therefrom. This Wronged One speaketh wholly for the sake of God; thou too
shouldst, likewise, for the sake of God, meditate upon those things that
have been sent down and manifested, that haply thou mayest, on this
blessed Day, take thy portion of the liberal effusions of Him Who is truly
the All-Bountiful, and mayest not remain deprived thereof. This indeed
would not be hard for God. Dust-made Adam was raised up, through the Word
of God, to the heavenly throne, and a mere fisherman was made the
repository of Divine wisdom, and Abú-_Dh_ar, the shepherd, became a prince
of the nations!

This Day, O _Sh_ay_kh_, hath never been, nor is it now, the Day whereon
man-made arts and sciences can be regarded as a true standard for men,
since it hath been recognized that He Who was wholly unversed in any of
them hath ascended the throne of purest gold, and occupied the seat of
honor in the council of knowledge, whilst the acknowledged exponent and
repository of these arts and sciences remained utterly deprived. By "arts
and sciences" is meant those which begin with words and end with words.
Such arts and sciences, however, as are productive of good results, and
bring forth their fruit, and are conducive to the well-being and
tranquility of men have been, and will remain, acceptable before God. Wert
thou to give ear to My voice, thou wouldst cast away all thy possessions,
and wouldst set thy face towards the Spot wherein the ocean of wisdom and
of utterance hath surged, and the sweet savors of the loving-kindness of
thy Lord, the Compassionate, have wafted.

We deem it advisable, in this connection, to recount briefly some past
events, that perchance they may be the means of vindicating the cause of
equity and justice. At the time when His Majesty the _Sh_áh, may God, his
Lord, the Most Merciful, aid him through His strengthening grace, was
planning a journey to Iṣfáhán, this Wronged One, having obtained his