Volume 071: Akka 1300 A.H. (1882–1883), Part II (3 of 8)

BH01174: Praise be to the Most Holy and Supreme Sanctuary…

Praise be to the Most Holy and Supreme Sanctuary of the Beloved who favored the Afnan of His Tree with this great bounty and supreme honor. God willing, in all conditions, days, centuries, ages, and worlds they shall hold fast unto the Tree and move with the winds of His will. Blessed are they! Happy be they! This servant confesses his powerlessness and shortcoming to mention this station, and beseeches his Lord to grant them success, draw them nigh, and assist them in that which He loves and is pleased with. Verily He doeth whatsoever He willeth and in His grasp is the Kingdom of Creation. My spirit be a sacrifice unto your mention and unto your steadfastness.

A detailed petition was submitted by this servant to your presence several months ago (15 Safar) along with numerous exalted and glorious Tablets specifically for you and for her eminence your mother—upon her be all the Glory of God—and three other Tablets, as well as a Tablet of Visitation specifically for the Most Exalted Leaf—upon her be all the Glory of God and His most exalted Splendor. Every letter thereof testifies to God’s favor and grace towards His Most Exalted Leaf. No acknowledgment of receipt has reached this servant, which is most strange. I beseech you to provide details. For this reason, this servant has submitted this most brief petition.

The letter from the honored and beloved Aqa Mirza Ashraf—upon him be the glory of God and His favor—arrived last week, and likewise this time what you sent, the blessed handwriting which was presented before His presence. These exalted words descended from the heaven of grace, His word, exalted and mighty be He:

In My Name, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing

Whatever the friends of God submit to you verbally or in writing should be presented to the Most Holy Court. Rest assured that all will receive a response. He is the Answerer before, during and after the question. O My Afnan! Be steadfast in service to the Cause and speak in praise of God, the Lord of the worlds. Night and day the Supreme Pen, despite the hardships endured in prison from the beginning of arrival until now, has not ceased from movement nor halted in utterance, save for limited occasions as a wisdom from Us. Be as thy Lord has been. Verily thy Lord knoweth and judgeth, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. One must with complete might and power hold fast unto the cord of wisdom and bestow new life upon the dead of the earth through the commanding Word. The power of speech and utterance was created for the mention of this station. Hold fast unto it and be of the thankful ones. The Glory be upon thee and upon those who have attained unto hearing the Word of God, the Lord of the worlds.

His honor Nazir, upon him be the Glory of God, previously sent a letter to this servant and wrote that they had sent a petition from Abadeh which his honor Afnan, upon him be the Most Glorious Glory of God, was to forward to the Most Holy Court. Due to lack of time they gave it to this servant to forward to the Most Holy Court, and they themselves would later provide details. After these matters were presented at the Most Holy, Most Exalted Court, and mention was made of his honor Khan and the petition of his honor Aqa Mirza Ashraf, upon them both be the Most Glorious Glory of God, several firm and blessed verses were revealed from the heaven of divine will especially for them. God willing, may they be refreshed and revived by the fragrances of the verses of the True One, glorified be His majesty, and from the Kawthar of the utterance of the All-Merciful, and may they bestow that which they have attained. Likewise, the promise of bounty was given in response to the petition of his honor Aqa Mirza Ashraf. Verily our Lord, the All-Merciful, is the Generous Giver.

Those aforementioned blessed verses have been recorded in the letter which this servant wrote to his honor Nazir, upon him be the Glory of God. Your honor and the honored Afnans, upon them be the Most Glorious Glory of God, should peruse the letter and then forward it to his honor Nazir wherever he may be. His honor Nazir sent a petition from someone (named Ali Effendi) and likewise made mention through someone (Haji Muhammad Ali). A response to both was graciously given—God willing it will reach them and they will attain.

The true submission of this servant is that I present greetings, nothingness, humility and submissiveness to his honor the illustrious Khalil, the promoter of the Cause of God, and likewise to their honors the Afnans, upon them be the Most Glorious Glory of God. Praise be to God, they have attained the special heavenly table. This is the essence, and whatever else is said is secondary. The Glory shining and manifest from the horizon of the heaven of the grace of our Lord and our Beloved be upon you and upon those who hear your words and love you for the sake of God, the Lord of the worlds.

The servant. On 27 Rabi’al-Thani 1300.

The petitions that were received this time with your honor’s signature—however there was no opportunity to present the petitions. God willing, after they are presented and gain the honor of being heard, whatever shines forth from the horizon of grace will be sent. The command is in His hand—He doeth what He willeth and ordaineth what He pleaseth, and He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the Wise.

BH01923: In the Name of Him Who shineth…

In the Name of Him Who shineth from the horizon of proof! The Tongue of Grandeur hath testified to His manifestation and His establishment upon the throne, and His dawning from the horizon of the world, yet the peoples remain veiled. The eye of creation hath never witnessed His like—to this testifieth He Who walketh and speaketh that there is none other God but Me, the Mighty, the Bestower.

Say: O heedless ones! By God, He Who was recorded in the Books of God hath appeared, He Whom His chosen ones, His trusted ones and His messengers heralded—to this testifieth He Who hath spoken that which the Scriptures and Tablets encompassed. O peoples of the earth! I desire naught from you. I summon you for the sake of God, the Lord of Names, unto the Most Exalted Horizon. Fear ye God and be not of those who went astray and led others astray. This is a Day wherein all things cry out: blessed be the ear that heareth, and woe unto him who followeth every doubting ignorant one. O peoples of the earth! Fear God, then turn unto the horizon of certitude and follow not those who disbelieved and denied by following the manifestations of idle fancies.

O ʿAli-Akbar! He Who was wronged remembereth thee from the precincts of His Most Great Prison, by reason of that which caused the fragrance of the All-Merciful to waft throughout creation and the river of life to flow among the people of divine knowledge. Exalted is He Who hath appeared with the truth and manifested through His power whatsoever He desired. We have heard mention of thee and witnessed thy turning and orientation toward the Dayspring of Revelation on a day wherein hatred appeared from all directions. We verily delivered thee through the truth and saved thee from the depths of idle fancies and taught thee that which most lands were veiled from, and We heard thy lamentation and cry in the love of God, the Lord of the Final End.

O ʿAli! He hath appeared that all who are in earth and heaven might attain His presence, yet the oppressors have interposed between Us and them—they are indeed among the wayward. Blessed is the land which His feet have trodden, and the habitation wherein the fragrance of His raiment hath been diffused, and the city wherein His call hath been raised at morn and eventide. We called them unto life while they called Us unto death. What aileth these people that they comprehend neither utterance nor Book? The first to deny God and His party were the divines of the age who broke God’s Covenant and His Testament and disbelieved in Him when He came to them with the standards of light and the banners of verses.

Days passed and We withheld the Pen from thy mention, in wisdom from Us. Verily thy Lord doeth what He willeth and shall not be asked of what He pleaseth. He is indeed the Powerful, the Unconstrained. When the appointed time came We released it by Our command and revealed for thee that which delighted the eye of the world and drew the righteous nigh. Blessed art thou for having held fast to the Most Great Handle when the Lord of all came, and woe unto every denying infidel.

Remember thou on behalf of the Wronged One God’s friends and loved ones, and give them the glad-tidings of My mercy and My loving-kindness and the lights of My countenance whereby the horizons were illumined. Say: O My loved ones! This is a Day wherein from the waves of this Ocean is heard that which the ear of Moses heard on the Mount of Knowledge and the Beloved on the Night of Ascension. Say: Seize ye the opportunity in the days of God and hold fast to that whereby your mention shall endure throughout ages and centuries. Thus did the ocean of the All-Merciful’s loving-kindness surge, as a grace from Him unto thee. Be thou thankful and say: Praise be unto Thee, O Lord of the beginning and the end! The light shining from the horizon of the heaven of My prison be upon thee and upon those who attained unto the Choice Wine when its seal was broken by the finger of might and power.

BH07542: At first dawn We arose and turned Our face…

In the name of the One True God!

At first dawn We arose and turned Our face toward a garden which was known by the name of the True One. When We entered therein, We found all things rejoicing in the Kawthar of attainment unto His presence. From each of the trees and flowers and leaves and fruits We heard the cry “The Kingdom is God’s!”

O thou who hast turned thy face toward My horizon! The intoxication of the divine utterance hath so seized the things of that garden that every atom of its dust is engaged in wondrous and sublime songs in praise of God, exalted be His glory. This is the Day for which all those who were nigh unto God and were sincere sought His presence, exalted be His glory, and the divine Books bear witness unto this truth. Blessed are they who have attained unto the hearing of the call and who have been honored to behold the horizon. The eye was created for this Day and the ear for these times, inasmuch as the call of the Beloved of the worlds is raised aloft and the horizon of Beauty is illumined with the light of His countenance. The traveler mentioned thee, and this Most Holy, Most Exalted Tablet, with which the entire world cannot compare even with a single letter thereof, hath been revealed that thou mayest rejoice thereat and speak forth the praise of God, exalted be His glory. The command is in His hand, and He is the Ordainer, the All-Wise. If thou shouldst find a friend, convey to him greetings from the Wronged One and say:

“Beware, beware lest thou deprive thyself in the days of God. Leave the world through the Most Great Name. Verily, He will protect thee and guide thee unto the path of God, the Mighty, the One, the Single, the All-Knowing.”

BH05220: In the Name of the one true God! O…

In the Name of the one true God! O ʿAli-Qabli-Akbar! The Wronged One of the world has turned towards thee from this Most Great Prison and desires to make good what has been lost. Although there was consummate wisdom in the delay of this remembrance.

Say: O friends! Ye too must arise to make good what has been lost and exert your utmost endeavor. Ere long will the scroll of life be rolled up and return to nothingness. Beseech ye God that He may cause all to attain unto the word of contentment and ordain for them an enduring remembrance and an eternal word. Verily, He is powerful over all things.

At all times they must strive with the utmost diligence to achieve unity and concord, that all regions may be illumined with the effulgent rays of the sun of unity and all may be seen as a single soul. The Supreme Pen hath, both aforetime and in this age, voiced this most exalted word:

“Power and might are in unity, and glory and majesty are in concord.”

We have counseled all, in the past, with that which will exalt the Cause and manifest the station of man. Blessed is he who hath hearkened, and woe betide the heedless. If they move according to the divine will and act upon that which hath been sent down in the Book, ere long will the world and its peoples turn towards the Dayspring of Revelation and quaff the choice sealed wine.

Glory be upon thee and upon My handmaidens and maidservants who have recognized Me, uttered My praise, and held fast unto My Strong Cord. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

BH05572: O my handmaid! Hearken thou unto My call…

He is the All-Seeing from the horizon of eternity

O my handmaid! Hearken thou unto My call from the precincts of My prison on this Day wherein the handmaidens of the earth and its men have turned away, save those whom God, the Lord of all worlds, hath willed. Verily, We desired their glory, yet they desired Our abasement, as doth testify he in whose possession is a perspicuous Book.

When God adorned the Ridvan and made it the seat of the Throne, clamorous voices were raised from every direction, and each faction arose to extinguish the resplendent and shining Light of God. The leaders of these factions were the divines of various religions who rose against Us with such tyranny as caused the denizens of the Supreme Paradise and those who circle round the exalted Seat to lament. They perpetrated that which none among the servants had ever perpetrated—to this beareth witness the Lord of creation, even as He testified aforetime, though most men remain enwrapped in a thick veil.

They have cast behind them the Dayspring of Revelation and have clung to the cord of every ignorant and remote one. O concourse of the earth! Open your eyes! By God, the Promise hath appeared and the Promised One hath come with such sovereignty as none in the heavens or on earth can withstand. Abandon the books of idle fancies and vain imaginings. The Book of God hath been sent down; verily it guideth you unto His straight Path. Thus hath the Tongue of Revelation spoken as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Omnipotent over whatsoever He willeth. There is none other God but Him, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

BH06295: Your letter was received and the fragrance of love…

He is God, exalted be His glory, the Most Great, the Most Glorious

Your letter was received and the fragrance of love was diffused and spread from it. May you be illumined by the lights of the Sun of Revelation and occupied with the remembrance of God, exalted be His glory. The Sun of Truth is shining, yet vision is rare. The call of God is raised, yet hearing is lacking. God willing, the Hand of Divine Bounty will bestow the power of hearing and will not deny this Most Great Bounty to those on earth. He is the Bestower, the Mighty. Say:

Glory be unto Thee, O Thou Who hast illumined all created things with the light of Thy Cause and hast subdued all existing things through the manifestation of Thy Name! I beseech Thee by the Source of Verses through which appeared the Kingdom of Thy utterance and the signs of Thy power, might and sovereignty, to aid me to arise to mention Thee and serve Thy Cause in such wise that the imaginings of the learned and the doubts of those who have denied Thy right, broken Thy Covenant, and disputed Thy verses shall not hinder me. O my Lord! Thou seest me turning toward Thee and holding fast to the cord of Thy bounty. I beseech Thee not to deprive me of the ocean of Thy grace and the heaven of Thy generosity. Thou art, verily, the One Who hath power over whatsoever He willeth, and in Thy grasp is the kingdom of creation. There is none other God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Bountiful.

BH06889: In My Name, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing

In My Name, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing

O My Leaf! O My handmaiden! The Wronged One hath turned toward thee from the prison precinct and maketh mention of thee in recognition of thy turning and orientation toward God, the Lord of all worlds. How many a learned one hath been deprived of recognition, and how many a heedless one hath heard and answered his Lord, the Perspicuous, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Rejoice thou in this Most Great Remembrance, then render thanks unto thy Lord, the Hearing, the Answering. We made mention of thee before, and make mention of thee at this time, as a token of grace from One Who is mighty and ancient. Beware lest the affairs of the world withhold thee from the Creator of heaven.

Preserve thy station through the name of thy Lord, the Preserver, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. And We make mention of My handmaiden who emigrated in the path of God and traversed land and sea until she attained My presence in My prison. We give her the glad-tidings of My grace and My bountiful reward. And We make mention of him who was with her and turned toward the spot wherefrom was raised the call of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. The glory rest upon thee and upon them both, and upon thy sister, and upon whosoever hath turned toward God on this wondrous Day.

BH07437: In My Name, the Speaker, the Trustworthy

In My Name, the Speaker, the Trustworthy

O Leaf! Upon thee be My Glory! Reflect upon the ocean of bounty of the Beloved of the worlds. In the Most Great Prison, at a time when sorrows have encompassed Him, He maketh mention of thee with such remembrance that all the world cannot equal even one letter thereof. Rejoice thou in the bounty of thy Lord. Verily He is the Single, the One, the Compassionate, the Generous. All the treasures of earth and whatsoever is with the kings cannot and will never equal the blessed word “O My Leaf! Upon thee be My Glory!” wherewith thou hast been favored.

Verily He giveth thanks unto Himself before His servants and handmaidens. And verily He cannot be described by any description save His own, nor can He be mentioned by any mention save His own. For were all the world to arise in thanksgiving unto God until the end that hath no end, it would be as naught compared to one word of His words and one favor of His favors. Thus doth the Wronged One make mention of thee from the precincts of His mighty Prison, and sendeth unto thee that which shall never perish through the eternity of My Name, the Ancient, the Everlasting.

BH07434: He remembereth and is remembered

He remembereth and is remembered

O My Leaf! The Great Announcement makes mention of thee and asks thee whether thou hast recognized that which We revealed in the Qur’an concerning this Wise Remembrance. The Supreme Pen testifies that thou hast turned to the Great Announcement and art oriented toward the Most Exalted Horizon, which is the station of the dawning of that Most Great Luminary. Today the Sun of Truth is His dawning—that Announcement wherewith all the Prophets gave glad tidings to the servants, and wherewith the divine Books, Scrolls and Psalms were adorned and embellished. The land of Syria hath been perfumed by His advent, and Sinai hath attained to His appearance, while the people remain in a mighty veil. Ere long the station of those servants and handmaidens who have turned unto Him shall become manifest to all who dwell on earth. Verily, the heedless on that Day shall be in grievous sorrow. Thus doth the All-Knowing inform thee that thou mayest thank thy Lord, the All-Informed. The splendor that hath shone forth from the horizon of Revelation be upon thee and upon every servant who hath attained, and upon every handmaiden who hath attained unto this Manifest Cause.

BH09067: This is the day wherein the All-Merciful betook Himself…

In the Name of the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful

This is the day wherein the All-Merciful betook Himself unto the garden. And when He entered therein, the pomegranate proclaimed:

“The Lord, the Sovereign King, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, hath come!”

Blessed is he who hath attained His presence when He seated Himself upon the throne through His Name whereby He hath subdued all that are in the worlds. Verily, He is the One Who hath power over whatsoever He willeth, and in His grasp are the reins of all things.

The fragrance of loving-kindness hath been wafted, and the Dove hath warbled upon the branch of the Divine Lote-Tree that which the Tongue of Oneness spoke ere the creation of earth and heaven:

“Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Mighty, the All-Loving.”

Take hold of the Book of God with the power that proceedeth from Him—it shall be a light unto thee in thy Lord’s worlds, the Lord of all existence. We have made mention of all who have turned unto the Countenance, and We make mention of those whom the verses have attracted unto this exalted Station.

BH09657: O Shirin! Reflect upon the grace and bounty…

In the name of the one God!

O Shirin! Reflect upon the grace and bounty of God, glorified be His majesty. He who was considered by people to be among the greatest scholars of the age descended to the lowest depths, while you ascended to the highest heights. He was veiled from the Day of God, while you attained unto it. He was deprived of the ocean of divine knowledge, while you were nourished by it. Thus did We make the highest lowest, that what was spoken before might be fulfilled:

“We shall make their highest ones their lowest ones, and their lowest ones their highest ones.”

The learned one is he who guides people to My path and teaches them My straight way. Glory be upon My handmaiden and upon you and upon the handmaidens of God, before and after.

BH09596: This is a Day wherein all things…

He is the One Who rules over whatsoever He willeth.

This is a Day wherein all things in the garden have been stirred to motion, for the breezes of the All-Merciful have wafted over it with spirit and fragrance. The Kawthar of reunion hath so inebriated it that every thing among all things hath been moved to speak. By God! The highest horizon hath been illumined, and the Lord of all beings hath come with a light that hath enlightened all who are in the heavens and on earth. Blessed is the hearer who hath hearkened to My call, and the one who hath turned towards My court with My leave, and the one who hath arisen to serve My Cause, and My loved ones who have forsaken their homes for the sake of God, the Single One, the All-Informed. Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken, while stationed in this glorious and wondrous station.

BH09252: We entered the garden while the water was flowing…

He is the One Who warbles upon the branches.

We entered the garden while the water was flowing and the willow was swaying and the roses were diffusing their fragrance and the trees were speaking:

“He hath come, the Wronged One Who hath borne tribulations for the manifestation of His mighty Cause and filled the realms of names. He hath come, the Creator of heaven, with a sovereignty before which neither the hosts of the world, nor the weapons of the nations, nor the oppression of any cruel oppressor can stand. Verily those who have attained on this day are among the people of the highest Paradise—to this doth testify He in Whose grasp is the kingdom of the dominion of the heavens and earth. Glory be upon the people of glory who have held fast to the Book of God when it was sent down in truth from His holy, mighty and inaccessible dominion.”

BH10268: Glory be to Him Who hath sent down…

In His Name, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed

Glory be to Him Who hath sent down the verses and made manifest the clear proofs. He, verily, is the Single, the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He ordaineth as He pleaseth, even as He ordained aforetime, and hath counselled all with that whereby His binding and all-wise Command may be upraised. We entered the garden, whereupon the shadow prostrated itself before the Lord of all worlds, and We heard from the murmuring of the water that which My Messengers had testified to aforetime when We revealed Ourselves unto them through this Great Name. And the flowers bowed down before the Revealer of mysteries, and the leaves spoke forth My beauteous praise. Thus have We mentioned what We witnessed, that thou mayest give thanks unto thy Lord, the Merciful.

BH10491: I am seeing through the horizon of knowledge: O…

I am seeing through the horizon of knowledge: O people of the earth! We desired the garden, and when We established Ourselves therein upon the throne, We heard it cry out and say:

“O thrones of the world, rejoice ye, for the Beauty of the Ancient One hath been established upon me. Then give thanks unto my Lord, the Great, for this wondrous favor. This is a day wherein grace hath encompassed all religions, and the Divine Lott Tree hath called out from the Most Exalted Horizon: ʿVerily, there is none other God but Him, the One, the Single, the All-Knowing.’ Whoso hath turned and beheld, he hath attained unto this grace, and whoso hath turned away, he is accounted among the ungodly in My perspicuous Book.”

BH10669: This is a day whereon the garden was honored…

In the Name of Him Who speaketh in the world

This is a day whereon the garden was honored by the advent of its Lord, the All-Merciful. And when He descended therein, He revealed verses in such wise that the realities of all things were drawn unto them, and the sincere ones bowed down before Him. All the trees were stirred with rapture, and from their rustling was heard that which the ear of Moses had heard aforetime. Thus hath the decree been fulfilled, but most of the people perceive it not. When thou hast attained unto the Tablet of God and found its fragrance, render thanks and say: Praise be unto Thee, O Lord of the seen and the unseen!

BH11311: Whosoever detacheth himself from that which he possesseth…

…Whosoever detacheth himself from that which he possesseth and turneth his gaze toward that which is with God—that is, who becometh not the plaything of his own idle fancies but holdeth fast to the will of Him Who doeth what He pleaseth and ordaineth what He willeth—he is accounted among the martyrs, even though he walketh the earth and eateth….