not? They raise the same objections as did the followers of the Qur'an
when their Lord came unto them with His Cause. They, verily, are a
rejected people. They hindered others from appearing before Him Who is the
Ancient Beauty, and from sharing the bread of His loved ones. "Approach
them not," one was even heard to say, "for they cast a spell upon the
people and lead them astray from the path of God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting." By the righteousness of the one true God! He who is
incapable of speaking in Our presence hath uttered such words as none
among the former generations hath ever spoken, and hath committed such
acts as none of the unbelievers of bygone ages hath ever committed.
56 The very words and deeds of these men bear eloquent testimony to the
truth of My words, if ye be of them that judge with fairness. Whosoever
attributeth the verses of God to sorcery hath not believed in any of His
Messengers, hath lived and laboured in vain, and is accounted of those who
speak that of which they have no knowledge. Say: O servant! Fear God, thy
Creator and thy Fashioner, and transgress not against Him, but judge with
fairness and act with justice. Those whom the Lord hath endued with
knowledge shall find, in the very objections raised by the unbelievers,
conclusive proofs to invalidate their claims and vindicate the truth of
this manifest Light. Say: Would ye repeat that which the unbelievers
uttered when a Message came unto them from their Lord? Woe betide you, O
assemblage of foolish ones, and blighted be your works!
57 O Ancient Beauty! Turn aside from the unbelievers and that which they
possess, and waft over all created things the sweet savours of the
remembrance of Thy Beloved, the Exalted, the Great. This remembrance
quickeneth the world of being and reneweth the temples of all created
things. Say: He, verily, hath established Himself upon the Throne of might
and glory. Whosoever desireth to gaze upon His countenance, lo, behold Him
standing before thee! Blessed be the Lord Who hath revealed Himself in
this shining and luminous Beauty. Whosoever desireth to hearken unto His
melodies, lo, hear them rising from His resplendent and wondrous lips! And
unto whosoever desireth to be illumined by the splendours of His light,
say: Seek the court of His presence, for God hath verily granted you leave
to approach it, as a token of His grace unto all mankind.
58 Say: O people! We shall put to you a question in all truthfulness,
taking God for a witness between you and Us. He, verily, is the Defender
of the righteous. Appear, then, before His Throne of glory and make reply
with justice and fair-mindedness. Is it God Who is potent to achieve His
purpose, or is it ye who enjoy such authority? Is it He Who is truly
unconstrained, as ye imply when ye say that He doeth what He pleaseth and
shall not be asked of His doings, or is it ye who wield such power, and
who merely make such assertions out of blind imitation, as did your
forebears at the appearance of every other Messenger of God?
59 If He be truly unconstrained, behold then how He hath sent down the
Manifestation of His Cause with verses which naught in the heavens or on
the earth can withstand! Such hath been the manner of their revelation
that they have neither peer nor likeness in the world of being, as ye
yourselves beheld and heard when once the Daystar of the world shone forth
above the horizon of 'Iraq with manifest dominion. All things attain their
consummation in the divine verses, and these indeed are the verses of God,
the Sovereign Lord, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Almighty.
Beyond this, He hath been made manifest as the Bearer of a Cause whose
sovereign might is acknowledged by all created things, and this none can
deny save the sinners and the ungodly.
60 Say: O people! Is it your wish to conceal the beauty of the Sun behind
the veils of your own selfish desires, or to prevent the Spirit from
raising its melodies within this sanctified and luminous breast? Fear ye
God, and contend not with Him Who representeth the Godhead. Dispute not
with the One at Whose bidding the letter "B" was created and joined with
its mighty foundation.(6) Believe in the Messengers of God and His
sovereign might, and in the Self of God and His majesty. Follow not those
who have repudiated what they had once believed, and who have sought for
themselves a station after their own fancy; these, truly, are of the
ungodly. Bear ye witness unto that whereunto God Himself hath borne
witness, that the company of His favoured ones may be illumined by the
words that issue from your lips. Say: We, verily, believe in that which
was revealed unto the Apostles of old, in that which hath been revealed,
by the power of truth, unto 'Ali,(7) and in that which is now being
revealed from His Throne of glory. Thus doth your Lord instruct you, as a
sign of His favour and as a token of His grace that encompasseth all the
worlds.
61 O Feet of this Temple! We, verily, have wrought you of iron. Stand firm
with such constancy in the Cause of your Lord as to cause the feet of
every severed soul to be strengthened in the path of God, the Almighty,
the All-Wise. Beware lest the storms of enmity and hatred, or the blasts
of the workers of iniquity, cause you to stumble. Be immovable in the
Faith of God, and waver not. We, verily, have called you forth by virtue
of that Name which is the source of all steadfastness, and by the grace of
each one of Our most excellent Names as revealed unto all who are in
heaven and on earth. Erelong shall We bring into being through you other
feet, firm and steadfast, which shall walk unwaveringly in Our path, even
should they be assailed by hosts as formidable as the combined forces of
the former and latter generations. In truth, We hold all grace in the
hollow of Our hand, and bestow it as We please upon Our favoured servants.
Time and again have We vouchsafed unto you Our favours, that ye may offer
such thanks unto your Lord as to cause the tongues of all created things
to speak forth in praise of Me, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
62 O Living Temple! Arise to serve this Cause through a might and a power
born of Us. Disclose, then, unto the servants of God all that the Spirit
of God, the sovereign Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Glorious, the
All-Wise, hath imparted unto Thee. Say: O people! Will ye turn away from
Him Who is the Eternal Truth, and choose instead him whom We have created
out of a mere handful of clay? To do so is to inflict a grievous injustice
upon yourselves, if ye be of them that reflect upon the verses of your
Lord. Say: O people! Cleanse your hearts and your eyes, that ye may
recognize your Maker in this holy and luminous attire. Say: The celestial
Youth hath ascended the Throne of glory, made manifest His independent
sovereignty, and now voiceth, in the most sweet and wondrous accents, this
call betwixt earth and heaven: "O peoples of the earth! Wherefore have ye
disbelieved in your Lord, the All-Merciful, and turned aside from Him Who
is the Beauty of the All-Glorious? By the righteousness of God! This is
His Hidden Secret, Who hath risen from the dayspring of creation; and this
is His cherished Beauty, Who hath shone forth above the horizon of this
exalted Station, invested with the sovereignty of God, the Help in Peril,
the All-Glorious, the All-Subduing, the Almighty."
63 O Temple of Holiness! We, verily, have cleansed Thy breast from the
whisperings of the people and sanctified it from earthly allusions, that
the light of My beauty may appear therein and be reflected in the mirrors
of all the worlds. Thus have We singled Thee out above all that hath been
created in the heavens and the earth, and above all that hath been decreed
in the realms of revelation and creation, and chosen Thee for Our own
Self. This is but an evidence of the bounty which God hath vouchsafed unto
Thee, a bounty which shall last until the Day that hath no end in this
contingent world. It shall endure so long as God, the Supreme King, the
Help in Peril, the Mighty, the Wise, shall endure. For the Day of God is
none other but His own Self, Who hath appeared with the power of truth.
This is the Day that shall not be followed by night, nor shall it be
bounded by any praise, would that ye might understand!
64 O Breast of this Temple! We, verily, have caused all things to mirror
forth thy reality, and made thee as a mirror of Our own Self. Shed, then,
upon the breasts of all created beings the splendours of the light of thy
Lord, that they may be freed from all allusions and limitations. Thus hath
the Daystar of wisdom shone forth above the horizon of the Pen of the
Eternal King. Blessed are those who perceive it! Through thee have We
created other sanctified breasts, and unto thee shall We cause them to
return, as a token of Our grace unto thee and unto Our favoured servants.
Erelong shall We bring into being through thee men with sanctified and
illumined breasts, who will testify to naught save My beauty and show
forth naught but the resplendent light of My countenance. These shall in
truth be the mirrors of My Names amidst all created things.
65 O Temple of Holiness! We, verily, have made Thine inmost heart the
treasury of all the knowledge of past and future ages, and the
dawning-place of Our own knowledge which We have ordained for the dwellers
of earth and heaven, that all creation may partake of the outpourings of
Thy grace and may attain, through the wonders of Thy knowledge, unto the
recognition of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Great. In truth, that
knowledge which belongeth unto Mine own Essence is such as none hath ever
attained or will ever grasp, nor shall any heart be capable of bearing its
weight. Were We to disclose but a single word of this knowledge, the
hearts of all men would be filled with consternation, the foundations of
all things would crumble into ruin, and the feet of even the wisest among
men would be made to slip.
66 Within the treasury of Our Wisdom there lieth unrevealed a knowledge,
one word of which, if we chose to divulge it to mankind, would cause every
human being to recognize the Manifestation of God and to acknowledge His
omniscience, would enable every one to discover the secrets of all the
sciences, and to attain so high a station as to find himself wholly
independent of all past and future learning. Other knowledges We do as
well possess, not a single letter of which We can disclose, nor do We find
humanity able to hear even the barest reference to their meaning. Thus
have We informed you of the knowledge of God, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise. Were We to find worthy vessels, We would deposit within them the
treasures of hidden meanings and impart unto them a knowledge, one letter
of which would encompass all created things.
67 O Inmost Heart of this Temple! We have made thee the dawning-place of
Our knowledge and the dayspring of Our wisdom unto all who are in heaven
and on earth. From thee have We caused all sciences to appear, and unto
thee shall We cause them to return. And from thee shall We bring them
forth a second time. Such, indeed, is Our promise, and potent are We to
effect Our purpose. Erelong shall We bring into being through thee
exponents of new and wondrous sciences, of potent and effective crafts,
and shall make manifest through them that which the heart of none of Our
servants hath yet conceived. Thus do We bestow upon whom We will
whatsoever We desire, and thus do We withdraw from whom We will what We
had once bestowed. Even so do We ordain whatsoever We please through Our
behest.
68 Say: Should We choose, at one time, to shed the radiance of Our loving
providence upon the mirrors of all things, and, at another, to withhold
from them the splendours of Our light, this verily lieth within Our power,
and none hath the right to ask "why" or "wherefore". For We are potent
indeed to achieve Our purpose, and render no account for that which We
bring to pass; and none can dispute this save those who join partners with
God and doubt His Truth. Say: Nothing can withstand the power of Our might
or interrupt the course of Our command. We exalt whomsoever We please unto
the Realm of supernal might and glory, and, should We so desire, cause the
same to sink into the lowest abyss of degradation.
69 O dwellers of the earth! Would ye contend that if We raise up a soul
unto the Sadratu'l-Muntaha,(8) it shall then cease to be subject to the
power of Our sovereignty and dominion? Nay, by Mine own Self! Should it be
Our wish, We would return it to the dust in less than the twinkling of an
eye. Consider a tree: Behold how We plant it in a garden, and nourish it
with the waters of Our loving care; and how, when it hath grown tall and
mature, and brought forth verdant leaves and goodly fruits, We send forth
the tempestuous gales of Our decree, tear it up by its roots, and lay it
prostrate upon the face of the earth. So hath it been Our way with all
things, and so shall it be in this day. Such, in truth, are the matchless
wonders of Our immutable method--a method which hath ever governed, and
shall continue to govern, all things, if ye be of them that perceive.
None, however, knoweth the wisdom thereof save God, the All-Powerful, the
Almighty, the All-Wise.
70 Would ye gainsay, O people, the very thing that your eyes behold? Woe
unto you, O assemblage of deniers! That which alone is exempt from change
is His own Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate, were ye to gaze
with the eye of insight, while all else beside Him can be altered by an
act of His Will. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the
All-Wise.
71 O people! Dispute not concerning My Cause, for ye shall never fathom
the manifold wisdom of your Lord, nor shall ye ever gauge the knowledge of
Him Who is the All-Glorious, the All-Pervading. Whosoever layeth claim to
have known His Essence is without doubt among the most ignorant of all
people. Every atom in the universe would charge such a man with imposture,
and to this beareth witness My tongue which speaketh naught but the truth.
Magnify My Cause and promulgate My teachings and commandments, for none
other course beside this shall beseem you, and no other path shall ever
lead unto Him. Would that ye might heed Our counsel!
72 O Living Temple! We have made Thee the Dayspring of each one of Our
most excellent titles, the Dawning-Place of each one of Our most august
attributes, and the Fountainhead of each one of Our manifold virtues unto
the denizens of earth and heaven. Thereafter have We raised Thee up in Our
own image betwixt the heavens and the earth, and ordained Thee to be the
sign of Our glory unto all who are in the realms of revelation and
creation, that My servants may follow in Thy footsteps, and be of them who
are guided aright. We have appointed Thee the Tree of grace and bounty
unto the dwellers of both the heavens and the earth. Well is it with them
who seek the shelter of Thy shade and who draw nigh unto Thy Self, the
omnipotent Protector of the worlds.
73 Say: We have made each one of Our Names a wellspring from which We have
caused the streams of divine wisdom and understanding to gush forth and
flow in the garden of Our Cause--streams whose number none can reckon save
Thy Lord, the Most Holy, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the All-Wise.
Say: We have generated all Letters from the Point and have caused them to
return unto It, and We have sent It down again in the form of a human
temple. All glory be unto the Author of this incomparable and wondrous
handiwork! Erelong shall We unfold and expound It again, in Our name, the
All-Glorious. This is indeed a token of Our grace, and I, truly, am the
Most Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
74 We have brought forth all Lights from the Orb of Our name, the True
One, have caused them to return unto It, and have again made them manifest
in the form of a human temple. All glory be unto the Lord of strength,
might, and power! None can withstand the operation of My will or the
exercise of My might. I am He Who hath raised up all creatures through a
word of My mouth, and My power is, in truth, equal to My purpose.
75 Say: It is in Our power, should We wish it, to cause all created things
to expire in an instant, and, with the next, to endue them again with
life. The knowledge thereof, however, is with God alone, the All-Knowing,
the All-Informed. It is in Our power, should We wish it, to enable a speck
of floating dust to generate, in less than the twinkling of an eye, suns
of infinite, of unimaginable splendour, to cause a dewdrop to develop into
vast and numberless oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to
empower it to unfold all the knowledge of past and future ages. This, in
truth, is a matter simple of accomplishment. Such have been the evidences
of My power from the beginning that hath no beginning until the end that
hath no end. My creatures, however, have been oblivious of My power, have
repudiated My sovereignty, and contended with Mine own Self, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
76 Say: Of all that lieth between heaven and earth, naught can stir except
by My leave, and unto My Kingdom none can ascend save at My behest. My
creatures, however, have remained veiled from My might and My sovereignty,
and are numbered with the heedless. Say: Naught is seen in My revelation
but the Revelation of God, and in My might but His Might, could ye but
know it. Say: My creatures are even as the leaves of a tree. They proceed
from the tree, and depend upon it for their existence, yet remain
oblivious of their root and origin. We draw such similitudes for the sake
of Our discerning servants that perchance they may transcend a mere
plant-like level of existence and attain unto true maturity in this
resistless and immovable Cause. Say: My creatures are even as the fish of
the deep. Their life dependeth upon the water, and yet they remain unaware
of that which, by the grace of an omniscient and omnipotent Lord,
sustaineth their very existence. Indeed, their heedlessness is such that
were they asked concerning the water and its properties, they would prove
entirely ignorant. Thus do We set forth comparisons and similitudes, that
perchance the people may turn unto Him Who is the Object of the adoration
of the entire creation.
77 O people! Fear God, and disbelieve not in Him Whose grace hath
surrounded all things, Whose mercy hath pervaded the contingent world, and
the sovereign potency of Whose Cause hath encompassed both your inner and
your outer beings, both your beginning and your end. Stand ye in awe of
the Lord, and be of them that act uprightly. Beware lest ye be accounted
among those who allow the verses of their Lord to pass them by unheard and
unrecognized; these, truly, are of the wayward.
78 Say: Would ye worship him who neither heareth nor seeth, and who is of
a truth the most abject and wretched of all God's servants? Wherefore have
ye failed to follow the One Who hath come unto you from the Source of
Divine Command bearing the tidings of God, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great? O people! Be not like unto those who presented themselves before
Our throne, and yet failed to perceive or comprehend; these are indeed a
contemptible people. We recited unto them verses that would enrapture the
dwellers of the heavenly Dominion and the inmates of the Kingdom on high,
and yet they departed veiled therefrom, and hearkened rather unto the
voice of him who is but a servant of God and a mere creation of His Will.
Thus do We impart unto you that which shall guide you towards the path of
God's favoured ones.
79 How many those who entered within the Abode of Paradise, the Seat
wherein the throne of God had been established, and stood before their
Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Great, only to inquire about the four
Gates or of some Imam of the Islamic Faith!(9) Such was the state of these
souls, if ye be of them that comprehend. It is even as ye witness in the
present day: those who have disbelieved in God and joined partners with
Him cling to a single one of Our Names, and are debarred from recognizing
Him Who is the Creator of all Names. We testify that such men are of a
truth amongst the people of the Fire. They ask the sun to expound the
words of the shadow, and the True One to explain the utterances of His
creatures, could ye but perceive it! Say: O people! The sun offereth
naught save the effulgence of its own light and that which appeareth
therefrom, whilst all else seek illumination from its rays. Fear God, and
be not of the ignorant! Among them also were those who inquired of the
darkness about the light. Say: Open thine eyes, that thou mayest behold
the brightness which hath visibly enveloped the earth! This, verily, is a
light which hath risen and shone forth above the horizon of the Dayspring
of divine knowledge with manifest radiance. Would ye ask the Jews whether
Jesus was the True One from God, or the idols if Muhammad was an Apostle
of His Lord, or inquire from the people of the Qur'an as to Him Who was
the Remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great?
80 Say: O people! Cast away, before the splendours of this Revelation, the
things that ye possess, and cleave to that which God hath bidden you
observe. Such is His command unto you, and He, verily, is best able to
command. By My Beauty! My purpose in revealing these words is to cause all
men to draw nigh unto God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised. Beware lest
ye deal with Me as ye dealt with My Herald. Do not object, when the verses
of God are sent down unto you from the Court of My favour, saying, "these
do not proceed from an innate and untaught nature", for that nature itself
hath been created by My word and circleth round Me, if ye be of them that
apprehend this truth. Inhale from the utterances of your Lord, the
All-Merciful, the sweet smell of the garment of inner meanings, which hath
been diffused throughout the entire creation and hath shed its fragrance
over all created things. Happy are those who perceive it and hasten unto
God with radiant hearts.
81 O Living Temple! We, verily, have made Thee a mirror unto the kingdom
of names, that Thou mayest be, amidst all mankind, a sign of My
sovereignty, a herald unto My presence, a summoner unto My beauty, and a
guide unto My straight and perspicuous Path. We have exalted Thy Name
among Our servants as a bounty from Our presence. I, verily, am the
All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. We have, moreover, adorned Thee with
the ornament of Our own Self, and have imparted unto Thee Our Word, that
Thou mayest ordain in this contingent world whatsoever Thou willest and
accomplish whatsoever Thou pleasest. We have destined for Thee all the
good of the heavens and of the earth, and decreed that none may attain
unto a portion thereof unless he entereth beneath Thy shadow, as bidden by
Thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We have conferred upon Thee
the Staff of authority and the Writ of judgement, that Thou mayest test
the wisdom of every command. We have caused the oceans of inner meaning
and explanation to surge from Thy heart in remembrance of Thy Lord, the
God of mercy, that Thou mayest render thanks and praise unto Him and be of
those who are truly thankful. We have singled Thee out from amongst all
Our creatures, and have appointed Thee as the Manifestation of Our own
Self unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth.
82 Bring then into being, by Our leave, resplendent mirrors and exalted
letters that shall testify to Thy sovereignty and dominion, bear witness
to Thy might and glory, and be the manifestations of Thy Names amidst
mankind. We have caused Thee again to be the Origin and the Creator of all
mirrors, even as We brought them forth from Thee aforetime. And We shall
cause Thee to return unto Mine own Self, even as We called Thee forth in
the beginning. Thy Lord, verily, is the Unconstrained, the All-Powerful,
the All-Compelling. Warn, then, these mirrors, once they have been made
manifest, lest they swell with pride before their Creator and Fashioner
when He appeareth amongst them, or let the trappings of leadership delude
and debar them from bowing in submission before God, the Almighty, the
All-Beauteous.