest utterance, that they may return to their pavilions and their seats in the chambers of crimson ruby. Thou knowest that I am tried amongst the idolaters of both parties, and Thou art the Ruler of both causes, the Observer of both judgments, the One manifest in both garments, the One dawning with both suns, the One mentioned by both names, the Lord of both Easts, the Commander of both mysteries in both lines, and God is, beyond what I say, All-Knowing.

Thou knowest that I fear not for myself, for I have sacrificed my soul and spirit on the day when Thou didst honor me with Thy presence, taught me the wonders of Thy beauty, and inspired me with the gems of Thy verses, gathered upon all who have entered beneath the shadow of Thy Cause. Rather, I fear lest the pillars of the Cause be scattered by the Most Great Word, even as these deluded ones scattered them on the day when Thou didst establish Thyself upon the thrones of existence through Thy mercy which encompasseth all in the worlds collectively. Thus have We detailed this matter in detail on the day which was then sent down from the heaven of the Spirit.

O Blood-Drenched Robe! Pay no heed to the signs, then burn the veils, then appear adorned with the ornament of God between earth and heaven, then sing with the hidden and treasured melodies within thy spirit in these days wherein there hath befallen the Manifestation of God’s Self what no eyes of creation have ever witnessed. O Beauty of Holiness! The command is in Thy hands, and I am but Thy humble servant, abased before Thee and ruled by Thy command. When Thou commandest me to make mention in remembrance of God, the Most Great, and God’s Greatest Treasure, it behooveth Thee to command the angels of Paradise to guard the pillars of the Throne, then the angels on high to preserve the pavilions of grandeur, lest the veil of the Divine Realm be rent asunder by this Call which hath been concealed in the breast of glory.

O Glory of the Spirit! Veil not Thyself with these veils, but appear through God’s power, then break the seal from the vessels of the Spirit which have been sealed from all eternity with the seal of preservation, that the fragrant breezes may waft from this Ancient Vessel upon all created things, perchance all existence may be quickened by the breath of the All-Merciful and arise to promote the Cause on the Day whereon the Spirit shall be witnessed from the direction of dawn.

Say: This Tablet commandeth you to patience in this greatest terror and ordaineth steadfastness for you in this most mighty anguish, at the time when the Dove of Hijaz shall wing its flight from the precincts of Iraq, and the breezes of separation shall blow upon all contingent things, and the crimson hue shall appear in the face of heaven, and thus was the matter decreed in the Mother Book. Say: The Bird of Immortality hath taken flight from the horizon of the invisible realm and seeketh the heaven of the spirit in the holy Sinai, that the decrees of destiny might be reflected in the mirror of divine determination, and this is one of the hidden mysteries. Say: The Bird of Glory hath flown from one branch and seeketh the holy Branch that was planted in the land of exile.

Say: The breeze of divine unity hath wafted from the City of Peace and seeketh to blow upon the City of Separation that was mentioned in the scrolls of the Command. Say: O concourse of the heavens and earth! Cast ye ashes upon your faces and heads, for Beauty hath vanished from the cities of nearness and seeketh to rise from the horizon of a distant heaven. All this hath been ordained in truth, and we thank God for this and for what He hath sent down upon us of tribulation after tribulation, and hath rained down upon us from the clouds of destiny showers of recognized sorrow.

O Essence of Grief! End thy words in this remembrance, for by it We have grieved and the dwellers of the Supreme Concourse have grieved. Then make mention of Abdu’llah who asked about a message that was in truth momentous. Say: By God, the Truth! The Message hath been fulfilled in the Beauty of Ali, made manifest. Then the servants differed concerning it, and the divines of the age objected to it—they who were veiled by the veils of self. And ye have recognized the Beauty of God in the vesture of ʿAli, the Self-Subsisting, and soon will all who are in the heavens and earth recognize Him. This hath been inscribed in truth and was decreed by God as inevitable. And ye shall learn of a message at a time which must surely come.

But, O people of the Bayan! Strive within yourselves lest ye differ regarding the Cause of God. Be steadfast in the Cause like unto a mountain firmly fixed in truth, that neither the whisperings of Satan may cause you to slip, nor anything on earth make you waver. This is what the Dove of the Cause counseleth you at the time of parting from the land of Iraq, through that which the hands of the ungodly have wrought.

Know then, O company of the chosen ones, that when the Sun setteth, the birds of night move about in darkness. Therefore, turn not unto them, but set your faces toward a holy and beloved direction. Beware lest ye follow the Samiri within yourselves, nor pursue the calf when it appeareth among you. This is the best counsel from Me unto you and unto all creation collectively.

Ye shall hear the call of the Samiri after Me, and he shall summon you unto Satan. Turn not then unto him, but turn unto a Beauty mighty yet concealed. Thus do We address all who are in the heavens and on earth in this City, that all things may receive what hath been ordained for them by One All-Wise, All-Knowing.

And thou, O Time, be not heedless of this moment which hath come in truth, wherein the breath of God wafteth from a holy western direction. And thou, O Hour, rejoice in this Hour which hath arisen in truth. Then recognize in this eternal, enduring, celestial Table that which hath descended from the cloud of holiness and the shadows of light from the heaven of glory in the name of God.

O Day! Illumine all created things with this Divine, radiant, resplendent Day which hath appeared from the horizon of Iraq unto all regions and been witnessed. Thus do We expound unto you the verses and cast upon you the words of the Spirit, and bestow upon all things that which hath been decreed in a mighty Book inscribed, that all things may know the Fountainhead of Oneness in this Ridvan which hath in truth been outpoured. And the Spirit be upon you and upon those who have circled round the Cause and who have walked in the path of love.