SUMMONS TO THE WORLD'S
RELIGIOUS
LEADERS
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O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with such
standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the
unerring balance established amongst men. In this most perfect balance
whatsoever the peoples and kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed, while
the measure of its weight should be tested according to its own standard, did ye
but know it.
The eye of My loving-kindness weepeth sore over you,
inasmuch as ye have failed to recognize the One upon Whom ye have been calling
in the daytime and in the night season, at even and at morn. Advance, O people,
with snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and crimson Spot,
wherein the Sadratu'l-Muntahá is calling: `Verily, there is none other God
beside Me, the Omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting!'
O ye leaders
of religion! Who is the man amongst you that can rival Me in vision or insight?
Where is he to be found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance or
wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the earth shall pass away; and
this is the face of your Lord, the Almighty, the Well-Beloved.
We have
decreed, O people, that the highest and last end of all learning be the
recognition of Him Who is the Object of all knowledge; and yet, behold how ye
have allowed your learning to shut you out, as by a veil, from Him
Who
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is the Dayspring of this Light, through Whom every hidden thing
hath been revealed. Could ye but discover the source whence the splendour of
this utterance is diffused, ye would cast away the peoples of the world and all
that they possess, and would draw nigh unto this most blessed Seat of
glory.
Say: This, verily, is the heaven in which the Mother Book is
treasured, could ye but comprehend it. He it is Who hath caused the Rock to
shout, and the Burning Bush to lift up its voice, upon the Mount rising above
the Holy Land, and proclaim: `The Kingdom is God's, the sovereign Lord of all,
the All-Powerful, the Loving!'
We have not entered any school, nor read
any of your dissertations. Incline your ears to the words of this unlettered
One, wherewith He summoneth you unto God, the Ever-Abiding. Better is this for
you than all the treasures of the earth, could ye but comprehend it.
O
concourse of divines! When My verses were sent down, and My clear tokens were
revealed, We found you behind the veils. This, verily, is a strange thing.... We
have rent the veils asunder. Beware lest ye shut out the people by yet another
veil. Pluck asunder the chains of vain imaginings, in the name of the Lord of
all men, and be not of the deceitful. Should ye turn unto God, and embrace
His
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Cause, spread not disorder within it, and measure not the Book of
God with your selfish desires. This, verily, is the counsel of God aforetime and
hereafter.... Had ye believed in God, when He revealed Himself, the people would
not have turned aside from Him, nor would the things ye witness today have
befallen Us. Fear God, and be not of the heedless.... This is the Cause that
hath caused all your superstitions and idols to tremble.... O concourse of
divines! Beware lest ye be the cause of strife in the land, even as ye were the
cause of the repudiation of the Faith in its early days. Gather the people
around this Word that hath made the pebbles to cry out: `The Kingdom is God's,
the Dawning-Place of all signs!'... Tear the veils asunder in such wise that the
inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent. This is the command of God, in
days gone by, and for those to come. Blessed the man that observeth that
whereunto he was bidden, and woe betide the negligent.
How long will ye,
O concourse of divines, level the spears of hatred at the face of Bahá? Rein in
your pens. Lo, the Most Sublime Pen speaketh betwixt earth and heaven. Fear God,
and follow not your desires which have altered the face of creation. Purify your
ears that they may hearken unto the Voice of God. By God! It is even as fire
that consumeth
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POPE PIUS IX
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O Pope! Rend the veils asunder. He Who is the Lord of Lords is come
overshadowed with clouds, and the decree hath been fulfilled by God, the
Almighty, the Unrestrained... He, verily, hath again come down from Heaven even
as He came down from it the first time. Beware that thou dispute not with Him
even as the Pharisees disputed with Him (Jesus) without a clear token or proof.
On His right hand flow the living waters of grace, and on His left the choice
Wine of justice, whilst before Him march the angels of Paradise, bearing the
banners of His signs. Beware lest any name debar thee from God, the Creator of
earth and heaven. Leave thou the world behind thee, and turn towards thy Lord,
through Whom the whole earth hath been illumined... Dwellest thou in palaces
whilst He Who is the King of Revelation liveth in the most desolate of abodes?
Leave them unto such as desire them, and set thy face with joy and delight
towards the Kingdom... Arise in the name of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, amidst
the peoples of the earth, and seize thou the Cup of Life with the hands of
confidence, and first drink thou therefrom, and proffer it then to such as turn
towards it amongst the peoples of all faiths...
Call thou to remembrance
Him Who was the Spirit (Jesus), Who when He came, the most learned of His age
pronounced judgment against Him in His own country, whilst he who was only a
fisherman believed in Him. Take
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heed, then, ye men of understanding heart! Thou, in truth, art one
of the suns of the heaven of His names. Guard thyself, lest darkness spread its
veils over thee, and fold thee away from His light... Consider those who opposed
the Son (Jesus), when He came unto them with sovereignty and power. How many the
Pharisees who were waiting to behold Him, and were lamenting over their
separation from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of His coming was wafted over
them, and His beauty was unveiled, they turned aside from Him and disputed with
Him... None save a very few, who were destitute of any power amongst men, turned
towards His face. And yet, today, every man endowed with power and invested with
sovereignty prideth himself on His Name! In like manner, consider how numerous,
in these days, are the monks who, in My Name, have secluded themselves in their
churches, and who, when the appointed time was fulfilled, and We unveiled Our
beauty, knew Us not, though they call upon Me at eventide and at
dawn....
The Word which the Son concealed is made manifest. It hath been
sent down in the form of the human temple in this day. Blessed be the Lord Who
is the Father! He, verily, is come unto the nations in His most great majesty.
Turn your faces towards Him, O concourse of the righteous... This is the day
whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of
its Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High, saying: `Lo! The Father is come,
and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is
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fulfilled!...' My body longeth for the cross, and Mine head waiteth
the thrust of the spear, in the path of the All-Merciful, that the world may be
purged from its transgressions....
O Supreme Pontiff! Incline thine ear
unto that which the Fashioner of mouldering bones counselleth thee, as voiced by
Him Who is His Most Great Name. Sell all the embellished ornaments thou dost
possess, and expend them in the path of God, Who causeth the night to return
upon the day, and the day to return upon the night. Abandon thy kingdom unto the
kings, and emerge from thy habitation, with thy face set towards the Kingdom,
and, detached from the world, then speak forth the praises of thy Lord betwixt
earth and heaven. Thus hath bidden thee He Who is the Possessor of Names, on the
part of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Exhort thou the kings and say:
`Deal equitably with men. Beware lest ye transgress the bounds fixed in the
Book.' This indeed becometh thee. Beware lest thou appropriate unto thyself the
things of the world and the riches thereof. Leave them unto such as desire them,
and cleave unto that which hath been enjoined upon thee by Him Who is the Lord
of creation. Should any one offer thee all the treasures of the earth, refuse to
even glance upon them. Be as thy Lord hath been. Thus hath the Tongue of
Revelation spoken that which God hath made the ornament of the book of
creation... Should the inebriation of the wine of My verses seize thee, and thou
determinest to present thyself before the throne of thy Lord,
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the Creator of earth and heaven, make My love thy vesture and thy
shield remembrance of Me, and thy provision reliance upon God, the Revealer of
all power... Verily, the day of ingathering is come, and all things have been
separated from each other. He hath stored away that which He chose in the
vessels of justice, and cast into fire that which befitteth it. Thus hath it
been decreed by your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving, in this promised Day. He,
verily, ordaineth what He pleaseth. There is none other God save He, the
Almighty, the All-Compelling.
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THE CLERGY AND
PEOPLE OF
VARIOUS FAITHS
At one time We address the people of the Torah and summon them unto Him Who
is the Revealer of verses, Who hath come from Him Who layeth low the necks of
men.... At another, We address the people of the Evangel and say: `The
All-Glorious is come in this Name whereby the Breeze of God hath wafted over all
regions.'... At still another, We address the people of the Qur'án saying: `Fear
the All-Merciful, and cavil not at Him through Whom all religions were
founded.'... Know thou, moreover, that We have addressed to the Magians Our
Tablets, and adorned them with Our Law.... We have revealed in them the essence
of all the hints and allusions contained in their Books. The Lord, verily, is
the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
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Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He
that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is
manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate
or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended
from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the
favoured of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels.
O how I long to announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to
carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation --a
Revelation to which the heart of Sinai hath been attracted, and in whose name
the Burning Bush is calling: `Unto God, the Lord of Lords, belong the kingdoms
of earth and heaven.' 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 of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.
The Most
Great Law is come, and the Ancient Beauty ruleth upon the throne of David. Thus
hath My Pen spoken that which the histories of bygone ages have
related.
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At this time, however, David crieth aloud and saith: `O my loving
Lord! Do Thou number me with such as have stood steadfast in Thy Cause, O Thou
through Whom the faces have been illumined, and the footsteps have
slipped!'
The Breath hath been wafted, and the Breeze hath blown, and
from Zion hath appeared that which was hidden, and from Jerusalem is heard the
Voice of God, the One, the Incomparable, the Omniscient.
Lend an ear unto
the song of David. He saith: `Who will bring me into the Strong City?' The
Strong City is Akká, which hath been named the Most Great Prison, and which
possesseth a fortress and mighty ramparts... Peruse that which Isaiah hath
spoken in His Book. He saith: `Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion, that
bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that
bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah:
"Behold your God! Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm
shall rule for Him."' This Day all the signs have appeared. A great City hath
descended from heaven, and Zion trembleth and
exulteth
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