forbidden all men
to engage in sedition, contention or conflict, and on the other that same
Pen hath sent down these most sublime words: 'Should anyone, in the
presence of the Manifestation, discover an evil intention on the part of
any soul, he must not oppose him, but must leave him to God.' Considering
that on the one hand this binding command is clear and firmly established,
and that on the other calumnies, beyond human strength to bear or endure,
have been uttered, this servant hath chosen to commit this most grievous
sin. I turn suppliantly unto the ocean of God's bounty and the heaven of
Divine mercy, and hope that He will blot out with the pen of His grace and
bounteousness the misdeeds of this servant. Though my transgressions be
manifold, and unnumbered my evildoings, yet do I cleave tenaciously to the
cord of His bounty, and cling unto the hem of His generosity. God is
witness, and they that are nigh unto His Threshold know full well, that
this servant could not bear to hear the tales related by the perfidious.
I, therefore, have committed this act. If He chastise me, He verily is to
be praised for what He doeth; and if He forgive me, His behest shall be
obeyed."

Ponder, now, O _Sh_ay_kh_, the influence of the word of God, that haply
thou mayest turn from the left hand of idle fancy unto the right hand of
certitude. This Wronged One hath never acted hypocritically towards any
one, in the Cause of God, and hath loudly proclaimed the Word of God
before the face of His creatures. Let him who wisheth turn thereunto, and
let him who wisheth turn aside. If these things, however, that are so
clear, so manifest and indubitable, be denied, what else can be deemed
acceptable and worthy of credence in the estimation of men of insight? We
beseech God--blessed and glorified be He--to forgive the aforementioned
person (Haji _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad-'Ali), and change his evil deeds into
good ones. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the
All-Bounteous.

Such things have appeared in this Revelation that there is no recourse for
either the exponents of science and knowledge or the manifestations of
justice and equity other than to recognize them. It is incumbent upon
thee, in this day, to arise with celestial power and dissipate, with the
aid of knowledge, the doubts of the peoples of the world, so that all men
may be sanctified, and direct their steps towards the Most Great Ocean and
cleave fast unto that which God h