رسالة النساء الكبيرة
I place my trust in our Lord, the Righteous, the All-Knowing, the Most High above all creatures; His remembrance is exalted beyond the descriptions of those who describe and the comprehension of humankind. The letters of “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful” signify the ranks of His servant, the Imam. Glory be to Him who manifested His wisdom and thereby rendered His creatures powerless.
He who appears to us in forms like our own does so to make us familiar and to reassure our minds. In this is consummate wisdom and a miraculous sign. He concealed Himself when He willed and appeared as He willed. None may oppose Him or turn aside His command. His prayers, favor, and greetings are upon the one appointed to establish the truth, who openly spread tawḥīd, spoke truthfully and with certainty, and praised the ranks who came after him. Peace and mercy upon them, each in order of nearness, conveying from him the tawḥīd of our Lord—exalted be His remembrance—and expressing what they were commanded to express by the Lord—exalted is His name—besides whom none is worshipped.
We concealed no matter except what we were commanded to conceal, and manifested none except what we were commanded to manifest. A servant, in relation to his Lord, follows what he is commanded and abstains from what he is forbidden.
You, community of women who affirm the unity of our Lord, affirmed His unity in the way He commanded you. He concealed the knowledge of His unity when He willed and manifested it as He willed, since the will is His. “They do not precede Him in speech, and they act by His command.”
You, community of Unitarian women, must not conceal what your Lord has manifested, nor disobey what He has commanded you, thereby associating another with Him. Did you not hear in your gatherings that associationism is more hidden than the creeping of a black ant over black cloth in a dark night?
Think, then, about what was said in your earlier gatherings, so that you may understand the teaching appropriate to your own time. I advise you to hasten toward the tawḥīd of your Lord to which you were called by the person who explained it to you. If one of you says, “I affirmed the unity of the Lord and have never departed from it; I have no need of an intermediary,” the path of truth has been hidden from her.
Did you not hear in your gatherings of wisdom the account of the candle, which is complete as an illustration of tawḥīd? When its parts are separated, it cannot be called a complete candle. Wax by itself is called wax, cotton by itself cotton, fire by itself fire, and the wick-holder by itself a wick-holder. The name “candle” no longer applies. When the parts are gathered—wax, cotton, fire, and holder—only then is it called a complete candle. Understand, community of Unitarian women, why these examples were given to you: you cannot attain knowledge of tawḥīd except through all the ranks of religion.
Did your gathering not teach that the Qurʾān is a living person? When its chapters, divisions into tenths and fifths, and verses are assembled, it is called a complete Qurʾān. When its chapters and verses are separated, it is not called a complete Qurʾān. Its perfection resides in the Imam, who is the servant of our Lord—exalted be His remembrance. It is said that the Qurʾān is the Word of God. Here “God” means the divinity of our Lord, which cannot be bounded or comprehended. He manifested humanity to us out of compassion and to reassure our hearts, for we have no power to confront the divinity.
The meaning of “the Qurʾān is the Word of God” is that the Imam comes from the Lord—exalted and mighty is He. This demonstrates that no one reaches knowledge of the Lord—exalted be His praise—except through obedience to the Imam's commands and abstention from what he forbids. We may not make our own choices concerning the Lord—exalted and mighty is He—or ask “Why?” or “How?” We must hear and obey what He commands us. If we owe this to His servant, how much more do we owe it to His manifest commands? Whoever imagines that he affirms the unity of our Lord—exalted be His remembrance—while refusing His manifest commands imagines a marvel indeed.
Let us return to what was recited to us in the gathering, for we are not permitted to respond to an unauthorized person or accept his words. You know, Unitarian women, that the reader of the gathering spoke both as a warner of what would follow and as a bearer of tidings concerning what would come thereafter. He said: “A he-goat from among the he-goats of the Umayyads will ascend this pulpit of mine; after him a youth of Thaqīf will rise, a devourer of orphans' property and one who renounces the religion of the Compassionate. A third will rise, empty of religion, not among the people of the Call, devoid of knowledge. Then will come an interval and bewilderment. Afterward truth will rise as a stranger, and a stranger will establish it.”
We considered his saying about the Umayyad he-goat and found that it referred to ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz son of Muḥammad. We considered the youth of Thaqīf who devours orphans' wealth and renounces the religion of the Compassionate, and found him to be Mālik son of Saʿīd. We considered the third, empty of religion, disowning the Call and devoid of knowledge, and knew him to be Aḥmad son of al-ʿAwwām. Our Lord—exalted be His name—had stipulated that he should not speak in the Call, and he knew nothing of it. We found him empty of its sciences.
The gatherings ceased; bewilderment descended; the community was turned upside down, and people invented false sayings. Then the appointed term of the book was reached, the first promise came, and what had been concealed appeared. Those who affirmed the Lord's unity did so through the hand of the one He chose and made worthy of the task. He manifested him and concealed him. We manifested him when He manifested him, and concealed him when He concealed him, without objecting to any of this, but obeying and submitting.
Then He appeared afterward. We raised no objection and imposed no interpretation, nor did we act according to our opinions or analogies. Through knowledge we understood that the concealment had been caused by the ugliness of your deeds, your many objections, and your attempts to choose for yourselves. We have no right to that. The Lord—exalted and mighty is He—graciously manifested the matter to us through the same person by whose hand He had first manifested it, and did not alter the person. We did not sin by remaining silent, since our intentions were pure and our minds directed toward His commands. We must therefore turn wherever He turns us, without objection, choice, “why,” or “how.”
Reflect, community of Unitarian women, upon what you hear. Weigh it with sound reason and a well-protected heart. No shortcoming is acceptable from you: you have reached the ultimate goal, so beware of neglecting even a single verse.
Did you not hear the reader of the gathering say that what was being recited to you was the inward meaning, whereas what was in your hands, such as The Book of the Pillars, the Abridgment of Traditions, and The Abridgment (al-Iqtiṣār), was the outward? Understand what was explained to you. At that time the Speaker represented the outward, and the Foundation the inward. He told you that a time would come when your inward would become outward, and a further inward would arise, the inward of the inward; and the outward in your hands would disappear.
Understand what he told you. Has not the inward been left to you as outward, showing you that the Foundation has lost his concealed rank and that his station in our age has become like the station of the Speaker? For this reason the honored decree from the Holy Presence was read: “Whoever wears his signet on the right and whoever wears it on the left are of equal standing before our Lord.” Does not the one who wears it on the left signify the Speaker and his companions, and the one who wears it on the right the Foundation and his companions?
Would you cast aside what issued from the Purified Presence and refuse to acknowledge it? If so, do not claim faith. I seek refuge with the Lord from that.
Did you not hear what was recited in the honored decree concerning the prohibition of kissing the ground before our Lord—exalted be His remembrance? Do you not know that the ground signifies the Foundation, and that kissing signifies receiving his knowledge? Your Lord has forbidden you this, so accept the prohibition. Beware of disobedience, lest you perish.
Did the Book not speak of the prohibition against prostrating to the sun and moon, saying: “Do not prostrate to the sun or the moon, but prostrate to God who created them, if it is Him you worship”? Does prostration not mean obedience? How then can obedience to the Foundation be permitted in our age?
Did your gathering not say this? The decree of the Lord, read before the public, declared: “Yesterday has gone with what it contained; today has come with what it requires; and tomorrow, do not suppose that you know what it will bring.” The gathering says: “Do not turn toward yesterday or wait for tomorrow. Attend to your present day, for it is concerning that day that you will be questioned.”
Did your gathering not say that one praying may not turn to his right or left, raise his head, or look behind him, but must fix his gaze upon the place of his prostration? Know that prayer is the connection with the Lord. Turning to the right signifies returning to the rank of the Foundation; turning to the left points to the rank of the Speaker. Raising the head signifies returning to non-being; looking behind signifies turning backward. Looking toward the place of prostration signifies one's own day, age, and time. What clearer explanation could you wish for, if you reflected?
Did the gathering not tell you that purification has two forms: washing and wiping? Wiping signifies only acknowledgment of those who preceded; washing signifies obedience to the Guardian of your own age and time. Awake from your heedlessness, return to the realities of your religion, and accept what your Lord has said. Beware of following desire, for desire alone has destroyed those who perished.
Consider, Unitarian women, what the Lord has unveiled to you out of compassion and affection. Do you imagine He wants your prestige or wealth? “Whoever acts righteously does so for himself, and whoever does evil does so against himself.”
Are not Muslims the followers of the Speaker, and believers the followers of the Foundation? Was ʿAbd al-Raḥīm son of Ilyās not named Heir-Apparent of the Muslims? Did this not show you that he is the Speaker? Did He not reveal to you that Abū Hāshim is the Foundation when He made him Heir-Apparent of the Believers? He thus made plain that these two are Muḥammad and ʿAlī. You must not obey either of them; religion has forbidden it.
Do you not see that the Lord—exalted and mighty is He—gave both dominion over this world? Did He not thereby indicate that both are base and defiled, since the world is called dunyā because it is lowly (daniyya)? These two persons wear the outward appearance of the Lord—exalted and mighty is He—yet have become two opposites. How can you worship them in our time?
Unless the Lord—exalted and mighty is He—wishes to make His tawḥīd proceed through the hand of whomever He wills, naming him whatever He wills. Can anyone object to Him? Whoever obeys this is a Unitarian; whoever disobeys is obstinate. Would you flee from something the Lord has decreed?
Did you not hear in your gatherings that whoever patiently bears God's decree undergoes that decree and receives a reward, whereas whoever complains of God's decree undergoes it and incurs sin? Since the decree must pass over a person whether he approves or disapproves, he must endure it patiently and so be praised.
Did you not know, Unitarian women, that you wrote binding documents against yourselves, raised outwardly to the Knower of secret thoughts and consciences? In them you acknowledged that you surrendered your spirits, wealth, children, flesh, and blood to our Lord al-Ḥākim—glorified is He—content with His judgment concerning you. Do you imagine that you acknowledged and witnessed against yourselves something that was not in your hearts? That would mean that you believed He did not know what you concealed in your breasts. Exalted is the Lord's praise, and accursed is such a belief.
If you know that He is the Knower of unseen things, you must not disobey Him, since you have surrendered all your affairs to the Generous Lord. Why, then, do you object to what has befallen you? Beware of harboring evil thoughts about your Lord, lest evil turn back upon you. Let none of you fear anything except her own sin, or hope in anyone except her Lord.
Did the gathering not speak of three trials? At the first the believer says, “This is my destruction,” but escapes it. Then the second comes and he says, “This is certainly my destruction.” Then comes the third, and it lasts only a little while. The believer who panics at trials is one upon whom the name “believer” has been applied figuratively, not truly. The true believer is the Unitarian, and the true Unitarian has surrendered all his affairs to his Lord. He fears nothing from trials. Was not the third trial directed against Christians and Jews?
Do you not know that “Jews” here signifies opponents among the adherents of the outward, while “Christians” signifies adherents of the inward who remain with the accursed master of the inward? Take heed, and may the Lord show you mercy. Recover your hearts: returning to truth is better than persisting in falsehood.
This is an admonition I was commanded to write and present. I presented it, advised you sincerely, and extended to those who had received religious instruction from me the care a teacher shows those he has taught. Whoever accepts the admonition and counsel does so for herself and remains secure in her religious condition. Whoever rejects it loses her hereafter, and her name is written among the apostates. The matter is raised to the Lord according to what He has outwardly manifested to us. He knows hidden things and secrets.
The Lord has many other messengers in religion whom He sends as He wills. He intended this instruction through my hand out of compassion for those it reaches and as an honor and distinction for them. Praise and thanks belong to the Lord alone, without partner. Through Him I seek help in every affair.