I put my trust in the Lord, the God al-Ḥākim, exalted above all indications and customary conditions, the Abrogator of religions, the Destroyer of Iblīs and Satan, the One who brings an end to the Calf and the Shayṣabān, who takes vengeance upon unbelief and tyranny and wipes away opposition and rebellion.
To the one placed in authority after Romanos the Perished—the commander Michael—and to all the filthy, tyrannical sects of the Christians, the denial-ridden, wicked and rebellious community, whose very root has been cut off and whose appointed term is drawing to its end.
Now then: praise belongs to the Lord, the God al-Ḥākim, who effaces the [false] Messiah, possesses the hypostasis and the sacrifice, and is the exalted Cause above the causes, beyond the categories of beginning and eternity. He is exalted beyond what occurs in intellectual imaginings, and sanctified beyond the illusions of elementary things. He has made incapacity and freedom of choice the means by which pure souls obtain [knowledge and] reward, while disobedient souls follow their deeds toward their recompense. Peace upon His Guardian, the true Messiah, the Qāʾim who stands at the end of the cycles to alter religious communities, abrogate their laws, and change the states of power.
O people destroyed by ignorance, rebellion, forgetfulness, and heedlessness! Consider the causes of your trials and the reversal of circumstances. You have attached yourselves to the accursed one-eyed Antichrist, who will bring you disgrace and destruction at the end of the ages. He will break the reins at the greatest terror, flee toward his own kind in longing for the worship of idols, kindle the fire of associationism, and drag behind him the darkness of sedition. Through him winds of extinction and calamity have struck you. Your dominion has announced its ruin and disappearance, and the foundations of your religious law—built upon deception and military force and falsely attributed to the Messiah—are collapsing.
Think about the punishment due for your evil deeds and the consequences of your grave offenses. Remember what you did to the saints who endured patiently, believed, and submitted.
The Messiah's saying will soon be fulfilled: 'With the measure you use you will be measured.' What you did will be done to you. You will be subjected to compulsion and humiliation as you killed others by oppression and force, and driven to the punishment prepared for you as you drove his followers out in arrogance. The Hour has approached and the moon has split; the gates of repentance have closed and the records have been raised. You still fail to understand the judgment of the present age, forget the Gospel's words, and ignore the saying, placed on the Lord's lips through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I have called my son.' It was not merely in an age of weakness that this summons went forth from Egypt. It is in the present time of power that the truth of the sayings is shown and the religions are judged.
You disregarded these signs and commandments and assisted the oppressors, bearers of sin. You rose against the Lord's friends and killed them in error and impiety. In the conditions of the Resurrection you supported the leprous, one-eyed Antichrist. He invokes a prophecy in Arabic verse concerning the decisive miraculous end of the old religions:
“The Antichrist of the Resurrection was one-eyed; He rose from Aleppo on the day of fierce ordeal. The Romans all became his supporters, and he is the one Who surely brings them humiliation and war.”
Then, concerning the Guardian and his followers:
“O Lord, fulfill Your promise to them through their Guardian, In the land of Egypt, in Jumādā or Rajab.”
And, marking the completion of their period and the approach of its end:
“When you behold the time, watch for its appointed hour;
You will see the Christians have reached their last rank.
Then know that the command has come to pass:
The oven of the ship has boiled over and overturned.
Hasten to accept it, for it is
The breeze of safety, whether dwelling or seeking.”
Reflect, oppressive unbelievers, upon what these signs say about your departure from the true road and the passing of your reign. Recognize what your own ancestors did, as Jesus said: 'Woe to you, scribes and religious teachers. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the tombs of the righteous, and you say, “Had we lived in our fathers' day we would not have joined them in killing the prophets.” Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets. Complete, then, what your fathers began! Serpents, offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell?' This is the Gospel's testimony against you, which none but those committed to denial and rejection refuse.
Jesus also announced that his messengers would come in this age, before his return, at the end of his first time and during his absence. He said: 'Therefore I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your assemblies and chase from city to city, until upon you comes the guilt of all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous to the blood of Zechariah, father of John, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I say that this generation will not pass before these things come upon you.' This is a warning that you and your wicked predecessors must answer for the persecution of the messengers when you come forth in support of the Antichrist.
Do not be deceived by this brief respite. It is an interval during which deeds and offenses accumulate and their reckoning draws near. You have denied the indications the Lord gave concerning his manifestation, overlooked the truths disclosed by his chosen messengers, and forgotten the proclamation of John, who came crying in the wilderness: 'Repent; prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.' The Lord's might and Kingdom were not openly shown in that earlier time as they are now, through the signs that have appeared and the realization of the Gospel's promises of his return, the deliverance of humanity from sins, and his judgment of the secrets of souls and hearts.
Had he appeared only among a single recognizable people, or within an established religious law, the matter would have followed the pattern of earlier laws. Then no distinction could have been made between the people of those codes and the Master of the Disclosure, together with his certain, Unitarian followers. Rather, he has manifested himself before all in a manner that confounds them, as the scriptures and psalms foretold. The Caller has summoned to a strange and unrecognized thing; the peoples have rejected it, while his followers have endured afflictions and come to him in successive groups.
Prepare yourselves, opponents, for the cup of destruction. Do not be deceived by any victory of the armies of Syria. Afterward humiliation, weapons, and armies of the victorious will overcome you. You will again wear distinctive clothing and be deprived of leaders, like the Christians and Jews as they have been described. These are signs of the Day of Religion and the coming of the great announcement. They announce the blessed day when the Messiah returns to his Father's Kingdom, though you have not perceived it. Your deeds have veiled him from you.
Jesus said: 'Among those born of women none has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.' And the Gospel says of the days of John and the taking of the Kingdom by force: 'If you will receive it, he is Elijah who was promised to come. Whoever has ears, let him hear.' In this interpretation, Elijah is the figure who prepares the Lord's road, exposes Iblīs's shame, and abolishes his religions. You have repeated the acts of your predecessors, who killed John, the golden-mouthed one, and before him Zechariah between the sanctuary and the altar. Your new deeds add to the unbelief and punishment incurred by their earlier deeds.
Jesus also said that the Son of Man would come in the glory of his Father with his holy angels and reward each person according to his work, and that some of those standing before him would not taste death before seeing the Son of Man coming in his Father's glory. He was speaking of this time. His messengers have reached you, yet you deny their messages and refuse their wisdom. Your days have expired, and you have been granted delay only as Iblīs was delayed until the Day of Resurrection.
The return of John as Elijah is also proved by the question of the scribes: Why must Elijah come first? Jesus answered that Elijah comes and restores everything, but that Elijah had already come and the people did not recognize him. As he came at the beginning to establish proof and provide grace, so he returns at the end to establish accountability and punishment. Jesus likewise said that whoever acknowledges the Son of Man will be acknowledged before the Father in heaven. Thus, when he returns, only those who answer his call can truly profess him; the rest refuse and become deniers.
He said also: 'Do not think I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but contest, opposition, and division. I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; a person's enemies will be the members of his own household.' You have witnessed these divisions yourselves and know that the Gospel foretold them; nevertheless you have closed your eyes to their meaning.
Then Jesus foretold the treatment of the servants who would come: 'They will hand you over to the judges, flog you in their assemblies, and bring you before governors and kings, as a testimony against them and all peoples.' This concerns the present persecution of the people of truth. Jesus continued: 'Brother will deliver brother to death, father his child; children will rise against parents and kill them. You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who perseveres to the end will gain everlasting life.' When have your people suffered such persecution in the name of this religion? You, instead, are among those who have killed the Unitarians who responded to the true call.
What answer remains after this precise identification, explanation, and proof? You sided with the Antichrist, disputed against the people of truth, killed the Lord's messengers, and disobeyed. Where will you go? What doctrine can justify you? Jesus taught that the gate is narrow and the road leading to life is difficult, and said that the Son of Man comes like lightning across the east and west. These sayings show that your numbers do not make you the faithful and that you neither recognize nor await the true return, because you have denied its signs and the wisdom preserved by the apostles in the Gospels.
Jesus warned: 'Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Can grapes be picked from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Every good tree produces good fruit, but the bad tree produces bad fruit. Every tree that fails to bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.' Consider this parable and the leaders of your denominations. They are the false prophets Jesus warned against. Wearing the clothing of sheep, they act within like predatory wolves. They profit from deceiving and deriding you, divert you from the right way, ensnare you with perishable wealth, and make you carry their invented falsehoods as though you were beasts of burden. Recognize their fruit: the poisonous crop of thorns has deprived you of your understanding and led your souls away from the truth.
He continued: 'On that day many will say to me, “Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out devils in your name, and work miracles in your name?” I shall answer them, “Depart from me, workers of evil; I do not know you.”' This is the fruit of your bitter, uprooted trees. Your predecessors first offered that fruit to the Lord's followers and killed the innocent by the sword. When the chief priests challenged Jesus—'By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this power?'—he replied: 'I will ask you one question. If you answer it, I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John's baptism from heaven or from human beings?' They debated among themselves: if they said 'from heaven' he would ask why they had not believed; if they said 'from people' they feared the multitude, which regarded John as a holy prophet. They therefore answered, 'We do not know.' Jesus replied, 'Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'
Every sign of the Lord's appearance, explained by his servant John the herald, has become widely known across the horizons and has been accepted by obedient Unitarians. You have denied it, turned toward associationism, and imitated the disbelieving ancestors who rejected the Word. You refused to consider Jesus' testimony to John's prophetic truth, nor the confession of your ancestors that John was a holy prophet. Awake, you heedless people! The Imam will come to settle the account and exact vengeance for the evil acts of those who opposed him. The iron firmness of his speech will demolish the bases of fabricated religions and disgrace their deniers.
Listen to another parable concerning your deeds. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven resembles a king who arranged a wedding for his son and sent servants to call those invited. They refused. The king sent more servants saying, 'My feast is prepared, the fattened animals have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding.' The feast, in this interpretation, signifies the Lord's wisdom now prepared and made available. The slaughtered animals signify the decorated religious codes you follow, which have been overthrown in this Pursuit, in the Christian Epistle, and in the letter concerning the Torah. The hour is ready for the Messiah's manifestation in shining light.
Those invited scattered, and some abused or killed the king's servants. When he heard it, the king was furious and sent out his forces to kill the murderers and burn their city. He then told the servants that the invited guests had proved unworthy and that they should invite others from the roads. This is the Gospel's description of you. You rejected the wisdom, killed the bearers of the invitation, and so face the destruction of your cities and houses. Your deeds repeat the deeds of your impious ancestors.
The Lord also cried: 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killer of prophets and stoner of those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children as a bird gathers its chicks beneath its wing!' He said that he would send prophets, wise men, and scribes whom the people would persecute and kill, and concluded: 'Your house shall be left to you desolate.' You have sided with the Antichrist's faction and must bear the consequences. 'You shall not see me again until you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”' His messengers have reached you, yet you have refused their call and disobeyed his express teachings.
Think also of the parable of the ten virgins. They took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise, carrying oil with their lamps; five were foolish and brought none. When the bridegroom delayed they slept. At midnight a cry announced his arrival. They arose to prepare their lamps. The foolish asked the wise for oil, for their lamps were going out. The wise answered that there would not be enough for both groups and told them to go to the merchants. While they departed, the bridegroom arrived, the prepared entered with him, and the door was shut. Later the foolish returned crying, 'Lord, open to us,' but the answer was, 'Truly, I do not know you.'
This is your situation beside the people of truth, heedless deniers. The hour approaches while you ignore it. The lamps of the religious codes will soon be extinguished, the deceivers destroyed, and the forged rules and pretended traditions exposed as fabrications. You have neglected the genuine parables and the Gospel's testimony about the Messiah's return. You stand upon the edge of the abyss and will soon drink the bitterness of the punishment described in the letter.
The herald of the Hereafter has warned the world, and the call has distinguished the good from the wicked, in obedience to the just Qāʾim, in expectation of the reward and the reckoning, and in patient endurance of the plots of the foolish and the rebellious.
I close by praising the Lord God al-Ḥākim, who has granted the nations respite despite rebellion and denial, and who gives His Guardian victory over the impostors and their false religious laws. His Guardian's light separates the darkness; the sea of true knowledge swallows up the sea of opposition and ignorance. He suffices his weak, devoted servant upon the great day when the time of the Calf and Shayṣabān comes to its end.
Completed through the grace of the Guardian of the Hereafter. Praise belongs to our Lord alone, and thanks to the Qāʾim of Truth, His servant.