How many those who entered within the Abode of Paradise, the Seat
wherein the throne of God had been established, and stood before their Lord,
the Most Exalted, the Most Great, only to inquire about the four Gates or of
some Imám of the Islamic Faith! [1] Such was the state of these souls, if ye be
of them that comprehend. It is even as ye witness in the present day: those who
have disbelieved in God and joined partners with Him cling to a single one of
Our Names, and are debarred from recognizing Him Who is the Creator of all
Names. We testify that such men are of a truth amongst the people of the Fire. They
ask the sun to expound the words of the shadow, and the True One to explain the
utterances of His creatures, could ye but perceive it! Say: O people! The sun offereth naught save the
effulgence of its own light and that which appeareth therefrom, whilst all else
seek illumination from its rays. Fear God, and be not of the ignorant!
(Baha'u'llah, ‘Suriy-i-Haykal, ‘The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
[1] These are examples of the types of questions put to
the Báb. According to the teachings of Shí’i Islám, leadership of the Islamic
community belonged of right, after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, to a
line of twelve successors, descendants of His daughter Fátimih, known as
“Imáms''. This line being eventually severed through the ``occultation'' of the
last Imám, communication with the latter was for a time maintained through a
succession of four intermediaries known as “Gates''.
