A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
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A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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Prophethood of Bahá’u’lláh |
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It is important to have clear ideas of Bahá’u’lláh’s Prophethood.
His utterances, like those of other divine “Manifestations,”
may be divided into two classes, in one of which He
writes or speaks simply as a man who has been charged by
God with a message to His fellows, while in the other class the
words purport to be the direct utterance of God Himself.
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We have already in the foregoing pages assigned two
stations unto each of the Luminaries arising from the
Daysprings of eternal holiness. One of these stations, the
station of essential unity, We have already explained. “No
distinction do We make between any of them.” [Qur’án
2:136] The other is the station of distinction, and pertaineth
to the world of creation and to be the limitations
thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of God hath a
distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a
predestined Revelation, and specially designated limitations.
Each one of them is known by a different name, is
characterized by a special attribute, fulfils a definite Mission,
and is entrusted with a particular Revelation. Even
as He saith: “Some of the Apostles We have caused to
excel the others. To some God hath spoken, some He hath
raise and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We gave
manifest signs, and We strengthen Him with the Holy
Spirit.” [Qur’án 2:253] …
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Thus, viewed from the standpoint of their oneness and
sublime detachment, the attributes of Godhead, Divinity,
Supreme Singleness, and Inmost Essence, have been and
are applicable to those Essences of being, inasmuch as
they all abide on the throne of divine Revelation, and
are established upon the seat of divine Concealment.
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Through their appearance the Revelation of God is
made manifest, and by their countenance the Beauty of
God is revealed. Thus it is that the accents of God Himself
have been heard uttered by these Manifestations of
the divine Being.
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Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God
to declare: “I am God!” He verily speaketh the truth, and
no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly
demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes
and names, the Revelation of God, His name and
His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He
hath revealed: “Those shafts were God’s, not Thine!”
[Qur’án 8:17] And also He saith: “In truth, they who
plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto
God.” [Qur’án 48:10] And were any of them to voice
the utterance: “I am the Messenger of God,” He also
speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He
saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among
you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this
light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that
unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim: “I
am the Seal of Prophets,” they verily utter but the
truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are
all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one
revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning”
and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the
“Seen” and “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who
is the innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of
Essences. And were they to say: “We are the servants of
God,” [Qur’án 33:40] this also is a manifest and indisputable
fact. For they have been made manifest in the
uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which
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no man can possibly attain. Thus in moments in which
these Essences of being were deeply immersed beneath
the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when
they soared to the loftiest summits of divine mysteries,
they claimed their utterance to be the Voice of divinity,
the Call of God Himself. Were the eye of discernment to
be opened, it would recognize that in this very state, they
have considered themselves utterly effaced and non-existent
in the face of Him Whom is the All-Pervading, the
incorruptible. Methinks, they have regarded themselves
as utter nothingness, and deemed their mention in that
Court an act of blasphemy. For the slightest whisperings
of self, within such a Court, is an evidence of self-assertion
and independent existence. In the eyes of them that
have attained unto that Court, such a suggestion is itself
a grievous transgression. How much more grievous would
it be, were aught else to be mentioned in that Presence,
were man’s heart, his tongue, his mind, or his soul, to be
busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes
to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were
his ear to be inclined to any melody but His voice, and
were his feet to tread any way but His way.
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By virtue of this station, they have claimed for themselves
the Voice of Divinity and the like, whilst by virtue
of their station of Messengership, they have declared
themselves the Messengers of God. In every instance
they have voiced an utterance that would conform to the
requirements of the occasion, and have ascribed all these
declarations to Themselves, declarations ranging from
the divine Revelation to the realm of creation,
and from the domain of Divinity even unto the domain of
earthly existence. Thus it is that whatsoever be their utterance,
whether it pertain to the realm of Divinity, Lordship,
Prophethood, Messengership, Guardianship, Apostelship
or Servitude, all is true, beyond the shadow of a
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doubt. Therefore, these sayings which We have quoted in
support of Our argument must be attentively considered,
that the divergent utterances of the Manifestations of the
Unseen and Daysprings of Holiness may cease to agitate
the soul and perplex the mind.—Kitáb-i-Íqán, 176–181.
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When Bahá’u’lláh speaks as a man, the station He claims for
Himself is that of utter humility, of “annihilation in God.”
What distinguishes the Manifestation, in His human personality,
from other men is the completeness of His self-abnegation
as well as the perfection of His powers. Under all circumstances
He is able to say, as did Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
“nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Thus
in His epistle to the Sháh, Bahá’u’lláh says:—
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O king! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My
couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were
wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that
hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who
is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up
My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there
befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding
to flow. The learning current amongst men I
studied not; their schools I entered not. … This is but a
leaf which the winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty,
the All-Praised have stirred. Can it be still when
the tempestuous winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is
the Lord of all Names and Attributes! They move it as
they list. The evanescent is as nothing before Him Who is
the Ever-Abiding. His all-compelling summons hath
reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst
all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was
uttered. The hand of the will of thy Lord, the Compassionate,
the Merciful, transformed Me. Can any one
speak forth of his own accord that for which all men,
both high and low, will protest against him? Nay, by Him
Who taught the Pen the eternal mysteries, save him whom
the grace of the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath
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strengthened.—Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán (Tablet to the King of Persia),
as quoted in The Promised Day Is Come, pp. 40–41.
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As Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, so Bahá’u’lláh used
sometimes to cook food and perform other lowly offices for
His followers. He was a servant of the servants, and gloried
only in servitude, content to sleep on a bare floor if need be,
to live on bread and water, or even, at times, on what He called
“the divine nourishment, that is to say, hunger!” His perfect
humility was seen in His profound reverence for nature, for
human nature, and especially for the saints, prophets and
martyrs. To Him, all things spoke of God, from the meanest to
the greatest.
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His human personality had been chosen by God to become
the Divine Mouthpiece and Pen. It was not of His own will that
He had assumed this position of unparalleled difficulty and
hardship. As Jesus said: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me,” so Bahá’u’lláh said: “Had another exponent or
speaker been found, We would not have made Ourself an object
of censure, derision and calumnies on the part of the people”
(Tablet of Ishráqát). But the divine call was clear and
imperative and He obeyed. God’s will became His will, and
God’s pleasure, His pleasure; and with “radiant acquiescence”
He declared:—“Verily I say: Whatever befalleth in the path
of God is the beloved of the soul and the desire of the heart.
Deadly poison in His path is pure honey, and every tribulation
a draught of crystal water.”—Epistle to the Son of the Wolf,
p. 17.
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At other times, as we have mentioned, Bahá’u’lláh speaks
“from the station of Deity.” In these utterances His human
personality is so completely subservient that it is left out of
account altogether. Through Him God addresses His creatures,
proclaiming His love for them, teaching them His attributes,
making known His will, announcing His laws for
their guidance and pleading for their love, their allegiance
and service.
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In the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the utterance frequently
changes from one of these forms to another. Sometimes it is
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evidently the man who is discoursing, then without a break the
writing continues as if God were speaking in the first person.
Even when speaking as a man, however, Bahá’u’lláh speaks as
God’s messenger, as a living example of entire devotion to
God’s will. His whole life is actuated by the Holy Spirit. Hence
no hard and fast line can be drawn between the human and divine
elements in His life or teachings. God tells Him:—
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