Proclamation of Baha'u'llah INTRODUCTION SUMMONS TO THE KINGS AND RULERS OF THE WORLD: Collectively Napoleon III Czar Alexander II Queen Victoria Kaiser Wilhelm I Emperor Francis Joseph Sultan `Abdu'l-'Aziz Nasiri'd-Din Shah The Rulers of America The Elected Representatives of the Peoples in Every Land SUMMONS TO THE WORLD'S RELIGIOUS LEADERS: Collectively Pope Pius IX The Clergy and People of Various Faiths THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND The Time Fore-Ordained unto the Peoples ... REFERENCES ------------------------------------------------------------- We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem Us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.... That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled--what harm is there in this?... Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come.... Yet do We see your kings and rulers lavishing their treasures more freely on means for the destruction of the human race than on that which would conduce to the happiness of mankind.... These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family.... Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.... Baha'u'llah ------------------------------------------------------------- ix Introduction One hundred years ago, Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith, proclaimed in clear and unmistakable language, to the kings and rulers of the world, to its religious leaders, and to mankind in general that the long-promised age of world peace and brotherhood had at last dawned and that He Himself was the Bearer of the new message and power from God which would transform the prevailing system of antagonism and enmity between men and create the spirit and form of the destined world order. At that time the splendour and panoply of the monarchs reflected the vast power which they exercised, autocratically for the most part, over the greater portion of the earth. Baha'u'llah, an exile from His native Persia for His religious teaching, was the prisoner of the tyrannical, all- powerful Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In such circumstances He addressed the rulers of the world. His Tablets to particular kings and to the Pope, although delivered, were either ignored or rejected, their wise counsels and dire warnings went unheeded, and in one instance the bearer was cruelly tortured and killed. Baha'u'llah, viewing that old world and seeing it `at the mercy of rulers so drunk with pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best advantage' declared that `...the strife that divides and afflicts the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and ------------------------------------------------------------- x chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appears to be lamentably defective.' Although painting in sombre tones the `divine chastisement' which would assail most of those rulers and engulf in ruin the peoples of the world, He nevertheless left no doubt about the outcome. `Soon', He declared, `will the present day order be rolled up and a new one spread out in its stead.' Since the ascension of Baha'u'llah in 1892, in the Holy Land, the rolling up of the old order has become the daily experience of mankind and no abatement of this process is discernible. The essence of Baha'u'llah's World Order is the unity of the human race. `O ye children of men', He writes, `the fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race...' And He warns, `The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.' The achievement of this unity is Baha'u'llah's declared mission and the aim of all Baha'i activity. Its outline and structure are indicated in the following passage from the writings of Shoghi Effendi, great-grandson of Baha'u'llah and Guardian of the Baha'i Faith: The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Baha'u'llah, implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that ------------------------------------------------------------- xi compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded. This commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples. A world executive, backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth. A world tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system. A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hinderances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve centre of a world civilization, the focus towards which the unifying forces of life will converge and from which its energizing influences will radiate. A world language will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of ------------------------------------------------------------- xii weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations and races of mankind. In such a world society, science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will be reconciled, will co-operate, and will harmoniously develop. The press will, under such a system, while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peoples. The economic resources of the world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be co-ordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated. National rivalries, hatreds and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding and co-operation. The causes of religious strife will be permanently removed, economic barriers and restrictions will be completely abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear. The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the ------------------------------------------------------------- xiii increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources of the planet, to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race. A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation--such is the goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving. Baha'u'llah's message is one of hope, of love, of practical reconstruction. Today we reap the appalling results of our forebears' rejection of His divine call; but today there are new rulers, new people, who perchance may hear and avoid or mitigate the severity of impending catastrophe. It is with this hope and believing it to be its sacred duty, that the Universal House of Justice, the international governing ------------------------------------------------------------- xiv body of the Baha'i Faith, proclaims again, through publication of these selected passages, the essence of that mighty call of a century ago. In the same hope and belief the Baha'is throughout the world will do their utmost during this centenary period to bring to the attention of their fellow- men the redeeming fact of this new outpouring of divine guidance and love. We believe they will not labour in vain. Haifa, 1967 ------------------------------------------------------------- 1 SUMMONS TO THE KINGS AND RULERS OF THE WORLD ------------------------------------------------------------- 3 COLLECTIVELY ------------------------------------------------------------- 5 O Kings of the earth! He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is come. The Kingdom is God's, the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting. Worship none but God, and, with radiant hearts, lift up your faces unto your Lord, the Lord of all names. This is a Revelation to which whatever ye possess can never be compared, could ye but know it. We see you rejoicing in that which ye have amassed for others, and shutting out yourselves from the worlds which naught except My Guarded Tablet can reckon. The treasures ye have laid up have drawn you far away from your ultimate objective. This ill beseemeth you, could ye but understand it. Wash your hearts from all earthly defilements, and hasten to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth and heaven, Who caused the world to tremble, and all its peoples to wail, except them that have renounced all things and clung to that which the Hidden Tablet hath ordained.... O Kings of the earth! The Most Great Law hath been revealed in this Spot, this Scene of transcendent splendour. Every hidden thing hath been brought to light, by virtue of the Will of the Supreme Ordainer, He Who hath ushered in the Last Hour, through Whom the Moon hath been cleft, and every irrevocable decree expounded. Ye are but vassals, O Kings of the earth! He Who is the King of kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous glory, and is summoning you unto Himself, the Help ------------------------------------------------------------- 6 in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Take heed lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source of Revelation; lest the things of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of heaven. Arise, and serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath created you through a word from Him, and ordained you to be, for all time, the emblems of His sovereignty. By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess the hearts of men. Upon them the eyes of Baha are fastened. To this testifieth the Kingdom of Names, could ye but comprehend it. Whoso followeth his Lord, will renounce the world and all that is therein; how much greater, then, must be the detachment of Him Who holdeth so august a station! Forsake your palaces, and haste ye to gain admittance into His Kingdom. This, indeed, will profit you both in this world and in the next. To this testifieth the Lord of the realm on high, did ye but know it. How great is the blessedness that awaiteth the king who will arise to aid My Cause in My Kingdom, who will detach himself from all else but Me! Such a king is numbered with the companions of the Crimson Ark, the Ark which God hath prepared for the people of Baha. All must glorify his name, must reverence his station, and aid him to unlock the cities with the keys of My Name, the omnipotent Protector of all that inhabit the visible and invisible kingdoms. Such a king is the very eye of mankind, the luminous ornament on the brow of creation, the fountainhead ------------------------------------------------------------- 7 of blessings unto the whole world. Offer up, O people of Baha, your substance, nay your very lives, for his assistance. We have asked nothing from you. For the sake of God We, verily, exhort you, and will be patient as We have been patient in that which hath befallen Us at your hands, O concourse of kings! * * * O Kings of the earth! Give ear unto the Voice of God, calling from this sublime, this fruit-laden Tree, that hath sprung out of the Crimson Hill, upon the holy Plain, intoning the words: `There is none other God but He, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.'... Fear God, O concourse of kings, and suffer not yourselves to be deprived of this most sublime grace. Fling away, then, the things ye possess, and take fast hold on the Handle of God, the Exalted, the Great. Set your hearts towards the Face of God, and abandon that which your desires have bidden you to follow, and be not of those who perish. Relate unto them, O Servant, the story of `Ali (the Bab), when He came unto them with truth, bearing His glorious and weighty Book, and holding in His hands a testimony and proof from God, and holy and blessed tokens from Him. Ye, however, O Kings, have failed to heed the Remembrance of God in His days and to be guided by the lights which ------------------------------------------------------------- 8 arose and shone forth above the horizon of a resplendent Heaven. Ye examined not His Cause when so to do would have been better for you than all that the sun shineth upon, could ye but perceive it. Ye remained careless until the divines of Persia--those cruel ones--pronounced judgment against Him, and unjustly slew Him. His spirit ascended unto God, and the eyes of the inmates of Paradise and the angels that are nigh unto Him wept sore by reason of this cruelty. Beware that ye be not careless henceforth as ye have been careless aforetime. Return, then, unto God, your Maker, and be not of the heedless.... My face hath come forth from the veils, and shed its radiance upon all that is in heaven and on earth; and yet, ye turned not towards Him, notwithstanding that ye were created for Him, O concourse of kings! Follow, therefore, that which I speak unto you, and hearken unto it with your hearts, and be not of such as have turned aside. For your glory consisteth not in your sovereignty, but rather in your nearness unto God and your observance of His command as sent down in His holy and preserved Tablets. Should any one of you rule over the whole earth, and over all that lieth within it and upon it, its seas, its lands, its mountains, and its plains, and yet be not remembered by God, all these would profit him not, could ye but know it.... Arise, then, and make steadfast your feet, and make ye amends for that which hath escaped you, and set then yourselves towards His holy Court, on the shore of His mighty Ocean, so that the pearls of knowledge and wisdom, which God hath ------------------------------------------------------------- 9 stored up within the shell of His radiant heart, may be revealed unto you.... Beware lest ye hinder the breeze of God from blowing over your hearts, the breeze through which the hearts of such as have turned unto Him can be quickened.... Beware not to deal unjustly with any one that appealeth to you, and entereth beneath your shadow. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be ye of them that lead a godly life. Rest not on your power, your armies, and treasures. Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succour cometh from Him alone. He succoureth whom He willeth with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth. Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst. Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice shall be set, the day when unto every one shall be rendered his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be weighed. If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless and unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine chastisement shall assail you from every direction, and the sentence of His justice shall be pronounced against you. On that day ye shall have no power to resist Him, and shall recognize your own impotence. Have mercy on yourselves and on those beneath you, and judge ------------------------------------------------------------- 10 ye between them according to the precepts prescribed by God in His most holy and exalted Tablet, a Tablet wherein He hath assigned to each and every thing its settled measure, in which He hath given, with distinctness, an explanation of all things, and which is in itself a monition unto them that believe in Him. Examine Our Cause, inquire into the things that have befallen Us, and decide justly between Us and Our enemies, and be ye of them that act equitably towards their neighbours. If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the down-trodden, what right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory! Would that ye could perceive it! Nay, By Him Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution ------------------------------------------------------------- 11 to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue steadfastly the right course.... Twenty years have passed, O Kings, during which We have, each day, tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. No one of them that were before Us hath endured the things We have endured. Would that ye could perceive it! They that rose up against Us, have put Us to death, have shed Our blood, have plundered Our property, and violated Our honour. Though aware of most of Our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the aggressor. For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that your high sense of justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind? God hath committed into your hands the reins of the government of the people, that ye may rule with justice over them, safeguard the rights of the down-trodden, and punish the wrong-doers. If ye neglect the duty prescribed unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be numbered with those of the unjust in His sight. Grievous, indeed, will be your error. Cleave ye to that which your imaginations have devised, and cast behind your backs the commandments of God, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible, the All-Compelling, the Almighty? Cast away the things ye possess, and cling to that which God hath bidden you observe. Seek ye His grace, for he that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.... The day is approaching when God will have exalted His ------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Cause and magnified His testimony in the eyes of all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth. Place, in all circumstances, Thy whole trust in Thy Lord, and fix Thy gaze upon Him, and turn away from all them that repudiate His truth. Let God, Thy Lord, be Thy sufficing Succourer and Helper. We have pledged Ourself to secure Thy triumph upon earth and to exalt Our Cause above all men, though no king be found who would turn his face towards Thee. * * * O Kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this Wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfully ye look upon them! How strange, how very strange! Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some ------------------------------------------------------------- 13 degree better your own condition and that of your dependents. * * * O Rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful. Be united, O Kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your people find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice. * * * The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded, and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the kings and rulers of the earth. From the beginning that hath no beginning the ensign proclaiming the words `He doeth whatsoever He willeth' hath been unfurled in all its splendour before His Manifestation. What mankind needeth in this day is obedience unto them that are in authority, and a faithful adherence to the cord of wisdom. The instruments which are essential to the immediate protection, the security and assurance of the human race have been entrusted to the hands, and lie in the ------------------------------------------------------------- 14 grasp, of the governors of human society. This is the wish of God and His decree.... We cherish the hope that one of the kings of the earth will, for the sake of God, arise for the triumph of this wronged, this oppressed people. Such a king will be eternally extolled and glorified. God hath prescribed unto this people the duty of aiding whosoever will aid them, of serving his best interests, and of demonstrating to him their abiding loyalty. They who follow Me must strive, under all circumstances, to promote the welfare of whosoever will arise for the triumph of My Cause, and must at all times prove their devotion and fidelity unto him. Happy is the man that hearkeneth and observeth My counsel. Woe unto him that faileth to fulfil My wish. ------------------------------------------------------------- 15 NAPOLEON III ------------------------------------------------------------- 17 O King of Paris! Tell the priest to ring the bells no longer. By God, the True One! The Most Mighty Bell hath appeared in the form of Him Who is the Most Great Name, and the fingers of the will of Thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High, toll it out in the heaven of Immortality, in His name, the All-Glorious. Thus have the mighty verses of Thy Lord been again sent down unto thee, that thou mayest arise to remember God, the Creator of earth and heaven, in these days when all the tribes of the earth have mourned, and the foundations of the cities have trembled, and the dust of irreligion hath enwrapped all men, except such as God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, was pleased to spare. Say: He Who is the Unconditioned is come, in the clouds of light, that He may quicken all created things with the breeze of His Name, the Most Merciful, and unify the world, and gather all men around this Table which hath been sent down from heaven. Beware that ye deny not the favour of God after it hath been sent down unto you. Better is this for you than that which ye possess; for that which is yours perisheth, whilst that which is with God endureth. He, in truth, ordaineth what He pleaseth. Verily, the breezes of forgiveness have been wafted from the direction of your Lord, the God of Mercy; whoso turneth thereunto, shall be cleansed of his sins, and of all pain and sickness. Happy the man that hath turned towards them, and woe betide him that hath turned aside. ------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Wert thou to incline thine inner ear unto all created things, thou wouldst hear: `The Ancient of Days is come in His great glory!' Everything celebrateth the praise of its Lord. Some have known God and remember Him; others remember Him, yet know Him not. Thus have We set down Our decree in a perspicuous Tablet. Give ear, O King, unto the Voice that calleth from the Fire which burneth in this verdant Tree, on this Sinai which hath been raised above the hallowed and snow-white Spot, beyond the Everlasting City: `Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful!' We, in truth, have sent Him Whom We aided with the Holy Spirit (Jesus Christ) that He may announce unto you this Light that hath shone forth from the horizon of the will of your Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and Whose signs have been revealed in the West. Set your faces towards Him (Baha'u'llah) on this Day which God hath exalted above all other days, and whereon the All- Merciful hath shed the splendour of His effulgent glory upon all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Arise thou to serve God and help His Cause. He, verily, will assist thee with the hosts of the seen and unseen, and will set thee king over all that whereon the sun riseth. Thy Lord, in truth, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty. The breezes of the Most Merciful have passed over all created things; happy the man that hath discovered their fragrance, and set himself towards them with a sound heart. Attire thy temple with the ornament of My Name, ------------------------------------------------------------- 19 and thy tongue with remembrance of Me, and thine heart with love for Me, the Almighty, the Most High. We have desired for thee naught except that which is better for thee than what thou dost possess and all the treasures of the earth. Thy Lord, verily, is knowing, informed of all. Arise, in My Name, amongst My servants, and say: `O ye peoples of the earth! Turn yourselves towards Him Who hath turned towards you. He, verily, is the Face of God amongst you, and His Testimony and His Guide unto you. He hath come to you with signs which none can produce.' The voice of the Burning Bush is raised in the midmost heart of the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth aloud among the nations: `Lo, the Desired One is come with manifest dominion!' O King! The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they who seek to establish the truth of My Cause through the things they possess, and who make mention of God in My Name. And yet, when I came unto them in My glory, they turned aside. They, indeed, are of the fallen. This is, truly, that which the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) hath announced, when He came with truth unto you, He with Whom the Jewish doctors disputed, till at last they perpetrated what hath made the Holy Spirit to lament, and the tears of them that have near access to God to flow.... O King! We heard the words thou didst utter in answer to the Czar of Russia, concerning the decision made regarding the war (Crimean War). Thy Lord, verily, knoweth, is informed of all. Thou didst say: `I lay asleep upon my ------------------------------------------------------------- 20 couch, when the cry of the oppressed, who were drowned in the Black Sea, wakened me.' This is what we heard thee say, and, verily, thy Lord is witness unto what I say. We testify that that which wakened thee was not their cry but the promptings of thine own passions, for We tested thee, and found thee wanting. Comprehend the meaning of My words, and be thou of the discerning. It is not Our wish to address thee words of condemnation, out of regard for the dignity We conferred upon thee in this mortal life. We, verily, have chosen courtesy, and made it the true mark of such as are nigh unto Him. Courtesy, is, in truth, a raiment which fitteth all men, whether young or old. Well is it with him that adorneth his temple therewith, and woe unto him who is deprived of this great bounty. Hadst thou been sincere in thy words, thou wouldst have not cast behind thy back the Book of God, when it was sent unto thee by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. We have proved thee through it, and found thee other than that which thou didst profess. Arise, and make amends for that which escaped thee. Ere long the world and all that thou possessest will perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy fathers of old. It behoveth thee not to conduct thine affairs according to the dictates of thy desires. Fear the sighs of this Wronged One, and shield Him from the darts of such as act unjustly. For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought. ------------------------------------------------------------- 21 Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred. Commotions shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) in this, the Straight Path. Hath thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It shall not endure; nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee, whilst thou art of the heedless. It behoveth thee when thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory to cast away all that thou possessest, and cry out: `Here am I, O Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!' O King! We were in Iraq, when the hour of parting arrived. At the bidding of the King of Islam (Sultan of Turkey) We set Our steps in his direction. Upon Our arrival, there befell Us at the hands of the malicious that which the books of the world can never adequately recount. Thereupon the inmates of Paradise, and they that dwell within the retreats of holiness, lamented; and yet the people are wrapped in a thick veil!... More grievous became Our plight from day to day, nay, from hour to hour, until they took Us forth from Our prison and made Us, with glaring injustice, enter the Most Great Prison.... Know of a truth that your subjects are God's trust amongst you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate. ------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Arise thou, in My name, above the horizon of renunciation, and set, then, thy face towards the Kingdom, at the bidding of thy Lord, the Lord of strength and of might. Adorn the body of Thy kingdom with the raiment of My name, and arise, then, to teach My Cause. Better is this for thee than that which thou possessest. God will, thereby, exalt thy name among all the kings. Potent is He over all things. Walk thou amongst men in the name of God, and by the power of His might, that thou mayest show forth His signs amidst the peoples of the earth.... Regard ye the world as a man's body, which is afflicted with divers ailments, and the recovery of which dependeth upon the harmonizing of all of its component elements. Gather ye around that which We have prescribed unto you, and walk not in the ways of such as create dissension. Meditate on the world and the state of its people. He, for Whose sake the world was called into being, hath been imprisoned in the most desolate of cities (Akka), by reason of that which the hands of the wayward have wrought. From the horizon of His prison-city He summoneth mankind unto the Dayspring of God, the Exalted, the Great. Exultest thou over the treasures thou dost possess, knowing they shall perish? Rejoicest thou in that thou rulest a span of earth, when the whole world, in the estimation of the people of Baha, is worth as much as the black in the eye of a dead ant? Abandon it unto such as have set their affections upon it, and turn thou unto Him Who is the Desire of the world. Whither are gone the proud and their ------------------------------------------------------------- 23 palaces? Gaze thou into their tombs, that thou mayest profit by this example, inasmuch as We made it a lesson unto every beholder. Were the breezes of Revelation to seize thee, thou wouldst flee the world, and turn unto the Kingdom, and wouldst expend all thou possessest, that thou mayest draw nigh unto this sublime Vision. ------------------------------------------------------------- 25 CZAR ALEXANDER II ------------------------------------------------------------- 27 O Czar of Russia! Incline thine ear unto the voice of God, the King, the Holy, and turn thou unto Paradise, the Spot wherein abideth He Who, among the Concourse on high, beareth the most excellent titles, and Who, in the kingdom of creation, is called by the name of God, the Effulgent, the All-Glorious. Beware lest thy desire deter thee from turning towards the face of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We, verily, have heard the thing for which thou didst supplicate thy Lord, whilst secretly communing with Him. Wherefore, the breeze of My loving- kindness wafted forth, and the sea of My mercy surged, and We answered thee in truth. Thy Lord, verily, is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Whilst I lay chained and fettered in the prison, one of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Wherefore hath God ordained for thee a station which the knowledge of none can comprehend except His knowledge. Beware lest thou barter away this sublime station... Beware lest thy sovereignty withhold thee from Him Who is the Supreme Sovereign. He, verily, is come with His Kingdom, and all the atoms cry aloud: `Lo! The Lord is come in His great majesty!' He Who is the Father is come, and the Son (Jesus), in the holy vale, crieth out: `Here am I, here am I, O Lord, My God!' whilst Sinai circleth round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: `The All-Bounteous is come mounted upon the clouds! Blessed is he ------------------------------------------------------------- 28 that draweth nigh unto Him, and woe betide them that are far away.' Arise thou amongst men in the name of this all-compelling Cause, and summon, then, the nations unto God, the Exalted, the Great. Be thou not of them who called upon God by one of His names, but who, when He Who is the Object of all names appeared, denied Him and turned aside from Him, and, in the end, pronounced sentence against Him with manifest injustice. Consider and call thou to mind the days whereon the Spirit of God (Jesus) appeared, and Herod gave judgment against Him. God, however, aided Him with the hosts of the unseen, and protected Him with truth, and sent Him down unto another land, according to His promise. He, verily, ordaineth what He pleaseth. Thy Lord truly preserveth whom He willeth, be he in the midst of the seas, or in the maw of the serpent, or beneath the sword of the oppressor.... Again I say: Hearken unto My Voice that calleth from My prison that it may acquaint thee with the things that have befallen My Beauty, at the hands of them that are the manifestations of My glory, and that thou mayest perceive how great hath been My patience, notwithstanding My might, and how immense My forbearance, notwithstanding My power. By My Life! Couldst thou but know the things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of My Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the seas of My names and in the goblets of My words, thou wouldst, in thy love for My name, and in thy longing for ------------------------------------------------------------- 29 My glorious and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in My path. Know thou that though My body be beneath the swords of My foes, and My limbs be beset with incalculable afflictions, yet My spirit is filled with a gladness with which all the joys of the earth can never compare. Set thine heart towards Him Who is the Point of adoration for the world, and say: O peoples of the earth! Have ye denied the One in Whose path He Who came with the truth, bearing the announcement of your Lord, the Exalted, the Great, suffered martyrdom? Say: This is an Announcement whereat the hearts of the Prophets and Messengers have rejoiced. This is the One Whom the heart of the world remembereth and is promised in the Books of God, the Mighty, the All-Wise. The hands of the Messengers were, in their desire to meet Me, upraised towards God, the Mighty, the Glorified.... Some lamented in their separation from Me, others endured hardships in My path, and still others laid down their lives for the sake of My Beauty, could ye but know it. Say: I, verily, have not sought to extol Mine Own Self, but rather God Himself were ye to judge fairly. Naught can be seen in Me except God and His Cause, could ye but perceive it. I am the One Whom the tongue of Isaiah hath extolled, the One with Whose name both the Torah and the Evangel were adorned.... Blessed be the king whose sovereignty hath withheld him not from his Sovereign, and who hath turned unto God with his heart. He, verily, is accounted of those that have attained unto that which God, the Mighty, ------------------------------------------------------------- 30 the All-Wise hath willed. Ere long will such a one find himself numbered with the monarchs of the realms of the Kingdom. Thy Lord is, in truth, potent over all things. He giveth what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and withholdeth what He pleaseth from whomsoever He willeth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty. ------------------------------------------------------------- 31 QUEEN VICTORIA ------------------------------------------------------------- 33 O Queen in London! Incline thine ear unto the voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind, calling from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, no God is there but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise! Cast away all that is on earth, and attire the head of thy kingdom with the crown of the remembrance of thy Lord, the All-Glorious. He, in truth, hath come unto the world in His most great glory, and all that hath been mentioned in the Gospel hath been fulfilled. The land of Syria hath been honoured by the footsteps of its Lord, the Lord of all men, and North and South are both inebriated with the wine of His presence. Blessed is the man that inhaled the fragrance of the Most Merciful, and turned unto the Dawning-Place of His Beauty, in this resplendent Dawn. The Mosque of Aqsa vibrateth through the breezes of its Lord, the All-Glorious whilst Batha (Mecca) trembleth at the voice of God, the Exalted, the Most High. Whereupon every single stone of them celebrateth the praise of the Lord, through this Great Name. Lay aside thy desire, and set then thine heart towards thy Lord, the Ancient of Days. We make mention of thee for the sake of God, and desire that thy name may be exalted through thy remembrance of God, the Creator of earth and heaven. He, verily, is witness unto that which I say. We have been informed that thou hast forbidden the trading in slaves, both men and women. This, verily, is what ------------------------------------------------------------- 34 God hath enjoined in this wondrous Revelation. God hath, truly, destined a reward for thee, because of this. He, verily, will pay the doer of good his due recompense, wert thou to follow what hath been sent unto thee by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. As to him who turneth aside, and swelleth with pride, after that the clear tokens have come unto him, from the Revealer of signs, his work shall God bring to naught. He, in truth, hath power over all things. Man's actions are acceptable after his having recognized (the Manifestation). He that turneth aside from the True One is indeed the most veiled amongst His creatures. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Almighty, the Most Powerful. We have also heard that thou hast entrusted the reins of counsel into the hands of the representatives of the people. Thou, indeed, hast done well, for thereby the foundations of the edifice of thine affairs will be strengthened, and the hearts of all that are beneath thy shadow, whether high or low, will be tranquillized. It behoveth them, however, to be trustworthy among His servants, and to regard themselves as the representatives of all that dwell on earth. This is what counselleth them, in this Tablet, He Who is the Ruler, the All-Wise... Blessed is he that entereth the assembly for the sake of God, and judgeth between men with pure justice. He, indeed, is of the blissful.... Turn thou unto God and say: O my Sovereign Lord! I am but a vassal of Thine, and Thou art, in truth, the King of Kings. I have lifted my suppliant hands unto the heaven ------------------------------------------------------------- 35 of Thy grace and Thy bounties. Send down, then, upon me from the clouds of Thy generosity that which will rid me of all save Thee, and draw me nigh unto Thyself. I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy name, which Thou hast made the king of names, and the manifestation of Thyself to all who are in heaven and on earth, to rend asunder the veils that have intervened between me and my recognition of the Dawning-Place of Thy signs and the Day Spring of Thy Revelation. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Bounteous. Deprive me not, O my Lord, of the fragrances of the Robe of Thy mercy in Thy days, and write down for me that which Thou hast written down for thy handmaidens who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs, and have recognized Thee, and set their hearts towards the horizon of Thy Cause. Thou art truly the Lord of the worlds and of those who show mercy the Most Merciful. Assist me, then, O my God, to remember Thee amongst Thy handmaidens, and to aid Thy Cause in Thy lands. Accept, then, that which hath escaped me when the light of Thy countenance shone forth. Thou, indeed, hast power over all things. Glory be to Thee, O Thou in Whose hand is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth. ------------------------------------------------------------- 37 KAISER WILHELM I ------------------------------------------------------------- 39 O King of Berlin! Give ear unto the Voice calling from this manifest Temple: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Everlasting, the Peerless, the Ancient of Days. Take heed lest pride debar thee from recognizing the Dayspring of Divine Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by a veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth below. Thus counselleth thee the Pen of the Most High. He, verily, is the Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do thou remember the one whose power transcended thy power (Napoleon III), and whose station excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep. He it was who cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We made known unto him what the hosts of tyranny had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace assailed him from all sides, and he went down to dust in great loss. Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning them who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled over men. The All-Merciful brought them down from their palaces to their graves. Be warned, be of them who reflect... O banks of the Rhine! We have seen you covered with gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of Berlin, though she be today in conspicuous glory. ------------------------------------------------------------- 41 EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH ------------------------------------------------------------- 43 O Emperor of Austria! He who is the Dayspring of God's Light dwelt in the prison of Akka, at the time when thou didst set forth to visit the Aqsa Mosque (Jerusalem). Thou passed Him by, and inquired not about Him, by Whom every house is exalted, and every lofty gate unlocked. We, verily, made it (Jerusalem) a place whereunto the world should turn, that they might remember Me, and yet thou hast rejected Him Who is the Object of this remembrance, when He appeared with the Kingdom of God, thy Lord and the Lord of the worlds. We have been with thee at all times, and found thee clinging unto the Branch and heedless of the Root. Thy Lord, verily, is a witness unto what I say. We grieved to see thee circle round Our Name, whilst unaware of Us, though We were before thy face. Open thine eyes, that thou mayest behold this glorious Vision, and recognize Him Whom thou invokest in the daytime and in the night-season, and gaze on the Light that shineth above this luminous Horizon. ------------------------------------------------------------- 45 SULTAN `ABDU'L-`AZIZ ------------------------------------------------------------- 47 Hearken, O King, to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth, Him that doth not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath chosen to bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the straight Path. He it is Who summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth thee the right course, the way that leadeth to true felicity, that haply thou mayest be of them with whom it shall be well. Beware, O King, that thou gather not around thee such ministers as follow the desires of a corrupt inclination, as have cast behind their backs that which hath been committed into their hands and manifestly betrayed their trust. Be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to thee, and abandon not the interests of thy people to the mercy of such ministers as these. Lay not aside the fear of God, and be thou of them that act uprightly. Gather around thee those ministers from whom thou canst perceive the fragrance of faith and of justice, and take thou counsel with them, and choose whatever is best in thy sight, and be of them that act generously. Know thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in God is neither trustworthy nor truthful. This, indeed, is the truth, the undoubted truth. He that acteth treacherously towards God will, also, act treacherously towards his king. Nothing whatever can deter such a man from evil, nothing ------------------------------------------------------------- 48 can hinder him from betraying his neighbour, nothing can induce him to walk uprightly. Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of thy state into the hands of others, and repose not thy confidence in ministers unworthy of thy trust, and be not of them that live in heedlessness. Shun them whose hearts are turned away from thee, and place not thy confidence in them, and entrust them not with thy affairs and the affairs of such as profess thy faith. Beware that thou allow not the wolf to become the shepherd of God's flock, and surrender not the fate of His loved ones to the mercy of the malicious. Expect not that they who violate the ordinances of God will be trustworthy or sincere in the faith they profess. Avoid them, and preserve strict guard over thyself, lest their devices and mischief hurt thee. Turn away from them, and fix thy gaze upon God, thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful. He that giveth up himself wholly to God, God shall, assuredly, be with him; and he that placeth his complete trust in God, God shall, verily, protect him from whatsoever may harm him, and shield him from the wickedness of every evil plotter. Wert thou to incline thine ear unto My speech and observe My counsel, God would exalt thee to so eminent a position that the designs of no man on the whole earth could ever touch or hurt thee. Observe, O King, with thine inmost heart and with thy whole being, the precepts of God, and walk not in the paths of the oppressor. Seize thou, and hold firmly within the grasp of thy might, the ------------------------------------------------------------- 49 reins of the affairs of thy people, and examine in person whatever pertaineth unto them. Let nothing escape thee, for therein lieth the highest good. Render thanks unto God for having chosen thee out of the whole world, and made thee king over them that profess thy faith. It well beseemeth thee to appreciate the wondrous favours with which God hath favoured thee, and to magnify continually His name. Thou canst best praise Him if thou lovest His loved ones, and dost safeguard and protect His servants from the mischief of the treacherous, that none may any longer oppress them. Thou shouldst, moreover, arise to enforce the law of God amongst them, that thou mayest be of those who are firmly established in His law. Shouldst thou cause rivers of justice to spread their waters amongst thy subjects, God would surely aid thee with the hosts of the unseen and of the seen and would strengthen thee in thine affairs. No God is there but Him. All creation and its empire are His. Unto Him return the works of the faithful. Place not thy reliance on thy treasures. Put thy whole confidence in the grace of God, thy Lord. Let Him be thy trust in whatever thou doest, and be of them that have submitted themselves to His Will. Let Him be thy helper and enrich thyself with His treasures, for with Him are the treasuries of the heavens and of the earth. He bestoweth them upon whom He will, and from whom He will He withholdeth them. There is none other God but Him, the ------------------------------------------------------------- 50 All-Possessing, the All-Praised. All are but paupers at the door of His mercy; all are helpless before the revelation of His sovereignty, and beseech His favours. Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal justly with them that serve thee. Bestow upon them according to their needs and not to the extent that will enable them to lay up riches for themselves, to deck their persons, to embellish their homes, to acquire the things that are of no benefit unto them, and to be numbered with the extravagant. Deal with them with undeviating justice, so that none among them may either suffer want, or be pampered with luxuries. This is but manifest justice. Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them who are noble and worthy of honour, and suffer not the high-minded to be at the mercy of the contemptible and worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our arrival in the City (Constantinople), and to it We bear witness. We found among its inhabitants some who were possessed of an affluent fortune and lived in the midst of excessive riches, whilst others were in dire want and abject poverty. This ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy rank. Let My counsel be acceptable to thee, and strive thou to rule with equity among men, that God may exalt thy name and spread abroad the fame of thy justice in all the world. Beware lest thou aggrandize thy ministers at the expense of thy subjects. Fear the sighs of the poor and of the upright in heart who, at every break of day, bewail their plight, ------------------------------------------------------------- 51 and be unto them a benignant sovereign. They, verily, are thy treasures on earth. It behoveth thee, therefore, to safeguard thy treasures from the assaults of them who wish to rob thee. Inquire into their affairs, and ascertain, every year, nay every month, their condition, and be not of them that are careless of their duty. Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one standing in His Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every moment of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a reckoning, on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear of God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to tremble. It behoveth every king to be as bountiful as the sun, which fostereth the growth of all beings, and giveth to each its due, whose benefits are not inherent in itself, but are ordained by Him Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty. The king should be as generous, as liberal in his mercy as the clouds, the outpourings of whose bounty are showered upon every land, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing. Have a care not to entrust thine affairs of state entirely into another's hands. None can discharge thy functions better than thine own self. Thus do We make clear unto thee Our words of wisdom, and send down upon thee that which can enable thee to pass over from the left hand of oppression to the right hand of justice, and approach the resplendent ocean of His favours. Such is the path which ------------------------------------------------------------- 52 the kings that were before thee have trodden, they that acted equitably towards their subjects, and walked in the ways of undeviating justice. Thou art God's shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act in such a manner as befitteth so eminent, so august a station. If thou dost depart from following the things We have caused to descend upon thee and taught thee, thou wilt, assuredly, be derogating from that great and priceless honour. Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse thine heart from the world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love of any stranger to enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify thine heart from every trace of such love can the brightness of the light of God shed its radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than one heart. This, verily, hath been decreed and written down in His ancient Book. And as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth thee to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave thou, therefore, with the whole affection of thine heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of any one besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a true upholder of His oneness. God is My witness. My sole purpose in revealing to thee these words is to sanctify thee from the transitory things of the earth, and aid thee to enter the realm of everlasting glory, that thou mayest, by the leave of God, be of them that abide and rule therein.... Let thine ear be attentive, O King, to the words We have ------------------------------------------------------------- 53 addressed to thee. Let the oppressor desist from his tyranny, and cut off the perpetrators of injustice from among them that profess thy faith. By the righteousness of God! The tribulations We have sustained are such that any pen that recounteth them cannot but be overwhelmed with anguish. No one of them that truly believe and uphold the unity of God can bear the burden of their recital. So great have been Our sufferings that even the eyes of Our enemies have wept over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning person. And to all these trials have We been subjected, in spite of Our action in approaching thee, and in bidding the people to enter beneath thy shadow, that thou mightest be a stronghold unto them that believe in and uphold the unity of God. Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time, transgressed any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represented thee in Iraq produce any proof that can establish my disloyalty to thee? No, by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We rebel against thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never, God willing, shall We revolt against thee, though We be exposed to trials more severe than any We suffered in the past. In the day-time and in the night season, at even and at morn, We pray to God on thy behalf, that He may graciously aid thee to be obedient unto Him and to observe His commandment, that He may shield thee from the hosts of the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth thee, ------------------------------------------------------------- 54 and treat Us as befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy sovereignty. Be not forgetful of the law of God in whatever thou desirest to achieve, now or in the days to come. Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds! ------------------------------------------------------------- 55 NASIRI'D-DIN SHAH ------------------------------------------------------------- 57 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. Ask of the city wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them who speak falsely. 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 strengthened. The Pen of the Most High addresseth Me saying: ------------------------------------------------------------- 58 Fear not. Relate unto His Majesty the Shah that which befell thee. His heart, verily, is between the fingers of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, that haply the sun of justice and bounty may shine forth above the horizon of his heart. Thus hath the decree been irrevocably fixed by Him Who is the All- Wise. Look upon this Youth, O King, with the eyes of justice; judge thou, then, with truth concerning what hath befallen Him. Of a verity, God hath made thee His shadow amongst men, and the sign of His power unto all that dwell on earth. Judge thou between Us and them that have wronged Us without proof and without an enlightening Book. They that surround thee love thee for their own sakes, whereas this Youth loveth thee for thine own sake, and hath had no desire except to draw thee nigh unto the seat of grace, and to turn thee toward the right-hand of justice. Thy Lord beareth witness unto that which I declare. O King! Wert thou to incline thine ear unto the shrill of the Pen of Glory and the cooing of the Dove of Eternity which, on the branches of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, uttereth praises to God, the Maker of all names and Creator of earth and heaven, thou wouldst attain unto a station from which thou wouldst behold in the world of being naught save the effulgence of the Adored One, and wouldst regard thy sovereignty as the most contemptible of thy possessions, abandoning it to whosoever might desire it, and setting thy face toward the Horizon aglow with the light of His countenance. Neither ------------------------------------------------------------- 59 wouldst thou ever be willing to bear the burden of dominion save for the purpose of helping thy Lord, the Exalted, the Most High. Then would the Concourse on high bless thee. O how excellent is this most sublime station, couldst thou ascend thereunto through the power of a sovereignty recognized as derived from the Name of God!... O King of the age! The eyes of these refugees are turned towards and fixed upon the mercy of the Most Merciful. No doubt is there whatever that these tribulations will be followed by the outpourings of a supreme mercy, and these dire adversities be succeeded by an overflowing prosperity. We fain would hope, however, that His Majesty the Shah will himself examine these matters, and bring hope to the hearts. That which We have submitted to thy Majesty is indeed for thine highest good. And God, verily, is a sufficient witness unto Me.... O would that thou wouldst permit Me, O Shah, to send unto thee that which would cheer the eyes, and tranquillize the souls, and persuade every fair-minded person that with Him is the knowledge of the Book... But for the repudiation of the foolish and the connivance of the divines, I would have uttered a discourse that would have thrilled and carried away the hearts unto a realm from the murmur of whose winds can be heard: `No God is there but He!'... I have seen, O Shah, in the path of God what eye hath not seen nor ear heard... How numerous the tribulations which have rained, and will soon rain, upon Me! I advance ------------------------------------------------------------- 60 with My face set towards Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Bounteous, whilst behind Me glideth the serpent. Mine eyes have rained down tears until My bed is drenched. I sorrow not for Myself, however. By God! Mine head yearneth for the spear out of love for its Lord. I never passed a tree, but Mine heart addressed it saying: `O would that thou wert cut down in My name, and My body crucified upon thee, in the path of My Lord!'... By God! Though weariness lay Me low, and hunger consume Me, and the bare rock be My bed, and My fellows the beasts of the field, I will not complain, but will endure patiently as those endued with constancy and firmness have endured patiently, through the power of God, the Eternal King and Creator of the nations, and will render thanks unto God under all conditions. We pray that, out of His bounty-- exalted be He--He may release, through this imprisonment, the necks of men from chains and fetters, and cause them to turn, with sincere faces, towards His Face, Who is the Mighty, the Bounteous. Ready is He to answer whosoever calleth upon Him, and nigh is He unto such as commune with Him. ------------------------------------------------------------- 61 THE RULERS OF AMERICA ------------------------------------------------------------- 63 Hearken ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful. Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as bidden by Him Who is the All- Knowing, the All-Wise. The Promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station, whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced. Take ye advantage of the Day of God. Verily, to meet Him is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth, could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers! Give ear unto that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of Utterance, the All-Knowing. Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise. ------------------------------------------------------------- 65 THE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLES IN EVERY LAND ------------------------------------------------------------- 67 O ye the elected representatives of the people in every land! Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that which profiteth mankind, and bettereth the condition thereof, if ye be of them that scan heedfully. Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before. Thus informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. We behold it, in this day, at the mercy of rulers so drunk with pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best advantage, much less recognize a Revelation so bewildering and challenging as this. And whenever any one of them hath striven to improve its condition, his motive hath been his own gain, whether confessedly so or not; and the unworthiness of this motive hath limited his power to heal or cure. That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except ------------------------------------------------------------- 68 through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error.... ------------------------------------------------------------- 69 SUMMONS TO THE WORLD'S RELIGIOUS LEADERS ------------------------------------------------------------- 73 O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the unerring balance established amongst men. In this most perfect balance whatsoever the peoples and kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed, while the measure of its weight should be tested according to its own standard, did ye but know it. The eye of My loving-kindness weepeth sore over you, inasmuch as ye have failed to recognize the One upon Whom ye have been calling in the daytime and in the night season, at even and at morn. Advance, O people, with snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and crimson Spot, wherein the Sadratu'l-Muntaha is calling: `Verily, there is none other God beside Me, the Omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting!' O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you that can rival Me in vision or insight? Where is he to be found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance or wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the earth shall pass away; and this is the face of your Lord, the Almighty, the Well-Beloved. We have decreed, O people, that the highest and last end of all learning be the recognition of Him Who is the Object of all knowledge; and yet, behold how ye have allowed your learning to shut you out, as by a veil, from Him Who ------------------------------------------------------------- 74 is the Dayspring of this Light, through Whom every hidden thing hath been revealed. Could ye but discover the source whence the splendour of this utterance is diffused, ye would cast away the peoples of the world and all that they possess, and would draw nigh unto this most blessed Seat of glory. Say: This, verily, is the heaven in which the Mother Book is treasured, could ye but comprehend it. He it is Who hath caused the Rock to shout, and the Burning Bush to lift up its voice, upon the Mount rising above the Holy Land, and proclaim: `The Kingdom is God's, the sovereign Lord of all, the All-Powerful, the Loving!' We have not entered any school, nor read any of your dissertations. Incline your ears to the words of this unlettered One, wherewith He summoneth you unto God, the Ever-Abiding. Better is this for you than all the treasures of the earth, could ye but comprehend it. * * * O concourse of divines! When My verses were sent down, and My clear tokens were revealed, We found you behind the veils. This, verily, is a strange thing.... We have rent the veils asunder. Beware lest ye shut out the people by yet another veil. Pluck asunder the chains of vain imaginings, in the name of the Lord of all men, and be not of the deceitful. Should ye turn unto God, and embrace His ------------------------------------------------------------- 75 Cause, spread not disorder within it, and measure not the Book of God with your selfish desires. This, verily, is the counsel of God aforetime and hereafter.... Had ye believed in God, when He revealed Himself, the people would not have turned aside from Him, nor would the things ye witness today have befallen Us. Fear God, and be not of the heedless.... This is the Cause that hath caused all your superstitions and idols to tremble.... O concourse of divines! Beware lest ye be the cause of strife in the land, even as ye were the cause of the repudiation of the Faith in its early days. Gather the people around this Word that hath made the pebbles to cry out: `The Kingdom is God's, the Dawning-Place of all signs!'... Tear the veils asunder in such wise that the inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent. This is the command of God, in days gone by, and for those to come. Blessed the man that observeth that whereunto he was bidden, and woe betide the negligent. * * * How long will ye, O concourse of divines, level the spears of hatred at the face of Baha? Rein in your pens. Lo, the Most Sublime Pen speaketh betwixt earth and heaven. Fear God, and follow not your desires which have altered the face of creation. Purify your ears that they may hearken unto the Voice of God. By God! It is even as fire that consumeth ------------------------------------------------------------- 76 the veils, and as water that washeth the souls of all who are in the universe. * * * O concourse of divines! Can any one of you race with the Divine Youth in the arena of wisdom and utterance, or soar with Him into the heaven of inner meaning and explanation? Nay, by My Lord, the God of mercy! All have swooned away in this Day from the Word of thy Lord. They are even as dead and lifeless, except him whom thy Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained, hath willed to exempt. Such a one is indeed of those endued with knowledge in the sight of Him Who is the All- Knowing. The inmates of Paradise, and the dwellers of the sacred Folds, bless him at eventide and at dawn. Can the one possessed of wooden legs resist him whose feet God hath made of steel? Nay, by Him Who illumineth the whole of creation! * * * When We observed carefully, We discovered that Our enemies are, for the most part, the divines... Among the people are those who said: He hath repudiated the divines. Say: Yea, by My Lord! I, in very truth, was the One Who abolished the idols! We, verily, have sounded the Trumpet, ------------------------------------------------------------- 77 which is Our Most Sublime Pen, and lo, the divines and the learned, and the doctors and the rulers, swooned away except such as God preserved, as a token of His grace, and He, verily, is the All- Bounteous, the Ancient of Days... O concourse of divines! Fling away idle fancies and imaginings, and turn, then, towards the Horizon of Certitude. I swear by God! All that ye possess will profit you not, neither all the treasures of the earth, nor the leadership ye have usurped. Fear God, and be not of the lost ones... Say: O concourse of divines! Lay aside all your veils and coverings. Give ear unto that whereunto calleth you the Most Sublime Pen, in this wondrous Day.... The world is laden with dust, by reason of your vain imaginings, and the hearts of such as enjoy near access to God are troubled because of your cruelty. Fear God, and be of them that judge equitably. * * * O ye the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye suffer not yourselves to become changed, for as ye change, most men will, likewise, change. This, verily, is an injustice unto yourselves and unto others.... Ye are even as a spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out from it be changed. Fear God, and be numbered with the godly. In like manner, if the heart of man be corrupted, his limbs will also be corrupted. And similarly, if the root of a ------------------------------------------------------------- 78 tree be corrupted, its branches, and its offshoots, and its leaves, and its fruits, will be corrupted.... O concourse of divines! Be fair, I adjure you by God, and nullify not the Truth with the things ye possess. Peruse that which We have sent down with truth. It will, verily, aid you, and will draw you nigh unto God, the Mighty, the Great. Consider and call to mind how when Muhammad, the Apostle of God, appeared, the people denied Him. They ascribed unto Him what caused the Spirit (Jesus) to lament in His Most Sublime Station, and the Faithful Spirit to cry out. Consider, moreover, the things which befell the Apostles and Messengers of God before Him, by reason of what the hands of the unjust have wrought. We make mention of you for the sake of God, and remind you of His signs, and announce unto you the things ordained for such as are nigh unto Him in the most sublime Paradise and the all-highest Heaven, and I, verily, am the Announcer, the Omniscient. He hath come for your salvation, and hath borne tribulations that ye may ascend, by the ladder of utterance, unto the summit of understanding.... Peruse, with fairness and justice, that which hath been sent down. It will, verily, exalt you through the truth, and will cause you to behold the things from which ye have been withheld, and will enable you to quaff His sparkling Wine. ------------------------------------------------------------- 79 * * * Those divines ... who are truly adorned with the ornament of knowledge and of a goodly character are, verily, as a head to the body of the world, and as eyes to the nations. The guidance of men hath, at all times, been and is dependent upon these blessed souls. * * * The divine whose conduct is upright, and the sage who is just, are as the spirit unto the body of the world. Well is it with that divine whose head is attired with the crown of justice, and whose temple is adorned with the ornament of equity. * * * The divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy Wine, in the name of the sovereign Ordainer, is as an eye unto the world. Well is it with them who obey him, and call him to remembrance. * * * Great is the blessedness of that divine that hath not allowed knowledge to become a veil between him and the One Who is the Object of all knowledge, and who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a beaming ------------------------------------------------------------- 80 face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the learned. The inmates of Paradise seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth its radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered with the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath, verily, beheld the True One, and he that turneth towards him hath, verily, turned towards God, the Almighty, the All-Wise. * * * O concourse of divines! Ye shall not henceforth behold yourselves possessed of any power, inasmuch as We have seized it from you, and destined it for such as have believed in God, the One, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Unconstrained. ------------------------------------------------------------- 81 POPE PIUS IX ------------------------------------------------------------- 83 O Pope! Rend the veils asunder. He Who is the Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with clouds, and the decree hath been fulfilled by God, the Almighty, the Unrestrained... He, verily, hath again come down from Heaven even as He came down from it the first time. Beware that thou dispute not with Him even as the Pharisees disputed with Him (Jesus) without a clear token or proof. On His right hand flow the living waters of grace, and on His left the choice Wine of justice, whilst before Him march the angels of Paradise, bearing the banners of His signs. Beware lest any name debar thee from God, the Creator of earth and heaven. Leave thou the world behind thee, and turn towards thy Lord, through Whom the whole earth hath been illumined... Dwellest thou in palaces whilst He Who is the King of Revelation liveth in the most desolate of abodes? Leave them unto such as desire them, and set thy face with joy and delight towards the Kingdom... Arise in the name of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, amidst the peoples of the earth, and seize thou the Cup of Life with the hands of confidence, and first drink thou therefrom, and proffer it then to such as turn towards it amongst the peoples of all faiths... Call thou to remembrance Him Who was the Spirit (Jesus), Who when He came, the most learned of His age pronounced judgment against Him in His own country, whilst he who was only a fisherman believed in Him. Take ------------------------------------------------------------- 84 heed, then, ye men of understanding heart! Thou, in truth, art one of the suns of the heaven of His names. Guard thyself, lest darkness spread its veils over thee, and fold thee away from His light... Consider those who opposed the Son (Jesus), when He came unto them with sovereignty and power. How many the Pharisees who were waiting to behold Him, and were lamenting over their separation from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of His coming was wafted over them, and His beauty was unveiled, they turned aside from Him and disputed with Him... None save a very few, who were destitute of any power amongst men, turned towards His face. And yet, today, every man endowed with power and invested with sovereignty prideth himself on His Name! In like manner, consider how numerous, in these days, are the monks who, in My Name, have secluded themselves in their churches, and who, when the appointed time was fulfilled, and We unveiled Our beauty, knew Us not, though they call upon Me at eventide and at dawn.... The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It hath been sent down in the form of the human temple in this day. Blessed be the Lord Who is the Father! He, verily, is come unto the nations in His most great majesty. Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the righteous... This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High, saying: `Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is ------------------------------------------------------------- 85 fulfilled!...' My body longeth for the cross, and Mine head waiteth the thrust of the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful, that the world may be purged from its transgressions.... O Supreme Pontiff! Incline thine ear unto that which the Fashioner of mouldering bones counselleth thee, as voiced by Him Who is His Most Great Name. Sell all the embellished ornaments thou dost possess, and expend them in the path of God, Who causeth the night to return upon the day, and the day to return upon the night. Abandon thy kingdom unto the kings, and emerge from thy habitation, with thy face set towards the Kingdom, and, detached from the world, then speak forth the praises of thy Lord betwixt earth and heaven. Thus hath bidden thee He Who is the Possessor of Names, on the part of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Exhort thou the kings and say: `Deal equitably with men. Beware lest ye transgress the bounds fixed in the Book.' This indeed becometh thee. Beware lest thou appropriate unto thyself the things of the world and the riches thereof. Leave them unto such as desire them, and cleave unto that which hath been enjoined upon thee by Him Who is the Lord of creation. Should any one offer thee all the treasures of the earth, refuse to even glance upon them. Be as thy Lord hath been. Thus hath the Tongue of Revelation spoken that which God hath made the ornament of the book of creation... Should the inebriation of the wine of My verses seize thee, and thou determinest to present thyself before the throne of thy Lord, ------------------------------------------------------------- 86 the Creator of earth and heaven, make My love thy vesture and thy shield remembrance of Me, and thy provision reliance upon God, the Revealer of all power... Verily, the day of ingathering is come, and all things have been separated from each other. He hath stored away that which He chose in the vessels of justice, and cast into fire that which befitteth it. Thus hath it been decreed by your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving, in this promised Day. He, verily, ordaineth what He pleaseth. There is none other God save He, the Almighty, the All-Compelling. ------------------------------------------------------------- 87 THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF VARIOUS FAITHS At one time We address the people of the Torah and summon them unto Him Who is the Revealer of verses, Who hath come from Him Who layeth low the necks of men.... At another, We address the people of the Evangel and say: `The All-Glorious is come in this Name whereby the Breeze of God hath wafted over all regions.'... At still another, We address the people of the Qur'an saying: `Fear the All-Merciful, and cavil not at Him through Whom all religions were founded.'... Know thou, moreover, that We have addressed to the Magians Our Tablets, and adorned them with Our Law.... We have revealed in them the essence of all the hints and allusions contained in their Books. The Lord, verily, is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. ------------------------------------------------------------- 89 Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the favoured of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels. O how I long to announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation --a Revelation to which the heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush is calling: `Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of earth and heaven.' Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Baha who have been mentioned in the Book of Names. * * * The Most Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty ruleth upon the throne of David. Thus hath My Pen spoken that which the histories of bygone ages have related. ------------------------------------------------------------- 90 At this time, however, David crieth aloud and saith: `O my loving Lord! Do Thou number me with such as have stood steadfast in Thy Cause, O Thou through Whom the faces have been illumined, and the footsteps have slipped!' * * * The Breath hath been wafted, and the Breeze hath blown, and from Zion hath appeared that which was hidden, and from Jerusalem is heard the Voice of God, the One, the Incomparable, the Omniscient. * * * Lend an ear unto the song of David. He saith: `Who will bring me into the Strong City?' The Strong City is Akka, which hath been named the Most Great Prison, and which possesseth a fortress and mighty ramparts... Peruse that which Isaiah hath spoken in His Book. He saith: `Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: "Behold your God! Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him."' This Day all the signs have appeared. A great City hath descended from heaven, and Zion trembleth and exulteth ------------------------------------------------------------- 91 with joy at the Revelation of God, for it hath heard the Voice of God on every side. * * * O concourse of Christians! We have, on a previous occasion, revealed Ourself unto you, and ye recognized Me not. This is yet another occasion vouchsafed unto you. This is the Day of God; turn ye unto Him... The Beloved One loveth not that ye be consumed with the fire of your desires. Were ye to be shut out as by a veil from Him, this would be for no other reason than your own waywardness and ignorance. Ye make mention of Me, and know Me not. Ye call upon Me, and are heedless of My Revelation.... O people of the Gospel! They who were not in the Kingdom have now entered it, whilst We behold you, in this day, tarrying at the gate. Rend the veils asunder by the power of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous, and enter, then, in My name My Kingdom. Thus biddeth you He Who desireth for you everlasting life... We behold you, O children of the Kingdom, in darkness. This, verily, beseemeth you not. Are ye, in the face of the Light, fearful because of your deeds? Direct yourselves towards Him... Verily, He (Jesus) said: `Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.' In this day, however, We say: `Come ye after Me, that We may make you to become quickeners of mankind.' ------------------------------------------------------------- 92 * * * We, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened? Fear God, O followers of the Spirit (Jesus), and walk not in the footsteps of every divine that hath gone far astray... Open the doors of your hearts. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus) verily, standeth before them. Wherefore keep ye afar from Him Who hath purposed to draw you nigh unto a Resplendent Spot? Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates of the Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My face? This indeed is naught but a grievous error. * * * O concourse of patriarchs! He Whom ye were promised in the Tablets is come. Fear God, and follow not the vain imaginings of the superstitious. Lay aside the things ye possess, and take fast hold of the Tablet of God by His sovereign power. Better is this for you than all your possessions. Unto this testifieth every understanding heart, and every man of insight. Pride ye yourselves on My Name and yet shut yourselves out as by a veil from Me? This indeed is a strange thing! ------------------------------------------------------------- 93 * * * O concourse of archbishops! He Who is the Lord of all men hath appeared. In the plain of guidance He calleth mankind, whilst ye are numbered with the dead! Great is the blessedness of him who is stirred by the Breeze of God, and hath arisen from amongst the dead in this perspicuous Name. * * * O concourse of bishops! Trembling hath seized all the kindreds of the earth, and He Who is the Everlasting Father calleth aloud between earth and heaven. Blessed the ear that hath heard, and the eye that hath seen, and the heart that hath turned unto Him Who is the Point of Adoration of all who are in the heavens and all who are on earth.... * * * O concourse of bishops! Ye are the stars of the heaven of My knowledge. My mercy desireth not that ye should fall upon the earth. My justice, however, declareth: `This is that which the Son (Jesus) hath decreed.' And whatsoever hath proceeded out of His blameless, His truth-speaking, trustworthy mouth, can never be altered. The bells, verily, peal out My Name, and lament over Me, but My spirit rejoiceth with evident gladness. The body of the Loved ------------------------------------------------------------- 94 One yearneth for the cross, and His head is eager for the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful. The ascendancy of the oppressor can in no wise deter Him from His purpose... The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they that adduce the proofs they possess in order to demonstrate the truth of My Cause, and who make mention of God in My name. When I came unto them, in My majesty, however, they turned aside from Me. They, verily, are of the fallen. This is what the Spirit (Jesus) prophesied when He came with the truth, and the Jewish doctors cavilled at Him, until they committed what made the Holy Spirit to lament, and the eyes of such as enjoy near access to God to weep. * * * O concourse of priests! Leave the bells, and come forth, then, from your churches. It behoveth you, in this day, to proclaim aloud the Most Great Name among the nations. Prefer ye to be silent, whilst every stone and every tree shouteth aloud: `The Lord is come in His great glory!' ...He that summoneth men in My name is, verily, of Me, and he will show forth that which is beyond the power of all that are on earth... Let the Breeze of God awaken you. Verily, it hath wafted over the world. Well is it with him that hath discovered the fragrance thereof and been accounted among the well-assured.... ------------------------------------------------------------- 95 * * * O concourse of priests! The Day of Reckoning hath appeared, the Day whereon He Who was in heaven hath come. He, verily, is the One Whom ye were promised in the Books of God, the Holy, the Almighty, the All-Praised. How long will ye wander in the wilderness of heedlessness and superstition? Turn with your hearts in the direction of your Lord, the Forgiving, the Generous. * * * O concourse of monks! Seclude not yourselves in churches and cloisters. Come forth by My leave, and occupy yourselves with that which will profit your souls and the souls of men. Thus biddeth you the King of the Day of Reckoning. Seclude yourselves in the stronghold of My love. This, verily, is a befitting seclusion, were ye of them that perceive it. He that shutteth himself up in a house is indeed as one dead. It behoveth man to show forth that which will profit all created things, and he that bringeth forth no fruit is fit for fire. Thus counselleth you your Lord, and He, verily, is the Almighty, the All-Bounteous. Enter ye into wedlock, that after you someone may fill your place. We have forbidden you perfidious acts, and not that which will demonstrate fidelity. Have ye clung to the standards fixed by your own selves, and cast the standards of God behind your backs? Fear God, and be ------------------------------------------------------------- 96 not of the foolish. But for man, who would make mention of Me on My earth, and how could My attributes and My name have been revealed? Ponder ye, and be not of them that are veiled and fast asleep. He that wedded not (Jesus) found no place wherein to dwell or lay His head, by reason of that which the hands of the treacherous had wrought. His sanctity consisteth not in that which ye believe or fancy, but rather in the things We possess. Ask, that ye may apprehend His station which hath been exalted above the imaginings of all that dwell on earth. Blessed are they who perceive it. * * * O concourse of monks! If ye choose to follow Me, I will make you heirs of My Kingdom; and if ye transgress against Me, I will, in My long-suffering, endure it patiently, and I, verily, am the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful... Bethlehem is astir with the Breeze of God. We hear her voice saying: `O most generous Lord! Where is Thy great glory established? The sweet savours of Thy presence have quickened me, after I had melted in my separation from Thee. Praised be Thou in that Thou hast raised the veils, and come with power in evident glory.' We called unto her from behind the Tabernacle of Majesty and Grandeur: `O Bethlehem! This Light hath risen in the orient, and travelled towards the occident, until it reached ------------------------------------------------------------- 97 thee in the evening of its life. Tell Me then: Do the sons recognize the Father, and acknowledge Him, or do they deny Him, even as the people aforetime denied Him (Jesus)?' Whereupon she cried out saying: `Thou art, in truth, the All-Knowing, the Best-Informed.' * * * Consider, likewise, how numerous at this time are the monks who have secluded themselves in their churches, in My name, and who, when the appointed time came, and We unveiled to them Our beauty, failed to recognize Me, notwithstanding that they call upon Me at dawn and at eventide. * * * Read ye the Evangel and yet refuse to acknowledge the All-Glorious Lord? This indeed beseemeth you not, O concourse of learned men!... The fragrances of the All-Merciful have wafted over all creation. Happy the man that hath forsaken his desires, and taken fast hold of guidance. ------------------------------------------------------------- 98 * * * Perused ye not the Qur'an? Read it, that haply ye may find the Truth, for this Book is verily the Straight Path. This is the Way of God unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth. If ye have been careless of the Qur'an, the Bayan cannot be regarded to be remote from you. Behold it open before your eyes. Read ye its verses, lest perchance ye desist from committing that which will cause the Messengers of God to mourn and lament. Speed out of your sepulchres. How long will ye sleep? The second blast hath been blown on the trumpet. On whom are ye gazing? This is your Lord, the God of Mercy. Witness how ye gainsay His signs! The earth hath quaked with a great quaking, and cast forth her burdens. Will ye not admit it? Say: Will ye not recognize how the mountains have become like flocks of wool, how the people are sore vexed at the awful majesty of the Cause of God? Witness how their houses are empty ruins, and they themselves a drowned host. This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty. He well knoweth the actions of men. He it is Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but comprehend it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the angels of God are seen descending. Say: This is the Day of mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains have passed away, and the heavens have been folded together, ------------------------------------------------------------- 99 and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but understand it. Who is it that can protect you? None, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! None, except God, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Beneficent. Every woman that hath had a burden in her womb hath cast her burden. We see men drunken in this Day, the Day in which men and angels have been gathered together. Is there any doubt concerning God? Behold how He hath come down from the heaven of His grace, girded with power and invested with sovereignty. Is there any doubt concerning His signs? Open ye your eyes, and consider His clear evidence. Paradise is on your right hand, and hath been brought nigh unto you, while Hell hath been made to blaze. Witness its devouring flame. Haste ye to enter into Paradise, as a token of Our mercy unto you, and drink ye from the hands of the All-Merciful the Wine that is life indeed. * * * By Him Who is the Great Announcement! The All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sovereignty. The Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell on earth have been gathered together. The Trumpet hath been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up with terror, and the hearts of all who are in the heavens and on the earth ------------------------------------------------------------- 100 have trembled, except them whom the breath of the verses of God hath quickened, and who have detached themselves from all things. This is the Day whereon the earth shall tell out her tidings. The workers of iniquity are her burdens, could ye but perceive it. The moon of idle fancy hath been cleft, and the heaven hath given out a palpable smoke. We see the people laid low, awed with the dread of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Most Powerful. The Crier hath cried out, and men have been torn away, so great hath been the fury of His wrath. The people of the left hand sigh and bemoan. The people of the right abide in noble habitations: they quaff the Wine that is life indeed, from the hands of the All-Merciful, and are, verily, the blissful. The earth hath been shaken, and the mountains have passed away, and the angels have appeared, rank on rank, before Us. Most of the people are bewildered in their drunkenness and wear on their faces the evidences of anger. Thus have We gathered together the workers of iniquity. We see them rushing on towards their idol. Say: None shall be secure this Day from the decree of God. This indeed is a grievous Day. We point out to them those that led them astray. They see them, and yet recognize them not. Their eyes are drunken; they are indeed a blind people. Their proofs are the calumnies they uttered; condemned are their calumnies by God, the Help in Peril, the Self- Subsisting. The Evil One hath stirred up mischief in their hearts, and they are afflicted with a torment that none can avert. They ------------------------------------------------------------- 101 hasten to the wicked, bearing the register of the workers of iniquity. Such are their doings. Say: The heavens have been folded together, and the earth is held within His grasp, and the corrupt doers have been held by their forelock, and still they understand not. They drink of the tainted water, and know it not. Say: The shout hath been raised, and the people have come forth from their graves, and arising are gazing around them. Some have made haste to attain the court of the God of Mercy, others have fallen down on their faces in the fire of Hell, while still others are lost in bewilderment. The verses of God have been revealed, and yet they have turned away from them. His proof hath been manifested and yet they are unaware of it. And when they behold the face of the All- Merciful, their own faces are saddened, while they are disporting themselves. They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light. Far from God be what they fondly imagine! Say: Whether ye rejoice or whether ye burst for fury, the heavens are cleft asunder, and God hath come down, invested with radiant sovereignty. All created things are heard exclaiming: `The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.' * * * O concourse of Persian divines! In My name ye have seized the reins of men, and occupy the seats of honour by ------------------------------------------------------------- 102 reason of your relation to Me. When I revealed Myself, however, ye turned aside, and committed what hath caused the tears of such as have recognized Me to flow. Erelong will all that ye possess perish, and your glory be turned into the most wretched abasement, and ye shall behold the punishment for what ye have wrought, as decreed by God, the Ordainer, the All-Wise. * * * O ye divines of the City! We came to you with the truth, whilst ye were heedless of it. Methinks ye are as dead, wrapt in the coverings of your own selves. Ye sought not Our presence, when so to do would have been better for you than all your doings.... Know ye, that had your leaders, to whom ye owe allegiance, and on whom ye pride yourselves, and whom ye mention by day and by night, and from whose traces ye seek guidance--had they lived in these days, they would have circled around Me, and would not have separated themselves from Me, whether at eventide or at morn. Ye, however, did not turn your faces towards My face, for even less than a moment, and waxed proud, and were careless of this Wronged One, Who hath been so afflicted by men that they dealt with Him as they pleased. Ye failed to inquire about My condition, nor did ye inform yourselves of the things which befell Me. Thereby have ye withheld from yourselves the ------------------------------------------------------------- 103 winds of holiness, and the breezes of bounty, that blow from this luminous and perspicuous Spot. Methinks ye have clung to outward things, and forgotten the inner things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of names, and appear to have given yourselves up to them. For this reason make ye mention of the names of your leaders. And should any one like them, or superior unto them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their names ye have exalted yourselves, and have secured your positions, and live and prosper. And were your leaders to reappear, ye would not renounce your leadership, nor would ye turn in their direction, nor set your faces towards them. We found you, as We found most men, worshipping names which they mention during the days of their life, and with which they occupy themselves. No sooner do the Bearers of these names appear, however, than they repudiate them, and turn upon their heels.... Know ye that God will not, in this day, accept your thoughts, nor your remembrance of Him, nor your turning towards Him, nor your devotions, nor your vigilance, unless ye be made new in the estimation of this Servant, could ye but perceive it. * * * Because of you the Apostle (Muhammad) lamented, and the Chaste One (Fatimih) cried out, and the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse ------------------------------------------------------------- 104 of divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the banner of Islam was hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment hath sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt Islam, you raised a clamour, and thereby was He deterred from achieving His purpose, while the land remained fallen in clear ruin. * * * Of all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered the greatest loss have been, and are still, the people of Persia. I swear by the Day Star of Utterance which shineth upon the world in its meridian glory! The lamentations of the pulpits, in that country, are being raised continually. In the early days such lamentations were heard in the Land of Ta (Tihran), for pulpits, erected for the purpose of remembering the True One--exalted be His glory--have now, in Persia, become places wherefrom blasphemies are uttered against Him Who is the Desire of the worlds. * * * In this day the world is redolent with the fragrances of the robe of the Revelation of the Ancient King ... and yet, they (divines) have gathered together, and established ------------------------------------------------------------- 105 themselves upon their seats, and have spoken that which would put an animal to shame, how much more man himself! Were they to become aware of one of their acts, and perceive the mischief it hath wrought, they would, with their own hands, dispatch themselves to their final abode. * * * O concourse of divines!... Lay aside that which ye possess, and hold your peace, and give ear, then, unto that which the Tongue of Grandeur and Majesty speaketh. How many the veiled handmaidens who turned unto Me, and believed, and how numerous the wearers of the turban who were debarred from Me, and followed in the footsteps of bygone generations! * * * O high priests! Ears have been given you that they may hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the Self-Dependent, and eyes that they may behold Him. Wherefore flee ye? The Incomparable Friend is manifest. He speaketh that wherein lieth salvation. Were ye, O high priests, to discover the perfume of the rose-garden of understanding, ye would seek none other but Him, and would recognize, in His new vesture, the All-Wise and Peerless One, and would ------------------------------------------------------------- 106 turn your eyes from the world and all who seek it, and would arise to help Him. * * * Whatsoever hath been announced in the Books hath been revealed and made clear. From every direction the signs have been manifested. The Omnipotent One is calling, in this Day, and announcing the appearance of the Supreme Heaven. * * * This is not the day whereon the high priests can command and exercise their authority. In your Book it is stated that the high priests will, on that Day, lead men far astray, and will prevent them from drawing nigh unto Him. He indeed is a high priest who hath seen the light and hastened unto the way leading to the Beloved. * * * O high priests! The Hand of Omnipotence is stretched forth from behind the clouds; behold ye it with new eyes. The tokens of His majesty and greatness are unveiled; gaze ye on them with pure eyes.... Say, O high priests! Ye are ------------------------------------------------------------- 107 held in reverence because of My Name, and yet ye flee Me! Ye are the high priests of the Temple. Had ye been the high priests of the Omnipotent One, ye would have been united with Him, and would have recognized Him.... Say, O high priests! No man's acts shall be acceptable, in this Day, unless he forsaketh mankind and all that men possess, and setteth his face towards the Omnipotent One. ------------------------------------------------------------- 109 THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND ------------------------------------------------------------- 111 The time fore-ordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause. * * * Verily I say, 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 behoveth 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. Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all ------------------------------------------------------------- 112 the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of God's Will, than all, except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found dumbfounded and heedless. O thou that hast remembered Me! The most grievous veil hath shut out the peoples of the earth from His glory, and hindered them from hearkening to His call. God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, `the Kingdom is God's', may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples. * * * O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that the world's ------------------------------------------------------------- 113 religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requires.... It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may favourably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the world may be led, as the result of the high endeavours exerted by their rulers and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests. How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of society? The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station. ------------------------------------------------------------- 114 * * * O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world's great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of one and the same throne. This wronged One hath, ever since the early days of His life, cherished none other desire but this, and will continue to entertain no wish except this wish. There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you. This, verily, is the most exalted Word which the Mother Book hath sent down and revealed unto you. To this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His habitation of glory. ------------------------------------------------------------- 115 * * * The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories. This will ensure the peace and composure of every people, government and nation. We fain would hope that the kings and rulers of the earth, the mirrors of the gracious and almighty name of God, may attain unto this station, and shield mankind from the onslaught of tyranny.... The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home. These things are obligatory and absolutely essential. It is incumbent upon every man of insight ------------------------------------------------------------- 116 and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action.... That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth. In another passage He hath proclaimed: It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. * * * The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements. We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned. They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible ------------------------------------------------------------- 117 Physician. Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices. They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have they any knowledge of the remedy. They have conceived the straight to be crooked, and have imagined their friend an enemy. Incline your ears to the sweet melody of this Prisoner. Arise, and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast asleep may be awakened. Say: O ye who are as dead! The Hand of Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of Life. Hasten and drink your fill. Whoso hath been re-born in this Day, shall never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall never live. * * * O peoples of the earth! God, the Eternal Truth, is My witness that streams of fresh and soft- flowing waters have gushed from the rocks, through the sweetness of the words uttered by your Lord, the Unconstrained; and still ye slumber. Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things. Thus biddeth you the Lord of creation, the movement of Whose Pen hath revolutionized the soul of mankind. Know ye from what heights your Lord, the All-Glorious is calling? Think ye that ye have recognized the Pen wherewith your Lord, the Lord of all names, commandeth you? ------------------------------------------------------------- 118 Nay, by My life! Did ye but know it, ye would renounce the world, and would hasten with your whole hearts to the presence of the Well-Beloved. Your spirits would be so transported by His Word as to throw into commotion the Greater World--how much more this small and petty one! Thus have the showers of My bounty been poured down from the heaven of My loving-kindness, as a token of My grace; that ye may be of the thankful.... Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body. Thus counselleth you the Pen of Revelation, if ye be of them that believe. Consider the mercy of God and His gifts. He enjoineth upon you that which shall profit you, though He Himself can well dispense with all creatures. Your evil doings can never harm Us, neither can your good works profit Us. We summon you wholly for the sake of God. To this every man of understanding and insight will testify. * * * The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System --the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed. Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye ------------------------------------------------------------- 119 may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath refused to seek it--verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures. Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth. Say: Through it the poor have been enriched, the learned enlightened, and the seekers enabled to ascend unto the presence of God. Beware, lest ye make it a cause of dissension amongst you. Be ye as firmly settled as the immovable mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving. * * * O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of ------------------------------------------------------------- 120 the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness. From My laws the sweet smelling savour of My garment can be smelled, and by their aid the standards of victory will be planted upon the highest peaks. The Tongue of My power hath, from the heaven of My omnipotent glory, addressed to My creation these words: `Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty.' Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best-Beloved from these words, laden with the perfume of a grace which no tongue can describe. By My life! He who hath drunk the choice wine of fairness from the hands of My bountiful favour, will circle around My commandments that shine above the Dayspring of My creation. Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!... Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all, though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder. He doth what He pleaseth. He ------------------------------------------------------------- 121 chooseth; and none may question His choice. Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved. To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me witness. Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst men. Well is it with him that hath turned thereunto, and apprehended the meaning of His decisive decree. * * * This is the Day in which God's most excellent favours have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal. Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in ------------------------------------------------------------- 122 Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen. ------------------------------------------------------------- 125 REFERENCES Full citations are included in the published version of the book, but have not been scanned or typed for online posting. Please email winters@bahai-library.org to help.
PROCLAMATION OF BAHA'U'LLAH
(U.S., 1978 reprint)
Filename: PB.ZIP
Filedate: 11-19-93
We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the
nations; yet they deem Us a stirrer up of strife and sedition
worthy of bondage and banishment.... That all nations
should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the
bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should
be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and
differences of race be annulled--what harm is there in this?...
Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars
shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come....
Yet do We see your kings and rulers lavishing their treasures
more freely on means for the destruction of the human race
than on that which would conduce to the happiness of mankind....
These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must
cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family.... Let
not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him
rather glory in this, that he loves his kind....
ix
Introduction
One hundred years ago, &Baha'u'llah, Founder
of the &Baha'i Faith, proclaimed in clear and unmistakable
language, to the kings and rulers of
the world, to its religious leaders, and to mankind
in general that the long-promised age of world peace
and brotherhood had at last dawned and that He Himself
was the Bearer of the new message and power from God
which would transform the prevailing system of antagonism
and enmity between men and create the spirit and form
of the destined world order.
At that time the splendour and panoply of the monarchs
reflected the vast power which they exercised, autocratically
for the most part, over the greater portion of the
earth. &Baha'u'llah, an exile from His native Persia for His
religious teaching, was the prisoner of the tyrannical, all-powerful
&Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In such circumstances
He addressed the rulers of the world. His Tablets to
particular kings and to the Pope, although delivered, were
either ignored or rejected, their wise counsels and dire
warnings went unheeded, and in one instance the bearer
was cruelly tortured and killed.
&Baha'u'llah, viewing that old world and seeing it `at the
mercy of rulers so drunk with pride that they cannot discern
clearly their own best advantage' declared that
`...the strife that divides and afflicts the human race is
daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
x
chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing
order appears to be lamentably defective.' Although
painting in sombre tones the `divine chastisement' which
would assail most of those rulers and engulf in ruin the
peoples of the world, He nevertheless left no doubt about
the outcome. `Soon', He declared, `will the present day
order be rolled up and a new one spread out in its stead.'
Since the ascension of &Baha'u'llah in 1892, in the Holy
Land, the rolling up of the old order has become the daily
experience of mankind and no abatement of this process is
discernible. The essence of &Baha'u'llah's World Order is
the unity of the human race. `O ye children of men', He
writes, `the fundamental purpose animating the Faith of
God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote
the unity of the human race...' And He warns, `The
well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable
unless and until its unity is firmly established.'
The achievement of this unity is &Baha'u'llah's declared
mission and the aim of all &Baha'i activity. Its outline and
structure are indicated in the following passage from the
writings of Shoghi Effendi, great-grandson of &Baha'u'llah
and Guardian of the &Baha'i Faith:
The unity of the human race, as envisaged by
&Baha'u'llah, implies the establishment of a world
commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and
classes are closely and permanently united, and in
which the autonomy of its state members and personal
freedom and initiative of the individuals that
xi
compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded.
This commonwealth must, as far as we can
visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members
will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately
control the entire resources of all the component
nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required
to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust
the relationships of all races and peoples. A world executive,
backed by an international Force, will carry
out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted
by, this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic
unity of the whole commonwealth. A world
tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory
and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise
between the various elements constituting this universal
system. A mechanism of world inter-communication
will be devised, embracing the whole planet,
freed from national hinderances and restrictions, and
functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect
regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve
centre of a world civilization, the focus towards which
the unifying forces of life will converge and from
which its energizing influences will radiate. A world
language will either be invented or chosen from
among the existing languages and will be taught in
the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary
to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature,
a uniform and universal system of currency, of
xii
weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse
and understanding among the nations and
races of mankind. In such a world society, science and
religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will
be reconciled, will co-operate, and will harmoniously
develop. The press will, under such a system, while
giving full scope to the expression of the diversified
views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously
manipulated by vested interests, whether
private or public, and will be liberated from the influence
of contending governments and peoples. The
economic resources of the world will be organized, its
sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized,
its markets will be co-ordinated and developed,
and the distribution of its products will be equitably
regulated.
National rivalries, hatreds and intrigues will cease,
and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by
racial amity, understanding and co-operation. The
causes of religious strife will be permanently removed,
economic barriers and restrictions will be completely
abolished, and the inordinate distinction between
classes will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand,
and gross accumulation of ownership on the other,
will disappear. The enormous energy dissipated and
wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be
consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of
human inventions and technical development, to the
xiii
increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination
of disease, to the extension of scientific research,
to the raising of the standard of physical health,
to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain,
to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources
of the planet, to the prolongation of human
life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that
can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual
life of the entire human race.
A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and
exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably
vast resources, blending and embodying
the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated
from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on
the exploitation of all the available sources of energy
on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force
is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained
by its universal recognition of one God and by its
allegiance to one common Revelation--such is the
goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying
forces of life, is moving.
&Baha'u'llah's message is one of hope, of love, of practical
reconstruction. Today we reap the appalling results of our
forebears' rejection of His divine call; but today there are
new rulers, new people, who perchance may hear and
avoid or mitigate the severity of impending catastrophe. It
is with this hope and believing it to be its sacred duty, that
the Universal House of Justice, the international governing
xiv
body of the &Baha'i Faith, proclaims again, through publication
of these selected passages, the essence of that
mighty call of a century ago. In the same hope and belief
the &Baha'is throughout the world will do their utmost during
this centenary period to bring to the attention of their
fellow-men the redeeming fact of this new outpouring of
divine guidance and love. We believe they will not labour
in vain.
Haifa, 1967
+P1
SUMMONS TO THE KINGS AND
RULERS OF THE WORLD
+P2
+P3
COLLECTIVELY
+P4
+P5
O KINGS of the earth! He Who is the sovereign
Lord of all is come. The Kingdom is God's,
the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
Worship none but God, and, with radiant
hearts, lift up your faces unto your Lord, the Lord of all
names. This is a Revelation to which whatever ye possess
can never be compared, could ye but know it. We see you
rejoicing in that which ye have amassed for others, and
shutting out yourselves from the worlds which naught except
My Guarded Tablet can reckon. The treasures ye have
laid up have drawn you far away from your ultimate objective.
This ill beseemeth you, could ye but understand it.
Wash your hearts from all earthly defilements, and hasten
to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth
and heaven, Who caused the world to tremble, and all its
peoples to wail, except them that have renounced all things
and clung to that which the Hidden Tablet hath ordained....
O Kings of the earth! The Most Great Law hath been
revealed in this Spot, this Scene of transcendent splendour.
Every hidden thing hath been brought to light, by virtue of
the Will of the Supreme Ordainer, He Who hath ushered
in the Last Hour, through Whom the Moon hath been
cleft, and every irrevocable decree expounded.
Ye are but vassals, O Kings of the earth! He Who is the
King of kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous
glory, and is summoning you unto Himself, the Help
+P6
in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Take heed lest pride deter you
from recognizing the Source of Revelation; lest the things
of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the
Creator of heaven. Arise, and serve Him Who is the Desire
of all nations, Who hath created you through a word from
Him, and ordained you to be, for all time, the emblems of
His sovereignty.
By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay
hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess
the hearts of men. Upon them the eyes of &Baha are fastened.
To this testifieth the Kingdom of Names, could ye but
comprehend it. Whoso followeth his Lord, will renounce
the world and all that is therein; how much greater, then,
must be the detachment of Him Who holdeth so august a
station! Forsake your palaces, and haste ye to gain admittance
into His Kingdom. This, indeed, will profit you both
in this world and in the next. To this testifieth the Lord of
the realm on high, did ye but know it.
How great is the blessedness that awaiteth the king who
will arise to aid My Cause in My Kingdom, who will detach
himself from all else but Me! Such a king is numbered
with the companions of the Crimson Ark, the Ark
which God hath prepared for the people of &Baha. All must
glorify his name, must reverence his station, and aid him to
unlock the cities with the keys of My Name, the omnipotent
Protector of all that inhabit the visible and invisible
kingdoms. Such a king is the very eye of mankind, the
luminous ornament on the brow of creation, the fountainhead
+P7
of blessings unto the whole world. Offer up, O people
of &Baha, your substance, nay your very lives, for his
assistance.
We have asked nothing from you. For the sake of God
We, verily, exhort you, and will be patient as We have
been patient in that which hath befallen Us at your hands,
O concourse of kings!
O KINGS of the earth! Give ear unto the Voice of God,
calling from this sublime, this fruit-laden Tree, that hath
sprung out of the Crimson Hill, upon the holy Plain, intoning
the words: `There is none other God but He, the
Mighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.'... Fear God, O
concourse of kings, and suffer not yourselves to be deprived
of this most sublime grace. Fling away, then, the
things ye possess, and take fast hold on the Handle of God,
the Exalted, the Great. Set your hearts towards the Face of
God, and abandon that which your desires have bidden
you to follow, and be not of those who perish. Relate unto
them, O Servant, the story of &Ali (the &Bab), when He came
unto them with truth, bearing His glorious and weighty
Book, and holding in His hands a testimony and proof
from God, and holy and blessed tokens from Him. Ye,
however, O Kings, have failed to heed the Remembrance
of God in His days and to be guided by the lights which
+P8
arose and shone forth above the horizon of a resplendent
Heaven. Ye examined not His Cause when so to do would
have been better for you than all that the sun shineth upon,
could ye but perceive it. Ye remained careless until the
divines of Persia--those cruel ones--pronounced judgment
against Him, and unjustly slew Him. His spirit ascended
unto God, and the eyes of the inmates of Paradise
and the angels that are nigh unto Him wept sore by reason
of this cruelty. Beware that ye be not careless henceforth as
ye have been careless aforetime. Return, then, unto God,
your Maker, and be not of the heedless.... My face hath
come forth from the veils, and shed its radiance upon all
that is in heaven and on earth; and yet, ye turned not towards
Him, notwithstanding that ye were created for Him,
O concourse of kings! Follow, therefore, that which I
speak unto you, and hearken unto it with your hearts, and
be not of such as have turned aside. For your glory consisteth
not in your sovereignty, but rather in your nearness
unto God and your observance of His command as sent
down in His holy and preserved Tablets. Should any one of
you rule over the whole earth, and over all that lieth within
it and upon it, its seas, its lands, its mountains, and its plains,
and yet be not remembered by God, all these would profit
him not, could ye but know it.... Arise, then, and make
steadfast your feet, and make ye amends for that which
hath escaped you, and set then yourselves towards His
holy Court, on the shore of His mighty Ocean, so that
the pearls of knowledge and wisdom, which God hath
+P9
stored up within the shell of His radiant heart, may be
revealed unto you.... Beware lest ye hinder the breeze of
God from blowing over your hearts, the breeze through
which the hearts of such as have turned unto Him can be
quickened....
Beware not to deal unjustly with any one that appealeth
to you, and entereth beneath your shadow. Walk ye in the
fear of God, and be ye of them that lead a godly life. Rest
not on your power, your armies, and treasures. Put your
whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you,
and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succour cometh
from Him alone. He succoureth whom He willeth with
the hosts of the heavens and of the earth.
Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst.
Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly
with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the
treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to
answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice
shall be set, the day when unto every one shall be rendered
his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor,
shall be weighed.
If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless
and unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet,
Divine chastisement shall assail you from every direction,
and the sentence of His justice shall be pronounced
against you. On that day ye shall have no power to resist
Him, and shall recognize your own impotence. Have
mercy on yourselves and on those beneath you, and judge
+P10
ye between them according to the precepts prescribed by
God in His most holy and exalted Tablet, a Tablet wherein
He hath assigned to each and every thing its settled measure,
in which He hath given, with distinctness, an explanation
of all things, and which is in itself a monition unto
them that believe in Him.
Examine Our Cause, inquire into the things that have
befallen Us, and decide justly between Us and Our
enemies, and be ye of them that act equitably towards their
neighbours. If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye
fail to safeguard the rights of the down-trodden, what right
have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of
which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your
drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in
your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments
with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to
consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the
earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you,
because it supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these
very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels
are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all
that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive
your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye
glory! Would that ye could perceive it! Nay, By Him
Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation!
Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside
except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God,
your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution
+P11
to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue
steadfastly the right course....
Twenty years have passed, O Kings, during which We
have, each day, tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. No
one of them that were before Us hath endured the things
We have endured. Would that ye could perceive it! They
that rose up against Us, have put Us to death, have shed
Our blood, have plundered Our property, and violated
Our honour. Though aware of most of Our afflictions, ye,
nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the aggressor.
For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the
oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that
your high sense of justice may be fully demonstrated to all
mankind?
God hath committed into your hands the reins of the
government of the people, that ye may rule with justice
over them, safeguard the rights of the down-trodden, and
punish the wrong-doers. If ye neglect the duty prescribed
unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be numbered
with those of the unjust in His sight. Grievous, indeed,
will be your error. Cleave ye to that which your
imaginations have devised, and cast behind your backs the
commandments of God, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible,
the All-Compelling, the Almighty? Cast away the things
ye possess, and cling to that which God hath bidden you
observe. Seek ye His grace, for he that seeketh it treadeth
His straight Path....
The day is approaching when God will have exalted His
+P12
Cause and magnified His testimony in the eyes of all who
are in the heavens and all who are on the earth. Place, in all
circumstances, Thy whole trust in Thy Lord, and fix Thy
gaze upon Him, and turn away from all them that repudiate
His truth. Let God, Thy Lord, be Thy sufficing Succourer
and Helper. We have pledged Ourself to secure Thy
triumph upon earth and to exalt Our Cause above all
men, though no king be found who would turn his face
towards Thee.
O KINGS of the earth! We see you increasing every year
your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your
subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the
sighs and tears of this Wronged One, and lay not excessive
burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces
for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye
choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes that
which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are
your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments
of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of
the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by
their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfully ye look upon
them! How strange, how very strange!
Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye
fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some
+P13
degree better your own condition and that of your dependents.
O Rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves,
that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to
safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye
disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.
Be united, O Kings of the earth, for thereby will the
tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your people
find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one
among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against
him, for this is naught but manifest justice.
THE one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded,
and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as
His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining
to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed
unto the kings and rulers of the earth. From the
beginning that hath no beginning the ensign proclaiming
the words `He doeth whatsoever He willeth' hath been unfurled
in all its splendour before His Manifestation. What
mankind needeth in this day is obedience unto them that
are in authority, and a faithful adherence to the cord of
wisdom. The instruments which are essential to the immediate
protection, the security and assurance of the
human race have been entrusted to the hands, and lie in the
+P14
grasp, of the governors of human society. This is the wish
of God and His decree.... We cherish the hope that one of
the kings of the earth will, for the sake of God, arise for the
triumph of this wronged, this oppressed people. Such a
king will be eternally extolled and glorified. God hath
prescribed unto this people the duty of aiding whosoever
will aid them, of serving his best interests, and of demonstrating
to him their abiding loyalty. They who follow Me
must strive, under all circumstances, to promote the welfare
of whosoever will arise for the triumph of My Cause,
and must at all times prove their devotion and fidelity unto
him. Happy is the man that hearkeneth and observeth My
counsel. Woe unto him that faileth to fulfil My wish.
+P15
NAPOLEON III
+P16
+P17
O KING of Paris! Tell the priest to ring the bells no
longer. By God, the True One! The Most
Mighty Bell hath appeared in the form of Him
Who is the Most Great Name, and the fingers
of the will of Thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High,
toll it out in the heaven of Immortality, in His name, the
All-Glorious. Thus have the mighty verses of Thy Lord
been again sent down unto thee, that thou mayest arise to
remember God, the Creator of earth and heaven, in these
days when all the tribes of the earth have mourned, and the
foundations of the cities have trembled, and the dust of irreligion
hath enwrapped all men, except such as God, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise, was pleased to spare. Say: He
Who is the Unconditioned is come, in the clouds of light,
that He may quicken all created things with the breeze of
His Name, the Most Merciful, and unify the world, and
gather all men around this Table which hath been sent
down from heaven. Beware that ye deny not the favour of
God after it hath been sent down unto you. Better is this
for you than that which ye possess; for that which is yours
perisheth, whilst that which is with God endureth. He, in
truth, ordaineth what He pleaseth. Verily, the breezes of
forgiveness have been wafted from the direction of your
Lord, the God of Mercy; whoso turneth thereunto, shall
be cleansed of his sins, and of all pain and sickness. Happy
the man that hath turned towards them, and woe betide
him that hath turned aside.
+P18
Wert thou to incline thine inner ear unto all created
things, thou wouldst hear: `The Ancient of Days is come
in His great glory!' Everything celebrateth the praise of its
Lord. Some have known God and remember Him; others
remember Him, yet know Him not. Thus have We set
down Our decree in a perspicuous Tablet.
Give ear, O King, unto the Voice that calleth from the
Fire which burneth in this verdant Tree, on this Sinai which
hath been raised above the hallowed and snow-white Spot,
beyond the Everlasting City: `Verily, there is none other
God but Me, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful!' We,
in truth, have sent Him Whom We aided with the Holy
Spirit (Jesus Christ) that He may announce unto you this
Light that hath shone forth from the horizon of the will of
your Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and Whose
signs have been revealed in the West. Set your faces towards
Him (&Baha'u'llah) on this Day which God hath exalted
above all other days, and whereon the All-Merciful
hath shed the splendour of His effulgent glory upon all
who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Arise thou to
serve God and help His Cause. He, verily, will assist thee
with the hosts of the seen and unseen, and will set thee king
over all that whereon the sun riseth. Thy Lord, in truth, is
the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
The breezes of the Most Merciful have passed over all
created things; happy the man that hath discovered their
fragrance, and set himself towards them with a sound
heart. Attire thy temple with the ornament of My Name,
+P19
and thy tongue with remembrance of Me, and thine heart
with love for Me, the Almighty, the Most High. We have
desired for thee naught except that which is better for thee
than what thou dost possess and all the treasures of the
earth. Thy Lord, verily, is knowing, informed of all. Arise,
in My Name, amongst My servants, and say: `O ye peoples
of the earth! Turn yourselves towards Him Who hath
turned towards you. He, verily, is the Face of God amongst
you, and His Testimony and His Guide unto you. He hath
come to you with signs which none can produce.' The
voice of the Burning Bush is raised in the midmost heart of
the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth aloud among the
nations: `Lo, the Desired One is come with manifest
dominion!'
O King! The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen,
they who seek to establish the truth of My Cause
through the things they possess, and who make mention of
God in My Name. And yet, when I came unto them in My
glory, they turned aside. They, indeed, are of the fallen.
This is, truly, that which the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ)
hath announced, when He came with truth unto you, He
with Whom the Jewish doctors disputed, till at last they
perpetrated what hath made the Holy Spirit to lament, and
the tears of them that have near access to God to flow....
O King! We heard the words thou didst utter in answer
to the Czar of Russia, concerning the decision made regarding
the war (Crimean War). Thy Lord, verily, knoweth,
is informed of all. Thou didst say: `I lay asleep upon my
+P20
couch, when the cry of the oppressed, who were drowned
in the Black Sea, wakened me.' This is what we heard thee
say, and, verily, thy Lord is witness unto what I say. We
testify that that which wakened thee was not their cry but
the promptings of thine own passions, for We tested thee,
and found thee wanting. Comprehend the meaning of My
words, and be thou of the discerning. It is not Our wish to
address thee words of condemnation, out of regard for the
dignity We conferred upon thee in this mortal life. We,
verily, have chosen courtesy, and made it the true mark of
such as are nigh unto Him. Courtesy, is, in truth, a raiment
which fitteth all men, whether young or old. Well is it with
him that adorneth his temple therewith, and woe unto him
who is deprived of this great bounty. Hadst thou been sincere
in thy words, thou wouldst have not cast behind thy
back the Book of God, when it was sent unto thee by Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. We have proved thee
through it, and found thee other than that which thou didst
profess. Arise, and make amends for that which escaped
thee. Ere long the world and all that thou possessest will
perish, and the kingdom will remain unto God, thy Lord
and the Lord of thy fathers of old. It behoveth thee not to
conduct thine affairs according to the dictates of thy desires.
Fear the sighs of this Wronged One, and shield Him from
the darts of such as act unjustly.
For what thou hast done, thy kingdom shall be thrown
into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from thine
hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought.
+P21
Then wilt thou know how thou hast plainly erred. Commotions
shall seize all the people in that land, unless thou
arisest to help this Cause, and followest Him Who is the
Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) in this, the Straight Path. Hath
thy pomp made thee proud? By My Life! It shall not endure;
nay, it shall soon pass away, unless thou holdest fast
by this firm Cord. We see abasement hastening after thee,
whilst thou art of the heedless. It behoveth thee when
thou hearest His Voice calling from the seat of glory to cast
away all that thou possessest, and cry out: `Here am I, O
Lord of all that is in heaven and all that is on earth!'
O King! We were in &Iraq, when the hour of parting
arrived. At the bidding of the King of &Islam (&Sultan of
Turkey) We set Our steps in his direction. Upon Our
arrival, there befell Us at the hands of the malicious that
which the books of the world can never adequately recount.
Thereupon the inmates of Paradise, and they that
dwell within the retreats of holiness, lamented; and yet the
people are wrapped in a thick veil!...
More grievous became Our plight from day to day, nay,
from hour to hour, until they took Us forth from Our
prison and made Us, with glaring injustice, enter the Most
Great Prison....
Know of a truth that your subjects are God's trust
amongst you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch
over your own selves. Beware that ye allow not wolves to
become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and conceit to
deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate.
+P22
Arise thou, in My name, above the horizon of renunciation,
and set, then, thy face towards the Kingdom, at the
bidding of thy Lord, the Lord of strength and of might.
Adorn the body of Thy kingdom with the raiment of
My name, and arise, then, to teach My Cause. Better is this
for thee than that which thou possessest. God will, thereby,
exalt thy name among all the kings. Potent is He over all
things. Walk thou amongst men in the name of God, and
by the power of His might, that thou mayest show forth
His signs amidst the peoples of the earth....
Regard ye the world as a man's body, which is afflicted
with divers ailments, and the recovery of which dependeth
upon the harmonizing of all of its component elements.
Gather ye around that which We have prescribed unto
you, and walk not in the ways of such as create dissension.
Meditate on the world and the state of its people. He, for
Whose sake the world was called into being, hath been
imprisoned in the most desolate of cities (&Akka), by reason
of that which the hands of the wayward have wrought.
From the horizon of His prison-city He summoneth mankind
unto the Dayspring of God, the Exalted, the Great.
Exultest thou over the treasures thou dost possess, knowing
they shall perish? Rejoicest thou in that thou rulest a
span of earth, when the whole world, in the estimation of
the people of &Baha, is worth as much as the black in the eye
of a dead ant? Abandon it unto such as have set their affections
upon it, and turn thou unto Him Who is the Desire
of the world. Whither are gone the proud and their
+P23
palaces? Gaze thou into their tombs, that thou mayest
profit by this example, inasmuch as We made it a lesson
unto every beholder. Were the breezes of Revelation to
seize thee, thou wouldst flee the world, and turn unto the
Kingdom, and wouldst expend all thou possessest, that
thou mayest draw nigh unto this sublime Vision.
+P24
+P25
CZAR ALEXANDER II
+P26
+P27
O CZAR of Russia! Incline thine ear unto the
voice of God, the King, the Holy, and turn
thou unto Paradise, the Spot wherein abideth
He Who, among the Concourse on high, beareth
the most excellent titles, and Who, in the kingdom of
creation, is called by the name of God, the Effulgent, the
All-Glorious. Beware lest thy desire deter thee from turning
towards the face of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the
Most Merciful. We, verily, have heard the thing for which
thou didst supplicate thy Lord, whilst secretly communing
with Him. Wherefore, the breeze of My loving-kindness
wafted forth, and the sea of My mercy surged, and We
answered thee in truth. Thy Lord, verily, is the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise. Whilst I lay chained and fettered in the
prison, one of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Wherefore
hath God ordained for thee a station which the knowledge
of none can comprehend except His knowledge.
Beware lest thou barter away this sublime station... Beware
lest thy sovereignty withhold thee from Him Who is
the Supreme Sovereign. He, verily, is come with His Kingdom,
and all the atoms cry aloud: `Lo! The Lord is come
in His great majesty!' He Who is the Father is come, and
the Son (Jesus), in the holy vale, crieth out: `Here am I,
here am I, O Lord, My God!' whilst Sinai circleth round
the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: `The All-Bounteous
is come mounted upon the clouds! Blessed is he
+P28
that draweth nigh unto Him, and woe betide them that are
far away.'
Arise thou amongst men in the name of this all-compelling
Cause, and summon, then, the nations unto God,
the Exalted, the Great. Be thou not of them who called
upon God by one of His names, but who, when He Who is
the Object of all names appeared, denied Him and turned
aside from Him, and, in the end, pronounced sentence
against Him with manifest injustice. Consider and call
thou to mind the days whereon the Spirit of God (Jesus)
appeared, and Herod gave judgment against Him. God,
however, aided Him with the hosts of the unseen, and protected
Him with truth, and sent Him down unto another
land, according to His promise. He, verily, ordaineth what
He pleaseth. Thy Lord truly preserveth whom He willeth,
be he in the midst of the seas, or in the maw of the serpent,
or beneath the sword of the oppressor....
Again I say: Hearken unto My Voice that calleth from
My prison that it may acquaint thee with the things that
have befallen My Beauty, at the hands of them that are the
manifestations of My glory, and that thou mayest perceive
how great hath been My patience, notwithstanding My
might, and how immense My forbearance, notwithstanding
My power. By My Life! Couldst thou but know the
things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of
My Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in
the seas of My names and in the goblets of My words, thou
wouldst, in thy love for My name, and in thy longing for
+P29
My glorious and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in
My path. Know thou that though My body be beneath the
swords of My foes, and My limbs be beset with incalculable
afflictions, yet My spirit is filled with a gladness with which
all the joys of the earth can never compare.
Set thine heart towards Him Who is the Point of adoration
for the world, and say: O peoples of the earth! Have
ye denied the One in Whose path He Who came with the
truth, bearing the announcement of your Lord, the Exalted,
the Great, suffered martyrdom? Say: This is an Announcement
whereat the hearts of the Prophets and Messengers
have rejoiced. This is the One Whom the heart of the
world remembereth and is promised in the Books of God,
the Mighty, the All-Wise. The hands of the Messengers
were, in their desire to meet Me, upraised towards God,
the Mighty, the Glorified.... Some lamented in their
separation from Me, others endured hardships in My path,
and still others laid down their lives for the sake of My
Beauty, could ye but know it. Say: I, verily, have not
sought to extol Mine Own Self, but rather God Himself
were ye to judge fairly. Naught can be seen in Me except
God and His Cause, could ye but perceive it. I am the One
Whom the tongue of Isaiah hath extolled, the One with
Whose name both the Torah and the Evangel were
adorned.... Blessed be the king whose sovereignty hath
withheld him not from his Sovereign, and who hath
turned unto God with his heart. He, verily, is accounted of
those that have attained unto that which God, the Mighty,
+P30
the All-Wise hath willed. Ere long will such a one find
himself numbered with the monarchs of the realms of the
Kingdom. Thy Lord is, in truth, potent over all things. He
giveth what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and
withholdeth what He pleaseth from whomsoever He
willeth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
+P31
QUEEN VICTORIA
+P32
+P33
O QUEEN in London! Incline thine ear unto the
voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind,
calling from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, no
God is there but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise!
Cast away all that is on earth, and attire the head of
thy kingdom with the crown of the remembrance of thy
Lord, the All-Glorious. He, in truth, hath come unto the
world in His most great glory, and all that hath been mentioned
in the Gospel hath been fulfilled. The land of Syria
hath been honoured by the footsteps of its Lord, the Lord
of all men, and North and South are both inebriated with
the wine of His presence. Blessed is the man that inhaled the
fragrance of the Most Merciful, and turned unto the Dawning-Place
of His Beauty, in this resplendent Dawn. The
Mosque of &Aqsa vibrateth through the breezes of its Lord,
the All-Glorious whilst &Batha (Mecca) trembleth at the
voice of God, the Exalted, the Most High. Whereupon
every single stone of them celebrateth the praise of the
Lord, through this Great Name.
Lay aside thy desire, and set then thine heart towards thy
Lord, the Ancient of Days. We make mention of thee for
the sake of God, and desire that thy name may be exalted
through thy remembrance of God, the Creator of earth
and heaven. He, verily, is witness unto that which I say.
We have been informed that thou hast forbidden the trading
in slaves, both men and women. This, verily, is what
+P34
God hath enjoined in this wondrous Revelation. God hath,
truly, destined a reward for thee, because of this. He, verily,
will pay the doer of good his due recompense, wert thou
to follow what hath been sent unto thee by Him Who is the
All-Knowing, the All-Informed. As to him who turneth
aside, and swelleth with pride, after that the clear tokens
have come unto him, from the Revealer of signs, his work
shall God bring to naught. He, in truth, hath power over
all things. Man's actions are acceptable after his having
recognized (the Manifestation). He that turneth aside from
the True One is indeed the most veiled amongst His creatures.
Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the
Almighty, the Most Powerful.
We have also heard that thou hast entrusted the reins of
counsel into the hands of the representatives of the people.
Thou, indeed, hast done well, for thereby the foundations
of the edifice of thine affairs will be strengthened, and the
hearts of all that are beneath thy shadow, whether high or
low, will be tranquillized. It behoveth them, however, to
be trustworthy among His servants, and to regard themselves
as the representatives of all that dwell on earth. This
is what counselleth them, in this Tablet, He Who is the
Ruler, the All-Wise... Blessed is he that entereth the assembly
for the sake of God, and judgeth between men with
pure justice. He, indeed, is of the blissful....
Turn thou unto God and say: O my Sovereign Lord! I
am but a vassal of Thine, and Thou art, in truth, the King
of Kings. I have lifted my suppliant hands unto the heaven
+P35
of Thy grace and Thy bounties. Send down, then, upon
me from the clouds of Thy generosity that which will rid
me of all save Thee, and draw me nigh unto Thyself. I beseech
Thee, O my Lord, by Thy name, which Thou hast
made the king of names, and the manifestation of Thyself
to all who are in heaven and on earth, to rend asunder the
veils that have intervened between me and my recognition
of the Dawning-Place of Thy signs and the Day Spring of
Thy Revelation. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Powerful,
the All-Bounteous. Deprive me not, O my
Lord, of the fragrances of the Robe of Thy mercy in Thy
days, and write down for me that which Thou hast written
down for thy handmaidens who have believed in Thee and
in Thy signs, and have recognized Thee, and set their
hearts towards the horizon of Thy Cause. Thou art truly
the Lord of the worlds and of those who show mercy the
Most Merciful. Assist me, then, O my God, to remember
Thee amongst Thy handmaidens, and to aid Thy Cause in
Thy lands. Accept, then, that which hath escaped me when
the light of Thy countenance shone forth. Thou, indeed,
hast power over all things. Glory be to Thee, O Thou in
Whose hand is the kingdom of the heavens and of the
earth.
+P36
+P37
KAISER WILHELM I
+P38
+P39
O KING of Berlin! Give ear unto the Voice calling
from this manifest Temple: Verily, there is
none other God but Me, the Everlasting, the
Peerless, the Ancient of Days. Take heed lest
pride debar thee from recognizing the Dayspring of Divine
Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by a
veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth
below. Thus counselleth thee the Pen of the Most High.
He, verily, is the Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do
thou remember the one whose power transcended thy
power (Napoleon III), and whose station excelled thy
station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he possessed?
Take warning, and be not of them that are fast
asleep. He it was who cast the Tablet of God behind him,
when We made known unto him what the hosts of tyranny
had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace assailed him
from all sides, and he went down to dust in great loss.
Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning
them who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled
over men. The All-Merciful brought them down from
their palaces to their graves. Be warned, be of them who
reflect... O banks of the Rhine! We have seen you covered
with gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were
drawn against you; and you shall have another turn. And
We hear the lamentations of Berlin, though she be today
in conspicuous glory.
+P40
+P41
EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH
+P42
+P43
O EMPEROR of Austria! He who is the Dayspring
of God's Light dwelt in the prison of &Akka, at
the time when thou didst set forth to visit the
&Aqsa Mosque (Jerusalem). Thou passed Him
by, and inquired not about Him, by Whom every house is
exalted, and every lofty gate unlocked. We, verily, made it
(Jerusalem) a place whereunto the world should turn, that
they might remember Me, and yet thou hast rejected Him
Who is the Object of this remembrance, when He appeared
with the Kingdom of God, thy Lord and the Lord
of the worlds. We have been with thee at all times, and
found thee clinging unto the Branch and heedless of the
Root. Thy Lord, verily, is a witness unto what I say. We
grieved to see thee circle round Our Name, whilst unaware
of Us, though We were before thy face. Open thine
eyes, that thou mayest behold this glorious Vision, and
recognize Him Whom thou invokest in the daytime and in
the night-season, and gaze on the Light that shineth above
this luminous Horizon.
+P44
+P45
&SULTAN &ABDU'L-'AZIZ
+P46
+P47
HEARKEN, O King, to the speech of Him that
speaketh the truth, Him that doth not ask
thee to recompense Him with the things God
hath chosen to bestow upon thee, Him Who
unerringly treadeth the straight Path. He it is Who
summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth
thee the right course, the way that leadeth to true felicity,
that haply thou mayest be of them with whom it shall be
well.
Beware, O King, that thou gather not around thee such
ministers as follow the desires of a corrupt inclination, as
have cast behind their backs that which hath been committed
into their hands and manifestly betrayed their trust.
Be bounteous to others as God hath been bounteous to
thee, and abandon not the interests of thy people to the
mercy of such ministers as these. Lay not aside the fear of
God, and be thou of them that act uprightly. Gather
around thee those ministers from whom thou canst perceive
the fragrance of faith and of justice, and take thou
counsel with them, and choose whatever is best in thy sight,
and be of them that act generously.
Know thou for a certainty that whoso disbelieveth in
God is neither trustworthy nor truthful. This, indeed, is
the truth, the undoubted truth. He that acteth treacherously
towards God will, also, act treacherously towards his king.
Nothing whatever can deter such a man from evil, nothing
+P48
can hinder him from betraying his neighbour, nothing can
induce him to walk uprightly.
Take heed that thou resign not the reins of the affairs of
thy state into the hands of others, and repose not thy confidence
in ministers unworthy of thy trust, and be not of
them that live in heedlessness. Shun them whose hearts are
turned away from thee, and place not thy confidence in
them, and entrust them not with thy affairs and the affairs
of such as profess thy faith. Beware that thou allow not the
wolf to become the shepherd of God's flock, and surrender
not the fate of His loved ones to the mercy of the malicious.
Expect not that they who violate the ordinances of God
will be trustworthy or sincere in the faith they profess.
Avoid them, and preserve strict guard over thyself, lest
their devices and mischief hurt thee. Turn away from them,
and fix thy gaze upon God, thy Lord, the All-Glorious, the
Most Bountiful. He that giveth up himself wholly to God,
God shall, assuredly, be with him; and he that placeth his
complete trust in God, God shall, verily, protect him from
whatsoever may harm him, and shield him from the
wickedness of every evil plotter.
Wert thou to incline thine ear unto My speech and observe
My counsel, God would exalt thee to so eminent a
position that the designs of no man on the whole earth
could ever touch or hurt thee. Observe, O King, with thine
inmost heart and with thy whole being, the precepts of
God, and walk not in the paths of the oppressor. Seize
thou, and hold firmly within the grasp of thy might, the
+P49
reins of the affairs of thy people, and examine in person
whatever pertaineth unto them. Let nothing escape thee,
for therein lieth the highest good.
Render thanks unto God for having chosen thee out of
the whole world, and made thee king over them that profess
thy faith. It well beseemeth thee to appreciate the
wondrous favours with which God hath favoured thee,
and to magnify continually His name. Thou canst best
praise Him if thou lovest His loved ones, and dost safeguard
and protect His servants from the mischief of the
treacherous, that none may any longer oppress them.
Thou shouldst, moreover, arise to enforce the law of God
amongst them, that thou mayest be of those who are firmly
established in His law.
Shouldst thou cause rivers of justice to spread their waters
amongst thy subjects, God would surely aid thee with the
hosts of the unseen and of the seen and would strengthen
thee in thine affairs. No God is there but Him. All creation
and its empire are His. Unto Him return the works of the
faithful.
Place not thy reliance on thy treasures. Put thy whole
confidence in the grace of God, thy Lord. Let Him be thy
trust in whatever thou doest, and be of them that have submitted
themselves to His Will. Let Him be thy helper and
enrich thyself with His treasures, for with Him are the
treasuries of the heavens and of the earth. He bestoweth
them upon whom He will, and from whom He will He
withholdeth them. There is none other God but Him, the
+P50
All-Possessing, the All-Praised. All are but paupers at the
door of His mercy; all are helpless before the revelation of
His sovereignty, and beseech His favours.
Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal justly
with them that serve thee. Bestow upon them according
to their needs and not to the extent that will enable them to
lay up riches for themselves, to deck their persons, to embellish
their homes, to acquire the things that are of no
benefit unto them, and to be numbered with the extravagant.
Deal with them with undeviating justice, so that none
among them may either suffer want, or be pampered with
luxuries. This is but manifest justice.
Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them
who are noble and worthy of honour, and suffer not the
high-minded to be at the mercy of the contemptible and
worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our arrival
in the City (Constantinople), and to it We bear witness.
We found among its inhabitants some who were possessed
of an affluent fortune and lived in the midst of excessive
riches, whilst others were in dire want and abject poverty.
This ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy
rank.
Let My counsel be acceptable to thee, and strive thou to
rule with equity among men, that God may exalt thy name
and spread abroad the fame of thy justice in all the world.
Beware lest thou aggrandize thy ministers at the expense of
thy subjects. Fear the sighs of the poor and of the upright
in heart who, at every break of day, bewail their plight,
+P51
and be unto them a benignant sovereign. They, verily, are
thy treasures on earth. It behoveth thee, therefore, to safeguard
thy treasures from the assaults of them who wish to
rob thee. Inquire into their affairs, and ascertain, every
year, nay every month, their condition, and be not of them
that are careless of their duty.
Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one
standing in His Presence, weigh in that Balance thine
actions every day, every moment of thy life. Bring thyself
to account ere thou art summoned to a reckoning, on the
Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear of
God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be
made to tremble.
It behoveth every king to be as bountiful as the sun,
which fostereth the growth of all beings, and giveth to
each its due, whose benefits are not inherent in itself, but
are ordained by Him Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty.
The king should be as generous, as liberal in his
mercy as the clouds, the outpourings of whose bounty are
showered upon every land, by the behest of Him Who is
the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing.
Have a care not to entrust thine affairs of state entirely
into another's hands. None can discharge thy functions
better than thine own self. Thus do We make clear unto
thee Our words of wisdom, and send down upon thee that
which can enable thee to pass over from the left hand of
oppression to the right hand of justice, and approach the
resplendent ocean of His favours. Such is the path which
+P52
the kings that were before thee have trodden, they that
acted equitably towards their subjects, and walked in the
ways of undeviating justice.
Thou art God's shadow on earth. Strive, therefore, to act
in such a manner as befitteth so eminent, so august a station.
If thou dost depart from following the things We have
caused to descend upon thee and taught thee, thou wilt,
assuredly, be derogating from that great and priceless
honour. Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and
cleanse thine heart from the world and all its vanities, and
suffer not the love of any stranger to enter and dwell therein.
Not until thou dost purify thine heart from every trace
of such love can the brightness of the light of God shed its
radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than
one heart. This, verily, hath been decreed and written
down in His ancient Book. And as the human heart, as
fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behoveth thee
to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided.
Cleave thou, therefore, with the whole affection of thine
heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of any
one besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself
in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a true
upholder of His oneness. God is My witness. My sole purpose
in revealing to thee these words is to sanctify thee
from the transitory things of the earth, and aid thee to enter
the realm of everlasting glory, that thou mayest, by the
leave of God, be of them that abide and rule therein....
Let thine ear be attentive, O King, to the words We have
+P53
addressed to thee. Let the oppressor desist from his tyranny,
and cut off the perpetrators of injustice from among them
that profess thy faith. By the righteousness of God! The
tribulations We have sustained are such that any pen that
recounteth them cannot but be overwhelmed with anguish.
No one of them that truly believe and uphold the unity of
God can bear the burden of their recital. So great have been
Our sufferings that even the eyes of Our enemies have wept
over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning person.
And to all these trials have We been subjected, in spite
of Our action in approaching thee, and in bidding the
people to enter beneath thy shadow, that thou mightest be
a stronghold unto them that believe in and uphold the
unity of God.
Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any
time, transgressed any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers
that represented thee in &Iraq produce any proof that
can establish my disloyalty to thee? No, by Him Who is the
Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We
rebel against thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never,
God willing, shall We revolt against thee, though We be
exposed to trials more severe than any We suffered in the
past.
In the day-time and in the night season, at even and at
morn, We pray to God on thy behalf, that He may
graciously aid thee to be obedient unto Him and to observe
His commandment, that He may shield thee from
the hosts of the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth thee,
+P54
and treat Us as befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy
sovereignty. Be not forgetful of the law of God in whatever
thou desirest to achieve, now or in the days to come.
Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!
+P55
&NASIRI'D-DIN &SHAH
+P56
+P57
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. Ask of the city wherein I dwelt, that thou
mayest be well assured that I am not of them who speak
falsely. 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 strengthened.
The Pen of the Most High addresseth Me saying:
+P58
Fear not. Relate unto His Majesty the &Shah that which befell
thee. His heart, verily, is between the fingers of thy
Lord, the God of Mercy, that haply the sun of justice and
bounty may shine forth above the horizon of his heart.
Thus hath the decree been irrevocably fixed by Him Who
is the All-Wise.
Look upon this Youth, O King, with the eyes of justice;
judge thou, then, with truth concerning what hath befallen
Him. Of a verity, God hath made thee His shadow amongst
men, and the sign of His power unto all that dwell on
earth. Judge thou between Us and them that have wronged
Us without proof and without an enlightening Book.
They that surround thee love thee for their own sakes,
whereas this Youth loveth thee for thine own sake, and hath
had no desire except to draw thee nigh unto the seat of
grace, and to turn thee toward the right-hand of justice.
Thy Lord beareth witness unto that which I declare.
O King! Wert thou to incline thine ear unto the shrill of
the Pen of Glory and the cooing of the Dove of Eternity
which, on the branches of the Lote-Tree beyond which
there is no passing, uttereth praises to God, the Maker of all
names and Creator of earth and heaven, thou wouldst
attain unto a station from which thou wouldst behold in
the world of being naught save the effulgence of the
Adored One, and wouldst regard thy sovereignty as the
most contemptible of thy possessions, abandoning it to
whosoever might desire it, and setting thy face toward the
Horizon aglow with the light of His countenance. Neither
+P59
wouldst thou ever be willing to bear the burden of
dominion save for the purpose of helping thy Lord, the
Exalted, the Most High. Then would the Concourse on
high bless thee. O how excellent is this most sublime station,
couldst thou ascend thereunto through the power of a
sovereignty recognized as derived from the Name of
God!...
O King of the age! The eyes of these refugees are turned
towards and fixed upon the mercy of the Most Merciful.
No doubt is there whatever that these tribulations will be
followed by the outpourings of a supreme mercy, and
these dire adversities be succeeded by an overflowing prosperity.
We fain would hope, however, that His Majesty
the &Shah will himself examine these matters, and bring
hope to the hearts. That which We have submitted to thy
Majesty is indeed for thine highest good. And God, verily,
is a sufficient witness unto Me....
O would that thou wouldst permit Me, O &Shah, to send
unto thee that which would cheer the eyes, and tranquillize
the souls, and persuade every fair-minded person that with
Him is the knowledge of the Book... But for the repudiation
of the foolish and the connivance of the divines, I
would have uttered a discourse that would have thrilled
and carried away the hearts unto a realm from the murmur
of whose winds can be heard: `No God is there but He!'...
I have seen, O &Shah, in the path of God what eye hath
not seen nor ear heard... How numerous the tribulations
which have rained, and will soon rain, upon Me! I advance
+P60
with My face set towards Him Who is the Almighty, the
All-Bounteous, whilst behind Me glideth the serpent.
Mine eyes have rained down tears until My bed is drenched.
I sorrow not for Myself, however. By God! Mine head
yearneth for the spear out of love for its Lord. I never
passed a tree, but Mine heart addressed it saying: `O would
that thou wert cut down in My name, and My body crucified
upon thee, in the path of My Lord!'... By God!
Though weariness lay Me low, and hunger consume Me,
and the bare rock be My bed, and My fellows the beasts of
the field, I will not complain, but will endure patiently as
those endued with constancy and firmness have endured
patiently, through the power of God, the Eternal King and
Creator of the nations, and will render thanks unto God
under all conditions. We pray that, out of His bounty--
exalted be He--He may release, through this imprisonment,
the necks of men from chains and fetters, and cause
them to turn, with sincere faces, towards His Face, Who is
the Mighty, the Bounteous. Ready is He to answer whosoever
calleth upon Him, and nigh is He unto such as commune
with Him.
+P61
THE RULERS OF AMERICA
+P62
+P63
HEARKEN ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents
of the Republics therein, unto that
which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of
Eternity: There is none other God but Me, the
Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful. Adorn ye
the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of
the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance
of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus
counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as
bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
The Promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station,
whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced.
Take ye advantage of the Day of God. Verily, to meet Him
is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth,
could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers! Give ear unto
that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur:
Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of
Utterance, the All-Knowing. Bind ye the broken with the
hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth
with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the
Ordainer, the All-Wise.
+P64
+P65
THE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE PEOPLES IN EVERY LAND
+P66
+P67
O YE the elected representatives of the people in
every land! Take ye counsel together, and let
your concern be only for that which profiteth
mankind, and bettereth the condition thereof,
if ye be of them that scan heedfully. Regard the world as
the human body which, though at its creation whole and
perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with
grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain
ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the
treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to
their personal desires, and have erred grievously. And if, at
one time, through the care of an able physician, a member
of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before.
Thus informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
We behold it, in this day, at the mercy of rulers so drunk
with pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best
advantage, much less recognize a Revelation so bewildering
and challenging as this. And whenever any one of them
hath striven to improve its condition, his motive hath been
his own gain, whether confessedly so or not; and the unworthiness
of this motive hath limited his power to heal or
cure.
That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign
remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the
world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause,
one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except
+P68
through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired
Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else
naught but error....
+P69
SUMMONS TO THE WORLD'S
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
+P70
+P71
COLLECTIVELY
+P72
+P73
O LEADERS of religion! Weigh not the Book of
God with such standards and sciences as are
current amongst you, for the Book itself is the
unerring balance established amongst men. In
this most perfect balance whatsoever the peoples and kindreds
of the earth possess must be weighed, while the measure
of its weight should be tested according to its own
standard, did ye but know it.
The eye of My loving-kindness weepeth sore over you,
inasmuch as ye have failed to recognize the One upon
Whom ye have been calling in the daytime and in the night
season, at even and at morn. Advance, O people, with
snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and
crimson Spot, wherein the &Sadratu'l-Muntaha is calling:
`Verily, there is none other God beside Me, the Omnipotent
Protector, the Self-Subsisting!'
O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you
that can rival Me in vision or insight? Where is he to be
found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance or
wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the
earth shall pass away; and this is the face of your Lord, the
Almighty, the Well-Beloved.
We have decreed, O people, that the highest and last end
of all learning be the recognition of Him Who is the Object
of all knowledge; and yet, behold how ye have allowed
your learning to shut you out, as by a veil, from Him Who
+P74
is the Dayspring of this Light, through Whom every hidden
thing hath been revealed. Could ye but discover the
source whence the splendour of this utterance is diffused,
ye would cast away the peoples of the world and all that
they possess, and would draw nigh unto this most blessed
Seat of glory.
Say: This, verily, is the heaven in which the Mother
Book is treasured, could ye but comprehend it. He it is
Who hath caused the Rock to shout, and the Burning Bush
to lift up its voice, upon the Mount rising above the Holy
Land, and proclaim: `The Kingdom is God's, the sovereign
Lord of all, the All-Powerful, the Loving!'
We have not entered any school, nor read any of your
dissertations. Incline your ears to the words of this unlettered
One, wherewith He summoneth you unto God,
the Ever-Abiding. Better is this for you than all the treasures
of the earth, could ye but comprehend it.
O CONCOURSE of divines! When My verses were sent
down, and My clear tokens were revealed, We found you
behind the veils. This, verily, is a strange thing.... We have
rent the veils asunder. Beware lest ye shut out the people by
yet another veil. Pluck asunder the chains of vain imaginings,
in the name of the Lord of all men, and be not of the
deceitful. Should ye turn unto God, and embrace His
+P75
Cause, spread not disorder within it, and measure not the
Book of God with your selfish desires. This, verily, is the
counsel of God aforetime and hereafter.... Had ye believed
in God, when He revealed Himself, the people
would not have turned aside from Him, nor would the
things ye witness today have befallen Us. Fear God, and be
not of the heedless.... This is the Cause that hath caused all
your superstitions and idols to tremble.... O concourse of
divines! Beware lest ye be the cause of strife in the land,
even as ye were the cause of the repudiation of the Faith in
its early days. Gather the people around this Word that
hath made the pebbles to cry out: `The Kingdom is
God's, the Dawning-Place of all signs!'... Tear the veils
asunder in such wise that the inmates of the Kingdom
will hear them being rent. This is the command of God,
in days gone by, and for those to come. Blessed the man
that observeth that whereunto he was bidden, and woe
betide the negligent.
HOW long will ye, O concourse of divines, level the
spears of hatred at the face of &Baha? Rein in your pens. Lo,
the Most Sublime Pen speaketh betwixt earth and heaven.
Fear God, and follow not your desires which have altered
the face of creation. Purify your ears that they may hearken
unto the Voice of God. By God! It is even as fire that consumeth
+P76
the veils, and as water that washeth the souls of all
who are in the universe.
O CONCOURSE of divines! Can any one of you race with
the Divine Youth in the arena of wisdom and utterance, or
soar with Him into the heaven of inner meaning and explanation?
Nay, by My Lord, the God of mercy! All have
swooned away in this Day from the Word of thy Lord.
They are even as dead and lifeless, except him whom thy
Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained, hath willed to
exempt. Such a one is indeed of those endued with knowledge
in the sight of Him Who is the All-Knowing. The inmates
of Paradise, and the dwellers of the sacred Folds, bless
him at eventide and at dawn. Can the one possessed of
wooden legs resist him whose feet God hath made of steel?
Nay, by Him Who illumineth the whole of creation!
WHEN We observed carefully, We discovered that Our
enemies are, for the most part, the divines... Among the
people are those who said: He hath repudiated the divines.
Say: Yea, by My Lord! I, in very truth, was the One Who
abolished the idols! We, verily, have sounded the Trumpet,
+P77
which is Our Most Sublime Pen, and lo, the divines and
the learned, and the doctors and the rulers, swooned away
except such as God preserved, as a token of His grace, and
He, verily, is the All-Bounteous, the Ancient of Days...
O concourse of divines! Fling away idle fancies and
imaginings, and turn, then, towards the Horizon of Certitude.
I swear by God! All that ye possess will profit you
not, neither all the treasures of the earth, nor the leadership
ye have usurped. Fear God, and be not of the lost ones...
Say: O concourse of divines! Lay aside all your veils and
coverings. Give ear unto that whereunto calleth you the
Most Sublime Pen, in this wondrous Day.... The world is
laden with dust, by reason of your vain imaginings, and the
hearts of such as enjoy near access to God are troubled
because of your cruelty. Fear God, and be of them that
judge equitably.
O YE the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye
suffer not yourselves to become changed, for as ye change,
most men will, likewise, change. This, verily, is an injustice
unto yourselves and unto others.... Ye are even as a
spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out
from it be changed. Fear God, and be numbered with the
godly. In like manner, if the heart of man be corrupted, his
limbs will also be corrupted. And similarly, if the root of a
+P78
tree be corrupted, its branches, and its offshoots, and its
leaves, and its fruits, will be corrupted....
O concourse of divines! Be fair, I adjure you by God,
and nullify not the Truth with the things ye possess. Peruse
that which We have sent down with truth. It will, verily,
aid you, and will draw you nigh unto God, the Mighty,
the Great. Consider and call to mind how when &Muhammad,
the Apostle of God, appeared, the people denied
Him. They ascribed unto Him what caused the Spirit
(Jesus) to lament in His Most Sublime Station, and the
Faithful Spirit to cry out. Consider, moreover, the things
which befell the Apostles and Messengers of God before
Him, by reason of what the hands of the unjust have
wrought. We make mention of you for the sake of God,
and remind you of His signs, and announce unto you the
things ordained for such as are nigh unto Him in the most
sublime Paradise and the all-highest Heaven, and I, verily,
am the Announcer, the Omniscient. He hath come for
your salvation, and hath borne tribulations that ye may ascend,
by the ladder of utterance, unto the summit of understanding....
Peruse, with fairness and justice, that which
hath been sent down. It will, verily, exalt you through the
truth, and will cause you to behold the things from which
ye have been withheld, and will enable you to quaff His
sparkling Wine.
+P79
THOSE divines ... who are truly adorned with the ornament
of knowledge and of a goodly character are, verily, as
a head to the body of the world, and as eyes to the nations.
The guidance of men hath, at all times, been and is dependent
upon these blessed souls.
THE divine whose conduct is upright, and the sage who
is just, are as the spirit unto the body of the world. Well is
it with that divine whose head is attired with the crown of
justice, and whose temple is adorned with the ornament of
equity.
THE divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy
Wine, in the name of the sovereign Ordainer, is as an eye
unto the world. Well is it with them who obey him, and
call him to remembrance.
GREAT is the blessedness of that divine that hath not
allowed knowledge to become a veil between him and the
One Who is the Object of all knowledge, and who, when
the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a beaming
+P80
face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the
learned. The inmates of Paradise seek the blessing of his
breath, and his lamp sheddeth its radiance over all who are
in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered with the
inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath,
verily, beheld the True One, and he that turneth towards
him hath, verily, turned towards God, the Almighty,
the All-Wise.
O CONCOURSE of divines! Ye shall not henceforth behold
yourselves possessed of any power, inasmuch as We
have seized it from you, and destined it for such as have believed
in God, the One, the All-Powerful, the Almighty,
the Unconstrained.
+P81
POPE PIUS IX
+P82
+P83
O POPE! Rend the veils asunder. He Who is the
Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with
clouds, and the decree hath been fulfilled by
God, the Almighty, the Unrestrained... He,
verily, hath again come down from Heaven even as He
came down from it the first time. Beware that thou dispute
not with Him even as the Pharisees disputed with Him
(Jesus) without a clear token or proof. On His right hand
flow the living waters of grace, and on His left the choice
Wine of justice, whilst before Him march the angels of
Paradise, bearing the banners of His signs. Beware lest any
name debar thee from God, the Creator of earth and heaven.
Leave thou the world behind thee, and turn towards
thy Lord, through Whom the whole earth hath been illumined...
Dwellest thou in palaces whilst He Who is the
King of Revelation liveth in the most desolate of abodes?
Leave them unto such as desire them, and set thy face with
joy and delight towards the Kingdom... Arise in the name
of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, amidst the peoples of the
earth, and seize thou the Cup of Life with the hands of confidence,
and first drink thou therefrom, and proffer it then
to such as turn towards it amongst the peoples of all faiths...
Call thou to remembrance Him Who was the Spirit
(Jesus), Who when He came, the most learned of His age
pronounced judgment against Him in His own country,
whilst he who was only a fisherman believed in Him. Take
+P84
heed, then, ye men of understanding heart! Thou, in truth,
art one of the suns of the heaven of His names. Guard thyself,
lest darkness spread its veils over thee, and fold thee
away from His light... Consider those who opposed the
Son (Jesus), when He came unto them with sovereignty
and power. How many the Pharisees who were waiting to
behold Him, and were lamenting over their separation
from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of His coming
was wafted over them, and His beauty was unveiled, they
turned aside from Him and disputed with Him... None
save a very few, who were destitute of any power amongst
men, turned towards His face. And yet, today, every man
endowed with power and invested with sovereignty
prideth himself on His Name! In like manner, consider
how numerous, in these days, are the monks who, in My
Name, have secluded themselves in their churches, and
who, when the appointed time was fulfilled, and We unveiled
Our beauty, knew Us not, though they call upon
Me at eventide and at dawn....
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It
hath been sent down in the form of the human temple in
this day. Blessed be the Lord Who is the Father! He, verily,
is come unto the nations in His most great majesty. Turn
your faces towards Him, O concourse of the righteous...
This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and
shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing,
the Most High, saying: `Lo! The Father is
come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is
+P85
fulfilled!...' My body longeth for the cross, and Mine
head waiteth the thrust of the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful,
that the world may be purged from its transgressions....
O Supreme Pontiff! Incline thine ear unto that which the
Fashioner of mouldering bones counselleth thee, as voiced
by Him Who is His Most Great Name. Sell all the embellished
ornaments thou dost possess, and expend them in the
path of God, Who causeth the night to return upon the day,
and the day to return upon the night. Abandon thy kingdom
unto the kings, and emerge from thy habitation, with
thy face set towards the Kingdom, and, detached from the
world, then speak forth the praises of thy Lord betwixt
earth and heaven. Thus hath bidden thee He Who is the
Possessor of Names, on the part of thy Lord, the Almighty,
the All-Knowing. Exhort thou the kings and say: `Deal
equitably with men. Beware lest ye transgress the bounds
fixed in the Book.' This indeed becometh thee. Beware lest
thou appropriate unto thyself the things of the world and
the riches thereof. Leave them unto such as desire them,
and cleave unto that which hath been enjoined upon thee
by Him Who is the Lord of creation. Should any one offer
thee all the treasures of the earth, refuse to even glance
upon them. Be as thy Lord hath been. Thus hath the
Tongue of Revelation spoken that which God hath made
the ornament of the book of creation... Should the inebriation
of the wine of My verses seize thee, and thou determinest
to present thyself before the throne of thy Lord,
+P86
the Creator of earth and heaven, make My love thy vesture
and thy shield remembrance of Me, and thy provision
reliance upon God, the Revealer of all power... Verily, the
day of ingathering is come, and all things have been separated
from each other. He hath stored away that which He
chose in the vessels of justice, and cast into fire that which
befitteth it. Thus hath it been decreed by your Lord, the
Mighty, the Loving, in this promised Day. He, verily,
ordaineth what He pleaseth. There is none other God save
He, the Almighty, the All-Compelling.
+P87
THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF
VARIOUS FAITHS
At one time We address the people of the Torah and summon
them unto Him Who is the Revealer of verses, Who hath
come from Him Who layeth low the necks of men.... At another,
We address the people of the Evangel and say: `The
All-Glorious is come in this Name whereby the Breeze of
God hath wafted over all regions.'... At still another, We
address the people of the &Qur'an saying: `Fear the All-Merciful,
and cavil not at Him through Whom all religions
were founded.'... Know thou, moreover, that We have addressed
to the Magians Our Tablets, and adorned them with
Our Law.... We have revealed in them the essence of all the
hints and allusions contained in their Books. The Lord,
verily, is the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
+P88
+P89
CALL out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the
joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal
eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty
is manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is
revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth
and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended
from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled
in adoration the favoured of God, the pure in heart, and the
company of the most exalted angels. O how I long to announce
unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to
carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation
--a Revelation to which the heart of Sinai hath been
attracted, and in whose name the Burning Bush is calling:
`Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms of
earth and heaven.' Verily this is the Day in which both land
and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which
have been laid up those things which God, through a
bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath
destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon
thee, and will manifest the people of &Baha who have been
mentioned in the Book of Names.
THE Most Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty
ruleth upon the throne of David. Thus hath My Pen
spoken that which the histories of bygone ages have related.
+P90
At this time, however, David crieth aloud and saith:
`O my loving Lord! Do Thou number me with such as
have stood steadfast in Thy Cause, O Thou through
Whom the faces have been illumined, and the footsteps
have slipped!'
THE Breath hath been wafted, and the Breeze hath
blown, and from Zion hath appeared that which was hidden,
and from Jerusalem is heard the Voice of God, the
One, the Incomparable, the Omniscient.
LEND an ear unto the song of David. He saith: `Who will
bring me into the Strong City?' The Strong City is
&Akka, which hath been named the Most Great Prison, and
which possesseth a fortress and mighty ramparts... Peruse
that which Isaiah hath spoken in His Book. He saith: `Get
thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that bringest good
tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that
bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the
cities of Judah: "Behold your God! Behold the Lord God
will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for
Him."' This Day all the signs have appeared. A great City
hath descended from heaven, and Zion trembleth and exulteth
+P91
with joy at the Revelation of God, for it hath heard
the Voice of God on every side.
O CONCOURSE of Christians! We have, on a previous
occasion, revealed Ourself unto you, and ye recognized
Me not. This is yet another occasion vouchsafed unto you.
This is the Day of God; turn ye unto Him... The Beloved
One loveth not that ye be consumed with the fire of your
desires. Were ye to be shut out as by a veil from Him, this
would be for no other reason than your own waywardness
and ignorance. Ye make mention of Me, and know
Me not. Ye call upon Me, and are heedless of My Revelation....
O people of the Gospel! They who were not in the
Kingdom have now entered it, whilst We behold you, in
this day, tarrying at the gate. Rend the veils asunder by the
power of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous,
and enter, then, in My name My Kingdom. Thus biddeth
you He Who desireth for you everlasting life... We behold
you, O children of the Kingdom, in darkness. This, verily,
beseemeth you not. Are ye, in the face of the Light, fearful
because of your deeds? Direct yourselves towards Him...
Verily, He (Jesus) said: `Come ye after Me, and I will make
you to become fishers of men.' In this day, however, We
say: `Come ye after Me, that We may make you to become
quickeners of mankind.'
+P92
WE, verily, have come for your sakes, and have borne
the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the
One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened?
Fear God, O followers of the Spirit (Jesus), and walk not
in the footsteps of every divine that hath gone far astray...
Open the doors of your hearts. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus)
verily, standeth before them. Wherefore keep ye afar from
Him Who hath purposed to draw you nigh unto a Resplendent
Spot? Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you
the gates of the Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your
houses in My face? This indeed is naught but a grievous
error.
O CONCOURSE of patriarchs! He Whom ye were promised
in the Tablets is come. Fear God, and follow not the
vain imaginings of the superstitious. Lay aside the things ye
possess, and take fast hold of the Tablet of God by His
sovereign power. Better is this for you than all your possessions.
Unto this testifieth every understanding heart,
and every man of insight. Pride ye yourselves on My Name
and yet shut yourselves out as by a veil from Me? This indeed
is a strange thing!
+P93
O CONCOURSE of archbishops! He Who is the Lord of
all men hath appeared. In the plain of guidance He calleth
mankind, whilst ye are numbered with the dead! Great is
the blessedness of him who is stirred by the Breeze of God,
and hath arisen from amongst the dead in this perspicuous
Name.
O CONCOURSE of bishops! Trembling hath seized all the
kindreds of the earth, and He Who is the Everlasting
Father calleth aloud between earth and heaven. Blessed the
ear that hath heard, and the eye that hath seen, and the heart
that hath turned unto Him Who is the Point of Adoration
of all who are in the heavens and all who are on earth....
O CONCOURSE of bishops! Ye are the stars of the heaven
of My knowledge. My mercy desireth not that ye should
fall upon the earth. My justice, however, declareth: `This is
that which the Son (Jesus) hath decreed.' And whatsoever
hath proceeded out of His blameless, His truth-speaking,
trustworthy mouth, can never be altered. The bells, verily,
peal out My Name, and lament over Me, but My spirit
rejoiceth with evident gladness. The body of the Loved
+P94
One yearneth for the cross, and His head is eager for the
spear, in the path of the All-Merciful. The ascendancy of
the oppressor can in no wise deter Him from His purpose...
The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they that
adduce the proofs they possess in order to demonstrate the
truth of My Cause, and who make mention of God in My
name. When I came unto them, in My majesty, however,
they turned aside from Me. They, verily, are of the fallen.
This is what the Spirit (Jesus) prophesied when He came
with the truth, and the Jewish doctors cavilled at Him,
until they committed what made the Holy Spirit to lament,
and the eyes of such as enjoy near access to God to weep.
O CONCOURSE of priests! Leave the bells, and come
forth, then, from your churches. It behoveth you, in this
day, to proclaim aloud the Most Great Name among the
nations. Prefer ye to be silent, whilst every stone and every
tree shouteth aloud: `The Lord is come in His great glory!'
...He that summoneth men in My name is, verily, of Me,
and he will show forth that which is beyond the power of
all that are on earth... Let the Breeze of God awaken you.
Verily, it hath wafted over the world. Well is it with him
that hath discovered the fragrance thereof and been
accounted among the well-assured....
+P95
O CONCOURSE of priests! The Day of Reckoning hath
appeared, the Day whereon He Who was in heaven hath
come. He, verily, is the One Whom ye were promised in
the Books of God, the Holy, the Almighty, the All-Praised.
How long will ye wander in the wilderness of
heedlessness and superstition? Turn with your hearts in the
direction of your Lord, the Forgiving, the Generous.
O CONCOURSE of monks! Seclude not yourselves in
churches and cloisters. Come forth by My leave, and
occupy yourselves with that which will profit your souls
and the souls of men. Thus biddeth you the King of the
Day of Reckoning. Seclude yourselves in the stronghold of
My love. This, verily, is a befitting seclusion, were ye of
them that perceive it. He that shutteth himself up in a
house is indeed as one dead. It behoveth man to show
forth that which will profit all created things, and he that
bringeth forth no fruit is fit for fire. Thus counselleth you
your Lord, and He, verily, is the Almighty, the All-Bounteous.
Enter ye into wedlock, that after you someone
may fill your place. We have forbidden you perfidious
acts, and not that which will demonstrate fidelity. Have ye
clung to the standards fixed by your own selves, and cast
the standards of God behind your backs? Fear God, and be
+P96
not of the foolish. But for man, who would make mention
of Me on My earth, and how could My attributes and My
name have been revealed? Ponder ye, and be not of them
that are veiled and fast asleep. He that wedded not (Jesus)
found no place wherein to dwell or lay His head, by reason
of that which the hands of the treacherous had wrought.
His sanctity consisteth not in that which ye believe or
fancy, but rather in the things We possess. Ask, that ye may
apprehend His station which hath been exalted above the
imaginings of all that dwell on earth. Blessed are they who
perceive it.
O CONCOURSE of monks! If ye choose to follow Me, I
will make you heirs of My Kingdom; and if ye transgress
against Me, I will, in My long-suffering, endure it patiently,
and I, verily, am the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful...
Bethlehem is astir with the Breeze of God.
We hear her voice saying: `O most generous Lord! Where
is Thy great glory established? The sweet savours of Thy
presence have quickened me, after I had melted in my
separation from Thee. Praised be Thou in that Thou hast
raised the veils, and come with power in evident glory.'
We called unto her from behind the Tabernacle of Majesty
and Grandeur: `O Bethlehem! This Light hath risen in the
orient, and travelled towards the occident, until it reached
+P97
thee in the evening of its life. Tell Me then: Do the sons
recognize the Father, and acknowledge Him, or do they
deny Him, even as the people aforetime denied Him
(Jesus)?' Whereupon she cried out saying: `Thou art, in
truth, the All-Knowing, the Best-Informed.'
CONSIDER, likewise, how numerous at this time are the
monks who have secluded themselves in their churches, in
My name, and who, when the appointed time came, and
We unveiled to them Our beauty, failed to recognize Me,
notwithstanding that they call upon Me at dawn and at
eventide.
READ ye the Evangel and yet refuse to acknowledge the
All-Glorious Lord? This indeed beseemeth you not, O
concourse of learned men!... The fragrances of the All-Merciful
have wafted over all creation. Happy the man
that hath forsaken his desires, and taken fast hold of guidance.
+P98
PERUSED ye not the &Qur'an? Read it, that haply ye may
find the Truth, for this Book is verily the Straight Path.
This is the Way of God unto all who are in the heavens and
all who are on the earth. If ye have been careless of the
&Qur'an, the &Bayan cannot be regarded to be remote from
you. Behold it open before your eyes. Read ye its verses,
lest perchance ye desist from committing that which will
cause the Messengers of God to mourn and lament.
Speed out of your sepulchres. How long will ye sleep?
The second blast hath been blown on the trumpet. On
whom are ye gazing? This is your Lord, the God of Mercy.
Witness how ye gainsay His signs! The earth hath quaked
with a great quaking, and cast forth her burdens. Will ye
not admit it? Say: Will ye not recognize how the mountains
have become like flocks of wool, how the people are
sore vexed at the awful majesty of the Cause of God? Witness
how their houses are empty ruins, and they themselves
a drowned host.
This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come
down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest
sovereignty. He well knoweth the actions of men. He it is
Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but comprehend
it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the
earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the
angels of God are seen descending. Say: This is the Day of
mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains have
passed away, and the heavens have been folded together,
+P99
and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but
understand it. Who is it that can protect you? None, by
Him Who is the All-Merciful! None, except God, the Almighty,
the All-Glorious, the Beneficent. Every woman
that hath had a burden in her womb hath cast her burden.
We see men drunken in this Day, the Day in which men
and angels have been gathered together.
Is there any doubt concerning God? Behold how He
hath come down from the heaven of His grace, girded with
power and invested with sovereignty. Is there any doubt
concerning His signs? Open ye your eyes, and consider His
clear evidence. Paradise is on your right hand, and hath
been brought nigh unto you, while Hell hath been made to
blaze. Witness its devouring flame. Haste ye to enter into
Paradise, as a token of Our mercy unto you, and drink
ye from the hands of the All-Merciful the Wine that is
life indeed.
BY Him Who is the Great Announcement! The All-Merciful
is come invested with undoubted sovereignty.
The Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell
on earth have been gathered together. The Trumpet hath
been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up with terror, and
the hearts of all who are in the heavens and on the earth
+P100
have trembled, except them whom the breath of the verses
of God hath quickened, and who have detached themselves
from all things.
This is the Day whereon the earth shall tell out her tidings.
The workers of iniquity are her burdens, could ye but
perceive it. The moon of idle fancy hath been cleft, and the
heaven hath given out a palpable smoke. We see the people
laid low, awed with the dread of thy Lord, the Almighty,
the Most Powerful. The Crier hath cried out, and men
have been torn away, so great hath been the fury of His
wrath. The people of the left hand sigh and bemoan. The
people of the right abide in noble habitations: they quaff
the Wine that is life indeed, from the hands of the All-Merciful,
and are, verily, the blissful.
The earth hath been shaken, and the mountains have
passed away, and the angels have appeared, rank on rank,
before Us. Most of the people are bewildered in their
drunkenness and wear on their faces the evidences of anger.
Thus have We gathered together the workers of iniquity.
We see them rushing on towards their idol. Say: None shall
be secure this Day from the decree of God. This indeed is a
grievous Day. We point out to them those that led them
astray. They see them, and yet recognize them not. Their
eyes are drunken; they are indeed a blind people. Their
proofs are the calumnies they uttered; condemned are their
calumnies by God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
The Evil One hath stirred up mischief in their hearts, and
they are afflicted with a torment that none can avert. They
+P101
hasten to the wicked, bearing the register of the workers
of iniquity. Such are their doings.
Say: The heavens have been folded together, and the
earth is held within His grasp, and the corrupt doers have
been held by their forelock, and still they understand not.
They drink of the tainted water, and know it not. Say: The
shout hath been raised, and the people have come forth
from their graves, and arising are gazing around them.
Some have made haste to attain the court of the God of
Mercy, others have fallen down on their faces in the fire of
Hell, while still others are lost in bewilderment. The verses
of God have been revealed, and yet they have turned away
from them. His proof hath been manifested and yet they
are unaware of it. And when they behold the face of the
All-Merciful, their own faces are saddened, while they are
disporting themselves. They hasten forward to Hell Fire,
and mistake it for light. Far from God be what they fondly
imagine! Say: Whether ye rejoice or whether ye burst for
fury, the heavens are cleft asunder, and God hath come
down, invested with radiant sovereignty. All created
things are heard exclaiming: `The Kingdom is God's, the
Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.'
O CONCOURSE of Persian divines! In My name ye have
seized the reins of men, and occupy the seats of honour by
+P102
reason of your relation to Me. When I revealed Myself,
however, ye turned aside, and committed what hath
caused the tears of such as have recognized Me to flow.
Erelong will all that ye possess perish, and your glory be
turned into the most wretched abasement, and ye shall
behold the punishment for what ye have wrought, as decreed
by God, the Ordainer, the All-Wise.
O YE divines of the City! We came to you with the
truth, whilst ye were heedless of it. Methinks ye are as dead,
wrapt in the coverings of your own selves. Ye sought not
Our presence, when so to do would have been better for
you than all your doings.... Know ye, that had your
leaders, to whom ye owe allegiance, and on whom ye
pride yourselves, and whom ye mention by day and by
night, and from whose traces ye seek guidance--had they
lived in these days, they would have circled around Me,
and would not have separated themselves from Me,
whether at eventide or at morn. Ye, however, did not turn
your faces towards My face, for even less than a moment,
and waxed proud, and were careless of this Wronged One,
Who hath been so afflicted by men that they dealt with
Him as they pleased. Ye failed to inquire about My condition,
nor did ye inform yourselves of the things which
befell Me. Thereby have ye withheld from yourselves the
+P103
winds of holiness, and the breezes of bounty, that blow
from this luminous and perspicuous Spot. Methinks ye
have clung to outward things, and forgotten the inner
things, and say that which ye do not. Ye are lovers of
names, and appear to have given yourselves up to them.
For this reason make ye mention of the names of your
leaders. And should any one like them, or superior unto
them, come unto you, ye would flee him. Through their
names ye have exalted yourselves, and have secured your
positions, and live and prosper. And were your leaders to
reappear, ye would not renounce your leadership, nor
would ye turn in their direction, nor set your faces towards
them. We found you, as We found most men, worshipping
names which they mention during the days of their life,
and with which they occupy themselves. No sooner do the
Bearers of these names appear, however, than they repudiate
them, and turn upon their heels.... Know ye that
God will not, in this day, accept your thoughts, nor your
remembrance of Him, nor your turning towards Him, nor
your devotions, nor your vigilance, unless ye be made new
in the estimation of this Servant, could ye but perceive it.
BECAUSE of you the Apostle (&Muhammad) lamented,
and the Chaste One (&Fatimih) cried out, and the countries
were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse
+P104
of divines! Because of you the people were abased,
and the banner of &Islam was hauled down, and its mighty
throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment hath
sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt &Islam, you
raised a clamour, and thereby was He deterred from
achieving His purpose, while the land remained fallen in
clear ruin.
OF all the peoples of the world, they that have suffered
the greatest loss have been, and are still, the people of Persia.
I swear by the Day Star of Utterance which shineth upon
the world in its meridian glory! The lamentations of the
pulpits, in that country, are being raised continually. In the
early days such lamentations were heard in the Land of &Ta
(&Tihran), for pulpits, erected for the purpose of remembering
the True One--exalted be His glory--have now, in
Persia, become places wherefrom blasphemies are uttered
against Him Who is the Desire of the worlds.
IN this day the world is redolent with the fragrances of the
robe of the Revelation of the Ancient King ... and yet,
they (divines) have gathered together, and established
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themselves upon their seats, and have spoken that which
would put an animal to shame, how much more man himself!
Were they to become aware of one of their acts, and
perceive the mischief it hath wrought, they would, with
their own hands, dispatch themselves to their final abode.
O CONCOURSE of divines!... Lay aside that which ye
possess, and hold your peace, and give ear, then, unto that
which the Tongue of Grandeur and Majesty speaketh.
How many the veiled handmaidens who turned unto Me,
and believed, and how numerous the wearers of the turban
who were debarred from Me, and followed in the footsteps
of bygone generations!
O HIGH priests! Ears have been given you that they may
hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the Self-Dependent,
and eyes that they may behold Him. Wherefore flee
ye? The Incomparable Friend is manifest. He speaketh that
wherein lieth salvation. Were ye, O high priests, to discover
the perfume of the rose-garden of understanding, ye
would seek none other but Him, and would recognize, in
His new vesture, the All-Wise and Peerless One, and would
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turn your eyes from the world and all who seek it, and
would arise to help Him.
WHATSOEVER hath been announced in the Books hath
been revealed and made clear. From every direction the
signs have been manifested. The Omnipotent One is calling,
in this Day, and announcing the appearance of the
Supreme Heaven.
THIS is not the day whereon the high priests can command
and exercise their authority. In your Book it is stated
that the high priests will, on that Day, lead men far astray,
and will prevent them from drawing nigh unto Him. He
indeed is a high priest who hath seen the light and hastened
unto the way leading to the Beloved.
O HIGH priests! The Hand of Omnipotence is stretched
forth from behind the clouds; behold ye it with new eyes.
The tokens of His majesty and greatness are unveiled; gaze
ye on them with pure eyes.... Say, O high priests! Ye are
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held in reverence because of My Name, and yet ye flee Me!
Ye are the high priests of the Temple. Had ye been the high
priests of the Omnipotent One, ye would have been united
with Him, and would have recognized Him.... Say, O
high priests! No man's acts shall be acceptable, in this Day,
unless he forsaketh mankind and all that men possess, and
setteth his face towards the Omnipotent One.
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THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT
TO MANKIND
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THE time fore-ordained unto the peoples and
kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises
of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures,
have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath
gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and
land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation.
Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which
hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of
God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that
ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the
crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and
immovable as the mountain in His Cause.
VERILY I say, 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 behoveth 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.
Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all
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the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness.
The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger,
hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers
kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it.
No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation
manifested itself in the heaven of God's Will, than all, except
those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were
found dumbfounded and heedless.
O thou that hast remembered Me! The most grievous
veil hath shut out the peoples of the earth from His glory,
and hindered them from hearkening to His call. God grant
that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and
that the seal, `the Kingdom is God's', may be stamped
upon the brow of all its peoples.
O YE children of men! The fundamental purpose animating
the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard
the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and
to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men.
Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord,
of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and
immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation,
the changes and chances of the world can never impair
its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries
undermine its structure. Our hope is that the world's
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religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise
for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its
fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take
counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation,
administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the
remedy it requires.... It is incumbent upon them who are
in authority to exercise moderation in all things. Whatsoever
passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to
exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such
things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much
men of understanding may favourably regard them, they
will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence
upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the world may be
led, as the result of the high endeavours exerted by their
rulers and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize
their best interests. How long will humanity persist in its
waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How
long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How
long will discord agitate the face of society? The winds of
despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the
strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing.
The signs of impending convulsions and chaos
can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order
appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted
be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the
peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct
may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish
that which beseemeth their station.
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O CONTENDING peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set
your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light
shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of
God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention
amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world's
great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants
become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of
one and the same throne. This wronged One hath, ever
since the early days of His life, cherished none other desire
but this, and will continue to entertain no wish except this
wish. There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of
the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration
from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of
one God. The difference between the ordinances under
which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements
and exigencies of the age in which they were
revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome
of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection
of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the
power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain
imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave
unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you.
This, verily, is the most exalted Word which the Mother
Book hath sent down and revealed unto you. To this beareth
witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His habitation of
glory.
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THE Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of
the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement
of its peoples, hath written: The time must come
when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an
all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized.
The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it,
and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such
ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's
Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth that
the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquillity
of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled
among themselves. Should any king take up arms against
another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this
be done, the nations of the world will no longer require
any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the
security of their realms and of maintaining internal order
within their territories. This will ensure the peace and composure
of every people, government and nation. We fain
would hope that the kings and rulers of the earth, the mirrors
of the gracious and almighty name of God, may
attain unto this station, and shield mankind from the onslaught
of tyranny.... The day is approaching when all the
peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language
and one common script. When this is achieved, to
whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were
entering his own home. These things are obligatory and
absolutely essential. It is incumbent upon every man of insight
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and understanding to strive to translate that which
hath been written into reality and action.... That one indeed
is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service
of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed
and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of
the peoples and kindreds of the earth. In another passage
He hath proclaimed: It is not for him to pride himself who
loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the
whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind
its citizens.
THE All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the
pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth,
in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath
its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration.
The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions
can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may
require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age
ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies
and requirements.
We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed
with great, with incalculable afflictions. We see
it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned.
They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have
interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible
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Physician. Witness how they have entangled all
men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices.
They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have
they any knowledge of the remedy. They have conceived
the straight to be crooked, and have imagined their friend
an enemy.
Incline your ears to the sweet melody of this Prisoner.
Arise, and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast
asleep may be awakened. Say: O ye who are as dead! The
Hand of Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of
Life. Hasten and drink your fill. Whoso hath been re-born
in this Day, shall never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall
never live.
O PEOPLES of the earth! God, the Eternal Truth, is My
witness that streams of fresh and soft-flowing waters have
gushed from the rocks, through the sweetness of the words
uttered by your Lord, the Unconstrained; and still ye
slumber. Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the
wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things. Thus
biddeth you the Lord of creation, the movement of Whose
Pen hath revolutionized the soul of mankind.
Know ye from what heights your Lord, the All-Glorious
is calling? Think ye that ye have recognized the Pen wherewith
your Lord, the Lord of all names, commandeth you?
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Nay, by My life! Did ye but know it, ye would renounce
the world, and would hasten with your whole hearts to the
presence of the Well-Beloved. Your spirits would be so
transported by His Word as to throw into commotion the
Greater World--how much more this small and petty one!
Thus have the showers of My bounty been poured down
from the heaven of My loving-kindness, as a token of My
grace; that ye may be of the thankful....
Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination
provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers
of one hand, the members of one body. Thus counselleth
you the Pen of Revelation, if ye be of them that believe.
Consider the mercy of God and His gifts. He enjoineth
upon you that which shall profit you, though He Himself
can well dispense with all creatures. Your evil doings can
never harm Us, neither can your good works profit Us.
We summon you wholly for the sake of God. To this every
man of understanding and insight will testify.
THE world's equilibrium hath been upset through the
vibrating influence of this most great, this new World
Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized
through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System
--the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye
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may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom
that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not
vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this
Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the
might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty
established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto
Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past,
eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as
to him that hath refused to seek it--verily, God is Self-Sufficient,
above any need of His creatures.
Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of
God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all
who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined,
if ye be of them that believe and recognize this
truth. Say: Through it the poor have been enriched, the
learned enlightened, and the seekers enabled to ascend unto
the presence of God. Beware, lest ye make it a cause of dissension
amongst you. Be ye as firmly settled as the immovable
mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty,
the Loving.
O YE peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My
commandments are the lamps of My loving providence
among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My
creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of
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the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any
man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of
the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though
the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce
them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even
one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring
of His bountiful care and loving-kindness.
From My laws the sweet smelling savour of My garment
can be smelled, and by their aid the standards of victory will
be planted upon the highest peaks. The Tongue of My
power hath, from the heaven of My omnipotent glory,
addressed to My creation these words: `Observe My commandments,
for the love of My beauty.' Happy is the lover
that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best-Beloved
from these words, laden with the perfume of a grace which
no tongue can describe. By My life! He who hath drunk
the choice wine of fairness from the hands of My bountiful
favour, will circle around My commandments that shine
above the Dayspring of My creation.
Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code
of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine
with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness
that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed.
Meditate upon this, O men of insight!...
Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of
Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all,
though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every
religion to be cleft asunder. He doth what He pleaseth. He
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chooseth; and none may question His choice. Whatsoever
He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved.
To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth
Me witness. Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the
All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance,
will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy,
that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst
men. Well is it with him that hath turned thereunto, and
apprehended the meaning of His decisive decree.
THIS is the Day in which God's most excellent favours
have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His
most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.
It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile
their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace,
abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and
loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever
will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of
their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests.
Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to
remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by
virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to
conceal.
Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may
be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in
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Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up,
and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord
speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.