BB00087: Kitabu’l-Bashir

Part 1: “God is He besides Whom there is no…”

In the name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy

God is He besides Whom there is no God. All good tidings are from God, and all glory proceedeth from God and then from all things unto the First Unity, and unto those who bear Its likeness, until it reacheth a number that cannot be counted, whether countable or uncountable. And furthermore, thou must bear witness that there is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Beloved, and that there is no God but Him, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting.

And thou must bear witness that I am indeed that True One Whom ye were promised aforetime. And thou must bear witness that His likeness is as the sun in the heavens—though it may rise countless times, it is but one sun, and likewise when it setteth. And verily He shall not be mentioned in the Book as the First, and likewise as the Last. And in this cycle of yours, from this Adam, is the third millennium after the tenth—all this ye remember from Him.

God hath sent no Prophet but Him, and hath revealed no Book but unto Him. This is the essence of the Cause, both before and after, if ye would but look to the Source of the Cause. Yet now He saith that God sent not the Messengers aforetime, nor revealed the Books, save for the Day of Resurrection. This is the essence of all the Books, would ye but ponder any verse thereof.

That whereby your religion was established aforetime establisheth the appearance of your Promised One, if ye be assured in your religion. For all that is in Islam beginneth from the Qur’an and returneth unto it. This is the essence of proof with God, if ye would derive proof therefrom.

We have indeed originated your religion, and We shall assuredly bring it back, but ye behold only the sea of multiplicity. Look ye unto the day of Muhammad, that the matter may be made easy unto you by your Lord, that ye may be enabled on the Day of Resurrection to be assured of God and His signs.

Ye act that God may accept your deeds—this is what your deeds yield from the beginning of your lives unto their end, if ye be of them that act for God. What God accepteth appeareth only through what the Manifestation of His Self accepteth. How then do ye act in your religion? Yet from what ye desire are ye veiled. This is the fruit of your creation and your deeds, if ye would but act.

Look not upon thyself seeing thy life as bounded by a numbered span, for We created thee before all that was before, until thou didst reach this time, and We have caused thee to revolve through a thousand thousand resurrections, and beyond and above that unto what cannot be counted. We speak the truth. And all the worlds have ended in this world, and all the Adams in the Primal Adam, and all in all, until it hath ended in Muhammad. This is God’s command, did ye but know.

And thou hast ended from the day of Muhammad unto this thy day—how then dost thou not behold the loftiness of God’s creation, that thou mayest be of the thankful ones? Dost thou imagine that We created thee for aught else but to worship God, thy Lord? Say: Glory be to God! I am, verily, the first of them that worship.

If thou hast read the Qur’an aforetime, thou must surely be convinced that it is a Book from God, Whom all do worship. We revealed it for none other than that Book, and all that thou hast read was not permitted thee except that thou mightest read this, and We granted thee not permission to read this save that thou mightest read the Book of Him Whom God shall make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, if thou be of the knowing ones.

Thou hast read the Qur’an and hast witnessed therein that God hath created naught but that ye should be assured of the meeting with God on the Day of Resurrection. Yet noon hath drawn nigh and ye still slumber. This is a verse We revealed aforetime in the Qur’an in the Surih of Thunder, and We were witness thereunto: God it is Who hath raised up the heavens without pillars as ye can see, then established Himself upon the throne, and subjected the sun and the moon, each moving for an appointed term; He directeth all things and expoundeth the signs that haply ye may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.

This is what God intended in the creation of all things. How then hast thou emigrated unto God twice, yet hast not understood that for which thou wert created if thou hadst read the Qur’an aforetime and wert of them that are assured? Can anyone comprehend or behold the Eternal Essence? Say: Glory be to God! None can comprehend or behold Him, but whoso beholdeth the manifestation of His Self Who speaketh from His presence, verily beholdeth the meeting with his Lord.

Thus doth God expound the verses, both before and after, that haply ye may be assured of meeting Him Whom He shall make manifest on the Day of Resurrection. If We were to admonish one like thyself, an elderly sheikh, in this manner, how then should We admonish others beneath thee who have not left their homes or who have heard and been patient? And were it befitting to mention him who heareth the verses of his Lord yet believeth not in them, We would mention him, yet We make mention out of Our grace, for verily We are the All-Bountiful.

But people have no shame and claim to work for God while they work not for God, for were they to work for God they would work for Me. Thus doth God show them their deeds that they might take heed. All that thou hast seen in the Furqan concerning the mention of the Resurrection and its circumstances and the Day of Judgment, thou shalt witness from the beginning of that Manifestation to its end, if thou desirest to be of the assured ones.

We reveal not a verse but We breathe into it the spirit of life for the God-fearing and the spirit of death for the dead—they who read God’s Book aforetime yet now remain veiled from Our verses. All that thou hast seen in Our traditions thou shalt behold with thine own eyes on the Day of Resurrection, for the likeness of the breathing is as all that ye discuss. We breathe into the Word what We cast into it of Our Most Great Command concerning all that is in the heavens and earth and what lieth between them, if ye be of the assured ones.

And the likeness of that with God is all the aspects of your religious and worldly knowledge, though ye know it not. Were what ye relate true and were ye awaiting the breathing of Israfil into the trumpet as ye describe—Glory be to God above such things! Do not believe what you imagine, for verily the word “We breathed into her of Our spirit” is greater than all that is in the heavens and earth and what lies between them, if you be of those who are certain.

Such is the case with God regarding all aspects of your religious and worldly knowledge, though you comprehend it not. If what you relate from your Imams were truth from God, how then do you relate that which turns you away from this? Reflect a little, for you weep over them night and day.

Yea, their glory lies in how Muhammad chose them by God’s leave. Similarly have We returned them to their first life, if you but knew it through your prayers, alms, pilgrimage or fasting. Those who came before your Imams—yet people know not. All whom God created in every world have returned, believer and otherwise. All have been raised in the tombs of the living—the believers among the foremost of the righteous, and others whom We love not to mention, yet people remain veiled from God’s Cause. The Prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, then the believers have been presented before God. And verily your Imams have ascended to God with the Prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs and the believers, while you still stand at their burial places.

And upon the land that faces the land of Ali, you will see there his ancient glory. He it is who conveyed to you your Lord’s command when he was raised from his resting place. Look to the first day that you might be among those who understand. For his glory lies in guidance, not in lofty domes nor in what people take pride in. If you visited him before, then visit him now and deliver to him this Book from his Lord if you can find a way. By My life, if you visit him here it is better with God than visiting his burial place until the Day of Resurrection. Nay, that profits you not while this profits you—this is God’s command if you wish to be among those who understand.

Part 2: “O Ali! I shall greet you at noontide…”

O Ali! I shall greet you at noontide. Grieve not for what has been decreed for you, for glory lies only in God’s good-pleasure, and He was with you before and after, and God is with the sincere ones. Say: He Who raised me before shall raise me again, and He Who created me shall resurrect me. God is my Guardian and the Guardian of those who believe in Him. In Him do I trust, and in God let the faithful servants put their trust. You are the Word by which We shall judge those upon that earth on the Day of Resurrection. Say: Those who were mine, these shall abide forever in Paradise, and whoever was not mine was not God’s, and God is the Guardian of the righteous. Were you to learn what has befallen Me and those who believed in God, your grief would be double what you witnessed in God’s path.

And upon those who have believed in God, your grief shall be double what you have experienced in the path of God, yet you remain behind a mighty veil—a bounty from God, for verily He is the Bestower, the Generous. True glory is that which God, your Lord, remembers, whether you be upon the earth or seated upon the throne. What God ordains for you is better than all things, for He is the Guardian, the Watchful. And if God so willed, He would surely deliver those who grieve in His path, for He is the Great Deliverer.

And verily the splendor of God be upon you in your beginning and your end and all between, then in the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all between, then in all the worlds. O Bearer of Glad Tidings! Give glad tidings to those in His land that they may be strengthened by His remembrance, if you be of those who give glad tidings. And rouse them from their slumber, all who dwell in that land, both male and female, for all labor for God. Inform them that they must bear witness against their own selves that they have been cognizant of God. They must believe in God and His signs and labor for Him Who hath come to them with guidance and clear proofs from their Lord, yet they know not.

O ʿAli, in the land of Kaf, recite this Book and remind all the believers of what We have revealed therein, for We have made all things known to Our own Self, that they may remain steadfast in their words. The first element of religion is the recognition of God. Say: Yea, by my Lord! If ye recognize Me, then ye shall recognize God your Lord. God is our Protector and your Protector. He will judge with truth between the people on the Day of Resurrection, for He is the best of judges.

Bear witness that all names were created for their meaning, and that all names belong to God. How is it then that when God manifests Himself, you are not convinced of God and His signs? All the while you mentioned God, you were circling in the ocean of names. That is the Appointed Day, if you but understood. Does the name of sugar sweeten your tongue? Thus hath God commanded you to remember Him before His manifestation, that on the day of His appearance you may be guided unto Him through His name.

Verily the manifestation of the Divine Essence is impossible, and the appearance of your Qa’im is the manifestation of God, if you be of those who are convinced of this. Or will you believe in Him Whom God shall manifest after the Resurrection? Bear witness that every beloved one is loved because of the love of God that is within him, from the Primal Point to the furthermost limits of physical existence, if you would but observe.

When Majnun was consumed with love for Layla, though it was not based on truth and was merely at the level of physical existence, they reached a state that you all remember. When he saw a dog that belonged to the tribe wherein Layla’s name was mentioned, he kissed it out of love for her—this was love of body for body. How is it then that you do not ascend in the love of God? If true love is found in God, it will erase from one who attains it all mention save His. Therefore prepare yourselves for the Day of Him Whom God shall manifest, that you may love Him.

The love of bodies has descended from the love of hearts in ways beyond counting, for the former exists in the realm of limitations while the latter cannot be confined by limits. If you be here in love, then when you mention the name of God you will be drawn to Him before you behold Him Whom We shall manifest. Such is the ardor of love, if you are ascending on the wings of love. And verily, in the love of God no description can be made, so how is it that when you love God and hear His verses, you are not drawn unto them?

By the life of Him Whom We shall make manifest! If anyone possesses the love of God, when he heareth the verses of God, his spirit will be separated from his own self, unless God sustaineth him. Thus hath God, my Lord, sustained me and then His believing servants. Those who hear the verses of God and are not drawn unto them—their hearts are harder than stone. Therefore, soften your hearts, spirits, souls, and bodies, that perchance when you hear the verses of God you may be drawn unto them. God hath not created in the Faith any proof more conclusive than this in the Mother Book, if you are of those who believe in God and His verses.

You shall deliver this Book to Our Name, the Mighty, the Bountiful—nay, there are two Bountiful ones from Our presence. Deliver it to them both and to their brother. Those who believe in Me and My verses—these are they who are the believers.

Deliver likewise secretly to those among your leaders and divines who believe not in God and His verses, that perchance they may become ashamed within themselves and then remember. Deliver unto the letter Dal this, that thereby he may torment him who hath not believed in the Truth in that place. For verily, when God willeth to admit anyone into Paradise, He maketh him to know himself and his faith—this indeed is the most exalted Paradise in a mighty Book. And when God willeth to chastise a soul, He maketh him to know himself but not his faith—this indeed is the most severe Fire in an impregnable Book.

O all things! Know ye God, your Lord, the All-Merciful, through your recognition of Me and the Letters of the Living, and through what hath been revealed in the Bayan, that ye may act accordingly. Know ye the value of the Day of Resurrection, for when it setteth, ye shall never find it again, and ye will walk in darkness as ye found after Muhammad until the year sixty, without revelation or verses. Thus doth God counsel you that ye may be God-fearing.

Say: Should all who are in the heavens and on the earth and whatsoever lieth between them gather together to produce the like of this Book, they would never be able, nor would they have the power, even if they were all learned ones. Verily, on the Day of Him Whom God shall make manifest, most of the people will be divines, but they will have no knowledge unless they believe in God and His verses. Say: If ye believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest, then ye are they who truly believe in God and His verses. This is the essence of religion through which ye shall attain all good. For whoso believeth in Him Whom God shall make manifest believeth in what is revealed from His presence, just as he who believed in Me believed in what was revealed in the Bayan, and likewise before that and before that before, if ye be of those who believe in what God hath revealed.

Those who say “We believe in Muhammad, the Messenger of God (peace be upon Him), and what God revealed unto Him,” yet did not believe before My manifestation in the Letters of the Living from His presence—they were not truthful in their utterance.

And they did not believe before My appearance in the Living Letters from Him, they were not truthful in their words, and likewise after My appearance all that you say concerning those who await Ahmad and believe not in Him, say also concerning those who await Muhammad and believe not in Him. Verily, the believers, they abide forever in the degrees of paradise, while others are veiled in hell without right. I seek forgiveness from God, my Lord, for all things, then I turn in repentance unto Him. Verily, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Generous. And there is no God but God, His is the creation and the command, there is no God but He, the Oft-Returning, the All-Merciful.