Grieve not if none be found to accept the crimson wine
proffered by Thy snow-white hand and to seize it in the name of Thy Lord, the
Most Exalted, the Most High—He Who hath appeared again in His name, the Most
Glorious. Leave this people unto
themselves, and repair unto the Tabernacle of majesty and glory, wherein Thou
shalt encounter a people whose faces shine as brightly as the sun in its
noontide splendour, and who praise and extol their Lord in this Name that hath
arisen, in the plenitude of might and power, to assume the throne of
independent sovereignty. From their lips
Thou shalt hear naught but the strains of My glorification and praise; unto
this Thy Lord beareth Me witness. The
existence of these people, however, hath remained concealed from the eyes of
all who, from everlasting, have been created through the Word of God. Thus have We made plain Our meaning and set
forth Our verses, that perchance men may reflect upon the signs and tokens of
their Lord.
These are they who, in truth, were not enjoined to prostrate
themselves before Adam. [Qur’an 2:30-34; 38:71-75] They have never turned away
from the countenance of Thy Lord, and partake at every moment of the gifts and
delights of holiness. Thus hath the Pen
of the All-Merciful set forth the secrets of all things, be they of the past or
of the future. Would that the world
might understand! Erelong shall God make
manifest this people upon the earth, and through them shall exalt His name,
diffuse His signs, uphold His words, and proclaim His verses, in spite of those
that have repudiated His truth, gainsaid His sovereignty, and cavilled at His
signs. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
