O My Friends! Quench ye the lamp of error, and kindle within
your hearts the everlasting torch of divine guidance. For ere long the assayers
of mankind shall, in the holy presence of the Adored, accept naught but purest
virtue and deeds of stainless holiness. 
How wondrous is the unity of the Living, the Ever-Abiding
God—a unity which is exalted above all limitations, that transcendeth the
comprehension of all created things! He hath, from everlasting, dwelt in His
inaccessible habitation of holiness and glory, and will unto everlasting
continue to be enthroned upon the heights of His independent sovereignty and
grandeur. How lofty hath been His incorruptible Essence, how completely
independent of the knowledge of all created things, and how immensely exalted
will it remain above the praise of all the inhabitants of the heavens and the
earth!
Say: The breeze of God hath wafted over you [“kings of the
earth”] from the retreats of Paradise, but ye have neglected it and chosen to
persist in your waywardness. Guidance hath been given unto you from God, but ye
have failed to follow it and preferred to reject its truth. The Lamp of God
hath been lit within the niche of His Cause, but ye have neglected to seek the
radiance of its glory and to draw nigh unto its light. And still ye slumber
upon the couch of heedlessness!
Relate unto them [“kings of the earth”], O Servant, the
story of ‘Alí, [the Báb] when He came unto them with truth, bearing His
glorious and weighty Book, and holding in His hands a testimony and proof from
God, and holy and blessed tokens from Him. Ye, however, O kings, have failed to
heed the Remembrance of God in His days and to be guided by the lights which
arose and shone forth above the horizon of a resplendent Heaven. Ye examined
not His Cause when so to do would have been better for you than all that the
sun shineth upon, could ye but perceive it. Ye remained careless until the
divines of Persia—those cruel ones—pronounced judgement against Him, and
unjustly slew Him. His spirit ascended unto God, and the eyes of the inmates of
Paradise and the angels that are nigh unto Him wept sore by reason of this
cruelty. Beware that ye be not careless henceforth as ye have been careless
aforetime. Return, then, unto God, your Maker, and be not of the heedless.
O ye rulers of the earth! Wherefore have ye clouded the
radiance of the Sun, and caused it to cease from shining? Hearken unto the
counsel given you by the Pen of the Most High, that haply both ye and the poor
may attain unto tranquillity and peace. We beseech God to assist the kings of
the earth to establish peace on earth. He, verily, doth what He willeth.
O my servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this
earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested
by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store
for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes.
You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their
benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining
grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.”
"I swear by My life! Nothing save that which profiteth them
can befall My loved ones. To this testifieth the Pen of God, the Most Powerful,
the All-Glorious, the Best Beloved.” “Let not the happenings of the world
sadden you. I swear by God! The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence,
for every good thing hath been created for you, and will, according to the
needs of the times, be revealed unto you.”
O ye the elected representatives of the people in every
land! Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that which
profiteth mankind, and bettereth the condition thereof, if ye be of them that
scan heedfully. Regard the world as the human body which, though at its
creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with
grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its
sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant
physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred
grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a
member of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before. Thus
informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise…
 |
circa 1935: The Barrack-Square in Tabriz where
the Báb suffered martyrdom. Pillar on the right
marked X is the place where He was suspended
and shot.(The Dawn-Breakers)
|
Ages rolled away, until they attained their consummation in
this, the Lord of days, the Day whereon the Day-Star of the Bayán manifested
itself above the horizon of mercy, the Day in which the Beauty of the
All-Glorious shone forth in the exalted person of ‘Alí-Muhammad, the Báb. No
sooner did He reveal Himself, than all the people rose up against Him. By some
He was denounced as one that hath uttered slanders against God, the Almighty,
the Ancient of Days. Others regarded Him as a man smitten with madness, an
allegation which I, Myself, have heard from the lips of one of the divines.
Still others disputed His claim to be the Mouthpiece of God, and stigmatized
Him as one who had stolen and used as his the words of the Almighty, who had
perverted their meaning, and mingled them with his own. The Eye of Grandeur
weepeth sore for the things which their mouths have uttered, while they
continue to rejoice upon their seats.
This is a Missive from the Primal Point [1] unto them that
have believed in God, the One, the Peerless, the Almighty, the All-Knowing,
wherein He addresseth those among the people of the Bayán who have vacillated
in this Cause, that haply they may apprehend the wondrous words of God and
forsake the couch of heedlessness in this shining and resplendent morn.
Tread ye in the path of the one true God and ponder the ways
and words of Him Who is the Manifestation of His ancient Being, that perchance
ye may attain unto the Wellspring of the living waters of the All-Glorious.
Were believers and non-believers to occupy the same station, were the worlds of
God to be confined to this ephemeral plane, never would My previous
Manifestation have surrendered Himself into the hands of His foes or laid down
His life as a sacrifice. I swear by the dawning-light of this Cause that were
the people to grasp the barest intimation of the fervour and longing which
overcame that sovereign Beauty when His celestial Temple was suspended in the
air, all would, in the intensity of their own yearning, offer up their souls in
the path of this Manifestation of supernal glory. Indeed, sugar is the portion
of the parrot, while dung is the share of the beetle; the crow hath no part in
the warbling of the nightingale, and the bat fleeth the rays of the sun.
O My Servants! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give
forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit
therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and
professions, for therein lies the secret of wealth, O men of understanding! For
results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto
you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire.
The day-star of words, dawning above the horizon of the
utterance of Him Who is the Lord of all names and attributes, hath, at this
most blessed of hours, shone forth in all truth with the splendours of the
light of God. The spirit of understanding, flowing from the Pen of the
All-Glorious, hath, by virtue of His grace, been conferred upon all created
things. The mystery of all mysteries, emerging from behind the veils of
concealment, hath, in very truth, been revealed to the righteous, as bidden by
God, the Almighty, the Unconstrained.
It behoveth thee [1] to turn thy gaze in all circumstances
unto the One true God, and seek diligently to serve His Cause. Call thou to
mind when thou wert in My company, within the Tabernacle of Glory, and didst
hear from Me that which He Who conversed with God [Moses] heard upon the Sinai
of divine knowledge. Thus did We graciously aid thee, enabled thee to recognize
the truth and cautioned thee, that thou mightest render thanks unto thy
bountiful Lord. Thou shouldst safeguard this sublime station through the
potency of My Name, the Omnipotent, the Faithful.
Not long ago this most sublime Word was revealed in the
Crimson Book by the All-Glorious Pen: ‘The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined
with two luminaries: consultation and compassion’. Please God, everyone may be
enabled to observe this weighty and blessed word.
Arise thou to serve the Cause of thy Lord; then give the
people the joyful tidings concerning this resplendent Light whose revelation
hath been announced by God through His Prophets and Messengers. Admonish
everyone moreover to observe prudence as ordained by Him, and in the Name of
God advise them, saying: It behoveth every one in this Day of God to dedicate
himself to the teaching of the Cause with utmost prudence and steadfastness.
Should he discover a pure soil, let him sow the seed of the Word of God,
otherwise it would be preferable to observe silence.
How strange that despite this ringing Call, despite the
appearance of this most wondrous Revelation, We notice that men, for the most
part, have fixed their hearts on the vanities of the world and are sorely
dismayed and troubled by reason of prevailing doubts and evil suggestions. Say:
This is the Day of God Himself; fear ye God and be not of them that have
disbelieved in Him. Cast the idle tales behind your backs and behold My
Revelation through Mine eyes. Unto this have ye been exhorted in heavenly Books
and Scriptures, in the Scrolls and Tablets.
On the first day that the Ancient Beauty ascended His Most
Great Throne in the garden named Riḍván, the Tongue of Glory gave utterance to
three blessed words. First, that in this Revelation the law of the sword hath
been annulled.[1] Second, that ere the expiration of one thousand
years whosoever advanceth a prophetic claim is false. By “year” a full year is
intended, and no exegesis or interpretation is permitted in this matter. And
third, that at that very hour God, exalted be His Glory, shed the full
splendour of all His names upon all creation.
Thou beholdest, O my God, how every bone in my body soundeth
like a pipe with the music of Thine inspiration, revealing the signs of Thy
oneness and the clear tokens of Thy unity. I entreat Thee, O my God, by Thy
Name which irradiateth all things, to raise up such servants as shall incline
their ears to the voice of the melodies that hath ascended from the right hand
of the throne of Thy glory. Make them, then, to quaff from the hand of Thy
grace the wine of Thy mercy, that it may assure their hearts, and cause them to
turn away from the left hand of idle fancies and vain imaginings to the right
hand of confidence and certitude.