< < back to Table of Contents
Chapter 10
--------------
Assayers -- The Prophets (both Independent and Dependent/Lesser).
1)
Bahá'u'lláh, the Independent Prophet, is the Divine Assayer.
By "divines" in the passage cited above is meant those men who
outwardly attire themselves with the raiment of knowledge, but who
inwardly are deprived therefrom. In this connection, We quote from the
Tablet addressed to His Majesty the Shah, certain passages from the
"Hidden Words" which were revealed by the Abha Pen under the name of
the "Book of Fatimih," the blessings of God be upon her!
"O ye that are foolish, yet have a name to be wise! Wherefore do ye
wear the guise of the shepherd, when inwardly ye have become wolves,
intent upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the
dawn, and which, though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the
wayfarers of My city astray into the paths of perdition."
And likewise He saith: "O ye seeming fair yet inwardly foul! Ye are
like clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure
but of which, when tested by the Divine Assayer, not a drop is
accepted. Yea, the sunbeam falls alike upon the dust and the mirror,
yet differ they in reflection even as doth the star from the earth:
nay, immeasurable is the difference!"
--Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 15
2)
Assayers, the Prophets.
I swear by Him Who is Our Beloved and your Beloved, that if one's life
be not offered up in His path, it would not be worth even as much as a
mustard seed, and if one's inmost being were not laid down at His feet,
it would appear more abject and insignificant than a pebble. However,
none but the divine Assayers are able to recognize this gem. In truth,
when bereft of vision, what advantage would one gain by entering into
the all-highest Paradise? If destitute of hearing, what can one
perceive by drawing close unto the celestial Tree of Blessedness? The
Assayers of these priceless gems are such souls unto whom the following
tribute is paid: 'They that speak not till He hath spoken and act
according to His commandment.' Likewise He saith: 'They whom neither
merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the Almighty.'
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Compilations, Fire and Light, p. 12
3)
Assayers, the Dependent Prophets
of Baha'u'llah. "Blessed are they that turn thereunto" refers to true
believers who recognise and follow them.
69. O CHILDREN OF ADAM!
Holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend
unto the heaven of celestial glory. Strive that your deeds may be
cleansed from the dust of self and hypocrisy and find favor at the
court of glory; for ere long the assayers of mankind shall, in the holy
presence of the Adored One, accept naught but absolute virtue and deeds
of stainless purity. This is the daystar of wisdom and of divine
mystery that hath shone above the horizon of the divine will. Blessed
are they that turn thereunto.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 46
Persian no. 69 This holy verse is replete with meaning, and as time is
pressing only a brief mention is made as follows: naught else but
upright conduct and pure deeds shall be accepted at His divine
Threshold. ('Abdu'l-Bahá from a Tablet to an individual believer --
translated from the Persian)
35. O MY FRIENDS! Quench ye the lamp of error, and kindle within your
hearts the everlasting torch of divine guidance. For ere long the
assayers of mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored, accept
naught but purest virtue and deeds of stainless holiness.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 34
4)
Divine Assayers, the Dependent
Prophets of Baha'u'llah, whose appearance are divine tests, and who descend with the "sacred touchstone".
... For ages and centuries they settled and dwelt in that pleasant and
spiritual station, in that divine and holy rose garden, with perfect
joy and happiness.
Then the gales of divine tests and the winds of lordly temptation blew
from the Sheba of the everlasting Cause. They became distracted by the
beauty of the wine server and grew heedless of the immortal
countenance, to the extent that they imagined the shadow to be the sun
and phantoms to be light. They set out for the ladders of the greatest
name so that they might scale those heavens and arrive at that seat and
place. When they rose toward it, the divine assayers descended upon
them with the sacred touchstone, by the irresistible decree of the
lord. When these emissaries did not perceive the scent of the spiritual
youth, they forbade entry to all. Afterwards, there occurred what is
inscribed upon the guarded tablet.
Then, you who dwell upon the plain of divine love and drink the wine of
unceasing forgiveness, do not exchange nearness to the beauty of the
friend for both worlds. Do not prefer the presence of the wine server
to meeting him, and do not give your heart to the intoxicant of
ignorance and heedlessness in preference to his wine of knowledge and
wisdom. Lips are for mentioning the beloved; do not defile them with
filthy water. The heart is the home of everlasting mysteries, do not
busy it with perishable things. Seek the water of life from the
fountain of the beauty of the All-Praised, not from the manifestations
of Satan.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Holy Mariner (from the Persian) -- a provisional translation by Juan Cole.
In each cycle the guardians and holy souls have been twelve. So Jacob
had twelve sons; in the time of Moses there were twelve heads or chiefs
of the tribes; in the time of Christ there were twelve Apostles; and in
the time of Muhammad there were twelve Imams. But in this glorious
manifestation there are twenty-four, double the number of all the
others, for the greatness of this manifestation requires it. These holy
souls are in the presence of God seated on their own thrones, meaning
that they reign eternally.
[1 Rev. 11:16-17.]
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 57
< < back to Table of Contents