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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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Holy Kitab I
Iqan:
Section 6 |
Thus with steadfast steps we may
tread the Path of certitude, that perchance the breeze that
bloweth from the meads of the good-pleasure of God may waft upon
us the sweet savours of divine acceptance, and cause us,
vanishing mortals that we are, to attain unto the Kingdom of
everlasting glory. Then wilt thou comprehend the inner meaning
of sovereignty and the like, spoken of in the traditions and
scriptures. Furthermore, it is already evident and known unto
thee that those things to which the Jews and the Christians have
clung, and the cavilings which they heaped upon the Beauty of
Muhammad, the same have in this day been upheld by the people of
the Qur'an, and been witnessed in their denunciations of the
"Point of the Bayan"-may the souls of all that dwell within the
kingdom of divine Revelations be a sacrifice unto Him! Behold
their folly: they utter the self-same words, uttered by the Jews
of old, and know it not! How well and true are His words
concerning them: "Leave them to entertain themselves with their
cavilings!" [Qur'an 6:91.] "As Thou livest, O Muhammad! they are
seized by the frenzy of their vain fancies." [Qur'an 15:72.]
When the Unseen, the Eternal, the divine Essence, caused the
Day-star of Muhammad to rise above the horizon of knowledge,
among the cavils which the Jewish divines raised against Him was
that after Moses no Prophet should be sent of God.
Yea, mention hath been made in the scriptures of a Soul Who must
needs be made manifest and Who will advance the Faith, and
promote the interests of the people, of Moses, so that the Law
of the Mosaic Dispensation may encompass the whole earth. Thus
hath the King of eternal glory referred in His Book to the words
uttered by those wanderers in the vale of remoteness and error:
"'The hand of God,' say the Jews, 'is chained up.'
Chained up be their own hands! And for that which they have
said, they were accursed. Nay, outstretched are both His hands!"
[Qur'an 5:64.] "The hand of God is above their hands." [Qur'an
48:10.]
Although the commentators of the Qur'an have related in divers
manners the circumstances attending the revelation of this
verse, yet thou shouldst endeavour to apprehend the purpose
thereof. He saith: How false is that which the Jews have
imagined!
How can the hand of Him Who is the King in truth, Who caused the
countenance of Moses to be made manifest, and conferred upon Him
the robe of Prophethood-how can the hand of such a One be
chained and fettered? How can He be conceived as powerless to
raise up yet another Messenger after Moses? Behold the absurdity
of their saying; how far it hath strayed from the path of
knowledge and understanding! Observe how in this day also, all
these people have occupied themselves with such foolish
absurdities. For over a thousand years they have been reciting
this verse, and unwittingly pronouncing their censure against
the Jews, utterly unaware that they themselves, openly and
privily, are voicing the sentiments and belief of the Jewish
people! Thou art surely aware of their idle contention, that all
Revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are
closed, that from the day-springs of eternal holiness no sun
shall rise again, that the Ocean of everlasting bounty is
forever stilled, and that out of the Tabernacle of ancient glory
the Messengers of God have ceased to be made manifest. Such is
the measure of the understanding of these small-minded,
contemptible people. These people have imagined that the flow of
God's all-encompassing grace and plenteous mercies, the
cessation of which no mind can contemplate, has been halted.
From every side they have risen and girded up the loins of
tyranny, and exerted the utmost endeavour to quench with the
bitter waters of their vain fancy the flame of God's burning
Bush, oblivious that the globe of power shall within its own
mighty stronghold protect the Lamp of God. The utter destitution
into which this people have fallen doth surely suffice them,
inasmuch as they have been deprived of the recognition of the
essential Purpose and the knowledge of the Mystery and Substance
of the Cause of God. For the highest and most excelling grace
bestowed upon men is the grace of "attaining unto the Presence
of God" and of His recognition, which has been promised unto all
people. This is the utmost degree of grace vouchsafed unto man
by the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days, and the fulness of
His absolute bounty upon His creatures. Of this grace and bounty
none of this people hath partaken, neither have they been
honoured with this most exalted distinction. How numerous are
those revealed verses which explicitly bear witness unto this
most weighty truth and exalted Theme! And yet they have rejected
it, and, after their own desire, misconstrued its meaning. Even
as He hath revealed: "As for those who believe not in the signs
of God, or that they shall ever meet Him, these of My mercy
shall despair, and for them doth a grievous chastisement await."
[Qur'an 29:23.] Also He saith: "They who bear in mind that they
shall attain unto the Presence of their Lord, and that unto Him
all they return." [Qur'an 2:46.] Also in another instance He
saith: "They who held it as certain that they must meet God,
said, 'How oft, by God's will, hath a small host vanquished a
numerous host!'" [Qur'an 2:249.] In yet another instance He
revealeth: "Let him then who hopeth to attain the presence of
his Lord work a righteous work." [Qur'an 18:111.] And also He
saith: "He ordereth all things. He maketh His signs clear, that
ye may have firm faith in attaining the presence of your Lord."
[Qur'an 13:2.]
This people have repudiated all these verses, that unmistakably
testify to the reality of "attainment unto the Divine Presence."
No theme hath been more emphatically asserted in the holy
scriptures. Notwithstanding, they have deprived themselves of
this lofty and most exalted rank, this supreme and glorious
station. Some have contended that by "attainment unto the Divine
Presence" is meant the "Revelation" of God in the Day of
Resurrection.
Should they assert that the "Revelation" of God signifieth a
"Universal Revelation," it is clear and evident that such
revelation already existeth in all things. The truth of this We
have already established, inasmuch as We have demonstrated that
all things are the recipients and revealers of the splendours of
that ideal King, and that the signs of the revelation of that
Sun, the Source of all splendour, exist and are manifest in the
mirrors of beings. Nay, were man to gaze with the eye of divine
and spiritual discernment, he will readily recognize that
nothing whatsoever can exist without the revelation of the
splendour of God, the ideal King. Consider how all created
things eloquently testify to the revelation of that inner Light
within them. Behold how within all things the portals of the
Ridvan of God are opened, that seekers may attain the cities of
understanding and wisdom, and enter the gardens of knowledge and
power. Within every garden they will behold the mystic bride of
inner meaning enshrined within the chambers of utterance in the
utmost grace and fullest adornment. Most of the verses of the
Qur'an indicate, and bear witness to, this spiritual theme.
The verse: "Neither is there aught which doth not celebrate His
praise" [Qur'an 17:44] is eloquent testimony thereto; and "We
noted all things and wrote them down," [Qur'an 78:29] a faithful
witness thereof. Now, if by "attainment unto the Presence of
God" is meant attainment unto the knowledge of such revelation,
it is evident that all men have already attained unto the
presence of the unchangeable Countenance of that peerless King.
Why, then, restrict such revelation to the Day of Resurrection?
And were they to maintain that by "divine Presence" is meant the
"Specific Revelation of God," expressed by certain Sufis as the
"Most Holy Outpouring," if this be in the Essence Itself, it is
evident that it hath been eternally in the divine Knowledge.
Assuming the truth of this hypothesis, "attainment unto the
divine Presence" is in this sense obviously possible to no one,
inasmuch as this revelation is confined to the innermost
Essence, unto which no man can attain. "The way is barred, and
all seeking rejected." The minds of the favourites of heaven,
however high they soar, can never attain this station, how much
less the understanding of obscured and limited minds.
And were they to say that by "divine Presence" is meant the
"Secondary Revelation of God," interpreted as the "Holy
Outpouring," this is admittedly applicable to the world of
creation, that is, in the realm of the primal and original
manifestation of God. Such revelation is confined to His
Prophets and chosen Ones, inasmuch as none mightier than they
hath come to exist in the world of being. This truth all
recognize, and bear witness thereto. These Prophets and chosen
Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the
unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors
that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever
is applicable to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself,
Who is both the Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him,
Who is the Origin of all things, and attainment unto Him, are
impossible save through knowledge of, and attainment unto, these
luminous Beings who proceed from the Sun of Truth.
By attaining, therefore, to the presence of these holy
Luminaries, the "Presence of God" Himself is attained. From
their knowledge, the knowledge of God is revealed, and from the
light of their countenance, the splendour of the Face of God is
made manifest. Through the manifold attributes of these Essences
of Detachment, Who are both the first and the last, the seen and
the hidden, it is made evident that He Who is the Sun of Truth
is "the First and the Last, the Seen, and the Hidden." [Qur'an
57:3.] Likewise the other lofty names and exalted attributes of
God. Therefore, whosoever, and in whatever Dispensation, hath
recognized and attained unto the presence of these glorious,
these resplendent and most excellent Luminaries, hath verily
attained unto the "Presence of God" Himself, and entered the
city of eternal and immortal life. Attainment unto such presence
is possible only in the Day of Resurrection, which is the Day of
the rise of God Himself through His all-embracing Revelation.
This is the meaning of the "Day of Resurrection," spoken of in
all the scriptures, and announced unto all people. Reflect, can
a more precious, a mightier, and more glorious day than this be
conceived, so that man should willingly forego its grace, and
deprive himself of its bounties, which like unto vernal showers
are raining from the heaven of mercy upon all mankind? Having
thus conclusively demonstrated that no day is greater than this
Day, and no revelation more glorious than this Revelation, and
having set forth all these weighty and infallible proofs which
no understanding mind can question, and no man of learning
overlook, how can man possibly, through the idle contention of
the people of doubt and fancy, deprive himself of such a
bountiful grace? Have they not heard the well-known tradition:
"When the Qa'im riseth, that day is the Day of Resurrection?"
In like manner, the Imams, those unquenchable lights of divine
guidance, have interpreted the verse: "What can such expect but
that God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds,"
[Qur'an 2:210.] a sign which they have unquestionably regarded
as one of the features of the Day of Resurrection as referring
to Qa'im and His manifestation.
Strive, therefore, O my brother, to grasp the meaning of
"Resurrection," and cleanse thine ears from the idle sayings of
these rejected people. Shouldst thou step into the realm of
complete detachment, thou wilt readily testify that no day is
mightier than this Day, and that no resurrection more awful than
this Resurrection can ever be conceived.
One righteous work performed in this Day, equalleth all the
virtuous acts which for myriads of centuries men have
practised-nay, We ask forgiveness of God for such a comparison!
For verily the reward which such a deed deserveth is immensely
beyond and above the estimate of men. Inasmuch as these
undiscerning and wretched souls have failed to apprehend the
true meaning of "Resurrection" and of the "attainment unto the
divine Presence," they therefore have remained utterly deprived
of the grace thereof. Although the sole and fundamental purpose
of all learning, and the toil and labour thereof, is attainment
unto, and the recognition of, this station, yet they are all
immersed in the pursuit of their material studies. They deny
themselves every moment of leisure, and utterly ignore Him, Who
is the Essence of all learning, and the one Object of their
quest! Methinks, their lips have never touched the cup of divine
Knowledge, nor do they seem to have attained even a dewdrop of
the showers of heavenly grace.
Consider, how can he that faileth in the day of God's Revelation
to attain unto the grace of the "Divine Presence" and to
recognize His Manifestation, be justly called learned, though he
may have spent aeons in the pursuit of knowledge, and acquired
all the limited and material learning of men? It is surely
evident that he can in no wise be regarded as possessed of true
knowledge. Whereas, the most unlettered of all men, if he be
honoured with this supreme distinction, he verily is accounted
as one of those divinely-learned men whose knowledge is of God;
for such a man hath attained the acme of knowledge, and hath
reached the furthermost summit of learning.
This station is also one of the signs of the Day of Revelation;
even as it is said: "The abased amongst you, He shall exalt; and
they that are exalted, He shall abase." And likewise, He hath
revealed in the Qur'an: "And We desire to show favour to those
who were brought low in the land, and to make them spiritual
leaders among men, and to make of them Our heirs." [Qur'an
28:5.] It hath been witnessed in this day how many of the
divines, owing to their rejection of the Truth, have fallen
into, and abide within, the uttermost depths of ignorance, and
whose names have been effaced from the scroll of the glorious
and learned. And how many of the ignorant who, by reason of
their acceptance of the Faith, have soared aloft and attained
the high summit of knowledge, and whose names have been
inscribed by the Pen of Power upon the Tablet of divine
Knowledge. Thus, "What He pleaseth will God abrogate or confirm:
for with Him is the Source of Revelation." [Qur'an 13:41.]
Therefore, it hath been said: "To seek evidence, when the Proof
hath been established is but an unseemly act, and to be busied
with the pursuit of knowledge when the Object of all learning
hath been attained is truly blameworthy." Say O people of the
earth! Behold this flamelike Youth that speedeth across the
limitless profound of the Spirit, heralding unto you the
tidings: "Lo: the Lamp of God is shining," and summoning you to
heed His Cause which, though hidden beneath the veils of ancient
splendour, shineth in the land of Iraq above the day-spring of
eternal holiness.
O my friend, were the bird of thy mind to explore the heavens of
the Revelation of the Qur'an, were it to contemplate the realm
of divine knowledge unfolded therein, thou wouldst assuredly
find unnumbered doors of knowledge set open before thee. Thou
wouldst certainly recognize that all these things which have in
this day hindered this people from attaining the shores of the
ocean of eternal grace, the same things in the Muhammadan
Dispensation prevented the people of that age from recognizing
that divine Luminary, and from testifying to His truth. Thou
wilt also apprehend the mysteries of "return" and "revelation,"
and wilt securely abide within the loftiest chambers of
certitude and assurance.
And it came to pass that on a certain day a number of the
opponents of that peerless Beauty, those that had strayed far
from God's imperishable Sanctuary, scornfully spoke these words
unto Muhammad:
"Verily, God hath entered into a covenant with us that we are
not to credit an apostle until he present us a sacrifice which
fire out of heaven shall devour." [Qur'an 3:183.] The purport of
this verse is that God hath covenanted with them that they
should not believe in any messenger unless he work the miracle
of Abel and Cain, that is, offer a sacrifice, and the fire from
heaven consume it; even as they had heard it recounted in the
story of Abel, which story is recorded in the scriptures. To
this, Muhammad, answering, said: "Already have Apostles before
me come to you with sure testimonies, and with that of which ye
speak.
Wherefore slew ye them? Tell me, if ye are men of truth."
[Qur'an 3:182.] And now, be fair; How could those people living
in the days of Muhammad have existed, thousands of years before,
in the age of Adam or other Prophets? Why should Muhammad, that
Essence of truthfulness, have charged the people of His day with
the murder of Abel or other Prophets? Thou hast none other
alternative except to regard Muhammad as an impostor or a
fool-which God forbid!--or to maintain that those people of
wickedness were the self-same people who in every age opposed
and caviled at the Prophets and Messengers of God, till they
finally caused them all to suffer martyrdom.
Ponder this in thine heart, that the sweet gales of divine
knowledge, blowing from the meads of mercy, may waft upon thee
the fragrance of the Beloved's utterance, and cause thy soul to
attain the Ridvan of understanding. As the wayward of every age
have failed to fathom the deeper import of these weighty and
pregnant utterances, and imagined the answer of the Prophets of
God to be irrelevant to the questions they asked them, they
therefore have attributed ignorance and folly to those Essences
of knowledge and understanding.
Likewise, Muhammad, in another verse, uttereth His protest
against the people of that age. He saith: "Although they had
before prayed for victory over those who believed not, yet when
there came unto them, He of Whom they had knowledge, they
disbelieved in Him. The curse of God on the infidels!" [Qur'an
2:89.] Reflect how this verse also implieth that the people
living in the days of Muhammad were the same people who in the
days of the Prophets of old contended and fought in order to
promote the Faith, and teach the Cause, of God. And yet, how
could the generations living at the time of Jesus and Moses, and
those who lived in the days of Muhammad, be regarded as being
actually one and the same people? Moreover, those whom they had
formerly known were Moses, the Revealer of the Pentateuch, and
Jesus, the Author of the Gospel. Notwithstanding, why did
Muhammad say: "When He of Whom they had knowledge came unto
them"-that is Jesus or Moses-
"they disbelieved in Him?" Was not Muhammad to outward seeming
called by a different name?
Did He not come forth out of a different city? Did He not speak
a different language, and reveal a different Law? How then can
the truth of this verse be established, and its meaning be made
clear?
Strive therefore to comprehend the meaning of "return" which
hath been so explicitly revealed in the Qur'an itself, and which
none hath as yet understood. What sayest thou? If thou sayest
that Muhammad was the "return" of the Prophets of old, as is
witnessed by this verse, His Companions must likewise be the
"return" of the bygone Companions, even as the "return" of the
former people is clearly attested by the text of the
above-mentioned verses. And if thou deniest this, thou hast
surely repudiated the truth of the Qur'an, the surest testimony
of God unto men. In like manner, endeavour to grasp the
significance of "return," "revelation," and "resurrection," as
witnessed in the days of the Manifestations of the divine
Essence, that thou mayest behold with thine own eyes the
"return" of the holy souls into sanctified and illumined bodies,
and mayest wash away the dust of ignorance, and cleanse the
darkened self with the waters of mercy flowing from the Source
of divine Knowledge; that perchance thou mayest, through the
power of God and the light of divine guidance, distinguish the
Morn of everlasting splendour from the darksome night of error.
Furthermore, it is evident to thee that the Bearers of the trust
of God are made manifest unto the peoples of the earth as the
Exponents of a new Cause and the Bearers of a new Message.
Inasmuch as these Birds of the Celestial Throne are all sent
down from the heaven of the Will of God, and as they all arise
to proclaim His irresistible Faith, they therefore are regarded
as one soul and the same person. For they all drink from the one
Cup of the love of God, and all partake of the fruit of the same
Tree of Oneness. These Manifestations of God have each a twofold
station. One is the station of pure abstraction and essential
unity.
In this respect, if thou callest them all by one name, and dost
ascribe to them the same attribute, thou hast not erred from the
truth. Even as He hath revealed: "No distinction do We make
between any of His Messengers!" [Qur'an 2:285.] For they one and
all summon the people of the earth to acknowledge the Unity of
God, and herald unto them the Kawthar of an infinite grace and
bounty. They are all invested with the robe of Prophethood, and
honoured with the mantle of glory. Thus hath Muhammad, the Point
of the Qur'an, revealed: "I am all the Prophets." Likewise, He
saith: "I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus." Similar
statements have been made by Ali. Sayings such as this, which
indicate the essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness, have
also emanated from the Channels of God's immortal utterance, and
the Treasuries of the gems of divine knowledge, and have been
recorded in the scriptures. These Countenances are the
recipients of the Divine Command, and the day-springs of His
Revelation. This Revelation is exalted above the veils of
plurality and the exigencies of number. Thus He saith:
"Our Cause is but one." [Qur'an 54:50.] Inasmuch as the Cause is
one and the same, the Exponents thereof also must needs be one
and the same. Likewise, the Imams of the Muhammadan Faith, those
lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first, Muhammad
our last, Muhammad our all."
It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the
Temples of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers
attire. If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt
behold them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the
same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same
speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of
those Essences of being, those Luminaries of infinite and
immeasurable splendour. Wherefore, should one of these
Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I am the return of
all the Prophets," He verily speaketh the truth. In like manner,
in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former
Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established.
Inasmuch as the return of the Prophets of God, as attested by
verses and traditions, hath been conclusively demonstrated, the
return of their chosen ones also is therefore definitely proven.
This return is too manifest in itself to require any evidence or
proof. For instance, consider that among the Prophets was Noah.
When He was invested with the robe of Prophethood, and was moved
by the Spirit of God to arise and proclaim His Cause, whoever
believed in Him and acknowledged His Faith, was endowed with the
grace of a new life. Of him it could be truly said that he was
reborn and revived, inasmuch as previous to his belief in God
and his acceptance of His Manifestation, he had set his
affections on the things of the world, such as attachment to
earthly goods, to wife, children, food, drink, and the like, so
much so that in the day-time and in the night season his one
concern had been to amass riches and procure for himself the
means of enjoyment and pleasure.
Aside from these things, before his partaking of the reviving
waters of faith, he had been so wedded to the traditions of his
forefathers, and so passionately devoted to the observance of
their customs and laws, that he would have preferred to suffer
death rather than violate one letter of those superstitious
forms and manners current amongst his people. Even as the people
have cried: "Verily we found our fathers with a faith, and
verily, in their footsteps we follow." [Qur'an 43:22.]
These same people, though wrapt in all these veils of
limitation, and despite the restraint of such observances, as
soon as they drank the immortal draught of faith, from the cup
of certitude, at the hand of the Manifestation of the
All-Glorious, were so transformed that they would renounce for
His sake their kindred, their substance, their lives, their
beliefs, yea, all else save God! So overpowering was their
yearning for God, so uplifting their transports of ecstatic
delight, that the world and all that is therein faded before
their eyes into nothingness. Have not this people exemplified
the mysteries of "rebirth" and "return"? Hath it not been
witnessed that these same people, ere they were endued with the
new and wondrous grace of God, sought through innumerable
devices, to ensure the protection of their lives against
destruction? Would not a thorn fill them with terror, and the
sight of a fox put them to flight? But once having been honoured
with God's supreme distinction, and having been vouchsafed His
bountiful grace, they would, if they were able, have freely
offered up ten thousand lives in His path! Nay, their blessed
souls, contemptuous of the cage of their bodies, would yearn for
deliverance. A single warrior of that host would face and fight
a multitude! And yet, how could they, but for the transformation
wrought in their lives, be capable of manifesting such deeds
which are contrary to the ways of men and incompatible with
their worldly desires?
It is evident that nothing short of this mystic transformation
could cause such spirit and behaviour, so utterly unlike their
previous habits and manners, to be made manifest in the world of
being. For their agitation was turned into peace, their doubt
into certitude, their timidity into courage. Such is the potency
of the Divine Elixir, which, swift as the twinkling of an eye,
transmuteth the souls of men!
For instance, consider the substance of copper. Were it to be
protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would,
within the space of seventy years, attain to the state of gold.
There are some, however, who maintain that copper itself is
gold, which by becoming solidified is in a diseased condition,
and hath not therefore reached its own state.
Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause
the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will
traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this
gold be called copper? Could it be claimed that it hath not
attained the state of gold, whilst the touch-stone is at hand to
assay it and distinguish it from copper?
Likewise, these souls, through the potency of the Divine Elixir,
traverse, in the twinkling of an eye, the world of dust and
advance into the realm of holiness; and with one step cover the
earth of limitations and reach the domain of the Placeless. It
behooveth thee to exert thine utmost to attain unto this Elixir
which, in one fleeting breath, causeth the west of ignorance to
reach the east of knowledge, illuminates the darkness of night
with the resplendence of the morn, guideth the wanderer in the
wilderness of doubt to the well-spring of the Divine Presence
and Fount of certitude, and conferreth upon mortal souls the
honour of acceptance into the Ridvan of immortality. Now, could
this gold be thought to be copper, these people could likewise
be thought to be the same as before they were endowed with
faith.
O brother, behold how the inner mysteries of "rebirth," of
"return," and of "resurrection" have each, through these
all-sufficing, these unanswerable, and conclusive utterances,
been unveiled and unravelled before thine eyes. God grant that
through His gracious and invisible assistance, thou mayest
divest thy body and soul of the old garment, and array thyself
with the new and imperishable attire.
Therefore, those who in every subsequent Dispensation preceded
the rest of mankind in embracing the Faith of God, who quaffed
the clear waters of knowledge at the hand of the divine Beauty,
and attained the loftiest summits of faith and certitude, these
can be regarded, in name, in reality, in deeds, in words, and in
rank, as the "return" of those who in a former Dispensation had
achieved similar distinctions. For whatsoever the people of a
former Dispensation have manifested, the same hath been shown by
the people of this latter generation. Consider the rose: whether
it blossometh in the East or in the West, it is none the less a
rose. For what mattereth in this respect is not the outward
shape and form of the rose, but rather the smell and fragrance
which it doth impart.
Purge thy sight, therefore, from all earthly limitations, that
thou mayest behold them all as the bearers of one Name, the
exponents of one Cause, the manifestations of one Self, and the
revealers of one Truth, and that thou mayest apprehend the
mystic "return" of the Words of God as unfolded by these
utterances. Reflect for a while upon the behaviour of the
companions of the Muhammadan Dispensation. Consider how, through
the reviving breath of Muhammad, they were cleansed from the
defilements of earthly vanities, were delivered from selfish
desires, and were detached from all else but Him. Behold how
they preceded all the peoples of the earth in attaining unto His
holy Presence-the Presence of God Himself-how they renounced the
world and all that is therein, and sacrificed freely and
joyously their lives at the feet of that Manifestation of the
All-Glorious. And now, observe the "return" of the self-same
determination, the self-same constancy and renunciation,
manifested by the companions of the Point of the Bayan. [The
Bab.] Thou hast witnessed how these companions have, through the
wonders of the grace of the Lord of Lords, hoisted the standards
of sublime renunciation upon the inaccessible heights of glory.
These Lights have proceeded from but one Source, and these
fruits are the fruits of one Tree. Thou canst discern neither
difference nor distinction among them. All this is by the grace
of God! On whom He will, He bestoweth His grace. Please God,
that we avoid the land of denial, and advance into the ocean of
acceptance, so that we may perceive, with an eye purged from all
conflicting elements, the worlds of unity and diversity, of
variation and oneness, of limitation and detachment, and wing
our flight unto the highest and innermost sanctuary of the inner
meaning of the Word of God. |
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Michel Platini
Frank Rijkaard
Ruud Gullit
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