shall be thrown into confusion, and
thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that which
thou hast wrought. Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred.
Commotions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou arisest to
help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ)
in this, the Straight Path. Hath thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It
shall not endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast
by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee, whilst thou art
of the heedless. It behooveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling
from the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out:
'Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!'

"O King! We were in 'Iraq, when the hour of parting arrived. At the
bidding of the King of Islam (Sultan of Turkey) We set Our steps in his
direction. Upon Our arrival, there befell Us at the hands of the malicious
that which the books of the world can never adequately recount. Thereupon
the inmates of Paradise, and they that dwell within the retreats of
holiness, lamented; and yet the people are wrapped in a thick veil!"

And further We have said: "More grievous became Our plight from day to
day, nay, from hour to hour, until they took Us forth from Our prison and
made Us, with glaring injustice, enter the Most Great Prison. And if
anyone ask them: 'For what crime were they imprisoned?' they would answer
and say: 'They, verily, sought to supplant the Faith with a new religion!'
If that which is ancient be what ye prefer, wherefore, then, have ye
discarded that which hath been set down in the Torah and the Evangel?
Clear it up, O men! By My life! There is no place for you to flee to in
this day. If this be My crime, then Muhammad, the Apostle of God,
committed it before Me, and before Him He Who was the Spirit of God (Jesus
Christ), and yet earlier He Who conversed with God (Moses). And if My sin
be this, that I have exalted the Word of God and revealed His Cause, then
indeed am I the greatest of sinners! Such a sin I will not barter for the
kingdoms of earth and heaven."

And further We have said: "As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love
for God and for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me
from the hosts of the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My purpose.
Should they hide Me away in the depths of the earth, yet would they find
Me ridi