بروحه و اختارهم على جميع بريّته، لهم سمكت المسموكات، و دحيت المدحوّات، و بهم رست الراسيات و استقر العرش علی السماوات و بأسرار علمهم أينعت ١ثمار العرفان في قلوب المؤمنين و بأمطار فضلهم جرت أنهار الحكمة في صدور الموقنين، فصلوات اللّٰه عليهم ما دامت الصلوات عليهم وسيلةّ إلی تحصيل المثوبات، و الثناء عليهم ذريعةٌ لرفع الدرجات و لعنة اللّٰه على أعدائهم ما كانت دركات الجحيم معدة لشدائد العقوبات و اللعن على أعداء الدين معدودة من أفضل العبادات.

…with His spirit, and chose them above all His creation. For them the heavens were raised and the expanses spread out; through them the firm mountains were set fast and the Throne rests above the heavens; by the secrets of their knowledge the fruits of gnosis ripened (1) in the hearts of the believers, and by the rains of their bounty the rivers of wisdom ran in the breasts of those possessed of certainty. May God's blessings be upon them so long as blessings upon them are a means to attaining reward, and praise of them a path to the raising of ranks; and may God's curse be upon their enemies so long as the pits of Hell are prepared for the severest punishments, and cursing the enemies of religion is counted among the most excellent acts of worship.

أما بعد فيقول الفقير إلى رحمة ربه الغافر ابن المنتقل إلى رياض القدس محمد تقي طيب اللّٰه رمسه محمد باقر عفا اللّٰه عن جرائمهما و حشرهما مع أئمتهما ٢اعلموا يا معاشر الطالبين للحق و اليقين المتمسكين بعروة اتباع أهل بيت سيد المرسلين صلوات اللّٰه عليهم أجمعين إني كنت في عنفوان شبابي حريصا على طلب العلوم بأنواعها مولعا باجتناء فنون المعالي من أفنانها ٣فبفضل اللّٰه سبحانه وردت حياضها و أتيت رياضها و عثرت على صحاحها و مراضها حتى ملأت كمي من ألوان ثمارها و احتوى جيبي على أصناف خيارها و شربت من كل منهل ٤جرعة روية و أخذت من كل بيدر حفنة ٥مغنية فنظرت إلى ثمرات تلك العلوم و غاياتها و تفكرت في أغراض المحصلين و ما يحثهم على البلوغ إلى نهاياتها و تأملت فيما ينفع منها في المعاد و تبصرت فيما يوصل منها إلى الرشاد فأيقنت بفضله و إلهامه تعالى إن زلال العلم لا ينقع ٦إلا إذا أخذ من عين صافية نبعت عن ينابيع الوحي و الإلهام و إن الحكمة لا تنجع ٧إذا لم تؤخذ من نواميس الدين و معاقل الأنام.

To proceed: says he who is poor before the mercy of his forgiving Lord, son of him who has passed to the gardens of holiness, Muhammad Taqi — may God make his resting place sweet — namely Muhammad Baqir, may God pardon the offences of them both and gather them with their Imams (2): Know, O company of seekers after truth and certainty, who cling to the handhold of following the household of the master of the messengers, God's blessings be upon them all, that in the prime of my youth I was eager in the pursuit of the sciences in all their kinds, avid to gather the branches of high attainment from their boughs (3). By the grace of God, glory be to Him, I came to their pools and entered their gardens, and lighted upon what was sound in them and what was ailing, until I had filled my sleeve with the varied colours of their fruits and my pocket held the choicest kinds among them; and I drank from every watering-place (4) a draught that quenched, and took from every threshing-floor a handful (5) that sufficed. Then I looked to the fruits of those sciences and to their ends, and reflected on the aims of those who acquire them and on what drives them to reach their utmost; and I considered which of them profits in the hereafter, and looked closely at which of them leads to right guidance. And I became certain, by His grace and His inspiration, exalted is He, that the pure water of knowledge does not slake thirst (6) unless it is drawn from a clear spring welling up from the fountains of revelation and inspiration, and that wisdom does not take root (7) if it is not taken from the ordinances of religion and the strongholds of mankind.