48. This is that hidden knowledge which shall never change, since its beginning is with nine # 29In the Arabic Bayan the Bab described His inheritance law as being "in accordance with a hidden knowledge in the Book of God--a knowledge that shall never change or be replaced". He also stated that the numbers by which the division of the inheritance was expressed had been invested with a significance intended to aid in the recognition of Him Whom God will make manifest.
The "nine" mentioned here is represented in the Arabic text by the letter "Ta", which is its equivalent in the abjad notation (see Glossary). It is the first element of the Bab's division of inheritance, where He designates "nine parts" as the share of the children. The significance of nine lies in its being the numerical equivalent of the Greatest Name "Baha", alluded to in the next part of this verse as "the concealed and manifest, the inviolable and unapproachably exalted Name". (See also note 33.)