THOU beholdest how vast is the
number of people who go to Mecca each year on pilgrimage and engage in
circumambulation, while He, through the potency of Whose Word the Ka’bah [the
sanctuary in Mecca] hath become the object of adoration, is forsaken in this
mountain. He is none other but the Apostle of God Himself, inasmuch as the
Revelation of God may be likened to the sun. No matter how innumerable its
risings, there is but one sun, and upon it depends the life of all things. It
is clear and evident that the object of all preceding Dispensations hath been
to pave the way for the advent of Muḥammad, the Apostle of God. These, including the Muḥammadan Dispensation, have had, in
their turn, as their objective the Revelation proclaimed by the Qá’im. The
purpose underlying this Revelation, as well as those that preceded it, has, in
like manner, been to announce the advent of the Faith of Him Whom God will make
manifest. And this Faith—the Faith of Him Whom God will make manifest—in its
turn, together with all the Revelations gone before it, have as their object the
Manifestation destined to succeed it. And the latter, no less than all the
Revelations preceding it, prepare the way for the Revelation which is yet to
follow. The process of the rise and setting of the Sun of Truth will thus
indefinitely continue—a process that hath had no beginning and will have no
end.
Well is it with him who in every
Dispensation recognizeth the Purpose of God for that Dispensation, and is not
deprived therefrom by turning his gaze towards the things of the past. (Persian
Bayan, IV, 12)
I am the Primal Point from
which have been generated all created things... I am the Countenance of God
Whose splendor can never be obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never
fade... All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right hand, and
all the keys of hell on My left... I am one of the sustaining pillars of the
Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath recognized Me, hath known all that is true
and right, and hath attained all that is good and seemly... The substance
wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been
formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never
comprehend, nor the faithful discover. (The
Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, Paragraph 63)
Should a tiny ant desire
in this day to be possessed of such power as to be able to unravel the
abstrusest and most bewildering passages of the Qur'án, its wish will no doubt
be fulfilled, inasmuch as the mystery of eternal might vibrates within the
innermost being of all created things. (The
Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, Paragraph 63)
NO
created thing shall ever attain its paradise unless it appeareth in its highest
prescribed degree of perfection. For instance, this crystal representeth the
paradise of the stone whereof its substance is composed. Likewise there are
various stages in the paradise for the crystal itself... So long as it was
stone it was worthless, but if it attaineth the
excellence of ruby—a potentiality which is latent in it—how much a carat will
it be worth? Consider likewise every created thing.
Man’s
highest station, however, is attained through faith in God in every
Dispensation and by acceptance of what hath been revealed by Him, and not
through learning; inasmuch as in every nation there are learned men who are
versed in divers sciences. Nor is it attainable through wealth; for it is
similarly evident that among the various classes in every nation there are
those possessed of riches. Likewise are other transitory things.
True
knowledge, therefore, is the knowledge of God, and this is none other than the
recognition of His Manifestation in each Dispensation. Nor is there any wealth
save in poverty in all save God and sanctity from aught else but Him—a state
that can be realized only when demonstrated towards Him Who is the Dayspring of
His Revelation. This doth not mean, however, that one ought not to yield praise
unto former Revelations. On no account is this acceptable, inasmuch as it
behooveth man, upon reaching the age of nineteen, to render thanksgiving for
the day of his conception as an embryo. For had the embryo not existed, how
could he have reached his present state? Likewise had the religion taught by
Adam not existed, this Faith would not have attained its present stage. Thus
consider thou the development of God’s Faith until the end that hath no end. （Persian
Bayan, V-4）
Of all the tributes I have paid to
Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession, that
no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference to Him in
My Book, the Bayán, do justice to His Cause. (The
Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, Paragraph 9)
A thousand perusals of the Bayán
cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by `Him Whom God
shall make manifest.'... Today the Bayán is in the stage of seed; at the
beginning of the manifestation of `Him Whom God shall make manifest' its ultimate
perfection will become apparent.... The Bayán and such as are believers therein
yearn more ardently after Him than the yearning of any lover after his
beloved.... The Bayán deriveth all its glory from `Him
Whom God shall make manifest.' All blessing be upon him who believeth in Him
and woe betide him that rejecteth His truth. (The
Dispensation of Baha’u’llah, Paragraph 9)
O QURRATU’L-‘AYN! I recognize in
Thee none other except the ‘Great Announcement’—the Announcement voiced by the
Concourse on high. By this name, I bear witness, they that circle the Throne of
Glory have ever known Thee. （Qayyumu’l-Asma, LXXIX）
With each and every Prophet Whom
We have sent down in the past, We have established a separate Covenant
concerning the Remembrance of God and His Day. Manifest, in the realm of glory
and through the power of truth, are the Remembrance of God and His Day before
the eyes of the angels that circle His mercy-seat. （Qayyumu’l-Asma, XCI）
SHOULD it be Our wish, it is in Our power to
compel, through the agency of but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and
all that is therein to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the
truth of Our Cause.... （Qayyumu’l-Asma, LXXXVII）
I AM the Mystic Fane which the
Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit
within its niche and caused to shine with deathless splendour. I am the Flame
of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay
concealed in the midst of the Burning Bush. （Qayyumu’l-Asma, XCIV）
O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of
God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It
behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by
your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The
very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose,
the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted
character of your devotion. For verily I say, this is the Day spoken of by God
in His Book: On that day will We set a seal upon their mouths yet
shall their hands speak unto Us, and their feet shall bear witness to that
which they shall have done.
Ponder the words of Jesus
addressed to His disciples, as He sent them forth to propagate the Cause of
God. In words such as these, He bade them arise and fulfil their mission: `Ye
are even as the fire which in the darkness of the night has been kindled upon
the mountain-top. Let your light shine before the eyes of men. Such must be the
purity of your character and the degree of your renunciation, that the people
of the earth may through you recognise and be drawn closer to the heavenly
Father who is the Source of purity and grace. For none has seen the Father who
is in heaven. You who are His spiritual children must by your deeds exemplify
His virtues, and witness to His glory. You are the salt of the earth, but if
the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? Such must be the
degree of your detachment, that into whatever city you enter to proclaim and
teach the Cause of God, you should in no wise expect either meat or reward from
its people. Nay, when you depart out of that city, you should shake the dust
from off your feet. As you have entered it pure and undefiled, so must you
depart from that city. For verily I say, the heavenly Father is ever with you
and keeps watch over you. If you be faithful to Him, He will assuredly deliver
into your hands all the treasures of the earth, and will exalt you above all
the rulers and kings of the world.'
O My Letters! Verily I
say, immensely exalted is this Day above the days of the Apostles of old. Nay,
immeasurable is the difference! You are the witnesses of the Dawn of the
promised Day of God. You are the partakers of the mystic chalice of His
Revelation. Gird up the loins of endeavour, and be mindful of the words of God
as revealed in His Book: Lo, the Lord thy God is come, and with Him is the
company of His angels arrayed before Him!' Purge your hearts of worldly
desires, and let angelic virtues be your adorning. Strive that by your deeds
you may bear witness to the truth of these words of God, and beware lest, by
`turning back,' He may `change you for another people,' who `shall not be your
like,' and who shall take from you the Kingdom of God. The days when idle
worship was deemed sufficient are ended. The time is come when naught but the
purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne
of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him. `The good word riseth up unto Him,
and the righteous deed will cause it to be exalted before Him.' You are the
lowly, of whom God has thus spoken in His Book: "And We desire to show
favour to those who were brought low in the land, and to make them spiritual
leaders among men, and to make them Our heirs.'
You have been called to
this station; you will attain to it, only if you arise to trample beneath your
feet every earthly desire, and endeavour to become those `honoured servants of
His who speak not till He hath spoken, and who do His bidding.' You are the
first Letters that have been generated from the Primal Point, the first Springs
that have welled out from the Source of this Revelation. Beseech the Lord your
God to grant that no earthly entanglements, no worldly affections, no ephemeral
pursuits, may tarnish the purity, or embitter the sweetness, of that grace
which flows through you. I am preparing you for the advent of a mighty Day.
Exert your utmost endeavour that, in the world to come, I, who am now
instructing you, may, before the mercy-seat of God, rejoice in your deeds and
glory in your achievements. The secret of the Day that is to come is now
concealed. It can neither be divulged nor estimated. The newly born babe of
that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this time, and the
lowliest and most unlearned of that period shall surpass in understanding the
most erudite and accomplished divines of this age.
Scatter throughout the
length and breadth of this land, and, with steadfast feet and sanctified
hearts, prepare the way for His coming. Heed not your weaknesses and frailty;
fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God, the Almighty.
Has He not, in past days, caused Abraham, in spite of His seeming helplessness,
to triumph over the forces of Nimrod? Has He not enabled Moses, whose staff was
His only companion, to vanquish Pharaoh and his hosts? Has He not established
the ascendancy of Jesus, poor and lowly as He was in the eyes of men, over the
combined forces of the Jewish people? Has He not subjected the barbarous and
militant tribes of Arabia to the holy and transforming discipline of Muhammad,
His Prophet? Arise in His name, put your trust wholly in Him, and be assured of
ultimate victory.' (The Bab’s last address to the Letters of the Living, Dawnbreakers, Chapter 3, pp.92-94)