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[Pages 61–80] |
correspondence?” Then the Royal Command was issued that
their Reverences the learned doctors and honorable and accomplished
divines should write a reply to that epistle. But
when the most expert doctors of the capital became aware of
the contents of the letter they ordained: “That this person,
without regarding [the fact] that he is at variance with the
Perspicuous Religion, is a meddler with custom and creed,
and a troubler of kings and emperors. Therefore to eradicate,
subdue, repress, and repel [this sect] is one of the requirements
of the Well-established Path, and indeed the chief of obligations.”
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This answer was not approved before the [Royal] Presence,
for the contents of this epistle had no obvious discordance with
the Law or with reason, and did not meddle with political or
administrative matters, nor interfere with or attack the Throne
of Sovereignty. They ought, therefore, to have discussed the
real points at issue, and to have written clearly and explicitly
such an answer as would have caused the disappearance of
doubts and the solution of difficulties, and would have become
a fulcrum for discussion to all.
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Now of this epistle sundry passages shall be set forth in
writing to conduce to a better understanding [of the matter] by
all people. At the beginning of the epistle was a striking passage
in the Arabic language [treating] of questions of faith and
assurance; the sacrifice of life in the way of the Beloved; the
state of resignation and contentment; the multiplicity of misfortunes,
calamities, hardships, and afflictions; and falling
under suspicion of seditiousness through the machinations of
foes; the establishment of His innocence in the presence of His
Majesty the King; the repudiation of seditious persons and
disavowal of the rebellious party; the conditions of sincere
belief in the verses of the Qur’án; the needfulness of godly
virtues, distinction from all other creatures in this transitory
abode, obedience to the commandments, and avoidance of
things prohibited; the evidence of divine support in the affair
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of the Báb; the inability of whosoever is upon the earth to
withstand a heavenly thing; His own awakening at the divine
afflux, and His falling thereby into unbounded calamities; His
acquisition of the divine gift, His participation in spiritual
God-given grace, and His illumination with immediate knowledge
without study; the excusableness of His [efforts for the]
admonition of mankind, their direction toward the attainment
of human perfections, and their enkindlement with the fire of
divine love; encouragements to the directing of energy towards
the attainment of a state greater than the degree of earthly
sovereignty; eloquent prayers [written] in the utmost self-abasement,
devotion, and humility; and the like of this. Afterwards
He discussed [other] matters in the Persian language.
And the form of it is this:
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“O God, this is a letter which I wish to send to the King; and
Thou knowest that I have not desired aught of him save the
display of his justice to Thy people, and the showing forth of
his favors to the dwellers in Thy Kingdom. And verily, by My
soul, I have not desired aught save what Thou hast desired,
neither, by Thy Might, do I desire aught save what Thou
desirest. Perish that being which desireth of Thee aught save
Thyself! And, by Thy Glory, Thy good pleasure is the limit of
My hope, and Thy Will the extremity of My desire! Be
merciful then, O God, to this poor [soul] Who hath caught
hold of the skirt of Thy richness, and to this humble [suppliant]
Who calleth on Thee, for Thou art indeed the Mighty,
the Great. Help, O God, His Majesty the King to execute Thy
laws amongst Thy servants and to show forth Thy justice
amidst Thy creatures, that he may rule over this sect as he
ruleth over those who are beside them. Verily Thou art the
Potent, the Mighty, the Wise.
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“Agreeably to the permission and consent of the King of the
age, this Servant turned from the place of the Royal Throne
1
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toward ‘Iráq-i-‘Arab, and in that land abode twelve years.
During the period of [His] sojourn [there] no description of His
condition was laid before the Royal Presence, neither did any
representation go to foreign states. Relying upon God did He
abide in that land, until a certain functionary came to ‘Iráq,
who, on his arrival, fell to designing the affliction of a company
of poor unfortunates. Every day, beguiled by certain of
the doctors of Persia, he persecuted these servants; although
nothing prejudicial to Church or State, or at variance with the
principles and customs of their countrymen had been observed
in them. So this Servant [was moved] by this reflection:
‘May it not be that by reason of the deeds of the transgressors
some action at variance with the world-ordering counsel of the
King should be engendered!’ Therefore was an epitome [of the
matter] addressed to Mírzá Sa’íd Khán, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, that he might submit it to the [Royal] Presence,
and that it might be done according to that which the
Royal command might promulgate. A long while elapsed,
and no command was issued; until matters reached such a
state that it was to be feared that sedition might suddenly break
out and the blood of many be shed. Of necessity, for the
protection of the servants of God, a certain number [of the
Bábís] appealed to the governor of ‘Iráq. If [the King] will
consider what has happened with just regard, it will become
clear in the mirror of his luminous heart that what occurred
was [done] from considerations of expediency, and that there
was apparently no resource save this. The Royal Personage
can bear witness and testify to this, that in whatever land there
were some few of this sect the fire of war and conflict was wont
to be kindled by reason of the aggression of certain governors.
But this Transient One after His arrival in ‘Iráq withheld all
from sedition and strife; and the witness of this Servant is His
action, for all are aware and will testify that the multitude of
this faction in Persia at that time was more than [it had been]
before, yet, notwithstanding this, none transgressed his proper
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bounds nor assailed anyone. It is nigh on fifteen years that all
continue tranquil, looking unto God and relying on Him, and
bear patiently what hath come upon them, casting it on God.
And after the arrival of this Servant in this city which is called
Adrianople certain of this community enquired concerning
the meaning of ‘victory.’ Diverse answers were sent in reply,
one of which answers will be submitted on this page, so that it
may become clear before the [Royal] Presence that this Servant
hath in view naught save peace and reform. And if some
of the divine favors, which, without merit [on My part], have
been graciously bestowed [on Me], do not become evident and
apparent, this much [at least] will be known, that [God], in
[His] abounding grace and undeserved mercy, hath not deprived
this Oppressed One of the ornament of reason. The form
of words which was set forth on the meaning of ‘victory’ is this:
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“‘He is God, exalted is He.
“‘It hath been known that God (glorious is His mention) is
sanctified from the world and what is therein, and that the
meaning of “victory” is not this, that anyone should fight or
strive with anyone. The Lord of He doeth what He will
2
hath
committed the kingdom of creation, both land and sea, into
the hand of kings, and they are the manifestations of the
Divine Power according to the degrees of their rank: verily He
is the Potent, the Sovereign. But that which God (glorious is
His mention) hath desired for Himself is the hearts of His
servants, which are treasures of praise and love of the Lord and
stores of divine knowledge and wisdom. The will of the Eternal
King hath ever been to purify the hearts of [His] servants
from the promptings of the world and what is therein, so that
they may be prepared for illumination by the effulgences of
the Lord of the Names and Attributes. Therefore must no
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stranger find his way into the city of the heart, so that the
Incomparable Friend may come unto His own place—that is,
the effulgence of His Names and Attributes, not His Essence
(exalted is He), for that Peerless King hath been and will be
holy for everlasting above ascent or descent. Therefore today
“victory” neither hath been nor will be opposition to anyone,
nor strife with any person; but rather what is well-pleasing is
that the cities of [men’s] hearts, which are under the dominion
of the hosts of selfishness and lust, should be subdued by the
sword of the Word, of Wisdom, and of Exhortation.
Everyone, then, who desireth “victory” must first subdue the
city of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth and of the
Word, and must protect it from remembering aught beside
God: afterwards let him turn his regards towards the cities of
[others’] hearts. This is what is intended by “victory”: sedition
hath never been nor is pleasing to God, and that which certain
ignorant persons formerly wrought was never approved. If ye
be slain for His good pleasure verily it is better for you than that
ye should slay. Today the friends of God must appear in such
fashion amidst [God’s] servants that by their actions they may
lead all unto the pleasure of the Lord of Glory. I swear by the
Sun of the Horizon of Holiness that the friends of God never
have regarded nor will regard the earth or its transitory riches.
God hath ever regarded the hearts of [His] servants, and this
too is by reason of [His] most great favor, that perchance
mortal souls may be cleansed and sanctified from earthly states
and may attain unto everlasting places. But that Real King is in
Himself sufficient unto Himself [and independent] of all:
neither doth any advantage accrue to Him from the love of
contingent beings, nor doth any hurt befall Him from their
hatred. All earthly places appear through Him and unto Him
return, and God singly and alone abideth in His own place
which is holy above space and time, mention and utterance,
sign, description, and definition, height and depth. And none
knoweth this save Him and whosoever hath knowledge of the
65
Book. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Bountiful.’
Finis.
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“But good deeds depend on this, that the Royal Person
should himself look into that [matter] with just and gracious
regard, and not be satisfied with the representations of certain
persons unsupported by proof or evidence. We ask God to
strengthen the King unto that which He willeth: and what He
willeth should be the wish of the worlds.
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“Afterwards they summoned this Servant to Constantinople.
We reached that city along with a number of poor unfortunates,
and after Our arrival did not hold intercourse with a
single soul, for We had naught to say [unto them], and there
was no wish save that it should be clearly demonstrated by
proof to all that this Servant had no thought of sedition and
had never associated with the seditious. And, by Him in praise
of Whose spirit the tongues of all things speak, to turn in any
direction was difficult in consideration of certain circumstances;
but these things were done for the protection of lives.
Verily My Lord knoweth what is in My soul, and verily He is
witness unto what I say. The just king is the shadow of God in
the earth; all should take refuge under the shadow of his justice
and rest in the shade of his favor. This is not the place for
personalities, or censures [directed] specially against some
apart from others; for the shadow tells of him who casteth the
shadow. God (glorious is His mention) hath called Himself
the Lord of the worlds for that He hath nurtured and doth
nurture all; exalted is His favor which hath preceded contingent
beings and His mercy which hath preceded the worlds.
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“This is sufficiently clear, that, [whether] right or wrong
according to the imagination of the people, this community
have accepted as true and adopted the religion for which they
are notorious, and that on this account they have foregone
what they had, seeking after what is with God. And this same
renunciation of life in the way of love for the Merciful [God] is
a faithful witness and an eloquent attest unto that whereunto
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they lay claim. Hath it [ever] been beheld that a reasonable
man renounced his life without proof or evidence [of the truth
of that for which he died]? And if it be said, ‘This people are
mad,’ this [too] is very improbable, for it is not [a thing]
confined to one or two persons, but rather have a great multitude
of every class, inebriated with the Kawthar of divine
wisdom, hastened with heart and soul to the place of martyrdom
in the way of the Friend. If these persons, who for God
have foregone all save Him, and who have poured forth life
and wealth in His way, can be belied, then by what proof and
evidence shall the truth of that which others assert concerning
that wherein they are be established in the presence of the
King?
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“The late Ḥájí Siyyid Muḥammad (may God exalt his
station and overwhelm him in the depth of the ocean of His
mercy and forgiveness), although he was of the most learned of
the doctors of the age and the most pious and austere of his
contemporaries, and although the splendor of his worth was of
such a degree that the tongues of all creatures spoke in praise
and eulogy of him and confidently asserted his asceticism and
godliness, did nevertheless in the war against the Russians
forego much good and turn back after a little contest, although
he himself had decreed a holy war, and had set out from his
native country with conspicuous ensign in support of the
Faith. O would that the covering might be withdrawn, and
that what is hidden from [men’s] eyes might appear!
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“But as to this sect, it is twenty years and more that they
have been tormented by day and by night with the fierceness
of the Royal anger, and that they have been cast each one into
a [different] land by the blasts of the tempests of the King’s
wrath. How many children have been left fatherless! How
many fathers have become childless! How many mothers have
not dared, through fear and dread, to mourn over their slaughtered
children! Many [were] the servants [of God] who at eve
were in the utmost wealth and opulence, and at dawn were
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beheld in the extreme of poverty and abasement! There is no
land but hath been dyed with their blood and no air whereunto
their groanings have not arisen. And during these few years the
arrows of affliction have rained down without intermission
from the clouds of fate. Yet, notwithstanding all these visitations
and afflictions, the fire of divine love is in such fashion
kindled in their hearts that, were they all to be hewn in pieces,
they would not forswear the love of the Beloved of all the
dwellers upon earth; nay rather with their whole souls do they
yearn and hope for what may befall [them] in the way of God.
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“O King! The gales of the mercy of the Merciful One have
converted these servants and drawn them to the region of the
[Divine] Unity—‘The witness of the faithful lover is in his
sleeve’—but some of the doctors of Persia have troubled the
most luminous heart of the King of the Age with regard to
those who are admitted into the Sanctuary of the Merciful One
and those who make for the Kaaba of Wisdom. O would that
the world-ordering judgment of the King might decide that
this Servant should meet those doctors, and, in the presence of
His Majesty the King, adduce arguments and proofs! This
Servant is ready, and hopeth of God that such a conference
may be brought about, so that the truth of the matter may
become evident and apparent before His Majesty the King.
And afterwards the decision is in thy hand, and I am ready to
confront the throne of thy sovereignty; then give judgment for
Me or against Me. The Merciful Lord saith in the Furqán,
which is the enduring proof amidst the host of existences,
‘Desire death, then, if ye be sincere.’
3
He hath declared the
desiring of death to be the proof of sincerity; and it will be
apparent in the mirror of the [King’s] luminous mind which
party it is that hath this day foregone life in the way of Him
[Who is] adored by the dwellers upon earth. Had the doctrinal
books of this people, [composed] in proof of that wherein they
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are, been written with the blood which has been shed in His
way (exalted is He), books innumerable would assuredly have
been apparent and visible amongst mankind.
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“Some of the doctors of Persia who have denounced this
Servant have never either met or seen Him, nor [even] become
cognizant of [His] intent: nevertheless they said what
they desired and do what they will. Every statement requires
proof, and is not [established] merely by assertion or by outward
gear of asceticism.
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“A translation of some passages from the contents of the
Hidden Book of Fátimih (upon her be the blessings of God)
which are apposite to this place will [now] be submitted in the
Persian language, in order that some things [now] concealed
may be revealed before the [Royal] Presence. Those addressed
in these utterances in the above-mentioned book (which is
today known as ‘Hidden Words’) are those people who are
outwardly notable for science and piety, but who are inwardly
subservient to their passions and lust. He says:
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“‘O faithless ones! Why do ye outwardly claim to be
shepherds, while inwardly ye have become the wolves of My
sheep? Your likeness is like unto the star before the morning,
which is apparently bright and luminous, but really causeth
the misguidance and destruction of the caravans of My city
and country.’
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“‘O outwardly fair and inwardly faulty! Thy likeness is like
unto clear bitter water, wherein outwardly the utmost sweetness
and purity is beheld, but when it falleth into the assaying
hands of the taste of the [Divine] Unity He doth not accept a
single drop thereof. The radiance of the sun is on the earth and
on the mirror alike; but regard the difference as from the
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guard-stars to the earth; nay, between them is a limitless
distance.’
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“‘O child of the world! Many a morning hath the effulgence
of My grace come unto thy place from the day-spring
of the placeless, found thee on the couch of ease busied with
other things, and returned like the lightning of the spirit to the
bright abode of glory. And I, desiring not thy shame, declared
it not in the retreats of nearness to the hosts of holiness.’
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“In the presence of the King’s justice, therefore, the statement
of an adversary ought not to be accepted as sufficient.
And in the Furqán, which distinguisheth between truth and
falsehood, He says, ‘O ye who believe, if there come unto you
a sinner with a message, then discriminate, lest you fall upon a
people in ignorance and on the morrow repent of what ye have
done.’
4
And it hath come down in holy tradition, ‘Credit not
the calumniator.’ The matter hath been misapprehended by
certain doctors, neither have they seen this Servant. But those
persons who have met [Him] testify that this Servant hath not
spoken contrary to that which God hath ordained in the Book,
and recite this blessed verse: He saith (exalted is He) ‘Do ye
disavow Us for aught save that We believe in God, and what
hath been sent down unto Us, and what was sent down
before?’
5
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“O King of the age! The eyes of these wanderers turn and
gaze in the direction of the mercy of the Merciful One, and
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assuredly to these afflictions shall the greatest mercy succeed,
and after these most grievous hardships shall follow great ease.
But [Our] hope is this, that His Majesty the King will himself
turn his attention to [these] matters, which thing will be the
cause of hope in [Our] hearts. And this is unmixed good which
hath been submitted, and God sufficeth for a witness.
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“Glory be to Thee, O God! O God, I bear witness that the
heart of the King is between the fingers of Thy power: if Thou
pleasest, turn it, O God, in the direction of mercy and kindliness:
verily Thou art the Exalted, the Potent, the Beneficent:
there is no God but Thee, the Mighty from whom help is
sought.
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“Concerning the qualifications of the doctors, He saith:
‘But amongst the lawyers he who guardeth himself, observeth
his religion, opposeth his lust, and obeyeth the command of
his Lord—it is incumbent on the people to follow him…’
unto the end. And if the King of the age will regard this
utterance, which proceeded from the tongue of the recipient
of divine inspiration, he will observe that those characterized
by the qualities transmitted in the aforementioned tradition
are rarer than the philosopher’s stone. Therefore the claim of
every person pretending to science neither hath been nor is
heard.
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“Those doctors who have indeed drunk of the cup of renunciation
never interfered with this Servant, even as the late
Shaykh Murtadá (may God exalt his station and cause him to
dwell under the shadow of the domes of His grace) used to
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show [Us] affection during the days of [Our] sojourn in ‘Iráq,
and used not to speak concerning this matter otherwise than
God hath permitted. We ask God to help all [men] unto that
which He loveth and approveth.
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“Now all people have shut their eyes to all [these] matters,
and are bent on the persecution of this sect; so that should it be
demanded of certain persons, who (after God’s grace) rest in
the shadow of the King’s clemency and enjoy unbounded
blessings, ‘In return for the King’s favor what service have ye
wrought? Have ye by wise policy added any country to [his]
countries? Or have ye applied yourselves to aught which
would cause the comfort of the people, the prosperity of the
kingdom, and the continuance of fair fame for the state?’, they
have no reply save this, that, falsely or truly, they designate a
number of persons in the presence of the King by the name of
Bábís, and forthwith engage in slaughter and plunder; even as
in Tabríz and elsewhere they sold certain ones, and received
much wealth; and this was never represented before the presence
of the King. All these things have occurred because of
this, that they have found these poor people without a helper.
They have foregone matters of moment, and have fallen upon
these poor unfortunates.
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“Many sects and diverse tribes rest tranquil in the shadow of
the King, and of these sects one is this people. Were it not best
that the lofty endeavor and magnanimity of those who surround
the King should be so witnessed: that they should be
scheming for all factions to come under the King’s shadow,
and that they should govern amidst all with justice? To put in
force the ordinances of God is unmixed justice, and with this
all are satisfied; nay, the ordinances of God [ever] have been
and will be the instrument and means for the protection of
[His] creatures, as He saith (exalted is He) ‘And in retaliation ye
have life, O people of understanding.’
6
[But] it is far from the
72
justice of His Majesty the King that, for the fault of one
person, a number of persons should become the objects of the
scourges of wrath. God (glorious is His mention) saith: ‘None
shall bear the burden of another.’
7
And this is sufficiently
evident, that in every community there have been and will be
learned and ignorant, wise and foolish, sinful and pious. And
to commit abominable actions is far from the wise man. For
the wise man either seeketh the world or abandoneth it. If he
abandoneth it, assuredly he will not regard aught save God,
and, apart from this, the fear of God will withhold him from
committing forbidden and culpable actions. And if he seeketh
the world, he will assuredly not commit deeds which will
cause and induce the aversion of [God’s] servants and produce
horror in those who are in all lands; but rather will he practice
such deeds as will cause the adhesion of mankind. So it hath
been demonstrated that detestable actions have been and will
be [wrought only] by ignorant persons. We ask God to keep
His servants from regarding aught but Him, and to bring them
near to Him: verily He is potent over all things.
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“Glory be to Thee, O God! O My God, Thou hearest My
groaning, and seest My state and My distress and My
affliction, and knowest what is in My soul. If My cry be
sincerely for Thy sake, then draw thereby the hearts of Thy
creatures unto the horizon of the heaven of Thy recognition,
and turn the King unto the right hand of the throne of Thy
Name the Merciful; then bestow on him, O My God, the
blessing which hath descended from the heaven of Thy favor
and the clouds of Thy mercy, that he may sever himself from
that which he hath and turn toward the region of Thy bounties.
O Lord, help him to support the oppressed amongst [Thy]
servants, and to raise up Thy Word amidst Thy people; then
aid him with the hosts of the unseen and the seen, that he may
subdue cities in Thy Name and rule over all who are upon the
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earth by Thy power and authority, O Thou in Whose hand is
the Kingdom of creation: and verily Thou art He who ruleth at
the beginning and in the end: there is no God save Thee, the
Potent, the Mighty, the Wise.
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“They have misrepresented matters before the presence of
the King in such a way that if any ill deed proceed from any
one of this sect they account it as [a part] of the religion of these
servants. But, by God, beside Whom there is none other God,
this Servant hath not sanctioned the committing of sins, much
less that whereof the prohibition hath been explicitly revealed
in the Book of God! God hath prohibited unto men the
drinking of wine, and the unlawfulness thereof hath been revealed
and recorded in the Book of God,
8
and the doctors of
the age (may God multiply the like of them) have unanimously
prohibited unto men this abominable action; yet withal
do some commit it. Now the punishment of this action falls on
these heedless persons, while those manifestations of the glory
of sanctity [continue] holy and undefiled: unto their sanctity
all Being, whether of the unseen or the seen, testifieth.
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“Yea, these servants [of God] regard God as ‘doing what He
pleaseth and ordering what He willeth.’
9
There is no retreat
nor way of flight for anyone save unto God, and no refuge nor
asylum but in Him. And at no time hath the caviling of men,
whether learned or unlearned, been a thing to rely on, nor will
it be so. The [very] prophets, who are the pearls of the Ocean
of Unity and the recipients of Divine Revelation, have [ever]
been the objects of men’s aversion and caviling; much more
these servants. Even as He saith: ‘Every nation schemed
against their apostle to catch him. And they contended with
falsehood therewith to refute the truth.’
10
So likewise He
saith, ‘There came not unto them any apostle but they mocked
74
at him.’
11
Consider the appearance of the Seal of the
Prophets, the King of the Elect (the soul of the worlds be His
sacrifice); after the dawning of the Sun of Truth from the
horizon of the Ḥijáz what wrongs befell that Manifestation of
the Might of the Lord of Glory at the hands of the people of
error! So heedless were men that they were wont to consider
the vexation of that Holy One as one of the greatest of good
works and as the means of approaching God Most High. For
in the first years the doctors of that age, whether Jews or
Christians, turned aside from that Sun of the Highest Horizon;
and, at the turning aside of those persons, all, whether
humble or noble, girt up their loins to quench the radiance of
that Light of the Horizon of Ideals. The names of all are
recorded in books: amongst them were Wahb ibn Rahíb, Ka’b
ibn Ashraf, ‘Abdu’lláh [ibn] Ubayy, and the like of these
persons; till at length the matter reached such a point that they
convened a meeting to take counsel as to the shedding of the
most pure blood of that Holy One, as God (glorious is His
mention) hath declared: ‘And when those who misbelieved
plotted against thee to confine thee, or slay thee, or drive thee
out; and they plotted, and God plotted; and God is the best of
plotters.’
12
So likewise He saith: ‘And if their aversion be
grievous unto thee, then, if thou art able to seek out a hole
down into the earth, or a ladder up into the sky, that thou
mayest show them a sign—[do so]: but if God pleased He
would assuredly bring them all to the true guidance: be not
therefore one of the ignorant.’
13
By God, the hearts of those
near [unto God] are scorched at the purport of these two
blessed verses; but the like of these matters certainly transmitted
[to Us] are blotted out of sight, and [men] have not reflected,
neither do reflect, what was the reason of the turning aside of
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[God’s] servants at the appearance of the daysprings of divine
lights.
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“So, too, before the Seal of the Prophets, consider Jesus the
Son of Mary. After the appearance of that Manifestation of the
Merciful One all the doctors charged that Quintessence of
Faith with misbelief and rebelliousness; until at length, with
the consent of Annas, who was the chief of the doctors of that
age, and likewise Caiaphas,
14
who was the most learned of the
judges, they wrought upon that Holy One that which the pen
is ashamed and unable to repeat. The earth with its amplitude
was too strait for Him, until God took Him up into the heaven.
But were a detailed account of the prophets to be submitted it
is feared that weariness might result.
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“O would that thou mightest permit, O King, that We
should send unto Thy Majesty that whereby eyes would be
refreshed, souls tranquilized, and every just person assured
that with Him [i.e., Bahá’u’lláh] is knowledge of the Book.
Were it not for the turning aside of the ignorant and the willful
blindness of the doctors, verily I would utter a discourse
whereat hearts would be glad and would fly unto the air from
the murmur of whose winds is heard, ‘There is no God but
He.’ But now, because the time admitteth it not, the tongue is
withheld from utterance, and the vessel of declaration is sealed
until God shall unclose it by His power: verily He is the
Potent, the Powerful.
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“Glory be to Thee, O God! O My God, I ask of Thee in Thy
Name, whereby Thou hast subdued whomsoever is in the
heavens and the earth, that Thou wilt keep the lamp of Thy
religion with the glass of Thy power and Thy favors, so that the
winds of denial pass not by it from the region of those who are
heedless of the mysteries of Thy Sovereign Name: then increase
its light by the oil of Thy wisdom: verily Thou art Potent
over whomsoever is in Thy earth and Thy heaven.
76
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“O Lord, I ask of Thee by the Supreme Word, whereat
whosoever is in the earth and the heaven feareth save him who
taketh hold of the ‘Most Firm Handle,’
15
that Thou wilt not
abandon Me amongst Thy creatures: lift Me up unto Thee,
and make Me to enter in under the shadow of Thy mercy, and
give Me to drink of the pure wine of Thy grace, that I may
dwell under the canopy of Thy glory and the domes of Thy
favors: verily Thou art powerful unto that Thou wishest, and
verily Thou art the Protecting, the Self-Sufficing.
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“O King! The lamps of justice are extinguished, and the fire
of persecution is kindled on all sides, until that they have made
My people captives. This is not the first honor which hath
been violated in the way of God. It behooveth everyone to
regard and recall what befell the kindred of the Prophet until
that the people made them captives and brought them in unto
Damascus the spacious; and amongst them was the Prince of
Worshipers, the Stay of the elect, the Sanctuary of the eager
(the soul of all beside him be his sacrifice). It was said unto
them, ‘Are ye seceders?’ He said, ‘No, by God, we are servants
who have believed in God and in His signs, and through us the
teeth of faith are disclosed in a smile, and the sign of the
Merciful One shineth forth; through our mention spreadeth
Al-Bathá,
16
and the darkness which intervened between earth
and heaven is dispelled.’ It was said, ‘Have ye forbidden what
God hath sanctioned, or sanctioned what God hath forbidden?’
He said, ‘We were the first who followed the commandments
of God: we are the source of command and its
origin, and the firstfruits of all good and its consummation: we
are the sign of the Eternal, and His commemoration amongst
the nations.’ It was said, ‘Have ye abandoned the Qur’án?’ He
said, ‘Through us did the Merciful One reveal it; and we are
gales of the All-Glorious amidst [His] creatures; we are streams
77
which have arisen from the most mighty Ocean whereby God
revived the earth after its death; from us His signs are diffused,
His evidences are manifested, and His tokens appear; and with
us are His mysteries and His secrets.’ It was said, ‘For what
fault [then] were ye afflicted?’ He said, ‘For the love of God
and our severance from all beside Him.’
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“Verily We have not repeated his expressions (upon him be
peace), but rather We have made manifest a spray from the
Ocean of Life which was deposited in his words, that by it
those who advance may live and be aware of what hath
befallen the trusted ones of God on the part of an evil and most
reprobate people. And today We see the people censuring
those who acted unjustly of yore, while they oppress more
vehemently than those oppressed, and know it not. By God, I
do not desire sedition, but the purification of [God’s] servants
from all that withholdeth them from approach to God, the
King of the Day of Invocation.
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“I was asleep on My couch: the breaths of My Lord the
Merciful passed over Me and awakened Me from sleep: to this
bear witness the denizens [of the realms] of His Power and His
Kingdom, and the dwellers in the cities of His Glory, and
Himself, the True. I am not impatient of calamities in His
way, nor of afflictions for His love and at His good pleasure.
God hath made affliction as a morning shower to this green
pasture, and as a match for His lamp whereby earth and
heaven are illumined.
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“Shall that which anyone hath of wealth endure unto him,
or avail him tomorrow with him who holdeth his forelock? If
any should look on those who sleep under slabs and keep
company with the dust, can he distinguish the bones of the
king’s skull from the knuckles of the slave? No, by the King of
Kings! Or doth he know governors from herdsmen, or discern
the wealthy and the rich from him who was without shoes or
carpet? By God, distinction is removed, save for him who
fulfilled righteousness and judged uprightly. Where are the
78
doctors, the scholars, the nobles? Where is the keenness of
their glances, the sharpness of their sight, the subtlety of their
thoughts, the soundness of their understandings? Where are
their hidden treasures and their apparent gauds, their bejeweled
thrones and their ample couches? Alas! All have been laid
waste, and the decree of God hath rendered them as scattered
dust! Emptied is what they treasured up, and dissipated is what
they collected, and dispersed is what they concealed: they have
become [such that] thou seest naught but their empty places,
their gaping roofs, their uprooted beams, their new things
waxed old. As for the discerning man, verily wealth will not
divert him from regarding the end; and for the prudent man,
riches will not withhold him from turning toward [God] the
Rich, the Exalted. Where is he who held dominion over all
whereon the sun arose, and who spent lavishly and sought
after curious things in the world and what is therein created?
Where is the lord of the swarthy squadron and the yellow
standard? Where is he who ruled Zawrá,
17
and where he who
wrought injustice in [Damascus] the spacious? Where are they
at whose bounty treasures were afraid, at whose openhandedness
and generosity the ocean was dismayed? Where is he
whose arm was stretched forth in rebelliousness, whose heart
turned away from the Merciful One? Where is he who used to
make choice of pleasures and cull the fruits of desires? Where
are the dames of the bridal chambers, and the possessors of
beauty? Where are their waving branches and their spreading
boughs, their lofty palaces and trellised gardens? Where is the
smoothness of the expanses thereof and the softness of their
breezes, the rippling of their waters and the murmur of their
winds, the cooing of their doves and the rustling of their trees?
Where are their laughing hearts and their smiling teeth? Woe
unto them! They have descended to the abyss and become
companions to the pebbles; today no mention is heard of them
79
nor any sound; nothing is known of them nor any hint. Will
the people dispute it while they behold it? Will they deny it
when they know it? I know not in what valley they wander
erringly: do they not see that they depart and return not? How
long will they be famous in the low countries and in the high,
descend and ascend? ‘Is not the time yet come to those who
believe for their hearts to become humble for the remembrance
of God?’
18
Well is it with that one who hath said or
shall say, ‘Yea, O Lord, the time is ripe and hath come,’ and
who severeth himself from all that is. Alas! naught is reaped
but what is sown, and naught is taken but what is laid up, save
by the grace of God and His favor. Hath the earth conceived
Him whom the veils of glory prevent not from ascending into
the Kingdom of His Lord, the Mighty, the Supreme? Have
We any good works whereby defects shall be removed or
which shall bring Us near unto the Lord of causes? We ask
God to deal with Us according to His grace, not His justice,
and to make Us of those who turn toward Him and sever
themselves from all beside Him.
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“O King, I have seen in the way of God what no eye hath
seen and no ear hath heard. Friends have disclaimed Me; ways
are straitened unto Me; the pool of safety is dried up; the plain
of ease is [scorched] yellow. How many calamities have descended,
and how many will descend! I walk advancing toward
the Mighty, the Bounteous, while behind Me glides the
serpent. My eyes rain down tears until My bed is drenched; but
My sorrow is not for Myself. By God, My head longeth for the
spears for the love of its Lord, and I never pass by a tree but My
heart addresseth it [saying], ‘O would that thou wert cut down
in My name and My body were crucified upon thee in the way
of My Lord’; yea, because I see mankind going astray in their
intoxication, and they know it not: they have exalted their
lusts, and put aside their God, as though they took the command
80
of God for a mockery, a sport, and a plaything; and they
think that they do well, and that they are harbored in the
citadel of security. The matter is not as they suppose: tomorrow
they shall see what they [now] deny.
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“We are about to shift from this most remote place of
banishment
19
unto the prison of ‘Akká. And, according to
what they say, it is assuredly the most desolate of the cities of
the world, the most unsightly of them in appearance, the most
detestable in climate, and the foulest in water; it is as though it
were the metropolis of the owl; there is not heard from its
regions aught save the sound of its hooting. And in it they
intend to imprison the Servant, and to shut in Our faces the
doors of leniency and take away from Us the good things of the
life of the world during what remaineth of Our days. By God,
though weariness should weaken Me, and hunger should
destroy Me, though My couch should be made of the hard
rock and My associates of the beasts of the desert, I will not
blench, but will be patient, as the resolute and determined are
patient, in the strength of God, the King of Preexistence, the
Creator of the nations; and under all circumstances I give
thanks unto God. And We hope of His graciousness (exalted is
He) the freedom of Our necks from chains and shackles in this
imprisonment: and that He will render [all men’s] faces sincere
toward Him, the Mighty, the Bounteous. Verily He
answereth him who prayeth unto Him, and is near unto him
who calleth on Him. And We ask Him to make this dark
calamity a buckler for the body of His saints, and to protect
them thereby from sharp swords and piercing blades. Through
affliction hath His light shone and His praise been bright
unceasingly: this hath been His method through past ages and
bygone times.
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1. | Ṭihrán. [ Back To Reference] |
2. | Qur’án 3:35; 22:19. [ Back To Reference] |
3. | Qur’án 2:88; 62:6. [ Back To Reference] |
4. | Qur’án 49:6. [ Back To Reference] |
5. | Qur’án 5:64. [ Back To Reference] |
6. | Qur’án 2:175. [ Back To Reference] |
7. | Qur’án 6:164; 17:16; 35:19; 39:9; 53:39. [ Back To Reference] |
8. | Qur’án 5:92. [ Back To Reference] |
9. | Qur’án 2:254; 3:35; 22:14, 19 [ Back To Reference] |
10. | Qur’án 40:5. [ Back To Reference] |
11. | Qur’án 15:11; 36:29 [ Back To Reference] |
12. | Qur’án 8:30. [ Back To Reference] |
13. | Qur’án 6:35. [ Back To Reference] |
14. | See John 11:49–50; Acts 4:6–10; 18:13–28; Acts 4:6–10. [ Back To Reference] |
15. | Qur’án 2:257; 31:21 [ Back To Reference] |
16. | Mecca. [ Back To Reference] |
17. | Baghdád. [ Back To Reference] |
18. | Qur’án 57:15. [ Back To Reference] |
19. | Adrianople. [ Back To Reference] |