Volume 105: Akka 1868–1892 year unknown, Part III (1 of 4)

BH01495: This is the Day whereon the Book speaketh, wherein…

In the Name of Him Who is the Lord of the earth and heaven!

This is the Day whereon the Book speaketh, wherein the Sun discourseth, and wherein the Moon proclaimeth:

“Dominion belongeth unto God, the Lord of the Throne and of the dust! Glory be to God, the Lord of all creation! And sovereignty is God’s, the Lord of both the past and future!”

Blessed is he who hath turned unto Him, and joy be unto him who hath hearkened, and woe betide every heedless doubter and every remote ignorant one.

O peoples of the earth! Hearken unto the Call from the Most Exalted Horizon. Verily, it draweth you unto a station whereon the Throne of God, the Lord of all worlds, hath been established. We have sent down the verses and manifested the evidences, yet most of the people are wandering distraught.

O concourse of loved ones in Rustaq and its surroundings! Hear ye the Call from the Prison of Akka. Verily, it hath been raised between earth and heaven, and it is the Sealed Wine which hath appeared and flowed forth through My Name, the Self-Subsisting, and it is the Salsabil of divine knowledge for all creation, and the Symbol of Oneness amidst humanity. Blessed is he who hath turned and partaken and drunk through this Name, whereby the limbs of the heedless have trembled.

O My loved ones there! Cast aside vain imaginings and their manifestations, idols and their likes, and conjectures and their sources. Thus have We revealed the Cause and sent down that which hath attracted the hearts of those who are nigh unto God.

O concourse of loved ones! Can any among you cast behind him all names and set aside all that the people possess, turning unto the Kaaba of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy? Say: Nay, by Thy very Self, except through Thy might and power and sovereignty which have encompassed the first and the last.

O thou who art present before the Face and who drinketh the wine of revelation! Give glad tidings unto My loved ones of My remembrance, My loving-kindness, and My mercy which have preceded all things. Verily their Lord, the All-Merciful, is the Compassionate, the Generous One. He loveth His loved ones and remembereth them with that which shall cause their names, deeds, and remembrances to endure in the Books of God, the Goal of all who know.

O Mas’ud! Upon thee be the Glory of God, the Mighty, the Loving. We bear witness that thou hast attained the ultimate goal and hast appeared before the Face, and hast witnessed the signs from their Dawning-Place and their Revealer, and the evidences from their Source. Know thou the station of this testimony which hath descended from the heaven of bounty as a favor from Him unto thee. Blessed is he who hath attained unto that which hath been revealed from the Lord of the Mighty Throne.

This is a Book that guideth mankind unto the Most Great Path and draweth them nigh unto the All-Knowing, the One. Say: O people! Take hold of the Book of God with His strength in such wise that neither all worldly things prevent you, nor the cawing of the cawers who have cast the Most Great Sea behind them, clinging to their own vain imaginings. Verily, they are among the most lost.

In this Book which speaketh before the faces of the servants, manifestation belongeth unto God, the Powerful, the Mighty. Read thou the Tablet unto My loved ones, then send it unto him who hath soared in My atmosphere and drunk the wine of reunion from the hand of My bounty, whom We have named in the Book as Javan-i-Ruhani. Upon him be the everlasting Glory of God, that his eyes may be solaced by witnessing the traces of his Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

O Ruhani! Sorrows have encompassed Us, and there hath appeared from those who claimed to love Me and to hold fast unto My cord that which hath caused the Most Exalted Paradise to lament, and every fair-minded, clear-sighted one. Thy letter hath come before the Wronged One and hath attained the glances of favor, as attesteth that which hath flowed from My mighty and wondrous Pen. Thy remembrance hath not ceased from My Most Great Prison. We have mentioned thee and have revealed for thee in the Tablets that which hath attracted the hearts of the sincere ones. We recall the days when thou wert present before the Face and didst hear the Call of God, the Lord of the worlds. The Wronged One, under the swords of the enemies, calleth thee and remembereth thee. Know thou the station of this bounty and be of the thankful ones.

We have been with thee in all conditions when thou wert speaking this wise Remembrance whereby the limbs of every remote misbeliever have trembled. Say: O people! By God! Through His remembrance the world hath been perfumed, and through His arising the people have arisen to serve God, the All-Knowing, the Wise. Grieve not over anything, but trust in God, the Almighty, the Powerful. Blessed is the house wherein My remembrance is raised, and the place honored by the hearkening of My verses, and the heart that hath turned unto this luminous horizon. We have mentioned those with thee, both before and after, and We mention them at this time with verses that equal not the books of the people nor the treasuries of kings and rulers. Blessed is the ear that hath heard thy mention in this Great Announcement. Convey My remembrance, then deliver unto them what hath been sent down from the heaven of thy Lord, the Ancient Sender.

BH01481: To be typed

To be typed.

BH01519: A remembrance from Us unto him who hath sought…

He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

A remembrance from Us unto him who hath sought the Most Exalted Station and traversed land and sea until he arrived at the luminous Dome, the Station wherein was raised the call of the Lord of Names and the Creator of Heaven. By the life of God! He entered and attained unto that which was recorded in the Books and inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen in the Scriptures and Tablets. O Ahmad! Give thanks unto God for having aided thee and prospered thee and granted thee His presence, which nothing in the Kingdom or in the Realm of Might can equal. To this testifieth the Tongue of the All-Merciful in the Kingdom of Utterance.

We bear witness that thou wast present and didst hear and recognize that which most of the servants were prevented from recognizing. We have revealed for each one whom thou didst mention in the presence of the Countenance a Tablet that hath testified to God’s grace and loving-kindness. Blessed art thou and blessed is every servant whom the oppression of those who denied the Beginning and the Return hath not deterred. We showed thee Our horizon and caused thee to hear Our call and aided thee to accomplish a deed before which all deeds bow down.

Grieve not for what hath befallen thee. There hath befallen Us in the path of God that which caused the rocks to cry out and the trees to lament. We were with him at the time of his ascension. By My life! The Concourse on High welcomed him and found from him the fragrance of his Lord, the All-Glorious. Thus was the matter decreed by God, the Lord of Lords. He fulfilled God’s Covenant and His Testament and testified to that whereunto God had testified before all things: that there is none other God but Him, the One, the Chosen One.

The Light shining from the horizon of the heaven of grace and the fragrance wafting from the garment of the Dayspring of justice be upon thee, O thou who hast believed in God and His signs and who didst migrate in His path until thou didst attain unto that which was hidden in God’s knowledge and inscribed in His books. To this testifieth He with Whom is the Mother Book. We bear witness that thou didst hear the Call and didst answer thy Lord and didst turn unto Him, despite those who cast the verses behind their backs and denied God when He came with power and sovereignty. Upon thee be My glory and the glory of those in My Kingdom and the glory of those in the pavilion of My grandeur and the glory of every steadfast one whom the power of princes hath not weakened, who arose and proclaimed:

“God is our Lord and the Lord of the earth and the heavens!”

O Ahmad! Praise thou the Beloved of the worlds Who hath aided thee in that which was mentioned in His Book and inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen. At the beginning of Our imprisonment We sacrificed a Branch from the Branches for a matter none knoweth save God, thy Lord. The world hath no worth, neither had it any. That Branch, in the prime of youth, laid down his life and sought another station. I swear by the Sun of the horizon of inner meanings that were there to be revealed less than a needle’s eye of thy son’s station who ascended unto God, all would be thunderstruck with joy.

The world should be abandoned to the heedless nations; for a station unto which all things bear witness as doomed to perish hath never been, nor shall it ever be, worthy of repose. The sanctified, assured, and pure souls, however, yearn at all times to take their flight; yet, by virtue of the exigencies of consummate wisdom, they endure with patience for a few fleeting days. The reins of command are in His grasp, and the judgment resteth within His hand.

Grieve not. God hath been with thee and will ever be with thee. With utmost joy and gladness, occupy thyself during these evanescent days with the service of God. Verily, He speaketh the truth, guideth the way, and He, in truth, is the Mighty, the Beauteous.

Convey My greetings to the friends and gladden them with God’s loving-kindness. The promised Tablets were sent with Jinab-i-Amin, that is, Abu’l-Hasan, upon him be the glory of God. God willing, those worthy of them shall attain unto them and drink from the living waters of the All-Merciful’s utterance. Blessed art thou and joy be unto thee. Today is not a day of grief. Let not time slip away. Thou hast been and art remembered in the Most Holy Court. I counsel My loved ones to deal with the heedless people with wisdom. God’s mercy hath preceded His wrath. Speak according to the requirements thereof. People are like earth—some barren, some blessed. If good soil is found, the planting of the tree of inner meanings and utterance is permitted; otherwise silence is preferable. The glory which is manifest, evident, and shining forth from the horizon of the heaven of My loving-kindness be upon thee and upon My loved ones who have held fast to My firm cord.

BH01550: Regarding the 40-yard pieces and the white fabrics…

Regarding the 40-yard pieces and the white fabrics that were sent, all arrived exactly as specified in your esteemed letter and were accepted with honor. However, as commanded, if at some point four rolls of high quality thick 40-yard fabric could be sent, that would be appreciated. Praise be to God that your honor is engaged in service to the Cause.

Regarding the Huquq funds that you had written about, you sent the exact copy of this servant’s note to Jinab-i-Aqa Siyyid Ahmad, upon him be the Most Glorious Beauty, and likewise regarding the hundred tumans which your honor, even though the Huquq funds had not arrived, wrote to Jinab-i-Afnan, upon him be the Most Glorious Beauty, asking them to deliver—all these matters were presented to the Most Holy Court. His word, exalted be His mention and His utterance:

“Blessed are those Afnans who have attained to My recognition and heard My call and have arisen to serve My holy, mighty, magnificent Cause. They are under the gaze of their Lord’s mercy and He has ordained for them that which shall profit them in the next world and in this one. He is verily the Deliverer, the Preserver, the Bestower, the Generous.”

If one observes with an illumined eye what has transpired, he will testify that the oceans of divine mercy, favor and kindness have encompassed the Two Luminous Lights. He has preserved them and honored them and exalted them, and in these latter days they have attained to what their Merciful Lord desired of His favor. What you have written to Jinab-i-Afnan A. and H., upon him be the glory of God, and what you have recommended, is acceptable before the Throne. Today all the friends of God should look to the matter of the Two Luminous Lights and carry out what is beloved, especially the Afnans of the Divine Lote-Tree and particularly those Afnans who have arisen to serve the Cause—what they have done has been and is beloved.

And regarding the hundred tumans that you wrote about, if permission is granted and it is accepted, the hundred tumans will not be deducted from the Huquq funds and the full amount will be sent, so that the Truth may have accepted these hundred tumans from this non-existent one. This matter was also presented and accepted. He said the Afnan wished to achieve this service which is truly one of the great services to the Cause of God, and We accepted it, for whatever pertains to the Two Luminous Lights is counted among the services to the Truth. By the life of God, theirs is an excellent beginning and end. We have restrained the Pen from mentioning what is concealed today. Were We to loose its reins, there would appear from it that which would cause every living thing to hasten to the place they both turned to. Thus has the Tongue of Grandeur spoken at this hour.

The remainder of the Huquq funds, if they arrive, have been allocated for the captives and travelers of this land. After receipt they should be sent, as was detailed previously according to instructions. The mention you made of the attention of the honored Afnans, upon them be from all glory its most glorious, was presented to the Most Holy Court. He said We have previously given permission and that permission is now adorned with a new ornament, but in all conditions they should be mindful of wisdom which is one of the divine commandments. He is verily the Helper, the Preserver, the Mighty, the All-Knowing. Hold fast to the cord of wisdom and trust in God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. He is your Preserver and your Helper and your Bestower. He is with you in all conditions. Rejoice, O My Afnans, in the mercy that has preceded you from One who is All-Knowing, All-Seeing.

The various funds that you had written should be sent to the Most Holy Court were presented. Praise be to God, they were adorned with the ornament of acceptance. He said the small debts should be paid and with the remainder a property should be acquired, as the matter of housing in this land has become very difficult due to the large population and small size of the city, or lands should be purchased so their yields may be an enduring fruit for the one who sent them.

This servant submits that this matter is among the great divine favors, for it has occurred by God’s command in the days of the Truth. We praise Him through the duration of the kingdom and the realm. And truly this is cause for rejoicing.

BH01562: To the friends of God in all lands

To the friends of God in all lands

He is the One Who speaks in the Kingdom of Names!

This is the Day wherein the Call of God has been raised from the direction of the Most Great Prison, calling out to the nations that there is no God but Me, the Sovereign, the Self-Subsisting. Every ear has been blessed by the call of its Lord, and every eye by the Most Exalted Horizon, and every heart by the love of God, the King, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved, except those who cast behind them their God and followed their desires in that they followed those who disbelieved in God throughout all ages and turned away from Him when the Most Great Book appeared and what was inscribed in the preserved tablet.

O friends of God! By God, darkness has drawn its veil, and that which has sullied the hem of the Cause has appeared. Thereupon the Concourse on High laments, and then those who soared in the atmosphere of the love of their Lord, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the All-Loving.

Amin was before the Throne for a year, and subsequently We commanded him to return and engage in what he desired. Verily his Lord is the Commander, the Mighty, the All-Wise.

We have commanded all to engage in crafts and trades, and this is from God’s grace unto His creation, but most of the people are heedless. He was before the Throne and heard the call of his Lord morning and evening and between them. Thus was it ordained for him from the Supreme Pen. Verily his Lord, the All-Merciful, is the Bestower, the Generous. Blessed is he and blessed is he who hears the call of his Lord and follows what he has been commanded in the Book which God has made a light unto those on earth and a proof from Him to all the worlds.

The Supreme Pen in this blessed Tablet conveys greetings to all the friends and commands all to that which God has willed in the Book, for verily that which descends from the heaven of the Divine Will is in truth the water of life for receptive souls and healing for the world’s ills. By the life of God! Every soul that acts upon it will assuredly be preserved from afflictions and will be encompassed by God’s infinite favors. All must be focused on the Dawning-Place of grace and the Dayspring of revelation, awaiting to hear God’s call from the direction of the Prison. This is the most great bounty, this is the divine gift among creation, and this is the heavenly feast. For if the loved ones act upon what has been revealed from the Supreme Pen of kindly counsels, goodly conduct, and pure deeds, the fragrances of divine mercy will embrace all the earth, and all will become detached from all else, turning with heart and soul to the horizon of the loving-kindness of the All-Merciful. Beseech God that He may assist all through His favors and lift the concealing veils, that all may soar in the heaven of the All-Merciful’s love on the wings of certitude. He is verily the Bestower, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Various matters have appeared in this land which, although they have caused apparent distress since the dust of these matters that have transpired have [soiled] the hem of the Cause, yet God manifests what He willeth and bestoweth upon whom He willeth what He willeth. He is verily the All-Bountiful, the Mighty, the Generous. The Most Great Prison in these numbered years has been, through God’s grace, a place of security and safety and the source of bounties and blessings. But it changed when they changed. He is verily the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the All-Perceiving. God will soon transform it as He transformed it the first time, as was decreed by His Pen in a mighty tablet.

We make mention at the end of the Book of him who turned towards the direction of the Throne, who was named Abu’l-Hasan in the Book of God, the Sovereign, the Self-Subsisting. He left his land, turning towards God and gazing toward the horizon of His grace, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved. He entered the land of Rum when the fires of war were blazing therein and tribulations surrounded him from all sides. Then God delivered him by a sovereignty from His presence and preserved him in truth. He is verily the Preserver, the Generous. This continued until he entered the Prison Land and attained the presence of the Countenance and heard what the Tongue of Grandeur spoke in his mighty, lofty station. He is among those who fulfilled the Covenant, and the breezes of revelation took hold of him in such wise that he cast away desire and turned unto guidance. Verily his Lord is the Helper, the Almighty, the Exalted, the Mighty, the Most High.

BH01538: Praise be unto God, Who hath caused the sun…

He is God, exalted be His glory, the Lord of majesty and glory.

Praise be unto God, Who hath caused the sun of true knowledge to dawn from the horizon of the world of being, and hath through it flung open the doors of guidance, illumining thereby the dawning-places of the hearts of them that are endued with certitude, both in the beginning and in the end. By it He hath delivered the wanderers lost in the wilderness of heedlessness and error, and hath guided the blind ones that roamed the wastes of ignorance unto the homeland of knowledge and understanding. Exalted is His sovereignty, dominant over all the world, and exalted His proof, which cleaveth the midst of nations.

Inasmuch as He is sanctified above likeness and similitude, and exalted beyond the comprehension of the people of perfection, He hath deposited the signs of His might within the realm of existence, and hath bidden us ponder that which lieth within the compass of perception, that by the traces we may be guided to the knowledge of the mysteries, once the veils have been rent asunder.

And as we were powerless to attain unto true knowledge and acceptance, He, through His consummate wisdom and resistless Will, manifested bodily Temples endowed with spiritual attributes and tokens of all-encompassing mercy, that by Them we might be guided unto the meads of witnessing, before the effulgence of the Presence of the Adored One, and that there might appear from us that which lay treasured within the inmost reality of being.

O my God, my Lord, and my sole Reliance! I bear witness that Thy wisdom is unerring and Thy handiwork perfect. Thou hast made known unto Thy servants that which Thou didst desire by the tongue of one who resembleth them in outward form, yet in his life and ways proclaimeth the majesty of Thy glory. Wondrous is this Cause, and strange this decree—consummate wisdom and all-embracing mercy!

I beseech Thee, O Thou the Almighty, the Lord of majesty, with the tongue of lowliness and entreaty, to assist the communities that have branched forth from the Muhammadan Law—exalted be its Revealer, and glorified its command—to abandon the dissensions that have sprung from idle fancies, and to receive, in these days, a portion of the light of unity. Thus may they come to recognize that which will raise them to the pinnacles of abiding life, protect them from the sudden onsets of extinction, lead them, through Thy grace, into the gardens of knowledge and wisdom, and bring them back to that Law which hath branched from the Most Great Ocean.

Thou art in truth the All-Bountiful, the Lord of surpassing grace. Deprive not Thy servants of that for which Thou didst create them. Verily, Thou art powerful to do what Thou wilt, and of the secrets of hearts Thou art fully informed. Thou, verily, art the Subtle, the All-Seeing.

O thou who hast come to the limpid spring of divine knowledge, who drawest from the rivulet of wisdom and utterance, and who drinkest from that cloud, driven over the horizons, which sheddeth upon all regions the gentle rain of intimacy and unity! That which had been embroidered by the Pen of love and the ink of fellowship and union hath reached this servant who confesseth the oneness of God and clingeth to the hem of detachment.

From the blossoms of the gardens of its meanings there wafted the sweet savours of affection, and the heart rejoiced in plucking the fruits from the trees of its noble themes. Exalted be He Who hath enabled thee to know Him and hath expanded thy breast with the light of His utterance! Exalted be He Who, by the magnet of His Word, hath drawn forth the receptive realities from the mine of possibility unto the sunrise of the Sun of His knowledge and wisdom!

Were the discerning and clear-sighted man to ponder what hath been concealed within existence of the evidences of the might of the All-Expounding Presence, such wonder would seize him that he would cast aside all that is visible and, with the pinions of longing, take his flight unto a praiseworthy station.

Say: O servants of God! Meditate upon the traces of His handiwork treasured in all things, that they may make known unto you the path leading to the knowledge of the Lord of creation, and may usher you into the kingdom of everlasting life. Let not riches veil you from the All-Possessing, the Most Exalted.

Ponder upon bygone ages and vanished centuries. Where is the lord of the throne? Where is the builder of Khawarnaq and as-Sadir? Where are the lords of palaces and pavilions? Can ye distinguish them in the dust of their graves? Did their might, their wealth and their glory avail them aught? Did not extinction overtake them, whilst abidingness remained with the True, the Most High?

Can ye look for permanence in a realm of utter evanescence? Reflect upon the page of creation, read the chronicles it beareth, fathom the mysteries it enshrineth, and be assured that abiding life and eternal continuance are found in the shadow of your Lord, the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing.

As for thee, O dearly-beloved friend! Turn not thy gaze unto the people and their heedlessness, but unto the Truth, His sovereignty, His power and His proof. It behoveth thee and such as thou to exert your utmost in upholding the Cause of Truth with wisdom and utterance, and in destroying falsehood in the realm of being. By thy life! In this world there shall remain naught save this most glorious station. Blessed is he who layeth hold upon this all-embracing good and this mighty gain. Through it is his name exalted amidst creation, and through it doth his soul endure in the abode of eternity.

I beseech God, the Lord of existence, to assist thee, both in private and in public, to whatsoever shall exalt thy name in the cities and raise thy remembrance among His servants. Verily, He is powerful to do what He willeth, and He, of His servants, is the Gentle, the All-Informed.

BH01557: Praise be unto Thee, O my God, my Lord…

He is the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting; exalted be His glory, the Almighty.

Praise be unto Thee, O my God, my Lord, my Hope and my Desire, for having revealed Thy promised Day, for having manifested Thyself unto the world through the Sun of Thine apparent Beauty, and for having illumined the horizon of existence with Thy prevailing, all-manifest Name.

Praise be unto Thee, inasmuch as Thou hast delivered us from the depths of idle fancies and vain imaginings, and hast brought us, through Thy manifest yet hidden Name, unto the shore of true knowledge and recognition. Praise be unto Thee, in that Thou hast singled us out, amongst all created things, for the knowledge of Thine Own Self, the All-Glorious, the All-Bountiful, and hast adorned us with the vesture of Thy grace, O our God, the All-Merciful.

By Thy might! Were we to thank Thee for as long as existence itself shall endure, and to extol Thee with the tongues of the unseen and the seen, we would still remain impotent to render Thee thanks for the least of Thy favours, nor could we discharge that which Thou hast made incumbent upon us in return for the revelation of Thy gifts—even for the smallest of them, that none can reckon. How then can we hope to praise that grace of Thine which hath encompassed all things, or that loving-kindness of Thine which hath overshadowed earth and heaven?

I beseech Thee, O my God, my Lord, my Desire and my Beloved, with the tongue of my secret and my open praise, with my outward and my inmost utterance, to assist me and Thy loved ones to exalt the standards of Thy remembrance and Thy praise in the cities of Thy creation, and to adorn, both outwardly and inwardly, our beings with the robes of steadfastness in Thy Cause, through a station at which the limbs of them that deny Thee shall quake, the pillars of those that hate Thee shall be shaken, and the very members of Thine adversaries tremble.

Thou, verily, art He Who hath named His own Self “the All-Bountiful”, and called His very Essence “the All-Merciful”. There is no God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O spiritual Friend! Thy letter hath reached this servant, and a joy beyond all measure hath thereby been vouchsafed. We supplicate the Lord—exalted be His bounty—that He may ever cause thine honoured person to dwell in peace beneath the shade of the Lote-Tree of His grace, and that He may nourish thee with the blessings of nearness and abiding, of union and attainment unto His presence.

At the beginning of thy letter thou didst express some sadness and grievance; this servant was indeed astonished, for the divine favours that have been witnessed in regard to thy person are beyond all counting and number. With such bounties, neither sorrow nor vexation should find any place or station. True, at the close of the letter thou didst seek pardon for this.

O beloved one of both worlds! In these days, when the grace of the Lord of all being hath encompassed the realm of the seen and the unseen—nay, the entire reality of these servants—what grief can have any meaning? It behoveth us, with utmost resolution and entire endeavour, to arise in thanksgiving and praise. That which is lost today can in no wise be retrieved on the morrow.

We must strive that the hearts grown cold and the souls well-nigh dead may, through the spirit of the Word of God, be made fresh and quickened. Today, in the world of being, there is no deed more exalted, more sublime, or more meritorious than the teaching of the Cause—yet with wisdom and with utterance, as hath been enjoined upon us by our Lord, the All-Glorious, the All-Merciful.

Whenever thou desirest to turn thy face toward any quarter, if there be people of consultation present, take counsel with them, as commanded; otherwise, consult thine own reason and rely upon God, thy Lord. The essence of all things is the observance of wisdom. Whithersoever thou mayest direct thine attention, there is no harm, provided wisdom be duly observed.

We entreat God to confirm thee in the promulgation of His Cause and the diffusion of His traces throughout His lands. Verily, He is powerful over all things.

With regard to the matter of the trust which thou didst mention, the fundamental ruling concerneth it hath been sent down in the Blessed Tablet. When thou becomest aware thereof, thou wilt be informed. As for the specific trust named in thy letter, let it, in accordance with the Blessed command, remain in the keeping of this cherished friend.

Moreover, the Most Holy, Most Inviolate Tablet which had been requested hath been revealed and wrapped, and hath been sent. Deliver it unto its destined recipient, and convey, on behalf of this servant, wondrous and exalted greetings.

The promised book, which had been despatched in the care of a¸¤aji Ahmad—upon him be glory—hath arrived. In truth, it containeth many matters. In these lands as well there exist numerous such volumes, held in esteem by the friends. But where is fairness to be found, and where true seeking? Were a man indeed a sincere searcher and a just soul, many a writing would bear fruit, and countless reports would yield their harvest.

Beseech thou the Lord to enable the people and to bestow upon them the grace of seeking. Verily, He is powerful over all things.

And now, in view of the narrowness of time and the limitation of opportunity, brevity hath been observed in this letter. Upon thee, thy son, thy household, and the loved ones of thy Lord be the glory and the Spirit.

BH03668: This is a Book which the Most Merciful hath…

He is the One Who gazeth from His Most Exalted Horizon

This is a Book which the Most Merciful hath sent down to all who dwell within the realm of possibility, summoning all to a station wherein the Light hath shone forth and where He Who conversed on Sinai hath been established upon the throne of Revelation, and the Tree hath proclaimed: There is none other God but Him, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Say: This is the Promised Day, did ye but know it, and this is the Day whereof God’s Books of old have given tidings, and this is the Preserved Tablet.

Say: O concourse of earth! Deny not the signs of God after their revelation, and reject not Him Who hath come unto you from God, the Lord of what was and what shall be. Cast away your vain imaginings, then turn with your hearts toward the horizon of God, the Sovereign of existence.

Say: O servants! By God, the Day of Reckoning hath come, and the Lord of Creation hath spoken forth from the Most Great Prison, calling all to the Frequented Fane. The heedless have caused Us to dwell in the most desolate of houses, yet God hath designated it as His Frequented Fane, to their utter shame—if they but understood. Had they known what they had wrought, they would have wept both night and day, at eventide and at morn. Thus have We lit the lamp of proof within the niche of utterance. Blessed is he who hath attained, and woe unto every heedless one who remaineth veiled.

O thou servant who hast turned toward the Most Exalted Horizon! Hearken unto the call of the Wronged One. He hath heard thy call and hath answered thee through this Hidden Tablet which was treasured in God’s knowledge from time immemorial. To this testifieth he who hath perceived the fragrance of the All-Merciful when He came with manifest sovereignty.

The servant who was present came before Us and presented what was in thy letter. Thereupon the ocean of thy Lord’s loving-kindness surged, and He revealed for thee that which shall bring solace to all eyes. Take hold of the Book of God with the power that proceedeth from Him. He shall assist thee in every world among the worlds of thy Lord. To this testifieth He Who proclaimeth in every matter that there is none other God but Him, the Truth, the Knower of things unseen.

When the fragrance of Revelation was wafted abroad and the breezes of God wafted forth at the dawn of His Promised Day, the people rose up in opposition, save those whom God willed—thy Lord, the Mighty, the Loving. Among them were those who followed the divines of the age who violated God’s Covenant and His Testament, and pronounced judgment against Him with such tyranny as caused those in the unseen realm and in the visible world to cry out. Give thanks unto God for having revealed unto thee that which nothing on earth can equal. Verily thy Lord is the Almighty, the Most Kind, the All-Forgiving.

Say: Glorified art Thou, O Thou through Whose Name all things were attracted and through Whose love the hearts of them that dwell in the kingdom of names were consumed! I beseech Thee by the tears of them that are nigh unto Thee in their separation from Thee, and by the sighs of the sincere ones in Thy days, and by the ocean of Thy knowledge and the heaven of Thy bounty and the sun of Thy grace, to make me detached from all else save Thee, holding fast unto the cord of Thy loving providence, steadfast in Thy remembrance and in the service of Thy Cause in such wise that the hosts of denial shall not prevent me from turning unto Thee and clinging to the hem of the robe of Thy generosity.

O Lord! I am he who hath turned toward Thy horizon and set his face unto the lights of Thy countenance. I beseech Thee not to disappoint me of that which Thy Most Exalted Pen hath ordained for Thy chosen ones and Thy loved ones. O Lord! Kindle me with the fire of Thy love in such wise that all the seas of the earth shall not quench it. Then make me so steadfast that neither the ascendancy of the nations nor the hosts of the world shall deter me. Thou art He through Whose Name the Resurrection came to pass and the Hour was made manifest. Nothing whatsoever can frustrate Thee, nor can the clamor of the enemies prevent Thee. Thou doest what Thou willest by Thy sovereignty and ordainest what Thou pleasest through Thy power and might.

Thou knowest and seest my turning unto Thee, my humility, my submissiveness, my poverty, my need, my powerlessness and my lowliness, and Thou hearest my sighing, my crying, my appeal and my lamentation. I beseech Thee by the power of Thy Most Exalted Pen and its crackling in the kingdom of creation to send down upon me from the heaven of Thy bounty that which will draw me nigh unto Thee and profit me in the world to come and in this one, through Thy bounty and mercy. Thou knowest what I possess and I know not what Thou possessest. Verily Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Furthermore I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of existence and the Sovereign of the seen and the unseen, to make me in all conditions hold fast unto Thy Will, content with Thy good-pleasure, and speaking Thy praise. Verily Thou art the Almighty Whom they that are in the heavens and on earth cannot weaken. Thou art, in truth, the Strong, the All-Conquering, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

BH01608: Regarding what was written about the land of Kha…

Regarding what was written about the land of Kha, it was submitted to the Most Holy Presence. This is what was revealed in reply:

Alif, Ha. Praise be to God that through the grace of the All-Merciful thou hast been adorned with the ornament of recognition and hast quaffed from the choice wine of utterance in the days of God. On a day that was mentioned and recorded in all the divine Books, Tablets and Scriptures, thou didst attain unto His recognition, at a time when most of the divines, mystics and men of learning remained veiled from recognizing Him. Night and day they busied themselves with countless proofs and clear expressions to establish His truth, power and sovereignty, yet on the Day of His Manifestation they remained veiled from the very Object of their proofs. Not every soul is worthy of this living water.

All the Afnan must at all times be mindful of and thankful to the All-Merciful Lord, for they have attained unto a great bounty. Although its true station is not evident now, God will assuredly make it manifest in truth—a promise from His presence. He is verily the Rememberer, the Informer, the All-Knowing.

O My Afnan! Ask thy Lord, the All-Merciful, to aid all to turn towards Him and arise to serve Him. He is verily the All-Bountiful, the Mighty, the Most Exalted. Thy efforts in the Cause of God have not been and will not be forgotten. Whatever thou hast done is acceptable. The Afnan who are here have mentioned and continue to mention thy services to God’s Cause. He will assist thee in His service even as He assisted thee to believe in Him. By My life! Thou hast attained unto the Kawthar and Salsabil from God, the Mighty, the Beautiful. Preserve what thou hast been given by God. Soon what We have concealed today will be revealed. He is verily the Powerful, the Mighty.

Thou hast been and will continue to be watchful over God’s Cause in all conditions. By the life of thy Beloved! That in which the servants glory and of which the people of the lands are proud shall perish, but that which is attributed to thy Lord, the Mighty, the All-Wise, shall endure.

Regarding what was written about S, it was submitted. According to His command: Deal with him with patience. He rises at one time and falls at another. Thus doth the Lord of all being inform you from the precincts of His remote prison. But God may make him steadfast in His Straight Cause and guide him to the right path.

O My Name! Write to the Afnan that ʿAli-Qabli-Akbar hath ascended unto God and that he speaketh from the Supreme Horizon, saying: “Praise be unto Thee, O God of the worlds!” Blessed is the soul that remembereth him and remembereth what the All-Merciful hath revealed for him in a mighty Book. God willing, the Afnan of the Tree should attend to his affairs to the extent possible. This is Our command unto them. He is verily the Commander, the All-Wise.

As for what was written about Jinab-i-Amin and Jinab-i-Aqa Mirza Abu’l-Hasan—upon them be 96 [Baha’u’llah]—it was submitted. They stated that Abu’l-Hasan himself had also expressed this matter to the servant. In any case, permission for trade was given to them from before. Let them act in whatever way the Afnan deem advisable. According to His command, send one hundred tumans from the funds of the land of Kha to the land of Sad to Jinab-i-Aqa Mirza Isma’il, and write to them that this sum has been sent as a gift from one of the friends to serve the two honored descendants of the Twin Luminous Lights, and they have requested this servant to deliver it, hence it is being sent. The trouble of delivering it rests with your honor. And according to His command, fifty tumans from that sum should be delivered to the son of Jinab-i-Aqa Mirza Muhammad-ʿAli-i-Qa’ini—upon him be 96 [Baha’u’llah]—and thirty tumans should be delivered to the mother of Jinab-i-Sulayman Khan in the land of Ta. A portion has also been designated for the poor of this land, as some are in utmost hardship. Therefore, whatever remains of that sum should be sent to the Land of Purpose.

BH01708: O My Name! The letter from Husayn, upon him…

He is the Answerer

O My Name! The letter from Husayn, upon him be the Glory of God, which he wrote to you was presented by this servant. God willing, may he ever dwell secure and at rest beneath the shade of divine favor. Verily He ordains for whomsoever He wishes whatsoever He wishes. He is indeed the Mighty, the Powerful. Some time ago a most holy, most exalted Tablet was revealed and sent especially for him. The gaze of favor has been and God willing shall continue to be directed towards him. We have commanded and continue to command all the friends to unity and harmony, yet still the fragrance of this most exalted station has not been detected. We beseech God to assist a company of souls to arise for this greatest of services.

Mention was made of Mulla Muhammad-Rida. As requested, a Tablet was revealed especially for him and sent. God willing, they will deliver it to him that he may drink from the living waters concealed in the utterance of the All-Merciful, turn wholly to the most exalted horizon, and arise to aid the Cause with wisdom and eloquence. Those souls in the land of Kaf who are gazing toward the horizon of the Cause are all remembered in the presence of the Wronged One. God willing, may they all manifest the most great steadfastness in such wise that neither human conditions deter them nor the allusions of those who have denied God, the Lord of all worlds, cause them to slip.

We previously announced the appearance of the cawers in the cities and regions. God willing, they must preserve the pearls of divine love in His name and keep them hidden from treacherous eyes. O Husayn! Remind them on My behalf, then send them this clear Book. Say: Should anyone come to you with the book of hell, know that he is of Satan’s hosts and is the cawer promised in My clear Book. Cast behind you the tablets of fire, turning to God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. God willing, most holy, most exalted verses shall continue to be revealed and sent especially for the friends. He is indeed the All-Bountiful, the Generous. Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.

O My Name! Give him the glad tidings of My mercy, My grace and My favor. We mentioned him before and sent him that from which wafted the fragrance of My favor that has preceded all worlds. Praise be to God, they were assisted in transcribing the divine verses. Blessed is the pen that moved, the ink that flowed, and the tablet that bore His mighty, exalted remembrance. This servant mentions him before the Wronged One and visits the Desired One on behalf of himself and of him who was named Haydar-ʿAli, upon him be the Glory of God.

O Mihdi! We address you at one time, and at another time him whose letter was read before the Throne. Verily your Lord does what He wishes and ordains what He desires. Mention was made in that letter of two of the loved ones of God. We send Our greetings to them both from this most exalted station and counsel them to show forth the most great steadfastness in the Cause of God, the Lord of the Throne and earth. Thus has the Tongue of Grandeur spoken in this luminous station.

And We make mention at the end of the letter of the letter Mim and Nun before Shin, and We send Our greetings to him and make mention of him in such wise that his remembrance shall endure in the lands, that he may thank his Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful. The Glory be upon the people of Glory from the Glory.

And likewise mention was made that he attained the presence of the two brilliant lights, the King of Martyrs and his brother. Blessed is he, again blessed is he and those who have intended that destination. By the life of God! We detect from the dust of that spot the fragrance of Paradise—He with Whom is the decisive Word bears witness to this. We send Our prayers upon those who have turned to them both, visited their resting-places, and uttered that which the All-Merciful has revealed in the Book. He who visited the sister, upon her be My favor, My mercy and My grace, and the Christ in Ray—it is as though he visited Me. Thus has the Most Exalted Pen spoken from the most exalted station. We make mention of them at this time and say: Upon you be the Glory of God, and the Glory of those in the most exalted Paradise, and the Light shining from the horizon of the favor of their Lord, the Mighty, the Bestower. Praise be to God, the Lord of the beginning and the end.

BH01684: Praise be to the Beloved Who is worthy…

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

Praise be to the Beloved Who is worthy and deserving, Who hath quickened and sustained the hearts of the sincere ones and them that are nigh unto Him with the Kawthar of divine knowledge. These are days the like of which have never been witnessed nor recorded in the divine Books, for the Hidden Mystery doth, with hands of bounty, summon all who are in creation to the Most Exalted Wine. Blessed are they who have drunk deep of this call and who have attained with complete certitude and assurance to the revelation of God. The Supreme Pen hath ever called and continueth to call the loved ones to the most exalted horizon at all times. Beseech ye God, exalted and glorified be He, that ye may remain firm in this Cause and not be deprived of this divine table which hath been sent down from the heaven of grace. At all times take your portion through the Name of the Lord of the Day of Judgment. Well is it with him who hath recognized and turned unto Him and hath attained unto the grace of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Thereafter, thy letter reached the Holy Land and attained unto the Most Great Vista. Concerning what thou didst mention regarding the divine Tablets, that it appeareth therefrom that victory belongeth to the enemies—the intent is other than what thou hast mentioned. Should the loved ones act in accordance with the divine wisdom that hath been revealed in the Tablets, no one would ever prevail against them. Thus hath it been sent down from the Pen of Command, did ye but know it. Praise be to the Beloved of the world that thou hast attained unto His love and thy mention hath flowed from the Supreme Pen. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.

You have mentioned taking a further wife while already married to two. God’s commandment on this matter is what has already in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, been revealed by the command of Him Who is the Lord of all Names, from His Exalted Kingdom. Cling ye unto whatsoever hath been revealed therein of the laws of God, the Mighty, the Self Subsisting. Whosoever performs this in this day will attain to peace, prosperity, and steadfastness in this world, and to the most exalted Paradise in the next. Blessed are those who act accordingly and happy is the soul who performs that which will bring comfort to himself and to his partner. Verily, your Lord the compassionate has ordained for you that which will profit you both in this world and in the next. He verily is the All-Knowing the Omniscient.

O Supreme Pen! Make mention of the loved ones in that land who have cast aside all else but Me and hearkened unto My call and turned unto My face and drunk the choice wine of My revelation and directed their hearts to the horizon of My beauty and held fast to the hem of My bounty and clung to the cord of My favors and soared in the atmosphere of My love and were honored by My commandments and were stirred by the breezes of My days and caught the fragrance of My garment and arose to serve Me and to aid My Cause and spoke My praise and held fast to the wisdom that was sent down from the heaven of My command in the kingdom of My will.

Blessed are ye, O loved ones of God! Know ye the value of this mention that hath flowed from the Supreme Pen on this wondrous and glorious Day. By My life! This is a mention that cannot be equalled by what ye have reckoned or what any reckoner may reckon. Rejoice ye therein and place your trust in God, the Mighty, the Wise. Beware lest what is with the people prevent you. Drink ye the wine of steadfastness with the hands of the bounty of your Lord at all times. Should anyone turn with the eye of innate vision toward My most exalted horizon, by God! neither the happenings of creation nor the might of them that have drunk the Zaqqum of vainglory from the cups of heedlessness and passion shall prevent him. They are indeed among the abased ones.

We then make mention of those women who were stirred by the Word of God, and We make mention of their names before the Throne every year, nay every month, nay every hour, nay every moment. He is with them and heareth their cry and seeth what they do in the path of God, the Most High, the Most Great. O people of the letter Kha! By God! The Tongue of Eternity speaketh your mention from this Most Glorious Horizon. Rejoice ye in this joy around which circleth the joy of all in creation. Your Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, beareth witness unto this. All glory be upon you from God, the Lord of all the worlds.

BH01675: Praise be unto God, Who hath raised aloft…

He is God, exalted be His glory, the Lord of majesty and glory.

Praise be unto God, Who hath raised aloft the standard of divine knowledge upon the summit of learning and utterance, and hath adorned it with the embroidery of wisdom and exposition. He it is Who taught the Pen the mysteries of pre-eternity, and, through the power of His Most Great Name, brought forth within the world that which had been hidden. He it is Who drew forth the essence of meanings from the human temple, and made the spiritual mystery to shine resplendent in the corporeal realm.

To Him belong majesty and glory, might and perpetuity, dominion and beauty. He willed, and forthwith He commanded; He desired, and lo, He revealed; He stood forth in the midmost heart of all things, and subdued them; He unveiled Himself, and was made manifest. Verily, He is the Holder of the reins of destiny.

And may blessings and peace rest upon the repositories of revelation and inspiration, the spiritual intermediaries among men, through whom the banners of knowledge and wisdom were upraised upon the loftiest heights, and toward whose City every soul endowed with capacity turned in quest of the knowledge of his Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing; and upon such as have been illumined by their lights and have followed their traces—an enduring, everlasting, ancient salutation.

Glorified art Thou, O my God, O Thou Who hast brought creation into being, O King of the unseen and the seen! Should I seek to describe Thee as Thou art, in Thine exalted greatness and Thy glory, Thy might and Thine eternal being, I find my tongue dull and powerless in making mention of Thee, and my speech utterly incapable of praising Thee. Yet, if I keep silence concerning the sweet accents of Thy remembrance, my thirst would never be quenched, nor would the burning of my heart abate, nor the trembling of my limbs—enkindled as they are by the fire of longing and yearning for the subtle tokens of the remembrance of Thy oneness and Thy majesty. Amazement hath seized me, and the knowers are bewildered; they that love Thee have wandered in the wilderness of their passion and yearning.

Thou, by the sovereignty of Thy loving care and the kingship of Thy tender mercy, dost accept from Thy servants their mention of Thee amidst the wondrous tokens of Thy power, and their thanksgiving, encompassed as they are by the plenitude of Thy bounties.

I beseech Thee, O Lord of mankind, O Master of the Day of Reckoning, O Manifestation of the secrets of destiny, to confirm Thy loved ones in Thy remembrance and Thy praise, and in the exaltation of the standards of Thy glory throughout the kingdoms of Thy creation. Guard them, O my Hope, from the mischief of such as have been heedless of Thee and have failed to apprehend the outpourings of Thy days; and ordain for them, through Thy grace and Thy loving providence, in every one of Thy worlds, every good Thou hast sent down in Thy Book, and every promise Thou hast recorded for Thy chosen ones in Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets.

Verily, Thou art He Who is potent to do what He willeth. Thou bestowest upon whomsoever Thou pleasest whatsoever Thou desirest. There is no God but Thee, the Bountiful, the Munificent, the Bestower, the Mighty, the Peerless.

O spiritual Friend! Thy letter hath reached this servant, and the degrees of love and stations of affection which had lain hidden and concealed in the inmost heart of the words became clear and manifest. It sowed in the soil of the heart the seeds of joy and gladness, and bestowed upon the soul the utmost happiness and cheer.

We cherish the hope that at all times thou mayest abide in peace and repose beneath the shade of the protection and guardianship of the All-Knowing King, and that thou mayest be invested with the robe of His grace and loving kindness, and be nourished from the Tasnim of His favour and His bounty.

Jinab-i Mirza ʿAyn Mim, upon him be the glory of God, through the confirmations of the All-Merciful, hath attained unto the shore of reunion, and hath quaffed from the Salsabil of grace. Blessed is he and all who have drawn nigh and attained! We supplicate the Lord—exalted be His glory and magnified His grace—that He will not suffer receptive souls to be debarred from nearness to the spiritual City, nor hearts endowed with capacity to be deprived of the rays of the Sun of Reality. He is the All-Bountiful, the All-Merciful; His grace hath encompassed the world, and His loving care hath embraced all nations.

In truth, whatsoever falling short hath appeared, or shall appear, in the degrees of knowledge and the stations of wisdom, cometh from the paucity of men’s capacity and the failure of the people of the world to exert true endeavour. Otherwise, His grace is boundless, and His loving-kindness without limit. Excellent is that word which hath been uttered:

“All that is amiss proceedeth from the stature of the wearer; otherwise the robe of Thy bounty was never ill cut for any soul.”

Beseech ye God to vouchsafe unto all that which is best for the beginning and the end, and to allot unto every one a portion of that Table wherewith He hath nourished His loved ones, that all may gather round the carpet of detachment, and with perfect unity and concord be engaged in the remembrance of the Lord of the Day of Resurrection.

Convey, on behalf of this servant, wondrous and exalted greetings to all who are related to thee and to all the friends of God, and remember them in terms of glorification.

The Spirit, and magnification, and the glory rest upon thee and upon those who are with thee.

BH01694: Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God, Thou Master…

He is God, blessed and exalted be His glory.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God, Thou Master of mankind, Sovereign of destiny, and Revealer of the hidden Mystery! The knowing ones stand bewildered before the manifestations of Thy dominion and Thy power, and the thoughtful are amazed by the effulgences of Thy might and Thy grandeur. Whensoever I reflect upon that which Thou hast made manifest in the realm of existence from the tokens of Thy sovereignty, and behold the powerlessness of Thy servants to praise Thee and the inadequacy of Thy creatures to render befitting thanksgiving and gratitude unto Thee, I am filled with wonder and exclaim: Glorified art Thou, O Thou Whose reign shall never pass away!

Thou hast created man and commanded him to bear the trust of Thy love—that trust which the heavens and the earth and the mountains were unable to bear. O my God, how can the weak and powerless one bear it save through Thy strength and Thy power? I beseech Thee to confirm those in whom Thou hast created the capacity for acceptance, that they may bear this Most Great Trust, O Sovereign of all mankind, O Ruler of this world and the next! Grant them success, O my God, to turn toward the Dayspring of the Sun of Thy unity and the Dawning-Place of the Light of Thy oneness. Thou knowest that the weak can accomplish naught save through the succor of the hands of Thy power, and the powerless can achieve no purpose save through the confirmations of the Sultan of Thy might.

Deliver, O Lord of all men and Ruler in the beginning and the end, Thy servants from the chains of self and passion, of heedlessness and blindness, and guide them to the path of Thy knowledge through the refinements of Thy grace and Thy providence. Confirm, O my God, Thy loved ones in raising the banners of utterance at the center of existence, and in guiding Thy servants through the decisive verses which Thou hast sent down in Thy Tablets, O Sovereign of creation and Ruler of beginning and return! Preserve them beneath the shadow of the Tree of Thy protection and guardianship from the evils of the wicked among Thy creatures, and send down upon them that which will gladden them and refresh their eyes, rejoice their hearts, and dilate their breasts. Verily, Thou art the Bountiful, the Generous! No God is there but Thee, the Bestower, the Munificent, the Compassionate, the Merciful!

The spiritual beloved’s epistle, eloquent of the stations of love and the degrees of affection and unity, hath been received, and praise be unto God that His honored servant hath entered the City of Nearness and partaken of the Kawthar of bounty. No greater favor is there than this—that the True One, glorified be His glory, hath adorned the temple of relationship with the robe of spiritual proximity and admitted the precious one to the law of gnosis and the table of certitude. The Kingdom of grace is in His hand, and the Realm of munificence and providence floweth from His right hand. He giveth unto whomsoever He willeth whatsoever He desireth, and He chooseth for whomsoever He pleaseth whatsoever He pleaseth. No God is there but He, the Mighty, the Praised!

The one true God beareth witness that these servants are ever occupied with mention of the beloved ones, and we hope for the good of this world and the next for all. May ye ever remain preserved beneath the shadow of protection, and be sustained from the Salsab l of grace, and dwell in the paradise of nearness and reunion. Concerning the hardship and distress that had been mentioned, the True One, glorified be His glory, hath declared both before and after: ʿVerily, with hardship cometh ease.’

We supplicate the Exalted One that He may provide the means of comfort for His loved ones, and through sheer grace and providence adorn them with joy and spiritual delight and tranquillity. Be ye not sorrowful in any wise! The True One, glorified be His glory, from the beginning that hath no beginning hath been known by the Most Great Name, and unto the end that hath no end He is characterized as the Compassionate and Merciful. ʿDespair ye not of the mercy of God.’ In all conditions be ye adorned with the ornament of resignation, and cleave ye unto the cord of patience. Well hath it been said: Patience and victory are both ancient friends—following upon patience cometh the turn of triumph.

Remember ye the revered and honored mother with wondrous remembrances and refined glorifications, and likewise the sisters. The Spirit and Glory rest upon you and upon those who have remained steadfast in the Cause and have not broken the Covenant in the Day of Meeting.

BH01709: O people of the Ocean of Oneness in Urumiyyih!…

O people of the Ocean of Oneness in Urumiyyih! Hearken unto the call of the Lord of all creation, a call that hath been raised in this wilderness which God hath made the seat of His mighty Throne. This is the desert wherein the cry of the Prophets and Messengers hath been uplifted, wherein the Spirit, with a company of angels, hath circled round and borne witness to that which shone forth from the horizon of the Hijaz—yet the people, for the most part, are among the heedless.

This is a station which God hath ordained as the place of circumambulation for His chosen ones on earth, and the outlook of the Supreme Concourse and the angels nigh unto God. Blessed is the soul that hath arisen to serve God and His Cause, that hath spoken that which My Most Exalted Pen hath spoken, and borne witness unto that whereunto the Tongue of God, the All-Subduing, the Most High, the Most Great, hath borne witness.

O beloved of the All-Merciful in that land! Rejoice that the Wronged One maketh mention of you, even while He seeth Himself in the hands of the heedless. How many a day have I borne trials in the path of God, the Lord of all the worlds! How many a night have I been delivered into the hands of Mine enemies by reason of that which the hands of the idolaters have wrought! By the life of God! In all circumstances I have summoned all unto the Most Exalted Horizon, and have cast upon them that which I was commanded from the presence of One all-powerful, almighty.

Thus have We recounted these things unto you, that the affairs of the world and what it containeth of tribulation and distress may not grieve you. Verily, He is the Counsellor, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

In every state hold fast unto wisdom, and cling unto that whereunto ye have been bidden in the Book from the presence of your Lord, the Mighty, the All-Wise. We have heard your call and beheld your turning. We have made mention of you in this Book, which announceth unto you the Ocean of the loving-kindness of your Lord, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

Be ye united in the Cause of God; thereby will the Cause be exalted and the standard of remembrance be raised upon every lofty height. Shun whatsoever ye have been forbidden in the Book. Fear God, and be not as those who have cast the ordinances of God behind their backs and followed every doubting, heedless soul.

Hold fast unto the cord of trustworthiness and truthfulness, and unto whatsoever will manifest the sanctity of His holy, His exalted, His inaccessible Cause. We have, in very truth, forbidden rancour and hatred and whatsoever breedeth corruption in the land of God, and have enjoined upon all that which revealeth the radiant countenance of the Cause and guideth all unto His straight Path.

Blessed is the one who speaketh in the Cause of God, who beareth himself towards the people with forbearance, and consorteth with them in a spirit of joy and fragrance. Thus hath God commanded you in His mighty Book.

Ye are they who have turned unto the Most Exalted Horizon, have received the goblet of the Bayan from the hands of the loving-kindness of your Lord, the Bestower, the Mighty, the All-Praised, have hearkened unto the Most Sweet Call and answered it whilst the people, for the most part, were sunk in slumber.

Know ye, then, your stations before your Lord; thereafter guard them in His Name, the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling. Beseech ye God to vouchsafe unto you the Kawthar of steadfastness in this Cause—a Cause at which the feet of the knowing have faltered, inasmuch as they followed their idle fancies and cast away that which the All-Merciful hath sent down in His perspicuous Tablet.

Be ye not grieved at what ye have seen and heard in God, your Fashioner. Erelong will God, in His dominion, bring to light whatsoever He willeth and desireth; verily, He is powerful to do what He willeth by His irrevocable, His all-wise command.

Your names have been mentioned before the Throne, and for each one of you there hath been inscribed in the Tablet that which no effacement shall ever follow. Thus doth the Guarded Tablet from His presence bring you glad-tidings.

The glory of God rest upon you and upon such as love you and hearken from your lips unto the fair remembrance of God.

And We make mention of My handmaidens in that land—those who have cast away idle fancies and turned unto the Dawning-Place of certitude.

Rejoice, O My handmaidens, in My remembrance and in that which My Most Exalted Pen hath decreed for you in a Book which none but the All-Informed can comprehend. The glory of God be upon you and upon such as have followed the Cause of God, the Lord of all the worlds.

BH01710: I am the Hearer and I am the Answerer

I am the Hearer and I am the Answerer.

O Jamal! Upon thee be My glory and upon those who love thee and make mention of thee for My sake and praise thee according to what hath been revealed from the Pen of My Command upon the Tablet of My bounty. Thou wert present before the Face […] before the Throne and the Light was shining from the horizon […] Be as thou hast been. Give thanks unto thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Let not the doings of the heedless ones and the allusions of the opposers grieve thee.

Say: O concourse of princes! By God, We have not come to create disorder in the land but rather to reform it. To this beareth witness the Lord of the Kingdom of Names. Fear ye God and be not of the wrongdoers. God hath forbidden in this Revelation whatsoever causeth grief to hearts—how much more the shedding of blood and that which beseemeth not the station of man. To this testifieth that which hath been sent down from the Most Exalted Pen and beyond it He Who speaketh in this glorious and wondrous station.

Blessed art thou and happy art thou for having traveled through the lands to exalt My Word, and there befell thee in My path that which caused every fair-minded and discerning one to weep. We were with thee when thou wert speaking in the cities and domains of God, purely for His resplendent Face. Rejoice in My remembrance in these days wherein the idolaters have risen against Us without any clear proof from God, the Lord of the worlds.

Say: O concourse of divines! Fear ye God and be not of the transgressors. Behold ye and remember what hath proceeded from you and from your like against Muhammad the Apostle of God, and before Him the Son of Mary, and before Him He Who conversed with Me on the Mount of Knowledge—there is no God but Me, the Manifest, the Speaking, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Jamal! The glances of God’s loving-kindness—exalted be His glory—have been and are directed towards thee. In all conditions observe wisdom and hold fast unto wisdom. In the blessed Tablets that which is revealed is contingent upon wisdom and limited by time. For instance, it is revealed: Say: O people of the world! The purpose is proclamation, not action thereon in these days, for the transgressors and oppressors are witnessed to be in the utmost pride and heedlessness. They have no ears. Beseech God that He deprive not His servants and withhold them not from the ocean of His bounty in the days of His manifestation.

Under all conditions must […] qualities emanate from man. The trustees are dawning-places of names and attributes […] Whosoever hath been heedless of this station hath wronged himself. To this beareth witness thy Beloved and thy Goal and the Goal of all who are in the heavens and the earth. Be thou confident in the grace and bounty of God. If there be delay in sending Tablets, there is no harm, for bounty is of such a degree that no matter can veil it. Verily thy Lord is the Forgiving, the Bountiful.

The Glory, manifest and resplendent, shining from the horizon of My Kingdom, be upon thee and upon those who love thee for My sake and make mention of thee for My glorious and wondrous Name. Remember thy family on My behalf and give them the glad-tidings of what hath been revealed for thee in this glorious Tablet. Praise be to God, all are remembered and have attained unto God’s bounty and are and have been beneath the glances of mercy in all conditions.

Convey remembrance to her from God. The first command is belief in God and the last is submission unto Him. Whatever hath befallen you, its grief hath penetrated even unto the prison. However, whatsoever occurreth is assuredly according to the requirements of consummate wisdom. We beseech God to bestow the good of this world and the next, that her eye may be solaced, her heart gladdened and her soul find rest. Verily He is powerful over all things and worthy to answer. The joy […] returneth unto God. By the life of God, […] cannot be equaled by this wise remembrance. Give thanks unto thy Lord, the Ancient Revealer. Glory be upon her and upon those with her and upon every maidservant who hath believed in the Lord of the worlds.

BH01749: Praise be unto God, Who hath ever been sanctified…

Praise be unto God, Who hath ever been sanctified above whatsoever hath been and whatsoever shall be; exalted beyond all that hath been said and shall be said; immeasurably lofty above all that hath been mentioned or shall be mentioned—by me or by any other. Glory be to Him Who hath made the Pen the expounder of His will throughout the realm of being, and hath taught it the mysteries of utterance. Verily, He is the Champion by Whose revelation the banners were cast down and the idols overthrown, and mankind turned toward the horizon of the Revelation of God, the Lord of all the worlds.

Glory, shining forth from the horizon of knowledge, be upon those peoples who have attained unto the knowledge of God, turned unto Him, spoken His praise, and arisen to serve His Cause, in such wise that no tyrant hath withheld them and no heedless one hath hindered them. These are the servants whom the Faithful One, in His justice, hath described as His loved ones—souls whose station no tongue can worthily portray.

I testify that there is none other God but Him. From everlasting He hath been and shall be; He commandeth and shall command; He acteth and shall act. Who is there that can prevent Him from accomplishing His purpose? He speaketh even as He spoke in the presence of enemies, at the time when the heedless and doubting gathered against Him with leveled spears and drawn swords. Verily, He is He Whom neither all created things can exhaust nor all contingent beings can confound. There is none other God but Him, the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent.

And now: the servant hath received that which ye sent, and hath inhaled therefrom the fragrance of the praise of my Beloved and your Beloved—the Beloved of all who are in the heavens and on the earth.

Arise—God helping thee—to the horizon of His favour. The handwriting you have sent in these days was a tender and gracious breath. I read it and hearkened, and from it I breathed the fragrance of the singular love of the Cause. One writing bore the blessed name of a¸¤amud—upon him be the Most Glorious—and another was inscribed in the name of Ahmad. Each was presented before the Countenance again and again. He said:

“We have perceived in his words the scent of sincerity. Woe unto the wronged one! Yet he shall, by the wondrous grace of his Lord, behold amazing deeds.”

Praise be to God—the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, the Most Holy, the Most Great! God willing, their branches shall appear and shall prevail; the command is wholly His; verily, He is Witness over all things.

God—One, the Knowing, the Witness—beareth testimony that my tongue is far too feeble to recount the words of the Cause which were spoken—words whereof the Pen itself is powerless to make mention. God willing, be ye ever occupied in the remembrance of God, and arise to praise Him.

Recall ye those days when from the Blessed Tongue a single word was uttered, and hearts were awakened. This is, in truth, the Cause of God—how lofty are the stations it revealeth! Happy are they that know.

After the presentation of that supplication, a Tablet was sent down from the heaven of Will. Blessed are they that attain unto it. As to the marginal notes: they were especially presented before the Countenance. What you did beforehand has been acknowledged and brought to fulfilment.

Convey greetings from this lowly servant to the friends of that land. God willing, be ye all, in perfect love and tenderness and compassion, intent upon the good-pleasure of the Most Exalted Springtime of God, that ye may become of those who testify and are adorned with radiance.

Blessed are they, and blessed is every one who hath attained unto the knowledge of the Beginning and the End.

Glory be upon you, and upon all who have turned toward the Most Exalted Horizon in this wondrous Day.

BH01752: My God, my God! Thou seest mine eyes fixed…

In the Name of our Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing!

My God, my God! Thou seest mine eyes fixed upon the horizon of Thy grace and the hands of this poor one raised to the heaven of Thy bounty. Whenever I contemplate Thy justice, O my God, my limbs tremble, my heart is agitated, my joints quiver, my sighs ascend and my tears fall. Yet whenever I contemplate Thy grace and Thy dealings with Thy loved ones, my spirit soars, my heart is assured and my soul finds rest. By Thy glory, O God of Names and Creator of heaven! My heart has melted from shame and my being is aflame with the fire of my sorrow. In my days I have done that which Thou didst forbid in Thy Books and through the tongues of Thy Messengers. I confess, O my God, to having wronged my soul. I have forsaken what was meet and proper and have committed that which hath caused the dwellers of the cities of Thy justice to lament.

My God, my God! My transgressions have prevented me from turning to the lights of the Orb of Thy grace, and my trespasses have come between me and the revelations of Thy names and attributes. O Lord! Thou seest the sinner yearning for the ocean of Thy forgiveness, and him that is far removed longing for the court of Thy nearness. I beseech Thee by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty and the effulgences of the Day-Star of Thy bestowal, and by Thy Prophets and Messengers whom Thou hast made the lamps of guidance among Thy creatures and the dawning-places of piety amidst Thy creation, to aid me in Thy remembrance and praise and in that which Thou hast commanded in Thy Book. I am Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. I have turned to Thee, detached from all else but Thee, acknowledging Thy unity and Thy singleness, and assured of Thy grandeur and Thy sovereignty, Thy might and Thy power.

Alas, alas! My heedlessness hath destroyed me and my disobedience hath weakened me. I know not, O my Purpose and my Adored One, with what countenance to turn toward Thee, with what heart to approach Thy most exalted horizon and supreme height, and with what tongue to offer excuses before the manifestations of Thy justice, O Lord of all being! My sin hath kept me back from drawing nigh unto Thee, and my deeds have intervened between me and Thy bounty and generosity. I have done what Thou didst forbid and have neglected what Thou didst command. Therefore, alas, alas! I am he who cast aside the ordinances of Thy Book and took the book of my own self, and committed that which hath deprived me of the pearls of the ocean of Thy knowledge and barred me from the sweet waters of Thy mercy and Thy bounty.

Behold, O my God, my evil plight, my agitation and my confusion! My God, my God! My hope is in Thy grace and my desire is Thy generosity. The ocean of rebellion hath turned toward the ocean of Thy forgiveness, and the mountain of error toward the heaven of Thy bounty. Should Thou cast me far, who will draw me nigh, and should Thou deny me, who will call me unto Thee? By Thy power, O King of the visible and invisible realms, and Sovereign of grandeur and might! I find for myself no helper save Thee, no protector besides Thee, and no one merciful other than Thee. The fire of heedlessness and passion hath consumed me—where is the water of Thy mercy, O Purpose of them that have recognized Thee? The hosts of idle fancies and vain imaginings have removed me far from Thee—where is the light of Thy nearness, O God of the heavens and the earth? The thirst of disobedience hath destroyed me—where is the ocean of Thy forgiveness, O Thou in Whose remembrance the hearts of them that are nigh unto Thee delight?

I beseech Thee, O God of earth and heaven, by the Ark that hath sailed at Thy bidding, and by Him through Whom the sweet savors of Thy Revelation were wafted and the celestial spheres of Thy heaven were honored by His advent, and by them through whom Thy traces were spread abroad, Thy standards were raised up, Thy commandments and laws were revealed, and the horizons of Thy realm were illumined, not to disappoint me of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy loved ones. O Lord! Thou seest the feeble one seeking the kingdom of Thy utterance, him that is far removed yearning for the precincts of Thy mercy, and the sinful one desiring the ocean of Thy bounty and forgiveness. Thou art God, the One, the Single, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O God! Send down Thy blessings upon Thy Messengers and Thy chosen ones, and upon Thy loved ones who have championed Thy Cause, raised the banners of Thy Faith and the ordinances of Thy Book, and strove until they laid down their lives in Thy path. Verily, Thou art powerful to do as Thou pleasest. There is none other God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

BH01805: We make mention of him who was named Farajullah…

He is the Most Holy, the Most Great, the Speaker, the Manifest, the All-Knowing

We make mention of him who was named Farajullah and who emigrated with his Lord, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Wise, the All-Knowing. By the life of God, verily thy Lord’s grace hath encompassed the world. Every atom beareth witness to His generosity, as do they who circle round His mighty throne. By the face of God, He hath come with a mercy that hath preceded all created things. To this all things bear witness, yet most people are heedless. And by the Word of God, His bounty hath encompassed existence itself. The tongue of the Adored One hath testified to this as He was established upon the throne and spoke: “There is none other God but Me, the Mighty, the All-Praised.” And the Beauty of the Beloved—His loving-kindness hath encompassed all who are in the heavens and on earth. To this bear witness all trees and leaves, and beyond them the mountains and the seas, yet the people remain behind a mighty veil.

We have mentioned him whose name We have recalled, who turned to God, and We have immortalized his remembrance in Our perspicuous Tablet. We now make mention of what was presented before the Throne when his residence was in this Prison, which is circled by the Concourse on High and the near-stationed angels. We were seated upon the carpet when the servant in attendance appeared and mentioned that which had saddened his Lord, the Speaker, the All-Informed. O Farajullah! Hearken unto the call from this exalted Prison: “There is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Inaccessible.” Let not what hath befallen thy handmaiden sadden thee, for she hath ascended unto God, the Lord of all worlds. Rather rejoice that she turned toward God when she departed from the Land of Bounty, advancing toward the Land of Mystery—that place wherein the Herald proclaimed: “The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Wondrous!” She directed herself, hastened, entered in, attained, and heard the call of her Lord, the Almighty, the Powerful. She was with her Lord in the Land of Mystery, abided beneath the shade of His mercy, heard His call, was honored to hearken unto His verses, and was gladdened by what she witnessed of the traces of her Lord’s mercy, the Generous.

We make mention of her on this day and give thee these glad-tidings that thou mayest thank thy Lord, the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. By My life! My grace hath preceded the world and nothing in the heavens or earth can prevent it. Thus have We mentioned her that she might attain unto the remembrance of her Lord, and We have sent this unto thee that thou mayest be among the thankful. Hast thou witnessed any greater bounty than this? Nay, by the Self of Truth—yet most people remain heedless. The call hath been raised between earth and heaven, and the sun of grace shineth from the horizon of generosity, yet most nations are among the lost. Blessed is the eye that no veil of desire hath prevented and the face that hath turned toward God, the Mighty, the Wise.

Thus hath the Tongue of Grandeur spoken as He walked in this mighty Prison. And the glory rest upon him and upon all who have preferred the love of God to all else on earth and who have remained firm in His Cause. O Pen Most High! Make mention of the loved ones of thy Lord who circle round the Throne and have entered this Prison which hath been named the Most Great Prison by God, the Mighty, the Great. We beseech God to make you such that nothing on earth may come between us and you. Verily your Lord, the All-Merciful, is the Answerer, the Generous. You are there and We are in this spot, yet We make mention of you as a bounty from Our presence, that ye may be among the thankful.

By the life of God! You are beneath the glances of My loving-kindness and before Mine eyes. To this My mercy and My tenderness bear witness, as do they whom We have acquainted with this wise Cause. We beseech God to assist you in that which will exalt your station and God’s station, and to aid you in that which will cause your remembrance to endure throughout the kingdom of your Lord, the Ordainer, the Faithful. And praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.

BH01879: The meanings have soared for a thousand years…

He is the Most Ancient, the Most Great, the Most Glorious

The meanings have soared for a thousand years to attain unto the station of this Word which hath been uttered by the Tongue of God, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting. The Spirit hath soared through centuries which none can reckon save God, that it might visit this Body which walketh in the Most Exalted Paradise that hath been named, by the Tongue of God, the Lord of the invisible and the visible, as the Most Great Prison. God beareth witness unto His Own Self that He hath appeared in truth and speaketh in this Castle wherein all matters have been confined to the mention of this Most Great Remembrance through which the greatest joy hath appeared in the world and every heedless and veiled one hath lamented.

O youth! The Lord of all beings remembereth thee and calleth to thy mind when thou wert standing before the Presence at the gate which was opened by the finger of divine power unto all who are in the heavens and on earth. Thus hath the Ancient Beauty spoken in this exalted station. Behold and remember when thou didst hear the call of thy Lord and He conversed with thee with tenderness and care. Thy Lord is, verily, the Mighty, the Loving.

And We remember thy father who attained unto the ornament of certitude and bore witness unto that which God did bear witness and uttered that which was recorded in My Preserved Tablet. We testify that he wavered not in this Cause and when he heard the call from the direction of his Lord, the Lord of Names, he said:

“Here am I, here am I, O God of the unseen and the seen!”

He heard and responded and submitted when the Command came to him from the Dayspring of the revelation of his Lord, the Lord of existence. We adorned the heaven of his heart with the luminary of My love, the Mighty, the Beloved. He attained unto the most pure wine when Iraq was My greatest horizon. He took and drank in My blessed Name, the Mighty, the Inaccessible. Once he attained in Iraq and again when the heedless ones drove Us from the Land of Mystery. Thus doth the Ancient Beauty speak before the face of the world, but most of the people understand not.

O Dhabih! Thy Lord remembereth thee in connection with that which befell thee in this path wherein the Guide Himself hath been guided by reason of what hath been ascribed to God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. I testify that thou didst believe in God when He appeared in truth, and neither the veils of learning nor the imaginings of those who disbelieved in God, the Lord of the worlds, did hinder thee. Thou didst cast away what was with the people and took what was with God, thy Lord and the Lord of the mighty throne, and thou didst turn away from the people, advancing toward My Self-Subsisting Name, and didst abandon all things out of thy love for the meeting with God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Thou art he whom the howling of wolves did not frighten, nor the barking of those who turned away from the truth, clinging to their vain imaginings. Lo! They are in manifest loss.

O Dhabih! The Goal of the world hath turned toward thee and remembereth thee with that which quickeneth every mouldering bone. He remembereth thee and remembereth thy days and what thou didst utter in this glorious and wondrous path. Thou art he who took hold of the Book with the power of thy Lord and cast the book of the evil ones into the lowest hell. Thou art he who acknowledged that which God acknowledged and drank the wine of steadfastness on a day wherein the limbs of all names trembled and all who dwell in the kingdom of creation were shaken. Verily thy Lord is the All-Remembering, the Compassionate, the Generous.

For God’s sake thou didst hear the gloating of every oppressor and didst bear from the aggressors that which caused every just and discerning one to weep. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who draweth nigh unto thee and remembereth thee with that which the Most Great Remembrance hath uttered, through Whose name the gate of heaven was opened and the sea of names surged and the fragrance of God, the Forgiving, the Merciful, was wafted.

The peace which hath dawned from the horizon of the Abode of Peace and the glory which hath shone forth and appeared from the horizon of eternity be upon thee and upon him who hath uttered thy remembrance and praise and hath visited thy grave by the command of the Ordainer, the All-Informed.

BH01889: O Amin, upon thee be My glory and loving-kindness…

He is God, exalted be His glory in wisdom and utterance!

O Amin, upon thee be My glory and loving-kindness. Praise be befitting unto the Desired One Who, through His perfect power, all-encompassing will and penetrating decree, raised up the banner of “Verily I am God” between kings and subjects, erected the pavilion of glory in the most exalted places of the earth, and through the power of the Pen and the influence of the Word took possession of the realm of hearts. Unto Him be praise and glory, unto Him be gratitude and splendor.

Thereafter the Most Great Branch writes, as the servant in attendance had no time due to excessive writing. This is of God’s bounty unto thee and unto him.

Tablets specifically addressed to Muhammad-ʿAli and Yusuf Khan were sent—deliver them to Bahram-Abad. Beseech God that He may assist all to truly turn to Him and drink from the ocean of the utterance of the All-Merciful.

The sum that you collected was received and sent to Khadra. Do not forget about the teacher’s cloak—if a good Na’ini cloak can be found it would be better and more suitable.

The Tablet for the prince was sent, but act according to the consultation of Varqa, upon him be My glory and loving-kindness.

In these days special favor was shown to Aqa Siyyid Faraj’u’llah, upon him be the glory of God—that is, manifest verses were revealed and sent to him. Mention was made of you and the friends of that land and the companions at the gate of Isfahan whom you had mentioned in His presence—this flowed from the Most Exalted Pen. Blessed art thou, O Amin! Unceasingly hast thou mentioned the friends and loved ones of God and sought for each that which hath no likeness.

Likewise specifically for Aqa Zaynu’l-ʿAbidin in the great city a Tablet was revealed and sent.

Aqa Hashim Aqa Qadir from the land of K also sent a letter in the name of God expressing his intention to pay the Huquq. It was commanded that it be given to Aqa ʿAli-Haydar who would deliver it to you—act as previously mentioned and deliver it.

O Amin, the glance of favor is ever directed toward [the poor]. Whatever arrives and is commanded, surely deliver it. In this divine age some of the wealthy ones have, praise be to God, been successful, but some have been deprived. Blessed is he whom God has enabled to serve His Most Great Cause and His Mighty Announcement.

Convey greetings to the loved ones of God wherever they may be. Say: Know ye the value of these days and in this spiritual age and divine century adorn yourselves with goodly deeds and praiseworthy character, and arise to serve the Cause of God for which all have been created.

We send greetings to Varqa, upon him be My glory and loving-kindness, and likewise to Abu’l-Fadl, upon him be the glory of God. Replies to Varqa’s petitions from before and after will arrive, and We likewise make mention of the other loved ones of that land and give them the glad-tidings of God’s favor, exalted be His glory.

Glory be upon thee and upon those who have believed in God, the Single, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Wherever you meet [Jinab-i-ʿAyn-Ba], upon him be the glory of God, convey greetings and give him the glad-tidings and assurance of God’s favor. And whatever you can deliver to them in these days is very beloved, acceptable, praiseworthy and rewarding. We beseech God to assist thee and him to serve His mighty Cause.

BH01885: O Land of Sad [Isfahan]! Where are they who…

He is the Faithful Herald

O Land of Sad [Isfahan]! Where are they who loved God and His chosen ones? Where are they who stood firm in His service in all conditions? Where are they who shone forth from the horizon of faithfulness like the sun rising from the horizon of heaven? Where is My trust in thee—didst thou deliver him into the hands of enemies, or did he sacrifice his spirit in the path of God, the Lord of Names? Tell Me what the people did to him through whom God’s Cause was manifested among the servants and the horizon of love dawned in all lands. Be truthful with Me—where is the Most Great Trust? Where is he who circled round God, the Lord of the Throne and earth? Where is the Spirit who appeared in human temple to serve God, the Lord of Destiny? O Land of Sad! Where is the Tree of Love with its branches, boughs, leaves and fruits? It cries out, saying:

“By Thy beauty, O Lord of Glory and Beloved of Ha! I cannot mention what I witnessed from the enemies. By Thy might, I am ashamed to present what the people did to their Lord, Master, Helper and Strengthener. How can I speak of that which saddens Thy heart, O Thou Desire of earth and heaven? Whenever I intend to mention it, weeping prevents me, and Thou art the Knower of both speech and whispered thought. By Thy might, O my Sovereign! If Thou were to decree my extinction, it would be dearer to me than to mention and relate before Thee that which causes grief in days Thou madest dawning-places of joy for Thy loved ones and daysprings of happiness for the people of Thy realm—and this despite my certitude in the ocean of Thy knowledge, the heaven of Thy will, the penetration of Thy purpose and the encompassing nature of Thy power. Would that I had never existed and never seen Thee grieved, O Lord of nations and Sovereign of eternity!”

O Region of Sad! Why do I see and hear thy birds and their song, but see not My she-camel nor hear her cry? Is she in the garden above the earth or beneath it? O gardens of that city! Where is the breeze of God that wafted over thee, and where is God’s fruit within thee? Has it been cut off or has it fallen? By God, the people are in manifest error. They have hamstrung her after she gave them to drink the purest milk from the breast of God’s wisdom, the Lord of all worlds.

O My Name Ha! We concealed thy station while thou wert in this world due to the weakness of the servants. But when thou didst ascend, We unveiled thee and revealed what thou truly wert and what God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy, had bestowed upon thee. Blessed is he who loved thee, found solace with thee, heard thy call, thy remembrance and thy praise, sought thy resting-place, and turned his face toward thy countenance for the sake of God, thy Beloved, thy Goal and thy Manifestation. Blessed is every seeker who seeks thy most exalted station and thy most glorious abode, who stands before thy tomb and visits thee with what hath been revealed from the Supreme Pen and uttered by the Tongue of Grandeur in the prison of Akka. Joy be to him who remembers thy days and what appeared from thee in the love of God, thy Lord, and who relates to people what befell thee in thy Lord’s Cause. By the life of God, he is among the people of Baha in a preserved tablet.

O My Name Ha! Thou wert a stranger in thy homeland, a captive in thy dwelling-place, and oppressed and alone among the servants. Blessed is the land God made the resting-place of thy body, and the city from whose horizon thou didst shine forth in thy Lord’s days. It behooveth every lover to remember thee with what God hath remembered thee in His tablets. We beseech Him by thee to send down upon His loved ones that which will draw them nigh unto Him. Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Kind.

BH01933: Your letter reached this Wronged One in the Most…

In the Name of the Peerless Lord!

Your letter reached this Wronged One in the Most Great Prison and was seen. The Cause of Truth has ever shone like the sun from the horizon of glory—the eclipse of people’s vain imaginings has not and will never overtake it. Colocynth has never been confused with honey. Every possessor of hearing and smell can perceive the song of the nightingale and the fragrance of the rose.

You wrote that your letter went unanswered and was delayed. Know this much: the purpose of this servant is that all on earth should gather together in perfect love and unity at the divine stream of His Cause. Pride and vainglory have no place here. For God’s sake have We spoken what We have spoken, and for His sake have We been afflicted with countless imprisonments and tribulations. If you would reflect a little on what has come to pass, you would testify to what is recorded in this leaf.

And as for what you wrote about this servant considering those not his followers to be unbelievers—God forbid! Rather, those souls who are heedless of Truth and turn to other than Him are, by the testimony of the divine Books, unbelievers and ever shall be. Consider what the All-Merciful has revealed in the Qur’an that you may be assured I speak only what God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, has spoken.

You also wrote that if the matter rests on imitation, Abu Dharr and Salman the Persian are more worthy of being imitated since their excellence is universally acknowledged. If you follow this reasoning, you should not go beyond the scroll of Adam and cling to him, for all peoples—Jews, Christians, Muslims and most of the world’s communities—accept him. And after him you should cling only to Moses and the Torah, for most people on earth have agreed upon them. But as for Salman and Abu Dharr, none but the Islamic sect accepts them. Now consider by what proof you passed beyond that which all agree upon—what was that proof and which path did you take? We say no more. He has said: “An hour’s reflection is better than seventy years of worship.”

This is the Day of the appearance of the blessed Word that says: “Say: God; then leave them to their vain discourses.” Hear the counsel of this Wronged One Who speaks for God’s sake and has no purpose save this, for most of His life He has been afflicted and has sought no helper save God. Were you to turn to things with the ear of innate nature, you would hear their sighing, their crying and their weeping. Reflect on the state of the world and its changes and extinction. Ask God to guide you to a matter whose traces will endure permanently on earth.

Be not distressed at the delay in reply. Affairs have their appointed times. Moreover, no obligation rests upon a bird imprisoned in a cage. God willing, you will rend asunder the veils of fancy and attain the station of certitude. This is the station where the imagined is effaced and the known appears. The Cause is in His hand—He gives what He wishes to whom He wishes and withholds from whom He wishes what He wills. He is verily the Protector, the Mighty, the Transcendent, the Glorious, the Praiseworthy.

BH01929: Glory be unto Thee, O Thou Who art…

He is the Comforter, the Consoler, the Exalted, the Most Glorious

Glory be unto Thee, O Thou Who art the King of names, for that Thou hast converted joy into vexation, and pitched the tent of sorrows during Thy festival of Ridvan. I swear by Thy glory! I repine not at that which hath befallen Me in Thy path. By Thy name, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names! Tribulation borne for love of Thee is, verily, My cherished wish, the goal of My desire, and the solace of Mine heart; yet do I long to announce unto the world that from the Lote Tree of Fidelity the Most Exalted Fruit hath fallen, inasmuch as it was compassed by tempestuous winds blowing from the right hand of Thy decree, and smitten by the assault of Thine appointment as inscribed by the Pen of Thy behest.

O My Lord! The sea of troubles hath surged during the days of Thy happiness, and the fragrance of sorrows hath wafted even in the day of Thy blissful joy. Hath the refulgent orb of Thy Name Ha’ set beneath the horizon of Sad, or is he still in the clutches of the enemies, who have cast away Thy Testament, O Thou Who art the Possessor of all names?

O Land of Sad! Doth My Name yet walk upon thy surface, or hath there reposed within thy womb a trust from Me? O insensate land! How canst thou be still, when the very ocean is concealed within thee? And how canst thou be illumined, when the refulgent orb hath set beneath thy horizon? O Land of Sad! Where is thy lamp, and where thy straight path? Where is God’s overflowing fount within thee, and where the Lote Tree whose shade God had made a shelter unto all that resorted thither, or sought it out, or chanced upon it in their travels?

I swear by God! O My Name Ha’! By reason of thine agony the Pen of the Most High hath halted; the dwellers of the Cities of the Names of God have lamented; and the hearts of His chosen ones have melted. Thou art he who accepted not a ransom in the love of God, the Lord of this world and of the next; and repeatedly craved of God that which actually befell him. Thou art the Most Great Ransom in the Crimson Book.

Did the people think that they had gained by their transaction? Nay, by Him Who is the King of Names! God is My witness that they suffered a loss such as hath had no equal in the knowledge of God, the Lord of the throne above and of earth below. The Tongue of Grandeur testifieth that it is thou who hast gained by this transaction. Nay by My life! All gain is thine, inasmuch as thou hast quit the earth, whose every atom beareth witness unto its evanescence; hast set thy face towards the dawning-place of eternity; and hast yielded thy life in thy yearning for the love of God, the Creator of the heavens and the Lord of all names.

By thy life, O My Name! By reason of thine agony the afflictions of the saints have been effaced, and the eyes of God’s chosen ones and the Celestial Concourse have run down with tears. It hath reached such a pass that He Who is the Manifestation of God’s Ancient Beauty among the nations hath been sorrowed. Wert thou present before this Wronged One in thine outward temple, and didst behold in what condition the Pen of the Most High recounteth thine afflictions, thou wouldst wail even as a bereaved mother in the kingdom of creation.

Alas, alas, O My Name Ha’! And again alas, alas, O My Name that shineth above the horizon of fidelity! And yet again, alas I cry, with a fervour such as to cause oceans to well forth from the eyes, and the hearts and souls to melt. Thou art he through whom the tale of the Sacrifice (Ishmael) hath been retold, and that which had been hidden in the knowledge of God, and written in His Mighty Book, hath come to pass.

O Land of Sad! Speak true, I prithee, and tell Me, Where is the She-Camel of God, that trod thy byways and grazed in thy fair pastures? Doth she still graze today, or hath she been hamstrung by the enemies of God, and by the enemies of His chosen ones and His servants? Then tell Me, did she drink and ascend, or did she suffer martyrdom whilst parched, and so ascend unto the Abha Horizon and the realms above?

Then tell Me, left she anyone behind to guard her home; to gather together her kin; to calm their trepidation; to fortify their hearts; to comfort them in their distress; and to console them in their grief and sorrow? Thou must needs in such a case, and at this very moment, repeat: The Kingdom is God’s the Lord of the worlds! Verily, we are God’s, and unto Him shall we indeed return.

BH01983: O My handmaiden and My leaf! Upon thee be…

He is the Consoler, the All-Merciful, the Generous

O My handmaiden and My leaf! Upon thee be My glory! We have heard thy call and have answered thee with this luminous Tablet which We have made the bearer of My grace that hath encompassed all who are in the heavens and on earth. We make mention of the leaf whom We named ʿIzziyyih, who attained Our presence and won victory in the days of God, the Lord of the worlds. We make mention of her and of those handmaidens who have believed in God, the Peerless, the All-Informed. We make mention of all My handmaidens at this hour wherein the tongue of grandeur hath spoken before the faces of the people that there is none other God but Him, the Single, the One, the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

O My Most Exalted Pen! Make mention of the leaf who heard My call and responded, who beheld My verses and turned unto them. We testify that she believed in God and His verses, acknowledged that which hath been sent down from His presence, and confessed His manifestation, His emergence and His sovereignty. We testify that she was attracted by the call of God in the earliest days, responded and was set ablaze by the fire of the Divine Lote-Tree in such wise that the reins of her free will were taken from her grasp. We have heard her crying out in the days and her yearning in the morning hours.

O My Pen! When thou desirest to make mention of her and to visit her, turn thy face toward God’s loving-kindness and say: The first light that shone forth from the horizon of the heaven of bounty and the first utterance that was voiced by the Tongue of Grandeur—upon thee, O leaf of the Tree of Faithfulness! I bear witness that, due to thy remoteness from the court of nearness, thy liver was consumed, thy joy was turned to sorrow and great was thy calamity. Blessed art thou, O My handmaiden and My leaf, and blessed is the handmaiden who draweth nigh unto thee and visiteth thee, by virtue of that which the Most Exalted Pen hath spoken on this dark night. We beseech God to ordain for all who visit thee the reward of him who hath winged his flight from his homeland, seeking the most exalted homeland beneath the canopies of the grandeur of the Lord of all men. Blessed art thou and joy be unto thee!

We testify, and the near ones and the sincere ones bear witness, that separation hath consumed thee, such that thy sighs have ascended and thy tears have fallen at all times. The heat of love hath encompassed all thy limbs. Thou art she who hath taken the cup of love and drunk therefrom in the name of God, the Possessor of Creation. We beseech God, blessed and exalted be He, to send down upon thee at every moment a mercy from His presence and a blessing from His own Self. He is verily the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.

O My handmaiden and My leaf! Thou art in the Most Exalted Paradise while the Lord of all men maketh mention of thee in the prison of ʿAkka. By the life of God! Through My remembrance of thee the ocean of thy Lord’s mercy hath surged and the fragrance of loving-kindness and favors hath wafted—a bounty from God, the Possessor of this sublime station. Joy be unto thee, O My handmaiden, and peace be upon thee, O My leaf, and mercy be upon thee, O thou whose liver was melted in separation from Me! We beseech God to inscribe for thee in the Tablet, by the Most Glorious Pen, the reward of attaining His presence. He is verily the Creator of the heavens and the Possessor of the Kingdom of Names. There is none other God but Him, the Hearer, the Answerer.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God and the God of all names, my Goal and the Goal of all who are in earth and heaven! I beseech Thee by the resplendent Light and by Thy firm, penetrating Command to forgive me and my parents. O Lord! I beseech Thee by the blood of the lovers in the land of Ya and by their patience and steadfastness in Thy good-pleasure, and by this most pure Shrine, to fulfill my needs and the needs of Thy servants who have turned unto Thee and have taken hold of Thy Book. Thou art verily the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

BH01988: O Muhammad-Rida, upon thee be the Glory of God…

He is the Rememberer and the Helper, He is the All-Loving and the All-Bountiful.

O Muhammad-Rida, upon thee be the Glory of God, the Lord of all beings! Thy letter which thou hadst sent to Aqa Muhammad, upon him be my glory, was brought before Us by Badi’u’llah and was heard. Praise be to God, from every word thereof wafted the fragrance of divine love, and from the horizon of every letter shone forth the light of affection.

O Muhammad-Rida, upon thee be the Glory of God, the Lord of Names! Know thou with absolute certitude that thou hast attained unto that which hath no peer or likeness, and that is the Word of God, which it was and is. Time and again from the treasury of the Most Exalted Pen have pearls of wisdom and utterance been revealed especially for the loved ones. Whosoever hath attained unto these and remained firm in the Cause hath attained unto all good. God shall soon exalt his mention in the world and his name among the peoples.

We have mentioned thy father before in such wise that through it the fragrance of the garment of utterance was wafted throughout all creation. Through My mention of him the ocean of forgiveness surged and the sun of pardon and bounty shone forth from the horizon of the world. Give thanks unto God, thy Lord, for this great favor. And We have mentioned thy brother as a grace from Us. Verily thy Lord is the All-Bountiful, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Convey on behalf of the Wronged One greetings to the kinfolk. Each one is blessed with the effulgences of the light of the Sun of divine favor, exalted be His glory. Give them glad-tidings from Me and remind them of My verses. The loved ones of that land are remembered in the presence of the Wronged One. By the life of God! That which no treasures or riches can equal hath been ordained for them. Verily thy Lord is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen.

Say: O people of God! This day is your day. Be as fire in your love for the Chosen One, as light in your mention of Him Who conversed on Sinai, as mountains in your steadfastness and firmness, and as the Kawthar in giving life to the dead. This behooveth him who hath laid hold on this mighty cord.

In these days the letter of the spiritual youth, upon him be My glory and My loving-kindness and My mercy, arrived, and likewise the letter of Ahmad, upon him be My glory and My grace, and they were heard. We beseech God to aid them and enable them to assist His Cause through wisdom and utterance, and to send down upon them from the heaven of bounty that which will draw them near unto Him in all conditions. Verily He is the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted.

Say unto Abdullah Ahmad: Hearken unto My call from the precincts of My prison. Verily there is no God but Him, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We counsel thee to be forbearing. If thou shouldst hear an unseemly word from thy brother, thou must conceal it and prefer forgiveness over retribution. Consider what hath befallen him in this Cause. Verily he hath heard in the path of God that which caused the denizens of Paradise to lament. In all matters, silence and quietude concerning him are most fitting and beloved. This is what the Wronged One hath decreed in His mighty prison.

Thou didst mention Ali and his mother, upon them both be the Glory of God. A Tablet hath been specially revealed from the heaven of grace for him. Deliver it unto him that he may rejoice and be among the thankful. If the Huququ’llah is found in that land, deliver one vahid to the mother or the son.

The glory shining forth from the horizon of the heaven of My mercy be upon you and upon My servants and My handmaidens who have quaffed the choice wine of revelation from this manifest ocean.

BH01971: This is a Book which the All-Merciful hath sent…

He is the Most Holy, the Most Great, the Most Exalted, the Most High.

This is a Book which the All-Merciful hath sent down; it is, verily, the proof of God among His creatures and His testimony amidst His servants. Thereof testifieth the Tongue of Grandeur in this station, each and every atom thereof proclaiming: “Verily, there is no God but Me, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting.”

They who have attained unto the Days of God and borne witness unto that whereunto the Beauty of Pre-Existence hath borne witness among the nations—these are the people of Baha in the Kingdom of creation, and the companions of the Crimson Ark which the Pen of the Most High did mention ere this sweetest Call was raised in the visible realm of My mighty, inaccessible dominion.

We created the souls for these very days, the mention of which hath adorned the Books and Tablets. Yet when the dawn of the Day of Manifestation broke, and He Who held converse on the Mount spake forth, the servants turned aside from Him: among them were those who pronounced Him an infidel, and among them those who devised against Him calumnies without any proof or written testimony.

We, in very truth, summoned all unto the supreme Paradise, while they decreed that My blood be shed. Thus was the matter decreed; but the people, for the most part, understand not. The Call hath been raised, the Trumpet hath been sounded, yet most men comprehend it not. They have cast behind their backs the bounty of God and have taken for themselves the embodiments of idle fancy as lords and protectors. Thus doth My Most Exalted Pen recount these things unto thee as a favour from His presence; verily, He is powerful to do what He willeth: He but saith “Be,” and it is. By God! The Ocean of knowledge hath surged before all faces, yet the people have turned away therefrom, in that they have followed images and vain imaginings.

O Muhammad-Qabl-i-Javad! Rejoice, then give ear unto that whereunto the Lord of being summoneth thee—a remembrance upon which decay shall never work, by reason of the eternity of the realms of earth and heaven. We stayed the Pen concerning thy mention in accordance with a wisdom from Our presence; thy Lord doeth what He willeth and decreeth what He desireth by virtue of His sovereignty that overshadoweth whatsoever hath been and shall be.

The gaze of God hath been directed toward thee in this most exalted station. Give thanks, and say:

“Praise be unto Thee, O God of the unseen and the seen! Thou hast ever held me under the watchful eye of Thy tender mercy. Thou seest and beholdest, and Thou art the One, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved.”

Thy letter hath come and from it We perceived the fragrance of thy love for God, the Lord of all being. Blessed art thou, in that thou hast turned unto the Desired One whilst every heedless and veiled soul hath turned away from Him.

Say: “O Thou Lord of the Throne and of the dust, O Sovereign of the world to come and of this first life! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Glorious Name, through which the limbs of the Names have trembled and Thy Call hath been lifted up in the luminous Spot, that Thou mayest succour me to remember and praise Thee, and enable me to do that which beseemeth the days that are Thine. O my Lord! Thou seest me turning toward the heaven of Thy bounty, directing myself unto the ocean of Thy grace, and holding fast unto the cord of Thy Command. Send down, then, from the heaven of Thy munificence upon this Thy servant that whereby my remembrance may endure in Thy Kingdom and in Thy Realm of might.

O my Lord! I am he who hath clung to the Ark of Thy Cause, that Ark which, by Thy power and Thy sovereignty, hath sailed upon both land and sea. O my Lord! Suffer me not to be deprived of that which is with Thee and of that which Thy Most Exalted Pen hath destined for Thy chosen ones and Thy loved ones. Verily, Thou art the All-Powerful, Whom nothing can frustrate; no matter can hinder Thee. Thou givest and Thou withholdest; and Thou, in truth, art the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the All-Loving.”

Thus have We taught thee and made thee to know, that thou mayest give thanks unto thy Lord, the All-Subduing, the Self-Subsisting.

The glory of God rest upon thee, and upon such as have held fast unto the Cord that is mighty and unbreakable, and who have voiced His praise—this Wronged, this Stranger.

BH01960: He dawns from the horizon of utterance

He dawns from the horizon of utterance

God testifieth that there is none other God but Him, and that He Who speaketh in the Most Great Prison is verily the Object of all tribulation and harm, and the Recipient of afflictions. There hath befallen Him that which hath caused the Concourse on High to lament, and the dwellers of the pavilions of Grandeur and Majesty to weep. Blessed is the soul that hath heard His call and hath arisen to serve His Cause and aid it through wisdom and utterance, and woe unto him who hath denied the proof of the All-Merciful and was among the heedless ones.

O thou who soarest in My atmosphere! Hearken unto My call, for verily I am in the ocean of sorrows and I make mention of thee with that which causeth the spirit of life to stir within the body of contingent being. Thy Lord is verily the All-Merciful, the Bountiful. We have heard thy call time and again, and thy letter was read before the Wronged One repeatedly, and We have answered thee with this Tablet, which when it was sent down, all the tablets of the world bowed down before it. Rejoice thou and be of the thankful ones.

And We have heard thy sighs in the love of God and witnessed thy tears in separation from Him. To this hath testified what thou hast presented in this Station before which every station hath prostrated itself and around which every House attributed to God, the Lord of the worlds, hath circled. Thus hath the Tongue spoken in the Kingdom of Utterance that the rapture and longing may seize thee to such a degree that thou wilt cry out among the concourse of names through this Name, the Mighty, the Wondrous.

Be thou vocal with that which will cause the spirit of the world to soar and the hearts of them who are nigh to be attracted. Warble upon the branches of the Divine Lote-Tree with diverse melodies that the followers of all religions may be set ablaze thereby. By My life! For this wast thou created and for this wast thou commanded at this time wherein the Tongue of Grandeur proclaimeth: The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the One, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

God willing, through divine favor you will appear and speak in such wise that frozen hearts and cold souls and cast-out stony temples will attain unto a new spirit and fresh vitality.

O thou who hast turned thy face toward My countenance and gazed toward My horizon! The Suriy-i-Hikmat which was specially revealed for thee from the divine Kingdom of utterance is in truth like unto a treasure, and precious pearls lie concealed within each word thereof. Should anyone recite it, with each reading he will behold a door opened. That honored one must recite this perspicuous Tablet for the friends with the most wondrous melodies. By My life! It guideth the people unto the truth and maketh them to recognize the Balance that calleth out betwixt earth and heaven, “Verily, I am the Distinguisher, the All-Knowing!”

Speak ye with My words that will bestow the essence of life upon every particle of dust and grant the wings of assurance, that they may soar in the atmosphere of the love of the All-Merciful with the utmost joy and attraction. Previously this word was revealed from the Most Exalted Pen: Different effects are witnessed from words in the kingdom of names and attributes. Thus hath it been ordained from the presence of One Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Therefore that honored one must at all times be occupied with educating the servants through wisdom and utterance. Verily He is with thee and will aid thee to make mention of Him and praise Him and serve His Cause, the Mighty, the Perspicuous.

And We make mention in this station of My loved ones in that land who have cast aside all else save Me and have taken hold of that which they were commanded by One Who is All-Knowing, All-Wise. The Glory be upon thee and upon thy wife. Verily We make mention of her and of My handmaidens who have turned toward God, the Lord of all worlds.

BH01959: May my spirit be a sacrifice for Your Presence…

In the Name of our Most Holy, Most Exalted, Most Glorious Lord

May my spirit be a sacrifice for Your Presence. The intensity of the heat this year affected my body and caused weakness, but the water of life from Your Presence, which flowed from the Pen of love and favor, provided the most excellent remedy for it. How pleasant and refreshing it was for me! When I drank from each cup of Your favors and each goblet of Your kindness, it so intoxicated and enraptured me that I was transported, ascended, entered, attained presence, and made my supplication. When Your prayer was offered before the face of our Beloved and your Beloved, the Tongue of Grandeur spoke forth that which diffused the fragrance of His favor, mercy and kindness toward your honor, and He said, exalted be His glory:

O My Name Mihdi! Praise be to God, thou hast attained to divine favor. This most exalted Word was previously revealed in the Crimson Book. Blessed is the soul that hath attained unto the Word of God in His days, for that Word hath been and shall ever be like a lamp before his face in all the worlds. Blessed is the soul that hath attained unto this most exalted station, this highest rank and ultimate goal.

Praise be to God, you have attained, time after time, nay limitless beyond reckoning by century, age, epoch, eternity or pre-existence, to divine verses, signs, allusions, expositions, tablets and scriptures. Even if but a single word appear in a single moment, it is not and never shall be bounded by temporal limitations, for a single word shining forth in less than a moment from the Mouth of the Will of the King of Oneness manifests its radiance, its decree and its revelation clearly and evidently in all worlds, and like an artery in a body, it appears and moves through all times from the beginning that hath no beginning to the end that hath no end. Blessed is the soul that hath drunk from this ocean and gained knowledge of this Book. Likewise this blessed word appeared from the Dawning-Place of the Tongue in the Kingdom of Utterance—exalted be His glory:

God willing, divine favor, mercy and blessing are directed toward you, and He will grant you deliverance from troublesome and wearisome matters. Every difficulty is easy for Him and every hardship simple. Verily He is the Powerful One Who doeth what He willeth in creation and judgeth as He pleaseth through His firm and mighty command. During this utterance the table was spread, and mention was made of your honor while partaking of what was present: Give thanks unto thy Lord, the Generous Giver.

The Glory be upon your honor and upon those who have attained to what God desired when He appeared in truth through His wise command. Regarding Haji Mulla Ali, upon him be 966 [the glory of God], if it does not conflict with wisdom or cause notoriety in that land, there is no objection. The letter of Muhammad Mustafa, upon him be the glory of God and His favors, which was sent to that beloved one, has been forwarded. If your honor writes anything, please convey greetings of evanescence and nothingness from this ephemeral one. It is repeated that the letter was sent.

BH01964: Another section in answer

Another section in answer:

That which His Holiness the Exalted One—may the spirit of all existence be sacrificed for Him—has ordained regarding inheritance is thus: Whatever remains from the deceased should be considered as two thousand five hundred and twenty portions, for this is a number whose foundation is from nine, and in its final digits that same nine appears, which is the numerical value of the Blessed Name Baha, and it contains nine fractions, namely: one-tenth, one-ninth, one-eighth, one-seventh, one-sixth, one-fifth, one-fourth, one-third, and one-half. The children’s portion is nine-sixtieths, the spouses’ portion eight-sixtieths, the fathers’ portion seven-sixtieths, the mothers’ portion six-sixtieths, the brothers’ portion five-sixtieths, the sisters’ portion four-sixtieths, and the teachers’ portion three-sixtieths.

This was what was intended by the Book of Ta, Ha, Za, Vav, Ha, Dal and Jim. And in this Dispensation, since the Ancient Beauty, out of pure grace and bounty, has designated the children’s portion, which was nine-sixtieths, to be eighteen-sixtieths, and has reduced nine-sixtieths from those other six categories, now the division must be made in this way: from each of those six categories of heirs, one and one-half sixtieths should be reduced, which totals nine-sixtieths. The spouses’ portion, which was eight-sixtieths, becomes six and one-half sixtieths, which equals three hundred and ninety. The fathers’ portion becomes five and one-half sixtieths, the mothers’ portion four and one-half sixtieths, the brothers’ portion three and one-half sixtieths, the sisters’ portion two and one-half sixtieths, and the teachers’ portion one and one-half sixtieths. When all these numbers are added together, they equal that same hidden number which is two thousand five hundred and twenty.

The year has been fixed at nineteen months, and each month at nineteen days. All of these total three hundred and sixty-one. Since the solar year has three hundred and sixty-five days, and in some years three hundred and sixty-six, there are five extra days. It has been ordained that these five days, which are called the Days of Ha and the Days of Giving that precede the Fast, should be placed before the month of fasting, and the month of fasting is the last month of the year, while Naw-Ruz is the first day of the year.

As for the names of those nineteen months, they are as follows: First, the Month of Splendor; Second, the Month of Glory; Third, the Month of Beauty; Fourth, the Month of Grandeur; Fifth, the Month of Light; Sixth, the Month of Mercy; Seventh, the Month of Words; Eighth, the Month of Perfection; Ninth, the Month of Names; Tenth, the Month of Might; Eleventh, the Month of Will; Twelfth, the Month of Knowledge; Thirteenth, the Month of Power; Fourteenth, the Month of Speech; Fifteenth, the Month of Questions; Sixteenth, the Month of Honor; Seventeenth, the Month of Sovereignty; Eighteenth, the Month of Dominion; Nineteenth, the Month of Loftiness.

Likewise, these nineteen names are also applied to the days of each month. For example, the first day of each month is the Day of Splendor, the second day of each month is the Day of Glory, and the third day of each month is the Day of Beauty.

As for the names of the week, they are as follows: Saturday is the Day of Glory, Sunday is the Day of Beauty, Monday is the Day of Perfection, Tuesday is the Day of Grace, Wednesday is the Day of Justice, Thursday is the Day of Majesty, and Friday is the Day of Independence.

BH11720: This binding and irrevocable decree hath at this hour…

In His Name, exalted be His station of grandeur and power!

This binding and irrevocable decree hath at this hour been revealed from the direction of the Most Great Prison. Verily ye were for God, and there is no doubt that He is with you. O Abdul-Karim, upon thee be My Glory and My favors. Thy letter attained the presence of the Wronged One. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who hath held fast to the cord of patience and acted according to that which was ordained in the Book of God, the Lord of the worlds. Thy deeds and thy steadfastness in adversity have brought Me joy. Ye were slain yet did not slay—well is it with you. Ye have done that which hath caused the fragrance of oppression to waft among all created things.

In truth, the glorious government—may God strengthen it—hath manifested justice, and justice is the cause of the elevation, majesty and power of kings. Blessed is he who is adorned therewith, who drinketh from its chalice and is illumined by its effulgences. This party must ever fix their gaze upon this station. God, exalted be His glory, hath ever loved and still loveth faithfulness, and in diverse Tablets hath commanded all to observe it. As to entering beneath its shadow, there is no harm in this for the settlement of affairs and the quelling of the fire of sedition. If they accept, a few will suffice.

This assistance from the glorious government and this manifestation of justice and fairness will, God willing, obliterate the oppression and tyranny of the world. We counsel this party never to forget this justice and to beseech God with all their hearts to perpetuate the traces of the Bearer of the Standard of Justice throughout the kingdom of earth and heaven, for He hath purely for the sake of God assisted the oppressed ones of the world and hath judged with justice. This is the first assistance that hath been manifested toward these oppressed ones through the will of the great Emperor and the noble General—may God, exalted be He, strengthen them both. This station is most great.

My God, my God! Thou seest the oppressed ones among the wicked among Thy creation, and Thou witnesseth their sighs and tears in what hath befallen them at the hands of those who have made tyranny their practice in Thy land and oppression their characteristic in dealing with Thy servants. O Lord! I beseech Thee by the waves of the ocean of Thy bounty and the effulgences of the sun of Thy grace to aid the oppressed ones to patience and steadfastness in what hath befallen and will befall them in times of hardship and tribulation. O Lord! I beseech Thee by the rustling of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing and the manifestations of Thy justice among all humanity to ordain for them from Thy Most Exalted Pen relief from Thee, a helper from Thy presence, and a protector from Thy side to guard them from the evil of their enemies and those who hate them. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. There is no God but Thee, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting.

It is most clear and evident that this assistance from the glorious government—may God, exalted be He, strengthen it—is the cause of all hearts turning toward it from all directions.

My God, my God! Aid him who desireth to help the oppressed ones among Thy servants, then exalt him through Thy bounty, Thy power and Thy sovereignty. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful.

We wish to seal this Tablet with mention of Fadil, upon him be My Glory and My favors. My Pen and My tongue bear witness to his sincerity, his service, his steadfastness and his presence at this time before the gate of God’s mercy, the Lord of the worlds. The Glory be upon him and upon those who have attained unto justice and fairness and have acted according to that which they were commanded by the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

BH01994: O Most Exalted Pen! Make mention of him who…

He is the Most Holy, the Most Great, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most High!

O Most Exalted Pen! Make mention of him who hath ascended to the loftiest heights, and say: The first fragrance that wafted from the garment of thy Lord’s mercy, the Lord of all names, be upon thee, O thou star shining from the horizon of heaven! I testify that through thee the Most Exalted Horizon did shine forth, the Divine Lote-Tree did speak, the Most Great Word appeared, the Luminous Pearl and the Primal Point were made manifest—through which the hidden Secret and the treasured Symbol were revealed, the knowledge of what was and what would be was detailed, the breeze of God wafted throughout the world, the proof was perfected for all peoples, and the bounty was completed through the diffusion of the fragrance of the Bayan in celebration of the Most Great Name.

I testify that through you the seas surged, the rivers flowed, the trees brought forth leaves, the signs appeared, the mysteries emerged, the faces of the righteous were illumined, and in you the ocean of knowledge surged, the fragrance of the All-Merciful wafted, and the gates of Paradise—around which all gardens circle—were opened. In you dawned the Daybreak whereby the lamp of idle fancies was extinguished, the Sun of Revelation shone forth and the Moon of inspiration gleamed. Through you the Living Waters overflowed to quicken all contingent beings.

I bear witness that in you was raised the standard of “There is none other God but I, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting” and was hoisted the pavilion of “Verily I am God, there is none other God but I, the Mighty, the Beloved.” The nightingale of divine knowledge warbled in the Kingdom of utterance: “The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.” He is indeed the Most Great Book, the Most Exalted Word, and the Greatest Sign. Through Him appeared God’s pervading Will, His all-encompassing Power, His enduring Sovereignty and His all-prevailing Might. He is indeed the Countenance that shone forth from the horizon of eternity after the passing of all things. Through His appearance, the Maidens of inner meaning emerged from the palaces of the Bayan, the mysteries deposited in the Qur’an were revealed, the signs became manifest, and every stone bore witness to the Revealer of verses.

He is indeed the One at Whose appearance the mountains passed away and all things spoke in remembrance of God, the Lord of grandeur and might. Through Him every poor one turned toward the Kingdom of wealth, every bewildered soul toward the lights of guidance, and every thirsty one toward the Kawthar of eternity. I testify that in you appeared the Known Beauty, the Speaker before the Self-Subsisting spoke forth, the Sealed Wine was unsealed, and every destined matter was fulfilled.

I bear witness that thou art he who was assured of meeting thy Lord, the Lord of all names, and wast illumined by God’s lights when the Most Great Luminary shone forth from the horizon of Zawra—a station none among all created things have surpassed save whom thy Lord, the Creator of the heavens, did will. Thou art he who didst drink the choice wine of certitude while people were in doubt and discord, and didst attain the meeting of that Day which the All-Merciful revealed in the Qur’an—His word is the truth—“The Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.” Blessed art thou for having fulfilled the Covenant when the people of the earth broke it, and for having turned to the Countenance when the limbs of the servants trembled from the assault of the people of hypocrisy. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who visiteth thee, by virtue of what hath flowed from the Pen whereby the Bridge was erected, the Balance was set up, the Hour appeared, and the Bayan was sent down.

BH02001: A mention from Us to My loved ones who…

A mention from Us to My loved ones who have acknowledged God and recognized His sovereignty and turned to the Countenance when it shone forth from this manifest horizon. By the life of God! They are the ones who turned to the Dawning Place of inspiration when they heard the call of God, the All-Possessing, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

O people of Qaf! We desire to make you hear the melody of God and give you to drink of the Kawthar of utterance from this Hand that was dominant over all who are in the heavens and earth. Turn with the ears of your hearts that you may hear the call of God from this far-off spot. Blessed are you in that you have cast away vain imaginings and taken the cup of certitude through this manifest Name. By God! Were you to discover what hath been ordained for you, you would soar on wings of joy and arise to serve the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Wondrous. Grieve not over anything. Rather, rejoice in that God remembers you from His Most Exalted Pen in this sublime station. Blessed are you in that you have turned to the Most Exalted Horizon and faced toward the Qiblih of all horizons when every misbeliever turned away from it. Thus have We adorned your temples with the ornament of remembrance and illumined your hearts with the light of the utterance of your Lord, the Forgiving, the Generous. Say: Arise to serve the Cause with wisdom and hold fast unto it—this is better for you, did you but know.

O Samandar! Your letter which you sent to Ism-i-Jud hath come before the Throne and the servant in attendance hath read it, and We make mention of you that you may rejoice within yourself and be of the thankful. Turn with the ear of nature that you may hear the melody of God, the All-Possessing, the Self-Subsisting, and turn with the eye of nature that you may behold the scene of God, the Mighty, the Beloved.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By God, the horizon of certitude hath been illumined and the Countenance of the All-Merciful giveth you to drink of the water of life. Beware lest you deprive yourselves of that which your Lord, Who is dominant over every witness and witnessed one, hath brought. Say: By God! This is the Most Great Day and the Lord of Destiny hath by His own Self arisen to His Cause—He to Whose manifestation all in the unseen and visible worlds have bowed down. Gather ye together in remembrance and praise of God, then make mention of Him in such wise as to attract minds. Do you slumber upon your couches while He standeth at your heads giving you glad tidings of what hath been ordained for you in a preserved Tablet? Beware lest sorrows overtake you or the imaginings of those who have denied God, the Mighty, the Loving, prevent you.

The land of the Prison hath cried out and lamented—were you to ask it why, it would say because the hem of sanctity hath been sullied by what the hands of those who have believed in God, the Single One, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy, have wrought.

O thou servant who art present! Hold back the Pen lest there flow from it that which would cause the Concourse on High to wail and the eyes of those near unto God to shed tears. Turn away from what thou wert occupied with and make mention of My loved ones who are there with My beautiful remembrance. Say: Upon you be glory, then praise, then immortality in that you turned when every hypocrite turned away, and drank when every transgressor was prevented, and knew when every doubter remained ignorant, and faced toward the Dawning Place of faith when the All-Merciful came with manifest sovereignty.

Doth not suffice you what hath flowed this night from the Most Exalted Pen? Say: By Thy life, O Beloved of the worlds! We are satisfied with what we see and witness from the horizon of Thy grace—nay rather, we acknowledge that all this is naught but a token of the wonders of Thy bounty and favor. Thou art He to Whose grace the whole creation hath testified, and to Whose sovereignty all in the worlds have borne witness.

BH02029: This is what hath been sent down from My…

This is what hath been sent down from My Most Holy Pen to My sanctified name whom We have deposited in the land of Ha and Mim—upon him be the glory of God, the Lord of the worlds.

In His Name through Whom the ocean surged and the fragrance wafted!

The Glory shining and gleaming from the horizon of the heaven of the providence of the Lord of eternity and the Most Great Name be upon thee, O Name of God, the Most Truthful, the Most Ancient, and His remembrance among the nations. I testify that thou didst not hesitate for less than a moment when the Call was raised between earth and heaven—thou didst turn, hear, respond and hasten until thou didst attain unto that which was recorded by the Supreme Pen and mentioned in the Books of God, the Lord of all beings.

O My Name! Rejoice in the Supreme Horizon, for unto thee hath turned the face of the Lord of Names and the King of the Kingdom of eternity, Whom neither the hosts of princes nor the opposition of divines could frustrate. We remember at all times the loved ones of the All-Merciful who were not weakened by the power of the mighty nor frightened by the onslaught of the enemies—they arose and said:

“God is our Lord and the Lord of the Throne and earth, and the Master of the hereafter and of the former times.”

O My Name! We remember when there shone upon thee the Sun of Permission from the horizon of the heaven of My Command, and thou didst turn toward My Kingdom with a face wherewith all created things turned, and with such humility that all contingent things became humble before it. I testify that thou didst leave thy home, turning toward the Heaven of eternity and the Supreme Height, and didst traverse land and sea until thou didst present thyself before the Gate and didst hear the call of thy Lord, the Bestower, in that place for the hearing of which ears were created, and hearts and minds for its comprehension. Thou didst behold His horizon and didst attain the presence of Him Who denied the same to Moses when he said “Show me Thyself that I may look upon Thee.”

Thou art the one who took the Sealed Wine in My Self-Subsisting Name, and the oppression of the people did not prevent thee from the remembrance of this Day. Thou didst take the cup of thy Lord’s love, the Creator of all things, and didst drink thereof before the faces of all people. Because of this there came upon thee that which caused the denizens of the realms of might and the dwellers of the cities of the Kingdom to lament. We testify that by reason of thy calamity the Pen of thy Lord, the King of the Kingdom of Names, was stilled, and the rivers in the Most Exalted Paradise became motionless.

Through thee God guided His servants to His Straight Path, the Mighty News and His firm, unshakeable Command. God have mercy on the servant who drank the choice wine of thy utterance, heard thy mention, hastened to thy dust, visited thy grave and recited before the tomb that which the Supreme Pen hath spoken in the prison of Akka. Blessed art thou and blessed is he who held fast unto thee in the path of God, the Lord of the worlds and the Master of the Day of Judgment.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God, my Lord, my Support and God of the Kingdom and the Realm, and Master of the cities of wisdom and might! I beseech Thee by the finger of Thy power and will whereby the spheres of utterance revolved amidst the Concourse of creation, and by the pearls of the ocean of Thy knowledge and the manifestations of Thy grandeur in the kingdom of creation, and by this grave which Thou hast made the point of circumambulation for Thy servants and creatures, that Thou forgive me and my father and my mother and whosoever hath hastened to the gate of Thy grandeur and before the throne of Thy manifestation. Verily Thou art He Whom the clamor of the servants and the might of the pharaohs of the lands do not prevent. Thou ordainest what Thou willest through Thy firm, unshakeable command. There is no God but Thee, the Almighty, the Mighty, the Great.