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CHAPTER FIVE
THE INNER SIGNIFICANCES
TABLET OF WISDOM
277. In His Name, the Originator, the All-knowing, the
Wise!
This is a Book which the Merciful hath caused to descend from the
Kingdom of His utterances.
It is indeed the spirit of life to whosoever is in the realm of
creation. Exalted is God, the Lord of the people of existence.
In this great Tablet He mentioneth him who is mentioning His Lord;
verily he is En-nabell (Muhammad).
O thou Muhammad; hear the voice which is raised from the highest
region of greatness and from the lofty Sadrat elevated upon the land of
Zaafaran, “that there is no God but Me, the Omniscient, the
Wise.”
278. Be as the blowing wind of the Merciful to the trees of the
created world, and rear them up in the name of thy Lord, the Equitable, the
Learned One. Verily, we desire to mention unto thee that which will be
commemorated by all people that they may cast away what they have and turn their
faces unto God the Lord of the sincere. Verily, we admonish the servants in
these days wherein the face of justice has become clouded with dust, the cheeks
of ignorance brightened and illumined, the shame of the mind manifested, repose
and faithfulness have disappeared, while calamities and afflictions have
prevailed, covenants have been violated and promises broken. In these days
people have become ignorant, unable to distinguish between that which opens
their eyes, and that which blinds them, that which leads them astray, and that
which guides them into the right path.
279. O people, shun vice and adopt virtue, be perfect examples unto
people, and become a monitor whereby mankind is preached to and
admonished.
280. He who arises with steadfastness to serve the cause of God must
be a manifestation of wisdom, striving to remove ignorance from amongst human
beings.
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281. Say! Let your word be one and agree in your opinions and make
your mornings preferable to your evenings and the morrow better than yesterday.
The merit of man depends upon his service and perfection and not upon the
ornaments of riches, and wealth. Let your words be free from falsehood and
lust, and your actions sanctified and above suspicion and pure from
hypocrisy.
282. Say! Spend not the wealth of your precious lives on lustful
desires and do not confine things only to your private interests, but bestow
when you have and be patient when you have not. Distress is followed by
affluence and confusion by clearness. Shun mendacity and slothfulness and take
hold of that whereby the people will be profited, whether young or old, aged or
widows.
283. Say, beware of sowing the tares of discord among the creatures or
the thorns of doubts and suspicions in the pure and brilliant
hearts.
284. Say, O beloved of God, commit not that which will disturb the
clearness of the pure water of love or sever the perfumed ties of
friendship.
285. By my life, you are created for love and affection and not for
hatred and obstinacy.
286. Boast not of love to your own people but of love to your fellow
creatures. Glory not in loving your homes but in loving the whole
world.
287. Let your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful,
and your heart instructed. Abase not the glorious station of the learned and do
not belittle the honor of the chief men who justly judge amongst
you.
288. Let equity be your army, reason your arms, and pardon and
forgiveness your character and nature. By my life, it grieved me to hear of the
sorrows thou hast mentioned. Regard not the people and their actions; but look
to the truth and His dominion, verily He shall mention thee in that which was
the origin of the gladness of the world.
289. Drink the pure water of pleasure from the cup of the utterances
of the day-spring of the Manifestation, who remembers thee in this strong fort.
Spare not any effort within thy power to establish the truth with wisdom and
explanations, and destroy falsehood from amidst the creatures, thus doth the
dawning-place of knowledge command you from this brilliant horizon.
290. O thou utterer of My Name! Consider the people and
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what they have done in My Days; we have revealed to one of the Emirs
that which made all the living on the earth impotent to produce the like and we
asked him to confront us with the savants of this age in order to make manifest
unto him the proof of God, His argument, His greatness and His authority. We
did not desire in that anything save pure goodness; but, verily he has committed
that which made the denizens of the cities of equity and justice lament. Thus
it was judged between Me and him -- verily thy Lord is the controller, the
informed one.
291. The case being as thou seest, how could it be possible for the
Divine Bird to fly away in the atmosphere of explanations, after his foremost
feather have been broken by the stones of suspicions and hatred and He was
imprisoned in a cave built of shining rock. By God, the people are indeed great
oppressors.
292. Referring to that which thou hast mentioned regarding the
beginning of creation, know that this is a matter which differs in proportion to
the difference of minds and visions -- shouldst thou say “Be and it
is” it would be right. Shouldst thou say the same as recorded in the Holy
Books, verily there will be no doubt about it; because it has been caused to
descend on the part of God, the Lord of the worlds. Verily, it was as hidden
treasure and this is a state which could not be interpreted by any
interpretation or explained by any explanation. In another place it is said,
“My desire to be known made me create.”
293. The Truth was, and creation has been under His shadow since the
beginning which has no beginning; but this was preceded by the priority which
has no priority, and by the Cause that could not be known by the learned
knowers.
294. That which is in existence was before but not in the condition
wherein it is seen today. The worlds were formed through the force emanating
from the re-action of the active and passive principles; although the worlds are
always the same, nevertheless they change constantly. Thus doth this Instructor
who is greater than this great structure (creation) inform thee.
295. Verily, the actor and the acted upon were created by the
unresisted Word of God, which is indeed the cause of creation, and aught beside
His Word was created and caused.
296. Verily, thy Lord is the explainer, the wise. Then know that the
Word of God (exalted and glorified is He!), is far superior to what is
comprehended by the senses; because it does not belong to
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the nature nor essence, rather it is sanctified from the known elements
and free from comprehended and high rudiments. It became manifest without an
utterance made, or a voice breathed. It is the command of God, the protector
against all the worlds.
297. Verily, the Word of God has never ceased to descend upon the
world. It is the overflowing, the greatest bounty, which was the cause of
abundance. It is the being which is sanctified from what was and is. Verily,
we do not desire to explain the particulars of this condition, because the ears
of the objectors are stretched out that they may hear that whereat they would
object to God, the protector, the self-existent. Being unable to comprehend,
through the mysteries of science and wisdom, that which hath appeared from the
day-spring of the Light of Unity, they therefore object and make a clamour. But
the fact is that they object to that which they know themselves and not to that
which was expounded by the Expounder, and predicted by the Truth, the knower of
the seen and the unseen.
298. All of their objections will return upon themselves, but by thy
life, they do not understand this.
299. It is an indisputable fact that there is nothing without an
origin, as there is no building without a builder. This is indeed that cause
which hath preceded existence which is advanced with the embroidered garment of
priority though subject to renovation and production at all times, and under all
circumstances; exalted is the Wise who hath created this great and noble
structure.
300. Look at the world and ponder over it. Verily, it will reflect to
you the book of its very self, and that which is recorded therein by the pen of
thy Lord, the maker, the informed.
301. That book will show thee that which is therein and upon and will
distinctly give thee such explanation that will make thee independent of any
other eloquent explainer.
302. Say, nature, with the whole of its being, is nothing but the
manifestation of My Name, the maker, the creator, but its manifestations may
differ through a certain cause of causes, which differences are indeed signs to
those who perceive. Nature is the manifestation of the will of God in the
apparent world. Verily, it is the preordination on the part of One, the
predestinator and omniscient. Should it be said that nature is the Divine Primal
Will, manifested in the created world, no one has the right to object to that,
for a great power is ordained therein of which the limit and
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essence could not be comprehended by the people of the world. Verily,
the clear sighted cannot see in it aught save the transfiguration of My Name,
the creator. Say, this is a state to which corruption has no access. This is a
being which made nature confounded regarding His appearance, His proofs and His
effulgence, which encompassed the worlds.
303. It does not become thee to have regard either to the former
things or the latter; but speak of this Day and that which hath appeared
therein; verily it sufficeth the whole world.
304. Verily, all explanation and indications concerning such
questions, will only tend to cool the warmth of being and for this reason it
becometh thee only to utter in this Day that which will enkindle the hearts, and
make the bodies of the advancing fly upward. He who believes today in this new
creation and beholds the impregnable Truth as being the guardian and protector
over it, verily he is of the people of vision before this greatest Outlook; to
this the discerning and confident bear witness. Walk above the world by the
power of the Greatest Name that thou mayest see the secrets of pre-existence and
know that which none know of. Verily, thy Lord is the upholder, the wise, the
all-knowing. Be as an artery pulsating in the body of the created world that,
through the heat produced by the motion, the hearts of the hesitators will be
quickened. Thou hast associated with Me and seen the sun of the heaven of My
wisdom, and the surges of the sea of My utterances when we were behind seventy
thousand barriers of light. Verily, thy Lord is the faithful, the perfect.
Blessed is He who attains unto the overflowing bounty of this sea in the days of
his Lord, the bounteous, the wise one.
305. When we were in ‘Iráq, in the house of one known as El-Majeed, we have pointed out to thee the mysteries of nature, its origin, and
the cause; but after we left the house, our utterances became only confined to
“verily there is no God but Me, the forgiver, the
generous.”
306. Be the deliverer of the cause of God in such wise that through
thine utterances, the tree will be set on fire and made to utter, “Verily,
there is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Unconstrained.”
307. Say, the Bayán is an essence which seeks penetration and
uniformity, -- the former is dependent on thinness, and thinness belongs to the
empty and clear hearts; and the latter state is dependent
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on being blended with wisdom which we have revealed in the Books and
Tablets.
308. Reflect on that which was caused to descend from the heaven of
the will of God, the bountiful, that thou mayest know what we have desired in
the depth of the verses.
309. Verily, those who have denied God and adhered unto nature as
nature is, are indeed void of both sciences and wisdom, -- are they not of the
erring?
310. Verily, those people have never attained unto the highest station
or unto the utmost desire; accordingly their eyes were shut and their thoughts
varied. Had it not been for that, the chiefs of the people would have confessed
in God and acknowledged His dominion; to this will bear witness thy Lord, the
protector, the self-existent. And when the eyes of the people of the East
became satiated and gratified through the arts, crafts and industries of the
people of the West, they adhered to the effects and neglected the cause and the
originator.
311. However, those who were they day-springs of wisdom had never
denied the causer, the maker, and the creator of the origin of such a progress
and advancement; verily thy God knoweth, but the majority of the people do not
know.
312. Under the circumstances it will be advisable to mention in this
Tablet some of the words of the wise people and savants for the sake of God, the
ruler of names, that through such words the eyes of the servants may be opened
and they may thus believe that He is the maker, the potent, the originator, the
producer, the all-knowing, the wise.
313. Although it is at present considered that the savants of today
have been the most important element and factor in the influence and progress of
arts and sciences, yet, if with a discerning eye such matters are examined and
investigated, it will positively appear that the great part of knowledge and
arts was taken from the seers of old, who were indeed the means of laying the
solid foundation of wisdom, facilitating its building up, and strengthening its
basis; thus does thy Lord the ancient inform thee.
314. Not only that, but also the ancients had received their sciences
from the prophets who were the day-springs of the divine wisdom and the
manifestations of the heavenly mysteries.
315. From among the people some have attained unto the pure and clear water of their utterances, and others have only drunk
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the sediments of the cup; every one receiving his share according to
his own capacity, -- verily He is the equitable, the wise.
316. Empedocles who was famous in wisdom was a contemporary of David. Pythagoras was a contemporary of Solomon the son of David. Both received wisdom from the source of wisdom (Solomon). Pythagoras was the one who thought that he had heard the rustling sound of the Ark and thus attained unto the station of
authority. Thus doth thy Lord, if He will, detail every matter; verily He is
the omniscient, the encompasser.
317. Verily, the foundation and origin of wisdom were the prophets
themselves; but the inner significances and mysteries of wisdom became
diversified according to the differences of vision and reasoning powers of
people.
318. We will inform thee of a report of a day whereon one of the
prophets hath spoken among the people of that of which He was taught of the
powerful, -- verily thy Lord is the inspirer, the mighty, the impregnable. When
the springs of wisdom and utterances had gushed forth from the source of His
explanations, and the exhilaration of the wine of knowledge had taken possession
of those who were standing at His door, they said, “Now we are filled with
the spirit.” From among the people were some who had accepted this
statements and various utterances and thus they became leaders followed by
others. Verily, should we wish to mention their names and give all that
concerns them in full detail it would take a long time and cause us to deviate
from the intended point in view -- verily thy Lord is the wise, the
all-knowing.
319. And from amongst them some others have drunk the sealed wine
which was opened by the key of the tongue if the day-spring of the signs of thy
Lord, the mighty, the bounteous.
320. Say, philosophers have never denied the Ancient; rather the
majority of them passed from this life in deep grief because of not knowing Him,
as was testified by some of them. Verily, thy Lord is the informer, the learned
one.
321. Consider Hippocrates! He was one of the greatest philosophers,
and yet he believed in God and acknowledged His dominion! After him came
Socrates. He was a wise, virtuous and devout man. He devoted his life to
developing spirituality -- admonishing the people to shun passion and lust;
setting aside the
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seductions of the world, he secluded himself in a cave in the mountain,
and prohibited the people from worshipping idols. He taught them the way of the
Merciful, until at the ignorant ones assailed him, took him and slew him in a
prison. Thus doth also the swift pen relate to thee what a clean and acute
sight that man had in philosophy! Verily, he was the master of philosophy and a
very wise man.
322. We do indeed testify that he was the “Knight of
Wisdom” to which he became a steady and permanent servant, thus rendering
a more important service than any other philosopher. He was an able man, and
had a thorough knowledge of all the sciences of that day, as known amongst the
people, and also of that which was hidden and beyond the limit of their
knowledge. He had, as it were, a sip of this Greatest Sea when it overflowed
with this pure and brilliant water. He is the one who became acquainted with
the specific and uniform nature which controls the world and which, in the order
of things, bears the same relation as does the spirit to the body of man. On
these transcendent problems he gave special comments, which, if the savants of
today were asked to demonstrate, they would prove incapable even in
comprehending: Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, but the majority of the
people do not understand.
323. After Socrates came the divine Plato. Verily, he was the
disciple of Socrates and he sat on the chair of wisdom after him. He confessed
his faith in God and His signs, which are the guardians over what man was and
is.
324. Then came Aristotle, the famous wise man. He was the one who
discovered the theory of motion. All of these were of the chiefs and leaders of
the people, and all of them confessed God and acknowledged the Ancient in whose
grasp the reins of science were held.
325. I will also mention unto thee that which was said by Pliny, who,
in his Natural History, was conversant with what Kikmat (the father of wisdom,
Socrates) had said regarding the mysteries of creation. Thus all may become
assured of what We have revealed unto thee in this illustrious Tablet, which, if
pressed with the hands of justice and knowledge, would give vent to the Spirit
of Life for the quickening of whosoever is in the contingent world. Blessed is
he who swims in this sea and praises his God, the mighty, the
beloved.
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326. The fragrance of inspiration hath been diffused from the Verses
of thy Lord, in such a manner that they could not be ignored by any one save by
him who is deprived of hearing, sight, reason, and all human senses. Verily,
thy Lord testifieth but the people do not know or understand. He was the one
who said, “I am Pliny, the wise, the performer of miracles and
charms.” He is the one by whom arts and sciences were spread, such as were
not produced by others. He was the one who ascended to the heights of humility
and supplication. Hearken unto that which he said in his prayers before the
Independent, the Exalted; “I arise between the hands of my Lord,
mentioning His favors and bounties, and describing Him as He describeth Himself,
that I may be a mercy and guidance to those who accept my words.” He also
continues saying: “O Lord, thou art God, and there is no God but thee.
Thou art the creator, and there is no creator but thee. Strengthen me and uphold
thou me, for my heart is trembling, my limbs are shivering, my mind is lost, and
my reason is extinguished. Therefore, give me power, and let my tongue speak
that I may utter that which is wisdom. Thou art the Omniscient, the Wise, the
Ancient, the Compassionate.” Verily, he was the sage who became
conversant with the mysteries of creation, and of the signs and token which were
hidden in the Tablets of Hermes.
327. Verily, we do not desire to mention more than we have: rather we
say that which the Spirit hath imparted to us, “There is no God but He,
the All-knowing, the Mighty, the Protector, and Powerful and
Extolled.”
328. By my life! This is a day wherein the Sadrat doth not desire but
to utter to the world, “There is no God but Me, the Peerless, the
Informed.” Had it not been for My love unto thee, I would not have
mentioned what is herein. Know, therefore, this station! Then keep it as thou
keepest thine own eyes and be grateful.
329. Thou, indeed, knowest that we have never read the books of the
people, or ever become conversant with what they know of science. But whenever
we wish to mention anything concerning the utterances of the learned and wise,
-- that which is in existence and that which books and tablets contain, become
manifest before the face of thy Lord in a clear Tablet. Thus we see and then
write what we see. Verily, His knowledge encompasseth the heavens and earth.
This is a Tablet wherein is written by the Hidden Pen
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the science of what was and is, and of which there has been no
interpreter save my wonderful tongue.
330. As to what My heart is and the concerns thereof, God hath
assuredly made it free from all conceptions of the learned and pure from all
utterances of the sages. Verily, it speaketh of God alone. The tongue of
greatness bears witness thereof in this clear Book.
331. Say, O people of the earth! Beware lest the mention of wisdom
withhold you from the Day-spring and the Dawning-place thereof. Cling to your
Lord, the protector, the wise! Verily, we have ordained unto every land a
destiny, unto every hour a fate; unto every utterance a time, unto every
circumstance a word. Consider the case of Greece! Verily, we made it the
center of wisdom for a long period. But when the time of its end came, its
throne became leveled, its tongue dumb, its lamp extinct, and its standard
reversed. Thus we give and take away. Verily, thy Lord is the taker, the
giver, the mighty, the potent.
332. We have committed to the charge of every land the Sun of
Knowledge so that when the time comes, from it will beam a command on the part
of God, the all-knowing, the wise. Should we wish to enumerate unto thee every
tract of land in the earth, and that which is therein and what has appeared out
of it, verily, we are able to do so; for the knowledge of thy Lord hath indeed
encompassed the earth and heavens.
333. Then know that the ancients have produced that which the modern
sages have not produced. Among the former was Martos who invented a machine to
convey sounds a distance of sixty miles. Not only he, but also others have
discovered many wonderful things such as the people of this never saw. Verily,
thy Lord maketh to appear in every country that which He desireth, as a wisdom
on His part. He is indeed the controller, the wise!
334. He who is a true philosopher, never denies God and His authority
which is the protection against all the world. In truth some sages have
produced that which the people have profited by, and we have upheld them by a
command on our part. Verily, we are able to do this! Beware, O ye my beloved,
lest ye deny the supremacy of my sages, the servants whom God hath made the
day-springs of His name, the creator amidst the worlds! Make an effort that
from you may appear arts and the things whereby everyone, whether young or old,
may profit. Verily, we are quit of the foolish and ignorant ones who think that
wisdom is confined
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to speaking of desires and passions or to turning away from God, the
Lord of the worlds, as we hear the same today declared by those who are
heedless.
335. Say, the beginning of wisdom and knowledge and its origin, is to
confess and acknowledge that which God has made manifest -- because through it,
order has been firmly established and thus become a coat of mail for the
preservation of the body of the world. Ponder over this, that ye may know what
was uttered by My supreme pen in this magnificent Tablet!
336. Say, everything that relates to order or rule, of which ye debate
and discuss, has been derived from every word of the words which have been
revealed by the Might of His utterance, who is the potent, the
impregnable.
337. Thus we have related unto thee that which will gladden thy heart
and console thine eye, that thou mayest arise with steadfastness to serve the
cause amongst the people of the world.
338. Say, praise be to God, O God, My God! I ask Thee, by Thy Name,
whereby the light of wisdom hath shone forth when the atmosphere of His
utterances has moved amongst the creatures, to strengthen me by Thy powers, and
make me commemorate Thy name in the midst of Thy servants.
O God, I have turned my face unto Thee, cutting myself from aught
beside thee, and taking hold of the hem of Thy garment and of Thy bounty. Cause
me, therefore, to utter that which will draw the minds and make the souls and
spirits soar upwards. Then uphold me in Thy cause, in such wise that I may not
be hindered either by the influence of the oppressors, or by the power of the
unbelievers of the inhabitants of Thy kingdom. Make me as a lamp in the midst
of Thy realm which will guide all those in whose hearts the light of Thy
knowledge doth exist, and in whom Thy love is planted. Verily, thou art the
powerful over that which thou willest, and in Thy grasp is the kingdom of
creation.
There is no God but Thee.
TABLET OF JOSEPH
339. O Joseph! My demonstration was brought to its fullness and
completion for all that are in Heaven and on earth, before I made myself known,
because it appeared with such wonderful condition that no one could find any way
to delay or oppose.
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340. Meditate upon the nations of former ages, and why they were
excluded from approaching the shore of God, and prevented from the beauty of the
eternal majesty. If thou lookest with clear insight thou wilt perceive that all
are deprived of the bounty of God, on account of the veils of words,
imaginations, and invented proofs. In the day of God, though the beauty of God
was like the sun in the heaven, shining and radiating, still they were veiled on
account of their superstitions and imaginations. Notwithstanding they were
commanded in all the Tablets not to cling to anything between earth and heaven
in the time of the Manifestation, but to adhere only to the root of the Cause
and that which is manifested through Him, yet they deviated from the right path,
and adhered to the idea that the way to know God (who is exalted and holy above
all), depends upon believing and disbelieving the people. Woe upon them! Being
remote (from God) because of their willingness to know God through that which is
beside Him! This is impossible, because the ancient essence is known by Himself
and all things which are known are made possible through that which flows from
the Pen of His command. Exalted is He! That He should be known through that
which is beside Him is impossible, because, verily all else beside Him was
created as thou art.
341. In this day all those on earth and in heaven, are viewed (by God)
as being in one region. Every soul which is cut wholly from all else save Him
and soaring to the heaven of knowing Himself (God), that soul is and will be of
those who are faithful to God and is of His saints even though he should not be
known by others. And he who denies (or rejects) will be considered as one of the
lowest of the creatures in the sight of God, even if he is of the chiefs among
the people; because God (exalted is His mention!) hath never been and never
shall be related or attributed to any one of the creatures.
342. All (people) were created alike by the (the blow of the) breath
of His command, and the loftiness, exaltation and debasement appeared among the
people after they had been created.
343. Every soul who accepts the word of God while hearing it, verily
he is of the inhabitants of the supreme kingdom and of the confirmed ones in the
paradise of ‘Abhá, and those who do not are mentioned as the people of
Hades.
344. In this day, if any one desires to be in relationship with the
tree of the Cause, he must withdraw himself from all that is in
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heaven and on earth, and advance toward the great aspect (God) with a
pure and shining heart and a sanctified soul.
345. Now, if any soul desire to know God (exalted is His Majesty!)
through other means, he will never succeed, and will never understand; because
all beside Him are limited with the (evident) limitations of possibilities and
are brought unto existence by (His) power of creation.
346. Through that which is created and limited the Essence of the
Ancient was not and never will be known.
347. Hear the Lordly commandments and the tones of the eternal
holiness, and turn from the left hand of uncertainty and superstition to the
right hand of assurance; ponder carefully with thine insight upon the
manifestations of God and the conditions of eternal holiness; cleanse the eye
from unsatisfying views, that thou mayest see the manifestations of the majestic
oneness in everything; purify thine ear from the saying of all the people, that
thou mayest hear the holy and God-like tones from all directions and sanctify
thy heart from the confused worldly allusions of the past, that thou mayest
perceive the plain, direct, wonderful words revealed, and victoriously succeed
to the stream of eternal holiness and the pure wine which has no likeness. This
is the command of JAMAL EL QUEDAM (The beauty of the ancient) to
thee.
348. Concerning what thou hast asked about the (beginning of the)
creation (its) end, assembling, resurrection, path, paradise and fire, know
verily that all are true and that there is no doubt about them, and he who is
faithful and has clear insight can see with his inward and outward eyes all
these ranks and stations in every time, because, such an one will be, in any
time, neither prevented from the bounty, nor excluded from what he
wishes.
349. If thou soarest unto the heaven of goodly bounty, thou shalt see
the sign of God manifested in all manner of things brought into existence in
every time, whether of the past or the future; because, verily, the bounty of
God hath never been nor ever will be specialized in any one thing.
350. The explanation of what God intended by the (words) assembling,
resurrection, paradise, fire, etc., which are mentioned in the divine Tablets,
is found only and especially at the time of the Manifestation; for example, at
the time of the Manifestation the tongue of God utters the Word, and through the
Word, which
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comes forth from His mouth, the paradise, fire, assembling,
resurrection, path and all that thou hast asked, and that which thou hast not,
will be disclosed and manifested.
351. Every soul who sincerely accepts the Word of God, hath verily
passed through the (right) path and succeeded in approaching the paradise of
(God’s) pleasure, and hath assembled with those who are near to God, --
the chosen ones.
352. He, in the presence of God, will be considered as one of the
inhabitants of the Paradise and of the confirmed ones of the Supreme Kingdom;
and every soul that rejects is in fire and considered as one of those who are in
relationship with denial and Sejjin (Hades) and assembled in the shadow of the
polytheists.
353. That which has (just) been mentioned, represents all these
stations which in the time of the Manifestation appear through the
Word.
354. But the souls who succeed in attaining the pleasure of God and
believing in His cause, will gain the reward of their deeds in the world to
come, after their spirits leave their bodies; because all seen things in their
world are not ready (nor able) to bear more than that (which has been given to
them).
355. Though the worlds of God are circulating around this world, yet
for each soul in any of these worlds (there is) a fixed and pre-ordained
command.
356. Do not think (or imagine) that anything mentioned in the Books of
God is false and foolish; verily God is exalted above all that.
357. I swear by the sun of the horizon of the meanings, that there are
for ever and ever many divine paradises which have no equal nor
comparisons.
358. In (this) the first life the meaning of paradise is pleasing God,
and entering His Cause!
359. But after departing from this world the faithful ones will enter
into paradises which have no likeness, and enjoy winning graces which are beyond
comprehension: verily those paradises are the fruits of their deeds which they
have accomplished in this world.
360. Dost thou not see that if any one of God’s creatures serves
the other, or performs work for him, he receives his reward and compensation for
it? Then how can it be said that the All-generous
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commandeth His creatures (to do according to) His ordinances and after
that excludeth them from His Mercy?
361. Praised is He, and praised is He above that; exalted is He, and
exalted is He above what the creatures imagine about Him!
362. In this day, all those ranks (asked about) are witnessed;
therefore, blessed is the soul who victoriously succeedeth in attaining the
Paradise of ‘Abhá, which is, was and ever will be supreme of all
paradises.
363. If purified ears and matured souls shall be found, then
continually will be mentioned that which is from the wonderful bounty of God;
that all may be purified and emptied of all that they perceived, understood or
witnessed; and advance toward the highest aspect.
364. But of what benefit is this! since through all the training of
the point of the Bayán (the souls of all beside Him be a sacrifice for
Him!), these creatures have not progressed from the seed to the first station of
the embryo; therefore, when will they reach the condition of the body? And
beside all these there are several stations which have not been mentioned. Woe
upon those who changed the grace of God that was bestowed upon them, so that by
their being in existence, the heaven of meanings was prevented from mentioning
them (the stations), and their conditions!
365. Thus ponder carefully upon the conditions of these creatures and
be one of their witnesses.
366. The paradise and fire in the apparent life, were and will ever
be, the acceptance and the rejection; and after the ascension of the spirit,
there are paradises which have no equal and also fire which has no likeness,
which are the fruit of the deeds of the advancer and the opposer, who will be in
such condition; but no soul understood or ever will understand these stations
save God.
367. And for the faithful one (the believer) many stations were
created, above what was heard; this is from the wonderful gifts of God, which
are prepared in the Paradise of everlasting majesty. In the same way stations
were created for the denier, of eternal and everlasting torment beyond what was
heard.
368. Hereby we bear witness, that the path is lifted up in truth, the
balance is laid in Justice, the manifestation assembled, the hidden issues
disclosed, the clarion pealed, the trumpet sounded, the fire burst forth, the
paradise approached nearer, the proclaimer announced, the heavens rolled
together as a scroll, the
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ground leveled, the breeze of God wafted, the Spirit of God sent, the
beauteous damsels adorned, the youths beautified, the mansions assured, the
securities of the upper apartments (of Paradise) inlaid with precious stones,
the waters overflowed, the fruits hung low, the fruits plucked, the texts
revealed, the deeds of the deniers effaced, the deeds of the advancers
confirmed, the Tablet which kept in Heaven manifested in truth, the written
Tablet pronounced with authority, and the Desired One of all existence, the
beloved of all creatures, the worshipped of those on earth and in heaven, hath
been manifested in the temple of a Youth, with the tongue of everything
declares, “Verily, blessed is God, the creator of the
creatures.”
369. O my servant! O Joseph! hear the tones of God, and do not
compare this day with any other day, neither the wonderful sweet words of God
with any other words; look to the apparent matters with thine own eye, and do
not follow any one in knowing the great and brilliant Orb.
370. In this day, the beloved of God must not hesitate or delay an
instant in teaching the Cause of the manifestation; and reconciling words to the
religion of majestic oneness; because, verily, in this day, to the soul who is
the cause of guidance to another soul the recompense of a martyr in the way of
God will be assuredly recorded by the pen of the Cause for his
deed.
371. This is from the bounty of God unto thee. Do according to what
thou hast been commanded and do not be of those who tarry.
372. And El-Bahá is upon thee and upon those who are with thee,
if thou art steadfast in this sublime and most exalted Cause.
TABLET OF THE MANIFESTATION
373. In the name of God! The Most Holy, the All-knowing! The
Mighty!
374. O thou who art gazing toward the direction of God and submerged
in His Nearness and Good-pleasure!
375. Know thou that, verily, the “Manifestation” is not
composed of the four elements (earth, fire, air and water), nay, rather, He is
the Mystery of Oneness, of the Ancient Identity, the Eternal Essence and the
Unknowable Reality, and that, verily, He can
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never be known by any other save Himself. Therefore, one can never
realize that He hath appeared from any of the four elements, or from any of the
substances mentioned by the tongues of philosophers, or from any of the four
expressions of nature, such as heat, cold, dry and wet, inasmuch as all these
are created by His command and will, which has ever been and shall ever be
separate and apart from all else; even as He is now, in truth, on the throne of
excellence and in revealed verses unto thee, which are creative in kindling the
fire of Love within thy heart.
376. Is there anything endowed with utterance in the world that may be
able to speak with Him? Or any revealer to arise with Him in His Cause? Or any
existing to claim the existence for himself? No, by thy Lord, the clement! All
are evanescent and as nothingness! Were one to be known by any beside Him, it
would never be proven to have its essence sanctified from any similitude, its
identity purified from likeness and its singleness from any created
appearance.
377. He is a sea upon which no one can sail, inasmuch as all that thou
mayest see in heaven and earth is created by His Word.
378. By Myself, the True One! Were His servants to know Him as He is
to be known, they would all sever themselves from everything, and would make
themselves subject to Him, their King, and the sultans would abandon their
crowns and hasten toward His direction in the path of His good-pleasure; but
since He was hidden from them, they have fixed their gaze upon others beside,
and are flying with the wings of eagles, in the sky of their superstitions and
imaginations.
379. Testify thou with thine essence, then with thyself, and then with
thy tongue, that, verily, there is no God but He! No other save Himself can
know Him, and no one can ever approach Him! Verily, He is not a Manifestation in
Himself, but rather He is a Manifestation in His Identity, and this is what We
have mentioned to thee in the Divine Mystery, and in the Eternal
Essence.
380. As to the bodies, verily, they are as thrones for His
Manifestation, of which no one is informed save Himself. These bodies, although
they have appeared in the world of creation, in the temple in which ye have been
informed of them (Moses, Jesus, etc.), yet were ye to gaze upon them with the
eye of reality and innate
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consciousness, ye would testify that although they are created from the
elements, yet they are sanctified from them to such an extent that there is no
similitude between them.
381. Consider the diamond -- can the stone be compared to it? Thus
hath appeared in the Bayán, from the presence of thy Lord, the mighty,
the powerful, the potentate! Were they not to be their temples, the bodies of
His servants would not have been created. Wert thou minutely to consider, thou
wouldst find that, verily, all in heaven and earth are created from their
outward temples, and that all of the worlds of thy Lord seek help from the
appearance of the Manifestation of God, the protector, the
self-subsistent!
382. In every world, He appears according to the capacity of that
world. For example, in the world of spirits He manifests Himself to them and
appears unto them with the signs of Spirit. So, likewise, in bodies, in the
world of names and attributes; and in the worlds which are not known to any save
God. All of these worlds have their position from this Manifestation. He
appears unto them in His form, so that He, their Lord, may direct them, and draw
them nearer to the seat of His Command, and cause them to attain to that which
was ordained for them. As His Reality is not known, so likewise all that is
related to Him is not known, except to a certain degree.
383. Think over thine own identity. Would it not consist in the
expression and order of the five senses? Otherwise the limbs would become
inactive; the eye would never see, the ear would never hear, the tongue would
never speak, the hand would never grasp and the form would never move, --
although He sways and rules over all, for God has made the use of all dependent
upon Him. Yet He sees through the eye, hears through the ear, and speaks by the
tongue. Wert thou to reflect upon this, thou wouldst find even this to be His
Guidance in such manner that His dignity is not defective through these
attachments and instruments.
384. Consider a goldsmith; verily, he makes a ring, and although he is
its maker, yet he adorns his finger with it. Likewise God the Exalted, appears
in the clothing of the creatures. This is through His favor, so that His
servants may not flee from Him, but that they may approach Him and rest in His
Presence, hear His wonderful melodies and be benefited by that which
proceeds
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from His mouth, and by that which He reveals unto them from the heaven
of His Will. There is wisdom in this. Wert thou to reflect upon it with the
duration of God, thou wouldst discover at every moment that which thou hadst not
found before.
385. Verily, were God the exalted to appear in His (proper) grade and
form, and in a manner befitting His Station, no one could ever approach Him or
endure to be near Him.
386. For example, consider the throne, the seat and the chair. All of
these are made by certain of His creatures, through the confirmation which
descends upon them from the heavens of His grace and the clouds of His bounty.
He establishes Himself upon them. Before He is seated no one knows them, or
considers them important, for they find them simply articles made by their own
hands; but when He is established upon them every relation is cut from them and
they become the Throne of the Merciful God, and the realities of all things that
are created in heaven revolve around them. Then only the most discerning, the
most perceiving of the perceiving, can realize their value.
387. Every one who is endowed with a clear insight will behold that
They (the Manifestations) were created before the creation of heaven and earth,
and that this has ever been the Throne of the Merciful, and will forever be as
it was; that there is no relation, connection, similarity or reference between
that Throne and all else save it, and that all things testify with their inmost
tongue; “Verily, these (bodies) are the Thrones of the Merciful
One.” They have no like in creation, nor any equal in the world of
emanation. From their elements all have appeared in such wise that thou wilt
find that, verily, from their Fire the fire hath appeared in the universe and
hath spoken in the Blessed Branch of Unity, in the lofty Sinai of Moses the
Interlocutor, and that from their Waters thou findest every soul living and
immortal. So, likewise, after this manner, consider its other elements; but
with manifest certainty. This was the mention of the place whereon He was
established. How much above this, then, will be the station of His Chair, and
that upon which He stands? (The prophets.) All that which We have revealed and
mentioned unto thee in this Tablet is according to the language of the people of
creation; otherwise, by the One in the grasp of whose power are all things,
verily, We have utterances concerning this station such as are not
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befitting to mention in these days, during which the people have
differed, and have cast the Lord of Lords behind them, and have made an idol by
the hands of lust, and have circled around it and become of those who are
attached to it.
388. Blessed art thou for that which God hath desired for thee,
because thou hast walked in the path of His good-pleasure until thou hast
presented thyself before His Face, the shining, the radiant!
389. His Manifestation for His creatures has ever been through His
creatures, just as He manifested Himself unto thee in truth, and delivered thee
from the depths of the suggestions of those who have denied God and have striven
with Himself, and at every moment have taken for themselves other gods than God,
and are of the people of oppression and error in the Manifest Book of Might.
Wert thou to be submerged in the sea of power and might thou wouldst surely
know, verily, God, who is wonderful to make even one of these things made by
Him, to be the maker of all that which He desires. There is no God but He, the
Powerful, the Mighty! Every power is in this, wert thou to reflect! Every grace
is in it, wert thou of those who perceive! I beg of God to manifest His Cause
in all countries, and that the servants may attain such a position that He may
explain to them that which He desires, without veiling or concealment; that He
may teach them the wonders of His knowledge and provide them with the fruits of
the tree of His grace and beneficence, and that all may become affluent through
His affluence, and that all may become powerful through His power, the
impregnable, the high and inaccessible!
390. By the One, through whose command all are moved, had I found the people as We created them, I would have opened a door of doors of mercy and
inner significances, so that they would behold all the mysteries with their
eyes, and subdue all lands through the names of their Lord. But thou beholdest
the creatures, and hearest that which proceeds from their mouths; therefore the
bounty is restrained, except so many of its drops as thou hast discovered.
Verily, thy Lord witnesseth and is well informed thereof. Were We to manifest
Ourselves more than that which We have manifested, dogs and deniers would
surround Us.
391. Thus hath the Cock of the Throne crowed and the Dove cooed.
Beware, that thou mayest be of the thankful. Praise be unto God, the Lord of
the creatures!
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DISCOURSE OF THE TEMPLE
392. This is the Súrah of the Temple which God has made the
mirror of His Names between the earth and heaven and the sign of His
remembrances among the people of the world.
393. He is the Wonderful, the Most Glorious!
Glory be to Him who hath caused the signs to descend to those who
perceive!
Glory be to Him who hath caused the signs to descend to those who
understand!
Glory be to Him who guideth whomsoever He wisheth to His path! Say,
verily, it is the path of God to those who are in heaven and on earth: Blessed
are they who hasten toward it.
Glory be to Him who hath caused signs to descend to those who
know!
Glory be to Him who speaketh from the might of command, and who is not
known to any save his noble servants.
Glory be to Him who elevateth whom He willeth to the heaven of bounty,
and bringeth down that which He pleaseth to a predetermined
measure.
Blessed is He who doeth what He pleaseth by a command on His part;
verily He is the True One, the knower of secrets and unseen
things.
Blessed is He who giveth by inspiration to whom He willeth that which
He wisheth through His hidden and irresistible command.
Blessed is He who assisteth whom He pleaseth by the hosts of the
unseen; verily He is the doer of that which He willeth, and He is the Mighty,
the Self-existing!
Blessed is He who strengtheneth whom He pleaseth by the dominion of
His Power, and confirmeth whom He wisheth to accomplish what He willeth; Blessed
are they who know!
Blessed is He who hath ordained to everything a measure decreed in a
hidden Tablet!
Blessed is He who hath caused to descend upon His servant that by
reason of which all the hearts and minds will be enlightened.
Blessed is He who hath cause to descend upon His servant, that kind of
calamity, whereby the hearts of those who rested
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inside the awnings of eternity, were burned (with anguish); then also
the hearts of those who are near!
Blessed is He who hath caused to descend upon His servant, from the
cloud of fate, the arrows of disaster -- and still He findeth Me in supreme
patience.
Blessed is He who hath ordained to His servant that which was not
ordained to any other one of His servants: Verily, He is the One, the Mighty,
the Self-subsistent.
Blessed is He who hath caused to descend upon His servant, from the
clouds of the detestation of those who closed their eyes and feigned to take no
notice, the spears of the irreversible decree -- and still He sees Him offering
great thanks.
Blessed is He who hath cause to descend upon His servant that which
equals the weight of the earth and the heaven, for which We indeed praise Him;
and of this no one is cognizant save those who understand.
Glory be to Him who hath placed His Beauty under the claws of the
rancour of the immoral; verily We are contented with that, and no one can
comprehend this save the discerning.
Glory be to Him who hath entrusted el-Huseyn* amongst the
factions of the enemies while at all times, the spears of hatred and
ill-treatment were brought upon His body; verily We thank Him for all He hath
decreed upon His servant, the sad, the distressed.
394. But when I saw myself at the culmination of calamity, I heard,
from above my head, the most wonderful and melodious voice, and when I turned I
witnessed a Maiden of the celebration of the Name of my Lord, suspended in the
air on a level with my head. I saw her, that she was indeed rejoicing within
herself as though the embroidered garment of pleasure was manifesting itself
upon her face, and the brightness of the Merciful was apparent upon her cheeks,
and between the earth and heaven she was uttering a call, by which all the
hearts and minds will be drawn, and at the same time, gladdening all the limbs
of my internal and external being, with glad-tidings that made my soul rejoice,
and those of the noble servants. Then, with her finger, she pointed to my head,
and addressed all those in heaven and earth, saying: “By God, This is
indeed the Beloved of the universe, but ye do not understand! This is the
Beauty of God among you, and His
F1 Bahá’u’lláh.
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Dominion within you, if ye are of those who know! This is the Mystery
of God, His Treasure, the Command of God, and His Glory, to those who are in the
Kingdom of power and creation -- were ye of those who reason! This is the One
whose meeting will be longed for by all those who dwell in the everlasting
spiritual world, and who have taken a station for themselves in the tents of
El-Abhá -- while ye yourselves are turned away from His
Beauty!
“O people of the Bayán! Should ye not assist Him, God
will assist Him by the hosts of earth and heaven and those of the Unseen,
through His Command which is ‘Be’ and it is! And He will send forth
by His Will certain people who are unknown to any one but Himself, the
Protector, the Self-existent, and purify them from the stain or surmise and
passion, and elevate them to the rank of sanctity, and by them He will cause to
appear the traces of the Glory of His Kingdom on earth: thus was it decreed on
the part of God, the Mighty, the Beloved!”
395. O people of the Bayán; do ye deny the One for whose
meeting ye were created, and still ye are of those who sit in your place and
rejoice? Do ye object to Him, the one hair of whose head is, before God, better
than all there is in heaven and earth -- and still do ye scoff at
Him?
396. O people of the Bayán! Show forth that which ye have,
that I may know by what proof ye have believed in the manifestation of the
command of God in the past, and today by what evidence do ye magnify
yourselves?
397. By the One who hath created Me from the Light of His Beauty, I
have never found among the neglectful, one of such negligence, or among the
ignorant, one of such ignorance, as ye are.
398. Ye take as an evidence of your belief in God, the Tablets which
ye have in your possession, but when the signs came down and the Lamp gave
light, ye denied the One through whose Pen all matters were decreed in a
preserved Tablet. Do ye read the signs and deny their originator and revealer?
Thus hath God seized your sight as a punishment for your actions -- were ye of
those who perceive! Do ye write the verses at even-tide and dawn, and from the
One who caused them to descend ye conceal yourselves? And today the Supreme
Assembly will see you in the mischief of your deeds and disavow you whilst ye
are of those who do not hear -- and the one will ask, and then another:
“What do these ignorant people say, and in what vale do they rest?
Do
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they close their eyes, while yet they see?” By God, O people,
the inhabitants of the Cities of Names became perplexed by your actions, and
still in the barren valley ye are bewildered, and do not perceive.
399. O Thou Supreme Pen! Hear the voice of Thy Lord from the divine
Lote-Tree in the brilliant spot of unity, that thou mayest find thyself in
exhilaration and cheerfulness by the melodious voice of Thy Lord, the Merciful,
and be sanctified from all sorrows through the strong fragrance which was
diffused from the region of My Name, the Pardoner; then, from this Temple, send
the Temples of Unity to speak in the Kingdom of Creation, of their Lord, the
Supreme, the Most Glorious, and be of those who obtain light by the lights of
their Lord. Verily, We have ordained this Temple the beginning of the existence
of the new creation, that each one may become convinced that I am indeed able to
do what I wish, by merely saying, “Be” and it is. By the shadow of
each letter of the letters of this Temple, We will send forth people whose
number is not known to any save God, the Protector, the Self-existent; and from
it (the Temple) God shall create certain people who will not be veiled by the
illusions of those who acted wrongfully against God, and they will drink, at all
times, the pure water of life: Verily, are not they of those who are
successful?
400. They are those servants who have stations themselves in the
shadow of the mercy of their Lord, and were not prevented by the preventors; and
in their faces the brightness of the Merciful is manifested, and from their
hearts the mention of My hidden and Mighty Name is heard: they are those whose
lips when opened in praising their Lord, all, whosoever is in earth and heaven,
will praise with them -- though there are but few people who do hear -- and when
they mention their Creator, all things will mention with them the same: Thus
God hath preferred them to all creation, but indeed the people do not know.
They move around the command of God just as the shadow moveth around the
sun.
401. Open your eyes, O people of the Bayán, that ye may
witness! -- and by the movement of these people all things will move, and by
their quiescence all things will rest -- were ye of those who believe: By them
the people of unity have come to the Koblat of the Horizons (The Manifestation)
and calmness and forbearance became manifest amongst the good, and through them
the earth was stationed, and the clouds gave out rain, and the table of
knowledge
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was descended from the heaven of bounty -- were ye of those who
understand: These people are the keepers of the command of God on earth,
protecting its beauty against the dust of surmise and suspicion; they do not
fear for themselves, but will sacrifice themselves in the Cause of God, for the
hope of meeting the Beloved who hath appeared by this Name, the Mighty, the
Able, the Precious, the Holy.
402. O Thou this Temple, arise by Thyself with an affair, whereby the
contingent beings will arise; then assist Thy God with that which we have given
Thee of power and might! Beware not to fear in a day whereupon all things do
fear. Be the Manifestation of My Name, the Protector, the
Self-existent.
403. Render Thy Lord victorious by that which is within Thy Power, and
do not look to the creatures and that which comes from their mouths, save as to
the voice of an insect in an endless and boundless valley. Drink the pure water
of life in My Name, the Merciful, then give to drink to those who are near (to
God) of the people of this rank, that which will make them cut themselves from
the Names, and cause them to enter into this blessed and extended
shadow.
404. O this Temple, We have assembled by Thee all the things, and that
which was created in the earth and heaven, and asked them of that by reason of
which We administered the oath upon them in the beginning of eternity: Lo! We
found the majority of them possessed of dull tongues and glazed eyes, and the
minority of bright faces and voluble tongues -- and out of these, We have sent
forth a creation of what was and is: thus hath God kept their faces aloof from
turning to the polytheists, and made them dwell in the shadow of the Lote Tree
of Himself; and thus He hath brought down upon them a calmness and strengthened
them with the hosts of the seen and the unseen.
405. O Thou, the Eye of this Temple! Look not to the heaven and what
is therein, nor to the earth and whatsoever is thereupon; verily We created Thee
for My Beauty -- Lo, this is It! Look as it pleaseth Thee and prevent not Thine
eye from the Beauty of Thy Lord, the Precious, the Beloved. Through Thee We
shall send forth Iron Eyes and everseeing sight whereby they shall see the signs
of their Creator, and turn away their eyes from that which the worldly wise have
comprehended. Through Thee We give the power of sight to whomsoever We please,
and seize those who were
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prevented from this bounty. Verily, are they not drinking from the
cups of imagination and they know not?
406. O Thou, that faculty of Hearing! Purify Thyself from the cry of
every forsaken crier; then hear the voice of Thy Lord. Verily, He revealeth unto
Thee from the direction of the Throne, that indeed there is no God but Me, the
Precious, the Powerful, the Protector, the Self-existent. Through Thee We shall
send forth purified Ears that will listen to the Word of God and to that which
became manifest from the dawning place of the Revelation, Thy Lord, the
Merciful; verily do they not find them melodious, the songstresses from this
blessed and laudible place?
407. O Thou, the Tongue of this Temple! Verily, We have created Thee
in My Name, the Merciful, and taught Thee that which was stored in the
Bayán (the revelation) and made Thee to speak for the sake of My great
commemoration in the contingent world: Therefore do Thou utter this
commemoration (precious and wonderful), and fear thou not from the manifestation
of the Satan. Verily, for this Thou wast created by My Command, the Protector,
the Self-existent. By Thee We made the tongue utter the revelation of that
which was, and by My Dominion We utter of that which is. By Thee We send forth
speaking tongues that move with praise in the Supreme Assembly, and amongst the
people of creation.
408. Thus have the signs descended, and the matter been decreed on the
part of the King of Names and Attributes. Verily, thy Lord is the True One and
the knower of all the unseen. Verily, nothing can prevent them (tongues) from
praising their Creator; and by them all things will rise for the commemoration
of the King of Names -- verily there is no God but He, the Able, the Mighty, the
Beloved.
409. The tongues of the commemorators never speak unless reinforced by
this Tongue, from this station -- but there are few of the people who know.
Every one is able to praise his Lord and utter His remembrance, but some of the
people understand and remember and some remember but do not
understand.
410. By God, there is no escape today for you and no refuge for any
one save from the Mercy of God on the part of His Bounty -- verily He is the
Forgiving, the Generous. Say, O people! Set aside that which ye have; then
enter into the shadow of thy Lord, the Merciful. This is better for you than
that which ye have done
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or do -- fear God and deprive not yourselves from the fragrances of the
days of the King of the Names and Attributes and change not the Word of God, nor
transpose its meaning -- fear God and be of those who are devout. Say, O
people! This is the hand of God which has been above your hands -- were ye of
those who reason.
411. Through It We have ordained the good for the heaven and earth in
such a manner that no good becomes manifest unless it is produced from IT --
thus have We made IT the source and the store of good to all that which has been
and will be. Say, all that has flowed in the tablets of the rivers of
demonstration and explanation was connected with this Most Great Sea -- were ye
of those who perceive: And that which was detailed in the books was traced to
this Supreme Word which shone from the Mouth of the Will of El-Abhá (the
Most Glorious) in this manifestation whereby the mouths of the seen and the
unseen were wreathed in smiles. God shall send forth from the sleeves of might
the Hands of power and victory, and certain people to assist this Servant, and
to cleanse the earth from the impurity of every abandoned polytheist, and they
shall arise in favor of this matter, and open the countries in My Name, the
Powerful, the Self-existent, and enter their boundaries, and their threats shall
overtake all the servants; this is from the strength of God: Verily, His
strength is great in favor of justice.
412. Verily, He is the encompasser of whosoever is in earth and
heaven, and causeth to descend that which He pleaseth to a predetermined
measure. Should anyone of those people rise up and confront whatsoever is
created in the universe, he would certainly be the conquerer through the victory
of Myself. This is from My power, but My people do not know; this is from My
dominion, but My creatures do not understand; this is from My command but My
servants do not perceive; this is from My victory, but mankind is not grateful,
save those whose eyes God has illumined by the light of the knowledge of
Himself, and whose hearts He hath made the stores of inspiration, and whose
souls the carriers of His command; these are the people who from the garment of
His Name, will inhale the fragrances of the Merciful, and at the signs of God
they are continually rejoicing, and those people who denied and associated
others with God, will have the wrath of God upon them, and to the fire be
dragged and in its strata they shall
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show forth their grief; thus do We classify the signs and explain the
truth with evident proofs, hoping that the people will ponder over the traces of
their Lord.
413. Say, verily, the fates of all things were ordained in this
Temple, the treasured, the illustrious, and in IT was stored the science of
earth and heaven, and the science of that which was and is, and by the fingers
of the skill of thy Lord, was written in this book which the learned were unable
to comprehend. He hath created in IT the temples which were not known to any
save God -- were ye of those who believe.
414. Blessed is the one who reads it and ponders over it and is of
those who understand. Say, nothing is seen in My temple, but the Temple of God,
and in My beauty, but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in Myself
but Himself, and in My movement but His Movement, and in My acquiescence but His
Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Precious, the
Praiseworthy.
415. Say, there hath not been in My soul but the truth and in Myself
nothing could be seen but God. Beware that ye mention not the two signs -- all
the particles in Myself speak, “verily there is no God but Me, the One,
the Single, the Precious, the Beloved” -- everlastingly in the spiritual
world I was uttering “Verily, I am God and there is no God but Me, the
Protector, the Self-existent,” and in the Kingdom of Names I everlastingly
utter, “Verily, I am God, there is no God but Me, the Precious, the
Beloved.”
416. Say, Verily, the Lordship is my Name and for it I have created
manifestations in the Kingdom; verily We have been free from them -- were ye to
bear witness: And the Divinity is my Name, and for it we have made places of
rising to encompass all servants and make them worshippers of God -- were ye to
believe: And thus know all the Names (Prophets) -- were ye to know.
417. Say, the fecundation of bounty has been wafted over all things in
this day and everything has generated and brought forth its own kind, but verily
the majority of the people have turned away from it -- the trees bring forth the
beautiful fruit, -- the seas, the brilliant jewels, -- man, knowledge and
science, -- the universe, the transfiguration of the Merciful -- and the earth,
that which no one comprehendeth, save the True One, the knower of secrets and
unseen things.
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418. Everything shall bring forth its own species. Blessed is the God
who is the sender of this bounty, which surrounds all things that have appeared,
and all that which is still hidden; thus have we created the beings of this day
unequaled, but the majority of mankind do not perceive. Say, if the bounty of
God cannot be known as it is, how would it be possible then to know Himself, the
Protector, the Self-existent?
419. Say, verily, We have caused the signs to descend after nine
conditions, each of which is a proof of the dominion of God, the Protector, the
Self-existent, -- any one of these condition is sufficient to convince whosoever
is in heaven and earth, but the majority of the people are heedless. Had We
willed We would have revealed the signs after other conditions, whose number
could not be reckoned. Say, O people, fear God and do not move your false
tongues about that which God doth not like, -- be ashamed before the one who
formed you through a drop of water as ye do know. Say, verily, We have created
whosoever is in the heaven and the earth, after the nature of God. And he who
advanceth to this Face will appear in the condition wherein he was created, and
he who secludeth himself, will be secluded from this surrounding and hidden
bounty. Verily, We did not prevent anything from attaining this bounty, but We
created all things equal according to their kind, and propounded to them the
fidelity of Our love by a word on Our part; and he who remembereth will escape
and believe and be of those who will be saved from the terror of the Day, and he
who turneth away will deny God, the Protector, the Self-existent. By the Word,
We separated the servants and classified them, verily We are the Separators.
Say, the Word of God is not likened unto the words of His creatures; verily it
is the king of words, as His Soul is the king of souls, and His Command is the
protector over that which was and is.
420. Say, O people, we ask a word from you by the Most Great Truth --
and we will take God as a witness between us, verily He is the Beloved, the
Beneficent; -- present yourselves before the Throne of God, then let your speech
be unprejudiced and be ye of those who are just. Was God the powerful over His
matter, or were ye of those who are powerful? Was He the unconstrained in
Himself, as ye say, “verily He doeth that which He pleaseth, nor is asked
concerning that which He wisheth,” or, are ye yourselves the
unconstrained,
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and say this word merely be tradition, in the same manner as was said
by your fathers, in the times of the messengers? Although He was unconstrained
in Himself, He hath shown the manifestation of his command by signs, which are
unequaled by anything either in heaven or on the earth, -- and he hath appeared
after a condition the like of which hath not appeared in creation -- just as
that of which ye have seen and heard when the Light of the horizons shone forth
from the regions of Iraq (Baghdád) with evident dominion. All
things return to the signs and these are the signs of God, the King, the
Protector, the Precious, the Mighty! Beside these He hath appeared with a
Command whereto all the contingent beings have confessed its authority and no
one denied this save the iniquitous infidel.
421. For the Day of God is He Himself, who hath appeared with the
truth and will never be followed by the night, or limited by the remembrance,
were ye of those who know.
422. O Temple of Holiness! Verily, We have made Thy heart the store
of knowledge of that which was and is and the rising place of Our science which
We have ordained to the people of the earth and heaven that the beings should be
filled abundantly through Thee, and by the wonders of Thy sciences, would attain
the knowledge of God, the Able, the Supreme, the Great. Verily, the science
which is attributed to Myself was not known to any one, nor will it be known by
any soul, neither could it be endured by any one of the world. Should We
produce but one word of it all the souls would be disturbed, the supports of all
things be destroyed and the feet of the accomplished deviate. We have in Our
possession a science of which, should We convey but one word to the beings,
every one would be made to believe in the Manifestation of God, and His
Knowledge, and be acquainted with the secrets of all sciences, and attain a
position whereby they would find themselves able to dispense with the sciences
of both the ancients and moderns.
423. We have also other sciences of which if We speak but a single
letter the people will not be able to hear its mention. Thus we have informed
you of the Science of God, the Knower, the Informed. Had We found vessels We
would have laid in them the treasures of Knowledge and would have taught them
that of which one letter will encompass the whole world.
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424. O Heart of this Temple! Verily, we have made Thee the
rising-place of My science and the manifestation of My wisdom to whosoever is in
heaven and on earth. We have made the sciences to appear from Thee and to Thee
shall we return them; then they will be sent forth from thee for another
occasion as a promise on Our part, -- verily We have been the doers. We shall
raise up from Thee people of wonderful sciences and powerful arts and will show
forth from them that of which the heart of no servant could ever conceive: Thus
we give to whomsoever We please that which We please and take from the one whom
We desire that which We have given him, and govern by Our command that which We
will. Verily, should We, by the sun of Our Providence reveal Ourself upon the
mirror of the existing beings in one hour, and take away from them the lights of
Our revelation in another hour, -- We are indeed able, -- and no one dare ask
“Why?” or “How?” Verily, We are the doers of that which
We please and will not be questioned as to that We have done, and no one doubts
this save the doubting infidel.
425. Say, Our power cannot be hindered and Our authority shall never
be annulled; We elevate whom We please to the glory of might and power; then
bring him back, should We will, to the lowest of the low. Do ye think, O people
of the earth, if We were to elevate any one to the divine Lote Tree, that My
Power and dominion could be prevented from controlling him? No, by Myself, but
rather should We please, We will bring him again to the dust in an instant.
Look at the tree. We plant it in the garden and water it by the water of Our
Providence; and when it becomes of great stature, puts forth green leaves and
bears the best fruits, We then send upon it the sweeping wind of command, uproot
it and leave it upon the surface of the earth; thus have We been doing and thus
will We do with everything -- this is from the wonders of Our laws before and
after in all things, were ye of those who see. No one can see the wisdom of this
save God, the Powerful, the Precious, the Wise! Do ye deny, O people, that
which ye see? Woe unto you, O assembly of abnegation: And the One who doth not
change is He Himself, the Merciful, the Clement, were ye of those who reflect.
Beside Him every one changeth by the will on His part and He is the Almighty,
the Precious, the Wise.
426. Should We desire to show forth from an atom, suns
without
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beginning and without end, We are indeed able and We can make them all
appear in a moment by My command. Should We please to produce from a drop of
water the seas of the heaven and earth and from a letter the science of what was
and is, we are indeed able -- verily it is an easy matter.
427. Thus I have been able from the first which has no beginning to
the last which has no end; but My creatures became heedless of My power and
turned away from My dominion and disputed Me, the Knower and the Wise. Nothing
can move between the heaven and earth without My permission and no soul can
ascend to the Kingdom without My Command; but My creatures veiled themselves
from My power and authority -- and were of those who are negligent. Say,
nothing can be seen in My manifestation but the manifestation of God -- nor in
My power but the power of God, were ye of those who know! Say, the maxim of My
creatures is likened unto that of the leaves of a tree -- they appear and feel
themselves independent, but of their root they are neglectful. Thus We
propounded a proverb unto Our servants, the wise, perhaps they will elevate
themselves from the vegetable degree and attain the station of accomplishment in
this confirmed and valid matter. Say, they are likened unto a whale in the
water; verily the water is its source of life but it indeed does not know that
the source of its life is from the Presence of the Precious, the Wise; it is
veiled from it to such an extent that if asked about the water and its
qualities, it does not know.
428. In like manner in these days do ye see those who deny and
associate others with God and adhere to one Name of the Names, but turn away
from the One who created these Names; verily we testify that they are of the
people of fire. They ask the Sun of that which the shadow hath said, and the
Truth of that which the preachers uttered; -- were ye of those who bear witness.
Say, O people! The sun hath nothing in itself but its effulgence and that which
appears from it, and all things beside it are illuminated by its light. Fear
God and be not of those who are ignorant. Some of them asked about the light.
Say, open thine eyes that thou mayest see the effulgence surrounding the
horizons; verily it could be seen by the naked eye -- this is a light which hath
shone and appeared from the horizon of the dawn of knowledge with evident
brightness. Do ye ask the Jews whether the Spirit (Christ) was of a truth from
God? Or the idols, whether
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Muhammad was a Prophet (Messenger)? Or the people of the
Qur’án concerning the Reminder (the Báb) of God, the
Supreme, the Great?
429. Say, O people, set aside that which is in your possession
(religious doctrines) at the appearance of this Manifestation and take what ye
have been commanded. This is the command of God unto you, -- verily He is the
best of commanders. By My Beauty, in saying these words it was My aim only to
bring the servants nearer to God, the Precious, the Praiseworthy. Beware not to
do with Me that which ye have done with My precursor (the Báb) and when
the signs of God are descended upon you from the region of My Munificence, do
not say that they were not descended upon El-Fitrat, verily El-Fitrat was
created by My Words and revolves around Me, were ye of those who believe.
Blessed is He who hath found the fragrances of the garment of knowledge from the
revelation of His Lord the Merciful; verily they were spread over the universe
and by them the contingent world was perfumed. Blessed is the one who scenteth
its fragrance and advanceth to God with an enlightened heart.
430. O ye assembly of divines! Should ye shun the wine and what
resembles it of that which was forbidden you in the Book, it is not a thing to
glory over at all, for in practising such habits you will lose your dignity
before the people, your affairs will be changed and your shame become
manifested; but the glory is in your submissiveness to the word of the truth,
and in cutting yourselves secretly and openly from everything besides God, the
Powerful, the Able. Blessed is the learned who doth not allow science to
intervene as a veil between him and the Known, and when the Self-existent
cometh, he advanceth unto Him with a bright face -- verily he is of the divines,
-- by whose wit the people of paradise will be exalted, and by whose lamp
whosoever is in heaven and earth will be illuminated. Verily, he is one of the
heirs of the Prophets and he who sees him hath seen the truth, and he who
advanceth towards him hath advanced to God, the Mighty, the Wise.
431. O ye dawning places of science, beware not to be changed in
yourselves; because of such a change, most of the servants change; verily this
is an oppression on your part upon yourselves -- to this will bear witness every
informed knower. Ye are likened unto a spring which when changed, all the river
branching
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out from it will be changed; fear God and be of those who are
pious.
432. And this is man, when his heart becomes corrupted all the other
limbs will be corrupted; so also the tree, -- if the roots are corrupted, all
the branches, twigs, leaves and fruits will follow the same process: Thus We
have propounded proverbs that ye will not veil yourselves by that which ye have,
from what was ordained unto you on the part of the Precious, the Generous.
Verily, should We take a handful of dust and embroider it with the embroidered
garment of the Names, -- We are indeed able and this is a bounty of My part upon
it and not according to its deserts. Thus hath it descended of a truth from the
presence of the abode of the Omniscient.
433. The voice of the Merciful was raised, and from behind it the
voice of Satan also. Blessed is the one who heareth the voice of God, and
turneth to the direction of the Throne, the noble and holy outlook. He who hath
in his heart less than a mustard seed of love for anything beside Me, verily he
cannot enter My Kingdom, and My proof of this is that whereby the face of the
Book of Existence is adorned, -- were ye of those who know.
434. Say, this day is the day whereon the Most Great Bounty has
appeared, and nothing, either in the supremest heaven or in the lowest earth,
but utters in My mention and sings in the praise of Myself -- were ye of those
who hear. O Temple of the Manifestation! Blow thou the horn in My Name: Then,
O Temple of the Secrets! Breath thou into the fife in commemoration of thy
Lord, the Unconstrained: Then, O Maid of Paradise! Come out of the chambers of
the Garden and say to the inhabitants of the universe, “By God, He hath
appeared, the Beloved of the world, the Intended of the knowers, the Worshipped
of whosoever is in the heaven and the earth and the Adored of the ancients and
moderns. Beware of hesitating to accept this Beauty, after the Ruler of Might,
Power and Glory hath appeared. Verily, He is the truth and everything besides
Him on the part of His servants is annihilated and lost at the appearance of His
lights. Hasten to the river of bounty and be of the impatient, and he who
hesitates for an instant, God will frustrate his plans and bring him back to the
station of overwhelming grief and constraint. Thus how terrible is the residence
of those who hesitate!”
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TABLET OF AHMAD
435. O My servants! The Ancient Beauty commands: Hasten to the
shadow of immortality, nearness and mercy, from the shadow of desire, remoteness
and heedlessness. Be ye resigned like unto the earth, so that the fragrant,
sacred, multicolored myrtles of My Knowledge may grow in the soil of existence.
Be ye ablaze like unto fire, so that ye may consume thick veils and quicken and
immortalize cold and veiled bodies through the heat of the divine love. Be ye
pure like unto air, so that ye may enter the sacred abode of My
Friendship.
436. O servants! If ye be informed of the wonders of My generosity
and grace which I have deposited in yourselves, ye will certainly be cut from
all directions, and, seeking to know your own selves, which is identical with
knowing Myself, will find yourselves independent of all else save Me, and will
see the ocean of My providence and the deep of My beneficence in yourselves,
with your outward and inward eye, as manifest and clear as the sun shining from
the name of ‘Abhá.
437. Do not waste this most wonderful, most holy station through the
promptings of fancy and desire and through the falsehood of superstition and
blindness. Ye are in likeness as a bird, which, with all joy and fragrance,
soars in the utmost security in the cheerful air of the Praised One; then in the
imaginary hope of grains, it inclines toward the mud and water of the earth,
and, with all eagerness, besmears itself with mud and mire; and when it attempts
to re-ascend it finds itself unable and a captive, forasmuch as wings besmeared
with water and clay are not capable of flight. At that time, that bird of the
exalted heaven finds itself a dweller in the mortal earth.
438. Now, O servants, do not besmear your wings with the mire of
heedlessness and imagination and the earth of animosity and rancor, that ye may
not be deprived and prevented from soaring in the sacred heaven of
knowledge.
439. O servants, if ye are possessors of insight, enter the city of
the seeing; if ye are of the people of hearing, step into the land of the
hearing; and if ye are possessors of heart, choose an abode in the fortress of
the assured ones; so that in these dark days ye may not be prevented from
witnessing the lights of the Beauty
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of ‘Abhá. For this year is the year of the most mighty
purification and the most great tests.
440. O servants! Inscribe the exhortations of the Spirit with the pen
of resignation and the ink of submission and assurance upon the tablet of the
heart and turn thereto in every instant, lest ye neglect a single letter
thereof, and advance to the true God with all exertion, turning away from all
else save Him. For this is the root of the leaf of command grown upon the
Divine Tree!
441. This world is a show without reality, and is a non-existence
adorned in the form of existence. Do not attach your hearts thereto. Do not
sever yourselves from the Creator and be not of those who are
heedless!
442. Truly, I say, the world is like unto a mirage which has the show
of water. The thirsty make abundant efforts in their search, but, when reaching
it, remain deprived and portionless. Or, it is like unto the image of a loved
one which is destitute of life and soul. When the lover reaches it, he finds it
of no worth and value, and finds no gain save great pain and
despondency.
443. O servants! If in these visible days and this present world
matters appear from the realm of decree contrary to your wish, be ye not
depressed, for happy and divine days shall come and spiritual worlds of holiness
shall become manifest. In all those days and worlds, for you a portion is
ordained, a sustenance is determined and a food is established. Ye shall
certainly attain to all these, were ye to exchange the garment of mortality for
the garment of immortality and enter the station of the Paradise of ‘Abhá,
which is the everlasting abode of glorious, sacred souls. All things are a proof
of your existence, if ye emerge from the gloomy dust of non-existence. Be not
grieved at the hardships of these numbered days, and be not dejected if your
outward bodies are destroyed in the path of the Beloved One, for every
destruction is followed by a construction and a paradise of rest is concealed in
every hardship.
SOUL AND SPIRIT
444. Note that the soul, which is common to all the creatures of God,
comes into existence after the amalgamations of the matter and their attainment
to the degree of maturity; as in the case of the semen, which, after its
development into that state which
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was ordained for it, God then will manifest in it the soul which was
therein secluded; verily, thy Lord doeth what He pleaseth and commandeth that
which He willeth. As to the soul, which is the one intended, verily, it is sent
forth by the Word of God, and it is that which, when kindled by the force of the
love of its Lord, will not be quenched, neither by the waters of rain, nor by
the seas of the world. It is indeed that kindled fire which is burning in the
human Lote Tree, uttering, “Verily, there is no God but He,” and he
who heareth its voice is of those who are successful. On leaving the body, God
will send it forth after the best form and cause it to enter into a high heaven.
Verily, thy Lord is powerful over all things. Know also that the life of man is
from the Spirit, and to turn the spirit in one direction, beside the other
direction, is indeed from the soul. Reflect upon this which We have expounded
unto thee, in order that thou mayest know the Soul of God, who hath come from
the dawning place of grace with manifest authority. Know also that the soul
hath two wings. If it flieth in the air of love and the consent of God it will
be attributed to the Merciful, but if it flieth in the air of lust it will be
attributed to Satan. May God protect us and you against it! O assembly of
knowers! And if it is kindled by the fire of the love of God it will be the
tranquil and pleasing soul, but if it be kindled by the love of lust, it is the
passionate soul. Thus have We given unto thee full details that thou mayest be
of those who reflect.
445. O Supreme Pen! Mention to him who hath turned to his Lord El
Abhá, that which will make him independent of the world. Say that the
spirit, the mind, the soul, the hearing and the sight are one; but differ by the
differentiation of the causes, as in the case of man, to wit: Ye see that
whereby man understands, moves, speaks, hears and sees, all of which are through
the power of his God in him, but each one in itself differing by the difference
of the causes; verily, this is indeed the truth. For example, if all these
faculties are turned to the cause of hearing, then the effects of hearing and
its results become manifest. And so if they are turned to the cause of sight,
another trace and another result will appear. Think of this, that thou mayest
reach the intended goal and find thyself independent of that which is mentioned
by the people, and be of those who are confident. And thus if turned unto the
brain, the head, etc., the manifestations of mind and soul
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will appear. Verily, thy Lord is the powerful over that which He
wisheth. We have expounded all this in the Tablet which We caused to descend in
reply to the one who inquired about the explanation of the separate letters
(alphabetical characters) as mentioned in the Qur’án. Peruse them
that thou mayest know that which was revealed from the might of God, the
Precious, the Praiseworthy. We have accordingly used abbreviations in this
Tablet. We ask God to enable thee to know from this abbreviation that which
could not be accomplished by deliberation and memory, and to make thee to drink
from this cup that which is in the seas. Verily, thy Lord is the Benefactor and
Owner of the most solid might.
446. But concerning that which ye asked about the spirit and its
everlastingness after its ascension: Know that it will ascend at the time of
its departure until it enters the presence of God in a form which throughout all
centuries and times and throughout all circumstances and events of the world
will remain unchanged, but will be everlasting as the perpetuity of the Kingdom
of God, His Sovereignty, His Power and His Might, and from it will appear the
traces of God, His qualities, providences and favors.
447. The Pen cannot move at the mentioning of this station as it is in
its supremacy and exaltation. The hand of the divine Bounty will cause the
spirit to enter into a station which cannot be comprehended by expression, nor
be explained by all the creatures of existence. Blessing be upon the spirit who
departs from the body purified from the doubts and superstitions of the nations.
Verily, it moves in the atmosphere of God’s desire and enters into the
supreme paradise. All the angels of the supreme paradise attend and surround
it, and it will have fellowship with all the Prophets of God and His saints, and
speak with them and tell them what happened to it in the Cause of God, the Lord
of the universe.
448. If any one could realize what hath been assigned in the Kingdom
of God, the Lord of the and the dust, he would immediately yearn with a great
longing for that immovable, exalted, holy and most glorious
station.
449. O ‘Abdu’l Wahal, now listen in the Persian language.
My Bahá is upon thee. As you asked about the immortality of the spirit,
this Wronged One beareth witness to its eternality; and
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as to your question about its form, it cannot be described and is not
needful to be expressed, but only something need be known. Prophets and
Messengers came only to guide the creatures to the straight path of God, and in
order that people might be trained. Then at the time of their ascension, with a
perfect holiness and separation, and having been cut off from the things of this
world, they repair to the Supreme Station. By the Self of God, the rays of
those Spirits are the cause of the development of the people and the station of
the nations. These are the leaven of existence and the greatest cause of the
appearances of divinity and the works of the universe. By them the clouds will
shower and the plants of the earth spring up. Not one thing of all the things
is without cause, reason and beginning.
450. The greatest cause is that the Spirits above us were and are
forever equal, and the difference between this earthly kingdom and the other is
like the difference between the embryonic world and this world: though, after
ascension, it (the spirit) will enter the presence of God in a form suited for
eternality and the Kingdom. And this eternality is the eternality of time, not
the essential which has reason, but the eternality of the essential has no
cause; this is only to God. Blessed are the wise. If you ponder carefully over
the actions of the Prophets you will bear witness that there are other worlds
besides this. The learned men of the world confess and bear witness to that
which has been revealed in the Holy Books, as it has been revealed by the
Supreme Pen in the Lawh-i-Hikmát (Tablet of Wisdom).
451. Even the naturalists who are simply holding to laws, confessed
and wrote that the Prophets were wise men and they said they spoke of the
stations of paradise and hell, bliss and torment as a means of educating the
people. Now consider well that these wise men held that these Holy Ones -- in
any time they were, are, or will be found -- are the foremost of
all.
452. Some of those holy Prophets are known to be the wise men and the
Messengers of God. Now, all of them, if they believe that the worlds of God are
only this world, -- would not put themselves in the hand of the enemies and
endure such hardships and difficulties as are beyond comparison. If any one
with a pure heart and clear intelligence thinks about that which has been
revealed from the Supreme Pen, at once with tongue of honesty he will say that
now the truth is evident. But what you
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asked about the resurrection was quite sufficiently revealed in the
Kitáb-i-Iqán.* Blessing be upon the wise.
THE SUN OF THE SOUL
453. You asked concerning mankind (other than the prophets and saints)
whether, after apparent death, they will remain, or perish, and if we say they
will remain, then, if the person has insanity or other form of illness, will his
feelings and perception cease; and as death is the destruction of the material
composition and elements, then how can it be after death the form of personality
and feeling will be understood, conceived or apprehended, as the material
combination has disintegrated?
454. You know that the spirit is permanent and steadfast in its
station and the feebleness of the sick person is due to preventing causes. Yet
in fact the feebleness will never approach the spirit. For example, when you
look at the lighted lamp you find it shining and radiating, but if there is
something before it, then the light will be prevented, yet in its sphere it is
radiating, but by the means of prevention, its light was kept from shining
forth. In the same way with the person, while he is in the diseased condition
the manifestation of the power and might of the spirit will be prevented and
concealed on account of the means of prevention; but after the spirit leaves the
body, it will appear with such power, might and superiority that all ordinary
comparison is impossible. The choice, pure and holy spirits are and will be in
perfect might and joy. For example, if a lighted lamp is put under an iron
lantern its light will never come forth, yet it is shining just the same. Look
toward the sun when it is behind the cloud, shining and gleaming in its rank,
but owing to the cloud its illumination seems weak. Now suppose that this sun
is the human spirit and all other things are body, and that by its light and
rays, all the body is lighted and illuminated. This is so when no means of
prevention will be found to veil the light. Now the appearance of the sun seems
very weak behind the veil when the cloud exists; though the land is illuminated
by the light of the sun, yet this light is always weak; but after the cloud
passes away, the illuminations are again manifested. In the two
cases
F1 Book of Iqán (Chapter One).
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the sun was the same in its rank; likewise the sun of the souls, which
is named, mentioned as, and ever will be called, the spirit.
455. And again look to the weakness of the fruit which is in the tree
before it comes forth. It is in the tree in such a very weak condition that it
cannot be seen, and if any one cuts the tree into pieces, he will never find the
minute atom of the fruit, nor the form; but after it comes forth from the tree
it will appear with a wonderful, beautiful embroidery and irresistible power, as
is seen in the fruit of all trees. Some fruit ripen after they are plucked from
the tree.
456. Now numerous examples have been mentioned that thou mayest
understand what is desired. Compare it with what thou hast asked from God, thy
Lord, and the Lord of the creatures.
457. God, exalted is His mention, is able to manifest and explain all
the boundless sciences, in one of the examples mentioned among the
people.
458. The Hand of Might is opened for stating every example, and for
every word the Hand of Protection is raised, and no one can know that save him
whom God willeth. And when the seal of the attar vessel is broken off by the
Hand of Might, then the fragrance will be perceived.
459. The command is in the grasp of the Hand of God. He bestows and
He withholds; He causeth blindness and He openeth the eyes; He doeth as He
willeth and commandeth as He wisheth.
TO THE PEOPLE OF BAHÁ
460. In the Name of God, the One! Say, O friends! The former lying
caused the succeeding Beloved* to be hanged and martyred by the bullet of opposition. Meditate upon the lying, unfaithful, perfidious souls who were appearing among the people with the pretence of righteousness, faithfulness, devotion and abstinence from what is unlawful, until ye be guarded and saved from the terror of this greater
Day.
461. One of these has mentioned Jabulka and another gave reference to
Jabulsa and another lying one put in the minds of the people an imaginary temple
and fixed that on the throne of superstition. This unfair one mentioned Nahia
Mocaddassah (the holy direction) and another unreasonable one attributed to him
many
F1 The Báb.
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(of his own) utterances. Therefore these false and unpleasant affairs
became the cause of killing the King of the City of Unity through complete
opposition.
462. If the Hand of Godly Power will take away all the veils (of
hallucination) you will witness new affairs and hear new, wonderful utterances.
Now He speaks one Word, so that it may, perchance, be a fence betwixt the right
and the wrong; and the Word is as follows: “Sanctify your ears from what
those people say who attribute themselves to the Bayán and deny its
Revealer, its King and sender”; as all these veiled souls are merely
following the former (veiled) souls. Blessing be upon the eye which looks and
perceives. Verily, it is from the most powerful and strongest souls mentioned
in the presence of God.
463. Now hear what My Forerunner* announced before, and
His speech is the truth. “The one who is one year old in the Day
of His (Bahá’u’lláh’s) manifestation, is greater
than all those of the Bayán.” Because of the providence and
kindness, these expressions flowed from the pen of the Chosen. Now be watchful
and say: “Praise be unto Thee, O God of the creatures!” The party
of the Shiites who count themselves the saved and the favored ones, and content
their souls that they are the greatest of all the creatures, copied some saying
which were continuously handed down that any one who prophesies that the
Promised One will be born is an infidel and has no religious faith. So these
sayings have been the cause of martyrdom of a great number who were without
censure or guilt, until Nukta’ollah (the First Point, -- the Báb),
(many the souls of all be a ransom to Him!) was born from the lumbar vertebrae
of a well-known person in Fárs, and He declared Himself as the
Qa‘ím (the Promised One among the Shiites). Immediately those who
followed the superstitions and hallucinations were lost. And the Cause appeared
to all the creatures like the light of the sun. Yet that party of neglect and
rejection deviated and stood steadfast in purpose to kill the Essence of
Existence.
464. O people of Bahá! The Possessor of the names says:
“Meditate upon these events that ye may really break the idols of
superstitions and imaginations; so that ye may not be engulfed by the new
hallucinations to which those of the Bayán who are now
F1 The Báb.
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avoiders are clinging. Stand steadfast for spreading the Cause with
the Godly power and might, and defend the servants from the oppositions of the
polytheists, and from the superstitions of the erring and neglected souls, and
meditate upon the hidden mysteries.”
465. Up to the time of the Manifestations, the people of the
Furqán (Qur’án), that is to say, the party of the Shiites,
did not understand the Day of God, nor the way of the Manifestation. They seemed
to be entirely excluded from the ocean of knowledge and prevented from the
lights of the sun of realities. The Cause of God appeared and spread in a way
directly opposite to what they perceived and clung to, through their evil
thoughts and superstitions; and these simple souls who count themselves among
all as the most pious and ascetic of the creatures, stood with (awful)
oppression in such a way that the Supreme Concourse and the inhabitants of the
cities of the names and the worldly kingdom were all stunned.
466. Hereby the Supreme Pen pronounced, as a favor from Him, that ye
may know what hath been hidden from you, and observe what was hidden behind the
veil, and the deeds of those who wandered in the wilderness of superstitions and
hallucinations and decided upon the sentence (of killing) the One who came by
the truth from the presence of God, the Almighty, and the
Omnipresent.
467. O drinker of the pure, sealed wine! The Name of Omnipresence
says: “Meditate on the people of the party which counts itself forgiven
and saved, that during the appearance of the trial (test) they became of the
deeply wicked, transgressive, denying and rejected party; and they were
mentioned and recorded in the Godly Book by the Supreme Pen as the appearance of
denial. God willing, all the people of Bahá who are mentioned in the
Omnipotence of the names as the people of the Red Ark, must appear with such
rectitude and uprightness as is suited for the greatest Cause and blessed Day.
This day is the day of serving and standing steadfast. If a child will stand
uprightly in this Cause, he will be more powerful than all the followers of the
Bayán, with the witness of God and the witness of Him who appeared before
and announced to the people the great news.”
468. In the Tablets which were revealed in ‘Iráq and
Ardisherr (the land of mystery, or Adrianople) and Sijan Orzan, the
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greatest prison of ‘Akká, We have said to all friends and
made announcement about the appearance of the croakers (Nakazeen) and the birds
of night and the book of the Sejjien (books written against the Cause) and the
tablets of fire, that they may stand steadfast in such a way that all the
creatures and what they have could not falsify these fixed and established
records; and they must be like the mountains, not the leaves which are shaken by
the wind and are turned with the slightest breeze. In the same way the
All-knowing taught you, and the Knower, the Announced, caused you to know and
guided you to the right path.
469. Exert your intelligence and with perfect humbleness and
submissiveness beg of the Powerful and the Almighty that He may strengthen you
in what is adorned by His graciousness; and to make the circumstance favorable
to you in the deeds which shall be mentioned of you through the eternity of the
Kingdom, in the Book of God everlastingly.
470. O beloved! In this Day the door of heaven was opened by the key
of the Name of God, and the ocean of liberality is manifested and rolling before
all faces, and the sun of providence is shining and gleaming. Do not exclude
yourselves; and do not destroy your most precious time by being influenced by
the speech of this or that person. Confirm the back of energy! Do your best in
training the people of the world. Do not consider that the Cause of God is the
cause of opposition, hatred and wrath. The Tongue of Greatness says that what
is intended by that which was revealed from the heaven of the Will in this holy
and supreme Manifestation is uniting the people in love and friendship towards
all.
471. The people of Bahá who have drunk of the pure wine of
reality must associate with all the world with the perfect spirit of joy and
fragrance; and remind them of that which is for the benefit of all. This is the
command of the Wronged One to His saints and sincere ones.
472. The creatures were created through love, and all are commanded to
live in friendship and unity. Now look to this carefully and mention this
blessed word which hath shone forth from the horizon of the mouth of the King of
Unity.
473. Do not allow the opportunity to fall from your grasp; and spend
not your time uselessly. I swear by the ocean of Godly knowledge that a moment
in these days is more excellent than
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past centuries and ages; to this beareth witness your Lord, the
Chooser, the Generous.
474. God willing, may ye burn up the curtains of prevention by the
fire of the love of the most Merciful and illumine the hearts by the light of
His Face. This Day is the day of this confirmed blessed Word which the Tongue
of Unity has uttered before, “Everything is perishable but His
Face.”
475. This Day is the Day of God and God alone is speaking in it; and
none should be mentioned save Him.
476. Where are the purified eyes of clear insight? And where are the
withdrawn and illuminated hearts? This Day is the day of eyes, ears and hearts.
Beg of God that ye may possess these three, that ye may be withdrawn from the
veils and sanctified. Because a thine veil -- the thinnest -- prevents the eye
from seeing, the ears from hearing, the heart from understanding.
477. Ponder carefully on this Supreme Pen: “O Children of
Knowledge! The physical eye will be prevented from seeing the world and what is
in it by a very thin lid; then what will be the consequence if the veil of
avariciousness covers the eye of the heart?”
478. “I was in My Ancient Essence and My Everlasting Being; I
foreknew My love in thee; therefore I created thee and laid upon thee My
likeness and manifested to thee My Beauty.”
479. O people of Bahá! Ye are in homes and the Wronged One is
in the greatest prison. While He is immersed in the ocean of trials He mentions
every one of you with verses and utterances; that if one letter of these words
shines forth in the beings of existence, the word of “Thou art the
Beloved” will appear in all in such a way that all may see and
read.
480. Do not throw from your hands this boundless bounty. And do not
be neglectful regarding what happened to this Wronged One and you in the Cause
of God. Understand your rank and protect your stations by the Name of God,
because the polytheists and repudiating ones and the perfidious ones appeared
with the clothes of unity, advancement and truthfulness and they spent the zeal
of their envy in misleading the people.
481. Verily, your Lord the most Merciful says the truth and announces
to you the bounty and guideth you to the right path.
482. Leave the ways of the people and count that the paths
of
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the negligent ones are the lost and destroyed paths, and say: verily,
He never walks in your paths and never does as ye have done. He hath already
appeared and manifested His right path and taught all His true way.
483. Blessing be upon the soul who hastened to the ocean of the mercy
of His Lord; and the ear which heard the cry of the Supreme Pen; and the eye
which saw His wonderful verses and the tongue which pronounced His most
beautiful praise.
484. Say: Verily, be merciful to yourselves and do not follow those
who renounced God and His texts, and repudiated His demonstrations and His
proofs and stood steadfast in their avoidance with professed
opposition.
485. Verily, He (Bahá’u’lláh) in the
greatest imprisonment called the kings and the servants to the Greatest Name,
who was hidden in the Knowledge of God and mentioned in the Books of the
Messengers of God.
486. O Beloved! All of you are mentioned in the Books of God always.
If some of the saints of God do not succeed in receiving each a special Tablet,
they must know confessedly and certainly that their names, advancement and
nearness, according to their stations, are mentioned and recorded in the Book
from the Supreme Pen.
487. Now beg of God assistance that ye may succeed by that which will
be the cause and purpose of your mention everlastingly. Verily, He seeth and
heareth and He is the Learned, the All-knowing.
488. The world is in an evanescent condition, and after a time those
who are upon the earth will go to the graves.
489. By Him who caused all else to pronounce the praise of Himself,
the world and what is witnessed therein, to the one who has clear insight, will
never be equal to one word of the Words of God; because it is forever and ever
transitory and evanescent; but the Word of God is eternal and everlasting, as
the eternality of the names and qualities.
490. No wise one will, for the sake of a day or two, give up the
everlasting Grace. I say the truth, -- the spirit was and is always desiring to
purport of the paradise of disclosement and meeting; but the hallucinations and
desires which do not appease, preclude it from the kingdom of
nearness.
491. Ye must burn up the veils with the fire of certainty
and
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with the light of faith illuminate the hearts and minds. Exert your
intelligence that ye may drink from the Kawthar of certainty which is
ever flowing from the right side of the Godly Throne. The one who will gain
this is of the people of eternity mentioned on the Red Page. Praise be to God,
the providence of God and His benevolence guide the advanced ones to the right
path and cause them to succeed in gaining the greatest donation and greatest
gift. Understand the station of yourselves and in every case be awakened,
because the misguiders were and are in ambush for the faithful guides. Verily,
your Lord, the Merciful, is the All-knowing, the All-wise!
492. Is there (seen) any truthful seeker who is excluded from the
bounties of the Generous? Or any advancer who desires with perfect
righteousness the extreme Place, and was barred from it? No, by the Self of God!
If some of the Unitarians (those who believe in the unity of God), the near ones
and the sincere do not succeed apparently to what they desire, this is owing to
the mystery of the highest wisdom of God. So they must not be saddened, because
for everything there is a special fixed time, and when that arrives, it appears
in truth from the presence of God, the Lord of the worlds. Be rejoiced, O
saints of God and His friends, that My Supreme Pen mentioned you in the night in
which the Tongue of Greatness declared, “Verily, there is no God but He,
the Assister, the Single, the Generous, the Praiseworthy.”
493. Blessing be upon him who succeeds in gaining the great
uprightness! Verily, he is from those of the supreme Paradise in the Book of
God, the Possessor of the names, the Cleaner of heaven, who appeared with the
truth, with evident authority. Beware that the veils of the names deprive ye
not from their King, Revealer and Creator, -- cling to the robe of the
Providence of thy Lord, the most Merciful and adhere to His brilliant
train.
He who lives according to what was ordained for him, the Supreme
Concourse and those of the supreme Paradise and those who are dwelling under the
dome of greatness, will pray for him, by a command from God, the dearest and the
praiseworthy.
494. So the Wronged One mentioned you, while in the imprisonment of
the negligent ones, and taught you what brings you near in every case to God,
the powerful, omnipotent, the dearest, the unique. Verily, We command all the
wisdom and clear explanation in the Cause of their Lord, the All-merciful, as We
commanded
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them before. Verily, He is the Adviser, the All-faithful. Now here is
a Word which We revealed in several Tablets. It is commanded that He who
believes in God during this Manifestation, must adhere to it, and be of the
confirmed ones, and We prohibit all from what displeases God. And We ordered
for them that which will rejoice the hearts of the nations.
495. Verily, He is the Compassionate, the Generous.
“Associate, O My friends, with all the people of religions with joy and
fragrance. Beware that ye make not the Word of God the cause of oppositions or
contrast, or for the purpose of causing hatred among you. Say: be sincerely
pious toward God, O people of the earth, and be not found among the negligent
ones.”
496. Verily, He commands you that from which He may find the fragrance of the spirit, if ye are of the wise. El-Bahá is upon you and upon those
with you and upon those who love you and serve you and hear from you what was
written from the Supreme Pen in this Cause, the assured, the manifested, the
perspicuous.
THE MOST GREAT INFALLIBILITY
497. This is the Epistle of God, the Protector, the
Self-subsistent!
He is God! Exalted is His state, in wisdom and utterance!
Praise be unto God who is single in grandeur, power and beauty, is One
in glory, potency and majesty, and who is sanctified above being comprehended by
reflection, or having any peer or equal. His right path hath verily been made
clear by the most eloquent utterance and speech. Verily, He is the independent,
the almighty!
498. When He purposed a new creation He sent forth the manifest and
luminous Point from the horizon of desire, and the Point went round through
every sign, under every form, until it reached the ultimate station, by a
command from the presence of God, the Lord of mankind. Verily, it (the Point)
is the center of the Circle of Names, the end of the appearances of
“letters” in the Kingdom of Emanation. Through it appeared that
which indicates the most concealed Mystery, the adorned allegory, the manifest
One who is expressive of the Greatest Name in the brilliant Tablet and in the
holy, blessed White Epistle.
499. And when the Point was united with the second letter which is
manifest in the beginning of the “Messani,” the spheres
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of utterance and significances revolved, the eternal light of God shone
forth and stood high upon the heaven of demonstration, and two orbs of light
were produced therefrom. Glorified is the Merciful One who cannot be referred
to by any allusion, or expressed by any expression, or known by any explication
or described by any traces. Verily, He is the Commander, the Bestower -- in the
Origin and Return!
500. And He appointed unto them (i.e., those two orbs) protectors and
guardians out of the hosts of power and might. Verily, He is the protector, the
mighty, the unconstrained!
501. Praise be to God who manifested the Point and sent forth from it
the knowledge of what was and is; who made it (the Point) the herald of His
Name, the precursor to His most great manifestation, by which the nerves of
nations have quivered with fear and the Light has risen from the horizon of the
world. Verily, it is that Point which God hath made to be a sea of light for the
sincere among His servants and a ball of fire for the deniers among His
creatures and the impious among his people -- i.e., those who have changed
God’s favors, rejected the bread of heaven in their hypocrisy and led
their friends to an unhappy dwelling. They are such men who manifested forth
hypocrisy in the world and violated the Covenant in the Day wherein the temple
of pre-existence is established upon the most great throne. The herald is
crying from the “right side of the sacred valley” (saying): O
concourse of the Bayán! Fear the clement One! This is the One of whom
Muhammad, the Messenger of God, made mention; and before him the Spirit
(Christ), and before him the Interlocutor (Moses)! This is the Point of the
Bayán who calleth out before the Throne, saying: In Truth, ye have been
created for the remembrance of this most great message and this most firm path,
which was hidden in the minds of the Prophets, concealed within the breasts of
the chosen ones, and written by the Supreme Pen in the Tablets of your Lord, the
King of Names!
502. Say: Die in your wrath, O ye people of discord! He hath indeed
appeared, from whose knowledge naught is concealed, and He because of whom the
face of knowledge smiles (with joy) hath come, and by whom the kingdom of
utterance is adorned! Every advancer toward God, the King of religions, hath
advanced. By Him every sitting one hath risen up and those lying down have
hastened to the mount of assurance. This is the Day which God
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hath made to be a grace unto the pious, a punishment unto the wicked, a
mercy unto those who advance and a wrath unto those who deny and turn away!
Verily, he hath appeared with a power from His presence and hath revealed that
which naught in His heaven and earth can equal! Fear the clement One, O people
of the Bayán! and commit not what was wrought by the people of
El-Furqán (Qur’án) who professed faith during nights and
days, but when the Lord of men came, they denied and disbelieved, until they
condemned Him in such injustice, whereat the “Mother-Book” lamented
in the (Day of) Return. Remember; then look at their deeds and words, their
grades and stations, and at that which proceeded from them when the speaker of
the mount spoke, the trumpet was sounded and all in the heavens and earth were
stunned -- except a number of the “letters” of the
Face.
503. O concourse of the Bayán! Abandon your superstitions and
imaginations! Then gaze with the eye of justice unto the horizon of the
Manifestation unto that which hath appeared and hath inflicted upon Him. He is
the One who hath accepted all calamities for the sake of the declaration of His
command and the promotion of His Word. He hath been once imprisoned in
Tá (Tihrán), once in Mein (Mázarandán) and then
again in Tá, for the sake of the cause of God, the Creator of heaven;
during which He hath been in chains and shackles, in longing for the Command of
God, the Mighty, the Gracious!
504. O concourse of the Bayán! Have ye forgotten My
Commandments and that which hath proceeded from My pen and hath been uttered by
My tongue? Have ye preferred your suspicions before My certainty and your
desires before My way? Have you forsaken the precepts of God and His
commemoration and abandoned the ordinances of God and His commands? Fear God!
Leave superstitions unto their manifestors, and suppositions unto their sources,
and doubts unto their originators. Then advance with shining faces and brilliant
hearts toward that horizon from which the Sun of Assurance hath shone, by a
command from the presence of God, the King of religions.
505. Praise be to God! who hath made the “Most Great
Infallibility” a cuirass for the temple of His command, in the kingdom of
emanation; and hath decreed for none else any portion
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from this lofty grade and supreme station! Verily, this (i.e., the
Most Great Infallibility) is a mantle spun by the fingers of power for His own
exalted self. Verily, this does not become any one except Him who is
established upon the Throne of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth.”
Whosoever acknowledges and confesses that which is written at this moment by the
Supreme Pen is verily of the people of unity and of the followers of singleness,
in the Book of God, the King of origin and return.
506. And when Our Words reached this point, the fragrance of knowledge wafted and the orb of oneness shone forth from the horizon of the heaven of
utterance. Blessed is whosoever is attracted by the voice to the lofty apex and
furthermost end and learned from the sound of My Supreme Pen that which is
desired by the Lord of this world and the world to come! Verily, he who does
not drink from Our sealed choice wine, the seal of which We have broken by Our
Name, the self-subsistent, is verily one who has not attained to the lights of
Oneness or known the purpose of the Books of God, the Lord of the heaven and
earth, the King of the next world and the present one; and such an one is
accounted of the polytheists in the Books of God, the knower, the
omniscient.
507. O thou honorable questioner! We testify that, verily, thou hast
adhered to abundant patience in the days wherein the Pen was withheld from
flowing and the Tongue from utterance in mention of the “Most Great
Infallibility” and the most mighty sign, which thou hast asked this
oppressed one to remove for thee its veils and coverings and to explain unto
thee its mystery, its grade, its station, its position, its rank, its exaltation
and its loftiness.
508. By the life of God! Were We to expose the pearls of argument as
concealed in the shells of the sea of knowledge and assurance and send forth the
faces of significances hidden in the chambers of utterance, in the paradise of
knowledge, the clamor of the (religious) doctors would be raised from every
direction, and thou wouldst find the people of God in the claws of the wolves
who have disbelieved in God, in the origin and return. We did, therefore,
restrain the Pen for a long space of time, as a wisdom from the presence of the
clement One, and to the intent of protecting Our friends from those who have
exchanged the benefit of God for their infidelity and entitled their people to
the abode of perdition.
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509. O thou gazing questioner and O thou whom the Supreme Concourse
have attracted unto the exalted Word! For the birds of the realm of My kingdom
and for the doves of the garden of My wisdom, there are tunes and melodies, of
which none is informed save God, the King of the world of dominion and the
empyrean realm. Were there to appear even less than a needle’s eye
thereof, the unjust will say that which was not said by the former communities
and will commit that which was wrought by none, in all ages and centuries. They
have indeed denied the grace of God and His argument, the proof of God and His
signs; they have, themselves, erred and have also led the people astray, while
they perceive not! They have adopted for themselves imaginations as lords in
spite of God, and they understand not! They have abandoned the most great sea,
hastening to the pool, and they comprehend not! They follow their own desires,
while turning away from God, the protector, the self-subsistent!
510. Say: In Truth, the clement One hath come with power and might
and through Him the (people of all the) religions have trembled with fear, and
the nightingale of utterance hath warbled on the highest branch of knowledge (to
wit): He hath indeed appeared who has hidden in the (divine) knowledge and
recorded in the Book! Say: This is the Day wherein the Speaker of the Mount is
established upon the throne of manifestation, and the people have resurrected
before God, the Lord of the creatures! This is the Day the earth hath revealed
her news and uncovered her treasures, and the seas their pearls, the Sadrat its
fruits, the sun its effulgence, the moons their lights, the heaven its stars,
the “hour” its tokens, the resurrection its majesty, the pend their
traces and the spirits their arcana. Blessed is whosoever knoweth Him, and woe
unto those who denied and turned away from Him! I beg of God to enable His
servants to return. Verily, He is the lenient, the forgiver, the
merciful!
511. O thou who art advancing toward the supreme horizon and drinking My sealed choice wine, from the hands of bestowal! Know thou, verily, there are
numerous meanings and divers stations for “Infallibility.” In one
sense, the name “Infallibility” is true of one whom God hath guarded
against sin, transgression and unbelief, infidelity, polytheism, and the like.
But “The Most Great Infallibility” is applied only to One whose
station is sanctified above commands and prohibitions and purified
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form sin and forgetfulness. Verily, He is a light which is not
followed by darkness and a rectitude which is proof against error. If He
declares water to be wine, or heaven to be earth, or light to be fire, it is
true and there is no doubt therein; and no one has the right to oppose Him, or
to say “why” or “wherefore”; and he who disputes Him is,
verily, of the opposers in the Book of God, the Lord of the creatures!
“Verily, no account shall be demanded of Him for what He shall do; but an
account shall be demanded of all for all they shall do.”
512. Verily, He hath come from the heaven of the unseen, and with Him
the standard of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth.” and the hosts of
power and authority. As to all else save Him: It is incumbent upon them to
cling unto that which He hath commanded -- of laws and ordinances; and if one
departs from them -- even to the extent of a single hair’s breadth -- his
deed will all go for naught.
513. Consider, then remember, when Muhammad, the Messenger of God, came, He said, and His saying is truth: “And (it is a duty) toward God
(incumbent on people), to go to visit the House (of Mecca).” The same was
the case with prayer, fasting and the ordinances which shone forth from the
horizon of the Book of God, the master of the world and the educator of nations.
It was incumbent upon all to follow Him in that which was commanded by God; and
whosoever denied Him disbelieved in God, in His verses, in His messengers and in
His Books. Verily, if He declareth a virtue to be an error, or infidelity to be
faith, it is a truth from His presence. This (the Manifestation’s) is a
Station wherein no error or sin is found or spoken of.
514. Consider the blessed, revealed Verse by which the pilgrimage of
the “House” was made obligatory for all. And it was incumbent upon
those who arose after Him in the Cause, to practice that whereunto they were
commanded in the Book. No one has a right to depart from the ordinances of God
and His precepts, and whosoever departs therefrom is verily of the
transgressors, in the Book of God, the Lord of the great throne.
515. O thou who art gazing toward the horizon of the Cause! Know thou verily the desire of God is never restricted to the limits of the servants;
verily He doth not walk in accord with their ways; it is incumbent upon all to
hold to His right path. Verily, if He declares the right to be left, or the
south to be the
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north, it is true and there is no doubt therein. Verily, He is to be
praised in His deeds and to be obeyed in His command. He hath no associate in
His behest and no helper in His power; He doeth whatsoever He willeth, and
commandeth whatsoever He desireth!
516. Then know thou! All else save Him are but created through a Word
from His presence; they have no motion nor quiescence except through His command
and permission.
517. O thou who art soaring in the atmosphere of love and affection
and gazing toward the lights of the face of thy Lord, the King of Origination!
Thank thou God, for He hath unfolded unto thee that which was hidden and
concealed in the (divine) knowledge; so that all may know that, verily, in the
station of “the Most Mighty Infallibility” He hath taken to Himself
no associate nor counselor. Verily, He is the dawning-place of commands and
ordinances and the source of knowledge and wisdom. All else save Him are
subjects and under the command, while He is the ruler, the commander, the
knower, the omniscient!
518. As to thee: When thou art attracted by the fragrances of the
verses of the manifestation and overcome by the pure (wine of the)
Kawthar from the hands of the bestowal of thy Lord, the King of the Day
of Resurrection, say:
519. “O my God! O my God! Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast
directed me unto Thyself, guided me unto Thy horizon, made clear unto me Thy
path, manifested unto me Thy proof, and caused me to advance toward Thee while
most of Thy servants turned away from Thee such as divine and religious doctors
and those who followed them without any evidence on Thy part or argument from
Thy presence. Grace be unto Thee, O Thou God of Names, and praise be unto Thee,
O Thou creator of heaven! for Thou hast caused me to drink Thy sealed choice
wine in Thy Name, the self-subsistent, to draw nigh unto Thee, and to know the
day-spring of Thy utterance, the dawning-place of Thy verses, the source of Thy
commands and behests and the fount of Thy wisdom and favors.
“Blessed is the land which is honored by Thy footsteps, and upon
which the throne of Thy grandeur is established, and in which the fragrance of
Thy garment is being diffused! By Thy might, by Thy power, by Thy potency and
authority! I wish not
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the eye except to behold Thy beauty, and I desire not the ear except to
hear Thy voice and verses.
“O my God! O my God! Deprive not the eyes from that for which
Thou hast created them and the faces from turning unto Thy horizon, standing
before the door of Thy grandeur, being present before Thy throne and humble
before the effulgences of the lights of the sun of Thy grace! O my Lord! I am
the one whose heart, innermost parts, limbs and whose outward and inward tongue
have testified to Thy oneness and singleness; and that, verily, thou art God;
there is no God but Thee! Thou hast indeed created men to know Thee and to
serve Thy Cause, whereby their stations may be exalted in Thy earth and their
souls be uplifted through that which Thou hast revealed in Thy epistles, books
and tablets. But when Thou made Thyself manifest and revealed Thy verses, they
turned away from Thee, denied Thee and disbelieved that which Thou hast shown
forth by Thy power and Thy potency. And they arose to persecute Thee, to quench
Thy light and to extinguish the fire of Thy Sadrat; and they went so far in
oppression as to desire to shed Thy blood and violate Thy honor. Likewise, he
whom Thou didst train by the hands of Thy providence and didst protect from the
evil of the rebels among Thy creatures and the oppressors among Thy servants, he
who was (employed) to write down Thy verses before Thy Throne -- alas! alas! for
that which he wrought in Thy days; in such wise that he violated Thy Covenant
and Testament, denied Thy verses, arose in opposition and committed that whereby
the denizens of Thy Kingdom lamented! And when he was disappointed in himself
and discovered the odor of loss, he cried and said that whereat the favored
among Thy chosen ones and the dwellers of the pavilions of Thy glory were
astonished!
“Thou beholdest me, O my God, like unto a fish moving in anguish
upon the earth! Deliver me; then have pity on me, O Thou Deliverer! O Thou in
whose hand are the reins of all men and women among mankind!
“Whenever I reflect upon my great sins and immense
transgressions, despair overtakes me from all sides; and whenever I reflect upon
the sea of Thy bestowal, the heaven of Thy bounty and upon the sun of Thy grace,
I find the fragrance of hope from the right and the left, from the north and the
south, as if all
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things rejoice me with the rains of the clouds of the heaven of Thy
mercy. O Thou support of the sincere ones and Thou Desire of the favored ones!
By Thy might! Thy gifts and Thy favors and the appearances of Thy grace and
providence have emboldened me; otherwise, how could a non-existent one speak of
Him upon whose presence through a word the whole existence has appeared! and how
could a lost one describe Him of whom it is proved by argument that,
‘Verily, He cannot be described by description or spoken of by words; He
has ever been sanctified beyond the comprehension of His creatures and purified
above the knowledge of His servants!’
“O my God! Thou beholdest a dead one before Thy Face, deprive him not from the cup of life in Thy bounty and beneficence; and a sick one
before Thy throne, withhold him not from the sea of Thy healing. I beg of Thee
to strengthen me under all circumstances to commemorate and praise Thee and to
serve Thy Cause; while I know that whatever appears from a servant is restricted
to the limits of himself and is not worthy of Thy presence nor befitteth the
court of Thy might and grandeur.
“By Thy might! Were it not for to praise Thee my tongue were of
no benefit to me, and were it not for to serve Thee my being were of no use to
me. And I wish not the eye but to behold the lights of Thy supreme horizon, and
I desire not the ear except to hear Thy sweet voice.
“Alas! Alas! O my Lord, my support, my hope! I know not
whether Thou hast ordained for me that whereby my eye may be consoled, my breast
dilated and my heart rejoiced, or that Thine immutable decree hath prevented me
from presenting myself before Thy throne, O Thou king of pre-existence and ruler
of nations!
“By Thy might, Thy power, Thy grandeur, Thy dominion! The gloom
of remoteness hath smitten me: Where is the light of Thy nearness? O Thou
object of the knowing! And the awfulness of separation hath stunned me: Where
is the radiance of Thy union? O Thou beloved of the sincere!
“Thou beholdest, O my God, that which hath befallen me in Thy
path, on the part of those who have denied Thy truth, violated Thy Covenant,
disputed Thy verses and rejected Thy benefit after its appearance and Thy Word
after its revelation and Thy proof after its completion!
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“O my Lord! The tongue of my tongue, the heart of my heart, the
soul of my soul, and my inward and outward being all testify to Thy oneness and
singleness, to Thy power and authority, to Thy grandeur and dominion, and to Thy
might and exaltation and sovereignty, and to that, verily, Thou art God. There
is no God but Thee. Thou hast been everlastingly a treasury concealed from eyes
and comprehension and wilt be never-endingly even as Thou hast been from all
eternity. Neither hath the power of the world weakened Thee, nor the potency of
nations threatened Thee. Thou art He who hath opened the door of knowledge
before the face of Thy servants, so that they may know the day-spring of Thy
revelation, the dawning place of Thy verses, the heaven of Thy manifestation,
the sun of Thy beauty; and (Thou art He) who hath promised all in the earth, in
Thy Books, Epistles and Scriptures, concerning the Manifestation of Thyself and
the removal of the veils of glory from Thy face. This Thou didst reveal unto
Thy Beloved One (Muhammad) by whom the orb of the command dawned from the
horizon of Híjáz and the light of truth dawned among the servants,
in Thy Words, ‘The Day whereon mankind shall arise before the Lord of the
creatures.’ (Qur’án). And before him (Muhammad) Thou didst
announce this unto the Interlocutor (Moses) to ‘lead forth Thy people from
darkness into light and to remind them of the days of God’
(Qur’án). And, again, Thou didst speak of this (Day) unto the
Spirit (Christ) and unto all Thy former and latter Prophets and Messengers. Were
there to proceed from the treasuries of Thy Supreme Pen all that Thou hast
revealed in the mention of this most great remembrance and this Thy mighty
message, all the denizens of the city of knowledge and wisdom would be stunned,
except whomsoever Thou hast delivered through Thy potency and protected through
Thy bounty and grace.
“I testify that verily thou hast fulfilled Thy Covenant and sent
forth Him whose Manifestation was announced by Thy prophets, Thy chosen ones and
Thy servants. Verily, He hath come from the horizon of might and power with the
banners of Thy signs, and with the standards of Thy evidences, and He hath
arisen before the faces through Thy power and potency and summoned all men unto
the exalted apex and supreme horizon in such wise that the injustice of the
learned and the majesty of princes have not withheld Him. He hath arisen in the
most mighty steadfastness
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and spoken in the loftiest voice (saying), ‘The giver of gifts
hath indeed come, riding on the cloud; advance, O ye people of the earth, with
shining faces and illumined hearts!’ Blessed is whosoever attains to Thy
meeting, drinks the choice wine of union from the hands of Thy bestowal,
discovers the fragrance of Thy verses, speaks in Thy praise, soars in Thy
atmosphere, and is overcome by the attraction of Thy utterance, and whom Thou
hast caused to enter Thy supreme paradise -- the station of revelation and
vision -- before the throne of Thy grandeur!
“O my Lord! I beg of Thee, by the ‘Most Great
Infallibility’ which Thou hast made to be a horizon for Thy Manifestation,
and by Thy exalted Word by which the creation was created and the command was
made manifest, and by this Name whereby the Names lamented and the nerves of the
knowing ones trembled with fear, to make me so severed from all else save Thee
that I may not move except by Thy desire, nor speak except by Thy will and hear
naught but Thy commemoration and praise.
“Praise be unto Thee, O my God, and thanks be unto Thee, O my
hope, for that Thou hast made clear unto me Thy right path, revealed unto me Thy
great message, and assisted me to advance toward the day-spring of Thy
revelation and the source of Thy command after Thy servants and creatures have
denied Him!
“I beg of Thee, O Thou king of the kingdom of immortality! by
the sound of Thy supreme pen, and by the fire ablaze and in the service of Thy
friends. Then assist Thy servants, O my God, in that by reason of which Thy
Cause will be elevated, and to practice what Thou hast revealed in Thy Book.
Verily, Thou art the powerful, and the protector of all that Thou willest and in
Thy grasp are the reins of all things! There is no God but Thee, the potent,
the knower, the wise!”
520. O thou Jabeel! We have indeed shown unto thee the sea and its
waves, the sun and its effulgence, the heaven and its stars and the shells and
their pearls. Thank thou God for this most great favor and for this beneficence
which hath pervaded the whole world.
521. O thou who art turning toward the light of the Face!
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Superstitions have indeed encompassed the denizens of the earth and
have prevented them from turning unto the horizon of certainty and its
effulgence, radiances and lights. Through fanices they are withheld from the
self-subsistent One; they speak after their desires and perceive not. Some
among them say: “Have the Verses been revealed?” Say: Yea, by the
Lord of heavens! “Hath the ‘Hour’ arrived?” Yea, --
nay: It hath already gone by -- by the Manifestor of Evident Signs! The
“Infallible” hath indeed come, and the True One hath become manifest
with proof and argument! The “Sahirah” hath become manifest and
people are in dread and agitation! The “earthquakes” have indeed
come and the multitudes have lamented in fear of God, the powerful, the mighty!
Say: “The stunning sound” (of the trumpet) is sounded and the Day
belongs to God, the wise, the unconstrained! And they say: “Hath the
‘Catastrophe’ been fulfilled?” Say: Aye, by the Lord of
Lords! “Hath the Resurrection been set up?” Yea -- nay, even the
self-subsistent One (hath arisen) in the kingdom of signs! “Are the
people found ‘prostrated’?” Yea, by my Lord, the supreme, the
‘Abhá! “Have the tree-trunks been ‘uprooted’?”
Nay, even the mountains are pulled down -- by the King of attributes! Then
another says: “Where is the ‘Paradise’ and the
‘Hell’?” Say, the former is My Meeting and the latter is
thyself, O thou doubting polytheist! They say: “Verily, we do not see the
‘Balance.’“ Say: Aye, by my Lord, the clement, none shall
see it except the possessors of insight! They say: “Have the stars
fallen?” Say: Aye (they did, when the pre-existent One was in the Land
of Mystery (Adrianople)! Be ye therefore admonished, O possessors of sight! All
the signs indeed become manifest when We stretched out the hand of power from
the bosom of grandeur and omnipotence! The Crier hath indeed called out, for the
(Day of) “Promise” hath come, and the dwellers of the (Sinaitic)
Mount are stunned in the desert of suspension (of sojourn) because of the
Majesty of thy Lord, the king of origination! Then they say: “Hath the
trumpet been sounded?” Say: Yea, by the king of manifestation! (It did)
when He was seated upon the throne of His Name, the clement! The gloomy
darkness hath been illuminated through the dawn of the mercy of thy Lord, the
dawning-place of lights. The breeze of the merciful one hath indeed been
wafted, and the souls are refreshed in the graves of bodies. Thus
hath
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the matter been decreed on the part of God, the mighty, the bestower!
522. Those who disbelieved said: “When did the heaven cleave
asunder?” Say: When ye were in the tombs of heedlessness and error.
Some other one among the infidels wipes his eyes and gazes at the right and
left. Say: Verily, thou hast become blind, and, in this Day, there is no
refuge for thee. Still other say: “Have the souls been
resurrected?” Say: Aye, by my Lord; when ye were (asleep) in the beds of
superstitions! Others say: “Hath the Book been revealed through ‘a
creative power’?” Say, verily, even it (i. e. “creative
power”) is astonished thereat! Be ye warned, O ye spiritually minded!
Again, some say: “Have the blind been restored to sight?” Say; Yea,
by the One who rides upon the cloud! Paradise is indeed adorned with the roses
of significances, and hell is ablaze with the fire of the wicked! Say: The
Light hath indeed risen from the horizon of manifestation, and the regions are
illumined, since the king of the Day of the Covenant hath come. Those who have
doubted are indeed in loss, but they have gained who advanced with the light of
conviction toward the dawning-place of assurance!
523. Blessed art thou, O thou gazer! for that We have revealed unto
thee this Tablet, by which souls fly (with joy)! Guard it; then read it. By My
Life, it is the door of the mercy of thy Lord! Blessed is whosoever reads it at
morn and eve!
THE LAW OF LOVE
524. Say: O friend! Sleep with your face turned to the Friend, and
rest in bed in the thought of the loved One. From flowers inhale the fragrance
of the beloved One, and in every fire see the light of the desired One. I swear
by the life of the Friend, that if thou smellest the garment of Joseph and
enterest the Egypt of the love of God, thou wilt become the mother of all the
chosen ones! Then exert thyself in love with thy soul and enter the abode of
the beloved One with thy heart. Abandon grief for the world to its people and
give no heed to the limited days of this world; be seated on the immortal,
everlasting throne, be clad in a divine raiment, drink the wine of love from the
cup of the beloved One, become ablaze with the light of love, and
sew
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the robe of love! This is that matter which shall never change! Know
thou, therefore, that in every age and dispensation all Divine Ordinances are
changed and transformed according to the requirements of the time, except the
law of love, which, like unto a fountain, flows always and is never overtaken by
change. This is of the wonderful mysteries which God has mentioned for His
servants! Verily, He is the merciful, the compassionate!
THE TABLET OF THE VIRGIN
525. O My Namesake: Listen to My Call from around My Throne, so that
it may summon thee to a Sea which has no boundary and to whose depths no diver
has reached. Verily, thy Lord is knowing and generous. Verily, We desired to
bestow Our Favor upon thee by mentioning that which We have seen, so that thou
mayest realize that We have Worlds within this world, and offer thanks to thy
Lord, the All-knowing.
Verily, if He wished He could make the rays of the sun manifest from
an atom, and the waves of the sea from a drop. He hath power, as He hath set
forth in detail: the knowledge of what was and what will be, out of a
point.
Verily, We were seated on the Throne when a luminous Virgin clad in
the finest white robe entered. She became like the full moon rising from the
horizon of heaven. Exalted be God, her creator. No eye hath ever seen any
being like unto Her.
When she opened her mouth heaven and earth were illumined as though
the Essence of Eternity reflected upon her its light. Exalted be God, her
creator. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
She smiled and bent like the stem of a reed in the presence of the
Merciful One. Exalted be He who made her manifest. No eye hath ever seen any
being like unto Her.
Then she walked and moved about without any intention or will upon her part as if the needle of love were attracted by the magnet of the Beauty that
shone in front of her. Exalted be her creator. No eye hath ever seen any being
like unto Her.
She walked while Glory was in attendance upon her and the Kingdom of Beauty was heralded in front of her, praising her
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matchless beauty, her winning ways and symmetry of form. Exalted be her
creator. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
Then We beheld jet-black hair hanging over her white throat, as though
day and night embraced each other in this most glorious Station and highest
Existence. Exalted be her creator. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto
Her.
When We observed her face, We found a point hidden under a veil,
belonging to unity, shining forth from the horizon of her brow, as though
through it the Tablets of the Love of the Merciful in the contingent world, and
the volumes of the Lovers in all horizons, were fully explained. Exalted be her
creator. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
There was another point upon her breast which spoke of that point.
Exalted be the Lord of the Hidden and the Manifest who created her. No eye hath
ever seen any being like unto Her.
The Temple of God arose and began to walk, and she walked behind,
listening to, shaken and attracted by, the Verses of her Lord. Blessed is He
who created her. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
Then her joy, her delight and her enthusiasm increased to such a
degree that she was changed and swooned. When she recovered her senses she drew
near and said: “May my soul be a sacrifice to Thy imprisonment, O Secret
of the unseen in the kingdom of creation!” No eye hath ever seen any
being like unto Her.
She remained looking at the dawning place of the Throne like one
intoxicated and bewildered, until she place her hand about the neck of her Lord
and drew Him to her. As she drew nearer We took from her what was revealed in
the treasured Red Epistle by My most exalted Pen. Exalted be her creator. No
eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
Then she bowed her head and rested her face upon her two fingers, as
though a new moon had come into conjunction with a full moon. Exalted be her
creator. No eye hath ever seen any being like unto Her.
At this point she cried and said: “May the whole existence be a
sacrifice to Thy afflictions, O King of heaven and earth! How long wilt Thou
entrust Thyself to these people in the city of ‘Akká? Go to Thy
other Kingdoms, to the stations of that to
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which the eyes of the people of names have never turned!”
Whereupon We smiled.
Learn from this sweet narrative that which We intend to describe of
the hidden Secret which is manifest and yet most concealed, O people of wisdom
among the companions of My Red Ark. This narrative coincides with the day which
is the anniversary of the birth of My Herald, who spoke eloquently of Me and of
My Sovereignty, and informed the people of the heaven of My intention, the sea
of My will, and the sun of My manifestation. We honored it with another day in
which was manifested the Concealed Essence, the treasured Secret, and the
preserved Mystery, the One through whom the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Names
were shaken with bewilderment and those that are in heaven and earth are
stunned, except those whom We secured with Our own authority and power. I am
powerful in whatsoever I wish. There is no God but Me, the Knowing, the
Wise.
Blessed is he who has inhaled from the fragrance of God in this day
which is the dawning point of manifestation and the dayspring of My Name, the
Forgiver, and in which the fragrance wafted, the spirit moved, the attraction
raised up those who were in their graves, and Mount Sinai cried out: “The
Kingdom belongeth to God, the Wise!” and in which ever seeker obtained his
desire, every man, knowing God, attained blessings, and every traveler in the
way of God found the divine Right Path.
THE HOLY MARINER
526. He is the Gracious, the Well-Beloved!
O Holy Mariner! Bid thine Ark of Eternity appear before the Celestial
Concourse,
Launch it upon the Ancient Sea in His Name, the most wondrous,
And let the angelic spirits enter, in the name of God, the Most High,
Unmoor it then that it may sail upon the Ocean of Glory,
Haply the dwellers therein may attain the Retreats of Nearness in the
Everlasting Realm;
Having reached the Sacred Strand, the shore of the Crimson Seas, Bid
them issue forth and attain this ethereal, invisible Station,
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A station wherein the Lord hath in the Flame of His Beauty appeared
within the deathless Tree;
Wherein the embodiments of His Cause cleansed themselves of
self and passion,
Around which the glory of Moses doth circle with the Everlasting
Hosts;
Wherein the Hand of God was drawn forth from His Bosom of
Grandeur;
Wherein the Ark of the Cause remaineth motionless, even though
to its dwellers be declared all Divine Attributes.
O Mariner! Teach them that are within the Ark that which we
;have taught thee behind the mystic Veil,
Perchance they may not tarry in the Sacred and Snow-white Spot,
But may soar upon the Wings of the Spirit unto that station which the Lord hath exalted above all mention in the worlds below;
May wing through space even as the Favored Birds in the Realm
of Eternal Reunion; May know the mysteries hidden in the Sea of
Light.
They passed the grades of worldly limitations and reached that of
the Divine Unity, the Centre of Heavenly Guidance;
They have desired to ascend unto that state which the Lord hath
ordained to be above their stations
Whereupon the Burning Meteor cast them out from them that abide in the Kingdom of His Presence,
And they heard the Voice of Grandeur raised from behind the
Unseen Pavilion upon the Height of Glory,
“O Guardian Angels! Return them to their abodes in the world
below,
Inasmuch as they have purposed to rise to that sphere which the
wings of the Celestial Dove have never attained,
Whereon the Ship of Fancy standeth still, Which the minds of them that
comprehend cannot grasp!” Thereupon the Maid of Heaven looked out from
her exalted chamber, And with her brow signed to the Celestial Concourse,
Flooding with the light of her countenance the heaven and the earth; And as the
Radiance of her Beauty shone upon the people of dust, And all beings were
shaken in their mortal graves,
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She then raised the call which no ear through all eternity hath
ever heard, And thus proclaimed: “By the Lord! He whose heart
hath not the fragrance of the love of the Exalted and glorious Arabian Youth, Can in no-wise ascend unto the Glory of the Highest Heaven!” Thereupon she summoned unto herself one maiden from her
Handmaidens And commanded her: “Descend into space from the
Mansions of Eternity And turn thou unto that which they have concealed in the
inmost of their hearts, Shouldst thou inhale the Perfume of the Robe from
the Youth that hath been hidden within the Tabernacle of Light by reason of that
which the hands of the wicked have wrought, Raise a cry within thyself that all
the inmates of the chambers of Paradise that are the embodiments of the Eternal
Wealth may understand and hearken; That they may all come down from their
everlasting chambers, And kiss their hands and feet for having soared to the
heights of faithfulness, Perchance they may find from their Robes the
fragrance of the Beloved One!” Thereupon the countenance of the favored damsel
beamed above the Celestial Chambers even as the light that shineth from the Face of
the Youth above his mortal Temple; She then descended with such an adorning as
to illumine the heavens and all that is therein; She bestirred herself and
perfumed all things in the Land of Holiness and Grandeur. When she reached that
plane she rose to her full height in the mid-most heart of creation and sought
to inhale their fragrance at a time that knoweth neither beginning nor end. She
found not in them that which she did desire, and this, verily, is but one of His
wondrous tales! She then cried aloud, wailed and repaired to her own station
within her most lofty Mansion. And then gave utterance to one Mystic Word,
whispered privily by her honeyed Tongue,
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And raised the Call amidst the Celestial Concourse and the Immortal
Maids of Heaven: “By the Lord! I found not from these idle claimants the
Breeze of Faithfulness! By the Lord! The Youth hath remained lone and forlorn
in the land of exile in the hands of the ungodly!” She then uttered
within herself such a cry that the Celestial Concourse did shriek and tremble,
And she fell upon the dust and gave up the Spirit. It seemeth she was called
and hearkened unto Him that summoned her into the Realm on High. Glorified be
He that created her out of the Essence of Love in the midmost heart of His
exalted Paradise!
(Up to this point between each line is the refrain:
“Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious!”) Thereupon the
Maids of Heaven hastened forth from their
chambers, upon whose countenance the eye of no dweller in
the Highest Paradise had ever gazed,
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High! They all gathered around her,
and lo! they found her body fallen upon the dust.
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High! And as they beheld her state
and comprehended a word of the
Tale told by the Youth, they bared their heads, rent their
garments asunder, beat upon their faces, forgot their joy, shed
tears and smote with their hands upon their cheeks, and this
is verily one of the mysterious, grievous afflictions!
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!
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