and for fear of God, the
Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to tremble.
It behoveth every king to be as bountiful as the sun, which fostereth the
growth of all beings, and giveth to each its due, whose benefits are not
inherent in itself, but are ordained by Him Who is the Most Powerful, the
Almighty. The King should be as generous, as liberal in his mercy as the
clouds, the outpourings of whose bounty are showered upon every land, by
the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing.
Have a care not to entrust thine affairs of state entirely into another's
hands. None can discharge thy functions better than thine own self. Thus
do We make clear unto thee Our words of wisdom, and send down upon thee
that which can enable thee to pass over from the left hand of oppression
to the right hand of justice, and approach the resplendent ocean of His
favors. Such is the path which the kings that were before thee have
trodden, they that acted equitably towards their subjects, and walked in
the ways of undeviating justice.
Thou art God's shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act in such a manner
as befitteth so eminent, so august a station. If thou dost depart from
following the things We have caused to descend upon thee and taught thee,
thou wilt, assuredly, be derogating from that great and priceless honor.
Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse thine heart from the
world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love of any stranger to
enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify thine heart from every
trace of such love can the brightness of the light of God shed its
radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than one heart. This,
verily, hath been decreed and written down in His ancient Book. And as the
human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth thee
to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave thou,
therefore, with the whole affection of thine heart, unto His love, and
withdraw it from the love of any one besides Him, that He may aid thee to
immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a
true upholder of His oneness. God is My witness. My sole purpose in
revealing to thee these words is to sanctify thee from the transitory
things of the earth, and aid thee to enter the realm of everlasting glory,
that thou mayest, by the leave of God, be of them that abide and rule
therein....
I swear
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