l times, and found
thee clinging unto the Branch and heedless of the Root. Thy Lord, verily,
is a witness unto what I say. We grieved to see thee circle round Our
Name, whilst unaware of Us, though We were before thy face. Open thine
eyes, that thou mayest behold this glorious Vision, and recognize Him Whom
thou invokest in the daytime and in the night-season, and gaze on the
Light that shineth above this luminous Horizon.

SULTAN 'ABDU'L-'AZIZ

HEARKEN, O King, to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth, Him that
doth not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath chosen to
bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the straight Path. He it is
Who summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth thee the right course,
the way that leadeth to true felicity, that haply thou mayest be of them
with whom it shall be well.

Beware, O King, that thou gather not around thee such ministers as follow
the desires of a corrupt inclination, as have cast behind their backs that
which hath been committed into their hands and manifestly betrayed their
trust. Be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to thee, and
abandon not the interests of thy people to the mercy of such ministers as
these. Lay not aside the fear of God, and be thou of them that act
uprightly. Gather around thee those ministers from whom thou canst
perceive the fragrance of faith and of justice, and take thou counsel with
them, and choose whatever is best in thy sight, and be of them that act
generously.

Know thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in God is neither
trustworthy nor truthful. This, indeed, is the truth, the undoubted truth.
He that acteth treacherously towards God will, also, act treacherously
towards his king. Nothing whatever can deter such a man from evil, nothing
can hinder him from betraying his neighbour, nothing can induce him to
walk uprightly.

Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of thy state into
the hands of others, and repose not thy confidence in ministers unworthy
of thy trust, and be not of them that live in heedlessness. Shun them
whose hearts are turned away from thee, and place not thy confidence in
them, and entrust them not with thy affairs and the affairs of such as
profess thy faith. Beware that thou allow not the wolf to become the
shepherd of God's flock, and surrender not the fate of His loved ones to
the mercy of the malicious. Expect not that they who violate the
or