O Son of Dust! Turn not away thine eyes from the matchless
wine of the immortal Beloved, and open them not to foul and mortal dregs. Take
from the hands of the divine Cup-bearer the chalice of immortal life, that all
wisdom may be thine, and that thou mayest hearken unto the mystic voice calling
from the realm of the invisible. Cry aloud, ye that are of low aim! Wherefore
have ye turned away from My holy and immortal wine unto evanescent water? 
Twenty years have passed, O kings, 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 honour. 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?
O Minister of the King of Paris! [1] Hast thou forgotten the
pronouncement recorded in the Gospel according to John concerning the Word and
those who are its Manifestations? And hast thou ignored the counsels of the
Spirit [Jesus] concerning the Manifestations of the Word, and been numbered
with the heedless? If not, wherefore
then didst thou conspire with the Minister of Persia to inflict upon Us that
which hath caused the hearts of men of insight and understanding to melt, the
tears of the denizens of the Realm of eternity to flow, and the souls of them
who are nigh unto God to mourn? And all this thou didst commit without seeking
to examine Our Cause or to discern its truth. For is it not thy clear duty to
investigate this Cause, to inform thyself of the things that have befallen Us,
to judge with equity, and to cleave unto justice?
“This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out, ‘Great
is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God,
and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne.’” “Say, O men! This is a
matchless Day. Matchless must, likewise, be the tongue that celebrateth the
praise of the Desire of all nations, and matchless the deed that aspireth to be
acceptable in His sight. The whole human race hath longed for this Day, that
perchance it may fulfill that which well beseemeth its station and is worthy of
its destiny.”
What! Believe ye in your hearts that ye possess the power to
extinguish the radiance of the Sun, or to eclipse its splendor? Nay, by My
life! Ye will never and can never achieve your purpose, though ye summon to
your aid all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. Walk ye in
the fear of God, and render not your works vain. Incline your ears to His
words, and be not of them that are shut out as by a veil from Him. Say: God is
My witness! I have wished nothing whatever for Myself. What I have wished is
the victory of God and the triumph of His Cause. He is Himself a sufficient
witness between you and Me. Were ye to cleanse your eyes, ye would readily
perceive how My deeds testify to the truth of My words, how My words are a
guide to My deeds.
When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in
the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days he… should… regard
backbiting as grievous error, and keep himself aloof from its dominion,
inasmuch as backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the
life of the soul.
Say: There is no place of refuge for you, no asylum to which
ye can flee, no one to defend or to protect you in this Day from the fury of
the wrath of God and from His vehement power, unless and until ye seek the
shadow of His Revelation. This, indeed, is His Revelation which hath been
manifested unto you in the person of this Youth. Glorified, then, be God for so
effulgent, so precious, so wondrous a vision.
Say: Think ye that your allegiance to His Cause can ever
profit Him, or your repudiation of its truth cause Him any loss? No, by My
Self, the All-Subduing, the Inaccessible, the Most High! Tear ye asunder the
veils of names and cleave ye their kingdom. By My Beauty! He Who is the Monarch
of all names is come, He at Whose bidding every single name hath, from the
beginning that hath no beginning, been created, He Who shall continue to create
them as He pleaseth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.
Beware that ye divest not yourselves of the raiment of
Divine guidance. Drink ye your fill from the Cup which the Youths of Heaven
have raised above your heads. Thus biddeth you He Who hath more mercy upon you
than your own selves, He Who asketh not any recompense or thanks from you. His
reward is from Him Who hath, through the power of truth, sent Him down unto
you, and singled Him out and proclaimed Him as His own Testimony unto the whole
of creation. He it is Who hath empowered Him to manifest all His signs. Repeat
the gaze, that ye may perceive the things whereunto the Tongue of the Ancient
of Days hath summoned you, that haply ye may be of them that have apprehended
the truth. Heard it ye ever reported by your fathers of old, or by the generations
that preceded them, even unto the first Adam, that any one coming in the clouds
of revelation, being invested with manifest and transcendent sovereignty,
having on his right hand the Kingdom of God and on his left all the power and
glory of His everlasting dominion, any one preceded by the hosts of God, the
Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Most Powerful, and uttering continually
verses whose import the minds of the most learned and wisest of men are
powerless to fathom, should yet be the bearer of a message that is not of God?
Be discerning, then, and speak ye the truth, the very truth, if ye claim to be
honest and high-minded.
God the true One is My Witness! This is the Day whereon it
is incumbent upon everyone that seeth to behold, and every ear that hearkeneth
to hear, and every heart that understandeth to perceive, and every tongue that
speaketh to proclaim unto all who are in heaven and on earth, this holy, this
exalted, and all-highest Name.
O My handmaiden and My leaf! Rejoice with great joy inasmuch
as thy call hath ascended unto the Divine Lote-Tree and is answered from the
all-glorious Horizon. Verily, no God is there but Me, the Wronged One, the
Exile.
From the dawning-place of testimony We have raised the Call
unto all that dwell in the realm of creation. Amongst men there are those who
have been carried away by the fragrance of the utterance of their Lord in such
manner that they have forsaken everything which pertaineth unto men in their
eagerness to attain the court of the presence of God, the Lord of the mighty
throne. There are also those who are sore perplexed and wavering. Others have
made haste, winged their way to answer the Call of their Lord, the Ancient of
Days. Still others have turned aside, rejected the truth and eventually
disbelieved in God, the Almighty, the All-Praised. And there are yet others who
have pronounced judgement against Him with such cruelty that every wise and
discerning soul hath been moved to lament. We have graciously summoned them
unto the river that is life indeed, while they have, with manifest injustice,
decreed the shedding of My blood. Thus hath the Day-Star of wisdom shone forth
from above the horizon of the utterance of thy Lord, the All-Merciful. Shouldst
thou attain unto its light, it behoveth thee to magnify the praise of thy Lord
and say, I yield Thee thanks, O God of the worlds.
Where is the man of insight who will recognize and perceive
the truth? Where is to be found the man of hearing who will hearken unto My
wondrous Voice calling from the realm of glory? Where is the soul who will set
his face towards the Divine Lote-Tree in such wise that neither the
overpowering might of the kings, nor the violent commotions of their subjects
may frustrate him, lifting up his voice amidst the entire creation through the
power of wisdom and utterance and testifying unto that whereunto hath testified
God, that verily no God is there besides Him, the Powerful, the Invincible, the
Omnipotent, the Knowing, the Wise.
The glory which hath shone forth above the horizon of
utterance be upon thee and upon such believers as have seized the chalice of
His sealed wine through the power of His Name, the Self-Subsisting, and drunk
deep despite those that have rejected the One in Whom they had formerly
professed belief—they that have disputed the truth of this Great Announcement
whereunto God hath testified in His precious and ancient Book.
O My Friend! Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My
holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend
asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge
resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.
O My Servant! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword
concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the
artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire
that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.
O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the
step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days he
must… at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the
earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is
the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash
away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must
cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle
talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly
poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue
devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time,
whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century.
Time hath passed, and we all remain confined in these
barracks, notwithstanding that during the five years we dwelt in Adrianople,
all its inhabitants, whether learned or ignorant, rich or poor, bore witness to
the purity and sanctity of these servants. At the time this Youth was departing
from Adrianople, one of the loved ones of God attempted to take his own life,
so unbearable to him was the sight of this Wronged One in the hands of His
oppressors. During the journey we were thrice compelled to change ships, and it
is evident how much the children suffered as a result. Upon disembarking, four
of the believers were separated and prevented from accompanying Us. As this
Youth was leaving, one of the four, named ‘Abdu’l-Ghaffár, cast himself into
the sea, and no one knoweth what befell him thereafter.
O Lord my God! Whensoever I attempt to unloose my tongue to
extol the wondrous expressions of Thy transcendent oneness, or to open my lips
to disclose the mystic gems of Thine incomparable handiwork wherewith Thou hast
inspired me, I am compelled to recognize that all things sing Thy praise and
glorify Thy remembrance—a remembrance which hath so pervaded the heavens and
the earth that all things proclaim, in their very being, the wondrous
testimonies of Thine exalted praise and bear witness to the marvellous tokens
of Thy transcendent unity. Wherefore am I ashamed, as are all who mention Thee,
to approach the exalted heights of Thy remembrance, and am powerless, as are
all who extol Thee, to ascend unto the lofty summits of Thy praise.
Persevere thou in helping His Cause through the
strengthening power of the hosts of wisdom and utterance. Thus hath it been
decreed by God, the Gracious, the All-Praised. Blessed is the believer who hath
in this Day embraced the Truth and the man of fixed resolve whom the hosts of
tyranny have been powerless to affright.