away.”(16) As is clear and evident to thine eminence, these words
outwardly mean that the Books of the Gospel will remain in the hands of
people till the end of the world, that their laws shall not be abrogated,
that their testimony shall not be abolished, and that all that hath been
enjoined, prescribed, or ordained therein shall endure forever.

23 O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy
sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of Heaven
and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of
eternity, and perchance apprehend the inner meaning of these utterances
and their hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to interpret these
words according to their outward meaning, thou couldst never prove the
truth of the Cause of Him Who came after Jesus, nor silence the opponents,
nor prevail over the contending disbelievers. For the Christian divines
use this verse to prove that the Gospel shall never be abrogated and that,
even if all the signs recorded in their Books were fulfilled and the
Promised One appeared, He would have no recourse but to rule the people
according to the ordinances of the Gospel. They contend that if He were to
manifest all the signs indicated in the Books, but decree aught besides
that which Jesus had decreed, they would neither acknowledge nor follow
Him, so clear and self-evident is this matter in their sight.

24 Thou canst indeed hear the learned and the foolish amongst the people
voice the same objections in this day, saying: “The sun hath not risen
from the West, nor hath the Crier cried out betwixt earth and heaven.
Water hath not inundated certain lands; the Dajjál(17) hath not appeared;
Súfyání(18) hath not arisen; nor hath the Temple been witnessed in the
sun.” I heard, with Mine own ears, one of their divines proclaim: “Should
all these signs come to pass and the long-awaited Qá’im appear, and should
He ordain, with respect to even our secondary laws, aught beyond that