Art thou not ashamed in the presence of God for consenting
to the consignment to a fortress of Him Who is the Testimony of God, and His
being made captive in the hands of the faithless? Woe betide thee and them who
rejoice at this moment in inflicting so dire a humiliation upon Me...
I swear by Him Who hath called Me into being, I can discover
no trace of sinfulness in Myself, nor have I followed aught but the Truth; and
unto Me God is sufficient witness. Fie upon the world and its people and upon
those who take delight in earthly riches, while oblivious of the life to come.
Were the veil to be removed from thine eye thou wouldst
crawl unto Me on thy breast, even through the snow, from fear of the
chastisement of God which is swift and near at hand. By the righteousness of
Him Who hath created thee, wert thou to be acquainted with that which hath
transpired during thy reign, thou wouldst wish not to have issued from thy
father’s loins, but rather to have passed into oblivion. However, that which
God, thy Lord, had ordained hath presently come to pass, and woe betide the
oppressors in this day. (The Báb, Extracts from an Epistle to Muhammad Shah of
Persia, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
