h
been so afflicted by men that they dealt with Him as they pleased. Ye
failed to inquire about My condition, nor did ye inform yourselves of the
things which befell Me. Thereby have ye withheld from yourselves the winds
of holiness, and the breezes of bounty, that blow from this luminous and
perspicuous Spot. Methinks ye have clung to outward things, and forgotten
the inner things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of names,
and appear to have given yourselves up to them. For this reason make ye
mention of the names of your leaders. And should any one like them, or
superior unto them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their names
ye have exalted yourselves, and have secured your positions, and live and
prosper. And were your leaders to reappear, ye would not renounce your
leadership, nor would ye turn in their direction, nor set your faces
towards them. We found you, as We found most men, worshipping names which
they mention during the days of their life, and with which they occupy
themselves. No sooner do the Bearers of these names appear, however, than
they repudiate them, and turn upon their heels.... Know ye that God will
not, in this day, accept your thoughts, nor your remembrance of Him, nor
your turning towards Him, nor your devotions, nor your vigilance, unless
ye be made new in the estimation of this Servant, could ye but perceive
it.

"BECAUSE of you the Apostle (Muhammad) lamented,..."

BECAUSE of you the Apostle (Muhammad) lamented, and the Chaste One
(Fatimihs) cried out, and the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell
upon all regions. O concourse of divines! Because of you the people were
abased, and the banner of Islam was hauled down, and its mighty throne
subverted. Every time a man of discernment hath sought to hold fast unto
that which would exalt Islam, you raised a clamour, and thereby was He
deterred from achieving His purpose, while the land remained fallen in
clear ruin.

"OF all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered..."

OF all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered the greatest loss
have been, and are still, the people of Persia. I swear by the Day Star of
Utterance which shineth upon the world in its meridian glory! The
lamentations of the pulpits, in that country, are being raised
continually. In the early days such lamentations were heard in the Land of
Ta (Tihran), for pulpits, erected for the purpose of remembering the True