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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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