Introduction

The years following Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival in Adrianople witnessed His
Revelation’s attainment, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, of “its
meridian glory” through the proclamation of its Founder’s message to the
kings and rulers of the world. During this relatively brief but
turbulent period of the Faith’s history, and in the early years of His
subsequent exile in 1868 to the fortress town of ‘Akká, He summoned the
monarchs of East and West collectively, and some among them
individually, to recognize the Day of God and to acknowledge the One
promised in the scriptures of the religions professed by the recipients
of His summons. “Never since the beginning of the world”, Bahá’u’lláh
declares, “hath the Message been so openly proclaimed.”

The present volume brings together the first full, authorized English
translation of these major writings. Among them is the complete
Súriy-i-Haykal, the Súrih of the Temple, one of Bahá’u’lláh’s most
challenging works. It was originally revealed during His banishment to
Adrianople and later recast after His arrival in ‘Akká. In this version
He incorporated His messages addressed to individual potentates—Pope
Pius IX, Napoleon III, Czar Alexander II, Queen Victoria, and
Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh.

It was this composite work which, shortly after its completion,
Bahá’u’lláh instructed be written in the form of a pentacle, symbolizing
the human temple. To it He added, as a conclusion, what Shoghi Effendi
has described as “words which reveal the importance He attached to those
Messages, and indicate their direct association with the prophecies of
the Old Testament”:

During the last years of His ministry Bahá’u’lláh Himself arranged
for the publication for the first time of definitive versions of some of
His principal works, and the Súriy-i-Haykal was awarded a prominent
position among them.

Of the various writings that make up the Súriy-i-Haykal, one requires
particular mention. The Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán, the Tablet to Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh,
Bahá’u’lláh’s lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign, was revealed
in the weeks immediately preceding His final banishment to ‘Akká. It was
eventually delivered to the monarch by Badí‘, a youth of seventeen, who
had entreated Bahá’u’lláh for the honour of rendering some service. His
efforts won him the crown of martyrdom and immortalized his name. The
Tablet contains the celebrated passage describing the circumstances in
which the divine call was communicated to Bahá’u’lláh and the effect it
produced. Here, too, we find His unequivocal offer to meet with the
Muslim clergy, in the presence of the Sháh, and to provide whatever
proofs of the new Revelation they might consider to be definitive, a
test of spiritual integrity significantly failed by those who claimed to
be the authoritative trustees of the message of the Qur’án.

Included in this collection, as well, is the first full translation
of the Súriy-i-Mulúk or Súrih of the Kings, which Shoghi Effendi
described as “the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in which
He, for the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire
company of the monarchs of East and West”. It sets forth both the
character of His mission and the standard of justice that must govern
the exercise of their rule in this Day of God:

The Tablet introduces some of the great themes that were to figure
prominently in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh over the next two and a half
decades: the obligation of those into whose hands God has entrusted
civil authority to institute the reign of justice, the necessity for the
reduction of armaments and the resolution of conflicts among nations,
and an end to the excessive expenditures that were impoverishing these
rulers’ subjects.

Surveying the principal contents of Bahá’u’lláh’s majestic call to
the kings and rulers of the world, Shoghi Effendi has written:

The summary draws attention to Bahá’u’lláh’s uncompromising
indictment of the conditions of human society for which its leadership
is held primarily responsible:

In a Tablet, the original of which has been lost, Bahá’u’lláh had
already condemned, in the severest terms, the misrule of the Ottoman
Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz. The present volume includes, however, three other
Tablets which address two ministers of the Sulṭán, whose selfish and
unprincipled influence played an important role in Bahá’u’lláh’s
successive banishments. The Súriy-i-Ra’ís, which addresses ‘Álí Páshá,
the Ottoman Prime Minister, was revealed in August 1868 as the exiles
were being moved from Adrianople to Gallipoli, and exposes unsparingly
the abuse of civil power the minister had perpetrated. The Lawḥ-i-Ra’ís,
which also contains passages directed to ‘Álí Páshá, was revealed
shortly after Bahá’u’lláh’s incarceration in the citadel of ‘Akká and
includes a chilling denunciation of the character of the Minister. The
third Tablet, the Lawḥ-i-Fu’ád, revealed in 1869 shortly after the death
of Fu’ád Páshá, the Ottoman Minister to whose machinations it refers,
describes the spiritual consequences of the abuse of power, and
foretells the imminent downfall of his colleague, ‘Álí Páshá, and the
overthrow of the Sulṭán himself—prophecies that were widely circulated
and whose dramatic fulfilment added greatly to the prestige of their
Author.

It seems especially appropriate, as Bahá’u’lláh’s influence
penetrates ever more deeply the life of the larger society throughout
the world, that the full texts of these great Tablets should now be
available for a broad readership. We express to the committees who were
commissioned to undertake and review these translations the deep
gratitude we feel for the care and sensitivity they have brought to the
task. Bahá’ís will recognize key passages from several of the Tablets
that were introduced to the West by Shoghi Effendi. His translations
into English of the Bahá’í Holy Texts provide an enduring standard for
the efforts of those who rise to the challenge of preparing appropriate
renderings into English of these treasures of the Faith.

The Universal House of Justice

Súriy-i-Haykal

This is the Súrih of
the Temple which God hath ordained to be the Mirror of His Names between
the heavens and the earth, and the Sign of His Remembrance amidst the
peoples of the world.

He is the Most Wondrous, the
All-Glorious!

1 Glorified is He Who hath revealed His verses to those who
understand. Glorified is He Who sendeth down His verses to those who
perceive. Glorified is He Who guideth whomsoever He pleaseth unto His
path. Say: I, verily, am the Path of God unto all who are in the heavens
and all who are on the earth; well is it with them that hasten
thereunto!

2 Glorified is He Who sendeth down His verses to those who
comprehend. Glorified is He Who speaketh forth from the Kingdom of His
Revelation, and Who remaineth unknown to all save His honoured servants.
Glorified is He Who quickeneth whomsoever He willeth by virtue of His
word “Be”, and it is! Glorified is He Who causeth whomsoever He willeth
to ascend unto the heaven of grace, and sendeth down therefrom
whatsoever He desireth according to a prescribed measure.

3 Blessed is He Who doeth as He willeth by a word of His command. He,
verily, is the True One, the Knower of things unseen. Blessed is He Who
inspireth whomsoever He willeth with whatsoever He desireth, through His
irresistible and inscrutable command. Blessed is He Who aideth
whomsoever He desireth with the hosts of the unseen. His might is, in
truth, equal to His purpose, and He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the
Self-Subsisting. Blessed is He Who exalteth whomsoever He willeth by the
power of His sovereign might, and confirmeth whomsoever He chooseth in
accordance with His good pleasure; well is it with them that
understand!

4 Blessed is He Who, in a well-guarded Tablet, hath prescribed a
fixed measure unto all things. Blessed is He Who hath revealed unto His
Servant that which shall illumine the hearts and minds of men. Blessed
is He Who hath sent down upon His Servant such tribulations as have
melted the hearts of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of eternity
and the souls of those who have drawn nigh unto their Lord. Blessed is
He Who hath showered upon His Servant, from the clouds of His decree,
the darts of affliction, and Who beholdeth Me enduring them with
patience and fortitude. Blessed is He Who hath ordained for His Servant
that which He hath destined for no other soul. He, verily, is the One,
the Incomparable, the Self-Subsisting.

5 Blessed is He Who hath caused to rain down upon His Servant from
the clouds of enmity, and at the hands of the people of denial, the
shafts of tribulation and trial; and yet seeth Our heart filled with
gratitude. Blessed is He Who hath laid upon the shoulders of His Servant
the burden of the heavens and of the earth—a burden for which We yield
Him every praise, though none may grasp this save them that are endued
with understanding. Glorified is He Who hath surrendered the embodiment
of His Beauty to the clutches of the envious and the wicked—a fate unto
which We are fully resigned, though none may perceive this save those
who are endued with insight. Glorified is He Who hath left Ḥusayn to
make His dwelling amidst the hosts of His enemies, and exposed His body
with every breath to the spears of hatred and anger; yet do We yield Him
thanks for all that He hath destined to befall His Servant Who repaireth
unto Him in His affliction and grief.

6 While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most
sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a
Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My
Lord—suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very
soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure
of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful.
Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the
hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer
being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honoured
servants.

7 Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in
heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the
Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the
Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you,
could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure,
the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of
Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He
Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of
eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet
from His Beauty do ye turn aside.

8 O people of the Bayán! If ye aid Him not, God will assuredly assist
Him with the powers of earth and heaven, and sustain Him with the hosts
of the unseen through His command “Be”, and it is! The day is
approaching when God will have, by an act of His Will, raised up a race
of men the nature of which is inscrutable to all save God, the
All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. He shall purify them from the
defilement of idle fancies and corrupt desires, shall lift them up to
the heights of holiness, and shall cause them to manifest the signs of
His sovereignty and might upon earth. Thus hath it been ordained by God,
the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.

9 O people of the Bayán! Would ye deny Him Whose presence is the very
object of your creation, while ye rejoice idly upon your couches? Would
ye laugh to scorn and contend with Him, a single hair of Whose head
excelleth, in the sight of God, all that are in the heavens and all that
are on the earth? O people of the Bayán! Produce, then, that which ye
possess, that I may know by what proof ye believed aforetime in the
Manifestations of His Cause, and by what reason ye now wax so
disdainful!

10 I swear by Him Who hath fashioned Me from the light of His own
Beauty! None have I ever seen that surpasseth you in heedlessness or
exceedeth you in ignorance. Ye seek to prove your faith in God through
such holy Tablets as ye possess, yet when the verses of God were
revealed and His Lamp was lighted, ye disbelieved in Him Whose very Pen
hath fixed the destinies of all things in the Preserved Tablet. Ye
recite the sacred verses and yet repudiate Him Who is their Source and
Revealer. Thus hath God blinded your eyes in requital for your deeds,
would ye but understand. Day and night ye transcribe the verses of God,
and yet ye remain shut out, as by a veil, from Him Who hath revealed
them.

11 In this Day the Concourse on high beholdeth you in your evil
doings and shunneth your company, and yet ye perceive it not. They ask
of one another: “What words do these fools utter, and in what valley are
they wont to graze? Do they deny that whereunto their very souls
testify, and shut their eyes to that which they plainly behold?” I swear
by God, O people! They that inhabit the Cities of the Names of God are
bewildered at your actions, while ye roam, aimless and unconscious, in a
parched and barren land.

12 O Pen of the Most High! Hearken unto the Call of Thy Lord, raised
from the Divine Lote-Tree in the holy and luminous Spot, that the sweet
accents of Thy Lord, the All-Merciful, may fill Thy soul with joy and
fervour, and that the breezes that waft from My name, the
Ever-Forgiving, may dispel Thy cares and sorrows. Raise up, then, from
this Temple, the temples of the Oneness of God, that they may tell out,
in the kingdom of creation, the tidings of their Lord, the Most Exalted,
the All-Glorious, and be of them that are illumined by His light.

13 We, verily, have ordained this Temple to be the source of all
existence in the new creation, that all may know of a certainty My power
to accomplish that which I have purposed through My word “Be”, and it
is! Beneath the shadow of every letter of this Temple We shall raise up
a people whose number none can reckon save God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting. Erelong shall God bring forth from His Temple such
souls as will remain unswayed by the insinuations of the rebellious, and
who will quaff at all times of the cup that is life indeed. These,
truly, are of the blissful.

14 These are servants who abide beneath the shelter of the tender
mercy of their Lord, and who remain undeterred by those who seek to
obstruct their path. Upon their faces may be seen the brightness of the
light of the All-Merciful, and from their hearts may be heard the
remembrance of Mine all-glorious and inaccessible Name. Were they to
unloose their tongues to extol their Lord, the denizens of earth and
heaven would join in their anthems of praise—yet how few are they who
hear! And were they to glorify their Lord, all created things would join
in their hymns of glory. Thus hath God exalted them above the rest of
His creation, and yet the people remain unaware!

15 These are they who circle round the Cause of God even as the
shadow doth revolve around the sun. Open, then, your eyes, O people of
the Bayán, that haply ye may behold them! It is by virtue of their
movement that all things are set in motion, and by reason of their
stillness all things are brought to rest, would that ye might be assured
thereof! Through them the believers in the Divine Unity have turned
towards Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation,
and by them the hearts of the righteous have found rest and composure,
could ye but know it! Through them the earth hath been established, the
clouds have rained down their bounty, and the bread of knowledge hath
descended from the heaven of grace, could ye but perceive it!

16 These souls are the protectors of the Cause of God on earth, who
shall preserve its beauty from the obscuring dust of idle fancies and
vain imaginings. In the path of their Lord they shall not fear for their
lives; rather will they sacrifice their all in their eagerness to behold
the face of their Well-Beloved when once He hath appeared in this Name,
the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Most Holy.

17 O Living Temple! Arise by the power of Thy Self in such wise that
all created things will be moved to arise with Thee. Aid, then, Thy Lord
through such ascendancy and might as We have bestowed upon Thee. Take
heed lest Thou falter on that Day when all created things are filled
with dismay; rather be Thou the revealer of My name, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting. Assist Thy Lord to the utmost of Thine ability, and
pay no heed to the peoples of the world, for that which their mouths
utter is like unto the droning of a gnat in an endless valley. Quaff the
water of life in My name, the All-Merciful, and proffer unto the near
ones amongst the inmates of this lofty station that which shall cause
them to become detached from all names and enter beneath this blessed
and all-encompassing shadow.

18 O Living Temple! Through Thee have We gathered together all
created things, whether in the heavens or on the earth, and called them
to account for that which We had covenanted with them before the
foundation of the world. And lo, but for a few radiant faces and
eloquent tongues, We found most of the people dumbfounded, their eyes
staring up in fear. From the former We brought forth the creation of all
that hath been and all that shall be. These are they whose countenances
God hath graciously turned away from the face of the unbelievers, and
whom He hath sheltered beneath the shadow of the Tree of His own Being;
they upon whose hearts He hath bestowed the gift of peace and
tranquillity, and whom He hath strengthened and assisted through the
hosts of the seen and the unseen.

19 O Eyes of this Temple! Look not upon the heavens and that which
they contain, nor upon the earth and them that dwell thereon, for We
have created you to behold Our own Beauty: See it now before you!
Withhold not your gaze therefrom, and deprive not yourselves of the
Beauty of your Lord, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Erelong shall
We bring into being through you keen and penetrating eyes that will
contemplate the manifold signs of their Creator and turn away from all
that is perceived by the people of the world. Through you shall We
bestow the power of vision upon whomsoever We desire, and lay hold upon
those who have deprived themselves of this gracious bounty. These,
verily, have drunk from the cup of delusion, though they perceive it
not.

20 O Ears of this Temple! Purge yourselves from all idle clamour and
hearken unto the voice of your Lord. He, verily, revealeth unto you,
from the Throne of glory, that there is none other God save Me, the
All-Glorious, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Erelong shall We bring into being through you pure and undefiled ears
which will heed the Word of God and that which hath appeared from the
Dayspring of the Utterance of your Lord, the All-Merciful. They shall
assuredly perceive the sweet accents of Divine Revelation that proceed
from these most blessed and hallowed precincts.

21 O Tongue of this Temple! We, verily, have created thee through Our
name, the All-Merciful, have taught thee whatsoever had remained
concealed in the Bayán, and have bestowed upon thee the power of
utterance, that thou mayest make mention of Mine exalted Self amidst My
creatures. Proclaim, then, this wondrous and mighty Remembrance, and
fear not the manifestations of the Evil One. Thou wert called into being
for this very purpose by virtue of My transcendent and all-compelling
command. Through thee have We unloosed the Tongue of Utterance to
expound all that hath been, and We shall again, by My sovereign power,
unloose it to speak of that which is yet to come. Erelong shall We bring
into being through thee eloquent tongues that will praise and extol Me
amongst the Concourse on high and amidst the peoples of the world. Thus
have the verses of God been revealed, and thus hath it been decreed by
the Lord of all names and attributes. Thy Lord, verily, is the True One,
the Knower of things unseen. Nothing whatsoever shall prevent these
tongues from magnifying their Creator. Through them, all created things
shall arise to glorify the Lord of names and to bear witness that there
is none other God save Me, the All-Powerful, the Most-Glorious, the
Best-Beloved. Nor shall those who make mention of Me speak aught unless
they be inspired by this Tongue from its lofty station. Few, however,
are they who understand! No tongue is there that speaketh not the
praises of its Lord and maketh not mention of His Name. Amongst the
people, however, are those who understand and utter praises, and those
who utter praises, yet understand not.

22 O Maid of inner meanings! Step out of the chamber of utterance by
the leave of God, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Reveal, then,
thyself adorned with the raiment of the celestial Realm, and proffer
with thy ruby fingers the wine of the heavenly Dominion, that haply the
denizens of this world may perceive the light that shone forth from the
Kingdom of God when the Daystar of eternity appeared above the horizon
of glory. Perchance they may arise before the dwellers of earth and
heaven to extol and magnify this Youth Who hath established Himself in
the midmost heart of Paradise upon the throne of His name, the
All-Sufficing Helper—He upon Whose countenance shineth the brightness of
the All-Merciful, from Whose gaze appear the glances of the
All-Glorious, and in Whose ways are revealed the tokens and evidences of
God, the omnipotent Protector, the Almighty, the All-Loving.

23 Grieve not if none be found to accept the crimson wine proffered
by Thy snow-white hand and to seize it in the name of Thy Lord, the Most
Exalted, the Most High—He Who hath appeared again in His name, the Most
Glorious. Leave this people unto themselves, and repair unto the
Tabernacle of majesty and glory, wherein Thou shalt encounter a people
whose faces shine as brightly as the sun in its noontide splendour, and
who praise and extol their Lord in this Name that hath arisen, in the
plenitude of might and power, to assume the throne of independent
sovereignty. From their lips Thou shalt hear naught but the strains of
My glorification and praise; unto this Thy Lord beareth Me witness. The
existence of these people, however, hath remained concealed from the
eyes of all who, from everlasting, have been created through the Word of
God. Thus have We made plain Our meaning and set forth Our verses, that
perchance men may reflect upon the signs and tokens of their Lord.

24 These are they who, in truth, were not enjoined to prostrate
themselves before Adam.1 They have never turned away from the countenance of
Thy Lord, and partake at every moment of the gifts and delights of
holiness. Thus hath the Pen of the All-Merciful set forth the secrets of
all things, be they of the past or of the future. Would that the world
might understand! Erelong shall God make manifest this people upon the
earth, and through them shall exalt His name, diffuse His signs, uphold
His words, and proclaim His verses, in spite of those that have
repudiated His truth, gainsaid His sovereignty, and cavilled at His
signs.

25 O Beauty of the All-Glorious! Shouldst Thou chance upon this
people and enter their presence, recount unto them that which this Youth
hath related unto Thee concerning Himself and the things that have
befallen Him, that they may come to know what hath been inscribed upon
the Preserved Tablet. Acquaint them with the tidings of this Youth, and
with the trials and tribulations He hath suffered, that they may become
mindful of Mine afflictions, and be of them that understand. Recount,
then, unto them how We singled out for Our favour one of Our
brothers,2 how We imparted
unto him a dewdrop from the fathomless ocean of knowledge, clothed him
with the garment of one of Our Names, and exalted him to such a station
that all were moved to extol him, and how We so protected him from the
harm of the malevolent as to disarm even the mightiest amongst them.

26 We arose before the peoples of earth and heaven at a time when all
had determined to slay us. While dwelling in their midst, We continually
made mention of the Lord, celebrated His praise, and stood firm in His
Cause, until at last the Word of God was vindicated amongst His
creatures, His signs were spread abroad, His power exalted, and His
sovereignty revealed in its full splendour. To this bear witness all His
honoured servants. Yet when My brother beheld the rising fame of the
Cause, he became filled with arrogance and pride. Thereupon he emerged
from behind the veil of concealment, rose up against Me, disputed My
verses, denied My testimony, and repudiated My signs. Nor would his
hunger be appeased unless he were to devour My flesh and drink My blood.
To this testify such of God’s servants as have accompanied Him in His
exile, and they that enjoy near access unto Him.

27 To this end he conferred with one of My servants3 and sought to win him over to his
own designs; whereupon the Lord despatched unto Mine assistance the
hosts of the seen and the unseen, protected Me by the power of truth,
and sent down upon Me that which thwarted his purpose. Thus were foiled
the plots of those who disbelieve in the verses of the All-Merciful.
They, truly, are a rejected people. When news spread of that which the
promptings of self had impelled My brother to attempt, and Our
companions in exile learned of his nefarious design, the voice of their
indignation and grief was lifted up and threatened to spread throughout
the city. We forbade, however, such recriminations, and enjoined upon
them patience, that they might be of those that endure steadfastly.

28 By God, besides Whom is none other God! We withstood all these
trials with forbearance, and enjoined upon God’s servants to show forth
patience and fortitude. Removing Ourself from their midst, We took up
residence in another house, that perchance the flame of envy might be
quenched in Our brother’s breast, and that he might be guided aright. We
neither opposed him, nor saw him again thereafter, but remained in Our
home, placing Our hopes in the bounty of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting. When, however, he realized that his deed had been
exposed, he seized the pen of calumny and wrote unto the servants of
God, attributing what he had himself committed unto Mine own peerless
and wronged Beauty. His purpose was none other than to inspire mischief
amongst God’s servants, and to instil hatred into the hearts of those
who had believed in God, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.

29 By the One in Whose hand is My soul! We were dismayed by his
deceitfulness—nay, bewildered were all things visible and invisible. Nor
did he find respite from what he harboured in his bosom until he had
committed that which no pen dare describe, and by which he disgraced the
dignity of My station and profaned the sanctity of God, the Almighty,
the All-Glorious, the All-Praised. Were God to turn all the oceans of
the earth into ink and all created things into pens, they would not
suffice Me to exhaust the record of his wrongdoings. Thus do We recount
that which befell Us, that haply ye may be of them that understand.

30 O Pen of Eternity! Grieve not at the things that have befallen
Thee, for erelong shall God raise up a people who will see with their
own eyes and will recall Thy tribulations. Withhold Thy pen from the
mention of Thine enemies, and bestir it in the praise of the Eternal
King. Renounce all created things, and quaff the sealed wine of My
remembrance. Beware lest Thou become occupied with the mention of those
from whom naught save the noisome savours of enmity can be perceived,
those who are so enslaved by their lust for leadership that they would
not hesitate to destroy themselves in their desire to emblazon their
fame and perpetuate their names. God hath recorded such souls in the
Preserved Tablet as mere worshippers of names. Recount then that which
Thou hast purposed for this Temple, that its signs and tokens may be
made manifest upon earth, and that the brightness of this Light may
illumine the horizons of the world and cleanse the earth from the
defilement of those who have disbelieved in God. Thus have We set down
the verses of God and made plain the matter unto those who
understand.

31 O Living Temple! Stretch forth Thy hand over all who are in heaven
and on earth, and seize within the grasp of Thy Will the reins of
command. We have, verily, placed in Thy right hand the empire of all
things. Do as Thou willest, and fear not the ignorant. Reach out to the
Tablet that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of Thy Lord, and
take hold of it with such strength that, through Thee, the hands of all
who inhabit the earth may be enabled to lay fast hold upon it. This, in
truth, is that which becometh Thee, if Thou be of those who understand.
Through the upraising of Thy hand to the heaven of My grace, the hands
of all created things shall be lifted up to their Lord, the Mighty, the
Powerful, the Gracious. Erelong shall We raise up, through the aid of
Thy hand, other hands endued with power, with strength and might, and
shall establish through them Our dominion over all that dwell in the
realms of revelation and creation. Thus will the servants of God
recognize the truth that there is none other God beside Me, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting. With these hands, moreover, We shall both
bestow and withhold, though none can understand this save those who see
with the eye of the spirit.

32 Say: O people! Can ye ever hope to escape the sovereign power of
your Lord? By the righteousness of God! No refuge will ye find in this
day, and no one to protect you, save those upon whom God hath bestowed
the favour of His mercy. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most
Compassionate. Say: O people! Forsake all that ye possess, and enter
beneath the shadow of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Better is this for
you than all your works of the past and of the future. Fear ye God, and
deprive not yourselves of the sweet savours of the days of the Lord of
all names and attributes. Take heed lest ye alter or pervert the text of
the Word of God. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be numbered with the
righteous.

33 Say: O people! This is the Hand of God, which hath ever been above
your own hands, could ye but understand. Within its grasp We have
ordained all the good of the heavens and the earth, such that no good
shall be made manifest but that it proceedeth therefrom. Thus have We
made it the source and treasury of all good both aforetime and
hereafter. Say: The rivers of divine wisdom and utterance which flowed
through the Tablets of God are joined to this Most Great Ocean, could ye
but perceive it, and whatever hath been set forth in His Books hath
attained its final consummation in this most exalted Word—a Word shining
above the horizon of the Will of the All-Glorious in this Revelation
which hath filled with delight all things seen and unseen.

34 Erelong shall God draw forth, out of the bosom of power, the hands
of ascendancy and might, and shall raise up a people who will arise to
win victory for this Youth and who will purge mankind from the
defilement of the outcast and the ungodly. These hands will gird up
their loins to champion the Faith of God, and will, in My name the
Self-Subsistent, the Mighty, subdue the peoples and kindreds of the
earth. They will enter the cities and will inspire with fear the hearts
of all their inhabitants. Such are the evidences of the might of God;
how fearful, how vehement is His might, and how justly doth He wield it!
He, verily, ruleth and transcendeth all who are in the heavens and on
the earth, and revealeth what He desireth according to a prescribed
measure.

35 Should any one of them be called upon to confront all the hosts of
creation, he would assuredly prevail through the ascendancy of My Will.
This, verily, is a proof of My power, though My creatures comprehend it
not. This, verily, is a sign of My sovereignty, though My subjects
understand it not. This, verily, is a token of My command, though My
servants perceive it not. This, verily, is an evidence of Mine
ascendancy, though none amongst the people is truly thankful for it,
save those whose eyes God hath illumined with the light of His
knowledge, whose hearts He hath made the repository of His Revelation,
and upon whose shoulders He hath placed the weight of His Cause. These
shall inhale the fragrances of the All-Merciful from the garment of His
Name, and shall rejoice at all times in the signs and verses of their
Lord. As for those who disbelieve in God, and join partners with Him,
they shall indeed incur His wrath, shall be cast into the Fire, and
shall be made to dwell, fearful and dismayed, in its depths. Thus do We
expound Our verses, and make plain the truth with clear proofs, that
perchance the people may reflect upon the signs of their Lord.

36 O Living Temple! We have, in very truth, appointed Thee to be the
sign of My majesty amidst all that hath been and all that shall be, and
have ordained Thee to be the emblem of My Cause betwixt the heavens and
the earth, through My word “Be”, and it is!

37 O First Letter of this Temple, betokening the Essence of
Divinity!4 We have made thee the treasury of My Will and the
repository of My Purpose unto all who are in the kingdoms of revelation
and creation. This is but a token of the grace of Him Who is the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

38 O Second Letter of this Temple, betokening My name, the Almighty!
We have made thee the manifestation of Our sovereignty and the dayspring
of Our Names. Potent am I to fulfil that which My tongue speaketh.

39 O Third Letter of this Temple, betokening My name, the
All-Bountiful! We have made thee the dawning-place of Our bounty amidst
Our creatures and the fountainhead of Our generosity amidst Our people.
Powerful am I in My dominion. Nothing whatsoever of all that hath been
created in the heavens or on the earth can escape My knowledge, and I am
the True One, the Knower of things unseen.

40 O Pen! Send down out of the clouds of Thy generosity that which
shall enrich all created things, and withhold not Thy favours from the
world of being. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful in the heaven of
Thine eternity, and the Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit the
kingdom of names. Look not upon the people and the things they possess;
look rather upon the wonders of Thy gifts and favours. Gather then Thy
servants beneath Thy shade that shadoweth all mankind. Stretch forth the
hand of bounty over all creation, and the fingers of bestowal over all
existence. This, verily, is that which beseemeth Thee, though the people
understand it not. Whosoever turneth his face towards Thee doeth so by
Thy grace, and as to him who turneth away, Thy Lord, in truth, is
independent of all created things. Unto this bear witness His true and
devoted servants.

41 Erelong shall God raise up, through Thee, those with hands of
indomitable strength and arms of invincible might, who will come forth
from behind the veils, will render the All-Merciful victorious amongst
the peoples of the world, and will raise so mighty a cry as to cause all
hearts to tremble with fear. Thus hath it been decreed in a Written
Tablet. Such shall be the ascendancy which these souls will evince that
consternation and dismay will seize all the dwellers of the earth.

42 Beware lest ye shed the blood of anyone. Unsheathe the sword of
your tongue from the scabbard of utterance, for therewith ye can conquer
the citadels of men’s hearts. We have abolished the law to wage holy war
against each other. God’s mercy, hath, verily, encompassed all created
things, if ye do but understand. Aid ye your Lord, the God of Mercy,
with the sword of understanding. Keener indeed is it, and more finely
tempered, than the sword of utterance, were ye but to reflect upon the
words of your Lord. Thus have the hosts of Divine Revelation been sent
down by God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and thus have the
armies of divine inspiration been made manifest from the Source of
command, as bidden by God, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved.

43 Say: The measure of all created things hath been appointed in this
concealed and manifest Temple, wherein lie enshrined the knowledge of
the heavens and the earth, and of all things past and future. The finger
of God’s handiwork hath inscribed upon this Tablet that which the wisest
and most learned of men are powerless to fathom, and hath created
therein temples inscrutable to all save His own Self, could ye but
apprehend this truth. Blessed be the one who readeth it, who pondereth
its contents, and who is numbered with them that comprehend!

44 Say: Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My
beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self but
His Self, and in My movement but His Movement, and in My acquiescence
but His Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the
All-Praised. There hath not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself
naught could be seen but God.

45 Beware lest ye speak of duality in regard to My Self, for all the
atoms of the earth proclaim that there is none other God but Him, the
One, the Single, the Mighty, the Loving. From the beginning that hath no
beginning I have proclaimed, from the realm of eternity, that I am God,
none other God is there save Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting;
and unto the end that hath no end I shall proclaim, amidst the kingdom
of names, that I am God, none other God is there beside Me, the
All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Say: Lordship is My Name, whereof I have
created manifestations in the world of being, while We Ourself remain
sanctified above them, would ye but ponder this truth. And Godhead is My
Name, whereof We have created exponents whose power shall encompass the
people of the earth and make them true worshippers of God, could ye but
recognize it. Thus should ye regard all Our Names, if ye be endued with
insight.

46 O Fourth Letter of this Temple, betokening the attribute of Grace!
We have made thee the manifestation of grace betwixt earth and heaven.
From thee have We generated all grace in the contingent world, and unto
thee shall We cause it to return. And from thee shall We manifest it
again, through a word of Our command. Potent am I to accomplish
whatsoever I desire through My word “Be”, and it is! Every grace that
appeareth in the world of being hath originated from thee, and unto thee
shall it return. This, verily, is what hath been ordained in a Tablet
which We have preserved behind the veil of glory and concealed from
mortal eyes. Well is it with them that deprive themselves not of this
manifest and unfailing grace.

47 Say: In this day, the fertilizing winds of the grace of God have
passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with all the
potentialities it can carry. And yet the peoples of the world have
denied this grace! Every tree hath been endowed with the choicest
fruits, every ocean enriched with the most luminous gems. Man, himself,
hath been invested with the gifts of understanding and knowledge. The
whole creation hath been made the recipient of the revelation of the
All-Merciful, and the earth the repository of things inscrutable to all
except God, the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. The time is
approaching when every created thing will have cast its burden.
Glorified be God Who hath vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth all
things, whether seen or unseen! Thus have We created the whole earth
anew in this day, yet most of the people have failed to perceive it.
Say: The grace of God can never be adequately understood; how much less
can His own Self, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, be
comprehended!

48 O Temple of the Cause! Grieve not if Thou findest none ready to
receive Thy gifts. Thou wast created for My sake; occupy Thyself
therefore with My praise amidst My servants. This is that which hath
been ordained for Thee in the Preserved Tablet. Having found upon the
earth many a soiled hand, We sanctified the hem of Thy garment from the
profanity of their touch and placed it beyond the reach of the ungodly.
Be patient in the Cause of Thy Lord, for erelong shall He raise up souls
endowed with sanctified hearts and illumined eyes who shall flee from
every quarter unto Thine all-encompassing and boundless grace.

49 O Temple of God! No sooner had the hosts of Divine Revelation been
sent down by the Lord of all names and attributes bearing the banners of
His signs, than the exponents of doubt and fancy were put to flight.
They disbelieved in the clear tokens of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting, and rose up against Him in enmity and opposition.
Amongst them were those who claimed: “These are not clear verses from
God, nor do they proceed from an innate and untaught nature.” Thus do
the unbelievers seek to remedy the sickness of their hearts, utterly
heedless that they thus render themselves accursed of all who dwell in
heaven and on earth.

50 Say: The Holy Spirit Itself hath been generated through the agency
of a single letter revealed by this Most Great Spirit, if ye be of them
that comprehend. And that innate and untaught nature in its essence is
called into being by the verses of God, the Help in Peril, the
All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Say: This nature prideth itself in its
relation to Our transcendent Truth, whilst We, for Our part, glory
neither in it nor in aught else, for all beside Myself hath been created
through the potency of My word, could ye but understand.

51 Say: We have revealed Our verses in nine different modes. Each one
of them bespeaketh the sovereignty of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting. A single one of them sufficeth for a proof unto all who
are in the heavens and on the earth; yet the people, for the most part,
persist in their heedlessness. Should it be Our wish, We would reveal
them in countless other modes.

52 Say: O people! Fear ye God, and allow not your tongues to utter,
in their deceitfulness, that which displeaseth Him. Stand abashed before
the One Who, as ye well know, hath created you out of a drop of
water.5
Say: We have created all that are in heaven and on earth in the nature
made by God. Whosoever turneth unto this blessed Countenance shall
manifest the potentialities of that inborn nature, and whosoever
remaineth veiled therefrom shall be deprived of this invisible and
all-encompassing grace. Verily, there is naught from which Our favour
hath been withheld, inasmuch as We have dealt equitably in the
fashioning of each and all, and by a word of Our mouth presented unto
them the trust of Our love. They that have accepted it are indeed safe
and secure, and are numbered among those who are immune from the terrors
of this Day. Those, however, who have rejected it have, in truth,
disbelieved in God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Thus do We
distinguish between the people and pronounce judgement upon them. We, of
a certainty, have the power to discern.

53 Say: The Word of God can never be confounded with the words of His
creatures. It is, in truth, the King of words, even as He is Himself the
sovereign Lord of all, and His Cause transcendeth all that was and all
that shall be. Enter, O people, the City of Certitude wherein the throne
of your Lord, the All-Merciful, hath been established. Thus biddeth you
the Pen of the All-Glorious, as a token of His unfailing grace. Haply ye
may not make His Revelation a cause of dissension amongst you.

54 Among the infidels are those who have repudiated His Self and
risen up against His Cause, and who claim that these divine verses are
contrived. Such also were the objections of the deniers of old, who now
implore deliverance from the Fire. Say: Woe betide you for the idle
words that proceed from your mouths! If these verses be indeed
contrived, then by what proof have ye believed in God? Produce it, if ye
be men of understanding! Whensoever We revealed Our clear verses unto
such men, they rejected them, and whensoever they beheld that which the
combined forces of the earth are powerless to produce, they pronounced
it sorcery.

55 What aileth this people that they speak of that which they
understand not? They raise the same objections as did the followers of
the Qur’án when their Lord came unto them with His Cause. They, verily,
are a rejected people. They hindered others from appearing before Him
Who is the Ancient Beauty, and from sharing the bread of His loved ones.
“Approach them not,” one was even heard to say, “for they cast a spell
upon the people and lead them astray from the path of God, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting.” By the righteousness of the one true God!
He who is incapable of speaking in Our presence hath uttered such words
as none among the former generations hath ever spoken, and hath
committed such acts as none of the unbelievers of bygone ages hath ever
committed.

56 The very words and deeds of these men bear eloquent testimony to
the truth of My words, if ye be of them that judge with fairness.
Whosoever attributeth the verses of God to sorcery hath not believed in
any of His Messengers, hath lived and laboured in vain, and is accounted
of those who speak that of which they have no knowledge. Say: O servant!
Fear God, thy Creator and thy Fashioner, and transgress not against Him,
but judge with fairness and act with justice. Those whom the Lord hath
endued with knowledge shall find, in the very objections raised by the
unbelievers, conclusive proofs to invalidate their claims and vindicate
the truth of this manifest Light. Say: Would ye repeat that which the
unbelievers uttered when a Message came unto them from their Lord? Woe
betide you, O assemblage of foolish ones, and blighted be your
works!

57 O Ancient Beauty! Turn aside from the unbelievers and that which
they possess, and waft over all created things the sweet savours of the
remembrance of Thy Beloved, the Exalted, the Great. This remembrance
quickeneth the world of being and reneweth the temples of all created
things. Say: He, verily, hath established Himself upon the Throne of
might and glory. Whosoever desireth to gaze upon His countenance, lo,
behold Him standing before thee! Blessed be the Lord Who hath revealed
Himself in this shining and luminous Beauty. Whosoever desireth to
hearken unto His melodies, lo, hear them rising from His resplendent and
wondrous lips! And unto whosoever desireth to be illumined by the
splendours of His light, say: Seek the court of His presence, for God
hath verily granted you leave to approach it, as a token of His grace
unto all mankind.

58 Say: O people! We shall put to you a question in all truthfulness,
taking God for a witness between you and Us. He, verily, is the Defender
of the righteous. Appear, then, before His Throne of glory and make
reply with justice and fair-mindedness. Is it God Who is potent to
achieve His purpose, or is it ye who enjoy such authority? Is it He Who
is truly unconstrained, as ye imply when ye say that He doeth what He
pleaseth and shall not be asked of His doings, or is it ye who wield
such power, and who merely make such assertions out of blind imitation,
as did your forebears at the appearance of every other Messenger of
God?

59 If He be truly unconstrained, behold then how He hath sent down
the Manifestation of His Cause with verses which naught in the heavens
or on the earth can withstand! Such hath been the manner of their
revelation that they have neither peer nor likeness in the world of
being, as ye yourselves beheld and heard when once the Daystar of the
world shone forth above the horizon of ‘Iráq with manifest dominion. All
things attain their consummation in the divine verses, and these indeed
are the verses of God, the Sovereign Lord, the Help in Peril, the
All-Glorious, the Almighty. Beyond this, He hath been made manifest as
the Bearer of a Cause whose sovereign might is acknowledged by all
created things, and this none can deny save the sinners and the
ungodly.

60 Say: O people! Is it your wish to conceal the beauty of the Sun
behind the veils of your own selfish desires, or to prevent the Spirit
from raising its melodies within this sanctified and luminous breast?
Fear ye God, and contend not with Him Who representeth the Godhead.
Dispute not with the One at Whose bidding the letter “B” was created and
joined with its mighty foundation.6 Believe in the
Messengers of God and His sovereign might, and in the Self of God and
His majesty. Follow not those who have repudiated what they had once
believed, and who have sought for themselves a station after their own
fancy; these, truly, are of the ungodly. Bear ye witness unto that
whereunto God Himself hath borne witness, that the company of His
favoured ones may be illumined by the words that issue from your lips.
Say: We, verily, believe in that which was revealed unto the Apostles of
old, in that which hath been revealed, by the power of truth, unto
‘Alí,7 and in that which is now
being revealed from His Throne of glory. Thus doth your Lord instruct
you, as a sign of His favour and as a token of His grace that
encompasseth all the worlds.

61 O Feet of this Temple! We, verily, have wrought you of iron. Stand
firm with such constancy in the Cause of your Lord as to cause the feet
of every severed soul to be strengthened in the path of God, the
Almighty, the All-Wise. Beware lest the storms of enmity and hatred, or
the blasts of the workers of iniquity, cause you to stumble. Be
immovable in the Faith of God, and waver not. We, verily, have called
you forth by virtue of that Name which is the source of all
steadfastness, and by the grace of each one of Our most excellent Names
as revealed unto all who are in heaven and on earth. Erelong shall We
bring into being through you other feet, firm and steadfast, which shall
walk unwaveringly in Our path, even should they be assailed by hosts as
formidable as the combined forces of the former and latter generations.
In truth, We hold all grace in the hollow of Our hand, and bestow it as
We please upon Our favoured servants. Time and again have We vouchsafed
unto you Our favours, that ye may offer such thanks unto your Lord as to
cause the tongues of all created things to speak forth in praise of Me,
the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

62 O Living Temple! Arise to serve this Cause through a might and a
power born of Us. Disclose, then, unto the servants of God all that the
Spirit of God, the sovereign Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Glorious,
the All-Wise, hath imparted unto Thee. Say: O people! Will ye turn away
from Him Who is the Eternal Truth, and choose instead him whom We have
created out of a mere handful of clay? To do so is to inflict a grievous
injustice upon yourselves, if ye be of them that reflect upon the verses
of your Lord. Say: O people! Cleanse your hearts and your eyes, that ye
may recognize your Maker in this holy and luminous attire. Say: The
celestial Youth hath ascended the Throne of glory, made manifest His
independent sovereignty, and now voiceth, in the most sweet and wondrous
accents, this call betwixt earth and heaven: “O peoples of the earth!
Wherefore have ye disbelieved in your Lord, the All-Merciful, and turned
aside from Him Who is the Beauty of the All-Glorious? By the
righteousness of God! This is His Hidden Secret, Who hath risen from the
dayspring of creation; and this is His cherished Beauty, Who hath shone
forth above the horizon of this exalted Station, invested with the
sovereignty of God, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the
All-Subduing, the Almighty.”

63 O Temple of Holiness! We, verily, have cleansed Thy breast from
the whisperings of the people and sanctified it from earthly allusions,
that the light of My beauty may appear therein and be reflected in the
mirrors of all the worlds. Thus have We singled Thee out above all that
hath been created in the heavens and the earth, and above all that hath
been decreed in the realms of revelation and creation, and chosen Thee
for Our own Self. This is but an evidence of the bounty which God hath
vouchsafed unto Thee, a bounty which shall last until the Day that hath
no end in this contingent world. It shall endure so long as God, the
Supreme King, the Help in Peril, the Mighty, the Wise, shall endure. For
the Day of God is none other but His own Self, Who hath appeared with
the power of truth. This is the Day that shall not be followed by night,
nor shall it be bounded by any praise, would that ye might
understand!

64 O Breast of this Temple! We, verily, have caused all things to
mirror forth thy reality, and made thee as a mirror of Our own Self.
Shed, then, upon the breasts of all created beings the splendours of the
light of thy Lord, that they may be freed from all allusions and
limitations. Thus hath the Daystar of wisdom shone forth above the
horizon of the Pen of the Eternal King. Blessed are those who perceive
it! Through thee have We created other sanctified breasts, and unto thee
shall We cause them to return, as a token of Our grace unto thee and
unto Our favoured servants. Erelong shall We bring into being through
thee men with sanctified and illumined breasts, who will testify to
naught save My beauty and show forth naught but the resplendent light of
My countenance. These shall in truth be the mirrors of My Names amidst
all created things.

65 O Temple of Holiness! We, verily, have made Thine inmost heart the
treasury of all the knowledge of past and future ages, and the
dawning-place of Our own knowledge which We have ordained for the
dwellers of earth and heaven, that all creation may partake of the
outpourings of Thy grace and may attain, through the wonders of Thy
knowledge, unto the recognition of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the
Great. In truth, that knowledge which belongeth unto Mine own Essence is
such as none hath ever attained or will ever grasp, nor shall any heart
be capable of bearing its weight. Were We to disclose but a single word
of this knowledge, the hearts of all men would be filled with
consternation, the foundations of all things would crumble into ruin,
and the feet of even the wisest among men would be made to slip.

66 Within the treasury of Our Wisdom there lieth unrevealed a
knowledge, one word of which, if we chose to divulge it to mankind,
would cause every human being to recognize the Manifestation of God and
to acknowledge His omniscience, would enable every one to discover the
secrets of all the sciences, and to attain so high a station as to find
himself wholly independent of all past and future learning. Other
knowledges We do as well possess, not a single letter of which We can
disclose, nor do We find humanity able to hear even the barest reference
to their meaning. Thus have We informed you of the knowledge of God, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Were We to find worthy vessels, We would
deposit within them the treasures of hidden meanings and impart unto
them a knowledge, one letter of which would encompass all created
things.

67 O Inmost Heart of this Temple! We have made thee the dawning-place
of Our knowledge and the dayspring of Our wisdom unto all who are in
heaven and on earth. From thee have We caused all sciences to appear,
and unto thee shall We cause them to return. And from thee shall We
bring them forth a second time. Such, indeed, is Our promise, and potent
are We to effect Our purpose. Erelong shall We bring into being through
thee exponents of new and wondrous sciences, of potent and effective
crafts, and shall make manifest through them that which the heart of
none of Our servants hath yet conceived. Thus do We bestow upon whom We
will whatsoever We desire, and thus do We withdraw from whom We will
what We had once bestowed. Even so do We ordain whatsoever We please
through Our behest.

68 Say: Should We choose, at one time, to shed the radiance of Our
loving providence upon the mirrors of all things, and, at another, to
withhold from them the splendours of Our light, this verily lieth within
Our power, and none hath the right to ask “why” or “wherefore”. For We
are potent indeed to achieve Our purpose, and render no account for that
which We bring to pass; and none can dispute this save those who join
partners with God and doubt His Truth. Say: Nothing can withstand the
power of Our might or interrupt the course of Our command. We exalt
whomsoever We please unto the Realm of supernal might and glory, and,
should We so desire, cause the same to sink into the lowest abyss of
degradation.

69 O dwellers of the earth! Would ye contend that if We raise up a
soul unto the Sadratu’l-Muntahá,8 it shall then cease to be subject to
the power of Our sovereignty and dominion? Nay, by Mine own Self! Should
it be Our wish, We would return it to the dust in less than the
twinkling of an eye. Consider a tree: Behold how We plant it in a
garden, and nourish it with the waters of Our loving care; and how, when
it hath grown tall and mature, and brought forth verdant leaves and
goodly fruits, We send forth the tempestuous gales of Our decree, tear
it up by its roots, and lay it prostrate upon the face of the earth. So
hath it been Our way with all things, and so shall it be in this day.
Such, in truth, are the matchless wonders of Our immutable method—a
method which hath ever governed, and shall continue to govern, all
things, if ye be of them that perceive. None, however, knoweth the
wisdom thereof save God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the
All-Wise.

70 Would ye gainsay, O people, the very thing that your eyes behold?
Woe unto you, O assemblage of deniers! That which alone is exempt from
change is His own Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate, were
ye to gaze with the eye of insight, while all else beside Him can be
altered by an act of His Will. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the
Almighty, the All-Wise.

71 O people! Dispute not concerning My Cause, for ye shall never
fathom the manifold wisdom of your Lord, nor shall ye ever gauge the
knowledge of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the All-Pervading. Whosoever
layeth claim to have known His Essence is without doubt among the most
ignorant of all people. Every atom in the universe would charge such a
man with imposture, and to this beareth witness My tongue which speaketh
naught but the truth. Magnify My Cause and promulgate My teachings and
commandments, for none other course beside this shall beseem you, and no
other path shall ever lead unto Him. Would that ye might heed Our
counsel!

72 O Living Temple! We have made Thee the Dayspring of each one of
Our most excellent titles, the Dawning-Place of each one of Our most
august attributes, and the Fountainhead of each one of Our manifold
virtues unto the denizens of earth and heaven. Thereafter have We raised
Thee up in Our own image betwixt the heavens and the earth, and ordained
Thee to be the sign of Our glory unto all who are in the realms of
revelation and creation, that My servants may follow in Thy footsteps,
and be of them who are guided aright. We have appointed Thee the Tree of
grace and bounty unto the dwellers of both the heavens and the earth.
Well is it with them who seek the shelter of Thy shade and who draw nigh
unto Thy Self, the omnipotent Protector of the worlds.

73 Say: We have made each one of Our Names a wellspring from which We
have caused the streams of divine wisdom and understanding to gush forth
and flow in the garden of Our Cause—streams whose number none can reckon
save Thy Lord, the Most Holy, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the
All-Wise. Say: We have generated all Letters from the Point and have
caused them to return unto It, and We have sent It down again in the
form of a human temple. All glory be unto the Author of this
incomparable and wondrous handiwork! Erelong shall We unfold and expound
It again, in Our name, the All-Glorious. This is indeed a token of Our
grace, and I, truly, am the Most Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.

74 We have brought forth all Lights from the Orb of Our name, the
True One, have caused them to return unto It, and have again made them
manifest in the form of a human temple. All glory be unto the Lord of
strength, might, and power! None can withstand the operation of My will
or the exercise of My might. I am He Who hath raised up all creatures
through a word of My mouth, and My power is, in truth, equal to My
purpose.

75 Say: It is in Our power, should We wish it, to cause all created
things to expire in an instant, and, with the next, to endue them again
with life. The knowledge thereof, however, is with God alone, the
All-Knowing, the All-Informed. It is in Our power, should We wish it, to
enable a speck of floating dust to generate, in less than the twinkling
of an eye, suns of infinite, of unimaginable splendour, to cause a
dewdrop to develop into vast and numberless oceans, to infuse into every
letter such a force as to empower it to unfold all the knowledge of past
and future ages. This, in truth, is a matter simple of accomplishment.
Such have been the evidences of My power from the beginning that hath no
beginning until the end that hath no end. My creatures, however, have
been oblivious of My power, have repudiated My sovereignty, and
contended with Mine own Self, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

76 Say: Of all that lieth between heaven and earth, naught can stir
except by My leave, and unto My Kingdom none can ascend save at My
behest. My creatures, however, have remained veiled from My might and My
sovereignty, and are numbered with the heedless. Say: Naught is seen in
My revelation but the Revelation of God, and in My might but His Might,
could ye but know it. Say: My creatures are even as the leaves of a
tree. They proceed from the tree, and depend upon it for their
existence, yet remain oblivious of their root and origin. We draw such
similitudes for the sake of Our discerning servants that perchance they
may transcend a mere plant-like level of existence and attain unto true
maturity in this resistless and immovable Cause. Say: My creatures are
even as the fish of the deep. Their life dependeth upon the water, and
yet they remain unaware of that which, by the grace of an omniscient and
omnipotent Lord, sustaineth their very existence. Indeed, their
heedlessness is such that were they asked concerning the water and its
properties, they would prove entirely ignorant. Thus do We set forth
comparisons and similitudes, that perchance the people may turn unto Him
Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation.

77 O people! Fear God, and disbelieve not in Him Whose grace hath
surrounded all things, Whose mercy hath pervaded the contingent world,
and the sovereign potency of Whose Cause hath encompassed both your
inner and your outer beings, both your beginning and your end. Stand ye
in awe of the Lord, and be of them that act uprightly. Beware lest ye be
accounted among those who allow the verses of their Lord to pass them by
unheard and unrecognized; these, truly, are of the wayward.

78 Say: Would ye worship him who neither heareth nor seeth, and who
is of a truth the most abject and wretched of all God’s servants?
Wherefore have ye failed to follow the One Who hath come unto you from
the Source of Divine Command bearing the tidings of God, the Most
Exalted, the Most Great? O people! Be not like unto those who presented
themselves before Our throne, and yet failed to perceive or comprehend;
these are indeed a contemptible people. We recited unto them verses that
would enrapture the dwellers of the heavenly Dominion and the inmates of
the Kingdom on high, and yet they departed veiled therefrom, and
hearkened rather unto the voice of him who is but a servant of God and a
mere creation of His Will. Thus do We impart unto you that which shall
guide you towards the path of God’s favoured ones.

79 How many those who entered within the Abode of Paradise, the Seat
wherein the throne of God had been established, and stood before their
Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Great, only to inquire about the four
Gates or of some Imám of the Islamic Faith!9 Such was
the state of these souls, if ye be of them that comprehend. It is even
as ye witness in the present day: those who have disbelieved in God and
joined partners with Him cling to a single one of Our Names, and are
debarred from recognizing Him Who is the Creator of all Names. We
testify that such men are of a truth amongst the people of the Fire.
They ask the sun to expound the words of the shadow, and the True One to
explain the utterances of His creatures, could ye but perceive it! Say:
O people! The sun offereth naught save the effulgence of its own light
and that which appeareth therefrom, whilst all else seek illumination
from its rays. Fear God, and be not of the ignorant! Among them also
were those who inquired of the darkness about the light. Say: Open thine
eyes, that thou mayest behold the brightness which hath visibly
enveloped the earth! This, verily, is a light which hath risen and shone
forth above the horizon of the Dayspring of divine knowledge with
manifest radiance. Would ye ask the Jews whether Jesus was the True One
from God, or the idols if Muḥammad was an Apostle of His Lord, or
inquire from the people of the Qur’án as to Him Who was the Remembrance
of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great?

80 Say: O people! Cast away, before the splendours of this
Revelation, the things that ye possess, and cleave to that which God
hath bidden you observe. Such is His command unto you, and He, verily,
is best able to command. By My Beauty! My purpose in revealing these
words is to cause all men to draw nigh unto God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised. Beware lest ye deal with Me as ye dealt with My Herald. Do
not object, when the verses of God are sent down unto you from the Court
of My favour, saying, “these do not proceed from an innate and untaught
nature”, for that nature itself hath been created by My word and
circleth round Me, if ye be of them that apprehend this truth. Inhale
from the utterances of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the sweet smell of
the garment of inner meanings, which hath been diffused throughout the
entire creation and hath shed its fragrance over all created things.
Happy are those who perceive it and hasten unto God with radiant
hearts.

81 O Living Temple! We, verily, have made Thee a mirror unto the
kingdom of names, that Thou mayest be, amidst all mankind, a sign of My
sovereignty, a herald unto My presence, a summoner unto My beauty, and a
guide unto My straight and perspicuous Path. We have exalted Thy Name
among Our servants as a bounty from Our presence. I, verily, am the
All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. We have, moreover, adorned Thee with
the ornament of Our own Self, and have imparted unto Thee Our Word, that
Thou mayest ordain in this contingent world whatsoever Thou willest and
accomplish whatsoever Thou pleasest. We have destined for Thee all the
good of the heavens and of the earth, and decreed that none may attain
unto a portion thereof unless he entereth beneath Thy shadow, as bidden
by Thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We have conferred upon
Thee the Staff of authority and the Writ of judgement, that Thou mayest
test the wisdom of every command. We have caused the oceans of inner
meaning and explanation to surge from Thy heart in remembrance of Thy
Lord, the God of mercy, that Thou mayest render thanks and praise unto
Him and be of those who are truly thankful. We have singled Thee out
from amongst all Our creatures, and have appointed Thee as the
Manifestation of Our own Self unto all who are in the heavens and on the
earth.

82 Bring then into being, by Our leave, resplendent mirrors and
exalted letters that shall testify to Thy sovereignty and dominion, bear
witness to Thy might and glory, and be the manifestations of Thy Names
amidst mankind. We have caused Thee again to be the Origin and the
Creator of all mirrors, even as We brought them forth from Thee
aforetime. And We shall cause Thee to return unto Mine own Self, even as
We called Thee forth in the beginning. Thy Lord, verily, is the
Unconstrained, the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling. Warn, then, these
mirrors, once they have been made manifest, lest they swell with pride
before their Creator and Fashioner when He appeareth amongst them, or
let the trappings of leadership delude and debar them from bowing in
submission before God, the Almighty, the All-Beauteous.

83 Say: O concourse of mirrors! Ye are but a creation of My will and
have come to exist by virtue of My command. Beware lest ye deny the
verses of My Lord, and be of them who have wrought injustice and are
numbered with the lost. Beware lest ye cling unto that which ye possess,
or take pride in your fame and renown. That which behoveth you is to
wholly detach yourselves from all that is in the heavens and on the
earth. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the All-Powerful, the
Almighty.

84 O Temple of My Cause! Say: Should I wish to transform, in a single
moment, all things into mirrors of My Names, this undoubtedly is in My
power, how much more in the power of My Lord, Who hath called Me into
being through His all-compelling and inscrutable command. And should I
choose to revolutionize the entire creation in the twinkling of an eye,
this assuredly is possible unto Me, how much more unto that sovereign
Purpose enshrined in the Will of God, My Lord and the Lord of all the
worlds.

85 Say: O ye manifestations of My Names! Should ye offer up all that
ye possess, nay your very lives, in the path of God, and invoke Him to
the number of the grains of sand, the drops of rain, and the waves of
the sea, and yet oppose the Manifestation of His Cause at the time of
His appearance, your works shall in no wise be mentioned before God.
Should ye, however, neglect all righteous works and yet choose to
believe in Him in these days, God perchance will put away your sins. He,
verily, is the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful. Thus doth the Lord
inform you of His purpose, that haply ye may not wax proud before the
One through Whom whatsoever hath been revealed from all eternity hath
been confirmed. Happy is he who approacheth this Most Sublime Vision,
and woe to them that turn aside!

86 How numerous those who expend all their wealth in the path of God,
and whom We find, at the hour of His Revelation, to be of the rebellious
and the froward! How many those who keep the fast in the daytime, only
to protest against the One by Whose very command the ordinance of the
fast was first established! Such men are, in truth, of the ignorant. And
how many those who subsist on the coarsest bread, who take for their
only seat the grass of the field, and who undergo every manner of
hardship, merely to maintain their superiority in the eyes of men! Thus
do We expose their deeds, that this may serve as a warning unto others.
These are the ones who subject themselves to all manner of austerities
before the gaze of others in the hope of perpetuating their names,
whilst in reality no mention shall remain of them save in the curses and
imprecations of the dwellers of earth and heaven.

87 Say: Would it profit you in the least if, as ye fondly imagine,
your names were to endure? Nay, by the Lord of all worlds! Was the idol
‘Uzzá10 made any
greater by this, that its name lived on amidst the worshippers of names?
Nay, by Him Who is the Self of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Compelling! Should your names fade from every mortal mind, and yet
God be well pleased with you, ye will indeed be numbered among the
treasures of His name, the Most Hidden. Thus have We sent down Our
verses that they may attract you unto the Source of all Lights, and
acquaint you with the purpose of your Lord, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise. Abstain, then, from all that hath been forbidden unto you in
the Book, and eat of the lawful things which God hath provided for your
sustenance. Deprive not yourselves of His goodly bestowals, for He,
verily, is the Most Generous, the Lord of grace abounding. Subject not
yourselves to excessive hardships, but follow the way We have made plain
unto you through Our luminous verses and perspicuous proofs, and be not
of the negligent.

88 O concourse of divines! It is not yours to boast if ye abstain
from drinking wine and from similar transgressions which have been
forbidden you in the Book, for should ye commit such deeds, the dignity
of your station would then be tainted in the eyes of the people, your
affairs would be disrupted, and your name disgraced and dishonoured.
Nay, your true and abiding glory resideth in submission to the Word of
Him Who is the Eternal Truth, and in your inward and outward detachment
from aught else besides God, the All-Compelling, the Almighty. Great is
the blessedness of that divine that hath not allowed knowledge to become
a veil between him and the One Who is the Object of all knowledge, and
who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a beaming face
towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the learned. The inmates of
Paradise seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth its
radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is
numbered with the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him
hath, verily, beheld the True One, and he that turneth towards him hath,
verily, turned towards God, the Almighty, the All-Wise.

89 O ye the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye suffer not
yourselves to become changed, for as ye change, most men will, likewise,
change. This, verily, is an injustice unto yourselves and unto others.
Unto this beareth witness every man of discernment and insight. Ye are
even as a spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out
from it be changed. Fear God, and be numbered with the godly. In like
manner, if the heart of man be corrupted, his limbs will also be
corrupted. And similarly, if the root of a tree be corrupted, its
branches, and its offshoots, and its leaves, and its fruits, will be
corrupted. Thus have We set forth similitudes for your instruction, that
perchance ye may not be debarred by the things ye possess from attaining
unto that which hath been destined for you by Him Who is the
All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful.

90 It is indeed in Our power to take up a handful of dust and to
adorn it with the vesture of Our Names. This, however, would be but a
sign of our favour, and not an indication of any merit it may have
inherently possessed. Thus hath it been revealed in truth by Him Who is
the Sovereign Revealer, the All-Knowing. Consider the Black Stone,11 which God hath made a point whereunto all men turn in
adoration. Hath this bounty been conferred upon it by virtue of its
innate excellence? Nay, by Mine own Self! Or doth such distinction stem
from its intrinsic worth? Nay, by Mine own Being, Whose Essence even the
wisest and most discerning of men have failed to grasp!

91 Again, consider the Mosque of Aqṣá and the other places which We
have made sanctuaries unto the people in every land and region. The
honour and distinction they enjoy is in no wise due to their own merit,
but stemmeth from their relation to Our Manifestations, Whom We have
appointed as the Daysprings of Our Revelation amidst mankind, if ye be
of them that understand. In this there lieth a wisdom inscrutable to all
save God. Inquire, that He may graciously make plain unto you His
purpose. His knowledge, verily, embraceth all things. Detach yourselves,
O people, from the world and all its vanities, and heed not the call of
such as have disbelieved in God and joined partners with Him. Arise
above the horizon of utterance to extol and praise your Lord, the
All-Merciful. This is that which God hath purposed for you; well is it
with them who perceive it.

92 Say: O people! We have commanded you in Our Tablets to strive, at
the time of the promised Revelation, to sanctify your souls from all
names, and to purify them from all that hath been created in the heavens
or on the earth, that therein may appear the splendours of the Sun of
Truth which shineth forth above the horizon of the Will of your Lord,
the Almighty, the Most Great. We have, moreover, commanded you to
cleanse your hearts from every trace of the love or hate of the peoples
of the world, lest aught should divert you from one course or impel you
towards another. This, verily, is among the weightiest counsels I have
vouchsafed unto you in the perspicuous Book, for whoso attacheth himself
to either of these shall be prevented from attaining a proper
understanding of Our Cause. To this beareth witness every just and
discerning soul.

93 Ye, however, have broken the Covenant of God, forgotten His
Testament, and at last turned away from Him Whose appearance hath
solaced the eyes of every true believer in the Divine Unity. Lift up the
veils and coverings that obscure your vision, and consider the
testimonies of the Prophets and Messengers, that haply ye may recognize
the Cause of God in these days when the Promised One hath come invested
with a mighty sovereignty. Fear God, and debar yourselves not from Him
Who is the Dayspring of His signs. This shall, in truth, but profit your
own selves; as to your Lord, He, verily, can afford to dispense with all
creatures. From everlasting was He alone; there was none else besides
Him. He it is in Whose name the standard of Divine Unity hath been
planted upon the Sinai of the visible and invisible worlds, proclaiming
that there is none other God but Me, the Peerless, the Glorious, the
Incomparable.

94 Behold, however, how those who are but a creation of His Will and
Command have turned aside from Him and have taken unto themselves a lord
and master beside God; these, truly, are of the wayward. The mention of
the All-Merciful hath at all times been upon their lips, and yet when He
was manifested unto them through the power of truth they warred against
Him. Wretched indeed shall be the plight of such as have broken the
Covenant of their Lord when the Luminary of the world shone forth above
the horizon of the Will of God, the Most Holy, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise! It was against God that they unsheathed the swords of malice
and hatred, and yet they perceive it not. Methinks they remain dead and
buried in the tombs of their selfish desires, though the breeze of God
hath blown over all regions. They, truly, are wrapt in a dense and
grievous veil. And oft as the verses of God are rehearsed unto them,
they persist in proud disdain; it is as though they were devoid of all
understanding, or had never heard the Call of God, the Most Exalted, the
All-Knowing.

95 Say: Alas for you! How can ye profess yourselves believers, when
ye deny the verses of God, the Almighty, the All-Wise? Say: O people!
Turn your faces unto your Lord, the All-Merciful. Beware lest ye be
veiled by aught that hath been revealed in the Bayán: It was, in truth,
revealed for no other purpose than to make mention of Me, the
All-Powerful, the Most High, and had no other object than My Beauty. The
whole world hath been filled with My testimony, if ye be of them that
judge with fairness.

96 Had the Primal Point been someone else beside Me as ye claim, and
had attained My presence, verily He would have never allowed Himself to
be separated from Me, but rather We would have had mutual delights with
each other in My Days. He, in truth, wept sore in His remoteness from
Me. He preceded Me that He might summon the people unto My Kingdom, as
it hath been set forth in the Tablets, could ye but perceive it! O would
that men of hearing might be found who could hear the voice of His
lamentation in the Bayán bewailing that which hath befallen Me at the
hands of these heedless souls, bemoaning His separation from Me and
giving utterance to His longing to be united with Me, the Mighty, the
Peerless. He, verily, beholdeth at this very moment His Best-Beloved
amidst those who were created to attain His Day and to prostrate
themselves before Him, and yet who have inflicted in their tyranny such
abasement upon Him as the pen confesseth its inability to describe.

97 Say: O people! We, verily, summoned you, in Our former Revelation,
unto this Scene of transcendent glory, this Seat of stainless sanctity,
and announced unto you the advent of the Days of God. Yet, when the most
great veil was rent asunder, and the Ancient Beauty came unto you in the
clouds of God’s decree, ye repudiated Him in Whom ye had believed
aforetime. Woe betide you, O company of infidels! Fear ye God, and
nullify not the truth with the things ye possess. When the luminary of
divine verses dawneth upon you from the horizon of the Pen of the King
of all names and attributes, fall ye prostrate upon your faces before
God, the Lord of the Worlds. For to bow down in adoration at the
threshold of His door is indeed better for you than the worship of both
worlds, and to submit to His Revelation is more profitable unto you than
whatsoever hath been created in the heavens and on the earth.

98 Say: O people! I admonish you wholly for the sake of God, and seek
no reward from you. For My recompense shall be with God, He Who hath
brought Me into being, raised Me up by the power of truth, and made Me
the Source of His remembrance amidst His creatures. Hasten to behold
this divine and glorious Vision, the Spot wherein God hath established
His Seat. Follow not that which the Evil One whispereth in your hearts,
for he, verily, doth prompt you to walk after your lusts and covetous
desires, and hindereth you from treading the straight Path which this
all-embracing and all-compelling Cause hath opened.

99 Say: The Evil One hath appeared in such wise as the eye of
creation hath never beheld. He Who is the Beauty of the All-Merciful
hath likewise been made manifest with an adorning the like of which hath
never been witnessed in the past. The Call of the All-Merciful hath been
raised, and behind it the call of Satan. Well is it with them who
hearken unto the Voice of God, and turn their faces towards His throne
to behold a most holy and blessed Vision. For whoso cherisheth in his
heart the love of anyone beside Me, be it to the extent of a grain of
mustard seed, shall be unable to gain admittance into My Kingdom. To
this beareth witness that which adorneth the preamble of the Book of
Existence, could ye but perceive it. Say: This is the Day whereon God’s
most great favour hath been made manifest. The voice of all who are in
the heavens above and on the earth below proclaimeth My Name, and
singeth forth My praises, could ye but hear it!

100 O Temple of Divine Revelation! Sound the trumpet in My Name! O
Temple of Divine mysteries! Raise the clarion call of Thy Lord, the
Unconditioned, the Unconstrained! O Maid of Heaven! Step forth from the
chambers of paradise and announce unto the people of the world: By the
righteousness of God! He Who is the Best-Beloved of the worlds—He Who
hath ever been the Desire of every perceiving heart, the Object of the
adoration of all that are in heaven and on earth, and the Cynosure of
the former and the latter generations—is now come!

101 Take heed lest ye hesitate in recognizing this resplendent Beauty
when once He hath appeared in the plenitude of His sovereign might and
majesty. He, verily, is the True One, and all else besides Him is as
naught before a single one of His servants, and paleth into nothingness
when brought face to face with the revelation of His splendours. Hasten,
then, to attain the living waters of His grace, and be not of the
negligent. As to him who hesitateth, though it be for less than a
moment, God shall verily bring his works to naught and return him to the
seat of wrath; wretched indeed is the abode of them that tarry!

Súriy-i-Ra’ís

In His name, the All-Glorious!

1 Hearken, O Chief,61 to the voice of God, the Sovereign, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting. He, verily, calleth aloud between heaven and
earth, summoning all mankind unto the scene of transcendent glory.
Neither thy grunting, nor the barking of those around thee, nor the
opposition of the hosts of the world can withhold the Almighty from
achieving His purpose. The whole world hath been set ablaze by the Word
of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, a Word softer than the morning breeze. It
hath been manifested in the form of the human temple, and through it God
hath quickened the souls of the sincere among His servants. In its inner
essence, this Word is the living water by which God hath purified the
hearts of such as have turned unto Him and forgotten every other
mention, and through which He draweth them nigh unto the seat of His
mighty Name. We have sprinkled it upon the people of the graves, and lo,
they have risen up, with their gaze fixed upon the shining and
resplendent Beauty of their Lord.

2 Thou hast, O Chief, committed that which hath caused Muḥammad, the
Apostle of God, to lament in the most sublime Paradise. The world hath
made thee proud, so much so that thou hast turned away from the Face
through whose brightness the Concourse on high hath been illumined. Soon
thou shalt find thyself in manifest loss! Thou didst conspire with the
Persian Ambassador to harm Me, though I had come unto you from the
source of majesty and grandeur with a Revelation that hath solaced the
eyes of the favoured ones of God.

3 By God! This is the Day wherein the undying Fire crieth out from
within all created things: “The Best-Beloved of the worlds is come!” And
before all things there standeth a Moses, hearkening to the Word of thy
Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Were We to divest Ourself of the
mortal raiment which We have worn in consideration of your weakness, all
that are in heaven and on earth would offer up their souls for My sake.
To this thy Lord Himself doth testify. None, however, can perceive it
save those who have detached themselves from all things for love of
their Lord, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

4 Hast thou imagined thyself capable of extinguishing the fire which
God hath kindled in the heart of creation? Nay, by Him Who is the
Eternal Truth, couldst thou but know it. Rather, on account of what thy
hands have wrought, it blazed higher and burned more fiercely. Erelong
will it encompass the earth and all that dwell therein. Thus hath it
been decreed by God, and the powers of earth and heaven are unable to
thwart His purpose.

5 The day is approaching when the Land of Mystery62 and what is beside it shall be
changed, and shall pass out of the hands of the King, and commotions
shall appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and the
evidences of mischief shall be revealed on all sides, and confusion
shall spread by reason of that which hath befallen these captives at the
hands of the hosts of oppression. The course of things shall be altered,
and conditions shall wax so grievous, that the very sands on the
desolate hills will moan, and the trees on the mountain will weep, and
blood will flow out of all things. Then wilt thou behold the people in
sore distress.63

6 O Chief! We revealed Ourself unto thee at one time upon Mount Tíná,
and at another time upon Mount Zaytá,64 and yet again in this hallowed Spot. Following,
however, thy corrupt inclinations, thou didst fail to respond and wert
accounted with the heedless. Consider, then, and call thou to mind the
time when Muḥammad came with clear tokens from Him Who is the Almighty,
the All-Knowing. The people were wont to pelt Him with stones from
hidden places and in the markets, and they rejected the signs of God,
thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers. The learned also denied Him,
as did their followers, and likewise the kings of the earth, as thou
hast heard from the tales of old. Among those kings was Chosroes,65 to whom Muḥammad sent a
blessed epistle summoning him unto God and forbidding him from
misbelief. Verily, thy Lord knoweth all things. Following the promptings
of his evil and corrupt desires, however, Chosroes waxed arrogant before
God and tore up the Tablet. He, verily, is accounted among the inmates
of the nethermost fire.

7 Was it in Pharaoh’s power to stay the hand of God from exercising
His sovereignty when he acted wantonly in the land and was of the
transgressors? From within his own house and in spite of his will We
brought forth Him Who conversed with God. Well able are We to achieve
Our purpose. Recall, moreover, how Nimrod kindled the fire of impiety
that its flames might consume Abraham, the Friend of God; We delivered
Him, however, through the power of truth and seized Nimrod with the fury
of Our wrath. Say: The Oppressor66 put to death the Beloved of the worlds to quench the
light of God amongst the people and to debar them from the wellspring of
life eternal in the days of thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most
Bountiful.

8 We, too, have revealed the Cause of God in His cities and raised
aloft His remembrance amidst them that truly believe in Him. Say: This
Youth hath come to quicken the world and unite all its peoples. The day
is approaching when that which God hath purposed will have prevailed and
thou shalt behold the earth transformed into the all-glorious paradise.
Thus hath it been inscribed by the Pen of Revelation upon this weighty
Tablet.

9 Forsake Thy mention of the Chief, O Pen, and call to remembrance
Anís, that intimate of the love of God who severed himself from the
wayward and the infidel. He tore the veils asunder in such wise that the
inmates of Paradise could hear them being rent. Glorified be God, the
Sovereign, the Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

10 O nightingale! Incline thine ear unto the voice of the
All-Glorious on this night when armed troops have surrounded Us while We
remain in a state of utmost joy. O would that our blood might be shed
upon the earth and our bodies cast upon the dust in the path of God!
This, indeed, is My desire and the desire of whosoever hath sought Me
and attained unto My most wondrous, Mine incomparable Kingdom.

11 Know thou, O servant, that one day, upon awakening, We found the
beloved of God at the mercy of Our adversaries. Sentinels were posted at
every gate and no one was permitted to enter or leave. Indeed, they
perpetrated a sore injustice, for the loved ones of God and His kindred
were left on the first night without food. Such was the fate of those
for whose sake the world and all that is therein have been created. Woe
betide the perpetrators and those who led them into such evil! Erelong
will God consume their souls in the fire. He, verily, is the fiercest of
avengers.

12 The people surrounded the house, and Muslims and Christians wept
over Us, and the voice of lamentation was upraised between earth and
heaven by reason of what the hands of the oppressors had wrought. We
perceived that the weeping of the people of the Son exceeded the weeping
of others—a sign for such as ponder.

13 One of My companions offered up his life, cutting his throat with
his own hands for the love of God, an act unheard of in bygone centuries
and which God hath set apart for this Revelation as an evidence of the
power of His might.67 He, verily, is the
Unconstrained, the All-Subduing. As for the one who thus slew himself in
‘Iráq,68 he
truly is the King and Beloved of Martyrs, and that which he evinced was
a testimony from God unto the peoples of the earth. Such souls have been
influenced by the Word of God, have tasted the sweetness of His
remembrance, and are so transported by the breezes of reunion that they
have detached themselves from all that dwell on earth and turned unto
the Divine Countenance with faces beaming with light. And though they
have committed an act which God hath forbidden, He hath nevertheless
forgiven them as a token of His mercy. He, verily, is the
Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate. So enraptured were these souls
by Him Who is the All-Compelling that the reins of volition slipped from
their grasp, until at last they ascended to the dwelling of the Unseen
and entered the presence of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

14 Say: This Youth hath departed out of this country and deposited
beneath every tree and every stone a trust, which God will erelong bring
forth through the power of truth. Thus hath the True One come and the
command of Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise, been fulfilled. The
hosts of earth and heaven are powerless to resist His Cause, nor can all
the kings and rulers of the world ever frustrate His purpose. Say:
Adversity is the oil which feedeth the flame of this Lamp and by which
its light is increased, did ye but know. Indeed, the repudiation of the
froward serveth but to proclaim this Faith and to spread the Cause of
God and His Revelation throughout the world.

15 Great is your blessedness, inasmuch as ye have forsaken your homes
and wandered the land for the love of your Lord, the Almighty, the
Ancient of Days, until ye entered the Land of Mystery at a time when the
fire of oppression was ablaze and the croaking of the raven of discord
had been raised. Ye are My partners in My tribulations, for ye were
present with Us during the darksome night in which the hearts of those
who testify to the unity of God were agitated. Ye entered this land for
the sake of Our love, and departed therefrom through Our command. By the
righteousness of God! Because of you the earth itself glorieth over
heaven. How excellent is this most sublime, this glorious and exalted
bounty! Ye have been deprived of your nest, O birds of eternity, for the
sake of your Lord, the Unconstrained, but your true abode is beneath the
wings of the grace of the All-Merciful. Blessed are they that
understand.

16 O My Dhabíḥ! May the breaths of the spirit waft upon thee and upon
such as have sought communion with thee, inhaled from thee the sweet
fragrance of My presence, and hearkened unto that whereby the hearts of
the true seekers are sanctified. Render thanks unto God inasmuch as thou
hast attained unto the shores of this Most Great Ocean, and give ear to
the very atoms of the earth proclaiming: “This is the Best-Beloved of
the worlds!” The dwellers of the earth have wronged Him and failed to
recognize the One Whose name they ceaselessly invoke. Lost are such as
have remained heedless and have opposed Him for Whose loved ones it
would have behoved them to offer up their lives, how much more for His
own luminous and resplendent Beauty!

17 Be thou patient, though thy heart be consumed in its separation
from God, for He hath granted thee an exalted station in His presence.
Nay, thou art even now standing before His face, and We are imparting
unto thee, through the tongue of might and power, such words as even the
ears of the sincere ones have been deprived of hearing. Say: Were He to
utter but one word, that word alone would exceed in sweetness all the
sayings of men.

18 Had Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, attained this Day, He would have
exclaimed: “I have truly recognized Thee, O Thou the Desire of the
Divine Messengers!” Had Abraham attained it, He too, falling prostrate
upon the ground, and in the utmost lowliness before the Lord thy God,
would have cried: “Mine heart is filled with peace, O Thou Lord of all
that is in heaven and on earth! I testify that Thou hast unveiled before
mine eyes all the glory of Thy power and the full majesty of Thy law! I
bear witness, moreover, that through Thy Revelation the hearts of the
faithful are well assured and contented.” Had Moses Himself attained it,
He, likewise, would have raised His voice saying: “All praise be to Thee
for having lifted upon me the light of Thy countenance and enrolled me
among them that have been privileged to behold Thy face!”

19 Consider the people and their condition. Reflect upon the things
that their mouths have uttered and that their hands have wrought in this
blessed, this most holy and peerless Day. They that have tarnished the
good name of the Cause of God and turned unto the Evil One are accursed
of all created things and are numbered among the inmates of the fire.
Verily, whosoever hath hearkened to My call shall remain unperturbed by
the clamour of all that are on earth; and whosoever is influenced by the
words of anyone beside Me hath never heard My call. By God! Such a man
is deprived of entering My Kingdom, is debarred from My realms of
majesty and power, and is of them that are in utter loss.

20 Sorrow not for that which hath befallen thee. Thou hast borne for
My love that which most people have never endured. Thy Lord knoweth and
is informed of all. He was with thee in the assemblages and gatherings,
and heard that which flowed from the wellspring of thy heart in
remembrance of thy Lord, the All-Merciful. This, indeed, is a token of
His bountiful favour.

21 Erelong will God raise up from among the kings one who will aid
His loved ones. He, verily, encompasseth all things. He will instill in
the hearts the love of His loved ones. This, indeed, is irrevocably
decreed by One Who is the Almighty, the Beneficent.

22 We beseech God to gladden the hearts of His servants through thy
call, to make thee an ensign of guidance in His lands, and to assist
through thee those who have been brought low. Heed not the one who
raised a loud clamour and he who raiseth it even now. Let thy Lord, the
Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous, be all-sufficient unto thee. Relate
unto My loved ones that which thou hast seen and learned of the tale of
this Youth, and convey unto them that which We have imparted unto thee.
Verily, thy Lord assisteth and watcheth over thee at all times and under
all conditions. The blessings of the Concourse on high surround thee,
and the kindred and the leaves of the holy family who circle round the
celestial Tree extol thee with a wondrous praise.

23 O Pen of Revelation! Call Thou to remembrance him69 whose letter reached Us during this
darksome night. He it is who wandered from region to region until he
entered the City,70 seeking
the shelter of the mercy of his Lord, the Almighty, the Most High.
Eagerly awaiting the favours of his Lord, he dwelt therein for a night,
but departed therefrom the following morning as bidden by God, filling
with sorrow the heart of this Youth. To this the Almighty is Himself a
witness.

24 Great is thy blessedness, for thou hast received the wine of
utterance from the hand of the All-Merciful, and became so enraptured by
the sweet fragrance of the Best-Beloved as to renounce thy comfort and
to be numbered with them that have hastened unto His Paradise, the
Dawning-Place of the signs of thy Lord, the Gracious, the Peerless.
Happy the one who hath quaffed the wine of inner mysteries from the
countenance of his Lord and been intoxicated by this pure and crystal
draught. By God! It causeth every true believer to soar in the heaven of
majesty and grandeur, and transmuteth every doubt into certainty.

25 Grieve not at what hath befallen thee, but put thy whole trust in
God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the Wise. Raise thy house upon the
solid foundation of divine utterances, and give praise to thy Lord. He,
verily, shall suffice thee above all the peoples of the earth.

26 God hath, in truth, inscribed your names upon a Tablet wherein are
enshrined the hidden secrets of all that hath been. Erelong shall the
faithful call to remembrance your exile and all your journeys in His
path. He, verily, loveth those who love Him, and is the helper of the
sincere. By the righteousness of God! The eyes of the Concourse on high
are fixed upon you and their fingers point towards you. Thus doth the
bounty of your Lord encompass you. Would that the people might recognize
that which hath escaped them in the days of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised.

27 Render thanks unto God for having aided thee to know Him and to
enter within the precincts of His court at a time when the ungodly
surrounded the family of thy Lord and His loved ones, and expelled them
from their homes with manifest cruelty, intending to separate us at the
shore of the sea. Verily, thy Lord is aware of that which lieth
concealed within the breasts of the unbelievers. Say: Even should ye
tear our bodies asunder, ye could not banish from our hearts the love of
God. We were of a truth created for sacrifice, and in this do we take
pride before all creation.

28 O thou who art set aglow with the fire of the love of God! Know
thou that thy letter hath reached Us and that We have been apprised of
its contents. We beseech God to confirm thee in His love and in His good
pleasure, to assist thee in the promotion of His Cause, and to number
thee with such as have arisen for the triumph of His Faith.

29 As to thy question regarding the soul: Know thou that among the
people there are numerous treatises and manifold views as to its
stations. Among these are the soul of the kingdom, the soul of the
dominion, the celestial soul, the divine soul, the sanctified soul, as
well as the benevolent soul, the contented soul, the soul pleasing unto
God, the inspired soul, the irascible soul, and the concupiscent soul.
Every group hath its own pronouncements concerning the soul and We are
disinclined to dwell upon the sayings of the past. Verily, with thy Lord
is the knowledge of the former and latter generations.

30 Would that thou wert present before Our throne to hear from the
Tongue of Grandeur itself that which thou desirest and scale the
loftiest heights of knowledge by the grace of Him Who is the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise! The ungodly, however, have intervened between
us. Take heed lest thou be grieved thereby. Be content with that which
hath been ordained by an irrevocable decree, and be of them that endure
with patience.

31 Know that the soul which is common to all men cometh forth
following the commingling of things and after their maturation, as thou
dost observe in the germ: once it hath developed to its predestined
stage, God manifesteth the soul that was latent within it. Thy Lord,
verily, doeth what He willeth and ordaineth what He pleaseth.

32 As to the soul which is intended, in truth it hath been called
forth by the Word of God and is such that, if it be kindled with the
fire of the love of its Lord, neither the waters of opposition nor the
oceans of the world can quench its flame. That soul is indeed a fire
ablaze in the tree of man which proclaimeth: “No God is there but Him!”
Whosoever hearkeneth unto its call is verily of those who have attained
unto Him. And when it casteth off its earthly frame, God shall raise it
up again in the most excellent of forms and cause it to enter a sublime
paradise. Thy Lord, of a certainty, hath power over all things.

33 Know, furthermore, that the life of man proceedeth from the
spirit, and the spirit turneth to wheresoever the soul directeth it.
Ponder upon that which We have revealed unto thee that thou mayest
recognize the Soul of God which hath appeared above the Dayspring of
bounty invested with manifest sovereignty.

34 Know also that the soul is endowed with two wings: should it soar
in the atmosphere of love and contentment, then it will be related to
the All-Merciful. And should it fly in the atmosphere of self and
desire, then it will pertain to the Evil One; may God shield and protect
us and protect you therefrom, O ye who perceive! Should the soul become
ignited with the fire of the love of God, it is called benevolent and
pleasing unto God, but should it be consumed with the fire of passion,
it is known as the concupiscent soul. Thus have We expounded this
subject for thee that thou mayest obtain a clear understanding.

35 O Pen of the Most High! Recount unto him who hath turned unto Thy
Lord, the All-Glorious, that which shall enable him to dispense with the
sayings of men. Say: Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and
hearing are but one single reality which hath manifold expressions owing
to the diversity of its instruments. As thou dost observe, man’s power
to comprehend, move, speak, hear, and see all derive from this sign of
his Lord within him. It is single in its essence, yet manifold through
the diversity of its instruments. This, verily, is a certain truth. For
example, if it directeth its attention to the means of hearing, then
hearing and its attributes become manifest. Likewise, if it directeth
itself to the means of vision, a different effect and attribute appear.
Reflect upon this subject that thou mayest comprehend the true meaning
of what hath been intended, find thyself independent of the sayings of
the people, and be of them that are well assured. In like manner, when
this sign of God turneth towards the brain, the head, and such means,
the powers of the mind and the soul are manifested. Thy Lord, verily, is
potent to do whatsoever He pleaseth.

36 All that We have mentioned here hath been elucidated in the
Tablets We have revealed in response to questions regarding the
disconnected letters of the Qur’án. Ponder them that thou mayest
comprehend that which hath been sent down from the Kingdom of Him Who is
the Almighty, the All-Praised. Thus have We chosen to be concise in this
Tablet. We beseech God to acquaint thee through this brief exposition
with that which words can never hope to exhaust, and to give thee to
drink of the limitless oceans from this cup. Thy Lord, verily, is the
All-Bountiful and unassailable in His power.

37 O Pen of the Ancient of Days! Call Thou to remembrance ‘Alí,71 he who sojourned
with Thee in ‘Iráq until the Daystar of the world departed therefrom. He
forsook his home to attain the court of Thy presence at a time when We
were captive in the hands of such as have been deprived of the sweet
savours of the All-Merciful. Grieve not at what hath befallen Us and
thee in the path of God. Rest assured and persevere. He, verily,
rendereth victorious those who love Him, and His might is equal to all
things. Whoso turneth unto Him brighteneth thereby the faces of the
Concourse on high, and unto this God Himself is My witness.

38 Say: O people, do ye imagine that, after rejecting the One through
Whom the religions of the world have been made manifest, ye still bear
allegiance to the Faith of God? By the righteousness of God! Ye are
accounted among the inmates of the Fire. Thus hath the decree been
recorded in the Tablets by the Pen of God. Say: Never will the barking
of dogs deter the Nightingale from warbling its melodies. Ponder awhile
that perchance ye may discover a path leading to the Eternal Truth.

39 Say: Magnified art Thou, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee by the
tears Thy lovers have shed in their longing after Thee, and by the
yearning of those who cry out in their separation from Thee, and by Thy
Best-Beloved Who hath fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, to
graciously assist those who have sought refuge beneath the sheltering
wings of Thy favour and loving-kindness, and who have yearned for no
other Lord except Thee.

40 We have forsaken our homes, O Lord, in our eagerness to meet Thee
and in our longing to be united with Thee. We have traversed land and
sea to attain the court of Thy presence and to give ear to Thy verses.
When we arrived at the shores of the sea, however, we were held back
from Thee, as the ungodly intervened between us and the light of Thy
countenance.

41 O Lord! Dire thirst hath seized us, and with Thee are the
soft-flowing waters of eternal life. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth
Thee. Deny us not the object of our quest. Write down then for us the
recompense decreed for such of Thy servants as enjoy near access to Thee
and are wholly devoted to Thy will. Make us so steadfast in Thy love
that naught shall keep us back from Thee or deter us from Thine
adoration. Powerful art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou, verily, art the
Almighty, the Most Generous.

Lawḥ-i-Ra’ís

He is in His own Right the Supreme Ruler!

1 The Pen of the Most High proclaimeth: O thou who hast imagined
thyself to be the most exalted of men72
and who hast regarded as the lowliest of all creatures this divine
Youth, through Whom the eyes of the Concourse on high have been
illumined and made radiant! This Youth hath sought nothing from thee or
from such as are like unto thee, inasmuch as from time immemorial,
whenever the Manifestations of the All-Merciful and the Exponents of His
unfading glory have stepped out of the Realm of eternity into this
mortal world and revealed themselves to revive the dead, men such as
thee have considered these sanctified Souls and Temples of Divine
Oneness, upon Whom must needs depend the rehabilitation of the peoples
of the earth, to be stirrers of mischief and worthy of blame. These men,
verily, have all returned unto dust. Thou, too, shalt erelong take abode
therein and find thyself in grievous loss.

2 Even if this Lifegiver and World Reformer be in thine estimation
guilty of sedition and strife, what crime could have been committed by a
group of women, children, and suckling mothers that they should be thus
afflicted with the scourge of thine anger and wrath? No faith or
religion hath ever held children responsible. The Pen of divine Command
hath exempted them, yet the fire of thy tyranny and oppression
encompasseth all. If thou bearest allegiance to any faith or religion,
then thou shouldst know that, according to all the heavenly Books and
all the divinely inspired and weighty Scriptures, children are not to be
held accountable. Aside from this, not even those who disbelieve in God
have perpetrated such unseemly acts. Since from every thing an effect
becometh manifest, a fact that none can deny save those who are bereft
of reason and understanding, it is certain that the sighs of these
children and the cries of these wronged ones will have their due
consequence.

3 Ye have plundered and unjustly despoiled a group of people who have
never rebelled in your domains, nor disobeyed your government, but
rather kept to themselves and engaged day and night in the remembrance
of God. Later, when the order was issued to banish this Youth, all were
filled with dismay. The officials in charge of My expulsion declared,
however: “These others have not been charged with any offence and have
not been expelled by the government. Should they desire to accompany
you, no one will oppose them.” These hapless souls therefore paid their
own expenses, forsook all their possessions, and, contenting themselves
with Our presence and placing their whole trust in God, journeyed once
again with Him until the fortress of ‘Akká became the prison of
Bahá.

4 Upon our arrival, we were surrounded by guards and confined
together, men and women, young and old alike, in the army barracks. The
first night all were deprived of either food or drink, for the sentries
were guarding the gate of the barracks and permitted no one to leave. No
one gave a thought to the plight of these wronged ones. They even begged
for water, and were refused.

5 Time hath passed, and we all remain confined in these barracks,
notwithstanding that during the five years we dwelt in Adrianople, all
its inhabitants, whether learned or ignorant, rich or poor, bore witness
to the purity and sanctity of these servants. At the time this Youth was
departing from Adrianople, one of the loved ones of God attempted to
take his own life, so unbearable to him was the sight of this Wronged
One in the hands of His oppressors. During the journey we were thrice
compelled to change ships, and it is evident how much the children
suffered as a result. Upon disembarking, four of the believers were
separated and prevented from accompanying Us. As this Youth was leaving,
one of the four, named ‘Abdu’l-Ghaffár, cast himself into the sea, and
no one knoweth what befell him thereafter.73

6 All this is but a drop in the ocean of the wrongs that have been
inflicted upon Us, and still ye are not satisfied! The officials enforce
every day a new decree, and no end is in sight to their tyranny. Night
and day they conceive new schemes. They have assigned each prisoner,
from the government storehouse, a daily allowance of three loaves of
bread that no one can eat. From the foundation of the world until the
present day a cruelty such as this hath neither been seen nor heard
of.

7 By the righteousness of Him Who hath caused Bahá to speak forth
before all that are in heaven and all that are on earth! Ye have neither
rank nor mention among them that have offered up their souls, their
bodies and their substance for the love of God, the All-Powerful, the
All-Compelling, the Almighty. A handful of clay is greater in the sight
of God than all your dominion and your sovereignty, and all your might
and your fortune. Should it be His wish, He would scatter you in dust.
Soon will He seize you in His wrathful anger, sedition will be stirred
up in your midst, and your dominions will be disrupted. Then will ye
wail and lament, and will find none to help or succour you.

8 In making mention of these matters, it is not Our purpose to rouse
you from your slumber, since the fury of God’s wrath hath so encompassed
you that ye shall never take heed. Nor is it Our intention to recount
the iniquities visited upon these pure and blessed souls, for they have
been so intoxicated with the wine of the All-Merciful and are so carried
away with the inebriating effect of the living waters of His loving
providence that even were they to suffer all the cruelties of the world
for His sake, they would remain content and yield thanks unto Him. These
souls have never held, nor shall they ever hold any grievance. Nay,
their blood continually imploreth and beseecheth the Lord of the worlds
that it might be spilt upon the dust in His path, and their heads yearn
to be borne aloft on spears for the sake of the Beloved of hearts and
souls.

9 Several times calamities have overtaken you, and yet ye failed
utterly to take heed. One of them was the conflagration which devoured
most of the City74 with the flames of justice, and concerning which many
poems were written, stating that no such fire had ever been witnessed.
And yet, ye waxed more heedless. Plague, likewise, broke out, and ye
still failed to give heed! Be expectant, however, for the wrath of God
is ready to overtake you. Erelong will ye behold that which hath been
sent down from the Pen of My command.

10 Have ye fondly imagined your glory to be imperishable and your
dominion to be everlasting? Nay, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! Neither
will your glory last, nor will Mine abasement endure. Such abasement, in
the estimation of a true man, is the pride of every glory.

11 When I was still a child and had not yet attained the age of
maturity, My father made arrangements in Ṭihrán for the marriage of one
of My older brothers, and as is customary in that city, the festivities
lasted for seven days and seven nights. On the last day it was announced
that the play “Sháh Sulṭán Salím” would be presented. A large number of
princes, dignitaries, and notables of the capital gathered for the
occasion. I was sitting in one of the upper rooms of the building and
observing the scene. Presently a tent was pitched in the courtyard, and
before long some small human-like figures, each appearing to be no more
than about a hand’s span in height, were seen to emerge from it and
raise the call: “His Majesty is coming! Arrange the seats at once!”
Other figures then came forth, some of whom were seen to be engaged in
sweeping, others in sprinkling water, and thereafter another, who was
announced as the chief town crier, raised his call and bade the people
assemble for an audience with the king. Next, several groups of figures
made their appearance and took their places, the first attired in hats
and sashes after the Persian fashion, the second wielding battleaxes,
and the third comprising a number of footmen and executioners carrying
bastinados. Finally there appeared, arrayed in regal majesty and crowned
with a royal diadem, a kingly figure, bearing himself with the utmost
haughtiness and grandeur, at turns advancing and pausing in his
progress, who proceeded with great solemnity, poise and dignity to seat
himself upon his throne.

12 At that moment a volley of shots was fired, a fanfare of trumpets
was sounded, and king and tent were enveloped in a pall of smoke. When
it had cleared, the king, ensconced upon his throne, was seen surrounded
by a suite of ministers, princes, and dignitaries of state who, having
taken their places, were standing at attention in his presence. A
captured thief was then brought before the king, who gave the order that
the offender should be beheaded. Without a moment’s delay the chief
executioner cut off the thief’s head, whence a blood-like liquid came
forth. After this the king held audience with his court, during which
intelligence was received that a rebellion had broken out on a certain
frontier. Thereupon the king reviewed his troops and despatched several
regiments supported by artillery to quell the uprising. A few moments
later cannons were heard booming from behind the tent, and it was
announced that a battle had been engaged.

13 This Youth regarded the scene with great amazement. When the royal
audience was ended, the curtain was drawn, and, after some twenty
minutes, a man emerged from behind the tent carrying a box under his
arm.

14 “What is this box,” I asked him, “and what was the nature of this
display?”

15 “All this lavish display and these elaborate devices,” he replied,
“the king, the princes, and the ministers, their pomp and glory, their
might and power, everything you saw, are now contained within this
box.”

16 I swear by My Lord Who, through a single word of His Mouth, hath
brought into being all created things! Ever since that day, all the
trappings of the world have seemed in the eyes of this Youth akin to
that same spectacle. They have never been, nor will they ever be, of any
weight and consequence, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed.
How greatly I marvelled that men should pride themselves upon such
vanities, whilst those possessed of insight, ere they witness any
evidence of human glory, perceive with certainty the inevitability of
its waning. “Never have I looked upon any thing save that I have seen
extinction before it; and God, verily, is a sufficient witness!”

17 It behoveth everyone to traverse this brief span of life with
sincerity and fairness. Should one fail to attain unto the recognition
of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, let him at least conduct himself with
reason and justice. Erelong these outward trappings, these visible
treasures, these earthly vanities, these arrayed armies, these adorned
vestures, these proud and overweening souls, all shall pass into the
confines of the grave, as though into that box. In the eyes of those
possessed of insight, all this conflict, contention and vainglory hath
ever been, and will ever be, like unto the play and pastimes of
children. Take heed, and be not of them that see and yet deny.

18 Our call concerneth not this Youth and the loved ones of God, for
they are already sore-tried and imprisoned and expect nothing from men
such as thee. Our purpose is that thou mayest lift up thy head from the
couch of heedlessness, shake off the slumber of negligence, and cease to
oppose unjustly the servants of God. So long as thy power and ascendancy
endure, strive to alleviate the suffering of the oppressed. Shouldst
thou judge with fairness and observe with the eye of discernment the
conflicts and pursuits of this transient world, thou wouldst readily
acknowledge that they are even as the play which We have described.

19 Hearken unto the words of the one true God and pride thyself not
in the things of this world. What hath become of those like unto thee
who falsely claimed lordship on earth, who sought to quench the light of
God in His land and to destroy the foundation of His mighty edifice in
His cities? Where are they to be seen now? Be fair in thy judgement and
return unto God, that perchance He might cancel the trespasses of thy
vain life. Alas, We know that thou shalt never attain unto this, for
such is thy cruelty that it hath made hell to blaze and the Spirit to
lament, and hath caused the pillars of the Throne to shake and the
hearts of the faithful to tremble.

20 O peoples of the earth! Incline your inner ears to the call of
this Wronged One and pause to reflect upon the story that We have
recounted. Perchance ye may not be consumed by the fire of self and
passion, nor allow the vain and worthless objects of this nether world
to withhold you from Him Who is the Eternal Truth. Glory and abasement,
riches and poverty, tranquillity and tribulation, all will pass away,
and all the peoples of the earth will erelong be laid to rest in their
tombs. It behoveth therefore every man of insight to fix his gaze upon
the goal of eternity, that perchance by the grace of Him Who is the
Ancient King he may attain unto the immortal Kingdom and abide beneath
the shade of the Tree of His Revelation.

21 Though this world be fraught with deception and deceit, yet it
continually warneth all men of their impending extinction. The death of
the father proclaimeth to the son that he, too, shall pass away. Would
that the inhabitants of the world who have amassed riches for themselves
and have strayed far from the True One might know who will eventually
lay hand on their treasures; but, by the life of Bahá, no one knoweth
this save God, exalted be His glory.

22 The poet Saná’í, may God’s mercy rest upon him, hath said: “Take
heed, O ye whose unseemly conduct hath darkened your faces! Take heed, O
ye whose beards have been whitened by age!” Alas, most of the people are
fast asleep. They are even as the man who, in his drunkenness, became
attracted to a dog, took it in his embrace, and made it his plaything,
and who, when the morn of discernment dawned and the light of the sun
enveloped the horizon, realized that the object of his affection was but
a dog. Then, filled with shame and remorse, he repaired to his
abode.

23 Think not that thou hast abased this Youth or prevailed over Him.
The least of creatures ruleth over thee, and yet thou perceivest not.
The lowliest and most abject of all things holdeth sway over thee, and
that is none other than self and passion, which have ever been
reprehensible. Were it not for God’s consummate wisdom, thou wouldst
have been able to plainly behold thine own helplessness and that of all
who dwell on earth. Our abasement is indeed the glory of His Cause,
could ye but understand.

24 This Youth hath ever been disinclined to breathe a word contrary
to courtesy, for courtesy is Our raiment, wherewith We have adorned the
temples of Our well-favoured servants. Otherwise, some of the deeds that
ye believe to be concealed would have been divulged in this Tablet.

25 O exponent of might and power! These young children and these poor
ones in God did not need to be accompanied by officers and soldiers.
Upon our arrival in Gallipoli, a major by the name of ‘Umar came into
Our presence. God is well aware of what he said. After some exchanges in
which his own innocence and thy guilt were mentioned, We declared: “From
the outset, a gathering should have been convened at which the learned
men of this age could have met with this Youth in order to determine
what offence these servants have committed. But now the matter hath gone
beyond such considerations, and, according to thine own assertion, thou
art charged with incarcerating Us in the most desolate of cities. There
is a matter, which, if thou findest it possible, I request thee to
submit to His Majesty the Sulṭán, that for ten minutes this Youth be
enabled to meet him, so that he may demand whatsoever he deemeth as a
sufficient testimony and regardeth as proof of the veracity of Him Who
is the Truth. Should God enable Him to produce it, let him, then,
release these wronged ones, and leave them to themselves.”

26 He promised to transmit this message, and to give Us his reply. We
received, however, no news from him. Although it becometh not Him Who is
the Truth to present Himself before any person, inasmuch as all have
been created to obey Him, yet in view of the condition of these little
children and the large number of women so far removed from their friends
and countries, We have acquiesced in this matter. In spite of this
nothing hath resulted. ‘Umar himself is alive and accessible. Inquire
from him, that the truth may be made known unto you.

27 Most of Our companions now lie sick in this prison, and none
knoweth what befell Us, except God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. In
the days following Our arrival, two of these servants hastened to the
realms above. For an entire day the guards insisted that, until they
were paid for the shrouds and burial, those blessed bodies could not be
removed, although no one had requested any help from them. At that time
we were devoid of earthly means, and pleaded that they leave the matter
unto us and allow those present to carry the bodies, but they refused.
Finally, a carpet was taken to the bazaar to be sold, and the sum
obtained was delivered to the guards. Later, it was learned that they
had merely dug a shallow grave into which they had placed both blessed
bodies, although they had taken twice the amount required for shrouds
and burial.

28 The pen is powerless to depict and the tongue faileth to describe
the trials which We have suffered. Yet sweeter than honey to Me is the
bitterness of such tribulations. Would that at every instant all the
afflictions of the world could, in the path of God and for the sake of
His love, be visited upon this evanescent Soul Who is immersed in the
ocean of divine knowledge!

29 We implore God for patience and forbearance, inasmuch as thou art
but a feeble creature and bereft of comprehension. Wert thou to awaken
and inhale the fragrance of the breezes that waft from the retreats of
eternity, thou wouldst readily abandon all that thou dost possess and in
which thou dost rejoice, and choose to abide in one of the dilapidated
rooms of this Most Great Prison. Beseech God to grant thee such mature
understanding as to enable thee to distinguish praiseworthy actions from
those which merit blame. Peace be upon him who followeth the way of
guidance!

Lawḥ-i-Fu’ád

He is the Most Holy, the Most Glorious!

1 Káf. Ẓá’.75 We call unto thee from beyond the
sea of grandeur, upon the crimson land, above the horizon of
tribulation. Verily, no God is there save Him, the Almighty, the Most
Generous. Walk thou steadfastly in My Cause and follow not the ways of
those who, upon attaining unto the object of their desire, denied God,
the Lord of Lords. Erelong shall He lay hold upon them in His wrath, and
He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Subduing.

2 Know thou that, through the power of His sovereign might, God hath
seized him who was the foremost amongst them that passed judgement
against Us. When he saw his torment approaching, he fled to Paris to
seek recourse to physicians.

3 “Is there none to help me?” he asked.

4 He was smitten upon the mouth and told: “There is no escape!”76

5 And when he turned towards the angel of wrath, he well-nigh expired
from fear. “I have a house full of riches,” he pleaded. “I have a palace
on the Bosphorus, beneath which the rivers flow.”

6 The angel replied: “No ransom shall be accepted from thee on this
day, even shouldst thou offer up all things visible and invisible.
Hearest thou not the sighs of the kindred of God, whom thou didst cast
into prison without proof or testimony? Thy deed hath provoked the
lamentation of the inmates of Paradise, and of those who circle morn and
eve round the Throne on high. The wrath of thy Lord hath descended upon
thee, and stern is He in His chastisement!”77

7 He made reply: “I held command over the people, and here is the
mandate of my authority.”

8 “Hold thy peace, O denier of the Day of Judgement!”78

9 He implored: “Is no respite possible so that I may send for my
family?”

10 “Far from it, O disbeliever in the verses of God!”

11 Thereupon the keepers of the fathomless abyss called unto him:
“The gates of Hell have opened wide to receive thee, O thou who hast
turned away from thy Lord, the Unconstrained! Repair unto its fire, for
it yearneth after thee. Hast thou forgotten, O rejected one, when thou
wert the Nimrod of the age, how thy tyranny eclipsed the very cruelties
of Pharaoh, the Lord of the Stakes?79 By God! Thine iniquity hath rent asunder the
veil of sanctity and caused the pillars of heaven to tremble. Where
canst thou find refuge now? Who shall protect thee from the dreadful
scourge of thy Lord, the All-Compelling? There is no haven for thee in
this Day, O ungodly doubter!” Whereupon the agony of death seized him
and he saw no more. Thus did We lay hold on him in Our wrathful anger,
and severe is thy Lord in His punishment.

12 Then an angel from the right hand of the Throne summoned him:
“Behold the angel of affliction. Is there any place to flee to save
hell, wherein the heart80 boileth?” And the angel of chastisement received
his spirit, and a voice proclaimed: “Enter the bottomless pit which hath
been promised in the Book, and whose existence thou didst day and night
deny!”

13 Soon will We dismiss the one who was like unto him,81 and will lay hold on their Chief
who ruleth the land,82 and I, verily, am the Almighty, the
All-Compelling. Be thou steadfast in the Cause of God and extol thy Lord
morn and eve. Suffer not the light of thy soul to be quenched by the
calumnies of the one who was so blinded by Our bestowals as to turn away
from God, the Lord of all names. He inspireth his devoted followers even
as the Evil One prompteth his own. Erelong shalt thou behold him in
evident loss both in this world and in the world to come. He, indeed, is
among those whom an afflictive torment doth await. He dispatched an
epistle to someone in that land, a writ of the workers of iniquity, in
which he mocked God and recorded that which filled all created things
with dismay. Say: Canst thou find anyone to protect thee when the wrath
of God, the All-Powerful, the Unconstrained, is visited upon thee?

14 Thus have We informed thee of that which lieth concealed within
the hearts of men. Verily, thy Lord is the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
Arise for the triumph of this Cause, and gather together My loved ones.
Help them to see the truth in this Day when the feet of men have
slipped. Say: It behoveth every true believer to assist his Lord. He,
verily, is your helper, while the people have no one to turn to in this
Day.

15 Then We seized Mihdí,83 to whom
We had promised divine chastisement in Our Books and Scriptures. When
Our awful majesty encompassed him, he entreated: “May I not retrace my
steps?”

16 A voice exclaimed: “Woe betide thee, O disbeliever in the Day of
Resurrection! This is the nethermost fire, and its flames have been made
to blaze for thee. Thou didst forsake all righteous deeds in thy vain
and futile life, and now thou hast none to shield thee from God. Thou
art indeed he who caused all hearts to be consumed and the Holy Spirit
to lament.”

17 He pleaded: “Is there yet no refuge for me?”

18 “Nay, by my Lord, even shouldst thou seek recourse to every
possible means!”

19 Thereupon he cried out in such distress as to cause the people of
the graves to tremble, and was seized by the Hand of invincible power. A
voice then proclaimed: “Return unto the seat of wrath in the fire of
hell; wretched and evil be thine abode!”

20 Thus did We lay hold on him as We laid hold on those who preceded
him. Behold their houses which We have left to the spiders, and take
heed, O ye who are endued with understanding! He it is who opposed God,
and for whom the verses of wrath were revealed in the Book. Blessed is
he who readeth it and pondereth its contents, for a goodly end doth in
truth await him.

21 Thus have We recounted unto thee the tale of the evil-doers, that
thine eyes may be solaced. As for thee, there lieth in store naught but
a blissful end.

Súriy-i-Mulúk

He is the Almighty!

1 This is a Tablet from this Servant, who is called Ḥusayn in the
kingdom of names, to the concourse of the kings of the earth. Haply they
may approach it in a spirit of open-mindedness, discover from its
message the mysteries of divine providence, and be of those that
comprehend its meaning, and perchance they may forsake all they possess,
turn towards the retreats of holiness, and draw nigh unto God, the
All-Glorious, the Incomparable.

2 O kings of the earth! Give ear unto the Voice of God, calling from
this sublime, this fruit-laden Tree, that hath sprung out of the Crimson
Hill, upon the holy Plain, intoning the words: “There is none other God
but He, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.” This is a Spot
which hath been sanctified by God for those who approach it, a Spot
wherein His Voice may be heard from the celestial Tree of Holiness. Fear
God, O concourse of kings, and suffer not yourselves to be deprived of
this most sublime grace. Fling away, then, the things ye possess, and
take fast hold on the Handle of God, the Exalted, the Great. Set your
hearts towards the Face of God, and abandon that which your desires have
bidden you to follow, and be not of those who perish.

3 Relate unto them, O Servant, the story of ‘Alí,84 when He came unto them with truth,
bearing His glorious and weighty Book, and holding in His hands a
testimony and proof from God, and holy and blessed tokens from Him. Ye,
however, O kings, have failed to heed the Remembrance of God in His days
and to be guided by the lights which arose and shone forth above the
horizon of a resplendent Heaven. Ye examined not His Cause when so to do
would have been better for you than all that the sun shineth upon, could
ye but perceive it. Ye remained careless until the divines of
Persia—those cruel ones—pronounced judgement against Him, and unjustly
slew Him. His spirit ascended unto God, and the eyes of the inmates of
Paradise and the angels that are nigh unto Him wept sore by reason of
this cruelty. Beware that ye be not careless henceforth as ye have been
careless aforetime. Return, then, unto God, your Maker, and be not of
the heedless.

4 Say: The Sun of vicegerency hath dawned, the Point of knowledge and
wisdom hath been made plain, and the Testimony of God, the Almighty, the
All-Wise, hath been made manifest. Say: The Moon of eternity hath risen
in the midmost heaven, and its light hath illumined the dwellers of the
realms above. My face hath come forth from the veils, and shed its
radiance upon all that is in heaven and on earth; and yet, ye turned not
towards Him, notwithstanding that ye were created for Him, O concourse
of kings! Follow, therefore, that which I speak unto you, and hearken
unto it with your hearts, and be not of such as have turned aside. For
your glory consisteth not in your sovereignty, but rather in your
nearness unto God and your observance of His command as sent down in His
holy and preserved Tablets. Should any one of you rule over the whole
earth, and over all that lieth within it and upon it, its seas, its
lands, its mountains, and its plains, and yet be not remembered by God,
all these would profit him not, could ye but know it.

5 Know ye that a servant’s glory resideth in his nearness unto God,
and that, unless he draweth nigh unto Him, naught else can ever profit
him, even should he hold sway over the entire creation. Say: The breeze
of God hath wafted over you from the retreats of Paradise, but ye have
neglected it and chosen to persist in your waywardness. Guidance hath
been given unto you from God, but ye have failed to follow it and
preferred to reject its truth. The Lamp of God hath been lit within the
niche of His Cause, but ye have neglected to seek the radiance of its
glory and to draw nigh unto its light. And still ye slumber upon the
couch of heedlessness!

6 Arise, then, and make steadfast your feet, and make ye amends for
that which hath escaped you, and set then yourselves towards His holy
Court, on the shore of His mighty Ocean, so that the pearls of knowledge
and wisdom, which God hath stored up within the shell of His radiant
heart, may be revealed unto you. Such is the counsel that shall profit
you most; make of it your provision, that ye may be of those who are
guided aright. Beware lest ye hinder the breeze of God from blowing over
your hearts, the breeze through which the hearts of such as have turned
unto Him can be quickened. Hearken unto the clear admonitions that We
have revealed for you in this Tablet, that God, in turn, may hearken
unto you, and may open before your faces the portals of His mercy. He,
verily, is the Compassionate, the Merciful.

7 Lay not aside the fear of God, O kings of the earth, and beware
that ye transgress not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed. Observe
the injunctions laid upon you in His Book, and take good heed not to
overstep their limits. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to
anyone, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the
path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path.

8 Compose your differences and reduce your armaments, that the burden
of your expenditures may be lightened, and that your minds and hearts
may be tranquillized. Heal the dissensions that divide you, and ye will
no longer be in need of any armaments except what the protection of your
cities and territories demandeth. Fear ye God, and take heed not to
outstrip the bounds of moderation and be numbered among the
extravagant.

9 We have learned that ye are increasing your outlay every year, and
are laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is more
than they can bear, and is a grievous injustice. Decide ye justly
between men, O kings, and be ye the emblems of justice amongst them.
This, if ye judge fairly, is the thing that behoveth you, and beseemeth
your station.

10 Beware not to deal unjustly with anyone that appealeth to you and
entereth beneath your shadow. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be ye of
them that lead a godly life. Rest not on your power, your armies, and
treasures. Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created
you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succour cometh from Him
alone. He succoureth whom He willeth with the hosts of the heavens and
of the earth.

11 Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst. Watch
that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and
that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly
be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of
Justice shall be set, the day when unto everyone shall be rendered his
due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be
weighed.

12 If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless and
unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine
chastisement shall assail you from every direction, and the sentence of
His justice shall be pronounced against you. On that day ye shall have
no power to resist Him, and shall recognize your own impotence. Have
mercy on yourselves and on those beneath you, and judge ye between them
according to the precepts prescribed by God in His most holy and exalted
Tablet, a Tablet wherein He hath assigned to each and every thing its
settled measure, in which He hath given, with distinctness, an
explanation of all things, and which is in itself a monition unto them
that believe in Him.

13 Examine Our Cause, inquire into the things that have befallen Us,
and decide justly between Us and Our enemies, and be ye of them that act
equitably towards their neighbour. If ye stay not the hand of the
oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, what
right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye
can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride
yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity
and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true
glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then
the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it
supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these very things, by the decree
of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath
ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye
derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory!
Would that ye could perceive it!

14 Nay, by Him Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire
creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your
firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of
His laws, your resolution to see that they do not remain unenforced, and
to pursue steadfastly the right course.

15 O kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the
Spirit of God, “I go away, and come again unto you”?85 Wherefore, then, did ye fail, when
He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto
Him, that ye might behold His face, and be of them that attained His
Presence? In another passage He saith: “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is
come, He will guide you into all truth.”86 And yet behold how, when He did bring the truth, ye
refused to turn your faces towards Him, and persisted in disporting
yourselves with your pastimes and fancies. Ye welcomed Him not, neither
did ye seek His Presence, that ye might hear the verses of God from His
own mouth, and partake of the manifold wisdom of the Almighty, the
All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Ye have, by reason of your failure, hindered
the breath of God from being wafted over you, and have withheld from
your souls the sweetness of its fragrance. Ye continue roving with
delight in the valley of your corrupt desires. By God! Ye, and all ye
possess, shall pass away. Ye shall, most certainly, return to God, and
shall be called to account for your doings in the presence of Him Who
shall gather together the entire creation.

16 Again, heard ye not that which hath been recorded in the Gospel
concerning those “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”87—that is, those who have been made manifest through the
power of God? Wherefore it becometh evident that one may well be
manifested in the world of creation who is truly of God, the Almighty,
the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. How is it then that when word reached you
of Our Cause, ye failed to inquire from Our own lips, that ye might
distinguish truth from falsehood, discover Our aim and purpose, and
learn of the afflictions which We have suffered at the hands of an evil
and wayward generation?

17 O Minister of the King of Paris!88 Hast thou forgotten the
pronouncement recorded in the Gospel according to John concerning the
Word and those who are its Manifestations? And hast thou ignored the
counsels of the Spirit89 concerning
the Manifestations of the Word, and been numbered with the heedless? If
not, wherefore then didst thou conspire with the Minister of Persia90 to
inflict upon Us that which hath caused the hearts of men of insight and
understanding to melt, the tears of the denizens of the Realm of
eternity to flow, and the souls of them who are nigh unto God to mourn?
And all this thou didst commit without seeking to examine Our Cause or
to discern its truth. For is it not thy clear duty to investigate this
Cause, to inform thyself of the things that have befallen Us, to judge
with equity, and to cleave unto justice?

18 Thy days shall pass away, thy ministry shall come to an end, and
thy possessions shall vanish and be no more. Then, in the presence of
the almighty King, thou shalt be called to answer for that which thy
hands have wrought. How many the ministers who came before thee into
this world, men who exceeded thee in power, excelled thee in station,
and surpassed thee in wealth, and yet returned to dust, leaving upon the
face of the earth neither name nor trace, and are now plunged in
grievous remorse. Amongst them were those who failed in their duty
towards God, followed their own desires, and trod the path of lust and
wickedness. And amongst them were those who observed that which hath
been prescribed in the verses of God, judged with fairness by the divine
guidance that overshadowed them, and entered beneath the shelter of the
mercy of their Lord.

19 I admonish thee, and those who are like thee, to deal not with
anyone as ye have dealt with Us. Beware lest ye follow in the footsteps
of the Evil One and walk in the ways of the unjust. Take from this world
only to the measure of your needs, and forgo that which exceedeth them.
Observe equity in all your judgements, and transgress not the bounds of
justice, nor be of them that stray from its path.

20 Twenty years have passed, O kings, during which We have, each day,
tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. No one of them that were before
Us hath endured the things We have endured. Would that ye could perceive
it! They that rose up against Us have put us to death, have shed our
blood, have plundered our property, and violated our honour. Though
aware of most of our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay
the hand of the aggressor. For is it not your clear duty to restrain the
tyranny of the oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that
your high sense of justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind?

21 God hath committed into your hands the reins of the government of
the people, that ye may rule with justice over them, safeguard the
rights of the downtrodden, and punish the wrongdoers. If ye neglect the
duty prescribed unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be
numbered with those of the unjust in His sight. Grievous, indeed, will
be your error. Cleave ye to that which your imaginations have devised,
and cast behind your backs the commandments of God, the Most Exalted,
the Inaccessible, the All-Compelling, the Almighty? Cast away the things
ye possess, and cling to that which God hath bidden you observe. Seek ye
His grace, for he that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.

22 Consider the state in which We are, and behold ye the ills and
troubles that have tried Us. Neglect Us not, though it be for a moment,
and judge ye between Us and Our enemies with equity. This will, surely,
be a manifest advantage unto you. Thus do We relate to you Our tale, and
recount the things that have befallen Us, that ye might take off Our
ills and ease Our burden. Let him who will, relieve Us from Our trouble;
and as to him that willeth not, My Lord is assuredly the best of
helpers.

23 Warn and acquaint the people, O Servant, with the things We have
sent down unto Thee, and let the fear of no one dismay Thee, and be Thou
not of them that waver. The day is approaching when God will have
exalted His Cause and magnified His testimony in the eyes of all who are
in the heavens and all who are on the earth. Place, in all
circumstances, Thy whole trust in Thy Lord, and fix Thy gaze upon Him,
and turn away from all them that repudiate His truth. Let God, Thy Lord,
be Thy sufficing succourer and helper. We have pledged Ourself to secure
Thy triumph upon earth and to exalt Our Cause above all men, though no
king be found who would turn his face towards Thee.

24 Call Thou to remembrance Thine arrival in the City, how the
Ministers of the Sulṭán thought Thee to be unacquainted with their laws
and regulations, and believed Thee to be one of the ignorant. Say: Yea,
by My Lord! I am ignorant of all things except what God hath, through
His bountiful favour, been pleased to teach Me. To this We assuredly
testify, and unhesitatingly confess it.

25 Say: If the laws and regulations to which ye cleave be of your own
making, We will, in no wise, follow them. Thus have I been instructed by
Him Who is the All-Wise, the All-Informed. Such hath been My way in the
past, and such will it remain in the future, through the power of God
and His might. This, indeed, is the true and right way. If they be
ordained by God, bring forth, then, your proofs, if ye be of them that
speak the truth. Say: We have written down in a Book which leaveth not
unrecorded the work of any man, however insignificant, all that they
have imputed to Thee, and all that they have done unto Thee.

26 Say: It behoveth you, O Ministers of State, to keep the precepts
of God, and to forsake your own laws and regulations, and to be of them
who are guided aright. Better is this for you than all ye possess, did
ye but know it. If ye transgress the commandment of God, not one jot or
one tittle of all your works shall be acceptable in His sight. Ye shall,
erelong, discover the consequences of that which ye shall have done in
this vain life, and shall be repaid for them. This, verily, is the
truth, the undoubted truth.

27 How great the number of those who, in bygone ages, have committed
the things ye have committed, and who, though superior to you in rank,
have, in the end, returned unto dust, and been consigned to their
inevitable doom! Would that ye might ponder the Cause of God in your
hearts! Ye shall follow in their wake, and shall be made to enter a
habitation wherein none shall be found to befriend or help you. Ye
shall, of a truth, be asked of your doings, shall be called to account
for your failure in duty with regard to the Cause of God, and for having
disdainfully rejected His loved ones who, with manifest sincerity, have
come unto you.

28 It is ye who have taken counsel together regarding them, ye that
have preferred to follow the promptings of your own desires, and
forsaken the commandment of God, the Help in Peril, the Almighty.

29 Say: What! Cleave ye to your own devices, and cast behind your
backs the precepts of God? Ye, indeed, have wronged your own selves and
others. Would that ye could perceive it! Say: If your rules and
principles be founded on justice, why is it, then, that ye follow those
which accord with your corrupt inclinations and reject such as conflict
with your desires? By what right claim ye, then, to judge fairly between
men? Are your rules and principles such as to justify your persecution
of Him Who, at your bidding, hath presented Himself before you, your
rejection of Him, and your infliction on Him every day of grievous
injury? Hath He ever, though it be for one short moment, disobeyed you?
All the inhabitants of ‘Iráq, and beyond them every discerning observer,
will bear witness to the truth of My words.

30 Be fair in your judgement, O ye Ministers of State! What is it
that We have committed that could justify Our banishment? What is the
offence that hath warranted Our expulsion? It is We Who have sought you,
and yet, behold how ye refused to receive Us! By God! This is a sore
injustice that ye have perpetrated—an injustice with which no earthly
injustice can measure. To this the Almighty is Himself a witness.

31 Have I at any time transgressed your laws, or disobeyed any of
your ministers in ‘Iráq? Inquire of them, that ye may act with
discernment towards Us and be numbered with those who are well-informed.
Hath anyone ever brought before them a plaint against Us? Hath anyone
amongst them ever heard from Us a word contrary to that which God hath
revealed in His Book? Bring forth, then, your evidence, that We may
approve your actions and acknowledge your claims!

32 Had ye wished to deal with Us in accordance with your principles
and standards, it would have behoved you to respect and honour Us for
complying with your commands and following that which ye have pleased to
ordain. Likewise, it would have beseemed you to repay the debts which We
incurred in ‘Iráq in the execution of your wishes. Ye should have given
ear then unto Us, heard the account of Our woes, and judged with equity,
as ye would judge your own selves. Ye should not have wished for Us that
which ye have not wished for yourselves, but rather chosen to act with
generosity. By God! Ye dealt with Us neither in accordance with your own
principles and standards, nor with those of any man living, but in
accordance with the promptings of your evil and wayward passions, O ye
concourse of the froward and the arrogant!

33 O Bird of Holiness! Soar in the heaven of communion with Me, and
acquaint the people with that which We disclosed unto Thee in the
billowing oceans of immortality beyond the mount of glory. Let the fear
of no one dismay Thee, and put Thy trust in God, the Almighty, the
Beneficent. We, verily, shall protect Thee from those who, without a
clear token from God or an enlightening Book, have grievously wronged
Thee.

34 Say: God is My witness, O concourse of the negligent! We came not
unto you to spread disorder in your lands or to sow dissension amongst
your peoples. Nay rather, We came in obedience to the command of the
sovereign, and in order to exalt your authority, to instruct you in the
ways of Our wisdom, and to remind you of that which ye had
forgotten—even as He saith in truth: “Warn them, for, in truth, Thy
warning will profit the believers.”91 But ye hearkened not unto the sweet melodies of the
Spirit, and gave ear unwittingly unto Our enemies, they who follow the
promptings of their corrupt inclinations, whose deeds the Evil One hath
made fair-seeming in their own eyes, and whose tongues utter calumnies
against Us. Heard ye not that which hath been revealed in His
all-glorious and unerring Book: “If a wicked man come to you with news,
clear it up at once”?92
Wherefore have ye then cast the command of God behind your backs, and
followed in the footsteps of them that are bent on mischief?

35 We have heard that one of these calumniators hath alleged that
this Servant practised usury whilst residing in ‘Iráq, and was engaged
in amassing riches for Himself. Say: How can ye judge a matter whereof
ye have no knowledge? How can ye hurl calumnies against the servants of
God, and entertain such evil suspicions? And how could this accusation
be true, when God hath forbidden this practice unto His servants in that
most holy and well-guarded Book revealed unto Muḥammad, the Apostle of
God and the Seal of the Prophets, a Book which He hath ordained to be
His abiding testimony, and His guidance and monition unto all mankind?
This is but one of the matters in which We have opposed the divines of
Persia, inasmuch as We have, according to the text of the Book,
forbidden unto all men the practice of usury. God Himself beareth
witness to the truth of My words. “Yet I hold not myself clear, for the
soul is prone to evil.”93 We
intend only to impart unto you the truth, that ye might be informed
thereof and be of them that lead a godly life. Beware lest ye give ear
to the words of those from whom the foul smell of malice and envy can be
discerned; pay no heed to them, and stand ye for righteousness.

36 Know ye that the world and its vanities and its embellishments
shall pass away. Nothing will endure except God’s Kingdom which
pertaineth to none but Him, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Help in
Peril, the All-Glorious, the Almighty. The days of your life shall roll
away, and all the things with which ye are occupied and of which ye
boast yourselves shall perish, and ye shall, most certainly, be summoned
by a company of His angels to appear at the spot where the limbs of the
entire creation shall be made to tremble, and the flesh of every
oppressor to creep. Ye shall be asked of the things your hands have
wrought in this, your vain life, and shall be repaid for your doings.
This is the day that shall inevitably come upon you, the hour that none
can put back. To this the Tongue of Him that speaketh the truth and is
the Knower of all things hath testified.

37 Fear God, ye inhabitants of the City, and sow not the seeds of
dissension amongst men. Walk not in the paths of the Evil One. Walk ye,
during the few remaining days of your life, in the ways of the one true
God. Your days shall pass away as have the days of them who were before
you. To dust shall ye return, even as your fathers of old did
return.

38 Know ye that I am afraid of none except God. In none but Him have
I placed My trust; to none will I cleave but Him, and wish for naught
except the thing He hath wished for Me. This, indeed, is My heart’s
desire, did ye but know it. I have offered up My soul and My body as a
sacrifice for God, the Lord of all worlds. Whoso hath known God shall
know none but Him, and he that feareth God shall be afraid of no one
except Him, though the powers of the whole earth rise up and be arrayed
against him. I speak naught except at His bidding, and follow naught,
through the power of God and His might, except His truth. He, verily,
shall recompense the truthful.

39 Narrate, O Servant, the things Thou didst behold at the time of
Thine arrival in the City, that Thy testimony may endure amongst men,
and serve as a warning unto them that believe. We found, upon Our
arrival in the City, its governors and elders as children gathered about
and disporting themselves with clay. We perceived no one sufficiently
mature to acquire from Us the truths which God hath taught Us, nor ripe
for Our wondrous words of wisdom. Our inner eye wept sore over them, and
over their transgressions and their total disregard of the thing for
which they were created. This is what We observed in that city, and
which We have chosen to note down in Our Book, that it may serve as a
warning unto them, and unto the rest of mankind.

40 Say: If ye be seekers after this life and the vanities thereof, ye
should have sought them while ye were still enclosed in your mothers’
wombs, for at that time ye were continually approaching them, could ye
but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand, ever since ye were born and
attained maturity, been all the while receding from the world and
drawing closer to dust. Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing the
treasures of the earth, when your days are numbered and your chance is
well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless ones, shake off your
slumber?

41 Incline your ears to the counsels which this Servant giveth you
for the sake of God. He, verily, asketh no recompense from you and is
resigned to what God hath ordained for Him, and is entirely submissive
to God’s Will.

42 The days of your life are far spent, O people, and your end is
fast approaching. Put away, therefore, the things ye have devised and to
which ye cleave, and take firm hold on the precepts of God, that haply
ye may attain that which He hath purposed for you, and be of them that
pursue a right course. Delight not yourselves in the things of the world
and its vain ornaments, neither set your hopes on them. Let your
reliance be on the remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.
He will, erelong, bring to naught all the things ye possess. Let Him be
your fear, and forget not His covenant with you, and be not of them that
are shut out as by a veil from Him.

43 Beware that ye swell not with pride before God, and disdainfully
reject His loved ones. Defer ye humbly to the faithful, they that have
believed in God and in His signs, whose hearts witness to His unity,
whose tongues proclaim His oneness, and who speak not except by His
leave. Thus do We exhort you with justice, and warn you with truth, that
perchance ye may be awakened.

44 Lay not on any soul a load which ye would not wish to be laid upon
you, and desire not for anyone the things ye would not desire for
yourselves. This is My best counsel unto you, did ye but observe it.

45 Respect ye the divines and learned amongst you, they whose conduct
accords with their professions, who transgress not the bounds which God
hath fixed, whose judgements are in conformity with His behests as
revealed in His Book. Know ye that they are the lamps of guidance unto
them that are in the heavens and on the earth. They who disregard and
neglect the divines and learned that live amongst them—these have truly
changed the favour with which God hath favoured them.

46 Say: Wait ye till God will have changed His favour unto you.
Nothing whatsoever escapeth Him. He knoweth the secrets both of the
heavens and of the earth. His knowledge embraceth all things. Rejoice
not in what ye have done, or will do in the future, nor delight in the
tribulation with which ye have afflicted Us, for ye are unable by such
means as these to exalt your stations, were ye to examine your works
with acute discernment. Neither will ye be capable of detracting from
the loftiness of Our state. Nay, God will add unto the recompense with
which He shall reward Us, for having sustained with persevering patience
the tribulations We have suffered. He, verily, shall increase the reward
of them that endure with patience.

47 Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial,
been the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His
servants as are detached from all else but Him, they whom neither
merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the Almighty,
they that speak not till He hath spoken, and act according to His
commandment. Such is God’s method carried into effect of old, and such
will it remain in the future. Blessed are the steadfastly enduring, they
that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over anything
that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation.

48 That which hath befallen Us hath been witnessed before. Ours is
not the first goblet dashed to the ground in the lands of Islám, nor is
this the first time that such schemers have intrigued against the
beloved of the Lord. The tribulations We have sustained are like unto
the trials endured aforetime by Imám Ḥusayn. For he was approached by
messengers from malicious and evil-hearted plotters, inviting him to
come forth from the city; yet when he came unto them, accompanied by his
kindred, they rose up against him with all their might, until at last
they slew him, slaughtered his sons and his brothers, and took captive
the remainder of his family. So did it come to pass in an earlier age,
and God, verily, is a witness unto My words. Of his lineage there
survived none, whether young or old, save his son ‘Alí al-Awsat, known
as Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín.

49 Behold then, O heedless ones, how brightly the fire of the love of
God blazed aforetime in the heart of Ḥusayn, if ye be of them that
ponder! So intense grew its flame that fervour and longing at last
seized the reins of patience from his grasp, and the love of Him Who is
the All-Compelling so enraptured his heart that he surrendered his soul,
his spirit, his substance, and his all in the path of God, the Lord of
the worlds. By God! Sweeter was this in his sight than the empire of
earth and heaven. For the true lover desireth naught save reunion with
his beloved and the seeker hath no goal but to attain unto the object of
his quest. Their hearts long for reunion even as the body yearneth for
the spirit, nay greater indeed is their longing, could ye but perceive
it!

50 Say: That same fire now blazeth in Mine own breast, and My wish is
that this Ḥusayn may lay down His life in like manner, in the hope of
attaining unto so august and sublime a station, that station wherein the
servant dieth to himself and liveth in God, the Almighty, the Exalted,
the Great. Were I to disclose unto you the mysteries which God hath
enshrined therein, ye would, of a truth, offer up your lives in His
path, renounce your riches, and forsake all that ye possess, that ye
might attain this transcendent and all-glorious station. God, however,
hath veiled your hearts and obscured your eyes, lest ye should apprehend
His mysteries and be made aware of their meaning.

51 Say: The sincere soul longeth for nearness to God even as the
suckling babe yearneth for its mother’s breast, nay more ardent is his
longing, could ye but know it! Again, his longing is even as the panting
of one sore athirst after the living waters of grace, or the yearning of
the sinner for forgiveness and mercy. Thus do We expound unto you the
mysteries of the Cause, and impart unto you what shall render you
independent of all that hath so far occupied you, that perchance ye may
enter the Court of Holiness within this exalted Paradise. I swear by
God! Whoso entereth therein shall never abandon its precincts, and whoso
gazeth thereon shall never turn away therefrom, even should the swords
of infidels and deniers rain blows upon him. Thus have We related unto
you that which befell Ḥusayn, and We beseech God that He may destine for
Us that which He had decreed for him. He, verily, is the Most Generous,
the All-Bountiful.

52 By the righteousness of God! Through his deed the fragrances of
holiness were wafted over all things, the proof of God was perfected,
and His testimony made manifest to all men. And after him God raised up
a people who avenged his death, who slew his enemies, and who wept over
him at dawn and at eventide. Say: God hath pledged in His Book to lay
hold upon every oppressor for his tyranny, and to uproot the stirrers of
mischief. Know ye that such holy deeds exert, in themselves, a great
influence upon the world of being—an influence which is, however,
inscrutable to all save those whose eyes have been opened by God, whose
hearts He hath freed from obscuring veils, and whose souls He hath
guided aright.

53 The day is approaching when God will have raised up a people who
will call to remembrance Our days, who will tell the tale of Our trials,
who will demand the restitution of Our rights from them that, without a
tittle of evidence, have treated Us with manifest injustice. God,
assuredly, dominateth the lives of them that wronged Us, and is well
aware of their doings. He will, most certainly, lay hold on them for
their sins. He, verily, is the fiercest of avengers.

54 Thus have We recounted unto you the tales of the one true God, and
sent down unto you the things He had preordained, that haply ye may ask
forgiveness of Him, may return unto Him, may truly repent, may realize
your misdeeds, may shake off your slumber, may be roused from your
heedlessness, may atone for the things that have escaped you, and be of
them that do good. Let him who will, acknowledge the truth of My words;
and as to him that willeth not, let him turn aside. My sole duty is to
remind you of your failure in duty towards the Cause of God, if
perchance ye may be of them that heed My warning. Wherefore, hearken ye
unto My speech, and return ye to God and repent, that He, through His
grace, may have mercy upon you, may wash away your sins, and forgive
your trespasses. The greatness of His mercy surpasseth the fury of His
wrath, and His grace encompasseth all who have been called into being
and been clothed with the robe of life, be they of the past or of the
future.

55 O concourse of Ministers of State! Do ye believe in your hearts
that We have come to divest you of your earthly possessions and
vanities? Nay, by the One in Whose hand is My soul! Our intention hath
been to make clear that We oppose not the commands of the sovereign, nor
are We to be numbered with the rebellious. Know ye of a certainty that
all the treasures of the earth, all the gold, the silver, and the rare
and precious gems they contain, are, in the sight of God, of His chosen
ones and His loved ones, as worthless as a handful of clay. For erelong
all that is on earth shall perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God,
the All-Powerful, the Incomparable. That which perisheth can never
profit Us, nor can it profit you, were ye but to reflect.

56 By the righteousness of God! I speak not falsely, and utter naught
save that which God hath bidden Me. To this bear witness the very words
of this Tablet, if ye but reflect upon its contents. Follow not the
promptings of your own desires, nor the whisperings of the Evil One in
your souls. Follow rather the Cause of God, both in your outward and
your inner lives, and be not of the heedless. Better is this for you
than all that ye have laid up in your houses, and all that ye have
sought by day and night.

57 The world will pass away, and so will all the things whereat your
hearts rejoice, or wherein ye pride yourselves before men. Cleanse the
mirrors of your hearts from the dross of the world and all that is
therein, that they may reflect the resplendent light of God. This,
indeed, shall enable you to dispense with all save God, and to attain
unto the good pleasure of your Lord, the Most Bountiful, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We, verily, have unfolded before your eyes
that which shall profit you both in this world and in the realm of
faith, and which will lead you to the path of salvation. Would that ye
might turn thereunto!

58 Hearken, O King,94 to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth,
Him that doth not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath
chosen to bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the straight
Path. He it is Who summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth thee
the right course, the way that leadeth to true felicity, that haply thou
mayest be of them with whom it shall be well.

59 Beware, O King, that thou gather not around thee such ministers as
follow the desires of a corrupt inclination, as have cast behind their
backs that which hath been committed into their hands and manifestly
betrayed their trust. Be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous
to thee, and abandon not the interests of thy people to the mercy of
such ministers as these. Lay not aside the fear of God, and be thou of
them that act uprightly. Gather around thee those ministers from whom
thou canst perceive the fragrance of faith and of justice, and take thou
counsel with them, and choose whatever is best in thy sight, and be of
them that act generously.

60 Know thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in God is
neither trustworthy nor truthful. This, indeed, is the truth, the
undoubted truth. He that acteth treacherously towards God will, also,
act treacherously towards his king. Nothing whatever can deter such a
man from evil, nothing can hinder him from betraying his neighbour,
nothing can induce him to walk uprightly.

61 Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of thy
state into the hands of others, and repose not thy confidence in
ministers unworthy of thy trust, and be not of them that live in
heedlessness. Shun them whose hearts are turned away from thee, and
place not thy confidence in them, and entrust them not with thine
affairs and the affairs of such as profess thy faith. Beware that thou
allow not the wolf to become the shepherd of God’s flock, and surrender
not the fate of His loved ones to the mercy of the malicious. Expect not
that they who violate the ordinances of God will be trustworthy or
sincere in the faith they profess. Avoid them, and preserve strict guard
over thyself, lest their devices and mischief hurt thee. Turn away from
them, and fix thy gaze upon God, thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most
Bountiful. He that giveth up himself wholly to God, God shall,
assuredly, be with him; and he that placeth his complete trust in God,
God shall, verily, protect him from whatsoever may harm him, and shield
him from the wickedness of every evil plotter.

62 Wert thou to incline thine ear unto My speech and observe My
counsel, God would exalt thee to so eminent a position that the designs
of no man on the whole earth can ever touch or hurt thee. Observe, O
King, with thine inmost heart and with thy whole being, the precepts of
God, and walk not in the paths of the oppressor. Seize thou, and hold
firmly within the grasp of thy might, the reins of the affairs of thy
people, and examine in person whatever pertaineth unto them. Let nothing
escape thee, for therein lieth the highest good.

63 Render thanks unto God for having chosen thee out of the whole
world, and made thee king over them that profess thy faith. It well
beseemeth thee to appreciate the wondrous favours with which God hath
favoured thee, and to magnify continually His name. Thou canst best
praise Him if thou lovest His loved ones, and dost safeguard and protect
His servants from the mischief of the treacherous, that none may any
longer oppress them. Thou shouldst, moreover, arise to enforce the law
of God amongst them, that thou mayest be of those who are firmly
established in His law.

64 Shouldst thou cause rivers of justice to spread their waters
amongst thy subjects, God would surely aid thee with the hosts of the
unseen and of the seen, and would strengthen thee in thine affairs. No
God is there but Him. All creation and its empire are His. Unto Him
return the works of the faithful.

65 Place not thy reliance on thy treasures. Put thy whole confidence
in the grace of God, thy Lord. Let Him be thy trust in whatever thou
doest, and be of them that have submitted themselves to His Will. Let
Him be thy helper and enrich thyself with His treasures, for with Him
are the treasuries of the heavens and of the earth. He bestoweth them
upon whom He will, and from whom He will He withholdeth them. There is
none other God but Him, the All-Possessing, the All-Praised. All are but
paupers at the door of His mercy; all are helpless before the revelation
of His sovereignty, and beseech His favours.

66 Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal justly with them
that serve thee. Bestow upon them according to their needs, and not to
the extent that will enable them to lay up riches for themselves, to
deck their persons, to embellish their homes, to acquire the things that
are of no benefit unto them, and to be numbered with the extravagant.
Deal with them with undeviating justice, so that none among them may
either suffer want, or be pampered with luxuries. This is but manifest
justice.

67 Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them who are noble
and worthy of honour, and suffer not the high-minded to be at the mercy
of the contemptible and worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our
arrival in the City, and to it We bear witness. We found among its
inhabitants some who were possessed of an affluent fortune and lived in
the midst of excessive riches, while others were in dire want and abject
poverty. This ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy
rank.

68 Let My counsel be acceptable to thee, and strive thou to rule with
equity among men, that God may exalt thy name and spread abroad the fame
of thy justice in all the world. Beware lest thou aggrandize thy
ministers at the expense of thy subjects. Fear the sighs of the poor and
of the upright in heart who, at every break of day, bewail their plight,
and be unto them a benignant sovereign. They, verily, are thy treasures
on earth. It behoveth thee, therefore, to safeguard thy treasures from
the assaults of them who wish to rob thee. Inquire into their affairs,
and ascertain, every year, nay every month, their condition, and be not
of them that are careless of their duty.

69 Set before thine eyes God’s unerring Balance and, as one standing
in His Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every
moment of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a
reckoning, on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear
of God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to
tremble.

70 It behoveth every king to be as bountiful as the sun, which
fostereth the growth of all beings, and giveth to each its due, whose
benefits are not inherent in itself, but are ordained by Him Who is the
Most Powerful, the Almighty. The King should be as generous, as liberal
in his mercy as the clouds, the outpourings of whose bounty are showered
upon every land, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the
All-Knowing.

71 Have a care not to entrust thine affairs of state entirely into
another’s hands. None can discharge thy functions better than thine own
self. Thus do We make clear unto thee Our words of wisdom, and send down
upon thee that which can enable thee to pass over from the left hand of
oppression to the right hand of justice, and approach the resplendent
ocean of His favours. Such is the path which the kings that were before
thee have trodden, they that acted equitably towards their subjects, and
walked in the ways of undeviating justice.

72 Thou art God’s shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act in such
a manner as befitteth so eminent, so august a station. If thou dost
depart from following the things We have caused to descend upon thee and
taught thee, thou wilt, assuredly, be derogating from that great and
priceless honour. Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse
thine heart from the world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love
of any stranger to enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify
thine heart from every trace of such love can the brightness of the
light of God shed its radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more
than one heart. This, verily, hath been decreed and written down in His
ancient Book. And as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and
undivided, it behoveth thee to take heed that its affections be, also,
one and undivided. Cleave thou, therefore, with the whole affection of
thine heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of anyone
besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself in the ocean of His
unity, and enable thee to become a true upholder of His oneness. God is
My witness. My sole purpose in revealing to thee these words is to
sanctify thee from the transitory things of the earth, and aid thee to
enter the realm of everlasting glory, that thou mayest, by the leave of
God, be of them that abide and rule therein.

73 Hast thou heard, O King, what We have suffered at the hands of thy
ministers and how We have been treated by them, or art thou of the
negligent? If indeed thou hast heard and known, wherefore didst thou not
forbid thy ministers to commit such deeds? How didst thou desire for Him
Who hath complied with thy command, and been obedient to thy behest,
that which no king would desire for any of his subjects? And if thou
knowest not, this indeed is a more grievous error, wert thou of the
God-fearing. Wherefore shall I recount to thee that which We have
suffered at the hands of these oppressors.

74 Know, then, that We came unto thy city at thine own behest, and
entered therein with conspicuous honour. They expelled Us, however, from
thy city with an abasement with which no abasement on earth can compare,
if thou be of them that are well-informed. They made Us journey until We
reached the place95 which none
entereth except such as have rebelled against the authority of the
sovereign, and as are numbered with the transgressors. All this,
notwithstanding that We had never disobeyed thee, though it be for a
single moment, for when We heard thy bidding We observed it and
submitted to thy will. In dealing with Us, however, thy ministers
neither honoured the standards of God and His commandments, nor heeded
that which hath been revealed to the Prophets and Messengers. They
showed Us no mercy and committed against Us that which no one among the
faithful hath ever wrought against his fellow, nor any believer
inflicted upon an infidel. God knoweth and is a witness unto the truth
of Our words.

75 When they expelled Us from thy city, they placed Us in such
conveyances as the people use to carry baggage and the like. Such was
the treatment We received at their hands, shouldst thou wish to know the
truth. Thus were We sent away, and thus were We brought to the city
which they regard as the abode of rebels. Upon our arrival, We could
find no house in which to dwell, and perforce resided in a place where
none would enter save the most indigent stranger. There We lodged for a
time, after which, suffering increasingly from the confined space, We
sought and rented houses which by reason of the extreme cold had been
vacated by their occupants. Thus in the depth of winter we were
constrained to make our abode in houses wherein none dwell except in the
heat of summer. Neither My family, nor those who accompanied Me, had the
necessary raiment to protect them from the cold in that freezing
weather.

76 Would that thy ministers had dealt with Us according to the
principles they uphold amongst themselves! For, by God, they dealt with
Us neither in accordance with the commandments of God, nor with the
practices they uphold, nor with the standards current amongst men, nor
even with the manner in which the destitute of the earth receive a
wayfarer. Such is the account of what We suffered at their hands, and
which We have related unto thee in a language of truthfulness and
sincerity.

77 All this befell Me, though I had come unto them at their own
behest and did not oppose their authority, which deriveth from thine
own. Thus did We accept and observe their bidding. They, however, appear
to have forgotten that which God hath commanded. He saith, and His Word
is the truth: “Act with humility towards the believers.”96 Methinks that their only concern
was their own comfort and repose, and that their ears were deaf to the
sighs of the poor and the cries of the oppressed. They seem to imagine
that they have been created from pure light, while others have been
fashioned out of dust. How wretched are their imaginings! We have all
been created from a sorry germ.97

78 I swear by God, O King! It is not My wish to make My plaint to
thee against them that persecute Me. I only plead My grief and My sorrow
to God, Who hath created Me and them, Who well knoweth our state and Who
watcheth over all things. My wish is to warn them of the consequences of
their actions, if perchance they might desist from treating others as
they have treated Me, and be of them that heed My warning.

79 The tribulations that have touched Us, the destitution from which
We suffer, the various troubles with which We are encompassed, shall all
pass away, as shall pass away the pleasures in which they delight and
the affluence they enjoy. This is the truth which no man on earth can
reject. The days in which We have been compelled to dwell in the dust
will soon be ended, as will the days in which they occupied the seats of
honour. God shall, assuredly, judge with truth between Us and them, and
He, verily, is the best of judges.

80 We render thanks unto God for whatsoever hath befallen Us, and We
patiently endure the things He hath ordained in the past or will ordain
in the future. In Him have I placed My trust; and into His hands have I
committed My Cause. He will, certainly, repay all them that endure with
patience and put their confidence in Him. His is the creation and its
empire. He exalteth whom He will, and whom He will He doth abase. He
shall not be asked of His doings. He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the
Almighty.

81 Let thine ear be attentive, O King, to the words We have addressed
to thee. Let the oppressor desist from his tyranny, and cut off the
perpetrators of injustice from among them that profess thy faith. By the
righteousness of God! The tribulations We have sustained are such that
any pen that recounteth them cannot but be overwhelmed with anguish. No
one of them that truly believe and uphold the unity of God can bear the
burden of their recital. So great have been Our sufferings that even the
eyes of Our enemies have wept over Us, and beyond them those of every
discerning person. And to all these trials have We been subjected, in
spite of Our action in approaching thee, and in bidding the people to
enter beneath thy shadow, that thou mightest be a stronghold unto them
that believe in and uphold the unity of God.

82 Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time,
transgressed any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represented
thee in ‘Iráq produce any proof that can establish My disloyalty to
thee? Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short
moment did We rebel against thee, or against any of thy ministers.
Never, God willing, shall We revolt against thee, though We be exposed
to trials more severe than any We suffered in the past.

83 In the daytime and in the night season, at even and at morn, We
pray to God on thy behalf, that He may graciously aid thee to be
obedient unto Him and to observe His commandment, that He may shield
thee from the hosts of the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth
thee, and treat Us as befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy
sovereignty. Be not forgetful of the law of God in whatever thou
desirest to achieve, now or in the days to come. Say: Praise be to God,
the Lord of all worlds!

84 Dost thou imagine, O Minister of the Sháh in the City, that I hold
within My grasp the ultimate destiny of the Cause of God? Thinkest thou
that My imprisonment, or the shame I have been made to suffer, or even
My death and utter annihilation, can deflect its course? Wretched is
what thou hast imagined in thine heart! Thou art indeed of them that
walk after the vain imaginings which their hearts devise. No God is
there but Him. Powerful is He to manifest His Cause, and to exalt His
testimony, and to establish whatsoever is His Will, and to elevate it to
so eminent a position that neither thine own hands, nor the hands of
them that have turned away from Him, can ever touch or harm it.

85 Dost thou believe thou hast the power to frustrate His Will, to
hinder Him from executing His judgement, or to deter Him from exercising
His sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the heavens or in the
earth can resist His Faith? Nay, by Him Who is the Eternal Truth!
Nothing whatsoever in the whole of creation can thwart His Purpose. Cast
away, therefore, the mere conceit thou dost follow, for mere conceit can
never take the place of truth. Be thou of them that have truly repented
and returned to God, the God Who hath created thee, Who hath nourished
thee, and made thee a minister among them that profess thy faith.

86 Know thou, moreover, that He it is Who hath, by His own behest,
created all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. How
can, then, the thing that hath been created at His bidding prevail
against Him? High is God exalted above what ye imagine about Him, ye
people of malice! If this Cause be of God, no man can prevail against
it; and if it be not of God, the divines amongst you, and they that
follow their corrupt desires and such as have rebelled against Him will
surely suffice to overpower it.

87 Hast thou not heard what a man of the family of Pharaoh, a
believer, hath said of old, and which God recounted unto His Apostle,
Whom He hath chosen above all human beings, and entrusted with His
Message, and made the source of His mercy unto all them that dwell on
earth? He said, and He, verily, speaketh the truth: “Will ye slay a man
because he saith my Lord is God, when he hath already come to you with
proofs of his mission? And if he be a liar, on him will be his lie, but
if he be a man of truth, part at least of what he threateneth will fall
upon you.”98 This is what God
hath revealed unto His Well-Beloved One, in His unerring Book.

88 And yet, ye have failed to incline your ears unto His bidding,
have disregarded His law, have rejected His counsel as recorded in His
Book, and have been of them that have strayed far from Him. How many
those who, every year, and every month, have because of you been put to
death! How manifold the injustices ye have perpetrated—injustices the
like of which the eye of creation hath not seen, which no chronicler
hath ever recorded! How numerous the babes and sucklings who were made
orphans, and the fathers who lost their sons, because of your cruelty, O
ye unjust doers! How oft hath a sister pined away and mourned over her
brother, and how oft hath a wife lamented after her husband and sole
sustainer!

89 Your iniquity waxed greater and greater until ye slew Him Who had
never taken His eyes away from the face of God, the Most Exalted, the
Most Great.99 Would that ye had
put Him to death after the manner men are wont to put one another to
death! Ye slew Him, however, in such circumstances as no man hath ever
witnessed. The heavens wept sore over Him, and the souls of them who are
nigh unto God cried out for His affliction. Was He not a Scion of your
Prophet’s ancient House? Had not His fame as a direct descendant of the
Apostle been spread abroad amongst you? Why, then, did ye inflict upon
Him what no man, however far ye may look back, hath inflicted upon
another? By God! The eye of creation hath never beheld your like. Ye
slay Him Who is a Scion of your Prophet’s House, and rejoice and make
merry while seated on your seats of honour! Ye utter your imprecations
against them who were before you, and who have perpetrated what ye have
perpetrated, and remain yourselves all the time unaware of your
enormities!

90 Be fair in your judgement. Did they whom ye curse, upon whom ye
invoke evil, act differently from yourselves? Have they not slain the
descendant of their Prophet100
as ye have slain the descendant of your own? Is not your conduct similar
to their conduct? Wherefore, then, claim ye to be different from them, O
ye sowers of dissension amongst men?

91 And when ye took away His life, one of His followers arose to
avenge His death. He was unknown of men, and the design he had conceived
was unnoticed by anyone. Eventually he committed what had been
preordained. It behoveth you, therefore, to attach blame to no one
except to yourselves, for the things ye have committed, if ye but judge
fairly. Who is there on the whole earth who hath done what ye have done?
None, by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds!

92 All the rulers and kings of the earth honour and revere the
descendants of their Prophets and holy men, could ye but perceive it.
Ye, on the other hand, are responsible for such acts as no man hath, at
any time, performed. Your misdeeds have caused every understanding heart
to be consumed with grief. And yet, ye have remained sunk in your
heedlessness, and failed to realize the wickedness of your actions.

93 Ye have persisted in your waywardness until ye rose up against Us,
though We had committed nothing to justify your enmity. Fear ye not God
Who hath created you, and fashioned you, and caused you to attain your
strength, and joined you with them that have resigned themselves to
Him?101 How long will ye
persist in your waywardness? How long will ye refuse to reflect? How
long ere ye shake off your slumber and are roused from your
heedlessness? How long will ye remain unaware of the truth?

94 Ponder in thine heart. Did ye, notwithstanding your behaviour and
the things your hands have wrought, succeed in quenching the fire of God
or in putting out the light of His Revelation—a light that hath
enveloped with its brightness them that are immersed in the billowing
oceans of immortality, and hath attracted the souls of such as truly
believe in and uphold His unity? Know ye not that the Hand of God is
over your hands, that His Decree transcendeth all your devices, that He
is supreme over His servants, that He is equal to His Purpose, that He
doth what He wisheth, that He shall not be asked of whatever He willeth,
that He ordaineth what He pleaseth, that He is the Most Powerful, the
Almighty? If ye believe this to be the truth, wherefore, then, will ye
not cease from troubling and be at peace with yourselves?

95 Ye perpetrate every day a fresh injustice, and treat Me as ye
treated Me in times past, though I never attempted to meddle with your
affairs. At no time have I opposed you, neither have I rebelled against
your laws. Behold how ye have, at the last, made Me a prisoner in this
far-off land! Know for a certainty, however, that whatever your hands or
the hands of the infidels have wrought will never, as they never did of
old, change the Cause of God or alter His ways.

96 Give heed to My warning, ye people of Persia! If I be slain at
your hands, God will assuredly raise up one who will fill the seat made
vacant through My death, for such is God’s method carried into effect of
old, and no change can ye find in God’s method of dealing. Seek ye to
put out God’s light that shineth upon His earth? Averse is God from what
ye desire. He shall perfect His light, albeit ye abhor it in the secret
of your hearts.

97 Pause for but a little while and reflect, O Minister, and be fair
in thy judgement. What is it that We have committed that could justify
thee in having slandered Us unto the King’s Ministers, in following thy
desires, in perverting the truth, and in uttering thy calumnies against
Us? We have never met each other except when We met thee in thy father’s
house, in the days when the martyrdom of Imám Ḥusayn was being
commemorated. On those occasions no one could have had the chance of
making known to others his views and beliefs in conversation or in
discourse. Thou wilt bear witness to the truth of My words, if thou be
of the truthful. I have frequented no other gatherings in which thou
couldst have learned My mind or in which any other could have done so.
How, then, didst thou pronounce thy verdict against Me, when thou hadst
not heard My testimony from Mine own lips? Hast thou not heard what God,
exalted be His glory, hath said: “Say not to everyone who meeteth you
with a greeting, ‘Thou art not a believer’.”102 “Thrust not away those who cry to their Lord at morn
and even, craving to behold His face.”103 Thou hast indeed forsaken what the Book of God hath
prescribed, and yet thou deemest thyself to be a believer!

98 Despite what thou hast done I entertain—and to this God is My
witness—no ill will against thee, nor against anyone, though from thee
and others We receive such hurt as no believer in the unity of God can
sustain. My cause is in the hand of none except God, and My trust is in
no one else but Him. Erelong shall your days pass away, as shall pass
away the days of those who now, with flagrant pride, vaunt themselves
over their neighbour. Soon shall ye be gathered together in the presence
of God, and shall be asked of your doings, and shall be repaid for what
your hands have wrought, and wretched is the abode of the wicked
doers!

99 By God! Wert thou to realize what thou hast done, thou wouldst
surely weep sore over thyself, and wouldst flee for refuge to God, and
wouldst pine away and mourn all the days of thy life, till God will have
forgiven thee, for He, verily, is the Most Generous, the All-Bountiful.
Thou wilt, however, persist, till the hour of thy death, in thy
heedlessness, inasmuch as thou hast, with all thine heart, thy soul and
inmost being, busied thyself with the vanities of the world. Thou shalt,
after thy departure, discover what We have revealed unto thee, and shalt
find all thy doings recorded in the Book wherein the works of all them
that dwell on earth, be they greater or less than the weight of an atom,
are noted down. Heed, therefore, My counsel, and hearken thou, with the
hearing of thine heart, unto My speech, and be not careless of My words,
nor be of them that reject My truth. Glory not in the things that have
been given thee. Set before thine eyes what hath been revealed in the
Book of God, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious: “And when they had
forgotten their warnings, We set open to them the gates of all things,”
even as We did set open to thee and to thy like the gates of this earth
and the ornaments thereof. Wait thou, therefore, for what hath been
promised in the latter part of this holy verse,104 for this is a promise from Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise—a promise that will not prove
untrue.

100 I know not the path ye have chosen and which ye tread, O
congregation of My ill-wishers! We summon you to God, We remind you of
His Day, We announce unto you tidings of your reunion with Him, We draw
you nigh unto His court, and send down upon you tokens of His wondrous
wisdom, and yet lo, behold how ye reject Us, how ye condemn Us, through
the things which your lying mouths have uttered, as an infidel, how ye
devise your devices against Us! And when We manifest unto you what God
hath, through His bountiful favour, bestowed upon Us, ye say, “It is but
plain magic.” The same words were spoken by the generations that were
before you and were what ye are, did ye but perceive it. Ye have thereby
deprived yourselves of the bounty of God and of His grace, and shall
never obtain them till the day when God will have judged between Us and
you, and He, verily, is the best of judges.

101 Certain ones among you have said: “He it is Who hath laid claim
to be God.” By God! This is a gross calumny. I am but a servant of God
Who hath believed in Him and in His signs, and in His Prophets and in
His angels. My tongue, and My heart, and My inner and My outer being
testify that there is no God but Him, that all others have been created
by His behest, and been fashioned through the operation of His Will.
There is none other God but Him, the Creator, the Raiser from the dead,
the Quickener, the Slayer. I am He that telleth abroad the favours with
which God hath, through His bounty, favoured Me. If this be My
transgression, then I am truly the first of the transgressors. I and My
kindred are at your mercy. Do ye as ye please, and be not of them that
hesitate, that I might return to God My Lord, and reach the place where
I can no longer behold your faces. This, indeed, is My dearest wish, My
most ardent desire. Of My state God is, verily, sufficiently informed,
observant.

102 Imagine thyself to be under the eye of God, O Minister! If thou
seest Him not, He, in truth, clearly seeth thee. Observe, and judge
fairly Our Cause. What is it that We have committed that could have
induced thee to rise up against Us, and to slander Us to the people, if
thou be of them who are just? We departed out of Ṭihrán, at the bidding
of the King,105 and, by
his leave, transferred Our residence to ‘Iráq. If I had transgressed
against him, why, then, did he release Me? And if I were innocent of
guilt, wherefore did ye afflict Us with such tribulation as none among
them that profess your faith hath suffered? Hath any of Mine acts, after
Mine arrival in ‘Iráq, been such as to subvert the authority of the
government? Who is it that can be said to have detected anything
reprehensible in Our behaviour? Enquire for thyself of its people, that
thou mayest be of them who have discerned the truth.

103 For eleven years We dwelt in that land, until the Minister
representing thy government arrived,106 whose name Our pen is loth to
mention, who was given to wine, who followed his lusts, and committed
wickedness, and was corrupt and corrupted ‘Iráq. To this will bear
witness most of the inhabitants of Baghdád, wert thou to inquire of
them, and be of such as seek the truth. He it was who wrongfully seized
the substance of his fellow-men, who forsook all the commandments of
God, and perpetrated whatever God had forbidden. Eventually, he,
following his desires, rose up against Us, and walked in the ways of the
unjust. He accused Us, in his letter to thee, and thou didst believe him
and followed in his way, without seeking any proof or trustworthy
evidence from him. Thou didst ask for no explanation, nor didst thou
attempt either to investigate or ascertain the matter, that the truth
might be distinguished from falsehood in thy sight, and that thou
mightest be clear in thy discernment. Find out for thyself the sort of
man he was by asking those Ministers who were, at that time, in ‘Iráq,
as well as the Governor of the City107 and its high Counsellor, that the
truth may be revealed to thee, and that thou mayest be of the
well-informed.

104 God is Our witness! We have, under no circumstances, opposed
either him, or others. We observed, under all conditions, the precepts
of God, and were never one of those that wrought disorders. To this he
himself doth testify. His intention was to lay hold on Us, and send Us
back to Persia, that he might thereby exalt his fame and reputation.
Thou hast committed the same crime, and for the self-same purpose. Ye
both are of equal grade in the sight of God, the sovereign Lord of all,
the All-Knowing.

105 It is not Our purpose in addressing to thee these words to
lighten the burden of Our woe, or to induce thee to intercede for Us
with anyone. Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds! We have set
forth the whole matter before thee, that perchance thou might realize
what thou hast done, might desist from inflicting on others the hurt
thou hast inflicted on Us, and might be of them that have truly repented
to God, Who created thee and created all things, and might act with
discernment in the future. Better is this for thee than all thou dost
possess, than thy ministry whose days are numbered.

106 Beware lest thou be led to connive at injustice. Set thy heart
firmly upon justice, and alter not the Cause of God, and be of them
whose eyes are directed towards the things that have been revealed in
His Book. Follow not, under any condition, the promptings of thine evil
desires. Keep thou the law of God, thy Lord, the Beneficent, the Ancient
of Days. Thou shalt most certainly return to dust, and shalt perish like
all the things in which thou takest delight. This is what the Tongue of
truth and glory hath spoken.

107 Rememberest thou not God’s warning uttered in times past, that
thou mayest be of them that heed His warning? He said, and He, verily,
speaketh the truth: “From it (earth) have We created you, and unto it
will We return you, and out of it will We bring you forth a second
time.”108 This is what God
ordained unto all them that dwell on earth, be they high or low. It
behoveth not, therefore, him who was created from dust, who will return
unto it, and will again be brought forth out of it, to swell with pride
before God, and before His loved ones, to proudly scorn them, and be
filled with disdainful arrogance. Nay, rather it behoveth thee and those
like thee to submit yourselves to them Who are the Manifestations of the
unity of God, and to defer humbly to the faithful, who have forsaken
their all for the sake of God, and have detached themselves from the
things which engross men’s attention, and lead them astray from the path
of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised. Thus do We send down upon you
that which shall profit you and profit them that have placed their whole
trust and confidence in their Lord.

108 O ye divines of the City! We came to you with the truth, whilst
ye were heedless of it. Methinks ye are as dead, wrapt in the coverings
of your own selves. Ye sought not Our presence, when so to do would have
been better for you than all your doings. Know ye that the Sun of
vicegerency hath dawned in all truth, and yet ye have turned away
therefrom. The Moon of guidance hath risen high in the midmost heaven,
and yet ye remain veiled therefrom. The Star of divine bounty hath shone
forth above the horizon of eternal holiness, and yet ye have strayed far
therefrom.

109 Know ye, that had your leaders, to whom ye owe allegiance, and on
whom ye pride yourselves, and whom ye mention by day and by night, and
from whose traces ye seek guidance—had they lived in these days, they
would have circled around Me, and would not have separated themselves
from Me, whether at eventide or at morn. Ye, however, did not turn your
faces towards My face, for even less than a moment, and waxed proud, and
were careless of this Wronged One, Who hath been so afflicted by men
that they dealt with Him as they pleased. Ye failed to inquire about My
condition, nor did ye inform yourselves of the things which befell Me.
Thereby have ye withheld from yourselves the winds of holiness, and the
breezes of bounty, that blow from this luminous and perspicuous
Spot.

110 Methinks ye have clung to outward things, and forgotten the inner
things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of names, and appear
to have given yourselves up to them. For this reason make ye mention of
the names of your leaders. And should anyone like them, or superior unto
them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their names ye have
exalted yourselves, and have secured your positions, and live and
prosper. And were your leaders to reappear, ye would not renounce your
leadership, nor would ye turn in their direction, nor set your faces
towards them.

111 We found you, as We found most men, worshipping names which they
mention during the days of their life, and with which they occupy
themselves. No sooner do the Bearers of these names appear, however,
than they repudiate them, and turn upon their heels. Thus have We found
you, and thus have We reckoned up your actions and borne witness to all
your doings in this day. Know ye that God will not, in this day, accept
your thoughts, nor your remembrance of Him, nor your turning towards
Him, nor your devotions, nor your vigilance, unless ye be made new in
the estimation of this Servant, could ye but perceive it.

112 By God! The Tree of vicegerency hath been planted, the Point of
knowledge hath been made plain, and the sovereignty of God, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting, hath been established. Fear ye the Lord.
Follow not the promptings of your evil desires, but keep the law of God
all your days. Renew the rules of the ways ye follow, that ye may be led
by the light of guidance and may hasten in the path of the True One.

113 O ye wise men of the City and philosophers of the world! Beware
lest human learning and wisdom cause you to wax proud before God, the
Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Know ye that true wisdom is to fear
God, to know Him, and to recognize His Manifestations. This wisdom,
however, can be attained only by those who detach themselves from the
world, and who walk in the ways of the good pleasure of their Lord. Are
ye possessed of greater wisdom than the one who contrived a moon which
would rise from one well and set in another, and whose light was visible
at a distance of three leagues?109 God, verily, blotted out
every trace of his works and returned him unto dust, as ye have already
heard or are now informed.

114 How many the sages and philosophers who equalled or surpassed him
in learning and wisdom! And how vast the number of those who equalled or
surpassed yourselves! Some of them believed in God, while others
disbelieved and joined partners with Him. The latter were at last cast
into the Fire, there to take up their abode, while the former returned
unto the mercy of their Lord, therein to abide. For God doth not ask you
of your sciences, but of your faith and of your conduct. Are ye greater
in wisdom than the One Who brought you into being, Who fashioned the
heavens and all that they contain, the earth and all that dwell upon it?
Gracious God! True wisdom is His. All creation and its empire are His.
He bestoweth His wisdom upon whomsoever He chooseth amongst men, and
withholdeth it from whomsoever He desireth. He, in truth, is the
Bestower and the Withholder, and He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the
All-Wise.

115 O ye learned of the world! Ye failed to seek Our presence, that
ye might hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Spirit and perceive that
which God in His bounty hath pleased to bestow upon Me. Verily, this
grace hath now escaped you, did ye but know. Had ye sought Our presence,
We would have imparted unto you a knowledge that would have rendered you
independent of all else. But this ye failed to do, and thus hath the
decree of God been fulfilled. Now have I been forbidden to disclose it,
since We stand accused of sorcery, if ye perceive Our meaning. The same
words were uttered by the deniers of old, men whom death hath long since
overtaken and who now dwell in the fire bewailing their plight. The
deniers of this day shall likewise meet their doom. Such is the
irrevocable decree of Him Who is the All-Powerful, the
Self-Sufficient.

116 I counsel you, in the end, not to overstep the bounds of God, nor
to heed the ways and habits of men, for these can neither “fatten nor
appease your hunger”. Fix, rather, your gaze upon the precepts of God.
Whosoever desireth, let him accept this counsel as a path leading unto
his Lord, and whosoever desireth, let him return to his own idle
imaginings. My Lord, verily, is independent above all who are in the
heavens and on the earth, and above all that they say and do.

117 I close with these words uttered by God, exalted be His glory:
“Say not to everyone who meeteth you with a greeting, ‘Thou art not a
believer’.”110

118 Peace be upon you, O concourse of the faithful, and praise be to
God, the Lord of the worlds.

NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION

Wherever possible, translations made by Shoghi Effendi have been
incorporated in the present volume. These passages account for
approximately one third of the text. The committees and individuals
appointed to prepare the translations faced the challenge of rendering
the balance of the Text in a manner at once faithful to the meaning of
the original and consistent with the exalted English style established
by the Guardian for the translation of Bahá’u’lláh’s matchless
utterance.

In the translation of the Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán the translators benefited
from consulting the earlier, pioneering translation of the English
orientalist E. G. Browne as it appeared in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s A Traveller’s
Narrative, first published by Cambridge University Press in 1891.

KEY TO PASSAGES TRANSLATED BY SHOGHI EFFENDI