Epistle to Mihrabán (Lawh-i-Mihrabán):
Excerpt

by Bahá'u'lláh

translated by Shoghi Effendi
1928 (?)

^[1] In the Name of God, the Loving!

   O Mihrabán!^[2] ... The Luminary of true understanding adorns this day the firmament of knowledge; well is it with him that beholds and turns thereunto. All that hath been foretold is made manifest in this day. Say, O friends! choose not to stay afar from the ocean of God’s forgiveness, for lo! He is so nigh unto you. He who was hidden from sight is come and now appears in all His glory. In one hand, He bears the water of life, in the other He brings the message of true liberty. Lay down and hold fast: lay down all that pertains to this earth, hold fast unto that which His generous hand doth bestow. He, the like of whom the eyes of the world have not seen, is now come. O friends! hasten, hasten unto Him; hearken, hearken to His call. The doings of the divines have turned the people away from God, and in the place of pious devotion malice reigns. They have strayed from God’s holy way; they have erred grievously and still claim to lead the way. We have instructed those leaders, called upon them to bear witness unto this day, and lead the servants unto God, the Most Holy. Say, O ye divines! Awake from your slumber, shake off your heedlessness, and be straightway mindful.

- Bahá’u’lláh

Notes:

^[1] ’Ad’iyyih Hadratí-Mahbúb pp. 303-5, Yaran-i-Parsí pp. 17-18. (MW’s note, based on information supplied via e-mail by Dr. Iraj Ayman)

^[2] The invocation of this Tablet and the opening address are omitted by Shoghi Effendi. These were translated by J. Vahíd Brown in a private e-mail to the present editor. Mihrabán is translated here as “the Loving” following the Guardian in his translation of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’. There is other material following this address that is also omitted by the Guardian (MW’s note, based on information supplied via e-mail by J. Vahíd Brown to the present editor).