And as the days of Siyyid Kázim drew to a close, he,
whenever he met his disciples, whether in private converse or public discourse,
exhorted them, saying:
“O my beloved companions! Beware, beware, lest after me the
world’s fleeting vanities beguile you. Beware lest you wax haughty and
forgetful of God. It is incumbent upon you to renounce all comfort, all earthly
possessions and kindred, in your quest of Him who is the Desire of your hearts
and of mine. Scatter far and wide, detach yourselves from all earthly things,
and humbly and prayerfully beseech your Lord to sustain and guide you. Never
relax in your determination to seek and find Him who is concealed behind the
veils of glory. Persevere till the time when He, who is your true Guide and
Master, will graciously aid you and enable you to recognise Him. Be firm till
the day when He will choose you as the companions and the heroic supporters of
the promised Qá’im. Well is it with every one of you who will quaff the cup of
martyrdom in His path. Those of you whom God, in His wisdom, will preserve and
keep to witness the setting of the Star of Divine guidance, that Harbinger of
the Sun of Divine Revelation, must needs be patient, must remain assured and
steadfast. Such ones amongst you must neither falter nor feel dismayed. For
soon after the first trumpet-blast which is to smite the earth with
extermination and death, there shall be sounded again yet another call, at
which all things will be quickened and revived. Then will the meaning of these
sacred verses be revealed: ‘And there was a blast on the trumpet, and all who
are in the heavens and all who are in the earth expired, save those whom God
permitted to live. Then was there sounded another blast, and, lo! arising, they
gazed around them. And the earth shone with the light of her Lord, and the Book
was set, and the Prophets were brought up, and the witnesses; and judgment was
given between them with equity; and none was wronged.’” [Qur’án, 39:68]
(Chapter 2, ‘The
Dawn-Breakers’)
