BB00014: Tafsir-i-Nubuvvat-i-Khassih (Treatise on Specific Prophethood)

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

1. Introduction

Praise be to God Who made the embellishment of the Tablets of the Book of Permission the embellishment of the Point, which was designated after it was willed, ordained before it was decreed, permitted when it was appointed, and made firm. Through it shone forth the essential realities of beings that radiate in the truths of the people of the Divine Realm, that all created things might know, in the station of the recognition of attributes, through God’s manifestation in the station of recognition of the appearance of the Divine Essence, that verily there is no God but Him. In the eternity of eternities, there was none beside Him in station, nor is it possible in the realm of contingent being to make mention of His Self, for His Essential Reality is the pure, uncompounded Reality that, by its very being, severs all beginnings from the station of recognition and blocks all paths of signs from the station of utterance.

For as it is in itself, none can know its reality, nor describe its eternity, nor characterize its absolute independence, since all else came into being in the realm of possibility through creation and were endowed with existence in the station of being through invention. Glorified and exalted is He! He has ever been His own describer of His Self, and His Essence the unifier of His Essence. None knoweth how He is except Him. Glorified and exalted is He above what they describe.

Praise be to God Who brought into being all that He willed through His command, and placed within the realities of abstract beings a sign of His eternity, a geometry from the station of His will, and an indication in the station of His mercy, that all things might reverberate in the worlds of names and attributes through the reverberation of the manifestations of the signs of His Self-Subsistence in the world of abstract realities, and the conditions of the manifestations of justice and grace in the stations of earthly and heavenly dominion. This was so that none might be veiled in any station from the manifestation of His blessed Countenance, but might see Him evident and existing, that there is no God but Him, living in the reality of the Essence and self-subsisting in the essential nature of attributes.

Verily, such is the loftiness of His grandeur that the highest abstract summits cannot ascend to Him in the material worlds, nor can the bird of hearts fly to the holy atmosphere of His sanctity from the manifestations in the worlds of universals.

Glorified and exalted is He! The presence of His Self-Subsistence is too majestic and elevated for any contingent being to reach, or for any to know His Essence in any station, or to describe His Self in any realm of signs. Glorified and exalted is He! Whosoever claims to know the essence of His being has indeed followed the path of impossibility, for this cannot be achieved even at the ultimate heights of elevation. For knowledge is a branch of conjunction, and He, exalted be His mention, has never been conjoined with His creation, nor can He be described through His servants, nor characterized through the manifestation of His creation. For as He is in Himself, He is bounded by the bounds of origination and characterized by the conditions of creation, and indicates in every aspect only His limitation, and relates in every station only His powerlessness. For the similitude in the realities of manifestations of dominion can only indicate the severance of the way, and the manifestations in the essential realities of material things of the heavenly kingdom can only relate the prevention of proof.

Glorified and exalted is He! Whosoever claims to unify Him has enumerated Him, and whosoever enumerates Him has divided Him, and whosoever divides Him has described Him with the attributes of His creation. Naught hath been associated with His Kingdom, and whoso declareth Him to be identical with aught else hath borne false witness against himself and uttered calumny in his own recognition of Him, for all references in their very essence are debarred from attaining His holy court and point in despair to the recognition of His Self-Subsistence. The essences of all stations in every world return to the station of His creation, and He, in His own Self, speaketh naught but of the limit of origination and the state of existence after the rank of non-existence before existence in the existent, and hath no way to the recognition of the Essence of the Worshipped One—glorified and exalted be He above what they associate with Him.

Praise be to God Who hath brought into being all created things for the manifestation of His justice, that every atom of contingent beings, from the beginning of causation to the uttermost depths of impenetrable, pitch-black, blind darkness, might bear witness to that whereunto God bore witness concerning Muhammad, His Beloved, whom He chose in eternity through His knowledge above all contingent beings, selected for the station of His authority over all creation, elected for the station of His Self in performance and decree from the beginning of the world of names and attributes to the rank of ascension, and was well-pleased with him as the mystery of His mercy towards all who exist in beginnings and endings.

I bear witness that Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, is His servant whom He chose for Himself and established him in the station of the Essence, distinct from similitude among his fellow men, that all contingent beings might shine with the radiance of the manifestations of his knowledge in souls and horizons until they recognize him by how God hath preferred him above all and granted him in the beginning and return. Exalted and sublime is the mention of his Creator—no eye hath seen the like of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in all possibility, nor can there be his like, for naught can exist in possibility except through possibility. May God reward him, on behalf of all who dwell in the kingdom of command and creation, whatsoever He willeth and hath ordained for him in all stations. Verily He is the Bestower of good things in beginning and return.

Praise be to God Who hath brought forth the concealed signs of the manifestations of His holiness in the highest consciousness of abstract realities, that they might emerge in the manifestations of the depths of divine signs and what God hath created in the thicket of might and the primal reed of the tree of dominion and kingdom, and what God’s knowledge hath encompassed in the earth of humanity, through the praise of the manifestations of His power and the pillars of His unity and the signs of His uniqueness and the tokens of His sanctification—His servants whom God hath placed in the stations of command and creation in the station of His Beloved, lest anyone in the heavens and earth be veiled from recognition of their majesty, and all existing things might see them according to what God hath ordained in the Book of the stations of names and attributes, that they are honored servants who speak not before He hath spoken and who act by His command.

Praise be to God Who accepteth from His servants through His grace of their deeds whatsoever He willeth as He willeth, though He knoweth that their very existence is a sin before the sacred court of His omnipotence, and no mention of any of His creation befitteth the precincts of His holy nearness, that all might know that His way is beneficence, His custom is explanation, His path is pardon and grace, and naught in the kingdom of command and creation is too great for Him, and verily there is no God but He, the Mighty, the Exalted.

To continue: When the light of the Cause dawned forth from the court of His might and the sanctuary of His exaltation, the honored and glorified presence—he who is near unto the court of the Khan and the trusted pillar of the realm of the Sultan—may God perpetuate the shadow of His favor upon the heads of His subjects, and cause him to attain the utmost of his hopes, both at the beginning of his affairs and at their end—addressed this servant, who abideth beneath the darkling canopy of God’s mercy and care, bidding him to set forth the exposition of the mystery of Divine Unity in establishing the specific prophethood (nubuwwat al-khassih) of that eternal Sign, that divine Mystery, that heavenly Light, that merciful Remembrance, that Manifestation which shone forth in the sanctified, austere Form, in the Universal Reality, in the primal Lote-Tree of the realm of Divinity, in the radiant, mediating Mercy, in the resplendent, effulgent Countenance of loftiness, in the hallowed, luminous Temple of godliness, and in the rising, shining Garment of glory that appeared in the hidden Reality of Ahmad and the manifest station of Muhammad—may the blessings of God be upon Him and upon His kindred.

As the Sun of Beginning rose at the Beginning, and then the Sun of Ending set at the Ending, and since His Command is to be obeyed and His Decree is decisive in the realms of the Impossible, I have sought God’s help and followed His command, relying upon God in revealing what He has placed in existence into manifestation.

1. The first pillar: tawhid

Know that God has eternally been free from His creation, and His creation free from Him, for He has eternally existed without anything existing beside Him, and He will forever remain as He was, with nothing mentioned at His level. For His Essence has ever indicated naught but His Essence, and His Being will forever tell of naught but His Being. All names and attributes are cut off from the precinct of nearness to His grandeur, and all signs vanish in ascending to the summit of His holy oneness, for He eternally has no description save His Essence and no attribute save His Presence. All else, in the highest stations of mystic knowledge and manifestations of expression, can only grasp their own portion and know their own stations of being, for the contingent cannot know the Essence except through what is revealed to each in the realms of names and attributes.

And since it is established that knowledge of the Eternal is impossible and unattainable, and that change cannot occur in the station of the Glorious Essence, and that creation in every station has no way to reach nearness to the Transcendent Presence, and it has been established in wisdom and confirmed in religious law that knowledge of the Eternal Essence is impossible—likewise it follows regarding creation that ascent to His holy precinct is impossible for anyone.

For that which is not mentioned in describing the stations established in descent applies equally to ascent. And in all the stations mentioned regarding Reality, detailed in the evidences of the Path, and established in the verses of Religious Law—all indicate the impossibility of knowing that Station which indicates the Essence by the Essence for the Essence, and the impossibility of ascending to the summit of the attributes. Thus is established the decree of reality.

2. The second pillar: al-nubuwwat

Mashiyyah

When that exposition is unfolded and its import established upon the balance of direct perception, it becometh clear beyond doubt that God createth whatsoever He willeth, by whatsoever He willeth, through His command; and none can turn aside His decree in any matter.

He hath brought into being the very Essence of the Primal Will (mashiyyah) for the station of His own “I-ness,” the manifestation of His sustaining power, the token of His self-subsistence, and the dawning of the light of His sanctity. Verily, He created it by itself and for itself—no self preceded it, no remembrance equalled it, no attribute resembled it, no description opposed it. He made its essence identical with its own reality, and its being identical with its own identity. It is the cause of causes in the beginnings of the Command and the ends of its consummation—He hath indeed established it, in the station of the Will, as the station of His own Self.

And as it is in itself, it may not be described by names or attributes, nor encompassed by allusion or effulgence; for whatsoever is mentioned in its degree is mentioned only in the degree of its effect. That station—and unto it is the allusion in all that hath been revealed in the Book concerning the degrees of Command and the manifestations of the Seal—is the very effect of the appearance of the Primal Will within the realms of Purpose. And whatsoever is not predicated of it in the stations that signify God throughout the worlds of the abstract and the material, the ideal and the accidental, and in all realms beyond these, is but among the degrees of the manifestation of that first, original rank.

Through it do all contingent beings turn their faces toward God and by it do they apprehend the tokens of His eternity, His power, His dominion, and His majesty. Its stations, by their very essence, proclaim the splendour of His presence and the radiance of His Lordship.

Iradah

Verily, when the Command descended from the origins of the Command and the ends of consummation, and from the manifestations of justice to the plane of effect, the Purpose (iradah) came into being by itself from the loftiness of the appearance of the Will (mashiyyah), and through it were determined the determinate things, and through it were brought into existence the existences, and through it did God desire to manifest the identities of the realities, the essences, the souls and the beings. The meaning of the signs of the manifestations and the station of the essences and whatsoever occureth in the station of the revelations in that rank is that it is a sign and a shadow in relation to the rank of the Will and the manifestation of Purpose.

Through that rank are manifested the hidden depths of contingent being and the manifestations of the degrees of the archetypes. Verily, God, exalted and mighty be He, will use it as an argument against His servants on the Day of Resurrection in the station of the manifestation of the Command in the determined rank, which is the station of the recurrence of the First Mention in the rank of the manifestation of the Will.

Qadar

Verily, God, glorified be He, after the manifestation of that rank, hath made the station of the manifestation of the Will in that station, and it is in itself the station of the descent of the Will.

Then, after the manifestation of that rank, God brought into being the essence of the vast ocean of Decree (qadar) and made it, in its own station, a sign from the Purpose (iradah), and, in the station of its Essence, a sign from the Will (mashiyyah), inasmuch as its reality indicateth the unity of the manifestation of the Essence, and its identity speaketh of the limited signs in the stations of the attributes. Verily, that station in itself is the manifestation of the Will itself, and therefore there were in the station of manifestation the stations of the hidden in the station of the manifest of the hidden. Therefore did the Imam, peace be upon him, indicate that “our first one is Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, and our middle one is Muhammad, and our last one is Muhammad.”

Verily, in truth, were the servant to look with the eye of the inmost heart, he would see in the third station itself the manifestation of the first, nay rather, there floweth in it like the station whereof al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, spoke in mentioning the austere Form, as related from His forefather, upon Him be peace, when He clearly affirmed the reality of Divinity within the Temple of Guardianship—that “It is not He, and yet it is not other than He.”

Qada, idhn, ajal, kitab

And likewise the matter continues until it reaches the rank of decree, permission, term, and book, for all these are stations of the manifestation of the Will itself. And the mention of those seven stations, which are the stations of the manifestation of the Will—which is the Muhammadan Reality, may God’s blessings be upon it—is for establishing the absolute Prophethood.

Establishing specific prophethood in its outer aspect

And the mention of those conditions was only to establish knowledge of certain stations for demonstrating the special Prophethood and the universal, radiant walayat.

And the establishment of that matter in its inner meaning proceeds through the recognition of multiple, enumerated stations. Among these:

When it is established that nothing exists except through a Creator who created it, and He is not like His servants, nor does He have attributes like His creation—for if He had the proof of creation, He would not be the Creator. And He indicates Himself to Himself only through Himself, because in the station of the indication of the Essence, if it were possible for anyone to be with Him, it would be possible for other than Him to indicate His presence. And there is no creation with Him in any station, so no one knows Him and nothing indicates His Essence, because indication would require the existence of something with Him. And if there were no existence or mention of anything in the holy presence of His grandeur, indication would not occur.

And what has been revealed in the traditions of the suns of greatness and lights: “O Thou Who hast indicated Thyself by Thyself” and his saying, peace be upon him: “My God, through Thee have I known Thee, and Thou didst guide me to Thee and called me to Thee, and were it not for Thee, I would not have known what Thou art” and his saying, peace be upon him: “Know God through God.” And in that station, in reality, there is no indication except in the station of signs, and no mention of it except in the station of tokens. And through understanding that explanation, the path of recognition becomes easy for the servant in the station of exposition.

And when the existence of the Will is established through rational proof in that manner—that everything has its manifestation in the world through it, and it is the universal cause and the essential origin, and if God did not manifest it His power would not be manifest in its rank, and if it were not manifest the decree of unity would not be established for the Essence, glory be to Him—then what I wished to explain is thereby established.

And when it is established that the likeness of the creation of the Will is rationally necessary, and no one can say “why” or “how,” because whoever says that perceives the quality that was caused by the effect of the Will, then how can the decree of its essence be established by our command? And that is witnessed by those of understanding among the people of origin and return. Just as the decree of the existence of the likeness of the Will—which was the beginning of the special Prophethood and absolute Guardianship and divine lights and lordly mysteries and eternal sign—opened up, its recognition and transformation in its stations became necessary.

And since it is established by rational proof that the lower can in no wise comprehend the station of the higher save through the manifestation of that “I-ness” whereby the higher revealeth itself unto it, it followeth that the knowledge of the true, particular Prophethood cannot be attained nor affirmed by any soul. For when the servant desireth to know that station aright, it behoveth him to ponder the signs which God hath brought forth within his own being—signs that are the effulgent reflections of that universal Prophethood which shone forth from the Ahmadic Presence, upon it be the blessings of God, whence the Sun of both beginning and end hath risen.

When this criterion is established in that station, the servant recognizeth that God hath created naught save for the manifestation of His power, and that the divine outpouring hath ever been renewed from His presence and descended from His holy court, until it reached a station from which it could descend no further. Verily, the first outpouring that appeared from the Divine Will was itself the Purpose, and thus do the decrees flow unto the ultimate stations of endings and conclusions. These, as they are in themselves, have assuredly been created by God for perfection, and without doubt they could not bear what God intended for them in the contingent worlds except through descent therein and bearing the garment of this world for the recognition of its people. The bearer of Universal Prophethood, which is the Divine Will, hath descended by God’s leave from the realm of its essence until it reached the station of the body, beyond which no descent was possible, for whatsoever was potential therein became manifest, and no rank of descent remained beyond it in the human station.

And when it is established through rational proof that that Point descended until it reached the station beyond which no rank is possible—a decree to which the minds of all people are bound and which none can deny in the station of recognition—for when the existence of the Divine Essence is established, there is established the existence of His Universal Self, which was the Cause of causes, and this confirmeth His descent to the rank of the body for the perpetuation of the divine outpouring and the existence of its receptivity to the revelations of His eternality. Verily the rank of the body, while bearing the stations of beginning, is without doubt the noblest of stations and the most exalted of degrees.

Nay, the Lord’s outpouring cannot reach any soul in perfection save through its appearance in the station of bodies, for what God hath placed therein potentially appeareth in actuality and manifestation, thereby establishing the decree of reality. The recognition of these stations, before establishing the Cause which was intended to be manifested, is incumbent upon the seeker thereof, for knowledge of the beginnings of the Cause and the final endings is the cause of tranquility of the heart in the station of recognizing the decree of the heart. Thus is the Cause for the stations which God hath commanded and willed in the Book for those possessed of understanding among the people of principles and return.

When there is established through rational proofs, in accordance with heavenly verses, true scientific indications, and subtle mental signs, the necessity of the existence of that Light and this Universal Soul, the specific Prophethood was established in the temple of the body of Muhammad, the Messenger of God—upon Him and His family be the blessings of God—for none was like unto Him, and the descent of the Primal Point and its appearance in the station of embodiment was not possible save in the temple wherein He was born—may my spirit and all within the kingdom of Command and Creation be a sacrifice for Him.

All have witnessed that at the time of His birth there appeared signs that were unique to His station and manifest only in relation to His rank. At the very moment His body appeared, signs of prophethood were inscribed upon His shoulder in such wise that none other could possibly attain to this mighty station.

When it was established concerning absolute and universal prophethood and primordial and eternal walayat that it was impossible for anything to descend from the realms of divine action to the uttermost limits of the world of multiplicity, which is the world of bodies, except in the form of its essence and the temple of its reality, the observer could behold in His outward physical temple and subtle element that which God had ordained at the beginning of His existence. For the manifestation of the Divine Will cannot be realized in this world except in the form in which Muhammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon Him and His family, appeared. For the Beginning did not appear in its fullness except in the station of the Seal, and reason itself beareth witness that He Who is the source of grace in the station of the First Order cannot complete His manifestation except through a Seal after which none like unto Him shall appear.

Therefore was Muhammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon Him and His family, the Opener of what had gone before, the Seal of what was to come, and the One Who hath dominion over all this. The mind cannot comprehend absolute, primordial, and universal prophethood, as it hath no recourse except to recognize specific prophethood in relation to that Most Great Sign in the Ahmadic Temple—may God’s blessings be upon it—from the time the Sun of creation rose through creation until the Sun of invention set through invention. For the First Remembrance, whose existence is established through reason, cannot appear in the world of bodies except in the manner it appeared in the appointed year, the appointed day, and the appointed hour.

And wisdom required, in accordance with the station of Reality, as was established in the appearance of the Law, that His father’s name must needs be Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. For His manifestation, peace be upon Him and His family, from the beginning of the Cause, was naught but the manifestation of His servitude unto God, glorified be He, in the worlds of Command and Creation. And verily between names and meanings, as established in the Balance of Reality, there is an essential relationship and an intrinsic mystery through which the servant establisheth all the stations that God hath created for him. And verily His father’s name was required by wisdom to be the name manifesting His station before the dawning of His message, for the station of servitude in His father was naught but through the grace of the servitude which God had placed in him. Therefore was his name related to God, although the name of the Divine Majesty had not been revealed in the Book before His birth, peace be upon Him. And verily God, through His subtle craftsmanship and mighty grace, made his name related to His Own Self, that it might serve as evidence for the mystery of the manifestation of the bearer of the light of the Divine Will.

And verily he whom God hath given expansive reach in the stations of abstraction and the manifestations of uniqueness is able to establish specific prophethood in all that is related to Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family, even in the blackness of His eyes, for the Light of Divine Unity hath shone forth throughout His entire being in equal measure, manifest in every limb and member, and pointing, in all His states and aspects, to that same Presence which revealeth itself in the realms of the unseen and the seen. Naught thereof is concealed from the discerning eye that beholdeth the tokens of His perfections. For in the form of His physical frame—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—none hath ever seen its like, nor is its equal possible in creation, nor can anyone doubt His special prophethood as manifested in His outward form.

As Abu Ja’far—peace be upon him—indicated in his words when asked to describe the Prophet of God, he said:

“The Prophet of God was fair-skinned with a reddish tinge, with dark eyes and joined eyebrows, with well-proportioned limbs as though gold had been poured over his form. He had broad shoulders, and when he turned, he turned his whole body due to his dignified bearing. A line of hair extended from his chest to his navel like a streak of pure silver, and his neck unto his shoulders was like a silver vessel. When he drank, his nose would nearly touch the water, and when he walked, he moved as though descending from a height. None like the Prophet of God—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family—was seen before or after Him.”

For just as His most sacred Being was, in the primal realm of action, the cause of all created things, so too was this true of His physical form, for it was itself the descent of the Primal Remembrance for the manifestation of the Sign which God had ordained. As was demonstrated on the night of His ascension through His blessed form, that which was necessary in divine wisdom to be manifest in His reality—may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him—was shown. As attested by Humayra, He was in His house, and as the All-Merciful and His angels bore witness, He was simultaneously present in all the kingdoms of the heavens and earth in His form, body, garments and sandals, for this itself reflected naught but the all-encompassing Will and the manifestation of universal Prophethood.

None may claim that another could be like Him in this station, for the concept of sudden emergence in existence is universally acknowledged as false. Just as His uniqueness among His kind and His transcendence above all likeness and similitude was established in the worlds of abstraction, so must it necessarily be in this world, for none hath been born like unto Muhammad—may God’s blessings be upon Him and His family. At the time of His birth, He manifested signs by which all knew that none could be like unto the Primal Remembrance, and even were it possible, such would necessarily have appeared. None hath spoken regarding any created being as was spoken concerning the manifestation of the Light of Unity in the Muhammadan Countenance and the Ahmadic Temple—may God’s blessings be upon them.

The Sun of the Divine Essence rose, and should anyone deny His prophethood in the world of manifestation, the proof of reason through spiritual signs and the divine manifestations that appeared throughout the horizons at His appearance would compel them. For had He not appeared, there would not have appeared a form the like of which none had ever seen, nor a name by which none had ever been named, nor a successor whose name was Ali—peace be upon him.

Thus is established in the realm of proof the confirmation of prophethood in His name, for the Primal Will in the first world came into being only through the fire element of His Self, which is the Active Agent and the Pure Primordial Manifestation, and this is the station of matter in the first remembrance.

When the First Mention found existence in the material realm, the element of air was necessitated for its form and for the manifestation of the secondary cause at its level. When existence became realized, it became necessary in wisdom that there be a connection between them for the manifestation of the tertiary cause and the necessary conditions at this level. When these three were established, the mind perceived a comprehensive form indicating the fourth, which is the station of the element of earth and the final cause that is identical to the three manifestations themselves.

When it was realized in the path of truth that nothing exists except through four ranks, all the ranks of the Divine Will became manifest in creation through the name of the bearer of the special Prophethood—upon him be the blessings of God—as long as the sun of creation rose through creation and the sun of origination set through origination. For in the Manifest Name that indicates His body is established the reality of His station, which is never suspended in any place. God is known through Him in the station of manifestation. Whosoever knows Him—there is no difference between him and Him except that he is His servant and creation.

For a name like Muhammad—peace be upon him and his family—is not possible in origination, because the letter Mim is the first letter of Will (Mashiyyat). When that letter appeared in his name, it indicated that in the pillar of the element of fire, it encompasses all stations from the rank of receptivities and the accepted. For when the rank of receptivities is joined with the accepted rank, its number becomes forty, and that is the completion of the ranks that God promised Moses—peace be upon him—in the first Mount, where God, exalted be His mention, said:

“We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed them with ten, so the appointed time of his Lord was completed as forty nights.”

[Q7:142]

The verse has testified from God regarding the right of the first letter of His name to the rank of completion through the joining of receptivity and acceptedness. And indeed that letter in that station, when the observer looks with the eye of the heart, is known in its reality that when that number is purified from the manifestation of multiplicity, nothing remains except the letter of unity. For from the letter Mim, when the bounds of receptivity and acceptedness are taken, nothing remains except four letters which indicate the ranks of reality without which nothing can be realized in existence.

And when this letter was repeated, the second letter of His noble name appeared, for Ha has the numerical value of eight. When that letter descended, it appeared like the first letter, for those possessed of understanding know not what is there except through what is here. And in the rank of the element of fire, it is a truth with God that the letter Mim should exist for the completion of its manifestations, and in the rank of the element of air, it became necessary in wisdom that the letter Ha should exist, for when you join it with the mystery of four and the first letter, its number becomes equal to the number of letters in the word “air.” And in it are holy allusions, throne-like indications, primary verses, and conclusive signs that thoughts cannot bear and to which the highest bird of vision cannot ascend, except for those whom God wishes from among the people of mysteries.

And after that letter, it became necessary in wisdom, certain in reality, and established in religious law that the final letter should be Dal, for the manifestation of the mystery of the letter Ta in the rank of earth and the manifestations of unity in the stations of the physical, for the letter Dal is among the darkened letters and is the letter of finitude and the sign of limitation in the Muhammadan station—may God’s peace be upon him and his family—which indicates his primary station and speaks of the self-subsistence of his essence and the manifestation of his being. And there exists not in contingent reality any name whose final manifestation testifies to itself as does the name Muhammad—may God’s peace be upon him and his family—for that darkened letter which appears at the end of his noble name represents the earthly element, that it might be exalted above the luminous letters in others. Indeed, from the influence of that letter have been realized all realizations in the kingdom of names and attributes, and have been established all essences in the throne of glory, until the divine outpouring reached, by God’s leave, to the station of earth.

When it is established through the radiant proof of reason, which speaks of the verses manifested in his essence, the servant knows that the Bearer of the First Remembrance, which is the Primal Will, could not have appeared in the realm of creation except that his name be Muhammad—may God’s peace be upon him and his family. For the letter of beginning, with all its ranks perfected and its manifestations complete, when it descended to the earthly station, indicated naught but the mystery of his reality. Thus appeared the letter Dal to make known the manifestation of the letter unifying Essence, Attributes, Deeds and Worship. Exalted and glorified be God’s handiwork! His signs of power have appeared in all things that those who seek proof might prove the manifestation of His self-subsistence in all things, and that none might forget His remembrance in any condition, but see Him manifest and present as on the day when nothing remembered existed with Him.

This indeed is one of the ways of establishing the special prophethood in the Muhammadan temple and the Divine Unity manifested in the Ahmadian form. All that is attributed to the station of the Essence—veils conceal it not, proofs equal it not, nor do the decrees of names and attributes match it. The light of the unity of the Essence appeared in his body—peace be upon him and his family—just as it appeared in the station of the Primal Will. Whosoever establishes through reason the obligation of unifying the Essence, Attributes, Deeds and Worship, is obliged to establish the special prophethood merely upon hearing his noble name. For when the First Remembrance was designated, the ranks of its existence appeared only in its final stations.

God has placed all the signs of the horizons within the souls. Had God not placed the signs of the horizons within the souls, the servant could not have discovered what lies in the horizons. Thus the recognition of the exposition of prophethood is established in the signs of the soul to facilitate recognition of the signs of the horizons. For reason indicates what God has placed within oneself by establishing a Creator. When one becomes certain, one must establish the Bearer of Universal Prophethood, for the eternal outpouring was never other than complete. When God wishes to create the Primal Will, it comes into being instantly by itself. God has never ceased willing except through His Will, for the Essence is not joined with His creation nor does it change in any way through His origination.

And since the universal effusion hath been established as proceeding from His creative act within the souls, it must needs be manifest likewise in the horizons. And when it is made clear that the signs of the horizons correspond to those of the souls, it becometh evident that the bearer of that universal Prophethood in the world without is he whose name is Muhammad, as was mentioned in the mystery of His name—and His father’s name is ʿAbdallah. Indeed, were man to expound the mystery of reality, it would establish the land of his birth, his age, and all his circumstances. But minds cannot grasp the reality of the matter, for when the mind becomes refined and subtle it can only comprehend something limited.

The establishment of such stations is difficult for one who views things through the lens of limitation and geometry. But when the servant removes the veils of the glorious lights from the sacred court of the first determination in contingent existence and creation, he will discover the reality of the matter: that at the time when the Messenger of God—peace be upon Him and His family—appeared, all the signs of the heavens and earth were in a state of equilibrium. And verily He—may my spirit and all who dwell in the kingdoms of command and creation be a sacrifice for Him—appeared at a time when the condition of creation was at the station described by God, exalted be His glory:

“Then We developed it into another creation. So blessed be God, the Best of creators.”

Indeed, on the first day of the new creation, people’s understanding was at the stage of a drop of seed, and all progressed in the first pinnacle through the ranks of the manifestations of the Prophets and Messengers, until the structure of existence was perfected and the wisdom of the greater world emerged.

God, glorified be He, desired to manifest the first light from His Self, a remembrance from His sanctity, and a sign of His oneness, so that all atoms might quiver in the station of manifestation according to what God intended for creation on the day of their emergence in this world, that each might take its portion of the knowledge of the Book according to what God had ordained in the decree of origin and return.

Establishing specific prophethood in its inner aspect

What has been thus far detailed in these allusions regarding the establishment of the specific prophethood pertains to the outer station. As for the allusion to the inner station, it has its indications and signs whereby the servant knows and discovers at the Balance, when he looks with the eye of possibility and recognizes the power of the All-Merciful in the reality of the Explanation. The Prophet—peace be upon Him and His family—who appeared on a known day is the day of the manifestation of the final determination of the Will in the rank of the inward.

Just as reason indicates the establishment of an Essence whose knowledge is pure in the station of the unity of the Essence, it also indicates the establishment of that Light shining from the horizon of heaven at the time when it rose and shone forth. When asked about His excellence over other created beings, He said:

“I was the first to answer in the primary World of Spirits.”

This refers to the station of creation, then to whoever answered God in the stage of compilation.

For on the day when the body of the Messenger of God—peace be upon Him and His family—appeared in the secondary World of Spirits in this world, it was the day when the effect of the Will appeared in the primary World of Spirits. The knowledge of that station is not made clear in its reality except after recognition of the Ancient One made manifest in the rank of the Will, the recognition of the manifest pre-eternity in the station of the First Remembrance, and the recognition of perpetuity, then the recognition of eternity, then the recognition of time. Therefore it was indicated by His evidences that the mention of pre-existence and pre-eternity are applied according to the different stations, ranks and conditions.

When applied to the knowledge of the Essence, it is the Essence itself without mention of the Names and Attributes.

When applied in the station of the Act, it is perpetuity in reality according to its name, as Ali, peace be upon him, indicated in his sermon on the Day of Friday and Ghadir:

“I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger whom God chose in pre-existence above all nations.”

And he, peace be upon him, said: “I am the possessor of the second pre-eternity.” Sometimes pre-existence is applied in the station of temporal things, as in His exalted Word: “like an old date-stalk.” But the balance in the station of explanation is what I indicated—that pre-existence which has no beginning and no end is that pre-existence which is applied to the Manifestations of the signs of the Essence.

Likewise is the ruling regarding the mention of pre-eternity, for it is the Essence of the Essence by the Essence. And perpetuity is the condition of the Act, and it is a condition that has no beginning in God’s knowledge nor any end, for the outpouring never ceases from the Absolute Outpourer. And if precise consideration wished to apply the ruling regarding the beginning like the end, such that no beginning would be established for the First Remembrance except itself, the ruling would be valid, but it would be difficult for hearts to encompass it.

As for time, it is that which is realized through the rising and setting of celestial spheres, and it has a beginning and an end. When man witnesses the reality of that explanation, he becomes able to recognize that at the moment when Muhammad’s physical form, peace be upon him and his family, appeared in the world of time, there was the appearance of the Primal Will in the first creation.

And after that explanation, it has been established through spiritual proofs the appearance of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, in the year one hundred and three of the seventh millennium, and the necessity of his name and attributes which God had written for him and distinguished him with above His creation, from the obligation of night prayer and the ruling regarding women in the nine, and what God distinguished him with in the ordinances of his prophethood and the conditions of his mission, where this could not be realized except in the station to which God referred in His Book from revelation to the station about which God said:

“While he was in the highest horizon. Then he drew near and came down, till he was two bows’ length or nearer, and revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not falsify what it saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw? And certainly he saw Him in another descent, at the Lote-tree of the Ultimate Boundary near which is the Garden of Abode, when that which covers covered the Lote-tree. The eye did not swerve, nor did it stray. Certainly he saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.”

And by rational proof, no leap was possible after knowledge of his appearance in this world, for negation is a branch of affirmation in this world, even if the knowledge of limitations and geometries could not encompass it.

And verily beyond these allusions, were the servant to gaze upon the station of attributes and the manifestation of divine decrees, he would be able to establish the Cause through means other than what hath been revealed in the Bayan. And whatsoever hath been detailed regarding the proof of prophethood for the Ahmadic Temple is according to the inner meaning.

Establishing specific prophethood according to the outer aspect of the inner meaning

Part 1: “As for the explanation according to the outer…”

As for the explanation according to the outer aspect of the inner meaning, it is that God, without doubt, knoweth all things at all times and hath power over all things. When He Who was named Muhammad—peace be upon Him and His family—claimed universal and eternal prophethood, and no one could prevail against His proof, there is no doubt that God was confirming what He claimed. And for those possessed of understanding, there exists no greater proof in the paths of truth, for none can question that which God hath confirmed, even should they fail to comprehend it through their rational faculties. This is evident to all who observe with the judgment of their minds the signs within themselves and the horizonal signs around them.

And were it not for Muhammad—peace be upon Him and His family—there would be none other, for the Universal Primary Effulgence appeared in existence only as it appeared in the beginning of the Cause. The explanation of this matter hath been mentioned in the station of exposition, wherein it becometh manifest to him in whom appeareth all that God hath placed in creation. The first mention of contingent being in the rank of archetypes is the station of the First Adam. The Alif pointeth to the station of His first mention, which is the station of Pure Abstract Oneness that relateth to its Origin through itself and for itself. The Dal in the middle of the Name indicateth the manifestation of the four causes without which nothing can exist. And the Mim signifieth that his nature was kneaded from the manifestations of these causes from the four elements.

For nothing completeth its manifestations in any station except through the number forty, for the appearance of ten after thirty in the rank of union. Therefore God made the name of the First Mention ʿAdam’ in accordance with what appeared in this world.

And since nothing is complete except through the manifestation of its descent, its first descent was realized from its own essence. From this did God create Eve from the First Adam for his tranquility. Therefore the numerical value of her name was fifteen, corresponding to the number of sides of the triangular form in the number of the letter Ha, which representeth Will in the principles of action. To this referreth Muhammad the Messenger of God in His saying: “I and Ali are the fathers of this community,” for after the descent of the Divine Will and the determination of Purpose, multiplicities came into being from the vast ocean of Power at the time of connection.

And when these three descended, they became four, and from this God created after the triangular form the signs of the square. And there can exist no number in existence more perfect and complete than that number seven, which is the number of the hidden reeds in the thicket of the Divine Realm, whose names were Muhammad, Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Ja’far, Musa, and Fatima, may God’s blessings be upon them all. When these seven descended from the world of the unseen to the world of witness, the seven reeds appeared in the world of witness.

The origin thereof is the First Primordial Atom, bearer of the special prophethood and universal guardianship. Through it God originated the seven celestial spheres of the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

In relation to these appeared the days of the week: Sunday for the Divine Will and for the manifestation of the sign of unity in all its stations; Monday for the Divine Purpose, the mention of Monday indicating the existence of the two spouses and the designation of the two temples; Tuesday for Divine Decree, for it is in the station of connection and the triangular form, hence in talismanic science the triangular form is established for separations and their like wherein lies proof of division and suspension; Wednesday for Divine Destiny, hence those versed in numerology establish the square form for the station of union and love, and it is the day of Husayn, peace be upon him—whosoever observes therein the mysteries of Divine Destiny shall find it blessed in the station of harmonious unions, as the Imam, peace be upon him, explicitly stated regarding Wednesday in response to those who claimed otherwise, while those who observe therein the calamities that befell the Suns of Grandeur should not undertake novel matters requiring knowledge of the hours and wisdom of separation and proximity in the rank of manifestations; Thursday for the station of Permission, its bearer being Ja’far son of Muhammad, peace be upon them both; Friday for the station of the Appointed Time, God having made its bearer Musa son of Ja’far son of Muhammad, peace be upon them both—in this number are completed the geometric aspects of things; and Saturday for the perfection of the Cause, with explained reasons and clarified causes, being the day of Fatima, may God’s blessings be upon her.

According to this exposition, it becomes evident that the bearer of the First Remembrance must, by wisdom, appear between the sixth and seventh millennium from the sixty, for after the bounds of the year which is the complete number, that Radiant Light must, by divine wisdom, appear, being the origin of the manifestations of beginning and end in stations that have no purpose except through It and no end except through It.

When it is established by rational proof that the First Remembrance, who is the First Adam and the Innovator from the nature of the primordial manifestation, appears after the six bounds which are in the station of the body—the sperm, blood-clot, lump of flesh, bones, clothing, and the final creation—blessed be God, the best of creators—then when the bounds of the greater world were completed, its structure matured, its inner nature reformed, and its outer nature purified, He appeared—may my spirit be sacrificed for Him—at the first equilibrium of the station of man. Before His appearance, God had manifested one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets save Himself, for the manifestation of His holy lights in the aspects of limitation in the rank of the letter Vav and in the station of unity, to reform the structure of the greater world for the manifestation of the letter Ha. And all that the prophets have decreed and God has sent down from heaven, the scriptures of ordinances for them exist at the level of limitation, and in relation to that Primal Tree are but a shell. Hence the laws of the Prophets were abrogated, for the stage of the embryo could not bear the laws of the blood-clot.

Thus were the laws abrogated from Prophet to Prophet until the day when the greater world reached the station of human creation. When it attained unto the station of the first human temple, the sign of divine unity appeared and His law continued until the Day of Resurrection, with neither His law being changed nor His ordinances being altered, even though there were differences in the stages of manifestation, just as some ordinances were abrogated in the early days of His mission. And it has come in the traditions that “the Proof of God will appear with a new Book and new ordinances”. This is not abrogation, rather what is meant is like the Guardianship—for if it be said that on the Day of Ghadir its reality was not fully manifested, likewise is the ruling regarding all differences that were abrogated or will later appear, for these are but manifestations of that sacred Law and none other.

When it was established in reality through the signs in the horizons, the manifestations of the soul, the celestial conditions, and the temporal conjunctions that the First Mention, bearer of universal grace, appeared in the greater worlds only after the six limiting stages (for these appeared only through the mystery of unity and the manifestation of abstraction), and before the greater world and its people reached the station of physical embodiment which is the first stage of humanity, He—may my spirit be sacrificed for Him—did not appear. Therefore wisdom requires that His appearance, after the limitations were fulfilled, should be the first stage of the manifestations of unity in both the inner and outer worlds. Thus He—may my spirit be sacrificed for Him—appeared on Friday at noon after twelve nights had passed of the first month of ʿAyn. And by every aspect of what appeared His prophethood is proven, for Friday is the sixth day, and noon is when the eternal sun first becomes established in its center.

For this reason have the masters of the celestial sciences described that reality in terms befitting the higher world:

“The sphere of the sun is a perfect orb of parallel surfaces, its center identical with the center of the world, corresponding to the sphere of the constellations in the zone and in the poles. Within its thickness is another like unto it, external to the center, its convex side tangent to the convexity of the first at the point of apogee, and its concave side at the point of perigee. Thus there is between them an interval of graded thickness reaching twice the distance between the two centers. The sun is fixed within the outer sphere midway between its poles, touching its two surfaces at two points. The spheres of the superior planets and of Venus likewise correspond to this order.”

Now, His appearance in the month of ʿAyn al-Awwal betokeneth the perfection of the equinox of days, for the station of equilibrium pertaineth to the season of spring. And that twelve days of the month had elapsed is an allusion to the twelve suns of majesty that were to rise thereafter—centers of His command and mines of His wisdom. None other could be born under such a conjunction of royal constellations, for each degree among those celestial stations possesseth innumerable aspects and every aspect again innumerable dimensions, extending without limit.

Such are the conditions of the divine realities and the effulgent manifestations of the All-Merciful—like unto a mirror in which an image is formed, and within that image yet another image, extending without end or cessation; for the outpouring of God in every state is infinite and unfailing.

In accordance with divine wisdom it was ordained that his mother should bear him in the sacred land of Mecca, the sanctuary of God, during the days of Tashriq near the middle pillar, for the sacred precincts of God were created solely for the repose of the bearer of universal grace. The days of Tashriq allude to what is mentioned in the ordinances of Mina, and the middle pillar signifies the breaking of the middle signs in the station of determination.

Similarly, wisdom decreed that his mother’s name should be Aminah, daughter of Wahb, son of Abd Manaf, son of Zuhrah, son of Kilab, son of Murrah, son of Ka’b. The numerical value of her name equals that of “Allahu Akbar,” less fourteen letters, indicating her station in the four stages of unity—Essence, Attributes, Acts and Worship—in relation to Muhammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, his successors and his daughter.

Likewise, wisdom ordained that his mother gave birth to him in the quarter of Abu Talib in the house of Muhammad ibn Yusuf. His father Abdullah died when he was two months old, and his mother passed away when he—may my spirit be sacrificed for him—was four years old, for men of understanding know these matters only through what is manifest.

These allusions have stations that no pen can enumerate nor pages contain. Were I to interpret these allusions, it would exceed the balance of explanation for those who seek to understand the truth of exposition.

By virtue of divine wisdom, heavenly grace, and manifest mysteries, it was ordained that the bearer of this primary grace should receive his mission after completing forty years, remaining thereafter in Mecca for thirteen years before migrating to Medina where he dwelt for ten years. He remained in this world for sixty-three years and was taken on a Monday, after twelve nights had passed of the first month. His wives numbered nine and his children seven—three sons and four daughters—with Fatima, peace be upon her, being the last, for the cause of recording is identical with creation.

Those of understanding cannot comprehend anything in that station except through what God has ordained in the supreme realm, for the manifestation of his prophethood in this world necessarily occurred after forty years, corresponding to the letter Mim, since the clay of the first Adam was molded in the hand of power for forty mornings. This is indicated in the ranks of his own limitations through the mention of Mim, for the first remembrance came into being only through the acceptance of the station of receptivities and acceptances in its realm of possibility. Thus the mystery of eternity was not revealed until after the passing of that number, though in the eternal realm this duration was but the twinkling of an eye, yet when descended to the realm of body and limitation became forty years. Herein lie many mysteries whose time of disclosure hath not yet come, and which I do not wish to disclose. Verily, he who gazeth upon the Pole of Attributes in the Kingdom of Names and Essences beareth witness that this First Light must needs occupy the station of the Pole in relation to the thirteen Rods.

And it behooveth, in wisdom, that this divine Pole be made manifest at the time when the sun hath moved from its position, for its orbit is Venus, and there is no difference between them in astronomical science save what the people of that science have described: that it is like the orbit of the sun, except that the zones of its exterior intersect the zodiacal belt at two opposite points. It hath epicycles fixed in its exterior, which are the carriers, even as the sun is fixed therein, such that the surface of each toucheth the surface of its epicycle at two points.

Verily, if the people of observation were to desire it, they would be able to explain the Universal Prophecy and the enumerated Rods made manifest in the Temples of Guardianship by the rising of the sun on the day of his birth, in accordance with the celestial realm. And this is a mention from a letter of the number of Meem concerning what transpired before his mission.

And he tarried after his mission in Mecca for thirteen years, for the manifestation of the sacred Temples in God’s sanctuary from his own self, that all might know, in his repose upon that earth, the establishment of the mystery of Eternity in the resplendent, radiant, luminous, sanctified Temples.

And there are symbols whereby the observer may recognize the pure simplicity of manifestation in all stations of the unseen and the visible. Were I to detail all the causes in every station, nothing would encompass it, for God’s outpouring hath ever been renewed in the reality of the servant, and His effulgence in any aspect knoweth no cessation.

Part 2: “And after his emigration from God’s sanctuary…”

And after his emigration from God’s sanctuary, which is the station of his self in the rank of Will, it behooveth, in wisdom, that he descend upon a land whose name is City, and abide therein for ten years, because emigration from the first station is the first journey from Truth to Creation. And therein must needs be the station of Creation in the ten ranks of Manifestation, for the first station of individualization in the rank of Creation is the effect of the act of Exposition, then the Meanings, the Gates, the Imamate, then the Pillars in one station, then the Chiefs, then the Nobles in one station, then the Minerals, then the Plants, then the Inanimate—and that is the decree of the universals of the worlds.

Otherwise, were one to extend his hand in knowledge, it would be possible to mention for each cause innumerable causes. But the foundation in these allusions is the Light of the Heart, the Mystery of Creation, and the emergence of the signs of Existence in the stations of Command and the manifestations of the Seal.

Verily, if the observer of the station of the manifestation of the Essence were to associate with His Essence any description of a thing or attribute from a thing, he would have departed from the decree of the Light of the Heart, and there would befall him the decrees of the Day of Reckoning, from incidental individuations and essential substantialities, the reality of which none can comprehend except through actual knowledge and the resplendent mystery.

And verily, that is in the station of knowing the principles through the light of contingency, but not in the station of entities—for each station hath its decree in these conditions. And the mystery in these manifestations is not from a specialized knowledge of the people of Exposition; rather, man expandeth the conditions of knowledge in the station of Exposition through what he hath known of the decrees of direct witnessing. And by the appearance of his years and the hour wherein he was taken—may my spirit be a sacrifice unto him—his Prophethood was established, for in wisdom it is necessary that the bearer of the Universal Effulgence appear with the manifestations of all ranks.

And verily the number six, when it was established that it is the complete, and that ten is the completion of the rank of passivity, the number sixty was for the manifestation of the six ranks of action within the ten ranks. And the three is an indication of the station of His own Self, for when He descended from the world of the unseen to the visible realm and conveyed to all what God, the Worshipped One, had commanded, the decree of ascension became manifest, which is the third station from among the ranks of the hidden.

Therefore it became necessary in wisdom that He be taken—may my spirit be a sacrifice unto Him—on Monday, and it was in the month which appeared with the same number of nights that had passed, for the beginning is like the ending, and it is not proper for any other than Him that the day of His ending be like the beginning from His own Self. And I know not that God would manifest to anyone that He would make the day of his ascension like his descent. Glorified be God, His Creator! No eye hath ever seen the like of the Messenger of God, peace be upon Him and His family, nor is it possible in the contingent world to find His like. Glorified be God, His Creator, above what they describe!

And when it was established in wisdom that for every manifestation that appeared in the days of His mission, nay before it, and what will appear afterward, there are signs of His universal prophethood and verses for the manifestation of His primal pure simplicity, it became necessary in wisdom that from that divine Tree should appear seven children, for when the Will descends in its manifestation it becomes seven, and verily three of them are in the station of relating the Will, and four of them are in the station of relating from the Purpose. And verily God took six of them in this world so that all might know that in the rank of descent they were neither joined nor connected to any condition. And there remained from them one blessed leaf, comprehensive, relating all their ranks, which suffereth no suspension in any station. They who have recognized her through her know there is no distinction between her and them except that she is the one who represented them, indicated them, related from them, and was an honor and remembrance for them.

And it became necessary in wisdom that her name be Fatimih—may God’s blessings be upon her—and verily her number in letters, when one observes and adds to the letters of His name—peace be upon Him and His family—is forty, the number which represents the ranks of receptivity and acceptability, and three is the number for the completion of her relating from the sign of her father, her husband, and herself, that the mystery of reality might be witnessed. And there are subtle points with the people of truth which, were they to be expressed, none would see any connection between them in the station of manifestation, even though it is the cause in the stations of the unseen and the hidden.

And verily through the name of Fatimih—may God’s blessings be upon her—the universal, primordial Guardianship was established for Ali—peace be upon him—and the absolute, divine Prophethood for her father—peace be upon him—for no eye in the contingent world hath seen the like of her in manifestation, and had God not created Ali—peace be upon him—there would have been no peer for her in station in the world of contingency, because Her blessed name indicates the majesty of her inward station, the grandeur of her rank and the greatness of her station. The first letter, alif, when expressed at the level of ten and multiplied by thirteen—the degree of the ten ranks which are the universal measures and holy manifestations—only leaves the letter ha, which is the last letter of her noble name, signifying her degrees of unity and indicating that all that appeared in the Ahmadic manifestation was borne by Fatima, may God’s blessings be upon her, in the rank of her final name.

Therefore the realities of the Prophets and Successors came from the effusion of her light, and therefore the realities of the souls and horizons, though they are but traces of her noble form, indicate God the Glorious. Had God not made the final letter of her noble name ha, the realities of existence would not have proclaimed the unity of the Divine Essence, and God would not have been recognized at the level of attributes. This is evidence of the manifest mystery, for what the possessors of understanding know there does not correspond to the decree of reality except through what is here. It is clear to one who perceives with the light of reality that this proof is from the path of reality and knowledge of the principles of the matter in the ultimate ends of commands.

One who does not know the science of connecting reality between bounded directions cannot witness those signs and relationships and paths of conjunctions and unions in the way of proof of the special universal prophethood.

It is necessary in wisdom and confirmed in religious law that there must be for the bearer of that greatest light a trace in the station of manifestation, for it reflects all his stations in the rank of inwardness. That trace must be an influential attribute reflecting the greatness of his station and grandeur of his rank. If the trace did not indicate its source it would not be a trace.

When the mystery of the matter is established in wisdom, it is fitting that one like Fatima, peace be upon her, be a trace of that universal effusion for the manifestation of the ranks of unity in her name. In wisdom that trace must be the cause of all causes in what God created below its rank, and the last letter of its name must be ha, for God created nothing except for His unity and the manifestation of His uniqueness and acknowledgment of the stations of His grandeur and holiness.

Therefore in divine wisdom all existences must be signs for the manifestation of that letter and tokens of that word. Through her existence was established the special prophethood of Muhammad the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family. He—may my spirit be sacrificed for him—has names in the ranks of contingency; rather all names are a sign of his name and indicate his presence and reflect his glorious threshold. Indeed the Prophets and Messengers and all good are manifestations of the holy stations of his prophethood. All ranks of manifestations, when man observes them from the perspective of limitations, are confined to eight stations:

Among them is the world of exposition and pure manifestation of unity in vision, which is the world of pure simplicity and indication in the station of contingency; and among them is the station of meanings which is the station of the first determination of the first remembrance in the first world; and among its realms is the world of man; and among them the world of the jinn; and among them the world of dominion; and among them the station of minerals; and among them the station of plants; and among them the station of inanimate objects. Indeed, all the ranks of all atoms speak of naught but the manifestation of His prophethood in the kingdom of names and attributes.

And should any among the wise harbor doubts that these signs of His prophethood appeared after His manifestation, such doubts shall be dispelled through God’s might and power. For it is proven by reason that there must be a center for the greater world, and that this did not reach the ultimate station of God’s grace in the realm of bodies except through its descent from the beginning of worlds to the rank of physical forms. And in no less than seven thousand measures of time did that radiant light reach the station of outer reality. And the full measure manifests in the greater world through the six limitations that constitute the station of identity. When this was transcended and reached the manifestation of the light of unity in the rank wherein God made manifest Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family—whose name in heaven is Ahmad—this indeed was the mystery of the letter Mim.

For if the stations of receptivities and acceptances were to reach their central station, naught would remain save the letter Alif, and this is the reality of the matter in the mystery of His name. And His name in the earthly station is identical to His heavenly name, except that the veils were more numerous due to the manifestation of ranks and conditions to whoever beholds with the eye of the Source the manifestation of the Essence and attributes.

And all that I have detailed in this book regarding the horizonal and personal proofs of the special prophethood pertains to the ranks of the manifestations of the Primal Point, which was the Will itself and naught else. But when one beholds the station of the manifestation of the Ahmadic Essence, one needs no proof through signs indicating His mission and the manifestation of His power. For before God sent Him forth, the manifestation of His identity was not apparent in the horizons and souls, but when He appeared in this world, the existence of creation and invention was filled with the signs of His manifestation. The path of knowledge is not difficult for the observer, for what is meant by time and the mention of “before” pertains to the station of eternity and perpetuity, not limited time.

For at the moment Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, was sent with His message, at that very moment He filled all existence with the signs of His prophethood, although before His manifestation the sign of His mission was ancient in the souls and horizons. His example is like that of a servant who asked the Imam, peace be upon him, about the ruling concerning dates, and he—may my soul be his sacrifice—answered with uncertainty that if he ate them, it was decreed in God’s knowledge that he would eat them, and if he did not eat them, it was decreed in God’s knowledge that he would not eat them.

Similarly was the decree on the day of His mission—when He was sent forth, it was decreed in God’s knowledge that His sign was hidden in the reality of souls and horizons. And this is among the mysteries of the family of Muhammad, peace be upon them, as revealed in the tradition, that “our Cause is the mystery, and the mystery of mystery, and the concealed mystery, and the mystery veiled by mystery, and so forth.”

Among the sacred signs that form the foundation for recognizing the universal Prophethood is the knowledge of the form of His name in the station of quaternity, for the bearer of the First Effulgence was not complete in his manifestation except through four stations in the station of His unity: the station of the unity of the Essence in the manifestation of the First Remembrance; the station of the unity of Attributes in the manifestation of the remembrance of Will; the station of the unity of Acts in the remembrance of Destiny; and the station of the unity of worship in the manifestation of the remembrance of Decree.

The four letters in His name—peace be upon Him and His family—indicate these universal stations. The letter Mim is the manifestation of God’s name the Constrictor, in the letter Ha is the manifestation of God’s name the Ever-Living, then the letter Mim is the manifestation of God’s name the Life-Giver, then the letter Dal is the manifestation of God’s name the Death-Giver. Thus three letters of His sacred name are from the letters of the path of truth upon your souls, while one letter is from the dark letters. If all were to ascend to the pinnacle of realities, they would not be able to recognize that dark letter, for that letter’s existence was in the rank of that Name, indicating His ipseity in the stations of dominion, and in the station of ipseity it was greater than the luminous letters of all essences.

The quaternary form in the station of descent appears after the triangular form, and thus the first name God chose for Himself was the Most High, the Most Great. But in the station of ascent it appears in reverse. The triangular form is the letter of the name of the Guardian, and it is the mystery of the name of the Prophet—peace be upon Him and His family—as indicated by al-Sadiq—peace be upon him—in his words to Mufaddal. Since that tradition is among those containing the comprehensive mysteries of Prophethood and Guardianship, I shall mention it in this station that it may be a source of honor for the observers and a sign of truth for the mystics.

Part 3: “It is narrated from Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju’fi…”

It is narrated from Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju’fi who said: “I said to our master al-Sadiq—peace be upon him—the promise from him is mercy, and I had secluded myself with him and found an opportunity I had longed for to ask you, O my master, about what has occurred in my thoughts regarding the appearance of meaning in His creation in an orderly form—can the Essence be imagined or divided or partitioned or transformed from its being, or be conceived in minds through motion or stillness? And how does the Unseen appear commingled with weak creation, and how can the created behold the Creator despite the weakness of created things?

“He—peace be upon him—said: O Mufaddal, verily in the creation of the heavens and earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for those possessed of understanding [Q3:190]. O Mufaddal, our knowledge is difficult, most difficult, and our mystery is rugged, far from the tongue to express except through allusion. Our followers only know according to their understanding of us and their recognition of us. And away with one who narrates what he knows not and believes what cannot be comprehended by reason. O Mufaddal! Indeed, mere verbal profession of faith and the promise of the senses constitute mere arguments against their possessor. The Qur’an was revealed according to the principle ʿI speak to thee that my neighbor may hear.’ Therefore, hearken unto what is revealed unto thee, observe with the eye of thine understanding, listen with the light of thy heart, and comprehend. Thou hast asked about a momentous matter and a certain truth. I shall pose to thee a weighty question—one concerning which many have gone astray, save those whom thy Lord did favor, for He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

“That which Al-Baqir revealed to Jabir concerning the most difficult of matters—hidden from all save the chosen few and the eloquent guardians who attained sincerity, were distinguished, witnessed the truth through their knowledge, and confirmed what they beheld with their own eyes—is as mentioned in the Book through the words of the Trusted One: ʿSave those who bear witness to the Truth, and they know.’

“O Mufaddal! This matter is subtle and the mystery of this knowledge is profound. Know thou that the Divine Essence transcends all names and attributes—an impenetrable mystery that conceals not from Truth, nor can any subtle secret be hidden from it. Nothing is greater than It. It is known through Its attributes, witnessed through Its signs, and recognized through Its manifestations. It existed before the before, and before location was located, when there was no where’ save Its where,’ and before space when there was no space except what It created. Unto infinity It changeth not from Its state nor from Its essential being. It needeth nothing whereby It might be determined, nor can It be known through association with aught else. Rather, It is where It is and where It was, for naught existed save It.

“O Mufaddal! Know thou that manifestation is the perfection of concealment, and concealment is the perfection of silence. Manifestation, power, and might constitute the perfection of intellect. When the universals of wisdom are not complete in both their concealment and their manifestation, wisdom would be imperfect in the Wise One, even were He powerful.

“O Mufaddal! Thou didst say: ʿIncrease me in explanation, O my Master, whereby those who draw nigh may be quickened, and those who walk in Thy light and truly know Thee may draw closer.’ He, peace be upon him, said: O Mufaddal! The manifestation of the Eternal among His creation is wondrous—none knoweth this save one learned and informed. The Essence cannot be called light, for It illumineth all light. When He wished, without thought or care, to manifest Will and create Will for all things—these being the letters Mim and Shin—there shone forth from His Essence a radiant light having no end, not separate from Him. Thus did the light manifest the light of radiance to those who perceived it, and radiance manifested a shadow. He established the form of existence through the dual nature of radiance and shadow, making light its inner reality and the Essence its source. Similarly, the Name is not united with Its light. He hath not beheld His creation through His creation; and if He be hidden, He is hidden within His own Essence, within that Mystery wherein none is like unto Him—save Himself alone. Exalted, immeasurably exalted, is God, the Almighty!

O Mufaddal! Thou hast asked concerning the Will—how its Originator doth bring it forth at the first. Give ear, then, and understand what I shall recount unto thee, O Mufaddal; for thou hast inquired of a mighty matter. My Lord, the Ancient, the Pre-eternal—magnified be His remembrance—bringeth forth His Will; He hath ever been knowing thereof. That Will was an intention, without exertion, without the arising of a thought, without passing from rest to motion or from motion to rest; for power is His very nature. This is because He manifesteth the Will, which is His Name, and through it pointeth to His own Essence—not out of any need for it, nor because of any ignorance in Him.

When, by the dictates of wisdom, it appeared at His willing, the Name came into being. And this, for that He knoweth wisdom to consist in the bringing forth of that which lieth in being into the realm of outward sight. Were He not to manifest what He hath known—bringing it out from the hidden depths of His knowledge into existence, so that its meanings might become mutually disclosed—then would there be deficiency, and wisdom would not be complete. For the perfection of power is action; the perfection of knowledge is the known; and the perfection of being is that which is brought into being.

“O Mufaddal, open thy heart to the words of thy Lord and know that the Light was neither hidden within the Essence and then made manifest from It, nor manifest from It and then concealed therein. Rather, the Light emanateth from the Essence without division, is veiled in Its concealment without illumination, and shineth forth from It without separation—even as the ray from the orb and the light from the ray. Thy Lord, O Mufaddal, created the Most Great Name and the Will which brought forth the Essence. The Light was neither increased nor diminished by His creation of the Name. The Name proceedeth from the Light of the Essence without division, and Its outward manifestation, without partition, calleth unto its Lord and indicateth Its meaning. This occurreth at the transformation of every religion, for the establishment of the Proof and the manifestation of the Call, that the confessor may be confirmed in his confession and the denier confounded in his denial. And if the Lord be hidden from the sight of His creation, they are the ones veiled by concealment and tested by the Form.

“O Mufaddal, He hath manifested through the Name the radiance of His Light and the shadow of His radiance, whereby creation hath been personified that they might behold Him, and hath guided them to their Creator that they might know Him through the Form which is the attribute of the Soul, and the Soul is the attribute of the Essence, and the Name is created from the very Essence. Therefore is It called a Soul, and for this reason are His words, exalted be He: ʿAnd God biddeth you beware of Himself.’ He but warneth you lest ye regard Muhammad—the blessings of God rest upon him and his family—as a created thing, for then would the Essence be temporal and created, and this is manifest unbelief.

“Know thou, O Mufaddal, that between the One and the Single there is naught save what lieth between motion and stillness, or between the Kaf and the Nun, by reason of Its connection with the Light of the Essence, subsisting through Its own being. This is referred to in His words, exalted be He: ʿHast thou not considered thy Lord—how He hath spread forth the shadow? Had He willed He could have made it still. Then We made the sun a guide unto it.’ This signifieth what was inherent in the Essence. The most exalted Form is the radiance and the shadow, and it is that which changeth not throughout ancient ages nor in what cometh to pass in future times. Its outward aspect is the most exalted Form and its inward aspect is the spiritual reality. That Form is the substance of substances, the agent of all that is wrought, the foundation of all movements, and the cause of all causes. Beyond it there is no mystery, and none knoweth what it is save Him alone.

“Know, O Mufaddal, that the anza’iyyah Form—she who proclaimed,”My outward aspect is Imamate and trusteeship, while My inward reality is an impregnable, inaccessible Unseen”—is not the Universal of the Creator; nor is the Creator aught other than it. Nay rather, it is He in subsistence and origination, in plain sight and certitude, in determination and specification; yet it is not He in entirety, nor in aggregation, nor by enumeration, nor through encompassment.

“Mufaddal said: O my Lord, vouchsafe me a fuller, well-differentiated exposition; for by Thy bounty and favors I have come to know that whereof my tongue falls short to describe.’ He—peace be upon him—said: O Mufaddal, ask whatsoever thou dost desire.’ I said: ʿO my Lord, that Form which I beheld upon the pulpits, summoning from its own Essence unto its own Essence in a spiritual sense, and openly affirming divinity—thou didst tell me it is not the Universal of the Creator, nor is the Creator other than the two’—how can we understand the reality of this saying?’

“He replied: O Mufaddal, these are houses of light and garments of manifestation and the intimacy of worship and the mine of indication. Through them He veils you from Himself, and that is from them to Him. They are not Him, nor is He other than them. He is veiled by light, manifest through revelation. Each sees Him according to their knowledge and attains according to their capacity. Among them are those who see Him near and those who see Him far.

“O Mufaddal, verily the image is a luminous light and a powerful might—the manifestation of your Lord, a mercy to those who believe in Him and acknowledge Him. He is Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family. He is the One, and a punishment upon those who deny and reject. Beyond Him there is no goal, nor for Him any end.

“I said: O my master, is the One who is Muhammad? He replied: The One when named, and Muhammad when described. I said: O my master, how then does the description of His name differ from the meaning? He replied: Have you not heard His saying: My outward is Imamate and succession, and My inward is an unknowable mystery? I said: O my master, what is the inner meaning of the Mim?

“He replied: The light of the Essence, which is the first of existence, the originator of creation, the former of every created thing, connected to the Light yet separate for the witnessing of manifestation. If He is distant, He is near, and if He withdraws, He responds. He is the One whom the One brought forth from His light. The One does not enter into numbers, while the One is the source of numbers and to Him is their return. He is the Hidden One.

I said: “My Lord, the Master of the Letter Mim declareth: I am the City of Knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.”’

He—peace be upon Him—answered:

“O Mufaddal! By this he meant the ordered succession of that which hath been linked together from his light. And as to his words, and Ali is its Gate,’ they signify that he standeth at the loftiest of ranks—he is a gate unto them, and through him do they enter the City, and attain unto the knowledge of knowledge. For he is the interpreter sustained by his Lord with the knowledge of the Kingdom and the majesty of Divinity.”

Then I said:

“My Lord, the Master of the Letter Mim also declareth: I and Ali are as these two’—yet I know not whether this meaneth to the right or to the left.”

And he brought the two forefingers close together, showing how near they were.

He said: “O Mufaddal! No measure of any one—derived from the root of knowledge—can sever between the Name and the Meaning. Yet the Meaning is above it, for it hath been called into being from the light of the Essence; and between it and the Light there is no difference and no separation. For this cause he said: I and Ali are as these two,’—a gesture unto them that know, signifying that there is herein no division. For were there a division between him and it, he would be another person apart, and this is sheer, manifest unbelief.

Hast thou not heard the saying of God, exalted be He: They seek to make a distinction between God and His Messengers’; and His saying: They cut asunder what God hath commanded to be joined’? And therein is an allusion, in the realm of acts, unto them that would say that between God and His Creator there is an intermediary. For this reason he said: I and Ali are as these two,’ because he is the dawning-place of the Names and the first who was named. Whoso apprehendeth the sign is made independent of the phrase; and whoso knoweth the stations of the Attribute hath attained the abiding-place of true knowledge.

Hast thou not heard, moreover, how the Name, by its intimations toward its Lord—openly and without veiling—declareth: “Thou art He Who removeth my grief; Thou art He Who relieveth my distress; Thou art He Who dischargeth my debt; Thou art He Who fulfilleth my promise”? Thus doth it unveil His manifest Name among His creatures; and it saith: “Thou art”—thereby pointing unto my Lord. And the sign was made to His Gate: “I am the City of Knowledge, and ʿAli is its Gate: whoso desireth the City, let him come by the Gate.”

Establishing specific prophethood according to the station of divine law

When the special prophethood was established in the depths of those words at the station of the manifestation of verses in the kingdom of names and attributes, I shall mention proofs in the station of divine law so that whoever wishes may understand the meaning of those references through those traditions descended from the suns of grandeur and glory.

From Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him, who said: God, blessed and exalted, said:

“O Muhammad! I created you and Ali as one light, meaning as a spirit without body, before I created My heavens and My earth and My throne and My sea. You continued to glorify and praise Me. Then I joined your two spirits and made them one, and it glorified and sanctified and praised Me. Then I divided it into two, and divided the two into two, so they became four: Muhammad one, Ali one, and Hasan and Husayn two, and Fatima. Then God created from the light of her beginning a spirit without body. Then the Glorified One anointed us with His right hand and His light shone within us.”

It is narrated from Abu Hamza al-Thumali who said: I heard Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, saying: “God the Glorified revealed to Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family: ʿO Muhammad! I created you when you were nothing, and I breathed into you of My spirit as an honor from Me with which I honored you when I made obligatory upon all My creation obedience to you. Whoever obeys you has obeyed Me and whoever disobeys you has disobeyed Me. And I made this obligatory regarding Ali, peace be upon him, and his descendants whom I have chosen for Myself.”’

It is authentically narrated from Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, who said: “Verily God, blessed and exalted, was ever alone in His oneness. Then He created Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, and Ali and Fatima. They remained for a thousand ages. Then He created all things and made them witness their creation and made their obedience flow through them and delegated their affairs to them. Thus they make lawful what they will and make unlawful what they will, but they will not will except what God wills.” Then He said: “O Muhammad! This is the religion—whoever deviates from it is lost, whoever lags behind it is destroyed, and whoever adheres to it reaches the goal. Take it to yourself, O Muhammad.”

It is authentically narrated from Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him, that the Messenger of God said:

“I am the first believer in my Lord and the first to respond when God the Glorified took the covenant of the prophets and made them bear witness against themselves: Am I not your Lord?’ They said: Yes.’ I was the first prophet to say ʿYes,’ thus preceding them in acknowledging God.”

Jabir narrated from Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, who said: “O Jabir! The first thing God created was Muhammad and his purified and guided Household. They were spectres of light before God. I asked:”What are spectres?” He replied: “The shadow of light—luminous forms without spirits, supported by a single spirit, which is the Holy Spirit. Through it, Muhammad and his Household worshipped God, and for this purpose He created them forbearing, knowledgeable, virtuous and pure. They worship God through prayer, fasting, prostration, glorification and praise. They perform the prayer, make pilgrimage and fast.”

When that which is manifest in all the worlds corresponds to that which is hidden, and the secret is identical to that which is proclaimed, the mystic witnesses in the manifestations of first principles, in explaining these traditions, the appearance of rational proofs that I mentioned through wisdom regarding substances, material things, accidents and glorification. God, exalted be His glory, alone knows what lies beyond these allusions. He is the Guardian in both origin and return.

What I have indicated through proofs of wisdom in these stations is from the mysteries of the people of grace and justice in the Kingdom of Names and Attributes. The proofs known to those who give counsel and engage in excellent discourse are from the path of definitions. The methods of proof differ according to the stations. By whatever proof one establishes the prophethood of any prophet, by that same proof is established the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family.

For the proofs of people are of two kinds: either pertaining to the souls, manifesting in the stations of the self through signs that bring the servant to a state of certitude and tranquility; or pertaining to the horizons, through the appearance of miracles that have filled the east and west of the earth establishing prophethood. There is no greater proof for Muhammad’s prophethood than the Qur’an, for through it his specific prophethood is established for both the elite and masses in all stations of the unseen and visible realms. Today the miracle of the Qur’an is manifest, for the letters which God has placed in everyone’s hands, numbering twenty-eight, are such that if all were to gather to compose words like even a single verse thereof, they would be unable, even if they were helpers to one another. This is no simple matter—indeed it is the greatest of all his miracles that appeared from his holy and glorious presence.

Today, through the existence of the Qur’an, there is established for the specific prophethood of the Ahmad Being, God’s blessings be upon him, that which the sun of beginning never rose upon in the beginning, nor did the sun of ending set upon in the ending. Indeed, were one who beholds the stations of witnessing to seek proof from every letter of the Qur’an for his specific prophethood for all created things, they would be able to do so. For God has revealed the Qur’an in such manner that none can produce its like.

What is meant by “like” is the divine power, lordly might, holy words and subtle meanings through which all in the heavens and earth are rendered powerless. If what was meant was merely the outward form of letters, there is no doubt that the Arabs did produce composed words, but the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, did not accept them, as one of them said when the verse “The Hour has drawn near and the moon has been cleft asunder” (Q54:1) was revealed: The Hour has approached, the moon was split, and the Messenger of God—peace be upon Him and His family—said, “May God bless your mouth.”

And verily this is evidence that none can produce the like thereof, for the condition of likeness is realized in a station that is similar in all its aspects. For when the All-Wise commands the bringing forth of a likeness, He considers all its stations from the realm of abstraction to the utmost degree of manifestation. And verily He, exalted be His glory, knowing that creation would never be able to match all its degrees which His knowledge encompasses, challenged them in His Book with outward forms which were the lowest of its degrees in His Book. Yet even in this they shall never be able to produce the like thereof as a narrative, for the essence of likeness is realized in a station that is truthful and articulate from the primary causes. And if it be not truthful, then its production would belie it, for proof is established in that which comes from God, and if it be not from Him, no judgment flows therefrom. Since it is established that it was from God, no impotence or contradiction to divine principles appears therein, for God is the Ever-Living, the All-Powerful. Thus whoever speaks from His presence, none can render impotent, nor can any produce the like thereof.

Thereby His proof, the Qur’an, was established over all degrees of existence, of jinn and men. And if all were to gather to produce the like of a single alif of the Qur’an, they would never be able, even were they all to help one another. For when God revealed that alif, He bestowed upon it dominion over all things great and small. Indeed, allusions veil the servant from drawing nigh unto the sacred court of divine attributes; otherwise, all manifestations of primary action and manifestations of passive reception are mentioned beneath that alif of the Qur’an. And since forms are similar, the servant cannot distinguish the form of the alif from God from the form of the alif of creation.

Glory be to God! How mighty is the station of His Book and how exalted the manifestation of His verses! The manifestations of His transcendence flow therein as though they were something unlike anything in His dominion, nor can anything equal it in the reality of its mystery. Thus was ordained in the Law the mystery of reality, that none should touch that alif of the Qur’an save in a state of purity. Were creation to look, they would witness in reality within the grandeur of a single letter of the Qur’an all the manifestations of contingent being according to their measure. And verily the Imam—peace be upon him—or one assisted by God’s grace, were he to desire to derive the entire religion from the meaning of the letter alif, would be able to do so, for God’s bounty has no limit.

Just as its meaning has meaning in God’s Book, so does the judgment flow in the meaning of that meaning unto infinity. And verily the judgment for each letter of the Qur’an was from God, like what I have explained regarding the mention of its alif. Indeed, were all the seas to become ink for one of its letters, the seas would be exhausted before its meaning reached any limit in creation. Nay, therein flows the word of the All-Merciful, and “not a fresh or withered thing but is in a Manifest Book.” Therefore did Ali, peace be upon him, say in a moment of glory: “I am the Point beneath the letter B,” and from it emerged all created things into the realm of manifestation.

Today, the special prophethood is established through that Book, for the effect indicates its cause. Just as the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, was the bearer of universal grace before which all names were cut off and all traces vanished in his presence, so too is the judgment of his Book, for it stands alone in the world of letters and meanings, beyond all things and likenesses, and holds dominion over all names and attributes.

Whosoever wishes to argue for the special prophethood, if he be of heavenly nature and has not previously entered the religion of Islam, upon hearing a single verse of the Qur’an will instantly believe in it. For apart from that Book, nothing calls through its mystery to that Threshold. In each of its letters is stored a sign of power from the All-Forgiving, as though it were that blessed verse manifest:

“Had We sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, thou wouldst surely have seen it humbled, split asunder from fear of God. Such are the similitudes We propound to men, that they may reflect.”

Today, whoever wishes to enter with insight into the religion of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, and the guardianship of his chosen ones, must enter through recognition of the Qur’an as the sign of His Beloved from the All-Merciful, which no human can match.

Though miracles are established through succession and His prophethood is proven through signs in the soul and evidence in the horizons for all who possess a musk-like scent of fairness, yet all this knowledge begins and ends with recognition of the Self and its acceptance. But through the Qur’an the heart is established, the spirit calmed, the soul assured, and the body refreshed. It has an effect on existence that God has not granted to any other. It is, in its unity, the greatest of God’s signs in the realm of meanings and letters, and nothing of physical miracles equals it, for nothing in existence is more noble than the Word.

Therefore has God made utterance the means between Him and His chosen ones, and it has ever been with those who serve as intermediaries between Truth and creation. Thus it is the greatest of signs, for in the Qur’an all miracles are manifest, as it must contain every fresh and withered thing within its station. But in other miracles, the judgment of the Qur’an does not flow, due to the loftiness of utterance above all else in exposition. In God do we seek protection regarding what the Pen has set forth in explanation.

Among the conditions indicating his absolute prophethood are the traces of his self, whereto Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, pointed in his words, saying gloriously:

“In the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, were three qualities found in no other: He had no shadow; when he walked a path, if anyone were to pass by it two or three days later they would recognize that He had passed there by His sweet fragrance; and whenever He passed by a stone or a tree, it would prostrate before Him.”

Indeed, without the essential reality of the Divine Will, when it descends into this world, such attributes would not be possible. By each of these signs His universal and eternal Prophethood is proven. And I point to the final word which states that all things prostrate before Him, for His Will encompasses all wills among His creation. When it is established that the mineral kingdom, which represents the lowest level of divine outpouring, prostrates before His presence, this proves that beyond the physical realm, all things are subservient to Him. His authority in the realm of souls comprises all stations, wherein all prostrate themselves before God. Likewise is the decree regarding the horizons, as indicated by the Imam (peace be upon him) in his words, supported by God’s statement regarding the inner essence of the outward:

“There is nothing that does not glorify His praise, though you understand not their glorification.”

When tradition has indicated the existence of the specific Prophethood in accordance with the decree of reason, I point to hidden proofs whose essence none knows save God or whom He wills. When I witnessed the favors of that Most Excellent One, perhaps thereby someone might act in God’s religion and convey its reward to the One Who commanded the creation of that Book.

To the intellect that seeks to understand and believe in the decree of the specific Prophethood—without doubt it is but one aspect of the traces of that universal Prophethood’s outpouring. Should the atoms of air desire to comprehend the decree of the Sun’s orb, they could know nothing of it except what it reveals to them through its rays at their own level. When man recognizes through the light of direct vision the decree of that exposition, he will testify that the universal intellect cannot grasp of His Prophethood (peace be upon Him and His family) save what particles of dust comprehend at the rising of the sun’s light. All that is known of the manifestation of the Sun’s orb is in reality the recognition of that ray which connects with their essence at their station, and nothing beyond this is possible.

Such is the decree for intellects that wish to understand, through horizonal and personal proofs, the specific Prophethood of the Temple of Ahmad, the Divine Countenance, the Lordly Appearance, and the Eternal Resplendent Essential Reality, for beyond this no recognition is possible. In truth, His specific Prophethood cannot be proven to anyone except at their own station, even if it has a sign therein. But the matter is that which has descended in the depths of those allusions and been detailed in the mysteries of those expressions for whosoever distinguishes separation from union in the Kingdom of Names and Attributes.

When the intellect recognizes this decree, it testifies before God and His chosen ones that proving the specific Prophethood of the Muhammadan Temple is the greatest sin, unequaled by any other sin, for that matter which cannot be proven in contingent existence according to its true reality is too exalted and mighty to be proven through disconnected reflections that by their very nature indicate inability, proclaim prevention, and demonstrate limitation.

Glorified be God! How exalted the wisdom of Him Who so ordained it—albeit I can discover no path nor descry a proof whereby to attain the recognition of that glorious Pole Star. God and His angels bear witness that in all I have expounded regarding the verses proving the special Prophethood and absolute Guardianship, I intended only to demonstrate utter powerlessness to mention proofs and complete humility in recognizing the path. For below that station, nothing is possible for any created being. Whoever claims to prove the special Prophethood in its true reality has only borne falsehood within himself, and the limits of his own capacity apply to him.

However, since the verses are more subtle and precise in some souls than others, I have detailed the explanation of the clear verses that are possible in elucidating the special Prophethood, like describing wine through its glass vessel, as the poet said:

The crystal thinned; the vintage thinned likewise—So twinned they seemed, confounding gazer’s eyes; As though there were but wine and not the cup; As though the cup were there and wine drunk up.

And one said regarding His station:

Thy attributes are Names; Thy Essence pure, A substance from all substance-traits secure; It soars beyond all accidents—the how, the when—Too great for likeness to the elements of ken.

This indeed is the secret of the matter in explaining reality. But today I know of no one who can prove the decree of that Prophethood as I have detailed in that Book, for my knowledge of proof is through divine confirmation from the Lord of Lords. If another were to follow the paths of truth, I would find only evidence from the Book and Tradition. Well was it said:

All claim with Layla union, firm and true; Yet Layla grants no witness to their due. But when from cheeks the sudden tear-streams break, ʿTis plain who truly wept—and who did fake.

Yet true nobility lies not in proving this obscure matter, but rather in affirming what the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) declared when he said:

“Lo, everything save God is vain, and every blessing must inevitably pass away.”

All that I have detailed in those references of clear proofs belongs to the realm of divine glory. The true knowledge of special Prophethood and its proof exists in a station where knowledge becomes identical with the known, and proof becomes identical with the hidden. Were it not so, the primal outpouring could not be proven through anything else.

This is not from the perspective of recognition, but rather from the veils and coverings, as the Imam (peace be upon him) indicated in his exalted words, saying that “wisdom lies in manifesting what is in potential into actuality. If He did not manifest what He knew of His hidden knowledge into the existence of its meanings, one to another, it would be deficient and wisdom would be incomplete—for the perfection of power is in action, the perfection of knowledge is in the known, and the perfection of being is in existence.”

In truth, the matter lies in recognizing that path and nothing else. For if one sought to know redness through whiteness, or greenness through yellowness, one could never truly know it, since a thing can only be known through the aspect of its own self. Know that whoso desireth to apprehend the special prophethood in its reality can only do so through the Prophet himself, peace be upon Him and His family, as the Imam, peace be upon him, hath indicated concerning that station: “Know God through God, and the Prophet through prophethood.”

This indeed is the innermost mystery, for recognition hath two ranks, as hath been established among the people of divine knowledge. If it be through the recognition of the Essence by the Essence itself, this is recognition in its reality and perfection, as the Imam, peace be upon him, hath indicated in numerous stations of recognition. Among these is what Ali, peace be upon him, hath said in the Prayer of the Morning: “He Who hath demonstrated His Essence through His Essence.” And among these is what Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, hath said in his prayer to Abu Hamza al-Thumali: “Through Thee have I known Thee, and Thou hast guided me unto Thyself and called me unto Thee, and were it not for Thee, I would not have known who Thou art.” And among these is what He, exalted be His mention, hath revealed in the Gospel: “Know thyself and thou shalt know thy Lord; thy outward is for annihilation and thy inward is I.”

God accepteth not from the people of the Bayan that manner of recognition, for He hath taught them through the words of His trustees that God is too exalted to be known through His creation; rather, His creation is known through Him.

As the recognition of a thing through its essence is realized in the station of the first theophany, likewise is the decree concerning the manifestations of this Self-Revealing One. None can establish the special prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family, in its reality through the signs in the souls and horizons, for all that is beneath the essence of the bearer of special prophethood is but a trace in relation to that station. The reality of the recognition of a thing is not established through the traces of its manifestations. Rather, whoso desireth to establish His special prophethood must not make anything less than His Self as proof thereof, nor any path unto Him save His Own Essence, for all things are cut off from Him due to the transcendence of the glory of His majesty in God’s dominion, and all traces are prevented from recognizing His presence due to the sublimity of His effulgent radiance in God’s religion.

Glorified be God! How lofty is the station of God’s Prophet in the realm of possibility, and how mighty is the praise of God’s Messenger in all worlds! He is unique, without likeness or similitude in the worlds of being. O Essence through whom existence hath arisen, all creation after Thee is but accident! Since it hath been established regarding the recognition of the Essence that what is possible in the contingent realm is only possible through His Essence for His Essence, likewise doth this decree apply to the Point of Existence of the First Universal Effusion, which is the First and Pre-existent Remembrance manifested through Him for Him. And since wisdom requireth that the descent of the First Remembrance to the station of dust be like His primary manifestation for Him through Him, it is established that none save the essence of the bearer of Universal Prophethood could appear in the corporeal world except in the temple of His beginning, before which all bow down unto God.

From this exposition man knoweth that none save the Point of the Bayan could declare in the station of exposition “I am the first who answered in the realm of particles,” for none beside Him is capable of such utterance. Just as His essence knoweth His essence, likewise is the decree concerning His prophethood, for it knoweth its prophethood, not that which is beneath it. Whoso seeketh to establish it through any proof besides itself hath been veiled from beholding the stations of reconition of the essences and the manifestations of the attributes, and its proof through evidence is pure negation, for if His Prophethood (peace be upon Him and His family) were established through anything other than His own Self, in reality it would only establish the existence of that thing which is inferior to the very Prophethood that is intended in the station of the flowing of ink.

Verily this path for establishing the universal Prophethood is greater than all proofs and evidences, for other than it is the station of shadows and accidents wherein the servant dwells in the station of goodly exhortation and disputation with that which is best in the station of seeking. But through the proof of wisdom, which is the reality of evidence for the wayfarer on the path of the Glorious One, it is impossible through any other means. And verily, despite the greatness of its station and the loftiness of its rank and the sublimity of its glory which is greater than all manifestations of proofs, it is lighter than all proofs, for the more multiplicity increases the thicker become the veils, and the more subtle the veils become the more refined becomes the station. Therefore the proof of wisdom, despite its ultimate subtlety, is far from sight and difficult for thoughts and knowledge thereof. Thus speaks the tradition with its wisdom:

“Our Cause is difficult, most difficult. None can bear it except a near angel, a commissioned prophet, or a believer whose heart God has tested for faith.”

3. The third pillar: al-walayat (Guardianship)

When through the proof of wisdom the specific Prophethood is realized by one who possesses the consciousness of the inmost heart and the secret of reality, that proof indicates the stations of the Guardianship and its establishment, for God has joined its decree with Prophethood. And it is that the First Remembrance cannot descend with manifestation in the world of the unseen except through seven stations, for everything has an aspect of Lord and an aspect of self. When the aspects are established, the decree of connection is established, and thereby three are established. When the three descend they become four, and therefore God made the number of stations of action seven, for less than that is impossible in creation. And it is the complete and perfect number than which there is no more perfect number according to the people of truth.

When these ranks appeared in the world of the unseen, the souls of the Imams (peace be upon them) were realized, and their number is seven: Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Ja’far and Musa (God’s blessings upon them).

When these seven descended from the world of the unseen to the station of witness, fourteen souls appeared, for the witness of those Names in the ranks of bodies and words is Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Muhammad, al-Hasan, and Muhammad (God’s blessings upon them).

They are the guides to God in every world with guidance than which nothing higher is possible in contingent existence, that He—there is no god but He—is truth in the eternity of eternities, that He is devoid of the servants and the servants are devoid of Him, and there is between them neither connection nor separation of isolation, and His relation was with all atoms before their existence and after their existence equally, and none knows how He is except His own Self, glorified and exalted is He above what they associate.

When it is established that in the principles of causes, the appearance of the First Remembrance is only possible in fourteen reeds, then through knowledge of that station is established the Guardianship of the Imams of the religion, through their own selves, demonstrate through wisdom; through their manifestations, demonstrate through counsel; and through their names, demonstrate through disputation in the most excellent manner. And verily the one who beholds the station of the Divine Essence and dwells in the kingdom of Names and Attributes, were he to witness the manifestations of the Universal Guardianship, would be able to prove by every aspect attributed to them their absolute guardianship over all created things. For by every proof that establishes the unity of the Divine Essence is established the absolute Prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family, and the Universal Guardianship of His successors, may God’s blessings be upon them. For the pillars of Divine Unity are letters that in no wise indicate aught except God, and therefore the sign of Unity in manifestation and contingency is identical with the sign of Prophethood in creative manifestation. Likewise is the decree concerning the signs of Guardianship, which are identical with the sign of Prophethood in the stations of both concealment and manifestation.

4. The fourth pillar: the shi’ah

When the Pen flows with mention of the pillars of Unity, I shall indicate the establishment of the seven ranks for him who bears that Fourth Letter, for a thing in the world of principles and causes is created only through the efficient cause, which is the station of the creation by the Essence of all that He willeth from nothing, for the manifestation of His unity; then through the material cause, which is the station of Universal Prophethood for the manifestation of His Messenger’s decree; then through the formal cause for the manifestation of the guardianship of thirteen souls who are the universal reeds in the thicket of the empyrean heaven, as they are the friends of God and the successors of His Messenger, peace be upon Him and His family; then through the final cause, which is the fruit in the kingdom of manifestations and the purpose in those conditions, for the manifestation of the bearer of the Fourth Letter whom God hath placed in the station of the light of absolute, universal, and all-encompassing guardianship.

Verily, by the proof of reason, it is necessary in wisdom that the station of the final cause be the fourth rank in the station of descent. Therefore did al-Sadiq, peace be upon Him, indicate in the tradition mentioning the Name, wherein His remembrance is exalted, that “God, blessed and exalted be He, created a name through the letter without sound, through word without utterance, through person without body, through similitude without description, through color without tinge, negated from dimensions, removed from limitations, veiled from the perception of every imaginer, concealed yet not covered. He made it a perfect word of four parts together, none of which precedes another. He manifested three names therefrom for creation’s need of them, and concealed one of them, which is the Hidden and Treasured Name.

These names which have appeared—the manifest one is God, blessed and exalted be He. And the Glorious One subjected to each of these names four pillars, thus making twelve pillars. Then He created for each of these pillars thirty names as functions attributed to them: He is the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, neither slumber seizeth Him nor sleep, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the All-Wise, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme, the Most High, the Most Great, the Most Powerful, the Able, the Peace, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Producer, the Originator, the Wonderful, the Sublime, the Majestic, the Generous, the Provider, the Life-Giver, the Death-Giver, the Resurrector, the Inheritor.

These names and whatsoever be among the Most Beautiful Names until they complete three hundred and sixty names are all related to these three Names, and these three Names are pillars and veils of the One Hidden and Treasured Name through these three Names. And that is His word, exalted be He: ʿSay: Call upon Allah or call upon the All-Merciful; by whichever ye call upon, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.”’

The three pillars that have appeared in existence are the recognition of Divine Unity, Prophethood, and Divine Guardianship, while the hidden pillar and the light of the unseen remain veiled due to humanity’s inability to bear them. Though more manifest than anything else alongside the three in appearance, it remains concealed, being the inner reality of the Cause in its own station. It has its day when God wills to manifest it, and it is the Name which, when the Qa’im (peace be upon him) revealed it, caused the chiefs to turn away from His presence. Then, finding no escape, they returned to Him and believed in Him through the power of that Name. This is the Most Great Name, the Most Ancient Secret, and the Refined Symbol without the recognition of which and drawing near to which no one’s deeds are complete.

Thus when a Christian asked our Master Al-Kazim (peace be upon him) about the Most Great Name, he said: “Tell me about eight letters that descended, of which four became manifest on earth while four remained in the air. Upon whom will those four in the air descend, and who will interpret them?” He replied: “That is our Qa’im. God will cause them to descend upon Him, and He will interpret them. God will reveal to Him what was not revealed to the truthful ones, the Messengers, and the guided ones.” Then the monk asked: “Tell me about two of those four letters that are on earth—what are they?” He replied: “I will tell you all four. The first is There is no god but God, alone with no partner, the Everlasting.’ The second is Muhammad is the Messenger of God’ (peace be upon him and his family) sincerely. The third is We are the People of the House.’ And the fourth is Our followers are from us, and we are from the Messenger of God’ (peace be upon him and his family), and the Messenger of God is from God through a connection.”

Every proof that establishes the three pillars also establishes that pillar in that letter. If the proof is wisdom, the path to knowing it is itself and nothing else. If it were otherwise, no one could claim its station, just as is established in the balance of Prophethood. In terms of effect, the bearer of the effects of the three must possess the simplicity of Divine Unity in the station of abstraction, the signs of Prophethood in the station of limitation, and the indications of Guardianship in the station of praise.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon whoever claims that station to manifest those effects in a way that no other can achieve. When He wills, through the word of authority, nothing can frustrate Him. He speaks and writes as He wills, without pause of the pen or contemplation regarding verses, nor does He copy from the letters of the Qur’an, for through Him is established the mystery of Oneness in Prophethood. This power can only be realized in the secondary cause, which reflects the primary cause, and the fourth cause for the manifestation of the comprehensive word. One who speaks about it what his conjecture imagines will find the word returning in the judgment of the Book exactly letter for letter.

When He wills in the manner of intimate prayers in sermons, the effects of the manifestation of Guardianship, He is able to do so in a way that no one has preceded Him in manifestation, nor can anyone of thought and vision resist Him, as the balance of the effects of Guardianship has been established in intimate prayers and sermons for those who know the loci of wisdom within the station of tokens and indication, and if one desires, after these effects, to manifest his certainty in God’s judgment, he may arise before God and pronounce what has been revealed in the Law concerning the ordinances of imprecation, as has occurred before God, exalted be His mention.

Indeed, for the recognition of this station there are aspects which none can enumerate save God, and not all that a servant knows can he utter. Were it not for the hidden obligation and the fear of that which Ali ibn Al-Hussein, peace be upon them both, spoke in his words—exalted be his mention—when he said: “Many a jewel of knowledge, were I to divulge it, I would be accused of worshipping idols”—I would have revealed the secret reality of that station. However, I will indicate its station through the tradition revealed concerning the station of knowledge from Jabir, where he said—exalted be his mention—in a lengthy tradition, until he said: “O Jabir! Do you know what knowledge is? Knowledge is first the affirmation of Divine Unity, second the recognition of meanings, third the recognition of the gates, fourth the recognition of the Imam, fifth the recognition of the pillars, sixth the recognition of the chiefs, and seventh the recognition of the nobles.” And this is referenced in His words, exalted and glorified be He: “Say: If the ocean were ink for the words of my Lord, the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought another ocean like it as aid.”

Whoever recognizes the signs becomes independent of expressions, and whoever recognizes the placement of attributes in those indications reaches the depths of knowledge in the abysses of those stations. Indeed, to God return all decrees in the kingdom of names and attributes. I seek God’s forgiveness, my Lord, for what the Book enumerates; verily He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Generous, the Beneficent in the beginning and the return.

At this juncture I stay the pen from flowing, and I ask God for pardon concerning what has been revealed from the Book unto manifestation. Glory be to God, the Lord of the Throne, above what they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.