of Revelation! Call Thou to remembrance him(69) whose letter
reached Us during this darksome night. He it is who wandered from region
to region until he entered the City,(70) seeking the shelter of the mercy
of his Lord, the Almighty, the Most High. Eagerly awaiting the favours of
his Lord, he dwelt therein for a night, but departed therefrom the
following morning as bidden by God, filling with sorrow the heart of this
Youth. To this the Almighty is Himself a witness.

24 Great is thy blessedness, for thou hast received the wine of utterance
from the hand of the All-Merciful, and became so enraptured by the sweet
fragrance of the Best-Beloved as to renounce thy comfort and to be
numbered with them that have hastened unto His Paradise, the Dawning-Place
of the signs of thy Lord, the Gracious, the Peerless. Happy the one who
hath quaffed the wine of inner mysteries from the countenance of his Lord
and been intoxicated by this pure and crystal draught. By God! It causeth
every true believer to soar in the heaven of majesty and grandeur, and
transmuteth every doubt into certainty.

25 Grieve not at what hath befallen thee, but put thy whole trust in God,
the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the Wise. Raise thy house upon the solid
foundation of divine utterances, and give praise to thy Lord. He, verily,
shall suffice thee above all the peoples of the earth.

26 God hath, in truth, inscribed your names upon a Tablet wherein are
enshrined the hidden secrets of all that hath been. Erelong shall the
faithful call to remembrance your exile and all your journeys in His path.
He, verily, loveth those who love Him, and is the helper of the sincere.
By the righteousness of God! The eyes of the Concourse on high are fixed
upon you and their fingers point towards you. Thus doth the bounty of your
Lord encompass you. Would that the people might recognize that which hath
escaped them in the days of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised.

27 Render thanks unto God for having aided thee to know Him and to enter
within the precincts of His court at a time when the ungodly surrounded
the family of thy Lord and His loved ones, and expelled them from their
homes with manifest cruelty, intending to separate us at the shore of the
sea. Verily, thy Lord is aware of that which lieth concealed within the
breasts of the unbelievers. Say: Even should ye tear our bodies asunder,
ye could not banish from our hearts the love of God. We were of a truth
cre