s of their
arrows. This, although We have never gloried in any thing, nor did We seek
preference over any soul. To everyone We have been a most kindly
companion, a most forbearing and affectionate friend. In the company of
the poor We have sought their fellowship, and amidst the exalted and
learned We have been submissive and resigned. I swear by God, the one true
God! grievous as have been the woes and sufferings which the hand of the
enemy and the people of the Book inflicted upon Us, yet all these fade
into utter nothingness when compared with that which hath befallen Us at
the hand of those who profess to be Our friends.

What more shall We say? The universe, were it to gaze with the eye of
justice, would be incapable of bearing the weight of this utterance! In
the early days of Our arrival in this land, when We discerned the signs of
impending events, We decided, ere they happened, to retire. We betook
Ourselves to the wilderness, and there, separated and alone, led for two
years a life of complete solitude. From Our eyes there rained tears of
anguish, and in Our bleeding heart there surged an ocean of agonizing
pain. Many a night We had no food for sustenance, and many a day Our body
found no rest. By Him Who hath My being between His hands! notwithstanding
these showers of afflictions and unceasing calamities, Our soul was wrapt
in blissful joy, and Our whole being evinced an ineffable gladness. For in
Our solitude We were unaware of the harm or benefit, the health or
ailment, of any soul. Alone, We communed with Our spirit, oblivious of the
world and all that is therein. We knew not, however, that the mesh of
divine destiny exceedeth the vastest of mortal conceptions, and the dart
of His decree transcendeth the boldest of human designs. None can escape
the snares He setteth, and no soul can find release except through
submission to His will. By the righteousness of God! Our withdrawal
contemplated no return, and Our separation hoped for no reunion. The one
object of Our retirement was to avoid becoming a subject of discord among
the faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our companions, the means of
injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart. Beyond these, We
cherished no other intention, and apart from them, We had no end in view.
And yet, each person schemed after his own desire, and pursued his own
idle fancy, until the hour when, from the Mystic Source, there came the
summons bidding Us return wh