Doth it seem strange to the people that We should have revealed the Book
to a man from among themselves in order to purge them and give them the
good tidings that they shall be rewarded with a sure stance in the
presence of their Lord? He indeed beareth witness unto all things...
When the verses of this Book are recited to the infidels they say: 'Give
us a book like the Qur'an and make changes in the verses.' Say: 'God hath
not given Me that I should change them at My pleasure.' I follow only what
is revealed unto Me. Verily, I shall fear My Lord on the Day of
Separation, whose advent He hath, in very truth, irrevocably ordained.(49)
_Chapter LXXI._
"O Peoples of the earth! Verily the true God calleth ..."
O Peoples of the earth! Verily the true God calleth saying: He Who is the
Remembrance is indeed the sovereign Truth from God, and naught remaineth
beyond truth but error,(50) and naught is there beyond error save fire,
irrevocably ordained...
O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Point to Thy truthful breast through the power of truth
and exclaim: I swear by the One true God, herein lieth the vicegerency of
God; I am indeed the One Who is regarded as the Best Reward(51) and I am
indeed He Who is the Most Excellent Abode. _Chapter LXXII._
"O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of ..."
O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of denial against Me once
the Truth is made manifest, for indeed the mandate of the Bab hath
befittingly been proclaimed unto you in the Qur'an aforetime. I swear by
your Lord, this Book is verily the same Qur'an which was sent down in the
past. _Chapter LXXXI._
"O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the ..."
O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the melodies of this
mystic Bird warbling in the loftiest heights of heaven. The Lord hath, in
truth, inspired Me to proclaim: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom
there is none other God. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.
O My servants! Seek ye earnestly this highest reward, as I have indeed
created for the Remembrance of God gardens which remain inscrutable to
anyone save Myself, and naught therein hath been made lawful unto anyone
except those whose lives have been sacrificed in His Path. Hence beseech
ye God, the Most Exalted, that He may grant you this meritorious reward,
and He is in truth the Most High, the Most Great. Had it been Our wish, We
would have brought all men into one fold round Our Remembrance, yet they
will not cease to differ,(52) unless God accomplish what He willeth
through the power of truth. In the estimation of the Remembrance this
commandment hath, in very truth, been irrevocably ordained...
God hath indeed chosen Thee to warn the people, to guide the believers
aright and to elucidate the secrets of the Book. _Chapter LXXXV._
"Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, ..."
Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of
but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein to
recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of Our
Cause....
Truly other apostles have been laughed to scorn before Thee,(53) and Thou
art none other but the Servant of God, sustained by the power of Truth.
Ere long We shall prolong the days of such as have rejected the Truth by
reason of that which their hands have wrought,(54) and verily God will not
deal unjustly with anyone, even to the extent of a speck on a date-stone.
_Chapter LXXXVII._
"O ye peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of God, ..."
O ye peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of God, the True One, the
testimony shown forth by His Remembrance is like unto a sun which the hand
of the merciful Lord hath raised high in the midmost heart of the heaven,
wherefrom it shineth in the plenitude of its meridian splendour...
With each and every Prophet Whom We have sent down in the past, We have
established a separate Covenant concerning the Remembrance of God and His
Day. Manifest, in the realm of glory and through the power of truth, are
the Remembrance of God and His Day before the eyes of the angels that
circle His mercy-seat. _Chapter XCI._
"O Hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the ..."
O Hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the divine Luminary
sheddeth its radiance from the Dayspring of this Gate, call thou to mind
that the appointed Day of God will indeed be at hand in less than the
twinkling of an eye. Thus hath the decree of God been issued in the Mother
Book. _Chapter XCIV._
"O Concourse of the faithful! Verily the object of each ..."
O Concourse of the faithful! Verily the object of each and every sign
revealed by God in the Scriptures or in the world at large or in the
hearts of men is but to make them fully realize that this Remembrance is
indeed the True One from God. Verily God is cognizant of all things
through the power of eternal Truth...
O ye that circle the throne of glory! Hearken unto My Call which is raised
from the midst of the Burning Bush, 'Verily I am God and there is none
other God but Me. Hence worship Me, and for the sake of Him Who is the
Most Great Remembrance, offer ye prayers, purged from the insinuations of
the people, for verily your Lord, the One true God, is none other than the
Sovereign Truth. Indeed such as invoke others besides Him are deservedly
numbered among the inmates of the fire, while He Who is the Remembrance of
God verily abideth, firm and undeviating, on the Path of Truth amidst the
Burning Bush.'...
O peoples of the earth! Inflict not upon the Most Great Remembrance what
the Umayyads cruelly inflicted upon Husayn in the Holy Land. By the
righteousness of God, the True One, He is indeed the Eternal Truth, and
unto Him God, verily, is a witness. _Chapter XVII._
"God had, in truth, proposed Our Mission unto the ..."
God had, in truth, proposed Our Mission unto the heavens and the earth and
the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid thereof.
However, Man, this 'Ali, Who is none other but the Great Remembrance of
God, undertook to bear it. Hence God, the All-Encompassing, hath referred
to Him in His Preserved Book as the 'Wronged One', and by reason of His
being undistinguished before the eyes of men, He hath, according to the
judgement of the Book, been entitled 'the Unknown'...(55)
Erelong We will, in very truth, torment such as waged war against Husayn
[Imam Husayn], in the Land of the Euphrates, with the most afflictive
torment, and the most dire and exemplary punishment....
God knoweth well the heart of Husayn, the heat of His burning thirst and
His long-suffering for the sake of God, the Incomparable, the Ancient of
Days; and unto Him God is verily a witness. _Chapter XII._
"Hearken unto the Voice of Thy Lord calling from ..."
Hearken unto the Voice of Thy Lord calling from Mount Sinai, 'Verily there
is no God but Him, and I am the Most Exalted One Who hath been veiled in
the Mother Book according to the dispensations of Providence.' _Chapter
XIX._
"This Book which We have sent down is indeed abounding ..."
This Book which We have sent down is indeed abounding in blessings(56) and
beareth witness to the Truth, so that the people may realize that the
conclusive Proof of God in favour of His Remembrance is similar to the one
wherewith Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, was invested, and verily
great is the Cause as ordained in the Mother Book. _Chapter LXVI._
"This Remembrance is indeed the glorious Remnant of ..."
This Remembrance is indeed the glorious Remnant of the Light of God, and
He will be best for you,(57) if ye in very truth remain faithful to God,
the Most Exalted...
We have in truth sent Thee forth unto all men, by the leave of God,
invested with Our signs and reinforced by Our unsurpassed sovereignty. He
is indeed the appointed Bearer of the Trust of God...
O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Persevere steadfastly as Thou art bidden and let not the
faithless amongst men nor their utterances grieve Thee, since Thy Lord
shall, by the righteousness of God, the Most Great, pass judgement upon
them on the Day of Resurrection, and surely God witnesseth all things.
_Chapter LXXXIV._
"This Religion is indeed, in the sight of God, the essence ..."
This Religion is indeed, in the sight of God, the essence of the Faith of
Muhammad; haste ye then to attain the celestial Paradise and the
all-highest Garden of His good-pleasure in the presence of the One True
God, could ye but be patient and thankful before the evidences of the
signs of God. _Chapter XLVIII._
"O My servants! This is God's appointed Day which the ..."
O My servants! This is God's appointed Day which the merciful Lord hath
promised you in His Book; wherefore, in very truth, glorify ye abundantly
the name of God while treading the Path of the Most Great Remembrance...
Verily God hath granted leave to His Remembrance to say whatsoever He
willeth in whatever manner He pleaseth. Indeed whatsoever He chooseth is
none other than what is chosen by Us. The Lord, in truth, witnesseth all
things. _Chapter LXXXVII._
"Indeed We conversed with Moses by the leave of God ..."
Indeed We conversed with Moses by the leave of God from the midst of the
Burning Bush in the Sinai and revealed an infinitesimal glimmer of Thy
Light upon the Mystic Mount and its dwellers, whereupon the Mount shook to
its foundations and was crushed into dust...
O peoples of the earth! I swear by your Lord! Ye shall act as former
generations have acted. Warn ye, then, yourselves of the terrible, the
most grievous vengeance of God. For God is, verily, potent over all
things. _Chapter LIII._
"O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! I recognize in Thee none other ..."
O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! I recognize in Thee none other except the 'Great
Announcement'--the Announcement voiced by the Concourse on high. By this
name, I bear witness, they that circle the Throne of Glory have ever known
Thee.
O concourse of the believers! Do ye harbour any doubt as to that whereunto
the Remembrance of God doth summon you? By the righteousness of the One
true God, He is none other than the sovereign Truth Who hath been made
manifest through the power of Truth. Are ye in doubt concerning the Bab?
Verily He is the One Who holdeth, by Our leave, the kingdoms of earth and
heaven in His grasp, and the Lord is in truth fully aware of what ye are
doing...
Indeed I am but a man like unto you. However, God bestoweth upon Me
whatever favours He willeth as He pleaseth, and that which your Lord hath
decreed in the Mother Book is unbounded. _Chapter LXXXVIII._
"God, of a truth, revealed unto Me in the sacred house of ..."
God, of a truth, revealed unto Me in the sacred house of the Ka'bah,
'Verily, I am God, no God is there but Me. I have singled Thee out for
Myself and have chosen Thee as the Remembrance. Indeed, whosoever beareth
allegiance unto Thee by walking in the way of the Bab, for him the
recompense of the next world hath surely been prescribed...' It is
ordained in the Book that upon the realization of the Cause of the
Remembrance, the Most Great Event will have come to pass according to the
dispensation of Providence, and God, truly, is potent over all things.
_Chapter LXXIX._
"O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Say: Verily I am the One Who is ..."
O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Say: Verily I am the One Who is hailed in the Mother
Book as the 'Great Announcement'. Say: The people have grievously differed
over Me, whereas in truth there is no difference between Me and the Bab;
and God, the Eternal Truth, is sufficient witness. _Chapter LXXVII._
"I Am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence ..."
I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the
Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine
with deathless splendour. I am the Flame of that supernal Light that
glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of
the Burning Bush. _Chapter XCIV._
"As a token of pure justice, We have indeed sent tidings ..."
As a token of pure justice, We have indeed sent tidings unto every Prophet
concerning the Cause of Our Remembrance, and verily God is supreme over
all the peoples of the world. _Chapter LXXXIII._
3: EXCERPTS FROM THE PERSIAN BAYAN
"It is better to guide one soul than to possess all ..."
It is better to guide one soul than to possess all that is on earth, for
as long as that guided soul is under the shadow of the Tree of Divine
Unity, he and the one who hath guided him will both be recipients of God's
tender mercy, whereas possession of earthly things will cease at the time
of death. The path to guidance is one of love and compassion, not of force
and coercion. This hath been God's method in the past, and shall continue
to be in the future! He causeth him whom He pleaseth to enter the shadow
of His Mercy. Verily, He is the Supreme Protector, the All-Generous.
There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to
God's Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to
attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon
the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of
the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness. II, 16.(58)
"Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead ..."
Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire,
no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy
recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship
which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of
fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and
could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His
Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him
while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God's creation a partner
with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.
Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That
which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without
fear of fire, or hope of paradise.
Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from
the fire, and entereth the paradise of God's good-pleasure, yet such
should not be the motive of his act. However, God's favour and grace ever
flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.
The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality
and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God.
The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in
the presence of God. VII, 19.
"The Day of Resurrection is a day on which the sun riseth ..."
The Day of Resurrection is a day on which the sun riseth and setteth like
unto any other day. How oft hath the Day of Resurrection dawned, and the
people of the land where it occurred did not learn of the event. Had they
heard, they would not have believed, and thus they were not told!
When the Apostle of God [Muhammad] appeared, He did not announce unto the
unbelievers that the Resurrection had come, for they could not bear the
news. That Day is indeed an infinitely mighty Day, for in it the Divine
Tree proclaimeth from eternity unto eternity, 'Verily, I am God. No God is
there but Me'. Yet those who are veiled believe that He is one like unto
them, and they refuse even to call Him a believer, although such a title
in the realm of His heavenly Kingdom is conferred everlastingly upon the
most insignificant follower of His previous Dispensation. Thus, had the
people in the days of the Apostle of God regarded Him at least as a
believer of their time how would they have debarred Him, for seven years
while He was in the mountain, from access to His Holy House [Ka'bah]?
Likewise in this Dispensation of the Point of the Bayan, if the people had
not refused to concede the name believer unto Him, how could they have
incarcerated Him on this mountain, without realizing that the quintessence
of belief oweth its existence to a word from Him? Their hearts are
deprived of the power of true insight, and thus they cannot see, while
those endowed with the eyes of the spirit circle like moths round the
Light of Truth until they are consumed. It is for this reason that the Day
of Resurrection is said to be the greatest of all days, yet it is like
unto any other day. VIII, 9.
"There is no paradise, in the estimation of the believers in ..."
There is no paradise, in the estimation of the believers in the Divine
Unity, more exalted than to obey God's commandments, and there is no fire
in the eyes of those who have known God and His signs, fiercer than to
transgress His laws and to oppress another soul, even to the extent of a
mustard seed. On the Day of Resurrection God will, in truth, judge all
men, and we all verily plead for His grace. V, 19.
"God loveth those who are pure. Naught in the Bayan and ..."
God loveth those who are pure. Naught in the Bayan and in the sight of God
is more loved than purity and immaculate cleanliness....
God desireth not to see, in the Dispensation of the Bayan, any soul
deprived of joy and radiance. He indeed desireth that under all
conditions, all may be adorned with such purity, both inwardly and
outwardly, that no repugnance may be caused even to themselves, how much
less unto others. V, 14.
"Likewise consider the manifestation of the Point of the ..."
Likewise consider the manifestation of the Point of the Bayan. There are
people who every night until morning busy themselves with the worship of
God, and even at present when the Day-Star of Truth is nearing its zenith
in the heaven of its Revelation, they have not yet left their prayer-rugs.
If any one of them ever heard the wondrous verses of God recited unto him,
he would exclaim: 'Why dost thou keep me back from offering my prayers?' O
thou who are wrapt in veils! If thou makest mention of God, wherefore
sufferest thou thyself to be shut out from Him Who hath kindled the light
of worship in thy heart? If He had not previously revealed the injunction:
'Verily, make ye mention of God'(59), what would have prompted thee to
offer devotion unto God, and whereunto wouldst thou turn in prayer?
Know thou of a certainty that whenever thou makest mention of Him Whom God
shall make manifest, only then art thou making mention of God. In like
manner shouldst thou hearken unto the verses of the Bayan and acknowledge
its truth, only then would the revealed verses of God profit thee.
Otherwise what benefit canst thou derive therefrom? For wert thou to
prostrate thyself in adoration from the beginning of life till the end and
to spend thy days for the sake of God's remembrance, but disbelieve in the
Exponent of His Revelation for the age, dost thou imagine that thy deeds
would confer any benefit upon thee? On the other hand, if thou believest
in Him and dost recognize Him with true understanding, and He saith: 'I
have accepted thine entire life spent in My adoration', then assuredly
hast thou been worshipping Him most ardently. Thy purpose in performing
thy deeds is that God may graciously accept them; and divine acceptance
can in no wise be achieved except through the acceptance of Him Who is the
Exponent of His Revelation. For instance, if the Apostle of God--may divine
blessings rest upon Him--accepted a certain deed, in truth God accepted it;
otherwise it hath remained within the selfish desires of the person who
wrought it, and did not reach the presence of God. Likewise, any act which
is accepted by the Point of the Bayan is accepted by God, inasmuch as the
contingent world hath no other access unto the presence of the Ancient of
Days. Whatever is sent down cometh through the Exponent of His Revelation,
and whatever ascendeth, ascendeth unto the Exponent of His Revelation.
VIII, 19.
"There is no doubt that the Almighty hath sent down ..."
There is no doubt that the Almighty hath sent down these verses unto Him
[the Bab], even as He sent down unto the Apostle of God. Indeed no less
than a hundred thousand verses similar to these have already been
disseminated among the people, not to mention His Epistles, His Prayers or
His learned and philosophical treatises. He revealeth no less than a
thousand verses within the space of five hours. He reciteth verses at a
speed consonant with the capacity of His amanuensis to set them down.
Thus, it may well be considered that if from the inception of this
Revelation until now He had been left unhindered, how vast then would have
been the volume of writings disseminated from His pen.
If ye contend that these verses cannot, of themselves, be regarded as a
proof, scan the pages of the Qur'an. If God hath established therein any
evidence other than the revealed verses to demonstrate the validity of the
prophethood of His Apostle--may the blessings of God rest upon Him--ye may
then have your scruples about Him...
Concerning the sufficiency of the Book as a proof, God hath revealed: 'Is
it not enough for them that We have sent down unto Thee the Book to be
recited to them? In this verily is a mercy and a warning to those who
believe.'(60) When God hath testified that the Book is a sufficient
testimony, as is affirmed in the text, how can one dispute this truth by
saying that the Book in itself is not a conclusive proof?... II, 1.
"Since that Day is a great Day it would be sorely trying ..."
Since that Day is a great Day it would be sorely trying for thee to
identify thyself with the believers. For the believers of that Day are the
inmates of Paradise, while the unbelievers are the inmates of the fire.
And know thou of a certainty that by Paradise is meant recognition of and
submission unto Him Whom God shall make manifest, and by the fire the
company of such souls as would fail to submit unto Him or to be resigned
to His good-pleasure. On that Day thou wouldst regard thyself as the
inmate of Paradise and as a true believer in Him, whereas in reality thou
wouldst suffer thyself to be wrapt in veils and thy habitation would be
the nethermost fire, though thou thyself wouldst not be cognizant thereof.
Compare His manifestation with that of the Point of the Qur'an. How vast
the number of the Letters of the Gospel who eagerly expected Him, yet from
the time of His declaration up to five years no one became an inmate of
Paradise, except the Commander of the Faithful [Imam 'Ali], and those who
secretly believed in Him. All the rest were accounted as inmates of the
fire, though they considered themselves as dwellers in Paradise.
Likewise behold this Revelation. The essences of the people have, through
divinely-conceived designs, been set in motion and until the present day
three hundred and thirteen disciples have been chosen. In the land of Sad
[Isfahan], which to outward seeming is a great city, in every corner of
whose seminaries are vast numbers of people regarded as divines and
doctors, yet when the time came for inmost essences to be drawn forth,
only its sifter of wheat donned the robe of discipleship. This is the
mystery of what was uttered by the kindred of the Prophet Muhammad--upon
them be the peace of God--concerning this Revelation, saying that the
abased shall be exalted and the exalted shall be abased.
Likewise is the Revelation of Him Whom God shall make manifest. Among
those to whom it will never occur that they might merit the displeasure of
God, and whose pious deeds will be exemplary unto everyone, there will be
many who will become the personification of the nethermost fire itself,
when they fail to embrace His Cause; while among the lowly servants whom
no one would imagine to be of any merit, how great the number who will be
honoured with true faith and on whom the Fountainhead of generosity will
bestow the robe of authority. For whatever is created in the Faith of God
is created through the potency of His Word. VIII, 14.
"In the manifestation of the Apostle of God all were eagerly ..."
In the manifestation of the Apostle of God all were eagerly awaiting Him,
yet thou hast heard how He was treated at the time of His appearance, in
spite of the fact that if ever they beheld Him in their dreams they would
take pride in them.