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Zikrullah Khadem: The Itinerant Hand of the Cause, Javidukht Khadem,pp282-3
This magnificent Edifice [the Shrine of the Báb] stands facing Bahá’u’lláhs Most Great Prison, extolled by the Pen of Glory as the “Heaven of heavens,” and looks toward the Qiblih of the people of Bahá, that Spot within the Vale of Security and Peace, the Plain of ‘Akká, round which circle in adoration the Concourse on high. To her right are the hills of Galilee in which nestles the childhood home of the beautiful Christ, and the locality by the banks of the Jordan River where He who is the Spirit [Jesus] was called to prophethood; and on her left, on the crest of Carmel, are to be found the Cave of Elijah and the exalted Spot which was blessed by the footsteps of the Most Holy Abhá Beauty and was ennobled through the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel from the treasury of the Pen of Glory. Behind her stand the twin Mounts of Zion and Olivet and the holy and ancient city of Jerusalem, within whose walls lie the site of the martyrdom and the burial place of Jesus Christ, the seat of the Throne of David, the glorious Temple of Solomon and the Aqsá Mosque, which ranks third among the shrines of the Islamic world. Beyond these there rises Mount Sinai, the cradle of the Jewish Faith, that Sacred Mount, the Párán of light, that holy land where He Who conversed with God heard the Voice from the Blessed Tree. And further beyond lies the Arabian Peninsula, the land of Hijáz, the cradle of the Muhammadan Dispensation, with the two cities of Bathá and Yathrib, the noble Mecca and the bright Medina, one enshrining the Qiblih of Islám and the other the resting-place of Him Who is the Lord of mankind [Muhammad]—upon Him be countless salutations and praise.
High, immeasurably high is this Shrine, the lofty, the most great, the most wondrous. Exalted, immeasurably exalted is this Resting-place, the fragrant, the pure, the luminous, the transcendent. Glorified, immeasurably glorified is this Spot, the most august, the most holy, the most blessed, the most sublime.
. . . . . .(?)
Upon thee, O Queen of Carmel, be the purest, the most tender salutations, the fairest, the most gracious blessings! Glorified is He Whose footsteps have ennobled the spot whereon thou standest, Who ordained thy Seat, and Who extolled thee in His Tablet and Book. How great is the potency of thy might, a might which has bewildered the souls of the favored ones of God and His Messengers.
Methinks I behold thee in my dreams established upon thy glorious throne, attired in thy white raiment, crowned with thy golden crown, resplendent with the lights shining within thee and around thee, calling aloud in ringing tones and raising thy voice between earth and heaven.
Methinks I perceive the souls of the holy ones and of the dwellers of the realms above hastening toward thee with utmost joy, eagerness and ecstasy, pointing to thee, circling round thee, inhaling the perfume of thy flowers and roses, seeking blessing from the earth of thy precincts, bowing their foreheads to the ground before thee in recognition of the majesty and glory which surround the Holy Dust reposing within thee, the Pearl which is enshrined in thy bosom.
Blessed, immeasurably blessed is the person who visits thee and circles around thee, who serves at thy threshold, waters thy flowers, inhales the fragrance of holiness from thy roses, celebrates thy praise and glorifies thy station for the love of God, thy Creator, in this hallowed and radiant, this great, august and wondrous age.
[Shoghi Effendi, Naw-Ruz 1955, translated by BWC]
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