PART ONE

IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD, THE EXALTED, THE MOST HIGH.

The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of
faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse
themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds
from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes
from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and,
holding fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be made worthy
of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and
understanding, and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and
unseen, inasmuch as man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of
the All-Glorious, can never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge
and wisdom, can never enter the abode of immortality, nor partake of the
cup of divine nearness and favour, unless and until he ceases to regard
the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true
understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets.

Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all times,
yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in the
sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected His
coming, how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of divine mercy
might blow, and the promised Beauty step forth from behind the veil of
concealment, and be made manifest to all the world. And whensoever the
portals of grace did open, and the clouds of divine bounty did rain upon
mankind, and the light of the Unseen did shine above the horizon of
celestial might, they all denied Him, and turned away from His face—the
face of God Himself. Refer ye, to verify this truth, to that which hath
been recorded in every sacred Book.

Ponder for a moment, and reflect upon that which hath been the cause
of such denial on the part of those who have searched with such
earnestness and longing. Their attack hath been more fierce than tongue
or pen can describe. Not one single Manifestation of Holiness hath
appeared but He was afflicted by the denials, the repudiation, and the
vehement opposition of the people around Him. Thus it hath been
revealed: “O the misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them but they
laugh Him to scorn.”1 Again He saith: “Each nation hath plotted darkly
against their Messenger to lay violent hold on Him, and disputed with
vain words to invalidate the truth.”2

In like manner, those words that have streamed forth from the source
of power and descended from the heaven of glory are innumerable and
beyond the ordinary comprehension of man. To them that are possessed of
true understanding and insight the Súrah of Húd surely sufficeth. Ponder
a while those holy words in your heart, and, with utter detachment,
strive to grasp their meaning. Examine the wondrous behaviour of the
Prophets, and recall the defamations and denials uttered by the children
of negation and falsehood, perchance you may cause the bird of the human
heart to wing its flight away from the abodes of heedlessness and doubt
unto the nest of faith and certainty, and drink deep from the pure
waters of ancient wisdom, and partake of the fruit of the tree of divine
knowledge. Such is the share of the pure in heart of the bread that hath
descended from the realms of eternity and holiness.

Should you acquaint yourself with the indignities heaped upon the
Prophets of God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced
by their oppressors, you will surely appreciate the significance of
their position. Moreover, the more closely you observe the denials of
those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the
firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God. Accordingly, a brief
mention will be made in this Tablet of divers accounts relative to the
Prophets of God, that they may demonstrate the truth that throughout all
ages and centuries the Manifestations of power and glory have been
subjected to such heinous cruelties that no pen dare describe them.
Perchance this may enable a few to cease to be perturbed by the clamour
and protestations of the divines and the foolish of this age, and cause
them to strengthen their confidence and certainty.

Among the Prophets was Noah. For nine hundred and fifty years He
prayerfully exhorted His people and summoned them to the haven of
security and peace. None, however, heeded His call. Each day they
inflicted on His blessed person such pain and suffering that no one
believed He could survive. How frequently they denied Him, how
malevolently they hinted their suspicion against Him! Thus it hath been
revealed: “And as often as a company of His people passed by Him, they
derided Him. To them He said: ‘Though ye scoff at us now, we will scoff
at you hereafter even as ye scoff at us. In the end ye shall know.’”3
Long afterward, He several times promised victory to His companions and
fixed the hour thereof. But when the hour struck, the divine promise was
not fulfilled. This caused a few among the small number of His followers
to turn away from Him, and to this testify the records of the best-known
books. These you must certainly have perused; if not, undoubtedly you
will. Finally, as stated in books and traditions, there remained with
Him only forty or seventy-two of His followers. At last from the depth
of His being He cried aloud: “Lord! Leave not upon the land a single
dweller from among the unbelievers.”4

And now, consider and reflect a moment upon the waywardness of this
people. What could have been the reason for such denial and avoidance on
their part? What could have induced them to refuse to put off the
garment of denial, and to adorn themselves with the robe of acceptance?
Moreover, what could have caused the nonfulfilment of the divine promise
which led the seekers to reject that which they had accepted? Meditate
profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you,
that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable
fragrance, and that you may acknowledge the truth that from time
immemorial even unto eternity the Almighty hath tried, and will continue
to try, His servants, so that light may be distinguished from darkness,
truth from falsehood, right from wrong, guidance from error, happiness
from misery, and roses from thorns. Even as He hath revealed: “Do men
think when they say ‘We believe’ they shall be let alone and not be put
to proof?”5

And after Noah the light of the countenance of Húd shone forth above
the horizon of creation. For well-nigh seven hundred years, according to
the sayings of men, He exhorted the people to turn their faces and draw
nearer unto the Ridván of the divine presence. What showers of
afflictions rained upon Him, until at last His adjurations bore the
fruit of increased rebelliousness, and His assiduous endeavours resulted
in the wilful blindness of His people. “And their unbelief shall only
increase for the unbelievers their own perdition.”6

And after Him there appeared from the Ridván of the Eternal, the
Invisible, the holy person of Ṣáliḥ, Who again summoned the people to
the river of everlasting life. For over a hundred years He admonished
them to hold fast unto the commandments of God and eschew that which is
forbidden. His admonitions, however, yielded no fruit, and His pleading
proved of no avail. Several times He retired and lived in seclusion. All
this, although that eternal Beauty was summoning the people to no other
than the city of God. Even as it is revealed: “And unto the tribe of
Thámúd We sent their brother Ṣáliḥ. ‘O my people,’ said He, ‘Worship
God, ye have none other God beside Him….’ They made reply: ‘O Ṣáliḥ,
our hopes were fixed on thee until now; forbiddest thou us to worship
that which our fathers worshipped? Truly we misdoubt that whereunto thou
callest us as suspicious.’”7 All this proved fruitless, until at last
there went up a great cry, and all fell into utter perdition.

Later, the beauty of the countenance of the Friend of God8 appeared
from behind the veil, and another standard of divine guidance was
hoisted. He invited the people of the earth to the light of
righteousness. The more passionately He exhorted them, the fiercer waxed
the envy and waywardness of the people, except those who wholly detached
themselves from all save God, and ascended on the wings of certainty to
the station which God hath exalted beyond the comprehension of men. It
is well known what a host of enemies besieged Him, until at last the
fires of envy and rebellion were kindled against Him. And after the
episode of the fire came to pass, He, the lamp of God amongst men, was,
as recorded in all books and chronicles, expelled from His city.

And when His day was ended, there came the turn of Moses. Armed with
the rod of celestial dominion, adorned with the white hand of divine
knowledge, and proceeding from the Párán of the love of God, and
wielding the serpent of power and everlasting majesty, He shone forth
from the Sinai of light upon the world. He summoned all the peoples and
kindreds of the earth to the kingdom of eternity, and invited them to
partake of the fruit of the tree of faithfulness. Surely you are aware
of the fierce opposition of Pharaoh and his people, and of the stones of
idle fancy which the hands of infidels cast upon that blessed Tree. So
much so that Pharaoh and his people finally arose and exerted their
utmost endeavor to extinguish with the waters of falsehood and denial
the fire of that sacred Tree, oblivious of the truth that no earthly
water can quench the flame of divine wisdom, nor mortal blasts
extinguish the lamp of everlasting dominion. Nay, rather, such water
cannot but intensify the burning of the flame, and such blasts cannot
but ensure the preservation of the lamp, were ye to observe with the eye
of discernment, and walk in the way of God’s holy will and pleasure. How
well hath a believer of the kindred of Pharaoh, whose story is recounted
by the All-Glorious in His Book revealed unto His beloved One, observed:
“And a man of the family of Pharaoh who was a believer and concealed his
faith said: ‘Will ye slay a man because he saith my Lord is God, when He
hath already come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be a liar, on
him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what he
threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not him who is a
transgressor, a liar.’”9 Finally, so great was their iniquity that this
self-same believer was put to a shameful death. “The curse of God be
upon the people of tyranny.”10

And now, ponder upon these things. What could have caused such
contention and conflict? Why is it that the advent of every true
Manifestation of God hath been accompanied by such strife and tumult, by
such tyranny and upheaval? This notwithstanding the fact that all the
Prophets of God, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world,
have invariably foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after them,
and have established such signs as would herald the advent of the future
Dispensation. To this the records of all sacred books bear witness. Why
then is it that despite the expectation of men in their quest of the
Manifestations of Holiness, and in spite of the signs recorded in the
sacred books, such acts of violence, of oppression and cruelty, should
have been perpetrated in every age and cycle against all the Prophets
and chosen Ones of God? Even as He hath revealed: “As oft as an Apostle
cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, ye swell with
pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying others.”11

Reflect, what could have been the motive for such deeds? What could
have prompted such behaviour towards the Revealers of the beauty of the
All-Glorious? Whatever in days gone by hath been the cause of the denial
and opposition of those people hath now led to the perversity of the
people of this age. To maintain that the testimony of Providence was
incomplete, that it hath therefore been the cause of the denial of the
people, is but open blasphemy. How far from the grace of the
All-Bountiful and from His loving providence and tender mercies it is to
single out a soul from amongst all men for the guidance of His
creatures, and, on one hand, to withhold from Him the full measure of
His divine testimony, and, on the other, inflict severe retribution on
His people for having turned away from His chosen One! Nay, the manifold
bounties of the Lord of all beings have, at all times, through the
Manifestations of His divine Essence, encompassed the earth and all that
dwell therein. Not for a moment hath His grace been withheld, nor have
the showers of His loving-kindness ceased to rain upon mankind.
Consequently, such behaviour can be attributed to naught save the
petty-mindedness of such souls as tread the valley of arrogance and
pride, are lost in the wilds of remoteness, walk in the ways of their
idle fancy, and follow the dictates of the leaders of their faith. Their
chief concern is mere opposition; their sole desire is to ignore the
truth. Unto every discerning observer it is evident and manifest that
had these people in the days of each of the Manifestations of the Sun of
Truth sanctified their eyes, their ears, and their hearts from whatever
they had seen, heard, and felt, they surely would not have been deprived
of beholding the beauty of God, nor strayed far from the habitations of
glory. But having weighed the testimony of God by the standard of their
own knowledge, gleaned from the teachings of the leaders of their faith,
and found it at variance with their limited understanding, they arose to
perpetrate such unseemly acts.

Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from
attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the
reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of
leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have
been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and
authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of
sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. What
unspeakable cruelties they that have occupied the seats of authority and
learning have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those Gems
of divine virtue! Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived
themselves of an everlasting sovereignty. Thus, their eyes beheld not
the light of the countenance of the Well-Beloved, nor did their ears
hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Bird of Desire. For this reason,
in all sacred books mention hath been made of the divines of every age.
Thus He saith: “O people of the Book! Why disbelieve the signs of God to
which ye yourselves have been witnesses?”12 And also He saith: “O people
of the Book! Why clothe ye the truth with falsehood? Why wittingly hide
the truth?”13 Again, He saith: “Say, O people of the Book! Why repel
believers from the way of God?”14 It is evident that by the “people of
the Book,” who have repelled their fellow-men from the straight path of
God, is meant none other than the divines of that age, whose names and
character have been revealed in the sacred books, and alluded to in the
verses and traditions recorded therein, were you to observe with the eye
of God.

With fixed and steady gaze, born of the unerring eye of God, scan for
a while the horizon of divine knowledge, and contemplate those words of
perfection which the Eternal hath revealed, that haply the mysteries of
divine wisdom, hidden ere now beneath the veil of glory and treasured
within the tabernacle of His grace, may be made manifest unto you. The
denials and protestations of these leaders of religion have, in the
main, been due to their lack of knowledge and understanding. Those words
uttered by the Revealers of the beauty of the one true God, setting
forth the signs that should herald the advent of the Manifestation to
come, they never understood nor fathomed. Hence they raised the standard
of revolt, and stirred up mischief and sedition. It is obvious and
manifest that the true meaning of the utterances of the Birds of
Eternity is revealed to none except those that manifest the Eternal
Being, and the melodies of the Nightingale of Holiness can reach no ear
save that of the denizens of the everlasting realm. The Copt of tyranny
can never partake of the cup touched by the lips of the Sept of justice,
and the Pharaoh of unbelief can never hope to recognize the hand of the
Moses of truth. Even as He saith: “None knoweth the meaning thereof
except God and them that are well-grounded in knowledge.”15 And yet,
they have sought the interpretation of the Book from those that are
wrapt in veils, and have refused to seek enlightenment from the
fountain-head of knowledge.

And when the days of Moses were ended, and the light of Jesus,
shining forth from the dayspring of the Spirit, encompassed the world,
all the people of Israel arose in protest against Him. They clamoured
that He Whose advent the Bible had foretold must needs promulgate and
fulfil the laws of Moses, whereas this youthful Nazarene, who laid claim
to the station of the divine Messiah, had annulled the law of divorce
and of the sabbath day—the most weighty of all the laws of Moses.
Moreover, what of the signs of the Manifestation yet to come? These
people of Israel are even unto the present day still expecting that
Manifestation which the Bible hath foretold! How many Manifestations of
Holiness, how many Revealers of the light everlasting, have appeared
since the time of Moses, and yet Israel, wrapt in the densest veils of
satanic fancy and false imaginings, is still expectant that the idol of
her own handiwork will appear with such signs as she herself hath
conceived! Thus hath God laid hold of them for their sins, hath
extinguished in them the spirit of faith, and tormented them with the
flames of the nethermost fire. And this for no other reason except that
Israel refused to apprehend the meaning of such words as have been
revealed in the Bible concerning the signs of the coming Revelation. As
she never grasped their true significance, and, to outward seeming, such
events never came to pass, she, therefore, remained deprived of
recognizing the beauty of Jesus and of beholding the face of God. And
they still await His coming! From time immemorial even unto this day,
all the kindreds and peoples of the earth have clung to such fanciful
and unseemly thoughts, and thus have deprived themselves of the clear
waters streaming from the springs of purity and holiness.

In unfolding these mysteries, We have, in Our former Tablets which
were addressed to a friend in the melodious language of Ḥijáz, cited a
few of the verses revealed unto the Prophets of old. And now, responding
to your request, We again shall cite, in these pages, those same verses,
uttered this time in the wondrous accents of ‘Iráq, that haply the sore
athirst in the wilds of remoteness may attain unto the ocean of the
divine presence, and they that languish in the wastes of separation be
led unto the home of eternal reunion. Thus the mists of error may be
dispelled, and the all-resplendent light of divine guidance dawn forth
above the horizon of human hearts. In God We put Our trust, and to Him
We cry for help, that haply there may flow from this pen that which
shall quicken the souls of men, that they may all arise from their beds
of heedlessness and hearken unto the rustling of the leaves of Paradise,
from the tree which the hand of divine power hath, by the permission of
God, planted in the Ridván of the All-Glorious.

To them that are endowed with understanding, it is clear and manifest
that when the fire of the love of Jesus consumed the veils of Jewish
limitations, and His authority was made apparent and partially enforced,
He the Revealer of the unseen Beauty, addressing one day His disciples,
referred unto His passing, and, kindling in their hearts the fire of
bereavement, said unto them: “I go away and come again unto you.” And in
another place He said: “I go and another will come Who will tell you all
that I have not told you, and will fulfil all that I have said.” Both
these sayings have but one meaning, were you to ponder upon the
Manifestations of the Unity of God with divine insight.

Every discerning observer will recognize that in the Dispensation of
the Qur’án both the Book and the Cause of Jesus were confirmed. As to
the matter of names, Muḥammad, Himself, declared: “I am Jesus.” He
recognized the truth of the signs, prophecies, and words of Jesus, and
testified that they were all of God. In this sense, neither the person
of Jesus nor His writings hath differed from that of Muḥammad and of His
holy Book, inasmuch as both have championed the Cause of God, uttered
His praise, and revealed His commandments. Thus it is that Jesus,
Himself, declared: “I go away and come again unto you.” Consider the
sun. Were it to say now, “I am the sun of yesterday,” it would speak the
truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to be
other than that sun, it still would speak the truth. In like manner, if
it be said that all the days are but one and the same, it is correct and
true. And if it be said, with respect to their particular names and
designations, that they differ, that again is true. For though they are
the same, yet one doth recognize in each a separate designation, a
specific attribute, a particular character. Conceive accordingly the
distinction, variation, and unity characteristic of the various
Manifestations of holiness, that thou mayest comprehend the allusions
made by the creator of all names and attributes to the mysteries of
distinction and unity, and discover the answer to thy question as to why
that everlasting Beauty should have, at sundry times, called Himself by
different names and titles.

Afterwards, the companions and disciples of Jesus asked Him
concerning those signs that must needs signalize the return of His
manifestation. When, they asked, shall these things be? Several times
they questioned that peerless Beauty, and, every time He made reply, He
set forth a special sign that should herald the advent of the promised
Dispensation. To this testify the records of the four Gospels.

This wronged One will cite but one of these instances, thus
conferring upon mankind, for the sake of God, such bounties as are yet
concealed within the treasury of the hidden and sacred Tree, that haply
mortal men may not remain deprived of their share of the immortal fruit,
and attain to a dewdrop of the waters of everlasting life which, from
Baghdád, the “Abode of Peace,” are being vouchsafed unto all mankind. We
ask for neither meed nor reward. “We nourish your souls for the sake of
God; we seek from you neither recompense nor thanks.”16 This is the food
that conferreth everlasting life upon the pure in heart and the
illumined in spirit. This is the bread of which it is said: “Lord, send
down upon us Thy bread from heaven.”17 This bread shall never be
withheld from them that deserve it, nor can it ever be exhausted. It
groweth everlastingly from the tree of grace; it descendeth at all
seasons from the heavens of justice and mercy. Even as He saith: “Seest
thou not to what God likeneth a good word? To a good tree; its root
firmly fixed, and its branches reaching unto heaven: yielding its fruit
in all seasons.”18

O the pity! that man should deprive himself of this goodly gift, this
imperishable bounty, this everlasting life. It behooveth him to prize
this food that cometh from heaven, that perchance, through the wondrous
favours of the Sun of Truth, the dead may be brought to life, and
withered souls be quickened by the infinite Spirit. Make haste, O my
brother, that while there is yet time our lips may taste of the immortal
draught, for the breeze of life, now blowing from the city of the
Well-Beloved, cannot last, and the streaming river of holy utterance
must needs be stilled, and the portals of the Ridván cannot for ever
remain open. The day will surely come when the Nightingale of Paradise
will have winged its flight away from its earthly abode unto its
heavenly nest. Then will its melody be heard no more, and the beauty of
the rose cease to shine. Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of the
divine springtime hath spent itself, and the Bird of Eternity ceased to
warble its melody, that thy inner hearing may not be deprived of
hearkening unto its call. This is My counsel unto thee and unto the
beloved of God. Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever
wisheth, let him turn away. God, verily, is independent of him and of
that which he may see and witness.

These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in accents of
majestic power in the Ridván of the Gospel, revealing those signs that
must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the
first Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked
Jesus concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them:
“Immediately after the oppression19 of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the earth shall be shaken: and then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.”20 Rendered into the Persian
tongue,21 the purport of these words is as follows: When the oppression
and afflictions that are to befall mankind will have come to pass, then
shall the sun be withheld from shining, the moon from giving light, the
stars of heaven shall fall upon the earth, and the pillars of the earth
shall quake. At that time, the signs of the Son of man shall appear in
heaven, that is, the promised Beauty and Substance of life shall, when
these signs have appeared, step forth out of the realm of the invisible
into the visible world. And He saith: at that time, all the peoples and
kindreds that dwell on earth shall bewail and lament, and they shall see
that divine Beauty coming from heaven, riding upon the clouds with
power, grandeur, and magnificence, sending His angels with a great sound
of a trumpet. Similarly, in the three other Gospels, according to Luke,
Mark, and John, the same statements are recorded. As We have referred at
length to these in Our Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have
made no mention of them in these pages, and have confined Ourselves to
but one reference.

Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the
meaning of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose,
and have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they
therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muḥammadan
Revelation and its showering bounties. The ignorant among the Christian
community, following the example of the leaders of their faith, were
likewise prevented from beholding the beauty of the King of glory,
inasmuch as those signs which were to accompany the dawn of the sun of
the Muḥammadan Dispensation did not actually come to pass. Thus, ages
have passed and centuries rolled away, and that most pure Spirit hath
repaired unto the retreats of its ancient sovereignty. Once more hath
the eternal Spirit breathed into the mystic trumpet, and caused the dead
to speed out of their sepulchres of heedlessness and error unto the
realm of guidance and grace. And yet, that expectant community still
crieth out: When shall these things be? When shall the promised One, the
object of our expectation, be made manifest, that we may arise for the
triumph of His Cause, that we may sacrifice our substance for His sake,
that we may offer up our lives in His path? In like manner, have such
false imaginings caused other communities to stray from the Kawthar of
the infinite mercy of Providence, and to be busied with their own idle
thoughts.

Beside this passage, there is yet another verse in the Gospel wherein
He saith: “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass
away.”22 Thus it is that the adherents of Jesus maintained that the law
of the Gospel shall never be annulled, and that whensoever the promised
Beauty is made manifest and all the signs are revealed, He must needs
re-affirm and establish the law proclaimed in the Gospel, so that there
may remain in the world no faith but His faith. This is their
fundamental belief. And their conviction is such that were a person to
be made manifest with all the promised signs and to promulgate that
which is contrary to the letter of the law of the Gospel, they must
assuredly renounce him, refuse to submit to his law, declare him an
infidel, and laugh him to scorn. This is proved by that which came to
pass when the sun of the Muḥammadan Revelation was revealed. Had they
sought with a humble mind from the Manifestations of God in every
Dispensation the true meaning of these words revealed in the sacred
books—words the misapprehension of which hath caused men to be deprived
of the recognition of the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, the ultimate Purpose—they
surely would have been guided to the light of the Sun of Truth, and
would have discovered the mysteries of divine knowledge and wisdom.

This servant will now share with thee a dewdrop out of the fathomless
ocean of the truths treasured in these holy words, that haply discerning
hearts may comprehend all the allusions and the implications of the
utterances of the Manifestations of Holiness, so that the overpowering
majesty of the Word of God may not prevent them from attaining unto the
ocean of His names and attributes, nor deprive them of recognizing the
Lamp of God which is the seat of the revelation of His glorified
Essence.

As to the words—“Immediately after the oppression of those days”—they
refer to the time when men shall become oppressed and afflicted, the
time when the lingering traces of the Sun of Truth and the fruit of the
Tree of knowledge and wisdom will have vanished from the midst of men,
when the reins of mankind will have fallen into the grasp of the foolish
and ignorant, when the portals of divine unity and understanding—the
essential and highest purpose in creation—will have been closed, when
certain knowledge will have given way to idle fancy, and corruption will
have usurped the station of righteousness. Such a condition as this is
witnessed in this day when the reins of every community have fallen into
the grasp of foolish leaders, who lead after their own whims and desire.
On their tongue the mention of God hath become an empty name; in their
midst His holy Word a dead letter. Such is the sway of their desires,
that the lamp of conscience and reason hath been quenched in their
hearts, and this although the fingers of divine power have unlocked the
portals of the knowledge of God, and the light of divine knowledge and
heavenly grace hath illumined and inspired the essence of all created
things, in such wise that in each and every thing a door of knowledge
hath been opened, and within every atom traces of the sun hath been made
manifest. And yet, in spite of all these manifold revelations of divine
knowledge, which have encompassed the world, they still vainly imagine
the door of knowledge to be closed, and the showers of mercy to be
stilled. Clinging unto idle fancy, they have strayed far from the
Urvatu’l-Vuthqá of divine knowledge. Their hearts seem not to be
inclined to knowledge and the door thereof, neither think they of its
manifestations, inasmuch as in idle fancy they have found the door that
leadeth unto earthly riches, whereas in the manifestation of the
Revealer of knowledge they find naught but the call to self-sacrifice.
They therefore naturally hold fast unto the former, and flee from the
latter. Though they recognize in their hearts the Law of God to be one
and the same, yet from every direction they issue a new command, and in
every season proclaim a fresh decree. No two are found to agree on one
and the same law, for they seek no God but their own desire, and tread
no path but the path of error. In leadership they have recognized the
ultimate object of their endeavour, and account pride and haughtiness as
the highest attainments of their heart’s desire. They have placed their
sordid machinations above the divine decree, have renounced resignation
unto the will of God, busied themselves with selfish calculation, and
walked in the way of the hypocrite. With all their power and strength
they strive to secure themselves in their petty pursuits, fearful lest
the least discredit undermine their authority or blemish the display of
their magnificence. Were the eye to be anointed and illumined with the
collyrium of the knowledge of God, it would surely discover that a
number of voracious beasts have gathered and preyed upon the carrion of
the souls of men.

What “oppression” is greater than that which hath been recounted?
What “oppression” is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth,
and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where
to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely
differed, and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This
“oppression” is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it
cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the
break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of
the night of error. For this reason, in all chronicles and traditions
reference hath been made unto these things, namely that iniquity shall
cover the surface of the earth and darkness shall envelop mankind. As
the traditions referred to are well known, and as the purpose of this
servant is to be brief, He will refrain from quoting the text of these
traditions.

Were this “oppression” (which literally meaneth pressure) to be
interpreted that the earth is to become contracted, or were men’s idle
fancy to conceive similar calamities to befall mankind, it is clear and
manifest that no such happenings can ever come to pass. They will
assuredly protest that this pre-requisite of divine revelation hath not
been made manifest. Such hath been and still is their contention.
Whereas, by “oppression” is meant the want of capacity to acquire
spiritual knowledge and apprehend the Word of God. By it is meant that
when the Day-star of Truth hath set, and the mirrors that reflect His
light have departed, mankind will become afflicted with “oppression” and
hardship, knowing not whither to turn for guidance. Thus We instruct
thee in the interpretation of the traditions, and reveal unto thee the
mysteries of divine wisdom, that haply thou mayest comprehend the
meaning thereof, and be of them that have quaffed the cup of divine
knowledge and understanding.

And now, concerning His words—“The sun shall be darkened, and the
moon shall not give light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” By the
terms “sun” and “moon,” mentioned in the writings of the Prophets of
God, is not meant solely the sun and moon of the visible universe. Nay
rather, manifold are the meanings they have intended for these terms. In
every instance they have attached to them a particular significance.
Thus, by the “sun” in one sense is meant those Suns of Truth Who rise
from the dayspring of ancient glory, and fill the world with a liberal
effusion of grace from on high. These Suns of Truth are the universal
Manifestations of God in the worlds of His attributes and names. Even as
the visible sun that assisteth, as decreed by God, the true One, the
Adored, in the development of all earthly things, such as the trees, the
fruits, and colours thereof, the minerals of the earth, and all that may
be witnessed in the world of creation, so do the divine Luminaries, by
their loving care and educative influence, cause the trees of divine
unity, the fruits of His oneness, the leaves of detachment, the blossoms
of knowledge and certitude, and the myrtles of wisdom and utterance, to
exist and be made manifest. Thus it is that through the rise of these
Luminaries of God the world is made new, the waters of everlasting life
stream forth, the billows of loving-kindness surge, the clouds of grace
are gathered, and the breeze of bounty bloweth upon all created things.
It is the warmth that these Luminaries of God generate, and the undying
fires they kindle, which cause the light of the love of God to burn
fiercely in the heart of humanity. It is through the abundant grace of
these Symbols of Detachment that the Spirit of life everlasting is
breathed into the bodies of the dead. Assuredly the visible sun is but a
sign of the splendour of that Day-star of Truth, that Sun Which can
never have a peer, a likeness, or rival. Through Him all things live,
move, and have their being. Through His grace they are made manifest,
and unto Him they all return. From Him all things have sprung, and unto
the treasuries of His revelation they all have repaired. From Him all
created things did proceed, and to the depositories of His law they did
revert.

That these divine Luminaries seem to be confined at times to specific
designations and attributes, as you have observed and are now observing,
is due solely to the imperfect and limited comprehension of certain
minds. Otherwise, they have been at all times, and will through eternity
continue to be, exalted above every praising name, and sanctified from
every descriptive attribute. The quintessence of every name can hope for
no access unto their court of holiness, and the highest and purest of
all attributes can never approach their kingdom of glory. Immeasurably
high are the Prophets of God exalted above the comprehension of men, who
can never know them except by their own Selves. Far be it from His glory
that His chosen Ones should be magnified by any other than their own
persons. Glorified are they above the praise of men; exalted are they
above human understanding!

The term “suns” hath many a time been applied in the writings of the
“immaculate Souls” unto the Prophets of God, those luminous Emblems of
Detachment. Among those writings are the following words recorded in the
“Prayer of Nudbih”:23 “Whither are gone the resplendent Suns? Whereunto
have departed those shining Moons and sparkling Stars?” Thus, it hath
become evident that the terms “sun,” “moon,” and “stars” primarily
signify the Prophets of God, the saints, and their companions, those
Luminaries, the light of Whose knowledge hath shed illumination upon the
worlds of the visible and the invisible.

In another sense, by these terms is intended the divines of the
former Dispensation, who live in the days of the subsequent Revelations,
and who hold the reins of religion in their grasp. If these divines be
illumined by the light of the latter Revelation they will be acceptable
unto God, and will shine with a light everlasting. Otherwise, they will
be declared as darkened, even though to outward seeming they be leaders
of men, inasmuch as belief and unbelief, guidance and error, felicity
and misery, light and darkness, are all dependent upon the sanction of
Him Who is the Day-star of Truth. Whosoever among the divines of every
age receiveth, in the Day of Reckoning, the testimony of faith from the
Source of true knowledge, he verily becometh the recipient of learning,
of divine favour, and of the light of true understanding. Otherwise, he
is branded as guilty of folly, denial, blasphemy, and oppression.

It is evident and manifest unto every discerning observer that even
as the light of the star fadeth before the effulgent splendour of the
sun, so doth the luminary of earthly knowledge, of wisdom, and
understanding vanish into nothingness when brought face to face with the
resplendent glories of the Sun of Truth, the Day-star of divine
enlightenment.

That the term “sun” hath been applied to the leaders of religion is
due to their lofty position, their fame, and renown. Such are the
universally recognized divines of every age, who speak with authority,
and whose fame is securely established. If they be in the likeness of
the Sun of Truth, they will surely be accounted as the most exalted of
all luminaries; otherwise, they are to be recognized as the focal
centres of hellish fire. Even as He saith: “Verily, the sun and the moon
are both condemned to the torment of infernal fire.”24 You are no doubt
familiar with the interpretation of the term “sun” and “moon” mentioned
in this verse; no need therefore to refer unto it. And whosoever is of
the element of this “sun” and “moon”, that is, followeth the example of
these leaders in setting his face towards falsehood and in turning away
from the truth he undoubtedly cometh out of infernal gloom and returneth
thereunto.

And now, O seeker, it behooveth us firmly to cling unto the
Urvatu’l-Vuthqá, that perchance we may leave behind the darksome night
of error, and embrace the dawning light of divine guidance. Shall we not
flee from the face of denial, and seek the sheltering shadow of
certitude? Shall we not free ourselves from the horror of satanic gloom,
and hasten towards the rising light of the heavenly Beauty? In such
wise, we bestow upon you the fruit of the Tree of divine knowledge, that
ye may gladly and joyously abide in the Ridván of divine wisdom.

In another sense, by the terms ‘sun’, ‘moon’, and ‘stars’ are meant
such laws and teachings as have been established and proclaimed in every
Dispensation, such as the laws of prayer and fasting. These have,
according to the law of the Qur’án, been regarded, when the beauty of
the Prophet Muḥammad had passed beyond the veil, as the most fundamental
and binding laws of His dispensation. To this testify the texts of the
traditions and chronicles, which, on account of their being widely
known, need not be referred to here. Nay rather, in every Dispensation
the law concerning prayer hath been emphasized and universally enforced.
To this testify the recorded traditions ascribed to the lights that have
emanated from the Day-star of Truth, the essence of the Prophet
Muḥammad.

The traditions established the fact that in all Dispensations the law
of prayer hath constituted a fundamental element of the Revelation of
all the Prophets of God—a law the form and the manner of which hath been
adapted to the varying requirements of every age. Inasmuch as every
subsequent Revelation hath abolished the manners, habits, and teachings
that have been clearly, specifically, and firmly established by the
former Dispensation, these have accordingly been symbolically expressed
in terms of ‘sun’ and ‘moon’. “That He might prove you, which of you
excel in deeds.”25

Moreover, in the traditions the terms “sun” and “moon” have been
applied to prayer and fasting, even as it is said: “Fasting is
illumination, prayer is light.” One day, a well-known divine came to
visit Us. While We were conversing with him, he referred to the
above-quoted tradition. He said: “Inasmuch as fasting causeth the heat
of the body to increase, it hath therefore been likened unto the light
of the sun; and as the prayer of the night-season refresheth man, it
hath been compared unto the radiance of the moon.” Thereupon We realized
that that poor man had not been favoured with a single drop of the ocean
of true understanding, and had strayed far from the burning Bush of
divine wisdom. We then politely observed to him saying: “The
interpretation your honour hath given to this tradition is the one
current amongst the people. Could it not be interpreted differently?” He
asked Us: “What could it be?” We made reply: “Muḥammad, the Seal of the
Prophets, and the most distinguished of God’s chosen Ones, hath likened
the Dispensation of the Qur’án unto heaven, by reason of its loftiness,
its paramount influence, its majesty, and the fact that it comprehendeth
all religions. And as the sun and moon constitute the brightest and most
prominent luminaries in the heavens, similarly in the heaven of the
religion of God two shining orbs have been ordained—fasting and prayer.
‘Islám is heaven; fasting is its sun, prayer, its moon.’”

This is the purpose underlying the symbolic words of the
Manifestations of God. Consequently, the application of the terms “sun”
and “moon” to the things already mentioned hath been demonstrated and
justified by the text of the sacred verses and the recorded traditions.
Hence, it is clear and manifest that by the words “the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven” is intended the waywardness of the divines, and the
annulment of laws firmly established by divine Revelation, all of which,
in symbolic language, have been foreshadowed by the Manifestation of
God. None except the righteous shall partake of this cup, none but the
godly can share therein. “The righteous shall drink of a cup tempered at
the camphor fountain.”26

It is unquestionable that in every succeeding Revelation the “sun”
and “moon” of the teachings, laws, commandments, and prohibitions which
have been established in the preceding Dispensation, and which have
overshadowed the people of that age, become darkened, that is, are
exhausted, and cease to exert their influence. Consider now, had the
people of the Gospel recognized the meaning of the symbolic terms “sun”
and “moon,” had they sought, unlike the froward and perverse,
enlightenment from Him Who is the Revealer of divine knowledge, they
would have surely comprehended the purpose of these terms, and would not
have become afflicted and oppressed by the darkness of their selfish
desires. Yea, but since they have failed to acquire true knowledge from
its very Source, they have perished in the perilous vale of waywardness
and misbelief. They still have not awakened to perceive that all the
signs foretold have been made manifest, that the promised Sun hath risen
above the horizon of divine Revelation, and that the “sun” and “moon” of
the teachings, the laws, and learning of a former Dispensation have
darkened and set.

And now, with fixed gaze and steady wings enter thou the way of
certitude and truth. “Say: It is God; then leave them to entertain
themselves with their cavilings.”27 Thus, wilt thou be accounted of
those companions of whom He saith: “They that say ‘Our Lord is God,’ and
continue steadfast in His way, upon them, verily, shall the angels
descend.”28 Then shalt thou witness all these mysteries with thine own
eyes.

O my brother! Take thou the step of the spirit, so that, swift as the
twinkling of an eye, thou mayest flash through the wilds of remoteness
and bereavement, attain the Ridván of everlasting reunion, and in one
breath commune with the heavenly Spirits. For with human feet thou canst
never hope to traverse these immeasurable distances, nor attain thy
goal. Peace be upon him whom the light of truth guideth unto all truth,
and who, in the name of God, standeth in the path of His Cause, upon the
shore of true understanding.

This is the meaning of the sacred verse: “But nay! I swear by the
Lord of the Easts and the Wests,”29 inasmuch as the “Suns” referred to
have each their own particular rising and setting place. And as the
commentators of the Qur’án have failed to grasp the symbolic meaning of
these “Suns,” they therefore were at pains to interpret the above-quoted
verse. Some of them maintained that owing to the fact that the sun each
day rises from a different point, the terms “easts” and “wests” have
been mentioned in the plural. Others have written that by this verse the
four seasons of the year are intended, inasmuch as the dawning and
setting points of the sun vary with the change of the seasons. Such is
the depth of their understanding! None the less, they persist in
imputing error and folly to those Gems of knowledge, those
irreproachable and purest Symbols of wisdom.

In like manner, strive thou to comprehend from these lucid, these
powerful, conclusive, and unequivocal statements the meaning of the
“cleaving of the heaven”—one of the signs that must needs herald the
coming of the last Hour, the Day of Resurrection. As He hath said: “When
the heaven shall be cloven asunder.”30 By “heaven” is meant the heaven
of divine Revelation, which is elevated with every Manifestation, and
rent asunder with every subsequent one. By “cloven asunder” is meant
that the former Dispensation is superseded and annulled. I swear by God!
That this heaven being cloven asunder is, to the discerning, an act
mightier than the cleaving of the skies! Ponder a while. That a divine
Revelation which for years hath been securely established; beneath whose
shadow all who have embraced it have been reared and nurtured; by the
light of whose law generations of men have been disciplined; the
excellency of whose word men have heard recounted by their fathers; in
such wise that human eye hath beheld naught but the pervading influence
of its grace, and mortal ear hath heard naught but the resounding
majesty of its command—what act is mightier than that such a Revelation
should, by the power of God, be “cloven asunder” and be abolished at the
appearance of one soul? Reflect, is this a mightier act than that which
these abject and foolish men have imagined the “cleaving of the heaven”
to mean?

Moreover, consider the hardships and the bitterness of the lives of
those Revealers of the divine Beauty. Reflect, how single-handed and
alone they faced the world and all its peoples, and promulgated the Law
of God! No matter how severe the persecutions inflicted upon those holy,
those precious, and tender Souls, they still remained, in the plenitude
of their power, patient, and, despite their ascendancy, they suffered
and endured.

In like manner, endeavour to comprehend the meaning of the “changing
of the earth.” Know thou, that upon whatever hearts the bountiful
showers of mercy, raining from the “heaven” of divine Revelation, have
fallen, the earth of those hearts hath verily been changed into the
earth of divine knowledge and wisdom. What myrtles of unity hath the
soil of their hearts produced! What blossoms of true knowledge and
wisdom hath their illumined bosoms yielded! Were the earth of their
hearts to remain unchanged, how could such souls who have not been
taught one letter, have seen no teacher, and entered no school, utter
such words and display such knowledge as none can apprehend? Methinks
they have been moulded from the clay of infinite knowledge, and kneaded
with the water of divine wisdom. Therefore, hath it been said:
“Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He
willeth.” It is this kind of knowledge which is and hath ever been
praiseworthy, and not the limited knowledge that hath sprung forth from
veiled and obscured minds. This limited knowledge they even stealthily
borrow one from the other, and vainly pride themselves therein!

Would that the hearts of men could be cleansed from these man-made
limitations and obscure thoughts imposed upon them! haply they may be
illumined by the light of the Sun of true knowledge, and comprehend the
mysteries of divine wisdom. Consider now, were the parched and barren
soil of these hearts to remain unchanged, how could they ever become the
Recipients of the revelation of the mysteries of God, and the Revealers
of the divine Essence? Thus hath He said: “On the day when the earth
shall be changed into another earth.”31

The breeze of the bounty of the King of creation hath caused even the
physical earth to be changed, were ye to ponder in your hearts the
mysteries of divine Revelation.

And now, comprehend the meaning of this verse: “The whole earth shall
on the Resurrection Day be but His handful, and in His right hand shall
the heavens be folded together. Praise be to Him! and high be He
uplifted above the partners they join with him!”32 And now, be fair in
thy judgment. Were this verse to have the meaning which men suppose it
to have, of what profit, one may ask, could it be to man? Moreover, it
is evident and manifest that no such hand as could be seen by human eye
could accomplish such deeds, or could possibly be ascribed to the
exalted Essence of the one true God. Nay, to acknowledge such a thing is
naught but sheer blasphemy, an utter perversion of the truth. And should
it be supposed that by this verse are meant the Manifestations of God,
Who will be called upon, on the Day of Judgment, to perform such deeds,
this too seemeth far from the truth, and is surely of no profit. On the
contrary, by the term “earth” is meant the earth of understanding and
knowledge, and by “heavens” the heavens of divine Revelation. Reflect
thou, how, in one hand, He hath, by His mighty grasp, turned the earth
of knowledge and understanding, previously unfolded, into a mere
handful, and, on the other, spread out a new and highly exalted earth in
the hearts of men, thus causing the freshest and loveliest blossoms, and
the mightiest and loftiest trees to spring forth from the illumined
bosom of man.

In like manner, reflect how the elevated heavens of the Dispensations
of the past have, in the right hand of power, been folded together, how
the heavens of divine Revelation have been raised by the command of God,
and been adorned by the sun, the moon, and stars of His wondrous
commandments. Such are the mysteries of the Word of God, which have been
unveiled and made manifest, that haply thou mayest apprehend the morning
light of divine guidance, mayest quench, by the power of reliance and
renunciation, the lamp of idle fancy, of vain imaginings, of hesitation,
and doubt, and mayest kindle, in the inmost chamber of thine heart, the
new-born light of divine knowledge and certitude.

Know verily that the purpose underlying all these symbolic terms and
abstruse allusions, which emanate from the Revealers of God’s holy
Cause, hath been to test and prove the peoples of the world; that
thereby the earth of the pure and illuminated hearts may be known from
the perishable and barren soil. From time immemorial such hath been the
way of God amidst His creatures, and to this testify the records of the
sacred books.

And likewise, reflect upon the revealed verse concerning the
“Qiblih.”33 When Muḥammad, the Sun of Prophethood, had fled from the
dayspring of Bathá34 unto Yathrib,35 He continued to turn His face,
while praying, unto Jerusalem, the holy city, until the time when the
Jews began to utter unseemly words against Him—words which if mentioned
would ill befit these pages and would weary the reader. Muḥammad
strongly resented these words. Whilst, wrapt in meditation and wonder,
He was gazing toward heaven, He heard the kindly Voice of Gabriel,
saying: “We behold Thee from above, turning Thy face to heaven; but We
will have Thee turn to a Qiblih which shall please Thee.”36 On a
subsequent day, when the Prophet, together with His companions, was
offering the noontide prayer, and had already performed two of the
prescribed Rik’áts,37 the Voice of Gabriel was heard again: “Turn Thou
Thy face towards the sacred Mosque.”38 ,39 In the midst of that same
prayer, Muḥammad suddenly turned His face away from Jerusalem and faced
the Ka’bih. Whereupon, a profound dismay seized suddenly the companions
of the Prophet. Their faith was shaken severely. So great was their
alarm, that many of them, discontinuing their prayer, apostatized their
faith. Verily, God caused not this turmoil but to test and prove His
servants. Otherwise, He, the ideal King, could easily have left the
Qiblih unchanged, and could have caused Jerusalem to remain the Point of
Adoration unto His Dispensation, thereby withholding not from that holy
city the distinction of acceptance which had been conferred upon it.

None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made manifest,
as Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others among
the more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the intervening
period between the Revelations of Moses and Muḥammad, ever altered the
law of the Qiblih. These Messengers of the Lord of creation have, one
and all, directed their peoples to turn unto the same direction. In the
eyes of God, the ideal King, all the places of the earth are one and the
same, excepting that place which, in the days of His Manifestations, He
doth appoint for a particular purpose. Even as He hath revealed: “The
East and West are God’s: therefore whichever way ye turn, there is the
face of God.”40 Notwithstanding the truth of these facts, why should the
Qiblih have been changed, thus casting such dismay amongst the people,
causing the companions of the Prophet to waver, and throwing so great a
confusion into their midst? Yea, such things as throw consternation into
the hearts of all men come to pass only that each soul may be tested by
the touchstone of God, that the true may be known and distinguished from
the false. Thus hath He revealed after the breach amongst the people:
“We did not appoint that which Thou wouldst have to be the Qiblih, but
that We might know him who followeth the Apostle from him who turneth on
his heels.”41 “Affrighted asses fleeing from a lion.”42

Were you to ponder, but for a while, these utterances in your heart,
you would surely find the portals of understanding unlocked before your
face, and would behold all knowledge and the mysteries thereof unveiled
before your eyes. Such things take place only that the souls of men may
develop and be delivered from the prison-cage of self and desire.
Otherwise, that ideal King hath, throughout eternity, been in His
Essence independent of the comprehension of all beings, and will
continue, for ever, in His own Being to be exalted above the adoration
of every soul. A single breeze of His affluence doth suffice to adorn
all mankind with the robe of wealth; and one drop out of the ocean of
His bountiful grace is enough to confer upon all beings the glory of
everlasting life. But inasmuch as the divine Purpose hath decreed that
the true should be known from the false, and the sun from the shadow, He
hath, therefore, in every season sent down upon mankind the showers of
tests from His realm of glory.

Were men to meditate upon the lives of the Prophets of old, so easily
would they come to know and understand the ways of these Prophets that
they would cease to be veiled by such deeds and words as are contrary to
their own worldly desires, and thus consume every intervening veil with
the fire burning in the Bush of divine knowledge, and abide secure upon
the throne of peace and certitude. For instance, consider Moses, son of
‘Imrán, one of the exalted Prophets and Author of a divinely-revealed
Book. Whilst passing, one day, through the market, in His early days,
ere His ministry was proclaimed, He saw two men engaged in fighting. One
of them asked the help of Moses against his opponent. Whereupon, Moses
intervened and slew him. To this testifieth the record of the sacred
Book. Should the details be cited, they will lengthen and interrupt the
course of the argument. The report of this incident spread throughout
the city, and Moses was full of fear, as is witnessed by the text of the
Book. And when the warning: “O Moses! of a truth, the chiefs take
counsel to slay Thee”43 reached His ears, He went forth from the city,
and sojourned in Midian in the service of Shoeb. While returning, Moses
entered the holy vale, situate in the wilderness of Sinai, and there
beheld the vision of the King of glory from the “Tree that belongeth
neither to the East nor to the West.”44 There He heard the soul-stirring
Voice of the Spirit speaking from out of the kindled Fire, bidding Him
to shed upon Pharaonic souls the light of divine guidance; so that,
liberating them from the shadows of the valley of self and desire, He
might enable them to attain the meads of heavenly delight, and
delivering them, through the Salsabíl of renunciation, from the
bewilderment of remoteness, cause them to enter the peaceful city of the
divine presence. When Moses came unto Pharaoh and delivered unto him, as
bidden by God, the divine Message, Pharaoh spoke insultingly saying:
“Art thou not he that committed murder, and became an infidel?” Thus
recounted the Lord of majesty as having been said by Pharaoh unto Moses:
“What a deed is that which Thou hast done! Thou art one of the
ungrateful. He said: ‘I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred.
And I fled from you when I feared you, but My Lord hath given Me wisdom,
and hath made Me one of His Apostles.’”45

And now ponder in thy heart the commotion which God stirreth up.
Reflect upon the strange and manifold trials with which He doth test His
servants. Consider how He hath suddenly chosen from among His servants,
and entrusted with the exalted mission of divine guidance Him Who was
known as guilty of homicide, Who, Himself, had acknowledged His cruelty,
and Who for well-nigh thirty years had, in the eyes of the world, been
reared in the home of Pharaoh and been nourished at his table. Was not
God, the omnipotent King, able to withhold the hand of Moses from
murder, so that manslaughter should not be attributed unto Him, causing
bewilderment and aversion among the people?

Likewise, reflect upon the state and condition of Mary. So deep was
the perplexity of that most beauteous countenance, so grievous her case,
that she bitterly regretted she had ever been born. To this beareth
witness the text of the sacred verse wherein it is mentioned that after
Mary had given birth to Jesus, she bemoaned her plight and cried out: “O
would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten
quite!”46 I swear by God! Such lamenting consumeth the heart and shaketh
the being. Such consternation of soul, such despondency, could have been
caused by no other than the censure of the enemy and the cavilings of
the infidel and perverse. Reflect, what answer could Mary have given to
the people around her? How could she claim that a Babe Whose father was
unknown had been conceived of the Holy Ghost? Therefore did Mary, that
veiled and immortal Countenance, take up her Child and return unto her
home. No sooner had the eyes of the people fallen upon her than they
raised their voice saying: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man
of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother.”47

And now, meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous
test. Notwithstanding all these things, God conferred upon that essence
of the Spirit, Who was known amongst the people as fatherless, the glory
of Prophethood, and made Him His testimony unto all that are in heaven
and on earth.

Behold how contrary are the ways of the Manifestations of God, as
ordained by the King of creation, to the ways and desires of men! As
thou comest to comprehend the essence of these divine mysteries, thou
wilt grasp the purpose of God, the divine Charmer, the Best-Beloved.
Thou wilt regard the words and the deeds of that almighty Sovereign as
one and the same; in such wise that whatsoever thou dost behold in His
deeds, the same wilt thou find in His sayings, and whatsoever thou dost
read in His sayings, that wilt thou recognize in His deeds. Thus it is
that outwardly such deeds and words are the fire of vengeance unto the
wicked, and inwardly the waters of mercy unto the righteous. Were the
eye of the heart to open, it would surely perceive that the words
revealed from the heaven of the will of God are at one with, and the
same as, the deeds that have emanated from the Kingdom of divine
power.

And now, take heed, O brother! If such things be revealed in this
Dispensation, and such incidents come to pass, at the present time, what
would the people do? I swear by Him Who is the true Educator of mankind
and the Revealer of the Word of God that the people would instantly and
unquestionably pronounce Him an infidel and would sentence Him to death.
How far are they from hearkening unto the voice that declareth: Lo! a
Jesus hath appeared out of the breath of the Holy Ghost, and a Moses
summoned to a divinely-appointed task! Were a myriad voices to be
raised, no ear would listen if We said that upon a fatherless Child hath
been conferred the mission of Prophethood, or that a murderer hath
brought from the flame of the burning Bush the message of “Verily,
verily, I am God!”

If the eye of justice be opened, it will readily recognize, in the
light of that which hath been mentioned, that He, Who is the Cause and
ultimate Purpose of all these things, is made manifest in this day.
Though similar events have not occurred in this Dispensation, yet the
people still cling to such vain imaginings as are cherished by the
reprobate. How grievous the charges brought against Him! How severe the
persecutions inflicted upon Him—charges and persecutions the like of
which men have neither seen nor heard!

Great God! When the stream of utterance reached this stage, We
beheld, and lo! the sweet savours of God were being wafted from the
dayspring of Revelation, and the morning breeze was blowing out of the
Sheba of the Eternal. Its tidings rejoiced anew the heart, and imparted
immeasurable gladness to the soul. It made all things new, and brought
unnumbered and inestimable gifts from the unknowable Friend. The robe of
human praise can never hope to match Its noble stature, and Its shining
figure the mantle of utterance can never fit. Without word It unfoldeth
the inner mysteries, and without speech It revealeth the secrets of the
divine sayings. It teacheth lamentation and moaning to the nightingales
warbling upon the bough of remoteness and bereavement, instructeth them
in the art of love’s ways, and showeth them the secret of
heart-surrender. To the flowers of the Ridván of heavenly reunion It
revealeth the endearments of the impassioned lover, and unveileth the
charm of the fair. Upon the anemones of the garden of love It bestoweth
the mysteries of truth, and within the breasts of lovers It entrusteth
the symbols of the innermost subtleties. At this hour, so liberal is the
outpouring of Its grace that the holy Spirit itself is envious! It hath
imparted to the drop the waves of the sea, and endowed the mote with the
splendour of the sun. So great are the overflowings of Its bounty that
the foulest beetle hath sought the perfume of the musk, and the bat the
light of the sun. It hath quickened the dead with the breath of life,
and caused them to speed out of the sepulchres of their mortal bodies.
It hath established the ignorant upon the seats of learning, and
elevated the oppressor to the throne of justice.

The universe is pregnant with these manifold bounties, awaiting the
hour when the effects of Its unseen gifts will be made manifest in this
world, when the languishing and sore athirst will attain the living
Kawthar of their Well-Beloved, and the erring wanderer, lost in the
wilds of remoteness and nothingness, will enter the tabernacle of life,
and attain reunion with his heart’s desire. In the soil of whose heart
will these holy seeds germinate? From the garden of whose soul will the
blossoms of the invisible realities spring forth? Verily, I say, so
fierce is the blaze of the Bush of love, burning in the Sinai of the
heart, that the streaming waters of holy utterance can never quench its
flame. Oceans can never allay this Leviathan’s burning thirst, and this
Phoenix of the undying fire can abide nowhere save in the glow of the
countenance of the Well-Beloved. Therefore, O brother! kindle with the
oil of wisdom the lamp of the spirit within the innermost chamber of thy
heart, and guard it with the globe of understanding, that the breath of
the infidel may extinguish not its flame nor dim its brightness. Thus
have We illuminated the heavens of utterance with the splendours of the
Sun of divine wisdom and understanding, that thy heart may find peace,
that thou mayest be of those who, on the wings of certitude, have soared
unto the heaven of the love of their Lord, the All-Merciful.

And now, concerning His words: “And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven.” By these words it is meant that when the sun of
the heavenly teachings hath been eclipsed, the stars of the
divinely-established laws have fallen, and the moon of true
knowledge—the educator of mankind—hath been obscured; when the standards
of guidance and felicity have been reversed, and the morn of truth and
righteousness hath sunk in night, then shall the sign of the Son of man
appear in heaven. By “heaven” is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as
when the hour draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the heaven of
justice shall be made manifest, and the Ark of divine guidance shall
sail upon the sea of glory, a star will appear in the heaven, heralding
unto its people the advent of that most great light. In like manner, in
the invisible heaven a star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples
of the earth, shall act as a harbinger of the break of that true and
exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and the invisible
heaven, have announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of God, as
is commonly believed.

Among the Prophets was Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He manifested
Himself, Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon, he summoned the soothsayers,
who informed him of the rise of a star in the heaven. Likewise, there
appeared a herald who announced throughout the land the coming of
Abraham.

After Him came Moses, He Who held converse with God. The soothsayers
of His time warned Pharaoh in these terms: “A star hath risen in the
heaven, and lo! it foreshadoweth the conception of a Child Who holdeth
your fate and the fate of your people in His hand.” In like manner,
there appeared a sage who, in the darkness of the night, brought tidings
of joy unto the people of Israel, imparting consolation to their souls,
and assurance to their hearts. To this testify the records of the sacred
books. Were the details to be mentioned, this epistle would swell into a
book. Moreover, it is not Our wish to relate the stories of the days
that are past. God is Our witness that what We even now mention is due
solely to Our tender affection for thee, that haply the poor of the
earth may attain the shores of the sea of wealth, the ignorant be led
unto the ocean of divine knowledge, and they that thirst for
understanding partake of the Salsabíl of divine wisdom. Otherwise, this
servant regardeth the consideration of such records a grave mistake and
a grievous transgression.

In like manner, when the hour of the Revelation of Jesus drew nigh, a
few of the Magi, aware that the star of Jesus had appeared in heaven,
sought and followed it, till they came unto the city which was the seat
of the Kingdom of Herod. The sway of his sovereignty in those days
embraced the whole of that land.

These Magi said: “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we
have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him!”48 When they
had searched, they found out that in Bethlehem, in the land of Judea,
the Child had been born. This was the sign that was manifested in the
visible heaven. As to the sign in the invisible heaven—the heaven of
divine knowledge and understanding—it was Yaḥyá, son of Zachariah, who
gave unto the people the tidings of the Manifestation of Jesus. Even as
He hath revealed: “God announceth Yaḥyá to thee, who shall bear witness
unto the Word from God, and a great one and chaste.”49 By the term
“Word” is meant Jesus, Whose coming Yaḥyá foretold. Moreover, in the
heavenly Scriptures it is written: “John the Baptist was preaching in
the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the Kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”50 By John is meant Yaḥyá.

Likewise, ere the beauty of Muḥammad was unveiled, the signs of the
visible heaven were made manifest. As to the signs of the invisible
heaven, there appeared four men who successively announced unto the
people the joyful tidings of the rise of that divine Luminary. Rúz-bih,
later named Salmán, was honoured by being in their service. As the end
of one of these approached, he would send Rúz-bih unto the other, until
the fourth who, feeling his death to be nigh, addressed Rúz-bih saying:
“O Rúz-bih! when thou hast taken up my body and buried it, go to Ḥijáz
for there the Day-star of Muḥammad will arise. Happy art thou, for thou
shalt behold His face!”

And now concerning this wondrous and most exalted Cause. Know thou
verily that many an astronomer hath announced the appearance of its star
in the visible heaven. Likewise, there appeared on earth Aḥmad and
Kázim,51 those twin resplendent lights—may God sanctify their
resting-place!

From all that We have stated it hath become clear and manifest that
before the revelation of each of the Mirrors reflecting the divine
Essence, the signs heralding their advent must needs be revealed in the
visible heaven as well as in the invisible, wherein is the seat of the
sun of knowledge, of the moon of wisdom, and of the stars of
understanding and utterance. The sign of the invisible heaven must needs
be revealed in the person of that perfect man who, before each
Manifestation appeareth, educateth, and prepareth the souls of men for
the advent of the divine Luminary, the Light of the unity of God amongst
men.

And now, with reference to His words: “And then shall all the tribes
of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” These words signify that
in those days men will lament the loss of the Sun of the divine beauty,
of the Moon of knowledge, and of the Stars of divine wisdom. Thereupon,
they will behold the countenance of the promised One, the adored Beauty,
descending from heaven and riding upon the clouds. By this is meant that
the divine Beauty will be made manifest from the heaven of the will of
God, and will appear in the form of the human temple. The term “heaven”
denoteth loftiness and exaltation, inasmuch as it is the seat of the
revelation of those Manifestations of Holiness, the Day-springs of
ancient glory. These ancient Beings, though delivered from the womb of
their mother, have in reality descended from the heaven of the will of
God. Though they be dwelling on this earth, yet their true habitations
are the retreats of glory in the realms above. Whilst walking amongst
mortals, they soar in the heaven of the divine presence. Without feet
they tread the path of the spirit, and without wings they rise unto the
exalted heights of divine unity. With every fleeting breath they cover
the immensity of space, and at every moment traverse the kingdoms of the
visible and the invisible. Upon their thrones is written: “Nothing
whatsoever keepeth Him from being occupied with any other thing;” and on
their seats is inscribed: “Verily, His ways differ every day.”52 They
are sent forth through the transcendent power of the Ancient of Days,
and are raised up by the exalted will of God, the most mighty King. This
is what is meant by the words: “coming in the clouds of heaven.”

In the utterances of the divine Luminaries the term “heaven” hath
been applied to many and divers things; such as the “heaven of Command,”
the “heaven of Will,” the “heaven of the divine Purpose,” the “heaven of
divine Knowledge,” the “heaven of Certitude,” the “heaven of Utterance,”
the “heaven of Revelation,” the “heaven of Concealment,” and the like.
In every instance, He hath given the term “heaven” a special meaning,
the significance of which is revealed to none save those that have been
initiated into the divine mysteries, and have drunk from the chalice of
immortal life. For example, He saith: “The heaven hath sustenance for
you, and it containeth that which you are promised;”53 whereas it is the
earth that yieldeth such sustenance. Likewise, it hath been said: “The
names come down from heaven;” whereas they proceed out of the mouth of
men. Wert thou to cleanse the mirror of thy heart from the dust of
malice, thou wouldst apprehend the meaning of the symbolic terms
revealed by the all-embracing Word of God made manifest in every
Dispensation, and wouldst discover the mysteries of divine knowledge.
Not, however, until thou consumest with the flame of utter detachment
those veils of idle learning, that are current amongst men, canst thou
behold the resplendent morn of true knowledge.

Know verily that Knowledge is of two kinds: Divine and Satanic. The
one welleth out from the fountain of divine inspiration; the other is
but a reflection of vain and obscure thoughts. The source of the former
is God Himself; the motive-force of the latter the whisperings of
selfish desire. The one is guided by the principle: “Fear ye God; God
will teach you;”54 the other is but a confirmation of the truth:
“Knowledge is the most grievous veil between man and his Creator.” The
former bringeth forth the fruit of patience, of longing desire, of true
understanding, and love; whilst the latter can yield naught but
arrogance, vainglory and conceit. From the sayings of those Masters of
holy utterance, Who have expounded the meaning of true knowledge, the
odour of these dark teachings, which have obscured the world, can in no
wise be detected. The tree of such teachings can yield no result except
iniquity and rebellion, and beareth no fruit but hatred and envy. Its
fruit is deadly poison; its shadow a consuming fire. How well hath it
been said: “Cling unto the robe of the Desire of thy heart, and put thou
away all shame; bid the worldlywise be gone, however great their
name.”

The heart must needs therefore be cleansed from the idle sayings of
men, and sanctified from every earthly affection, so that it may
discover the hidden meaning of divine inspiration, and become the
treasury of the mysteries of divine knowledge. Thus hath it been said:
“He that treadeth the snow-white Path, and followeth in the footsteps of
the Crimson Pillar, shall never attain unto his abode unless his hands
are empty of those worldly things cherished by men.” This is the prime
requisite of whosoever treadeth this path. Ponder thereon, that, with
eyes unveiled, thou mayest perceive the truth of these words.

We have digressed from the purpose of Our argument, although
whatsoever is mentioned serveth only to confirm Our purpose. By God!
however great Our desire to be brief, yet We feel We cannot restrain Our
pen. Notwithstanding all that We have mentioned, how innumerable are the
pearls which have remained unpierced in the shell of Our heart! How many
the húrís of inner meaning that are as yet concealed within the chambers
of divine wisdom! None hath yet approached them;—húrís, “whom no man nor
spirit hath touched before.”55 Notwithstanding all that hath been said,
it seemeth as if not one letter of Our purpose hath been uttered, nor a
single sign divulged concerning Our object. When will a faithful seeker
be found who will don the garb of pilgrimage, attain the Ka’bih of the
heart’s desire, and, without ear or tongue, discover the mysteries of
divine utterance?

By these luminous, these conclusive, and lucid statements, the
meaning of “heaven” in the aforementioned verse hath thus been made
clear and evident. And now regarding His words, that the Son of man
shall “come in the clouds of heaven.” By the term “clouds” is meant
those things that are contrary to the ways and desires of men. Even as
He hath revealed in the verse already quoted: “As oft as an Apostle
cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, ye swell with
pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying others.”56 These
“clouds” signify, in one sense, the annulment of laws, the abrogation of
former Dispensations, the repeal of rituals and customs current amongst
men, the exalting of the illiterate faithful above the learned opposers
of the Faith. In another sense, they mean the appearance of that
immortal Beauty in the image of mortal man, with such human limitations
as eating and drinking, poverty and riches, glory and abasement,
sleeping and waking, and such other things as cast doubt in the minds of
men, and cause them to turn away. All such veils are symbolically
referred to as “clouds.”

These are the “clouds” that cause the heavens of the knowledge and
understanding of all that dwell on earth to be cloven asunder. Even as
He hath revealed: “On that day shall the heaven be cloven by the
clouds.”57 Even as the clouds prevent the eyes of men from beholding the
sun, so do these things hinder the souls of men from recognizing the
light of the divine Luminary. To this beareth witness that which hath
proceeded out of the mouth of the unbelievers as revealed in the sacred
Book: “And they have said: ‘What manner of apostle is this? He eateth
food, and walketh the streets. Unless an angel be sent down and take
part in His warnings, we will not believe.’”58 Other Prophets,
similarly, have been subject to poverty and afflictions, to hunger, and
to the ills and chances of this world. As these holy Persons were
subject to such needs and wants, the people were, consequently, lost in
the wilds of misgivings and doubts, and were afflicted with bewilderment
and perplexity. How, they wondered, could such a person be sent down
from God, assert His ascendancy over all the peoples and kindreds of the
earth, and claim Himself to be the goal of all creation,—even as He hath
said: “But for Thee, I would not have created all that are in heaven and
on earth,”—and yet be subject to such trivial things? You must
undoubtedly have been informed of the tribulations, the poverty, the
ills, and the degradation that have befallen every Prophet of God and
His companions. You must have heard how the heads of their followers
were sent as presents unto different cities, how grievously they were
hindered from that whereunto they were commanded. Each and every one of
them fell a prey to the hands of the enemies of His Cause, and had to
suffer whatsoever they decreed.

It is evident that the changes brought about in every Dispensation
constitute the dark clouds that intervene between the eye of man’s
understanding and the divine Luminary which shineth forth from the
dayspring of the divine Essence. Consider how men for generations have
been blindly imitating their fathers, and have been trained according to
such ways and manners as have been laid down by the dictates of their
Faith. Were these men, therefore, to discover suddenly that a Man, Who
hath been living in their midst, Who, with respect to every human
limitation, hath been their equal, had risen to abolish every
established principle imposed by their Faith—principles by which for
centuries they have been disciplined, and every opposer and denier of
which they have come to regard as infidel, profligate and wicked,—they
would of a certainty be veiled and hindered from acknowledging His
truth. Such things are as “clouds” that veil the eyes of those whose
inner being hath not tasted the Salsabíl of detachment, nor drunk from
the Kawthar of the knowledge of God. Such men, when acquainted with
these circumstances, become so veiled that without the least question,
they pronounce the Manifestation of God an infidel, and sentence Him to
death. You must have heard of such things taking place all down the
ages, and are now observing them in these days.

It behooveth us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavour, that, by
God’s invisible assistance, these dark veils, these clouds of
Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from beholding the beauty of His
shining Countenance, and that we may recognize Him only by His own Self.
And should we ask for a testimony of His truth, we should content
ourselves with one, and only one; that thereby we may attain unto Him
Who is the Fountain-head of infinite grace, and in Whose presence all
the world’s abundance fadeth into nothingness, that we may cease to
cavil at Him every day and to cleave unto our own idle fancy.

Gracious God! Notwithstanding the warning which, in marvelously
symbolic language and subtle allusions, hath been uttered in days past,
and which was intended to awaken the peoples of the world and to prevent
them from being deprived of their share of the billowing ocean of God’s
grace, yet such things as have already been witnessed have come to pass!
Reference to these things hath also been made in the Qur’án, as
witnessed by this verse: “What can such expect but that God should come
down to them overshadowed with clouds?”59 A number of the divines, who
hold firmly to the letter of the Word of God, have come to regard this
verse as one of the signs of that expected resurrection which is born of
their idle fancy. This, notwithstanding the fact that similar references
have been made in most of the heavenly Books, and have been recorded in
all the passages connected with the signs of the coming
Manifestation.

Likewise, He saith: “On the day when the heaven shall give out a
palpable smoke, which shall enshroud mankind: this will be an afflictive
torment.”60 The All-Glorious hath decreed these very things, that are
contrary to the desires of wicked men, to be the touchstone and standard
whereby He proveth His servants, that the just may be known from the
wicked, and the faithful distinguished from the infidel. The symbolic
term “smoke” denotes grave dissensions, the abrogation and demolition of
recognized standards, and the utter destruction of their narrow-minded
exponents. What smoke more dense and overpowering than the one which
hath now enshrouded all the peoples of the world, which hath become a
torment unto them, and from which they hopelessly fail to deliver
themselves, however much they strive? So fierce is this fire of self
burning within them, that at every moment they seem to be afflicted with
fresh torments. The more they are told that this wondrous Cause of God,
this Revelation from the Most High, hath been made manifest to all
mankind, and is waxing greater and stronger every day, the fiercer
groweth the blaze of the fire in their hearts. The more they observe the
indomitable strength, the sublime renunciation, the unwavering constancy
of God’s holy companions, who, by the aid of God, are growing nobler and
more glorious every day, the deeper the dismay which ravageth their
souls. In these days, praise be to God, the power of His Word hath
obtained such ascendancy over men, that they dare breathe no word. Were
they to encounter one of the companions of God who, if he could, would,
freely and joyously, offer up ten thousand lives as a sacrifice for his
Beloved, so great would be their fear, that they forthwith would profess
their faith in Him, whilst privily they would vilify and execrate His
name! Even as He hath revealed: “And when they meet you, they say, ‘We
believe’; but when they are apart, they bite their fingers’ ends at you,
out of wrath. Say: ‘Die in your wrath!’ God truly knoweth the very
recesses of your breasts.”61

Ere long, thine eyes will behold the standards of divine power
unfurled throughout all regions, and the signs of His triumphant might
and sovereignty manifest in every land. As most of the divines have
failed to apprehend the meaning of these verses, and have not grasped
the significance of the Day of Resurrection, they therefore have
foolishly interpreted these verses according to their idle and faulty
conception. The one true God is My witness! Little perception is
required to enable them to gather from the symbolic language of these
two verses all that We have purposed to propound, and thus to attain,
through the grace of the All-Merciful, the resplendent morn of
certitude. Such are the strains of celestial melody which the immortal
Bird of Heaven, warbling upon the Sadrih of Bahá, poureth out upon thee,
that, by the permission of God, thou mayest tread the path of divine
knowledge and wisdom.

And now, concerning His words: “And He shall send His angels….” By
“angels” is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have
consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and
limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most
exalted Beings and of the Cherubim. That holy man, Ṣádiq,62 in his
eulogy of the Cherubim, saith: “There stand a company of our
fellow-Shí’ihs behind the Throne.” Divers and manifold are the
interpretations of the words “behind the Throne.” In one sense, they
indicate that no true Shí’ihs exist. Even as he hath said in another
passage: “A true believer is likened unto the philosopher’s stone.”
Addressing subsequently his listener, he saith: “Hast thou ever seen the
philosopher’s stone?” Reflect, how this symbolic language, more eloquent
than any speech, however direct, testifieth to the non-existence of a
true believer. Such is the testimony of Ṣádiq. And now consider, how
unfair and numerous are those who, although they themselves have failed
to inhale the fragrance of belief, have condemned as infidels those by
whose word belief itself is recognized and established.

And now, inasmuch as these holy beings have sanctified themselves
from every human limitation, have become endowed with the attributes of
the spiritual, and have been adorned with the noble traits of the
blessed, they therefore have been designated as “angels.” Such is the
meaning of these verses, every word of which hath been expounded by the
aid of the most lucid texts, the most convincing arguments, and the best
established evidences.

As the adherents of Jesus have never understood the hidden meaning of
these words, and as the signs which they and the leaders of their Faith
have expected have failed to appear, they therefore refused to
acknowledge, even until now, the truth of those Manifestations of
Holiness that have since the days of Jesus been made manifest. They have
thus deprived themselves of the outpourings of God’s holy grace, and of
the wonders of His divine utterance. Such is their low estate in this,
the Day of Resurrection! They have even failed to perceive that were the
signs of the Manifestation of God in every age to appear in the visible
realm in accordance with the text of established traditions, none could
possibly deny or turn away, nor would the blessed be distinguished from
the miserable, and the transgressor from the God-fearing. Judge fairly:
Were the prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be literally fulfilled;
were Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by angels, to descend from the
visible heaven upon the clouds; who would dare to disbelieve, who would
dare to reject the truth, and wax disdainful? Nay, such consternation
would immediately seize all the dwellers of the earth that no soul would
feel able to utter a word, much less to reject or accept the truth. It
was owing to their misunderstanding of these truths that many a
Christian divine hath objected to Muḥammad, and voiced his protest in
such words: “If Thou art in truth the promised Prophet, why then art
Thou not accompanied by those angels our sacred Books foretold, and
which must needs descend with the promised Beauty to assist Him in His
Revelation and act as warners unto His people?” Even as the All-Glorious
hath recorded their statement: “Why hath not an angel been sent down to
him, so that he should have been a warner with Him?”63

Such objections and differences have persisted in every age and
century. The people have always busied themselves with such specious
discourses, vainly protesting: “Wherefore hath not this or that sign
appeared?” Such ills befell them only because they have clung to the
ways of the divines of the age in which they lived, and blindly imitated
them in accepting or denying these Essences of Detachment, these holy
and divine Beings. These leaders, owing to their immersion in selfish
desires, and their pursuit of transitory and sordid things, have
regarded these divine Luminaries as being opposed to the standards of
their knowledge and understanding, and the opponents of their ways and
judgments. As they have literally interpreted the Word of God, and the
sayings and traditions of the Letters of Unity, and expounded them
according to their own deficient understanding, they have therefore
deprived themselves and all their people of the bountiful showers of the
grace and mercies of God. And yet they bear witness to this well-known
tradition: “Verily Our Word is abstruse, bewilderingly abstruse.” In
another instance, it is said: “Our Cause is sorely trying, highly
perplexing; none can bear it except a favorite of heaven, or an inspired
Prophet, or he whose faith God hath tested.” These leaders of religion
admit that none of these three specified conditions is applicable to
them. The first two conditions are manifestly beyond their reach; as to
the third, it is evident that at no time have they been proof against
those tests that have been sent by God, and that when the divine
Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves to be naught but
dross.

Great God! Notwithstanding their acceptance of the truth of this
tradition, these divines who are still doubtful of, and dispute about,
the theological obscurities of their faith, yet claim to be the
exponents of the subtleties of the law of God, and the expounders of the
essential mysteries of His holy Word. They confidently assert that such
traditions as indicate the advent of the expected Qá’im have not yet
been fulfilled, whilst they themselves have failed to inhale the
fragrance of the meaning of these traditions, and are still oblivious of
the fact that all the signs foretold have come to pass, that the way of
God’s holy Cause hath been revealed, and the concourse of the faithful,
swift as lightning, are, even now, passing upon that way, whilst these
foolish divines wait expecting to witness the signs foretold. Say, O ye
foolish ones! Wait ye even as those before you are waiting!

Were they to be questioned concerning those signs that must needs
herald the revelation and rise of the sun of the Muḥammadan
Dispensation, to which We have already referred, none of which have been
literally fulfilled, and were it to be said to them: “Wherefore have ye
rejected the claims advanced by Christians and the peoples of other
faiths and regard them as infidels,” knowing not what answer to give,
they will reply: “These Books have been corrupted and are not, and never
have been, of God.” Reflect: the words of the verses themselves
eloquently testify to the truth that they are of God. A similar verse
hath been also revealed in the Qur’án, were ye of them that comprehend.
Verily I say, throughout all this period they have utterly failed to
comprehend what is meant by corrupting the text.

Yea, in the writings and utterances of the Mirrors reflecting the sun
of the Muḥammadan Dispensation mention hath been made of “Modification
by the exalted beings” and “alteration by the disdainful.” Such
passages, however, refer only to particular cases. Among them is the
story of Ibn-i-Suríyá. When the people of Khaybar asked the focal center
of the Muḥammadan Revelation concerning the penalty of adultery
committed between a married man and a married woman, Muḥammad answered
and said: “The law of God is death by stoning.” Whereupon they protested
saying: “No such law hath been revealed in the Pentateuch.” Muḥammad
answered and said: “Whom do ye regard among your rabbis as being a
recognized authority and having a sure knowledge of the truth?” They
agreed upon Ibn-i-Suríyá. Thereupon Muḥammad summoned him and said: “I
adjure thee by God Who clove the sea for you, caused manna to descend
upon you, and the cloud to overshadow you, Who delivered you from
Pharaoh and his people, and exalted you above all human beings, to tell
us what Moses hath decreed concerning adultery between a married man and
a married woman.” He made reply: “O Muḥammad! death by stoning is the
law.” Muḥammad observed: “Why is it then that this law is annulled and
hath ceased to operate among the Jews?” He answered and said: “When
Nebuchadnezzar delivered Jerusalem to the flames, and put the Jews to
death, only a few survived. The divines of that age, considering the
extremely limited number of the Jews, and the multitude of the
Amalekites, took counsel together, and came to the conclusion that were
they to enforce the law of the Pentateuch, every survivor who hath been
delivered from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar would have to be put to death
according to the verdict of the Book. Owing to such considerations, they
totally repealed the penalty of death.” Meanwhile Gabriel inspired
Muḥammad’s illumined heart with these words: “They pervert the text of
the Word of God.”64

This is one of the instances that have been referred to. Verily by
“perverting” the text is not meant that which these foolish and abject
souls have fancied, even as some maintain that Jewish and Christian
divines have effaced from the Book such verses as extol and magnify the
countenance of Muḥammad, and instead thereof have inserted the contrary.
How utterly vain and false are these words! Can a man who believeth in a
book, and deemeth it to be inspired by God, mutilate it? Moreover, the
Pentateuch had been spread over the surface of the earth, and was not
confined to Mecca and Medina, so that they could privily corrupt and
pervert its text. Nay, rather, by corruption of the text is meant that
in which all Muslim divines are engaged today, that is the
interpretation of God’s holy Book in accordance with their idle
imaginings and vain desires. And as the Jews, in the time of Muḥammad,
interpreted those verses of the Pentateuch, that referred to His
Manifestation, after their own fancy, and refused to be satisfied with
His holy utterance, the charge of “perverting” the text was therefore
pronounced against them. Likewise, it is clear, how in this day, the
people of the Qur’án have perverted the text of God’s holy Book,
concerning the signs of the expected Manifestation, and interpreted it
according to their inclination and desires.

In yet another instance, He saith: “A part of them heard the Word of
God, and then, after they had understood it, distorted it, and knew that
they did so.”65 This verse, too, doth indicate that the meaning of the
Word of God hath been perverted, not that the actual words have been
effaced. To the truth of this testify they that are sound of mind.

Again in another instance, He saith: “Woe unto those who, with their
own hands, transcribe the Book corruptly, and then say: ‘This is from
God,’ that they may sell it for some mean price.”66 This verse was
revealed with reference to the divines and leaders of the Jewish Faith.
These divines, in order to please the rich, acquire worldly emoluments,
and give vent to their envy and misbelief, wrote a number of treatises,
refuting the claims of Muḥammad, supporting their arguments with such
evidences as it would be improper to mention, and claimed that these
arguments were derived from the text of the Pentateuch.

The same may be witnessed today. Consider how abundant are the
denunciations written by the foolish divines of this age against this
most wondrous Cause! How vain their imaginings that these calumnies are
in conformity with the verses of God’s sacred Book, and in consonance
with the utterances of men of discernment!

Our purpose in relating these things is to warn you that were they to
maintain that those verses wherein the signs referred to in the Gospel
are mentioned have been perverted, were they to reject them, and cling
instead to other verses and traditions, you should know that their words
were utter falsehood and sheer calumny. Yea “corruption” of the text, in
the sense We have referred to, hath been actually effected in particular
instances. A few of these We have mentioned, that it may become manifest
to every discerning observer that unto a few untutored holy Men hath
been given the mastery of human learning, so that the malevolent opposer
may cease to contend that a certain verse doth indicate “corruption” of
the text, and insinuate that We, through lack of knowledge, have made
mention of such things. Moreover, most of the verses that indicate
“corruption” of the text have been revealed with reference to the Jewish
people, were ye to explore the isles of Qur’ánic Revelation.

We have also heard a number of the foolish of the earth assert that
the genuine text of the heavenly Gospel doth not exist amongst the
Christians, that it hath ascended unto heaven. How grievously they have
erred! How oblivious of the fact that such a statement imputeth the
gravest injustice and tyranny to a gracious and loving Providence! How
could God, when once the Day-star of the beauty of Jesus had disappeared
from the sight of His people, and ascended unto the fourth heaven, cause
His holy Book, His most great testimony amongst His creatures, to
disappear also? What would be left to that people to cling to from the
setting of the day-star of Jesus until the rise of the sun of the
Muḥammadan Dispensation? What law could be their stay and guide? How
could such people be made the victims of the avenging wrath of God, the
omnipotent Avenger? How could they be afflicted with the scourge of
chastisement by the heavenly King? Above all, how could the flow of the
grace of the All-Bountiful be stayed? How could the ocean of His tender
mercies be stilled? We take refuge with God, from that which His
creatures have fancied about Him! Exalted is He above their
comprehension!

Dear friend! Now when the light of God’s everlasting Morn is
breaking; when the radiance of His holy words: “God is the light of the
heavens and of the earth”67 is shedding illumination upon all mankind;
when the inviolability of His tabernacle is being proclaimed by His
sacred utterance: “God hath willed to perfect His light;”68 and the Hand
of omnipotence, bearing His testimony: “In His grasp He holdeth the
kingdom of all things,” is being outstretched unto all the peoples and
kindreds of the earth; it behooveth us to gird up the loins of
endeavour, that haply, by the grace and bounty of God, we may enter the
celestial City: “Verily, we are God’s,” and abide within the exalted
habitation: “And unto Him we do return.” It is incumbent upon thee, by
the permission of God, to cleanse the eye of thine heart from the things
of the world, that thou mayest realize the infinitude of divine
knowledge, and mayest behold Truth so clearly that thou wilt need no
proof to demonstrate His reality, nor any evidence to bear witness unto
His testimony.

O affectionate seeker! Shouldst thou soar in the holy realm of the
spirit, thou wouldst recognize God manifest and exalted above all
things, in such wise that thine eyes would behold none else but Him.
“God was alone; there was none else besides Him.” So lofty is this
station that no testimony can bear it witness, neither evidence do
justice to its truth. Wert thou to explore the sacred domain of truth,
thou wilt find that all things are known only by the light of His
recognition, that He hath ever been, and will continue for ever to be,
known through Himself. And if thou dwellest in the land of testimony,
content thyself with that which He, Himself, hath revealed: “Is it not
enough for them that We have sent down unto Thee the Book?”69 This is
the testimony which He, Himself, hath ordained; greater proof than this
there is none, nor ever will be: “This proof is His Word; His own Self,
the testimony of His truth.”

And now, We beseech the people of the Bayán, all the learned, the
sages, the divines, and witnesses amongst them, not to forget the wishes
and admonitions revealed in their Book. Let them, at all times, fix
their gaze upon the essentials of His Cause, lest when He, Who is the
Quintessence of truth, the inmost Reality of all things, the Source of
all light, is made manifest, they cling unto certain passages of the
Book, and inflict upon Him that which was inflicted in the Dispensation
of the Qur’án. For, verily, powerful is He, the King of divine might, to
extinguish with one letter of His wondrous words, the breath of life in
the whole of the Bayán and the people thereof, and with one letter
bestow upon them a new and everlasting life, and cause them to arise and
speed out of the sepulchres of their vain and selfish desires. Take
heed, and be watchful; and remember that all things have their
consummation in belief in Him, in attainment unto His day, and in the
realization of His divine presence. “There is no piety in turning your
faces toward the east or toward the west, but he is pious who believeth
in God and the Last Day.”70 Give ear, O people of the Bayán, unto the
truth whereunto We have admonished you, that haply ye may seek the
shelter of the shadow extended, in the Day of God, upon all mankind.

END OF PART ONE

PART TWO

The significance and essential purpose underlying these words is to
reveal and demonstrate unto the pure in heart and the sanctified in
spirit that they Who are the Luminaries of truth and the Mirrors
reflecting the light of divine Unity, in whatever age and cycle they are
sent down from their invisible habitations of ancient glory unto this
world, to educate the souls of men and endue with grace all created
things, are invariably endowed with an all-compelling power, and
invested with invincible sovereignty. For these hidden Gems, these
concealed and invisible Treasures, in themselves manifest and vindicate
the reality of these holy words: “Verily God doeth whatsoever He
willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.”

To every discerning and illumined heart it is evident that God, the
unknowable Essence, the divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every
human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress
and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should
adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His
fathomless mystery. He is and hath ever been veiled in the ancient
eternity of His Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly
hidden from the sight of men. “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in
all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving.”71 No tie of direct
intercourse can possibly bind Him to His creatures. He standeth exalted
beyond and above all separation and union, all proximity and remoteness.
No sign can indicate His presence or His absence; inasmuch as by a word
of His command all that are in heaven and on earth have come to exist,
and by His wish, which is the Primal Will itself, all have stepped out
of utter nothingness into the realm of being, the world of the
visible.

Gracious God! How could there be conceived any existing relationship
or possible connection between His Word and they that are created of it?
The verse: “God would have you beware of Himself”72 unmistakably beareth
witness to the reality of Our argument, and the words: “God was alone;
there was none else besides Him” are a sure testimony of its truth. All
the Prophets of God and their chosen Ones, all the divines, the sages,
and the wise of every generation, unanimously recognize their inability
to attain unto the comprehension of that Quintessence of all truth, and
confess their incapacity to grasp Him, Who is the inmost Reality of all
things.

The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in
the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace, according to His
saying: “His grace hath transcended all things; My grace hath
encompassed them all” hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to
appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human
temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto the
world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the
subtleties of His imperishable Essence. These sanctified Mirrors, these
Day-springs of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of
Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate
Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived
their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection
of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They
are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the Repositories of
celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite,
and by them is revealed the light that can never fade. Even as He hath
said: “There is no distinction whatsoever between Thee and them; except
that they are Thy servants, and are created of Thee.” This is the
significance of the tradition: “I am He, Himself, and He is I,
myself.”

The traditions and sayings that bear direct reference to Our theme
are divers and manifold; We have refrained from quoting them for the
sake of brevity. Nay, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the
earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes
and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs
that bear eloquent testimony to the revelation of that most great Light.
Methinks, but for the potency of that revelation, no being could ever
exist. How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an
atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop! To a
supreme degree is this true of man, who, among all created things, hath
been invested with the robe of such gifts, and hath been singled out for
the glory of such distinction. For in him are potentially revealed all
the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other created being
hath excelled or surpassed. All these names and attributes are
applicable to him. Even as He hath said: “Man is My mystery, and I am
his mystery.” Manifold are the verses that have been repeatedly revealed
in all the heavenly Books and the holy Scriptures, expressive of this
most subtle and lofty theme. Even as He hath revealed: “We will surely
show them Our signs in the world and within themselves.”73 Again He
saith: “And also in your own selves: will ye not then behold the signs
of God?”74 And yet again He revealeth: “And be ye not like those who
forget God, and whom He hath therefore caused to forget their own
selves.”75 In this connection, He Who is the eternal King—may the souls
of all that dwell within the mystic Tabernacle be a sacrifice unto
Him—hath spoken: “He hath known God who hath known himself.”

I swear by God, O esteemed and honoured friend! Shouldst thou ponder
these words in thine heart, thou wilt of a certainty find the doors of
divine wisdom and infinite knowledge flung open before thy face.

From that which hath been said it becometh evident that all things,
in their inmost reality, testify to the revelation of the names and
attributes of God within them. Each according to its capacity,
indicateth, and is expressive of, the knowledge of God. So potent and
universal is this revelation, that it hath encompassed all things,
visible and invisible. Thus hath He revealed: “Hath aught else save Thee
a power of revelation which is not possessed by Thee, that it could have
manifested Thee? Blind is the eye which doth not perceive Thee.”
Likewise, hath the eternal King spoken: “No thing have I perceived,
except that I perceived God within it, God before it, or God after it.”
Also in the tradition of Kumayl it is written: “Behold, a light hath
shone forth out of the Morn of eternity, and lo! its waves have
penetrated the inmost reality of all men.” Man, the noblest and most
perfect of all created things, excelleth them all in the intensity of
this revelation, and is a fuller expression of its glory. And of all
men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished and the most
excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all else
besides these Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will, and
move and have their being through the outpourings of their grace. “But
for Thee, I would have not created the heavens.” Nay, all in their holy
presence fade into utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten. Human
tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech can
never unfold their mystery. These Tabernacles of holiness, these primal
Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but expressions
of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the revelation of
these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes of God, such as
knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy and wisdom, glory,
bounty and grace, are made manifest.

These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed
specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the
Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and chosen Messengers,
are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of
His attributes. They only differ in the intensity of their revelation,
and the comparative potency of their light. Even as He hath revealed:
“Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others.”76 It hath
therefore become manifest and evident that within the tabernacles of
these Prophets and chosen Ones of God the light of His infinite names
and exalted attributes hath been reflected, even though the light of
some of these attributes may or may not be outwardly revealed from these
luminous Temples to the eyes of men. That a certain attribute of God
hath not been outwardly manifested by these Essences of Detachment doth
in no wise imply that they Who are the Daysprings of God’s attributes
and the Treasuries of His holy names did not actually possess it.
Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these beauteous Countenances have,
each and every one of them, been endowed with all the attributes of God,
such as sovereignty, dominion, and the like, even though to outward
seeming they be shorn of all earthly majesty. To every discerning eye
this is evident and manifest; it requireth neither proof nor
evidence.

Yea, inasmuch as the peoples of the world have failed to seek from
the luminous and crystal Springs of divine knowledge the inner meaning
of God’s holy words, they therefore have languished, stricken and sore
athirst, in the vale of idle fancy and waywardness. They have strayed
far from the fresh and thirst-subduing waters, and gathered round the
salt that burneth bitterly. Concerning them, the Dove of Eternity hath
spoken: “And if they see the path of righteousness, they will not take
it for their path; but if they see the path of error, for their path
will they take it. This, because they treated Our signs as lies, and
were heedless of them.”77

To this testifieth that which hath been witnessed in this wondrous
and exalted Dispensation. Myriads of holy verses have descended from the
heaven of might and grace, yet no one hath turned thereunto, nor ceased
to cling to those words of men, not one letter of which they that have
spoken them comprehend. For this reason the people have doubted
incontestable truths, such as these, and caused themselves to be
deprived of the Ridván of divine knowledge, and the eternal meads of
celestial wisdom.

And now, to resume Our argument concerning the question: Why is it
that the sovereignty of the Qá’im, affirmed in the text of recorded
traditions, and handed down by the shining stars of the Muḥammadan
Dispensation, hath not in the least been made manifest? Nay, the
contrary hath come to pass. Have not His disciples and companions been
afflicted of men? Are they not still the victims of the fierce
opposition of their enemies? Are they not today leading the life of
abased and impotent mortals? Yea, the sovereignty attributed to the
Qá’im and spoken of in the scriptures, is a reality, the truth of which
none can doubt. This sovereignty, however, is not the sovereignty which
the minds of men have falsely imagined. Moreover, the Prophets of old,
each and every one, whenever announcing to the people of their day the
advent of the coming Revelation, have invariably and specifically
referred to that sovereignty with which the promised Manifestation must
needs be invested. This is attested by the records of the scriptures of
the past. This sovereignty hath not been solely and exclusively
attributed to the Qá’im. Nay rather, the attribute of sovereignty and
all other names and attributes of God have been and will ever be
vouchsafed unto all the Manifestations of God, before and after Him,
inasmuch as these Manifestations, as it hath already been explained, are
the Embodiments of the attributes of God, the Invisible, and the
Revealers of the divine mysteries.

Furthermore, by sovereignty is meant the all-encompassing,
all-pervading power which is inherently exercised by the Qá’im whether
or not He appear to the world clothed in the majesty of earthly
dominion. This is solely dependent upon the will and pleasure of the
Qá’im Himself. You will readily recognize that the terms sovereignty,
wealth, life, death, judgment and resurrection, spoken of by the
scriptures of old, are not what this generation hath conceived and
vainly imagined. Nay, by sovereignty is meant that sovereignty which in
every dispensation resideth within, and is exercised by, the person of
the Manifestation, the Day-star of Truth. That sovereignty is the
spiritual ascendancy which He exerciseth to the fullest degree over all
that is in heaven and on earth, and which in due time revealeth itself
to the world in direct proportion to its capacity and spiritual
receptiveness, even as the sovereignty of Muḥammad, the Messenger of
God, is today apparent and manifest amongst the people. You are well
aware of what befell His Faith in the early days of His dispensation.
What woeful sufferings did the hand of the infidel and erring, the
divines of that age and their associates, inflict upon that spiritual
Essence, that most pure and holy Being! How abundant the thorns and
briars which they have strewn over His path! It is evident that wretched
generation, in their wicked and satanic fancy, regarded every injury to
that immortal Being as a means to the attainment of an abiding felicity;
inasmuch as the recognized divines of that age, such as
‘Abdu’lláh-i-Ubayy, Abú-‘Amír, the hermit, Ka’b-Ibn-i-Ashraf, and
Nadr-Ibn-i-Hárith, all treated Him as an impostor, and pronounced Him a
lunatic and a calumniator. Such sore accusations they brought against
Him that in recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow, Our pen to
move, or the page to bear them. These malicious imputations provoked the
people to arise and torment Him. And how fierce that torment if the
divines of the age be its chief instigators, if they denounce Him to
their followers, cast Him out from their midst, and declare Him a
miscreant! Hath not the same befallen this Servant, and been witnessed
by all?

For this reason did Muḥammad cry out: “No Prophet of God hath
suffered such harm as I have suffered.” And in the Qur’án are recorded
all the calumnies and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the
afflictions which He suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be
informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous was His
plight, that for a time all ceased to hold intercourse with Him and His
companions. Whoever associated with Him fell a victim to the relentless
cruelty of His enemies.

We shall cite in this connection only one verse of that Book.
Shouldst thou observe it with a discerning eye, thou wilt, all the
remaining days of thy life, lament and bewail the injury of Muḥammad,
that wronged and oppressed Messenger of God. That verse was revealed at
a time when Muḥammad languished weary and sorrowful beneath the weight
of the opposition of the people, and of their unceasing torture. In the
midst of His agony, the Voice of Gabriel, calling from the
Sadratu’l-Muntahá, was heard saying: “But if their opposition be
grievous to Thee—if Thou canst, seek out an opening into the earth or a
ladder into heaven.”78 The implication of this utterance is that His
case had no remedy, that they would not withhold their hands from Him
unless He should hide Himself beneath the depths of the earth, or take
His flight unto heaven.

Consider, how great is the change today! Behold, how many are the
Sovereigns who bow the knee before His name! How numerous the nations
and kingdoms who have sought the shelter of His shadow, who bear
allegiance to His Faith, and pride themselves therein! From the
pulpit-top there ascendeth today the words of praise which, in utter
lowliness, glorify His blessed name; and from the heights of minarets
there resoundeth the call that summoneth the concourse of His people to
adore Him. Even those Kings of the earth who have refused to embrace His
Faith and to put off the garment of unbelief, none the less confess and
acknowledge the greatness and overpowering majesty of that Day-star of
loving kindness. Such is His earthly sovereignty, the evidences of which
thou dost on every side behold. This sovereignty must needs be revealed
and established either in the lifetime of every Manifestation of God or
after His ascension unto His true habitation in the realms above. What
thou dost witness today is but a confirmation of this truth. That
spiritual ascendency, however, which is primarily intended, resideth
within, and revolveth around Them from eternity even unto eternity. It
can never for a moment be divorced from Them. Its dominion hath
encompassed all that is in heaven and on earth.

The following is an evidence of the sovereignty exercised by
Muḥammad, the Day-star of Truth. Hast thou not heard how with one single
verse He hath sundered light from darkness, the righteous from the
ungodly, and the believing from the infidel? All the signs and allusions
concerning the Day of Judgment, which thou hast heard, such as the
raising of the dead, the Day of Reckoning, the Last Judgment, and others
have been made manifest through the revelation of that verse. These
revealed words were a blessing to the righteous who on hearing them
exclaimed: “O God our Lord, we have heard, and obeyed.” They were a
curse to the people of iniquity who, on hearing them affirmed: “We have
heard and rebelled.” Those words, sharp as the sword of God, have
separated the faithful from the infidel, and severed father from son.
Thou hast surely witnessed how they that have confessed their faith in
Him and they that rejected Him have warred against each other, and
sought one another’s property. How many fathers have turned away from
their sons; how many lovers have shunned their beloved! So mercilessly
trenchant was this wondrous sword of God that it cleft asunder every
relationship! On the other hand, consider the welding power of His Word.
Observe, how those in whose midst the Satan of self had for years sown
the seeds of malice and hate became so fused and blended through their
allegiance to this wondrous and transcendent Revelation that it seemed
as if they had sprung from the same loins. Such is the binding force of
the Word of God, which uniteth the hearts of them that have renounced
all else but Him, who have believed in His signs, and quaffed from the
Hand of glory the Kawthar of God’s holy grace. Furthermore, how numerous
are those peoples of divers beliefs, of conflicting creeds, and opposing
temperaments, who, through the reviving fragrance of the Divine
springtime, breathing from the Ridván of God, have been arrayed with the
new robe of divine Unity, and have drunk from the cup of His
singleness!

This is the significance of the well-known words: “The wolf and the
lamb shall feed together.”79 Behold the ignorance and folly of those
who, like the nations of old, are still expecting to witness the time
when these beasts will feed together in one pasture! Such is their low
estate. Methinks, never have their lips touched the cup of
understanding, neither have their feet trodden the path of justice.
Besides, of what profit would it be to the world were such a thing to
take place? How well hath He spoken concerning them: “Hearts have they,
with which they understand not, and eyes have they with which they see
not!”80

Consider how with this one verse which hath descended from the heaven
of the Will of God, the world and all that is therein have been brought
to a reckoning with Him. Whosoever acknowledged His truth and turned
unto Him, his good works outweighed his misdeeds, and all his sins were
remitted and forgiven. Thereby is the truth of these words concerning
Him made manifest: “Swift is He in reckoning.” Thus God turneth iniquity
into righteousness, were ye to explore the realms of divine knowledge,
and fathom the mysteries of His wisdom. In like manner, whosoever
partook of the cup of love, obtained his portion of the ocean of eternal
grace and of the showers of everlasting mercy, and entered into the life
of faith—the heavenly and everlasting life. But he that turned away from
that cup was condemned to eternal death. By the terms “life” and
“death,” spoken of in the scriptures, is intended the life of faith and
the death of unbelief. The generality of the people, owing to their
failure to grasp the meaning of these words, rejected and despised the
person of the Manifestation, deprived themselves of the light of His
divine guidance, and refused to follow the example of that immortal
Beauty.

When the light of Qur’ánic Revelation was kindled within the chamber
of Muḥammad’s holy heart, He passed upon the people the verdict of the
Last Day, the verdict of resurrection, of judgment, of life, and of
death. Thereupon the standards of revolt were hoisted, and the doors of
derision opened. Thus hath He, the Spirit of God, recorded, as spoken by
the infidels: “And if thou shouldst say, ‘After death ye shall surely be
raised again,’ the infidels will certainly exclaim, ‘This is nothing but
manifest sorcery.’”81 Again He speaketh: “If ever thou dost marvel,
marvellous surely is their saying, ‘What! When we have become dust,
shall we be restored in a new creation?’”82 Thus, in another passage, He
wrathfully exclaimeth: “Are We wearied out with the first creation? Yet
are they in doubt with regard to a new creation!”83

As the commentators of the Qur’án and they that follow the letter
thereof misapprehended the inner meaning of the words of God and failed
to grasp their essential purpose, they sought to demonstrate that,
according to the rules of grammar, whenever the term “idhá” (meaning
“if” or “when”) precedeth the past tense, it invariably hath reference
to the future. Later, they were sore perplexed in attempting to explain
those verses of the Book wherein that term did not actually occur. Even
as He hath revealed: “And there was a blast on the trumpet,—lo! it is
the threatened Day! And every soul is summoned to a reckoning,—with him
an impeller and a witness.”84 In explaining this and similar verses,
they have in some cases argued that the term “idhá” is implied. In other
instances, they have idly contended that whereas the Day of Judgment is
inevitable, it hath therefore been referred to as an event not of the
future but of the past. How vain their sophistry! How grievous their
blindness! They refuse to recognize the trumpet-blast which so
explicitly in this text was sounded through the revelation of Muḥammad.
They deprive themselves of the regenerating Spirit of God that breathed
into it, and foolishly expect to hear the trumpet-sound of the Seraph of
God who is but one of His servants! Hath not the Seraph himself, the
angel of the Judgment Day, and his like been ordained by Muḥammad’s own
utterance? Say: What! Will ye give that which is for your good in
exchange for that which is evil? Wretched is that which ye have falsely
exchanged! Surely ye are a people, evil, in grievous loss.

Nay, by “trumpet” is meant the trumpet-call of Muḥammad’s Revelation,
which was sounded in the heart of the universe, and by “resurrection” is
meant His own rise to proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring and
wayward arise and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed
them with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them with the
breath of a new and wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muḥammad, that
divine Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in the
symbolic terms “resurrection,” “judgment,” “paradise,” and “hell,”
Gabriel, the Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying: “Erelong will they
wag their heads at Thee, and say, ‘When shall this be?’ Say: ‘Perchance
it is nigh.’”85 The implications of this verse alone suffice the peoples
of the world, were they to ponder it in their hearts.

Gracious God! How far have that people strayed from the way of God!
Although the Day of Resurrection was ushered in through the Revelation
of Muḥammad, although His light and tokens had encompassed the earth and
all that is therein, yet that people derided Him, gave themselves up to
those idols which the divines of that age, in their vain and idle fancy,
had conceived, and deprived themselves of the light of heavenly grace
and of the showers of divine mercy. Yea, the abject beetle can never
scent the fragrance of holiness, and the bat of darkness can never face
the splendour of the sun.

Such things have come to pass in the days of every Manifestation of
God. Even as Jesus said: “Ye must be born again.”86 Again He saith:
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”87 The purport of these words is
that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is
quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is
of those that have attained unto “life” and “resurrection” and have
entered into the “paradise” of the love of God. And whosoever is not of
them, is condemned to “death” and “deprivation,” to the “fire” of
unbelief, and to the “wrath” of God. In all the scriptures, the books
and chronicles, the sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of
understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against those whose lips
have tasted not the ethereal cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts
have been deprived of the grace of the holy Spirit in their day. Even as
it hath been previously recorded: “Hearts have they with which they
understand not.”88

In another passage of the Gospel it is written: “And it came to pass
that on a certain day the father of one of the disciples of Jesus had
died.” That disciple reporting the death of his father unto Jesus, asked
for leave to go and bury him. Whereupon, Jesus, that Essence of
Detachment, answered and said: “Let the dead bury their dead.”89

In like manner, two of the people of Kúfih went to ‘Alí, the
Commander of the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell it; the
other was to be the purchaser. They had agreed that this transaction
should be effected and the contract be written with the knowledge of
‘Alí. He, the exponent of the law of God, addressing the scribe, said:
“Write thou: ‘A dead man hath bought from another dead man a house. That
house is bounded by four limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the
other to the vault of the grave, the third to the Ṣiraṭ, the fourth to
either Paradise or hell.’” Reflect, had these two souls been quickened
by the trumpet-call of ‘Alí, had they risen from the grave of error by
the power of his love, the judgment of death would certainly not have
been pronounced against them.

In every age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and
their chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual
significance of the terms “life,” “resurrection,” and “judgment.” If one
will ponder but for a while this utterance of ‘Alí in his heart, one
will surely discover all mysteries hidden in the terms “grave,” “tomb,”
“ṣiraṭ,” “paradise” and “hell.” But oh! how strange and pitiful! Behold,
all the people are imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried
beneath the nethermost depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to
but a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst
readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life
of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common to both men and
animals, whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in
heart who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit
of certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned
by immortality. Even as it hath been said: “He who is a true believer
liveth both in this world and in the world to come.”

If by “life” be meant this earthly life, it is evident that death
must needs overtake it.

Similarly, the records of all the scriptures bear witness to this
lofty truth and this most exalted word. Moreover, this verse of the
Qur’án, revealed concerning Ḥamzih, the “Prince of Martyrs,”90 and
Abú-Jahl, is a luminous evidence and sure testimony of the truth of Our
saying: “Shall the dead, whom We have quickened, and for whom We have
ordained a light whereby he may walk among men, be like him, whose
likeness is in the darkness, whence he will not come forth?”91 This
verse descended from the heaven of the Primal Will at a time when Ḥamzih
had already been invested with the sacred mantle of faith, and Abú-Jahl
had waxed relentless in his opposition and unbelief. From the Wellspring
of omnipotence and the Source of eternal holiness, there came the
judgment that conferred everlasting life upon Ḥamzih, and condemned
Abú-Jahl to eternal damnation. This was the signal that caused the fires
of unbelief to glow with the hottest flame in the heart of the infidels,
and provoked them openly to repudiate His truth. They loudly clamoured:
“When did Ḥamzih die? When was he risen? At what hour was such a life
conferred upon him?” As they understood not the significance of these
noble sayings, nor sought enlightenment from the recognized expounders
of the Faith, that these might confer a sprinkling of the Kawthar of
divine knowledge upon them, therefore such fires of mischief were
kindled amongst men.

Thou dost witness today how, notwithstanding the radiant splendour of
the Sun of divine knowledge, all the people, whether high or low, have
clung to the ways of those abject manifestations of the Prince of
Darkness. They continually appeal to them for aid in unraveling the
intricacies of their Faith, and, owing to lack of knowledge, they make
such replies as can in no wise damage their fame and fortune. It is
evident that these souls, vile and miserable as the beetle itself, have
had no portion of the musk-laden breeze of eternity, and have never
entered the Ridván of heavenly delight. How, therefore, can they impart
unto others the imperishable fragrance of holiness? Such is their way,
and such will it remain for ever. Only those will attain to the
knowledge of the Word of God that have turned unto Him, and repudiated
the manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day
of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the
mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial glory. Wert thou to
heed these words, wert thou to ponder their outward and inner meaning in
thy heart, thou wouldst seize the significance of all the abstruse
problems which, in this day, have become insuperable barriers between
men and the knowledge of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no
more questions to perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing,
thou wilt not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the
ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the imperishable
Sanctuary of thy heart’s desire. Let it now be seen what thy search and
endeavours will achieve.

To resume: Our purpose in setting forth these truths hath been to
demonstrate the sovereignty of Him Who is the King of kings. Be fair: Is
this sovereignty which, through the utterance of one Word, hath
manifested such pervading influence, ascendancy, and awful majesty, is
this sovereignty superior, or is the worldly dominion of these kings of
the earth who, despite their solicitude for their subjects and their
help of the poor, are assured only of an outward and fleeting
allegiance, while in the hearts of men they inspire neither affection
nor respect? Hath not that sovereignty, through the potency of one word,
subdued, quickened, and revitalized the whole world? What! Can the lowly
dust compare with Him Who is the Lord of Lords? What tongue dare utter
the immensity of difference that lieth between them? Nay, all comparison
falleth short in attaining the hallowed sanctuary of His sovereignty.
Were man to reflect, he would surely perceive that even the servant of
His threshold ruleth over all created things! This hath already been
witnessed, and will in future be made manifest.

This is but one of the meanings of the spiritual sovereignty which We
have set forth in accordance with the capacity and receptiveness of the
people. For He, the Mover of all beings, that glorified Countenance, is
the source of such potencies as neither this wronged One can reveal, nor
this unworthy people comprehend. Immensely exalted is He above men’s
praise of His sovereignty; glorified is He beyond that which they
attribute unto Him!

And now, ponder this in thine heart: Were sovereignty to mean earthly
sovereignty and worldly dominion, were it to imply the subjection and
external allegiance of all the peoples and kindreds of the earth—whereby
His loved ones should be exalted and be made to live in peace, and His
enemies be abased and tormented—such form of sovereignty would not be
true of God Himself, the Source of all dominion, Whose majesty and power
all things testify. For, dost thou not witness how the generality of
mankind is under the sway of His enemies? Have they not all turned away
from the path of His good-pleasure? Have they not done that which He
hath forbidden, and left undone, nay repudiated and opposed, those
things which He hath commanded? Have not His friends ever been the
victims of the tyranny of His foes? All these things are more obvious
than even the splendour of the noon-tide sun.

Know, therefore, O questioning seeker, that earthly sovereignty is of
no worth, nor will it ever be, in the eyes of God and His chosen Ones.
Moreover, if ascendency and dominion be interpreted to mean earthly
supremacy and temporal power, how impossible will it be for thee to
explain these verses: “And verily Our host shall conquer.”92 “Fain would
they put out God’s light with their mouths: But God hath willed to
perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.”93 “He is the Dominant,
above all things.” Similarly, most of the Qur’án testifieth to this
truth.

Were the idle contention of these foolish and despicable souls to be
true, they would have none other alternative than to reject all these
holy utterances and heavenly allusions. For no warrior could be found on
earth more excellent and nearer to God than Ḥusayn, son of ‘Alí, so
peerless and incomparable was he. “There was none to equal or to match
him in the world.” Yet, thou must have heard what befell him. “God’s
malison on the head of the people of tyranny!”94

Were the verse “And verily Our host shall conquer” to be literally
interpreted, it is evident that it would in no wise be applicable to the
chosen Ones of God and His hosts, inasmuch as Ḥusayn, whose heroism was
manifest as the sun, crushed and subjugated, quaffed at last the cup of
martyrdom in Karbilá, the land of Táff. Similarly, the sacred verse
“Fain would they put out God’s light with their mouths: But God hath
willed to perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.” Were it to
be literally interpreted it would never correspond with the truth. For
in every age the light of God hath, to outward seeming, been quenched by
the peoples of the earth, and the Lamps of God extinguished by them. How
then could the ascendancy of the sovereignty of these Lamps be
explained? What could the potency of God’s will to “perfect His light”
signify? As hath already been witnessed, so great was the enmity of the
infidels, that none of these divine Luminaries ever found a place for
shelter, or tasted of the cup of tranquillity. So heavily were they
oppressed, that the least of men inflicted upon these Essences of being
whatsoever he listed. These sufferings have been observed and measured
by the people. How, therefore, can such people be capable of
understanding and expounding these words of God, these verses of
everlasting glory?

But the purpose of these verses is not what they have imagined. Nay,
the terms “ascendancy,” “power,” and “authority” imply a totally
different station and meaning. For instance, consider the pervading
power of those drops of the blood of Ḥusayn which besprinkled the earth.
What ascendancy and influence hath the dust itself, through the
sacredness and potency of that blood, exercised over the bodies and
souls of men! So much so, that he who sought deliverance from his ills,
was healed by touching the dust of that holy ground, and whosoever,
wishing to protect his property, treasured with absolute faith and
understanding, a little of that holy earth within his house, safeguarded
all his possessions. These are the outward manifestations of its
potency. And were We to recount its hidden virtues they would assuredly
say: “He verily hath considered the dust to be the Lord of Lords, and
hath utterly forsaken the Faith of God.”

Furthermore, call to mind the shameful circumstances that have
attended the martyrdom of Ḥusayn. Reflect upon his loneliness, how, to
outer seeming, none could be found to aid him, none to take up his body
and bury it. And yet, behold how numerous, in this day, are those who
from the uttermost corners of the earth don the garb of pilgrimage,
seeking the site of his martyrdom, that there they may lay their heads
upon the threshold of his shrine! Such is the ascendancy and power of
God! Such is the glory of His dominion and majesty!

Think not that because these things have come to pass after Ḥusayn’s
martyrdom, therefore all this glory hath been of no profit unto him. For
that holy soul is immortal, liveth the life of God, and abideth within
the retreats of celestial glory upon the Sadrih of heavenly reunion.
These Essences of being are the shining Exemplars of sacrifice. They
have offered, and will continue to offer up their lives, their
substance, their souls, their spirit, their all, in the path of the
Well-Beloved. By them, no station, however exalted, could be more dearly
cherished. For lovers have no desire but the good-pleasure of their
Beloved, and have no aim except reunion with Him.

Should We wish to impart unto thee a glimmer of the mysteries of
Ḥusayn’s martyrdom, and reveal unto thee the fruits thereof, these pages
could never suffice, nor exhaust their meaning. Our hope is that, God
willing, the breeze of mercy may blow, and the divine Springtime clothe
the tree of being with the robe of a new life; so that we may discover
the mysteries of divine Wisdom, and, through His providence, be made
independent of the knowledge of all things. We have, as yet, descried
none but a handful of souls, destitute of all renown, who have attained
unto this station. Let the future disclose what the Judgment of God will
ordain, and the Tabernacle of His decree reveal. In such wise We recount
unto thee the wonders of the Cause of God, and pour out into thine ears
the strains of heavenly melody, that haply thou mayest attain unto the
station of true knowledge, and partake of the fruit thereof. Therefore,
know thou of a certainty that these Luminaries of heavenly majesty,
though their dwelling be in the dust, yet their true habitation is the
seat of glory in the realms above. Though bereft of all earthly
possessions, yet they soar in the realms of immeasurable riches. And
whilst sore tried in the grip of the enemy, they are seated on the right
hand of power and celestial dominion. Amidst the darkness of their
abasement there shineth upon them the light of unfading glory, and upon
their helplessness are showered the tokens of an invincible
sovereignty.

Thus Jesus, Son of Mary, whilst seated one day and speaking in the
strain of the Holy Spirit, uttered words such as these: “O people! My
food is the grass of the field, wherewith I satisfy my hunger. My bed is
the dust, my lamp in the night the light of the moon, and my steed my
own feet. Behold, who on earth is richer than I?” By the righteousness
of God! Thousands of treasures circle round this poverty, and a myriad
kingdoms of glory yearn for such abasement! Shouldst thou attain to a
drop of the ocean of the inner meaning of these words, thou wouldst
surely forsake the world and all that is therein, and, as the Phoenix
wouldst consume thyself in the flames of the undying Fire.

In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the
companions of Ṣádiq complained of his poverty before him. Whereupon,
Ṣádiq, that immortal beauty, made reply: “Verily thou art rich, and hast
drunk the draught of wealth.” That poverty-stricken soul was perplexed
at the words uttered by that luminous countenance, and said: “Where are
my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?” Ṣádiq thereupon
observed: “Dost thou not possess our love?” He replied: “Yea, I possess
it, O thou scion of the Prophet of God!” And Ṣádiq asked him saying:
“Exchangest thou this love for one thousand dinars?” He answered: “Nay,
never will I exchange it, though the world and all that is therein be
given me!” Then Ṣádiq remarked: “How can he who possesses such a
treasure be called poor?”

This poverty and these riches, this abasement and glory, this
dominion, power, and the like, upon which the eyes and hearts of these
vain and foolish souls are set,—all these things fade into utter
nothingness in that Court! Even as He hath said: “O men! Ye are but
paupers in need of God; but God is the Rich, the Self-Sufficing.”95 By
‘riches’ therefore is meant independence of all else but God, and by
‘poverty’ the lack of things that are of God.

Similarly, call thou to mind the day when the Jews, who had
surrounded Jesus, Son of Mary, were pressing Him to confess His claim of
being the Messiah and Prophet of God, so that they might declare Him an
infidel and sentence Him to death. Then, they led Him away, He Who was
the Day-star of the heaven of divine Revelation, unto Pilate and
Caiaphas, who was the leading divine of that age. The chief priests were
all assembled in the palace, also a multitude of people who had gathered
to witness His sufferings, to deride and injure Him. Though they
repeatedly questioned Him, hoping that He would confess His claim, yet
Jesus held His peace and spake not. Finally, an accursed of God arose
and, approaching Jesus, adjured Him saying: “Didst thou not claim to be
the Divine Messiah? Didst thou not say, ‘I am the King of Kings, My word
is the Word of God, and I am the breaker of the Sabbath day?’” Thereupon
Jesus lifted up His head and said: “Beholdest thou not the Son of Man
sitting on the right hand of power and might?” These were His words, and
yet consider how to outward seeming He was devoid of all power except
that inner power which was of God and which had encompassed all that is
in heaven and on earth. How can I relate all that befell Him after He
spoke these words? How shall I describe their heinous behaviour towards
Him? They at last heaped on His blessed Person such woes that He took
His flight unto the fourth Heaven.

It is also recorded in the Gospel according to St. Luke, that on a
certain day Jesus passed by a Jew who was sick of the palsy, and lay
upon a couch. When the Jew saw Him, he recognized Him, and cried out for
His help. Jesus said unto him: “Arise from thy bed; thy sins are
forgiven thee.” Certain of the Jews, standing by, protested saying: “Who
can forgive sins, but God alone?” And immediately He perceived their
thoughts, Jesus answering said unto them: “Whether is it easier to say
to the sick of the palsy, arise, and take up thy bed, and walk; or to
say, thy sins are forgiven thee? that ye may know that the Son of Man
hath power on earth to forgive sins.”96 This is the real sovereignty,
and such is the power of God’s chosen Ones! All these things which We
have repeatedly mentioned, and the details which We have cited from
divers sources, have no other purpose but to enable thee to grasp the
meaning of the allusions in the utterances of the chosen Ones of God,
lest certain of these utterances cause thy feet to falter and thy heart
to be dismayed.

Thus with steadfast steps we may tread the Path of certitude, that
perchance the breeze that bloweth from the meads of the good-pleasure of
God may waft upon us the sweet savours of divine acceptance, and cause
us, vanishing mortals that we are, to attain unto the Kingdom of
everlasting glory. Then wilt thou comprehend the inner meaning of
sovereignty and the like, spoken of in the traditions and scriptures.
Furthermore, it is already evident and known unto thee that those things
to which the Jews and the Christians have clung, and the cavilings which
they heaped upon the Beauty of Muḥammad, the same have in this day been
upheld by the people of the Qur’án, and been witnessed in their
denunciations of the “Point of the Bayán”—may the souls of all that
dwell within the kingdom of divine Revelations be a sacrifice unto Him!
Behold their folly: they utter the self-same words, uttered by the Jews
of old, and know it not! How well and true are His words concerning
them: “Leave them to entertain themselves with their cavilings!”97 “As
Thou livest, O Muḥammad! they are seized by the frenzy of their vain
fancies.”98

When the Unseen, the Eternal, the divine Essence, caused the Day-star
of Muḥammad to rise above the horizon of knowledge, among the cavils
which the Jewish divines raised against Him was that after Moses no
Prophet should be sent of God. Yea, mention hath been made in the
scriptures of a Soul Who must needs be made manifest and Who will
advance the Faith, and promote the interests of the people, of Moses, so
that the Law of the Mosaic Dispensation may encompass the whole earth.
Thus hath the King of eternal glory referred in His Book to the words
uttered by those wanderers in the vale of remoteness and error: “‘The
hand of God,’ say the Jews, ‘is chained up.’ Chained up be their own
hands! And for that which they have said, they were accursed. Nay,
outstretched are both His hands!”99 “The hand of God is above their
hands.”100

Although the commentators of the Qur’án have related in divers
manners the circumstances attending the revelation of this verse, yet
thou shouldst endeavour to apprehend the purpose thereof. He saith: How
false is that which the Jews have imagined! How can the hand of Him Who
is the King in truth, Who caused the countenance of Moses to be made
manifest, and conferred upon Him the robe of Prophethood—how can the
hand of such a One be chained and fettered? How can He be conceived as
powerless to raise up yet another Messenger after Moses? Behold the
absurdity of their saying; how far it hath strayed from the path of
knowledge and understanding! Observe how in this day also, all these
people have occupied themselves with such foolish absurdities. For over
a thousand years they have been reciting this verse, and unwittingly
pronouncing their censure against the Jews, utterly unaware that they
themselves, openly and privily, are voicing the sentiments and belief of
the Jewish people! Thou art surely aware of their idle contention, that
all Revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are closed,
that from the day-springs of eternal holiness no sun shall rise again,
that the Ocean of everlasting bounty is forever stilled, and that out of
the Tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers of God have ceased to be
made manifest. Such is the measure of the understanding of these
small-minded, contemptible people. These people have imagined that the
flow of God’s all-encompassing grace and plenteous mercies, the
cessation of which no mind can contemplate, has been halted. From every
side they have risen and girded up the loins of tyranny, and exerted the
utmost endeavour to quench with the bitter waters of their vain fancy
the flame of God’s burning Bush, oblivious that the globe of power shall
within its own mighty stronghold protect the Lamp of God. The utter
destitution into which this people have fallen doth surely suffice them,
inasmuch as they have been deprived of the recognition of the essential
Purpose and the knowledge of the Mystery and Substance of the Cause of
God. For the highest and most excelling grace bestowed upon men is the
grace of “attaining unto the Presence of God” and of His recognition,
which has been promised unto all people. This is the utmost degree of
grace vouchsafed unto man by the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days, and
the fulness of His absolute bounty upon His creatures. Of this grace and
bounty none of this people hath partaken, neither have they been
honoured with this most exalted distinction. How numerous are those
revealed verses which explicitly bear witness unto this most weighty
truth and exalted Theme! And yet they have rejected it, and, after their
own desire, misconstrued its meaning. Even as He hath revealed: “As for
those who believe not in the signs of God, or that they shall ever meet
Him, these of My mercy shall despair, and for them doth a grievous
chastisement await.”101 Also He saith: “They who bear in mind that they
shall attain unto the Presence of their Lord, and that unto Him shall
they return.”102 Also in another instance He saith: “They who held it as
certain that they must meet God, said, ‘How oft, by God’s will, hath a
small host vanquished a numerous host!’”103 In yet another instance He
revealeth: “Let him then who hopeth to attain the presence of his Lord
work a righteous work.”104 And also He saith: “He ordereth all things.
He maketh His signs clear, that ye may have firm faith in attaining the
presence of your Lord.”105

This people have repudiated all these verses, that unmistakably
testify to the reality of “attainment unto the Divine Presence.” No
theme hath been more emphatically asserted in the holy scriptures.
Notwithstanding, they have deprived themselves of this lofty and most
exalted rank, this supreme and glorious station. Some have contended
that by “attainment unto the Divine Presence” is meant the “Revelation”
of God in the Day of Resurrection. Should they assert that the
“Revelation” of God signifieth a “Universal Revelation,” it is clear and
evident that such revelation already existeth in all things. The truth
of this We have already established, inasmuch as We have demonstrated
that all things are the recipients and revealers of the splendours of
that ideal King, and that the signs of the revelation of that Sun, the
Source of all splendour, exist and are manifest in the mirrors of
beings. Nay, were man to gaze with the eye of divine and spiritual
discernment, he will readily recognize that nothing whatsoever can exist
without the revelation of the splendour of God, the ideal King. Consider
how all created things eloquently testify to the revelation of that
inner Light within them. Behold how within all things the portals of the
Ridván of God are opened, that seekers may attain the cities of
understanding and wisdom, and enter the gardens of knowledge and power.
Within every garden they will behold the mystic bride of inner meaning
enshrined within the chambers of utterance in the utmost grace and
fullest adornment. Most of the verses of the Qur’án indicate, and bear
witness to, this spiritual theme. The verse: “Neither is there aught
which doth not celebrate His praise”106 is eloquent testimony thereto;
and “We noted all things and wrote them down,”107 a faithful witness
thereof. Now, if by “attainment unto the Presence of God” is meant
attainment unto the knowledge of such revelation, it is evident that all
men have already attained unto the presence of the unchangeable
Countenance of that peerless King. Why, then, restrict such revelation
to the Day of Resurrection?

And were they to maintain that by “divine Presence” is meant the
“Specific Revelation of God,” expressed by certain Súfís as the “Most
Holy Outpouring,” if this be in the Essence Itself, it is evident that
it hath been eternally in the divine Knowledge. Assuming the truth of
this hypothesis, “attainment unto the divine Presence” is in this sense
obviously possible to no one, inasmuch as this revelation is confined to
the innermost Essence, unto which no man can attain. “The way is barred,
and all seeking rejected.” The minds of the favourites of heaven,
however high they soar, can never attain this station, how much less the
understanding of obscured and limited minds.

And were they to say that by “divine Presence” is meant the
“Secondary Revelation of God,” interpreted as the “Holy Outpouring,”
this is admittedly applicable to the world of creation, that is, in the
realm of the primal and original manifestation of God. Such revelation
is confined to His Prophets and chosen Ones, inasmuch as none mightier
than they hath come to exist in the world of being. This truth all
recognize, and bear witness thereto. These Prophets and chosen Ones of
God are the recipients and revealers of all the unchangeable attributes
and names of God. They are the mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect
the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality
applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the Visible and the Invisible.
The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin of all things, and attainment
unto Him, are impossible save through knowledge of, and attainment unto,
these luminous Beings who proceed from the Sun of Truth. By attaining,
therefore, to the presence of these holy Luminaries, the “Presence of
God” Himself is attained. From their knowledge, the knowledge of God is
revealed, and from the light of their countenance, the splendour of the
Face of God is made manifest. Through the manifold attributes of these
Essences of Detachment, Who are both the first and the last, the seen
and the hidden, it is made evident that He Who is the Sun of Truth is
“the First and the Last, the Seen, and the Hidden.”108 Likewise the
other lofty names and exalted attributes of God. Therefore, whosoever,
and in whatever Dispensation, hath recognized and attained unto the
presence of these glorious, these resplendent and most excellent
Luminaries, hath verily attained unto the “Presence of God” Himself, and
entered the city of eternal and immortal life. Attainment unto such
presence is possible only in the Day of Resurrection, which is the Day
of the rise of God Himself through His all-embracing Revelation.

This is the meaning of the “Day of Resurrection,” spoken of in all
the scriptures, and announced unto all people. Reflect, can a more
precious, a mightier, and more glorious day than this be conceived, so
that man should willingly forego its grace, and deprive himself of its
bounties, which like unto vernal showers are raining from the heaven of
mercy upon all mankind? Having thus conclusively demonstrated that no
day is greater than this Day, and no revelation more glorious than this
Revelation, and having set forth all these weighty and infallible proofs
which no understanding mind can question, and no man of learning
overlook, how can man possibly, through the idle contention of the
people of doubt and fancy, deprive himself of such a bountiful grace?
Have they not heard the well-known tradition: “When the Qá’im riseth,
that day is the Day of Resurrection?” In like manner, the Imáms, those
unquenchable lights of divine guidance, have interpreted the verse:
“What can such expect but that God should come down to them overshadowed
with clouds,”109—a sign which they have unquestionably regarded as one
of the features of the Day of Resurrection—as referring to Qá’im and His
manifestation.

Strive, therefore, O my brother, to grasp the meaning of
“Resurrection,” and cleanse thine ears from the idle sayings of these
rejected people. Shouldst thou step into the realm of complete
detachment, thou wilt readily testify that no day is mightier than this
Day, and that no resurrection more awful than this Resurrection can ever
be conceived. One righteous work performed in this Day, equalleth all
the virtuous acts which for myriads of centuries men have practised—nay,
We ask forgiveness of God for such a comparison! For verily the reward
which such a deed deserveth is immensely beyond and above the estimate
of men. Inasmuch as these undiscerning and wretched souls have failed to
apprehend the true meaning of “Resurrection” and of the “attainment unto
the divine Presence,” they therefore have remained utterly deprived of
the grace thereof. Although the sole and fundamental purpose of all
learning, and the toil and labour thereof, is attainment unto, and the
recognition of, this station, yet they are all immersed in the pursuit
of their material studies. They deny themselves every moment of leisure,
and utterly ignore Him, Who is the Essence of all learning, and the one
Object of their quest! Methinks, their lips have never touched the cup
of divine Knowledge, nor do they seem to have attained even a dewdrop of
the showers of heavenly grace.

Consider, how can he that faileth in the day of God’s Revelation to
attain unto the grace of the “Divine Presence” and to recognize His
Manifestation, be justly called learned, though he may have spent aeons
in the pursuit of knowledge, and acquired all the limited and material
learning of men? It is surely evident that he can in no wise be regarded
as possessed of true knowledge. Whereas, the most unlettered of all men,
if he be honoured with this supreme distinction, he verily is accounted
as one of those divinely-learned men whose knowledge is of God; for such
a man hath attained the acme of knowledge, and hath reached the
furthermost summit of learning.

This station is also one of the signs of the Day of Revelation; even
as it is said: “The abased amongst you, He shall exalt; and they that
are exalted, He shall abase.” And likewise, He hath revealed in the
Qur’án: “And We desire to show favour to those who were brought low in
the land, and to make them spiritual leaders among men, and to make of
them Our heirs.”110 It hath been witnessed in this day how many of the
divines, owing to their rejection of the Truth, have fallen into, and
abide within, the uttermost depths of ignorance, and whose names have
been effaced from the scroll of the glorious and learned. And how many
of the ignorant who, by reason of their acceptance of the Faith, have
soared aloft and attained the high summit of knowledge, and whose names
have been inscribed by the Pen of Power upon the Tablet of divine
Knowledge. Thus, “What He pleaseth will God abrogate or confirm: for
with Him is the Source of Revelation.”111 Therefore, it hath been said:
“To seek evidence, when the Proof hath been established is but an
unseemly act, and to be busied with the pursuit of knowledge when the
Object of all learning hath been attained is truly blameworthy.” Say O
people of the earth! Behold this flamelike Youth that speedeth across
the limitless profound of the Spirit, heralding unto you the tidings:
“Lo: the Lamp of God is shining,” and summoning you to heed His Cause
which, though hidden beneath the veils of ancient splendour, shineth in
the land of ‘Iráq above the day-spring of eternal holiness.

O my friend, were the bird of thy mind to explore the heavens of the
Revelation of the Qur’án, were it to contemplate the realm of divine
knowledge unfolded therein, thou wouldst assuredly find unnumbered doors
of knowledge set open before thee. Thou wouldst certainly recognize that
all these things which have in this day hindered this people from
attaining the shores of the ocean of eternal grace, the same things in
the Muḥammadan Dispensation prevented the people of that age from
recognizing that divine Luminary, and from testifying to His truth. Thou
wilt also apprehend the mysteries of “return” and “revelation,” and wilt
securely abide within the loftiest chambers of certitude and
assurance.

And it came to pass that on a certain day a number of the opponents
of that peerless Beauty, those that had strayed far from God’s
imperishable Sanctuary, scornfully spoke these words unto Muḥammad:
“Verily, God hath entered into a covenant with us that we are not to
credit an apostle until he present us a sacrifice which fire out of
heaven shall devour.”112 The purport of this verse is that God hath
covenanted with them that they should not believe in any messenger
unless he work the miracle of Abel and Cain, that is, offer a sacrifice,
and the fire from heaven consume it; even as they had heard it recounted
in the story of Abel, which story is recorded in the scriptures. To
this, Muḥammad, answering, said: “Already have Apostles before me come
to you with sure testimonies, and with that of which ye speak. Wherefore
slew ye them? Tell me, if ye are men of truth.”113 And now, be fair; How
could those people living in the days of Muḥammad have existed,
thousands of years before, in the age of Adam or other Prophets? Why
should Muḥammad, that Essence of truthfulness, have charged the people
of His day with the murder of Abel or other Prophets? Thou hast none
other alternative except to regard Muḥammad as an impostor or a
fool—which God forbid!—or to maintain that those people of wickedness
were the self-same people who in every age opposed and caviled at the
Prophets and Messengers of God, till they finally caused them all to
suffer martyrdom.

Ponder this in thine heart, that the sweet gales of divine knowledge,
blowing from the meads of mercy, may waft upon thee the fragrance of the
Beloved’s utterance, and cause thy soul to attain the Ridván of
understanding. As the wayward of every age have failed to fathom the
deeper import of these weighty and pregnant utterances, and imagined the
answer of the Prophets of God to be irrelevant to the questions they
asked them, they therefore have attributed ignorance and folly to those
Essences of knowledge and understanding.

Likewise, Muḥammad, in another verse, uttereth His protest against
the people of that age. He saith: “Although they had before prayed for
victory over those who believed not, yet when there came unto them, He
of Whom they had knowledge, they disbelieved in Him. The curse of God on
the infidels!”114 Reflect how this verse also implieth that the people
living in the days of Muḥammad were the same people who in the days of
the Prophets of old contended and fought in order to promote the Faith,
and teach the Cause, of God. And yet, how could the generations living
at the time of Jesus and Moses, and those who lived in the days of
Muḥammad, be regarded as being actually one and the same people?
Moreover, those whom they had formerly known were Moses, the Revealer of
the Pentateuch, and Jesus, the Author of the Gospel. Notwithstanding,
why did Muḥammad say: “When He of Whom they had knowledge came unto
them”—that is Jesus or Moses—“they disbelieved in Him?” Was not Muḥammad
to outward seeming called by a different name? Did He not come forth out
of a different city? Did He not speak a different language, and reveal a
different Law? How then can the truth of this verse be established, and
its meaning be made clear?

Strive therefore to comprehend the meaning of “return” which hath
been so explicitly revealed in the Qur’án itself, and which none hath as
yet understood. What sayest thou? If thou sayest that Muḥammad was the
“return” of the Prophets of old, as is witnessed by this verse, His
Companions must likewise be the “return” of the bygone Companions, even
as the “return” of the former people is clearly attested by the text of
the above-mentioned verses. And if thou deniest this, thou hast surely
repudiated the truth of the Qur’án, the surest testimony of God unto
men. In like manner, endeavour to grasp the significance of “return,”
“revelation,” and “resurrection,” as witnessed in the days of the
Manifestations of the divine Essence, that thou mayest behold with thine
own eyes the “return” of the holy souls into sanctified and illumined
bodies, and mayest wash away the dust of ignorance, and cleanse the
darkened self with the waters of mercy flowing from the Source of divine
Knowledge; that perchance thou mayest, through the power of God and the
light of divine guidance, distinguish the Morn of everlasting splendour
from the darksome night of error.

Furthermore, it is evident to thee that the Bearers of the trust of
God are made manifest unto the peoples of the earth as the Exponents of
a new Cause and the Bearers of a new Message. Inasmuch as these Birds of
the Celestial Throne are all sent down from the heaven of the Will of
God, and as they all arise to proclaim His irresistible Faith, they
therefore are regarded as one soul and the same person. For they all
drink from the one Cup of the love of God, and all partake of the fruit
of the same Tree of Oneness. These Manifestations of God have each a
twofold station. One is the station of pure abstraction and essential
unity. In this respect, if thou callest them all by one name, and dost
ascribe to them the same attribute, thou hast not erred from the truth.
Even as He hath revealed: “No distinction do We make between any of His
Messengers!”115 For they one and all summon the people of the earth to
acknowledge the Unity of God, and herald unto them the Kawthar of an
infinite grace and bounty. They are all invested with the robe of
Prophethood, and honoured with the mantle of glory. Thus hath Muḥammad,
the Point of the Qur’án, revealed: “I am all the Prophets.” Likewise, He
saith: “I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus.” Similar statements
have been made by ‘Alí. Sayings such as this, which indicate the
essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness, have also emanated from
the Channels of God’s immortal utterance, and the Treasuries of the gems
of divine knowledge, and have been recorded in the scriptures. These
Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and the
day-springs of His Revelation. This Revelation is exalted above the
veils of plurality and the exigencies of number. Thus He saith: “Our
Cause is but one.”116 Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the
Exponents thereof also must needs be one and the same. Likewise, the
Imáms of the Muḥammadan Faith, those lamps of certitude, have said:
“Muḥammad is our first, Muḥammad our last, Muḥammad our all.”

It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples
of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou
wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all abiding
in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same
throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such
is the unity of those Essences of being, those Luminaries of infinite
and immeasurable splendour. Wherefore, should one of these
Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: “I am the return of all the
Prophets,” He verily speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every
subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact,
the truth of which is firmly established. Inasmuch as the return of the
Prophets of God, as attested by verses and traditions, hath been
conclusively demonstrated, the return of their chosen ones also is
therefore definitely proven. This return is too manifest in itself to
require any evidence or proof. For instance, consider that among the
Prophets was Noah. When He was invested with the robe of Prophethood,
and was moved by the Spirit of God to arise and proclaim His Cause,
whoever believed in Him and acknowledged His Faith, was endowed with the
grace of a new life. Of him it could be truly said that he was reborn
and revived, inasmuch as previous to his belief in God and his
acceptance of His Manifestation, he had set his affections on the things
of the world, such as attachment to earthly goods, to wife, children,
food, drink, and the like, so much so that in the day-time and in the
night season his one concern had been to amass riches and procure for
himself the means of enjoyment and pleasure. Aside from these things,
before his partaking of the reviving waters of faith, he had been so
wedded to the traditions of his forefathers, and so passionately devoted
to the observance of their customs and laws, that he would have
preferred to suffer death rather than violate one letter of those
superstitious forms and manners current amongst his people. Even as the
people have cried: “Verily we found our fathers with a faith, and
verily, in their footsteps we follow.”117

These same people, though wrapt in all these veils of limitation, and
despite the restraint of such observances, as soon as they drank the
immortal draught of faith, from the cup of certitude, at the hand of the
Manifestation of the All-Glorious, were so transformed that they would
renounce for His sake their kindred, their substance, their lives, their
beliefs, yea, all else save God! So overpowering was their yearning for
God, so uplifting their transports of ecstatic delight, that the world
and all that is therein faded before their eyes into nothingness. Have
not this people exemplified the mysteries of “rebirth” and “return”?
Hath it not been witnessed that these same people, ere they were endued
with the new and wondrous grace of God, sought through innumerable
devices, to ensure the protection of their lives against destruction?
Would not a thorn fill them with terror, and the sight of a fox put them
to flight? But once having been honoured with God’s supreme distinction,
and having been vouchsafed His bountiful grace, they would, if they were
able, have freely offered up ten thousand lives in His path! Nay, their
blessed souls, contemptuous of the cage of their bodies, would yearn for
deliverance. A single warrior of that host would face and fight a
multitude! And yet, how could they, but for the transformation wrought
in their lives, be capable of manifesting such deeds which are contrary
to the ways of men and incompatible with their worldly desires?

It is evident that nothing short of this mystic transformation could
cause such spirit and behaviour, so utterly unlike their previous habits
and manners, to be made manifest in the world of being. For their
agitation was turned into peace, their doubt into certitude, their
timidity into courage. Such is the potency of the Divine Elixir, which,
swift as the twinkling of an eye, transmuteth the souls of men!

For instance, consider the substance of copper. Were it to be
protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the
space of seventy years, attain to the state of gold. There are some,
however, who maintain that copper itself is gold, which by becoming
solidified is in a diseased condition, and hath not therefore reached
its own state.

Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the
substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the
seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this gold be called
copper? Could it be claimed that it hath not attained the state of gold,
whilst the touch-stone is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from
copper?

Likewise, these souls, through the potency of the Divine Elixir,
traverse, in the twinkling of an eye, the world of dust and advance into
the realm of holiness; and with one step cover the earth of limitations
and reach the domain of the Placeless. It behooveth thee to exert thine
utmost to attain unto this Elixir which, in one fleeting breath, causeth
the west of ignorance to reach the east of knowledge, illuminates the
darkness of night with the resplendence of the morn, guideth the
wanderer in the wilderness of doubt to the well-spring of the Divine
Presence and Fount of certitude, and conferreth upon mortal souls the
honour of acceptance into the Ridván of immortality. Now, could this
gold be thought to be copper, these people could likewise be thought to
be the same as before they were endowed with faith.

O brother, behold how the inner mysteries of “rebirth,” of “return,”
and of “resurrection” have each, through these all-sufficing, these
unanswerable, and conclusive utterances, been unveiled and unravelled
before thine eyes. God grant that through His gracious and invisible
assistance, thou mayest divest thy body and soul of the old garment, and
array thyself with the new and imperishable attire.

Therefore, those who in every subsequent Dispensation preceded the
rest of mankind in embracing the Faith of God, who quaffed the clear
waters of knowledge at the hand of the divine Beauty, and attained the
loftiest summits of faith and certitude, these can be regarded, in name,
in reality, in deeds, in words, and in rank, as the “return” of those
who in a former Dispensation had achieved similar distinctions. For
whatsoever the people of a former Dispensation have manifested, the same
hath been shown by the people of this latter generation. Consider the
rose: whether it blossometh in the East or in the West, it is none the
less a rose. For what mattereth in this respect is not the outward shape
and form of the rose, but rather the smell and fragrance which it doth
impart.

Purge thy sight, therefore, from all earthly limitations, that thou
mayest behold them all as the bearers of one Name, the exponents of one
Cause, the manifestations of one Self, and the revealers of one Truth,
and that thou mayest apprehend the mystic “return” of the Words of God
as unfolded by these utterances. Reflect for a while upon the behaviour
of the companions of the Muḥammadan Dispensation. Consider how, through
the reviving breath of Muḥammad, they were cleansed from the defilements
of earthly vanities, were delivered from selfish desires, and were
detached from all else but Him. Behold how they preceded all the peoples
of the earth in attaining unto His holy Presence—the Presence of God
Himself—how they renounced the world and all that is therein, and
sacrificed freely and joyously their lives at the feet of that
Manifestation of the All-Glorious. And now, observe the “return” of the
self-same determination, the self-same constancy and renunciation,
manifested by the companions of the Point of the Bayán.118 Thou hast
witnessed how these companions have, through the wonders of the grace of
the Lord of Lords, hoisted the standards of sublime renunciation upon
the inaccessible heights of glory. These Lights have proceeded from but
one Source, and these fruits are the fruits of one Tree. Thou canst
discern neither difference nor distinction among them. All this is by
the grace of God! On whom He will, He bestoweth His grace. Please God,
that we avoid the land of denial, and advance into the ocean of
acceptance, so that we may perceive, with an eye purged from all
conflicting elements, the worlds of unity and diversity, of variation
and oneness, of limitation and detachment, and wing our flight unto the
highest and innermost sanctuary of the inner meaning of the Word of
God.

From these statements therefore it hath been made evident and
manifest that should a Soul in the “End that knoweth no end” be made
manifest, and arise to proclaim and uphold a Cause which in “the
Beginning that hath no beginning” another Soul had proclaimed and
upheld, it can be truly declared of Him Who is the Last and of Him Who
was the First that they are one and the same, inasmuch as both are the
Exponents of one and the same Cause. For this reason, hath the Point of
the Bayán—may the life of all else but Him be His sacrifice!—likened the
Manifestations of God unto the sun which, though it rise from the
“Beginning that hath no beginning” until the “End that knoweth no end,”
is none the less the same sun. Now, wert thou to say, that this sun is
the former sun, thou speakest the truth; and if thou sayest that this
sun is the “return” of that sun, thou also speakest the truth. Likewise,
from this statement it is made evident that the term “last” is
applicable to the “first,” and the term “first” applicable to the
“last;” inasmuch as both the “first” and the “last” have risen to
proclaim one and the same Faith.

Notwithstanding the obviousness of this theme, in the eyes of those
that have quaffed the wine of knowledge and certitude, yet how many are
those who, through failure to understand its meaning, have allowed the
term “Seal of the Prophets” to obscure their understanding, and deprive
them of the grace of all His manifold bounties! Hath not Muḥammad,
Himself, declared: “I am all the Prophets?” Hath He not said as We have
already mentioned: “I am Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus?” Why should
Muḥammad, that immortal Beauty, Who hath said: “I am the first Adam” be
incapable of saying also: “I am the last Adam”? For even as He regarded
Himself to be the “First of the Prophets”—that is Adam—in like manner,
the “Seal of the Prophets” is also applicable unto that Divine Beauty.
It is admittedly obvious that being the “First of the Prophets,” He
likewise is their “Seal.”

The mystery of this theme hath, in this Dispensation, been a sore
test unto all mankind. Behold, how many are those who, clinging unto
these words, have disbelieved Him Who is their true Revealer. What, We
ask, could this people presume the terms “first” and “last”—when
referring to God—glorified be His Name!—to mean? If they maintain that
these terms bear reference to this material universe, how could it be
possible, when the visible order of things is still manifestly existing?
Nay, in this instance, by “first” is meant no other than the “last” and
by “last” no other than the “first.”

Even as in the “Beginning that hath no beginnings” the term “last” is
truly applicable unto Him who is the Educator of the visible and of the
invisible, in like manner, are the terms “first” and “last” applicable
unto His Manifestations. They are at the same time the Exponents of both
the “first” and the “last.” Whilst established upon the seat of the
“first,” they occupy the throne of the “last.” Were a discerning eye to
be found, it will readily perceive that the exponents of the “first” and
the “last,” of the “manifest” and the “hidden,” of the “beginning” and
the “seal” are none other than these holy Beings, these Essences of
Detachment, these divine Souls. And wert thou to soar in the holy realm
of “God was alone, there was none else besides Him,” thou wilt find in
that Court all these names utterly non-existent and completely
forgotten. Then will thine eyes no longer be obscured by these veils,
these terms, and allusions. How ethereal and lofty is this station, unto
which even Gabriel, unshepherded, can never attain, and the Bird of
Heaven, unassisted, can never reach!

And, now, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of this saying of
‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful: “Piercing the veils of glory,
unaided.” Among these “veils of glory” are the divines and doctors
living in the days of the Manifestation of God, who, because of their
want of discernment and their love and eagerness for leadership, have
failed to submit to the Cause of God, nay, have even refused to incline
their ears unto the divine Melody. “They have thrust their fingers into
their ears.”119 And the people also, utterly ignoring God and taking
them for their masters, have placed themselves unreservedly under the
authority of these pompous and hypocritical leaders, for they have no
sight, no hearing, no heart, of their own to distinguish truth from
falsehood.

Notwithstanding the divinely-inspired admonitions of all the
Prophets, the Saints, and Chosen ones of God, enjoining the people to
see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears, they have
disdainfully rejected their counsels and have blindly followed, and will
continue to follow, the leaders of their Faith. Should a poor and
obscure person, destitute of the attire of men of learning, address them
saying: “Follow ye, O people! the Messengers of God,”120 they would,
greatly surprised at such a statement, reply: “What! Meanest thou that
all these divines, all these exponents of learning, with all their
authority, their pomp and pageantry, have erred, and failed to
distinguish truth from falsehood? Dost thou, and people like thyself,
pretend to have comprehended that which they have not understood?” If
numbers and excellence of apparel be regarded as the criterions of
learning and truth, the peoples of a bygone age, whom those of today
have never surpassed in numbers, magnificence and power, should
certainly be accounted a superior and worthier people.

It is clear and evident that whenever the Manifestations of Holiness
were revealed, the divines of their day have hindered the people from
attaining unto the way of truth. To this testify the records of all the
scriptures and heavenly books. Not one Prophet of God was made manifest
Who did not fall a victim to the relentless hate, to the denunciation,
denial, and execration of the clerics of His day! Woe unto them for the
iniquities their hands have formerly wrought! Woe unto them for that
which they are now doing! What veils of glory more grievous than these
embodiments of error! By the righteousness of God! to pierce such veils
is the mightiest of all acts, and to rend them asunder the most
meritorious of all deeds! May God assist us and assist you, O concourse
of the Spirit! that perchance ye may in the time of His Manifestation be
graciously aided to perform such deeds, and may in His days attain unto
the Presence of God.

Furthermore, among the “veils of glory” are such terms as the “Seal
of the Prophets” and the like, the removal of which is a supreme
achievement in the sight of these base-born and erring souls. All, by
reason of these mysterious sayings, these grievous “veils of glory,”
have been hindered from beholding the light of truth. Have they not
heard the melody of that bird of Heaven,121 uttering this mystery: “A
thousand Fátimihs I have espoused, all of whom were the daughters of
Muḥammad, Son of ‘Abdu’lláh, the ‘Seal of the Prophets?’” Behold, how
many are the mysteries that lie as yet unravelled within the tabernacle
of the knowledge of God, and how numerous the gems of His wisdom that
are still concealed in His inviolable treasuries! Shouldest thou ponder
this in thine heart, thou wouldst realize that His handiwork knoweth
neither beginning nor end. The domain of His decree is too vast for the
tongue of mortals to describe, or for the bird of the human mind to
traverse; and the dispensations of His providence are too mysterious for
the mind of man to comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and
it hath ever existed from the “Beginning that hath no beginning”; and
the Manifestations of His Beauty no beginning hath beheld, and they will
continue to the “End that knoweth no end.” Ponder this utterance in
thine heart, and reflect how it is applicable unto all these holy
Souls.

Likewise, strive thou to comprehend the meaning of the melody of that
eternal beauty, Ḥusayn, son of ‘Alí, who, addressing Salmán, spoke words
such as these: “I was with a thousand Adams, the interval between each
and the next Adam was fifty thousand years, and to each one of these I
declared the Successorship conferred upon my father.” He then recounteth
certain details, until he saith: “I have fought one thousand battles in
the path of God, the least and most insignificant of which was like the
battle of Khaybar, in which battle my father fought and contended
against the infidels.” Endeavour now to apprehend from these two
traditions the mysteries of “end,” “return,” and “creation without
beginning or end.”

O my beloved! Immeasurably exalted is the celestial Melody above the
strivings of human ear to hear or mind to grasp its mystery! How can the
helpless ant step into the court of the All-Glorious? And yet, feeble
souls, through lack of understanding, reject these abstruse utterances,
and question the truth of such traditions. Nay, none can comprehend them
save those that are possessed of an understanding heart. Say, He is that
End for Whom no end in all the universe can be imagined, and for Whom no
beginning in the world of creation can be conceived. Behold, O concourse
of the earth, the splendours of the End, revealed in the Manifestations
of the Beginning!

How strange! These people with one hand cling to those verses of the
Qur’án and those traditions of the people of certitude which they have
found to accord with their inclinations and interests, and with the
other reject those which are contrary to their selfish desires. “Believe
ye then part of the Book, and deny part?”122 How could ye judge that
which ye understand not? Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring
Book, after speaking of the “Seal” in His exalted utterance: “Muḥammad
is the Apostle of God and the Seal of the Prophets,”123 hath revealed
unto all people the promise of “attainment unto the divine Presence.” To
this attainment to the presence of the immortal King testify the verses
of the Book, some of which We have already mentioned. The one true God
is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more explicit than “attainment
unto the divine Presence” hath been revealed in the Qur’án. Well is it
with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein most of the
people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom.

And yet, through the mystery of the former verse, they have turned
away from the grace promised by the latter, despite the fact that
“attainment unto the divine Presence” in the “Day of Resurrection” is
explicitly stated in the Book. It hath been demonstrated and definitely
established, through clear evidences, that by “Resurrection” is meant
the rise of the Manifestation of God to proclaim His Cause, and by
“attainment unto the divine Presence” is meant attainment unto the
presence of His Beauty in the person of His Manifestation. For verily,
“No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision.”124
Notwithstanding all these indubitable facts and lucid statements, they
have foolishly clung to the term “seal,” and remained utterly deprived
of the recognition of Him Who is the Revealer of both the Seal and the
Beginning, in the day of His presence. “If God should chastise men for
their perverse doings, He would not leave upon the earth a moving thing!
But to an appointed time doth He respite them.”125 But apart from all
these things, had this people attained unto a drop of the crystal
streams flowing from the words: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and
ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” they would not have raised any
unseemly cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His
Revelation. The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held within the
grasp of His power. “All things lie imprisoned within the hollow of His
mighty Hand; all things are easy and possible unto Him.” He
accomplisheth whatsoever He willeth, and doeth all that He desireth.
“Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’ hath spoken blasphemy!” Were these
people to shake off the slumber of negligence and realize that which
their hands have wrought, they would surely perish, and would of their
own accord cast themselves into fire—their end and real abode. Have they
not heard that which He hath revealed: “He shall not be asked of His
doings?”126 In the light of these utterances, how can man be so bold as
to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?

Gracious God! So great is the folly and perversity of the people,
that they have turned their face toward their own thoughts and desires,
and have turned their back upon the knowledge and will of God—hallowed
and glorified be His name!

Be fair: Were these people to acknowledge the truth of these luminous
words and holy allusions, and recognize God as “Him that doeth
whatsoever He pleaseth,” how could they continue to cleave unto these
glaring absurdities? Nay, with all their soul, they would accept and
submit to whatsoever He saith. I swear by God! But for the divine
Decree, and the inscrutable dispensations of Providence, the earth
itself would have utterly destroyed all this people! “He will, however,
respite them until the appointed time of a known day.”

Twelve hundred and eighty years have passed since the dawn of the
Muḥammadan Dispensation, and with every break of day, these blind and
ignoble people have recited their Qur’án, and yet have failed to grasp
one letter of that Book! Again and again they read those verses which
clearly testify to the reality of these holy themes, and bear witness to
the truth of the Manifestations of eternal Glory, and still apprehend
not their purpose. They have even failed to realize, all this time,
that, in every age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books is for
no other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning
and unravel their innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without
understanding, is of no abiding profit unto man.

And it came to pass that on a certain day a needy man came to visit
this Soul, craving for the ocean of His knowledge. While conversing with
him, mention was made concerning the signs of the Day of Judgment,
Resurrection, Revival, and Reckoning. He urged Us to explain how, in
this wondrous Dispensation, the peoples of the world were brought to a
reckoning, when none were made aware of it. Thereupon, We imparted unto
him, according to the measure of his capacity and understanding, certain
truths of Science and ancient Wisdom. We then asked him saying: “Hast
thou not read the Qur’án, and art thou not aware of this blessed verse:
‘On that day shall neither man nor spirit be asked of his Sin?’127 Dost
thou not realize that by ‘asking’ is not meant asking by tongue or
speech, even as the verse itself doth indicate and prove? For afterward
it is said: ‘By their countenance shall the sinners be known, and they
shall be seized by their forelocks and their feet.’”128

Thus the peoples of the world are judged by their countenance. By it,
their misbelief, their faith, and their iniquity are all made manifest.
Even as it is evident in this day how the people of error are, by their
countenance, known and distinguished from the followers of divine
Guidance. Were these people, wholly for the sake of God and with no
desire but His good-pleasure, to ponder the verses of the Book in their
heart, they would of a certainty find whatsoever they seek. In its
verses would they find revealed and manifest all the things, be they
great or small, that have come to pass in this Dispensation. They would
even recognize in them references unto the departure of the
Manifestations of the names and attributes of God from out their native
land; to the opposition and disdainful arrogance of government and
people; and to the dwelling and establishment of the Universal
Manifestation in an appointed and specially designated land. No man,
however, can comprehend this except he who is possessed of an
understanding heart.

We seal Our theme with that which was formerly revealed unto Muḥammad
that the seal thereof may shed the fragrance of that holy musk which
leadeth men unto the Ridván of unfading splendour. He said, and His Word
is the truth: “And God calleth to the Abode of Peace;129 and He guideth
whom He will into the right way.”130 “For them is an Abode of Peace with
their Lord! and He shall be their Protector because of their works.”131
This He hath revealed that His grace may encompass the world. Praise be
to God, the Lord of all being!

We have variously and repeatedly set forth the meaning of every
theme, that perchance every soul, whether high or low, may obtain,
according to his measure and capacity, his share and portion thereof.
Should he be unable to comprehend a certain argument, he may, thus, by
referring unto another, attain his purpose. “That all sorts of men may
know where to quench their thirst.”

By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust, can, besides
these melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able, apart from these
utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries. Every single note of its
unpronounced utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath
already been revealed, and immensely glorified beyond that which hath
streamed from this Pen. Let the future disclose the hour when the Brides
of inner meaning will, as decreed by the Will of God, hasten forth,
unveiled, out of their mystic mansions, and manifest themselves in the
ancient realm of being. Nothing whatsoever is possible without His
permission; no power can endure save through His power, and there is
none other God but He. His is the world of creation, and His the Cause
of God. All proclaim His Revelation, and all unfold the mysteries of His
Spirit.

We have already in the foregoing pages assigned two stations unto
each of the Luminaries arising from the Daysprings of eternal holiness.
One of these stations, the station of essential unity, We have already
explained. “No distinction do We make between any of them.”132 The other
is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation
and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of
God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a
predestined Revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one
of them is known by a different name, is characterized by a special
attribute, fulfils a definite Mission, and is entrusted with a
particular Revelation. Even as He saith: “Some of the Apostles We have
caused to excel the others. To some God hath spoken, some He hath raised
and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We gave manifest signs, and We
strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit.”133

It is because of this difference in their station and mission that
the words and utterances flowing from these Well-springs of divine
knowledge appear to diverge and differ. Otherwise, in the eyes of them
that are initiated into the mysteries of divine wisdom, all their
utterances are in reality but the expressions of one Truth. As most of
the people have failed to appreciate those stations to which We have
referred, they therefore feel perplexed and dismayed at the varying
utterances pronounced by Manifestations that are essentially one and the
same.

It hath ever been evident that all these divergences of utterance are
attributable to differences of station. Thus, viewed from the standpoint
of their oneness and sublime detachment, the attributes of Godhead,
Divinity, Supreme Singleness, and Inmost Essence, have been and are
applicable to those Essences of being, inasmuch as they all abide on the
throne of divine Revelation, and are established upon the seat of divine
Concealment. Through their appearance the Revelation of God is made
manifest, and by their countenance the Beauty of God is revealed. Thus
it is that the accents of God Himself have been heard uttered by these
Manifestations of the divine Being.

Viewed in the light of their second station—the station of
distinction, differentiation, temporal limitations, characteristics and
standards,—they manifest absolute servitude, utter destitution and
complete self-effacement. Even as He saith: “I am the servant of God.134
I am but a man like you.”135

From these incontrovertible and fully demonstrated statements strive
thou to apprehend the meaning of the questions thou hast asked, that
thou mayest become steadfast in the Faith of God, and not be dismayed by
the divergences in the utterances of His Prophets and Chosen Ones.

Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am
God!” He verily speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For
it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation,
their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His name and His
attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed:
“Those shafts were God’s, not Thine!”136 And also He saith: “In truth,
they who plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto
God.”137 And were any of them to voice the utterance: “I am the
Messenger of God,” He also speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth.
Even as He saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but
He is the Messenger of God.”138 Viewed in this light, they are all but
Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they
all to proclaim: “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they verily utter but
the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one
person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all
the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the
“Last,” the “Seen” and “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who is the
innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of Essences. And were
they to say: “We are the servants of God,” this also is a manifest and
indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost
state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly
attain. Thus in moments in which these Essences of being were deeply
immersed beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when
they soared to the loftiest summits of divine mysteries, they claimed
their utterance to be the Voice of divinity, the Call of God Himself.
Were the eye of discernment to be opened, it would recognize that in
this very state, they have considered themselves utterly effaced and
non-existent in the face of Him Who is the All-Pervading, the
Incorruptible. Methinks, they have regarded themselves as utter
nothingness, and deemed their mention in that Court an act of blasphemy.
For the slightest whispering of self, within such a Court, is an
evidence of self-assertion and independent existence. In the eyes of
them that have attained unto that Court, such a suggestion is itself a
grievous transgression. How much more grievous would it be, were aught
else to be mentioned in that Presence, were man’s heart, his tongue, his
mind, or his soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were
his eyes to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear
to be inclined to any melody but His voice, and were his feet to tread
any way but His way.

In this day the breeze of God is wafted, and His Spirit hath pervaded
all things. Such is the outpouring of His grace that the pen is stilled
and the tongue is speechless.

By virtue of this station, they have claimed for themselves the Voice
of Divinity and the like, whilst by virtue of their station of
Messengership, they have declared themselves the Messengers of God. In
every instance they have voiced an utterance that would conform to the
requirements of the occasion, and have ascribed all these declarations
to Themselves, declarations ranging from the realm of divine Revelation
to the realm of creation, and from the domain of Divinity even unto the
domain of earthly existence. Thus it is that whatsoever be their
utterance, whether it pertain to the realm of Divinity, Lordship,
Prophethood, Messengership, Guardianship, Apostleship or Servitude, all
is true, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Therefore, these sayings which We
have quoted in support of Our argument must be attentively considered,
that the divergent utterances of the Manifestations of the Unseen and
Daysprings of Holiness may cease to agitate the soul and perplex the
mind.

Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth must needs be
pondered, and should their significance be not grasped, enlightenment
should be sought from the Trustees of the depositories of Knowledge,
that these may expound their meaning, and unravel their mystery. For it
behooveth no man to interpret the holy words according to his own
imperfect understanding, nor, having found them to be contrary to his
inclination and desires, to reject and repudiate their truth. For such,
today, is the manner of the divines and doctors of the age, who occupy
the seats of knowledge and learning, and who have named ignorance
knowledge, and called oppression justice. Were these to ask the Light of
Truth concerning those images which their idle fancy hath carved, and
were they to find His answer inconsistent with their own conceptions and
their own understanding of the Book, they would assuredly denounce Him
Who is the Mine and Wellhead of all Knowledge as the very negation of
understanding. Such things have happened in every age.

For instance, when Muḥammad, the Lord of being, was questioned
concerning the new moons, He, as bidden by God, made reply: “They are
periods appointed unto men.”139 Thereupon, they that heard Him denounced
Him as an ignorant man.

Likewise, in the verse concerning the “Spirit,” He saith: “And they
will ask Thee of the Spirit. Say, ‘the Spirit proceedeth at My Lord’s
command.’”140 As soon as Muḥammad’s answer was given, they all
clamorously protested, saying: “Lo! an ignorant man who knoweth not what
the Spirit is, calleth Himself the Revealer of divine Knowledge!” And
now behold the divines of the age who, because of their being honoured
by His name, and finding that their fathers have acknowledged His
Revelation, have blindly submitted to His truth. Observe, were this
people today to receive such answers in reply to such questionings, they
would unhesitatingly reject and denounce them—nay, they would again
utter the self-same cavils, even as they have uttered them in this day.
All this, notwithstanding the fact that these Essences of being are
immensely exalted above such fanciful images, and are immeasurably
glorified beyond all these vain sayings and above the comprehension of
every understanding heart. Their so-called learning, when compared with
that Knowledge, is utter falsehood, and all their understanding naught
but blatant error. Nay, whatsoever proceedeth from these Mines of divine
Wisdom and these Treasuries of eternal knowledge is truth, and naught
else but the truth. The saying: “Knowledge is one point, which the
foolish have multiplied” is a proof of Our argument, and the tradition:
“Knowledge is a light which God sheddeth into the heart of whomsoever He
willeth” a confirmation of Our statement.

Inasmuch as they have not apprehended the meaning of Knowledge, and
have called by that name those images fashioned by their own fancy and
which have sprung from the embodiments of ignorance, they therefore have
inflicted upon the Source of Knowledge that which thou hast heard and
witnessed.

For instance, a certain man,141 reputed for his learning and
attainments, and accounting himself as one of the pre-eminent leaders of
his people, hath in his book denounced and vilified all the exponents of
true learning. This is made abundantly clear by his explicit statements
as well as by his allusions throughout his book. As We had frequently
heard about him, We purposed to read some of his works. Although We
never felt disposed to peruse other peoples’ writings, yet as some had
questioned Us concerning him, We felt it necessary to refer to his
books, in order that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and
understanding. His works, in the Arabic tongue, were, however, not
available, until one day a certain man informed Us that one of his
compositions, entitled Irshadu’l-‘Avám,142 could be found in this city.
From this title We perceived the odour of conceit and vainglory,
inasmuch as he hath imagined himself a learned man and regarded the rest
of the people ignorant. His worth was in fact made known by the very
title he had chosen for his book. It became evident that its author was
following the path of self and desire, and was lost in the wilderness of
ignorance and folly. Methinks, he had forgotten the well-known tradition
which sayeth: “Knowledge is all that is knowable; and might and power,
all creation.” Notwithstanding, We sent for the book, and kept it with
Us a few days. It was probably referred to twice. The second time, We
accidentally came upon the story of the “Mi’ráj”143 of Muḥammad, of Whom
was spoken: “But for Thee, I would not have created the spheres.” We
noticed that he had enumerated some twenty or more sciences, the
knowledge of which he considered to be essential for the comprehension
of the mystery of the “Mi’ráj”. We gathered from his statements that
unless a man be deeply versed in them all, he can never attain to a
proper understanding of this transcendent and exalted theme. Among the
specified sciences were the science of metaphysical abstractions, of
alchemy, and natural magic. Such vain and discarded learnings, this man
hath regarded as the pre-requisites of the understanding of the sacred
and abiding mysteries of divine Knowledge.

Gracious God! Such is the measure of his understanding. And yet,
behold what cavils and calumnies he hath heaped upon those Embodiments
of God’s infinite knowledge! How well and true is the saying: “Flingest
thou thy calumnies unto the face of Them Whom the one true God hath made
the Trustees of the treasures of His seventh sphere?” Not one
understanding heart or mind, not one among the wise and learned, hath
taken notice of these preposterous statements. And yet, how clear and
evident it is to every discerning heart that this so-called learning is
and hath ever been, rejected by Him Who is the one true God. How can the
knowledge of these sciences, which are so contemptible in the eyes of
the truly learned, be regarded as essential to the apprehension of the
mysteries of the “Mi’ráj,” whilst the Lord of the “Mi’ráj” Himself was
never burdened with a single letter of these limited and obscure
learnings, and never defiled His radiant heart with any of these
fanciful illusions? How truly hath he said: “All human attainment moveth
upon a lame ass, whilst Truth, riding upon the wind, darteth across
space.” By the righteousness of God! Whoso desireth to fathom the
mystery of this “Mi’ráj,” and craveth a drop from this ocean, if the
mirror of his heart be already obscured by the dust of these learnings,
he must needs cleanse and purify it ere the light of this mystery can be
reflected therein.

In this day, they that are submerged beneath the ocean of ancient
Knowledge, and dwell within the ark of divine wisdom, forbid the people
such idle pursuits. Their shining breasts are, praise be to God,
sanctified from every trace of such learning, and are exalted above such
grievous veils. We have consumed this densest of all veils, with the
fire of the love of the Beloved—the veil referred to in the saying: “The
most grievous of all veils is the veil of knowledge.” Upon its ashes, We
have reared the tabernacle of divine knowledge. We have, praise be to
God, burned the “veils of glory” with the fire of the beauty of the
Best-Beloved. We have driven from the human heart all else but Him Who
is the Desire of the world, and glory therein. We cleave to no knowledge
but His Knowledge, and set our hearts on naught save the effulgent
glories of His light.

We were surprised exceedingly when We observed that his one purpose
was to make the people realize that all these learnings were possessed
by him. And yet, I swear by God that not one breath, blowing from the
meads of divine knowledge, hath ever been wafted upon his soul, nor hath
he ever unravelled a single mystery of ancient wisdom. Nay, were the
meaning of Knowledge ever to be expounded unto him, dismay would fill
his heart, and his whole being would shake to its foundation.
Notwithstanding his base and senseless statements, behold to what
heights of extravagance his claims have reached!

Gracious God! How great is Our amazement at the way the people have
gathered around him, and have borne allegiance to his person! Content
with transient dust, these people have turned their face unto it, and
cast behind their backs Him Who is the Lord of Lords. Satisfied with the
croaking of the crow and enamoured with the visage of the raven, they
have renounced the melody of the nightingale and the charm of the rose.
What unspeakable fallacies the perusal of this pretentious book hath
revealed! They are too unworthy for any pen to describe, and too base
for one moment’s attention. Should a touchstone be found, however, it
would instantly distinguish truth from falsehood, light from darkness,
and sun from shadow.

Among the sciences which this pretender hath professed is that of
alchemy. We cherish the hope that either a king or a man of preeminent
power may call upon him to translate this science from the realm of
fancy to the domain of fact and from the plane of mere pretension to
that of actual achievement. Would that this unlearned and humble
Servant, who never laid any pretension to such things, nor even regarded
them as the criterion of true knowledge, might undertake the same task,
that thereby the truth might be known and distinguished from falsehood.
But of what avail! All this generation could offer Us were wounds from
its darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the cup of its
venom. On our neck We still bear the scar of chains, and upon Our body
are imprinted the evidences of an unyielding cruelty.

And as to this man’s attainments, his ignorance, understanding and
belief, behold what the Book which embraceth all things hath revealed;
“Verily, the tree of Zaqqúm144 shall be the food of the Áthím.”145 And
then follow certain verses, until He saith: “Taste this, for thou
forsooth art the mighty Karím!”146 Consider how clearly and explicitly
he hath been described in God’s incorruptible Book! This man, moreover,
feigning humility, hath in his own book referred to himself as the
“áthim servant”: “Áthím” in the Book of God, mighty among the common
herd, “Karím” in name!

Ponder the blessed verse, so that the meaning of the words: “There is
neither a thing green nor sere but it is noted in the unerring Book,”147
may be imprinted upon the tablet of thy heart. Notwithstanding, a
multitude bear him allegiance. They have rejected the Moses of knowledge
and justice, and clung to the Samírí148 of ignorance. They have turned
away their eyes from the Day-star of truth which shineth in the divine
and everlasting heaven, and have utterly ignored its splendour.

O my brother! A divine Mine only can yield the gems of divine
knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in
the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere
except in the city of a stainless heart. “In a rich soil, its plants
spring forth abundantly by permission of its Lord, and in that soil
which is bad, they spring forth but scantily.”149

Inasmuch as it hath been clearly shown that only those who are
initiated into the divine mysteries can comprehend the melodies uttered
by the Bird of Heaven, it is therefore incumbent upon every one to seek
enlightenment from the illumined in heart and from the Treasuries of
divine mysteries regarding the intricacies of God’s Faith and the
abstruse allusions in the utterances of the Day-springs of Holiness.
Thus will these mysteries be unravelled, not by the aid of acquired
learning, but solely through the assistance of God and the outpourings
of His grace. “Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the custody of the
Scriptures, if ye know it not.”150

But, O my brother, when a true seeker determineth to take the step of
search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he
must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat
of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust
of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of
satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the
abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul
from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and
ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of
either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline
him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou
dost witness in this day how most of the people, because of such love
and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the
Embodiments of the divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming
through the wilderness of oblivion and error. That seeker must at all
times put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth,
detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the
Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must
wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and
vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence,
and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smouldering fire, and
excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body,
whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force
of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter
endure a century.

That seeker should also regard backbiting as grievous error, and keep
himself aloof from its dominion, inasmuch as backbiting quencheth the
light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul. He should be
content with little, and be freed from all inordinate desire. He should
treasure the companionship of those that have renounced the world, and
regard avoidance of boastful and worldly people a precious benefit. At
the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul
persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward
thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of
lightning, pass by all else save Him. He should succour the
dispossessed, and never withhold his favour from the destitute. He
should show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellow-man, to
him who is endowed with the power of utterance. He should not hesitate
to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor allow the censure of the
people to turn him away from the Truth. He should not wish for others
that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth
not fulfil. With all his heart should the seeker avoid fellowship with
evil doers, and pray for the remission of their sins. He should forgive
the sinful, and never despise his low estate, for none knoweth what his
own end shall be. How often hath a sinner, at the hour of death,
attained to the essence of faith, and, quaffing the immortal draught,
hath taken his flight unto the celestial Concourse. And how often hath a
devout believer, at the hour of his soul’s ascension, been so changed as
to fall into the nethermost fire. Our purpose in revealing these
convincing and weighty utterances is to impress upon the seeker that he
should regard all else beside God as transient, and count all things
save Him, Who is the Object of all adoration, as utter nothingness.

These are among the attributes of the exalted, and constitute the
hall-mark of the spiritually-minded. They have already been mentioned in
connection with the requirements of the wayfarers that tread the Path of
Positive Knowledge. When the detached wayfarer and sincere seeker hath
fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can he be
called a true seeker. Whensoever he hath fulfilled the conditions
implied in the verse: “Whoso maketh efforts for Us,”151 he shall enjoy
the blessing conferred by the words: “In Our ways shall We assuredly
guide him.”152

Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire,
of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is
kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness
is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the
mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of
knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the mystic
Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the
City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of
knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the
slumber of negligence. Then will the manifold favours and outpouring
grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the
seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a
new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the
universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing
with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that
leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in
all things the mysteries of divine Revelation and the evidences of an
everlasting manifestation.

I swear by God! Were he that treadeth the path of guidance and
seeketh to scale the heights of righteousness to attain unto this
glorious and supreme station, he would inhale at a distance of a
thousand leagues the fragrance of God, and would perceive the
resplendent morn of a divine Guidance rising above the dayspring of all
things. Each and every thing, however small, would be to him a
revelation, leading him to his Beloved, the Object of his quest. So
great shall be the discernment of this seeker that he will discriminate
between truth and falsehood even as he doth distinguish the sun from
shadow. If in the uttermost corners of the East the sweet savours of God
be wafted, he will assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even
though he be dwelling in the uttermost ends of the West. He will
likewise clearly distinguish all the signs of God—His wondrous
utterances, His great works, and mighty deeds—from the doings, words and
ways of men, even as the jeweller who knoweth the gem from the stone, or
the man who distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold.
When the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and
impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive the breath of the
Beloved across immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume,
attain and enter the City of Certitude. Therein he will discern the
wonders of His ancient wisdom, and will perceive all the hidden
teachings from the rustling leaves of the Tree—which flourisheth in that
City. With both his inner and his outer ear he will hear from its dust
the hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords, and with
his inner eye will he discover the mysteries of “return” and “revival.”
How unspeakably glorious are the signs, the tokens, the revelations, and
splendours which He Who is the King of names and attributes hath
destined for that City! The attainment of this City quencheth thirst
without water, and kindleth the love of God without fire. Within every
blade of grass are enshrined the mysteries of an inscrutable wisdom, and
upon every rose-bush a myriad nightingales pour out, in blissful
rapture, their melody. Its wondrous tulips unfold the mystery of the
undying Fire in the Burning Bush, and its sweet savours of holiness
breathe the perfume of the Messianic Spirit. It bestoweth wealth without
gold, and conferreth immortality without death. In every leaf ineffable
delights are treasured, and within every chamber unnumbered mysteries
lie hidden.

They that valiantly labour in quest of God’s will, when once they
have renounced all else but Him, will be so attached and wedded to that
City that a moment’s separation from it would to them be unthinkable.
They will hearken unto infallible proofs from the Hyacinth of that
assembly, and receive the surest testimonies from the beauty of its Rose
and the melody of its Nightingale. Once in about a thousand years shall
this City be renewed and re-adorned.

Wherefore, O my friend, it behooveth Us to exert the highest
endeavour to attain unto that City, and, by the grace of God and His
loving-kindness, rend asunder the “veils of glory”; so that, with
inflexible steadfastness, we may sacrifice our drooping souls in the
path of the New Beloved. We should with tearful eyes, fervently and
repeatedly, implore Him to grant us the favour of that grace. That city
is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and
dispensation. In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of
Jesus the Gospel; in the days of Muḥammad the Messenger of God the
Qur’án; in this day the Bayán; and in the dispensation of Him Whom God
will make manifest His own Book—the Book unto which all the Books of
former Dispensations must needs be referred, the Book which standeth
amongst them all transcendent and supreme. In these cities spiritual
sustenance is bountifully provided, and incorruptible delights have been
ordained. The food they bestow is the bread of heaven, and the Spirit
they impart is God’s imperishable blessing. Upon detached souls they
bestow the gift of Unity, enrich the destitute, and offer the cup of
knowledge unto them who wander in the wilderness of ignorance. All the
guidance, the blessings, the learning, the understanding, the faith, and
certitude, conferred upon all that is in heaven and on earth, are hidden
and treasured within these Cities.

For instance, the Qur’án was an impregnable stronghold unto the
people of Muḥammad. In His days, whosoever entered therein, was shielded
from the devilish assaults, the menacing darts, the soul-devouring
doubts, and blasphemous whisperings of the enemy. Upon him was also
bestowed a portion of the everlasting and goodly fruits—the fruits of
wisdom, from the divine Tree. To him was given to drink the
incorruptible waters of the river of knowledge, and to taste the wine of
the mysteries of divine Unity.

All the things that people required in connection with the Revelation
of Muḥammad and His laws were to be found revealed and manifest in that
Ridván of resplendent glory. That Book constitutes an abiding testimony
to its people after Muḥammad, inasmuch as its decrees are indisputable,
and its promise unfailing. All have been enjoined to follow the precepts
of that Book until “the year sixty”153—the year of the advent of God’s
wondrous Manifestation. That Book is the Book which unfailingly leadeth
the seeker unto the Ridván of the divine Presence, and causeth him that
hath forsaken his country and is treading the seeker’s path to enter the
Tabernacle of everlasting reunion. Its guidance can never err, its
testimony no other testimony can excel. All other traditions, all other
books and records, are bereft of such distinction, inasmuch as both the
traditions and they that have spoken them are confirmed and proven
solely by the text of that Book. Moreover, the traditions themselves
grievously differ, and their obscurities are manifold.

Muḥammad, Himself, as the end of His mission drew nigh, spoke these
words: “Verily, I leave amongst you My twin weighty testimonies: The
Book of God and My Family.” Although many traditions had been revealed
by that Source of Prophethood and Mine of divine Guidance, yet He
mentioned only that Book, thereby appointing it as the mightiest
instrument and surest testimony for the seekers; a guide for the people
until the Day of Resurrection.

With unswerving vision, with pure heart, and sanctified spirit,
consider attentively what God hath established as the testimony of
guidance for His people in His Book, which is recognized as authentic by
both the high and lowly. To this testimony we both, as well as all the
peoples of the world, must cling, that through its light we may know and
distinguish between truth and falsehood, guidance and error. Inasmuch as
Muḥammad hath confined His testimonies to His Book and to His Family,
and whereas the latter hath passed away, there remaineth His Book only
as His one testimony amongst the people.

In the beginning of His Book He saith: “Alif. Lám. Mím. No doubt is
there about this Book: It is a guidance unto the God-fearing.”154 In the
disconnected letters of the Qur’án the mysteries of the divine Essence
are enshrined, and within their shells the pearls of His Unity are
treasured. For lack of space We do not dwell upon them at this moment.
Outwardly they signify Muḥammad Himself, Whom God addresseth saying: “O
Muḥammad, there is no doubt nor uncertainty about this Book which hath
been sent down from the heaven of divine Unity. In it is guidance unto
them that fear God.” Consider, how He hath appointed and decreed this
self-same Book, the Qur’án, as a guidance unto all that are in heaven
and on earth. He, the divine Being, and unknowable Essence, hath,
Himself, testified that this Book is, beyond all doubt and uncertainty,
the guide of all mankind until the Day of Resurrection. And now, We ask,
is it fair for this people to view with doubt and misgiving this most
weighty Testimony, the divine origin of which God hath proclaimed, and
pronounced it to be the embodiment of truth? Is it fair for them to turn
away from the thing which He hath appointed as the supreme Instrument of
guidance for attainment unto the loftiest summits of knowledge, and to
seek aught else but that Book? How can they allow men’s absurd and
foolish sayings to sow the seeds of distrust in their minds? How can
they any longer idly contend that a certain person hath spoken this or
that way, or that a certain thing did not come to pass? Had there been
anything conceivable besides the Book of God which could prove a more
potent instrument and a surer guide to mankind, would He have failed to
reveal it in that verse?

It is incumbent upon us not to depart from God’s irresistible
injunction and fixed decree, as revealed in the above-mentioned verse.
We should acknowledge the holy and wondrous Scriptures, for failing to
do this we have failed to acknowledge the truth of this blessed verse.
For it is evident that whoso hath failed to acknowledge the truth of the
Qur’án hath in reality failed to acknowledge the truth of the preceding
Scriptures. This is but the manifest implication of the verse. Were We
to expound its inner meanings and unfold its hidden mysteries, eternity
would never suffice to exhaust their import, nor would the universe be
capable of hearing them! God verily testifieth to the truth of Our
saying!

In another passage He likewise saith: “And if ye be in doubt as to
that which We have sent down to Our Servant, then produce a Súrah like
it, and summon your witnesses, beside God, if ye are men of truth.”155
Behold, how lofty is the station, and how consummate the virtue, of
these verses which He hath declared to be His surest testimony, His
infallible proof, the evidence of His all-subduing power, and a
revelation of the potency of His will. He, the divine King, hath
proclaimed the undisputed supremacy of the verses of His Book over all
things that testify to His truth. For compared with all other proofs and
tokens, the divinely-revealed verses shine as the sun, whilst all others
are as stars. To the peoples of the world they are the abiding
testimony, the incontrovertible proof, the shining light of the ideal
King. Their excellence is unrivalled, their virtue nothing can surpass.
They are the treasury of the divine pearls and the depository of the
divine mysteries. They constitute the indissoluble Bond, the firm Cord,
the Urvatu’l-Vuthqá, the inextinguishable Light. Through them floweth
the river of divine knowledge, and gloweth the fire of His ancient and
consummate wisdom. This is the fire which, in one and the same moment,
kindleth the flame of love in the breasts of the faithful, and induceth
the chill of heedlessness in the heart of the enemy.

O friend! It behooveth us not to waive the injunction of God, but
rather acquiesce and submit to that which He hath ordained as His divine
Testimony. This verse is too weighty and pregnant an utterance for this
afflicted soul to demonstrate and expound. God speaketh the truth and
leadeth the way. He, verily, is supreme over all His people; He is the
Mighty, the Beneficent.

Likewise, He saith: “Such are the verses of God: with truth do We
recite them to Thee. But in what revelation will they believe, if they
reject God and His verses?”156 If thou wilt grasp the implication of
this verse, thou wilt recognize the truth that no manifestation greater
than the Prophets of God hath ever been revealed, and no testimony
mightier than the testimony of their revealed verses hath ever appeared
upon the earth. Nay, this testimony no other testimony can ever excel,
except that which the Lord thy God willeth.

In another passage He saith: “Woe to every lying sinner, who heareth
the verses of God recited to him, and then, as though he heard them not,
persisteth in proud disdain! Apprise him of a painful punishment.”157
The implications of this verse, alone, suffice all that is in heaven and
on earth, were the people to ponder the verses of their Lord. For thou
hearest how in this day the people disdainfully ignore the
divinely-revealed verses, as though they were the meanest of all things.
And yet, nothing greater than these verses hath ever appeared, nor will
ever be made manifest in the world! Say unto them: “O heedless people!
Ye repeat what your fathers, in a bygone age, have said. Whatever fruits
they have gathered from the tree of their faithlessness, the same shall
ye gather also. Ere long shall ye be gathered unto your fathers, and
with them shall ye dwell in hellish fire. An ill abode! the abode of the
people of tyranny.”

In yet another passage He saith: “And when he becometh acquainted
with any of Our verses he turneth them to ridicule. There is a shameful
punishment for them!”158 The people derisively observed saying: “Work
thou another miracle, and give us another sign!” One would say: “Make
now a part of the heaven to fall down upon us”;159 and another: “If this
be the very truth from before Thee, rain down stones upon us from
heaven.”160 Even as the people of Israel, in the time of Moses, bartered
away the bread of heaven for the sordid things of the earth, these
people, likewise, sought to exchange the divinely-revealed verses for
their foul, their vile, and idle desires. In like manner, thou beholdest
in this day that although spiritual sustenance hath descended from the
heaven of divine mercy, and been showered from the clouds of His loving
kindness, and although the seas of life, at the behest of the Lord of
all being, are surging within the Ridván of the heart, yet these people,
ravenous as the dogs, have gathered around carrion, and contented
themselves with the stagnant waters of a briny lake. Gracious God! how
strange the way of this people! They clamour for guidance, although the
standards of Him Who guideth all things are already hoisted. They cleave
to the obscure intricacies of knowledge, when He, Who is the Object of
all knowledge, shineth as the sun. They see the sun with their own eyes,
and yet question that brilliant Orb as to the proof of its light. They
behold the vernal showers descending upon them, and yet seek an evidence
of that bounty. The proof of the sun is the light thereof, which shineth
and envelopeth all things. The evidence of the shower is the bounty
thereof, which reneweth and investeth the world with the mantle of life.
Yea, the blind can perceive naught from the sun except its heat, and the
arid soil hath no share of the showers of mercy. “Marvel not if in the
Qur’án the unbeliever perceiveth naught but the trace of letters, for in
the sun, the blind findeth naught but heat.”

In another passage He saith: “And when Our clear verses are recited
to them, their only argument is to say, ‘Bring back our fathers, if ye
speak the truth!’”161 Behold, what foolish evidences they sought from
these Embodiments of an all-encompassing mercy! They scoffed at the
verses, a single letter of which is greater than the creation of heavens
and earth, and which quickeneth the dead of the valley of self and
desire with the spirit of faith; and clamoured saying: “Cause our
fathers to speed out of their sepulchres.” Such was the perversity and
pride of that people. Each one of these verses is unto all the peoples
of the world an unfailing testimony and a glorious proof of His truth.
Each of them verily sufficeth all mankind, wert thou to meditate upon
the verses of God. In the above-mentioned verse itself pearls of
mysteries lie hidden. Whatever be the ailment, the remedy it offereth
can never fail.

Heed not the idle contention of those who maintain that the Book and
verses thereof can never be a testimony unto the common people, inasmuch
as they neither grasp their meaning nor appreciate their value. And yet,
the unfailing testimony of God to both the East and the West is none
other than the Qur’án. Were it beyond the comprehension of men, how
could it have been declared as a universal testimony unto all people? If
their contention be true, none would therefore be required, nor would it
be necessary for them to know God, inasmuch as the knowledge of the
divine Being transcendeth the knowledge of His Book, and the common
people would not possess the capacity to comprehend it.

Such contention is utterly fallacious and inadmissible. It is
actuated solely by arrogance and pride. Its motive is to lead the people
astray from the Ridván of divine good-pleasure and to tighten the reins
of their authority over the people. And yet, in the sight of God, these
common people are infinitely superior and exalted above their religious
leaders who have turned away from the one true God. The understanding of
His words and the comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven
are in no wise dependent upon human learning. They depend solely upon
purity of heart, chastity of soul, and freedom of spirit. This is
evidenced by those who, today, though without a single letter of the
accepted standards of learning, are occupying the loftiest seats of
knowledge; and the garden of their hearts is adorned, through the
showers of divine grace, with the roses of wisdom and the tulips of
understanding. Well is it with the sincere in heart for their share of
the light of a mighty Day!

And likewise, He saith: “As for those who believe not in the verses
of God, or that they shall ever meet Him, these of My mercy shall
despair, and these doth a grievous chastisement await.”162 Also, “And
they say, ‘Shall we then abandon our gods for a crazed poet?’”163 The
implication of this verse is manifest. Behold what they observed after
the verses were revealed. They called Him a poet, scoffed at the verses
of God, and exclaimed saying: “These words of his are but tales of the
Ancients!” By this they meant that those words which were spoken by the
peoples of old Muḥammad hath compiled and called them the Word of
God.

Likewise, in this day, thou hast heard the people impute similar
charges to this Revelation, saying: “He hath compiled these words from
the words of old;” or “these words are spurious.” Vain and haughty are
their sayings, low their estate and station!

After the denials and denunciations which they uttered, and unto
which We have referred, they protested saying: “No independent Prophet,
according to our Scriptures, should arise after Moses and Jesus to
abolish the Law of divine Revelation. Nay, he that is to be made
manifest must needs fulfil the Law.” Thereupon this verse, indicative of
all the divine themes, and testifying to the truth that the flow of the
grace of the All-Merciful can never cease, was revealed: “And Joseph
came to you aforetime with clear tokens, but ye ceased not to doubt of
the message with which He came to you, until, when He died, ye said,
‘God will by no means raise up a Messenger after Him.’ Thus God
misleadeth him who is the transgressor the doubter.”164 Therefore,
understand from this verse and know of a certainty that the people in
every age, clinging to a verse of the Book, have uttered such vain and
absurd sayings, contending that no Prophet should again be made manifest
to the world. Even as the Christian divines who, holding fast to the
verse of the Gospel to which We have already referred, have sought to
explain that the law of the Gospel shall at no time be annulled, and
that no independent Prophet shall again be made manifest, unless He
confirmeth the law of the Gospel. Most of the people have become
afflicted with the same spiritual disease.

Even as thou dost witness how the people of the Qur’án, like unto the
people of old, have allowed the words “Seal of the Prophets” to veil
their eyes. And yet, they themselves testify to this verse: “None
knoweth the interpretation thereof but God and they that are
well-grounded in knowledge.”165 And when He Who is well-grounded in all
knowledge, He Who is the Mother, the Soul, the Secret, and the Essence
thereof, revealeth that which is the least contrary to their desire,
they bitterly oppose Him and shamelessly deny Him. These thou hast
already heard and witnessed. Such deeds and words have been solely
instigated by leaders of religion, they that worship no God but their
own desire, who bear allegiance to naught but gold, who are wrapt in the
densest veils of learning, and who, enmeshed by its obscurities, are
lost in the wilds of error. Even as the Lord of being hath explicitly
declared: “What thinkest thou? He who hath made a God of his passions,
and whom God causeth to err through a knowledge, and whose ears and
whose heart He hath sealed up, and over whose sight He hath cast a
veil—who, after his rejection by God, shall guide such a one? Will ye
not then be warned?”166

Although the outward meaning of “Whom God causeth to err through a
knowledge” is what hath been revealed, yet to Us it signifieth those
divines of the age who have turned away from the Beauty of God, and who,
clinging unto their own learning, as fashioned by their own fancies and
desires, have denounced God’s divine Message and Revelation. “Say: it is
a weighty Message, from which ye turn aside!”167 Likewise, He saith:
“And when Our clear verses are recited to them, they say, ‘This is
merely a man who would fain pervert you from your father’s worship.’ And
they say, ‘This is none other than a forged falsehood.’”168

Give ear unto God’s holy Voice, and heed thou His sweet and immortal
melody. Behold how He hath solemnly warned them that have repudiated the
verses of God, and hath disowned them that have denied His holy words.
Consider how far the people have strayed from the Kawthar of the divine
Presence, and how grievous hath been the faithlessness and arrogance of
the spiritually destitute in the face of that sanctified Beauty.
Although that Essence of lovingkindness and bounty caused those
evanescent beings to step into the realm of immortality, and guided
those destitute souls to the sacred river of wealth, yet some denounced
Him as “a calumniator of God, the Lord of all creatures,” others accused
Him of being “the one that withholdeth the people from the path of faith
and true belief,” and still others declared Him to be “a lunatic” and
the like.

In like manner, thou observest in this day with what vile imputations
they have assailed that Gem of Immortality, and what unspeakable
transgressions they have heaped upon Him Who is the Source of purity.
Although God hath throughout His Book and in His holy and immortal
Tablet warned them that deny and repudiate the revealed verses, and hath
announced His grace unto them that accept them, yet behold the
unnumbered cavils they raised against those verses which have been sent
down from the new heaven of God’s eternal holiness! This,
notwithstanding the fact that no eye hath beheld so great an outpouring
of bounty, nor hath any ear heard of such a revelation of
lovingkindness. Such bounty and revelation have been made manifest, that
the revealed verses seemed as vernal showers raining from the clouds of
the mercy of the All-Bountiful. The Prophets “endowed with constancy,”
whose loftiness and glory shine as the sun, were each honoured with a
Book which all have seen, and the verses of which have been duly
ascertained. Whereas the verses which have rained from this Cloud of
divine mercy have been so abundant that none hath yet been able to
estimate their number. A score of volumes are now available. How many
still remain beyond our reach! How many have been plundered and have
fallen into the hands of the enemy, the fate of which none knoweth.

O brother, we should open our eyes, meditate upon His Word, and seek
the sheltering shadow of the Manifestations of God, that perchance we
may be warned by the unmistakable counsels of the Book, and give heed to
the admonitions recorded in the holy Tablets; that we may not cavil at
the Revealer of the verses, that we may resign ourselves wholly to His
Cause, and embrace wholeheartedly His law, that haply we may enter the
court of His mercy, and dwell upon the shore of His grace. He, verily,
is merciful, and forgiving towards His servants.

And likewise, He saith: “Say, O people of the Book! do ye not disavow
us only because we believe in God and in what He hath sent down to us,
and in what He hath sent down aforetime, and because most of you are
doers of ill?”169 How explicitly doth this verse reveal Our purpose, and
how clearly doth it demonstrate the truth of the testimony of the verses
of God! This verse was revealed at a time when Islám was assailed by the
infidels, and its followers were accused of misbelief, when the
Companions of Muḥammad were denounced as repudiators of God and as
followers of a lying sorcerer. In its early days, when Islám was still
to outward seeming devoid of authority and power, the friends of the
Prophet, who had turned their face toward God, wherever they went, were
harassed, persecuted, stoned and vilified. At such a time this blessed
verse was sent down from the heaven of divine Revelation. It revealed an
irrefutable evidence, and brought the light of an unfailing guidance. It
instructed the companions of Muḥammad to declare the following unto the
infidels and idolators: “Ye oppress and persecute us, and yet, what else
have we done except that we have believed in God and in the verses sent
down unto us through the tongue of Muḥammad, and in those which
descended upon the Prophets of old?” By this is meant that their only
guilt was to have recognized that the new and wondrous verses of God,
which had descended upon Muḥammad, as well as those which had been
revealed unto the Prophets of old, were all of God, and to have
acknowledged and embraced their truth. This is the testimony which the
divine King hath taught His servants.

In view of this, is it fair for this people to repudiate these
newly-revealed verses which have encompassed both the East and the West,
and to regard themselves as the upholders of true belief? Should they
not rather believe in Him Who hath revealed these verses? Considering
the testimony which He Himself hath established, how could He fail to
account as true believers them that have testified to its truth? Far be
it from Him that He should turn away from the gates of His mercy them
that have turned unto and embraced the truth of the divine verses, or
that He should threaten those that have clung to His sure testimony! He
verily establisheth the truth through His verses, and confirmeth His
Revelation by His words. He verily is the Powerful, the Help in peril,
the Almighty.

And likewise, He saith: “And had We sent down unto Thee a Book
written on parchment, and they had touched it with their hands, the
infidels would surely have said ‘This is naught but palpable
sorcery.’”170 Most of the verses of the Qur’án are indicative of this
theme. We have, for the sake of brevity, mentioned only these verses.
Consider, hath anything else besides the verses been established in the
whole Book, as a standard for the recognition of the Manifestations of
His Beauty, that the people might cling to, and reject the
Manifestations of God? On the contrary, in every instance, He hath
threatened with fire those that repudiate and scoff at the verses, as
already shown.

Therefore, should a person arise and bring forth a myriad verses,
discourses, epistles, and prayers, none of which have been acquired
through learning, what conceivable excuse could justify those that
reject them, and deprive themselves of the potency of their grace? What
answer could they give when once their soul hath ascended and departed
from its gloomy temple? Could they seek to justify themselves by saying:
“We have clung to a certain tradition, and not having beheld the literal
fulfilment thereof, we have therefore raised such cavils against the
Embodiments of divine Revelation, and kept remote from the law of God?”
Hast thou not heard that among the reasons why certain Prophets have
been designated as Prophets “endowed with constancy” was the revelation
of a Book unto them? And yet, how could this people be justified in
rejecting the Revealer and Author of so many volumes of verses, and
follow the sayings of him who hath foolishly sown the seeds of doubt in
the hearts of men, and who, Satan-like, hath risen to lead the people
into the paths of perdition and error? How could they allow such things
to deprive them of the light of the Sun of divine bounty? Aside from
these things, if these people shun and reject such a divine Soul, such
holy Breath, to whom, We wonder, could they cling, to whose face besides
His Face could they turn? Yea—“All have a quarter of the Heavens to
which they turn.”171 We have shown thee these two ways; walk thou the
way thou choosest. This verily is the truth, and after truth there
remaineth naught but error.

Amongst the proofs demonstrating the truth of this Revelation is
this, that in every age and Dispensation, whenever the invisible Essence
was revealed in the person of His Manifestation, certain souls, obscure
and detached from all worldly entanglements, would seek illumination
from the Sun of Prophethood and Moon of divine guidance, and would
attain unto the divine Presence. For this reason, the divines of the age
and those possessed of wealth, would scorn and scoff at these people.
Even as He hath revealed concerning them that erred: “Then said the
chiefs of His people who believed not, ‘We see in Thee but a man like
ourselves; and we see not any who have followed Thee except our meanest
ones of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in you above
ourselves: nay, we deem you liars.’”172 They caviled at those holy
Manifestations, and protested saying: “None hath followed you except the
abject amongst us, those who are worthy of no attention.” Their aim was
to show that no one amongst the learned, the wealthy, and the renowned
believed in them. By this and similar proofs they sought to demonstrate
the falsity of Him that speaketh naught but the truth.

In this most resplendent Dispensation, however, this most mighty
Sovereignty, a number of illumined divines, of men of consummate
learning, of doctors of mature wisdom, have attained unto His Court,
drunk the cup of His divine Presence, and been invested with the honour
of His most excellent favour. They have renounced, for the sake of the
Beloved, the world and all that is therein. We will mention the names of
some of them, that perchance it may strengthen the faint-hearted, and
encourage the timorous.

Among them was Mullá Ḥusayn, who became the recipient of the
effulgent glory of the Sun of divine Revelation. But for him, God would
not have been established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the
throne of eternal glory. Among them also was Siyyid Yaḥyá, that unique
and peerless figure of his age,

Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alíy-i-Zanjání

Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastamí

Mullá Sa’íd-i-BarfurúShí

Mullá Ni’matu’lláh-i-Mázindarání

Mullá Yúsúf-i-Ardibílí

Mullá Mihdíy-i-Khú’í

Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-TurShízí

Mullá Mihdíy-i-Kandí

Mullá Báqir

Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Kháliq-i-Yazdí

Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Baraqání

and others, well nigh four hundred in number, whose names are all
inscribed upon the “Guarded Tablet” of God.

All these were guided by the light of that Sun of divine Revelation,
confessed and acknowledged His truth. Such was their faith, that most of
them renounced their substance and kindred, and cleaved to the
good-pleasure of the All-Glorious. They laid down their lives for their
Well-Beloved, and surrendered their all in His path. Their breasts were
made targets for the darts of the enemy, and their heads adorned the
spears of the infidel. No land remained which did not drink the blood of
these embodiments of detachment, and no sword that did not bruise their
necks. Their deeds, alone, testify to the truth of their words. Doth not
the testimony of these holy souls, who have so gloriously risen to offer
up their lives for their Beloved that the whole world marvelled at the
manner of their sacrifice, suffice the people of this day? Is it not
sufficient witness against the faithlessness of those who for a trifle
betrayed their faith, who bartered away immortality for that which
perisheth, who gave up the Kawthar of the divine Presence for salty
springs, and whose one aim in life is to usurp the property of others?
Even as thou dost witness how all of them have busied themselves with
the vanities of the world, and have strayed far from Him Who is the
Lord, the Most High.

Be fair: Is the testimony of those acceptable and worthy of attention
whose deeds agree with their words, whose outward behaviour conforms
with their inner life? The mind is bewildered at their deeds, and the
soul marvelleth at their fortitude and bodily endurance. Or is the
testimony of these faithless souls who breathe naught but the breath of
selfish desire, and who lie imprisoned in the cage of their idle
fancies, acceptable? Like the bats of darkness, they lift not their
heads from their couch except to pursue the transient things of the
world, and find no rest by night except as they labour to advance the
aims of their sordid life. Immersed in their selfish schemes, they are
oblivious of the divine Decree. In the day-time they strive with all
their soul after worldly benefits, and in the night-season their sole
occupation is to gratify their carnal desires. By what law or standard
could men be justified in cleaving to the denials of such petty-minded
souls, and in ignoring the faith of them that have renounced, for the
sake of the good-pleasure of God, their life, and substance, their fame
and renown, their reputation and honour?

Were not the happenings of the life of the “Prince of Martyrs”173
regarded as the greatest of all events, as the supreme evidence of his
truth? Did not the people of old declare those happenings to be
unprecedented? Did they not maintain that no manifestation of truth hath
ever evinced such constancy, such conspicuous glory? And yet, that
episode of his life, commencing as it did in the morning, was brought to
a close by the middle of the same day, whereas, these holy lights have,
for eighteen years, heroically endured the showers of afflictions which,
from every side, have rained upon them. With what love, what devotion,
what exultation and holy rapture, they sacrificed their lives in the
path of the All-Glorious! To the truth of this all witness. And yet, how
can they belittle this Revelation? Hath any age witnessed such momentous
happenings? If these companions be not the true strivers after God, who
else could be called by this name? Have these companions been seekers
after power or glory? Have they ever yearned for riches? Have they
cherished any desire except the good-pleasure of God? If these
companions, with all their marvellous testimonies and wondrous works, be
false, who then is worthy to claim for himself the truth? I swear by
God! Their very deeds are a sufficient testimony, and an irrefutable
proof unto all the peoples of the earth, were men to ponder in their
hearts the mysteries of divine Revelation. “And they who act unjustly
shall soon know what lot awaiteth them!”174

Furthermore, the sign of truth and falsehood is designated and
appointed in the Book. By this divinely-appointed touchstone, the claims
and pretensions of all men must needs be assayed, so that the truthful
may be known and distinguished from the imposter. This touchstone is no
other than this verse: “Wish for death, if ye are men of truth.”175
Consider these martyrs of unquestionable sincerity, to whose
truthfulness testifieth the explicit text of the Book, and all of whom,
as thou hast witnessed, have sacrificed their life, their substance,
their wives, their children, their all, and ascended unto the loftiest
chambers of Paradise. Is it fair to reject the testimony of these
detached and exalted beings to the truth of this pre-eminent and
glorious Revelation and to regard as acceptable the denunciations which
have been uttered against this resplendent Light by this faithless
people, who for gold have forsaken their faith, and who for the sake of
leadership have repudiated Him Who is the First Leader of all mankind?
This, although their character is now revealed unto all people who have
recognized them as those who will in no wise relinquish one jot or one
tittle of their temporal authority for the sake of God’s holy Faith, how
much less their life, their substance, and the like.

Behold how the divine Touchstone hath, according to the explicit text
of the Book, separated and distinguished the true from the false.
Notwithstanding, they are still oblivious of this truth, and in the
sleep of heedlessness, are pursuing the vanities of the world, and are
occupied with thoughts of vain and earthly leadership.

“O Son of Man! Many a day hath passed over thee whilst thou hast
busied thyself with thy fancies and idle imaginings. How long art thou
to slumber on thy bed? Lift up thine head from slumber, for the Sun hath
risen to the zenith; haply it may shine upon thee with the light of
beauty.”

Let it be known, however, that none of these doctors and divines to
whom we have referred was invested with the rank and dignity of
leadership. For well-known and influential leaders of religion, who
occupy the seats of authority and exercise the functions of leadership,
can in no wise bear allegiance to the Revealer of truth, except
whomsoever thy Lord willeth. But for a few, such things have never come
to pass. “And few of My servants are the thankful.”176 Even as in this
Dispensation, not one amongst the renowned divines, in the grasp of
whose authority were held the reins of the people, hath embraced the
Faith. Nay, they have striven against it with such animosity and
determination that no ear hath heard and no eye hath seen the like.

The Báb, the Lord, the most exalted—may the life of all be a
sacrifice unto Him,—hath specifically revealed an Epistle unto the
divines of every city, wherein He hath fully set forth the character of
the denial and repudiation of each of them. “Wherefore, take ye good
heed ye who are men of insight!”177 By His references to their
opposition He intended to invalidate the objections which the people of
the Bayán might raise in the day of the manifestation of
“Mustagháth,”178 the day of the Latter Resurrection, claiming that,
whereas in the Dispensation of the Bayán a number of divines have
embraced the Faith, in this latter Revelation none of these hath
recognized His claim. His purpose was to warn the people lest, God
forbid, they cling to such foolish thoughts and deprive themselves of
the divine Beauty. Yea, these divines to whom We have referred, were
mostly unrenowned, and, by the grace of God they were all purged of
earthly vanities and free from the trappings of leadership. “Such is the
bounty of God; to whom He will He giveth it.”

Another proof and evidence of the truth of this Revelation, which
amongst all other proofs shineth as the sun, is the constancy of the
eternal Beauty in proclaiming the Faith of God. Though young and tender
of age, and though the Cause He revealed was contrary to the desire of
all the peoples of earth, both high and low, rich and poor, exalted and
abased, king and subject, yet He arose and steadfastly proclaimed it.
All have known and heard this. He was afraid of no one; He was
regardless of consequences. Could such a thing be made manifest except
through the power of a divine Revelation, and the potency of God’s
invincible Will? By the righteousness of God! Were any one to entertain
so great a Revelation in his heart, the thought of such a declaration
would alone confound him! Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into
his heart, he would still hesitate to venture upon so awful an
enterprise. He could achieve it only by the permission of God, only if
the channel of his heart were to be linked with the Source of divine
grace, and his soul be assured of the unfailing sustenance of the
Almighty. To what, We wonder, do they ascribe so great a daring? Do they
accuse Him of folly as they accused the Prophets of old? Or do they
maintain that His motive was none other than leadership and the
acquisition of earthly riches?

Gracious God! In His Book, which He hath entitled
“Qayyúmu’l-Asmá,”—the first, the greatest and mightiest of all books—He
prophesied His own martyrdom. In it is this passage: “O thou Remnant of
God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses
for Thy sake; and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of
Thy love. Sufficient Witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector,
the Ancient of Days!”

Likewise, in His interpretation of the letter “Há,” He craved
martyrdom, saying: “Methinks I heard a Voice calling in my inmost being:
‘Do thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God,
even as Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My
sake.’ And were I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, by Him, Who
hath my being between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were
to be leagued together they would be powerless to take from me a single
letter, how much less can these servants who are worthy of no attention,
and who verily are of the outcast… That all may know the degree of My
patience, My resignation, and self-sacrifice in the path of God.”

Could the Revealer of such utterance be regarded as walking any way
but the way of God, and as having yearned for aught else except His
good-pleasure? In this very verse there lieth concealed a breath of
detachment, which if it were to be breathed full upon the world, all
beings would renounce their lives, and sacrifice their souls. Reflect
upon the villainous behaviour of this generation, and witness their
astounding ingratitude. Observe how they have closed their eyes to all
this glory, and are abjectly pursuing those foul carcasses from whose
bellies ascendeth the cry of the swallowed substance of the faithful.
And yet, what unseemly calumnies they have hurled against those
Daysprings of Holiness? Thus do We recount unto thee that which the
hands of the infidels have wrought, they who, in the Day of
Resurrection, have turned their face away from the divine Presence, whom
God hath tormented with the fire of their own misbelief, and for whom He
hath prepared in the world to come a chastisement which shall devour
both their bodies and souls. For these have said: “God is powerless, and
His hand of mercy is fettered.”

Steadfastness in the Faith is a sure testimony, and a glorious
evidence of the truth. Even as the “Seal of the Prophets” hath said:
“Two verses have made Me old.” Both these verses are indicative of
constancy in the Cause of God. Even as He saith: “Be thou steadfast as
thou hast been bidden.”179

And now consider how this Sadrih of the Ridván of God hath, in the
prime of youth, risen to proclaim the Cause of God. Behold what
steadfastness that Beauty of God hath revealed. The whole world rose to
hinder Him, yet it utterly failed. The more severe the persecution they
inflicted on that Sadrih of Blessedness, the more His fervour increased,
and the brighter burned the flame of His love. All this is evident, and
none disputeth its truth. Finally, He surrendered His soul, and winged
His flight unto the realms above.

And among the evidences of the truth of His manifestation were the
ascendancy, the transcendent power, and supremacy which He, the Revealer
of being and Manifestation of the Adored, hath, unaided and alone,
revealed throughout the world. No sooner had that eternal Beauty
revealed Himself in Shíráz, in the year sixty, and rent asunder the veil
of concealment, than the signs of the ascendancy, the might, the
sovereignty, and power, emanating from that Essence of Essences and Sea
of Seas, were manifest in every land. So much so, that from every city
there appeared the signs, the evidences, the tokens, the testimonies of
that divine Luminary. How many were those pure and kindly hearts which
faithfully reflected the light of that eternal Sun, and how manifold the
emanations of knowledge from that Ocean of divine wisdom which
encompassed all beings! In every city, all the divines and dignitaries
rose to hinder and repress them, and girded up the loins of malice, of
envy, and tyranny for their suppression. How great the number of those
holy souls, those essences of justice, who, accused of tyranny, were put
to death! And how many embodiments of purity, who showed forth naught
but true knowledge and stainless deeds, suffered an agonizing death!
Notwithstanding all this, each of these holy beings, up to his last
moment, breathed the Name of God, and soared in the realm of submission
and resignation. Such was the potency and transmuting influence which He
exercised over them, that they ceased to cherish any desire but His
will, and wedded their soul to His remembrance.

Reflect: Who in this world is able to manifest such transcendent
power, such pervading influence? All these stainless hearts and
sanctified souls have, with absolute resignation, responded to the
summons of His decree. Instead of complaining, they rendered thanks unto
God, and amidst the darkness of their anguish they revealed naught but
radiant acquiescence to His will. It is evident how relentless was the
hate, and how bitter the malice and enmity entertained by all the
peoples of the earth towards these companions. The persecution and pain
they inflicted on these holy and spiritual beings were regarded by them
as means unto salvation, prosperity, and everlasting success. Hath the
world, since the days of Adam, witnessed such tumult, such violent
commotion? Notwithstanding all the torture they suffered, and manifold
the afflictions they endured, they became the object of universal
opprobrium and execration. Methinks patience was revealed only by virtue
of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten only by their
deeds.

Do thou ponder these momentous happenings in thy heart, so that thou
mayest apprehend the greatness of this Revelation, and perceive its
stupendous glory. Then shall the spirit of faith, through the grace of
the Merciful, be breathed into thy being, and thou shalt be established
and abide upon the seat of certitude. The one God is My witness! Wert
thou to ponder a while, thou wilt recognize that, apart from all these
established truths and above-mentioned evidences, the repudiation,
cursing, and execration, pronounced by the people of the earth, are in
themselves the mightiest proof and the surest testimony of the truth of
these heroes of the field of resignation and detachment. Whenever thou
dost meditate upon the cavils uttered by all the people, be they
divines, learned or ignorant, the firmer and the more steadfast wilt
thou grow in the Faith. For whatsoever hath come to pass, hath been
prophesied by them who are the Mines of divine knowledge, and Recipients
of God’s eternal law.

Although We did not intend to make mention of the traditions of a
bygone age, yet, because of Our love for thee, We will cite a few which
are applicable to Our argument. We do not feel their necessity, however,
inasmuch as the things We have already mentioned suffice the world and
all that is therein. In fact, all the Scriptures and the mysteries
thereof are condensed into this brief account. So much so, that were a
person to ponder it a while in his heart, he would discover from all
that hath been said the mysteries of the Words of God, and would
apprehend the meaning of whatever hath been manifested by that ideal
King. As the people differ in their understanding and station, We will
accordingly make mention of a few traditions, that these may impart
constancy to the wavering soul, and tranquillity to the troubled mind.
Thereby, will the testimony of God unto the people, both high and low,
be complete and perfect.

Among them is the tradition, “And when the Standard of Truth is made
manifest, the people of both the East and the West curse it.” The wine
of renunciation must needs be quaffed, the lofty heights of detachment
must needs be attained, and the meditation referred to in the words “One
hour’s reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship” must
needs be observed, so that the secret of the wretched behaviour of the
people might be discovered, those people who, despite the love and
yearning for truth which they profess, curse the followers of Truth when
once He hath been made manifest. To this truth the above-mentioned
tradition beareth witness. It is evident that the reason for such
behaviour is none other than the annulment of those rules, customs,
habits, and ceremonials to which they have been subjected. Otherwise,
were the Beauty of the Merciful to comply with those same rules and
customs, which are current amongst the people, and were He to sanction
their observances, such conflict and mischief would in no wise be made
manifest in the world. This exalted tradition is attested and
substantiated by these words which He hath revealed: “The day when the
Summoner shall summon to a stern business.”180

The divine call of the celestial Herald from beyond the Veil of
Glory, summoning mankind to renounce utterly all the things to which
they cleave, is repugnant to their desire; and this is the cause of the
bitter trials and violent commotions which have occurred. Consider the
way of the people. They ignore these well-founded traditions, all of
which have been fulfilled, and cling unto those of doubtful validity,
and ask why these have not been fulfilled. And yet, those things which
to them were inconceivable have been made manifest. The signs and tokens
of the Truth shine even as the midday sun, and yet the people are
wandering, aimlessly and perplexedly, in the wilderness of ignorance and
folly. Notwithstanding all the verses of the Qur’án, and the recognized
traditions, which are all indicative of a new Faith, a new Law, and a
new Revelation, this generation still waiteth in expectation of
beholding the promised One who should uphold the Law of the Muḥammadan
Dispensation. The Jews and the Christians in like manner uphold the same
contention.

Among the utterances that foreshadow a new Law and a new Revelation
are the passages in the “Prayer of Nudbih”: “Where is He Who is
preserved to renew the ordinances and laws? Where is He Who hath the
authority to transform the Faith and the followers thereof?” He hath,
likewise, revealed in the Zíyárat:181 “Peace be upon the Truth made
new.” Abú-‘Abdi’lláh, questioned concerning the character of the Mihdí,
answered saying: “He will perform that which Muḥammad, the Messenger of
God, hath performed, and will demolish whatever hath been before Him
even as the Messenger of God hath demolished the ways of those that
preceded Him.”

Behold, how, notwithstanding these and similar traditions, they idly
contend that the laws formerly revealed, must in no wise be altered. And
yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in
the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest
itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner
life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not
changed, the futility of God’s universal Manifestations would be
apparent. In the “Aválím,” an authoritative and well-known book, it is
recorded: “A Youth from Baní-Háshim shall be made manifest, Who will
reveal a new Book and promulgate a new law;” then follow these words:
“Most of His enemies will be the divines.” In another passage, it is
related of Ṣádiq, son of Muḥammad, that he spoke the following: “There
shall appear a Youth from Baní-Háshim, Who will bid the people plight
fealty unto Him. His Book will be a new Book, unto which He shall summon
the people to pledge their faith. Stern is His Revelation unto the Arab.
If ye hear about Him, hasten unto Him.” How well have they followed the
directions of the Imáms of the Faith and Lamps of certitude! Although it
is clearly stated: “Were ye to hear that a Youth from Baní-Háshim hath
appeared, summoning the people unto a new and Divine Book, and to new
and Divine laws, hasten unto Him,” yet have they all declared that Lord
of being an infidel, and pronounced Him a heretic. They hastened not
unto that Háshimite Light, that divine Manifestation, except with drawn
swords, and hearts filled with malice. Moreover, observe how explicitly
the enmity of the divines hath been mentioned in the books.
Notwithstanding all these evident and significant traditions, all these
unmistakable and undisputed allusions, the people have rejected the
immaculate Essence of knowledge and of holy utterance, and have turned
unto the exponents of rebellion and error. Despite these recorded
traditions and revealed utterances, they speak only that which is
prompted by their own selfish desires. And should the Essence of Truth
reveal that which is contrary to their inclinations and desires, they
will straightway denounce Him as an infidel, and will protest saying:
“This is contrary to the sayings of the Imáms of the Faith and of the
resplendent lights. No such thing hath been provided by our inviolable
Law.” Even so in this day such worthless statements have been and are
being made by these poor mortals.

And now, consider this other tradition, and observe how all these
things have been foretold. In “Arbá’in” it is recorded: “Out of
Baní-Háshim there shall come forth a Youth Who shall reveal new laws. He
shall summon the people unto Him, but none will heed His call. Most of
His enemies will be the divines. His bidding they will not obey, but
will protest saying: ‘This is contrary to that which hath been handed
down unto us by the Imáms of the Faith.’” In this day, all are repeating
these very same words, utterly unaware that He is established upon the
throne of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth,” and abideth upon the seat of
“He ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.”

No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor can any
knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith. All sayings are
dependent upon His sanction, and all things stand in need of His Cause.
All else save Him are created by His command, and move and have their
being through His law. He is the Revealer of the divine mysteries, and
the Expounder of the hidden and ancient wisdom. Thus it is related in
the “Biháru’l-Anvar,” the “Aválím,” and the “Yanbú’” of Ṣádiq, son of
Muḥammad, that he spoke these words: “Knowledge is twenty and seven
letters. All that the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof. No
man thus far hath known more than these two letters. But when the Qá’im
shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters to be
made manifest.” Consider; He hath declared Knowledge to consist of
twenty and seven letters, and regarded all the Prophets, from Adam even
unto the “Seal,” as Expounders of only two letters thereof and of having
been sent down with these two letters. He also saith that the Qá’im will
reveal all the remaining twenty and five letters. Behold from this
utterance how great and lofty is His station! His rank excelleth that of
all the Prophets, and His Revelation transcendeth the comprehension and
understanding of all their chosen ones. A Revelation, of which the
Prophets of God, His saints and chosen ones, have either not been
informed, or which, in pursuance of God’s inscrutable Decree, they have
not disclosed,—such a Revelation these mean and depraved people have
sought to measure with their own deficient minds, their own deficient
learning and understanding. Should it fail to conform to their
standards, they straightway reject it. “Thinkest thou that the greater
part of them hear or understand? They are even like unto the brutes!
yea, they stray even further from the path!”182

How, We wonder, do they explain the aforementioned tradition, a
tradition which, in unmistakable terms, foreshadoweth the revelation of
things inscrutable, and the occurrence of new and wondrous events in His
day? Such marvellous happenings kindle so great a strife amongst the
people, that all the divines and doctors sentence Him and His companions
to death, and all the peoples of the earth arise to oppose Him. Even as
it hath been recorded in the “Káfí,” in the tradition of Jabír, in the
“Tablet of Fátimih,” concerning the character of the Qá’im: “He shall
manifest the perfection of Moses, the splendour of Jesus, and the
patience of Job. His chosen ones shall be abased in His day. Their heads
shall be offered as presents even as the heads of the Turks and the
Daylamites. They shall be slain and burnt. Fear shall seize them; dismay
and alarm shall strike terror into their hearts. The earth shall be dyed
with their blood. Their womenfolk shall bewail and lament. These indeed
are my friends!” Consider, not a single letter of this tradition hath
remained unfulfilled. In most of the places their blessed blood hath
been shed; in every city they have been made captives, have been paraded
throughout the provinces, and some have been burnt with fire. And yet no
one hath paused to reflect that if the promised Qá’im should reveal the
law and ordinances of a former Dispensation, why then should such
traditions have been recorded, and why should there arise such a degree
of strife and conflict that the people should regard the slaying of
these companions as an obligation imposed upon them, and deem the
persecution of these holy souls as a means of attaining unto the highest
favour?

Moreover, observe how these things that have come to pass, and the
acts which have been perpetrated, have all been mentioned in former
traditions. Even as it hath been recorded in the “Rawdíy-i-Káfí,”
concerning “Zawrá.” In the “Rawdíy-i-Káfí” it is related of Mu’áviyih,
son of Vahháb, that Abú-‘Abdi’lláh hath spoken: “Knowest thou Zawrá?” I
said: “May my life be a sacrifice unto thee! They say it is Baghdád.”
“Nay,” he answered. And then added: “Hast thou entered the city of
Rayy?”,183 to which I made reply: “Yea, I have entered it.” Whereupon,
He enquired: “Didst thou visit the cattle-market?” “Yea,” I answered. He
said: “Hast thou seen the black mountain on the right hand side of the
road? The same is Zawrá. There shall eighty men, of the children of
certain ones, be slain, all of whom are worthy to be called caliphs.”
“Who will slay them?” I asked. He made reply: “The children of
Persia!”

Such is the condition and fate of His companions which in former days
hath been foretold. And now observe how, according to this tradition,
Zawrá is no other but the land of Rayy. In that place His companions
have been with great suffering put to death, and all these holy beings
have suffered martyrdom at the hand of the Persians, as recorded in the
tradition. This thou hast heard, and unto it all testify. Wherefore,
then, do not these grovelling, worm-like men pause to meditate upon
these traditions, all of which are manifest as the sun in its noon-tide
glory? For what reason do they refuse to embrace the Truth, and allow
certain traditions, the significance of which they have failed to grasp,
to withhold them from the recognition of the Revelation of God and His
Beauty, and to cause them to dwell in the infernal abyss? Such things
are to be attributed to naught but the faithlessness of the divines and
doctors of the age. Of these, Ṣádiq, son of Muḥammad, hath said: “The
religious doctors of that age shall be the most wicked of the divines
beneath the shadow of heaven. Out of them hath mischief proceeded, and
unto them it shall return.”

We entreat the learned men of the Bayán not to follow in such ways,
not to inflict, at the time of Mustagháth, upon Him Who is the divine
Essence, the heavenly Light, the absolute Eternity, the Beginning and
the End of the Manifestations of the Invisible, that which hath been
inflicted in this day. We beg them not to depend upon their intellect,
their comprehension and learning, nor to contend with the Revealer of
celestial and infinite knowledge. And yet, notwithstanding all these
admonitions, We perceive that a one-eyed man, who himself is the chief
of the people, is arising with the utmost malevolence against Us. We
foresee that in every city people will arise to suppress the Blessed
Beauty, that the companions of that Lord of being and ultimate Desire of
all men will flee from the face of the oppressor and seek refuge from
him in the wilderness, whilst others will resign themselves and, with
absolute detachment, will sacrifice their lives in His path. Methinks We
can discern one who is reputed for such devoutness and piety that men
deem it an obligation to obey him, and to whose command they consider it
necessary to submit, who will arise to assail the very root of the
divine Tree, and endeavour to the uttermost of his power to resist and
oppose Him. Such is the way of the people!

We fain would hope that the people of the Bayán will be enlightened,
will soar in the realm of the spirit and abide therein, will discern the
Truth, and recognize with the eye of insight dissembling falsehood. In
these days, however, such odours of jealousy are diffused, that—I swear
by the Educator of all beings, visible and invisible—from the beginning
of the foundation of the world—though it hath no beginning—until the
present day, such malice, envy, and hate have in no wise appeared, nor
will they ever be witnessed in the future. For a number of people who
have never inhaled the fragrance of justice, have raised the standard of
sedition, and have leagued themselves against Us. On every side We
witness the menace of their spears, and in all directions We recognize
the shafts of their arrows. This, although We have never gloried in any
thing, nor did We seek preference over any soul. To everyone We have
been a most kindly companion, a most forbearing and affectionate friend.
In the company of the poor We have sought their fellowship, and amidst
the exalted and learned We have been submissive and resigned. I swear by
God, the one true God! grievous as have been the woes and sufferings
which the hand of the enemy and the people of the Book inflicted upon
Us, yet all these fade into utter nothingness when compared with that
which hath befallen Us at the hand of those who profess to be Our
friends.

What more shall We say? The universe, were it to gaze with the eye of
justice, would be incapable of bearing the weight of this utterance! In
the early days of Our arrival in this land, when We discerned the signs
of impending events, We decided, ere they happened, to retire. We betook
Ourselves to the wilderness, and there, separated and alone, led for two
years a life of complete solitude. From Our eyes there rained tears of
anguish, and in Our bleeding heart there surged an ocean of agonizing
pain. Many a night We had no food for sustenance, and many a day Our
body found no rest. By Him Who hath My being between His hands!
notwithstanding these showers of afflictions and unceasing calamities,
Our soul was wrapt in blissful joy, and Our whole being evinced an
ineffable gladness. For in Our solitude We were unaware of the harm or
benefit, the health or ailment, of any soul. Alone, We communed with Our
spirit, oblivious of the world and all that is therein. We knew not,
however, that the mesh of divine destiny exceedeth the vastest of mortal
conceptions, and the dart of His decree transcendeth the boldest of
human designs. None can escape the snares He setteth, and no soul can
find release except through submission to His will. By the righteousness
of God! Our withdrawal contemplated no return, and Our separation hoped
for no reunion. The one object of Our retirement was to avoid becoming a
subject of discord among the faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our
companions, the means of injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to
any heart. Beyond these, We cherished no other intention, and apart from
them, We had no end in view. And yet, each person schemed after his own
desire, and pursued his own idle fancy, until the hour when, from the
Mystic Source, there came the summons bidding Us return whence We came.
Surrendering Our will to His, We submitted to His injunction.

What pen can recount the things We beheld upon Our return! Two years
have elapsed during which Our enemies have ceaselessly and assiduously
contrived to exterminate Us, whereunto all witness. Nevertheless, none
amongst the faithful hath risen to render Us any assistance, nor did any
one feel inclined to help in Our deliverance. Nay, instead of assisting
Us, what showers of continuous sorrows, their words and deeds have
caused to rain upon Our soul! Amidst them all, We stand, life in hand,
wholly resigned to His will; that perchance, through God’s loving
kindness and His grace, this revealed and manifest Letter may lay down
His life as a sacrifice in the path of the Primal Point, the most
exalted Word. By Him at Whose bidding the Spirit hath spoken, but for
this yearning of Our soul, We would not, for one moment, have tarried
any longer in this city. “Sufficient Witness is God unto Us.” We
conclude Our argument with the words: “There is no power nor strength
but in God alone.” “We are God’s, and to Him shall we return.”

They that have hearts to understand, they that have quaffed the Wine
of love, who have not for one moment gratified their selfish desires,
will behold, resplendent as the sun in its noon-tide glory, those
tokens, testimonies, and evidences that attest the truth of this
wondrous Revelation, this transcendent and divine Faith. Reflect, how
the people have rejected the Beauty of God, and have clung unto their
covetous desires. Notwithstanding all these consummate verses, these
unmistakable allusions, which have been revealed in the “Most weighty
Revelation,” the Trust of God amongst men, and despite these evident
traditions, each more manifest than the most explicit utterance, the
people have ignored and repudiated their truth, and have held fast to
the letter of certain traditions which, according to their
understanding, they have found inconsistent with their expectations, and
the meaning of which they have failed to grasp. They have thus shattered
every hope, and deprived themselves of the pure wine of the
All-Glorious, and the clear and incorruptible waters of the immortal
Beauty.

Consider, that even the year in which that Quintessence of Light is
to be made manifest hath been specifically recorded in the traditions,
yet they still remain unmindful, nor do they for one moment cease to
pursue their selfish desires. According to the tradition, Mufaddál asked
Ṣádiq saying: “What of the sign of His manifestation, O my master?” He
made reply: “In the year sixty, His Cause shall be made manifest, and
His Name shall be proclaimed.”

How strange! Notwithstanding these explicit and manifest references
these people have shunned the Truth. For instance, mention of the
sorrows, the imprisonment and afflictions inflicted upon that Essence of
divine virtue hath been made in the former traditions. In the “Bihár” it
is recorded: “In our Qá’im there shall be four signs from four Prophets,
Moses, Jesus, Joseph, and Muḥammad. The sign from Moses, is fear and
expectation; from Jesus, that which was spoken of Him; from Joseph,
imprisonment and dissimulation; from Muḥammad, the revelation of a Book
similar to the Qur’án.” Notwithstanding such a conclusive tradition,
which in such unmistakable language hath foreshadowed the happenings of
the present day, none hath been found to heed its prophecy, and methinks
none will do so in the future, except him whom thy Lord willeth. “God
indeed shall make whom He will to hearken, but We shall not make those
who are in their graves to hearken.”

It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven and Doves of
Eternity speak a twofold language. One language, the outward language,
is devoid of allusions, is unconcealed and unveiled; that it may be a
guiding lamp and a beaconing light whereby wayfarers may attain the
heights of holiness, and seekers may advance into the realm of eternal
reunion. Such are the unveiled traditions and the evident verses already
mentioned. The other language is veiled and concealed, so that whatever
lieth hidden in the heart of the malevolent may be made manifest and
their innermost being be disclosed. Thus hath Ṣádiq, son of Muḥammad,
spoken: “God verily will test them and sift them.” This is the divine
standard, this is the Touchstone of God, wherewith He proveth His
servants. None apprehendeth the meaning of these utterances except them
whose hearts are assured, whose souls have found favour with God, and
whose minds are detached from all else but Him. In such utterances, the
literal meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what hath
been intended. Thus it is recorded: “Every knowledge hath seventy
meanings, of which one only is known amongst the people. And when the
Qá’im shall arise, He shall reveal unto men all that which remaineth.”
He also saith: “We speak one word, and by it we intend one and seventy
meanings; each one of these meanings we can explain.”

These things We mention only that the people may not be dismayed
because of certain traditions and utterances, which have not yet been
literally fulfilled, that they may rather attribute their perplexity to
their own lack of understanding, and not to the non-fulfilment of the
promises in the traditions, inasmuch as the meaning intended by the
Imáms of the Faith is not known by this people, as evidenced by the
traditions themselves. The people, therefore, must not allow such
utterances to deprive them of the divine bounties, but should rather
seek enlightenment from them who are the recognized Expounders thereof,
so that the hidden mysteries may be unravelled, and be made manifest
unto them.

We perceive none, however, amongst the people of the earth who,
sincerely yearning for the Truth, seeketh the guidance of the divine
Manifestations concerning the abstruse matters of his Faith. All are
dwellers in the land of oblivion, and all are followers of the people of
wickedness and rebellion. God will verily do unto them that which they
themselves are doing, and will forget them even as they have ignored His
Presence in His day. Such is His decree unto those that have denied Him,
and such will it be unto them that have rejected His signs.

We conclude Our argument with His words—exalted is He—“And whoso
shall withdraw from the remembrance of the Merciful, We will chain a
Satan unto him, and he shall be his fast companion.”184 “And whoso
turneth away from My remembrance, truly his shall be a life of
misery.”185

Thus hath it been revealed aforetime, were ye to comprehend.

Revealed by the “Bá’” and the “Há.”186

Peace be upon him that inclineth his ear unto the melody of the
Mystic Bird calling from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá!

Glorified be our Lord, the Most High!

END