THE GARDEN OF JUSTICE, PART III 
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Say: By God, all the Names have undergone an alteration, the wailing of all things hath gone up, and every soul is agitated, save those resurrected by the breaths of the All-Merciful that have wafted from the precincts of Your Lord, the Compassionate. For it hath wakened them from their slumber and cleansed them of the defilement of the idolaters. O Tongue of Pre-existence, cause the verses to flow, since the ears of the people shall never be able to hear what was revealed from the heaven of Thy creation and the fundament of Thy Will. Therefore, bestow upon them, according to their capacity, the mention of T hy doings. Verily, that is manifest justice.
O people of the earth, know that justice hath planes, stations and meanings beyond reckoning, but we shall sprinkle upon you spray from this ocean so as to purify you from the filth of tyranny and render you among the sincere. *Know verily that the essence of justice and the source thereof are both embodied in the ordinances prescribed by Him who is the Manifestation of the Self of God amongst men, if ye be of them that recognize this truth. He doth verily incarnate the highest, the infallible standard of justice unto all creation. Were His law to be such as to strike terror into the hearts of all that are in heaven and on earth, that law is naught but manifest justice. The fears and agitation which the revelation of this law provokes in men's hears should indeed be likened to the cries of the suckling bab weaned from his mohter's milk, if ye be of them that perceive. Were men to discover the motivating purpose of God's Revelation, they would assuredly cast away their fears, and, with hearts filled with gratitude, rejoice with exceeding gladness.* Say: Even though autumn gales denude the trees of their spring ornamentation, they do so only so that other adornments might appear. Thus hath the matter been decreed by the Mighty, the Omnipotent.
By justice every deserving person is given his due. This occureth as ye witness it in the manifestations of being, not as most of the people have alleged. Then ponder, that ye might know the intent of that which hath been revealed from the wondrous Pen. Say: The justice of the One at whom the pillars of tyranny have been shaken and the stanchions of idolatry have crumbled consists in the affirmation of this Manifestation in this Dawn, wherein the sun of Baha' hath risen above the horizon of eternity with evident dominion. Whoso disbelieveth in Him hath departed out of the citadel of justice, and his name is recorded among the wrongdoers in mighty and guarded Tablets. Whoso accomplisheth all the deeds in the heavens and the earth and doeth justice among the people until the end that hath no end, yet hesitates in this Cause, hath wronged himself and is among the unjust. Await, O people, the days of justice. Verily, they have come in truth! Beware lest ye veil yourselves therefrom, or join the ranks of the heedless.
Say: O people, array your temples with the adornment of justice. Then judge by what God hath decreed in the Tablets and be not among the transgressors. Say: Should anyone take a drink of water at My command, that is better than the worship of all who are on the earth. For God will never accept the deed of anyone save if it is embellished with the ornament of My permission among the worlds. Observe, O people, what We have ordained in the Tablets, for it hath been revealed from the kingdom of God, the Help in Peril, the Mighty, the Powerful. Whoso averteth his gaze upon perceiving the fragrance of the garment of My name, the All-Merciful, will, verily, see in all things the signs of his Lord, the Just, the Wise. O Pen of the Most High, send forth the servant named Rida after Nabil as one of the manifestations of justice in the realm of creation. Verily, his justice lieth in his belief in God, which is not equaled by the justice of the heavens and the earth. O servant, listen to the shrill sound of the Pen of the Most High. Then gather the people on the shore of the Most Great Ocean, which hath appeared by virtue of this ancient and pre-existent Name. Safeguard the servants of the All-Merciful, lest the countenances of insight be bruised by the blows of the allusions of Satan's manifestations. Thus hath thy Lord, the Glorious, the Beneficent, commanded thee. Observe what thou hast been commanded by the Mighty, the Beauteous. Be as a high wall between the Magog of idolatry and the hosts of the All-Merciful, lest the hordes transgress their bounds. Thus was the matter revealed from the kingdom of the decree of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Verily, We have made thee a reminder from Us among our servants, and rendered thee a fortress for Our creatures among the worlds, that thou might preserve them from the darts of allusions and remind them of this Announcement, whereat the temples of the Names have quavered, faces are covered with dust, the earth of grandeur hath been cleft, and the fruits have fallen from every towering, unshakable tree.
Blessed art thou, insofar as thou hast shattered the graven image of idle fancy with the power of thy Lord, and thou has cast off from thy temple the cloak of blind obedience, adorning it instead with the robe of divine unity by means of this holy, blessed, exalted and all-encompassing Name. Then know that the concourse of the Bayan rose in opposition to their Lord, the Compassionate, and rejected the One in Whom they believed--after We had counseled them in all the Tablets not to veil themselves by means of anything created between the heavens and the earth. Among them is he who disbelieved in Me, yet reciteth My words, and among them is he who taketh pride in books revealed on My behalf aforetime. Say: Today, were all who are in the heavens and on earth to be loaded down with priceless Books, from which the breaths of my Cause and the fragrance of My love did not waft, they shall never be mentioned in the Presence of God, thy Lord and the Lord of the worlds. Say: Woe unto you, O people! All that which descended from the heaven of the Bayan was revealed for the sake of My mention and in praise of Me, if ye be of them that know. Say: Woe is you, insofar as ye have broken the covenant of God and tossed it behind you, and returned to your abode in the deepest abyss.
O My Name, I am left alone among the concourse of the Bayan, after the Bayan was only revealed for the sake of the mention of My wronged and peerless Self. O people, fear God! By God, the Primal Point never drew a breath save that He mentioned Me, never spoke save to praise Me, nor was the beloved of His heart any other than My radiant and illumined Beauty. Know that the idolaters have attributed wrongdoing to the One from Whom the temples of justice were sent forth, and by Whom the lights of grace dawned. This is what the malefactors have wrought towards Me. This land will undergo an alteration because of their iniquity, and affairs shall be thrown into disarray. Thus doth the All-Knowing tongue of truth inform you. The tablets of hellfire have been distributed in all the lands, and the manifestation of Satan passeth by you with a book. Therefore, say: O servants of the All-Merciful, leave them behind and turn your faces toward the Word of God, the Invincible, the Wondrous. For all that was revealed from all pre-eternity, and all that descendeth from the glorious and exalted Firmament doth not equal a single letter thereof.
O My Name, purify My servants from the breaths of anyone but Me and attract them by the wonder of My melodies and words. Then cause them to soar into the heavens of My nearness and good pleasure. Perhaps they will set out toward the sanctuary of My glory and the house of My grandeur. Thus hath it been revealed in truth, for, verily, this is a revelation from thy Lord, the Exalted, the Knowing. Then forbid them from shedding blood. We have proscribed it in all the Tablets, but they have made the laws of God a laughingstock and left behind the fortress of the Cause, and were among the heedless. But the harm wrought by their deeds redounds upon the root of the tree. The matter was thus, if thou art among those who hear. Those who contend and fight with the people have departed out of the Garden of Justice and are accounted among the wrongdoers in the Tablets of the Mighty, the Preserver. And those who have been martyred in the path of God in these days are among the most exalted of beings. For they mentioned God out loud, insofar as the multitude of enemies did not deter them from making mention of God, their Creator, until they met martyrdom and were among those who attained. When their spirits ascended, they were greeted by the entire Concourse on High, bearing the standards of the Cause. Thus was the matter decreed in truth by the Powerful, the Wise.
Say: O My God and My Lord, Thou art the One Who planted the
trees of justice in the garden of Thy Cause and Thy Wisdom. Then safeguard them, O My God,
from the tempests of fate and the thunderbolts of calamity, that their branches and twigs
might be uplifted in the shadow of Thy grace and the precincts of Thy mercy. Then cause to
dwell in their leafy shade, O My God, the sincere one among Thy creatures and the near
ones among Thy servants. Thou art, verily, the Forgiving, the Compassionate. We have
created the garden of justice by Our power and might and dispatched it unto thee with the
fruits of the Glorious, the Wondrous. Then taste of its fruits and rest in the shade of
its foliage, shielded from the fire of the idolaters. Thereby hath the bounty bestowed
upon thee been completed, that thou mightest be among the thankful. Praise be to God, the
Lord of the worlds.
*The passage between asterisks was translated by Shoghi Effendi, Gleanings LXXXVIII.