BB00065: Letter on the apostasy of Mulla Jawad Vilyani (Suluk II)

Part 1: “All praise be to Him Who…”

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

All praise be to Him Who, in the essential nature of His Essence, transcendeth the description and reality of all abstract things. All praise be to Him Who, in the essential nature of His Being, is sanctified above the attributes and realities of all material things. All praise be to Him Who, in the essential nature of His Self, is exalted above the mention of all created things and whatsoever can exist in their ranks. All praise be to Him Who, in the essential nature of His Identity, standeth alone, beyond the comprehension of all contingent beings and whatsoever may be brought into existence through their conditions.

All praise be to Him by Whose signs of power the most profound mysteries are made manifest in the reeds of the thickets of the Divine Realm and in their likeness. All praise be to Him through Whose tokens of Will the most hidden secrets are revealed in the reeds of the thickets of the Realm of Might and in their manifestations. All praise be to Him by Whose emblems of grandeur the most sublime truths are disclosed in the essential natures of the people of the human realm and in the example of their revelation. All praise be to Him through Whose manifestations the most recondite mysteries are embodied in the fragments of the Tablets of Ruby, through that which hath dawned and shone forth from the reality of their essence unto the horizon of their station.

Through these did the Countenance of all countenances appear in the revelations of the temples of the people of the human realm, that all might receive their portion from the conditions of His manifestation and attain unto a station wherein all might speak of the appearance of the Eternal Sun. There is no God but God, the Lord of the Throne, glorified and exalted be He above all that they describe.

O my God! I, in this position, my station here, do testify that Thou art God, the Lord of the heavens and of the earth and of whatsoever lieth between them. Thou hast ever been, when naught else existed, and Thou wilt ever continue to be even as Thou wert in the beginning of all beginnings. None knoweth Thee save Thyself, and none can describe Thee save Thine Own Self. All names and attributes fall short before the beauty of Thy Presence, through the grandeur of Thy Being, withheld from the essential nature of Thy Self by the glory of Thine Identity.

And I, of myself and all that Thy knowledge encompasseth, do glorify Thy Oneness as befitteth Thee and praise Thy Self as beseemeth Thee. Though none among Thy creation is capable of this, yet Thou dost reward all through Thy knowledge. Glorified and exalted art Thou! And I bear witness, in this station of love, to Muhammad and the family of God as the manifestations of Thy Divine Unity, the appearances of Thy Sovereignty, the signs of Thy Divinity, and the tokens of Thy Grandeur, for Thou hast created them through the reality of origination and the bearing of invention, and through what Thou art in respect to Divine Unity, revelations, divine fragrances, and blessings in Thy work and power.

I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon them in every condition, through what Thou art in respect to glory and power, and what remaineth of glory and grandeur. Then, after this, I bear witness to every truth in the way Thou lovest and approveth, and to every falsehood in the way Thou detesteth and bringeth to an end.

Verily, I possess nothing except what Thou possessest me through Thy grace. Therefore, O King of Kings, grant me a tranquil heart, a serene soul, an ascending spirit, and that contented, well-pleasing soul which Thou hast promised to the believers in Thy Book, where Thou didst say—and Thy Word is the truth—“O thou soul which art at rest! Return unto thy Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing! Enter thou among My servants, and enter thou My paradise!”

And furthermore, O thou who seekest the portion of the heart, who art content with the bounty of the All-Bountiful, who inquireth about the truth of creation in the station of non-existence: Know that what We desire to set forth with the pen of ink upon this Tablet of righteousness is the station of submission to the Lord of all beings. Look with certitude, then study the Book of the Resplendent Countenance concerning the knowledge of certainty, for verily the most secure of stations in the manifest horizon is to attain unto the truth of certainty through the eye of certainty.

When emphasis hath been placed upon the mention of recompense through the truth of reward, the decree of punishment, and the light of attraction in the sanctuaries of the people of utterance, then bear thou witness in the knowledge of the Point of Reward and the decree of the Decisive Utterance in all things, that the most glorious of stations and the most exalted ranks of speech is the station of the servant’s turning unto his Lord. Verily God hath ever been manifest unto thee through thee, and thou art in every moment in need of thy Lord’s sustenance, even as thou wert in need at the beginning of thy existence when He created thee and thou wert nothing.

It is as though at every instant thou art newly created. When God created the stations of reward according to the stations of His manifestations, He made mention for thee of holy, radiant signs from the stations of majesty, that He might draw thee unto the court of nearness and beauty, and bring thee to such condition that thou wouldst see in existence naught save the countenance of thy Beloved Lord, and wouldst behold creation as though none thereof had ever been mentioned. And He will confirm thee in that state which Ali described in his prayer, where he said—and his word is the truth—“until all my deeds and my devotions become a single devotion in perpetual service to Thee.”

By thy Lord! If thou shouldst find the sweetness of that station, thou wouldst never neglect it, even wert thou to be cut to pieces. For when the servant declareth “There is no God but God,” he findeth the sweetness of the manifestation of the Eternal, and is illumined by the light of the rising of the sun of unity, and is exalted above all contingent things through the countenance of Him Who is manifest from the depths of divine holiness. In that moment he beholdeth all that hath been named a thing within the treasuries of His command, and he perceiveth the people of Paradise and its blessings, and beareth witness to the people of the fire and its depths, and proclaimeth with the permission of his Lord, in the temple of his essential nature, the call of his Lord where He, exalted be His mention, hath said: “Whose is the Kingdom this Day? It is God’s, the One, the All-Compelling!”

And thou dost not magnify the remembrance of the king, for verily the remembrance of the king before God is as a mere atom of dust upon the earth. And I bear witness that His saying “To whom belongs the kingdom?” is like unto His saying “To whom belongs the atom?” Say: Unto God, the One, the All-Compelling! For every condition on the Day of Resurrection is before God and before those who enter Paradise in this earthly life. And if thou wouldst cleanse thy vision and refine thy sight, thou wouldst witness that which hath appeared from thy left, and that the Maids of Paradise in the pavilions of good-pleasure have settled upon their thrones, and that the idolaters are tormented in their stations.

And thou, O observer, if thou wouldst reflect for less than the twinkling of an eye, thou wouldst witness in thine eye all that God hath created in the highest heaven, even unto an atom from the blessed soil of Kazim’s grave, and then on the left all that God hath created in the nethermost fire, even unto the delusion of polytheism and polytheism itself in the Book of God. And if thou shouldst desire good, then God thy Lord will recompense thee with good in thine own self, and verily in the life to come there shall appear the fruit of that which God hath given thee in this moment, for God is All-Knowing, All-Powerful and swift to reckon. Nothing in the heavens or on earth is too great for Him, nor doth He delay the recompense of His servant by reason of His transcendent riches and His mighty power.

Thus is the decree: if there occurreth to thy mind regarding someone that he is not what he is, then in consequence God will take vengeance upon thee and will torment thee within thyself, and verily the fire in the world to come is the fruit of that polytheism, for God is indeed the Jealous, the Almighty.

Yet if thou repent, God will, through His grace, transform thy misdeeds into good deeds, for at every moment thou art a new creation. If thou art sincere, thou becomest pure, and if thou committest sin, thou becomest a transgressor. For guidance on the path to the Beloved, that word from Him sufficeth, and there is no power nor strength save in God. Be thou unto God and His creatures even as God is unto Himself and His creatures. Even as God created thee from nothing, so worship thou Him with pure sincerity, seeking neither reward nor fearing punishment. Thus it is in all conditions and evidences. And if thou openest that door unto thy heart, thou wilt acquire the attributes of the All-Merciful, and though all may wrong thee, thou wilt forgive them and show them kindness, even as God, in His glory, provideth sustenance through His grace to those who have denied Him. Thus establish thou this principle in all signs and tokens. Bear thou witness that in God’s treasuries all things exist, and that He, glorified be He, accepteth not from anyone a gift that already existeth in the treasuries of His might.

Therefore offer thou unto His community that which He possesseth not in His treasuries of glory—namely, powerlessness and its conditions. Through this doth God accept the deeds of all things, and these are the gifts in God’s religion unto Him. Even as He, glorified be He, having no poverty, loveth poverty, just as thou, having neither jewel nor elixir, lovest these from Me.

Thus dost thou recognize all conditions of servitude before the Presence of Lordship, the Majesty of the Self-Subsisting, the Beauty of the All-Merciful, and the Grandeur of the Eternal. For if thou knowest this path, thou wilt witness in that impenetrable, overwhelming, blind, and pitch-dark gloom the signs of praise, tokens of glory, stations of radiance, evidences of the Names, conditions of destiny, manifestations of origination, revelations of confirmation, and all that is possible in creation.

Glory be to God! Were we to know through true knowledge thine essence in the station of thy manifestation, thou wouldst act in God’s path even as God acteth toward His servants in His station of Self-Subsistence, and thou wouldst witness the decree of origination in thyself like destiny. For the servant ascendeth not to the heights of reality except through witnessing origination in all his conditions, such that even if he performeth every good deed, he feareth his Lord that God may change it if He willeth.

Be thou content at all times with thy Lord’s decree concerning thyself, both inwardly and outwardly. The limit of contentment is that thou shouldst be as content with abasement as with glory, with poverty as with wealth, with hardship as with ease, and with sorrow as with joy in the conditions decreed for thee by God.

Know that all moral science flows from this living water. For thou hast infinite stations within infinite stations, and it is incumbent upon thee, shouldst thou desire God thy Lord, to be content in all thy stations and conditions. And lo, there shineth upon thee from the light of the Sun of Contentment that which shall suffice thee in the path of God, independent of aught else. And this is that thou hast, in thy state of contentment with God in the depths of Oneness, that shouldst He manifest Himself to thee through thee in every condition through His condition, thou wouldst be content, or through thy condition, thou wouldst be content.

Part 2: “Should He place thee in the station…”

Should He place thee in the station of the heart through the manifestation of the element of fire in His Name the Restrainer, thou shouldst be content like unto the element of earth in His Name the Slayer. And likewise in the air in His Name the Living, like unto water in His Name the Quickener. Then in the stations of action, should He assign unto him who worshippeth Him the fire of hell in its entirety, and unto him who obeyeth Him the waters of paradise in their entirety, it behooveth the servant to worship Him and be content with the fire, even though the command be otherwise. And likewise in all the conditions of the rank of action, where the observer knoweth through the light of his Lord.

Then thou hast in the station of contentment with the ordinances of Muhammad, the Apostle of God, that thou shouldst be content with Him in all that He hath done in the Faith, and commanded, and forbidden. And should there occur to thy mind regarding an ordinance other than what He hath commanded the people in the Book, thou wouldst be deficient in the station of morals from the rank of the people of the Covenant, even as Muhyi’d-Din—may God intensify his torment—went astray in his pronouncements which numbered three hundred and sixty volumes, wherein he said that he found gaps in the Faith and covered them up. And among these was his statement that Muhammad, the Apostle of God—peace be upon Him and His family—said “Glory be to God” because it was meet that He should say “Glory be to Me.” May God punish him for what he hath fabricated in the Faith.

And Muhammad, the Apostle of God, ascended not unto heaven until He had perfected the entire Faith. And verily what he advanced regarding the ordinance of “Glory be to God” is sheer infidelity in the religion of the family of God. And when he turned to the concept of the unity of existence, he had no recourse but to speak of those accidental individuations which are the essential degrees of the people of the fire. And most philosophers shall be tormented in the fire for having believed concerning the knowledge of God that which God hath not revealed in the Qur’an. And verily I, through what I have expounded in the two thousand verses of the Tafsir-i-Ha’, shall confute all the doubts of the philosophers, if they would be fair before God.

And if thou shouldst bear that Book, verily it would be more profitable unto them that profess the unity of God than all that the sun shineth upon. And when thou art perplexed with the perplexity of God’s good-pleasure, and then illumined with the radiance of the good-pleasure of God’s Messenger, then know thou all stations even as We caused thee to be enlightened by the light of the Sun of Glory.

At the level of man, the law of good-pleasure requireth that thou be pleased with thy brother in God’s religion even as thou art pleased with those who disobey not God and who are preserved from sin and purified; and that thou love for him all that thou lovest for them. For verily the right of faith for the believer deriveth from the right of God, and whoso violateth the right of his believing brother hath verily violated the right of God.

And after the right of religious brethren, it is obligatory upon thee to be pleased with thy parents even if they wrong thee. Say not to either of them “Fie” nor repulse them, and obey them in what they desire ere they ask of thee. Indeed, their obedience is more beloved to Me than the coolness of snow upon thy breast on a hot day. And if either of them displeaseth thee in aught, then in the face of their displeasure show thy pleasure with them regarding their displeasure, that not so much as a mustard seed of grief might rend their hearts because of thee. And verily their command, were it not in disobedience to the Lord, is greater in God’s sight than all good deeds. And make them well-pleased with thee, for their good-pleasure is the good-pleasure of the Lord, glorified be His praise.

And thou hast a right in thy private life to be pleased with thy public life, and likewise the decree is the reverse, for if thy private self desireth the night prayer while thy public self showeth not desire for it, thou art not of them that are well-pleased with it. Likewise, if thy public self desireth any of the good things in this worldly life while thy private self forbiddeth it, thou art not in God’s Book among them that are content with His decree.

And today, all good-pleasure is established for him who is content with the appearance of verses from God without proof from aught else. Though he may be adorned with spiritual attributes in good-pleasure throughout all worlds, yet if therein he sayeth “My heart is not pleased with the verses without witnessing something of the extraordinary,” all his good-pleasure is nullified in God’s Book and all the conditions of his good-pleasure profit him not. For in that station he hath desired to choose for himself or for the people that which God desired not to manifest. This is for whoso desireth to behold the countenance of the Lord and Paradise with his own eyes: that he be content in those days with such a proof from God, even as God hath decreed in the Qur’an that a single verse from Him establisheth the truth and nullifieth falsehood, though the unbelievers be averse.

As God indicated in the call of Aaron and Moses to Pharaoh and his chiefs:

“We have come with a sign from thy Lord, and peace be upon him who followeth guidance in God’s path and desireth neither to go astray nor to fall into misery.”

O man! Be thou assured with certitude, as though thou wert in the knowledge of certainty beholding the countenance of the truth of certainty in the very essence of certainty, that today all reward is for him who proveth to the people these verses from God’s Book and nullifieth the deeds of them that deny them. And verily all, in the reality of servitude, render them as they appear—that they are neither they themselves nor other than they.

And verily in relation to His own essence, no one can know Him save God and that which was above Him in the station of Lordship. The people of attraction through the mystery of the mind, and the people of spirit through the mystery of the heart, are unable to recognize in His appearance of servitude the sovereignty of His Divine Lordship, for He cannot be known through attributes, nor described by location, nor indicated by signs, nor comprehended through narratives. Therefore God has made effects the means of people’s knowledge, otherwise in the station of essence there is no station for Him except through similitudes.

And when God knew that some people would claim the station of Lordship in the temple of servitude without deserving it, God created for its people signs that would indicate its true possessor and distinguish between truth and falsehood. It is not incumbent upon one established upon the throne of Lordship to manifest all its powers except as God willeth, for when the requirement of a station is established, all powers become binding if God so desires. And if its possessor does not manifest them, there is no deficiency in him before God or before creation, for that which befits the station of this Word from the Countenance of Lordship undoubtedly befits the station of attraction, and if God does not manifest it through his hands, undoubtedly he is praiseworthy in his deed, and that is due to wisdom which He knows better than others, just as some signs of Lordship appeared in some Manifestations and not in others. And it is not fitting, due to the limitations of that world, that all powers of Lordship be manifested through anyone. But God has promised His servants in Paradise, and therefore whatever occurs to their minds, before they can say “Be!”, it comes into existence before them, and verily God’s promise is fulfilled.

And in this world, when God desires to distinguish between the wretched and the blessed, He manifests through the possessor of the Countenance of Lordship some of its powers, so that those who are to live might live by clear proof, and those who are to perish might perish by clear proof, and those who believe in it might believe, and those who see naught else might deny it and doubt it. And if God were to manifest all its powers, no one would deny Him, for if proof came with all that everyone desires and asks for, all would believe, and the wretched would not be distinguished from the blessed. Therefore God revealed in the Qur’an and educated His Beloved in His saying:

“Say: If what ye would hasten were in my power, the matter would be decided between me and you; but God knoweth best the wrong-doers.”

And verily that which We have revealed unto thee concerning the mention of that Path, wert thou to witness its reality, thou wouldst surely recognize it as unique among those who call unto God and perform righteous deeds, saying “I ask of you no recompense, nor am I of those who impose.” And it shall be established in thy life through His signs for whoso desireth the pure religion when thou seest neither fear nor trial, for that is the pinnacle of grace in the days of separation.

And if thou desirest all reward, then speak from the proof of the Book, and if thou wishest to warn a servant, then make him fear the evil of torment through fear of the Book. For verily when I desire to make myself yearn, I say “Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah,” and when I desire to warn it, I say verily I am Ali without ʿayn, lam, or ya. And revelation encompasseth thee—fear God and be not of the despairing ones.

And if thou wouldst journey and call unto that Path, thou wouldst witness that which hath never occurred to anyone’s heart as thy Lord willeth. And verily that glory before God is because the kingdom of the world, like unto Solomon in truth, hath passed away, and like unto Shaddad in falsehood, shall pass away.

And verily death is a truth from which there is no escape, so dwell in God’s good-pleasure and gather not in secret with bodies and all who follow them, and be not content with God’s displeasure, and walk not with the sons of kings, but rather enjoy their provision, for all shall be gathered unto God.

And sufficient is what We have caused to shine upon thee concerning the reality of attraction and wayfaring when thou sayest “There is no power nor strength save in God.”

And sufficient for thee in the station of fear is to act according to that tradition wherein He, exalted be His mention, said: “And I say the like unto thee, O Abu Talib: Fear God as though thou seest Him, for though thou seest Him not, verily He seeth thee. And if thou thinkest He seeth thee not, thou hast indeed become an unbeliever, and if thou knowest He seeth thee, then manifesteth disobedience unto Him, thou hast made Him the most contemptible of observers unto thee.” And sufficient for thee in the midst of fear is that good-pleasure from thy Lord in that He said: “Whoso feareth God, everything feareth him, and whoso feareth not God, God maketh him to fear everything”—for the boundary of goodly knowledge of God is that thou shouldst hope in none save God and fear naught save thy sin. And if thou act upon that Path, thou shalt indeed be of the secure ones.

Glorified be 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.