BB00113: To Muhammad Hasan al-Natnazi

To: Muhammad Hasan al-Natnazi

Date: 1262 [1845-1846]

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

Praise be to God Who caused to shine forth that which illumined the essences of material things and permitted it to radiate when it spoke forth, and Who spread enlightenment without cause or decree from the people of the Covenant.

O God! Thou knowest that one of Thy believing servants hath beseeched me to bestow upon him an eloquent word and all-embracing mercy concerning the visitation of the chosen ones who act according to Thy command.

O thou who wouldst do good! When thou desirest to bestow beneficence upon the servants of the All-Merciful through the Word of exposition, then before thou manifestest what is within thy being to outward view, purify thy outer self such that no excess hair remaineth upon thy face, and thy inner self such that thy heart remaineth unattached to any of thine affairs therein. Then perform ablutions and don the finest raiment with which God hath favored thee in this earthly life, apply perfume and walk upon the earth with tranquility, glorifying the name of thy Lord within thyself until thou approachest the portico.

When thou arriveth there, magnify God, thy Lord, thirty times. Then walk with spirit and grace, mindful of origin and justice, until thou drawest nigh unto the shrine.

When thou standest before His Majesty say “Allah’u’Akbar” forty times within a space of five feet, and stand in silence until your soul returns to you. There the light of your Lord descended upon the cloud, with angels surrounding Him, and the matter was decreed, and the promise was fulfilled. Say: In the name of God, and by God, and unto God, and in the path of God. O God! Thou art Peace, and from Thee cometh peace, and unto Thee returneth peace, and Thou art the Mine of peace, and the Lord of peace in the hereafter and in this world.

O my God! Here am I, standing at Thy gate, seeking refuge at Thy threshold, and uttering Thy praise through Thy names by which Thou hast revealed Thyself to me and described Thy Self. There is no God but Thee. Glorified art Thou, O my God! I am unable to praise Thee, for if my praise were to match Thy glory, it could not proceed from me nor befit my station, and if it were according to my capacity, it would be unworthy of Thy gate and could not ascend to Thy presence.

Glorified, glorified art Thou! Here am I, uttering Thy praise as Thou art in Thyself, though I can neither comprehend nor know, nor can any of Thy creatures encompass it with their knowledge. I know that Thou desirest nothing less from creation, nor accepteth less from anyone, for this is the primary station of my existence which Thou created from nothing by Thy power. And now it returns to the station of nothingness, as though it had never been mentioned.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! How sweet is Thy praise, how resplendent Thy glory, how exalted Thy station, and how hidden are Thy favors! I bear witness that there is no God but Thee, alone with no partner. Nothing is like unto Thee, and nothing in the heavens or earth equals Thee, and Thou art God, the Lord of the worlds.

O my God! As I know I have no share in praising Muhammad and His successors—Thy blessings be upon them—before Thee, lest I be silent in describing them, O God, praise Thou Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the places of Thy knowledge, the pillars of Thy unity, the mines of Thy sanctification, and the manifestations of Thy glorification, with the might, divinity, grandeur, and power that belongeth to Thee, which none but Thee can comprehend. Verily, Thou art the Lord of the worlds.

Peace be upon you, O Family of La, this Book containeth remembrance and justice for the devout! Peace be upon you, O leaves of the Divine Tree, fruits of the holy and glorious trees, fruits of the Tree of Sinai and of the Kingdom, gardens of the Tree of Justice, and pearls of bounty in the thicket of the human realm, and the mercy of God and His blessings! Peace be upon you, O ye whom God hath chosen for His religion, accepted for His wisdom, elected for His Cause, and made successors to the best of His creation, and the mercy of God and His blessings! Peace be upon you, O ye whom God hath selected for the knowledge of the Qur’an, taught the inner meanings of the Furqan, chosen for the mystery of the people of the Bayan, and protected from the steps of Satan, and the mercy of God and His blessings!

Peace be upon you, O ye whom God hath created to preserve His revelation, manifest His Word, exalt His glory and His hidden grace, and the mercy of God and His blessings! Peace be upon you, O ye whose words God hath joined with obedience to His loved ones, whose knowledge with the knowledge of His trusted ones, whose love with the love of His chosen ones, and whose friendship with the friendship of the best of His servants, and the mercy of God and His blessings! Peace be upon you, O pillars of religion, support of the believers, stronghold of the God-fearing, and refuge of those who fear, and the mercy of God and His blessings! Peace be upon you, O tidings of the ancients, example to those who come after, and the Word of those who follow, and excellence of those who preceded, and the mercy of God and His blessings!

Peace be upon you, O pillars of the cornerstone of unity, branches of the Tree of oneness, virgin gardens of the Tree of detachment, and verses of the letters of the Word of praise before glorification and after declaration of unity and at the time of magnification, and the mercy of God and His blessings!

Peace be upon you, O ye whose utterance is God—whose obedience is obedience unto His chosen ones, whose recognition is the recognition of His trusted stewards, whose love is love for His purified friends, whose affection is affection for the noblest of His servants. And the mercy of God and His blessings be upon you.

Peace be upon you, O stronghold of the Faith, support of the believers, firm handle of the God-fearing, refuge of the fearful; and the mercy of God and His blessings be upon you.

Peace be upon you, O Tidings of the ancients and Pattern of the latter days, O Word that followeth after the words—conjoined and crowned, the excellence of the forerunners; and the mercy of God and His blessings be upon you.

Peace be upon you, O pillars of the Pillar of Oneness, branches of the Tree of Singleness, first fruits of the gardens of the Tree of Detachment, signs of the letters of the Word of Praise—before the glorification, after the declaration of unity, and at the moment of magnification; and the mercy of God and His blessings be upon you.

I call God to witness—His angels, His Prophets, and His chosen ones—that ye are the foremost; that ye are the elect, the elect; that ye are the sincere, the sincere; that ye are the first, the first. Through you hath shone whatsoever hath shone in the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; through you hath dawned whatsoever hath dawned in the inward lights of the Footstool and the Throne; through you hath appeared whatsoever hath appeared in the orbits of the heavens and the Throne; and through you hath been illumined whatsoever hath been illumined in the depths of the Kingdom of command and creation. How sweet are your names, how manifest your words, how exalted your being, and how hidden your “I-ness.”

Unto God belongeth the right for the kindness of your beneficent ones; unto God pertaineth the remembrance of your majesty; unto God is the thanksgiving in your praise; and unto God is the justice for your adversaries. Through you did the Holy Spirit take up abode, in the gardens of al-Saqurah, the orchards of manifestation; through you did the Trustworthy Spirit descend upon Sinai with a Book laid open; through you did the Spirit of Command take its place in Paradise with a Book inscribed; and through you did the Spirit and the angels descend, by God’s leave, from the Frequented House.

Thus every just one today dealeth justly among mankind by your judgment; every possessor of grace today speaketh your praise; every ruler today ruleth by your permission; and every doer today acteth for God, out of love for you. Through you was the Word made complete, mercy was sent down, division was reconciled, and the Word was distinguished. How sweet is your remembrance, how exalted your station, how resplendent your glory, and how hidden your days.

May my father and mother be a sacrifice unto you! Through you did the Light speak and then taste, through you was Moses thunderstruck and then recovered, through you did Jonah glorify God in the belly of the whale and then was delivered, through you did Jesus speak in the cradle and then was established. Whosoever desires God finds your Cause, whosoever seeks Him recognizes your truth, whosoever unifies Him bears witness to your justice, and whosoever knows Him learns of your bounty. You are the Way and the Guide to Muhammad and the Family of God. Through you were revealed the hidden traditions, erased the manifest seditions, magnified the signs of the people of wisdom, and perfected the trials for the people of tribulation.

May my father be a sacrifice unto you! You are the Way in the heavens and on earth. Through you does the sky send down its water, the earth bring forth its vegetation, and people relate their tidings that their Lord, the All-Merciful, has inspired it.

May my father be a sacrifice unto you! You are the rising suns, the illuminating moons, the brilliant stars, and the orbiting spheres.

May my father and mother be a sacrifice unto you! Through you do moving things move, written things become written, manifest things become distinguished, and scattered things become gathered. I cannot count the radiance of your praise, nor reach the pinnacle of your attributes, nor can any bird’s wing ascend to the atmosphere of your glory, nor can the essence of any allusion rise up to you, so great is your praise and sanctification.

May my father and mother be a sacrifice unto you! I cannot enumerate your praise in the manner that you yourselves know your own station. I bear witness before you that when God desired to manifest Himself to Moses and those with him on the Mount, He revealed a light from your majesty whereupon the mountain was crushed and Moses fell down thunderstruck. And God, through the essence of the mountain which became animate from the manifestation of the light of one of you, created the life of all existing things, placing some in the earth for the life of those therein, some in the water for the life of aquatic creatures, and some in the air—and I witness in this atmosphere the life of humanity and all those on earth and in the air together. How manifest is your light, how exalted your station, how great your worth, and how noble your beneficence! Were it not for you, neither I nor any living soul on earth would exist.

May the blessings of God, His angels, His Prophets, and His chosen ones be upon you according to what God has willed concerning your right, and what Muhammad the Messenger of God has established regarding your right, and what the Family of God has ordained concerning your station. You are purified in your inner and outer being, and I hereby bear witness that I believe in you and in your outer manifestation, and I believe that you have manifested the decree of the Family of Ta-Ha and Ya-Sin, then Ta-Sin-Mim and Alif-Lam-Sad.

By the wise Qur’an! I bear witness that those who have believed in you are more blessed than those who believed in the Imams of Justice, and those who have shown patience during your dispensation are more excellent than those who showed patience in the days of the Imams of Grace.

The deeds of those who act without obedience to you shall profit them not, for God has made obedience to you identical with obedience to the Imams who are guided by His command. He has joined the knowledge of you with knowledge of them, and disobedience to you with disobedience to them. Whosoever opposes you has opposed them, and whosoever wages war against you has waged war against them. Whosoever advances before you or lags behind you has advanced before them or lagged behind them. They have gone astray who harbor thoughts of ignorance concerning you or speak of you in terms other than servitude. He who knows you not has no path to God, and he who submits to your Cause shall find no barrier in God’s decree. They have indeed denied the truth who have transgressed against you, or denied your rights, or rejected your grace, or shown enmity to your friends, or befriended your enemies.

I seek refuge in God and His words, then in you, from the deeds of those who have wronged you, betrayed your Cause, obeyed what you forbade, and denied your rights. Through you do I hold fast in exalting your word, the word of mercy for your friends, and the word of vengeance and wrath for your enemies.

Thus do I beseech God for your victory and await your sovereignty, certain of God’s promise concerning you. You have ever been those who act according to God’s command and will, who hope for God’s grace and promise, and who fear God’s justice and decree. I am with you, and you are for God, and all shall return to God. Glorified be God, the Lord of the Throne, above what they describe. Peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.