rld and all that thou possessest will perish,
and the kingdom will remain unto God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy fathers
of old. It behoveth thee not to conduct thine affairs according to the
dictates of thy desires. Fear the sighs of this Wronged One, and shield
Him from the darts of such as act unjustly.

138 For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown into confusion,
and thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that
which thou hast wrought.(16) Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly
erred. Commotions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou
arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the Spirit of God in
this, the Straight Path. Hath thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It
shall not endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast
to this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee, whilst thou art
of the heedless. It behoveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling from
the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out:
"Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!"

139 O King! We were in 'Iraq, when the hour of parting arrived. At the
bidding of the King of Islam(17) We set Our steps in his direction. Upon
Our arrival, there befell Us at the hands of the malicious that which the
books of the world can never adequately recount. Thereupon the inmates of
Paradise, and they that dwell within the retreats of holiness, lamented;
and yet the people are wrapped in a thick veil! Say: Do ye cavil at Him
Who hath come unto you bearing the clear evidence of God and His proof,
the testimony of God and His signs? These things are not from Himself;
nay, rather they proceed from the One Who hath raised Him up, sent Him
forth through the power of truth, and made Him to be a lamp unto all
mankind.

140 More grievous became Our plight from day to day, nay, from hour to
hour, until they took Us forth from Our prison and made Us, with glaring
injustice, enter the Most Great Prison. And if anyone ask them: "For what
crime were they imprisoned?", they would answer and say: "They, verily,
sought to supplant the Faith with a new religion!" If that which is
ancient be what ye prefer, wherefore, then, have ye discarded that which
hath been set down in the Torah and the Evangel? Clear it up, O men! By My
life! There is no place for you to flee to in this day. If this be My
crime, then Muhammad, the Apostle of God, committed