BB00072: Letter to Haji ’Abd al-Wahhab

Introduction

And furthermore: O thou man! O thou man! Peace be upon thee from the Dawning-Place of the Sun of Utterance unto the throne whereon the All-Merciful is established! This is a station from the All-Merciful that knows no bounds. I have read thy letter written in crimson ink, and verily it is the color of my liver, for I know the words of the polytheists. For I was exalted in myself to such a degree that I had heard no word from anyone before. And now, after that Great Proof, thou shalt see what We see, and witness what We witness, and hear what We hear. Be thou for God’s sake a zealous lion until God judgeth with justice and bringeth about for Me thereafter a matter.

Fear not the onslaught of the satans, for they are but uprooted shadows having no proof, neither in the Book of Truth, nor before the Truth, nor even in their own words. Their likeness is as the likeness of a dog: if thou attack it, it panteth, and if thou leave it alone, it panteth. Stop their excessive panting with a mighty gift that thou mayest be freed from their evil. Draw not nigh unto those who have wronged, lest their chastisement touch thee, for they have no life. Associate with them only for thy purpose in God’s religion, for this is lawful for the believers in God’s Book, even as Ibn-i-Yaqtin did in the time of the Imam, peace be upon him. For today the support of one of them is more beneficial to the believers than the support of many seekers. Guard thou the Cause of God, conceal the mystery of God, and be patient in what befalleth thee, for the world shall pass away and the hereafter shall endure by God’s leave, and unto our Lord shall we return.

On the seven verses, follow what is indicated to thee

As for what thou asked about the seven verses, follow what is indicated to thee by God’s leave in the inner meanings of those words, for the mirror after mirror is a gentle companion.

The first query was about the dark spots on the moon. Know that the first to ask this question was the Prophet Khidr, peace be upon him, when he came to the door of the house of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, in Medina after His ascension to heaven. He saw that Ali, peace be upon him, was standing by the door with great sorrow visible upon his countenance due to the cessation of revelation and the ascension of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family. He asked him about these spots on the moon, meaning the change in the appearance of its face. He answered him, may my soul be his sacrifice, with the well-known verse from the Qur’an. And the spots on this moon of heaven corresponded to the moon of authority. Those possessed of understanding know that what is there cannot be known except by what is here, and these described spots are indeed a station of the answer. It is what God has written by His hands of power on the face of the two moons:

“There is no God but God, Muhammad is God’s Messenger, Ali is God’s Friend.”

This is the inner path.

As for the outer aspects, I ask thee: the face of the moon is a clear mirror, and the spots are reflections of great things above the earth such as seas, mountains, and land masses. Even as the Christians, when they mounted their aerial vessels, had with them a wondrous glass through which they looked at the moon and then observed what was on earth reflected in the moon, even to the trees. Indeed, were the glass clear and the eye subtle, one would see what is on earth reflected in the moon, even human faces. And that renowned island, betwixt thee and [Yanaqid], hath borne witness, for the Christians therein became apprised of this woman’s ordinance concerning the “mole of the moon”; and verily this is a decree from the Pure One.

As to the reality of the matter, when the Will became attached to destiny, there appeared in the garments of Will the form of the lunar phases when it was joined with the sea of destiny and reflected in its face the multiplicities which God had placed in the sea of destiny. And verily the wretched are wretched in its womb and the blessed are blessed in its womb, and all act according to their disposition according to how the lunar phases of the moon of Providence turned from the forms of the sea of Power. This is an aspect of interpretation, and in every chain of the second chain there befits for the lunar phase of its moon an aspect of interpretation. Nay, for the number of all things, if God so willed, there would be an interpretation not from the prayer niches of men but from the prayer niches of the people of the Bayan and the perfect ones among humanity. Sufficient is what I have mentioned in those Tablets regarding the decree of the lunar phases as a remembrance and explanation.

On the confined sea, I send you the entire tradition

As for what you asked concerning the confined sea, I send you the entire tradition that you may witness God’s decree in all its verses. However, in the language of the people of the Bayan, the overflowing sea refers to the water that has risen above the water without any place above it, and the confined refers to the sea of equality to the extent of the circle of the place. This is God’s decree concerning the two seas according to the outward path, and as for the inward paths, they are limitless. Whatever God wishes, He sends down, and what He does not wish remains preserved in the treasuries of His Command—glorified and exalted be He above what they describe.

As for what you saw in the verses of my teacher—peace be upon him—concerning the decree of the eight paradises, seven of them are in the heavens and one of them is empty of heaven, and heaven is created from it. This is the Paradise of Oneness—God made its heaven the very essence of its earth and decreed its earth to be the essence of its heaven. God has not ordained for it any shadow or description. Whoso enters it does not leave by God’s leave, and whoso is outside cannot enter due to God’s grandeur. It has neither location nor likeness. The seven paradises are atmospheres beneath the Throne, and their heaven was the Throne of the All-Merciful.

And His saying—God’s mercy be upon him—that every paradise is in a heaven is true. And in the school of the Family of God—peace be upon them—there are endless applications for it. You can reconcile all contradictions through the mystery of destiny, for at the time when the heavens are folded and descend by God’s leave upon the ground of gathering, their inhabitants will be in them in heaven and in the paradises like the mosquito that was in your hand, and it lives in God’s kingdom, for God has created for it all that He created for the greater world. If you say it is in your right hand, it is true; if you say it is in heaven, it is true; if you say it is in the paradises, it is true—while it has settled upon an atom of your body. Such is God’s decree regarding all things. The folding is like a scroll that is rolled up. When God desires to gather all things, He folds the heavens and brings them down around the gathering. Then an angel calls out from before your Lord:

“O company of jinn and men! If you can penetrate the regions of the heavens and earth, then penetrate them! You cannot penetrate except with authority.”

Even now I call out as God will call out on that Day, for the heaven of verses has encompassed all such that none can escape therefrom. Indeed, what has been mentioned regarding the dimensions of the heavens and the journey of five hundred years in the words of the Family of God—may my spirit be sacrificed for them—is truth.

Return then to the mystery of destiny and the light of God will shine upon thee. Pay no heed to the words of the learned concerning necessities and traditions, for they know not the reality of the matter. All the laws of God are truth, and whosoever denies any of them is as though he has denied them all, and likewise is the judgment reversed. Truth is self-evident in its proximity to the light of God, such that none need reflect upon it, while falsehood is theoretical in its distance from God’s nature and requires contemplation therein. This is contrary to the judgment of the logicians, yet it is the truth in reality.

On the Day of Gathering, the earth shall be transformed into other than this earth, becoming a single plain of perfect levelness. Upon it God has placed the Bridge, wherein are fifty stations for some people, and some shall remain at each station for a thousand years, this period being distinct from the duration of the Day of Resurrection. Today I see people standing upon the Bridge by God’s decree—whomsoever God wishes to save shall be saved, and whomsoever God wishes to destroy shall be destroyed. God wrongs no one in aught, and He is the All-Sufficient, the All-Knowing.

On the words of Ahmad

As for what thou asked regarding the words of Ahmad—peace be upon him—yes, when man enters Paradise, he remains in the first station of the letters “There is no god but God”—the station of the body—for twelve thousand years. He advances from this station in less than the twinkling of an eye to the highest station, like his stay in the first station. This stay of twelve thousand years is equivalent to thy utterance “There is no god but God.” When that Word descends from its station to the world of years, the indicated word appears. The crimson and emerald pavilions are stations among the stations of Paradise, each according to its measure. He who stands in the highest station of Paradise beholds what is below and delights in its blessings, but those below cannot see the blessings of those above, as God has removed grief from them, though they know of the higher station and are content with what God has ordained for them, having neither grief nor sorrow.

The people of Paradise advance eternally in Paradise through God’s grace, as there is no end to His bounty’s effusion. The servant never becomes independent in any condition, and God has created things for permanence, His bounty having neither suspension nor exhaustion. The cause of the servant’s advancement in the Hereafter is that he should perpetually purify his intention in his deeds for God, in accordance with his Lord’s eternity. When he purifies his intention in this way, he advances in the stations of Paradise by God’s command, without end. And thy Lord God is powerful over all things.

On the state of the spirit and its conditions, know

As for what thou asked regarding the state of the spirit and its conditions, know of a certainty that the dream world is equivalent to the spirit and like unto the sun in its station; nothing hath departed from the body. Nay rather, by its light whatever is in the heavens and the earth may be witnessed. Were a devout believer enabled to see all things by this divine agency, still would he reap the fruit of his belief, and naught can alter it; and were an unbeliever enabled to see all things upon the reflected forms, still on account of his unbelief would he reap, in justice, its fruit, and naught can alter it.

Verily, God hath created the dream in His servants that they may be assured of the existence of the worlds hereafter and the life everlasting. As the life of this world becometh transformed after death, in the same manner regard what is seen in the dream: when thou ariseth nothing more of it is seen, save the effect of its interpretation.

Exalted is God above those who lay all their hopes in this world and dread the abode hereafter and its felicity. Glory be unto Thee, O Lord, My God that the days of Thy meeting are near. This world bringeth me sorrow and its people reject me. Although we have been abandoned, Thou abandeth us not. Lord, distinguish between me and them, and suffer those near unto Thee to join me in Thy service.

The desire of the spirit and its inclination are to return to the Supreme King, for it was sent forth from His Command. In truth, every soul is a mirror in which may be seen the beauty of Husayn, the son of ʿAlí, upon them be peace. When the hour of death arrives, the Sovereign Lord observeth that which hath appeared upon the mirror, all its shortcomings and all its worthy conditions. When a faithful servant ascendeth to Him in spirit, should the hosts of heaven and earth attempt to prevent him, they shall not succeed, and he returneth unto God. And though the infidel fleeth before His awful Majesty, yet must he submit to the judgment of God, even should the hosts of heaven and earth combine to assist him. All things shall perish save the face of Thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most Generous

On God’s words about the angels’ prostration and Iblis’s pride, where

As for what thou hast asked concerning God’s words about the angels’ prostration and Iblis’s pride, where He, exalted be He, said “Wert thou haughty or wert thou of the high ones?”, observe with the eye of origination. God has created in all things three signs: a sign from Himself, which is the sign that there is no god but Him and these are the high ones; a sign from His angels, which is the conditions of true servitude in every station according to its reality; and a sign from the severed essence for the preservation of His worlds according to what it has accepted for itself without command or compulsion. Take the meaning of the verse referring to the Will to the ultimate station of sovereignty. All the angels prostrated to Adam save Iblis alone, and this is God’s decree in His Book. Do not imagine that those who do not prostrate to Adam in the station of divine authority are more numerous than those who do prostrate to him, for those who do not prostrate, despite their numbers, are like an uprooted tree without roots. And he who prostrates, even if alone, since his manifestations are beyond enumeration in the Book, is like the angels of heaven and earth who all prostrate.

Today if thou alone acknowledge this Cause while all on earth turn away from it, this verse would be fulfilled in thy right: “So the angels prostrated, all of them together, save Iblis; he refused and waxed proud, and was of the unbelievers.” Understand this allusion, for it was revealed from beyond seventy thousand veils, as He, glorified be He, indicated: “Verily We have sent down the Reminder, and We shall preserve it.” The prostration of the angels was only to God alone, just as thou prostrate to God through the dust of Husayn, peace be upon him, and the prostration of the angels was like that. Whoever prostrates to anything besides God has associated partners with his Lord and is among the unbelievers.

On the Chiefs [nuqaba’] and the Nobles [nujaba’]: Yea, knowledge

As for what thou hast asked about the Chiefs [nuqaba’] and the Nobles [nujaba’]: Yea, knowledge of them is obligatory upon all, and the pillars circle round the body of Fatima, the blessings of God be upon her, and the Chiefs circle round the heart of the Pillars, and the Nobles circle round the Chiefs. The Pillars look upon all things yet see naught but God alone. The Chiefs look through all things and see the Lord with them. The Nobles look through all things and see the Lord beyond them. Such is God’s decree concerning them. The number of Chiefs today is thirty, subject to increase or decrease, but at the time of the presence of the Imam, peace be upon Him, their number must be three hundred and thirteen souls.

These are the people of certitude who will pledge allegiance to the Proof of God in the Sacred Mosque on the day of His manifestation. But as for the Nobles, they have no fixed number, and most of them today are the people of this Cause who possess certitude. They are the bearers of religion and the vessels of knowledge. Were it not for them, the heaven would not send down its rain, nor would the earth yield its vegetation, nor would My pen trace a single letter of the verses. May God grant Me their meeting in a land of security and glory. They are people who, had they the means, would gladly turn their lifeblood into golden ink with which to write the verses of God and aid His Cause.

They are a people whom, should all the inhabitants of the earth gather to oppose, no tempest could move them, nor could the signs of storms affect them. They are like Mount Uhud in their steadfastness upon the earth. The blessings of God be upon them so long as the sun of creation rises and sets through creation. Exalted be God above what they describe. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.