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

BH00629: Glorified be He Who sent down verses aforetime when…

He is the Mighty, the Everlasting, the Beautiful!

Glorified be He Who sent down verses aforetime when there was no “before”, and Who sendeth them down as He pleaseth by His command. Verily He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the Able, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. His is the bounty and grace; He singles out whom He willeth with mercy from His presence, and verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Omnipotent.

O My Name! Hearken unto that which the Spirit imparteth unto thee, that thou mayest soar in this atmosphere which hath spread forth beneath this heaven that hath been raised in this cloud, and mayest hear the call of all atoms in the kingdom of names and attributes, that there is no God but Him, and that the Primal Point is His Argument and His Beauty, then His Manifestation and His Majesty unto all who are in the heavens and the earth. Whoso draweth nigh unto Him hath drawn nigh unto God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from God. This is the truth, there is no doubt therein, if ye be of them that know. To this beareth witness My tongue, then My spirit and My heart, then My being and My pen, if ye be of them that hear.

Say: By God the Truth! Through Him were raised the heavens of justice, and appeared the clouds of grace, and the rain of bounty poured forth upon all the worlds. Were it not for Him, none would know God’s grace and generosity, and none would find the holy shore of glory’s sacred seat. By God! Through Him wafted the breezes of eternity, and sang the Dove upon the twigs of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing. Through Him was perfected the proof unto all creation, and by Him revolved the spheres of existence, and the Fire of God called out from the Tree that speaketh truth in the sacred and exalted Sinai. From Him began the works of creation, and were inscribed upon the Tablet the mysteries of what was and what shall be in preserving tablets of glory. Unto Him return the deeds of all things, if ye be of them that know.

Know thou that the source and return of all things is Him, and from Him was differentiated the Point of Knowledge in the mysteries of destiny behind the sea of might and grandeur, raining down the showers of grace, if ye be of them that witness. Unto Him returneth all knowledge and certitude, and every deed and intention from this day unto the Day whereon God’s Greatest Treasure shall appear in a new holy raiment.

Know thou that thy Lord was and forever shall be a Hidden Treasure in the essence of His Being, and shall ever remain concealed from His creation, for eyes comprehend Him not while He comprehendeth all eyes, and He is the All-Subtle, the All-Informed. He it is Who sent the Messengers aforetime and revealed the Books thereafter. Verily there is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Luminous, Whom none can know and unto Whom no birds of the hearts of the seekers can ascend, for He created all that is in the heavens and earth by the Word of Command which was called “Be” before “It is”, if ye be of the certain ones.

How can that which was created by His command, His sovereignty, His might and His power, draw nigh unto Him or know Him as He is? Glorified be He above what the remembering servants imagine concerning Him! Therefore testify within thyself, then in thy spirit, then in thine essence, that there is no God but Him, that He hath ever existed in His Essence, manifest among His servants, self-subsisting amidst His creation. Verily He is the Single, the Self-Sufficient, the Most High, the Mighty, the Gracious. Thus have We sprinkled upon thee from the vast ocean of might and splendor, and cast upon thee the … of the worlds.

Say: The gates of attainment and meeting are shut against the knowledge of His Essence. He hath manifested, through His grace, Eternal Manifestations and Dawning-Places of Oneness, that they might speak of their Manifestor among His creation and their Sender among His creatures, and He hath made the recognition of them the same as His recognition, and meeting them the same as meeting Him. This is the indubitable truth, and there exists no station, abode, beginning or end higher than this, from the beginning that hath no beginning unto the end which His knowing servants cannot reckon. This is the ultimate station of the mystics and the final homeland of the lovers in the heaven of glory. This is the station wherein should anyone attempt to soar beyond it by the least degree, his wings would be consumed.

Those who have believed in the Unseen in these days and have turned towards Him Who is mentioned in every station and allusion, shall be sufficed from all else. This is a revelation from One mighty and wise. Thus have We expounded the verses for you and made clear every mighty wisdom, that ye may follow God’s commandments in these days when every soul is seized with the stupor of heedlessness and ignorance, rendering them as scattered dust, if ye be of those who know.

Know then that the Most Hidden Mystery and Most Treasured Secret and Essence of all gems is He Who can neither be indicated by any indication, nor known by any knowledge, nor comprehended by any comprehension, nor remembered by any remembrance. All describers fall short of describing Him. All the Prophets have acknowledged their powerlessness to know Him, and all the Messengers have confessed their failure to comprehend Him, as testified by their own souls, minds and tongues, if ye be of those who hear. This is the station of the pure Unseen and the absolute Mystery, if ye be of those who know.

Whoso believeth in the Unseen in his heart and testifieth to it with his tongue, and sanctifieth it from every peer, likeness, similitude, allusion, associate, helper and equal—such a one is counted among the truly sincere. Every Prophet and Messenger hath turned towards this Unseen, as have those who circle round the Throne and behind them the denizens of the highest paradise. This is mentioned in the first station and the first pavilion and the wise Remembrance and the ancient News. And in one station We mean by the Unseen the realities of Oneness and the eternal essences who were concealed in the Manifestations of old, as ye witness and are among those who testify. In the time of Moses, the Unseen was none other than Jesus in the heaven of names, and He foretold His appearance and was hidden in His days.

Likewise the Unseen in the time of the Spirit (Jesus) was Muhammad, the Messenger of God and Seal of the Prophets. Similarly the Unseen in His days was none other than ʿAli, through meeting whom the eyes of those near to God were solaced. And likewise in those days it was none other than He Whose appearance the Point of the Bayan foretold in tablets of ancient glory. We turn to Him in all matters and supplicate Him at all times and await His days as the believers await the paradise of nearness—nay, even more so, if ye be of the assured ones. Say: By God, Paradise itself is meeting Him, and the Hour is His arising amongst all created things.

Therefore We say that We believe in the Most Hidden Mystery and in His Manifestations, and We turn towards them and make no distinction between Him and them, except that they are His servants and creation. Thus sang the Mystic Dove upon this lofty Branch, that it might be God’s melody and His proof, then His testament and His all-sufficient evidence unto all worlds.

And thou, O Ahmad, purify thyself and thy spirit from those who have fabricated lies against God and in whose hearts hatred hath appeared. Then shun them and remain in detachment and steadfastness. Those who claim what they claim in themselves, say: Present yourselves in Our presence and before Us.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Purify my heart from the remembrance of anyone but Thee, and my soul from intimacy with aught else except Thee, and my feet from drawing nigh unto any other than Thee. Thou art, verily, powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the All-Compelling, the Mighty, the Powerful.

O Lord! Deprive me not of the sweet-scented breezes of Thy holy bounty, and number me not with those who exhale naught but the stench of hypocrisy throughout the world. Then remove from my heart their love and the love of those who love them and the love of that which their tongues utter. Thou art, verily, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Lord! Leave me not to myself or to anyone else besides Thee. Draw me ever closer unto Thee, establish for me a seat of truth before Thee, and join me with such of Thy servants as are nigh unto Thee—those whom nothing can sadden in their love for Thee and their contentment with Thy good-pleasure, whom no cause can hinder from reaching the shore of Thy Most Great Name, the Most Great, which Thou hast made the station of Thy Self in all that pertaineth unto Thee, and which Thou hast made pure and purified from all that pertaineth not unto Thee, reflecting Thine Ancient Beauty in the mirrors of Thy Name, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Lord! Detach me from myself and from all who have departed from Thy shadow, and cause me to enter beneath Thy mighty and impregnable shelter. Honor me with Thy presence in Thy wondrous days wherein Thy Lord of the Throne doth appear, the Dove doth warble, the Holy Dove doth coo, and Thy primordial Will doth don a new garment—days wherein all souls shall be in loss, all … shall prosper, all who are abased shall be exalted, and all who are poor and needy shall be enriched.

O Lord! Grant me what I have asked and what I have not asked, for Thou knowest better than I what is good for me. Verily, Thou art unto Thy servants the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

BH09444: Glory be unto Thee, O my God! This…

He is God!

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! This is Thy servant and the son of Thy servant who was moved toward the depths of the oceans of Thy grace, and who in his youth traveled from his homeland seeking to attain Thy presence, and traversed the path until he entered beneath the throne of proof and attained the light of nearness in the court of mighty glory and the radiance of the Beautiful One. Therefore I ask Thee, O my God, to give him to drink of the milk of Thy bounty so that he may raise the standards of Thy victory [in his youth] and arise in his maturity to serve Thy Cause, just as he arose in his youth at Thy command, that Thy proof concerning him may be fulfilled and that the breezes of nearness may take hold of him through Thy grace. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the Best-Beloved.

Baha

BH04151: Concerning the purport of the blessed verse: Cast it…

“Concerning the purport of the blessed verse: Cast it behind the Crimson Sea, O Thou Who art to be made manifest of God, in the world of the Ama, for Thine own sake; and conceal it within the Pole of Baha—meaning, within the very being and inmost reality of Him Whom God shall make manifest,’ my petition is the following: that, touching the true symbol and the principal intent, an intent which seemeth nigh unto our understanding, thou wouldst graciously vouchsafe to this servant an exposition thereof, and make it plain by thine utterance.”

O Salman! Hearken at this moment to that which the Spirit imparteth unto thee in these words, and to that which the Dove warbleth in the heaven of these allusions, that thou mayest know the mysteries of existence in this manifest Light.

Know thou that whatsoever the Mirror of Eternity hath interpreted in the words of God is truth, wherein there is no doubt. None may say “why” or “wherefore”, nor interpret from their own selves, for all this is associating partners with God in His Book. Moreover, be thou assured that this verse sent down from the heaven of the Divine Will—nay, all verses revealed by God—were revealed solely to inform the servants of the days of the next Manifestation in the future Resurrection. God intended none other than He Who shall appear thereafter, and desires naught else but this. Within this verse lie hidden the mysteries of the unseen and stored the treasures of knowledge. Well is it with him who knoweth them and concealeth their secrets in his heart.

Had they but imagined my station, sufficient would have been what they intended regarding me and how they transgressed against my cause, even rising to slay me and conspiring to shed my blood. By God! I concealed all this through my forbearance and covered it through my patience. Unto God do I complain of my sorrow and grief and suffering, and in Him have I placed my trust, and upon Him let His sincere servants place their trust.