Wherefore, O my friend, it behooveth Us to exert the highest endeavour to attain unto that City, and, by the grace of God and His loving-kindness, rend asunder the “veils of glory”; so that, with inflexible steadfastness, we may sacrifice our drooping souls in the path of the New Beloved.  We should with tearful eyes, fervently and repeatedly, implore Him to grant us the favour of that grace.  That city is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and dispensation.  In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus the Gospel; in the days of Muhammad the Messenger of God the Qur’an; in this day the Bayan; and in the dispensation of Him Whom God will make manifest His own Book—­the Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must needs be referred, the Book which standeth amongst them all transcendent and supreme.  In these cities spiritual sustenance is bountifully provided, and incorruptible delights have been ordained.  The food they bestow is the bread of heaven, and the Spirit they impart is God’s imperishable blessing.  Upon detached souls they bestow the gift of Unity, enrich the destitute, and offer the cup of knowledge unto them who wander in the wilderness of ignorance.  All the guidance, the blessings, the learning, the understanding, the faith, and certitude, conferred upon all that is in heaven and on earth, are hidden and treasured within these Cities.

For instance, the Qur’an was an impregnable stronghold unto the people of Muhammad.  In His days, whosoever entered therein, was shielded from the devilish assaults, the menacing darts, the soul-devouring doubts, and blasphemous whisperings of the enemy.  Upon him was also bestowed a portion of the everlasting and goodly fruits—­the fruits of wisdom, from the divine Tree.  To him was given to drink the incorruptible waters of the river of knowledge, and to taste the wine of the mysteries of divine Unity.

All the things that people required in connection with the Revelation of Muhammad and His laws were to be found revealed and manifest in that Ridvan of resplendent glory.  That Book constitutes an abiding testimony to its people after Muhammad, inasmuch as its decrees are indisputable, and its promise unfailing.  All have been enjoined to follow the precepts of that Book until “the year sixty"(153)—­the year of the advent of God’s wondrous Manifestation.  That Book is the Book which unfailingly leadeth the seeker unto the Ridvan of the divine Presence, and causeth him that hath forsaken his country and is treading the seeker’s path to enter the Tabernacle of everlasting reunion.  Its guidance can never err, its testimony no other testimony can excel.  All other traditions, all other books and records, are bereft of such distinction, inasmuch as both the traditions and they that have spoken them are confirmed and proven solely by the text of that Book.  Moreover, the traditions themselves grievously differ, and their obscurities are manifold.