BB00008: Tafsir-i-Suratu’l-Baqarah (Commentary on the Surah of the Cow I)

On the verse “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Alif. Lam. Mim. This is the Book whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto the God-fearing.”

[Q2:1]

This verse, for the people of Reality, was the knowledge of God, glory be unto Him. They know its letters as one letter and its meanings as one meaning, despite the diversity of its letters and the multiplicity of its meanings. And they are a people who know God through God and behold their Creator and Paradise with the vision of the eye, and Paradise itself, for they look not through other than God. He was when there was nothing with Him. Now He is as He was. And they are the people of the first Paradise through their subsistence in the subsistence of God, and they have no description below themselves, and all else is non-existent in their station.

Therefore did the gardens become eight and hell seven, and the seven are the shadow of the seven, and the first hath no opposite nor shadow. Nay, in truth it is devoid of gardens and gardens are devoid of it, and it is the Paradise of Unity and the phantom of Singleness. Nothing can match it or equal it. And this is the saying of ’Ali, peace be upon Him: “He hath manifested Himself to it and by it”. And the Manifester is the very manifestation and He is the Manifested, and the Pre-Eternal Himself is Himself. He compareth with nothing and there is no knowledge concerning His Threshold, neither through unveiling nor through reasoning, for whatsoever is other than Him is non-existent in His sight. And He is God—He was when there was nothing with Him. Now He is as He was. How then can He be known by one who doth not declare His unity? And He is the Known through that which is possible in the realm of possibility.

Ali, peace be upon Him, said:

“There is no difference in knowledge save that they are His servants and His creation,”

and He is the Known through signs and the Famous through tokens. And that knowledge is the true sanctification of the Living, the Ancient, since other than Him is not possible in the realm of possibility.

Ali, peace be upon him, said in his Khutbah al-Yatamiyah:

“If thou sayest ‘Of what is He?’ then He hath transcended all things entirely, for He is He. And if thou sayest ‘He is He,’ then the ha and the waw are from His speech as a quality of inference concerning Him, not a quality that revealeth Him. And if thou sayest He hath a limit, then the limit belongeth to another. And if thou sayest the air is His attribute, then the air is of His creation. He returneth from description to description, and the heart is blinded from understanding, and understanding from perception, and perception from deduction. The sovereignty endureth in sovereignty, and the created thing reacheth unto its like, and the seeker attaineth unto its kind. Investigation encountereth incapacity, and exposition meeteth with loss, and effort with despair, and discourse with severance. The path is barred and the quest is rejected. His signs are His proof, and His existence is His confirmation.”

He is existence made manifest for contingency through Him, and His existence which none knoweth save Himself. Glorified be He Whom none knoweth how He is save He Himself.

And the people of the outward know through them the stations of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, peace be upon them. The alif is the letter of Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon him and his family, and it is the guardianship of God the Exalted. The lam is the letter of ’Ali, peace be upon him, and the mim is the letter of Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her. Verily God hath originated the lam and the mim by His command, so when they are joined together they form the word “Be,” and by His command the heavens and the earth were established. Therefore the prolongation was in the last two letters, and there is no prolongation for the alif because it is the manifestation of guardianship from God, glorified be He.

This is the word of unity, for the letters of “There is no god but God” are twelve, and their essence is three, which are the alif, the lam, and the ha. And the ha, when it descendeth in eight worlds—seven worlds of action and one world of passion—the letter mim hath appeared in them, peace be upon them. It hath appeared that there is no god but He. ’Ali, peace be upon him, said: “We are the Heights through whom God is not known save by the path of knowing us. Through us God is known, and through us God is worshipped. Were it not for us, God would not be worshipped, and were it not for us, God would not be known.”

And as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: “Alif Lam Mim is a letter from the letters of the Greatest Name of God, scattered in the Qur’an, which the Prophet and the Imam, peace be upon them, compose together. When one prayeth through it, he is answered.” The Greatest Name is that the servant should enter the depth of the ocean of Unity through it. When he entereth, his supplication becometh the very essence of response. “Is it not sufficient for thee that thy Lord encompasseth all things?” [Q41:53-54] And when one calleth upon God from beyond the ocean, he doth not call upon the Merciful, for the caller and the called upon and that through which the call is made are three. The Christians say “the third of three,” but “He is only one God” [Q6:19]. Whoso calleth upon God through it, God answereth his supplication.

The greatest of names is “He” without prolongation of the waw, and the gate of its composition is to approach God without directing oneself to the gate, for the gate is the indication. And he, peace be upon him, hath said: “The lifting of the veils of majesty without indication,” and this is the meaning of his saying, peace be upon him: “O my God, Thou hast commanded me to return to the traces, so return me to them clothed with lights and guided by insight, that I may return to Thee from them as I entered unto Thee from them, with the secret preserved from gazing upon them and the aspiration lifted above depending upon them. Verily Thou art powerful over all things.”

And the Book is for the Shí’ah of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—there is no doubt therein. And the greatest of Books is the Ocean of Predestination (bahr-i-qadar), for therein are contained the decrees of all things, and the mysteries of Origination (bada’), and of effacement and confirmation (mahw va ithbat), from infinity unto infinity. And whosoever is in existence is a Book of God, dictated by the Messenger of God—may the blessings of God rest upon Him and His kindred—and inscribed by ‘Alí—upon Him be peace—with His own hand. Prior to its inscription, no thing had any existence; and the inscription is an effect proceeding from the act of the Inscriber. This is the meaning of His saying—upon Him be peace: “A Light shone forth from the Morn of Eternity, and its traces appeared upon the Temples of Divine Unity.”

And this Book was the first among the Shi’ih to acknowledge His authority before all Books, and for this reason did God send it down upon His Beloved, the best of Messengers. And God hath numbered all that is in the Scrolls.

And “this Book—there is no doubt therein”—for the Shi’ih are the fourth pillar, and the appearance of “Alif Lam Mim” cannot be completed save through this Book. The Imam Musa ibn Ja’far, peace be upon Him, said when He was asked about the Greatest Name: “Four letters: the first is the word ‘There is no god but God,’ the second is ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God,’ may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, the third is ‘We,’ and the fourth is ‘Our Shi’ih,’” and they are the word of magnification in the four-fold glorification.

And the primary Shi’ih are the Prophets and the Trustees. And verily among the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, is Abraham, when he came with a sound heart free from multiplicities and entered the city of His authority whilst heedless of all save Him.

And the secondary Shi’ih are the believers among mankind, and they are the rays of the Prophets. And when they are purified from the dross of multiplicities and enter the house of Glory without indication, they enter beneath the shadow of the sovereignty of the Imam, peace be upon Him. And when the Imam, peace be upon Him, saith: “These are Our Shi’ih,” that is a word of grace and existence which hath been manifested unto them through them. Otherwise, in truth, there is no mention of them when they are mentioned; nay, there is no existence for the Prophets in the presence of Their existence. And They are the Existent Ones when there is no existence for anything now, even as it was. Glorified be They beyond what they describe!

And the sign of the Shi’ih is that their movement should be around the Lord in all conditions—they move not save by God and rest not save by God. If it be thus, then they are the Shi’ih; otherwise they are deficient in their station. If the matter be as I say, then they are a sign unto their Master. Whosoever looketh upon them knoweth all truth as it is His truth, from the world of unity unto the world of multiplicity, from infinity unto infinity. And they possess all that their Master possesseth of knowledge and obedience and love and disobedience. Whoso obeyeth His command hath obeyed God, and whoso denieth Him hath denied God. He who rejecteth Him is as one who rejecteth God.

The Imam, peace be upon Him, hath said: “Whosoever maketh a believer happy is as one who maketh Me happy, and whosoever maketh Me happy hath made God happy. And whosoever harmeth a believer is as one who harmeth Me, and whosoever harmeth Me hath harmed God.” And the sum of the matter is that there is no difference between them and their Master save that they are His servants and His creation. And this mystery is unveiled by the saying of as-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, in mentioning Salman: “May God’s blessings be upon Salman! May God’s blessings be upon Salman! May God’s blessings be upon Salman!”

And this is but a drop from the mention of the Book which the people of the Gate have recognized. Al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, said: “The Book is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, there is no doubt” that He establishes the unity and gives certainty to the oneness of God the Eternal, the Praised. And there is no doubt in His authority, for it came from heaven directly. And there is no speculation or delusion in His succession to the Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, where all recognized the whole from the whole. The people of polytheism denied it while their souls were certain of it, and God is not heedless of them—their recompense and their description the True One mentioned in His discourse of truth known as the Shaqshaqiyyah: that it, namely the principle of denial, “might be known that my position in relation to it is as the position of the axis to the mill-stone—the torrent flows down from me and the bird does not ascend to me.”

And every branch of denial might know as it knows, and this is apparent to all regions among the cycles and spheres, that the successor of Muhammad the Chosen is ’Ali the subduer of infidels, like the sun at the fourth hour of the day. And there is no greater proof of His authority save the sign of His self which God has placed in the horizons and in the souls until it becomes clear to creation that He is the Truth. The Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, said:

“Truth is with ’Ali and ’Ali is with Truth—it revolves with Him wherever He turns.”

And this is manifest to the people of all lands. God’s curse be upon the people of denial and the people of unbelief and rejection.

And He is without doubt a guidance for the God-fearing. Guidance from Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him, is God’s bringing into existence of the thing. And guidance from Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, is the Great Embassy. And guidance from ’Ali, peace be upon Him, is giving to each possessor of a right his right. And guidance according to the people of reality is one, and through connection it is three. The Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, said: “I am the Warner and ’Ali is the Guide.” And His guidance for the people of utterance is His manifestation to them through them that there is no god but He the Truth—nothing is like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.

And for the people of meanings, that Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, is unique in the realm of possibility, without peer or likeness, and He established Him in the station of His own self in performance in all the worlds, since “vision perceives Him not, but He perceives all vision, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware.” [Q6:103] And for the people of the Gates, that the Family of God, God’s peace be upon them, are the manifestation of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, in knowledge and performance in the worlds of possibility and existence, and through them the moving things moved and the stationary things became still.

And for the people of the Imamate, that the successors of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, are twelve souls, and they are the letters of “There is no god but God” in the inscribed records. And that Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her, is truthful and pure—nothing equals her after the Imams. And each has come to Him as a servant. And for the people of the Pillars through their pillarhood, and for the people of the Overseers through their oversight, and for the people of the Noble through their nobility, and for everything according to what it is upon. And all of this is His manifestation to what is other than Him through what is other than Him, while He in the glory of His sanctity is Guide and there is none guided save as He was.

And His guidance was the very soul of the God-fearing, and unto godliness are there degrees. For the people of reality and utterance, it is turning away from the splendors and effacing the illusions and rending the veils and entering into the house of glory and abiding in the station of “He is We and We are He.” Nay, they are more exalted in rank than these attributes, and speech floweth for the sake of others, otherwise they are sanctified above attributes and names. Nay, they are the people of pure and absolute turning, and the turner is the very essence of turning, and knowledge is the known. And in their rank there is no station of the ego of capacity, so how can that which befalleth others befall them?

Nay, they are the people of the ocean of identity, and it hath been said: “My Lord, cause me to enter into the ocean of the sea of Thy oneness—no name, no form, no explanation, no utterance, no sign.” And whosoever saith concerning them “why” and “wherefore” hath indeed blasphemed. Glory be to God the Great! And none knoweth how He is save He Himself. And godliness for the elect is turning away from whatsoever distracteth them from God and entering into the city of unity during the heedlessness of its people, and this is what is intended in the supplication: “and the surging ocean of Thy oneness.”

And this is what is meant in the supplication which the Imam, peace be upon him, recited on the day of Sha’ban:

“My God, grant me complete severance unto Thee, and illumine the eyes of our hearts with the light of their vision of Thee, until the eyes of the hearts pierce through the veils of light and reach unto the source of grandeur, and our spirits become suspended by the glory of Thy holiness. My God, and make me one of those whom Thou didst call and who answered Thee, and whom Thou didst regard and who was thunderstruck by Thy majesty, and whom Thou didst commune with in secret and who worked for Thee openly.”

And for the people of the elect is the Most Great Infallibility which preventeth them from heedlessness of the remembrance of God, and they see nothing save that they see God with it, and they see no light save His light, and they hear no voice save His voice. And they understand in the station of “God is He and we are we”: “I worshipped Thee not from fear of Thy punishment nor from hope of Thy paradise, but I found Thee worthy of worship, so I worshipped Thee.”

And the sign thereof for the wayfarers is that they see not themselves standing in remembrance of the All-Merciful, “and they are men whom neither merchandise nor traffic diverteth from the remembrance of God,” [Q24:37] and they remember God in secret and in public, according to the saying of their Imam, al-Husayn, peace be upon him: “Hath aught other than Thee, O my Lord, a manifestation which Thou dost not possess, that it should be the one to manifest Thee? When wert Thou absent that Thou shouldst need a guide to lead unto Thee? And when wert Thou distant that it should be the traces which unite unto Thee? Blind is the eye that seeth Thee not, while Thou dost ever keep watch over it, and lost is the bargain of the servant who hath no share of Thy love.”

And for the people of the outward, it is that they see not their Lord God in any state save that they are obedient unto Him. The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, hath said: “Act according to the ordinances of God and thou shalt be the most God-fearing among men.” And Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, hath said: “O company of the Shi’ah, the Shi’ah of the family of Muhammad, be ye the middle cushion unto which the extremist returneth and with which the follower catcheth up.” Then he said: “By God, we have no exemption from God, nor is there kinship between us and God, nor have we any argument against God, nor can one draw nigh unto God save through obedience. So whosoever among you is obedient unto God, our love shall profit him, and whosoever among you is disobedient unto God, our love shall not profit him. Woe unto you! Be not deceived! Woe unto you! Be not deceived!”

And he said, peace be upon him: The Messenger of God delivered an address during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying:

“O people! By God, there is nothing that bringeth you nigh unto Paradise and removeth you from the Fire but that I have commanded you to do it, and there is nothing that bringeth you nigh unto the Fire and removeth you from Paradise but that I have forbidden you from it. Verily, the Faithful Spirit hath breathed into my heart that no soul shall die until it hath received its full portion of sustenance. Therefore, fear God and be seemly in your seeking, and let not the delay of any portion of sustenance cause any of you to seek it through unlawful means, for that which is with God cannot be attained save through obedience.”

And Hasan ibn ’Ali Abu’l-Hujjah, peace be upon them, hath said in his interpretation of these words, “guidance unto the righteous”: “as an exposition and healing for the God-fearing among the followers of Muhammad and ’Ali, peace be upon them: Fear ye the varieties of disbelief and abandon them; fear ye the destructive sins and cast them off; fear ye the secrets of the family of God and the secrets of the pure among His servants, the successors after Muhammad, God’s blessings be upon them, and conceal them; and impart ye the secret of knowledge to those among its people who are worthy of it, and among them spread it forth.” And whatsoever I mention in the path of God-fearingness, whether of secrets or of open matters, is the fruit of Divine Unity, and none knoweth it save the people of abstraction and singularization.

On the verse “Those who believe in the unseen and establish prayer…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“Those who believe in the unseen and establish prayer and spend of that which We have provided for them.”

[Q2:3]

Faith hath ranks and degrees for the people of detachment [tajrid]—the very essence of singleness [tafrid]. And for all else, faith in every true sign whereby the True One hath manifested Himself to the people of truth, from the pearl to the mote. And if people knew how God created creation, none would blame another, for God hath created creation according to what they are, in terms of acceptance and denial. And the cause of acceptance is the cause of denial, and it is the essence of choice. And God, glorified be He, hath given unto every possessor of a right his right according to what he is, in the state he is in. And God’s knowledge of what he is, is contingent knowledge, and it is the essence of what he is.

And God’s knowledge is most worthy of the reality of confirmation, and the knowledge of the Essence is the Essence—none other knoweth it, and He is the Knower with no object of knowledge, as He ever was. And when He originated things, His origination is His knowledge of what is for what is, and His knowledge of things before their existence is like His knowledge of them after their existence. And He hath ever been All-Knowing, and there is no “how” to His knowledge, even as there is no “how” to Him, save by the knowledge of Him Who created, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware.

And the universal ranks of faith are seven: the first, the people of the Paradise of Will; the second, the people of the Paradise of Purpose; the third, the people of the Paradise of the Ocean of Destiny; the fourth, the people of the Paradise of Eden; the fifth, the people of the Paradise of Permission; the sixth, the people of the Paradise of Eternity; and the seventh, the people of the Paradise of Abode. And each rank of these seven hath enclosures without end, and the dwellers therein are servants whose number none knoweth save whom God willeth.

And this is what Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him, hath indicated in his saying:

“Verily, God, mighty and glorified, hath established faith upon seven portions: upon righteousness, truthfulness, certitude, contentment, faithfulness, knowledge, and forbearance. Then He divided this, and whosoever hath been given these seven portions is perfect and can bear them. And He apportioned to some people one portion, to some two, to some three, until they reached seven. And he said: ‘Burden not the possessor of one portion with two, nor the possessor of two with three, lest ye crush them’—and thus until it reacheth the possessor of seven.”

And righteousness belongeth to Muhammad, truthfulness to ’Ali, certitude to Hasan, contentment to Husayn, faithfulness to Fatimah, knowledge to Ja’far, and forbearance to Musa, peace of God be upon them. So whosoever believeth in them and in their unseen reality regarding these seven when they are repeated, he is the sincere believer.

And the Unseen [ghayb] is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, for He is hidden from all else and none knoweth His essence save God. And the place of the detailed exposition of this Unseen is the Qa’im, Muhammad the son of Hasan, peace be upon them both, and he it is of whom al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, spake when he was questioned concerning the Unseen in this verse. He said, peace be upon him: “He is the Hidden Proof.” And ’Ali is the very soul of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon them both and their families, as he hath clearly indicated in his sublime utterance: “Outwardly an Imam and inwardly an impregnable Unseen that cannot be comprehended.”

And the Unseen hath infinite degrees of possibility—the unseen of all existence in every world according to its measure, and the existence of the higher chain was the unseen of the lower chain. Thus doth it flow in every universal and particular among the realities and attributes unto infinity by infinity, and that is in the chain of limitations and multiplicities.

But in the sight of the people of utterance, the Unseen is the very Seen and the Seen is the very Unseen, and none knoweth the Unseen save God. And concerning it the people of the outward say: “He is the Inward,” and to the people of the inward He is that which Abu’l-Hujjah Hasan al-’Askari, peace be upon them both, said in interpreting this verse: “They believe in the Unseen—that is, in that which is hidden from their senses among the matters in which they are required to believe, such as the Resurrection and the Reckoning and Paradise and Hell and the Unity of God and all else that is not known through observation but is known only through proofs which God, exalted and glorified be He, hath established—such as Adam and Eve and Idris and Noah and Abraham and the Prophets in whom they are required to believe, and the Proofs of God, even though they have not seen them.”

And the “establishment of prayer” is submission to Muhammad and His successors, the blessings of God be upon them, through absolute supreme guardianship. And prayer from its beginning to its end is the form of separation and the temple of unity and the semblance of guardianship, and none can establish it with true establishment save Muhammad and His family, the manifestations of guardianship, for prayer is the first station of distinction between the Beloved and the lover. And they, the peace of God be upon them, were that love: “I was a Hidden Treasure and I loved to be known, so I created creation that I might be known.”

And the Greatest Master Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, hath said: “Above every good deed is a good deed, and love of us is a good deed above which there is no other good deed.” “God manifested Himself to them through them,” and He established true belovedness only in them, and pure servitude appeareth only in them. They are the ones who truly pray with the primordial Reality when there are no others praying save them, and this is the secret of the tradition: “Halt, O Muhammad, for thy Lord prayeth now.” As it was in them, peace of God be upon them, that Lordship appeared, and in them is perfect servitude accomplished in such wise as is not possible for any save them.

Their establishment in prayer is God’s description of Himself through them, while for all others it is their description from God, glorified be He. And they are the Seven Oft-Repeated Verses. When the one who prayeth reciteth the Opening Chapter in the two rak’ahs, he describeth God in each verse for one of the People of Infallibility through the tongue of His servant, according to that whereby He manifested Himself to him through them. And verily he hath established prayer when he knoweth those stations and entereth these abodes, for prayer is the meeting with the Beloved and the Face of the Worshipped One, and it is then the ascension of the believer. He, peace be upon Him, said: “We are the ascension of the believer, the Most Beautiful Names of God. No deed of anyone is accepted save through knowledge of us.”

Whoso knoweth them as being the meeting with God and His Face and His praised Self and His secret and His manifest—yet they are not He nor is He other than them—that is, according to that whereby He manifested Himself to them through them, verily he hath established prayer. ’Ali, peace be upon Him, said:

“What sign of God is greater than I, and what announcement is more mighty than I?”

They, peace of God be upon them, are the places of manifestation of servitudes and lordships. Through their servitude the lordship of all else came into being.

Therefore, whosoever acknowledgeth their guardianship in the realm of servitude hath established prayer with all the stations of the All-Merciful that are contained therein. And whosoever establisheth prayer and pierceth the veils and entereth the House of Glory, he is the one who acknowledgeth the shadow of their guardianship in the realm of servitude. In them is perfected universal servitude in such wise as can never be realized in any save them. And here am I mentioning a droplet thereof.

The Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, said: “We have not worshipped Thee as is Thy right to be worshipped, and we have not known Thee as is Thy right to be known.” And His son ’Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said: “My God, by Thy might and Thy majesty and Thy greatness, if I had worshipped Thee since Thou didst originate my nature from the beginning of time throughout the duration of the eternity of Thy lordship, with every hair in every twinkling of an eye throughout endless time, with the praise and gratitude of all creatures together, I would have fallen short of attaining the performance of gratitude for the most hidden blessing among Thy blessings upon me.

And if I had ground the iron mines of the world with my teeth, and plowed its earth with my eyelashes, and wept from fear of Thee like the seas of the heavens and the earth, blood and pus, that would be little compared to the much that is due unto Thee from me. And if Thou shouldst, O my God, after that torment me with the torment of all creatures together, and magnify my creation and my body for the Fire, and fill the layers of Hell with me until there would be no one tormented in the Fire save me, and there would be no fuel for Hell save me, that would be, according to Thy justice upon me, little compared to the much that I have deserved of Thy punishment.”

And like unto those words do there appear from all of them, peace be upon them, nay the very essence of the matter is that every hair of their bodies would be eloquent with this in all conditions. And this is because when the servant in all his stations hath need of God as the beginning of his existence, and God, glorified be He, is ever manifested unto him therein in all his stations as the beginning of his existence, even now doth flow the word of the All-Merciful: “As We began you shall ye return.” [Q7:29] And this is the great transgression and mighty fear of the servants, namely their standing in the house of servitude where they regard themselves in possibility or in essence with the gaze of duality. But when they are raised above such regard and stand in the sublime prospect, then are the decrees lifted, and this concerneth all save God.

But as for the people of infallibility, peace be upon them, that servitude hath ever remained and doth ever remain, and this fear and reverence are perpetual, for their servitude is the lordship of all else. Were the gaze to be lifted from themselves, the worlds would perish. Verily God created them for continuance, not for extinction, and God’s promise is truth. They are His gaze, the gaze of the All-Merciful, and their souls are His soul. Glorified are they above what ye ascribe unto them!

Ali, peace be upon him, said in the station of his servitude unto God:

“O my God, if Thou shouldst promise the Fire unto the obedient and Paradise unto the rebellious, then by Thy might and Thy glory—and there is no power save in Thee—the son of Abu Talib would still be a worshipper of Thine!”

And this is the sincerity of their servitude unto God the Most High, wherein none save them could endure.

And the essence of the matter is what al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, disclosed in his saying that he was praying on a certain day and fell down in a swoon during the prayer. When asked afterwards concerning the cause of his swoon, he said:

“I ceased not to repeat this verse: ‘Thee do we worship and Thee do we beseech for help,’ until I heard it from its Speaker.”

And this is not confined to any one state or mention, but rather they, peace be upon them, in all conditions hear from its Speaker whatsoever is mentioned, for the caller is the called. He revealeth His secret unto the righteous that the people of mysteries may not go astray, and this is manifest unto the people of the abodes like the sun at midday.

And the word of God “of that which We have given them do they spend” meaneth that they make their souls mirrors of the All-Merciful and give of that which God hath given them unto each possessor of right his right: unto the people of wisdom from the secrets of sciences and realities and firm verses; and unto the people of goodly exhortation from the inner meanings and gnoses and just ordinances; and unto the people of disputation from the outward meanings and husks according to the method established among them on the path of beauty for the quieting of their souls, for they are a rabble mob upon whom God hath forbidden what He hath made lawful unto others.

And of spending is the giving unto the people of the Paradise of Firdaws from the secrets of the Will and the Tablets of knowledge that which befitteth the glory of their sanctity; and unto the people of the Lofty Paradise from the divine secrets, the eternal, the secondary, the infinite, from knowledge of the sublime Will of God; and unto the people of the Paradise of Bliss from the secrets of the surging, successive, deep ocean from the secret of destiny and knowledge of the choice of things by God’s leave—He neither compelleth nor delegateth, but hath created things through the secret of choice. And this gate is the exposition of gardens vaster than that which lieth between heaven and earth, and it is the luminous sun upon which none looketh save the Ancient Individual.

And unto the people of the Paradise of Eden from the secrets of decree and alteration—how decree floweth for alteration and execution is lifted when alteration floweth—and knowledge that this Paradise is the most exalted of Paradises and hath no precinct.

And it is the pole of the heavens and the heavens revolve around it through the knowledge of its people, and for the people of the paradise of station are the secrets of the stations of God and His signs, and for the people of the paradise of eternity are the secrets of the veils and pavilions and how the glory and beauty are related to the people of majesty and perfection, and for the people of the paradise of abode is the knowledge of the furthest mosque unto the nearest or nearer, and for the people of the paradise of peace is safety from other than God, and this is the poverty in which the Messenger of God, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His kindred, took pride, for he expended all in God and became extinct to such a degree that nothing remained of his existence. When he expended all that God had provided him, God made him abiding through His own subsistence, whereupon his extinction became the essence of his subsistence and his poverty became the essence of his wealth.

Whoso obeyeth as did the Messenger of God, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His kindred, in spending, he entereth into this verse, otherwise God hath the will and in Him, and that is the greatest degree of spending for the people of the abode of peace. None knoweth it save him who hath entered the noble house of God and drunk from the cup of His ancient glory. When he entereth and drinketh, he becometh truthful to the people of Islam in the abode of peace.

And of spending for the people of the seven hells, each degree is for those who are its people through denial and rejection and attribution of disbelief and idolatry, that which they deserve thereby. And of spending is to give everything according to what they are and to place everything in its proper place: realities in realities, and jewels in treasuries, and attributes in attributes, and accidents in forms, and for the believers compassion and humility and lowering of the wing and mercy, and for the disbelievers vengeance and harshness, and for names that nothing be named save what God and His Messenger and His saints have named.

And Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, hath said:

“He who calleth the date-stone a pebble and the pebble a date-stone and then believeth in it,”

he is an idolater. And for the living, concealment and forgiveness, and for the dead, mention of good and seeking of forgiveness, and for everything that which God and His Messenger have defined, until if a man were asked while he is upon a horse, it would not be fitting to turn him away. And of spending: in the time of prayer, prayer, and of alms, alms, and fasting, fasting, and pilgrimage, pilgrimage, and holy war, holy war. And all of that is a drop from spending, and the people of hypocrisy have known it.

On the verse “And those who believe in that which hath been…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And those who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee and that which was sent down before thee, and of the hereafter they are certain.”

[Q2:4]

This verse is connected to His saying, exalted be He, “those who believe in the unseen” and is dependent upon it in grammatical construction, whether in the nominative, accusative, or genitive case, both in word and meaning. In the sight of the people of reality, this is the very first verse itself, both inwardly and outwardly, for they behold things with the vision of the Lord, Who seeth all possibilities and whatsoever is therein as one letter.

“And what hath been sent down unto thee” referreth to the knowledge of the unity of the Essence, the Attributes, and the Acts, and worship. “And what was sent down before thee” unto the Prophets is but the outer shell of what hath been revealed concerning the knowledge of God, His Names and Attributes, and all His commandments. “And of the Hereafter” is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and it is that which hath been sent down unto thee concerning His guardianship, for the first thing that ascended from Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and the first thing that descended upon His sacred being is ’Ali, peace be upon Him. God hath not sent forth any Prophet save through His guardianship, peace be upon Him, and naught hath descended from God, neither Book nor command, save in His guardianship, peace be upon Him.

The Hereafter is the First, and the Day of the Hereafter is the Day of Grace, and it is the Day of His guardianship, peace be upon Him, which God hath appointed in all things for the separation of truth and falsehood. He standeth upon the Bridge, saying unto the Gardens:

“Take this one, for he is from Me, from the Garden of Unity and the Overflowing Ocean of Oneness and the Gardens of the Six and their Seven Enclosures.”

The Gardens obey His command as doth a humble servant his mighty lord.

He it is Who saith unto the Seven Fires: “Take this one, for he hath disobeyed My command.” The fires obey His command as doth a rebellious servant before the justice of the Sovereign of Justice, the Subduer. He ceaseth not to stand upon the Bridge, uttering these words. Whomsoever divine providence hath preceded, happiness overtaketh him and he entereth the House of Guardianship, which is the Abode of the Hereafter and the Garden of Eternity. Verily, the abode of the Hereafter is Life itself, if they but knew. Whomsoever wretchedness hath preceded from his own self through turning away from His guardianship entereth the house of hell, which is the abode of this world. This world is accursed and treacherous.

The secret of the matter is that things possess two movements: an essential, fundamental movement around their Lord, which is the state of turning toward Him and the abode of the Hereafter; and an accidental, uprooted movement around themselves, which is the state of turning away and the abode of this world. Both of these revolve around ’Ali, peace be upon Him, for He is the Pole of the world of contingent existence, and all derive sustenance from Him according to what their souls require. He is not unjust unto His servants.

Al-Hasan ibn ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said:

“Whosoever denieth the excellence of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon Him, over all who came after the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, hath given the lie to the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the Scrolls of Abraham, and all the other Books of God that have been revealed. For naught hath been revealed in them save that the most important thing therein, after the command to acknowledge the unity of God and to confess to prophethood, is the recognition of the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and the pure ones of His family, peace be upon them.”

Al-Husayn ibn ’Ali, peace be upon both of them, hath said:

“O thou ascetic worshipper! The denial of the excellence of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, over all creation after the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, shall become like a flame of fire on a day of violent wind, and all the other deeds of him who denieth the excellence of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, shall become like dry grass with which the deserts are filled. That fire shall be kindled among them and that wind shall encompass them until it consumeth them all, leaving nothing of them remaining.”

And this is, by God, what the two noble Imams, Hasan and Husayn, peace be upon them, said: The people of the covenants have known it with the eye of witnessing, and the people of witnessing have known it through the word of the covenant. And here I shall mention its mystery: that the verse of guardianship is the same as the verse of prophethood, and the verse of prophethood is the same as the verse of unity. Whosoever rejecteth the excellence of the verse of guardianship which God hath placed in all things—and this is the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon him—is as one who rejecteth the excellence of the verse of prophethood. And whosoever rejecteth the excellence of the verse of prophethood is as one who rejecteth the excellence of the verse of unity.

Thus it is the saying of Husayn, peace be upon him: “No remnant shall remain thereof.” And verily ’Ali, peace be upon him, is that which was sent down unto thee from the verses of God and His signs, and he is that which was sent down before thee unto the Prophets when He manifested Himself to them through them from the verses of unity and the signs of singleness and the stations of sanctification and the verses of prophethood for Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the verses of guardianship for himself and his successors, peace of God be upon them. And he is the abode of the hereafter. Whosoever acknowledgeth his guardianship hath drunk from the sealed cup from the hand of the Living, the Self-Subsistent, from the drink of Kawthar, and this is the pure water and the essence of manifestation from ’Ali, peace be upon him. And this is the mystery of what al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said to Abu Basir: “Thou hast drunk it”—that is, the water of Kawthar. He who knoweth, knoweth, and none knoweth it save the people of nobility.

On the verse “These are guided by their Lord, and these are…”

God, exalted be He, said:

“These are guided by their Lord, and these are they who shall prosper.”

[Q2:5]

Then God, exalted be He, gave tidings concerning the majesty of these who are described with these noble qualities: faith in God alone, and the establishment of prayer—which is acknowledgment of the prophethood of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family—and spending in the path of God through the excellence of the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon him, and faith in what God sent down concerning the guardianship of ’Ali and Hasan and Husayn and ’Ali and Muhammad and Ja’far and Musa and ’Ali and Muhammad and ’Ali and Hasan and Muhammad the Hidden, the Awaited, peace of God be upon them, and in the hereafter which is Fatimah, blessings of God be upon her.

These are guided, and guidance for these believers is upon four divisions: a division corresponding to the Alif, which is the ocean of unity from the pure love of God; and a division corresponding to the Lam, which is the love of singleness in the prophethood of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, specifically; and a division corresponding to the Hamza in “these,” which is the pure love for faith in the successors of Muhammad and his daughter, blessings of God be upon them; and a division corresponding to the Kaf, which is the pure love for the followers of the Family of God, peace of God be upon them. These are they who are guided by their Lord—that is, the nurturer of their beings in creation and recording.

And for servitude there are seven stages. The first is the lordship of the Pure Ancient Essence—exalted and glorified be He—and it is a lordship wherein there is no subject, neither in mention nor in essence nor in comprehension, and He hath ever been Lord though no subject existed, even as He was—glorified be He. Sanctified is His lordship from being attained by the hand of aught else besides Him. No word, no utterance, no delineation, no name, no expression, no allusion can find the path to its knowledge—the way is barred and the quest is rejected. Glory be to thy Lord, the Lord of might, high is He above all that they describe.

The second is the evidence of that lordship and its sign—that is, the Essence by which one is guided unto it, and its knowledge is the knowledge of the First through signs, for it is His Face, and knowledge of the Face is the very knowledge of the Possessor of the Face. “My God, through Thee have I known Thee, and Thou hast guided me unto Thee and summoned me unto Thee, and were it not for Thee I would not have known what Thou art.” And He hath pointed to His own Self by His own Self, and there is no mention of subjects in the court of His glory—no mention, no capacity, no comprehension, no manifestation. Nay, in truth, that lordship is the primal lordship, and there is no name or allusion unto His sanctified Threshold. Glorified is the Ancient One above the description of aught else besides Him! He is sanctified from His creation and His creation is sanctified from Him. Whatsoever pointeth to His knowledge is the knowledge of His signs. Glorified is He, most great above all that ye describe.

The third is the lordship of Will, and it is a lordship wherein there is a subject in mention, or wherein there is no subject in essence or comprehension, and it is the station of Identity and the highest stage of Unity.

The fourth is the lordship of Purpose, and it is a lordship wherein there is a subject in mention and in essence generally, and wherein there is no subject in relation—neither in manifestation nor in comprehension.

The fifth is the lordship of the Greatest Name of God, and it is a lordship wherein there is a subject in mention and in essence particularly, and wherein there is no subject in relation—neither in manifestation nor in comprehension.

The sixth is the lordship of the Name of Mercifulness, and it is a lordship wherein there is a subject in mention and in essence, in relation and in comprehension, and wherein there is no subject in manifestation. That lordship is servitude: “Thee do we worship and Thee do we ask for help.”

The seventh is lordship wherein there is a subject in mention and in essence and in comprehension and in manifestation, and it is the lordship cast into the identity of the reality of the subject.

And verily hath al-Sadiq—peace be upon Him—alluded in His saying to that lordship: “Servitude is a substance whose essence is lordship. So what is lost in servitude is found in lordship, and what is hidden in lordship is attained in servitude. But He encompasseth all things.” And that lordship existeth in the hidden and manifest aspects of things, and it is what is intended in His saying—exalted be He: “Guidance from their Lord”—that is, the lordship cast into their identities, and God—exalted be He—guideth them through that lordship which is theirs through them.

And verily God—glorified be He—hath made ’Ali—peace be upon Him—the station of His Self in those seven lordships, for the glory of the grandeur of His lordship, since “vision perceiveth Him not,” and the whisperings of thoughts cannot contain Him, and the bird of hearts and imaginations cannot soar unto the atmosphere of His lordship, “yet He perceiveth all vision; and He is the Subtle, the All-Informed.”

And that is a drop from the mention of “guidance from their Lord, and these—they are the successful.” And success from their Lord is in degrees: for the people of utterance it is the very essence of detachment and their entrance into the house of isolation and their steadfastness in unity, such that it is not possible within their capacity to mention anything save the mention of God, the Most Mighty, the Most Generous. For the people of meanings it is knowledge of principles and their entrance into the surging sea of the mention of Unity, and this is the Greatest Paradise. For the people who acknowledge the authority of the Family of God—peace be upon Them—it is their entrance into the land of saffron, and this is the surging ocean of the All-Merciful. For the people who acknowledge the followers of the Family of God—peace of God be upon them—it is their entrance into the red sand-hill. And the essence of the matter is that every soul of truth in the place of truth—they are the successful.

The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, said: “Give us rest, O Bilal,” and verily this rest is for the sake of prayer, because therein the Beloved doth lift His veil, for prayer is the essence of salvation and it is the meeting with the All-Merciful. What rest could be greater than this?

The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, said: “The solace of mine eyes is in prayer.” Prayer and all deeds are the requirement of the divine being and the image of man, and they are not a burden imposed by God through compulsion to worship the All-Merciful, exalted be He—Who is the Self-Sufficient, the Most High—but rather they are the spirit and the rest arising from the requirement of servitude to the Glory of Lordship, and they constitute salvation and deliverance. Whosoever worketh for God, exalted be He, in all the worlds and in all his deeds according to the way of love and rest and spirit and fragrance, he is worthy of salvation. And whosoever worketh by way of hardship and burden, his end shall be deliverance after his sojourn in the face of the fire, for God is just and forgiving. The bearer of that salvation from God is the bearer of Lordship, and he is ’Ali, peace be upon him. And acknowledgment of servitude to God is salvation, and acknowledgment of lordship apart from the bounty of God is excess and perdition.

On the verse “As for those who disbelieve, it is alike…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“As for those who disbelieve, it is alike for them whether thou warn them or warn them not, they will not believe.”

[Q2:6]

The will [iradah] of God is the creation of a thing, and that God, through His knowledge and power and His warning, is equal unto believers and unbelievers, for God, glorified be He, created the believer in that state of faith in which he is, and created the unbeliever in that state of denial in which he is. The cause of faith through acceptance is the very same cause of denial, and it is God Who was established upon the throne of action over all things. Whomsoever willeth faith, God willeth, and whomsoever God willeth, He bringeth into being through his faith, and whomsoever willeth unbelief, He bringeth into being through his unbelief. God preventeth not His power from anything, and He is the Powerful, the All-Choosing. God created all things in perfect freedom of choice according to what is possible in the realm of contingency.

The first unbelief which God willed to bring into being according to what it is in His knowledge is the heart of Abu’l-Dawahi—may God’s curse be upon him—and this curse of God upon him believeth not in God for the twinkling of an eye, neither in the first atom of the possibility of his heart, nor in the second atom of the possibility of his inverted heart, nor in the third atom of the possibility of his soul, nor in the fourth atom of the possibility of his body. He is an absolute unbeliever, and this is the meaning of the saying of ’Ali, peace be upon Him: “Verily he clothed himself therewith”—Ibn Abi Quhafah—“with the garment of turning away from the Divine Unity and unbelief in Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, and polytheism regarding Me and My successors, and enmity toward My lovers.” He—may God’s curse be upon him—should know that my station in relation thereto is as the station of the axis to the millstone; from me floweth down in the four worlds, from me floweth down the torrent, yet no bird ascendeth unto me. Thus through his knowledge he disbelieved after he had known, and this is complete unbelief.

From a drop of his unbelief is Abu’sh-Shurur—may God’s curse be upon them both—and this is what is in the tradition that the second is an evil deed among his evil deeds. It is unbelief: from him it began and to him it pointed, and he is complete unbelief and the source of hell. Every evil that is found in any land unto infinity is from it, and verily those who disbelieved essentially are from it, and through following its branches. It is universal ignorance, and among its manifestations is Satan. Equal unto them is the call of Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, to Divine Unity and prophethood and guardianship for ’Ali, peace be upon Him. Whether thou warn them and frighten them or warn them not or frighten them not, they will not believe. God the Exalted hath informed of His knowledge concerning them, and they are those who, when they disbelieved in Muhammad the Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon Him—in the fourth atom of this world, they were in the knowledge of God, mighty and glorified, as those who would not believe.

The Messenger of God, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, said:

“The first things by which God, mighty and glorified, was disobeyed are six: love of the world, love of leadership, love of food, love of sleep, love of ease, and love of women.”

And He said, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family: “Unbelief is four: servitude, fear, displeasure, and anger.”

And Abu ’Abdillah, peace be upon Him, hath said:

“The roots of unbelief are three: greed, pride, and envy. As for greed, when Adam was forbidden the tree, greed led him to eat of it. As for pride, Satan, when he was commanded to prostrate before Adam, peace be upon Him, refused. As for envy, the two sons of Adam, when one of them slew his companion.”

The truth of the matter is that disbelief is idolatry. The first disobedience of the Primal Adam was His inclination toward the Tree of Unity, and His inclination was the creation of that Tree within itself. Had He remained standing in the ocean of Oneness and not inclined toward aught else, He would not have departed from the Paradise of Muhammad—may the blessings of God be upon them and His family. When inclination came, idolatry appeared. When inclination came from Paradise and the Will became attached to Desire—which is Eve, the first Adam—God created her from the Will for the tranquility of the Primal Adam. When He disobeyed, He departed from the Paradise of Identity and entered into the surging darkness of this world, the fire of duality. He was tossed about and humbled in submission and reverence, whereupon the bounty of Fatimah—may the peace of God be upon her—reached Him. He wept and confessed to God concerning the Bada, and concerning the sanctity of the wine, and wept for thirty days. Then He repented unto God the Exalted through adherence according to confession to the Family of God—peace be upon them—and God accepted His repentance, so He became one of the righteous.

On the verse “God hath set a seal upon their hearts…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“God hath set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and on their eyes is a covering, and for them is a great torment.”

[Q2:7]

The seal is the mark of the seal from the execution of the decree that there be no Bada after it. The heart is the third, for he lied concerning the Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—by his opinion. The hearing is the first, for he lied concerning the Messenger of God by his hearing. The sight is the second, for he slandered the Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—by his sight. Verily God—glory be unto Him—hath marked those who disbelieved, their hearts and their hearing and their sight, with a mark which He maketh known to whomsoever He willeth of His servants. It is God the Exalted Who willed to make them known by that mark to all His servants, that none might remain ignorant of their disbelief in anything.

Reason knoweth their disbelief by this mark, and ignorance knoweth their disbelief by this mark. The mark is all that is attributed by them and to them. All the realms and beings in the regions and cycles have known them to be disbelievers who believe not. God hath placed upon their eyes a covering, which is the disbelief of their souls that hath veiled their eyes from beholding the signs of God and the signs of His Prophet and His Saint and the followers of His Saint—peace be upon them. This covering is for them a manifest mark, and for them is a great torment in the hereafter for that they used to belie through their disbelief in God and in Muhammad and His successors—may the blessings of God be upon them.

The great torment is ’Ali—peace be upon him—for he is the manifestation of the grandeur of God and His beauty and His justice. When the covering is removed on the Day of Resurrection from their inner sight, they behold him as the Desired One and the manifest Object of Worship and the manifestations of the signs of the Living One in the worlds of holiness and dominion. They long for meeting Him and nearness to Him. But since God hath forbidden His meeting to every disbeliever in His guardianship, and a covering hath come upon their eyes that removeth them from nearness to Him and beholding the beauty of His glory, it becometh for them a great torment and a mighty fire. That torment is from the beginning of their existence and in every world wherein they are, but they perceive not.

On the verse “And of mankind are some who say: We believe…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And of mankind are some who say: We believe in God and the Last Day, when they believe not.”

[Q2:8]

O ye particular people who have forgotten God their Creator! They believe in faith in ’Ali, upon him be peace, in his guardianship, and in the Last Day—the abode of the sovereignty of ’Ali, upon him be peace—yet they are not believers. For ’Ali, peace be upon him, is naught but the Manifestation of the Divine Identity in the station of Unity. Whosoever knoweth him as the Sign of God in the station of Oneness—and neither is He ’Ali, nor is ’Ali the Ancient One other than Him—and becometh established in that ocean in such wise that he departeth not therefrom for even a moment, he is of the believers in God and in the Last Day. And this is the First Day, which is the beginning of the mention of all things in the realm of possibility, and it is the Day that was illumined by the light of God, which is the light of ’Ali, peace be upon him. Such a one is of the believers. But whoso departeth from that station entereth into that saying, and he is not a believer most high. May God preserve us through Muhammad and his family—peace be upon them—from entering into such error.

And verily the Imam Hasan, son of ’Ali, father of the Proof—peace be upon them—hath said in the interpretation of this verse that when the Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon him—stationed ’Ali, peace be upon him, on the Day of Ghadir in the station that is known, he then said: “O servants of God, ascribe lineage unto me!” And they said: “Thou art Muhammad, son of Abdullah, son of Abd al-Muttalib, son of Hashim, son of Abd Manaf.” Then he said: “O people! Am I not closer to you than your own selves? And am I not your master and closer to you than ye are to your own selves?” They said: “Yea, O Messenger of God!” Then he looked toward heaven and said: “O God, bear witness!”—thrice.

Then he said: “Lo! Of whomsoever I am the master and closer unto, this ’Ali is his master and closer unto him. O God, befriend whosoever befriendeth him, oppose whosoever opposeth him, aid whosoever aideth him, and forsake whosoever forsaketh him!” Then he said to the first: “Rise and pledge allegiance unto him!” And likewise he commanded the second to rise and pledge allegiance, and he pledged allegiance unto him with the title of Commander of the Faithful. Then he said this to the completion of the nine, then to the chiefs of the Emigrants and the Helpers, and they all pledged allegiance unto him. Then they dispersed from that place, and the covenants and compacts had been emphasized unto them.

And they would come unto the Messenger of God—peace be upon him and his family—and say: “Verily thou hast established ’Ali as the most beloved of creation unto God and unto thee and unto us, and thou hast spared us the burden of those who would wrong us and the tyrants in our governance.” But God knew that in their hearts was the contrary of this, so God, mighty and glorious, informed concerning them and said: “O Muhammad! And among mankind are those who say: ‘We believe in God’—Who commanded thee to establish ‘Ali as leader and governor and administrator for thy community—’yet they are not believers in that.’”

And that scene is identical with the first scene of the particles [dharr] when the covenant of Lordship was taken. He who knew did know. The people of understanding have learned that what is there can be known only through what is here. The religious law correspondeth to creation.

That scene is mightier than the first—the scene of the primal Covenant of acknowledgment to the oneness of God. The second and the third scenes were likewise covenants of confession—one to the Prophethood, the other to Divine Unity. Yet the Mystery of the Cause is this fourth scene—the Day of Ghadir—which uniteth within itself those three stations and is their greatest manifestation. One scene, however, remaineth: the fourth foundation, which shall be established by the Qa’im—may God hasten His advent—at the commencement of His appearance. It is the scene wherein the covenant of allegiance is taken from His true followers; for they are the Word of Magnification dwelling in the Sanctuary of Praise.

Wherefore, when the Imam—upon Him be peace—shall manifest that Most Great Covenant and that Most Bounteous Pledge to His chosen ones, who are the embodiments of His ancient Self, those three hundred and thirteen companions shall, at first, flee from that Covenant and allegiance; then shall they return and believe in the Proof through that very Covenant and that scene. For though the three former scenes contained the matter in sum and possibility, yet its full realization and detailed disclosure demandeth the rising of the Proof—upon Him be peace.

Among men are such as believe in God, in His Messenger, and in His appointed Successors—peace be upon them—yet in truth are they not believers, for they believe not in their followers; and whoso believeth not in them falleth within the purview of that verse:

“They seek to deceive God and those who believe, yet they deceive none but themselves, though they perceive it not.”

The true believer is he who, through the mystery of the Tradition, beholdeth the reality of his own soul and attaineth unto the splendour thereof.

Verily al-Sadiq—upon Him be peace—hath alluded to this station in His saying:

“God, glorified and exalted, created the Names by letters without sound, by utterance without speech, by person without embodiment, by similitude without description, by colour without hue. From them space is negated, distance removed, limits withheld, perception veiled, and imagination forbidden. Hidden, yet not concealed, He made them a perfect Word in four parts, none preceding another. From them He made manifest three Names, by reason of the need of creation thereto, and veiled one—the Hidden and Treasured Name. These Names that appeared—the Manifest is God, blessed and exalted be He.”

The Hidden Name is the Scene of the Covenant of Love with the true followers—its seat is the heart—made manifest by the Proof—upon Him be peace. The three manifest Names are these: the first is “God,” which is the primordial Covenant of confession to the oneness of God; the second is “Blessed be He,” which is the covenant of praise and acknowledgment of Muhammad—may peace and blessings rest upon Him and His kindred—as the Prophet; and the third is “Exalted be He,” which is the Covenant of “There is none other God but God” on the Day of Ghadir—the acknowledgment of the guardianship of ’Ali and of the eleven of his progeny, and of Fatimah—peace be upon them all.

God hath made manifest these three because of the need of the creatures thereunto, and hath veiled the fourth, for the creation cannot bear it. That Hidden Name is treasured within the souls of the true ones; he who perceiveth by the light of Reality knoweth it. The Imam—upon Him be peace—said:

“I am the friend of those who love, and the foe of those who show enmity.”

On the verse “They seek to deceive God and those who believe…”

And God, exalted be He, hath said:

“They seek to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive none save themselves, though they perceive it not.”

[Q2:9]

“They seek to deceive God” by plunging into the depths of self-seclusion, as though there were in them the capacity to behold their own souls. “Those who believe” are they who confess the guardianship of ’Ali and of the eleven of his descendants—they are the people of the Ocean of Unity. They are established in the guardianship of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—recognizing him as nearer than their very selves. “They deceive none but their own souls”; for when they gaze upon themselves, they are as a mirage in the desert, or as an uprooted tree—deprived of entrance into the Ocean of Glory and Eternal Being, and cast into the abyss of abasement and extinction. They have no station, no awareness; and those who flee through such deceit but delude their own souls. God, verily, is independent of them and of their aid. Were it not for His forbearance, they would have no power even to perpetrate their rebellion in gazing upon their own selves, or their impiety in confessing false successors and leaders of unbelief, and in turning to multiplicity. “Yet they perceive it not.”

Authority has a true meaning, and I am mentioning it so that its people may not go astray. It is that God, glorified be He, has made a sign of Himself in the realities of things that they may know Him thereby. This is a contingent, created sign—nothing is like the sign of the True God, for “there is nothing like unto Him,” [Q42:11] “no God is there but He, glorified be He above what they associate with Him.” [Q9:31]

Verily, He—peace be upon Him—has said: “Everything upon which a name falls is created, save God.” That sign is the very essence of the thing and its reality from its Lord, and the aspect by which He looked upon it. Know God! The Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—said: “He among you who knows himself best knows his Lord best.” And ’Ali—peace be upon Him—said: “Whoso knows himself has known his Lord.”

And in the Gospel, God the Exalted has said:

“Know thyself and thou shalt know thy Lord. Thine outward is for extinction and thine inward is Me.”

He who knows God by means of this self that is within him has indeed known God, and there is no path to worship save this. There is no difference in knowledge except that he is His servant and His creation. Whoso knows Him as he knows God, glorified be He, has indeed known Him. But whoso knows Him with the attribute of contingent things does not know Him, for He is the sign of Unity and the shadow of Oneness, and the ultimate reality of the contingent from the bounty of the Ancient.

Verily, those who know God know naught but themselves, and those who deceive God deceive naught but themselves. In everything there is a sign of His which points to His being One, and that sign is the mirror of God in things wherein they behold the beauty of God—that is, through that whereby He manifested Himself to them through them, which is their own selves. The instruments point only to themselves. He who has known our discourse has known, and none knows it save he who has taken our provisions and journeys with us.

Verily, ’Ali—peace be upon Him—has said: “The removal of the veils of glory without indication.” The servant’s beholding of the face of the Lord is the removal of the veils without indication. Nothing is nearer to anything than itself to it, and its reality is with it. Verily, God, glorified be He, looks through the servant, and manifests Himself through him, and takes account through him—glorified be He from having the attention of any of His creatures reach unto Him.

Verily, the Imam—peace be upon him—has said:

“Whatever you distinguish through your imaginations in its most subtle meanings, it is created like yourselves and returned unto you.”

The thing does not go beyond its source, and the contingent ascends to the contingent. There is no path to the Pure Eternal by any means, for whatsoever is other than Him is pure nothingness in His presence, both now as it ever was.

The Lord of existence—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—has said regarding the contingent: “We have not known Thee as Thou shouldst rightfully be known.” Verily, God, glorified be He, is pleased with the incapacity of His servants to know His essence, for aught beyond that is not possible in the realm of contingency.

Verily hath the Imam, peace be upon him, declared: “There is no way save through the way of Our recognition,” and this is the meaning of “There is no God but God.” And that same soul is the very essence of this Word, contingent and created, which beareth witness unto God through unity. This is manifest unto the people of the heart, for God hath sent it down from the fountain of the Pen upon the Tablet of Righteousness. Even so hath it been.

And the Imam Musa ibn Ja’far, peace be upon him, hath spoken according to what the Imam Hasan al-Askari, peace be upon him, hath said in his commentary upon this verse:

“When their conspiracy against ‘Ali, peace be upon him, reached the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, He summoned them and reproached them. Then did they strive earnestly in faith, and the first of them said: ’O Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon thee! By God, I have not prepared myself for anything as I have prepared myself for this allegiance. Verily have I hoped that God the Exalted will expand for me the palaces of Paradise and make me therein among the most excellent of guests and inhabitants.’ And the second of them said: ‘May my father and mother be ransom for thee, O Messenger of God! I have not trusted in entering Paradise and being saved from the Fire save through this allegiance. By God, it would not please me to break it or violate it after I have given of myself what I have given, even were I to possess all that lieth between the earth and the Throne of fresh dates and precious jewels.’ And the third of them said: ‘By God, O Messenger! Verily have I become, through joy at this allegiance and gladness and triumph, among those hopeful in God’s good pleasure, and I am assured that even were the sins of all the people of the earth upon me, they would be effaced from me through this allegiance.’ And he swore to what he said, and cursed whosoever might convey to the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, aught contrary to what he had sworn. Then did the tyrants and rebels who came after them follow in succession with like excuses. God the Exalted said unto Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family: ‘They seek to deceive God.’”

That is, they deceive themselves through allegiance to ’Ali, peace be upon him, and the saying that the root of unbelief and its branches have issued forth from the root of hell. Even so are their words of acknowledgment of the Truth like unto the forms of scorpions in Sijjin. They have no verse of unity but they deceive through polytheism, nor any verse of prophethood but they deceive through unbelief, nor any verse of divine authority but they deceive through hypocrisy. God hath cursed them for their unbelief, and “they deceive none but themselves.” They issue forth from Sijjin and speak in Sijjin and return unto Sijjin, yet they perceive not, for true perception lieth in the verse of unity, and its seat is the heart, which is the highest of man’s faculties of perception. And since these unbelievers have deceived themselves concerning ’Ali, the verse of God’s unity, God hath taken away their perception and hath changed their perception into denial, and they have no perception whatsoever, for perception is an attribute of the believers.

Ali, peace be upon him, hath said:

“Fear ye the insight of the believer, for verily he looketh with the light of God,”

and it is the light of God from which he was created. But the unbeliever looketh with his own self and was created therefrom, and he hath no perception. The believer hath known the manifestation through the light of God the Forgiving.

On the verse “In their hearts is a disease, so God hath…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“In their hearts is a disease, so God hath increased them in disease, and for them is a painful chastisement because they were wont to lie.”

[Q2:10]

The heart is the first manifestation of the inmost heart [fu’ad], and it is two hearts: a heart which is the seat of the primal intellect, and this is the heart of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family; and an inverted heart which is the seat of complete ignorance, and this is the heart of the Father of Calamities, may God’s curse be upon him. And these two are the sources of chastisement: the first is the root of all good, and from its branches are unity and every righteousness; and the second is the root of all evil, and from its branches are turning away from God and every evil, and it is the totality of the hearts of the unbelievers.

And disease is the opposite of health, and true health is the ocean of unity, and true disease is turning away from that ocean. And its heart—that is, complete ignorance—is the totality of diseases, for it is complete turning away and denial. “In their hearts is a disease, so God increased them in disease.” And the increase of disease is for the sake of the increase of health, for the shadow does not fall behind the original, and the increase is by consequence while health is by origin. For God created the intellect for permanence, and there is no suspension or exhaustion for His effusion, because the intellect ascends to the effusion of God infinitely, as in the beginning of its existence. It has no arrival at the station of self-sufficiency, for if it arrived its poverty would be greater. The contingent is in need in all conditions, and God, glorified be He, sustains it not from anything through origination, and origination through origination infinitely, without exhaustion.

Likewise the sustenance reaches the universal ignorance accidentally, infinitely to infinity. And that sustenance in their disease is from God, glorified be He. “For them is grievous punishment” and great fire. The disbelievers in the torment of hell wish for the annihilation of their existence but they cannot. And that punishment is because “they used to deny” what is in their souls of what God placed in them of the signs of ’Ali, peace be upon him, from the beginning of meanings to the station of dust.

The lie is polytheism, and polytheism with ’Ali, peace be upon him, is polytheism with God, because he is the sign of God, and the sign of God is the sign of Himself. The Eternal has no sign—the path to Him is blocked. The first intellect that speaks in the realm of possibility about what is in the heart of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, is his very self, ’Ali, peace be upon him.

He said, peace be upon him, that in that universal, divine, primary soul “there is a divine power and a simple essence, living by its own essence. Its origin is the intellect—from it it began, from it it learned, to it it pointed and indicated, and its return is to it when it is perfected and resembles it. From it the existents began and to it they return through perfection. It is the Supreme Essence of God, the tree of Tuba, the lote-tree of the uttermost boundary, and the garden of refuge. Whosoever knows it will never be wretched, and whosoever is ignorant of it goes astray and is led astray.”

This is the secret of what is reported in the tradition that he, peace be upon him,

“stood at the bridge and acknowledged to God that from me proceeded all good from everything.”

When good is mentioned, he was its beginning, its origin, its branch, its mine, its refuge, and its end. May God’s blessings be upon Muhammad, the universal intellect, and upon ’Ali, peace be upon him, his self, the universal soul.

Likewise, the first thing that speaks about universal ignorance is the father of evils, God’s curse be upon him. This is the secret of what is reported in the tradition that “God established him upon the bridge until he acknowledged to God the Exalted that from me proceeded all evil from every possessor of evil,” because of the preference of the first one in all his stations. God’s curse be upon them both—he did not believe in God for the twinkling of an eye.

He said, peace be upon him:

“God created ignorance from the bitter sea, dark, and said to it: Turn back, so it turned back. Then He said to it: Come forward, but it did not come forward. So He said to it: You are arrogant, so He cursed it.”

The tradition continues that through the eternal power of God it is a lie and in the fire by the justice of the Omnipotent King.

On the verse “And when it is said to them: Do not…”

God the Exalted said:

“And when it is said to them: Do not make mischief in the land, they say: We are only reformers. Surely they are the mischief-makers, but they do not perceive.”

[Q2:11-12]

And when it was said that Muhammad—may the peace of God be upon Him—is the tongue of God for all the worlds, depart not from the land of oneness through the denial of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—for your departure from love of Him is your entrance into the overwhelming flood which hath no foundation. The First said that the beginning of ingratitude, and whosoever is in My dominion is coupled with the guardianship of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—for the acceptance of existence, but corruption is the fruit of denial of existence.

God the Exalted said: Thus did God inform of their secret through their departure from the ocean of His love and their corruption through the denial of His covenant, and they know not that the denial of the covenant of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—is the denial of the covenant of God, and they, in their breaking thereof, are tormented by the fire of denial and perceive it not.

On the verse “And when it is said unto them: Believe…”

God the Exalted said:

“And when it is said unto them: Believe as the people believe, they say: Shall we believe as the foolish believe? Verily they are the foolish, but they know not.”

[Q2:13]

And when it was said to the followers of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—concerning those who had departed from the ocean of the oneness of their Lord: Acknowledge ye His excellences from His signs and tokens which God hath placed in all things, even as the people of humanity acknowledged God, they say: Shall we believe in ’Ali—upon Him be peace—as the foolish have believed, such as Salman and his companions—may the peace of God be upon them—in that they have annihilated themselves in the subsistence of God and have turned away from the mention of aught else through constant remembrance of Him and obedience to Him?

Thus did God the Truth inform the people of possibility and existence that they believed that the First and his branches are the foolish ones because they were content with annihilation and torment through turning away from the guardianship of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—the object of glory and subsistence, for they know not.

On the verse “And when they meet those who believe, they say…”

God the Exalted said:

“And when they meet those who believe, they say: We believe; and when they go apart to their devils, they say: Lo! we are with you; verily we did but mock. Allah mocketh at them and leaveth them to wander blindly on in their contumacy.”

[Q2:14-15]

And when they meet the people of the overwhelming flood of oneness who have believed in ’Ali—upon Him be peace—in the ocean of unity, they say: We have believed in Him—to Him be glory—after the removal of the veils and the signs. And when they return unto themselves, they say: Lo! we are with you in the overwhelming flood of the veils and the multiplicity, whether in possibility or in formation; verily we do but mock the people of the ocean of oneness and the entering therein through acknowledgment of the guardianship of ’Ali—upon Him be peace.

Allah mocketh at them—that is, He createth mockery for them. By them He is just in His action, for when they mocked at themselves He created the mockery. And the mystery of the matter is that God—glorified be He—created things by His action according to the love of their receptivities for His action, meaning that He brought their substances into being from nothing and gave them form according to what they accepted. And verily God—glorified be He—created the mockery in the form thereof which is the essence of their acceptance, and the mockery of the infidels toward the believers is the very bringing into existence of God’s mockery of them through them according to what they are, in acceptance of their form. And God is not unjust to His servants.

And ar-Rida—upon Him be peace—said when he was asked concerning this verse and its like: Verily God—blessed and exalted be He—doth not mock, nor jest, nor deceive, nor beguile, but God—mighty and glorified be He—requiteth them with the requital of mockery and the requital of jesting and the requital of deception and beguiling. Exalted is He above what the wrongdoers say, with great exaltation.

On the verse “These are they who purchase error at the price…”

God the Exalted said:

“These are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, so their commerce doth not prosper, neither are they guided.”

[Q2:16]

The Will [iradih] of God in regard to a thing is the bringing forth of that thing, and His Will in regard to those souls is their creation. The totality of error and its source is the Father of Calamities—may the curse of God be upon him—for by his very existence and through the possibility of all the unbelievers, he purchased error for himself, donning the shirt of the Caliphate in place of guidance, which is the Guardianship, and was content with fear and remoteness instead of intimacy and nearness. He entered the city of successorship during a moment of heedlessness on the part of its inhabitants, because its people are not content with him, and there is none among its people in whom it is possible—that Great Shirt is not for any save his wretched self, none but the wretched.

Thus their commerce in disbelief toward ’Ali—peace be upon him—brought them no profit, for the gainer in commerce is he who believed in the Guardianship, while for the opposer there is the loss of the infidels and inability to enter into the ocean of Unity. That turning away profits them nothing, and they possess naught in the realm of possibility, for sovereignty belongs to the Guardian. And they were not guided, for the guide is he who is established in the blindness of Oneness and is not veiled by the multiplicity of contingent existence, and who acknowledged ’Ali—peace be upon him—with the Guardianship in the ocean of Oneness. Such a one was a guide guided aright, while those who turned away were not guided.

On the verse “Their likeness is as the likeness of one who…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindleth fire, but when it shed its light around him, God took away their light and left them in darkness where they cannot see.”

[Q2:17]

The Will [mashiyyat] is identical with that which is willed by Him. The likeness of those who depart from the ocean of Oneness is as the likeness of those who deny the Guardianship of the Family of God—peace be upon them. And the likeness of the deniers is as the likeness of one who kindleth fire, but when it shed its light around him, God took away the sign of the Guardianship from their souls and left them in the guardianship of the leaders of the Fire, while they perceive not.

“Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not.” [Q2:18]

The First of the First through disbelief in Muhammad—may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family—and the Second of the Second through disbelief in ’Ali—peace be upon him—and the Third of the Third through disbelief in Fatimah—may the prayers of God be upon her. Thus after their disbelief they return not to the Guardianship of ’Ali—peace be upon him.

On the verse “Or like a rainstorm from heaven, wherein is darkness…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Or like a rainstorm from heaven, wherein is darkness, thunder, and the flash of lightning. They thrust their fingers in their ears by reason of the thunder-claps, for fear of death. Allah encompasseth the disbelievers.”

[Q2:19]

The similitude is identical with that which is likened unto it: “Or like a rainstorm”—the Second, for it is the rain of heaven, and the heaven is the First, “wherein is darkness”—the Third—“and thunder”—the Fourth—“and the flash of lightning”—he meaneth—may the curse of God be upon him—and these and their shadows “thrust their fingers in their ears,” that is, whatsoever was in them through contingent existence they manifest it unto being through deception “by reason of the thunder-claps” of ’Ali—peace be upon him—after the passing of the Messenger of God—may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family—“for fear of death.” And ’Ali—peace be upon him—through God’s encompassment “encompasseth the disbelievers.”

And encompassment hath three degrees: the encompassment of the sign of the Pure Essence—exalted be His glory—and He is the Encompasser who hath ever been such, and there is no encompassed, neither in mention nor in essence, since He is as He ever was, without name or form or knowledge concerning Him, for He is encompassment itself, and the encompassment of His Essence—sanctified be He of Whom none knoweth how He is save He Himself, and He is the Encompasser, the Most High. The second is the encompassment of His action, that is, pure origination and absolute creation, and He encompasseth all things in contingent mention, yet is not encompassed in essential existence, and this is the encompassment of God—may God make its bearer to be Muhammad—may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family.

The third is encompassment conjoined with that which is encompassed, and this is the encompassment of the All-Merciful—may God make its bearer to be ’Ali—peace be upon him—and he encompasseth the disbelievers through that whereby He manifested Himself to them through them. The intended meaning is not the encompassment of the Essence, to avoid the necessity of change, conjunction, and limitation, for things are limited while He—sanctified be He—is the Encompasser through His contingent knowledge, and the Essence is knowing yet hath no object of knowledge, and He hath ever been knowing.

And verily al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, hath said: “Knowledge is Himself and there is no object of knowledge.” I bear witness that His word is the truth. And now, even as the knowledge of the Essence was, and He is independent of the existence of the object of knowledge, and His knowledge of things before their existence is as His knowledge after their existence, and His encompassing knowledge is His knowledge conjoined with the thing which God the Exalted hath called knowledge by way of honor. And ’Ali, peace be upon Him, is the bearer of that knowledge, and He encompasseth the disbelievers. And the disbelievers have gone forth from the ocean of Unity without His permission, and He encompasseth all things for them through them, and He is a torment unto the disbelievers.

On the verse “The lightning well-nigh snatcheth away their sight; whenever it…”

God the Most High hath said:

“The lightning well-nigh snatcheth away their sight; whenever it flasheth forth for them they walk therein, and when it darkeneth against them they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could destroy their hearing and their sight. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.”

[Q2:20]

Verily, those who deny the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him—the lightning well-nigh snatcheth away the sight of their hearts when they turn toward the true Unity which is the sign of ’Ali, peace be upon Him. And when it darkeneth against them through the passing of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him and His family, they stand still in denial of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and don the garment of wrath by looking forward unto themselves. And had ’Ali willed, He would have taken power and life from the usurpers, and He is Able to do all things, for He willeth naught save what God willeth, and He is the Essence of God’s Will in all the worlds.

And verily the Proof, Muhammad son of al-Hasan, peace be upon them both, hath said in the visitation of the Family of Ya Sin: “Thy striving in God is the Essence of God’s Will, and thy contending in God is the Essence of God’s Vengeance, and thy patience in God is possessed of God’s Forbearance, and thy gratitude unto God is possessed of God’s Increase and His Mercy.” And therein, after this: “And the established decree is what Your will hath singled out, and the effaced is what Your practice hath not singled out.” And that is the truth of God’s Will in its creation thereof. So when He willed the existence of the first ones and their darkening through the increase of their disbelief, and the preservation of the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, He willed their corruption and beareth their harm, for He, peace be upon Him, hath given them from God according to what they possess, and He is Able to do all things.

And the intended meaning is not the power of the Essence, for His power is His Essence, and He hath ever been Powerful with no object of power, and now even as He was. And the power conjoined with things and connected with their creation is the power of action, and it is power. And God hath made ’Ali, peace be upon Him, its bearer, and He is Able to do all things.

And when the Pen hath flowed with mention of the Station, behold, here am I mentioning the mystery of the Station. Those possessed of understanding have known that what is there in this Book is not known save through what is here, and it is that the Eternal is He, He—none knoweth Him save Himself, and that which is known through the allusions is His sign and His path.

And verily ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said: “He manifested Himself to it and through it”—the tradition. So when God manifested Himself to it and through it, He made it a station in knowability, since He was too exalted for the knowledge of the knowers to attain unto His holy glory, or for the magnitude of hearts to be able to ascend unto the grandeur of His Self. And He is as He saith: “Vision perceiveth Him not, but He perceiveth all vision, and He is the Subtle, the Aware.”

Ali, peace be upon Him, said unto Salman: “My knowledge is the luminous knowledge—the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of God is my knowledge, and this is the pure religion according to the word of God, glorified and exalted be He: ‘And they were commanded naught else than to serve God, making religion pure for Him’—this is through Unity, and this is sincerity. And His word ‘being upright’—this is the acknowledgment of the prophethood of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, and this is the upright religion. And His word ‘and to establish prayer’—this is my guardianship, for whosoever knoweth my guardianship hath indeed established prayer, and this is difficult, most difficult, O Salman and O Jundab.

“The believer who is tested, upon whom nothing of our Cause is revealed save that his breast is expanded to receive it, and who doubteth not nor is perplexed—but whosoever saith ‘why’ and ‘how’ hath indeed disbelieved. Submit ye then to God His command, for we are the command of God, O Salman and O Jundab.

“Verily God hath made me His trustee over His creatures and His vicegerent in His earth and His lands, and hath given me that which describers cannot describe nor knowers know. When ye know me thus, then are ye believers, O Salman and O Jundab.

“God, exalted be He, hath said: ‘And seek help through patience and prayer.’ The patience is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, and the prayer is my guardianship. For this reason He said: ‘And verily it is hard’ and said not ‘they are hard,’ then said: ‘Save for the humble,’ and He made exception for the people of my guardianship who have gained clear vision through the light of my guidance, O Salman and O Jundab.

“We are the secret of God that is not hidden, and His light that is not extinguished, and His bounty that cannot be requited. Our first is Muhammad, our middle is Muhammad, and our last is Muhammad. Whosoever knoweth us hath perfected the true religion, O Salman and O Jundab.

“I and Muhammad were a light glorifying before all things that glorify and shining before all created things. God divided the light into two halves—a chosen Prophet and a well-pleased Guardian. God, mighty and glorious, said to one: ‘Be Muhammad,’ and to the other: ‘Be ’Ali.’ Thus said the Prophet: ‘I am from ’Ali and ’Ali is from me, and none can perform my mission save I and ’Ali.’ And to this doth His word, exalted be He, refer: ‘And ourselves and yourselves’—this is an allusion to their unity in the world of spirits and lights.

“Like unto this is His word, exalted be He: ‘What! If he die or be killed will ye turn back upon your heels?’ The meaning here is: if the Prophet die or the Successor be killed—for they are one thing and their light is one. They are united in essence and attribute, and separated in body and name. They are one thing in the world of spirits. Thou art that which is between Jesus and likewise in the world of bodies: ‘Thou art from me and I am from thee. Thou dost inherit from me and I inherit from thee. Thou art to me as the spirit is to the body.’

“And to this doth His word, exalted be He, refer: ‘Invoke blessings on him and salute with a goodly salutation’—the meaning whereof is: invoke blessings upon Muhammad and submit to ‘Ali his command. He joined them in one essential body and distinguished between them by name and attributes in the command. He said: ’Invoke blessings on him and salute,’ meaning: invoke blessings upon the Prophet and salute the Successor. Your prayers upon the Prophet for his Prophethood shall not benefit you save through your submission to ’Ali in his guardianship, O Salman and O Jundab.

“Muhammad was the Speaker and ’Ali the Silent, and there must be in every age a Speaker and a Silent One. Muhammad is the master of the gathering and I am the master of the resurrection. Muhammad is the Warner and I am the Guide. Muhammad is the master of Paradise and I am the master of the Return. Muhammad is the master of the Pool and I am the Standard. Muhammad is the master of the keys and I am the master of Paradise and hell-fire. Muhammad is the master of Revelation and I am the master of Inspiration. Muhammad is the master of the proofs and I am the master of the miracles. Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets and I am the Seal of the Successors.”

I bear witness that he is the Truth and all truth is from him and unto him, from the verse of Unity to whatsoever the Ancient, the Praiseworthy, hath created. Whosoever knoweth him, before him is certitude, and whosoever is ignorant of him, behind him is the prison. He is naught but a sign of the Praiseworthy.

On the verse “O ye people! Worship your Lord Who created you…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“O ye people! Worship your Lord Who created you and those before you, that haply ye may become God-fearing.”

[Q2:21]

O people of the world! By God, worship your Lord! That is, enter ye into the paradise of Unity, the abode of divine sovereignty. For whoso entereth the house of glory after the removal of all veils, the effacement of all illusions, and the rending of all curtains, hath indeed worshipped God according to that which is possible in the realm of contingent being.

As for the Pure Essence, it is the Lord when there is no vassal—how then can there be worship of that to which there is no path through turning toward it? Nay, the servant worshippeth God through that by which God hath manifested Himself unto him. And every object of worship from beneath His Throne unto the depths of the seventh nethermost earth is false and evanescent, save His gracious Face.

The true worshipper in such wise as cannot be likened was Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred, for through Him the true worship appeared in the utmost perfection possible in the realm of contingent being—God manifested Himself unto Him through Him. God, exalted be His glory, said on the Night of Ascension: “O Muhammad! Thou art the Lover and Thou art the Beloved.” This is the secret meaning of the saying from the words of ’Ali, peace be upon him: “The kingdom hath endured in the Kingdom.” And glorified be the Essence from any reference being made unto It, and glory be to God above all that they ascribe unto Him!

The reality of worship possible for a servant is that he worship God through Him and enter the ocean of Unity, for in that ocean the servant and that whereby he worshippeth are effaced, and naught remaineth for the servant save pure manifestation and the Face of the Worshipped One. Then indeed he worshippeth God according to that which is possible in the realm of contingent being through the bounty of the All-Merciful.

But whoso worshippeth God through other than Him, looking upon himself as worshipper while He is God the Worshipped, hath indeed associated partners with God and hath worshipped nothing. For whoso pointeth unto God hath associated partners with Him. How can there be unity between the two pointings? Nay, he should enter the house of that sign through which God hath manifested Himself unto him, without pointing or intimation, and turn unto God, the One, the Eternal, beside Whom there is no God. Then indeed he hath worshipped God according to that which is possible in his station—though not as is His due, for none can do that, since all save Him is contingent. How can the contingent know the Eternal and worship Him?

He who hath no mention in the glory of His station—whoso entereth the ocean of Unity beareth witness for himself. Hearken then unto the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, on the Night of Ascension, for therein the distinction between the describer, the description, and the described was removed. This is the ocean of Unity and the specter of Singleness which God hath reserved unto Himself for the station of His recognition.

Whoso entereth it knoweth himself through that which he hath attained, which is what He, peace be upon Him, said to Kumayl: “There floweth forth unto thee that which overfloweth from Me.” And arrival therein is achieved only by him who looketh and beareth witness that all save God and His Face are effaced, and entereth the house of His subsistence, abiding therein.

Excellent is the saying! How true is the Messenger, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, in saying: “Lo! All things save God are vain, and every bliss shall surely pass away!” And this is what ’Ali, peace be upon Him, said to Kumayl: “Extinguish the lamp”—that is, the mention of contingent being from all things. When the multiplicities are extinguished, then indeed dawn breaketh. And he unto whom dawn breaketh knoweth that the Lord is the Worshipped One, and He is the Pure, Eternal Essence—there is no God but Him—through that by which He manifesteth Himself unto all else through all else.

And whoso associateth in His worship any attribute or name hath disbelieved in Him and hath worshipped nothing.

And He hath also said, peace be upon Him: Whoso worshippeth God through fantasy hath indeed denied Him and worshipped naught—that is, one who is outside the ocean of His Oneness. And whoso worshippeth the Name without the Meaning hath indeed disbelieved. And whoso worshippeth the Name and the Meaning hath indeed associated others with God. But whoso worshippeth the Meaning by applying the Names unto Him through His attributes wherewith He hath described Himself, and hath bound his heart thereunto and spoken thereof with his tongue both in secret and openly—these are truly the companions of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon Him.

And Abu Ja’far, peace be upon Him, hath said: Verily, whoso worshippeth the name without the Named through the Names hath indeed associated others with God and disbelieved and denied, and hath worshipped naught. But worship ye God, the One, the Unique, the Eternal, Who is called by these Names apart from the Names themselves. And verily the Names are attributes wherewith He, exalted be He, hath described Himself.

And ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said: The Name is that which giveth tidings of the Named, and the letter is that which giveth tidings of a meaning—a meaning which is neither name nor deed. And verily things are three: the manifest, the hidden, and that which is neither manifest nor hidden. And the learned do excel one another only in knowledge of that which is neither manifest nor hidden.

And He hath said, peace be upon Him: All His creation glorifieth God through His Names.

The Imam, peace be upon Him, hath said: We are, by God, the Most Beautiful Names, without knowledge of which God accepteth no deed from anyone. And the Name is the gate of the Named—there is no difference between them save that the Name is His servant and His creation, while the Meaning is the work through ecstasy, and the Name is the world of existence. Whoso knoweth the separation from the union hath indeed known their distinction.

Verily ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said: I am the Meaning upon which no name or likeness can fall. And as for the Pure Essence, there is no path unto It—worship is rejected and approach is barred save through that wherewith He hath described Himself. Glory be unto Him and exalted be He above that which they associate with Him. Whoso knoweth the allusion knoweth that there is no path unto God in worship save after the removal of the veils. And the Worshipped One is the Ancient Lord, and He it is Who created you for you through you.

The Imam, peace be upon Him, hath said: God created all things through the Will, and He created the Will through itself. Whoso uniteth God through unity uniteth Him through the unity of attributes and deeds and worship. And unity is one, and it is the Truth. He created things through His deed, and He hath ever been Creator with naught created. Naught can be compared with His holy Essence. Verily, creative power when conjoined is an attribute of His deed. He brought it forth through Himself and originated it from nothing, and sustained it in His shadow. Glory be unto Him! He hath ever been and there was nothing with Him. Now He is as He was. All attributes are attributes of His deed, and the Names are tokens of His Will.

And verily ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said: The perfection of unity is the denial of attributes from Him, through the testimony of every attribute that it is other than the Described, and every Described One is other than the attribute. And He is the One, the Single—there is naught like unto Him. He hath exalted Himself above the description of all else besides Him. Glory be unto Him! None knoweth how He is save He Himself.

And verily the Imam, peace be upon him, hath said: From Him are guarded the two extremes—the extreme of negation and the extreme of resemblance. And He it is Who created you and those before you. They are what is in the realm of possibility which descendeth not into the worlds of being, and what is in origination which relateth not to invention. And all that God hath brought into being, verily We are among the sustainers through origination and invention. This relateth to His words “those before you”—so worship ye your Creator Who created you and each one of you from nothing through new origination, even as He created you and those who were before you, that perchance ye may become God-fearing—that is, that ye may know that your need in every condition is as the beginning of your existence. And nullify not your beings by gazing upon the stages of Unity, but enter ye into the ocean of Oneness, for that is pure God-fearingness and the right of worship—perfect moderation, if they but knew.

Ali, peace be upon him, said in answer to the Jewish woman: “And what meanest thou by philosophy? Is it not that he whose nature is balanced, his temperament is purified, and he whose temperament is purified, the influence of the soul in him is strengthened, and he in whom the influence of the soul is strengthened ascendeth to that which uplifteth him? Thus hath he adopted the spiritual qualities and become existent as a human being without being existent as an animal. He hath entered the gate of formal sovereignty.” This is not the end for any other, and in those allusions is the worship of the people of anatomy in the way of love, that God may be worshipped in the way of truth through worthiness. And the rational ones are at the beginning of the distinction “Thee do we worship and Thee do we ask for help.”

And when the pen floweth with mention of reason, behold, I mention its excellence until its people know its worth. The Messenger of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family, said:

“Nothing better than reason hath been apportioned to the servants. The sleep of the rational is better than the vigil of the ignorant, and the staying of the rational is better than the journey of the ignorant. God hath not sent a prophet or messenger until reason was perfected in him and he was superior to all the community. And what the Prophet concealeth in himself is better than the striving of the strivers. The servant hath not fulfilled the ordinances of God until he hath understood them, nor have all the worshippers in the excellence of their worship attained what the rational one hath attained. And the rational ones are those possessed of understanding of whom God hath said: ‘And none taketh heed save those possessed of understanding.’”

And ’Ali, peace be upon him, said:

“I have seen reason to be of two kinds—natural and acquired. And the acquired profiteth not when there is no natural, even as the eye profiteth not when the light of the sun is withheld.”

And he said, peace be upon him:

“The loss of reason is the loss of life, and it can be measured only with the dead.”

And verily Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, said:

“Verily reward is according to the measure of reason, and it is the most beloved of things unto God.”

And verily ar-Rida, peace be upon him, said:

“Reason is a gift from God, and refinement is an obligation. And refinement is part of obligation, and whosoever forceth reason increaseth thereby naught save ignorance”

- the tradition.

And verily the worship of God is obedience to ’Ali, peace be upon him, in all the worlds. And verily the Imam Hasan al-Askari, peace be upon him, said in his commentary on this verse “Worship your Lord”: “Obey your Lord in that He hath commanded you to believe that there is no god but God alone, no partner hath He, no resemblance and no like unto Him. He is just—injustice is not possible in Him; generous—He withholdeth not; forbearing—He hasteneth not; wise—He erreth not. And that Muhammad, God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family, is His servant and His messenger, and that Muhammad is the most excellent of the prophets, and that ’Ali is the most excellent of the family of Muhammad, and that the companions of Muhammad who are believers among them are the most excellent companions of the messengers, and that the community of Muhammad is the most excellent community of the messengers.”

On the verse “Who hath made the earth a couch for you…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“Who hath made the earth a couch for you, and the heaven a canopy, and caused water to descend from the heaven, whereby He bringeth forth fruits for your sustenance; therefore set not up peers unto God when ye have knowledge.”

[Q2:22]

The making is the very essence of origination, and the greatest of all earths is the earth of possibility, which is the barren earth that its Creator hath made as the couch for the emergence of all existences from infinity unto infinity. It is the surface of the Greatest, and God, exalted be He, hath fashioned therein whatsoever existeth in creation and origination. The earth is the aspect of receptivity, and it is that which receiveth from the heaven of action.

He hath made the earth seven layers beneath the heaven. The first is the earth of will [mashiyyah], and its heaven is the Name of Identity [huwiyyah]. The second is the earth of purpose [iradih], and its heaven is the Name of Oneness [ahadiyyah]. The third is the earth of predestination [qadar], and its heaven is the Name of Unity [wahidiyyah]. The fourth is the earth of decree [qada], and its heaven is the Name of Divinity [uluhiyyah]. The fifth is the earth of the Throne [’arsh], and its heaven is the Name of Mercy [rahmaniyyah]. The sixth is the earth of the Footstool [kursi], and its heaven is the Name of the Most High [aliyya], peace be upon Him. The seventh is the earth of the Book [kitab], and its heaven is the Name of the Originator [fatiriyyah].

He hath made the earth in relation to the heaven as His creation cast forth in a wilderness. God hath made the earth with the first heaven above the second heaven until it reacheth unto the seventh earth. The heaven is the Divine Light in the aspect of receptivity, and the earth is the aspect of selfhood. When the receptor became conjoined with the received, all things revolved, each around the other. The reality of the earth is pure coldness and dryness, and the earth are upon the heavens, and they are the existence of each thing and its reality from its Lord, wherein is no aspect of distinction and separation. God hath made the rule of their elements the rule of one element, until it became a sign of His knowledge.

The Imam, peace be upon him, hath said: “Thou art God, the support of the heavens and the earth.” The highest of the earth is the earth of the ocean of Identity, and its heaven is its earth. No creation can be higher than it; nay, in truth, it is the earth devoid of earths, and the earths are devoid of it. The first earth to emerge from this earth is the earth of Unity, the source of the vegetation of the Names and Attributes. Every earth that existeth in every world is an attribute of this earth and its conditions.

“And He caused water to descend from the heaven”—that is, from the heaven of the Manifestation through revelation—“and thereby He bringeth forth from creation”—not from anything—“from the conditions of Lordship and the stages of Divinity as sustenance for you from the bounty of the Family of God, peace be upon them. Therefore set not up peers unto God”—that is, set not up a partner unto ’Ali, peace be upon him, in his successorship, for whosoever setteth up a partner unto him hath indeed set up a peer unto God, inasmuch as he is the pure sign of God and the absolute act of God. There is naught in his sign among all things save remembrance of God. “And ye have knowledge”—through his name the earth became a couch, and the heaven a heaven, and water became water, and fruits became sustenance. Therefore set not up in the realm of possibility anyone with him in the successorship to the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, when ye know that none save him is worthy of that station.

The mystery of the matter in all the worlds is this: when the two drops are mingled—the drop of the father, which is the heaven, and the drop of the mother, which is the earth—fruits and children are produced. Whosoever resembleth the father, his essences resemble the first principles of his causes, and whosoever resembleth the mother, his selfhood resembleth his own soul, and upon both their rule is executed. The earth is Fatimah, the blessings of God be upon her, and the heaven is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and the water is the two Hasans, peace be upon them. Thus did God bring forth through Hussein, peace be upon him, nine Imams from among the Imams for you. Set not up in the sign of the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, which God hath placed within your own selves, any likeness, nor in the sign of his successor, peace be upon him, any peer, when ye have knowledge. He who is truly addressed is Muhammad, may peace be upon him, for he knoweth the glory of the Family of God, peace be upon them, individually.

He, peace be upon Him, hath said:

“There is no knowledge save the fear of Thee, and no wisdom save faith in Thee. He who feareth Thee not hath no knowledge, and he who believeth not in Thee hath no wisdom.”

On the verse “And if ye are in doubt concerning…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto Our servant, then produce a surah like unto it, and call your witnesses other than God if ye be truthful.”

[Q2:23]

Doubt is the attribute of the First and his branches, that is, ye are in uncertainty and denial concerning that which We have revealed regarding the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, unto Our servant Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family. Look ye then throughout the realms of possibility—is it possible to find in creation the like of ’Ali, peace be upon Him? If it be possible, then acknowledge your witnesses from among those whom ye have made the signs of your Lord other than ’Ali, peace be upon Him, if ye be truthful. It is not possible to find His like, nor can one enter the ocean of unity save through His guardianship, and He is the purpose of your existence, for God hath created you for the sake of that ocean, and hath placed therein His life and His might from whatsoever is possible in the realm of possibility, if ye but knew.

On the verse “But if ye do it not—and ye…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“But if ye do it not—and ye can never do it—then guard yourselves against the fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for disbelievers.”

[Q2:24]

God hath informed us of their disbelief. If ye do it not in your possibility, being content with the ocean of unity, and ye will never do it in your beings, acknowledging the absolute guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, then guard yourselves against the fire of the call of Husayn, peace be upon Him, on the day of Ashura. If ye rise not up, God hath made those turnings away the fire of love for the First, whose fuel is the Second, and the stones are the Third. God hath prepared the love of these three for the disbelievers.

On the verse “And give glad tidings unto those who believe…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And give glad tidings unto those who believe and do good works, that theirs are gardens underneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are regaled with food of fruit therefrom, they say: This is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions, and there they dwell forever.”

[Q2:25]

This verse, for the people of Reality, hath an aspect which none save they do know, and lo, I shall mention it. God hath given glad tidings unto those who have believed in ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and have performed deeds in His guardianship, that theirs is the garden of Identity and the ocean of Unity—the pure verse for the Ancient Living One—underneath which rivers flow, that is, manifestations from God through it unto it. Whenever they are sustained from its fruit, that is, whenever they find manifestations from that ocean, they say: This is what was given us aforetime, in that God hath placed it in our possibility; and it cometh unto them from God perpetually in resemblance to the ocean of their souls, in that there is no likeness unto it nor any equal.

And there for them are pure companions, that is, the tranquilities of their souls, sanctified from the mention of aught save God as possibility. And they in that ancient ocean are abiding through the continuance of God, dwelling forever. They abide through the eternity of the sovereignty of God; nay, they are the manifestation of His sovereignty, glorified be He, and He is the Sovereign, for there is no dominion nor wealth. Nay, they, through the bounty of God, are more exalted than those descriptions and allusions which flow for the people of the divine splendors, and they are not known by allusion nor by its negation. He who hath known them hath known them through “There is no god but God,” their Creator. And glorified be God above that which they describe.

For those endowed with inner sight, God hath given glad tidings unto them that believed in Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred, and believed in His testament through allegiance unto ’Ali, peace be upon Him, that theirs shall be gardens which are the love of Fatimah, may the blessings of God be upon Her, beneath which flow rivers, that is, the two Hasans, peace be upon them both. Whenever they partook of knowledge therefrom, they said:

“This is that which we were taught by Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred.”

And they were brought unto Husayn, peace be upon Him, and from His lineage the Imams, resembling Him in His glory. And for them—that is, for those who believed in the nine who resemble Husayn, peace be upon Him—are purified spouses, that is, sanctified souls purified from allegiance to any other than them, and they, in the love of God through love of them, shall abide eternally.

And for those endowed with inner sight, following the pattern of the outward, those who believed in the Source called ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and performed righteous deeds through His names and attributes wherewith He hath described Himself—for them are eight gardens wherein God hath placed the gnosis of His truth from the knowledge of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, such as no eye hath beheld save His eye, nor hath any ear heard save the manifestation of His hearing, nor hath it entered into the heart of any mortal save him who came unto Him with a sound heart and entered the depths of Unity, beholding in moments of heedlessness to aught else save it, beneath which flow four rivers for the manifestation of lights in the cycles and ages. The first river is for creation, the second for sustenance, the third hath its Creator made the manifestation of His name the Giver of Life, and the fourth is the water of wine which its Creator hath made a delight for those who drink. And these rivers flow from beneath the mountain of eternity which God hath placed in all the gardens for their establishment, and the rivers flow unto infinity with that which hath no end, and there was no impediment to God’s command.

The first river, of white water, floweth for the creation of all things, and from it have the hearts been sent forth for the unity of the Merciful, pure from the admixture of multiplicities, written upon its summit: “There is no God but He, and unto Him is the return.” The second, of yellow milk, floweth for the sustenance of all things, and from it have the minds become yellow for the prophethood of the Messenger, may peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred. God hath written upon its summit: “The excellence of Muhammad over the Prophets is as My excellence, and I am the Lord of Glory, over all the worlds.” The third, of purified green honey, floweth for the life of all things, and from it have the souls become green through the resplendent verses of the successors of the Messenger, may peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred.

And God hath written upon its summit the names of the family of God and their excellence, and the excellence of God knoweth no exhaustion. The fourth, of red wine, floweth for the refining of all things and their molding from the verses and signs, and from it have the bodies become red for the love of the followers of the family of God, the Pure Ones, peace of God be upon them. And God hath fashioned in that river the forms of the believers, and God hath written upon its summit: “Love of the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, is My fortress; whosoever entereth My fortress is safe from My punishment.”

And all who drink from the river say:

“This is that which God hath placed in all the lights from four verses and gathered colors.”

And they were brought unto the drinkers with the assistance of the similar and the resembling—white with white, yellow with yellow, green with green, and red with red. And for them therein are purified spouses, suitable for all conditions and states from the verses of the garden of Unity and the signs of the ocean of Oneness and the stations of the depths of the All-Merciful and the tokens of the garden of the Five, purified by God’s command from the doubt of tarrying therein. And they, in His love through the spirit of Fatimah, may the blessings of God be upon Her, shall abide eternally.

Verily, the Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) hath made reference in the tradition of Jabir, and behold, I do make mention of it, for therein lie divine mysteries and hidden secrets, of whose knowledge the generality are deprived. And it is that which is recorded in al-Kafi from Jabir who said: Gabriel (peace be upon him) brought down this verse unto Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in this wise:

“If ye are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed unto Our servant regarding ’Ali (peace be upon him), then produce a surah like unto it.”

On the verse “Verily, God is not ashamed to set forth…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Verily, God is not ashamed to set forth a similitude of a gnat or anything above it.”

[Q2:26]

For God the Most High is not ashamed to create a gnat, inasmuch as the creation of the gnat is the very creation of the Will, since the Power of God’s action is one and the same, and the difference lieth in the forms of things. The substance in every world is one, and God hath made the form of the higher chain the substance of the lower chain. “And thou seest no imperfection in the creation of the Merciful.” The gnat is ’Ali (peace be upon him) and that which is above it is Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

Verily, God the Glorified createth no creation save that He placeth therein a similitude from a sign of His Unity, above which is a sign of His Unity. The first is for standing in the stations of God, and the multiplicity of aspects and states: He is He and we are we. The second is for standing in the station of Unity and the semblance of Singleness: We are He and He is we.

As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) hath said: God hath set forth the similitude of the gnat because the gnat, despite the smallness of its size, God hath created within it all that He created in the elephant despite its largeness, and two additional organs besides. Thus did God the Glorified desire to awaken thereby the believers to the subtlety of His creation and the wonders of His handiwork. And this is perfection.

He (peace be upon him) hath said: God hath placed in every thing the potentiality of every thing in its degree, when God willeth He manifesteth, even as He manifested through the rod of Moses (peace be upon him) that which He manifested.

On the verse “As for those who believe, they know that it…”

God the Most High hath said:

“As for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord”

- that is, those who believe in ’Ali (peace be upon him) know that he is the truth and the sign of the Lord. And God hath placed that sign in all things that they might know that He is the Truth.

God the Most High hath said: “But as for those who disbelieve”—in ’Ali (peace be upon him)—“they say: What meaneth God by this similitude?” The Most High Similitude is not like unto similitudes within ourselves. “He misleadeth many thereby”—that is, by ’Ali (peace be upon him)—many, for his outward aspect bringeth chastisement from His presence, “and He guideth many thereby,” for his inward aspect containeth mercy within it. “And He misleadeth not thereby”—that is, by the signs of ’Ali (peace be upon him)—“save the wicked,” for the disbeliever is one who hath transgressed against his Lord’s command by breaking the covenant and turning away from the Divine Essence and the Divine Subtlety. Through ’Ali (peace be upon him) doth he who entereth, enter the ocean of Unity, and he who departeth from his authority, departeth therefrom. “And God is not unjust to His servants.”

Verily, as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) hath said: This similitude hath God set forth for the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). The gnat is ’Ali (peace be upon him) and that which is above it is the Messenger of God (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The proof of this is His saying, the Most High: “As for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord”—meaning the Commander of the Faithful, even as the Messenger of God (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family) took the covenant upon them. “But as for those who disbelieve, they say: What meaneth God by this similitude? He misleadeth many thereby and guideth many thereby.” Then God made reply unto them and said: “And He misleadeth not thereby save the wicked.”

And in the commentary of Imam Hasan al-Askari, peace be upon him, it is recorded therein that it was said to al-Baqir, peace be upon him, that those who claim allegiance to you assert that the gnat is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and that which is above it, namely the fly, is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family. Then al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said: These people heard something but did not place it in its proper context. Verily, the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, was sitting one day with ’Ali, peace be upon him, when he heard one saying: “What God wills and Muhammad wills,” may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and he heard another saying: “What God wills and ’Ali wills,” peace be upon him.

Then he said: “Do not associate Muhammad and ‘Ali with God, mighty and glorified be He, but rather say: ’What God wills, then what Muhammad wills, what Muhammad wills, then what ’Ali wills,’ peace be upon him. Verily, the will of God is that which is supreme, which cannot be equaled, matched, or approached. And Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in relation to God and His power, is but as a fly that flies in these vast dominions, and ’Ali, peace be upon him, in relation to God and His power, is but as a gnat among these dominions altogether. Yet the favor of God upon Muhammad and ’Ali is that favor which does not diminish His favor upon all His creation from the beginning of time to its end.”

This is what the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said regarding the mention of the fly and the gnat in this context, and it does not enter into His saying, exalted be He: “Verily, God is not ashamed to set forth a parable of a gnat.” Here ends the account.

And this tradition in truth was not in opposition to the saying of as-Sadiq, peace be upon him: “Their Lord gave them both to drink of one water.” He who looks upon it with the eye of reality will recognize what I have indicated therein, and he who does not see the contradiction between them was a jurist.

On the verse “Those who break the covenant of God after its…”

God, exalted be He, has said:

“Those who break the covenant of God after its ratification, and sever what God has commanded to be joined, and work corruption in the earth—it is they who are the lost.”

[Q2:27]

That is, “those who break the covenant” of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, in the world of the unseen regarding the signs of ’Ali, peace be upon him, in the atoms of hearts—the station of Divine Unity—and the atoms of minds—the rank of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family—and the atoms of souls—the abode of the Imamate—and the atoms of bodies—the place of love for the Shi’ah—after God had taken that covenant from all things to believe in Muhammad and ’Ali and Hasan and Husayn and Ja’far and Musa and Fatimah, the blessings of God be upon them—it is they who are the unbelievers.

And the first who broke the covenant of God in the realm of possibility in all its stations, from the sign of Divine Unity to the utmost limit of multiplicity, is Abu’d-Dawahi, the curse of God be upon him. He broke the covenant of God regarding His saints in the worlds of the unseen, and severed the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, in its manifestations among the Imams of witnessing, and they are ’Ali and Muhammad and ’Ali and Muhammad and Hasan and Muhammad, the Master of the Cause, peace of God be upon them. And he corrupted the earth of possibility by turning it away from the recognition of ’Ali, peace be upon him, through luminosity. And among his acts of corruption was his seizing by usurpation the land of Fadak from Fatimah, the blessings of God be upon her, after the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, had made known to him during his lifetime that it was specifically for her, and God had forbidden its fruits to any other.

Thus he disbelieved in God and donned the garment of denial regarding God, and the garment of unbelief regarding the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the garment of associating partners regarding ’Ali, the Saint of God, peace of God be upon him.

Ali, peace be upon him, said:

“Verily, the son of Abu Quhafa has donned it, and he well knoweth that my station in relation to it is as the station of the pivot to the millstone. The torrent floweth down from me, yet no bird can soar up to me.”

This tradition became thus the beginning of loss, and unto it return all the lost ones.

And the Imam, peace be upon him, hath spoken concerning this verse after His covenant regarding ’Ali, peace be upon him, and in His saying “that it may be joined”—meaning joined to the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and the Imams, peace be upon them.

And the Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, hath made reference in a lengthy tradition to its interpretation, and here do I mention it in its entirety, for within it lie divine mysteries of the unseen world from whose knowledge the majority are debarred, and in whose wonders the divine sages have been bewildered. And it is that which is related from the trustworthy Shaykh Abu’l-Husayn Muhammad ibn ’Ali al-Halabi, from his teacher the Sayyid Abu ’Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Ahmad that al-Khassibi said:

“Ja’far ibn Malik al-Fuzadi al-Kufi related to me from ’Abd Allah ibn Yunus al-Mawsili from Muhammad ibn Sadaqa al-’Abdi from Muhammad ibn Sinan az-Zahiri from Safwan ibn Yahya al-Kufi from al-Mufaddal ’Umar al-Ju’fi.”

He said:

“I said to our master as-Sadiq—upon him be mercy and promise—when I had been alone with him and had found from him an opportunity I had longed for: ‘I ask thee, O my master, concerning that which hath passed through my thoughts regarding the manifestation of meaning—I have expressed it in visible form. Doth the Essence assume form, or become divided, or become separated into parts, or change from Its essential nature, or become conceived in minds through motion or stillness? And how doth the unseen, which is commingled with weak creation, become manifest? And how can the created being direct his gaze toward the Creator despite the weakness of created things?’”

And he, peace be upon him, said: O Mufaddal, verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of night and day are signs for those possessed of understanding. O Mufaddal, our knowledge is difficult and arduous, and our mystery is rough and remote for the tongue to translate save by allusion, and our Shi’ahs know us not save according to their perception of us and their recognition of us. Perdition be upon him who relateth what he knoweth not and believeth what taketh not hold in the mind nor ripeneth in the heart, and that is the faith of the tongue and the roughness of the senses, and the proof thereof is upon its possessor.

And this is because the Qur’an was revealed according to “Thee do I mean, but hearken thou, O neighbor.” Therefore hearken unto that which is revealed unto thee, and look with the eye of thy mind, and give ear with the light of thy heart, and hear and understand. For thou hast asked concerning a mighty tiding and a certain truth, so I shall cast upon thee a weighty question, and it is that in the knowledge whereof were created many, except those upon whom thy Lord hath had mercy, for He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

And that which the Baqir, the Restorer, hath announced is of the roughest of the rough, which hath been hidden from all the world save from the chosen elect and the eloquent trustees who have purified themselves and been singled out and have witnessed the truth through that which they have known and have testified to that which they have beheld, even as is mentioned in the revelation, the word of the faithful Master:

“Save those who bear witness to the truth while they have knowledge”

that it is the truth.

And the matter, O Mufaddal, is subtle, and the mystery of this knowledge is obscure. And know that the Essence is sanctified above names and attributes, a hidden mystery unapproachable. Nothing is withheld from Him by truth hidden, nor is aught concealed from Him that is secret and subtle. Nothing is greater than He. He is described by His being described by Him, He is renowned through His signs, He is known through His manifestations. He was before the before, and before place was given place—naught else but He—and before space when there was no space save that which He brought into being. And He is unto that which hath no end, with no change nor departure from that wherein He was in His being, and He hath need of nothing that it might be determined by Him, nor is He related to aught else that He might be known thereby, but He is where He is and where He was, for there was naught but He.

And know, O Mufaddal, that manifestation is the perfection of hiddenness, and hiddenness is the perfection of the silence of manifestation, and power and might are the perfection of action. And when the universals of wisdom are not perfect in their hiddenness and perfect in their manifestation, the scribe of wisdom is deficient in relation to the Wise One, even though He be powerful.

O Mufaddal, I said: Increase me, O my Master, in explanation whereby he who draweth nigh may be quickened, and whereby he may draw nigh to something through Thy light and Thy knowledge of the reality of recognition.

He, peace be upon Him, said: O Mufaddal, verily the manifestation of the Eternal among His creation is wondrous, and none knoweth this save a wise and knowing one. And the Essence cannot be called light, for He is the illuminator of every light. When He willed, without thought or care, to manifest the Will, He created the Will for the thing, and these are the Mim and the Shin. Then there shone forth from His Essence a radiant light, fixed for Him are lights not separate from Him. Thus the Light manifested the light of illumination for him who discerneth it, and the illumination manifested a shadow. He established the form of existence through the negation of illumination and shadow, and made the Light its inner essence, and the Essence its origin therefrom. Likewise the Name, not united with His light—His creation seeth not through His creation. When He speaketh, it is in His Essence and His unseen realm, for which naught existeth save He. Exalted is God, the Mighty!

O Mufaddal, thou hast asked concerning the Will [mashiyyah], how He originated its beginning. Understand then what I shall mention unto thee, O Mufaddal, for thou hast asked concerning a mighty matter. Verily my Lord, the Ancient, the Eternal—exalted be His mention—originateth a Will for which He hath ever been knowing. That was a volition without endeavor or occurrence of thought, and no transition from stillness to motion, nor from motion to stillness, for power is His nature. This is because He manifesteth the Will which is His Name, and through it He indicateth His Essence—not from need of Him for it, nor concealment through it. It appeared through the nature of Wisdom at His willing that the Name should be, and through His knowledge that Wisdom is His manifesting what is in the realm of being unto the realm of vision. Had He not manifested what He knew of His hidden knowledge unto the existence of its meanings, some to others, He would have been deficient and Wisdom would not have been complete, for the perfection of power is action, and the perfection of knowledge is the known, and the perfection of being is that which is brought into being. Open then, O Mufaddal, thy heart to the words of thy father.

Know that the Light was not latent within the Essence whence it appeared, nor manifest from it then concealed within it, but rather the Light is from the Essence without division and absent in its absence without concealment and radiant from it without separation, as the ray from the orb and the light from the ray. For thy Lord, O Mufaddal, did create the Most Great Name and the Will which brought forth all things, and the Light experienced neither increase nor decrease at the creation of the Name. And the Name is from the Light of the Essence without division and its manifestation without partition. It summons unto its Lord and points to its meaning, and that is at the time of the change of every dispensation for the establishment of proof and the manifestation of the call, that the acknowledger might be confirmed in his acknowledgment and the denier be answered in his denial.

For if the Lord be hidden from the sight of His creatures, they are veiled by concealment and tested by the Form, O Mufaddal, through which appeared the radiance of His light for the Name and the shadow of His radiance. And that through which the creation took shape that they might behold it and He guided them to their Creator that ye might know Him through the Form which is the attribute of the Soul and the Soul the attribute of the Essence. And the Name is created from the Soul of the Essence—for this reason is it called Soul, and for this reason His saying, exalted be He: “And God warns you of His Self.” And He warned you only lest ye make Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family, created, for then would the Essence be originated and created, and this is manifest infidelity.

And know, O Mufaddal, that there is naught between the One and the Unity save as between motion and rest or between the Kaf and the Nun, by reason of its connection with the light of the Essence subsisting through itself. And it is His saying, exalted be He:

“Hast thou not seen thy Lord, how He hath extended the shadow? And had He willed, He would have made it stationary. Then We made the sun a guide unto it”

- meaning that which was in it of the Essence. The Removed Form is the radiance and the shadow, and it is that which changeth not in the eternity of ages nor in whatsoever occureth of times. Its outward aspect is the Removed Form and its inward the spiritual, and that Form is the matter of matters and the agent of things acted upon and the foundation of motions and the cause of all causes. After it is no secret, and none knoweth what it is save He.

And it must be known, O Mufaddal, that the Removed Form which said “My outward is Imamate and succession and my inward is an impregnable mystery that cannot be comprehended” is not the totality of the Creator, nor is the Creator other than it. It is He in affirmation and creation and vision and certainty and determination—not He in totality or collectivity or enumeration or comprehension.

Mufaddal said: I said,

“O my Lord, increase me in explanation as a favor, for I have learned from Thy favor and bounty that which I fall short of describing.”

He said, peace be upon him: O Mufaddal, ask concerning whatsoever thou desirest. I said: O my Master, that Form which I beheld upon the pulpits, calling from Its essence unto Its essence through spirituality and proclaiming divinity—Thou didst say unto me that It is not the totality of the Creator, nor is the Creator other than It. How then dost Thou know the reality of this saying?

He said, peace be upon him: O Mufaddal, those are the Houses of Light and the Robes of Manifestation, the essence of expression and the mine of allusion. He hath veiled Himself from thee through them and guided thee from them unto Him. They are not He, nor is He other than them—concealed by Light, manifest through revelation. Each one beholdeth Him according to his knowledge and attaineth according to the measure of his capacity. Among them are those who see Him near, and among them are those who see Him afar.

O Mufaddal, verily that Form is an illuminating Light and an almighty Power—the Manifestation of thy Lord, a mercy unto those who believed in Him and acknowledged Him, and a torment upon those who rejected and denied Him. There is no goal beyond Him nor any end unto Him.

I said: O my Master, they have said: “Hadd when named, and Muhammad when described.” I said: O my Master, upon what then is the distinction other than meaning? He described His name.

He said, peace be upon him: Hast thou not heard His saying: “My outward aspect is Imamate and successorship, and my inward aspect is an unseen mystery that cannot be comprehended”?

I said: O my Master, what then is the inner aspect of the Mim?

He said, peace be upon him: The Light of the Essence, and It is the First of existence and the Originator of creation and the Fashioner of every created thing, connected with the Light yet separate for the witnessing of Manifestation. Though distant, He is near; though He calleth, He answereth. And He is the One Who manifested unto the Unique One from His Light, and the Unique One entereth not into number. The One is the principle and origin of numbers, and unto Him is their return, and He is the Hidden.

I said: O my Master, the Master of the Mim saith: “I am the city of knowledge and ’Ali is its gate.”

He said, peace be upon him: O Mufaddal, He meant thereby the chain that was chained from His Light. And the meaning of His saying “and ’Ali is its gate” signifieth that he is the most exalted of ranks and a gate for them, and through him they enter into the city and the knowledge of knowledge. And he is the interpreter of that which the Master extendeth unto him from the knowledge of the Kingdom and the glory of Divinity.

I said: O my Master, the Master of the Mim saith: “Ali and I are as these two”—I know not right from left—and he joined his two forefingers together.

He said, peace be upon him: O Mufaddal, the measure of none among the people of knowledge can separate between the Name and the Meaning, save that the Meaning is above it, because from the Light of the Essence He created him. There is no difference between Him and the Light, nor any separator. For this reason He said: “Ali and I are as these two”—an allusion from Him unto the knowers that there is no separation there. And were there separation between Him and him, he would be another person, and this would be manifest disbelief.

Hast thou not heard His saying, exalted be He: “that they may make distinction between Allah and His messengers,” and His saying: “and sever what Allah hath commanded to be joined”? And their intimation regarding actions is that it be said that between Allah and His Creator there is an intermediary. For this reason He said: “Ali and I are as these two”—as a beginning for the Names and the first to be named.

Whoso knoweth the allusion hath no need of expression, and whoso knoweth the positions of the attribute reacheth the depth of mystical knowledge. Hast thou not heard the allusions of the Name unto his Lord and his explicit declaration without concealment when he saith: “Thou art the Remover of grief from me, and Thou art the Reliever of my distress. Thou art the Fulfiller of my debt, Thou art the Accomplisher of my promise”? He revealeth concerning his Name the Manifest among His creation, whereupon he saith: “Thou art ’Ali”—an allusion from him unto my Lord. Thus the allusion was unto His gate: “I am the city of knowledge and ’Ali is its gate. Whoso desireth the city, let him proceed unto the gate.”

And the Messenger of God, may peace be upon Him and His family, said:

“Verily among the followers of ’Ali there shall be one who cometh on the Day of Resurrection with grievous sins and abominable deeds, whereupon these shall be compensated and he shall be delivered, while the people of the gathering shall not doubt that he is among the doomed and among those who abide eternally in God’s torment. Then shall come the call from before God: O servant, hast thou any good deeds to set against thy evil deeds that they may be compensated and thou mayest be delivered and enter Paradise through thy Lord’s mercy? And he shall say: Nay, I know not. Then it shall be said unto him: Call out in the chambers: Hath anyone a favor or kindness with me that he may cover me by settling it on my behalf? For this is the hour of my need for it. So the man shall call out, and the first to answer him shall be ’Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, saying: Here am I, here am I! Then he shall come and guarantee to his adversaries compensation for their grievances. And they shall speak and ask of him the giving of the reward of but one breath from his breaths on the night he slept upon the bed of the Messenger of God, may peace be upon Him and His family. So he shall give it unto them, and thereby they shall enter the degrees of the gardens and reckon that all the gardens have been given unto them. And they shall say: Is all this for us? Then where is the place of Thy other believing servants and the prophets and the truthful ones and the martyrs and the righteous? Then shall come the call: O My servants, this is but one breath from the breaths of ’Ali, peace be upon him, so take it and behold! Then they shall see them, and this believer for whom ’Ali, peace be upon him, hath compensated them, going unto those gardens. Then they shall see what God, mighty and glorified, shall add for the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon him, in the gardens—manifold beyond what he expended for his follower among the followers—whatsoever God, mighty and glorified, willeth of the manifold increases which none knoweth save Him.”

On the verse “How can ye disbelieve in God when ye were…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“How can ye disbelieve in God when ye were dead and He quickened you, then He shall cause you to die, then He shall quicken you, then unto Him ye shall return.”

[Q2:28]

Nothing is attributed absolutely to God nor to His signs. And when the Imam, peace be upon him, is mentioned absolutely in something—if it be in knowledge, it is the essence itself, and if in other than that, it is of the category of accidents and attributes which have no subsistence in their realm save through their substances and the things they describe. And that noble verse is the essence of the First in its possibility and its attribute in its formation. And disbelief is the opposite of faith in all the worlds—its original root and its secondary branch and its boughs are the leaders of error and its fruits are their innovations and its leaves are the shadows of their souls. These disbelieve in the signs of ’Ali, peace be upon him.

And death hath various significations: before creation, pure death which is not preceded by life—I mean creation; death by departure from the surge of the trace of creation, and this for the believers is approach and for the disbelievers is withdrawal. And this death hath no end to its conclusion, being expected in all things through the bounty of creation, and there is no exhaustion to the flow of invention, for death is a limited breaking for absolute submission, and the flow admitteth no suspension. And what is intended by death in this verse is the first then the first, and the second then the second.

And life is the attribute of the Living, and it hath aspects: an aspect of unity and simplicity, and it is the life of the surge of Oneness—no indication thereof nor expression, nothing precedeth it nor is equal unto it. Glory be to God Who created it, beyond what they describe! And an aspect suitable for attachment to multiplicities, and it is concomitant with death—it must needs have it thereby, being expected unto that which hath no end by that which hath no end, and the flow admitteth no suspension. And therein the first and the second—the first for the believers and the second for the disbelievers. And therein the first then the second, and the second then the first for the believers, and the second the second for the disbelievers.

Then unto God’s appointed time “shall ye return”. The Day of Return is the Day of Beginning, and all return unto their Lord through that which was manifested unto ’Ali, peace be upon Him. Things did not begin from God’s Essence, nor do they return unto Him. Glory be to Him, He created the Will from nothing, by itself, for the creation of things through it. He was eternally existent when naught else existed, and He is now as He ever was. Glorified be He above what the wrongdoers say concerning association and connection—a mighty exaltation indeed!

The beginning of action is the ocean of Unity [ahadiyyah], and its return is unto it. The beginning of receptivity is the surging sea of Oneness [wahidiyyih], and its return is unto it. All ranks have a station in the Beginning and the Return. Behold, I shall mention them in summary:

The Beginning of Unity is Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and unto it was His return. The Beginning of Oneness is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and unto it was His return. The Imams, peace be upon them, are the very soul of ’Ali, peace be upon Him—we make no distinction between any of them. Fatimah—God created her from the light of His Essence, and unto Him, exalted be He, was her return.

The Prophets—their beginning is the ocean of Unity which God, exalted be He, created from the light of Fatimah’s form, God’s blessings be upon her, and their return was unto her. The believers among mankind—God created them from the shadow of the realities of the Prophets, and God made their return unto them. The jinn are the shadow of mankind in beginning and return. The angels are luminous forms in all regions; of their kind, their beginning is from God through shadows, and their return is through them unto God, exalted be He.

Animals are the shadow of angels in their creation and return. Plants are the shadow of animals in their beginning and return. Minerals are the last of the ranks of things in descent; their beginning is from plants, and their return was unto them.

Likewise, the wicked—their return is like the reflection of lights in all regions, as mentioned in the traditions. The discerning believer hath known them through the mystery of choice. Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, was the possessor of the two beginnings and the two returns through the bestowal of creation. God established Him in the station of His Self in creation, since He was independent of association. How can ye deny Him when ye were dead and He gave you life through ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in the realm of possibility, then He causeth you to die by your departure from the realm of possibility, then He giveth you life through ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in the worlds of being, then unto God’s justice do ye return? The justice associated with things is the justice of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and its manifestation was ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in justice.

On the verse “It is He Who created for you all…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“It is He Who created for you all that is in the earth, then turned to the heaven and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is the Knower of all things.”

[Q2:29]

The essence of this Greatest Name—and it is “He”—is the greatest of signs in the realm of possibility, and it is Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family. The beginning is from Him and the return is unto Him, and He pointeth the way. The path to the Pure Essence is barred—no name nor indication, and the way unto Him is blocked—no trace nor expression. Verily, the guide that pointeth unto Him is His signs, and they are His creation. Existence and creation are His proofs. Glorified be He above what they describe!

“Created” meaneth “originated,” and it is an indication of the ranks of action. God originated it by itself and established it in His shadow such that naught issueth forth from it save that which is other than it. The One addressed is the One addressed, and it is that to which I have here alluded, for it is the goal of creation and all else, and the fruit of origination. It is the intended one before the One addressed in reality at creation, and all else by association at origination.

And “the earth” is the earth of barrenness, which is the earth of possibility. God created for every thing in its possibility all that is in the earth, and verily God created for Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, all that is in the barren earth and all the signs of Unity and the stations of Oneness and the tokens of Mercifulness and the evidences of servitude—all created as quality and the qualified, and between Him and all else besides Him is the distinction of quality, not separation. And God made His essence a differentiation between Him and that which He created for Him, by the testimony that every quality is other than the qualified, and every qualified is other than its quality, and He is the One distinguished in that station from similitudes and likenesses.

And verily ’Ali, peace be upon him, said in the sermon of the day of Ghadir and Friday:

“And I bear witness that Muhammad, may God’s peace be upon him, is His servant and His Messenger. He chose him in eternity over all other communities, with knowledge from Him, singularly distinguished from resemblance and similarity among the children of the race. He established him in His station for performance, since vision cannot perceive Him while He perceives all vision, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware.”

And God the Glorified made the bearer of that comprehensive earth to be Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her, and what is in it are the Imams, God’s peace be upon them. It is He Who created for Muhammad, God’s blessings be upon him and his family, through the angels all that is in the earth of Unity, and she is Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her. Then He turned to the heaven—that is, He wedded her to ’Ali, and he is the equal of heaven in nobility, and God made her one of “the greatest, a warner to mankind, for whomsoever among you wishes to advance or to retreat.” [Q74:35-37]

So when she turned toward heaven, He proportioned them as seven heavens—that is, seven Proofs, and they are the sources in the cause of origination with ’Ali, peace be upon him. And the seven, when repeated in origination and creation, become fourteen: seven are the manifestation of origination, which are the seven heavens—the first being Will, the second Volition, the third Predestination, the fourth Decree, the fifth Permission, the sixth Term, and the seventh Book. And seven are the manifestation of creation, which are the seven earths. And when gathered together, it becomes the Path of ’Ali, a truth we hold fast to, and this is a comprehensive word for the luminous letters, and it is God’s Greatest Talisman and His Most Noble Name. Whosoever engraves upon yellow cornelian those sublime symbols, knowing the secret of their meaning, it shall be for him a fortress against the Fire.

And for every earth there is a heaven, and heaven is the aspect of Will while earth is the aspect of Volition. And verily God the Glorified created nothing single, standing by itself. He created things compounded of the seven aspects in their origination and of the seven aspects in their being acted upon. God refused that things should proceed except through their causes, nor is it possible for Him to bring anything into being except through entrance into the kingdom of the heavens and the earths.

And verily Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him, said:

“Nothing comes to be in the earth or in the heaven except through these seven qualities: through Will and Volition and Predestination and Decree and Permission and Term and Book. So whosoever claims that he can annul any one of them has indeed disbelieved”

- that being in the heavens and in the earths.

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And there is none of you but shall encounter it; this is a decree inevitable with thy Lord.”

[Q19:71] And this is witnessed before those whom God hath caused to witness the creation of their own selves. As for the sign of oneness in things, even though there were in them, in terms of knowledge, composition, yet God the Most High hath repelled this at the moment of finding, because of the poverty that is within them, and there is in them no aspect of distinction and multiplicity, for they are the proof of the Living, the Self-Subsisting, and God doth not make multiplicity the proof of His oneness.

As for knowledge and existence, it is necessary to perceive that nothing can transcend beyond its source, and the sovereignty ascendeth unto the Sovereignty, and there is no access to the pure Essence, nor any knowledge thereof. The path is severed and knowledge is forbidden, and there is no goal save incapacity, and no end save despair. The signs are the effects of His Will and indicative thereof, and the tokens speak of incapacity and severance. And this is the greatest of indications that there is no proof for Him, neither through incapacity nor through severance. Glorified be He! None knoweth Him, and none knoweth how He is, save He Himself. That which is known is but His Will, and that which is sought is the utmost capacity of possibility from His effusion in all regions, according to what they are, from the manifestations of His Will as they are.

The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred, hath said:

“My Lord, show me the realities of things as they are. And the accounts of what they are constitute a mention of His Will and an allusion thereto, and are indicative thereof and speak thereof.”

And the Imam, peace be upon him, hath said:

“Everything upon which the name of ‘thing’ falleth is created, save God the Most High. There is no name, no account, no expression, neither through indication nor through its negation. Glorified be He above all else besides Him with an exalted glorification! And naught knoweth aught else save that which is other than Him, and none knoweth how He is save He Himself. Glorified be He above what the wrongdoers say in their knowledge of Him, with great exaltation! And He hath knowledge of all things.”

And the bearer of this name is that to which I have alluded in summary. And the knowledge of the Essence is the Essence itself. None knoweth His knowledge save He Himself, and there is no cognizance and no communication. And in the station of knowledge through His signs, God hath described Himself through the tongue of His Proof.

And Abu ’Abdi’llah, peace be upon him, hath said: “God, exalted be He, hath ever been knowing, and knowledge is His Essence, though there was naught known; and hearing is His Essence, though there was naught heard; and sight is His Essence, though there was naught seen; and power is His Essence, though there was naught empowered. Then when He brought forth things and there came to be that which was known, His knowledge fell upon the known, and hearing upon the heard, and sight upon the seen, and power upon that which was empowered.” The tradition continueth: “Thus is God our Lord now as He ever was, and He is the Knower though there be naught known. He brought forth His knowledge of things, and the first thing that God originated is the Will.”

And he, peace be upon him, hath said: “The foreknowledge of God is the Will,” and knowledge is the completion of the known. And the knowledge of the Essence is the Essence itself, and falleth not upon anything, to avoid the necessity of change and association. Glorified be He! He hath ever been in one state.

And Abu Ibrahim (peace be upon him) hath said:

“The beginning of religion is His recognition [ma’rifah], and the perfection of His recognition is His unity, and the perfection of unity is the denial of attributes unto Him by the testimony that every attribute is other than the one described, and the testimony of the one described that he is other than the attribute, and the testimony of them both to the evidence that the Eternal is exempt from both. So whosoever describeth God hath indeed limited Him, and whosoever limiteth Him hath numbered Him, and whosoever numbereth Him hath nullified His eternity. And whosoever saith ‘how’ hath sought to describe Him, and whosoever saith ‘wherein’ hath contained Him, and whosoever saith ‘knowing’ hath denied His knowledge, and whosoever saith ‘where’ hath emptied space of Him, and whosoever saith ‘what is He’ hath qualified Him, and whosoever saith ‘unto what’ hath set Him bounds. He is knowing when there is naught known, and Creator when there is naught created, and Lord when there is none ruled over. And thus is our Lord described, and He is exalted above what the describers describe.”

And the knowledge of the Essence is independent of the existence of the known, and the knowledge of the Will and its essence, which is the knowledge of God the Most High, He hath attributed unto Himself as an honor. And its knowledge of itself and of things before their being is as its knowledge of them after their being. And there is no “how” for it, because “how” is caused by it, and it is the fashioner of qualities, so it is not known by them. And it is the contingent knowledge of God. God hath made Muhammad (may God’s blessings be upon him and his family) the bearer thereof, and he, through God’s knowledge, knoweth all things from what is in the power of origination and the possibility of creation. And verily God, glorified be He, is too exalted and too great to be described by knowledge of things, save that what is in the Qur’an is for the capacity of minds.

And ’Ali (peace be upon him) hath said upon the pulpit of Kufa:

“Verily my Lord is subtle in subtlety, not to be described by gentleness; great in greatness, not to be described by magnitude; mighty in might, not to be described by bigness; majestic in majesty, not to be described by coarseness. Before all things, it cannot be said anything is before Him; and after all things, it cannot be said there is aught after Him. He willeth things not by resolve; He comprehendeth not by artifice. In all things He is not commingled with them nor separate from them. Manifest not by interpretation of contact; resplendent not by assumption of vision; distant not by interval; near not by proximity; subtle not by embodiment; existent not after non-existence; active not by compulsion; determining not by movement; willing not by intention; hearing not by instrument; seeing not by tool. Places contain Him not, nor do times encompass Him, nor do attributes limit Him, nor doth slumber overtake Him. He precedeth the times of His being, and non-existence His existence, and beginning His eternity. By His causing things to feel He made known that He hath no feeling; and by His causing substances to be substantial He made known that He hath no substance; and by His creating opposition between things He made known that He hath no opposite; and by His creating affinity between things He made known that He hath no peer. He opposed light with darkness, and dryness with moisture, and roughness with smoothness, and cold with heat. He composeth between their antagonisms and separateth between their affinities, their separation indicating their Separator, and their composition their Composer. And that is His saying, the Most High: ‘And of everything have We created pairs, that haply ye may reflect.’ So He distinguished between ‘before’ and ‘after’ that it might be known that He hath no ‘before’ nor ‘after.’ The things bear witness by their subjection that no subjection belongeth to Him who subjugated them; they give tidings by their temporality that no time belongeth to Him who gave them time. He veiled some of them from others that it might be known that no veil existeth between Him and His creation. He was Lord when there was none ruled over, and God when there was none worshipped, and Knower when there was naught known, and Hearer when there was naught heard.”

And all that he (peace be upon him) indicated—that God hath described Himself thereby—is no description of the ancient Essence, because description is other than it, and He is too exalted to be known by other than Himself. Nay, the “other” are known by Him, and He alone knoweth His own self. The path to what is other than He is non-existent. Glorified be He! None knoweth how He is save He Himself.

And verily ’Ali—upon Him be peace—hath said in the interpretation of this verse:

“He it is Who created for you whatsoever is in the earth, all of it, that ye might take heed and thereby attain unto His good pleasure and be protected thereby from the torment of His fire. Then turned He to the heaven and began the creation thereof and the perfecting thereof, and fashioned them seven heavens, and He is the Knower of all things. And by reason of His knowledge of all things He knoweth best what is meet, wherefore He created for you all that is in the earth for your benefit, O son of Adam.”

On the verse “And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo!…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.”

[Q2:30]

And speech is a quality that is originated and not eternal, and it is the quality of action, and its bearer is the Lordship that is associated therewith. God brought forth the Will from nothing and made it to speak on His behalf. And ’Ali—upon Him be peace—hath said: “I am He Who spoke unto Moses from the tree.” And the Essence is He, He—there is naught with Him save Himself. He was ever and there was naught with Him. Now He is as He was, in one state. Glorified be He above that which they associate with Him.

And the first word that was connected with origination is the word “Be!” It spoke forth from God: “I am God, there is no god but Me, Lord of the worlds.” And unto Lordship belong three degrees: Lordship when there is no object of lordship, and this is the sign of the Lord and the face of the Most High Will—the path unto it is cut off and the way unto it is barred. And God was Lord when there was no object of lordship. And Lordship when there is no object of lordship in essence but when there is an object of lordship in mention, and this is the lordship of the very essence of the Will—there is no path unto it save as the Messenger of God—the blessings of God be upon Him and His household—described Himself when He said: “None hath known Me save God and thou, O ’Ali.”

And Lordship when there is an object of lordship both in mention and in essence, and this is the lordship that is associated with the object of lordship. “The Merciful on the Throne is established”—and this is the lordship of mercifulness. There is no path unto it save through that wherewith Muhammad—the blessings of God be upon Him and His household—described Himself when He said: “None hath described thee, O ’Ali, save God and I.”

And as to “When thy Lord said unto the angels”—the angels are the connecting links like unto letters, and they are the manifestations of the third lordship through that whereby the Merciful manifested Himself unto them through them. And God made the connecting links of the higher realms to be the substances of the lower realms, and all save the Will and its manifestations in its dawning-places—these are the angels. And they exist not nor move save by the leave of ’Ali—upon Him be peace. “And none knoweth the hosts of thy Lord save He.”

And God made the beginning of their existence to be at the ocean of Unity. In every world are angels of its kind: in the world of Names, a Name; and of Lights, a Light; and of the Cloud, a Cloud; and of Veils, a Veil; and of the Throne, a Throne; and of Heaven, a Heaven; and of Minds, a Mind; and of Souls, a Soul; and of Spirits, a Spirit; and of Words, a Word. And thus it is in whatsoever worlds are besides these. And everything unto which a name of a thing hath been given, save God, hath angels. They preserve everything by the command of ’Ali—peace be upon Him. Were one of them to perish, the thing would perish, and that is of the ordaining of the Mighty, the Wise.

“Verily I shall place upon the earth a successor.” The act of appointing is the lordship cast therein, and God made His creation from naught. In that station what is intended is His manifestation, not His creation. The earth is the earth of origination, and it is the aspect of receptivity encompassing all lands that are in the realm of possibility and existence from infinity unto infinity, and there is no suspension for the emanation.

The successor is the successorship of God in origination and invention. God made ’Ali (upon him be peace) the successor in might in all worlds in performance, inasmuch as He was the Self-Sufficient in origination and invention. For the sake of conjunction He established him in the station of His Self in all His worlds from the ocean of Unity unto the sea of Oneness, inasmuch as He was too exalted for the most subtle of allusions to reach the court of His glory, and for the most noble of multiplicities to ascend unto the atmosphere of His majesty. He is as He saith: “Vision perceiveth Him not, but He perceiveth all vision”; and “He is the Exalted, the Great.”

He (upon him be peace) is successor in the world of the Named and the Names. In the ocean of Unity He is He without the fullness of the letter waw, and in the surging sea of Oneness He is He without repetition of the letter waw. I have seen no mention save His mention, and I hear no description save His description, and He is exalted above mentions and descriptions.

He said—may my soul be sacrificed for him—“I am the meaning upon which no name nor likeness can fall. I am the gate of repentance, and there is no power nor strength save in God, the Exalted, the Mighty.” When ’Ali, peace be upon him, spoke on behalf of God, glory be to Him, in the pre-existence of the greater world to the angels: “Enter ye the ocean of Unity, for verily I shall place upon the earth your existence”—that mighty verse—“a successor from Me for you.” They said, addressing the Lord from all things, and they are the angels of God: Shall we enter that ocean, the sign of Identity, and shed blood by negating our existence and the extinction of our souls, while we glorify with the description of Thy Prophet, may God’s blessings be upon him and his family, and believe in the excellences of ’Ali (upon him be peace), or believe that he is Thine, and sanctify Thee?

God, mighty and glorious, said:

“Verily I know that ye in glorification and sanctification are standing in the station of the quality and the qualified. The ocean of Unity is the house of ’Ali, and the house of your standing is the house of limited subsistence, which is the infinite. Your glorification and sanctification are but emanations from that house, and ye know not save after your entry into that ocean. If ye enter, ye are indeed believers.”

That is in the interpretation of the manifest of the hidden, and in the manifest of the manifest regarding us and the earth and the shedding of blood—the quality of the people of earth from among the jinn and the pre-Adamites, according to what ’Ali (upon him be peace) said. In the hidden of the hidden is one name for one meaning, and in the hidden of the hidden of the hidden is the secret of Unity, and it is the secret of ’Ali, peace be upon him.

He (upon him be peace) said in the interpretation of “the manifest for us”: God, mighty and glorious, said: “Verily I know that which ye know not.” Then the angels said: “Our Lord, do what Thou willest. We have no knowledge save that which Thou hast taught us. Verily Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” So God removed them from the Throne a journey of five hundred years. That is an allusion to their error in looking to themselves in glorification and sanctification, and everyone who looks in knowledge and action to himself is removed from the Throne of the All-Merciful as they were removed.

Ali said (peace be upon him):

“So they took refuge by the Throne and pointed with their fingers, and this is an allusion to what was within their power by attributing the action to God, exalted and glorified, alone. So the Lord, exalted and glorified, looked upon them and mercy descended, whereupon He placed for them the Frequented House, saying: ‘Circumambulate it and leave the Throne, for in this I am well-pleased.’ So they circumambulated it, and it is the House which seventy thousand angels enter every day, never to return to it again. Thus God placed the Frequented House as repentance for the people of heaven and placed the Kaaba as repentance for the people of earth. All the allusions proceeded from His sacred presence in the worlds of holiness, and he who is illumined by the light of the Lord hath known them. And he said, peace be upon him: God, blessed and exalted, said: ‘Verily I am creating a mortal from clay, from molded mud. And when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall ye prostrate before him.’ And this was a preparation from God concerning Adam, peace be upon him, before He created him, and an argument from Him against them. So our Lord took a handful with His right hand from the sweet water, and both His hands are right hands. He molded it in His palms until it hardened, then said to it: ‘From thee shall I create the Prophets and Messengers and My righteous servants and the rightly-guided Imams and the callers to Paradise and their followers until the Day of Resurrection. I care not and am not questioned concerning what I do, but they shall be questioned.’ Then He took another handful from the bitter, salty water and molded it in His palm until it hardened. Then He said to it: ‘From thee shall I create the tyrants, the Pharaohs, the rebellious ones, the brethren of devils, and the callers to the Fire until the Day of Resurrection. I care not and am not questioned concerning what I do, but they shall be questioned.’ He said: ‘And He made conditional in that the possibility of change, but did not make conditional in the companions of the right hand the possibility of change. Then He mixed the two waters together in His palm and molded them, then scattered them before His Throne, and they were an extract from clay, as was intimated (peace be upon him).’”

“Sacred intimations”—and lo, I now reveal the wafting of the fragrance of His glory. And by “the Lord” is meant that Lordship which is joined with divinity, and it is lordship in that it hath a subject by its very nature, and its bearer is ’Ali, peace be upon him. What is meant by “the right hand” is ’Ali, peace be upon him, both being stored up, for they are equal in number, and both His hands are right hands, and their number is fourteen, and all of them are ’Ali, peace be upon him, and their hands are right hands. The sweet water is the water of the Sea of Sad, and it is the water of existence which descended from the drops of the tree of clouds until it became a sea, and it is the water upon which the Throne was established. And God made the beginning of its flowing from the Mim of “the Merciful.”

And what is meant by “clay in the palm” is the reflection of water in the guardianship of ‘Ali, peace be upon Him. If it accepted, it congealed through stillness in His palm, and if it turned away, it congealed and became bitter salt. So God created from the water of the accepter the realities of the righteous and their attributes according to what they are fitted for, and God carried out what He decreed concerning them from the creative Bada’, and for them is the possible Bada’ which never fails in anything. And verily He, peace be upon Him, said: “God has not been worshipped by anything like Bada’.” And from the water of bitter salt that turned away, the realities of the wicked and their attributes according to what they are, and God carried out through Bada’ for them and according to what their souls demanded for themselves what Bada’ decreed for them, and that is from God’s greater punishment upon them, and God is not unjust to His servants.

And what is meant by the mixing of water in His palm is a lofty indication that the existences coupled with quiddities are in the palm of the power of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and all existence from the signs of their abstraction to the manifestations of their multiplicity is mixed of the two waters in its essence, nay utterly non-existent. Glorified and exalted is His mention—none has estimated Him with His true estimation. And the heaven of the accepted things is in His right hand, and the earth of receptivities altogether is in His grasp. Glory be to Him beyond what they describe.

And what is meant by the Day of Resurrection is the day of meeting the Lord, and it is the day of beginning with no beginning, and it is the Day of Resurrection with no end. Glory be to its Originator beyond what they describe.

And what is meant by “He shall not be questioned about what He does” is because God has done nothing except what they do, and they shall be questioned about what they do, because God, glory be to Him, originated things according to what they do, and He shall not be questioned about what He does while they shall be questioned.

And verily Abu Ja’far, peace be upon Him, said:

“We found this in the Book of ‘Ali, peace be upon Him: So God created Adam, peace be upon Him, forty years fashioned, and Iblis the accursed would pass by him and say: ’For some purpose wast thou created.’ The learned one, peace be upon Him, said: So Iblis said: ‘If God commands me to prostrate to this one, I will disobey Him.’ Then He breathed into him, and when the spirit reached his brain he sneezed and said: ‘Praise be to God.’ So God said: ‘May God have mercy on thee.’ Al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, said: So mercy from God preceded for him.”

And what is meant by “the First Adam” is the Will. And what is meant by forty years is eternal, not temporal, and it is a year having neither beginning nor end. And the forty is an indication of its triplication in receptivity and its quadruplication in acceptability. And what is meant by the form is the form of humanity, and it is the form which the Merciful fashioned with His hand and placed within it the forms of the worlds, and it is the meeting place of the two seas and the isthmus of the two genesis. God inscribed within it the decrees of the worlds, and the indication of fashioning is its non-dissolution for accepting the manifestation.

And what is meant by “Iblis” is the first quiddity to sprout in the earth of possibility through denial. And what is meant is an allusion to what is in Adam of nearness to the Tree of Unity.

And what is meant by “breathing the spirit” is the spirit of God’s manifestation through the Will to it by means of it, and it is a created spirit which God attributed to Himself in honor. And the “reaching to the brain” is an indication of the existence of his intellect, because the intellect is the first to praise God through acknowledgment of the prophethood of Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family. So when it acknowledged that praise belongs to God, God said: “May God have mercy on thee.”

On the verse “And He taught Adam all the names, then showed…”

God the Mighty and Glorious said:

“And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, and said: Tell Me the names of these, if ye are truthful.”

[Q2:31-32]

The Teacher is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, and Adam is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and the names are all things upon which the name of a thing has fallen, and these are the entire universal ocean of Unity. God gave ’Ali all that is in the entire universal ocean of Unity, and the highest of the names are the Imams from the progeny of ’Ali, peace be upon Him. Then He showed them in their archetypal forms to the angels, who are all save the people of infallibility, peace be upon them. And God said to them: “Through them worship Me as these worship”—that is, the Imams, peace be upon them—“if ye are truthful in the realm of your hearts.” Then they all said, from the atom of their possibility to the atom of their being: “Glory be to Thee! Verily the Imams are the sign of Thy glorification. We have no knowledge in recognizing them save what Thou hast taught us in the manifestations of Thyself. Verily Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

On the verse “O Adam! Inform them of their names”

God the Exalted said: “O Adam! Inform them of their names.” [Q2:33]

When He informed them of their names, and when they confessed their inability to know them, God said:

“O Adam! Make them known by the names of the Imams, peace be upon them.”

When he, peace be upon him, manifested himself through the names of the bodily forms of his progeny to them, through them they knew that glorification belongs to them and sanctification is through them, and the existence that indicates the Divine Essence emanated from them and returned to them from what they beheld of themselves with the vision of glorification and sanctification.

God the Exalted said: “Did I not tell you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth?” What is meant by the unseen is ’Ali, peace be upon him, for he is the inaccessible unseen in the heavens and the earth. In him the heavens and the earth are established, and through him the moving things in the highest heavens are set in motion, and through him the still things in the lowest earths are made still. And he it is who spoke on behalf of God saying: “I know what ye reveal and what ye have been concealing.” The first is the knowledge of nearness and the second is the knowledge of distance. He knows, peace be upon him, through the encompassment of God, those who are in the ocean of Unity in pure nearness and those who are in the universal ocean of denial in pure distance. And his knowledge of them after their existence is like his knowledge of them before their existence, and that is his remembrance of them in their possibility, and in his remembrance with himself there is no existence save his, and he is the knower when there is no known object. Thus did God create His Saint. Glory be to God above what they associate with Him!

On the verse “And when We said to the angels: Prostrate yourselves…”

God the Mighty and Glorious said:

“And when We said to the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they prostrated themselves except Iblis, who refused and was proud and became one of the disbelievers.”

[Q2:34]

In the esoteric interpretation, the Speaker is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the angels are the atoms of things in the primal witness, and they are shadows and shades. The prostration is the acknowledgment of servitude to the authority of Truth by negating all else, and Adam is ’Ali, peace be upon him. So the lights in the worlds of shadows prostrated by acknowledging the authority of Unity to ’Ali, peace be upon him, when Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said on the Day of Ghadir to the angels: “Prostrate through allegiance to ’Ali, peace be upon him.” So they prostrated with sincerity—Salman, Jundab, and Miqdad—and they are all the angels except Iblis, who is the first one concerning whom he, peace be upon him, said: “Verily the son of Abu Quhafah has usurped it,” and he is the father of calamities, may the curse of God be upon him and his branches.

He is mentioned in himself as having refused outwardly and been proud before God inwardly, and thereby became the root of the tree of polytheism and the source of disbelief. The proud one is none but a single soul, and through his pride he became certain of the authority of the Saint of Truth, and he is the completion of the disbelievers.

And in the inmost of the inmost interpretation there stands Adam unto whom prostration was made, Abu Abdullah al-Husayn—upon him and upon his fathers and his sons be thousands of salutations and peace—for he is the bearer of the fifth verse of the Chapter of Praise. Whosoever recognizeth him as the Face of God unto which the saints turn their faces, he is among those who prostrate themselves. And whosoever recognizeth Him not after having recognized God, exalted be He, he is among the unbelievers. And whosoever contemplateth for but a moment, God will station him upon the Bridge for fifty thousand years, the recompense of his evil deed being an evil like unto it. And whosoever doubteth in that which I have indicated, let him be patient with beautiful patience. Verily they see it afar off, but We see it nigh.

And in the outermost of the outermost interpretation, this is the shadow of the inmost of the inmost. Al-Husayn—peace be upon him—said with kindliness unto his companions: “Shall I not tell you first of our affair and your affair, O company of our friends and lovers and partisans, that it may be easy for you to bear that unto which ye are joined?” They said: “Yea, O son of the Messenger of God”—may God’s blessings be upon him and his family. He said: “Verily God, glorified be He, when He created Adam and fashioned him and taught him the names of all things and presented them unto the angels, He made Muhammad and ’Ali and Fatimah and al-Hasan and al-Husayn—peace be upon them—five shadows in the back of Adam—peace be upon him.

And their lights were shining in the horizons of the heavens and the veils and the gardens and the Throne and the Seat of Glory. Then God commanded the angels to prostrate themselves unto Adam—peace be upon him—in reverence to him, for that He had honored him by making him a supplication for those shadows whose lights had encompassed all horizons. So they prostrated themselves save Iblis, who refused to humble himself before the majesty of the greatness of God and to humble himself before our lights, O People of the House, before which all the angels had humbled themselves. So he waxed proud and arrogant, and by his refusal and his pride he became one of the unbelievers.”

And Abu’l-Hasan—peace be upon him—hath indicated the secret of the matter, saying:

“When the Messenger of God—may God’s blessings be upon him and his family—beheld Taym and Adiy and the Banu Umayyah mounting his pulpit, it distressed him greatly. So God sent down unto him a Qur’an whereby he might be consoled: ‘And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, and they prostrated themselves save Iblis, who refused.’ Then He revealed unto him: ‘O Muhammad, I commanded and was not obeyed, so grieve thou not when thou commandest and art not obeyed in thy testament.’”

And the First Adam is the Will, so all wills prostrated themselves unto it through their being caused, even Iblis, save that he prostrated himself in reverse—from whence he desired, not from whence God commanded.

And as-Sadiq—peace be upon him—hath said: “Iblis said: ‘O Lord, excuse me from prostrating unto Adam, and I will worship Thee with a worship the like of which no angel brought nigh nor prophet sent hath worshipped.’ He—blessed and exalted be He—said: ‘I have no need of thy worship. I desire only to be worshipped from whence I desire, not from whence thou desirest.’” So the first one refused to pledge allegiance unto ’Ali—peace be upon him—after Muhammad—may God’s blessings be upon him and his family. And when he waxed proud, God—mighty and glorious be He—said: “Go forth from it, for thou art accursed, and My curse shall be upon thee until the Day of Judgment.” And this is what is meant by the First Reality.

Even as Adam is a thousand thousand Adams, and he is the last of the Adamic ones—that is, descended from the world of the Will by a thousand thousand degrees. And what is meant by the Will is His Will through which God manifested Himself to it in its domain, for in relation to the First Will it hath no existence and is not equal unto it, neither in finitude nor in infinitude. And where is the dust in relation to the Lord of lords? Likewise is it with Iblis—the shadow differeth not from its source. And the secret of the matter—now do I indicate it by proof of wisdom: God has made the manifestations of His sovereignty in all things for the purpose of knowledge, making Adam the aspect of accepted lordship and Iblis the aspect of the self that associates partners with God.

In all the worlds His decree flows according to its measure, and their reality I have alluded to by way of hint, for by explicit statement both the falsifiers and the believers would doubt. The believers are angels in whom the aspect of lordship predominates to such degree that the aspect of the self has become hidden within them.

The Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, said: “Every soul has a satan.” It was asked: “Even you, O Messenger of God?” He replied: “Yes, but he has surrendered by my hand.” And likewise the opposite are those in whom the shadow of essence predominates, and they are the satans among the unbelievers. The believers are those who prostrate for the sake of love, and they are a people who kept silent, so their silence became contemplation of God’s power. They spoke, so their speech became remembrance of God’s essence. They looked, so their gaze was ever toward the face of God. They uttered, so their utterance was wisdom for God’s sake. They were content with God’s decree and providence, and submitted to His command and prohibition. They turned with their entirety unto Him and relied upon Him, and committed their affairs into His hand.

They made the whispers of their hearts manifestations of His justice, and the sanctity of their eyes the places where His forgiveness alights, and the movements of their limbs mirrors of His mercy. They turned their faces away from whoever needs His assistance, and turned their supplication away from whoever is not independent of His bounty. Their manner is rejoicing in Him and yearning, and their custom is sighing and moaning. Their foreheads are prostrate before His majesty, and their eyes are wakeful in His service. Their tears flow from fear of Him, and their hearts are suspended by love of Him, and their inner hearts are overwhelmed by awe of Him.

The trees of longing for Him have taken root in the gardens of their breasts, and the passion of love for Him has seized the centers of their hearts. They seek intimacy with the stations of lordship, and in the meadows of nearness they graze for mystical unveiling, and they come to the streams of intimate communion. The veil has been lifted from their inner sight, and the darkness of doubt has been dispelled from their consciences.

When night covers them they do not sleep away from their Beloved, and they turn their sight toward Him from their hearts. His chastisement is suspended before their eyes, so they address Him through direct witnessing and speak to Him through presence. They rejoice in His nearness and find rest in His security, and take delight in His remembrance and enjoy intimate discourse with Him. When they occupy themselves with other than Him for the twinkling of an eye, they repent and seek forgiveness, saying:

“My God, I seek Your forgiveness from every pleasure without Your remembrance, and from every rest without intimacy with You, and from every joy without Your nearness, and from every occupation without Your obedience.”

All of this is what I have indicated concerning the path of servitude, and this is for the people of the inner dimension. For the people of the outer meaning, it is that which ar-Rida, peace be upon him, wrote for the inquirer, and this was God’s decree, inevitable and destined. It is what encompasses the entirety of religion.

As for what follows: Abu ’Ali Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Fadl related to us, saying: Ahmad ibn ’Ali ibn Hatim related to us from his father, saying: Abu Abdillah al-Husayn ibn ’Ali ibn al-Fadl related to us, saying:

“The Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Hatim al-Qazwini related to us, from ’Ali ibn Ja’far known as Rammani, from Ahmad ibn Hammad ibn al-Mufaddal ibn Sinan al-Hashimi and Ibrahim Muhammad ibn Mun. They sent to the Imam ’Ali ibn Musa ar-Rida, peace be upon them both, through Abu’l-Fadl ibn Suhayl Dhu’r-Riyasatayn, saying: ’We would love for you to gather for us all the principles of religion—the unity of God, the lawful and unlawful, the religious obligations and the traditions—for you are God’s proof upon creation, the repository of knowledge, and the one whose obedience is obligatory.’ Ar-Rida, peace be upon him, then called for inkwells and paper and wrote:

“In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

“The first of religious obligations is to bear witness that there is no God but Allah, alone without partner, one God, unique, eternal, living, self-subsisting, all-hearing, all-seeing, mighty, everlasting, abiding, all-knowing without ignorance, all-powerful without weakness, self-sufficient without need for support, independent without want, just without oppression, and that He is the Creator of all things. There is nothing like unto Him, no resemblance to Him, no opposite to Him, no equal to Him, no peer to Him. He has taken neither consort nor child. And that Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, is His servant and His Messenger, His trusted one and His chosen one among His creation, the lord of the Messengers, the Seal of the Prophets, and the most excellent of the worlds.

There is no Prophet after Him, no alteration to His religion, and no change to His law. And that all which the Prophet brought, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, is the manifest truth, and belief in Him and in all the Prophets of God, His Messengers and His Proofs who came before Him, and belief in His speaking, truthful Book which falsehood cannot approach from before it or behind it. And that His Book is guardian over all the Books, and that it is truth from the opening of the Book to its conclusion. We believe in its decisive verses and its allegorical verses, its particular and its general teachings, its promise and its threat, its abrogating and its abrogated verses, its narratives and its tidings. None of the created beings has the power to produce the like thereof.

“And that the proof after Him, the authority over the believers, the one who stands in charge of the affairs of the Muslims, the one who speaks for the Qur’an and is learned in its ordinances, is his brother and his successor, his executor and his guardian, who was unto him as Aaron was unto Moses: ’Ali son of Abu Talib, the Commander of the Faithful and the most excellent of successors, peace be upon him. And after him al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and ’Ali son of al-Husayn, and Muhammad son of ’Ali, and Ja’far son of Muhammad, and Musa son of Ja’far, one after another unto this day of ours, the righteous among the family of the Messenger, the most learned of them in the Book and the Tradition, the most just of them in judgment, and the most worthy of them in leadership in every age and era. And that they are the sure handle and the Imams of guidance and the proof upon the world until God inherits the earth and all who are upon it, and He is the best of inheritors.

“And that all who oppose them are astray and misleading, forsaking truth and guidance, and that they are the interpreters of the Qur’an and the speakers for the Messenger with eloquence. Whosoever dies without acknowledging their authority and without knowing them by their names and follows others instead has died the death of ignorance. And among their religion are piety and poverty and truthfulness and righteousness and diligence and the performance of trust to the righteous and the wicked alike, and lengthy prostration and standing in prayer at night and avoiding forbidden things and awaiting relief and good companionship and good response and bestowing kindness and bearing harm patiently and showing a cheerful countenance and companionship and mercy toward the believers.

“Then ablution as God commanded in His Book: washing the face and hands and wiping the head and feet—once is obligatory and twice is recommended. Whosoever adds to the twice commits sin and is neither rewarded nor does it diminish the ablution except by wind and urine and excrement and sleep and major ritual impurity. And whosoever wipes over the leather socks has opposed God Most High and His Messenger and His Book, and his ablution and prayer and faith are invalid. This is because ’Ali, peace be upon him, opposed the people regarding wiping over leather socks. So Umar said: I saw the Prophet wipe over leather socks. So ’Ali, peace be upon him, said: Was this before the revelation of the Chapter of the Table or after it? He said: I do not know. So he said: I know well that the Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, did not wipe over leather socks after the Chapter of the Table was revealed.

“And ritual bathing is required for major impurity and emission and menstruation and touching the dead when it has become cold as an obligation. And bathing on Friday and the two festivals and entering Mecca and Medina and bathing for visitation and pilgrimage consecration and on the Day of Arafat and the first night of the month of Ramadan and the nights of the nineteenth and twenty-first and twenty-third are recommended.

“And the obligatory prayer: the noon prayer is four cycles of prayer, and likewise the afternoon and the last evening prayer, and the sunset prayer is three cycles, and the dawn prayer is two cycles—that is seventeen cycles. And the recommended prayer is thirty-four cycles: eight cycles before noon and eight cycles before afternoon and four cycles after sunset and two cycles while sitting after the last evening prayer and eight cycles in the pre-dawn hours and the even and odd cycles after the eight—you give salutations after the two cycles and two cycles after the odd prayer which you pray before the time for the dawn prayer enters. And prayer at the beginning of the time is most excellent, and the excellence of congregational prayer over individual prayer is a thousand cycles for each cycle. And do not pray behind the wicked, and follow none save the people of allegiance, and pray not upon the hides of carrion nor the hides of beasts of prey. It is not permissible for thee to say in the first witness: ‘Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of God,’ for the completion of prayer is through the salutation, and when thou sayest this thou hast already offered the salutation.

“The shortening of prayer is at eight parasangs, and when thou dost shorten thy prayer thou must break thy fast, for if thou dost not break thy fast thy fasting shall not be valid and thou must make it up, since there is no obligation to fast during travel. And if thou dost not shorten thy prayer, thy prayer shall not be valid, for thou hast added to the prescribed prayer during travel.

“The supplication is in four positions: the dawn prayer, the sunset prayer, the two festival prayers, and the Friday prayer. All supplications are before the bowing. The prayer for the dead consists of five magnifications, and whosoever diminishes from these goes against the tradition. There is no salutation in the funeral prayer, for the salutation is in prayers that contain bowing and prostration. The deceased is prayed over from his feet, and he is laid square in his grave and is not placed lengthwise.

“Pronouncing aloud ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful’ is a tradition. The prescribed alms is from every two hundred dirhams five dirhams, and nothing is due on less than this. Then for every additional forty dirhams one dirham is due, and it is not given until a full year has passed over it, and it is not paid except to the people of allegiance and the sect.

“The fifth is from all wealth once, and the tithe is from wheat, barley, dates, and grapes when it reaches five wasqs, when it is watered by buckets, then half the tithe for the needy and the well-to-do. The wasq is sixty sa’s, and the sa’ is four mudds, and the mudd is a pound and a quarter by the pound of Iraq, which is six times heavier than the pound of Medina.

“The alms of the fast-breaking is upon every head, small and great, free and slave, male and female, from wheat, barley, dates, and grapes—one sa’. It is not permissible to give it except to the people of allegiance.

“The maximum of menstruation is ten days and its minimum is three days. The woman with irregular bleeding performs ablution and prays, while the menstruating woman abandons prayer and makes up the fasting. Fasting is the month of Ramadan, and alternation in congregational prayer is not permissible, for that is an innovation, and every innovation is error, and every error is in the Fire.

“The fasting of three days in every month is a Wednesday from the first ten days, a Wednesday from the middle ten days, and a Thursday from the last ten days. The fasting of Sha’ban is six days, and the fasting of Rajab, which is the silent month and in which is blessing. If thou dost make up the days of Ramadan separately, it shall suffice thee.

“The pilgrimage to the House is an obligation for him who is able to make his way to it, and the way means provisions and a mount. The pilgrimage is valid only in the form of enjoyment.

“God the Exalted hath said: ‘And complete the pilgrimage and the visitation for God’s sake.’ The combining and the isolating which the common people practice is not permissible save for the people of Mecca and those dwelling near it. The eunuch is not permitted in the rites of pilgrimage because he is deficient. The hired person is not permitted. Jihad is obligatory, as is the just Imam. Whosoever is killed defending his property is a martyr. Whosoever is killed defending himself is a martyr. Whosoever is killed defending his family is a martyr. None of the infidels and enemies shall be slain in the abode of dissimulation save one who killeth or acteth with tyranny, and that when thou fearest not for thyself. The property of those who differ and others is not lawful in dissimulation. In the abode of dissimulation it is obligatory, and there is no sin upon him who employeth dissimulation to ward off injustice from himself.

“Every divorce that opposeth the Sunnah is not divorce, even as every marriage without the Sunnah is not marriage. One may not gather together more than four free women. When a woman hath been divorced according to the Sunnah three times, she is not lawful for her husband until she marrieth another husband. The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said: ‘Beware of women divorced thrice, for they are possessed of former husbands.’

“Prayers upon the Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, are required in every place and upon sneezing and concerning winds and other such matters. Love of his saints and their saints is obligatory, as is hatred of God’s enemies and their enemies, and dissociation from them and from their leaders. Kindness to parents, even if they be idolaters, is obligatory, yet obey them not in idolatry, for God—exalted be His Name—saith: ‘Obey them not,’ and ‘Keep them company in this world with kindness.’ The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, said: ‘Whosoever obeyeth a created being in other than obedience hath taken besides God the Exalted a protector.’ The permitting of the two temporary marriages which God hath sent down in His Book and which the Messenger of God established as Sunnah—the temporary marriage of women and the temporary marriage of pilgrimage—is obligatory.

“The ordinances are according to what God hath commanded and change not. None inheriteth with the father and the parents save the husband and the wife. He who possesses a share has more right than he who has no share. Tribal partisanship is not part of the religion of God. The aqiqa sacrifice is prescribed for both male and female newborns, as is the shaving of the head on the seventh day, whereupon one gives in charity the weight of the hair in gold and silver. Circumcision is a tradition for men but disapproved for women.

“The actions of servants are created by a creation of predetermination, not a creation of origination. Say not that there is compulsion or delegation. God does not take the innocent to account for the crime of the guilty, nor does God punish children for the sins of their fathers, for He, exalted be He, says: ‘No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another’ and ‘man shall have nothing save that for which he strives.’ God forgives sins and does not wrong anyone.

“God does not impose upon His servants obedience to one whom He knows will wrong them or lead them astray, nor does He choose for His message or select from among His servants one whom He knows will disbelieve in Him or worship Satan. Islam is other than faith; every believer is a Muslim but not every Muslim is a believer. The thief does not steal while he steals and he is a believer, nor does the killer of the soul whose killing God has forbidden kill while he is a believer, nor does the drinker drink while he drinks and he is a believer. Those who commit crimes requiring prescribed punishments are Muslims who do not believe, nor are they disbelievers in God the Exalted.

“No believer shall enter the Fire when He has promised him Paradise forever, nor shall any disbeliever be brought forth from the Fire when He has promised the creation therein forever. Verily God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that to whom He wills. The sinners among the people of unity shall enter the Fire and be brought forth from it, and intercession is permissible for them.

“The abode today is the abode of taqiya and the abode of Islam, not the abode of disbelief and the abode of faith. Commanding the good and forbidding the evil are both obligatory when possible and when there is no harm to oneself. The performance of religious duties and the avoidance of forbidden things—this is recognition with the heart, acknowledgment with the tongue, and action with the limbs.

“The takbir during the two festivals is obligatory after five prayers, beginning from the maghrib prayer on the night of the breaking of the fast, and during the sacrifice festival after ten prayers, beginning with the zuhr prayer on the day of sacrifice. The woman in postnatal bleeding sits no more than ten days; if the bleeding appears, otherwise she uses cotton, then performs the major ablution and prays.

“Believe in the punishment of the grave, Munkar and Nakir, resurrection after death, the reckoning, the balance, the bridge, faith, and dissociation from the Jibt and the Taghut who wronged the family of Muhammad of their right.

“And they seized their inheritance by force, and they took Fadak from Fatimah, and threatened to burn the house upon her and oppressed her, and they altered his practice among them. And disavowal of the breakers, those possessed of malice who violated the veil of the Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and broke the allegiance to their Imam, and brought forth the woman and fought the Commander of the Faithful, and slew the followers of the Imam of the God-fearing. And disavowal of Yaghuth who struck down the righteous ones and banished them and scattered them throughout the lands, and gave shelter to the evil ones and the accursed, and made wealth circulate among the rich, and employed the foolish ones.

And disavowal of Ya’uq and Nasr and Mu’awiyah and Amr ibn al-As and their followers who fought the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and slew the Emigrants and the Helpers and the people of virtue and righteousness among the Followers. Disavowal of the donkey that bears books, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari and the people of his authority. And disavowal of the Samaritan and his companions whose efforts went astray in the life of this world while they supposed that they were doing good work. These are they who disbelieved in the signs of their Lord and in the authority of the Commander of the Faithful. They shall meet God without his authority and leadership, so their works became vain, and God shall assign no weight to them on the Day of Resurrection—the dogs of the Fire.

And disavowal of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, the wretched hypocrite, the counterpart of him who hamstrung the she-camel, who was the most wicked of the former and the latter generations. And disavowal of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, upon him be the curse, and his companions who slew al-Husayn ibn ’Ali, peace be upon him.

“And allegiance to the friends of the Commander of the Faithful who passed away following the way of the Messenger, blessed and greeted with peace, who changed not nor altered after their Prophet, may God’s peace be upon him. And they are Salman ibn Salam al-Farisi, and Jundab ibn Junadah, and al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, and Ammar ibn Yasir, and Sahl ibn Hunayf, and Hudhayfah al-Yamani, and Abu Hashim Yatahafi, and Khalid ibn Sa’id, and Ubadah ibn al-Samit, and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and Hudhayfah ibn Thabit Dhu’l-Shahadatayn, and Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, and their like, may God be pleased with them all, among the followers of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him.”

And for the people of the inner meaning there are stages of the tumult of Unity, and should they approach those approaches, God shall expel them from the paradise of Oneness, and God the Exalted said concerning them as He said concerning Adam, and they shall go forth in knowledge as Adam went forth in proximity.

On the verse “And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy…”

God the Glorified said:

“And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the paradise, and eat ye freely of the fruits thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrongdoers.”

[Q2:35]

The first Adam is the Will, and it is the mention of the First manifest in the first possibility, and his wife is the Intention, and it is the resolve upon the first mention. And the paradise is the paradise of Unity, not the paradise of Oneness, for therein there is no mention of approaching the tree, neither in possibility nor in being. And it is the paradise of eternity—its inhabitant hath not departed and its outsider hath not entered. Its people have no opposite, nor have its people any other than it. Its people have remained ever in one state which none can know save by allusion except him who hath rent the veils of the splendors and the intimations and the infinities and the finitudes, and entered the throne of majesty. Then shall the Merciful cause him to hear from the melodies of the peacocks of that paradise whatsoever He willeth, and He is not unjust to His servants.

And this paradise is specially assigned to the family of Muhammad, peace be upon him, and none is deserving of it save after knowing them through the luminous nature. And it is the paradise of eternity which God hath reserved for Himself, and He hath alluded in His Book: “And God warneth you of Himself,” and mentioned them through the days of God, “and remind them of the days of God.” And I mention a sprinkling: “And verily ye knew the first creation. Why then do ye not remember?” And the paradise of the first Adam is the surge of Oneness. But when he became intimate with his wife, and it is the station of the individualization of Adam, their Lord caused them to dwell in the paradise of Unity, and God commanded them to journey unto Him therein through the stages of Unity and lordly stations through the knowledge of “they willed” whatsoever without end to whatsoever without end, and made a covenant with them “that they come not nigh this Tree”, which is the sign of Unity [ahadiyyah], for whosoever looketh upon it with the eye of contingency knoweth it not and wrongeth his own soul, and whosoever looketh upon it with its own glance knoweth it, and there is no knower save it and no known save them.

And this is the Tree of Muhammad wherein appeareth the sign of Unity, and it is the direction of the Most High Will. The first Adam and his wife approached it in knowledge, not in deed, and thus became of the wrongdoers. And the meaning of approaching it is the contingent capacities that were in them by reason of selfhood, so they approached it with contingent presence after God had made them know that the Tree of selfhood is brought forth above the earth and hath no abiding place therein. Approach it not with the glance of independence, for the signs of Unity are the signs of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred, through that whereby God manifested Himself unto Him.

So they approached that Tree through the false division of selfhood, knowing that the contingent could be made possible therein thereby, and thus “became of the wrongdoers”. And verily this wrong which God attributed unto them was in relation to their approach to the Source of origination; otherwise this wrong, in the sight of all save them, is the ocean of Unity which none of the things can reach. The first offspring born in the realm of contingency after their wrong is the ocean of destiny which none can know save God the One, and it is a surging, stored ocean wherein God hath fashioned the forms of all that existeth through the Will, and it is an ocean that hath neither beginning nor end.

Glorified be its Originator above what they describe! And that is but a drop from their mention whereby the Cause of God floweth throughout all the worlds, and none knoweth His subtle handiwork save Him.

And verily al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, said when He was asked concerning the Paradise of Adam:

“It was one of the gardens of this world wherein the sun and moon did shine, and had it been one of the gardens of the next world, he would never have been expelled therefrom.”

He alluded by this world to the ocean of Unity, and it is the source of limitations in the realm of omnipotence, without end to without end. And the meaning of the rising of the sun and moon is the dawn of origination and creation, and by the next world is meant the ocean of Unity among the signs of the Eternal, manifest unto it thereby. And verily he who knoweth the inner meaning of the Word will recognize what I have indicated by this explicit statement.

And verily Hasan the son of ’Ali, the father of the Proof, peace be upon Him, said in the interpretation of this verse:

“The Tree is the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of Muhammad and the kindred of Muhammad, peace be upon Them, wherewith God hath distinguished Them above all the rest of His creation, for it belongeth unto Muhammad and the kindred of Muhammad, peace be upon Them, exclusively and not unto others, and none partaketh thereof by the command of God save They.”

And verily al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, alluded to that which is partaken of by the command of God when He said:

“Verily we have with God states wherein we are He and He is we, save that He is He and we are we.”

And in another station, addressing the questioner: “Dost thou not see in this thy time?”

And in yet another station, describing the form of withdrawal from His grandfather ’Ali, peace be upon Him: “It is neither He nor is He other than it.”

And He summed up the discourse in His words:

“Assign unto us a Lord unto Whom we may return, and say concerning us what ye will. And what can ye possibly say? By God, there hath not reached you of our bounty or of our knowledge save an alif without conjunction.”

I bear witness that this is the truth, and we have been given of knowledge but a little.

The Imam, peace be upon him, hath said after mentioning:

“And from it did the Prophet, may the peace of God be upon him, and ‘Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn, the blessings of God be upon them, partake after feeding the poor and the orphan and the captive, until they felt thereafter neither hunger nor thirst nor weariness. And it is a tree that was distinguished among the trees of Paradise from all other trees of Paradise. Each kind thereof bore a kind of fruit and food, and this tree in its beauty bore wheat and grapes and figs and jujube and all other kinds of fruits and foods and nourishments. For this reason the narrators differed in describing the tree, for some said it was wheat, and others said it was a palm tree, and others said it was a fig tree, and others said it was a jujube tree. God the Exalted said: ’And approach ye not this tree,’ seeking thereby the station of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon them, for verily God hath distinguished them with this station above all others. And it is the tree that whosoever partaketh thereof by the permission of God, God inspireth him with the knowledge of the first and the last without learning, and whosoever partaketh thereof without the permission of God is disappointed in his desire and disobeyeth his Lord.”

He meant by the tree absolute possibility, for in it were folded all manifestations and aspects through origination from infinity to infinity to the end. And Adam—God created the beginning of his existence from the surplus rays of the body of Fatimah, peace be upon her—and the thing cannot approach beyond its source. When Adam approached the tree—the reality manifested from Fatimah, peace be upon her—through proximity of existence, he disobeyed his Lord, for He, glorified be He, commanded him not to approach it save through spiritual realization, because at the time of realization the one who approacheth is the tree itself and naught else. When he looked upon the sign of unity with a contingent gaze, he disobeyed his Lord and was among those made distant.

And this is the true secret as hath been related in the tradition. God said unto him:

“Look upon the leg of the Throne. Ar-Rida, peace be upon him, said: Adam raised his head and looked upon the leg of the Throne, and found written thereon: ‘There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and ’Ali ibn Abi Talib is the Commander of the Faithful, and his wife is the Mistress of the women of the worlds, and Hasan and Husayn are the two masters of the youth of the people of Paradise.’ Adam said: ‘O my Lord, who are these?’ God, mighty and glorious, said: ‘These are thy progeny, and they are better than thee and than all My creation. Were it not for them I would not have created thee, nor would I have created Paradise or Hell or heaven or earth. Beware lest thou look upon them with the eye of envy and covet their station.’ But Satan gained dominion over him until he ate from the tree which was forbidden unto him, and gained dominion over Eve by looking upon Fatimah with the eye of envy until she ate from the tree as Adam, peace be upon him, ate. So He expelled them both from His Paradise and caused them to descend from His presence to the earth. And in those allusions We have guided the people of the heights that his approach to the tree doth not contradict his infallibility. God hath made the good deeds of the righteous the evil deeds of those brought nigh.”

On the verse “But Satan caused them both to slip from it…”

God the Most High hath said:

“But Satan caused them both to slip from it, and brought them out of that condition in which they were; and We said: Go down, one of you an enemy to the other! In the earth shall be your dwelling-place and provision for a time.”

[Q2:36]

The “slipping away” was from Satan, and Satan is the turning away of the gaze from the direction of Truth towards the direction of essence, which is their selfhood that God placed within them for sustaining their existence. When Satan caused them both to slip, they drew nigh through knowledge to the Tree of Identity. At the moment of the arising of this nearness, their Lord brought them forth from it, that is, from the Paradise of Divinity, and We said: “Go down with whatsoever is in your capacity, for some of you are other than others in manifestation,” and this is the enmity. “And in the earth”—the merciful earth made level with the Throne—“shall be your dwelling-place and provision for a time,” that is, that levelness is the provision of conjunction until such time as ye remain in that earth. When ye ascend and enter the depths of Unity, they shall be sanctified from this provision, for the life of this world is naught but the provision of delusion.

Al-Sadiq—peace be upon him—hath said:

“Adam descended upon Safa and Eve upon Marwah, and Adam remained forty mornings weeping for Paradise. Gabriel—peace be upon him—descended unto him and said: ‘O Adam! Did not God create thee with His hand and breathe into thee of His spirit and cause His angels to prostrate before thee and command thee not to eat of the Tree? Why then didst thou disobey Him?’ He said: ‘O Gabriel! Verily Iblis swore to me by God that he was my well-wisher, and I did not think that a creature whom God had created would swear by God falsely.’”

His father al-Sadiq—peace be upon him—hath said:

“The age of Adam—peace be upon him—from the day God created him to the day He took him was nine hundred and thirty years. He was buried in Mecca. The spirit was breathed into him on Friday after the decline of the sun. Then He fashioned his wife from the lower part of his ribs and caused him to dwell in Paradise from that very day. He was not settled therein save six hours of that day until he disobeyed God, and they were both brought forth from Paradise after the setting of the sun, and he passed not one night therein.”

My spirit—may it be a sacrifice unto him—hath made allusion symbolically that the six hours are the waw in “huwa” (He). Naught dwelt in the depths of Unity—His primal Will—save six hours, and when these were multiplied by themselves the shin appeared, which is three hundred years that have come in the traditions concerning them, whereby God hath made legislation correspond to creation. They are not they in thingness, but He is He in the Paradise of Unity. Those possessed of understanding have known that naught is found as a thing in the Book save through the six hours in the sevenfold Paradise. “And thou seest no discordance in the creation of the Merciful.” The traditions are gathered together in their assembly: “Had it been from other than God, they would have found therein much discrepancy.”

On the verse “Then Adam received from his Lord certain words…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Then Adam received from his Lord certain words, and He turned towards him. Lo! He is the Oft-Returning, the Merciful.”

[Q2:37]

And the Words are the letters assembled together, and the Family of God, peace be upon them, have the first stations: the first station is the station of the Point, and this is specially for Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family; and the second is the station of the soft Alif, and this is specially for ’Ali, peace be upon him; and the third is the station of the vocalized Alif, and this is specially for Hasan, peace of God be upon him; and the fourth is the station of the unconnected Alif, and this is specially for Husayn, peace be upon him; and the fifth is the station of the letters abstracted from composition, and this is specially for the Imams, peace of God be upon them; and the sixth is the station of the Word, and this is specially for Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her.

And God created the unity of the Prophets from the indication of that Word. Thus Adam received from his Lord words of acknowledgment of the guardianship of the Divine Tree whose approach was forbidden. When he acknowledged it, the shadow of Fatimah was manifested to him through it, and God cast into his essence the form of his repentance, and He turned unto him in forgiveness, for He is the Oft-returning, the Merciful.

And verily the Imam, peace be upon him, hath said: “We are the Words of God.” And the Truth hath alluded in His mighty Book to that Word: “Say: If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, the sea would be spent before the Words of my Lord are spent, though We brought the like thereof to help.” And the sea is the sea of the possibility of the Prophets, and the Words are the aspect of the Lord in their degree through that whereby God manifested Himself to them through them. And the help is the innovation and creation which God hath placed beneath the degree of their lordship, and that innovation is spent before the light of Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her, is spent, and it hath no spending.

And verily the Imam, peace be upon him, hath said:

“Adam saw written upon the Throne honored and glorified names, and he inquired about them. It was said to him: These are the names of the most exalted of creation in station before God. And the names are Muhammad and ’Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn, God’s blessings be upon them.”

So Adam made intercession unto his Lord through them for the acceptance of his repentance and the elevation of his station.

And ’Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, said:

“My father related to me from his father from the Messenger of God, may God’s blessings and peace be upon Him and His family, who said: O servants of God, verily when Adam, peace be upon Him, beheld the light shining forth from his loins from the summit of the Throne to his back, and could not discern the forms clearly, he said: O my Lord, what are these lights? God, exalted and glorified be He, said: These are the lights of forms I have transferred from the most noble regions of My Throne upon thy back, and for this reason I commanded the angels to prostrate before thee, since thou wert the receptacle for those forms. Adam said: O my Lord, if Thou wouldst make them clear to me. God, exalted and glorified be He, said: Look, O Adam, toward the summit of the Throne. So Adam, peace be upon Him, looked, and the light of our forms fell from the back of Adam, peace be upon Him, to the summit of the Throne, and there became impressed therein the images of the lights of our forms which were upon his back, even as the face of man is reflected in a clear mirror. So he beheld our forms and said: What are these forms, O my Lord? God said: O Adam, these forms are the most excellent of My creatures and My creation. This is Muhammad, and I am al-Hamid al-Mahmud in My acts; I have derived for him a name from My Name. And this is ’Ali, and I am al-Ali al-Azim; I have derived for him a name from My Name. And this is Fatimah, and I am Fatir of the heavens and the earth; I separate My enemies from My mercy on the Day when My judgment shall be decided, and I separate My friends from whatsoever may befall and blemish them, so I have derived for her a name from My Name. And this is al-Hasan and this is al-Husayn, and I am al-Muhsin al-Mujammil; I have derived for her her name from My Name, and this is al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and I am al-Muhsin al-Muhammil; I have derived their names from My Name. These are the chosen ones of My creation and the noble ones of My handiwork. Through them I take and through them I give; through them I punish and through them I reward. So seek intercession through them unto Me, O Adam, and when calamity befalleth thee, make them thy intercessors unto Me, for I have taken upon Myself a solemn oath that I will not disappoint any hope through them, nor turn away any supplicant by reason of them. Therefore when the transgression descended from him, he called upon God, exalted and glorified be He, through them, so He turned unto him in forgiveness and pardoned him.”

Verily in those allusions the Imam, peace be upon Him, hath expounded the principle of disobedience and forgiveness, and now I shall elaborate it. God hath placed in everything two signs: a sign of Himself, which is the sign of Unity, and it cannot be attained save after the negation of all else besides it, and that the one who attaineth must needs be one who is approached. So when something attaineth and becometh established therein, God forgiveth him whatsoever His knowledge encompasseth, and it is the Originator through origination for the principle of forgiveness. And a sign of His creation. So when he looked toward God through allusion and conjunction, he drew near to the tree and was among the wrongdoers, and it is a sign which God hath made for His creation, and it is forbidden for those who approach it to gaze upon His face, and it is the principle of disobedience. And God forgiveth no one save by attaining unto the sign of Himself, and it is a sign upon whose summit God hath inscribed the names of the Family of God, peace of God be upon them. Whosoever attaineth it, God turneth unto him in forgiveness, and whosoever turneth away from it shall be in God’s sight among the wrongdoers.

On the verse “We said: Get ye down from hence altogether…”

God the Exalted saith:

“We said: Get ye down from hence altogether; and if there come unto you from Me a guidance, whoso followeth My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.”

[Q2:38]

God the Exalted saith: By virtue of the power of creation: Get ye down from hence altogether into the depths of contingent existence and the surging ocean of all beings. And if there come unto you from Me the verses of guidance through the Manifestations of My Self in all the worlds, there shall no fear come upon them, for fear belongeth to the world of polytheism. Whoso followeth My guidance—that is, ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in all the worlds—when the sight is lifted above allusion and limitation and entereth into the house of the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, the phantom of unity, hath indeed followed His guidance. Say: If ye love God, follow me; God will love you. The follower is the follower, so no fear shall come upon him neither shall they grieve, for grief is an attribute of the people of the Fire, and that floweth from lack of contentment with destiny.

God, glorified be He, saith: If everything be by My decree and destiny, then wherefore grief? Verily God, glorified be He, hath purified the followers of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, from the attributes of those who turn away from His Threshold, for they are the people of Paradise. Their first cry is the word of God the True: “Praise be to God Who hath put away from us all sorrow,” and their last cry is: “Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.” I bear witness that this is the truth. Whoso followeth ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath entered into the depths of Unity, and verily God hath purified those who enter therein from the allusions of contingency. Glory be to God above what they describe!

Verily, followership hath degrees, and the paths thereto are in number as the souls of the creatures. The first to follow ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in contingent existence is He Himself—His Name and His Named One without prolonging the letter waw—then the manifest Divinity, then the dominant Unity, then the all-encompassing Divine Mercy, then the secondary Pre-existence, then the world of attributes, then the world of actions, then the veil of power, then the veil of grandeur, then the veil of might, then the veil of majesty, then the veil of dominion, then the veil of mercy, then the veil of prophethood, then the veil of nobility, then the veil of exaltation, then the veil of felicity, then the veil of intercession, then the world of command, then the world of creation. All of this followeth Him through the movement of succession, and He, peace be upon Him, extendeth guidance unto them according to their station.

The people of denial follow Him through denial according to their station, contrary to succession. Verily God, glorified be He, hath caused the people of Paradise to enter Paradise through following Him, and the people of the Fire to enter the Fire through following Him. None followeth the guidance of God in the same manner as he followeth his own self. He followeth in such wise that naught remaineth to his self save the Self of God made manifest unto him through Him in all His worlds. From all things belonging to Him, from the realities there hath been distilled: I am the Essence of essences. From the Names: I am the Most Great, Most High Name. From the meanings: I am the Meaning upon which no name or similitude can fall. From the attributes: I am the Greatest Sign of God. From the actions: I am the Command of God. From the tongues: I am the speaking Tongue of God. From the eyes: I am the seeing Eye of God. From the hidden: I am the Manifest of God among you. From the manifest: I am the open declaration of the Worshipped One.

I bear witness that he is the follower of His Sovereignty in such wise that none followeth God’s guidance like unto him, for God, glorified be He, hath manifested Himself unto him thereby, and He is the Truth—there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. And he is the follower in reality of that Most Great Exemplar, and all else besides him—were they to be purified from accidents and freed from resemblances and similitudes and brought into the house of glory absolutely unto the beauty of certitude, heedless of the clouds of contingency—would then have followed God’s guidance through accidental ghostly means. Therefore, no fear shall come upon them neither shall they grieve. And verily in the station of separation, sorrow was praiseworthy, and thus spake al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him:

“Sorrow is the raiment of the mystic knowers, by reason of the abundance of intimations from the unseen realm upon their inner realities and the length of their communion beneath the veil of grandeur. And the sorrowful one—his outward aspect is constraint and his inward reality is expansion. He liveth among the creatures the life of the sick, and with God the life of nearness. And the sorrowful one is other than the contemplative, for the contemplative is artificial whilst the sorrowful one is natural. And sorrow beginneth from within, whilst denial beginneth from the vision of abstractions, and between them is a difference.”

God, mighty and glorified is He, said in the story of Jacob, peace be upon Him:

“I only complain of my distraction and anguish to God, and I know from God that which ye know not.”

[Q12:86] Thus the cause of what maketh sorrow beloved is knowledge specially bestowed by God apart from all the worlds. And sorrow is the special attribute of the mystic knowers of God, whilst contemplation is shared by both the elect and the common people. And were sorrow to be veiled from the hearts of the mystic knowers for one hour, they would cry out for help. And were it to be placed in the hearts of others, they would reject it. And sorrow is first, and its second stage is security and glad-tidings. Contemplation is second, its beginning being the correction of faith in God and need of God, mighty and glorified is He, through seeking salvation. And the sorrowful one is contemplative, and the contemplative one is an interpreter. And for each one of these there are men and knowledge and a path and honor.

On the verse “But those who disbelieve and deny Our signs…”

God the Most High said:

“But those who disbelieve and deny Our signs—these are the companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein forever.”

[Q2:39]

Verily the signs are the guides unto the Truth through the indication of unity, and the greatest of the signs is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and he it is who pointed to God through the indication of affirmation that there is no god but He. And that which is indicated is the Manifest, the Described, whilst the Pure Essence hath no sign—rather, that which indicateth Him is His creation. God created the signs through that whereby innovation was possible as an indication of Unity—that there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. O Thou Who hast indicated Thy Essence through Thy Essence! ’Ali, peace be upon Him, said: “What sign of God is greater than I?” Whosoever emergeth from the ocean of Unity hath indeed disbelieved and denied, for he hath entered the ocean of trinity through the phantom of isolation. And likewise, whosoever denieth the sign of Prophethood and Guardianship is a denier of the sign of Unity. And whosoever denieth an atom of the signs—were it said that the ant hath no unity—hath indeed entered into the shadows of this verse and is among the companions of the first, for it is the Fire so long as they are therein, abiding forever therein. And naught can frustrate God’s command.

On the verse “O children of Israel, remember My favor which I…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“O children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant and I shall fulfill your covenant, and Me alone should you fear.”

[Q2:40]

And Israel is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and those addressed are his children, namely the eleven Imams, peace be upon them. God commanded them to manifest their guardianship for themselves, for He manifested Himself to them through them. “Fulfill My covenant”—and this is the covenant of your servitude. “I shall fulfill your covenant”—and this is the covenant of God’s lordship for them through them. “And Me alone should you fear”—for when they, peace of God be upon them, fulfill God’s covenant, they fear none but Him, because the covenant of manifestation is not realized save through the covenant of the Manifested One, and this is the greatest fear at the primal creation.

Whosoever fulfilleth God’s covenant, He fulfilleth his covenant by making him the station of His Self in performance, when He desireth to say to a thing “Be!” and it is. Glorified be He Who fulfilled His covenant with the family of God through their covenant, by placing the kingdom of the heavens and the earth in their finger. And glorified be God above what they associate with Him.

And verily as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, hath said concerning His word, mighty and glorious is He: “Fulfill My covenant”—through his guardianship, peace be upon him. “I shall fulfill your covenant”—with Paradise. And the two covenants are one covenant—the covenant of the Lord, the covenant of the servant—through that whereby God manifested Himself to him through him. And the Essence is not comparable to anything. And glorified be God above what they associate with Him.

On the verse “And believe in what I have sent down, confirming…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And believe in what I have sent down, confirming that which is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it, and sell not My signs for a small price, and Me should you fear.”

[Q2:41]

The first thing that descendeth from God is the sign of His identity, and this is the sign of the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him. And this sign confirmeth that which is with you through servitude to God. And God hath placed the reflection of this sign in all things for belief in it, that one may annihilate himself or forget things for their permanence and remembrance.

And whosoever turneth away from it, he is the first to disbelieve in it. And nothing turned away in the realm of possibility first save Abu’d-Dawahi, God’s curse be upon him. And therefore he became the first to disbelieve in it. And God commanded His servants: “Be not like him,” for whosoever turneth away from the guardianship of the family of God, peace of God be upon them, he is the sign of the first one and was the first to disbelieve in it.

And verily those who purchase with God’s signs by seeing other than the family of God, peace of God be upon them, have indeed purchased for a small price through seeing themselves. And verily he who is content to remain in the stages of the ocean of Unity from the stations of the All-Merciful hath purchased the signs of Singleness for the price of Unity, which is small. “And Me”—that is, the ocean of Singleness—“should you fear.” For the servant is not perfected in piety save when he standeth upright in the blindness of Eternity. Otherwise, so long as he who journeyeth in the stages of Unity, he standeth at the sanctuary of limitation. And verily God hath forbidden the people of love from this standing by His word: “And Me should you fear.”

God the Exalted hath said: And clothe not truth with falsehood and conceal not the truth while you know.” [Q2:42]

The word of truth is for bringing things into existence, and the truth is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and falsehood is the guardianship of the first one. God commanded His servants:

“Recognize not the sign of your unity through the attribute of possibility and be not heedless of the ocean of Singleness, while you know that all save it is vanishing and false, and that it is the truth and the ultimate outpouring of the Lord.”

And verily he who looketh with other than the eye of God hath indeed clothed truth with falsehood and concealeth the truth after God made known to him the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him. How then are you turned away?

On the verse “And establish prayer and pay the alms tax…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And establish prayer and pay the alms tax and bow down with those who bow down.”

[Q2:43]

Prayer is the guardianship of ’Ali—upon Him be peace—which none can establish save after the removal of the veils. When one entereth the ocean of unity without how or reference, he hath acknowledged the verse of the guardianship of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—through that which hath been manifested unto him thereby, and hath established prayer as the All-Merciful hath willed. Whosoever establisheth it beyond that ocean is not among those who pray.

The payment of the alms tax is the bestowal of the manifestations of divinity, and this is not possible save after the establishment of prayer. For whosoever entereth the house of identity, God commandeth him to pay the alms tax, which is manifestation unto himself by himself and unto others through creation according to what the power of possibility can bear and what his emanation lacketh not in abundance. This is a dewdrop from the mention of the alms tax which he who hath established prayer hath known. And for the people of the outward there is what the Lawgiver hath ordained, and this is not the station for the manifestation of exposition.

Bowing is a pillar among the pillars of prayer, and this pillar is the Shi’ih. God hath commanded the believers and those who establish prayer to show sincere love for the Shi’ih, and they are those who bow down with the verses of ’Ali—upon Him be peace. God hath commanded bowing for the mystery of manifestation through the Manifested One, and God commandeth but once. Those possessed of understanding have known what is there—it is not known save through what is here. Among the completion of bowing is congregational prayer, which is the Name whereby all His creation that knoweth it glorifieth God and glorifieth through it, and hath followed in his bowing an upright Imam, which is the Name that God hath placed in bowing:

“Glory be to my Lord the Mighty and praise be unto Him,”

and His named one is the Manifest One manifested through the Name.

Verily the Imam—peace be upon Him—hath said:

“We are the Most Beautiful Names. Whosoever knoweth the Name from the Named hath attained the abode of knowledge.”

On the verse “Do ye enjoin righteousness upon mankind while ye forget…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Do ye enjoin righteousness upon mankind while ye forget yourselves, though ye recite the Book? Have ye then no sense?”

[Q2:44]

This verse addresseth him who hath forgotten himself and hath not known him. Verily, those who command the people to enter the ocean of unity while ye forget yourselves—for they emerge therefrom and dwell in the surging sea of wahidiyyah, though God hath made them know that the Truth is with ’Ali—upon Him be peace—and they recite the Book in that it speaketh not save of his guardianship—have ye then no sense that the beholder, were he other than the beheld, would forget himself? He who hath known him through unity hath made him aware of the mystery of His command, that that verse is created, and between it and its Originator in knowledge is naught save that it is His servant and creation. God hath made that verse a verse of Himself so that contingent beings may be illumined through knowledge of Him and the contingent being may attain his goal. And this knowledge is the true recitation, were they to understand.

On the verse “And seek help through patience and prayer, and verily…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And seek help through patience and prayer, and verily it is burdensome save unto the humble.”

[Q2:45]

Patience is the ocean of ahadiyyah and the paradise of identity, and prayer is the name of wahidiyyah and the paradise of rahmaniyyah. God hath commanded His servants to turn unto Him through both of them—through patience for the sake of unity and knowledge of the Ancient One that He is sanctified above description by aught besides Him, and through prayer for the representation of His rahmaniyyah through being established upon the throne of bestowal until He conveyeth unto each thing its due. And verily it—that is, being a manifestation of His rahmaniyyah—is burdensome and mighty save for him who humbleth himself wholly unto Him and leaveth not for himself any selfhood, so that he becometh a manifestation of wahidiyyah and seeketh help in his journey unto the endless through the endless by means of prayer and becometh among the humble.

Ali, peace be upon him, said: “Patience is Muhammad, may the blessings of God and His peace be upon him and his family, and prayer is my guardianship.” And for this reason He said “And verily it is hard” and did not say “they are,” then He said “save for the humble.” The name of Unity is the servant of Oneness in all the worlds, and through it is He known by it, and for this reason did its Creator name it patience, and it is an easy sign whereof there is no mention of aught else, and with it and through it is known all save God. And He made it conditional that none should go forth save through God, nor look save with His eye, nor hear save with His hearing, nor give save with His hand, nor point save unto Him, nor work save for Him, nor speak save on His behalf. And this is difficult, most difficult, and none have established it save the family of God, peace be upon them. And for this reason did God make it special unto the humble, and they are the truly humble.

Ali, peace be upon him, said:

“I have seen nothing but I saw God before it or with it.”

This is the fruit of humility. Whosoever seeth in his station as he saw, he is among the humble.

On the verse “Who think that they shall meet their Lord…”

God, exalted be He, said:

“Who think that they shall meet their Lord, and that unto Him they are returning.”

[Q2:46]

Verily, those who seek help through patience and prayer think that they shall meet their Lord. And what is meant by Lord is His lordship which is manifest unto all things through all things. And God made its bearer and the one through whom it is manifested Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn, peace be upon him, for he was the Face of God unto which the friends turn in all the worlds. Whosoever looketh upon him with his gaze after the removal of the veils and the signs, the All-Merciful hath honored him with His meeting, and that unto Him—that is, unto the guardianship through which God manifested Himself to him—he returneth.

And verily God hath promised His servants that He will give them according to what they think of Him. He, peace be upon him, said: “Verily God is according to the expectation of every man.” “Those who think that they shall meet their Lord”—according to their expectation do they meet, for the servant, at the time of his witnessing through God, doth remove the veils and coverings and entereth into the city of meeting with Him whilst its people are heedless, and he in that state unto God returneth.

And this is the meaning of the saying of ’Ali, peace be upon him: “If the covering were lifted, I would not increase in certainty.”

Whosoever hath known the secret of the station hath confirmed through witnessing the word of the Adored One that “those who think shall meet.” “If ye knew with the knowledge of certainty, ye would surely see” that to which I have alluded by hint. And whosoever turneth away from the truth at the time of turning away, “ye would surely see hell-fire. If ye knew with the knowledge of certainty, then ye would see it with the eye of certainty.”

And all shall meet their Creator: the people of Paradise shall enjoy His bounty, and the people of the Fire shall be tormented by His justice, “and He is not unjust unto His servants.” And the Pure Essence, glorified be His state, there is no path unto meeting Him, for His Face is His Essence, and there is no path unto Him for aught save Him, neither through knowledge nor through sign nor through turning unto Him. Glorified be He! None knoweth Him save He, and none looketh upon Him save He, and all save Him is non-existent before His might. Glory be to God above what they describe!

On the verse “O children of Israel! call to mind the favor…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“O children of Israel! call to mind the favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all creation.”

[Q2:47]

This verse addresseth the family of God in particular, and Israel is ’Ali (peace be upon Him) and His sons, the eleven Imams, peace of God be upon them. God commanded them to remember His favor upon them—for themselves through servitude and for all else through lordship. And they remembered for all else, by God’s command, His favor. When they remembered all else, they found—as ’Ali, peace be upon Him, hath said:

“We are the handiwork of God and creation after us is our handiwork.”

When they found all things, He made known unto them the excellences of their own selves and reminded them of God’s favor through their own selves. When they submitted and acknowledged the excellences, al-Sadiq (peace be upon Him) declared by oath that naught hath reached you of our excellence save one thousand unconnected, and beyond this thousand it is not possible in the realm of possibility to mention it. Nay, they are the obedient ones to God’s command, glorified be He, in manifesting His favor upon His servants.

From this thousand do things become realized and ascend unto infinity through infinity, and beyond infinity is the eternity of the manifest. The mention of the sons of ’Ali hath no end, and in those allusions it hath become apparent that they are the most excellent of all the worlds. How then did the Pen flow in mentioning their excellence in association with the worlds? Glorified be God! Exalted is their majesty! Verily, all save them is non-existent in their sight, and things have found existence from the mention of one thousand unconnected from their excellence in the realm of things. Their excellence is God’s excellence in every station.

God hath said: “O Muhammad! thy excellence over the Prophets is as My excellence—and I am the Lord of Might—over all the worlds.” The Imams are the soul of the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, in all stations. The Imam, peace be upon Him, hath indeed said: “Our first is Muhammad and our last is Muhammad; all of us are Muhammad.” Their excellence is the sign of Unity, and all acknowledge servitude. Through them are filled the heavens and the earths, until it became manifest that there is no God but He, the Lord of all the worlds.

On the verse “And fear a day when no soul shall make…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And fear a day when no soul shall make satisfaction for another soul in aught, nor shall intercession be accepted from it, nor shall compensation be taken from it, neither shall they be helped.”

[Q2:48]

The intent by the first soul is the sign of Oneness [ahadiyyah], which is the soul of ’Ali, peace be upon Him. The day is the day of meeting the Lord—no soul shall make satisfaction by entering into the ocean of Oneness save from it, for it is the sign of the Lord. There is naught, nor is aught accepted without it—neither intercession—nor is compensation taken from anyone, for naught can equal that soul. Whoso cometh with it hath won Paradise, and whoso cometh without the guardianship of ’Ali (peace be upon Him), no intercession shall be accepted from him nor compensation taken from him nor wealth. That soul is void of souls and souls are void of it, and it is in the inward.

As for the outward meaning, verily on the Day of Resurrection no soul shall make satisfaction for another soul in aught, for the command on that day belongeth to God, and none shall intercede save by His leave, nor shall ransom be accepted from anyone, for His Unity can be equaled by naught, and there is no helper apart from God. Verily, God commanded creation to pure fear in the guardianship of His Friend for this day. Those who enter and are established in the sign of His identity are delivered, and there was no helper for any save them. God hath decreed annihilation for all things save the sign of His noble Countenance. The first to intercede on the Day of Resurrection before God was Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, for His own self by His own self, then the nearest and the nearest. I find no cessation to God’s bounty.

On the verse “And remember, We delivered you from the people…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And remember, We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh: they set you hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.”

[Q2:49]

This verse is addressed to Fatimah and her husband and her father, the blessings of God be upon them, and Pharaoh is the father of evils, may God’s curse be upon him. What is meant by the family of Pharaoh are the manifestations of his self wherever they are found, whether they indicate unbelief or polytheism or evil, and they were from him. What is meant in this station is Yazid, may God’s curse be upon him.

What is meant by the slaying are the sons of the Messenger, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, and their chief Abu ’Abdu’llah al-Husayn, peace be upon Him. They are a people who were slain in the ten days of Muharram in the land of affliction and trial by the command of the family of Pharaoh, upon them be God’s severest torment. God is most great! From this mighty slaying the lands and all upon them were burned. God is most great! From the slaying of Husayn the son of ’Ali the son of Abu Talib. By God, with his killing were slain the verses of glorification and the signs of praise, and all that is in creation and invention wept for the magnitude of his affliction.

The pens ceased to flow from what they had drunk of contentment from the cup of destiny. From his calamity the name of Unity departed from the realm of possibility and descended to the cycles and ages, and there is no end to her weeping. Had not the First in the realm of possibility willed his killing, Adam would not have approached the Husaynian Tree.

Verily the family of God, peace of God be upon them, in the station of their outward bodies—their bodies are mightier than the hearts of the people of Paradise. Were no one to kill them, they would not die, for their bodies were temperate and change does not affect them, as is the case with the Proof Muhammad the son of al-Hasan, peace be upon them both, who is alive. God tormented a people who killed them after they had recognized the loftiness of their majesty and the greatness of their exaltation.

Verily Husayn, peace be upon Him, had He willed an atom from a hair of His body to destroy all in the realm of possibility, it would have come to pass, and that would have been justice from Him. Yet despite that penetrating power and that existing will, He submitted to God because God willed to see Him slain and His women captives. His word is truth.

“And they spare alive your women” is an allusion to the calamities of the household of Husayn, peace be upon Him, after the slaying of their master. God is most great! From His calamity the All-Merciful bore witness to its magnitude, and in that testimony: “A grievous trial from your Lord.”

And the secret of the matter—lo, I allude to it with an allusion—is that when Adam drew near unto the Tree and departed from Paradise, God established, in return for the verse of pure Unity, the verse of His Self through the slaying of the soul of Husayn, peace be upon Him, for His own Self. When He was slain, God promised His faithfulness, saying: “Whomsoever I have slain, I am his blood-money.” For this reason have the horizons been filled with the drops of traditions that his visitation is the visitation of the Lord upon the Throne, and the Throne is his place of martyrdom, and the Lord manifest unto all things is His Self, while the pure Essence—naught beside Him hath any path unto Him. Glorified be He! None knoweth Him save He Himself. And whosoever hath wept for him, or caused others to weep, or feigned to weep, Paradise is made obligatory for him, because the weeper, in his weeping, burneth away the veils until he reacheth unto the Throne of Glory. Thus doth he enter Paradise through his weeping for Husayn, peace be upon Him.

And God hath accepted in the realm of possibility the verse of the countenance of Husayn, peace be upon Him, in place of the verse of His Self in eternity. His Self is His Self, and the realm of possibility is His Self. His Self—He is free from His creation, and His creation is free from Him. And the Imams, peace be upon them, in that station are the soul of Husayn, peace be upon Him. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are resigned. If the world knew what lieth in his remembrance and weeping for him, it would choose no other remembrance for his remembrance, nor anything else for weeping for him.

Husayn, peace be upon Him, hath said: “Whosoever weepeth for my sake, I am his recompense.” And whosoever looketh with the eye of truth upon those allusions filled with the red elixir hath witnessed with his own sight that “for the like of this let the workers work.” And the weeper, in his weeping, is the verse of that whereby God hath manifested Himself unto him. In that station have I been given to drink these allusions from one water, which he hath known whom the All-Merciful hath caused to enter the house of Unity. And there is no power save in God, the Exalted, the Mighty.

On the verse “And when We divided the sea for you…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when We divided the sea for you and delivered you and drowned Pharaoh’s folk while ye were beholding.”

[Q2:50]

And the sea is the sea of destiny, and those addressed are the people of infallibility, peace of God be upon them. “When We divided for the people of God the seas of existence from all things and delivered them from those seas”—for those seas are the sea of possibility. Whosoever is drowned therein is of Pharaoh’s folk, and whosoever is saved therefrom by entering into the sea of Unity is of the people of Israel, peace be upon him. And at the time of drowning, “ye”—that is, the people of the Messenger—“bear witness and behold,” because they behold with the eye of God. They know the station of all things and that whereunto it is destined without end, through that which is without end, and their vision suffereth no decline.

And what is meant by the second “people of Pharaoh” is whosoever turneth away from the verses of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, in all things, for such a one is of Pharaoh’s folk and is among the drowned.

On the verse “And when We appointed for Moses forty nights, then…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when We appointed for Moses forty nights, then ye chose the calf after him, and ye were wrong-doers.”

[Q2:51]

And what is meant by the first reality from Moses is Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and by the forty is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and ten proofs from his lineage, for the Merciful promised Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, thirty nights, and what is meant is ’Ali, peace be upon him, because he remained after the death of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, thirty years, and We completed them with ten—Hasan and Husayn and the eight Imams from the offspring of Husayn, peace be upon them. And the allusion by night is to the concealment of their majesty in unbelief. So when the Truth manifested His guardianship between Him and His successors, peace be upon them, He informed of the unbelief of His enemies by their taking the first as successor, and he is the calf, after the Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, had made clear to them the successorship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, and they were by that pledge of allegiance to Abu al-Dawahi, God’s curse be upon him, wrongdoers.

And the Qa’im, peace be upon him, is when God manifested His cause in the return, He manifested what I alluded to by intimation, and his station for the appearance of his sovereignty before God was a day, and he is Muhammad and Muhammad is he, may God’s peace be upon them both and hasten their days, and verily God’s promise was accomplished.

On the verse “Then We pardoned you after that, that haply you…”

God the Most High said:

“Then We pardoned you after that, that haply you might be thankful.”

[Q2:52]

God promised those who disbelieved in His guardian, then returned to Him, with pardon that haply they might be thankful for the Great Tiding and the Mighty Sign, which is the acknowledgment of the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him. And none giveth thanks to God save he who knoweth ’Ali, peace be upon him—he who knoweth him after acknowledging his inability to know him and to reckon the bounties of his Creator, so he was among the thankful. And that inability is the right of thanksgiving, if they but knew.

On the verse “And when We gave Moses the Book…”

God the Most High said:

“And when We gave Moses the Book and the Criterion, that haply you might be guided.”

[Q2:53]

And Moses is Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and the Book is ’Ali, peace be upon him, and the Criterion is his followers. Verily God hath placed the signs of His guidance in things—the sign of His unity and the indication of His mercifulness and the token of His mercy—for belief in Muhammad and His family and their followers, peace of God be upon them, that haply by these signs they might be guided.

On the verse “And when Moses said to his people: O my…”

God the Most High said:

“And when Moses said to his people: O my people, you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf, so turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves. That will be better for you with your Creator. Then He turned toward you in forgiveness. Lo! He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Merciful.”

[Q2:54]

When ’Ali, peace be upon him, said to those who departed from the depths of his guardianship: You have wronged yourselves in your standing in the ocean of glorifications and allusions, so turn away from the calf by taking the allusion in the unity of your Lord and return in the divine guardianship by repentance from love of aught else, and kill all your contingent egos which veil you from arriving at your Creator, for my guardianship is the depth of unity and it is better for you with God your Creator. So if they obey God’s command, God will turn toward you in forgiveness, pardoning your standing in the land of glorifications and admitting you into the house of His sign. Lo! He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Merciful.

On the verse “And when you said: O Moses, we will not…”

God the Most High said:

“And when you said: O Moses, we will not believe in you till we see God plainly; and the thunderbolt took you while you were looking on.”

[Q2:55]

And when the people of Moses the first said:

“We will not believe in thee concerning the guardianship of ’Ali (peace be upon him) until we see God openly,”

the intent of this vision was the essence of the Divine Being, and this is impossible and absurd, for vision is dependent upon conjunction, and this is an attribute of contingent existence. God is not seen by anyone save His own Self, and all else besides Him is non-existent in His sight. How then can vision be possible for that which hath no existence in the presence of His Being—exalted be His glory—that the eyes of His servants should behold Him? Though it be possible that in the realm of contingency there exist an eye to gaze upon His beauty, the path is barred by the very act of His creation, and the way is blocked by the fashioning of His handiwork.

Glorified is He! There is no allusion to Him nor any report concerning Him. Glorified is He! None knoweth Him save He Himself. And by reason of that question the thunderbolt seized you, for there is no servant in whose heart such a question hath stirred save that the thunderbolt of the All-Merciful hath seized him for his injustice. And what thunderbolt is greater than that question by reason of its very occurrence, if they could but understand and perceive!

Verily, those who gave allegiance to the First and followed him, and those who stood in the sacred precincts and their like, the thunderbolt seized them openly while they perceived not. And the allusion to vision in the words of the Family of God and their followers, and what hath been revealed in the Book through mention thereof, pointeth to the signs of the Lord and His stations, inasmuch as He hath manifested Himself to all things through all things.

The Truth hath unveiled in His Book these mysteries through His Most Great Word to the people of contingent existence:

“And indeed he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.”

The contingent being cannot transcend the bounds of its contingency while sovereignty endureth in the realm of sovereignty, and the created hath reached unto its like. God is Truth and all besides Him is creation; there is no third between them. The Truth is free from His creation, and His creation is free from Him in the station of knowledge. There is no separation of attribute between God and His creation, nor any isolation.

The least degree of unity is to sanctify Him from attributes, bearing witness that every attribute is other than the one described, and every one described is other than his attribute. The Imam (peace be upon him) said:

“Everything upon which the name of a thing falleth is created, save God alone.”

I bear witness that His word is the truth. Glory be to God above what they associate with Him!

On the verse “Then We raised you up after your death…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Then We raised you up after your death that ye might give thanks.”

[Q2:56]

The first creation is death and the second is resurrection, and this progresseth in all things without end unto without end. There was no exhaustion for the resurrection of God’s Cause nor for its death.

Verily, those who believe in the vision of God the Exalted die, then God raiseth them after the thunderbolt through their disbelief in vision, that they might give thanks through knowledge of Him—that it is not possible in the realm of contingency to behold the All-Merciful. And the travelers in the ocean of Unity are dead; God raiseth them through the depths of His Singleness that they might give thanks.

This verse speaketh of the return of the Family of God—peace be upon them—and none taketh heed thereof save those who turn in repentance.

On the verse “And We caused the cloud to overshadow you…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And We caused the cloud to overshadow you and sent down upon you the manna and the quails. Eat ye of the good things wherewith We have provided you. They wronged Us not, but they were wont to wrong their own souls.”

[Q2:57]

And that which was sent down upon ’Ali, peace be upon him, was because God hath made him the guardian of glory for Himself in all the worlds of creation and invention. The intended addressees are the children of Israel, peace be upon them, specifically, for God in all things hath manifested Himself to them through them. The cloud is the Will of God which the All-Merciful hath caused to overshadow, through His Will, the family of God—’Ali, peace be upon him—when they desired to say unto a thing “Be!” and it is. That is the cloud of Truth upon them, and they were not to His command exhaustible. God hath made that cloud for their followers a sign of unity, were they to submit.

The intended meaning of the manna is the sign of Oneness, and the quails are the ocean of Unity, for He distinguished them from all others through ghostliness and servitude, and commanded them to accept servitude from the good things wherewith We provided them. The intended meaning of the good things are the followers, while the people of denial toward the family of God wronged Us not, but they were wont to wrong their own souls. Verily, the family of God, peace of God be upon them, oppress not, nor doth anyone usurp their right. How could it be otherwise when the sovereignty of God—how can it be overcome? And His side—how can it be conquered? They are established in the pre-eternity of pre-eternities in the ocean of Grandeur and Majesty, and the intimations of oppression reach not unto the court of their Pride. They are in the midst of abasement from enemies, honored through the honor of God, glorified be He.

Verily, as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, hath said in the visitation of al-Husayn, peace be upon him:

“Not abased art thou, for God is thy Glorifier, nor overcome, for God is thy Helper. I bear witness that this is the truth.”

They wronged not the family of God, but they were wont to wrong their own souls.

On the verse “And when We said: Enter this city and eat…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when We said: Enter this city and eat therefrom abundantly as ye will, and enter the gate prostrating, and say ‘Forgiveness!’ We shall forgive you your sins and shall increase reward for the righteous.”

[Q2:58]

The intended meaning of the city is the ocean of Oneness, and of the gate is ’Ali, peace be upon him. The Messenger of God, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family, hath said: “I am the city of wisdom and ’Ali is its gate.” God commanded the people of contingency and existence to enter the city of the sign of Prophethood—Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family—through allegiance to ’Ali, peace be upon him, prostrating unto God and magnifying Him, and to say, upon acknowledging the walayat of ’Ali, peace be upon him: “Forgiveness!”—that is, freedome from the walayat of the first and his followers, may God curse them. “We shall forgive you your sins” regarding the walayat of falsehood, “and shall increase reward for the righteous” in recognition of the mysteries of ’Ali, peace be upon him, for those who do good. The righteous is he who surrendered himself wholly unto Him.

Verily, God hath placed in everything a sign of Himself and a city concerning His Prophet and an image by His hand. Upon the gate of the city is the image of ’Ali, peace be upon him, and He commanded those who enter to prostrate unto him through the removal of veils and intimations, and to enter this gate through renouncing all save Him. Whoso obeyeth his Lord in those intimations, he is the one who sayeth “Forgiveness!” and God hath forgiven him that which His knowledge encompasseth and hath increased through His power upon him beyond what is possible in the realm of contingency. His bounty knoweth no cessation. Whoso entereth through this gate, the All-Merciful hath made lawful unto him whatsoever He willeth, and His blessings know no cessation. He is in that gate whatsoever he willeth, save what he willeth, save what the All-Merciful willeth. Therefore, at the [creation of the] Divine Will, the object of the Will is also created concomitantly, and this is from the bounty of God upon the righteous.

Al-Baqir, peace be upon him, hath said: “We are the gate of your forgiveness.” He who knew his words knew the cadence of his intimations. I bear witness that they [the Imams] are the gate of forgiveness in all the worlds, and verily we are unto them surrendered.

On the verse “But those who did wrong changed the word…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“But those who did wrong changed the word from that which had been given them for another saying, so We sent down upon those who did wrong a plague from heaven, for that they were evil-livers.”

[Q2:59]

The first one and his followers changed by donning the garment of the caliphate unjustly, and it was other than that which the Messenger of God—may God bless Him and His family—had said to them by submission to ’Ali—peace be upon Him. So We sent down upon those who disbelieved in ’Ali—peace be upon Him—a plague from heaven, that is, from the station of the authority of the first one, by reason of their turning away from the authority of ’Ali—peace be upon Him. Thus were they in God’s sight evil-livers.

Verily Abu Ja’far—peace be upon Him—hath said: Gabriel descended with this verse unto Muhammad—may God bless Him and His family—thus:

“But those who did wrong to the family of Muhammad in their right changed the word from that which had been given them for another saying, so We sent down upon those who did wrong to the family of Muhammad in their right a plague from heaven, for that they were evil-livers.”

On the verse “And when Moses asked drink for his people, We…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And when Moses asked drink for his people, We said: Strike the rock with thy staff. And there gushed out from it twelve springs; each tribe knew their drinking-place. Eat and drink of that which Allah hath provided, and do not act corruptly, making mischief in the earth.”

[Q2:60]

The striker is Muhammad—may God bless Him and His family—and the staff is ’Ali, and the rock is Fatimah, and the springs are the twelve Imams—peace of God be upon them. And ’Ali—peace be upon Him—in authority among them and in the station of the staff is set apart from them, and it is the letter which God hath placed with him apart from the Imams—peace be upon them. And verily God commanded Muhammad—may God bless Him and His family—“Strike the rock with thy staff.” So when he struck it there gushed out from it twelve springs, until the people of each Imam knew their Imam. Eat and drink from the manifestations of the knowledge of your Imam from the bounty of Muhammad—may God bless Him and His family—upon you, and do not act corruptly in the earth of authority by the gaze of similitude and allusion to it, for those who gaze with the glory of God in the world of sanctities have been among the corrupters.

On the verse “And when ye said: O Moses! We are weary…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And when ye said: O Moses! We are weary of one kind of food; so call upon thy Lord for us that He bring forth for us of that which the earth groweth—of its herbs and its cucumbers and its corn and its lentils and its onions.”

[Q2:61]

When the people of the realm of possibility said: “We will not endure one verse, the verse of Unity within us, so call upon thy Lord for us that He bring forth for us of that which groweth from the earth”—that is, the earth of Unity from which come forth the attributes and names—“of its creating and inventing and establishing and bringing into being and that which indicateth them.” And that claim arose from Adam’s approach to the tree, so were they thereby wrongdoers.

On the verse “He said: Would ye exchange that which is higher…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“He said: Would ye exchange that which is higher for that which is lower?”

That is, are ye content with the tumult of Unity which is lower than the ocean of Oneness which is better than it?

And God the Most High said:

“Go ye down to Egypt, for ye shall have what ye have asked for. And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them, and they incurred the wrath of God. This, because they disbelieved in the signs of God and slew the Prophets unjustly. This, because they rebelled and transgressed.”

When the people of the ocean of Unity became content with the lower instead of the Most High City, God caused them to descend from the ocean of Divine Authority save to the Egypt of contingent existence, and the humiliation of allusions and the wretchedness of limitations were stamped upon them, and they became deserving of the authority of falsehood through rejecting the authority of truth. This, because they had been denying the authority of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, inasmuch as He is the source of all signs by the appointment of the All-Merciful, Who hath made Him the Greatest Sign for all signs. Whoso denieth His authority hath indeed denied the signs of Unity and the tokens of Oneness and the stations of Prophethood.

And in denying them, it is as though he had slain the Prophets unjustly, for God hath made all the Prophets rays of the sign of His Saint, and he who turneth away when turning away from His authority hath indeed slain the Prophets and denied the signs. And this because they disobeyed Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred, in the matter of allegiance to His successor ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and they transgressed, for those who turn away do transgress against their Lord’s command concerning Divine Authority, and by this they were made remote.

On the verse “Verily, those who believe, and those who are Jews…”

God the Most High said:

“Verily, those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabians—whoever believeth in God and the Last Day and doeth righteous work, they shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, neither shall they grieve.”

[Q2:62]

Verily, God hath unveiled by His grace in this verse all the splendors for whosoever wisheth to enter unto Him from every gate. The Jews are those who denied the sign of the Divine Essence manifested to Moses through Him, claiming that it was not from ’Ali, peace be upon Him, but from the Pure Essence—exalted be He above what they describe. And the Christians are a people who took from every form a word, not the form of the Trinity, and they caused the sign of Divinity to descend into humanity and claimed that ’Ali, peace be upon Him, manifested Himself to Jesus through His own Sublime and Mighty Self—exalted be God above what the wrongdoers say concerning His Saint with great exaltation. And the Sabians are the people of standing still in the sanctuary of limitation, and they are a people who have doubted God’s power by denying limitations from ’Ali, peace be upon Him.

And verily the Imam, peace be upon Him, said: “Doubt not concerning Us, lest ye deny God’s power, but reflect.” And verily God hath given glad tidings to those who believed among the people of contingent existence—whosoever believed in God alone, that there is no God but He, acknowledging that the King speaketh from the King, and none knoweth how He is save He, and unto Him is the return; and believed in the Last Day—Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred—that there is no peer to Him in existence, and He is the Day of Creation and He is the Last Day in invention, none knoweth the essence of His grandeur save God and His own Self—glorified be God, his Creator, above what they describe; and did righteous work by acknowledging the absolute authority of the Family of God, the peace of God be upon them, that they are sanctified servants who precede them not in speech, and by God’s action do they act.

For them is their reward with ’Ali, peace be upon Him, according to what is possible in creation in their stations, and no fear shall come upon them, for they are the people of the Greatest Sanctuary—God hath made their hearts secure from all contingent allusions and servile attributes; neither shall they grieve, for they behold the flow of destiny with justice as though they were creating for themselves whatsoever they will, and they will not save as God willeth. And that is the command of Truth—He bestoweth it upon whomsoever He willeth, and He is God, Possessor of mighty grace.

On the verse “And when We made a covenant with you…”

God the Most High said:

“And when We made a covenant with you and raised the Mount above you: Take hold of that which We have given you with firmness, and remember that which is therein, that ye may ward off evil.”

[Q2:63]

Verily God hath taken the covenant from all who are in the realm of existence concerning the guardianship of ’Ali, upon Him be peace, in the first witness regarding the sign of His Identity, and in the second regarding the sign of His Divinity, and in the third regarding the ocean of His Oneness, and in the fourth regarding the sign of His Mercifulness, for the purpose of exalting them above the Mount. And what is intended by the Mount is Husayn, upon Him be peace.

And verily God hath blessed whosoever hath been exalted unto Him through visiting Him or weeping for Him or cursing His enemies, nay every countenance that hath been turned unto Him. Thus when one turneth unto Him, the All-Merciful and all His creation have blessed him. And verily God hath made, through His subtle wisdom, the hearts of those who have made themselves His guardians to be His sepulcher, and the command of God hath commanded His servants above the Mount to take from that which Husayn, upon Him be peace, hath given them of His knowledge and His remembrance and weeping for Him, and that they should remember all that is in Him of His majesty and His servitude, and remember the path of love for Him, that perchance they may become God-fearing and may know that Husayn, upon Him be peace, with His mighty power, how He submitted Himself to slaughter and oppression for His followers and the people of His House, for God his Lord. And whosoever surrendereth himself entirely unto God the One hath become of the God-fearing.

On the verse “Then ye turned back after that; but…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“Then ye turned back after that; but for the grace of God towards you and His mercy ye had been of the lost.”

[Q2:64]

And what is intended by the Truth through grace is the Qa’im, upon Him be peace, and He is the grace of God in all the worlds, and were it not for Him, creation would not have been originated nor would invention have been brought into being. Through Him creation hath been established and through Him the fruit of invention hath been found, from the sign of pure Oneness and the signs of absolute Unity. Whosoever hath believed in that which He possesseth of Unity and Might, for him grace from his Lord hath been gathered and he hath been delivered from the depths of the lost through the generosity of his Imam. And none believe in Him save a few.

And were the veil to be lifted from but a drop of His Unity and a gesture of His Might, all things would be dazzled by His grace and would return unto the atmosphere of love for Him by entering into the city of the shadow of His Self, heedless of all else save Him. Thus hath the Eternal remained for His Father, and all of them have spoken through Him until the heavens and the earth are filled with “There is no god but God; unto Him is the return.”

On the verse “And ye know of those of you who broke…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, how We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated.”

[Q2:65]

And what is intended by the Lord through the Sabbath is Fatimah the Radiant, blessings be upon her, for she is the Day of the Book, and verily God hath manifested all things through her with causes explained and reasons made clear. God hath taught the people of existence, other than the Family of Muhammad, that their realities are shadows of her body through that which she manifested unto them through them. Thus they transgressed in that God had made them know through the belief that our realities in the station of Unity and knowledge are higher than her body.

God said unto them as recompense for their deed in the knowledge of Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her: “Be ye apes, despised and hated.” Whosoever hath claimed that the Prophets have achieved unity in the firmament of their hearts through that which unified the body of Fatimah, God’s blessings be upon her, verily his Creator hath made him, upon making such claim, an ape as recompense for the evil deed, in justice from God, because of that which they used to claim.

On the verse “So We made it an example to their own…”

God Almighty hath said:

“So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity, and a lesson to those who fear God.”

[Q2:66]

God hath given tidings concerning the wrongdoers, the perverted ones, who point to God with the gesture of the Trinity, that they are apes, that is, they turn toward the verse of their unity with contingent vision. Thus did God make this perverted verse a lesson to that which is before it through what He created in His creation, and to that which is behind it, that is, to that which is possible therein from the power of the Merciful, and a sign unto the God-fearing who fear what God hath commanded regarding drawing nigh unto it from entering the ocean of Unity without how or gesture, and what God hath commanded that none should approach it save through belief in the knowledge of Fatimah, peace be upon her, that naught is possible in the realm of possibility save through what she manifested unto all else through all else, and she is the primordial Command and naught else. And God hath made great the lesson for the God-fearing.

On the verse “And when Moses said to his people: ’God commandeth…”

God Almighty hath said:

“And when Moses said to his people: ‘God commandeth you that ye sacrifice a cow.’”

[Q2:67]

When Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, said to those in the realm of possibility that ye sacrifice a cow, and all that is other than the verse of Unity and its manifestations in things before the Worshipped One was a cow, and God commanded its sacrifice, for all that is other than the family of God, peace of God be upon them, were cows, and among them are the sanctities and the gestures and the infinities and the limitations, and all that is other than the essence of Unity and its manifestations is the very cow. The white verse of Unity cannot be independent in the sovereignty of permanence save through the sacrifice of the cow which is all else.

God Almighty hath said: “They said: ‘Dost thou make us a laughingstock?’ He said: ‘I seek refuge in God from being among the ignorant.’” When God commanded Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, to convey to the people of possibility the sacrifice of the personal states and conditions and to turn away from the guardianship of falsehood which is the cow, He did convey, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, on the day of the eighteenth of the month of pilgrimage what His Lord had commanded Him, saying in truth: “Of whomsoever I am the master in the worlds of Unity, this ’Ali is his master. O God, befriend whosoever befriendeth him and be hostile to whosoever is hostile to him, and help whosoever helpeth him and abandon whosoever abandoneth him, and curse whosoever wrongeth him.” The people of possibility said: “Dost thou make us a laughingstock that we should kill ourselves and give permanence to the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon him?”

He said, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family:

“I seek refuge in God from being among those who command you to stand in the land of sanctities and to look upon the Merciful with contingent gesture, and this is the attribute of the ignorant, and I am but the first of the worshippers.”

On the verse “They said: ’Call upon thy Lord for us…”

God Almighty hath said:

“They said: ‘Call upon thy Lord for us to make clear to us what she is.’”

[Q2:68]

Verily the personal states, when they became distant from the Source, were weakened from obedience and asked for specification of the cow. God Almighty hath said:

“He said: ‘He saith, verily she is a cow neither old nor young, but of middle age between the two; so do that which ye are commanded.’”

God made them know that she was found neither old, that is, not a verse from ’Ali, peace be upon him, nor a verse from the young one, and he is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family, but of middle age between the two, that is, the infinite states are of middle age between them both. So sacrifice her if ye desire God and His Messenger, so do that which ye are commanded, for in that sacrifice is life, O ye possessed of understanding, that ye may comprehend.

On the verse “They said, ’Call upon thy Lord for us…”

God the Most High has said:

“They said, ‘Call upon thy Lord for us, that He may make clear to us what is her color.’ He said, ‘He saith it is a yellow cow; bright is her color, gladdening beholders.’”

[Q2:69]

God hath informed us of their remoteness from that which God had made known unto them in the beginning—that Reality is the removal of the veils of glory, which they know not. And He hath made known unto them secondly that it is the effacement of the imagined and the sobriety of the known. And it is a yellow cow whose color gladdeneth the beholders, for the beholders are the people of the glories who are gladdened by the existence of the stages of their multiplicity, though they know it not.

On the verse “They said, ’Call upon thy Lord for us…”

God the Most High has said:

“They said, ‘Call upon thy Lord for us to make clear what she is—lo! cows are much alike to us; and lo! if Allah wills, we shall be led aright.’”

[Q2:70]

God hath informed us of the darkness of their turning away after God had made known unto them the path of His love through the questioning about the cow. And they, if God had willed, had they not slaughtered their daughters, would have been rightly guided.

On the verse “He said, ’He saith, Verily she is a cow…”

God the Most High has said:

“He said, ‘He saith, Verily she is a cow unyoked; she ploweth not the soil nor watereth the tilth; whole, without mark on her.’ They said, ‘Now hast thou brought the truth.’ So they sacrificed her, though almost they did not.”

[Q2:71]

Verily God hath made known unto them the attributes of the father of calamities in this verse—that it is a cow unyoked by turning toward God, she ploweth not the soil nor watereth the tilth, whole, without mark on her—the colors of disbelief in whatsoever is possible in possibility within her. They said—the people of return to the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him—“Now hast thou brought the truth.” So they slaughtered the verse of her guardianship through perpetual turning away from it, though almost they did not—that is, they came near to entering the ocean of Unity through gazing upon possibility, though almost they did not, as God commanded them in the beginning of the command, do it.

On the verse “Ye slew a man and disagreed concerning it, but…”

God the Most High has said:

“Ye slew a man and disagreed concerning it, but Allah was to bring forth that which ye were hiding.”

[Q2:72]

The All-Merciful hath pointed in that great verse to the stations of things and that unto which they are journeying—that whosoever killeth a soul in every world, whether of truth or falsehood, God will manifest it, and He is the Bringer-forth from His servants of that which they conceal—the truth for the sake of reward and the falsehood for the sake of punishment. And the killer at the time of killing, if it be truth, hath given life to all people, and if it be falsehood, hath killed all people. And verily God will recompense the workers with His justice according to that which they were doing. And the disagreement is the difference concerning the killer, and it is manifest to the people of the outward, were they to understand.

On the verse “And We said: Strike the dead man with some…”

God the Most High has said:

“And We said: Strike the dead man with some of it. Thus Allah bringeth the dead to life and showeth you His portents, that haply ye may understand.”

[Q2:73]

God, mighty and glorious, said to those who slaughtered their uprooted signs and remain in the glory of pure Identity:

“Create through some of your power whatsoever ye will of the quickening of the dead and whatsoever ye love. Thus doth Allah quicken the dead through some part of a dead cow’s body, and showeth you therein His signs.”

For creation existeth not save through the act of God, and in all things are the complete signs, according to that which is possible therein, written. The beholder hath known them through the light of God. Thus hath He created the signs, that haply ye may understand.

On the verse “Then, even after that, your hearts were hardened…”

God the Most High has said:

“Then, even after that, your hearts were hardened and became as rocks, or worse than rocks, for hardness. For indeed there are rocks from out which rivers gush, and indeed there are rocks which split asunder so that water floweth from them. And indeed there are rocks which fall down for the fear of Allah. Allah is not unaware of what ye do.”

[Q2:74]

Verily this verse hath been revealed for those who heard mention of Husayn, peace be upon Him, yet entered not into the ocean of Divine Unity through their weeping for Him or through love of such weeping. And God hath forbidden unto the Fire any eye that hath wept for His affliction or for fear of His justice, or that hath been raised above that which is not lawful for it and through it. And those who turn unto God through allusion—verily your hearts have hardened in the mention of Husayn, peace be upon Him, after Husayn, peace be upon Him, manifested Himself through the negation of allusions to the stones of possibility, or are even harder. And among them are those from which rivers and stages and moments burst forth, and among them are those that humble themselves and bring forth, at the mention of Husayn, peace be upon Him, the water of turning toward true Unity and the water of love for the greatness of His truthful martyrdom.

And among them—that is, the stones—when ye remember the affliction of Husayn, peace be upon Him, are those who weep not nor fear His justice, and fear of God descendeth not upon them. We only give them respite that they may increase in sin, and God is not heedless of what the Umayyads, upon them be curses, did unto Husayn, peace be upon Him. And those who slew Him shall know that God is the avenger of His blood and His Faith, and they cannot, after His slaying and the slaying of His slayers, turn unto God, yet they perceive not. And whosoever was pleased with their deed, his recompense is Hell through God’s justice, if they but understood.

And when the Pen floweth with mention of the Station, behold, I mention the Secret veiled in mysteries: that God was, and there was naught with Him, and that those who remain in the verse of the identity of Unity—that God is He, naught else besides Him—have entered into the shadow of love for Husayn, peace be upon Him, and God hath honored them through their weeping and made their hearts the sign of His tomb. And whosoever departeth from that ancient ocean, God hath gathered him in the company of His enemies, and his recompense is Hell, and he hath no helper. And this is a Word that hath issued forth from the Mount of Sinai, flourishing with the oil of praise—none believe in it save the people of Baha. And those who have wronged their souls by denying it shall know to what manner of return they shall return.

On the verse “Do ye then hope that they will believe you…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Do ye then hope that they will believe you, when a party of them heard the Word of God, then altered it after they had understood it, while they knew?”

[Q2:75]

This verse was revealed concerning the matter of Husayn, peace be upon Him, on the night of Ashura, when the hosts of unbelief hoped for His allegiance to Yazid, upon him be curses and torment. Then said Husayn, peace be upon Him:

“Do ye hope that my soul will believe in giving allegiance to Yazid, son of the infidel and idolater, upon both of them be curses and torment? And a party of you, O hosts of unbelief, had heard the word of Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His household, concerning us, the People of the House—that I and my brother, peace of God be upon him, are the two lords of the youth of the people of Paradise. How then do ye alter the Word of God by warring against me after ye had understood it?”

God is Most Great! Then they altered the Word of God and slew Him together with those who were with Him of His followers, after they had known Him to be God’s Proof Who is worshipped, and the praised Sign, and the comprehensive Word, and the all-embracing Mercy. Thus they obeyed Satan and worshipped idols after they had understood it, while they knew that He was the fruit of the Messenger’s heart and the liver of the Pure One. And yet they slew Him with a slaying the like of which no Muslim nor infidel had been slain in Islam. May God take vengeance upon them in His justice for what they knew.

Said Husayn, upon Him be peace, after the passing of His brother Hasan, upon Him be peace, at His tomb:

“Shall I anoint my head or shall my gatherings be perfumed, while thy head is covered with dust and thou art slain? I shall never cease to weep so long as a dove singeth over thee, and so long as the morning breeze and the south wind blow. Long is my weeping and precious are my tears, and thou art distant while the shrine is near. A stranger am I, and the corners of the houses encompass him, yet all who lie beneath the dust are strangers. I go forth in the evening and return at dawn with the same grief, like one whose heart is broken by the approaching dawn. For my eye hath tear upon tear, and for my heart lamentation and sobbing.”

On the verse “And when they meet those who believe, they say…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe’; but when they go apart one with another, they say: ‘Will ye acquaint them with that which God hath revealed unto you, that they may argue with you concerning it before your Lord? Have ye then no sense?’”

[Q2:76]

Verily, this writing by divine decree was penned on the day of Ashura. The Pens of the Most High were cleft asunder at the mention of His slaying, and the people of the Great Ether descended to hear of His affliction. God is Most Great! What a mighty catastrophe! The realm of creation cried out because of His glory, and the realm of invention because of His abasement. The Attributes and Names went forth from Their thrones, naked, sobbing, weeping because of the greatness of His tribulation and the severity of His slaying.

Behold, the Names went forth from the Throne of Grandeur to weep for Him. The Name of God descended to His resting-place, sobbing and humbled. When Husayn, upon Him be peace, was beheld in His mighty slaying, He donned the garment of black for His mourning. Then appeared the Name of God, then the Name of Divinity, then the Name of Unity, then the Name of the Eternal, then the Name of the All-Merciful, then the Name of Singleness, and all the possibilities of manifestation therein. Nothing remaineth in the heavens, the Throne, and the Seat of God that hath not descended to visit Him, disheveled and dust-covered.

As for the people of earth, the righteous weep for Him because of love, and the wicked because of their great fear of the justice of God. For the former there is infinite mercy, and for the latter unending retribution.

Nothing did creation create but God made therein a sign for weeping over Husayn, upon Him be peace. And whosoever wept or caused weeping or feigned weeping or made mention of Him hath entered Paradise at His remembrance, and that is the utmost limit of possibility from the bounty of the All-Merciful.

Verily, God, glorified be He, created Paradise and all that is therein from the signs of primordial Oneness and the infinite eternal stations from a ray of the body of Husayn, upon Him be peace. Therefore, whosoever maketh mention of the calamity of His body and there floweth from his eyes a drop smaller than the head of a barley grain of water, God forgiveth him that which He loveth not in him and Paradise becometh incumbent upon him. That is the grace of God which He giveth unto whom He willeth, and God is the Possessor of mighty grace.

Said Husayn, upon Him be peace, concerning His grandfather, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family:

“O Husayn! Verily, God hath willed that He should see thee slain, and that He should see thee with thy gray hairs dyed with thy blood, and that He should see thee slaughtered with thy head severed from behind thy neck. And He hath willed that He should see thy women-folk as captives upon the tent-poles.”

Glorified be God! True is what Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said concerning such a day as this. Ah! Ah! Verily, the day of the slaying of Husayn, upon Him be peace, at Karbala ulcerated our eyelids and caused our tears to flow.

He stood upon His steed, alone and friendless, and said:

“O my God! Thou seest what hath been done unto the son of Thy Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family. Is there any helper to aid the family of Muhammad the Chosen One? Is there any defender to defend the offspring of the Pure Ones?”

None responded to his call, nor remained of the defenders of God aught save ’Ali the stricken, peace be upon him, who rose to answer and, though frail and sorely tried, offered his feeble strength in aid. When Husayn, may peace be upon him, beheld him, he cried:

“By God! By God! Restrain him, O my sister! For by his life doth the world endure.”

Ah! Ah! Upon one such as Husayn it behoveth to weep and wail, to mourn and lament! For God hath promised to those who weep for him the joy of meeting Him—and verily, the promise of God is fulfilled. Hasan, son of ’Ali, father of the Awaited Proof, peace be upon him, hath said:

“May the blessings of God rest upon them that weep for Husayn, and on those who uphold his remembrance.”

Ah, ah! When ’Ashura approaches, my sorrow for the family of the Messenger of God is redoubled, and my tears fall in torrents. This is the day when all the earth was darkened with dust and missiles, the heavens shuddered in dread, my heart grew straitened, my commerce was undone, my affliction waxed grievous, and my life became bitter indeed.

Ah, ah! Then were the pure ones of Fatimah’s line slain before the multitudes; had the sun of day possessed understanding, it would have fallen in prostration!

Ah, ah! When the decree was fulfilled, and the oppressor planted his feet upon his sacred breast, the Throne itself fell down in adoration before the majesty of his tribulation. And Fatimah, upon her be the blessings of God, cried out:

“Alas for thee, O stranger, parched with thirst! O thou far removed from thy home and kindred! O thou overwhelmed with grief, buried without ablution or shroud! O people of ’Ashura! Weep ye for the martyr of Karbala—his body drenched in blood, slain by the tyrants through wanton cruelty, yet naught in him was seen but faithfulness! Weep ye for him for whom both the dwellers of earth and the denizens of heaven wept! His family were violated, his sanctities profaned, his household made captives among the handmaids!”

Ah, ah! What excuse hath he who weepeth not on the day of his passing, lamenting with blood and tears commingled? Weep thou for the places where the sons of Ahmad fell—those who, athirst, drank the cup of death. The bowels of Fatimah were torn for them; her eyes wept in sorrow for the orphans. Weep for the little ones, humbled before the tyrants; weep for the crimsoned throat, dyed with blood. Picture to thyself his sisters and his daughters, striking their cheeks in grief and anguish—one wailing here, another there, bewailing the loss of their veils and mantles torn away by the foe. Weep for Zaynab, crying out to her mother—she of glory and exalted rank—saying:

“O mother! Arise from thy dust! Behold my abasement and the misery of my station! Stand beside the slain, and rend thy heart in sorrow! Weep for him who lieth alone, without defender or companion! Weep for the infant, drenched in blood, whose parched lips burned with thirst! Weep for the noble women of Husayn, unveiled, their faces hidden in their sleeves! Weep for ’Ali, the Adorner of Worshippers, bound in chains, lamenting the anguish of his sickness and captivity!”

Ah, then ah! O mine eyes, pour forth thy tears unstintedly! Weep for Husayn, the martyr, the son of the Lord of mankind! They slew him on the plain of Taff, pierced through with spears, at the command of that accursed, vile-born wretch. God alone knoweth the magnitude of his calamity; and verily, the family of God—peace be upon them—endured his slaying with patience. But as for others, they comprehend not aught of the greatness of this affliction, nor can they ever fathom its mystery unto eternity.

And as for the hidden meaning of the blessed verse: Those who turned away from the Sign of Oneness, made manifest in the Sign of ?usayn—peace be upon him—when they meet the believers, they say: “We, too, confess his majesty and his martyrdom, for our blood’s sake and our kinship.” Yet when they withdraw among their peers in the assemblies of light, they say: “Do ye speak to them of the matter of Husayn, of that which God hath revealed unto you, that they may dispute with you before God concerning his slaying—your Lord and their Lord? Will ye not understand?”

Nay, God shall assuredly demand vengeance for his blood from those who slew him, and shall require of those who disbelieved in him the Sign of faith which they denied. What aileth this people that they can scarce comprehend a word of this wondrous tale?

Al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said: There were a people among the Jews who were not among the obstinate conspirators. When they met the Muslims they would tell them what was in the Torah concerning the description of Muhammad, may the blessings of God be upon him and his family. But their leaders forbade them from this and said: Do not inform them of what is in the Torah concerning the description of Muhammad, may the blessings of God be upon him and his family, lest they use it as argument against you before your Lord. Then the verse was revealed.

On the verse “Do they not know that God knows what they…”

God the Exalted said: “Do they not know that God knows what they conceal and what they make known?” ” [Q2:77]

The knowledge of the Essence is the Essence itself—none knows how He is except He Himself. And God, glory be to Him, has taught the people of infallibility, peace of God be upon them, the knowledge of all things. Do they not know that they are the manifestations of the Divine Identity? From God, glory be to Him, they know what they conceal and what they make known in the realm of possibility and what they make known in the worlds of existence.

Since this writing was after Ashura, I have loved to mention al-Husayn, peace be upon him, so I say as God, glory be to Him, has commanded: The contingent beings are a drop distilled from the indication of His command, and the existent things are a flash distilled from the effusion of His bounty. Verily, existence is a drop of glory from the reflection of His beauty. They flash forth in hope of attaining the shadow of His majesty. The ocean of being is filled by His might from the comprehensive sources of His effusion, and existence is filled by His grief from the lofty peaks of His remembrance. Verily, the essences, after they were made excellent, became individuated in the presence of His glory. Verily, the heart, in the swiftness of its journey, stops before His slaying. Those blazing seas were filled—the things were not withheld from the effusion of al-Husayn.

Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, said in Kufa:

“O people, whoever knows me knows me, and whoever does not know me, I am ’Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn ’Ali ibn Abi Talib. I am the son of him who was prevented access to the water of the Euphrates without guilt or inheritance. I am the son of him whose sanctuary was violated and whose bliss was plundered. I am the son of him whose property was seized and whose family was taken captive. I am the son of him who was killed in patience, and that suffices as glory.”

“It is no wonder that al-Husayn was killed, when his grandfather was better than Husayn and more noble. Do not rejoice, O people of Kufa, at what befell al-Husayn—that was the greatest calamity. The one slain by the river bank—my soul be his ransom—the recompense of him who brought him low is the fire of hell.”

Ah, ah! At the time of descent upon the earth, the Word of God was established. The name of the Merciful was established upon the Throne. The Messenger of God said: O land of Tuff and my joy, when he is hidden within you, you are the Throne in the paths. Then she cried out with a tumultuous cry that made her shudder: Would that I had died before the Merciful was established upon the Throne! He said to her: Be patient, for your Lord has willed that within you should be concealed a body stained and slaughtered, drowned in an ocean of blood and tears and wounds and burning, like a sun drowned in the seas of eclipse, clothed in grief. She said, stripped bare of her veil: What have I to do with the blood of al-Husayn being spilled upon me?

When he fell from upon his steed to the earth, the realms of possibility were destroyed from the intensity of separation. He said in his loudest voice: O armies of Satan, I am your target—what have you to do with the thirsty family? He moved with his chest and his foot lowered in reverence for the sanctuary God made sacred in support of the truth. Then the Throne and the earth and what is between them fell down, fainting upon the earth from the abundance of grief. The worlds of Unity from the realm on high fell down, veiled by his calamity. The indication is in the five.

Ah, ah! The grief of al-Husayn reached the heights, veiled, the griefs of all the universe and the realm of possibility embodied. O my sorrow at the sight of Zahra when his countenance reddened, her head uncovered, her garment torn because of the flowing of the blood of his face!

Al-Husayn, peace be upon him, said: Whoever visits me after my death, I shall visit him on the Day of Resurrection, and even if he were in the Fire, I would bring him out from it.

Ali son of Husayn, peace be upon them both, spoke in Medina, saying:

“O people! God—exalted be He—hath tried us with mighty trials, and praise be unto Him for all that He ordaineth. A grievous breach hath been made in the fabric of Islam: Abu Abdillah—peace be upon him—hath been slain, his family cut down, his women and children taken captive, and his sacred head borne aloft on the point of a spear through the cities and lands! O people! What heart is there that is not rent asunder at his slaying? What soul is there that is not plunged in sorrow for him? Behold! We have become as exiles and fugitives, despised and bereft, as though we were the sons of Turk and Kabul!”

Ah! Ah! God is the Most Great for that calamity which, before the Ancient of Days, surpasseth every other woe! God is the Most Great for that spectacle of flowing blood—shed from one of the noblest of the Arab race, a scion of Ahmad’s line! O Ahmad! O Ahmad! How dire was Husayn’s plight when he beheld the beauty of his son, ’Ali, slain before him! God is the Most Great for that supreme affliction—the slaying of the noble one beside his father’s tent, whose speech was the very echo of the Apostle’s tongue! By God! Were ye to weep oceans of tears for him, it would not equal one drop of that crimson blood shed upon the dust! This sufficeth—for grief hath mounted to the loftiest seat!

Glorified be He Who hath decreed sorrow as the diadem of Muhammad’s lineage! God alone knoweth the grief and forbearance of Husayn! But for the decree of right and destiny, the very Throne and earth themselves would have been rent asunder.

And when Zaynab, peace be upon her, beheld him, she cried: “Alas! Alas! O heart of the Virgin! O joy of the Praised One!” She hastened forth from the tents in bewilderment and refuge, and cast herself upon his lifeless body, crying: “O Messenger of God! O mine ancestor, fountain of guidance! Behold my state and the wound of this, thy cherished one! The people of denial have slain thy offspring and thy joy, parched and forbidden water! By God, his martyrdom is the greatest of afflictions, O our grandsire! Would that I had died ere mine eyes beheld him, cut down and cast upon the plain!” Then she said: “O Friend of God! O soul of Ahmad! How shall I describe this slaughtered form?

By God, the idolaters have slain him, athirst, while the sun of day was yet shining in the heavens! I complain unto Thee, O Lord, of the immensity of our sorrow for the murder of the son of the slain, the renewer of Thy faith! O our mother Fatimah! The heart of Husayn was consumed for the slaying of his son ’Ali, the butchered one! Our own hearts are burned with the burning of ’Ali’s heart, athirst and denied the water! O our mother! By the death of thy joy our hearts are torn from the body of him cast down upon the plain!”

Ah! Ah! God is the Most Great for the Day of Ashura, when the glories of Ahmad were slain! God is the Most Great! In that day Husayn was butchered upon the earth, and for his sake was the heart of the Apostle set aflame in the Paradise of Eternity! God alone knoweth the mystery of Husayn’s sacrifice in the land of Taff—never shall aught like it be wrought! For he who was slain alone was such that, had the Lord willed, He would have exalted him in might—but He willed naught save what the Truth decreed in abasement!

On the verse “And among them are the unlettered ones who know…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And among them are the unlettered ones who know not the Book, but only idle fancies; and they do but conjecture.”

[Q2:78]

By “the Book” is meant ’Ali, peace be upon him, and by “the unlettered” are intended those who confess his guardianship within the depths of Oneness, yet know him not in the majesty of that same Oneness. For they abide upon the plain of conjecture; the people of the tumultuous sea of Unity know him only through surmise.

Now, conjecture itself belongeth to the conditions of the world of Unicity, whose beginnings and endings none can trace. But God encompasseth all beyond it—nay rather, He is the Glorious Qur’an itself.

Thus, when the servant believeth in the Book at the moment of its descent within the exaltation of the Divine Identity, and abideth steadfast therein, he is of the number of the assured. But whoso moveth or resteth beyond it is unlettered and of those who conjecture concerning ’Ali, peace be upon him.

And God—His Will operateth within him; for had God so willed, He would have guided all mankind aright. Yet God willeth only in accordance with what they themselves will; and He is not unjust unto His servants.

On the verse “But woe to them who write the Book…”

God the Most High hath said:

“But woe to them who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: ‘This is from God,’ to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby!”

[Q2:79]

All things were they writing concerning the excellence of ’Ali, upon Him be peace, with their hands, that is, according to what they chose for themselves, and they wrote in the verse of abstraction the verse of unity, and in the verse of oneness all the verses that are possible in origination and creation. As for those who go not forth from His authority, God hath made lawful for them whatsoever they write of the Book. But as for those who have gone forth from the ocean of oneness which they wrote for themselves with their hands, they have indeed purchased the verse of ’Ali for a paltry price after they knew and said that the authority of ’Ali—“This is from God”—hath been revealed. Woe to them for what their hands have written of His excellence, and woe to them for what they were gaining in turning with allusion unto Him together with the authority of falsehood! Woe, and it is the authority of falsehood—in the first verse the first, and the second the second, and the third the third. The curse of God be upon them, and woe to them for what they were gaining!

On the verse “And they say: ’The Fire shall not touch us…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And they say: ‘The Fire shall not touch us but for a few days numbered.’”

[Q2:80-81]

Verily, those who love the authority of falsehood have worshipped the calf and said: “The Fire shall not touch us”—that is, the authority of ’Ali, upon Him be peace—“but for a few days numbered” in the life of the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family. God the Most High hath said: “Say: ‘Have ye taken with God a covenant? For God will never break His covenant.’” Nay, but whosoever earneth ill-deeds and his sin encompasseth him, such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein. That is, say unto them, O Muhammad, may peace be upon Him: “If ye have settled with the authority of ’Ali, upon Him be peace, by the covenant which God hath taken from you—if ye have taken yourselves as settled in His authority—then will God never break the covenant of the ocean of His unity and His meeting.

Nay, but whosoever hath earned the first, his sin hath encompassed him, for the verse of his authority with God was indeed every sin, and his is the fire of hell—that is, the authority of the second, whosoever is therein in value is therein.” And the unbelievers are the rightful owners of the Fire, for all unbelief found in everything was indeed from the second—the curse of God be upon him—and the evil ones, his companions, are they who abide therein, that is, in his authority, in the Fire.

And the Imam, upon Him be peace, hath said concerning His saying, mighty and glorified be He, when they denied the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful, upon Him be peace: “Such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein.”

And the secret of the matter—lo, I point unto it—is that the Paradise which the All-Merciful hath promised His servants for all save the Family of God, peace be upon them, is the shadow of the body of Husayn, upon Him be peace, and the seven bodies are for all save the first, and their manifestation hath God created it free from the unbelief of the body of Yazid, upon him be curses and torment. Whosoever acknowledgeth the authority of ’Ali, upon Him be peace, hath entered into divine pleasure, and whosoever turneth away hath entered into the fires. And that is a decree foreordained by the Mighty, the Wise.

On the verse “And those who believe and do righteous deeds, these…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And those who believe and do righteous deeds, these are the companions of Paradise; they shall abide therein forever.”

[Q2:82]

Verily, those who have believed in the signs of God in all the worlds are acknowledging that the signs are the signs of ’Ali (peace be upon Him) through divine origination, and that the Essence hath no path unto It, nor doth It possess any sign whereby It may be known, nor is it known how It is save by Itself. Were It to possess a sign, conjunction would be necessitated. Glorified be He!

Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them both) hath said: “By God, the signs are our signs, and wilayah (divine authority) is one of them.” And they have worked righteousness in that naught is wrought in the world save by God and for God, and in all his movements he moveth from God, and he goeth not forth from the ocean of Unity for a single moment save that he beholdeth all things and his own self as one soul. The Truth, glorified and exalted be He, hath said: “We created you not nor raised you up save as one soul.”

And his self hath been the one manifested from the Soul of the Truth in all the attributes and names. His forgiveness was His forgiveness, his patience His patience, his forbearance His forbearance, his independence His independence, his bounty His bounty, and likewise in the attributes of Unity and Divinity and Mercifulness and Oneness. And in all those allusions he hath been a servant of God, and feareth not in his knowledge save God. When this is so, then hath he wrought righteousness, and these are verily the companions of the Qa’im (peace be upon Him), and they abide eternally in the Most Great Paradise, for the Proof is the Face of the Worshiped One, and there is no cessation for Him. Whosoever entereth into His wilayah, his continuance hath been made enduring. And that Face is a contingent Face which God hath attributed unto Himself by way of honor, and that is the ultimate limit of continuance from the effusion of God unto the people of contingency. And whosoever hath been under the wilayah of the Qa’im (peace be upon Him) hath abided eternally in Paradise, and there is no suspension for the Face of the Lord that manifesteth Itself unto things through them.

On the verse “And when We took the covenant of the Children…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel: ‘Ye shall worship none save God, and show kindness to parents and to kindred and to orphans and the needy, and speak kindly to mankind, and establish prayer and pay the poor-due.’ Then ye turned away, all save a few of you, while ye are averse.”

[Q2:83]

And the intended meaning of Israel in the womb of the fourth is the Will, and all else besides it, according to God, is His offspring. God hath announced His taking of the covenant from all things in the eight Gardens concerning the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him—the first in the ocean of Unity, that ye worship none but God alone, without allusion or possibility of aught else besides Him; and in the second, by recognition of the universal guardianship of the two Parents, Muhammad and ’Ali, peace be upon them both. And this recognition before God hath been kindness which is made beautiful for each according to what befitteth him. And concerning the Parents, nothing is made beautiful save that to which I have alluded by intimation, inasmuch as by explicit statement the followers of falsehood would doubt.

And in the third, kindness unto the kindred; and in the fourth, unto the orphans; and in the fifth, unto the poor. And the intended meaning of the kindred is Fatimah, the blessings of God be upon Her; and by the orphans, the two Hasans, peace be upon them both; and by the poor, the family of Husayn, peace be upon them, specifically. And in the sixth, by kindness with the Prophets and the Successors, and they are the people before the Merciful, for they found comfort in the shadows of the Family of God and were heedless of all save them. And for this reason hath God made them the people of the sixth shrine and the manifestations of His justice, if they but knew.

And in the seventh, God hath taken from all things the covenant of the Shi’ah of the Family of God, peace be upon them, and they are the prayer before the Lord, glorified be He. Whosoever loveth the Shi’ah of the Family of God, peace be upon them, hath indeed established prayer. And whosoever hath established prayer hath described the Lord with that which was manifested unto the Shi’ah of the Family of God, peace be upon them. And none believe in them save a few. And by the eighth, the poor-rate for all else besides those whom I have mentioned herein, according to what befitteth each. And this Garden is the garden of all save them, of everything—of the angels, the jinn, the animals, the plants, and the minerals.

Then they say concerning things, some of them about others: And none believe in God in those Gardens save a few. Perchance one may enter the seven and obey their Lord therein, yet disbelieve in one of them, and he is before God among the polytheists. Verily, God forgiveth not that partners be ascribed unto Him, but He forgiveth what is less than that unto whom He willeth. And most of them believe not in the Family of God, peace be upon them, save while they turn away. And many have departed from this verse, and none enter into it save what God willeth, and God willeth but few.

On the verse “And when We took your covenant that ye shed…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when We took your covenant that ye shed not your blood and turn not yourselves out of your dwellings, then ye ratified it and ye were witnesses.”

[Q2:84]

In this verse God hath taken from the believers a mighty covenant. God hath taken the covenant of the guardianship of ’Ali from all things, that ye shed not the blood of the verses of your unity, and that ye turn not yourselves out from the ocean of Singleness, the abodes of your declaring of Unity. Then ye ratified in the first, that ye shed not your blood; and in the second, that ye go not forth from your dwellings; and ye bear witness in those two stations to the manifestation of God unto you through you, after ye had ratified the reality of these two scenes, and ye were witnesses.

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“Yet here ye are, slaying your souls and turning a party of you out of their dwellings, supporting one another against them in sin and transgression. And if they come to you as captives, ye would ransom them, although their expulsion was forbidden unto you. Do ye then believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? And what is the reward of those among you who do so save ignominy in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For God is not unmindful of what ye do.”

[Q2:85]

And the first addressee and his companions, “you slay” the Verses—peace be upon Him—by that which God hath placed within your souls, after the Messenger of God—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family—made you to know Him, made you to know yourselves, made you to know your Lord. And you expel a party from among you from the abodes of oneness which God hath established among them. Yet you, these very ones, show favor unto the polytheists through allegiance to sin and transgression—the second sin and the third transgression. And when they come unto you as captives, and they are a people who know not the Imam—peace be upon Him—you ransom them through allegiance to your own selves, though this is forbidden unto you by God. And you expel them from allegiance to the Truth—peace be upon Him—after you make them to know the prophethood of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family—for the sake of your own claims to succession.

Do you then believe in part of the Book after God hath made you to know that it is a tree cursed in the Qur’an, and disbelieve in part of the Book after God hath made you to know that it is in the Mother of the Book with Us for ’Ali the Wise? What then is the recompense of him among you who doeth this, save allegiance to the second in the life of this world—for it is a nearer abasement—and on the Day of Resurrection, which is the Greatest Day, and it is the day of allegiance to the First? And thereon shall the unbelievers be returned unto allegiance to the First, and this is with God the most grievous torment. And God is not heedless of what they do in donning the garment of allegiance through usurpation for themselves. Soon shall they encounter the justice of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—for that wherewith they wronged whosoever they denied mention of God, or mention of the family of God, or mention of their followers. Verily they expelled him from their abodes, and his recompense on the Day of Resurrection shall be the most grievous torment for that which his hands had earned. And God is not heedless of what they do.

And al-Sadiq—peace be upon Him—hath said outwardly that this verse was revealed concerning Abu Dharr—may God have mercy upon him—and Uthman, and his affair is manifest. Yet that station is not for manifesting his affair. And verily there have emanated therefrom universal principles whose affair the believer hath known in the course of those abodes.

On the verse “These are they who have purchased the life…”

God the Most High hath said:

“These are they who have purchased the life of this world for the hereafter, so the punishment shall not be lightened for them, nor shall they be helped.”

[Q2:86]

These are they who believe in the remembrance of God and then disbelieve and slay the Prophets of God through their injustice in the religion of God. These are they who have migrated to the Holy Land and write the book of faith, then turn away from the command of God and take what they have written to the remembrance of God that they may corrupt in the earth without right and slay the people without cause and forge lies against God without truth and wax proud against the word of God without grace from God. These are they whose likeness in the Torah and the Gospel is as their likeness in the Qur’an. Whenever they kindle a fire it encompasseth their own selves, and whenever they wax proud against the believers in oppression they are abased before themselves, and whenever they seek to transcribe aught of the verses of God He judgeth between them and curseth them in every matter by the command of God.

These, therefore, are they who have bartered the life of this world for the next, wherefore the word of torment in the Book of God shall not be lightened for them, and then shall they be brought back on the Day of Resurrection to the most grievous torment. This is because they disbelieve in the religion of God and deny the command of God and war against the servant who is the remnant of God. Their likeness, therefore, is as the likeness of those who believe not in the Book of God and follow not His ordinances. Nay, their likeness in the judgment of the Book is as the likeness of the ass bearing the Book of God, making it to be behind their backs, and writing with their hands that which Satan inspireth them, supposing that they are guided aright in the religion of God.

Their likeness is as the likeness of the dog: if thou attackest them they turn away, and if thou leavest them they corrupt. May God slay them! Evil is that which their souls have followed in the religion of God after they had heard the judgment of imprecation and understood it. And among the people are those who love them in the religion of God as though they were following the enemy of God after they had recognized them. And these are they who see not and perceive not and are not aided.

On the verse “And indeed We gave Moses the Book and sent…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And indeed We gave Moses the Book and sent after him the Messengers in succession, and We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with that which your souls desired not, ye grew proud, and some ye denied and some ye slew?”

[Q2:87]

Verily the Eternal is He Himself, and He Himself is He. Nothing can be compared unto Him. He brought forth Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—from nothing, and made Him the guardian of glory for Himself in all the worlds of creation and invention. The meaning intended in this blessed verse by Moses is Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—and by the Book is ’Ali—peace be upon him—and by the Messengers are the ten from the family of God—peace of God be upon them. “And We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs”—the Baqa for the honor of meeting the Proof Muhammad son of al-Hasan, master of the Cause—peace be upon them both—and he is the clear proofs in the sight of God, glory be unto Him.

And We strengthened the Proof in the Return through his ministry, and he is that which is meant by the Holy Spirit, and he is the greatest of the angels, for the angels are like letters, mere connecting links, while the Holy Spirit—his station among the letters is the letter of collective indication—his rank is with mankind and the angels, and he is an angel whom God hath created for the nurturing of the body of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—in this world, and he is the greatest of the servants of the family of God—peace be upon them. God strengthened Jesus son of Mary through him in that he is the most noble of the followers of ’Ali—peace be upon him—in the realm of possibility. “Is it that whenever there came to you a Proof from God with that which your associating souls desired not, ye grew proud, and some ye denied and some ye slew?”

Imam Hasan al-Askari, peace be upon him, hath said: We have ascended the heights of realities with the feet of prophethood and guardianship, and the Interlocutor was invested with the robe of the chosen ones when We beheld his faithfulness, and the Holy Spirit in the gardens of sacredness did taste the first fruits of Our gardens.

Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, hath verily said concerning His utterance, exalted be He:

“Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, came unto you with that which your souls desire not”

- with his master ’Ali, peace be upon him, did ye wax proud. A party from among the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, did ye deny, and a party do ye slay. And there is none among them but hath denied and slain the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. So God requited them for what they were doing. And verily the denial of the unbelievers toward the family of Muhammad, peace be upon them, before all the worlds is not hidden, and verily the slaying of Husayn, peace be upon him, is the slaying of all, were they to understand.

On the verse “And they said: Our hearts are veiled. Nay, but…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And they said: Our hearts are veiled. Nay, but God hath cursed them for their unbelief, so little do they believe.”

[Q2:88]

God hath given tidings concerning the station of those who turn away from the guardianship of the family of God, peace of God be upon them, that they are in the station of excuse. They said: Upon our hearts is a covering that preventeth us. By turning toward reality they belied the matter of guardianship which is clearer than the rising sun. Is there doubt concerning the Proof? Verily He is the Upholder of the heavens and the earth. God hath cursed them for their unbelief, so little do they walk aright in the ocean of unity, and little do they believe in ’Ali, peace be upon him, in that ocean. And the believers are few, fewer than red sulphur and white alchemy, and none believeth in the station of the family of God, peace of God be upon them, save a few.

On the verse “And when there came unto them a Book…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And when there came unto them a Book from God, confirming that which they possessed—and aforetime they were seeking victory over those who disbelieved—but when there came unto them that which they knew, they disbelieved therein. So the curse of God is on the disbelievers.”

[Q2:89]

And God hath given tidings in this verse concerning those who suppose themselves to believe in a matter that shall come to pass after the removal of the veil, but God hath refused the guardianship of His saints to a people who know not that those who turn away from the stations of the Lord, when there came unto them the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, from God, confirming that which they possessed in all that God created for them through incidental servitude to ’Ali, peace be upon him—and they were, before the manifestation of guardianship, claiming belief in God the Most High and seeking victory over those who disbelieved, saying that if the veil were lifted we would choose reality—but when the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, lifted the veil of reality on the Day of Ghadir and the intended command of God came, they knew not the truth after God had made them know that ’Ali, peace be upon him, is a sign of the truth in all the worlds, and He showed them His sign in the horizons and in themselves until it became clear unto them that he is the truth.

In their recognition they disbelieved in him, so when they disbelieved the command came. So the curse of God is upon the disbelievers, and the curse from God is the bringing into existence the existence of the unbelievers.

On the verse “Evil is that for which they have sold their…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Evil is that for which they have sold their souls, that they should deny what God hath sent down, out of envy that God should send down of His bounty on whomsoever He willeth of His servants, and they have incurred wrath upon wrath; and for the unbelievers is a shameful punishment.”

[Q2:90]

Verily those who are content with the verse of Unity instead of the verse of Oneness—evil is that for which they have sold their souls, which is the verse of the Lord. Whoso hath recognized it hath indeed recognized God. By their polytheistic souls they are the verses of the successors of fire, and they call unto the hosts of Satan that they should deny what God hath sent down in the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, out of envy and obstinacy, and that God should send down of His bounty—that is, His guardianship—on whomsoever He willeth. And the Lord hath willed none but the family of God, peace be upon them, His servants, and to none other, though he should desire the guardianship. So they have incurred wrath—that is, the second—upon wrath—that is, the third. And for those who turn away from the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, is a shameful punishment, which is the guardianship of the first.

And Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, hath said: Gabriel came down upon the Messenger of God thus:

“Evil is that for which they have sold their souls, that they should deny what God hath sent down concerning ’Ali, peace be upon him, out of envy.”

I bear witness that he is the one intended in the verses before the All-Merciful, and glory be to God above what they associate with Him.

On the verse “And when it is said to them: ’Believe…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And when it is said to them: ‘Believe in what God hath sent down,’ they say: ‘We believe in what was sent down to us,’ and they disbelieve in what is beyond it, though it is the truth confirming what is with them. Say: ‘Why then did ye slay God’s Prophets aforetime, if ye are believers?’”

[Q2:91]

And verily God, glorified be He, hath created nothing in the horizons save that He hath created its like in the souls, as Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said to the people of possibility: “Believe with recognition in what God hath sent down—I am I—for I am in creation among the verses of ’Ali, peace be upon him, in the souls and the horizons.” The people of allusion said in the mystery of utterance: “We believe in what God hath manifested to us through us in the souls and the horizons,” and they disbelieve in what is beyond it of the support of creation through what the All-Merciful hath created of His verses, though it is the truth.

And verily God is every day engaged in some affair of bringing about a wondrous matter that was not, and He is the confirmer of faith in what was sent down before it and what is with them accidentally, and for Himself purposefully, along with what the station was, which had been above it, confirming what confirmed what is with them. Say, along with those deficient stations: “Why then did ye slay Husayn, peace be upon him, who is the slaying of the Prophets, and his slaying is the slaying of all of them collectively, if ye are believers in His power which admitteth of no suspension and whose creation knoweth no exhaustion, after He made you know that the creator of creation is Muhammad and all that He created—I am I—so His primacy belonged especially to Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and His secondariness to the family of God, peace be upon them, according to what the Lord was creating?”

What aileth you that ye recognize not that the new verses, were they from other than God, they would find in them other than the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon him? And exalted is the All-Merciful! There is no god save Him Who createth creation. What aileth you? How do ye recognize?

On the verse “And Moses came unto you with clear tokens, yet…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And Moses came unto you with clear tokens, yet ye chose the calf for worship after he had gone from you, and ye were wrong-doers.”

[Q2:92]

The meaning in the primary reality before God, glorified be He, is that by Moses is intended Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon Him and His kindred, by the clear tokens the family of God, peace be upon them, and by the calf the leaders of the fire, the most vehement of whom was the father of calamities, may God’s curse be upon him. For Muhammad came with ’Ali, peace be upon him, yet they chose the calf as his successor after God had made known unto you his station. And whoso disbelieveth in the Evil One and believeth in the one divine Sign, ’Ali, peace be upon him, he verily hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold which will never break—that is, the ultimate goal of creation from the outpouring of the All-Merciful. That was the mighty Sign, and God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

God the Exalted hath said:

“And when We made a covenant with you and caused the mount to tower above you, (saying): Take hold of that which We have given you with firmness, and hear (Our Word), they said: We hear and we rebel. And (worship of) the calf was made to sink into their hearts because of their rejection (of the faith). Say: Evil is that which your belief enjoineth on you, if ye are believers.”

[Q2:93]

Verily God, glorified be He, took from the contingent realm and those upon it the covenant of allegiance to the family of God, peace be upon them, after He had raised above them the mount of the covenant of the unity of His own Self, and commanded them at the mount to take hold of that which God had given you in the prophethood of Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon Him and His kindred, with the strength which God had placed in them like unto Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon Him and His kindred, for none can know the Sign save those who recognize the Prophet through prophethood. And hear ye with the hearing of your hearts the inner realities of His command.

They said: “We have heard,” through God’s conclusive proof, “and we have rebelled” against the covenants which God had taken from us. And this was because there was diffused in them the drinking by their hearts of love for the calf—that is, looking upon God with contingent vision—and the first calf, may God’s curse be upon him. And whosoever worshippeth aught other than God, the One, the Unique, the Eternal, the Absolute, like unto Whom there is naught, he hath worshipped the calf. And whosoever accepteth allegiance to any save the family of God, peace be upon them, he hath drunk of the calf. And whosoever looketh upon anything—if that thing be for God, it is as though he worshipped God, but if that thing standeth in the raging sea of his self, he hath worshipped the calf and worshipped the Evil One.

And whosoever pointeth unto God hath drunk of the calf. God hath spoken, and the Imam, peace be upon him, hath said: “Whosoever listeneth to aught from any speaker hath worshipped him. If the speaker speaketh for God, it is as though he worshipped God, but if the speaker speaketh from Satan, it is as though he worshipped Satan.” Say unto those who have drunk love of the calf: “Evil is that which your belief enjoineth upon you.” Whosoever acknowledgeth allegiance to falsehood hath worshipped Satan, if ye are believers.

On the verse “Say: If the abode of the Hereafter…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Say: If the abode of the Hereafter in the providence of Allah is indeed for you alone and not for others of mankind, then long for death if ye are truthful.”

[Q2:94]

That is, say, O Muhammad, unto all who are in the contingent realm: If any one possesseth the abode of Unity with God, purified from mention of aught save God, apart from the people—that is, the people of intimacy with God, and they are the family of God, peace be upon them, who were the very soul of Muhammad, may the peace of God be upon Him and His kindred, in truth—then he hath verily longed for love of Husayn, peace be upon him, for he is death and meeting with the Lord. And God hath appointed the abode of the Hereafter for those who acknowledge his allegiance after recognizing him, and he was a visitor to him and to the people of change and to the people of transformation in his martyrdom, and one who dissociateth himself from his enemies, if ye are truthful in death. God hath fulfilled His promise, and the promise of God was a thing accomplished. Whosoever maketh his state of contentment to be in death, God hath written for him the recompense of martyrs, if they would but be assured.

On the verse “But they will never wish for it, because…”

God the Most High hath said:

“But they will never wish for it, because of what their hands have sent before them; and God knoweth well the unjust.”

[Q2:95]

God hath announced concerning the station of those who turn away from love of Husayn, upon Him be peace, that they shall never wish for the appearance of the Qa’im, upon Him be peace, for in the sight of God it is the death of justice, were they to act justly. And since they have drunk the love of the calf, and that is the disbelief of what their hands have sent before them, they shall never wish for the authority of the Family of God, upon Them be peace, for God hath forbidden the drinking of His love to those who have drunk the love of another. And He is God, Who knoweth well the unjust. And the unjust one is he who pointeth to God with the glance of possibility and is heedless of his Creator by the least of what the Book of the All-Merciful hath recorded. And that is his recompense in this world and the next, were they to work.

And verily ’Ali, upon Him be peace, hath said:

“By God, the son of Abu Talib longeth more for death than a child for his mother’s breast.”

And that is the watchword of those who believe in the unity of God.

God the Most High hath said: And when there came to them an apostle from God, confirming what was with them, a party of those who were given this verse:

“And thou wilt find them the greediest of mankind for life, and of the idolaters; each one of them would like to live a thousand years, though the living of a thousand years would by no means remove him from the chastisement. And God seeth what they do.”

[Q2:96]

This verse is addressed to the people of the ocean of absolute unity. “And thou wilt find them”—that is, the people of that ocean—“the greediest of mankind for life,” that is, the life of this world which is the life of that deep sea. “And of the idolaters”—those who associate partners with the Family of God, peace be upon Them—“each one of them would like to live a thousand” stations from the stations of their deep sea. “And he is not by that station and life, even were it unto infinity by infinity, removed from the fire”—that is, the life of the deep sea of absolute oneness which hath no beginning and no end, which is a sign of the Lord, glorified be He. And even if he were to inhabit the deep sea of unity with whatsoever is possible therein, “and God seeth all things”—seeth all things, and in the glory of His oneness hath ever been seeing, and there is no seer now as He was, were they to understand.

On the verse “Say: Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Say: Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel—for he hath revealed it to thy heart by God’s permission, confirming what was before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to the believers.”

[Q2:97]

The heart is the first thing that creation brought into being, and Gabriel is an angel whom God hath made the bearer of what is sent down from the inner heart to the heart. Say, O Muhammad—may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him—from God: “Whosoever is an enemy to Gabriel, verily God hath commanded him to take the tablets of the Qur’an from the surface of the Throne and to reveal it to thy heart by God’s permission”—which is thy permission for the preservation of the worlds of contingent being from the promptings of Satan—“confirming what was before it.” And what is intended is the Family of God in particular, for They are the meaning of the verses before the All-Merciful. “And a guidance” for those who desire Them in all the worlds, “and glad tidings” from God of meeting Him in the signs of Their own selves which God hath placed in the believers. And none are reminded thereby save the believers.

On the verse “Whosoever is an enemy to God and His angels…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Whosoever is an enemy to God and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael, then verily God is an enemy to the unbelievers.”

[Q2:98]

The first is the verse of Unity, and the second the verse of Guardianship, and the third the verse of Messengership, and the fourth the verse of the Imamate, and the fifth is from the second verse. And unto each of them belong stations, and God is sanctified from His creation and His creation is sanctified from Him, and all save Him are His Names, and each speaketh of that whereby God hath manifested Himself unto him.

The first is the verse of Divine Unity—that there is no God but Him. None knoweth how He is save He Himself. “How then are ye turned away?” And the second is the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon him, and the third is the verse of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his kindred, and the fourth is the verse of Husayn, peace be upon him, and the fifth is the verse of Hasan, peace be upon him.

Whosoever is an enemy to God and His Names—whensoever there is found even a drop of water from the River Euphrates or an atom of dust from its earth, then at the moment of turning away in aversion he hath been an unbeliever, and verily God and His Names are enemies to the unbelievers. And verily God hath not been in one state—His love and His enmity are His creation from nothing; for him whom He loveth through the manifestation of love, and for him whom He hateth according to what he deserveth. And sanctified is God above all else save Him, and His creation of all is naught but justice. And when the servant loveth God his Creator, that is God’s love for him, and when he hateth, doing injustice to his own soul, then God is his enemy in justice, if they but perceived.

On the verse “And indeed We have sent down unto thee clear…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And indeed We have sent down unto thee clear verses, and none disbelieve in them save the transgressors.”

[Q2:99]

And indeed We have sent down unto thee, O Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his kindred, the verses of Unity and the clear signs of Oneness within thy soul, and their manifestations in the souls of thy successors, peace be upon him, and their likenesses in the horizons and in the souls other than them. And none believe in them save the few, and none disbelieve in them—that is, in the guardianship of the Qa’im which God hath placed in the verse of his guardianship—all the verses and clear signs, save the transgressing people.

On the verse “Or is it that whenever they make a covenant…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Or is it that whenever they make a covenant, a party of them cast it aside? Nay, most of them believe not.”

[Q2:100]

Or is it that whenever they make a covenant in ’Ali, peace be upon him—a covenant that he is the verse of the Worshipped One, and all that creation hath created hath been an ascension—they cast it aside, that is, they break it, a party of them from among the people of the contingent world who have drunk of the love of the First? Nay, most of the contingent world have drunk from the cup of the water of burning punishment, and none believe in God’s covenant concerning the Family of God, the peace of God be upon them, save a few of the believers.

On the verse “And when there came unto them a messenger…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And when there came unto them a messenger from God confirming that which they had, a party of those who had been given the Scripture cast the Book of God behind their backs as though they knew not.”

[Q2:101]

And when there came unto you, O people of the contingent world, Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his kindred, from God—that is, from the presence of creation—confirming that which is with you and before you and after you through servitude unto his own self, a party of those unto whom God had given the possibility of shining forth through guardianship to ’Ali, peace be upon him, cast the book of his guardianship behind the falsehood which God hath made the opposite of their manifestation, as though they knew not that his guardianship is the purpose in creation before God, as though they comprehend not the landmarks of their religion ever.

On the verse “And they followed that which the devils falsely related…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And they followed that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon.”

[Q2:102]

What is intended by the All-Glorious by “kingdom” is authority, and by Solomon is meant ’Ali (peace be upon him), and by the devils are meant the three who did wrongfully don the garb of sovereignty, and by the recitation is meant their falsehoods against the Messenger of God (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and their theft from the Word of God concerning the excellence of the Salman. And they followed those who were given the Book and cast it behind their backs, that which the devils brought forth concerning the trusteeship of Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family). But God recompenseth with His justice those who disbelieve in the Book. Verily, He is witness over all things.

And Abu Abd Allah (peace be upon him) hath said that the verse thus indicated:

“And they followed that which the devils falsely related through the authority of the devils against the kingdom of Solomon.”

And Abu Ja’far (peace be upon him) hath said: When Solomon died, Iblis placed magic and wrote it in a book, then folded it and wrote upon its back: “This is what Asaph ibn Barakhya set down for King Solomon ibn David from among the treasures and stores of knowledge. Whosoever desireth such and such and such, let him do such and such.” Then he buried it beneath the throne, then brought it forth to them and read it. Then said the unbelievers: “Solomon conquered only through this.” And the believers said: “Nay, it is from God and His Prophet.”

And God, exalted be His mention, hath said:

“And they followed that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not, but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babylon, Harut and Marut. Nor did they teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not. And from these two angels people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby no one save by God’s leave. And they learn that which harmeth them and profiteth them not. And surely they do know that he who trafficketh therein will have no portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is that for which they sell their souls, if they but knew.”

The Word of the Lord is the bringing into being of a thing, which is its origination from naught. And the word of the Family of God—sanctified be their manifestations—nothing hath existence at their word, and they will naught save that in the realm of willing it hath already been existent. And their followers imagine not a thing but that God hath brought it into being for them in Paradise. And there is nothing in God’s dominion that hath no benefit. And the believer’s soul is existent in the highest heaven, and the unbeliever’s soul is existent in the lowest hell. And there is nothing in creation but that it beareth fruit through creation, and the outpouring of the Merciful suffereth no suspension.

As for the interpretation of the blessed verse, deep with the depth of creation, exalted is its Creator, here I point by way of truth and proof of wisdom to it: “They disbelieved who followed what the devils falsely attributed concerning ’Ali, peace be upon him, and Solomon disbelieved not, but the devils disbelieved”—that is, the leaders who call unto the Fire disbelieved in the sign of God, ’Ali, peace be upon him, “and they teach mankind”—the whisperers—“magic” toward the authority of the first, which is like a mirage in a desert plain that the people of turning toward God suppose to be water, but when they come to it they recognize it as a tree brought forth above the Fire having no stability.

“And that which was sent down upon the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut, they learn from them that by which they cause division between a man and his wife”—this is an allusion therein to him who standeth in the land of the two gulfs, for he who standeth in them is symbolic of divine Lordship and individual servitude. And the people of the ocean of Unity harm not, in their contemplation of their Lord, anyone through the authority of any of the leaders of the Fire, save by permission of God—that is, through the authority of ’Ali, peace be upon him.

And whosoever followeth the authority of falsehood, he learneth what harmeth him through remoteness from Truth, and profiteth him naught save the Fire and deprivation from meeting with God. And indeed they knew that whosoever purchaseth it—that is, love of the leaders of the Fire—hath no portion in the hereafter—that is, love of the Family of God, peace be upon them—no share in standing in the land of Unity, the Most Great Paradise. “And evil is that for which they have sold themselves”—naught but the Fire and inability to gaze upon the All-Merciful—“if they but understood.”

On the verse “And had they believed and been God-fearing, reward…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And had they believed and been God-fearing, reward from God had been better, if they but knew”

[Q2:103]

That is, had those people who turn away from the ocean of Unity believed in the Essence of Glories and the allusions through entrance into the ocean of the All-Merciful, and been God-fearing—that is, the authority of the leaders who call unto glories and veils—reward in the authority of the Family of God, peace be upon them, which hath been sent down from God alone, Who guideth only to the unity of God alone, would have been better for them, if they but knew.

And indeed they knew that the overwhelming flood of creation, with its manifestations and conditions, is nonexistent before the ocean of Unity, the House of the Family of God, peace be upon them, and they exchange not the higher for that which is lower. What aileth these people that they can scarce understand a station?

On the verse “O ye who believe! Say not ‘Ra’ina’ but say…”

God the Most High hath said:

“O ye who believe! Say not ‘Ra’ina’ but say ‘Unzurna’ and hearken. For disbelievers is a painful doom.”

[Q2:104]

God, glorified be He, hath in this mighty verse disciplined His believing servants, saying: O people of faith! Say not “Ra’ina” of God, for He, exalted and glorified be He, is more sublime and greater than that anyone should know Him or that He should be associated with anything. Neither say ye this of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred, for verily His prayers have been exalted, and He was the sign of the Lord in the station of knowledge and the sign of His own self in the station of prophethood. He doth not tend the creation by His own self, but rather He is the Observer through His action.

Neither say ye this of the family of God, peace be upon them, for they were not shepherds of the servants, and no thing hath existence in the presence of their existence. How then can there be shepherding for that which hath no existence in their domain?

Say rather: “Our God, regard us” through the origination of Thy gaze upon us, for God, glorified be He, was ever the Observer and not the observed in the court of His glory, now as He was ever glorified above that which they associate with Him.

And say: “O Muhammad, regard us” through the manifestation of Thy sign unto us. By us and through the focal center of Thy action, verily Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.

And say unto the family of God, peace be upon them: “Regard ye us” with your gaze, which is our creation. Before your gaze no thing had existence, and likewise after your gaze, for they observe all things with all things, exalted be their glory, in whatsoever they will in that sign. And God is witness unto that which I have indicated.

On the verse “Neither those who disbelieve among the People…”

God the Most High saith:

“Neither those who disbelieve among the People of the Book, nor the idolaters, desire that any good should be sent down upon you from your Lord. But God chooseth for His mercy whom He will, and God is of great bounty.”

[Q2:105]

Those who disbelieve desire not, after they have believed in the Book and then migrated unto the Cause of God, nor do the idolaters who read the verses of God yet believe not in that which hath been sent down upon him with authority, nor the hypocrites who believe in the verses of God and convey the Cause of God yet conceal in the religion of God that which they do in the path of God—that there should be sent down upon them a goodly word in the Book of God, nor in that which is before God from God concerning them. And that is a more grievous torment for them in the Book of God and among the believers until the Day of Resurrection.

Verily the first of them and the second of them and the third of them and the fourth of them are accursed wheresoever they are mentioned in the Book of God or before the people, unless they repent of that which they have falsely imputed unto God and restore that which they have taken wrongfully from the verses of God, then turn in repentance and return unto God from that which their hands have earned in the religion of God without right. And if they repent not—and they shall never believe—then these are the companions of the Fire in the Book of God until the Day of Resurrection.

On that Day shall the Balance be set before God. Then shall the Angel cry: Where are the calumniators? Then: Where are the deniers? Then: Where are the hypocrites? Then: Where are the workers of iniquity? Then shall the angels seize them with chains of iron from the Fire and cast them into the land of Fire before Him.

There shall God, glorified be He, say: O My servants, wherefore believed ye not and then disbelieved? Did We not send down unto you a Book that ye might not sell My verses for a paltry price? Did not My servant answer you in that which ye asked of him in your Book with clear verses? Did he not make plain the law of imprecation in the Sacred Mosque through a man known among you? Did he not ask concerning you when ye denied but one verse like unto that which was sent down upon him, while ye fabricate according to your desires and claim regarding the verses of God the like of your evil deeds? That Fire is your appointed place on that Day.

And verily in the life of this world these verses are a disgrace upon you, and they are assuredly a more grievous torment in the Book of God than the fire of Hell for your souls. And God your Lord chooseth for His mercy—which is the goodly word from My servant—whom He will of His servants who believe in the remembrance of God and have certainty in the judgment of God and walk uprightly in the religion of God. And that is indeed the great bounty in the Book for themselves.

And all do read in the Book of God the deeds of the believers and the disbelievers, and God is aware of what they do. And God is of great bounty.

On the verse “Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or the like thereof. Knowest thou not that God hath power over all things?”

[Q2:106]

Whatever We abrogate of the verses of God in souls, We bring through creation one better than it, that is, Unity, for all that creation createth secondly is better than the first thereof, or the like thereof, that is, Singleness, for it is the verse of Truth and hath not been sent down in one state. “There is naught like unto Him.” Knowest thou not through the essence of possibility that God hath power over all things through creation, and that those signs refer to souls?

But as for the horizons: “Whatever We abrogate of the Family of God, peace be upon them, We bring one better than it,” that is, the Qa’im, peace be upon Him, for He is better than the eight Imams, peace be upon them. The Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His Family, hath said: “The ninth of them is their Qa’im, the most excellent of them,” or “the like thereof,” that is, ’Ali, peace be upon Him, for He is like Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His Family.

God hath made souls according to the pattern of horizons and hath made them both one soul. Naught existeth in being save the verse of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His Family. Its abrogation is its death, and its death is its life, and it hath ever been ascending in death and life in horizons and souls. The command of God knoweth no exhaustion.

Whoso claimeth that the like of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His Family, is possible in creation hath placed himself in prison and hath taken from it the forms of falsehood. Yea, it is possible in creation, and those likenesses are His station, and that is according to the decree of the Mighty, the Wise.

On the verse “Know they not that unto God belongeth the kingdom…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Know they not that unto God belongeth the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that ye have not, besides God, any guardian or helper?”

[Q2:107]

That is, O people of possibility and beings who are in the cycles and periods, know ye not that the verse of Singleness manifested through Divinity is the verse of ’Ali, peace be upon Him? The Essence is too exalted to have His attribute joined with sovereignty, though He conferreth sovereignty upon Him, which is the guardianship of creation and origination. Unto Him is established the sovereignty of the verse of Singleness over whosoever is in the heaven of acceptances and the earth of receptivities. Ye have not, besides the verse of God, ’Ali, peace be upon Him, any guardian, for therein guardianship belongeth unto God the True. Neither have ye, besides the verse of Singleness in unity, any helper, nor besides the verse of Unity in prophethood any helper, nor besides the verse of Mercifulness in guardianship any helper. The verses are naught but the verses of His sovereignty. How then are ye turned away?

On the verse “Or would ye question your Messenger as Moses was…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Or would ye question your Messenger as Moses was questioned aforetime? And whoso exchangeth faith for disbelief hath verily strayed from the path.”

[Q2:108]

Would ye question Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His Family, concerning the vision of the Lord Whom sight comprehendeth not and Whose nature none knoweth save He Himself, as Moses was questioned aforetime? And whoso exchangeth disbelief for faith—disbelief being Abu’l-Dawahi, upon whom be God’s curse, and faith being ’Ali, peace be upon Him—and whoso exchangeth the guardianship of disbelief for faith hath verily strayed from the path of unity, for God hath made ’Ali, peace be upon Him, the Most Great Path, even in unity—there is no evenness. The Imam, peace be upon Him, hath said in the Comprehensive Visitation: “Ye are the Most Great Path and the Most Upright Bridge.” And He hath unveiled the secret of the station in the saying of the Imam, peace be upon Him: “There is no path save through the path of your recognition,” which is the word of unity: “There is no god but God.” Whoso then exchangeth path for path hath verily strayed from the even path.

On the verse “Many of the People of the Book desire…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Many of the People of the Book desire to turn you back into unbelievers after your belief, out of envy on their part, after the truth hath become clear unto them. But forgive and be indulgent until God bringeth His command. Verily, God is powerful over all things.”

[Q2:109]

That is to say, O Muhammad, many of the people of capacity who have within them the capacity for faith in the Book, yet do not make their capacity alive in the realms of being, desire to turn you back into unbelievers out of envy on the part of their associating selves, for the believer acteth by permission of God and toward the face of his Lord, while the unbeliever acteth from his own self. Therefore forgive the unbelief of their stations through the stations of God, and be indulgent toward them until God bringeth the Messenger with the command of guardianship at Ghadir, that the verses of unbelief may be accepted. Verily, God is powerful over all things whereon hath fallen the name of a thing, through what He hath placed therein of capacity, and He is the Witness, the All-Informed.

And al-Baqir, peace be upon him, hath said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, was not commanded to fight nor given permission therein until Gabriel, peace be upon him, descended with this verse:

“Permission is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged,”

and he girded him with a sword.

On the verse “And establish prayer and give the poor-rate, and whatsoever…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And establish prayer and give the poor-rate, and whatsoever good ye send before for your souls ye shall find it with God. Verily, God seeth what ye do.”

[Q2:110]

This verse is connected with the people of forgiveness. That is to say, establish for your essences the face of identity which is prayer with God your Lord, and give here unto you the face of guardianship for ’Ali, peace be upon him, which is the poor-rate with your Creator. When they are in those two stations through the stations, and whatsoever ye send before for your souls ye shall find it—of the essences in their like, and of the actions in better than them—with the servant of God, ’Ali, peace be upon him, through what is manifested unto you through you by prayer the prayer and by poor-rate the poor-rate with your own souls, until even the atom and less than it ye shall find in the kingdom of the Guardian who was with the Lord, with the point above and with the point below, and was the essence of truth through what ye knew.

Whosoever hath a thought of something in his guardianship shall find it with God in Paradise, a Paradise whose expanse is as the expanse of the heavens and the earth. God hath prepared therein what creation hath created, and His command hath no end. And whosoever turneth toward God in enmity to the Guardian shall find it with God in the Fire, the face of torment through the justice of the All-Merciful, and His justice hath no end.

The secret of the matter is that whosoever is assured seeth in this world what is in Paradise and the Fire, and with God, if they but knew. And God seeth what ye do. Whosoever is in the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, in this world, he seeth with the eye of the Most High, peace be upon him, in all the stations of his ascent without end unto without end, until he knoweth of all things—their station and their actions and their conditions and their words—one thing, and knoweth their beginning and their end and their Paradise and the glory of their faith, and all the stations of the people of the Fire and what they shall become, for they look unto God and tire not, if they but knew how to act.

On the verse “And they say: None shall enter Paradise unless he…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And they say: None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if ye are truthful.”

[Q2:111]

This verse is connected to His saying the Most High: “Many of the People of the Book wished.” The Jews are the people of the symbol of the square, and they are a people who turn unto God in worship in the form of the square, symbolizing the worshipper and the worship and the worshipped and that whereby worship is performed. The Christians are the people of the symbol of the Trinity, and they have worshipped the All-Merciful in the temple of the Trinity, symbolizing themselves by servitude and the All-Merciful by divinity and His attributes wherewith He hath described Himself by means of mediation.

The people of the two symbols have lied. None shall enter the Paradise of Unity who hath said “There is no god but God” as the fourth of four, and “the All-Merciful” as the third of three. These are their polytheistic vain desires. He shall enter Paradise who hath said that He is but one God, turning his face unto Him. Say, O Muhammad: Bring the proof of Unity, that is, the guardianship of the Family of God, peace be upon them, if ye are truthful in the Paradise of Unity.

On the verse “Yea, whoso submitteth his whole self to God…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Yea, whoso submitteth his whole self to God and is a doer of good, he shall have his reward with his Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.”

[Q2:112]

Yea, he hath entered the Gardens who hath submitted through the verses of God whereby God hath manifested Himself to all through all, apart from others in being and possibility, and hath submitted the Face of God, that is, the Family of God, unto God, in that they judge not in any world or station save from God. And he is a doer of good, that is, one who realizeth when he entereth Paradise and is established upon the throne of grandeur that it is a shadow among the shadows of the Family of God, peace be upon them, and unto the Essence of the One there is no way nor place thereunto.

When he acknowledgeth servitude unto the Family of God therein, he is a doer of good with his Lord. When anyone submitteth in the manner I have indicated, then whoso hath submitted, his reward cometh from the presence of the Family of God, peace be upon them, for he who entereth the ocean of Unity, his reward is his very self, and it is that ocean, and it is from the manifestation of the Family of God, peace be upon them, that hath become individualized. The people of insight have indeed witnessed One standing by justice therein. Whoso entereth it, his reward falleth upon God, and there is no fear therein, for the indication therein is unto another than it, and no grief for him who entereth it, for grief is from other than the one who grieveth, and there is no direction therein of variance and distinction.

God hath made that Sea pure for His own Self, sanctified from the admixtures of aught else, manifest from other than the remembrance of God. Glory be to God, its Originator, above what they describe! Verily, those who have submitted their faces unto God through the guardianship of the Qa’im, Muhammad son of al-Hasan, upon them be peace, for them is their reward with God in His return, when God hath promised that We shall show favor unto those who were deemed weak in the earth through power, and make them leaders, that is, in power like them—whatsoever they will, they shall find—and make them the inheritors, that is, We shall make them those established in the verse of Unity, for God hath made the heavens and the earth to inherit, and the station is more noble than the first, for the first is non-existent in its realm. God hath fulfilled His promise, and He was nigh.

Whoso hath submitted his face through the guardianship of the Qa’im, upon him be peace, hath no fear concerning the guardianship of the First, nor grief concerning the guardianship of the Second, for they are His attributes, and God hath purified those who acknowledge the guardianship of the Family of God, peace be upon them, from their attributes, were they standing.

On the verse “The Jews say the Christians follow nothing…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“The Jews say the Christians follow nothing, and the Christians say the Jews follow nothing, though they recite the Book. Even so say those who know not, words like unto their words. God shall judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ.”

[Q2:112]

Verily, those who believe in Muhammad—may the peace of God be upon Him—yet believe not in the House of God—peace be upon them—are, in the sight of God, as Jews. And whosoever believeth in some of the House of God—peace be upon Him—yet denieth one among them, such are, in the sight of God, as Christians.

The Jews, the people who stand in the sacred precinct of the Cause, say: “The Christians follow naught of the verse of Unity.” And the Christians, the people who stand upon the dust of the earth, say: “The Jews follow naught of His essence from God.” Yet they recognize in the horizons and in themselves that the Book—that is, the Reality—can be comprehended only through the negation of all else besides it. Even so have spoken those who have knowledge of the House of God—peace be upon them—words like unto the words of those who agree.

And verily, those who have turned away from the new creation of God in describing the House of God—peace be upon them—which appeareth from the Sunnah of their followers, or who have refused even an atom of their deeds, have indeed brought themselves among the people of the two sacred precincts. God hath said, and he who possesseth knowledge of the Book: “They follow naught of Unity.” Therefore shall God judge through the creation of judgment from the hand of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—between the people of the realm of possibility concerning that wherein they were in the guardianship of the House of God—peace be upon them—in whom appeared the verse of Identity, and concerning Him—that is, concerning ’Ali, peace be upon Him—do they differ.

The Messenger of God—may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His House—hath said: “Verily the differences concern thee, O ’Ali.”

And when the Pen floweth with mention of the judgment of the All-Merciful on the Day of Resurrection from the hand of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—the All-Merciful willeth that the water of life should flow from the heaven of His Throne into the veins of those words, until the People of the Book bear witness that all ages have been the Day of Resurrection, and ’Ali—peace be upon Him—was the Judge in the beginning and the end by the command of God, glorified be He:

“Whosoever entereth the fortress of My guardianship, I shall judge him with Unity; and whosoever turneth away from it, I shall judge him with the fire, which is all else besides it.”

And that is the judgment of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—on the Day of Resurrection, if they would but witness the judgment of God through the judgment of creation and what is therein. Here and in that Word from the hand of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—if they but knew.

On the verse “And who is more unjust than he who preventeth…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And who is more unjust than he who preventeth the mosques of God from being mentioned therein His Name, and striveth to ruin them? Such men might never enter them save in fear.”

[Q2:114]

The meaning intended by the Truth through “the Name” is ’Ali—peace be upon Him; through “the mosques,” the House of God—peace be upon them; and through “Him Who is named,” He Who appeareth with divinity, Muhammad—may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His House.

And God hath placed those verses in all things for belief therein. And whosoever preventeth any one of them and any of their manifestations from that which God hath willed therein hath indeed been unjust and hath prevented the ocean of Unity from the mention of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—and hath striven for its ruin potentially before reaching the worlds. Such—that is, all save the people of the ocean of Unity—might never enter it—that is, into the guardianship of the House of God—save in fear—that is, through allusion other than the mention of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—therein, potentially or actually. And they have no security from the second eternal Unity, sanctified from allusions to aught else besides it, because of their prevention of the House of God—peace be upon them—from their succession in the horizons and in themselves. Such are the idolaters.

Verily hath God the Exalted spoken unto them:

“For them is disgrace in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is a great torment.”

The disgrace of this world is the very torment of the Hereafter, if they but knew. Verily those who prevent the monotheists from the virtues of the Family of God, peace of God be upon them, upon them hath been struck the disgrace of standing in the glories of this world, that is, the guardianship of the Third, and for them on the Day of Denial, which is the Hereafter, is a great torment, that is, the guardianship of the First and the Second, the manifestation of His greatness. And to whomsoever acknowledgeth their guardianship, there cometh on his Day of Hereafter, and there descendeth from God upon him a great torment.

On the verse “And to God belong the East and the West…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And to God belong the East and the West, so wherever ye turn, there is the Face of God. Verily God is All-Embracing, All-Mighty.”

[Q2:115]

The Face of the Essence—the Essence cannot be turned unto save through His manifestation, glory be unto Him. None knoweth how He is save He, and He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Ali, peace be upon him, hath said: “I am, by God, the Face of God.” And as-Sadiq, peace be upon him, hath said in the visitation of his grandfather al-Husayn, peace be upon him, on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’ban: “I bear witness that thou art the Face of God which perisheth not and shall never perish.”

The Face of the Lord unto all else besides Him was His manifestation unto all else besides Him. God hath attributed it unto Himself as an honor, and it is the utmost limit of possibility from the creation of the All-Merciful. “Everything perisheth save His noble Face.”

And the East is Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the West is the Qa’im Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, the Lord of the Age and of Possibility. And the Face is the Family of God, peace of God be upon them.

And God hath made the number of the letters of the Face to be twenty-four as a structure for the Family of God in truth. “Wherever ye turn”—so there, O people of possibility in the ocean of Unity and all else besides it—“there is the Face of God.” And the Kingdom endureth in the Kingdom, and the relation of His creation to each and all, before it and after it, is the same. “And verily God is All-Embracing, All-Mighty”—an attribute of the Essence. The Essence—there is no reference unto Him, and all else besides Him is His creation from nothing.

And God hath made the Qa’im, peace be upon him, the bearer of the attributes and the names, and hath attributed him unto Himself as an honor, that His servants might be assured that God is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

Ali—upon Him be peace—hath said:

“Whoso manifesteth more of my guardianship outwardly than inwardly, his balance shall be light. The believer cannot perfect his faith until he knoweth me through luminous knowledge. When he knoweth me thus, he is a believer whose heart God hath tested for faith and whose breast He hath expanded for Islam. He becometh one who knoweth his religion and is endowed with insight concerning his condition. But whoso falleth short of this is doubtful and wavering.”

And ’Ali—upon Him be peace—cannot be known save after the removal of veils. When anyone knoweth Him in the House of Glory, then “whithersoever ye turn, there is the Face of God.” In aught else this is not possible in reality, for in them is the aspect of otherness. Nay, this station is peculiar unto those realms, and in them is naught save the Face of God. Whoso entereth therein—“whithersoever he turneth, there is the Face of God.” And the Face in this regard is the very essence of Him Who possesseth the Face, for therein is the Cause of God, and there is no aspect of distinction or indication, but it is pure manifestation from the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting. Whoso entereth therein hath verified for its people that which is contained therein.

When God created that ocean, He said unto it: “Speak!” It said: “There is no god but God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting.” Then God—glorified and exalted be He—said: “Saved is he who entereth thee, and destroyed is he who departeth from thee. By My might and My glory, thou art forbidden to any who speaketh other than thy speech in secret or in public. I am the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting; there is no god but Me. So worship Me through the establishment of the remembrance of Muhammad and His family—peace of God be upon them—therein.” And unto Him is the return.

Whoso acknowledgeth unto the family of God—peace of God be upon them—that they are the Face of the Worshipped One and His praised Self, hath indeed entered therein during a time of heedlessness on the part of its people. And this is from the teaching of God in His mighty, praiseworthy Book.

And al-Sadiq—upon Him be peace—hath said that the verse was revealed concerning the qiblih of the perplexed. And the Learned One—upon Him be peace—said that it was revealed concerning supererogatory prayer: “Pray it wheresoever thou turnest when thou art on a journey.” But as for the obligatory prayers, His saying—mighty and glorified be He—“and wheresoever ye are, turn your faces toward it” meaneth the obligatory prayers—pray them not save toward the qiblih. And these two traditions We have revealed in the path of the outward, which is the counterpart of the inward among its people. None knoweth it save him to whom God hath given His vision, and verily God encompasseth all things.

On the verse “And they say: ’God hath taken unto Himself…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And they say: ‘God hath taken unto Himself a son.’ Glory be to Him! Nay, but whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth is His. All are obedient unto Him.”

[Q2:116]

Verily, those who say that there is a connection between God and His creation, and who believe that the cause of creation is the Essence of the Real and the Originator of origination is His Essence, have indeed taken unto God a son. Glory be to Him above what the unbelievers say—a great exaltation! There was neither separation nor connection between God and His creation. And the cause of things is His handiwork, and the Originator of origination is His act. And there is no cause for Him—glory be to Him—but for His origination there are the heaven of the recipients and the earth of the receptive. And whatsoever descendeth from them—“all are”—that is, unto the Bearer of origination, Muhammad and His family, peace of God be upon them—“obedient”—that is, submissive.

On the verse “Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: ‘Be!’ and it is.”

[Q2:117]

That is, He originated origination and invention from nothing by themselves—glory be to Him! When He willeth a thing, He saith unto it only: “Be!” and it cometh to be. And God made Muhammad—God’s blessings and peace be upon Him and His family—the station of His Self in origination and invention, since He is independent of association and connection. And the command with the Lord is sublime, and the agent of “Be!” with the Real is “it is.” And this is the determination of origination from the Ancient, the Originator. God hath informed in that verse that the decree of destiny is the decree of will in execution, if they could but understand.

On the verse “And those who have no knowledge say: Why doth…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And those who have no knowledge say: Why doth not God speak unto us, or a sign come unto us? Even thus, as they now speak, spoke those before them words of similar import. Their hearts are all alike. We have already made clear Our signs unto people who are assured.”

[Q2:118]

And those who have no knowledge said: Would that God might speak unto us of His Essence, or that a sign of His Self might come unto us! Even thus spoke those who were before them of that which creation created after them, words similar to their words—the word of unbelief. Their hearts were scattered in the glimmerings of phantoms. We have made clear the signs in souls and horizons, in that the known one is the sign of the Essence, and speech is a newly-created attribute, which is His creation from nothing. And He was everlastingly existent without speech. When He created speech, He made it the special property of His friends. And the alteration in their saying “or a sign come unto us” is an attribute of His creation, while He hath been everlastingly in one condition. And God hath appointed those clear proofs for people who are assured. I have alluded to the mention of the clear proofs in those allusions that they might know.

On the verse “Lo! We have sent thee with the truth…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Lo! We have sent thee with the truth, a bringer of glad tidings and a warner, and thou wilt not be asked about the fellows of hell-fire.”

[Q2:119]

That is: We have sent thee, O Muhammad—may peace be upon Him—from creation with the real Truth which is possible in creation, as a bringer of glad tidings to the people of the ocean of Unity through the sign of Divinity from the manifestation of thy Self, and as a warner to the people of the billowing sea of Oneness concerning what is in the power of creation and the possibility of invention, from the force of justice from thy Self. And for the people of the primal ocean, his glad tidings are the existence of their souls, and for the people of the second sea, his warning is their realities speaking with the justice of God, manifesting to Him through them in the ocean of fire. And verily thou hast filled creation with creation for the glad tidings of His mercy, and invention with invention for the warning of His vengeance. Thus hath God chosen Muhammad—may the peace of God be upon Him and His family—in the eternity in which His Self stands above all other nations, unique above all other likenesses and phantoms and forms, standing in all worlds for the Merciful in creation and invention, since He was independent of glad tidings and warnings. And He is as He saith:

“Vision perceiveth Him not, but He perceiveth all vision. He is the Subtle, the Aware.”

And thou shalt not be asked, O Muhammad, about the fellows of hell-fire.

What is meant by hell-fire in the sight of God the First is twelve souls, leaders of the fire, and the significance of the verse applies to their manifestations in all worlds and ages.

And outwardly: thou shalt not be asked, O Muhammad—may peace be upon Him—about the deeds of the fellows of hell-fire.

And inwardly: thou shalt not ask about their turning away from the signs of Truth, for they act according to their uprooted forms in accordance with what they deserve, as they deserve it, and they shall never have any fruit of bliss.

And in the seventh meaning: thou shalt not ask of thy Lord forgiveness for the fellows of the glimmerings and allusions and the fellows of hell-fire and multiplicities, for at thy willing to ask, they would be forgiven by the Merciful, save the slayer of Husayn—peace be upon him—nor are they, in accordance with what they deserve, worthy of divine pleasure.

And thou shalt not ask as thy Lord willeth, even though it be bliss for those who disbelieve in thee. And God disciplined the followers of Muhammad—may the peace of God be upon Him and His family—in that verse by disciplining him: Ask ye not the people of the ocean of Unity save concerning God, nor the people of the sea of destiny save concerning the friend of God. And turn ye not toward those who disbelieved in the family of God—peace of God be upon them—nor all that is attributed to them of sciences and conditions and books and appointed terms. Thus hath He disciplined the believers through His signs that they might act.

On the verse “Never will the Jews or the Christians be well…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Never will the Jews or the Christians be well pleased with thee until thou follow their form of religion. Say: The guidance of God, that is the only guidance. Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither protector nor helper against God.”

[Q2:120]

Al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, hath said that the Qur’an was revealed in the manner of “I mean thee, and hearken thou, O neighbor.” And they shall not be well pleased with thee, O Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon Him and His family—the people who stand at the Sacred Precinct of the Boundary from among the people of the realm of possibility, nor in the lands of the infinite, the Christians—until thou dost confirm their station. Say unto them: Those two Sacred Precincts are the land of the polytheists, and verily the guidance of God is the Sacred Precinct of Pure Unity, and that is the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him. And the guidance of God—that is, al-Husayn and the family of God—is too exalted in station before God for God to address them with following the desires of the people of darkness.

Nay, those addressed are their followers who stand in the land of Unity. And whosoever followeth their desires—that is, the guardianship of the three whose fruit is standing in the land of multiplicity—after that which hath come unto you from heaven, the guardianship of ’Ali whose fruit is standing in the land of Unity through direct communion, ye have no guardian from the guardianship of God save in ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and there is no helper besides God through origination and creation. His is the sovereignty and unto Him ye shall return.

On the verse “Those to whom We gave the Book recite it…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Those to whom We gave the Book recite it with its true recital. These it is that believe therein. And whoso disbelieveth therein, such are they who are the lost.”

[Q1:121]

What is meant is the family of God, peace of God be upon them, and by the Book, the manifestation of God unto them through them, and they manifest the manifestation of God unto themselves with true manifestation, such that they indicate not in their stations in any world save from the Absolute Manifestation. And all else beside them—the right of possibility through possibility for each through all according to what they are worthy of through origination, and what is in their possibility through creation, and in what is above them through origination—exalted be their glory! They slumber not for the twinkling of an eye in the worlds of possibility and being from the true recitation of the Qur’an. These it is that believe in God alone, for they indicate naught save God alone. And whoso disbelieveth therein—that is, in the Qa’im Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, peace be upon them both, in His life and His return and the manifestation of His sovereignty—such are they who are the lost, for they have lost in their lives through being veiled from themselves from the scintillation of the radiance of any soul of His which God hath placed its possibility in all things. And for that turning away they were among the lost.

It was asked of the Imam Abu Abdillah, peace be upon Him, concerning the saying of God, mighty and glorified: “Those to whom We gave the Book.” He said, peace be upon Him: “They are the Imams, peace be upon them.”

On the verse “O children of Israel, remember My favor which I…”

God the Most High said:

“O children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you, and that I have preferred you above the worlds.”

[Q2:122]

God created the Qur’an upon the structure of Divine Unity—there is no repetition therein nor metaphor, but rather creation beyond creation, and the creation of the All-Merciful has no end. For the people of hearts, that verse is one soul, and there is naught within it save the hidden mystery of God from the stations of the Family of God made manifest. And behold, I create by the command of God therein beyond what was created before therein. Israel is one Name of God and its children are all the Names and Attributes, and God gathered them all in the nine sons of Husayn, peace be upon him. That is: “Remember, O Family of God, My favor”—that is, the verse of Unity which is particular to My Self—“which I have bestowed upon you”—that is, I have made you the places of manifestation of that verse for your own selves and its likeness from you for the worlds—“and that I have preferred you with My favor possible in regard to creation above the worlds.”

And verily the favor of God for the Family of God, peace of God be upon them, none can comprehend it. Nay, the allusions in mentioning their favor are the favor of their mention made manifest for all besides them. Glorified be they! None knows their favor. The Messenger of God, may the peace of God be upon him and his family, said: “O ’Ali, none has known thee save God and I.” And now it is as it was—none know the souls of Truth save Truth, and God is witness over all things.

On the verse “And fear a day when no soul shall avail…”

God the Most High said:

“And fear a day when no soul shall avail another in aught, neither shall intercession be accepted from it, nor shall any ransom be taken, neither shall they be helped.”

[Q2:123]

God created the Qur’an upon the structure of Divine Unity. O people of creation and invention, fear the doubt in the shadow of the Family of God, peace of God be upon them, regarding the Day of Unity. The verse of Divine Unity cannot be valued by other than its people through creation for the recompense of one soul for another soul in aught, nor shall any equivalent be accepted from other than it, for it is a verse which nothing in the heavens and the earth can equal. Neither shall intercession avail its people, for its people were the verse of the All-Merciful in annihilation, nor for those outside it, for the outsider in the sight of God is an associator. And the promise of God is true:

“Verily God forgives not that partners should be ascribed unto Him, but He forgives what is less than that to whom He wills.”

And they have not the power to help themselves through the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon him, on that day, for the decree therein has flowed, and there is no command save God’s, and the Kingdom on that day belongs to God, the One, the Subduer.

On the verse “And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words…”

God the Most High said:

“And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words, and he fulfilled them, He said: ‘Lo! I have appointed thee a leader for mankind.’ Abraham said: ‘And of my seed?’ He said: ‘My covenant includes not wrongdoers.’”

[Q2:124]

And when Abraham was honored by his Lord with the station of the shadow of the words of the Family of God, upon them be peace, and when he entered the ocean of Unity, God fulfilled for him the words of the Family of God and made him a leader for mankind—that is, the Shia of ’Ali, peace be upon him. And when God clothed him with the shirt of leadership, the shadow of ’Ali, peace be upon him, for the verse of his singularization was magnified in its station. He said: “And of my seed?”—that is, O my Lord, honor with the Family of God, peace of God be upon them, all my attributes and my names by entering that ancient ocean. God, glorified be He, said: “None shall attain that ocean save through My grace, and this is particular to thy heart. And My covenant”—that is, and the verse of Divine Unity—“includes not wrongdoers” who have wronged themselves by turning away from the Family of God, peace be upon them.

God has forbidden those Words unto the wrongdoers. Mufaddal was questioned concerning al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, regarding the saying of God, mighty and glorious is He: “And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain Words”—what are these Words? He said, peace be upon Him: They are the Words which Adam, peace be upon Him, received from his Lord, whereupon He turned unto him in forgiveness, and it is that he said: “O my Lord! I beseech Thee by the right of Muhammad and ’Ali and Fatimah and Hasan and Husayn that Thou turn unto me in forgiveness.” So He turned unto him in forgiveness, for He is the Oft-Returning, the Merciful. Then I said unto him: “O son of the Messenger of God! What then is the meaning of His saying ‘So he fulfilled them’?” He said: It means He fulfilled them unto the Qa’im, peace be upon Him—twelve Imams: ’Ali and Hasan and Husayn and nine from the offspring of Husayn, peace of God be upon them.

Mufaddal said: I said unto him: “O son of the Messenger of God, may peace be upon him! Tell me then concerning the saying of God, mighty and glorious is He: ‘And He made it a Word enduring in his posterity.’” He said: By this is meant the Imamate; God made it to endure in the posterity of Husayn, peace be upon him, until the Day of Resurrection. Then I said unto him: “O son of the Messenger of God! How then did the Imamate come to be in the children of Husayn, peace be upon him, rather than in the children of Hasan, peace be upon him, when both were sons of the Messenger of God, may peace be upon him and his family, and his two grandsons and the lords of the youth of the people of Paradise?”

He said: Moses and Aaron were two brother Prophets sent as Messengers, yet God placed the Prophethood in the loins of Aaron rather than in the loins of Moses, and none had the right to say why God placed it in the loins of Husayn rather than in the loins of Hasan, peace be upon them both, for God, mighty and glorious is He, is the All-Wise in His acts. “He shall not be questioned as to what He doeth, but they shall be questioned.”

Al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, said: Abraham, peace be upon him, was indeed a Prophet, but not an Imam, until God, exalted be He, said: “Verily, I appoint thee a leader for mankind.” He said: “And of my seed?” He said: “My covenant embraceth not the wrongdoers”—whosoever hath worshipped an idol or image cannot be an Imam.

And the Well-Pleased One, peace be upon Him, said: Verily, the Imamate is more glorious in degree, greater in station, loftier in rank, more impregnable on every side, and more profound in depth than that people should attain unto it by their intellects or reach it through their opinions or establish an Imam by their choice. Verily, the Imamate is that wherewith God, mighty and glorious is He, singled out Abraham the Friend after the Prophethood and friendship—a third station and an excellence wherewith He honored him. So He said: “Verily, I appoint thee a leader for mankind.” Then said the Friend, rejoicing thereat: “And of my seed?” God said: “My covenant embraceth not the wrongdoers.” So by this verse the imamate of every wrongdoer was invalidated until the Day of Resurrection, and it became restricted to the chosen ones.

Then God, mighty and glorious is He, honored him by making it to be in his seed among the people of chosenness and purity, for He said, mighty and glorious is He: “And We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob as a additional gift, and each of them We made righteous. And We made them leaders who guide by Our command, and We revealed unto them the doing of good deeds and the establishing of worship and the giving of alms, and they were worshippers of Us.” So it continued in his seed, some inheriting it from others, generation after generation, until the Prophet, may peace be upon him and his family, inherited it. Then said He, mighty and glorious is He: “Lo! those of mankind who have the best claim to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet and those who believe with him.

God is the Protecting Friend of the believers.” So it was his exclusively, and he invested ’Ali, peace be upon him, therewith by command of God, mighty and glorious is He, according to the manner He had ordained for it. Thus it came to be in the posterity of the chosen ones to whom God gave knowledge and faith, according to His saying, mighty and glorious is He: “And those who were given knowledge said: Ye have tarried by God’s decree until the Day of Resurrection.” So it is exclusively in the children of ’Ali until the Day of Resurrection, since there is no Prophet after Muhammad, may peace be upon him and his family.

On the verse “And when We made the House a resort…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And when We made the House a resort for mankind and a sanctuary, saying: Take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer. And We imposed a covenant upon Abraham and Ishmael, saying: Purify ye My House for those who make the circuit and those who meditate therein and those who bow down and prostrate themselves.”

[Q2:125]

The meaning of the House in the ninth station is the House of Identity, and this is the House of Unity, and it is the first House wherein God manifested Himself through creation for her and through her, and made her a sign of His ancient Self, indicating that there is no god but God, the Most High, the Most Great.

And in the eighth station is the House of Divinity, and it is the first House that was established in absolute blindness, poised upon that which is subtle and majestic.

And in the seventh station is the House of Oneness of God the One, the Single, and this is the first House that God its Lord established in the world of Godhead by His hand for Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, and therein He is He, none other than He.

And in the fifth station is the House of Destiny, and it is the first House that was established in the world of Divine Power by the hand of Muhammad, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, for ’Ali, peace be upon him, and therein he is he in independence, and he is the ordainer of ordination in subsistence and annihilation for whosoever is in those worlds by permission of the All-Merciful, and he is the Throne of Truth, and the All-Merciful upon the Throne is established.

And in the fourth station is the House of Origination, and in the third station is the place of martyrdom of Husayn, peace be upon him, and in the second station is the grave of the Messenger of God, may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family, and in the first station is what the All-Merciful hath said:

“Verily, the first House established for mankind is that which is at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance unto the worlds,”

and so forth.

Verily the interpretation of this blessed verse for the people of Reality was that each soul, according to its station, recognizeth the creative power through the House, and through the House all people know all things, yet they know naught save God, nor is there aught in the significance of the verse save that which is thus. Indeed hath the Creator brought forth the souls of men, were they but to perceive it.

And when the verse is drawn forth from the realm of contingent possibilities, its reality hath appeared, its interpretation manifest from that which God intended of its significance in the domain of His unity. And God hath willed that the House be Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and that the eternal, purposive, divine station be made manifest thereto through it, and that the people be the family of God, God’s peace be upon them, for they are the people of intimacy with God, for God, in God, in particular, and through security the identity of the wish purified from any reference to aught else.

And through adoption the receptivity of the House through the creative, sanctified, eastern, western unity, and through the station the station of itself, which is ’Ali, peace be upon Him, whom God near unto Him hath named His friend. And God hath made that station a place of prayer for the people of intimacy, a decree in truth fulfilled, for it is the first station of separation in the realm of possibility. God hath placed remembrance of Himself in that station at dawn and eventide in that House through His words “Thee do we worship and Thee do we ask for help,” and that is the straight religion of God.

And through the covenant of testimony to God from the hands of all else, and through Abraham—’Ali, peace be upon Him—and through Ishmael—al-Husayn, peace be upon Him—for they twain were slain by the sword alone. God tormented their slayer through all creation, and verily God is just, mighty.

And through the unity of divine manifestation made manifest through things from it for the sake of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, until they find rest therein for the sake of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, until they find rest therein—the circumambulators who are the people of the white ocean, circumambulating around Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, the throne of glory; and the devotees who are the people of the yellow sea, and they are devoted in the verse of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, in the city of the All-Merciful; and those who bow are the people of the green sea, bowing to their Creator in the axis of the region of splendor in the name of Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, bearer of creation and prostration; and they are the people of the surging red sea, prostrating to God for the verse of Muhammad in the souls and horizons in the sanctuary of al-Husayn, peace be upon Him.

When God, glorified be He, made the House of unity a refuge for the family of God, God’s peace be upon Him, and security from the references of all else, for they deserve it through the testament of the Messenger of God, may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, beyond all else. And God adopted from the station of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, the manifestation of authority for their sanctified souls, manifest. And the All-Merciful hath covenanted with ’Ali and al-Husayn, peace be upon them, to manifest the Self-Subsisting nature that the verse of Muhammad might appear in the worlds of possibility for the people of glory and beauty, and those standing in the land of splendor among the circumambulators in their movements around the All-Merciful, and the devotees in the sacred mosque, and those who bow and prostrate to the Living, Worshipped One, Who, there is no God but He, the Praised One.

Verily God hath made the outward conformable to the inward. The tomb of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—is in the sight of the All-Merciful that House, and none shall be buried in the sanctuary of God save those who are purified. And verily the First and the Second shall not be buried in that House for a moment, for the power of God hath removed them from this House. And God hath placed in the tomb of the First, Salman—peace of God be upon him—and in the tomb of the Second, Abu Dharr—mercy of God be upon him. The First and the Second shall not dwell in their sepulchres save for two moments: one moment at the time of their death, and one moment on the day when the Qa’im—peace be upon Him—shall bring them forth in His return for vengeance.

And in those two moments in truth they were not dwelling therein, for the Cause hath appeared according to the path of justice for the purification of the House in those two moments for the people of the Sacred Precincts. And this is the meaning of the saying of the Messenger—peace be upon Him—concerning them: “Ye shall not dwell in your sepulchres save for two moments.” I have made allusion to the elevated stations in those signs from the red elixir that perchance they may be made upright in the House of God.

Abu Ja’far—peace be upon him—said:

“Three stones descended from Paradise: the Station of Abraham, the Stone of the Children of Israel, and the Black Stone. God entrusted to Abraham a white stone, and it was whiter in whiteness than parchment, but it became black from the sins of the children of Adam.”

Here ends the tradition.

On the verse “And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this…”

God the Exalted said:

“And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this a secure city and provide its people with fruits—such of them as believe in God and the Last Day. He said: And whoever disbelieveth, I shall grant him enjoyment for a little, then I shall drive him to the torment of the Fire—a hapless journey’s end.”

[Q2:126]

When ’Ali—peace be upon Him—said: My Lord, make the signs of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—in the possibilities and the worlds this a secure city, pure unto Thee alone, no partner hast Thou, secure from the mention of aught save Thee. And provide its people with fruits from the power of origination and creation according to what they will, such of them as believe in God—there is no god but He—and in the Qa’im—peace be upon Him—Who is the Last Day in the sight of the All-Merciful.

God the Mighty, the Glorious, said: And whoever disbelieveth in the signs of Unity which are the city of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—I shall grant him enjoyment through manifestation for a little while for the preservation of the Family of God—peace of God be upon them. And this is the command of God unto ’Ali—peace be upon Him—after the death of Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon Him and His kindred—to withdraw that the disbelievers might enjoy life for a little while. Then God shall drive the First to the guardianship of His own Self—the torment of the Fire—and hapless is the journey’s end unto the justice of God beside Whom there is no guardian and no helper.

And among the fruits of that City is what al-Kazim, peace be upon Him, indicated in the saying of the All-Merciful when Yahya ibn Aktham questioned Him concerning the Word of God the Most High: “Seven seas would not exhaust the words of God”—what are they? He said, peace be upon Him: The Spring of Sulphur, the Spring of the Right Hand, the Spring of Barhut, the Spring of Tiberias, the Pool of Masidar, the Pool of Africa, and the Pool of Najirawan. And We are the Words whose excellences cannot be comprehended nor exhausted. For He, peace be upon Him, intended by each spring a station among the stations of the Will and a paradise among the seven paradises of the gardens of Identity. These have been exhausted, and creation hath not created the like of them, yet the fruits of that City have not been exhausted, for they have been personified by the hand of God, if they but knew.

As-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, said: These are the fruits of hearts, that is, their love unto the people. “If ye love God, then follow Me; God will love you.” And God hath made them the centers of His love: “I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created creation that I might be known.” We are the Heights through whom God cannot be known save by the path of knowing Us. And We are the men upon the Heights who know each one by the mark of their hearts.

The Imam, peace be upon Him, said: Whosoever desireth God beginneth with you, and whosoever declareth His unity is accepted through you, and whosoever seeketh Him turneth unto you. The All-Merciful hath manifested, through the creation of the fruits in those Words, for those who desire the City of the All-Merciful and depart not therefrom through pride and corruption. And God hath appointed the good end, if they would but understand.

On the verse “And when Abraham and Ishmael raised up the foundations…”

God the Most High said:

“And when Abraham and Ishmael raised up the foundations of the House: ‘Our Lord, accept from us; Thou art the All-hearing, the All-knowing.’”

[Q2:127]

And God, glorified be He, hath declared that the foundations of the House of Unity from ’Ali and al-Husayn, peace be upon Them, have been established. And when ’Ali, peace be upon Him, and His martyred son, peace be upon Them both, said: “Our Lord, We are content with martyrdom; accept from Us that We manifest Thee to all save Us, and accept from them a sign of Thy Unity within them from Us”—though that sign befitteth Thee not save for its own sake, and naught in their capacity is higher than it—“Thou art the All-hearing,” and no existence hath the heard with Thee, “and Thou art the All-hearing, the All-knowing.”

Were it not for their supplication, God would not have accepted unity from any unifier. And God accepted their prayer through their witnessing themselves for the acceptance of the souls of the unitarians themselves, that theirs is Paradise.

I bear witness that their effusion unto the worlds is mighty, and none can comprehend it save the people of Reality. For We built the House upon four pillars—the four supports for the people of the quaternary. And for the people of Unity, the essence of Oneness. And for the people of the First, a corner in the form of glorification, dyed with the dye of Unity unto God, the Eternal, the Glorious, in the color of whiteness. And a corner upon the temple of magnification, dyed with the dye of Prophethood in the color of yellowness. And a corner upon the form of the declaration “There is no god but God,” dyed with Guardianship upon the letters of that declaration, colored with the color of green. And a corner upon the image of “God is Most Great,” dyed with the beauty of saturation for the family of God, bearing the declaration, reddened with the redness of crimson.

Thus do They raise up the House with those foundations in all the worlds, that haply ye may be assured by the signs of God.

On the verse “Our Lord! And make us Muslims, bowing to Thy…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Our Lord! And make us Muslims, bowing to Thy will, and of our progeny a people Muslim, bowing to Thy will; and show us our places for the celebration of rites; and turn unto us in mercy; for Thou art the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.”

[Q2:128]

When they said: “Our Lord! And make us a sign of Thy Self, secure from the indication of aught else, Muslims unto Thee alone, and of our progeny a people Muslim, secure from the mention of aught else; and show us”—that is, within ourselves and our progeny—“our guardianship which manifesteth itself unto us through us; and turn unto us through the creation of Thy penitents for us through us; for Thou art the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.” Verily, the petition for repentance was for the sake of creating penitence from God through their own selves, and the manifestation of that Name was already accomplished in the fullness of their servitude to divine obedience, through the origination of that station in the place of their servitude. That was the command of God, and the promise of God was fulfilled.

On the verse “Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy signs to them and instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and sanctify them: for Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”

[Q2:129]

The intended Messenger is Muhammad—may God’s peace be upon Him and His family—when ’Ali—peace be upon Him—prayed with that prayer:

“Our Lord! And send forth in the stations of my progeny through the sign of Thy Supreme Embassy, which is Muhammad—may God’s peace be upon Him and His family—who shall recite amongst them and unto them the verses of His Self, which are Thy signs, and teach them the Book for the manifestation of Lordship, and Wisdom for the manifestation of servitude, that He may sanctify them.”

And He sanctifieth them through the sanctification of His Self for Thy manifestation within them through them, which is the sign of Thy might. Verily, Thou art the Exalted in Might, and the might of the Essence is the Essence—there is no exposition nor indication concerning It; none knoweth Its might save It. And the might that pointeth is the might of the Family of God—peace of God be upon them—which God hath attributed unto His Self, for they are His Self made manifest in the worlds of origination and creation, as an evidence that there is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. The wisdom of God is His origination of all things according to what each is worthy of, and what each is worthy of is naught but the sign which is worthy of each through all His wisdom in its creation, and He is the Wise, the All-Knowing.

On the verse “And who turneth away from the religion of Abraham…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“And who turneth away from the religion of Abraham but such as debase their souls with folly? Him We chose and rendered pure in this world: and he will be in the Hereafter in the ranks of the Righteous.”

[Q2:130]

When God—glorified be He—gave tidings of what lieth within the realm of possibility, that those who turn with desire toward the guardianship of ’Ali—peace be upon Him—know their own selves, and none turneth away from the ocean of Unity—the religion of Abraham—but such as debase their souls with folly. And verily God hath chosen ’Ali—peace be upon Him—with the choicest of His Self in this world, that is, in creation; and verily in the first of origination, the Day of the Hereafter, he shall be among those who make themselves righteous through guidance from God and unto God and for God. And these are the Family of God, and they are the righteous.

On the verse “Behold! his Lord said to him: ’Bow thy will…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Behold! his Lord said to him: ‘Bow thy will to Me.’ He said: ‘I bow my will to the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds.’”

[Q2:131]

When God said unto ’Ali—peace be upon Him—in the first mention of possibility unto him, his Lord said: “Submit through the security of the sign of My Self from the mention of aught else, and be the sign of My Self.” He said: “I have submitted with my entirety to the Lord of the worlds.” God said unto him: “Thy excellence is My excellence, and I am the Lord of Might over the worlds.” Verily, through that excellence of God made possible in origination and creation hath He filled the worlds.

On the verse “And Abraham enjoined upon his sons this same religion…”

God the Most High hath said:

“And Abraham enjoined upon his sons this same religion, as did Jacob, saying: ‘O my sons! God hath chosen for you the true religion; therefore die not save in the state of surrender unto Him.’”

[Q2:132]

Thus did God announce the testament of the family of God—peace be upon them—unto themselves, when He enjoined the verse of Divine Unity upon His sons, that is, Hussein—peace be upon them both—and Jacob, that is, Hussein—peace be upon him—concerning the Imams:

“O ’Ali! Verily God hath chosen for you the Guardianship from His own Self; therefore point ye not unto anything save whilst ye are beholding with the eye of God, and with your souls which are His own soul surrendered, for God hath chosen your souls by your souls; therefore die ye not save whilst ye are, by your souls, surrendered.”

Abu Ja’far—peace be upon him—hath said concerning His mighty and glorious saying “And Abraham enjoined upon his sons”—the Guardianship of ’Ali—peace be upon him. And ar-Rida—peace be upon him—hath said: “The Guardianship of ’Ali—peace be upon him—is written in the scriptures of the Prophets, and God hath not sent forth any Prophet save with the prophetic mission and the testament of ’Ali—peace be upon him.”

On the verse “Or were ye witnesses when death came to Jacob?…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Or were ye witnesses when death came to Jacob? When he said unto his sons: ‘What will ye worship after me?’ They said: ‘We shall worship thy God, the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God, and unto Him we surrender.’”

[Q2:133]

This verse addresseth those who turn unto God through the sanctuary of contingency and who claim regarding knowledge of the family of God—peace be upon them—other than what God hath willed concerning them:

“Or were ye present when the decree came with the attachment of execution, when he said unto his sons—the Permission and the Book—‘What will ye worship after me?’ They said: ‘We worship God as He manifesteth Thee, Who created thee and thy fathers—the Will and the Purpose and the Destiny—from naught, Who hath ever been a God other than what they have deified, and One beyond enumeration. We worship Him according to what He hath described of Himself, that there is no god but He, and we are surrendered unto Him’—that is, unto His Greatest Guardianship, ’Ali—peace be upon him—surrendered through the surrender of His Most Great Manifestation which God hath appointed for His own Greatest Self, and our souls are safe from the guardianship of any other, for our surrender in all the worlds hath found its essence in Him and not in another, and we are therefore surrendered unto Him.”

On the verse “That community hath passed away; theirs…”

God the Most High hath said:

“That community hath passed away; theirs is that which they earned, and yours is that which ye earn, and ye will not be questioned as to what they used to do.”

[Q2:134]

The demonstrative particle pointeth unto the family of God—peace be upon them: “That community hath passed”—for them the decree hath been executed through the Guardianship of the All-Merciful—“and yours”—O ye people of denial of the Guardianship—“is that which ye have earned”—it hath been decreed, yet God doth not execute the decree by reason of alteration, but rather what is for the Proof against you—“and ye shall not be questioned” concerning what your hands have sent before, “nor concerning what they”—the people of love—“used to do,” for God questioneth not concerning anything through the action of anything, but God will question concerning every action the judgment of everything, so that none may say: “Had God not decreed in that regard, I would have been among the workers.”

On the verse “And they say: ’Be Jews or Christians so ye…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“And they say: ‘Be Jews or Christians so ye shall be guided.’ Say: ‘Nay, I follow the religion of Abraham the upright one! He was not of the idolaters.’”

[Q2:135]

And they who depart from the House of Identity say unto those who stand firm in the land of Unity: “Be moderate in regard to ’Ali, peace be upon Him, or be extreme, so shall ye be guided.” Say, O Muhammad, may the blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred: “Verily, the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him, is with Me a sign of Unity, and His path is straight. It is the ultimate goal of creation in the religion of the All-Merciful, and this is the religion of your father Abraham”—that is, the Divine Will—“the upright one, and he was not among those who attained unto that station from among the idolaters, for the idolater hath no existence or possibility therein.” He who mentioneth another, and he who immerseth his soul in guardianship, God hath preserved him from allusion, and he was in the sight of God among the unified ones.

On the verse “Say ye: ’We believe in God, and the revelation…”

God, exalted be He, hath said:

“Say ye: ‘We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to all prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to God.’”

[Q2:136]

God hath said unto all things and whatsoever is in the power of creation and invention: “Immerse yourselves in the ocean of Identity and that which God hath revealed as a sign of His manifestation unto you, and that which God created for Abraham and for ’Ali, and for Ishmael the One who standeth”—peace be upon Him—“Muhammad the son of Hasan, and Isaac and Jacob and Husayn, and the Tribes, the progeny of Husayn, peace be upon Him, and that which was given unto the Prophets from the guardianship of ’Ali, peace be upon Him. And depart ye not from the sign of any one of them through making distinctions, for whosoever maketh distinction between any one of them is as one who maketh distinction in creation.

God created you not save as one soul, and thou seest not in the decree of the All-Merciful any discrepancy. And say ye: ‘We, in those signs and proofs, are unto Him’“—that is, unto Muhammad, may the blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred—”surrendered, for God hath warned you of His own Self and hath made Muhammad, may the blessings of God be upon Him and His kindred, the station of His Self in the signs and the narratives, and ye are unto Him surrendered, if ye do surrender. Otherwise, whosoever surrendereth not to the truth that He is the Self of God hath indeed made distinction between the signs of God and was thereby among the idolaters.”

On the verse “So if they believe in the like…”

God the Most High hath said:

“So if they believe in the like of that which ye believe, then are they rightly guided. But if they turn away, then are they in schism, and Allah will suffice thee against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower.”

[Q2:137]

Verily God, glorified be He, hath placed in all things a sign of His own Self, that He might be known thereby, and He hath made that sign the station of the Family of God, peace be upon them, specifically, because it was made manifest through them, and acquired its essence through them, and pointed to them. So if they believe, through the entrance of your hearts into that Sacred City, in the like of that which God hath placed within you, then are they rightly guided unto the path of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. But if they turn away, then he who departeth therefrom is in retreat and schism, and Allah will suffice thee against them through the sign of His Self.

“Is it not sufficient concerning thy Lord that He encompasseth all things?” And He is present in thy absence and thy presence through that whereby God hath manifested Himself to thee through thee, and He is the Hearer, the Knower. The sufficiency of the Essence is the creation of sufficiency, and it is His hearing and His knowledge without variation of word or meaning, and none knoweth how He is save He Himself. Through His creation of hearing He made known that He hath no hearing, and through His invention of knowledge He made known that there is nothing, and He is the Self-Sufficient Who hath always been, when nothing was, and now He is as He was, glorified be He above what they describe.

Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, said: “He meant thereby ’Ali and Fatimah and al-Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be upon them, and it hath continued after them among the Imams, peace be upon them.” Then the discourse returned to the people: “So if they believe”—meaning the people—“in the like of that which ye believe”—meaning ’Ali and Fatimah and al-Hasan and al-Husayn and the Imams, peace be upon them—“then are they rightly guided. But if they turn away, then are they in schism”—meaning the people. Here endeth the quotation.

On the verse “The baptism of God, and who is better than…”

God the Most High hath said:

“The baptism of God, and who is better than God at baptizing? And we are His worshippers.”

[Q2:138]

The baptism of God is ’Ali, peace be upon him, because God hath baptized him in the ocean of creation with the baptism of the sign of His Self, and who is better than the sign of God, ’Ali the Guardian, whom God hath made the indicator of the grandeur of His Self? And we—that is, the Family of God, peace be upon them—are worshippers of God through that whereby He hath described Himself through the creation of His sign, that there is no god but God, the Living, the Worshipped. And the word of God “we” is joined to the word of God “ye believe,” and God said, indicating through that station from the tongue of His Guardian: “And I am the first of the worshippers.”

And Abu ’Abdillah, peace be upon him, said concerning His saying, mighty and glorified is He, “The baptism of God”: “The baptism of the believers in guardianship in the Covenant”—the tradition.

On the verse “Say: Do ye dispute with us concerning Allah when…”

God the Most High hath said:

“Say: Do ye dispute with us concerning Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord? Unto us our works and unto you your works. We are sincere to Him.”

[Q2:139]

God said to His Beloved:

“Say to those who are not content with the guardianship of ‘Ali, peace be upon him: ’Do ye contend with us concerning the sign of the Unity of God the One, when He is our Lord through His creation of us, and your Lord through our creation of your souls? For we are the handiworks of God, and creation after us is our handiwork, and none save God hath creation or making. And unto us belong our souls, and they are our works which God hath made the sign of His Self Who is not like unto anything. And unto you’—that is, O people of departure from the ocean of Unity—‘belong your works, the splendors of beauty if ye are believers, and the darknesses of shadows if ye are unbelievers, and ye are not established upon anything of Unity. And we and our manifestations in the worlds are workers, sincere through the purification of the sign of God from aught else, and we are of the truthful.’”

On the verse “Or say ye that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“Or say ye that Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes were Jews or Christians? Say: Are ye more knowing or is God? And who is more unjust than he who hideth a testimony which he hath from God? And God is not unmindful of what ye do.”

[Q2:140]

Or say ye that the people of the ocean of identity concerning Muhammad and ’Ali and Hasan and Husayn and the Imams from the progeny of Husayn, upon them be peace, were standing upon the throne of unity and mercifulness? Say unto those who forge lies against God: Bring your proof. Are ye more knowing or is God Who hath created them for Himself? They come not forth by the power of God from Him unto another, and ye are of those who wrong your own souls by concealing your testimony concerning the Imams, inasmuch as God hath placed within you that consciousness which beareth witness to their creation. And God is not unmindful of anything. God will recompense them their deserts on the Day of Resurrection for what they have been doing, even unto the hair for the hair and the skin for the skin. And whoso doeth good an atom’s weight will see it through the grace of ’Ali, upon him be peace, and whoso doeth ill an atom’s weight will see it through the justice of ’Ali, upon him be peace, for God hath made him the one who standeth over all secrets. Both these and those do We supply from the bounty of thy Lord, and the bounty of thy Lord is not restricted.

On the verse “That was a people that have passed away; theirs…”

God the Exalted hath said:

“That was a people that have passed away; theirs is that which they earned and yours is that which ye earn, and ye will not be questioned as to what they used to do.”

[Q2:141]

And indeed I have made reference therein from it unto it and unto here.

Now hath the Pen been taken from flowing by permission of the All-Merciful in the interpretation of a complete portion from the beginning of the Book. And God’s blessings be upon Muhammad and His family. And praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.