A Sermon on the Art of Governance

(Resāle-ye Sīyasīyyah)

by

`Abdu'l-Bahā

Translated by Sen McGlinn

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Translator’s foreword

This translation was prepared under the supervision of Professor J. ter Haar, and with the assistance of Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, both of the Department of Persian at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. I have drawn heavily on an English translation by Juan Cole that has been published electronically in Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts, vol. 2, no. 2 (May, 1998) and on an unpublished translation into French by H. Dreyfus. The present provisional translation is intended for general use in the Bahā’ī community. The Persian source used is the typeset Persian text printed in Tehran by Muhammad Labīb in 1935. This has been checked against the 1893 Bombay lithograph edition in the hand of Mushkin-Qalam. Both published versions are divided into sections, which have been indicated in the translation.

Cole’s English title for the work is `Abdu'l-Bahā's “Treatise on Leadership,” while Dreyfus has chosen La Politique. I have chosen the title A Sermon on the Art of Governance, where ‘governance’ is in the first place God’s leading and guiding of the human race, the Divine governance, which operates through two ‘powers’, the religious and the political. But it is also governance in the conventional sense, since much of the book is devoted to the relations between the government and the people.

The Persian original is certainly best appreciated when read out loud. Many sections of the Resāle-ye Sīyasīyyah are written in exhortatory style, in rhyming Persian prose with a declamatory rhythm. Sections with a strong cadence and rhyme alternate with prose, while analysis and scriptural quotations alternate with historical illustrations. The overall effect of the original is of a persuasive Persian sermon in high rhetorical style.

Two sentence structures dominate the more rhetorical sections. The first is a simple pair of rhymed phrases, the rhyme usually falling on the verbs which typically come at the end of each phrase:

            chūn be-maqsūd-e khīsh muvafaq shodand

                        rasm-e degar pīsh gereftand 

            And when their strategy was succeeding

                        they presented another plan.

The second consists of two phrases which share a single simple verb, placed between them rather than in its usual place at the end of the sentence. The verb has to be read implicitly in the second phrase, and so links the two elements:

           

ma`amūra-ye īrān vīrān        shod       wa dīhīm-e jahānbānī maqar o sirīr-e dīvān

            The cultivated lands of Persia were laid to waste:

                        demons reclined on the throne of the kings.

The structure of the language, with the sustained use of two-part sentences and the frequent use of paired synonyms, reflects `Abdu’l-Bahā’s theme: that God’s guidance for the world acts through a two-fold order, religious and political. In his words, “This prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints, leading and impelling, is divided into two types.”

In the hope of giving the reader at least an impression of the literary quality of the original, parts of the translation have been presented as free verse, usually in pairs of short lines. This is not to say that the verse sections of the translation correspond exactly to those in the original: at some points where `Abdu’l-Bahā continues in high poetry, his translator has been obliged to descend into prose. I have not found any way of reflecting the alternation of Arabic and Persian terms, with some sections drawing on the Persian ideal of kingship, and others drawing their terminology from Islamic thought on governance.

`Abdu’l-Bahā employs many quotations and allusions from the Qur`ān and Islamic traditions, and from Persian and Arabic poetry. Some of these have been identified, with the aid of many friends, and further assistance with this would be greatly appreciated.

The background and audience of the Sermon on the Art of Governance

‘Abdu=l-Bahā wrote his Sermon on the Art of Governance in 1892, had it copied in a fine hand by Mushkin-Qalam, and sent it to Bombay where it was published in 1893.[1] This is just after the period of the >Tobacco Protest=, which had demonstrated the political power of the ‘ulamā. From a tablet which is included below as a preface to the main text, it is evident that ‘Abdu=l-Bahā sought to have it published again in 1907, when Iran was again in political chaos as the period of constitutional government came to an end. However the Sermon on the Art of Governance does not contain specific references to the events or personalities of the time. ‘Abdu=l-Bahā seeks rather “to briefly clarify the most basic fundamentals of the divine teachings,” setting out the principles underlying the relationship between religion and politics (in the broad sense) and between the government and the people. These teachings are as relevant today as they were when the text was written, certainly in Iran, but also elsewhere.

            It is not necessary to consider the history of the Tobacco Protest extensively here: the details are available for example in Nikki Keddie’s Religion and Rebellion in Iran: The tobacco Protest of 1891 – 1892.[2]  They will be outlined only so far as they help to explain the audience for whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahā  wrote. The reader will note that ‘Abdu’l-Bahā  addresses his treatise to ‘the Friends of God’, and cites texts from Bahā’u’llāh as evidence that religious leaders should not be directly involved in politics, but also that his argument draws on texts from the Qur‘ān and from Islamic traditions, and much of it seems to be addressed also to the ‘ulamā of Iran and the court. So the question of audience needs to be addressed.

The background to the Tobacco Protest was an Iranian state which suffered from chronic disorganisation, a shortage of funds, and inflation due to financial mismanagement. In 1890 the Mullahs in Tehran had begun to preach publicly against the Shāh. At the same time, reformers in Iran and in exile were publishing newspapers and distributing pamphlets calling for the end of the absolute monarchy. The immediate cause of unrest was a concession, which Nāsiru’d‑Din Shāh granted to a British entrepreneur, Major Talbot in March 1890, in return for royalties to be paid to the Shāh. This was only one of many such concessions granted mainly to Russian and British interests, including one to run the state bank. The tobacco concession gave Major Talbot a complete monopoly over the production, sale and export of tobacco. As the details of the agreement became public, and particularly as the company’s agents began their work in Iran the Spring of 1891, a storm of protest arose. One centre of opposition was Shiraz, where a leading Mullah, Sayyid Ali Akbar, preached against the sale of the tobacco monopoly to foreigners. He was expelled from Iran and went to Iraq to see a prominent reformer, Jamāl al-Dīn Afghāni. Sayyid Ali Akbar was a close relative of the most prominent Shi‘ah cleric of the time, Mirza Muhammad Hasan Shīrāzī, the sole marja‘ at-taqlīd, or exemplary guide in matters of practice, for all of twelver Shi‘ism.[3] At Sayyid Ali Akbar’s urging, Afghāni wrote a long letter to Shīrāzī[4] condemning the Shāh in the most biting terms, and saying that the Persians were being made desperate by oppression but lacked a leader. He tells Shīrāzī that the people and ‘ulamā of Iran were waiting only for a word from him to act:

God hath set thee apart for this supreme vice-gerency, to represent the Most Great Proof, and hath chosen thee out of the true communion, and hath committed to thy hands the reins to control the people conformable to the most luminous Law .. He hath entrusted to thee the care of those weighty interests whereby the people shall prosper in this world and attain happiness hereafter. ... He hath assigned to thee the throne of authority ...” “How then can it beseem one on whom God hath bestowed such power as this to be so chary of using it ...

In this letter, Shirāzī is addressed in the most laudatory terms, as the “most mighty Pontiff.” Afghānī also wrote a similar letter addressed to the ‘ulamā of Iran, and both letters were printed and distributed from London.[5] Another letter in Arabic, in which he asks Shīrāzī to order the Iranian people to depose the Shāh, was published in Istanbul.[6]

There appears to have been a decided policy among the reformers to seek the involvement of the ‘ulamā in order to mobilise popular support for their programme. Another of the reformers, Mīrzā Malkum Khān, wrote in the newspaper Qānūn “Why should the spiritual leader of sixty million Shi‘is [i.e., Shirāzī] sit trembling and hidden in the corner of some outlandish village? Why should not the legitimate head of the community of God be superior to all worldly princes?”[7]  In Tabriz, wall-posters made threats against any of the ‘ulamā who might refuse to cooperate with the protest against the tobacco concession, and also threatened Europeans and Iran’s Armenian Christian minority with death. The Mujtahid of Tabriz is said to have threatened to launch a jihād.[8] At the same time, the Tobacco Corporation was giving large bribes to some of the leading ‘ulamā to persuade them not to join the protest.[9]

            At this point, a telegram was received in Irān, purportedly from Shīrāzī, which condemned the interference of foreigners, concessions such as the bank, tobacco and railroad concessions, and the expulsion of Sayyid Ali Akbar.[10] In Isfahan, two of the leading Mullahs organised demonstrations, and preached that all tobacco was religiously unclean. One of these Mullahs was Āqā Muhammad Taqi Najafi Isfahānī, whom Bahā’u’llāh had addressed in a book called “The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.” With a fine irony, ‘Abdu’l-Bahā quotes from this book in section 9 of the Sermon on the Art of Governance, without saying to whom it was addressed. At one of the demonstrations in Isfahān, those present swore that they would stop smoking. The Isfahān ‘ulamā apparently wrote to Shīrāzī for support, and rumours spread that he had ordered a consumer boycott. In December 1891 a fatwa or legal opinion, purportedly from Shīrāzī, was circulated. It directed all believers to abstain from smoking. As a result, the tobacco boycott quickly spread from Isfahan to the rest of the country. Doubts have been expressed about the authenticity of this fatwa: the evidence appears to be conflicting. Keddie suggests that it may have been written by Mīrzā Hasan Āshtiyānī, the leader of the ‘ulamā in Tehran.[11] A later fatwa in Shīrāzī’s name, calling for a jihād, was certainly fraudulent, but some people responded by arming themselves.[12] At the end of December, the Shah gave in, and cancelled the tobacco concession.

            Afghānī’s machination did not stop, however. In 1892 he addressed appeals to the ‘ulamā, calling on them to depose the Shāh, as a means of annulling all of the agreements that the Shāh had made with foreign companies. “If you protectors of the faith oppose him with righteousness, and men know that to obey this (wicked man) is unlawful according to the religion of God ... they will all hasten and upset the throne of his deceit .... You are the protectors of the Nation and the supporters of the Faith ... to War! ... to War!” [13] It is hard not to see a reference to this appeal to the ‘ulamā in section 19 of the Sermon on the Art of Governance. Afghānī was assisted in his attempts to mobilise the ‘ulamā to depose the Shāh by Mīrzā Āqa Khān Kirmānī, a politically active Azali Bābī, and by Mīrzā Malkum Khan, a complex figure known both as a moderniser and as one of the leading advocates and beneficiaries of granting concessions to foreign investors.[14]

The Sermon on the Art of Governance may in part be read as an address by ‘Abdu’l-Bahā  to the Bahā’īs and Bābīs, warning them not to become involved in the continuing efforts of these figures to mount a revolution against the Shāh. But it is also in part addressed to the `ulamā, and particularly to Shīrāzī, arguing that they should not accept the authority to direct the worldly affairs of the nation, which the ‘reformers’ were endeavouring to thrust upon them. Where Afghānī had asked Shīrāzī to adopt a position analogous to the Pope, to become a prince of this world, ‘Abdu’l-Bahā  presents an ideal model of the `ulamā as humble, disdainful of worldly pomp, and devoted to the spiritual welfare of the people. But this requires some further explanation, since ‘Abdu’l-Bahā  rests his argument not only on the Qur`ān and Islamic traditions, but also on Bahā’u’llāh’s Kitāb-i `Ahd and Treatise to the Son of the Wolf. One might well think that the use of texts by Bahā’u’llāh would rule out an audience among the Shī`ah `ulamā.

            We have seen above that the efforts by reformers to enlist the `ulamā in a struggle against the concessions, and later against the Shāh, focussed particularly on Muhammad Hasan Shīrāzī (1815-1895), known as Mīrzāy-i Shīrāzī, who as the sole marja‘ at-taqlīd of the time, and bearing also the titles of Āyatu’llāh and Hujjatu’l-Islām, was the leading Shi‘ah cleric of his day. Shīrāzī, however, was a secret Bābī and later Bahā’ī. He was a second cousin of the Bāb, and was converted to the new Faith in his youth, when he met the Bāb in the house of Manūchihr Khān in Isfahan.[15] Thus the man whom the reformers were prompting to assume the position and political powers of the pope and leader of  the Shi‘ah community, was a secret Bābī, and by this time apparently also a Bahā’ī.[16]

The situation facing Shīrāzī was even more complicated than this, for it will be recalled that the Bāb had made tobacco and all instruments connected with it haram, forbidden.[17] Implicitly, this means that the trade in tobacco was already “forbidden to believers” – to Bābī’s that is. On the other hand, Bābī and Bahā’ī teachings endorsed free trade, and the tobacco monopoly and other monopolies granted to European investors were restraints on free trade. Moreover, the boycott was at least a peaceful way of opposing the monopolies, and in a climate in which violence against Europeans and jihād were being threatened, it may have appeared the lesser evil.

            On the side of the ‘reformers’, while Afghānī was certainly not a Bābī, some of his followers were. In Nikkie Keddie’s words:

An interesting, if obscure, footnote to the story of the tobacco protest is the role played by the Azali branch of the Bābī sect, many of whose members engaged in oppositional political activity in this period and through the time of the Constitutional Revolution. Azali Bābīs were among the editors of Akhtar and among Sayyed Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī’s followers, and there were also Bābīs among the group arrested for sedition in Tehran in the spring of 1891, though some at least of these were of the Bahā’ī branch. Already at this time there was a decisive political split between the oppositional Azalis and the quietist Bahā’ī branch of the Bābīs, which continued through the Constitutional Revolution. The concern of the Bahā’īs to dissociate themselves from the opposition is indicated by a report from Lascelles in February, 1892, saying that the Amin os-Soltān had stressed that:

... all the enemies of the Persian Government had taken the opportunity of the opposition to the Tobacco Corporation to join together in an attempt to overthrow the Government of the Shah. Among these enemies of the Government the sect of the Babis is not the least influential element.

The Amin-es-Sultan has been careful to explain to me that the Babis are divided into two branches, one of which, the Bahais, are inoffensive, and abstain from any interference in the affairs of State; whereas the other branch, known as the Azelis, seek for the destruction of all existing institutions, and are similar to the Nihilists in Russia.

His Highness has communicated to me a letter addressed to him by the exiled Babis belonging to the Baha branch, who are living at Bombay, expressing their loyalty to the Shah, and pointing to the Sayyid Jmal-ud-Din (sic) and his followers as the fomenters of trouble and disaffection.[18]

From the above we can see that Shirāzī, and other leading `ulamā, reformers and journalists who were Bābīs, Azalīs or Bahā’īs, found themselves in a complex web, in which various actors would be pulled in different directions by their attitudes to the Shāh and political reform, to tobacco itself, free trade, and European dominance, to Azal and Bahā’u’llāh, and by their shared desire for progress and modernisation (however differently they may have conceived that).

Finally, the Sermon on the Art of Governance is in part addressed to the Shāh and his ministers, and was in fact presented to the Shāh and leading notables.[19] An anonymous researcher has pointed out that Mirza badi` Bashrü’ī, who visited Haifa in November 1915, records in his notes that Häjī Mirza Haydar `Alī told him that the book was revealed in response to a question addressed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahā by Mirza `Alī Asghar Khān, who was serving as the chancellor in 1893. The chancellor wanted to know “to what extent the interference of the `ulamā in politics is permitted and reasonable.”[20] There is no reason to doubt that the chancellor did ask ‘Abdu’l-Bahā for his opinion, given the publication of the letters from Afghānī to Shīrāzī which were mentioned above. But from the contents of his reply, it is clear that this was not the primary audience ‘Abdu’l-Bahā had in mind.

In addressing the audience at court, ‘Abdu’l-Bahā’s purpose was on the one hand to make it clear that the Bahā’īs had nothing to do with those Azalī’s who were involved in attempts to mount a revolution, and on the other hand to point out that, although the `ulamā had for a generation been telling the Shāh that the new religion was a threat and should be suppressed, it was actually other ‘parties’ that threatened the throne – implicitly referring not only to the reformers, but to some leading anti-Bahā’ī `ulamā such as Âqā Muhammad Najafi.

The complexity of the audience explains why ‘Abdu’l-Bahā sometimes addresses himself to the ‘Friends of God’ with references to Bahā’u’llāh’s writings, and sometimes uses Qur`ān and hadīth references, and employs a style that would be not be out of place if read from the pulpit of the mosque on a Friday. We can also see why he is careful to distinguish the principle of the institutional separation of the religious and political spheres from anti-clericalism.

                                                                        Leiden, March 2003

************

[On a page preceding the main text in the 1935 (Tehran) edition, we find the following:]

In one of `Abdu'l-Bahā’s tablets he states:

The Sermon on the Art of Governance was completed fourteen years ago, copied in the hand of Mushkīn-Qalam, and printed and distributed in India. This treatise is sure to be available in Tehran, but I am sending one copy. You may show it to the people at large, because the treatise describes the present widespread damage, corruption and discord in the clearest terms. The treatise outlines the sacred rights of government, and the rights of the people that are to be respected, as well as the relationship between the shepherd and the flock, the ties between the governor and the governed, and the necessary relations between the leader and the led. This is the method and course of these exiles, the path of these innocent victims. Peace be on those who have followed the right path.[21]

`Abdu'l-Bahā Abbas, 11 Jumādī ul-awwal, 1325 [22 June 1907]

[The following publication details are given by Muhammad Labīb, in part below this tablet, in part at the bottom of the last page:]

In accordance with the permission of the Central Spiritual Assembly, on the basis of an authentic copy printed in India.

BE 91 [1935].

Published (by Muhammad Labīb) in Tehran.

           
*** 1 ***

He is God.

All praise and thanksgiving be to God, who has made the appearance of the sacred perfections of the human realm the foundation of his creation, so that the hidden Godhead may be manifested on the plane of perception, in the form of distinctions and signs, Decrees and Acts, essences and secrets. Thus the rays of the reality of the saying, I was a hidden treasure and desired to be known[22] may dawn on the horizon of the visible world.

And all praise and glorification are due to that exalted reality of grandeur who is the sun of truth in the divine world, the most great luminary of the human realm, the seat of the manifestation of the Merciful, and the dawning‑place for the signs shining from the presence of the One Being. Through his appearance, the secret of I created the creation, so that I might be known has been confirmed on the plain of Witness.

You see the earth lifeless: when we let rain descend upon it, it stirs and swells, and produces plants from all the pairs, causing rejoicing.[23]

           
*** 2 ***

In these days and times, certain events that are contrary to all religious laws, things that destroy human institutions and undermine the divine edifice,[24] have been brought about by some ignorant, foolish people and by rebels and those who love discord. They have taken God's clear Faith as a pretext and have stirred up a seditious commotion. They have dishonoured the people of Iran in the eyes of all the nations of the world.

Gracious God! They claim to be shepherds, but have the characters of wolves; they recite the Qur'ãn, and wish to behave like wild animals. They have a human form, but they prefer the manners of beasts. And when it is said to them, “Do no mischief on the earth” they say, “We only want to make peace”  Truly, they are the ones who make mischief, but they do not realise it.[25] Therefore it has become necessary to briefly clarify the most basic fundamentals of the divine teachings to remind the friends to be alert and watchful.

*** 3 ***

It is evident, and indisputable, that all beings, in their inherent disposition and natural created form, possess the power and capacity to manifest two kinds of perfections. One is inborn perfections: these are solely the divine creation, without any intermediary. The other kind is acquired perfections, which are dependant on the education of a true Master. Consider the things that exist in this world: the trees, flowers and fruits contain an inherent freshness and delicacy which is solely the gift of God. In addition to this, there is a vigour in growth and an indescribable sweetness of flavour that become evident through the attentions of a careful gardener. For, if left to itself, the garden would turn into jungle and undergrowth. The flowers and blossoms would not open, the tree would give no fruit and would be fit for burning. But when it comes under the training and care of a master, it becomes a garden, a rose‑bower, or an orchard. Blossoms and fruit appear, and the face of the earth is adorned with flowers and fragrant herbs. It is the same with human societies and social structures: if left in their natural condition, people would swarm like vermin, and would be considered as beasts and predators. They would learn ferocity, cruelty and bloodthirstiness, and be consumed in the flames of disobedience and forbidden things.

           
*** 4 ***

Human beings are children, studying in the school of the world, but they fall ill and are enfeebled because of chronic defects. Those great and holy figures, the prophets and holy ones, are the professors in the academy of God and the doctors in the hospital of the Lord. They are messengers of grace, and suns in the highest sphere of guidance. Through them, the radiant flame of spiritual and outward perfection, that has cooled and died within the lamp of human reality, may be reignited from the blazing fire of God.[26] Chronic diseases become as nothing through the over-flowing grace of the All‑Merciful and the spirit of the Messiah.

Thus it has been demonstrated with the clearest of proofs that human society requires the training and cultivation of a true master, and that human souls need a governor, one who binds and restrains, prohibits and encourages, one who impels and leads. For the garden of his creation cannot attain beauty, delicacy and plenty except through the training of the kindly gardener, the overflowing bounty from the realm of unicity, and the just governance provided by the government. 

           
*** 5 ***

Now this prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints, leading and impelling, is divided into two types. The first protector and restrainer is the power of governance that is related to the physical world, a power that guarantees happiness in the external aspects of human existence. It safeguards human life, property and honour, and the exalted quality and refined virtues of the social life of this illustrious race. Just monarchs, accomplished representatives, wise ministers, and intrepid military leaders constitute the executive centre in this power of governance, the axis of the wheel of these divine favours.

           
*** 6 ***

The second type of educator and governor of the human world is sacred and spiritual power: the heavenly Books that have been sent down, the prophets of God, and spiritual souls and devout religious leaders. For those in whom revelation descends and divine inspiration arises are the educators of hearts and minds, the correctors of morals. they beautify conduct and encourage the faithful. That is, these holy souls are like spiritual powers. They have freed human souls from the odours[27] of an ignoble character, the darkness of wicked qualities, and the coarseness of the worlds of being. They illuminate the realities of human nature with the lights of the virtues of the human world, with divine distinctions and the virtues and excellencies of the Kingdom, so that the radiant reality of Blessed be God, the best of creators,[28] and the virtue of We have created man according to the best pattern[29] might be realised in the hallowed human person. thus, through the glorious effulgences of these dawning‑places of the divine verses, the pure and subtle reality of humanity becomes a focus for manifestations of the holiness of the world of God.

These sacred duties are rooted in spiritual, divine matters, and in ethical considerations. They have not been linked with material honours, political affairs or worldly matters. On the contrary, the sacred power of these pure and excellent persons is at work within the reality of the soul and conscience, in the inner heart and spirit, and not in water and clay. The banners of the signs of these pure realities are raised in the open spaces of the soul, where the spirit takes wing, not in this world of dust. they have never had any role to play in questions of the government and the governed, of ruling and being ruled. They are ones chosen by the sweet-scented breezes of God, the ones closest to the overflowing waters of the spirit of eternity. They do not seek any role in other matters, and they do not urge the steed of ambition in the arena of greed and power. For matters of politics and government, of the kingdom and of subjects have a specified source and a respected place to which they refer, while guidance, religion, insight, education, and the promotion of the morals and virtues of humanity have a sacred centre and designated spring. These souls have nothing to do with political affairs, nor do they seek any involvement.

Now, in this most great cycle, when the world has reached the age of discretion and maturity, this matter has been made indisputable in the book of God: it is like a firm foundation. According to this incontrovertible text and this brilliant proof, all must be humble and submit to the commands of the government, all should be compliant and obedient before the throne of sovereignty. That is, in their obedience and servitude to rulers, they should be sincere subjects and willing servants. This is what the Beauty of God, whose decree is decisive, whose dawn is clear, and whose morn is true and shining, has commanded in the book of the covenant and the pledge, the eternal pact. The indisputable command is this:

           
*** 7 ***

O ye the loved ones and the trustees of God! Kings are the manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath invested them with the rulership of the earth and hath singled out the hearts of men as His Own domain. Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden in His Book. This is a decree of God in this Most Great Revelation. It is divinely preserved from annulment and is invested by Him with the splendour of His confirmation. Verily He is the All‑Knowing, the All‑Wise. It is incumbent upon everyone to aid those daysprings of authority and sources of command who are adorned with the ornament of equity and justice.[30]

           
*** 8 ***

The same is found in an unambiguous treatise that he addressed to one of the religious leaders. One choice citation from that blessed treatise is this:

           
*** 9 ***

It is now incumbent upon His Majesty the Shah -- may God, exalted be He, protect him -- to deal with this people with loving-kindness and mercy. This Wronged One pledgeth Himself, before the Divine Kaaba, that, apart from truthfulness and trustworthiness, this people will show forth nothing that can in any way conflict with the world-adorning views of His Majesty. Every nation must have a high regard for the position of its sovereign, must be submissive unto him, must carry out his behests, and hold fast his authority. The sovereigns of the earth have been and are the manifestations of the power, the grandeur and the majesty of God. This Wronged One hath at no time dealt deceitfully with anyone. Every one is well aware of this, and beareth witness unto it. Regard for the rank of sovereigns is divinely ordained, as is clearly attested by the words of the Prophets of God and His chosen ones. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus) -- may peace be upon Him -- was asked: "O Spirit of God! Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?" And He made reply: "Yea, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.”[31] He forbade it not. These two sayings are, in the estimation of men of insight, one and the same, for if that which belonged to Caesar had not come from God, He would have forbidden it. And likewise in the sacred verse: "Obey God and obey the Apostle, and those among you invested with authority.”[32]  By "those invested with authority" is meant primarily and more especially the Imams --  the blessings of God rest upon them! They, verily, are the manifestations of the power of God, and the sources of His authority, and the repositories of His knowledge, and the daysprings of His commandments. Secondarily these words refer unto the kings and rulers -- those through the brightness of whose justice the horizons of the world are resplendent and luminous. We fain would hope that His Majesty the Shah will shine forth with a light of justice whose radiance will envelop all the kindreds of the earth. It is incumbent upon every one to beseech the one true God on his behalf for that which is meet and seemly in this day.

O God, my God, and my Master, and my Mainstay, and my Desire, and my Beloved! I ask Thee by the mysteries which were hid in Thy knowledge, and by the signs which have diffused the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness, and by the billows of the ocean of Thy bounty, and by the heaven of Thy grace and generosity, and by the blood spilt in Thy path, and by the hearts consumed in their love for Thee, to assist His Majesty the Shah with Thy power and Thy sovereignty, that from him may be manifested that which will everlastingly endure in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Tablets. Hold Thou his hand, O my Lord, with the hand of Thine omnipotence, and illuminate him with the light of Thy knowledge, and adorn him with the adornment of Thy virtues. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all created things. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bounteous.

 

In the Epistle to the Romans Saint Paul hath written: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be  are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God." And further: "For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."[33] He saith that the appearance of the kings, and their majesty and power are of God.

Moreover, in the traditions of old, references have been made which the divines have seen and heard. We beseech God – blessed and glorified be He – to aid thee, O Shaykh, to lay fast hold on that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the bounty of God, the Lord of the worlds.[34]            

           
*** 10 ***

Therefore, O friends of God, strive with heart and soul. Show to the world the miraculous power of your pure and genuine intentions, in good will to the government and obedience to the state. This command is the most important of the duties of the manifest religion and the decisive texts of the Heavenly Book.

            It is evident that the government, by nature, desires the security and ease of the subjects, and seeks the prosperity and happiness of the people. It is ready and willing to safeguard the just rights of the citizens and of subjects, it attempts by every means to repel the wicked intruder. For the honour and prosperity of the subjects is the dignity, grandeur and power of the glorious monarchy and the triumphant state, the success and happiness of the people is the object of the attention of their royal highnesses. This is so, according to the nature of things.

When, on the contrary, the outcome is a decline in the security of the people or a deficiency in the prosperity and happiness of high and low, the cause is a lack of ability on the part of functionaries, or the extreme despotism and barbarity of ill-willed people, who appear in the robes of learning and are experts in the arts of ignorance, and from first to last are instigators of disorder. Disorder was sleeping, may God curse the one who woke it.

           
*** 11 ***

For fifty years, in the streets and from pulpits, and in councils and gatherings in the presence of government officials, this gaggle of imbeciles ‑‑ that is, the clerical leaders ‑‑ has been accusing this oppressed community of rebellion. They go so far as to falsely accuse them of revolt. They say,

“This community are destroyers of the world,

            they are debasing the morals of the children of Adam.

they entice the regions to be disloyal

            and are pernicious in every respect.

They are the flag of rebellion,

            and the standard of insurgency,

Adversaries to religion and government,

            and enemies of the souls of the subjects.”

           

God's justice demands that the truth about every community and group should become manifest and clear, so that it may be evident in the councils of the world who acts in the best interests of the people, and who is the corrupter. who is stirring up sedition, and which group are the mischief makers? And God distinguishes the corruptor from the one who acts in the best interests of the people.[35]

How good it would be if a touchstone were found

that would blacken the face of every dissembler.[36]

Now, O friends of God, give thanks for His providence, because the true Just One has lifted the veil from the activities of every religious group, and the hidden secrets of souls have become as manifest as the gleaming star. Praise be to God! and again, thanks be to God!

           
*** 12 ***

The fact is, that the functions of the religious leaders and the duties of experts in religious law are to keep watch over spiritual matters and to spread abroad the virtues of the Merciful. Whenever the leaders of the manifest religion, the pillars of religious law, have sought a role in the political sphere, have issued opinions and taken control, the unity of the believers in the one true God has been dissolved, and schisms have encompassed the community of the faithful.

The flames of sedition flare up,

            the fires of revolt burn the world.

The kingdom is plundered and pillaged,

            the people are as vassals, in bondage to the oppressors.

At the time of the last Safavid kings[37] (may the Lord of Creation have mercy on them), the religious leaders sought to participate in Iranian politics. They raised a flag and devised a plan, they showed the way and opened the door. The unfortunate outcome of that movement became the occasion of harm and the cause of ruin. The land of Iran became a jousting field for the Turkoman tribes and the arena for Afghan raiding and conquest.

 

The blessed earth of Irān was exploited by neighbouring peoples,

            the lands of glory were fallen into the hands of strangers.

The triumphant state was erased,

            a brilliant dynasty passed into oblivion.

Oppressors extended their tyrannous hands,

            malevolent people plotted, against property, honour and life itself.

People were killed,

            properties plundered.

Great men were seized by force,

            and great estates were stolen.

The cultivated lands of Persia were laid to waste:

            demons reclined on the throne of the kings.

The reins of government held in the talons of beasts,

            and the royal family enchained,

            or under the sword of bloodthirsty nomads,

            and the little children as captives.

These were the fruits, when the divines and experts in religious law became involved in political matters.

           
*** 13 ***

On another occasion, at the beginning of the reign of Aqa Muhammad Khan,[38] the religious leaders of the people again made a move in political matters, and scattered the ashes of humiliation over the heads of Iranians.

They issued opinions regarding the succession to the throne,

            they sang a siren song that confused the minds of the people.

They incited turmoil and commotion,

            they raised the flag of revolt.

A hurricane wind of rebellion sprang up,

            the customs of sedition and discord gained the upper hand.

Anarchy and chaos ensued,

            a wave of unrest reached to the highest heavens.

The chiefs of the tribes pretended to be kings,

            sowing the seeds of enmity in the rich soil of the kingdom,

            and one sought to kill another.

Peace and security were forgotten,

            covenant and treaty had no effect.

Neither lifelife nor property remained,

            there was no security, and no tranquillity.

At last, the decisive events at Kirman took place.[39] The dust of disorder and rebellion settled, and for the people of sin there was cutting off at the root,[40] that is, the root of the corruptors was pulled out.

           
*** 14 ***

A third such incident occurred during the reign of Fath‑`Alī Shāh:[41]

The leaders of religion once more stirred up a commotion.

They hoisted an ill-fated standard aloft,

They made ready for jihād, fighting the Russians.[42]

They set out on the roads,

            with their drums and their tabors,

            and thus they arrived at the border.

When they began their attack,

            they fled from a hostile reception.[43]

at a single volley of muskets,

            they left their honour on the field of battle,

            and chose to flee with disgrace.

Like the locusts scattered abroad[44] and the palm trunks rooted out,[45]

            they were confounded and strewn on the banks of the Aras,

            and the desert plain of Mughān.[46]

Half of the province of Azerbaijan,

            and three and a half million tumāns were lost,

            along with the Caspian Sea.[47]

           
*** 15 ***

The best example of all is the sad case of the last days of the late Sultan Abdulazīz[48] (may his soul rest in peace), as follows:

The spiritual leaders of the Ottoman people began a rebellion,

            they raised the banner of enmity.

In their madness, they started a movement

            they wanted a role and a share in running affairs.

They stirred up unrest, and provoked a dispute with government officials.

They took for their pretext the manifest Faith and the God-given Law,

            they spoke of "the good of the nation,"

            and demanded the dismissal of Ministers.

They destroyed the foundations of fairness and chivalry.

People of good will were sent into exile

            while they made the malicious ones happy.

They made trustworthy people the object of public anger,

            and turned traitors into popular favourites.