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

Praise be to God Who chooseth whomsoever He willeth from among His Messengers, and sendeth down mercy upon whomsoever He pleaseth, and guideth whom He willeth from among His believing servants, and giveth peace to the hearts of His sincere servants as He pleaseth through what they desire, and preserveth the souls of His assured servants from doubt in His Cause. There is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.

O my God! I bear witness before Thee that when Thou desirest for a soul Thy love, Thou openest the door of the censer upon his breast that he may endure harm in Thy path and strive with people in Thy way and conceal Thy secret from those who love not Thy presence. And Thou sendest down upon him from the angels of the heavens those whose number none knoweth save Thee alone, Who hast no partner, that they may strengthen him in obedience to Thee and protect him from disobedience to Thee and give him peace through meeting Thee in the days of the manifestation of Thy revelation, and bestow patience upon him that he may hear from the polytheists their denial of Thee and their rejection of Thy signs. Were it not that Thou givest him peace through Thy promise, he would melt from the words of the enemies as an egg melts upon a stone.

Therefore praise be unto Thee, O my God, as Thou art Thou, and I seek Thy forgiveness as I am I. And I have no doubt that in every moment there ariseth from the nearness of Thy presence the sun of good-pleasure for Thy servants who are content with Thy deed and grateful for Thy favors and believing in Thy wisdom and praying before Thee and purifying their souls for the days of meeting Thee. Therefore praise be unto Thee in every moment for its rising, and glory and grandeur be unto Thee in every moment for its setting.

And I have no doubt that when that sun setteth beneath the earth, the polytheists among Thy servants imagine that Thou hast created it for them, and they tell one another that when we turned away from Thy wisdom, our Lord sent down that sun upon us to draw us unto Him and make us believe in His Book. How far, how far from their thought of Thy supremacy and from their knowledge of Thy might! It is as though they know not Thy independence and recognize not Thy presence and perceive not Thy signs and hear not from Thy presence “I am according to the thought of every soul.” Therefore praise be unto Thee, O my God, for having made good my thought of Thee and of Thy signs.

Though I am patient with the cruelty of Thy enemies, yet Thou, O my God, art more patient than I, for Thou hast heard from the Jews that Ezra is the son of God, then from the Christians that God is the third of three, yet with Thy power and Thy might Thou didst forbear with them until Thou didst seize them on the day of Thy promise. Nay rather, I believe, O my God, that the words of the believers will never reach the court of Thy glory and will never ascend to the heaven of Thy majesty and the speech of the speakers will never change Thee, nor the denial of the polytheists. How then could the vain words which have issued from the source of hell, whose fruit is as the heads of devils?

I seek refuge with Thy presence and take shelter in Thy signs lest I should be among them or be present with them or love them. I bear witness before Thee, O my God, and before those who bear witness in Thy presence, that I am innocent of their realities and their attributes and their traces and their words and what is attributed to them and what is sent down upon them and what issueth from them. Therefore preserve me, O God, from following any one of them. Rather, I follow Thy signs and hope for Thy reward and dwell in Thy good-pleasure and drink from the cup of Thy bounty. Verily, I know with certainty that Thou art above the speech of the speakers and the description of the describers, and I am but Thy servant, believing in Thee alone. There is no God but Thee, and I bear witness that all else besides Thee is Thy creation, and whosoever taketh refuge in aught save Thy mercy shall perish forthwith.

And among Thy servants, O my God, are those who make their desires their god and follow that which the Samiri hath caused them to err, supposing that they are doing good in Thy Book. Nay, by no means! I bear witness that my profession of Thy unity referreth back to myself, for none can know Thee or describe Thee as Thou art in Thyself. Indeed, my description of Thy presence is the greatest of sins, with which no other sin can compare. How then can the deeds of those who believe in Thy signs yet deny Thy presence be acceptable unto Thee, as though they were unaware of anything of the Cause and find no way unto Thee?

And I bear witness, O my God, on behalf of all Thy chosen ones and loved ones, from the Primal Point—the station of Thy beloved Muhammad and the family of God, Thy blessings be upon them—unto all that hath come to pass through Thy power and shall come to pass hereafter, and all that Thy Book hath enumerated and Thy knowledge hath encompassed, according to what Thou lovest and art well-pleased with. I desire naught save what Thou desirest, even though I might desire to love Thee while Thou abhorrest this, according to Thy all-encompassing knowledge. But Thou knowest, O my God, that in this I intended not to deny Thy unity, nor did I wish to oppose Thy will or abandon Thy love. Rather, my desires overcame me and Thy decree established me therein, trusting in Thy forgiveness and mercy, and seeking pardon through Thy generosity and the signs of Thy loving-kindness. Therefore, O Lord, arrange for me the means as Thou lovest and willest, for I know not what is good for me save what Thou decreest for me. Thou art God, the Lord of all worlds.

I beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy bounty, to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of God with all Thy benedictions, blessings, favors and tokens, as Thou art in Thy might and oneness, and as they deserve through their obedience and love. Thou knowest all things and hast power over all things. Nothing in the heavens or on earth is too great for Thee, and Thou art the Most High, the All-Wise.

O steadfast believer! I have read thy letter and I praise God, thy Lord, for thy certitude. Fear not what hath proceeded from thee in the presence of the Gate of God, who was sent aforetime, for God forgiveth those who preserve His Cause, conceal His mystery, convey His wisdom unto all, fear no one, and heed not the censure of critics. This is God’s bounty unto them, and this indeed is the great triumph.

Know thou of a certainty that the tribulation of the people hath returned as in the early days of Islam, and trials have appeared in that land just as they appeared in Medina concerning the question of succession. All have departed from God’s pure command save a few. Thank God thy Lord that thou art among them and remainest steadfast in these words upon the straight path. Let not Satan make thee fear the censure of critics, the denial of rejectors, and the tyranny of transgressors. Rejoice, for this indeed is nobility with God and His chosen ones, and sufficient is this as glory for thee among God’s loved ones.

However, I counsel thee to turn not thy face from the people, for they have no shame. Live among them according to their customs, for this is better for the Faith and more becoming for thee. Should any fault be found with any of those companions, it is as though it were found with the root of the Tree. Guard thyself lest anyone speak a false word concerning thee, for verily the believer is noble and I desire not abasement for thee. Depart, by God’s leave, from that land and labor in the Cause of God according to that which God hath commanded thee in His Book. Be thou neither grieved nor sorrowful. When thou art assured that the day is secure, enter the land wherein thou canst attain unto My presence, for God’s promise shall assuredly be fulfilled. Glory be to God, the Lord of the Throne, high above what they describe! Peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.