It behoveth man to adhere tenaciously unto that which will
promote fellowship, kindliness and unity.
- Baha’u’llah (Lawh-i-Dunya [Tablet of
the World]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust,
can, besides these melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able, apart from
these utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries. Every single note of its
unpronounced utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath already
been revealed, and immensely glorified beyond that which hath streamed from
this Pen. Let the future disclose the hour when the Brides of inner meaning
will, as decreed by the Will of God, hasten forth, unveiled, out of their
mystic mansions, and manifest themselves in the ancient realm of being. Nothing
whatsoever is possible without His permission; no power can endure save through
His power, and there is none other God but He. His is the world of creation,
and His the Cause of God. All proclaim His Revelation, and all unfold the
mysteries of His Spirit.
It is incumbent upon the ministers of the House of Justice
to promote the Lesser Peace so that the people of the earth may be relieved
from the burden of exorbitant expenditures. This matter is imperative and
absolutely essential, inasmuch as hostilities and conflict lie at the root of
affliction and calamity.
In the year sixty He Who heralded the light of Divine
Guidance—may all creation be a sacrifice unto Him—arose to announce a fresh
revelation of the Divine Spirit, and was followed, twenty years later, by Him
through Whose coming the world was made the recipient of this promised glory,
this wondrous favour. Behold how the generality of mankind hath been endued
with the capacity to hearken unto God’s most exalted Word—the Word upon which
must depend the gathering together and spiritual resurrection of all men.
Arise thou, in My name, above the horizon of renunciation,
and set, then, thy face towards the Kingdom, at the bidding of thy Lord, the
Lord of strength and of might. Through
the power of My sovereignty stand before the inhabitants of the world and say:
“O people! The Day is come, and the fragrances of God have been wafted over the
whole of creation. They that have turned away from His Face are the helpless
victims of their corrupt inclinations. They are indeed of them that have gone
astray.”
The summons and the message which We gave were never
intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its
entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed
unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true liberty. The whole earth
is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God’s Revelation.
Deal not treacherously with the substance of your
neighbour. Be ye trustworthy on earth,
and withhold not from the poor the things given unto you by God through His
grace. He, verily, will bestow upon you
the double of what ye possess. He, in
truth, is the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous.
The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held within the
grasp of His power. “All things lie imprisoned within the hollow of His mighty
Hand; all things are easy and possible unto Him.” He accomplisheth whatsoever
He willeth, and doeth all that He desireth. “Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’
hath spoken blasphemy!” Were these people to shake off the slumber of
negligence and realize that which their hands have wrought, they would surely
perish, and would of their own accord cast themselves into fire—their end and
real abode. Have they not heard that which He hath revealed: “He shall not be
asked of His doings?” [Qur’án 21:23] In the light of these utterances, how can
man be so bold as to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?
Wert thou to quaff the mystic Wine of everlasting life from
the chalice of the words of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, thou wouldst be enabled
to forsake all that thou dost possess and to proclaim My Name before all
mankind. Cleanse then thy soul with the waters of detachment. 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.
All praise be to the one true God—exalted be His
glory—inasmuch as He hath, through the Pen of the Most High, unlocked the doors
of men’s hearts. Every verse which this Pen hath revealed is a bright and
shining portal that discloseth the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure
and stainless deeds.
….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.