From the letters of Imam al-Mahdi (pbuh) to Sheikh al-Mufid (RA) the first letter to the righteous brother, the righteously guided guardian, Sheikh al-Mufid, Abu Abdillah Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Al-Numan - may God perpetuate his honor - from the repository of the covenant entrusted to his servants. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful. To continue, peace be upon you, O devoted guardian, firm in religion and distinguished among us by your certainty. We praise Allah before you - there is no deity but Him - and implore Him to send His blessings upon our Lord, our Patron, and upon the Prophet Muhammad and his immaculate household. We wish to inform you - may Allah perpetuate your success in supporting the truth and reward you abundantly for speaking the truth on our behalf - that we have received permission to honor you with this correspondence and to entrust you with conveying to our followers under your supervision what we communicate on their behalf. May Allah strengthen them through obedience to Him and suffice them in their affairs through His care and protection. Therefore, may Allah support you in His aid against His apostate enemies, pay close attention to what I will present, and act upon it by conveying it, as we instruct, to those in whom you place your trust, God willing. Although we remain in our distant abode, far from the abode of the oppressors, in accordance with the wisdom shown to us by Almighty Allah for the welfare of ourselves and our believing followers, as long as earthly power remains in the hands of the wicked, yet we are fully aware of your circumstances. Nothing concerning your affairs escapes our knowledge.