Tablet on the Debasement of Persia

by Abdu'l-Bahá

translated by Shoghi Effendi
1923

"Only the other day, in the course of my study of various Bahá'í documents, I came, as if by mere chance, across a very important message from our beloved 'Abdu'l-Bahá, bearing no date, and revealing no sign as to exactly where, how and to whom it was given, written in the Master's own handwriting upon a leaflet that seemed ordinary and ill-preserved in appearance but which on close study proved of the profoundest interest to all believers in the East as well as in the West. As to the authenticity of these remarkable words, so clearly and forcibly written, there is no doubt whatsoever, and the measure of assurance it shall inspire the loved ones of Persia and the spirit of hopeful encouragement it shall breath in the friends of the West, have urged me to communicate it to you, that, subject to your consideration and consent, it may be published amongst the friends and redouble their confidence in the very remarkable share the West is destined to contribute to the immediate spread of the Movement throughout the world.

"Recently, I have rendered it myself into English and enclosed is a copy of the full translation."

[extract from a letter dated 12 January 1923 to the NSA of the United States, written by Shoghi Effendi]

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"A thousand years must elapse before Persia can, by the aid of material power, rise to the height of the peoples and governments of Europe. BAHA'U'LLAH, however has illumined that land, and will surely raise her high in the eyes of all the world. That country shall so advance and develop as to excite the envy and admiration of the East and the West.

"The land of Hedjaz, though deserted and sterile in its soil and its tribes ignorant and barborous, yet the power of the Cause of God has made of such a spot a Point of Adoration and the Focal-centre of world devotion.

"How foolish are the people of the East to have incarcerated for well-nigh fifty years the like of this glorious personage! But for His chains and prison, BAHA'U'LLAH by this time would have gained absolute ascendancy over the minds and thoughts of the peoples of Europe, would have made of Persia the Garden of Paradise, would have raised its sons in the esteem of mankind, nay He would have made it such that all peoples and governments would seek enlightment from its people.

"Consider and reflect upon the result of my few days stay in London and the profound effect it has had here and in the surrounding regions. Ponder then in your heart, what the coming of BAHA'U'LLAH would have achieved! Had He appeared in Europe, its people would have seized their opportunity, and His Cause, by virtue of the freedom of thought, would by this time have encompassed the earth. But alas! This Cause, though it first appeared in Persia, yet eventually it shall be seen how the peoples of Europe have wrestled it from its hands! Take note of this and remember it in future. Ultimately you shall see how it has come to pass. And yet behold! how the Bahá'ís are still persecuted by the people of Persia!"

[a Tablet of Abdu'l-Bahá referred to in the above-cited letter from 12 January 1923 to the NSA of the United States]