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The Declaration in the Riḍván Garden |
By 1863, Bahá’u’lláh concluded that the time had come to begin acquainting
some of those around Him with the mission which had been entrusted to Him in
the darkness of the Síyáh-Chál. This decision coincided with a new stage in
the campaign of opposition to His work, which had been relentlessly pursued by
the Shi‘ih Muslim clergy and representatives of the Persian government.
Fearing that the acclaim which Bahá’u’lláh was beginning to enjoy among
influential Persian visitors to Iraq would re-ignite popular enthusiasm in
Persia, the Shah’s government pressed the Ottoman authorities to remove Him far
from the borders and into the interior of the empire. Eventually, the Turkish
government acceded to these pressures and invited the exile, as its guest, to
make His residence in the capital, Constantinople. Despite the courteous terms
in which the message was couched, the intention was clearly to require
compliance.
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By this time, the devotion of the little company of exiles had come to
focus on Bahá’u’lláh’s person as well as on His exposition of the Báb’s teachings.
A growing number of them had become convinced that He was speaking not
only as the Báb’s advocate, but on behalf of the far greater cause which the
latter had declared to be imminent. These beliefs became a certainty in late
April 1863 when Bahá’u’lláh, on the eve of His departure for Constantinople,
called together individuals among His companions, in a garden to which was
later given the name Riḍván (“Paradise”), and confided the central fact of
His mission. Over the next four years, although no open announcement was considered
timely, the hearers gradually shared with trusted friends the news that
the Báb’s promises had been fulfilled and that the “Day of God” had dawned.
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The precise circumstances surrounding this private communication are, in
the words of the Bahá’í authority most intimately familiar with the records of
the period, “shrouded in an obscurity which future historians will find it
difficult to penetrate.”
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The nature of the declaration may be appreciated
in various references which Bahá’u’lláh was to make to His mission in many of
His subsequent writings:
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The purpose underlying all creation is the revelation of this most
sublime, this most holy Day, the Day known as the Day of God, in His
Books and Scriptures—the Day which all the Prophets, and the Chosen
Ones, and the holy ones, have wished to witness.
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…this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the
Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and the
light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. It behooveth
every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his
heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His
Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.
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Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your
souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not
treacherously with any one. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His
creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people….
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Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns
of hate or the thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been
created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth
with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.
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The aggressive proselytism that had characterized efforts in ages past to
promote the cause of religion is declared to be unworthy of the Day of God.
Each person who has recognized the Revelation has the obligation to share it
with those who he believes are seeking, but to leave the response entirely to
his hearers:
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Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Should
any one among you be incapable of grasping a certain truth, or be
striving to comprehend it, show forth, when conversing with him, a spirit
of extreme kindliness and good-will….
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The whole duty of man in this Day is to attain that share of the
flood of grace which God poureth forth for him. Let none, therefore,
consider the largeness or smallness of the receptacle….
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Against the background of the bloody events in Persia, Bahá’u’lláh not only
told His followers that “if ye be slain, it is better for you than to slay,” but
urged them to set an example of obedience to civil authority: “In every country
where any of this people reside, they must behave towards the government of that
country with loyalty, honesty and truthfulness.”
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The conditions surrounding Bahá’u’lláh’s departure from Baghdad provided
a dramatic demonstration of the potency of these principles. In only a few
years, a band of foreign exiles whose arrival in the area had aroused suspicion
and aversion on the part of their neighbors had become one of the most respected
and influential segments of the population. They supported themselves through
flourishing businesses; as a group they were admired for their generosity and
the integrity of their conduct; the lurid allegations of religious fanaticism
and violence, sedulously spread by Persian consular officials and members of
the Shi‘ih Muslim clergy, had ceased to have an effect on the public mind.
By May 3, 1863, when He rode out of Baghdad, accompanied by His family and
those of His companions and servants who had been chosen to accompany Him to
Constantinople, Bahá’u’lláh had become an immensely popular and cherished
figure. In the days immediately preceding the leave-taking a stream of notables,
including the Governor of the province himself, came to the garden where
He had temporarily taken up residence, many of them from great distances, in
order to pay their respects. Eyewitnesses to the departure have described in
moving terms the acclaim that greeted Him, the tears of many of the onlookers,
and the concern of the Ottoman authorities and civil officials to do their
visitor honor.
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1. | A combination of unusual circumstances had made the central authorities in Constantinople especially sympathetic to Bahá’u’lláh, and resistant to pressure from the Persian government. The governor of Baghdad, Námiq Páshá, had written enthusiastically to the capital about both the character and influence of the distinguished Persian exile. Sulṭán Abdu’l-’Aziz found the reports intriguing because, although he was Caliph of Sunni Islam, he considered himself a mystical seeker. Equally important, in another way, was the reaction of his chief minister, ‘Alí Páshá. To the latter, who was an accomplished student of Persian language and literature as well as a would-be modernizer of the Turkish administration, Bahá’u’lláh seemed a highly sympathetic figure. It was no doubt this combination of sympathy and interest which led the Ottoman government to invite Bahá’u’lláh to the capital rather than send Him to a more remote center or deliver Him to the Persian authorities, as the latter were urging. [ Back To Reference] |
2. | God Passes By, p. 153. Increasingly, after 1863, the word “Bahá’í” replaced “Bábí” as the designation for the new faith, marking the fact that an entirely new religion had emerged. [ Back To Reference] |
3. | Cited in Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1984), p. 77. [ Back To Reference] |
4. | Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1983), pp. 10–11. [ Back To Reference] |
5. | Gleanings, p. 297. [ Back To Reference] |
6. | Gleanings, p. 334. [ Back To Reference] |
7. | Gleanings, p. 8. [ Back To Reference] |
8. | Gleanings, p. 8. [ Back To Reference] |
9. | The two statements quoted may be found cited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in J. E. Esslemont, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust 1987), p. 170 and Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1982), pp. 22–23, respectively. [ Back To Reference] |
10. | God Passes By, pp. 127–57, gives an account of these events. [ Back To Reference] |