Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of
utterance hath imprinted the testimony: “He that was hidden from the eyes of
men is revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!” This is the Paradise the
rustling of whose leaves proclaimeth: “O ye that inhabit the heavens and the
earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who, from
everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now come.”
From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there cometh the
cry: “He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made manifest. The Kingdom is
God’s,” while from its streaming waters can be heard the murmur: “All eyes are
gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered,
hath lifted the veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.”
Within this Paradise, and from the heights of its loftiest
chambers, the Maids of Heaven have cried out and shouted: “Rejoice, ye dwellers
of the realms above, for the fingers of Him Who is the Ancient of Days are
ringing, in the name of the All-Glorious, the Most Great Bell, in the midmost
heart of the heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the cup of
everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill. Drink with healthy relish, O
ye that are the very incarnations of longing, ye who are the embodiments of
vehement desire!”
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)