soul, whether ye be able to discover proofs in him or not, that haply on
the Day of Resurrection ye may not grieve Him within Whose grasp lieth
every proof. And when ye do not discern God's testimony in a person, he
will verily fail in manifesting the power of Truth; and God is sufficient
to deal with him. Indeed on no account should ye sadden any person; surely
God will put him to the proof and bring him to account. It behooveth you
to cling to the testimony of your own Faith and to observe the ordinances
laid down in the Bayan.
You are like unto the man who layeth out an orchard and planteth all kinds
of fruit trees therein. When the time is at hand for him, the lord, to
come, ye will have taken possession of the orchard in his name, and when
he doth come in person, ye will shut him out from it.
Verily We planted the Tree of the Qur'an and provided its Orchard with all
kinds of fruit, whereof ye all have been partaking. Then when We came to
take over that which We had planted, ye pretended not to know Him Who is
the Lord thereof.
Be ye not a cause of grief unto Us, nor withhold Us from this Orchard
which belongeth unto Us, though independent are We of all that ye possess.
Moreover, unto none of you shall We make this property lawful, were it
even to the extent of a mustard seed. Verily, the Reckoner are We.
We have planted the Garden of the Bayan in the name of Him Whom God will
make manifest, and have granted you permission to live therein until the
time of His manifestation; then from the moment the Cause of Him Whom God
will make manifest is inaugurated, We forbid you all the things ye hold as
your own, unless ye may, by the leave of your Lord, be able to regain
possession thereof. XVIII, 3.
"O Ye unto whom the Bayan is given! Be ye vigilant lest ..."
O Ye unto whom the Bayan is given! Be ye vigilant lest in the days of Him
Whom God shall make manifest, while ye consider yourselves as seeking
God's pleasure, in reality ye persist in that which would only displease
Him, even as did those who lived in the days of the Primal Point, to whom
it never occurred that they were seeking things which ran counter to that
which God had purposed. They shut themselves out as by a veil from God and
failed to observe that which He had desired for them to perform as true
believers. They pondered not upon such people as lived in the days of
Muhammad, who believed likewise that they were seeking the good-pleasure
of God, while they had actually cut themselves off therefrom, once they
had failed to secure the good-pleasure of Muhammad. Nevertheless they
comprehended not.
O ye who are invested with the Bayan! Regard not yourselves as being like
unto the people to whom the Qur'an or the Gospel or other Scriptures of
old were given, since at the time of His manifestation ye shall stray
farther from God than did they. If ye happen to shut yourselves out it
would never cross your minds that ye were shut out from Him. It behooveth
you to consider how the people unto whom the Qur'an was given were
debarred from the Truth, for indeed ye will act in a like manner, thinking
that ye are doers of good. If ye perceive the degree of your deprivation
of God, ye will wish to have perished from the face of the earth and to
have sunk into oblivion. The day will come when ye will earnestly desire
to know that which would meet with the good-pleasure of God but, alas, ye
shall find no path unto Him. Ye, even as camels that wander aimlessly,
will not find a pasture wherein ye may gather and unite upon a Cause in
which ye can assuredly believe. At that time God shall cause the Sun of
Truth to shine forth and the oceans of His bounty and grace to surge,
while ye will have chosen droplets of water as the object of your desire,
and will have deprived yourselves of the plenteous waters in His oceans.
If ye entertain any doubts in this matter consider the people unto whom
the Gospel was given. Having no access to the apostles of Jesus, they
sought the pleasure of the Lord in their churches, hoping to learn that
which would be acceptable unto God, but they found therein no path unto
Him. Then when God manifested Muhammad as His Messenger and as the
Repository of His good-pleasure, they neglected to quicken their souls
from the Fountain of living waters which streamed forth from the presence
of their Lord and continued to rove distraught upon the earth seeking a
mere droplet of water and believing that they were doing righteous deeds.
They behaved as the people unto whom the Qur'an was given are now
behaving.
O ye who are invested with the Bayan! Ye can act similarly. Take ye heed,
therefore, lest ye deprive yourselves of attaining the presence of Him Who
is the Manifestation of God, notwithstanding that ye have been day and
night praying to behold His countenance; and be ye careful lest ye be
deterred from attaining unto the ocean of His good-pleasure, when
perplexed and to no avail ye roam the earth in search of a drop of water.
Say, the testimony of God hath been fulfilled in the Bayan, and through
its revelation the grace of God hath attained its highest consummation for
all mankind. Let no one among you say that God hath withheld the
outpouring of His bounty unto you, for assuredly God's mercy unto those to
whom the Bayan is given hath been fulfilled and completed until the Day of
Resurrection. Would that ye might believe in the signs of God. XVI, 13.
"Verily God hath caused the people of the Bayan to be ..."
Verily God hath caused the people of the Bayan to be called into being
through the power of Him unto Whom the Bayan was revealed, in preparation
for the Day when they will return to their Lord.
Indeed those who will bear allegiance unto Him Whom God shall make
manifest are the ones who have grasped the meaning of that which hath been
revealed in the Bayan; they are indeed the sincere ones, while those who
turn away from Him at the time of His appearance will have utterly failed
to comprehend a single letter of the Bayan, even though they profess
belief and assurance in whatever is revealed in it or observe its
precepts.
Say, every favourable and praiseworthy designation in the Bayan is but an
allusion to those who recognize Him Whom God shall make manifest, and who
believe with certainty in God and in His holy Writings, while every
unfavourable designation therein is meant to refer to such as repudiate
Him Whom God shall make manifest, though they may act uprightly within the
bounds laid down in the Bayan. Say, if ye embrace the truth on the Day of
Resurrection, God will assuredly pardon you for your night(73) and will
grant you forgiveness.
As to those who have faithfully observed the ordinances in the Bayan from
the inception of its revelation until the Day when Him Whom God shall make
manifest will appear, these are indeed the companions of the paradise of
His good-pleasure who will be glorified in the presence of God and will
dwell in the pavilions of His celestial Garden. Yet, within less than a
tiny fraction of an instant from the moment God will have revealed Him Who
is the Manifestation of His Own Self, the entire company of the followers
of the Bayan shall be put to proof. XVII, 1.
"Since thou hast faithfully obeyed the true religion of God ..."
Since thou hast faithfully obeyed the true religion of God in the past, it
behooveth thee to follow His true religion hereafter, inasmuch as every
religion proceedeth from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
He Who hath revealed the Qur'an unto Muhammad, the Apostle of God,
ordaining in the Faith of Islam that which was pleasing unto Him, hath
likewise revealed the Bayan, in the manner ye have been promised, unto Him
Who is your Qa'im,(74) your Guide, your Mihdi,(75) your Lord, Him Whom ye
acclaim as the manifestation of God's most excellent titles. Verily the
equivalent of that which God revealed unto Muhammad during twenty-three
years, hath been revealed unto Me within the space of two days and two
nights. However, as ordained by God, no distinction is to be drawn between
the two. He, in truth, hath power over all things.
I swear by the life of Him Whom God shall make manifest! My Revelation is
indeed far more bewildering than that of Muhammad, the Apostle of God, if
thou dost but pause to reflect upon the days of God. Behold, how strange
that a person brought up amongst the people of Persia should be empowered
by God to proclaim such irrefutable utterances as to silence every man of
learning, and be enabled to spontaneously reveal verses far more rapidly
than anyone could possibly set down in writing. Verily, no God is there
but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. XVI, 18.
"As to those who have debarred themselves from the ..."
As to those who have debarred themselves from the Revelation of God, they
have indeed failed to understand the significance of a single letter of
the Qur'an, nor have they obtained the slightest notion of the Faith of
Islam, otherwise they would not have turned away from God, Who hath
brought them into being, Who hath nurtured them, hath caused them to die
and hath proffered life unto them, by clinging to parts of their religion,
thinking that they are doing righteous work for the sake of God.
How numerous the verses which have been revealed concerning the grievous
tests ye shall experience on the Day of Judgement, yet it appeareth that
ye have never perused them; and how vast the number of revealed traditions
regarding the trials which will overtake you on the Day of Our Return, and
yet ye seem never to have set your eyes upon them.
Ye spend all your days contriving forms and rules for the principles of
your Faith, while that which profiteth you in all this is to comprehend
the good-pleasure of your Lord and unitedly to become well-acquainted with
His supreme Purpose.
God hath made His Own Self known unto you, but ye have failed to recognize
Him; and the thing which will, on the Day of Judgement, turn you aside
from God is the specious character of your deeds. Throughout your lives ye
follow your religion in order to attract the good-pleasure of God, yet on
the Last Day ye shut yourselves out from God and turn away from Him Who is
your Promised One. XVII, 2.
"O Ye who are invested with the Bayan! Ye shall be put ..."
O Ye who are invested with the Bayan! Ye shall be put to proof, even as
those unto whom the Qur'an was given. Have pity on yourselves, for ye
shall witness the Day when God will have revealed Him Who is the
Manifestation of His Own Self, invested with clear and irrefutable proofs,
while ye will cling tenaciously to the words the Witnesses of the Bayan
have uttered. On that Day ye will continue to rove distraught, even as
camels, seeking a drop of the water of life. God will cause oceans of
living water to stream forth from the presence of Him Whom God shall make
manifest, while ye will refuse to quench your thirst therefrom,
notwithstanding that ye regard yourselves as the God-fearing witnesses of
your Faith. Nay, and yet again, nay! Ye will go astray far beyond the
peoples unto whom the Gospel, or the Qur'an or any other Scripture was
given. Take good heed to yourselves, inasmuch as the Cause of God will
come upon you at a time when you will all be entreating and tearfully
imploring God for the advent of the Day of His Manifestation; yet when He
cometh ye will tarry and will fail to be of those who are well-assured in
His Faith.
Beware lest ye grieve Him Who is the Supreme Manifestation of your Lord;
verily, He can well afford to dispense with your allegiance unto Him. Be
ye careful and bring not despondency upon any soul, for surely ye shall be
put to proof. XVII, 2.
"Say, He Whom God shall make manifest will surely ..."
Say, He Whom God shall make manifest will surely redeem the rights of
those who truly believe in God and in His signs, for they are the ones who
merit reward from His presence. Say, it is far from the glory of Him Whom
God shall make manifest that anyone should in this wise make mention of
His name, if ye ponder the Cause of God in your hearts. Say, He shall
vindicate the Cause through the potency of His command and shall bring to
naught all perversion of truth by virtue of His behest. Verily God is
potent over all things.
If ye wish to distinguish truth from error, consider those who believe in
Him Whom God shall make manifest and those who disbelieve Him at the time
of His appearance. The former represent the essence of truth, as attested
in the Book of God, while the latter the essence of error, as attested in
that same Book. Fear ye God that ye may not identify yourselves with aught
but the truth, inasmuch as ye have been exalted in the Bayan for being
recognized as the bearers of the name of Him Who is the eternal Truth.
Say, were He Whom God shall make manifest to pronounce a pious and
truthful follower of the Bayan as false, it is incumbent upon you to
submit to His decree, as this hath been affirmed by God in the Bayan;
verily God is able to convert light into fire whenever He pleaseth; surely
He is potent over all things. And were He to declare a person whom ye
regard alien to the truth as being akin thereto, err not by questioning
His decision in your fancies, for He Who is the Sovereign Truth createth
things through the power of His behest. Verily God transmuteth fire into
light as He willeth, and indeed potent is He over all things. Consider ye
how the truth shone forth as truth in the First Day and how error became
manifest as error; so likewise shall ye distinguish them from each other
on the Day of Resurrection. XVII, 4.
"Ponder upon the people unto whom the Gospel was ..."
Ponder upon the people unto whom the Gospel was given. Their religious
leaders were considered as the true Guides of the Gospel, yet when they
shut themselves out from Muhammad, the Apostle of God, they turned into
guides of error, notwithstanding that all their lives they had faithfully
observed the precepts of their religion in order to attain unto Paradise;
then when God made Paradise known unto them, they would not enter therein.
Those unto whom the Qur'an is given have wrought likewise. They performed
their acts of devotion for the sake of God, hoping that He might enable
them to join the righteous in Paradise. However, when the gates of
Paradise were flung open to their faces, they declined to enter. They
suffered themselves to enter into the fire, though they had been seeking
refuge therefrom in God.
Say, verily, the criterion by which truth is distinguished from error
shall not appear until the Day of Resurrection. This ye will know, if ye
be of them that love the Truth. And ere the advent of the Day of
Resurrection ye shall distinguish truth from aught else besides it
according to that which hath been revealed in the Bayan.
How vast the number of people who will, on the Day of Resurrection, regard
themselves to be in the right, while they shall be accounted as false
through the dispensation of Providence, inasmuch as they will shut
themselves out as by a veil from Him Whom God shall make manifest and
refuse to bow down in adoration before Him Who, as divinely ordained in
the Book, is the Object of their creation. XVII, 4.
"Say, ye will be unable to recognize the One True God or ..."
Say, ye will be unable to recognize the One True God or to discern clearly
the words of divine guidance, inasmuch as ye seek and tread a path other
than His. Whenever ye learn that a new Cause hath appeared, ye must seek
the presence of its author and must delve into his writings that haply ye
may not be debarred from attaining unto Him Whom God shall make manifest
at the hour of His manifestation. Wert thou to walk in the way of truth as
handed down by them that are endowed with the knowledge of the inmost
reality, God, thy Lord, will surely redeem thee on the Day of
Resurrection. Verily He is potent over all things.
In the Bayan God hath forbidden everyone to pronounce judgement against
any soul, lest he may pass sentence upon God, his Lord, while regarding
himself to be of the righteous, inasmuch as no one knoweth how the Cause
of God will begin or end.
O ye who are invested with the Bayan! Should ye be apprised of a person
laying claim to a Cause and revealing verses which to outward seeming are
unlikely to have been revealed by anyone else save God, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting, do not pass sentence against him, lest ye may
inadvertently pass sentence against Him Whom God shall make manifest. Say,
He Whom God shall make manifest is but one of you; He will make Himself
known unto you on the Day of Resurrection. Ye shall know God when the
Manifestation of His Own Self is made known unto you, that perchance ye
may not stray far from His Path.
Verily God will raise up Him Whom God shall make manifest, and after Him
Whomsoever He willeth, even as He hath raised up prophets before the Point
of the Bayan. He in truth hath power over all things. XVII, 4.
"Verily, on the First Day We flung open the gates of ..."
Verily, on the First Day We flung open the gates of Paradise unto all the
peoples of the world, and exclaimed: 'O all ye created things! Strive to
gain admittance into Paradise, since ye have, during all your lives, held
fast unto virtuous deeds in order to attain unto it.' Surely all men yearn
to enter therein, but alas, they are unable to do so by reason of that
which their hands have wrought. Shouldst thou, however, gain a true
understanding of God in thine heart of hearts, ere He hath manifested
Himself, thou wouldst be able to recognize Him, visible and resplendent,
when He unveileth Himself before the eyes of all men. XVII, 11.
"Say, by reason of your remembering Him Whom God ..."
Say, by reason of your remembering Him Whom God shall make manifest and by
extolling His name, God will cause your hearts to be dilated with joy, and
do ye not wish your hearts to be in such a blissful state? Indeed the
hearts of them that truly believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest are
vaster than the expanse of heaven and earth and whatever is between them.
God hath left no hindrance in their hearts, were it but the size of a
mustard seed. He will cheer their hearts, their spirits, their souls and
their bodies and their days of prosperity or adversity, through the
exaltation of the name of Him Who is the supreme Testimony of God and the
promotion of the Word of Him Who is the Dayspring of the glory of their
Creator.
Verily, these are souls who take delight in the remembrance of God, Who
dilates their hearts through the effulgence of the light of knowledge and
wisdom. They seek naught but God and are oft engaged in giving praise unto
Him. They desire naught except whatever He desireth and stand ready to do
His bidding. Their hearts are mirrors reflecting whatsoever He Whom God
shall make manifest willeth. Thus God will cheer the hearts of those who
truly believe in Him and in His signs and who are well assured of the life
to come. Say, the life to come is none other than the days associated with
the coming of Him Whom God will make manifest.
Reduce not the ordinances of God to fanciful imaginations of your own;
rather observe all the things which God hath created at His behest with
the eye of the spirit, even as ye see things with the eyes of your bodies.
XVII, 15.
"The divine Revelation associated with the advent of Him ..."
The divine Revelation associated with the advent of Him Who is your
promised Mihdi hath proved far more wondrous than the Revelation wherewith
Muhammad, the Apostle of God, was invested. Would that ye might ponder.
Verily, God raised up Muhammad, the Apostle of God, from among the people
of Arabia after he had reached forty years of age--a fact which every one
of you affirmeth and upholdeth--while your Redeemer was raised up by God at
the age of twenty-four amidst people none of whom can speak or understand
a single word of Arabic. Thus God layeth bare the glory of His Cause and
demonstrateth the Truth through the potency of His revealed Word. He is
indeed the Powerful, the Omnipotent, the Help in Peril, the Best Beloved.
XVII, 4.
"Say, verily God hath caused all created things to enter ..."
Say, verily God hath caused all created things to enter beneath the shade
of the tree of affirmation, except those who are endowed with the faculty
of understanding. Theirs is the choice either to believe in God their
Lord, and put their whole trust in Him, or to shut themselves out from Him
and refuse to believe with certitude in His signs. These two groups sail
upon two seas: the sea of affirmation and the sea of negation.
They that truly believe in God and in His signs, and who in every
Dispensation faithfully obey that which hath been revealed in the
Book--such are indeed the ones whom God hath created from the fruits of the
Paradise of His good-pleasure, and who are of the blissful. But they who
turn away from God and His signs in each Dispensation, those are the ones
who sail upon the sea of negation.
God hath, through the potency of His behest, ordained for Himself the task
of ensuring the ascendancy of the sea of affirmation and of bringing to
naught the sea of negation through the power of His might. He is in truth
potent over all things.
Verily it is incumbent upon you to recognize your Lord at the time of His
manifestation, that haply ye may not enter into negation, and that, ere a
prophet is raised by God, ye may find yourselves securely established upon
the sea of affirmation. For if a prophet cometh to you from God and ye
fail to walk in His Way, God will, thereupon, transform your light into
fire. Take heed then that perchance ye may, through the grace of God and
His signs, be enabled to redeem your souls. XVIII, 13.
"Say, God shall of a truth cause your hearts to be given to ..."
Say, God shall of a truth cause your hearts to be given to perversity if
ye fail to recognize Him Whom God shall make manifest; but if ye do
recognize Him God shall banish perversity from your hearts...
That day whereon ye were, by God's Will, initiated into the Bayan, did any
of you know who were the Letters of the Living or the Witnesses or the
Testimonies or what the names of the believers? Likewise doth God wish you
to recognize Him Whom God shall make manifest on the Day of Resurrection.
Beware lest ye shut yourselves out as by a veil from Him Who hath created
you, by reason of your regard for those who were called into being at the
bidding of the Point of the Bayan for the exaltation of His Word. Did ye
possess, ere the Point of the Bayan had called you into existence, any
trace of identity, how much less a writ or authority? Disregard then your
beginnings, perchance ye may be saved on the day of your return. Indeed
had it not been for the exaltation of the name of the Primal Point, God
would not have ordained for you the Letters of the Living, nor those who
are the Testimonies of His Truth, nor the Witnesses of His Justice; could
ye but heed a little. All this is to glorify the Cause of Him Whom God
shall make manifest at the time of His manifestation; would that ye might
ponder a while.
Therefore it behooveth you to return unto God even as ye were brought
forth into existence, and to utter not such words as why or nay, if ye
wish your creation to yield fruit at the time of your return. For none of
you who have been born in the Bayan shall gain the fruit of your beginning
unless ye return unto Him Whom God shall make manifest. He it is Who
caused your beginning to proceed from God, and your return to be unto Him,
did ye but know. XVI, 15.
"How great the number of people who deck themselves ..."
How great the number of people who deck themselves with robes of silk all
their lives, while clad in the garb of fire, inasmuch as they have
divested themselves of the raiment of divine guidance and righteousness;
and how numerous are those who wear clothes made of cotton or coarse wool
throughout their lives, and yet by reason of their being endowed with the
vesture of divine guidance and righteousness, are truly attired with the
raiment of Paradise and take delight in the good-pleasure of God. Indeed
it would be better in the sight of God were ye to combine the two,
adorning yourselves with the raiment of divine guidance and righteousness
and wearing exquisite silk, if ye can afford to do so. If not, at least
act ye not unrighteously, but rather observe piety and virtue...