"O LEADERS of religion! Weigh not the Book of..."
O LEADERS of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and
sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the unerring
balance established amongst men. In this most perfect balance whatsoever
the peoples and kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed, while the
measure of its weight should be tested according to its own standard, did
ye but know it.
The eye of My loving-kindness weepeth sore over you, inasmuch as ye have
failed to recognize the One upon Whom ye have been calling in the daytime
and in the night season, at even and at morn. Advance, O people, with
snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and crimson Spot,
wherein the Sadratu'l-Muntaha is calling: 'Verily, there is none other God
beside Me, the Omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting!'
O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you that can rival Me in
vision or insight? Where is he to be found that dareth to claim to be My
equal in utterance or wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the
earth shall pass away; and this is the face of your Lord, the Almighty,
the Well-Beloved.
We have decreed, O people, that the highest and last end of all learning
be the recognition of Him Who is the Object of all knowledge; and yet,
behold how ye have allowed your learning to shut you out, as by a veil,
from Him Who is the Dayspring of this Light, through Whom every hidden
thing hath been revealed. Could ye but discover the source whence the
splendour of this utterance is diffused, ye would cast away the peoples of
the world and all that they possess, and would draw nigh unto this most
blessed Seat of glory.
Say: This, verily, is the heaven in which the Mother Book is treasured,
could ye but comprehend it. He it is Who hath caused the Rock to shout,
and the Burning Bush to lift up its voice, upon the Mount rising above the
Holy Land, and proclaim: 'The Kingdom is God's, the sovereign Lord of all,
the All-Powerful, the Loving!'
We have not entered any school, nor read any of your dissertations.
Incline your ears to the words of this unlettered One, wherewith He
summoneth you unto God, the Ever-Abiding. Better is this for you than all
the treasures of the earth, could ye but comprehend it.
"O CONCOURSE of divines! When My verses were sent..."
O CONCOURSE of divines! When My verses were sent down, and My clear tokens
were revealed, We found you behind the veils. This, verily, is a strange
thing.... We have rent the veils asunder. Beware lest ye shut out the
people by yet another veil. Pluck asunder the chains of vain imaginings,
in the name of the Lord of all men, and be not of the deceitful. Should ye
turn unto God, and embrace His Cause, spread not disorder within it, and
measure not the Book of God with your selfish desires. This, verily, is
the counsel of God aforetime and hereafter.... Had ye believed in God,
when He revealed Himself, the people would not have turned aside from Him,
nor would the things ye witness today have befallen Us. Fear God, and be
not of the heedless.... This is the Cause that hath caused all your
superstitions and idols to tremble.... O concourse of divines! Beware lest
ye be the cause of strife in the land, even as ye were the cause of the
repudiation of the Faith in its early days. Gather the people around this
Word that hath made the pebbles to cry out: 'The Kingdom is God's, the
Dawning-Place of all signs!'... Tear the veils asunder in such wise that
the inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent. This is the command
of God, in days gone by, and for those to come. Blessed the man that
observeth that whereunto he was bidden, and woe betide the negligent.
"HOW long will ye, O concourse of divines, level the..."
HOW long will ye, O concourse of divines, level the spears of hatred at
the face of Baha? Rein in your pens. Lo, the Most Sublime Pen speaketh
betwixt earth and heaven. Fear God, and follow not your desires which have
altered the face of creation. Purify your ears that they may hearken unto
the Voice of God. By God! It is even as fire that consumeth the veils, and
as water that washeth the souls of all who are in the universe.
"O CONCOURSE of divines! Can any one of you race with..."
O CONCOURSE of divines! Can any one of you race with the Divine Youth in
the arena of wisdom and utterance, or soar with Him into the heaven of
inner meaning and explanation? Nay, by My Lord, the God of mercy! All have
swooned away in this Day from the Word of thy Lord. They are even as dead
and lifeless, except him whom thy Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained,
hath willed to exempt. Such a one is indeed of those endued with knowledge
in the sight of Him Who is the All-Knowing. The inmates of Paradise, and
the dwellers of the sacred Folds, bless him at eventide and at dawn. Can
the one possessed of wooden legs resist him whose feet God hath made of
steel? Nay, by Him Who illumineth the whole of creation!
"WHEN We observed carefully, We discovered that Our..."
WHEN We observed carefully, We discovered that Our enemies are, for the
most part, the divines... Among the people are those who said: He hath
repudiated the divines. Say: Yea, by My Lord! I, in very truth, was the
One Who abolished the idols! We, verily, have sounded the Trumpet, which
is Our Most Sublime Pen, and lo, the divines and the learned, and the
doctors and the rulers, swooned away except such as God preserved, as a
token of His grace, and He, verily, is the All-Bounteous, the Ancient of
Days...
O concourse of divines! Fling away idle fancies and imaginings, and turn,
then, towards the Horizon of Certitude. I swear by God! All that ye
possess will profit you not, neither all the treasures of the earth, nor
the leadership ye have usurped. Fear God, and be not of the lost ones...
Say: O concourse of divines! Lay aside all your veils and coverings. Give
ear unto that whereunto calleth you the Most Sublime Pen, in this wondrous
Day.... The world is laden with dust, by reason of your vain imaginings,
and the hearts of such as enjoy near access to God are troubled because of
your cruelty. Fear God, and be of them that judge equitably.
"O YE the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye..."
O YE the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye suffer not yourselves
to become changed, for as ye change, most men will, likewise, change.
This, verily, is an injustice unto yourselves and unto others.... Ye are
even as a spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out
from it be changed. Fear God, and be numbered with the godly. In like
manner, if the heart of man be corrupted, his limbs will also be
corrupted. And similarly, if the root of a tree be corrupted, its
branches, and its offshoots, and its leaves, and its fruits, will be
corrupted....
O concourse of divines! Be fair, I adjure you by God, and nullify not the
Truth with the things ye possess. Peruse that which We have sent down with
truth. It will, verily, aid you, and will draw you nigh unto God, the
Mighty, the Great. Consider and call to mind how when Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, appeared, the people denied Him. They ascribed unto Him
what caused the Spirit (Jesus) to lament in His Most Sublime Station, and
the Faithful Spirit to cry out. Consider, moreover, the things which
befell the Apostles and Messengers of God before Him, by reason of what
the hands of the unjust have wrought. We make mention of you for the sake
of God, and remind you of His signs, and announce unto you the things
ordained for such as are nigh unto Him in the most sublime Paradise and
the all-highest Heaven, and I, verily, am the Announcer, the Omniscient.
He hath come for your salvation, and hath borne tribulations that ye may
ascend, by the ladder of utterance, unto the summit of understanding....
Peruse, with fairness and justice, that which hath been sent down. It
will, verily, exalt you through the truth, and will cause you to behold
the things from which ye have been withheld, and will enable you to quaff
His sparkling Wine.
"THOSE divines ... who are truly adorned with the ornament..."
THOSE divines ... 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 these blessed souls.
"THE divine whose conduct is upright, and the sage who..."
THE divine whose conduct is upright, and the sage who is just, are as the
spirit unto the body of the world. Well is it with that divine whose head
is attired with the crown of justice, and whose temple is adorned with the
ornament of equity.
"THE divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy..."
THE divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy Wine, in the name of
the sovereign Ordainer, is as an eye unto the world. Well is it with them
who obey him, and call him to remembrance.
"GREAT is the blessedness of that divine that hath not..."
GREAT is the blessedness of that divine that hath not allowed knowledge to
become a veil between him and the One Who is the Object of all knowledge,
and who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared, hath turned with a beaming
face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the learned. The inmates
of Paradise seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp sheddeth its
radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered
with the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath, verily,
beheld the True One, and he that turneth towards him hath, verily, turned
towards God, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
"O CONCOURSE of divines! Ye shall not henceforth behold..."
O CONCOURSE of divines! Ye shall not henceforth behold yourselves
possessed of any power, inasmuch as We have seized it from you, and
destined it for such as have believed in God, the One, the All-Powerful,
the Almighty, the Unconstrained.