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Chapter 51
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Prophecies in the era of the Bab on the coming of Baha'u'llah.
1)
The Bab foretells the coming of Baha'u'llah (in 1863) -- nineteen years from the time of the Bab's declaration in 1844.
A SECOND TABLET ADDRESSED TO `HIM WHO WILL BE MADE MANIFEST'
May the glances of Him Whom God shall make manifest illumine this letter at the primary school.
He is the Most Glorious.
He is God, no God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Best Beloved. All
that are in the heavens and on the earth and whatever lieth between
them are His.
Verily He is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
This is a letter from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, unto God, the Almighty, the Best Beloved, to affirm that the Bayán
and such as bear allegiance to it are but a present from me unto Thee
and to express my undoubting faith that there is no God but Thee, that
the kingdoms of Creation and Revelation are Thine, that no one can
attain anything save by Thy power and that He Whom Thou hast raised up
is but Thy servant and Thy Testimony. I, indeed, beg to address Him
Whom God shall make manifest, by Thy leave in these words: `Shouldst
Thou dismiss the entire company of the followers of the Bayán in the
Day of the Latter Resurrection
by a mere sign of Thy finger even while still a suckling babe, Thou
wouldst indeed be praised in Thy indication. And though no doubt is
there about it, do Thou grant a respite of nineteen years as a token of
Thy favour so that those who have embraced this Cause may be graciously
rewarded by Thee. Thou art verily the Lord of grace abounding. Thou
dost indeed suffice every created thing and causest it to be
independent of all things, while nothing in the heavens or on the earth
or that which lieth between them can ever suffice Thee.'
Verily Thou art the Self-Sufficient, the All-Knowing; Thou art indeed potent over all things.
-- The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 8
SAY, ye will be unable to recognize the One True God or to discern
clearly the words of divine guidance, inasmuch as ye seek and tread a
path other than His. Whenever ye learn that a new Cause hath appeared,
ye must seek the presence of its author and must delve into his
writings that haply ye may not be debarred from attaining unto Him Whom
God shall make manifest at the hour of His manifestation. Wert thou to
walk in the way of truth as handed down by them that are endowed with
the knowledge of the inmost reality, God, thy Lord, will surely redeem
thee on the Day of Resurrection.
Verily He is potent over all things.
--The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 144
AT the time of the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest
everyone should be well trained in the teachings of the Bayan, so that
none of the followers may outwardly cling to the Bayan and thus forfeit
their allegiance unto Him. If anyone does so, the verdict of
'disbeliever in God' shall be passed upon him.
--The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 85
And from the moment when the Tree of the Bayán appeared until it
disappeareth is the Resurrection of the Apostle of God, as is divinely
foretold in the Qur'án; the beginning of which was when two hours and
eleven minutes had passed on the eve of the fifth of Jamádiyu'l-Avval,
1260 A.H., which is the year 1270 of the Declaration of the Mission of
Muhammad.
This was the beginning of the Day of Resurrection of the Qur'án, and
until the disappearance of the Tree of divine Reality is the
Resurrection of the Qur'án. The stage of perfection of everything is
reached when its resurrection occurreth. The perfection of the religion
of Islám was consummated at the beginning of this Revelation; and from
the rise of this Revelation until its setting, the fruits of the Tree
of Islám, whatever they are, will become apparent. The Resurrection of
the Bayán will occur at the time of the appearance of Him Whom God
shall make manifest.
-- The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 107-108
The Elijah of the New Day appeared in Persia and made His declaration
May 23, 1844, at the time when the Millerites in America, having
studied the prophecies of the Bible, expected the Son of Man to drop
down from the clouds. Mirza 'Ali Muhammad, known among the Muslims as a
young man of excellent character, but following the occupation of
merchant, suddenly declared Himself to be the Imam Mahdi whose coming
is foretold in their Holy Book, the Qur'an.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets addressed to Louis Gregory.
2)
Baha'u'llah refers back to station of the Bab (the Qaim, the Mahdi).
And now, to resume Our argument concerning the question: Why is it that
the sovereignty of the Qá'im, affirmed in the text of recorded
traditions, and handed down by the shining stars of the Muhammadan
Dispensation, hath not in the least been made manifest? Nay, the
contrary hath come to pass. Have not His disciples and companions been
afflicted of men? Are they not still the victims of the fierce
opposition of their enemies? Are they not today leading the life of
abased and impotent mortals? Yea, the sovereignty attributed to the
Qá'im and spoken of in the scriptures, is a reality, the truth of which
none can doubt. This sovereignty, however, is not the sovereignty which
the minds of men have falsely imagined. Moreover, the Prophets of old,
each and every one, whenever announcing to the people of their day the
advent of the coming Revelation, have invariably and specifically
referred to that sovereignty with which the promised Manifestation must
needs be invested. This is attested by the records of the scriptures of
the past. This sovereignty hath not been solely and exclusively
attributed to the Qá'im. Nay rather, the attribute of sovereignty and
all other names and attributes of God have been and will ever be
vouchsafed unto all the Manifestations of God, before and after Him,
inasmuch as these Manifestations, as it hath already been explained,
are the Embodiments of the attributes of God, the Invisible, and the
Revealers of the divine mysteries.
Furthermore, by sovereignty is meant the all-encompassing,
all-pervading power which is inherently exercised by the Qá'im whether
or not He appear to the world clothed in the majesty of earthly
dominion. This is solely dependent upon the will and pleasure of the
Qá'im Himself. You will readily recognize that the terms sovereignty,
wealth, life, death, judgment and resurrection, spoken of by the
scriptures of old, are not what this generation hath conceived and
vainly imagined. Nay, by sovereignty is meant that sovereignty which in
every dispensation resideth within, and is exercised by, the person of
the Manifestation, the Day-star of Truth. That sovereignty is the
spiritual ascendancy which He exerciseth to the fullest degree over all
that is in heaven and on earth, and which in due time revealeth itself
to the world in direct proportion to its capacity and spiritual
receptiveness, even as the sovereignty of Muhammad, the Messenger of
God, is today apparent and manifest amongst the people. You are well
aware of what befell His Faith in the early days of His dispensation.
What woeful sufferings did the hand of the infidel and erring, the
divines of that age and their associates, inflict upon that spiritual
Essence, that most pure and holy Being!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 106
No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor can any
knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith All sayings are
dependent upon His sanction, and all things stand in need of His Cause.
All else save Him are created by His command, and move and have their
being through His law. He is the Revealer of the divine mysteries, and
the Expounder of the hidden and ancient wisdom. Thus it is related in
the "Biháru'l-Anvar," the "Aválím," and the "Yanbú'" of Sádiq, son of
Muhammad, that he spoke these words: "Knowledge is twenty and seven
letters. All that the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof.
No man thus far hath known more than these two letters. But when the
Qá'im shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters
to be made manifest." Consider; He hath declared Knowledge to consist
of twenty and seven letters, and regarded all the Prophets, from Adam
even unto the "Seal," as Expounders of only two letters thereof and of
having been sent down with these two letters. He also saith that the
Qá'im will reveal all the remaining twenty and five letters. Behold
from this utterance how great and lofty is His station! His rank
excelleth that of all the Prophets, and His Revelation transcendeth the
comprehension and understanding of all their chosen ones. A Revelation,
of which the Prophets of God, His saints and chosen ones, have either
not been informed, or which, in pursuance of God's inscrutable Decree,
they have not disclosed,--such a Revelation these mean and depraved
people have sought to measure with their own deficient minds, their own
deficient learning and understanding. Should it fail to conform to
their standards, they straightway reject it. "Thinkest thou that the
greater part of them hear or understand? They are even like unto the
brutes! yea, they stray even further from the path!"
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 244
4)
The Bab's declaration that he is the Qaim.
PONDER likewise the Dispensation of the Apostle of God which lasted
twelve hundred and seventy years [1] till the dawn of the manifestation
of the Bayan. He directed everyone to await the advent of the Promised
Qa'im. All deeds which in the Islamic Dispensation began with Muhammad
should find their consummation through the appearance of the Qa'im. God
hath made Him manifest invested with the proof wherewith the Apostle of
God was invested, so that none of the believers in the Qur'an might
entertain doubts about the validity of His Cause, for it is set down in
the Qur'an that none but God is capable of revealing verses. During the
period of 1270 years no one among the followers of the Qur'an ever
witnessed a person appearing with conclusive proofs. Now the
Ever-Living Lord hath made manifest and invested with supreme testimony
this long-awaited Promised One from a place no one could imagine and
from a person whose knowledge was deemed of no account.
--The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 118
5)
Traditions in Islam on the coming of the Bab referred to by Baha'u'llah.
Abú-`Abdi'lláh, questioned concerning the character of the Mihdí,
answered saying: "He will perform that which Muhammad, the Messenger of
God, hath performed, and will demolish whatever hath been before Him
even as the Messenger of God hath demolished the ways of those that
preceded Him."...
In the "Aválím," an authoritative and well-known book, it is recorded:
"A Youth from Baní-Háshim shall be made manifest, Who will reveal a new
Book and promulgate a new law;" then follow these words: "Most of His
enemies will be the divines."...
In another passage, it is related of Sádiq, son of Muhammad, that he
spoke the following: "There shall appear a Youth from Baní-Háshim, Who
will bid the people plight fealty unto Him. His Book will be a new
Book, unto which He shall summon the people to pledge their faith.
Stern is His Revelation unto the Arab.
If ye hear about Him, hasten unto Him." How well have they followed the
directions of the Imáms of the Faith and Lamps of certitude! Although
it is clearly stated: "Were ye to hear that a Youth from Baní-Háshim
hath appeared, summoning the people unto a new and Divine Book, and to
new and Divine laws, hasten unto Him," yet have they all declared that
Lord of being an infidel, and pronounced Him a heretic....
And now, consider this other tradition, and observe how all these
things have been foretold. In "Arbá'in" it is recorded: "Out of
Baní-Háshim there shall come forth a Youth Who shall reveal new laws.
He shall summon the people unto Him, but none will heed His call. Most
of His enemies will be the divines. His bidding they will not obey, but
will protest saying: `This is contrary to that which hath been handed
down unto us by the Imáms of the Faith.'" In this day, all are
repeating these very same words, utterly unaware that He is established
upon the throne of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth," and abideth upon
the seat of "He ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 240-243
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