Volume 036: Late Edirne (September 1867 – August 1868) (3 of 7)

BH00227: Ridvanu’l-Iqrar

Section 1: “This is the Paradise of Recognition which hath…”

This is the Paradise of Recognition which hath been sent down from God, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting.

In the Name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy, the Most Glorious!

God beareth witness through His Essence unto His Essence that there is none other God but Him. His is the creation and the command, and all are submissive unto Him. God testifieth by His Own Self unto His Own Self that there is none other God but Him. His is the glory and the eternity, His the grandeur and the splendor, His the might and the majesty. He giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and verily He is the Sovereign in the dominion of the divine cloud, and He is the Single One, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting.

God beareth witness in the loftiness of His might and the exaltation of His kingdom that there is none other God but Him. His is the sublimity and the power, His the glory and the might. He sendeth down from the clouds of grace that which purifieth the realities of all things, if they flee not from the direction of the Spirit. Thus hath the command been sent down from the dominion of eternity unto the people of Baha, that perchance mankind may be mindful in the days of their Lord.

Glorified be He Whom the kingdom of the dominion of the heavens and earth doth praise, and before Whom every soul prostrateth itself, as ye do witness. And they who know Him not this day prostrate themselves before His countenance, yet they understand not. Even as this is witnessed in the Concourse of the Bayan—they acknowledge God and Him Whom He sent aforetime, yet when He came unto them in another garment they denied Him. Thus observe in the Qur’an and before it in all religions, if thou be of them who ponder the Cause of their Lord.

The eyes of creation have never beheld the like of these who worship a name among names, then remain heedless of Him Who created it. Their likeness is as the likeness of those who worship idols yet perceive it not. Glorified be He Who hath ever been seated upon the throne of His mighty power in the eternal past, and Who hath been veiled from the comprehension of the Concourse of Glory and Majesty, then from the righteous and the learned, then from all eyes and visions.

And when He desired to shower upon the realities of all things and the hearts of all contingent beings the rain of grace and beneficence and the outpourings of bounty and favor, He rent asunder the veil of concealment and manifested Himself by the name of every Prophet in every age, until He manifested Himself by the name of ʿAli in the year sixty, then by this Name in the year nine according to the mystery of the line, until the days reached unto eighty. Then did the Beauty unveil Himself between the heavens and earth with evident sovereignty, and called out with the most exalted call through the tongue of His Self-Manifestation:

“Verily, I am He Who was God when there was none to be worshipped, and Knowledge when there was naught to be known, and Lord when there was none to be lorded over. I am He Whom none among all contingent beings hath known, nor shall any soul among all created things ever know Me. All that the knowers have known returneth unto the Word which was created by My utterance, and I am the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most Powerful, the Most High. I have created all beings for the knowledge of My Self and have sent down unto them My verses in truth, lest they should doubt My Cause, the All-Powerful, the Wondrous, the All-Encompassing. Whoso claimeth for himself more than this hath indeed fabricated against God Who created him by a command from His presence.” Thus was the command revealed in previous Tablets and is now being revealed, that it may serve as a proof from Us and an evidence from Our presence unto all creation.

O peoples of the earth! Know ye the value of that which We have sent down unto you, then detach yourselves from the imaginings ye possess and take hold of God’s verses with power. Follow ye not in the footsteps of those who, when the verses of God are recited unto them, wax proud against them, notwithstanding that by a single letter thereof have been created the realities of the people of the Divine Realm, then the realities of the people of the Realm of Dominion, then the souls of the people of the Kingdom and the Abha Realm, then whatsoever was and whatsoever shall be, if ye be of those who know. And I am He Who was powerful over whatsoever I willed, and I shall be powerful over whatsoever I desire. Never shall the wiles of the crafty withhold Me from My sovereignty, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Omnipotent. Say: Were We to desire to subjugate all created things and return them from existence into nothingness, We would assuredly do so through a word appearing from My Pen which moveth by virtue of My holy, glorious and bountiful fingers.

O thou who bearest My Name [Muhammad-ʿAli], hearken unto what the idolators say and what issueth from their mouths. By God! By reason of it have the hearts of the pure ones burned within their chambers, and the eyes of the divine verses have wept within the pavilion of words, and the Manifestations have rent from their forms the silk of allusions and the brocade of symbols. Thus do We inform thee with truth that thou mayest be among those who are well-informed. For they have objected to Him through Whose single letter were their realities created and their names exalted in the Kingdom of Names, and their traces made manifest throughout the realms of creation, and their mention elevated between earth and heaven, if ye be among those who witness.

And they have reached such heights of pride and denial as to deny the Proof of God and His Evidence, then the Manifestation of God and His Authority, then the Rising of God and His Power, then His establishment upon the throne of mighty glory. Verily those who speak like children when there ascendeth from the direction of thy Lord’s throne, the All-Merciful, deny those words which have descended from the throne of names and attributes, and when these are recited unto them their faces turn black and they are overwhelmed by the dust of hell, and there issueth from their lips that which causeth all who are in the heavens and earth to curse them. They say these words have not descended according to the divine nature. Say: O concourse of idolators! Perish in your wrath! By God, through these words hath appeared the nature of God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Supreme, the All-Knowing.

O Nabil! Know thou that We concealed the mysteries of the Cause at a time which neither those who believe in eternity in the past, nor those who believe in eternity have comprehended. We remained in Our essence unique, alone, singular, veiled from the eyes of all created things and concealed behind the sanctified veils in the retreat of the Divine Essence. And when We desired to manifest the Cause in the kingdom of creation, We took a handful of clay in the grasp of Our power, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Wise. Then We kneaded it with the waters of holiness and breathed into it a spirit from the spirits We had created in the heaven of eternity, and We fashioned it according to a temple from among the temples of holiness, and We named it Adam in the heaven of names, if thou be of them that know. Likewise, were We to take another handful and raise from it sanctified temples, then forms of the Concourse on High, then spirits of the Prophets and Messengers, We would verily have power to do so through My sovereignty which encompasses all created things and through My command which transcends all atoms, if thou be of them that understand.

Then the days rolled on until they reached these days wherein We manifested Our true Self with this Beauty through which We have revealed Ourselves to all the worlds. Thereupon rose against Me My servants whose names shall not be mentioned in My holy and exalted presence. Rather, I created their essences by the will of My command which createth through My word. I am He Who created the names and their kingdom, Who sent forth the attributes and their dominion, Who manifested the realities and their realm, while Our ancient Self remained sanctified above them all. Nay, We made them manifestations for Our servants who fell prostrate upon their faces before My transcendent, mighty and gracious countenance.

Therefore weep thou for this Lord by reason of what hath befallen Him such as hath befallen no one before, and there hath touched Him of afflictions that which causeth the spirits of the denizens of the realm of divinity to be cut off beyond the pavilion of holiness in the Most Exalted Paradise. Then was the table of the spirit withdrawn from the mouths of them that are nigh unto God. Thus have We imparted unto thee the word of truth that thou mayest become aware of a drop of what hath rained upon Us from the oceans of decree and be among them that know.

O Nabil! When thou journeyest from the direction of thy Lord to the regions of the horizons, remind the people of what befell the Bird of Pre-existence from the talons of the idolaters. Beware lest thou add or take away anything; rather, recount truthfully what thou hast seen for Our near servants. Say: By God! He Who was created by My word and was honored by meeting Me hath issued against Me that which kindled within him the fire of jealousy and hatred. But God hath revealed what was hidden in their breasts, and He, verily, is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Then they invented against Me whatsoever suited their desires that they might thereby instill hatred for the Youth in the hearts of the holy ones.

Say: Woe unto you and unto what your passions have commanded you! Yet God hath servants whom neither the veils of allusions nor whatsoever hath been created between earth and heaven can hinder. These are they who rend asunder every veil with the hand of power and might, and who recognize God through God and through that which appeareth from Him. By God! These are servants around whom circle the hosts of the Cause and whom the Spirit of Holiness doth aid at all times.

O servant! Remind the people and fear no one. Rather, place thy trust in the Self of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful. Then preserve thyself lest the pride of the turbans of every hateful ass cause thee to waver. Say: O people! Adorn your heads with the turbans of truthfulness and justice, not with that which is borne upon the backs of camels. Fear God and cast not the words of God behind your backs, and be not of the wrongdoers. Soon shall ye witness those who deny God and His sovereignty, then His greatness and His proof, mentioning Him with their tongues and counting themselves among those who truly make mention. Then the angels of the divine Command strike their remembrances upon their heads and say:

“Woe unto you, O concourse of the idolaters! Do ye give judgment against God and contend with His Self and war against His Essence, while ye read that which hath been sent down from Him? By God! Verily ye are in grievous loss!”

Soon these people will adorn their heads with green and white turbans and thereby pride themselves among men and be among those who rejoice—just as you have seen among the people of the Qur’an, how by claiming connection to one of Our names they wore green turbans, then denied Him Who created that name. Thus observe their condition and their lack of understanding, that you may be among those who know.

Say: O people! Adorn your heads with truthfulness and justice, then your temples with the robes of recognition. Beware lest you change God’s adornment among yourselves or be among those who say what they do not do and who are among the proud ones. Just as you have witnessed in these days that he who turned away from God and was proud against His verses forbids people from eating onions and drinking tobacco. Say: Be fair, O servant! Are these two acts greater in God’s sight than your turning away from God Who created you by His word? Be fair then, O people of understanding! Say: O people! Do you slay the Manifestation of God’s Self, then ask about the blood of a mosquito?

Woe unto you, O heedless ones! By God, O people, Mine eyes weep and the eyes of Ali in the most exalted Companion, and My heart and Muhammad’s heart cry out in the most glorious pavilion, and My soul and the souls of the Messengers call out at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary—if you be of those who perceive. And My grief is not for Myself, but for Him Who will come upon clouds of Command with clear and manifest sovereignty. For these people will not be content with His appearance and will deny His verses and reject His authority and wage war against His Self and practice deception in His Cause, just as they did with this Self in these days, as you have witnessed.

Section 2: “O people! Fear God and let not…”

Say: O people! Fear God and let not the world delude you with its vanities. Fear God and be among the God-fearing. O people! This is the Beauty of Ali among you—if you will not believe in Him, do not fabricate lies against Him nor cause hatred to enter the hearts of His servants, nor refute truth with what you possess, nor be among the ungodly. O Nabil! We have made you a fragrance from the fragrances of the Command, that people might find through you the sweet scents of this Shirt which was reddened by the blood of hatred and suspended between the heavens and earth. O Muhammad! Arise to uphold God’s Cause and His religion and His laws and His ways.

Then assist it with whatever you are able, that perchance the hands of harm may be kept from the hem of an upright Faith. For these people have changed God’s Cause within themselves and His favor upon their own selves, and have distorted God’s words from their proper places—thus were they among the doers and among those who turned away. Whosoever said that this Youth desired to abrogate the laws of the Bayan sought to cast doubt in the hearts of the rebellious ones. Say: Those endowed with iron sight will not be prevented by signs of limitation, but will enter the seat of divine unity in less than a moment.

And he who hath drunk of the Tasnim of holiness from the chalice of eternity proffered by the Youth of the Most Glorious shall never turn toward the cups of mortality offered by the temples of the doubters. Purify thy tongue from the mention of anyone besides Me, then remind the people that thy melodies may attract them to the holy and luminous direction. Then bear witness within thyself that there is no God but Him, and that Ali is the Manifestation of His Self amongst all the worlds, and that His Glory is for His revelation and concealment, and His might and grandeur among all created things. Through Him God distinguisheth between truth and falsehood, between the fortunate and the unfortunate, and the believers become distinguished from the ungodly.

Today no one’s call will be raised to God except through My love. Thus hath the command been sent down from the presence of One mighty and powerful. And if thou findest thyself alone in My Cause, be not disturbed, but remain steadfast, for by this will God’s Cause be established, if thou be of those endowed with luminous vision. For My loved ones are the pearls of the Cause and all others are but pebbles of the earth, and the pebbles must needs be more numerous than the precious pearls. One of these is better in the sight of God than a thousand thousand souls besides them, even as a piece of ruby is better than a thousand mountains of solid stone. Thus observe thou the Cause and the distinction between these and those, that thou mayest be of those possessed of certitude.

And if thou meetest Rida’r-Ruh, remind him of what hath befallen the Youth, then cast upon his countenance the spirit from Us. Thus hast thou been commanded from the presence of One Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Say: O Rida, dost thou laugh within thyself while the eyes of eternity weep by reason of what hath befallen Him from the harm of satans? Dost thou recline upon seats of ease while [the body of the Self of God] was troubled by the sting of the serpent in all days, nay, in every moment? O Rida! Arise to serve the Cause, then assist thy Lord, and tarry not for less than a moment, for thou art the Most Great Name in the preserved tablets of holiness. Then gather the people in the love of God and His Cause, then recite unto them what hath been sent down at this hour from the heaven of thy Lord, the Powerful, the Wise. Hast thou forgotten when thou didst enter the Garden of Paradise and wert present before the Throne, and there was revealed unto thee from the Divine Lote-Tree from behind a thousand veils:

“Verily I am God, there is none other God but Me, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Powerful.”

Then wert thou set ablaze by the beauty of the Chosen One revealed unto thee in the flame of fire, that the servants might be set ablaze thereby and the warmth of thy Lord’s love might be established in the hearts of them that know.

O Rida! By God, the Pen weepeth at My tribulation and My poverty, then at My loneliness and exile, and at how the fire of rejection hath been kindled in the hearts of them that turned away. Take thou the reins of the Cause lest Satan’s fingers meddle with it and prevent the people from drawing nigh unto thy Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Open thine eyes and behold what hath been sent down from thy Lord that thou mayest stand firm in the Cause in such wise that none in the heavens and earth may cause thee to waver. Say: My manifestation is My sovereignty, My proof is My Self, My evidence is My beauty, My hosts are My trust in God, My party is My power, and My testimony is My rising up before all the worlds in days wherein nations and governments and their armies rose up against Me, as ye have heard and were among them that heard.

O servant! Aid thou this Wronged One Who hath been opposed by one whom He taught the verses of his Lord, that he might assist the Cause and be among them that render aid. But when the breezes of assurance wafted and he found peace within himself, he rose up against God Who had created him by His word, until he pronounced judgment against Him and was among them that judge. But God protected His servant with the hosts of the seen and unseen, and aided him with truth, for He is the best of helpers and supporters.

Then remind My loved ones there and cast upon their faces what God cast upon thy face, that they may thank their Lord and be among the thankful ones, and stand firm in the Cause when Satan entereth among them with manifest hatred. O Radi’r-Ruh! Hearken unto the word of thy Lord and be not among them that hesitate. First, set not thy foot in any place wherein thou findest rancor against the Youth. Beware lest thou approach it, and remain in noble detachment. And when tablets and letters appear before thee against God and His sovereignty, then trust in God thy Lord and say:

“In the Name of God, the Most Impregnable, the Most Holy, the Mighty, the Wise.”

Then take, by God’s power, sheets of paper and write whatsoever God inspireth thee through His sovereignty in refutation of whoso hath rejected God, the Almighty, the Supreme, the Powerful. Beware lest vain imaginings take hold of thee; [consume] their veils and be not among them that imagine. At the moment when thou dost take up the pen, by God! the Most Great Spirit doth assist thee, and the Holy Spirit speaketh within thy breast, and the Spirit of Baha uttereth words through thy tongue. Thus be thou assured of thy Lord’s power and be of them that are certain. We have ordained in this Tablet for most of the loved ones that they write tablets proving this Cause and send them to all lands, that perchance thereby none shall be veiled from attaining the presence of God, the Mighty, the Beautiful. O servant! Act according to that which thou art bidden, delay not in executing thy Lord’s command, and be of them that act. Cast behind thee the world and all that is in it and upon it, then make thyself a bulwark of the Cause amidst these corrupters, lest they transgress their bounds and be of the transgressors.

And thou, O Muhammad, when thou arrivest in the land of Iraq and attainest the presence of the Interlocutor (Kalim), show him the garment of the Youth [and what] befell Him from His brother, that he may learn what hath come upon the Sovereign of Eternity from him whose name was exalted by His command. Thus hath it been sent down in truth from the heaven of an ancient Name.

O Kalim! Arise to champion the Cause, then assist thy Lord and be of them that render aid. And should Satan enter upon thee to cause thee to slip from thy Lord’s path, then seek refuge in God and remain under His impregnable protection. And if the tablets of delusion from him who hath waxed proud against God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Omnipotent, be brought before thee, cast them upon the dust, then take up the pen by My command, the Mighty, the Dominant, the All-Knowing. Then deliver unto him thy Lord’s command with kindly counsels, that perchance he may remember within himself and not wax proud before God, thy Lord and the Lord of all worlds. By God, O Kalim!

That which floweth from their pens befitteth their station—they speak as children and thereby oppose the Beauty of the All-Merciful. Behold then these heedless ones! They have reached such a state of heedlessness that they seek to prove their cause through My verses, then turn away from My beauty. What aileth these people that they can scarce comprehend a single utterance from God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing? Thus have their hearts been covered by the veil of self and desire, and lusts have seized them from every side, and they are as them that are dead. Leave their mention and what they possess, then shun them, then seek for thyself a safe retreat in the shadow of thy Lord’s protection and be of them that are at peace. And in all matters place thy trust in God, thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

O Nabil! Go thou forth with the Book of God and His robe of grandeur that through them the sweet fragrances of holiness may be diffused among all the worlds, that perchance hearts may be purified from the defilement of fancy and desire and return to the habitation of them that are nigh. Loose thy tongue in utterance, then mention what thou hast seen and witnessed of thy Lord’s Cause, that thereby the eyes of them that are veiled may be opened. And the Spirit be upon thee and upon those who, when the verses of their Lord are recited unto them, fall down upon their faces in prostration before God, the Lord of all things and the Lord of all worlds. And praise be to this Lord, for He is the Beloved of them that know.

BH00610: Suriy-i-A’rab

He is the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible, the All-Glorious

These are verses of God which have been sent down from the heaven of wondrous glory through the power of truth, verses which He hath ordained as His proof and testimony unto all creation. Therein He maketh mention of those among His servants who have recognized Him through His own Self, who have remained unaffected by the clamour of the ungodly, who have entered beneath the shadow of His providence, and who have taken abode in the shelter of His mercy which hath surpassed all created things. And this, verily, is a token of His bountiful favour. These are servants who are blessed by the Concourse on high and the well-favoured angels of God. These are servants who, as soon as the Daystar of Immortality once again cast its rays upon them from the Supreme Horizon, fell prostrate on their faces before God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.

O loved ones of God among the Arabs! Hearken to the summons of God issuing from this Tree which hath been raised up through the power of truth, every leaf of which proclaimeth within all things: Verily, I am God; there is no God but Him, the Most Holy, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful! Hasten, O people, unto the Tree of God, and seek shelter beneath its shadow. By the righteousness of the one true God! Were ye to search the reaches of earth and heaven, ye would find no refuge save beneath the shade of this Tree, a Tree which overshadoweth all mankind and through whose branches waft such divine breezes as will quicken every mouldering bone. Set your faces towards it and partake of its fruits, that your hearts may be purged thereby from the insinuations of every evil plotter.

Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as He hath delivered you from the wilderness of self and desire and rescued you from the depths of blindness and delusion on the Day whereon He hath appeared with the kingdom of His Cause, revealed His sovereignty unto all who are in heaven and on earth, enabled you to recognize His Self, disclosed His beauty to your eyes, openly and visibly conversed with you, and made you to rank among such of His servants as have recognized Him. Stand ye firm in the Cause, for the Evil One hath appeared with his hosts and prompteth you unceasingly to disbelieve in God, Who hath created you through His Command and caused you to attain His presence.

Give praise unto God for having chosen you for His own Self, inasmuch as after the Daystar of Eternity had set in its native land, it dawned above the horizon of Iraq, your own land. This indeed is a token of His gracious favour unto you, which naught in the heavens or on the earth can equal. The Countenance of God was in your midst, shining and resplendent, unveiled and unconcealed, and throughout the months and years He recited unto you the verses of your Lord. The Ancient Beauty walked among you with a dignity and composure born of God, and at every moment He revealed Himself unto you with a new effulgence. Thus were the favour of God and His grace fulfilled unto you, that ye might be of those who are thankful.

It behoveth you, therefore, to pride yourselves before all the tribes of the earth, for none have attained that which ye have attained, could ye but perceive it. It behoveth you, moreover, to clothe yourselves with the attributes of God, that from your hearts the fragrances of holiness may waft upon all created things and that from your beings the signs of your merciful and compassionate Lord may appear. Inasmuch as He hath singled you out from amongst all mankind, make ye an effort to show forth that which none before you have shown forth, that the distinction conferred upon you may be clearly demonstrated unto all men.

Shine forth as stars amongst the people of the earth, that ye may guide such servants as are veiled from the knowledge of God and of the Manifestation of His Cause and have been numbered with the heedless. Be true to yourselves and trustworthy towards your neighbours and the things they possess. This, in truth, is an attribute which was cherished by God ere He created Adam from water and clay. If ye be not trustworthy upon this earth, ye will never find assurance in your own hearts, nor will those around you feel assured in your regard. Thus doth God counsel you through the tongue of the Manifestation of His Cause. He, verily, is My Remembrance unto you and unto all creation.

Sanctify your hearts from envy and hatred and your souls from lust and corrupt inclinations. Act ye in accordance with whatsoever God hath bidden you, for He hath verily enjoined upon His servants naught save that which will profit them above all the treasures of earth and heaven. Beware lest ye contend with anyone over the things of this world. Leave them unto such as desire them, that your souls may find peace and that ye may exist wholly for the sake of your Lord, the Exalted, the Great.

The kingdom of wealth lieth in the hand of your merciful Lord. He bestoweth it upon whomsoever He pleaseth at His behest. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling, the Most Generous. Know ye, moreover, that God hath entrusted the earth into the hands of the kings and made them to be the manifestations of His power amongst His creation, should they enter beneath the shade of the Tree of His Cause. Beyond this, He holdeth in His grasp the power to command. He doeth as He willeth and ordaineth as He pleaseth. He hath never desired anything for Himself, but hath entrusted the world and all its vanities to such as have set their affections upon them. He hath sanctified His chosen ones from turning thereunto, for He hath desired for them that which shall endure throughout the eternity of His own august and mighty Self. That which He hath desired of the world is the hearts of His loved ones, that He may sanctify them from aught else but Himself and cause them to ascend to the court of abiding security, that station wherein naught is witnessed but the splendours of His Face and naught is mentioned but the remembrance of Me, the Almighty, the Incomparable.

Conquer, O people, the cities of the hearts of men with the sword of utterance in the name of your Lord, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beneficent. Thus hath the Tongue of the All-Merciful commanded you both now and aforetime. Fulfil that which ye have been bidden, and transgress not the commandments of God, your Lord and the Lord of the worlds. Beware lest ye contend with anyone regarding the Cause of God, for We have abolished the rule of the sword and decreed, as a token of Our bounty unto all mankind, that assistance unto God should be rendered through wisdom and utterance. Be ye enkindled, O people, with the heat of the love of God, that ye may enkindle the hearts of others. This is the meaning of rendering assistance unto God, did ye but know it. From all eternity God hath been sanctified above the world and whatsoever He hath created within it and upon it. Should He so desire, it is indeed within His power to subdue the earth and all who dwell therein by virtue of His name, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Omnipotent.

Transmute the hearts, O people, with the divine elixir, and eschew the remedy of them that have joined partners with God. He, verily, hath bidden you to observe piety and righteousness. Be righteous in the religion of God, and follow not your lusts and corrupt inclinations. Be of those from whose faces the light of your Lord, the Unconstrained, can be discerned, and in whose being the sign of God and His demeanour are revealed. This is that which beseemeth you, O people of Baha, in these days of tribulation.

Hearken, O My Arabs, to My call and follow in My way. Recall the days of our meeting and association, and then of My exile, banishment and imprisonment, that God may remember you in the realm of His transcendent bounty. Leave the cup that perisheth to the followers of self and desire, and seize the chalice of everlasting life from the fingers of Baha in the name of your Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High, in His Latter Manifestation. Verily, it will enable every soul to dispense with the world and all that is therein.

O Pen of the Ancient of Days! Bid Thou Our Arab servants whom God hath chosen for Thyself, caused to turn towards the court of Thy mercy, and severed from all association with the ungodly, to rejoice in their hearts and to arise to serve this Cause whereby the heaven of denial hath been cleft asunder and every proud and lofty mountain hath been scattered into dust. Say: O people! We, verily, foretold unto you, at the time of Our departure from Iraq, that the Samirí would appear, the Calf would raise its cry, and the Birds of the Night would stir into motion following the setting of the Sun. Take heed lest ye forget the words of God, and rise to the heights of sanctity.

I swear by God, O My Arabs! Could ye behold Me now, ye would fail to recognize Me. My raven locks have turned white from My successive calamities, the Alif of the Cause hath been bent into the shape of Dal through My incessant afflictions, and My glowing and radiant Countenance hath paled. O My Arabs! Neglect not My mention, and forget not My tribulation, My distress and affliction. By My life! Mine eyes are raining down tears and My heart is bewailing My treatment at the hands of the ungodly. By God! The Countenance of the Will of God hath been beclouded by the cruelty of its enemies, the Temple of His Purpose hath fallen upon the dust, Destiny hath rent the raiment of forbearance, and the Divine Decree hath been forestalled by reason of that which hath befallen God, the Exalted, the Most High, at the hands of the hosts of tyranny in the course of His Latter Manifestation.

Thus hath the matter been decreed, if ye be of them that hearken. Is there any defender who will render victorious the Beauty of God through the power of utterance, who will shield the Temple of His Cause from the swords of the people of the Bayan, and who will not allow the veils of names to debar him from the Most Great Ocean of this Remembrance of God and Source of wisdom? Is there any compassionate soul who will show mercy to this Wronged One, who will unwaveringly render Him assistance, and who will sever himself from all created things?

O My Arabs! He who was unable to speak in My presence hath arisen to take My life, even though We created him, reared him, educated him, and protected him at all times. By God! Were I to relate to you but one of the tales of the immortal Joseph and that which the wolves of hatred have inflicted upon Him, ye would renounce all attachment to your selves and to your souls, repair to the wilderness, and there lament until your spirits took leave of your bodies. In Our solicitude for you, however, We have restrained Our pen from dwelling thereon, O concourse of the sincere!

O My Arabs! Bewail My loneliness and My banishment, My imprisonment and My afflictions, and be not of the heedless. Those whose very countenance God hath made as a warning unto men have arisen in such opposition as no pen dare describe. Hearken, O My Arabs, to Mine utterance and approach not those from whom ye perceive the noisome odour of discord. Avoid such people and rise to the heights of sanctity. Thus biddeth you the Beauty of the All-Merciful while encompassed by such cares and sorrows as have been inflicted upon Him by the hosts of the Evil One, could ye but know it. The light that shineth from the precincts of eternity rest upon you, O people of Baha, throughout the eternity of the Sovereign King, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.

BH00112: Suriy-i-Asma’ (Lawh-i-Ibn?)

Section 1: “The fragrance of sorrows hath encompassed the Beauty…”

In the name of the One Beloved One

The fragrance of sorrows hath encompassed the Beauty of the All-Merciful, and the gates of joy and gladness have been shut by reason of the tyranny of the rebellious among the people of the Bayan. Fie upon them! It is most certain, evident and proven that every previous Manifestation hath given glad tidings of the subsequent Revelation according to the stations and capacities of the people—some through allusion and some through subtle intimations. But the previous Manifestation, beyond what can be conceived and comprehended, strove in counseling and educating the people of the Bayan. Yet that which came to pass came to pass.

We make mention of but one word, and We ask fairness of the people of the Bayan: Is it recorded in any passage of the divine Books that at the time of the subsequent Manifestation ye should tarry in accepting His Cause? Say: Produce it, if ye be truthful, nay, by my Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed! Furthermore, is it recorded in any passage of the Bayan that if someone should appear with verses ye should deny him or arise to slay him? And should anyone entertain doubts concerning these verses, such doubts would be identical to those raised by the exponents of perdition at the time of the appearance of the Manifestations of the Cause. I swear by the Sun of inner meanings that if the newly-revealed verses are denied, none would be able to establish the validity of previous verses.

And since the Point of the Bayan—may the souls of all else be sacrificed for His sake—was anticipating these days and what His servants would perpetrate, naught but firm counsels, sound admonitions and goodly exhortations concerning this Revelation flowed from the Most Exalted Pen. The Book of Names was revealed—consider what was its purpose. He specifically named it the Book of Names, and in those tablets He made mention of all names, one after another, and interpreted them, and then counseled the Manifestations of Names to turn to the Creator of Names.

O heart of the world! Hast thou an ear to hear what the Dove of Sorrows warbleth in this time wherein the cry of Satan hath been raised after the call of the All-Merciful? For We find the people of the Bayan in heedlessness and manifest loss. By His beloved Self! None hath yet understood why divine books of every kind were revealed, particularly the Book of Names. Thus doth the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, inform you. But where are the pure ears that might hearken to the call that is raised at every moment from the direction of the Divine Unity? And where are the penetrating eyes that might perceive the lights of divine wisdom shining from these luminous words? The Self-Subsisting hath appeared with a manifest countenance, and He is the Beauty of the Nine promised unto all. Nevertheless, the fetid odors of jealousy and hatred have so seized upon the wilderness that they are utterly fleeing from the divine fragrances and holy breezes. Say: O people! Follow not those against whom the word of punishment hath been fulfilled, from whose faces appeareth the wrath of God, the Sovereign, the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

It is not known what they would have done, had the Most Exalted Pen not been moved to set down these counsels and admonitions. Nay, by Him Who hath made me independent of all the worlds through that which He hath bestowed upon me by a grace from His presence: beyond what they have done, and what they purpose and intend, there was not, and shall not be, anything possible. And wondrous indeed is it that they recite the verses of God! By God, their Revealer curseth them, and yet they perceive it not.

The Best-Beloved of the contingent world, with firm and sound injunctions, hath foretold what they would do—even as hath been made manifest, and shall yet come to pass. With every soul for whom, out of reverence for the Cause of God, no regard was shown, they have displayed sincerity and servitude—thereby weakening the Cause of God; and throughout the regions they summon the people unto themselves. That deed is done in secret, and this deed openly. Some measure of fairness is required. In the end, this Servant hath had no personal enmity with any soul—this is most evident. Rather, whatever soul was not regarded was for the sake of the Cause of God, and as a manifestation of His sovereignty, and for the exaltation of His Word. Yet whosoever cherished rancour on this account, to him have they shown humility and submission—unto the hurt of the Cause of God and in rebellion against it.

And none among the loved ones of God, purely for His sake, hath restrained the idolaters from these grievous deeds. Hath then the trace of the divine Fire not remained within the hearts of men? Have the lights of the Lamp of Oneness not shone forth within the souls of the people? What hath come to pass, that the temples of men have not been kindled by this Fire, nor illumined by these Lights?

Say: O caravans of the cities of knowledge! The Beauty of the All-Merciful— the true dawn—hath risen from the horizon of the heaven of the Will of the All-Glorious. Hasten ye, that haply ye may be joined unto the hosts of them that draw nigh. Surely, the more lightly ye move, the better is it. Cast away the burden of those overthrown allusions, and turn your faces toward the realm of oneness. The Pen of Eternity proclaimeth: Hear ye not My lamentation and My moaning? Or hear ye, yet comprehend not? If ye be powerless to soar in the pure airs of meanings, then soar at least in the air of words. If ye apprehend not the wondrous Arabic verses of this Revelation, ponder ye on the Persian Bayan which I caused to descend aforetime, and on the Persian words that have been revealed in this Dispensation, that ye may find unto the Truth a way. For by Him in Whose heart the fire of His love hath been kindled in such wise that the waters of the world’s aversion can never quench it: the Day-Star of the Bayan had no purpose save this Manifestation. My soul be a sacrifice unto Him! He hath not been remiss in proclaiming My Cause; rather are the people themselves remiss and negligent.

Whosoever, for one hour, sanctifieth himself, for the sake of God, from veils and allusions, and meditateth on that which hath descended from the Kingdom of God in Arabic and Persian, shall, by God, be severed from all the worlds, and shall lament for this wronged One—this imprisoned, this lonely Stranger. The very stones, hard as they are, at the Word of God, are moved to wailing and moaning, yet mankind remaineth sunk in grievous heedlessness. Thus is it that in the Books of God revealed aforetime it hath been said that rivers flow forth from rocks, yet from the hearts of the wicked no trace appeareth. God— the Exalted, the Great—hath spoken the truth.

Know thou, O seeker, that the Word of God is comprehensive of all meanings—that is, within it are concealed all divine significances and mysteries. Blessed is he that attaineth unto it and bringeth forth the hidden pearls enshrined therein. Regard thou the effulgence of the Word of God as the effulgence of the sun. Even as the sun, once risen, shineth upon all things, in like manner doth the Sun of the Word, which hath dawned from the horizon of the Lordly Will, cast its splendours upon all. I ask God’s forgiveness for this similitude, for the visible sun itself draweth its sustenance from that all-embracing Word. Ponder, that thou mayest know. Yet the radiance of the visible sun is perceived by the outward eye, whereas the radiance of the Sun of the Word is perceived by the inward eye.

By Him in Whose hand is my soul: should, for one moment, the inner aid and power of the Word of God be cut off from the world and its people, all would become nonexistent and be brought to naught. And if any soul look with the eye of God, he shall behold its light and splendour in all things; and likewise, if he turn, with a pure ear by God’s leave, he shall hearken, at every hour, unto the primal divine Call. The Voice of God is ever raised; yet ears are withheld. The effulgence of the Luminary of the horizons is manifest; yet eyes are veiled. O discerning one! A skilled physician is needed, that haply he may, with the Most Great Elixir, remove the dimness from men’s sight and transmute the copper of existence into gold.

Would that the arena of the knowledge of the Beloved of the worlds were widened for such as have attained, that from the outward letters of the Word limitless knowledges might be made manifest and set forth in detail!

A malady hath seized the people whose removal is exceedingly hard, save for him that seeketh healing from the Most Great Antidote. And this is: that whosoever, in his own fancy, hath in some measure inhaled the fragrance of knowledge, hath imagined the Truth to be like unto himself. Most are, in this day, afflicted with this disease; and this hath become the cause that they have remained deprived of the Truth and of what is with Him. Implore ye God to purify hearts and to sharpen vision, that haply they may know themselves, distinguish the Truth from all besides Him, and apprehend the purpose of the Truth from the words that have been revealed.

Had the peoples attained unto the divine purpose, they would not have remained veiled at the time of His manifestation. Although they recited the divine Book for years, they failed to grasp a single letter of its meaning, being utterly veiled and heedless of its purpose, though all was recorded and inscribed in God’s Book. All were deprived to such extent that even some matters known to the common people were unknown to those who counted themselves among the elect—such as the presence of the Qa’im in the well-known city. So firm were they in this belief that they condemned to death anyone who suggested that His Holiness would be born. Consider how remote and deprived the learned ones were, until in the year sixty the veil was rent asunder and all that was hidden became manifest.

Likewise concerning the Resurrection and all pertaining to it—none had attained to a drop from the ocean of these utterances in God’s Book, all having mistaken the mirage for water, as was witnessed. Beyond these matters, they remained veiled from the very knowledge of the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and the dust of fancy and the clay of conjecture prevented all creation from the divine presence, until the Most Great Purifier came and bathed the people in the most pure Kawthar, inviting them to the most luminous horizon and giving them glad tidings.

Now observe what was revealed were excellences of which all were heedless. And if it be said that all was concealed and treasured in God’s Book, and that in the manifestation of the Point of the Bayan—may the spirit of all existence be sacrificed for Him—the veiled meanings in the divine words emerged from behind the veil in the chambers of utterance, this is the truth in which there is no doubt. And if it be said that what was mentioned before in summary came to be explained and detailed, this is the truth in which there is no doubt. And if it be said that what appeared in this wondrous Revelation had no precedent and all is new, this saying too is correct and complete.

For if God, glorified be His Name, should today speak a word that all people have spoken heretofore and shall speak hereafter, that word would still be new, were ye to reflect upon it. Consider the term “Divine Unity”, which the Manifestations of God have uttered in every Dispensation, a goodly term which all the divers peoples and kindreds of the world have spoken. Nevertheless, in each Dispensation, it hath been made new and hath in no wise been divested of its novel character. Into every word that God doth speak a new spirit is breathed, and the breezes of life are wafted therefrom upon all things both outwardly and inwardly.

That some people should speak of certain imaginary concepts and take pride and glory in them is wholly rejected and unmentionable in God’s sight, for true glory lies in recognizing God and in steadfastness and firmness in His Cause, not in outward utterances. As the previous Manifestation hath stated these truths, observe ye that ye may understand. For instance, those who have ascended to the pinnacle of recognition and those who remain at the lowest level are accounted as one in God’s presence, for the nobility of knowledge and wisdom lies not in knowledge itself but in whether it leads to recognition of God and acceptance of Him. Otherwise it is rejected. All words in that realm are mentioned in the same degree—for example, if one were to say “begotten” it would be as His saying “neither begetteth nor is begotten.”

Although outwardly the divine abstraction from all likeness and peer represents the highest stage of human understanding—as this station is indeed considered most lofty among people—yet even this distinction depends on God’s acceptance and is realized through His will. Thus in the Dispensation of the Qur’an and the Bayan, the divine Will was attached to pure abstraction and absolute sanctification. Therefore the effects of these utterances became fixed and manifest in the hearts of the servants. Otherwise, that Ancient Beauty is sanctified above all such contingent words and that most holy Court is exalted above all such expressions. One must look to the root of God’s Cause, not to the high or low stations of verbal recognition established among creatures.

Would that I could reveal what is hidden! Yet incapacity stems from the veiling of souls, for verily He is the Self-Sufficient, the All-Praised. At one time He said “Thou shalt not see Me” and at another time He said “Look and thou shalt see Me.” In brief, today whosoever accepteth that which hath been sent down from the heaven of God’s Will hath attained the ultimate pinnacle of recognition, and without this he is deprived and as nothing. We beseech God to assist us and you to be steadfast in this Cause, through which the kingdom of names was revolutionized and the inhabitants of the cities of creation were intoxicated, save those whom guidance preceded from God, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting.

O thou who art turned towards Me! Ponder well on that which hath flowed from the Most Exalted Pen, that the gates of infinite knowledge may be opened before thy heart’s countenance, and thou mayest find thyself independent of all save God. Think not that the Revelation of Truth is confined to the manifestation of outward knowledge and the alteration of established laws among mankind. Rather, at the time of its appearance, all things become the bearers of boundless grace and capacities, and these shall be revealed according to the requirements of time and earthly means. In this connection, a brief response was sent down from the heaven of the All-Merciful’s will to one of the Christian priests dwelling in the great city, and here we mention some of it, that perchance certain servants may become aware of some of God’s consummate wisdom that is hidden from sight. His exalted Word declares:

“Thy letter hath been presented in the Kingdom of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, and We have taken it with fragrance and spirit, and have answered thee before thy question. Reflect that thou mayest know, and this is from the grace of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Help in Peril. Blessed art thou for having attained unto this, though it be veiled. It shall be unveiled unto thee when God willeth and desireth, and thou shalt behold what no eye hath seen.”

O thou who art immersed in the sea of divine knowledge and who gazeth toward thy Lord, the All-Merciful! Know thou that this Cause is mighty, mighty indeed. Consider, then remember him who was named Peter in the Kingdom of God. Verily, despite his exalted station, his sublime rank and his lofty position, his feet nearly slipped from the straight path. But the hand of grace seized him and preserved him from error, and made him to be of those endued with certitude. If thou wert to recognize this melody wherewith the Dove coothed upon the branches of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, thou wouldst surely be convinced that what was mentioned aforetime hath been fulfilled in truth. Then shall one feast in the Kingdom of God upon eternal and everlasting bounty, and drink from the Kawthar of realities and the Salsabil of inner meanings. But the people are veiled by a mighty veil. Verily, those who heard this call and remained heedless thereof—it would have been better for them had they not existed than to hesitate in this Cause. Yet that which was to appear hath appeared, and the matter hath been decided by God, the Mighty, the Glorious, the Unconstrained.

Section 2: “O people! The Spirit hath come again…”

Say: O people! The Spirit hath come again to fulfill for you what He said before. Thus were ye promised in the Tablets, did ye but know. Verily, He sayeth as He said, and He sacrificed His spirit as He sacrificed it the first time, out of love for those who are in the heavens and on earth.

Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.

We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified.

Leprosy may be interpreted as any veil that interveneth between man and the recognition of the Lord, his God. Whoso alloweth himself to be shut out from Him is indeed a leper, who shall not be remembered in the Kingdom of God, the Mighty, the All-Praised. We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. He it is Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.

Know thou that He Who ascended to heaven hath in truth descended, and through Him the breezes of grace wafted over the world—and thy Lord is witness to what I say. The world was perfumed by His return and His appearance, but those who are occupied with the world and its ornaments perceive not the fragrance of the garment, and We find them in grievous error. Say: The Bell peals with His Name and the Trumpet with His mention, and He Himself testifies to His own Self. Blessed are they that know. But today the leper is cleansed before being told “Be thou pure,” and through His manifestation the world and its people have been healed of every disease and sickness. Exalted be this grace that no grace hath preceded it, and exalted be this mercy that hath embraced all the worlds.

O thou who art mentioned in the Kingdom of God! Rise up by the power of thy Lord and say: O people of the earth! He Who is the Quickener of the world hath come, and He Who kindleth the fire in the heart of the world hath appeared. The Herald hath called out in the holy wilderness in the name of Ali-before-Nabil, and hath announced unto the people the meeting with God in the Most Glorious Paradise, whose gate hath been opened through grace unto the faces of those who have turned towards Him. That which was inscribed by the Supreme Pen in the Kingdom of God, the Lord of the first and the last, hath been fulfilled, and he that willeth may partake thereof, for verily it is a wondrous sustenance. Say: The Most Great Bell hath appeared, and the hand of the Divine Will ringeth it in the Paradise of Oneness. Hearken, O people, and be not of the heedless ones.

God willing, souls shall appear who will comprehend the purpose of God, exalted be His glory, from these utterances, and who will strive with the utmost submissiveness and humility to protect and safeguard His Cause from the rejected ungodly souls. Verily, He hath power over whatsoever He willeth. Whosoever hath been blessed with a drop from the Kawthar of utterance perceiveth that in the Manifestation of the Point of the Bayan there appeared that which had been hidden from eternity, and this Manifestation and the previous one are identical to the appearance of John the son of Zacharias and the Spirit. This hath been mentioned in some of the revealed Tablets—consider ye this.

This is that Manifestation Who hath come for the capacity of the people of the world. The time of the passing away of the world and its people hath arrived. He Who was eternal hath come to bestow eternal life, to make enduring, and to grant the essence of life. That which was revealed in the Bayan hath been fulfilled. This is that promised Beauty Who said, “He Who cometh after Me is before Me.” His was that call raised between heaven and earth saying “Make straight the divine stations”—meaning the hearts—and it was the same call that John the son of Zacharias made before the Spirit, saying “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.”

Better would it be for a viper to be born of its mother than for a human to be born and become known for opposition in the Divine Kingdom. Blessed are the barren; woe unto those who nurse! Say: The Supreme Pen declareth: O ye who are lost in the wilderness of passion! Ye reject Me while claiming to accept him who spoke in My remembrance. Ye speak falsely, O people of darkness who flee from the resplendent morn! Were ye to draw nigh, assuredly your rejected deeds of self would be exposed in the light. Woe unto those souls who are heedless of these days and their fruit! Soon shall they lament for themselves and find none to console them.

Blessed are the truthful ones who have attained unto manifest truth. Blessed are the knowing ones who have recognized the straight path of God and turned unto His Kingdom. Blessed are the joyous and sincere ones whose heart-lamps are lit with the oil of the recognition of the All-Merciful and are protected by the glass of detachment from the blowing of the winds of sorrow and trial. Well is it with the stout-hearted whose hearts have not been weakened by the oppression of the tyrants, and well is it with the seeing ones who have fixed their gaze upon both permanence and evanescence, have turned their faces toward that which endureth forever, and are remembered among the people of eternity in the most exalted heaven. Their hearts shall surely not weaken, for they are possessed of insight.

Say: O servants! In either case ye shall be slain and sacrificed, whether by the swords of illness or by the swords of the heedless. This being so, if ye should be put to death by the swords of the idolaters in the path of the Best-Beloved of the worlds, this would be more beloved and befitting, for the blood-money is the Beloved Himself. Forget not this precious fruit, nor let it slip from your grasp. How blessed is the state of the righteous, from whose deeds the sweet fragrance of divine acceptance is wafted abroad. How wretched is the state of the tale-bearers, the mischief-makers, and the oppressors, even should they appear among men with wealth and glory. Erelong shall sudden abasement and endless wrath lay hold upon such souls.

The Word that was formerly revealed hath at all times appeared with a wondrous spirit from the horizon of the mouth of the Will of the All-Merciful—that Word which I addressed to the Son, meaning the Spirit, saying: Moses came for religion and ritual, and the son of Zachariah for baptism, but I am come to give everlasting life and to bring them into the eternal Kingdom. Say: O friends! Thieves and traitors lie in wait in their ambush. O bearers of the trust of the All-Merciful! Be not heedless, but guard the pearls of divine love from the robbers. I swear by the Day-Star of the horizon of inner meanings that whoso faileth in this Day to rend asunder the veils of idle fancies shall not hear the divine call.

Well is it with such souls as have shattered the idols of vain imaginings through the power of God and, having heard the call of the All-Merciful, have risen from among the dead. Upon them be wafted the sweet savors of God, the Lord of names and attributes.

O people of the earth! The call of the All-Merciful hath been raised between earth and heaven, and the heart of the world hath been set ablaze by the hearing of the divine Word, and yet the cold-hearted remain in the graves of heedlessness and oblivion. They have not felt its warmth, much less its flame. They shall abide forever in their graves. Arise, O people, to the aid of God! The Self-Subsisting hath come unto you—He of Whom the Qa’im gave you tidings. Through Him the Most Great Convulsion and the Supreme Ordeal have appeared. The sincere rejoice at His manifestation, while the idolaters are consumed by the fire of malice. Say: I adjure you by God, O people of the Bayan, to be fair in but one word: your Lord, the All-Merciful, hath not made this Cause dependent upon anything that hath been created in all existence, even as was revealed in the Bayan—yet ye have done to His Beloved what ye have done.

Had this Revelation been made contingent upon aught beside Him, ye would not have perpetrated such acts, O company of oppressors! Is there any that hath a hearing ear or penetrating vision, that he might hear and perceive? Say: The Eye of God weepeth, while ye sport and play. O ye at whom the Concourse on high stand bewildered because of your deeds!

O My friends! Ye are the fountains of My utterance. From each of you floweth a drop from the river of divine meaning. With the arm of certitude cleanse these fountains from the debris of doubts and vain imaginings, that from you may appear firm and conclusive answers to questions such as these. In this Most Great Revelation, all must become manifest in sciences and wisdom, for all creatures, nay all things, have in these days that admit of no doubt received, each according to its capacity, the outpourings of divine grace through the breathing of the divine breezes. Within the depths of the revealed Words lieth the answer to both the mentioned questions and the hidden mysteries. God willing, gaze upon His words with divine vision that ye may understand what was intended. This very question was asked of the Spirit, concerning the son of Zachariah who came and called the people to truth and performed the baptism. What was the purpose of his appearance, and what did He say concerning this Revelation? He came to bear witness unto Me and fulfilled that whereunto he was commanded, and I came to set ablaze the peoples of the world.

O thou who gazest upon the Most Great Scene! Sorrows have reached such a degree that the Tongue of the All-Merciful hath been silenced from utterance. By God! Mine eye weepeth, and My tongue moveth, and My pen writeth that which floweth therefrom, as witnessed by him who standeth before My face. For the people of the Bayan have become so veiled that were they to witness today from anyone that which is contrary to what the Ancient and Eternal Truth, glorified be His majesty, hath ever commanded, they would accept it. For instance, the chief of prevaricators hath written that verses were a proof at the beginning of the Manifestation but are no longer so. Say: O people of the Bayan!

Be fair, by God, your Lord, the All-Merciful! Setting aside this divine Servant and the manifestations of eternal glory revealed in this Revelation, consider ye the entire Bayan and judge for yourselves. You who were not content with the judgment of Truth and what was sent down from His presence—yet Truth, if justice be observed, is content with your judgment, that perchance an eye might open in fairness and turn toward God. It is most evident that the entire Bayan, explicitly and without interpretation, opposeth this statement that turneth away from God. Nevertheless, with such audacity and without concealment they have opposed and continue to oppose the entire Bayan while considering themselves its champions.

By God! The Bayan lamenteth because of them and curseth them. Now, for the sake of God, reflect a little: what is the cause of their striving with such audacity to violate the sanctity of God’s Book? This is most obvious and clear that the cause is the acceptance of some among the people of the Bayan. Otherwise, by Him Who made Me speak with truth and manifested Me to establish His Cause, were they not confident, they would never show such audacity. This is among the most great wisdom of God revealed in the Bayan, such that not a line is inscribed therein except that it mentioneth, whether allusively or explicitly, that ye should not hesitate at the next Manifestation and should seek naught but verses.

Nevertheless, they have denied and committed such momentous acts as ye all know, and none hath objected. Yet they have attributed to this Focal Point, by Whose will all books speak, that He hath abrogated the laws of the Bayan. The curse of God be upon the wrongdoing people! This, despite the fact that by the explicit text of the Bayan, this Manifestation was and shall be the Chosen One, and the entire Bayan speaketh in His praise and herald His appearance, and whatsoever appeareth from Him is that which appeared from the previous Manifestation, and whosoever maketh a distinction is a misbeliever and a liar, a doubting denier.

And regarding the verses of the past, most of the followers of religions have witnessed supernatural occurrences from the Most Holy Court in such wise as cannot be described in words. Ask the city and those around it that the truth may become evident to you. It is not known what that objecting soul claimeth for himself. Nay, by the Self of Baha, he is but in grievous error. Beseech ye God to grant you the grace to succeed, that ye may remain steadfast upon the path of the Cause, for this Cause is mighty, mighty indeed. Soon shall its greatness become clear and evident. None shall endure save those who gaze upon the Most Great Scene and are detached from all who are in the heavens and on earth for love of God, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise.

Today is the Day to render victorious the Cause of God. It is incumbent upon every soul to summon the people to the divine realm with the utmost steadfastness. Make ye a mighty effort, so that perchance those who have strayed in the wilderness of self and passion may turn their faces toward the most holy and glorious horizon. From souls will come forth effects that are and ever shall be cherished, for the fruit of every soul is its effect. A soul without effect is, in the Most Sublime Vision, accounted as a tree without fruit. Speak ye for the sake of God and teach His Cause for His sake. Look not to rejection or acceptance, but rather to the service whereunto ye have been bidden by God. This is the most great favor, eternal success, everlasting fruit, and the bestowal of Truth at all times, and His outpouring grace hath reached and shall continue to reach in every season. Whoso is His, verily He is with him and will aid him with truth, and He, verily, hath power over all things. And the Glory be upon you, O My loved ones, with the everlastingness of My Kingdom and the permanence of My Dominion.

BH00155: Suriy-i-Ahzan

Section 1: “This is the Surah of Sorrows which hath…”

This is the Surah of Sorrows which hath been sent down from before the All-Merciful unto him who hath turned towards the sanctuary of the All-Glorious in this time wherein all have scattered from beneath the shadow of God and His mercy and have taken Satan as their helper. In the Name of God, the Most Impregnable, the Most Holy, the Most Mighty, the Most Glorious.

O Wayfarer of Oneness! Glorify in the sea of grandeur, which hath appeared through My Most Glorious Name, whereon sail the arks of eternity bearing such servants as have detached themselves from the world and soared on the wings of holiness into the atmosphere of this air which hath appeared in this heaven that was raised in this cloud. Thus hath the grace of thy Lord encompassed them that they might give thanks unto God and be numbered among the thankful, as recorded in the Tablets. And thou, say “In the Name of God and by God,” then enter naked into the depths of this ocean whose shores even those nigh unto God have failed to reach, much less to enter therein. Thus doth the Tongue of the Beloved command thee. Act thou accordingly and fear no one; put thy trust in Him. Verily, He will protect thee as He protected thee aforetime, and He, verily, hath power over all things.

By the True One! Today is thy day. Emerge from behind the veils of silence, then speak forth betwixt earth and heaven and give the people glad tidings of this News at which the lands of pride were rent asunder, the heavens of opposition were cleft, the mountains of rancor crumbled, the edifice of hatred was demolished, and the skin of every obdurate unbelievers did quiver. Look thou at the ungodly and that which issueth from their mouths. Among them are those who say: “Is God manifest?” and “Hath the Sun risen from the holy horizon?” Say: Yea, by my Lord! It hath risen with a sovereignty that encompasseth the worlds. O thou blind one of the earth! Open thy eyes that thou mayest behold it shining, luminous, and radiant. Verily, it hath ever been manifest at the meridian with the sovereignty of grandeur, power, and majesty. Neither the opposition of any opponent nor the unbelief of any unbeliever can veil it. Thus hath the matter been witnessed in truth.

And among them are those who say: “This is he who hath fabricated a lie against God.” Say: Woe unto thee, O unbeliever! This is naught but a revelation revealed. God taught him at the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, and he beheld what he beheld of the signs of his Lord. By God! His feet shall not slip from all that hath been created between earth and heaven. Verily, at times he speaketh with the melody of Ali in the heaven of grandeur, then with the melody of Muhammad in the kingdom of creation, then with the melody of the Spirit in the heaven of eternity, then with the melody of grandeur in this Beauty that hath shone upon all things and from whose revelations hath appeared upon the forms of all created things the sign that there is none other God but Him. And verily, He is the Beloved in the heart of the Desired One, and He is the Worshipped One in all that was and will be. Yet most of the people have veiled themselves from Him after He appeared with all signs, and that which appeared from Him hath ever been witness unto itself.

Would that thou hadst been present before the Throne and heard how the melodies of eternity were revealed from the Temple of Baha! By the True One! Were the ears of all created things to be purified and were they to hear but one note thereof, they would all fall thunderstruck upon the dust before thy Lord, the Mighty, the Bestower. But when they objected unto God, God deprived them of the wonders of His grace, and they were naught before thy Lord but as a handful of clay, cast away. And if thou wouldst ponder on that which issueth from their mouths, by God, thou wouldst hear that which thou didst not hear from the Jews when We sent unto them the Spirit with a manifest Book, nor from the concourse of the Gospel when We caused the sun of eternity to shine upon them from the horizon of Batha and sent Him unto them with lights that were witnessed by all worlds; nor from the people of the Furqan, when the heaven of divine knowledge was cleft asunder and God came upon the clouds of His name, the All-Merciful, with the beauty of ʿAli in truth.

When We reached this most blessed, most exalted, most holy Name which was wondrously unique, two conditions arose within My soul. I observe that My heart is consumed with the fire of sorrows at what hath befallen the Beauty of the All-Merciful at the hands of the people of the Furqan, as if every limb of Mine were at that moment aflame with a fire which, were its reins to be loosened, would consume all who dwell in the realm of being—and God is witness to this. Likewise do I observe that Mine eyes weep, and then all My members, until drops of tears rain from My very hair, at the afflictions visited upon Him by these wretched ones who slew God and knew Him not, and who, even while priding themselves on one of His names, suspended Him in the air and fired at Him the bullets of hatred.

Would that creation had never been brought into being, that invention had never stirred, that no Prophet had been raised up, no Messenger sent forth, no Cause established among the servants, no Name of God manifested between earth and heaven, no scrolls, books, scriptures, tablets or missives revealed, and that the Ancient Beauty had not been afflicted among these wretched ones, nor suffered at the hands of those who openly denied God and committed what none in all the worlds had ever perpetrated. By God the True One, O ʿAli! Wert thou to look within all My limbs and members, My liver, heart and vitals, thou wouldst find the mark of the bullets that struck the Temple of God. Alas, alas! Then did the Abode of Verses cease its revelation, this Ocean its surging, this Tree its fruit-bearing, this Cloud its rain-giving, this Sun its light-shedding, this Heaven its elevation—thus was the matter then decreed.

Would that I had perished and My mother had never borne Me, that I had never heard what befell Him at the hands of those who worshipped the Names but slew their Revealer, their Creator, their Establisher and their Sender. Fie upon them and upon their following their own selves and desires! Through them hath appeared that which hath caused the Maids of Heaven to fall prostrate from their chambers, and the Spirit to lay his face in the dust, at what hath befallen the Lord of Lords from these wolves. Then doth everything weep at My weeping for Him, and all things cry out at My crying out at separation from Him. Such grief hath overtaken Me that no melodies of eternity issue from My mouth, nor spiritual breezes from My heart. Were it not for My being preserved, My limbs would be rent asunder and I would cease to exist.

Then doth My previous Manifestation in the Most Glorious Horizon weep and address thee:

“O ʿAli! By God the True One, wert thou to look at My heart, My liver and My vitals, then My secret and My public self, My outer and My inner being, thou wouldst find the marks of the spears of hatred which struck My other Manifestation in My Most Glorious Name.”

Then do I lament, and all in the Supreme Concourse lament with My lamentation for Him; and I cry out, and all who dwell in the pavilions of Names cry out at My cry; and I wail, and all in the cities of eternity wail at My wailing for this Wronged One Who hath fallen amidst the people of the Bayan. By God, they have done unto Him what the people of the Furqan did not do unto Me. Therefore, alas! Alas! for that which hath befallen Him and touched Him from these souls. Thereupon all existence, both in the realm of earth and heaven, fell prostrate in the dust by reason of what hath befallen this Beauty who was established upon the throne of nearness. Woe unto them and unto what their hands have wrought, morning and evening.

Behold, the Ancient Beauty calleth out:

“O Most Exalted Pen! Change this remembrance, through which all created things and whatsoever beareth the name of a thing have been saddened, and proceed to another remembrance. Have mercy upon the denizens of the most exalted Paradise. By God, the Truth! The mighty Throne with all its grandeur and the Seat with all its loftiness are well-nigh rent asunder.”

And when We heard the Call, We ceased the mention of sorrows and returned to that which We had been mentioning, that thou mayest be informed thereof.

And thou, O ʿAli, grieve not for what We have imparted unto thee concerning the tribulations which befell Our former and latter Manifestations. Gird up thy loins to aid the Cause of God, and arise to serve the Cause with power and compelling steadfastness. Then observe the state of these people and what issueth from their mouths in these days wherein the Sun hath shone forth with all its splendors and every faithful soul who hath drawn nigh hath been illumined thereby. By God! We hear from these people what none hath ever heard, for they seek to prove their cause through the verses We sent down upon Him Whom We sent with the truth and made a mercy unto all in the kingdom. Yet when greater verses than those they had heard are recited unto them, they object and flee, and were they to find in themselves the power, they would surely slay him who reciteth the verses unto them. Thus recognize thou the state of these people, that thou mayest be clear-sighted regarding what they possess.

Say: O people! Verily, He Who hath appeared with the truth—ye have witnessed concerning Him God’s power and dominion, then God’s Manifestation and His grandeur. And besides what ye have witnessed of the wonders of might and power, there hath been sent down from the heaven of His grace the equivalent of what was revealed in the Bayan. Fear God, O people, and be God-fearing in this Cause. Do ye contend with Him through Whom the suns have shone forth, the moons have been illumined, the stars adorned, the rivers have flowed, the seas have surged, the heaven been raised up, the holy earth spread out, and the trees have yielded fruit? Fie upon you and upon him who hath commanded you to deny God and associate partners with the Beauty of Him Who is established upon the throne with a sovereignty that encompasseth all the worlds. By God! O thou who gazest toward God, there hath befallen Me at their hands that which no ear hath heard nor eye hath witnessed. Thereupon the eyes of all created things weep for Me, and all the tribes from the kingdom of names and attributes and the eyes of grandeur behind the veils of might impenetrable lament My suffering.

By God the Truth! He who fled from the fox and hid his face behind the wine-jars in fear for himself—when he witnessed that We had raised up the Cause with the sovereignty of might and power, and God’s name had become renowned between East and West, he then regretted his concealment and emerged from behind the veil with great hatred. He consulted with one of My servants about killing Me and desired to shed this blood which, were but a drop of it to fall upon all created things, they would all proclaim “I am God, there is none other God but Him.” Thus did he plot within himself after We had nurtured and taught him morning and night. When the hosts of God’s revelation descended and preserved Me from his evil and his plotting, he then arose with another plot whereby the people of the depths of names, then the Concourse on High were bewildered—and God is witness to what I say. And he attributed to Me matters which, were they to be heard by one possessed of insight, thou wouldst know what hath befallen this Wronged One from those who have arisen against Him with an injustice that was in all the tablets deemed grievous.

O Most Exalted Pen! Remind one whom thou lovest of what was proclaimed by one of Satan’s party in the region of Iraq, saying:

“O people of Baha! Why do ye promulgate God’s Cause, your Lord, and summon the people unto God Who created all things by His command, when the ultimate station of the servants is to attain unto the station of the Primal Point, and since he hath descended from his station and been stripped of what was bestowed upon him, how can your teaching and mention benefit the servants?”

Thus did his soul entice him, and he uttered that which intensified God’s wrath and displeasure against himself and those who say what he said, rendering themselves deprived of the shores of divine knowledge. Say: Woe unto thee, O thou who associatest partners with God! What thou hast imagined regarding the name of the Primal Point—verily We created it as We created all names that they might indicate their Creator and Maker and remain steadfast in God’s Cause. All names before God are equal—He giveth and taketh away, and shall not be questioned about what He willeth, and He is indeed wise over all things. And whatever excellence ye have recognized in souls abideth in their faith in God, their turning to Him at His manifestation, and their orientation towards the quarter that was beloved in the eternity of eternities.

Explain, O thou wretched one, how the Judge became the judged, though none can change besides Him. O thou possessor of a single eye! Reflect within thyself—dost thou observe the faults of others while remaining heedless of what is within thyself? Woe unto thee for what Satan hath taught thee—he who disbelieved in God and whom We made an evident lesson unto all creation. Say: O thou who disbelievest in God! Would that thou hadst seen and known him whom thou hast taken as lord besides God. By the True God! If thou hadst seen and known him, thou wouldst have fled from him a thousand leagues, nay more than that, and God is indeed cognizant of this. Say: O thou donkey! We preserved him, reared him, described him and mentioned him, and thou knowest all this and wast witness thereto. Yet he warred against My Self and denied My verses. Therefore, it behooveth thee to object to him, not to the One Who created both thee and him from a worthless fluid. Ask him by what proof thou didst believe in the Primal Point and the Messengers of God before Him, and by what evidence thou didst disbelieve in Him Who appeared with all the signs, and didst decree His death, and wast strong in opposition.

Section 2: “Moreover, O thou who associatest partners with God…”

Moreover, O thou who associatest partners with God, it hath ever been Our way to take and give. Hast thou not seen how We removed the mantle of acceptance from the form of the Stone around which We had commanded the servants to circumambulate, and bestowed this grace upon another station, if thou wert but knowing of this? Therefore be fair in thyself, though We know that thou wilt never be fair. With Us is the knowledge of the heavens and earth. We know what thy father taught thee at all times, and what he whispered in thy breast, and breathed into thee of the spirit whereby every human being is transformed and becomes as a donkey. Therefore ask about him whom thou hast taken as lord besides Me. Say: O thou who hast turned away! Be fair within thyself—hast thou heard of any manifestation in creation greater than what hath appeared and now speaketh at the hub of eternity, saying “I am your Lord, the Most High” from this holy and most luminous horizon? And hast thou seen any words greater than what hath been sent down in truth from the heaven of eternity through this Youth Who speaketh in the heaven of decree? Nay, by My Beauty that hath shone upon all worlds!

Have you seen any words greater than those which have been sent down in truth from the Dominion of Eternity through this Youth Who speaks in the heaven of destiny? Nay, by My Beauty which hath shone resplendent upon all worlds! Yet you have followed him who was created by a movement of My Pen and who pronounced judgment against My Self, after We had protected him through months and years. O thou who art seeing yet blind, such that thou seest thyself but failest to behold thy Lord, by Whose command were created the names and their kingdom, then the attributes and their dominion, then all created things! Dost thou see in a mirror that hath turned away from the sun any light or radiance or trace upon its surface? Nay, by the All-Merciful, if thou wert possessed of true vision! Likewise, observe the mirrors of names: when they enter beneath the shadow of their Lord and accept the effulgences wherewith the Sun of Eternity doth shine forth, they are illumined by its lights and radiance. Without this, they are debarred and remain deprived of the effulgences that shine forth in truth.

Hast thou not seen in the previous Manifestation how the divines who had lived long in this world and had ascended the heights of knowledge and had worshipped God through nights and days were pronounced ungodly and unbelievers, and the garment of faith was stripped from their temples, while those who swept houses and whom none knew—God clothed them in the garment of divine authority and prophethood? Thus observe thy Lord’s power and be not an oppressive wretch. Is it fitting for those on earth to object to God, saying:

“How can we attain an exalted station when these who lived long in God’s religion, worshipped Him, prostrated themselves before Him, submitted to His Cause, and were the learned of the earth, have returned to the fire?”

Say: O unbeliever! Thou sayest what the ungodly said before in the time of every Manifestation, unaware of what thou utterest. Soon shall the angels of punishment smite upon thy mouth, by the decree of One mighty and powerful.

Know thou that at the time of Manifestation, all names are on one plane. Whoso ascendeth unto God, all Our beautiful names apply to him, but whoso standeth still on the path shall never be mentioned before God. Thus have We sent down the command in all the Tablets, wert thou to be informed thereof. Verily, were We to take a handful of clay and breathe into it the spirit of life and make it the manifestation of all names and attributes, We are able to do so, and this is not difficult for God. It remaineth in this station so long as it abideth in the shadow of its Lord, but when it departeth therefrom, all that was given it is stripped away and it returneth to dust with great remorse.

Say: O thou donkey! Thou hast not understood the root of the matter, and when something beyond thy comprehension cometh to thee, ask him from whose pen flow the seas of knowledge and inner meanings, that he may explain to thee what thou hast neglected and teach thee from the wonders of knowledge, that thou mayest be steadfast in thy Lord’s religion. Nay, by My life, O Ali, they desired not to know what was concealed from them. Thou seest them as sheep that go astray, knowing not their shepherd. Rather, if thou lookest upon them with the eye of insight, thou wilt find them as wolves seeking to scatter God’s sheep and suck their blood. Thus have We reckoned their affair in this Tablet which hath been sent down from the dominion of sublime glory.

Guard thyself from these people, then speak with the melody of eternity between earth and heaven. Then make mention of this Most Great Name, through which the heaven of names was cleft asunder. Fear thou no one, but put thy trust in God. Verily, He will protect thee from every rejected unbeliever, will aid thee in His Cause, will cause the Spirit to speak within thy breast, and will stir thee with the breezes of paradise from the direction of thy Lord, the All-Merciful. He is, verily, thy Reckoner.

Beware that thou grieve not over anything, for We have not forgotten thee and We wish to behold thee, and We beseech God to bring us together in truth. Verily, He is the Answerer of those who call upon Him. Would that thou wert with Us in the prison and couldst witness what hath befallen My wronged Beauty at the hands of those who dare not speak in My presence, whose realities were created by the will of My Pen, and thou wouldst behold what was hidden from thee. Hearken unto what the Most Exalted Pen commandeth thee. Neither rest in thy home nor find repose within thyself. Enter the abode of the ungodly from among the concourse of the Bayan with God’s tidings and His Cause, and say:

“O people! I have come to you with a proof that is supremely great in truth. If ye possess what is greater than what We have, bring it forth. And if ye have witnessed with your own eyes what is greater than what We have witnessed of God’s power and sovereignty, show it and tarry not a moment. And if ye find yourselves powerless to do this, then fear God and contend not with Him through Whom God’s Cause hath been raised, your names exalted, and the proof whereby ye seek to establish your cause among others hath appeared. Fear ye God and be not among the sinfully faithless in the land.”

O Thou who swimmest in the ocean of inner meanings! At this moment hath the ocean of grandeur been set in motion through My Most Great Name, casting upon all created things the pearls of the remembrance of thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High. By God! The eye of creation hath never beheld its like, nor hath the vision of invention ever witnessed its parallel. Would that We could find one trustworthy to whom We might entrust it, or one discerning who might witness it, or one aware to whom We might describe its qualities, its manifestations, or its effulgences. When We ascended unto the heaven of divine decree, We found no one and remained within Our own Self, bewildered and saddened. Therefore, treasure within thyself that which hath trickled upon thee from the spray of this Ocean, and purify thyself from the odors of those upon whose faces thou seest naught but the dust of fire, who have disbelieved in God throughout every age and dispensation, and who have been deprived of the fragrances of the All-Merciful.

Say: These are the streams that flow into the Ancient Ocean, even as they have branched forth from it. Blessed is he who drinketh therefrom and through it becometh independent of all else on earth. Say: Verily, the Ancient Ocean and whatsoever issueth from it and returneth unto it are but a wave among the waves of the Ocean of Grandeur, which was created through My Most Great Name. Thus have We unveiled for thee a mystery from among the mysteries that were hidden from the eyes of the worlds. Upon the shore of this Ocean hath been created a wilderness whose beginning and end none hath encompassed, wherein the call of God hath been raised from every direction. No Prophet or Messenger hath passed by it except that the divine fragrances seized him in this Valley. And when they reached the Most Glorious Dome, which was created from the Light of the Divine Essence in the midst of this Valley, they fell prostrate upon their faces in the dust in humility before this Beauty Who hath appeared in truth in this Garment, from which the sincere ones inhale the fragrance of the All-Merciful. Thus was the matter irrevocably decreed.

O Ali! By God, the Truth! Never hath ceased, nor shall ever cease from this wilderness the call of thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High. At all times there can be heard from its pebbles and its sand dunes that there is no God but Him, and that He Who hath appeared through My Most Great Name is the Beloved of creation and the Desire of the Concourse of eternity. He hath ever been and ever shall be, and God is indeed aware of this. Blessed is the man who walketh therein, and the ear that heareth the melodies that emerge from its regions, and who becometh aware of what hath been concealed therein of mysteries that have ever been hidden behind pavilions of glory. Would that some loving soul might turn towards it, some steadfast one might stand firm therein, some heart might hasten unto it and become detached from all the worlds. O Ali! By God, the Truth! The Cause is greater than can be mentioned, more manifest than can be veiled, and more exalted than can be reached by the opposition of any opposer or the scheming of any stubborn plotter.

Say: O people! Debase not your own selves. Be ye ashamed before God Who desireth naught for you save His grace, and Who sendeth down unto you in every moment, from the Divine Lote-Tree, fresh fruits of glory. Partake ye of God’s bounty wherever ye will. Fear ye God and be not of them that spread corruption in the land, nor distance yourselves from the seats of nearness. By God, the True One! The Dove shall not cease its melodies though all the dogs of the earth should bark or all the wolves should howl. Thus have We sent down the verses in truth—a revelation from One mighty and wise. Whoso denieth this Cause this day shall be cursed by every atom, by his own self and essence, his hand and his tongue. He is deaf within himself and heareth not, for his ears are veiled by the coverings of heedlessness. Thus is the matter witnessed from the horizon of wisdom.

Blessed are ye, for ye shall find no partner unto yourselves in these fruits which have ripened upon the Tree of your Lord, the Most High, the Most Exalted. God hath made them specially for you and for those who turn unto it with pure and sound hearts. Taste thou of those fruits and be grateful for what thou hast been given of the wondrous grace of thy Lord, and be thou manifestly joyous. Verily God hath made these specially for those of His servants who are nigh unto Him, and hath deprived the idolaters of this bounty.

Thus have We bestowed upon thy heart, thy spirit, and thy mind the fragrance of the All-Merciful from the right hand of Glory, that He might make thee alive through His life, enduring through His endurance, speaking in His praise, mindful in His remembrance, turning unto His face, and gazing upon His beauty. Verily His favor hath ever been great unto thee, then wondrous, then mighty, then glorious.

And upon thee be grandeur, then majesty, then the splendor from the Countenance of Eternity, Who hath appeared with His Most Glorious Name, whereby every low thing was exalted and every high thing was brought low, every existence was annihilated and every lost thing was brought to life, every sun was darkened and every moon was eclipsed, every star fell and every steadfast one was shaken, every lofty one was brought low and every fixed thing trembled, every still thing moved, every fire was extinguished and every extinguished thing was ignited, every praised thing became unseemly and every unseemly thing was praised, every hidden thing appeared and every concealed thing emerged, every veil was rent, every ash was resurrected, every door was knocked, every tongue spoke, every abased one was honored, every sick one was healed, every impure one was purified, every ailing one was cured, every blind one saw, every treasure appeared, every earth quaked, every heaven was cleft, every earth split, every just one transgressed and every transgressor became just, every learned one became ignorant and every ignorant one became learned, every brave one fled and every fearful one became brave, every thirsty one was given drink, every trumpet was blown, every Hour appeared, every bugle was sounded, every light was darkened and every darkness was illumined, every fruit fell, every green thing dried up and every dried thing became green, and the breath of God blew whereby the contingent beings were given life before and the existent things shall be given life hereafter. Thus was thy Lord’s favor encompassing unto thy self, thy spirit, thy heart, thy body, and thy form.

BH00434: Suriy-i-Dhibh

This is the Surih of the Sacrifice [Dhibh] which hath been sent down from the heaven of command unto him whom We have named Dhabih in the Kingdom of Names, that he may set his face wholly toward God, the Lord of all worlds.

He is the Ever-Abiding, the Most Wondrous!

God doth bear witness from the throne of grandeur and majesty that verily I am God, there is none other God but Me, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. And He doth bear witness at this moment from the kingdom of might and glory that there is none other God but Him, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. The Ancient Being doth acknowledge from the heaven of power and majesty that verily I am God, there is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Best-Beloved. And this Most Great Word doth acknowledge that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Best-Beloved. God hath testified within His Own Self, unto His Own Self, through His Own Self, that He is God, there is none other God but Me, the Manifest, the Witnessed. And I do testify within My Own Self, unto My Own Self, through My Own Self, that verily I am God, there is none other God but Him, the Manifest, the Resplendent, the Concealed.

O Beauty of the Most Ancient! Sprinkle upon all created things from the ocean of Thy bounteous grace, that perchance they may be touched by the fragrant breezes of holiness from this Camphor which hath appeared in the Temple of Manifestation, and flow from this Salsabil which God hath sent forth in the form of the Pen and made it a sign of His knowledge between the heavens and earth; yet few among the people perceive.

O Sovereign of Eternity! How can I cast upon all created things the signs of the glory of Thy sovereignty when the idolaters have encompassed Me on every side and laid hands of bondage upon this luminous, mighty and beloved Mouth? And when I mention among them wondrous remembrances, it but increaseth the hatred in the breasts of these wicked ones. Thou knowest what hath befallen Thy Self, and verily Thou art the Truth, the Knower of the Unseen.

O Dhabih! Raise thy head from slumber, then loose thy tongue in utterance through My Name, the Powerful, the Bountiful. Fear no one, for thy Lord will guard thee from Satan and his manifestations, and will protect thee through His mighty and manifest sovereignty. And if thou desirest to enter this station before whose courtyard stand the realities of the highest ones and the angels who circle round the Throne, it behooveth thee to detach thyself from all who are in the heavens and earth, from all that hath been and shall be, and to make My love thy companion, My recognition thy purpose, and trust in thy Lord, the All-Knowing, thy stronghold in these days wherein all have turned away from His beauty and taken for themselves lords besides God, and thus do they act.

And when thou art adorned with that which We have commanded thee, God shall open the eye of thy heart and thou shalt witness what none hath witnessed, and know what none hath known among those who claim within themselves that which God hath not permitted them and say what they comprehend not. Therefore, leave the idolaters and what they possess, then ascend on holy wings to the atmosphere of nearness, that thou mayest reach the Most Great Paradise in this hidden and treasured Word.

Say: O people! By God, I speak not from idle fancy, but rather the Spirit speaks within my breast—this is my proof, if you be of the fair-minded. O people! If this be my crime, I am not the first to have committed a crime before God; rather, honored servants feared God and did not refute the truth with your mouths. Then look with the eye of fairness upon that which has been sent down in truth from the dominion of God, the Powerful, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting. If you dispute these words, by God, the decree of faith will not be confirmed for you regarding what was revealed to Ali of his Lord’s verses, and before him to God’s Messengers, if you but knew. O people! Have mercy upon yourselves and measure not this Cause by your own standards. Be among those who, when their Lord’s verses are recited unto them, are moved with yearning for His presence and fall prostrate upon their faces.

O Dhabih! By the True One, verily the Youth has fallen into the pit of hatred. Would that there were some wayfarers to let down the bucket of victory, that perchance the Youth might be drawn forth and the faces of the dwellers of the heavens and earth be illumined. Thus has the decree of destiny been inscribed upon preserved tablets of glory. Thus does this Pen recount unto thee, having drunk from the living waters of the Kawthar of the All-Merciful, and having grown in the holy land at the heart of Paradise, from which flows the Kawthar of glory—yet people can scarce comprehend. Know then that a sedition has appeared whereby the heavens of idle fancy were cleft asunder, the sun of creation darkened, and the falsehood of those who claimed faith in God’s verses, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting, was exposed.

Say: O people! These are in truth the verses of Ali. Beware lest you wax proud against them; rather be among those who humble themselves. Say: By God, the clouds of grace have been raised up, raining the water of life upon all created things—this from your Lord’s bounty, the All-Merciful, if you be of those who are certain. Have you seen any bounty greater than this? Nay, by the Self of God, the Supreme, the Mighty, the Beloved! Have you found in all creation a mercy more vast than this? Nay, by My Self, the Bestower, did you but know!

Among the people are those who inquire about this Announcement from those who fancy themselves guided. Say: O people! He needs nothing to prove His Cause from all that exists between the heavens and earth. All else was created by His Word, would you but reflect on His verses. Say: His proof is His Own Self, and His existence His authority—none knows this save those who have turned with sanctified countenance to their Lord’s face and are among those who perceive their Lord’s words with insight. Beware lest you hesitate in your Lord’s Cause. Look then with sanctified vision upon the proofs of the Prophets and Messengers, that the matter may become easy for you, that you may shatter the idols of vain imaginings through your Lord’s authority, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, and be among those who recline upon the cushions of glory.

Know then that all that has flowed from the Pen of Counsel has been only from My love for thee, else thy Lord is independent of all who are in the heavens and earth. He is the Ruler over whatsoever He willeth, ordaining as He pleaseth through His word “Be” and it is. Strive then within thyself that Satan’s whispers lead thee not astray from the paths of the All-Merciful. Then stand firm in thy Lord’s Cause and be of those who view His Cause through the eye of God.

Say: O people! All that ye possess and that wherein ye pride yourselves is confirmed by the verses of God, and these are His verses sent down from the heaven of creation. Beware lest ye deny them and thereby make your works vain, and be not of those who follow every babbler and then disbelieve in the verses of their Lord. Know thou that We have made thee an ambassador from Us that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the people concerning this Cause whereby every bearer of a burden hath cast off her burden, and the veils of power have enveloped the eyes of the inhabitants of the heavens and earth save for a numbered few who have taken their station behind the pavilion of glory and drawn nigh unto the Sinai of nearness. These are they who swim in the depths of the Cause. Strip thyself of all things that the hand of grace may take thee and raise thee to a seat of glorious and beloved might, and may attire thee in that which shall illumine all created things. This is of thy Lord’s bounty unto thee if thou burnest it not with the fires of allusions and standest firm in thy Lord’s Cause, following not every rejected idolator.

Beware lest thou confine thyself within the bounds of allusions or be veiled by the veils of signs. Rend asunder the veils by Our authority, then burn the allusions with this Fire that hath been kindled in the Sinai of eternity and hath been manifested unto this Pen in such wise as to draw unto it the hearts of those who follow the signs of God. Ponder upon the people of the Furqan and all that was in their possession that thou mayest sanctify thyself from the allusions of the people and be established in praiseworthy constancy. Leave the kingdom, then ascend unto this heaven that thou mayest discover that which none hath discovered save whom thy Lord, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting, willeth.

If thou wouldst free thyself and ponder upon My migration in the year We arrived in Iraq, by God this would suffice thee above all else and make thee one of those who reflect upon the verses of their Lord. Through this was perfected God’s proof unto His servants and His testimony unto His chosen ones, and was completed His favor unto His loved ones, and His countenance shone forth unto His creation. Yet when the veils of idle fancy seized the people, they reflected not upon it but were heedless of their Lord’s command. Say: O people! Do not as did the people of the Furqan, and place not the reins of your recognition in anyone’s hands. Seize ye the grace in these days, then witness with your own eyes. When the verses of your Lord are recited unto you, turn not back on your heels, and be not of those who object to the verses of God and then mock them from their seats.

O Dhabih! Thou hast been sacrificed at every instant during twenty years, and none knoweth this save thy Lord, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved. Know thou that when the Dhabih of old desired to reach the station of sacrifice, redemption came unto him from the heaven of divine decree. But this Dhabih accepted no redemption and was sacrificed by the sword of hatred wielded by these transgressors who comprehend not what they do. Shouldst thou detach thy gaze from mortal allusions and ascend unto the Most Sublime Vision, thou wouldst witness his head raised aloft upon the spear of hypocrisy from the direction of the horizons, and thou wouldst weep as weep the lovers who were prevented by the decrees of destiny from attaining the seat of glory of the Beloved.

O Dhabih! Purify thy sight from all contingent things and whatsoever lieth therein, and from all possibility and whatsoever is thereupon, that thou mayest recognize the handiwork of God Who hath perfected the creation of all things, and enter the house of mysteries wherein none hath entered save whom thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting, hath willed. Moreover, recognize the worth of these days wherein the countenance of the Youth shineth amongst you, and make good what thou hast missed in recognizing Him. By God! This is better for thee than the kingdom of the heavens and earth and than all that ye do or know. Soon shall ye place the fingers of remorse between the teeth of bewilderment, and ye shall not find the Youth though ye search throughout all the heavens and earth. Thus doth the Pen of divine decree cast upon thee from the mysteries of destiny, that perchance the servants may emerge from the sepulchres of heedlessness and detach themselves from all that preventeth them from attaining unto the seat of knowledge—this Paradise which God hath sanctified from the observations of such as join partners with their Lord.

And when the garment of the Youth cometh unto thee stained with truthful blood, place it upon thy face, then inhale therefrom the fragrance of the All-Merciful, then redden thy face therewith and raise thy cry with a crimson face between earth and heaven, that perchance the people of the veils might burn away the veils of idle fancy and emerge naked from the garments of allusion, ascending unto the heaven of names and attributes—this station, the transcendent, the mighty, the praiseworthy. And verily when the Dhabih of old desired to enter the seat of nearness, the heaven of his Lord, the Most High, Satan appeared in human form and desired to prevent him from entering the sanctuary of a treasured holiness. When We made this known unto him, he cast him away with stones through Our sovereignty and might. Thus was the matter ordained, if thou be of them that know. Follow thou his example and act as he acted, such that shouldst thou witness anyone desiring to prevent thee from the love of this Youth, know thou that he is verily Satan who hath appeared in human form. Seek refuge, then, in God and drive him away with a piercing flame. Beware lest thou turn to aught else; rather, set thy heart toward this holy and beloved shore.

By God, O Dhabih! All that thou hast heard from the beginning hath appeared from Us, but We concealed it through a wisdom known only to the sincere ones. Through this most of the servants rebelled against Us unknowingly. We were patient in tribulations and shall remain patient through God’s might and power until the Beauty of the Ancient of Days shall come with the authority of triumph and grant victory unto His servant—a victory before which all that was and shall be, shall be powerless. And the Spirit, and Glory, and Splendor be upon thee and upon those who are patient in the good-pleasure of their Lord.

BH00297: Suriy-i-Dhikr

Section 1: “This is the Surih of Remembrance, sent down…”

This is the Surih of Remembrance, sent down as a token of grace, that perchance the people of the Bayan might renounce that which they possess, turn towards the right hand of justice, shake off the slumber of wayward desires, and seek, through the power of truth, a path to their Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious.

In the name of God, the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most High!

This is a Missive from the Primal Point unto them that have believed in God, the One, the Peerless, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, wherein He addresseth those among the people of the Bayan who have vacillated in this Cause, that haply they may apprehend the wondrous words of God and forsake the couch of heedlessness in this shining and resplendent morn.

Say: We, verily, bid you in Our Book not to advance yourselves before those from whose ranks would appear He Who is the Beloved of every understanding heart and the Object of the adoration of the denizens of earth and heaven. Moreover, We commanded you, should ye attain the presence of God, to stand before Him and to utter on My behalf these mighty and exalted words:

“Upon Thee, O Glory of God, and upon Thy kinfolk, be the remembrance of God and the praise of all things at every moment before and after Hin.”

We honoured the people of the Bayan with these words, that they might ascend thereby unto the heights of holiness and be numbered with the blest. Yet they have so utterly forsaken Our injunction that not a single one among them hath appeared in His presence as We had commanded in Our Tablets. Nay rather, from every side they have hurled at Him the darts of malice. And at this, I, and the denizens of the Kingdom of grandeur, and beyond them the Faithful Spirit, have wept sore.

Say: O people! Be abashed before My Beauty. He that hath appeared with the power of truth is indeed the Glory of the worlds, could ye but perceive it. He, verily, is the Glory of God; upon Him be the remembrance of God and His praise, and the praise of the Concourse on high, and of the dwellers of the everlasting realm, and of all things at all times. Beware lest ye become veiled by aught that hath been created in heaven or on earth. Hasten unto the paradise of His good-pleasure and be not of them that slumber.

Say: His beauty is in truth My beauty, and His Self is Mine own Self, and all that We revealed in the Bayan is for the sake of His wondrous and resistless Cause. Fear ye God, and dispute not with the One Whose advent We heralded and Whose Revelation We announced unto you. I established a covenant with you concerning His mission ere I covenanted with you regarding Mine own, and unto this all things bear witness, even if ye were to deny it. By the righteousness of God! Through but a single one of His melodies the realities of all things were reborn, and through another the hearts of His favoured ones were filled with rapture. Take heed lest anything debar you from Him Whose presence is the same as Mine own. He sacrificed Himself in My path even as I sacrificed Myself in His path for the love of His glorious and incomparable beauty.

Say: But for Him the word “love” would never have been written, nor would the letters of the name of the Beloved have been joined together, nor would creation itself have been brought into being, would that ye might understand! But for Him I would never have surrendered Myself into the hands of the ungodly nor consented to be suspended in the air. By God! I have borne, in My love and yearning for Him, that which no other Prophet or Messenger hath borne, and I have acquiesced to bear all this Myself, that He might never be made to endure aught that would sadden His most kind and tender, His most pure and sanctified heart. We admonished you throughout the Bayan not to be the cause of grief to any soul, that haply no sorrow should ever befall Him. Otherwise, why would I have exhorted you and occupied Myself with your care, O assemblage of wavering ones? I intended in the Bayan none other than Him, I extolled no praise but His praise, and I uttered no name save His most blessed and most exalted, His most holy and most wondrous name.

I swear by My life! If I have made mention of “lordship”, I have intended only His lordship over all things. If the word “divinity” hath ever flowed from My pen, I have intended naught but His divinity in relation to the world; and if an allusion to the “Desired One” hath proceeded therefrom, I have had none other in mind than Him. So too, in regard to the word “Beloved”, He, indeed, is My Beloved and the Beloved of every understanding heart. If I have spoken of “prostration”, I have meant only prostration before His exalted, His glorious and sublime Countenance. If I have praised any soul, Mine aim hath only been to celebrate His praise. And if I have bidden the people to act, My sole purpose hath been that they should act in accordance with His good-pleasure on the day of His Manifestation. Unto this beareth witness whatsoever was sent down unto Me from the kingdom of My Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

I have made all things conditional upon His approval and pleasure. He it is, in truth, Who is the Lord of the worlds and the Object of the desire of every searching soul. Were ye to open your eyes, ye would verily behold the Manifestations of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth” worshipping under His shadow. Yet ye have done to Him what even the people of the Qur’an dared not do to Myself, nor the Jews to Christ. Alas, alas! My heart is consumed with anguish and My soul groaneth at what hath befallen My Beloved at the hands of the infidels. Woe unto you for your faithlessness, O concourse of oppressors! We, verily, created faithfulness and courtesy for His sake, that perchance ye would not commit, in the time of His appearance, aught that would cause Mine inner reality and the realities of all things to lament. But ye have transgressed that which was laid down in the Book of God, the King, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Ye have rent asunder the veil of restraint and cast aside the vesture of propriety, and ye have committed that which the Pen of creation is abashed to recount before the dwellers of earth and heaven.

Alas, alas, for that which ye have inflicted upon this wronged, this banished and forsaken Soul! Nor do I know what ye will inflict upon Him hereafter. Nay, by Myself, the All-Knowing! I do verily know, for with Me is the knowledge of all things in a Tablet that God hath shielded from the gaze of those who have joined partners with Him. We apprised Him aforetime of the things that have befallen or will befall Him, even though He Himself is well informed of all that the hearts of men conceal. For nothing can escape His knowledge, and whatever hath been created by a mere word from His mouth can never slip from His grasp. No God is there but Him, the Peerless, the Creator, the Quickener, the Destroyer.

Say: O people! Should it be His desire to cause all the dwellers of earth and heaven to become an abiding testimony of His truth, this would assuredly be within His power. And this, verily, would be easy and possible unto Him. He it is Who created the paradise of the Bayan for His own sake. From Him have all things proceeded and unto Him will they all return, did ye but know it. Yet, I swear by Him in Whose hand is the kingdom of creation, ye deny Him the right to designate Himself by a single one of the divine names, even though He it is at Whose mighty and exalted behest all names and their kingdom were created!

Alas, alas, for your negligence, O people of the Bayan! Alas, alas, for your blindness, O concourse of the faithless! For, prompted by self-conceit and vainglory, ye have ascribed the station of successor to one of His enemies and have contended thereby with God, the Author of all religions aforetime and hereafter. Thus have ye returned to the arguments of the people of the Qur’an, notwithstanding that We prohibited you from uttering a single word in His presence save by His leave. God knoweth and testifieth to the truth of My words. Contemplate, therefore, your condition and the measure of your understanding. Woe betide you, and your thoughts, and your judgement, O ye that are in grievous loss! Know ye not that We have rolled up that which the people possessed, and have unfolded a new order in its place? Blessed, then, be God, the sovereign King, the Unfolder, the Almighty, the Most Generous.

Say: O people, cease your slander of Me. No word have I spoken except in praise of this Revelation; no breath have I drawn but for the love of its Author; and nowhere have I turned My face save towards His shining and luminous Countenance. I have made the Bayan and all that was revealed therein to be as a leaf in the celestial garden that belongeth unto Him, the Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. Beware lest ye appropriate it and surrender it to him who, in pursuit of self and desire, seeketh to shed My blood anew and who contendeth with God. We, verily, unfolded the Bayan from a single word and returned it again to that same word, bidding it to appear before the Throne of Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, that He might behold His former creation and take delight therein. Be fair, then, in your judgement: Is it the prerogative of the Author of that word to lay hand upon it, or of any other soul? What hath made you so blind, O concourse of veiled ones?

We, verily, enjoined the people of the Bayan to wear silken garments and to be immaculate in their person and dress, that His gaze might not fall upon aught that would displease Him. Likewise, every provision that hath been expounded in Our perspicuous Book is but for His sake, were ye to judge fairly. We created the heavens and the earth and all that lieth between them for His loved ones, how much more for the sake of His most resplendent, His most glorious and radiant beauty. And yet ye have laid hold on that which We have destined for Him and seized upon it to reject My Beloved. What hath made you so heedless, O people of malice? And what will satisfy you in this day, O stirrers of sedition?

Section 2: “Ye have opposed Him and all that He…”

Ye have opposed Him and all that He hath manifested, even though We admonished you in Our Tablets that whoso calleth to mind His most great and most wondrous Name should arise from his place and repeat nineteen times: “Glorified be God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven!”, and then another nineteen times: “Glorified be God, the Lord of all glory and dominion!”, and so forth, as We have revealed in a most mighty Tablet. Ye, however, have disbelieved in Him and in His verses. Nay, not contenting yourselves with that, ye have disregarded the rights of God which revert unto Him, and have given no heed to that commandment of God which pertaineth to His own Self, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing.

Ye have rejected all of His actions, one after another, and taken pleasure in deriding Him. Among you is he who saith: “He drinketh tea!”, while another complaineth: “He partaketh of food!” Yet another doth object to His apparel, though every thread thereof testifieth that there is none other God but Him and that He is the Object of the adoration of all who are nigh unto God. I bear witness that at times the Ancient Beauty was in want of even a change of garments. Thus testifieth the Tongue of truth and knowledge. Many a night was He unable to provide sustenance for His kindred, yet He concealed His plight to safeguard the honour of God’s mighty and unassailable Cause, and this notwithstanding that all things were created for His sake and that the key to the treasure-houses of earth and heaven is in His grasp.

Woe betide you for your shamelessness, O people of the Bayan! God is My witness! I am abashed at your deeds and I disavow you, O assemblage of evil ones! Alas for the sufferings He hath endured at your hands. Alas for what hath befallen Him and doth continue to afflict Him at every moment. O people! Judge with fairness and reflect for but a moment: If ye remain blinded by such veils, then to what end did I reveal Myself and what fruit did My Revelation bear, O concourse of hypocrites? God hath called Me forth to rend asunder the veils and to purify your hearts in anticipation of this Revelation. Yet ye have committed that which caused My tears and the tears of the holy ones to flow. The faces of the former generations blanch at your doings, for ye are more veiled than they, and more heedless than the followers of the Torah, the Evangel, or any other Book.

O would that I had never been born and had never revealed Myself to you, O treacherous ones! I swear by Him Who sent Me forth with the power of truth! I have reckoned up the knowledge of all things, and I know all that is preserved in the inviolable treasuries of God and concealed from the eyes of men, but never have I encountered a people more wayward and more wicked than you. For with all that We have expounded in Our Tablets, and all the admonitions We have addressed unto you in every page thereof, We are unable to conceive that a single soul on earth would dare protest against God, in Whose grasp are the kingdoms of earth and heaven. We are perplexed at your creation and know not from what word ye were fashioned, O ye whose nature and actions astound the hearts of the Concourse on high, and them that are devoted to God, and them that enjoy near access unto Him!

O servant! Thus do We relate unto thee in this Tablet that which the Dove of the Bayan warbleth at this moment before the Throne of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Peruse, then, that which is revealed therein, but guard its pearls of inner meaning from the hands of the treacherous and thieving among the hosts of the Evil One. Shouldst thou find a discerning soul, set this Tablet before his eyes that he may in turn behold it and be of them that attain. Haply they that are endued with insight amongst Our righteous servants will become apprised of what hath befallen the celestial Beauty at the hands of these profligate souls who have chosen to worship the Calf rather than the Lord God, have prostrated themselves before it every morn and eventide, and have exulted therein.

Grieve not on account of Our adversity, but be patient even as We have been patient. He, in truth, is the best of helpers. Remember thy Lord in the daytime and in the night season, and extol His praise amidst His servants. Haply the fire of His love will thereby be kindled in the hearts of the righteous, and all shall arise in turn to extol God, their Lord, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, and the Lord of your sires of old.

We have sent down verses unto thee aforetime and dispatched them to thee by the hand of one of Our servants named Muhammad—verily We have been the Sender. A single word thereof excelleth all that hath been created in the heavens and earth. If thou shouldst see Muhammad, remember him from Us, for thy Lord is the best Rememberer and the All-Knowing. Say: O Muhammad! We have counseled thee in the Book not to transgress the bounds of justice and truth. Beware lest thou be of the transgressors. Be grateful to God for having honored thee with His presence, and preserve thyself lest there appear from thee that which would render thy deeds of no effect. Thus do We counsel thee in truth, as a mercy from Us unto thee and unto the devoted servants.

Then convey Our greetings unto thy children and thy kinsmen who have chosen for themselves a path unto God. Then make mention of thy brother who is named Ahmad. Say: Beware lest thou hesitate in the Cause of thy Lord. Hearken unto My words and pass along the path as a cloud. Hast thou heard in all creation of a Revelation mightier than this Revelation which hath appeared with the truth? Nay, by thy Lord! To this do they that are possessed of understanding bear witness. This is He above Whose head the Tongue of Grandeur and Glory proclaimeth: O peoples of earth and heaven! This is My Manifestation and My Beauty, then My greatness and My proof. Turn ye unto Him with humility and contrition. Say: They who claim to love thee, love thee for their own sakes, but God loveth thee for thine own sake and hath called thee through the tongue of this Youth and aforetime through the tongues of His Messengers. Fear thou God, unto Whom returneth the decree of the beginning and the end.

Remember thou, on Our part, him who hath been named Ahmad, who appeared before Our countenance in Iraq, that he may detach himself from all else save God and draw nigh unto the All-Merciful. O Ahmad! We behold thee lingering about the Fire. Hear thou My word, then enter therein with the leave of thy Lord. By God! It is light unto him who hath detached himself from all things and hath clung to the cord of God’s command, the Mighty, the Bountiful. O Ahmad! Ponder upon that which thou hast, then upon the proofs of the Prophets of old, and that which hath been sent down in the Bayan, that thou mayest wholly detach thyself from all things and turn unto the sanctuary of nearness, the station wherein the lights of the Countenance shine forth with a radiance that illumineth the realities of all created things. None hath any choice except to deny God’s Messengers of old or to follow this Cause which hath dawned from the horizon of holiness with power and sovereignty.

O Muhammad! Deliver unto him the messages of thy Lord, that he may stand firm in the Cause of his Lord and not be circumspect in this matter round which circle both proof and evidence. Whoso turneth to God, it shall be for his own good, and whoso turneth away, it shall be to his own loss. Naught is incumbent upon thee except to convey unto men the Cause of thy Lord and to call them unto the All-Highest Paradise. Beware lest thou grieve over aught, for verily thy Lord is with thee at all times. There hath been ordained for thee, with thy Lord, a station which none knoweth save God, the Mighty, the All-Glorious. Tarry not in thy place, neither be silent in the remembrance of thy Lord.

Make mention of Him amongst His servants, that perchance there may be kindled in their hearts the fire of the love of God. Thus hast thou been commanded by thy Lord, the Mighty, the All-Merciful. Convey the greetings of the Youth to the faces of them that have believed, then gather them beneath the shade of this Paradise which God hath created above all other paradises. Say: O people! Know ye the worth of these days and be not of them that have cast the command of God behind their backs and are of the lost. Give thanks unto God for having aided you to recognize His Self and for having sent down unto you verses from the heaven of grace, that He might draw you nigh unto a station which God hath sanctified from the knowledge of them that have transgressed, who have exceeded the bounds set by God and have forgotten His covenant and His testament. By God! They are none other than the companions of error.

And upon thee be glory, and upon whomsoever hath held fast unto God and shunned Satan.