mention) is sanctified from the world and what is therein, and that the
meaning of "victory" is not this, that anyone should fight or strive with
anyone. The Lord of He doeth what He will(29) hath committed the kingdom
of creation, both land and sea, into the hand of kings, and they are the
manifestations of the Divine Power according to the degrees of their rank:
verily He is the Potent, the Sovereign. But that which God (glorious is
His mention) hath desired for Himself is the hearts of His servants, which
are treasures of praise and love of the Lord and stores of divine
knowledge and wisdom. The will of the Eternal King hath ever been to
purify the hearts of [His] servants from the promptings of the world and
what is therein, so that they may be prepared for illumination by the
effulgences of the Lord of the Names and Attributes. Therefore must no
stranger find his way into the city of the heart, so that the Incomparable
Friend may come unto His own place--that is, the effulgence of His Names
and Attributes, not His Essence (exalted is He), for that Peerless King
hath been and will be holy for everlasting above ascent or descent.
Therefore today "victory" neither hath been nor will be opposition to
anyone, nor strife with any person; but rather what is well-pleasing is
that the cities of [men's] hearts, which are under the dominion of the
hosts of selfishness and lust, should be subdued by the sword of the Word,
of Wisdom, and of Exhortation. Everyone, then, who desireth "victory" must
first subdue the city of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth
and of the Word, and must protect it from remembering aught beside God:
afterwards let him turn his regards towards the cities of [others']
hearts. This is what is intended by "victory": sedition hath never been
nor is pleasing to God, and that which certain ignorant persons formerly
wrought was never approved. If ye be slain for His good pleasure verily it
is better for you than that ye should slay. Today the friends of God must
appear in such fashion amidst [God's] servants that by their actions they
may lead all unto the pleasure of the Lord of Glory. I swear by the Sun of
the Horizon of Holiness that the friends of God never have regarded nor
will regard the earth or its transitory riches. God hath ever regarded the
hearts of [His] servants, and this too is by reason of [His] most great
favor, that perchance mortal souls may be cleansed and sanctified from
earthly states and may attain unto everlasting places. But that Real King
is in Himself sufficient unto Himself [and independent] of all: neither
doth any advantage accrue to Him from the love of contingent beings, nor
doth any hurt befall Him from their hatred. All earthly places appear
through Him and unto Him return, and God singly and alone abideth in His
own place which is holy above space and time, mention and utterance, sign,
description, and definition, height and depth. And none knoweth this save
Him and whosoever hath knowledge of the Book. There is no God but Him, the
Mighty, the Bountiful.' Finis.
"But good deeds depend on this, that the Royal Person should himself look
into that [matter] with just and gracious regard, and not be satisfied
with the representations of certain persons unsupported by proof or
evidence. We ask God to strengthen the King unto that which He willeth:
and what He willeth should be the wish of the worlds.
"Afterwards they summoned this Servant to Constantinople. We reached that
city along with a number of poor unfortunates, and after Our arrival did
not hold intercourse with a single soul, for We had naught to say [unto
them], and there was no wish save that it should be clearly demonstrated
by proof to all that this Servant had no thought of sedition and had never
associated with the seditious. And, by Him in praise of Whose spirit the
tongues of all things speak, to turn in any direction was difficult in
consideration of certain circumstances; but these things were done for the
protection of lives. Verily My Lord knoweth what is in My soul, and verily
He is witness unto what I say. The just king is the shadow of God in the
earth; all should take refuge under the shadow of his justice and rest in
the shade of his favor. This is not the place for personalities, or
censures [directed] specially against some apart from others; for the
shadow tells of him who casteth the shadow. God (glorious is His mention)
hath called Himself the Lord of the worlds for that He hath nurtured and
doth nurture all; exalted is His favor which hath preceded contingent
beings and His mercy which hath preceded the worlds.
"This is sufficiently clear, that, [whether] right or wrong according to
the imagination of the people, this community have accepted as true and
adopted the religion for which they are notorious, and that on this
account they have foregone what they had, seeking after what is with God.
And this same renunciation of life in the way of love for the Merciful
[God] is a faithful witness and an eloquent attest unto that whereunto
they lay claim. Hath it [ever] been beheld that a reasonable man renounced
his life without proof or evidence [of the truth of that for which he
died]? And if it be said, 'This people are mad,' this [too] is very
improbable, for it is not [a thing] confined to one or two persons, but
rather have a great multitude of every class, inebriated with the
Kaw_th_ar of divine wisdom, hastened with heart and soul to the place of
martyrdom in the way of the Friend. If these persons, who for God have
foregone all save Him, and who have poured forth life and wealth in His
way, can be belied, then by what proof and evidence shall the truth of
that which others assert concerning that wherein they are be established
in the presence of the King?
"The late Haji Siyyid Muhammad (may God exalt his station and overwhelm
him in the depth of the ocean of His mercy and forgiveness), although he
was of the most learned of the doctors of the age and the most pious and
austere of his contemporaries, and although the splendor of his worth was
of such a degree that the tongues of all creatures spoke in praise and
eulogy of him and confidently asserted his asceticism and godliness, did
nevertheless in the war against the Russians forego much good and turn
back after a little contest, although he himself had decreed a holy war,
and had set out from his native country with conspicuous ensign in support
of the Faith. O would that the covering might be withdrawn, and that what
is hidden from [men's] eyes might appear!
"But as to this sect, it is twenty years and more that they have been
tormented by day and by night with the fierceness of the Royal anger, and
that they have been cast each one into a [different] land by the blasts of
the tempests of the King's wrath. How many children have been left
fatherless! How many fathers have become childless! How many mothers have
not dared, through fear and dread, to mourn over their slaughtered
children! Many [were] the servants [of God] who at eve were in the utmost
wealth and opulence, and at dawn were beheld in the extreme of poverty and
abasement! There is no land but hath been dyed with their blood and no air
whereunto their groanings have not arisen. And during these few years the
arrows of affliction have rained down without intermission from the clouds
of fate. Yet, notwithstanding all these visitations and afflictions, the
fire of divine love is in such fashion kindled in their hearts that, were
they all to be hewn in pieces, they would not forswear the love of the
Beloved of all the dwellers upon earth; nay rather with their whole souls
do they yearn and hope for what may befall [them] in the way of God.
"O King! The gales of the mercy of the Merciful One have converted these
servants and drawn them to the region of the [Divine] Unity--'The witness
of the faithful lover is in his sleeve'--but some of the doctors of Persia
have troubled the most luminous heart of the King of the Age with regard
to those who are admitted into the Sanctuary of the Merciful One and those
who make for the Kaaba of Wisdom. O would that the world-ordering judgment
of the King might decide that this Servant should meet those doctors, and,
in the presence of His Majesty the King, adduce arguments and proofs! This
Servant is ready, and hopeth of God that such a conference may be brought
about, so that the truth of the matter may become evident and apparent
before His Majesty the King. And afterwards the decision is in thy hand,
and I am ready to confront the throne of thy sovereignty; then give
judgment for Me or against Me. The Merciful Lord saith in the Furqan,
which is the enduring proof amidst the host of existences, 'Desire death,
then, if ye be sincere.'(30) He hath declared the desiring of death to be
the proof of sincerity; and it will be apparent in the mirror of the
[King's] luminous mind which party it is that hath this day foregone life
in the way of Him [Who is] adored by the dwellers upon earth. Had the
doctrinal books of this people, [composed] in proof of that wherein they
are, been written with the blood which has been shed in His way (exalted
is He), books innumerable would assuredly have been apparent and visible
amongst mankind.
"How, then, can one repudiate this people, whose words and deeds are
consistent, and accept those persons who neither have foregone nor will
forego one atom of the consideration [which they enjoy] in the way of
[God] the Sovereign?
"Some of the doctors of Persia who have denounced this Servant have never
either met or seen Him, nor [even] become cognizant of [His] intent:
nevertheless they said what they desired and do what they will. Every
statement requires proof, and is not [established] merely by assertion or
by outward gear of asceticism.
"A translation of some passages from the contents of the Hidden Book of
Fatimih (upon her be the blessings of God) which are apposite to this
place will [now] be submitted in the Persian language, in order that some
things [now] concealed may be revealed before the [Royal] Presence. Those
addressed in these utterances in the above-mentioned book (which is today
known as 'Hidden Words') are those people who are outwardly notable for
science and piety, but who are inwardly subservient to their passions and
lust. He says:
"'O faithless ones! Why do ye outwardly claim to be shepherds, while
inwardly ye have become the wolves of My sheep? Your likeness is like unto
the star before the morning, which is apparently bright and luminous, but
really causeth the misguidance and destruction of the caravans of My city
and country.'
"So likewise He saith:
"'O outwardly fair and inwardly faulty! Thy likeness is like unto clear
bitter water, wherein outwardly the utmost sweetness and purity is beheld,
but when it falleth into the assaying hands of the taste of the [Divine]
Unity He doth not accept a single drop thereof. The radiance of the sun is
on the earth and on the mirror alike; but regard the difference as from
the guard-stars to the earth; nay, between them is a limitless distance.'
"'So likewise He saith:
"'O child of the world! Many a morning hath the effulgence of My grace
come unto thy place from the day-spring of the placeless, found thee on
the couch of ease busied with other things, and returned like the
lightning of the spirit to the bright abode of glory. And I, desiring not
thy shame, declared it not in the retreats of nearness to the hosts of
holiness.'
"'So likewise He saith:
"'O pretender to My friendship! In the morning the breeze of My grace
passed by thee, and found thee sleeping on the bed of heedlessness, and
wept over thy condition, and turned back.' Finis.
"In the presence of the King's justice, therefore, the statement of an
adversary ought not to be accepted as sufficient. And in the Furqan, which
distinguisheth between truth and falsehood, He says, 'O ye who believe, if
there come unto you a sinner with a message, then discriminate, lest you
fall upon a people in ignorance and on the morrow repent of what ye have
done.'(31) And it hath come down in holy tradition, 'Credit not the
calumniator.' The matter hath been misapprehended by certain doctors,
neither have they seen this Servant. But those persons who have met [Him]
testify that this Servant hath not spoken contrary to that which God hath
ordained in the Book, and recite this blessed verse: He saith (exalted is
He) 'Do ye disavow Us for aught save that We believe in God, and what hath
been sent down unto Us, and what was sent down before?'(32)
"O King of the age! The eyes of these wanderers turn and gaze in the
direction of the mercy of the Merciful One, and assuredly to these
afflictions shall the greatest mercy succeed, and after these most
grievous hardships shall follow great ease. But [Our] hope is this, that
His Majesty the King will himself turn his attention to [these] matters,
which thing will be the cause of hope in [Our] hearts. And this is unmixed
good which hath been submitted, and God sufficeth for a witness.
"Glory be to Thee, O God! O God, I bear witness that the heart of the King
is between the fingers of Thy power: if Thou pleasest, turn it, O God, in
the direction of mercy and kindliness: verily Thou art the Exalted, the
Potent, the Beneficent: there is no God but Thee, the Mighty from whom
help is sought.
"Concerning the qualifications of the doctors, He saith: 'But amongst the
lawyers he who guardeth himself, observeth his religion, opposeth his
lust, and obeyeth the command of his Lord--it is incumbent on the people
to follow him...' unto the end. And if the King of the age will regard
this utterance, which proceeded from the tongue of the recipient of divine
inspiration, he will observe that those characterized by the qualities
transmitted in the aforementioned tradition are rarer than the
philosopher's stone. Therefore the claim of every person pretending to
science neither hath been nor is heard.
"So likewise in describing the lawyers of the latter time He says: 'The
lawyers of that time are the most evil of lawyers under the shadow of
heaven: from them cometh forth mischief, and unto them it returneth.'
"And if any person deny these traditions, the establishing thereof is
[incumbent] on this Servant; but since [Our] object is brevity therefore
the detail of the authorities hath not been submitted.
"Those doctors who have indeed drunk of the cup of renunciation never
interfered with this Servant, even as the late _Sh_ay_kh_ Murtada (may God
exalt his station and cause him to dwell under the shadow of the domes of
His grace) used to show [Us] affection during the days of [Our] sojourn in
'Iraq, and used not to speak concerning this matter otherwise than God
hath permitted. We ask God to help all [men] unto that which He loveth and
approveth.
"Now all people have shut their eyes to all [these] matters, and are bent
on the persecution of this sect; so that should it be demanded of certain
persons, who (after God's grace) rest in the shadow of the King's clemency
and enjoy unbounded blessings, 'In return for the King's favor what
service have ye wrought? Have ye by wise policy added any country to [his]
countries? Or have ye applied yourselves to aught which would cause the
comfort of the people, the prosperity of the kingdom, and the continuance
of fair fame for the state?', they have no reply save this, that, falsely
or truly, they designate a number of persons in the presence of the King
by the name of Babis, and forthwith engage in slaughter and plunder; even
as in Tabriz and elsewhere they sold certain ones, and received much
wealth; and this was never represented before the presence of the King.
All these things have occurred because of this, that they have found these
poor people without a helper. They have foregone matters of moment, and
have fallen upon these poor unfortunates.
"Many sects and diverse tribes rest tranquil in the shadow of the King,
and of these sects one is this people. Were it not best that the lofty
endeavor and magnanimity of those who surround the King should be so
witnessed: that they should be scheming for all factions to come under the
King's shadow, and that they should govern amidst all with justice? To put
in force the ordinances of God is unmixed justice, and with this all are
satisfied; nay, the ordinances of God [ever] have been and will be the
instrument and means for the protection of [His] creatures, as He saith
(exalted is He) 'And in retaliation ye have life, O people of
understanding.'(33) [But] it is far from the justice of His Majesty the
King that, for the fault of one person, a number of persons should become
the objects of the scourges of wrath. God (glorious is His mention) saith:
'None shall bear the burden of another.'(34) And this is sufficiently
evident, that in every community there have been and will be learned and
ignorant, wise and foolish, sinful and pious. And to commit abominable
actions is far from the wise man. For the wise man either seeketh the
world or abandoneth it. If he abandoneth it, assuredly he will not regard
aught save God, and, apart from this, the fear of God will withhold him
from committing forbidden and culpable actions. And if he seeketh the
world, he will assuredly not commit deeds which will cause and induce the
aversion of [God's] servants and produce horror in those who are in all
lands; but rather will he practice such deeds as will cause the adhesion
of mankind. So it hath been demonstrated that detestable actions have been
and will be [wrought only] by ignorant persons. We ask God to keep His
servants from regarding aught but Him, and to bring them near to Him:
verily He is potent over all things.
"Glory be to Thee, O God! O My God, Thou hearest My groaning, and seest My
state and My distress and My affliction, and knowest what is in My soul.
If My cry be sincerely for Thy sake, then draw thereby the hearts of Thy
creatures unto the horizon of the heaven of Thy recognition, and turn the
King unto the right hand of the throne of Thy Name the Merciful; then
bestow on him, O My God, the blessing which hath descended from the heaven
of Thy favor and the clouds of Thy mercy, that he may sever himself from
that which he hath and turn toward the region of Thy bounties. O Lord,
help him to support the oppressed amongst [Thy] servants, and to raise up
Thy Word amidst Thy people; then aid him with the hosts of the unseen and
the seen, that he may subdue cities in Thy Name and rule over all who are
upon the earth by Thy power and authority, O Thou in Whose hand is the
Kingdom of creation: and verily Thou art He who ruleth at the beginning
and in the end: there is no God save Thee, the Potent, the Mighty, the
Wise.
"They have misrepresented matters before the presence of the King in such
a way that if any ill deed proceed from any one of this sect they account
it as [a part] of the religion of these servants. But, by God, beside Whom
there is none other God, this Servant hath not sanctioned the committing
of sins, much less that whereof the prohibition hath been explicitly
revealed in the Book of God! God hath prohibited unto men the drinking of
wine, and the unlawfulness thereof hath been revealed and recorded in the
Book of God,(35) and the doctors of the age (may God multiply the like of
them) have unanimously prohibited unto men this abominable action; yet
withal do some commit it. Now the punishment of this action falls on these
heedless persons, while those manifestations of the glory of sanctity
[continue] holy and undefiled: unto their sanctity all Being, whether of
the unseen or the seen, testifieth.
"Yea, these servants [of God] regard God as 'doing what He pleaseth and
ordering what He willeth.'(36) There is no retreat nor way of flight for
anyone save unto God, and no refuge nor asylum but in Him. And at no time
hath the caviling of men, whether learned or unlearned, been a thing to
rely on, nor will it be so. The [very] prophets, who are the pearls of the
Ocean of Unity and the recipients of Divine Revelation, have [ever] been
the objects of men's aversion and caviling; much more these servants. Even
as He saith: 'Every nation schemed against their apostle to catch him. And
they contended with falsehood therewith to refute the truth.'(37) So
likewise He saith, 'There came not unto them any apostle but they mocked
at him.'(38) Consider the appearance of the Seal of the Prophets, the King
of the Elect (the soul of the worlds be His sacrifice); after the dawning
of the Sun of Truth from the horizon of the Hijaz what wrongs befell that
Manifestation of the Might of the Lord of Glory at the hands of the people
of error! So heedless were men that they were wont to consider the
vexation of that Holy One as one of the greatest of good works and as the
means of approaching God Most High. For in the first years the doctors of
that age, whether Jews or Christians, turned aside from that Sun of the
Highest Horizon; and, at the turning aside of those persons, all, whether
humble or noble, girt up their loins to quench the radiance of that Light
of the Horizon of Ideals. The names of all are recorded in books: amongst
them were Wahb ibn Rahib, Ka'b ibn A_sh_raf, 'Abdu'llah [ibn] Ubayy, and
the like of these persons; till at length the matter reached such a point
that they convened a meeting to take counsel as to the shedding of the
most pure blood of that Holy One, as God (glorious is His mention) hath
declared: 'And when those who misbelieved plotted against thee to confine
thee, or slay thee, or drive thee out; and they plotted, and God plotted;
and God is the best of plotters.'(39) So likewise He saith: 'And if their
aversion be grievous unto thee, then, if thou art able to seek out a hole
down into the earth, or a ladder up into the sky, that thou mayest show
them a sign--[do so]: but if God pleased He would assuredly bring them all
to the true guidance: be not therefore one of the ignorant.'(40) By God,
the hearts of those near [unto God] are scorched at the purport of these
two blessed verses; but the like of these matters certainly transmitted
[to Us] are blotted out of sight, and [men] have not reflected, neither do
reflect, what was the reason of the turning aside of [God's] servants at
the appearance of the daysprings of divine lights.
"So, too, before the Seal of the Prophets, consider Jesus the Son of Mary.
After the appearance of that Manifestation of the Merciful One all the
doctors charged that Quintessence of Faith with misbelief and
rebelliousness; until at length, with the consent of Annas, who was the
chief of the doctors of that age, and likewise Caiaphas,(41) who was the
most learned of the judges, they wrought upon that Holy One that which the
pen is ashamed and unable to repeat. The earth with its amplitude was too
strait for Him, until God took Him up into the heaven. But were a detailed
account of the prophets to be submitted it is feared that weariness might
result.
"O would that thou mightest permit, O King, that We should send unto Thy
Majesty that whereby eyes would be refreshed, souls tranquilized, and
every just person assured that with Him [i.e., Baha'u'llah] is knowledge
of the Book. Were it not for the turning aside of the ignorant and the
willful blindness of the doctors, verily I would utter a discourse whereat
hearts would be glad and would fly unto the air from the murmur of whose
winds is heard, 'There is no God but He.' But now, because the time
admitteth it not, the tongue is withheld from utterance, and the vessel of
declaration is sealed until God shall unclose it by His power: verily He
is the Potent, the Powerful.
"Glory be to Thee, O God! O My God, I ask of Thee in Thy Name, whereby
Thou hast subdued whomsoever is in the heavens and the earth, that Thou
wilt keep the lamp of Thy religion with the glass of Thy power and Thy
favors, so that the winds of denial pass not by it from the region of
those who are heedless of the mysteries of Thy Sovereign Name: then
increase its light by the oil of Thy wisdom: verily Thou art Potent over
whomsoever is in Thy earth and Thy heaven.