Volume 096: Akka 1307 A.H. (1889–1890), Part IV (3 of 4)
BH02219: Blessed is the eye which hath on this day…
In the name of God, the Generous, the Mighty!
Blessed is the eye which hath on this day beheld the pearls of the ocean of utterance of the Lord of all worlds, and blessed is the ear which hath been honored to hear the call of the Lord of creation raised from the supreme horizon. The Book of God, which distinguisheth between truth and falsehood, ever calleth unto the people of divine unity, saying:
“Act, O My loved ones, according to that which ye have been commanded.”
For the station of hope is manifested through outward deeds, and fasting and prayer are as the sun and moon in the heaven of divine ordinances. Seize upon these twain through the power of thy Lord, O thou who soarest in the atmosphere of the love of God!
Convey My greetings to the friends and say: Be not like the Shi’ih sect, idle and vain. Hold fast to the cord of ordinances and grasp the hem of commandments. Glory be to God! The True One, exalted be His glory, hath bestowed hearing and sight and comprehending faculties [and His own incomparable Self], that all might thereby reflect upon matters and act upon that which profiteth them. Yet heedlessness and ignorance have deprived the servants of all these divine bounties and merciful favors. It is hoped that thou wilt, with wisdom and utterance, make the loved ones aware, that they may hold fast to the hem of deeds—deeds from which the fragrance of divine acceptance wafteth and which are adorned with the ornament of His good-pleasure.
Hadi of Dawlat-Abad is occupied with arranging the final section about the Shi’ih sect. The ocean of divine knowledge surgeth before his eyes, yet he searcheth after a mere pool. We beseech God to assist him to act with justice and to return. Verily He is the Mighty, the Powerful, and worthy to answer prayers. Peace be upon thee and upon God’s righteous and sincere servants.
The electric current conveyed news of the destruction of the House. In these days all affairs have come to a standstill from every direction. The Afnans are in extreme difficulty. Surely you have heard that a group of Babis took their property and then denied it, raising disputes and contentions.
O physician, beseech the True One, exalted be His glory, that He may cause means to appear whereby the ruins of the world may be rebuilt, oppression be changed to justice, falsehood to truth, and poverty to wealth. O physician, upon thee be My glory! Had the people been worthy, verily the rain of divine mercy and the effulgences of the Sun of divine providence would have embraced all and raised them from the depths of abasement to the heights of glory. Nearly three hundred souls, young and old, are present in this land—from this fact other matters become clear and evident to those of insight. Say: My God, my God! Aid Thy servants to turn unto Thee and draw nigh unto the court of Thy might. Then send down upon them from the heaven of Thy bounty a blessing and mercy from Thy presence. Verily Thou art the Powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all in the heavens and earth.
BH02241: O thou who drinkest the choice wine…
He is the One Who calleth from His mighty prison.
O thou who drinkest the choice wine from the hand of My bounty, O thou who soarest in My atmosphere, O thou who art consumed with grief at My sorrows and tribulations, O thou who art enkindled with the fire of My love! Hearken unto My call from the precincts of My prison. We, from the horizon of tribulation, summon and make mention of thee.
Thou knowest, and God knoweth, that the Ancient Beauty hath not spoken out of desire. He hath commanded all to righteousness and piety, and forbidden them transgression and wickedness. Yet the people have cast behind them My counsels and admonitions, and have committed that which hath caused the Pen and the Tablets to lament. They do what their desires command them. Lo! They are sunk in heedlessness and error.
By My life and thine! If thou wert to count My tribulations, thou couldst not number them. To this testify the Books of God, and behind them the Mother Book. We have heard thy lamentation in thy grief for thy Lord, and have recognized thy burning anguish at what hath befallen Him from His enemies. We beseech God, exalted be He, to grant thee a full reward. Verily He is the Mighty, the All-Giving.
We have taught them in Our Books and Tablets that which would exalt them among the servants, yet they have committed that which hath caused tears to flow from the eyes of the righteous. But My Most Exalted Pen payeth no heed to them, nor to the world and what hath been created therein. To this testify its shrill voice and what hath been revealed from it at eventide and at dawn.
Glory be to God! Kindness became the cause of wretchedness, and compassion the cause of hatred. For successive years We counseled them and made them aware of what would profit or harm them. But the counsels of God had no effect. Upon the deaf rock divine commands and prohibitions bestowed no benefit. Night and day they occupy themselves with calumnies. Due to the unworthiness of the servants these things have occurred and continue to occur.
Glory be to God! The luminary of justice should shine forth from the horizon of Iran. Now it shineth forth and is manifest from the horizon of Ishqabad. A hundred thousand regrets that the people of Iran are deprived and forbidden from the fruits of the blessed Tree which appeared therein. By the life of God! This is the recompense of their deeds in His days. Verily He is the Single, the One, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
We beseech God to assist Iran to execute justice and fairness. Verily thy Lord loveth faithfulness in all conditions. In these days they should seek help and counsel from the Wronged One in its preservation and protection. But heedlessness and ignorance have prevented man from that which would profit them. This is the recompense of deeds on the day of reckoning.
Each day foreign commands and ordinances gain influence, and through this influence the influence of the people of Iran is curtailed. Ask of God that He may awaken the slumberers and rouse them from sleep. Perchance they may hold fast to that which is the cause of success and prosperity. But alas! Soon will two fingers join together. Then shall ye behold them in manifest loss. Thus hath the Lord of all being made mention of that which was hidden from sight. Verily thy Lord is the Mighty, the All-Seeing.
BH02205: Praise be unto the Desired One Who, through His…
He is the Compassionate, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
Praise be unto the Desired One Who, through His absolute Will which is the station of the Most Exalted Word, brought the world from nothingness into being, made absolute existence manifest from pure non-existence, and through two letters brought forth the means of heaven and earth from annihilation to the realm of immortality. He is the One with power Who breathed into the Supreme Pen, which is the true form, a breath that adorned the decomposed bones with the ornament of eternal life and everlasting existence. Glory be unto Him, glory be unto Him! How great is His dominion, how exalted His station! There is no God but Him, the Single, the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
And blessings and peace and glory and splendor be upon the Hands of His Cause who did not break His covenant and testament, who traveled throughout the lands to exalt His Word and spread His signs—these are servants whom We made dawning-places of Our most beautiful names and Our most exalted attributes, and through them God gave His servants to drink of the Kawthar of recognition and the Salsabil of utterance. Verily He is the Single, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Bestower.
This is a letter from Us to him who attained the presence and drank the wine of revelation from the hands of the bounty of his Lord, the Generous, who stood before the Face and heard the Call which was raised in the prison of Akka, who attained the meeting and took the chalice of immortality from the hands of the bounty of his Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful. We mentioned thee before in verses which all the remembrances of the world cannot equal, and We mention thee at this time with that which draws the hearts of the sincere ones.
O My Afnan! Upon thee be My glory and My loving-kindness. We testify that thou hast attained unto that which God hath revealed in His mighty Book. Grieve not at anything. Trust in God, the Lord of the worlds. We were with thee in all conditions. Verily thy Lord is the Powerful, the All-Knowing. Nothing escapes His knowledge. He heareth the call of His loved ones and answereth, and He is the Munificent, the Powerful, the Mighty.
One of My Branches who was named Diya in the Kingdom of Names hath appeared before Us and mentioned thee—We have remembered thee in this clear Tablet. That which thou didst send to the servant who is present before the Throne hath come before the Wronged One. We have read it and answered thee as a favor from God, the Lord of this exalted station.
Say: Praise be unto Thee, O my God, for having turned unto Thy face and sent down for me that which shall endure as long as Thy mighty and exalted Kingdom shall endure. I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty and the effulgences of the Day-Star of Thy grace, to open before my face and the faces of my children the doors of Thy mercy and loving-kindness, and to ordain for us from the Pen of destiny that which shall profit us in every world of Thy worlds. Verily Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous, the Mighty, the Great.
O my Lord! Thou seest the essence of poverty turning toward the ocean of Thy grace and riches, the abased one toward the kingdom of Thy might, and the needy one toward the sun of Thy generosity. I beseech Thee not to disappoint him of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones and trusted ones. Verily Thou art the Hearer, the Answerer. There is no God but Thee, the Mighty, the Wise.
BH02225: The Book of God hath been sent down…
He is the One manifest through justice and speaking through grace!
The Book of God hath been sent down in truth from the kingdom of His holy, mighty, praiseworthy utterance. The horizon of manifestation hath been illumined by the One Who conversed on Sinai, and the Spirit in the sacred valley proclaimeth: O people of the earth, abandon what ye possess, for God hath come with manifest sovereignty. Open your eyes—verily He standeth before your faces. Then hearken unto the shrill voice of His Pen, at whose ascension the realities of all things were attracted, and the Tongue of Grandeur spoke: The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Lord of all worlds.
O Ghulam-Qabli-Husayn! Hear the call of the Wronged One—verily He mentioneth thee as a bounty from Him, and He is the All-Bountiful, the Generous. We have heard thy call and answered thee with a Tablet sent down from the heaven of thy Lord’s bestowal, the Ancient of Days. We perceived the fragrance of thy love and mentioned thee with that whose fragrance shall never be cut off—to this every knowing, discerning one doth testify. Thank God that He hath turned toward thee from the prison-quarter and counseleth thee with that which shall elevate thy station among His servants. Verily He is powerful over whatsoever He willeth through His mighty, wondrous Word.
O Ali, upon thee be My glory! Hear My call from God’s horizon, the Speaking, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Say: Praise be unto Thee, O Lord of the world and Master of nations, for having given me to drink, from Thy generous hand, the cup of Thy recognition, and for having sent down to me from the heaven of Thy bounty that which hath diffused the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness. Thou art verily the Ever-Giving, the Forgiving, the Merciful. Set aside what the people possess and take the Book of God with such strength as the might of the world and the power of those who have denied the Day of Judgment cannot prevent. O Ali! The remembrance of God from the Divine Lote-Tree in the Most Exalted Paradise, at the right hand of the blessed, luminous Spot, that there is no God but Him, the Single, the One, the Mighty, the All-Knowing. Not an atom escapeth His knowledge—He heareth and seeth, and He is the Protector of all who are in the heavens and earths. Say:
My God, my God! Praise, glory, thanks and splendor be unto Thee for having turned toward Thy servant and sent down to him that which maketh known unto him Thy straight path and Thy mighty Message. I beseech Thee by Thy manifest Book to make me steadfast through Thy power, firm through Thy might, and standing in Thy service. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. There is no God but Thee, the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
O Ja’far! Rejoice that the Lord of Destiny hath mentioned thee from His Most Great Scene with verses that all the books of the world cannot equal—to this every learned one who hath acknowledged that which the Tongue of Grandeur hath spoken in His mighty, wondrous Day doth testify. Say:
Praise be unto Thee, O my Best-Beloved, for having adorned me with the ornament of acceptance when all but those whom Thy mighty hand had taken denied. I testify that Thou art the Ever-Giving and that Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Mighty, the Inaccessible. My God, my God! I beseech Thee by the ocean of Thy knowledge and the heaven of Thy wisdom to assist Thy servants to turn unto Thee, to return unto the court of Thy bounty, and to arise before the manifestation of Thy gifts. Then write down for them, through Thy grace, that which shall profit them in all the worlds of Thy worlds, and ordain for them the good of the hereafter and of the former time. Verily Thou art the Possessor of the Kingdom of Names, and in Thy grasp is the dominion of all who are in the heavens and earths.
BH02239: O son of Rida! Upon thee be the Glory…
He is God, exalted be His station in wisdom and utterance!
O son of Rida! Upon thee be the Glory of God, the Speaker on Sinai, through Whom the hearts of the nations were attracted and the Tree of Utterance spoke forth: “The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting!”
We have heard thy call and have addressed thee from the shore of the ocean of divine knowledge, and have sent down for thee that which will not change throughout the duration of the names of God, the Lord of existence. We have read thy letter and have sent unto thee the fragrances of revelation in the form of words. Verily thy Lord is the All-Bountiful, the Protector over what was and what shall be. Be thou steadfast in the Cause in such wise that the names shall not cause thee to slip from the extended path of God.
Say: O concourse of divines! Fear ye God and follow not your idle fancies. The Promise hath come and the Promised One calleth aloud before all faces. By the life of God! This is He Who was promised unto you in the Torah and the Gospel and the Psalms. Say: Your desires shall profit you not, nor shall the dawning-places of idle fancies and vain imaginings enrich you.
Blessed is thy father! He rent asunder the veils of mysteries with the finger of might, by the command of God, the Lord of Hosts. He advanced and hastened until he arrived and took the cup of detachment in the name of thy Lord, the Creator of new creation, and drank it despite the enemies, through this Name whereby the limbs of all names trembled save whom God willed. Blessed is he who hath attained, and woe unto every heedless one rejected. We bear witness that he heard the Call and said:
“Here am I, O Lord of all men! I testify that Thou hast manifested Thyself and that which was promised in the Books of God, the Lord of what was and what shall be.”
O thou! Hear the call of the Lord of the Kingdom of Names in the sweet Persian tongue, that joy and gladness may take hold of thee on this wondrous Day. The Most Exalted Pen beareth witness to thy turning, thy recognition and thy steadfastness. Great is the decree of this testimony and sublime its station. Know thou its worth and preserve it in the treasury of thy heart in the name of the Lord of creation.
Some souls have attained the presence and have been blessed from the cup of bounty of the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, yet remained deprived of a name from the Lord of the seen and unseen. The people of Baha are souls who were not deprived of the truth by the name of successor or mirror or the like. They passed beyond the river of names and sought the ocean of meanings. These aforementioned names and their manifestations are regarded and reckoned as servants by those immersed in the Most Great Name. The people of Baha are souls who are seated and mentioned in the Crimson Ark and the Luminous Book.
Say: O people! Be ye ashamed before the Lord of existence and turn ye unto His signs that ye may perchance recognize the station wherein a hundred thousand names have been and are being created by His Word. Would that they knew Who hath bestowed and created understanding!
O thou who gazest upon the Countenance! Blessed art thou and those with thee, and blessed is the leaf who hath heard her Lord’s call through a mention from which was diffused the fragrance of her love and her steadfastness in this News whereby the feet of the mystics have slipped.
BH02223: He is the Ancient Commander
…He is the Ancient Commander
O thou who standeth in service to the servants and observeth the appearance of reform and the effacement of the signs of armaments! Know thou with clear certitude that all thou seest and hearest today shall pass away, and that which the Lord of mankind hath decreed and sent down for thee from the heaven of grace and bounty shall endure. By the life of God! The Cause shall not be harmed by their deeds and their words devoid of proof and evidence. Through their actions and oppression God shall raise up that which He desireth. To this beareth witness My Most Exalted Pen from its most sublime station. Glory be to God! His Majesty the Sultan, may God assist him, knoweth that this community wisheth well to all the peoples of the world, especially to the government and people of Iran. Nevertheless, there hath befallen the oppressed ones of the world that which hath caused the most great consternation. We beseech God to change it into the most great joy. Verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Effusive, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.
He is the All-Merciful, the Generous
The call hath been raised time and again from the Most Exalted Paradise, and We have given glad tidings of the coming of His Excellency Ali-Qabl-i-Akbar to the Prison for the sake of God, the Lord of destiny. Blessed is he! We make mention of him and love him for the sake of God, the Lord of the worlds. Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken and informed all of that which the hands of the oppressors have wrought….
BH02302: O Tiraz, praise be to God Who adorned thee…
He is the All-Remembering, the All-Knowing
O Tiraz, praise be to God Who adorned thee with the ornament of divine knowledge and illumined thy heart with the lights of certitude. Say: Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having shown me Thy signs and made known to me Thy straight and manifest path. I beseech Thee to ordain for me that which will draw me nigh unto Thee in all conditions. O Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I have turned to the horizon of Thy Manifestation and have acknowledged that which Thou hast revealed in Thy Books. I beseech Thee not to deprive me of the Kawthar of Thy bounty nor to withhold me from the ocean of Thy grace. O Lord! Thou seest me yearning for the wonders of Thy generosity and bounty, and standing before the door of Thy favor. I beseech Thee not to disappoint me of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Triumphant, the Powerful.
We make mention of him who was named Ghulamu’llah and give him the glad-tidings of My glorious and wondrous remembrance. O Ghulam! Hear My call and rejoice in My turning toward thee from this distant station. Say: Praise be to Thee, O Lord of the Kingdom, for having remembered me and revealed unto me that whose fragrance shall never cease, and manifested unto me that of which most of Thy servants remain heedless. I thank Thee, O my God, and praise Thee, O my Desire, and remember Thee, O my Hope, and beseech Thee, at this moment when I am clinging to the hem of the robe of Thy pardon and holding fast to the cord of Thy grace, to ordain for me a station within the precincts of Thy mercy and beneath the canopies of Thy grandeur. Verily Thou art the All-Bountiful, verily Thou art the Most Generous, verily Thou are the All-Forgiving, the Mighty, the Great.
O Inayatu’llah! The Wronged One maketh mention of thee and commandeth thee that which shall profit thee throughout the kingdom of earth and heaven, namely to commit thy affairs unto Him and place thy trust in Him. Verily He is the Almighty, the Unconstrained. He is with those who love Him and remembereth those who remember Him and aideth those who turn unto Him. He is the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful. Say: Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having manifested and revealed unto Thy servants that which lay hidden within Thy knowledge and treasured within the repositories of Thine infallibility. I beseech Thee, O Thou through Whom the rivers of utterance have flowed throughout all possibility and through Whose Most Exalted Pen hath spoken amidst all religions, and I beseech Thee by the light of Thy Cause which, when it shone forth, illumined the earth and heaven, to ordain for me that which shall cause me to speak forth Thy praise and to stand firm in Thy love and to arise in Thy service. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the All-Luminous.
O My Most Exalted Pen! Make mention of him who was named Abdu’llah, whom God brought forth from the loins of one of His loved ones, that he may rejoice in the utterance of his Lord, the All-Merciful, and be of those who are glad. Thy name hath attained unto Our presence and We have remembered thee from this station which God, the Lord of destiny, hath made His Most Sublime Vision. Thy Lord is verily the All-Forgiving, the Merciful. Say: My God, my God! Thou seest me standing before the door of Thy grace with the hands of hope upraised toward the heaven of Thy mercy. I beseech Thee not to disappoint them through Thy bounty and generosity. Verily Thou art the All-Forgiving, the Merciful, and within Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in the heavens and on earth.
BH02286: We have sent down the verses and manifested…
He is the Hearer, the Answerer.
We have sent down the verses and manifested the clear proofs and called all to God, the Lord of Names and Attributes. The Cause of God has come and that which was hidden in His all-encompassing knowledge of what will be and what has been is now revealed. The fire of hatred was kindled when the Lord of all beings came with a sovereignty that encompassed the horizons. We have heard what has befallen you from God’s decree, the Lord of the Final Return. We counsel you to patience, whereby your station shall be elevated before God, the Revealer of verses. Blessed is the servant from whom emanates the fragrance of patience in the days of God, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.
We make mention in the Persian tongue: Ever has the decree and destiny of God, exalted be His glory, existed among creation and continues to exist. Destiny, in one sense, is a divine herald among the servants, informing them of the changes and transformations of the world and its transience. However, patience in these circumstances is superior to most deeds. This is why the chosen ones and the near ones are content and thankful in these situations. The Seal of the Prophets, may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him, repeatedly experienced the passing of His children from this mortal world.
Read what God has revealed in His Book, His exalted Word: “Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of this world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord’s sight for reward, and better in respect of hope.” the ungodly gloated, for they saw that His Holiness was without issue. Thus the door of gloating was opened and the tongue of hatred moved, until Gabriel descended and recited the aforementioned verse in His presence. These words stemmed from ignorance and enmity. Had they reflected even slightly, they would have understood that the Book itself was an enduring proof and eternal traces. Every word that flowed from His blessed tongue was adorned with the ornament of eternity. However, the disease of prejudice in those days, and before and after, deprived most of the people of the world from the shore of the ocean of grace and bounty. the ungodly spoke such unseemly words that Gabriel again appeared and recited the blessed Surah “Verily We have given thee abundance,” and from this verse the sterility of the opposers and fabricators became clear and evident.
Say: Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having illumined my heart with the light of Thy utterance and for having sent down to me that which has made my soul content with Thy decree. O my Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I hold fast to the cord of Thy good-pleasure and the hem of Thy decree, and I glory in this among Thy servants. I beseech Thee, O Lord of the worlds Who hath appeared through the Most Great Name, to assist me to manifest that which Thou hast commanded me in Thy Book. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest, and within Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in the heavens and on earth. There is no God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Bountiful.
BH02304: O Furugh! Where is this thy radiance, and thy…
In the name of the Desire of the world
O Furugh! Where is this thy radiance, and thy light, and he who made mention of thee and spoke thy praise at eventide and dawn, and in the morning and at sunset? O Light! Where is thy call and thy remembrance and thy praise—this Most Great Announcement? And where are the sweet savors of your sincerity and the fragrances of your remembrances? And where is he who was among you and reminded you of the verses of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy? And where is your crown and the banner which was raised among you through this Name, at which the limbs of the ungodly trembled?
O Ali! We have desired at this time to make mention of thee with a mention through which the atoms proclaim: “Dominion belongeth to Him Who revealeth the verses and manifesteth the proofs, Who hath come from the horizon of power with manifest sovereignty and with a mighty command!” When the attraction of My call and the sweet savors of My Tablets from the direction of My prison seize thee, arise and say: “Thine is the praise and the glory, and Thine the remembrance and the exaltation, for having turned toward Thy servant when I was in the hands of Thy creatures. And Thine is the praise, O Lord of Names, for having sent down unto me verses whose fragrance shall not cease throughout the duration of Thy kingdom and Thy dominion.
I testify that Thou art the All-Bountiful, before Whose manifestation all created things and the realities of all existing things have bowed down. O my Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I stand before Thy face and make mention of Thee through what Thou hast sent down in Thy Books and Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets. I desire naught save the wonders of Thy grace. Verily Thou art the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the All-Knowing. Thou doest what Thou willest and ordainest what Thou pleasest. Within Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in the heavens and on earth.”
He who was named Muhammad-Rida hath appeared and made mention of thee once again. We have remembered thee with verses that cannot be equaled by the treasures of the earth nor by what the kings and rulers possess. Say:
“Praise be to Thee, O my Creator, and glory be to Thee, O my Fashioner, and thanksgiving be unto Thee, O my Goal and my Lord and my Support, for having remembered me with that which shall speak forth Thy Name unto the end that hath no end. I testify that Thy grace hath preceded existence and Thy bounty hath encompassed both the seen and the unseen. I beseech Thee, O Creator of the world and Educator of the nations, to make me steadfast in Thy love and firm in Thy Cause in such wise that the doubts of them that have disbelieved in Thee and in Thy signs shall not cause me to slip. O my Lord! I am Thy servant. I have raised the hands of hope toward the heaven of Thy bounty. I beseech Thee not to deny me that which I have desired of the wonders of Thy generosity and the Sun of Thy grace. Verily Thou art the Almighty over what Thou willest, by Thy Name, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Moreover I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Name, through which Thou hast subdued the cities of names, to ordain for my spouse and my offspring and those who are with me among them who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs and have answered when Thy call was raised, that which beseemeth Thy greatness and Thy sovereignty and Thy generosity and Thy power. Verily Thou art the Almighty, the All-Bountiful, the Generous. There is none other God but Thee, the Commander, the Ancient of Days.”
BH02262: Today from the waves of the Ocean of Utterance…
He is the Hearer, the Answerer!
Today from the waves of the Ocean of Utterance of the Goal of all worlds, this word was heard: O people of God and His chosen ones! Aid your Lord through what He hath revealed in His Book. Beware lest the clamor of the ignorant prevent you from drawing nigh unto God, the Lord of the worlds. Blessed is the ear that hath attained to hearing the Word of God and hath held fast with supreme steadfastness. Some immature ones in the world are deprived of the Names while claiming them. In the great city appeared that which made every person of insight aware of the deeds of those who accepted and those who turned away. Ask of God that He protect the servants from the vain imaginings of the previous people.
In the Dispensation of the Qur’an, conflict and contention arose over names—in the name of Imam, successor, chief, noble one, fourth pillar and the like—they engaged in battle, cursing, reviling and rejection. Yet on the Day of Reckoning not a single pure deed appeared from the divines and mystics of that group. All are aware that that group turned away and ultimately issued the decree for shedding the most pure blood of the Dawning Place of Divine verses.
Say: My God, my God! I beseech Thee by Thy power that hath encompassed all created things, by Thy sovereignty that hath surrounded all existence, and by the sovereignty of the Names whereby Thou hast subdued earth and heaven, to adorn Thy servants with the effulgences of the Day-Star of justice and equity. Thou art the Possessor of bounties and favors. O my Lord! Thou seest me turning toward Thee and detached from all else but Thee. Ordain for me that which befitteth the heaven of Thy generosity and the ocean of Thy grace. Thou art the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
They asked about “the meeting of the two seas.” In earlier years the Most Exalted Pen wrote about the interpretation and inner meanings of the divine Books, and likewise about unveiling the symbols and allusions of the companions of the Bayan and their meanings—that which every person of knowledge hath testified to the Ocean of divine knowledge. However in these days We have not been and are not inclined to interpretation and inner meanings. These verses have been sent down from the heaven of the Manifestation of clear proofs: This is not the day for questions and answers. Rather it behooveth every soul, when hearing the Call from the Supreme Horizon, to arise and say: “Here am I, O Lord of Names! Here am I, O Thou in Whose grasp is the dominion of all in the heavens and earth!”
In these days you and the friends of God must hold fast with utmost joy and fragrance to that which is the cause of exalting the Word. You have been confirmed, praise be to God, in acceptance, turning and hearkening in days when most people of the world are seen to have turned away. Be not grieved. We beseech God to open before your face a door of His doors of grace and mercy. Verily He is powerful over what He willeth and He is the Forgiving, the Generous.
The Glory from Us be upon you and upon those who heard the Call and said “Yea, yea, O Lord of the Kingdom of Names and the Manifest One through Thy Most Great Name, the Most Glorious!”
BH02275: Praise that is sanctified above mention and utterance…
In the Name of the one God!
Praise that is sanctified above mention and utterance and all that exists in creation befitteth that Desired One Who, through a single decree, adorned existence from the realm of extinction and nothingness with the ornament of perpetuity and being. This decree in one station is the Most Exalted Word itself which hath been manifested from the tongue of grandeur before the creation of earth and heaven, and in another station is expressed as the Most Exalted Pen. All names and attributes appear from it and return unto it. Exalted be His power, great His dominion, and mighty His proof. There is no God but Him.
O thou who art attracted to God! Upon thee be the everlasting Glory of God. Blessed are they who in this Day have attained unto the lights of true divine unity. They are the dawning-places of the favors and bounties of God, exalted be His glory. And what is meant by true unity is that God hath no likeness or similitude. All bear witness that He was and is sanctified above peers and likenesses, and exalted above that which the hearts of servants have comprehended. Ask thou of God that He withhold not the servants from this most great bounty and deprive them not thereof. He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
This is a Book from Us that thou mayest give thanks unto thy Lord, the Manifest, the All-Knowing. We have mentioned thee before with verses that all the books of the world and what is possessed by all peoples cannot equal. To this testifieth every assured and perceiving one. Grieve not for what hath befallen thee. We were with her at her ascension, and by the hand of grace We caused her to enter the Most Exalted Paradise as a mercy from Us and a favor from Our presence, and We are the Bountiful, the Generous. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to send down upon her each day a mercy from His presence. Verily He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. At her mention the ocean of forgiveness surged and the fragrance of God’s grace, the Lord of all religions, was diffused. Thus hath bounty been sent down and the divine table appeared from God, the Mighty, the Great.
O Baqir! Upon thee be My Glory. Give thanks unto thy Lord for what He hath caused to rain down upon her from the clouds of His grace, the showers of His generosity and mercy. Verily He loveth His chosen ones and handmaidens who have drunk the wine of steadfastness from the hand of His bounty. Thy Lord is verily the All-Merciful, the Generous. Say: Praise be unto Thee, O God of Names and Creator of heaven, for what Thou hast sent down for Thy handmaiden that maketh her immortalized in Thy Manifest Book. I beseech Thee, O my God and my Lord and my Support, to protect Thy loved ones from the evil of Thine enemies who have violated Thy Covenant and Testament, denied Thy signs, shown ingratitude for Thy favor, and disputed Thy proof which hath encompassed existence both seen and unseen.
Convey My greetings unto My loved ones and give them the glad-tidings of My grace and bounty and mercy which have preceded all who are in the heavens and earth. Say: Grieve not for what hath befallen you in the path of God. Soon shall the wrongdoers see their return in the fire while ye shall behold your stations in the most exalted Paradise, near the mercy of your Lord, the Master of the Day of Judgment.
BH02299: O thou who gazest upon the Countenance and art…
He is the One Who gazeth from His most exalted horizon
O thou who gazest upon the Countenance and art present before the Throne! Praise be to God, blessed and holy deeds have been manifested in the path of God in the land of A and Sh. The fire of tyranny was ignited and, without any evidence or proof, one of the horsemen in the field of wisdom and utterance was martyred. Praise be to God that after the fire of oppression, the light of justice shone forth from the horizon of the glorious government’s heaven. With complete determination and firm, decisive, steadfast resolve they investigated the matter and what had transpired with pure justice, and finally issued a decree whereupon the people of the city of fairness addressed the people of the city of justice with these words:
“May your eyes be gladdened! He who was seated hath arisen, and he who was silent hath spoken.”
For years justice had been deprived and no trace of it was found. Praise be to God, in these days it hath appeared from the horizon of power with standards and banners of victory.
Two mighty deeds were manifested by the friends in that land: first, refraining from retaliation against the oppressors, and second, interceding with the authorities on behalf of their enemies. O H! We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to adorn them on earth with such an ornament as would illuminate the dwellers of heaven. We ask of the True One to illumine them with the light of fellowship and unity and love and harmony. Today love and affection and friendship and unity are regarded as the greatest of all deeds in the sight of God.
Convey greetings from the Wronged One to the friends of that land. Say: O friends of God! The calumniators lie in ambush and the barking ones watch from their places of concealment. Guard your hearts and minds in the name of God, exalted be His glory.
O my God, my Adored One, my Object of worship, O Generous One, O Merciful One! Thou knowest and art aware that these servants have preserved the pearls of Thy love in the treasuries of their hearts and minds through Thy Name. We now beseech and implore Thee to protect and preserve us from the thieves and the treacherous ones. Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty.
O H! Thy deed is also regarded as among the most exalted of deeds before the Self-Sufficient, the Most High. Blessed are ye and joy be unto you! Give glad-tidings unto My loved ones of My mercy and My grace and My loving-kindness which have preceded existence both seen and unseen.
O thou who gazeth toward My horizon! His honor Zein, upon him be the Glory of God, the Most Glorious, and His all-embracing supreme mercy, sent the names of the friends to the Most Holy Court, and each one was favored with the glance of loving-kindness and mention by the Goal of the world’s peoples. Rejoice in this mighty bounty! Rejoice in this brilliant, gleaming light! The good news and true glad-tidings of this exalted Word cannot be equaled by all that exists in creation and whatsoever is therein. Thus hath the Sun of Bounty shone forth from My most glorious horizon, as a grace from My presence, and I am verily the All-Bountiful, the Generous.
The glory that shineth from the heaven of My Kingdom be upon you and upon those who have quaffed the Choice Wine sealed with My Name, the Self-Subsisting, the Self-Existing.
BH02298: O friends of the All-Merciful in Milan! The face…
O friends of the All-Merciful in Milan! The face of the Wronged One hath turned toward you from this destined Prison, and mentioneth you with that which causeth the rain of bounties and favors to shower from the clouds of your Lord’s tender mercy, the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous. This is a Day wherein that which was hidden hath been revealed and that which was treasured hath appeared, by the command of God, the Ordainer, the All-Knowing. The fire of tyranny and wickedness hath been kindled, whereby the light of righteousness and godliness hath been veiled, through that which the hands of the oppressors have wrought in the land of Ya. They have kindled the fire of hatred and acted in such wise as hath caused every fair-minded one to lament and every just one to cry out, and tears to flow from the eyes of them that are nigh unto God.
With luminous speech hear ye the call of the Wronged One. Today victory lieth in that which hath befallen. Be not saddened, for that which hath occurred in the city of Ya shall cause the elevation of God’s Cause and the exaltation of souls. Well is it with them that understand. The oppressors shall soon behold the recompense of their deeds from the presence of a just and mighty Lord.
O people of Milan and Saysan and their surroundings and environs! Ye have ever been and still are before Our gaze. Hearken unto the call of the Wronged One and hold fast unto that which beseemeth man. The opposers and deniers are like unto clods of earth—ere long shall the moisture of heedlessness and ignorance scatter and disperse them all. We cherish the hope that the friends in those regions will hold fast unto wisdom and utterance, and occupy themselves with the remembrance and praise of God. The barking ones and the deniers shall soon return to nothingness, having exchanged the eternal, everlasting dominion for fleeting days. Glory be to God! From the people of Iran are manifested savage and bestial traits—they are seen to be deprived of the heavenly table of divine favor and the eternal, everlasting bounty.
Praise be to God! The friends of those lands have ever been mentioned in the presence of the Wronged One. For each one hath been ordained that which the tongues of the world and the pens of nations are powerless to describe. Blessed are ye, and joy be unto you, and light be upon you! And woe unto the enemies of God who have denied His proof and cast behind them His evidence, following the vain imaginings of the heedless and the idle fancies of them that have turned away.
His honor Haji Muhammad Baqir and his son, upon them be His peace and loving-kindness, set out some days ago and, despite the turmoil of the world and the disorder of the way, intended the divine Ka’bah and attained thereunto. After arriving in this land he mentioned you, therefore this leaf hath been adorned with your remembrance. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to protect you with the hosts of might and power, to draw you nigh unto Him, and to ordain for you that which shall endure as long as His glory and grandeur and dominion shall endure. Verily, He is powerful over all things. Light and remembrance and glory be upon you, O My friends and loved ones, and upon them that have cast away corruption and arisen to promote reform amongst the servants, and upon them that love you for the sake of God, the Lord of the mighty throne.
BH02255: Praise be to God Who hath opened before…
He is the Rememberer and the Remembered One
Praise be to God Who hath opened before the faces of His loved ones the gate of His presence, made known to them His path, given them to drink of the Kawthar of His knowledge, and sent down for them that which caused the river of His mercy to flow. The Tree of His Cause hath spoken amongst His servants. He is the Almighty Whom neither the might of the oppressors can weaken, nor the doubts of the suspicious and the hints of the transgressors prevent. Glory and exaltation be upon the Hands of His Cause who have arisen by His leave for the betterment of the world and the refinement of the souls of nations. Verily He is the Almighty over whatsoever He willeth. There is none other God but Him, the Single, the One, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.
O Mahmud! Upon thee be the Glory of God, the Mighty, the Loving. Thy letter reached the Most Holy Court and from it wafted the fragrance of turning, attraction and steadfastness. Praise be to God that the clamor of the ungodly and the doubts of the atheists did not prevent or deprive thee from drawing nigh unto the supreme horizon. This is a mighty station. Say: Praise be to Thee, O my God, and glory be to Thee, O my Aim, and greatness and laudation be to Thee, O my Beloved, for having confirmed me in recognition and made known to me Thy straight path and Thy mighty Message. I beseech Thee by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty to ordain for me that which will exalt me through Thy name amongst Thy servants. O Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant, acknowledging what Thou hast revealed in Thy Books and clinging in all conditions to the cord of Thy bounty. I beseech Thee not to disappoint me from what lieth with Thee. Verily Thou art He to Whose generosity existence hath testified and to Whose grace the heaven hath borne witness. There is none other God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
We desire in this moment to make mention once again of thy brother who ascended to the Supreme Companion. We testify that he stood firm in My service, spoke My praise, and drank the choice wine of My love from the hand of My bounty. We beseech God to send down upon him at all times mercy and loving-kindness from His presence, and to give him to drink, from the hands of the Manifestations of His might and Cause, the Kawthar of His bounty. Verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Effulgent, the Compassionate, the Generous. And We make mention in this station of thy wife, whom We mentioned in the Tablet of Bounty, as among those who believed in God and His signs, who attained unto His recognition and drank the Salsabil of knowledge in His days. Thus have We sent down verses from which surged the ocean of forgiveness and wafted the fragrance of God’s loving-kindness, the Lord of the seen and unseen. And We have revealed for her that whose fragrances shall not cease throughout the duration of God’s kingdom, the Sovereign of existence.
O Mahmud! Give thanks to thy Lord for having mentioned thee and thy brother and thy wife with verses that cannot be equaled by treasures. Say: My soul be a sacrifice for Thee, O Lord of Names, and my spirit be a sacrifice for Thee, O Sovereign of mankind! I beseech Thee to ordain for Thy loved ones that which will draw them nigh unto Thee and cause them to know what Thou hast intended in Thy Books and Scriptures. O Lord! Thou seest me clinging to Thy cord and detached from those who have disbelieved in Thee and Thy signs. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful, the Mighty, the Great.
BH02259: The resplendent Light that shineth, appeareth and riseth…
He is the Consoler, the Comforter, the All-Compelling over what was and what shall be!
The resplendent Light that shineth, appeareth and riseth from the horizon of God’s manifestation, the Lord of all beings, and the sweet-scented fragrances wafting from the garment of grace and bounty, and the perfumes diffusing from this Most Exalted Station, be upon thee, O thou who hast dawned from the horizon of submission and acquiescence and who hast held fast to the Sure Handle.
I testify that thou didst aim for the ultimate goal, the furthest end, and the highest summit, and didst attain to that which was inscribed by the Pen of grace and splendor in the Books of God, Creator of the heavens and Sovereign of the Kingdom of Names. Thou art he whom the oppression of the oppressors did not deter, nor did the conditions of the transgressors and the might of those who denied the Day of Judgment frighten thee. Thou didst turn and hearken and say:
“My spirit be a sacrifice for Thy manifestation, O Thou Who art imprisoned in the prison of ʿAkka, and my soul be a sacrifice for Thy call, O Thou in Whose grasp is the reins of all in the kingdom of creation!”
The Wronged One hath testified, and all things have borne witness, that thou didst drink the choice sealed wine through My Self-Subsisting Name, and didst acknowledge that which the Tongue of Grandeur uttered before the letters were mingled with the Word. Blessed art thou, and blessed is he who loveth thee and visiteth thy resting place and remembereth thee with that which hath been sent down from the Supreme Pen in this Most Glorious Station. And blessed is he who remembereth thy days through that which was revealed for thee before and after thy ascension. Thou art he whose head God adorned with the crown of acceptance and whose temple He beautified with the ornament of might and beauty, and guided thee to His straight path and acquainted thee with His Great Announcement, whereby the hearts of the oppressors were disturbed and the limbs of the ungodly trembled.
We were with thee at the time of thy ascension and revealed for thee that from which the Concourse on High and the Supreme Paradise found the fragrance of thy Lord’s grace, bounty and mercy—verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Generous. I testify that at the time of revelation, the ocean of forgiveness surged from the right hand of thy Lord’s will, the Most Merciful, and its fragrance wafted through all regions and the manifestations of generosity encompassed all peoples save him who denied God’s manifestation, His sovereignty, His appearance, His power, His gifts and His bounty.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God, Possessor of existence and Manifestor of munificence! I beseech Thee by Thy Name, the Loving, and by this Station which Thou hast chosen for one of Thy loved ones, that Thou forgive me and those who have acknowledged Thy manifestation and Thy sovereignty and what was revealed in Thy Books, Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets. O my Lord! Thou seest the sinner hastening to the ocean of Thy forgiveness, the silent one to the Kawthar of Thy utterance, and the abased one to the kingdom of Thy might. I beseech Thee to ordain for Thy loved ones and chosen ones, by the Pen of Thy grace, that which will draw them nigh unto Thee and cause them to enter the pavilion of Thy pardon and the gate of Thy bounty. Then decree, O my God, through this noble resting place, my needs and hopes and what I have desired from the heaven of Thy generosity and the sun of Thy bounty. Verily Thou art powerful over what Thou willest. Nothing escapeth Thy knowledge. There is no God but Thee, the Mighty, the August, the All-Bountiful.
BH02329: Lawh-i-Babu’l-Ata [Lawh-i-Banu-Qurayzih]
In the name of Him through Whom the gate of bounty was opened to all who are on earth and in heaven.
The atoms of created things bear witness and the realities of all contingent beings testify that this servant had and has no purpose in the manifestation and proclamation of the Cause except the salvation of the servants and the extinguishing of the fire of hatred and enmity. His call was raised in the nights and His lamentation in the early dawn, and His cry during the days. In the heavenly Books, according to what some of the parties have mentioned and continue to mention, there was the burning of books and the slaying of souls and the prevention of unity, which is the greatest means for the progress of the servants and the advancement of lands…
In my childhood, this wronged one read in a book by Mulla Baqir Majlisi about the raid on the Banu Qurayzah. From that moment I was distressed and full of sorrow, to the extent that my pen cannot express it—even though what happened was the decree of God, and its intent was only to foil oppressors.
But when the ocean of forgiveness and grace appeared, therefore in those days I beseeched God for that which was the cause of love, fellowship and unity among all who are on earth—until, on the second of the month of the Birth before the Dawning, all my mental states, my words and thoughts, were turned upside down, an inversion that bore the glad-tidings of the Ascent. This revolution was manifest for twelve days continuously and unremittingly. Afterwards, the waves of the ocean of utterance appeared, and the effulgences of the luminary of tranquillity were radiant. Then the matter eventuated in a time of full revelation (zuhu:r), when I attained to that which God rendered the basis of the joy of the worlds and the dawn of bestowal on all who dwell in the heavens and the earth. After the Most High Pen [Qalam-i A’la=the Bab], We abrogated all that which was the cause of hardship and discomfort and strife by Our decisive decree, and We revealed and implemented all that which was a source of concord and unity. No one denies the grace inherent in this revelation save those who are veiled and heedless, and the despised tyrants.
The revealed holy Tablets and the Tablet of the Call testify and bear witness. Blessed are the fair-minded and blessed is every truthful and trustworthy one. When thou hast heard My call from My Tablet and beheld what hath shone forth from its horizon as a token of My grace, say: My God, my God! Praise be to Thee for having caused me to hear Thy call and for having acquainted me with that which was hidden in Thy knowledge and concealed from the eyes of Thy servants. I beseech Thee, O Sovereign of existence and Ruler of the seen and unseen, to assist me to remember Thee and to serve Thee and to serve Thy loved ones. Then confirm me in such steadfastness as cannot be changed by the conditions of Thy creation and the doubts of Thy servants. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.
BH02343: The Supreme Pen hath revealed concerning the most great…
He is the Consoler, the Comforter, the Generous One!
The Supreme Pen hath revealed concerning the most great tribulation that which caused the Tablet to lament and raised the cry of the Names.
O My loved ones, My chosen ones, My leaves and My handmaidens! Be not grieved. By the life of God, after these sorrows, surging oceans of joy shall be witnessed. Night and day did the Nature of God lament and the Eye of Loving-kindness wept, although for those of insight and those near to God, whatsoever hath occurred hath been the cause of the exaltation of the Word of God and the advancement of souls. Yet outwardly, from all things—from mountains, trees and seas, even unto the pit and the pebble—lamentation and moaning were raised. Now We counsel all, both men and women, to patience and forbearance. We have loved patience and commanded it unto all, before and after, and at this evident time.
O My handmaiden and My leaf! Hearken unto My call from the direction of My prison. Verily, all the treasures of the earth and the adornment of its queens cannot equal it. He Who speaketh in every condition beareth witness to this, that there is none other God but Him, the Single, the One, the Mighty, the Powerful.
Know thou with clear certainty that God, exalted be His glory, is just, and assuredly according to the requirements of justice shall He requite those who led astray, the ungodly, the slanderers and the murderers. Not an atom escapeth His knowledge. He doeth what He willeth and He is the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
Give thanks unto thy Lord, for He hath turned unto thee and revealed for thee from the heaven of utterance that which He hath made a proof unto all who are on earth. Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken, as a favor from Him unto His leaves who have drunk the cup of tribulation in the path of God, the Lord of all beings and the Possessor of Names.
Convey My greetings to the handmaidens of that land. Say to those who are with thee: Grieve not for what hath befallen My loved ones in My path. Soon shall the tender mercies of their Lord, the Generous One, encompass them. Death is inevitable for all; therefore if it occur in the path of the Peerless Friend, it is assuredly most exalted and most beloved, for that death is the cause of eternal life and the source of everlasting existence.
We beseech God to change the sorrow of His loved ones into the Most Great Joy and to ordain for them what He hath ordained for His chosen ones who have sacrificed what they possessed of wealth, souls and bodies in His straight Path. Praise be unto Him, for He is the Goal of the mystics and the Beloved of the worlds.
The glory shining forth from the horizon of the heaven of My mercy be upon My martyrs and upon their bodies and fragments thereof and drops of their blood, and upon those who have circled round them and have been blessed with reading what God hath revealed concerning them from the heaven of His knowledge and utterance. Verily, He is the Single, the One, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
BH02388: These are holy verses sent down in truth…
In the Name of the Single, the Peerless, the One!
These are holy verses sent down in truth from the clouds of a wondrous grace, whereby the hearts of the servants are purified from the defilement of self and desire, and they drink from cups whose admixture is the remembrance of the Beloved and the Dear One.
O servant! There hath appeared before the Beauty what thou didst mention in remembrance of God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers and the Lord of the mighty Throne. Blessed art thou for having rent asunder the veils of glory and entered beneath the shadow of thy Lord, the Mighty, the Exalted, and sanctified thyself from the association of every stubborn misbeliever.
However, strive within thyself in all thy days lest the whisperings of Satan cause thee to slip and lead thee astray from the path of glorious might and from the straight and holy way. Shun those who have disbelieved, then convey the Cause of thy Lord to those in whose hearts thou findest the fragrance of holiness and in whose faces thou seest the radiance of a luminous glory.
And if sorrow overtaketh thee, remember My sorrow and My tribulations. By God! I have been afflicted with trials which none can reckon save God Who encompasseth all things in the Mother Book.
This is the Book which speaketh now with truth that there is no God but Him, and that He Who appeared with the name of Husayn before Ali is verily His sovereignty, His grandeur, His majesty, then His manifestation and His concealment, and His might and power over all created things. And then the Tongue of Grandeur proclaimeth from behind the Most Exalted Pavilion: By God! This is verily Ali, then Muhammad, then Muhammad, then Ali. Follow Him, O peoples of the earth, and associate not partners with Him, for this would be an injustice from your own selves against God. Fear God and be among the pious in the Cause.
Do ye worship the calf and forsake Him Who created you by His command, by Whose light all who are in the heavens and earth are illumined, if ye be possessed of insight?
O people! Purify your ears that ye may hear My melodies, then your eyes that ye may behold My beauty. Thus hath God commanded you in all the Tablets and in this Tablet which hath appeared and shone forth from the horizon of the finger of your Lord, the Most High, the Most Exalted, and God is witness unto this.
O servant! Hear My call, then stand firm in the Cause and turn not unto what hath been created in the realm of origination. We have ordained for thee in the Tablet an exalted station, and We have reckoned what is in thy heart and are aware of what is in thy secret thoughts, and We shall decree for thee what We have intended for thee, and with Us is the knowledge of all things and the knowledge of the heavens and earth, if thou be informed thereof.
And the glory be upon thee and upon those with thee and upon those who have remained steadfast in this Cause wherefrom have slipped the feet of those in whose hearts was doubt concerning the meeting with their Lord and who were far removed from the path.
BH02397: Praise and thanksgiving, in another degree, belong especially…
In the name of the Peerless Beloved!
Praise and thanksgiving, in another degree, belong especially to the saints and chosen ones of God who would not exchange a single atom of the effulgent rays of the Sun of His love for all that was and shall be, and who, despite their need for all things in the world, have sounded the trumpet of divine independence before the faces of men, to the dismay of the enemies.
O Muhammad-Husayn! I testify that thou didst hear the Call and didst turn to God, the Lord of all men, on a day when the standards of rejection were raised from all directions and the banners of hypocrisy from every quarter. Thou art he who cast idle fancies behind thee, seeking the horizon of the manifestation of God, the Lord of the mighty throne. Thou didst advance and traverse the path until thou didst reach the valley of certitude and didst hear the Call from the Blessed Tree beyond which there is no passing:
“Verily He is God, there is none other God but Him. His is the praise and the glory, His the grandeur and the splendor. He hath, through His Word, quickened the world as a token of His grace unto all peoples.”
I ask, and We ask, the Gracious Lord and the Merciful Master to ordain for thee that which will exalt thee through His Name, and cause thee to hold fast to wisdom and utterance at all times, and to send down upon thee from the heaven of bounty the food of divine knowledge. He is verily the Powerful, the Mighty, the Bestower.
Remember the days when thou wert present before the Wronged One and didst witness what befell Him at the hands of tyrannous servants and oppressive people of the land. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to protect thee through His bounty and to aid thee through His sovereignty, and to ordain for thee that which will bring solace to thine eyes and the eyes of His loved ones. He is verily the All-Bountiful, the Gracious, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
In these days, through divine grace and infinite mercy, the loved ones dwell beneath the shade of the Blessed Tree in peace and tranquility. And Muhammad, upon him be the glory of God, the One, the Single, resides in its shade during the nights and tends the garden during the days. He loveth to be engaged in the service of his Beloved, where neither the heat of the sun, nor the cold of winter, nor any thing among all things, nor any cause among all causes can hinder him. To this testifieth He with Whom is the knowledge of the Book. Nevertheless, in these days We have given him leave and sent him forth for the management of affairs in those parts. He is a blessed being who hath sought and continueth to seek the good and welfare of all, and in the dark abode of the world hath beseeched and continueth to beseech the divine light of morning for all peoples. However, O Muhammad-Husayn, this lamp is beset by tempestuous winds from every direction. The matter is in God’s hands, the Powerful, the Almighty. The glory be upon thee and upon the steadfast and firm servants of God. Praise be to Him for He is the Goal of them that know.
BH02402: In My Name, Who surgeth before the seas…
In My Name, Who surgeth before the seas and their waves
Praise and glory, might and splendor befit the dwellers of the Crimson Ark, who are mentioned and recorded as “the people of Baha” in the Qayyumu’l-Asma. These are they who regard all else save God as non-existent, who through the Most Great Antidote have, with the aid of the True Physician, cured chronic ailments such as pride and vainglory, fear and trepidation, and the like. With perfect health, complete strength and firm steadfastness they have raised aloft the banner of triumph and hoisted the standard of victory. The hosts of exalted attributes and the character of the cherubim and the leader of righteousness—exalted be His eternal grace and everlasting bounty—Who through the melodies of the detached ones drew the earthly realm upward and bestowed upon it ascendancy over the heavens and beyond. Glorified be their stations, magnificent their power and their detachment! They hold fast to piety and are free and delivered from aught else.
O My Name! The letter of ʿAyn and Ta addressed to thee was presented before the Wronged One and was heard. Praise be to God, they are enkindled with the fire of love and illumined by the light of recognition. From the beginning they quaffed the choice wine of utterance. The clamor of the people diminished not their love, nor did the tumult of mankind hold them back from their orientation toward Him. We have mentioned him in numerous Tablets with such mention as caused the mountains to soar and the clouds to pass away. The taunts of the enemies prevented him not from the Most Exalted Horizon, nor did the might of the aggressors deprive him of longing, yearning, attraction and enkindlement. Gladden him on My behalf and remind him of My verses.
The grace of the True One, exalted be His glory, and His mercy and loving-kindness have ever encompassed His loved ones, and He hath counseled and guided the enemies unto that which is the cause of success and the source of prosperity. O My Name! Reflect upon the loving-kindness of God and the oppression of the oppressors. Say: My God, my God! Aid Thy servants to turn toward Thee and to be detached from all else save Thee, and assist them to be trustworthy and righteous and to observe that which Thou hast commanded them in Thy Book. O my Lord! Thou seest and knowest what hath befallen the Wronged One through their deeds, their calumnies and their tyranny. Seize them through Thy wrath, Thy might and Thy power, or aid them to return unto Thee and to repent before the gate of Thy pardon and Thy bounty. Verily Thou art the Generous, the Possessor of great bounty.
O ʿAttar! Upon thee and upon those with thee be the glory of the Chosen One. Convey to all the kindred greetings and praise from the Wronged One. All are mentioned in the presence of this Countenance and are the recipients of bounty. The glory be upon thee from Us and upon My servants and My handmaidens and upon those whom nothing whatsoever hath deterred from God, the Creator of the heavens and the Lord of the Kingdom of Names.
BH02379: We have desired to send to one of My…
He is the Compassionate, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed!
We have desired to send to one of My loved ones the pearls of the ocean of My bounty and utterance, that thou mayest give thanks and say:
“Praise be unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Goal of all who are in the heavens and on earth!”
The calumnies of those who have followed their selfish desires have not prevented Us, nor hath the oppression of the wrongdoers who outwardly show love but inwardly support Mine enemies and cast upon them the doubts of those who have denied the Day of Judgment, frightened Us.
O Isma’il! Hearken unto the call of the Wronged One. He mentioneth thee even as He mentioned thee before, and desireth naught save thy drawing nigh unto God, the Lord of the worlds. He who loved Me and soared in Mine atmosphere, who was named Nazir—upon him be My glory—came and mentioned thee. We have remembered thee in a Tablet adorned with the gems We have brought forth from the treasury of Mine wondrous utterance. By My life! My Tablets are not equaled by the tablets of the world, nor My mention by the mention of all who are in the heavens and the earth.
Say: O people of the Bayan! The Divine Lote-Tree hath been adorned with wondrous, fresh fruits and delicate, new produce. Behold, and be not of the heedless ones. By My life! He whom Satan hath led astray used to serve Me night and day, at morn and at eventide.
O thou who hast turned towards Mine horizon! Glorify on My behalf the Hands of My Cause, whom We have chosen for My remembrance amongst My servants and for the proclamation of My Most Great Call and My Great News. We beseech God to guard them, preserve them, and aid them with His hosts from on high.
O My loved ones! We have caused the rains of My mercy to descend from the clouds of My bounty, and have revealed that which was hidden in God’s knowledge, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Blessed is he who hath cast away all else save Me and acted according to what hath been ordained in My perspicuous Book.
O Asadullah, O son of Nazir—upon thee be My glory! Thou hast been mentioned in the presence of the Wronged One. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to open before thy face, through the key of His Most Bountiful Name, the doors of His grace, wealth and riches, and to ordain for thee that which will draw thee nigh unto Him in all conditions. He is verily the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Bountiful.
When thou hearest My call and attainest unto the recognition of My verses, say:
“My God, my God! Praise be unto Thee for having guided me unto Thy station and honored me with Thy presence. I beseech Thee by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty to make me detached from all else save Thee and sanctified from whatsoever is repugnant to Thy good-pleasure. O my Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant who stood firm in Thy service. I beseech Thee to transform my sorrow into joy and my grief into gladness, and my remoteness into nearness. Verily Thou art the One Who hath power over whatsoever He willeth, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in the heavens and on earth.”
The Glory shining, radiant and resplendent from the horizon of the heaven of My bounty be upon you both and upon those who have heard the Call and responded, saying:
“Praise be unto Thee, O Beloved of the hearts of those who know!”
BH02454: Praise be befitting the Goal of the worlds Who…
In the Name of Him Who warbleth upon the branch of utterance!
Praise be befitting the Goal of the worlds Who, amidst the surging waves of the seas of sorrows, summoned the people of possibility to the horizon of the appearance of the Lord of Religions. One drop from the ocean of His utterance adorned the world with the ornament of eternal life, and one flame from the blessed Tree set ablaze the hearts and minds of the nations. He is the Sovereign of bounty and the Lord of existence—exalted be His grandeur, complete His proof, and perfect His evidence. There is no God but Him.
Say: Glory be unto Thee, O God, Lord of Names and Creator of earth and heaven! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Most Glorious Name and by Thy sweetest call which was raised from the prison of Akka, to assist me to serve Thy Cause with wisdom and utterance. O my Lord! Thou seest me clinging to the hem of the robe of Thy grace and holding fast to the cord of Thy bounty. I implore Thee by the stations which were honored by Thy footsteps, and by the houses wherein Thy mention was exalted, and by the hearts which Thou madest treasuries of the pearls of Thy love, and by the tongue which Thou made an interpreter of the mysteries of Thy knowledge, to open before my face the door of Thy mercy and to send down upon my outer and inner being from the clouds of Thy favors the rains of Thy knowledge and wisdom. Verily Thou art the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.
This is a missive from Us to him who turned, hastened, and appeared before the Face, and partook of the Kawthar of eternity from the hands of the bounty of his Lord, the Lord of all being, and drank once through His Name and again through His mention, the Mighty, the Wondrous. There hath come before the Wronged One what thou didst send to the Most Great Branch and Ism-i-Jud. We found from it the fragrance of thy sincerity and thy turning to the face of God, the Lord of the worlds. O thou who art mentioned before the Throne! We mentioned thee before in a Tablet that beareth witness to that which God Himself hath testified—that there is no God but Him, the Single, the One, the Powerful, the Mighty. Blessed art thou for having drunk the choice wine of My utterance and attained to the outpourings of My days and soared in the atmosphere of My love and spoken My beautiful praise. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to preserve thee and make thee a helper of His Cause and steadfast in His service, and to ordain for thee what He hath ordained for His trusted ones and chosen ones. Verily He is the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful.
And We make mention of thy wife, My handmaiden and My leaf. Give her the glad-tidings of My mention of her and illumine her with the light of My manifest utterance. We mentioned her before with that which the pearls of the seas and the mines of the mountains and the treasuries of the earth cannot equal. And I am verily the All-Bountiful, the All-Forgiving, the All-Compelling over all who are in the heavens and the earth. The glory shining from the horizon of the heaven of My Kingdom be upon thee and upon her and upon those who are with you both and who love you both for the sake of God, the Lord of this exalted and glorious station.
BH02461: He heareth and is ready to answer
He heareth and is ready to answer
Glorified be God! Whenever those endowed with insight observe the signs of the mortality of anything that existeth in the world of being, they bear witness, nay, each thing in itself with its inner tongue doth testify, to the evanescence of all things. The royal seat becometh the perch of the owl and the spider replaceth the the chamberlain. With its inner tongue it declareth:
“O discerning ones! Where have your thrones gone; where are your mighty palaces?”
Ruin followeth behind every edifice, as death followeth behind every life.
O Ahmad! The possessors of palaces one and all shall repair to their tombs. Though this morning they recline upon plush cushions, in the evening they shall rest in their sepulchers. And no one will be able to distinguish between the bones of the ruler and those of the ruled, nor between the skulls of kings and those of their subjects.
We beseech God, exalted be His glory, to construct with the hands of power and the masons of truth a house sanctified from extinction and mortality. Blessed be the soul who entereth within such a house! The origin, cause, and builder of this house is and hath ever been the Word of God, for death cannot touch His Word which abideth within the undying Book.
O Ahmad! The concerns of the days of God cannot be compared to the concerns of the world and the attainments of its peoples. Happy the soul that hath hearkened to the verses of God before his ascension, after his ascension, and during his ascension. Grieve thou not on account of that which hath befallen thee. Previously this exalted verse was revealed by the Pen of the Most High:
“God, in truth, is the Most Patient, and He exhorteth you to observe befitting patience. He is the Concealer, and He admonisheth you to conceal the faults of men.”
The moment the report of the incident arrived, the blessed pavilion was upraised at the behest of the King of Destiny, and the souls present—that is, those who have taken a place under the shade of the canopy of the grandeur of their Lord, the Compassionate, the Bountiful, and those who circle round Him, both men and women—all gathered together to offer invocation and praise. Every letter thereof recited before this Wronged One was the very breath of life. On that day the Concourse on high attained Our presence, and We sent down upon the one who ascended that whereof its traces and fruits shall never cease as long as the kingdom of God and His dominion shall endure.
Say: Praise be unto Thee, O my God, and thanks be unto Thee, O my Desire. I bear witness that Thou hast manifested Thy bounty and sent down Thy mercy in such wise that Thy servants and Thy creatures have been powerless to reckon them. O Lord! Ordain for him at all times that which beseemeth the ocean of Thy bestowal and the heaven of Thy generosity. Thou, verily, art the Lord of being and the One Who overshadoweth the seen and the unseen. There is no God but Thee, the One, the Single, the Mighty, the Loving.
Convey, on behalf of this Wronged One, My greeting of exaltation unto the leaves and the handmaidens, and keep them adorned with the brocade of remembrance and utterance.
BH02451: Sanctified praise and glorification, befitting and worthy, be unto…
In the Name of the Everlasting Speaker!
Sanctified praise and glorification, befitting and worthy, be unto the Holy Presence of the Self-Subsisting One, Who, despite being surrounded by enemies and the calumnies of the people of tyranny and corruption, hath caused the pearls of wisdom and utterance to appear and become manifest from the treasury of His Pen at all times. Exalted is the All-Wise, the Possessor of Great Bounty, Who through tribulation exalted His Cause, through abasement manifested His glory, and through imprisonment revealed His power, His sovereignty, His grandeur and His might. May the light that shineth from this luminous horizon, and the fragrances that are wafted from this noble station, rest upon the hands of His Cause who have not broken His covenant and testament, and who have arisen to make mention of Him and praise Him amongst His servants—they are honored servants who speak not until He hath spoken, and who act according to His bidding.
Glory be unto Thee, O Thou through Whose name the pearls of wisdom and utterance have appeared from the shells of the ocean of Thy knowledge, and the pavilion of understanding hath been raised before the faces of all religions through Thy power and might. I beseech Thee by the wonders of Thy verses, and the standards of Thy clear proofs, and that which the tongue of Thy grandeur hath spoken, to aid those who have turned away to turn towards Thee, the calumniators to be truthful, the deniers to acknowledge, and the irreligious to return to the gate of Thy pardon and forgiveness. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.
O Javad, upon thee be the Glory of God and His loving-kindness. The letter of Husayn, upon him be the Glory of God, was received in Our presence and was favored with Our hearing. Praise be to God that from his letter was diffused the fragrance of recognition, turning unto God, and steadfastness. We have heard his call and have answered him with a Tablet that all the treasuries of the world cannot equal. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to forgive him and his wife who heard and responded and ascended unto God, the Lord of all worlds. We beseech God to send down upon her a mercy from His presence and to cause her to enter the highest Paradise as a bounty from Him. Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Generous. And We beseech Him, exalted be He, to aid him to remain steadfast in this Cause whereby the feet of the mystics have slipped save whom God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment, hath willed.
Likewise mention was made of Ali-Akbar, upon him be My Glory, and Ali-Qabli-Askar and those with him, upon them be the Glory of God, and each one hath been favored with the waves of the ocean of utterance of the Desired One of all worlds. We beseech God to aid them to act with wisdom and with that which will attract the hearts of His servants. Verily, He is the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Mention was made of Ramadan-Qabli-Ali and Mulla Bahram, upon them be the Glory of God. We beseech God, the Lord of grace and bounty, to aid them both to make mention of Him and praise Him, and through them to open the doors of turning unto Him before the faces of His servants. Verily, He is powerful over all things. The Glory from Us be upon them and upon My handmaidens who have believed in the One, the All-Informed.
BH02502: This is the Day of the Most Great Manifestation…
In the name of the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful!
This is the Day of the Most Great Manifestation, and all things rejoice in remembrance of the Peerless Friend. The Mount is calling out in the Name of the Manifestation that the world hath been renewed by the breath of a new Revelation, and every seeker hath attained his desire. Carmel hath become the dwelling-place of the Friend, and Zion crieth out with the most exalted call. A great festival is established and supreme joy is manifest, yet the Shi’ih faction remaineth heedless and veiled.
O Salih! May God set right thine affairs and make manifest from thee that which befitteth His days, is adorned with His good-pleasure, and illumined with the light of His acceptance. He, verily, is the Almighty, the All-Powerful.
Thou didst mention a newborn child, and likewise the feast of ʿAli-Akbar. Praise be to the one true God that He confirmed them in offering hospitality to His chosen ones and loved ones. This is among the special confirmations of the Truth, exalted be His glory. He bestowed both the bounty and adorned it with the glory of His acceptance. Praise be unto Him! Again praise be unto Him!
As for the newborn, We have named him with the first pillar of the two names, and have made mention of him in such wise that his remembrance and name shall endure through the endurance of God’s names. He is the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
As for the Surih of Unity, the Shaykh of the land of Sad came to the land of Ta, inflamed with the fire of hatred, making mention that the divines should translate the Surih of Unity and distribute copies thereof to all people, that they might know that the Truth “begetteth not, nor is He begotten,” while the Babis believe in divinity and lordship. In this connection, diverse answers have been sent down from the Supreme Pen, and a blessed Tablet was revealed in his name. God willing, thou shalt attain unto it and become informed of that which hath proceeded from the Tongue of Grandeur.
Rida-Quli hath ever been and still is remembered. He is among those who attained the presence and won the bounty of hearing the call of the Wronged One in His mighty prison. We make mention of all the loved ones, and there hath been specially revealed for each one that which cannot be equaled by all the treasures of the world. Thus have We sent down the verses and dispatched them unto you, O My loved ones, that ye may give thanks unto your Lord, the Ordainer, the Ancient of Days, the All-Wise Revealer.
The Glory be upon you, then Peace be upon you, then Light be upon you, O loved ones of God and His friends! Verily, He hath turned toward you from this remote spot and made mention of you and of His handmaidens who have heard and turned toward God, the Peerless, the All-Informed. We make mention of My handmaiden who hath ascended to the Supreme Horizon. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to send down upon her the rain of His mercy and ordain for her in the highest Paradise a station beneath the canopies of His greatness and mercy. He, verily, is the Compassionate, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
BH02526: Praise be to the Goal of the world, Who…
In His Name, through which God united the hearts of His loved ones.
Praise be to the Goal of the world, Who in the midst of sorrows is occupied with the remembrance of His friends. Forever has this Wronged One been under threat, yet the threat had no effect and did not prevent His attention and acceptance. Before the face of the world and its peoples He revealed that which was the cause of life and the source of success and prosperity. Blessed is the soul that was attracted by the breezes of revelation and was guided to His most exalted horizon. Today, through the assistance of the Most Great Name, the pearls of certitude and knowledge are manifest and visible. Joy unto the one who turned with perfect certitude and, despite the enemies, drank the wine of immortality from the hand of bounty, and, detached from the world, held fast to the Most Great Name. Names did not prevent him, and doubts and allusions did not become a barrier.
O thou who hast turned unto the Countenance! Thy petition hath reached the most holy court. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to draw thee nigh in all conditions, to aid thee in that which He loveth and approveth, and to open before thy face the door of grace and bounty. He, verily, is the Lord of all creation. There is none other God but Him, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
O Mashhadi Baqir! Thy name was present before the Wronged One. We have mentioned thee as a favor from God, the Lord of the worlds. Rejoice in My remembrance which, by My life, cannot be equaled by anything thou beholdest on earth. Verily thy Lord is the True One, the All-Informed. The Glory be upon thee and upon thy family from God, the Mighty, the Generous.
O Asadu’llah! The Lord of the worlds hath mentioned thee with a mention that is as wings for soaring in the atmosphere of love and affection, and as light in the darkness of contingent being. We beseech God, exalted be He, to make thee steadfast in His love and to give thee to drink, from the hand of His bounty, the Kawthar of His knowledge at all times. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the Compassionate, the Generous.
O Faraju’llah! The Lamp of the world is afflicted amidst the winds. It is clear and evident to all that this Wronged One and the party of God have desired for all bounty, blessing and wealth. Nevertheless, they show such enmity as hath had and hath no likeness. The Command is in God’s hands, the Powerful, the Almighty. Blessed art thou for having turned and attained that which the near ones have attained.
O Abdul-Ali! Upon thee be My Glory! Convey My greetings to the handmaidens and leaves. Each one hath been and is mentioned before the Wronged One. Give them the glad-tidings of My remembrance and My loving-kindness which have encompassed existence, both the seen and the unseen. The Glory from Us be upon My loved ones and upon them and upon all who are steadfast, firm and upright. Bounty is in God’s hands, the Lord of the worlds.
BH02524: H-S. Upon thee be the Baha of God…
He is God—exalted be His majesty in grandeur and power.
H-S. Upon thee be the Baha of God, the Lord of all worlds. The letters which thou hast continually sent unto this present servant have been received, and have attained the honor of being heard in the loftiness of glory. From every word thereof We perceived the fragrance of thy love and thy turning unto God, the One, the All-Informed. The wrongdoers of the world are occupied with oppression and take pride therein. This Wronged One, however, uttereth this prayer, which some time ago was revealed for one of the loved ones:
Glorified art Thou, O my God! But for the afflictions suffered in Thy path, how could the stations of Thy lovers be made manifest? And but for the calamities endured for Thy love, by what means could the conditions of Thy yearners be revealed? By Thy might! The companion of Thy lovers is the tear of their eyes, the intimate of Thy seekers the sighing of their hearts, the sustenance of them that hasten unto Thee the fragments of their livers. How sweet is the deadly poison in Thy path, and how precious the shafts of the enemies for the exaltation of Thy word! O my God, cause me to drink in Thy Cause whatsoever Thou desirest, and rain down upon me in Thy love whatsoever Thou hast ordained.
By Thy glory! I desire naught save what Thou desirest, and love none but that which Thou lovest. In all conditions have I put my trust in Thee. I beseech Thee, O my God, to raise up for the aid of this Cause such as are worthy of Thy Name and Thy sovereignty, that they may make mention of me amidst Thy creatures and lift up the banners of Thy victory within Thy realm. Thou, verily, art potent to do whatsoever Thou willest. There is no God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Glory to Thee, O my Lord! Strengthen the hearts of Thy loved ones by Thy power and might, then protect them from the evil of Thine enemies. Then make them, O my God, dawning-places from the horizon of Thy greatness and daysprings from the daybreak of Thy power. O Lord! Adorn them with the ornament of justice and fairness, and illumine their hearts with the lights of gifts and favors. Thou art the One, the Single, the Mighty, the Great.
I beseech Thee, O Lord of Eternity and Master of the world and Goal of the nations, by the Most Great Name, to transform the throne of tyranny into the seat of Thy justice, and the chair of pride and oppression into the throne of humility and fairness. Verily, Thou doest what Thou willest, and Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
Convey My greetings to the friends, and We ask for all of them glory and bounty and steadfastness. Verily, God is the Hearer, the Answerer.
The calumnies of that heedless one were observed, and the sending of such things is not permitted henceforth. We have indeed committed all affairs to God, the Powerful, the Dominant, the Mighty. We beseech God to assist thee and to inscribe for thee a goodly reward, steadfast and enduring, in His perspicuous Book. Peace be upon thee and upon those with thee and upon God’s righteous servants.
BH02537: Glory be to Thee, O Helper of Thy chosen…
He is the Preserver, the Generous One!
Glory be to Thee, O Helper of Thy chosen ones, and glory be to Thee, O Succourer of Thy pure ones! I beseech Thee by the light of Thy Cause which hath shone forth and appeared from the horizon of Thy will, and by the manifestation of the fire of the Tree of Utterance unto Moses, the Son of Imran, Thy Interlocutor and Thy Chosen One, to ordain for him who hath loved Thee and desired Thee every good thing Thou hast sent down from Thy Most Exalted Pen for the people of Baha and the companions of the Crimson Ark. Verily, Thou art the Almighty over what Thou willest, and within Thy grasp are the reins of all affairs. There is no God but Thee, the Speaker on Sinai, the Manifestor of Light, and the Lord of the Day of Resurrection.
The Most Great Branch arrived and mentioned the loved ones—may God’s blessings be upon them—and that esteemed one in the Most Holy and Exalted Presence, and likewise what was known of that esteemed one and what appeared from him in the path of God—all was witnessed and attained the adornment of acceptance and the light of good-pleasure. We beseech God to manifest unto that esteemed one that which shall be adorned with the ornament of immortality in the book of the world. There is no doubt that the reward for these deeds will appear from God. Every good deed today is in truth recorded with God as the king of deeds and is inscribed and written by the Most Exalted Pen. We beseech Him, exalted be He, to assist thee through His grace and to ordain for thee what He ordained for His chosen ones before and after. Verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Generous.
Convey greetings from the Wronged One to the grief-stricken leaf. I swear by the Sun of Truth, there hath been ordained for her the reward of children whose fragrant remembrance of God hath not ceased and will not cease. It is hoped that she will preserve this most great bounty through patience and steadfastness in His exalted path. This mention must be appreciated, and its appreciation lieth in the good-pleasure of His friends. In times of tribulation, God willing, they will transform the garment of sorrow into the robe of supreme joy through the breezes of revelation and the light of countless favors. Verily He is the Guardian of His steadfast servants and maidservants.
O H! It is hoped that thou wilt be warmed by the heat of the divine verses in such wise that from thy movement and stillness may appear that which will attract minds and hearts. However, all matters are dependent upon and connected with wisdom and utterance. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to confirm thee and make thee successful in that whereby His Cause will be exalted amongst His servants. Verily He is powerful over all things. The glory from Us be upon thee and upon those who are with thee and who love thee and upon those who have drunk the wine of revelation from this manifest cup.
BH02561: O friends of God in the lands! We counsel…
He is God, exalted be His station in wisdom and utterance!
O friends of God in the lands! We counsel you to show forth the most great steadfastness in this Most Great Announcement, whereby the limbs of all names have trembled except such as God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment, has willed. A letter has come before the Wronged One, and verily it has attained to be heard. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to ordain for His loved ones that which He has ordained for those who circle round the Throne at eventide and at dawn. O Rida! His honor Muhammad-Qabli-ʿAli, upon you both be My glory, sent thy letter to the Most Holy Court at a time when the arrows of tribulation were descending successively from the clouds of destiny.
We praise God for what He has willed, for He is the One Who is sought in the beginning and in the end. Praise be to God that from thy letter the fragrance of love was diffused. His honor Diya presented it before Our face and this Tablet is revealed in reply, that thou mayest give glad-tidings to all the friends in that land of the bestowals and verses that have been sent down, and of the mercy that has preceded. Blessed is the servant who has attained unto steadfastness. Today some have been seized by vain imaginings. We beseech God to preserve His loved ones from the doubts and allusions of men and to ordain for them that which will exalt them through His Name in His lands amongst His servants. Verily, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
O Ghulam-Husayn! Thou didst seek permission to turn towards the spot where has been raised the Standard that there is no God but Him. We beseech God to inscribe for thee in one of the tablets of the Most Exalted Paradise the reward of nearness, of attaining His presence and of meeting Him. Verily thy Lord is the Lord of all creation. There is no God but Him, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious.
This severe year and what hath appeared therein have become an obstacle, therefore We have delayed in granting permission until God brings about His decisive and wise decree. We beseech God to set ablaze the friends of that land with the fire of love and to illumine them with the light of recognition. He is the Powerful and the Mighty.
O people of God! Ye have endured hardships and attained unto lofty stations. Preserve this most exalted station through the Name of the Lord of Names. Today is the day of wisdom and utterance. All must hold fast unto these two and occupy themselves with the prudent management of affairs. The Afnan of the Blessed Tree and the loved ones mentioned in the revealed Scripture must hold fast unto the teaching of God’s Cause, albeit with fragrance and joy. Thus hath God decreed at the beginning of days. The Glory shining forth from Us be upon My Afnan and My loved ones who have cast away what the people possess, clinging to the hem of the robe of God’s grace, the Commander, the All-Wise.
BH02559: O My handmaiden and My leaf! Jalal, who has…
He is the Speaker, He is the Manifest, and He is the Caller betwixt earth and heaven.
O My handmaiden and My leaf! Jalal, who has attained Our presence and gained the bounty of reunion, is he who speaks, he who is manifest, and he who calls out between earth and heaven. Jalal, who has drunk from the cup of reunion time and again, and has partaken of the chalice of meeting repeatedly, is present in the Prison Land and has sent thy petition to the Most Holy Court. Praise be to God that the fragrance of divine love wafted from it, and it bore true witness to the love of the friends and handmaidens of that land.
We beseech God to illumine all with the light of His knowledge and to attract them through the fire of His divine Singularity—that Fire which shone forth upon Moses, son of ʿImran, from the Sinai of recognition. Today the True One, exalted be His glory, watches over His servants and handmaidens, and at all times has He remembered them all with a remembrance whose standards shall ere long be raised throughout the world and whose banners shall wave triumphant upon the highest flags. Verily, He loves His servants and handmaidens.
Jalal has mentioned most of the friends, and each has been blessed with the lights of the lamp of reformation. We convey Our greetings and salutations to all the friends, and We bid them all to patience, steadfastness, love and affection. The purpose is that this span of earth be illumined with the light of love and that the differences of the peoples be transformed into unity.
With this supreme triumph and manifestation in view, We have borne hardships and have heard from every heedless one that which caused the Kingdom of utterance to lament. O people of God! Be not grieved. Ere long will God, exalted be His glory, adorn the embodiments of oppression with the raiment of justice and the temples of tyranny with the ornament of equity. Verily, He has power over all things.
Some time ago We made mention, and continue to make mention, of Mulla Shafi’ and certain other friends. They have ever been and shall ever remain remembered. The absence of names has been and continues to be a requirement of wisdom. Each has received, through His grace and favor, the greatest portion from the ocean of divine verses. We testify that they have attained unto that for which God created His servants. We beseech the True One on behalf of all, that they may prove worthy to preserve this most exalted station and most glorious rank. Well is it with them and happy their lot!
O My handmaiden! Thy letter contained mention of the handmaidens of God, Mardiyyih and Samadiyyih. We make mention of them and send Our greetings to them from this Most Great Scene, and We give them the glad-tidings of God’s loving-kindness, the Lord of destiny. We beseech God to give them to drink of His most pure Kawthar. Verily, He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.
BH02545: In My Name which standeth above all names!
In My Name which standeth above all names!
This is a Book sent down by the Creator of the heavens and the Possessor of all things. He calleth all unto this most exalted station and this most glorious Paradise wherein the Most Great Throne hath been established through this Name, by which the hearts of the nations were stirred except for those who turned unto the Kaaba of God, detached from all who are in the heavens and the earth.
O thou who hast migrated, hear the call from the Prison of Akka—it will draw thee nigh unto God, the One, the All-Informed. Thou didst attain unto My verses before, and at this time as well, as a grace from My presence. Verily thy Lord is the All-Bountiful, the Generous.
O Muhammad, grieve not because of the world and its vicissitudes. Hold fast unto this Cord, through whose movement all created things were moved. Blessed is the servant who hath witnessed and seen, and woe unto the heedless.
We bear witness that thou didst forsake thy homeland and didst seek the most exalted homeland beneath the canopy of the grandeur of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Powerful. Thou didst advance and turn thy face until thou didst arrive before the Countenance and didst hear the call of the Wronged One from His lofty station. Blessed art thou for having sought the ultimate goal and for having drunk the choice wine of grace from the hand of the bounty of thy Lord, the Lord of all beings. Verily He is the Compassionate, the Generous.
Remind My loved ones in the lands on My behalf and illumine them with the light of My beauteous remembrance. Say: O people of God! Adversity and affliction have befallen you in His path, and ye have heard for love of Him what no ears of men have heard before. The Tongue of Grandeur beareth witness to this from this luminous horizon. Say: Beware lest the affairs of men grieve you or the might of those who have denied the Day of Judgment frighten you. Turn with your hearts unto the Kaaba of God, the Lord of the worlds. Thus have We set forth the verses and sent them unto Our loved ones, that their fragrances might attract them and draw them nigh unto the One, the All-Informed.
Verily thou, O Muhammad, hast heard the call of the Wronged One and hast drunk His sealed wine in His Name, the Self-Subsisting, and hast attained unto that which was recorded in the Books of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.
Rejoice in this remembrance and say: Praise be unto Thee, O my God, my Lord and my Support, for having guided me unto a station honored by Thy footsteps, wherein Thy call was raised and the sun of Thy grace shone forth from the horizon of Thy will. I bear witness that Thou hast manifested what was hidden from all eyes and concealed in the knowledge of God, the Possessor of this wondrous Day. O my Lord! I beseech Thee by the power of Thy most exalted Word and Thy sovereignty which hath encompassed all things, to ordain for me and those with me what Thou hast ordained for those of Thy servants who are nigh unto Thee and those of Thy creation who are sincere. Then send down upon us from the heaven of Thy bounty a mercy from Thy presence and a blessing from Thy side. Verily Thou art the Generous. There is no God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
BH02650: O thou who gazest upon the Countenance! On this…
In His Name, through Whom the Hour and its signs have appeared!
O thou who gazest upon the Countenance! On this day the Tree of the uttermost boundary is manifest before the faces of humanity, laden with countless fruits, and the waves of the ocean of utterance are visible and present at the axis of contingent being. Nevertheless, the perverse ones and the barking dogs have arisen in denial and are occupied with rejection and protest. Say: Be fair, by God, and follow not those who have denied God’s proof and His evidence, and who pronounced judgment against the Dawning-Place of His verses and the Herald of His Cause in the land of Ta. By the life of God! The dwellers of the highest Paradise and the exalted Garden have bewailed their deeds, as have those who circle round the Throne at eventide and at dawn.
Say: O people of the Bayan! Follow not that party, and deliver yourselves from the obstructing and intervening smoke. Leave unto themselves what they possess, and take what the seas and their waves have confessed, and the suns and their effulgences, and the moons and their lights, and the trees and their leaves and fruits, and the earth and its treasures and its rivers. Thus doth the Ancient Beauty and the Most Great Name teach you—He Who hath spoken and continues to speak. The Promise hath come, and the Promised One proclaimeth: “That which was hidden in hearts and minds hath appeared, and that which was inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen of God.” Blessed is he who hath recognized and found and turned towards Him and hath said: “Praise be unto Thee, O Thou in Whose grasp is the reins of existence! There is none other God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the Commander, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the Powerful.”
We beseech God to aid thee to assist His Cause through such wisdom and utterance as hath been sent down from the Pen of God in the Tablets. Praise the Desired One of the world Who hath mentioned thee with such mention as shall not be effaced through any assault and shall endure forever. Thus have We set forth the verses and sent them unto thee that thou mayest thank thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Bountiful. Convey My greetings to the loved ones. We beseech God to grant success that all may arise to assist His Cause with pure piety and complete detachment. In truth, the servants of the earth have been brought from nothingness into being specifically for this most great bounty. Blessed is the soul that hath drunk from the choice wine of utterance and attained to the will of God, exalted be His glory. The glory shining forth from the horizon of the heaven of My mercy be upon thee and upon thy wife and upon those with thee, and upon every male servant who hath heard and turned towards Him, and upon every maidservant who hath heard and turned towards Him and attained unto this Mighty Announcement and this Manifest Command.
BH02615: Glorified be God! In this hour the effulgences…
In His Name, the Protector over all names!
Glorified be God! In this hour the effulgences of the mercy of the Lord of the Worlds have dawned from the most exalted horizon, illumining the darkened world with the light of divine favor. Yet the eyes of those who manifest self and passion, tyranny and corruption remain deprived of witnessing it, and their ears are barred from the warbling of the birds circling round the Throne. How excellent is that power which breaks the chains of idle fancy through the Most Self-Subsisting Name and rends asunder the veils of vain imaginings through the Name of the Lord of all beings, which passes beyond all else save God through the light of detachment and makes for the depths of the ocean of oneness.
O people of God! Some among the servants have been observed to be of such frail character that, like clods of earth, they fall apart at the slightest moisture.
O ʿAli-Qabli-Naqi, upon thee be My glory! He who beareth My Name, upon him be My loving-kindness, forwarded thy letter to the Most Holy Court. The fragrance of the love of the Desired One wafted from it. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who hath clung to My firm cord, detached from all the worlds.
Whenever through divine power the pavilion of glory was raised up and the lights of the manifestation of Him Who conversed on Sinai shone forth, a swarm of flies emerged from the thickets of hatred and set about undermining the Cause. Reflect upon God’s concealment and patience, and likewise upon the greed and avarice of the antagonists and opponents. One who received the utmost kindness from the friends of the Cause arose in opposition and united with his own kind, busying himself with plundering possessions on the day of reckoning, selling the Joseph of trust for a few counted dirhams. He showed no mercy either to himself or to the Cause of God. Glory be to God! The deniers of the Bayan are still consumed by the fire of hatred. At the instigation of those treacherous souls they have arisen to commit betrayal.
Say: Praise be to Thee, O my God, and thanks be to Thee, O my Desire, for having kept the hems of Thy loved ones pure from the dust of treachery, lying and calumny. I beseech Thee, O King of the kings of the kingdoms of justice and fairness, by Thy command through which the lights of bounties and favors were made manifest, to make me steadfast in Thy love and a drinker of the choice wine of Thy revelation in every one of Thy days. O Lord! Take my hand with the hand of Thy grace, then open before my face the doors of Thy generosity and riches. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. The calumnies of Thy servants harm Thee not, nor do the descriptions of Thy creatures profit Thee. Thou doest what Thou willest through Thy power and ordainest what Thou desirest through Thy will. There is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Unconstrained.
BH02643: O son of My name, O Husayn! Upon you…
He is the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful
O son of My name, O Husayn! Upon you both be My glory and My loving-kindness. A letter whose sender was ʿInayatu’llah hath reached the Most Holy Court. Praise be to God, the fragrance of love and devotion was wafted from it. Today the ocean of loving-kindness is surging and the Sun of generosity is shining. In every moment there hath been and continueth to be sent down from the heaven of divine loving-kindness that which mankind is powerless and incapable to reckon, inasmuch as in every letter lie hidden mysteries and in every word an ocean is treasured. Blessed is the soul that hath in this divine Day attained unto that which is the cause and source of everlasting remembrance.
O ʿInayat! Upon thee be My glory, and upon thy father and mother, and upon thy paternal uncles and aunts. I testify that ye turned towards the Most Sublime Horizon in the earliest days and were blessed with the sprinklings of the ocean of His bounty. We beseech God to give you to drink, from the hand of His bestowals, the cup of steadfastness, lest ye be made to slip by the doubts of any denier, or the onslaught of any opposer, or the tyranny of any oppressor, or the veils of those who have denied the Day of Judgment.
O ʿAttar! Praise be to God, time and again, repeatedly hast thou been blessed with the mention and verses of the Most Exalted Pen. Convey My greetings to all the members of that household. They have all been and continue to be remembered. In these days the Trusted One hath repeatedly made mention of the loved ones and leaves of that household, and mention of each one hath issued forth and been manifested from the tongue of grandeur. Rejoice and say: Praise be to Thee, O God of the world! Then give thanks and say: Thine is the bounty, O Lord of all names! Then prostrate thyself and say: Glory be to Thee, O Glory of those who are in the heavens and on earth!
O son of My name, O Husayn! Upon thee be My glory. Make mention of the Truth on behalf of His loved ones and say: My God, my God! Aid Thy loved ones to make mention of Thee and to praise Thee, to serve Thy Cause and to stand firm in their love for Thee. Adorn their deeds with the glory of Thy acceptance and the light of Thy good-pleasure. O my Lord! Nothing is hidden from Thy knowledge, and neither the power of the world nor the might of the nations can frustrate Thee. I beseech Thee by the lights of Thy countenance and by Thy sovereignty that dominateth all who are in Thy earth and heaven, to preserve them from the evil of Thine enemies, to send down upon them from the clouds of Thy mercy a blessing from Thee, and to ordain for them that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones. Verily Thou art the Lord of the world and the Omnipotent over what Thou willest through Thy mighty and wondrous word.
BH02607: A remembrance from Us to one who has turned…
In the Name of God, the Manifest, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise
A remembrance from Us to one who has turned to the horizon from which has shone forth the Luminary of God’s utterance, the Lord of the worlds—through which the ocean of knowledge has surged in creation and the heaven of proof has been adorned with the stars of certitude. Exalted is God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
O Mir Aqa! Hearken unto the call from the direction of Akka. By God, ears were created to hear it. Blessed is he who has attained, and woe unto every heedless one, far removed. Say: Verily the eye was created for the Greatest Vision, and the heart for turning toward the direction of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Is there one possessed of such steadfastness that names prevent him not from the Creator of heaven, nor do the hosts of the oppressors frighten him? Break the idols of the peoples through this Most Great Name, which has come from the horizon of power with a sovereignty that has conquered all who are in the heavens and on earth. The Trustworthy One has mentioned you; We make mention of you in this Clear Tablet, from whose horizon has shone forth that which has attracted the hearts of the mystics.
And mention of Jalil and those with him, whom We have mentioned in verses through which God has conquered the cities of the hearts of the lovers. O Jalil! Give thanks unto God for having revealed unto thee that whose remembrance, fragrance, name and spirit shall never cease to endure, by the everlastingness of God, the King, the Just, the Powerful, the Mighty. Counsel My loved ones to be so steadfast that neither the name of the Prophet, nor the mention of the Successor, nor the names of the Noble One and the Chief, nor the Cords and the Pillars shall prevent them. Thus has the matter been decreed from the presence of an All-Wise Commander. Say: This is the Day of God wherein mention of aught else beseemeth not, if ye be of them that understand. This is the Revelation that the knowledge of none has encompassed—to this testify the Books of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. He is the One Whom God’s Messengers have heralded. When He took His seat upon the throne, the Primal Point prostrated himself saying: “Verily, I am the first of them that worship.” Thus have We set forth the verses and sent them unto thee that thou mayest be of the thankful ones.
The Glory be upon thee and upon thy son. Give him the glad-tidings of My loving-kindness, remind him of My verses, and illumine him with the lights of thy Lord’s face, the Dawning One, the Gracious. Say: My God, my God! Aid me to be steadfast in Thy Cause and illumine my heart with the light of Thy knowledge. Then send down upon me that which will make me firm and steadfast in Thy love. O my Lord! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I have believed in Thee and in Thy verses and in what Thou hast revealed in Thy Books and Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets. I beseech Thee by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty to aid me in serving Thee and serving Thy loved ones. Verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Most Generous. There is none other God but Thee, the Goal in both beginning and end.
BH02620: ʿAyn, Lam. Upon thee be the Glory of God…
He is the Expositor, the All-Knowing!
ʿAyn, Lam. Upon thee be the Glory of God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, and His peace by night and by day. His honor Niyaz Effendi, upon him be the peace of God and His loving-kindness, hath arrived. All that was witnessed with the eye of truth showed that he had entirely made himself a suppliant at the Court of the Self-Sufficing, and had adorned himself with the outpourings of the All-Bountiful Lord. The Wronged One testifieth that he hath taken the Kawthar of meeting from the hands of bounty and hath drunk thereof in the name of God, Lord of all men, despite every ignorant remote one and every doubting mischief-maker. Mention of him hath repeatedly been made, and a station hath been sought for him from the Most Holy Court. Therefore the heavenly table of utterance, the bounty of recognition, and the fruits of certitude have been sent down from the heaven of the loving-kindness of the Goal of all the worlds. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to aid him in this world with the hosts of wisdom and utterance, and in the next with whatsoever hath been ordained in the Most Exalted Paradise for the companions of the Crimson Ark.
The sweet savors of His love are diffused in every time, and in every day he hath attained the presence time after time, and in each time We showed him the pearls of wisdom and utterance that were hidden in the treasuries of knowledge. It is hoped that all the friends will become assured of holding fast to that which preserveth those who believe in divine unity from the oppression of the idolaters. All must today beseech the True One to preserve the cities of the believers through the hosts of the seen and the unseen. Verily He hath power over all things. Every day they have conquered some portion of the earth. Justice and fairness have vanished from the world and the oppressors of the age are ablaze with the fire of greed and passion. This is a blessed day—all, that is to say the people of unity, must unite and cling to the hem of the robe of divine grace and seek preservation and deliverance. He is the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.
Convey greetings from the Wronged One to the friends in that land. For each one We seek bounty and blessing and wealth and glory. Verily God is the Mighty, the Powerful, the All-Bountiful. Let His honor Mihdi, upon him be the peace of God and His grace, turn [his attention], for a group of them have sought assistance and requested to meet with him. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to grant him the meeting with His friends in the ʿAyn and the Shin. Verily He is the Hearer, the Answerer. Peace and glory be upon thee and upon the friends of God and His loved ones who have turned unto Him and heard His call and recognized His path and acted according to what they were commanded in His perspicuous Book.
BH02582: Praise be to God Who sent down His proof…
He is the Dawning from the Horizon of the Heaven of Utterance
Praise be to God Who sent down His proof and made manifest His path and summoned the people to His most exalted horizon from which shone forth the Sun of Utterance and appeared that which was hidden in the treasuries of protection and preservation. Exalted, exalted be His dominion and exalted, exalted be His glory and power. And benediction and peace and glorification and splendor be upon the Hands of His Cause who have traveled through the lands to exalt His Word and elevate His Cause, whom God hath made lamps of guidance among His creatures and from whom have flowed rivers of wisdom and utterance amidst all religions. Then peace whose fragrance shall not cease to endure throughout the kingdom of God, the Lord of all worlds.
O Mushkin! Upon thee be the Glory of God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment. The letter sent from the direction of S reached the Most Holy Court and one of the Branches who is named Badi’ presented it all and it attained the honor of being heard. Well is it with its sender. Praise be to God, your kinfolk are enkindled with the fire of divine love. We beseech God not to deprive any of them, whether female or male, from the ocean of bounty and heaven of grace, and to send down upon them from the clouds of His generosity that which will draw them near unto Him and make them among those whom the doubts of the world and the signs of the nations have not prevented from God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.
And as for what you mentioned regarding the leaf of Tuba, this matter depends upon the consent of both parties and the approval of the parents. And if his honor S, upon him be My glory and loving-kindness and mercy, so desires, it shall attain the honor of approval. It is most clear and evident that for that leaf the aforementioned one is suitable and desirable. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to assist all to do what He loves and is pleased with, and to ordain for them in His days that through which the fragrance of grace and bounty may waft throughout the realm of creation.
O Mushkin! Mention of the aforementioned one, upon him be My glory, hath been revealed in Tablets before from the Supreme Pen. We beseech God to open before his face the gates of grace and riches and to send down upon him from the heaven of generosity the rains of glory and bounty. Verily He is the One with power over whatsoever He willeth through His command “Be” and it is. Likewise your kinfolk are mentioned before the Wronged One. We beseech God to assist them through His sovereignty and to aid them with the means of earth and heaven. Verily He is the Lord of humanity and the Lord of the throne on high and of the dust below. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Powerful.
BH02627: This is a Book sent down in truth…
In the Name of Him Who is the Supreme Ruler over all names!
This is a Book sent down in truth on this Day unto him who hath believed in God, the Supreme Ruler, the Self-Subsisting, that the rapture of its utterance may so seize him that no one shall be able to deter him from the path of God, the Lord of all existence. We have indeed expounded the mysteries of the Book and revealed that which lay hidden in the knowledge of God, whereunto bear witness His favored servants. Among the people are those who have perceived the sweet savors of revelation and turned towards it, and those who have turned away, and those who have pronounced against Me that which hath caused the dwellers of the cities of justice to lament and tears to flow from their eyes.
Know thou then that My Name is upon thee, and My loving-kindness hath remembered thee. Thou didst send thy letter unto the Wronged One, and We have read it and made mention of thee, that thou mayest rejoice and render thanks. He, verily, is the Mighty, the Glorious, the All-Forgiving. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to aid thee to serve His Cause, to enable thee to voice His praise, to give thee to drink from the river of His mercy, and to send down upon thee that which shall gladden the hearts and souls. Grieve thou not at anything. Place thy trust at all times in the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. The wolves have encompassed Us from every side. The command is in God’s hands, the Lord of the past and future. Neither the arrows of the enemies nor the swords of those who have disbelieved in God, the Lord of all existence, can withhold the glory of Baha.
Say: My God, my God! Praise be to Thee for having guided me, and all bounty be Thine for having given me to drink, and all glory be to Thee for having called me, and all thanksgiving be unto Thee for having remembered me, and all generosity be Thine for having made me to know Thee, and all grace be Thine for having taught me, and all favor be unto Thee for having caused me to hear and to behold Thy signs, Thy Book, and the Kawthar of Thy utterance. O my Lord! Thou beholdest me detached from all else but Thee and clinging unto Thee. Ordain for me that which shall draw me nigh unto Thee and profit me in every world of Thy worlds. O my Lord! Withhold me not from the ocean of Thy bounty nor from the Daystar of Thy Revelation. Thou art, verily, powerful to do what Thou willest through Thy might which hath encompassed those who are in the heavens and on earth.
As to what thou hast mentioned regarding thy service to My leaf and My handmaiden, upon her be My glory, this is a deed from which the fragrance of acceptance hath been wafted. I give thanks unto God for this manifest favor. We make mention of him who hath been named Muhammad-i-Qabli-Javad and give him the glad-tidings of God’s loving-kindness, the Lord of all worlds. By the life of God! My remembrance excelleth the treasures of the earth and all that the kings and rulers possess. His station shall erelong be made manifest in the worlds of God, the Lord of this glorious and noble station. The glory of God rest upon you, O people of God! Blessed are ye and they who have heard mention of you in this mighty Remembrance. Praise be to God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
BH02663: Praise be to God Who sent the Messengers…
He is God, exalted be His station, the Greatness and the Power!
Praise be to God Who sent the Messengers and revealed the Books for the guidance of His creation, to draw them nigh unto the court of His glory, to cause them to hold fast to the cord of His bounty, and to turn them toward the lights of His countenance. He it is Who made manifest the Way and sent down the Proof, and commanded all to perform such deeds as would elevate their stations and ranks in His earth. Verily He is the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous.
And blessings and peace be upon the Mystery of existence and the Ocean of bounty, the One Who oversees what was and what will be, through Whom God joined the Kaf and the Nun, and through Whom appeared what was hidden and concealed from hearts and eyes. And upon His family and companions, the fountains of wisdom and utterance and the oceans of mercy and knowledge, through whom were raised the banners of triumph and victory and every hidden matter was revealed, and through whom the clouds rained down and rivers flowed and mysteries were unveiled and the call was raised between earth and heaven: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Overseer, the Self-Subsisting!”
Thy letter hath come before the Wronged One. We have mentioned thee in such wise as to attract hearts. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to ordain for thee every good thing He hath ordained for His chosen ones, and to write down for thee that which shall endure as long as His names endure. Verily He is powerful over what He willeth, and He is the Single, the One, the Mighty, the All-Loving.
Convey My greetings to the loved ones. God, exalted be His glory, is witness and testifier that the mention of you and the loved ones in the presence of the Wronged One hath been and is the cause of joy and gladness. We beseech God to spread through you the fame of justice, trustworthiness and steadfastness. Verily He is the One Who spreadeth, Who commandeth, the Ruler, the Ancient of Days.
Convey My greetings to Abdu’l-Ali. We beseech God to assist him and bestow His blessings upon him. The letter from his brother was read before the Wronged One and was heard, and its answer was graciously given. As in these days many petitions have arrived from that land, wisdom hath decreed that the answer to Ali and his son, who hath spoken in praise of God and His loved ones, be sent together with the answers to the petitions from that region; therefore it was sent. Let Abdu’l-ʿAli, upon him be God’s peace, be assured. Peace be upon you and upon those who love you and upon God’s sincere servants. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.
BH02711: O Ibn-i-Asdaq! Upon thee be My glory and My…
He is the Manifest, the Resplendent, the One Who standeth before all men
O Ibn-i-Asdaq! Upon thee be My glory and My loving-kindness. We have heard the call of those who have been set ablaze with the fire of the love of God and who have arisen to serve His Cause with a clear covenant and firm pledge. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to aid them with the hosts of wisdom and utterance and to confirm them in that which will exalt His Cause. Verily, He is the Omnipotent over what He willeth. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Bestower.
Blessed is the spot which hath been honored at the beginning of Ridvan with the mention of its Lord, the All-Merciful, the Lord of all religions. Praise be to God that despite the turning away of the world and the blindness of the nations, the Hands of the Cause of God are arising with complete dedication to serve the Cause, and are, despite the enemies, drinking from the Kawthar of eternity in the Most Great Name.
O loved ones of God! Through your gathering and your love on His Day, the Primal Point smiled in the highest Paradise and said:
“Well is it with you, O people of Baha! Ye are they who have fulfilled My Covenant and My Pledge. I bear witness that ye are the pearls of the shells of the ocean of utterance and the waves of the sea of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Blessed is the house honored by your footsteps wherein was raised the mention of My Beloved and your Beloved. I glory in the Supreme Paradise in your existence, your love, your gathering and your steadfastness. Blessed is the master of the house who hath arisen amidst all peoples to serve God, the Lord of Days.”
At this time, his honor Ism-i-Rida, upon him be My glory and loving-kindness, by command and on behalf of the steadfast souls, set out for the Holy Place and at the end of the day attained to the presence and was adorned with acceptance. My God, My God! I beseech Thee by the mysteries hidden in Thy verses and by the lights shining from the horizon of Thy manifestation, to ordain for each one of the Hands of Thy Cause that which will enable them to raise the standards of Thy guidance among Thy creatures and the banners of Thy victory in Thy lands. O my Lord! Thou seest them turning to Thee and holding fast to the cord of Thy loving-kindness.
These are servants whom Thou hast mentioned in Thy Books, Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets. Thou art He Who, O my God, hath exalted Thy Cause to such heights that thoughts are bewildered thereby and the limbs of the evil ones tremble. There is no city but hath been illumined with the lights of Thy mention. I beseech Thee, O Lord of Names and Creator of heaven, by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the cities of the earth and illumined the hearts of Thy servants, to aid them in all conditions to act in a manner befitting Thy days and Thy Manifestation, and worthy of Thy greatness and Thy sovereignty. There is no God but Thee, the Single, the One, the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
BH02755: The Epistle of God, the Help-in-Peril, the Self-Subsisting
In the Name of Him through Whom the ocean of true understanding has surged in creation!
Exalted is the Ancient One, the Lord of great bounty! Exalted is the All-Powerful, the Lord of resplendent light! Exalted is the Generous One, the Lord of wise command! Exalted is the All-Glorious, the Lord of bounty and bestowal! And exalted is the Lord of Names, the One possessed of supreme grace!
O My Afnan! Upon thee be My glory, My loving-kindness and My mercy, which have preceded existence both seen and unseen. Reflect upon the tribulations of the Wronged One. A soul whom We sheltered for years beneath the canopies of grandeur and the shade of the Tree of loving providence has risen up in such opposition as hath neither precedent nor equal. By order of the King of Iran We proceeded to Iraq. After some time Our brother arrived there, and later, by decree of the Sublime State, We proceeded to the Land of Mystery. We observed that he had gone to Mosul and was awaiting Our arrival. Wherever We went, he came also. Later it became known that he had written to Hadi of Dawlat-Abad denying his own journeys and presence.
Glory be to God! He had suffered not a single blow in this Cause. Now he has united with one like unto himself, Shaykh Muhammad, and likewise with the son of Mulla Ja’far and Aqa Khan and two others, and every day they cling to new calumnies. Praise be to God Who hath revealed that which was hidden, that the manifestations of justice and fairness might become aware. Yet the Wronged One remaineth established in a Cause that all the hosts of earth and heaven cannot withstand, and uttereth His word with a power that the ranks of enemies cannot weaken.
We beseech God to aid thee to achieve that which befitteth His Day. O My Afnan! Be not grieved at what hath come to pass. Occupy thyself with teaching the Cause with spirit and fragrance, with wisdom and utterance. This beseemeth thy station, and God is witness to what I say.
The Most Great Branch, upon him be the glory of God, hath mentioned thee repeatedly. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to ordain for him and for thee that which shall endure as long as His kingdom, His dominion, His might and His sovereignty endure. Verily, He is powerful over all things. The glory shining from the horizon of the heaven of My loving-kindness be upon thee and upon those who are with thee and who love thee and hearken to thy word concerning this most holy, most manifest, most pure, most mighty, most great Cause.
BH02810: O thou who hast turned to God, thy Lord…
He is God, exalted be He in bounties and favors!
O thou who hast turned to God, thy Lord, the All-Merciful, who circlest round the Kaaba of divine knowledge and uttereth His praise amidst the religions! Hearken unto the call of the Wronged One. He remembereth thee with that which will draw thee nigh unto God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Thou hast ever been mentioned on the carpet of captivity in this land, and thy works are witnessed, thy poetry remembered, and thy praise heard. We beseech God to aid and assist thee in that which is conducive to the guidance of His servants.
Praise be to God, His Majesty Sultan Abdul-Hamid—may God, blessed and exalted be He, strengthen him—is personally occupied day and night with improving the affairs of his subjects and kingdom. Thou knowest and hast known that he hath never compromised with anyone, and whatsoever hath proceeded from his pen and tongue is the undoubted truth. In all matters and affairs, under the leadership of His Majesty the Sultan, the carpet of consultation is spread, and without regard for rank or station he hath judged and continueth to judge with justice. Therefore all must supplicate the King of existence and the Lord of the seen and unseen for his protection. In truth he is the pride of most sovereigns.
Some among this people practice what is forbidden in God’s Book and abandon what is commanded therein. During the days of Ashura, this Wronged One was occupied with commemorating the tribulation of the Prince of Martyrs, yet some cling to other practices, and this is a grievous error and a forbidden act. Although this people believe that the Imams—God’s blessings be upon them—have risen from their graves, yet other groups, from the Shaykhis to those above them and the Fourth Pillar and the rest of the Shi’ih, all deny this matter. This is why every year in the month of Muharram strife ariseth and the fire of hatred is kindled. In most Tablets We have forbidden the servants from contention, conflict, corruption and whatsoever causeth grief to existence. Nevertheless there hath appeared that which causeth sorrow to those near and sincere. Verily He speaketh the truth and guideth the way, and He is the Single, the One, the Mighty, the Beautiful.
In truth, excessive hardship hath befallen thee in the path of God, the Lord of all beings, yet in His love deadly poison is the ultimate desire. We beseech God to guide all and illumine them with the lights of justice and fairness. Verily He is powerful over all things.
BH02815: O Abdullah! Upon thee be the peace of God…
He is the All-Seeing, the All-Informed
O Abdullah! Upon thee be the peace of God and His mercy. Praise be to God, thou art remembered before the face of the Wronged One and hast attained unto His bounty. It is hoped that the light of unity may illumine that land and its horizons, and that those who believe in the oneness of God may hold fast unto that which is conducive to the exaltation of the Word and the light of unity and the extinguishing of the fire of misbelief. Convey the greetings of the Wronged One to the loved ones of that land. We counsel all to perform pure and holy deeds. Some among the Babis have grown exceedingly indolent. They must hold fast unto the Law of God.
In this land all are acting according to it, fasting during the blessed month of Ramadan for the sake of God and offering prayers in obedience to His command. All in these regions and those regions must act in accordance with that which is the primary cause of the drawing nigh of people and the supreme reason for their turning to the Most Exalted Horizon. Say: My God, my God! Aid Thy servants who believe in Thy unity through the hosts of wisdom and utterance, then preserve them through Thy power and authority, then cause them to enter the fortress of Thy providence and ordain for them every good thing Thou hast sent down in Thy Book. Verily, Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous.
We make mention at this time of him who is named Habib—upon him be the peace of God and His loving-kindness—that he may rejoice and be among those who are assured and thankful. O Habib! We have mentioned thee before and sent it to another place. We beseech God to strengthen thee in all circumstances and to assist thee in that which He loveth and approveth.
Ye made mention of the souls of Mandali. This Wronged One once passed through that land. Their inner reality contradicteth their outer appearance. Verily thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. In any case, the loved ones of God must hold fast unto deeds and unto such conduct as hath been revealed in the Books from the Pen of the All-Wise. A servant without deeds is like a tree without fruit. We counsel all to trustworthiness, religiosity, chastity and faithfulness. We beseech God to assist all in that which He loveth and approveth and to ordain for them that which will solace their eyes and bring tranquility to their souls. Verily He is the Mighty, the All-Bestowing. Convey greetings to all the kindred, both male and female. We beseech God to preserve them and ordain for them that which will draw them near in all circumstances. Verily He is the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted. Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings.
BH02816: O ʿAbdu’llah! Upon thee be the peace of God…
In the Name of Him Who shineth from the horizon of the heaven of utterance!
O ʿAbdu’llah! Upon thee be the peace of God and His praise! From every quarter have appeared manifestations of rancor and sources of hatred, even though until now they have not attained their purpose and remain deprived of the Kawthar of utterance which is the cause of eternal life and the source of everlasting existence. They have cast aside truth and its sovereignty and have taken hold of idle fancy and its traces. Had the people recognized God’s purpose in this Most Great Revelation, they would have circled round it and acted upon that which hath appeared from Him and been sent down from the heaven of His will.
O ʿAbdu’llah! The servant in attendance submitted thy petition and it attained the honor of being heard. The Most Great Branch sent Ibn-i-Abhar’s letter to the Most Great Horizon. God willing, it shall receive its answer. Verily God is the All-Bountiful, the All-Generous. We beseech God to aid him with the hosts of utterance for the triumph of this Great Announcement.
We received the letter of Jinab-i-Samandar and its perusal and reading revealed that which is the cause of supreme kindness and infinite favors. Well is it with him and may it bring him joy! Soon shall God’s consummate wisdom in what He hath manifested become apparent unto him. Verily He loveth him who loveth Him and doth not suffer to be lost the reward of the doers of good.
The servant present submitted what Qasim uttered in remembrance of God, His praise, His glory and His splendor. We have heard his call and have answered him with this perspicuous Book. We beseech God to strengthen him and My loved ones there in trustworthiness, chastity and fidelity, despite those who have made treachery their way, whom We testify are among the heedless.
O Qasim! I am encompassed by manifestations of enmity and treachery and hosts of calumny and hatred. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to aid His servants unto pure truthfulness and enable them to turn in repentance and return unto Him. Verily He is the Oft-Returning, the All-Generous.
O people of God! Be not grieved by the deeds of those who have denied the Day of Judgment. Say: O our God and our Lord! Thou seest us in the hands of Thy tyrannical servants. We beseech Thee by the sovereignty of the Names and by the Call which hath been raised between earth and heaven to protect us from the evil of Thy tyrannical servants who have shed the blood of Thy loved ones and cast aside Thy Book and violated Thy Covenant and disputed Thy proof. O Lord! Aid His Majesty the Sultan to assist the oppressed that he may protect them from the evil of their enemies. Verily Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest and Thou art the Mighty, the All-Conquering, the All-Powerful.