219 If these souls, who have renounced all else but God for His sake and offered up their life and substance in His path, are to be accounted as false, then by what proof and testimony can the truth of what others assert be established in thy presence?  The late Haji Siyyid Muhammad(30)—­may God exalt his station and immerse him in the ocean of His forgiveness and mercy!—­was one of the most learned divines of his age, and one of the most devout and pious men of his time.  So highly was he regarded that his praise was on every tongue, and his righteousness and piety were universally acknowledged.  Yet, when hostilities broke out with Russia,(31) he who himself had pronounced the decree of holy war, and who with blazoned standard had left his native land to rally to the support of his faith, abandoned, after the inconvenience of a brief encounter, all the good that he had purposed, and returned whence he had come.  Would that the veil might be lifted, and that which hath ere now remained hidden from the eyes of men be made manifest!

220 For more than twenty years this people have, day and night, been subjected to the fury of the Sovereign’s wrath, and have been scattered by the tempestuous gales of his displeasure, each to a different land.  How many the children who have been left fatherless, and how many the fathers who have lost their sons!  How many the mothers who have dared not, out of fear and dread, to mourn their slaughtered offspring!  How numerous those who, at eventide, were possessed of utmost wealth and affluence, and who, when morning came, had fallen into utter abasement and destitution!  No land is there whose soil hath not been tinged with their blood, nor reach of heaven unto which their sighs have not ascended.  Throughout the years the darts of affliction have unceasingly rained down from the clouds of God’s decree, yet despite all these calamities and tribulations, the flame of divine love hath so blazed in their hearts that even should their bodies be torn asunder they would not forsake their love of Him Who is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, but would welcome with heart and soul whatever might befall them in the path of God.

221 O King!  The breezes of the grace of the All-Merciful have transformed these servants and attracted them unto His Holy Court.  “The witness of a true lover is upon his sleeve.”  Nevertheless, some of the outwardly learned have troubled the luminous heart of the King of the Age concerning these souls who revolve round the Tabernacle of the All-Merciful and who seek to attain the Sanctuary of true knowledge.  Would that the world-adorning wish of His Majesty might decree that this Servant be brought face to face with the divines of the age, and produce proofs and testimonies in the presence of His Majesty the Shah!  This Servant is ready, and taketh hope in God, that such a gathering may be convened in order that the truth of the matter may be made clear and manifest before His Majesty the Shah.  It is then for thee to command, and I stand ready before the throne of thy sovereignty.  Decide, then, for Me or against Me.