were asked: "Are ye of the party of the Seceders?"(54) He
replied: "Nay, by the Lord Almighty. We are but servants who have believed
in God and in His verses. Through us the countenance of faith hath beamed
with joy. Through us the sign of the All-Merciful hath shone forth. At the
mention of our names the desert of Batha(55) hath overflowed with water
and the darkness separating earth and heaven hath been dispelled."

254 "Have ye forbidden", they were asked, "that which God hath made
lawful, or allowed that which He hath forbidden?" "We were the first to
follow the divine commandments", he answered. "We are the root and origin
of His Cause, the beginning of all good and its end. We are the sign of
the Ancient of Days and the source of His remembrance amongst the
nations."

255 They were asked: "Have ye forsaken the Qur'an?" "In our House", he
replied, "did the All-Merciful reveal it. We are the breezes of the
All-Glorious amidst His creation. We are the streams that have branched
out from the Most Great Ocean, through which God hath revived the earth,
and through which He shall revive it again after it hath died. Through us
His signs have been diffused, His proofs revealed, and His tokens
disclosed. With us is the knowledge of His hidden meanings and His untold
mysteries."

256 "For what crime have ye been punished?" they were asked. "For our love
of God", he made reply, "and for our detachment from aught else save Him."

257 We have not related his exact words--peace be upon him!--but rather have
We imparted a sprinkling from that ocean of life eternal that lieth
enshrined within them, that those who hearken thereunto may be quickened
and made aware of what hath befallen the trusted ones of God at the hands
of a lost and wayward generation. We see the people in this day censuring
the oppressors of bygone ages, whilst they themselves commit yet greater
wrongs and know it not!

258 God beareth Me witness that My purpose hath not been to foment
sedition, but to purify His servants from whatsoever hath prevented them
from drawing nigh unto Him, the Lord of the Day of Reckoning. I was asleep
upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of My Lord, the All-Merciful, passed
over Me, awoke Me from My slumber, and bade Me lift up My voice betwixt
earth and heaven. This thing is not from Me, but from God. Unto this
testify the dwellers of His Dominion and of His Kingdom, and the
inhabitants of the cities of His unfading glory. By H