BH00006: Lawh-i-Sarraj
Section 1: “Your letter was presented before the Throne…”
He is the Answerer
Your letter was presented before the Throne and reached the station wherein naught but Him is known, and its contents were beheld by the gaze of God. You had asked how it is possible for the letter of the Most Exalted to be transformed into the most debased, or for affirmation to be turned to negation, or for the celestial fruit to be deprived of its refinement, or for the mirror to remain deprived of the effulgent rays of the Sun of meanings. Most excellent is what you have asked, and you are among those who question.
Your question was most acceptable, for today it behooveth every soul who is unable to comprehend the divine mysteries to seek from the fountain of divine knowledge and the river of celestial wisdom, that perchance they may drink a drop thereof and find repose upon the couch of certitude and tranquility. We beseech God to raise you to a station wherein you shall behold the Ancient Beauty with your own eyes and be detached from the sight of all the worlds, and hear His melodies with your own ears and be detached from the hearing of all creation, and know His Self with your heart and be detached from the hearts of all who are in the heavens and earth, and purify you from the dust of this world and all that is therein, to such extent that you shall hear from all things that there is no God but Him, and that the Most Exalted One is His splendor in the Supreme Concourse, His radiance between earth and heaven, and His grandeur unto all who are in the kingdom of command and creation. Thus doth every thing speak, if thou be of them that hear.
For today it hath been ordained by God that every soul should observe and ponder His Cause with their own eyes, ears and heart, that they may be illumined by the dawning splendors of the Sun of meanings through the wondrous mercy of the All-Merciful and the outpourings of the All-Glorious. The cause that hath deprived all people from attaining the presence of God and occupied them with all else is that they have contented themselves with mere conjecture and with what they have heard from their peers. They have walked the perilous paths of blind imitation and been deprived of the ways of detachment. The divine Cause hath ever shone forth like unto the luminous morn. That some have remained veiled from perceiving it is due to their having sullied their ears and hearts with the sayings of men. Otherwise, were they to fix their gaze upon the divine standard of knowledge, they would never be deprived of the path of guidance.
Now let that honored one consider that the matter is of two kinds: Either the followers of the Bayan acknowledge divine power or they do not. If they do not acknowledge it, we have no words for such souls, for they are counted among the former peoples who considered God’s hand to be chained up, as the Lord of Glory hath informed in His exalted Word: “God’s hand is chained up.” But if they acknowledge the wonders of divine power, then dwelling upon such questions would be idle and vain, for powerlessness is the attribute of creation, while that Ancient Being hath ever been and shall ever be seated upon the throne of might and power. Should He so will, with one word He can cause all on earth to ascend to the heavens of His command, and with another word return them to the lowest ranks of creation, and none may say why or wherefore. Whoso says otherwise has indeed disbelieved in God, turned away from His power, warred against Him, disputed His sovereignty, and is accounted among the ungodly in the tablets of might, well-preserved.
He is likewise able to raise up the Manifestation of His Self among His creatures whenever He willeth, and at the time of His appearance, proof and evidence must be sought from the Manifestation Himself. If He produces that proof which hath ever existed among men, then delay is vain. Nay, should all who are in the heavens and on earth tarry for less than a moment, they would be reckoned among the denizens of fire, even should they all lay claim to divine authority. He exalteth whomsoever He willeth and abaseth whomsoever He pleaseth. He shall not be questioned about His doings.
Now let that soul observe with fairness: if One should appear with all the divine powers and furthermore produce that proof whereby religion hath ever been established among men and God’s Cause confirmed amongst His creatures, and yet someone should turn away from such a Manifestation Who is none other than the Manifestation of God Himself, and not content with mere rejection, should arise to slay Him—what judgment should be passed on such a soul? Say: His judgment resteth with God Who decreeth what He pleaseth according to truth, but the people perceive not. Hath such a thing ever been permissible in any age or religion? Nay, by His Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate!
Should they say this Manifestation ought not to have appeared, as the ungodly claimed, then God’s power and will would be dependent on the will of His creatures. Immeasurably exalted is He above this! Thus in the year sixty all people, learned and ignorant alike, were deprived of the truth through such meaningless utterances, descending from the heights of immortality to the depths of extinction, while imagining themselves seated upon the loftiest seats of faith. Evil is that which they have imagined within themselves, and they were among those recorded as deluded in the Mother Book.
In any case, withdraw thy gaze from all else but God, fix it upon the Truth and upon that which appeareth from Him, for all else was and shall ever be utter nothingness. If today all who are in the heavens and on earth were to become Letters of the Bayan—which are a hundred thousand times greater than the Letters of the Furqan—and were to hesitate for less than that in this Cause, they would be accounted with God as among the rejectors and reckoned among the letters of negation.
God, exalted and glorified be He, bears no likeness, connection, resemblance or comparison to anyone. All are honored and glorified according to their recognition of Him. The Beauty of the All-Glorious is established upon the throne of the All-Merciful, and the light of His grace’s sun shines equally upon all things. All in the kingdom stand in one rank before His grace, and no atom hath superiority over another save in its swiftness to recognize God and attain His presence. Blessed is he who knoweth Him by His Self and is detached from all else.
O ʿAli! Hearken unto the call of God and enter a station that was and ever shall be sanctified from names, lest thou be deprived of any of the names of that Beauty to Whom all names point, that Sovereign by Whose Pen’s decree the Kingdom of Names was created. By God, besides Whom there is none other God! The purpose of these words is that perchance thou and a few others might rend asunder the veils and enter the sanctified tabernacle of the Beloved, Who is sanctified above the doubts and imaginings of all creation. Otherwise, verily, He is exalted above the approach or withdrawal of all created things, and sanctified above all the worlds.
When the Sun is shining, would it be fitting for anyone to ask how the light of the stars might be obtained, when he observes that the sun’s light hath made it to disappear? Nay, at such a time the stars themselves seek the darkness of night and turn away from the light of day, for the radiance and brightness of the stars are visible at night, but vanish and disappear at the dawning of the Day-Star. Glorified be He above all similitudes and comparisons! For His Beauty’s Day-Star hath ever been shining; none existed with Him, and all else was created in the earthly realms through His contingent Will, and unto Him shall all return. Verily, in His seat of unapproachable might and station of transcendent glory, He hath ever been and shall ever be sanctified above all things. Most strange it is that people should marvel and be perplexed at the changing and replacing of names, when at all times they witness with their outward eyes the changing and replacing of the Manifestations of the Names and their Dawning-Places. Yet they remain so veiled by imaginary veils and words of misbelief that they have become heedless of that which they observe with their own eyes.
O questioner! Consider not the divine names and attributes to be illusory. Know that all created things between earth and heaven have been and will continue to be manifestations of the names and dawning-places of the attributes of God—exalted be His glory. The essential truth is that man has been created with the noblest rank and the most exalted station relative to other beings. If thou wouldst ascend to contemplate “No fault canst thou see in the creation of the All-Merciful,” thou wouldst perceive no difference or imperfection in the creation of the All-Merciful and the dawning-places of His divine handiwork. Blessed is he who soareth in this atmosphere wherein the wings of the doubters have never flown.
Consider now all these divine manifestations of names—the trees, branches, boughs and fruits, and likewise the flowers, blossoms and all that groweth upon the earth—how at first they appear with such freshness, delicacy and beauty, yet after a time they are all stripped of their fine raiment and return to the earth. How many ripe fruits undergo such change that their very fragrance becomes repellent to man. In brief, all things are subject to elevation and abasement, to change and transformation, except the universal Manifestations of God who are, in and of themselves, established and enduring.
I swear by the Day-Star of inner meaning that the divine tongue speaketh according to the capacity and measure of the people, for most have not attained maturity. Otherwise, He would open such a gate of knowledge to the face of His servants that all who dwell in the heavens and earth would, through the outpourings of His Pen, find themselves independent of all knowledge save His own, and would remain established upon the thrones of tranquility. But owing to people’s lack of capacity, the gems of divine knowledge and mysteries of eternal wisdom have remained preserved and concealed in the heaven of God’s Will, and until now not a single letter thereof hath been revealed. The matter resteth in His hands. He doeth what He willeth and is not questioned about that which He willeth. He is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
If thou wouldst hear from this servant, cast away the wings of limitation and imitation and soar with the wings of detachment in this atmosphere of divine unity, that thou mayest find thyself sanctified from delusory doubts and skeptical allusions, and illumined with the lights of certitude. Hearken with the ear of thy heart unto the words of the All-Merciful, that perchance thy heart may be purified from the darkening dust of fancy which in these days hath encompassed all who dwell in the realm of being, and may return to the Most Sublime Vision.
When thou attainest unto this most holy, most mighty, most pure station, thou wilt observe that the intended meaning of all that hath been sent down from the heaven of the Will through the revelation of My previous Manifestation hath been and shall be this Manifestation. By Him Who holdeth the soul of Husayn within the grasp of His power! Nothing greater than this Cause hath been revealed in the Bayan.
Observe it with a penetrating and radiant vision that ye may become aware of the purpose of the holy, divine utterances. In all the pages, tablets, scrolls, scriptures, books and writings, He hath counseled all people and taken from them a covenant that they should not, at the time of the Manifestation, cling to anything that hath been created and thereby remain veiled from the Manifestation Himself, for on that Day nothing shall profit except through His leave.
To Vahid-i-Akbar He saith:
“Await ye him whom God shall make manifest through His countenance, for ye were created for none other than to attain His presence, and He it is Who hath made all things dependent on His bidding. Beware, beware lest in the days of His manifestation ye be veiled by the Vahid of the Bayan, for that Vahid is but a creation in His sight. Beware, beware lest ye be veiled by the words revealed in the Bayan, for they are but His own words in the temple of His former manifestation.”
Now ponder these words of the Sovereign of names and attributes. With such conclusive verses and firm utterances, what excuse for turning away remaineth for any soul? Nay, by Him Who causeth the Spirit to speak within my breast, unless one completely turneth away from the Truth. The Vahid of the Bayan are the primal creation, and all others were created under their shadow.
And likewise to Vahid-i-Akbar He saith:
“And perchance there shall come unto thee that concerning which thou hast asked about the exaltation of His mention and the elevation of His Cause. And verily those who are in the Bayan read these words, yet they neither perceive His manifestation nor believe in God Who created them through His previous Manifestation, and they slumber.”
As is now observed, all recite the Book of God and write by night and day, yet they have not understood a single letter of the Book. Rather, their only purpose in promoting it hath been and shall be naught but to establish and prove their leadership. Thus doth the Tongue of God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, testify.
And He saith:
“From the beginning of this Cause until before nine existences of creation are completed, they have not appeared. And all that thou hast seen from the sperm-drop until We clothed it with flesh—then wait until thou beholdest another creation. Say: Blessed be God, the best of creators.”
And likewise to Azim He saith:
“This is what We promised thee before when We answered thee. Wait until nine passeth from the Bayan, then say: Blessed be God, the best of originators.”
And He saith:
“Observe thou the difference between the Qayyim and the Qayyum, then in the year nine ye shall attain unto all good.”
Now ponder these words somewhat, and likewise reflection is needed on the difference between Qayyim and Qayyum, for this servant is unable to interpret God’s words due to the sorrows that have befallen him. By God, besides Whom there is none other God! The propagation of God’s Cause hath compelled this servant to write this tablet, that perchance a few lamps may be illumined in the niche of possibility and arise through God’s power to aid this lonely wronged one.
Then all things weep for my tribulation and for what hath befallen me from those who were created by my word. Beyond all this, the matter hath reached such a state that although the revelation of divine holy verses descendeth like torrential rain from the heaven of will without pause or rest, and besides these there are divine manifestations and heavenly signs that have encompassed the world to such extent that previous peoples have acknowledged and confessed them, yet still must I present proofs and establish through evidence that Cause which hath ever been sanctified above proof—that perchance a few might ascend to the heaven of witnessing.
Section 2: “No greater injustice existeth in divine knowledge than…”
No greater injustice existeth in divine knowledge than that the Ancient Beauty should have to prove His own truth through aught but Himself, after being manifest as the sun at its meridian in the never-fading heaven. Soon shall they who have wronged the Self of God know to what retreat they shall return. And the ordained tribulations and confirmed afflictions have descended in such wise that none save God can reckon their measure. At every moment the spears of hatred from the direction of the enemies have been hurled at the Temple of Eternity. And verily the Manifestations of the Self of God came unto Me in the morning hours, weeping and lamenting, saying:
“Alas for Joseph of God, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting! His servants have cast Him into the pit, then within their own selves do they cry out in anguish.”
Say: O people of the Bayan! Would ye slay the Primal Point whilst reciting His verses morning and evening? By God! Ye have committed what no people before you have committed, and to this do honored servants bear witness, if ye be of them that deny. Would ye slay God with the swords of self and passion, then occupy yourselves with His remembrance from your seats and cite His verses as proof? Thus hath every people dealt with God at the time of His manifestation in the Manifestation of His Self in every age, thus did they and thus would they continue to do. Say: Today the Pen of God, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting, will not move upon the names of these ones, nor will the glance of God turn toward them, nor will the sweet fragrances of the Holy One, the Beloved of this Day, reach them.
If the servants turn away from these holy divine verses and these sublime eternal manifestations, by what proof and evidence would they establish their religion? Say: O people of the Bayan! Gaze upon the Most Great Scene with the eye of truth, for with any other eye it cannot be perceived. Thus did my previous Manifestation declare: “Beware! Look upon Him with His eye, for whosoever looketh upon Him with any other eye shall never know Him.” And after countless counsels to His servants regarding this Cause, He saith: “O my God! Thou knowest that I have not failed in counseling these people and in devising means for their turning unto God, their Lord, and their believing in God, their Creator,” to the end of His words, may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him.
I swear by the Ancient Beauty that from these words which have flowed from the Pen of the All-Merciful, the hearts of all things are set ablaze, and every possessor of insight perceiveth from these words the lamentation and wailing of the Manifestation of Names and Attributes. Yet it increaseth not the wrongdoers save in delusion and loss. O Ali! Open the ear of thy heart and hearken unto the words of the All-Merciful which were revealed in the Qayyumu’l-Asma. He saith:
“O Qurratu’l-ʿAyn! Hold not forth Thy hand in the Cause, for the people are in drunkenness from the mystery, and verily unto Thee shall be the Return after this Dispensation, with a most great truth. There shalt Thou reveal of the mystery a mere needle’s eye in the most great Sinai, whereupon the Sinaites shall perish at the dawning of a drop of that crimson, all-compelling light, by God’s leave, the All-Wise. And He, verily, hath been unto Thee, by the truth, upon the truth, a guardian.”
And now the Return is manifest and the Sinaites are extinct and lost, as can be witnessed. And though He declareth that the Sinaites shall become as dead, as nothing, and non-existent, yet they marvel that the fruit of the Tuba tree should become colocynth, as indeed they have asked about this very thing, or that the trumpet blast of the highest heaven should be transformed into the lowest depths. The divine Cause hath never been and shall never be limited. All the mirrors of created things, if they face the Sun of the heaven of pre-existence in their time, shall manifest, reveal, reflect and display within themselves all the lights of that Sun. But as soon as they turn away, all is taken from them. Observe then the sun and the mirrors, that thou mayest find a way to that which the Spirit imparteth unto thee.
Ibn-i-Nabil the Most Exalted hath written to prove the Cause of God according to that which God cast upon his heart, and in the beginning he cited this verse which was sent down from the heaven of the Will of My previous Manifestation—exalted be His mention: “Say: O God! Thou art the God of Gods! Thou givest Divine station unto whomsoever Thou willest, and takest it away from whomsoever Thou willest,” and so forth. And likewise: “Say: O God! Thou art the Lord of the heavens and of the earth! Thou givest Lordship unto whomsoever Thou willest, and takest it away from whomsoever Thou willest,” and so forth. Despite the King of existence having declared with such explicitness that He bestoweth Divinity and Lordship upon whomsoever He willeth and taketh them away from whomsoever He willeth, can an omnipotent God Who taketh away the station of Divinity and Lordship—which are the most exalted of stations—be powerless to remove from a temple His Own Name, or to transform sweetness into bitterness?
Glory be unto God above that which the servants imagine concerning His power, and exalted be He above their descriptions! Observe now in what atmosphere the Bird of Power and Grandeur soareth, while the people remain halted in what places. What meaning have they given to the verse “He, verily, hath power over all things,” and what have they understood from “He doeth what He willeth and shall not be asked of His doings”?
O servants! Take fast hold of the Most Firm Handle and turn from the darkness of ignorance to the dawning-place of divine knowledge. Would that the people of the Bayan would ponder the blessed verse that Ibn-i-Nabil hath mentioned, that perchance they might pass from the paths of fancy onto the highway of certitude. O ʿAli! Drink thou a draught of this sweet, life-giving water that lieth concealed in the darkness of the words of the King of Names and Attributes, that thou mayest be purified from the troubles of these days, the doubts of men, the hints of the heedless, and the insinuations of those who lead others astray, and that the gates of infinite divine knowledge may be opened before thy heart’s face, until thou art convinced that the Ancient King hath power in one hour to honor and exalt all things with the bestowal of His most excellent names, and in another hour to take them away from all things.
And verily I complain unto God of these servants, for they regard Me according to what is with them and not according to what is with Me, and they measure the Self of God by their own selves and His words by their words. By Him Who is Myself! Were all who are in the heavens and on earth to turn today unto God, He would teach them from the wonders of His knowledge that which would make them independent of all the worlds.
In this grievous year, certain servants have asked questions of this sort, and this servant, present before the Throne, hath written and sent forth decisive, healing, and sufficient answers. Strange that you have not seen them. And in this land too some have cast forth doubts, that perchance they might veil holy souls with the veils of previous utterances. Yet they are heedless that one who soareth in the sublime atmosphere of divine holiness and gathereth from the harvest-fields of infinite divine knowledge will not be hindered or deprived by fanciful doubts. Say: Whosoever hath attained unto the Most Great Ocean will not turn unto a mirage in the desert, nor will he drink of boiling water. Although it beseemeth not the Most Exalted Pen to be tainted with mention of the words of the malicious ones, yet with regard to the proclamation of divine messages there is no escape, that perchance some ignorant one may enter the ocean of knowledge, or some wanderer in the valley of heedlessness and forgetfulness may, through the grace of the All-Merciful, step forth. And verily He guideth whom He willeth unto the path of Baha, and He is powerful over all things.
But this mention and exposition is for souls who are truly seeking the path of guidance. Otherwise, the pure Salsabil will not benefit one sick with rancor and hatred. Even as today most of the people of the Bayan have witnessed with their own eyes all the manifestations of power and divine conditions and revealed verses, and heard them with their own ears; nevertheless they have risen up with such hatred that mention of it is impossible, save for him whose sight God hath opened, and whom He hath aided in His Cause, and brought forth from the darkness of idle fancy, and guided unto His glorious and praiseworthy path. They have clung to matters that were never mentioned by God, and are so heedless that they prostrate before stone while turning away from the Most Sublime Vision and the Most Manifest, Most Luminous Beauty. O Lord of all worship! The hair of one who worshippeth Thee is better than he. Say: O ʿAli, today you and that which you worship are equal in God’s sight. Whoso among you believeth hath gained safety from the greatest terror, and whoso turneth away hath strayed from God’s path. This indeed is the truth, and after truth there is naught but error.
Beware, beware, O people of the Bayan, lest ye deny God and war against the Manifestation of His Self and dispute with Him Who hath come to you from the Dawning-Place of the Cause with manifest sovereignty. Do ye imagine that the Cause of God will be hindered by the opposition of the opposers, or that the lights of the eternal Sun will be veiled by the veils of dark souls? Nay, by Him Who speaketh within my breast and hath sent me with the truth and dispatched me unto all the worlds!
Consider the doubts which they who have joined partners with God have instilled into the hearts of the people of this land. “Is it ever possible,” they ask, “for gold to be transmuted into copper?” Say, Yes, by my Lord, it is possible. Its secret, however, lieth hidden in Our Knowledge. We will reveal it unto whom We will. Whoso doubteth Our power, let him ask the Lord his God, that He may disclose unto him the secret, and assure him of its truth. That copper can be turned into gold is in itself sufficient proof that gold can, in like manner, be transmuted into copper, if they be of them that can apprehend this truth. Every mineral can be made to acquire the density, form, and substance of each and every other mineral. The knowledge thereof is with Us in the Hidden Book.
We say the knowledge of the deniers hath not ascended to this station that they might understand gold becometh copper. They have not even understood so much as that it becometh dust—this station which hath been evident to every person of insight, that all appeareth from dust and returneth to dust. And dust in worth and value is lesser than copper, for it is counted among bodies while copper is among metals, and this is most obvious and evident. And were people found worthy and mature, assuredly some of the hidden divine sciences would be mentioned at this point. But what is decreed is decreed. To every person of insight it is evident that God, exalted be His mention, hath been and ever shall be powerful over all things. Assuredly if He willeth, by His mere will He transformeth gold to copper, and this impotence existeth and is witnessed in created things. And verily He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the Able, the Praiseworthy.
Fix your eyes upon the Supreme Horizon, having cleansed your vision, and detach yourselves from trees that neither profit nor bear fruit. This is among the wondrous commands of God—let him who will, accept it, and him who will, reject it. Whoso accepts it does so to his own benefit, and whoso rejects it does so to his own loss. Verily, He is sanctified above all created things.
Consider Satan, who was a teacher in the celestial realm, renowned throughout the highest concourse and the cities of names by his beautiful appellations, yet through one act of rejection fell from the company of the Most High to the nethermost depths. Thus does your Lord do as He pleases, if you be of those endowed with certitude. Furthermore, consider how the Ancient House, which was the Ka’bah of all beings and the circumambulation point of the Manifestations of Names and Attributes, was deprived of this supreme bounty. Reflect upon this, O people of insight! All things are captive in the grasp of divine power, and He is at all times able and mighty to do whatsoever He willeth. The influence of His all-encompassing power has never been, nor shall ever be, withheld from the manifestations of the contingent world.
Not every ear is worthy to hear His hidden mysteries, nor every eye capable of beholding the celestial maidens of meaning confined within His knowledge. How many embodiments of tyranny have become renowned among the people clothed in the garment of justice, and how many essences of justice have become notorious wearing the garb of tyranny! Consider the idols, to which half of earth’s inhabitants now bow in worship, taking them as gods besides God—they have fallen into this malady only because they have contented themselves with fancy and imitation, turning away from the Sovereign of Divine Unity. Indeed, today all names and attributes are manifest in one place and one station, save for those who have ascended unto God. Thus do We impart unto thee that thou mayest perchance purify thy heart and breast from the words of the world, and hearken unto that which the Spirit warbleth upon the branches of this Tree that hath encompassed all who are in the heavens and on earth.
Say: O people of the Bayan! By God the Truth, this is not of Mine own accord, but rather through that which God hath spoken within My breast. That which hath appeared through My sovereignty and flowed from My Pen is My proof, My testimony, and My evidence, if ye be of the fair-minded. Say: By what proof did ye believe in ʿAli [the Bab] aforetime when He appeared with the truth and came unto you with a clear sovereignty? And by what evidence did ye acknowledge His verses, accept His proof, and submit to the manifestations of His Cause, the All-Encompassing, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the Luminous?
Section 3: “Should ye say “We believed in Him…”
Should ye say “We believed in Him for His own sake and deemed the testimony of His own Self sufficient above all else,” then by God, this very Self hath arisen amongst humanity and appeared with the sovereignty of His Name, the Omnipotent, the Supreme, the Most High, the Most Great. And should ye say “We believed in the verses which God, the Mighty, the Subduing, the Powerful, revealed unto Him,” then lo, His verses have filled the east of the earth and its west. Hearken then unto that which is revealed from the holy precincts, wherein can be heard from its breezes that which the ear of the Beloved heard in His holy ascension, then the ear of the Spirit in the heavens of the Cause, then the ear of Moses upon the Sinai of glory from the Speaking Tree of God, the Mighty, the Wise. Beyond these, this Youth hath appeared with a sovereignty that hath transcended all possibilities, to which the tongues of all beings bear witness, if ye be of those who hear.
Then say unto the leaders of the Bayan: Where were ye when the souls of the servants were thrown into commotion, and feet did slip, and terror seized the hearts of them that were steadfast, and all the people from diverse persuasions rose up against Me, and I sought succour from none save God Who raised Me up and sent Me unto all the worlds? By God! They were concealed behind the veil of women, but when the Cause was manifested with its sovereignty, they felt secure in their own souls and emerged from behind the veil. And the first thing they did was to turn away from Him through Whom their own faith was established. Thus was it ordained, and thou art among those who bear witness. And if thou believe Me not, after that which thou hast witnessed with thine own eyes, yet do all things testify to My truth, and beyond them the tongue of God, the True One, the Faithful.
O Beauty of the Most Great Glory between earth and heaven! Alter Thy melody for the people of creation, then sing in the branches of eternity in a sublime Persian tone, that the mysteries of the Cause may be unveiled in what hath been inscribed by this firm and mighty Pen. For not all people are versed in Arabic, and Persian words are easier to comprehend for those who know the language. O questioner! Know thou that whatsoever names thou beholdest in God’s Book—whether it be the Blessed Tree, or the Lote-Tree of the Uttermost End, or the Most Remote Tree, or leaf, or fruit, and the like—deem them not mere fancy, for by them is meant, in the sight of God, none other than the believer in God, and ever shall it be thus.
The believer, so long as he dwelleth beneath the shade of the divine Lote-Tree, is accounted before God as of the Blessed Tree and of the loftiest heights; but after turning away, he is reckoned as of the Tree of Fire and the lowest depths. During the time of his faith, all his branches, twigs, leaves and fruits are manifest as confirmed truth, but after turning away, all are counted as negation. Many a soul who in the evening is of the most exalted Tree of eternity, by morning becomes of the basest tree of extinction, and vice versa—if ye be of them that understand.
Behold the believer, at the time of his turning to God, as a paradise adorned with all perfection, wherein can be witnessed all that hath been heard of Paradise—from branches of knowledge, fruits of divine understanding, rivers of utterance, and flowers of wisdom, and beyond that whatsoever God willeth. Yet this same soul, after turning away, becomes the nethermost fire, together with all that pertaineth unto him. Thus doth God change light into darkness and darkness into light, would ye but perceive it. Have ye not heard how My previous Manifestation decreed this same law on earth, saying that any ground whereon a believer dwelleth is accounted as Paradise in God’s sight, while if an idolater should occupy that same ground, it is reckoned as hell? Thus today the Throne of God hath been established in a place never known before, yet those who hate the Beauty of the Lord of all worlds have deprived themselves of the highest Paradise and have taken up their abode in the depths of the lowest fire, while imagining themselves to dwell in the loftiest seats of Paradise—even as the peoples before them were engaged in such vain imaginings. Therefore doth the Pen of Command herald unto them the punishment of a barren day.
These people deserve to take a calf instead of God and to worship and adore it, as indeed they have done. How can they be worthy to soar in the holy atmosphere of the All-Possessing, or to ascend to the heaven of divine glory? As thou canst see, one whose nature inclineth to clay will never turn toward clay. Thus doth God set forth a parable, that perchance the people may understand. Have ye not heard Him say that many a tree of affirmation becometh a tree of negation in the next Revelation? In brief, today whoso is not detached from all that is recognized and mentioned among men, and beholdeth not all things as mere handful of clay, can never soar in this atmosphere or enter the abode of the sovereign Lord of sanctity.
The true believer hath ever been, and shall ever remain, rarer than red sulfur—and furthermore, these Suns of Truth that have shone forth from the Finger of the All-Merciful have made this most evident, that the fruit does not exist of itself and for itself, but rather through divine assistance it rises from earthly places until it attains this station of being fruit. And that Omnipotent One Who elevated it to this station is able by that same power to return it and a hundred thousand of its like and similitudes, in less than a moment, from the highest abode of perpetuity to the lowest seat of evanescence, and likewise the reverse. This has been and will continue to be among His ways, for the all-encompassing power and irrevocable decrees of that King of Oneness have ever been operative over all things, and He has never been prevented from manifesting even the least of His powers. Glorified be God above what the deluded imagine!
Many are the pearls of mysteries that have been and shall remain hidden in the shells of the oceans of thy Lord, the Concealer, lest their revelation cause the feet of the wayward to stumble. Indeed, such grace hath appeared today that, should He so desire, He is able to raise up from a handful of clay all the primary and derivative letters. Nevertheless, it is most regrettable that man, in these days when the Beauty of the All-Merciful hath been manifested in the fullness of His grace, should occupy himself with aught else but Him. Leave all who are in the heavens and earth to their own devices, then plunge into the depths of this Ocean wherein naught can be found save the pearls of the remembrance of thy Lord, the Most High, the Almighty, the Great.
These are the wondrous manifestations of the Sun of the Divine Command that hath shone forth from the horizon of the finger of the King of possibility. Well is it with them that act upon it, and apart from this, verily thy Lord is independent of all the worlds. How many souls are this day submerged in the oceans of fire and are unaware of it, nay rather, count themselves among the people of Paradise, even as the peoples before them rejoiced in such vain imaginings. By the Sun of the sanctified glory of detachment, this Revelation is too great to need any proof or to depend on any evidence. Say: Its proof is its revelation, its evidence is its own Self, its demonstration is its existence, and its testimony is its arising between earth and heaven in days wherein all in the kingdoms of Command and Creation were shaken. And if ye be unable to know Him through what We have set forth for you, then know Him through that which hath been sent down from Him. Thus hath it been ordained as a grace from His presence, and verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
The Supreme Pen declareth: O Ali, step once upon the Mount of Sanctity, and with detached heart and purified tongue say “Show me, O my Lord,” that thou mayest forever hear from the eternal holy retreat “Thou shalt behold Me,” and attain the presence of the peerless Beauty of the Lord of Glory—that is, the presence of the Manifestation of His own Self, by one of Whose revelations of the lights of His grace, the trees of existence, both seen and unseen, are moved to sing even as the Tree of Sinai spoke forth. Thus hath the grace of the sovereign Lord Who doeth as He pleaseth encompassed all, yet the people are in grievous doubt, thick veils, and manifest heedlessness. Such is the state of these people who forever pride themselves on adherence to the Truth while turning away from His very Self—for instance, they circumambulate a stone while traversing difficult paths from distant places and sacrifice life and property to attain His presence, yet they remain heedless and turn away from the omnipotent Sovereign by Whose word a hundred thousand such stones could be brought into being.
As was observed in the year sixty and likewise in these days, they veil the All-Seeing Eye with a hundred thousand phantoms of their vain imaginings and limitations of self, and then cry out that the world-illumining Sun of divine unity has not risen. And should they perceive it, they question how it could be that the light of a certain star should be dimmed or extinguished, oblivious to the fact that by the appearance of the Sun its light is obliterated, even as is evident that in the daytime the light of the stars is dimmed and invisible. In any case, ere long the encompassing hand of divine power will create certain souls who will rend asunder all veils and, without any covering or barrier, enter the sanctuary of the Lord of Lords.
No water shall quench their thirst in the path of the Beloved, and no fire shall cause them to tremble. They shall regard all save the Divine Friend as non-existent and shall see naught but the Intended One. At all times they shall draw the peoples of the contingent world with the chains of utterance unto the sanctified paradise of the All-Merciful. By the Sun of inner meanings I swear that the radiance of these souls shall illumine the denizens of the highest paradise even as the sun illumines the people of the earth.
O Ali! Abandon what thou hast and take what God commandeth thee, for this verily shall suffice thee above all peoples. That which is besides Him neither nourisheth nor enricheth, and thus hath it ever been and ever shall be. Hold thou fast unto the Sure Handle and abandon what thy desires command thee. By God, the Truth! This is verily the firm cord that hath appeared between earth and heaven. Whoso holdeth fast unto it hath attained salvation, and whoso turneth away hath perished.
Indeed, today should any soul seek to know or comprehend the sublime Truth without His exalted Self, it would be as if one who is blind from birth were to seek guidance along the path, and this shall never be possible. His proof is His verses, and His authority His evidences.
O Ali! Hearken unto the divine words in the wondrous Persian tongue. And if thou hearest not, assuredly will God’s all-encompassing power create new souls who will hear His call and arise to aid His Cause. This is not difficult for God.
If thou hast turned from the left of doubt to the right of certitude, and hast been nourished by the Kawthar of the knowledge of the All-Merciful flowing in the Paradise of inner meanings, say: O people of the Bayan! What religion do ye follow and upon what path do ye stand? If they say “The Point of the Bayan, may the souls of all else be sacrificed for Him,” say: By what proof and evidence have ye become convinced of and acknowledged that Sovereign of the Path? If they say “We have known Him by His own Self,” say: This is a manifest falsehood, for until now ye have not known your own selves, how much less the Self of God that standeth over all things. And even were such words to be heard from these souls, why then have they not acknowledged the Self of God Who hath appeared manifest as the sun? And if they say “We have believed in the revealed verses,” why then have they disbelieved in these verses which are being sent down like torrential rain from the heaven of the Unseen at every moment? Say: Do ye believe in one part of the Book and deny another? Woe unto you, O company of wrongdoers!
Beyond these two stations are the manifestations of power and the revelations of divinity that have encompassed the world to such degree that none hath any way to turn aside, save by turning entirely away from God and His Prophets, His chosen ones and His loved ones. For nigh twenty years this servant hath not rested for a moment on the couch of tranquility, but hath striven at all times by His own Self for the exaltation of God’s Cause. I swear by the unknowable King that from the beginning of creation until now such power hath never been manifested that a single soul should alone raise the banners of might upon the [branches] of grandeur. Yet despite this, these unbelievers have wreaked upon the manifest Beauty of the Lord of the Worlds that which causeth the Spirit of the Divine Command and the denizens of the highest Paradise to wail and lament.
And if they say these wondrous verses have not been sent down from the divine nature, just as the ungodly of old said in the days of the appearance of the Suns of Truth, say: The revealed tablets that were sent down from the cloud of glory of the Lord of the Worlds in the year sixty are extant, and these wondrous verses that have been sent down from the Most Holy, Most Glorious Heaven are present and visible. We recite both of these before a number of those possessed of pure hearts, penetrating vision, sanctified souls and attentive ears, that the melodies of God and His holy fragrances may be inhaled from the garment of His wondrous words. By God the Truth, through the fragrance of but one of these words wafteth the breeze of God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. Yet all people are afflicted with colds and cannot perceive aught, save whom thy Lord willeth, the Mighty, the Beloved. Though the opposition of the opposers and the calumnies of the slanderers have reached such a pass that both pen and utterance have ceased to recount them, still do We feed the servants from the fresh, eternal, ancient and divine table of knowledge for the sake of God, desiring from them neither recompense nor thanks.
Section 4: “By Him Who speaketh within my breast! None…”
By Him Who speaketh within my breast! None of the peoples of former times can be compared with the Babis in their veils, for in all previous Books the Manifestations of the Divine Unity were mentioned only in allusive terms. For instance, in the Torah it is stated in certain passages that should anyone come claiming prophethood, he is false, for there is no God but the God of Moses, no Messenger shall be sent after him, and no divine laws shall come save what was revealed in the Torah. Yet in one place there is an allusive reference to a future Manifestation, mentioned in such veiled and symbolic terms that most people are unable to comprehend it. In this case, if the followers remain veiled from the Dawning-Places of Divine Unity and the Manifestations of God, they have some excuse to which they may resort, saying “We failed to grasp the intricate divine utterances and thus remained deprived of recognizing the Source of the River of Knowledge of the All-Merciful Beauty.”
Similarly in the Gospel, the Holy Spirit sang and spoke of the signs of the Manifestation in such melodies that none can comprehend save the detached ones, for they were expressed in hidden symbols and subtle allusions. Indeed these same passages have been recorded in Persian treatises by the Pen of Glory—consider them that perchance ye may discover them. In this case too, if these people excuse themselves saying their minds and understanding fell short of comprehending these cryptic and complex utterances, perhaps some might accept this.
Likewise in the Qur’an, which ye have all seen, consider in what manner and terms the signs of the future Manifestation were sent down from the heaven of the All-Glorious. For instance: “Are they waiting to see if God will come to them in canopies of clouds”, and “The Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke”, and similarly the cleaving of the heavens, the rending of the earth, the crumbling of mountains, the overflowing of seas, the rising of the dead from their graves, the blowing of the trumpet, the rising of the sun from the west, the raising of a cry between heaven and earth, and similar expressions mentioned in the Book of God.
And likewise regarding the mention of the “Seal of the Prophets” which is the most explicit of Qur’anic statements—given these difficult and impenetrable expressions and subtle, hidden allusions, if people remain deprived of the Law of the Lord of Creation and recognition of His Being in the Day of Return, one could say they failed to comprehend the divine verses and were heedless of the meanings of the heavenly words, for these were beyond human understanding—though all such excuses were and shall be unacceptable at the time of each Manifestation, for in every Revelation the proof is consummated unto all who dwell in the heavens and on earth through the very Manifestation Himself and through that which proceedeth from Him.
It behooveth every soul to cleanse the mirror of his heart from whatsoever the people possess, and after such purification and turning unto God, assuredly will the rays of the resplendent Sun be reflected therein. If the divine proof were not complete at the time of manifestation, then would all be relieved of obligation. Consider, for instance, the people of the Qur’an: whosoever failed to purify his heart from the implications of the words failed to attain recognition of the Point of the Bayan, for the mention of the “Seal” recorded in the Book was among the firm verses of the Qur’an. With the acceptance of this word and the establishment of its apparent meaning in the heart, one would never acknowledge that a Prophet hath been from the beginning that hath no beginning and will come unto the end that hath no end, even as it is mentioned in the Bayan: “Purify your hearts from that which ye have witnessed, that ye may witness that which no one in the worlds hath witnessed.”
At the time of manifestation, one must turn away from all else and fix one’s gaze toward God, for without this none shall attain unto God, the Most High, the Most Great. O servants of desire! Hearken unto the holy melodies of eternity and hasten to the station of “Know ye God through God Himself,” and sever yourselves from all else. These declarations which the Prophets have made concerning the signs of the Manifestation
And as to the Point of the Bayan—may the spirit of all who dwell within the depths of the Names be a sacrifice unto Him—He hath raised up all these utterances and utterly rent asunder the veils, and He hath fulfilled and interpreted all these perplexing words through His own Manifestation and that which proceedeth from His presence. He hath made mention of this Most Mighty Manifestation in such wise that none hath any excuse to hesitate, much less to turn away. He hath made the whole of the Bayan and all that was revealed therein contingent upon the recognition of that eternal Sun of Glory, and He declareth that at the time of His manifestation ye must not remain veiled from Him by the Bayan, nor cling to its words and thus be deprived of the Sovereign of Oneness. He specifically saith:
“O Letters and Mirrors! Ye have become proof through My word. Beware lest at the time of His manifestation ye show pride before the Chosen Beauty.”
And although He hath promised the dawning of the Sun of Truth in the year Mustaghath by the name of “Him Whom God shall make manifest—glorious be His name”, nevertheless He saith that should He appear at another hour, none hath the right to question why or wherefore, for that Sovereign of possibility hath ever been, and shall ever remain, the One Who doeth as He willeth. And should anyone claim otherwise, he hath not recognized the right of God, exalted be His remembrance, to do as He pleaseth. We take refuge in God from such vain imaginings. They have removed all limitations, veils, and allusions from this station, for that Ancient Beauty hath been and shall forever be sanctified above the limitations and allusions of all else but Him. None hath ever known or can know the nature of His manifestation. “None encompasseth His knowledge, and He is the All-Knowing.”
And He saith: “From the first moment when the Sun of Baha dawneth until it setteth, the Book of God is better throughout the night, if ye would understand. God hath created naught but for that Day when all shall attain His presence and then His good-pleasure.” And in this connection He saith: “Verily the noon-hour hath drawn nigh, yet ye recognize not that Day,” and “He whose meeting is My meeting—desire not for him that which ye would not desire for your own selves,” unto the end of His mighty utterance. O ears of all creation! No hearing is evident—hearken thou to these conclusive divine words which, explicitly and without interpretation, have foretold those days when the Sun shall rise and is nigh unto shining forth at its meridian; yet ye, O people of the Bayan, shall not recognize that glorious Beauty.
He hath explicitly mentioned this name too, as evidenced by His mighty words: “From the first moment when the Sun of Baha dawneth until it setteth, the Book of God…” unto the end of His exalted utterance, that none might doubt or interpret it contrary to what God hath ordained. Nevertheless, all remain veiled from perceiving the Sun of Baha by the veils of self and desire, and cling to that which Satan hath commanded them. Would that they were content with merely being veiled! Nay, some have even engaged in distorting these words of the Manifestation of Names and Attributes. This is an injustice the like of which hath never appeared in creation. Woe unto the wrongdoers from the punishment of a grievous day!
And after the appearance of this divine Sun of Glory, certain mirrors entertained vain imaginings and laid claim to the station of the Sun, heedless of the fact that in the Persian Bayan it is explicitly stated that should a mirror claim to be the Sun, it is evident before the Sun that it is but its reflection that speaks. Likewise He states that the mirrors in themselves have no reality, and in another place He says:
“Say: O sun-like mirrors! Ye all gaze upon the Sun of Truth, and your existence and manifestation, would ye but perceive it, depend upon Its grace. Ye are all like fish in the sea, moving in the ocean yet veiled from the water, asking about that whereby ye subsist.”
Now observe that He addresses the suns of the mirrors, which are the primary mirrors, saying that they should gaze upon the Sun of Truth, for their existence and manifestation have been and will ever be through His grace. And He states that the suns of the mirrors are like fish in the sea, moving in the ocean yet veiled from the sea and its water. Even as is witnessed today, the mirror of the people moves in the ocean of verses, seeking to prove itself through the verses of Divine Glory revealed in My previous Manifestation, its movement and expression of station being through the verses of God, yet it remains wholly veiled from the essence of the verses and their Revealer in these days. It moves in the ocean, yet remains heedless of the Sovereign of the ocean. This utterance was revealed from the Kingdom of eternity concerning the station of the suns of mirrors—how much more regarding those mirrors that stand beneath these suns!
And likewise He says: “Verily, on the day of His manifestation, the highest of creation shall be even as the lowliest, and the nearest unto you shall be he who believes in Him. There are no ties of kinship among you, nor any glory save through your faith in Him.” Thus it is witnessed today that the highest of creation is accounted before God as the lowliest—how many manifestations of the highest heaven have returned to the nethermost depths, and how many expressions of nothingness have attained to the most pure and exalted station! And likewise He says to Aqa Siyyid Javad: “I shall complain unto thee, O Mirror of My bounty, concerning all the mirrors, for each according to his own colors gazeth upon Me.” Observe how He complains of all the mirrors, but this Beauty now complains of him who is known as the Mirror, for he sees Me through what is with him, not through what is with Me.
In brief, today even if all mirrors were designated in the Bayan by the names of Divinity, Lordship, and beyond these, by the Self of God, the Manifestation of God, or the Essence of God, it would not suffice so long as they do not become assured of this holy divine Manifestation and this hidden celestial Mystery. All such are accounted as utter nothingness and complete void before God, even as it hath been recorded by the Pen of God at the beginning of these Tablets:
“Beware, beware lest on the day of His manifestation thou be veiled by the Vahid of the Bayan, for that Vahid is but a creature before Him. Beware, beware lest thou be veiled by the words that were revealed in the Bayan, for they are His own words in the temple of His previous manifestation.”
He warns that at the time of His manifestation, let it not be that thou remainest veiled from the Manifestation of the Cause by the Vahid of the Bayan—these being souls than whom none was more exalted after the Point of the Bayan—yet He states that ye should not remain veiled from the Truth by these souls. And these were souls who, after the Point of the Bayan, were second to none; nevertheless He says that you should not remain veiled from the Truth by these souls. From this statement it is understood that in the subsequent Revelation some of these Letters must exist. And He says that you should not remain veiled from the Truth by what has been revealed in the Bayan.
Now judge fairly, O people of the Bayan: with such a clear and perfect statement, can anyone today oppose the Manifestation Himself by saying that such and such a person is mentioned by name in the Bayan—how can he now be deprived of his station? Nay, by Him Who strengthened the Spirit through My Being! For these names and mentions and descriptions, even if accepted, are all but words inscribed in the Bayan. And among the counsels of the eternal Sovereign is this: that you should not remain veiled from the Manifestation of God by what has been revealed in the Bayan.
Furthermore, I swear by the Sun of divine glory that today shines from the holy divine horizon that the mention of that pre-existent Sovereign of the people of the Bayan—whether in terms of Lordship or servitude—is one and the same in that realm. Even in stone, which is inanimate, they have inscribed the three letters representing the three Most Great Names of God, and have reminded the servants to observe these Names therein, that in the created thing the signs of the Creator might be witnessed. If He Who graciously bestowed these stations upon stone were to withdraw His favor, it would be fitting for anyone who objects. By God! None will object to God’s Cause except every transgressor, sinful one. Had people been aware of the resurrection of names, they would never have objected to the Sovereign Who doeth what He willeth in any matter.
Thus it is that some are resurrected in name and known in the Kingdom of Names, yet their essence has never ascended beyond the depths of self and desire—this is due to a wisdom none knoweth save God. Many a fame has no foundation. And some are resurrected in essence without a name, as you have heard the story of Khidr, whose exalted station none in that time knew save God, such that his authority remained hidden even from Moses despite his lofty station and elevated rank. And after appearing before him, Moses was addressed with the words “Verily thou wilt not be able to have patience with me.” Although he is mentioned in the Book by the name Khidr, none knew him save God, and with Us is the knowledge thereof in a clear Book. And some are resurrected in essence, being, self, spirit and name. Therefore witness and say: Glory be to God, the best of creators! Were all the stages of resurrection to be mentioned, it would be observed in what station and rank these who pride themselves on names are mentioned. But We have stayed the Pen until God should will otherwise, for He is the Explainer of all things in a clear Book.
Furthermore, all things have ever been repositories of divine names and treasuries of creative mysteries, and in every dispensation He manifests from each thing whatsoever He willeth, and takes away whatsoever He pleaseth. Most wondrous of all is that today the Ancient Beauty and the Sun of the Most Great Name hath risen and shone forth at the meridian, yet people, clinging to a mere name from among names, have deprived themselves of the light of Beauty and recognition of the peerless Countenance of the All-Glorious. Say: By God the Truth! By the decree of His Pen were created the oceans of names and their kingdoms, were ye of them that know. And were He today to take a handful of dust and raise therefrom whatsoever name hath been or shall be, verily He is able, for He is the Sovereign, the King, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Omnipotent.
Section 5: “By God! The eyes of the Prophets…”
By God! The eyes of the Prophets and Messengers in the Supreme Concourse weep for My soul and for what hath befallen Me, and they lament within themselves and cry out in their inmost beings. Yet the people are wrapped in profound heedlessness and mighty delusion. To such a pass have the people of the Bayan descended that the tongue of the All-Merciful hath been moved to utter words such as these, yet still they accept it not. Such is the condition of these people. Today, whoso ascendeth not beyond the kingdom of names shall never attain unto this supreme bounty. For this reason did the Point of the Bayan declare that the seed of the next Revelation would be mightier than all the people of the Bayan, both now and in the time to come. Ponder then on this, O ye men of understanding! By Him Who hath arisen of His own accord! Were the servants to meditate upon this single utterance, they would find themselves independent of all save God, and would stand in no need of questions and answers to establish this wondrous Cause. God speaketh the truth, but the people hear not.
He further saith, exalted be His mention:
“Verily His likeness, glorified be His mention, is as the sun: were an infinite number of mirrors to be placed before it, they would all reflect the sun according to their capacity; and were there to be none to face it, still would the sun rise and set, and the mirrors would remain veiled.”
Consider ye how it may be inferred from this holy and divine utterance that the sun can rise and set while the mirrors remain veiled. Yet how can it be said, after the rising of the Sun of Suns, around which circle suns whose number none knoweth save God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, that a mirror could be debarred from its rays and splendor? For it is evident that the very existence of mirrors dependeth not on themselves but on the sun, by whose light they are illumined. As is clearly seen today, were all the mirrors of creation to face this celestial Sun, they would all reflect its light and glory; and were they to turn away, they would all be as though non-existent, now and forevermore. Observe the visible mirror: so long as it faceth the sun, the effects of the sun’s radiance are manifest therein; but as soon as it turneth away, these effects are obliterated and shall remain so, as all can plainly see.
He further saith: He is that Sovereign Potentate Who, by a movement of His sanctified tongue, createth at His word whatsoever He willeth and desireth of prophets, saints and the righteous. How then befitteth it them to turn away from One through Whose word prophets and saints are created, and to cleave instead to a mere name from among names, or a mention from among mentions, or a mirror from among mirrors? This indeed is a grievous wrong. By God the Truth! They have perpetrated that which none before them hath ever done, for after the appearance of the Sun at its meridian, there remaineth no time for tarrying. Yea, if they recognize not His own Self and find themselves powerless to acknowledge that Primal Beauty, by His own Self unto His own Self, then let them seek proof and testimony—the very proof and testimony by which the faith of all mankind was established.
And when He has manifested from the oceans of His grace and bounty, who then can tarry, save he who has wholly turned away from the Truth and made his dwelling in the depths of denial, the abyss of repudiation, and the infernal fire of rejection? Even so do most of those who today fancy themselves secure upon the cushions of faith and the throne of certitude stand utterly remote from the Truth, submerged in the sea of unbelief, suffering at every moment grievous torment, though they perceive it not.
Would that they were content with mere denial and rejection! Nay, by Him Who has caused Me to speak forth His praise, they shall never be content. Even as that soul whom We had nurtured through all his days and taught at all times the words of the All-Merciful, as they teach their birds in India, rose up against Me, warred with My Self, turned away from My Beauty, disputed the signs of God, the All-Possessing, the Self-Subsisting. Not content with this, he arose to cut down the Divine Lote-Tree. When God brought him to naught and exposed what was in his heart, he then embarked upon such schemes as no one could ever reckon save God, the Sovereign, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.
He spread such calumnies that the pen is powerless to recount them, attributing to the very Self of God, Who standeth over all who are in the heavens and on earth, such wickedness as had never appeared since the beginning of the world. Yet he dwelleth securely in his place, at ease, confident in the foolishness of the people who walk in the paths of fancy and swim in the sea of blind imitation. By Him Who holdeth my soul in His hand, were he to perceive even less than can be reckoned of those who see with divine insight, he would never have committed such slanders. Yet he is heedless that ere long there shall appear from behind the veils of divine protection souls who shall distinguish, with divine vision, truth from falsehood and the sun from shadow, whom no barrier shall withhold from the straight path nor any veil deprive of the Most Great Announcement.
Would that some discerning soul might consider their words which tell of their own selves and beings, that he might recognize them and be of those who understand. I swear by the Most Great Sovereign that were anyone to observe with penetrating eye the words of the deniers, he would perceive the station, rank and position of these imaginary beings.
Today the chiefs of the Bayan advance, unaware, the very same proofs that the lowliest among the People of the Furqan used to establish their own truth. For instance, they cling to the matter of successorship which the previous Manifestation had utterly erased from the Book, as all are aware that naught was revealed in the Bayan from the Pen of the All-Merciful save concerning the Letters and Mirrors, and even these were not limited, as witnessed in the prayers where He says: “O my God! At all times send forth such impregnable Mirrors and pure crystals as shall reflect Thee and guide unto Thee.” And in all the Tablets there hath been revealed from God these words: “Let him who willeth look upon them and be of them that know.”
Now, like unto the people of the Furqan who invented the “Seal of the Prophets” and remained veiled from Him Who sent forth and raised up that Seal, these people too have desired to establish for themselves the “Seal of the Saints,” as is evident to all. Him through whose word hundreds of thousands of saints have been and are being created, they have cast into the well of hatred, and at all times from every direction they hurl the stones of their vain imaginings at His blessed person, while they raise an outcry within themselves and claim to be oppressed, that perchance they might instill the hatred of God into weak souls. Such is the condition of the Mirrors that have appeared.
Say: Today, were God to pronounce him who beareth the most detested of names among men to be your Lord, or conversely, none hath the right to ask “why” or “wherefore,” for He, exalted and glorified be He, doeth what He willeth, and shall not be asked of His doings. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
In these days they have written and sent forth treatises in rejection of the Truth with ungodly hands. I swear by the Sun of inner meanings that they have spoken like children with meaningless, nonsensical words—nay, even more base, if ye but knew. Now compare the books and treatises of this group with what hath appeared from the servants of this House, and judge fairly yourselves, that perchance ye may not remain deprived this Day of the grace of the Ocean of inner meanings that hath encompassed all created things.
And now the Truth hath condescended to such a degree that from all sides they continuously ask questions about Quranic matters, and answers must be written. For instance, someone hath supposed a mirror to be a ruby, and then asked whether the ruby can be transformed before reaching its station of maturity, and how it changes after maturity—meaning, can the mirror be altered or transformed before reaching this station of being a mirror, but after reaching maturity how doth it descend from this station.
Thus have most people remained deprived of the King of Oneness today through such obvious matters. First say: O questioner, We beseech God to assist thee and confirm thee in such wise that thou mayest know all things in their proper station and be detached from all allusions, and mayest witness naught in creation save the effulgence of the lights that have encompassed the worlds, and that He may erase from thy heart all remembrances that thou mayest arise to praise thy Lord, the Mighty, the Unconstrained.
For on such a Day it behooveth no one to turn to anything of what hath been created between the heavens and earths. Would it be fitting for anyone, after the sun hath risen to its zenith, to occupy himself with mention of the stars or to inquire about a lamp, even though it be a shining lamp? Nay, by My luminous, holy, mighty, radiant Beauty! Cast behind thee all remembrances, then hold fast to this Remembrance Who hath appeared with the truth and Who speaketh in all things, saying: “There is no God but Me, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.”
And if thou art not successful in comprehending what hath been revealed in these verses from the heaven of oneness and art fixed upon the answer to thine own question, then hearken to the Most Glorious Call from the horizon of supreme might. First know that all things can be and are transformed into all things, and knowledge of this is in the Book of thy Lord Who neither erreth nor forgetteth.
Secondly, if thou art asked whether God hath power to transform a ruby or not, what wouldst thou answer? Indeed, powerlessness hath ever been the attribute of creation, while the True One, the Inaccessible, standeth established upon the throne of might. With a single word He is able to turn all who are on earth into pieces of moist red ruby, and with a word return them all to stone. Exalted is He above what ye have imagined and do imagine concerning His power.
And beyond this station, place the ruby in fire and observe what happens, that thou mayest become certain of the transformation of all things save God. Likewise when the ruby of the heart is tried in the fire of self and desire, it is surely deprived of its delicacy, color and purity. Today there are many pieces of ruby that have reverted to stone and are unaware of it, and likewise the opposite, were ye of those who understand.
In the ruby there are manifold varieties and diverse colors to be observed, and all its hues are altered in the fire save two kinds known as bahramani and rummani. And these two, though they may be altered by intense fire over many days, yet if they remain in moderate fire behind a veil, no harm shall be observed. And some maintain that fire enhanceth the hue of these two kinds. However, should the divine fire—which in the hidden divine knowledge is known as the red sulphur—be cast upon the ruby, it would instantly be calcined like other bodies.
Verily, fire rectifieth every corruption and corrupteth every rectification, increasing righteousness in the righteous and corruption in the corrupt. Whosoever hath become informed of divine knowledge comprehendeth that which hath been mentioned, and besides such a one none hath any portion save by the command of the Ancient and Omnipotent One.
In brief, O questioner, in all things save God and in the very Manifestation itself, change and transformation are to be observed. We created all things from dust and unto it shall We return them, and from it shall We bring them forth again alive. This is a promise from Us, and We shall assuredly fulfill what We have promised, for We are the best of them that fulfill.
O people! Hear ye the call of the Bird of Eternity from the Supreme Paradise, and drink ye the choice, pure and crystal-clear wine from the holy fingers of Baha, and become free and detached from all else save God, that the oceans of divine knowledge and wisdom may flow from your hearts and tongues, and ye may become free and sanctified from such questions as these. Beware lest ye defile the heart, which is a trust of the Chosen Beauty, with the defilement of the words of the wicked and the doubts of the evil ones, for they have appeared today with all manner of tricks and devices, casting doubts into hearts by whatever means possible.
Apart from all these statements, if there should exist in the world something that undergoes no change or transformation, what connection hath this with the contention of these people? For instance, if according to these people a ruby remains unchanged, what relation hath this to the fact that one who hath turned towards God cannot turn away from Him, or that a believer cannot become an unbeliever, or a godly soul an infidel? The King of Names hath ordained change possible in some things and not in others. For example, copper can become gold, but dust hath not the capacity to become gold. Since men of learning have already discussed this matter, this servant doth not wish to elaborate upon it.
However, in man the capacity for knowledge and ignorance, acceptance and rejection, faith and unbelief, is evident and manifest. If the questioner’s purpose in mentioning gold and ruby was in reference to the mineral kingdom, this is far removed from his intent, for even if gold hypothetically cannot become copper, nor ruby become ash, one cannot draw analogies from this regarding the other creations of the Creator. This is clear and evident to those possessed of insight who gaze upon the Most Great Scene.
Section 6: “If the intent was in reference…”
If the intent was in reference to the human realm, it is known that gold and ruby symbolize the believer’s faith in God and his recognition of His Manifestation, and it is quite evident that this can change, as many souls who at first believed in the Beauty of the All-Merciful later turned away. If thou wouldst ascend above the realm of fancy and sanctify thy heart from verbal allusions, thou wouldst witness the transformation of all things into all things at every moment. And he unto whom this vision is unveiled is accounted as one possessed of true insight in the estimation of God, the Almighty, the Chosen One.
The essence of the utterance of the Beauty of the All-Merciful is this: The Cause of God hath ever been and shall ever be sanctified above mention, description and limitation. Whosoever seeketh to comprehend the King of the infinite depths through such veils shall never attain certitude. By the power of the Sovereign of Eternity, rend ye asunder the veils of names and whatsoever is below or above them, and enter ye the most exalted, most sublime, most impregnable, most holy and most glorious City, for naught but His shadow is today as fire, and naught but His love shall ever be accepted.
Likewise, someone asked about the number of verses in “The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon is cleft asunder.” Say: O thou who gazeth upon the words, set aside the numbers and contemplate the verse itself. If today all who are in the heavens and earth were to gaze upon this blessed verse and ponder its hidden meanings, it would suffice them all. For today the sun of inner meaning hath shone forth from the horizon of the verse’s outer appearance, and it is a cutting sword against those souls who have taken others besides God as their protector. The meaning of this verse was not revealed until this exalted Manifestation, for at the time of the Primal Point’s appearance, there was no guardian according to people’s understanding who could be cleft asunder. Rather, there were the divines, who were symbolized as stars, while the guardian was symbolized as the moon and the Prophet as the sun. Thus in this Revelation the sun hath risen from God’s horizon and the illusory moon hath been cleft. Therefore say: Blessed be God, the Most Powerful of the powerful!
Now ponder this revealed verse and judge fairly, and be not of those who recognize God’s favor and then deny it. Would that these people had truly understood this guardian and mirror they have taken for themselves besides God. I swear by the Sun of the glory of the Eternal that the fundamental matter concerning the mirror was not as they have heard it, and whoever claims knowledge of it speaks falsely, by the Lord of eternity. What this servant mentioned, in accordance with divine wisdom, became widespread among the people, but no one hath comprehended the intent of the words of the Primal Point, exalted be His glory. This servant hath kept the fundamental matter hidden from all, for a wisdom none knoweth save My All-Knowing, All-Wise Self. By God, He hath dealt with His Creator, Who created Him with a breath from His presence, as none in all the worlds hath dealt. If people were to behold with the eye of God even one of the wondrous Tablets that have been sent down in these days from the heaven of mighty oneness, they would not remain veiled from the Truth and would witness all else as non-existent, becoming convinced that naught besides Him was or ever shall be worthy of mention, let alone those who turn away.
In this day certain souls have claimed infallibility apart from God, even as the people of the Qur’an have spoken without understanding and have never comprehended the true intent of infallibility. The ordinance of infallibility is fulfilled today in this wise: every soul who, after hearing the Word of God and His Call, is assured with the word “Yea” is of the people of infallibility, and whosoever is other than this is excluded from infallibility. Even as the Point of the Bayan—may the spirit of all else but Him be sacrificed for Him—declareth, addressing Azim: “Verily the Cause hath transcended all limitations. Thou dost purify servants at the time when God manifesteth Himself to them through them. They have known God their Creator and have been patient therein and have not complained, until Thou makest them like unto those Thou didst make aforetime from among the Prophets and the Successors and the Martyrs and those who are nigh.
By My life, wert Thou to make them present in the number of all things, Thou wouldest make them such, and naught would be diminished from the sovereignty of God by any measure, nor would aught be increased by any measure. But Thou seest that that station requireth the Most Great Infallibility. And infallibility is not what Thou seest among the people through their precautions in their religion, for when they heard the call Am I not your Lord?’ they did not say Yea’—they have departed. But infallibility belongeth to those who, when God said Am I not your Lord?’ said ʿYea.’ And verily God hath not spoken to anyone save through the Manifestation of His Self in every Revelation.” [Panj Sha’n, BB00005]
After this exposition, which is the most explicit of all words that have descended from the Pen of God, who else can establish infallibility for himself save after acknowledging this Most Great, Most Mighty Cause? Today all people, in whatsoever station they may be, are excluded from infallibility, save those souls who have been assured of this Most Holy, Most Transcendent Manifestation. O servants! Hearken unto the Call of God and purify the ears of your innate nature from hearing the words of the people of the Furqan, that ye may comprehend the most wondrous utterance of the Tongue of the All-Merciful. Reflect: wherein have these people spoken the truth? For one thousand two hundred and sixty years they held to the termination of Revelations, likewise to the appearance of the Qa’im in a specific form in a designated land, and similarly to the signs of the Revelation, clinging to a thousand traditions to such extent that they considered the deniers of these sayings as infidels.
Then it became evident, at the appearance of the Point of the Bayan, exalted be His mention, that all had erred, and that the Manifestations of the glory of the Divine Unity have ever been and shall ever continue to be manifest. Likewise consider all other statements of these embodiments of error—observe that all was and shall be mere fancy. Their god is their desire and their object of worship their vain imaginings, if ye but knew.
Although all the people of the Bayan have witnessed that whatever was in the possession of this group was other than truth, they nevertheless continue to adduce proofs from the words of the people of the Furqan and discourse thereon. Even now this group seeks to prevent people from the celestial streams of God and the fountainhead of divine glory through mention of previous successorship. I swear by the Beauty of God, the Most High, the Most Glorious, that had there been a thousand Manifestations present during the Revelation of the Point of the Bayan, and had any hesitated less than a moment in acknowledging the Cause of the Sovereign Lord, they would have been reckoned by God among the people of fire.
Rend asunder the veils of fancy and ascend unto the most glorious heaven. If ye desire that truth be made manifest to all, let several fair-minded souls gather in this city to observe God’s verses and His words. Similarly, the claimants are present in this land—let proper inquiry be made that the signs of truth may be distinguished from aught else, and it may become evident to all that all others are but paupers at His gate, powerless before His presence, and destitute before the manifestations of His lights.
In the Persian Bayan the Divine Tongue hath spoken, exalted be His utterance:
“Exert your utmost endeavor that in the Day of the Revelation of the Truth, His words may not be used as proof against Him, for all the words of the Bayan are the words of His previous Manifestation, and He knoweth better than all creation that which He hath revealed, for the spirit of all is in His grasp, and with all there is naught but a shadow, if they are steadfast in the truth—otherwise they are not worthy of mention.”
Consider this utterance of the Beauty of the All-Merciful: Although He forbade all from protesting against that Essence of Being and Sovereign Lord of all worship, and explicitly commanded that none should dispute with the words of the Bayan at the advent of the next Manifestation, yet today we observe that all have risen in protest, saying:
“Such and such a one was designated in the Bayan with the Most Beautiful Names; how then can he descend from this station?”
And likewise He says, exalted be His remembrance:
“Recognize Him through His verses, and be not overly cautious in recognizing Him, for to that same degree shall ye be in the fire.”
Consider these decisive words: today all who are cautious regarding this most mighty and most holy Cause are in the fire, of this there is no doubt.
And His word, exalted be His remembrance: “If ye turn within yourselves toward God, His likeness is what existeth in your hearts. Be not veiled from Him by Him, and recognize Him for Whose recognition ye were created.” And His exalted word: “In every Revelation, the believers in Him and His Book become veiled by His subsequent Revelation and His Book, to such degree that none remain except the sincere believer, who is rarer than red sulphur.”
Even as today all are being tested, and most of humanity hath turned away from the King of Oneness, saying:
“Such and such a one was designated in the Bayan by the name of God.”
Through such words they remain deprived of the eternal King of Glory, unaware of what they have done. And even granting this claim, they remain heedless that all names in that most holy court occupy the same plane. He bestoweth as He willeth and withdraweth as He pleaseth.
His exalted word:
“None knoweth the time of the Manifestation save God. Whenever it occurreth, all must acknowledge the Point of Truth and render thanks unto God.”
Nevertheless, some have objected regarding the nearness of the Manifestation, just as all previous peoples were occupied with such objections. Say: Woe unto you! How quickly have ye transformed the divine bounty and followed the paths of fancy and error, when scarcely any time hath passed since the Manifestation that all have reverted to their first step.
In any case, the Truth hath ever been sovereign and shall forever remain sovereign. He manifesteth Himself howsoever He willeth, and verily He is the Sovereign, while all else is held within the grasp of His power, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. By Him Who holdeth my soul in His hand! No greater injustice existeth today than that He Who speaketh in all things “I am God, there is no God but Me” should need to prove to His servants that He hath power to change one of His names, when the Kingdom of Names boweth before His sovereignty, the Realm of Attributes trembleth in awe of Him, and the Heaven of Mystery is guided by His presence and brought into being by His command, and returneth unto Him.
Such is the condition of these immature and incapable people—that the Almighty, by Whose will all names were created and by Whose sovereign command all attributes were manifested, and around Whom circle the denizens of the highest Paradise, must prove that He is able to withdraw from a soul the garment of a name, even though they had and have no knowledge of that name. The doubters in the power of the Sovereign Who doeth what He willeth and this most wondrous, most holy, most exalted Manifestation have deemed God’s hands to be fettered, though they may not verbally confess to this. The tongue of the Chosen One beareth witness to this, though they deny it. His glory be exalted!
For unto the people these were but words whose meaning they comprehended not, and thus remained veiled on the day of His manifestation. Therefore today all remain veiled from the intention of the Bayan by its very words, though they neither understood nor will understand God’s purpose therein.
Even as that Ancient Beauty wrote to the leaders of the Bayan, bidding them inquire about God’s purpose in His words from the Living Letter who was in His presence, for they knew not God’s intent. That Living Letter was Aqa Siyyid Husayn, who was martyred in his Lord’s path, and none attained his presence to inquire about the meanings of the divine utterances. The purpose of this statement from the tongue of the All-Merciful was that the leaders might know they neither understood nor understand the meaning of God’s words.
And as the manifest Revelation drew nigh, that same Siyyid ascended to the most exalted station. Ponder on this, O ye who are endowed with insight!
And His words, exalted be His praise:
“All that I have mentioned to thee regarding the station of proof is but a drop from the manifest ocean. If thou desirest the heart’s mystery by the decree of the Hidden Countenance, no allusion can point to it, nor can endless veils conceal it, nor doth anyone need mention proof thereof, for it is the very essence of Revelation and the perfection of concealment. Glory be to God above what they describe!”
How can allusion find its way to that realm of divine unity’s glory, in honor of His presence and in testimony to the purity of His essence and the subtlety of His station? Yet after He manifested the Sun of His Beauty from the horizon of destiny through all divine manifestations and every sign of oneness, arrows of hatred were launched from all directions at the manifest Beauty, the Lord of the worlds. “The first to cast stones at Me was he whom I sheltered beneath the wings of My grace, whom We reared beneath Our mantle and taught in Our days. He it was who slew Me with the sword of rejection, shed My blood, violated God’s sanctity in My person, and denied My signs after having bowed before a single letter thereof, having been created by a breath therefrom. He denied God’s right in My right, warred against God’s Self in My Self, openly decreed My death, and when God prevented him by His power and revealed his heart’s hidden thoughts to those who had emigrated in God’s path, he resorted to calumny, turning his deeds and tyranny against My oppressed Self to reassure his followers.
By God! The heavens of the Cause were rent asunder by his deed, the holy lands were cleft by his tyranny, the veil of the Kingdom was torn by his words, and the dwellers of the realms of eternity wept at his sin, while he laughed to himself as though he had committed no wrong in all creation. By God! All things weep, yet he remaineth unaware. Soon shall he know, when death comes upon him and his eyes roll in fear of divine wrath, and he says “Is there any way back that I might seek forgiveness for what I have done?” Then shall the clay of the abyss be struck upon his mouth. Thus is it ordained for those who are arrogant before God, the Supreme, the Mighty, the Powerful. His words, exalted be His praise: “Glorified art Thou, O my God! If Thou sayest that Thou hast forgiven the Bayan and all within it, then all abide in Thy forgiveness and good-pleasure. And if Thou sayest nay, then verily I am the one who clings to the hem of Thy bounty and seeks intercession with Thee through Thyself.”
Section 7: “There is no doubt that the Pre-existent Being…”
There is no doubt that the Pre-existent Being speaks only through the tongue of the Manifestation of His Own Self. Observe in these utterances what degree of humility is shown by the Beloved of all creation, who has made the entire Bayan and all within it contingent upon the “yea” or “nay” of the King of Eternity in a future Revelation. And now the King of the unseen and the seen is manifest to all, and such harm has befallen His blessed person that were all the oceans of the unseen and the seen to become ink, and all who dwell in the kingdom to become pens, and all who are in the heavens and earth to become writers, they would surely be powerless to describe it. Would that they had counted Him among His faithful ones! The curse of God be upon the oppressors and the idolaters. Yet they still recite the Bayan and transcribe it. Many a reader of the Bayan whom the Bayan itself curses, many a practitioner whose deeds it disowns, many a rememberer from whom remembrance itself flees. May God protect us and you, O people of unity, from these ones and from their evil, their deceit and their guile.
And likewise in communion with the King of Names and Attributes they mention:
“I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy independence from all things, to accept the Bayan and all within it, for I have named all that hath appeared from me by that name and made all of it a book, a leaf among the leaves of the gardens unto Thee. Accept it, O my Beloved, for that would be a token of Thy grace and mercy; and if Thou rejectest it, O my Beloved, that would be a manifestation of Thy justice and the independence of Thy Lordship.”
Although all utterance has been contingent upon the word of that Divine Essence and the Manifestation of the All-Merciful, now they are occupied with the basest of His creation and remain deprived of His beauty. Woe unto these, then woe unto these! By God, these pass not by anything except that it seeketh refuge with God from them and dissociateth itself from them, saying in its inmost tongue:
“O heedless misbeliever! By what proof didst thou believe in the manifestation of Ali before Nabil, and by what evidence dost thou deny Husayn before Ali? Nay, O accursed one! By God, thou hast never truly believed in any of God’s Messengers, and if thou didst believe in any age, that faith was not real faith but merely a phantom, for had it been authentic thou wouldst not have denied Him through Whom the message of every Messenger was verified, every Prophet was raised up, and the faith of all in the heavens and earth was established.”
The translation of these most impenetrable divine words is set forth in pure Persian in the most wondrous tongue, purely for the sake of God, that perchance some souls might be cleansed from the defilement of self and passion and ascend to the heaven of mighty eternity, which is the station of recognition of the Self of the All-Merciful. His is the command—He guideth whom He willeth unto His hallowed and luminous Beauty.
Today, whosoever turneth away from the countenance of the true Object of worship passeth not by anything except that it sayeth with its inmost tongue:
“O thou who associateth partners with God! By what proof and evidence didst thou believe in the Beauty of the All-Merciful in the previous Manifestation, and by what argument hast thou denied the King of the Path in this Manifestation?”
By the Sun of holy transcendence, such a one hath ever been an infidel and idolater, and if in any age he proclaimed his faith, it was not genuine but rather a mere phantom within him, and in this Manifestation the snare of faith caught faith itself, and Satan returned to his abode in the nethermost hell. Had thy faith been authentic, thou wouldst not have denied Him through Whom the message of all Messengers was verified, all Prophets were raised up, and the faith of all that is in the heavens and earth was established.
O servants! Consider the Cause of God for a while with pure hearts and just vision, that perchance ye may not be debarred from the divine sanctuary or excluded from the celestial Ka’bah of the Eternal.
O Ali! Although thou art the questioner and the answer is recorded in thy name, yet it appears most difficult that thou shouldst today acknowledge the truth and be mindful of all that is mentioned in the Tablet, inasmuch as thy heart hath been veiled by thick veils and thine eyes are covered by endless clouds. However, God’s glance and His secret attention through these words is directed to other hearts, and ere long they shall be manifested with such power that they shall behold all else but God beneath their shadow. Yet, due to the precedence of divine mercy and the all-encompassing nature of heavenly grace, this hath been revealed in thy name, that perchance the breezes of the days of God may take hold of thee and detach thee from all the worlds.
His utterance, exalted be His bounty: Ever hath the sun been likened unto Him and all else unto mirrors. Each mirror reflecteth according to its capacity the light that hath shone upon it from itself unto itself. Thus all derive proof therefrom of their connection to it. And were the sign that hath been manifested therein through it unto it be removed, then nothing would remain in the mirror that could prove the existence of God. Thus doth God take away what He taketh away. None after Him shall judge by the hearts of men as signs, even though they all declare “We believe in God and His signs.” God beareth not witness to that which they utter.
O ye who are intoxicated with the wine of idle fancies! Hearken unto the call of the Most Exalted Lord that hath been raised in these conclusive words and firm, impregnable verses, that perchance ye may show mercy unto yourselves and unto God’s servants, and cast not the stones of doubt and hatred at the divine Lote-Tree. And if ye yourselves are not guided, at least deprive not the servants from the stream of the Lord of all creation in these grievous days. He saith that all are mirrors reflecting the sun according to their capacity and station, according to how the sun is reflected in that mirror through the mirror itself. At this time it can be inferred that all subsist and exist through the sun. And if the sign of the sun’s reflection that hath shone in the mirror through the mirror itself be removed, nothing would remain in the mirror to indicate its Revealer and Creator.
Despite these decisive, unambiguous, and conclusive words, the people of the Bayan have doubted how a mirror could be deprived of the sun’s reflected light, and they have persisted in this matter to an extent that cannot be mentioned. They object to Him through one reflection of Whose Most Luminous Name hundreds of thousands of mirrors are illumined and brightened, and through one manifestation of Whose Name “the Wrathful” all are cast back to their own limitations. They turn away from His Beauty, and after the Sun of Beauty hath reached its zenith they ask, “Where are its lights and its proof?”
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 behooveth 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.
By God! Had the matter been in My hands, I would never have revealed Myself.
O my ill-wishers! The Daystar 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.”
And if this be My crime, then by God this proceedeth not from Me but from Him Who hath sent Me and raised Me up in truth and made Me a lamp unto all worlds. O people! By God, the fragrance of truth is easily distinguished from falsehood. Desire not for the True One that which ye desire not for yourselves. Pause ye to reflect: What hath been the purpose of this Servant in this most great prison in these last days, and what will it be? Ponder then, O heedless ones!
O people! Be ye ashamed before God, and doubt not His Cause, and seek not proof of the Sun and its radiance, for its proof is its light and its rays. And doubt not its appearance, for it hath risen and there is no return for it. Rather, beseech God to open your sight that ye may perceive its lights that have encompassed both worlds. Say: By God! The Pen of the Most Holy One hath traced upon My radiant brow, in musk-scented lines of greatest glory.
O concourse of earth and heaven! This indeed is the Beloved, the like of whom the eye of creation hath never beheld, nor hath the eye of invention seen His peer. He is the One through Whose beauty the eye of God, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the Beauteous, hath been solaced. There is a tradition that one of the companions of the Messenger of God held in his hand a page from the Torah. His Holiness asked, “What holdest thou in thy hand?” He replied, “The Torah.” He said, “Put it away, for were its Author living, He would obey Me.” Now consider: when the Book of God, through which all matters pertaining to the Prophet, the Letters, the Mirrors, the Gates and the Pillars have been established and confirmed, is forbidden to be taken and read, how can it be permissible—according to your claim—to reject one of the Mirrors whose existence hath been established through the Letters, which Letters themselves have been confirmed and established by the Book?
Woe unto you! Ye speak that of which ye have no knowledge, and ye deem yourselves to be guided, even as did the peoples of old, and in this do ye rejoice. By God! None can find protection from God’s decree save by detaching himself from all who are in the heavens and on earth, and turning unto God, the Self-Subsisting, the All-Compelling. Purify your vision that ye may behold all things today on one plane, and witness with your outer and inner sight the lights of the Sun of sanctification from the horizon of the Vesture.
And beyond all these proofs concerning Mirza Asadu’llah, whom the Primal Point—exalted be His mention—addressed thus: “O Manifestation of Oneness!” Now judge with fairness: how can ye, by God’s word, call him who was made the dawning-place of the Sovereign of Oneness “the father of evil”? And if ye say this station was withdrawn from him by the Mirror, then assuming this to be permissible, what objection can there be if the Point Himself should withdraw the vesture of acceptance from one of the Mirrors? And if ye ask how it is established that this visible Point and all-embracing Word is truthful in His claim, We say: by the same proof and evidence through which ye have accepted all that hath appeared from and been revealed by the previous Manifestation. Look now with that same proof and evidence, and deny not God Who created you by His command, if ye be of the fair-minded. Likewise He addresseth Asadu’llah thus: “O Third Letter who hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest—exalted be His glory!”
Similarly, in the Risaliy-i-Ja’fariyyih which was specially revealed for him from the heaven of the Divine Essence, it is written at the beginning, and this is its text: “That which was revealed to his honor the Lion, the unique One who is illumined by the light of the Eternal, the Name of God, the Judge [Dayyan], for God, the One, the Trusted.” And later He—exalted be His mention—saith: “O Dayyan! This is a hidden and treasured knowledge which We have entrusted to thee and given thee as a glory from God, as the eye of thy heart is subtle and recognizeth its value and glorifieth its splendor.” And further He—exalted be His power—saith: “O Most Glorious Name! Look not upon these people except as sheep led by their shepherd as He willeth.” And besides what hath been mentioned, sacred and eternal words describing him exist in the Book—consider them. This servant hath not mentioned them for the sake of brevity. O ye blind ones in existence, open your eyes!
Consider, O people of insight, and reflect upon that which thou thyself performest, yet at which thou now standeth perplexed and bewildered. Thou callest Dayyan base, and nameth the Single, the One—among the most great names of God—the father of evil, yet thou objecteth to the Sovereign Who doeth as He willeth, asking how sweetness can turn bitter, or a mirror become as stone. This, when Asadu’llah denied not the Truth, and upon reaching the City of God appeared before the Throne and acknowledged that which the people of the Bayan had acknowledged on that Day. Yet there befell him what befell him. Nay, not content with him alone, the decree of death was pronounced upon many. The Book of the Awakened One is available—examine it.
Section 8: “I swear by the Sun of inner meaning…”
I swear by the Sun of inner meaning that in that book the death sentence was pronounced upon all the Manifestations of Divine Unity, though the death sentence had been entirely lifted from the Bayan and its people by the explicit text of the Bayan. They cast two false accusations against that helpless one and pronounced the death sentence without God’s leave. The verse “One hair of His head is better than a thousand of His slayers” [applies]. Even now they perpetrate such clear and evident tyranny against the Countenance of Divine Unity and arise to slay Him. Yet they write to various regions, attributing such injustices to the Essence of Justice and Its Source and Mine, that perchance they might cast rancor and hatred into the hearts of some of the deluded ones. But they are heedless that God has, beneath the shadow of His name the All-Seeing, servants who can split a hair lengthwise, whose vision no veils of the world can obstruct.
Similarly, addressing Siyyid Ibrahim, exalted be His mention:
“O My Friend mentioned in the Sacred Scrolls! O My Remembrance in the Books after the Scrolls! O My Name in the Bayan!”
to the end of what was revealed. These divine utterances which flowed from the Holy and Eternal Pen in his praise, yet now he is known as the father of calamities. Though they themselves glory in being mentioned as the Remembrance of God in the worlds in the divine Books, they refer to one who was designated as the Friend in the divine Scrolls, as God’s Remembrance in the revealed Books, and as God’s Name in the Bayan, as the father of calamities. Yet regarding one less than him who objected to the Will of God Itself and His grandeur, they consider no change permissible. They have assumed God’s power to be like their own power and have considered the Supreme Pen to be idle.
I swear by My persecution that the Pen of Power is constantly engaged in erasing and inscribing, and none comprehend this save the detached ones. Thus doth the All-Merciful erase what He willeth and confirm what He willeth, and with Him is the Mother Book. How strange that these souls who pride themselves on these names have turned away from the Truth. Yea, these mentions and attributes exist in every soul so long as they have not left the stronghold of God’s Cause; otherwise they possess not, in God’s sight, the worth of the black of an ant’s eye. Furthermore, all things have been and shall be the Remembrance of God in the worlds, for all things in their essence are the Name of God, and His Name, exalted be His station, hath been His Remembrance among the servants. His name, exalted be His glory, hath ever been His remembrance amongst His servants, and thus hath it always been and shall forever remain.
By Him Who standeth alone in might and splendor! Were it not that God perceiveth mankind to be immature, verily I would have opened in every atom of existence the gates of such knowledge that all created things would behold themselves utterly powerless and wanting before its recognition. However, as the unauthorized are present, the mysteries remain concealed. Thus hath it been ordained by the All-Powerful, the Almighty. Say: O people of the Bayan! Ye were created to meet Me after My independence of you, and were promised My Self and knowledge thereof after My transcendence above your knowledge, and were given glad tidings of My beauty after My exaltation above you and above all that hath been created between the heavens and the earth. Yet ye have clung to the weakest of names, remaining distant and heedless of the Sovereign of Names. If ye are focused on verses, their equivalent hath descended from the heaven of the All-Merciful in such wise that none hath any excuse to turn away, except the idolaters whose heart-sickness hath prevented them from recognition and understanding.
Moreover, compare the words of those who circle round the Cause of God today with the words of him whom ye took as a protector for yourselves apart from God, that ye may recognize the greatness of the Cause and perchance inflict no harm upon the Ancient Beauty through mere fancy. By the truth! The peoples of every past religion may have excuses for their veiling of themselves from the eternal Manifestations of glory through unworthy pretexts, but for the people of the Bayan no excuse or justification remaineth, for the Sovereign of Oneness hath mentioned the subsequent Revelation in the most explicit utterance and clearest exposition, in such wise that He made all the Bayan and what was revealed therein contingent upon His Word, as was previously inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen. Well is it with them that understand!
Among attempts to invalidate truth and establish falsehood, the one who turned away from God clung to these words—and since it is unfitting to quote his words directly, We mention what the Pen of God hath recorded concerning them, the substance of which is this:
“It is revealed from the Pen of Glory—was your Beloved possessed of sight or not? If this is denied, this would be an injustice against God from the Most Sublime Vision. And if that sovereign of eternity possessed sight and knowledge, how could He describe and praise with beautiful names one who would descend from his station and be counted among the opposers?”
First, the speaker of these words hath not recognized the truth that “He doeth what He pleaseth” and hath denied God’s all-encompassing power, and such a soul was and will be the most remote of creatures according to the explicit text of the Point of the Bayan, as was mentioned before: “Say: O God! Thou art the God of gods! Thou givest divinity to whom Thou willest and takest it from whom Thou willest, verily Thou art powerful over all things. Say: O God! Thou art the Lord of the heavens and the earth! Thou givest lordship to whom Thou willest and takest it from whom Thou willest”—and so forth as was revealed.
Now We say: What sayest thou concerning this comprehensive word that hath flowed from the pristine nature of the Sovereign of Oneness? If thou hast acknowledged the truth of the Glorious and Exalted One—the Sovereign Almighty Who is able to bestow divinity and lordship, which are the most exalted stations, upon whomsoever He willeth, and likewise to take them from whomsoever He willeth—then surely He is able to remove the mantle of description from whomsoever He pleaseth. This is a mention that applieth universally, not specifically to anyone.
But if thou lookest to specific descriptions and considerest God’s hand to be chained and deniest His all-encompassing power, then what sayest thou concerning Mirza Asadu’llah, about whom He explicitly saith: “O Third Letter who hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest”? And it is most clear that the Third Letter of Him Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His glory, is a hundred thousand ranks above the Letters of the Bayan and his mirrors in the sight of God, for the Point of the Bayan Himself—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—hath declared: “A one-year-old child in the time of Him Whom God shall make manifest is mightier than all who are in the Bayan.”
Now judge thou fairly: Was the Point of the Bayan endowed with insight or not? If thou considerest Him truthful and possessed of vision, why didst thou name as the father of evil one whom He mentioned with such loftiness and transcendence in the Mother Book, and command his execution? O thou who seest with but one eye, thou hast perceived the faults of others while remaining heedless of what is within thyself!
If thou sayest he turned away from the Truth and thus this judgment befell him, we say, granting this premise: If it be permissible for the Third Letter of Him Whom God shall make manifest—who by the express text of the Pen of Command was more glorious and exalted than all creation of the Bayan before God—to become a denier, an infidel and an idolator, then why dost thou not deem it possible for one of countless mirrors to turn away from the Truth? Thus was confounded he who disbelieved.
By God, none hath understood the essence of this Cause, for had they understood, they would have recognized it.
And in the Tablet to Vahid-i-Akbar, the Dove of Eternity warbleth in most wondrous melodies: “Blessed be the soul that heareth and is among those who ponder the verses of God.” His utterance, exalted be His utterance: “By Him Who splitteth the seed and createth the soul, if I were certain that thou wouldst not believe in Him at the time of His manifestation, I would lift from thee the decree of faith in this Dispensation, for thou wast not created save for Him. And were I to know that any Christian would believe in Him, I would surely make him the apple of Mine eyes and would decree faith for him in this Dispensation without requiring any evidence from him.”
He saith: I swear by the Almighty Who split open the seed of hearts and created man, that if I were certain thou wouldst not believe in that Dawning-Place of the Sun of Truth in the next Revelation, I would surely lift from thee the decree of faith in this Dispensation, for thou wast not created save to know that Sun of the Heaven of Certitude. And were I to know that one among the Christians would attain to the recognition of that Beauty of the All-Merciful and believe in Him, I would surely make him the apple of Mine eyes and would decree faith for him in this Dispensation without requiring any evidence from him.
Now, O people of insight, observe how infinitely gentle and tender is God’s Cause, and how His all-embracing mercy hath encompassed all existence, such that regarding one from among the Christians who is today an infidel and idolator, that Divine Tree hath, by virtue of his future faith in the next Manifestation, related and associated him with the most tender and gentle parts of His blessed being. And yet these base creatures of earth, at what level do they stand and gaze! Woe unto you, O heedless ones!
By Him Who hath made His Own Self His proof today, and His authority that which floweth from His luminous Pen, should all who are in the Bayan today turn away, and a single Christian believe, the names of all would assuredly be erased from the Preserved Tablet while that Christian’s name would remain. God eraseth what He willeth and confirmeth what He willeth, and with Him is the Mother Book.
Apart from all this, have they not heard the account of Balaam which is recorded in the divine Books—that although he was one of the appointed successors of the Prophets of old, and all the peoples of the world deemed service to him obligatory and considered obedience to him as obedience to God, and his fame had encompassed all lands, yet when the Beauty of Moses appeared from the horizon of divine submission, he arose to oppose that Most Beauteous Countenance? Likewise Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples mentioned in the Gospel, delivered the Spirit (Christ) into the hands of the Jews.
Beware lest ye ever feel secure from divine trials and tests, but at all times take refuge in the Almighty God, that perchance ye may not today stray from the manifest path nor stumble. Well is it with them that are steadfast, for tests have been and will be for all, and none shall escape from their snare save those whom thy Lord willeth. Should the breeze of His justice blow, thou wouldst behold a hundred thousand essences of light plunged in darkness of self and passion, and should the breeze of His grace waft, thou wouldst observe a hundred thousand mortal frames ascend to the station of the immortal Throne.
I swear by God, O people, ye comprehend not and move by mere fancy. Hearken unto the wondrous divine counsels, and transgress not in the Cause of God, nor condemn yourselves to endless torment. Occupy not yourselves with the mirage of the desert instead of the surging Greatest Ocean, nor content yourselves with the passing shadow instead of the eternal Sun of Glory. Hear the utterance of truth from the tongue of the All-Merciful.
None today comprehendeth the Bayan and what is treasured therein, and its knowledge is with Us, were ye of them that understand. Be not veiled by the garment of names from the Sovereign of Names, by Whose word was created the Kingdom of Names, for all names are but garments which He clotheth upon whom He willeth as a token of His grace, and which He removeth from whom He willeth in justice from His presence. None questioneth what He doeth, and He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
Today most of the people of the Bayan have been and shall be accounted as worshippers of names before God, for had they truly known the Primal Point for Himself by Himself, they would not, I swear by God, have hesitated less than that in recognizing this holy and eternal Manifestation and divine effulgence.
Thus it became evident that they knew Him not for Himself by Himself, exalted and glorified be He, but rather knew Him by His garment of names, exalted be His station. Hence not many days passed before He appeared for Himself by Himself, yet they knew Him not and visited upon Him that which the Pen of Glory is ashamed to mention.
This failure to recognize came about only because He changed His garment—that is, the Most Exalted Name was changed to the Most Glorious Name, and none recognized this save those who detached themselves from all who are in the kingdom and ascended unto God with their whole being until they entered the seat of glorious honor. These are My friends beneath the canopy of My loving-kindness, and upon them descendeth tranquility from My presence.
He sends down tranquility upon them from His presence, and they recline upon the thrones of independence. These are they whom God hath preserved from the darts of doubt, and who repose on the cushions of sanctity, their eyes fixed upon My countenance. Upon them, at all times, rest My glory, then My mercy and loving-kindness, then My grace and bounties. Thus hath God chosen them for Himself and made them to be of the faithful.
O servants! Strive that perchance ye may enter beneath the tabernacles of the Sun of divine bounty through the wondrous grace of the Lord of Lords, and remain protected and preserved from the heat of self and desire. These are the counsels of the Pen of Command. Whoso heareth, it is to his own benefit, and whoso turneth away, it is to his own loss. Verily, He is sanctified above all worlds.
Section 9: “Would that the people of the Bayan had…”
Would that the people of the Bayan had contemplated the Persian Bayan which flowed from the merciful Pen, that perchance they would not have deprived themselves in this most holy, divine Manifestation of the Salsabil of divine favor and the Tasnim of heavenly grace. Such doubts have assailed impure hearts that none can distinguish one from another. Should a heart be cleansed of doubt by the ever-flowing Kawthar of the eternal King, it would immediately be sullied by another doubt. Glory be to God! Although the people of the Bayan themselves acknowledge that Prophethood was sealed with the Messenger of God and that the sixtieth year marks the first appearance of God, nevertheless—despite the fact that the Truth now stands manifest in Its own essence and Being, dawning from the horizon “Verily I am alive in the Most Glorious Horizon”—they again make mention of successorship and the like, and through the remnants of vain imaginings left by the people of the Furqan, they seek to veil the lights of the Sun of certitude which hath risen in the holy, eternal heaven of the All-Glorious. How fitting are these two verses in this connection:
O Light of Truth, Husamu’d-Din, and heart! O heart and soul abashed before thy start! These fragments seek through envy to conceal The radiance of thy sun from all below.
Let go of these vain sayings and fix your gaze upon the essence of the Cause and that through which the Names have been established. The Manifestation before Me declares:
“Had I not observed the weakness of the people, I would never have made mention of the Divine Will.”
Now behold the sanctification of the Cause and the exaltation of what God hath ordained for you, and consider your own rank and station, for now they cling to and cite as proof the base arguments of the lowliest servants among the people of the Furqan. Alas for you, O company of the heedless!
In brief, these are the days of Revelation, and the Truth shineth even as the sun in the midst of heaven. No earthly treasures exist in His holy court, that He should need an heir to divide them. And if ye say He needeth an heir in His Cause, this is but tyranny on your part against God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, inasmuch as the Cause hath ever revolved and will continue to revolve around His Own Self, and will never be separated from Him. Beware lest ye establish for God a Vizier, or a peer, or an opponent, or an equal, or an heir, or a partner, or a likeness. Indeed, in the Bayan all these names and whatsoever ye have limited to yourselves have been erased.
This is why mention hath been made of Mirrors in the Bayan by the All-Merciful, and even that was not and will never be limited. We hope that from the outpourings of the heaven of sanctification, holy rains may be showered upon dusty and darkened hearts, that perchance, being cleansed of allusions, they may turn unto the Court of the King of Names and Attributes. By God, O people! My purpose in mentioning these irrefutable proofs, decisive evidences, and unambiguous words hath not been to establish Mine own Self, for whoso hath attained, in less measure than can be reckoned, unto spiritual vision will surely behold the lights of the Most Glorious Sun which hath shone forth upon all things in the form of “There is no God but I, the Mighty, the Wise.”
Rather, My purpose concerneth Him Who will come at the time of Mustaghath. By God, then will My Pen weep, and My fingers, then Mine eyes, My heart, My liver, My veins, My blood, My bones, and My skin, by reason of that which will befall Him at the hands of such as have disbelieved in God, warred against His Self, disputed His signs, denied His grace, and pronounced judgment against Him after He had appeared with all the signs, proofs, and tokens.
By God, ye have done what none among the peoples of former times have done, and have perpetrated that which hath rent asunder the vesture of patience from the body of grandeur. Yet ye walk upon the face of the earth as though ye had committed no wrong. Woe unto you, O company of idolaters!
By God, O people! Verily in falsehood there are odors, and likewise in truthfulness, were ye to purify your hearts and your sense of smell and inhale, ye would discover the fragrance of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. The Pen is bewildered as to what It should mention, for matters have reached such a pass that the pure essence of My spirit, which were it to be addressed by the Most Glorious utterances of all creation would find itself saddened, must now occupy itself with hearing the basest of words.
How can it be that a wolf should become the shepherd of the flock? Say: O sightless pauper! First, thou hast not recognized the Shepherd, and second, for years wolves have been your shepherds, as ye have realized after the appearance of the Divine Luminary from the horizon of the spiritual heaven that ye were following a people who, in the sight of God, rank a hundred thousand times lower than wolves, for by the decree of such wolves was the Manifestation of the Lord of Lords martyred with utmost cruelty. The curse of God be upon them and their followers!
And if you say that before His manifestation, following those people was permissible and acceptable in God’s sight, and after His manifestation and these people’s hesitation in God’s Cause they became counted among the fire, then apply this same ruling in this holy and eternal Manifestation. Hearken unto the divine counsel and purify your hearts from the allusions in the words of the people of veils. Say: O servants of passion, take a step toward God and soar from the land of conjecture into the atmosphere of certitude.
O Pen of the Most Ancient, lay aside for now what thou didst wish to mention to the servants of God, and make mention instead of thy brother who contended with thy Self and disputed the signs of God, that this may be a remembrance to all the worlds, and perchance thereby the eyes may be opened of those who seek the Face at eventide and at dawn, and whose feet have not slipped on this Day when leg is wrapped around leg.
By Him Who holdeth my soul in His hand, for twenty years untiring effort and mighty endeavor were expended in his education, training, upbringing and protection, to an extent impossible to recount. Then the migration occurred and we arrived in this land. Some time passed, and Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani departed from the House of God and the fortress of His love, settling in another place. And my brother—by God besides Whom there is no God—arose to cut down the divine Lote-Tree, until God exposed what lay hidden in his soul and his deceit became known among the emigrants, and cries arose from every female and male, young and old.
This servant withdrew entirely from all, that perhaps the heat of jealousy might cool and the fire of hatred be quenched. I dwelt alone in the house and closed the doors of entry and exit to all. The women of the household all engaged in lamentation and weeping upon hearing this repugnant matter. By God, none can recount what befell Us, nor could any of the loved ones bear to hear it.
At the time of departure, three persons were appointed for service—two specifically for my aforementioned brother and Kalim, and one for myself. Likewise the limited funds that came from the sublime government were divided among all. Afterward all dispersed, dwelling in various places, while this servant sat alone in the house, doors locked and curtains drawn, never associating with any of the friends or others. The door of meeting was entirely closed and the Beauty of eternity veiled.
After the Ancient Beauty was veiled, Siyyid Muhammad joined with my brother, and hatred of God became the cause and reason for the unity of these two. They occupied themselves with deception and plots, to the extent that they bribed a certain person with money to go to various lands and attribute to the Tree of the Cause whatever they had perpetrated. Much detail could be given, but I do not deem it proper to engage in such mentions. You have surely heard what is necessary to be revealed, lest people slip from the path of the Cause due to transient false words.
Eventually the commissioned person repented and went to some people to recount the details of these matters. When they saw the correspondences that had been sent with him, all were struck with amazement, for whatever he had done they had attributed to the Truth. Likewise they wrote a treatise rejecting God, to be spread in various regions. By God besides Whom there is no God, they spoke as children would, nay lower, were ye to understand. And whatever they wrote thinking to reject God actually proved this most wondrous Cause, if people would look at their words with the eye of God.
And what numerous calumnies they attributed to the King of Names and Attributes, ascribing to the Root of the Divine Tree whatever was other than good. I pour out my grief and sorrow unto God alone. Then doth the Tongue of God speak, saying:
“Is there any pure water to cleanse My surroundings from these deniers? Is there any sword of utterance to open through explanation and repel from My court the evil of the ungodly? Is there any possessor of steadfastness to help Me in these days wherein the deniers have encompassed Me? Is there any detached one who will recognize Me with Mine own eyes and detach himself from all the worlds? Is there any one possessed of vision who will look upon My Cause and what hath befallen Me from the hosts of the evil ones? Is there any possessor of a tender, pure heart who will weep with My weeping and for that which hath befallen Me from these proud ones? Is there any one possessed of knowledge who will ward off the swords of rejection and hatred from the Face of God, the King, the Mighty, the Beautiful?”
O Supreme Pen! Say: By God the Truth! I have never sought help from anyone in the time when all peoples warred against Me, and God is witness and knower of this. And whenever We seek help from anyone or command the servants to do so, this is only for their attainment to the summit of grace, and apart from this, verily God is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.
They have written numerous epistles rejecting the Sovereign of Oneness. By God! Through this their deeds have been rendered vain and their efforts have been lost in this world and the next, and they perceive it not. That which they have considered to be the cause and reason for people’s rejection, they have attributed to this servant. Among these is the attribution of worldliness, and this is clear to every person of insight that this servant was manifest and evident like the sun among the deniers. I swear by the Ancient Beauty that no morning brought hope of reaching the night, and likewise no night brought expectation of witnessing the dawn, for the ungodly were striving with utmost effort to cut down the Divine Tree, until the Sun of Power—“the Hand of God is above their hands”—shone forth from the horizon of the Pocket of Grandeur, and the ungodly were vanquished, and the Beauty—verily He is the Prevailer over all things—was established upon the throne of power and might, and departed from Iraq in full glory.
It was known that the intention was to proceed alone to Istanbul. When many showed excessive anxiety and distress, some were given permission to depart, and some departed without permission, until we arrived in that renowned land. Nothing whatsoever was declared to the Sublime State, and whoever presented themselves before Us was granted a meeting, otherwise not, as all have heard, and in the great city itself they have heard what was the divine intention, until several weak ones became agitated and distressed for the protection of themselves and their women. Therefore, out of mercy for them, the decree of exile was revealed.
Now, which of these matters was related to worldliness? They have measured by their own standards. Thus do their lying tongues describe to them what they do not understand. By God, besides Whom there is no other God, the Pen of modesty is ashamed to mention what they have done, and if any person of insight were found, the station and rank of the deniers would become evident from their epistles which have appeared from the pen of ignorance and hatred.
Two years ago, Jinab-i-Aqa Muhammad-Ali and Jinab-i-Salman asked about a poem, and my brother wrote an answer. Later, Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani came before Me and mentioned that Mirza Ali had not understood the meaning of the poem and it would not be advisable to give this letter to Salman. This servant remained silent. Then they mentioned it to my brother in the House of Kalim with Haji Mirza Ahmad. After some irrelevant words, my brother finally excused himself saying perhaps the questioner had written the original poem incorrectly.
Later when they examined the poem, it was written correctly and that writing is with Salman and all have seen it. No one had understood it at all, for all were veiled by imaginings. Now observe how the measure of the deniers becomes evident, and yet they object to the Source and Fountainhead of divine knowledge. By Him through Whose power the Kingdom of destiny stands before His gate—all that has flowed from the Pen has been and will be thus. But eyes are blinded by veils of fancy and desire, therefore none perceive except those whose eyes God has purified from veils and who observe all things with penetrating vision.
O servants! Consider how the oppression has reached such a point that the Supreme Pen has become occupied with these words, for people are seen to be weak and immature, lest they become heedless of the Ancient Beauty due to the fabricated words of the deniers. Otherwise, if the least perception and vision were observed, never would mention be made of the deniers and what appeared from them, for today all are obligated to fix their gaze upon the Cause itself and what appears from His presence. Whosoever ascends to that station testifies that He is the Manifest, the Evident, the Dawning, the Luminous in the midst of heaven—He decrees what He wishes and is not questioned about what He desires, and verily He is the Mighty, the Unconstrained.
Among other things, they have accused this Wronged One of tyranny. Now reflect on this matter and judge fairly. All the people of the Bayan have met this servant and seen with their own eyes that He has never been pleased with harming anyone—no, by the Lord of the Throne, if you would be fair. The Spirit of the All-Merciful was in the serpent’s mouth for twenty years, yet never was this revealed, and even now, had these fabricated letters not been seen, it would never have been revealed. To this testifies everyone who knows Me and possesses illumined insight.
Section 10: “For twenty years my brother was with this…”
For twenty years my brother was with this servant and no one knew of him, and despite having power over him and knowledge of what was in his heart and mind, the utmost kindness was shown to him. To this all things bear witness, if you would hear. But since they found people to be blind followers without insight, they intended through such words to prevent these people from the Ocean of oceans.
It is clear and evident to all the people of the Bayan and others that this servant has not associated with anyone in this land, nor upon arrival in the great city, except those who came before Us, and My tongue moved only to elevate them to the heaven of the Cause. Despite this, they have written that we called them “Rafidi” (heretic) before the Sunnis. I swear by God, besides Whom there is none other God, that these same objecting souls have, among the Persians, attributed lack of faith in the Tree of the All-Merciful to us, and among the Sunnis, the attribute of heresy. Let someone now arise, purely for God’s sake, to determine truth from falsehood. We establish the criterion of truth and falsehood by these very words. Then doth the Tongue of Grandeur call out from His Most Great Throne, saying: “The curse of God be upon the first oppressor who wronged the Primal Point in His latter Manifestation, who disbelieved in His verses, who warred against His Self, who contended against His sovereignty, who associated partners with His Being, who denied His words, who turned away from His beauty, and who was recorded in God’s tablets by the Most Holy Pen as being among the idolators.”
I swear by God, whenever there was mention, in the land of Ta (Tehran) or Iraq or elsewhere, of seizing this community, my brother would depart from Iraq to various regions, as most have heard and know. And this servant remained alone among the enemies until, through divine power, the Cause was exalted and all became secure in their own souls and emerged from behind the veil. The first thing they occupied themselves with was attempting to cut down the Tree of the Cause. When they found themselves disappointed and defeated in what they desired, they afterward wrote to various regions, attributing their own desire to God’s will and purpose. This, despite the fact that this servant had abolished the decree of killing which was widely known among this group, and which had been abrogated in most tablets flowing from God’s pen, which some must surely have seen.
Among other things, it was asked what was meant by the “triumph” mentioned in God’s wondrous verses. That which was sent down from the direction of the Throne in response is this, which we quote verbatim:
The triumph mentioned in the exalted tablets is known to the loved ones of God. The Truth, exalted be His mention, is sanctified above this world and all that is therein. By triumph was never meant that anyone should contend or dispute with another. The King of Glory has placed all the earth, both land and sea, in the hands of the kings, who are the manifestations of divine power according to their ranks. If they enter beneath the shadow of Truth, they are reckoned as of the Truth, and apart from this, thy Lord is indeed All-Knowing, All-Informed.
What the Truth, exalted be His mention, has desired for Himself are the hearts of His servants, which are the treasuries of divine revelation and the repositories of divine love. The intention of the Eternal Sovereign has ever been to purify hearts from the allusions of the world and all that is therein and thereon, that they might become worthy to receive the lights of the manifestations of the King of Names and Attributes.
Therefore, no stranger must find way into the city of the heart, that the Friend might hasten to His place—meaning the manifestation of His beauty, not His Essence and Self, for He has ever been and shall ever be sanctified above ascent and descent. Therefore, the triumph of God’s Cause today has not been and never shall be through contention with any soul, disputation with any person, or conflict with any thing. Rather, what is beloved is that the cities of hearts should be conquered through the sword of utterance and the wisdom of expression, not through the sword of steel.
Therefore, whosoever desires to assist the divine Cause must first conquer the city of his own heart with the sword of meaning and expression, purify it from all things save God, and then turn toward the cities of hearts. This is the triumph of God’s Cause which today has dawned from the horizon of the finger of the King of Names. Corruption has never been and never shall be beloved. Whatever occurred in the past was without God’s leave.
In any case, today the loved ones of God must appear among the servants in such wise that through their deeds they may guide all to the good-pleasure of the All-Glorious One. I swear by the sun of the morn of sanctified glory that never have the Truth and His loved ones who are associated with Him regarded, nor will they ever regard, the earth and its transient riches. For if the purpose had been to take possession of the earth, He was assuredly able and powerful to do so, and with but a single word could have taken possession of the entire world.
But He has bestowed sovereignty upon sovereigns, wisdom upon the discerning ones, knowledge upon the mystics, and has reserved for Himself the love of the hearts of His servants, and naught else has He regarded nor will He ever regard. This too stems from His supreme grace, that perchance mortal souls might be cleansed and sanctified from earthly conditions and enter the eternal station which is the paradise of divine oneness.
Otherwise, that ancient King has been, in His own Essence and for His own Self, independent of all things. Neither does the love of created things profit Him, nor does their harm affect Him. All shall emerge from their earthen abodes and unto Him shall they return. And that eternal Beauty shall remain alone and single upon His throne, which is sanctified from place and time, from mention and indication, from description and attribute, from elevation and abasement. None knoweth this save those endowed with insight and perception.
Nevertheless, they have attributed to God, exalted be His glory, that which they themselves have wrought and done, even though it is clear to all that God doeth what He willeth and is powerful over whatsoever He decreeth, and none may object to His will. Yet, by Him Who holdeth my soul in His hand, He hath never been pleased with the harm of any soul—and the Pen of God beareth witness to this, if ye would but see. Among other things, they have stated in their letters that this servant hath studied and that these revealed words have resulted from acquired learning. Similarly, in every age such unseemly statements have been made about every Manifestation, as they attributed the same to My previous Manifestation, and before Him to Muhammad, the Apostle of God:
“It is surely a mortal that teacheth him. The tongue of him at whom they hint is foreign, while this is clear Arabic speech.”
Now let any soul in all of Persia and Iraq investigate, that the truth and falsehood may become known. Woe unto them and unto that which they utter! O ye who are devoid of understanding! The source of these sciences is the Ancient Being, and the fountainhead of this wisdom is God Himself, the Most Great, were ye of those who perceive.
Here is that Divine Revelation which is the Supreme Support of this decree, if ye be of them that perceive. If ye listen with the ear of innate understanding, ye will hear today the same words to which the learned and the ignorant of that age gave voice in their objection to God at the time of the appearance of the Most Mighty Point. By God, O people! I am bewildered at my condition and what hath befallen me. Would that I had not been born of my mother, or if born had not suckled at her breast, or had not grown to maturity. But that which was destined hath appeared and the hosts of divine revelation have descended, and the matter hath been decided by God, the One, the All-Compelling. O people! Hear My words and rend asunder the veils, even should they be the mirrors of the heavens and earth. Beware lest anything prevent you from the breezes of these days. By God! Neither the treasures of creation nor the repositories of invention can compare with them—and God is witness and knower of this.
I swear by the Sun of the eternal heaven that were this matter in My hands, not a single verse would I recite before these people, for they have entirely deviated from their original divine nature. But God hath decreed what He willeth and accomplished what He pleaseth. None can resist His will or reverse His decree, and He is wise in all things. Were it not that the people of this realm are seen to be in turmoil, permission would surely be granted for all to appear before God, that they might witness what no one in all the worlds hath witnessed.
Among other things he hath written that the station of the Sun is found in the shadow of the Mirror, and that this rank is above all stations, and that from this Mirror suns arise. Glory be to God! How ignorant he hath assumed people to be, when it is abundantly clear and evident that the creation and existence of the mirror is solely to reflect images and forms. It is obvious to any person of insight that the appearance of reflections and forms in it hath not and never had any reality in itself. This matter is clear even to the blind, let alone those with sight. Nevertheless, with such expressions which, by God besides Whom there is none other God, no ignorant person would utter, he hath written in his treatises and sought thereby to deprive people from the Creator and Establisher of names and attributes. This is naught but his seeing the servants immersed in the seas of fancy and desire, and supposing that whatever he mentioneth will surely be accepted. Otherwise, he would not occupy himself with such statements whose falsity is more evident than the sun at its zenith.
He hath clung to the fact that the Point of the Bayan—may the souls of all else be sacrificed for Him—hath in one instance called Himself the Mirror of God, and therefore the station of Mirror is above that of Sun. By Him Who hath caused me to speak the truth and made me to shine from the horizon of holiness upon all the worlds, were anyone to ponder this single point, he would become aware of all the claims of these brutish cattle. First, that Ancient Being hath designated Himself by all His names and described Himself with all attributes, whether from the highest or lowest stations of names, as He saith in the beginning of the Best of Stories—exalted be His glory:
“Praise be to God Who hath sent down the Book unto His servant that he might be a blazing lamp unto all the worlds.”
Now can anyone claim that the station of lamp is above that of the sun? No, by God! None would utter such words save one who speaks from desire and seeks to cast doubt into pure and luminous hearts. Evil indeed is that which they do!
Know thou with certainty that in that most holy sanctuary all names exist in one plane, for when that Ancient Being declareth “I am the Lord of Lords” and “I am the earth and dust”, in that most great perspective these two occupy the same station. Hearts clouded with veils will never comprehend this most subtle, most pure, and most refined utterance. As that Ancient Beauty hath said, exalted be His remembrance: “Say: I have descended to such a degree that I proclaimed: I am but an atom and less than an atom,’ just as I proclaimed: I am the Lord and Creator of all lords.’ I seek God’s forgiveness for both these statements, and unto God, my Lord, do I return.”
O ye who wander in the valleys of ignorance and error, who have drunk from the cup of bitterness while deeming it the sealed wine of sanctity, who burn in the fire of self yet count yourselves among the dwellers of the highest paradise! What regret, that ye have not pondered for a moment upon the consummate wisdom of the All-Merciful, nor turned with enlightened vision to the Cause of the Lord of the Day of Judgment! Ye have so veiled the words of the All-Merciful—which were revealed with perfect expansiveness and all-encompassing power without limitation—with the veils of your own selves that the tongues of all creation are powerless to describe it.
Consider now this passage that hath flowed from the Divine Pen. He saith:
“I descended until I said, I am an atom and less than an atom,’ just as I said, I am the Lord and Creator of all lords.’ Nay, I seek forgiveness for both these mentions.”
Observe how that Ancient Beauty hath referred to Himself by all names. Can it then be said that an atom is above the sun, or that dust is above the Lord of Lords? Be fair, if ye be of the fair-minded!
By Him Who hath made me the Manifestation of His Essence, His Being, His Glory and His Splendor! If ye would ponder these blessed divine words, the gates of infinite knowledge would be opened before your hearts’ faces, such that ye would no longer be troubled when someone is referred to by God’s names, or as God’s Essence, or God’s Mirror. For all names in that sanctuary are equal with no distinction between them, and all these names circle round the Manifestation of the Ancient Being and ever shall. Thus if in this moment the Ancient Beauty should designate a tree with all the Most Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes, verily He hath power to do so and none may object, for He is the Unconstrained and all else are in the grip of His power. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Compelling.
Furthermore, He hath called all creation delicate mirrors, saying that if the attractions of divine love touch these mirrors they are drawn forth, and if aught else touches them, a dust settleth upon those mirrors that becomes a veil between that mirror and the knowledge of the command of the All-Possessing, All-Knowing Lord. As He, exalted and glorified be He, hath said:
“Verily the creation consists of delicate mirrors. If they be touched by love, they are attracted, and if they be touched by aught save love, there descendeth upon their surface a dust that preventeth them from the command of their Lord.”
Thus ponder, O heedless ones!
Section 11: “And this utterance hath been revealed…”
And this utterance hath been revealed by the Point of the Bayan, glorified be His grandeur, in general terms. And if thou regardest it specifically, He addresseth Aqa Siyyid Javad, saying, exalted and glorified be His Word:
“Thou art that Primal Mirror which hath ever reflected the Truth and will ever continue to reflect it.”
Likewise hath He called him the First Cause. By God! This station transcendeth all names, whether it be the Essence of God, the Entity of God, the Remembrance of God, or the Mirror of God, for aforetime whosoever attributed such a station to the Apostle of God was deemed an infidel, since they regarded the True One Himself as the First Cause.
And likewise was revealed concerning him, glorified be His mention: “We have made thee a prophet unto all the worlds.” Now, despite all these stations and attributes, beyond which none are mentioned in the Bayan, if he should turn away from the Truth, God forbid, all these most exalted stations would be lifted from him. And if ye observe with clear vision, all things in the Bayan have been designated by all the most beautiful names, but none comprehendeth this save the sincere ones. These words are mentioned lest anyone suppose that the attributes revealed in the Bayan were specific to one soul and not another. Rather, they are established for all, so long as they abide beneath the shadow of the Truth, and after departing therefrom all are deprived and forbidden.
Similarly, regarding the station of His Holiness Quddus, may the spirit of all worlds be his sacrifice, He saith, glorified be His mention, that eight unities of God’s Mirror were established in his seat, and from the intensity of the fire of His love none could draw nigh unto him. Now observe how He hath mentioned eight unities of God’s Mirror in his blessed person. Ponder, O ye possessors of insight! Within this utterance are concealed mystical treasures of knowledge, which this servant hath not mentioned for fear of the Nimrod of oppression and the Pharaoh of ignorance.
Likewise in all stations it hath been revealed from the Pen of Glory that a mirror hath no reality in itself except through its confrontation with the Sun, and the Sun they have declared to be one from time immemorial and unto eternity, and none have they designated by this name save the Ancient Being in every Dispensation. Nevertheless, it is written that the station of the Sun is beneath the station of the Mirror, and that Suns arise from the Mirror. By God! O people, I speak not from mere desire. If ye would but ponder on this very statement, ye would bear witness with certitude that these words have proceeded from sheer ignorance and utter hatred.
I adjure you, O people, by God Who hath created you and fashioned you, that ye will look, in the beginning of the Persian Bayan, upon that which He hath uttered—for He saith (exalted be His remembrance): “If the mirror should say, ʿWithin me is the sun,’ in the sight of the sun it is manifest that it is but His shadow which speaketh.” End. Notwithstanding this, it hath been written that the mirror is above the sun, and that the suns are beneath the shadow of the mirror. If by these “suns” that are mentioned be intended the suns of the reality itself, far exalted is He above such a thing; for by a single effulgence of the effulgences of the Sun of Truth, a hundred thousand mirrors would, in less than an instant, be raised up.
Apart from this, verily the mirror was created to receive the reflection of one among the revelations of the Sun, if it be pure; otherwise it is judged as a mere stone. For it is evident to all who possess insight that mirrors were created to capture the reflections of things, as has been mentioned. And if what was intended was the suns of names and what lies beneath them, this is not specific to any one soul, for these suns exist in all things and appear therefrom at such time as God has ordained. And whosoever opens the eye of his heart will witness in every atom a sun, then in this sun another sun, then in the sun of the sun another sun, unto infinity. However, the wisdom of God has not mentioned this station, lest the feet of the mystics should slip.
O people! By God, what an injustice has been wrought against the Ancient Beauty by one who prided himself to stand before Him! When his name became renowned, he denied God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. And since My previous Manifestation knew that in the subsequent Revelation the mirror would claim to be the sun, this decree was issued from the Pen of Glory.
He became so immersed in the ocean of pride and vainglory that he clung to the words of My previous Manifestation to establish his own elevated station, while turning away from their Source, Mine, Manifestation and Revealer. Far be it from the wrongdoing people! He has likewise named himself the Tree of Greatness. By God, all these words stem from his finding people to be foolish.
If he were to be considered a tree in the sight of God, he would be among those trees that should be cut down and cast into the fire, unless he repents unto God, seeks forgiveness for his deeds, and becomes of those who turn in repentance. It is clear to all, whether among the emigrants in this land or to any person of insight who observes matters with divine vision, that these vainglorious words have never issued from false, fabricated, idolatrous tongues except when, having witnessed this wondrous and most exalted Sun rising from the horizon of the dawn of eternity and hearing the melody “Verily, I am alive in the Most Glorious Horizon” resounding between earth and heaven, he hastened unwittingly to utter such words, attempting to establish for himself a station above God’s station.
This can never be possible, for all else besides Him are created by His command, brought into being by His will, and move by His leave. They are but His servants, His subjects, His creation, His creatures, and His slaves. Can there be any station above God’s station that one might claim for himself? He has risen by Himself and for Himself in the exaltation of His Own Self—a station that has neither above nor below, neither right nor left, neither before nor behind. He created all directions without direction by His Will, and all things without example by His Command. He is the Creator of every station and the Revealer of every decree. All else besides Him may glory in Him, but He glories not in any created thing. He is the Sanctified, the Holy, the Powerful, the One to be obeyed.
O people! Hearken unto My call and inflict not upon My Beauty that which ye have been forbidden in all the Tablets. By God, this is the extended Divine Hand of Power that hath encompassed all who are in the heavens and on earth. This is the Tongue of Divine Reality that singeth upon the highest branch of the Tree of Divine Oneness. This is the Ancient Pen from which flow, day and night, the oceans of divine mysteries and knowledge. This is the Treasury of the pearls of consummate wisdom and the Mine of divine knowledge, and hath been and shall forever remain bountiful in its outpouring. Beware lest ye deprive yourselves of the droplets of its grace and deem it necessary to follow any sightless soul.
He hath likewise mentioned in his treatise that these claims were made merely upon learning a few words and phrases, and by these nonsensical words intended this divine and eternal Temple. But by Him Who is single in power and might, throughout all nights and days an exalted effort was made to teach him, just as teachers instruct children in the alphabet. Would that my people knew how limited was his understanding, how base his station, how great his pride, and how arrogant his utterance! This is clear and evident to any person of insight and requires no detailed mention.
Among other things, he alleged that this servant spoke disrespectfully of the Primal Point, whereas this servant proclaims throughout the heavens and earth:
“Verily I am His very self, His essence, His spirit, His form, and His glory!”
How then could I speak of that Most Exalted Essence and Most Resplendent Source—may the spirit of all who dwell in the realms of immortality be sacrificed for His sake—in any way contrary to God’s good-pleasure? Indeed, this is exactly like the people of the Qur’an who, at the dawning of the Revelation, claimed that these people had no love for the Messenger of God, hoping thereby to deprive the servants of the knowledge of God Himself on the Day of Return, as they have done and continue to do. The curse of God be upon the fabricators!
This, despite the fact that wondrous verses have encompassed the whole world, and all the people of the Bayan bear witness to this, and the equivalent of what was revealed in the Bayan has been revealed from this wondrous Revelation. There is not a single person among the people of the Bayan who does not possess the traces of God, and beyond that, what exists in this land has left scribes unable to copy it all, such that most remain uncopied. Nevertheless, he wrote that merely by understanding a few phrases they made such claims. Now judge fairly: with what audacity and boldness has he uttered words whose falsehood shines forth like the sun in mid-heaven, clear and evident!
Although, by God besides Whom there is no other God, this servant never desired that what was newly revealed from the heaven of Will should become widely known in various lands, for very few pure eyes are seen that are capable of beholding the signs of God. Therefore I always kept them concealed, and how many verses of God that were revealed in Iraq were cast into the river and effaced! Now the equivalent of a hundred thousand verses exist in this land, and they have not yet even been copied, let alone bound into volumes. For such matters that pertain to self-display, this servant has always been and will remain sanctified above them.
Several times some have wished to compile what exists into volumes and send them to various regions, but permission has not yet been granted, for none of the Divine Manifestations have ever personally undertaken such matters. Even as the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake—did not Himself attend to such matters, but said that later they should be arranged in the most excellent order. He says, exalted be His mention:
“Blessed is he who beholds the order of Baha’u’llah and renders thanks unto his Lord, for it shall be made manifest, and there is no turning back from it, by God’s command in the Bayan.”
Similarly, in the past, the Qur’an was compiled into a volume after the ascension of that Ancient Being, as was the Gospel before it.
Although the holy and glorious verses have encompassed the East and West of the world, they have clung to these words and interpreted them in four words. Thus in the previous year numerous writings about the rites of pilgrimage issued forth from the Pen of Glory, yet only one Surah was sent, known as the Surah of Pilgrimage. This servant has never spent time promoting such matters, nor will he do so. The station of revelation belongs to God, and dissemination belongs to the creation. And verily He is the Propagator of His Cause through the spreading hands of His near angels. Of necessity, spiritual servants must appear from behind the pavilion of divine infallibility to gather the signs of God and arrange them in the most excellent order. This is assured beyond doubt.
Furthermore, some have written certain statements and attributed them to the Point of the Bayan (may our souls be sacrificed for His sake). This is an obvious falsehood, and the Point of the Bayan now disassociates Himself from them and their words—and God bears witness to this, even if you do not bear witness.
How much they pride themselves on names! By God, besides Whom there is no other God, the like of such souls has never been seen in creation. Day and night they spend their time trying to find a word in the Book of God to interpret according to their own understanding. At the time of separation from my brother, I sent him a box containing writings, circles and talismans in the handwriting of the Primal Point, with this message:
“Since you are so eager to take pride in these traces after turning away from the Truth, I am sending these to you so that you may send these talismans to some in different lands and demonstrate your station, or share them with whoever comes to you.”
This you continue to do today, even adding some of your own fabricated words to those words, perchance to cause the feet of the knowing ones to slip.
O servants! Turn your eyes from these matters and purify your hearts, for today such bounty has appeared that in a single day and night, if a scribe were capable, the equivalent of the Persian Bayan could be revealed from the holy divine heaven. Likewise with verses in an wondrous Arabic tongue. Present yourselves before the Throne that you may witness with your own eyes. Compare not God’s words with any others, and be possessed of clear vision.
O people! Bear witness to that which God has witnessed, turn not to anyone else, and be not among the doubters. God bears witness that there is no God but Him and that the Primal Point is His servant and His Glory. Thus was it revealed aforetime from the Pen of God, the Exalted, the Great.
Had you fully understood the meaning of even this one verse, you would never have been veiled from God’s Most Great Path. Today most of the people of the Bayan bear witness to this, yet when they come upon this blessed Name, their faces darken, their hearts are troubled, their feet slip, and they become of the hesitant ones.
By the True God, no deed is acceptable before God unless accompanied by recognition of this blessed, purified Name. Well is it with them that remember and with them that are firm.
Furthermore, in his treatises he has boasted that Tahirih and Azim submitted to him. Although this servant considers such boasting utterly vain and wholly worthless—and this is not from pride or arrogance, for this servant has never seen nor will ever see any station in himself—nevertheless this has been mentioned in relation to manifesting God’s glory, for all the essences of the Letters in their origin and innermost reality have been and shall ever be sent forth by His Word.
Section 12: “It beseemeth not God to adduce proof…”
It beseemeth not God to adduce proof of His Manifestation through any save His own Self and what proceedeth from His presence, for every proof is established through its connection to Him and every path is made straight through its relation to Him. However, since people are observed to be weak and immature, this servant mentioneth that whatsoever divine words have been specifically revealed concerning this Cause are and shall ever be beyond the reckoning of such souls.
If people would look with the eye of God, this one statement of the Point of the Bayan—exalted be His praise—would suffice for all when He saith: “Verily I am living in the Most Glorious Horizon,” even as today He is manifest, evident and shining from the Most Glorious Horizon, and at this moment He heareth and seeth all that the creatures say and do. Moreover, His testimony recorded in the Tablets, which all are commanded to recite, is a clear proof for whoso gazeth with the eye of God his Lord.
His exalted Word declareth: “God beareth witness that there is no God but Him and that the Primal Point is His servant and His Glory.” These verses are a clear proof and decisive evidence, yet they increase not the deluded save in loss, for the deluded have interpreted all verses according to their vain imaginings. Likewise He saith, exalted be His remembrance: “Verily I am the Most Great Throne of Glory in truth. I have been above the dawning-place of the flowing Ruby above the Mount.”
If one would ponder upon His purpose in this blessed revealed verse, ye would become aware of the sublimity of this most exalted, most impregnable, most holy Manifestation. And likewise He saith, exalted be His glory:
“God hath verily created around that Gate seas of crimson elixir and animals bearing the Fruit of the Purpose, and God hath ordained for Him ships of moist red ruby wherein none shall embark save the people of Baha by God’s leave, the Most High, and He is God, the Mighty, the Wise.”
Now the ships of moist red ruby sail forth upon the mighty sea. O people of Baha, detach yourselves from all save God and enter and embark upon the Ark of Unity and the eternal Ship of Glory, for whosoever holdeth fast to this Ark is reckoned before God among the people of constancy, salvation, the highest heaven and paradise, and whosoever faileth to do so is accounted among the people of fire, perdition, the lowest depths and the abyss.
Beware lest ye barter religion for the world, or exchange the Joseph of the glory of oneness for the commodities of this world and the next. Soon shall ye see all that is visible perish. Therefore hasten with the utmost endeavor to the shelter of the Lord of creation, for there is and shall be no safer refuge than His shadow.
And His word, exalted be His glory:
“As for the youth, he was of the tree of fire ignited from this yellow spring. We put him to death in visible form, as God had ordained in the Book a portion from his parents. We feared he would overwhelm them with rebellion and disbelief in the beauty of Baha.”
Now it is very clear that all have rebelled against this most manifest, most luminous Beauty to such an extent that none save God can reckon it. Would that they had contented themselves with rebellion and pride! Rather, they have been and shall ever be occupied with destroying the House of God and His sanctuary. Their hearts will find no rest save in drinking my blood, though We created them and preserved them to exalt My Cause and aid My Beauty.
But when they grew strong and found confidence in themselves, they arose to slay Me with great rebellion. When I reached that station, the Herald called out from behind the pavilion of eternity:
“O Most Exalted Pen! Do not limit Thy Cause to one mention over another. Say: By God! The entire Bayan was revealed for My wondrous and exalted Cause. Were it not for Thee, not a single letter of the Bayan would have been revealed, nor any noble scrolls. Leave the dead, for those who believe not in Thee are dead, not living. They hear not nor understand, even if all the words of the ancients and the moderns were recited to them. Those whom God hath given life through Thee—these have, in their love for Thee, read all the books and shall need naught besides Thee, for God hath made Thy Manifestation itself a proof to all the worlds.”
When I heard the call, I was content with what was inscribed by the finger of holy radiance.
Indeed, the verses of divine unity concerning this Name and Manifestation are more than can be counted. Yet these base people have interpreted this blessed Name as the land of Ta, because the Bab (may my soul be sacrificed for all else save Him) named it the Land of Baha.
They lack even the consciousness to understand that His purpose was to herald the manifestation of the Holy Beauty in that land—the land whereon walked Baha and wherein dwelt this radiant, shining Name. Thus did He mention this blessed Name in all ranks before all other names.
Likewise observe in the prayer mentioned before, where this blessed Name is cited as the most ancient of names in His words:
“O God! I beseech Thee by Thy Baha at its most splendid.”
Similarly, when naming the months with new names, He associated the first with this Name. In all things, if you observe, He mentioned their most excellent aspect by this Name.
Yet observe to what degree hatred has reached, that they interpret this blessed Name as referring to a land—though a particle of its dust is better than they and their essence and their reality. Woe upon them and what lies in their breasts of the fire of jealousy and hatred, by which they are consumed at every moment while they perceive it not.
And furthermore, His Holiness Quddus—exalted be His praise—hath inscribed and dispatched several Tablets whilst in the land of Badasht, which this servant hath never disclosed. Among these, They have given explicit tidings—not by way of allusion—concerning this wondrous Cause, in His words—glorified be His praise:
“And when the Lord manifesteth a mystery from the horizon of Baha in His land or in one yet nearer, that resplendent Dawn from the Point of the Bayan shall have been but a herald. And when the heavens of attraction are upraised through the mystery of the mystic verses, that shall be a harbinger of Our Cause for the people of the cloud.”
Those blessed Tablets do now exist, and all bear witness and testimony to this Cause in the most explicit terms. By the Lord of the Throne and the Cloud! Modesty preventeth the mention of these words, inasmuch as this servant hath never desired to establish for Himself any station through the words of former times, for My station is His station, and He is beheld in the midst of the heaven of independence, and there is none possessed of sight but doth witness and behold, though the blind have no portion therein.
Say: By God! My station is His station, My power is His power, My sovereignty is His sovereignty. His manifestation is My proof, and that which hath flowed from His Pen is My testimony, even as My manifestation is His proof and that which hath flowed from My Pen is His testimony. But in consideration for the protection of immature servants, this is being written with restraint.
And among others, that Point of Attraction, Her Holiness Ta [Tahirih], upon her be the glory of God, the Most Glorious—remained for a time with this servant, and she would not have exchanged the meeting with this Youth for the sovereignty of this world and the next, nor did she desire to be separated from Me for even less than that. But what was decreed came to pass. And how numerous are the verses and poems that she composed concerning this wondrous Cause! Among them, she composed a ghazal in description of the Divine Countenance, of which one couplet is the following:
Should Baha cast aside the veil from His face, A hundred thousand like unto Azal would come into being.
In like manner hath she amply described others besides this servant, and above all these utterances is the Hidden Book of the Primal Point—may the souls of all else be His sacrifice—all of which hath been revealed concerning this wondrous Cause but remaineth veiled from sight. Beseech ye God that ye may attain unto it.
I swear by Him Who holdeth my soul in His hands, that had the one who today claimeth the Divine Beauty not mentioned such proofs in his book and not sought to adduce them as evidence whereby to lead men astray, this servant would never have adduced such proofs. O servants! Hearken unto the Most Exalted Call in His subsequent Manifestation and efface all these proofs from your hearts, for if ye should cling to words and allusions and scriptures and books in this novel and divine Manifestation, ye shall never attain unto the essence of the knowledge of the Countenance of the All-Merciful and the Sovereign of all creation.
Rather, fix your gaze upon that same proof whereby the Primal Point Himself—exalted and glorified be He—came and established His Cause, and likewise before Him the Beauty of the Ancient of Days, Muhammad the Apostle of God, and before Him the Son of Mary, and before Him He Who conversed with God. I swear by Him Who holdeth my soul in His hands that a single letter of the verses of God is, in the estimation of this servant, more precious than all who are in the heavens and the earth.
And concerning what hath been mentioned about not fixing one’s gaze upon words and allusions and evidences and names and attributes at the time of His manifestation—this is a decree which the Primal Point Himself—may the souls of all else be His sacrifice—hath pronounced, and that Divine Beauty intended thereby that the people of the Bayan might not, at the time of His manifestation, cling to traditions and verses like unto the people of the Furqan, and raise objections against Him Who is their Source and Creator and Revealer.
Consider a little this most excellent and most sublime Manifestation, and ye shall become aware of countless mysteries, and shall observe that from the beginning of creation until now no such Manifestation hath appeared, although in view of the unpreparedness of the servants, means of prevention have also been ordained, that thereby the essence might be distinguished from the accident, and spirit from clay.
I swear by God the True One that if today an atom of pure substance were to be mingled with a hundred thousand measures of stone and concealed behind seven seas, assuredly the hand of divine power would manifest it and separate from it that atom of pure substance. O people! The breath of God is wafting, and the Spirit of God is stirring, and the attraction of God is dawning from the horizon of the Beauty of the All-Merciful.
Bestir yourselves from the slumber of self and passion and behold what hath appeared in creation. Beware lest ye hearken unto the idle fancies of the people, for today, were a pure ear to be found, it would hear from this people that which was heard from the people of the Furqan and that which was heard from the people of the Torah and the Gospel, and beyond mere words, would witness with both outward and inward vision those very same deeds.
Even as today one who hath contended with the Self of God and shown pride before Him Who created him hath mentioned in his words that if the Truth should appear, whether from among the people of the Bayan or others, whether bond or free, whether black or white, “this servant is obedient and hath no word to say.” Now observe how he uttereth these words even while at that very moment he is engaged in contention with the Beauty of God and stands in utter rejection. Consider and reflect upon what constitutes the proof of Truth and what are the signs of the Manifestation of Truth.
This Manifestation, whose light has encompassed the world, he rejects and stands ready to slay, while occupying himself with such utterances to delude the people. Just as in the first Manifestation, when the divines of the Qur’an, with prayer beads in hand, were engaged in worship in their temples with the utmost humility and submissiveness, displaying such piety that when the name of Truth was mentioned they would rise and show complete humility and meekness—yet in that very state of humility and submissiveness they would issue the decree for His death and pronounce judgment of unbelief against Him, saying:
“How could we reject the Truth when we spend our nights in expectation and our days seeking it? Whenever He appears, we shall be obedient and submissive.”
But now, by God! I swear by Him besides Whom there is no God, he severs the head of the very Manifestation of Truth with the knife of tyranny and wickedness and the sword of hatred and enmity, while at that same moment, with bowed neck, he utters these words: “Whenever Truth appears, I am obedient.”
By God, O people, he has found you so immature that he speaks such delirious words, and has found you so deluded that while he issues the death decree against the Truth manifested in all revelations and constantly wages war against His beauty, he still utters such statements. Alas and grief for you in that you have remained heedless of Him Who was more manifest than any manifestation, and have occupied yourselves with one from whom, by God, were you to become aware of him, you would flee a thousand paces.
We beseech God to separate me from him and to purify the land whereon I dwell from the defilement of these transgressors, or to cause me to dwell in another land. Verily He is the bestower of grace upon His servants and is powerful over all things.
Say: O ignorant one! The Beloved Himself is manifest and shining like the sun, yet you have not today attained to His recognition. Indeed, despite all the proofs and evidences that have encompassed the world, you do not count Him among the believers. Nevertheless, you cling to His words, desiring to establish authority for yourself. By God, the Truth! All things give you the lie, but you do not perceive it. Your example before God is like that of the people of the Qur’an who established their leadership through the words of the Messenger while seated upon thrones of glory and authority, yet visited upon His person that which no eye in creation has seen or comprehended. O you who are intoxicated with the wine of self and desire! You have turned away from the manifest Sovereign and clung to your own delusions. This humiliation suffices you—that you have denied the verses whereby your religion was established and through which you seek glory and station for yourself, yet you are unaware. Therefore you have no station before God except the station of those who rejected after having believed.
Section 13: “Yet you are not a true poet, wherefore…”
Yet you are not a true poet, wherefore your position in the sight of God is as the position of those who turned away after believing and denied after having confessed, if you be among those possessed of insight. By the True God, the Spirit Faithful hath rent the hair from his head because of what you have done, though you perceive it not and are among the heedless ones. The maidens of Paradise have seated themselves upon ashes because of your tyranny, while you remain among those who rejoice.
By the True God, all things wail inwardly and weep, yet you remain heedless and are numbered among those who turn away. You are the one who mentions the Beloved with your tongue to cause confusion among the people, while seeking to slay the Beloved of the first and the last. Were God to open your eyes, you would witness that through your tyranny the Beloved is suspended in the air, while you cast at Him at every moment the arrows of envy and hatred, then the darts of rancor and enmity, then the bullets of denial—and God is witness and well-aware of this.
Therefore doth Muhammad wail in the Most Exalted Horizon, and the Spirit weepeth in the Most Glorious Companion, then Moses at the Divine Lote-Tree, then the eyes of the Prophets and Messengers. O thou who art drunk with the wine of pride for less than a moment of time, come to thy senses! Reflect upon thyself and thine actions.
Let us suppose thou hast caused God’s Cause to appear dubious to this group of immature ones, and they all prostrate before thee instead of God—what benefit hath it brought thee? Nay, by the Lord of all worlds, it hath yielded and will yield naught but loss in this world and the next. Even if today thou sittest upon a throne of rubies, in the sight of God thou dwellest in the lowest abyss.
By God, if thou wouldst hearken with thine innate hearing, thou wouldst hear the very earth upon which thou sittest seeking refuge with God from thee, saying:
“O heedless one! By what proof and evidence dost thou establish thy right while denying Him Who possesseth all right and by Whom right is established? Woe upon thee and upon those who have taken thee as their beloved instead of God!”
If thou wert not convinced of His truth, why didst thou arise to slay Him?
For twenty years He strove to protect thee, though well aware of what was in thy heart. Had He wished it for but a moment, thou wouldst have ceased to exist. Yet still thou remainest heedless and hast attributed thine actions to the Truth throughout all regions. By God, naught dwelleth in this heart save the lights of the dawning splendors of eternity, nor is He content with harming any soul.
O My brother! Hear the call of Him Who through thy tyranny hath fallen into this bottomless pit, His garment sprinkled with the truthful blood of thy hatred, and from the depths of the pit He calleth saying: “O brother! Deal not with thy brother as the son of Adam dealt with his brother. O brother! Fear God and dispute not My verses, war not against My Self, and slay not Him Who hath made His breast a target for the sword of enemies, lest harm befall thee—He Who hath protected thee through all nights and days, at every morn and eve.
O brother! By the True God, I speak not of Mine own desire—this is naught but a revelation revealed. The Mighty Spirit hath taught Me at the Divine Lote-Tree. By God, O brother, this proceedeth not from Myself but from One Mighty, Wise. Whenever I approached thee, that no mischief might arise to try the servants, preserving thy Lord’s Cause, thou didst cast at Me the darts of discord. And whenever I drew nigh unto thee that perchance thy soul might find peace thereby, thou didst rise against me in hypocrisy, as thy very essence beareth witness, if thou be of those who deny.”
By God, O my brother, whenever I remained silent concerning the wondrous remembrance of my Lord, the Holy Spirit raised me up to His Cause, and the Most Great Spirit awakened me from my slumber and caused me to speak the truth between the heavens and the earth. If this be my sin, then I am not the first to have sinned, for those who came before me committed the same, then he who was named Ali in the Kingdom of Names, then Muhammad in the most exalted Dominion, then the Son in the Supreme Concourse, then He Who conversed with God on this blessed, holy, mighty and sublime Sinai.
O my brother! Look thou in the Books of the Prophets and Messengers, then at what is in their hands of God’s proofs, His evidence, His signs, His traces, His manifestations and His verses. Then judge fairly concerning thy brother and be not of those who wronged the Self of God and then sought to wrong others, that they might cast doubt and suspicion into the hearts of the believers.
By God! When thy brother learned that thou hadst risen against him and that the fire of jealousy would not be quenched in thy breast, he departed with his family alone and entered another house, closing upon his face the door of coming and going, and there did he remain among those who dwell therein. Yet even then, O my brother, thou wast not content within thyself and wrote what thou wrote and sent what thou sent. By God! The Pen is ashamed to record what thou hast mentioned and what thou hast alleged against thy brother. By God! Thereby hast thou violated my sanctity and the sanctity of God among His servants. Soon shalt thou witness and see, though at that moment thou mayest be among the heedless.
Therefore, arise from the slumber of self and passion, trim the bristles of envy and clip the nails of hatred, then perfume thyself with the fragrance of faithfulness, wash thyself with the waters of holiness, and place thy face upon the dust in humility, submissiveness, penitence and beloved return, and say:
O Lord! I am he who hath fallen short in his duty toward his brother in bygone nights and days, and been heedless of the wondrous expressions of Thy wisdom. Therefore, O my God, lift the veil from mine eyes that I may know Thy Self, arise to praise Thee, detach myself from all else save Thee, and turn unto Thy glorious countenance. Then reckon me among those of Thy servants for whom Thou hast ordained a seat of truth with Thee. Nourish me from the Tasneem of Thy grace and the Kawthar of Thy favors.
Then join me with Thy sincere servants who turned not to the world, nor its leadership, nor to what is in it and upon it, who detached themselves and their wealth in the path of their Creator, and were among the detached. O Lord! Leave me not to myself. Take my hand in the hand of Thy power. Deliver me from the depths of self and passion and their flames and burning. Then make that fire cool and peaceful, a spirit and sweet fragrance for me. Then inscribe me among Thy detached servants.
O Lord! Aid me to serve Thee and to teach Thy verses. Make me a helper of Thy Cause, a guardian of Thy Faith, one who speaks Thy praise and proclaims the wonders of Thy favors and bounties. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the Mighty, the Generous. O Lord! Disappoint not him who hath clung to the cord of Thy grace, nor cast out him who hath fastened his hope to the rope of Thy bounty and favor.
O Lord! Veil me not from the fountainhead of Thy good-pleasure. Make me content with whatsoever Thou hast been pleased with and sent down from the clouds of Thy grace and the heavens of Thy glorious bounty. Thou art the Giver under all conditions, and Thou art verily the Forgiving, the Merciful. O Lord! Strip not my body of the raiment of equity, nor my heart of the coolness of acknowledging Thy Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
O Lord! Make my feet steadfast upon Thy path, that I may not deny that whereunto Thou hast called me in all Thy verses, Thy tablets, Thy scriptures, Thy books, Thy scrolls and Thy holy writings. O Lord! Make me one who gazeth toward the direction of Thy gifts and returneth to the ocean of Thy forgiveness. Strip me not of the beauty of Thy praise. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art mighty over whatsoever Thou desirest.
Strengthen me that I may not deny that which hath confirmed my faith, established my remembrance, exalted my name, resurrected my being, and caused my reality to flourish, and that I may be of the believers. O Lord! Deprive not him who hath stood before the court of Thy mercy and clung to the hem of Thy bounty and grace. O Lord! Ordain for me a word from Thy presence, that I may remember it at eventide and at dawn, and at all times.
Thus doth the tongue of the Wronged One speak from the depths of the pit, that perchance thou mayest find a way to the direction of justice. Then God addresseth the breeze of His holiness that wafteth from the direction of the Throne, making it His messenger to the worlds, for in those days He findeth no messenger to send to His servants with the glad-tidings of His Cause and to make them of those who remember and rejoice. For He hath fallen into a prison wherefrom are cut off the hands of the seekers and the feet of those who draw nigh, and beyond the prison He hath fallen into a well of envy whose depths none but His All-Numbering, All-Knowing, All-Informed Self hath fathomed. Thus doth God relate from the true stories through His truthful, speaking, knowing and trustworthy tongue.
O morning breeze! Since no messenger is to be seen, waft thou over My loved ones the sweet savors of the robe of Baha from the paradise of eternity, and through the evidences of the spirit and the tokens of His manifestation, make all aware, that perchance some souls may detach themselves from all who dwell on earth and its attractions, and return to the Most Exalted Paradise. But O breeze, pass over them in complete detachment, in such wise that shouldst thou be visited by the trials of all the world, thou wouldst remain patient, and shouldst its bounties be showered upon thee, thou wouldst pay them no heed. For unless thou art sanctified from all the manifestations of jealousy, hatred, acceptance and rejection, rest and agitation of all who dwell on earth, thou wilt not be capable of this exalted proclamation nor of bearing divine mysteries. Thus doth the tongue of thy Lord command thee, that thou mayest be of them that act.
Say: O loved ones and people of understanding! At last, sanctify your gaze somewhat from attachment to the world and its conditions, and with the eye of insight observe the manifest affairs and brilliant conditions that have appeared from the direction of the Most Glorious Throne and reflect upon them, that perchance in these days when the intoxication of heedlessness hath encompassed all the dwellers of earth and heaven, you may draw yourselves to the eternal divine City of Oneness and not remain deprived of the wondrous tokens of His endless mercy, lest, God forbid, you become veiled from the primary purpose of the All-Merciful and be accounted among the turn-aways in the Book of the Lord of Lords while being unaware. We seek refuge in God from this, O people of understanding!
All the Prophets and Messengers have invited people to the paths of recognizing the Beauty of the All-Merciful, for this station has been and will ever be the most exalted of stations. Reflect somewhat on the sending of the divine Messengers, for what cause and purpose these Temples of Unity came from the unseen realm into the visible world, and all these afflictions and trials you have heard of, they all endured them. There is no doubt that the purpose was none other than to call the servants to the recognition of the Beauty of the All-Merciful, and will never be otherwise. And if you say the purpose was His commandments and prohibitions, there is no doubt this was not and will never be the primary purpose. For instance, if someone were to arise in worship with all the dwellers of earth and heaven, yet be deprived of divine recognition, it would never benefit those who practice it, nor will it ever do so. In all heavenly Books this matter is evident and clear. And if someone recognizes the Truth yet abandons all divine commandments, there is hope for salvation, as is clear and evident to people of insight.
Therefore, the primary purpose of the creation of existence, the appearance of innovation, the sending of Messengers, the revelation of Books, and the bearing of countless hardships by the Messengers—all was for the recognition of the Beauty of the All-Glorious. So now if someone occupies himself with all deeds, and spends his entire life in standing and sitting, in remembrance and contemplation, and other such acts, yet remains deprived of the recognition of God, no fruit will ever return to him. And the recognition of God has ever been the recognition of the Manifestation of His Self among His creation, as hath been mentioned and demonstrated in all Books, especially in the Bayan, wherein in all its tablets this most exalted matter and this most glorious subtlety hath been set forth. Blessed, then, are they that recognize!
And were one to observe with a pure eye, it would become evident that all divine temples who have sacrificed their lives, possessions, honor and name in the path of the Beloved had, in the first instance, no purpose save to draw the servants to the stream of true knowledge. Now consider the Prophets, what countless afflictions they bore that perchance people might rend asunder the veils of fancy and become refreshed from the stream of certitude.
And since the thick veils of fancy appeared so vast and overwhelming in their eyes, therefore whenever a Messenger appeared from God, all arose to oppose that divine breath, until the sending of Messengers culminated with the Guide of Ways in the year sixty. It was observed how far people had strayed from the shore of holy certitude due to their vain imaginings, to such extent that naught but desire was remembered as God among them, and naught but mere conjecture as certitude.
And when the Most Exalted Beauty commanded the rending of veils, all arose to oppose Him until a small number recognized the ultimate purpose, burning away all veils of fancy and clouds of doubt with the fire of the divine Tree, and attained recognition of the Beauty of the All-Merciful. By God the Truth! Were someone to reflect on what befell that Blessed Beauty through the opposition of the divines and countless trials, they would spend their entire life in lamentation, wailing and weeping, until the malicious ones suspended that Manifest Beauty in the air and with bullets of misbelief and hatred cut down that sacred and ultimate Tree.
Section 14: “And while that Blessed Beauty was suspended…”
And while that Blessed Beauty was suspended in the air, in the innermost secret, with the tongue of clear utterance spoke these firm and mighty words: “O people of the Bayan! Reflect a while upon these people who consider themselves knowers of Truth and followers of the paths of certitude, who at all times are occupied with the remembrance and words of the All-Merciful, to such degree that not for a single day have they forsaken the commands of the All-Knowing King, and if anyone did forsake them they would find themselves remorseful.
“Yet they have suspended and martyred the very Essence of the All-Merciful and Treasury of Glory to Whom they had clung in recognition, never truly recognizing Him and depriving themselves of all divine bounties and glorious favors. They are in the depths of fire yet count themselves among the people of paradise; they are immersed in the sea of torment yet consider themselves beloved of the Lord of Lords; in utmost remoteness from Truth they imagine themselves among those near to Him.
“Therefore O people of the Bayan! At all times place your trust in the Beauty of the Lord of the Worlds and take refuge in Him, lest you inflict upon My Beauty in My next manifestation what this group has inflicted at this time.
“O people of the Bayan! The followers of the Qur’an had no proof save the Qur’an which was the criterion between truth and falsehood in those days, and when My divine Beauty dawned from My holy and glorious horizon, I manifested Myself with that same proof and evidence, nay greater, that perchance through the previous proof they might recognize the subsequent proof and not deprive themselves from the sanctuary of certifying the Beauty of certitude.” I revealed the Most Great Self as proof, so that perchance they might recognize the subsequent proof from the previous proof and not deprive themselves from the sanctuary of certitude in the Beauty of Truth. Yet at all times they recite the verses of the Qur’an while remaining deprived of these wondrous verses whose authenticity shines like the sun between heaven.
Thus when the mighty divine verses were revealed, some claimed these verses were stolen from previous books, while others in their heedlessness proclaimed they emerged from the mine of self and desire—thus do We bear witness if you be of those who testify. Until matters reached such a state that while seeking to draw near to My remembrance, you wounded My body, and while priding yourselves on knowing Me, you fired bullets of hatred at My renowned Beauty.
Such is the nature of this world and its people, until My subtle spirit, freed from the defilement of the souls of the idolaters, winged its flight to the most exalted and sublime station, the Most Holy, Most Glorious Companion. And after My blessed spirit ascended to the Most Glorious Horizon, I gazed with eyes of grace and favor upon those who claimed to love Me, to see which would act upon My counsels and obey My command.
Then did the Tongue of Grandeur speak from the Most Glorious Horizon saying:
“O people of the Bayan! This is My Beauty Who hath appeared through My verses and My manifestations. Why did you deny Him and turn away? Thus is it proven that you believed not in My Self, just as it was proven at the time of My manifestation that the people of the Qur’an believed not in Muhammad, the Manifestation of My Self, just as it appeared at Muhammad’s advent that the people of the Gospel believed not in My Son, just as it was shown when the Spirit came that the people of the Torah believed not in Him Who conversed with God. Therefore return and observe until the matter ends with the First Manifestation. Thus do We impart unto you of the mysteries that were, that you may become aware in your souls.”
And not many days had passed since My martyrdom when a new grace from the holy Most Glorious quarter and an exalted favor from the sublime Most High horizon dawned forth, and the Ancient Beauty appeared in the Most Great, Most Noble Beauty from the invisible Paradise, with the same proof that I established as proof, and with the same evidence that was acceptable to God—nay, with all the attributes of Divine unity, manifestations of eternal glory, hidden mysteries beyond comprehension, and glorious tokens beyond recognition.
Nevertheless, O people of the Bayan, you have gathered from all directions around the Most Great Throne with swords of hatred and arrows, and at every moment you have loosed the arrows of malice against this glorious, exalted Beauty. I swear by My Beauty, were you now to observe and turn with the Supreme Companion toward reality, you would see oceans of blood flowing from My body and signs of the swords of hatred apparent in My limbs.
Have you not reflected on why I sacrificed My Self and endured all those swords of indecency and bullets of enmity? It is abundantly clear that I had no purpose save the recognition of the Manifestation of My Self. Yet when the Manifestation of My Self appeared in full splendor, you have acted thus, as is evident.
Now if you were to be questioned in the gathering place of the Greatest Resurrection about your deeds, what would you answer the Lord of Lords? By God! You would have no power to speak, for but few days have passed since My absence, and ye have witnessed with your own eyes all the evidences of the Revelation and the matters that have come to pass. Yet ye have become heedless of My Beauty—He through Whose word all former and latter conditions have been realized—and ye have remained veiled from the Most Exalted Horizon by the veils of self and desire.
O people! Throughout all the pages of the Bayan, I gave unto all the glad tidings of this holy and eternal Manifestation, and I warned lest at the rising of this Most Great Luminary of Glory ye should be occupied with aught that hath been created between the heavens and the earth and thus remain veiled from the Ancient Beauty.
Likewise did I explicitly say: “Beware, O people, lest at the time of His manifestation ye remain veiled by a single one of the Bayan,” knowing full well that the first to believe in the Bayan is regarded by God as the first among all creation, and I gave him precedence over all others. Moreover, I explicitly declared: “Beware, O people, lest at the time of His manifestation ye remain veiled by what hath been revealed in the Bayan.”
And now, O people, ye cling to descriptions revealed in the Bayan while knowing neither their meaning nor to whom they refer, for none hath ever comprehended My purpose. Nevertheless, ye have turned away from the Creator of these descriptions, their Revealer, their Manifestation and their Fulfiller—He by Whose word such temples have been and continue to be created. Would that ye had been content with this! But nay, ye have pronounced the verdict for His death. By God, at all times ye have afflicted this Essence of the All-Merciful like unto a serpent. Ye neither believed nor recognized the truth. Why then did ye consent to His murder and harm?
I swear by My Beauty, ye have not drunk from the cup of fairness, nor tasted from the ocean of My good-pleasure. Ye have not walked in the path of justice, nor traversed the way of the discerning ones. Ye have mistaken error for guidance and regarded pure misbelief as the essence of unity.
Ye have all witnessed with your outward eyes one who protected him for twenty years and who still lives—and despite having power over him and knowledge of his inner secrets, preserved him under the protection of His mercy. Yet he arose to kill Him, and when his intention and deed became known among the emigrants, he engaged in fabricated calumnies to conceal his reprehensible acts and cast doubt in the hearts of the doubtful, attributing his own deeds and actions to the Ancient Beauty, that he might lead the servants from the right hand of certitude to the left hand of fancy.
And ye have denied what ye have witnessed with your own eyes and comprehended, remaining veiled from the Countenance of Unity by fabricated calumnies. I swear by My holy and transcendent Beauty that all they have written concerning this manifest Beauty stands as proof of the falsehood of those who speak and the truth of this manifest Cause, for they have mentioned accusations whose falsehood is more evident than the sun in midheaven, as ye have all associated with this most exalted Beauty and have understood according to your capacity.
Yet because of these fabricated words, ye have turned away from the Revealer of divine verses. And even if we were to grant that they speak the truth, have ye not recognized that “He doeth what He willeth” and are ye not convinced that “He ordaineth what He pleaseth”?
Beyond all these considerations, these souls who have emigrated with God on this journey and who have witnessed and comprehended most matters with their own eyes and hearts, bear witness that the Truth, exalted be His glory, was and shall ever be distinguished from all else by all His attributes. Yet even these souls ye have deemed liars.
By My beauty I swear that God’s conclusive proof hath been completed for all, and His perfect Word hath dawned from the horizon of truth. Today there is no shelter save His shelter, and no shadow visible except His shadow. Hearken unto the voice of your Beloved, and hold fast to that which you have witnessed with your own eyes, and sever yourselves from the handle of idle fancy.
If you observe with the eye of truth, by God the Concourse on High are engaged in lamentation and wailing, and all the maidens of the celestial chambers are moaning and lamenting. The leaves of the Lote-Tree have withered from the tyranny of these oppressors. By the True One, the breezes of the All-Merciful’s mercy have been cut off from the realm of possibility, and the effulgence of the lights of the Face of the Glorious One hath been forbidden to the dwellers of all worlds.
By the True One, ye have perpetrated such injustice that all things have been cut off from their own lives, and today no creation remaineth, whether from the Concourse on High or the dwellers of the cities of eternity or those who dwell in the ocean of names, except that all have transformed every subtlety of joy into sorrow and donned the garments of mourning. All the cherubic hosts and the realities of the Prophets and Messengers are lamenting in their lofty chambers of glory, while ye, O heedless ones of the earth, are rejoicing and traverse the lowest abyss with utmost delight.
Ye have slain the essence of religion, yet fancy yourselves seated upon the thrones of faith and certitude. By God, O people, the like of this Revelation hath never appeared, nor hath the eye of creation beheld it. Hear ye My call and be not of those who were cautious among the people of the Furqan—those who exercised such caution about the blood of a gnat yet issued the verdict to shed the blood of God.
They were engaged in remembrance, yet when the verses of the King of Remembrance were cast upon that group, they would cry out:
“Leave these remembrances and do not make us heedless of the remembrance of God!”
Such were the deeds and actions that became manifest from that group, and ye, O people of the Bayan, in these days are perpetrating the very essence of those deeds and consider yourselves to be of the truth.
Therefore I call God, His angels, His Prophets and Messengers, and those who circle round His throne, and all that hath been created in the heavens and earth, to witness that I have not fallen short in conveying My message to you. I delivered unto you God’s messages at the time of My manifestation, at the time of My ascension, and at this time when I have revealed Myself from the Most Glorious Horizon. I have cast upon you wisdom and utterance, made known to you the Beauty of the All-Merciful, and completed for you the proof, the evidence, and the demonstration. No mention remaineth but I have cast it upon you.
Therefore, O my God, Thou knowest that I have not failed in Thy Cause and have conveyed unto these people that which Thou didst command me before the creation of the heavens and earth. I have made clear unto them the paths of Thy justice and shown them the ways of Thy good-pleasure.
Therefore, O my God, have mercy upon these people and make them not to be of those who turned away from me, denied my right, and disputed my signs until they shed my blood and dismembered my limbs. Therefore, O my God, assist them in Thy Cause, aid them with Thy triumph, and deprive them not of these breezes which are wafting from this Paradise which Thou didst create in the heart of heaven, and withhold them not from the fragrances which Thou didst send forth from the horizon of Thy name, the Most Merciful.
Therefore, O my God, create in their breasts from the light of Thy words the fire of Thy attraction, that it may turn them by sheer might to the right hand of the throne of Thy mercy. Then kindle, O my God, in their hearts the torches of Thy love and yearning, that thereby may be consumed the veils that have withheld them from the court of Thy nearness and Thy presence.
Then take, O my God, their hands with the hands of power and might, and deliver them from the depths of idle fancies and vain imaginations, and bring them unto the station which Thou hast sanctified from the allusions of all that hath been created between earth and heaven. Then cast upon them the word whereby Thou dost attract the hearts of them that know to the heaven of the glory of Thy favors and the hearts of them that are nigh unto the atmosphere of the holiness of Thy bounties.
Then cause them, O my Beloved, to be of those whom all who are in the heavens and on earth have failed to prevent from turning to the direction of Thy grace, from standing firm in Thy Cause, from acknowledging Thy presence, and from attaining certitude in their meeting with Thee. Verily, Thou art the Forgiving, the Merciful, the Giving, the Mighty, the Bountiful, the Helper, the Generous.