to the Covenant of God. When they
finally despaired of shaking his resolve, they harassed him in every
possible way, and plotted his financial ruin. He remained, however, the
quintessence of constancy and trust.

When, at the instigation of the violators, 'Abdu'l-Hamid began his
opposition to me, I was obliged to send Man_sh_adi away to Port Sa'id,
because he was widely known among the people as the distributor of our
mail. I then had to relay the correspondence to him through intermediaries
who were unknown, and he would send the letters on as before. In this way
the treacherous and the hostile were unable to take over the mail. During
the latter days of 'Abdu'l-Hamid, when a commission of investigation
appeared and--urged on by those familiars-turned-strangers--made plans to
tear out the Holy Tree by the roots; when they determined to cast me into
the depths of the sea or banish me to the Fezzan, and this was their
settled purpose; and when the commission accordingly tried their utmost to
get hold of some document or other, they failed. In the thick of all that
turmoil, with all the pressures and restraints, and the foul attacks of
those persons who were pitiless as Yazid,(33) still the mail went through.

For many long years, Siyyid Man_sh_adi befittingly performed this service
in Port Sa'id. The friends were uniformly pleased with him. In that city
he earned the gratitude of travelers, placed those who had emigrated in
his debt, brought joy to the local believers. Then the heavy heat of Egypt
proved too much for him; he took to his bed, and in a raging fever, cast
off the robe of life. He abandoned Port Sa'id for the Kingdom of Heaven,
and rose up to the mansions of the Lord.

Siyyid Man_sh_adi was the essence of virtue and intellect. His qualities
and attainments were such as to amaze the most accomplished minds. He had
no thought except of God, no hope but to win the good pleasure of God. He
was the embodiment of "Keep all my words of prayer and praise confined to
one refrain; make all my life but servitude to Thee."

May God cool his feverish pain with the grace of reunion in the Kingdom,
and heal his sickness with the balm of nearness to Him in the Realm of the
All-Beauteous. Upon him be the glory of God the Most Glorious.

MUHAMMAD-'ALI SABBAQ OF YAZD

Early in youth, Muhammad-'Ali Sabbaq became a believer while in 'Iraq. He
tore away hindering veils and doubts, escaped from his delusions and
has