In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
A copy of an edict in the handwriting of the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him. He wrote on red parchment. This is a piece of writing from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him salvation, to Mahdī Farrūkh bin Shakhsān, the brother of Salmān al-Fārisī, may God be pleased with him, and the members of his household, and his posterity after him, anyone they beget, whether they convert to Islam or retain their religion.
The peace of God is [extended] to you. Truly God commanded me to say, ‘There is no god but God alone; He has no partner.’ I say it and they commanded the people. Mankind is the creation of God, and every matter is God’s. He creates them and causes them to live and die and then resurrects them and they return to Him. Everything ends and is annihilated, and every soul tastes death. God’s command cannot be averted and his authority is complete. There is no end to his majesty and no one shares His dominion. Praise to the King of heaven and earth who subverts things as He pleases and prospers mankind in whatever He wills! Praise to the One who cannot be even remotely defined by the description of orators even if they are philosophers; the One who prefaced His book with praise, giving it as a reminder of Himself, and is pleased with the gratitude of His servants. I praise Him!
It is impossible to calculate the number of those who praise God and testify that there is no god but God. It remains hidden in secret for safekeeping and protection. O people, fear your Lord and remember the coming day of the destruction of the earth, and the raging of hellfire, and the great terror and the remorse that awaits while standing in the presence of the Lord of Both Worlds!
I exhort you all, just as the messengers exhorted you, to ask about the good news and its tidings hereafter. Whoever believes in it, and accepts what came down in that which my Lord revealed to me, he has what we have and he obtains what we obtain.