Translation of the letter:
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
O my God and God of my fathers who passed away, and God of the heavens raised by pillars that cannot be seen, and God of the blazing sun, the shining moon, and numerous stars, and God of extended lands that some are placed on top of some others and attached together by nails, and God of deep and wide oceans and whatever floats on them and whatever swims in them, and God of great seas with roaring waves, beautiful islands, sandy beaches, and rivers that flow in them, and God of high mountains with snowy peaks, steep slopes, dark valleys, dangerous precipices, and big rocks hung on their sides, and God of lush forests with dense trees, dark depths, and every creature that moves in them, and God of vast deserts with dry expanses, eroded soil, sifted shrubs[1], and sandstorms that blow through them, and God of rain clouds and non-rain clouds that come from far horizons and cast shadows on the earth, and God of spring, which is the birth of nature, summer, which is the maturity of nature, fall, which is the aging of nature, and winter, which is the death of nature, and God of what was, what is, and what will be!
I worship You, the worship of the Prophets, and I praise You, the praise of the Angels. I glorify You, deem You Great, and thank You to the number of the stars in the heaven, and who else but You knows the number of the stars in the heaven?! And to the number of leaves of trees, and who else but You knows the number of leaves of trees?! And to the number of desert gravels, and who else but You knows the number of desert gravels?! And to the number of raindrops; and who else but You knows the number of raindrops?! And to the number of rays of the bright sun, and who else but You knows the number of rays of the bright sun?! And to the number of breaths of creatures, and who else but You knows the number of breaths of creatures?! And to the number of blinks of people, and who else but You knows the number of blinks of people?! Rather, all of these are numbered, but I glorify You, deem You Great, and thank You countless and endless, like Your blessings, as Your beauty and glory deserve it, and I consider you One and do not know any partner for You, and I bear witness that Muhammad, may Your peace be upon him and his family, is Your servant and last Messenger whom You sent with guidance and true religion to make it prevail over all religions, even if polytheists do not like it, then twelve of his Ahl al-Bayt are Your Caliphs and Your Prophet’s Caliphs whom you blessed, exalted over people, and appointed as leaders for them so that they may know and worship You, and to You I shall return.
Guide me toward what You like, turn me away from what You do not like, and do not leave me to myself to turn away from what You like and turn to what You do not like, otherwise I will be one of the losers. O God! Judge between me and those who do not know You, desire superiority on the earth, and spread corruption, and help me against them, for You are the Best Judge and Best Helper. I turned to You, put my trust in You, and worshipped You with a pure religion for You, and I avoided worshiping taghut and parted company with those who are hostile to You and Your friends so that You may purify me, bring me close to Yourself, bless me, forgive my sins that my hands have sent forth or left behind, save me from the fire, and take me to Heaven on the Day when the hearts and the eyes will turn upside down; indeed, You punish whomever You will and show mercy to whomever You will, and You are surely the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
And thereafter...
O Muslim brothers and sisters! Know that the world is close to its end, the end time has approached, and the dawn of promises has risen. Now we and you are living in a time when strife and chaos have spread everywhere, oppression and corruption have become widespread, and Shubha[2] has increased. Shubha is called “Shubha” because it leads the human being to “Ishtibah”[3] and makes the truth and falsehood “Mushtabih”[4]. Undoubtedly, if the truth was obvious, it would not be hidden from anyone, and if falsehood was manifest, it would be disgraced to everyone, but the fact is that the truth is veiled behind the clouds of falsehood, and falsehood puts on the mask of the truth, and this is where it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two.
Satan knows that if he openly invites you toward falsehood and commands you to be misguided, you will not answer his invitation or obey him; therefore, on the one hand, he invites you toward the truth and commands you to be guided, and on the other hand, he makes falsehood appear as the truth in your eyes and shows misguidance as guidance to you! This is where you answer his invitation and obey his command, so you fall into falsehood out of longing for the truth and are misguided under the name of guidance, and our time is full of these Shubhas; Shubhas that have deceived your young ones and confused your old ones; Shubhas that have made life difficult for you and taken blessings away from your tables; Shubhas that have weakened your intellects and hardened your hearts; Shubhas that have blinded your eyes so that you do not see, deafened your ears so that you do not hear, and closed your mouths so that you say nothing!
How many falsehoods have been considered true in our time, and how many truths have been considered false! How often misguidance has been considered as guidance in our time, and how often guidance has been considered misguidance! How many lies have been considered facts in our time, and how many facts have been considered lies! How many wrongs have been considered right in our time and how many rights have been considered wrong! How often evil has been considered good in our time, and how often good has been considered evil! While not knowing the truth from falsehood, guidance from misguidance, facts from lies, right from wrong, and good from evil is by no means unimportant and simple, but rather it has a great punishment and dire consequences and may end in a fatal calamity and eternal misery.
Think that what will happen if you do not distinguish enemies from friends, wolves from sheep, blades from cotton, or medicine from poison?! The truth and falsehood are like friends and enemies to you, guidance and misguidance are like sheep and wolves to you, facts and lies are like cotton and blades to you, and good and evil are like medicine and poison to you, and if you do not know one from the other, you will be ruined! This is where ignorance of the human being becomes his greatest enemy, and his neglect becomes the bane of his existence! No one has a greater enemy than his ignorance, and nothing is more dangerous than neglect! So beware of your ignorance more than the enemy, fear your neglect more than wolves, be cautious about your unawareness more than blades, and be afraid of your carelessness more than poison; because material enemies, wolves, blades, and poison will exhaust your bodies, but spiritual ignorance, neglect, unawareness, and carelessness will destroy your souls!
O you who have indulged in your lives, have become accustomed to your indulgences, have been immersed in what you are accustomed to, are firm in your immersions, and do not know what is what! O my sleeping brothers and sisters! Come to your senses and wake up and rise! I swear to God, you have no choice but “cognition,” and your problems will not be solved except by “knowledge.” Now cognition invites you toward itself like an Angel, and knowledge calls you toward itself like a Prophet. It shouts in your alleys and calls out on your roofs, “O you the heedless! The night of ignorance is over, and the morning of knowledge has dawned. Now wake up and rush to me, and do not let anything keep you from me, for I am more necessary than food for you and more useful than business and family to you. I am the only one who stays with you and does not separate from you in the world and the Hereafter. Your wealth will be destroyed, your spouses will die, and your children will leave, but I will not be destroyed, nor will I die, nor will I leave you ever, but I will protect you as I protect myself and take you to eternity. If I am with you, nothing will harm you, and if I am not with you, nothing will benefit you. So what preventer prevents you from me, and what fills the void left by me?!” This is how cognition invites you toward itself and knowledge calls you toward itself. So answer the invitation of cognition and hear the call of knowledge! Rise for knowing the truth from falsehood and try to distinguish between right and wrong; and what stops you from that?! While knowing the truth from falsehood is the foundation of your humanity, and distinguishing between right and wrong is the source of your personality. How can one who hates cognition call himself a human being?! And why does one who is a stranger to knowledge not call himself a horse?! Knowledge of the human being is the mainstay of his dignity, and his cognition is the source of his honor. My intention of cognition is not mathematics, geometry, and the like, and my meaning from knowledge is not jurisprudence, principles, logic, and philosophy! They are all merits that have become trials today, and the foundation of your humanity is not from them! My intention of cognition is knowing the truth from falsehood, and my meaning from knowledge is distinguishing between guidance and misguidance. How many jurists and philosophers went to Hell, and how many doctors and engineers did not gain salvation, for they did not know the truth from falsehood, nor did they distinguish between guidance and misguidance!
Beware, O students of universities and religious schools! I see you have been immersed in your lessons and discussions, and you have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! Today these lessons and discussions are the means to trial you!
Beware, O mujtahids and imitators! I see you have been immersed in your ijtihad and imitation, and you have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! Today these ijtihad and imitation are the means to trial you!
Beware, O preachers and people of pulpits! I see you have been immersed in your sermons and pulpits, and you have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! Today these sermons and pulpits are the means to trial you!
Beware, O people of mosques and Khanqahs! I see you have been immersed in your mosques and Khanqahs, and you have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! Today these mosques and Khanqahs are the means to trial you!
Beware, O employees and tradespeople! I see you have been immersed in your jobs and businesses, and you have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! Today these jobs and businesses are the means to trial you!
Behold, O people! Wherever I look, I see you immersed in your lives and hiding in your homes! You are busy with yourselves and each other and have no knowledge of the truth and falsehood! You are addicted to your way of living and stuck in the swamp of your attachments! You no longer think about knowing the truth and falsehood and no longer ask about distinguishing between right and wrong! The truth and falsehood are equal to you, and there is no difference between right and wrong to you! You have freed yourselves from these issues, and your minds are occupied with other matters! The work of the outside has distracted you from the work of the inside, and seeking money and graduation has kept you busy from seeking knowledge and wisdom. You say: “The problems of life are such that they prevent us from cognition, and the involvements of the world are such that they keep us from knowledge!” While those problems are because you do not know the truth and falsehood, and your involvements are because you do not distinguish between right and wrong! There is no problem unless it arises from your ignorance, and there is no involvement unless your neglect gives rise to it!
Cognition will help his owner, and knowledge will save his friend. These two for you are like water for the thirsty, food for the hungry, guides for the lost, and companions for the lonely. These two are your supporters and walking sticks in your hands. These two are treatments for your pains and balms for your wounds. These two are keys to your closed doors and gateways to your happiness. These two are your assets for your poor days and your aids for your humiliating days. These two for you are leaders who do not mislead and rulers who do not oppress. These two for you are homes that will not be destroyed and lands that will be evergreen. These two for you are wealth that will not be stolen and workers who are not lazy. These two for you are spouses who will not separate and children who are not cruel. These two for you are friends who will not become enemies and companions who will not leave. So turn to them and let nothing keep you from them! Know facts from lies and right from wrong, for not knowing robs you of your religion and world, and not distinguishing is the cause of your regret.
I tell you the truth: ignorance is nowadays an unforgivable sin and a very big mistake. Nowadays, if you do not know the truth, you will be deceived, and if you do not recognize guidance, you will be defrauded! Jinn devils will show falsehood as the truth to you, and human devils will feed you misguidance under the name of guidance! There are always opportunists who abuse your ignorance and take advantage of your neglect in order to achieve power and wealth through you and devour your belongings and yourselves! While if you were aware, they would not gain power over you, and if you were wise, they would not prevail over you! Is it not that the thief comes to the house in the dark of the night and the fish gets trapped in muddy water?! Be vigilant and do not remain in ignorance and neglect more than this! Rise for knowing the truth from falsehood and try to distinguish between guidance and misguidance, make haste before it becomes too late...
Is there not among you a wise man to grasp my wisdom and an understanding woman to accept my advice?! Where are your clever ones to understand my words, and who are your vigilant ones to answer my invitation?! Good for those who gain cognition, for they will gain salvation, and woe betide those who remain in ignorance, for they will become miserable...
