Had these souls but clung steadfastly to the Handle of God
manifested in the Person of Muhammad, had they turned wholly unto God and cast
aside all that they had learned from their divines, He would assuredly have
guided them through His grace and acquainted them with the sacred truths that
are enshrined within His imperishable utterances. For far be it from His
greatness and His glory that He should turn away a seeker at His door, cast
aside from His Threshold one who hath set his hopes on Him, reject one who hath
sought the shelter of His shade, deprive one who hath held fast to the hem of
His mercy, or condemn to remoteness the poor one who hath found the river of
His riches. But as these people failed to turn wholly unto God, and to hold
fast to the hem of His all-pervading mercy at the appearance of the Daystar of
Truth, they passed out from under the shadow of guidance and entered the city
of error. Thus did they become corrupt and corrupt the people. Thus did they
err and lead the people into error. And thus were they recorded among the
oppressors in the books of heaven.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’,
‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
