Kitab-i-Sultan

1 O King of the Earth, hear the call of this servant, I am a servant who believed in Allah and His signs and sacrificed myself for His cause. I bear witness to what I am in the midst of the trials which no one of the servants has borne, and my Lord, the All-Knowing, is a witness to what I say. I have not called people except to Allah, your Lord and the Lord of the Worlds, and I have received in His love what no eye of creation has seen its likeness. The servants support me in this, who were not prevented by human trappings from turning to the greatest scene, and from them is one who has knowledge of everything in the preserved tablet. Whenever the clouds of destiny rain down arrows of trials in the cause of Allah, the Master of the Names, I turn to them, and every just expert bears witness to this. How many nights have passed in which the beasts have rested in their churches and the birds in their nests, and the youth have been in chains and shackles, and did not find for themselves a supporter or helper? Remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were in prison with a few souls, and He brought you out of it and helped you with invisible and visible soldiers until the Sultan sent you to Iraq after We revealed to him that you were not of the corrupt ones. Indeed, those who follow their desires and turn away from righteousness are in clear error. And those who cause corruption in the earth, shed blood, and consume people’s wealth unlawfully, we are innocent of them and ask Allah not to gather us with them, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter, unless they repent to Him. Indeed, He is the Most Merciful of the merciful. Indeed, the one who turns to Allah should be distinguished in all his deeds from anything other than Him and should follow what He has commanded in the Book. Thus, the matter has been decreed in a clear Book. And those who cast the command of Allah behind their backs and followed their desires are in a great error.

2 O Sultan, I swear by your Lord, the Most Merciful, that you should look upon your servants with the glances of your compassionate eyes and judge between them with justice, so that God may grant you favor. Indeed, your Lord is the supreme judge over what He wills. The world will come to an end, along with all its honor and humiliation, and the everlasting kingdom belongs to God, the Sovereign, the Most High, the All-Knowing. Say, “He has ignited the lamp of eloquence and extends it with the oil of meaning and clarification. Exalted is your Lord, the Most Merciful, who establishes the creation of the worlds with His command. He reveals what He wills with His authority and protects it with troops of near-angels. He is the Dominant above His creation and the Victor over His creatures. Indeed, He is the All-Knowing, the Wise.”

3 O Sultan, indeed I was like one of the servants and I was sleeping on the bed when the breeze of the Sublime passed over me and taught me a knowledge that was not mine, but rather from the presence of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. And He commanded me to call out between the earth and the sky with that, and in response to me, the eyes of the knowledgeable ones were filled with tears. I have not read what the people possess in terms of sciences, nor have I entered the schools. So ask the city in which I lived so that you may be certain that I am not one of the liars. This paper was moved by the winds of the will of your Almighty, Praiseworthy Lord. Does it have a place in the face of stormy winds? No, and the Owner of the Names and Attributes does not move it, but rather moves it as He wishes. Not for nothing has existence existed from time immemorial. His confirmed command has come, and He has commanded me to mention Him among the worlds. Indeed, I was only like the dead, inadvertently at His command. Your Lord’s willful hand turned me, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Can anyone speak on his own behalf with what the servants confront him, from every lowly and noble person? No, by the One who taught the pen the secrets of eternity, except for the one who is supported from the presence of a Powerful, Capable One. The highest pen speaks to me and says, “Do not be afraid, relate to the presence of the Sultan what happened to you. Indeed, his heart is in the fingers of your Lord, the Most Gracious. Perhaps the sun of justice and kindness will rise from the horizon of his heart. Thus, the decision was from the Wise, the Inevitable.”

4 Say, O Sultan, look with the eye of justice upon the youth, and then judge him with the truth on what has been brought against him. Verily, God has made you His shadow among His servants and a sign of His power to those in the land. Judge between us and those who have wronged us without clear proof nor a shining book. Those around you love you for themselves, but the youth loves you for your own sake. He desires nothing but to draw you closer to the seat of grace and to direct you toward the right path of justice. And your Lord is a witness to what I say.

5 O Sultan, if you hear the sound of the highest pen and the roar of the everlasting paper on the branches of the Sidra of the End, in the remembrance of Allah, the Giver of Names and the Creator of earth and heaven, it would elevate you to a position where you see nothing in existence except the manifestation of the presence of the Worshipped One, and you see the kingdom as the most insignificant thing you have that you put it for whoever wants it and you turn towards a horizon that was illuminated by the lights of the face, and you never carry the weight of the kingdom except for the victory of your Lord, the Most High, the Highest, when the highest assembly blesses you. How wonderful this noble position is if you rise to it with a sovereignty that is known in the name of Allah by the people. From those who say that the boy did not want anything except to keep his name and among them those who say that he wanted the world for himself after I did not find in my days a secure residence to the extent that I put my foot on it, I was always in the depths of disasters that no one knew about except Allah, He has indeed been aware of what I say. How many days my loved ones suffered because of my harm and how many nights the weeping of wailing from my family escalated out of fear for me, and no one denies that except those who are deprived of truthfulness, and the one who does not see life for himself in less than that an iota, does he desire the world? O wonder from those who speak with their whims and dive into the innocence of the self and passion, they will be asked about what they said on that Day, they will not find for themselves a close friend or a helper. And among them those who said that he disbelieved in Allah after my limbs testified that there is no god but Him and those who sent them with the truth and sent them with guidance, those are the manifestations of His beautiful names and the sightings of his high attributes and the stations of his revelation in the realm of creation, and by them the proof of Allah is perfected over what is other than Him and the banner of monotheism is erected and the sign of abstraction appears and by them every soul takes a path to the Owner of the Throne. We bear witness that there is no god but He, there has never been and there has never been anything with Him, and He will continue to be as He has been. The Most Merciful is exalted that the secrets of the hearts of the people of knowledge can ascend to the grasp of His essence or that the perception of those in the universe can rise to the knowledge of His essence, He is the Holy One, unknown to any other than Him and exalted from the perception of what is other than Him, He has always been in the eternal past self-sufficient from the worlds. And remember the days when the sun of Bahá shone forth from the horizon of the will of your Lord, the Most High, the Highest, the scholars ignored it and the literati objected to it, so that it could appear to what was today hidden in the veil of light and concealed, and the matters were intensified upon Him from all directions until they were scattered around Him by His command. Thus, the matter was witnessed from the heavens of glory. Then remember when one of them entered upon the Negus and recited a chapter from the Quran, he said to those around him, “It has been revealed by the Knowing, the Wise, and whoever believes in Al-Hasani and believes in what Jesus brought, it does not befit him to turn away from what he reads. We bear witness to it as we bear witness to what we have from the books of Allah, the Protector, the Sustainer.”

6 By Allah, O king, if you hear the melodies of the leaves singing on the branches with various tunes by the command of your merciful Lord, you will leave the kingdom behind you and head towards the grand scene that the book of dawn witnessed on its horizon. And you will spend what you have in seeking what is with Allah, then you will find yourself in the heights of dignity, pride, greatness, and independence. So was the command in the mother of the statement written by the pen of the Merciful. There is no good in what you possess today, for tomorrow someone else will possess it. Choose for yourself what Allah has chosen for His pure ones. He will give you a great kingdom in His realm. We ask Allah to support your presence in listening to the word from which the world has been illuminated and to protect you from those who were far from the half of the closeness.

7 Glory be to You, O Allah, O my God, how many heads have been raised on the spear in Your cause and how many chests have faced the arrows for Your satisfaction, and how many hearts have been entangled for the elevation of Your Word and the spread of Your command, and how many eyes have shed tears in Your love. I ask You, O King of kings and the Most Merciful to the subjects, by Your Greatest Name, which You have made the source of Your Beautiful Names and the manifestation of Your Exalted Attributes, to raise the veils that have come between You and Your creation and prevented them from turning towards the horizon of Your inspiration. Then attract them, O my God, with Your Supreme Word from the left of illusion and forgetfulness to the right of certainty and knowledge, so they may know what You have intended for them by Your generosity and grace, and turn to the manifestation of Your command and the source of Your signs. O my God, You are the Generous One, the Possessor of the Great Favor, do not prevent Your servants from the Greatest Sea which You have made to carry the pearls of Your knowledge and wisdom, and do not drive them away from Your door which You have opened for those in Your heavens and Your earth. O Lord, do not leave them to themselves, for they know not and flee from what is better for them than what You have created in Your earth. So look upon them, O my God, with the glances of Your kindness and Your gifts, and save them from the self and lust so that they may draw near to Your highest horizon and find the sweetness of Your remembrance and the delight of the table which You have sent down from the heaven of Your Will and the air of Your Bounty. Your grace has always encompassed the possibilities, and Your mercy has preceded the beings. There is no god but You, the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

8 Glory be to You, oh my God, you know that my heart has melted in Your cause and that my blood boils in every vein due to the fire of Your love. Every drop of my blood proclaims in the language of the state: “Oh my Lord, the Exalted, let me pour forth my blood in Your path so that from it may grow whatever You have intended in Your Tablets and concealed from the eyes of Your servants, except those who have drunk the Kawthar of knowledge from the hands of Your bounty and the Salsabil of recognition from the cup of Your bestowal. You know, oh my God, that in my actions I have intended nothing but Your Cause, and in my remembrance, nothing but Your remembrance, and that my pen has moved only with the intention of Your pleasure and of manifesting that which You have commanded me with Your authority. You see me, oh my God, in confusion on Your earth. If I mention that which You have commanded me, Your creation would oppose me, and if I leave that which You have commanded me, I would deserve Your wrath and be far from the gardens of Your nearness. By Your glory, I have turned to Your pleasure and turned away from what the selves of Your servants desire, and I have accepted what is with You and have left what removes me from Your nearness, the stations of Your glory, and the ascent of Your greatness. By Your love, I am not discouraged by anything, and in Your pleasure, I am not frightened by all the calamities of the earth. This is nothing but by Your power and strength, Your grace and favor, without my being deserving thereof. Oh my God, this is a book that I wish to send to the Sultan, and you know that I have not intended anything from him but the manifestation of his justice to your creation and the emergence of his grace to the people of Your kingdom. I have not intended for myself anything but what You have intended, and by Your power, I desire nothing but what You desire. Your presence is the ultimate aim of my hope, and Your will is the ultimate object of my expectation. So have mercy, oh my God, on this poor one who has clung to the tails of Your riches and on this humble one who calls upon You while knowing that You are the Mighty and the Great. Strengthen, oh my God, the presence of the Sultan to carry out Your limits among Your servants and to manifest Your justice among Your creatures so that he may rule over this group as he rules over those below them. Indeed, you are the Most Powerful, the Mighty, and the Wise.

9 With the permission and authorization of the Sultan of the time, this servant traveled from the capital to Iraq al-Arab and stayed there for twelve years. During that time, the situation was not presented to the Sultan’s court, nor was it reported to foreign authorities. Relying on God, he continued to live in that land until one of the government officials entered Iraq and began to torment a group of poor people. Every day, he and some of the outward scholars targeted this group of servants, despite no visible opposition to the government and the people and no violation of the principles and customs of the inhabitants. This servant, out of fear that the transgressions of the culprits would lead to inadvertent harm to the international reputation of the Sultan’s court, briefly informed Mirza Saeed Khan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, so that the situation could be brought to the attention of the court and comply with whatever order is issued. Time passed and no order was issued, until an incident reached a point where it was feared that corruption would suddenly erupt and innocent blood would be shed. Several people turned to the governor of Iraq, asking for justice in the matter. If he looked fairly at the events, it would become clear that what had happened was for the best and there seemed to be no other way. The Shah himself knows and bears witness that, in every region where a number of this sect were present, hostility, war, and conflict could be ignited by the interference of some rulers; however, this servant, since his arrival in Iraq, has prevented the spread of corruption and conflict. His actions are known to all and testimonies can confirm that the majority of this group in Iraq are from various countries, yet have not transgressed nor harmed anyone for almost fifteen years. All of them have relied on God and have been patient, putting their trust in the truth.

10 And after this servant entered this country called Edirne, some people from Iraq and others asked about the meaning of “nusrat” that has been revealed in the divine books. In response, several answers were sent, one of which is presented in this document, to be clarified in the presence of the audience that this servant has been concerned with nothing but the welfare and reform of the affair. And if some divine favors, which are bestowed upon me without deserving, are not clear and unveiled, it will be understood that it is due to the vast grace and mercy of God He has not deprived the heart of intellectual patterns. The words in the meaning of “nusrat” are as follows:

11 It has been known that the right of Allah is sacred above all else, from the world and what is in it. The purpose of helping is not to fight one soul against another, or to argue with one another. The Sultan does as he pleases, having given the kingdom of creation to the hands of the kings from both land and sea, and they are the manifestations of divine power, according to their ranks. If they enter the shadow of truth, they are counted as true; otherwise, your Lord is the most knowledgeable and aware. What Allah wants for Himself are the hearts of His servants, which are treasures of remembrance and divine love, and the repositories of knowledge and divine wisdom. The eternal desire of the Sultan has always been to purify the hearts of the servants from the temptations of the world and its contents, so that they become capable of receiving the light of the manifestations of the divine names and attributes. Therefore, the stranger should not find his way in the city of hearts, so that the unique friend may come to his place, that is, the manifestation of His names and attributes, not His essence. Help today is not and will not be the objection and argument against anyone, but rather it is beloved to open the cities of hearts, which are in the possession of the soldiers of self and desire, with the sword of explanation, wisdom, and clarification. So, every soul that wants to help should first take possession of the city of his heart with the sword of meanings and explanations, and preserve it from the mention of God, and then turn to the cities of hearts. This is the purpose of helping. Eternal corruption has never been, and is not, the beloved of the truth, and what some of the ignorant have committed in the past has never been pleasing. It is better for you to fight for His pleasure today than to fight today. Lovers of God must appear among their servants in such a way that they guide all to the pleasure of the Almighty through their deeds. By the sun of sanctification, the friends of truth have never been and will never be concerned with the transitory land and possessions. God has always been, and will always be, concerned with the hearts of His servants, and this is a great favor that perhaps those souls, who are caught in the affairs of the earth, will be purified and become united in the remaining places. Otherwise, that true Sultan himself is, and has always been, independent of everything, neither benefiting from the love of the possible, nor suffering from their hatred. All things will appear from the possibility of the earth and will return to Him. God will be alone and unique in His holy residence, free from space, time, remembrance, statement, indication, description, praise, exaltation, and diminution, and no one knows it but He and those who have knowledge of the Book with Him. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Bestower. The end.

12 But the goodness of deeds depends on the royal essence of the king himself, who examines justice and kindness, and does not grant requests to some inferior people without clear reasons and sufficient proof. We ask Allah to support the Sultan in what he intends, and what he intends should be the goal of all people.

13 And after that, they summoned this servant to Istanbul. We entered the city with a group of poor people, and after our arrival, we did not meet anyone at all, as we had no purpose and no aim, except to prove to everyone that this servant had no intention of corruption and never had any dealings with the corrupt. Certainly, by the one who makes everything speak, it was difficult to pay attention to some of the considerations due to the difficulty of the situation, but for the sake of preserving our souls, these things were done. My Lord knows what is in my heart, and He is witness to what I say.

14 The just ruler is the shadow of God on earth. All must take refuge in the shadow of his justice and prosper in the shadow of his favor. This position is not exclusive or restricted to certain groups, as the shadow reflects the ruler. God Almighty has called Himself the Lord of all worlds, as He has nurtured and educated them all. So exalted is His grace which has preceded all possibilities, and His mercy which has preceded all worlds. It is clear that right or wrong, according to the claims of these groups, something that they are known for, they have taken it as truth and embraced it. Thus, they have abandoned what is with us for what is with God, and this very abandonment of life in the path of love for the Merciful is a sincere and eloquent testimony to that. Has it been observed that a wise person would give up life without proof and evidence? And if it is said that these people are insane, it is very unlikely that it would be limited to one or two individuals, but rather a large group of people from all walks of life have become intoxicated with the knowledge of Allah and have hastened to sacrifice their hearts and lives for the cause of their beloved. If these souls, who have abandoned everything for God and sacrificed their lives and possessions in His cause, are rejected, what argument and proof would be used to establish the truth of others against us in the presence of the sovereign? The late Haji Seyyed Mohammad, may God elevate his status and immerse him in the ocean of His mercy and forgiveness, although they were among the most learned scholars of their time and the most pious and ascetic of their era, and their status was so exalted that everyone’s tongue spoke of their praise and were certain of their piety and asceticism, in the war with the Russians, despite their having issued a decree of jihad and having turned to the defense of the faith with clear knowledge, nevertheless, they passed over a small amount of good and turned back. Oh, if only the cover were removed and what is concealed from sight be revealed! And this group has been suffering under the wrath of the sovereign for more than twenty years, suffering in days and nights from the anger of the king, and each one of them has been scattered far and wide by the mercy of the storms. How many orphans have been left fatherless, and how many fathers have lost their sons? How many mothers have not dared to wail for their slain children out of fear? And how many worshipers who were wealthy and prosperous in the evening but were found in the depths of poverty and humiliation in the morning? There is no land that has not been stained with their blood, and no air that has not been filled with their cries. In these few years, without any relief from the clouds of divine decree, shares of misfortunes have been sent down. And despite all these tests and trials, the fire of the divine love in their hearts has been ignited in such a way that if they were to be cut into pieces, they would not abandon the love of the world’s beloved but would rather long and desire for whatever befalls them on the path of God.

15 O Sultan of the breeze of mercy, the Merciful, who has transformed these servants and led them to the threshold of unity, may the testimony of a truthful lover be in his sleeve. However, some of the outward scholars have darkened the heart of Anwar Malik al-Zaman in relation to the intimates of the sanctuary of the Merciful and the seekers of the Kaaba of Gnosis. If only the opinion of the world-ordering king was based on the fact that this servant would gather with the scholars of the age and present proofs and arguments in the presence of His Majesty Sultan Atian. This servant is present and hopeful to God that such an assembly would be prepared, so that the truth of the matter would become clear and manifest in the presence of His Majesty Sultan, and after that the affair would be in your hands, and I am ready to receive the secret of your sovereignty. So judge for me or for him, God Almighty the Merciful, in the Quran that the remaining proof is between the multitudes of the worlds, it says, “Yea, wish for death if ye are truthful.” It has made the wish for death as the proof of truthfulness and is clear on the shining mirror of its pure conscience. Today, which party are those who have gone from life for the sake of the worshipers of the world, and if the books of these people which prove us against them are also inscribed on the covenant in the way of God, they are essentially among the infinite number of books, which are visible and obvious among the creatures? Now, how can one deny this people whose speech and action are consistent and affirm the souls that have not and will not pass any credit for the chosen one in the way? Some scholars who have called this servant an infidel have never met and have not seen this servant and have not been informed of the purpose, and nevertheless they said, “What they want to do and what they want?” Every claim requires proof, not merely speech and the causes of outward asceticism. The translation of a few paragraphs from the pages of the hidden Fatima scroll, blessings of God upon her, which is appropriate for this position, will be in the Persian language so that some of the hidden affairs will be revealed in the presence of the audience and the audience of these statements in the aforementioned scroll, which is known as the hidden words today, are people who are outwardly famous for knowledge and piety and inwardly obedient to their desires and passions.

16 Do not say, O hypocrites, why do you appear outwardly as shepherds, but inwardly you have become devouring wolves of my flock? You are like the planet Mars, which appears shining and radiant outwardly but is the cause of confusion and destruction for the caravans on their journey through my city and homeland. Likewise, do not say, O you who are outwardly adorned but inwardly defiled, you are like clear, bitter water which appears to be the epitome of delicacy and purity on the outside but is rejected when tasted by the discerning tongue. The sun’s reflection is found in both soil and mirrors, but from the heavens to the earth, know the difference, indeed there is an endless difference between them.

17 And it also says, “O son, countless times during the dawn of life, my guidance has manifested itself from the east of the realm beyond to your place, and I saw you unoccupied in the bed of ease. And like a spiritual lightning, it returned to the place of glory and light and did not reveal itself in positions of proximity to the holy soldiers, and I did not approve of your embarrassment.”

18 And says, “O claimant of my friendship, in the early morning the breeze of my grace passed through you and found you asleep on the bed of negligence, and cried for your situation, and then returned.” The end.

19 Therefore, in the court of the Sultan’s justice, one should not be content with the words of the claimant, and in the distinction that separates the truth from falsehood, it says “O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done.” And in the noble Hadith it is narrated, “Do not believe the talebearer.” Some of the scholars have doubted this issue and have not seen this servant, and those souls who have met him bear witness that this servant has not spoken except by the command of God in the Book, and by mentioning this blessed verse calling on His Excellency: “Do you punish us for nothing more than that we believed in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed before?”

20 Oh king of the time, the eyes of these displaced people are attentive and observant to the mercy of the most merciful, and of course, these calamities are followed by the greatest mercy, and these great afflictions are followed by immense relief. However, the hope is that His Majesty the Sultan will personally pay attention to these matters which will be the cause of heart’s reassurance. And this pure goodness has been mentioned, and God is sufficient as a witness.

21 Glory be to You, O Allah, my Lord. I bear witness that the heart of the Sultan has been between the fingers of Your power. If you wish, turn his heart, O Lord, towards mercy and kindness. Verily, You are the Most High, the All-Powerful, the Bestower of favors; there is no god but You, the Mighty, the Sought-After Help.

22 In scientific conditions, it states that if someone is a jurist and protects themselves and their religion, they should not follow their desires and instead, obey their Lord’s commands. Such people are rare as red sulfur. Therefore, not everyone who claims to have knowledge should be listened to. In regards to the jurists of the end times, it is said that they are the worst jurists in the shadow of the heavens, from whom corruption emerges and to whom it returns. It is also stated that when the flag of truth appears, people from both the east and west will curse it. If anyone denies these narrations, it is upon this servant to prove them as the intention is to summarize and not elaborate on the narrators. Genuine scholars who have truly tasted the cup of detachment have never criticized this servant, such as Sheikh Morteza who expressed his love for this servant during his stay in Iraq and refrained from speaking without God’s permission on this matter. We ask Allah to guide us all to what He loves and is pleased with, for everyone’s souls have been overlooking all matters and are now focused on harming this group. For example, if some who have sought refuge under the shadow of the Sultan’s mercy and enjoyed numerous blessings were to be asked how they have served in return for the Sultan’s favor or contributed to the prosperity and stability of the realm, they would have no answer except to accuse some of truth or falsehood in the name of Babism, bringing that to the Sultan’s attention and subsequently indulging in killing and looting, as seen in Tabriz and Mansourieh of Egypt where they sold some people and took various ornaments. This has all happened as they found us helpless and abandoned by the significant issues to focus on our matters. Various groups and nations are enjoying protection under the Sultan’s rule, and this group should be among them as well, as the elevated ambitions and noble nature of the government’s officials should be observed, ensuring that all religions are protected under the Sultan’s shadow and ruled justly. The implementation of God’s limitations is pure justice, and everyone would be satisfied with it; in fact, these divine limitations are the cause and reason for the preservation of God’s creatures. It is far from the justice of the Sultan that due to the fault of one person, a group of people would suffer the wrath of punishment. God Almighty states that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of others, and it is well-known that every group will always have a mix of knowledgeable and ignorant, wise and foolish, sinful and pious individuals. Consequently, wise people would never commit heinous acts, whether they are seekers of the worldly life or those who have abandoned it. If they have abandoned it, they would never attend to anything except the truth, and apart from that, the fear of God would prevent them from committing reprehensible and forbidden acts. If they seek the world, they will not engage in actions that cause people to turn away and fear those in the land. Instead, they will take actions that attract people and encourage their support. Thus, it is proven that disapproved actions are from the ignorant, and always have been and always will be. We ask Allah to protect His servants from focusing on anything other than Him and draw them closer to Him, for He is capable of all things.

23 Glory be to You, O Allah, O my God, You hear my plaint and see my condition and my distress and my trials, and know what is in my heart. If my call is truly devoted to Your countenance, then attract the hearts of Your creation to the horizon of Your knowledge, and turn the heart of the Sultan to the right of Your throne, O Most Merciful. Then grant him, O my God, the blessing that descends from the heaven of Your generosity and the clouds of Your mercy, so that he may cut off from what he has and turn toward the direction of Your gentleness. O Lord, strengthen him in the support of Your cause and the exaltation of Your word among Your creation. Then help him with the unseen and visible armies so that he may subject the cities in Your name and rule over all who are on earth with Your power and authority. O You who has the absolute dominion and is the ruler in the beginning and the return. There is no god but You, the all-powerful, the mighty, the wise.

24 They have so misrepresented matters before the royal presence that if ever any act of wrongdoing proceeds from anyone of this community, they impute it to the entire body of this community. I swear by God, besides Whom there is no other God, that this servant has deemed such actions to be unlawful and has never considered them as permissible, let alone what has been explicitly prohibited in the Book of God, who has prohibited the people from drinking wine and whose prohibition has been explicitly stated and recorded in the Book of God and whose prohibition has been acknowledged and accepted by the wise men of the time, who have forbidden the people from this abominable act; yet, some are still committing it. Now, the punishment for this act is only incumbent upon those heedless souls, and those manifestations of exaltation and sanctity, to whom all existence bears witness, attest to their sanctity. Verily, these servants of God do as He pleases and judge as He wills, and they do not regard the manifestations of divine unity in the realms of the earthly kingdoms as impossible, and if a soul deems it impossible, what difference is there between him and those who have regarded the hand of God as tied up? If they regard the Almighty as having free will, they must accept all that comes from the source of His command as the embodiment of that will, and no one can escape from it, and there is no refuge from it except in God. And the matter which requires proof and evidence is not dependent on the whims and ignorance of the people; the prophets, who are the pearls of the ocean of divine unity and the dawning place of divine revelation, have been subjected to the whims and opposition of the people, as He says, “And they exert all their efforts so that they can take hold of their messenger and argue with falsehood to refute him with the truth.” And He also says, “No messenger has come to them but that they mocked him.” Consider [what happened] during the appearance of the Seal of the Prophets and the King of the Holy Ones, the soul of the worlds, when the sun of truth dawned on the horizon of Hijaz, how much injustice was inflicted on that manifestation of glory and majesty by the errant people. The heedless servants considered his affliction as the greatest of deeds and a means of attaining the exalted truth. The learned men of that time turned away from that supreme sun in its early days, along with the Jews and the Christians; and all the souls, both lowly and noble, tried to extinguish the light of that shining horizon. All their names are recorded in the books; among them were Wahb ibn Rahib, Ka’b ibn Ashraf, Abdullah Abyy, and others like them, until the matter reached the point where they plotted to shed the holy blood of that personage in a council of consultation, as God said, “And when those who disbelieve plot against you to kill you or to take you out, they plot, and God plots well.” And likewise He says, “And the turning away of them is grievous unto thee, if thou canst find a hole into the earth or a ladder to the sky, that thou mayst bring unto them a sign. And if God willed, He could have gathered them together in the way, so be not thou of the ignorant.” By God, the hearts of the true believers burn with the contents of these two blessed verses, and they do not regard such matters as having been mentioned in the past. They do not consider what the cause of the people’s aversion was during the appearance of the divine lights and before the Seal of the Prophets was revealed. In the case of Jesus the son of Mary, after his appearance, the scholars unanimously attributed the belief of the simple believers to disbelief and tyranny, until finally, with the permission of Hannan, the greatest scholar of that time, and likewise Caiaphas, the greatest of the judges, they committed against him deeds which the pen is ashamed to mention. The earth became so strait for him that God ascended him to the heavens, and if I were to narrate the details of all the prophets, it would result in fatigue and weariness, and especially with the assistance of the scholars of the Torah, who do not believe in any prophet independent of the laws established by Moses. Some of the children of David will reappear and he will promote the laws of the Torah so that they will prevail among the people of the East and the West. Also, the people of the Gospel deem it impossible for a new cause to arise from the East following the will of God, and they base their arguments on this verse of the gospel that reads, “Verily, heaven and earth shall pass away, but the word of the Son of Man shall not pass away forever.” And they claim that whatever Jesus the son of Mary had commanded and ordered will not change; in one place in the gospel says, “I will go and come, and in the gospel of John gives glad tidings of the Comforter who will come after me, and in the gospel of Luke some signs are mentioned, but because some of the scholars of that religion have interpreted every statement according to their own desires, they have become veiled from the truth. Would that, O King, I had permission to send to your presence that which would satisfy the eyes, comfort the souls, and every just person would know that He has the knowledge of the book. Some people, when they are defeated by their opponents, cling to the rope of the abrogation of the books, and now, if it were not for the opposition of the ignorant and the disregard of the learned, I would have said something which the hearts would have enjoyed and which would have flown to the air which hears of His existence,”there is no god but He.” But now, on account of the lack of time, the tongue is forbidden to speak and the seals of the explanations are closed until God opens them by His power; verily, He is the Mighty and the Powerful One.

25 Glory be to you, O Allah, my God, I ask You by Your name, by which You have subdued all that is in the heavens and the earth, to protect the lamp of Your command within the glass of Your power and Your kindness, so that the winds of denial may not pass over it from the direction of those who are heedless of the secrets of Your chosen name. Then increase its light with the oil of Your wisdom, for You are the One who has power over all that is in Your earth and heaven. O Lord, I ask You by the Supreme Word, by which all those in the earth and the heavens are terrified, except those who hold fast to the strong rope, not to leave me among Your creation, but to raise me up to You, admit me into the shadows of Your mercy, give me the drink of the pure wine of Your care, so that I may dwell in the hidden places of Your glory and the domes of Your kindness. Indeed, You are the One who has power over what You will, and You are the Dominant, the Sustainer.

26 Oh Sultan, the lights of justice have dimmed and the fire of injustice has spread throughout the land. My people have been taken captive from the lowest to the highest. This is not the first time our sanctity has been violated in the name of Allah. Every one should reflect and remember what has happened to the family of the Messenger. The people have taken them captive and brought them to the lush city of Damascus, among them was the leader of the worshipers and the supporter of the righteous, the heart of the desiring. When they were asked, “Are you the Outlaws?” They replied, “No, by Allah! We are the servants who believe in Allah and His signs. The light of faith brightened because of us and through our mention the darkness that came between the earth and the heavens cleared. When asked,”Did you make unlawful what Allah has made lawful or did you make lawful what Allah has made unlawful?” They replied, “We were the first to follow the commandments of Allah, and we are the origin of this matter. We are the ones who first embraced every good and we are the sign of Allah’s eternity and His memory among nations.” When asked, “Did you abandon the Quran?” They replied, “In us, the Merciful has revealed it, and we are the breath of the Praise between all creation. We are the path that branches from the greatest ocean through which Allah brings life to the land and revives it after its death. From us, His signs were spread, through us His clear proofs appeared, and through us His effects became manifested. We carry the meanings and secrets of His words.” When asked about their crime, they replied, “Our love for Allah and our detachment from anything other than Him. We did not mention the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, but only revealed a drop from the ocean of life that was deposited in his words, from which the seekers may be revived and guided to what befell the trusted ones of Allah from the evil people.

27 O King, I saw for the sake of God what the eye did not see and the ear did not hear. Acquaintances have disapproved of me and the ways have become narrow for me. The stream of safety has dried up and the stream of comfort has become yellow. How many calamities have descended and how many are yet to come? I walk forward towards the One who is Almighty and the Giver, and behind me flows a stream of loving care. My tears have started flowing until my resting place has become soaked. By God, my sorrow is not for myself, but for my head that longs for arrows in the love of its Master. I have not passed by a tree without my heart addressing it, wishing that my name would be cut and my body crucified on you in the way of my Lord. But what I see people doing in their intoxication, they blindly follow and do not realize that they have raised their desires and cast aside their God as if they have taken the matter of God as a joke, play, and entertainment while thinking that they are doing good and in the fortress of safety they believe themselves to be protected. The matter is not as they think; tomorrow they will see what they deny today. The people of authority and wealth will drive us out of this land, which has been named Edirne, to the city of Akká. Among the things they say about it, it is the most desolate and hideous of all the cities of the world, with the worst climate and the foulest water. It is as if it is the abode of the government of the one who governs by false pretense, from which nothing is heard but the sound of his regurgitation. They want to imprison the youth there, close the doors of ease upon our faces, and prevent us from having a worldly life with the remainder of our days. By God, even if they subject me to hardship and destroy me with adversity, and make my bed from the deaf rock and my companion the beasts of the wilderness, I will not grieve and will be patient, like the people of determination and resolve, with the power of God, the One who is Eternal and the Creator of nations. I will give thanks to God for all circumstances and we hope that with this imprisonment, He will free us from the chains and the shackles, and make the faces purely devoted to His Blessed Face. He is the one who responds to those who call upon Him and is near to those who address Him. We ask Him to make this great affliction an armor for the pillar of His command, shielding it from sharp swords and penetrating spears. The trials have not ceased to be for the sake of God, for the sake of His servant, and for the sake of the remembrance of Him. This has been the case in the past centuries and previous ages. People will soon know what they do not understand today when their steeds stumble, their resting places are overturned, their swords are blunted, and their feet slip. I do not know how long they will continue to ride the mounts of desire and wander in the wilderness of negligence and deviation. Will any glory remain in glory or any disgrace in disgrace, or will any who rely on the supreme cushion remain, and reach the utmost limit of glory? By the Lord of Mercy, all that is in it shall perish, and the Face of your Lord, the Almighty, the Munificent, shall remain. What sort of armor is it that has not been struck by the arrow of destiny, and what kind of land has not been exposed to the hand of fate, and what fortress has kept the Angel of Death from reaching it when it comes, and what bed has not been broken, and what well has not dried up? If people knew what was behind the seal of the sweet mercy of their Lord, the All-Knowing, they would throw away their blame and be content with the youth. But now they have veiled me with a veil of darkness that they have woven with the hands of suspicions and illusions. Soon the white hand will tear apart the pocket of this dark night and God will open a shining door for His City where people will enter in droves and say what those before them have said, so that the final ends will appear as they had started.

28 We ask Allah to extend His shade so that the monotheists may hasten towards Him and the sincere ones may seek refuge in it, and to grant His servants blessings from the garden of His care and from the horizon of His kindness, and to support him in what He loves and is pleased with, and to enable him to achieve what brings him closer to the rays of His beautiful names, so that he may lower his gaze from what he sees of injustice and look upon his subjects with the eye of kindness, and protect them from extravagance. We ask Him, the Most High, to bring everyone together on the shore of the greatest sea, in which every drop calls out that He is the bringer of good news to the worlds and the giver of life to the worlds. Praise be to Allah, the Master of the Day of Judgment. We ask Him, the Most High, to make you a supporter of His cause and a witness to His justice, to judge among the servants as you judge among your relatives, and to choose for them what you choose for yourself. Indeed, He is the Most Capable, the Supreme, the Sovereign, the Sustainer.