BB00138: Prayer in reply to Mulla Ahmad Khurasani, Di’bil, et al

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

Praise be to God Who hath made Himself known unto His servants; were it not for His revelation through creation, they would have been among the forgotten ones. O my God! I bear witness unto Thee on this day to that which Thou bearest witness unto Thyself before all things: There is none other God but Thee, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Single, the One, Who hath appointed no proof for Himself save His oneness, and Whose essential nature hath not been described to His servants. For verily He hath ever been as He was in the beginning, and now is even as He hath ever been. There is none other God but Him, and none knoweth His Essence save Him, and none can describe His Being save Him, and none knoweth how He is except Him. Verily, there is none other God but He, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Great.

O my God! Thou knowest my secret and beholdest my conscience. I sought not to mention Thee, for Thy mention is unto me, and I have not borne witness to Thyself in any place except that it is severed from Thee through Thy creation. Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thy Essence transcendeth all proofs, and Thy Being is evidenced in the establishment of certitude beyond all expression. Created beings know naught save the stations of their own selves, and the examples in the essence of creation point to naught save their own realities.

Glorified, glorified art Thou! No soul hath witnessed the decree in Thine Essence save that it hath been cut off from all causes and gathered among the most abject of creatures, for Thou, O my God, canst not be known through aught else but Thyself, nor described by aught besides Thee. For the essence of a thing can only be known through its creation, and no description befitteth contingent beings before Thy face save that of impotence. The mention of attributes is severed from Thee through Thy creation and is described in the realm of possibility through Thy invention. None knoweth Thine Essence, and no name existeth with Thee for Thy oneness, and no description availeth for Thy Being, by the testimony of created things themselves and by the testimony of the Truth, Thy Self. There is none other God but Thee! Glorified and exalted art Thou above what the wrongdoers say concerning Thy signs, with great exaltation!

I bear witness, O my God, to Muhammad, Thy Beloved, may Thy blessings be upon him and his family, even as Thou didst create him unique without peer, transcendent above all likeness, sanctified from all comparison, and didst make him, through the might of Thy Self, the station of Thy power among all creation, for Thou hast ever been unassociated with the creation of things or the description of contingent beings. Bestow, O God, upon him all that which befitteth him of glory and dominion, of beauty and sovereignty. Verily, Thou art the Possessor of ancient bounty, and there is none other God but Thee, the Most High, the Great.

And I bear witness to the successors of Thy Beloved Muhammad, may Thy blessings be upon him and his family, as Thou lovest and willest concerning them. And I bear witness that their names with Thee are Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Ali, Muhammad, Ja’far, Musa, Ali, Muhammad, Ali, Hasan, and Muhammad. Therefore, O God, send peace upon them and upon the pure leaf of the blessed Tree, as befitteth Thee. Verily, Thou art the Most High, the All-Wise.

Nothing in the heavens or on earth is too great for Thee, and with Thee is the knowledge of all things in a clear Book. O God! Thou knowest my secret and my public acts, and numerous books have come down to me from the people of Thy obedience, after I had delegated save to him who was exalted in some days and to him who was most worthy of the Book. And Thy decree is not burdensome upon me; my pleasure is in responding to those who call upon me seeking Thy good pleasure. But since the month is God’s month, and I am Thy servant, grief hath encompassed my heart by reason of what the hands of the people of tyranny and transgression have wrought. I commune with Thee concerning some of that which the servants have asked of me, that each might take their portion from Thy bounties according to what the Book enumerateth.

Verily, Thou art the Mighty, the Bestower! Among that which was revealed in the Book of Ahmad from the Holy Land—O God, send Thy blessings upon him and reward him for what he taught the people in Thy Sacred House, and inspire him with Thy good pleasure and what he intended in visiting his kindred—verily Thou art the Mighty, the Generous, and Thou art powerful over all things.

I beseech Thee, O my God, to send Thy blessings upon the people of that House and upon those who recite unto the people therein, by day and by night, Thy verses, with all Thy divine fragrances and favors. Verily, Thou art the Ancient Bestower.

And among that which was shown unto me was the book of Thy servant, the son of Ali, whom Thou didst cause to dwell in the land by the sea. O God, inspire him with what he desires, for I intended not to mention what he desired in the verses. O God, send Thy blessings upon those who follow Thy decree and seek Thy good pleasure. Verily, Thou art He of ancient grace.

And among those who asked of me was a man from among the Arabs, of a certain tribe, who had written numbered verses. After I had answered some of them before Thee one night, and sat with him until the break of dawn, I now indicate some of what he desired of me by way of wisdom from the answers of the people of the Bayan, apart from what we must answer the people by way of proof.

O God! I testify that I am Thy servant and have claimed naught but servitude unto Thee and obedience to the people of Thy love. Thou art the All-Merciful Who hath established Thyself by Thy power upon the throne. All besides Thee are Thy creation and within Thy grasp. The heavens are folded up in the hands of the people of Thy authority, and the entire earth is in their grasp, for Thou art not associated with things, nor can any mention by the people of creation encompass Thy knowledge. Verily, Thou art the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

I testify that what hath been recorded in the Book of Al-Kafi concerning the verses of Thy pure Proofs is truth wherein is no falsehood, and all are submissive unto it. Thou knowest, O my God, that He Who conversed with Moses, son of ʿImran, was, according to the explicit text of Thy chosen ones, a man from among their followers, for Thou art too glorious and great to manifest Thyself to Thy creation. Thy manifestation is none other than Thine eternal Essence, and Thy revelation none other than Thine Own sanctification.

All names have been cut off from Thee and all signs have been obliterated before Thee. There hath appeared on Sinai the light of those who manifest themselves from the mantles of Thy countenance, before which all things have bowed down and in which all believe.

O God! I bear witness that he is Thy servant who hath believed in Thee and spoken of Thy verses, and hath claimed naught but servitude unto Thee. Verily Thy light, whose authority Thou hast taken from all things—and nothing exists save through his covenant—and Thou hast tested all through contemplation of his station. The Chiefs, the Nobles, the Pure Soul, the Arabian, the Yemeni, the Taliqani, and the Khurasani were none other than Thy believing servants who circle round Thy decree, and they are among those who remember him.

I testify that the name of Thy Proof who standeth by Thy Cause is concealed with Thee, and it is not permissible for one who knoweth not his right to mention his name or indicate his land. But for one who recognizeth him through spiritual insight, according to the decree of Thy Book, it is lawful. Verily, Thou art Kind and Merciful to the believers.

I testify that Thou hast tested the people through the mention of Thy servant after the testimony before Thee that through him shall be revealed what is in the breasts and the people shall be called to account on the Day of Resurrection. The people of Islam said, during a numbered period after it was established with them that the Speaker intended the particular Beginning, but when the letters were changed by God’s leave, they went astray and led the people astray unknowingly.

O God! Deal with their first and their last and their liars as beseemeth Thee. Verily Thou wrongest not anyone, and judgest, O my God, between all with justice, and forgivest not those who have wronged people without right. I bear witness that they have deserved what none among creation deserves. Deal with them according to what their hands have wrought in Thy path. Verily Thou art the All-Knowing. Nothing is hidden from Thee, whether in the heavens or on earth, and with Thee is a preserving Book.

O God! Severe hath grown the ordeal in tribulation, and great the affliction and hardship for Thy chosen servants. Therefore, O God, send down from Thy presence the word of pardon and mercy. Verily Thou art possessed of great bounty.

Thou knowest, O my God, that the questioner who hath written these verses desired naught but knowledge of Thy commandments. Therefore inspire, O God, what he seeketh from Thy Book. I have not intended the path of argumentation, nor mentioned what Thou hast loved in the presence of the exposition. Verily Thou art cognizant of all things.

I have read, O my God, portions of his book which he sent to me, and I saw therein no judgment save the establishment of the word of certitude for those who act upon conjecture before Thee. I testify that this judgment in the decisive Book is a manifest truth.

Thou knowest, O my God, the judgment concerning what he asked of me regarding four words, and Thou dost witness that I answered him in writing. He shall discover what he sought of Thy judgment. Protect him through Thy generosity, for he is a penitent servant. Forgive, O God, those who follow Thy verses and strive in Thy path, and who fear none except Thy judgment and Thy justice. Thou art the Generous, the Forbearing.

Thou knowest, O my God, the judgment of those who ask and what they will ask thereafter. Inspire them, O my God, as Thou willest and how Thou willest, that they may have no need to question. Verily Thou art the Bestower, the Bountiful, Who giveth to whom Thou willest as Thou willest and withholdeth from whom Thou willest as Thou willest. Thou art the Mighty, the All-Giving.

Grant success, O God, to Thy sincere servants in reciting Thy verses and preserving all that hath been sent down from Thee and all that will be revealed hereafter in Thy days. Thou knowest all things and no knowledge of anything escapeth Thee. Verily Thou hast power over all things. There is no power nor strength save in God, the Exalted, the Great. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.