"Let thine ear be attentive, O King, to the words We have addressed thee.
Let the oppressor desist from his tyranny, and cut off the perpetrators of
injustice from among them that profess thy faith. By the righteousness of
God! The tribulations We have sustained are such that any pen that
recounteth them cannot but be overwhelmed with anguish. No one of them
that truly believe and uphold the unity of God can bear the burden of
their recital. So great have been Our sufferings that even the eyes of our
enemies have wept over Us, and beyond those of every discerning person.
And to all these trials have We been subjected, in spite of Our action in
approaching thee, and in bidding the people to enter beneath thy shadow,
that thou mightest be a stronghold unto them that believe in and uphold
the unity of God.
"Have I, O King, ever disobeyed thee? Have I, at any time, transgressed
any of thy laws? Can any of thy ministers that represent thee in 'Iraq
produce any proof that can establish My disloyalty to thee? No, by Him Who
is the Lord of all worlds! Not for one short moment did We rebel against
thee, or against any of thy ministers. Never, God willing, shall We revolt
against thee, though We be exposed to trials more severe than any We
suffered in the past. In the daytime and in the night season, at even and
at morn, We pray to God on thy behalf, that He may graciously aid thee to
be obedient unto Him and to observe His commandments, that He may shield
thee from the hosts of the evil ones. Do, therefore, as it pleaseth thee,
and treat Us as befitteth thy station and beseemeth thy sovereignty. Be
not forgetful of the law of God in whatever thou desirest to achieve, now
or in the days to come. Say: Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!"
Moreover, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, is this vehement apostrophe to
Constantinople: "O Spot that art situate on the shores of the two seas!
The throne of tyranny hath, verily, been stablished upon thee, and the
flame of hatred hath been kindled within thy bosom, in such wise that the
Concourse on high and they who circle around the Exalted Throne have
wailed and lamented. We behold in thee the foolish ruling over the wise,
and darkness vaunting itself against the light. Thou art indeed filled
with manifest pride. Hath thine outward splendor made thee vainglorious?
By Him Who is the Lord of mankind! It shall soon perish, and thy daughters
and thy widows and all the kindreds that dwell within thee shall lament.
Thus informeth thee the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."
As to Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah, the Lawh-i-Sultan, despatched to him from Akka
and constituting Baha'u'llah's lengthiest Epistle to any single sovereign,
proclaims: "O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch,
when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught
Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but
from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice
between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused
the tears of every man of understanding to flow. The learning current
amongst men I studied not; their schools I entered not. Ask of the city
wherein I dwelt, that thou mayest be well assured that I am not of them
who speak falsely. This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of thy
Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred. Can it be still when
the tempestuous winds are blowing? Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all
Names and Attributes! They move it as they list. The evanescent is as
nothing before Him Who is the Ever-Abiding. His all-compelling summons
hath reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people. I
was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered. The hand of the will
of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, transformed Me. Can anyone
speak forth of his own accord that for which all men, both high and low,
will protest against him? Nay, by Him Who taught the Pen the eternal
mysteries, save him whom the grace of the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath
strengthened. The Pen of the Most High addresseth Me saying: Fear not.
Relate unto His Majesty the _Sh_ah that which befell thee. His heart,
verily, is between the fingers of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, that haply
the sun of justice and bounty may shine forth above the horizon of his
heart. Thus hath the decree been irrevocably fixed by Him Who is the
All-Wise.
"Look upon this Youth, O King, with the eyes of justice; judge thou, then,
with truth concerning what hath befallen Him. Of a verity, God hath made
thee His shadow amongst men, and the sign of His power unto all that dwell
on earth. Judge thou between Us and them that have wronged Us without
proof and without an enlightening Book. They that surround thee love thee
for their own sakes, whereas this Youth loveth thee for thine own sake,
and hath had no desire except to draw thee nigh unto the seat of grace,
and to turn thee toward the right hand of justice. Thy Lord beareth
witness unto that which I declare.
"O King! Wert thou to incline thine ear unto the shrill of the Pen of
Glory and the cooing of the Dove of Eternity which, on the branches of the
Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, uttereth praises to God, the
Maker of all names and Creator of earth and heaven, thou wouldst attain
unto a station from which thou wouldst behold in the world of being naught
save the effulgence of the Adored One, and wouldst regard thy sovereignty
as the most contemptible of thy possessions, abandoning it to whosoever
might desire it, and setting thy face toward the Horizon aglow with the
light of His countenance. Neither wouldst thou ever be willing to bear the
burden of dominion save for the purpose of helping thy Lord, the Exalted,
the Most High. Then would the Concourse on high bless thee. O how
excellent is this most sublime station, couldst thou ascend thereunto
through the power of a sovereignty recognized as derived from the Name of
God!...
"O King of the age! The eyes of these refugees are turned towards and
fixed upon the mercy of the Most Merciful. No doubt is there whatever that
these tribulations will be followed by the outpourings of a supreme mercy,
and these dire adversities be succeeded by an overflowing prosperity. We
fain would hope, however, that His Majesty the _Sh_ah will himself examine
these matters, and bring hope to the hearts. That which We have submitted
to thy Majesty is indeed for thine highest good. And God, verily, is a
sufficient witness unto Me....
"O would that thou wouldst permit Me, O _Sh_ah, to send unto thee that
which would cheer the eyes, and tranquilize the souls, and persuade every
fair-minded person that with Him is the knowledge of the Book.... But for
the repudiation of the foolish and the connivance of the divines, I would
have uttered a discourse that would have thrilled and carried away the
hearts unto a realm from the murmur of whose winds can be heard: 'No God
is there but He!'...
"I have seen, O _Sh_ah, in the path of God what eye hath not seen nor ear
heard.... How numerous the tribulations which have rained, and will soon
rain, upon Me! I advance with My face set towards Him Who is the Almighty,
the All-Bounteous, whilst behind Me glideth the serpent. Mine eyes have
rained down tears until My bed is drenched. I sorrow not for Myself,
however. By God! Mine head yearneth for the spear out of love for its
Lord. I never passed a tree, but Mine heart addressed it saying: 'O would
that thou wert cut down in My name, and My body crucified upon thee, in
the path of My Lord!'... By God! Though weariness lay Me low, and hunger
consume Me, and the bare rock be My bed, and My fellows the beasts of the
field, I will not complain, but will endure patiently as those endued with
constancy and firmness have endured patiently, through the power of God,
the Eternal King and Creator of the nations, and will render thanks unto
God under all conditions. We pray that, out of His bounty--exalted be He--He
may release, through this imprisonment, the necks of men from chains and
fetters, and cause them to turn, with sincere faces, towards His Face, Who
is the Mighty, the Bounteous. Ready is He to answer whosover calleth upon
Him, and nigh is He unto such as commune with Him."
In the Qayyum-i-Asma the Bab, for His part, thus addresses Muhammad
_Sh_ah: "O King of Islam! Aid thou, with the truth, after having aided the
Book, Him Who is Our Most Great Remembrance, for God hath, in very truth,
destined for thee, and for such as circle round thee, on the Day of
Judgment, a responsible position in His Path. I swear by God, O _Sh_ah! If
thou showest enmity unto Him Who is His Remembrance, God will, on the Day
of Resurrection, condemn thee, before the kings, unto hellfire, and thou
shalt not, in very truth, find on that Day any helper except God, the
Exalted. Purge thou, O _Sh_ah, the Sacred Land [Tihran] from such as have
repudiated the Book, ere the day whereon the Remembrance of God cometh,
terribly and of a sudden, with His potent Cause, by the leave of God, the
Most High. God, verily, hath prescribed to thee to submit unto Him Who is
His Remembrance, and unto His Cause, and to subdue, with the truth and by
His leave, the countries, for in this world thou hast been mercifully
invested with sovereignty, and will, in the next, dwell, nigh unto the
Seat of Holiness, with the inmates of the Paradise of His good pleasure.
Let not thy sovereignty deceive thee, O _Sh_ah, for 'every soul shall
taste of death,' and this, in very truth, hath been written down as a
decree of God."
In His Tablet to Muhammad _Sh_ah the Bab, moreover, has revealed: "I am
the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things. I am
the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the Light of
God Whose radiance can never fade.... All the keys of heaven God hath
chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left....
I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever
hath recognized Me, hath known all that is true and right, and hath
attained all that is good and seemly.... The substance wherewith God hath
created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed. He hath
conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor
the faithful discover....
"By My life! But for the obligation to acknowledge the Cause of Him Who is
the Testimony of God ... I would not have announced this unto thee.... In
that same year [year 60] I despatched a messenger and a book unto thee,
that thou mightest act towards the Cause of Him Who is the Testimony of
God as befitteth the station of thy sovereignty....
"I swear by the truth of God! Were he who hath been willing to treat Me in
such a manner to know who it is whom he hath so treated, he, verily, would
never in his life be happy. Nay--I, verily, acquaint thee with the truth of
the matter--it is as if he hath imprisoned all the Prophets, and all the
men of truth, and all the chosen ones.... Woe betide him from whose hands
floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good....
"I swear by God! I seek no earthly goods from thee, be it as much as a
mustard seed.... I swear by the truth of God! Wert thou to know that which
I know, thou wouldst forego the sovereignty of this world and of the next,
that thou mightest attain My good pleasure, through thine obedience unto
the True One.... Wert thou to refuse, the Lord of the world would raise up
one who will exalt His Cause, and the Command of God will, verily, be
carried into effect."