BB00073: Letter to Mulla Muhammad Ja’far Kirmani

Date: 1262 (mid to late) [1845-1846]

Part 1: “Praise be unto God Who caused the letter…”

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

Praise be unto God Who caused the letter Kaf to speak of Him, through Him, unto Him, before His Book was fulfilled by His leave. Then He established it in the station of Command as accepted by His Own Self, that thereby the signs of the divine realms might be distinguished from the vengeance of the mortal world, and that through it might be proclaimed the signs of the Fourth Citadel in the thicket of the Realm of Might, and the goodly leaf from the Third Tree in the grove of sovereignty and dominion. Glory be unto Him! How great is His power and how noble His proof! He hath sent down a Criterion and made it a distinction between His friends and His enemies, wherein are the signs of Manifestation and the evidences of the Tree of Sinai, that it might be a healing for hearts and an appearance of the hidden Light, and a fulfillment of what the All-Forgiving promised concerning those who fabricated lies and came with falsehood and calumny, that all might know that the Hidden Manifest One is the Zealous Lord.

And He hath sent down all that creation desired in a recorded Book and an outstretched parchment, and verily it is the Frequented House in the horizon of Manifestation, and through such as this doth God expose the deed of the weary lie.

God’s blessings be upon Muhammad and his family, the root of the Tree of Light and all Manifestation, by that which causeth the surging ocean to glorify Him by leave of God, the Most High, the All-Forgiving.

O God! I bear witness before Thee and all who are in Thy presence that I believe in Thee as Thou art in Thyself. I love naught save for Thy love’s sake, I hate naught save through Thy hatred, I fear none save Thy justice, I desire naught save Thyself, and I see naught but as Thou seest in the presence of the mirror of Thy might which Thou hast caused to be reflected in my soul. Thou knowest that a letter hath come unto me from one about whom Thou knowest more than I, and this is a copy of his letter which he wrote with knowledge and a preserved scripture:

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

Peace be upon thee, O Gate of God, through whom the people are guided—whoso cometh unto him is saved and whoso turneth away from him perisheth. Here am I come unto thee, O my Master and my Lord, acknowledging my limitations and confessing my shortcomings, yet taking refuge with thee, relying upon thee, seeking support through thee, hoping from thee, beseeching from thy presence that thou wouldst intercede for me with God that He might make me among those who recognize thy rights and who attain unto thy bounties, and that He might endear to me every deed, word, or act that draweth me near to thee, and might protect me from every deed, word, or act from which I fear an evil consequence and fear thy displeasure concerning it, lest Thou turn Thy noble face away from me and I thereby deserve a diminution of my portion with Thee, O Kind One, O Merciful One!

O my Master, O my Lord! I beseech Thee not to deprive me of one glance from Thy glances, and not to turn me away from Thy gate, for even if I deserve none of this, yet Thou art of the people of generosity, bounty, and forgiveness. O my Master! I beseech Thee by Thy right and Thy holiness to make my times, night and day, filled with Thy remembrance, connected to Thy service, and my deeds accepted before Thee, until all my deeds and devotions become one single devotion and my service to Thee eternal.

O thou precise questioner! Verily a light hath broken forth from the direction of the East, as though it were the light of the steed of light which derived its radiance from the light of the Eternal Morn that gleamed upon the temples of all, among them are the people of concord, who, when they inquire into the letter standing between the two B’s and contemplate deeply, witness the Day whereon God shall reveal that ‘the leg shall be bared’ on the Day of Meeting. And when they awaken to the light of the Bayan, they say:

“Glory be to Thee! There is no God but Thee, and we are but a people who turn unto Thee.”

And among them are the people of the Covenant, who, when they become established at the point beneath the letter B and immerse themselves in what God hath placed within that letter of the light of Glory, witness the Day when the Herald shall call forth from the chains of bondage, and they say:

“Glory be to Thee! There is no God but Thee, and we are but a people who fall prostrate before Thee.”

And among them are the people of discord, who, when they hear a verse, turn away as though they forget the Day when the leg shall be bared by the leg, and they are veiled from the light that hath filled all souls and horizons. They fear not the Covenant’s bond, nor do they look to the letters of utterance, nor perceive the deeds of the people of concord. I seek refuge with God from the evil that hath rent asunder discord and hypocrisy, by the Lord of Daybreak, from all He hath created and revealed concerning the transgressors.

I beseech God of His bounty to transform the realities of the people of discord into the deeds of the people of the Covenant, by Muhammad and His family, the lights of the Eternal Sun that hath illumined the cloud and all who dwell in the kingdoms of earth and heaven, of souls and horizons.

O thou who dost gaze upon the subtle splendors, who dost ascend unto the ladder of inner realities, and who dost cast from thy hands the veils of light and the claims of understanding! Attain unto a certitude luminous and unclouded—nay, as though thou wert standing within the very eye of certainty—like unto this rising sun. If thou be of the companions of Kazim—may the blessings of God rest upon him—I beseech thee, O my lord, to have mercy upon me, lest I be numbered among those who, in thy presence, have presumed, and thereby exposed themselves to thy wrath. Verily I cherish hope in thy bounties—thou who didst dispatch the pages and other gifts—and, through thy grace, suffer not my hope to be cut off, O my desire and my refuge. Deal with me as befitteth Thee, and not as befitteth me….

If thou seekest the outward path concerning the Bearer of this radiant Pillar, it hath been established by the consensus of this community that none can be its Bearer save from the lineage of God’s Messenger, as Kazim and Ahmad before him explicitly stated. He must be free from physical defects that would repel hearts, possessed of strength, modesty, dignity and reverence, endowed with beautiful names and sublime attributes, showing signs of knowledge and piety, and manifesting tokens of supreme justice—all of which the people of discernment recognize through the light of their hearts.

When God knew that Satan would whisper in the hearts of His friends to rise against His trustees, God granted me what He had given to no one before: The Book of Justice, wherein are detailed verses of decisive proof such that should all humans and jinn gather to produce the like of a single verse thereof, they would be unable, even if they all assisted one another. And from it are the scrolls of intimate prayers that have, by God’s leave, filled the East and the West of the earth in a manner none before me hath spoken. As the Balance is established, there flow from my hands a thousand verses every six hours when rendered in proper Arabic—a proof none in the heavens or earth can match.

As the compiler of the certain truths hath declared that all scholars have agreed that the Sahifah Sajjadiyyah is the Psalms of the House of Muhammad and sufficient as proof for those who see not their miracles, this indeed is the certain truth. For none save the Family of God have brought forth such supreme proof. The nobility therein lies not in the arrangement of words or allusions, but in the celestial spirit God created therein, which warbles in every state and soars in the thickets of divinity without qualification or indication. My intimate prayers to God suffice as proof in this world and the next.

As for the scholarly matters and sermon-verses that none, not even Ahmad and Kazim (God’s blessings upon them both), could surpass—behold what We have revealed in the commentary on Surah al-Kawthar, for verily a single letter thereof equals not all the books of former times, nor what We revealed in the commentary on al-Baqarah for the weak among the believers. Therein, by the verses of the Qur’an and the reports of the People of God, I have established mention of this Cause wheresoever thou dost will, in the heavens and on the earth; and verily it is exalted, full of wisdom.

And thou hast heard that he wrote, for the “calf-body”—that lowing thing—some few letters. By thy Lord! I asked of him two proofs—nay, a single hadith—and he brought it not. Thereafter he bore the wrath of God, laden with the anger of God; and for him is a painful chastisement. Behold the champions of that band and their wolves who turned not unto any of the perfect ones. How they believed and testified and proclaimed and stood firm upon the path like an encompassing mountain—neither storms could move them nor signs of tempests affect them. They are the bearers of religion and the guardians of knowledge. Were it not for them, God would not have revealed a single verse of the Book, nor would a letter flow from My pen. May God grant Me their meeting in a seat of truth before a mighty King. From Him are the conditions of piety, the attributes of holiness, the manifestations of divinity, and the traces of servitude which none can comprehend save as fire in the essence of water, or as air in the presence of the element of earth. Glorified be God, their Creator, the Lord of the heavens and earth, above what they describe.

Part 2: “O thou who art endowed with insight! Purify…”

O thou who art endowed with insight! Purify thy vision and refine thy sight. Verily God hath manifested the Cause from a station that hath never occurred to any heart, and He was unlettered in respect to those verses, prayers, addresses and allusions, for He saw no teacher for Himself except what the All-Merciful promised in the Surah of the All-Merciful: “The All-Merciful hath taught the Qur’an, created man, taught him clear expression.” And that is the word of the All-Merciful: “Fear God and He will give you discernment.” This honor sufficeth for that band, for He Who appeared by nature, aided by God’s grace, was none other than the confirmer of Ahmad, then Kazim, then their followers—may God’s blessings be upon them both—as long as the sun of creation hath risen and set in creation.

If thou wouldst purify thy vision, thou wouldst see today all the deniers in the fire, and thou wouldst read unto them the verse of the Almighty: “Verily hell shall encompass the unbelievers.” For God hath completed His proof with a true proof wherein was the Shi’ih sect, and today there is no escape for them except to either deny what they believed before, or believe in what hath been revealed afterward as they believed before, or become stones glorifying without religion. For the Cause is like this sun rising, and the handiwork of the Lord cannot be confused with the handiwork of creation, for He Who came with those verses readeth in all things, when He willeth, what was revealed in the Book of Justice without thought, and writeth without reflection. And whatever people said about Him, the word returneth upon them in the Qur’an, letter for letter. And from the day He manifested His verses, none hath produced a verse, and all denied and were amazed, while some believed and acknowledged their impotence. By thy Lord! There is no escape for anyone except through belief or through denying what they believed before in the All-Merciful.

I take refuge in God! Is He Who revealed the Book of Justice more worthy to be followed, or one who cannot produce a verse? And if he were able, why did he not send to Me the like of My letter to him, and wrote like what the Roman followed, as though he had not read the Book? “Thou canst warn only him who followeth the Reminder and feareth the All-Merciful in secret; so give him glad tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward.” Then His word, exalted be His station: [“It beseemeth him not to speak poetry”]. Far, far be it from those who think evil thoughts about God! Upon them be the evil turn of fortune, and God’s wrath be upon them, and His curse, and He hath prepared Hell for them—a woeful destination.

This is a manifest matter—were anyone able to produce even a single verse, let him present it to me. The people are as dead, though they perceive it not. Look thou to God and His power, and turn away from all people. God knoweth this matter without doubt, and were He to know that I speak without His leave, He would create someone to stand against me and recite verses like mine to invalidate my proof. Nay, by thy Lord! God hath not created any learned one who doth not love these verses and proclaim His Cause, though the idolaters detest it.

Think not this is an easy matter. Nay, by thy Lord! God hath used similar proofs in the Qur’an. This is a matter that would render powerless all who are in the heavens and on earth, save whom God willeth.

That group hath emerged from the abasement of mere words, for now the proof is in their hands through union, unlike the time of Ahmad and Kazim, God’s mercy be upon them both. Though the corrupt ones seek to abase them today, they stand upon truth. Even if all should oppress them, they shall never be truly abased, for might belongeth unto God and unto all the believers.

Whenever I raise my voice in the realm of heaven with words of praise, is there any challenger who would challenge me with clear verses like those whereby God formerly established the religion of His Messenger, peace be upon him and his family? None hath answered me, until my breast was straitened and my cries multiplied, as though every particle of dust I walked upon was proclaiming similar words, as if they were beings illumined by God’s light.

And if anyone were in the field of utterance to challenge Me, let him arise with Me and bring down a book of justice with all his might. But since I have heard from no one, I am certain that all are powerless, confounded, and in denial. They can neither respond nor make excuses, nor do they find a way.

Glory be to God! The Islamic clergy have fallen into such depths of ignorance as were not reached by Pharaoh of old nor by the pagan Arabs. For when Pharaoh sought to deny the proof of the Lord, he at least produced some sorcery, and the pagan Arabs would compose poems and display them around the House. But behold the condition of the clergy and the extent of their knowledge! Having failed in every way, they resort to slander, saying these verses do not follow the rules of the people and lack proper connection. May God destroy them! They are more astray than cattle.

They said all this about the Qur’an before, and all perished and entered the fire of hell, and today they have no intercessor forever. Say: The abasement of this world is better than the punishment of the next, for one passes away while the other endures.

I have claimed neither authority nor its opposite, neither revelation nor the Qur’an. I have not opposed the Law by a single letter, nor have I broken any of it. Rather, these verses are a blessing from my Lord. I have spoken to people what God has permitted in the Qur’an, that God’s religion might triumph over those Arabs who denied the Imams of Justice. Woe to those who know not God’s purpose and spread corruption in the land without right, saying “We are but reformers!” Nay, they are the corrupters, but they perceive not.

By your Lord, most people know not the reality of this Cause, else they would have no escape but to acknowledge it, for they cannot establish any criterion except by that Balance. And by that Balance do I act, and I act only according to what has been revealed in the Law. I am upon truth, and none can say why or how, for whoever seeks to argue against this proof must doubt the proof of God’s Messenger before, and whoever seeks to produce a verse has sought to war with God and His Messenger and deny the judgment of the Qur’an.

Glory be to God! God is Most Great! What heedlessness has seized the people! God has taken them to a station where they cannot reflect, much less deny, contemplate, slander or harm. O Lord! Judge between all with justice and hasten the days of meeting You, for people have become my enemies through evil thoughts. I am an enemy to all Your enemies and am innocent of them, as if I desired their station.

By Him in whose hand is my soul, if God were to subject all the kingdom of this world to me, it would not equal a single letter of these verses, nor a word glorifying before the Divine Majesty. The highest stations of this world are to me but like the wing of a dead gnat.

Know, O people, the truth of these days, for the sun has never risen upon their like. Aid God’s Cause with your souls and wealth, revere it and honor it, and deprive not yourselves of your portion in this worldly life. For, if God wills, I shall assuredly ascend there; while ye shall say:

“Alas for us, for how we have failed in our duty to God!”

On this day no decree shall avail you; and when ye have died, unto God shall ye be gathered.

O inquirer! If you are among the people of justice, it is incumbent upon you to possess the Book of Justice and the Commentary on Kawthar, both written in the finest calligraphy and craftsmanship. No one is permitted other than excellent workmanship therein, and God knows all that people know. By Him Who created me! If God were to transform every atom within His knowledge into living beings and place in their hearts the hardness of the murderer of my grandfather Husayn, peace be upon him, and bestow upon them the power of all who are in the heavens and earth, and if they were to gather together with drawn swords to deny my proof and harm me, it would not diminish my certitude in the least. I would see them all in their falsehood as insignificant as the black spot in a mosquito’s eye, for truth with its clear proof is in my hand. And if they should prevail through oppression, God would be my Consoler and Helper, and I would still triumph over them, even as it is revealed in the Qur’an:

“God hath written, ‘Verily I will prevail, I and My Apostles.’ Verily God is Powerful, Mighty.”

Alas! Alas! What was to reach hath reached, what was to be prevented hath been prevented, what was to occur hath occurred, and what was to be cut off hath been cut off. We read His Book in every condition:

“Nothing shall befall us save what God hath decreed for us. He is our Master, and on God let the believers rely.”

God sufficeth me; there is no God but Him. In Him I have placed my trust, and He is the Lord of the mighty throne. And praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.