I put my trust in our Lord, the Conqueror of destiny, who appeared to bring familiarity to forms, and who is exalted above nonexistence even when He conceals Himself. Praise belongs to our Lord, who sees the innermost secrets and knows what consciences conceal; who sends every spokesman and messenger; who is exalted above all speech and everything spoken; the One, not by number, the One far above consort and child; the beginning of numbers and their end, exalted above opposites and those who summon others to them; the Originator of every name and attribute, indicated by every meaning and language; who shows Himself to His creation as the First and is indicated by the Eternal Word. Glory be to Him, exalted above evil suspicions and the attributes His creatures and others ascribe to Him.
He has made manifest to us the human form of His appearance, to give familiarity to those who behold the form; thought became bewildered when it contemplated it. Intellects were powerless to grasp His acts and confessed their inability and deficiency in the knowledge available to them. Tongues fell silent, unable to find a way by which their speakers could express the unity of their Creator. How could they speak of the unity of One who has neither limit nor beginning, neither firstness nor end? Even antiquity confesses that He brought it into being, while the end cannot claim to exist independently of beginning, because the end comes into being after the beginning. Glory, then, to Him whose creation is the beginning, and who is the end and passing away of everything.
By the determination of His decrees, He showed favor to His creatures by bringing His form into existence in the likeness of their forms. This form addressed them by the names familiar to them, so that intellects found reassurance in its outward appearance. He gently led them toward knowledge of Him through the subtlety of His wisdom, as a gift to His creatures. Through His concealment of the immensity of His power, the created order stood and remained stable. Had knowledge of their Originator been disclosed to them without reassurance and gradual approach, they would have been struck down by His power and fallen prostrate.
Glory be to our Lord al-Ḥākim, ruler over rulers, exalted above the attributes of every human being and beyond what tongues utter and pens write.
O Unitarians of our Lord, Master of the Day of Judgment, who are content with and submit to all His judgments concerning them, certain that He owns their souls and the souls of all the worlds: you confessed His unity and bound yourselves to it in your covenants. Beware of becoming like a man who holds a bitter medicinal substance in his hand, hoping it will taste sweet and pleasant. When he tastes it, its bitterness is too much for him, so he throws it away without knowing the measure of its benefit.
Know, O Unitarians, that the people of this world are divided into two sorts who destroy themselves, perishing through their many objections, ill-judged opinions, and corrupt suspicions.
One has the debris of this world in his hands and fears it may leave him, although it was given him after he previously had none of it. He fears losing what is in his hands, though it is only lent to him; he is not content when it is taken back, despite having begged and humbled himself to obtain it. When he possessed little, he was needy and weak; after he received his gift and his worldly affairs expanded, he became proud and powerful. He imagined that it belonged to him. When it was taken away, he remained angry and bewildered, thinking it had been granted as the reward of his own work or because he had earned a right to the gift, and grieving that it was taken from him.
The other has little of this world's debris, yet wherever he sees a prospect of gain he pursues it and seeks a means of approaching it. For some trifling, paltry amount he sells his religion and asks the Creator to aid him. He does not perform what has been prescribed for him, but asks Him not to abandon him and to increase his wealth.
Beware, beware, brethren, of these two losing groups. Let your deeds come before the pursuit of your desires; then your religion will be sound, your intentions purified, and your deeds made good. Let your desire be for the salvation of your souls, and your needs will be met. The debris of the world is easily gained, but it passes away and perishes. Religion is hard to acquire, but endures.
Beware, beware, brethren, of the world of passing away; concern yourselves instead with the world of permanence.
Brethren, whoever holds worldly goods in his hands and fears their removal on account of his religion must remember that the One who appointed him as custodian over them can take them back.
Brethren, whoever has little confidence in his Lord and fears a human being like himself will be cast by his Creator into the very thing that terrifies and alarms him.
Brethren, purify your intentions in your religion, and your Lord will suffice you against the plots of your enemies.
Brethren, it is more fitting to fear the All-Powerful, over whom none has power, than to fear one over whom power may be exercised.
Brethren, beware of hypocrisy, for hypocrisy is the doorway to fragmentation and separation.
Brethren, do not fear your enemies as you fear your Creator.
Brethren, whoever fears another human being like himself gives that person mastery over him. The Unitarian who acknowledges the Judge through the oneness of his Lord is courageous, not a coward.
Brethren, religious fidelity cannot be proved except under trial. In times of safety and health the people of the world appear equal, none superior or inferior in this matter. Degrees and the ascent to elevated stations are gained only through patience in times of hardship, when misfortunes are encountered, unwelcome things suffered, and desires left unfulfilled. Whoever patiently bears hardships attains delights.
Beware, brethren, lest opposing souls overpower the souls of the friends. If they subdue them, they will lead you down paths of return and expose you to dangers. If instead the opposing impulses are conquered, extinguished, and held in check, lasting delight and the fulfillment of hopes and good outcomes will come to you in all your actions. The duration of patience in hardship is short, its outcome praiseworthy, and its remaining benefit long-lasting and imperishable.
Brethren, do not be like a man suffering a fever that rises until it covers his vision and brings him to blindness.
Brethren, if you are certain that no dwelling place is ever empty of your Lord, yet your eyes no longer see Him, what screen has come between you and the sight of Him? It is nothing but your evil works and your ugly, corrupt deeds.
Brethren, do not be like a man whose stomach has become disordered, so that he rejects even what he once knew by sight to be good.
Brethren, whoever has wholesome nourishment has sound sight and can judge what he sees correctly.
Brethren, wake from your sleep and turn away from your distraction! Misfortunes happen when one sleeps. The sleeper is heedless of what is taking place; the wakeful person sees a trial and avoids it, while the sleeper stumbles into it in the pleasure of his sleep.
Know, O Unitarians of our Lord al-Ḥākim, the One worshipped, exalted above all limit and everything limited, that the Riser of your Age holds you answerable as your Lord has charged him to do for the corruption of your intentions and the ugliness of your deeds. In your covenants he made you witnesses against one another and established the proof against you. You have no excuse left, in view of the conditions you imposed upon yourselves and the consequences you consented to endure. Your souls inclined toward their passions and wandered when they saw the tribulations awaiting them. Their suspicions became evil when they imagined that their pleasures would remain and that they would be safe from what displeased them. They turned back from what they had confessed and withheld what they had surrendered. Yet their turning back will not preserve what they have acquired, nor will denial help them. Every deposit must be taken back from its custodian, and every trustworthy person must avoid betraying what has been entrusted to him.
Be, then, brethren, among those who are satisfied and submit without demanding anything in return, willingly and without being overcome by force. Whoever hands over his trust freely and by choice remains steadfast and is recorded among the righteous. Whoever submits only under compulsion, when some calamity befalls him, hoping to escape it, falls into the very thing he dislikes and fears.
Beware, beware, brethren, of becoming like those who fear that their garments may be torn and their outward forms made to disappear. Their Lord may bring upon them the very thing they fear and dread, because they have so little trust in Him and fear His servants.
Brethren, be content and submit in prosperity, hardship, and every condition. This is what you testified to concerning yourselves and confessed in your covenants. Reduce your objections to whatever happens to you, whether good or evil, blessing or harm. Your trials will be lightened, and your distress lifted. Between you and the world of ignorance there is no distinction except contentment and submission; contentment and submission are the ultimate end of knowledge and teaching.
Return to yourselves and awaken your souls. Make the pages of your records white again by renewing sound belief and turning away from the corruption that has arisen among you.
How shameful it is for one of you who has knowledge and occupies a high station to commit the deeds of a blind and ignorant person. Anyone who belongs to a people ought not to act as their opponents do. Consider how the people of falsehood cling to what they believe and wait in confidence for what they have been promised. Whatever happens to them, good or evil, they receive it willingly; their hearts rest in it and they say, 'Welcome to what has overtaken us: thus it was decreed and judged.' It is therefore fitting that those who know the truth and have acknowledged it should have stronger certainty and better outcomes than those who are captive to error, persist in falsehood, and struggle to defend it.
Know, brethren, that your Lord has no need of your worship and is exalted above your religious practices. Obedience from the obedient does not increase His dominion; disobedience from those who rebel does not decrease it. Your deeds alone return upon you. Whatever hardship your age brings you comes from your own misdeeds.
Brethren, wake from heedlessness and seek treatment before the disease takes hold. Once a disease has hardened beyond gentle remedies, nothing will cure it but iron.
Brethren, wake before the Form is made manifest, for worship at its manifestation will be performed under compulsion.
Brethren, whoever worships only under compulsion gains no benefit from that worship.
Brethren, beware the deceptive river: its water is muddy, its depths are remote, and it offers little sustenance.
Brethren, beware the river that tastes sweet but kills souls through hypocrisy.
Brethren, beware the deep river with the filthy bed, empty of sustenance or goodness, which points toward evil and harm.
After writing the covenant and declaring the unity of the Creator and Provider, would you return to the worship of servants, like one who wallows in filth and pus? How powerful that affliction, how blind those who claim insight, how utterly those souls have lost their guidance! Did not the Riser of your Age make things clear to you and uncover every veil, establishing a proof against whoever turns away and disbelieves? He said in the covenant that you are free of everyone who has passed, is present, or is yet to be expected, —and this is one of the great matters.
Brethren, beware of being like a man holding a jewel who is deceived by someone who tricks his understanding, gives him a stone, and persuades him that the stone is a jewel when it is not.
Brethren, do not be among those who first believe and then disbelieve, becoming counted among people of heresy and change.
Brethren, what once seemed distant from you has now drawn near.
Brethren, beware of the darkness at dawn, for it is the blackest and darkest part of the night.
Brethren, beware of the ordeal at the close of the interval of concealment, for at the end of the interval the power erupts.
Brethren, do you not know that your Lord sees you from where you do not see Him?
Brethren, think well of your Lord and He will remove from your eyes the covering placed over them by your evil suspicions about Him.
Brethren, do not be like a traveler who leaves a town for his homeland but is negligent in preserving his provisions. His provisions run out upon the road. He seeks to return to the town he left, but cannot; he wishes to reach his homeland, but cannot reach it either. He remains belonging neither to these nor to those.
Brethren, the Hour will be established against the worst community through the best community. Strive to be among those who establish it, not among those against whom it is established.
Know that you were distinguished above the beasts, and they were placed at your service and granted you as provision, solely through the knowledge of your Originator and the unity of your Creator that has been bestowed upon you. Whoever denies after having confessed is more ignorant than an ass.
Brethren, beware of one whom the devil has deceived, for the adversary can emerge from the house of a friend. His outward appearance is piety, but his inward nature is betrayal. Beware of him, for he is the beginning of vengeance and the last of the trial.
Brethren, you have seen the story of our Lord's servant and property, ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Ilyās, heir apparent to the Muslims, and what was decreed concerning him. All this happened so that he might receive his full portion and that what he concealed in his soul might become visible to the eye. Our Lord al-Ḥākim—glory be to Him—made him a partner in the customary covenant, in the sermon from the pulpit, and in the coinage of the dinar. The blind rushed to follow him and every confused person ran toward him. When his actions became clear and the ugliness of his falsehood and delusion was apparent to the people, they returned to themselves in lamentation and distress, awakening only after ruin.
Brethren, after the unveiling of unity and the appearance of the Form of the One worshipped, and after that Form has accepted your declaration of unity through worship and the confirmation of religion, do not transfer the unity you profess from that Form to another. Were matters as you imagine, worship would be spoiled and the conditions of the Resurrection promised to you would be rendered void.
Beware, beware of following the devil when he appears. However high falsehood rises, truth will come upon it and extinguish it.
Brethren, know that the servant and property of our Lord, the Riser of the Age, has furnished you with the complete proof and guided you to the clear road. Nothing remains after the fulfillment of the proof except for its consequences to be carried out among you.
Awaken from your sleep, come to your senses from heedlessness, and take to heart your counsel. I can almost see the terrible and hateful event approaching you, and the sudden cry that will terrify you: 'O heedless ones!' Then you will be paid your recompense in full and suffer no injustice. Glory be to our Lord above what the ignorant imagine and the people of falsehood claim. He suffices us; in Him we seek help in every matter.
Finished. Praise belongs to our Lord alone.