on profit Me. We, verily, exhort you unto that which We were
commanded, and desire naught from you except that ye draw nigh unto what
shall profit you in both this world and the world to come. Say: Will ye
slay Him Who summoneth you unto life everlasting? Fear ye God, and follow
not every contumacious oppressor.

167 O proud ones of the earth! Do ye believe yourselves to be abiding in
palaces whilst He Who is the King of Revelation resideth in the most
desolate of abodes? Nay, by My life! In tombs do ye dwell, could ye but
perceive it. Verily, he who faileth, in these days, to be stirred by the
breeze of God is accounted among the dead in the sight of Him Who is the
Lord of all names and attributes. Arise, then, from the tombs of self and
desire and turn unto the Kingdom of God, the Possessor of the Throne on
high and of earth below, that ye may behold that which ye were promised
aforetime by your Lord, the All-Knowing.

168 Think ye that the things ye possess shall profit you? Soon others will
possess them and ye will return unto the dust with none to help or succour
you. What advantage is there in a life that can be overtaken by death, or
in an existence that is doomed to extinction, or in a prosperity that is
subject to change? Cast away the things that ye possess and set your faces
toward the favours of God which have been sent down in this wondrous Name.

169 Thus doth the Pen of the Most High warble unto thee its melodies by
the leave of thy Lord, the All-Glorious. When thou hast heard and recited
them, say: "Praise be unto Thee, O Lord of all the worlds, inasmuch as
Thou hast made mention of me through the tongue of Him Who is the
Manifestation of Thy Self at a time when He was confined in the Most Great
Prison, that the whole world might attain unto true liberty."

170 Blessed be the king whose sovereignty hath withheld him not from his
Sovereign, and who hath turned unto God with his heart. He, verily, is
accounted of those that have attained unto that which God, the Mighty, the
All-Wise, hath willed. Erelong will such a one find himself numbered with
the monarchs of the realms of the Kingdom. Thy Lord is, in truth, potent
over all things. He giveth what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and
withholdeth what He pleaseth from whomsoever He willeth. He, verily, is
the All-Powerful, the Almighty.

Queen Victoria

171 O Queen in London! Incline thine ear unto the voice of thy Lord, the
Lord of all m