babe yearneth for its mother's breast, nay more ardent is his longing,
could ye but know it! Again, his longing is even as the panting of one
sore athirst after the living waters of grace, or the yearning of the
sinner for forgiveness and mercy. Thus do We expound unto you the
mysteries of the Cause, and impart unto you what shall render you
independent of all that hath so far occupied you, that perchance ye may
enter the Court of Holiness within this exalted Paradise. I swear by God!
Whoso entereth therein shall never abandon its precincts, and whoso gazeth
thereon shall never turn away therefrom, even should the swords of
infidels and deniers rain blows upon him. Thus have We related unto you
that which befell Husayn, and We beseech God that He may destine for Us
that which He had decreed for him. He, verily, is the Most Generous, the
All-Bountiful.
52 By the righteousness of God! Through his deed the fragrances of
holiness were wafted over all things, the proof of God was perfected, and
His testimony made manifest to all men. And after him God raised up a
people who avenged his death, who slew his enemies, and who wept over him
at dawn and at eventide. Say: God hath pledged in His Book to lay hold
upon every oppressor for his tyranny, and to uproot the stirrers of
mischief. Know ye that such holy deeds exert, in themselves, a great
influence upon the world of being--an influence which is, however,
inscrutable to all save those whose eyes have been opened by God, whose
hearts He hath freed from obscuring veils, and whose souls He hath guided
aright.
53 The day is approaching when God will have raised up a people who will
call to remembrance Our days, who will tell the tale of Our trials, who
will demand the restitution of Our rights from them that, without a tittle
of evidence, have treated Us with manifest injustice. God, assuredly,
dominateth the lives of them that wronged Us, and is well aware of their
doings. He will, most certainly, lay hold on them for their sins. He,
verily, is the fiercest of avengers.
54 Thus have We recounted unto you the tales of the one true God, and sent
down unto you the things He had preordained, that haply ye may ask
forgiveness of Him, may return unto Him, may truly repent, may realize
your misdeeds, may shake off your slumber, may be roused from your
heedlessness, may atone for the things that have escaped you, and be of
them that do good. Let him who will, acknowledge the truth of My words;
and as to him that willeth not, let him turn aside. My sole duty is to
remind you of your failure in duty towards the Cause of God, if perchance
ye may be of them that heed My warning. Wherefore, hearken ye unto My
speech, and return ye to God and repent, that He, through His grace, may
have mercy upon you, may wash away your sins, and forgive your trespasses.
The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His wrath, and His grace
encompasseth all who have been called into being and been clothed with the
robe of life, be they of the past or of the future.
55 O concourse of Ministers of State! Do ye believe in your hearts that We
have come to divest you of your earthly possessions and vanities? Nay, by
the One in Whose hand is My soul! Our intention hath been to make clear
that We oppose not the commands of the sovereign, nor are We to be
numbered with the rebellious. Know ye of a certainty that all the
treasures of the earth, all the gold, the silver, and the rare and
precious gems they contain, are, in the sight of God, of His chosen ones
and His loved ones, as worthless as a handful of clay. For erelong all
that is on earth shall perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God, the
All-Powerful, the Incomparable. That which perisheth can never profit Us,
nor can it profit you, were ye but to reflect.
56 By the righteousness of God! I speak not falsely, and utter naught save
that which God hath bidden Me. To this bear witness the very words of this
Tablet, if ye but reflect upon its contents. Follow not the promptings of
your own desires, nor the whisperings of the Evil One in your souls.
Follow rather the Cause of God, both in your outward and your inner lives,
and be not of the heedless. Better is this for you than all that ye have
laid up in your houses, and all that ye have sought by day and night.
57 The world will pass away, and so will all the things whereat your
hearts rejoice, or wherein ye pride yourselves before men. Cleanse the
mirrors of your hearts from the dross of the world and all that is
therein, that they may reflect the resplendent light of God. This, indeed,
shall enable you to dispense with all save God, and to attain unto the
good pleasure of your Lord, the Most Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise. We, verily, have unfolded before your eyes that which shall
profit you both in this world and in the realm of faith, and which will
lead you to the path of salvation. Would that ye might turn thereunto!
58 Hearken, O King,(94) to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth, Him
that doth not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath chosen
to bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the straight Path. He it
is Who summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth thee the right
course, the way that leadeth to true felicity, that haply thou mayest be
of them with whom it shall be well.
59 Beware, O King, that thou gather not around thee such ministers as
follow the desires of a corrupt inclination, as have cast behind their
backs that which hath been committed into their hands and manifestly
betrayed their trust. Be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to
thee, and abandon not the interests of thy people to the mercy of such
ministers as these. Lay not aside the fear of God, and be thou of them
that act uprightly. Gather around thee those ministers from whom thou
canst perceive the fragrance of faith and of justice, and take thou
counsel with them, and choose whatever is best in thy sight, and be of
them that act generously.
60 Know thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in God is neither
trustworthy nor truthful. This, indeed, is the truth, the undoubted truth.
He that acteth treacherously towards God will, also, act treacherously
towards his king. Nothing whatever can deter such a man from evil, nothing
can hinder him from betraying his neighbour, nothing can induce him to
walk uprightly.
61 Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of thy state
into the hands of others, and repose not thy confidence in ministers
unworthy of thy trust, and be not of them that live in heedlessness. Shun
them whose hearts are turned away from thee, and place not thy confidence
in them, and entrust them not with thine affairs and the affairs of such
as profess thy faith. Beware that thou allow not the wolf to become the
shepherd of God's flock, and surrender not the fate of His loved ones to
the mercy of the malicious. Expect not that they who violate the
ordinances of God will be trustworthy or sincere in the faith they
profess. Avoid them, and preserve strict guard over thyself, lest their
devices and mischief hurt thee. Turn away from them, and fix thy gaze upon
God, thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful. He that giveth up
himself wholly to God, God shall, assuredly, be with him; and he that
placeth his complete trust in God, God shall, verily, protect him from
whatsoever may harm him, and shield him from the wickedness of every evil
plotter.
62 Wert thou to incline thine ear unto My speech and observe My counsel,
God would exalt thee to so eminent a position that the designs of no man
on the whole earth can ever touch or hurt thee. Observe, O King, with
thine inmost heart and with thy whole being, the precepts of God, and walk
not in the paths of the oppressor. Seize thou, and hold firmly within the
grasp of thy might, the reins of the affairs of thy people, and examine in
person whatever pertaineth unto them. Let nothing escape thee, for therein
lieth the highest good.
63 Render thanks unto God for having chosen thee out of the whole world,
and made thee king over them that profess thy faith. It well beseemeth
thee to appreciate the wondrous favours with which God hath favoured thee,
and to magnify continually His name. Thou canst best praise Him if thou
lovest His loved ones, and dost safeguard and protect His servants from
the mischief of the treacherous, that none may any longer oppress them.
Thou shouldst, moreover, arise to enforce the law of God amongst them,
that thou mayest be of those who are firmly established in His law.
64 Shouldst thou cause rivers of justice to spread their waters amongst
thy subjects, God would surely aid thee with the hosts of the unseen and
of the seen, and would strengthen thee in thine affairs. No God is there
but Him. All creation and its empire are His. Unto Him return the works of
the faithful.
65 Place not thy reliance on thy treasures. Put thy whole confidence in
the grace of God, thy Lord. Let Him be thy trust in whatever thou doest,
and be of them that have submitted themselves to His Will. Let Him be thy
helper and enrich thyself with His treasures, for with Him are the
treasuries of the heavens and of the earth. He bestoweth them upon whom He
will, and from whom He will He withholdeth them. There is none other God
but Him, the All-Possessing, the All-Praised. All are but paupers at the
door of His mercy; all are helpless before the revelation of His
sovereignty, and beseech His favours.
66 Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal justly with them that
serve thee. Bestow upon them according to their needs, and not to the
extent that will enable them to lay up riches for themselves, to deck
their persons, to embellish their homes, to acquire the things that are of
no benefit unto them, and to be numbered with the extravagant. Deal with
them with undeviating justice, so that none among them may either suffer
want, or be pampered with luxuries. This is but manifest justice.
67 Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them who are noble and
worthy of honour, and suffer not the high-minded to be at the mercy of the
contemptible and worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our arrival
in the City, and to it We bear witness. We found among its inhabitants
some who were possessed of an affluent fortune and lived in the midst of
excessive riches, while others were in dire want and abject poverty. This
ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy rank.
68 Let My counsel be acceptable to thee, and strive thou to rule with
equity among men, that God may exalt thy name and spread abroad the fame
of thy justice in all the world. Beware lest thou aggrandize thy ministers
at the expense of thy subjects. Fear the sighs of the poor and of the
upright in heart who, at every break of day, bewail their plight, and be
unto them a benignant sovereign. They, verily, are thy treasures on earth.
It behoveth thee, therefore, to safeguard thy treasures from the assaults
of them who wish to rob thee. Inquire into their affairs, and ascertain,
every year, nay every month, their condition, and be not of them that are
careless of their duty.
69 Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one standing in
His Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every moment
of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a
reckoning, on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear of
God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to
tremble.
70 It behoveth every king to be as bountiful as the sun, which fostereth
the growth of all beings, and giveth to each its due, whose benefits are
not inherent in itself, but are ordained by Him Who is the Most Powerful,
the Almighty. The King should be as generous, as liberal in his mercy as
the clouds, the outpourings of whose bounty are showered upon every land,
by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing.
71 Have a care not to entrust thine affairs of state entirely into
another's hands. None can discharge thy functions better than thine own
self. Thus do We make clear unto thee Our words of wisdom, and send down
upon thee that which can enable thee to pass over from the left hand of
oppression to the right hand of justice, and approach the resplendent
ocean of His favours. Such is the path which the kings that were before
thee have trodden, they that acted equitably towards their subjects, and
walked in the ways of undeviating justice.
72 Thou art God's shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act in such a
manner as befitteth so eminent, so august a station. If thou dost depart
from following the things We have caused to descend upon thee and taught
thee, thou wilt, assuredly, be derogating from that great and priceless
honour. Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse thine heart
from the world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love of any
stranger to enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify thine
heart from every trace of such love can the brightness of the light of God
shed its radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than one heart.
This, verily, hath been decreed and written down in His ancient Book. And
as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth
thee to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave
thou, therefore, with the whole affection of thine heart, unto His love,
and withdraw it from the love of anyone besides Him, that He may aid thee
to immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a
true upholder of His oneness. God is My witness. My sole purpose in
revealing to thee these words is to sanctify thee from the transitory
things of the earth, and aid thee to enter the realm of everlasting glory,
that thou mayest, by the leave of God, be of them that abide and rule
therein.
73 Hast thou heard, O King, what We have suffered at the hands of thy
ministers and how We have been treated by them, or art thou of the
negligent? If indeed thou hast heard and known, wherefore didst thou not
forbid thy ministers to commit such deeds? How didst thou desire for Him
Who hath complied with thy command, and been obedient to thy behest, that
which no king would desire for any of his subjects? And if thou knowest
not, this indeed is a more grievous error, wert thou of the God-fearing.
Wherefore shall I recount to thee that which We have suffered at the hands
of these oppressors.
74 Know, then, that We came unto thy city at thine own behest, and entered
therein with conspicuous honour. They expelled Us, however, from thy city
with an abasement with which no abasement on earth can compare, if thou be
of them that are well-informed. They made Us journey until We reached the
place(95) which none entereth except such as have rebelled against the
authority of the sovereign, and as are numbered with the transgressors.
All this, notwithstanding that We had never disobeyed thee, though it be
for a single moment, for when We heard thy bidding We observed it and
submitted to thy will. In dealing with Us, however, thy ministers neither
honoured the standards of God and His commandments, nor heeded that which
hath been revealed to the Prophets and Messengers. They showed Us no mercy
and committed against Us that which no one among the faithful hath ever
wrought against his fellow, nor any believer inflicted upon an infidel.
God knoweth and is a witness unto the truth of Our words.
75 When they expelled Us from thy city, they placed Us in such conveyances
as the people use to carry baggage and the like. Such was the treatment We
received at their hands, shouldst thou wish to know the truth. Thus were
We sent away, and thus were We brought to the city which they regard as
the abode of rebels. Upon our arrival, We could find no house in which to
dwell, and perforce resided in a place where none would enter save the
most indigent stranger. There We lodged for a time, after which, suffering
increasingly from the confined space, We sought and rented houses which by
reason of the extreme cold had been vacated by their occupants. Thus in
the depth of winter we were constrained to make our abode in houses
wherein none dwell except in the heat of summer. Neither My family, nor
those who accompanied Me, had the necessary raiment to protect them from
the cold in that freezing weather.
76 Would that thy ministers had dealt with Us according to the principles
they uphold amongst themselves! For, by God, they dealt with Us neither in
accordance with the commandments of God, nor with the practices they
uphold, nor with the standards current amongst men, nor even with the
manner in which the destitute of the earth receive a wayfarer. Such is the
account of what We suffered at their hands, and which We have related unto
thee in a language of truthfulness and sincerity.
77 All this befell Me, though I had come unto them at their own behest and
did not oppose their authority, which deriveth from thine own. Thus did We
accept and observe their bidding. They, however, appear to have forgotten
that which God hath commanded. He saith, and His Word is the truth: "Act
with humility towards the believers."(96) Methinks that their only concern
was their own comfort and repose, and that their ears were deaf to the
sighs of the poor and the cries of the oppressed. They seem to imagine
that they have been created from pure light, while others have been
fashioned out of dust. How wretched are their imaginings! We have all been
created from a sorry germ.(97)
78 I swear by God, O King! It is not My wish to make My plaint to thee
against them that persecute Me. I only plead My grief and My sorrow to
God, Who hath created Me and them, Who well knoweth our state and Who
watcheth over all things. My wish is to warn them of the consequences of
their actions, if perchance they might desist from treating others as they
have treated Me, and be of them that heed My warning.
79 The tribulations that have touched Us, the destitution from which We
suffer, the various troubles with which We are encompassed, shall all pass
away, as shall pass away the pleasures in which they delight and the
affluence they enjoy. This is the truth which no man on earth can reject.
The days in which We have been compelled to dwell in the dust will soon be
ended, as will the days in which they occupied the seats of honour. God
shall, assuredly, judge with truth between Us and them, and He, verily, is
the best of judges.
80 We render thanks unto God for whatsoever hath befallen Us, and We
patiently endure the things He hath ordained in the past or will ordain in
the future. In Him have I placed My trust; and into His hands have I
committed My Cause. He will, certainly, repay all them that endure with
patience and put their confidence in Him. His is the creation and its
empire. He exalteth whom He will, and whom He will He doth abase. He shall
not be asked of His doings. He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the Almighty.
81 Let thine ear be attentive, O King, to the words We have addressed to
thee. Let the oppressor desist from his tyranny, and cut off the
perpetrators of injustice from among them that profess thy faith. By the
righteousness of God! The tribulations We have sustained are such that any
pen that recounteth them cannot but be overwhelmed with anguish. No one of
them that truly believe and uphold the unity of God can bear the burden of
their recital. So great have been Our sufferings that even the eyes of Our
enemies have wept over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning
person. And to all these trials have We been subjected, in spite of Our
action in approaching thee, and in bidding the people to enter beneath thy
shadow, that thou mightest be a stronghold unto them that believe in and
uphold the unity of God.
82 Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time, transgressed
any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represented thee in 'Iraq
produce any proof that can establish My disloyalty to thee? Nay, by Him
Who is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We rebel
against thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never, God willing, shall
We revolt against thee, though We be exposed to trials more severe than
any We suffered in the past.
83 In the daytime and in the night season, at even and at morn, We pray to
God on thy behalf, that He may graciously aid thee to be obedient unto Him
and to observe His commandment, that He may shield thee from the hosts of
the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth thee, and treat Us as
befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy sovereignty. Be not forgetful of
the law of God in whatever thou desirest to achieve, now or in the days to
come. Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!
84 Dost thou imagine, O Minister of the Shah in the City, that I hold
within My grasp the ultimate destiny of the Cause of God? Thinkest thou
that My imprisonment, or the shame I have been made to suffer, or even My
death and utter annihilation, can deflect its course? Wretched is what
thou hast imagined in thine heart! Thou art indeed of them that walk after
the vain imaginings which their hearts devise. No God is there but Him.
Powerful is He to manifest His Cause, and to exalt His testimony, and to
establish whatsoever is His Will, and to elevate it to so eminent a
position that neither thine own hands, nor the hands of them that have
turned away from Him, can ever touch or harm it.
85 Dost thou believe thou hast the power to frustrate His Will, to hinder
Him from executing His judgement, or to deter Him from exercising His
sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the heavens or in the earth can
resist His Faith? Nay, by Him Who is the Eternal Truth! Nothing whatsoever
in the whole of creation can thwart His Purpose. Cast away, therefore, the
mere conceit thou dost follow, for mere conceit can never take the place
of truth. Be thou of them that have truly repented and returned to God,
the God Who hath created thee, Who hath nourished thee, and made thee a
minister among them that profess thy faith.
86 Know thou, moreover, that He it is Who hath, by His own behest, created
all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. How can, then,
the thing that hath been created at His bidding prevail against Him? High
is God exalted above what ye imagine about Him, ye people of malice! If
this Cause be of God, no man can prevail against it; and if it be not of
God, the divines amongst you, and they that follow their corrupt desires
and such as have rebelled against Him will surely suffice to overpower it.
87 Hast thou not heard what a man of the family of Pharaoh, a believer,
hath said of old, and which God recounted unto His Apostle, Whom He hath
chosen above all human beings, and entrusted with His Message, and made
the source of His mercy unto all them that dwell on earth? He said, and
He, verily, speaketh the truth: "Will ye slay a man because he saith my
Lord is God, when he hath already come to you with proofs of his mission?
And if he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth,
part at least of what he threateneth will fall upon you."(98) This is what
God hath revealed unto His Well-Beloved One, in His unerring Book.
88 And yet, ye have failed to incline your ears unto His bidding, have
disregarded His law, have rejected His counsel as recorded in His Book,
and have been of them that have strayed far from Him. How many those who,
every year, and every month, have because of you been put to death! How
manifold the injustices ye have perpetrated--injustices the like of which
the eye of creation hath not seen, which no chronicler hath ever recorded!
How numerous the babes and sucklings who were made orphans, and the
fathers who lost their sons, because of your cruelty, O ye unjust doers!
How oft hath a sister pined away and mourned over her brother, and how oft
hath a wife lamented after her husband and sole sustainer!