Volume 028: Early Baghdad Period (to 1856) (2 of 3)

BH02479: When but one cry of “Ya Hu” strikes his…

He is God

When but one cry of “Ya Hu” strikes his ear, the soul— Flies to the Well-Belovèd, rapt with joy, made whole.

The lover’s spirit, winged, to Love’s far Sidrah springs— If one pure strain of “Ya Hu” beneath him sings.

A new design He casts on clay and water’s fleeting show, When from the East upsuns the Face of “Ya Hu” aglow.

The world of might and may, yea, tents of holiness, would burn— Should one lone wail of “Ya Hu” rise and return.

The ear of all the earth is cleansed of what the world has said, If for one breath it enters where “Ya Hu” is read.

Being is naughted out, and nothing takes Eternity’s hue, When from the veil breaks forth the Hidden “Ya Hu.”

He whose heart held one wish becomes as the Absolute, If once he glimpse that flame—the blaze of “Ya Hu.”

How could the Christ pass on beyond the highest dome, Had not one thunder-cry of “Ya Hu” led him home?

Who else may set one foot within existence’ realm but He? So jealous is the Marshal-guard of “Ya Hu”’s decree.

The eye of possibility sees not the color of the is— If for one instant closes the gaze of “Ya Hu.”

O thirsty ones, strike now the Salsabil of holy Lordship true— For running, running ever, is the fountain of “Ya Hu.”

Drunk grows the world of being, like lovers at His flame, If the cupbearer pour anew the wine of “Ya Hu”’s name.

Moses of the soul falls thunderstruck on meaning’s Mount, When in Sinai’s heart is lit the ember of “Ya Hu.”

The heart’s own Tur shines bright; the spirit dances through— If in the world there sound one chant of “Ya Hu.”

The tint of otherness is wiped from Time’s wide page, If one breeze stir the curlèd tress of “Ya Hu” in rage.

From His uprising see the Resurrection in lovers’ eyes— And hear the Trumpet’s call: “Ya Hu” that cries.

The lover’s soul leaps past the Throne, and passes even then, When drawn by Love’s attraction—“Ya Hu” again.

It looses hold of life—life vaults from out its place, When in the realm of being appears the face of “Ya Hu.”

The breath of the Everlasting blows from the perishing land, When Love’s musk-sachet yields the scent of “Ya Hu”’s hand.

The houris in the chambers of glory thrill anew, If to their ears there come one ringing “Ya Hu.”

Dervish—strike no more the lute of meanings through the air: For “Ya Hu”—and His “Ya Hu”—has left all things beware.

BH03242: From Sidrah of the Highest came Love, with Paran’s…

In the name of God

From Sidrah of the Highest came Love, with Paran’s blazing brand; And with the cup of tribulation came from the Court of God’s command.

First He bestows the mace of “No”—on lovers’ ranks He lays it sore; Then makes them “Yea,” enduring, by one breath of spirit evermore.

O Love, Thou art the Sultan throned in possibility’s mid-sphere; If Thou shouldst plunder but the breast, where would endurance be, or cheer?

Now Moses’ fire, now “I am God!”—a voice that rends the night; Now servant, now a king art Thou, by Lordly splendour’s light.

A people strewn upon the road—both dead, and life outpoured— Breathe once upon them, Christ-like spirit; lift them to their Lord.

Thy dawn is in the world of flesh; Thy noon in realms of Godhead bright; Thy presence—Hahut’s mystery—O gem of Mercy’s light.

Come, burn my little heart away—then stitch my riven breast anew With fire of Thy beauty’s blaze, and serpent-clouds that coil and woo.

O heedless world—give me some news of me, for I am lost from sight; I, wandered from the path—while Thou art but a flame of light.

If grace Thou wilt bestow, then give one goblet, clear and free; I thirst for but a single cup—Thou art the Kawthar, God’s decree.

Lift Thou Thy raven tresses from Thy cheek’s resplendent sun, That from the curtain of the dark the very Sun may come.

I am the quarry of Thy brows, the captive of Thy hair; Now dost Thou bind me with Thy lasso—now unloose me from despair.

Thou hast sealed up my lips; Thou hast released me from my soul; And from Thee comes my drunkenness—O wine of pomegranates, whole!

If for one moment Thou shouldst hide Thy face from possibility, The rule of “everlasting” breaks—both worlds are made to flee.

From Thee my cry—O quickener of my life, my breath, my place; My “where” and “when,” my universe—O Egypt of the King’s own grace!

This marvel still amazeth me—the hint Thou hast made plain: To every eye Thou art made seen—yet from Thine own art hid again.

O nightingale of my garden—cause of my scar and aching flame; O Thou my separation too—cry out the Syriac note of Thy Name!

From heaven Jesus hastes; from splendour Moses comes in flight; And every soul runs headlong to the holy Presence—bathed in light.

My rhyme—what is it?—Love knows not the “was” nor “nevermore”: Both “I” I was, and “no” I am; and “nay” I sing no more.

Dervish, torment not with too many words this azure dome— Lest from a single letter’s stir the wheeling heavens storm.

BH04998: Ay Bulbulan

O nightingales, O nightingales, the rose-time is begun; O knowers all, the world of Unseen glitters like the sun.

O lovers, lo, the long-veiled Beauty shows His face today; O seekers, see—the Sought-for One stands plain in open way.

The dawn of God’s own loveliness hath flushed the boundless skies; Flee, flee the prison of the flesh, in heaven’s free air arise.

That idol once behind the veil, that King of realms on high, Like Joseph now through street and mart walks shining to the eye.

That Hidden One on Qaf of Being, veiled for ages long, Now like the sun from mount to plain pours radiance wide and strong.

Love’s market, from His musk-dark curls, in fragrance overflows, And from His ruby, sugared lips a booth of attar grows.

The wine-vats all are seething now; law, reason, reeling, fall; Deadliest poison turns to drink—God’s brimming Cup for all.

The rosary is girt as cord of unbelief confessed; Hypocrisy is swept aside; the saint haunts tavern-crest.

Piety hides its face apart; pretence stands lip-bit, still, Since His tall cypress form on earth struts partridge-like at will.

The Hidden Treasure stands revealed; the soul’s Simurgh takes wing; All mysteries are laid bare now, all veils lie riven, torn thing.

The nightingale to rose-bough flies, the lover finds heart’s sea; The parrot hastes to Hind once more—strange foes are friends made free.

BH00476: The Point of praise and the essence of praise…

The Point of praise and the essence of praise belong exclusively to the sacred and near threshold of that Beloved One Who raised up the heavens of existence through His perfect power and adorned them with visible stars through His eternal sovereignty, so that all things from the kingdom of knowledge and the realm of possibilities might, in their own station and by their own essence, bear witness to that which the King of existence has, in His own Self and by His own Self, testified before all things: that there is no God but He, the All-Protecting, the Best-Beloved. No thing has truly known Him as He deserves to be known, and no one has truly described Him as He deserves to be described, for all that is visible is but a single letter from the Word of His Command which has encompassed the essences of contingent being, and all that is known is but a point of His power which has surrounded the realities of creation. How then can that which was created by but one of His melodies ascend to the heavens of His eternity or climb to the glories of His oneness? Sanctified is His holy Essence from every abstract essence, and exalted is His pure Countenance above every praise and tribute.

Then, through the requirements of the establishment of the Sovereign of justice upon the throne of mercy and grace, He created, through pure origination and sheer invention, the Point of existence and the Praiseworthy Countenance, which has been expressed through various terms such as the Eternal Countenance, the Divine Reed, the Primal Point, the Warbling of the Dove, the Perfect Word of Manifestation, the Divine Identity of the Cloud of Unknowing, and the Countenance of Ahmad and Muhammad.

“Each one in his own tongue utters praise of Thee

The nightingale through song and the musician through melody.”

And this is that very verse “There is none like unto Him” before which all have confessed their powerlessness in the presence of the manifestation of His knowledge, and have gloried in some token of His bounty. And after this, He created the essence of all things through Him, and this is that very essence which declareth: “Whoso hath known it hath known his Lord, and whoso hath witnessed it hath attained unto his Master.”

I swear by the Sovereign of existence and the King of the seen and unseen that so long as one remaineth veiled from any of the stations of this essence, he abideth in fire. And what fire is mightier than this fire, and what remoteness is more remote than this remoteness? Thou art with the Beloved, yet knowest not that love hath triumphed. Verily, as the poet hath said:

“I abandoned the love of Layla and Sa’d at their dwelling,

Yet reached not unto the Beloved even the first stage.”

And this same essence is that very primordial divine nature and universal divine reality through which all have been created, yet from which all are veiled; toward which all turn, yet from which all are turned away.

“O Lord, to whom can it be said—this mystery that in the world

That omnipresent Witness showed His face to none?”

He is the One Whom ye seek yet find not, Whom ye behold yet know not. This is the purpose of creation, as He saith:

“So set thy face to the Faith, being upright, the nature of God in which He hath created mankind. There is no altering God’s creation. That is the right religion.”

Otherwise, His Presence cannot be described by any mention nor characterized by any attribute. That which is mentioned in traditions and writings is but a sweeping for the servants and a word for mankind. Otherwise, “they measured not God with His true measure” and “the whole earth shall be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens shall be rolled in His right hand. Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above that which they associate!”

Likewise He saith in the tradition:

“All that ye distinguish through your most subtle imaginings is but a creation like unto you, returning unto you.”

Therefore, there is no proof of Him save His holy Essence, and no path unto Him save His sanctified Identity. He hath ever been a proof unto His own Self, and shall ever be known through His own Being, even as the Point of Splendor and the Countenance of Glory—may my spirit and the spirit of all who dwell in the kingdom of command and creation be a sacrifice unto Him—hath said in a prayer taught to Ali the Chosen:

“O Thou Who hath proved Thy Own Self by Thy Own Self, Who art sanctified above any likeness to Thy creatures, and Who art exalted above any similarity to Thy qualities.”

And again in another station He saith:

“Through Thee have I known Thee, and Thou hast guided me unto Thyself. Were it not for Thee, I would not have known what Thou art.”

“What the reed-flute uttereth in this strain, Should I speak it, the world would be undone.

Were I joined with the lip of my heart’s desire, Like unto a reed, I would tell what must be told.”

This is the collyrium for the eyes of the ardent ones and the light of the pupils of the beloved ones. Should but an atom of these ingredients—which have been drawn from the pure spring of grace, and ground and refined with the pestle of love in the mortar of affection—touch the eye of possibility, it would exclaim and cry out and proclaim: “What is this save a wondrous collyrium!” All that I desire is to spare further labor and to veil and preserve the bride of meaning behind the curtain of words. Yet she remains not still, but raises her head like a banner saying “Here am I!” and declares “Speak, for this is the time for speech, not for sealing the lips, as the listener is one of understanding, not of mere words. Speak whatsoever thy straitened heart desires.” Speak openly and nakedly, for I sleep not with the idol while clothed.

Therefore, be it known that in the realms of unity and the sovereign realm of detachment, there remains neither separation nor union, nor any branch that might return to its root. I shall mention one melody from the melodies of the Eternal Dove, and one note from the notes of the Eternal Chalice, that thou mayest gain a portion of life and recognize the value of this bounty of remembrance. This is that passage: “Glorified art Thou, O my God! All servants detach Thee from aught else save Thee, and all beings sanctify Thee from whatsoever is beside Thee. But I, in my impotence and poverty, have found none other than Thee from whom to detach Thee, and have witnessed naught besides Thee by which to sanctify Thee. By Thy might! Whenever I sought other than Thee, I found it to be nothing, and whenever I desired aught beside Thee, I witnessed it to be utterly non-existent.” And in another place He says: “Can there be for anyone other than Thee a manifest power that is not possessed by Thee, so that it might become the revealer of Thee? Blind is the eye that seeth Thee not! When wert Thou ever hidden that Thou shouldst need an evidence to lead to Thee?”

What can I say when not a single vein of mine is sober? How can I describe that Beloved Who hath no peer? In this moment, without lips, I tell to thee ancient mysteries anew, now hear from me:

“Open now thy earless ear at this time, For the mystery of ʿGod doeth what He will divine’.

Three stations from this matter manifest be: First separation, then union, and return makes three

This is far removed from the ranks of unity divine Though such mention from that Being sublime.”

Is as virtues of the righteous compared to the sins of the near ones: Yet those immersed in the depths of oneness find none but Him to mention or describe. Thus doth He say: “Lord, immerse me in the depths of Thy unity’s sea.”

This station hath no shore and this utterance no bound: how can this non-existent atom, this missing point that hath no name in any gathering, no mention in any ring, fulfill this task or express this theme?

This is a rank where His firstness is identical with His lastness, His outwardness the same as His inwardness. All words in this station are one reality, all differences but one name, and none knoweth how this can be, save him whom God hath shown the creation of His Self.

“The shadows that seek after light Vanish when His light doth shine bright. In this presence minds are lost aright.”

When the Pen reached this point it broke; therefore it is best that we seek from Him a share of this melody of grace and a portion of this draught of mercy, that we may become detached from all else and close the door of existence to all but Him, that we may become established in the dominion of glory and partake of the fruits of the tree of bounty and drink from the crystal springs of loving-kindness. As He says:

“O my God! Grant me complete severance from all else save Thee, and enlighten the eyes of our hearts with the light of beholding Thee, that the eyes of the heart may burn away the veils of light and attain to the source of grandeur and joy, and that our spirits may become suspended in the glory of Thy holy splendor.”

Therefore, seeking Him is better than all stations, and mentioning His love is more beloved than all remembrances. O Thou Dawning-Place of Knowledge and Countenance of Forbearance!

“Listen now, for the lover approaches, Bound by His love with a rope of palm fiber.”

This is the call of the enraptured lover that was raised in the thickets of the Psalms. I make mention of this that the manner in which His honored servants have clung to Him and kindled the fire of love may become known, that perchance the holy fragrances may attract thee and bring thee to the station of intimacy. But look with the eye of purpose, not with the eye of that which is abrogated, for He says: “Our command is but one.”

In the prayer of Kumayl ibn Ziyad an-Nakha’i, He mentions this passage:

“Until all my deeds and my devotions become one devotion, and my condition in Thy service becomes eternal.”

By His glory, O Point of Praise, if thou wouldst taste the sweetness of that station, thou wouldst never neglect it, even wert thou to be cut to pieces.

These are the passages that have been translated into Arabic: How excellent, O my God, is that which the nightingale of David sang in the garden of the Psalms, from the warbling of the dove of attraction upon visiting Thy countenance! O joy that Thy fire of oneness was kindled in the essence of Thine eternity!

O my God, my God! Remove me not far from Thee, for tribulations have encompassed me entirely. O my God, my God! Leave me not to myself, for calamities have wholly seized me. Give me to drink from the pure milk of Thy bounty, for thirsts have utterly consumed me. Shelter me beneath the wings of Thy mercy, for poverty has severely touched me. Feed me from the fruits of the tree of Thine eternity, for weakness has fully drawn near to me. Immerse me in the seas of forgiveness before the surging whale of majesty, for sins like mountains have caused my death.

“O Ayaz! From anguish wrought by thee, what thing am I become? I am left by grief of thee—pray tell my story’s sum.

Full many a tale of thy love’s fire have I read unto my soul, Yet thou hast made me but a tale—now read me as thy scroll.

ʿTis thou who readest, not I, O thou Omnipotent One! I am but Sinai’s mount, and thou art Moses—this voice begun.”

In conformity with “Beauty belongeth unto the Beautiful,” whatsoever hath been mentioned of the Wondrous One pertaineth unto that sacred Being. Verily, “the mention of the good—Thou art its beginning and its end, its source and its mine,” inasmuch as naught save Thee is beheld, and none other than You is remembered.

They relate of a certain mystic of divine illumination that one day, beside a grave, he was searching with the utmost earnestness and making diligent inquiry. When asked what he was doing, he replied: “Other than what people do.” This answer increased the questioner’s perplexity, who pressed him with greater insistence. Then he said: “O brother, people seek God and find Him not, while I seek other than Him and find not what I seek.”

“This breath of life hath lifted my garment’s hem, Having caught the fragrance of Joseph’s raiment.”

At that moment, when my pen was thunderstruck, I abandoned it and say:

“Glory be unto Thee! Verily, I am of those who repent and of those who seek forgiveness. And praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds.”

BH00693: O thou lion-hearted soul, Even as a lion roar…

O thou lion-hearted soul, Even as a lion roar, That thy roaring may perchance To the seventh heaven soar!

Praise be to Him Whose Essence is immeasurably exalted above the strivings of human hearts, however pure, to soar into the atmosphere of His nearness, and Whose Being is immensely sanctified beyond the exertions of human minds, however lofty, to ascend unto the heaven of His presence. From time immemorial He hath been exalted above the description of aught save Himself, and He will forever continue to be sanctified beyond the praise of all created things. The hearts of them that have recognized Him are sore perplexed before the tokens of His everlasting handiwork, and the minds of them that have attained His court are bewildered by the wondrous evidences of the Revealers of His oneness. He, verily, is the All-Possessing, the Almighty, the Most Glorious, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

O friend! Thine epistle was received. It told of naught save the fire which hath been kindled in the tree of human reality, and bore no message but that which bestoweth a new life upon enlightened hearts. Well is it with him that hath been set ablaze by the fire of thy love, and who hath quaffed the water of life from the cup of thine affection. “The righteous shall drink of a cup tempered at the camphor fountain.”

To continue: Thy letter, which was a repository of the pearls of celestial knowledge, was brought before this Exile. God be praised, it rolled up the scrolls of separation and remoteness and spread out in their stead the realms of nearness and reunion. Methinks through the water of thy longing the fire of separation was changed into “coolness and safety”. In truth, a perfect meeting was attained through thy letter, and, through thy mention of the stations of Divine Unity and the signs of pure abstraction and oneness, it lifted from the world the veils of limitation. And this, notwithstanding that even the limitations of the world of existence are praised and cherished by the wayfarer, for he seeth all things in the mirror of the verse “No defect canst thou see in the creation of the God of mercy”, and at every moment he heareth with his inner ear the tongue of the Holy Spirit uttering the words “Seest thou a single flaw?” In faithlessness he beholdeth the secret of fidelity, and in deadly poison he tasteth the sweetest honey. Even vengeance is embraced in this state; nay more, the true lover welcometh the betrayal of the beloved.

Thy faithlessness I cherish more Than every gift that life can give. To suffer at thy vengeful hand— How much dearer than to live!

Thus do the wayfarers in the wilderness of solitude and search experience events and conditions which, though to outward seeming be a mortal poison, are inwardly a wholesome draught, and though in appearance a passing mirage, are in reality pure and refreshing waters. Were I to attempt a full description of this station, neither could I express it nor the hearer grasp it. And whoso observeth with the eye of innate knowledge will confess, openly as well as privily, the selfsame truth.

As to perceived differences, these can be attributed to the divers stations that have been attained by them that tread the path of search and mystic knowledge. Thus, at one time the wayfarer beholdeth the lover hastening in search of the beloved through the wilderness of desolation, and at another he seeth the beloved yearning for the lover across the wilds of longing and devotion, or wandering, aimless and bewildered, the wastes of love in his pursuit.

“O for a drop to drink!” the thirsty soul doth groan; “O for a thirsty soul!” the spring in turn doth moan.

From yet another vantage he perceiveth that the lover and the beloved are one and the same, and that the seeker is himself the very object of his search. “How can the lover from the loved one ever part?” So it is that, at times, the lovers of the celestial Beauty sound the clarion of “Say: All things are of God”, while, at others, they raise the call of “It is from thyself.”

Some have related the aforementioned stages to the inner and outer journeys of the soul, which is the station of “the knowledge of certitude”, whilst others that have quaffed the wine of reunion regard each and every stage as relating to that knowledge, and consider the two stations of “the eye of certitude” and “the truth of certitude” as being exalted above and sanctified beyond these realms and all that pertaineth unto them, even as hath been clearly affirmed by that mystic knower. For in all these stages the mirror of the wayfarer’s heart may bear the reflection of shadowy desires, wayward thoughts, and worldly attachments. Wherefore hath it been said that, in these stations, at one time the hosts of reason are triumphant and, at another, the armies of love prevail.

At one time, the clouds of affliction and sorrow conceal the heavens of gladness and joy; at another, the eternal leviathan of love devoureth, in one fleeting moment, all manifestations of sadness, anguish, grief, and dejection, and the morn of divine guidance dawneth forth with the joyful tidings of “despair not of God’s mercy”, and the gentle breezes of His providence dispel every vestige of torpor and estrangement. These tidings, however, are not constant and immutable in these stations, and the wayfarer remaineth confined between the right hand of faith and assurance and the left hand of denial and despair.

Some wayfarers remain forever veiled in these stages. Others are assisted by invisible aid from the Source of unfailing grace, whereat the hosts of the Realm on high raise the tabernacle of divine power, and the ascendency of “and verily Our host shall conquer” is manifested, obliterating the signs and standards of every worldly attachment and limitation, even as alluded to by some who have attained this station. At such times, the ascendancy of God’s names and attributes will so surround a soul as to leave it no place either to stay or to flee. This station, however, hath its own obscurities and impediments, for they that journey towards the land of Divine Unity and detachment are still wrapt within the confines of names and attributes, and take delight in their gardens and bowers. Thus it is that, in describing these stations, some have made reference to the “unity of existence” and the “unity of appearance”.

By this is meant that the seeker will close his eyes to all save his Beloved and open them to naught but His beauty. He will pass beyond the mortal world and approach the everlasting realm. He will see no beauty but the Beloved’s and hear no utterance but His praise; that is, he will avert his gaze from aught save His beauty and refuse to hearken to any melody but the sweet accents of His voice. Howbeit some are led astray even in this station; for no sooner do they inhale the fragrance of reunion, and hearken unto the voice of the doves of heavenly grace, than they imagine themselves to have attained perfection and wander lost in the wilderness of self-conceit, thus depriving themselves of the soft-flowing stream of divine providence and the ethereal cup of heavenly delight.

Yet others, assisted by the grace of the everlasting Friend, consume these veils with the fire of His love and step into the meads of ancient glory. That is, forsaking the wilderness of the “unity of existence”, they attain unto the ultimate abode of the “true appearance of the Divine Unity”. So clearly will they witness in this stage God’s all-encompassing mercy that in every created thing, both in the world and in the souls of men, they will behold Him Who hath been interpreted as the Holy Outpouring. No longer will they close their eyes to any beauty, nor stop their ears from hearkening to any voice. For there is no prohibition in this stage and no debarment, inasmuch as in all things they will discern, with both their outer and inner eyes, the revelation of the signs of Him Who is the King of all names and attributes, and in every atom they will find a door that leadeth to the garden of Divine Unity and the city of pure abstraction.

“Where’er I turn my gaze, ʿtis Thee Whom I behold.” So entirely will the hearts of the wayfarers be transported by longing for the ecstasies of this station that they will come to conceive no stage apart from this stage, to see themselves as abiding within the court of the Beloved and circling round His sanctuary, and to consider it as the ultimate abode of them that search and the uttermost station of such as have attained.

A myriad names and attributes have been ascribed to these degrees and stations, which I am disinclined to mention here. It is, indeed, solely because of thy longing and devotion that I have engaged in such ephemeral and limited topics. And this, notwithstanding that speech is the greatest evidence of the worth of the speaker and guideth unto the recognition of the source of guidance, for no more complete and enduring proof hath been or will be vouchsafed unto man from the empyrean of everlasting glory than words and utterance. This, verily, is a self-evident truth, for the braying of the donkey can never compare with the cooing of the dove. Never wilt thou hear from the raven the melodies of the nightingale, nor inhale from the abject beetle the fragrance of eternity.

BH00775: Lawh-i-Hamd-i-Musha’sha’

The Ever-Living, the Most Ancient

Radiant praise, adorned, resplendent, ascending, and soaring to the atmosphere of the holy nearness of my Beloved Who, with but one melody from the songs of the celestial Dove, one warble from the eternal Nightingale, and one breath from the divine Bird, hath illumined all those who dwell in the clouds of unknowing with the brilliance of His holy splendor and adorned all scattered elements with the radiance of His intimate beauty. Yet He hath manifested but a single point from His Book of Glory, whereupon all have become deluded and lost, and have remained deprived of the mysteries and inner meanings of the verdant pavilions and the beautiful couches. They imagine themselves to be guided and righteous. Nay! By the Lord of the heavens, they are liars and corrupters! Now that the light of the morn of faithfulness hath sunk into the realm of the unseen, and the darkness of the night of blindness hath encompassed the face of the earth, such gloom hath descended from the friends upon the page of ink that its mere mention causeth sorrow to both the seen and unseen worlds. Glory be to God! To such a degree hath the emblem of grief appeared upon His countenance. Verily we are God’s, and verily unto our Lord do we return.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Were ye to awaken even slightly and ascend somewhat toward the holy heaven of the Eternal Sovereign, ye would realize how ye have divided the blessed, universal, and eternal Word. By Him Who is the Educator of the seen and unseen and the Sovereign of existence and Ultimate Goal, whatsoever your hands and tongues have wrought is evident and manifest before Him from Whose knowledge nothing whatsoever in the kingdoms of earth and heaven is hidden. Ye shall soon behold its fruits, and these same deeds and actions of yours shall return unto you at the time of return. Verily we are God’s, and verily unto Him do we return. O my God, my Lord and my Beloved! I know not which decree Thou hast ordained concerning me, nor what Thou hast destined for my countenance. Dost Thou wish to abandon me among the oppressors among Thy servants? Here am I, present before Thee in faithfulness. Or dost Thou wish to take my soul in this house in utter abasement? By Thy glory! I seek no refuge save in Thy captivating beauty.

Glorified art Thou, O my Beloved! I shall surely bear witness unto Thee in that hour before the countenance of the King of Thy munificence, and I shall surely call upon Thee in the sacred mysteries before the presence of the Sovereign of Thy holiness, that Thou art God, there is none other God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thou hast ever been established in the mystery of Glory, and Thou shalt ever remain at rest upon the throne of the heavens. None can ascend to the atmosphere of the King of Thy attraction, nor can any soul mount up to the threshold of the Sovereign of Thy self-subsistence. All desire union with Thee and Thy presence, yet none hath the means to soar to the heaven of Thy divine unity, nor any proof to enter the precincts of intimate fellowship with the King of Thy divinity.

Glorified art Thou, O my God and my Lord! Since I find no portion save in the warbling of Thy verses, and no glory save in the remembrance of Thy favors, I shall commune with Thee in this night before Thee with praise of Thine own Essence and attributes of Thine own Self, that perchance my heart may find peace amid the surging winds of sorrow for Thy loved ones, and my soul find rest amid the manifestation of the standards of grief from the people of Thy chosen ones.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou dost witness my state in this solitary house while Thy loved ones do with Thy countenance as they please. Thou knowest my secret amidst the letters of heaven while Thy chosen ones do with Thy glory as they desire. Thou hearest my cry in utter abasement while the pious think of Thee as they wish. Glorified, glorified art Thou! I see all this as naught but Thy doing unto me and Thy favor upon me. Thine is the praise in all of this, and Thine is the gratitude in all of this, for Thou art the Truth, there is no God but Thee, and we are all believers in this.

Praise be to God Who hath enriched the Glory with the mystery of faithfulness, and hath seated him upon the crimson throne, and hath caused him to warble the verses of attraction on this sorrowful night, though most people neither witness nor give thanks. Praise be to God Who hath established the Light in the mystery of Glory, and hath made him witness from the divine realm among the countenances of heaven, and hath tried him among the hands of the ungodly in the realm of creation, though most people neither witness nor know. Praise be to God Who hath mounted me upon the steed of light, and hath established me upon the yellow rafraf of might in the most hidden essences of the Most Glorious, though most people neither see nor understand. Praise be to God Who hath caused me to ascend to the court of mighty divinity, and hath brought me into being at the radiance of the countenance of glory, and hath admitted me into the house of identity behind the veils of grandeur, though most people neither give thanks nor comprehend. Then after all this, they deny and say what they know not, and judge what they perceive not.

O Dove of Eternity, Cockrel of Oneness, Bird of Glory, Manifestation of Divinity, and Radiance of Beauty! Say: O People of the Book! Why do you deny Us? Why do you reject Us? Are We not the verses of joy? Are We not the warbling of the Lord upon Mount Sinai? Why do you harm Us? How do you grieve Us? Are We not the hidden secret revealed in the Psalms? Are We not the countenance of the Ever-Living, the All-Forgiving? Are We not the mist of camphor? Are We not the clear signs of Oneness made manifest? Why do you drive Us from Our homes? Why do you imprison Us in Our dwellings? Are We not the Beauty of Glory in the darkness of night?

Are We not the Beloved in the midst of the letter “Ha” with the hidden mystery? Are We not the Loved One in the heart of Glory with the melodies of resurrection? Are We not the Singer in the heaven of the heart with the warbling of birds? Why do you turn away from Us, slay Us, and forsake Us? By God, the Truth! There shall descend upon you the mighty, powerful grasp, and there shall appear unto you a severe, overwhelming punishment. Soon shall you know who it is that shall be visited by a humiliating chastisement, and you shall find no escape from Our grasp.

Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee, O my Beloved, my Companion, my Witnessed One! I seek Thy forgiveness at this moment for my transgressions before Thee and for my warbling in Thy kingdom. I am certain that all that hath been and shall be revealed is the description of Thy Self and none other, the mark of Thy mercy and naught else. O my God and my Lord! How can I seek Thy forgiveness for my grievous sins and my great transgressions, knowing that all this was naught but the warbling of the Dove of Thine eternity in my heart, the surging of the waves of Thy love in my breast, and the manifestation of the countenance of Thy identity in my heart?

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I am not an existence that I should implore before Thee, nor am I anything that I should mention myself before the court of Thy glory, nor am I a countenance that I should radiate in Thy kingdom, nor am I one who stands that I should raise the banners of Thy victory, nor am I a glory that I should shine in the heaven of Thy majestic manifestations, nor am I one who waits that I should await the days of Thy manifestation, nor am I one who sits that I should arise for Thy Cause, nor am I a presence that I should abide in the house of Thy glory. For all this was but the signs of Thy Self in Thy dominion and the tokens of Thy Being in Thy lands, and they shall never ascend to the heaven of Thy identity nor rise to the clouds of Thy oneness. Glory be unto Thee! Verily, I have been among the sinners before Thee, and the first of the penitent, and the first of the worshippers.

Never be saddened, for it is not permitted. His honor—upon him be God’s blessings—is missing and cannot be found. I remember Mirza Akbar and Mirza Isma’il. Divide the other candy and give it to them in service. His honor, the Most Excellent of the Excellent ones, possesses the utmost affection. This writing is for some of you; some complaints about the loved ones that do not concern you.

BH01141: This is what I have called upon God, my…

This is what I have called upon God, my Lord, in the language of symbols and mysteries, which shall be read by those who desire to quaff the water of life from the hands of the All-Bountiful, whereby the beauty of reality is unveiled and the veils of metaphor are consumed.

He is the Mighty, the Beloved!

O Thou Who hast adorned the beauty of Thine eternal holiness with the ornament of the thread of Thy glorious grace, and hast manifested the dawning rays of the Sun of Thy countenance through the Point which appeared and shone forth from the essences of the mysteries of Thy hidden wisdom! Glorified, glorified art Thou! How perfect are the wonders of Thy creative Lordship in this most great ornament, and how consummate are the gems of Thy divine knowledge in this most glorious and noble treasure! Thou hast made it, O my God, as the seas of Thy knowledge and the ship of Thy wisdom, wherein Thou hast ordained whatsoever Thou hadst ordained in the worlds of Thy unity and the holy names of Thy detachment.

Glorified, glorified art Thou, O my heart’s Desire! Thou art He Who hath encompassed the meanings of Thy sovereign might within the garments of Thy names, and thereby made known to Thy servants the essences of Thy Cause and the mysteries of Thy wisdom. Then didst Thou manifest these hidden names upon the tablets through the Point which Thou didst detail by Thy power, making it to tell of him whom Thou didst create from the fire of Thy love and the air of Thy grace, and Thou didst conceal therein the earth of Thy will that it might be watered by the waters of tenderness from the hand of Thy bounty.

Glorified, glorified art Thou! How mighty is Thy Cause in this dark luminous thread, and this most pure and radiant cord! By Thy might! Were it not for it, the Point would not have appeared in the garment of darkness, nor would the spring of life have flowed in the depths of obscurity.

By Thy glory, O my Beloved, I have been sore perplexed by that which Thou hast created through Thy power in the mystery of this enduring subtlety and this moving spirit—as though Thou hadst singled it out from among all existences, made it a mirror unto all Thy Names and Attributes, and ordained for it the grace of nearness and reunion. This is of an affair which Thou hast not granted unto any in the realms of Thy sovereignty or the cities of the might of Thy dominion save unto it alone. For I behold that the essences of unity cry aloud in anguish at separation from Thee; that the temples of self-subsistence rend their garments by reason of their remoteness from Thy meeting; that all divinities weep at the manifestations of Thy absence; that all kings lament before the states of Thy abandonment; that the hearts of the near ones are consumed by the fire of longing for Thee; that the gems of sanctification gasp upon the desert of yearning for Thee; that the mirrors of transcendence smite their heads because of their distance from the court of Thy might, their exclusion from the annihilation of Thy holiness and the sanctuary of Thy nearness.

All of them have been blinded by the vehemence of their weeping; their eyes have not fallen upon the dawning of the lights of Thy beauty; they cried aloud until they perished, yet attained not unto the visitation of Thy countenance and Thy majesty.

Alas, alas, for that which hath befallen the near ones among Thy servants, and the sanctified ones in Thy days—so that the very breath of pre-existence was lost in separation from Thee, and the root of existence perished through remoteness from Thy presence; that pure manifestation lay stilled upon ashes by reason of Thy absence. How many nights, O my God, did they enter their beds in hope of reunion with Thee, yet greeted the morn in separation from Thee! How many mornings did they arise seeking Thy meeting, yet ended the day in estrangement from Thee! The fire of Thy love seized them in such wise that Thou didst withhold from them every rest, deprive them of all joy and delight.

And yet—despite all this, and despite Thy full awareness thereof—Thou didst not once pass by them, nor unveil Thy beauty unto their souls for even an instant. How, then, can this servant—who hath been no more than a shadow in the court of Thy holiness, or as nothing before the manifestations of the might of Thy ancientness—presume to desire Thy nearness? His remembrance of Thee hath been but as the humming of a bee in the air of the splendor of the divinity of Thy sanctified grandeur, or as the mention of an ant in the valley of the might of Thy sovereignty.

Glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, for the wonders of Thy power and the manifestations of Thy dominion, whereby the hands of the chosen ones have been severed from the hem of the robe of Thy recognition, and the eyes of the pure have been withheld from beholding the lights of Thy beauty and the visitation of Thy countenance. Glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, O my Purpose, above the mention of all that existeth; glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, O my Beloved, beyond the description of all that is contingent. And I bear witness at that moment that the remembrance of any save Thee reacheth not unto Thee, and that the description of aught besides Thee returneth not unto Thee; for the knowledge of Thee soareth above the kingdom of everlastingness, while the remembrance of all else is clipped of wing, standing fast within the mortal realm of evanescence. How can the realm of extinction ascend unto the divinity of abidingness? By Thy glory, it cannot—save by Thy might and Thy power, Thy bounty and Thy gift.

Yet, despite this mighty veiling, I behold that Thou hast made this Spirit the ornament of Thy countenance and the adornment of Thy visage; through it are revealed the subtleties of the secrets of Thy loveliness, and by it Thou dost veil the Sun of the beauty of the holiness of Thy oneness. Thereby have I been confounded, and all that dwell in the heavens and the earth likewise confounded. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Revealer, the Concealer.

Therefore I beseech Thee, O my God, by the blowing of the breezes of Thy mercy upon the temples of the erring, and by the descent of the rains of Thy forgiveness upon the transgressors, and by the Cord whereby Thou hast bound the hearts of the lovers and drawn unto Thyself the souls of the knowers, that Thou cut not this Cord which Thou hast made a means between Thee and Thy creation, nor deprive them of this Thread which Thou hast appointed as the servant of Thy beauty and the companion of Thy countenance. Then I implore Thee, O my Beloved, to purify the air of the hearts of Thy servants from the clouds of self and desire, and to remove whatsoever hath intervened between them and the beholding of the lights of everlastingness. Verily Thou art the Bountiful, the Bestower, the Munificent, the Giver, the Compassionate, the Generous.

BH01160: I call upon Thee now, O my God, at…

He is God, the King, the All-Mighty, the Most Great, the Most Holy!

I call upon Thee now, O my God, at this time when the lamp of oneness is kindled in the niche of white light, and this eternal candle melts in the crimson lamp, and the heart is consumed by the fire of grief in the liver of Baha, and the bird of the Cause cries out in the most exalted Kingdom, and crimson tears flow upon sallow cheeks. For though he writes before Thee with the pen of ink upon the green tablet, yet in the secret of his heart he writes with the pen of blood upon pieces of his liver that which none can hear in the nearest dominion. Therefore have the breezes of the Spirit been cut off from the city of eternity, and the fruits have fallen from the Tree of Paradise, and the branches of the Lote-Tree of the uttermost boundary have been broken, and the melodies of the Dove have been stilled in the most exalted company, and the joy of the pure ones in the most glorious chambers has been transformed, inasmuch as I am surrounded by mountain scorpions and sea-dogs, such that were I to turn to the right, their venom would touch me, and were I to turn to the left, their dogs would wound me, and were I to raise my head, the millstone would descend upon it.

And the matter hath reached such a pass that every delight of the world’s bounties hath been cut off from me. If I would drink water, I drink from the blood of mine heart; and if I would partake of food, I eat from a morsel of my liver. All this, O my God, is of those things that have befallen me through Thy love, and have descended upon me in obedience unto Thee. If, then, Thou art able to preserve me, preserve me; and if Thou wilt not do so, then build for me a dwelling nigh unto the Throne of Thy majesty, above the heavens of Thine eternal might; then raise me up unto Thee, that I may abide therein through Thy tender care, and find repose in the neighbourhood of Thy mercy.

For I find for myself, in Thy earth, no resting-place wherein my foot may be set, nor any abode wherein I may dwell, and by which I may be sustained; for Thy servants have abhorred me and driven me forth. Each day they take counsel together concerning my death; they say of me what they please, and pronounce against me what they desire, until I have become bewildered in my affair, and find no refuge whither to flee, nor any habitation wherein to abide, nor any sanctuary wherein to be secure. Alas, alas! I have no mother to weep over my condition, no sister to bare her head in mourning for my woes and afflictions; nor have I any companion to solace me in my tribulation, or to accompany me in my trial. Yet have I consented unto all that hath befallen me in Thy path. Would that Thy servants might be content therewith, and might withhold themselves from all this against me!

Nay—by Thy glory! they are not content. Rather have they rushed upon that Beauty of Thine which Thou hast established in the place of Thine own Self, and seated upon the throne of Thy lordship; which Thou hast hidden within the tents of Thy majesty and the pavilion of Thy exaltation; which Thou hast drawn forth from the ocean of Thy oneness, kindled from the fire of Thine everlastingness, and raised unto a station that none shall know, and no soul shall ever compass; which Thou hast made a stronghold for Thy servants and a light in the cities; and hast ordained that men should return unto Him as they return unto Thee, and sit before Him as they sit before Thee. And yet, notwithstanding all this, they have opposed Him and warred against Him, in secret and in open, until they have lifted up over Him the banners of dissension, and the standards of corruption against His Cause.

At that time I beseech Thee, O my God, by the light of Thine everlastingness wherewith the heavens and the earth have been illumined, to make my feet as iron, that I may stand thereby in His service and in the service of them that love Thee; that I may become a helper of Thy Cause and a guardian of Thy command, until I be martyred in His path before Thy face; for in Thy hand is the kingdom of all things, and Thou, verily, art powerful over all things. Then do I beseech Thee, O my God, by the sorrow that hath touched me in Thy way, and that hath never departed from me from the beginnings of Thy days, to cause me to ascend unto the Paradise of Thine eternity, and to raise me unto it through Thy loving-kindness; and deprive me not of that which Thou hast ordained therein of the wondrous bounties of Thy oneness and the jewels of the favours of Thy self-subsistence—that I may be of them that abide therein and that walk in the neighbourhood of its mercy; lest the whisperings of the devils prevent me from loving Thee, from longing for Thee, from cleaving unto Thee, and from being consumed with yearning for Thee.

For it is a Paradise created from the elements of Thy power, and wrought from the subtleties of Thy might, in such wise that its sun shineth and is never eclipsed, its moon is bright and is never darkened, its stars fall not, its houses crumble not, its trees change not, its fruits are never altered, its mysteries are not veiled, its breeze is not cut off, its treasures are not exhausted, its light is not quenched, its garment weareth not away, its verses are not abrogated; its clusters hang nigh, its fruits endure, its leaves are everlasting, its delights are perfect. Its sun hath ever remained at the meridian of splendour, and its moon in the rising-place of beauty.

Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee, O my God! By Thy might! were I to make mention of the continuance of the glory of Thy sovereignty and the abiding of Thy pure power, in describing but a sprinkling of what Thou hast created therein of the manifestations of the handiwork of Thy lordship and the signs of the holiness of Thy divinity, I would be found wholly powerless, faint, and undone, ere a single letter could appear from the jewels of Thy workmanship which Thou hast created therein by Thy power and brought into being therein by Thy will. Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee! For One such as Thee befitteth the robe of majesty and greatness, and the gems of power and dominion; for Thou, in truth, art the Almighty, and we are all Thy worshippers and unto Thee shall we return.

BH01215: Glorified art Thou, O my God! I call upon…

He is the Light in Truth and God was ever living from eternity!

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I call upon Thee in this hour when I have detached myself entirely from all who are in the heavens and on earth, and have clung to the cord of Thy bounty, and have cut off all paths save unto Thee, until I have stood at the axis of journeying unto Thee, and have turned from creation unto Thee, and have turned away from all faces and directed my face toward the sun of Thine eternity. I have sought naught but the wonders of Thy grace, and hoped for naught save the marvelous signs of Thy creative handiwork.

And because of this, Thy servants have assailed me and pelted me with the stones of their idle fancies, and shot at me the arrows of their vain imaginings, to such an extent that the earth, despite its vastness, became too strait for me by reason of what the hands of Thy servants and the transgressors among the people of Thy realm have wrought. It is as though I were caught in the mouth of a black serpent, and red vipers, and yellow snakes, and white dogs. I find no refuge save in Thee, no helper but Thee, no succorer other than Thee, and no protector besides Thee.

And at that time was I confounded, by reason of the stings wherewith they, who have differed concerning my station, did vex me—after that Thou hadst ordained for me no condition save servitude before Thy face, prostration before the manifestations of Thy sovereignty, and turning in penitence unto the doors of the outpourings of Thy mercy. Yet, O my God, Thou Who, through the sheer bounty of Thine aid, the pure essence of Thy favour, the very substance of Thy loving-kindness, and the subtle fragrance of Thy love, hast clothed me in the vesture of Thy guidance—a vesture wherewith none among Thy creatures hath preceded me, nor shall any soul of Thy creation ever surpass me—inasmuch as Thou didst reveal in Thy Book, which Thou hast named Nur, and didst raise unto the highest horizon of manifestation, and within it didst chant, in loftiest strains, the melodies of Thine everlastingness and the anthems of the glory of Thy Self-Subsistence; and didst cause it to be sovereign over Thy Books, speaking forth to establish Thy right, and pointing unto Thee in the disclosure of Thy dominion, in such wise that none shall know it save Thyself, and no soul besides Thee shall attain unto the inmost reality of its knowledge.

Thou hast said therein—Thy word is the truth—that God hath appointed for thee a station whereunto none hath preceded thee. After this Thou didst command me therein to summon all unto Thee, and to remind all by the remembrances of the Letters of Thine eternity, and to cast upon them jewels of Thy wisdom and pure essences of the knowledge of Thy oneness, that Thy bounty might be made complete upon the near ones among Thy servants, and Thy sovereignty made manifest among the sanctified of Thine chosen ones. Thou hast singled out none for this; nor hast Thou honoured any soul with that wherewith Thou hast honoured me by Thy grace. In this do I glory within the kingdom of Thy Cause and the dominion of Thy might.

And after this Thou didst send Thy Book unto them by Thy leave, and Thou hast beheld them that they have not read a single letter of the verses it containeth; for had they read, they would not have differed. Their very differing is proof that they gave no heed unto Thy Book, nor did they bear witness to what Thou hadst ordained therein of the mysteries of Thy decree and the modes of Thy consummate behest. It is as though they had never opened it even once, that they might behold what lieth within it of the wonders of Thy wisdom and the jewels of the handiwork of Thy divinity. They have imagined concerning me that for which Thou gavest them no leave, and have spoken words whereat I am ashamed to make mention before Thee or before any of Thy loved ones.

Therefore, praise be unto Thee, O my God, for all this, and for whatsoever Thou hast caused to descend upon me in Thy path. I beseech Thee, O my God, by Him Whom Thou hast made a sovereign over me and over all that are in the heavens and on the earth, to make me patient in Thy tribulation and well-pleased with Thy decree; then make mine eyes to turn away from all save Thee, and to watch for the wondrous tokens of Thy mercy, that perchance there may descend upon me that which shall quiet my heart and gladden my being, that I may rejoice beneath the shadow of Thy most exalted care, and find rest in the neighbourhood of Thy most glorious compassion.

And I beseech Thee, at that hour, to forgive them that were heedless of Thy Most Great remembrance and turned unto the desires of vain fancy; yea, forgive them, for they are Thy servants and Thy bondsmen, possessing no power over their own benefit or harm, nor over life or resurrection. Make Thou, therefore, O my God, their hearts pure, their eyes clear, and their ears keen, that they may hear Thy verses with their own hearing and not with the hearing of another, and behold Thy beauty with their own sight and not with the sight of any besides; that they may soar unto the most glorious Pavilion on the two wings of their love, and ascend unto the highest horizon in the flame of their affection—so that, by Thy power, they may come to possess that which Thou hast created for them within themselves by Thy might. This, verily, is a grace beyond which no grace in Thy kingdom can be conceived, and an ordinance unequalled in all Thy dominions.

Then I adjure Thee, O my God, by the first Fire that was kindled from the fire of Thy Being, by the first Sea that branched forth from the ocean of Thy oneness, by the first Light that shone from the horizon of Thy Self-Subsistence, by the first Lamp that was lit in the lantern of Thy love; and by Thy Name which Thou hast established in the place of Thine own Self, and raised unto the heaven of the glory of Thy lordship, and made concealed within the pavilions of Thy might and hidden beneath the veils of Thy majesty—that Thou wouldst send down upon me and upon Thy servants the showers of Thy favour and the rains of Thy bounty; that Thou wouldst clothe us in the garment of Thy pardon and the mantle of Thy holiness; and make us of them that have been guided by Thy guidance, that have sought Thy good-pleasure, that have dwelt in Thy habitations and reposed in Thy neighbourhood. In Thy hand is the sovereignty of power and dominion; in Thy right hand is the King of might and choice. Thou, verily, art potent to do what Thou willest, and of the deeds of Thy servants art Thou all-knowing, all-aware.

BH01381: The beginning of speech and the end of conclusion…

The beginning of speech and the end of conclusion is the mention of the Sovereign of the heavenly realm and the King of Glory—exalted be His grace and magnificent His favor. There is no God but Him. And then it is submitted that one such as yourself, who has appeared as a leaf of the divine Tree and as a fruit of the Pre-existent Lote Tree, and who has been nourished from the chalices of light and has drunk from the crimson cups—why should you be veiled from the divine mysteries and the manifest words of the Eternal, and become distant from the ultimate purpose and spiritual desire?

Let it not be thought that some ulterior motive lies hidden in the essence of these words, or that some fancy is concealed in the secret of these allusions. I swear by the God Who caused this servant to be seated upon the carpet of love and to repose upon the cushions of affection, that whatsoever has been mentioned stems from the gems of grace and the manifestations of generosity, sanctified from the consideration of otherness and holy beyond the witness of qualities.

Look to the previous centuries and reflect upon what God revealed therein to their peoples. Why did discord arise among them, and for what reason did they turn away from His countenance, stray from His path, cause corruption in His Cause, associate partners with the Sovereign of His oneness, and become among the perishing ones? Have you heard that God’s religion could be effaced before being established, or His decree annulled before being revealed? Say: What ails you? How is it that you neither know nor perceive?

Nay, by my Lord, the Lord of the heavens and earth! No one can alter a single letter of what was revealed in the Bayan by God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. He has bound Himself to establish all that was ordained in the Book by His command, but the people know not and understand not.

O friend! Be fair in God’s presence, then place yourself before Him. Did you write the Bayan as God, your Beloved, the Beloved of the mystics, commanded you? Nay, by your life, you neither wrote it nor obeyed what you were commanded by Him, and became of the hesitating ones. Rather, you desired to keep people away from His command and prohibition, and to be among those who distance others.

Are you content with one who mocked God, turned away from His presence, strayed from His path, was heedless of His remembrance, and became of the opposing ones? Say: Are you not ashamed before God Who created you, reared you, and made you a king that you might remind people of God’s days and be among those who remember? Yet you followed your own desires and turned away from the decree of God, my Lord and your Lord, the Lord of the worlds.

Read unto them what was revealed before you and all on earth deny it. Verily God is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy. By the Lord of the heavens and earth! If all who are in the heavens were to gather claiming divinity, and all who are on earth claiming lordship, they would neither be able nor capable of revealing a single letter of what God has revealed in the Book. Say: What ails you? How is it that you neither awaken nor recognize?

By Him Who holds my soul in His hand! I desire nothing in these words except my love for you and my affection for your person. Otherwise, what concern have I to mention one who was the best of those remembered? But when I witnessed your forgetfulness of your covenant, I cast upon you what none in all the worlds would cast, that you might recognize God’s right in these days, make up for what escaped you, and be of the doers of good. And praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

In any case, in these days His good-pleasure is beloved, and all are captive in the grip of power. There is no escape for anyone. Do not regard the Cause of God as something trivial wherein anyone might express their fancy. Now several persons from various quarters have made this same claim. Soon you shall witness that the Tree of Independence shall endure forever through its own glorious and beauteous Sovereign, while all these others shall perish and vanish, nay rather, become as nothing remembered, as scattered dust. Then indeed we belong to God and to Him do we return.

If you deem it advisable, convey greetings from this servant to Mirza, and then submit: Have not the standards of discord been raised from all directions, and has not the corruption of these companions not corrupted the world? Is this not enough? How can these be reconciled? This is what has been written and established in all books and by all Messengers: “Associate not anyone with the worship of thy Lord.” One like yourself should be observant of all degrees. The choice is yours. I am but a faithful counselor. And peace be upon the assured ones.

BH01489: Yesterday the Shaykh wandered the city, lamp in hand…

Yesterday the Shaykh wandered the city, lamp in hand, Crying: “Weary am I of demon and beast; human company I desire!”

Beloved kind friend, praise be to God that well-being is somewhat attained and the pure mirror of the heart reflects the promptings and attractions of the heart. God willing, this desire shall be fulfilled and that aim shall be achieved. Though it would be sweeter to cleanse the tablet of light, which is of the pages of illumined hearts, from the intimations of this one and that, and to gallop naked in the vast arena of the spirit. As the divine sage says:

None seeks that Beloved with desire, None sleeps with such a rose-cheeked one while clothed. With two qiblihs one cannot walk straight on the path of unity, Either the good pleasure of the Friend or one’s own must be chosen.

What place is there for garments when existence itself becomes a veil and otherness itself becomes a mask? The literary master of Shiraz says: “Thou thyself art thine own veil, O Hafiz; arise from between!” Just as Jacob’s love, had he cleansed the identity of heart and soul from the turbidity of water and clay, would surely not have needed the shirt from Egypt to bring him glad tidings, nor a messenger to remind him. Rather, he would have perceived the holy, fragrant breezes from the north wind of the spirit, and would have found repose with the Beloved in the very state of union. He would have tasted the longing for the meeting and the sweetness of the fountain of eternity from the spring of purity, would have arisen to eternal life and everlasting continuance, would have become immortalized in the Paradise of eternity after the gathering of the spirit, would have seen a thousand like unto Joseph circling round without the cry of “O my grief!”, and would have received the subtle essence of the Egypt of fidelity from the city of the annihilation of the One.

Yea, until the turbidities of the world of multiplicity, whose end is destruction, vanish and perish, the eternal Countenance will not raise its unveiled face from behind the veil, and the meaning of “All things shall perish save His Face” will not become evident from the manifest brow. What shall I write? The fragrance of the soul must be inhaled from the camel’s wool which belonged to Uwais, as the author of the Mathnavi says:

The fragrance of the soul comes from the camel’s wool, This camel from the host of Sultan Uwais.

But the musk-fragrance of the soul and the breezes of the All-Merciful from the Yemen of the Beloved are cut off and forbidden. Yes, the casket of white pearls has become treasured in the shell of the sea, for its unpierced state is more acceptable and more pleasing, as it gives perfect power to the forces of the heart and increases the worthy light of sight. And perhaps this concealment may be the cause of manifestation, and this veiling may lead to an unveiling, or this allusion may be made explicit by a child, or this seal may be opened by a power.

When the seed is hidden in the earth, The secret of the garden’s verdure it becomes.

Until what the power of the Friend’s arm may do! O companion, thy friend says that the comfort of existence needs a stroll free from the contamination of limitations, so that like the Phoenix of the West it may raise its head from the East of the soul and soar in the holy air of the spirit which is the city of the soul. I swear by God that if the armies of death were to gallop on horseback, they would not catch up with this rider, and Azrael would gird himself like a servant at the door and be indebted to the one bound for the sanctuary, that perchance he might become intimate in the sacred precincts and might circle and become aware in that subtle carpet which is more delicate than the pearls of light.

Glory be to God! The breeze of love arose and perfumed the assembly of intimacy. The spirit played a wondrous melody. The lovers in the wilderness of consciousness became unconscious from the secret whisper of the unseen. Such longing and rapture, such taste and joy have encompassed all that the breath of the Holy Spirit began to blow upon the decayed bones, and the Faithful Spirit came flying with the wing of success. The Israfil of life became bewildered as to which melody might bring these companions back to consciousness, and shows inability that perchance he might take a share and portion from this unconsciousness.

Enough! The Beloved has begun to speak; Listen! And God knows best what is right. At this moment my soul has left my body, Saying to me: “Verily, unto Him do we return.”

BH01546: He is God, exalted is He. O Rahim! Hearken…

He is God, exalted is He. O Rahim! Hearken unto what this sorrowful Bird warbleth unto thee from the hidden words, that thou mayest ascend unto the station which God hath created and ordained for thee, wherein the censure of the critic, the denial of the denier, and the heedlessness of the proud shall not hold thee back. Hear thou My words and inscribe them upon the tablet of thy heart, lest thou forget the decree of love from this Servant Who hath been afflicted among the servants and desireth to depart from this land by reason of what hath befallen Him through the whisperings of the sinful and the intimations of the heedless. It is as though I were imprisoned in a house of iron, finding for Myself neither helper nor friend.

Say: O people! Have mercy upon this One Who hath drunk from the cup of destiny, upon Whom hath descended the decree of divine will, and upon Whom have flowed the oceans of tribulation. By God! I weep with the eyes of My heart, cry out with the tongue of My inner being, and lament with the essence of My being.

O My brother! If thou wouldst remove the veil of limitation from thine hearing and cleanse it with the water of thy love, thou wouldst find the traces of My sorrow in the realm of possibilities, hear the weeping of the holy ones in the concourse on high, witness blood flowing from the eyes of the dwellers of the realm of eternity in the heaven of mystery. Thou wouldst not rest in thy place due to My oppression, nor find repose on thy seat due to My deprivation, nor drink water due to the burning of My liver, nor find solace with anyone due to My loneliness and the multitude of Mine enemies. By God! Were I to loose the reins of the Pen, the pillars of eternity would be shaken, and the pavilions of existence would not be raised from behind the veil of nothingness. But I have concealed it in My heart and drink rivers of blood from My heart, lest anyone take notice of what hath descended upon Me and befallen Me.

Know thou that We loved thee before and love thee now, and I desire that thou shouldst be detached unto God and reliant upon Him, that the fire of love may burn so intensely in thy breast that thou canst find no rest in thy love for God nor patience in His good-pleasure, that thou mayest walk upon the earth with tranquility and dignity as though walking before the Almighty, forgetting all remembrances that would prevent thee from entering the paths of the righteous, that thou mayest be an aid to the light in these dark and gloomy times which have encompassed all who are in the heavens and on earth, such that I fear they may encompass all servants and drown all who exist.

Therefore, convey My greetings and glorification to My loved ones and those who claim to love Me, and remind them in these days the like of which eyes have never witnessed nor minds conceived, and say to them: O servants! Why have ye turned away from God, your Creator? Whereby have ye associated partners with Him? By what authority do ye spread corruption in the land without His leave and slay people without clear proof or Book? Say: Are ye not ashamed before Him Who created you, from Whom is your beginning and unto Whom is your end? By what reason do ye harm this Youth Who hath believed in God, His Lord, turned away from all else but Him, advanced toward the sanctuary of His beauty and the Kaaba of His Self, and Who hath become hidden from the eyes of men such that ye see Him but know Him not? He hath become like a moving thread in the heart due to the thinness of His bones and the delicacy of His skin through what hath touched Him of sorrows and the fire of deprivation.

If thou wouldst hear from Me and accept My counsel, thou wouldst find the fragrance of eternity from the Most Exalted Garment and attain to the most excellent station and furthermost place. Travel in the land and migrate from this city to a land which thou lovest, and remind the servants not to seek corruption. And if thou desirest to return to Us afterward, thou shalt have permission from this Servant. But grieve not over anything, nor be troubled in any matter. God will remove grief from thee and clothe thee with the garment of joy. There is no God but Him. He spendeth as He pleaseth, and He is the Mighty, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting.

Soon will the banners of tribulation be raised in this land and the sun of trials appear in this heaven, and the people will then be tested, and We say: We are God’s and unto Him do we return. That which hath descended from the H after the B.

BH01736: A moon went forth from this city—toward…

A moon went forth from this city—toward another it fled; By its setting and its rising, two cities turned o’erhead.

Though Joshua once recalled the sun, and stayed its wheel a day, Yet when thou lift’st thy veil—a sun breaks forth in full display.

That honored brother’s momentous thoughts have been considered. For the destitute dervishes, an appointed place and adorned dwelling hath been established. The blackness of the ink of that letter bore the fragrance of pure musk, and the whiteness of its gardens betokened the tenderness of an illumined heart. Verily, its arranged pearls brought perfect joy, and its scattered gems conveyed health and tranquility to the heart.

Thou read’st whate’er within our hearts is writ and planned; Thou tak’st the hand of him whose foot is stuck in mire and sand.

Although in these days physical communion hath been suspended, yet the natural, innate fellowship and intimacy remaineth firm. God willing, the draught of reunion, which is mingled and combined with sweet, pure water, shall descend from the clouds of the soul and bestow the gift of life upon the frozen, lifeless earth.

“Yea, today must thou bestir thyself, whilst the cloud, in its bounty, still poureth forth its rain; for tomorrow, when thou hast perished of thirst, rise not from within the grave to plead thy need.”

In these days when the seas of sorrow are surging and the rivers of grief are flowing, when the pivot of the sphere of fate is turning and the center point of decree is planning, when the tree of tyranny hath grown tall and the fruit of oppression like unto Shaddad hath borne fruit, when good deeds are rejected and the works of Nimrod are praised, when thorns sit in the place of beauty and shells occupy the place of pearls in the shell, when serpents rule in the abode of the sovereign and Satan presideth upon Solomon’s throne—this is not the first flask that hath been broken in Islam.

With all these circumstances, how can I properly respond to letters and present worthy writings? By thy life, my sorrow is not for the loss of wealth, but for his death and condition, that he was slain with utmost abasement, though he attained the most glorious martyrdom and ascended to the most exalted horizon. “Think not of those who are slain in God’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance with their Lord, rejoicing.”

The enemies are delighted that ownerless property hath fallen to them. Have they not heard the decisive, mighty proclamation which saith:

“For him who is slain unjustly, We have given authority to his heir.”

Thou dost smile—and the lip of Fate is stung to the quick; Doom itself hath, for thy laughter, tears laid up—full and thick.

Soon shall the heir claim his inheritance and uproot oppression. “Their appointed time is the morning—is not the morning near?”

O my brother, observe what circumstances are unfolding and what unprecedented matters are being born from this transient world. I who had chosen seclusion and crept into the cave of silence, who had melted in union and in separation had freed myself from all else, must now become renowned throughout the horizons and complain to Iran of the tyranny of Uruman. “Naught shall befall us save what God hath decreed for us. In Him do we trust, and in God let all the faithful trust.”

I had chosen one person for companionship and fellowship who was among the righteous and spoke of the pure ones. He was lost in such manner as thou knowest. How excellent was what was said: “Wherever thou seest blood upon the earth, know of a certainty it is from our eyes.”

Therefore I say: “Verily, we are God’s, and verily, unto Him shall we return.”

BH11716: O handmaiden of God! Bear thou witness that there…

He is God, the Most High, the Most Exalted!

O handmaiden of God! Bear thou witness that there is none other God but Him, and all are prostrate before Him. Put thy trust in God and say: All praise be to God Who hath guided us by His light and made us to be of the doers of good. Be thankful unto thy Lord at all times and say: Glorified be He Who created all things by His command and guided His servants unto a mighty and righteous path. He hath left nothing unmentioned in a perspicuous Book and therein hath He ordained the measures of His decree in wondrous and clear detail. Verily, there is none other God but Him. His is the creation and the command, and all are prostrate before Him. He it is in Whose hand lieth the dominion of all things. He doeth what He willeth and ordaineth what He pleaseth by His command. There is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Wise.

He hath created the administrators of His Cause in all directions that thereby the affairs of His servants might prosper. Thus do We judge those who have believed and are of the assured ones. Follow thou what hath been sent down in the Book unto thee and follow not the ways of the corrupt ones. Open thine eyes that thou mayest recognize the paths of God in what We have raised up in truth and made to be the path of His Cause in the heavens and on earth, that the proof from thy Lord might be made complete unto all the worlds. Thus hath the command of the servants been decreed and the judgment of the Book been fulfilled, and for all things hath been set forth what was sent down from God upon tablets of manifest glory.

Be patient and grieve not for what hath befallen thee from the vicissitudes of time, and be not of those who turn aside. For this is God’s way with His servants, and thus hath He ordained for those near unto Him. Thereby are the wicked distinguished from the good, and the idolater from the believer, that He might separate between those who believe in God and those who are among the sinners. All that thou hast heard regarding this servant is a lie fabricated by those who have disbelieved in God, rejected His signs, and were among the mischief-makers. I am but a servant of God and the son of His handmaiden, and in this do I glory in the kingdom of the heavens and earth.

Know thou that my station in the realm is as a lamp unto this light, lest it be overwhelmed by the whisperings of the sinners and lest the light of God in the niche of holiness be extinguished by what bloweth from these idolaters. And say thou: O servants! By what proof have ye believed in God and by what authority do ye object to Him? Thus have We tried them with the trial of the Cause and made them an evil people, among the greatest losers.

Sanctify thyself from all that is on earth and glorify thy Lord in the evening and the morning, and be thou of the humble ones. The Cause will be fulfilled, the world will pass away and its possessions will perish, and all that is in it and upon it. All that is on earth shall be gathered together on the Day when all shall stand to account in a mighty and upright presence. There shall every soul find what it hath earned, and God shall question them concerning what they have wrought in the realm. Then shall eyes be fixed in awe of God, and judgment shall be passed in truth according to what is inscribed in a preserved tablet.

Thus have We counselled thee in this Book that thou mightest follow what is revealed unto thee and be not of the transgressors. Take thou this Book with the hands of thy spirit, then cast it upon the vision of thy heart that thou mayest find the fragrance of eternity from the Egypt of the Divine Essence and be of those women who have ascended to the holy retreats and have heard the verses from behind the veils and have drunk the wine of life from the countenance of Beauty from a glorious and luminous cup. There shall thy very frame be sundered in thy longing for thy Creator.

Thus do We impart unto thee from the verses of attraction, and make mention of thee with love in the tablets of heaven, and assist thee in the Cause according to that which hath been ordained for thee by God, the Almighty, the Peerless. And peace be upon thee and upon those who have set their faces toward the countenance of thy Lord, the Ever-Living, the Mighty, the Luminous.

BH02382: O Shams! Hearken with all thy heart unto…

In the name of the peerless and ever-loving Lord!

O Shams! Hearken with all thy heart unto the nightingale song of the Beloved, that perchance thou mayest abandon the habitation of self and desire and step into the placeless realm of eternal glory, forsake thine own life, and commune with Him Who is the life of thy life. Wert thou to traverse the limitless reaches of the spirit, thou wouldst of a certainty rend asunder the garment of patience and forbearance, hasten to offer up thy soul, renounce the dross of this fleeting world, and find repose upon the throne of ancient glory.

Each thing must needs have an effect and each sign reveal a secret. Not until the world-illuming sun hath shone can the east be distinguished from the west, nor the blooming garden discerned from the barren waste. Heavenly strains compare not with earthly clamours, and the croaking of the raven can in no wise be confounded with the song of the nightingale. For the latter bespeaketh the land of the Beloved and increaseth life, whereas the former telleth only of the city of the blind and causeth faith to wither.

One must step forth and raise aloft the banner of earnest striving. By God! Wert thou to hearken unto the heavenly words of this evanescent Servant that have been raised in this mystic Tablet, thou wouldst assuredly take to the desert of self-surrender, turn aside from thine own heart and soul, and cast thy head at the feet of the Friend. How high is the soaring flight of the phoenix of love, and how low the requisite measure of our yearning! Strive but a little to soar, that, by the grace of Him Who is the eternal King, thou mayest ascend from the dust-heap of utter non-existence unto the loftiest heights of ancient glory. Give wings to thy celestial spirit and lend strength to thy mystic soul, that haply it may take flight in the atmosphere of divine nearness and attain the ultimate and invisible goal.

This profitless world produceth naught save deadly poison, and its ephemeral dregs can never yield the everlasting cup. Were the Jesus of the spirit to give ear to the call of holiness from the Falcon of the realm above, He would assuredly cry out from His inmost being and be seized with fervid longing even as the lover’s soul. It is through that call that the Moses of eternity was dumbfounded; it is by its virtue that the Abraham of faithfulness shattered the idol of the mortal body. Shatter then, in turn, this idol, that thou mayest take up thine abode in the land of the Beloved; and forsake all desire, that thou mayest take flight unto the Egypt of imperishable glory. Sanctify the city of thine heart, that thou mayest behold the beauty of the Divine Essence and be quickened to a new life through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

No melody remaineth that was not intoned upon this branch; no song remaineth that this Nightingale hath not warbled. A thousand Arabian ears are powerless to fathom this Persian lament—nay, none but an embodiment of divine virtues can grasp this subtle mystery. Well it is, then, with the one who attaineth this ocean and drinketh therefrom the draught of life!

BH02878: This is a Book from the Letter Sin after…

This is a Book from the Letter Sin after Ha’. O people of the Bayan, read it! Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Hidden Essence in the shelter of eternity, and by Thy Most Exalted Remembrance, and by Thy Holy Beauty in Thy Most Glorious Paradise, and by the Light of Thy Face in the Most Hidden Pavilion, and by Thy exalted Letters and holy Words in the lofty realms of immortality, and by Thy holy Temples which no realities of created things have preceded in recognition, and by Thy hidden Countenances which no understanding of contingent beings hath encompassed—to forgive the one who hath ascended unto Thee and descended upon Thee, and soared in the atmosphere of Thy nearness, and risen unto the Lote-Tree of Thy might.

Then cause him to enter, O my God, into the paradise of Thy oneness, and give him to drink, O my Beloved, of the wine that hath flowed from the right hand of the Throne of Thy identity, and grant him the fruits of the Tree of Paradise in the gardens of Thy might and reunion. Then bestow Thy bounty, O Most Bountiful One, through Thy grace, and shelter him, O my Hope, beneath the shadow of Thy Most Great Mercy at the Ultimate Tree and the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary. Then cause him to hear the melodies of Thy Doves which none of Thy servants in the nether regions have attained, for Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Then I beseech Thee, O my God, by the blood that was shed in Thy path, and by the heart that was consumed in Thy love, and by the bone that melted in passion and yearning for Thee, and by the body that was crushed in Thy cause, and by the form that was burned in Thy love—to withhold the evil of this youth from the head of Thy creation. Then seize him, O Powerful One, through Thy power, then destroy him, O Sovereign, through Thy sovereignty, then annihilate him, O Mighty One, through Thy might, that thereby the hearts of those near unto Thee among Thy servants may find rest, and the hearts of the sincere ones among Thy creatures may be assured. For Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the Protector, the Self-Subsisting.

Then aid, O my God, Thy servant who seeketh no helper other than Thee and desireth no supporter besides Thee. Thou witnesseth, O my Best-Beloved, how Thy servants have risen against him, attributing to him what befitteth their own station and imputing to him what beseemeth their own selves, while in all matters and all such conditions he hath committed his affair unto Thee and spent his spirit in Thy path and his body in Thy good-pleasure and his form in that which pleaseth Thee. And Thou art the Helper, the Victorious, the Powerful, the Holy One.

BH03678: Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou seest my…

He is the Most Exalted, the Most High!

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou seest my poverty and neediness, my weakness and brokenness, my distress and anguish, my sorrow and tribulation. It is as though Thou hast closed the doors of Thy mercy upon the face of Thy servant, cast him out from the vicinity of Thy sovereignty, expelled him from the paradise of Thy holy bounty, and distanced him from Thy grace and favor. It is as though Thou hast forgotten him and left him in the wastelands of Thy separation and estrangement, and delivered him before the face of Thine enemies that they might do with him as they please and inflict upon him whatsoever they desire. Dost Thou not hear my cry, O my God? Dost Thou not witness my state, O my Beloved? Dost Thou not look upon me, O my Master?

Glorified art Thou, O my God! In every dawn I call upon Thee, yet Thou answerest me not. In every morning I cry out to Thee, yet Thou rememberest me not. Hast Thou decreed for Thyself that Thou wouldst disappoint those who hope in Thee, or deprive those who remember Thee, or banish those who love Thee? By Thy glory, O my God! I have reached such a state of abasement that I have become hopeless of the breezes of Thy mercy, and have attained to such a degree of poverty that I see myself deprived of the fragrances of Thy glory—this despite my certainty of the all-encompassing nature of Thy favors toward the people of Thy kingdom, and my acknowledgment of the flow of Thy mercy among Thy creation.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! By Thy glory, not a single breath of ease hath issued from my soul in Thy days, nor hath my body found any place of safety in Thy time. Thou hast numbered all of this through the power of Thy sovereignty and art aware of it all through the comprehensiveness of Thy Self-Subsistence. Despite all this, through Thine ancient forbearance Thou hast shown patience, and through Thine exalted compassion Thou hast endured.

Glorified, glorified art Thou, O my Heart’s Desire! Therefore have I fled from myself and from all directions unto the sanctuary of Thy holy oneness, and have hastened from all that is besides Thee unto the Ka’bih of Thy mighty Self-Sufficiency, and have turned away from all existence and faced toward Thy beauty. If Thou showest mercy unto me, Thou art indeed the Best of those who show mercy, and if Thou punishest me, Thou art verily the Just, the Wise.

BH04041: The holy Countenances are in motion, and the faces…

He is the Living One

The holy Countenances are in motion, and the faces of intimacy are in haste, and the doves of paradise are in song, and the maidens of mercy are in melodious chant. In these days when the heavens of attraction have been raised up, and the sun of rapture has risen from the horizon of appearance, and the stars of joy have become manifest, and the moons of might have become radiant—so that the garden of beauty might be adorned with the ornaments of majesty, and the earth of splendor might be spread out upon the throne of the cloud, and the nightingale of gladness might warble with verses of joy upon the branches of the Tree of Sinai, and the leaves of the Tree of Paradise and the branches of the Divine Lote-Tree might come into motion and manifestation—that perchance sanctified souls might be drawn to their original homeland, and purified hearts might circle round and prostrate themselves before the jewels and pure camphor essence in the divine throne of manifestation, that they might taste of the endless bounties and drink from the resplendent fountains of the eyes of grace.

Thus have the channels of allusion, like ships in motion, coursed upon the sea of contingent beings, that the countenance of love might become visible from all created things, and the essence of affection might appear within the realities of all mentioned things. O beloved! The heavens of My Being have been raised up for the expansion of thy earth, and the Dove of My Reality hath warbled due to the appearance of attraction in thy inmost heart, that thy essence might rejoice within thy essence and thy heart might find rest within thy heart, that thou mayest remember the people and summon them unto the path of the Living, the Exalted One. Gather the companions and loved ones upon the comprehensive, eternal Word and let them not grow cold or be deprived of the fruits of grace. I remember Mahmud. Convey My greetings to the male and female devotees. A temple in the blessed handwriting was sent.

BH04541: The divine silver bell has joined with the heavenly…

He is the Ever-Living

The divine silver bell has joined with the heavenly trumpet, and the song of the Eternal King’s dove has warbled upon the branches of the divine Lote Tree, that the essences of all created things and the realities of all beings might become manifest in the inmost hearts of the pure and sincere ones, and that sanctified hearts might be freed from darkening veils and limitations, and dance with joy in the arena of glory before the never-beginning, never-ending Beauty of the Countenance. This is the portion of existence from the world of appearance. Happy are ye, and your companions, and your loved ones, and those who have drunk from the cups of the love of God and the goblets of the affection of God. How excellent is this bounty of grace from the hands of exaltation! How delicate is this wine of glory from the crimson Countenance! How beautiful is this crystal of light from the spiritual Face! I swear by God, whoever tastes a drop thereof shall witness what none in all the worlds hath witnessed.

And further, I counsel you to preserve the Cause of God from all directions, and to gather the people upon the all-embracing eternal Word, that perfect love might surge forth from illumined breasts. And establish unity with his honor Ha. Utterly remove discord from among the companions, and for the love of God put into practice the world of limitations, for the corruption of the people will not be stilled except through this Cause. And keep the Cause of God in view with perfect love. I remember all the attractive Countenances and enraptured Faces in the melodies of attraction.

BH11889: Now, by God’s might and power, I desire…

He is the Ever-Living, the Ancient of Days!

Now, by God’s might and power, I desire to open the gates of the City of Inner Meanings with the keys of the All-Sufficing, that the breezes from the lights of the Morn of Eternity may waft upon thy face, turning thee from the left hand of sorrow and separation to the right hand of union and attainment, and bringing thee unto the highest horizons of glory in the Kingdom of Splendor and the ultimate outpouring of God’s grace in the dominion of the cloud of mystery. By Him Who breathed the spirit of eternity into this most mighty trumpet and this most honored and exalted horn! If thou shouldst enter therein, or if its lights should shine upon thy heart, thou wouldst abide within the sanctuary of God and stand firm in the Cause of God, and become everlasting in the realms of creation and the manifestations of grandeur. How blessed art thou, shouldst thou enter this eternal garden of the Ever-Living One, that thou mayest drink what none in all the worlds hath drunk and witness what none among those of old hath witnessed. Then say: Praise be to God, the Beloved of the mystics and the Goal of the sincere ones! And may mercy be upon thee and upon God’s honored servants.

BH08307: Glorified art Thou, O my God! At this moment…

He is God, the Mighty, the Most High!

Glorified art Thou, O my God! At this moment I desire to remember Thee with the remembrance of them that are sanctified, and praise Thee with the praise of them that are near unto Thee, though I know that whatsoever remembrance proceedeth from any save Thee will never reach unto Thee, nor ascend to the court of Thy eternal might, nor mount unto the heaven of Thy transcendent majesty. And though I know that none can praise Thee with praise wherewith Thou hast not praised Thyself aforetime, yet glorified, glorified art Thou above every unique remembrance and every beauteous praise! Send down Thy blessings upon the First Light that shone forth from Thy Essence, and gleamed from the Core of Thy Being, and beamed from the Sun of Thy Oneness, and radiated from the Moon of Thy creation, and upon them that have believed in Thee and in Thy signs and have done all that Thou lovest, for in Thy grasp is the kingdom of all things and Thou art, verily, powerful over all things.

BH08865: The Eternal Sun has shone forth from the Everlasting…

He is the Living One

The Eternal Sun has shone forth from the Everlasting Dayspring through divine favor, and has perfumed the arena of existence in all the worlds of light with the fragrant breezes of the essences of spirit and the delicate musk-like fragrances of camphor, that every possessor of smell might be delighted thereby while every one with a cold remains deprived. Thus has the matter been ordained from before God, the Mighty, the Powerful. And were all who dwell on earth to gather together to extinguish this exalted and all-encompassing Light, they would be powerless and unable to do so. Therefore must lofty hearts be cleansed and sanctified from all veils, that they might enter the vast and spacious sanctuary of the holy Paradise, that perchance they may receive a portion and be enlightened by the wondrous melodies of the Eternal Dove. This is the counsel of this servant. Whoso wishes, let him act upon it, and whoso wishes, let him turn away therefrom. And greetings be upon you all.

BH09581: The Point of the Cloud [ʿama] journeyed until it…

He is the Living One!

The Point of the Cloud [ʿama] journeyed until it came to rest upon the Throne of utterance. Then It composed the Temples of the Most Glorious Letters through a wondrous new arrangement. The [blessed] Word shone forth from the manifest brow, and He made all of it manifest and visible in the threefold Tha before the fourfold one, that “Blessed be God, the Best of Creators” might don a new garment and, through the outpouring of “He is the Truth, there is no God but Him,” might bless all lands, that the universal divine power might be established and the [divine] lordly fruit might appear. And peace be upon you.

BH10338: The heaven of might and grandeur, and the firmament…

He is God

The heaven of might and grandeur, and the firmament of power and justice, has encompassed all atoms and essences through the encompassing power of the names and attributes. He has set in motion the sphere of divine direction belonging to the Ancient Throne, according to the ordained decree in the kingdom of will, by means of a luminous golden thread. And He caused the mighty sphere of ancient and wondrous attributes to flow and circulate upon the sea of eternity through the blessing of one of the holy names. Then, by His absolute will, He placed its reins, by permission of a Manifestation, within the grasp of power of a trusted one. Such is the decree of the Mighty, the Powerful.

BH00330: Praise be to God Who hath ever existed through…

Section 1: “Praise be to God Who hath ever existed…”

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate!

Praise be to God Who hath ever existed through the existence of His Essence and hath been eternal through His everlasting nature, Who hath created all things through the Word of His command and made manifest all possibilities through the revelation of the lights of His love, and Who hath made the hearts of His loved ones a throne for the establishment of His Oneness and a mirror reflecting the glory of His sovereignty. And blessing and peace be upon the First Point that appeared from the unseen realm of Oneness, and the First Letter through which the all-encompassing Word was completed, and the First Light that shone forth from the dawn of the Divine Identity, and the First Breeze that wafted from the gardens of Divinity—He Whom God made in the world of Command the Manifestation of all His names and attributes, and in the world of creation named Muhammad among His servants—and upon His family and companions, with abundant peace.

O thou who ascendeth to the heaven of unity and mounteth unto the kingdom of oneness! Thy letter hath reached me and I have understood what thou hast mentioned therein concerning the question that confoundeth minds and bewildereth souls. It seemeth thou hast desired from this evanescent one its interpretation and the unveiling of its mysteries, the removal of its veil and covering, although I have never claimed scholarly attainments nor the reaching of the heights of wisdom from God’s mysteries deposited in human temples. Yet despite what I have heard of the clamor of the idolaters and the tumult of the hypocrites in what they have said concerning me and intended against my person, how can this divine bird sing in the garden of inner meanings, or this dove soar in the meadows of eloquence? However, since I beheld in thy countenance the lights of love and in thy heart the love of divine mysteries, I shall cause to flow upon thee a portion from this Most Great, surging Sea and from this pouring, abundant Cloud, that it may be a token of my love for thee from this moment until the Day when lovers shall be gathered beneath His banner and the knowers assembled at the dawning of His lights.

Know thou that the mystics who have reached the depths of the seas of grace and recognized the mysteries of the beginning in the end speak with words that have outward meanings while intending inner significances, and this is their way and custom. Therefore some of the ignorant denounce them as unbelievers, and the contentious ones revile them, and the people of error dispute with them in speech. And among their utterances is this word, which is a light and mercy unto the righteous, and a retribution and wrath unto the wicked.

And when We reached this station in Our discourse, We desired to mention certain stations that the path might become manifest to thee before the presentation of proof from this lowly servant who hath been afflicted in these prolonged darknesses and from whose heart every dweller in the precincts of the Friend heareth lamentations when the lights of the Glorious One are unveiled in the pavilion of Oneness.

Know thou that the first effulgence of the Divine Sun in the worlds of creation is His establishment upon the throne of All-Mercifulness, and from this manifestation the lights of mercy from the Sovereign of Eternity shone forth upon all contingent beings. This mercy is divided into two kinds: One kind is termed the all-encompassing mercy, the universal mercy, the all-embracing mercy, the treasured mercy, the absolute mercy, the all-surrounding mercy, and similar terms mentioned in the books of the mystics, may God sanctify their secrets and spirits. This is the mercy that giveth without being asked and bestoweth upon all contingent and created things, from beginning to end, whether hidden or manifest, more comprehensive than what is concealed or revealed.

This is the mercy that hath preceded all things that were and shall be in the worlds of creation, and through this all-encompassing mercy the universal Lordship of the true Educator is made manifest to all who are in the heavens and the earth. Through it all things are sustained, all things are provided for, and all things are given before they ask or desire or will, even as thou hast heard and known concerning the first Adam, upon our Prophet and upon him be blessings and peace, that when God, blessed and exalted is He, created him by His power and breathed into him of His spirit and formed him in His image, He prepared for him his means and all that he needed.

Likewise, observe how God, blessed and exalted is He, hath ordained the sustenance of infants and all their needs before their appearance and birth, and how upon emerging from their mothers’ wombs they find their provision without having asked for it or sought it, for they were not yet in the world to ask for anything or seek anything. When the water of this mercy flowed from the ocean of Oneness in the world of Divine Unity, God therefore made it sanctified beyond limitations and directions, and exalted above request and supplication. Therefore did God name Himself the Lord of all the worlds. Were I to describe this exalted station and this most holy and transcendent Cause throughout my life’s duration and the continuation of my being, the love in my heart for this most great station and this most noble and precious symbol would not be exhausted, but I have been brief in mentioning it lest thou grow weary in studying and considering it. We beseech God to assist thee in attaining unto its mysteries and reaching its stations, for verily He doeth what He willeth, and He is the Mighty, the Generous.

The other kind is termed the limited mercy, the restricted mercy, and similar terms, and from this mercy there descendeth from the clouds of justice the rain of bounty after the supplication of servants in the world of existence. This is the station of justice, that is, giving to each one his due, and this is the station of the ordering of creation after its coming into being, and the degrees of destiny in creation and origination, even as was revealed from the Kingdom of eternity unto the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings be upon him:

“And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasuries thereof, and We send it not down save in appointed measure.”

From that station the seas of destiny surged in the worlds of creation and the sun of Lordship shone forth in the heaven of bounty. God is Most Great! This sea hath surely surged, and the wind hath stirred up waves that cast forth pearls.

This is a station wherein the feet of the mystics have slipped and the steps of the eloquent have stumbled. When one of the holy ones was asked about this most manifest station and this greatest vista, he replied that it was a surging ocean not to be entered, and in another instance, a pitch-dark night not to be traversed. He further said that destiny is a mystery among God’s mysteries and a safeguard among His safeguards, sealed with God’s seal, concealed within God’s knowledge. God has lifted its recognition above His servants and placed it beyond their understanding, for they cannot attain to the secret of the Divine Singleness nor to the revelation of Divine Mercy, and so forth.

As thou dost witness today, the differences among the peoples exist only because of their failure to recognize this most glorious Cause. Otherwise, had they attained to this supreme station and this greatest symbol, no one would object to another, nor would any soul blame another. Even as the Dove warbled upon the branches of the Tree of Eternity:

“Strange it is that one should be occupied with the faults of others while heedless of one’s own faults.”

In this station, it behooveth everyone to turn unto himself and to purify it from whatsoever God hath forbidden, and not to object to anyone according to his own desire. And concerning matters of his religion, let him inquire of those who are the mirrors of God’s knowledge, the manifestations of His Cause, the dawning-places of His wisdom, and the repositories of His commandments. These holy ones have the right to bid people to do what is good and forbid them from evil. They are those who hasten to perform good deeds and rush to virtuous acts. None besides them hath any share of this cup, nor is there any way thereto for others.

Section 2: “I swear by Thy life! Were it not…”

I swear by Thy life! Were it not for my fear of the Nimrod of the earth of self and his hosts, I would have imparted unto thee such divine knowledge as would have delighted thine eyes and enabled thee to attain all that thou didst desire concerning this Fish bewildered in the dust. But in my affliction at the hands of these iniquitous transgressors, I am unable to open unto thee the gate of knowledge and recognition with the keys of wisdom and utterance, or to mention to thee the melodies of the Mount of Eternity upon the branches of the Tree of Certitude. Indeed, thou hast enumerated some of what hath befallen me from the arrows of discord and the blows dealt to my mouth by the hands of hatred and hypocrisy.

Every day they conspire against me according to their desires. We beseech God to ordain for us whatsoever He loveth and pleaseth of the decree of fate in the worlds of its execution. This will soon be manifest, as will some of what they intended, for I have spent my spirit, my soul, and my body in the path of my Beloved. My longing for God is like the eye’s longing for beauty and the fish’s for crystal waters—nay, greater than that and more exalted than what can be recorded by the pen upon tablets. But reveal not what We have intimated to thee until what We have imparted unto thee becomes manifest.

Therefore We leave aside this discourse and return to what We were mentioning. Know thou that in that station, which is the station of Divine Decree, all matters flow according to their natural order and original measure, as ordained by the eternal ordinance. For everything in that station there is a measure, limit and duty—were it to transgress by less than a needle’s eye, it would depart from God’s fortress which He built by the hands of His command for the protection of His servants. Whoso departs from His fortress shall find no path back to it, nor any guide to the pools of His mercy, except through repentance and return unto Him.

Indeed, if thou wouldst behold with thine inner eye, thou wouldst witness that this purified Law is in truth the fortress of divinity in the realm of humanity, wherein take refuge honored servants who speak not until He hath spoken and who act by His command, as well as other servants who desire to enter into mighty strongholds. Whoso entereth this fortress shall not be touched by the arrows of doubts and conjectures, nor shall fatigue or aversion afflict him. But whoso departeth therefrom, the thief shall steal away his garment of knowledge, his robe of faith, his banner of trust, and his cloak of devotion, leaving him stripped of the beautiful garments which God had woven by the hands of His Prophet, His Messenger and His chosen ones. God protect us and you from the evil of these thieves who are not content with wealth nor with what pertains to glory in the world of detail after the abstract, but rather take from people all that God hath given them of the garments of His grace and the robes of His generosity.

In this station is verified concerning them that poverty which causeth the face to blacken in both worlds, even as the Nightingale of Oneness sang in the gardens of eternity:

“Poverty is blackness of face in both worlds and well nigh leadeth unto unbelief.”

By My life! Were I to reveal unto thee the mysteries of these allusions, thou wouldst detach thyself from all who are on earth and soar unto the City of Divine Attributes at the manifestation of the lights of the Divine Essence. But the Pen restraineth Me from this, and the Tablet preventeth Me therefrom. We beseech God to bring forth days wherein the sun of knowledge shall shine forth from the horizon of wisdom and the moon of mysteries shall rise from God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Forgiving.

When the decree of bestowal upon all in the heavens and earth according to their capacities and stations is established, know thou that the wayfarer who journeyeth unto God, who migrateth unto Him, who severeth himself from the transient homeland and desireth to ascend unto the eternal abode—unto him shall be unveiled the hidden mysteries and treasured realities, and there shall appear unto him the essential seeds of divine unity and the manifestations of eternal oneness.

When he reacheth that lofty station and this exalted homeland, it behooveth him to be trustworthy with the treasuries of God’s knowledge and reliable with the pearls of His wisdom’s mysteries. He must be a guardian of these divine teachings deposited in the vessels of illumined hearts by God, the Creator of all beings. He must preserve them as his very eyes and conceal them in his breast. Should he reveal even a letter of these mysteries to one unworthy, three crimes shall be charged against him: First, betrayal, for he hath betrayed God by revealing His secrets to the unworthy. Second, injustice, for he hath given this station to one undeserving and laid upon him what he cannot bear nor is capable of carrying, thus establishing against himself the decree of injustice; and what greater wrong than is there than this? Third, murder, for he has led this helpless one astray and slain him with a spiritual death. For when one cannot recognize these divine truths, his feet slip from where he stood regarding the matter of his origin and return. Therefore the judgment of one who is slain applies to him, and the law of retaliation runs its course upon his slayer.

This slaying, in the eyes of the people of truth, is greater and more grievous than the slaying of the body, were you to observe with the eye of the heart. This is evidenced by what was sent down from the Kingdom of Oneness upon the Countenance of Ahmad (may my spirit and the spirit of all who are immersed in the depths of light be a sacrifice unto Him) concerning Hamza, the Prince of Martyrs, and Abu Jahl: “Is he who was dead, and whom We have raised to life and provided with a light whereby he walks among men, like him who is in darkness from which he can never emerge?” Therefore ponder this blessed verse. If by death was meant physical death, and by life physical life, then the judgment of death and life would not apply to Hamza, for outwardly he was alive with elemental, physical life.

Rather, what is meant by death in this noble verse and divine word is spiritual death and the death of the heart. For when Hamza (may God be pleased with him) believed in God, His verses and His Messenger Whom He sent with truth, he became alive with the life of faith and drank from the cup of the Living, the Life-Giving One, from the spring of certitude. Thus applies to him the judgment of death—that is, from temporal accidents—and life—that is, eternal, faithful life. And conversely runs the judgment upon Abu Jahl. This faithful life endures and does not perish, as evidenced by His exalted Word: “We shall surely give him to live a goodly life.” But as for outward life, every soul shall taste of death.

Thereby it is established that spiritual death is greater than physical death. When this is established, it is also established that spiritual murder is likewise greater than physical murder. Therefore upon this slayer runs the judgment of retaliation. And since we have proven the judgment of retaliation upon the gnostic who unveils with clear proofs and firm arguments, know that none can execute retaliation save those who drank the wine from the Cup-Bearer of Beauty in the realm of spirits before the appearance of creation in the realm of shadows. And it befits these Poles to execute judgment upon him, for it befits that retaliation be carried out by one upon whom the law’s limits do not apply, not by any ignorant rabble who cannot distinguish truth from falsehood nor darkness from light.

Therefore we suffice with what we have mentioned to you and conclude with praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds, and peace be upon whoever follows guidance.

BH00648: Boundless praise beseemeth the holy and everlasting court…

In the name of my Lord, the Most High

Boundless praise beseemeth the holy and everlasting court of Him Who hath ever caused, and will continue forever to cause, the Sun of His holy countenance to shine upon the hearts of them that dwell in the highest paradise, and hath made the Sun of His Own Face to radiate upon the souls of them that traverse the depths of grandeur, and hath caused the seed of the revelation of His own reality to flourish for the wayfarers in the desert of the Kingdom, and hath made the star of His manifestations to gleam upon the travelers of the path of justice in the realm of mortality, and hath caused the clouds of the light of His Revelation to gather in the arena of all created things, and hath raised the banner of His grace in the highest heaven of hearts, and hath lifted up the standard of His exaltation in the breezes of command and creation, and hath unfurled the flag of His might and majesty in the atmosphere of the heaven of justice.

He it is Who hath ever caused, and will continue forever to cause, His eternal manifestations to dawn upon the souls and bodies of them that navigate the depths of holiness and sanctity, and hath made the breezes of His everlasting revelations to descend upon the essential realities of them that ascend unto the heavens of glory and majesty, so that all creation might be drawn, through that which He hath ordained and decreed, towards that Garment of Reality, and might witness within the inmost recesses of their hearts the signs of divine grandeur and power, and might, through their own attainment, become suppliants at the gates of His bounty and pardon, their tongues, both hidden and manifest, uttering words of lowliness before the Gate-keeper of His holy majesty.

Having thus entered the age of divine unity, they behold the evidences of God’s power, and enter the City of Divine Oneness without intimation and with no trace of heedlessness among its dwellers, and arrive at the paradise of unity without regard to its affluent ones, witnessing the manifestations of the favors and kindnesses of the All-Glorious within the reality of their own hearts, spirits, souls and essential beings.

Glorified be the Beloved, the Everlasting, Who in every effulgence hath manifested a several attribute; Who with each breath hath sent down a wondrous and unprecedented verse; Who, through every quickening breeze, hath created anew the revivification of the bodies of the dead among all created things; Who, in each hallowed theophany, hath suspended for His own Self—out of the unseen, the realm of “No-Where”—a sign and token; Who, by every one of the verses of His unity, hath, as He willeth, drawn unto Himself the hearts of all that He hath created and shall yet create; and Who, from every ray of the lights of the Robe of His might, hath made a luminous manifestation, a shining and dazzling vesture—until all created things have attained the uttermost pinnacle of the grace of His being, and have, within their outward and inward selves, beheld the revelations of His endless theophanies; and, through them, have been drawn unto God, and severed unto God, and cut off from all save Him.

From everlasting, in the heights of pre-eternity, have they been attracted by the impulses of the Robe of His loving-kindness, illumined by the lights of His countenance, exalted through the sanctified appearances of His Manifestations, and uplifted by the conditions of the moments wherein the stations of His might are revealed—until the sign of His revelation hath appeared within the souls themselves and in the horizons, and through it every thing hath returned unto its Lord, and hastened unto its Master, and become a suppliant for the grace of His being, a beseecher of His pardon and His bestowal, and a seeker after His glory and His gifts.

Glorified be He! There is none other God but Him. How wondrous His handiwork! How mighty His creation! He hath made manifest, in the arena of existence, a vast creation out of nothing; He hath brought into being, by the hand of His power, an atom from no thing, and made it to speak; He hath bestowed, through His theophanies, pure being upon sheer non-existence, and granted absolute existence; and upon them hath He revealed Himself by His most holy Self, through the dawning of the Sun of His Lordship. He hath sent down upon them the verses of His unity in the very heart of multiplicity, and hath made the vestures of the countenance of His oneness to appear, and be proclaimed, from every side and every aspect. With each effulgence He drew them all unto Himself.

O ye lovers of the holy Concourse, ye who ascend the heights of intimacy, ye dwellers in the depths of Paradise, and ye who traverse the boundless ocean! Open the eye of truth and the true ear, hearken unto words of justice and truth, and behold the signs of divine Lordship reflected in the mirrors of your hearts. Let not these base commodities and transient pleasures become a source of distress, nor this brief life a cause of veils, nor this ephemeral existence—whose end is nothingness, decline and extinction—be the means of continued separation from the countenance of the Beloved. For your return is unto the intended Goal, and the conclusion of all is unto God, the Worshipped Lord, the Praised Sovereign.

Come to yourselves for a moment and become conscious for an instant. Escape from the stupor of death and enter into the realm of life. Emerge from your self-intoxication and enter into true being. Drink from the wine of manifestation in the chalice of light, free yourselves from the darkness of every error, take a few draughts from the sweet waters of Salsabil, and find rest and tranquility away from this house of extinction. When ye come to consciousness, gaze for a moment upon the robe of the Beloved, for thus hath He, exalted be His remembrance, ordained it.

And it hath thus come to pass that that Countenance of Divinity and Vesture of Lordship hath in these days of decline left the wayfarers in the wilderness of error, and hath returned to His Lord in His throne of eternity, and the holy mirrors of His glory have ascended unto God in His lofty heights. How strange that these creatures, who came into being through a glimmer of His manifestation and became visible in the realm of existence through His bounty, should spend this brief life—whose years pass with a few manifestations, whose months change into weeks, whose weeks separate into days, and whose days resolve into hours, minutes and moments, and whose thread will soon break and whose cord will be cut—when all things shall return unto their Lord and shall be present before His holy court.

O friends of the Friend, awakened unto yourselves! O lovers of the Beloved, become ye vigilant! O seekers after Truth, be ye wholly detached! O ye who hearken unto the Word of sincerity, unseal the ear of reality and open wide the eye of insight. Let not this perishable wealth bar you from attaining the presence of the sanctified Court of the Beloved, nor let this outward glory become a veil in the path of Truth. Unclose the eye of rectitude, open the vision of integrity, and bring the hearing of uprightness into the presence of God. Suffer not for a moment yourselves to be heedless, nor squander vainly this brief span of life in aught save the good-pleasure of God.

For upon all created things a condition hath passed away. Where are now the kingdom and what they possessed, the sovereigns and what they owned? Where are the kings and the rulers? Whither have the sincere departed? Each hath returned unto his own place, and every soul unto that which it had earned—unto that which had been inscribed for it in the scroll of the sanctified decree, upon the Tablet of eternity, from the Diwan of the Ancient of Days. They bade farewell to this mirage of the burial-ground, entered all into their own abodes, returned unto the lairs of their mortality, and sank into slumber within their chambers of dust.

Awake ye, then, for a little; hearken for an hour unto the Word of God; inscribe for a moment the counsels of truth upon the tablets of your hearts—so that on the Day of Presentation ye may draw near unto that Tree, be admitted before His presence, and become, according to His will and desire, both receiver and doer; that ye be not veiled from the vestures of His theophany, nor struck senseless by the light of His manifestation upon the Sinai of His command. And if ye be struck senseless, yet after that swoon return ye to consciousness, and let the cry of “Forgiveness!” flow forth upon your tongues, that on that Day ye may attain, as God willeth and decreeth, unto that which He desireth, and perform that which His irrevocable ordinance hath prescribed—standing in the station of the grace of His being, His loving-kindness, His might and His greatness, in the presence of His very Self.

In that Day act ye in truthfulness and sincerity; work ye with rightness and integrity; hear ye the verses of His Reality from the utterance of His Self-Subsisting Lordship, receive ye the Word of His majesty from the tongue of His power, and therewith glory in the Concourse on high, and be ennobled and exultant. And none can inform you like unto One all-aware; nor can any cause you to know like unto the Word of this radiant Tablet. So long as thou dost show forth a gleam within the mirror of reunion, shatter thou that mirror—and thyself appear unto the world in splendor.

BH00377: Immeasurable praise beseemeth the holy court of the ever-sanctified…

He is the King, the Beloved, the Most High

Immeasurable praise beseemeth the holy court of the ever-sanctified King Who, from the radiance of His Beauty, created the sun; Who, from the mantle of His Countenance, brought forth the moon; and Who made manifest the stars in the realm of existence. Each of these hath He made a distinct sign from His presence: the first sign He made the manifestation of the Sun of His unseen Reality, the second sign He made a mirror reflecting that Sun, and the third signs He made as lamps kindled from the mirror of manifestation.

Through these manifest signs He hath called unto Himself all creation and all that shall be created, and made all that was or shall be aware of His infinite revelations. In every age He hath made manifest the Sun of His mercy in supreme glory and with most resplendent light, causing it to speak and proclaim the most exalted path and way in the realm of existence. Upon it He hath sent down His proof and revealed His decisive verses through its wisdom-laden tongue. He hath called all things wherein is found the breath of life unto His sanctified Being and summoned them to His worship, that all things might ascend from their lowly station to the supreme horizon, and in every moment witness within their own realm of possibility the boundless effusions of their Lord, rising unto the Concourse on High and ascending to the holy horizon, arriving at and making mention of the one incomparable God, single in His Essence and Attributes.

And when the infinite creation reached its end, He brought His new creation into being, manifested Himself unto it through its own self, shone forth upon all created things, and made it manifest in that manifestation. After the complete manifestation of that sanctified Being, He raised it up and made manifest the second of His manifestations in the station of all creation, through which He shone forth upon all things. In this way and manner He made manifest His infinite revelations in every age and made evident in every era a Prophet and a Book, calling His creation unto Himself, until He sealed the Messengers with Muhammad, His Apostle, revealed unto Him His Book of Truth which was the true Furqan, and in it called His creation unto the Manifestation of His Self, making him the Manifestation of His Divinity, as He hath revealed in His verses, which are His words, in several instances.

And when the new creation reached its end, He brought His unseen manifestation from the horizon of “Thou shalt never behold Me” into the realm of existence, and brought His own sanctified Self from behind the holy veils of pre-existence and eternity into the arena of time and space, and lifting the veil from His unseen countenance, manifested Himself openly and evidently unto His servants, that the entirety of creation might be illumined by His countenance and enlightened by the Sun of His mercy, that they might hear in the manifest outer word the inner hidden meaning, hearken unto the Word of Truth, and present themselves before His Self in the hour of meeting Him, appearing before God in that holy presence. And becoming illumined by the Sun of His mercy, they outwardly heard the inward, and hearkened unto the Word of Truth, and came into His presence at the time of presenting themselves before Him, becoming as supplicants unto God, and attending that holy gathering.

And in this Dispensation, as the divine requirements took effect and His decrees spread forth, some among the servants became veiled and turned away from that holy Being. But those who sought the truth and yearned for the manifestation of reality in that day attained unto the Manifestation of the possible, hearing from the Unseen of the unseen the call that “All things shall perish except His Face.” And becoming illumined by the light of their Lord’s beauty, they brought forth the breeze of life, journeying from the depths of eternity toward the ocean of forever, and from the ocean of forever toward the sea of perpetuity, acquiring the pearls of love and knowledge, glorying and rejoicing therein in the most exalted Paradise. This continued until the divine decrees took effect and His ordinances descended and were fulfilled, and that holy Tree returned to its own truth as it had been before.

Then the gates of God’s infinite bounties were cut off and closed, and those in whom remained but a single breath of life became afflicted in the darkness of the horizons and souls—some by confinement, some by chains, some by devotion, and some by hunger and nakedness—each one afflicted in some manner, passing these transient days until whatever God willed of the remnants of His Cause that remained from the effulgence of His Manifestation became operative and flowing.

Now the Point of Truth is concealed in the throne of His invisibility, watching over His servants, witnessing the Concourse on High, sending down upon them His effulgences, and being aware of their deeds in all that was and will be created. He is the Point of nearness and remoteness—His remoteness is His nearness and His nearness His remoteness, for the Essence of Eternity is sanctified above this, and the Manifestation of Ancient Days is holy beyond such mention. He hath placed the sign of His truth in every form, bringing forth within it infinite effulgences, and through that effulgence He hath manifested Himself to all creation. Whoever hath adopted the character of the spiritual ones and the exalted ones, that sign of effulgence hath appeared in them, and they have witnessed in their hearts the mystery that “He is closer to you than your life-vein.” Whoever hath turned away from that sign of truth hath entered into remoteness and veiling.

Those who are illumined by the dawning-lights of eternity have entered the depths of eternity, acquiring the pearls of perpetuity and the coral of faith and certitude in the manifestations of knowledge and ecstasy. Through the sign deposited within their hearts they have drawn near unto their Lord and witnessed the divine effulgence in being “closer to them than their life-vein,” delivered from the fire of remoteness and attaining the light of nearness, receiving bounty from the Source of Glory, from the never-failing Bestower of Grace, witnessing in the sign of their hearts the divine manifestations and the holy concealed fragrances. Having inhaled the fragrances of divine mysteries within the signs of their own hearts, and having become that Bird of Truth soaring in the eternal realms of the Concourse on High, ascending to the holy station, they witness at every moment the endless outpourings of God, the All-Glorious, within their heart, soul, spirit and body.

They hear the call “Verily I am God, there is no God but Me” from the hidden and treasured verses within their hearts, and through that revelation, inspiration, and divine utterance they behold the manifestations of their own reality. In the mirrors of their hearts, which are the signs of inner consciousness and perception of truth, they witness the mystery that “We are closer to you than your life-vein,” and observe the holy fragrances in the glass of their hearts. At every moment, through the divine effulgences and the glances of nearness and the manifestations of intimacy, they become attracted and detached from all else but God, with nothing in creation becoming a veil between them and Him.

As for those who have become heedless of the sign of truth and negligent of divine lordship, they have become veiled from the sign of truth, their nearness hath been transformed into remoteness, they remain deprived of the radiant lights of eternity in the realm of nothingness, become veiled from the gleaming lights of manifestation on the horizon of Sinai, and have transformed their spirit of truth into an animal spirit. Unaware, they act day and night, remaining separate from both truth and creation, returning to their own nothingness, becoming as clay, bringing about the extinction of their spirit, body and soul, with no mention of them remaining in existence—save for those whom divine grace and mercy have encompassed, upon whom the infinite divine manifestations descend at every moment, upon whom the suns of His glory rise and shine in the orbit of His exaltation, and upon whom the holy stars of His grandeur gleam and radiate.

In their hearts, spirits, souls and bodies, they witness the signs that prove the existence of God, and with the ear of their spirit they hear the call “Hearken unto that which is revealed unto you from your Lord.” Upon their tongues flows the words “Our Lord! We have heard one calling to faith, and we have believed in him,” and entering through the gate of God’s mercy, they utter the word of remission. They enter the City of Oneness while its people are heedless, and dwell in the pavilions of holiness.

How blessed are those who behold the manifestations of Truth, whom nothing can veil, who at every moment are illumined by His novel splendor, who witness His signs of glory and creation in their own contingent and created realms, who through nearness itself witness the sign of nearness and draw near unto God, who through remoteness itself witness the sign of remoteness and become remote from all save the divine manifestations, and who behold in their hearts the hidden and treasured manifestation that “He is closer to you than your life-vein.” The manifestation of “We are closer to him than his life-vein” is concealed within that hidden verse in their hearts, and by it they have worshipped their Lord day and night, and through it they have gazed toward God, seeing it as the means of their attainment unto their Creator. They have looked to the truthful words stating that “servitude is an essence the inner reality of which is lordship,” and according to this utterance they have grasped the true knowledge revealed in God’s Book as expressed by the truthful ones, thereby ascending to the Supreme Concourse.

Thus, they have ascended to the sacred place as far as possible, and have not regarded the knowledge of the Bayan as they regarded ancient knowledge, for previous knowledge compared to this is as nothingness and extinction before eternity and perpetuity. In previous Manifestations, just words were manifest from the inmost heart, while in this Dispensation divine verses have been revealed in manifest form, attracting all created things past and future, save certain Prophets—upon them be prayers and glory—unto whom the words of truth were revealed. As He says in the Torah, speaking directly to Moses without veil, addressing him and in certain instances calling him Lord and created things as lordly ones. Similarly in the books of all Prophets, as He says to David: “Thou art My son, today have I begotten thee,” and in other instances says: “Thou art the son of My beloved, in thee am I well pleased,” and elsewhere states: “Israel is My firstborn.” Similar divine utterances are found regarding other Prophets, as the people of the Gospel interpret the words of the Torah and Psalms of David regarding Jesus—peace be upon Him—with some considering Him God, others the Son of God, and yet others the intermediary between God and creation, each following their own way.

All this knowledge compared to the new knowledge is as darkness to light, as a hidden sun. Therefore strive to grasp true knowledge and know that God’s infinite manifestations have filled heaven and earth, and His all-encompassing revelations have embraced all created things past and future. There is nothing except that God has manifested Himself upon it through a sign of His Self, thus all things proclaim “There is no God but He, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.”

As for what was mentioned in the words of the ancients that “the Friend is nearer to me than myself”—this is a remote saying and strange utterance. How can the created be nearer to the Creator than the Creator’s own Self? God forbid! Unless we say that Friend is the Reality of the Essence in the unseen of unseens within the witness of witnesses, where no mention is made of creation and no existence is referred to therein. However, His nearness and remoteness becomes apparent in one’s recognition and shines forth in one’s knowledge. Should ye attain unto the True One and be in the state of communion, it is grace itself that followeth thereafter, for the Creator standeth revealed. Yet should ye remain distant—that is, fail to reach unto that Reality—in that very remoteness lieth nearness, which is the essence of grace itself, inasmuch as the signs of His manifestation are within you. And this is the verity: that communion is far from you, for ye cannot achieve the knowledge of Him, yet He is near unto your hearts, for He placeth the tokens of His own Reality therein, that thereby ye may attain unto nearness and Truth.