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Chapter 45
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Mystical writings -- a divine test.
1)
It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven and Doves of Eternity
speak a twofold language. One language, the outward language, is devoid
of allusions, is unconcealed and unveiled; that it may be a guiding
lamp and a beaconing light whereby wayfarers may attain the heights of
holiness, and seekers may advance into the realm of eternal reunion.
Such are the unveiled traditions and the evident verses already
mentioned. The other language is veiled and concealed, so that whatever
lieth hidden in the heart of the malevolent may be made manifest and
their innermost being be disclosed. Thus hath Sádiq, son of Muhammad,
spoken: "God verily will test them and sift them." This is the divine
standard, this is the Touchstone of God, wherewith He proveth His
servants. None apprehendeth the meaning of these utterances except them
whose hearts are assured, whose souls have found favour with God, and
whose minds are detached from all else but Him. In such utterances, the
literal meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what
hath been intended. Thus it is recorded: "Every knowledge hath seventy
meanings, of which one only is known amongst the people. And when the
Qá'im shall arise, He shall reveal unto men all that which remaineth."
He also saith: "We speak one word, and by it we intend one and seventy
meanings; each one of these meanings we can explain."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 255
"Sádiq, 'son' of Muhammad" refers to Ja'far as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam of Shi'i Islam.
Such are the mysteries of the Word of God, which have been unveiled and
made manifest, that haply thou mayest apprehend the morning light of
divine guidance, mayest quench, by the power of reliance and
renunciation, the lamp of idle fancy, of vain imaginings, of
hesitation, and doubt, and mayest kindle, in the inmost chamber of
thine heart, the new-born light of divine knowledge and certitude.
Know verily that the purpose
underlying all these symbolic terms and abstruse allusions, which
emanate from the Revealers of God's holy Cause, hath been to test and
prove the peoples of the world; that thereby the earth of the pure and
illuminated hearts may be known from the perishable and barren soil.
From time immemorial such hath been the way of God amidst His
creatures, and to this testify the records of the sacred books.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 48
2)
O thou who art standing before My Throne and yet remain unaware
thereof! Know thou that whoso seeketh to scale the summits of the
divine mysteries must needs strive to the utmost of his power and
capacity for his Faith, that the pathway of guidance may be made clear
unto him. And should he encounter One Who layeth claim to a Cause from
God, and Who holdeth from His Lord a testimony beyond the power of men
to produce, he must needs follow Him in all that He pleaseth to
proclaim, command and ordain, even were He to decree the sea to be
land, or to pronounce earth to be heaven, or that the former lieth
above the latter or below it, or to ordain any change or
transformation, for He, verily, is aware of the celestial mysteries,
the unseen subtleties, and the ordinances of God.
31
Were the peoples of every nation to observe that which hath been
mentioned, the matter would be made simple unto them, and such words
and allusions would not withhold them from the Ocean of the names and
attributes of God. And had the people known this truth, they would not
have denied God's favours, nor would they have risen against, contended
with, and rejected His Prophets. Similar passages are also to be found
in the Qur'án, should the matter be carefully examined.
32
Know, moreover, that it is through such words that God proveth His
servants and sifteth them, separating the believer from the infidel,
the detached from the worldly, the pious from the profligate, the doer
of good from the worker of iniquity, and so forth. Thus hath the Dove
of holiness proclaimed: "Do men think when they say 'We believe' they
shall be let alone and not be put to proof?"
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 24
3)
The obstacle which prevents the so-called religious man from accepting the teachings of God is literal interpretation.
Moses announced the coming of Christ. The Israelites were awaiting him
with the greatest impatience and anxiety, but when he came they called
him Beelzebub. "The conditions laid down in the Bible for the coming of
the expected one were not fulfilled," they said. They did not
understand that the conditions were symbolical.
For instance, it is written -- "He will come from an unknown place."
Jesus came from Nazareth. "How can this be the Messiah?" they reasoned.
"It is written -- he will carry an iron scepter, that is to say, his
shepherd's staff will be a sword. This man has no sword. It was
prophesised -- he will be seated on the throne of David; behold this
man has not so much as a mat whereon to sit. He was to spread the law
of Moses; this man, on the contrary, seeks to destroy it. How can
he be the promulgator of God's law?" they scornfully laughed.
It was prophesised that the east and west would be united under the
Jewish law; the animals would be at peace one with another; that the
wolf would no longer devour the sheep. They did not see these
conditions fulfilled. Roman tyranny enveloped the world and they
crucified the Christ.
The Jews were blind to reality. The real Christ came from the city of
light in the eternal realms Christ is a king. His shepherd's staff,
that is, his tongue, was a sword dividing the true from the false. The
throne of David is not a material throne but an eternal kingdom. Christ
re-established this kingdom; it has been forgotten. Christ conquered
the east and the west. This means a spiritual victory, not a material
one.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 35
4)
As they have literally interpreted the Word of God, and the sayings and traditions of the Letters
of Unity, and expounded them according to their own deficient
understanding, they have therefore deprived themselves and all their
people of the bountiful showers of the grace and mercies of God. And
yet they bear witness to this well-known tradition: "Verily Our Word is
abstruse, bewilderingly abstruse." In another instance, it is said:
"Our Cause is sorely trying, highly perplexing; none can bear it except
a favorite of heaven, or an inspired Prophet, or he whose faith God
hath tested." These leaders of religion admit that none of these three
specified conditions is applicable to them. The first two conditions
are manifestly beyond their reach; as to the third, it is evident that
at no time have they been proof against at have been sent by God, and
that when the divine Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves to
be naught but dross.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 82
5)
The essence and the fundamentals of philosophy have emanated from the
Prophets. That the people differ concerning the inner meanings and
mysteries thereof is to be attributed to the divergence of their views
and minds. We would fain recount to thee the following: One of the
Prophets once was communicating to his people that with which the
Omnipotent Lord had inspired Him. Truly, thy Lord is the Inspirer, the
Gracious, the Exalted. When the fountain of wisdom and eloquence gushed
forth from the wellspring of His utterance and the wine of divine
knowledge inebriated those who had sought His threshold, He exclaimed:
`Lo! All are filled with the Spirit.' From among the people there was
he who held fast unto this statement and, actuated by his own fancies,
conceived the idea that the spirit literally penetrateth or entereth
into the body, and through lengthy expositions he advanced proofs to
vindicate this concept; and groups of people followed in his footsteps.
To mention their names at this point, or to give thee a detailed account
thereof, would lead to prolixity, and would depart from the main theme.
Verily, thy Lord is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing. There was also he
who partook of the choice wine whose seal had been removed by the Key
of the Tongue of Him Who is the Revealer of the Verses of thy Lord, the
Gracious, the Most Generous.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 145
6)
And further He saith: "Out of his mouth goeth a two-edged sword." Know
thou that since the sword is an instrument that divideth and cleaveth
asunder, and since there proceedeth from the mouth of the Prophets and
the Chosen Ones of God
that which separateth the believer from the infidel and the lover from
the beloved, this term hath been so employed, and apart from this
dividing and separating no other meaning is intended. Thus, when He Who
is the Primal Point and the eternal Sun desireth, by the leave of God,
to gather together all creation, to raise them up from the graves of
their own selves, and to divide them one from another, He shall
pronounce but one verse from Him, and this verse will distinguish truth
from error from this day unto the Day of Resurrection. What sword is
sharper than this heavenly sword, what blade more trenchant than this
incorruptible steel that severeth every tie and separateth thereby the
believer from the infidel, father from son, brother from sister, and
lover from beloved? For whoso believeth in that which hath been
revealed unto him is a true believer and whoso turneth away is an
infidel, and such an irrevocable separation occurreth between them that
they will cease to consort and associate with each other in this world.
And so it is between father and son, for should the son believe and the
father deny, they will be severed and forever dissociated from each
other. Nay rather, thou witnesseth how the son slayeth the father and
the father the son. Consider in the same light all that We have
explained and related unto thee.
78
Wert thou to behold all things with the eye of discernment, thou
wouldst indeed see that this divine sword doth cleave asunder
generations. Would that ye could understand it! All this is by virtue
of the word of separation that is manifested on the Day of Judgement
and Separation, were the people to take heed in the days of their Lord.
Nay, couldst thou but sharpen thy sight and refine thy heart, thou
wouldst witness that all the material swords which in every day and age
have slain the infidels and waged war against the impious proceed from
this divine and invisible sword. Open then thine eyes, that thou mayest
behold all that We have revealed to thee and attain unto that which
none other hath attained. We verily exclaim: "Praise be to God, He Who
is the Lord of the Day of Reckoning!"
79
Yea, inasmuch as these people have failed to acquire true knowledge
from its source and wellspring, and from the ocean of fresh and
soft-flowing waters that stream, by the leave of God, through hearts
that are pure and stainless, they have been veiled from that which God
hath intended by those words and allusions and have remained confined
within the prison of their own selves.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 57
7)
You should know, questioner, that the divine word encompasses all
meanings. That is, all divine meanings and mysteries are concealed
within it. Blessed are they who attain it and extract the pearls hidden
within it. Consider the radiance of the divine word to be like the
shining of the sun. In the same way that once the sun rises, it shines
on all, so once the sun of the word dawns from the will of the lord, it
sheds its illumination on all. Indeed, I take refuge in God even from
this simile, since the outward sun itself owes its existence to the
comprehensive word. Think, so that you might attain knowledge. Still,
the outward sun can be perceived with physical eyes, whereas the rays
of the sun of the word are seen with inner vision. By the one in whose
hand is my soul! If the hidden aid and power of the divine word were
withdrawn from the world and its people for a single instant, all would
be lost and annihilated. If souls gaze with divine sight, they will see
the radiance of its lights in everything. Likewise, if they listen with
pure ears, they will hear the primal call of God at every moment. The
divine call is still being raised but ears are blocked, and the lights
of the luminary above the horizon are apparent, but eyes are covered...
For, glory lies in attaining mystical insight into the Eternal Truth
and remaining firm, steadfast and unswerving in the Cause of God. It
does not come from outward statements, as my predecessor explained
these spiritual levels. Look, so that you might understand. For
instance, the souls who have ascended to the peaks of mystical insight
and those who remained at the lowest rank have precisely the same
station in the eyes of God. For the nobility of knowledge and insight
is not dependent on these attributes in themselves. If they lead to the
Eternal Truth and acceptance of it, they are approved. Otherwise, they
are rejected. On this plane, all words are mentioned on the same level.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Son (a provisional translation by Juan Cole)
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_tablet_son
8)
From the Quran:
3:7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic
or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the
Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity
follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and
searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings
except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We
believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will
grasp the Message except men of understanding.
-- Qur'an: 3 - AL-I-IMRAN
39:18 Those who listen to the Word, and follow the best (meaning) in
it: those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones
endued with understanding.
-- Quran: 39 - AZ-ZUMAR
2:26. Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as
well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their
Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means Allah by this
similitude?" By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the
right path, but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the
path).
2:27. Those who break Allah's Covenant after it is ratified, and who
sunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and do mischief on earth:
These cause loss (only) to themselves.
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 2.
9)
From the Bible:
12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked
shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the
wise shall understand.
-- Bible: Daniel
5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
-- Bible: 1 Thessalonians,
10)
Gracious God! Notwithstanding the warning which, in marvelously
symbolic language and subtle allusions, hath been uttered in days past,
and which was intended to awaken the peoples of the world and to
prevent them from being deprived of their share of the billowing ocean
of God's grace, yet such things as have already been witnessed have
come to pass! Reference to these things hath also been made in the
Qur'án, as witnessed by this verse: "What can such expect but that God
should come down to them overshadowed with clouds?"
A number of the divines, who hold firmly to the letter of the Word of
God, have come to regard this verse as one of the signs of that
expected resurrection
which is born of their idle fancy. This, notwithstanding the fact that
similar references have been made in most of the heavenly Books, and
have been recorded in all the passages connected with the signs of the
coming Manifestation.
Likewise, He saith: "On the day when the heaven shall give out a
palpable smoke, which shall enshroud mankind: this will be an
afflictive torment." The All-Glorious hath decreed these very things,
that are contrary to the desires of wicked men, to be the touchstone
and standard whereby He proveth His servants, that the just may be
known from the wicked, and the faithful distinguished from the infidel.
The symbolic term "smoke" denotes grave dissensions, the abrogation and
demolition of recognized standards, and the utter destruction of their
narrow-minded exponents.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 76
11)
Furthermore, the sign of truth and falsehood is designated and
appointed in the Book. By this divinely-appointed touchstone, the
claims and pretensions of all men must needs be assayed, so that the
truthful may be known and distinguished from the imposter. This
touchstone is no other than this verse: "Wish for death, if ye are men
of truth." Consider these martyrs of unquestionable sincerity, to whose
truthfulness testifieth the explicit text of the Book, and all of whom,
as thou hast witnessed, have sacrificed their life, their substance,
their wives, their children, their all, and ascended unto the loftiest
chambers of Paradise. Is it fair to reject the testimony of these
detached and exalted beings to the truth of this pre-eminent and
glorious Revelation and to regard as acceptable the denunciations which
have been uttered against this resplendent Light by this faithless
people, who for gold have forsaken their faith, and who for the sake of
leadership have repudiated Him Who is the First Leader of all mankind?
This, although their character is now revealed unto all people who have
recognized them as those who will in no wise relinquish one jot or one
tittle of their temporal authority for the sake of God's holy Faith,
how much less their life, their substance, and the like.
Behold how the divine Touchstone hath, according to the explicit text
of the Book, separated and distinguished the true from the false.
Notwithstanding, they are still oblivious of this truth, and in the
sleep of heedlessness, are pursuing the vanities of the world, and are
occupied with thoughts of vain and earthly leadership.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 227
12)
Hidden allusions are concealed within these verses and holy letters are
treasured up within these words. Blessed is the one who hath seized
these pearls, recognized their value, and attained the presence of
their Supreme Meaning. It is clear and evident that the root of
differences, from the farthest worlds of meaning to the nearest degree
of expression, is caused by the diversity of the forms of the mirrors.
Each person speaketh and expresseth himself according to that which is
reflected within him. For example, with reference to the same analogy
of the flooding river, observe that it floweth forward in one manner
and its relationship to all buildings and structures is the same, yet
any valley that hath more capacity is able to resist it. These
differences, therefore, have arisen from the diversity of recipients.
In like manner, consider the rays of the Eternal Sun, which shine with
the same illumination in the heaven of human hearts but, when reflected
in the forms of mirrors, differ by reason of differences among the
mirrors themselves. Thus it is that some abide exalted in their
essences and high in their endeavors, while others sink into the depths
of lethargy and degradation. All things have their rank before God, and
all return unto Him.
-- Baha'u'llah, Sahífiy-i-Shattíyyih, Book of the River - A provisional translation by Saiedi, p. 59.
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