Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all
the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every
Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day.
All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. 
Verily, I am the One Who abideth disconsolate beneath the
canopy of this world.
A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the
Most Great Tablet—a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own
Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign
of His greatness and power among its people, that all may glorify thereby their
Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, and extol the praise of
their Creator and the sanctity of the Soul of God that holdeth sway over all
created things. This, verily, is none other than a Word sent down by Him Who is
the All-Knowing, the Ancient of Days.
Strive, O people, to enter beneath the sheltering shadow of
the Word of God. Quaff, then, from it the choice wine of inner meaning and
explanation, for it is the repository of the living waters of the All-Glorious
and hath appeared from the horizon of the Will of the All-Merciful with
matchless splendour. Say: Out of this Most Great Ocean there hath branched the
Pre-existent Sea; blessed the one that hath attained and found repose upon its
shores.
Considering this most mighty enterprise, it beseemeth them
that love Him to gird up the loins of their endeavor, and to fix their thoughts
on whatever will ensure the victory of the cause of God, rather than commit
vile and contemptible deeds. Wert thou to consider, for but a little while, the
outward works and doings of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, thou wouldst fall
down upon the ground, and exclaim: O Thou Who art the Lord of Lords! I testify
that Thou art the Lord of all creation, and the Educator of all beings, visible
and invisible. I bear witness that Thy power hath encompassed the entire
universe, and that the hosts of the earth can never dismay Thee, nor can the
dominion of all peoples and nations deter Thee from executing Thy purpose. I
confess that Thou hast no desire except the regeneration of the whole world,
and the establishment of the unity of its peoples, and the salvation of all
them that dwell therein.
Say: He, verily, is the most perfect Balance established
amongst the nations, through Whom the measures of all things are made manifest
by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He it is Who hath intoxicated
every understanding heart with the wine of His utterance, and Who hath torn
asunder the veils through the power of My Name that overshadoweth the worlds.
He, verily, hath ordained the Bayán to be a leaf of this Garden and adorned it
with the mention of this incomparable Remembrance. He hath admonished all men
not to withhold themselves from the Dayspring of ancient glory, nor to cling,
at the time of His manifestation, to such tales and traditions as are current
amongst them. Thus hath it been decreed in accordance with that which He hath
revealed, and unto this beareth witness He Who speaketh the truth. No God is
there beside Me, the Almighty, the Most Generous.
This is the eve of that Day from whose horizon the ancient
Morn hath dawned forth with the splendour of the light beaming from that effulgent
horizon. Say: This is the Day whereon God established the Covenant concerning
Him Who is the voice of Truth [1] by sending forth the One [2] Who imparted
unto humankind the glad-tidings of this Great Announcement. This is the Day
whereon the Most Great Sign appeared and proclaimed this mighty Name,
captivating thereby all created things with the reviving breezes of the verses
of God. Happy the one that hath recognized his Lord and is numbered with them
that have attained His presence.
O Pen of Glory! Intone the anthems of grandeur, for We have
inhaled the fragrance of reunion at the approach of that Day whereon the
kingdom of names was adorned with the ornament of Our Name, the Exalted, the
Most High. No sooner was this Day mentioned before the Throne than the Maids of
Heaven chanted a wondrous melody, the Nightingale pealed out its heavenly song,
and the All-Merciful gave voice to that which enraptured the souls of the Messengers
of God, His chosen ones, and those who enjoy near access to Him.
He is the Ever-Abiding, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.
This is a remembrance of that which was revealed in the year
sixty in the days of God, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious,
the All-Knowing.
This is a remembrance of that which was revealed in the year
sixty in the days of God, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious,
the All-Knowing.
O Monk of the Divine Unity! Ring out the bell, for the Day
of the Lord is come and the Beauty of the All-Glorious hath ascended His
blessed and resplendent throne. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou
besides Whom there is none but “He”! [1]
He is the All-Glorious.
That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to
the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy
is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of
the earth. In another passage He hath proclaimed: It is not for him to pride
himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole
world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.
The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world
will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is
achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were
entering his own home. These things are obligatory and absolutely essential. It
is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate
that which hath been written into reality and action....
Though afflicted with countless tribulations, which We have
suffered at the hands of Our enemies, We have proclaimed unto all the rulers of
the earth what God hath willed to proclaim, that all nations may know that no
manner of affliction can deter the Pen of the Ancient of Days from achieving
its purpose. His Pen moveth by the leave of God, Who fashioneth the crumbling
and rotten bones.
Twenty years have passed, O kings [“of Christendom”], during
which We have, each day, tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. No one of
them that were before Us hath endured the things We have endured. Would that ye
could perceive it! They that rose up against Us have put us to death, have shed
our blood, have plundered our property, and violated our honor. Though aware of
most of our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the
aggressor. For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the
oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that your high sense of
justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind?
Ye [1] perpetrate every day a fresh injustice, and treat Me
as ye treated Me in times past, though I never attempted to meddle with your
affairs. At no time have I opposed you, neither have I rebelled against your
laws. Behold how ye have, at the last, made Me a prisoner in this far-off land!
Know for a certainty, however, that whatever your hands or the hands of the
infidels have wrought will never, as they never did of old, change the Cause of
God or alter His ways.
O MY handmaiden, O My leaf! Render thou thanks unto the
Best-Beloved of the world for having attained this boundless grace at a time
when the world's learned and most distinguished men have remained deprived
thereof. We have designated thee 'a leaf' that thou mayest, like unto leaves,
be stirred by the gentle wind of the Will of God -- exalted be His glory --
even as the leaves of the trees are stirred by onrushing winds. Yield thou
thanks unto thy Lord by virtue of this brilliant utterance. Wert thou to
perceive the sweetness of the title 'O My handmaiden' thou wouldst find thyself
detached from all mankind, devoutly engaged day and night in communion with Him
Who is the sole Desire of the world.
O Thou who art the chosen one among women! He is God;
glorified is the splendour of His light.