from The Twenty-Eighth Letter Third Matter
Announcing "the Wares of a Qur'anic Shop" 

[This Matter consists of a private and particular answer to a general question asked by most of my brothers through the tongue of disposition, and by some of them verbally.]

    Que stion : You say to everyone who vis­its you: "Don't expect any saintly interven­tion from me and don't think of my person as being blessed. I possess no spiritual rank. Like a common soldier may convey orders coming from the rank of field marshal, I convey the orders of just such a rank. And like a bankrupt may advertise the precious diamonds of a jeweller's shop, I announce the wares of a sacred, Qur'anic shop." However, our hearts require an effulgence in the same way that our minds need knowledge, and our spirits require a light, and so on; we want many things in many respects. We come to visit you supposing you to be the person who will meet our needs. What we need is a saint, someone with saintly influence, someone of spiritual attainment, rather than a scholar. If the matter is really as you say, then perhaps we were wrong in visiting you? They ask this through the tongue of disposition.

The Answer: Listen to the following five points, then think about them and judge whether your visits are pointless or beneficial.

The common servant or wretched soldier of a king gives some generals and pashas royal gifts and decorations in the name of the king, and makes them grateful. If the generals and pashas say: "Why do we lower ourselves before this common soldier and accept these gifts and bounties from him?", it would be arrogant foolishness. The soldier too, if, outside his duty, he does not stand up before the field mar­shal and recognize him to be superior to himself, it would be stupid folly. If one of the grateful generals gratefully condescends to visit the soldier's humble dwelling, the king, who sees and knows of the situa­tion, will send dishes from the royal kitchen for his loyal servant's eminent guest, so the soldier will not be shamed by having nothing to offer but dry bread.

Similarly, however lowly he may be, a loyal ser­vant of the All-Wise Qur'an conveys its commands unhesitatingly and in its name to even the loftiest of people. With pride and independence, not abasing himself or begging, he sells the Qur'an's precious diamonds to persons who are rich in spirit. However lofty they are, they should not be arrogant towards the common servant while he is performing his duty. And if they apply to him for something, the servant should not feel proud about it either, and get above himself. If some of the customers for the sacred treasure regard the wretched servant as a saint and consider him to be exalted, certainly it is the mark of the Qur'anic truth's sacred compassion to send them assistance, succour, and enlightenment from the divine treasury, without the servant being aware of this or intervening, in order not to shame him.