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LAWH-I-BURHÁN (Tablet of the Proof)
This Tablet was revealed after the martyrdom of the King
of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs (see God Passes By
pages 200-201) and was addressed to Shaykh Muhammad
Báqir, denounced by Bahá'u'lláh as the `Wolf'. In this
Tablet Bahá'u'lláh refers to Mír Muhammad Husayn, the
Imám Jum'ih of Isfahán, surnamed the `She-Serpent', who
was Shaykh Muhammad Báqir's accomplice in the persecution
of the Bahá'ís. (See God Passes By, pages 198, 200-201
and 219). The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was
addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Taqíy-i-Najafí, the son
of Shaykh Muhammad Báqir.
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1 |
HE is the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise!
The winds of hatred have encompassed
the Ark of Bathá,
[Mecca.]
by reason of that which the
hands of the oppressors have wrought. O Báqir!
Thou hast pronounced sentence against them for whom the
books of the world have wept, and in whose favour the
scriptures of all religions have testified. Thou, who art gone
far astray, art indeed wrapt in a thick veil. By God Himself!
Thou hast pronounced judgement against them through
whom the horizon of faith hath been illumined. Unto this
bear witness They Who are the Dawning-Places of Revelation
and the Manifestations of the Cause of thy Lord, the
Most Merciful, Who have sacrificed Their souls and all that
They possessed in His straight Path. The Faith of God hath
cried everywhere, by reason of thy tyranny, and yet thou
disportest thyself and art of them that exult. There is no
hatred in Mine heart for thee nor for anyone. Every man of
learning beholdeth thee, and such as are like thee, engulfed
in evident folly. Hadst thou realized that which thou hast
done, thou wouldst have cast thyself into the fire, or
abandoned thine home and fled into the mountains, or
wouldst have groaned until thou hadst returned unto the
place destined for thee by Him Who is the Lord of strength
and of might. O thou who art even as nothing! Rend thou
asunder the veils of idle fancies and vain imaginings, that
thou mayest behold the Day-Star of knowledge shining
from this resplendent Horizon. Thou hast torn in pieces a
remnant of the Prophet Himself, and imagined that thou
hadst helped the Faith of God. Thus hath thy soul prompted
thee, and thou art truly one of the heedless. Thine act hath
consumed the hearts of the Concourse on high, and those
of such as have circled round the Cause of God, the Lord
of the worlds. The soul of the Chaste One
[Fátimih, daughter of Muhammad.]
melted, by
reason of thy cruelty, and the inmates of Paradise wept sore
in that blessed Spot.
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2 |
Judge thou fairly, I adjure thee by God. What proof did
the Jewish doctors adduce wherewith to condemn Him
Who was the Spirit of God,
[Jesus.]
when He came unto them
with truth? What could have been the evidence produced
by the Pharisees and the idolatrous priests to justify their
denial of Muhammad, the Apostle of God when He came
unto them with a Book that judged between truth and
falsehood with a justice which turned into light the darkness
of the earth, and enraptured the hearts of such as had
known Him? Indeed thou hast produced, in this day, the
same proofs which the foolish divines advanced in that age.
Unto this testifieth He Who is the King of the realm of
grace in this great Prison. Thou hast, truly, walked in their
ways, nay, hast surpassed them in their cruelty, and hast
deemed thyself to be helping the Faith and defending the
Law of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. By Him
Who is the Truth! Thine iniquity hath made Gabriel to
groan, and hath drawn tears from the Law of God, through
which the breezes of justice have been wafted over all who
are in heaven and on earth. Hast thou fondly imagined that
the judgement thou didst pronounce hath profited thee?
Nay, by Him Who is the King of all Names! Unto thy loss
testifieth He with Whom is the knowledge of all things as
recorded in the preserved Tablet. When thou didst pen thy
judgement, thou wast accused by thy very pen. Unto this
doth bear witness the Pen of God, the Most High, in His
inaccessible station.
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3 |
O thou who hast gone astray! Thou hast neither seen
Me, nor associated with Me, nor been My companion for
the fraction of a moment. How is it, then, that thou hast
bidden men to curse Me? Didst thou, in this, follow the
promptings of thine own desires, or didst thou obey thy
Lord? Produce thou a sign, if thou art one of the truthful.
We testify that thou hast cast behind thy back the Law of
God, and laid hold on the dictates of thy passions. Nothing,
in truth, escapeth His knowledge; He, verily, is the Incomparable,
the All-Informed. O heedless one! Hearken
unto that which the Merciful hath revealed in the Qur'án:
`Say not to every one who meeteth you with a greeting,
"Thou art not a believer."'
[Qur'án 4:96]
Thus hath He decreed in
Whose grasp are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation,
if thou be of them that hearken. Thou hast set aside
the commandment of God, and clung unto the promptings
of thine own desire. Woe, then, unto thee, O careless one
that doubtest! If thou deniest Me, by what proof canst
thou vindicate the truth of that which thou dost possess?
Produce it, then, O thou who hast joined partners with
God, and turned aside from His sovereignty that hath encompassed
the worlds!
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O foolish one! Know thou that he is truly learned who
hath acknowledged My Revelation, and drunk from the
Ocean of My knowledge, and soared in the atmosphere of
My love, and cast away all else besides Me, and taken firm
hold on that which hath been sent down from the Kingdom
of My wondrous utterance. He, verily, is even as an eye
unto mankind, and as the spirit of life unto the body of all
creation. Glorified be the All-Merciful Who hath enlightened
him, and caused him to arise and serve His great
and mighty Cause. Verily, such a man is blessed by the
Concourse on high, and by them who dwell within the
Tabernacle of Grandeur, who have quaffed My sealed Wine
in My Name, the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful. O
Báqir! If thou be of them that occupy such a sublime
station, produce then a sign from God, the Creator of the
heavens. And shouldst thou recognize thy powerlessness, do
thou rein in thy passions, and return unto thy Lord, that
perchance He may forgive thee thy sins which have caused
the leaves of the Divine Lote-Tree to be burnt up, and the
Rock to cry out, and the eyes of men of understanding to
weep. Because of thee the Veil of Divinity was rent
asunder, and the Ark foundered, and the She-Camel was
hamstrung, and the Spirit
[Jesus.]
groaned in His sublime retreat.
Disputest thou with Him Who hath come unto thee with
the testimonies of God and His signs which thou possessest
and which are in the possession of them that dwell on
earth? Open thine eyes that thou mayest behold this
Wronged One shining forth above the horizon of the will
of God, the Sovereign, the Truth, the Resplendent. Unstop,
then, the ear of thine heart that thou mayest hearken
unto the speech of the Divine Lote-Tree that hath been
raised up in truth by God, the Almighty, the Beneficent.
Verily, this Tree, notwithstanding the things that befell it
by reason of thy cruelty and of the transgressions of such
as are like thee, calleth aloud and summoneth all men unto
the Sadratu'l-Muntahá
[The Sacred Lote-Tree, the Tree beyond which there is no passing (See Qur'án 53:8-18). A symbol of the Manifestation of God. (See God Passes By p. 94.)]
and the Supreme Horizon. Blessed
is the soul that hath gazed on the Most Mighty Sign, and
the ear that hath heard His most sweet Voice, and woe to
whosoever hath turned aside and done wickedly.
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O thou who hast turned away from God! Wert thou to
look with the eye of fairness upon the Divine Lote-Tree,
thou wouldst perceive the marks of thy sword on its
boughs, and its branches, and its leaves, notwithstanding
that God created thee for the purpose of recognizing and
of serving it. Reflect, that haply thou mayest recognize
thine iniquity and be numbered with such as have repented.
Thinkest thou that We fear thy cruelty? Know thou and
be well assured that from the first day whereon the voice of
the Most Sublime Pen was raised betwixt earth and heaven
We offered up Our souls, and Our bodies, and Our sons,
and Our possessions in the path of God, the Exalted, the
Great, and We glory therein amongst all created things and
the Concourse on high. Unto this testify the things which
have befallen Us in this straight Path. By God! Our hearts
were consumed, and Our bodies were crucified, and Our
blood was spilt, while Our eyes were fixed on the horizon
of the loving-kindness of their Lord, the Witness, the All-Seeing.
The more grievous their woes, the greater waxed
the love of the people of Bahá. Unto their sincerity hath
borne witness what the All-Merciful hath sent down in the
Qur'án. He saith: `Wish ye, then, for death, if ye are
sincere.'
[Qur'án 2:88]
Who is to be preferred, he that hath sheltered
himself behind curtains, or he that hath offered himself in
the path of God? Judge thou fairly, and be not of them that
rove distraught in the wilderness of falsehood. So carried
away have they been by the living waters of the love of the
Most Merciful, that neither the arms of the world nor the
swords of the nations have deterred them from setting their
faces towards the ocean of the bounty of their Lord, the
Giver, the Generous.
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By God! Troubles have failed to unnerve Me, and the
repudiation of the divines hath been powerless to weaken
Me. I have spoken, and still speak forth before the face of
men: `The door of grace hath been unlocked and He Who
is the Dayspring of Justice is come with perspicuous signs
and evident testimonies, from God, the Lord of strength
and of might!' Present thyself before Me that thou mayest
hear the mysteries which were heard by the Son of `Imrán
[Moses.]
upon the Sinai of Wisdom. Thus commandeth thee He
Who is the Dawning-Place of the Revelation of thy Lord,
the God of Mercy, from His great Prison.
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Hath leadership made thee proud? Peruse thou what God
hath revealed to the Sovereign ruler, the Sultán of Turkey,
who hath incarcerated Me in this fortified stronghold, so
that thou mayest be informed of the condition of this
Wronged One, as decreed by God, the One, the Single,
the All-Informed. Art thou happy to see the abject and
worthless as thy followers? They support thee as did a
people before them, they that followed Annas, who, without
clear proof and testimony, pronounced judgement
against the Spirit.
[Jesus.]
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Peruse thou the Kitáb-i-Íqán and that which the All-Merciful
hath sent down unto the King of Paris
[Napoleon III.]
and to
such as are like him, that thou mayest be made aware of the
things that have happened in the past, and be persuaded
that We have not sought to spread disorder in the land
after it had been well-ordered. We exhort, wholly for the
sake of God, His servants. Let him who wisheth turn unto
Him, and him who wisheth turn aside. Our Lord, the
Merciful, is verily the All-Sufficing, the All-Praised. O
concourse of divines! This is the day whereon nothing
amongst all things, nor any name amongst all names, can
profit you save through this Name which God hath made
the Manifestation of His Cause and the Dayspring of His
Most Excellent Titles unto all who are in the kingdom of
creation. Blessed is that man that hath recognized the
fragrance of the All-Merciful and been numbered with the
steadfast. Your sciences shall not profit you in this day, nor
your arts, nor your treasures, nor your glory. Cast them all
behind your backs, and set your faces towards the Most
Sublime Word through which the Scriptures and the
Books and this lucid Tablet have been distinctly set forth.
Cast away, O concourse of divines, the things ye have
composed with the pens of your idle fancies and vain
imaginings. By God! The Day-Star of Knowledge hath
shone forth above the horizon of certitude.
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O Báqir! Read and call thou to mind that which was
said of old by a believer of thy stock: `Will ye slay a man
because he saith my Lord is God, when He hath already
come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be a liar, on
him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what
he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not
him who is a transgressor, a liar.'
[Qur'án 40:29]
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O thou who art gone astray! If thou hast any doubt
concerning Our conduct, know thou that We bear witness
unto that whereunto God hath Himself borne witness ere
the creation of the heavens and of the earth, that there is
none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous.
We testify that He is One in His Essence, One in His attributes.
He hath none to equal Him in the whole universe,
nor any partner in all creation. He hath sent forth His
Messengers, and sent down His Books, that they may
announce unto His creatures the Straight Path.
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Hath the Sháh been informed, and chosen to close his
eyes to thine acts? Or hath he been seized with fear at the
howling of a pack of wolves who have cast the Path of God
behind their backs and followed in thy way without any
clear proof or Book? We have heard that the provinces of
Persia have been adorned with the adornment of justice.
When We observed closely, however, We found them to
be the dawning-places of tyranny and the daysprings of injustice.
We behold justice in the clutches of tyranny. We
beseech God to set it free through the power of His might
and His sovereignty. He, verily, overshadoweth all that is
in the heavens and on earth. To none is given the right to
protest against anyone concerning that which hath befallen
the Cause of God. It behoveth whosoever hath set his face
towards the Most Sublime Horizon to cleave tenaciously
unto the cord of patience, and to put his reliance in God,
the Help in Peril, the Unconstrained. O ye loved ones of
God! Drink your fill from the well-spring of wisdom, and
walk ye in the garden of wisdom, and soar ye in the
atmosphere of wisdom, and speak forth with wisdom and
eloquence. Thus biddeth you your Lord, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing.
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O Báqir! Rely not on thy glory, and thy power. Thou
art even as the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top.
Soon will it fade away, as decreed by God, the All-Possessing,
the Most High. Thy glory and the glory of such
as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is
what hath been ordained by the One with Whom is the
Mother Tablet. Where is he to be found who contended
with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid His signs,
and turned aside from His sovereignty? Where are they
who have slain His chosen ones and spilt the blood of His
holy ones? Reflect, that haply thou mayest perceive the
breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter! Because of you
the Apostle
[Muhammad.]
lamented, and the Chaste One
[Fátimih, daughter of Muhammad.]
cried out, and
the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all
regions. O concourse of divines! Because of you the people
were abased, and the banner of Islám was hauled down,
and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of
discernment hath sought to hold fast unto that which
would exalt Islám, ye raised a clamour, and thereby was he
deterred from achieving his purpose, while the land remained
fallen in clear ruin.
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Consider the Sultán of Turkey! He did not want war,
but those like you desired it. When its fires were enkindled
and its flames rose high, the government and the people
were thereby weakened. Unto this beareth witness every
man of equity and perception. Its calamities waxed so great
that the smoke thereof surrounded the Land of Mystery
[Adrianople.]
and its environs, and what had been revealed in the Tablet
of the Sultán was made manifest. Thus hath it been decreed
in the Book, at the behest of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.
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O My Supreme Pen! Leave Thou the mention of the
Wolf, and call Thou to remembrance the She-Serpent
[The Imám-Jum'ih of Isfahán, see page 203.]
whose cruelty hath caused all created things to groan, and
the limbs of the holy ones to quake. Thus biddeth Thee the
Lord of all names, in this glorious station. The Chaste One
[Fátimih.]
hath cried out by reason of thine iniquity, and yet thou
dost imagine thyself to be of the family of the Apostle of
God! Thus hath thy soul prompted thee, O thou who hast
withdrawn thyself from God, the Lord of all that hath
been and shall be. Judge thou equitably, O She-Serpent!
For what crime didst thou sting the children
[The King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs.]
of the
Apostle of God, and pillage their possessions? Hast thou
denied Him Who created thee by His command `be, and
it was'? Thou hast dealt with the children of the Apostle of
God as neither `Ád hath dealt with Húd, nor Thámúd with
Salíh, nor the Jews with the Spirit of God,
[Jesus.]
the Lord of all
being. Gainsayest thou the signs of thy Lord which no
sooner were sent down from the heaven of His Cause than
all the books of the world bowed down before them?
Meditate, that thou mayest be made aware of thine act, O
heedless outcast! Ere long will the breaths of chastisement
seize thee, as they seized others before thee. Wait, O thou
who hast joined partners with God, the Lord of the visible
and the invisible. This is the day which God hath announced
through the tongue of His Apostle. Reflect, that thou
mayest apprehend what the All-Merciful hath sent down
in the Qur'án and in this inscribed Tablet. This is the day
whereon He Who is the Dayspring of Revelation hath
come with clear tokens which none can number. This is the
day whereon every man endued with perception hath discovered
the fragrance of the breeze of the All-Merciful in
the world of creation, and every man of insight hath
hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of His Lord,
the King of Kings. O heedless one! The tale of the Sacrifice
[Ishmael.]
hath been retold, and he who was to be offered up
hath directed his steps towards the place of sacrifice, and
returned not, by reason of that which thy hand hath
wrought, O perverse hater! Didst thou imagine that
martyrdom could abase this Cause? Nay, by Him Whom
God hath made to be the Repository of His Revelation, if
thou be of them that comprehend. Woe betide thee, O
thou who hast joined partners with God, and woe betide
them that have taken thee as their leader, without a clear
token or a perspicuous Book. How numerous the oppressors
before thee who have arisen to quench the light of
God, and how many the impious who murdered and pillaged
until the hearts and souls of men groaned by reason of
their cruelty! The sun of justice hath been obscured, inasmuch
as the embodiment of tyranny hath been stablished
upon the throne of hatred, and yet the people understand
not. The children of the Apostle have been slain and their
possessions pillaged. Say: Was it, in thine estimation, their
possessions or themselves that denied God? Judge fairly, O
ignorant one that hath been shut out as by a veil from God.
Thou hast clung to tyranny and cast away justice; whereupon
all created things have lamented, and still thou art
among the wayward. Thou hast put to death the aged, and
plundered the young. Thinkest thou that thou wilt consume
that which thine iniquity hath amassed? Nay, by
Myself! Thus informeth thee He Who is cognizant of all.
By God! The things thou possessest shall profit thee not,
nor what thou hast laid up through thy cruelty. Unto this
beareth witness Thy Lord, the All-Knowing. Thou hast
arisen to put out the light of this Cause; ere long will thine
own fire be quenched, at His behest. He, verily, is the Lord
of strength and of might. The changes and chances of the
world, and the powers of the nations, cannot frustrate Him.
He doeth what He pleaseth, and ordaineth what He willeth
through the power of His sovereignty. Consider the she-camel.
Though but a beast, yet hath the All-Merciful
exalted her to so high a station that the tongues of the earth
made mention of her and celebrated her praise. He, verily,
overshadoweth all that is in the heavens and on earth. No
God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Great. Thus have
We adorned the heaven of Our Tablet with the suns of Our
words. Blessed the man that hath attained thereunto and
been illumined with their light, and woe betide such as
have turned aside, and denied Him, and strayed far from
Him. Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds!
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