KİTABIN MUKADDİMESİ · Dördüncü Madde
**Fourth Article**
Concerning the Banner of Praise (Livā-yı hamd) and the Exalted House (Beyt-i Ma‘mūr).
Beloved! It is known that the scholars of *tafsīr* [interpretation of the Quran] and hadith [Prophetic traditions] are in agreement regarding the following:
The blessed banner called the Livā-yı hamd was bestowed by the Most High God upon His beloved Prophet. On the Day of Resurrection, the community of Muhammad (peace be upon him) will gather beneath that blessed banner, and on that day, the Prophet with praised station (*makãm-ı mahmūd*) will ascend to it and intercede for his community gathered under the Banner of Praise.
The Banner of Praise is a magnificent standard erected upon Mount Hamd, which exists in the highest reaches of Paradise, an endless expanse. Its length is a distance of a thousand years. Its pole is of pure white silver and green silk brocade. [392]
The terminal portion of “the World” (*‘ālem*) is of red ruby. It has three corners, and the distance between any two corners is a distance of five hundred years. Upon it are three lines of script composed of light, and each line extends for a distance of five hundred years. The first line reads: "Bismillāhirrahmānirrahīm" (In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). The second line reads: “Lā ilāha illa’llāh muhammedün rasūlullāh” (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is His messenger). [8/a] The third line reads: "Al-ḥamdu li’llāhi rabbi’l-‘ālamīn" (Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds).
Beneath this great banner are seventy thousand other banners. And beneath each of these are ranks of seventy thousand angels arrayed. Each rank contains seventy thousand angels who remember God.
As for the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr, it is a lofty dome of red ruby in the Garden of Firdevs [Paradise]. When the Most High God caused Adam (peace be upon him) to descend from Paradise to the earth, He brought down the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr from the sublime heavens to this world and placed it at the location of the present Ka‘bah, as a memorial of his repentance and so that he might visit and circumambulate it. The Beyt-i Ma‘mūr had two gates: one facing east and one facing west. Within the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr were three lamps of light. The space illuminated by their light is currently the sacred precinct of the Ka‘bah [394].
By the command of God, angels from the seven heavens would descend in turns to circumambulate the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr with Adam (peace be upon him). The Beyt-i Ma‘mūr was on earth from the time of Adam (peace be upon him) until the time of Noah (peace be upon him). Before the Flood, it was raised from its place on earth to the heavens. It will remain there until the Day of Resurrection. Then, if necessary, it will be returned to its place in Paradise. Ibrahim (peace be upon him), by God’s command, built the Sacred House (*Beyt-i Sharīf*) at the location where the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr was on earth. If the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr were to fall from the sky, it would descend upon the Ka‘bah. The distance between the Ka‘bah now on earth and the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr in the heavens is still the sacred precinct [haram]. The Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad), which is revered and kissed on the wall of the Ka‘bah, is a memorial from the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr. This stone was originally red ruby, but during the Flood, by God’s command, it became black [Hajar al-Aswad].
Seventy thousand angels enter the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr daily in the heavens and perform prayer there. These are a group of angels called *jinn*; Iblis is among them. This assembly is so vast that an angel who enters the Beyt-i Ma‘mūr once will not be able to return for eternity.
**CHAPTER THREE** [395]
It describes the angels who serve as a veil beneath Paradise, the seas of treasures, the seven heavens and the angels in each heaven; the movements of the sun, moon and stars, the condition of the universe, and the atmosphere with four elements.