O thou exalted bough of the divine Lote-Tree! ...When thou art disdained
and rejected by the wicked doers be not cast down; and at the power and
stiffneckedness of the presumptuous be neither vexed nor sick at heart;
for such is the way of heedless souls, from time out of mind. 'O the
misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them but they laugh Him to
scorn!'(59)
Indeed, the attacks and the obstructiveness of the ignorant but cause the
Word of God to be exalted, and spread His signs and tokens far and wide.
Were it not for this opposition by the disdainful, this obduracy of the
slanderers, this shouting from the pulpits, this crying and wailing of
great and small alike, these accusations of unbelief levelled by the
ignorant, this uproar from the foolish--how could news of the advent of the
Primal Point and the bright dawning of the Day-Star of Baha ever have
reached to east and west? How else could the planet have been rocked from
pole to pole? How else could Persia have become the focal point of
scattering splendours, and Asia Minor the radiating heart of the beauty of
the Lord? However else could the flame of the Manifestation have spread
into the south? By what means could the cries of God have been heard in
the far north? How else could His summons have been heard in the
continents of America and of Africa the dark? How else could the cock-crow
of Heaven have penetrated those ears? How else could the sweet parrots of
India have come upon this sugar, or nightingales have lifted up their
warblings out of the land of 'Iraq? What else could set the east and west
to dancing, how else could this Consecrated Spot become the throne of the
Beauty of God? How else could Sinai behold this burning brightness, how
could the Advent's flame adorn that mount? How else could the Holy Land be
made the footstool of God's beauty, and the holy vale of Towa(60) become
the site of excellence and grace, the sacred spot where Moses put off His
shoes? How could the breaths of heaven be carried across the Vale of
Holiness, how could the sweet-scented, airy streams that blow out of the
Abha gardens ever be perceived by those that dwell on the Verdant Isle?
How else could the pledges of the Prophets, the joyous tidings of the holy
Seers of old, the stirring promises given unto this Sacred Place by the
Manifestations of God, ever have been fulfilled?
How else could the Tree of Anisa have been planted here, the flag of the
Testament be flown, the intoxicating cup of the Covenant be lifted to
these lips? All these blessings and bestowals, the very means of
proclaiming the Faith, have come about through the scorn of the ignorant,
the opposition of the foolish, the stubbornness of the dull-witted, the
violence of the aggressor. Had it not been for these things, the news of
the Bab's advent would not, to this day, have reached even into lands hard
by. Wherefore we should never grieve over the blindness of the unwitting,
the attacks of the foolish, the hostility of the low and base, the
heedlessness of the divines, the charges of infidelity brought against us
by the empty of mind. Such too was their way in ages past, nor would it be
thus if they were of those who know; but they are benighted, and they come
not close to understanding what is told them.(61)
Wherefore doth it befit thyself, an offshoot of the Holy Tree of God,
branched out from that mighty Trunk--and it behoveth ourselves as well--so
to burn, through the sustaining grace of the Ancient Beauty--may my life be
offered up for His Most Holy Shrine--with this kindled flame out of heaven,
that we will light the fire of God's love from pole to pole. Let us take
for our example the great and sacred Tree of the exalted Bab--may my life
be offered up for Him. Like Him let us bare our breasts to the shafts of
agony, like Him make our hearts to be targets for the spears decreed by
God. Let us, like candles, burn away; as moths, let us scorch our wings;
as the field larks, vent our plaintive cries; as the nightingales, burst
forth in lamentations.
Even as the clouds let us shed down tears, and as the lightning flashes
let us laugh at our coursings through east and west. By day, by night, let
us think but of spreading the sweet savours of God. Let us not keep on
forever with our fancies and illusions, with our analysing and
interpreting and circulating of complex dubieties. Let us put aside all
thoughts of self; let us close our eyes to all on earth, let us neither
make known our sufferings nor complain of our wrongs. Rather let us become
oblivious of our own selves, and drinking down the wine of heavenly grace,
let us cry out our joy, and lose ourselves in the beauty of the
All-Glorious.
O thou Afnan of the divine Lote-Tree! We must strive, each one of us, to
become as fecund boughs and to yield an ever sweeter and more wholesome
fruit, that the branch may prove itself to be a continuation of the root,
and the part be in harmony with the whole. It is my hope that out of the
bounty of the Greatest Name and the loving-kindness of the Primal
Point--may my soul be offered up for Them both--we shall become the means of
exalting the Word of God around the world; that we may ever render
services unto the Source of our Cause and spread over all the canopy of
the true and holy zeal of the Lord. That from over the fields of grace, we
may make zephyrs to blow, bringing to man the sweet scents that come from
the gardens of God. That we may make of this world the Abha Paradise, and
change this nether place into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is true that every one of God's servants, and in particular those who
are on fire with the Faith, have been allotted this task of servitude to
Almighty God; still, the duty imposed upon us is greater than that which
hath been laid upon the rest. To Him do we look for grace and favour and
strength.
All praise and thanksgiving be unto the Blessed Beauty, for calling into
action the armies of His Abha Kingdom, and sending forth to us His
never-interrupted aid, dependable as the rising stars. In every region of
the earth hath He supported this single, lonely servant, at every moment
hath He made known to me the signs and tokens of His love. He hath cast
into a stupor all those who are clinging to their vain illusions, and made
them infamous in the sight of high and low. He hath caused those who run
after their fads and fancies to become objects of general reproach, and
hath exposed the arrogant to public view; He hath made those of the
friends who proved infirm of faith to serve as a warning to every
beholder, and hath caused the leaders of those who waver to love but
themselves and sink down in self-conceit. Meanwhile, by the power of His
might, He hath made this broken-winged bird to rise up before all who
dwell on earth. He hath shattered the serried ranks of the rebellious, and
hath given the victory to the hosts of salvation, and breathed into the
hearts of those who stand firm in the Covenant and Testament the breath of
everlasting life.
Convey thou the greetings of Abha to each one of the Afnan, branched from
the Holy Tree. The glory rest upon thee and upon all the Afnan who remain
faithful and true to the Covenant.