Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas

O thou herald of the Kingdom!

Thank God that thou didst come to the holy shrine, put thy head upon the holy dust, reached the gathering-place of the spiritual ones, became a member of the assembly of the Merciful, found friendship with Abdul-Baha and with the utmost love and joy spent a few days there. Then thou didst receive permission to return so that thou mayest serve the Kingdom on the continent of America and show (to the people) the way to heaven and lead them toward the Lord of Hosts. I hope that, with a divine strength and a godlike personality, with a heavenly guidance, with a divine attraction and with a spiritual zeal, thou wilt educate the people.

O thou, the firm one in the Covenant! Give my respectful greeting to thy honored wife and say to her from me: “The Jewish people were expecting the manifestation of Jesus and were at the same time attracted to Moses. When His Holiness Christ appeared, they (the Jewish people) thought that holy personality intended to take away the eternal honor of Moses. Moses, in the eye of Israel, had no equal. Now, these had never thought that a greater than him (Moses) would appear. So this way of thinking became the cause of their being kept away from the Light of Christ and they were prevented from the precious things of the Holy Spirit, notwithstanding the fact that the greatest friend of Moses was Christ and He made His Holiness Moses great in the eye of the world and made Him to be glorious in the contingent world; whereas, even now, Israel (that is, the Jews) deny His Holiness, the promised Christ, and count Him to be 342 an enemy of His Holiness Moses and of Aaron and David; and they were kept away from the bounties of Christ. They think that no other great person like Moses could ever come upon the earth and if such a person should be sent (by God), he must come under the shadow of His Holiness Moses and promulgate the law of the Torah. This negligence on the part of the Jews became the cause of keeping away a multitude from the heavenly bounties and from the beneficence of the Holy Spirit for nineteen-hundred years.

“The Sun is ever the same, but the place whence the Sun hath appeared hath changed. Then, at Christ’s time, it appeared in the sign of Aquarius, but not it hath manifested itself from the sign of Cancer. These signs are just for an illustration. The sun is the same sun, no matter from what sign it may manifest itself or from what spot it may arise. Thou must look at the Sun; do not become veiled by the places from which the Sun appears.”

O Mr. ….….! Likewise instruct and give my love to thy dear son and say: “O dear one of Abdul-Baha! Be the son of thy father and be the fruit of that tree. Be a son that hath been born of his soul and heart and not only of the water and clay. A real son is such an one as hath branches from the spiritual part of a man. I ask God that thou mayest be at all times confirmed and strengthened.”

O thou servant of Baha’! Thou hast asked regarding the political affairs. In the United States it is necessary that the citizens shall take part in elections. This is a necessary matter and no excuse from it is possible. My object in telling the believers that they should not 343 interfere in the affairs of government is this: That they should not make any trouble and that they should not move against the opinion of the government, but obedience to the laws and the administration of the commonwealth is necessary. Now, as the government of America is a republican form of government, it is necessary that all the citizens shall take part in the elections of officers and take part in the affairs of the republic.

O thou firm one in the Covenant! We give thee Thahbet (the Firm) for a name, so that this name be an example of firmness and in the future thou mayest, even more than before, be confirmed in service, and upon thee be El-Baha-el-Abha!