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Chapter 42
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Moon
is one of the many symbolic terms used to refer to Dependent/Lesser
Prophets, who receive their revelation from the Indepedent Prophet.
Below are some references from the writings of Abdu'l-Baha,
Baha'u'llah, the Quran, and the Holy Imams, on this.
1)
THE TWO CLASSES OF PROPHETS
Question. -- How many kinds of Prophets are there?
Answer. -- Universally, the Prophets are of two kinds. One are the
independent Prophets Who are followed; the other kind are not
independent and are themselves followers...
The other Prophets are followers and promoters, for they are branches
and not independent; they receive the bounty of the independent
Prophets, and they profit by the light of the Guidance of the universal
Prophets. They are like the moon, which is not luminous and radiant in itself, but receives its light from the sun.
... But the others who are followers and promoters are like Solomon, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 164
2)
Be not veiled by aught that hath been revealed in the Qur'án, or by
what thou hast learned from the works of those Suns of immaculacy and Moons of majesty[22], regarding the perversion of the Texts by the fanatical or their alteration by their corruptors.
[22 The Imams of Shi'ih Islam.]
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 18
3)
Amongst the proofs demonstrating the truth of this Revelation is this,
that in every age and Dispensation, whenever the invisible Essence was
revealed in the person of His Manifestation, certain souls, obscure and
detached from all worldly entanglements, would seek illumination from
the Sun of Prophethood and Moon of divine guidance,
and would attain unto the divine Presence. For this reason, the divines
of the age and those possessed of wealth, would scorn and scoff at
these people. Even as He hath revealed concerning them that erred:
"Then said the chiefs of His people who believed not, 'We see in Thee
but a man like ourselves; and we see not any who have followed Thee
except our meanest ones of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in
you above ourselves: nay, we deem you liars.'"[1] They caviled at those
holy Manifestations, and protested saying: "None hath followed you
except the abject amongst us, those who are worthy of no attention."
Their aim was to show that no one amongst the learned, the wealthy, and
the renowned believed in them. By this and similar proofs they sought
to demonstrate the falsity of Him that speaketh naught but the truth.
[1 Qur'án 11:27.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 221
Assist Thou Thy servants, O my Lord, to recognize Thy unity and to declare Thy oneness, that all may gather together around what Thou didst desire in this Day whereon the sun of Thine essence hath shone forth above the horizon of Thy will, and the moon of Thine own being
hath risen from the Day-Spring of Thy behest. Thou art He, O my Lord,
from Whose knowledge nothing whatsoever escapeth, and Whom no one can
frustrate. Thou doest Thy pleasure, by Thy sovereignty that
overshadoweth the worlds.
-- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 57
4)
The term "suns" hath many a time been applied in the writings of the
"immaculate Souls" unto the Prophets of God, those luminous Emblems of
Detachment. Among those writings are the following words recorded in
the "Prayer of Nudbih":[1] "Whither are gone the resplendent Suns?
Whereunto have departed those shining Moons and sparkling Stars?" Thus, it hath become evident that the terms "sun," "moon,"
and "stars" primarily signify the Prophets of God, the saints, and
their companions, those Luminaries, the light of Whose knowledge hath
shed illumination upon the worlds of the visible and the invisible.
[1 "Lamentation" attributed to the Twelfth Imam.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 35
5)
Praise be to Thee, O my God. I beseech Thee by Thy Name whereby the
oceans of Thy names have swelled in the realm of Thine attributes, so
that the sun of Thy decree might appear in the East above the horizon
of Thy judgment; and whereby the moon
of Thy Plan hath striven to rise above the horizon of the realm of Thy
command, to gather these persons together, O my Beloved, under the
shade of the tree of Thy Oneness.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of the Sacred Night - A provisional translation by J.Cole.
6)
91:1 By the Sun and his (glorious) splendour;
91:2 By the Moon as she follows him;
91:3 By the Day as it shows up (the Sun's) glory;
91:4 By the Night as it conceals it;
-- Qur'an: 91 - ASH-SHAMS.
The Prophet is the Sun and Imam Ali is the Moon. The Day refers to the Imams and the Night to the Caliphate which "covered" Imam Ali.
(From the writings of the Holy Imams as cited in "Introduction to Shi'i Islam"
by Moojan Momen, p. 151-153).
7)
O Thou kind Lord! From the horizon of detachment Thou hast manifested souls that, even as the shining moon,
shed radiance upon the realm of heart and soul, rid themselves from the
attributes of the world of existence and hastened forth unto the
kingdom of immortality. With a drop from the ocean of Thy loving
kindness Thou didst oft-times moisten the gardens of their hearts until
they gained incomparable freshness and beauty. The holy fragrance of
Thy divine unity was diffused far and wide, shedding its sweet savours
over the entire world, causing the regions of the earth to be redolent
with perfume.
Raise up then, O Spirit of Purity, souls who, like those sanctified
beings, will become free and pure, Will adorn the world of being with a
new raiment and a wondrous robe, will seek no one else but Thee, tread
no path except the path of Thy good-pleasure and will speak of naught
but the mysteries of Thy Cause.
--Compilations, Fire and Light.
8)
Say, by the righteousness of God! The All-Merciful is come invested
with power and sovereignty. Through His power the foundations of
religions have quaked and the Nightingale of Utterance hath warbled its
melody upon the highest branch of true understanding. Verily, He Who
was hidden in the knowledge of God and is mentioned in the Holy
Scriptures hath appeared. Say, this is the Day when the Speaker on
Sinai hath mounted the throne of Revelation and the people have stood
before the Lord of the worlds. This is the Day wherein the earth hath
told out her tidings and hath laid bare her treasures; when the oceans
have brought forth their pearls and the divine Lote-Tree its fruit;
when the Sun hath shed its radiance and the Moons have diffused their lights,
and the Heavens have revealed their stars, and the Hour its signs, and
the Resurrection its dreadful majesty; when the pens have unloosed
their outpourings and the spirits have laid bare their mysteries.
Blessed is the man who recognizeth Him and attaineth His presence, and
woe betide such as deny Him and turn aside from Him. I beseech God to
aid His servants to return unto Him. Verily He is the Pardoner, the
Forgiving, the Merciful.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 107
Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He Who is
the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridvan and entered
it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath
made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most
mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all
mankind.
Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of utterance hath
imprinted the testimony: "He that was hidden from the eyes of men is
revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!" This is the Paradise, the
rustling of whose leaves proclaims: "O ye that inhabit the heavens and
the earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He
Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of
creation is now come." From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst
its branches there cometh the cry: "He Who is the sovereign Lord of all
is made manifest. The Kingdom is God's," while from its streaming
waters can be heard the murmur: "All eyes are gladdened, for He Whom
none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered, hath lifted the
veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty."
Within this Paradise, and from
the heights of its loftiest chambers, the Maids of Heaven have cried
out and shouted: "Rejoice, ye dwellers of the realms above, for the
fingers of Him Who is the Ancient of Days are ringing, in the name of
the All-Glorious, the Most Great Bell, in the midmost heart of the
heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the cup of everlasting
life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy relish, O ye
that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments
of vehement desire!"
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 31
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