BB00094: Kitabu’l-’Ulama II

Part 1: “Glorified be He before Whom all within…”

In the name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy

Glorified be He before Whom all within the heavens and earth fall prostrate, and we are all prostrators before Him. Glorified be He Whom all within the heavens and earth and whatsoever lieth between them praise, and we are all devoutly obedient unto Him. God beareth witness that there is none other God but Him. He giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and verily He is the Ever-Living Who dieth not. Within His grasp lieth the dominion of all things. He createth what He willeth through His command “Be!” and it is. God beareth witness that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting, and that this is the true Promised One of Whom ye were foretold.

And further: There is no doubt that we and you seek after truth, yet we have found no path thereto save through those signs of God which render impotent all the learned. This is what establisheth our religion from aforetime, and according to what hath been established between us and you, if discourse be not equitable with what God hath revealed in the Book, then whoso desireth to take a path unto God shall not act upon it.

We have indeed heard what was decreed concerning the appearance of Muhammad, peace be upon Him and His family. There is no doubt that the appearance of the Mahdi is identical with the appearance of Muhammad in the eyes of those who look unto the Point of the Cause. Nay, it is identical with all whom God hath sent as Prophets, for all are created by God’s command. This is the Origin of the Cause, which hath no beginning, unto the End that hath no end, and all stand firm through it. The similitude of this is as the sun: all souls are as mirrors which, when facing it, find within themselves the sun’s reflection as it appeareth unto them according to their capacity from their Lord. Thus all proceed from the sun. And all who are sent forth are none other than what hath been sent. This is God’s command—a single creation through which all are created, all are sustained, all die, and all live.

In every Revelation He raiseth up what He willeth and abaseth what He desireth. He desireth naught save what God, His Lord, desireth, and willeth naught save what God, thy Lord, hath willed in the Book. Thus doth God detail His signs that ye may understand and believe. This is the meaning of the tradition which ye all remember:

“When the Qa’im appeareth by His Lord’s leave, then from Adam unto Muhammad ye shall behold all that ye love to see in a Prophet whom ye follow.”

Thus shall ye behold all, for each hath begun from that Tree and unto it shall return. This is God’s command by which all stand firm.

The people are as dead, knowing not, thinking they are in God’s religion while they have departed from it just as they entered it, yet they perceive not. Had they known Him, none who remained from Adam’s religion and before Adam unto that which hath no beginning would have been veiled from Him, for such a one would surely turn unto God, his Lord. But having been veiled, he was not in that day among the believers.

Similarly, whoso was patient during the Dispensation of the Qur’an yet believed not in God and His signs deemed himself to be acting in God’s good pleasure, yet his knowledge encompassed not that whereof God had testified. Thus in that day are all tried. No soul acteth save that it desireth to act for God, yet God beareth witness concerning it only through those who believe in Him. Thus in that day do they abide in God’s good pleasure.

And He Whom God shall make manifest at the age of thirty, after a thousand years have passed—it cannot be less than this, nor is what hath been decreed what ye imagine. He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. This is the Sun of the Divine Will—whenever it riseth or setteth by God’s leave, it is but one Sun. Be not veiled by the proofs whereby ye strive, for this is established by the word of him whom God made a witness unto the Messenger after Him, for he confirmeth what God bestowed upon him of prophethood and the Book through what was revealed unto him of signs which ye now behold.

Therefore, lighten from yourselves what ye love in God’s religion, for God is indeed independent of what ye do. Were ye to spend all that is on earth, ye could neither add nor subtract a single letter from the religion. But God doeth what He willeth. Know ye the value of your days, for when the sun setteth ye shall find no path unto it until the Day of Resurrection, and ye shall be in night.

Follow ye all that which ye attribute to the Truth, for it hath been fulfilled through the Word of God. Such was the beginning of the Cause—how then do ye not fear? There is no way for you to believe in the Qur’an except that ye believe in the Bayan, and it is the same whether ye believe or believe not. Would any among you be content to say at this time “I follow the religion of Jesus”? If not, then how can ye be content to follow that which ye now follow? That which Jesus—peace be upon Him—revealed of religion was from God; this became the religion of Muhammad in His Manifestation, and this became the religion of your Qa’im in His Manifestation. God desireth to lighten your religion for you, that ye may give thanks unto God in the days of your Lord and be among those who are certain in the religion of God.

The relief that hath come to you is that which God hath bestowed, in that He hath manifested a Servant and given Him clear proofs from His presence, even as He gave unto Muhammad aforetime. No other proof is needed on that Day, and this sufficeth the believers, even as was revealed aforetime in a mighty Book:

“Is it not enough for them that We have sent down unto thee the Book which is recited unto them? Verily, in this is a mercy and a reminder for people who believe.”

If relief consisted in sovereignty and power, or knowledge of the Qur’an and various branches of learning, then from the time of the Apostle of God until today, all these have been possessed by the believers, both Sunni and Shi’ih. Nay, relief is that God should raise up a Proof and give Him such evidence that all are powerless before it, even as He gave to Muhammad, the Apostle of God, and today the Qur’an is His proof and none other in the eyes of all the community. Why do ye veil yourselves with matters of knowledge, or practice, or sovereignty, or glory, when there is no doubt that day and night ye act according to what ye believe to be truth, yet have caused the matter to become doubtful to your own selves, just as at the time of the Manifestation of the Truth, the previous community remained veiled by this same doubt, and while thinking they remained faithful to God, they remained in the fire?

And now when relief is manifest, why should it be that in Islam today two sovereigns rule in the name of Islam in Turkey and Persia, and countless divines give rulings in this name, yet remain veiled from Him in whom Islam is confirmed, while His proof is manifest? He hath designated nothing as proof save verses, and if anyone today were to reflect, he would know that this hath been and is the greatest of miracles, though all were heedless of what they saw in the Qur’an: “Say: ʿIf mankind and the jinn were to combine…”’ They marveled at this. Indeed, had any other than God revealed it, it would have been impossible, for from the Mission until the beginning of this Manifestation, one thousand two hundred and sixty years passed and none came forth to produce the like of the Qur’an. And now that One hath come, there is no doubt that He is from God.

It is evident that were He not from God, it would have been necessary for God, the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, to repel Him by whatever means, even as He saith in His glorious utterance:

“And if he had fabricated against Us some statements, We would assuredly have seized him by the right hand, and would assuredly have cut his life-vein.”

Or else He would have raised up a proof from Himself who would produce better than it or the like thereof. And since during these five years respite hath been granted from the Lord, the Powerful, the truth of this Cause hath been established, even as by this same proof the prophethood of the Prophet is now established, and not by aught else such as successive transmission and the like, for successive transmission benefiteth not the deniers, such as the People of the Book.

Part 2: “From the beginning of the Manifestation until now…”

From the beginning of the Manifestation until now, day by day it hath spread and become more widely known, and in no wise hath any deficiency appeared therein, nor shall it appear, for “God will perfect His light, though the polytheists be averse.” And whatever objection is raised against this will likewise be raised against the prophethood of the Prophet. Therefore, ye must needs either accept this Cause or renounce your religion and deny the authority of the Qur’an. And if anyone could write, He would reveal in His presence, night and day, within four days, that which was revealed in twenty-four years, and there is no doubt that this is the Expected One whose name is the Truth, for none other than Him has been or is capable of revealing the verses of God.

Thus in every Dispensation He appears with a name, and this is none other than Muhammad, the Messenger of God, Who has appeared on the Day of Resurrection through the Manifestation of God. From the beginning of the Qur’an to its end there is no mention more great than this, and His meeting is the meeting with God, for meeting the Ancient Essence is impossible. Whatever is mentioned in the Qur’an about meeting God refers to meeting that Reality, which God has attributed to meeting with Himself as an honor, just as He has called the Ka’bah His House. He is the Expected One Who will renew the ordinances and traditions, and He is the One of Whom the blessed Sadiq—peace be upon Him—said that three hundred and thirteen people will become unbelievers and will flee, then return after the Cause becomes most difficult.

Why have they not pondered this, and how their deeds performed day and night, supposedly for God’s sake, will suddenly become void? Just as the appearance of His Holiness was considered the lesser resurrection, from its magnitude and the thunderstruck state of all who are in the heavens and earth and what lies between them, it became manifest how all descended to the realm of unbelief. Why do they not reflect upon the traditions?

Have they not seen the tradition of Azerbaijan in the thirteenth volume of Biharu’l-Anvar:

“Azerbaijan is inevitable for us. Nothing can withstand it. When this happens, remain in your homes and stay where we stay. When one moves, hasten to him even if you must crawl. It is as though I see him between the Corner and the Station, while people are pledging allegiance to him, and he accepts from them only that he shall rule among them with new laws.”

(narrated in meaning)

Likewise in the mentioned book are traditions regarding the imprisonment of the Master of this Cause, and also the tradition of Mufaddal who asked how the beginning of this Cause and its first appearance would be. He replied that He will appear in a state of confusion until His Cause becomes manifest and His mention is exalted among the people. Then He will be called by name, lineage, and title among the people, by hearing which the proof will be complete for all the world. And likewise the tradition:

“When our Qa’im rises in Khurasan… and when our Qa’im rises in Gilan…”

And likewise the passing of signs they foretold, such as the splitting of the Euphrates, the collapse of the wall of Kufih, the killing of the people of Egypt by their leader, the locusts, the two plagues, the Dajjal, the black standards from Khurasan, the killing of the Pure Soul—may my spirit and all within my Lord’s knowledge be sacrificed for him—and the killing of the Hasani, the eclipse of the sun and moon, and thus occurred the signs which the noble Prince—may my spirit and all within my Lord’s knowledge be sacrificed for him—mentions in his collection:

O my sons, when the Turks surge forth, then await The guardianship of a Mahdi who shall arise and do justice And the kingdom of earth from the House of Hashim shall be humbled And one of them who takes pleasure and jests shall receive allegiance A youth among youths with no judgment Neither serious nor reasonable Then shall arise from among you the True Qa’im Who shall give you truth and act with truth Named after God’s Prophet, my soul his ransom So fail him not, O my sons, and make haste!

O sanctified ones, be fair to yourselves and your followers, fear the Day when leg shall be wrapped around leg, [Q68:42] and the Day when the keepers of Hell shall ask: “Did there not come to you a warner?” And they shall say: “Yes indeed! A warner came to us, but we rejected him and said: ʿGod has not sent down anything—you are only in great error.”’

Consider and observe how if someone among you claims “I saw the Promised One in a dream last night,” how much respect you accord that person. If they say “I saw him standing in such-and-such place,” you make it a shrine and show reverence. Yet I know not what has transpired that now, with such clear proofs and speaking evidences, you do not even consider the possibility that this could be the Awaited One himself (may my spirit and all within God’s knowledge be sacrificed for him). Not only do you fail to obey, but see how you treat that noble one and his companions—he himself imprisoned while his followers are all scattered.

The traditions of the Family of the Prophet have been fulfilled completely, including where they said that when He appears, the clergy of my community will wage war against Him, inflicting upon Him the same persecution inflicted upon the Messenger of God, because they interpret God’s word according to their false beliefs and fight against Him, joining the ranks of sun-worshippers and moon-worshippers.

My dear one, beware lest you be among those to whom this tradition applies. Be not proud of your knowledge nor confident in your deeds. Many a deed thought to be for God’s pleasure was not, and many an act believed to be truth was falsehood. Yes, if one realizes while acting that it is against God’s pleasure, no truth is wronged. But at that very moment the proof had been completed against him, “and they rejected them, though their souls were convinced thereof.” This applied to him, but being proud of his own truth, he was destroyed without realizing it. Just as there were believers in God’s Messenger in Islam who became proofs against other believers, though this time God has manifested differently such that every person of keen insight everywhere has become a Babi.

Indeed, we have seen in the writings that if there were other than the 313 chiefs, they would gather. Now all believers in the Qur’an await the Mahdi of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him), with none of them imagining they would fail to believe in him, just as the believers in the Spirit of God (Jesus) who awaited Ahmad the Messenger of God could not imagine he would come and they would not believe, yet this is what happened and is evident. There is no doubt this is the Promised Manifestation mentioned in countless traditions, to the point where they said “until one who splits a hair into two strands emerges, until none remain except us and our followers”—and all has appeared. Had they followed truth, all the benefits they perceived in this world would have been theirs until now and nothing would have been lost to them. Just as if the Sultan of Islam had aided truth and all the believers, all they had intended and sought in this world would have multiplied until now.

Even now the past can be compensated and tested—if it does not multiply they can return, and their religious law would not be invalidated. Now each looks out of fear for their position until it reached where it has reached, such that the pen is ashamed to mention it. Yet at the appearance all the Family of the Prophet and those of pure faith returned, and all that was seen in traditions about them has appeared, as the discerning one understands.

But even today what was lost can be rectified, for with the Lord of Command there is nothing but one pardon—by this they are pardoned until the Day of Resurrection. From the Source of Command there is but one punishment—by this they are deprived of every good until the Day of Resurrection. Despair not of God’s mercy, but enter with those who enter and be among the believers. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.