ss before the revelation of His
sovereignty, and beseech His favours.

Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal justly with them that
serve thee. Bestow upon them according to their needs and not to the
extent that will enable them to lay up riches for themselves, to deck
their persons, to embellish their homes, to acquire the things that are of
no benefit unto them, and to be numbered with the extravagant. Deal with
them with undeviating justice, so that none among them may either suffer
want, or be pampered with luxuries. This is but manifest justice.

Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them who are noble and
worthy of honour, and suffer not the high-minded to be at the mercy of the
contemptible and worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our arrival
in the City (Constantinople), and to it We bear witness. We found among
its inhabitants some who were possessed of an affluent fortune and lived
in the midst of excessive riches, whilst others were in dire want and
abject poverty. This ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy
rank.

Let My counsel be acceptable to thee, and strive thou to rule with equity
among men, that God may exalt thy name and spread abroad the fame of thy
justice in all the world. Beware lest thou aggrandize thy ministers at the
expense of thy subjects. Fear the sighs of the poor and of the upright in
heart who, at every break of day, bewail their plight, and be unto them a
benignant sovereign. They, verily, are thy treasures on earth. It behoveth
thee, therefore, to safeguard thy treasures from the assaults of them who
wish to rob thee. Inquire into their affairs, and ascertain, every year,
nay every month, their condition, and be not of them that are careless of
their duty.

Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one standing in His
Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every moment of
thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a reckoning,
on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand 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 ar