g Our conduct,
know thou that We bear witness unto that whereunto God hath Himself borne
witness ere the creation of the heavens and of the earth, that there is
none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous. We testify that
He is One in His Essence, One in His attributes. He hath none to equal Him
in the whole universe, nor any partner in all creation. He hath sent forth
His Messengers, and sent down His Books, that they may announce unto His
creatures the Straight Path.

Hath the Shah been informed, and chosen to close his eyes to thine acts?
Or hath he been seized with fear at the howling of a pack of wolves who
have cast the Path of God behind their backs and followed in thy way
without any clear proof or Book? We have heard that the provinces of
Persia have been adorned with the adornment of justice. When We observed
closely, however, We found them to be the dawning-places of tyranny and
the daysprings of injustice. We behold justice in the clutches of tyranny.
We beseech God to set it free through the power of His might and His
sovereignty. He, verily, overshadoweth all that is in the heavens and on
earth. To none is given the right to protest against anyone concerning
that which hath befallen the Cause of God. It behoveth whosoever hath set
his face towards the Most Sublime Horizon to cleave tenaciously unto the
cord of patience, and to put his reliance in God, the Help in Peril, the
Unconstrained. O ye loved ones of God! Drink your fill from the
well-spring of wisdom, and walk ye in the garden of wisdom, and soar ye in
the atmosphere of wisdom, and speak forth with wisdom and eloquence. Thus
biddeth you your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

O Baqir! Rely not on thy glory, and thy power. Thou art even as the last
trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top. Soon will it fade away, as
decreed by God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Thy glory and the glory
of such as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is what
hath been ordained by the One with Whom is the Mother Tablet. Where is he
to be found who contended with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid
His signs, and turned aside from His sovereignty? Where are they who have
slain His chosen ones and spilt the blood of His holy ones? Reflect, that
haply thou mayest perceive the breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter!
Because of you the Apostle(77) lamented, and the Chaste One(78) cried out,
and the countries were laid waste, and dar