Now see: the foundation of the summons of this extraordinary being and the aim of all his life, based on the strength furnished by his hundreds of decisive and evident and manifest miracles, and the thousands of exalted, fundamental truths contained in his religion, was to prove and bear witness to the existence of the Necessary Existent, His  unity,  attributes  and  names,  to  affirm,  proclaim  and  announce  Him.  He  is therefore like a sun in the cosmos, the most brilliant proof of our Creator, this being whom we call the Beloved of God. There are three forms of great and infallible consensus each of which affirms, confirms, and puts its signature to the witness he bears.

The First: the unanimous affirmation made by that luminous assembly known and celebrated throughout the world as the Family of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) including thousands of poles and supreme saints of penetrating gaze and ability to perceive the Unseen, such Imam ‘Ali (May God be pleased with him), who said, “Were the veil to be lifted, my certainty would not increase,” [2]  and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani, the Ghauth al-A‘zam (May his mystery be sanctified), who saw the Supreme Throne and the awesome form of Israfil while yet on the earth.[3]

The Second: the confirmation made with a strong faith that permitted men to sacrifice  their  lives  and  their  property,  their  fathers  and  tribes,  by the  renowned assembly known as the Companions, who found themselves among a primitive people and  in an  unlettered  environment,  devoid  of all  social  life  and  political  thought, without any scripture and lost in the darkness of a period between prophets; and who in a very brief  time  came  to  be  the  masters,  guides,  and  just  rulers  of  the  most civilized  and politically  and socially advanced  peoples and  states,  and to rule the world from east to west in universally approved fashion.

The Third: the confirmation provided with unanimous and certain knowledge by that lofty group of punctilious and profound scholars of whom in each age thousands spring forth, who advance in wondrous fashion in every science and work in different fields.

[2] ‘Ali al-Qari, al-Asrar al-Marfu’a, 193.

[3] Gumushkhaneli Ahmed Ziya al-Din, Majmu’at al-Ahzab, i, 561.