An Epistle of the Báb to Shaykh ʿAlí Turshízí

Abstract: Revealed wholly in Arabic and addressed to Shaykh ʿAlí Turshízí — whom the Báb surnamed ʿAzím (“the Mighty”) — this luminous Epistle remains undated, and the circumstances of its revelation are unknown. In it, the Báb bears solemn testimony to the unity of God, extolling Him as the Almighty, the Ever-Living, the Well-Beloved, in Whose grasp resteth the dominion of all things. He affirms that the glory of God descendeth upon the people of true guidance, and decreeth for each of them a Temple of might, immutable before the hosts of earth and heaven, destined to be conferred upon them at the appointed hour, even should they outwardly appear among the disbelievers. Declaring Himself the Warner, He calleth His followers to sanctify their deeds, and proclaims that one single letter of the word “God” surpasseth in weight the entire testimony of divine oneness, for it hath been invested by God with the power of truth.