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with notes by
GEORGE RONALD, OXFORD
GEORGE RONALD, Publisher
46 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford 0X5 2DN
© R. W. McLaughlin 1982
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 0-85398-118-3 (Cloth)
ISBN 0-85398-119-1 (Paper)
Extracts from The Dawn-Breakers, by Nabil-i-A'zam, are
reprinted by permission of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
Printed in the United States of America
For and with Katherine
CONTENTS
Introduction.......................1 These Perspicuous Verses...........5 Notes.............................11 References........................91 Author's bio......................94
In this Day a great festival is taking place in the Realm above; for whatsoever was promised in the sacred Scriptures hath been fulfilled. This is the Day of great rejoicing. It behoveth everyone to hasten towards the court of His nearness with exceeding joy, gladness, exultation and delight and to deliver himself from the fire of remoteness.
Bahá'u'lláh
INTRODUCTION
The passage
which Bahá'u'lláh describes as 'these perspicuous verses' (ESW 131) appears in
two of His major Tablets: the 'Ishráqát' or Splendours (TB 117-19) and
the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. (ESW131-4 [paragraph 192. -J.W.])
Bahá'u'lláh states in both Tablets that 'these are the verses We sent down
previously' (TB 119 and ESW 134); and in the Epistle He adds: 'soon
after Our arrival in the prison-city of 'Akká' (ESW 134) Thus the verses
constituting this passage appear in the revealed Word of Bahá'u'lláh three
times. We can well ponder the significance of this.
This reader does not know to whom the verses had been 'sent
down previously'; that is, before their appearance in the 'Ishráqát' and
the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. We do know, however, that the
recipient, whoever he or she may be, is lovingly and tenderly described and
blessed with words within the verses such as: '0 thou who hast set thy face towards
the splendors of My Countenance!' and 'Blessed art thou, who hast fixed thy
gaze upon Me, for this Tablet which hath been sent down for thee. . .' and 'We,
verily, heard thy praise of this Cause.. . My glory be upon thee. . .' What a
beautiful anonymity!
The 'Ishráqát', where the verses are repeated, 'was
addressed to Jalíl-I-Khu'í, one of the early believers in Ádhirbáyján,
Persia. After the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh he broke the Covenant.' (TB 106 fn
1)
1
The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, where the verses
again appear, was addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Taqí of Isfahán.
With an unspeakable record of self-seeking intrigues and horrible crimes
against Bahá'ís, he was surnamed by Bahá'u'lláh 'the son of the wolf', even as
his father had been denounced as 'the wolf'. The Guardian refers to him as
'that rapacious priest' (GPB 219) and 'that notorious and bloodthirsty Mujtahid
of Isfahán'. (BA 171) We reflect and wonder at the extent of human depravity
demonstrated by a person to whom these perspicuous verses are addressed; and
yet, in the Epistle, Bahá'u'lláh addresses him as one who still might
mend his ways and lead a life of service to the Faith. Is Bahá'u'lláh reaching
out to outer limits in order to include every one of us within His message?
The verses were thus successively revealed: soon after 1868
when Bahá'u'lláh arrived in 'Akká; then after the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
c. 1873; and shortly before the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh in 1892.
So much for people and dates. What matters is the verses
themselves and what each of us finds as he becomes immersed in them.
The verses constituting the Tablet consist essentially of
questions and answers. The questions, asked by 'dwellers of the earth' who are
described in the second and third sentences, are usually phrased in the words
of earlier scriptures that expressed expectation of the Day of Resurrection.
Passages from the Qur'án and the Bible that may have suggested the questions
are cited in the Notes. Through the nature and source of the questions we
become aware not only of the continuity of Revelation, but of the degree to
which Revelation becomes perverted in meaning.
Bahá'u'lláh's answers, delivered in powerful, concise
phrases, concern matters whose nature is revealed
2
in greater degree elsewhere in His own Writings, and in some instances in other
Bahá'í texts, in the Qur'án, the Hadiths (Traditions), the Gospel and the
Pentateuch. Such passages are also cited in the Notes.
This Tablet stands as a pinnacle from which salient points
of past Revelation may be viewed. About it are spread the fertile plains,
towering peaks and flowing streams of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Each word
of these verses is a sign-post leading to riches in His Word.
Bahá'u'lláh refers to these verses, not only as
'perpicuous', but as constituting 'a Tablet which causeth the souls of men to
soar'. He says: 'Commit it to memory, and recite it.' He calls it 'a door to
the mercy of thy Lord' and says that 'Well is it with him that reciteth it at
even tide and at dawn'. (ESW 134; TB 119) Such characterizations cause the
reader to pause and reflect.
The text that follows is as it appears in the Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf. The introductory sentence does not appear in the 'Ishráqát'
where the text proper is identical except in details, some of which will be
mentioned.
The notes that accompany the text are, of course, in no
sense authoritative. They are only one reader's observations and speculations
to be shared as possible tools in a common search for the gems that lie in the
richly laden mine of the verses.
Whoever follows the references in the notes will want to
'read around' them in the contexts in which they appear. The passages will then
gain in meaning, and the reader will find other portions of the Writings that
will bring further enlightenment.
Robert W. McLaughlin
3
THESE PERSPICUOUS VERSES
5
Among others, these perspicuous (1) verses have,
in answer to certain individuals, been sent down from the Kingdom of Divine
knowledge:
'0 thou who hast set thy face(2) towards the splendours
of My Countenance!(3)
Vague fancies have encompassed the dwellers of the earth and debarred them from
turning towards the Horizon of Certitude, and its brightness, and its manifestations
and its lights. Vain imaginings have withheld them from Him Who is the
Self-Subsisting.(4)
They speak as prompted by their own caprices,(5) and
understand not.(6)
Among them are those who have said: "Have the verses (7) been sent
down?" Say: "Yea, by Him Who is the Lord of the heavens!"
"Hath the Hour (8) come?"
"Nay, more; it hath passed, by Him Who is the Revealer of clear tokens!
Verily, the Inevitable (9) is come, and
He, the True One,(10)
hath appeared with proof and testimony.(11) The Plain(12) is
disclosed, and mankind is sore vexed and fearful.(13) Earthquakes(14) have broken
loose, and the tribes have lamented,(15) for fear of
God, the Lord of Strength, the All-Compelling." Say: "The stunning
trumpet-blast(16)
hath been loudly raised, and the Day(17) is God's,
the One, the Unconstrained." "Hath the Catastrophe(18) come to
pass?" Say:
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Yea, by the Lord of Lords!" "Is the Resurrection(19) come?" "Nay, more; He Who is the Self-Subsisting hath appeared with the Kingdom of His signs."(20) "Seest thou men laid low?"(21) "Yea, by my Lord, the Exalted, the Most High!" "Have the tree-stumps(22) been uprooted?" "Yea, more; the mountains have been scattered in dust;(23) by Him the Lord of attributes!"(24) They say: "Where is Paradise, and where is Hell?" Say: "The one is reunion with Me;(25) the other thine own self,(26) 0 thou who dost associate a partner(27) with God and doubtest." They say: "We see not the Balance."(28) Say:"Surely, by my Lord, the God of Mercy! None can see it except such as are endued with insight."(29) "Have the stars fallen?"(30) Say: "Yea, when He Who is the Self-Subsisting dwelt in the Land of Mystery (Adrianople).(31) Take heed, ye who are endued with discernment!"(32) All the signs appeared when We drew forth the Hand of Power from the bosom of majesty and might.(33) Verily, the Crier hath cried out,34 when the promised time(35) came, and they that have recognized the splendors of Sinai(36) have swooned away in the wilderness of hesitation,(37) before the awful majesty of thy Lord, the Lord of creation. The trumpet asketh: "Hath the Bugle(38) been sounded?" Say: "Yea, by the King of Revelation! when He mounted the throne of His Name, the All-Merciful" Darkness hath been chased away by
8
the dawning-light(39) of the mercy of thy Lord, the Source of all light. The breeze of the All-Merciful hath wafted(40) and the souls have been quickened in the tombs of their bodies(41) Thus hath the decree been fulfilled by God, the Mighty, the Beneficent(42) They that have gone astray have said: "When were the heavens cleft asunder?"(43) Say: "While ye lay in the graves of waywardness and error."(44) Among the heedless(45) is he who rubbeth his eyes, and looketh to the right and to the left. Say: "Blinded art thou/"(46) No refuge hast thou to flee to."(47) And among them is he who saith: "Have men been gathered together?"(48) Say: "Yea, by My Lord! whilst thou didst lie in the cradle of idle fancies."(49) And among them is he who saith: "Hath the Book(50) been sent down through the power of the true Faith?" Say: "The true Faith itself is astounded."(51) Fear ye, 0 ye men of understanding heart!" And among them is he who saith: "Have I been assembled with others, blind?"(52) Say: "Yea, by Him that rideth upon the clouds!"(53) Paradise is decked with mystic roses, and hell hath been made to blaze with the fire of the impious.(54) Say: "The light hath shone forth from the horizon of Revelation, and the whole earth hath been illumined at the coming of Him Who is the Lord of the Day of the Covenant!"(55) The doubters have perished,(56) whilst he that turned, guided by the light of assurance,(57) unto the Dayspring of
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Certitude(58) hath
prospered. Blessed art thou, who hast fixed thy gaze upon Me,(59) for this
Tablet which hath been sent down for thee — a Tablet which causeth the
souls of men to soar. Commit it to memory,(60)and recite
it. By My life! It is a door to the mercy of thy Lord. Well is it with him that
reciteth(61)
it at even tide and at dawn.(62) We, verily,
hear thy praise of this Cause, through which the mountain of knowledge was
crushed,(63)
and men's feet have slipped.(64) My glory be
upon thee and upon whomsoever hath turned unto the Almighty, the All-Bounteous.
The Tablet is ended, but the theme is unexhausted. Be patient, for thy Lord is
Patient.(65)
(ESW 131-4 [paragraph 192. -J.W.]; and see also TB 117-19)
10
scroll down to see the note
corresponding to the number given above
NOTES
11
1. The word
'perspicuous' comes from the Latin perspicere (to see through), then perspicuus
(transparent, clear) and so came into our language with its meaning of
clear, evident. (See OED and Webster.) The word appears in the Writings in
various contexts, such as:perspicuous signs' (ESW 97); 'perspicuous Book' (ESW
102; Q 10:62); 'perspicuous words' (ESW 115); a perspicuous and luminous
Revelation' (G 196); and 'Thy perspicuous utterances'. (PM 287)
When we build the meanings of words into our consciousness,
we more fully experience and understand the Word of God. Bahá'u'lláh writes:
'Thus have We adorned the heaven of Our Tablet with the suns of Our words.
Blessed the man that hath attained thereunto, and been illumined with their
light. . .' (ESW 103; TB 216) There is more to the comprehension of the
meanings of words as they appear in the Writings than is found in dictionaries,
essential as they are. This is not a game of wordsmanship. Bahá'u'lláh
writes:'Know thou that he is truly learned who hath acknowledged My Revelation,
and drunk from the Ocean of My knowledge, and soared in the atmosphere of My
love, and cast away all else besides Me, and taken firm hold on that which hath
been sent down from the Kingdom of My wondrous utterance.' (ESW 83; TB 207-8)
Having turned to Bahá'u'lláh in our search for
understanding of His Word, we recognize His command: 'Meditate on that which We
have, through the power of truth, revealed unto thee, and be thou of them that
comprehend its meaning.' (G 70) As we
13
'ponder these sublime words, in
each of which the oceans of inner meaning and explanation are hidden,' (ESW
147) we find assurance in His statement that:
'We have variously and repeatedly set forth the meaning of
every theme, that perchance every soul, whether high or low, may obtain, according
to his measure and capacity, his share and portion thereof. Should he be unable
to comprehend a certain argument, he may, thus, by referring unto another,
attain his purpose. "That all sorts of men may know where to quench their
thirst."' (KI 175) The meanings of words that we seek are the meanings
that Bahá'u'lláh breathed into them.
2. In the
first sentence, '0 thou who hast set thy face ', these verses are addressed to
an individual who has turned to and apparently accepted Bahá'u'lláh. The three
sentences that follow are about those who have not; those debarred from Him by
their fancies and withheld from Him by their imaginings. The stage is now set
for the dramatic interplay between the questions of the dwellers of the earth
and the responses of Bahá'u'lláh, which together form the substance of this
Tablet.
We note the readiness of the Manifestation of God to
receive and answer questions. In the 'Súriy-i-Vafá (Tablet to Vafá) He wrote:
'Know thou moreover that thy letter reached Our presence and We perceived and
perused its contents. We noted the questions thou hast asked and will readily
answer thee. It behoveth everyone in this Day to ask God that which he
desireth, and thy Lord will heed his petition with wondrous and undeniable verses.'
(TB 183) The Writings of Bahá'u'lláh include phrases such as 'Thy letter from
which the fragrance of reunion was inhaled hath been
14
received' (TB 163); 'Thou hast inquired' (TB 190); 'as regards thine
assertions' (TB 140); 'concerning thy question' (G 169); 'concerning thy
reference' (G 192); 'We have repeatedly heard thy voice and have responded to
thee. . .' (TB 48)
It is a never-ending source of wonderment that Bahá'u'lláh,
who addresses His world-embracing message to all of mankind, at the same time
expresses in so personal a way His loving and tender concern for the
individual. Thus 'the incomparable figure of Bahá'u'lláh, transcendental in His
majesty, serene, awe-inspiring, unapproachably glorious' (WOB 97) stands ready
to enter directly the heart of whoever will turn to Him.
3.
'Countenance' is a word whose meaning, in the Writings, may be elusive in
definition. Dictionaries give meanings such as face, visage, expression,
demeanour, appearance, bearing or aspect; these have to be stretched quite far
as figures of speech when applied, as in the Writings, to the countenance of
God or of the Manifestation. There may be a clue to a wider and more suitable
meaning, no longer in common use, in the derivation of countenance from the Latin
contire, which means to hold together, to contain, and so may be
expressive of an entity, being or presence.
We best learn the meaning of words in the Writings through
pondering them in context. Here are some appearances of 'countenance':
'"Haste thee, 0 Carmel, for lo, the light of the countenance of God, the
Ruler of the Kingdom of Names and Fashioner of the heavens, hath been lifted
upon thee."' (G 14; TB 3) '. . .those Exponents of Oneness. . .These
Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and the Day Springs of
His Revelation.' (KI 153; G 51) 'For He, the
15
Mover of all beings, that glorified Countenance, is the source of such
potencies. . .' (KI 124)'. . .let the riches of Thine ancient countenance
deliver me from all except Thee, 0 my Master. . .' (PM 248; BP 76) 'the
countenance of divine knowledge' (TB 103) '. . .the Horizon aglow with the
light of His countenance.' (ESW 40)
4. The Word of
Bahá'u'lláh abounds in warnings about the idle fancies and vain imaginings which
man is so capable of generating. 'Well is it with him,' He writes, 'who, aided
by the living waters of Him Who is the Desire of all men, hath purified himself
from idle fancies and vain imaginings. . .' (ESW 42) Muhammad said of the
enemies of the Prophets: 'As Thou livest, 0 Muhammad! they are seized by the
frenzy of their vain fancies.' (Q 15:72, as quoted in KI 135) and 'tinsel
discourses do they suggest the one to the other, in order to deceive. .
.Therefore, leave them and their vain imaginings.' (Q 6:112)
We are warned throughout the Scriptures that our fancies
and imaginings can get us into all kinds of trouble; here Bahá'u'lláh's
specific warning is that they can debar and withhold us from Him.
In other contexts Bahá'u'lláh says: 'The accumulations of
vain fancy have obstructed men's ears and stopped them from hearing the Voice
of God, and the veils of human learning and false imaginings have prevented
their eyes from beholding the splendour of the light of His countenance.' (TB
240-1) 'We are quit of those ignorant ones who fondly imagine that Wisdom is to
give vent to one's idle imaginings and to repudiate God, the Lord of all men;
even as We hear some of the heedless voicing such assertions today.' (TB 150)
'Protect us, we beseech Thee, 0 my Lord,
16
from the hosts of idle fancies and vain imaginations.'(PM 323)
5. We read of
caprices in the Qur'án: 'Say: Bring then a Book from before God which shall be
a better guide than these, that I may follow it, if ye speak the truth. And if
they answer thee not, then know that verily they are following their own
caprices; and who goeth more widely astray than he who followeth his own
caprice* without guidance from God?' (Q 28:49-50)
6. The Qur'án
tells us that 'men of understanding only will take the warning' (Q 39:12);
and the Báb writes:'Thus on the Day of Resurrection God will ask everyone of
his understanding and not of his following in the footsteps of others.' (SB 90)
Bahá'u'lláh writes that 'First and foremost among these favors, which the
Almighty hath conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in
conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and
recognize the one true God — exalted be His glory. This gift giveth man the power
to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and
helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation.' (G 194); and 'He is endued
with understanding who is aware of Thy Revelation and hath acknowledged Thy
manifold tokens, Thy signs, and Thy testimonies.' (PM 269)
Thus we are shown the greatness of our bounty
* 'Caprice' came into the English language from the French Caprice, which came from the Italian capriccio, which derived from capo (head) + riccio (hedgehog), then back to the Latin (according to Webster). The porcupine is an American counterpart of the European hedgehog. GED derives capriccio as apparently from Capri (goat). The reader has only to resolve the relationship of the animals and the word. They are all capricious.
17
When we understand, and how great is our loss when we
'understand not'. 'Blessed are they that understand.' (ESW 50)
7. 'Verses',
as such, are frequently referred to by Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. They
appear to have a special station in their own right, both as instruments that
convey revelation, and as proof of revelation by virtue of their own nature. We
read in the Qur'án: 'Such are the verses of God: with truth do We recite them
to Thee. But in what revelation will they believe, if they reject God and His
verses?' (Q 45:5; KI 206) Bahá'u'lláh quotes this passage and adds: 'If
thou wilt grasp the implication of this verse, thou wilt recognize the truth
that no manifestation greater than the Prophets of God hath ever been revealed,
and no testimony mightier than the testimony of their revealed verses hath ever
appeared upon the earth.' (KI 206) The paragraphs before and after the
foregoing passage tell much of the nature of the verses of God (see KI 200-12).
Bahá'u'lláh further writes: 'He verily establisheth the truth through His
verses, and confirmeth His Revelation by His words.' (KI 219)
8.
Bahá'u'lláh, quoting words of Jesus spoken on the Mount of Olives, says:
'Hearken unto the melodies of the Gospel with the ear of fairness. He saith —
glorified be His utterance — prophesying the things that are to come: "But
of that Day and Hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son,
but the Father." By Father in this connection is meant God — exalted be
His glory. He, verily, is the True Educator, and the Spiritual Teacher.' (ESW
143, and see KJV Matthew 24:36)
Muhammad told of the Hour that was to come:
18
'...the promise of God is true, and that as to "the Hour" there is no
doubt of its coming.' (Q 18:20) 'Aye, "the Hour" will surely
come; there is no doubt of it; but most men believe it not.' (Q 40:61)
'They will ask thee of the Hour: for what time is its coming fixed? Say:The
knowledge of it is only with my Lord; none shall manifest it in its time but
He. . .' (Q 7:186) 'Lost are they who deny the meeting with God until
"the Hour" cometh suddenly upon them! Then will they say, "Oh,
our sighs for past negligence of this Hour. . ."' (Q 6:31)
The Qur'án has many other references to the Hour that was
to come. This reader is particularly aware of three great themes in that Book:
the teachings and laws of that Dispensation; accounts of the succession of
Manifestations that had gone before; and foretelling and warning of the Day and
the Hour to come. In each of these themes there is the constant reiteration and
explanation which the Messenger of God knows that mankind needs. . .'That Hour
is nearer to thee and nearer; it is ever nearer to thee and nearer still.'
(Q75:34-5)
Bahá'u'lláh describes the Hour which has now come.
Announcement has succeeded prophecy. 'Such is the greatness of this Day that
the Hour itself is seized with perturbation, and all heavenly Scriptures bear
evidence to its overpowering majesty.' (TB 237) 'Every hidden thing hath been
brought to light, by virtue of the Will of the Supreme Ordainer, He Who hath
ushered in the Last Hour, through Whom the Moon hath been cleft, and every
irrevocable decree expounded.' (G 211) 'As for them who have disbelieved in Him,
they shall be in the shadow of a black smoke. "The Hour" hath come
upon them, while they are disporting themselves. They have been seized by
19
their forelock, and yet know it not.' (G 43) 'Shake off, O heedless ones, the
slumber of negligence, that ye may behold the radiance which His glory hath
spread through the world. How foolish are those who murmur against the
premature birth of His light. 0 ye who are inly blind! Whether too soon or too
late, the evidences of His effulgent glory are now actually manifest. It
behoveth you to ascertain whether or not such a light hath appeared. It is
neither within your power nor mine to set the time at which it should be made
manifest. God's inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed its hour beforehand.' (G 103)
'This is the hour, 0 my Lord, which Thou hast caused to excel every other hour,
and hast related it to the choicest among Thy creatures.'(PM 146)
Words have a life of their own. 'The Hour' is not only a
point in time; it is a forecast revealed; a climate in which the present
exists; an event recorded in history. Its presence, seen as letters on a page,
or heard as sound-waves from the air, is filled with power. If one is truly
alive, it starts all sorts of things going in the consciousness. Words can also
be dead or dying; so can the hearer. (See note 44.) Bahá'u'lláh tells us
that:'Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the
omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled
into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of
this world-wide regeneration.'(G 92-3)
9. The
conference of the disciples of the Báb at Badasht, held while He was
imprisoned in the fortress of Chihríq, proclaimed the annulment of the
old order, abrogated the laws of Islam and ushered in the new Dispensation.
(See GPB 17, 31-4, 403) Following the
20
critical moment when Táhirih appeared unveiled Bahá'u'lláh directed that the
Súrih of the Inevitable, the fifty-sixth of the Qur'án, be recited. (MF 201) It
begins: 'When the inevitable day of judgment shall suddenly come, no soul shall
charge the prediction of its coming with falsehood: it will abase some, and
exalt others. When the earth shall be shaken with a violent shock; and the
mountains shall be dashed in pieces, and shall become as dust scattered abroad.
. .' (Q 56:1-6, Sale's translation) 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes the dramatic
circumstances of Badasht and concludes:'. . .thus was the new
Dispensation announced and the great Resurrection made manifest. . .The
Conference of Badasht broke up, but the universal Advent had been
proclaimed.' (MF 201)
Another Súrih of the Qur'án, the sixty-ninth, which Rodwell
also titles 'The Inevitable', opens with the words: 'The Inevitable! What is
the Inevitable? And who shall make thee comprehend what the Inevitable is?' (Q
69:1-3) Following this, the denials of peoples of past Dispensations are
recounted, those who 'treated the day of terrors as a lie' (Q 69:4) when
the Messengers of God came to them, 'That we might make that event a warning to
you,' (Q 69:12) and 'On that day the woe that must come suddenly shall
suddenly come.'(Q 69:15)
Bahá'u'lláh wrote: 'The thing that must come hath come
suddenly; behold how they flee from it! The inevitable hath come to pass;
witness how they have cast it behind their backs!' (G 43)
10.
Bahá'u'lláh is the True One. (See, for example, ESW 161, 163, 164, 165, 173) He
is the 'Day-Star of Truth' (ESW 159); the 'Sun of Truth' (ESW 160); and named
'Him Who is the Truth'. (ESW 168, 174)
21
'By the righteousness of God! Ye shall hear all things
proclaim: "Verily, He the True One is come. Blessed are they that judge
with fairness, and blessed they that turn towards Him!"' (ESW 65)
11. 'Proof' and
'testimony' may be termed analogous words; that is, words with a common basis
of meaning. Pairs of such words are frequently coupled in the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh: words such as might and power, grace and mercy, justice and
equity, sovereignty and dominion, awe and reverence, and many others. The
meanings of analogous words may be about as close as synonyms; or they may
deviate quite substantially from one underlying sense. When combined, they can
produce a richness of meaning, as do musical notes in a chord. Here, for
example, is a sentence from Bahá'u'lláh with five pairs of analogous words:
'Though my transgressions be manifold, and unnumbered my evil-doings, yet do I
cleave tenaciously to the cord of His bounty, and cling unto the hem of His
generosity.' (ESW 110)
Bahá'u'lláh writes specifically of proof and testimony:
'Praise be to God . . . He it is Who hath revealed His Cause for the guidance
of His creatures, and sent down His verses to demonstrate His Proof and His
Testimony. . .' (ESW 1); and 'The first and foremost testimony establishing His
truth is His own Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso
faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words
He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. (C 105)
12. The
appearance of the 'Plain' is reported in past Scriptures as a happening,
apparently symbolic, which is associated and concurrent with the coming of the
22
Manifestation. Isaiah proclaimed: 'The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together. . .' (KJV Isaiah 40:3-5) John the Baptist announced: 'As it is
written in the book of the words of Esaias [Isaiah], the prophet, saying, The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make His
paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall
be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways
shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' (KJV Luke
3:4-5; see also Mark 1:3)
The 'Plain' was further foretold and described in the
Qur'án, in the context of the Day of Resurrection:'And when the earth shall
have been stretched out as a plain, and shall have cast forth what was in her
and become empty, and duteously obeyed its Lord, then verily, 0 man who
desirest to reach thy Lord, shalt thou meet Him.' (Q 84:3-6) 'And they will ask
thee of the mountains. Say: scattering my Lord will scatter them in dust; and
He will leave them a level plain; thou shalt see in it no hollows or jutting
hills.' (Q 20:105-6; see also Q 18:45)
The Báb asks and answers: 'Do men imagine that We are far
distant from the people of the world? Nay, the day We cause them to be assailed
by the pangs of death they shall, upon the plain of Resurrection, behold how
the Lord of Mercy and His Remembrance were near.' (SB 46-7) And Bahá'u'lláh
refers to the 'holy Plain', perhaps in a more literal sense related to
23
the plain of 'Akká, as He proclaims: '0 Kings of the earth! Give ear unto the
Voice of God, calling from this sublime, this fruit-laden Tree, that hath
sprung out of the Crimson Hill, upon the holy Plain, intoning the words:
"There is none other God but He, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the
All-Wise."' (cited PDC 20)
Can this be the Plain of which it is said, in these verses:
The Plain is disclosed,and mankind is sore vexed and fearful'? Why should
mankind react in this way? In another Tablet Bahá'u'lláh tells us that: 'If the
learned and worldly-wise men of this age were to allow mankind to inhale the
fragrance of fellowship and love, every understanding heart would apprehend the
meaning of true liberty, and discover the secret of undisturbed peace and
absolute composure. Were the earth to attain this station and be illumined with
its light it could then be truly said of it: "Thou shall see in it no
hollows or rising hills."' (G 260; TB 162; with quotation from Q 20:106)
Shall we, with our God-given freedom to choose, elect to
follow those who are 'sore vexed and fearful' at this change of environment? Is
it not our bounty to turn to Bahá'u'lláh when 'the Plain is disclosed,' and
thus to 'discover the secret of undisturbed peace and absolute composure'?
13. To be
fearful means, of course, to be filled with fear. As a word which came from the
Anglo-Saxon faer, 'fear' has a wider meaning than is now generally
accorded it. Today, fear is commonly taken to mean fright, alarm, dread. That
seems to be a satisfactory definition of the fear in fearful, as it appears
here. But fear of God, as the term appears in the next sentence of the verse
and elsewhere throughout the Scriptures, implies to me a fear that is more than
a human reaction
24
to danger: it implies a more abiding relationship between man and God. Such a
relationship is indicated by the meaning that the Anglo-Saxon faer brought to
the English word 'fear': a meaning of reverence, awe, adoration. (See OED and
Webster) Thus to fear God means to revere Him, hold Him in awe, adore Him; all closely
associated and compatible in meaning with loving Him, glorifying Him and
praising Him. When we contemplate Bahá'u'lláh's repeated command 'Fear ye the
Merciful' (as in ESW 29, 86; PM 284; TB 41, 103) the meaning of fear as awe or
reverence seems to fit the context, as a meaning of fright or dread does not.
So also with the passage: 'Their hearts are illumined with the light of the
fear of God, and adorned with the adornment of His love.' (ESW 122)
It is understandable that the earlier, basic meaning of
fear has been largely forgotten, because the world in which we live seems to be
more afraid than reverent, more conscious of danger to itself than aware of the
might and power of its Creator.
I do not mean to imply that fear, thought of as awe or
reverence towards God, does not or should not include a sense of fear as dread;
for however we may love, adore and revere God, we are aware of what happens
should we turn away from Him, or disobey His commands.
The contemporary (and we hope temporary) lack of
understanding of the deeper significance of fear, particularly as related to
the fear of God, is an example of the tendency of our time to dilute
richly-endowed words with ephemeral considerations, or to shrink them into the
confines of current interests. Another example of this tendency lies in the
word 'magnify', which means to make great, from the Latin magnum (great)
and facere (to make), and thus to praise and
25
worship. But 'to magnify' is now taken to mean to enlarge in material size.
How, in that sense, can we understand 'Magnified be Thy Name, 0 Lord my God!'?
(PM 6) This reader finds it profitable to search out and ponder the
significance of words as they appeared in the King James version of the Bible,
and now in the Guardian's translations of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, as an
antidote to the anaemia that has affected the meanings of a number of our
finest words.
14. The
Prophet Joel said: 'Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the Day of
the Lord cometh,' and 'The earth shall quake before them. . .' (KJV Joel
2:1,10)
We read in the Qur'án: 'Verily, the earthquake of the last
Hour will be a tremendous thing!' (Q 22:1); 'The day cometh when the earth and
the mountains shall be shaken; and the mountains shall become a loose sand
heap.' (Q 73:14); 'When the earth with her quaking shall quake . . .' (Q 99:1);
'When the Day that must come shall have come suddenly, none shall treat that
sudden coming as a lie. Day that shall abase! Day that shall exalt! When the
earth shall be shaken with a shock.' (Q 56:1-4); 'And thou shalt see the
mountains, which thou thinkest so firm, pass away with the passing of a cloud!
'Tis the work of God, who ordereth all things!' (Q 27:90)
Bahá'u'lláh tells us of the upheavals that mark the Day of
Resurrection: 'This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the
clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty . . . The heaven of
every religion hath been rent, and the earth of human understanding been cleft
asunder, and the angels of God are seen descending. Say: This is the Day of
mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains
26
have passed away, and the heavens have been folded together, and the whole
earth is held within His grasp, could ye but understand it. Who is it that can
protect you? None, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! None, except God, the
Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Beneficent!' (G 45); and 'The earth hath quaked
with a great quaking, and cast forth her burdens. Will ye not admit it? Say:
Will ye not recognize how the mountains have become like flocks of wool. . .?'
(G 44); 'The earth hath been shaken, and the mountains have passed away, and
the angels have appeared, rank on rank, before Us.' (G 41)
When phenomena, such as earthquakes or the appearance of
stars, are mentioned in the Scriptures, they may be understood literally, or
symbolically, or in both senses. Bahá'u'lláh explains the meaning of the words:
'And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.' (KJV Matthew
24:30) He tells us that:
'By "heaven" is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as a star will appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of that most great light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act as a harbinger of the break of that true and exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and the invisible heaven, have announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of God. . .' (KI 62) Bahá'u'lláh then recounts the stars whose appearance in both the visible and invisible heavens announced the coming of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and the Báb. (KI 62-6)
As to earthquakes, we note 'Abdu'l-Bahá mention of two: one
to be understood literally and the other symbolically. In the first account,
'Abdu'l-Bahá quotes a prophecy in the Revelation of St John: 'And the same hour
was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of
27
the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand. . .'
(KJV Revelation 11:13) and then states: 'This earthquake occurred in Shíráz
after the martyrdom of the Báb. The city was in a turmoil, and many people were
destroyed. Great agitation also took place through diseases, cholera, dearth,
scarcity, famine and afflictions, the like of which had never been known.' (SAQ
65) Concerning another earthquake, 'Abdu'l-Bahá says: '. . .in the Gospel it is
written that at the martyrdom of Christ darkness prevailed, and the earth
quaked, and the veil of the Temple was rent. After weighing the evidence, He
says of these events that 'it is evident they ought not to be taken literally,
but as having an inner significance.' (SAQ 45)
The variety of ways in which men have interpreted
statements of natural phenomena in the Scriptures has been a cause of the rise
of schisms and sects in the Religions, and has resulted in denial of the true
message of God when it has come. If men assume a rigid, literal interpretation
of the phenomena, they can create assumptions that blind them to reality; yet
if they wave away all phenomena as symbolism, then reality can elude them. For
example, one group may decide that Christ will return to earth on a cloud, in a
literal sense, and until that happens they will not accept His return as the
truth; on the other hand, another group may announce that everything we have
been told about Christ is symbolic, even to His existence. Each attitude is
within the capabilities of man's fancies and imaginings. Each group tends to
solidify its position into dogma and to create another sect.
'Abdu'l-Bahá says: 'Inasmuch as human interpretations and
blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen
among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the
28
unity of the world of humanity destroyed.' (PUP 139) Bahá'u'lláh tells us:
'Inasmuch as it hath been clearly shown that only those who are initiated into
the divine mysteries can comprehend the melodies uttered by the Bird of Heaven,
it is therefore incumbent upon every one to seek enlightenment from the
illumined in heart and from the Treasuries of divine mysteries regarding the
intricacies of God's Faith and the abstruse allusions in the utterances of the
Daysprings of Holiness. Thus will these mysteries be unraveled, not by the aid
of acquired learning, but solely through the assistance of God and the
outpourings of His grace. "Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the
custody of the Scriptures, if ye know it not".' (KI 191-2; quotation from
Q 16:45)
15. In the Kitáb-i-Íqán
Bahá'u'lláh recounts the words of Jesus: 'And now,. . .with reference to
His words: "And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they
shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory".' (KI 66, quoting from KJV Matthew 24:30) Bahá'u'lláh then tells us
that:
'These words signify that in those days men will lament the
loss of the Sun of the divine beauty, of the Moon of knowledge, and of the
Stars of divine wisdom. Thereupon, they will behold the countenance of the
promised One, the adored Beauty, descending from heaven and riding upon the
clouds. By this is meant that the divine Beauty will be made manifest from the
heaven of the will of God, and will appear in the form of the human temple. The
term "heaven" denoteth loftiness and exaltation, inasmuch as it is
the seat of the revelation of those Manifestations of Holiness, the Day-springs
of ancient glory.' (KI 66-7)
Phrases in the passage above: 'these words signify', 'by
this is meant', 'the term denoteth', reach us as the
29
patient concern of the Author for our understanding of His Word. Bahá'u'lláh,
the kindly Teacher, pauses throughout the majesty of His Writings to explain
the meaning of words within His Word. He defines terms, interprets passages,
and unravels mysteries.
16. Scriptures
from early times make mention of the trumpet in association with and as
symbolic of Revelation.
In the Pentateuch we read that: 'Moses went down from the
Mount unto the people. . . And it came to pass. . .that there were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud. . .And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet
with God and they stood at the nether part of the Mount. And Mount Sinai was
altogether on a smoke. . .and the whole Mount quaked greatly. And when the
voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake,
and God answered Him by a voice. (KJV Exodus 19:14-19)
The prophet Isaiah proclaimed: 'All ye inhabitants of the
world, and dwellers on the earth. . . when He bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.' (KJV
Isaiah 18:3)
Speaking from the Mount of Olives, Jesus declared:'And then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with
a great sound of a trumpet. . .'(KJV Matthew 24:30-1)
In the Book of Revelation, St. John likened the voice of
God to a trumpet: 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a
great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the
30
last. . .' (KJV Revelation 1:10-11); and 'After this I looked and, behold, a
door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was, as it were,
of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither and I will show thee
things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit and,
behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.' (KJV Revelation
4:1-2) There follows, in the Book of Revelation, an account of seven trumpets
which seven angels sounded. (KJV Revelation 8, 9 and 11)
The Qur'án contains many mentions of the trumpet, of which
the following are examples: 'And the trumpet shall be blown, and lo, they shall
speed out of their sepulchres to their Lord.' (Q 36:51); 'For when there shall
be a trump on the trumpet, that shall be a distressful day. . .' (Q 74:8-9);
'And there shall be a blast on the trumpet — it is the threatened Day!' (Q
50:19); 'Lo, the day of severance is fixed, the day when there shall be a blast
on the trumpet. . .' (Q 78:17); 'One day the disturbing trumpet-blast shall
disturb it, which the second blast shall follow. Men's hearts on that day shall
quake.' (Q 79:6-7) 'And there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and all who are
in the heavens and all who are in the earth shall expire, save those whom God
shall vouchsafe to live. Then shall there be another blast on it, and lo!
arising they shall gaze around them; and the earth shall shine with the light
of her Lord; and the Book shall be set; and the prophets shall be brought up,
and the witnesses; and judgment shall be given between them with equity; and
none shall be wronged; and every soul shall receive as it shall have wrought,
for well knoweth He men's actions. . .' (Q 39:68-70)
The significance of the two blasts on the trumpet,
mentioned in the two passages immediately above, was noted by Siyyid Kázim, the
Islamic teacher who
31
foresaw the imminent coming of the Promised Ones. In an address to his
disciples, shortly before the Declaration of the Báb, he said: 'For soon after
the first trumpet-blast which is to smite the earth with extermination and
death, there shall be sounded again yet another call, at which all things will
be quickened and revived. Then will the meaning of these sacred verses be
revealed: "And there was a blast on the trumpet.
Then was there sounded another blast. . ."' (Q 39:68)
Siyyid Kázim adds: 'Verily I say, after the Qá'im the Qayyúm will be made
manifest.' And, 'How often has that venerable soul, Shaykh Ahmad,
recited those verses of the Qur'án already referred to!' (DB 41-2) (See DB 1-46
for an account of Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim, who foretold the
trumpet-blasts that would signal the coming of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.)
As we turn to the words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself we note that
whereas Muhammad referred to the trumpet-blasts as in the future, Bahá'u'lláh
mentions them, as we might expect, as events of the past: 'Say:by God!' He
writes, 'The blast hath been blown on the trumpet, and lo, mankind hath swooned
away before us!' (G 43); 'Verily We have sounded the Trumpet which is none
other than My Pen of Glory. . .' (TB 61); 'By Him Who is the Great
Announcement!. . .The Trumpet hath been blown, and lo, all eyes have stared up
with terror, and the hearts of all who are in the heavens and on the earth have
trembled, except them whom the breath of the verses of God hath quickened, and
who have detached themselves from all things.' (G 40); 'Speed out of your
sepulchres. How long will ye sleep? The second blast hath been blown on the
trumpet.' (G 44)
Bahá'u'lláh repeats the words of the prophet Isaiah:
'"Say to them that are of a fearful heart: be strong, fear
32
not, behold your God,"' and says: 'This blessed verse is a proof of the
greatness of the Revelation, and of the greatness of the Cause, inasmuch as the
blast of the trumpet must needs spread confusion throughout the world, and fear
and trembling amongst all men. Well is it with him who hath been illumined with
the light of trust and detachment. The tribulations of that Day will not hinder
or alarm him.' (ESW 147)
17. The Báb
announced the arrival of the Days of God: 'When God sent forth His Prophet
Muhammad, on that day the termination of the prophetic cycle was foreordained
in the knowledge of God. Yea, that promise hath indeed come true and the decree
of God hath been accomplished as He hath ordained. Assuredly we are today
living in the Days of God. These are the glorious days on the like of which the
sun hath never risen in the past. These are the days which the people in bygone
times eagerly expected. What hath then befallen you that ye are fast asleep?
These are the days wherein God hath caused the Day-Star of Truth to shine
resplendent. What hath then caused you to keep your silence? These are the
appointed days which ye have been yearningly awaiting in the past — the days of
the advent of divine justice. Render ye thanks unto God, 0 ye concourse of
believers.' (SB 161)
The first forty-six pages of Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá'u'lláh are largely devoted to the Day of God. We repeat several
passages: 'In the Book of Isaiah it is written: "Enter into the rock, and
hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His
majesty." No man that meditateth upon this verse can fail to recognize the
greatness of this Cause, or doubt the exalted character of this Day — the Day
of God
33
Himself. This same verse is followed by these words:"And the Lord alone
shall be exalted in that Day." This is the Day which the Pen of the Most High
hath glorified in all the holy Scriptures. There is no verse in them that doth
not declare the glory of His holy Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto
the loftiness of this most exalted theme. Were We to make mention of all that
hath been revealed in these heavenly Books and holy Scriptures concerning this
Revelation, this Tablet would assume impossible dimensions. It is incumbent, in
this Day, upon every man to place his whole trust in the manifold bounties of
God, and arise to disseminate, with the utmost wisdom, the verities of His
Cause. Then, and only then, will the whole earth be enveloped with the morning
light of His Revelation.' (G 13-14). This passage is followed in Gleanings by
the 'Tablet of Carmel' which opens with the words: 'All glory be to this Day,
the Day in which the fragrances of mercy have been wafted over all created
things, a Day so blest that past ages and centuries can never hope to rival it,
a Day in which the countenance of the Ancient of Days hath turned towards His holy
seat.' (G 14; TB 3); and near the end of the Tablet Bahá'u'lláh, addressing
Carmel, utters the prophetic announcement: 'Verily this is the Day in which
both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been
laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind
or heart, hath destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon
thee, and will manifest the people ofBahá who have been mentioned in the Book
of Names.' (G 16; TB 5) By 'the people of Bahá' are meant, in this instance,
the members of the Universal House of Justice. (See The Constitution of the
Universal House of Justice, p. 6.)
'Know thou that the ear of man hath been created
34
that it may hearken unto the Divine Voice on this Day that hath been mentioned
in all the Books, Scriptures, and Tablets.' (ESW 2)
18. The word
'catastrophe' derives from the Greek kata (down) + strephein (to
turn), thus an overturning, overthrowing. In drama it indicates a turn of the
plot, a denouement, an unravelling towards an ending. In geology it means a
sudden and violent physical change of the earth. (See OED and Webster) These
are specialized meanings that shed light on the more general intent of the
word. It has come, currently, to have a rather loose meaning of any sudden
disaster. The Guardian, who did not use words loosely, wrote in 1941: 'A
tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its course,
catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably glorious in its ultimate
consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth.' (PDC 1) In
describing the Conference at Badasht (see note 9) he said: 'On that memorable
day the "Bugle" mentioned in the Qur'án was sounded, the "stunning
trumpet-blast" was loudly raised, and the "Catastrophe" came
to pass.' (GPB 33)
The Catastrophe may be understood in the light of the
Resurrection which is discussed in the following note.
19. The word
'resurrection' comes from the Latin re (again) + surgere (to
rise), then resurrectio (a rising again). (See OED and Webster.)
Bahá'u'lláh tells us that the 'Catastrophe' and the 'Resurrection' have come.
They appear to the human eye as happenings in opposite directions: the
Catastrophe trending downward in a breaking up of the old order, and the
Resurrection rising to fulfillment in the coming of the Manifestation.
35
In the Qur'án we read: 'It is God who sendeth forth the
winds which raise the clouds aloft; then drive We them on to some land dead
from drought, and give life thereby to the earth after its death. So shall be
the resurrection.' (Q 35:10)
The Báb expounds the meaning of the Day of Resurrection. He
writes, referring to His Holy Book: 'The Bayán shall constitute God's unerring
balance till the Day of Resurrection which is the Day of Him Whom God will make
manifest.' (SB 102) And: 'In the estimation of God and according to the usage
of such as are initiated into divine mysteries, what is meant by the Day of
Resurrection is this, that from the time of the appearance of Him Who is the
Tree of divine Reality, at whatever period and under whatever name, until the
moment of His disappearance, is the Day of Resurrection.' (SB 106-7)
Bahá'u'lláh writes of '. . .the Day of Resurrection, which
is the Day of the rise of God Himself through His all-embracing Revelation,'
and adds: 'This is the meaning of the "Day of Resurrection," spoken
of in all the scriptures, and announced unto all people. Reflect, can a more
precious, a mightier, and more glorious day than this be conceived, so that man
should willingly forego its grace, and deprive himself of its bounties, which
like unto vernal showers are raining from the heaven of mercy upon all mankind?
Having thus conclusively demonstrated that no day is greater than this Day, and
no revelation more glorious than this Revelation, and having set forth all
these weighty and infallible proofs which no understanding mind can question,
and no man of learning overlook, how can man possibly, through the idle
contention of the people of doubt and fancy, deprive himself of such a
bountiful grace? Have they not heard the well-known
36
tradition: "When the Qá'im riseth, that day is the Day of
Resurrection"?' (KI 143-4) He further says: 'It hath been demonstrated and
definitely established, through clear evidences, that by
"Resurrection" is meant the rise of the Manifestation of God to
proclaim His Cause, and by "attainment unto the divine Presence is meant
attainment unto the presence of His Beauty in the person of His Manifestation.'
(KI 170)
Thus we have the statements of the Báb and of Bahá'u'lláh
as to the meaning of the 'Resurrection'.
I venture an observation as to the relationship between the
Catastrophe and the Resurrection: that the Catastrophe may be thought of as a
turning down, a denouement, a disintegration of the old, prophetic order; while
the Resurrection is expressive of the rise of the Manifestation at the dawn of
the cycle of fulfillment.
20. The fourth
section of Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (SAB 13-17) is
devoted to a description and elucidation of phenomena that accompanied the
coming of Bahá'u'lláh. These are the happenings, appearances and evidences that
Bahá'u'lláh refers to in these perspicuous verses as 'the Kingdom of His
Signs', a term that is recognized and understood in the light of 'the
sovereignty of Him Who is the King of kings'. (KI 123)
'Sign' is one of those words that have shrunk in meaning in
our time of trivia and material concerns. As we reflect on its appearance in the
Word of Bahá'u'lláh and in the interpretive passages of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, we have
the opportunity to regain the sense of the word as it has appeared in all the
Holy Books and Scriptures.
The Manifestations of God have progressively and
consistently brought with them signs of their coming —
37
signs by which they have ultimately been recognized, and by which they would
have been recognized early on by more than a handful, except that, in the words
of the Qur'án : 'Never did one single sign from among the signs of their Lord
come to them, but they turned away from it.' (Q 6:4)
The Qur'án abounds in references to 'signs', such as, for
example: 'And He showeth you His signs; which, then, of the signs of God will
ye deny?' (Q 40:81) Muhammad recounted in the Súrih of Húd (Q:11) the failure
of people at the time of past Dispensations to recognize the signs of the
Prophets; and Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'To them that are possessed of true
understanding and insight the Súrih of Húd surely sufficeth.' (KI 5) In the
Pentateuch, the Gospel, the Qur'án, and in the Words of the Báb and of
Bahá'u'lláh, we read of this drama of revelation and rejection, re-enacted with
variations in each Dispensation. It may be thought of as the theme that
underlies the dialogue in 'these perpicuous verses'.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'Praise be to God, the Eternal that
perisheth not, the Everlasting that declineth not, the Self-Subsisting that
altereth not. He it is Who is transcendent in His sovereignty, Who is manifest
through His signs, and is hidden through His mysteries.' (ESW 1) And: 'Happy
that one who hath cast away his vain imaginings, when He Who was hid came with
the standards of His signs. We, verily, have announced unto men this Most Great
Revelation, and yet the people are in a state of strange stupor.' (ESW 79) And:
'He hath endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God.
How could He, otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of
them that ponder His Cause in their hearts. (G 105-6) 'Praise be to Thee, 0 my
God, that Thou
38
hast aided me to remember Thee and to praise Thee, and hast made known unto me
Him Who is the Day-Spring of Thy signs. . .' (PM 322)
21. Muhammad
said: 'Truly they who oppose God and His Apostle shall be brought low, as those
who were before them were brought low. . . On the day when God shall raise them
all to life. . .' (Q 58:6-7)
Bahá'u'lláh wrote: 'He whose advent hath been foretold in
the heavenly Scriptures is come, could ye but understand it. The world's
horizon is illumined by the splendours of this Most Great Revelation. Haste ye
with radiant hearts and be not of them that are bereft of understanding. The
appointed Hour hath struck and mankind is laid low.' (TB 244)
One may wonder at mankind being laid low in this 'the Day
in which the fragrances of mercy have been wafted over all created things. . .'
(G 14; TB 3) Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'Know thou moreover that in the Day of His
Manifestation all created things besides God shall be brought forth and placed
equally, irrespective of their rank being high or low. The Day of Return is
inscrutable unto all men until after the divine Revelation hath been fulfilled.
He is in truth the One Who ordaineth whatsoever He willeth. When the Word of
God is revealed unto all created things whoso then giveth ear and heedeth the
Call is, indeed, reckoned among the most distinguished souls, though he be a
carrier of ashes. And he who turneth away is accounted as the lowliest of His
servants, though he be a ruler amongst men and the possessor of all the books
that are in the heavens and on earth.' (TB 186)
One must recognize Revelation as a mighty force capable of
raising mankind to ever higher levels, if only men will allow it. It is not a
spoon-fed palliative,
39
handed out to tranquilize the ills of mankind. That is the nature of human
fancies and imaginings taking the form of philosophies, movements, cults and
sects that come and go. Revelation, expressed through the Word, is a directive
of the Divine Physician, a prescription and command which man is free either to
heed or to turn away from. Revelation is not an abstraction, nor only a
spiritual vibration in a remote world; it involves a relationship between God
and man through His Manifestation.
Bahá'u'lláh tells us, further: 'The Blast hath been blown
on the Trumpet of the Bayán as decreed by the Lord, the Merciful, and all that
are in the heavens and on the earth have swooned away except such as have
detached themselves from the world, cleaving fast unto the Cord of God, the
Lord of mankind. This is the Day in which the earth shineth with the effulgent
light of thy Lord, but the people are lost in error and have been shut out as
by a veil. We desire to regenerate the world, yet they have resolved to put an
end to My life. Thus have their hearts prompted them in this Day — a Day which
hath been made bright by the radiant light of the countenance of its Lord, the
Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Unconstrained.' (TB 244)
22. We read in
the Qur'án of happenings with the people of 'Ád who rejected the Prophet Húd:
'The Adites called the truth a lie; but how great was My vengeance and My
menace! For We sent against them a roaring wind in a day of continued distress.
It tore men away as though they were uprooted palm stumps.' (Q 54:18-20)
Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'With the arm of might and power We
have rescued a number of souls from the slough of impending extinction and
enabled them to
40
attain the Dayspring of glory. . .Nevertheless some people seem to have been
seized with epilepsy, others are torn up even as hollow tree-stumps.' (TB 241)
Thus a symbol of uprooted tree-stumps seems to have carried
over from the Islamic world.
23. The
mountain is probably the ultimate symbol on earth of sheer greatness and
lastingness. Muhammad said: 'He it is who hath outstretched the earth, and
placed on it the firm mountains . . .(Q 13:3) Bahá'u'lláh wrote: 'And at
whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of
Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence.' (PM272)
Throughout the ages mountains have stood as landmarks in
the unfoldment of Revelation; witness Ararat, Sinai, Horeb, Paran, Seir, the
Mount of Olives, Carmel.
Thus for mountains to have been scattered in dust is a
pretty extreme situation, even symbolically. Muhammad said that it would
happen: 'The Day cometh when the earth and the mountains shall be shaken; and
the mountains shall become a loose sand heap.' (Q 73:14) 'And they will ask thee
of the mountains. Say: scattering my Lord will scatter them in dust.' (Q20:105)
Muhammad also describes this awesome happening in a
delightful simile, familiar in days of spinning and weaving in the home: 'The
Day when men shall be like scattered moths, and the mountains shall be like
flocks of carded wool.' (Q 101:3-4; see also Q 70:8-9) Bahá'u'lláh asks: 'Will
ye not recognize how the mountains have become like flocks of wool, how the
people are sore vexed at the awful majesty of the Cause of God?'(G 44-5)
41
An episode in the Qur'án about Noah, His son, the Ark and
the flood, illustrates the inadequacy, particularly in times such as these, of
any refuge except the Ark, even a mountain: 'The Ark moved on with them amid
waves like mountains; and Noah called to His son, for he was apart:
"Embark with us, 0 my child, and be not with the unbelievers."' His
son replied: '"I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from
the water."' Noah said: '"None shall be secure this Day from the
decree of God, save him on whom He shall have mercy." And a wave passed
between them and he [the son] was among the drowned.' (Q 11:44-5)
24. Throughout
these verses, as elsewhere in His Writings, Bahá'u'lláh utters words and
phrases about God that we generally refer to as attributes, names or titles.
They are descriptive of qualities associated with God, known to men through
their appearance in and expression by His Manifestation. In these verses the
following titles, names or attributes of God or the Manifestation appear: 'the
Self-Subsisting; the Lord of the Heavens; the Revealer of clear tokens; the
True One; the Lord of Strength, the All-Compelling; the One, the Unconstrained;
the Lord of Lords; the Self-Subsisting (again); my Lord, the Exalted, the Most
High;* the Lord of attributes; my Lord, the God of Mercy; the Self-Subsisting
(still again); thy Lord, the Lord of Creation; the King of Revelation; His
Name, the All-Merciful; thy Lord, the Source of all light; the All-Merciful;
God, the Mighty, the Beneficent; Him Who is the Lord of the Day of the
Covenant; the Almighty, the All-Bounteous.'
* In place of 'the Exalted, the Most High' as here in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, 'the Most High, the Most Glorious' appears in the 'Ishráqát'.
42
Thus Bahá'u'lláh weaves into the fabric of His Word, as one
breathing while speaking, a medley of praise and glorification of God.
25. As we seek
to understand the meaning of reunion, Bahá'u'lláh provides us with verses such as
these:'Great indeed is the blessedness of him who attaineth Thy presence,
drinketh the wine of reunion proffered by the hand of Thy bounteousness,
inhaleth the fragrance of Thy signs, unlooseth his tongue in celebrating Thy
praise, soareth high in Thy heavens, is carried away by the sweetness of Thy
voice, gaineth admittance into the most exalted Paradise and attaineth the
station of revelation and vision before the throne of Thy majesty.' (TB 116)
'Proclaim unto every longing lover: "Behold, your Well-Beloved hath come
among men!" and to the messengers of the Monarch of love impart the
tidings: "Lo, the Adored One hath appeared arrayed in the fullness of His
glory!" 0 lovers of His beauty! Turn the anguish of your separation from
Him into the joy of an everlasting reunion, and let the sweetness of His
presence dissolve the bitterness of your remoteness from His court.' (G 320)
'Hijáz is astir by the breeze announcing the tidings of joyous reunion.
"Praise be to Thee," We hear her exclaim, "0 my Lord, the Most
High. I was dead through my separation from Thee; the breeze laden with the
fragrance of Thy presence hath brought me back to life."' (WOB 105) 'The
Flower, thus far hidden from the sight of men, is unveiled to your eyes. In the
open radiance of His glory He standeth before you. His voice summoneth all the
holy and sanctified beings to come and be united with Him. (G 322) 'Let the
flame of search burn with such fierceness within your hearts as to enable you
to attain your supreme and most exalted
43
goal — the station at which ye can draw nigh unto, and be united with, your
Best-Beloved. . .' (G 323-4) '0 Son of Being! Thy Paradise is My love; thy
heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which
hath been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our exalted dominion.' (HW
No. 6 from the Arabic) 'Whoso hath recognized the Day Spring of Divine guidance
and entered His holy court hath drawn nigh unto God and attained His Presence,
a Presence which is the real Paradise, and of which the loftiest mansions of
heaven are but a symbol.' (G 70) 'For lovers have no desire but the
good-pleasure of their Beloved, and have no aim except reunion with Him.' (KI
129)
26. The self
is not a static something that can be described in one crisp statement; it is
constantly in a state of change. At times it may be seeking reunion with God,
at others driven about by fancies and imaginings. It eludes capture as a single
image. It appears in the Writings as on frames in a motion-picture. When
successive frames are projected, images enter the consciousness and meld into
understanding. Here are some of the 'frames' that appear in the Book of
Bahá'u'lláh.
'. . .man should know his own self and recognize that
which leadeth unto loftiness or lowliness, glory or abasement, wealth or
poverty.' (TB 35) 'Through the Teachings of this Day Star of Truth every man
will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can
manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hath been
endowed. It is for this very purpose that in every age and dispensation the
Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men. . .' (G 68)
44
Obviously those passages are not indicative of the self
that Bahá'u'lláh associates with Hell, nor are the next ones: 'Let your vision
be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self' (G 94; TB 87) 'Burn
away, wholly for the sake of the Well-Beloved, the veil of self with the flame
of the undying Fire. . .' (G 316) Here the atmosphere becomes ominous and in
the following passages the self is exposed as a potentially evil force. We
assume that it is such an aspect of self that Bahá'u'lláh equates with Hell.
'Thine heart is My treasury, allow not the treacherous hand
of self to rob thee of the pearls which I have treasured therein.' (G 322)
'Thou seest, 0 my Lord, how Thy servants are held captive by their own selves
and desires. Redeem them from their bondage, 0 my God.. .' (PM 52) 'I implore
Thee, 0 my God. . .not to abandon me unto my self, for my heart is prone to
evil.' (PM 210) 'Divest, then, Thy servants, 0 my God, of the garments of self
and desire, or grant that the eyes of Thy people may be lifted up to such
heights that they will discern in their desires naught except the stirring of
the gentle winds of Thine eternal glory, and may recognize in their own selves
nothing but the revelation of Thine own merciful Self. . .' (PM 324) '0 son of
spirit! There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto
Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My name, not in thine own. . .' (HW No. 8
from the Arabic) '0 My servant! Free thyself from the fetters of this world,
and loose thy soul from the prison of self. . .' (HW No. 40 from the Persianş.
. .'0 My servant! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the
darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer's knowledge.
Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be
made resplendent and
45
manifest unto all the world.' (HW No. 72 from the Persian) '0 son of man! If
thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself. . .' (HW No. 7 from the Arabic)
'Abdu'l-Bahá comments: 'Regarding the statement in The
Hidden Words, that man must renounce his own self, the meaning is that he
must renounce his inordinate desires, his selfish purposes and the promptings
of his human self, and seek out the holy breathings of the spirit, and follow
the yearnings of his higher self, and immerse himself in the sea of sacrifice,
with his heart fixed upon the beauty of the All-Glorious. . . As to the
reference in the Arabic Hidden Words that the human being must become
detached from self, here too the meaning is that he should not seek out
anything whatever for his own self in this swiftly-passing life, but that he
should cut the self away, that is, he should yield up the self and all its
concerns on the field of martyrdom, at the time of the coming of the Lord.'
(SAB 207)
'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed one of the Afnán: 'Let us not keep
on forever with our fancies and illusions, with our analyzing and interpreting
and circulating of complex dubieties. Let us put aside all thoughts of self;
let us close our eyes to all on earth, let us neither make known our sufferings
nor complain of our wrongs. Rather let us become oblivious of our own selves,
and drinking down the wine of heavenly grace, let us cry out our joy, and lose
ourselves in the beauty of the All-Glorious.' (SAB 236)
And, finally, Bahá'u'lláh sheds His all-glorious light on
the meaning of self, surrender, and union with God, in these words: '0 Shaykh,
0 thou who hast surrendered thy will to God! By self-surrender and perpetual
union with God is meant that men should merge their will wholly in the Will of
God, and regard their desires as utter nothingness beside His Purpose.
Whatsoever
46
the Creator commandeth His creatures to observe, the same must they diligently,
and with the utmost joy and eagerness, arise and fulfil. They should in no wise
allow their fancy to obscure their judgment, neither should they regard their
own imaginings as the voice of the Eternal.' (G 337) and 'The station of
absolute self-surrender transcendeth, and will ever remain exalted above, every
other station. It behoveth thee to consecrate thyself to the Will of God.
Whatsoever hath been revealed in His Tablets is but a reflection of His Will.
So complete must be thy consecration, that every trace of worldly desire will
be washed from thine heart. This is the meaning of true unity.' (G 338) 'My
body hath endured imprisonment that ye may be released from the bondage of
self' (TB 12)
27. The term
'partner with God', as it appears here, may be construed as a warning that
qualifies the true nature of 'reunion with God'. Elsewhere Baha'u'llah writes:
'I bear witness that thou art the One, the Single, the Incomparable, the
Ever-Abiding. Thou didst not take unto Thyself a partner in Thy dominion, nor
didst Thou choose a peer for Thyself upon earth.' (ESW 3) In the
'Lawh-i-Burhán' (Tablet of the Proof) Bahá'u'lláh addressed the Shaykh whom He
had denounced as the 'Wolf': 'Thou hast set aside the commandment of God, and
clung unto the promptings of thine own desire.. . 0 thou who hast joined
partners with God, and turned aside from His sovereignty that hath encompassed
the worlds!' (ESW 82-3; TB 207)
Many who are of Christian background in the West have not
been familiar with the expression 'partner with God'. I do not recall coming
across this figure of speech in the Bible, though the thought which 'partner
with God' expresses is most surely there; as in the
47
second commandment: 'Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.' (KJV Exodus
20:3) It does appear in the Qur'án a number of times, as a metaphorical term.
The sixth Súrih, for instance, contains verses which are related to 'partner
with God' and cast light on its meaning. (See Q 6:22-4, 41, 63-4, 78-81, 94,
101, 106-7, 121, 137-8, 149, 152, 162.)*
The Báb writes: 'Say, the power of God is in the hearts of
those who believe in the unity of God and bear witness that no God is there but
Him, while the hearts of them that associate partners with God are impotent,
devoid of life on this earth, for assuredly they are dead.' (SWB 153)
Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'Beware, beware, lest thou be led to
join partners with the Lord, thy God. He is, and hath from everlasting been,
one and alone, without peer or equal, eternal in the past, eternal in the
future, detached from all things, ever-abiding, unchangeable, and
self-subsisting. He hath assigned no associate unto Himself in His Kingdom, no
counsellor to counsel Him, none to compare unto Him, none to rival His glory.'
(G 192)
We note that doubts accompany the assumption of partnership
with God, and we learn later in the verses what happens to doubters with the
coming of the Lord of the Day of the Covenant.
28. We have
been told in the Qur'án: 'Just balances will we set up for the Day of the
Resurrection, neither shall any soul be wronged in aught. . .' (Q 21:48) 'The
weighing on that day, with justice! And they whose balances shall be heavy,
these are they who shall be happy. And they whose balances shall be light,
these
* See also Balyuzi, H. M. Muhammad and the Course of Islam. Oxford, 1976, p. 228, for mention of Muslim doctrine regarding shirk (joining partners with God).
48
are they who have lost their souls, for that to our signs they were unjust.' (Q
7:7-8)
The Báb announced: 'The Bayán shall constitute God's unerring
balance till the Day of Resurrection which is the Day of Him Whom God will make
manifest.' (SB 102) 'All men have proceeded from God and unto Him shall all
return. All shall appear before Him for judgement. He is the Lord of the Day of
Resurrection, of Regeneration and of Reckoning, and His revealed Word is the
Balance.' (SB 157)
Bahá'u'lláh proclaims: 'By Him Who is the Great
Announcement! The All-Merciful is come invested with undoubted sovereignty. The
Balance hath been appointed, and all them that dwell on earth have been
gathered together.' (G 40) In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas He writes: '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.' (G 198; ESW 128; SCKA 22)
In other passages Bahá'u'lláh refers to the Balance as:the
infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in
the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate
determined.. . Through it the poor have been enriched, the learned enlightened,
and the seekers enabled to ascend unto the presence of God.' (G 136-7; SCKA 28)
'. .the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the
Prophets and Messengers of God. . It is indeed the sign of God that hath been
sent down through the power of truth, through which the validity of His Cause
hath been demonstrated unto His
49
creatures, and the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.' (G
281) 'In this Day the Straight Path is made manifest, the Balance of divine
justice is set and the light of the sun of His bounty is resplendent. . .' (TB
255)'. . . by Thy Most Great Name, Whom Thou hast appointed as the unerring
Balance among the nations. . .' (PM 100)
29. The
questioners have made a statement: 'We see not the Balance.' The response is:
'None can see it except such as are endued with insight.' The implication is
that the questioners lack insight, an impression confirmed later in the verses
by descriptions such as 'heedless', 'blind', 'they that have gone astray',
'While ye lay in the graves of waywardness and error.'
Insight involves seeing inwardly, both from within the one
who sees, and into whatever is seen. Lack of insight brings crises on mankind
at the Day of Resurrection. Bahá'u'lláh Himself writes: 'This humble servant is
filled with wonder, inasmuch as all men are endowed with the capacity to see
and hear, yet we find them deprived of the privilege of using these faculties
The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every
direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily
increasing. . .I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously
awaken the peoples of the earth. . .' (TB 171-2)
Bahá'u'lláh has told us that, however men may lack insight,
they are not lacking in capacity for insight. He writes: 'He hath endowed every
soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God.' (G 105-6) 'Behold how
the generality of mankind hath been endued with the capacity to hearken unto
God's most exalted Word — the Word upon which must depend the gathering
50
together and spiritual resurrection of all men.' (G 97; TB 89) 'I testify that
if Thy servants were to turn towards Thee with the eyes Thou didst create in
them and with the ears wherewith Thou didst endow them, they would all be
carried away by a single word sent down from the right hand of the throne of
Thy majesty.' (PM 190-1)
It follows from these statements that man's lack of insight
is of man's making. The degree to which he fulfils his capacity for insight is
conditioned by his own intent and endeavour, It has to be the concern of each
individual. Bahá'u'lláh exhorts and encourages us:'God grant that, with a
penetrating vision, thou mayest perceive. . .' (G 191) '. . .be thou of them
who are sharp-sighted, who scan heedfully. . . Sharp must be thy sight. . .' (G
245) 'Open your eyes that ye may behold the Ancient Beauty. . .' (TB 182) '. .
.with your inner and outer eyes contemplate the evidences of My marvelous
Revelation. . .' (G 325) 'Open ye your eyes, and consider His clear evidence.'
(G 45) 'Observe thou with a keen eye.' (ESW 119)
Bahá'u'lláh refers in His Writings to both 'sight' and
'insight', and to the 'inner' and 'outer ear'. He includes the heart as one of
the senses: 'The senses of hearing, of the heart, and the like, are similarly
to be reckoned among the gifts with which the human body is endowed.' (G 194)
Each of us has been given the responsibility and opportunity to keep his own
receptive apparatus tuned up.
'Abdu'l-Bahá is quoted as saying: 'Our spiritual
perception, our inward sight must be opened, so that we can see the signs and
traces of God's spirit in everything. Everything can reflect to us the light of
the Spirit.' (J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, Wilmette
1976, p. 100)
51
'Blessed are the men of insight; blessed they that attain
thereunto.' (ESW 142)
30. In
describing the Day of God, Jesus foretold that:'Immediately after the oppression
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven. . .' (KJV Matthew 24:29; quoted KI 24,
33, 41) Muhammad described the Day when, along with other extraordinary
happenings: 'the sun shall be folded up, and.the stars shall fall. . .' (Q
81:1-2)
Stars did fall, quite literally, and were seen in the skies
during the early hours of the morning of 14 November 1866. Bahá'u'lláh was then
a prisoner of the Turkish Empire, exiled in Adrianople. A tremendous star fall
was reported in letters from eyewitnesses published in The Times of
London. Observers counted thousands of meteors during several hours. (For a
description see Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Oxford:
George Ronald, 1977, Vol. 2, pp. 270-2 and Appendix I which contains the
letters to The Times.) Thus we have eye-witness accounts of the falling
of stars that occurred in the visible universe while Bahá'u'lláh was in
Adrianople.
Bahá'u'lláh tells us that such a happening is also to be
understood as symbolic of other events associated with the coming of the
Manifestation. The stars that fall, as mentioned in the Gospel, the Qur'án and
the Kitáb-i-Íqán have been given two symbolic meanings. Bahá'u'lláh describes
one as: '...the divines of the former Dispensation, who live in the days of the
subsequent Revelations, and who hold the reins of religion in their grasp. If
these divines be illumined by the light of the latter Revelation they will be
acceptable unto God, and will shine with a light everlasting. Otherwise, they
will
52
be declared as darkened...' (KI 36)
'In another sense,' Bahá'u'lláh continues, 'by the terms
"sun", "moon", and "stars" are meant such laws
and teachings as have been established and proclaimed in every Dispensation,
such as the laws of prayer and fasting.' (KI 38) 'Hence, it is clear and
manifest that by the words "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" is intended the
waywardness of the divines, and the annulment of laws firmly established by
divine Revelation, all of which, in symbolic language, have been foreshadowed
by the Manifestation of God.' (KI 41)
We yield to the temptation to end this note not with
mention of stars that have fallen, but with remembrance of the Day Star that
has risen: The Day Star of Divine Revelation, that shineth in the plenitude of
its glory in the heaven of this Prison. . .' (G 200) and to recall the words:
'The Day Star of His great glory hath shed its radiance upon you, and the
clouds of His limitless grace have overshadowed you. How high the reward of him
that hath not deprived himself of so great a bounty, nor failed to recognize
the beauty of his Best—Beloved in this, His new attire.' (G 94)
31. In an
introductory note to the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Marzieh Gail
writes: 'Adrianople ...is in Arabic Adirnih [Edirne]. Every letter of the
Arabic alphabet has a numerical value, and according to this (abjad) reckoning
the words Adirnih and Mystery (sirr) are equivalent, the Arabic letters
composing each totaling 260.' (ESW xvi)
The following words of Bahá'u'lláh are cited by Shoghi
Effendi: ". . .The day is approaching when the Land of Mystery
(Adrianople) and what is beside it
53
shall be changed, and shall pass out of the hands of the King, and commotions
shall appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and the evidences
of mischief shall be revealed on all sides, and confusion shall spread by reason
of that which hath befallen these captives at the hands of the hosts of
oppression. The course of things shall be altered, and conditions shall wax so
grievous, that the very sands on the desolate hills will moan, and the trees on
the mountain will weep, and blood will flow out of all things. Then wilt thou
behold the people in sore distress."' (WOB 178) In the paragraphs
surrounding this passage, the Guardian elucidates the events of history that
have followed this prophetic statement of Bahá'u'lláh. (WOB 172-9)
32.
Bahá'u'lláh has earlier mentioned 'such as are endued with insight' (note 29),
and now he singles out 'those endued with discernment'. The word 'discern'
comes from the Latin discernere, meaning to distinguish, to recognize as
separate, to discriminate. Discernment involves the consciously directed use of
one's faculties towards a particular end.
Within the passage (KI 192-200 and G 264-70) which
describes 'a true seeker' who 'determines to take the step of search in the
path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days...' Bahá'u'lláh writes:
'So great shall be the discernment of this seeker that he will discriminate
between truth and falsehood even as he doth distinguish the sun from shadow. If
in the uttermost corners of the East the sweet savours of God be wafted, he
will assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even though he be dwelling
in the uttermost ends of the West. He will likewise clearly distinguish all the
signs of God — His wondrous utterances, His great works, and mighty deeds —
from the doings,
54
words and ways of men, even as the jeweler who knoweth the gem from the stone,
or the man who distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold. When
the channel of the human soul is cleansed of all worldly and impeding
attachments, it will unfaillingly perceive the breath of the Beloved across
immeasurable distances, and will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City
of Certitude. Therein he will discern the wonders of His ancient wisdom, and will
perceive all the hidden teachings from the rustling leaves of the Tree — which
flourisheth in that City. With both his inner and his outer ear he will hear
from its dust the hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords,
and with his inner eye will he discover the mysteries of "return" and
"revival".' (KI 197-8 and G 268-9)
In the full passage surrounding the verses above
Bahá'u'lláh describes the prerequisites to the attainment of discernment and
the bounties awaiting the discerning.
33. The
drawing forth of the Hand of Power marks a moment at which the Manifestation of
God has become supremely manifest. It is a signal that all the signs of His
coming have appeared. (For an elucidation of the signs of the coming of
Bahá'u'lláh, see 'Abdu'l-Bahá's words, already cited here in Note 20: SAB
13-17, section four.)
We read in the Torah of the Lord's command to Moses to
twice put his hand in His bosom and to twice draw it forth. (KJV Exodus 4:6-7)
Following the account of this happening, we are told of the power that the Lord
thereby imparted to the hand of Moses. (KJV Exodus 9:22; 10:12,22; 14:16,27;
17:11) This happening is further described in the Qur'án. (See, for
55
example, Q 7:105; 20:23; 26:32; 27:12; 28:32.) Bahá'u'lláh quotes a tradition
which says: 'The Qá'im will lean His back against the Sanctuary, and will
stretch forth His hand, and lo, it shall be snow-white but unhurt. And He shall
say: "This is the hand of God, the right hand of God, that cometh from
God, at the command of God!"' (ESW 112) The Báb is the promised Qá'im.
(GPB 4)
The oneness and continuity of Revelation are thus expressed
through this act of drawing forth the Hand of Power, as attributed to Moses in
the Torah and the Qur'án, as foretold for the Báb in the above tradition, and
now, in these perspicuous verses, ascribed to Bahá'u'lláh Himself. Elsewhere,
Bahá'u'lláh writes:'Say: The Revelation sent down by God hath most surely been
repeated, and the outstretched Hand of Our power hath overshadowed all that are
in the heavens and all that are on the earth.' (G 282)
34. The Crier,
a title descriptive of the Manifestation, is no longer a familiar term in
western society; the town crier having been supplanted by the mass media as the
customary source of news, announcements, hours of the day, etc.
The Qur'án contains the prophetic admonition to hearken
unto the day whereon the crier shall call men to judgment from a near place:
the day whereon they shall hear the voice of the trumpet...' (Q 50:40; Sale's
translation) Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'Say, did ye not hearken to the Voice of the
Crier, calling aloud in the wilderness of the Bayán, bearing unto you the glad
tidings of the coming of your Lord, the All-Merciful?' (TB 12) He recalls:
'...the Day when the immortal Being mounted His throne and the Crier raised His
Voice
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from the haven of security and peace in the holy Vale.'(TB 103)
35. The
promised time is the Day of the Promised One. 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells us: 'When
delivering the glad tidings, speak out and say: the Promised One of all the
world's peoples hath now been made manifest. For each and every people, and
every religion, await a Promised One, and Bahá'u'lláh is that One Who is
awaited by all. . .' (SAB 101)
36.
Words and terms associated with Revelation carry on through
succeeding Dispensations; even as Revelation is of itself continuing,
progressing, unfolding. 'This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the
past, eternal in the future.' (G 136) Just as the Hand of power evinces the
majesty and might of the Manifestation throughout ages past and present; and
just as the Crier is, throughout time, synonymous with the Bearer of the
message of God; so has Sinai entered man s conciousness as the place or
circumstances where the light of Revelation has broken and now breaks. A
sensing of the splendours of Sinai tells us that we are in the presence of the
revealed Word of God.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'Verily He Whose knowledge nothing
escapeth hath appeared. . .Through Him.every indolent one hath rushed forth to
attain the Sinai of assurance.' (TB 103) He further associates Sinai with His
Own Revelation: '. . .hasten to embrace the light of the undying Fire that
gloweth on the Sinai of this mysterious and transcendent Revelation.' (G 325)
'The episode of Sinai hath been re-enacted in this Revelation and He Who
conversed upon the Mount is calling aloud:
Verily, the Desired One is come, seated upon the throne of
certitude, could ye but perceive it.' (TB 248)
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'Abdu'l-Bahá indicates the timelessness of what happened on
Sinai: 'Consider Moses, He Who conversed with God. Verily, upon Mount Sinai,
Moses entered into a Covenant regarding the Messiah, with all those souls who
would live in the day of the Messiah. And those souls, although they appeared
many centuries after Moses, were nevertheless — so far as the Covenant, which
is outside time, was concerned — present there with Moses.' (SAB 207)
37.
Recognition of the splendours of Sinai can be a shaking, even shattering
experience as evidenced by the statement here that'. . .they that have
recognized the splendors of Sinai have swooned away in the wilderness of
hesitation. . .' We can only be thankful that beyond the wilderness of
hesitation lies the horizon of Certitude. Elsewhere, Bahá'u'lláh says: 'We
have, through the power of truth, the very truth, manifested an infinitesimal
glimmer of Our impenetrable Mystery, and lo, they that have recognized the
radiance of the Sinaic splendor expired, as they caught a lightening glimpse of
this Crimson Light enveloping the Sinai of Our Revelation.' (G 282)
38. See note
16 for mention of the two blasts of the trumpet, announcing the coming of the
Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. Here one of the sounds is described as that of the Bugle.
'Abdu'l-Bahá writes: 'The Bugle hath sounded, the Trumpet hath been blown, the
Crier hath raised his call, and all upon the earth have swooned away — but
still do the dead, in the tombs of their bodies, sleep on.' (SAB 13)
39.
Darkness, as the absence of light, is an atmosphere of not
knowing, a condition without knowledge of the
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Creator and His handiwork. It may also be thought of as an atmosphere of
pollution, produced when man pours forth noxious substances such as 'vague
fancies', 'vain imaginings', 'hatred', 'ignorance', 'superstition' and 'the
treacherous hand of self'.
An interplay of darkness and light has continued throughout
the age-old drama of Revelation. The Qur'án tells us: 'Of old did We send Moses
with Our signs, and said to Him: "Bring forth Thy people from the darkness
into the light and remind them of the Days of God."' (Q 14:5; see also TB
115 and 259) Again, we read in the Qur'án: 'This Book have we sent down to Thee
that by their Lord's permission Thou mayest bring men out of darkness into
light, into the path of the Mighty, the Glorious.' (Q 14:1) Isaiah foretold the
appearance of light out of darkness, at the coming of the Glory of the Lord,
whom we recognize as Bahá'u'lláh: 'Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the
Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee and
His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to Thy light,
and kings to the brightness of Thy rising.' (KJV Isaiah 60:1-3)
The words: 'Darkness hath been chased away' convey a
delightful sense of effortless ease. They bring to mind words from the Qur'án
such as: 'This indeed would not be hard for God.' (ESW 19 and see Q 14:23) and
'He doeth whatsoever He willeth.' (ESW I and see Q 22:14) The appearance, at
the coming of the Manifestation, of 'The light that is shed from the heaven of
bounty. . .' (ESW 1) is, of itself, a gentle, pervasive, joyful happening. The
mood is expressed by the words of a prayer that Bahá'u'lláh has given us: 'Let
Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity upon me.
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and '. . .let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence
bring me joy. . .' (PM 248) The tranquillity and joy that characterize the
coming of the Manifestation, and the turmoil concurrent with His comming,
constitute a paradox that is resolved when we recognize that the turmoil is not
inherent in His coming, but is a human condition, brought about by man's
blindness and rejection. Bahá'u'lláh tells us that: 'In this Day the Straight
Path is made manifest, the Balance of divine justice is set and the light of
the sun of His bounty is resplendent, yet the oppressive darkness of the people
of tyranny hath, even as clouds, intervened and caused a grievous obstruction
between the Day-Star of heavenly grace and th