The Heavenly Decree — Page 29
29 The method for testing the first sign—that of giving glad tidings beforehand—will be that whatever is made known to the two parties by God through revelations or visions, etc. , shall be dispatched to the Board, before its fulfilment, bearing the date and the testimony of four persons from among the Muslims. The Board will enter this communication into a register along with the date. All members of the Board or, at least, five of them will sign it. A receipt will then be sent to the sender as per stipulated details. Thereafter, it will only remain to be seen whether the prophecy comes true or not. When a result manifests itself, a memorandum, along with its proof, shall be entered in the register, and, as stipulated, the testimony of the members shall be entered thereupon. The same procedure will apply to the testing of the second sign which pertains to foretelling of worldly calamities and tragedies. It may be remembered that the Board shall guard these confidential matters as a trust and shall swear on oath that it shall not disclose them to any unconcerned person till the time when these matters are laid open in a public meeting for the two parties to compare, unless such disclosure lies outside the Board’s ambit. The method for testing the third sign—that of the acceptance of prayer—shall be that the same Board will publish a general announcement for the purpose