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Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
Friendly sites
Hagia Sophia
Solitaire
Tetris
Space Invaders
Q-bert
Moon Patrol
Bubble Bobble
Lady Bug
Bomb Jack
Ghosts n Goblins
Burger time
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Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf:
Section 1 |
In the name of God, the One, the
Incomparable, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Praise be to God, the Eternal that perisheth not, the
Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that
altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty,
Who is manifest through His signs, and is hidden through His
mysteries. He it is at Whose bidding the standard of the Most
Exalted Word hath been lifted up in the world of creation, and
the banner of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth" raised amidst all
peoples. He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance
of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His
Proof and His Testimony, and embellished the preface of the Book
of Man with the ornament of utterance through His saying: "The
God of Mercy hath taught the Qur'an, hath created man, and
taught him articulate speech." No God is there but Him, the One,
the Peerless, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Beneficent.
The light that is shed from the heaven of bounty, and the
benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of the will of
God, the Lord of the Kingdom
of Names, rest upon Him Who is the Supreme Mediator, the Most
Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the Dawning-Place of His
most excellent names and the Dayspring of His most exalted
attributes. Through Him the light of unity hath shone forth
above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been
revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have
turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which
the Tongue of Utterance hath spoken in the kingdom of His
knowledge: "Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the
Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!"
Give ear, O distinguished divine, unto the voice of this Wronged
One. He verily, counselleth thee for the sake of God, and
exhorteth thee unto that which will cause thee to draw nigh unto
Him under all conditions. He, in truth, is the All-Possessing,
the Exalted. Know thou that the ear of man hath been created
that it may hearken unto the Divine Voice on this Day that hath
been mentioned in all the Books, Scriptures, and Tablets. Purify
thou, first, thy soul with the waters of renunciation, and adorn
thine head with the crown of the fear of God, and thy temple
with the ornament of reliance upon Him. Arise, then, and, with
thy face set towards the Most Great House, the Spot round which,
as decreed by the Eternal King, all that dwell on earth must
circle, recite:
"O God, my God, and my Desire, and my Adored One, and my Master,
and my Mainstay, and my utmost Hope, and my supreme Aspiration!
Thou seest me turning towards Thee, holding fast unto the cord
of Thy bounty, clinging to the hem of Thy generosity,
acknowledging the sanctity of Thy Self and the purity of Thine
Essence, and testifying to Thy unity and Thy oneness. I bear
witness that Thou art the One, the Single, the Incomparable, the
Ever-Abiding. Thou didst not take unto Thyself a partner in Thy
dominion, nor didst Thou choose a peer for Thyself upon earth.
All created things have borne witness unto that which the Tongue
of Thy grandeur hath testified ere their creation. Verily Thou
art God; there is none other God but Thee! From everlasting Thou
wast sanctified from the mention of Thy servants, and exalted
above the description of Thy creatures. Thou beholdest, O Lord,
the ignorant seeking the ocean of Thy knowledge, the sore
athirst the living waters of Thine utterance, the abased the
tabernacle of Thy glory, the poor the treasury of Thy riches,
the suppliant the dawning-place of Thy wisdom, the weak the
source of Thy strength, the wretched the heaven of Thy bounty,
the dumb the kingdom of Thy mention.
"I testify, O my God, and my King, that Thou hast created me to
remember Thee, to glorify Thee, and to aid Thy Cause. And yet, I
have aided Thine enemies, who have broken Thy Covenant, who have
cast
away Thy Book, disbelieved in Thee, and repudiated Thy signs.
Alas, alas, for my waywardness, and my shame, and my sinfulness,
and my wrong-doing that have withheld me from the depths of the
ocean of Thy unity and from fathoming the sea of Thy mercy.
Wherefore, alas, alas! and again alas, alas! for my wretchedness
and the grievousness of my transgressions! Thou didst call me
into being, O my God, to exalt Thy Word, and to manifest Thy
Cause. My heedlessness, however, hath deterred me and compassed
me about, in such wise that I have arisen to blot out Thy signs,
and to shed the blood of Thy loved ones, and of the
dawning-places of Thy signs, and of the daysprings of Thy
revelation, and of the repositories of Thy mysteries.
"O Lord, my Lord! and again, O Lord, my Lord! and yet again, O
Lord, my Lord! I bear witness that by reason of mine iniquity
the fruits of the tree of Thy justice have fallen, and through
the fire of my rebelliousness the hearts of such of Thy
creatures as enjoy near access to Thee were consumed, and the
souls of the sincere among Thy servants have melted.
O wretched, wretched that I am! O the cruelties, the glaring
cruelties, I inflicted! Woe is me, woe is me, for my remoteness
from Thee, and for my waywardness, and mine ignorance, and my
baseness, and my repudiation of Thee, and my protests against
Thee! How many the days during which Thou didst bid Thy servants
and Thy loved ones to protect me, whilst I commanded them to
harm Thee and to harm them that Thou didst trust! And how
numerous the nights during which Thou didst graciously remember
me, and didst show me Thy path, whilst I turned away from Thee
and from Thy signs! By Thy glory!
O Thou Who art the Hope of such as have acknowledged Thy unity,
and the Desire of the hearts of them that are rid of all
attachment to any save Thee! I find no succorer except Thee, nor
king, nor refuge, nor haven besides Thyself. Alas, alas! My
turning away from Thee hath burnt up the veil of mine integrity,
and my denial of Thee hath rent asunder the covering cast over
mine honor. O would that I were beneath the depths of the earth,
so that my evil deeds would remain unknown to Thy servants! Thou
seest the sinner, O my Lord, who hath turned towards the
dawning-place of Thy forgiveness and Thy bounty, and the
mountain of iniquity that hath sought the heaven of Thy mercy
and pardon. Alas, alas! My mighty sins have prevented me from
approaching the court of Thy mercy, and my monstrous deeds have
caused me to stray far from the sanctuary of Thy presence.
Indeed, I am he that hath failed in duty towards Thee, and hath
broken Thy Covenant and Thy Testament, and committed that which
hath made the dwellers of the cities of Thy justice, and the
dawning-places of Thy grace in Thy realms, to lament. I testify,
O my God, that I have put away Thy commandments, and clung to
the dictates of my passions, and have cast away the statutes of
Thy Book, and seized the book of mine own desire. O misery,
misery! As mine iniquities waxed greater and greater, Thy
forbearance towards me augmented, and as the fire of my
rebelliousness grew fiercer, the more did Thy forgiveness and
Thy grace seek to smother up its flame. By the power of Thy
might! O Thou Who art the desire of the world and the
Best-Beloved of the nations! Thy long-suffering hath puffed me
up, and Thy patience hath emboldened me. Thou beholdest, O my
God, the tears that my shame hath caused to flow, and the sighs
which my heedlessness hath led me to utter. I swear by the
greatness of Thy majesty! I can find for myself no habitation
save beneath the shadow of the court of Thy bounty, nor any
refuge except under the canopy of Thy mercy. Thou seest me in
the midst of a sea of despair and of hopelessness, after Thou
didst cause me to hear Thy words "Despair not." By Thy power! My
sore injustice hath severed the cord of my hope, and my
rebellion hath darkened my face before the throne of Thy
justice. Thou beholdest, O my God, him who is as one dead fallen
at the door of Thy favor, ashamed to seek from the hand of Thy
loving-kindness the living waters of Thy pardon. Thou hast given
me a tongue wherewith to remember and praise Thee, and yet it
uttereth that which hath caused the souls of such of Thy chosen
ones as are nigh unto Thee to melt, and the hearts of the
sincere amongst the dwellers of the habitations of holiness to
be consumed. Thou hast given me eyes to witness Thy signs, and
to behold Thy verses, and to contemplate the revelations of
Thine handiwork, but I have rejected Thy will, and have
committed what hath caused the faithful among Thy creatures and
the detached amidst Thy servants to groan. Thou hast given me
ears that I may incline them unto Thy praise and Thy
celebration, and unto that which Thou didst send down from the
heaven of Thy bounty and the firmament of Thy will. And yet,
alas, alas, I have forsaken Thy Cause, and have commanded Thy
servants to blaspheme against Thy trusted ones and Thy loved
ones, and have acted, before the throne of Thy justice, in such
wise that those that have recognized Thy unity and are wholly
devoted to Thee among the dwellers of Thy realm mourned with a
sore lamentation. I know not, O my God, which among my
evildoings to mention before the billowing ocean of Thy favor,
nor which of my trespasses to declare when face to face with the
splendors of the suns of Thy goodly gifts and bounties.
"I beseech Thee, this very moment, by the mysteries of Thy Book,
and by the things hid in Thy knowledge, and by the pearls that
lie concealed within the shells of the ocean of Thy mercy, to
reckon me among such as Thou didst mention in Thy Book and
describe in Thy Tablets. Hast Thou decreed for me, O my God, any
joy after this tribulation, or any relief to succeed this
affliction, or any ease to follow this trouble? Alas, alas! Thou
hast ordained that every pulpit be set apart for Thy mention,
and for the glorification of Thy Word, and the revelation of Thy
Cause, but I have ascended it to proclaim the violation of Thy
Covenant, and have spoken unto Thy servants such words as have
caused the dwellers of the Tabernacles of Thy majesty and the
denizens of the Cities of Thy wisdom to lament. How often hast
Thou sent down the food of Thine utterance out of the heaven of
Thy bounty, and I denied it; and how numerous the occasions on
which Thou hast summoned me to the soft flowing waters of Thy
mercy, and I have chosen to turn away therefrom, by reason of my
having followed my own wish and desire! By Thy glory! I know not
for which sin to beg Thy forgiveness and implore Thy pardon, nor
from which of mine iniquities to turn aside unto the Court of
Thy bounteousness and the Sanctuary of Thy favor. Such are my
sins and trespasses that no man can number them, nor pen
describe them. I implore Thee, O Thou that turnest darkness into
light, and revealest Thy mysteries on the Sinai of Thy
Revelation, to aid me, at all times, to put my trust in Thee,
and to commit mine affairs unto Thy care. Make me, then, O my
God, content with that which the finger of Thy decree hath
traced, and the pen of Thy ordinance hath written. Potent art
Thou to do what pleaseth Thee, and in Thy grasp are the reins of
all that are in heaven and on earth. No God is there but Thee,
the All-knowing, the All-Wise."
O Shaykh! Know thou that neither the calumnies which men may
utter, nor their denials, nor any cavils they may raise, can
harm him that hath clung to the cord of the grace, and seized
the hem of the mercy, of the Lord of creation. By God! He, the
Glory of God (Baha), hath spoken not from mere impulse. He that
hath given Him a voice is He that hath given a voice unto all
things, that they may praise and glorify Him. There is none
other God but Him, the One, the Incomparable, the Lord of
strength, the Unconditioned.
They whose sight is keen, whose ears are retentive, whose hearts
are enlightened, and whose breasts are dilated, recognize both
truth and falsehood, and distinguish the one from the other.
Recite thou this prayer that hath flowed from the tongue of this
Wronged One, and ponder thereon with a heart rid of all
attachment, and with ears that are pure and sanctified, be
attentive to its meaning, that haply thou mayest inhale the
breath of detachment and have pity upon thyself and upon others:
"My God, the Object of my adoration, the Goal of my desire, the
All-Bountiful, the Most Compassionate! All life is of Thee, and
all power lieth within the grasp of Thine omnipotence. Whosoever
Thou exaltest is raised above the angels, and attaineth the
station: 'Verily, We uplifted him to a place on high!'; and
whosoever Thou dost abase is made lower than dust, nay, less
than nothing. O Divine Providence! Though wicked, sinful, and
intemperate, we still seek from Thee a 'seat of truth,' and long
to behold the countenance of the Omnipotent King. It is Thine to
command, and all sovereignty belongeth to Thee, and the realm of
might boweth before Thy behest. Everything Thou doest is pure
justice, nay, the very essence of grace. One gleam from the
splendors of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, sufficeth to banish and
blot out every trace of sinfulness from the world, and a single
breath from the breezes of the Day of Thy Revelation is enough
to adorn all mankind with a fresh attire. Vouchsafe Thy
strength, O Almighty One, unto Thy weak creatures, and quicken
them who are as dead, that haply they may find Thee, and may be
led unto the ocean of Thy guidance, and may remain steadfast in
Thy Cause. Should the fragrance of Thy praise be shed abroad by
any of the divers tongues of the world, out of the East or out
of the West, it would, verily, be prized and greatly cherished.
If such tongues, however, be deprived of that fragrance, they
assuredly would be unworthy of any mention, in word or yet in
thought. We beg of Thee, O Providence, to show Thy way unto all
men, and to guide them aright. Thou art, verily, the Almighty,
the Most Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing."
We beseech God to aid thee to be just and fair-minded, and to
acquaint thee with the things that were hidden from the eyes of
men. He, in truth, is the Mighty, the Unconstrained. We ask thee
to reflect upon that which hath been revealed, and to be fair
and just in thy speech, that perchance the splendors of the
daystar of truthfulness and sincerity may shine forth, and may
deliver thee from the darkness of ignorance, and illumine the
world with the light of knowledge. This Wronged One hath
frequented no school, neither hath He attended the controversies
of the learned. By My life! Not of Mine own volition have I
revealed Myself, but God, of His own choosing, hath manifested
Me. In the Tablet, addressed to His Majesty the Shah-may God,
blessed and glorified be He, assist him-these words have
streamed from the tongue of this Wronged One:
"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."
Now is the moment in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of
detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to
ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and
again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as
much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom
and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred
which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world. The
Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their Books were
revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and
of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men. But now behold,
how they have made the Law of God a cause and pretext for
perversity and hatred. How pitiful, how regrettable, that most
men are cleaving fast to, and have busied themselves with, the
things they possess, and are unaware of, and shut out as by a
veil from, the things God possesseth!
Say: "O God, my God! Attire mine head with the crown of justice,
and my temple with the ornament of equity. Thou, verily, art the
Possessor of all gifts and bounties."
Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From
them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the
cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the
nations.
These words have streamed from the pen of this Wronged One in
one of His Tablets: "The purpose of the one true God, exalted be
His glory, hath been to bring forth the Mystic Gems out of the
mine of man-they Who are the Dawning-Places of His Cause and the
Repositories of the pearls of His knowledge; for, God Himself,
glorified be He, is the Unseen, the One concealed and hidden
from the eyes of men. Consider what the Merciful hath revealed
in the Qur'an: No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all
vision, and He is the Subtile, the All-Informed!"
That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold
systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster
the feelings of animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the
essence of the Faith of God and His Religion. These principles
and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have
proceeded from one Source, and are rays of one Light. That they
differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying
requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated.
Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of Baha, that haply
the tumult of religious dissension and strife that agitateth the
peoples of the earth may be stilled, that every trace of it may
be completely obliterated. For the love of God, and them that
serve Him, arise to aid this sublime and momentous Revelation.
Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire,
whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can,
alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction. Consider
the war that hath involved the two Nations, how both sides have
renounced their possessions and their lives. How many the
villages that were completely wiped out!
The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye
are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal
ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with
friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Daystar of Truth
beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it
can illuminate the whole earth. The One true God, He Who knoweth
all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.
Exert yourselves that ye may attain this transcendent and most
sublime station, the station that can insure the protection and
security of all mankind.
This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration is the
monarch of all aspirations. So long, however, as the thick
clouds of oppression, which obscure the daystar of justice,
remain undispelled, it would be difficult for the glory of this
station to be unveiled to men's eyes. These thick clouds are the
exponents of idle fancies and vain imaginings, who are none
other but the divines of Persia. At one time We spoke in the
language of the lawgiver; at another in that of the truth-seeker
and the mystic, and yet Our supreme purpose and highest wish
hath always been to disclose the glory and sublimity of this
station. God, verily, is a sufficient witness!
Consort with all men, O people of Baha, in a spirit of
friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth,
if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it
with them in a language of utmost kindliness and goodwill. If it
be accepted, if it fulfill its purpose, your object is attained.
If anyone should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech
God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A
kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the
bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is
the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.
By "divines" in the passage cited above is meant those men who
outwardly attire themselves with the raiment of knowledge, but
who inwardly are deprived therefrom. In this connection, We
quote from the Tablet addressed to His Majesty the Shah, certain
passages from the "Hidden Words" which were revealed by the Abha
Pen under the name of the "Book of Fatimih," the blessings of
God be upon her!
"O ye that are foolish, yet have a name to be wise! Wherefore do
ye wear the guise of the shepherd, when inwardly ye have become
wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which
riseth ere the dawn, and which, though it seem radiant and
luminous, leadeth the wayfarers of My city astray into the paths
of perdition."
And likewise He saith: "O ye seeming fair yet inwardly foul! Ye
are like clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is
crystal pure but of which, when tested by the Divine Assayer,
not a drop is accepted. Yea, the sunbeam falls alike upon the
dust and the mirror, yet differ they in reflection even as doth
the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the difference!"
And also He saith: "O essence of desire! At many a dawn have I
turned from the realms of the Placeless unto thine abode, and
found thee on the bed of ease busied with others than Myself.
Thereupon, even as the flash of the spirit, I returned to the
realms of celestial glory, and breathed it not in My retreats
above unto the hosts of holiness."
And again He saith: "O bond slave of the world! Many a dawn hath
the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and found thee
upon the bed of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy
plight it returned whence it came."
Those divines, however, 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 such
blessed souls. We beseech God to graciously aid them to do His
will and pleasure. He, in truth, is the Lord of all men, the
Lord of this world and of the next.
O Shaykh! We have learned that thou hast turned away from Us,
and protested against Us, in such wise that thou hast bidden the
people to curse Me, and decreed that the blood of the servants
of God be shed. God requite him who said: "Willingly will I obey
the judge who hath so strangely decreed that my blood be spilt
at Hill and at Haram!" Verily I say: Whatever befalleth in the
path of God is the beloved of the soul and the desire of the
heart. Deadly poison in His path is pure honey, and every
tribulation a draught of crystal water. In the Tablet to His
Majesty the Shah it is written: "By Him Who is the Truth! I fear
no tribulation in His path, nor any affliction in My love for
Him. Verily God hath made adversity as a morning dew upon His
green pasture, and a wick for His lamp which lighteth earth and
heaven."
Set thine heart towards Him Who is the Kaaba of God, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and raise thou thine hands with such
firm conviction as shall cause the hands of all created things
to be lifted up towards the heaven of the grace of God, the Lord
of all worlds. Turn, then, thy face towards Him in such wise
that the faces of all beings will turn in the direction of His
shining and luminous Horizon, and say: "Thou seest me, O my
Lord, with my face turned towards the heaven of Thy bounty and
the ocean of Thy favor, withdrawn from all else beside Thee. I
ask of Thee, by the splendors of the Sun of
Thy revelation on Sinai, and the effulgences of the Orb of Thy
grace which shineth from the horizon of Thy Name, the
Ever-Forgiving, to grant me Thy pardon and to have mercy upon
me. Write down, then, for me with Thy pen of glory that which
will exalt me through Thy Name in the world of creation. Aid me,
O my Lord, to set myself towards Thee, and to hearken unto the
voice of Thy loved ones, whom the powers of the earth have
failed to weaken, and the dominion of the nations has been
powerless to withhold from Thee, and who, advancing towards
Thee, have said: 'God is our Lord, the Lord of all who are in
heaven and all who are on earth!'"
O Shaykh! Verily I say, the seal of the Choice Wine hath, in the
name of Him Who is the Self-Subsisting, been broken; withhold
not thyself therefrom.
This Wronged One speaketh wholly for the sake of God; thou too
shouldst, likewise, for the sake of God, meditate upon those
things that have been sent down and manifested, that haply thou
mayest, on this blessed Day, take thy portion of the liberal
effusions of Him Who is truly the All-Bountiful, and mayest not
remain deprived thereof. This indeed would not be hard for God.
Dust-made Adam was raised up, through the Word of God, to the
heavenly throne, and a mere fisherman was made the repository of
Divine wisdom, and Abu-Dhar, the shepherd, became a prince of
the nations!
This Day, O Shaykh, hath never been, nor is it now, the Day
whereon man-made arts and sciences can be regarded as a true
standard for men, since it hath been recognized that He Who was
wholly unversed in any of them hath ascended the throne of
purest gold, and occupied the seat of honor in the council of
knowledge, whilst the acknowledged exponent and repository of
these arts and sciences remained utterly deprived. By "arts and
sciences" is meant those which begin with words and end with
words. Such arts and sciences, however, as are productive of
good results, and bring forth their fruit, and are conducive to
the well-being and tranquility of men have been, and will
remain, acceptable before God. Wert thou to give ear to My
voice, thou wouldst cast away all thy possessions, and wouldst
set thy face towards the Spot wherein the ocean of wisdom and of
utterance hath surged, and the sweet savors of the
loving-kindness of thy Lord, the Compassionate, have wafted.
We deem it advisable, in this connection, to recount briefly
some past events, that perchance they may be the means of
vindicating the cause of equity and justice. At the time when
His Majesty the Shah, may God, his Lord, the Most Merciful, aid
him through His strengthening grace, was planning a journey to
Isfahan, this Wronged One, having obtained his permission,
visited the holy and luminous resting-places of the Imams, may
the blessings of God be upon them! Upon Our return, We proceeded
to Lavasan on account of the excessive heat prevailing in the
capital. Following Our departure, there occurred the attempt
upon the life of His Majesty, may God, exalted and glorified be
He, assist him. Those days were troublous days, and the fires of
hatred burned high. Many were arrested, among them this Wronged
One. By the righteousness of God! We were in no wise connected
with that evil deed, and Our innocence was indisputably
established by the tribunals. Nevertheless, they apprehended Us,
and from Niyavaran, which was then the residence of His Majesty,
conducted Us, on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare
feet, to the dungeon of Tihran. A brutal man, accompanying Us on
horseback, snatched off Our hat, whilst We were being hurried
along by a troop of executioners and officials. We were
consigned for four months to a place foul beyond comparison. As
to the dungeon in which this Wronged One and others similarly
wronged were confined, a dark and narrow pit were preferable.
Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black
corridor, from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs
to the place of confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was
wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow prisoners numbered
nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and
highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the
passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor
any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had
neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what
befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!
Day and night, while confined in that dungeon, We meditated upon
the deeds, the condition, and the conduct of the Babis,
wondering what could have led a people so high-minded, so noble,
and of such intelligence, to perpetrate such an audacious and
outrageous act against the person of His Majesty. This Wronged
One, thereupon, decided to arise, after His release from prison,
and undertake, with the utmost vigor, the task of regenerating
this people.
One night, in a dream, these exalted words were heard on every
side: "Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by
Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee,
neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Erelong will God
raise up the treasures of the earth-men who will aid Thee
through Thyself and through Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived
the hearts of such as have recognized Him." |
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Friendly sites
Michel Platini
Frank Rijkaard
Ruud Gullit
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