تقليد المقتنى
Know—may the Lord grant you success, bestow upon you the path of guidance, protect you from error and passion, give you good tidings of what you love and approve, bless you in this excellence, and establish you in this lofty station and magnificent rank.
The address: From the Qāʾim of the Age, Guide of the Responders, who takes vengeance upon the polytheists and renegades through the sword of our Lord—glorified is He—and the strength of His sovereignty, besides whom none is worshipped, Ḥamza son of ʿAlī son of Aḥmad.
The designation: To Shaykh al-Muqtanā Bahāʾ al-Dīn, Tongue of the Believers and Support of the Unitarians, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī son of Aḥmad al-Samūqī, known as al-Ḍayf. May the Lord grant him success and strengthen him.
Praise belongs to our Lord alone in prosperity and adversity, hardship and ease.
“Copy into the register of the Unitarians, God willing; through Him comes success.” “Copy into the register of the chiefs, God willing; through Him comes success.” “Copy into the register of the Unitarians, and praise belongs to our Lord in every circumstance.” “Copy into the register of the chiefs and shaykhs.”
I have placed my trust in our Lord al-Ḥākim, the One, the Unique, the Self-Sufficient, transcendent above spouses and number, glorified and exalted above names and attributes.
From the servant and possession of our Lord—glorified is He—the Qāʾim of the Age, to whom the Criterion pointed: a servant who knew his Lord and affirmed His unity before the creation of existence, before darkness and the two lights, before place and possibility, before throne and smoke, before the spheres and the two ever-renewed things, before Callers and the two Origins, before manifestation and concealment. His was knowledge without doubt and pure light unextinguished by darkness: the First Intellect and the excellent Imam. Through him lies the goal of tawḥīd; through him glorification becomes known; and through his rising the warning becomes manifest among humanity. He is Guide of the Responders, who takes vengeance upon the polytheists through the sword of our Lord—mighty is His power.
To the fourth of the psychic ranks and Follower of the spiritual ranks, Follower of the excellent Preceder and bearer of the honored word. By the Preceder I mean Shaykh al-Muṣṭafā, Organizer of the Responders and Honor of the Unitarians, Abū al-Khayr Salāma son of ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Sāmirī, the Caller—may the Lord honor him and make him happy.
To Shaykh al-Muqtanā Bahāʾ al-Dīn, Tongue of the Believers and Support of the Unitarians, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī son of Aḥmad al-Samūqī, the Caller: Peace upon you.
I praise to you our Lord, besides whom we have no lord. I thank Him for the abundance of His gifts and favors, and worship Him secretly and openly. Through Him the outward order and its religious communities are overcome.
Now then: I praise to you our Lord—exalted be His remembrance—who has bestowed upon you a favor of which you were unaware, prolonged your life, perpetuated your honor and elevation, treated you with a kindness beyond description, granted you abundant noble honor, and made you one of the angels brought near and the lofty ranks.
Among His favors to you is the support He granted me concerning you when I heard your words, your extraordinary skill in ornamenting expression, and your mastery of composition. It was as though I had looked upon you long ago and recognized in you an intelligent, perceptive, and forbearing person. The radiance of your words shone in the heaven of your intellect, your hidden thoughts, reflections, and imaginings. The fragrance of your brilliance spread from the soundness of your belief, and through this you deserved a lofty station and exalted degree.
Time did not permit you to overtake the ranks that had already preceded you, so we made you the Left Wing, since the Right Wing had preceded you: Salāma son of ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. That station was reserved for you until the Day of the Appointed Time, for it is the rank of the Follower. From him action becomes manifest to everyone who draws support from him after the lofty Preceder. The power of the Preceder remains concealed and hidden, while the Follower acts through correct and known deeds.
Our age is not like other ages, and its ranks cannot be measured against those who preceded them in earlier cycles. Our Follower in this age performs a task higher than that of any rank that has arisen.
Therefore serve, through the Lord's blessing, in the noble rank for which you have been prepared and appointed. Like your brother the Right Wing, equip yourself with thirty ranks consisting of Callers, Authorized Instructors, chiefs, and Mukāsirs.
Know that the first of the seven obligations is truthfulness of the tongue. Truthfulness is the Guardian, and its opposite is falsehood. Truthfulness and falsehood resemble one another in their written forms. Likewise the Opponent imitates the Guardian, though the Guardian—exalted is His name—has no opposite.
The Arabic word “falsehood” (kadhib) has three letters, and the word “truthfulness” (ṣidq) has three letters. Their numerical reckoning is as follows: kāf is twenty, dhāl is four, and bāʾ is two, making twenty-six. These signify Iblīs, his wife, and their twenty-four children. Whoever follows them departs from tawḥīd.
For “truthfulness,” the letters are “sīn: sixty; dāl: four; qāf: one hundred,” making one hundred and sixty-four. This signifies one hundred and sixty ranks. Of these, ninety-nine belong to the Imam, as the saying goes: “God has ninety-nine names; whoever enumerates them enters the Garden.” That is, the Imam has ninety-nine Callers; whoever knows them enters the reality of his Call, the Garden that encompasses its people.
The Right Wing has thirty ranks, and the Left Wing thirty ranks. These make one hundred and sixty-one ranks. Three ranks remain: the psychic ranks, the three concealed substances above the Preceder, which are unveiled and made personal only in the age of the Qāʾim. They are Will, Volition, and Word.
The Written One declared: “When He wills a thing, His command is only to say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” He also said: “You do not will unless God wills,” and “Had a word not preceded from your Lord...”
Will is Dhū Maʿa, the Qāʾim of the Age, Guide of the Responders, who takes vengeance upon the polytheists through the sword of our Lord and the strength of His sovereignty.
Volition is Dhū Maṣṣa, the Universal Soul, the pure and approved Proof: Shaykh al-Mujtabā, Choice of the Responders and Refuge of the Unitarians, Enoch of the age, Idrīs of the time, Hermes of all Hermeses, my brother and brother-in-law Abū Ibrāhīm Ismāʿīl son of Muḥammad son of Ḥāmid al-Tamīmī, the Caller. May the Lord grant him success, strengthen and help him, and fulfill my hope concerning him.
The Word is my brother Shaykh al-Raḍī, Envoy of Power, Glory of the Unitarians, Bearer of Glad Tidings to the Believers, Pillar of the Responders, and their Supreme Word, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad son of Wahb al-Qurashī, the Caller. May the Lord help, guide, and strengthen him.
Praise the Lord—mighty is His power—and thank Him for the succession of His favors.
Write the covenant for the Responders, carefully recording their identifying features and securing the testimony. Be gentle with them and compassionate toward them. This is what our Lord—mighty is His power—commanded me outwardly.
Copy the covenant and the epistle from the servant, Shaykh the Envoy of Divine Power. Raise the covenants through whichever of the two shaykhs of tawḥīd and pillars of glorification is available to you: the two blessed, loving, sincere brothers. May the Lord reward them well on my behalf.
Know Ḥasan son of Hiba al-Raffāʾ, Chief of the Chiefs, so that he and his companions may assist you in whatever affairs arise in the city.
Do not exact anything from the Responders beyond what was prescribed in the appointment of your brother al-Muṣṭafā—may the Lord honor him.
The peace of the Lord be upon you, a peace of contentment and love, and upon all the Unitarians, together with the mercy and blessings of the Lord.
Written in his own hand by the Guide of the Responders, who takes vengeance upon the polytheists through the sword of our Lord and the strength of His sovereignty, on Friday, the thirteenth day of Shaʿbān, in the third year of the manifestation of his blessed years.
Our Lord suffices us. Through Him I seek help, and He is the best Helper and Supporter. Glorified is He alone, without partner.