It hath been forbidden you to smoke opium. We, truly, have
prohibited this practice through a most binding interdiction in the Book.
Should anyone partake thereof, assuredly he is not of Me. Fear God, O ye endued
with understanding! 
Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is
holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are
weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize
this truth. Say: This is the Most Great Testimony, by which the validity of
every proof throughout the ages hath been established, would that ye might be
assured thereof. Say: Through it the poor have been enriched, the learned
enlightened, and the seekers enabled to ascend unto the presence of God. Beware
lest ye make it a cause of dissension amongst you. Be ye as firmly settled as
the immovable mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving.
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may
unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its
depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the
truth of this Cause—a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of
God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming
with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in
the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him
that hath refused to seek it—verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of
His creatures.
When the time set for this Revelation was fulfilled, and He
Who is the Day Star of the world appeared in ‘Iráq, He bade His followers
observe that which would sanctify them from all earthly defilements. Some
preferred to follow the desires of a corrupt inclination, while others walked
in the way of righteousness and truth, and were rightly guided.
…were they [Manifestations of God] to say: “We are the
servants of God,” this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have
been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of
which no man can possibly attain. Thus in moments in which these Essences of
being were deeply immersed beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting
holiness, or when they soared to the loftiest summits of divine mysteries, they
claimed their utterance to be the Voice of divinity, the Call of God Himself.
Were the eye of discernment to be opened, it would recognize that in this very
state, they have considered themselves utterly effaced and non-existent in the
face of Him Who is the All-Pervading, the Incorruptible. Methinks, they have
regarded themselves as utter nothingness, and deemed their mention in that
Court an act of blasphemy. For the slightest whispering of self, within such a
Court, is an evidence of self-assertion and independent existence. In the eyes
of them that have attained unto that Court, such a suggestion is itself a grievous
transgression. How much more grievous would it be, were aught else to be
mentioned in that Presence, were man’s heart, his tongue, his mind, or his
soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes to behold
any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any
melody but His voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way.
The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the
vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered
life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous
System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.
Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time
immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been
regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority. Whoso
will hesitate, though it be for less than a moment, should be regarded as a
transgressor.
Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to
declare: “I am God!” He verily speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth
thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their
Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His name and His
attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: “Those
shafts were God’s, not Thine!” [Qur’án 8:17] And also He saith: “In truth, they
who plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.” [Qur’án
48:10] And were any of them to voice the utterance: “I am the Messenger of
God,” He also speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith:
“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of
God.” [Qur’án 33:40] Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that
ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim: “I am the
Seal of the Prophets,” they verily utter but the truth, beyond the faintest
shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one
being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and
the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and “Hidden”—all of which
pertain to Him Who is the innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of
Essences.
Take heed that ye dispute not idly concerning the Almighty
and His Cause, for lo! He hath appeared amongst you invested with a Revelation
so great as to encompass all things, whether of the past or of the future.
My captivity can bring on Me no shame. Nay, by My life, it
conferreth on Me glory. That which can make Me ashamed is the conduct of such
of My followers as profess to love Me, yet in fact follow the Evil One. They, indeed,
are of the lost.
O people of the Bayán! We, verily, set foot within the
School of God when ye lay slumbering; and We perused the Tablet while ye were
fast asleep. By the one true God! We read the Tablet ere it was revealed, while
ye were unaware, and We had perfect knowledge of the Book when ye were yet
unborn. These words are to your measure, not to God’s. To this testifieth that
which is enshrined within His knowledge, if ye be of them that comprehend; and
to this the tongue of the Almighty doth bear witness, if ye be of those who
understand. I swear by God, were We to lift the veil, ye would be dumbfounded….
Were We to address Our theme by speaking in the language of the inmates of the
Kingdom, We would say: “In truth, God created that School ere He created heaven
and earth, and We entered it before the letters B and E were joined and knit
together.” Such is the language of Our servants in Our Kingdom; consider what
the tongue of the dwellers of Our exalted Dominion would utter, for We have
taught them Our knowledge and have revealed to them whatever had lain hidden in
God’s wisdom. Imagine then what the Tongue of Might and Grandeur would utter in
His All-Glorious Abode!
We did not refuse such material benefits as could relieve Us
from Our afflictions. Every one of Our companions, however, will bear Us
witness that Our holy court is sanctified from, and far above, such material
benefits. We have nevertheless accepted, while confined in this Prison, those
things of which the infidels have striven to deprive Us. If a man be found
willing to rear, in Our name, an edifice of pure gold or silver, or a house
begemmed with stones of inestimable value, such a wish will no doubt be granted.
He, verily, doeth what He willeth, and ordaineth that which He pleaseth. Leave
hath, moreover, been given to whosoever may desire to raise, throughout the
length and breadth of this land, noble and imposing structures, and dedicate
the rich and sacred territories adjoining the Jordan and its vicinity to the
worship and service of the one true God, magnified be His glory, that the
prophecies recorded by the Pen of the Most High in the sacred Scriptures may be
fulfilled, and that which God, the Lord of all worlds, hath purposed in this
most exalted, this most holy, this mighty, and wondrous Revelation may be made
manifest.
Blessed be the king whom the veils of glory have not
deterred from turning unto the Dayspring of beauty and who hath forsaken his
all in his desire to obtain the things of God. He, indeed, is accounted in the
sight of God as the most excellent of men, and is extolled by the inmates of
paradise and them that circle morn and eve round the Throne on high.
Every unbiased observer will readily admit that, ever since
the dawn of His Revelation, this wronged One hath invited all mankind to turn
their faces towards the Day Spring of Glory, and hath forbidden corruption,
hatred, oppression, and wickedness. And yet, behold what the hand of the
oppressor hath wrought! No pen dare describe his tyranny. Though the purpose of
Him Who is the Eternal Truth hath been to confer everlasting life upon all men,
and ensure their security and peace, yet witness how they have arisen to shed
the blood of His loved ones, and have pronounced on Him the sentence of death.
Call thou to mind that which hath been revealed unto Mihdí,
Our servant, in the first year of Our banishment to the Land of Mystery
(Adrianople). Unto him have We predicted that which must befall Our House
(Baghdád House), in the days to come, lest he grieve over the acts of robbery
and violence already perpetrated against it. Verily, the Lord, thy God, knoweth
all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
Arise thou amongst men in the name of this all-compelling
Cause, and summon, then, the nations unto God, the Exalted, the Great. Be thou
not of them who called upon God by one of His names, but who, when He Who is
the Object of all names appeared, denied Him and turned aside from Him, and, in
the end, pronounced sentence against Him with manifest injustice. Consider and
call thou to mind the days whereon the Spirit of God appeared, and Herod gave
judgement against Him. God, however,
aided Him with the hosts of the unseen, and protected Him with truth, and sent
Him down unto another land, according to His promise. He, verily, ordaineth
what He pleaseth. Thy Lord truly preserveth whom He willeth, be he in the midst
of the seas, or in the maw of the serpent, or beneath the sword of the
oppressor.
Beware lest thy sovereignty withhold thee from Him Who is
the Supreme Sovereign. He, verily, is come with His Kingdom, and all the atoms
cry aloud: “Lo! The Lord is come in His
great majesty!” He Who is the Father is come, and the Son, in the holy vale,
crieth out: “Here am I, here am I, O Lord, My God!”, whilst Sinai circleth
round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: “The All-Bounteous is come
mounted upon the clouds! Blessed is he that draweth nigh unto Him, and woe
betide them that are far away.”
O Shaykh! [1] It is incumbent upon the divines to unite with
His Majesty, the Sháh—may God assist him—and to cleave day and night unto that
which will exalt the station of both the government and the nation. This people
are assiduously occupied in enlightening the souls of men and in rehabilitating
their condition. Unto this testifieth that which hath been sent down by the
Most Sublime Pen in this lucid Tablet. How often have things been simple and
easy of accomplishment, and yet most men have been heedless, and busied
themselves with that which wasteth their time!
This Wronged One hath, at all times, summoned the peoples of
the world unto that which will exalt them, and draw them nigh unto God. From
the Most Sublime Horizon there hath shone forth that which leaveth no room unto
any one for vacillation, repudiation or denial. The wayward, however, have
failed to profit therefrom; nay, it shall only increase their loss.