Volume 036: Late Edirne (September 1867 – August 1868) (4 of 7)

BH00343: Suriy-i-Fadl

Section 1: “O Dhabih! We have previously sent thee…”

He is the Most Exalted, the Most High!

O Dhabih! We have previously sent thee a mighty and impregnable Tablet wherein was mentioned that which God hath made a testimony unto those who dwell in the highest Paradise and unto those who abide in the kingdom of the heavens and earth. Act thou in accordance with that which is therein contained, by My sovereignty which fadeth not and by My all-encompassing Self from which nothing escapeth nor is any knowledge hidden. Fear not those whom thou findest to be like earthworms, nay less than that, for they say “We believed in Ali aforetime,” yet when His sovereignty, grandeur and majesty were made manifest, they denied Him and became of those who turned aside.

O servant! Deliver unto Our veiled servants that which We have commanded thee. Tarry not in thy Lord’s command, and be not patient therein, for patience is praiseworthy save in the mention of My Name, the Most High, the All-Knowing. Open thy lips and let issue forth from them the pearls of thy Lord’s remembrance, then scatter them upon the heads of them that are nigh, for those beneath them have no eyes to distinguish pearl from stone; nay, stone to them is preferable to a precious and holy pearl.

O Dhabih! By the True God! Should all things today desire to learn of what was and what shall be, to ascend unto the holy atmosphere of the Kingdom, to mount unto the Sadratu’l-Muntaha—the seat of the manifestation of Our most beautiful Names—and to drink from the cups of everlasting life from the manifestations of thy Lord’s name, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate, they would be enabled to do so, for the sun of the remembrance of thy Lord’s name hath shone forth in such wise that by its radiance the dwellers of the heavens and earth have been illumined. Say: O concourse of deniers! You and all that ye possess are, in the estimation of Him Who by His sovereignty is established upon the throne of mighty glory, but as a gnat’s eye, nay less than that, were ye but to perceive it.

O Dhabih! Drink at all times from thy Lord’s words the wine of immortality that it may purify thee from all that beareth a name, and from all that hath a sign, from all that hath attachment, and from every mighty veil. And shouldst thou meet any among the deniers, stretch forth thy hand with the power of My hand within whose grasp lieth the kingdom of all things, then take hold of his ear with thy hand and bring thy mouth close to his ear and say: O servant! Didst thou not claim that thou hadst rent asunder the veils of all religions and purified thyself from all defects, and consider thyself among the believers, adducing proof for thy religion in God, the Supreme, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Most High, the Omnipotent, through what was revealed unto Him of the verses of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, and thus didst thou establish thy religion over others, as thy own self beareth witness, if thou be of the deniers?

Yet when He changed His former Name and donned the garment of another of His most beautiful Names, why didst thou turn away from Him and become of the deniers? Fie upon thee and upon thy state! Then shall thy very essence curse thee, then thy self and thy spirit, then all who are in the heavens and earth.

Dost thou deny Him at Whose meeting the eyes of the denizens of Paradise have been solaced, and in Whose presence the dwellers of the highest Paradise have sought blessing? Yet thou deemest thyself virtuous in thy deed. Nay, by the Lord of the realm of glory! Rather thou art a liar unto thyself, and to this now testifieth the Tongue of God, the Sovereign, the Speaking, the All-Knowing. Say: O thou who associateth partners with God! Doth there remain any proof that hath not been manifested in truth, or any bounty that hath not been perfected through grace, or any word that hath not reached the pole of glory? Say: By God! The Sovereign of Words hath come upon clouds of verses, whereupon the words of every obstinate misbeliever have been struck dumb. When demonstrating the truth of My Cause, turnest thou thy gaze toward aught else beside Me? Verily, God is My witness, every created thing shall denounce thee and all the atoms of the earth shall pronounce thee as an infidel.

O thou who hast turned away! What is thy proof in this matter? Bring it forth! By God, thou art powerless, as is he whom thou hast taken as thy lord apart from My Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate. All existence hath been humbled before My sovereignty, all traces have been effaced before My traces, all creation hath trembled before My dominion, and the denizens of Sinai were brought to naught upon the sublime Mount at the revelation of the lights of My Face, the Dawning, the Holy, the Mighty, the Luminous. Can aught besides thy Lord suffice thee in any matter? Bring it forth if thou art able! Can any besides Him enrich thee in any way? Nay, by My Beauty, before Whose radiant light the people of the highest Paradise and the realities of the Messengers have fallen prostrate! Say: This Day none shall bear the Throne of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, save His Own Self, the Almighty, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful—thus hath the matter been ordained, if thou be of them that know.

Say: O manifestation of hatred! If thou didst believe aforetime in the Manifestation of thy Lord’s Self, Who was named Ali before Nabil, through what shone forth from the Dayspring of the Cause with the signs of God, the King, the Supreme, the Mighty, the All-Knowing—by God, these are His verses, sent down from the heaven of destiny once again through the grace that hath shone from the horizon of Glory. This is His proof, which hath appeared in the form of letters—thou beholdest it once upon the sea of meanings in the form of ships, then once in the form of waves, then once in the form of fish. Therefore, fear God Who created and fashioned thee, strip thy body of all allusions, then enter this crimson sea by thy Lord’s leave, the Most High, and take thy portion thereof, and be not of the patient ones.

If thou hast believed in God through what hath appeared of His sovereignty, might and majesty—by God, the Truth, there hath appeared a power the like of which hath never appeared in creation, and it hath encompassed all contingent beings of the first and the last. I know not, O thou veiled and rejected one, by what proof thy faith was established, and by what evidence thou deniest the faith of those who have believed in God in this Revelation which hath appeared with truth and whose grace hath encompassed the worlds. It behooveth thee, O thou who hast turned away, to ask thy mother about thy condition, that thou mayest perchance become aware of thy vile self, recognize it, and be of them that know.

Say: The ocean of grandeur hath surged on the right hand of the Throne, and with but a drop thereof all servants would be purified, were they to be of the assured ones. The sun of bounty hath shone from the horizon of the Cause with a radiance by whose light all the worlds are illumined. The clouds of grace have been raised up, raining down at every moment verses of mighty, impregnable glory. By God, the Truth, through one drop thereof there would spring forth from the soil of every soul the anemones of utterance, were they to be of them that turn unto Him.

Say: Do ye forbid yourselves from the sacred sanctuary while calling yourselves among its circlers? Say: This, verily, is God’s sanctuary in the Supreme Concourse, the Holy Kaaba in the heaven of eternity, the Spot where the Command was fulfilled in the kingdom of names, the Sacred Monument between earth and heaven, and the House Inhabited in the heaven of this luminous, resplendent Revelation. Say: All words have prostrated themselves before the Word of God, thy Lord, and all suns have been darkened before the radiance of the dawning lights of this Countenance, which hath rent asunder the veil by its sovereignty and manifested its lights amongst the worlds.

And if thou seest My Name, the Ha, remind him with the verses of thy Lord, that perchance he may be of them that turn towards the direction whither whosoever turneth hath attained salvation, and whoso turneth away hath perished. Thus hath the Spirit spoken at this hour between the heavens and the earth. Say: O servant, hearken unto My words! By God, the Truth, thou shalt find no counsellor more faithful than I. Tarry not upon the path, but pass by like the passing of a cloud. Thus did We command thee before, and thus do We command thee now, and if thou acceptest not from Me, We shall surely command thee thereafter, and after thereafter, until thou passest by through My sovereign, conquering, mighty and wise authority.

Section 2: “Rend asunder the veils of idle fancy through…”

Rend asunder the veils of idle fancy through My remembrance and My Name, and cast behind thee all that holdeth thee back. Then appear suddenly through the appearance of thy Lord, and be not of the patient ones. Beware lest leadership prevent thee from the remembrance of thy Lord. By God, the Truth, were all who are in the heavens and on earth to prostrate before thee, yet thou be not beneath My shadow, it would profit thee not—and to this thy spirit beareth witness, if thou be of them that hear. Dost thou love to be of those whom leadership prevented in the days when the heaven of the Cause was cleft asunder and the Sun of the Beauty of thy Lord, the Most High, the Most Great, came riding upon holy clouds, and they occupied themselves with their leadership and denied God, their Creator and their Fashioner, until they pronounced His death sentence after He had come unto them with a proof from God and a mighty evidence?

By God, O servant, My purpose hath been naught but to purify thee from all that beseemeth thee not, and whenever I have remained silent in mentioning thee, the Tongue of God speaketh through My tongue and commandeth Me to convey unto thee, and naught is incumbent upon Me save clear delivery. Reflect within thyself for less than a moment—hast thou heard of a Revelation more mighty than this, or of verses greater than what hath been sent down in truth? Then speak with pure sincerity and be of those who turned unto the Most Sublime Vision on the Day when the faces of all created things were transformed.

And if thou fearest for thy faith, take this Tablet and preserve it in the pocket of thy trust, and when thou enterest the gathering place of the resurrection on the Day when all created things shall be raised before the face of thy Lord through His wondrous and new breezes, and God shall ask thee by what proof thou didst believe in this Revelation, then bring forth the Tablet and say: By this Book, sent down, blessed, ancient. Then read what hath been revealed therein before the face of thy Lord, the station wherein all the Prophets and Messengers bear witness. By God, then shall all stretch forth their hands toward thee and take the Tablet and place it upon their eyes out of longing to meet Me and ardent love for Me, and they shall find from it the fragrance of My holy and mighty holiness.

Thus have We detailed the verses unto thee that thou mayest be at peace within thyself and be of them that are at peace. And if God were to chastise thee for believing in His verses in this Revelation, then by what proof would He chastise those who believed not in ʿAli before, and before him in Muhammad the Messenger of God, and before him in Jesus son of Mary, and before him in Moses, and before him in Abraham, until the Revelations end at the First Creation who was created by the will of thy Lord, the Powerful, the Purposeful.

O My Name! Verily the Cause is more manifest than to be concealed and more evident than to be veiled, and it shineth like the sun at high noon, and if thou wouldst free thyself from the veils, thou wouldst attain unto it in less than the twinkling of an eye. And this verily is the truth, the certain truth. Let thine eye be attentive to the words of Him Who speaketh the truth, and beware not to dispute idly concerning the Words of God, after they have been sent down unto you, even though all men should advise thee to do so, and withhold not thyself from His grace even if both worlds should prevent thee therefrom.

Behold thy Lord’s Cause with thine own eyes, then recognize Him through thyself and thy spirit, for the recognition of others shall not serve as proof for thee, nor shall the rejection of all else stand as evidence against thee. Beware lest thou be veiled from Him Who, shouldst thou be veiled from Him for less than a moment, would cause thy deeds to be rendered null—and every Scripture sent down aforetime from the tablets of God, the Sovereign, the All-Powerful, doth verify Me in this. Verily, those who turned away from this Beauty, when they found themselves powerless before thy Lord’s might, arose to practice deception and at every moment devise new schemes. Thus have We counseled thee before and now, and thou mayest choose for thyself what thou willest, for verily thy Lord is independent of all worlds.

And verily thou, O Dhabih, deliver the messages of thy Lord in truth and justice, and fear not any possessor of might, nor any wielder of power, nor any holder of great dominion. Blessed is the soul that forsaketh all things and taketh what hath shone forth from this resplendent, luminous, and effulgent Dawn. How excellent is the soul that draweth nigh unto this Ocean and taketh its portion therefrom, and doth not deprive itself thereof nor remain among the heedless. Say: Today, were all who are in the heavens and on earth to possess books, scrolls and tablets, and were people to cling to them, these would profit them not except by God’s leave. Thus hath the finger of Truth inscribed upon the preserved tablets of might. For all writings point to His Cause and all books lead to His path. When He appeared in truth, naught profiteth a soul except by His command. Thus hath the Sun of wisdom shone forth from the horizon of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful.

Say: Is there any doubt about God, or about His signs, or about His power which encompasseth all created things? O people! Associate not partners with God, nor take idols as gods besides Him. Fear God and be ye among the righteous. Say: Today, whatsoever preventeth you from God is an idol, even were it to be of the highest existence. For the excellence of every possessor of excellence lieth in his acknowledgment of God, his recognition of His Self, his entry beneath His shadow, and his prostration before His exalted and mighty Countenance. And should anyone deprive himself of what We have revealed unto thee, he would be numbered among the idolaters in the sight of thy Lord, and thus hath his name been inscribed upon the preserved tablets of might.

O Dhabih! Hearken unto the words of Him Who calleth thee with grace and loveth thee for His own sake, purely for the sake of thy Lord. Hold not thy tongue back from remembrance, for We created it for this grace, if thou be of them that know. And if thou findest not the Beloved upon earth, then convey what We have revealed unto him who walketh in His footsteps, and be thou among the deliverers of the message. Thus have We commanded thee in a previous tablet and We command thee now as a grace from thy Lord unto thee and unto Our believing servants who transgress not the bounds set by God and His command, and who hold fast unto a mighty and manifest handle.

Then make mention from Us of thy brother. Verily We sent unto him aforetime a gracious letter that his soul might be assured thereby and that he might stand firm in the Cause of his Lord and be among the thankful. Then remind those in whose hearts thou findest the fragrances of My love and on whose faces thou beholdest the brightness of joy. But besides these, their names shall not be mentioned before thy Lord; rather, they are as lost ones, possessing neither mention, nor name, nor trace before thy Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. And the radiance that hath shone forth from the horizon of holiness be upon thee and upon those who hearken unto thy words concerning the Cause of God, thy Lord and the Lord of all that is seen and unseen, and the Lord of all worlds.

BH00376: Suriy-i-Fath

Section 1: “O Fath-i-A’zam! I have taken up the Pen…”

In the Name of our Sustaining Lord

O Fath-i-A’zam! I have taken up the Pen to reveal unto thee that which will gladden thee and kindle within thy heart that which will draw thee to the seat of God, the Most High, the Most Great. When I reached this stage in My utterance, I heard the lamentation of My heart and the sighing of My Pen, and both prevented Me from warbling upon the twigs of the Divine Lote-Tree in the paradise of this transcendent, holy and luminous Tablet. Sorrows overtook Me to such degree that it was as though I had forgotten the melodies of God, and the Spirit was prevented from singing within My breast by reason of that which the hands of the oppressors have wrought. Therefore do Mine eyes weep, and My inner being mourneth, and My heart lamenteth, and My Pen crieth out and saith:

“O Fath of eternity! By God, the Ancient Beauty hath fallen into the pit of the enemies through that which the hands of these people have wrought—they who were not ashamed before God and who speak what their own desires command them, and what Satan casteth into their breasts, and who fear not God Who created them by a command from Him. Verily, there is no God but Him. His is the creation and the command, and all return unto Him.”

There have been presented before Us in these days various questions. By God, were I to bear the weight of the heavens and earth, it would be easier for Me than to turn My gaze toward that which thou hast asked about. By My life, this is indeed a grievous calamity. One asked whether God is capable of turning brass into gold, or ruby into ash, or gold into brass. Another asked whether it is possible for man to become dust after he witnesseth this transformation with his own eyes at all times. Likewise were other questions which the Pen loveth not even to mention their names, how much less to expound upon them and what hath been ordained concerning them. Fie upon them for having followed Satan in what he whispered in their breasts, and they were among the ungodly.

I know not of which affliction to complain—shall I complain of their suspicions, or of their questions, or of that which hath befallen My oppressed and sorrowful Self? This, whilst thou knowest they have not understood the Cause and are submerged in the oceans of their vain imaginings to such extent that they desire not to emerge therefrom. Thus have their souls enticed them to a matter whereby they have disbelieved in Him in Whom they had believed, after He appeared with all the signs from God, the Protector, the Mighty, the Powerful.

Would that thou wert present before the Throne to witness what hath befallen the Youth from those whom We protected by the hands of power throughout months and years, and to witness the one who rose against Me and disputed with My Self until he pronounced judgment against Me without any clear proof or luminous Book. Say: O people! If ye dispute about the signs of God, then by what discourse can your faith in God, your Creator, be proven? Bring it forth and be not among the patient ones.

Among those who turned away was he who was known by the letter Jim and was in Iraq. He then drew forth the sword of falsehood and hypocrisy, even as We had informed you before that when the sun setteth, the birds of night begin to stir. Thus appeared what God had informed you of before, and with Him is the knowledge of the heavens and earth, and the knowledge of all things in a clear Book.

And besides him was she who believed then disbelieved, and God was innocent of her and her deeds. By God, everyone who hath found the fragrances of purity from the direction of God and discovered the sweet scents of the garment from the holy and luminous Temple fleeth from her actions. Would that thou hadst been informed thereof and hadst never heard this drop from her ocean. No one has known what she truly was except Him Who encompasses all things with His all-pervading, all-encompassing knowledge. She arose in opposition after having believed, and fabricated against Me whatever lay within her power. Thereby was she immersed in the ocean of fire, yet she perceived it not. She bartered the love of God for her own calumnies. By God! The Pen is ashamed to recount what she committed against God, the Most High, the Most Great.

Say: O people! Slay me not with the swords of opposition. By God! I concealed Myself from you for successive years and desired not that anyone should recognize Me, but God manifested Me and caused Me to speak with truth, and sent Me to you with clear authority. If this be My crime, then pardon Me. I am not the first of transgressors. Indeed, there came before Me ʿAli with what I have brought you, and before him Muhammad, the Messenger of God, with an impregnable Arabic Book. I speak naught except what the Spirit casts into My illumined heart.

Among the people are those who object that “thou dost claim a different station each day”. Say: Yea, by My Lord! I am, at every moment, in a new condition, and I desire not to remain fixed in any station. I beseech God to raise Me at every instant to a station more exalted than before. Without this, the essence of My heart would not be content, were ye but to know. Say: The Revelation of which I am the bearer is adapted to humanity’s spiritual receptiveness and capacity; otherwise, the Light that shines within me can neither wax nor wane. Whatever I manifest is nothing more or less than the measure of the Divine glory which God has bidden me reveal, lest the hearts of the believers be disturbed.

Remember, O people, when the Revealer of the Bayan came to you with novel and holy verses, saying: “I am the Gate of Knowledge, and whoso believeth concerning Me more than this hath indeed fabricated a calumny and earned for himself a grievous sin.” Then He said: “I am verily the promised Qa’im Whose appearance was promised you in sacred scrolls.” Then did He, exalted be His remembrance, declare: “I am the Primal Point, which is indeed Muhammad, the Messenger of God, as ye have heard and witnessed in the Tablets of God, the Sovereign, the All-Wise.” When the essence of certain souls had been elevated, He then rent asunder the veil and rose from the Holy Dayspring, proclaiming: “I am God, there is no God but Me, your Lord and the Lord of all worlds. I am He Who, from the beginning that hath no beginning, hath been one God, Single, Unique, Alone, Self-Subsisting. I have taken neither partner, nor likeness, nor vizier, nor peer. I have sent Prophets and Messengers from the beginning of beginnings and shall continue to send them unto the end of endings.”

Say: O people! Fear God and turn not to anything else, but gaze upon the Most Sublime Vision with the eye that God hath made as the sign of His eye within you, that ye may be among those endowed with insight. Then look to the Manifestation itself and that whereby your faith was established. By God! This is the word of truth, and after truth there is naught but manifest error. If ye find and witness that whereby the mission of every Prophet was established, then oppose Me not, even should We pronounce upon the heaven the decree of earth. Fear God, O people! Wrong not yourselves and be not among the wrongdoers. Speak not concerning this Youth that which God hath not permitted you, and be not among the ignorant.

Section 2: “By God, O people, I desired nothing…”

By God, O people, I desired nothing for myself and followed all the Manifestations of the past, and aided the Cause of God in every way in those days when faces were veiled in fear of the oppressors. I showed humility to every soul in the Bayan and lowered the wing of submission to every sound believer. By God, O people, I protected my brother and his brethren behind his back to the extent of my power, until the breezes of might wafted from the direction of God, the Powerful, the Almighty. I raised his mention among the servants and taught him through all nights and days, and revealed in his praise what none can reckon save God, the Reckoner, the All-Knowing. There was none in the Bayan but that I revealed Tablets for him, wherein We mentioned him with the most exalted mention, to which every fair-minded and trustworthy one bears witness. By God, besides Whom there is none other God, I concealed myself though I was shining among the servants, and manifested his self through words one letter of which outweighs, in the sight of God, all that exists between the heavens and earth.

And you, O people of the Bayan, witness all this, were it not for the veils of self and desire that prevent you. Judge fairly then—did I fall short in any matter? Nay, by the Lord of all worlds! By God, I was among enemies in days when souls trembled for my life from the hosts of the oppressors, and I received the arrows of the enemies with my breast lest they fall upon them. Judge fairly then—could one whose deeds were such as you witnessed be suspected of loving this world, or of seeking to exalt his own mention, or of self-glorification? Nay, by the Lord of the Mighty Throne! By God, O people, that has befallen Me which cannot be mentioned by pen or tongue. Whenever I wish to speak of it, My intense weeping and the sorrow of My heart and the trembling of My limbs prevent Me. To this bears witness what flows from My grieving pen.

When My brother saw that the Cause had advanced and My name had become renowned among the loved ones, he desired to kill Me. When God thwarted him in this and I departed from among them, he took up the pen and wrote concerning Me that which I am ashamed to mention, casting the blame upon My wronged and solitary self, attributing every evil to Me in his words to instill hatred in the breasts of the rebellious. His words in his own hand are still in My possession, and whoever wishes to see them may come into the presence of this Youth to see and learn what has befallen Me in this remote prison. Salman has witnessed, and We ask God to make him speak truthfully of what he witnessed with his own eyes, that he may be among those who would not sell the slave of truth for numerous coins of falsehood. When I witnessed and learned what he had written concerning Me, I lamented within Myself with the lamentation of the distressed, and I wept over the Cause, for I knew that what he had committed would cause God’s Cause to be lost among the people, though His Cause is sanctified above being changed by anything.

However, people are not all of one capacity, and there must be weak ones among them who will be disturbed by such matters, except those whom God protects through His authority—and He is indeed the Forgiving, the Merciful. By God the Truth, had My blood been shed a thousand times, it would have been better in My sight than for these matters to become known among the servants. But God has decreed what He willed, and He does what He pleases and ordains what He desires. Verily I was cognizant of what was within his soul from former times, yet We concealed it lest it cause the feet of the deluded ones to stumble. When that which was manifest appeared from him, I commanded that the people be informed, that their faith might be preserved and their deeds not be rendered vain, lest they be numbered among the lost. Therefore did We inform the servants and command them with that which they were commanded in all the Tablets from the Ancient Revealer, that they might purify their hearts from all allusions and behold the Manifestation with the eye of the Manifestation, not with the eye of any created thing, for none can perceive Him save through His own hallowed and all-seeing eye.

By God! I desired no authority or station for Myself, and even now am imprisoned beneath the hands of the oppressors. O people! Be fair in My Cause and follow not your desires, and be not of the heedless. Verily he who held a knife in his hand and would cut off the head of God writeth in the Tablets that should the Truth be made manifest, whether in the Bayan or elsewhere, whether it be through a servant or a free man, whether black or Ethiopian, “I shall follow Him and be of the believers.” Say: O servant! If thou art truthful in thy words, why dost thou dispute the signs of God, His sovereignty, His might and His power? Hast thou witnessed any Manifestation greater than what hath appeared in truth? Bring forth thy proof if thou art of the truthful ones. Verily He Who hath appeared is more manifest than the sun at high noon. Thou deniest Him and seekest to slay Him and writest that which every seeing eye testifieth to be false.

By God! Thou sayest as said the divines of the Qur’an when He came with clear sovereignty. They said:

“O people! We await the appearance of God and have hoped to attain His presence and reach His court. We desire naught save what God desireth for us.”

Yet they pronounced judgment against God until they slew Him with such injustice as hath no parallel in creation, and God is witness and knowing of this. By God! Such words issued not from their pens and mouths except to confound the Cause of God among His servants and lead them astray from the path. Would that the people were aware of the Cause and were of those who know! By God! As there was love for thee in My heart and We confirmed thee in the Cause, We therefore desire that thou shouldst stand firm in such wise as would astonish every steadfast one, and that thou shouldst behold God with thine illumined eye. And should others among the servants object as they have objected, verily thy Lord is independent of them.

Soon shall they know, at the time when the dust of death overshadoweth them and the might of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Omnipotent, seizeth them. Soon shall God destroy their souls and whatsoever of the world is with them, save those who have held fast to the divine cord and were upon a straight path. Arise to serve the Cause, then take the chalice of Baha between earth and heaven, then drink therefrom in the name of thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High. And shouldst thou find a sanctified heart, let it drink thereof and be not of the patient ones. Take hold of the reins of the Cause with the power of thy Lord and fear no one, then detach thyself from all the worlds.

The glory which hath shone forth from the horizon of eternity be upon thee and upon those who love thee in God, thy Lord and the Lord of all creation. And praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

BH00939: Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch)

He it is Who abideth forever in the Realm of Glory.

The Cause of God hath come down upon the clouds of utterance, while they that have joined partners with Him are afflicted with a sore torment. The hosts of Divine Revelation, bearing the banners of celestial inspiration, have descended from the heaven of His Tablet in the name of God, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, and the faithful rejoice in His victory and dominion, while the deniers are filled with dismay. O people! Do ye flee from the mercy of God after it hath pervaded all that is in the heavens and on the earth? Barter not away that mercy wherewith God hath favoured you, nor withhold yourselves therefrom, for they that turn away are indeed in grievous loss. The mercy of God is like unto the verses that are sent down from one same heaven: The true believers quaff therefrom the wine of everlasting life, while the ungodly drink a scalding draught. And whensoever the verses of God are rehearsed unto them, the fire of hatred is kindled in their breasts. Thus do they barter away the bounty that God hath bestowed upon them and are reckoned among the heedless.

Strive, O people, to enter beneath the sheltering shadow of the Word of God. Quaff, then, from it the choice wine of inner meaning and explanation, for it is the repository of the living waters of the All-Glorious and hath appeared from the horizon of the Will of the All-Merciful with matchless splendour. Say: Out of this Most Great Ocean there hath branched the Pre-existent Sea; blessed the one that hath attained and found repose upon its shores.

There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntaha this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork! Draw nigh unto Him, O people, and taste the fruits of wisdom and knowledge that have proceeded from Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Whoso hath failed to taste thereof is deprived of God’s bounty, though he partake of all that the earth can produce, could ye but perceive it!

A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great Tablet—a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people, that all may glorify thereby their Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, and extol the praise of their Creator and the sanctity of the Soul of God that holdeth sway over all created things. This, verily, is none other than a Word sent down by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the Ancient of Days. Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favoured servants.

Thus was I bidden to deliver unto you the message of God, your Creator, and I have fulfilled that whereunto I was bidden. Unto this bear witness God, and His angels, and His Messengers, and His sanctified servants. Inhale, then, the sweet savours of Paradise from its roses and be not of them that are deprived. Hasten to win your share of the grace which God hath bestowed upon you and suffer not yourselves to be veiled therefrom.

We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish.

O people! Hasten to enter beneath the shadow of God, that it may shield you from the blazing heat of this Day wherein none shall find shelter or refuge save under the shadow of His Name, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate. Attire yourselves, O people, with the raiment of certitude, that it may protect you from the darts of idle fancy and vain imaginings and that ye may be numbered with the faithful in these days—days wherein none may attain certitude nor achieve constancy in the Cause of God save by renouncing that which is current amongst men and by turning towards this hallowed and refulgent Beauty.

O people! Will ye take a false deity for your helper rather than God? Will ye follow the Most Great Idol before your Lord, the Almighty, the Most Powerful? Forsake their mention, O people, and seize the cup of life in the name of your Lord, the All-Merciful. By the righteousness of God! A single drop from this cup quickeneth all humankind, could ye but know it. Say: None shall be immune in this Day from God’s decree; none shall find refuge save in Him. This, verily, is the truth, and aught else is but manifest error.

God hath made it incumbent upon all to teach His Cause to the extent of their ability. Such is the decree that the Finger of might and power hath recorded in the Tablets of supernal glory. Whoso quickeneth but a single soul in this Revelation, it is as though he had quickened all humanity: Him will God, on the Day of Resurrection, raise again to life in the paradise of His oneness, adorned with the raiment of His own Self, the Sovereign Protector, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. Such is the nature of the assistance ye can render to your Lord, and naught else is worthy of mention in this Day in the presence of God, your Lord and the Lord of your sires of old.

As for thee, O servant, give ear unto that which We have admonished thee in this Tablet, and seek at all times the grace of thy Lord. Disseminate this Tablet amongst them that have believed in God and in His signs, that they may observe its injunctions and be numbered with the righteous.

Say: O people! Spread not disorder on the earth nor dispute with your fellow men, for this would ill beseem them that occupy, beneath the shadow of their Lord, the station of such as are faithful to the one true God. Whensoever ye encounter a thirsty soul, give him to drink from the cup of everlasting life; and whensoever ye find a hearing ear, recite unto him the verses of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Compassionate. Unloose your tongues with kindly words and, should ye find the people inclined towards the Sanctuary of God, summon them to the truth; otherwise leave them to their own selves and to that condition which is the reality of the nethermost fire. Beware lest ye cast the pearls of inner meaning before the blind and the barren in heart, inasmuch as they are deprived of beholding the light and are unable to distinguish the worthless pebble from the precious and gleaming pearl.

Wert thou for a thousand years to recite unto a stone the verses of wondrous glory, would it ever be affected by them or comprehend their significance? Nay, by thy Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate! Wert thou to recite unto the deaf all the verses of God, would they hear a single letter thereof? Nay, by His ancient and glorious Beauty!

Thus have We imparted unto thee the gems of divine wisdom and utterance, that thou mayest fix thy gaze upon thy Lord and rid thyself of all attachment to the world. May His spirit rest upon thee and upon them that abide within the habitation of holiness and that are endued with true constancy in the Cause of their Lord.

BH00994: Suriy-i-Ism

He is the Most Wondrous in the Most Glorious Horizon!

O My Name! Hearken unto the Call of God from the Dawning Place of every tongue: “I am God, thy Lord and the Lord of all things and the Lord of the worlds!” Then listen to that which is revealed unto thee from the direction of utterance by My Self, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate: “Verily, there is none other God but I, the Mighty, the Wise.” Arise, then warn the servants of what they have neglected in regard to the Cause of God, then gladden them with the good pleasure of God, the Most High, the Almighty, the Great.

Say: O people! Do ye marvel that the Beauty of the Most Exalted One hath come unto you once again in this radiant and luminous raiment? Say: In this Revelation are signs for those who are endued with insight, clear proofs for them that are near, and tokens for those who are possessed of discernment.

O My Name! Turn thy face toward the Sacred Precinct. By God! This is verily the Sanctuary of God amongst you, the Sacred Domain in your midst, and the Scene of His Command between the heavens and the earth. Cast behind thee all names, place beneath thy feet all titles, and leave sovereignty to its people, for thy Lord desireth to behold thee stripped of all garments that He may attire thee with the ornament of His Cause amidst all the worlds.

Know thou that between Us and the servants there hath been set up a ladder having three steps. The first is associated with this world and its adornments, the second with the next world and what hath been ordained therein, and the third with the names and their kingdom. Whoso transcendeth these stations will attain unto the Sovereign of Names and Attributes more quickly than the twinkling of an eye. O people of Baha! Let not yourselves be detained at these waypoints, but pass beyond them as a cloud passeth by—thus doth it behoove Our near servants. And whoso passeth beyond them while remaining steadfast in My love, should he lift his head toward the heights, he will witness My Kingdom and hear My melodies, and be numbered among the successful ones.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Deprive not yourselves of the bounties of these days. Seize them, then await My Cause, the Dawning, the Mighty, the Wondrous. Say: Free yourselves, O people, then purify your souls from turning to aught else but Me. Through My remembrance is everything purified, if ye be of them that know. Say: Today, were all things to free themselves from the veils of self and desire, God would attire them all in the garment of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth” in the kingdom of creation, that the sign of His sovereignty might be manifested in all things. Exalted be this Sovereign, the Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Mighty, the Powerful.

O servant! Read what hath reached thee of the signs of God with myriads of those who are nigh, that thou mayest be attracted thereby and attract through thy melodies the hearts of all created things. And whoso readeth the verses of God alone in his house, the angels that spread the divine fragrances will waft their perfume in all directions, and every pure soul will be transformed thereby, even though he may not be conscious of it at the time. Yet this grace will become manifest unto him in one of the days to come. Thus have the hidden mysteries of the Cause been ordained by the Ordainer, the Wise.

O Khalil! By God! Even now doth the Pen move upon the Tablet, yet it weepeth and crieth out within itself, and with it doth the Lamp before the Throne lament by reason of what hath befallen the Ancient Beauty at the hands of those who were raised up through His Will—and God is witness unto this and knoweth it. And whoso purifieth his ears from the clamor of the idolaters and turneth toward all things will hear their wailing and their outcry at the tribulations We have suffered from Our idolatrous servants. Thus have We imparted unto thee a mention of Our tribulations that thou mayest become aware of what hath befallen My Self and be of them that are patient in what befalleth them. Aid thy Lord in every circumstance and be among the helpers. Then remind the people of that which the Spirit hath spoken in this luminous and perspicuous Tablet.

Say: O people! Spread not corruption in the earth, nor wage war with anyone. Be patient in all things, place your trust in God, and be of them that trust in Him. Aid your Lord, the All-Merciful, with the swords of wisdom and utterance, for this befits human dignity. Naught else is worthy of God, the Glorified Sovereign, yet the people are heedless of this and are numbered with the negligent. O people! Open wide the portals of your hearts with the keys of remembrance through this All-Wise Remembrance. God desires naught from the earth and all that is therein save the hearts of His servants, which He hath made the throne for the manifestation of His revelations. Therefore, sanctify them from all else, that there may be impressed upon them that for which they were created. This verily is a great bounty.

Say: O people! Adorn your tongues with truthfulness and your souls with trustworthiness. Beware, O people, lest ye act treacherously toward anyone. Be ye God’s trustees amongst His creatures and be of the beneficent. They that commit oppression and wickedness—their efforts shall be brought to naught and they shall be numbered with the lost.

Strive, O people, that your eyes may be directed towards the court of God’s mercy, your hearts be mindful of the wondrous remembrances of Him, your souls be assured through His gifts and bounty, and your feet traverse the paths of His good-pleasure. This is My counsel unto you, if ye be of them that act. Whoso faileth to manifest the fragrances of the Cause and the traces of his Lord shall not be mentioned before God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Say: In this Day, none shall be accounted as belonging to God and the Manifestation of His Self unless he becomes a standard of guidance among His servants, such that through his deeds the seekers may find guidance, the radiance of the All-Merciful may be witnessed in his countenance, and the remembrance of God, the Most High, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, may be heard from his heart and tongue. Thus doth the Mighty Cause instruct you on this night wherein the Dove of the Cause warbleth sorrowful verses.

Know then, O thou who art assured of God, that thy Lord hath chosen thee for His love and hath favored thee in many ways. He hath delivered thee from heedlessness, aided thee to recognize His Self, preferred thee above many of His creatures, and made thee among them that know. He is aware of what hath befallen thee in His path and what hardships thou hast borne for His love and good-pleasure. With Him is the knowledge of the heavens and earth, and not an atom’s weight of the deeds of all creation escapeth the Tablet of His Decree. Well is it with thee for having shown patience in the days of God, for having attained unto them, and for being among them that comprehend. Therefore, strive within thyself to remain steadfast in the Cause in such wise that the utterances of the world cannot cause thee to slip. Then arise to praise thy Lord, convey His messages unto them that have believed in God and His signs, make them steadfast in His Cause, and be thou of the steadfast.

BH00532: Suriy-i-Ismuna’l-Mursil

This is the Surah of Our Name “The Messenger,” which We have sent down from the dominion of grace to be a herald unto all the worlds. He is the Most Wondrous, the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious!

This is a Book from the presence of Baha to him who hath acknowledged God and recognized His sovereignty, and hath then taken his seat upon a sublime and holy seat. Therein is that which will guide him aright should he hearken unto what hath been sent down therein and not withhold the ear of his heart from hearkening unto the Word of God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Inaccessible.

God hath indeed manifested Himself in this Tablet through His Name “The Messenger” unto all created things, that none may be debarred from the wondrous treasures concealed within this blessed and wondrous Name. We have made this Tablet the source of the manifestation of this Name throughout all worlds, and through it We raised up the Messengers aforetime—though there was no “aforetime” before it—and sent them unto the servants as a command from Our presence, for verily We have ever been One Who commandeth. And We shall continue to send through it the Messengers unto the end that hath no end, through Our power, for verily We have ever been the Powerful One.

This Tablet was inscribed by the Pen of Power and preserved behind the veil of infallibility. Then did We reveal it in truth and send it forth in the most excellent form, in the image of these radiant, holy and luminous words:

O thou Name! We have made thee the Manifestation of Our Messengers in the Kingdom of Names and have ordained for thee that which none among all created things can reckon. We have raised thee in truth to a station beneath whose shadow all the Messengers have sought shelter, and through thee We send forth the Messengers to all the worlds of thy Lord. This is what We have ordained for thee as a bounty from Our presence for Our discerning servants.

Among the Messengers are those whom We raise up in truth and send unto the servants with a Book and clear proof; among them are those whom We cause to speak through Our grace and whom We inspire with the wisdom of the Cause from Our presence—for verily We have power over all things; among them are those to whom We reveal through messengers from the angels; among them are those in whose breasts We cause the Spirit to speak with sanctified and wondrous inspirations; and among them are those whom We manifest with all of these and make them the manifestation of all names between earth and heaven. We purify them from the defilement of the idolaters, strengthen them with the Most Great Spirit, and make them the manifestation of Our Self to all who are in the kingdom of command and creation, ordaining for them the best of all worlds. Thus do We favor some above others as a grace from Our presence, for I am the Ancient Bestower of Grace.

Beyond these, We have manifested this Name unto all who are in the heavens and on earth, and We have made this Name a sun that all existence, both seen and unseen, might be illumined by its rays. None knoweth this save those who have been given spiritual vision by One All-Knowing, All-Wise. None shall be barred from the radiance of this Sun save those who place a veil between themselves and its light. Thus do We impart unto the servants that which will draw them nigh unto the Fountain of Knowledge and make plain the paths of understanding.

How many messengers there are upon whom the rays of this Sun have shone, yet they themselves remain unaware! For example, those who carry the messages of kings to various lands are messengers from them, and this Name hath shone upon them according to their station and the measure of their facing this glorious and wondrous Sun. Among them are those who bear God’s messages inscribed on tablets, yet understand them not and remain among the heedless. As ye observe, those whom they call “chapar” [couriers] carry God’s verses and His Book to and fro, spreading them throughout the lands, yet in their own souls they remain veiled, and many of them, were they to become aware of this, would not accept it within themselves and would not bear it, but rather would be among those who strive against it.

The effulgence of this Name shone upon them in their heedlessness of it. Thus hath the favor of thy Lord encompassed all the worlds. We have sent with these souls in all their journeys that which none among those possessed of knowledge can bear, how much less those beneath them. This is among the hidden mercies of their Lord upon them and upon Our near servants. Today their names are mentioned before God by the angels of divine messages, and We have made them harbingers of glad tidings to Our seeking servants. These shall continue in this bounty until God shall reveal to them their deeds—a promise from Him. Verily, He is the best of those who fulfill their promises.

God shall soon raise them up through His sovereignty and shall make them recognize the Manifestation of His Self and shall bring them to the holy Paradise as a recompense for what they have wrought and for their having been among the doers. The reward of none of His servants shall be lost with God, and verily He doth not suffer to be lost the reward of those who do good. We inspired the kings aforetime to appoint servants for this Cause, that through them might be manifested that which God desired in those days regarding the diffusion of His signs. Thus do We expound unto you the power of your Lord, that ye may be among those who are certain of His power.

O Kings of the Bayan! Command your envoys, when the Sun of Certitude dawneth from the horizon of the All-Glorious, to proceed with God’s announcement and His Tablets throughout all lands and to inform the people of the holy and wondrous lights. Command these to carry the traces of God to all regions, that the breezes of holiness may waft over all the worlds. We have made you the manifestation of Our sovereignty for this purpose and for the recognition of your Creator at the time of His Manifestation. By God! This is better for you than the kingdom of the heavens and earth. Await ye the days of God that ye may find them, then after hearing, hasten to the holy seat, the place of the mighty throne.

By God! Your turning toward the direction of the All-Glorious and your standing before the throne of your Lord, the All-Merciful, is better than the worship of both worlds. Beware lest ye deprive yourselves of the bounty of those days. Then enter the sanctuary of Paradise, near to the mercy of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate. By God! Through this shall your sovereignty be strengthened, your station exalted, your mention elevated, and your names inscribed on holy and preserved tablets. In those days shall the bounty of your Creator encompass you and cause you to prevail over all who dwell on earth. Thus doth God command you in this Tablet lest ye be veiled at the time of His Manifestation by the ornaments of earth that ye possess, and lest ye withhold yourselves from that which is better for you than all that hath been created between the heavens and earth.

If ye hearken unto God’s counsel, it shall be for your own good, and if ye turn away, it shall be against you, and verily He is independent of His veiled servants. And if ye do not carry out that wherewith ye have been commanded in the Tablet, verily He will send His Tablets by the hands of the angels of glad tidings during your heedlessness thereof, even as We send them by the hands of your servants during your heedlessness and their heedlessness thereof. Thus hath your Lord been powerful over what He willeth and sovereign over what He desireth. None can prevent His sovereignty and nothing can frustrate Him in what He hath created in the heavens and earth, if ye be of those who know.

Even as ye have witnessed and heard all this from the Manifestations of Our Self at the time of Their appearance, insomuch that whenever the Manifestations of tyranny prevented Them from Their sovereignty and arose in opposition against Them, They manifested through Their sovereignty whatsoever They desired, and the Cause was established through Their words, and the back of the oppressors was broken. Thus have We detailed in this Tablet the mysteries of the Cause. Blessed is he who readeth it and pondereth what hath been inscribed therein and extracteth what hath been treasured therein of the pearls of luminous knowledge.

O Kings of the earth! In the realm of Baha, act not as did the kings act towards Us in these days. Among them was the King of Persia who suspended the Temple of the Cause in mid-air and slew it with such tyranny that all things wept over it, then did the denizens of Paradise and the Concourse of the realms above. He put to death a number of Our kinsmen, plundered Our possessions, and made Our family captives in the hands of the oppressors. He cast Me into prison time and again. By God the True One! None can reckon what befell Me in prison save God, the Numberer, the All-Knowing, the Almighty. Then he banished Me and My family from Our home until We reached Iraq in manifest sorrow.

We remained there until the King of Turkey rose against Us and summoned Us to his seat of sovereignty. When We reached him, there befell Us that which brought joy to the King of Persia, until We were cast into this Prison wherein the hands of loved ones were cut off from Our robe. Thus did he deal with Us, yet We give thanks to God for what hath befallen Us through his firm decrees, and We praise Him for this, hoping for what He hath in store. Verily He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

O Our Name the Messenger and its Manifestations! We have indeed exalted you and raised you up and made you Our manifestations in the Kingdom of Names. Beware lest anything deter you from your Creator or the exaltation of your mention veil you from your Originator. Fear God and be of the God-fearing.

O Mirrors of this Name! Deal not with My Self as did the mirrors in those days, for you were created by My command and were brought into being by the will of My Pen, if you be of those who perceive. Doth it befit shadows to deny the lights of the Sun or to protest against it after being created by it? Nay, by My Self, the All-Compelling, the Mighty, the Powerful. Their turning away from the Sun and their objection to it are like the dung-beetle’s aversion to the fragrance of musk. Thus do We set forth parables unto men that they may be of those who are assured of their Lord’s signs. Whoso faileth to deliver unto himself the messages of God his Lord and restraineth not himself from wickedness and unseemly deeds and from that which is forbidden in the Tablets—he is indeed deprived of the revelation of this Name and shall be of the deprived ones.

O people of Baha! Deliver unto yourselves the messages of your Lord, then deliver them unto men, that God’s messages may encompass all the worlds through you. Beware lest you deprive yourselves of this most mighty and impregnable grace. And thou, O servant, arise from thy slumber, then deliver unto men that which thou art commanded by thy Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Look not upon anyone, but look unto the face of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Luminous. Let thy Lord suffice thee above all else, that thou mayest find thyself independent of all the worlds. We have sent down this Ridvan and dispatched it to thee that thou mayest ponder upon it and upon its contents, and give thanks unto thy Lord and be of the thankful.

Detach thyself from the world and its ornaments, then seek God’s help in all matters and be of those who trust in Him. Then gather the people unto the Cause of thy Lord and be of the beneficent. Rise from the horizon of utterance with the sword of expression, then sing My melody between the heavens and the earth. If thou findest thyself extinguished, then kindle thyself from this Fire by the name of thy Lord, the Chosen One, that thou mayest attract through thee the hearts of the righteous among Our near servants. And if thou findest thyself ailing, then seek healing through My Name, the Healer, that through thee every sick and ailing one may be healed. Thus have We ordained for thee and commanded thee therewith, that thou mayest be of those who act. Upon thee be the light of thy Lord through My Most Glorious Name, and upon those who are with thee among Our assured servants.

BH01725: Suriy-i-Javad

The following hath been sent down from the heaven of grace unto the servant who hath been named Javad in the Kingdom of righteousness, and thus was grace inscribed by the Pen of Justice:

He is the Beloved, the Sorrowful

Thy Lord maketh mention of His servant Javad, who hath believed and been guided, and who stood firm in the Cause on the day when the feet of the mystics did slip, and they denied God, their Lord and the Lord of the last and the first. Hearken unto that which is revealed unto thee from the direction of the Luminary of the horizons, that the breaths of revelation may attract thee to the habitation of longing and draw thee nigh unto the prison, the seat of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most Glorious. We have, verily, bestowed Our favor upon thee time and again, then yet again after the first. By God! The bounty of thy Lord unto thee cannot be comprehended or reckoned, and the pens of the heavens and earth, and the hearts of the possessors of understanding, are powerless to reckon it.

We shall now recount unto thee tales of those who worshipped idols, lest the veils of men and their turning away from the beauty of thy Lord, the Most High, the Most Exalted, sadden thee, that thou mayest find peace within thyself and rejoice in thine essence, and witness those who have turned away from My beauty playing with ashes, heedless of Him by the light of Whose countenance the highest heavens were illumined, even unto the depths beneath the earth. Know thou that those who have taken idols as their guardians instead of God adduce as proof that these are the manifestations of the Cause among us, and when asked by what evidence they speak thus, they say: “We have found this in our books, therefore we follow them,” and they are among those who have strayed from the path and then transgressed.

These are they whom naught hath prevented from the ways of unity save blind imitation, even as thou hearest in this day from the concourse of the Bayan, such that if they were asked why they have turned away from the Beauty of the Adored One, they would say: “We found mention of this in our books and we followed what was mentioned,” though they understood not a single letter of the Book and comprehended not the essence of the Cause and its origin. We have veiled this through Our wisdom, and none knoweth it save those who have entered the Most Great Scene and are among those who have witnessed and seen. Were We to lift the veil from the face of the Cause, they would discover what is hidden, but We have concealed it until God shall reveal it in truth. He, verily, is the Protector of all who are patient and God-fearing.

On that Day thou shalt find most of those on earth worshipping idols and rejoicing therein. Doth this diminish aught from God, thy Lord? Nay, by My glorious and most glorious Self! These, despite their multitude, shall not be mentioned before thy Lord, as though they had never been created upon the earth. Thus recognize the condition of those who have denied God in these days and are among those who follow their passions and desires. Leave the mention of these, then ascend unto the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, that thou mayest hear the most sweet melodies in the Paradise of refuge, and sanctify thyself from base allusions, and attain unto the ultimate goal.

Say: O people! Do ye dispute with Us concerning what We have witnessed of the most great signs of Our Lord? By God! The vision of the One possessed of mighty strength wavered not from what it beheld from the most sweet Scene, and verily He it is Who is established and seated upon the throne. He sendeth down at every moment from the heaven of grace that whereof a single letter outweigheth all that hath been created in the cities of eternity. O people! The Spirit speaketh not of its own desire, but according to that which is revealed unto it from the direction of the throne of His Essence unto His most holy and most pure Self. Say: O people! Can ye prevent the sun from shining, or the sea from its waves, or the holy Tree from its fruits? By God! Ye shall never be able to do this, even if all things should follow you in what is witnessed and seen. Thus have We revealed unto thee that whereby thine eyes may be consoled.

Thus have We sent down to thee that which will solace thine eyes and turn thy heart toward the court of God, thy Lord, and will make thee a guide unto them that have gone astray and wandered far. And the mercy which floweth forth from the paradise of eternity be upon thee, O people of Baha, and upon them that have clung to the branches of this sacred and exalted Tree.

BH00503: Suriy-i-Khitab

In the name of the Most High, the Most Glorious, He Who shineth from the Horizon of the Most Luminous!

The remembrance of God, appearing as fire in the temple of light from the Lote-Tree of man, by leave of the All-Merciful, hath verily been witnessed at the heart of Paradise. He speaketh the truth, that there is none other God but Him, and that this Beauty is indeed the Beauty of the Cause in the most exalted Concourse, the Mystery concealed in the invisible realm of eternity, the Countenance of Revelation in the kingdom of origination, the Temple of Pre-existence in the cities of immortality, the Most Great Name in the realm of light, and the Beauty Manifest upon a holy and beloved form.

O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Glorious, and be not veiled from Him Who hath come upon clouds of holiness with a sovereignty manifest and true. The Kingdom of God moveth at His right hand, and the dominion of Names at His left, while before Him march the hosts of might invincible.

Follow ye, O people, God’s command and His decree, and follow not Satan. Follow ye the Beauty of the All-Merciful in these days, and fear God Who created you by His command, and be not amongst the tyrannous and sinful ones in the earth.

O Ahmad! Hearken unto that which is being revealed unto thee from the Realm of Eternity upon this blessed, ancient and everlasting Spot, whereon the Beauty of the All-Merciful hath established Himself upon the throne of transcendent glory, that the melodies of the All-Merciful may draw thee to the throne of the All-Highest Paradise, and sever thee from all created things, and purify thee from the defilement of the earth. This verily is of God’s bounty unto thee, if thou be of them that comprehend.

Stand firm in the Cause of thy Lord, then rend asunder the veils of idle fancy through Our power and authority, and fear thou no one, even should all who are on earth rise up against thee. Say: This Day shall nothing profit anyone, even were he to worship all who are in the heavens and on earth, except through My love and through the proof of My Revelation and My presence, and that which floweth from the Pen of glory with supreme knowledge. Cast behind thee all allusions, place beneath thy feet all intimations, and turn with a luminous countenance toward the court of sanctity with trustworthiness.

Verily thou didst enter the Precincts of Paradise and wert seated before the Throne when thou wert heedless of it, for We had veiled Our countenance in those days behind seventy thousand veils. When the appointed time was fulfilled, We unveiled the Face with a power that was supreme over all things.

Blessed art thou, O servant, for having attained the presence of God and heard His sweetest melodies with thy pure ear, and for the Ancient Beauty having appeared unto thee from the right hand of the Throne with wondrous holy lights. By the True God! One glance at the face of thy Lord would be better for thee than the treasures of the heavens and the earth, as testified by the Tongue of God from behind the holy tabernacle, if thou be of them that know.

Purify thine ears that thou mayest hear His sweetest melodies once again, for He is nigh unto the well-doers. Sanctify thy temple from human limitations, then ascend to the Most Sublime Vision, the station wherein the lights shine forth and which God hath made holy from the gaze of all in the world save those who have entered beneath the shadow of His mercy and are established upon the throne of His love. Thus hath the matter been decreed by One Who is Mighty and All-Wise.

Then doth the Tongue of the All-Merciful address from the direction of the All-Highest Paradise those servants who have believed in the Bayan, that perchance they may arise from slumber and turn back from that wherein they have been remiss in the Cause of God, and repent unto Him, for verily He is the Forgiver, the Merciful. And He saith:

O people of the Bayan! Did We not enjoin you in all Our Tablets not to cling to aught of what hath been created in earth and heaven at the time of the Manifestation? Why then have ye turned away from My Most Glorious Beauty in this My subsequent Revelation? Consider then, O heedless ones, that We may know what hath prevented you from this bounty which hath dawned from the holy horizon. Did We not warn you not to follow your desires when the heavens of the Cause would be cleft asunder and your Lord, the All-Merciful, would come in the shadows of the clouds? But when that day came with the truth, why did ye turn away from His presence and deny His signs, and stand at the brink of the fire?

Among you is he who hath been veiled by one of Our names and hath denied Him in Whom he had believed, turning back on his heels. And among you is he who hath clung to the cord of his desires and turned away from the Beauty unto Whom is his return and his ultimate abode. Thus do We bear witness unto you from the Supreme Horizon, and My True Self is witness to what I say.

O people of the Bayan! By the True God, if ye have believed in My Self, by God this is My Self Who hath appeared in truth, and if ye be thoroughly persuaded of the truth of My verses, I swear by My beauty, these are My verses which have descended through grace from the heaven of the Most Exalted Name. Fear God and do not reject the truth through your own devices, nor follow your own desires, for all matters end with the verses of God, which have descended in the most melodious tones from a holy and resplendent heaven.

Seize the value of these days and do not dispute My proof, My evidence, My grandeur and My majesty, and do not war against My Self, for this is recorded as a grievous error in the Mother Book. Hasten to the shore of grace with your hearts and veil not yourselves with the veils of idle fancies. Break the idols through Our power and fear not any wicked oppressor. Beware lest you deprive yourselves of God’s sanctuary or nullify your deeds through Satan’s whisperings. Hold fast to God’s cord in these days when all in the heavens and earth are intoxicated, save those who have come to God with illumined hearts. Thus has the tongue of the All-Merciful spoken at the midmost heart of paradise. Therefore arise, O people of the Bayan, and make up for what has passed you by. Walk steadfastly on the path of justice. Dispute not God’s verses after their revelation and war not against His Self. Rather, aid Him to the extent of your ability—this is better for you and for yourselves, though He is indeed independent of all worlds.

By God! The proof has appeared from the horizon of glory and the sun of certitude has shone forth from a wondrous holy vista. Fear God and follow not your selves and desires. Follow God’s religion in His Cause and transgress not what you have been commanded in the Book. Thus has the matter been decreed by One mighty and powerful. Say: The Cause has appeared in such wise that none has any way to deny it except by rejecting God’s Messengers, His Emissaries, His Books and the scrolls of His glory. Thus has the matter been inscribed in the tablets of decree by the Pen of Baha with truth. Those who have hesitated in this Cause are fewer than can be counted. By the True One! All their deeds have been rendered void unless they repent unto God and return to Him. Verily He is the Forgiver of His servants and was ever merciful to the truth. He forgives whom He wishes and chastises whom He wishes. Nothing escapes His knowledge and He encompasses all things.

O servant! When the Tablet of Eternity reaches you, arise from your seat, approach it with gracious humility, take it in your hands, place it upon your head and say:

“O my God! I bear witness in this my station that You are God, there is no God but You, and that the Primal Point is the manifestation of Your revelation, Your emergence, Your sovereignty and Your majesty. Through Him the sun of Your bounties has shone upon all the worlds. And I bear witness that He Who has appeared in truth in Your Most Glorious Name from the highest horizon is indeed Your splendor in the kingdom of names, Your radiance in the world of creation, and Your might, sovereignty and power to all in the kingdoms of command and creation. Through Him Your favor was perfected, Your proof appeared, Your countenance shone forth, and the banners of Your Cause were raised upon the hills of invincible glory.”

Then read what hath been revealed in the Tablet, and ponder thereon and upon that which was sent down unto the Prophets and Messengers, that thou mayest be endowed with understanding in the Cause of thy Lord. And when thou perceivest the sweet fragrance of holiness from God’s Tablet and its influence, then cleanse thyself in the living waters that flow from this fountain of camphor, this Salsabil whose source God hath made His Pen of Command, and from which He hath manifested that which purifieth the hearts of them that are possessed of true knowledge.

Then detach thyself from all who are in the heavens and on earth, and be thou a herald among the servants of this Tablet which hath appeared and shone forth from the horizon of the finger of transcendent glory. Be thou one who proclaimeth throughout all lands, bringing glad tidings unto them that have believed in God’s signs and His testimony, and warning them that have denied this grace which hath descended from the clouds of His Command. Then kindle within thyself the fire which We have ignited in the paradise of these words, that thou mayest thereby ignite those who have been chilled by the cold of idle fancies.

Say: O people, judge fairly within yourselves! If ye veil yourselves from this Countenance, to what countenance will ye turn? And if ye withhold yourselves from this holy sanctuary, to what sanctuary do ye purpose to repair? Consider, O people of the Bayan! By the Self of the All-Merciful! There is no refuge for you, and God is cognizant of this. Do ye believe in part of the Book while denying its source, its fountainhead, and its revealer? Alas for you, in that ye have turned away from the Ancient Beauty and have turned unto phantoms of oppression. Thus have We inspired thee with the truth and sent unto thee that which shall solace thine eyes and cause thee to rejoice within thyself, and to remember God’s remembrance at eventide and at dawn. Beware lest thou tarry for less than a moment, but stand firm in thy Lord’s Cause and be steadfast in thy Lord’s path with manifest truth.

Say: By God, the Truth! That which had never appeared in creation hath been made manifest, whereby the clouds of grace have been raised up, the Tree of Bounty hath borne fruit, the Dove hath warbled, the Cock of the Throne hath crowed, the spirits have been quickened, and every moldering bone hath been stirred to life.

O people of the Bayan! Abandon that which preventeth you from drawing nigh unto God, then turn ye unto this grace which encompasseth all the worlds.

O Our Name Ahmad! We have bestowed upon thee in this Tablet a power from Us and an influence from Our presence, that thy word may influence the servants if thou art detached from all who are in the heavens and on earth and art turned toward the shore of holy blessedness. Arise with supreme steadfastness and give the people to drink from this Salsabil which We have given thee in the chalices of these words, that it may draw them to the exalted heaven of glory. And if thou findest thyself capable, take up the Pen by Our command and write that which the Spirit casteth upon thy heart in confirmation of this Cause.

By God, the Truth! The Most Great Spirit will then assist thee from Our presence, and thus hath the matter been decreed. Withhold not thyself from this grace, but follow God’s command and His judgment, that thou mayest be numbered among those who have attained in the Mother Book that which hath been inscribed by the Pen of Command. And the Spirit, and the glory, and the splendor be upon thee and upon those who have followed the command of thy Lord and who have been caused to stand at the seat of holiness by God’s leave.

BH00922: Suriy-i-Ma’ani

He is the Ever-Abiding, the All-Knowing in the Kingdom of Eternity. Glorified be He Whom all that are in the heavens and earth do praise, and verily He encompasseth all things. Before Him bow down all who dwell in the dominion of creation and command, and verily He hath power over all things. He hath ordained the measures of all things in the Tablets and made clear unto His servants that which draweth them nigh unto the Beauty of wondrous glory. He hath sent down from the heaven of command the verses of grandeur and might, and made them a proof from Him unto all the worlds. He hath sent forth the Messengers testifying that there is none other God but Him, and that this Youth is His splendor and His glory and His grandeur unto all who are in the heavens and the earth. Thus hath God testified with the tongue of power and might, and verily He is witness unto all things.

Among them is he whose heart He inspired through the Spirit of Truth, and among them is he upon whom revelation descended with hidden holy intimations, and among them is he upon whom the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a perfect angel, and among them is he with whom God conversed directly without mention of any other, when separation vanished and the Sovereign of union appeared without sign or condition. And among them is he whom He caused to speak of Himself unto Himself, making him sanctified from the confirmation of aught else. Exalted be this bounty which every pure mystic is powerless to comprehend! Whoso claimeth to know this station hath indeed lied against himself and is recorded among the calumniators in the Tablets of Protection.

That which is attributed to Him of the confirmations of the Spirit is only due to the weakness of the servants, for verily He hath ever been independent of all the worlds. Verily the Holy Spirit confirmeth by His command, and the Spirit of the Cause circleth round about Him. This is the foundation of the Cause, spoken by the tongue of manifest truth. Say: God hath made all words a throne for His Word, whereupon it was established upon the thrones with a sovereignty mighty over the Cause. Say: The sovereignty of words hath been established upon their seats, and none knoweth this save he who hath turned with pure and illumined vision unto that which hath been sent down from the direction of the Throne.

Say: When the beauty of the veiled, concealed, and hidden meanings was revealed in this luminous, conclusive Word upon the Sinai of utterances between earth and heaven, then were the words of the people of allusions struck down, and they fell prostrate upon the dust, returning to a station that was limited from the beginning. Thus came the Lord of Words upon clouds of meaning, and the Cause was determined by the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Verily, those who denied it are removed from divine wrath and are slaves to the idols of self and passion, and their names are not mentioned today before the Throne.

Say: O people, adorn yourselves with the raiment of righteousness and piety between earth and heaven. This We have ordained for you in the Kingdom of Eternity from the mercy which preceded all the worlds. By God, O people, the ocean of grandeur hath surged in My Most Glorious Name at the Dayspring of Light from this brilliant, luminous Light, while ye remain halted in drunkenness at the setting-place of extinction. Hasten ye to the paradise of God and His mercy, for verily His mercy hath ever encompassed His grace. Say: The Beauty of God hath shone forth above your heads—do ye deny your vision of it? Then do the eyes of My mercy weep for you in this station which hath been praised throughout all eternity.

Open the doors of your hearts before the face of your Lord. Verily He standeth behind the door and calleth unto you with a sorrowful voice, saying: “O people! We created hearts for the descent of the effulgence of Our lights. Do ye bar their doors against the face of their Owner? This indeed is a grievous wrong in the Tablet. Purify My house from the mention of aught else but Me, that the lights of My manifestations may enter therein, for I will never gather with another, and I have ever been sanctified from all else besides Me. Thus hath it been inscribed by the Pen of Command in all the Tablets.

O servant! Give thanks unto God for what hath been sent down unto thee—a Book that is noble in truth. Verily it is God’s Scripture among the concourse of creation, the Book of Justice in the kingdom of names, and the mighty Book in the exalted heaven. Before the Throne it is named as a Tablet preserved by God’s protection. None shall touch it save those whom God hath purified from the mention of all else but Him and raised them to the sublime summit of a holy and beloved station. Besides these, none shall attain unto it, even should they read it at all times. Thus hath the Command flowed from the direction of the All-Merciful, and the decree hath been sent down through grace from the clouds of this Cause.

Blessed is he who findeth the sweetness of his Lord’s remembrance in this Tablet and in whose heart is kindled the fire that was lit in the Tree of the All-Merciful by God’s leave. O servant! Preserve this Tablet, then recite it in the gardens of Paradise that it may draw thee to a mighty and impregnable station.

Beware, O people of Baha, lest ye hearken to the words of the idolaters concerning this Cause, nor sever the arm of grace with the swords of turning away. Soar with the two wings of detachment in this atmosphere. Then drink the sweet waters of inner meanings from the dawning-places of these words and say:

“Glory be to Him Who hath singled us out for the recognition of His Self, honored us with His love, and given us to drink of the water of life that was mingled with the love of God.”

Thus have We taught thee the ways of truth, expounded the verses unto thee, and guided thee to the daybreak of guidance on this morn that hath shone forth from the brow of the Cause. May the mercy that hath appeared from the horizon of eternity be upon you, O people of Baha, and upon all who are with you, young and old.

Unite, O loved ones of God, in His Cause, then follow God’s ways and His religion, and be not tyrants and wretches in the earth. Say: Today none can enter God’s Kingdom save by detaching themselves from all who are in the heavens and the earth and purifying themselves from the intimations of creation. Thus hath the matter been decreed from the direction of the Throne.

Adorn yourselves with what God hath desired for you—this indeed is what is intended, did ye but know it. Stand firm in the love of God in these days when the thunderbolt of wrath hath seized all who are on earth save those who have entered beneath a shelter that is true and trustworthy. Thus hath the Spirit spoken upon the branches of the Tree of Knowledge, from One Who is mighty and praiseworthy.

Say: Today nothing shall profit anyone except after having loved Me, and God is witness to what I say.

BH00127: Suriy-i-Qahir

Section 1: “In the Name of God, the Most Mighty…”

In the Name of God, the Most Mighty, the Most Impregnable, the Most Holy, the Most Glorious

This is a Book from the Primal Point unto him who hath believed in God and His signs, and hath entered the Sacred Precinct, the dwelling-place whereon the throne of his Lord, the All-Merciful, was established, and hath heard what none among the worlds hath heard, that haply the breaths of the Spirit may so transport him that he shall be unable to remain in his place, and the attraction of the Almighty shall wrest from his hand the reins of free will, and cause him to speak, though by constraint, betwixt earth and heaven, and loose his tongue in utterance, and behold the Beauty of the All-Merciful in this Beauty that hath appeared and shone forth, then gleamed and glistened from the horizon of possibility with manifest and clear sovereignty—yet the people of the Bayan denied Him and cast at Him the darts of malice from every direction, after He came unto them upon the clouds of grandeur from the heaven of transcendent glory, and showed them God’s power and sovereignty, and sent down upon them at every moment that which would quicken the hearts of all created things, then the realities of existing things, then the temples of the Prophets and Messengers. But when they witnessed the signs of God and His sovereignty, then the manifestation of God and His power, they arose to oppose and destroy His exalted Self.

By God! There hath befallen Me that which hath befallen none before Me, and wert thou to hear, thou wouldst cry out within thyself and weep for this Wronged One, for Whom have wept the eyes of the denizens of the Supreme Paradise, then the eyes of them that dwell in the crimson depths, then the eyes of grandeur behind the pavilions of inviolable glory. And if thou shouldst ask them,

“O people! By what proof have ye turned away from Him through Whom God’s Cause and sovereignty were made manifest?”

thou wouldst hear from them as thou didst hear from the people of the Furqan when the heaven of idle fancies was cleft asunder and thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, came upon clouds of light in His name, the Most High, the Most Great. Nay, thou wilt find these more veiled than all previous peoples, for My previous Manifestation rent asunder all the veils whereby men in every age and era had been shrouded. Thus hath the command been sent down at this moment from the tongue of God, the Sovereign, the Almighty, the Powerful.

And if thou shouldst ask the people of the Furqan, “Who is your Lord?” they will surely say, “God Who created us by His command.” And if thou shouldst ask, “Who is your Messenger?” they will say, “The Messenger of God whom He sent with the truth and made the Seal of the Prophets.” And likewise they enumerate names after Him whom thou knowest, and thus do they mention them and are among those who remember. They used to pride themselves above other peoples in what they possessed, yet when He appeared through Whose command their faith was established, their cause upraised, and their religion confirmed, they disbelieved in Him and became of the infidels. Consider then: did that which they possessed and spoke of for one thousand two hundred and sixty years profit them?

Nay, by My Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate! For they worshipped names and clung to them without clear proof or illuminating Book, and took idle fancy as their lord instead of God. For had they known God, they would not have disbelieved in Him on the day when He appeared like the sun from the horizon of ancient glory. And thus know thou the people of the Bayan—if thou shouldst ask them in whatever manner thou desirest, thou wilt hear as thou didst hear from the people of the Furqan. They enumerate a specific number of those who were created by My firm, decisive, and mighty Word, and they pride themselves in a name among names after We created their kingdom by My Word—and God is witness and knower of this.

Among the deniers is one who claims that the Revelation hath appeared too soon, and that this is not the way of God as established of old. Say: Woe unto you, O concourse of deniers! Are ye more powerful than God and His Cause, or is He Who doeth as He willeth? And if ye acknowledge His power and sovereignty, He hath manifested Himself as He pleased and desired, and is not to be questioned about what He pleaseth. Verily, He is the Single One, the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Wise.

Say: Woe unto you! Ye acknowledge with your tongues that He doeth what He willeth and is not to be questioned about what He pleaseth, yet when there appeareth what He hath willed by His sovereignty, ye object to it and become of the deniers. Say: O people, look at the Cause itself and that which appeareth from Him, not at what ye possess. Thus have ye been commanded in all the Tablets, if ye be of them that are assured. For He hath ever been known through Himself, and all else is known through what the Pen of God, the Almighty, the Mighty, the All-Wise, hath traced upon their names.

O people! Fear God and deny not Him in Whom ye have believed after He hath come to you with all the signs and this Most Great, this mighty News. And among the deniers is he who saith that He hath claimed more than His station, and thus doth he weigh God’s Cause by his own measure, adding and subtracting, and becoming of the lost. When the verses of God are recited unto him with wondrous holy melodies, he raiseth his hand to his beard, then his face darkeneth—thus dost thou witness and art of them that bear witness.

And among them is he who saith these Tablets shall not endure upon the earth, nor this Name, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Most High, the Great. Thereby doth he seek to cure his malady and soothe the rancor in his breast and quench the fire of his envy. Verily, there is none all-encompassing save He Who knoweth the treachery of eyes and what the breasts of the rancorous conceal.

Say: By God! We have found you in such delusion as We have not found its like among nations of old, and God is witness and knowing of what I say. Say: Die in your wrath! By God, the Truth, every name that endureth on earth endureth by My command, were ye but aware. Every attribute that appeareth between earth and heaven is by My leave—thus hath the matter been decreed, though it be grievous to your souls, O concourse of the proud! Every mention that is raised on earth and ascendeth to heaven is My mention, the Mighty, the Inaccessible, the Exalted. All prostration, in whatever religion it may be, is unto My Beauty, the Shining, the Mighty, the Luminous.

Say: Beware, O people of the Bayan, lest ye slay Me with the swords of your rancor. By God, this is not from Me but from One Mighty and Beautiful. By God, were ye to look with the eye of fairness, ye would find in these words the fragrances of holy and generous sanctity. O people! Confuse not the Cause for yourselves and for others. By God, the melodies of God cannot be confused with others—to this testify the tongues of every knower and seer. Whenever I remain silent out of fear of you, the Herald calleth out above My head and the Spirit speaketh within My breast, and thus there appeareth from Me that which your souls and desires abhor, O concourse of the idolaters. O people! Blame Me not for this, for this is not from Me but from Him Who sent Me with the truth and made Me a guidance and mercy to the worlds. O people! Create not discord among men, nor invalidate the truth through your evil selves.

Do not refute the truth through your evil selves, and dispute not about the verses of God after they have been sent down in truth, and be not among the ignorant ones. Fear God, O people of the Bayan! These are the verses whereby God will adduce proof against you on the Day of Resurrection, and whereby the Beauty of the Divine Essence was established upon the throne of a mighty Name, and whereby God’s proof was perfected in every age and cycle, and His evidence, then His testimony and His light were made manifest to all the worlds.

By God, O people, I do not boast to you of anything of My own self, but rather from the presence of One mighty and wise. O people, wrong Me not through wronging your own selves, and be content with how you have treated My beauty without permission from God, the King, the True, the Most High, the All-Knowing.

By God, the eyes of all created things weep for what has befallen Me through your oppression, O company of unbelievers. Then do the seas weep with their waves, and the trees with their fruits, and the leaves with their movements, and the lights with their radiance, if you would but reflect within yourselves. All things are disturbed by what has befallen Me and weep in their innermost hearts, if you would but perceive.

O people, dispute not with Me concerning God’s verses, for they have been sent down by His command from His presence. Verily there is no God but Him. His is the creation and the command. He doeth what He willeth and decreeth what He pleaseth. The Spirit hath taken from Me the reins of choice, and speaketh as It willeth through all My limbs and members, then My bowels and liver and veins and bones and hair, were you but to know. Had the choice been Mine, I would have held back the pen and not released it, but God hath released it by His command, and verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Take Me not to task for this, but rather show Me mercy, O company of unbelievers. By God, He sent Me on a day which was the king of days, around each moment of which revolve the might of time and the kingdom of creation, as a grace from His presence unto you, were you but to know. By God, this is He Who speaketh in all things that there is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Most High, the Most Great.

Had the matter been in My hands, I would not have borne your persecution which the dwellers of the heavens and earth could not bear. And whenever I concealed Myself and remained silent from mention, God manifested Me in truth and the Spirit called out above My head that, by God, this is a noble King, and this is the Beauty of God among you, and His manifestation in your midst, and His radiance upon all created things. O people, by God, had the matter been in My hands, I would have fled from you to the mountain peaks as I fled from you the first time while you were heedless. But the matter hath been taken from My hands and your hands. Verily the command is in God’s hand—there is no God but He, the Mighty, the Exalted, the Most High, the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

O people, have mercy on Me, then have mercy on yourselves, and dispute not about God’s verses, and refute not the truth with your mouths, and mock not the proof whereby your faith was established and your knowledge appeared, and whereby you pride yourselves above the people of the Furqan and the peoples of the earth who follow the Psalms and the Torah and the Gospel. Would you refute that whereby your faith was established? Woe unto you, O company of transgressors! And verily I fear not for Myself but for Him Who will come to you after Me with sovereignty and mighty power. By God, O people of the Bayan, after Me ye care for nothing and pronounce judgement against Him through a single letter of Whom the first and the last are raised up, and ye slay Him and drink His blood—nay, worse than this, even as the people of the Furqan did unto ʿAli before Nabil. By God! Ye are more cruel and more wretched! And verily He knoweth what is in your breasts and knoweth what is in the breasts of the deceivers.

Would that thou, O My Name, hadst been with Us at the time when the Day-Star of the horizons departed from the precincts of Iraq, and witnessed that which none among all the worlds hath witnessed, and beheld him who warred against My Self, after thou knowest We had protected him and reared him and taught him, while he himself remained veiled behind a veil, fearful of himself. We stood against Our enemies, and God alone gave Us victory until We manifested the Cause after all the peoples had gathered for My death.

Thou hast heard what befell Me at the hands of the hosts of the idolaters, and We stood against Our enemies in days wherein the souls of them that loved My Self were troubled, and then the hearts of them that had recognized Me, by reason of My tribulation. By God! By My deeds were astounded the denizens of the Concourse on High, then those who circle round the Throne of thy Lord, the Most High, the Most Great.

When the Beauty of the Cause shone forth from the horizon of glory and power, and the breezes of might wafted from the direction of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, then emerged they in whose hearts was rancor against this Youth, like serpents, after it behooved them to thank God for having strengthened them with the truth and aided them through this Youth Who stood firm in the Cause to such degree that the tongues of the people of the Concourse of eternity exclaimed:

“Blessed be God for this most mighty, most holy, most great, and most wondrous steadfastness!”

When God preserved Me from what they intended regarding the shedding of My blood, and aided Me with the hosts of the unseen, then they arose with schemes and deceit, and fabricated against Me all that they were capable of, desiring thereby to veil the beauty of the Sun with the veils of falsehood and calumny, and thus were they among the doers.

If thou wouldst ponder My suffering, thou wouldst lament within thyself and weep for this Wronged One Who fell into the pit of hatred through that which the hands of these wretched ones have wrought. Then He crieth out:

“Is there any helper who will aid Me with truth and repel from Me the evil of these calumniators? Is there any caller who will call out between the heavens and the earth concerning this most wondrous and most sublime Cause?”

Know then that We loved thee before and now, and have mentioned thee in this Tablet with the melodies of them that are attracted, that the melodies of the Spirit might attract thee to the Sadratu’l-Muntaha, the seat of the throne of thy Lord, the Most High, and sever thee from all creatures. Verily, he in whose heart was hatred for thee desired to cause enmity between Me and thee, but God expelled him through His sovereignty, and the sun of love shone forth from the dawning-place of this blessed, holy, mighty, and generous Countenance, and He sent down upon thee verses of love and dispatched them to thee that thy heart might rejoice thereby and thou mightest be of them that are glad.

O thou servant who art mentioned by the tongue of God! Rend asunder the veils of idle fancy by My sovereignty and power, then arise from the horizon of utterance with the wisdom of God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Wise. Then breathe into the servants the spirit of life from that which God hath imparted unto thee, that they might arise from their graves and be raised up with the ornament of God, the Powerful, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing. Take heed lest thou fear any soul, and be not patient in the remembrance of thy Lord as thou wast patient aforetime. Thus beseemeth thy station and the station of those who have taken unto the Lord of the Throne a pathway. By God! Verily this world shall pass away and no trace thereof shall remain, and that which shall endure is what hath been ordained for thee by the Omniscient Ordainer. Thus hath He taught thee—He Who is mighty in spirit—at the time when He arose above all contingent beings with the sovereignty of grandeur and majesty, and His countenance shineth resplendent as the sun in the zenith of its glory, that thou mayest be numbered among the enlightened.

Say: O people! Know God through God, for this is the station which God hath ordained for you. If ye fail to attain unto this station, your names shall not be mentioned before God, and the angels of wrath shall return you to the nethermost hell. Do ye make mention of the Beloved while ye slay the Beloved of the worlds? Do ye call upon the Desired One while ye forget the Desire of them that have recognized Him? Do ye recite the verses while ye disbelieve in Him Who sent them down and revealed them? Woe unto you, O company of the heedless!

Section 2: “O people! Purify your hearts and your souls…”

Say: O people! Purify your hearts and your souls from the Salsabil that hath flowed from the Kawthar of the mouth of your Lord, the Merciful. Deprive not yourselves thereof, and be not of them that are debarred. Say: This is God’s ocean that surgeth before you, moving through its own essence by its own essence. None hath reached its shore, how much less its depths, were ye of them that are fair-minded—save him whom God hath aided through His power and detached from all who are in the heavens and earth.

Say: O people of Baha! Speak in the name of God and through God, then embark upon the Ark of Eternity that saileth upon the crimson sea of grandeur in the name of your Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Highest. By God! Whoso entereth it is indeed saved, and whoso turneth away from it hath perished, even should he cling to all who have gone before and shall come after.

Say: Today nothing shall profit anyone except that he detach himself from all directions and turn toward this blessed, mighty and beauteous Shore. Cast behind thee all intimations, then all allusions from thy left hand, and take hold of the words of God with strength and detachment, then with mighty power. Convey unto the people the messages of thy Lord. He shall suffice thee in truth and guard thee from the harm of satans.

Know thou that they who were powerless to speak in the presence of the Countenance have written tablets in rejection of God and the Manifestation of His Self. Thus did their souls entice them, and they were of them that followed every rebellious satan. Verily he who turned away from God in former years—and thou art aware of him and what befell Me—when he repented We removed from him the garment of rebellion and clothed him with the robe of forgiveness. But when We arrived in this prison, he arose in opposition as commanded by his self and passion. God is witness and knoweth what I say. Were We to detail for thee what he hath committed, the tablets would not suffice, nor the ink, nor the pens, nor the tongues of all who dwell in the heavens and earth. He believed, then denied, then repented, then associated partners with God Who created him and fashioned him, through his own utterance that there is no God but Him. His is the creation and the command, and all are before Him in this Book which hath appeared in truth and been inscribed in its heart by the finger of ancient glory.

By God, this is verily the Sanctuary of God in the Most Exalted Concourse, the Holy Ka’bah in the cities of names, the fulfillment of the Divine decree in the kingdom of eternity, and the House of God amongst the worlds. Through His Name have the yearning ones ascended to the Lote-Tree of reunion, the lovers to the seat of glory and beauty, the sincere ones to the station of attainment and meeting, and the detached to the hidden refuge of impregnable security. Say: O people, fear God and dispute not with Him through Whom the call of the seekers is raised to the heaven of transcendent glory, through Whom the clouds pour forth their rain, the earth brings forth its fruits, the fountains of wisdom and utterance gush forth, and every wise matter is distinguished. Beware lest ye join partners with God or deny Him after He hath come to you from the Dayspring of the Spirit with clear evidences and manifest sovereignty, and hath aided you in His Cause and explained to you that which will draw you nigh unto His exalted and mighty Self.

Know thou, O My Name, that among the people are those who have objected to God, saying that He hath claimed a different station and rank each day. Say: Yea, by the Self of God, the Sovereign, the Omnipotent, the All-Knowing! We have indeed manifested Ourself each day in a different manner, and shall continue to manifest Ourselves as We please, in ever new ways. Say: Perish in your wrath, O concourse of malice! Have ye not heard that nothing whatsoever can occupy your Lord, and that He is at all times engaged in a fresh creation? Nay, were ye to ascend unto the heavens of knowledge, ye would witness that all We have created is continuously manifested in new ways, would ye but comprehend.

O thou Name mentioned before the Throne! Say to them: O people of the Bayan! Let Me set forth for you a parable, that perchance ye may inhale the fragrance of the spirit from the direction of your Lord’s wisdom and be of those who are convinced. If someone should go to the ocean and take from it a cup, then another handful, then another drop—doth the difference lie in the ocean or in those who have taken according to their capacity and capability? Be fair, then, O heedless ones! Say: By God, the ocean remaineth the ocean in its essence, and the sun remaineth the sun in its reality and is the Dayspring in its essence, shining upon all created things equally. It hath ever remained in one state and will forever continue thus. But ye perceive according to the measure of your sight and vision. Cleanse the rheum from your eyes caused by the veils of fancy and desire, that ye may behold it manifest, evident, rising, and shining upon all the worlds.

Thus have the hosts of wisdom and utterance descended upon clouds of thy Lord’s mercy, the All-Merciful, that perchance the oppressed ones among the people of the Bayan might be led to the viewpoint of the All-Glorious, this resplendent, luminous, and radiant station. Say: By God, the sovereign verses have descended upon the shadows of names and attributes, and the matter hath been decreed from the presence of a mighty, transcendent, and august Sovereign. The words of those who have disbelieved and associated partners with God Who created them and all things by His command have been struck down, for He is the Omnipotent, the Almighty.

By God, O My Name! Were We to utter a word, We would not wish to repeat it again—and God is witness to what I say. And whenever We have repeated words, We have intended in each one of them a meaning that none hath comprehended save My all-knowing and informed Self. By thy life! Had We found the people to have attained maturity, We would not have repeated the words. Thou dost witness that whatsoever proceedeth from My Pen at every moment is of a wondrous nature. And verily, whenever We send down from the Kingdom of Glory and Power that which We send down, We do so in a manner suited to this creation. Were We to find them possessed of illumined vision, We would assuredly send down unto them at every moment that which would make them independent of all who dwell in the heavens and on earth, and We would teach them daily of the wonders of knowledge and wisdom.

But since We have found their souls accustomed to fancy and imitation, therefore doth the Pen of Command reveal that which befitteth the condition of these weak ones. And this is a certain truth. By God! All that We have revealed from the beginning that hath no beginning hath been according to the capacity of creation, but the station of God is greater than this. Were He to reveal that which is worthy of His station, all who are in the heavens and earth would be thunderstruck, and the pillars of all created things would utterly cease to be.

Hearken unto what We revealed aforetime through the tongue of Ali-Qabli-Nabil:

“O Qurratu’l-Ayn! Stretch not forth thy hand in this Cause, for the people are intoxicated with the mystery. Verily, thou shalt have another turn after this Dispensation, by the Most Great Truth. There, reveal of the mystery a measure as small as a needle’s eye in the Most Great Mount, whereupon the people of Sinai shall perish at the dawning of a drop from that crimson, all-compelling Light, by leave of God, the All-Wise.”

And He is God, Who hath ever been thy Guardian in truth, by the truth.

Though We had informed the servants of Our later Manifestation and of the unveiling of mysteries beyond reckoning, and of the death of the people of Sinai, yet when We manifested Ourselves again under the Most Glorious Name and desired to unveil the mystery—even before We fully revealed it—the people of Sinai were struck down, as thou hast heard and wert among those who heard. Despite this, these people remained heedless within themselves and objected to Us, saying “How can the people of Sinai perish, and how can the sweet become bitter, and the mirror turn to stone, and fruits become dust?” Thus did they stray from the gardens of knowledge and were among the heedless ones.

Say: Woe unto you! Those whom ye have taken as lords for yourselves and in whom ye take pride—their names were exalted because God’s mighty and powerful Pen hath flowed over them, and their mention was elevated through their faith in God, their Creator. But when they turned away, all they possessed was taken from them, and naught shall be accepted from them even should they worship as heavily as both humans and jinn. Reflect thou upon what We have revealed unto thee, and upon the state of these people who speak of that which they comprehend not. They have gone astray and led others astray through their own bidding and desires. Keep thyself apart from these people and abide in an impregnable sanctuary.

By God, O My Name! The people have not fathomed the foundation of this Cause, for We have veiled it from them through what hath flowed from the Finger of Glory’s Pen of Wisdom. We desired beforetime, when thou wert present before the Throne, to unveil for thee what was hidden from the eyes of all creation, but We forbore and concealed it until thy Lord’s appointed time was fulfilled. Then did God’s Word appear adorned with His Own Self, the All-Encompassing, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Say: O heedless ones! By God, this Bird hath melodies upon melodies, then songs upon songs, then warbles upon warbles, whereof if but the smallest fraction of one were to be revealed, the spiritual ones, then the people of Sinai, then the people of light, then the people of the divine cloud would fall senseless upon the dust of heedlessness and extinction, save him whom God preserveth through His grace from this Youth Who hath appeared with the Most Glorious Name in the Kingdom of Names. Every atom proclaimeth His praise, that there is none other God but He. He hath created all things through His Will, then through the mention of His Pen. Thus hath thy Lord’s dominion ever encompassed all worlds.

O servant! Purify thou thy heart from all allusions, then call out with My call amongst My servants, that it may draw them away from their selves, detach them from indications, bring them nigh unto the Source of grace and bounty, and provide them from this Divine, Eternal, Most Holy Table whereof the mystics find all delights. Thus hath the Command descended from the heaven of sublime glory. Say: O people of Qum! Abandon what ye possess of words fit only for children to speak, then hearken unto the Most Great, Most Perfect Word of God from this Mouth from which floweth the Kawthar of life, whereby all created things are quickened, if ye be of them that know.

O Qahir! Hear the call of thy Lord, the All-Compelling, from the direction of His Chosen Name. Be not veiled by veils and coverings, but emerge stripped of all save God; then speak forth between earth and heaven that which the Spirit proclaimed upon the branches of the Lote-Tree of Eternity, that perchance the servants may arise from the heedlessness of self and passion and hasten to the shore of wondrous glory. We named thee Qahir by the tongue of a previous Manifestation that thou mightest prevail over the idolaters in these days wherein they opposed God, the Lord of Names and Attributes, and sought to cut down the Tree of the Cause with the sword of rejection. Say: By God! This Tree shall be raised up by the waters of your rejection, though ye perceive it not within yourselves and are among the heedless. We have ever raised up the Trees of the Cause through the waters of rejection and blood, if ye be of those who know.

Therefore, prevail thou over those who have disbelieved and fear no one. Place thy trust in thy Lord, the All-Merciful, that He may protect thee from those who have wronged among the people of the Bayan and aid thee with hosts ye cannot see. We are verily powerful over all things. Whenever thou desirest to aid thy Lord, the Most Great Spirit will assist thee by Our command. Be steadfast, be not disturbed, and be of the firm ones.

By God, O Qahir! The Point of the Bayan at this hour, from the Most Glorious Companion, witnesseth the evil state of the people of the Bayan and calleth unto them at every moment, saying: “Shame upon you for what ye have done, committed, known, wrought and understood! Did We not counsel you in all the Tablets, saying: O people! When the Ancient Beauty cometh unto you, oppose Him not, nor cling to aught for recognizing Him.’ Yet ye have done what neither the people of the Furqan did to My Self, nor the people of the Gospel to Muhammad the Messenger of God, nor the people of the Torah to My Son. Woe unto you, O company of oppressors!

Have ye clung to him concerning whom We revealed that whenever thou singest, a cock from among the cocks of heaven singeth, and whenever thou chantest, a bee from among the bees of light doth chant,’ while ye have turned away from Him around Whose Essence heaven itself, with its reality, its innermost being, its secret and manifest aspects, its outer and inner dimensions, its cocks and its bees and its birds, circle in adoration around a single leaf of the Tree planted in the courtyard of this Gate, before which the Spirit proclaimeth: ʿBy God! This is indeed the Paradise wherein none hath comprehended what lieth therein of God’s manifestations and His grandeur, His conditions and His sovereignty, and around which circle the realities of the Prophets and Messengers every morn and eve.’

By God, O people of the Bayan! Ye have done what neither the Jews, nor the Magians, nor the people of the Furqan, nor the peoples of old from time immemorial have done, yet ye rejoice within yourselves and are among the jubilant. Soon shall God’s punishment seize you from every direction, and ye shall find for yourselves no refuge, nor helper, nor supporter, nor protector, nor guardian, nor guide. Have ye taken God’s Cause in jest or mockery among yourselves? Ye recite the words of children and pride yourselves therein, yet when one reciteth unto you words by a single letter of which the heavens and earth were created, ye look upon him as one in a swoon, and the dust of hell seizeth you. Fear ye God, O people, then repent and seek forgiveness, then return unto God Who created you for this Day, that He might expiate your evil deeds.”

Fear God, O people, then repent and seek forgiveness, then return unto God Who created you for this Day, that He may remit your evil deeds and forgive your transgressions. Verily, He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

And thou hearest My words, then take counsel from thy Lord’s admonition. By God! Baha hath not spoken save out of love for thee. Guard thyself—thy soul, thy spirit, thy being, and thy essence—from those who play with clay. Thus do We command thee and reveal unto thee that which shall make thee independent of all else but Me, and shall establish thee upon a mighty steadfastness.

And the Glory rest upon thee and upon those who are with thee and upon those who love thee for the sake of God, thy Lord, and who hearken to thy words concerning this Cause at which the skins of the ungodly have quivered. And praise be to the Beloved of the mystics and the Goal of all worlds.

BH00334: Suriy-i-Qalam

Section 1: “This is the Surih of the Pen…”

This is the Surih of the Pen, which hath been sent down from the heaven of eternity unto them that have fixed their gaze upon His Throne.

In the name of God, the Most Wondrous, the Most Glorious!

O Pen of the Most High! Bear thou witness, in thine own self, that verily He is God and that there is none other God but Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Bear thou witness, then, by thine own essence, that verily I am God and that there is none other God but Him, that all have been created at My behest and that all abide by My command. Bear thou witness, moreover, by thine inmost being, that this is the Beauty of God which hath dawned above the horizon of the Unseen, a Beauty that hath ever been, and shall ever remain, unknown to all save Himself. He, verily, is the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Through but one of His effulgences the Day-Stars of majesty and grandeur have shone forth, the hearts of the denizens of the everlasting realm and the sanctified realities that lay hid beneath the mystic veil have been called into being, and the secrets of all that was and shall be have been laid bare.

O Pen! Let nothing dismay thee, for unto thee have We vouchsafed the inviolable protection of Our sovereign might and power, and into thee have We breathed a spirit, one breath of which would, if wafted upon the bodies of all existence, cause them to arise from their couches, unloose their tongues, speak forth, and bear witness in their inmost being that there is none other God but Me, the Powerful, the Glorious, the Exalted, the Mighty, the Peerless, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting.

O Pen of Command! Be assured in thyself, and reveal then unto all beings a measure of that which God bestowed upon thee ere the creation of words and letters and the fashioning of all things, and ere the establishment of the kingdom of names and attributes and the revelation of His mighty and guarded Tablet. Say: This is a Power unsurpassed from all eternity to all eternity, could ye but know it, O concourse of the Spirit, and this is a Beauty unrivalled from the beginning that hath no beginning, could ye but perceive it. Say: Whoso conceiveth the least design to confront this Pen, to presume partnership with it, to gain intimate access unto it, or to fully grasp that which emanateth from it, be assured that the Evil One doth whisper within his breast. Thus hath the Divine Command been issued, could ye but understand. Say: By God! None hath ever been, nor shall ever be, able to rival Me amidst all creation. Thus hath it been inscribed by the Pen of divine revelation, could ye but comprehend it. Say: A single letter of Mine utterance hath, verily, brought forth the entire universe, the realities of all things, and worlds which none can fathom save God, the Almighty, the Most Manifest.

O Pen! Give ear unto that which the unbelievers have imputed to thee. Say: O assemblage of malice! Perish in your hatred, in your envy and your unbelief! By Him Who is the Eternal Truth! This is that Pen through a mere intimation of whose will the souls of the Concourse on high, and the realities of the denizens of the everlasting realm, and the essences of human hearts and minds, were all fashioned. This is that Pen through but a movement of which the sun of might and grandeur, and the moon of loftiness and sanctity, and the stars of grace and favour, were called into existence. This is that Pen through which were created the all-highest Paradise and all that abide therein, and the celestial garden and all that pertaineth thereto, could ye but comprehend. Say: Through but a single stroke have been manifested the knowledge of all that was and shall be, and the creation of all things past and future. Open then your eyes that ye may bear witness to this truth.

O Pen! Content thyself with that which thou hast so far intimated to the world of thy sovereignty and power, for the hearts of the envious are well-nigh bursting. Veil, then, thy Cause, and reveal no more than this, for thy words would rend asunder the heavens of ancient glory, and cleave in twain the earth of holiness itself, and cause the inmates of the realm of grandeur to swoon away. Be patient in thy heart, for the people of the world are incapable of beholding thy sovereignty or perceiving thy manifold signs, how much less of recognizing Him Who hath created and fashioned thee through but a single word of His utterance! Exalted is thy Lord above all that thou hast revealed in the past or wilt manifest in the future.

Exalted is He above all that His sincere and well-favoured servants have comprehended or will ever comprehend. Content thyself, then, with that which thou hast thus far revealed. I swear by the One True God! Should all that are in the heavens and on earth and whatsoever lieth between them—whether trees, fruits, leaves, twigs, branches, rivers, oceans, or mountains—encounter a single word of thy pronouncement, they would assuredly speak forth that which the Burning Bush, springing from the soil of divine revelation, spoke unto Moses in that holy and blessed Vale.

O Pen! Give ear unto the wondrous account of that which God hath graciously bestowed upon thee. Detach thyself, then, from all thou dost possess, and announce unto the people the joyful tidings of the appearance of the Most Exalted Word in this mighty Revelation, that haply they may recognize their Creator and renounce all else but Him. Call then upon the Concourse on high to rejoice, saying: O ye exponents of grandeur sheltered beneath the tabernacle of majesty! O ye denizens of the dominion of power abiding beneath the canopy of glory! O ye dwellers of the kingdom of the seen and the unseen situate in the furthermost precincts beyond the ocean of eternity! O ye manifestations of the divine names in the highest heaven! Let your hearts rejoice in this Most Great Festival wherein God Himself proffereth this most pure chalice unto such as stand before Him with beseeming lowliness and humility. Adorn, then, your souls with the silken vesture of certitude and your bodies with the broidered robe of the All-Merciful, for lo, a light hath dawned forth and shone resplendent from the horizon of My brow, before whose revelation all that are in the heavens and on earth have bowed down in adoration, could ye but perceive it.

Say: I swear by the one true God that there hath never appeared in all creation another like unto Him. Whoso asserteth otherwise hath gainsaid the testimony of God and is accounted among the faithless in His mighty and well-guarded Tablet. Say: This is the Light through which the inhabitants of the celestial world and their inner realities have been brought forth, and through which the embodiments of the heavenly realm and their inmost essences have been raised up. This is the Light through which God hath created worlds that have neither beginning nor end, worlds whereof none hath the slightest intimation save those whom their Lord hath willed. Thus do We disclose unto you the hidden mysteries, that haply ye may ponder the signs of God. Say: This, verily, is the Light before whose effulgence every head hath bowed down in lowliness, and before whose manifestation the hearts of the well-favoured of God, and the souls of His holy ones, and the inmost realities of His true worshippers, and beyond them His honoured servants, have prostrated themselves in adoration.

O inmates of the holy sanctuary! I swear by God! He in very truth is the Sanctuary of God amongst you and His sacred Precinct in your midst, the holy Site of the Spirit before your eyes and the Station of both inner and outer peace and security. Take heed lest ye deprive yourselves of the Sanctuary of His knowledge. Hasten unto Him and tarry not. This is that Sanctuary round which circle the Manifestations of the Divine Being and the Embodiments of His eternal Reality, and whose court God hath hallowed beyond the reach of the outcast and the ungodly. This, verily, is that Sanctuary the blessing of whose service is sought by the Maids of Heaven, and them that dwell in the depths of the Most Great Ocean, and them that abide in the habitation of holiness and the realm of reunion—and yet the people, for the most part, comprehend not.

O denizens of earth and heaven! Abandon your couches and undertake the Most Great Pilgrimage for the sake of this pure and refulgent Beauty. Should God witness your inability to do so, He will exempt you therefrom and command you instead to approach Him with heart and soul. And they alone shall attain this who behold all that is in the heavens and on the earth as a day wherein none was deemed worthy of mention. These are they to whom their Lord will give to drink, from His own hands, of the sealed wine of holiness. Verily, whoso turneth his face towards this most blessed and luminous Spot, round him shall circle resplendent suns whose effulgence knoweth neither beginning nor end, and above the horizon of his heart there shall dawn that Sun of suns before Whose light the orbs of worldly names are wrapped in darkness, if ye be of them that understand.

O Pen! Proclaim unto the concourse of eternity, saying: O ye that rove in the arenas of immortality! O ye that abide beneath the tabernacle of grandeur! O ye gem-like realities that lie hid from the eyes of creation! Descend from your lofty retreats to celebrate and rejoice, and to quaff from the cup of everlasting life that the hand of the All-Glorious is proffering on this Day. This, in truth, is a Day the like of which hath never been witnessed in all creation, a Day whereon the Eye of Grandeur hath been cheered in the Seat of transcendent glory. O ye bearers of the throne of God! Adorn the most great throne on this Day, for the unseen Beauty hath appeared—He Whose presence the inmates of the all-highest Paradise and the dwellers of the garden of repose have thus far been powerless to attain. Say: By God! The Hidden Secret hath appeared in the plenitude of His glory and hath solaced by His beauty the eyes of all things seen and unseen, and beyond them the eyes of them that have cleansed their souls with the holy waters streaming from the ocean of the Name of their Lord, the Most Manifest.

Section 2: “This is a Day whereon God hath made…”

Say: This is a Day whereon God hath made His own Self known and revealed it unto all who are in the heavens and on earth, a day whereon He hath established His sovereign ascendancy over the kingdoms of revelation and creation. How exalted, then, is this holy, this most blessed and best-beloved grace! This is a Day, moreover, whereon the Ancient Beauty hath appeared with such an adorning as to cause the veils to be rent asunder, and the mysteries to be revealed, and the fruits to spring forth, and all things to utter the praise of their Lord, the Unconstrained—a Day whereon the earth and all that it holdeth, and the heavens and all that they contain, and the mountains and all that they conceal, and the oceans and all that they treasure in their depths, have laid bare their secrets, though the people remain veiled therefrom.

This is a day whereon the idols of misbelief and worldly desire have been shattered and the Ancient Beauty hath ascended His mighty throne. The Spirit of glory hath called out from the precincts of eternity, and the Most Holy Spirit from the Divine Lote-Tree, and the Spirit of command from the Tree beyond which there is no passing, and the Spirit of might from the exalted dominion, and the faithful Spirit from the right hand of the Burning Bush, saying:

“Hallowed be the Lord of mercy, Who hath appeared in the world of existence invested with that which mortal eyes had never beheld!”

Say: He it is Who through a movement of His finger causeth the creatures of earth and heaven to perish, Who through a word of His mouth bringeth them to life again, and Who through a mere intimation of His glance turneth all creation unto the presence of God, the Help in Peril, the Almighty, the Best-Beloved.

Say: O concourse of monks! Abandon the churches wherein ye have glorified your Lord, for He Who ascended unto heaven hath in very truth come down again and circleth round the Throne of God. I swear by the one true God! In this Day the bells are pealing out in My remembrance, the Trumpet soundeth My praise, and the Bugle proclaimeth My Name, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Deprive not yourselves of the grace of this day; hasten rather to the seat of the Throne, forsake that which ye possess, and take fast hold of the Cord of God, Who hath arisen and manifested Himself and spoken forth for all to hear.

O inhabitants of the realms of the seen and the unseen! Sing, O sing the most joyous melodies on this Festival of God which hath appeared with the power of truth and to which the former and latter generations had never attained, could ye but know it. This is the Day whereon the Pen of God hath absolved all who are in the heavens and on earth. Thus hath His eternal command shone forth from the dayspring of His Pen, that ye may rejoice in your souls and be of those whose hearts are gladdened.

O Pen! Announce unto the Maid of Paradise:

“By God! This day is thy day. Come forth as thou willest, and array thyself as thou pleasest with the broidered robe of names and the silken vesture of immortality. Emerge then from thine eternal habitation even as the sun that dawneth from the countenance of Baha. Descend from thy lofty heights and, standing betwixt earth and heaven, lift the veil of concealment from thy luminous face and shine forth above the horizon of creation as the black-eyed Damsel, that haply the most great veil may be torn away from the eyes of these people and they may behold the Scene of transcendent glory, the Beauty of God, the Most Holy, the Most Powerful, the Best-Beloved.”

“O Ancient Beauty! The unbelievers, verily, are lost in the stupor of idle fancy and are powerless to turn their eyes towards the most hallowed Court. Through the sovereign potency of Thine inviolable protection, Thou hast shielded me beneath the veils of light and guarded my beauty from the gaze of Thine enemies. Thine is the power to command; Thou ordainest as Thou pleasest through Thy word ʿBe’, and it is.”

“O Maid of Baha! Step forth from the court of eternity, but let not thy most pure gaze linger upon the faces of mortal men. I swear by the one true God! None save them that are possessed of true insight can ever hope to behold thee in this most sublime vision. Leave the kingdom of names on thy right and the dominion of attributes on thy left, and shine forth by My leave above the horizon of Mine inviolable protection, divested of all that hath been created in the realm of Revelation and shorn of all that hath appeared in the kingdom of creation, that thou mayest manifest the beauteous image of God in all regions. Intone, then, the sweetest of melodies betwixt earth and heaven, that all existence may be detached from aught save the face of thy Lord, the Most Holy, the Most Gracious, the Well-Beloved. Beam forth above the horizon of the Ria¸van with the beauty of the All-Merciful, and let thy fragrant locks flow upon thy bosom, that the perfume of the garment of thy most gracious Lord may be diffused throughout the world. Hide not thy luminous form from the eyes of the concourse of Revelation, and withhold not thine ethereal veil of holiness from the gaze of the people. Present thyself, then, before the Throne with thy locks flowing, thine arms bejewelled, thy countenance blushing, thy cheeks aglow, and thine eyes adorned, and take hold of the snow-white chalice in My most exalted Name. Proffer then to the denizens of the realm of eternity the crimson wine of Mine all-glorious Beauty, that haply the concourse of Revelation may sanctify their souls in this most august Festival by virtue of this pure draught, and that they may emerge from behind the veil of concealment through the power of Mine almighty and all-powerful, Mine all-subduing and self-subsisting sovereignty.”

“By God! I am the Maid of Heaven, abiding in the midmost heart of Paradise, hidden behind the veil of the All-Merciful and concealed from the eyes of men. From time immemorial I remained shrouded in the veil of sanctity beneath the Tabernacle of Grandeur. I heard a most sweet call from the right hand of the throne of my Lord, the Most Exalted, and I saw Paradise itself set in motion and all its inhabitants stirred up in their longing to attain the presence of God, the All-Glorious. Whereupon another call was raised: ʿBy God! The Beloved of the worlds is come! Blessed be the one who attaineth His presence, and beholdeth His face, and giveth ear to His most holy, His most glorious and beloved utterance. The Voice of God hath enraptured the souls of the Concourse on high and the hearts of the dwellers of the everlasting realm, and the all-consuming ecstasies of love have caused them to tremble with yearning and to fix their gaze upon the court of sanctity, the station of unapproachable glory.’ Were I to speak in every tongue, I would nonetheless be powerless to describe that which I beheld in that state. And yet, in spite of this grace that hath encompassed all things, and this rapture that hath overtaken all that are immersed beneath the ocean of names, behold, I found the people of the Bayan veiled and heedless, and lying as dead in the graves of oblivion. O people of the Bayan! Reckon ye to be treading the path of the spirit even as ye have rejected this Revelation? Nay, by my Beauty, which God hath ordained as the manifestation of His own Beauty amongst all the former and latter generations!”

“O Maid of holiness! Forsake the mention of such people, for their hearts are as immovable as stones and impervious to all but the promptings of idle fancy. For they remain immature in the Cause of God and suckle the milk of ignorance at the breast of waywardness. Leave them to dwell upon the dust, and warble thou My melodies in the realm of eternity. Apprise, then, the inhabitants of Paradise of that which hath been manifested in the kingdom of creation. Thus may they become attracted by Thy sweet accents, hasten towards this hallowed and promised Beauty, and become fully apprised of this Day—a Day whereon all things have been adorned with the ornament of names, a Day whereon every poor one hath found the source of true wealth and every deprived and sinful soul hath attained forgiveness.”

O people! Seek ye in these days the grace of God and His all-embracing mercy, and beware lest ye follow in the footsteps of every veiled and heedless soul.

Thus the summons of the Pen regarding this blessed and fated account endeth, in this Tablet.