Such is the condition and fate of His companions which in former days hath
been foretold. And now observe how, according to this tradition, Zawrá is
no other but the land of Rayy. In that place His companions have been with
great suffering put to death, and all these holy beings have suffered
martyrdom at the hand of the Persians, as recorded in the tradition. This
thou hast heard, and unto it all testify. Wherefore, then, do not these
grovelling, worm-like men pause to meditate upon these traditions, all of
which are manifest as the sun in its noon-tide glory? For what reason do
they refuse to embrace the Truth, and allow certain traditions, the
significance of which they have failed to grasp, to withhold them from the
recognition of the Revelation of God and His Beauty, and to cause them to
dwell in the infernal abyss? Such things are to be attributed to naught
but the faithlessness of the divines and doctors of the age. Of these,
Ṣádiq, son of Muḥammad, hath said: “The religious doctors of that age
shall be the most wicked of the divines beneath the shadow of heaven. Out
of them hath mischief proceeded, and unto them it shall return.”
We entreat the learned men of the Bayán not to follow in such ways, not to
inflict, at the time of Mustagháth, upon Him Who is the divine Essence,
the heavenly Light, the absolute Eternity, the Beginning and the End of
the Manifestations of the Invisible, that which hath been inflicted in
this day. We beg them not to depend upon their intellect, their
comprehension and learning, nor to contend with the Revealer of celestial
and infinite knowledge. And yet, notwithstanding all these admonitions, We
perceive that a one-eyed man, who himself is the chief of the people, is
arising with the utmost malevolence against Us. We foresee that in every
city people will arise to suppress the Blessed Beauty, that the companions
of that Lord of being and ultimate Desire of all men will flee from the
face of the oppressor and seek refuge from him in the wilderness, whilst
others will resign themselves and, with absolute detachment, will
sacrifice their lives in His path. Methinks We can discern one who is
reputed for such devoutness and piety that men deem it an obligation to
obey him, and to whose command they consider it necessary to submit, who
will arise to assail the very root of the divine Tree, and endeavour to
the uttermost of his power to resist and oppose Him. Such is the way of
the people!
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