…in every age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books
is for no other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning
and unravel their innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without
understanding, is of no abiding profit unto man. 
….they [Muslims] have foolishly clung to the term “seal,”
and remained utterly deprived of the recognition of Him Who is the Revealer of
both the Seal and the Beginning, in the day of His presence. “If God should
chastise men for their perverse doings, He would not leave upon the earth a
moving thing! But to an appointed time doth He respite them.” [Qur’án 16:61]
But apart from all these things, had this people attained unto a drop of the
crystal streams flowing from the words: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and
ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” they would not have raised any unseemly
cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His Revelation.
Know of a truth that your subjects are God’s trust amongst
you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware
that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and
conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate.
How strange! These people with one hand cling to those
verses of the Qur’án and those traditions of the people of certitude which they
have found to accord with their inclinations and interests, and with the other
reject those which are contrary to their selfish desires. “Believe ye then part
of the Book, and deny part?” [Qur’án 2:85] How could ye judge that which ye
understand not? Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book, after speaking
of the “Seal” in His exalted utterance: “Muhammad is the Apostle of God and the
Seal of the Prophets,” [Qur’án 33:40] hath revealed unto all people the promise
of “attainment unto the divine Presence.” To this attainment to the presence of
the immortal King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already
mentioned. The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more
explicit than “attainment unto the divine Presence” hath been revealed in the
Qur’án. Well is it with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein
most of the people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom.
Commit not, O people, that which dishonoureth your name and
the fair name of the Cause of God amongst men. Beware lest ye approach that
which your minds abhor. Fear God and
follow not in the footsteps of them that are gone astray.
They who exhort others unto justice, while themselves
committing iniquity, stand accused of falsehood by the inmates of the Kingdom
and by those who circle round the throne of their Lord, the Almighty, the
Beneficent, for that which their tongues have uttered.
Verily, this is the Remembrance that hath shone forth above
the horizon of creation, which shall purge thy soul from the dross of the
world. Abandon thy palaces to the people of the graves, and thine empire to
whosoever desireth it, and turn, then, unto the Kingdom. This, verily, is what
God hath chosen for thee, wert thou of them that turn unto Him… Shouldst thou
desire to bear the weight of thy dominion, bear it then to aid the Cause of thy
Lord. Glorified be this station which whoever attaineth thereunto hath attained
unto all good that proceedeth from Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
They that have failed to turn unto the Countenance of God in
this Revelation are indeed bereft of life. They move as bidden by their own
selfish desires, and are in truth accounted among the dead.
Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou towards
the face of thy Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world with the
ornament of the favours of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days. For We
perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is the Desire of all nations
hath shed upon the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendour of the
light of His most excellent names, and enveloped them with the radiance of the
luminaries of His most gracious favours — favours which none can reckon except
Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector of the entire creation.
Shake off, O heedless ones, the slumber of negligence, that
ye may behold the radiance which His glory hath spread through the world. How
foolish are those who murmur against the premature birth of His light. O ye who
are inly blind! Whether too soon or too late, the evidences of His effulgent
glory are now actually manifest. It behoveth you to ascertain whether or not
such a light hath appeared. It is neither within your power nor mine to set the
time at which it should be made manifest. God’s inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed
its hour beforehand. Be content, O people, with that which God hath desired for
you and predestined unto you....
This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names
of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who
are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: “Put away the cups of Paradise
and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá have
entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the wine of reunion,
from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most
High.”
Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of
utterance hath imprinted the testimony: “He that was hidden from the eyes of
men is revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!” This is the Paradise the
rustling of whose leaves proclaimeth: “O ye that inhabit the heavens and the
earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who, from
everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now come.”
From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there cometh the
cry: “He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made manifest. The Kingdom is
God’s,” while from its streaming waters can be heard the murmur: “All eyes are
gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered,
hath lifted the veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.”
We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse
thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?
O my ill-wishers! The Day Star of eternal Guidance beareth
me witness: Had it been in my power, I would have, under no circumstances,
consented to distinguish myself amongst men, for the Name I bear utterly
disdaineth to associate itself with this generation whose tongues are sullied
and whose hearts are false. And whenever I chose to hold my peace and be still,
lo, the voice of the Holy Ghost, standing on my right hand, aroused me, and the
Supreme Spirit appeared before my face, and Gabriel overshadowed me, and the
Spirit of Glory stirred within my bosom, bidding me arise and break my silence.
If your hearing be purged and your ears be attentive, ye will assuredly
perceive that every limb of my body, nay all the atoms of my being, proclaim
and bear witness to this call: “God, besides Whom is none other God, and He,
Whose beauty is now manifest, is the reflection of His glory unto all that are
in heaven and on earth.”
God is my witness! Had it not been in conflict with that
which the Tablets of God have decreed, I would have gladly kissed the hands of
whosoever attempted to shed my blood in the path of the Well-Beloved. I would,
moreover, have bestowed upon him a share of such worldly goods as God had
allowed me to possess, even though he who perpetrated this act would have
provoked the wrath of the Almighty, incurred His malediction, and deserved to
be tormented throughout the eternity of God, the All-Possessing, the Equitable,
the All-Wise.
Know verily that whenever this Youth turneth His eyes
towards His own self, he findeth it the most insignificant of all creation.
When He contemplates, however, the bright effulgences He hath been empowered to
manifest, lo, that self is transfigured before Him into a sovereign Potency
permeating the essence of all things visible and invisible. Glory be to Him
Who, through the power of truth, hath sent down the Manifestation of His own
Self and entrusted Him with His message unto all mankind.
Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him Who is the
Unknowable, the Invisible of the Invisibles, could ye but perceive it. He it is
Who hath laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem, were ye to seek it.
He it is Who is the one Beloved of all things, whether of the past or of the
future. Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon Him!
This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out: “Great
is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God,
and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne.” The realm of glory
exclaimeth: “Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He Who is the
Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty upon thee, through
the power of His Name that hath been promised unto all things, whether of the
past or of the future.” This is the Day whereon every sweet smelling thing hath
derived its fragrance from the smell of My garment—a garment that hath shed its
perfume upon the whole of creation. This is the Day whereon the rushing waters
of everlasting life have gushed out of the Will of the All-Merciful. Haste ye,
with your hearts and souls, and quaff your fill, O Concourse of the realms
above!
This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the
splendours of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious,
the Most Bountiful. Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of
Our irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into being
a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I am, verily, the
All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and am
invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily, is the Truth, the
Knower of things unseen.