Around Siyyid Kázim were likewise gathered a number of vain
and ignoble people who feigned devotion and attachment to his person; who
professed to be devout and pious, and who claimed to be the sole repositories
of the mysteries enshrined in the utterances of Shaykh Ahmad and his successor.
They occupied the seats of honour in the company of the assembled disciples of
Siyyid Kázim. To them he addressed his discourse, and towards them he showed
marked consideration and courtesy. And yet he often, in covert and subtle
phrases, I alluded to their blindness, their vainglory and utter inaptitude for
the apprehension of the mysteries of Divine utterance. Among his allusions were
the following: “None can comprehend my language except him who is begotten of
me.” Oftentimes he quoted this saying: “I am spellbound by the vision. I am
mute with wonder, and behold the world bereft of the power of hearing. I am
powerless to divulge the mystery, and find the people incapable of bearing its
weight.” On another occasion he remarked: “Many are those who claim to have
attained union with the Beloved, and yet that Beloved refuses to acknowledge
their claim. By the tears which he sheds for his loved One can the true lover
be distinguished from the false.”
(Chapter 2, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
