O Sun-like Mirrors! Look ye upon the Sun of Truth. Ye,
verily, depend upon it, were ye to perceive it. Ye are all as fishes, moving in
the waters of the sea, veiling yourselves therefrom, and yet asking what it is
on which ye depend. 
Beware, beware lest thou behave like unto the people of the
Bayán. For indeed they erred grievously, misguided the people, ignored the
Covenant of God and His Testament and joined partners with Him, the One, the
Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily they failed to recognize the Point of the
Bayán, for had they recognized Him they would not have rejected His
manifestation in this luminous and resplendent Being. And since they fixed
their eyes on names, therefore when He replaced His Name ‘the Most Exalted’ by
‘the Most Glorious’ their eyes were dimmed. They have failed to recognize Him
in these days and are reckoned with those that perish. Indeed, had they known
Him through His own Self or by virtue of that which He hath revealed, they
would not have repudiated Him when He appeared in this glorious and
incomparable Name, which God hath ordained to be the Sword of His Revelation
between heaven and earth, and through which truth is separated from error, even
from now until the Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.
Concerning the prerequisites of the learned, He saith:
“Whoso among the learned guardeth his self, defendeth his faith, opposeth his
desires, and obeyeth his Lord’s command, it is incumbent upon the generality of
the people to pattern themselves after him....” [1] Should the King of the Age reflect upon this
utterance which hath streamed from the tongue of Him Who is the Dayspring of
the Revelation of the All-Merciful, he would perceive that those who have been
adorned with the attributes enumerated in this holy Tradition are scarcer than
the philosopher’s stone; wherefore not every man that layeth claim to knowledge
deserveth to be believed.
And now concerning thy reference to the existence of two
Gods. Beware, beware, lest thou be led to join partners with the Lord, thy God.
He is, and hath from everlasting been, one and alone, without peer or equal,
eternal in the past, eternal in the future, detached from all things,
ever-abiding, unchangeable, and self-subsisting. He hath assigned no associate
unto Himself in His Kingdom, no counsellor to counsel Him, none to compare unto
Him, none to rival His glory. To this every atom of the universe beareth
witness, and beyond it the inmates of the realms on high, they that occupy the
most exalted seats, and whose names are remembered before the Throne of Glory.
God grant that, with a penetrating vision, thou mayest
perceive, in all things, the sign of the revelation of Him Who is the Ancient
King, and recognize how exalted and sanctified from the whole creation is that
most holy and sacred Being. This, in truth, is the very root and essence of
belief in the unity and singleness of God. “God was alone; there was none else
besides Him.” He, now, is what He hath ever been.
Glorified art Thou, O My God! Bear Thou witness that,
through this Book, I have covenanted with all created things concerning the
Mission of Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest, ere the covenant concerning Mine
own Mission had been established. Sufficient witness art Thou and they that
have believed in Thy signs. Thou, verily, sufficest Me. In Thee have I placed
My trust, and Thou, verily, takest count of all things.
In the third of the most holy lines writ and recorded in the
Ruby Tablet by the pen of the unseen this is revealed:
Every conqueror is but a serf whom Thy [God’s] hand hath
subjected, and the richest of the rich is as destitute before the immensity of
Thy wealth. The noblest of nobles is humbled when faced with the manifestations
of Thy glory, and the mightiest of potentates is a mere abject one when
confronted with the compelling evidences of Thine authority.
Tear asunder, O my God, the veil of vain imaginings that
hath obscured the vision of Thy people, that all may haste towards Thee, may
tread the path of Thy pleasure, and walk in the ways of Thy Faith.
Verily God is fully capable of causing all names to appear
in one name, and all souls in one soul. Surely powerful and mighty is He. And
this Return is realized at His behest in whatever form He willeth. Indeed He is
the One Who doeth and ordaineth all things. Moreover, thou shouldst not
perceive the fulfilment of the Return and the Resurrection save in the Word of
thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. For instance, were He to take a
handful of earth and declare it to be the One Whom ye have been following in
the past, it would undoubtedly be just and true, even as His real Person, and
to none is given the right to question His authority. He doeth what He willeth
and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth. Moreover, in this station take thou heed
not to turn thy gaze unto limitations and allusions, but rather unto that
whereby the Revelation itself hath been fulfilled and be of them that are discerning.
Thus do We explain for thee in a lucid and explicit language that thou mayest
comprehend that which thou didst seek from thine ancient Lord.
Consider… the revelation of the light of the Name of God,
the Incomparable. Behold, how this light hath enveloped the entire creation,
how each and every thing manifesteth the sign of His Unity, testifieth to the
reality of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, proclaimeth His sovereignty, His
oneness, and His power. This revelation is a token of His mercy that hath
encompassed all created things. They that have joined partners with Him,
however, are unaware of such a revelation, and are deprived of the Faith through
which they can draw near unto, and be united with, Him. Witness how the divers
peoples and kindreds of the earth bear witness to His unity, and recognize His
oneness. But for the sign of the Unity of God within them, they would have
never acknowledged the truth of the words, “There is none other God but God.”
And yet, consider how grievously they have erred, and strayed from His path.
Inasmuch as they have failed to recognize the Sovereign Revealer, they have
ceased to be reckoned among those who may be regarded as true believers in the
Unity of God.
Recognize Him [Baha’u’llah] by His verses. The greater your
neglect in seeking to know Him, the more grievously will ye be veiled in fire.
He is really a believer in the Unity of God who recognizeth
in each and every created thing the sign of the revelation of Him Who is the
Eternal Truth, and not he who maintaineth that the creature is
indistinguishable from the Creator.
Thou hast asked regarding the subject of the return. Know
thou that the end is like unto the beginning. Even as thou dost consider the
beginning, similarly shouldst thou consider the end, and be of them that truly
perceive. Nay, rather consider the beginning as the end itself, and so
conversely, that thou mayest acquire a clear perception. Know thou moreover that
every created thing is continually brought forth and returned at the bidding of
thy Lord, the God of power and might.