The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
Divisions 1116-1150
EPISTLE TO THE SON OF THE WOLF
1116.
The Commander of the Faithful (Imám ‘Alí) answered an Arab,
who had questioned him concerning the soul, as follows:
1117.
“The third is the soul which is divine and celestial.
1118.
It is a divine energy, a substance, simple, and self-subsistent.”
1119.
And further he—peace be upon him—said:
“Therefore it is the Most Sublime Essence of God, the Tree of Blessedness,
the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, the Garden of Repose.”
1120.
The Imám Sádiq hath said:
“When our Qá’im will arise, the earth will shine with the light of her Lord.”
1121.
Likewise, a lengthy tradition is attributed to Ábí-‘Abdi’lláh—peace be upon him—
in which these sublime words are found:
“Thereupon will He Who is the All-Compelling—exalted and glorified be He—
descend from the clouds with the angels.”
1122.
And in the mighty Qur’án:
“What can expect anything except that God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds?”
1123.
And in the tradition of Mufaddál it is said:
“The Qá’im will lean His back against the Sanctuary,
and will stretch forth His hand, and lo, it shall be snow-white but unhurt.
1124.
And He shall say:
‘This is the hand of God, the right hand of God, that cometh from God, at the command of God!’”
1125.
In whichever manner these traditions are interpreted,
in that same manner let them also interpret that which the Most Sublime Pen hath set down.
1126.
The Commander of the Faithful (Imám ‘Alí) hath said:
“I am He Who can neither be named, nor described.”
1127.
And likewise He hath said:
“Outwardly I am an Imám; inwardly I am the Unseen, the Unknowable.”
1128.
Abú-Ja’far-i-Túsí hath said:
“I said to Ábí ‘Abdi’lláh:
‘You are the Way mentioned in the Book of God,
and you are the Impost, and you are the Pilgrimage.’
1129.
He replied: ‘O man!
We are the Way mentioned in the Book of God,—exalted and glorified be He—
and We are the Impost, and We are the Fast,
and We are the Pilgrimage, and We are the Sacred Month, and We are the Sacred City,
and We are the Kaaba of God, and We are the Qiblih of God, and We are the Face of God.’”
1130.
Jabír hath said that Abú-Ja’far—peace be upon him—spoke to him as follows:
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“O Jabír! Give heed unto the Bayán (Exposition) and the Má’ání (Significances).”
1131.
He—peace be upon him—added:
“As to the Bayán, it consisteth in thy recognition of God—glorified be He—
as the One Who hath no equal, and in thy adoration of Him, and in thy refusal to join partners with Him.
1132.
As to the Má’ání, We are its meaning, and its side, and its hand, and its tongue,
and its cause, and its command, and its knowledge, and its right.
1133.
If We wish for something, it is God Who wisheth it, and He desireth that which We desire.”
1134.
Moreover, the Commander of the Faithful (Imám ‘Alí)—peace be upon him—hath said:
“How can I worship a Lord Whom I have not seen?”
1135.
And, in another connection, he saith:
“Nothing have I perceived except that I perceived God before it, God after it, or God with it.”
1136.
O Sheik!
Ponder upon the things which have been mentioned,
that perchance thou mayest quaff the Sealed Wine
through the power of the name of Him Who is the [Self-Subsistent],
and obtain that which none is capable of comprehending.
1137.
Gird up the loins of endeavor, and direct thyself towards the Most Sublime Kingdom,
that haply thou mayest perceive, as they descend upon Me,
the breaths of Revelation and inspiration, and attain thereunto.
1138.
Verily, I say: The Cause of God hath never had, nor hath it now, any peer or equal.
1139.
Rend asunder the veils of idle fancies.
1140.
He, in truth, will reinforce thee, and assist thee, as a token of His grace.
He, verily, is the Strong, the All-Subduing, the Almighty.
1141.
While there is yet time, and the blessed Lote-Tree is still calling aloud amongst men,
suffer not thyself to be deprived.
1142.
Place thy trust in God, and commit thine affairs unto Him, and enter then the Most Great Prison,
that thou mayest hear what no ear hath ever heard, and gaze on that which no eye hath ever seen.
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1143.
After such an exposition, can there remain any room for doubt?
Nay, by God, Who standeth over His Cause!
1144.
In truth I say:
On this day the blessed words
“But He is the Apostle of God, and the Seal of the Prophets”
have found their consummation in the verse,
“The day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.”
1145.
Render thou thanksgiving unto God, for so great a bounty.
1146.
O Sheik!
The breezes of prophetic Revelation can never be confounded with other breezes.
1147.
Now the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing standeth laden with countless fruits before thy face; besmirch not thyself with idle fancies, as have done the people aforetime.
These utterances themselves proclaim the true nature of the Faith of God.
1148.
He it is Who witnesseth unto all things.
To demonstrate the truth of His Revelation He hath not been, nor is He, dependent upon any one.
1149.
Well nigh a hundred volumes of luminous verses and perspicuous words have already been sent down from the heaven of the will of Him Who is the Revealer of signs, and are available unto all.
1150.
It is for thee to direct thyself towards the Ultimate Goal, and the Supreme End, and the Most Sublime Pinnacle, that thou mayest hear and behold what hath been revealed by God, the Lord of the worlds.
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