Bahá‘u’lláh as fulfilment of the theophanic promise in the Sermons of Imam ‘Alí ibn Abí Ṭálib, Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir
Bahá‘u’lláh as fulfilment of the theophanic promise in the Sermons of Imam ‘Alí ibn Abí Ṭálib
Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir
Category: Islam
1:10 h
Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: عَلِيّ ٱبْن أَبِي طَالِب‎, ʿAlī ibn ʾAbī Ṭālib; 13 September 601 – 29 January 661) was a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who ruled as the fourth caliph from 656 to 661. In the traditions of the Twelver Branch of Islám or Imámí Shi’ism in particular, three sermons of the Imám ‘Alí stand out as pivotal in their contribution. These are known as the sermons of Ṭutunjiyyih [the Gulf], Nurániyyat [Recognition through Luminousness], and Iftikhár [Glorification]. They hold tremendous theological importance, and, down the centuries, have had a magnetic effect on Shi’ih religious thought.

Bahá’u’lláh as fulfilment of the theophanic promise in
the Sermons of Imam ‘Alí Ibn Abí Ṭálib

by
Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir

Translated
by
al Ṭutunjiyya, Iftikhár and Ma’rifat bin-Nurániyyat

Translator’s Introduction

The Founders of world religions, in Baha’i discourse, the Manifestations of God, relate their claims and their utterances to the language and beliefs of the peoples to whom they come. Thus Jesus Christ stated at the outset of his mission: “Think not that I have come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfil.” The Qur’án repeatedly states that it confirms the Gospel and the Torah, affirming that the Prophet’s advent has been mentioned in the Torah and the Evangel. The Bábí and Bahá’í Revelations are also intimately related to their Islamic background and their Judaeo-Christian heritage. As the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, says,

“[The Bahá’ís] must strive to obtain from sources that are authoritative and unbiased a sound knowledge of the history and tenets of Islam, the source and background of their Faith, and approach reverently and with a mind purged from pre-conceived ideas the study of the Qur’án which, apart from the sacred scriptures of the Bábí and Bahá’í Revelations, constitutes the only Book which can be regarded as an absolutely authenticated repository of the Word of God.”

But what is most remarkable is the frequent reference to particular verses, particular traditions (ḥadiths), particular tropes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For example, there are many references to the messianic passages of Isaiah. The passages of Matthew 24 and St John’s reference to the Comforter and the Spirit of Truth are frequent in Baha’u’llah’s writings From the Qur’án we have multiple references to the “Meeting with God” on the Day of Judgement, such as Surah 29:5

“Anyone hoping to meet God, (should know that) such a meeting with God will most assuredly come to pass. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.”

In the traditions of the Twelver Branch of Islám or Imámí Shi’ism in particular, three sermons of the Imám ‘Alí stand out as pivotal in their contribution to the Bahá’í writings. These are known as the sermons of Ṭutunjiyyih [the Gulf], Nurániyyat [Recognition through Luminousness], and Iftikhár [Glorification]. They hold tremendous theological importance, and, down the centuries, have had a magnetic effect on Shi’ih religious thought. The author of the book that contains these three sermons, Ḥafiz Rajab al Bursi (died 1411 CE), held a very high view of the station of the Imams highly evocative of the position held by Shaykh Aḥmad and Siyyid Kazim the precursors of the Bábí Cause at a later century. At the time of the Safavi renaissance of Shi’ih Islam, Bursi was considered to have exaggerated views of the station of the Imams But the writings of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa’i and Siyyid Kazim Rashti also accorded a very high station to the Imams. The Imams are referred to as “Maẓaahir,” the “manifestations of God’s names and attributes,” by Shaykh Ahmad in his Sharh az-Ziyarat In this regard Husayn the Son of the Imam ‘Ali is addressed to in the Tablet of Visitation revealed by Bahá’u’lláh for him as the One through Whom the Command of the Letters “B” and “E” came to be realised. He is also referred to as the Mystery of Revelation in the World of God’s Dominion [jabarut]. As far as one can ascertain both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh affirm in their writings the validity of these traditions which have their provenance in Bursi.

In the Kitáb-i-Iqán Bahá’u’lláh, in expounding the twin cardinal principles of the Unity of the Prophets and infinity of the Revelatory Process adduces as evidence references which are to be found only in Bursi. Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings thus affirm the importance and legitimacy of these utterances of the Imam ‘Ali.

Two important quotations from Bursi which Bahá’u’lláh cites in the Kitab-i-Iqan and which again emphasise the point of the reliability of Bursi as a narrator are the following (see italics):

Furthermore, among the “veils of glory” are such terms as the “Seal of the Prophets” and the like, the removal of which is a supreme achievement in the sight of these base-born and erring souls. All, by reason of these mysterious sayings, these grievous “veils of glory,” have been hindered from beholding the light of truth. Have they not heard the melody of that bird of Heaven uttering this mystery: “A thousand Fatimihs I have espoused, all of whom were the daughters of Muhammad, Son of Abdu’llah, the ‘Seal of the Prophets?’ ” Behold, how many are the mysteries that lie as yet unravelled within the tabernacle of the knowledge of God, and how numerous the gems of His wisdom that are still concealed in His inviolable treasuries! Shouldst thou ponder this in thine heart, thou wouldst realize that His handiwork knoweth neither beginning nor end. The domain of His decree is too vast for the tongue of mortals to describe, or for the bird of the human mind to traverse; and the dispensations of His providence are too mysterious for the mind of man to comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and it hath ever existed from the “Beginning that hath no beginning”; and the Manifestations of His Beauty no beginning hath beheld, and they will continue to the “End that knoweth no end.” Ponder this utterance in thine heart, and reflect how it is applicable unto all these holy Souls.

Likewise, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of the melody of that eternal beauty, Husayn, son of Ali, who, addressing Salman, spoke words such as these: “I was with a thousand Adams, the interval between each and the next Adam was fifty thousand years, and to each one of these I declared the Successorship conferred upon my father.” He then recounteth certain details, until he saith: “I have fought one thousand battles in the path of God, the least and most insignificant of which was like the battle of Khaybar, in which battle my father fought and contended against the infidels.” Endeavour now to apprehend from these two traditions the mysteries of “end,” “return,” and “creation without beginning or end.”

What these traditions have in common is their use of the language of the World of Command [‘Alam-i-Amr], to attribute the workings of the Will of God [His Primal Will] to the World of Creation. Bahá’u’lláh, on the strength of these traditions, states that this World of Command is sanctified above plurality:

Similar statements have been made by ‘Alí. Sayings such as this, which indicate the essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness, have also emanated from the Channels of God’s immortal utterance, and the Treasuries of the gems of divine knowledge, and have been recorded in the scriptures. These Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and the day-springs of His Revelation. This Revelation is exalted above the veils of plurality and the exigencies of number. Thus He saith: “Our Cause is but one.” Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also must needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imáms of the Muhammadan Faith, those lamps of certitude, have said: “Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all. (أولنا هحود وأوسطنا هحود وآخرنا هحود)”

The Particularity of the Sermon of the Gulf

One reference stands unique in that Bahá’u’lláh Himself calls it the Quṭb, or “Pivot,” around which “all the glad tidings of the past revolve.” That is in a passage from a sermon that was delivered by the Imam ‘Ali called the “Sermon of the Twin Gulfs,” the “Khuṭbah” of “Ṭutunjiyyah.”

The title Tutunjiyyih itself is a reference to the passage wherein the Imam says: “I am the One that standeth upon the Two Tutunjs [Gulfs].” As expounded below, Siyyid Kazim explains that these two gulfs represent the Gulf of Prophethood and the Gulf of Wilayat, or Imamate. This narration was referred to by Henri Corbin in the following terms as the “prone sur ou entre deux golfes”:

“L’Imám veut dire qu’il est le Póle (qutb) qui domine les deux golfes et détermine la courbe de leur cercle respectif. Il est celui par qui se manifeste la Miséricorde et par qui se manifeste son antithèse. “C’est en lui que se produit la différenciation des choses; c’est de lui que style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"procèdent l’origine de la béatitude et l’origine de la damnation; c’est par lui que prend réalité la difference de l’une et de l’autre”.

“The Imám means to say that he is the Pole (qutb) who rules the two gulfs and determines the curve of their respective circles. It is he through whom Mercy is manifested, and through whom is manifested its antithesis. “It is in him that is produced the differentiation of things; from him it is that the origin of beatitude and the origin of damnation both proceed. It is through him that the difference between them becomes real.”

Additionally Baha’u’llah, in a Tablet starting with the words “the essence of praise…” exalts the Sermon under our consideration as the “blessed sermon of Ṭutunjiyyah” and refers to it as having shone forth from the “dayspring of absolute sanctity and guardianship”. He says that it has not been commented on in the wondrous Persian tongue and that the purpose of the Imam ‘Ali in this sermon has been the announcement of the Promise “Anticipate ye the Advent of Him Who was the speaker with Moses on Mount Sinai.” Bahá’u’lláh then goes on to say that this promise is the Pivot [qutb] around which all wisdom and utterance revolve.

With this precise promise, Bahá’u’lláh affirms, all the peoples have been vouchsafed the glad tidings of the Manifestation of God. Bahá’u’lláh then goes on to say that in this day the Speaker of the Mount is manifest and that the Speaker gives call to this utterance “Verily I am God.”

The Sermon of the Twin Gulfs is important for Bahá’í studies on several grounds. It shows how in the pre-Bábí/Bahá’í Era various hermeneutic approaches were needed to overcome the various objections that were raised to its high theophanic claims, and that these interpretative efforts have continued to be needed. Also, as Bahá’u’lláh asserts in the Tablet of Jawhar-i-ḥamd (“The Essence of Praise”) and the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, the Ṭutunjiyyah is a source text for the claims of Bahá’u’lláh to be the Speaker on Sinai

The Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali) — peace be upon him — moreover, saith in the Khutbiy-i-Tutunjiyyih: “Anticipate ye the style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"Revelation of Him Who conversed with Moses from the Burning Bush on Sinai. Husayn, the son of Ali — peace be upon him — likewise saith: “Will there be vouchsafed unto anyone besides Thee a Revelation which hath not been vouchsafed unto Thyself — A Revelation Whose Revealer will be He Who revealed Thee. Blind be the eye that seeth Thee not!”

Similar sayings from the Imams — the blessings of God be upon them — have been recorded and are widely known, and are embodied in books worthy of credence. Blessed is he that perceiveth, and speaketh the pure truth. Well is it with him who, aided by the living waters of the utterance of Him Who is the Desire of all men, hath purified himself from idle fancies and vain imaginings, and torn away, in the name of the All-Possessing, the Most High, the veils of doubt, and renounced the world and all that is therein, and directed himself towards the Most Great Prison. ”

Siyyid Kazim and the four approaches of the divines before and during the time of the Babi/Bahá’í Revelations

Siyyid Kazim Rashti showed great respect for this Sermon and wrote a very large commentary on it, which is one of his longest works He says that the Tutunjiyyih is the pre-eminent instance of the Wisdom that “Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.” He divides the ulama into four different groups in relation to this sermon and, interestingly, this subdivision was germane to all religious classes in the fervour of millennial expectation.

The first group rejects the likes of these traditions and has dropped them from the viewpoint of credibility, saying that these traditions are based on a single line of narration (akhbaar aḥaad)and thus cannot be the basis of law or action. These traditions, they say, all are in the book of Bursi and since the latter was charged with extreme views in his day this should militate against their acceptance. Another reason they would be unacceptable in that they attempt to elevate the contingent above the level of contingency. They appear also to assert divine Lordship of a created being necessitating also that the Godhead devolves divine style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"powers to the created being all of which would contravene the Qur’ánic text which says: “is there any Creator other than God? Show me then what they have created. He is the One Who has created you Who will put you to death and will resurrect you. Does He have any partners?”

The second position that Siyyid Kazim in his celebrated Sharh mentions existed with regard to the hermeneutics of this Sermon. This position suggested one should remain non-judgmental about it on the grounds that these types of utterance exist but that human minds cannot comprehend them.

The third position in regard to these sermons is the position held by the monists and the admirers of Ibn Arabi in Shi’ih Islam such as Mullá Muhsin Fayd. Fayd-e-Kashani says: “When the effulgences of the Essence of God (dhat) overpower any one such that person’s entity, actions, attributes are all obliterated in the rays of oneness with the Divine Essence in this state he will see himself one with all Essences. In this state the light of the distinguishing mind becomes subsumed under the Light of Pre- existent Essence and all contingence is lifted up”. Then Fayd-e-Kashani says: “This explains the utterance of ‘Ali in the Sermon of the Ṭutunjiyyah: ‘I am the First Adam and the First Noah’.”

The Báb quoted the famous verse of the Ṭutunjiyyah regarding the anticipation of the Speaker of Sinai in his Seven Proofs

In the writings of Mirza Abu’l-Fadl the Sermon of the two Gulfs is referred to frequently but this matter has not been discussed previously. Thus in his Fara’id he writes that the sanctified reality of Most Great Spirit is single and one and it does not ontologically become plural or multiple because the “Mirrors” are multiple nor should it epistemologically be allowed to become so.

An overview of the Sermon of the Gulf

In this Khuṭbah, the Imam asserts belief in the divine unity and that there is no deity but the One God and the Prophethood of Muhammad, but adds the necessity of loyalty to the Imamate as the repository of salvation. In this context, the Imam ‘Ali makes a series of statements all commencing with the pronoun “I”: “I am the First. I am the Last. I was with Noah. I am the Builder. I am the destroyer. I am that Agent whereby Jesus spoke in His Cradle. I am the Word through Which all things were consummated.” Bahá’u’lláh has explained that these utterances refer to the World of Command or Revelation (‘Aalam-i Amr). In one of his tablets, Bahá’u’lláh says that the utterances of the Sermon were taught to Imam ‘Ali by the Messenger of God (Muhammad) [tilka kalimatun `allamahu Rasul’ullah], so that although Ali utters these statements in fact it is the Prophet who utters them

In this tablet, Baha’u’llah says:

“Verily My Name ‘Ali gave you the glad tidings and announced to you the Advent of this Day: He said, and His Word is the Truth: Anticipate ye the Advent of the Speaker of Sinai. I swear by God: style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"This is He. And this Announcement was taught to ‘Ali by the Messenger of God.”

The key verse of prophecy that the Manifestation to be anticipated is the Speaker on Sinai, is understood from the Bahá’í writings to be a clear reference to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh as at once the “essence, the promise, the unifier, and the reconciler” of all previous revelations, inasmuch as all the previous Faiths are understood to have spoken of the coming of the “Lord of the Vineyard” the meeting with God, and the like. In unnumbered passages Bahá’u’lláh claimed his utterance to be the “Voice of Divinity, the Call of God Himself” and his era the “Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-beloved Him Who through all eternity hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World.”

Bursi’s Three Theophanic “Sermons”: A Translation

Translation of the Sermon of the Gulf

The sermon (Khuṭbah) [delivered by Imam ‘Ali] which is designated That of the Gulf (al-Ṭutunjiyyah) has an exterior level (zahir) which is elegant (aniq) and an interior level (batin) which is deep (‘amiq). Let him who reads it beware lest he think ill of it for therein something of the sanctity of the Creator (tanzih al-Khaliq) is reflected which no one of the creatures can bear. The Commander of the Faithful [Imam ‘Ali] delivered it between Kufah and Medina. He said:

Praise be to God Who hath rent asunder the firmaments (al-ajwaa) and opened the atmosphere (al-hawa) and suspended the vast expanses of the universe and caused the Splendour (diyaa) to shine, and quickened the dead and caused the living to die. I give Him praise such praise as shone and became uplifted, a praise that was radiant and effulgently luminous, a praise that ascendeth to heaven in its sending there and which goeth to the high sphere (jaww) unto its equinoctial summit (i’tidaaluhu). He created the heavens without pillars (bila da’aaim) and set them upright without supports He then adorned the heavens with light-giving planets and caused to be imprisoned in the spheres many a dark cloud. He created the oceans and the mountains upon the collision of concomitant ever-flowing currents: He opened their gates and their mighty waves were huge! I give praise unto Him and to Him all praise is due. I testify that there is no God but Him and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger and that God chose him from the Supreme Company and sent Him unto the Arab peoples and He was appointed — He that was truly guided Himself — to guide others — He was indeed Talismanic and of the essence (hulaahilan Telasmiyyan). Muhammad raised up the evidences and sealed the Messages and Moslems obtained sight from Him. God manifested His Religion through Him, may the salutation of God be upon Him and His Pure Family.

People! turn ye repentantly unto My faction (shi’ah) and adhere to a pledge of fealty to Me. Remain steadfast and persevering in the Faith with the best certainty. Adhere steadfastly to the Successor of your Prophet in Whom resides your salvation and in Whose love on the Day of Resurrection is your safe haven! In Me resides the Hope and I am the One to be hoped for. I am the One that standeth upon the Two Gulfs! (tutunj) I am the One that looketh style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"unto the Twin Rising-Places [or “Orients”] and the Twin Setting Places [or “Occidents”] I truly did see with My own eyes [the Bounty of] God and the Paradise! And this was as the seventh Heaven was moving in its orbit and there in the great surging seas were the stars and their own orbits. I saw also the earth rolled up as a short garment would be rolled up and it was within a shell on the right sided Gulf which faces the East and the Twin Gulfs.

Further out there are the Twin Bays (khalij) of water as if they are to the left of the Twin Gulfs and I saw that the Circle that embraces these and the Paradise and all that there is therein were naught but a ring on the finger of Thy Lord. And in truth I saw the Sun when it was setting and it was like unto a bird that seeketh its nest. And if it were not for the friction of the head of Paradise and the mixing up of the Twin Gulfs and the Music of the spheres all that are in heavens and the earth would hear the ebullition of heat caused by the Sun’s descent into the Black water — and that is the Warm Fountain I know of the wonders of God’s Work what no one knows but God and I know what has been and what will be and what has been in the First Sprinkling with those who preceded the First Adam All was disclosed (kushifa) for Me and I knew and all was taught Me and I have learnt.

So hearken and do not raise a clamour. Were it not for My fear that you might say: “Ali has become possessed or apostatised from His Faith” I shall disclose unto you what and whereat they are and what you shall encounter on the day of Resurrection. All that knowledge was entrusted unto Me and thus I knew and the knowledge of all this was hidden from all the Prophets except the Lord of this Dispensation (Shari’ah) of yours (Peace be upon Him and His Family). He taught Me His knowledge and I taught Him My knowledge.

Verily We are the Warners from immemorial times and We shall be unto everlasting Warners from God Through Us will perish He that is going to perish and by Us have obtained salvation all that have obtained salvation and you shall not encompass that ability that is Ours. By the righteousness of Him Whose power causeth the seed to germinate and Who breatheth the spirit of life into all things, by Him Who alone hath power and grandeur! To Me have the winds and the air and the birds of air been conquered; the world and all that is therein was presented to me but I turned away from it. I style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"turned upside down the world and it was tilted away from Me. How can subsequent events overcome Me? I know all that is above the supreme Paradise and that which is below the seventh Ocean, that which is in the highest heavens and that which is between them and that which is below them. All this knowledge is derived from an all-embracing knowledge and not from chronicled knowledge. I swear by the Lord of the Great throne! If I wished I could inform you of your forefathers and all your predecessors as to where they were, and from whom they were and where they are now and how they came to be where they are! How many of you are eating the property of his brother and is drinking of the fountainhead of his father and yet he longeth for him and wishes that they were with him!

O would that you knew! O would that ye knew! When that which is hidden be manifest and that which is in the breasts were attained and conscience were to disclose its hidden things, I swear by God you will have returned to clay, and you will have had your “returns,” and how many signs there are between these “returns” how many those that have died or that have been slain. (I know those that are in the craw of birds and those that are in the belly of beasts and all mankind are between those that have already gone and those that are being urged on). And if it were to be revealed to you all that is with Me from time immemorial unto the end that has no end you shall truly see many and wondrous events, many strange handiworks and all that I comprehend.

I am the Master (sahib) of the First Creation before the First Noah, and if you were to know what was between Adam and Noah of wondrous events that I wrought and of nations that I caused to perish. And the true Word of Thy Lord was fulfilled in them and evil is that which they worked. I am the Master of the First Flood! I am the Master of the Second Flood! I am the Master of the Deluge of Iram! I am the Master of the Secret Mysteries! I am the Lord of ‘Ad and its gardens! I am the Lord of Thamud and its wondrous signs! I am the One that destroyed it, I am the One that caused the Earthquakes! I am the One that caused their Return and their Perdition! I am the Builder of those civilisations and their Destroyer! I cause their Expiry and I cause them to be quickened! I am the First and the Last! I am the External and Manifest and I am the Internal and Hidden! I am with the Cycle (kawr) before the Cycle began! I am the Companion of the Dispensation (dawr) before the Dispensation started! I was with the Pen before the Pen and I am with the Tablet prior to the Tablet being revealed! I am the Lord of the First Pre-existence! I am the Lord of Jabulqa and of Jabulsa! I am the Master of Highest Stage (rafraf) and of Bahram! I am the style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"One Who organised existence when there was no heaven as you have them now nor earth as you know it now!

The Son of Suwairama said: “Are you, are you indeed that One?!” ‘Ali replied: “I am, I am that One! There is no other God But God Who is My Lord and the Lord of all created things. Unto Him belongs the Creation and the World of Revelation (amr). He it is Who has ordained all matters in His Wisdom and heavens and earth are upraised in His Power. Methinks the weak ones amongst you are saying; “Is this not the son of Abu-Talib Whom the forces of Syria had overshadowed yesterday and He would not go out to fight them and sent them Muhammad and Ibrahim?” But truly and assuredly I shall fight Syria many times and I shall slay them many times. I shall fight their armies at Siffin and I shall bring a new life unto the believer until that thirst for justice in my chest be allayed. I shall fight for ‘Ammar Yassir and for Uways of Qaran many times. Let none say when? How? and in what manner? and with whose assistance? How shall it be when you shall see the Master of Syria saweth men with saws and cutteth them with trowels? But I shall make him taste a painful retribution.

But rejoice now for the cause of all creation reverts unto Me on the morrow. Let not this claim appear extravagant inasmuch as We have been vouchsafed the knowledge of all fates and of all tribulations, and the knowledge of interpretation and of the Revelation and the decisive Discourse (Faslu’l- Khitab) and knowledge of all future calamities and catastrophes. There is nothing whose knowledge escapes Us. This is truth and I shall see this One [pointing to Husayn, Peace be upon Him] when His Light shall flow forth of His eyes and I shall be present with Him a lengthy time that shall witness earthquakes and eclipses. They that are believers will revolt in His company from every corner. I swear by God! If I wished I would tell you of their names every one of them and their descent from both parents, until the Day of whose time is promised.

Then ‘Ali said: “O Jabir! You are with the Truth now and you shall be with the True One hereafter and in that true Cause you shall die. O Jabir! When the Bell shall cry loud, when the stupor of the Nightmare shall enshroud men, when the Cow shall speak, on that day there shall happen wondrous, exceedingly wondrous Events, when the Fire shall be ignited in My sight, when the Banner of the House of ‘Uthman shall appear in the Black Valley, when Basra shall be thrown into confusion and they shall seek to conquer each other and each party shall seek the other, when the armies of Khurasan shall begin to move, and when Shu’ayb the son of Salih of Tamim shall be followed in Taliqan, and Sa’id of Shusha shall be obeyed in Khuzistan, and the banner shall be raised up by the Amalekites of the Kurds, and the Arabs shall seek victory over Armenia and the Slavs, and Heraclitus shall submit to the patriarchs of Sinan in Constantinople, anticipate ye then the style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"Revelation of the Speaker of Mount Sinai This will appear with manifest signs visible unto all, clearly perspicuous to them. O but how many a wondrous sign I seek not to mention and how many indications I have left undivulged! for I cannot find one who can bear them. I am the One Who ordered Satan to bow down Adam! I am the One Who raised Idris to a high station. I am the Agent whereby Jesus was enabled to speak in His cradle while yet a Babe! I am the One who flattens the valleys and Who sets the Earth to order and I am the One Who has divided it into five parts, namely, land, sea, mountains, built, and unbuilt. I am the One Who separated the Red Sea from Tarjim, and separated Aqim from Him. I separated all from all! I am Tirathia, Janbutha, Barhilion, Aliuthoutha I bring out of the Ocean that which is stored in it that it shall be cleared away by the horses and men, take from it what you desire and leave what you wish to leave.

He then gave ‘Ammar-ibn-Yassir 12000 men who loved God and His Apostle and each had 12000 battalions of angels to support them saying: Rejoice for you are the best of brethren to each other for after this there shall be a star (tarfatan) through which ye shall know some of the expounded matter. The Mysteries of Evidence shall become clear to you when Bahram and Keyvan (stars) shall rise together and become conjoined with exactness. When shakings and earthquakes shall succeed each other swiftly and banners shall be lifted up from the shores of Oxus to the Desert of Babylon know ye then that I am the One Who causeth the winds the blow, I am the One Who lifts your oppressions!

I am the Master of the Mount Sinai! I am that Manifest Light! I am that Perspicuous and dazzling Evidence (that light of which an infinitesimal part was disclosed unto Moses) and all that was vouchsafed unto Me by God the Lord Of Glory.

I am the Master of the Gardens of eternal delight! I am the One that causeth the Rivers to flow from the Water that emanates from the divine current, and other Rivers which are of milk, and Rivers of pure Honey, and Rivers that flow with wine, a delight unto those who partake. I am the One that hath overshadowed hell when it was made to blaze and have overlooked its several compartments: firstly the Hell of Sa’ir when it blazeth forth then the Hell of Saqar and its fire and lastly the nethermost Hell which has been preserved for the transgressor all of these have been preserved in the Valley of Desolation. Again I swear by the Lord Who bringeth Dawn, He Who is the Lord of all creation! Within it is kept eternally both Jibt and Taghut and style="font-family: GentiumPlus, Georgia, serif;"their servants and whomsoever disbelieveth in the Lord of this world and the Kingdom on high.

I am the Maker and Sustainer (sani’) of all the Regions of this world by the Command of the One Who is the All-Knowing the All-Wise. I am the Word through Which all things are consummated and through which the Universes are brought into being. I am the One Who has made the regions of the earth to be four and the islands to be seven: the Region of the South to be the Depository of all Bounty, the Region of the North to be Powers and Sovereignty, the Region of Sheba to be the Seat of earthquakes, and the Desert Region to be the Seat of many a catastrophe. So Woe unto the cities from those transgressors who will come to destroy and pervert justice. Woe shall be when calamities come to transpire from that Government of eunuchs, imbeciles, and effeminate rulers. On that Day all Regions will bring forth false claimants claiming falsehoods. Oh! On that Day expect eagerly your Supreme salvation and you shall see men accepting it by troops On that Day God will make of the gravel of Najaf treasures of gold and all of that will be sprinkled where the believer shall step his foot on it and with that same dust of gold the unbeliever and the hypocrite shall be exchanged and bartered. Then shall the value of red ruby be as nothing and similarly other jewels and pearls. This shall be a most evident sign and when it shall transpire the Light of God shall shine and His Glory (sat’ baha’ihi)shall be effulgent and all that you wish for shall be made manifest and all that is your highest desire shall become apparent.