Far be it from us to despair at any time of the incalculable
favours of God, for if it were His wish He could cause a mere atom to be
transformed into a sun and a single drop into an ocean. He unlocketh thousands
of doors, while man is incapable of conceiving even a single one. 
The essential requirement for whoso advanceth a claim is to
support his assertions with clear proofs and testimonies. Beyond this, the
rejection of the people, whether learned or ignorant, hath never been, nor
shall it ever be, of any consequence. The Prophets of God, those Pearls of the
ocean of Divine Unity and the Repositories of Divine Revelation, have ever been
the object of men’s repudiation and denial. Even as He saith: “Each nation hath plotted darkly against their
Messenger to lay violent hold on Him, and disputed with vain words to
invalidate the truth.” [Qur’an 40:5] And again: “No Messenger cometh unto them
but they laugh Him to scorn.” [Qur’an 36:30]
Let no one imagine that by Our assertion that all created
things are the signs of the revelation of God is meant that—God forbid—all men,
be they good or evil, pious or infidel, are equal in the sight of God. Nor doth
it imply that the Divine Being—magnified be His name and exalted be His
glory—is, under any circumstances, comparable unto men, or can, in any way, be
associated with His creatures. Such an error hath been committed by certain
foolish ones who, after having ascended into the heavens of their idle fancies,
have interpreted Divine Unity to mean that all created things are the signs of
God, and that, consequently, there is no distinction whatsoever between them.
Some have even outstripped them by maintaining that these signs are peers and
partners of God Himself. Gracious God! He, verily, is one and indivisible; one
in His essence, one in His attributes. Everything besides Him is as nothing
when brought face to face with the resplendent revelation of but one of His
names, with no more than the faintest intimation of His glory—how much less
when confronted with His own Self!
…these servants regard the one true God as He Who “doeth as
He willeth” [Qur’an 3:40; 14:27; 22:18] and “ordaineth as He pleaseth”.[Qur’an
5:1] Thus they view not as impossible the continued appearance in the
contingent world of the Manifestations of His Unity. Should anyone hold otherwise, how would he be
different from those who believe the hand of God to be “chained up”? [Qur’an 5:64] And if the one true
God—glorified be His mention!—be indeed regarded as unconstrained, then
whatever Cause that Ancient King may please to manifest from the wellspring of
His Command must be embraced by all. No refuge is there for anyone and no haven
to hasten unto save God; no protection is there for any soul and no shelter to
seek except in Him.
Consider…how frequently doth man become forgetful of his own
self, whilst God remaineth, through His all-encompassing knowledge, aware of
His creature, and continueth to shed upon him the manifest radiance of His
glory. It is evident, therefore, that, in such circumstances, He is closer to
him than his own self. He will, indeed, so remain for ever, for, whereas the
one true God knoweth all things, perceiveth all things, and comprehendeth all
things, mortal man is prone to err, and is ignorant of the mysteries that lie
enfolded within him....
Concerning thine own affairs, if thou wouldst content
thyself with whatever might come to pass it would be praiseworthy. To engage in
some profession is highly commendable, for when occupied with work one is less
likely to dwell on the unpleasant aspects of life. God willing thou mayest
experience joy and radiance, gladness and exultation in any city or land where
thou mayest happen to sojourn.
O Son of My Handmaid! Wouldst thou seek the grace of the
Holy Spirit, enter into fellowship with the righteous, for he hath drunk the
cup of eternal life at the hands of the immortal Cup-bearer and even as the
true morn doth quicken and illumine the hearts of the dead.
Methinks people’s sense of taste hath, alas, been sorely
affected by the fever of negligence and folly, for they are found to be wholly
unconscious and deprived of the sweetness of His utterance. How regrettable
indeed that man should debar himself from the fruits of the tree of wisdom
while his days and hours pass swiftly away. Please God, the hand of divine
power may safeguard all mankind and direct their steps towards the horizon of
true understanding.
O Son of Passion! Cleanse thyself from the defilement of
riches and in perfect peace advance into the realm of poverty; that from the
well-spring of detachment thou mayest quaff the wine of immortal life.
Bid then the heavenly youths, who have been fashioned from
the splendours of the All-Praised, to issue forth from their heavenly abode,
decked in the attire of the All-Merciful, and to proffer with ruby fingers the
chalice of immortality to the inmates of the highest Paradise among the
companions of Bahá, that they may be drawn nigh unto the Splendour of the Lord
of Grandeur—this shining and resplendent Beauty. All hail then to this, the
Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above a dayspring of exalted glory!
Summon, then, the maids of eternity to hasten forth from
their crimson chambers in their celestial grace, and to appear betwixt earth
and heaven with the most glorious adorning. Grant them leave, then, to pass
round to the inhabitants of the world, high and low alike, that cup of life
which hath been drawn from the heavenly stream of mercy. All hail then to this,
the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above the horizon of holiness with
wondrous rapture!
This is a festival wherein all things have been absolved by
virtue of the appearance of Him Who is the Ancient King from behind the veil of
names. Wherefore, rejoice in your hearts, O peoples of the world, for the
breezes of forgiveness have been wafted over the entire creation and the spirit
of life hath been breathed into the world. All hail then to this, the Festival
of the Lord, that hath appeared above a dayspring of resplendent holiness!
By God! This is the festival wherein the beauty of the
Unknowable Essence hath appeared unveiled and arrayed with such sovereignty as
to lay low the necks of them that have repudiated His truth. All hail then to
this, the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared with supreme dominion!
This is a festival wherein all things have been adorned with
the vesture of the names of God, and wherein His bounty hath compassed all
things from first to last. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord,
that hath shone above a dayspring of resplendent holiness!
Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá, as ye
call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of
the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to
the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His
name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden
secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would
swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Who is there among you, O people, who will renounce the
world, and draw nigh unto God, the Lord of all names? Where is he to be found
who, through the power of My name that transcendeth all created things, will
cast away the things that men possess, and cling, with all his might, to the
things which God, the Knower of the unseen and of the seen, hath bidden him
observe? Thus hath His bounty been sent down unto men, His testimony fulfilled,
and His proof shone forth above the Horizon of mercy. Rich is the prize that
shall be won by him who hath believed and exclaimed: “Lauded art Thou, O
Beloved of all worlds! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou the Desire of every
understanding heart!”
Consider the dispensation of Him Who is the Seal of the
Prophets and the King of the Chosen Ones—may the souls of all mankind be
offered up for His sake! After the
Daystar of Truth dawned above the horizon of Ḥijáz, how great were the
cruelties which the exponents of error inflicted upon that incomparable
Manifestation of the All-Glorious! Such
was their heedlessness that they regarded every injury inflicted upon that
sacred Being as ranking among the greatest of all acts, and constituting a
means of attainment unto God, the Most High.
For in the early years of His mission the divines of that age, both
Christian and Jewish, turned away from that Daystar of the heaven of glory,
whereupon all people, high and low alike, bestirred themselves to extinguish
the light of that Luminary of the horizon of inner meanings. The names of all these divines have been
mentioned in the books of old…
Suffer not yourselves to be shut out as by a veil from God
after He hath revealed Himself. For all that hath been exalted in the Bayán is
but as a ring upon My hand, and I Myself am, verily, but a ring upon the hand
of Him Whom God shall make manifest—glorified be His mention! He turneth it as
He pleaseth, for whatsoever He pleaseth, and through whatsoever He pleaseth.
He, verily, is the Help in Peril, the Most High.
O congregation of the Bayán and all who are therein!
Recognize ye the limits imposed upon you, for such a One as the Point of the
Bayán Himself hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest, before all
things were created. Therein, verily, do I glory before all who are in the
kingdom of heaven and earth.
It behoveth a prudent man of wisdom to speak with utmost
leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of his words may induce everyone
to attain that which befitteth man’s station.
Peace be upon him that inclineth his ear unto the melody of
the Mystic Bird calling from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá!
We perceive none, however, amongst the people of the earth
who, sincerely yearning for the Truth, seeketh the guidance of the divine
Manifestations concerning the abstruse matters of his Faith. All are dwellers
in the land of oblivion, and all are followers of the people of wickedness and
rebellion. God will verily do unto them that which they themselves are doing,
and will forget them even as they have ignored His Presence in His day. Such is
His decree unto those that have denied Him, and such will it be unto them that
have rejected His signs.