منشور في ذكر إقالة سعد
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, through the ranks of the Qāʾim of the Religion.
I have written—may the lives of my brethren, the people of felicity and purity, distinguished by trustworthiness, truthfulness and fidelity, be prolonged—concerning blessings that, praise be to God, have appeared one after another, and favors that have followed gratitude and thanksgiving. Their letter reached me, and may God reward them for their protection and safeguard them from the deadly afflictions that befell those who practiced deception in their religion and their trust, and who brought themselves loathing and displeasure after their treachery became manifest. I understood their circumstances, despite the differences of their stations and districts; I praised God Most High and asked Him to increase their portion of happiness in their souls and possessions.
I have considered what they said about Saʿd and explained in their letters and notes: that he has repented of the great doubt, misguidance and disbelief he embraced. God accepts the repentance of one who turns away from falsehood, whose beginning was departure from the truth and whose end was bewilderment, and who then abandons that course. May He number Saʿd among those who followed a similar road but recovered sound judgment, repented, and were guided by the Qāʾim of Truth, the Imam of Justice, the Master of the Presentation and Reckoning.
The Guardian of the Age and his ranks bear witness to the sincerity of my repudiation of every reprehensible act committed by the people of conjecture, doubt and uncertainty. As for the penitent, God knows his inward intention and the matter of his repentance; it is He who deals justly with what a person declares and what he conceals.
Concerning what the pure shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm mentioned, together with his two brethren, the shaykhs Muḥammad and Jarrāḥ: he reported Naṣr and his request for pardon. To whoever comes to the truth after falsehood and abandons what has occurred among the brethren, I have issued a response that clears the clouded gaze of the perplexed and gives drink to a person tormented by thirst.
I renew my instruction so that all the shaykhs of al-Bustān and the other towns, people of sincerity and integrity, may follow it. Anyone who slips and departs from justice, then returns to truth, divine unity and faith, and calls trustworthy people of religion to witness that he has repudiated the people of deception and wickedness, shall have his repentance considered. This is so that, after the sending of the messengers, no one will have an argument against God, nor say, “We were excused by the absence of intermediaries and the closure of the roads and paths.” This establishes the proof against people in these districts during times of peace, before the terrors of the Resurrection.
As for what the pure shaykhs of the House of ʿAbd Allāh, the House of Sulaymān, the House of Abū Turāb and the House of al-Bustān have said at length concerning the account of Naṣr and his truthfulness and religion: by God, he did not depart from my presence except in the highest state of scrupulousness, chastity and uprightness. He repudiates before God and His Guardian what they did in the house of Ḥusayn ibn Shabīb at the instruction of the person who invented falsehood and made his folly and betrayal manifest.
Every intelligent person now knows that Ibn Abī Ḥaṣiyya and Ghannām were the two who accused him falsely, defamed him with this lie, and disgraced his reputation. They testified concerning him in our presence before trustworthy believers, and a great number of the House of ʿAbd Allāh were said to have confirmed their account of Naṣr. But the pure shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm examined the affair and declared in his correspondence that the House of ʿAbd Allāh repudiated the testimony: it had been offered by only one man and one woman, neither of whom was trustworthy. That was the account given in the first letter. Whoever affirms false testimony against the people of truth is disgraced in this world and the next; fire is his resting place. The falsity of this accusation has become evident, and God will recompense whoever invented and constructed it.
Let the assembly of shaykhs honor Abū al-Qāsim Naṣr, protect his standing and that of his brother, and assist him in his affairs, whether favorable or adverse. Let no one reproach him. He rendered service for which his rights should be preserved. Justice does not require a truthful man to lose his standing because of a liar whose rebellion and wickedness have become plain.
This letter shall remain with Naṣr, entrusted to him so that he may present it to his brethren and household as confirmation of his standing. Whoever of the excellent community wishes to make a copy may do so.
O God, the realization that You know the innermost minds of Your creatures gives the truthful and obedient security against perplexity and indignation, while the claimants' ignorance of the meanings of Your wisdom and favors leaves them, after the choice has been made clear, under disappointment, doubt and distress.
O God, make truth firm for its people, and bring their condition together in trust, sincerity and certainty. Let the circle of misfortune fall upon those who have falsely defamed the people of truth: may their punishment be disgrace, defeat, estrangement and dispersion.
Praise belongs to God, exalted beyond the expressions employed by those who imagine themselves perfected and divine. He has passed beyond the comprehension and reach of the most discerning. He has made His dominion a domain in which a servant establishes the proof against those who deny His signs and entertain doubt, the treacherous wrongdoers. He suffices His weak servant al-Muqtanā on the Day of Gathering, when creatures assemble and witnesses rise to expose the disgraces of the lying pretenders; the day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands and say, “Would that I had been among the God-fearing and obedient.”
Let a copy be made for Saʿd after he has established his position before Shaykh Abū al-Qāsim Naṣr, so that God may renew favor and gratitude.
Completed. Praise belongs to our Lord alone, and thanks to His Guardian, His servant.