Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Ábí ‘Abdi’lláh: ‘You are the Way mentioned in the Book of God, and you are the Impost, and you are the Pilgrimage.’ 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.’” Jabír hath said that Abú-Ja’far—peace be upon him—spoke to him as follows: “O Jabír! Give heed unto the Bayán (Exposition) and the Ma‘ání (Significances).” 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. 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. If We wish for something, it is God Who wisheth it, and He desireth that which We desire.” 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?” And, in another connection, he saith: “Nothing have I perceived except that I perceived God before it, God after it, or God with it.”
O Shaykh! Ponder upon the things which have been mentioned, perchance thou mayest quaff the Sealed Wine through the power of the name of Him
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