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Chapter 68
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The Sun (Independent Prophet) and the Moon (Dependent/Lesser Prophet).
1)
Thus, by the "sun" in one sense is meant those Suns of Truth Who rise
from the dayspring of ancient glory, and fill the world with a liberal
effusion of grace from on high. These Suns of Truth are the universal Manifestations of God in the worlds of His attributes and names...
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.]
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 33-35
2)
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 independent Prophets are the lawgivers and the founders of a new cycle.. They are like the sun which is luminous in itself..
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...
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p.165
3)
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
4)
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
5)
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 Imams as cited in
"Introduction to Shi'i Islam" by Moojan Momen, p. 151-153).
6)
XCI. 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.'" 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.
--Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 179
7)
In the following passage, "sun" can be interpreted as a reference to Baha'u'llah and "moon" a reference to Abdu'l-Baha.
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.
--Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, p. 57
8)
Jesus is the Sun (Independent Prophet).
For example, this lamp sheds light and the moon illumines the night with its silvery beams, but neither light is self created.
His Holiness the Christ is like unto the sun; his light issued forth
from his own identity. He received it not from another person -
therefore we give him the comprehensive title of the "word." By this we
mean the all-comprehending reality and the depository of the infinite
divine characteristics. This "word" has an honorary beginning and not a
beginning of time. For instance, we say this person has precedence over
all. This precedence comes to him through the station and honor which
he now holds in life, but it is not a precedence of time. In reality
the "word" has neither beginning nor ending. The letters of the "word"
are those qualities which appeared in Christ and not his physical body.
These attributes were from God - like unto the rays of the sun
reflected in a clear mirror. The rays, the light and the heat of the
sun are its qualities which have become manifest in the mirror. It is
evident that these qualities were ever with God, even at this time they
are with him, they are inseparable from him because divinity is not
subject to division. Division is a sign of imperfection and God is the
perfect one.
It is clear that the attributes of divinity are co-equal and
co-existent with the essence. In that station there is absolute unity.
This in brief is the exposition of the station of the Christ.
--Abdu'l-Bahá, Divine Philosophy, p. 148
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