They are to-day the appointed Agents of God to serve as channels for the propagation of the messages of the ancient Prophets, and to govern the world--so that the rain may pour from heaven by Their blessings, that plants may grow from the earth by Their purity, and that the faithful may prevail over the faithless by Their strength. Superhuman powers are a kind of idols in this world. If a saint is content with their possession, he stops his onward progress. If he turns away from them he advances the cause of his union with God. Here is a subtile mystery, and it is this: True Friendship consists in the rejection of all save the Beloved. But attention to superhuman powers and reliance upon them means the rejection of the Beloved, and satisfaction with something other than Himself.--_Letter 8._ THE BROTHERHOOD OF FRIENDS. [There is a passage on the hierarchy of Divine Friends in =Fawâed-i-Ruknî=, another work of the author, which is translated below as a supplement to the present subject.--_Trs._] There are 4,000 =Walîs= who are not known to the world. They do not know one another, nor are they conscious of their exalted position. They ever remain veiled from the world, as well as from themselves. There are 300 =Akhyâr= (the Charitable or the Benevolent) who solve the difficulties of the world and keep the gate of the Divine Sanctuary. There are forty =Abdâl= (the Substitutes); 17 =Abrâr= (the Liberated); 5 =Nujabâ= (the Pure); 4 =Autâd= (the Pegs); 3 =Nuqabâ= (the Watchers); 1 =Qutub= (the Pole), also called =Gaus=, the 'Redresser of Grievances'. All these know one another and are interdependent for the discharge of their respective duties. (Total, 370--_Trs._)