BB00272: Kitabu’l-’Azim

Letter to ʿAzim, upon him be Glory, and to him belongeth the Ancient Dominion

In the Name of God, the Most Inaccessible, the Most Holy

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I bear witness, and all things bear witness, that Thou art God, there is no God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thine is the kingdom and the dominion, Thine the might and the power, Thine the strength and grandeur, Thine the force and majesty, Thine the sovereignty and the realm of man, Thine the glory and majesty, Thine the countenance and beauty, Thine the visage and perfection, Thine the likeness and similitudes, Thine the station and reverence, Thine the power and deeds, Thine the dominance and justice, Thine the mercy and grace, Thine the greatness and pride, Thine the supremacy and independence, Thine the sovereignty and might, Thine the glory and inaccessibility, Thine the power and exaltation, Thine the joy and gladness, Thine the authority and detachment.

Thine is whatsoever Thou hast loved or wilt love in the kingdom of Thy Cause and creation. Thou hast ever been one God, single, eternal, self-subsisting, living, unchanging, wise, just, holy, standing, powerful, compelling, manifest, transcendent, victorious, all-knowing, ruling, first, last, outer, inner, trusted, exalted, inaccessible, elevated, sanctified, glorified, mighty, proud, sovereign, possessing, lofty, unapproachable, everlasting, eternal. Thou hast taken neither consort nor son, nor had Thou any partner in what Thou hast created, nor any protector in what Thou hast fashioned. Thou dost ever give life and cause death, then cause death and give life. Verily Thou art the Ever-Living Who dieth not, the King Who passeth not away, the Just Who wrongeth not, the Sovereign Who changeth not, the Single Who escapeth not, the Almighty Who is never defeated, the Powerful Who is never rivaled, the Self-Subsisting Who slumbereth not, the Holy Who is never oppressed, the Inaccessible Who is never subdued, the Manifest Who is never hidden. Thou createst what Thou willest by Thy command. Verily, Thou art powerful over all things.

How can I glorify Thee, O my God, when Thou art exalted above all that hath glorified Thee or will glorify Thee? How can I sanctify Thee, O my Beloved, when Thou art sanctified above all that hath sanctified Thee or will sanctify Thee? How can I unite Thee when Thou art elevated above all that hath united Thee or will unite Thee? How can I magnify Thee when Thou art inaccessible above all that hath magnified Thee or will magnify Thee? How can I extol Thee when Thou art mighty above all that hath extolled Thee or will extol Thee?

The dwellers of Thy heaven and earth are servants unto Thy Being, prostrate before Thy Face, submissive to Thy Glory, rememberers of Thy loftiness, thankful for Thy sublimity. There is nothing except that it knoweth Thee and prostrateth before Thee according to how Thou hast revealed Thyself unto it. But all this, O my God, is veiled except for those who know Thee through Thy manifestation in the Bayan and follow Thee in Thy concealment, for Thou hast revealed Thyself through signs by which all things have known Thee. Thus have the recognizing ones recognized and thereby entered Thy paradise, while the veiled ones remained veiled and thereby entered Thy fire.

How exalted is Thy loftiness to the dwellers in the ocean of Thy grandeur! O my God, how sublime is Thy elevation to those who sail upon the ark of Thy power! How great is Thine independence to those who approach the court of Thy eternal holiness! How gracious is Thy favor to those who have known Thee through Thy signs and drawn nigh unto Thee through Thyself, seeking in Thy paradise from water never stale, and milk whose taste never changes, and wine crimson pure, and honey refined, for in the garden of Thine eternity flow rivers without end unto infinity. The first ones are they who glorify, the last ones are they who sanctify, the outer ones are they who unify, the inner ones are they who magnify. All live by one Water and stand by one Command.

Inspire, O God, all Thy friends to recognize the worth of Thy signs, and suffer them not to slumber, no, not for the twinkling of an eye, while Thy Cause is exalted, Thy sovereignty uplifted, Thy Word inviolable, and Thy proof irresistible. For when the Sun of Thy Manifestation setteth, the night of its people groweth dark, until Thou bring it forth anew and makest Thy heaven and Thy earth to glow with its radiance.

After Thou didst reveal Thy Beloved aforetime—after the One had decreed the span of two hundred and seventy years—no path remained for any soul to the knowledge of Thee and the delight of Thy signs. Though, in former dispensations, all within Thy Faith, each according to what Thou hadst measured out to them from the treasuries of Thy Command and the marvels of Thy bounty, did indeed exalt Thy Cause, yet unto this station they could find no way. Glory be to Thee! How loftiest Thy favor, how beauteous Thy grace, in that Thou madest Thyself known to all Thy creatures through those very signs whereby they had aforetime known Thee. Naught is required of Thy creation save to know Thee through Thy Manifestation and to follow that which Thou hast loved in its inner meanings.

Do Thou, then, O God, reveal Thy succor unto Thy friends and Thy might unto Thy trusted ones; for Thou hast ever been the Subduer of all possibles, the Manifest above all existents, potent over whomsoever inhabiteth the realms of earth and heaven; exalted above all beings, transcendent beyond every likeness and allusion, inaccessible above all that pertaineth to the kingdoms of names and attributes, sovereign over all things brought into being.

Send down, O God, with all that pertaineth unto Thee—Thy splendor and Thy majesty, Thy beauty and Thy greatness, Thy light and Thy mercy, Thy words and Thy names, Thy might and Thy will, Thy knowledge and Thy power, Thy speech and Thy honor, Thy dominion and Thy loftiness—upon the Sun of Thy Theophany which Thou wilt bring forth, by Thy power, upon the Day of Resurrection, that Thou mayest requite, according to Thy Will, them of the Bayan; and upon the mirrors that face that Sun and take their guidance therefrom—for the relation of all mirrors unto him is one and the same. Whoso beholdeth therein naught but It, lo, he hath been illumined by its light and guided unto its Revealer.

Thine is the Most Exalted Loftiness, O my God, above all loftiness and all exaltation; and Thine is the Most Beauteous Sublimity, O my Beloved, above all loftiness and all exaltation; and Thine is the Most Beauteous Sublimity, O my Beloved, above every sublimity and every glory. No power is there save through Thee, and no command is there save from Thy presence. Through Thee have I prevailed and sought assistance; through Thee have I wielded dominion and overcome; through Thee have I been singled out and made great; through Thee have I been glorified and been filled with splendour. Verily Thou art sufficient unto me: in Thee have I put my trust; and on Thee let Thy believing servants rely. There is no might and no power except in God, the Most High, the All-Glorious.