Allah Akbar. Praise and supplication of the sublime threshold of the Unity—Glory be to the Name—are such that if all the nice­ties of Reason, and all the Categories of Intellect together with the armies of the Intelligences, and hosts of the Sciences, were gathered together, they would not amount to one letter of that book or to one ray of that sun, though, in the eyes of truth, all the motes of exis­tence are a fountain-head of Divine praise, which with a tongueless tongue come forth and moisten the parched lips and burnt-up throats of non-existence with true praise! It is better then to shorten the lasso of thought before the pinnacle of eternal glory—to which the pure spirits (the angels) cling—and to apply oneself to the lauda­tion of the glorious company of the prophets and apostles—on whom be benediction and peace! Let us proclaim in the pulpits of publicity; firstly, their glorious conditions, and secondly, the beauti­ful gifts whereby they have led mankind from the defiles of error into the highway of favour and guidance, and let us tell of the bounties and noble qualities of the “members of the household” (Ahl-i-bait) who are confidants of the great secrets, and unveilers of the mysteries of the prophets, and let us, relying thereupon, implore new mercy! But inasmuch as on a just view it appears that the praises* of those shewers forth of things Divine and human, and that the greatness of that assemblage of spirits who have been consumed in the search for truth and who are transitory in the midst of per­manency, are a shadow of the praises of Omnipotence, it is fitting that we abstain from this likewise, and place on the preamble of our state­ment some points from the current performances of the masters of wisdom, with whose practical science the administration of mundane affairs is associated. For assuredly, in this way do the zealous travel­lers on the paths of faith, and those who slake themselves at the ⁶⁵⁷ fountains of truth—who have set before themselves the refreshing of the categories of the visible and invisible—become affused with auspiciousness!

Glory be to God the great and holy! The beholding of the pure and honoured letter which was sent along with Yādgār Sulān Shāmlū in the midst of spring and at the time of the equability of night and day made our loving soul to exult. The joyous breeze of the tulips and fragrant flowers became insinuated into the convolu­tions of the brain, for this nosegay of love and friendship conveyed the perfume of unanimity. What you have written about the delay in writing letters of affection is very appropriate. In truth, spiritual relationships require that there should not be such delays. But you must have heard from comers and goers what great affairs, and con­tinued wars, have occurred to us against the princes of India, which has been reckoned by geometricians as four-sixths of the seven climes. During this long period, this vast country which was shared among so many independent chiefs and martial rulers has by the Divine aid been conquered by the imperial servants. From the mountains of the Hindu Koh to the shores of the ocean all the rebels and stiff-necked ones of three directions—strongfisted* rulers and arrogant rajahs, shortsighted Afghan mountaineers, swiftly-career­ing, desert-dwelling Balūcīs and other fortress-dwellers and land­owners—have, one and all, come into the shade of obedience, and the tribes of mankind have enjoyed equability in concord. By the Divine aid that which was revolving in our truth-choosing soul has become accomplished fact. When the Panjab had become the seat of sovereignty it was our secret design to send an able ambassador, but some undertakings intervened. The chief of these was the deliv­erance of the inhabitants of the heart-rejoicing country of Kashmīr from the hands of villanous tyrants. In spite of the strength of the country, and the long marches, the lofty mountains, the dense forests, the numerous ravines—which can with difficulty be crossed by the forces of the imagination—were by grasping the strong cable of Divine aid by the support of the spirits of the holy Imāms—May Peace be upon them—traversed by the sublime army in an excellent fashion. Several thousand active stone-cutters went on, stage by stage, in advance, and put forth the hand of ability in eradicating ⁶⁵⁸ rocks and in cutting down forests and in making roads. Accordingly, that delightful country was conquered in a short time, and the standards of justice waved over the inhabitants in general. When that splendid country—which is lauded by all spectators who approve of beauty—was granted to us by the Divine favour, we our­selves went there and offered up our thanksgivings. We journeyed on to the hill-country of Tibet and then proceeded by the route of Paklī and Damtaur—which is a very difficult route—to Kabul and Ghaznīn. We chastised the carnivorous Afghans, the brigands who in the country of Swād, Bajaur and Bangash, are a stone of stumbling to travellers to Tūrān, and we punished the wicked Balūcīs, and other desert-dwellers who are of a bestial nature, and are deceitful foxes, and who are a thorn in the path of Persian travellers. There were incidents, but the root of the delay (in writing) was the confu­sion in Persia and the distracted state of that country after the inevitable event (of the death) of H.M. the Shāh (Muḥammad Khudā­banda)—May God make his proof clear. At the time when the ambassador arrived with an auspicious message, it became known that the confusion was diminishing. Assuredly, our anxious heart was comforted on hearing this news. It was infused into our soul based upon truth that at this time it was not consonant to humanity and liberality merely to make inquiries. The consolation which it occurred to us was to give every assistance that could be desired. But the affairs of Qandahār intervened, for the Mīrzās there showed slackness in assisting the sublime family (that of the Ṣafavī dynasty), and on the occurrence of accidents and misfortunes—which is the time for testing the jewel of fidelity—they did not at all show marks of concord and unanimity. Nor did they repair to our sub­lime asylum, which is the native land of the masters of delight and ease. It therefore occurred to us that we should in the first place make over Qandahar to our own people. Should the Mīrzās come to comprehend the nature of our daily-increasing dominion and repent of their past deeds, and render service to the representative of the flower of the pure and holy, our victorious troops would join with them and perform every act of assistance that that darling of the Sulanate (Shāh 'Abbās) might desire. But as the Mīrzās had ancient connections with our holy family and as the sending of our victorious hosts without making previous inquiry would appear, to the short-sighted general public, to be a breaking of ties, we abstained from it. Meanwhile Rustum M. arrived, and the province of Multan—which is several times larger than Qandahar—was conferred on him. And Moaffar Ḥusain M. on hearing of our benignities sent his mother and his eldest son, and meditated coming in person. After his arrival the victorious army will proceed to Qandahār and will easily perform every kind of help. As in the rules of sovereignty and the religion of humanity, concord is preferable to opposition and peace better than war, and especially as it has been our disposition from the beginning of our attaining discretion to this day not to pay atten­tion to differences of religion and variety of manners and to regard ⁶⁵⁹ the tribes of mankind as the servants of God, we have endeavoured to regulate mankind in general. The blessings of this lofty principle —which is in accord with magnanimity—have once and again showed themselves. At this time when the Panjab was the seat of govern­ment our firm intention had been to uprear the sublime standards towards Transoxiana which was the country of our ancestors, so that both might that country come into the possession of the imperial servants, and also that the family of the prophets (the Ṣafavī family) might be assisted in a suitable manner. Meanwhile the asylum of benevolence 'Abdullah K. the ruler of Tūrān sent, time after time, loving letters referring to ancient relationships, and confirmatory of affection, by the instrumentality of skilful ambassadors, and thereby set in motion the chain of concord and devotion and laid the foundation of affection. As to go to war with one who is disposed to be peace­able is contrary to the Divine decrees and is disapproved of in the balance of lofty reason, our head turned away from this project. Stranger still: As yet nothing which could be completely relied upon has been heard from persons arriving from that country about the reformation of the disorders of Persia and the Persians, nor has any truthful exposition been obtained about the fundamental charac­ter of that scion of purity (Shāh 'Abbās). We hope that knowing that our loving heart is disposed towards every kind of subject and enterprise, you will tread the beautiful path of correspondence and cause the arrival of truthful, diurnal reports. At the present day, when there are very few wise and acute men who look to the future in Persia, it behoves that cream of lofty ancestors (S. 'Abbās) to exert himself greatly in the management of the country and in the con­ciliation of all the inhabitants. In every undertaking he must regard caution and have a thought of the final result, and he must not let his heart be perplexed by the fictions of interested people and the lies of intriguing weavers of tales. He must practise endurance of burdens and the ignoring of the mistakes of hereditary servants and new employés, and advance the sincere, and by the light of gracious­ness cleanse the rust of darkness from off the hypocritical. He must also exercise supreme caution before putting any one to death and destroying what is an edifice of God. Many life-friends have been removed from their near position by the craft of self-interested enemies and have drunk the blood of death, and many enemies and seeming friends have donned the garb of loyalty and engaged in destroying the foundations of dominion. Ample thought must be exer­cised in studying the hearts and secrets of those men. The lent fortune of this transitory state must be made submissive to the Divine pleasure. The sections of mankind, who are a Divine deposit and treasure, must be regarded with the glance of affection, and efforts must be made to conciliate their hearts. It must be considered that the Divine mercy attaches itself to every form of creed, and supreme exertions must be made to bring oneself into the every vernal flower-garden of “Peace with all.” The increase of one's good fortune must always be kept in full view, for the eternal God is bounteous to all souls ⁶⁶⁰ and conditions of men. Hence it is fitting that kings, who are the shadow of Divinity, should not cast away this principle. For, the Creator has given this sublime order (that of kings) for the discipline and guardianship of all mankind, so that they may watch over the honour and reputation of every class. Men do not knowingly and intentionally make mistakes in worldly affairs, which are unsubstantial and pass away, why then should they be negligent in the affairs of faith and religion, which are permanent and everlasting? In fine, the position of every sect comes under one of two categories. Either it is in possession of Truth, and in that case one should seek direc­tion from it and accept its views. Or it is in the wrong, and then it is unfortunate and suffering from the disease of ignorance, and is a subject for pitying kindness, and not for harshness and reproach. One must exercise wide toleration and knock at the door of inspec­tion, for in this way will the veil be removed from the wide extent of spiritualities and temporalities, and there will be ample life and fortune. One of the advantages of this method is that at a time of want of leisure and of the predominance of wrath, friends will not be destroyed under the idea that they are enemies, and that enemies masquerading as friends will not have an opportunity for deceit. One must strenuously adhere to one's word, for this is a pillar of rule. Patience and endurance must ever be one's companions, for the main­tenance of permanent dominion depends thereon. Let it not be concealed that it was our intention to dispatch one of our chosen confidants along with Yādgār Sulān in order that he might learn the real facts about Persia and report to us. Meanwhile a number of rebels and strife-mongers rose up in Kashmīr. We were in the hunting-ground with a few intimates when the news of this arrived. A Divine inspiration made us proceed thither rapidly, and we had not reached Kashmīr when gallant heroes—who out of necessity had become the companions of this rebellious crew—got their opportu­nity and brought the head of the ringleader to us. When that territory had become, by the blessing of our advent, a site of peace and tranquillity, we returned and came to Lahore. At this time the ruler of Sīwistān, Tattah and Sind—which are on the route to Persia —had the temerity and ill fortune to engage in war with the troops who are associated with victory, and the route to 'Irāq and Khurāsan became closed. Hence there has been delay in sending an ambassador. Now, that our holy heart is free from all cares, and that Sīwistān and Tattah have been incorporated in the empire, and that M. Jānī Beg the ruler thereof has appeared at our court and done homage, and that we have read on his forehead the marks of repentance and devotion, we have restored that country to him. The route to 'Irāq has thus become shorter and safer than before, and we have given him his dismissal (to Tattah). We send Zīyā-al-Mulk* who is the ⁶⁶¹ essence of trustworthiness and devotion, and have confided to him some loving expressions which he will communicate to you in private. He will also ascertain the state of affairs in Persia and report to us. Some rarities of this country have been entrusted to Khwāja Abū Nāṣir. We hope that you will consider this abode of dominion as your own house and pursue a line of conduct contrary to that of former times, and will consider the despatch of letters—which are a spiritual conversation—as appertaining to the rules of concord. May God Almighty ever preserve that cream of a chosen family from deceits and wiles and succour him by secret aids!