all things there standeth a Moses, hearkening to the Word of thy Lord, the
Almighty, the All-Knowing. Were We to divest Ourself of the mortal raiment
which We have worn in consideration of your weakness, all that are in
heaven and on earth would offer up their souls for My sake. To this thy
Lord Himself doth testify. None, however, can perceive it save those who
have detached themselves from all things for love of their Lord, the
Almighty, the Most Powerful.

4 Hast thou imagined thyself capable of extinguishing the fire which God
hath kindled in the heart of creation? Nay, by Him Who is the Eternal
Truth, couldst thou but know it. Rather, on account of what thy hands have
wrought, it blazed higher and burned more fiercely. Erelong will it
encompass the earth and all that dwell therein. Thus hath it been decreed
by God, and the powers of earth and heaven are unable to thwart His
purpose.

5 The day is approaching when the Land of Mystery(62) and what is beside
it shall be changed, and shall pass out of the hands of the King, and
commotions shall appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and
the evidences of mischief shall be revealed on all sides, and confusion
shall spread by reason of that which hath befallen these captives at the
hands of the hosts of oppression. The course of things shall be altered,
and conditions shall wax so grievous, that the very sands on the desolate
hills will moan, and the trees on the mountain will weep, and blood will
flow out of all things. Then wilt thou behold the people in sore
distress.(63)

6 O Chief! We revealed Ourself unto thee at one time upon Mount Tina, and
at another time upon Mount Zayta,(64) and yet again in this hallowed Spot.
Following, however, thy corrupt inclinations, thou didst fail to respond
and wert accounted with the heedless. Consider, then, and call thou to
mind the time when Muhammad came with clear tokens from Him Who is the
Almighty, the All-Knowing. The people were wont to pelt Him with stones
from hidden places and in the markets, and they rejected the signs of God,
thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers. The learned also denied Him, as
did their followers, and likewise the kings of the earth, as thou hast
heard from the tales of old. Among those kings was Chosroes,(65) to whom
Muhammad sent a blessed epistle summoning him unto God and forbidding him
from misbelief. Verily, thy Lord knoweth all things. Following the
promptings of his evil a