منشور إلى آل عبد الله
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Our letter to you, pure brethren and illustrious, radiant Unitarian lords: may God prolong your lives under the shade of His mercy, and perpetuate the support and favors He grants you through His Guardian. May He protect your noble persons and exalted stations beneath the protection of His kingdom, preserve you through excellent obedience from the pharaohs of the cycles, watch over you, open your minds to the signs of manifest wisdom and make you radiant, and nourish and refresh you from the knowledge of His guiding Guardian.
It comes from our residence in the pure and noble Presence, on the evening of Friday, the fourteenth of Dhū al-Qaʿda. May the Master bring you happiness through obedience to His servant and acquaint you with the one who is to come after him.
As for our condition, brethren whose intentions are guarded in private and public, who are fashioned for obedience to the Guardian of the Age, and who devote their persons and their possessions in secrecy—
—and openly: our affection toward you is established, and our desire to meet you and be close to you is constant, should your gathering and your nearness be brought about in accordance with His will.
Our longing for you and grief at being apart from you are like the longing of the thirsty for cool water, or of a traveler scorched by heat for the shade. Were it not that we console ourselves and promise our hearts that we shall be reunited at the appearance of the Guardian of Truth and in the presence of our embodied selves, sorrow would overcome us and anxiety exhaust and burden us. We appeal to the One who has joined hearts and inward intentions, that He grant our desired reunion through His bounty and generosity.
Two brethren came to us from you: one called Rābiḥ and the other Mufarrij. Their arrival happened at the most difficult of times, in one of the most trying hours and greatest intervals of affliction. We were told that Mufarrij had attacked certain brethren, and an account of what he was said to have done was conveyed to us. This troubled us greatly. No one among us spoke with either visitor; they remained for a time and then departed. Later we learned that he was innocent of the accusation brought against him.
By God, we did them an injustice through our withholding of what was due to people like them in greeting and hospitality. We had intended to write to you immediately concerning this, but we found no one to carry our letter. We therefore seized the opportunity of sending it by our brother Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Sindī, who carried it to your region, when we heard of the scattering that had occurred among you and the estrangement into which you had fallen.
What, brethren, has caused this estrangement? The souls are one, the word is united, and the favor granted by the Guardian encompasses all. You stand on the very brink of the Resurrection; the signs and marks of the Imam have begun to appear. News has spread through every land of the first manifestation of the expected action from Tihāma, and all the Unitarian brethren have rejoiced together in it. By God, the night in whose darkness we are walking, awaiting dawn, has overtaken us. It is almost as though the moon has risen—
—and shown itself, shedding light like a lamp. Whoever stands firmly upon his religion and belief will prevail, and whoever is destroyed by his own deeds through doubting his Unitarian conviction and doctrine will fail.
I ask you, brethren, to bring into the open what lies in your hands, even when you have to protect yourselves. Although the days have made matters difficult, keep your word united and your company together. Disagreement produces failure, and neglecting to discuss matters of religion causes established work to decline.
You and we are living through the intervals of the Resurrection and the Day of Recompense. Nothing remains to us or to you except to preserve the brethren and maintain good fidelity. Had it been possible, we would have explained more than we have said. But what we have mentioned suffices for people of your understanding, the purity of your minds, the excellence of your knowledge, and the soundness of your beliefs.
We commend all of you to the One with whom the deposits of the Unitarians can never be lost, who will not wrong anyone by an atom's weight on the Day when the Truth becomes clear. Our community offers yours, young and old, near and far, the fullest greetings and peace. If circumstances had permitted, we would have asked for a reply; instead, may the noble brethren honor us by accepting our apology, for the time has grown too short to request one before the affair reaches its conclusion. Praise be to God for the favors He has granted after concealment has given way to unveiling.
Completed. Praise belongs to our Lord alone, and thanks to the Guardian of the Age, His servant.