In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May peace and salutation be upon Muhammad and his pure, chaste and infallible progeny; may God's curse be upon all their enemies till the Day of Judgment. During the youthful days, I used the book, Fusous al-Hikam, «2» and other mystical books, which the great teachers of mysticism have left for the service of some mystic teachers «3» (may Allah be pleased with them). Since in my old age, my dear daughter (Fati), Mrs. Fatimah Tabataba'i, requested this incapable one to write something, I have to say that the mentioned books, notwithstanding all the value and station that they have and the fact that they have a lot of valuable help in understanding the Holy Qur'an- this plentiful fountain of the knowledge of Allah as well as the books of supplication of the Infallible Imams (may God's peace be upon all of them), which must indeed be called the" ascending Qur'an" «4» and the hadiths of those holy ones- do not posses the sweetness, elegance and comprehensiveness of the Divine Book.
To cite an example, the blessed Sourah al-Hamd (al-Fatihah) consists of comprehensive secrets of the divine knowledge to endure, something that is beyond the capability of this writer whose hands and feet are fettered. You should know, my dear daughter, that" In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds" connote knowledge and secrets, which are beyond our comprehension. If a mystic, who possesses secret, would contemplate on" All praise is due to Allah" along with the holder of authority [infallible Imams (`a)], he would realize that in the universe there is no person or thing, but Allah. If there were any, then there would be no particular praise to the Divine Essence. You yourself have read the detailed hadith from this compendium. Tthus, they have to break the pens if it would be imagined that there are similar unto Him.
You, my dear, should read also the books of the mystics and awliya (friends and devotees of God) (`a) with the intention of understanding or tasting this comprehensive noble word. May God protect you, my dear Ahmad, and your dear children who are the apple of my eyes. I expect your benevolent prayers, beg for especially after my death. May God's peace and mercy be upon you.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini
Sunday, Dey 25,1367 AHS
Jumadi ath-Thani 7,1409 AH