The summons and the message which We gave were never
intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its
entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed
unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true liberty. The whole earth
is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God’s Revelation. 
Deal not treacherously with the substance of your
neighbour. Be ye trustworthy on earth,
and withhold not from the poor the things given unto you by God through His
grace. He, verily, will bestow upon you
the double of what ye possess. He, in
truth, is the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous.
The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held within the
grasp of His power. “All things lie imprisoned within the hollow of His mighty
Hand; all things are easy and possible unto Him.” He accomplisheth whatsoever
He willeth, and doeth all that He desireth. “Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’
hath spoken blasphemy!” Were these people to shake off the slumber of
negligence and realize that which their hands have wrought, they would surely
perish, and would of their own accord cast themselves into fire—their end and
real abode. Have they not heard that which He hath revealed: “He shall not be
asked of His doings?” [Qur’án 21:23] In the light of these utterances, how can
man be so bold as to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?
Wert thou to quaff the mystic Wine of everlasting life from
the chalice of the words of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, thou wouldst be enabled
to forsake all that thou dost possess and to proclaim My Name before all
mankind. Cleanse then thy soul with the waters of detachment. Verily, this is
the Remembrance that hath shone forth above the horizon of creation, which
shall purge thy soul from the dross of the world.
All praise be to the one true God—exalted be His
glory—inasmuch as He hath, through the Pen of the Most High, unlocked the doors
of men’s hearts. Every verse which this Pen hath revealed is a bright and
shining portal that discloseth the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure
and stainless deeds.
…in every age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books
is for no other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning
and unravel their innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without
understanding, is of no abiding profit unto man.
….they [Muslims] have foolishly clung to the term “seal,”
and remained utterly deprived of the recognition of Him Who is the Revealer of
both the Seal and the Beginning, in the day of His presence. “If God should
chastise men for their perverse doings, He would not leave upon the earth a
moving thing! But to an appointed time doth He respite them.” [Qur’án 16:61]
But apart from all these things, had this people attained unto a drop of the
crystal streams flowing from the words: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and
ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” they would not have raised any unseemly
cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His Revelation.
Know of a truth that your subjects are God’s trust amongst
you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware
that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and
conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate.
How strange! These people with one hand cling to those
verses of the Qur’án and those traditions of the people of certitude which they
have found to accord with their inclinations and interests, and with the other
reject those which are contrary to their selfish desires. “Believe ye then part
of the Book, and deny part?” [Qur’án 2:85] How could ye judge that which ye
understand not? Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book, after speaking
of the “Seal” in His exalted utterance: “Muhammad is the Apostle of God and the
Seal of the Prophets,” [Qur’án 33:40] hath revealed unto all people the promise
of “attainment unto the divine Presence.” To this attainment to the presence of
the immortal King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already
mentioned. The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more
explicit than “attainment unto the divine Presence” hath been revealed in the
Qur’án. Well is it with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein
most of the people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom.
Commit not, O people, that which dishonoureth your name and
the fair name of the Cause of God amongst men. Beware lest ye approach that
which your minds abhor. Fear God and
follow not in the footsteps of them that are gone astray.
They who exhort others unto justice, while themselves
committing iniquity, stand accused of falsehood by the inmates of the Kingdom
and by those who circle round the throne of their Lord, the Almighty, the
Beneficent, for that which their tongues have uttered.
Verily, this is the Remembrance that hath shone forth above
the horizon of creation, which shall purge thy soul from the dross of the
world. Abandon thy palaces to the people of the graves, and thine empire to
whosoever desireth it, and turn, then, unto the Kingdom. This, verily, is what
God hath chosen for thee, wert thou of them that turn unto Him… Shouldst thou
desire to bear the weight of thy dominion, bear it then to aid the Cause of thy
Lord. Glorified be this station which whoever attaineth thereunto hath attained
unto all good that proceedeth from Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
They that have failed to turn unto the Countenance of God in
this Revelation are indeed bereft of life. They move as bidden by their own
selfish desires, and are in truth accounted among the dead.
Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou towards
the face of thy Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world with the
ornament of the favours of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days. For We
perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is the Desire of all nations
hath shed upon the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendour of the
light of His most excellent names, and enveloped them with the radiance of the
luminaries of His most gracious favours — favours which none can reckon except
Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector of the entire creation.
Shake off, O heedless ones, the slumber of negligence, that
ye may behold the radiance which His glory hath spread through the world. How
foolish are those who murmur against the premature birth of His light. O ye who
are inly blind! Whether too soon or too late, the evidences of His effulgent
glory are now actually manifest. It behoveth you to ascertain whether or not
such a light hath appeared. It is neither within your power nor mine to set the
time at which it should be made manifest. God’s inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed
its hour beforehand. Be content, O people, with that which God hath desired for
you and predestined unto you....
This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names
of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who
are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: “Put away the cups of Paradise
and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá have
entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the wine of reunion,
from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most
High.”
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.”
We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse
thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?
O my ill-wishers! The Day Star of eternal Guidance beareth
me witness: Had it been in my power, I would have, under no circumstances,
consented to distinguish myself amongst men, for the Name I bear utterly
disdaineth to associate itself with this generation whose tongues are sullied
and whose hearts are false. And whenever I chose to hold my peace and be still,
lo, the voice of the Holy Ghost, standing on my right hand, aroused me, and the
Supreme Spirit appeared before my face, and Gabriel overshadowed me, and the
Spirit of Glory stirred within my bosom, bidding me arise and break my silence.
If your hearing be purged and your ears be attentive, ye will assuredly
perceive that every limb of my body, nay all the atoms of my being, proclaim
and bear witness to this call: “God, besides Whom is none other God, and He,
Whose beauty is now manifest, is the reflection of His glory unto all that are
in heaven and on earth.”
God is my witness! Had it not been in conflict with that
which the Tablets of God have decreed, I would have gladly kissed the hands of
whosoever attempted to shed my blood in the path of the Well-Beloved. I would,
moreover, have bestowed upon him a share of such worldly goods as God had
allowed me to possess, even though he who perpetrated this act would have
provoked the wrath of the Almighty, incurred His malediction, and deserved to
be tormented throughout the eternity of God, the All-Possessing, the Equitable,
the All-Wise.
Know verily that whenever this Youth turneth His eyes
towards His own self, he findeth it the most insignificant of all creation.
When He contemplates, however, the bright effulgences He hath been empowered to
manifest, lo, that self is transfigured before Him into a sovereign Potency
permeating the essence of all things visible and invisible. Glory be to Him
Who, through the power of truth, hath sent down the Manifestation of His own
Self and entrusted Him with His message unto all mankind.
Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him Who is the
Unknowable, the Invisible of the Invisibles, could ye but perceive it. He it is
Who hath laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem, were ye to seek it.
He it is Who is the one Beloved of all things, whether of the past or of the
future. Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon Him!
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.” The realm of glory
exclaimeth: “Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He Who is the
Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty upon thee, through
the power of His Name that hath been promised unto all things, whether of the
past or of the future.” This is the Day whereon every sweet smelling thing hath
derived its fragrance from the smell of My garment—a garment that hath shed its
perfume upon the whole of creation. This is the Day whereon the rushing waters
of everlasting life have gushed out of the Will of the All-Merciful. Haste ye,
with your hearts and souls, and quaff your fill, O Concourse of the realms
above!
This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the
splendours of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious,
the Most Bountiful. Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of
Our irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into being
a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I am, verily, the
All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and am
invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily, is the Truth, the
Knower of things unseen.
…Jesus, the Spirit of God…hath once more, in My person, been
made manifest unto you. Deal with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down
My life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the powers of earth and
heaven be leagued against Me.
It behoveth the people of Bahá to die to the world and all
that is therein, to be so detached from all earthly things that the inmates of
Paradise may inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity,
that all the peoples of the earth may recognize in their faces the brightness
of the All-Merciful, and that through them may be spread abroad the signs and
tokens of God, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
God alone—exalted be His glory—is cognizant of the things
which befell this Wronged One. Every day bringeth a fresh report of stories
current against Us at the Embassy in Constantinople. Gracious God! The sole aim
of their machinations is to bring about the extermination of this servant. They
are, however, oblivious of the fact that abasement in the path of God is My
true glory. In the newspapers the following hath been recorded: “Touching the
fraudulent dealings of some of the exiles of Akká, and the excesses committed
by them against several people, etc....” Unto them who are the exponents of
justice and the daysprings of equity the intention of the writer is evident and
his purpose clear. Briefly, he arose and inflicted upon Me divers tribulations,
and treated Me with injustice and cruelty.
Describing the people of Bahá, the Most Sublime Pen hath
sent down these words: “These, verily, are men who if they come to cities of
pure gold will consider them not; and if they meet the fairest and most comely
of women will turn aside.” Thus hath it been sent down by the Most Sublime Pen
for the people of Bahá, on the part of Him Who is the Counsellor, the
Omniscient.
In the estimation of men of insight whatsoever befalleth in
the path of God is manifest glory and a supreme attainment. Already We have
said: “Glory to Thee, O my God! But for the tribulations which are sustained in
Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized; and were it not for the
trials which are borne for love of Thee, how could the station of such as yearn
for Thee be revealed?”
O Son of Being! Busy not thyself with this world, for with
fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.
In the concluding passages of the Tablet to His Majesty the
Emperor of Paris (Napoleon III) these exalted words have been revealed:
“Exultest thou over the treasures thou dost possess, knowing they shall perish?
Rejoicest thou in that thou rulest a span of earth, when the whole world, in
the estimation of the people of Bahá, is worth as much as the black in the eye
of a dead ant? Abandon it unto such as have set their affections upon it, and
turn thou unto Him Who is the Desire of the world.”
O Son of Man! For everything there is a sign. The sign of
love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
And it came to pass that on a certain day a needy man came
to visit this Soul, craving for the ocean of His knowledge. While conversing
with him, mention was made concerning the signs of the Day of Judgment,
Resurrection, Revival, and Reckoning. He urged Us to explain how, in this
wondrous Dispensation, the peoples of the world were brought to a reckoning,
when none were made aware of it. Thereupon, We imparted unto him, according to
the measure of his capacity and understanding, certain truths of Science and ancient
Wisdom. We then asked him saying: “Hast thou not read the Qur’án, and art thou
not aware of this blessed verse: ‘On that day shall neither man nor spirit be
asked of his Sin?’ Dost thou not realize
that by ‘asking’ is not meant asking by tongue or speech, even as the verse
itself doth indicate and prove? For afterward it is said: ‘By their countenance
shall the sinners be known, and they shall be seized by their forelocks and
their feet.’”
This is the day which God hath announced through the tongue
of His Apostle. [Muhammad] …This is the day whereon He Who is the Dayspring of
Revelation hath come with clear tokens which none can number. This is the day
whereon every man endued with perception hath discovered the fragrance of the
breeze of the All-Merciful in the world of creation, and every man of insight
hath hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of his Lord, the King of
Kings.
O Son of Man! For everything there is a sign. The sign of
love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
O heedless one! [1] Rely not on thy glory, and thy power.
Thou art even as the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top. Soon will it
fade away as decreed by God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Thy glory and
the glory of such as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is
what hath been ordained by the One with Whom is the Mother Tablet. Where is he
to be found who contended with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid His signs,
and turned aside from His sovereignty? Where are they who have slain His chosen
ones and spilt the blood of His holy ones? Reflect, that haply thou mayest
perceive the breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter! Because of you the
Apostle (Muhammad) lamented, and the Chaste One (Fátimih) cried out, and the
countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse of
divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the banner of Islám was
hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment
hath sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt Islám, ye raised a clamor,
and thereby was he deterred from achieving his purpose, while the land remained
fallen in clear ruin.
O ye loved ones of God! Drink your fill from the wellspring
of wisdom, and soar ye in the atmosphere of wisdom, and speak forth with wisdom
and eloquence. Thus biddeth you your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
O thou who art gone astray! If thou hast any doubt
concerning Our conduct, know thou that We bear witness unto that whereunto God
hath Himself borne witness ere the creation of the heavens and of the earth,
that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous. We
testify that He is One in His Essence, One in His Attributes. He hath none to
equal Him in the whole universe, nor any partner in all creation. He hath sent
forth His Messengers, and sent down His Books, that they may announce unto His
creatures the Straight Path.
Gracious God! So great is the folly and perversity of the
people, that they have turned their face toward their own thoughts and desires,
and have turned their back upon the knowledge and will of God—hallowed and
glorified be His name!
I sorrow not for the burden of My imprisonment. Neither do I
grieve over My abasement, or the tribulation I suffer at the hands of Mine
enemies. By My life! They are My glory, a glory wherewith God hath adorned His
own Self. Would that ye know it!
It hath been enjoined upon you to purify your means of
sustenance and other such things through payment of Zakát.[Tithes] Thus hath
it been prescribed in this exalted Tablet by Him Who is the Revealer of verses.
We shall, if it be God’s will and purpose, set forth erelong the measure of its
assessment. He, verily, expoundeth whatsoever He desireth by virtue of His own
knowledge, and He, of a truth, is Omniscient and All-Wise.
The Lord hath decreed, moreover, that the deceased should be
enfolded in five sheets of silk or cotton. For those whose means are limited a
single sheet of either fabric will suffice. Thus hath it been ordained by Him
Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. It is forbidden you to transport the
body of the deceased a greater distance than one hour’s journey from the city;
rather should it be interred, with radiance and serenity, in a nearby place.
The Lord hath decreed that the dead should be interred in
coffins made of crystal, of hard, resistant stone, or of wood that is both fine
and durable, and that graven rings should be placed upon their fingers. He,
verily, is the Supreme Ordainer, the One apprised of all.
Certain ones among both commoners and nobles have objected
that this wronged One is neither a member of the ecclesiastical order nor a
descendant of the Prophet. Say: O ye that claim to be just! Reflect a little
while, and ye shall recognize how infinitely exalted is His present state above
the station ye claim He should possess. The Will of the Almighty hath decreed
that out of a house wholly devoid of all that the divines, the doctors, the
sages, and scholars commonly possess His Cause should proceed and be made
manifest.
Lay not aside the fear of God, O ye the learned of the
world, and judge fairly the Cause of this unlettered One to Whom all the Books
of God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting, have testified. ...Will not the
dread of Divine displeasure, the fear of Him Who hath no peer or equal, arouse
you? He Whom the world hath wronged hath, at no time, associated with you, hath
never studied your writings, nor participated in any of your disputations. The
garb He weareth, His flowing locks, His headdress, attest the truth of His
words. How long will ye persist in your injustice? Witness the habitation in
which He, Who is the incarnation of justice, hath been forced to dwell. Open
your eyes, and, beholding His plight, meditate diligently upon that which your
hands have wrought, that haply ye may not be deprived of the light of His
Divine utterance, nor remain bereft of your share of the ocean of His
knowledge.
This is a Day, the Light of which Thou hast sanctified above
the sun and its effulgence. Thou hast called it "The Day of God!"
Nothing is to be seen therein but Thy Supreme Self, and naught is to be
remembered save Thy sweetest Name. Wherefore, when He appeared, the foundations
of nations trembled, the learned were bewildered and the wise men were
confounded, save those who came near unto Thee, took from the hand of Favor the
pure wine of Thy Inspiration, and drank in Thy Name, saying: "Praise be unto Thee, O Desire of the nations! Praise
be to Thee, O Beloved of the hearts of the yearning!"
…by “Resurrection” is meant the rise of the Manifestation of
God to proclaim His Cause, and by “attainment unto the divine Presence” is
meant attainment unto the presence of His Beauty in the person of His
Manifestation. For verily, “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all
vision.” (Qur’an 6:103)
Occupy thyself, during these fleeting days of thy life, with
such deeds as will diffuse the fragrance of Divine good pleasure, and will be
adorned with the ornament of His acceptance.