منشور نصر ابن فتوح
The letters of the good, religious shaykh reached me. May God raise his station still higher and reward him generously for his commendable obedience and effort.
I have examined what was intelligible in them and received what he sent on behalf of the holders of obligations. I compared these with what had come before and found them sound in measure, weight and account. I praised God Most High and sought approach to Him through the Imam of His creation and the greatest of His names, asking Him to preserve you and the community in your charge through His protection, His guardianship and His gracious favors.
Concerning your mention of the letters that were circulated: they strengthen the hearts of everyone and are like rain poured down from clouds. I had already spoken about this, and the matter has now been tested. Accursed Satan had infected their hearts with sickness both secretly and publicly. He fastened snares upon what lay in their breasts and necks; the time of distinction has exposed the theft and flight they concealed.
The Creator—glorified be He—has given the servants of His Guardian an excuse upon which they may rely after they have striven in obedience, and has made it obligatory for every person of truth to distinguish what he has preserved within himself from the impurity of the people of false creeds and doctrines. Thus the judgment of the interval is realized, so that what has remained fixed in hearts through the corruption of the beliefs and doctrines of deceptive people is brought from potentiality into action. The distinction between people of truth and transgressive brethren then becomes obligatory.
As for your reluctance to speak with anyone outside your household and your brethren, there is no need for you to involve others in either your secret or your public business.
I have sent you the letter from ʿAlī Abū al-Ḥasan, carried by Abū al-Sarāyā al-Sarrāj. If it has reached you, well and good; otherwise write to him about what I have mentioned, in the hope that he will return to the straightest path and to the truth of the proper method. Write to the pure shaykhs of the House of ʿAbd Allāh and the House of Sulaymān, and tell them of their commendable efforts, so that they may know the abundant reward due to them.
Inform me whether the person named in the intervening communication has recovered his proper judgment, or whether the devil whispered in his ear and made his shameful actions appear. Send greetings to the three pure shaykhs—Abū al-Khayr, Abū al-Maʿālī and Abū al-Faḍl—and to the House of ʿAbd Allāh and the excellent persons in their care. Tell me the news of Abū al-Dirʿ and his brother Thābit, and of the people under their protection: how they support one another and remain joined together.
Greet the shaykhs and brethren at al-Bustān, together with yourself and all those there. Keep me informed of your affairs and theirs. Do not omit mention of the House of ʿAbd Allāh and the House of Sulaymān and their circumstances, for I attend to their situation with great concern. May God acquaint me with news of the community that brings joy and peace to my heart. He is the Guardian who answers prayer and who has power to do so.
Praise belongs to God, who vindicates truth despite the deniers and destroys falsehood through the signs of the ranks of the Qāʾim of the Religion. Peace belongs to the Qāʾim; he is my sufficiency, my confidence and my support against doubting unbelievers. I had mentioned violet flowers to the shaykh; let him not forget them. May God preserve him.
After I had written this letter, another letter arrived from the shaykh mentioning that the books had reached him, but not saying what became of the remaining letters. If the communication that ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn sent in order to ask forgiveness for his lies and denunciations has reached the shaykh, let him tell us. If he received a different one of the earlier communications, let him inform us of that instead.
Concerning what I have mentioned to you about estates and allotments: let there be no address, argument or quarrel between you and anyone on the matter. Let all the shaykhs remain together. They must not become agitated by any affair or retaliate against anyone for an offensive act; they should bind themselves to patience and endurance. This time is not like the time before it. Each person has received a portion of grace sufficient to distinguish truth from falsehood and guidance from error. “Whoever sees, it is for his own soul; whoever is blind, it is against it.” I was pleased by the circumstances of Shaykh Ḥasan, his son, and his transfer from the circle of ʿAlī to the allotments†3.
The period in which correspondence could proceed in its former ordered manner has now passed, for people have recognized the letters. Therefore, by God, do not write anything about the arrangement that might reveal what you are doing. People and copyists have already objected to the mention of estates and similar affairs. Write to the community in every place about secrecy and about describing circumstances only in general terms. They are to avoid dispute and contention, exercise patience and endurance, and answer nobody by either word or deed. Their strongest recourse must be patience, silence and concealment.
Write these instructions to all the localities and recognize the working of God Most High. Our letter was written in accordance with what we knew before yours arrived. I wrote it on the road, at the time when Abū Jumʿa was traveling toward the shaykh.
Had Abū Jumʿa not come, we would have been unable to write to you at all. As for Ṭarrād, his situation has improved through the questions he submitted and the repentance he sought before the pure shaykhs. As for Kāmil, he has died; may God destroy those who clung to him. The harm Kāmil caused the community in his country cannot be repaired. Whenever an old statement of his becomes known, examine it, for he damaged the localities and had no practice except lying. Do not grant him any further advantage in this affair.
By God, by God, let no one of the community speak with anyone outside. Conceal your condition and write to all the districts in general terms, teaching the people the merit of patience and endurance. What I have written is more than sufficient.
By God, do not let this letter pass out of your hand; write to every locality instead, instructing them to conceal their affairs and speak of them only in general terms.
I seek approach to God for your protection and well-being; He suffices me, through Him help is sought, and upon Him I rely. Read this letter of mine to all the brethren. Make it clear to them that it was written before your latest letter arrived, so that they recognize the kindness of the Guardian of the Age and conduct themselves according to what has been conveyed to them.
TEXTUAL ENDNOTES — EPISTLE 107
†3. The printed word الحصص means allotments or portions; in this coded administrative context, its precise spiritual referent is not independently established.