BB00521: Answer to Mirza Muhammad ’Ali

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

Praise be to God Who bestows His remembrance upon whomsoever He willeth. Verily, there is no God but He, the Mighty, the All-Wise.

O my God! How can I call upon Thee when Thou knowest my innermost secret, and how can I refrain from calling upon Thee when Thou hast commanded me to praise Thee? I testify that there is no God but Thee, alone without any partner. Thou hast ever existed when nothing else existed, and Thou shalt continue to exist after all things have perished. Creation with all its manifestations hath not changed Thee, nor have its innovations with all their conditions altered Thee. Thou art God, the Munificent, the All-Encompassing.

I bear witness to Muhammad and his successors—Thy blessings be upon them all—according to what Thou hast ordained for them in the knowledge of the unseen, whereof none besides Thee can comprehend. Verily, Thou art God, the Self-Sufficient, the All-Praised.

I beseech Thee, O God, by Thy Most Beautiful Names and Thy Most Great Signs, to preserve our hearts from turning to any but Thee, and to guard our souls from heedlessness of the First of Thy creation, the Light of Thy Essence, and the Splendor of Thy Eternity—Muhammad, Thy blessings be upon him and his family. Preserve our beings from seeking protection from any save the Guardians of Thy Cause, the Custodians of Thy Mystery, the Interpreters of Thy Revelation, and the Pillars of Thy Unity—the Imams of Religion and the Guides of the people of certitude, Thy blessings be upon them all.

And preserve our bodies from pride and abasement before any save the chosen ones among Thy friends and the noble ones among Thy servants. And guard us from every evil encompassed by Thy knowledge. Verily, Thou art God, the Munificent, from Whose knowledge nothing escapes, and Thou art God, the Strong, the Mighty.