Volume 041: Early Akka 1868–1873, Part I (3 of 5)

BH00428: O Nabil, upon him be the Glory of God!…

Section 1: “O Nabil, upon him be the Glory…”

O Nabil, upon him be the Glory of God! He is the Single One, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most High!

These are the verses of God, sent down in truth from the presence of the Mighty, the All-Knowing. God hath made them the sign of His Revelation unto all those in the Concourse on High, and the mirror of His Beauty unto all who dwell in the kingdom of creation, and His conclusive proof unto all created things. He hath made them in themselves an evidence of His Own Self, and through them He sent forth the Messengers of old, testifying that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Most Powerful. Through them He hath ordained the measures of His Cause for all who are in the heavens and on earth, and detailed every wise command.

He hath deposited within every soul that whereby it may know its Lord, and without this His proof unto His creatures would not be complete, nor His evidence perfected before all worlds. He hath made the knowledge of His Self to be through His Self and through that which proceedeth from His presence, and not through aught else, whereunto testify all created things and, beyond them, all the Sacred Scriptures and Books that have been sent down from His hallowed, inaccessible and glorious dominion. The knowledge of His Self hath never been associated with anything amongst all that hath been created between the heavens and the earth, for all else is known through Him, while He is known through His Own Self, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.

Say: Verily His Cause cannot be confused with aught else, and it shineth forth from the horizon of holiness with a light which no veils can obscure, nor can the denial of these deniers prevent it.

O Nabil! Hearken unto the voice of Him Who weepeth within His soul—a weeping that causeth the eye of ʿAli in the Most Exalted Companion to weep, and thereafter the eyes of the Prophets and Messengers—because of what hath befallen Him at the hands of those whom He taught in days past and aided from His presence throughout all months and years. By God! Such tribulations have touched Me as have touched no one else amongst all created things, and there hath descended upon Me that which hath descended upon no soul. Thou wouldst surely believe Me if thou wouldst ponder My Cause and the multitude of Mine enemies from among the peoples of former times and those who reckon themselves among the doers of good.

They claim within themselves that they have believed in God and His signs, yet when He appeared unto them with His sovereignty, His grandeur and His power, they disbelieved in Him and became numbered with the idolaters. Say: The Spirit speaketh in all things, saying that this is He Who was mentioned in the scriptures of the ancients, and this is He Who was purposed in the books of the Messengers. He desireth nothing for Himself, and is imprisoned in a place where the love of anyone profiteth Him not, nor the acceptance of all creation. He remindeth men for the sake of God and desireth from them no recompense. His reward is with Him Who created Him in truth and sent Him to the worlds with manifest sovereignty and a lucid Book. He commandeth righteousness and piety, forbiddeth wickedness and indecency, and guideth them to the paradise that they may enter it in security.

Say: O people! Were ye to behold the signs of God and His manifestation with your own eyes, ye would recognize Him in less than a moment and would stand firm in His Cause in such wise that no trial could cause you to stumble, nor could the opposition of all the worlds hinder you. But whoso looketh not upon Him with his own eyes shall never know Him and shall be overturned by every trial, as thou hast witnessed in these days and art among those who bear witness.

Verily, those who claimed to have recognized the Primal Point—had their recognition been true—would not have wavered at the appearance of His latter Manifestation, nor would their feet have slipped from the path, for He appeared with a revelation whose lights encompassed all who dwell in the kingdom. When they denied this Manifestation, it became evident that they had not truly known Him as He was in Himself, but had known only one of His names. Thus when He appeared with another name, they dispersed from around Him and returned to their former state. Thus do We clarify the matter for thee that thou mayest be endowed with insight from God, the King, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing. These are the worshippers of names in the sight of thy Lord, and they have no share of the cup of nearness.

O Nabil! By God, a trial hath appeared which hath caused all who are in the heavens and on earth to burn, and at this moment all things are burning within themselves, if thou be of them that perceive. The pillars of existence have been shaken, the bearers of the Throne have fled, the denizens of the realms of might have been thunderstruck upon the dust of extinction, the luminous ones have perished upon the exalted Mount, and intoxication hath overtaken the dwellers of the cities of knowledge and wisdom—all are now among the dead, save them whose eyes God hath opened with the light of recognition and whose hearts have been assured by the breezes that waft from the direction of a magnificent throne. These shall not be moved by the winds of the south and north, nor shall they be turned aside by the opposition of all who are in the heavens and earth, for this trial is a trial for those who have not witnessed the power of God and who have been in doubt concerning the meeting with their Lord, after the heaven of names was rent asunder and God came upon clouds of inner meanings with clear and manifest sovereignty.

As for those who have known God by His Self and by what hath appeared from Him—these have drunk the pure wine of holiness in the most exalted Paradise from the hand of the mercy of thy Lord, the Most High, the Inaccessible, the Sublime, the Mighty, the Beauteous. Leave thou the cup of annihilation and take with the hand of contentment the chalice of everlasting life through the sovereignty of the name of thy Most Glorious Lord. Say: In the name of God, the Exalted, the Most High, the All-Powerful. Then drink thereof and be of the detached ones. By My life! When thou drinkest thereof, the tongues of the inhabitants of the Paradise of Refuge shall speak, then the tongues of those who dwell nigh the Divine Lote-Tree, and beyond them the Tongue of Grandeur shall proclaim:

“Well is it with thee, O thou who art assured of God and who drinkest from the cup of His grace, the Inaccessible, the Mighty, the Wondrous!”

Hearken unto the words of him who loveth thee for the sake of God, then rend asunder the veils through a power from Us and a sovereignty from Our presence, and fear no one but trust in God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers. Say: O people! Do ye imagine within yourselves that the signs of God could be confused with those of His creation? Nay, by the Sovereign of the Throne, if ye be of the fair-minded! Say: Were all who are in the heavens and on earth to gather together to walk as the Ancient Beauty walketh, they would never be able nor would they have the power—how much less the power that hath encompassed all created things or that which proceedeth from His mighty, omnipotent, and powerful Pen. And every letter that issueth from His mouth verily sustaineth all things as they are. Thus hath the Most Great Spirit spoken in this holy and magnificent Tablet.

Section 2: “O Nabil! Take hold of the Tablet…”

O Nabil! Take hold of the Tablet with the power of God and withhold not thyself from that which hath been ordained for thee in the dominion of God, the All-Possessing, the Mighty, the Invincible, the All-Wise. Fear thou no one, for verily He will protect thee as He hath protected thee in truth, and will exalt thee amongst His servants, and will aid thee with the truth. He is, in truth, the best of helpers and supporters. Soon will He return thee to thy habitation, and thine eyes shall be solaced through His grace. He, verily, is the Most Merciful of the merciful.

By God, O Nabil! I have desired naught in this world, nor have I sought anything for Myself. My deeds bear witness to My words, if thou be of them that ponder. I have desired naught save ascension unto God, and at all times do I beseech Him to raise Me up unto Him and deliver Me from these people who speak naught except that which their idle fancies command them, and who are of the heedless ones. Shouldst thou become aware of My suffering, thou wouldst not be able to contain thyself and would weep as weep they who have lost their beloved ones.

By God! Were I to desire to acquaint anyone with what hath befallen Me, I would not be able, for the root of the matter hath remained hidden from the eyes of all the servants, save from two souls: one who was named Ahmad from thy land, who was raised unto God and martyred in His path and was of the martyrs; and the other who was named Kalim, who is with Us and around whom the decree doth revolve. God is witness to what I say.

Ponder thou this Cause, and My mention, and My rising amongst the people, and My concealment, that God may acquaint thee with that which no one hath been acquainted, for He inspireth His servants with whatsoever He willeth, and He is powerful over all things. When thou knowest, thou wilt become aware of My tribulation which no one in all creation hath borne, and thou wilt hear in My words a cry and lamentation.

If thou desirest to know God’s Cause in these days, purify thyself from all things, then arise from thy place, turn thy face toward God and say:

“O my Lord! I am he who hath turned his face unto Thy face, the Everlasting, the Ever-Abiding, the Sanctified, the Luminous, and who hath detached himself from all things and entered beneath the shadow of Thy Most Great Mercy which hath encompassed the worlds. O my Lord! Deprive me not of the breezes of the dawn of Thy manifestation and Thy presence, and distance me not from the revelations of the glory of Thy mercy and favors. O my Lord! Cause me to know Thy beauty, then raise me unto that atmosphere wherein are heard the melodies of the birds of eternity, which Thou hast sanctified from the knowledge of all created things save such as have detached themselves wholly from all else but Thee and have laid hold on the hem of Thy wondrous and mighty bounty. O my Lord! Illumine my sight for the vision of the lights of Thy beauty and purify my heart for the recognition of Thy supreme and most great Self.”

Then go forth from the city wherein thou dwellest and distance thyself therefrom a thousand paces. Then stand and raise thy hands unto God with firm and steadfast certainty and say:

“O my Lord! I am he who hath raised his hands unto the heaven of Thy bounty and bestowal. Send down, then, upon me that which befitteth the sovereignty of Thy generosity and gifts. Thou art, verily, powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. O my Lord! I am he who hath abandoned his self and his desires and hastened toward the direction of Thy Cause and Thy good-pleasure, and hath advanced toward the sanctuary of Thy nearness and the Kaaba of Thy reunion and meeting. Make me not, O my God, deprived of that which is with Thee, nor despairing of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones. Thou art He Who hath ever been in the heights of power, might, and majesty, and wilt ever remain in the exaltation of loftiness, grandeur, and glory. Verily, Thou art near and responsive to him who calleth upon Thee.”

By God, O Nabil! If thou wouldst act in accordance with what We have commanded thee in pure truth, then with thine innate hearing thou wouldst hear the call of all things in this Most Great Announcement, and thou wouldst recognize God’s sovereignty and His manifestation, then His grandeur and His power. Thou wouldst hear what no one hath heard and witness that of which all creation remaineth heedless, save those whom God’s guidance hath preceded and whom He hath made the hands of His Cause among His creatures and the lights of His countenance amidst the worlds. Say: O people! By God, from all that appeareth from the holy direction there appear the signs of God, would ye but witness them. And from each letter thereof wafteth the fragrance of Paradise, which none can detect save those endowed with a refined sense of smell. Would that thou hadst been with Us in this migration and hadst become aware of the mysteries We have veiled from the servants out of Our desire to glorify God’s Cause, thy Lord, and hadst been among those who are informed.

We beseech God to inform thee in those days and to impart unto thee that of which most of the servants remain heedless. Verily, He is powerful over whatsoever He willeth. Soon there shall appear before thee that from which thou wilt find the Youth’s aversion, and thou wilt be commanded by a command which thou wilt not accept, and thou shalt leave it behind thee through a power from thy Lord, the Eternal, the All-Wise. This is of the tidings of the unseen which We have informed thee in truth, that thou mayest act in accordance with what thou hast been commanded by the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. All this is from My love for thee, and everything created and yet to be created testifieth thereunto, and then this Faithful Pen.

O Nabil! Rend asunder the veils of dominion, then behold with the Greatest Vision. By God! The Cause hath been exalted and made manifest, and the Sun hath dawned from the horizon of a renowned Name, and the Face of God, the Hidden, hath appeared. Then shalt thou find the ungodly in turmoil and dust, and the believers in light and radiance. Say: Verily He hath appeared more swiftly than the twinkling of an eye, and none hath any escape from Him save that he either believeth in Him or denieth all the signs and returneth to the nethermost fire. And rejoice thou within thyself, then give the glad tidings unto the people that the Beauty hath appeared without veil or covering. Say: The Sun hath dawned from the holy horizon, then the Moon hath been cleft asunder. Thus doth the Pen of Decree teach thee that thou mayest be among the people of insight. And the Spirit be upon thee and upon those who have attained unto the love of God, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the Ruler, the Powerful, the Omnipotent.

BH00441: In My name, that calleth aloud between earth…

Section 1: “In My name, that calleth aloud between earth…”

In My name, that calleth aloud between earth and heaven

O Ashraf! The smoke of heedlessness and the dust of idle fancies have prevented the world from beholding the effulgent rays of the Countenance of the Lord of all beings, and deprived it of the waves of the Most Great Ocean. O Ashraf! Upon thee be My glory. Momentous is this Cause—this is that News of whose greatness all heavenly Books have testified, this is that News at which the limbs of the peoples of the world have quaked and the hearts of the divines and the doctors of law have trembled. Convey My greetings to the loved ones of God. Say: Take ye My choice sealed wine in My Name, the Self-Subsisting, then drink thereof in despite of the people of the Bayan who have turned away from the All-Merciful and disbelieved in God, the Lord of all worlds. In these days it is most needful to reflect on what hath passed, and is accounted as worship before God, nay rather, is mentioned as the sovereign of all acts of worship. The traditions of old have surely been before thine eyes. The purpose is that in this Most Great Revelation the servants may attain unto true unity.

O Ashraf! We have rent asunder some of the veils while others remain as barriers preventing the servants from turning to the Supreme Horizon. By God’s life! Until they pass beyond the gulf of names they shall not attain to the Most Great Ocean. This word hath repeatedly flowed from the Most Exalted Pen, yet the people understand not, the people perceive not, the people know not. This is the Day of God wherein none is mentioned save Him. O Ashraf! From the rustling of the winds is heard “The Cleaver of the Dawn hath come,” and from the whispering of the Divine Lote Tree “The Lord of all creation hath come,” and from the murmuring of the living waters “The All-Merciful hath come.”

Where then is the hearing ear, and where the penetrating vision? By God’s life! This is the Day of sight and the Day of hearing, for the call of God, exalted be His glory, is raised from the Supreme Paradise, and the light of the Countenance of the Sun of Being is shining forth from the horizon of Manifestation, radiant and evident. In all ages and centuries the ignorant divines have forbidden and continue to forbid the servants from God, exalted be His glory. In their primary station and first rank, they are in the throes of death—their souls transform light into fire, acceptance into rejection, and knowledge into ignorance. In truth, they seize the human spirit. God protect us and you.

O party of God! Ponder the Shi’ih sect. Through ages and centuries they occupied themselves with mutual execration and denunciation, and when speaking of the Herald, they uttered “may God hasten His relief.” Yet when the dawn of hope appeared and the world was illumined by the radiant splendors of the Sun of Oneness, they all arose in opposition until they committed that which caused the denizens of the cities of justice to weep and all things to lament with great lamentation. Consider the fruit of their deeds: It was the martyrdom of the Lord of the world. The divines issued the verdict for His death, and the people, following them, wrought that which caused the eyes of the Prophets to weep.

Reflect upon the beginning of that sect—what calumnies were raised, and how these calumnies became the cause of hatred and were visited upon the Herald. Now again the people of the Bayan with tongues of falsehood and delusion engage in the same utterances. The worthless ones of the world claim to be pearls, and the bats of existence pretend to the station of the sun. Protect the weak in the name of the Strong One of Truth. Guide the ignorant to the ocean of knowledge, that perchance the world may be purified and not again be sullied with the clay of suspicion and fancy. Verses have been sent down from the Kingdom of the All-Merciful equal to all previous Books, and evidences have appeared in such wise that none has excuse for hesitation or denial, unless they wholly deviate from the straight path and deprive themselves of fairness and truth.

The Surih of Kings, the Tablet of Ra’is and their like bear witness to what has been mentioned and testify to what has proceeded from the Most Exalted Pen. Today, whatever will be manifested from the deeds of that heedless party is clear and evident to the loved ones of God. They draw nigh unto what was mentioned at the beginning of the Tablet, and they understand. Whosoever attains unto this counts the world as non-existent, let alone the braying of the ignorant mentioned in the Scriptures and Tablets. From Kaf and Ra it appeared. Glory be to God! Despite their ignorance, they have uttered that which no idolator before had ever said.

Blessed art thou, O Ashraf, in that thou hast heard the Call and turned toward it and responded on a Day when eyes were fixed in terror, hearts were constricted, the sighs of the lovers ascended, and the tears of the people of the Covenant were shed. The Greater Branch was present before the Wronged One, and We read what thou didst commune with and call upon God, thy Lord and the Lord of the Mighty Throne. We have answered thee with verses that neither the treasures of the earth nor what the kings and rulers possess can equal, that thou mayest rejoice and thank thy Lord, the All-Forgiving, the Most Generous. Say: O people of God! Be as mountains in the Cause of God, the Self-Sufficient, the Most High, in such wise that neither the blasts of allusions nor the storms of expressions from those who have turned away from God, the Lord of all worlds, may move you.

O Most Exalted Pen! Make mention of him who hath been named Shukru’llah, that he may hear the call of the Lord of Eternity from the precincts of His Most Great Prison and give thanks unto his Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We have aforetime made mention of thee through verses from which the fragrance of divine revelation was wafted throughout the world, and at this hour through that which hath brought joy to the eyes of them that are nigh unto God. Take hold of the verses of God with such strength as is bestowed by Him, that neither the might of the people nor the allusions of them that have been heedless of this manifest Cause may hold thee back.

Say: O concourse of the earth! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and utter not that which hath caused the denizens of Paradise and they that circle round the Throne to lament at all times. By God! The Revealer of verses hath come with the standards of inner meanings and utterance, calling you unto God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Cast away what ye possess and take hold of that which God, the Mighty, the Beauteous, hath enjoined. The books of the world profit you not this day save through this Book which speaketh before the faces of the nations by the leave of an All-Knowing Commander. Thus have We sent down the verses and expounded them in truth and dispatched them unto thee, that thou mayest be endowed with insight into this momentous announcement. We counsel thee and them that have believed to show forth supreme steadfastness in this Cause whereby the feet of the learned have slipped and the hearts of the mystics have been perturbed, save him whom God hath delivered and preserved as a token of His grace—and He is verily the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous. We have sent down for thee what thou didst desire from ʿAmman, as a mercy from thy Lord, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Section 2: “We make mention of him who hath been…”

We make mention of him who hath been named Darab, whom thou didst mention in thy letter, that he may remember his Lord, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. We made mention of him aforetime with such remembrance as drew unto it the hearts of the Concourse on High and they that circle round the Throne at eventide and at dawn. O Darab! The All-Bountiful remembered thee before and remembereth thee at this hour. Verily He remembereth him that remembereth Him, turneth unto him that turneth unto Him, and answereth every call raised in His love. He is, verily, powerful over whatsoever He willeth through His word “Be” and it is. Grieve not over aught. In all matters place thy trust in Him from Whose knowledge nothing escapeth.

All created things have testified that He is the Truth, the Knower of the Unseen. We counsel thee with that whereby the Cause of God may be exalted—this is among the most excellent of deeds, though most of the people understand not. Hold fast unto the cord of goodly deeds and cleave unto its blessed and mighty hem. Say: O my God and my Lord! I beseech Thee by the mysteries of Thy knowledge and the pearls of the ocean of Thy wisdom, and by Thy Name through which Thou didst subdue the lands and didst send down unto Thy servants that which drew them nigh unto the court of Thy holiness and the carpet of Thy companionship, to aid me to be steadfast in Thy Cause. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. There is none other God but Thee, the Strong, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Faramarz! Do you know who has turned to you, and do you know who wishes to make mention of you? Say: Yea, by my Lord! But the people are in evident delusion. Take hold of the verses of God with His strength in such wise that neither the allusions of the divines weaken you, nor the might of the aggressors frighten you—they who have broken God’s Covenant and His Testament and have pronounced judgment against Him when He came with manifest sovereignty. We make mention of Our loved ones there who have testified to that which God has testified, and have acknowledged that whereto My Most Exalted Pen has moved in this glorious station, and before it in the Land of Mystery, and before that in Zavra, and before that in the Land of Ta.

Thus does the Wronged One relate unto thee that thou mayest know and be of them that know. We have stood before all faces and called out with the most exalted call, and summoned them to the Most Exalted Horizon in such wise that neither their clamor weakened Me, nor their hosts and their ranks hindered Me. When the Cause was revealed, a band of wolves emerged from behind the veils and sought Me out. Verily thy Lord is the True One, the Faithful. Thus was the matter decreed, yet most of the people are heedless.

O people of God! Be not grieved by anything. Arise to serve the Cause with supreme steadfastness. Thus does the Lord of all being command you, both before and at this time. Upon you be My glory, My mercy and My loving-kindness, which have preceded all who are in the heavens and on earth.

O Ashraf! We have seen thy letter containing the names of those who have arisen to serve the Cause, turning to the Most Exalted Horizon. We testify that they heard and responded, and aided the Cause of their Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful.

O Ali! Thy name was presented by the Most Great Branch before the Face in the Most Great Scene. We have revealed for thee that which will gladden thy heart and console thine eyes and the eyes of those who have believed in God, the Lord of the worlds.

O Ghulam-Husayn! We made mention of thee before, and We make mention of thee at this time. Verily thy Lord is the All-Merciful, the Generous. My Most Exalted Pen hath moved to thy name and thy mention in such wise that its fragrance shall never fade throughout the duration of My mighty and impregnable Kingdom.

O Nabil-i-Baqir! The cawing of the crows and the clamor of the transgressors who have cast the Book of God behind their backs in following their own desires have grown loud. They are indeed among the idolaters in the Book of God, the Most High, the Great. Blessed art thou for thy turning unto Him, thy sincerity, thy devotion, thy steadfastness, and thy rising up in service to thy Lord, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. There hath flowed from the Pen of the Most Merciful the Living Waters for you. Blessed is he who hath drunk thereof, and woe unto the heedless. We counsel you at the end of this Tablet with deeds whereby the Cause of God may be exalted among His servants, that there may be manifested that which was hidden in knowledge and recorded in the Book.

We make mention of him who was named Yusuf that he may arise to that which befitteth the days of his Lord, the Lord of all men. There hath come before Us a letter from one who hath loved Us and drunk the choice wine of Our loving-kindness from the hands of Our bounty, and therein was thy mention. We make mention of thee as a favor from Us, for We are the Mighty, the All-Bountiful. Be not grieved by anything. In all matters put thy trust in God, the Lord of Lords. We adorned thee before with the ornament of My remembrance, and this is yet another time, as a mercy from Us which hath preceded most names. He before Whom is the knowledge of the Book beareth witness to this. When thou dost discover the fragrant breezes of thy Lord’s utterance, say: Praise be unto Thee, O Thou Who hast remembered me in Thy Most Great Prison! I testify that Thou art the One Who hath power over whatsoever Thou willest, and within Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in earth and heaven.

O Abu’l-Qasim! The Wronged One maketh mention of thee from this praiseworthy station, before which every lofty station and every exalted palace hath bowed down in submission. Beware lest thou be veiled by the doubts of the divines through whose rejection the people in every age have turned away from God, the One, the Chosen. Remember thy Lord by night and by day, at eventide and at dawn. He hath made mention of thee in such wise as nothing in all creation can equal. To this testifieth the rustling of the Divine Lote-Tree which proclaimeth: There is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. Thus hath the fragrance of utterance been wafted throughout all contingent being. Blessed is he who hath inhaled it, who hath arisen and hath said:

“Praise be unto Thee, O Revealer of the verses and Manifestor of clear tokens!”

BH00456: In My Name, through which the fragrance of God…

In My Name, through which the fragrance of God, the Self-Subsisting, the All-Compelling, has been wafted!

This is a Book sent down in truth from the heaven of God’s Will, the Lord of all worlds. When it appeared, the mysteries of all the Books were revealed and that which had been hidden from the eyes of those near unto God was made manifest. O thou who art present before the Divine Countenance and who gazest upon the Throne, rejoice in that the Ancient Beauty hath turned toward thee from the direction of His Most Great Name and hath revealed for thee that which hath caused the breezes of revelation to waft throughout the world, whereby all who dwell in the heavens and on earth have been perfumed.

O spiritual youth! Hearken unto the eternal call of God. He hath sent down for thee from the heaven of utterance that which shall never be exhausted throughout the endurance of His glorious and wondrous kingdom. When the Day of Return appeared and the All-Bountiful came riding upon the clouds, there arose from behind the veil the buzzing of flies. Thus hath the Tongue of God spoken in this exalted station. He hath informed thee of what befell Him at the hands of those who cast the Covenant and Testament of God behind their backs and denied the Day of Judgment.

Say: O peoples of the earth! Fear God and follow not those who have denied God’s grace and mercy and have perpetrated that which hath caused every Prophet and every trustworthy Messenger to lament. We desired for them all the good that the All-Merciful had revealed in the Furqan and in the Bayan, yet they rose in opposition and objected to God, the Almighty, the Powerful.

Say: O people of the earth! By God, the Most Exalted Word which the Lord of Names hath revealed in His perspicuous Book hath been fulfilled. Blessed is he who hath heard, recognized, turned unto God and said:

“Praise be unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Goal of all who are in the heavens and on earth, and glory be unto Thee, O Thou Beloved of the hearts of the sincere ones!”

Say: Beware, O people of the Bayan, lest ye reject the truth by virtue of that which ye possess. Cast away idle fancies and vain imaginings, and take hold of that which ye have been commanded by God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. The Most Great Sign hath been joined with the Most Exalted Word on the Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds. Say: O people! The Sun of God’s Will hath dawned from the supreme horizon and hath manifested that which He desired. He is, verily, the Single One, the All-Knowing, the Mighty, the All-Wise, the All-Informed. Cast aside your imaginings; the Self-Subsisting hath come with a light that neither the veils of the world nor the clouds of the nations can withhold. Thus hath the matter been decreed, if ye be of them that know.

O spiritual youth! For a time, the Most Exalted Pen was restrained due to the unworthiness of the servants. The Tongue of Grandeur beareth witness unto this at this Daybreak, by whose light the earth and heaven were illumined and the hearts of the believers were attracted. There hath befallen the Wronged One that which hath no likeness or parallel. The hosts of self and passion and the legions of iniquity and corruption have united, uttering calumnies of which none but God is aware, and their purpose hath been to subvert the Cause of God. Whosoever hath turned his face towards this region for the sake of God from the Great City, they have accused of theft and irreligion. Yet God, friendless and unaided, relying upon Him alone, remaineth established in His place and seated upon His Most Great Throne. Neither the might of princes nor the clamor of divines who have denied God’s right, His sovereignty, His proof and His testimony, have deterred Him. Beseech ye God that He may aid all to that which beseemeth His Day.

Say: O servants! Fear ye God, then recognize the station of this holy and luminous Day. This is the Day which God’s Messengers foretold aforetime, and which the Seal heralded in His words “The Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.” In all conditions the Most Exalted Pen hath been occupied with counsels and exhortations, that perchance the servants may turn from the direction of aversion to the direction of acceptance, and cling to what is with God rather than what is with the people. The oppression of the transgressors hath reached such a pass that they have forbidden people from reciting the dawn prayer. The Shaykh of the Land of Sad is aflame with the fire of denial, and likewise some of those associated in the Land of Ta.

One of the handmaidens of God, known as the Sister, hath raised the standard of hypocrisy. She was not with Us in the beginning and knew not of the Cause. The colors and ornaments of the world seized her to such extent that she gave to the enemy what belonged to the Friend. Nevertheless, We concealed it and held fast to the cord of patience. But that heedless one became fearful of her own deed and openly arose in opposition, to such degree that she incited certain souls to endeavor to subvert God’s Cause among His servants.

These matters were and are not worthy of mention, but in view of some being informed, a drop from the ocean of hatred and enmity hath been mentioned. We beseech God to make all aware of that which leadeth to the exaltation and elevation of being, and to make them so steadfast that neither the cawing of the cawers nor the clamor of the doubters shall prevent or withhold them from the ocean of utterance of the Purpose of the worlds. Sixty years of her life have passed, and until now she hath not been able to read a single tablet. God shall soon reveal what her breast concealeth and what her soul hath betrayed. There hath befallen Us that which hath befallen no one aforetime. All things bear witness unto this. Verily thy Lord is the True Witness, the Speaker, the Mighty, the Wondrous.

Verily My Most Exalted Pen desireth at this moment to make mention of one of His loved ones who hath turned unto the Dayspring of His light, hath acknowledged His Manifestation in His days, and hath confessed that which the tongue of His grandeur hath uttered. We testify that he hath quaffed the choice wine of revelation from the hand of His bounty, and hath believed in Him and in His Book and in His proof and His evidence.

Blessed art thou, O Sadr, inasmuch as the Ancient Beauty hath testified to thy faith from His Most Great Prison, and hath made mention of thee in such wise as to cause the fragrance of the All-Merciful to be diffused throughout all creation and the sweet perfume of faithfulness to be wafted amongst all religions. I testify that thou didst believe in God when every sinful doubter and every remote scholar denied Him. The first light that shone forth and gleamed from the horizon of God’s will, the Lord of Lords, and the first fragrance that was wafted amongst the servants by this Name through which the horizons were illumined. Upon thee, O thou who hast turned unto the horizon of Revelation and who speaketh in praise of Him Who conversed upon Sinai.

Thou art he who hath attained unto the call of God and His mention and hast acknowledged that which was revealed in His days. Thou art he whom neither the might of Pharaohs nor the power of tyrants could deter. Thou didst turn unto the Kaaba of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Throne and of the dust, and didst answer Him with thy tongue both outwardly and inwardly when His sweetest call was raised from His most exalted horizon in the prison of Akka. We testify that thou didst drink the wine of steadfastness from the hand of thy Lord’s bounty, the Lord of all creation, and didst attain unto His verses and His signs. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who turneth unto thy resting place and visiteth thee, even as the tongue of thy Lord hath spoken.

We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to adorn thy station in the Most Exalted Paradise with the light of His Manifestation and His appearance, and to send down upon thee at all times from the heaven of bounty a mercy from His presence and a blessing from His court and a table spread from His side. O my Lord! Ordain for him that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones who have attained unto all the good Thou hast sent down in Thy Books and Thy Scrolls and Thy Tablets. I beseech Thee, O God of Names, by the waves of the ocean of Thy utterance and the splendors of the Sun of Thy grace, to forgive him who hath turned unto him, then to answer his needs through Thy bounty and generosity, then to fulfill for him what he desireth from the heaven of Thy generosity and the sun of Thy bounty.

Verily Thou art the One with power over whatsoever Thou willest, and within Thy grasp is the reins of bounty. Thou takest and givest, Thou forgivest whom Thou willest through Thy great mercy, and Thou exaltest whom Thou willest through Thy Most Great, Most Holy, Most Glorious Name. There is none other God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Bountiful, the Powerful, the Compassionate, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Verily We have made mention of those who have ascended unto the Supreme Companion and have sent down for them that which hath caused the ocean of forgiveness to surge in creation and the fragrance of God’s loving-kindness, the Lord of the worlds, to be diffused. By My life! There hath been sent down from My Most Exalted Pen for them that which hath caused the sweet perfume of God’s utterance to be wafted throughout all else than Him, and all things have spoken forth glory and splendor and light and bounty unto God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Blessed is the stranger who hath sought his most exalted homeland, and the poor one who hath laid hold on the cord of wealth, and the ignorant one who hath quaffed the choice wine of knowledge from the hand of the bounty of his Lord, the Generous. This is a Day wherein the rapture of the Call hath seized all who are in earth and heaven. Blessed is he who hath heard and is endowed with hearing, and blessed is he who hath witnessed and seen what hath shone forth from the horizon of God’s grace in this manifest station and exalted spot.

In truth I say, the vain imaginings of the former people have to some extent seized the people of God. They have forsaken the manifest and evident Truth and are secretly engaged in promoting vain imaginings. Verily thy Lord is with them, He heareth and seeth and concealeth. He, verily, is the Concealer, the All-Knowing. Say: O people! By God, there hath appeared what hath never appeared in the world, and there hath come what no eye among the nations hath ever seen. Fear God and be not of the heedless. Say: Take ye hold of the hem of God and say:

O our God and our Lord! We turn unto Thee in repentance, for verily Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful. O my Lord! Keep us not from the light of Thy unity, and remove us not from the precincts of Thy nearness and the court of Thy glory. Verily Thou art the All-Kind, the All-Bountiful.

Today all must fix their gaze upon the Supreme Horizon, detached from all else. Thus hath flowed the command from My Most Exalted Pen in this mansion wherein the Ancient Beauty walketh with manifest sovereignty. O Ruhani! Say: O people! Today the Book speaketh through “The All-Bestowing hath come” and all things proclaim “The Lord of all beings hath come.” Glory be to God! The verses are revealed, the evidences are manifest, yet most of the people are in clear error, save those whom God hath purified as a mercy and grace from His presence. Verily He is the Omnipotent over whatsoever He willeth through His binding and wise command. Say: O people! Beware lest ye cast the call of God behind you, and beware lest ye follow any ignorant remote one. Say:

My God, my God! I beseech Thee by the martyrs of the Land of Ya, through whom Thou didst manifest Thy sovereignty and power by Thy leave and might, and Thy patience and forbearance, to ordain for me what Thou hast ordained for those of Thy servants who are near unto Thee and those of Thy creation who are sincere. O my Lord! Assist Thy servants to steadfastness and detachment. Verily Thou art the Lord of creation and the Possessor of invention. There is no God but Thee, the Omnipotent, the Mighty, the Great.

Glory be to God! Through the penetrating power of steadfastness and detachment in these days, We have illumined the preface of certain Tablets with the light of Khalil’s detachment. Indeed there appeared from that Dawning-Place of detachment that which amazed the Concourse on High. When Nimrod’s fire was ablaze and that noble one was suspended in the air, Gabriel came and asked: “Hast thou any need?” He replied: “Not from thee.” May the spirit of all who dwell in the Kingdom be a sacrifice unto his detachment. O spiritual youth! The attraction of this call hath seized this Wronged One, and repeatedly in these days hath this passage flowed from the tongue of grandeur. Beseech the True One that He may aid all to discover and attain unto the sweetness of detachment.

One ray of its effulgence shone upon certain kings; barefooted they sought the wilderness and traversed the deserts. Blessed is he who hath attained unto the outpourings of these days, heard My call, and turned unto My horizon. He is assuredly among the people of Baha in My wondrous Book, before which, when it was revealed, all the books of the world and whatsoever is with the nations have bowed down. He Who speaketh before all faces beareth witness unto this. The dominion and the kingdom belong unto God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment. Make mention of the loved ones in every land and give them the glad-tidings of that which hath been revealed and ordained, that perchance the Word of God may attract them all and free them from the happenings of the world and its people.

BH00468: This is a noble Book sent down…

Section 1: “This is a noble Book sent down…”

In the Name of God, the Mighty, the Great!

This is a noble Book sent down from the presence of the Mighty, the Wise. Therein is that which brings joy to the sincere ones and causes the hearts of the ungodly to tremble. In it hath been sent down that which enricheth the worlds, should they turn towards the sanctuary of their Lord’s throne, the Most High, the Supreme. Hearken unto that which is revealed from the direction of thy Most Glorious Lord in the Kingdom of Names from the crimson Tree:

“God! There is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Wise! I created thee for My service and manifested thee for Myself. Verily, thy Lord is He Who ruleth over whatsoever He willeth.”

Hearken unto the call and turn with the most pure heart unto the Most Sublime Vision, wherein the Lord of Destiny and the Fashioner of forms proclaimeth: “Verily, I am the Forgiving, the Generous!” Arise to serve Me and praise Me amongst My servants. Come forth from behind the veil of silence in the name of thy Lord, the Most Merciful, with wisdom and utterance. Say: O people! By God, the Sun of Knowledge hath dawned and the Most Glorious One hath come with manifest sovereignty. Nothing shall profit you this Day, even should you cling to all who are in the heavens and on earth. None can protect you this Day from God’s decree. Detach yourselves from your own selves, then turn with your hearts toward the sanctuary of the throne of your Lord, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.

Purify yourselves with this water which hath flowed from the Kawthar of the mouth of your Lord’s will, the Most Merciful, from the right hand of Paradise, that perchance ye may behold the Beauty of the Divine in the garment of His Most Glorious Name and recognize Him Whom ye have called upon morning and evening. Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken from the horizon of His Most Great Name, as a grace from His presence unto all created things.

Say: Were ye to enter the Most Glorious Paradise, ye would hear from the rustling of its trees: “Verily, I am God! There is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Wise!” And from the murmuring of its breezes: “Verily, I am God! There is no God but Me, the Omnipotent, the Powerful!” O blessed is he who hath entered therein and witnessed what was created therein from the presence of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

Verily, the decree hath not prevented the Glory from mentioning the Creator of all things, though at every moment He hath been slain by the swords of hatred through that which the hands of the wicked have wrought. To this testifieth every fair-minded one possessed of knowledge. I was imprisoned only because the Spirit of Holiness spoke in My inner being, and the Spirit of Grace called out in My heart, and the Most Great Spirit warbled in My breast, and the Faithful Spirit pointed to My head. This is the Beloved of the worlds. Were thou to behold My shirt with Mine eyes, thou wouldst see it pierced by the arrows of hatred through that which the hands of the ungodly have wrought.

When We entered the prison, We delivered unto the kings the messages of God, the King, the Mighty, the Beautiful, that they might know that He was powerful over whatsoever He willed and that none in the heavens and earth could prevent Him. Were anyone to hearken with the ear of innate nature unto all things, he would hear their outcry at what hath befallen the Beauty of the Divine from the hosts of the oppressors. When the hosts of revelation descended with the standards of signs from the presence of thy Lord, the Lord of Names and Attributes, then the people of allusions rose against My Self and denied God, the Most High, the Wise.

Arise among the servants in the name of the Lord of the Day of Mutual Calling. Say: O people! Have ye not seen the sovereignty of God and His power when He came upon the clouds with His holy and mighty kingdom? Do ye deny what ye have witnessed of His power and His sovereignty? What aileth you that ye have turned away from Him for Whose Cause ye were created? Fear God and be not of the heedless ones. Is that which your fathers left behind greater than that which hath shone forth from the Dayspring of the Cause, or have ye a proof more manifest than the Most Merciful Himself? Nay, by His gracious Self, were ye of them that know! Say: Leave aside all names and hold fast to My exalted and mighty sovereignty.

When asked “By what proof have you believed in God?” you find their heads bowed to the earth. Thus did the sun of verses dawn from the horizon of the utterance of the Lord of Names and Attributes. When you attain unto them, prostrate yourself before God, your Lord and the Lord of all worlds. Behold the idolaters and what issues from their mouths. They say “We have believed in God and His verses.” Say: This is His sovereignty which has appeared in truth, yet you turned away and were among the bewildered ones. You have taken the bitter for sweet and glass for ruby. By My life, your trade has yielded no profit. Soon shall you know when you are brought before the All-Seeing. Say: Were you to be asked by what proof you turned away from Him Who called you unto God, what would you say? Then would their faces be blackened from fear of the All-Powerful, and the dust of fire would envelop them. Verily they are companions of the blazing fire.

Do they rejoice in what they possess of the world’s ornaments? Soon shall We make it as scattered dust and leave their wealth to another people. Say: Reflect upon the generations that have gone before you. We commanded them to fear God, but they followed their desires. We seized them for their sins and made them a lesson to the worlds. Thus did the servants before them who denied God’s Cause after its appearance. We seized them for their deeds and left them to hellfire. O people! This is God’s Manifestation among you and His sovereignty unto you. Say: The Daystar of the horizons has dawned, and before it have bowed the necks of all who are possessed of might and glory.

Say: Has He not sacrificed Himself in the path of God, the Beloved of the knowing ones? God’s verses and His proof have been sent down, and the Beauty of Divine Unity has appeared from the realm of knowledge and wisdom. Blessed be the Self-Subsisting Who has come today with a luminous countenance. By My Self! The Temple of the Ancient of Days has been established upon the throne of His Most Great Name, and by My settlement thereon have the frames of all contingent beings been renewed. To this bear witness the bearers of the Throne and behind them your Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Lead forth the people from the darkness of self and desire in the name of your Lord, the Possessor of all names. Then rend asunder the veils in the name of God, the Sovereign of earth and heaven. If you find one extinguished, draw him near to this Blessed Tree wherein burns the crimson fire and which speaks between earth and heaven and proclaims to all things:

“Verily, I am God, there is no God but Me. I have created all beings for My Cause and all existing things for My Self. Those who are heedless of My sovereignty and power wander in the wilderness of desire and are forgetful of the mention of their Lord, the Lord of Names. Verily they are among the heedless ones.”

Section 2: “Let nothing frighten you in My Cause. Walk…”

Let nothing frighten you in My Cause. Walk in My footsteps such that tribulation prevents you not from remembering your Lord, the Lord of all creation. Thus has the Spirit spoken in this brilliant, luminous Tablet. A single letter thereof equals not what has been created in existence. Verily it is sovereign over all in the kingdom and dominant over all in the heavens and earths. Take the Book of God with power from Our presence and turn to those who have disbelieved in God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Say: O people! I have come to you from the Dayspring of your Lord’s will, the All-Merciful, with tidings from God, the Mighty, the Wise. Beware lest you follow self and desire. Your Lord, the Most High, the Most Glorious, has come. Turn unto Him and be not of the veiled ones.

Remind them of what We have cast into your heart, then spread the words of your Lord with wisdom and utterance, that they might find the fragrances of the All-Merciful from the garment of His name, the Bestower, and return to the Pole of Paradise, the seat of your Lord, the Mighty, the Peerless. If the idolaters turn away from you and object, grieve not, and remember My tribulation amidst My servants and what befell Me from the hands of the ungodly who would invoke Me night and day. When the appointed time was fulfilled and the Face shone forth from the horizon of thy Lord’s will, the Revealer of verses, they disbelieved, turned away, and were among the abased. Beware lest thou be patient in the Cause of thy Lord. Aid Him through utterance, that perchance the people of the world may turn to the Dayspring of grace, though We see them in a far-off place.

Be steadfast when one from the party of Satan entereth upon thee to withhold thee from God, thy Lord, the All-Merciful. Then hold fast to My strong cord and seek assistance from My grace and loving-kindness, and say:

“I seek refuge with Thee from the evil of the accursed Satan.”

Say: O people! Do ye call mankind to that which ye have named of your own accord while ye forbid them from My Beauty? Woe unto you, O heedless ones! Ye write the verses of God and dispute with Him Who hath revealed them in truth. What aileth you, O concourse of unbelievers?

The Most Glorious Tongue calleth out from the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing: O people of the Bayan! Did We not command you to be submissive before the All-Merciful, and did We not forbid you from following those who tread the paths of tyranny? By what proof did ye disbelieve in Him in Whom ye believed, and by what evidence did ye turn away from My Beauty after I came to you from the Kingdom of might and power with manifest sovereignty? We made the Bayan contingent upon His acceptance and deeds upon His good-pleasure. Ye have acquired for yourselves that which We forbade you and have neglected that which ye were commanded in a preserved Tablet. Arise, O servants, from the couches of heedlessness and forgetfulness, and turn unto God, the Creator of all things, that He may perchance remit your evil deeds and forgive what ye have neglected in regard to God, the Protector, the Mighty, the Powerful.

If thou seest one who turneth toward Him, remind him on behalf of thy Lord. Say: Blessed art thou for having turned to God with a sincere heart. And inform him of the tidings of the Youth around Whom the enemies have gathered and Who hath been imprisoned in this remote prison. Those who have turned away are in manifest error. The forbearance of thy Lord hath deluded them. We did not oppose them despite Our power and We delayed the punishment through Our knowledge. Verily thy Lord is the Forgiving, the Merciful. We have sent down detailed verses that perchance they may sanctify them from all who are on earth and draw them nigh unto the noble scene.

Say: O people! Follow what is revealed unto you from the shore of the Most Great Sea in the luminous spot of the uttermost Lote-Tree, and turn not unto anyone besides Me. Verily He was created by My Word, and this is attested by what hath appeared from the horizon of My wondrous Cause. Ponder on that which hath been sent down from the heaven of might and power, that it may attract you to the beauty of your Chosen Lord and that ye may recognize Him in the garment of His Most Glorious Name through which Beauty was unveiled and appeared in the name of your Lord, the Exalted, the Most High. Blessed is he who hasteneth unto Him; woe unto them that hesitate.

Say: Beware lest ye be veiled by allusions from the Lord of Names and Attributes. This is He Whose covenant the Point of the Bayan took in the world of the Bayan, and Muhammad the Apostle of God in the world of the Furqan, and the Spirit in the world of the Gospel, and the Interlocutor in the world of the Torah, and the Friend in the world of the Command, if ye be of those who know. Say: O people of the earth! Purify yourselves with this water which We have caused to flow from the right hand of the Throne, and turn to the Face with the sovereignty of My Most Mighty, Most Holy, Greatest, Supreme Name. Verily the Spirit speaketh not of His own desire, but rather by that which the Spirit of Holiness warbleth in His most pure and elevated breast, as attested by that which hath been sent down from the all-glorious domain nigh to the Divine Lote Tree: Hearken, and be not of them that are far removed.

Blessed art thou, O thou who hast turned to God! I bear witness that thou hast attained unto that which thy Lord desired. He, verily, is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Nothing whatsoever escapeth His knowledge. With Him is the knowledge of the heavens and of the earth. Give thanks unto God that the Most Pure Vision hath returned unto thee from this glorious scene. Remind the people and gather them, through My might and power, unto My Cause. Thus wert thou commanded before, and now once again. Verily thy Lord is the Ruler over whatsoever He willeth. Command the servants to fear God, that perchance the fragrances of sanctity may be wafted from their deeds throughout all regions. Thus have We commanded them and do command them from the presence of One Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

Say: All Revelations have ended with this Most Great Revelation. Beware lest ye follow any ignorant doubter. Soon shall ye hear a cry from the lands, even as We foretold aforetime. Then shun them and hold fast to this luminous hem. Blessed art thou and those who are with thee from among the loved ones of God. We have written for you in the Tablet that which shall solace the eyes of them that possess true knowledge. Verily, We behold thee in all conditions and are with thee. He is assuredly with His sincere servants. And the light that hath shone forth from the horizon of glory be upon thee, O servant who hath turned unto God, and upon those who hearken to thy word concerning the Cause of thy Lord, the All-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful. And praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.

BH00505: Lawh-i-Aqdas (Tablet to the Christians)

Section 1: “This is the Most Holy Tablet sent down…”

This is the Most Holy Tablet sent down from the holy kingdom unto the one who hath set his face towards the Object of the adoration of the world, He Who hath come from the heaven of eternity, invested with transcendent glory

In the name of the Lord, the Lord of great glory.

This is an Epistle from Our presence unto him whom the veils of names have failed to keep back from God, the Creator of earth and heaven, that his eyes may be cheered in the days of his Lord, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Say, O followers of the Son! Have ye shut out yourselves from Me by reason of My Name? Wherefore ponder ye not in your hearts? Day and night ye have been calling upon your Lord, the Omnipotent, but when He came from the heaven of eternity in His great glory, ye turned aside from Him and remained sunk in heedlessness.

Consider those who rejected the Spirit when He came unto them with manifest dominion. How numerous the Pharisees who had secluded themselves in synagogues in His name, lamenting over their separation from Him, and yet when the portals of reunion were flung open and the divine Luminary shone resplendent from the Dayspring of Beauty, they disbelieved in God, the Exalted, the Mighty. They failed to attain His presence, notwithstanding that His advent had been promised them in the Book of Isaiah as well as in the Books of the Prophets and the Messengers. No one from among them turned his face towards the Dayspring of divine bounty except such as were destitute of any power amongst men. And yet, today, every man endowed with power and invested with sovereignty prideth himself on His Name. Moreover, call thou to mind the one who sentenced Jesus to death. He was the most learned of his age in his own country, whilst he who was only a fisherman believed in Him. Take good heed and be of them that observe the warning.

Consider likewise, how numerous at this time are the monks who have secluded themselves in their churches, calling upon the Spirit, but when He appeared through the power of Truth, they failed to draw nigh unto Him and are numbered with those that have gone far astray. Happy are they that have abandoned them and set their faces towards Him Who is the Desire of all that are in the heavens and all that are on the earth.

They read the Evangel and yet refuse to acknowledge the All-Glorious Lord, notwithstanding that He hath come through the potency of His exalted, His mighty and gracious dominion. We, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened? Fear God, O followers of the Spirit, and walk not in the footsteps of every divine that hath gone far astray. Do ye imagine that He seeketh His own interests, when He hath, at all times, been threatened by the swords of the enemies; or that He seeketh the vanities of the world, after He hath been imprisoned in the most desolate of cities? Be fair in your judgment and follow not the footsteps of the unjust.

Open the doors of your hearts. He Who is the Spirit verily standeth before them. Wherefore keep ye afar from Him Who hath purposed to draw you nigh unto a Resplendent Spot? Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates of the Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My face? This indeed is naught but a grievous error. He, verily, hath again come down from heaven, even as He came down from it the first time. Beware lest ye dispute that which He proclaimeth, even as the people before you disputed His utterances. Thus instructeth you the True One, could ye but perceive it.

The river Jordan is joined to the Most Great Ocean, and the Son, in the holy vale, crieth out: “Here am I, here am I O Lord, my God!”, whilst Sinai circleth round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: “He Who is the Desired One is come in His transcendent majesty.” Say, Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled! This is the Word which the Son concealed, when to those around Him He said: “Ye cannot bear it now.” And when the appointed time was fulfilled and the Hour had struck, the Word shone forth above the horizon of the Will of God. Beware, O followers of the Son, that ye cast it not behind your backs. Take ye fast hold of it. Better is this for you than all that ye possess. Verily He is nigh unto them that do good. The Hour which We had concealed from the knowledge of the peoples of the earth and of the favored angels hath come to pass. Say, verily, He hath testified of Me, and I do testify of Him. Indeed, He hath purposed no one other than Me. Unto this beareth witness every fair-minded and understanding soul.

Though beset with countless afflictions, We summon the people unto God, the Lord of names. Say, strive ye to attain that which ye have been promised in the Books of God, and walk not in the way of the ignorant. My body hath endured imprisonment that ye may be released from the bondage of self. Set your faces then towards His countenance and follow not the footsteps of every hostile oppressor. Verily, He hath consented to be sorely abased that ye may attain unto glory, and yet, ye are disporting yourselves in the vale of heedlessness. He, in truth, liveth in the most desolate of abodes for your sakes, whilst ye dwell in your palaces.

Say, did ye not hearken to the Voice of the Crier, calling aloud in the wilderness of the Bayan, bearing unto you the glad-tidings of the coming of your Lord, the All-Merciful? Lo! He is come in the sheltering shadow of Testimony, invested with conclusive proof and evidence, and those who truly believe in Him regard His presence as the embodiment of the Kingdom of God. Blessed is the man who turneth towards Him, and woe betide such as deny or doubt Him.

Announce thou unto the priests: Lo! He Who is the Ruler is come. Step out from behind the veil in the name of thy Lord, He Who layeth low the necks of all men. Proclaim then unto all mankind the glad-tidings of this mighty, this glorious Revelation. Verily, He Who is the Spirit of Truth is come to guide you unto all truth. He speaketh not as prompted by His own self, but as bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Say, this is the One Who hath glorified the Son and hath exalted His Cause. Cast away, O peoples of the earth, that which ye have and take fast hold of that which ye are bidden by the All-Powerful, He Who is the Bearer of the Trust of God. Purge ye your ears and set your hearts towards Him that ye may hearken to the most wondrous Call which hath been raised from Sinai, the habitation of your Lord, the Most Glorious. It will, in truth, draw you nigh unto the Spot wherein ye will perceive the splendor of the light of His countenance which shineth above this luminous Horizon.

O concourse of priests! Leave the bells, and come forth, then, from your churches. It behooveth you, in this day, to proclaim aloud the Most Great Name among the nations. Prefer ye to be silent, whilst every stone and every tree shouteth aloud: “The Lord is come in His great glory!”? Well is it with the man who hasteneth unto Him. Verily, he is numbered among them whose names will be eternally recorded and who will be mentioned by the Concourse on High. Thus hath it been decreed by the Spirit in this wondrous Tablet. He that summoneth men in My name is, verily, of Me, and he will show forth that which is beyond the power of all that are on earth. Follow ye the Way of the Lord and walk not in the footsteps of them that are sunk in heedlessness. Well is it with the slumberer who is stirred by the Breeze of God and ariseth from amongst the dead, directing his steps towards the Way of the Lord. Verily, such a man is regarded, in the sight of God, the True One, as a jewel amongst men and is reckoned with the blissful.

Section 2: “In the East the light of His Revelation…”

Say: In the East the light of His Revelation hath broken; in the West have appeared the signs of His dominion. Ponder this in your hearts, O people, and be not of those who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised. Let the Breeze of God awaken you. Verily, it hath wafted over the world. Well is it with him that hath discovered the fragrance thereof and been accounted among the well-assured.

O concourse of bishops! Ye are the stars of the heaven of My knowledge. My mercy desireth not that ye should fall upon the earth. My justice, however, declareth: “This is that which the Son hath decreed.” And whatsoever hath proceeded out of His blameless, His truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered. The bells, verily, peal out My Name, and lament over Me, but My spirit rejoiceth with evident gladness. The body of the Loved One yearneth for the cross, and His head is eager for the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful. The ascendancy of the oppressor can in no wise deter Him from His purpose. We have summoned all created things to attain the presence of thy Lord, the King of all names. Blessed is the man that hath set his face towards God, the Lord of the Day of Reckoning.

O concourse of monks! If ye choose to follow Me, I will make you heirs of My Kingdom; and if ye transgress against Me, I will, in My long-suffering, endure it patiently, and I, verily, am the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

O land of Syria! What hath become of thy righteousness? Thou art, in truth, ennobled by the footsteps of thy Lord. Hast thou perceived the fragrance of heavenly reunion, or art thou to be accounted of the heedless?

Bethlehem is astir with the Breeze of God. We hear her voice saying: “O most generous Lord! Where is Thy great glory established? The sweet savors of Thy presence have quickened me, after I had melted in my separation from Thee. Praised be Thou in that Thou hast raised the veils, and come with power in evident glory.” We called unto her from behind the Tabernacle of Majesty and Grandeur: “O Bethlehem! This Light hath risen in the orient, and traveled towards the occident, until it reached thee in the evening of its life. Tell Me then: Do the sons recognize the Father, and acknowledge Him, or do they deny Him, even as the people aforetime denied Him (Jesus)?” Whereupon she cried out saying: “Thou art, in truth, the All-Knowing, the Best-Informed.” Verily, We behold all created things moved to bear witness unto Us. Some know Us and bear witness, while the majority bear witness, yet know Us not.

Mount Sinai is astir with the joy of beholding Our countenance. She hath lifted her enthralling voice in glorification of her Lord, saying:

“O Lord! I sense the fragrance of Thy garment. Methinks Thou art near, invested with the signs of God. Thou hast ennobled these regions with Thy footsteps. Great is the blessedness of Thy people, could they but know Thee and inhale Thy sweet savors; and woe betide them that are fast asleep.”

Happy art thou who hast turned thy face towards My countenance, inasmuch as thou hast rent the veils asunder, hast shattered the idols and recognized thine eternal Lord. The people of the Qur’an have risen up against Us without any clear proof or evidence, tormenting Us at every moment with a fresh torment. They idly imagine that tribulations can frustrate Our Purpose. Vain indeed is that which they have imagined. Verily, thy Lord is the One Who ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.

I never passed a tree but Mine heart addressed it saying:

“O would that thou wert cut down in My name, and My body crucified upon thee.”

We revealed this passage in the Epistle to the Shah that it might serve as a warning to the followers of religions. Verily, thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Let not the things they have perpetrated grieve thee. Truly they are even as dead, and not living. Leave them unto the dead, then turn thy face towards Him Who is the Life-Giver of the world. Beware lest the sayings of the heedless sadden thee. Be thou steadfast in the Cause, and teach the people with consummate wisdom. Thus enjoineth thee the Ruler of earth and heaven. He is in truth the Almighty, the Most Generous. Erelong will God exalt thy remembrance and will inscribe with the Pen of Glory that which thou didst utter for the sake of His love. He is in truth the Protector of the doers of good.

Give My remembrance to the one named Murad and say:

“Blessed art thou, O Murad, inasmuch as thou didst cast away the promptings of thine own desire and hast followed Him Who is the Desire of all mankind.”

Say: Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My Breeze. Blessed the lifeless one who is quickened through My reviving breaths. Blessed the eye that is solaced by gazing at My beauty. Blessed the wayfarer who directeth his steps towards the Tabernacle of My glory and majesty. Blessed the distressed one who seeketh refuge beneath the shadow of My canopy. Blessed the sore athirst who hasteneth to the soft-flowing waters of My loving-kindness. Blessed the insatiate soul who casteth away his selfish desires for love of Me and taketh his place at the banquet table which I have sent down from the heaven of divine bounty for My chosen ones. Blessed the abased one who layeth fast hold on the cord of My glory; and the needy one who entereth beneath the shadow of the Tabernacle of My wealth.

Blessed the ignorant one who seeketh the fountain of My knowledge; and the heedless one who cleaveth to the cord of My remembrance. Blessed the soul that hath been raised to life through My quickening breath and hath gained admittance into My heavenly Kingdom. Blessed the man whom the sweet savors of reunion with Me have stirred and caused to draw nigh unto the Dayspring of My Revelation. Blessed the ear that hath heard and the tongue that hath borne witness and the eye that hath seen and recognized the Lord Himself, in His great glory and majesty, invested with grandeur and dominion. Blessed are they that have attained His presence. Blessed the man who hath sought enlightenment from the Daystar of My Word.

Blessed he who hath attired his head with the diadem of My love. Blessed is he who hath heard of My grief and hath arisen to aid Me among My people. Blessed is he who hath laid down his life in My path and hath borne manifold hardships for the sake of My name. Blessed the man who, assured of My Word, hath arisen from among the dead to celebrate My praise. Blessed is he that hath been enraptured by My wondrous melodies and hath rent the veils asunder through the potency of My might. Blessed is he who hath remained faithful to My Covenant, and whom the things of the world have not kept back from attaining My Court of holiness.

Blessed is the man who hath detached himself from all else but Me, hath soared in the atmosphere of My love, hath gained admittance into My Kingdom, gazed upon My realms of glory, quaffed the living waters of My bounty, hath drunk his fill from the heavenly river of My loving providence, acquainted himself with My Cause, apprehended that which I concealed within the treasury of My Words, and hath shone forth from the horizon of divine knowledge engaged in My praise and glorification. Verily, he is of Me. Upon him rest My mercy, My loving-kindness, My bounty and My glory.

BH00516: The remembrance of God unto His servant who hath…

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

The remembrance of God unto His servant who hath been named Mihdi, that he may give thanks unto his Lord and be well-pleasing unto God. O servant! Hearken unto the call of God from this Servant Who hath been named by all names in the Kingdom of Names. And when thou ascendest beyond this station, thou shalt behold Him sanctified above all that the Daysprings of Names and Attributes have known. And when thou ascendest beyond this station and passeth on to another station, thou shalt be unable to establish for Him any mention or deny from Him any description, for in that station eyes shall not attain unto Him, thoughts shall not reach Him, minds and visions shall not comprehend Him. Thus hath the matter been decreed.

Cast aside what the people possess, then hold fast unto this Cord suspended between earth and heaven, in such wise that should men cut thee to pieces, thou wouldst not be severed from it nor be separated from it. Thus do We command thee in truth, and this is better for thee than all who dwell on earth. Dost thou find in existence aught greater than the knowledge of God and steadfastness in His love? Nay, by Him Who hath caused all created things to speak forth the praise of My Self, which hath encompassed the worlds!

Turn thy face toward God and detach thyself from those who at times speak as spoke the divines of the Qur’an, and at times speak as spoke the people of the Gospel, then the people of the Torah, and thus have they veiled themselves behind the veils of allusions. Among them are those who say: “Can sweetness be changed for bitterness, or the ruby for a stone, or gold for copper?” Thus do they speak, being unaware less than a hair’s breadth. And among them are those who say: “How can light be changed for darkness?” Thus and likewise do they speak, being unaware. These are in the sight of thy Lord this day more contemptible than donkeys.

Say: O ye who are as red ochre! Do ye not witness that when ye place a mirror before the sun, the form of the sun is reflected therein, and when ye place it before a dog, that too is reflected therein? Thus observe how the matter stands regarding all that faces it, that ye may be steadfast in the religion of God. For example, when any mirror among the mirrors of existence faces this Sun that hath been established upon the throne of names and attributes, the effulgences of this Sun are reflected therein according to its capacity. Then do all created things speak forth the praise of their own selves, for they behold naught therein save the revelation of their Lord and Creator. Were people to observe with the eye of their innate nature, they would recognize that this attribute of things is not of themselves, but rather due to the revelation that hath revealed itself unto them through their own selves. Thus have We detailed the verses that ye may be endowed with insight into the matter.

However, this station and these attributes hold true so long as one beholds therein the revelation of one’s Lord. Should it turn away from the Sun and face the wolf of self and desire, then doth the light return to its source, and the mirror reverteth to a station wherein naught can be seen therein save the wolf. Thus hath the decree been sent down from the heaven of wisdom, that people might find a way to the Lord of grace.

O Mihdi! Observe the people and their condition. After the Sun hath shone forth with such brightness that all who are in the unseen and visible realms have been illumined thereby, they have clung to a mere shadow and have opposed God, and thou seest them now standing upon the brink of a fiery precipice, having halted in sheer heedlessness without the Truth. And among them is one who claims to be a mirror after he warred against Him Who created and fashioned him, and caused all things to speak in praise of His Self—thus was the matter inscribed by the Finger of the Spirit in truth. Say: O people, reflect upon yourselves and be not of those who have deviated from justice and fairness and taken for themselves the path to the calf. Look at the peoples of the Furqan—they spoke about succession and guardianship after one thousand two hundred and sixty years just as you speak now, and God is witness to this. Did what they possessed of successorship or guardianship benefit them? No, by the All-Merciful! Rather, they and their followers were created by the command of God Who created all contingent beings with a word from Him, and verily He has power over all things.

O servant! Inform My servants. Say: By God, you have not understood the foundation of this Cause. Hearken to My words, and nullify not your deeds, and be not like the peoples of old. Fear God and be pious in the Cause, and dispute not with Him by Whose command the Prophets and Messengers were sent from a beginning that has no beginning—how much less those beneath them! Reflect, O people, on God’s Cause and its manifestation, and follow not every stubborn misbeliever.

Say: Today there is no difference with God between you and him whom you have taken as lord for yourselves besides God. Rather, he is more base in station and further astray in path, for he warred against Him Who created him by His word and sought to cut down the Tree that was planted by God’s hands in the loftiest paradise. Then he raised an outcry within himself to confuse the matter for those who believed in God, and thus did he plot in God’s Cause and was recorded with God as among the plotters.

Say: O people, open your eyes, then behold the Beauty at the midmost point of the zenith and turn towards Him, and follow not every rebellious satan. Does it not suffice you that We have manifested unto you Our true Self with complete manifestation and concealment? Fear God Who created and fashioned you, and deny not the blessing for which you shall never find a substitute.

Leave the people and what they possess—today you shall see them only as dead, not living, save those who hold fast to this Handle that has neither disconnection nor connection, neither severance nor qualification, if you be of those who know. Say: By God, were We to take from the yarn with which children play and make it the Handle of the Cause between the heavens and earth, We would be able to do so by My sovereignty which encompasses the worlds. And were We to take a handful of clay and resurrect from it the forms of the first and the last, and then those near ones and the sincere ones, We would be able—thus was the matter. But the people are wrapped in thick veils.

Say: O people! By God, the Most Great Mystery of God hath appeared, and the Most Great Treasure of God, and the Most Perfect Word of God, and the Most Bountiful Sea of God. Beware lest ye deprive yourselves of the bounty of these days, and be not in doubt concerning this Manifestation which hath encompassed all created things, and from which appeareth at every moment that which hath never before appeared. And if ye deny it, O heedless ones, by God, the True One, all atoms do testify unto it, and this Tongue which speaketh in all things proclaimeth: Verily I am the One adored, verily I am the Intended One, verily I am the Beloved, verily I am He Who, by the movement of My finger, hath joined the Kaf to the Nun, and thus was the matter decreed by the finger of divine decree upon the Preserved Tablet.

O Mihdi! Be thou guided by the guidance of God, thy Lord, then guide mankind unto this Most Great Ocean which God hath caused to surge by His Own Self and for His Own Self, and hath sanctified its shores from the approach of every obstinate misbeliever. Say: O people! Fear ye God! By God, the Truth! Were ye truly conscious, ye would sever your own necks with your own hands, or cast yourselves into the waters, or fling your bodies from the mountains, for ye have committed that which hath caused tears to flow from the All-Seeing Eye of God that beholdeth all things. Thus have ye acted according to the dictates of your souls and desires, and yet ye rejoice within yourselves and are glad.

Arise thou with the Cause of God and His permission, then convey unto the people the command of thy Lord, and be not of them who have been patient and veiled their faces through fear of their own selves. Thus have We commanded thee in truth that thou mayest be informed thereof. Beware that thou disputest not with anyone; rather, remind them with wisdom and utterance. Then guard thyself to such degree that no harm may befall thee, not in such wise as to be veiled from God’s Cause and deprived of the wonders of His manifestation. Purify thine ear that thou mayest hearken to the divine melodies wherewith the Dove of the Spirit warbleth upon the branches of these Words, each letter of which God hath made a lofty and impregnable Tree.

Stand thou firm with the firmness of God, and leave the people and what they possess unto themselves, then shun them who follow their lusts and commit transgression and wickedness. By God! We are quit of such as these, if thou be well informed thereof. Say: O people! Strive ye that My traces may be manifest in you, and that My fragrances and sweet savors may waft forth from you. Guard yourselves against whatsoever is abhorrent unto God’s good-pleasure and your good-pleasure. Fear ye God, and be ye purified from disobedience, that ye may speak forth the beauty of My Name, the All-Merciful, and may become a sign among all created things through this Cause which hath dawned from the horizon of holy and luminous glory.

O servant! Hearken unto the call of this Wronged One Who is imprisoned in this Most Great Prison. Then detach thyself from them who have disbelieved and associated partners with God, and ascend unto the atmosphere of nearness, holiness, glory, and beauty, that thou mayest attain unto the station wherein shine forth the lights of thy Lord’s countenance, the Mighty, the Most High, and mayest witness all created things beneath the shade of thy Lord Who hath appeared with the sovereignty of majesty and hath dawned at the midmost heart of eternity, and mayest be possessed of clear vision. Cast aside them from whom thou hearest naught but the stench of unbelief, who have turned away from Him through Whose will all created things were raised up, who are heedless of God their Creator yet fancy themselves believers.

Say: Woe unto you, O concourse of loss! By God! Your deeds have come to naught from the moment ye paused upon this Path which was raised up by the hands of the All-Merciful in the heaven of His Cause. Thus have We caused to flow forth for thee from these Words the Kawthar of knowledge and inner meanings, that thou mayest drink thereof and sprinkle it upon all created things through the power of My Name which encompasseth the worlds. Rejoice within thyself that the glances of God have been directed toward thee from this Prison, and glorify Him with such glorification as shall turn the hearts of all created things toward a Face of wondrous glory.

If thou desirest to grieve over anything, grieve over My tribulations, then over My afflictions and sorrows and exile and imprisonment. Thus doth the Most Great Pen command thee. Act according to what thou art bidden, and tarry not for even a moment. And the light that hath shone forth from the right side of the [Throne] be upon thee and upon those who have followed the command of God and have not transgressed the bounds that have been sent down in the Tablets from a mighty and inaccessible Pen.

BH08070: O Siyyid Javad in the Land of Kaf, upon…

O Siyyid Javad in the Land of Kaf, upon thee be the Glory of God! He is the Most Exalted, the Most Holy, the Most High!

O Mirror of Bounty! Bear thou witness to that whereunto God Himself hath testified at the midmost heart of eternity, that verily I am alive in the Most Glorious Horizon. Say: By God! He doth in truth, at this very moment and from this Horizon, both hear and see, and He proclaimeth:

“O people of the Bayan! Did We not promise you My manifestation? Yet when I revealed Myself, wherefore did ye turn away and become numbered with the idolaters? Did We not command you to cling to naught at the time of the Manifestation from amongst all that hath been created in the heavens and on earth? Did We not teach you that ye should not regard Him with your own eyes but with His eyes, and that whoso regardeth Him with any eye save His own shall never know Him, even should he ponder His Cause for as long as God, the Mighty, the Powerful, endureth?”

Therefore do I ask of you, O people, one word of pure truth—be ye fair in it and be not of the heedless. By what proof did ye believe in My Self on the Day when the clouds were cleft asunder and the Ancient Beauty came in My Most Great Name? If ye believed in My Self, by God, this is My Self come unto you with manifest sovereignty. And if ye believed in what was revealed unto Me of God’s verses, by God, that which hath flowed from His Pen hath filled the East and West of the earth with My verses, as ye yourselves have witnessed and are among those who bear witness.”

O people! Fear ye God, and make not your deeds null and void, and follow not in His Cause every rebellious satan, and make not His recognition dependent upon the testimony of any created thing, for all else besides Him hath been created by His Word, if ye be of those who perceive. Have ye not witnessed God’s sovereignty in His manifestation and His power in His arising against all who dwell on earth, in days wherein souls were troubled and the feet of the mystics did slip? By God! He is verily the Glory of God in the heaven of eternity, and His radiance unto all who dwell in the kingdom of names, and His manifestation and His grandeur unto all the worlds.”

Whoso denieth Him this day and writeth the Bayan—his own pen doth curse him, were he to hearken, and addresseth him in its inmost tongue saying: O thou who associateth partners with God! By what proof dost thou write His verses while denying His Self, the Merciful, the Compassionate? I verily disavow thee and seek refuge with God that He may deliver me from thy wicked fingers, and I turn unto Him in repentance from having met thee, and I am the first of the penitent.’ And whoso readeth today the verses of God while believing not in this manifest, resplendent, luminous Revelation—his own tongue belieth him and curseth him with the tongue God hath ordained in its essence, saying: O thou heedless one! Thou deniest the Ancient Beauty, yet readest what hath proceeded from His finger. Woe unto thee from the punishment of a grievous day!“’

By God! This is He through Whose manifestation the light of His radiance hath shone forth upon all things according to their nature. There is none other God but I, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Omnipotent. O people! Look ye this day with the proof whereby your faith and the mission of all the Prophets and Messengers is established. Were ye to purify yourselves from the defilement of self and desire, ye would surely find in all that appeareth from Him the fragrance of God, the Sovereign, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Wise.”

Thus hath your Lord, the Most High, spoken forth in the Most Glorious Companion, that perchance the people may become aware within themselves and make up for that which they have neglected in the Cause of God, and be numbered with those who have recognized God by His Self and who have detached themselves from all else.

Know thou moreover that the previous Manifestation complained unto thee concerning all the Mirrors, and I complain unto thee concerning all in this Mirror which hath opposed God and warred against His Self.

By God! She warred against My Person, disputed My verses, and sought to shed My sanctified, holy and luminous blood. By God! She looks upon Me with aspects which none can enumerate save God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers. By God! She hath done to Me what no one hath done to another, and were I to mention it, I would be unable due to the intensity of grief that overtakes Me at its remembrance. Then would weep for My wronged Self the Eye of God upon the thrones of all possible things, and My own Self sufficeth as witness to what I say. And if thou desirest to become aware of this, go forth from thy house, then proceed outside thy city to a place where thou findest thyself alone. Then turn thy face toward God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, raise thy hands to God, thy Beloved and the Beloved of them that know, and say:

O Lord! I have come from the west of fancy that the lights of certitude might dawn upon me from the dawning-place of the sovereignty of Thy Most Great and Most High Name. O Lord! I am the one who hath fled from myself, from all that I had known before, and from all the worlds, for whatsoever Thou hast taught me of the knowledge of Thyself in one moment will not profit me in another, as I am certain that in every instant Thou art upon a new manifestation, and I know that Thou manifestest Thyself to all created things through Thy name, the All-Knowing, in every moment as Thou hadst not manifested before, for the manifestations of Thy creation shall never end, by the everlasting nature of Thy Self that standeth over all creation.

And I, O my God, am he who hath not limited Thy manifestation by the limitations of myself nor by the indication of any existent thing, for I am certain that Thou canst not be indicated by any indication, nor limited by any limitation, for limitations are the attribute of Thy creation, while Thou hast ever been sanctified above the knowledge of every knowing one, and none can encompass Thy knowledge save Thyself. To this do my tongue, my being, my heart and my inmost heart bear witness, and I am possessed of clear certitude.

O Lord! I am he who hath confessed that Thou art not known save through Thyself, and I bear witness that Thou doest what Thou willest in Thy dominion. And whoso beareth witness to this word will never object to Thee in Thy Cause, nor will he hesitate in Thy wondrous and mighty Cause. O Lord! Purify my heart from the veils of all who are in the heavens and the earth, that there might be imprinted upon it the effulgences of Thy shining and luminous lights. O Lord! Sever me from all else save Thee, then inspire within me that which will draw me to the court of Thy holiness and cause me to soar in the atmosphere which Thou hast made sanctified from the cloying of the wings of the doubtful ones.

O Lord! Deprive me not of the breezes that waft today from the right hand of the throne of Thy mercy, and exclude me not from beneath Thy glances. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and Thou art the Forgiving, the Merciful. O Lord! Cause to shine forth upon me from the horizon of the Garment the Sun of glory and sanctification, that I might know Thee in this wondrous Garment. Make me not, O my God, of those who believed in Thee in the garment of one of Thy names, then, when Thou didst change the garment and didst manifest Thyself in the garment of another name, they dispersed from around Thee and were among the rejectors. Then do all things testify that they believed not in Thy Self but in the garment which is a name among Thy names. Had they believed in Thee, they would not have disbelieved in this Manifestation, the like of which hath not appeared in creation and whose lights have encompassed all who are in the heavens and the earth.

O Lord! Make me pure for meeting Thee, then honor me with visiting Thy Beauty, then send down upon me from the heaven of Thy mercy that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones, then make my feet firm upon Thy Path that is evident, manifest and straight.

Lower then thy hands in sublime submissiveness and humility, and with the ear of thine inmost nature hearken unto all things. By God! Thou wilt hear the lamentation of all created things, and then the sighing of the Concourse on High, for what hath befallen My soul at the hands of him whom We taught and supported throughout the nights and days. None is aware of this save God, the Most High, the All-Knowing. I shielded him with Mine own breast against the darts of the enemies, protecting him lest the arrows of the idolaters reach him, while he, in his innermost heart, lay in wait to slay Me. When God unveiled the hidden designs of his soul, he rose up against Me with calumnies, that he might instill rancor in the breasts of those who had taken vain imaginings as their lord instead of God, the True Sovereign, the Just, the All-Wise.

Thou hast indeed associated with Me—didst thou ever find Me willing to harm any created thing? Be fair, then, and be of the equitable. Had I desired to harm My brother, was I not able to do so? Yet despite My power over him and My knowledge of his condition, I sheltered him beneath My wing for twenty years, while he would veil his face in fear of both friend and foe. When at last he felt secure, he emerged like a serpent to sting Me at every moment, until no spot remained on My body that bore not the mark of his venom, wert thou but of those who hear.

Consider then, given My forbearance, tranquility, patience and concealment, what hath caused Me to cry out between the heavens and the earth. By God! Wert thou to reflect, thou wouldst know that which none among all the worlds hath known. Would that thou hadst been apprised of the root of this matter! We had desired aforetime to mention it to thee, but God decreed what He decreed, and verily He inspireth His servants with whatsoever He willeth, and He hath power over all things. Step forth, then, from behind the veil of silence and patience, and make mention of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Unconstrained. Fear no one, but put thy trust in God, the Mighty, the Beauteous. Say: O people! Board ye the Ark of Glory which saileth upon the crimson sea in the name of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted. By God! Whoso holdeth fast unto it hath attained salvation, and whoso turneth away is drowned and numbered among the perishing.

Glory, then light and radiance, be upon him who was named after the first letter of My name, and upon those who surround thee, whether female or male, young or old. We have heard that thy son hath ascended unto God. We share in thy sorrow and beseech God to cause him to dwell nigh unto His mercy, to give him to drink from the cups of His bounty, to purify him from transgression and clothe him in the robes of forgiveness—verily He is the Most Merciful of the merciful—and to place him in the highest companionship, in fellowship with His chosen ones and loved ones, and to send down upon him at every moment a mercy from His presence. Verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. But grieve thou not. By God! If thou wert to look with the eye of the heart, thou wouldst behold him even now freed from all opposition, detached from those who disbelieved and associated partners with God, and in communion with those on whose faces thou findest the freshness of bliss. We beseech God to grant thee the reward for this and to aid thee to be patient. Verily He is the Rewarder of the patient. Verily unto God do we belong, and unto Him shall we return.

BH00569: Suriy-i-Zuhur nazzala li-’Abdu’r-Rahim

He is mentioned in the heart of Baha!

The mention of thy Lord’s mercy unto His servant, that he may be established in the Cause in such wise that the call of every remote misbeliever shall fail to perturb him. Blessed art thou, O servant, for having freed thyself from the depths of vain imaginings and attained unto the recognition of thy Lord, while most of the people remained veiled therefrom, and for having drunk from the Kawthar of recognition, a single drop of which purifieth every pure and sound heart.

Verily, they who have denied God in these days are those whom the Names have deluded, after We had bidden them to detach themselves therefrom when God would come with a wondrous Cause. We had revealed in the Bayan and enjoined upon its followers that they should not associate any partners with God when He would come with the truth in sublime beauty. Yet when He appeared in truth, they denied Him and rose up against Him with a tyranny that was grievous in its oppression.

Say: O people! Reflect upon that which befell Him Who came with the name of ʿAli in truth and appeared with a radiance manifest to all the worlds. The divines rose up against Him with such opposition as severed from it all likeness and similitude, and God is witness to this. They advanced arguments based on words which they attributed to the verses of the Furqan, then objected thereby to Him Who created them by His command, being utterly unaware of this and remaining steadfast in their opposition.

Among them were those who clung to the notion that what al-Baqir had related concerning the signs of the Manifestation had not appeared, and likewise what as-Sadiq had uttered they had not witnessed. Thereby did they deprive themselves of all good and stood at the brink of the pit of idolatry, bereft of truth. And among them were those who said:

“It hath been established with us through multiple transmission, as set forth by the Imams of religion and the Four Gates, that the Qa’im will not be born but is living and will appear when God wisheth and willeth. But he who hath appeared was born, and we shall not believe in him even if he should bring forth every sign or manifest a matter that would render all worlds impotent.”

He Who came upon clouds of light saith: O people! Fear God and dispute not concerning the signs of God after their revelation, nor follow every sinful misbeliever. Purify your ears from all that ye have heard, that ye may hearken unto that which is revealed unto Me from the sublime heaven of mighty glory. Look not unto that which is with you, but look with the Most Great Vision, for this is better for you, did ye but know. O people! The sun hath risen from its setting place; therefore shall no soul’s faith profit it. Fear God and be God-fearing in His religion. O people! Were ye not promised in all the Tablets the Day of God? Lo, it hath appeared in truth, and therein hath the Ancient Beauty been established upon a mighty throne of glory. After His manifestation, nothing shall profit you, even should ye cling to all the Manifestations, and this is a truth like unto the existence of God, were ye discerning in the matter.

Verily, they to whose words ye cling were created by My word, and none comprehendeth this save every sagacious one possessed of knowledge. Therefore are they all within Our grasp of power; We do with them as We please, and verily We have power over all things. That which is with you shall not profit you this Day; what shall profit you is that which proceedeth from Me, and I am the Powerful over whatsoever I will, with a sovereignty that encompasseth all the worlds. By God the Truth! Were We to take a handful of dust and desire to create the like of these, We would be able, were ye possessed of penetrating vision. Have ye not witnessed, O people, how We ordained the Stone to be the object of adoration for all the servants from every direction, and exalted its mention amongst all, both small and great.

Then when its appointed time was fulfilled, We removed from it the garment of acceptance. Can anyone say “why” or “wherefore”? Nay, by My Self, the Truth, were ye but possessed of knowledge concerning the mysteries of the Cause. Verily your Lord, the All-Merciful, doeth what He willeth in His dominion and shall not be asked of His doings. He hath ever been powerful over whatsoever He willeth. And was this glory inherent in this Stone itself? Nay, by Him Who caused the Spirit of Eternity to speak forth in the breast of Baha, rather was it from the presence of One All-Knowing, All-Wise.

By God, O Our servant ʿAbdu’r-Rahim! Mine eyes weep and My frame trembleth because of those who witness God’s favor in its utmost perfection, yet deny it and comprehend not God’s utterance. They object to God and justify their turning away by the same arguments used by the people of the Furqan, imagining themselves to be in the right while they are in error before God. Why do they not perceive in God’s Cause even as much as the husk of a date stone? I take God and His angels and His Messengers as witnesses that I have not failed in counseling them and in proclaiming this Cause which was witnessed at the right hand of the Throne.

Would that they had never heard My words nor opposed My Self! By God, O Rahim, in every moment there hath befallen Me from these people that which hath caused the hearts of the denizens of Paradise to burn, yet We have concealed it and been patient until God shall bring about His purpose, for verily He watcheth over all worlds. Ponder thou upon what hath been revealed unto thee, that perchance thou mayest draw forth from this ocean precious pearls of sanctity, and become acquainted with that which hath been concealed from most of the servants, whereby God may loose thy tongue to make mention of this Remembrance Whom the transgressors have imprisoned in this well, and that thou mayest aid this Wronged One Who hath no helper on earth save God, Who strengthened Him with the truth and sent Him unto all worlds with a manifest sovereignty.

Say: O people, fear God and contend not with Him Whom God hath made to stand amidst His enemies as a proof unto all who are in the heavens and on earth, how much less against the verses revealed unto Him which cause every possessor of exalted knowledge to be bewildered at their revelation. Say: O leaders of the Bayan, do ye deny Him through Whom your realities were created and your names were exalted? Fear God and be steadfast in the Cause.

By God, the Truth! Were God to desire to adorn the bodies of all created things with the robe of Divine authority in one hour and remove it from them in another, He is able to do so, and this would not be difficult for God. Be ye ashamed before God and war not against His Self, deny not His power, dispute not His verses, and take not your idle fancies as objects of worship besides Him. Among these are those who love not the Day because their souls have grown accustomed to the Night, and when the Day appeareth it obliterateth its traces and radiance until no vestige thereof remaineth visible.

Behold the stars: they shine in the night, glorying in their radiance and bearing witness within themselves to their own splendour. Yet, when day breaketh and the sun hath risen, their light and splendour are effaced, as though they had never been. This, every discerning and informed soul doth recognize. How then canst thou love the day after that its very existence is brought to naught by His appearance? Thus have We expounded the matter unto thee and set it forth in detail, that perchance the people may find a path unto the Lord of this Day.

Say: The Day hath appeared and the Sun hath shone forth from the horizon of Manifestation, obliterating thereby the traces of every exalted grace save whom thy Lord hath willed, and He was, at that moment, in the most exalted Paradise, by God’s leave, filled with joy. O servant! By God, they who have not attained today to the recognition of God and His good-pleasure—these have no light. Rather, darkness itself fleeth from them and seeketh refuge with God from their darkness and unbelief. And thy Lord is, to what I say, a witness.

Say: O people! Be not proud before God, nor let names beguile you from turning unto Him through Whose command the suns of names have shone forth from a holy and wondrous horizon. And We complain unto God of the mirrors that behold not My beauty except through their own colors, imagining in themselves concerning God that which beseemeth them not. Thus have We informed thee with truth that thou mayest stand firm in the Cause in these days wherein the feet of every mighty man have slipped from the Path, save him whom the hand of grace hath seized and delivered from the darknesses of fancy, causing him to dwell beneath the shade of a sublime and lofty Tree.

O Rahim! Have mercy upon thyself, then upon the souls of the servants. Verily, thy mercy towards them is to teach them the Cause. Arise then, and tarry not for even a moment. Open thy lips in remembrance of thy Lord in such wise that shouldst thou be opposed by all who are in the heavens and on earth, thou wouldst behold them as though no one among them were worthy of mention. Rend asunder all veils, then speak between earth and heaven that wherewith the Spirit will aid thee from the presence of One mighty and wise.

Soon will Satan come unto you with that which will prevent you from the remembrance of God and His sovereignty. Then turn away from him and face God with a radiant countenance. This is of the tidings of the unseen which We have revealed unto thee that thou mayest be clear-sighted in the Cause.

Say: O people! Is there any doubt concerning God after He hath appeared with all signs? Woe upon you, and upon your sight, and upon your minds! Ye have emerged from one fancy only to be afflicted with a greater one. Then shall ye find no helper for yourselves in God. Hear My words and take not God in mockery, nor His Cause in vain. By the True One! There is no refuge today for anyone from God’s Cause and His proof. All things proclaim this, though none hear it save those endowed with wondrous hearing.

O servant! Rend the veils asunder through the power of thy Lord, the Chosen One, and pay no heed to the idolaters and what issueth from their mouths, for they have disbelieved after having believed. Therefore do all atoms curse them, and behind them a truthful and knowing tongue. Remember from Our presence those servants who are there, who have taken today for themselves a path unto God. And glory be upon thee if thou remainest steadfast in thy Lord’s Cause and art illumined with the lights of His countenance.

BH00586: This Day is God’s Day, and all else beside…

In the name of the Beloved of the worlds

This Day is God’s Day, and all else beside Him testifieth to His being, His grandeur and His might. Some have recognized and borne witness, while others bear witness but know Him not. There can be no doubt that all things were created in their primal reality for the knowledge of God. He that hath attained this station hath attained unto all good—a station so exalted that were its greatness to be fully revealed, all the pens in the realm of possibility and all the pages of creation would not suffice to exhaust its description.

Blessed is the soul that hath, in God’s Day, attained unto the recognition of the Manifestation of His Cause, the Dawning-Place of His verses, and the Dayspring of the revelations of His bounty. Such a one is numbered among the sanctified, the near ones, and the sincere, even though this station be so hidden within him that he himself perceiveth it not. Yet its revelation hath its appointed time. Observe how many ascetics have remained deprived of the Lord of all worlds, and how many who had renounced the world have attained this mighty grace. As ye have heard of former times, how the date-seller attained the presence of the Chosen One, while the learned one who counted himself among the elect and the divines remained deprived.

Ponder for a while the words of Him Who hath revealed the verses, that ye may drink of the pure wine that lieth concealed therein. How many sinners have been purified and sanctified by the breezes of the All-Merciful’s mercy as they wafted past them, and how many of those who acted and strove, clinging to their selfish desires, remained forbidden and deprived from the court of His unity. The Cause is in the grasp of the power of the sovereign Almighty. We beseech God to aid all to achieve that which He loveth and is pleased with. Observe the divines of the Shi’ih sect, who considered themselves more exalted, mightier, more glorious and more perfect than all other peoples, yet when the winds of tests blew and the Beauty of the All-Merciful was made manifest, they remained distant from the hiding place of nearness and reunion, and drank not from the fountain of His manifestation and attainment.

They counted themselves the best among all creatures, yet were accounted as the lowest thereof in the sight of the Truth, and still they perceive it not. Well is it with him who hath been cleansed, through the Word of God, from his own will and desire, and hath attached himself to the will of Him Who is the Desire of all worlds. He is indeed accounted among the gems of creation in the sight of the Almighty.

O thou who hast turned towards God! Some among the servants have been and are worshippers of desire, and some are worshippers of utterances. Thus it was observed how many books they wrote to prove the truth, and how they occupied themselves with His remembrance throughout the nights and days. Nevertheless, they comprehended not a single letter of the utterances of Truth and attained not a drop from the ocean of the All-Merciful’s knowledge.

Know thou the value of these days. By My life! The eye of creation hath not seen their like. Behold thou the Truth as sanctified above all things. He is manifest in all and yet sanctified above all. This is the essence of unity—that ye should behold the True One alone as all-prevailing over all things and manifest in the mirrors of all created things. Know ye all things to be sustained by Him and drawing their essence from Him. This is the meaning of unity and the purpose thereof. Some deluded ones have, in their imaginings, made all things partners with God, and yet consider themselves people of unity. Nay, by His very Self! Such souls have been and shall ever remain the people of blind imitation, limitation and restriction.

Unity is to know the One as One and to consider Him sanctified above numbers, not to regard two as one. The essence of unity is to recognize the Manifestation of Truth as one with the Unknowable and Inaccessible Essence, meaning that thou shouldst regard His acts, deeds, commands and prohibitions as being from Him, without separation or connection, mention or indication. These are the ultimate stations of the degrees of unity. Blessed is he who hath attained thereunto and is among those who are firmly grounded. In these stations, countless utterances have streamed forth and been revealed from the Supreme Pen.

Ye should strive, God willing, to collect to the extent possible the Arabic and Persian utterances that have been revealed in this Divine Manifestation from the Dawning-Place of Divine verses, and observe them. By My life! From each word will be opened unto thy heart a door of knowledge and wisdom. Verily thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Therefore hath this brief tablet been revealed. This is from His bounty unto thee. Be thou grateful unto thy Lord in thy days for this sublime bounty.

Those souls who have drunk of this cup and have attained unto this most lofty station and this exalted, most glorious pavilion will not be affected by the words of men, nor by the promptings and insinuations of the self. Let not such souls be withheld from the shore of the Ocean of Oneness. As for those who, in certain temptations and tests, have slipped and do slip—these, in truth, have not attained unto this station. For example, if a man should indeed hear the call of the celestial Dove, he will assuredly not be deterred therefrom by the croaking of the beasts. In this station We cast into thee a word from the Source of bounty and the Dayspring of the Most Great Mercy, that thou mayest not, through the turning away and heedlessness of the servants and of the people of the lands, nor through decreed trials and newly-arisen seditions, be held back from the Path of Oneness; but mayest remain, throughout the everlasting Kingdom and dominion, firm and steadfast in the Cause and love of the Lord of the Kingdom on high.

And that word is a word which, from everlasting to everlasting, hath been—outwardly and inwardly—in the divine Books; and it is this: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.” If a soul attain unto the knowledge of the Truth and come to know, in very deed, that He doeth whatsoever He willeth and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth, then will he be withheld by no sedition, nor will he be perturbed by any event. Such a one is the drinker of the cup of tranquillity, and such a one hath attained unto the station of certitude. Blessed is he that hath drunk and attained; and woe unto the far-removed!

Reflect thou a little, that thou mayest drink from the limpid, flowing waters of the utterance of the Lord of origin and return; and that thou mayest become light and unencumbered, like unto a spiritual bird, and soar in the holy airs of meaning. And if a soul attain not unto this station, he shall not be, nor shall he ever be, numbered among the people of Truth. The attainment of this station is, through the grace of God, easy and near—yet most have not attained, save whomsoever thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, willeth.

Even as hath been witnessed: certain souls have claimed recognition, and outwardly have professed to have attained unto the Days of God and the knowledge thereof, and yet, through some affair, have returned unto the lowest abyss. By My life! Whoso hath heard My call and tasted the sweetness of My utterance, the might of kings shall not hinder him, nor the insinuations of them that dwell on earth, nor the veils of the worlds.

Behold the grace of God: it hath reached such a point that thou art abiding in thy place, while the Wronged One, in the Most Great Prison, amid tribulations beyond reckoning, is occupied with thy remembrance—lest thou be deprived of His favour, or barred from His loving-kindness. And after the recognition of God, the greatest of all matters is steadfastness in His Cause. Cleave thou unto it, and be of the firmly rooted. No deed hath been, nor is, greater than this. It is the sovereign of deeds—and thy Lord is the Most High, the Most Great.

And as to the deeds thou didst enquire after: in Tablets such as these it is not permissible to set them forth, by reason of the weakness of the servants. Yet the deeds and acts enjoined by God are clear and manifest, even as they have been sent down and recorded in all the heavenly Books—such as trustworthiness and truthfulness; purity of heart in the remembrance of God; forbearance; contentment with that which God hath decreed for him; satisfaction with what hath been measured out for him; patience in afflictions—nay, thanksgiving therein; and reliance upon Him in all conditions. These matters are among the greatest of deeds, and foremost of them in the sight of God. As for the remaining ordinances of secondary matters, they have been, and ever shall be, in the shadow of what hath been mentioned. God willing, they will reach that honoured one, and he will act according to what hath been revealed in the Tablets. For the present, more than this it is not permitted to mention.

Do ye, therefore, act according to those ordinances which ye have heard from the trustworthy, or have beheld in the divine Tablets, that ye may attain unto the rest thereof. In sum: the spirit of the heart is the knowledge of God; its adornment is the confession that He doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth; its robe is the fear of God; and its perfection is steadfastness. Thus doth God make clear unto whomsoever He willeth. Verily He loveth him that turneth unto Him. There is none other God but He, the Forgiving, the Generous. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

Convey thou my exalted greetings, from the Wronged One, unto the honoured brother—upon him be the glory of God. Say: Joy be to thee, in that thou hast turned unto the Qiblih of the worlds! For you hath been ordained the reward of him who attaineth unto His presence and standeth before His mighty Throne.

In these circumstances, return to thy homeland is the better, that perchance, through your return, the breezes of love may pass over some souls. God willing, through the confirmations of God, ye will be aided to proclaim His Cause. When the heart is joined to the Most Great Ocean, rivers will assuredly flow therefrom.

In view of the turmoil of this land, and the wretchedness and heedlessness of its people, We did not, outwardly, grant leave to enter; yet We have written down for you the reward of those who enter. Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

BH00618: O My Name! Upon thee be My Glory!…

O My Name! Upon thee be My Glory! A hundred thousand pities that the people of the world hearkened not to the rustling of the Supreme Pen and remained deprived of the whispering of the Divine Lote-Tree. They counted affliction as a bounty and torment as ease. Throughout the nights and days We summoned those on earth to the Great Announcement and the Straight Path. The people of the cities of justice and fairness all bear witness. From the Supreme Pen flowed that which a single drop thereof was the water of life for all who dwell in the realm of possibility. Yet greed and avarice have so encompassed the people of earth that all remain veiled and occupied with their own idle fancies, imagining that other than God can assist, support and benefit them. Far, far from it! Say:

Ponder upon the parties of old and inquire, that perchance ye may be mindful. Today is the Day of God. Strive that ye may attain unto His knowledge and arise as behoveth you.

The Caesars, Pharaohs and tyrants of the world in every age and cycle arose in oppression, vainly counting themselves as enduring and others as transient. Where are their stations and their palaces? Behold their graves, that perchance their extinction may remind you, their remoteness draw you near, and their darkness illuminate you.

O My Name! The people are seen to be asleep, nay rather dead, save whom God willeth. Beseech God that He close not this door He hath opened, and extinguish not this fire He hath kindled through His love. He is the One with power whom the cawing of the world hindered not, and the clamor of the nations withheld not from His purpose. He called aloud in the palace, His remembrance was raised in the garden, and in the Most Great Prison He bore, more than at all other times, that which all were powerless and incapable of bearing. The heaven beareth witness, and the sun is aware of what hath been mentioned—this Sun of Truth that hath shone forth from the horizon of the heaven of inner meanings. Today the melodies of the Manifestations of Beauty are raised in the Most Exalted Paradise, the cooing of the doves of eternity is heard, and the murmuring of atoms is apparent. Blessed are they who have hearkened with true ears and become detached and free from the world and all that is therein.

Convey to the people of God, wheresoever they may be, the greetings of the Wronged One, and remind them all of the verses of the Manifestation of clear proofs, that perchance they may not remain deprived of the splendors of the lights of the Sun of Truth and may not be afflicted with the idle fancies and vain imaginings of the past. The Supreme Pen hath at times desired to rend asunder all veils completely, but the weakness of the servants and their lack of capacity hath restrained it. The people are weak and the Cause mighty and great.

O My Name! There appeared before the Wronged One a letter which two of the friends had written to thee, adorned with mention of the loved ones of the land of K. The name of each is remembered before the Dawning-Place of Names and the Source thereof. Praise be to God, they have attained unto the waves of the ocean of the utterance of the All-Merciful and have drunk of the sealed wine which had ever been hidden, from the hands of bounty. That wine, in its primary station, is the recognition of the Self of the Manifestation. Whosoever attaineth unto His knowledge is indeed a partaker of that wine and numbered among them that comprehend, and none besides hath any share of this most great favor. Give thou the glad-tidings from God unto all, that they may rejoice and drink from the divine chalice the water of life of steadfastness, in such wise that the sources of vain imaginings and the heedless among the people of the Bayan may find no way unto them.

O My Name! Make thou the people aware, saying: Consider ye at the beginning of the Cause the former community. If ye become informed of the calumnies of that group, ye will hold fast unto the cord of God’s favor with such firmness that the fragrance of permanence may be inhaled therefrom. A few heedless souls became the leaders of that community and led them all to hell. They changed God’s favor into denial and caused their people to dwell in the abode of perdition.

Reflect ye upon the Manifestation of the Herald, the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake. All the lands of Persia arose in error, hypocrisy, unbelief and dissension, and issued decrees for the shedding of the most pure blood of the Day-Star of the horizons. Such was the fruit of that community. Now again certain worshippers of names who have appeared in the Bayan desire to contaminate the people of God with those same vain imaginings. Say: O people! If ye discover the fragrance of the Bayan and perceive the sweet savors of the Supreme Pen, arise with utmost endeavor and steadfastness to serve the Cause.

O people of Kaf! We counsel you to be steadfast in these days in such wise that the hearts of the doubters who have broken God’s Covenant and His Testament, and have turned away from Him Who hath come with what they possessed of the Books of God, the Lord of the worlds, may be sorely troubled. Verily, the primary source of error hath been the divines who opposed God’s Messengers in the past and present, and through their turning away the people turned away. To this testifieth every fair-minded and well-informed person. Beware lest the intimations and doubts of the cawers prevent you from God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. The glory shining from the horizon of the heaven of My bounty be upon you and upon everyone who is steadfast, firm and upright.

In the letter sent by the servant Ali and Aqa Hashim, mention was made of Mulla Aqa Jan. Give thou the glad-tidings to that servant of his Lord’s loving-kindness. Verily He hath forgiven him as a token of His grace and purified him from transgression. He is verily the Protector, the Mighty, the Bestower. O My Name! That which was submitted by him who is named Nayib Hasan hath been presented, and the Greater Branch—upon him be My mercy, My loving-kindness and My grace—read it before My face, and We have revealed for him that which will draw him nigh unto God. Thy Lord is verily the All-Bountiful, the Generous.

O Hasan! Grieve not because of the taunts of the enemies and the clamor of them that are in the lands. We have borne that for which all things have lamented, and I am the True One, the Trustworthy. We have arisen before all faces when the Sun of Justice was behind the clouds and the Orb of Equity behind the veils, and We have manifested the Cause as a token of Our grace. Thy Lord is verily the Powerful, the Mighty. Say:

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by the light of Thy knowledge whereby the hearts of them that are nigh unto Thee were illumined, and by the fire of Thy love which hath set aflame the hearts of them that yearn after Thee, and by the radiance of the heaven of Thy bounty and the waves of the ocean of Thy utterance, that Thou mayest ordain for me through Thy Most Exalted Pen that which shall profit me in the world to come and in this world. Verily Thou knowest what I possess, and I know not what Thou dost possess. Thou art, in truth, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. O Lord! Strengthen my limbs in Thy service and my heart in Thy knowledge, and aid me to remain steadfast in Thy love and to arise to serve that which beseemeth Thy Revelation and Thy days. Verily Thou art the Strong, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

As to what thou hast mentioned concerning him who is named Ibrahim Kh., We have indeed heard his call before. He is among those who have attained unto tribulations in My love and My path. God hath magnified his reward in His perspicuous Book. This world hath no station. Erelong shall the wrongdoers behold the recompense of their deeds, bereft of any evidence from God, the Commander, the All-Wise. O Ibrahim! Upon thee be My glory. Hearken unto My call from the direction of My prison. Verily He remembereth thee in truth and remindeth thee of the signs of God, the Lord of all worlds. Turn not unto the world and its affairs. By My life! Had it possessed any station, thou wouldst surely have found Me seizing its reins and established upon its throne.

Behold, then remember what the All-Merciful hath sent down in the Qur’an concerning this most hidden mystery and this mighty announcement, and before it in the Gospel and the Torah, and that which was revealed unto Isaiah from God, the Mighty, the Most Praised. Blessed art thou for having endured in My path what My chosen ones have endured, both in the past and in the future. Verily thy Lord is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Nothing whatsoever escapeth His knowledge, and within His grasp is the dominion of all who are in the heavens and on earth. When thou dost inhale the sweet savors of My verses, turn thy face toward God, the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting. Say:

Glorified art Thou, O Beloved of the world and Desire of the nations! I beseech Thee by the Most Great Name to aid me in that which shall cause my remembrance to endure amongst Thy servants and my praise amongst Thy creation. O Lord! Thou seest me advancing toward Thee, detached from all else save Thee, turning unto the effulgences of the lights of Thy countenance, and holding fast unto the cord of Thy bounty. I beseech Thee not to disappoint me of that which Thou hast ordained for them that are detached from Thy creation. Then write down for me the good of this world and of the world to come. Verily Thou art He Whom the forces of the world cannot hinder. Thou doest what Thou willest through Thy power and ordainest what Thou pleasest through Thy command. There is none other God but Thee, the Supreme over all names, the Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below. Verily Thou art the Truth, the Knower of the unseen.

O My Name! Praise be to God that they have attained in the path of God unto that which hath befallen His loved ones. We beseech and implore Him to keep them steadfast and to make them content. He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the Bestower, the All-Knowing. Assuredly, whatsoever the requirements of wisdom are hath flowed and shall continue to flow from the Most Exalted Pen. Verily thy Lord is the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

The glory that shineth resplendent from the horizon of the heaven of My kingdom be upon thee and upon them that have remembered thee, loved thee, assisted thee, and hearkened unto thy words concerning the Cause of God, the Most High, the Most Great.

BH00621: O ʿAli-Qabli-Naqi! Hearken unto the Voice from the shore…

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

O ʿAli-Qabli-Naqi! Hearken unto the Voice from the shore of eternity in the crimson spot, from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting. Blessed art thou for having attained unto the Ridvan Festival in the Garden when the All-Merciful revealed Himself unto all creation. Be thou thankful and say: “Praise be unto Thee, O Thou in Whose grasp lie the reins of earth and heaven!” Say: This is not a day for tarrying. Blessed is he who hath heard the call from the supreme horizon and hath responded: “Here am I, O my Lord, the All-Merciful!” Say: The Call is a wing for him who desireth to soar in this atmosphere, a lamp unto the people of creation, and the river of thy Lord’s mercy unto all existence. It is healing for the distressed and life unto the buried. Blessed is he who hath heard it with the ear of the heart, turning unto the Qiblih of all horizons.

O Most Holy Pen! Make mention of him who hath turned unto the Sun of his Lord’s countenance, the Mighty, the Bestower, that the remembrance of God may draw him unto the Kingdom of Names and Attributes. Blessed art thou for having shattered the idol of vain imaginings when thy Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, came in the shadows of the clouds. Arise by thy Lord’s leave, then subdue hearts through this Name which God hath made to be sovereign over all names. Thus hath the matter been decreed by the Revealer of verses. Say: O people! The Day hath come—that which ye were promised in the Tablets. Through it the Great Cry hath been raised, and the Rock hath proclaimed: “The Kingdom is God’s, the One, the All-Compelling!” Beware lest the veils of creation withhold thee from turning unto the Supreme Truth. Be as thy Lord was, such that neither the hosts of the earth nor the might of any proud oppressor shall frighten thee. Be thou a herald of My Name and one who speaketh My praise, albeit with wisdom and utterance. Thus hath the matter been ordained in the Book.

When We arrived at the prison, We desired to convey to all that which thy Lord, the Mighty, the Bountiful, had willed. We have sent down to every one of the rulers of the earth that which hath blinded the eyes of the unbelievers and gladdened the vision of Our chosen servants. We have created the new creation through the spirit of power and might, and have sent it with the Tablet of thy Chosen Lord, from whose horizon the sun of names hath shone forth with power and sovereignty. Tribulation hath not deterred Us from the remembrance of God, the Creator of names. From the horizon of the prison, We summon the peoples unto the Mighty, the All-Forgiving. Say: O people! Verily, Jacob regained his sight when he found the fragrance of the shirt of a Name among names, and We have sent unto you that which hath diffused the sweet savors of the All-Merciful. Turn ye, O people of understanding! We have heard thy call and have answered thee from this spot, as a token of Our grace unto thee and unto those who have turned unto the Face on a Day wherein feet have slipped.

O Most Pure Pen! Look from the direction of the Most Luminous Scene towards him who is named Ali Akbar, that he may behold himself beneath the gaze of the Lord of Destiny, through whom the Path was established and the Balance set up. Hearken unto what the Ancient Beauty calls out to thee from the direction of His Most Great Name. Verily, there is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Help in Peril. Blessed art thou for having cast away idle fancy and laid hold on certitude when the Self-Subsisting came with clear proof and evidence.

Say: O concourse of divines! Remember when Muhammad, the Apostle of God, came, He was rejected by him who deemed himself the most learned among men, while he who tended sheep believed in Him. Glory lies not in knowledge but in the recognition of the Known One. Ponder, O ye that are veiled! Behold the paucity of their minds—they write with their pens what their desires dictate to them, after the shrill voice of the Most Exalted Pen has been raised between earth and heaven. Say: Cast away what ye possess and be silent, then hearken to what the Tongue of Grandeur and Glory utters. How many a veiled woman has turned to God and believed, while how many a turbaned man has turned away and followed the dissenting factions.

Blessed is he who has rent asunder the greatest veil in the name of the Lord of mankind and has turned towards the straight path. Among the idolaters is he who said: “Has the Hour come?” Say: “Nay, by the Lord of Lords, it has passed! The Sun of Certitude has shone forth from the horizon of thy Lord’s will, the All-Merciful, while the idolaters remain in heedlessness and doubt.” Say: “The morn has dawned, and thereby the fragrance of the garment has wafted through all regions.” Thus have We inspired thee and sent thee that which causes souls to soar and the hearts of the righteous to be attracted.

O Pen! Turn toward him who has turned to the Most Great Name, who is named Muhammad in the Kingdom of Names, that he may rejoice in this remembrance which God has made the ornament of the Book of Creation. Say: We have kindled the fire of longing in all regions, and this is the Beloved One, O concourse of lovers! Thy name hath been mentioned before the Throne, and there hath been sent down for thee that which quickeneth the dead. Be thankful that God has aided thee to recognize the Manifestation of His Cause, and there hath flowed from the Pen of Revelation that which shall establish thy remembrance among His servants. Can any bounty equal this among all that hath been created on earth?

Nay, by the Dayspring of Lights! Arise to serve thy Lord—this is better for thee than all thou seest, and every steadfast believer testifies to this. Say: All previous Revelations have culminated in this Most Great Revelation, and whosoever claims after Him is indeed a lying impostor. We beseech God to guide him to repentance should he turn back—verily thy Lord is the Ever-Forgiving; but should he persist in his claim, God will surely send against him one who will show no mercy—He is verily the Almighty, the Subduer. Counsel those who have made God’s Cause a plaything and a sport. By My life! They are in grievous error and delusion. Were the Cause as they assert, how could that which We have purposed be established among men?

Reflect, O ye who possess insight! How many are the cawing ones who caw—this is what your Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, has informed you. O My loved ones! Guard the fortress of the Cause through My Name, the All-Encompassing over all regions, then drink from the cups of the mercy of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the water of everlasting life, despite those who have disbelieved in God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Thus have We expounded the verses for thee and We expound them in another strain. Verily thy Lord is the One Who has power over whatsoever He willeth through His word “Be” and it is.

We make mention of him who is named Husayn, that he may hear the call of this Wronged One. Verily the Beloved calleth, the Well-Beloved hath come, yet the people understand not. The rapture of the All-Compelling hath seized all regions, and most of the people are thunderstruck. The Sacred Valley crieth out: “Praise be to Thee, O Lord of Names!”, and the Far Temple proclaimeth: “The Kingdom is Thine, O Lord of the seen and the unseen!” Every lifeless thing hath been quickened by the breezes of God, yet the people are as dead, save those who have cast away desire and laid hold on guidance—these are they that shall prosper.

Grieve not at anything, but trust in thy Lord, the All-Forgiving, in all matters. This is the Day of remembrance and utterance; remind the people of this promised announcement. Sorrow not at remoteness, for how many a far one is near, and how many a near one is far. Thus have We decreed the matter in a preserved tablet. How many a seeker hath arrived yet not attained as he ought, and how many an aspirant hath not arrived yet attained, and how many a servant hath arrived and attained—such a one is among the most exalted of creation, by thy Lord, the Mighty, the Loving. Unto each We have assigned a portion in the Book. Nothing escapeth His knowledge; verily He is the Truth, the Knower of the unseen.

Blessed is he who hath turned and arrived until he attained the presence of the Throne, detached from his desires, and heard the call of his Lord. He is of those who have outstripped existence. Today none is permitted to attain the presence of the Countenance, for We are in strictness and a forbidden station. Turn with your hearts—this is better for you in such days, if ye but knew.

O Pen! Make mention of ʿAli at the end, that he may convey the remembrance of his Lord to the utmost end and recite the verses of his Most Glorious Lord that were revealed in this noble station. Though he be in the most ruined of houses, yet the Kingdom circleth round about him. Blessed are they that understand. Can anything sadden him or prevent him from what he desireth? Nay, by the Lord of the worlds! In tribulation he calleth unto all who are in creation and summoneth them unto God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

O ʿAli! Remember My days and what hath befallen Me at the hands of the wrongdoers. We desired their salvation, yet they strive to shed My blood, though were We to wish, We could seize them with a word from Us. Verily thy Lord is the Almighty, the Powerful. Mercy hath preceded; verily He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. The people are blind—when their eyes are opened they will reflect and say: “We testify that Thou art the Mighty, the Wondrous!” Be thou assured by the grace of thy Lord, and be a helper of His Cause and one who speaketh in His remembrance. Verily He is with His remembering servants.

O thou who art mentioned in the beginning! Hearken unto the call of the Lord of the Manifestation at the end. There is no God but He, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Be thou a servant to thy Lord’s Cause in all conditions, and convey My greetings to the faces of My loved ones and gladden them with this wise Remembrance. God shall soon seize him who hath wronged and transgressed. Verily thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Forsake not wisdom in affairs—this is what the Lord of creation hath decreed, before and after. He is the Best of Judges. Say: Praise be to God, the Goal of them that know.