Suriy-i-Hajj I (Surah of Pilgrimage - Shiraz)

This is the Surah of Pilgrimage, revealed by favor so that the servants might draw near to God, their Lord and the Lord of the Great House.

He is the Exile, the Mighty, the Wondrous

These are the verses of God, sent down at that time from the Pivot of Eternity—the station around which circle the people of the Canopy of Grandeur, then the hosts of the Most Exalted Concourse, then those who dwell in the Garden of Refuge, and then those settled upon the highest seats near the Lote-Tree of the Extremity. Thus was it revealed at that moment from the presence of the Guardian, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting. And this is the Book upon Me in truth, if you would but recognize it—then the Book of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, and before him, what was sent down upon the Spirit, and before that, what was revealed to the Speaker (Moses). So recite it, that perhaps you may be among those who comprehend.

O my people! Fear God, and do not follow those who command you to hatred and hostility, who turn you away from the path of God. Fear God, and do not be among those who object to the signs of God and then deny them. Say: If you disbelieve in these verses, then by what discourse have you believed in the Manifestation of God’s Essence, if you have any knowledge?

O my people! Do not turn today to your right nor to your left; rather, turn toward the direction of the Throne—this sacred, praiseworthy station—the station around which circle the spirits of the near ones, then the forms of the Messengers, then the hearts of the Cherubim, if you would but sense it.

O my people! Do not disbelieve in the signs of God after He has made them a proof against you and all who are upon the earth. This is what was revealed in the Tablets of the Ordained Glory, upon which were inscribed the secrets of what was and what shall be. Thus do We cast upon you that which turns you away from every direction toward the Face of God, the Mighty, the Manifest.

Know, O my people, that the Spirit desired once again to depart from among you because of what the hands of those who disbelieved in the signs of God had wrought since the primal eternity. And even then, they were determined to deny.

Say: By God! He was among you through successive years, continuous months, and known days, and yet you did not recognize Him; rather, at every moment you were denying this Beauty that shone forth from the horizon of the Spirit, and these verses that descended from the heaven of sanctity raised up.

By God! When the breezes of God return to the Paradise of Eternity, and the Sun of the Cloud of Unknowing moves again into the fields of splendor, then, after Him, do not be among those who fall into tribulation. Be steadfast upon the Cause of God and His proof, then His evidence and His verses, then the manifestation of God and His sovereignty, then the dominion of God and His power. Do not be among those who stir with every cry. Be patient upon the matter such that your feet do not slip, even if all who are in the heavens and upon the earth should rise against you. This is My counsel to you if you will but hear.

Say: If you rise from sleep and witness the sun hidden from you, who will bring you the lights of the Glory of the Beloved? And if you wake to find the water of life sunken from your hearts, who will bring you the goblets of Salsabil and Camphor?

By God, O my people! This is the sanctuary of God among you and His law within you, and yet He desires to veil His Face behind the curtain because of what the hands of those possessing hearts have committed—those who reckon themselves as rightly guided.

Say: By God! At this the eye of ’Ali weeps in the Most Exalted Companion, then the eye of Muhammad in the Most Luminous Horizon, then the eye of the Spirit in the realm of the Unknown, then the eye of the Speaker (Moses) at the furthest reaches, and the hearts of the Maidens in their lofty chambers sigh—if you but hear.

Say: O my people! By God, this is the Youth whom God has manifested among you, in His Beauty, then in His Splendor, then in His Glory and Majesty, then in His Manifestation and His Grandeur. Yet you did to Him what no one has ever done to another—and your own tongues bear witness to this if you are just.

O my people! Fear God and do not disbelieve in His blessings after they have descended from the heaven of the Glory of the Beloved.

O my people! Do not dispute concerning His Cause, and do not turn to those in whose hearts you find hatred for this Youth, who has appeared upon the pure form between earth and heaven. God has sanctified His Beauty from the gaze of the idolaters, as you yourselves testify.

Indeed, the idolaters imagine that they were with Me and witnessed My Beauty. No, by My manifest, sovereign, mighty, hidden Self, no eye has beheld My Beauty except those who severed themselves from everything upon which the name of a thing is mentioned. Behind them are the eyes of Grandeur, and then the eyes of those who circled the Throne—yet the eyes of the hypocrites shall never witness Him, after even a speck of His radiance created the sun and its lights, then the light and its brilliance, then the Manifestation and its grandeur—if you but understand.

O my people! Do not disbelieve in the proof of God after it has appeared upon the form of a human being and His verses are recited to you at every moment, that you may be brought out of the darkness of days and drawn near to the shore of the sanctity of the Beloved.

O my people! Look with your own eyes, then reflect with your hearts upon the verses of God, that you may be attracted by what is deposited therein, and sever yourselves from all directions, and be purified for the sake of the Face of God, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.

O my people! If you disbelieve in what was revealed at that time, then in what will you believe?

O my people! If you object to what has descended upon you from the direction of the Throne, then to what direction will you turn for assurance?

Say: Nothing will avail you today except that you sever yourselves from all who are in the heavens and upon the earth, and hasten with your souls and spirits to the treasure of God, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Manifest.

O my people! Fear God and do not dispute concerning what He has counseled you in truth. Do not follow the swift ones of the earth, nor pursue every rejected idolater who calls you to Satan and commands you to turn away from the Beauty of the All-Glorious. And at every moment they scheme.

Say: By the One in Whose hand is My soul, whoever clings to anything among what was created between the heavens and the earth will never know how to grasp the cord of My love. This is indeed a manifest truth. And whoever drinks a drop from what flows between the heavens and the earth will never be able to draw near to My holy, billowing, mighty, beloved sea. Whoever turns toward another face will never be able to behold the Beauty of God, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the Manifest, the Radiant, the Sorrowful.

Say: O my people! Do not cut off the favors of God from yourselves, nor the eternal bounty from your spirits. Do not be among those who sever. Reform your affairs, then unite in My love. This is better for you than all that you possess and all that you say and do. Then will you know. Thus has the Pen of Eternity taught you when it stirred with the breezes of Splendor from this sacred, mighty, beloved spot, as the Herald of Pre-Eternity called out from the highest peak:

O Pen of Eternity! Do not halt upon anything and do not withhold from the contingent beings what have been veiled from what your Lord has taught you, then He sprinkled upon the created things from the unfathomable depths of the sea that God has ordained within your inmost self. Indeed, you are the knowing one in the dominion of origin, by that which the fingers of grandeur have touched you. Thus has the favor of your Lord been completed upon you, though the people are unaware.

O Herald of Pre-Eternity! How shall I move upon what You have taught me in the Kingdom of Decree after I behold that He, with but a single letter from His presence, created the realities of all things, desiring to confirm His faith for these people, and yet they refuse it and persist in denial at every moment? By this, I have been prevented from remembrance and from revealing the secrets of what the Fingers of the Chosen One have taught me—if you but understand.

Say: Paradise has become desolate, where no breezes of My love now blow; homes have been destroyed, where no wondrous melodies of My remembrance now rise; pens have been broken, which no longer move to inscribe My name—the Guardian, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.

Say: O my people! I am but a youth of God among you and His greatest sign within you. I have believed in what you hold of the laws of God and His religion—so by what proof do you then disbelieve?

O my people! These are the verses of God that were revealed to Me in truth, and I have conveyed them to the East and the West. By God, they are not from Myself but from the presence of the Mighty, the Beloved. Indeed, I am but a servant who believes in God and His verses. I possess for Myself neither movement nor stillness, neither standing nor life, neither death nor resurrection.

And whenever I remain silent in the house and refrain from remembrance, the Holy Spirit raises Me up for the Cause and causes Me to speak between the heavens and the earth. This is not from Myself, but from Him—if you but recognize it.

O my people! Be ashamed before God who created you and fashioned you, and do not behave as the people of the Criterion behaved toward ’Ali when he came to them under the canopy of the Cause with the hosts of His sanctity, yet they denied Him until they killed Him, and they played with His verses as you now play.

When someone brings you a Tablet of God and His traces, you do not pay it heed nor do you receive it. And if you desire to show favor to your Lord, the Gracious, you take it in one hand and then cast it upon the ground out of arrogance toward God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting—after He created you and all that is with you and everyone in the heavens and on earth with but a single letter from Him. Your very beings bear witness to this, even if you deny.

By God, this abasement suffices for you in those days—days in which you call people to what you possess, and when it is asked by what proof you recite these verses, and when the verses of the All-Merciful are recited to you, you turn on your heels and retreat.

Say: O my people! Die in your aversion! By God, this is the very Self of ’Ali in truth, who has come to you with the melodies of His sanctity and speaks between the heavens and the earth, proclaiming: “There is no God but I, the Mighty, the Guardian, the Omnipotent, the Promised One!”

Say: By God, O assembly of the heedless! You and all you possess of rancor and hatred are before God like a handful of dust or a fistful of fashioned clay. If We willed, We would bring forth another creation in truth, despite your disapproval. Indeed, there is no matter but by His permission, and no decree but through His knowledge. He does what He wills by His command, “Be,” and it is.

To Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí (Nabil-i-Azam)

O Muhammad! If you desire to travel the earth—its lands and seas, its mountains and plains, its fields and villages—then walk by Our command and authority from Our presence. Indeed, I am powerful over what I will; I am the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.

Then place My remembrance before you, and My love behind you, and My name to your right, and My protection to your left. This is better for you than the treasures of the heavens and the earth and all that souls and minds cannot comprehend.

Then stand firm in the love of your Lord, even if from the clouds of destiny swords of hatred should rain down upon you. Put your trust in God, the Mighty, the Most High, the Praised.

If good befalls you, thank your Lord. And if harm afflicts you, be patient. In all conditions, give thanks to your Lord and do not despair over what comes upon you in the love of God. This is My counsel to you and to those who desire to enter beneath the Throne of the All-Merciful and bow down before Him.

If anyone wrongs you, do not contend with them; leave their judgment to God, for He takes the right of the oppressed from those who oppress. In every matter, hold fast to God, your Lord; He suffices you against all who are in the heavens and upon the earth. There is no God but Him. His is creation and command, and all work according to His decree.

Beware lest you forget My remembrance, and do not seek intimacy with My enemies, for Satan drives away from human hearts the fragrances of the All-Merciful. This is the best counsel from Me to you—so listen, and then act upon what you have been commanded by the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.

Say: O my people! Fear God, and do not work corruption upon the earth, nor be among those who corrupt while remaining unaware. His is the knowledge of the heavens and the earth; He knows what stirs in existence and what is uttered by every tongue. Indeed, He is the Truth, the All-Knowing of all unseen things. Nothing escapes His knowledge, nor does any decree elude His grasp. The judgment of the heavens is His, and everything before Him is but as a handful of dust.

O Muhammad, purify your heart from all other remembrances, so that the mirror of the remembrance of your chosen Lord may be imprinted upon it. This alone will suffice you above all things if you are among those who truly know. Then adorn yourself with detachment—it is the robe of the All-Merciful upon the form of man. Beware lest you strip your body of this blessed and auspicious grace. Then free your soul from this world and all that is within it, for none of it will benefit you in anything. What will benefit you is what flows from the Kawthar of sanctity from this blessed Pen.

Be the herald of God to all beside Him, and remind them of the days when the All-Merciful sat upon the Throne of Forgiveness. Say: By God! Those are His days, but the people are drowning in the illusions of their own selves.

And you, O Muhammad, if you desire to soar in this air that has spread across this heaven, you must ascend to the station where all names witness your name, and all attributes fade before your attributes. Without this, you will not be able to enter the luminous, praiseworthy canopy.

So strive within yourself to be worthy of this mighty, beloved station. Thus does this servant command you in these days when He has resolved to depart from among those who have disbelieved in the signs of God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.

When the verses of their Lord are recited to them, they laugh within themselves and mock them.

O Muhammad, if you are able, leave that land before the outcry of Husayn is raised between the heavens and the earth—when he departs from among his loved ones. At that, the tears will flow from the eyes of the Messengers.

Say: O assembly of Bayan! Did you not promise the appearance of Husayn after the appearance of the Qa’im? By God! This Husayn has indeed come to you with a proof before which all in the heavens and the earth are powerless. Yet you have not recognized Him even to the measure of the eye of a needle, and you have denied what He has brought from God, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful.

And if you do not acknowledge what the Spirit inspires within Me, this is indeed what was promised in the Tablets, and your own tongues bear witness to this—and behind them stands a tongue of truthful knowledge.

Say: Thus has God sealed your hearts and your sight. There is no ruler except those who rule by His justice, and He alone is the Mighty, the Generous.

O Muhammad! Support your Lord with all that you can in these days when the people of hypocrisy have risen against Him. Fear no one, but put your trust in God, the Mighty, the Beautiful. And if you should appear before the people and find no fragrance of My love among them, turn away from them and do not sit in their gatherings. Withdraw, and remain under clear protection.

If you see anyone calling you to hatred for the Youth, know that he is none other than Satan manifested in human form. So seek refuge in God, your Lord, and He will protect you from the harm of the devils. Purify yourself, then purify the people with this Kawthar that has descended from the right side of the Throne, from which the hearts of the knowers are sanctified. Remind yourself, and then remind the people, that your words may have an effect in the worlds. Thus has the Tongue of Power and Majesty taught you—and who is truer in speech than God, if you are among those with certainty?

If you travel to other lands and someone asks about the Youth of the Spirit, say: I left Him at the time when His garment was sprinkled with the blood of hatred, and the shadows of the earth surrounded Him from every side, while He called out among them with the cry by which all things created between earth and heaven were shaken. Thus it was, if you but know. He says: O my people! Do not kill the Youth after He has come to you from the direction of sanctity with a clear Book.

O my people! I do not speak out of desire, but by what the One of Mighty Power teaches Me from the Dominion of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted. Beware lest you strike Me with the swords of self and desire. Fear God, to Whom all affairs shall return, if you are believers.

O my people! This is ’Ali among you, and He recites to you what was recited before. Every atom bears witness to this, and this precious, mighty, inviolable Tablet testifies.

O my people! If you disbelieve in these messages, then by what proof did you believe in the Messengers of God before? Bring your proof, if you are among the truthful!

Do you marvel that a Youth of God has come to you in human form like yourselves, casting to you the verses of your Lord, and teaching you the paths of knowledge and recognition, that He might draw you near to the radiant, sanctified, luminous Beauty of God? Thus remind the servants, that perhaps in their hearts the fire of God and His love may be kindled, and they may rise up to remember Him and praise Him, and become among the helpers.

Say: O my people! Come to a word of justice between us and you. If you do not aid your Lord, the All-Merciful, you cannot harm Him. And if you do not honor Him, you cannot abase Him. Be just concerning your Lord, and do not be among those who turn away.

Say: He knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth; He knows what your hands move, what your hearts contemplate, and what your tongues speak. This is the assured truth. He will recompense every soul for what it has earned, and what is the reward of the wrongdoers but the depths of Hell?

Say: O assembly of Bayan! If you are in doubt about My religion, know that I have believed in God who created you and all things. I will not follow your desires, and I have been commanded to worship none but Him, and I am the first of the worshippers.

Say: O my people! Have mercy on your souls and the souls of others. Do not turn them away from the path of God that encompasses all things, if you are among those who reflect upon His Cause.

O my people! Recite what has been revealed from the Pen of Holiness. If you find within it the fragrances of your Lord, do not deny it, and do not be among the idolaters. By God! This is His very Self, and these are His verses, filling the East and West of the earth. By what proof, then, do you argue for the people of the Criterion? Clarify, O assembly of fabricators!

God Himself testifies that nothing is before you except what We revealed before upon Our former Beauty, and this is what has been sent down from His presence upon this radiant, shining, luminous Beauty. You shall indeed be questioned about what you have denied and turned away from, and you shall be recompensed for what you have done, and be among those who acted accordingly.

Say: His messengers go before Him, and His attendants follow behind Him, and bearers of glad tidings to His right bring good news to every atom with the lights that have shone forth from the Face of God, the Omnipotent, the Mighty, the Merciful.

Say: Blind is the eye that refuses to witness the Beauty of its Lord after it has appeared in truth between the heavens and the earth.

Thus have We cast upon contingent beings every discourse, that perhaps the fire of God might be lit in their hearts, and they might proclaim: “There is no God but I, the Most Exalted, the Wise, the All-Knowing.”

O Muhammad, when the fragrances of sanctity draw you near, and turn you toward the realms of the All-Merciful so that you may find the breezes of the All-Glorious, then go, by the permission of your Lord, the Gracious, to the station around which circle the angels of nearness—those who encircle the Throne in glorification.

And when you rise from your place and wish to turn toward the presence of God, your Lord, then cast off from your body the garment of self and desire. Remove also from your feet the sandals of oppression and indecency, for you are about to enter a station into which none may enter except those who leave behind all who are in heaven and on earth. None are accepted there except those purified by the Great Sanctification, if you are among those who comprehend.

Around that station circle the Mount of Command, the Wilderness of Sanctity, then the Sinai of Glory, and then the hearts of those who in every moment ascend to the atmosphere of nearness. Without this, you will neither attain it nor be mentioned before God among those who arrive at it, even if you were to dwell there for a thousand years as you count them.

Instructions Upon Approaching Shiraz

When you have migrated from your self, from this world and its people, and traveled toward God, your Lord, and reached the station where you behold the darkened form of the city, then descend and stand upon your station and say:

“Spirit, Light, Glory, and Praise be upon you, O City of God, homeland of His Names, repository of His Attributes, source of His outpourings, mine of His bounties, and the manifestation of His revelations which have encompassed all existence! I bear witness that from your darkness appeared the Primal Point, the robe of pre-existence, the eternal secret, the all-encompassing Word, the decreed destinies, and the hidden mysteries. Thus, you were preceded by the grace of God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.”

Then raise your hands to God, your Lord, in humility, reverence, submission, and the beloved contentment, and say:

“O my Lord, praise be to You for the wondrous bestowals and the subtle favors You have granted! How can I thank You, O my God, for having provided me the visitation of Your House, ennobling me with it, and favoring me with this grace which no one before me has attained? You have taught me what no soul besides me has known.

O my God, I have fled from the house of my self and sought refuge in the highest abode of Your Self. I have fled from that which prevented me from nearness to You and have found shelter in the protection of Your supreme mercy.

O my God, do not deprive me of what is with You, and do not preoccupy me with anything besides You. You are the Mighty, the Forgiving!

O my Lord, make me firm in Your love and the love of Your friends, and do not make me among those who deny Your signs after they have been revealed, and who mock them after their fragrances have encompassed all that can be known and seen.

O my Lord, grant me from Your presence the staff of Your grace and care, that I might cleave the sea of self and desire, and pass through it to reach the tents of the majesty of Your compassion and the canopy of the sanctity of Your protection.

Let nothing appear from me that would displease You. You are indeed the One who does whatever You will, and You are the Lord of this frequented House.”

Then mount and travel until you reach a place where between you and the city remains but a thousand steps—or more, or less. Then dismount and immerse yourself in water, as you have been commanded in the Book of God, the Guardian, the Most High, the Self-Subsisting. When you emerge from the water, trim your mustache, cut your nails, and shave your head. Then use the finest perfumes, and wear the best clothes you can afford. If you cannot fulfill this as We have commanded, do not grieve, for God has pardoned you, and He is indeed the Mighty, the Forgiving, the Compassionate.

Then strive within yourself so that when your eyes fall upon the city and you draw near to it, your heart will be purified of the mention of all created things, leaving behind everything created between the heavens and the earth. For you are then walking before the Sovereign of all possibilities and the King of Names and Attributes. Thus does the Pen of God, your Lord and the Lord of all things, teach you—if you would but understand.

When you have acted according to what We have commanded you, then rise from your station, turn your face toward the House, and stand. Then raise your hands in humble supplication to God, the Mighty, the Guardian, the Beloved, and say:

“O my God, this is the station at which the eyes of the longing find delight, and the hearts of the lovers are drawn. This is the ultimate goal of those who journey and the highest aspiration of the seekers.

This is the station where the eyes of the knowers weep at separation from You, and the faces of those who have attained grow pale from yearning for Your Beauty.

I ask You, O my God, by this station and by the manifestations of the lights of the majesty of Your Oneness and the flashes of the revelations of the sanctity of Your Divinity, to deliver me from the fire of my self and to purify me from all that is unworthy of Your Sovereignty.

Truly, You are the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.”

Then lower your hands until they rest upon your thighs, and glorify God nine times.

Then raise your hands once more to God, your Lord and the Lord of all that was and will be, and say:

“O my God, this is the City wherein Your Sovereignty appeared, the traces of the majesty of Your Grandeur became manifest, Your verses were revealed, and Your Word was fulfilled. Your Power was exalted, Your proof became radiant, and Your Mercy encompassed all things, and everything in the heavens and on the earth.

My soul, my heart, and my tongue bear witness to this, and with them, honored servants testify. I ask You, O my God, by this City and by what has appeared therein, to remove from me all that would distance me from the shore of the sanctity of Your Mercy and Bounty, and prevent me from drawing near to the fountain of Your Grace and Generosity.

Then clothe me, O my God, in the robe of Your honor and kindness. Truly, You have power over all things, and You are the Mighty, the Exalted, the Beloved. Then give me to drink, O my God, from the Salsabil of the majesty of Your knowledge and from the fountain of the sanctity of Your meeting—a fountain from which, were but a single drop to be sprinkled upon the realms of existence, they would become living, everlasting, eternal, and standing before Your Face and the manifestations of the flashes of the lights of Your Countenance.

Truly, You are the Mighty, the Exalted, the Most Holy.”

Then lower your hands and walk upon the earth with the dignity and serenity of God. And as you walk, praise your Lord, glorify Him, sanctify Him, and magnify Him. Follow the way of the Messengers and the character of those brought near, and say:

“At Your service, O God! At Your service! All goodness is before Your Presence, and the Light shines before You!”

Repeat this phrase as long as the fire of your longing and yearning remains unextinguished. Thus have We commanded you in truth, that you may be among those who act as they are commanded.

Know that through this phrase, you respond to your Lord at the moment when He established Himself upon the Throne and called out to all creation, saying: “Am I not your Lord?” This is indeed the secret of that moment—if only you would reflect upon the mysteries of your Lord. Indeed, if you witness with the eye of your inmost nature, you would behold Him at that moment seated upon the thrones of all existence, calling out: “There is no God but I, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.”

O visitor, know your station and your true worth in that moment, and give thanks to God for what He has provided you and supported you in accomplishing. Truly, there is no God but He—His is the creation and the command, and all things act according to His decree. Blessed are you, O servant, for you have entered the Wilderness of Sanctity, the Paran of the Spirit, and the Sinai of the Cause.

Indeed, if you sharpen your vision, you will witness that everything around you is circling. By God, O you who have migrated—if God were to open your inner sight and you were to look above your head to the heavens, you would witness the sanctified precincts, the stations of intimacy, the dwellers of the Canopy of Divinity, the inhabitants of the seats of Power, and the forms of the sanctified ones from the realms of dominion and sovereignty—all moving in the air of sanctity above your head, praising, glorifying, sanctifying, and magnifying with you the Lord of the City, the One who has appeared from it and risen within it. Thus would you witness the matter, if you are among those who see with the sight of the spirit.

When you approach the station so that only twenty steps remain between you and the gate of the City, stand still by the command of God, your Lord and the Lord of all things, and the Lord of this praiseworthy sight. Then glorify God nineteen times, and address the City facing its direction and say:

“May God curse a people who have come between us and the lights of Your sanctity, O City of God, and have prevented us from inhaling the fragrances of the sanctity of Your Oneness, from dwelling near the majesty of Your Mercy, and from standing at the threshold of the gate of the effusion of Your all-merciful grace.”

Then turn your gaze toward the Greater View—toward the wall of the City and what has been created within it and exists upon it—for upon all these the gaze of God, the Mighty, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting, has fallen. Say:

“O wall of the City, blessed are you for having been illuminated by the lights of the Sun of your Lord, the Most High, the Exalted.

O trees of the City, blessed are you for the breezes of sanctity that have wafted over you from the direction of Eternity.

O air of the City, blessed are you for having been filled with the air of God, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the Beloved.

O earth of the City, blessed are you upon which walked the feet of your Lord, the All-Merciful, and across which passed the form of the All-Glorious during the days when all were veiled behind the curtains of their selves.”

Then walk until you reach the City, and when you attain its meeting and arrive at its gate, place your face upon the dust of the gate so that you may perceive the fragrance of your Lord, the Most High, the Exalted, and be among those who are provided with the Water of Life. Know that from its dust appears the mystery of water, and from its water, the mystery of air, and from its air, the effect of fire. And by a spark of that fire, the decree of the Káf and Nún was made manifest—if you but know.

This is what We have described to you upon the earth and among those who, in the drunkenness of their souls, lie dormant. Otherwise, by the One in Whose hand is My soul, a single particle of its dust is more honored before God than all that has been created in the fields of eternity and all that has been decreed upon the Tablets of destiny in the hidden mystery of execution within the realm of origination.

Thus do We cast upon you the secrets of the Cause, that you may be among those who understand. When you have kissed the dust and blessed yourself with it, then raise your head, stand, and glorify God nineteen times. Then praise your Lord nineteen times.

Instructions At the House in Shiraz

Walk with the dignity of God and His tranquility, His majesty, and His reverence, until you stand directly before the House. Then stand and say:

“I bear witness with my tongue, my soul, my spirit, and my body that this is the station before which the people of the Realm of the Hidden Essence prostrate, then the people of the Kingdom of Origination, and then those who dwell in the lofty chambers of eternity beyond the billows of grandeur. By it, all things have appeared, and through it, the breezes of generosity waft upon the forms of all the worlds.

This is the station at which the inhabitants of the realm of immortality seek blessing, and by it are illuminated the hearts of those who dwell between earth and heaven. Its courtyard is swept each day by the dwellers of the crimson chambers, and with the flowing grace of the Spirit, by the angels who are near.

This is the station where the Beauty of the All-Merciful became manifest, where He established Himself upon the Throne of Forgiveness, and where He decrees whatever He wills over all creation. Indeed, He is the One who does whatever He desires, ruling as He pleases and acting as He wills.

I bear witness that with but a handful of this dust, Adam the First was created, and thus was he named the father of humankind in the Kingdom of Names, and God made him the first remembrance among all created beings.”

Then fall upon your face upon the dust, place your right cheek upon it, and say with your tongue:

“Glory be to You, O God! O my Lord, this is Your servant who has turned away from all directions and oriented himself toward the direction of Your Oneness. He has purified his soul from all that is other than You and has held fast to the cords of the bounty of Your care. He has come in his entirety to the fields of the majesty of Your all-merciful grace.

So breathe, O my God, upon my heart the breezes of the majesty of the sanctity of Your care, and upon my being, the fragrances of the sovereignty of the majesty of Your favors. Do not cast me away from Your gate, O my God, deprived, nor from the manifestations of the Sun of Your bounty, hopeless.

Indeed, You are the One able to do as You will, and You are the Guardian, the Mighty, the Omnipotent.”

Then rise and turn to the right side of the House, facing your Lord, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the Wise. Then raise your hands to God, the Most High, the Exalted, and say:

“Glory be to You, O God, my God! My hands have been lifted with hope toward the heaven of Your bounty and gifts. I have fastened the fingers of my trust upon the cords of Your grace and kindness. I ask You by that through which You have adorned all things with the robes of Your guidance, and by which You have given life to all existence through the majesty of Your compassion and generosity, that You do not close the door of Your knowledge before my heart, nor the gate of Your mercy before my soul. Then, my God, set me upon that which befits the majesty of the sovereignty of Your oneness and the kingdom of Your sacred, eternal might. Truly, You are the Bestower, the Bountiful, the Mighty, the Generous.

And I am the one, O my God, who has cut himself off from his own self and hastened toward Your supreme Self. I have forsaken my house and stood before Your most pure, most glorious House. Thus, I ask You not to leave me to my own self, nor among those who prevent people from loving Your beauty and who bar Your servants from the path of Your mighty, straight way.”

Then circle the House in front of Me seven times. Thus commands you the Beauty of Eternity and teaches you what none among the worlds knows. And while you circumambulate the House of your Lord, remember Him in your heart and upon your tongue, and set yourself inwardly to face a mighty Throne. And when you complete your circumambulation, stand before the first portico, facing the gate of the sanctuary. Then stand still, raise your hands to the heaven of the outpouring of your Lord’s bounty, the Mighty, the Inaccessible.

I counsel you, that when you raise your hands, you do so with that yearning by which the hands of all created things are lifted to the heaven of the bounty of your Lord. And if you wish to pray to God, your Lord, then pray with that sincerity by which the tongues of every atom utter praise to their Creator and mention their Originator, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Wondrous. And if you are not as such, it is not befitting for you to take the place where the temples of the sanctified and the near ones have stood, nor to claim relation to Me, nor to dwell in the shadow of My love, that love which God has made a sharp sword dividing the idolaters from the monotheists.

And when you raise your hands to the cloud of the mercy of your Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, say:

“I bear witness that there is no god but He, alone without partner, without likeness, without minister, without peer, without adversary, without rival, without equal in His transcendent, inaccessible sovereignty. He has ever been one in His essence, one in His attributes, and one in His acts, and He shall ever remain as He has always been, in the glory of His majesty and the might of His invincible splendor.

Those who know confess their inability to attain the fields of the holiness of His knowledge, and the sincere acknowledge their shortcoming in ascending to the heaven of His remembrance and praise. And truly, He is the One who has dominion over all things; He is indeed the Mighty, the Generous.

I bear witness that the Primal Point and our Lord, the Most High, is His manifestation in the realm of the hidden, His appearance in the world of decree, His rising in the dominion of command. By Him, all things were brought into being, the possible realities were renewed, and the balance of justice was set upon a noble, exalted station. By Him, the cock of the throne has crowed, the dove of might has sung, the Resurrection of the Cause has been raised, and what was hidden in the treasuries of preserved might has appeared.

By Him, the heavens of eternity were uplifted, and the clouds of bounty ascended in this most sacred, most honored expanse. The sun of grace and generosity shone from a luminous horizon of holiness. By Him, the seas of verses surged in the dominion of names and attributes, and the appointed time of the Cause was fulfilled by what was decreed in the tablets of inviolable glory.

I bear witness that by Him the veil of concealment was lifted from the beauty of majesty, and the secrets of the unseen appeared in the kingdom of revelation. By Him, every poor one ascended to the heaven of wealth, every perishing soul to the stations of eternity, and every sick one to the places of healing, upon the pavilion of brilliant light.

I testify, O my God, that this is the station where You established Yourself upon the throne of the majesty of Your oneness and created the first and the last by the authority of Your will and purpose. In it, the clouds of Your bounty rained upon the worlds.

Thus I ask You, O my God, by Your greatest hidden Name and Your most perfect treasured Word, through which You promised Your servants its appearance in the Promised One, that You bring me to the shore of the ocean of Your forgiveness, erase from me all the great sins and mighty transgressions You have recorded against me.

Forgive, O my God, my father, my mother, my kin, and those whom You have associated with me among those who have believed in You and in Your signs. Then, O my God, grant me an honorable station near You, and unite me with Your favored servants.

Then I ask You, O my God and my Beloved, not to make me among those who circumambulate Your House on earth while denying Your sacred House in the manifestations of Your Self, the dawning places of Your mighty, self-subsisting authority, and the stations of the holiness of Your Lordship.

This, O my God, is the utmost of my hope and longing, and indeed, You are the Sovereign, the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the Wise. Then I ask You, O my God, by Your Beauty, through which the suns of the majesty of Your grace have shone and the flashes of the lights of the sanctity of Your bounty have gleamed, that You do not cause me to waver on the Day when every soul shall be in turmoil, every one of power and leadership shall be humbled, and the feet of the learned shall stumble, and the clamor of all things shall be raised, and every bright, shining light shall be darkened.

Take then my hand, O my God, with the hand of Your grace and bounty. Deprive me not on that Day of the breezes of the majesty of Your holiness, nor of hearing the melodies of Your wondrous praise.

Do not set me behind every wicked, sinful crier. Make my sight open through Your bounty, that I may know You by Yourself and not by anything else, and that I may witness the wonders of the lights of Your beauty through what You have granted me from Your grace, not by what is with the people. For You have not made for Yourself any proof apart from Your Self, nor any evidence besides Your signs. Truly, You are the Self-Subsisting, the Ruler, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware.

And praise be to God, the Lord of all things, the Lord of the worlds.”

Visitation Has Ended - In Conclusion

Then conclude your visitation, for We have not permitted anyone to draw nearer to the Sanctuary beyond this point. Before that station, the lights of the Essence shine forth beyond names and attributes. Beyond that is out of regard for the dignity that is the most excellent of attributes before God, the Master of the heavens and the earth. Thus have We cast upon you this command with a clear, manifest, and evident proof. And We desire that from every city, one soul should go forth on Our behalf and on his own behalf to visit the House of God and be among the visitors.

By God, with every step he takes, mercy and favor descend upon him from the heaven of radiant holiness. When he lifts his first foot and places it down, God forgives his sins and the sins of his mother and father and all who are connected to him. Thus has the bounty of your Lord encompassed all created things from the first to the last. By God, whoever visits the House is as one who visits God in the pavilion of the majesty of His meeting and the canopy of the glory of His beauty.

In this way, We inform you of the tidings that were with the mighty Throne. Whoever visits the House as We have taught him, God may resurrect him after his death in the Paradise of glory and grandeur, with a beauty from whose radiance the dwellers of the Highest Assembly shine. And God will command all who are in the exalted heavens to gather before him, to circle around him, and to visit his beauty morning and evening.

O trustees of God on earth, hasten to the Greatest Remembrance, then leave what is in your hands and turn toward the abode of God, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the All-Knowing. Stand firm, O My people, upon the station that, should all who are on earth rise against you, you would not turn toward them, and you would indeed be among those firmly rooted in the religion of God. The idolaters will try to prevent you from what God has bestowed upon you, out of the rancor hidden in their breasts. But God does what He wills by His command, and He is indeed the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful.

Know then that We have written detailed and expansive Tablets concerning the visitation of the House, but We have not yet sent them. If God wills, We shall send them in truth, for He is the Guardian of the Messengers. What We have now revealed is a brief summary, for the angels near to God and the dwellers of the Most Exalted Realm prefer brevity in outward deeds while remaining constant visitors inwardly at every moment. Thus have We taught you, made known to you the paths of holiness, and guided you to the shore of manifest bounty.

And as for you, O Muhammad, when you see the generous one in the city, remind him with a remembrance from Us and give him glad tidings of a holy, noble paradise. Say: O noble one, rise from your station and cry out between heaven and earth of the appearance of the hidden mystery from the dawn of His wondrous Name. Tear through the veils of illusion so that from behind them may shine forth the beauty of pre-existence with the lights of brilliant majesty.

Know then that intoxication has encompassed all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. So emerge from behind the veils that this elevated, radiant cloud may rain upon your heart. Then inform the people of the greatest treasure and remind them of this mighty tiding.

Say: We veiled Our face behind seventy thousand veils for twenty years, so that no one among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth would recognize Us. But when the idolaters, in whose breasts there was rancor, protested against Us—when they opposed the Youth—we lifted the veil from the face of the Cause with manifest authority. Then the suns of illusions darkened, the moon of ignorance was eclipsed, the stars of hatred fell to the face of the earth, and the souls of the hateful returned to the lowest depths of fire, the abode of the idolaters.

And you, O noble one, do not be patient for even a moment. Convey the Cause of your Lord to every discerning, seeing soul. By God, whenever you hear that something of My sovereign, mighty, and beautiful authority has appeared, ascend from the chambers of sorrows, then loosen your tongue with eloquence in the remembrance of your Lord, the Mighty, the Ruler, the Wise.

Turn your back on all who dwell upon the earth so that nothing from it may prevent you, that you may be light and free, mighty in refinement, able to soar to the air of nearness in this heaven which We have exalted by Our Name, the Most High, the Omnipotent, the All-Knowing. Thus have We commanded you and chosen you among the servants to rise by the authority of the Cause.