BB00158: Answer to Mirza Muhammad Yazdi

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

All praise be to God, the One, the Single, the Unique, besides Whom there is no other God, the Most High, the Most Great. And may God’s blessings be upon Muhammad and his chosen ones as befitteth Him, for verily He is the Most High, the All-Wise. O God! I bear witness before Thee to that which Thy knowledge encompasseth concerning me, and I write by Thy leave for him who seeketh at Thy gate, for verily Thou art the All-Knowing of all things.

There hath come unto me on this Friday a noble letter from one of the believers who hath chosen for himself the pure and ancient Faith upon this straight path. O friend! Rejoice thou in the word of certitude upon receiving salutations from thy Ancient Lord. Verily God and His angels and His chosen ones send their salutations upon those who have submitted to the Most Great Remembrance, and God is indeed well-informed of His believing servants.

Know thou with certitude, and be assured with precise understanding, and behold with the eye of certainty in the knowledge of certainty that manifest Truth. As for the question concerning the word of inquiry regarding the derived knowledge from the derived Book, God hath taught thee from the primal point since the day of thy creation. Enter thou into this surging, tumultuous, intermingling, accumulated ocean from the point of joy, and behold the pilgrims of that Sacred House.

Verily God hath not created anything except that He hath placed within it His wisdom and such decree as is possible regarding it. Were it not so, the handiwork of the All-Wise would not have been perfected in anything. Far be it from what the comparison-makers describe! He hath brought the contingent beings into existence with perfect creation in accordance with what is possible in respect to origination.

Look thou with the glance of beginning toward the point of ending, that thou mayest witness the whole as the truth of the whole. Thus hath the Originator brought forth His Word, and He is God, powerful over all things.

And as to thy question concerning the vision of the signs, and that Gate which hath been opened in the Kingdom of the heavens and the realm of dust: Hast thou deemed that the companions of the Cave and the Inscription were a wonder among Our signs? Nay, what God hath allotted unto all within all is but a scant drop, a mere sprinkling, from that all-encompassing ocean of which ʿAbdu’llah is the Servant and the Proof. Verily, thy question concerning such men hath rejoiced Me. Wherefore sharpen thy sight, refine thy vision, cast forth the intimations from thine own self, and enter that Gate through thy Lord.

Dost thou imagine that in the world of being there existeth aught apart from the Manifestation thereof? Hath there ever been an appearance in anything, that it might itself be the Manifestation thereof? If it be other than Him, by what sign could I recognize it? Glorified be God, the Most High, Who hath filled the reaches of cycles and the spheres of worlds with the effulgence of that Mystery of mysteries and that Light of lights. Turn back thy gaze unto thine own self: it is present alike in thy hidden essence and in thy manifest state. Bear witness thereto in this wondrous Cause, in every matter, whether small or great. Drink, moreover, from that sealed Chalice, poured forth at this Gate by the Cup-Bearer of Revelation in all the signs, from the waters of the Mystery of Manifestation, and be thou of the thankful on that Day—praised be God, the All-Forgiving.

And as to thy question concerning the Words and certain of the stations thereof: if thou art at the Gate, then be of the Gate. Cast away the paths of darkness, be assured of the recompense of the Word, and act accordingly; for in such a Gate it is meet that the earnest should strive with one another.

And as to thy inquiry concerning writing upon the paths that incline toward the way of turning unto God: purify thy soul for God, work for His sake at the Point of love within the precincts of majesty, and know thou that the path of wayfaring for the servant hath ever been his love for God, his Lord. God, verily, is the Self-Sufficient in truth, and He hath not burdened the servant with aught of deeds save that all ordinances and inner meanings have appeared in the worlds from the Point of servitude before the Dawning-Place of Lordship. Act, then, in the knowledge of unity upon the Point of detachment, and in the knowledge of subsidiary matters upon the path of prudence, taking hold of the Word of the Imam, until thou meetest Me in the land of the Euphrates, and beyond it, in whatsoever God willeth.

Be assured with certainty in all conditions and walk in all the earth, concerning realities and attributes, upon the point of moderation, so that should any soul behold thee, they would witness in thee a light from the Gate. Know thou that God hath ordained no veil between the servant and Him, and verily the veil existeth through God from the point of turning away. Turn with thy whole being unto God, the Lord of earth and heaven, and act accordingly, for death hath been decreed as inevitable for all souls. If thou followest this most great path, thou shalt find the fire of love for the Tree kindled within thyself. There, glorify thyself in thy servitude to God with words of praise under the shadow of that Praiseworthy Gate, and verily God is thy witness.

As to the question concerning My taking thy soul, enter through God into the depths of Oneness. There thou shalt see naught but God, thy Lord. Soon thou shalt find Me, God willing, in the Holy Land, through what God willeth in thee by the Most Great Truth. Be patient in the Truth, for God doth ever watch over the patient ones. Trust in God and turn not unto Satan. Slay him with the sword of the Gate and aid His Cause after the revelation of the Book in thy land to the extent thou art able. Cast the water of thy love in the paths of this Most Great Book, for God hath ordained for Our helper an excellent station and the Most Great Abode.

Fear God in all conditions and recite unto thyself the word of origination in all circumstances. In all conditions and deeds look unto God and act in His presence until thy taking account becomes hair-splitting precise. Be mindful of death, worship thy Lord, and ask God for martyrdom in His path. Be as thou wert on the day of thy beginning. Proceed now as I have commanded thee and turn not to anything, nor grieve for aught. Act upon that path and soon thou shalt find God, thy Lord, as thy refuge. He is God and is powerful over all things.

As for the question concerning the right of the one visited, by the right of the Lord of all worlds, He hath given thee from the Point of Manifestation. How excellent is that visitation wherein the visited one is lost upon the path of joy! This is the highest degree of love for those who find the point of forgiveness in that pure water. Enter with certitude the point of discovering; thou shalt know My right over thy most great right. I am but the servant of God and I speak only through God, and God sufficeth as witness over His servants.

As for the question concerning the nature of knowledge, know thou that man’s honor lieth not in being knowledgeable about things. The most noble honor and the greatest perfection is the effacement of all else before the countenance of the Lord. God taught the Prophets the knowledge of things from the world of limitations, where the Truth indicated in His truthful word concerning Adam: “Yea.” The most eloquent honor and the most impregnable portion is the knowledge of God within thyself. God hath preferred Muhammad and ʿAli and their descendants above all Prophets and Successors through their knowledge in God, and they, may God’s blessings be upon them, knew all things in their proper place. None knoweth the unseen save God, and the Prophets knew all things yet knew not a single letter of Fatimih’s knowledge. By God the Truth, all the Prophets together did not accomplish in the depths of their love even an atom’s weight of what the body of Fatimih (peace be upon her) accomplished.

Fear God, O people of the Gate, regarding questions about the most pure Family of God. None knoweth how they are save God, the One, the All-Compelling. Indeed, no thing can comprehend its own station, how then could they comprehend them? All else besides them are as non-existent before them. Glorified be the Lord of the Throne above what they describe.

I counsel thee by the Most Great Truth, and unto those who gaze upon this leaf: Write not with black ink a single letter of what God hath caused to flow from the Pen of the Gate. Write the Book with yellow water of red gold, for all that hath proceeded from the Gate, if ye are able. And if ye are unable, then write with white, or yellow, or green, or red ink. For God hath forbidden unto the believers black ink in this Most Great Gate.

O people of the Gate! Make no distinction between the Books which have issued from the Gate. Gather them all together and preserve them with the utmost care, and transcribe them in the most excellent calligraphy upon refined, separate tablets. For verily, whosoever writeth “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful” in beautiful script, Paradise welcometh him. Therefore desire ye this greatest reward and preserve God’s decree among you, for verily God your Lord is ever watchful over the Truth, and He is the All-Knowing of all things.

I have honored thee with an answer on this Festival. Therefore take what I have given thee and be among those who are thankful. And praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.