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1

بسمه الحاکم علی ما کان و ما یکون

Bismihi al-Ḥākim ʿalā mā kāna wa-mā yakūn.

In His name, the Ruler over all that has been and all that will be.

2

انّ اوّل ما کتب اللّه علی العباد عرفان مشرق وحیه و مطلع امره الّذی کان مقام نفسه فی عالم الأمر و الخلق من فاز به قد فاز بکلّ الخیر و الّذی منع انّه من اهل الضّلال ولو یأتی بکلّ الأعمال اذا فزتم بهذا المقام الأسنی و الأفق الأعلی ینبغی لکلّ نفسٍ ان یتّبع ما امر به من لدی المقصود لأنّهما معا لا یقبل احدهما دون الآخر هذا ما حکم به مطلع الألهام

Inna awwala mā kataba Allāhu ʿalā al-ʿibād ʿirfānu mashriqi waḥyihi wa-maṭlaʿi amrihi alladhī kāna maqāma nafsihi fī ʿālami al-amri wa-al-khalq. Man fāza bihi qad fāza bi-kulli al-khayr wa-alladhī muniʿa innahu min ahli al-ḍalāl wa-law yaʾtī bi-kulli al-aʿmāl. Idhā fuztum bi-hādhā al-maqāmi al-asnā wa-al-ufuqi al-aʿlā yanbaghī li-kulli nafsin an yattabiʿa mā umira bihi min ladā al-Maqṣūd li-annahumā maʿan lā yuqbalu aḥaduhumā dūna al-ākhar. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi maṭlaʿu al-ilhām.

The first duty God has prescribed for His servants is to recognize the Dayspring of His revelation and the Dawning Place of His Cause, who represents His own Self in the world of command and creation. Whoever attains this has attained all good, and whoever is deprived of it is among those who have gone astray, even if he performs every deed. Once you have attained this most exalted station and highest horizon, every soul must follow what has been commanded by the Desired One, for these two belong together: neither is accepted without the other. This is what the Dawning Place of inspiration has decreed.

3

انّ الّذین اوتوا بصآئر من اللّه یرون حدود اللّه السّبب الأعظم لنظم العالم و حفظ الأمم و الّذی غفل انّه من همج رعاع انّا امرناکم بکسر حدودات النّفس و الهوی لا ما رقم من القلم الأعلی انّه لروح الحیوان لمن فی الأمکان قد ماجت بحور الحکمة و البیان بما هاجت نسمة الرّحمن اغتنموا یا اولی الألباب انّ الّذین نکثوا عهد اللّه فی اوامره و نکصوا علی اعقابهم اولٓئک من اهل الضّلال لدی الغنیّ المتعال

Inna alladhīna ūtū baṣāʾira min Allāh yarawna ḥudūda Allāhi al-sababa al-aʿẓama li-naẓmi al-ʿālami wa-ḥifẓi al-umam wa-alladhī ghafala innahu min hamajin raʿāʿ. Innā amarnākum bi-kasri ḥudūdāti al-nafsi wa-al-hawā lā mā ruqima mina al-qalami al-aʿlā. Innahu la-rūḥu al-ḥayawān li-man fī al-imkān. Qad mājat buḥūru al-ḥikmati wa-al-bayān bi-mā hājat nasmatu al-Raḥmān. Ightanimū yā ulī al-albāb. Inna alladhīna nakathū ʿahda Allāhi fī awāmirihi wa-nakaṣū ʿalā aʿqābihim ulāʾika min ahli al-ḍalāl ladā al-Ghaniyyi al-Mutaʿāl.

Those endowed by God with insight see God’s laws as the greatest means of ordering the world and safeguarding its peoples. Whoever is heedless belongs among the ignorant rabble. We have commanded you to break the bounds of self and desire, not what has been inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen. It is indeed the spirit of life for all who dwell in the realm of existence. The oceans of wisdom and utterance have surged as the breeze of the All-Merciful has stirred. Seize this opportunity, people of understanding. Those who have broken God’s covenant concerning His commandments and turned back on their heels are among those who have gone astray in the sight of the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted.

4

یا ملاء الأرض اعلموا انّ اوامری سرج عنایتی بین عبادی و مفاتیح رحمتی لبریتی کذلک نزّل الأمر من سمآء مشیة ربّکم مالک الأدیان لو یجد احد حلاوة البیان الّذی ظهر من فم مشیة الرّحمن لینفق ما عنده ولو یکون خزائن الأرض کلّها لیثبت امراً من اوامره المشرقة من افق العنایة و الألطاف

Yā malaʾa al-arḍ iʿlamū anna awāmirī suruju ʿināyatī bayna ʿibādī wa-mafātīḥu raḥmatī li-bariyyatī. Kadhālika nuzzila al-amru min samāʾi mashīʾati rabbikum Māliki al-adyān. Law yajidu aḥadun ḥalāwata al-bayāni alladhī ẓahara min fami mashīʾati al-Raḥmān la-yunfiqu mā ʿindahu wa-law yakūnu khazāʾina al-arḍi kullahā li-yuthbita amran min awāmirihi al-mushriqati min ufuqi al-ʿināyati wa-al-alṭāf.

People of the earth, know that My commandments are the lamps of My loving care among My servants and the keys to My mercy for My creatures. Thus has the command been sent down from the heaven of the will of your Lord, the Master of religions. If anyone were to taste the sweetness of the utterance that has issued from the mouth of the will of the All-Merciful, he would expend all he possesses, even if it were all the treasures of the earth, to establish a single one of His commandments that shine from the horizon of loving care and favor.

5

قل من حدودی یمرّ عرف قمیصی و بها تنصب اعلام النّصر علی القنن و الأتلال قد تکلّم لسان قدرتی فی جبروت عظمتی مخاطباً لبریتی ان اعملوا حدودی حبّاً لجمالی طوبی لحبیب وجد عرف المحبوب من هذه الکلمة الّتی فاحت منها نفحات الفضل علی شأنٍ لا توصف بالأذکار لعمری من شرب رحیق الأنصاف من ایادی الألطاف انّه یطوف حول اوامری المشرقة من افق الأبداع

Qul min ḥudūdī yamurru ʿarfu qamīṣī wa-bihā tunṣabu aʿlāmu al-naṣri ʿalā al-qunani wa-al-atlāl. Qad takallama lisānu qudratī fī jabarūti ʿaẓamatī mukhāṭiban li-bariyyatī an iʿmalū ḥudūdī ḥubban li-jamālī. Ṭūbā li-ḥabībin wajada ʿarfa al-Maḥbūbi min hādhihi al-kalimati allatī fāḥat minhā nafaḥātu al-faḍli ʿalā shaʾnin lā tūṣafu bi-al-adhkār. La-ʿamrī man shariba raḥīqa al-inṣāfi min ayādī al-alṭāf innahu yaṭūfu ḥawla awāmirī al-mushriqati min ufuqi al-ibdāʿ.

Say: From My laws comes the fragrance of My garment, and through them the banners of victory are raised upon peaks and hills. The Tongue of My power has spoken in the dominion of My grandeur, addressing My creatures: “Observe My laws out of love for My beauty.” Blessed is the lover who has caught the fragrance of the Beloved from this utterance, from which the breezes of grace have wafted in a manner beyond description. By My life, whoever drinks the choice wine of fairness from the hands of loving favor will circle around My commandments that shine from the horizon of creation.

6

لا تحسبنّ انّا نزّلنا لکم الأحکام بل فتحنا ختم الرّحیق المختوم باصابع القدرة و الأقتدار یشهد بذلک ما نزّل من قلم الوحی تفکّروا یا اولی الأفکار

Lā taḥsabanna annā nazzalnā lakumu al-aḥkām bal fataḥnā khatma al-raḥīqi al-makhtūmi bi-aṣābiʿi al-qudrati wa-al-iqtidār. Yashhadu bi-dhālika mā nuzzila min qalami al-waḥy. Tafakkarū yā ulī al-afkār.

Do not think that We have revealed mere laws to you. Rather, with the fingers of power and might, We have broken the seal of the sealed choice wine. What has been sent down by the Pen of revelation bears witness to this. Reflect, people of thought.

7

قد کتب علیکم الصّلوة تسع رکعات للّه منزل الآیات حین الزّوال و فی البکور و الآصال و عفونا عدّة اخری امراً فی کتاب اللّه انّه لهو الأمر المقتدر المختار و اذا اردتم الصّلوة ولّوا وجوهکم شطری الأقدس المقام المقدّس الّذی جعله اللّه مطاف الملاء الأعلی و مقبل اهل مدائن البقآء و مصدر الأمر لمن فی الأرضین و السّموات و عند غروب شمس الحقیقة و التّبیان المقرّ الّذی قدّرناه لکم انّه لهو العزیز العلاّم

Qad kutiba ʿalaykumu al-ṣalātu tisʿa rakaʿātin li-Allāhi Munzili al-āyāt ḥīna al-zawāli wa-fī al-bukūri wa-al-āṣāl. Wa-ʿafawnā ʿiddatan ukhrā amran fī kitābi Allāh. Innahu la-huwa al-Āmiru al-Muqtadiru al-Mukhtār. Wa-idhā aradtumu al-ṣalāta wallū wujūhakum shaṭrī al-aqdasa al-maqāma al-muqaddasa alladhī jaʿalahu Allāhu maṭāfa al-malaʾi al-aʿlā wa-muqbila ahli madāʾini al-baqāʾ wa-maṣdara al-amri li-man fī al-araḍīna wa-al-samāwāt. Wa-ʿinda ghurūbi shamsi al-ḥaqīqati wa-al-tibyān al-maqarra alladhī qaddarnāhu lakum. Innahu la-huwa al-ʿAzīzu al-ʿAllām.

Obligatory prayer has been prescribed for you, consisting of nine units, offered to God, the Revealer of verses, at noon, in the morning, and in the late afternoon. We have exempted you from another number, as a decree in the Book of God. He is indeed the Ordainer, the All-Powerful, who freely chooses. When you wish to perform obligatory prayer, turn your faces toward My Most Holy presence, the sacred Station that God has made the center around which the Concourse on high circles, the point toward which the inhabitants of the cities of eternity turn, and the source of command for all in the earth and the heavens. At the setting of the Sun of truth and explanation, turn toward the place We have appointed for you. He is indeed the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

8

کلّ شئ تحقّق بامره المبرم اذا اشرقت من افق البیان شمس الأحکام لکلٍ ان یتّبعوها ولو بامرٍ تنفطر عنه سموات افئدة الأدیان انّه یفعل ما یشآء و لا یسئل عمّا شآء و ما حکم به المحبوب انّه لمحبوب و مالک الاختراع انّ الّذی وجد عرف الرّحمن و عرف مطلع هذا البیان انّه یستقبل بعینه السّهام لاثبات الأحکام بین الأنام طوبی لمن اقبل و فاز بفصل الخطاب

Kullu shayʾin taḥaqqaqa bi-amrihi al-mubram. Idhā ashraqat min ufuqi al-bayāni shamsu al-aḥkām li-kullin an yattabiʿūhā wa-law bi-amrin tanfaṭiru ʿanhu samāwātu afʾidati al-adyān. Innahu yafʿalu mā yashāʾ wa-lā yusʾalu ʿammā shāʾ wa-mā ḥakama bihi al-Maḥbūbu innahu la-maḥbūb wa-Māliki al-ikhtirāʿ. Inna alladhī wajada ʿarfa al-Raḥmān wa-ʿarafa maṭlaʿa hādhā al-bayān innahu yastaqbilu bi-ʿaynihi al-sihāma li-ithbāti al-aḥkāmi bayna al-anām. Ṭūbā li-man aqbala wa-fāza bi-faṣli al-khiṭāb.

Everything has come into being through His irrevocable command. When the Sun of laws shines from the horizon of utterance, everyone must follow them, even if a command should cause the heavens of the hearts of religions to split apart. He does whatever He wills and is not questioned about what He wills. Whatever the Beloved decrees is indeed beloved, by the Lord of creation! Whoever has caught the fragrance of the All-Merciful and recognized the Dawning Place of this utterance will face arrows with his own eyes to establish the laws among humanity. Blessed is the one who has turned toward Him and attained the decisive word.

9

یقرء ما نزّل قبلها والاّعفا اللّه عنه انّه له قد فصّلنا الصّلوة فی ورقةٍ اخری طوبی لمن عمل بما امر به من لدن مالک الرّقاب قد نزّلت فی صلوة المیت ستّ تکبیرات من اللّه منزل الایات و الّذی عنده علم القرآئة له ان و العزیز الغفّار

Yaqraʾu mā nuzzila qablahā wa-illā ʿafā Allāhu ʿanhu [corrupted text] qad faṣṣalnā al-ṣalāta fī waraqatin ukhrā ṭūbā li-man ʿamila bi-mā umira bihi min ladun Māliki al-riqāb. Qad nuzzilat fī ṣalāti al-mayyiti sittu takbīrātin min Allāhi Munzili al-āyāt wa-alladhī ʿindahu ʿilmu al-qirāʾati [corrupted text] al-ʿAzīzu al-Ghaffār.

He reads what was revealed before it; otherwise, God has pardoned him. [corrupted original text] We have set out the obligatory prayer in detail on another sheet. Blessed is the one who acts according to what he has been commanded by the Master of all people. Six repetitions of “God is Most Great” have been revealed for the prayer for the dead by God, the Revealer of verses, and the one who knows how to read [corrupted original text] the Almighty, the All-Forgiving.

10

لا یبطل الشّعر صلوتکم و لا ما منع عن الرّوح مثل العظام و غیرها البسوا السّمور کما تلبسون الخزّ و السّنجاب و ما دونهما انّه ما نهی فی الفرقان ولکن اشتبه علی العلمآء انّه لهو العزیز العلاّم

Lā yubṭilu al-shaʿru ṣalātakum wa-lā mā muniʿa ʿani al-rūḥi mithla al-ʿiẓāmi wa-ghayrihā. Ilbasū al-sammūra kamā talbasūna al-khazza wa-al-sinjāba wa-mā dūnahumā. Innahu mā nahā fī al-Furqān wa-lākin ishtabaha ʿalā al-ʿulamāʾ. Innahu la-huwa al-ʿAzīzu al-ʿAllām.

Hair does not invalidate your prayer, nor does anything devoid of life, such as bones and the like. Wear sable as you wear silk, squirrel fur, and other materials. He did not forbid this in the Qur’an, but the scholars misunderstood. He is indeed the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

11

قد فرض علیکم الصّلوة و الصّوم من اوّل البلوغ امراً من لدی اللّه ربّکم و ربّ ابائکم الأولین من کان فی نفسه ضعف من المرض او الهرم عفا اللّه عنه فضلاً من عنده انّه لهو الغفور الکریم قد اذن اللّه لکم السّجود علی کل شئً طاهرٍ و رفعنا عنه حکم الحدّ فی الکتاب انّ اللّه یعلم و انتم لا تعلمون من لم یجد المآء یذکر خمس مرّاتٍ بسم اللّه الأطهر الأطهر ثمّ یشرع فی العمل هذا ما حکم به مولی العالمین و البلدان الّتی طالت فیها اللّیالی و الایام فلیصلّوا بالسّاعات و المشاخص الّتی منها تحدّدت الأوقات انّه لهو المبین الحکیم

Qad furiḍa ʿalaykumu al-ṣalātu wa-al-ṣawmu min awwali al-bulūgh amran min ladā Allāhi rabbikum wa-rabbi ābāʾikumu al-awwalīn. Man kāna fī nafsihi ḍaʿfun mina al-maraḍi aw al-haram ʿafā Allāhu ʿanhu faḍlan min ʿindihi innahu la-huwa al-Ghafūru al-Karīm. Qad adhina Allāhu lakumu al-sujūda ʿalā kulli shayʾin ṭāhirin wa-rafaʿnā ʿanhu ḥukma al-ḥaddi fī al-kitāb. Inna Allāha yaʿlamu wa-antum lā taʿlamūn. Man lam yajidi al-māʾa yadhkuru khamsa marrātin bismi Allāhi al-Aṭhari al-Aṭhar thumma yashraʿu fī al-ʿamal. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi Mawlā al-ʿālamīn. Wa-al-buldānu allatī ṭālat fīhā al-layālī wa-al-ayyām fa-li-yuṣallū bi-al-sāʿāti wa-al-mashākhiṣi allatī minhā taḥaddadati al-awqāt. Innahu la-huwa al-Mubīnu al-Ḥakīm.

Prayer and fasting have been made obligatory for you from the onset of maturity, as a command from God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. Whoever is weakened by illness or old age has been exempted by God as a grace from Him. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, the Generous. God has permitted you to prostrate yourselves on any clean surface, and We have removed from the Book the restriction that applied to it. God knows, and you do not know. Whoever cannot find water is to repeat five times, “In the name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure,” and then proceed with the act. This is what the Lord of the worlds has decreed. In lands where nights and days are long, they are to pray according to clocks and instruments by which the times are determined. He is indeed the Expounder, the All-Wise.

12

قد عفونا عنکم صلوة الآیات اذا ظهرت اذکروا اللّه بالعظمة و الأقتدار انّه هو السّمیع البصیر قولوا العظمة للّه ربّ ما یری و ما لا یری ربّ العالمین

Qad ʿafawnā ʿankum ṣalāta al-āyāt. Idhā ẓaharat udhkurū Allāha bi-al-ʿaẓamati wa-al-iqtidār. Innahu huwa al-Samīʿu al-Baṣīr. Qūlū al-ʿaẓamatu li-Allāhi rabbi mā yurā wa-mā lā yurā rabbi al-ʿālamīn.

We have exempted you from the prayer of the signs. When they appear, remember God with grandeur and power. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. Say: “Grandeur belongs to God, Lord of all that is seen and unseen, Lord of the worlds.”

13

کتب علیکم الصّلوة فرادی قد رفع حکم الجماعة الاّ فی صلوة المیت انّه لهو الأمر الحکیم

Kutiba ʿalaykumu al-ṣalātu furādā qad rufiʿa ḥukmu al-jamāʿati illā fī ṣalāti al-mayyit. Innahu la-huwa al-Āmiru al-Ḥakīm.

You have been required to perform obligatory prayer individually. The ordinance of congregational prayer has been abolished, except for the prayer for the dead. He is indeed the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

14

قد عفا اللّه عن النّسآء حین ما یجدن الدّم الصّوم و الصّلوة و لهنّ ان یتوضّأن و یسبّحن خمساً و تسعین مرّة من زوالٍ الی زوالٍ سبحان اللّه ذی الطّلعة و الجمال هذا ما قدّر فی الکتاب ان انتم من العالمین

Qad ʿafā Allāhu ʿani al-nisāʾi ḥīna mā yajidna al-dama al-ṣawma wa-al-ṣalāta wa-lahunna an yatawaḍḍaʾna wa-yusabbiḥna khamsan wa-tisʿīna marratan min zawālin ilā zawālin subḥāna Allāhi dhī al-ṭalʿati wa-al-jamāl. Hādhā mā quddira fī al-kitābi in antum mina al-ʿālimīn.

God has exempted women from fasting and obligatory prayer during menstruation. They are to perform ablutions and repeat ninety-five times, from one noon to the next, “Glory be to God, the Possessor of radiance and beauty.” This is what has been ordained in the Book, if you are among those who know.

15

و لکم و لهنّ فی الاسفار اذ انزلتم و استرحتم المقام الأمن مکان کلّ صلوة سجدة واحدة و اذکروا فیها سبحان اللّه ذی العظمة و الاجلال و الموهبة و الافضال و الّذی عجز یقول سبحان اللّه انّه یکفیه بالحق انّه لهو الکافی الباقی الغفور الرّحیم و بعد اتمام السّجود لکم و لهنّ ان تقعدوا علی هیکل التّوحید و تقولوا ثمانی عشرة مرّة سبحان اللّه ذی الملک و الملکوت کذلک یبین اللّه سبل الحقّ و الهدی و انّها انتهت الی سبیل واحد و هو هذا الصّراط المستقیم اشکروا اللّه بهذا الفضل العظیم احمدوا اللّه بهذه الموهبة الّتی احاطت السّموات و الأرضین اذکروا اللّه بهذه الرّحمة الّتی سبقت العالمین

Wa-lakum wa-lahunna fī al-asfāri idhā nazaltum wa-istaraḥtumu al-maqāma al-amna makāna kulli ṣalātin sajdatun wāḥidatun wa-udhkurū fīhā subḥāna Allāhi dhī al-ʿaẓamati wa-al-ijlāli wa-al-mawhibati wa-al-ifḍāl. Wa-alladhī ʿajaza yaqūlu subḥāna Allāh innahu yakfīhi bi-al-ḥaqq innahu la-huwa al-Kāfī al-Bāqī al-Ghafūru al-Raḥīm. Wa-baʿda itmāmi al-sujūdi lakum wa-lahunna an taqʿudū ʿalā haykali al-tawḥīdi wa-taqūlū thamāniya ʿashrata marratan subḥāna Allāhi dhī al-mulki wa-al-malakūt. Kadhālika yubayyinu Allāhu subula al-ḥaqqi wa-al-hudā wa-innahā intahat ilā sabīlin wāḥidin wa-huwa hādhā al-ṣirāṭu al-mustaqīm. Ushkurū Allāha bi-hādhā al-faḍli al-ʿaẓīm. Iḥmadū Allāha bi-hādhihi al-mawhibati allatī aḥāṭati al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīn. Udhkurū Allāha bi-hādhihi al-raḥmati allatī sabaqati al-ʿālamīn.

For you and for women, when traveling, upon stopping and resting in a safe place, a single prostration is to replace each obligatory prayer. During it say, “Glory be to God, the Possessor of grandeur and majesty, bounty and grace.” Anyone unable to do this says, “Glory be to God”; this will indeed suffice. He is indeed the All-Sufficing, the Everlasting, the All-Forgiving, the Merciful. After completing the prostrations, you and women are to sit in the posture of unity and say eighteen times, “Glory be to God, the Possessor of the earthly and heavenly kingdoms.” Thus God makes clear the ways of truth and guidance, and they have converged in a single way: this straight path. Thank God for this great grace. Praise God for this bounty that has encompassed the heavens and the earth. Remember God for this mercy that has preceded all the worlds.

16

قل قد جعل اللّه مفتاح الکنز حبّی المکنون لو انتم تعرفون لولا المفتاح لکان مکنوناً فی ازل الازال لو انتم توقنون قل هذا لمطلع الوحی و مشرق الأشراق الّذی به اشرقت الآفاق لو انتم تعلمون انّ هذا لهو القضآء المثبت و به ثبت کلّ قضآءٍ محتوم

Qul qad jaʿala Allāhu miftāḥa al-kanzi ḥubbī al-maknūna law antum taʿrifūn. Lawlā al-miftāḥu la-kāna maknūnan fī azali al-āzāl law antum tūqinūn. Qul hādhā la-maṭlaʿu al-waḥyi wa-mashriqu al-ishrāqi alladhī bihi ashraqati al-āfāqu law antum taʿlamūn. Inna hādhā la-huwa al-qaḍāʾu al-muthbatu wa-bihi thabata kullu qaḍāʾin maḥtūm.

Say: God has made My hidden love the key to the treasure, if only you would recognize it. Without the key, it would have remained concealed for all eternity, if only you were certain. Say: This is indeed the Dawning Place of revelation and the Dayspring of radiance through which the horizons have been illumined, if only you knew. This is indeed the established decree, and through it every irrevocable decree has been established.

17

یا قلم الأعلی قل یا ملاء الأنشآء قد کتبنا علیکم الصّیام ایاماً معدودات و جعلنا النّیروز عیداً لکم بعد اکمالها کذلک اضآئت شمس البیان من افق الکتاب من لدن مالک المبدء و المأب و اجعلوا الأیام الزّآئدة عن الشّهور قبل شهر الصّیام انّا جعلناها مظاهر الهآء بین اللّیالی و الأیّام لذا ما تحدّدت بحدود السّنة و الشّهور ینبغی لأهل البهآء ان یطعموا فیها انفسهم و ذوی القربی ثمّ الفقرآء و المساکین و یهلّلنّ و یکبّرنّ و یسبّحنّ و یمجّدنّ ربّهم بالفرح و الأنبساط و اذا تمّت ایام الاعطآء قبل الامساک فلیدخلنّ فی الصّیام کذلک حکم مولی الأنام لیس علی المسافر و المریض و الحامل و المرضع من حرجٍ عفا اللّه عنهم فضلاً من عنده انّه لهو العزیز الوهّاب

Yā qalama al-aʿlā qul yā malaʾa al-inshāʾ qad katabnā ʿalaykumu al-ṣiyāma ayyāman maʿdūdātin wa-jaʿalnā al-nayrūza ʿīdan lakum baʿda ikmālihā. Kadhālika aḍāʾat shamsu al-bayāni min ufuqi al-kitābi min ladun Māliki al-mabdaʾi wa-al-maʾāb. Wa-ijʿalū al-ayyāma al-zāʾidata ʿani al-shuhūri qabla shahri al-ṣiyām. Innā jaʿalnāhā maẓāhira al-hāʾi bayna al-layālī wa-al-ayyām li-dhā mā taḥaddadat bi-ḥudūdi al-sanati wa-al-shuhūr. Yanbaghī li-ahli al-Bahāʾi an yuṭʿimū fīhā anfusahum wa-dhawī al-qurbā thumma al-fuqarāʾa wa-al-masākīna wa-yuhallilanna wa-yukabbiranna wa-yusabbiḥanna wa-yumajjidanna rabbahum bi-al-faraḥi wa-al-inbisāṭ. Wa-idhā tammat ayyāmu al-iʿṭāʾi qabla al-imsāk fa-li-yadkhulanna fī al-ṣiyām. Kadhālika ḥakama Mawlā al-anām. Laysa ʿalā al-musāfiri wa-al-marīḍi wa-al-ḥāmili wa-al-murḍiʿi min ḥaraj. ʿAfā Allāhu ʿanhum faḍlan min ʿindihi innahu la-huwa al-ʿAzīzu al-Wahhāb.

Most Exalted Pen, say: People of creation, We have prescribed fasting for you for a specified number of days and have made Naw-Rúz a festival for you upon their completion. Thus has the Sun of utterance shone from the horizon of the Book, from the Lord of the beginning and the return. Place the days in excess of the months before the month of fasting. We have made them manifestations of the letter Há among the nights and days; thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and the months. During them, the people of Bahá should provide food for themselves and their relatives, as well as the poor and needy, and with joy and gladness proclaim the oneness and greatness of their Lord, praise Him, and glorify Him. When the days of giving that precede abstinence have ended, let them enter the fast. Thus has the Lord of humanity decreed. Travelers, the sick, pregnant women, and nursing mothers are under no obligation. God has exempted them as a grace from Him. He is indeed the Almighty, the Bestower.

18

هذه حدود اللّه الّتی رقمت من القلم الأعلی فی الزّبر و الألواح تمسّکوا باوامر اللّه و احکامه و لا تکونوا من الّذین اخذوا اصول انفسهم و نبذوا اصول اللّه ورآئهم بما اتّبعوا الظّنون و الأوهام کفّوا انفسکم عن الأکل و الشّرب من الطّلوع الی الأفول ایّاکم ان یمنعکم الهوی عن هذا الفضل الّذی قدّر فی الکتاب

Hādhihi ḥudūdu Allāhi allatī ruqimat mina al-qalami al-aʿlā fī al-zuburi wa-al-alwāḥ. Tamassakū bi-awāmiri Allāhi wa-aḥkāmihi wa-lā takūnū mina alladhīna akhadhū uṣūla anfusihim wa-nabadhū uṣūla Allāhi warāʾahum bi-mā ittabaʿū al-ẓunūna wa-al-awhām. Kuffū anfusakum ʿani al-akli wa-al-shurbi mina al-ṭulūʿi ilā al-ufūl. Iyyākum an yamnaʿakumu al-hawā ʿan hādhā al-faḍli alladhī quddira fī al-kitāb.

These are the laws of God inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen in the scriptures and Tablets. Hold fast to God’s commandments and ordinances, and do not be among those who have adopted principles of their own and cast God’s principles behind them, following conjectures and vain imaginings. Refrain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Beware lest desire deprive you of this grace ordained in the Book.

19

قد کتب لمن دان باللّه الدّیان ان یغسل فی کلّ یومٍ یدیه ثمّ وجهه و یقعد مقبلاً الی اللّه و یذکر خمساً و تسعین مرّةً اللّه ابهی کذلک حکم فاطر السّمآء اذ استوی علی اعراش الأسماء بالعظمة و الأقتدار کذلک توضّأوا للصّلوة امراً من اللّه الواحد المختار

Qad kutiba li-man dāna bi-Allāhi al-Dayyāni an yaghsila fī kulli yawmin yadayhi thumma wajhahu wa-yaqʿuda muqbilan ilā Allāhi wa-yadhkura khamsan wa-tisʿīna marratan Allāhu Abhā. Kadhālika ḥakama Fāṭiru al-samāʾi idh istawā ʿalā aʿrāshi al-asmāʾi bi-al-ʿaẓamati wa-al-iqtidār. Kadhālika tawaḍḍaʾū li-al-ṣalāti amran min Allāhi al-Wāḥidi al-Mukhtār.

Everyone who believes in God, the Judge, has been required each day to wash his hands and then his face, sit facing God, and repeat ninety-five times, “God is Most Glorious.” Thus has the Creator of heaven decreed as He sat upon the thrones of names in grandeur and power. Likewise, perform ablutions for obligatory prayer, as a command from God, the One, who freely chooses.

20

قد حرّم علیکم القتل و الزّنا ثمّ الغیبة و الافترآء اجتنبوا عمّا نهیتم عنه فی الصّحآئف و الألواح

Qad ḥurrima ʿalaykumu al-qatlu wa-al-zinā thumma al-ghībatu wa-al-iftirāʾ. Ijtanibū ʿammā nuhītum ʿanhu fī al-ṣaḥāʾifi wa-al-alwāḥ.

Murder, adultery, backbiting, and slander have been forbidden to you. Avoid whatever you have been forbidden in the scriptures and Tablets.

21

قد قسمنا المواریث علی عدد الزّآء منها قدّر لذرّیاتکم من کتاب الطّآء علی عدد المقت و للأزواج من کتاب الحآء علی عدد التّآء و الفآء و للابآء من کتاب الزّآء علی عدد التّآء و الکاف و للأمّهات من کتاب الواو علی عدد الرّفیع و للأخوان من کتاب الهآء عدد الشّین و للأخوات من کتاب الدّال عدد الرّآء و المیم و للمعلّمین من کتاب الجیم عدد القاف و الفآء کذلک حکم مبشّری الّذی یذکرنی فی اللّیالی و الأسحار انّا لمّا سمعنا ضجیج الذّرّیات فی الأصلاب زدنا ضعف مالهم و نقصنا عن الاخری انّه لهو المقتدر علی ما یشآء یفعل بسلطانه کیف اراد

Qad qasamnā al-mawārītha ʿalā ʿadadi al-zāʾ. Minhā quddira li-dhurriyyātikum min kitābi al-ṭāʾ ʿalā ʿadadi al-maqt, wa-li-l-azwāji min kitābi al-ḥāʾ ʿalā ʿadadi al-tāʾ wa-l-fāʾ, wa-li-l-ābāʾi min kitābi al-zāʾ ʿalā ʿadadi al-tāʾ wa-l-kāf, wa-li-l-ummahāti min kitābi al-wāw ʿalā ʿadadi al-rafīʿ, wa-li-l-ikhwāni min kitābi al-hāʾ ʿadada al-shīn, wa-li-l-akhawāti min kitābi al-dāl ʿadada al-rāʾ wa-l-mīm, wa-li-l-muʿallimīna min kitābi al-jīm ʿadada al-qāf wa-l-fāʾ. Kadhālika ḥakama mubashshirī alladhī yadhkurunī fī al-layālī wa-l-asḥār. Innā lammā samiʿnā ḍajīja al-dhurriyyāti fī al-aṣlāb zidnā ḍiʿfa mā lahum wa-naqaṣnā ʿani al-ukhrā. Innahu la-huwa al-muqtadiru ʿalā mā yashāʾ, yafʿalu bi-sulṭānihi kayfa arād.

We have divided inheritances according to the number of Zāʾ. Of these, your offspring have been allotted from the Book of Ṭāʾ according to the number of maqt; spouses, from the Book of Ḥāʾ according to the number of Tāʾ and Fāʾ; fathers, from the Book of Zāʾ according to the number of Tāʾ and Kāf; mothers, from the Book of Wāw according to the number of rafīʿ; brothers, from the Book of Hāʾ, the number of Shīn; sisters, from the Book of Dāl, the number of Rāʾ and Mīm; and teachers, from the Book of Jīm, the number of Qāf and Fāʾ. Thus decreed My Herald, who remembers Me in the night and at dawn. When We heard the clamor of the offspring still in their fathers’ loins, We doubled their share and reduced those of the others. He indeed has power over whatever He wills; through His sovereignty He does as He wishes.

22

من مات و لم یکن له ذرّیة ترجع حقوقهم الی بیت العدل لیصرفوها امنآء الرّحمن فی الأیتام و الارامل و ما ینتفع به جمهور النّاس لیشکروا ربّهم العزیز الغفّار

Man māta wa-lam yakun lahu dhurriyyatun tarjiʿu ḥuqūquhum ilā bayti al-ʿadl li-yaṣrifūhā umanāʾu al-Raḥmān fī al-aytāmi wa-l-arāmili wa-mā yantafiʿu bihi jumhūru al-nās li-yashkurū rabbahumu al-ʿazīza al-ghaffār.

If someone dies without offspring, their shares revert to the House of Justice, so that the trustees of the All-Merciful may spend them on orphans, widows, and whatever benefits the general public, that they may give thanks to their Lord, the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving.

23

و الّذی له ذرّیة و لم یکن مادونها عمّا حدّد فی الکتاب یرجع الثّلثان ممّا ترکه الی الذّرّیة و الثّلث الی بیت العدل کذلک حکم الغنی المتّعال بالعظمة و الأجلال

Wa-alladhī lahu dhurriyyatun wa-lam yakun mā dūnahā ʿammā ḥuddida fī al-kitāb yarjiʿu al-thuluthāni mimmā tarakahu ilā al-dhurriyyati wa-l-thuluthu ilā bayti al-ʿadl. Kadhālika ḥakama al-ghaniyyu al-mutaʿāl bi-l-ʿaẓamati wa-l-ijlāl.

If someone has offspring but none of the other heirs specified in the Book, two-thirds of what he leaves revert to the offspring and one-third to the House of Justice. Thus has the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted, decreed in majesty and glory.

24

و الّذی لم یکن له من یرثه و کان له ذو القربٰی من ابنآء الأخ و الأخت و بناتهما فلهم الثّلثان والاّ للأعمام و الأخوال و العمّات و الخالات و من بعدهم و بعدهنّ لابنآئهم و ابنآئهنّ و بناتهم و بناتهنّ و الثلث یرجع الی مقرّ العدل امراً فی الکتاب من لدی اللّه مالک الرّقاب

Wa-alladhī lam yakun lahu man yarithuhu wa-kāna lahu dhawū al-qurbā min abnāʾi al-akhi wa-l-ukhti wa-banātihimā fa-lahumu al-thuluthān, wa-illā fa-li-l-aʿmāmi wa-l-akhwāli wa-l-ʿammāti wa-l-khālāt, wa-min baʿdihim wa-baʿdihinna li-abnāʾihim wa-abnāʾihinna wa-banātihim wa-banātihinna, wa-l-thuluthu yarjiʿu ilā maqarri al-ʿadl, amran fī al-kitābi min ladā Allāhi māliki al-riqāb.

If someone has none to inherit from him but has relatives among the sons and daughters of his brother or sister, two-thirds go to them; otherwise, to his paternal and maternal uncles and aunts, and after them to their sons and daughters. One-third reverts to the Seat of Justice, as an ordinance in the Book from God, the Master of all people.

25

من مات و لم یکن له احد من الّذین نزّلت اسمائهم من القلم الأعلی ترجع الأموال کلّها الی المقرّ المذکور لتصرف فیما امر اللّه به انّه لهو المقتدر الأمّار

Man māta wa-lam yakun lahu aḥadun mina alladhīna nuzzilat asmāʾuhum mina al-qalami al-aʿlā tarjiʿu al-amwālu kulluhā ilā al-maqarri al-madhkūr li-tuṣrafa fīmā amara Allāhu bihi. Innahu la-huwa al-muqtadiru al-ammār.

If someone dies leaving none of those whose names have been sent down by the Most Exalted Pen, all the property reverts to the aforementioned Seat, to be spent on what God has ordained. He indeed is the All-Powerful, the Supreme Ordainer.

26

و جعلنا الدّار المسکونة و الالبسة المخصوصه للذّرّیة من الذّکران دون الأناث و الورّاث انّه لهو المعطی الفیاض

Wa-jaʿalnā al-dāra al-maskūnata wa-l-albisata al-makhṣūṣata li-l-dhurriyyati mina al-dhukrāni dūna al-ināthi wa-l-wurrāth. Innahu la-huwa al-muʿṭī al-fayyāḍ.

We have assigned the residence and personal clothing to the male offspring, to the exclusion of the female offspring and other heirs. He indeed is the Giver, the Most Bountiful.

27

انّ الّذی مات فی ایام والده و له ذرّیة اولٓئک یرثون ما لأبیهم فی کتاب اللّه اقسموا بینهم بالعدل الخالص کذلک ماج بحر الکلام و قذف لئالی الأحکام من لدن مالک الأنام

Inna alladhī māta fī ayyāmi wālidihi wa-lahu dhurriyyatun ulāʾika yarithūna mā li-abīhim fī kitābi Allāh. Iqsimū baynahum bi-l-ʿadli al-khāliṣ. Kadhālika māja baḥru al-kalāmi wa-qadhafa laʾāliʾa al-aḥkāmi min ladun māliki al-anām.

If someone dies during his father’s lifetime and leaves offspring, they inherit their father’s share as prescribed in the Book of God. Divide it among them with pure justice. Thus has the ocean of utterance surged and cast forth the pearls of ordinances from the Lord of all people.

28

و الّذی ترک ذرّیةً ضعافاً سلّموا مالهم الی امین لیتجرّ لهم الی ان یبلغوا رشدهم او الی محلّ الشّراکة ثمّ عینوا للأمین حقّاً ممّا حصل من التّجارة و الأقتراف

Wa-alladhī taraka dhurriyyatan ḍiʿāfan sallimū mālahum ilā amīnin li-yattajira lahum ilā an yablughū rushdahum aw ilā maḥalli al-shirāka. Thumma ʿayyinū li-l-amīni ḥaqqan mimmā ḥaṣala mina al-tijārati wa-l-iqtirāf.

If someone leaves offspring who are minors, entrust their property to a trustworthy person to trade on their behalf until they reach maturity or the age of partnership. Then assign the trustee a share of the proceeds from trade and earnings.

29

کلّ ذلک بعد ادآء حقّ اللّه و الدّیون لو تکون علیه و تجهیز الأسباب للکفن و الدّفن و حمل المیت بالعزّة و الاءعتزاز کذلک حکم مالک المبدء و المأب

Kullu dhālika baʿda adāʾi ḥaqqi Allāhi wa-l-duyūni law takūnu ʿalayhi wa-tajhīzi al-asbābi li-l-kafani wa-l-dafni wa-ḥamli al-mayyiti bi-l-ʿizzati wa-l-iʿtizāz. Kadhālika ḥakama māliku al-mabdaʾi wa-l-maʾāb.

All this follows payment of the Right of God and any debts owed by the deceased, provision for shrouding and burial, and the conveyance of the deceased with dignity and honor. Thus has the Lord of the beginning and the return decreed.

30

قل هذا لهو العلم المکنون الّذی لن یتغیر لانّه بدء بالطّآء المدلّة علی الأسم المخزون الظّاهر الممتنع المنیع و ما خصّصناه للذّرّیات هذا من فضل اللّه علیهم لیشکروا ربّهم الرّحمن الرّحیم تلک حدود اللّه لا تعتدوها باهوآء انفسکم اتّبعوا ما امرتم به من مطلع البیان و المخلصون یرون حدود اللّه ماء الحیوان لاهل الأدیان و مصباح الحکمة و الفلاح لمن فی الأرضین و السّموات

Qul hādhā la-huwa al-ʿilmu al-maknūnu alladhī lan yataghayyara li-annahu budiʾa bi-l-ṭāʾi al-mudillati ʿalā al-ismi al-makhzūni al-ẓāhiri al-mumtaniʿi al-manīʿ. Wa-mā khaṣṣaṣnāhu li-l-dhurriyyāti hādhā min faḍli Allāhi ʿalayhim li-yashkurū rabbahumu al-Raḥmāna al-raḥīm. Tilka ḥudūdu Allāhi lā taʿtadūhā bi-ahwāʾi anfusikum. Ittabiʿū mā umirtum bihi min maṭlaʿi al-bayān. Wa-l-mukhliṣūna yarawna ḥudūda Allāhi māʾa al-ḥayawāni li-ahli al-adyāni wa-miṣbāḥa al-ḥikmati wa-l-falāḥi li-man fī al-arḍīna wa-l-samāwāt.

Say: This is indeed the hidden knowledge that will never change, for it began with Ṭāʾ, which points to the treasured Name, the Manifest, the Inaccessible, the Unassailable. What We have set aside for the offspring is a grace bestowed on them by God, that they may thank their Lord, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate. These are God’s limits; do not transgress them at the prompting of your own desires. Follow what you have been commanded by the Dawning-Place of utterance. The sincere see God’s ordinances as the water of life for the followers of religions and the lamp of wisdom and salvation for all in the earth and the heavens.

31

قد کتب اللّه علی کلّ مدینةٍ ان یجعلوا فیها بیت العدل و یجتمع فیه النّفوس علی عدد البهآء و ان ازداد لا بأس و یرون کانّهم یدخلون محضر اللّه العلی الأعلی و یرون من لا یری و ینبغی لهم ان یکونوا امنآء الرّحمن بین الاءمکان و وکلاء اللّه لمن علی الأرض کلّها و یشاوروا فی مصالح العباد لوجه اللّه کما یشاورون فی امورهم و یختاروا ما هو المختار کذلک حکم ربّکم العزیز الغفّار ایاکم ان تدعوا ما هو المنصوص فی اللّوح اتّقوا اللّه یا اولی الانظار

Qad kataba Allāhu ʿalā kulli madīnatin an yajʿalū fīhā bayta al-ʿadli wa-yajtamiʿa fīhi al-nufūsu ʿalā ʿadadi al-Bahāʾ, wa-in izdāda lā baʾs. Wa-yarawna ka-annahum yadkhulūna maḥḍara Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-aʿlā wa-yarawna man lā yurā. Wa-yanbaghī lahum an yakūnū umanāʾa al-Raḥmāni bayna al-imkāni wa-wukalāʾa Allāhi li-man ʿalā al-arḍi kullihā wa-yushāwirū fī maṣāliḥi al-ʿibādi li-wajhi Allāhi kamā yushāwirūna fī umūrihim wa-yakhtārū mā huwa al-mukhtār. Kadhālika ḥakama rabbukumu al-ʿazīzu al-ghaffār. Iyyākum an tadaʿū mā huwa al-manṣūṣu fī al-lawḥ. Ittaqū Allāha yā ulī al-anẓār.

God has prescribed that a House of Justice be established in every city, in which souls numbering the numerical value of Bahāʾ shall gather; if the number is greater, there is no objection. They should regard themselves as entering the presence of God, the Most High, the Most Exalted, and as seeing Him who cannot be seen. They should be the trustees of the All-Merciful among created beings and God’s representatives for all who dwell on earth. They should consult, for God’s sake, on the interests of His servants as they consult on their own affairs, and choose what is best. Thus has your Lord, the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving, decreed. Beware of abandoning what is expressly stated in the Tablet. Be mindful of God, you who possess insight.

32

یا ملاء الأنشآء عمّروا بیوتاً باکمل ما یمکن فی الامکان باسم مالک الأدیان فی البلدان و زینوها بما ینبغی لها لا بالصّور و الامثال ثمّ اذکروا فیها ربّکم الرّحمن بالرّوح و الرّیحان الا بذکره تستنیر الصّدور و تقرّ الأبصار

Yā malaʾa al-inshāʾ, ʿammirū buyūtan bi-akmali mā yumkinu fī al-imkāni bi-smi māliki al-adyāni fī al-buldāni wa-zayyinūhā bi-mā yanbaghī lahā lā bi-l-ṣuwari wa-l-amthāl. Thumma udhkurū fīhā rabbakumu al-Raḥmāna bi-l-rūḥi wa-l-rayḥān. Alā bi-dhikrihi tastanīru al-ṣudūru wa-taqarru al-abṣār.

People of creation! Build houses throughout the lands in the name of the Lord of religions, as perfectly as is possible in the world of being, and adorn them with what befits them, not with images and statues. Then remember within them your Lord, the All-Merciful, with joy and gladness. Truly, through remembrance of Him hearts are illumined and eyes are cheered.

33

قد حکم اللّه لمن استطاع منکم حجّ البیت دون النّسآء عفا اللّه عنهنّ رحمة من عنده انّه لهو المعطی الوهّاب

Qad ḥakama Allāhu li-man istaṭāʿa minkum ḥajja al-bayti dūna al-nisāʾ. ʿAfā Allāhu ʿanhunna raḥmatan min ʿindihi. Innahu la-huwa al-muʿṭī al-wahhāb.

God has ordained pilgrimage to the House for those of you who are able, except women. God has exempted them as a mercy from Him. He indeed is the Giver, the All-Bountiful.

34

یا اهل البهآء قد وجب علی کلّ واحدٍ منکم الاشتغال بامر من الامور من الصّنآیع و الاقتراف و امثالها و جعلنا اشتغالکم بها نفس العبادة للّه الحق تفکّروا یا قوم فی رحمة اللّه و الطافه ثمّ اشکروه فی العشی و الأشراق لا تضیعوا اوقاتکم بالبطالة و الکسالة و اشتغلوا بما ینتفع به انفسکم و انفس غیرکم کذلک قضی الأمر فی هذا اللّوح الّذی لاحت من افقه شمس الحکمة و التّبیان ابغض النّاس عند اللّه من یقعد و یطلب تمسّکوا بحبل الأسباب متوکّلین علی اللّه مسبّب الأسباب

Yā ahla al-Bahāʾ, qad wajaba ʿalā kulli wāḥidin minkumu al-ishtighālu bi-amrin mina al-umūri mina al-ṣanāʾiʿi wa-l-iqtirāfi wa-amthālihā. Wa-jaʿalnā ishtighālakum bihā nafsa al-ʿibādati li-llāhi al-ḥaqq. Tafakkarū yā qawmi fī raḥmati Allāhi wa-alṭāfihi thumma ushkurūhu fī al-ʿashiyyi wa-l-ishrāq. Lā tuḍayyiʿū awqātakum bi-l-baṭālati wa-l-kasālati wa-ishtaghilū bi-mā yantafiʿu bihi anfusukum wa-anfusu ghayrikum. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amru fī hādhā al-lawḥi alladhī lāḥat min ufuqihi shamsu al-ḥikmati wa-l-tibyān. Abghaḍu al-nāsi ʿinda Allāhi man yaqʿudu wa-yaṭlub. Tamassakū bi-ḥabli al-asbābi mutawakkilīna ʿalā Allāhi musabbibi al-asbāb.

People of Bahāʾ! Every one of you is required to engage in an occupation, such as a craft, a trade, or the like. We have made your engagement in such work the very worship of God, the True One. Reflect, My people, on God’s mercy and favors, then thank Him in the evening and at daybreak. Do not waste your time in idleness and laziness, but occupy yourselves with what benefits you and others. Thus has the matter been decreed in this Tablet, from whose horizon the sun of wisdom and exposition has shone. The most detestable of people in God’s sight is one who sits and begs. Hold fast to the cord of means, placing your trust in God, the Originator of all means.

35

قد حرّم علیکم تقبیل الأیادی فی الکتاب هذا ما نهیتم عنه من لدن ربّکم العزیز الحکّام لیس لأحدٍ ان یستغفر عند احد توبُوا الی اللّه تلقآء انفسکم انّه لهو الغافر المعطی العزیز التّوّاب

Qad ḥurrima ʿalaykum taqbīlu al-ayādī fī al-kitāb. Hādhā mā nuhītum ʿanhu min ladun rabbikumu al-ʿazīzi al-ḥakkām. Laysa li-aḥadin an yastaghfira ʿinda aḥad. Tūbū ilā Allāhi tilqāʾa anfusikum. Innahu la-huwa al-ghāfiru al-muʿṭī al-ʿazīzu al-tawwāb.

Kissing hands has been forbidden to you in the Book. This is what your Lord, the Almighty, the Supreme Judge, has prohibited you from doing. No one may seek forgiveness in the presence of another. Turn to God in repentance on your own. He indeed is the Forgiver, the Giver, the Almighty, the Ever-Relenting.

36

یا عباد الرّحمن قوموا علی خدمة الأمر علی شأنٍ لا تأخذکم الأحزان من الّذین کفروا بمطلع الآیات لمّا جآء الوعد و ظهر الموعود اختلف النّاس و تمسّک کلّ حزبٍ بما عنده من الظّنون و الأوهام

Yā ʿibāda al-Raḥmān, qūmū ʿalā khidmati al-amri ʿalā shaʾnin lā taʾkhudhukumu al-aḥzānu mina alladhīna kafarū bi-maṭlaʿi al-āyāt. Lammā jāʾa al-waʿdu wa-ẓahara al-mawʿūdu ikhtalafa al-nāsu wa-tamassaka kullu ḥizbin bi-mā ʿindahu mina al-ẓunūni wa-l-awhām.

Servants of the All-Merciful! Arise to serve the Cause in such a way that those who disbelieve in the Dawning-Place of the verses cannot afflict you with sorrow. When the promise was fulfilled and the Promised One appeared, the people fell into disagreement, and every party clung to its own conjectures and imaginings.

37

من النّاس من یقعد صفّ النّعال طلباً لصدر الجلال قل من انت یا ایها الغافل الغرّار و منهم من یدّعی الباطن و باطن الباطن قل یا ایها الکذّاب تاللّه ما عندک انّه من القشور ترکناها لکم کما تترک العظام للکلاب تاللّه الحقّ لو یغسل احد ارجل العالم و یعبد اللّه علی الادغال و الشّواجن و الجبال و القنان و الشناخیب و عند کلّ حجر و شجر و مدر و لا یتضوّع منه عرف رضآئی لن یقبل ابداً هذا ما حکم به مولی الانام کم من عبد اعتزل فی جزائر الهند و منع عن نفسه ما احلّه اللّه له و حمل الرّیاضات و المشقّات و لم یذکر عند اللّه منزل الآیات لا تجعلوا الأعمال شرک الآمال و لا تحرموا انفسکم عن هذا المأل الّذی کان امل المقرّبین فی ازل الازال قل روح الاعمال هو رضائی و علّق کلّ شئ بقبولی اقرؤا الالواح لتعرفوا ما هو المقصود فی کتب اللّه العزیز الوهّاب من فاز بحبّی حقّ له ان یقعد علی سریر العقیان فی صدر الامکان و الّذی منع عنه لو یقعد علی التّراب انّه یستعیذ منه الی اللّه مالک الأدیان

Mina al-nāsi man yaqʿudu ṣaffa al-niʿāli ṭalaban li-ṣadri al-jalāl. Qul man anta yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu al-gharrār. Wa-minhum man yaddaʿī al-bāṭina wa-bāṭina al-bāṭin. Qul yā ayyuhā al-kadhdhāb, ta-Allāhi mā ʿindaka innahu mina al-qushūri taraknāhā lakum kamā tutraku al-ʿiẓāmu li-l-kilāb. Ta-Allāhi al-ḥaqq, law yaghsilu aḥadun arjula al-ʿālami wa-yaʿbudu Allāha ʿalā al-adghāli wa-l-shawājini wa-l-jibāli wa-l-qināni wa-l-shanākhībi wa-ʿinda kulli ḥajarin wa-shajarin wa-madarin wa-lā yataḍawwaʿu minhu ʿarfu riḍāʾī lan yuqbala abadan. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi mawlā al-anām. Kam min ʿabdin iʿtazala fī jazāʾiri al-Hindi wa-manaʿa ʿan nafsihi mā aḥallahu Allāhu lahu wa-ḥamala al-riyāḍāti wa-l-mashaqqāti wa-lam yudhkar ʿinda Allāhi munzili al-āyāt. Lā tajʿalū al-aʿmāla sharaka al-āmāli wa-lā taḥrimū anfusakum ʿan hādhā al-maʾāli alladhī kāna amala al-muqarrabīna fī azali al-āzāl. Qul rūḥu al-aʿmāli huwa riḍāʾī wa-ʿulliqa kullu shayʾin bi-qabūlī. Iqraʾū al-alwāḥa li-taʿrifū mā huwa al-maqṣūdu fī kutubi Allāhi al-ʿazīzi al-wahhāb. Man fāza bi-ḥubbī ḥaqqa lahu an yaqʿuda ʿalā sarīri al-ʿiqyāni fī ṣadri al-imkān, wa-alladhī muniʿa ʿanhu law yaqʿudu ʿalā al-turābi innahu yastaʿīdhu minhu ilā Allāhi māliki al-adyān.

Among the people is one who sits among the shoes in pursuit of the seat of honor. Say: Who are you, heedless deceiver? Among them is one who claims knowledge of the inner meaning and its innermost meaning. Say: Liar! By God, what you possess is only husks that We have left to you, as bones are left to dogs. By God, the True One, even if someone were to wash the feet of the whole world and worship God in thickets, ravines, mountains, peaks, and lofty summits, and beside every stone, tree, and clod of earth, yet the fragrance of My good pleasure did not waft from him, he would never be accepted. This is what the Lord of all people has decreed. How many a servant has withdrawn to the islands of India, denied himself what God has made lawful for him, and borne austerities and hardships, yet has not been remembered before God, the Revealer of the verses. Do not make your deeds a snare for your hopes, and do not deprive yourselves of this ultimate goal, which has been the hope of those brought near to God from all eternity. Say: The spirit of deeds is My good pleasure, and everything depends upon My acceptance. Read the Tablets, that you may know what is intended in the Books of God, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. Whoever has attained My love is entitled to sit on a throne of pure gold in the seat of honor in the world of being. But if one who has been deprived of it should sit upon the dust, the dust would seek refuge from him with God, the Lord of religions.

38

من یدّعی امراً قبل اتمام الف سنةٍ کاملةٍ انّه کذّاب مفترٍ نسئل اللّه بان یؤیّده علی الرّجوع ان تاب انّه هو التّوّاب و ان اصرّ علی ما قال یبعث علیه من لا یرحمه انّه شدید العقاب من یأوّل هذه الآیة او یفسّرها بغیر ما نزّل فی الظّاهر انّه محروم من روح اللّه و رحمته الّتی سبقت العالمین خافوا اللّه و لا تتّبعوا ما عندکم من الاوهام اتّبعوا ما یأمرکم به ربّکم العزیز الحکیم سوف یرتفع النّعاق من اکثر البلدان اجتنبوا یا قوم و لا تتّبعوا کلّ فاجرٍ لئیمٍ هذا ما اخبرناکم به اذ کنّا فی العراق و فی ارض السّرّ و فی هذا المنظر المنیر

Man yaddaʿī amran qabla itmāmi alfi sanatin kāmilatin innahu kadhdhābun muftarin. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yuʾayyidahu ʿalā al-rujūʿ. In tāba innahu huwa al-tawwāb, wa-in aṣarra ʿalā mā qāla yabʿathu ʿalayhi man lā yarḥamuhu. Innahu shadīdu al-ʿiqāb. Man yuʾawwilu hādhihi al-āyata aw yufassiruhā bi-ghayri mā nuzzila fī al-ẓāhiri innahu maḥrūmun min rūḥi Allāhi wa-raḥmatihi allatī sabaqati al-ʿālamīn. Khāfū Allāha wa-lā tattabiʿū mā ʿindakum mina al-awhām. Ittabiʿū mā yaʾmurukum bihi rabbukumu al-ʿazīzu al-ḥakīm. Sawfa yartafiʿu al-nuʿāqu min akthari al-buldān. Ijtanibū yā qawmi wa-lā tattabiʿū kulla fājirin laʾīm. Hādhā mā akhbarnākum bihi idh kunnā fī al-ʿIrāqi wa-fī arḍi al-sirri wa-fī hādhā al-manẓari al-munīr.

Whoever claims a revelation before the completion of a full thousand years is a lying impostor. We ask God to help him turn back. If he repents, God is indeed the Ever-Relenting; but if he persists in what he has said, He will raise up against him one who will show him no mercy. He is indeed severe in punishment. Whoever interprets this verse or explains it contrary to its revealed, outward meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and His mercy, which has encompassed all worlds. Fear God and do not follow your own imaginings. Follow what your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise, commands you. Clamor will soon arise from most lands. Shun it, My people, and do not follow any wicked, base person. This is what We told you when We were in Iraq, in the Land of Mystery, and in this radiant place.

39

یا اهل الأرض اذا غربت شمس جمالی و سترت سمآء هیکلی لا تضطربوا قوموا علی نصرة امری و ارتفاع کلمتی بین العالمین انّا معکم فی کلّ الأحوال و ننصرکم بالحقّ انّا کنّا قادرین من عرفنی یقوم علی خدمتی بقیامٍ لا تقعده جنود السّموات و الأرضین

Yā ahla al-arḍ, idhā gharabat shamsu jamālī wa-sutirat samāʾu haykalī lā taḍṭaribū. Qūmū ʿalā nuṣrati amrī wa-irtifāʿi kalimatī bayna al-ʿālamīn. Innā maʿakum fī kulli al-aḥwāli wa-nanṣurukum bi-l-ḥaqq. Innā kunnā qādirīn. Man ʿarafanī yaqūmu ʿalā khidmatī bi-qiyāmin lā tuqʿiduhu junūdu al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍīn.

People of the earth! When the sun of My beauty has set and the heaven of My person has been concealed, do not be troubled. Arise to champion My Cause and exalt My Word among the peoples of the world. We are with you in all circumstances and will assuredly aid you. We are indeed powerful. Whoever has recognized Me will arise to serve Me with such resolve that the hosts of the heavens and the earth cannot hold him back.

40

انّ الناس نیام لو انتبهوا سرعوا بالقلوب الی اللّه العلیم الحکیم و نبذوا ما عندهم ولو کان کنوز الدّنیا کلّها لیذکرهم مولیهم بکلمةٍ من عنده کذلک ینبّئکم من عنده علم الغیب فی لوحٍ ما ظهر فی الامکان و ما اطّلع به الاّ نفسه المهیمنة علی العالمین قد اخذهم سکر الهوی علی شأنٍ لا یرون مولی الوری الّذی ارتفع ندآئه من کلّ الجهات لا اله الاّ انا العزیز الحکیم

Inna al-nāsa niyāmun, law intabahū saraʿū bi-l-qulūbi ilā Allāhi al-ʿalīmi al-ḥakīmi wa-nabadhū mā ʿindahum wa-law kāna kunūza al-dunyā kullahā li-yadhkurahum mawlāhum bi-kalimatin min ʿindihi. Kadhālika yunabbiʾukum man ʿindahu ʿilmu al-ghaybi fī lawḥin mā ẓahara fī al-imkāni wa-mā iṭṭalaʿa bihi illā nafsuhu al-muhayminatu ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Qad akhadhahum sukru al-hawā ʿalā shaʾnin lā yarawna mawlā al-warā alladhī irtafaʿa nidāʾuhu min kulli al-jihāt: lā ilāha illā anā al-ʿazīzu al-ḥakīm.

People are asleep. Were they to awaken, they would hasten in their hearts to God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, and cast away all they possess, even if it were all the treasures of the world, so that their Lord might remember them with a word from Him. Thus does He who possesses knowledge of the unseen inform you in a Tablet that has not appeared in the world of being and of which none but His own Self, the Guardian over all worlds, has knowledge. The intoxication of desire has so seized them that they do not see the Lord of creation, whose call has risen from every direction: “There is no God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

41

قل لا تفرحوا بما ملکتموه فی العشی و فی الاءشراق یملکه غیرکم کذلک یخبرکم العلیم الخبیر قل هل رایتم لما عندکم من قرارٍ او وفاءٍ لا و نفسی الرّحمن لو انتم من المنصفین تمرّ ایام حیوتکم کما تمرّ الاریاح و یطوی بساط عزّکم کما طوی بساط الأوّلین تفکّروا یا قوم این ایّامکم الماضیة و این اعصارکم الخالیة طوبی لأیّام مضت بذکر اللّه و لاوقات صرفت فی ذکره الحکیم لعمری لا تبقی عزّة الاعزّآء و لا زخارف الاغنیآء و لا شوکة الاشقیآء سیفنی الکلّ بکلمة من عنده انّه لهو المقتدر العزیز القدیر لا ینفع النّاس ما عندهم من الاثاث و ما ینفعهم غفلوا عنه سوف ینتبهون و لا یجدون ما فات عنهم فی ایّام ربّهم العزیز الحمید لو یعرفون ینفقون ما عندهم لتذکر اسمائهم لدی العرش الا انّهم من المیتین

Qul lā tafraḥū bi-mā malaktumūhu fī al-ʿashī wa-fī al-ishrāq yamlikuhu ghayrukum. Kadhālika yukhbirukum al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr. Qul hal raʾaytum li-mā ʿindakum min qarārin aw wafāʾin? Lā wa-nafsī al-Raḥmān law antum min al-munṣifīn. Tamurru ayyāmu ḥayātikum ka-mā tamurru al-aryāḥ wa-yuṭwā bisāṭu ʿizzikum ka-mā ṭuwiya bisāṭu al-awwalīn. Tafakkarū yā qawm ayna ayyāmukum al-māḍiya wa-ayna aʿṣārukum al-khāliya. Ṭūbā li-ayyāmin maḍat bi-dhikri Allāh wa-li-awqātin ṣurifat fī dhikrihi al-Ḥakīm. La-ʿamrī lā tabqā ʿizzatu al-aʿizzāʾ wa-lā zakhārifu al-aghniyāʾ wa-lā shawkatu al-ashqiyāʾ. Sa-yafnā al-kullu bi-kalimatin min ʿindihi innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Qadīr. Lā yanfaʿu al-nāsa mā ʿindahum min al-athāth wa-mā yanfaʿuhum ghafalū ʿanhu. Sawfa yantabihūna wa-lā yajidūna mā fāta ʿanhum fī ayyāmi Rabbihim al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥamīd. Law yaʿrifūna yunfiqūna mā ʿindahum li-tudhkara asmāʾuhum ladā al-ʿarsh. Alā innahum min al-mayyitīn.

Say: Do not rejoice in what you possess in the evening, for at dawn someone else will possess it. Thus the All-Knowing, the All-Informed informs you. Say: Have you found any permanence or faithfulness in what you possess? No, by My own Self, the All-Merciful, if you judge fairly. The days of your lives pass like the winds, and the carpet of your glory will be rolled up as the carpet of those before you was rolled up. Reflect, people: where are your past days, and where are your bygone ages? Blessed are the days spent remembering God and the hours devoted to remembering Him, the All-Wise. By My life, neither the glory of the mighty, nor the finery of the rich, nor the power of the wicked will endure. All will perish at a word from Him. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Omnipotent. People’s possessions do not benefit them, while they neglect what does benefit them. Soon they will awaken and will not find what they missed in the days of their Lord, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy. If they understood, they would spend all they possess so that their names might be mentioned before the Throne. Yet they are indeed among the dead.

42

من النّاس من غرّته العلوم و بها من اسمی القیّوم و اذا سمع صوت النّعال عن خلفه یری نفسه اکبر من نمرود قل این هو یا ایها المردود تاللّه انّه لفی اسفل الجحیم قل یا معشر العلمآء اما تسمعون صریر قلمی الأعلی و اما ترون هذه الشّمس المشرقة من الأفق الأبهی الی م اعتکفتم علی اصنام اهوائکم دعوا الأوهام و توجّهوا الی اللّه مولیکم القدیم

Min al-nāsi man gharrathu al-ʿulūm wa-bihā [corrupted text] ismī al-Qayyūm wa-idhā samiʿa ṣawta al-niʿāl ʿan khalfihi yarā nafsahu akbara min Nimrūd. Qul ayna huwa yā ayyuhā al-mardūd? Ta-Allāh innahu la-fī asfali al-jaḥīm. Qul yā maʿshara al-ʿulamāʾ a-mā tasmaʿūna ṣarīra qalamī al-aʿlā wa-a-mā tarawna hādhihi al-shamsa al-mushriqata min al-ufuq al-abhā? Ilā ma iʿtakaftum ʿalā aṣnāmi ahwāʾikum? Daʿū al-awhām wa-tawajjahū ilā Allāh mawlākum al-Qadīm.

Among the people is one whom learning has deluded, and through it [corrupted original text] My name, the Self-Subsisting. When he hears the sound of sandals behind him, he considers himself greater than Nimrod. Say: Where is he, you who have been rejected? By God, he is in the lowest depths of hell. Say: Scholars! Do you not hear the scratching of My Most Exalted Pen, and do you not see this Sun shining from the most glorious horizon? Why have you remained devoted to the idols of your desires? Abandon your imaginings and turn toward God, your ancient Lord.

43

قد رجعت الاوقاف المختصّة للخیرات الی اللّه مظهر الآیات لیس لأحد ان یتصرّف فیها الاّ بعد اذن مطلع الوحی و من بعده یرجع الحکم الی الأغصان و من بعدهم الی بیت العدل ان تحقّق امره فی البلاد لیصرفوها فی البقاع المرتفعة فی هذا الأمر و فیما امروا به من لدن مقتدر قدیر والاّ ترجع الی اهل البهآء الّذین لا یتکلّمون الاّ بعد اذنه و لا یحکمون الاّ بما حکم اللّه فی هذا اللّوح اولٓئک اولیآء النّصر بین السّموات و الأرضین لیصرفوها فیما حدّد فی الکتاب من لدن عزیز کریم

Qad rajaʿat al-awqāfu al-mukhtaṣṣatu li-l-khayrāt ilā Allāh muẓhir al-āyāt. Laysa li-aḥadin an yataṣarrafa fīhā illā baʿda idhni maṭlaʿ al-waḥy wa-min baʿdihi yarjiʿu al-ḥukmu ilā al-Aghṣān wa-min baʿdihim ilā Bayt al-ʿAdl in taḥaqqaqa amruhu fī al-bilād li-yaṣrifūhā fī al-biqāʿ al-murtafiʿa fī hādhā al-amr wa-fī-mā umirū bihi min ladun Muqtadir Qadīr. Wa-illā tarjiʿu ilā ahl al-Bahāʾ alladhīna lā yatakallamūna illā baʿda idhnihi wa-lā yaḥkumūna illā bi-mā ḥakama Allāh fī hādhā al-lawḥ. Ulāʾika awliyāʾu al-naṣr bayna al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn li-yaṣrifūhā fī-mā ḥuddida fī al-kitāb min ladun ʿAzīz Karīm.

Endowments dedicated to charitable purposes have reverted to God, the Revealer of signs. No one may dispose of them without permission from the Dawning Place of Revelation. After Him, authority passes to the Branches, and after them to the House of Justice, if it has been established in the lands, so that they may spend them on the places exalted in this Cause and on whatever they have been commanded by One who is All-Powerful and Omnipotent. Otherwise, they revert to the people of Bahá who speak only with His permission and judge only according to what God has decreed in this Tablet. These are the champions of victory between the heavens and the earth. They are to spend them as prescribed in the Book by One who is Almighty and Generous.

44

لا تجزعوا فی المصائب و لا تفرحوا ابتغوا امراً بین الأمرین هو التّذکّر فی تلک الحالة و التّنبّه علی ما یرد علیکم فی العاقبة کذلک ینبئکم العلیم الخبیر

Lā tajzaʿū fī al-maṣāʾib wa-lā tafraḥū. Ibtaghū amran bayna al-amrayn huwa al-tadhakkur fī tilka al-ḥāla wa-l-tanabbuh ʿalā mā yaridu ʿalaykum fī al-ʿāqiba. Kadhālika yunabbiʾukum al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr.

Do not despair in adversity, nor rejoice. Seek a course between the two: remembrance in that condition and awareness of what will come to you in the end. Thus the All-Knowing, the All-Informed instructs you.

45

لا تحلقوا رؤسکم قد زینها اللّه بالشّعر و فی ذلک لآیات لمن ینظر الی مقتضیات الطّبیعة من لدن مالک البریه انّه لهو العزیز الحکیم و لا ینبغی ان یتجاوز عن حدّ الآذان هذا ما حکم به مولی العالمین

Lā taḥliqū ruʾūsakum qad zayyanahā Allāh bi-l-shaʿr wa-fī dhālika la-āyātun li-man yanẓuru ilā muqtaḍayāt al-ṭabīʿa min ladun Mālik al-bariyya. Innahu la-huwa al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥakīm. Wa-lā yanbaghī an yata jāwaza ʿan ḥadd al-ādhān. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi Mawlā al-ʿālamīn.

Do not shave your heads. God has adorned them with hair, and in this are signs for anyone who considers the requirements of nature ordained by the Sovereign of creation. He is indeed the Almighty, the All-Wise. Hair should not extend beyond the ears. This is what the Lord of the worlds has decreed.

46

قد کتب علی السّارق النّفی و الحبس و فی الثّالث فاجعلوا فی جبینه علامةً یعرف بها لئلاّ تقبله مدن اللّه و دیاره ایّاکم ان تأخذکم الرّأفة فی دین اللّه اعملوا ما امرتم به من لدن مشفق رحیم انّا ربّیناکم بسیاط الحکمة و الأحکام حفظاً لانفسکم و ارتفاعاً لمقاماتکم کما یربّی الابآء ابنائهم لعمری لو تعرفون ما اردناه لکم من اوامرنا المقدّسة لتفدون ارواحکم لهذا الأمر المقدّس العزیز المنیع

Qad kutiba ʿalā al-sāriq al-nafy wa-l-ḥabs wa-fī al-thālith fa-jʿalū fī jabīnihi ʿalāmatan yuʿrafu bihā li-allā taqbalahu mudunu Allāh wa-diyāruhu. Iyyākum an taʾkhudhakum al-raʾfatu fī dīn Allāh. Iʿmalū mā umirtum bihi min ladun Mushfiq Raḥīm. Innā rabbaynākum bi-siyāṭ al-ḥikma wa-l-aḥkām ḥifẓan li-anfusikum wa-irtifāʿan li-maqāmātikum ka-mā yurabbī al-ābāʾ abnāʾahum. La-ʿamrī law taʿrifūna mā aradnāhu lakum min awāmirinā al-muqaddasa la-tafdūna arwāḥakum li-hādhā al-amr al-muqaddas al-ʿAzīz al-Manīʿ.

Exile and imprisonment have been prescribed for the thief. On the third offense, place a mark on his forehead by which he may be recognized, so that the cities and lands of God will not admit him. Do not let pity restrain you in carrying out God’s religion. Do what you have been commanded by One who is Compassionate and Merciful. We have trained you with the lashes of wisdom and laws to protect you and elevate your stations, just as fathers bring up their children. By My life, if you understood what We have intended for you through Our sacred commandments, you would sacrifice your lives for this holy, mighty, unassailable Cause.

47

من اراد ان یستعمل اوانی الذّهب و الفضّة لا بأس علیه ایّاکم ان تنغمس ایادیکم فی الصّحاف و الصّحان خذوا ما یکون اقرب الی اللّطافة انّه اراد ان یریکم علی آداب اهل الرّضوان فی ملکوته الممتنع المنیع تمسّکوا باللّطافة فی کلّ الأحوال لئلاّ تقع العیون علی ما تکرهه انفسکم و اهل الفردوس و الّذی تجاوز عنها یحبط عمله فی الحین و ان کان له عذر یعفو اللّه عنه انّه لهو العزیز الکریم

Man arāda an yastaʿmila awāniya al-dhahab wa-l-fiḍḍa lā baʾsa ʿalayhi. Iyyākum an tanghamisa ayādīkum fī al-ṣiḥāf wa-l-ṣiḥān. Khudhū mā yakūnu aqraba ilā al-laṭāfa. Innahu arāda an yuriyakum ʿalā ādāb ahl al-Riḍwān fī malakūtihi al-mumtaniʿ al-manīʿ. Tamassakū bi-l-laṭāfa fī kull al-aḥwāl li-allā taqaʿa al-ʿuyūnu ʿalā mā takrahuhu anfusukum wa-ahlu al-firdaws. Wa-alladhī tajāwaza ʿanhā yaḥbaṭu ʿamaluhu fī al-ḥīn wa-in kāna lahu ʿudhrun yaʿfū Allāh ʿanhu. Innahu la-huwa al-ʿAzīz al-Karīm.

Anyone who wishes to use vessels of gold and silver may do so. Take care not to plunge your hands into bowls and platters. Adopt what is most in keeping with refinement. He wishes to see you observe the manners of the people of Paradise in His inaccessible, unassailable Kingdom. Adhere to refinement in all circumstances, so that no eyes fall upon anything repugnant to you or to the people of Paradise. Whoever departs from it will have his deeds immediately brought to nothing; but if he has an excuse, God will pardon him. He is indeed the Almighty, the Generous.

48

لیس لمطلع الأمر شریک فی العصمة الکبری انّه لمظهر یفعل ما یشآء فی ملکوت الانشآء قد خصّ اللّه هذا المقام لنفسه و ما قدّر لأحد نصیب من هذا الشّأن العظیم المنیع هذا امر اللّه قد کان مستوراً فی حجب الغیب اظهرناه فی هذا الظّهور و به خرقنا حجاب الّذین ما عرفوا حکم الکتاب و کانوا من الغافلین

Laysa li-maṭlaʿ al-amr sharīkun fī al-ʿiṣma al-kubrā. Innahu la-maẓharu yafʿalu mā yashāʾ fī malakūt al-inshāʾ. Qad khaṣṣa Allāh hādhā al-maqāma li-nafsihi wa-mā qaddara li-aḥadin naṣīban min hādhā al-shaʾn al-ʿaẓīm al-manīʿ. Hādhā amru Allāh qad kāna mastūran fī ḥujub al-ghayb aẓharnāhu fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-bihi kharaqnā ḥijāba alladhīna mā ʿarafū ḥukma al-kitāb wa-kānū min al-ghāfilīn.

The Dawning Place of the Cause has no partner in the Most Great Infallibility. He is indeed the manifestation of “He does whatever He wills” in the kingdom of creation. God has reserved this station for Himself and has allotted no one a share in this exalted, unassailable rank. This is God’s decree, formerly concealed behind the veils of the unseen. We have disclosed it in this Revelation, and through it We have torn apart the veil of those who did not understand the ruling of the Book and were among the heedless.

49

کتب علی کلّ اب تربیة ابنه و بنته بالعلم و الخطّ و دونهما عمّا حدّد فی اللّوح و الّذی ترک ما امر به فللأمنآء ان یأخذوا منه ما یکون لازماً لتربیتهما ان کان غنیاً والّا یرجع الی بیت العدل انّا جعلناه مأوی الفقرآء و المساکین انّ الّذی ربّی ابنه او ابناً من الأبنآء کأنّه ربّی احد ابنائی علیه بهائی و عنایتی و رحمتی الّتی سبقت العالمین

Kutiba ʿalā kull ab tarbiyatu ibnihi wa-bintihi bi-l-ʿilm wa-l-khaṭṭ wa-dūnihimā ʿammā ḥuddida fī al-lawḥ. Wa-alladhī taraka mā umira bihi fa-li-l-umanāʾ an yaʾkhudhū minhu mā yakūnu lāziman li-tarbiyatihimā in kāna ghaniyyan wa-illā yarjiʿu ilā Bayt al-ʿAdl. Innā jaʿalnāhu maʾwā al-fuqarāʾ wa-l-masākīn. Inna alladhī rabbā ibnahu aw ibnan min al-abnāʾ ka-annahu rabbā aḥada abnāʾī. ʿAlayhi bahāʾī wa-ʿināyatī wa-raḥmatī allatī sabaqat al-ʿālamīn.

Every father is required to educate his son and daughter in knowledge and writing, and in the other subjects prescribed in the Tablet. If anyone neglects what he has been commanded, the trustees may take from him what is needed for their education if he is wealthy; otherwise, the matter devolves upon the House of Justice. We have made it a refuge for the poor and needy. Whoever educates his own child or another child is as though he had educated one of My children. Upon him rest My glory, My loving care, and My mercy, which has encompassed all worlds.

50

قد حکم اللّه لکلّ زان و زانیة دیة مسلّمة الی بیت العدل و هی تسعة مثاقیل من الذّهب و ان عادا مرّة اخری عودوا بضعف الجزآء هذا ما حکم به مالک الأسمآء فی الأولی و فی الأخری قدّر لهما عذاب مهین من ابتلی بمعصیة فله ان یتوب و یرجع الی اللّه انّه یغفر لمن یشآء و لا یسئل عمّا شآء انّه لهو التوّاب العزیز الحمید

Qad ḥakama Allāh li-kull zānin wa-zāniyatin diyatan musallamatan ilā Bayt al-ʿAdl wa-hiya tisʿatu mathāqīla min al-dhahab wa-in ʿādā marratan ukhrā ʿūdū bi-ḍiʿf al-jazāʾ. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi Mālik al-asmāʾ fī al-ūlā wa-fī al-ukhrā qaddara lahumā ʿadhābun muhīn. Man ibtuliya bi-maʿṣiyatin fa-lahu an yatūba wa-yarjiʿa ilā Allāh. Innahu yaghfiru li-man yashāʾ wa-lā yusʾalu ʿammā shāʾ. Innahu la-huwa al-Tawwāb al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥamīd.

God has decreed that every adulterer and adulteress pay a fine to the House of Justice of nine mithqals of gold. If they repeat the offense, double the penalty. This is what the Sovereign of Names has decreed in this world; in the world to come He has ordained a humiliating punishment for them both. Anyone who commits a sin may repent and return to God. He forgives whomever He wills and is not questioned about what He wills. He is indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.

51

ایاکم ان تمنعکم سبحات الجلال عن زلال هذا السّلسال خذوا اقداح الفلاح فی هذا الصّباح باسم فالق الاصباح ثمّ اشربوا بذکره العزیز البدیع

Iyyākum an tamnaʿakum subuḥātu al-jalāl ʿan zulāl hādhā al-salsāl. Khudhū aqdāḥa al-falāḥ fī hādhā al-ṣabāḥ bi-smi Fāliq al-iṣbāḥ thumma ishrabū bi-dhikrihi al-ʿAzīz al-Badīʿ.

Do not let the veils of glory keep you from the pure water of this flowing spring. Take up the cups of salvation this morning in the name of Him who causes the dawn to break, then drink in remembrance of Him, the Almighty, the Incomparable.

52

انّا حلّلنا لکم اصغآء الأصوات و النّغمات ایّاکم ان یخرجکم الاصغآء عن شأن الأدب و الوقار افرحوا بفرح اسمی الأعظم الّذی به تولّهت الافئدة و انجذبت عقول المقرّبین انّا جعلناه مرقاةً لعروج الأرواح الی الأفق الأعلی لا تجعلوه جناح النّفس و الهوی انّی اعوذ ان تکونوا من الجاهلین

Innā ḥallalnā lakum iṣghāʾa al-aṣwāt wa-l-naghamāt. Iyyākum an yukhrijakum al-iṣghāʾ ʿan shaʾn al-adab wa-l-waqār. Ifraḥū bi-faraḥ ismī al-aʿẓam alladhī bihi tawallahat al-afʾida wa-injadhabat ʿuqūlu al-muqarrabīn. Innā jaʿalnāhu mirqātan li-ʿurūj al-arwāḥ ilā al-ufuq al-aʿlā. Lā tajʿalūhu janāḥa al-nafs wa-l-hawā. Innī aʿūdhu an takūnū min al-jāhilīn.

We have made it lawful for you to listen to voices and melodies. Take care that listening does not lead you beyond the bounds of propriety and dignity. Rejoice in the joy of My Most Great Name, through which hearts have been enraptured and the minds of those brought near have been drawn in attraction. We have made it a ladder for souls to ascend to the highest horizon. Do not make it a wing for self and desire. I seek refuge from your being among the ignorant.

53

قد ارجعنا ثلث الدّیات کلّها الی مقرّ العدل و نوصی رجاله بالعدل الخالص لیصرفوا ما اجتمع عندهم فیما امروا به من لدن علیم حکیم یا رجال العدل کونوا رعاة اغنام اللّه فی مملکته و احفظوهم عن الذّئاب الّذین ظهروا بالأثواب کما تحفظون ابنائکم کذلک ینصحکم النّاصح الأمین

Qad arjaʿnā thultha al-diyāt kullihā ilā maqarr al-ʿadl wa-nūṣī rijālahu bi-l-ʿadl al-khāliṣ li-yaṣrifū mā ijtamaʿa ʿindahum fī-mā umirū bihi min ladun ʿAlīm Ḥakīm. Yā rijāl al-ʿadl kūnū ruʿāta aghnām Allāh fī mamlakatihi wa-iḥfaẓūhum ʿan al-dhiʾāb alladhīna ẓaharū bi-l-athwāb ka-mā taḥfaẓūna abnāʾakum. Kadhālika yanṣaḥukum al-Nāṣiḥ al-Amīn.

We have assigned a third of all fines to the seat of justice, and We counsel its members to practice pure justice, so that they may spend what has accumulated with them as they have been commanded by One who is All-Knowing and All-Wise. Members of the House of Justice! Be shepherds of God’s sheep in His kingdom, and protect them from the wolves that have appeared in disguise, just as you protect your own children. Thus the faithful Counselor advises you.

54

اذا اختلفتم فی امر فارجعوه الی اللّه ما دامت الشّمس مشرقة من افق هذه السّماء و اذا غربت ارجعوا الی ما نزّل من عنده انّه لیکفی العالمین قل یا قوم لا یأخذکم الاضطراب اذا غاب ملکوت ظهوری و سکنت امواج بحر بیانی انّ فی ظهوری لحکمة و فی غیبتی حکمة اخری ما اطّلع بها الاّ اللّه الفرد الخبیر و نراکم من افقی الأبهی و ننصر من قام علی نصرة امری بجنود من الملاء الأعلی و قبیل من الملائکة المقرّبین

Idhā ikhtalaftum fī amrin fa-arjiʿūhu ilā Allāh mā dāmat al-shamsu mushriqatan min ufuq hādhihi al-samāʾ wa-idhā gharabat irjiʿū ilā mā nuzzila min ʿindihi. Innahu la-yakfī al-ʿālamīn. Qul yā qawm lā yaʾkhudhkum al-iḍṭirāb idhā ghāba malakūtu ẓuhūrī wa-sakanat amwāju baḥr bayānī. Inna fī ẓuhūrī la-ḥikmatan wa-fī ghaybatī ḥikmatun ukhrā mā iṭṭalaʿa bihā illā Allāh al-Fard al-Khabīr. Wa-narākum min ufuqī al-abhā wa-nanṣuru man qāma ʿalā nuṣrati amrī bi-junūdin min al-malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-qabīlin min al-malāʾika al-muqarrabīn.

If you disagree over a matter, refer it to God as long as the Sun shines from the horizon of this heaven. When it has set, turn to what has been sent down from Him. It is indeed sufficient for all worlds. Say: People! Do not be troubled when the kingdom of My revelation has disappeared and the waves of the ocean of My utterance have grown still. In My appearance there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is another wisdom, known to none but God, the One, the All-Informed. We see you from My most glorious horizon and will aid anyone who arises to champion My Cause with hosts from the Concourse on high and a company of angels brought near.

55

یا ملاء الأرض تاللّه الحقّ قد انفجرت من الأحجار الأنهار العذبة السّائغة بما اخذتها حلاوة بیان ربّکم المختار و انتم من الغافلین دعوا ما عندکم ثمّ طیروا بقوادم الانقطاع فوق الابداع کذلک یأمرکم مالک الاختراع الّذی بحرکة قلمه قلّب العالمین

Yā malaʾ al-arḍ ta-Allāh al-Ḥaqq qad infajarat min al-aḥjār al-anhāru al-ʿadhbatu al-sāʾigha bi-mā akhadhathā ḥalāwatu bayāni Rabbikum al-Mukhtār wa-antum min al-ghāfilīn. Daʿū mā ʿindakum thumma ṭīrū bi-qawādim al-inqiṭāʿ fawqa al-ibdāʿ. Kadhālika yaʾmurukum Mālik al-ikhtirāʿ alladhī bi-ḥarakati qalamihi qallaba al-ʿālamīn.

People of the earth! By God, the Truth, sweet, refreshing rivers have burst from the rocks, so seized have they been by the sweetness of the utterance of your Lord, the Unconstrained; yet you remain heedless. Abandon what you possess, then soar on the wings of detachment above creation. Thus commands you the Sovereign of creation, who has transformed the worlds with a movement of His Pen.

56

هل تعرفون من ایّ افقٍ ینادیکم ربّکم الأبهی و هل علمتم من ایّ قلم یأمرکم ربّکم مالک الأسمآء لا و عمری لو عرفتم لترکتم مقبلین بالقلوب الی شطر المحبوب و اخذکم اهتزاز الکلمة علی شأن یهتزّ منه العالم الأکبر و کیف هذا العالم الصّغیر کذلک هطلت من سماء عنایتی امطار مکرمتی فضلاً من عندی لتکونوا من الشّاکرین

Hal taʿrifūna min ayyi ufuqin yunādīkum Rabbukum al-Abhā wa-hal ʿalimtum min ayyi qalamin yaʾmurukum Rabbukum Mālik al-asmāʾ? Lā wa-ʿamrī law ʿaraftum la-taraktum muqbilīna bi-l-qulūb ilā shaṭr al-maḥbūb wa-akhadhakum ihtizāzu al-kalima ʿalā shaʾnin yahtazzu minhu al-ʿālam al-akbar wa-kayfa hādhā al-ʿālam al-ṣaghīr. Kadhālika haṭalat min samāʾ ʿināyatī amṭāru makrumatī faḍlan min ʿindī li-takūnū min al-shākirīn.

Do you know from what horizon your all-glorious Lord calls you, and have you understood from what Pen your Lord, the Sovereign of Names, commands you? No, by My life! If you knew, you would let go, turning your hearts toward the Beloved, and the stirring of the Word would seize you with such force that the greater world would tremble—how much more this lesser world. Thus the rains of My generosity have poured down from the heaven of My loving care, as a grace from Me, so that you may be thankful.

57

و امّا الشّجاج و الضّرب تختلف احکامهما باختلاف مقادیرهما و حکم الدّیان لکلّ مقدار دیة معینة انّه لهو الحاکم العزیز المنیع لو نشآء نفصّلها بالحقّ وعداً من عندنا انّه لهو الموفّی العلیم

Wa-ammā al-shijāj wa-l-ḍarb takhtalifu aḥkāmuhumā bi-ikhtilāf maqādīrihimā wa-ḥakama al-Dayyān li-kull miqdārin diyatan muʿayyana. Innahu la-huwa al-Ḥākim al-ʿAzīz al-Manīʿ. Law nashāʾ nufaṣṣiluhā bi-l-ḥaqq waʿdan min ʿindinā. Innahu la-huwa al-Muwaffī al-ʿAlīm.

As for wounds and blows, their rulings vary according to their severity, and the Judge has decreed a specified compensation for each degree. He is indeed the Ruler, the Almighty, the Unassailable. Should We wish, We will set them out in detail in truth—a promise from Us. He is indeed the One who fulfills His promise, the All-Knowing.

58

قد رقم علیکم الضّیافة فی کلّ شهر مرّةً واحدةً ولو بالمآء انّ اللّه اراد ان یؤلّف بین القلوب ولو باسباب السّموات و الأرضین

Qad ruqima ʿalaykum al-ḍiyāfatu fī kull shahr marratan wāḥidatan wa-law bi-l-māʾ. Inna Allāh arāda an yuʾallifa bayna al-qulūb wa-law bi-asbāb al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn.

You have been enjoined to offer hospitality once each month, even if only with water. God wishes to unite hearts, even through the means of the heavens and the earth.

59

ایّاکم ان تفرّقکم شئونات النّفس و الهوی کونوا کالأصابع فی الید و الأرکان للبدن کذلک یعظکم قلم الوحی ان انتم من الموقنین

Iyyākum an tufarriqakum shuʾūnātu al-nafs wa-l-hawā. Kūnū ka-l-aṣābiʿ fī al-yad wa-l-arkān li-l-badan. Kadhālika yaʿiẓukum Qalam al-waḥy in antum min al-mūqinīn.

Do not let the promptings of self and desire divide you. Be like the fingers of one hand and the limbs of one body. Thus the Pen of Revelation counsels you, if you are among those who are certain.

60

فانظروا فی رحمة اللّه و الطافه انّه یأمرکم بما ینفعکم بعد اذ کان غنیاً عن العالمین لن تضرّنا سیئاتکم کما لا تنفعنا حسناتکم انّما ندعوکم لوجه اللّه یشهد بذلک کلّ عالم بصیر

Fa-nẓurū fī raḥmat Allāh wa-alṭāfihi innahu yaʾmurukum bi-mā yanfaʿukum baʿda idh kāna ghaniyyan ʿan al-ʿālamīn. Lan taḍurranā sayyiʾātukum ka-mā lā tanfaʿunā ḥasanātukum. Innamā nadʿūkum li-wajh Allāh. Yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu ʿālim baṣīr.

Consider God’s mercy and kindness: He commands you to do what benefits you, although He has no need of any of the worlds. Your evil deeds will never harm Us, just as your good deeds do not benefit Us. We call you only for the sake of God. Every discerning person of knowledge bears witness to this.

61

اذا ارسلتم الجوارح الی الصّید اذکروا اللّه اذاً یحلّ ما امسکن لکم ولو تجدونه میتاً انّه لهو العلیم الخبیر ایّاکم ان تسرفوا فی ذلک کونوا علی صراط العدل و الانصاف فی کلّ الأمور کذلک یأمرکم مطلع الظّهور ان انتم من العارفین

Idhā arsaltum al-jawāriḥ ilā al-ṣayd udhkurū Allāh idhan yaḥill mā amsakna lakum wa-law tajidūnahu maytan innahu la-huwa al-ʿalīm al-khabīr. Iyyākum an tusrifū fī dhālik kūnū ʿalā ṣirāṭ al-ʿadl wa-al-inṣāf fī kull al-umūr. Kadhālika yaʾmurukum maṭlaʿ al-ẓuhūr in antum min al-ʿārifīn.

When you send hunting animals after game, mention God; then whatever they catch for you is lawful, even if you find it dead. He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Beware of excess in this matter. Follow the path of justice and fairness in all things. Thus the Dawning-Place of Revelation commands you, if you are among those who understand.

62

انّ اللّه قد امرکم بالمودّة فی ذوی القربی و ما قدّر لهم حقّاً فی اموال النّاس انّه لهو الغنی عن العالمین

Inna Allāh qad amarakum bi-al-mawadda fī dhawī al-qurbā wa-mā qaddara lahum ḥaqqan fī amwāl al-nās innahu la-huwa al-ghaniyy ʿan al-ʿālamīn.

God has commanded you to show affection toward His kindred, but has assigned them no right to the property of others. He is indeed independent of all the worlds.

63

من احرق بیتاً متعمّداً فاحرقوه و من قتل نفساً عامداً فاقتلوه خذوا سنن اللّه بأیادی القدرة و الاقتدار ثمّ اترکوا سنَنَ الجاهلین و ان تحکموا لهما حبساً ابدیّاً لا بأس علیکم فی الکتاب انّه لهو الحاکم علی ما یرید

Man aḥraqa baytan mutaʿammidan fa-aḥriqūhu wa-man qatala nafsan ʿāmidan fa-uqtulūhu. Khudhū sunan Allāh bi-ayādī al-qudra wa-al-iqtidār thumma utrukū sunan al-jāhilīn. Wa-in taḥkumū lahumā ḥabsan abadiyyan lā baʾs ʿalaykum fī al-kitāb innahu la-huwa al-ḥākim ʿalā mā yurīd.

Whoever deliberately burns down a house, burn him; whoever intentionally kills a person, put him to death. Take hold of God’s laws with the hands of power and might, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. If you sentence them both to lifelong imprisonment, no blame attaches to you in the Book. He indeed rules as He wills.

64

بواحدة من الامآء استراحت نفسه و نفسها و من اتّخذ بکراً لخدمته قد کتب اللّه علیکم النّکاح ایّاکم ان تجاوزوا عن الاثنتین و الّذی اقتنع لا بأس علیه کذلک کان الأمر من قلم الوحی بالحقّ مرقوماً تزوّجوا یا قوم لیظهر منکم من یذکرنی بین عبادی هذا من امری علیکم اتخذوه لانفسکم معیناً

Bi-wāḥida min al-imāʾ istarāḥat nafsuhu wa-nafsuhā wa-man ittakhadha bikran li-khidmatihi qad kataba Allāh ʿalaykum al-nikāḥ iyyākum an tujāwizū ʿan al-ithnatayn wa-alladhī iqtanaʿa lā baʾs ʿalayhi kadhālika kāna al-amr min qalam al-waḥy bi-al-ḥaqq marqūman. Tazawwajū yā qawm li-yaẓhara minkum man yadhkurunī bayna ʿibādī hādhā min amrī ʿalaykum ittakhidhūhu li-anfusikum muʿīnan.

With one of the maidservants, his soul and hers find rest. As for whoever takes a virgin into his service, God has prescribed marriage for you. Beware of exceeding two, and whoever is content incurs no blame. Thus has the decree been inscribed in truth by the Pen of Revelation. Marry, O people, so that from you may appear someone who will remember Me among My servants. This is My command to you; take it as an aid to yourselves.

65

یا ملاء الانشآء لا تتّبعوا انفسکم انّها لأمّارة بالبغی و الفحشآء اتبعوا مالک الأشیآء الّذی یأمرکم بالبرّ و التّقوی انّه کان عن العالمین غنیاً ایّاکم ان تفسدوا فی الأرض بعد اصلاحها و من افسد انّه لیس منّا و نحن برٴآء منه کذلک کان الأمر من سمآء الوحی بالحقّ مشهوداً

Yā malaʾ al-inshāʾ lā tattabiʿū anfusakum innahā la-ammāra bi-al-baghy wa-al-faḥshāʾ. Ittabiʿū mālik al-ashyāʾ alladhī yaʾmurukum bi-al-birr wa-al-taqwā innahu kāna ʿan al-ʿālamīn ghaniyyan. Iyyākum an tufsidū fī al-arḍ baʿda iṣlāḥihā wa-man afsada innahu laysa minnā wa-naḥnu buraʾāʾ minhu. Kadhālika kāna al-amr min samāʾ al-waḥy bi-al-ḥaqq mashhūdan.

O people of creation, do not follow your own selves, for they constantly urge wrongdoing and indecency. Follow the Lord of all things, who commands you to practice righteousness and reverence for God. He is independent of all the worlds. Beware of spreading corruption on earth after it has been set right. Whoever spreads corruption is not one of Us, and We disavow him. Thus has the decree been made manifest in truth from the heaven of revelation.

66

انّه قد حدّد فی البیان برضآء الطّرفین انّا لمّا اردنا المحبّة و الوداد و اتّحاد العباد لذا علّقناه باذن الأبوین بعدهما لئلاّ تقع بینهم الضّغینة و البغضآء و لنا فیه مأرب اخری و کذلک کان الأمر مقضیّا

Innahu qad ḥuddida fī al-bayān bi-riḍā al-ṭarafayn innā lammā aradnā al-maḥabba wa-al-widād wa-ittiḥād al-ʿibād lidhā ʿallaqnāhu bi-idhn al-abawayn baʿdahumā li-allā taqaʿa baynahum al-ḍaghīna wa-al-baghḍāʾ wa-lanā fīhi maʾrib ukhrā wa-kadhālika kāna al-amr maqḍiyyan.

In the Bayan, it was made conditional on the consent of both parties. Since We desire love, affection, and unity among Our servants, We have also made it dependent on the permission of the parents after that of the couple, so that resentment and hatred may not arise among them. We have other purposes in this as well. Thus has the matter been decreed.

67

لا یحقّق الصّهار الاّ بالامهار قد قدّر للمدن تسعة عشر مثقالاً من الذّهب الابریز و للقری من الفضّة و من اراد الزّیادة حرّم علیه ان یتجاوز عن خمسة و تسعین مثقالا کذلک کان الأمر بالعزّ مسطورا و الّذی اقتنع بالدّرجة الأولی خیر له فی الکتاب انّه یغنی من یشآء باسباب السّموات و الأرض و کان اللّه علی کلّ شئً قدیراً

Lā yuḥaqqaq al-ṣihār illā bi-al-imhār qad quddira li-al-mudun tisʿata ʿashara mithqālan min al-dhahab al-ibrīz wa-li-al-qurā min al-fiḍḍa wa-man arāda al-ziyāda ḥurrima ʿalayhi an yatajāwaza ʿan khamsa wa-tisʿīn mithqālan kadhālika kāna al-amr bi-al-ʿizz masṭūran. Wa-alladhī iqtanaʿa bi-al-daraja al-ūlā khayr lahu fī al-kitāb innahu yughnī man yashāʾ bi-asbāb al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ wa-kāna Allāh ʿalā kull shayʾ qadīran.

Marriage is not established without a dowry. For towns, nineteen mithqals of pure gold have been prescribed, and for villages, the same amount of silver. Whoever wishes to increase this is forbidden to exceed ninety-five mithqals. Thus has the decree been inscribed in majesty. For whoever is content with the lowest amount, this is better for him according to the Book. He enriches whomever He wills through the means of the heavens and the earth. God has power over all things.

68

قد کتب اللّه لکلّ عبد اراد الخروج من وطنه ان یجعل میقاتا لصاحبته فی ایة مدّة اراد ان اتی و وفی بالوعد انّه اتّبع امر مولاه و کان من المحسنین من قلم الأمر مکتوبا والاّ ان اعتذر بعذر حقیقی فله ان یخبر قرینته و یکون فی غایة الجهد للرّجوع الیها و ان فات الأمران فلها تربّص تسعة اشهر معدودات و بعد اکمالها لا بأس علیها فی اختیار الزّوج و ان صبرت انّه یحبّ الصّابرات و الصّابرین اعملوا اوامری و لا تتّبعوا کلّ مشرک کان فی اللّوح اثیماً و ان اتی الخبر حین تربّصها لها ان تأخذ المعروف انّه اراد الاصلاح بین العباد و الاماء ایّاکم ان ترتکبوا ما یحدث به العناد بینکم کذلک قضی الأمر و کان الوعد مأتیاً و ان اتاها خبر الموت او القتل و ثبت بالشّیاع او بالعدلین لها ان تلبث فی البیت اذا مضت اشهر معدودات لها الاختیار فیما تختار هذا ما حکم به من کان علی الأمر قویا

Qad kataba Allāh li-kull ʿabd arāda al-khurūj min waṭanihi an yajʿala mīqātan li-ṣāḥibatihi fī ayyat mudda arād. In atā wa-wafā bi-al-waʿd innahu ittabaʿa amr mawlāhu wa-kāna min al-muḥsinīn min qalam al-amr maktūban wa-illā in iʿtadhara bi-ʿudhr ḥaqīqī fa-lahu an yukhbira qarīnatahu wa-yakūna fī ghāyat al-juhd li-al-rujūʿ ilayhā wa-in fāta al-amrān fa-lahā tarabbuṣ tisʿat ashhur maʿdūdāt wa-baʿda ikmālihā lā baʾs ʿalayhā fī ikhtiyār al-zawj wa-in ṣabarat innahu yuḥibb al-ṣābirāt wa-al-ṣābirīn. Iʿmalū awāmirī wa-lā tattabiʿū kull mushrik kāna fī al-lawḥ athīman. Wa-in atā al-khabar ḥīna tarabbuṣihā lahā an taʾkhudha al-maʿrūf innahu arāda al-iṣlāḥ bayna al-ʿibād wa-al-imāʾ iyyākum an tartakibū mā yaḥduthu bihi al-ʿinād baynakum kadhālika quḍiya al-amr wa-kāna al-waʿd maʾtiyyan. Wa-in atāhā khabar al-mawt aw al-qatl wa-thabata bi-al-shiyāʿ aw bi-al-ʿadlayn lahā an talbatha fī al-bayt idhā maḍat ashhur maʿdūdāt lahā al-ikhtiyār fīmā takhtār hādhā mā ḥakama bihi man kāna ʿalā al-amr qawiyyan.

God has prescribed that every man who wishes to leave his homeland set a time for his wife, of whatever duration he wishes. If he returns and fulfills his promise, he has obeyed his Lord’s command and is recorded by the Pen of Command among those who do good. Otherwise, if he has a genuine excuse, he must inform his wife and make every effort to return to her. If neither occurs, she is to wait nine full months; after completing them, she incurs no blame in choosing a husband. If she waits patiently, He loves women and men who are patient. Follow My commandments, and do not follow any who associates partners with God and is recorded as sinful in the Tablet. If news arrives during her waiting period, she may do what is right. He desires reconciliation between His male and female servants. Beware of doing anything that creates hostility among you. Thus has the matter been decreed, and the promise is fulfilled. If news of his death or killing reaches her and is established by widespread report or by two just witnesses, she is to remain in the house. When the appointed months have passed, she is free to choose as she wishes. This is what He who is mighty in command has decreed.

69

و ان حدث بینهما کدورة او کره لیس له ان یطلّقها و له ان یصبر سنة کاملة لعلّ تسطع بینهما رائحة المحبّة و ان کملت و ما فاحت فلا بأس فی الطّلاق انّه کان علی کلّ شئ حکیماً قد نهاکم اللّه عمّا عملتم بعد طلقات ثلاث فضلاً من عنده لتکونوا من الشّاکرین فی لوحٍ کان من قلم الأمر مسطوراً و الّذی طلّق له الاختیار فی الرّجوع بعد انقضاء کلّ شهر بالمودّة و الرضآء ما لم تستحصن و اذا استحصنت تحقّق الفصل بوصل آخر و قضی الأمر الاّ بعد امر مبین کذلک کان الأمر من مطلع الجمال فی لوح الجلال بالاجلال مرقوماً

Wa-in ḥadatha baynahumā kudūra aw kurh laysa lahu an yuṭalliqahā wa-lahu an yaṣbira sana kāmila laʿalla tasṭaʿu baynahumā rāʾiḥat al-maḥabba wa-in kamulat wa-mā fāḥat fa-lā baʾs fī al-ṭalāq innahu kāna ʿalā kull shayʾ ḥakīman. Qad nahākum Allāh ʿammā ʿamiltum baʿda ṭalaqāt thalāth faḍlan min ʿindihi li-takūnū min al-shākirīn fī lawḥ kāna min qalam al-amr masṭūran. Wa-alladhī ṭallaqa lahu al-ikhtiyār fī al-rujūʿ baʿda inqiḍāʾ kull shahr bi-al-mawadda wa-al-riḍā mā lam tastaḥṣin wa-idhā istaḥṣanat taḥaqqaqa al-faṣl bi-waṣl ākhar wa-quḍiya al-amr illā baʿda amr mubīn kadhālika kāna al-amr min maṭlaʿ al-jamāl fī lawḥ al-jalāl bi-al-ijlāl marqūman.

If estrangement or aversion arises between them, he may not divorce her, but must wait a full year, so that perhaps the fragrance of love may spread between them. If the year is completed and that fragrance has not spread, there is no objection to divorce. He is wise in all things. In a Tablet inscribed by the Pen of Command, God has forbidden you what you formerly practiced after three divorces, as a favor from Him, so that you may be thankful. A man who has divorced his wife may choose to return to her at the end of any month, with affection and mutual consent, as long as she has not remarried. If she has remarried, their separation is confirmed by another union, and the matter is settled, unless a manifest change occurs. Thus has the decree been inscribed with majesty by the Dawning-Place of Beauty in the Tablet of Glory.

70

و الّذی سافر و سافرت معه ثمّ حدث بینهما الاختلاف فله ان یؤتیها نفقة سنة کاملة و یرجعها الی المقرّ الّذی خرجت عنه او یسلّمها بید امین و ما تحتاج به فی السّبیل لیبلّغها الی محلّها انّ ربّک یحکم کیف یشآء بسلطان کان علی العالمین محیطا

Wa-alladhī sāfara wa-sāfarat maʿahu thumma ḥadatha baynahumā al-ikhtilāf fa-lahu an yuʾtiyahā nafaqat sana kāmila wa-yurjiʿahā ilā al-maqarr alladhī kharajat ʿanhu aw yusallimahā bi-yad amīn wa-mā taḥtāju bihi fī al-sabīl li-yuballighahā ilā maḥallihā inna rabbaka yaḥkum kayfa yashāʾ bi-sulṭān kāna ʿalā al-ʿālamīn muḥīṭan.

If a man travels and his wife travels with him, and disagreement then arises between them, he must provide her with maintenance for a full year and return her to the place from which she departed, or entrust her to a trustworthy person, together with whatever she needs for the journey, to convey her to her home. Your Lord decrees as He wills, with an authority encompassing all the worlds.

71

و الّتی طلّقت بما ثبت علیها منکر لا نفقة لها ایّام تربّصها کذلک کان نیّر الأمر من افق العدل مشهودا انّ اللّه احبّ الوصل و الوفاق و ابغض الفصل و الطّلاق عاشروا یا قوم بالرّوح و الرّیحان لعمری سیفنی من فی الامکان و ما یبقی هو العمل الطّیّب و کان اللّه علی ما اقول شهیدا یا عبادی اصلحوا ذات بینکم ثمّ استمعوا ما ینصحکم به القلم الأعلی و لا تتّبعوا جبّاراً شقیا

Wa-allatī ṭulliqat bi-mā thabata ʿalayhā munkar lā nafaqa lahā ayyām tarabbuṣihā kadhālika kāna nayyir al-amr min ufuq al-ʿadl mashhūdan. Inna Allāh aḥabba al-waṣl wa-al-wifāq wa-abghaḍa al-faṣl wa-al-ṭalāq. ʿĀshirū yā qawm bi-al-rūḥ wa-al-rayḥān la-ʿamrī sa-yafnā man fī al-imkān wa-mā yabqā huwa al-ʿamal al-ṭayyib wa-kāna Allāh ʿalā mā aqūl shahīdan. Yā ʿibādī aṣliḥū dhāta baynikum thumma istamiʿū mā yanṣaḥukum bihi al-qalam al-aʿlā wa-lā tattabiʿū jabbāran shaqiyyan.

A woman divorced because of proven misconduct has no right to maintenance during her waiting period. Thus has the Sun of the Cause appeared above the horizon of justice. God loves union and harmony and detests separation and divorce. Associate with one another, O people, in joy and gladness. By My life, all who exist will pass away; what remains is the good deed. God bears witness to what I say. O My servants, set right your relations with one another, then listen to the counsel of the Most Exalted Pen, and do not follow any wretched tyrant.

72

ایّاکم ان تغرّنکم الدّنیا کما غرّت قوماً قبلکم اتّبعوا حدود اللّه و سننه ثمّ اسلکوا هذا الصّراط الّذی کان بالحقّ ممدوداً انّ الّذین نبذوا البغی و الغوی و اتّخذوا التّقوی اولئک من خیرة الخلق لدی الحقّ یذکرهم الملأ الأعلی و اهل هذا المقام الّذی کان باسم اللّه مرفوعاً

Iyyākum an taghurrannakum al-dunyā kamā gharrat qawman qablakum. Ittabiʿū ḥudūd Allāh wa-sunanahu thumma uslukū hādhā al-ṣirāṭ alladhī kāna bi-al-ḥaqq mamdūdan. Inna alladhīna nabadhū al-baghy wa-al-ghawā wa-ittakhadhū al-taqwā ulāʾika min khīrat al-khalq ladā al-ḥaqq yadhkuruhum al-malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-ahl hādhā al-maqām alladhī kāna bi-ism Allāh marfūʿan.

Beware lest the world deceive you as it deceived people before you. Follow God’s ordinances and laws, and walk this path that has been laid out in truth. Those who cast aside wrongdoing and waywardness and embrace reverence for God are among the finest of His creatures in the sight of the True One. The Concourse on high remembers them, as do the inhabitants of this station that has been exalted in God’s name.

73

قد حرّم علیکم بیع الامآء و الغلمان لیس لعبد ان یشتری عبداً نهیاً فی لوح اللّه کذلک کان الأمر من قلم العدل بالفضل مسطورا و لیس لأحد ان یفتخر علی احد کلّ ارقّاء له و ادلاّء علی انّه لا اله الاّ هو انّه کان علی کلّ شئ حکیما

Qad ḥurrima ʿalaykum bayʿ al-imāʾ wa-al-ghilmān laysa li-ʿabd an yashtarī ʿabdan nahyan fī lawḥ Allāh kadhālika kāna al-amr min qalam al-ʿadl bi-al-faḍl masṭūran. Wa-laysa li-aḥad an yaftakhira ʿalā aḥad kull ariqqāʾ lahu wa-adillāʾ ʿalā annahu lā ilāha illā huwa innahu kāna ʿalā kull shayʾ ḥakīman.

You are forbidden to sell female or male slaves. No person may buy another person: this is prohibited in the Tablet of God. Thus has the decree been graciously inscribed by the Pen of Justice. No one may exalt himself above another. All are His bondservants and bear witness that there is no God but Him. He is wise in all things.

74

زینوا انفسکم بطراز الأعمال و الّذی فاز بالعمل فی رضاه انّه من اهل البهآء قد کان لدی العرش مذکوراً انصروا مالک البریة بالأعمال الحسنة ثمّ بالحکمة و البیان کذلک امرتم فی اکثر الألواح من لدی الرّحمن انّه کان علی ما اقول علیماً لا یعترض احد علی احد و لا یقتل نفس نفساً هذا ما نهیتم عنه فی کتاب کان فی سرادق العزّ مستورا اتقتلون من احیاه اللّه بروح من عنده انّ هذا خطأ قد کان لدی العرش کبیرا اتّقوا اللّه و لا تخربوا ما بناه اللّه بأیادی الظّلم و الطّغیان ثمّ اتّخذوا الی الحقّ سبیلا لما ظهرت جنود العرفان برایات البیان انهزمت قبائل الادیان الاّ من اراد ان یشرب کوثر الحیوان فی رضوانٍ کان من نفس السّبحان موجودا

Zayyinū anfusakum bi-ṭirāz al-aʿmāl wa-alladhī fāza bi-al-ʿamal fī riḍāhu innahu min ahl al-bahāʾ qad kāna ladā al-ʿarsh madhkūran. Unṣurū mālik al-bariyya bi-al-aʿmāl al-ḥasana thumma bi-al-ḥikma wa-al-bayān kadhālika umirtum fī akthar al-alwāḥ min ladā al-raḥmān innahu kāna ʿalā mā aqūl ʿalīman. Lā yaʿtariḍ aḥad ʿalā aḥad wa-lā yaqtul nafs nafsan hādhā mā nuhītum ʿanhu fī kitāb kāna fī surādiq al-ʿizz mastūran. A-taqtulūna man aḥyāhu Allāh bi-rūḥ min ʿindihi inna hādhā khaṭaʾ qad kāna ladā al-ʿarsh kabīran. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā tukhribū mā banāhu Allāh bi-ayādī al-ẓulm wa-al-ṭughyān thumma ittakhidhū ilā al-ḥaqq sabīlan. Lammā ẓaharat junūd al-ʿirfān bi-rāyāt al-bayān inhazamat qabāʾil al-adyān illā man arāda an yashraba kawthar al-ḥayawān fī riḍwān kāna min nafs al-subḥān mawjūdan.

Adorn yourselves with the ornament of deeds. Whoever succeeds in acting according to His good pleasure is numbered among the people of Baha before the Throne. Aid the Lord of creation through good deeds, and through wisdom and utterance. Thus have you been commanded in most of the Tablets by the All-Merciful. He knows what I say. Let no one contend with another, and let no person kill another. This is what you have been forbidden in a Book concealed within the pavilion of majesty. Would you kill someone whom God has brought to life through a spirit from Him? This is a grievous wrong before the Throne. Fear God, and do not destroy with the hands of oppression and tyranny what God has built. Take a path toward the True One. When the hosts of understanding appeared with the banners of utterance, the tribes of the religions were put to flight, except those who wished to drink from the river of life in a paradise brought into being by the All-Glorious Himself.

75

قد حکم اللّه بالطّهارة علی مآء النّطفة رحمةً من عنده علی البریة اشکروه بالرّوح و الرّیحان و لا تتّبعوا من کان عن مطلع القرب بعیدا قوموا علی خدمة الأمر فی کلّ الأحوال انّه یؤیّدکم بسلطان کان علی العالمین محیطا تمسّکوا بحبل اللّطافة علی شأن لا یری من ثیابکم اآار الأوساخ هذا ما حکم به من کان الطف من کلّ لطیف و الّذی له عذر لا بأس علیه انّه لهو الغفور الرّحیم طهّروا کلّ مکروه بالمآء الّذی لم یتغیر بالثلٰث ایّاکم ان تستعملوا المآء الّذی تغیر بالهوآء او بشئ آخر کونوا عنصر اللّطافة بین البریّة هذا ما اراد لکم مولاکم العزیز الحکیم

Qad ḥakama Allāh bi-al-ṭahāra ʿalā māʾ al-nuṭfa raḥmatan min ʿindihi ʿalā al-bariyya ushkurūhu bi-al-rūḥ wa-al-rayḥān wa-lā tattabiʿū man kāna ʿan maṭlaʿ al-qurb baʿīdan. Qūmū ʿalā khidmat al-amr fī kull al-aḥwāl innahu yuʾayyidukum bi-sulṭān kāna ʿalā al-ʿālamīn muḥīṭan. Tamassakū bi-ḥabl al-laṭāfa ʿalā shaʾn lā yurā min thiyābikum [corrupted text] al-awsākh hādhā mā ḥakama bihi man kāna alṭaf min kull laṭīf wa-alladhī lahu ʿudhr lā baʾs ʿalayhi innahu la-huwa al-ghafūr al-raḥīm. Ṭahhirū kull makrūh bi-al-māʾ alladhī lam yataghayyar bi-al-thalāth iyyākum an tastaʿmilū al-māʾ alladhī taghayyara bi-al-hawāʾ aw bi-shayʾ ākhar kūnū ʿunṣur al-laṭāfa bayna al-bariyya hādhā mā arāda lakum mawlākum al-ʿazīz al-ḥakīm.

God has decreed that semen is pure, as a mercy from Him to His creatures. Thank Him with joy and gladness, and do not follow those who are far from the Dawning-Place of Nearness. Arise to serve the Cause under all circumstances. He will support you with an authority encompassing all the worlds. Hold fast to the cord of cleanliness, so that no [corrupted original text] of dirt may be seen on your clothes. This is what He who is more refined than all who possess refinement has decreed. Whoever has an excuse incurs no blame. He is indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Merciful. Cleanse every unclean thing with water that has not undergone any of the three changes. Beware of using water that has been altered by the air or by anything else. Be the embodiment of cleanliness among creation. This is what your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise, desires for you.

76

و کذلک رفع اللّه حکم دون الطّهارة عن کلّ الأشیاء و عن مللٍ اخری موهبة من اللّه انّه لهو الغفور الکریم قد انغمست الأشیآء فی بحر الطّهارة فی اوّل الرّضوان اذ تجلّینا علی من فی الامکان باسمآئنا الحسنی و صفاتنا العلیا هذا من فضلی الّذی احاط العالمین لتعاشروا مع الأدیان و تبلّغوا امر ربّکم الرّحمن هذا لاکلیل الاعمال لو انتم من العارفین

Wa-kadhālika rafaʿa Allāh ḥukm dūn al-ṭahāra ʿan kull al-ashyāʾ wa-ʿan milal ukhrā mawhiba min Allāh innahu la-huwa al-ghafūr al-karīm. Qad inghamasat al-ashyāʾ fī baḥr al-ṭahāra fī awwal al-riḍwān idh tajallaynā ʿalā man fī al-imkān bi-asmāʾinā al-ḥusnā wa-ṣifātinā al-ʿulyā hādhā min faḍlī alladhī aḥāṭa al-ʿālamīn li-tuʿāshirū maʿa al-adyān wa-tuballighū amr rabbikum al-raḥmān hādhā la-iklīl al-aʿmāl law antum min al-ʿārifīn.

Likewise, God has removed the designation of impurity from all things and from other religious communities, as a gift from God. He is indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Generous. All things were immersed in the sea of purity on the first day of Ridvan, when We revealed Our splendor to all who exist through Our most beautiful names and Our most exalted attributes. This is from My grace, which encompasses all the worlds, so that you may associate with the followers of other religions and convey the Cause of your Lord, the All-Merciful. This is indeed the crown of deeds, if you are among those who understand.

77

و حکم باللّطافة الکبری و تغسیل ما تغبّر من الغبار و کیف الأوساخ المنجمدة و دونها اتّقوا اللّه و کونوا من المطهّرین و الّذی یری فی کسائه وسخ انّه لا یصعد دعائه الی اللّه و یجتنب عنه ملأ عالون استعملوا مآء الورد ثمّ العطر الخالص هذا ما احبّه اللّه من الأوّل الّذی لا اوّل له لیتضوّع منکم ما اراد ربّکم العزیز الحکیم

Wa-ḥakama bi-al-laṭāfa al-kubrā wa-taghsīl mā taghabbara min al-ghubār wa-kayfa al-awsākh al-munjamida wa-dūnihā ittaqū Allāh wa-kūnū min al-muṭahhirīn. Wa-alladhī yarā fī kisāʾihi wasakh innahu lā yaṣʿadu duʿāʾuhu ilā Allāh wa-yajtanibu ʿanhu malaʾ ʿālūn. Istaʿmilū māʾ al-ward thumma al-ʿiṭr al-khāliṣ hādhā mā aḥabbahu Allāh min al-awwal alladhī lā awwala lahu li-yataḍawwaʿa minkum mā arāda rabbukum al-ʿazīz al-ḥakīm.

He has decreed the utmost cleanliness and the washing of whatever has gathered dust—how much more, then, encrusted dirt and other impurities. Fear God and be among those who keep themselves pure. Whoever has visible dirt on his clothing, his prayer does not ascend to God, and the exalted Concourse shuns him. Use rosewater and pure perfume. This is what God has loved from the beginning that has no beginning, so that the fragrance your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise, desires may spread from you.

78

قد عفا اللّه عنکم ما نزّل فی البیان من محو الکتب و اذّناکم بان تقرؤوا من العلوم ما ینفعکم لا ما ینتهی الی المجادلة فی الکلام هذا خیر لکم ان انتم من العارفین

Qad ʿafā Allāh ʿankum mā nuzzila fī al-bayān min maḥw al-kutub wa-adhinnākum bi-an taqraʾū min al-ʿulūm mā yanfaʿukum lā mā yantahī ilā al-mujādala fī al-kalām hādhā khayr lakum in antum min al-ʿārifīn.

God has released you from the command revealed in the Bayan to destroy books. We have permitted you to study those branches of knowledge that benefit you, not those that end in verbal disputation. This is better for you, if you are among those who understand.

79

یا معشر الملوک قد اتی المالک و الملک للّه المهیمن القیّوم الاّ تعبدوا الاّ اللّه و توجّهوا بقلوب نوراء الی وجه ربّکم مالک الأسمآء هذا امر لا یعادله ما عندکم لو انتم تعرفون

Yā maʿshar al-mulūk, qad atā al-Mālik wa-l-mulk li-llāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm. Allā taʿbudū illā Allāh wa-tawajjahū bi-qulūb nūrāʾ ilā wajh rabbikum Mālik al-Asmāʾ. Hādhā amr lā yuʿādiluhu mā ʿindakum law antum taʿrifūn.

O kings, the Sovereign has come, and sovereignty belongs to God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Worship none but God, and turn with radiant hearts toward the face of your Lord, the Lord of Names. This is a Cause that nothing you possess can equal, if only you understood.

80

انّا نریکم تفرحون بما جمعتموه لغیرکم و تمنعون انفسکم عن العوالم الّتی لم یحصها الاّ لوحی المحفوظ قد شغلتکم الأموال عن المأل هذا لا ینبغی لکم لو انتم تعلمون طهّروا قلوبکم عن ذفر الدّنیا مسرعین الی ملکوت ربّکم فاطر الأرض و السّمآء الّذی به ظهرت الزّلازل و ناحت القبائل الاّ من نبذ الوری و اخذ ما امر به فی لوح مکنون

Innā narākum tafraḥūn bi-mā jamaʿtumūhu li-ghayrikum wa-tamnaʿūn anfusakum ʿan al-ʿawālim allatī lam yuḥṣihā illā lawḥī al-maḥfūẓ. Qad shaghalatkum al-amwāl ʿan al-maʾāl. Hādhā lā yanbaghī lakum law antum taʿlamūn. Ṭahhirū qulūbakum ʿan dhafar al-dunyā musriʿīn ilā malakūt rabbikum Fāṭir al-arḍ wa-l-samāʾ alladhī bihi ẓaharat al-zalāzil wa-nāḥat al-qabāʾil illā man nabadha al-warā wa-akhadha mā umira bihi fī lawḥ maknūn.

We see you rejoicing in what you have amassed for others, while depriving yourselves of worlds that none but My preserved Tablet has numbered. Your wealth has distracted you from your final destination. This does not befit you, if only you knew. Cleanse your hearts of the stench of this world, hastening toward the kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth and heaven, through whom earthquakes have appeared and the peoples have lamented, except those who have cast aside all creation and embraced what they were commanded in a hidden Tablet.

81

هذا یوم فیه فاز الکلیم بانوار القدیم و شرب زلال الوصال من هذا القدح الّذی به سجّرت البحور قل تاللّه الحقّ انّ الطّور یطوف حول مطلع الظّهور و الرّوح ینادی من الملکوت هلّموا و تعالوا یا ابنآء الغرور هذا یوم فیه سرع کوم اللّه شوقا للقائه و صاح الصّهیون قد اتی الوعد و ظهر ما هو المکتوب فی الواح اللّه المتعالی العزیز المحبوب

Hādhā yawm fīhi fāza al-Kalīm bi-anwār al-Qadīm wa-shariba zulāl al-wiṣāl min hādhā al-qadaḥ alladhī bihi sujjirat al-buḥūr. Qul ta-llāh al-Ḥaqq inna al-Ṭūr yaṭūf ḥawla maṭlaʿ al-ẓuhūr wa-l-Rūḥ yunādī min al-malakūt halummū wa-taʿālaw yā abnāʾ al-ghurūr. Hādhā yawm fīhi saraʿa kawm Allāh shawqan li-liqāʾihi wa-ṣāḥa al-Ṣahyūn qad atā al-waʿd wa-ẓahara mā huwa al-maktūb fī alwāḥ Allāh al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīz al-Maḥbūb.

This is the day when the One Who Conversed with God attained the lights of the Ancient One and drank the pure water of reunion from this cup through which the seas were set ablaze. Say: By God, the Truth! Sinai circles around the Dayspring of Revelation, and the Spirit calls from the kingdom: “Come, draw near, you children of delusion!” This is the day when the hill of God has hastened in longing to meet Him, and Zion has cried out: “The promise has come, and what was written in the Tablets of God, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Beloved, has appeared.”

82

یا معشر الملوک قد نزّل النّاموس الأکبر فی المنظر الأنور و ظهر کل امر مستتر من لدن مالک القدر الّذی به اتت السّاعة و انشقّ القمر و فصّل کلّ امر محتوم

Yā maʿshar al-mulūk, qad nuzzila al-nāmūs al-akbar fī al-manẓar al-anwar wa-ẓahara kull amr mustatir min ladun Mālik al-qadar alladhī bihi atat al-sāʿa wa-nshaqqa al-qamar wa-fuṣṣila kull amr maḥtūm.

O kings, the Most Great Law has been sent down in the most radiant Vision, and every hidden matter has been revealed by the Lord of Destiny, through whom the Hour has come, the moon has split, and every irrevocable decree has been set forth.

83

یا معشر الملوک انتم الممالیک قد ظهر المالک بأحسن الطّراز و یدعوکم الی نفسه المهیمن القیّوم ایّاکم ان یمنعکم الغرور عن مشرق الظّهور او تحجبکم الدّنیا عن فاطر السّمآء قوموا علی خدمة المقصود الّذی خلقکم بکلمة من عنده و جعلکم مظاهر القدرة لما کان و ما یکون

Yā maʿshar al-mulūk, antum al-mamālīk. Qad ẓahara al-Mālik bi-aḥsan al-ṭirāz wa-yadʿūkum ilā nafsihi al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm. Iyyākum an yamnaʿakum al-ghurūr ʿan mashriq al-ẓuhūr aw taḥjubakum al-dunyā ʿan Fāṭir al-samāʾ. Qūmū ʿalā khidmat al-Maqṣūd alladhī khalaqakum bi-kalima min ʿindihi wa-jaʿalakum maẓāhir al-qudra li-mā kāna wa-mā yakūn.

O kings, you are but servants. The Sovereign has appeared in the finest adornment and calls you to Himself, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Beware lest pride keep you from the Dawning-Place of Revelation, or the world veil you from the Creator of heaven. Arise to serve the Desired One, who created you through a word from Him and made you manifestations of power over all that has been and all that will be.

84

تاللّه لا نرید ان نتصرّف فی ممالککم بل جئنا لتصرّف القلوب انّها لمنظر البهآء یشهد بذلک ملکوت الأسمآء لو انتم تفقهون و الّذی اتّبع مولاه انّه اعرض عن الدّنیا کلّها و کیف هذا المقام المحمود دعوا البیوت ثمّ اقبلوا الی الملکوت هذا ما ینفعکم فی الآخرة و الأولی یشهد بذلک مالک الجبروت لو انتم تعلمون

Ta-llāh lā nurīd an nataṣarraf fī mamālikikum bal jiʾnā li-taṣarruf al-qulūb. Innahā la-manẓar al-Bahāʾ yashhadu bi-dhālika malakūt al-asmāʾ law antum tafqahūn. Wa-lladhī ittabaʿa mawlāhu innahu aʿraḍa ʿan al-dunyā kullihā wa-kayfa hādhā al-maqām al-maḥmūd. Daʿū al-buyūt thumma aqbilū ilā al-malakūt. Hādhā mā yanfaʿukum fī al-ākhira wa-l-ūlā yashhadu bi-dhālika Mālik al-jabarūt law antum taʿlamūn.

By God! We do not wish to take possession of your kingdoms; rather, We have come to take possession of hearts. They are indeed the place where Bahá is revealed; the kingdom of names bears witness to this, if only you understood. Whoever has followed his Lord has turned away from the whole world—how much more so in this praiseworthy station! Leave your houses and turn toward the kingdom. This is what will benefit you in the next life and in this one. The Lord of the realm of power bears witness to this, if only you knew.

85

طوبی لملک قام علی نصرة امری فی مملکتی و انقطع عن سوائی انّه من اصحاب السّفینة الحمرآء التی جعلها اللّه لأهل البهآء ینبغی لکلٍ ان یعزّزوه و یوقّروه و ینصروه لیفتح المدن بمفاتیح اسمی المهیمن علی من فی ممالک الغیب و الشّهود انّه بمنزلة البَصَر للبشر و الغرّة الغرآء لجبین الانشآء و رأس الکرم لجسد العالم انصروه یا اهل البهآء بالأموال و النّفوس

Ṭūbā li-malik qāma ʿalā nuṣrat amrī fī mamlakatī wa-nqaṭaʿa ʿan siwāʾī. Innahu min aṣḥāb al-safīna al-ḥamrāʾ allatī jaʿalahā Allāh li-ahl al-Bahāʾ. Yanbaghī li-kull an yuʿazzizūhu wa-yuwaqqirūhu wa-yanṣurūhu li-yaftaḥ al-mudun bi-mafātīḥ ismī al-Muhaymin ʿalā man fī mamālik al-ghayb wa-l-shuhūd. Innahu bi-manzilat al-baṣar li-l-bashar wa-l-ghurra al-gharrāʾ li-jabīn al-inshāʾ wa-raʾs al-karam li-jasad al-ʿālam. Unṣurūhu yā ahl al-Bahāʾ bi-l-amwāl wa-l-nufūs.

Blessed is the king who arises to aid My Cause in My kingdom and detaches himself from all but Me. He is among the companions of the Crimson Ark that God has ordained for the people of Bahá. Everyone should honor, revere, and support him, so that he may open the cities with the keys of My name, the All-Protecting over all who dwell in the kingdoms of the unseen and the seen. He is as sight to humanity, a radiant adornment on the brow of creation, and the head of generosity to the body of the world. Support him, O people of Bahá, with your wealth and your lives.

86

یا ملک النّمسة کان مطلع نور الأحدیّة فی سجن عکّآء اذ قصدت المسجد الأقصی مررت و ما سئلت عنه بعد اذ رفع به کلّ بیت و فتح کلّ باب منیف قد جعلناه مقبل العالم لذکری و انت نبذت المذکور اذ ظهر بملکوت اللّه ربّک و ربّ العالمین کنّا معک فی کلّ الأحوال و وجدناک متمسّکا بالفرع غافلا عن الأصل انّ ربّک علی ما اقول شهید قد اخذتنا الأحزان بما رأیناک تدور لاسمنا و لا تعرفنا امام وجهک افتح البصر لتنظر هذا المنظر الکریم و تعرف من تدعوه فی اللّیالی و الأیّام و تری النّور المشرق من هذا الأفق اللّمیع

Yā malik al-Nimsa, kāna maṭlaʿ nūr al-aḥadiyya fī sijn ʿAkkā idh qaṣadta al-masjid al-aqṣā. Mararta wa-mā saʾalta ʿanhu baʿda idh rufiʿa bihi kull bayt wa-futiḥa kull bāb munīf. Qad jaʿalnāhu muqbil al-ʿālam li-dhikrī wa-anta nabadhta al-madhkūr idh ẓahara bi-malakūt Allāh rabbika wa-rabb al-ʿālamīn. Kunnā maʿaka fī kull al-aḥwāl wa-wajadnāka mutamassikan bi-l-farʿ ghāfilan ʿan al-aṣl. Inna rabbaka ʿalā mā aqūl shahīd. Qad akhadhatnā al-aḥzān bi-mā raʾaynāka tadūr li-sminā wa-lā taʿrifunā amāma wajhika. Iftaḥ al-baṣar li-tanẓur hādhā al-manẓar al-karīm wa-taʿrif man tadʿūhu fī al-layālī wa-l-ayyām wa-tarā al-nūr al-mushriq min hādhā al-ufuq al-lamīʿ.

O king of Austria, the Dayspring of the light of oneness was in the prison of Acre when you set out for the Farthest Mosque. You passed by without asking about Him, through whom every house has been exalted and every lofty gate opened. We made it the place toward which the world turns to remember Me, yet you cast aside the One remembered when He appeared with the kingdom of God, your Lord and the Lord of all worlds. We were with you in every circumstance and found you clinging to the branch, heedless of the root. Your Lord bears witness to what I say. Sorrow seized Us when We saw you journeying for the sake of Our name, yet failing to recognize Us before your very eyes. Open your eyes to behold this noble Vision, recognize the One you invoke by night and day, and see the light shining from this radiant horizon.

87

قل یا ملک برلین اسمع النّدآء من هذا الهیکل المبین انّه لا اله الاّ انا الباقی الفرد القدیم ایّاک ان یمنعک الغرور عن مطلع الظّهور او یحجبک الهوی عن مالک العرش و الثّری کذلک ینصحک القلم الأعلی انّه لهو الفضّال الکریم اذکر من کان اعظم منک شأنا و اکبر منک مقاماً این هو و ما عنده انتبه و لا تکن من الرّاقدین انّه نبذ لوح اللّه ورائه اذ اخبرناه بما ورد علینا من جنود الظّالمین لذا اخذته الذّلّة من کلّ الجهات الی ان رجع الی التّراب خسران عظیم یا ملک تفکّر فیه و فی امثالک الّذین سخّروا البلاد و حکموا علی العباد قد انزلهم الرّحمن من القصور الی القبور اعتبر و کن من المتذکّرین

Qul yā malik Birlīn, ismaʿ al-nidāʾ min hādhā al-haykal al-mubīn. Innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Bāqī al-Fard al-Qadīm. Iyyāka an yamnaʿaka al-ghurūr ʿan maṭlaʿ al-ẓuhūr aw yaḥjubaka al-hawā ʿan Mālik al-ʿarsh wa-l-tharā. Kadhālika yanṣaḥuka al-Qalam al-Aʿlā innahu la-huwa al-Faḍḍāl al-Karīm. Udhkur man kāna aʿẓam minka shaʾnan wa-akbar minka maqāman. Ayna huwa wa-mā ʿindahu? Intabih wa-lā takun min al-rāqidīn. Innahu nabadha lawḥ Allāh warāʾahu idh akhbarnāhu bi-mā warada ʿalaynā min junūd al-ẓālimīn. Li-dhā akhadhat-hu al-dhilla min kull al-jihāt ilā an rajaʿa ilā al-turāb. Khusrān ʿaẓīm. Yā malik tafakkar fīhi wa-fī amthālika alladhīna sakhkharū al-bilād wa-ḥakamū ʿalā al-ʿibād. Qad anzalahum al-Raḥmān min al-quṣūr ilā al-qubūr. Iʿtabir wa-kun min al-mutadhakkirīn.

Say: O king of Berlin, hear the call from this manifest Temple: “There is no god but Me, the Everlasting, the One, the Ancient.” Beware lest pride keep you from the Dayspring of Revelation, or desire veil you from the Lord of the throne and the earth. Thus the Most Exalted Pen counsels you. He is indeed the Most Bountiful, the Generous. Remember the one who was greater than you in power and higher than you in station. Where is he, and where is all he possessed? Awaken, and do not be among those who sleep. He cast the Tablet of God behind him when We told him what had befallen Us at the hands of the armies of the oppressors. Therefore humiliation overtook him from every side, until he returned to dust. What a tremendous loss! O king, reflect on him and on those like you who subdued lands and ruled over their peoples. The All-Merciful brought them down from palaces to graves. Take heed, and be among those who remember.

88

انّا ما اردنا منکم شیئا انّما ننصحکم لوجه اللّه و نصبر کما صبرنا بما وردعلینا منکم یا معشر السّلاطین

Innā mā aradnā minkum shayʾan innamā nanṣaḥukum li-wajh Allāh wa-naṣbir kamā ṣabarnā bi-mā warada ʿalaynā minkum yā maʿshar al-salāṭīn.

We have desired nothing from you. We counsel you only for the sake of God, and We endure patiently, as We have endured what you have inflicted on Us, O sovereigns.

89

یا ملوک امریقا و رؤسآء الجمهور فیها اسمعوا ما تغنّ به الورقآء علی غصن البقآء انّه لا اله الاّ انا الباقی الغفور الکریم زیّنوا هیکل الملک بطراز العدل و التّقی و رأسه باکلیل ذکر ربّکم فاطر السّمآء کذلک یأمرکم مطلع الأسمآء من لدن علیمٍ حکیمٍ قد ظهر الموعود فی هذا المقام المحمود الّذی به ابتسم ثغر الوجود من الغیب و الشّهود اغتنموا یوم اللّه انّ لقائه خیر لکم عمّا تطلع الشّمس علیها ان انتم من العارفین یا معشر الأمرآء اسمعوا ما ارتفع من مطلع الکبریآء انّه لا اله الاّ انا النّاطق العلیم اجبروا الکسیر بایادی العدل و کسّروا الصّحیح الظّالم بسیاط اوامر ربّکم الأمر الحکیم

Yā mulūk Amrīqā wa-ruʾasāʾ al-jumhūr fīhā, ismaʿū mā taghann bihi al-warqāʾ ʿalā ghuṣn al-baqāʾ. Innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Bāqī al-Ghafūr al-Karīm. Zayyinū haykal al-mulk bi-ṭirāz al-ʿadl wa-l-tuqā wa-raʾsahu bi-iklīl dhikr rabbikum Fāṭir al-samāʾ. Kadhālika yaʾmurukum maṭlaʿ al-asmāʾ min ladun ʿAlīm Ḥakīm. Qad ẓahara al-Mawʿūd fī hādhā al-maqām al-maḥmūd alladhī bihi ibtasama thaghr al-wujūd min al-ghayb wa-l-shuhūd. Ightanimū yawm Allāh inna liqāʾahu khayr lakum ʿammā taṭluʿ al-shams ʿalayhā in antum min al-ʿārifīn. Yā maʿshar al-umarāʾ, ismaʿū mā irtafaʿa min maṭlaʿ al-kibriyāʾ. Innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Nāṭiq al-ʿAlīm. Ijburū al-kasīr bi-ayādī al-ʿadl wa-kassirū al-ṣaḥīḥ al-ẓālim bi-siyāṭ awāmir rabbikum al-Āmir al-Ḥakīm.

O kings of America and presidents of its republics, listen to what the Dove sings upon the branch of eternity: “There is no god but Me, the Everlasting, the All-Forgiving, the Generous.” Adorn the body of sovereignty with justice and piety, and its head with the crown of remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of heaven. Thus the Dayspring of Names commands you on behalf of One who is All-Knowing, All-Wise. The Promised One has appeared in this praiseworthy station, through which all existence, unseen and seen, has smiled. Seize the opportunity of the Day of God. Meeting Him is better for you than all that the sun shines upon, if you are among those who understand. O rulers, listen to what has risen from the Dayspring of Grandeur: “There is no god but Me, the Speaker, the All-Knowing.” Bind up the broken with the hands of justice, and break the oppressor who is unbroken with the scourges of the commands of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

90

یا معشر الرّوم نسمع بینکم صوت البوم ء اخذکم سکر الهوی ام کنتم من الغافلین یا ایتها النّقطة الواقعة فی شاطئ البحرین قد استقرّ علیک کرسیّ الظّلم و اشتعلت فیک نار البغضآء علی شأن ناح بها الملأ الأعلی و الّذین یطوفون حول کرسی رفیع نری فیک الجاهل یحکم علی العاقل و الظّلام یفتخر علی النّور و انّک فی غرور مبین اغرّتک زینتک الظّاهرة سوف تفنی و ربّ البریّة و تنوح البنات و الأرامل و ما فیک من القبائل کذلک ینبئک العلیم الخبیر

Yā maʿshar al-Rūm, nasmaʿ baynakum ṣawt al-būm. A-akhadhakum sukr al-hawā am kuntum min al-ghāfilīn? Yā ayyatuhā al-nuqṭa al-wāqiʿa fī shāṭiʾ al-baḥrayn, qad istaqarra ʿalayki kursī al-ẓulm wa-shtaʿalat fīki nār al-baghḍāʾ ʿalā shaʾn nāḥa bihā al-malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-lladhīna yaṭūfūn ḥawla kursī rafīʿ. Narā fīki al-jāhil yaḥkum ʿalā al-ʿāqil wa-l-ẓalām yaftakhir ʿalā al-nūr wa-innaki fī ghurūr mubīn. A-gharratki zīnatuki al-ẓāhira? Sawfa tafnā wa-rabb al-bariyya wa-tanūḥ al-banāt wa-l-arāmil wa-mā fīki min al-qabāʾil. Kadhālika yunabbiʾuki al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr.

O people of Rūm, We hear the owl’s cry among you. Has the intoxication of desire seized you, or are you among the heedless? O spot situated on the shore of the two seas, the throne of oppression has been established upon you, and the fire of hatred has blazed within you so fiercely that the exalted Concourse and those who circle a lofty throne have lamented. We see the ignorant ruling over the wise within you, and darkness boasting over light. You are indeed in manifest delusion. Has your outward splendor deceived you? By the Lord of creation, it will perish, and the daughters, the widows, and all the peoples within you will lament. Thus the All-Knowing, the All-Aware informs you.

91

یا شواطی نهر الرّین قد رأیناک مغطّاة بالدّماء بما سلّ علیک سیوف الجزآء و لک مرّة اخری و نسمع حنین البرلین ولو انّها الیوم علی عزّ مبین

Yā shawāṭiʾ nahr al-Rayn, qad raʾaynāki mughaṭṭāt bi-l-dimāʾ bi-mā sulla ʿalayki suyūf al-jazāʾ wa-laki marra ukhrā wa-nasmaʿ ḥanīn al-Birlīn wa-law annahā al-yawm ʿalā ʿizz mubīn.

O banks of the Rhine, We have seen you covered in blood, for the swords of retribution have been drawn against you; and you will have another turn. We hear the lament of Berlin, though today she enjoys manifest glory.

92

یا ارض الطّآء لا تحزنی من شئ قد جعلک اللّه مطلع فرح العالمین لو یشآء یبارک سریرک بالّذی یحکم بالعدل و یجمع اغنام اللّه الّتی تفرّقت من الذّئاب انّه یواجه اهل البهآء بالفرح و الانبساط الا انّه من جوهر الخلق لدی الحقّ علیه بهآء اللّه و بهآء من فی ملکوت الأمر فی کلّ حین

Yā arḍ al-Ṭāʾ, lā taḥzanī min shayʾ. Qad jaʿalaki Allāh maṭlaʿ faraḥ al-ʿālamīn. Law yashāʾ yubārik sarīraki bi-lladhī yaḥkum bi-l-ʿadl wa-yajmaʿ aghnām Allāh allatī tafarraqat min al-dhiʾāb. Innahu yuwājih ahl al-Bahāʾ bi-l-faraḥ wa-l-inbisāṭ. Alā innahu min jawhar al-khalq ladā al-Ḥaqq. ʿAlayhi bahāʾ Allāh wa-bahāʾ man fī malakūt al-amr fī kull ḥīn.

O land of Ṭā, grieve over nothing. God has made you the dayspring of joy for all worlds. If He wills, He will bless your throne with one who rules with justice and gathers the sheep of God that have been scattered by the wolves. He will meet the people of Bahá with joy and warmth. Indeed, in the sight of the True One, he is among the choicest of creation. Upon him be the glory of God and the glory of all who dwell in the kingdom of His Cause at every moment.

93

افرحی بما جعلک اللّه افق النّور بما ولد فیک مطلع الظّهور و سمّیت بهذا الاسم الّذی به لاح نیّر الفضل و اشرقت السّموات و الأرضون

Ifraḥī bi-mā jaʿalaki Allāh ufuq al-nūr bi-mā wulida fīki maṭlaʿ al-ẓuhūr wa-summīti bi-hādhā al-ism alladhī bihi lāḥa nayyir al-faḍl wa-ashraqat al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍūn.

Rejoice that God has made you the horizon of light, for the Dayspring of Revelation was born within you, and you were called by this name through which the sun of grace has shone and the heavens and the earth have been illumined.

94

سوف تنقلب فیک الأمور و یحکم علیک جمهور النّاس انّ ربّک لهو العلیم المحیط اطمئنّی بفضل ربّک انّه لا تنقطع عنک لحظات الألطاف سوف یأخذک الاطمینان بعد الاضطراب کذلک قضی الأمر فی کتاب بدیع

Sawfa tanqalib fīki al-umūr wa-yaḥkum ʿalayki jumhūr al-nās. Inna rabbaki la-huwa al-ʿAlīm al-Muḥīṭ. Iṭmaʾinnī bi-faḍl rabbiki innahu lā tanqaṭiʿ ʿanki laḥaẓāt al-alṭāf. Sawfa yaʾkhudhuki al-iṭmiʾnān baʿda al-iḍṭirāb. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amr fī kitāb badīʿ.

Affairs within you will change, and the people will rule over you. Your Lord is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Encompassing. Be assured of your Lord’s grace: His glances of favor toward you will not cease. Tranquillity will embrace you after turmoil. Thus has the matter been decreed in a wondrous Book.

95

یا ارض الخآء نسمع فیک صوت الرّجال فی ذکر ربّک الغنی المتّعال طوبی لیوم فیه تنصب رایات الأسمآء فی ملکوت الانشآء باسمی الأبهی یومئذ یفرح المخلصون بنصر اللّه و ینوح المشرکون

Yā arḍ al-Khāʾ, nasmaʿ fīki ṣawt al-rijāl fī dhikr rabbiki al-Ghanī al-Mutaʿāl. Ṭūbā li-yawm fīhi tunṣab rāyāt al-asmāʾ fī malakūt al-inshāʾ bi-smī al-Abhā. Yawmaʾidh yafraḥ al-mukhliṣūn bi-naṣr Allāh wa-yanūḥ al-mushrikūn.

O land of Khā, We hear within you the voices of men remembering your Lord, the Self-Sufficient, the Most Exalted. Blessed is the day when the banners of the names will be raised in the kingdom of creation through My name, the All-Glorious. On that day the sincere will rejoice in God’s victory, and those who associate partners with Him will lament.

96

لیس لأحد ان یعترض علی الّذین یحکمون علی العباد دعوا لهم ما عندهم و توجّهوا الی القلوب

Laysa li-aḥad an yaʿtariḍ ʿalā alladhīna yaḥkumūn ʿalā al-ʿibād. Daʿū lahum mā ʿindahum wa-tawajjahū ilā al-qulūb.

No one may oppose those who rule over the people. Leave to them what they possess, and turn your attention to hearts.

97

یا بحر الأعظم رشّ علی الأمم ما امرت به من لدن مالک القدم و زین هیاکل الأنام بطراز الأحکام الّتی بها تفرح القلوب و تقرّ العیون

Yā baḥr al-aʿẓam, rushsha ʿalā al-umam mā umirta bihi min ladun Mālik al-qidam wa-zayyin hayākil al-anām bi-ṭirāz al-aḥkām allatī bihā tafraḥ al-qulūb wa-taqarr al-ʿuyūn.

O Most Great Ocean, sprinkle upon the nations what you have been commanded by the Lord of Eternity, and adorn the bodies of humanity with the laws through which hearts rejoice and eyes find delight.

98

و الّذی تملّک مأة مثقال من الذّهب فتسعة عشر مثقالا للّه فاطر الأرض و السّمآء ایّاکم یا قوم ان تمنعوا انفسکم عن هذا الفضل العظیم قد امرناکم بهذا بعد اذ کنّا غنیا عنکم و عن کلّ من فی السّموات و الأرضین انّ فی ذلک لحکم و مصالح لم یحط بها علم احد الاّ اللّه العالم الخبیر قل بذلک اراد تطهیر اموالکم و تقرّبکم الی مقامات لا یدرکها الاّ من شاء اللّه انّه لهو الفضّال العزیز الکریم یا قوم لا تخونوا فی حقوق اللّه و لا تصرّفوا فیها الاّ بعد اذنه کذلک قضی الأمر فی الألواح و فی هذا اللّوح المنیع من خان اللّه یخان بالعدل و الّذی عمل بما امر ینزل علیه البرکة من سمآء عطآء ربّه الفیاض المعطی الباذل القدیم انّه اراد لکم ما لا تعرفونه الیوم سوف یعرفه القوم اذا طارت الأرواح و طویت زرابی الافراح کذلک یذکرکم من عنده لوح حفیظ

Wa-alladhī tamallaka miʾata mithqālin mina al-dhahabi fa-tisʿata ʿashara mithqālan li-llāhi fāṭiri al-arḍi wa-al-samāʾi. Iyyākum yā qawmi an tamnaʿū anfusakum ʿan hādhā al-faḍli al-ʿaẓīmi. Qad amarnākum bi-hādhā baʿda idh kunnā ghaniyyan ʿankum wa-ʿan kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīna. Inna fī dhālika la-ḥikaman wa-maṣāliḥa lam yuḥiṭ bihā ʿilmu aḥadin illā Allāhu al-ʿālimu al-khabīru. Qul bi-dhālika arāda taṭhīra amwālikum wa-taqarrubakum ilā maqāmātin lā yudrikuhā illā man shāʾa Allāhu. Innahu la-huwa al-faḍḍālu al-ʿazīzu al-karīmu. Yā qawmi lā takhūnū fī ḥuqūqi Allāhi wa-lā taṣarrafū fīhā illā baʿda idhnihi. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amru fī al-alwāḥi wa-fī hādhā al-lawḥi al-manīʿi. Man khāna Allāha yukhānu bi-al-ʿadli wa-alladhī ʿamila bi-mā umira yanzilu ʿalayhi al-barakatu min samāʾi ʿaṭāʾi rabbihi al-fayyāḍi al-muʿṭī al-bādhili al-qadīmi. Innahu arāda lakum mā lā taʿrifūnahu al-yawma. Sawfa yaʿrifuhu al-qawmu idhā ṭārati al-arwāḥu wa-ṭuwiyat zarābiyyu al-afrāḥi. Kadhālika yudhakkirukum man ʿindahu lawḥun ḥafīẓun.

Whoever possesses a hundred mithqals of gold, nineteen mithqals of it belong to God, the Creator of earth and heaven. Take care, O people, not to deprive yourselves of this great bounty. We have commanded you to observe this, although We have always been independent of you and of all who are in the heavens and on earth. In this lie wisdom and benefits beyond the knowledge of anyone except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Say: By this He has intended to purify your possessions and bring you near to stations that none can comprehend except those whom God wills. He is indeed the Bountiful, the Almighty, the Generous. O people, do not act dishonestly concerning the Right of God, nor dispose of it without His permission. Thus has the command been decreed in the Tablets and in this exalted Tablet. Whoever betrays God will, in justice, be betrayed; and whoever acts as commanded will receive blessings from the heaven of the bounty of his Lord, the All-Bountiful, the Bestower, the Munificent, the Ancient. He has intended for you what you do not understand today. The people will understand it when their spirits take flight and the carpets of joy are rolled up. Thus does He who possesses a preserving Tablet admonish you.

99

قد حضرت لدی العرش عرائض شتّی من الّذین امنوا و سئلوا فیها اللّه ربّ ما یری و ما لا یری ربّ العالمین لذا نزّلنا اللّوح و زینّاه بطراز الأمر لعلّ النّاس باحکام ربّهم یعملون و کذلک سئلنا من قبل فی سنین متوالیات و امسکنا القلم حکمة من لدنّا الی ان حضرت کتب من انفسٍ معدودات فی تلک الأیّام لذا اجبناهم بالحقّ بما تحیی به القلوب

Qad ḥaḍarat ladā al-ʿarshi ʿarāʾiḍu shattā mina alladhīna āmanū wa-saʾalū fīhā Allāha rabba mā yurā wa-mā lā yurā rabba al-ʿālamīna. Lidhā nazzalnā al-lawḥa wa-zayyannāhu bi-ṭirāzi al-amri laʿalla al-nāsa bi-aḥkāmi rabbihim yaʿmalūna. Wa-kadhālika suʾilnā min qablu fī sinīna mutawāliyātin wa-amsaknā al-qalama ḥikmatan min ladunnā ilā an ḥaḍarat kutubun min anfusin maʿdūdātin fī tilka al-ayyāmi. Lidhā ajabnāhum bi-al-ḥaqqi bi-mā taḥyā bihi al-qulūbu.

Various petitions have reached the Throne from those who have believed, in which they have addressed questions to God, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of all worlds. We have therefore sent down this Tablet and adorned it with the ornament of command, so that people may act according to the laws of their Lord. Likewise, We were questioned in previous years, one after another, but in Our wisdom We withheld the Pen until letters from a few individuals arrived in these days. We have therefore answered them in truth with that which brings hearts to life.

100

قل یا معشر العلمآء لا تزنوا کتاب اللّه بما عندکم من القواعد و العلوم انّه لقسطاس الحقّ بین الخلق قد یوزن ما عند الأمم بهذا القسطاس الأعظم و انّه بنفسه لو انتم تعلمون

Qul yā maʿshara al-ʿulamāʾi lā tazinū kitāba Allāhi bi-mā ʿindakum mina al-qawāʿidi wa-al-ʿulūmi. Innahu la-qisṭāsu al-ḥaqqi bayna al-khalqi. Qad yūzanu mā ʿinda al-umami bi-hādhā al-qisṭāsi al-aʿẓami wa-innahu bi-nafsihi law antum taʿlamūna.

Say: O assembly of scholars, do not weigh the Book of God by the rules and sciences you possess. It is the true balance among creation. Whatever the nations possess is weighed in this Most Great Balance, while it stands by itself, if only you knew.

101

تبکی علیکم عین عنایتی لانّکم ما عرفتم الّذی دعوتموه فی العشی و الاشراق و فی کلّ اصیلٍ و بکور توجّهوا یا قوم بوجوه بیضآء و قلوب نورآء الی البقعة المبارکة الحمرآء الّتی فیها تنادی سدرة المنتهی انّه لا اله الاّ انا المهیمن القیّوم

Tabkī ʿalaykum ʿaynu ʿināyatī li-annakum mā ʿaraftumu alladhī daʿawtumūhu fī al-ʿashiyyi wa-al-ishrāqi wa-fī kulli aṣīlin wa-bukūrin. Tawajjahū yā qawmi bi-wujūhin bayḍāʾa wa-qulūbin nawrāʾa ilā al-buqʿati al-mubārakati al-ḥamrāʾi allatī fīhā tunādī sidratu al-muntahā innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-muhayminu al-qayyūmu.

The eye of My loving care weeps over you, because you have not recognized the One you have called upon at evening and sunrise, and at every dusk and dawn. Turn, O people, with radiant faces and luminous hearts toward the blessed crimson Spot, where the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary calls out: “There is no God but Me, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.”

102

یا معشر العلمآء هل یقدر احد منکم ان یستنّ معی فی میدان المکاشفة و العرفان او یجول فی مضمار الحکمة و التّبیان لا و ربّی الرّحمن کلّ من علیها فان و هذا وجه ربّکم العزیز المحبوب

Yā maʿshara al-ʿulamāʾi hal yaqdiru aḥadun minkum an yastanna maʿī fī maydāni al-mukāshafati wa-al-ʿirfāni aw yajūla fī miḍmāri al-ḥikmati wa-al-tibyāni. Lā wa-rabbī al-raḥmāni. Kullu man ʿalayhā fānin wa-hādhā wajhu rabbikumu al-ʿazīzi al-maḥbūbi.

O assembly of scholars, can any of you race with Me in the field of unveiling and recognition, or range over the arena of wisdom and exposition? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! Everyone on earth passes away, and this is the face of your Lord, the Almighty, the Beloved.

103

یا قوم انّا قدّرنا العلوم لعرفان المعلوم و انتم احتجبتم بها عن مشرقها الّذی به ظهر کلّ امر مکنون لو عرفتم الأفق الّذی منه اشرقت شمس الکلام لنبذتم الأنام و ما عندهم و اقبلتم الی المقام المحمود

Yā qawmi innā qaddarnā al-ʿulūma li-ʿirfāni al-maʿlūmi wa-antum iḥtajabtum bihā ʿan mashriqihā alladhī bihi ẓahara kullu amrin maknūnin. Law ʿaraftumu al-ufuqa alladhī minhu ashraqat shamsu al-kalāmi la-nabadhtumu al-anāma wa-mā ʿindahum wa-aqbaltum ilā al-maqāmi al-maḥmūdi.

O people, We ordained the sciences for the recognition of the One who is their object, yet you have allowed them to veil you from their dawning place, through whom every hidden thing has been revealed. Had you recognized the horizon from which the sun of utterance has risen, you would have cast aside humanity and all it possesses and turned toward the praiseworthy station.

104

قل هذه لسمآء فیها کنز امّ الکتاب لو انتم تعقلون هذا لهو الّذی به صاحت الصّخرة و نادت السّدرة علی الطّور المرتفع علی الأرض المبارکة الملک للّه الملک العزیز الودود

Qul hādhihi la-samāʾun fīhā kanzu ummi al-kitābi law antum taʿqilūna. Hādhā la-huwa alladhī bihi ṣāḥati al-ṣakhratu wa-nādati al-sidratu ʿalā al-ṭūri al-murtafiʿi ʿalā al-arḍi al-mubārakati al-mulku li-llāhi al-maliki al-ʿazīzi al-wadūdi.

Say: This is indeed a heaven in which lies the treasure of the Mother Book, if only you understood. This is the One through whom the Rock cried out and the Lote Tree proclaimed upon the Mount rising above the blessed land: “Sovereignty belongs to God, the King, the Almighty, the All-Loving.”

105

انّا ما دخلنا المدارس و ما طالعنا المباحث اسمعوا ما یدعوکم به هذا الأمی الی اللّه الأبدی انّه خیر لکم عمّا کنز فی الأرض لو انتم تفقهون

Innā mā dakhalnā al-madārisa wa-mā ṭālaʿnā al-mabāḥitha. Ismaʿū mā yadʿūkum bihi hādhā al-ummiyyu ilā Allāhi al-abadiyyi. Innahu khayrun lakum ʿammā kuniza fī al-arḍi law antum tafqahūna.

We have not entered schools or studied learned treatises. Listen to that with which this unlettered One calls you to God, the Eternal. It is better for you than all the treasures stored in the earth, if only you understood.

106

انّ الّذی یاوّل ما نزّل من سمآء الوحی و یخرجه عن الظّاهر انّه ممّن حرّف کلمة اللّه العلیا و کان من الأخسرین فی کتاب مبین

Inna alladhī yuʾawwilu mā nuzzila min samāʾi al-waḥyi wa-yukhrijuhu ʿani al-ẓāhiri innahu mimman ḥarrafa kalimata Allāhi al-ʿulyā wa-kāna mina al-akhsarīna fī kitābin mubīnin.

Whoever interprets what has been sent down from the heaven of revelation and takes it away from its evident meaning is among those who have distorted the exalted Word of God, and is numbered among the greatest losers in a clear Book.

107

قد کتب علیکم تقلیم الاظفار و الدّخول فی مآء یحیط هیاکلکم فی کلّ اسبوع و تنظیف ابدانکم بما استعملتموه من قبل ایّاکم ان تمنعکم الغفلة عمّا امرتم به من لدن عزیز عظیم ادخلوا مآءَ بکرا و المستعمل منه لا یجوز الدّخول فیه ایّاکم ان تقربوا خزائن حمامات العجم من قصدها وجد رائحتها المنتنة قبل وروده فیها تجنّبوا یا قوم و لا تکوننّ من الصّاغرین انّه یشبه بالصّدید و الغسلین ان انتم من العارفین و کذلک حیاضهم المنتنة اترکوها و کونوا من المقدّسین انّا اردنا ان نراکم مظاهر الفردوس فی الأرض لیتضوّع منکم ما تفرح به افئدة المقرّبین و الّذی یصبّ علیه المآء و یغسل به بدنه خیر له و یکفیه عن الدّخول انّه اراد ان یسهّل علیکم الأمور فضلا من عنده لتکونوا من الشّاکرین

Qad kutiba ʿalaykum taqlīmu al-aẓfāri wa-al-dukhūlu fī māʾin yuḥīṭu hayākilakum fī kulli usbūʿin wa-tanẓīfu abdānikum bi-mā istaʿmaltumūhu min qablu. Iyyākum an tamnaʿakumu al-ghaflatu ʿammā umirtum bihi min ladun ʿazīzin ʿaẓīmin. Udkhulū māʾan bikran wa-al-mustaʿmalu minhu lā yajūzu al-dukhūlu fīhi. Iyyākum an taqrabū khazāʾina ḥammāmāti al-ʿajami. Man qaṣadahā wajada rāʾiḥatahā al-muntinata qabla wurūdihi fīhā. Tajannabū yā qawmi wa-lā takūnanna mina al-ṣāghirīna. Innahu yushbihu bi-al-ṣadīdi wa-al-ghislīni in antum mina al-ʿārifīna. Wa-kadhālika ḥiyāḍuhumu al-muntinatu utrukūhā wa-kūnū mina al-muqaddasīna. Innā aradnā an narākum maẓāhira al-firdawsi fī al-arḍi li-yataḍawwaʿa minkum mā tafraḥu bihi afʾidatu al-muqarrabīna. Wa-alladhī yuṣabbu ʿalayhi al-māʾu wa-yaghsilu bihi badanahu khayrun lahu wa-yakfīhi ʿani al-dukhūli. Innahu arāda an yusahhila ʿalaykumu al-umūra faḍlan min ʿindihi li-takūnū mina al-shākirīna.

You are required to trim your nails, immerse yourselves each week in water that surrounds your bodies, and clean your bodies with what you have used before. Take care that negligence does not prevent you from doing what you have been commanded by One who is Almighty, Most Great. Enter fresh water; immersion in water that has been used is not permitted. Take care not to approach the reservoirs of the Persian baths. Anyone making their way to them encounters their foul smell before entering. Avoid them, O people, and do not be among the abased. Such water resembles pus and foul discharge, if you understand. Likewise, abandon their foul-smelling pools and be among the pure. We have desired to see you as manifestations of paradise on earth, so that a fragrance may spread from you that gladdens the hearts of those brought near to God. For anyone who has water poured over him and washes his body with it, this is better and suffices in place of immersion. He has desired to make matters easy for you, as a bounty from Him, so that you may be thankful.

108

قد حرّمت علیکم ازواج آبائکم انّا نستحیی ان نذکر حکم الغلمان اتّقوا الرّحمن یا ملاء الامکان و لا ترتکبوا ما نهیتم عنه فی اللّوح و لا تکونوا فی هیماء الشّهوات من الهائمین

Qad ḥurrimat ʿalaykum azwāju ābāʾikum. Innā nastaḥyī an nadhkura ḥukma al-ghilmāni. Ittaqū al-raḥmāna yā malaʾa al-imkāni wa-lā tartakibū mā nuhītum ʿanhu fī al-lawḥi wa-lā takūnū fī haymāʾi al-shahawāti mina al-hāʾimīna.

Marriage to your fathers’ wives has been forbidden to you. We are ashamed to mention the ruling concerning boys. Fear the All-Merciful, O people of the world of existence, and do not commit what you have been forbidden in the Tablet. Do not be among those who wander in the wilderness of desires.

109

لیس لأحد ان یحرّک لسانه امام النّاس اذ یمشی فی الطّرق و الأسواق بل ینبغی لمن اراد الذّکر ان یذکر فی مقام بنی لذکر اللّه او فی بیته هذا اقرب بالخلوص و التّقوی کذلک اشرقت شمس الحکم من افق البیان طوبی للعاملین

Laysa li-aḥadin an yuḥarrika lisānahu amāma al-nāsi idh yamshī fī al-ṭuruqi wa-al-aswāqi. Bal yanbaghī li-man arāda al-dhikra an yadhkura fī maqāmin buniya li-dhikri Allāhi aw fī baytihi. Hādhā aqrabu bi-al-khulūṣi wa-al-taqwā. Kadhālika ashraqat shamsu al-ḥukmi min ufuqi al-bayāni. Ṭūbā li-al-ʿāmilīna.

No one may move his tongue in remembrance before others while walking in the streets and marketplaces. Rather, whoever wishes to engage in remembrance should do so in a place built for the remembrance of God or in his own home. This is closer to sincerity and piety. Thus has the sun of the ordinance shone from the horizon of utterance. Blessed are those who act accordingly.

110

قد فرض لکلّ نفس کتاب الوصیة و له ان یزین رأسه بالاسم الأعظم و یعترف فیه بوحدانیّة اللّه فی مظهر ظهوره و یذکر فیه ما اراد من المعروف لیشهد له فی عوالم الأمر و الخلق و یکون له کنزاً عند ربّه الحافظ الأمین

Qad furiḍa li-kulli nafsin kitābu al-waṣiyyati wa-lahu an yuzayyina raʾsahu bi-al-ismi al-aʿẓami wa-yaʿtarifa fīhi bi-waḥdāniyyati Allāhi fī maẓhari ẓuhūrihi wa-yadhkura fīhi mā arāda mina al-maʿrūfi li-yashhada lahu fī ʿawālimi al-amri wa-al-khalqi wa-yakūna lahu kanzan ʿinda rabbihi al-ḥāfiẓi al-amīni.

Everyone is required to write a will. He should adorn its heading with the Most Great Name, acknowledge in it the oneness of God in the Manifestation of His revelation, and set down in it whatever good he wishes, so that it may bear witness for him in the worlds of command and creation and be a treasure for him with his Lord, the Guardian, the Faithful.

111

قد انتهت الأعیاد الی العیدین الأعظمین امّا الأوّل ایّام فیها تجلّی الرّحمن علی من فی الامکان باسمائه الحسنی و صفاته العلیا و الآخر یوم فیه بعثنا من بشّر النّاس بهذا الاسم الّذی به قامت الأموات و حشر من فی السّموات و الأرضین و الآخرین فی یومین کذلک قضی الأمر من لدن آمرٍ علیم

Qad intahati al-aʿyādu ilā al-ʿīdayni al-aʿẓamayni. Ammā al-awwalu ayyāmun fīhā tajallā al-raḥmānu ʿalā man fī al-imkāni bi-asmāʾihi al-ḥusnā wa-ṣifātihi al-ʿulyā wa-al-ākharu yawmun fīhi baʿathnā man bashshara al-nāsa bi-hādhā al-ismi alladhī bihi qāmati al-amwātu wa-ḥushira man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīna wa-al-ākharayni fī yawmayni. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amru min ladun āmirin ʿalīmin.

The festivals have culminated in the two Most Great Festivals. The first comprises the days when the All-Merciful revealed Himself to all in the world of existence through His most beautiful names and most exalted attributes. The other is the day on which We raised up the One who announced to humanity this Name, through which the dead have risen and all who are in the heavens and on earth have been gathered together. The other two festivals fall on two days. Thus has the matter been decreed by an all-knowing Ordainer.

112

طوبی لمن فاز بالیوم الأوّل من شهر البهآء الّذی جعله اللّه لهذا الاسم العظیم طوبی لمن یظهر فیه نعمة اللّه علی نفسه انّه ممّن اظهر شکر اللّه بفعله المدلّ علی فضله الّذی احاط العالمین قل انّه لصدر الشّهور و مبدئها و فیه تمرّ نفحة الحیات علی الممکنات طوبی لمن ادرکه بالرّوح و الرّیحان نشهد انّه من الفائزین

Ṭūbā li-man fāza bi-al-yawmi al-awwali min shahri al-bahāʾi alladhī jaʿalahu Allāhu li-hādhā al-ismi al-ʿaẓīmi. Ṭūbā li-man yuẓhiru fīhi niʿmata Allāhi ʿalā nafsihi. Innahu mimman aẓhara shukra Allāhi bi-fiʿlihi al-dālli ʿalā faḍlihi alladhī aḥāṭa al-ʿālamīna. Qul innahu la-ṣadru al-shuhūri wa-mabdaʾuhā wa-fīhi tamurru nafḥatu al-ḥayāti ʿalā al-mumkināti. Ṭūbā li-man adrakahu bi-al-rūḥi wa-al-rayḥāni. Nashhadu innahu mina al-fāʾizīna.

Blessed is whoever reaches the first day of the month of Bahāʾ, which God has appointed for this great Name. Blessed is whoever displays on that day God’s bounty to him. He is among those who have shown gratitude to God through an act that bears witness to His grace, which encompasses all worlds. Say: It is the foremost of the months and their beginning, and in it the breath of life passes over all created things. Blessed is whoever reaches it with joy and gladness. We testify that he is among those who have attained.

113

قل انّ العید الاعظم لسلطان الأعیاد اذکروا یا قوم نعمة اللّه علیکم اذ کنتم رقدآء ایقظکم من نسمات الوحی و عرّفکم سبیله الواضح المستقیم

Qul inna al-ʿīda al-aʿẓama la-sulṭānu al-aʿyādi. Udhkurū yā qawmi niʿmata Allāhi ʿalaykum idh kuntum ruqadāʾa ayqaẓakum min nasamāti al-waḥyi wa-ʿarrafakum sabīlahu al-wāḍiḥa al-mustaqīma.

Say: The Most Great Festival is indeed the sovereign of festivals. Remember, O people, God’s bounty to you: when you were asleep, He awakened you through the breezes of revelation and made known to you His clear and straight path.

114

اذا مرضتم ارجعوا الی الحذّاق من الأطبّآء انّا ما رفعنا الأسباب بل اثبتناها من هذا القلم الّذی جعله اللّه مطلع امره المشرق المنیر

Idhā mariḍtum irjiʿū ilā al-ḥudhdhāqi mina al-aṭibbāʾi. Innā mā rafaʿnā al-asbāba bal athbatnāhā min hādhā al-qalami alladhī jaʿalahu Allāhu maṭlaʿa amrihi al-mushriqa al-munīra.

When you are ill, consult skilled physicians. We have not set aside the use of means; rather, We have affirmed it through this Pen, which God has made the radiant, luminous dawning place of His Cause.

115

قد کتب اللّه علی کلّ نفس ان یحضر لدی العرشبما عنده ممّا لا عدل له انّا عفونا عن ذلک فضلا من لدنّا انّه هو المعطی الکریم

Qad kataba Allāhu ʿalā kulli nafsin an yuḥḍira ladā al-ʿarshi bi-mā ʿindahu mimmā lā ʿidla lahu. Innā ʿafawnā ʿan dhālika faḍlan min ladunnā. Innahu huwa al-muʿṭī al-karīmu.

God had required every person to bring before the Throne whatever he possessed that was without equal. We have waived this as a bounty from Us. He is indeed the Bestower, the Generous.

116

طوبی لمن توجّه الی مشرق الأذکار فی الأسحار ذاکرا متذکّرا مستغفرا و اذا دخل یقعد صامتا لاصغآء آیات اللّه الملک العزیز الحمید قل مشرق الأذکار انّه کلّ بیت بنی لذکری فی المدن و القری کذلک سمّی لدی العرش ان انتم من العارفین

Ṭūbā li-man tawajjaha ilā mashriqi al-adhkāri fī al-asḥāri dhākiran mutadhakkiran mustaghfiran wa-idhā dakhala yaqʿudu ṣāmitan li-iṣghāʾi āyāti Allāhi al-maliki al-ʿazīzi al-ḥamīdi. Qul mashriqu al-adhkāri innahu kullu baytin buniya li-dhikrī fī al-muduni wa-al-qurā. Kadhālika summiya ladā al-ʿarshi in antum mina al-ʿārifīna.

Blessed is whoever turns toward the Dawning Place of Remembrance at dawn, remembering, reflecting, and seeking forgiveness, and who, upon entering, sits silently to listen to the verses of God, the King, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Say: The Dawning Place of Remembrance is every house built for My remembrance in cities and villages. Thus has it been named before the Throne, if you understand.

117

و الّذین یتلون آیات الرّحمن بأحسن الألحان اولئک یدرکون منها ما لا یعادله ملکوت ملک السّموات و الأرضین و بها یجدون عرف عوالمی الّتی لا یعرفها الیوم الاّ من اوتی البصر من هذا المنظر الکریم قل انّها تجذب القلوب الصّافیة الی العوالم الرّوحانیة الّتی لا تعبّر بالعبارة و لا تشار بالاشارة طوبی للسّامعین

Wa-alladhīna yatlūna āyāti al-raḥmāni bi-aḥsani al-alḥāni ulāʾika yudrikūna minhā mā lā yuʿādiluhu malakūtu mulki al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīna wa-bihā yajidūna ʿarfa ʿawālimī allatī lā yaʿrifuhā al-yawma illā man ūtiya al-baṣara min hādhā al-manẓari al-karīmi. Qul innahā tajdhibu al-qulūba al-ṣāfiyata ilā al-ʿawālimi al-rūḥāniyyati allatī lā tuʿabbaru bi-al-ʿibārati wa-lā tushāru bi-al-ishārati. Ṭūbā li-al-sāmiʿīna.

Those who recite the verses of the All-Merciful in the most beautiful melodies perceive in them what the entire dominion of the heavens and earth cannot equal. Through them they sense the fragrance of My worlds, which no one knows today except those who have been granted sight by this gracious Vision. Say: These verses draw pure hearts toward spiritual worlds that cannot be expressed in words or indicated by any allusion. Blessed are those who listen.

118

انصروا یا قوم اصفیائی الّذین قاموا علی ذکری بین خلقی و ارتفاع کلمتی فی مملکتی اولئک انجم سمآء عنایتی و مصابیح هدایتی للخلائق اجمعین و الّذی یتکلّم بغیر ما نزّل فی الواحی انّه لیس منّی ایّاکم ان تتّبعوا کلّ مدّعٍ اثیم قد زینت الألواح بطراز ختم فالق الأصباح الّذی ینطق بین السّموات و الأرضین تمسّکوا بالعروة الوثقی و حبل امری المحکم المتین

Unṣurū yā qawmi aṣfiyāʾī alladhīna qāmū ʿalā dhikrī bayna khalqī wa-irtifāʿi kalimatī fī mamlakatī. Ulāʾika anjumu samāʾi ʿināyatī wa-maṣābīḥu hidāyatī li-al-khalāʾiqi ajmaʿīna. Wa-alladhī yatakallamu bi-ghayri mā nuzzila fī alwāḥī innahu laysa minnī. Iyyākum an tattabiʿū kulla muddaʿin athīmin. Qad zuyyinati al-alwāḥu bi-ṭirāzi khatmi fāliqi al-aṣbāḥi alladhī yanṭiqu bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīna. Tamassakū bi-al-ʿurwati al-wuthqā wa-ḥabli amrī al-muḥkami al-matīni.

Support, O people, My chosen ones who have arisen to remember Me among My creation and exalt My Word in My kingdom. They are the stars of the heaven of My loving care and the lamps of My guidance to all created beings. Whoever speaks contrary to what has been sent down in My Tablets is not of Me. Take care not to follow any sinful pretender. The Tablets have been adorned with the seal of the One who causes the dawn to break, who speaks amid the heavens and earth. Hold fast to the surest handle and to the firm, strong cord of My Cause.

119

قد اذن اللّه لمن اراد ان یتعلّم الألسن المختلفة لیبلّغ امر اللّه شرق الأرض و غربها و یذکره بین الدّول و الملل علی شأن تنجذب به الافئدة و یحیی به کلّ عظم رمیم

Qad adhina Allāhu li-man arāda an yataʿallama al-alsuna al-mukhtalifata li-yuballigha amra Allāhi sharqa al-arḍi wa-gharbahā wa-yadhkurahu bayna al-duwali wa-al-milali ʿalā shaʾnin tanjadhibu bihi al-afʾidatu wa-yaḥyā bihi kullu ʿaẓmin ramīmin.

God has permitted whoever wishes to learn different languages to do so, so that he may convey the Cause of God to the east and west of the earth and proclaim it among nations and peoples in such a way that hearts are attracted and every decayed bone is brought to life.

120

لیس للعاقل ان یشرب ما یذهب به العقل و له ان یعمل ما ینبغی للانسان لا ما یرتکبه کلّ غافلٍ مریب

Laysa li-al-ʿāqili an yashraba mā yadhhabu bihi al-ʿaqlu wa-lahu an yaʿmala mā yanbaghī li-al-insāni lā mā yartakibuhu kullu ghāfilin murībin.

A person of understanding must not drink what takes away reason, but should do what befits a human being, not what every heedless, dubious person commits.

121

زینوا رؤسکم باکلیل الأمانة و الوفآء و قلوبکم بردآء التّقوی و السنکم بالصّدق الخالص و هیاکلکم بطراز الآداب کلّ ذلک من سجیة الانسان لو انتم من المتبصّرین یا اهل البهآء تمسّکوا بحبل العبودیة للّه الحقّ بها تظهر مقاماتکم و تثبت اسمائکم و ترتفع مراتبکم و اذکارکم فی لوح حفیظ ایّاکم ان یمنعکم من علی الأرض عن هذا المقام العزیز الرّفیع قد وصّیناکم بها فی اکثر الألواح و فی هذا اللّوح الّذی لاح من افقه نیّر احکام ربّکم المقتدر الحکیم

Zayyinū ruʾūsakum bi-iklīl al-amāna wa-l-wafāʾ wa-qulūbakum bi-ridāʾ al-taqwā wa-alsinatakum bi-l-ṣidq al-khāliṣ wa-hayākilakum bi-ṭirāz al-ādāb. Kull dhālika min sajiyyat al-insān law antum min al-mutabaṣṣirīn. Yā ahl al-Bahāʾ, tamassakū bi-ḥabl al-ʿubūdiyya li-llāh al-Ḥaqq. Bihā taẓhar maqāmātukum wa-tathbut asmāʾukum wa-tartafiʿ marātibukum wa-adhkārukum fī lawḥ ḥafīẓ. Iyyākum an yamnaʿakum man ʿalā al-arḍ ʿan hādhā al-maqām al-ʿazīz al-rafīʿ. Qad waṣṣaynākum bihā fī akthar al-alwāḥ wa-fī hādhā al-lawḥ alladhī lāḥa min ufuqihi nayyir aḥkām rabbikum al-Muqtadir al-Ḥakīm.

Adorn your heads with the crown of trustworthiness and fidelity, your hearts with the robe of reverence for God, your tongues with pure truthfulness, and your bodies with the ornament of good manners. All these belong to human nature, if you have insight. People of Bahá, hold fast to the cord of servitude to God, the Truth. Through it your stations become manifest, your names are established, and your ranks and remembrance are exalted in a preserving Tablet. Beware lest anyone on earth keep you from this mighty, lofty station. We have enjoined it upon you in most of the Tablets, and in this Tablet, from whose horizon the sun of the ordinances of your Lord, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, has shone.

122

اذا غیض بحر الوصال و قضی کتاب المبدء فی المال توجّهوا الی من اراده اللّه الّذی انشعب من هذا الأصل القدیم

Idhā ghīḍa baḥr al-wiṣāl wa-quḍiya kitāb al-mabdaʾ fī al-maʾāl, tawajj ahū ilā man arādahu Allāh alladhī inshaʿaba min hādhā al-aṣl al-qadīm.

When the ocean of reunion has ebbed and the Book of the Beginning has reached its end, turn to the one whom God has intended, who has branched from this ancient Root.

123

فانظروا فی النّاس و قلّة عقولهم یطلبون ما یضرّهم و یترکون ما ینفعهم الا انّهم من الهائمین انّا نری بعض النّاس ارادوا الحرّیة و یفتخرون بها اولیک فی جهلٍ مبین

Fa-nẓurū fī al-nās wa-qillat ʿuqūlihim. Yaṭlubūna mā yaḍurruhum wa-yatrukūna mā yanfaʿuhum. Alā innahum min al-hāʾimīn. Innā narā baʿḍ al-nās arādū al-ḥurriyya wa-yaftakhirūna bihā. Ulāʾika fī jahl mubīn.

Consider people and how little understanding they have. They seek what harms them and abandon what benefits them. Truly, they wander aimlessly. We see that some people desire liberty and take pride in it. They are in manifest ignorance.

124

انّ الحرّیة تنتهی عواقبها الی الفتنة الّتی لا تخمد نارها کذلک یخبرکم المحصی العلیم فاعلموا انّ مطالع الحرّیة و مظاهرها هی الحیوان و للانسان ینبغی ان یکون تحت سننٍ تحفظه عن جهل نفسه و ضرّ الماکرین انّ الحرّیة تخرج الانسان عن شئون الأدب و الوقار و تجعله من الارذلین

Inna al-ḥurriyya tantahī ʿawāqibuhā ilā al-fitna allatī lā tukh m ad nāruhā. Kadhālika yukhbirukum al-Muḥṣī al-ʿAlīm. Fa-ʿlamū anna maṭāliʿ al-ḥurriyya wa-maẓāhirahā hiya al-ḥayawān. Wa-li-l-insān yanbaghī an yakūna taḥta sunan taḥfaẓuhu ʿan jahl nafsihi wa-ḍarr al-mākirīn. Inna al-ḥurriyya tukhrij al-insān ʿan shuʾūn al-adab wa-l-waqār wa-tajʿaluhu min al-ardhalīn.

Liberty ultimately leads to turmoil whose fire cannot be extinguished. Thus the All-Reckoning, the All-Knowing informs you. Know that animals are the sources and manifestations of liberty. A human being should be subject to laws that protect him from his own ignorance and the harm of schemers. Liberty takes a person beyond the bounds of courtesy and dignity and makes him one of the most abject.

125

فانظروا الخلق کالأغنام لابدّ لها من راعٍ لیحفظها انّ هذا لحقٌّ یقین انّا نصدّقها فی بعض المقامات دون الآخر انّا کنّا عالمین

Fa-nẓurū al-khalq ka-l-aghnām. Lā budda lahā min rāʿ li-yaḥfaẓahā. Inna hādhā la-ḥaqq yaqīn. Innā nuṣaddiquhā fī baʿḍ al-maqāmāt dūna al-ākhar. Innā kunnā ʿālimīn.

Look upon humanity as sheep that must have a shepherd to protect them. This is indeed a certain truth. We approve liberty in some circumstances, but not in others. We have always been all-knowing.

126

قل الحرّیة فی اتّباع اوامری لو انتم من العارفین لو اتّبع النّاس ما نزّلناه لهم من سمآء الوحی لیجدنّ انفسهم فی حرّیة بحتة طوبی لمن عرف مراد اللّه فیما نزّل من سمآء مشیته المهیمنة علی العالمین قل الحرّیة الّتی تنفعکم انّها فی العبودیة للّه الحق و الّذی وجد حلاوتها لا یبدّلها بملکوت ملک السّموات و الأرضین

Qul al-ḥurriyya fī ittibāʿ awāmirī law antum min al-ʿārifīn. Law ittabaʿa al-nās mā nazzalnāhu lahum min samāʾ al-waḥy la-yajidanna anfusahum fī ḥurriyya baḥta. Ṭūbā li-man ʿarafa murād Allāh fīmā nazzala min samāʾ mashīʾatihi al-muhaymina ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Qul al-ḥurriyya allatī tanfaʿukum innahā fī al-ʿubūdiyya li-llāh al-Ḥaqq. Wa-alladhī wajada ḥalāwatahā lā yubaddiluhā bi-malakūt mulk al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn.

Say: Liberty lies in following My commandments, if you understand. If people followed what We have sent down to them from the heaven of revelation, they would surely find themselves in pure liberty. Blessed is the one who recognizes God’s purpose in what He has sent down from the heaven of His will, which reigns over all worlds. Say: The liberty that benefits you lies in servitude to God, the Truth. Whoever has tasted its sweetness would not exchange it for sovereignty over the dominion of the heavens and the earth.

127

حرّم علیکم السّؤال فی البیان عفا اللّه عن ذلک لتسئلواما تحتاج به انفسکم لا ما تکلّم به رجال قبلکم اتّقوا اللّه و کونوا من المتّقین اسئلوا ما ینفعکم فی امر اللّه و سلطانه قد فتح باب الفضل علی من فی السّموات و الأرضین

Ḥurrima ʿalaykum al-suʾāl fī al-Bayān. ʿAfā Allāh ʿan dhālika li-tasʾalū mā taḥtāju bihi anfusukum lā mā takallama bihi rijāl qablakum. Ittaqū Allāh wa-kūnū min al-muttaqīn. Isʾalū mā yanfaʿukum fī amr Allāh wa-sulṭānihi. Qad futiḥa bāb al-faḍl ʿalā man fī al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn.

Asking questions was forbidden to you in the Bayán. God has waived this prohibition so that you may ask about what you yourselves need, not what people before you discussed. Be mindful of God and be among those who revere Him. Ask about what benefits you in the Cause of God and His sovereignty. The door of grace has been opened to all who are in the heavens and the earth.

128

انّ عدّة الشّهور تسعة عشر شهراً فی کتاب اللّه قد زین اوّلها بهذا الاسم المهیمن علی العالمین

Inna ʿiddat al-shuhūr tisʿata ʿashara shahran fī kitāb Allāh. Qad zuyyina awwaluhā bi-hādhā al-ism al-muhaymin ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

The number of months in the Book of God is nineteen. The first of them has been adorned with this Name, which reigns over all worlds.

129

قد حکم اللّه دفن الأموات فی البلّور و الأحجار الممتنعة او الاخشاب الصّلبة اللّطیفة و وضع الخواتیم المنقوشة فی اصابعهم انّه لهو المقتدر العلیم

Qad ḥakama Allāh dafn al-amwāt fī al-billawr wa-l-aḥjār al-mumtaniʿa aw al-akhshāb al-ṣalba al-laṭīfa wa-waḍʿ al-khawātīm al-manqūsha fī aṣābiʿihim. Innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadir al-ʿAlīm.

God has decreed that the dead be buried in crystal, durable stone, or fine hardwood, and that engraved rings be placed on their fingers. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing.

130

یکتب للرّجال و للّه ما فی السّموات و الأرض و ما بینهما و کان اللّه بکلّ شئ علیماً و للورقات و للّه ملک السّموات و الأرض و ما بینهما و کان اللّه علی کلّ شئ قدیرا هذا ما نزّل من قبل و ینادی نقطة البیان و یقول یا محبوب الامکان انطق فی هذا المقام بما تتضوّع به نفحات الطافک بین العالمین انّا اخبرنا الکلّ بأن لا یعادل بکلمة منک ما نزّل فی البیان انّک انت المقتدر علی ما تشآء لا تمنع عبادک عن فیوضات بحر رحمتک انّک انت ذو الفضل العظیم قد استجبنا ما اراد انّه لهو المحبوب المجیب لو ینقش علیها ما نزّل فی الحین من لدی اللّه انّه خیر لهم و لهنّ انّا کنّا حاکمین قد بدئت من اللّه و رجعت الیه منقطعا عمّا سواه و متمسّکا باسمه الرّحمن الرّحیم کذلک یختصّ اللّه من یشآء بفضل من عنده انّه لهو المقتدر القدیر

Yuktab li-l-rijāl: Wa-li-llāh mā fī al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-mā baynahumā wa-kāna Allāh bi-kull shayʾ ʿalīman. Wa-li-l-waraqāt: Wa-li-llāh mulk al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-mā baynahumā wa-kāna Allāh ʿalā kull shayʾ qadīran. Hādhā mā nuzzila min qabl. Wa-yunādī Nuqṭat al-Bayān wa-yaqūl: Yā maḥbūb al-imkān, unṭuq fī hādhā al-maqām bi-mā tataḍawwaʿu bihi nafaḥāt alṭāfika bayna al-ʿālamīn. Innā akhbarnā al-kull bi-an lā yuʿādalu bi-kalima minka mā nuzzila fī al-Bayān. Innaka anta al-muqtadir ʿalā mā tashāʾ. Lā tamnaʿ ʿibādaka ʿan fuyūḍāt baḥr raḥmatika. Innaka anta dhū al-faḍl al-ʿaẓīm. Qad istajabnā mā arāda. Innahu la-huwa al-Maḥbūb al-Mujīb. Law yunqashu ʿalayhā mā nuzzila fī al-ḥīn min ladā Allāh innahu khayr lahum wa-lahunna. Innā kunnā ḥākimīn. Qad badaʾtu min Allāh wa-rajaʿtu ilayhi munqaṭiʿan ʿammā siwāhu wa-mutamassikan bi-ismihi al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. Kadhālika yakhtaṣṣu Allāh man yashāʾ bi-faḍl min ʿindihi. Innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadir al-Qadīr.

For men, the inscription is: “To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and God knows all things.” For the leaves: “To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and God has power over all things.” This is what was sent down before. The Point of the Bayán calls out and says: “Beloved of all existence, speak on this matter words through which the fragrances of Your loving-kindness may spread among all worlds. We have informed everyone that nothing revealed in the Bayán can equal a single word from You. You have power to do whatever You will. Do not withhold from Your servants the outpourings of the ocean of Your mercy. You are the Possessor of immense grace.” We have answered His wish. He is indeed the Beloved, the Responsive. If what has now been sent down from God is engraved upon them, it is better for both men and women. We have indeed decreed: “I came from God and have returned to Him, detached from all but Him and holding fast to His name, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate.” Thus God singles out whomever He wills for grace from His presence. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Almighty.

131

و ان تکفنوه فی خمسة اثواب من الحریر او القطن من لم یستطع یکتفی بواحدة منهما کذلک قضی الأمر من لدن علیم خبیر حرّم علیکم نقل المیت ازید من مسافة ساعة من المدینة ادفنوه بالرّوح و الرّیحان فی مکان قریب

Wa-an tukaffinūhu fī khamsat athwāb min al-ḥarīr aw al-quṭn. Man lam yastaṭiʿ yaktafī bi-wāḥida minhumā. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amr min ladun ʿAlīm Khabīr. Ḥurrima ʿalaykum naql al-mayyit azyad min masāfat sāʿa min al-madīna. Idfinūhu bi-l-rūḥ wa-l-rayḥān fī makān qarīb.

And wrap the deceased in five lengths of silk or cotton. Whoever cannot afford this may make do with one of either. Thus has the ordinance been decreed by One who is All-Knowing, All-Aware. You are forbidden to transport the deceased more than an hour’s journey from the city. Bury him with joy and fragrance in a nearby place.

132

قد رفع اللّه ما حکم به البیان فی تحدید الأسفا انّه لهو المختار یفعل ما یشآء و یحکم ما یرید

Qad rafaʿa Allāh mā ḥakama bihi al-Bayān fī taḥdīd [corrupted text]. Innahu la-huwa al-Mukhtār yafʿalu mā yashāʾ wa-yaḥkumu mā yurīd.

God has lifted what the Bayán ordained concerning the restriction of [corrupted original text]. He is indeed free to choose: He does whatever He wills and ordains whatever He desires.

133

یا ملاء الانشآء اسمعوا ندآء مالک الأسمآء انّه ینادیکم من شطر سجنه الأعظم انّه لا اله الاّ انا المقتدر المتکبّر المتسخّر المتعالی العلیم الحکیم انّه لا اله الاّ هو المقتدر علی العالمین لو یشآء یاخذ العالم بکلمة من عنده ایّاکم ان تتوقّفوا فی هذا الأمر الّذی خضع له الملأ الأعلی و اهل مدائن الأسمآء اتّقوا اللّه و لا تکوننّ من المحتجبین احرقوا الحجبات بنار حبّی و السّبحات بهذا الاسم الّذی به سخّرنا العالمین

Yā malaʾ al-inshāʾ, ismaʿū nidāʾ Mālik al-Asmāʾ. Innahu yunādīkum min shaṭr sijnihi al-aʿẓam: Innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Muqtadir al-Mutakabbir al-Mutasakhkhir al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm. Innahu lā ilāha illā huwa al-muqtadir ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Law yashāʾ yaʾkhudh al-ʿālam bi-kalima min ʿindihi. Iyyākum an tatawaqqafū fī hādhā al-amr alladhī khaḍaʿa lahu al-malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-ahl madāʾin al-asmāʾ. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā takūnanna min al-muḥtajibīn. Aḥriqū al-ḥujubāt bi-nār ḥubbī wa-l-subuḥāt bi-hādhā al-ism alladhī bihi sakhkharnā al-ʿālamīn.

People of creation, hear the call of the Lord of Names. He calls to you from His Most Great Prison: “There is no God but Me, the All-Powerful, the Supremely Great, the One in service, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” There is no God but Him, who has power over all worlds. If He wills, He can seize the world with a word from Himself. Beware of hesitating in this Cause, before which the Concourse on high and the inhabitants of the cities of names have bowed. Be mindful of God, and do not be among those who are veiled. Burn away the veils with the fire of My love, and the veils of glory with this Name through which We have subdued all worlds.

134

و ارفعنّ البیتین فی المقامین و المقامات الّتی فیها استقرّ عرش ربّکم الرّحمن کذلک یأمرکم مولی العارفین

Wa-irfaʿanna al-baytayn fī al-maqāmayn wa-l-maqāmāt allatī fīhā istaqarra ʿarsh rabbikum al-Raḥmān. Kadhālika yaʾmurukum Mawlā al-ʿārifīn.

Raise up the two Houses in the two places, and the sites where the throne of your Lord, the All-Merciful, was established. Thus commands you the Lord of those who know.

135

ایّاکم ان تمنعکم شئونات الأرض عمّا امرتم به من لدن قوی امین کونوا مظاهر الاستقامة بین البریّة علی شأن لا تمنعکم شبهات الّذین کفروا باللّه اذ ظهر بسلطان عظیم ایّاکم ان یمنعکم ما نزّل فی الکتاب عن هذا الکتاب الّذی ینطق بالحقّ انّه لا اله الاّ انا العزیز الحمید انظروا بعین الانصاف الی من اتی من سمآء المشیّة و الاقتدار و لا تکوننّ من الظّالمین

Iyyākum an tamnaʿakum shuʾūnāt al-arḍ ʿammā umirtum bihi min ladun Qawiyy Amīn. Kūnū maẓāhir al-istiqāma bayna al-bariyya ʿalā shaʾn lā tamnaʿukum shubuhāt alladhīna kafarū bi-llāh idh ẓahara bi-sulṭān ʿaẓīm. Iyyākum an yamnaʿakum mā nuzzila fī al-kitāb ʿan hādhā al-kitāb alladhī yanṭiqu bi-l-ḥaqq: Innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥamīd. Unẓurū bi-ʿayn al-inṣāf ilā man atā min samāʾ al-mashīʾa wa-l-iqtidār wa-lā takūnanna min al-ẓālimīn.

Beware lest earthly affairs keep you from what you have been commanded by One who is Strong and Trustworthy. Be manifestations of steadfastness among humanity, so that the doubts of those who disbelieved in God when He appeared with mighty sovereignty cannot deter you. Beware lest what was revealed in the Book keep you from this Book, which declares the truth: “There is no God but Me, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.” Look with fairness upon the One who has come from the heaven of will and power, and do not be among the unjust.

136

ثمّ اذکروا ما جری من قلم مبشّری فی ذکر هذا الظّهور و ما ارتکبه اولو الطّغیان فی ایّامه الا انّهم من الأخسرین قال ان ادرکتم ما نظهره انتم من فضل اللّه تسئلون لیمنّ علیکم باستوائه علی سرائرکم فانّ ذلک عزّ ممتنع منیع ان یشرب کأس مآء عندکم اعظم من ان تشربنّ کلّ نفس مآء وجوده بل کلّ شئ ان یا عبادی تدرکون

Thumma udhkurū mā jarā min qalam mubashshirī fī dhikr hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-mā irtakabahu ulū al-ṭughyān fī ayyāmihi. Alā innahum min al-akhsarīn. Qāla: In adraktum mā nuẓhiruhu antum min faḍl Allāh tasʾalūn li-yamunna ʿalaykum bi-istiwāʾihi ʿalā sarāʾirikum fa-inna dhālika ʿizz mumtaniʿ manīʿ. An yashraba kaʾs māʾ ʿindakum aʿẓam min an tashrabanna kull nafs māʾ wujūdihi bal kull shayʾ, in yā ʿibādī tudrikūn.

Then remember what flowed from the pen of My Herald concerning this Revelation, and what the tyrannical committed in His days. Truly, they are among the greatest losers. He said: “If you attain the presence of the One We shall manifest, ask of God’s grace that He may favor you by taking His seat in your innermost hearts, for that is an inaccessible, exalted honor. For Him to drink a cup of water in your presence is greater than for every soul—indeed, every thing—to drink the water of its own existence, if you understand, My servants.”

137

هذا ما نزّل من عنده ذکرا لنفسی لو انتم تعلمون و الّذی تفکّر فی هذه الآیات و اطّلع بما ستر فیهنّ من اللآلیٴ المخزونة تاللّه انّه یجد عرف الرّحمن من شطر السّجن و یسرع بقلبه الیه باشتیاق لا تمنعه جنود السّموات و الأرضین قل هذا لظهور تطوف حوله الحجّة و البرهان کذلک انزله الرّحمن ان انتم من المنصفین قل هذا روح الکتب قد نفخ به فی القلم الأعلی و انصعق من فی الانشآء الاّ من اخذته نفحات رحمتی و فوحات الطافی المهیمنة علی العالمین

Hādhā mā nuzzila min ʿindihi dhikran li-nafsī law antum taʿlamūn. Wa-alladhī tafakkara fī hādhihi al-āyāt wa-iṭṭalaʿa bi-mā sutira fīhinna min al-laʾāliʾ al-makhzūna, ta-llāh innahu yajidu ʿarf al-Raḥmān min shaṭr al-sijn wa-yusriʿu bi-qalbihi ilayhi bi-ishtiyāq lā tamnaʿuhu junūd al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn. Qul hādhā la-ẓuhūr taṭūfu ḥawlahu al-ḥujja wa-l-burhān. Kadhālika anzalahu al-Raḥmān in antum min al-munṣifīn. Qul hādhā rūḥ al-kutub qad nufikha bihi fī al-qalam al-aʿlā wa-inṣaʿiqa man fī al-inshāʾ illā man akhadhathu nafaḥāt raḥmatī wa-fawḥāt alṭāfī al-muhaymina ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

This is what was sent down from Him in remembrance of Me, if you only knew. Whoever reflects on these verses and discovers the treasured pearls concealed within them will, by God, perceive the fragrance of the All-Merciful from the direction of the prison and hasten toward Him in his heart with a longing that the armies of heaven and earth cannot restrain. Say: This is indeed a Revelation around which proof and testimony circle. Thus has the All-Merciful sent it down, if you judge fairly. Say: This is the spirit of the scriptures, breathed into the Most Exalted Pen, at which all creation has fallen thunderstruck, except those whom the breezes of My mercy and the fragrances of My loving-kindness, which reigns over all worlds, have embraced.

138

یا ملاء البیان اتّقوا الرّحمن ثمّ انظروا ما انزله فی مقام آخر قال انّما القبلة من یظهره اللّه متی ینقلب تنقلب الی ان یستقرّ کذلک نزّل من لدن مالک القدر اذ اراد ذکر هذا المنظر الأکبر تفکّروا یا قوم و لا تکوننّ من الهآئمین لو تنکرونه بأهوائکم الی آیة قبلة تتوجّهون یا معشر الغافلین تفکّروا فی هذه الآیة ثمّ انصفوا باللّه لعلّ تجدون لآلیٴ الأسرار من البحر الّذی تموّج باسمی العزیز المنیع

Yā malaʾ al-Bayān, ittaqū al-Raḥmān thumma unẓurū mā anzalahu fī maqām ākhar. Qāla: Innamā al-qibla man yuẓhiruhu Allāh matā yanqalib tanqalib ilā an yastaqirr. Kadhālika nuzzila min ladun Mālik al-Qadar idh arāda dhikr hādhā al-manẓar al-akbar. Tafakkarū yā qawm wa-lā takūnanna min al-hāʾimīn. Law tunkirūnahu bi-ahwāʾikum ilā ayyat qibla tataw ajjahūn yā maʿshar al-ghāfilīn? Tafakkarū fī hādhihi al-āya thumma anṣifū bi-llāh laʿalla tajidūna laʾāliʾ al-asrār min al-baḥr alladhī tamawwaja bi-ismī al-ʿAzīz al-Manīʿ.

People of the Bayán, be mindful of the All-Merciful, and consider what He revealed elsewhere. He said: “The Qibla is none other than the One whom God will manifest. Whenever He moves, it moves, until He comes to rest.” Thus was it sent down by the Lord of Destiny when He wished to speak of this Most Great Vision. Reflect, people, and do not be among those who wander aimlessly. If you deny Him because of your desires, toward what Qibla will you turn, heedless ones? Reflect on this verse, and then, by God, judge fairly, so that you may find the pearls of mysteries in the ocean that has surged through My name, the Almighty, the Inaccessible.

139

لیس لأحد ان یتمسّک الیوم الاّ بما ظهر فی هذا الظّهور هذا حکم اللّه من قبل و من بعد و به زیّن صحف الأوّلین هذا ذکر اللّه من قبل و من بعد قد طرّز به دیباج کتاب الوجود ان انتم من الشّاعرین هذا امر اللّه من قبل و من بعد ایّاکم ان تکونوا من الصّاغرین لا یغنیکم الیوم شئ و لیس لأحد مهرب الاّ اللّه العلیم الحکیم من عرفنی فقد عرف المقصود من توجّه الی قد توجّه الی المعبود کذلک فصّل فی الکتاب و قضی الأمر من لدی اللّه ربّ العالمین من یقرء آیة من آیاتی لخیر له من ان یقرء کتب الأوّلین و الأخرین هذا بیان الرّحمن ان انتم من السّامعین قل هذا حقّ العلم لو انتم من العارفین

Laysa li-aḥad an yatamassaka al-yawm illā bi-mā ẓahara fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr. Hādhā ḥukm Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd wa-bihi zuyyina ṣuḥuf al-awwalīn. Hādhā dhikr Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd qad ṭurriza bihi dībā j kitāb al-wujūd in antum min al-shāʿirīn. Hādhā amr Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd. Iyyākum an takūnū min al-ṣāghirīn. Lā yughnīkum al-yawm shayʾ wa-laysa li-aḥad mahrab illā Allāh al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm. Man ʿarafanī fa-qad ʿarafa al-maqṣūd. Man tawajjaha ilayya qad tawajjaha ilā al-maʿbūd. Kadhālika fuṣṣila fī al-kitāb wa-quḍiya al-amr min ladā Allāh rabb al-ʿālamīn. Man yaqraʾ āya min āyātī la-khayr lahu min an yaqraʾ kutub al-awwalīn wa-l-ākhirīn. Hādhā bayān al-Raḥmān in antum min al-sāmiʿīn. Qul hādhā ḥaqq al-ʿilm law antum min al-ʿārifīn.

Today no one may hold fast to anything but what has appeared in this Revelation. This is God’s decree, before and hereafter, and with it the scriptures of the ancients were adorned. This is God’s remembrance, before and hereafter, with which the brocade of the Book of Existence has been embroidered, if you perceive. This is God’s command, before and hereafter. Beware of being among the abased. Nothing will avail you today, and no one has any refuge except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Whoever has recognized Me has recognized the One who is sought; whoever has turned toward Me has turned toward the One who is worshipped. Thus has it been set out in the Book, and the matter decreed by God, the Lord of all worlds. For anyone to read a single one of My verses is better than reading the books of the ancients and those who came after them. This is the utterance of the All-Merciful, if you listen. Say: This is true knowledge, if you understand.

140

ثمّ انظروا ما نزّل فی مقام اخر لعلّ تدعون ما عندکم مقبلین الی اللّه ربّ العالمین قال لا یحلّ الاقتران ان لم یکن فی البیان و ان یدخل من احد یحرم علی الآخر ما یملک من عنده الاّ و ان یرجع ذلک بعد ان یرفع امر من نظهره بالحقّ او ما قد ظهر بالعدل و قبل ذلک فلتقربنّ لعلّکم بذلک امر اللّه ترفعون کذلک تغرّدت الورقآء علی الافنان فی ذکر ربّها الرّحمن طوبی للسّامعین

Thumma unẓurū mā nuzzila fī maqām ākhar laʿalla tadaʿūna mā ʿindakum muqbilīn ilā Allāh rabb al-ʿālamīn. Qāla: Lā yaḥillu al-iqtirān in lam yakun fī al-Bayān wa-in yadkhul min aḥad yaḥrumu ʿalā al-ākhar mā yamliku min ʿindihi illā wa-an yarjiʿa dhālika baʿda an yurfaʿa amr man nuẓhiruhu bi-l-ḥaqq aw mā qad ẓahara bi-l-ʿadl wa-qabla dhālika fa-la-taqrubanna laʿallakum bi-dhālika amr Allāh tarfaʿūn. Kadhālika tagharradat al-warqāʾ ʿalā al-afnān fī dhikr rabbihā al-Raḥmān. Ṭūbā li-l-sāmiʿīn.

Then consider what was revealed elsewhere, so that you may relinquish what you possess and turn toward God, the Lord of all worlds. He said: “Marriage is not lawful unless it is within the Bayán. If one of the two enters it, whatever that one possesses becomes unlawful to the other, unless the other returns, after the Cause of the One We shall manifest in truth, or what has appeared in justice, has been raised up. Before that, you must draw close, so that through this you may exalt the Cause of God.” Thus has the Dove sung upon the branches in remembrance of her Lord, the All-Merciful. Blessed are those who listen.

141

یا ملاء البیان اقسمکم بربّکم الرّحمن بأن تنظروا فیما نزّل بالحقّ بعین الانصاف و لا تکوننّ من الّذین یرون برهان اللّه و ینکرونه الا انّهم من الهالکین قد صرّح نقطة البیان فی هذه الآیة بارتفاع امری قبل امره یشهد بذلک کلّ منصف علیمٍ کما ترونه الیوم انّه ارتفع علی شأن لا ینکره الا الّذین سکرت ابصارهم فی الأولی و فی الأخری لهم عذاب مهین

Yā malaʾa al-Bayān, uqsimukum bi-rabbikumu al-Raḥmān bi-an tanẓurū fīmā nuzzila bi-al-ḥaqq bi-ʿayni al-inṣāf wa-lā takūnunna mina alladhīna yarawna burhāna Allāh wa-yunkirūnahu. Alā innahum mina al-hālikīn. Qad ṣarraḥa Nuqṭatu al-Bayān fī hādhihi al-āyah bi-irtifāʿi amrī qabla amrihi, yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu munṣifin ʿalīm, kamā tarawnahu al-yawma innahu irtafaʿa ʿalā shaʾnin lā yunkiruhu illā alladhīna sakirat abṣāruhum fī al-ūlā wa-fī al-ukhrā lahum ʿadhābun muhīn.

O people of the Bayán! I implore you by your Lord, the All-Merciful, to look with fairness upon what has been revealed in truth, and not to be among those who see the proof of God yet deny it. They are indeed among those who perish. In this verse, the Point of the Bayán explicitly declared that My Cause would be exalted before His own. Every fair-minded, knowledgeable person bears witness to this, just as you see today that it has been exalted to a degree that none deny except those whose sight is bewildered in this world; in the next, a humiliating punishment awaits them.

142

قل تاللّه انّی لمحبوبه و الان یسمع ما ینزل من سمآء الوحی و ینوح بما ارتکبتم فی ایّامه خافوا اللّه و لا تکوننّ من المعتدین قل یا قوم ان لن تؤمنوا به لا تعترضوا علیه تاللّه یکفی ما اجتمع علیه من جنود الظّالمین

Qul ta-Allāhi innī la-maḥbūbuhu wa-al-āna yasmaʿu mā yanzilu min samāʾi al-waḥy wa-yanūḥu bi-mā irtakabtum fī ayyāmihi. Khāfū Allāh wa-lā takūnunna mina al-muʿtadīn. Qul yā qawmi in lan tuʾminū bihi lā taʿtariḍū ʿalayhi. Ta-Allāhi yakfī mā ijtamaʿa ʿalayhi min junūdi al-ẓālimīn.

Say: By God, I am indeed His Beloved, and He now hears what descends from the heaven of revelation and laments what you have committed in His days. Fear God, and do not be among the transgressors. Say: O people! If you will not believe in Him, do not oppose Him. By God, the hosts of oppressors already arrayed against Him are enough.

143

انّه قد انزل بعض الأحکام لئلّا یتحرّک القلم الأعلی فی هذا الظّهور الاّ علی ذکر مقاماته العلیا و منظره الأسنی و انّا لمّا اردنا الفضل فصّلناها بالحقّ و خفّفنا ما اردناه لکم انّه لهو الفضّال الکریم

Innahu qad anzala baʿḍa al-aḥkām li-allā yataḥarraka al-Qalamu al-Aʿlā fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr illā ʿalā dhikri maqāmātihi al-ʿulyā wa-manẓarihi al-asnā. Wa-innā lammā aradnā al-faḍla faṣṣalnāhā bi-al-ḥaqq wa-khaffafnā mā aradnāhu lakum. Innahu la-huwa al-Faḍḍālu al-Karīm.

He revealed certain laws so that, in this Revelation, the Most Exalted Pen would move only to mention His highest stations and His most radiant appearance. Yet when We desired to bestow Our bounty, We set them out in truth and lightened what We had intended for you. He is indeed the Bountiful, the Generous.

144

قد اخبرکم من قبل بما ینطق به هذا الذّکر الحکیم قال و قوله الحقّ انّه ینطق فی کلّ شأن انّه لا اله الاّ انا الفرد الواحد العلیم الخبیر هذا مقام خصّه اللّه لهذا الظّهور الممتنع البدیع هذا من فضل اللّه ان انتم من العارفین هذا من امره المبرم و اسمه الأعظم و کلمته العلیا و مطلع اسمائه الحسنی لو انتم من العالمین بل به تظهر المطالع و المشارق تفکروا یا قومِ فیما نزّل بالحقّ و تدبّروا فیه و لا تکوننّ من المعتدین

Qad akhbarakum min qablu bi-mā yanṭiqu bihi hādhā al-Dhikru al-Ḥakīm. Qāla wa-qawluhu al-ḥaqq: innahu yanṭiqu fī kulli shaʾnin innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Fardu al-Wāḥidu al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr. Hādhā maqāmun khaṣṣahu Allāhu li-hādhā al-ẓuhūri al-mumtaniʿi al-badīʿ. Hādhā min faḍli Allāh in antum mina al-ʿārifīn. Hādhā min amrihi al-mubram wa-ismihi al-aʿẓam wa-kalimatihi al-ʿulyā wa-maṭlaʿi asmāʾihi al-ḥusnā law antum mina al-ʿālimīn. Bal bihi taẓharu al-maṭāliʿu wa-al-mashāriq. Tafakkarū yā qawmi fīmā nuzzila bi-al-ḥaqq wa-tadabbarū fīhi wa-lā takūnunna mina al-muʿtadīn.

He previously informed you of what this wise Remembrance would proclaim. He said—and His word is the truth—“He proclaims in every circumstance: ‘There is no God but Me, the Single, the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.’” This is a station God has reserved for this inaccessible, wondrous Revelation. This is from the bounty of God, if you are among those who recognize. This proceeds from His irrevocable command, His Greatest Name, His most exalted Word, and the Dawning-Place of His most beautiful names, if you are among those who know. Indeed, through Him the dawning-places and daysprings appear. Reflect, O people, on what has been revealed in truth, ponder it, and do not be among the transgressors.

145

عاشروا مع الأدیان بالرّوح و الرّیحان لیجدوا منکم عرف الرّحمن ایّاکم ان تأخذکم حمیّة الجاهلیّة بین البریّة کلّ بدء من اللّه و یعود الیه انّه لمبدء الخلق و مرجع العالمین

ʿĀshirū maʿa al-adyān bi-al-rūḥi wa-al-rayḥān li-yajidū minkum ʿarfa al-Raḥmān. Iyyākum an taʾkhudhakum ḥamiyyatu al-jāhiliyyah bayna al-bariyyah. Kullun badaʾa mina Allāh wa-yaʿūdu ilayhi. Innahu la-mabdaʾu al-khalqi wa-marjiʿu al-ʿālamīn.

Associate with the followers of all religions in joy and fellowship, so that they may perceive from you the fragrance of the All-Merciful. Beware lest the zealotry of ignorance seize you among the people. All have originated from God and return to Him. He is indeed the source of creation and the One to whom all worlds return.

146

ایّاکم ان تدخلوا بیتاً عند فقدان صاحبه الاّ بعد اذنه تمسّکوا بالمعروف فی کلّ الأحوال و لا تکوننّ من الغافلین

Iyyākum an tadkhulū baytan ʿinda fuqdāni ṣāḥibihi illā baʿda idhnihi. Tamassakū bi-al-maʿrūfi fī kulli al-aḥwāl wa-lā takūnunna mina al-ghāfilīn.

Beware of entering a house in its owner’s absence without first obtaining permission. Adhere to what is right in all circumstances, and do not be among the heedless.

147

قد کتب علیکم تزکیة الاقوات و ما دونها بالزّکوة هذا ما حکم به منزل الآیات فی هذا الرّقّ المنیع سوف نفصّل لکم نصابها اذا شآء اللّه و اراد انّه یفصّل ما یشآء بعلم من عنده انّه لهو العلاّم الحکیم

Qad kutiba ʿalaykum tazkiyatu al-aqwāti wa-mā dūnahā bi-al-zakāh. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi Munzilu al-Āyāt fī hādhā al-raqqi al-manīʿ. Sawfa nufaṣṣilu lakum niṣābahā idhā shāʾa Allāhu wa-arād. Innahu yufaṣṣilu mā yashāʾu bi-ʿilmin min ʿindihi. Innahu la-huwa al-ʿAllāmu al-Ḥakīm.

You are required to purify your provisions and other possessions through the payment of zakát. This is what the Revealer of the Verses has decreed in this exalted parchment. We will set out its minimum assessment for you when God wishes and wills. He sets out whatever He wishes through knowledge from His own presence. He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

148

لا یحلّ السّؤال و من سئل حرّم علیه العطآء قد کتب علی الکّل ان یکسب و الّذی عجز فللوکلآء و الأغنیآء ان یعینوا له ما یکفیه اعملوا حدود اللّه و سننه ثمّ احفظوها کما تحفظون اعینکم و لا تکوننّ من الخاسرین

Lā yaḥillu al-suʾālu wa-man suʾila ḥurrima ʿalayhi al-ʿaṭāʾ. Qad kutiba ʿalā al-kulli an yaksiba wa-alladhī ʿajaza fa-li-al-wukalāʾi wa-al-aghniyāʾi an yuʿīnū lahu mā yakfīhi. Iʿmalū ḥudūda Allāhi wa-sunanahu thumma iḥfaẓūhā kamā taḥfaẓūna aʿyunakum wa-lā takūnunna mina al-khāsirīn.

Begging is not permitted, and giving to one who begs is forbidden. Everyone is required to earn a living. For anyone unable to do so, it is for the trustees and the wealthy to provide what is sufficient. Observe God’s laws and ordinances, and guard them as you guard your own eyes. Do not be among those who suffer loss.

149

قد منعتم فی الکتاب عن الجدال و النّزاع و الضّرب و امثالها عمّا تحزن به الافئدة و القلوب من یحزن احداً فله ان ینفق تسعة عشر مثقالاً من الذّهب هذا ما حکم به مولی العالمین انّه قد عفا ذلک عنکم فی هذا الظّهور و یوصیکم بالبرّ و التّقوی امراً من عنده فی هذا اللّوح المنیر لا ترضوا لأحدٍ ما لا ترضونه لانفسکم اتّقوا اللّه و لا تکوننّ من المتکبّرین کلّکم خلقتم من المآء و ترجعون الی التّراب تفکّروا فی عواقبکم و لا تکوننّ من الظّالمین اسمعوا ما تتلو السّدرة علیکم من آیات اللّه انّها لقسطاس الهدی من اللّه ربّ الآخرة و الأولی و بها تطیر النّفوس الی مطلع الوحی و تستضئی افئدة المقبلین تلک حدود اللّه قد فرضت علیکم و تلک اوامر اللّه قد امرتم بها فی اللّوح اعملوا بالرّوح و الرّیحان هذا خیر لکم ان انتم من العارفین

Qad muniʿtum fī al-kitābi ʿani al-jidāli wa-al-nizāʿi wa-al-ḍarbi wa-amthālihā ʿammā taḥzanu bihi al-afʾidatu wa-al-qulūb. Man yuḥzin aḥadan fa-lahu an yunfiqa tisʿata ʿashara mithqālan mina al-dhahab. Hādhā mā ḥakama bihi Mawlā al-ʿālamīn. Innahu qad ʿafā dhālika ʿankum fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-yūṣīkum bi-al-birri wa-al-taqwā amran min ʿindihi fī hādhā al-lawḥi al-munīr. Lā tarḍaw li-aḥadin mā lā tarḍawnahu li-anfusikum. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā takūnunna mina al-mutakabbirīn. Kullukum khuliqtum mina al-māʾi wa-tarjiʿūna ilā al-turāb. Tafakkarū fī ʿawāqibikum wa-lā takūnunna mina al-ẓālimīn. Ismaʿū mā tatlū al-Sidratu ʿalaykum min āyāti Allāh. Innahā la-qisṭāsu al-hudā mina Allāhi Rabbi al-ākhirati wa-al-ūlā wa-bihā taṭīru al-nufūsu ilā maṭlaʿi al-waḥyi wa-tastaḍīʾu afʾidatu al-muqbilīn. Tilka ḥudūdu Allāhi qad furiḍat ʿalaykum wa-tilka awāmiru Allāhi qad umirtum bihā fī al-lawḥ. Iʿmalū bi-al-rūḥi wa-al-rayḥān. Hādhā khayrun lakum in antum mina al-ʿārifīn.

In the Book you have been forbidden to engage in argument, conflict, violence, and similar acts that bring sorrow to hearts and souls. Whoever causes another sorrow is to expend nineteen mithqáls of gold. This is what the Lord of all worlds has decreed. In this Revelation He has relieved you of that obligation and enjoins goodness and piety upon you as a command from Him in this luminous Tablet. Do not wish for anyone what you would not wish for yourselves. Fear God, and do not be among the arrogant. You were all created from water and will return to dust. Reflect on your ultimate fate, and do not be among the wrongdoers. Listen to the verses of God that the Lote Tree recites to you. They are indeed the standard of guidance from God, the Lord of the world to come and of this world. Through them souls soar to the Dawning-Place of revelation, and the hearts of those who turn toward Him are illumined. These are the laws of God that have been made binding upon you, and these are the commandments of God that you have been enjoined to follow in the Tablet. Observe them with joy and gladness. This is better for you, if you are among those who recognize.

150

اتلوا آیات اللّه فی کلّ صباح و مسآء انّ الّذی لم یتل لم یوف بعهد اللّه و میثاقه و الّذی اعرض عنها الیوم انّه ممّن اعرض عن اللّه فی ازل الآزال اتّقنّ اللّه یا عبادی کلّکم اجمعون لا تغرّنکم کثرة القرائة و الاعمال فی اللیل و النّهار لو یقرء احدٌ آیةٌ من الآیات بالرّوح و الرّیحان خیر له من ان یتلو بالکسالة صحف اللّه المهیمن القیوم اتلوا آیات اللّه علی قدر لا تأخذکم الکسالة و الأحزان لا تحملوا علی الأرواح ما یکسلها و یثقلها بل ما یخفّفها لتطیر باجنحة الآیات الی مطلع البینات هذا اقرب الی اللّه لو انتم تعقلون

Utlū āyāti Allāhi fī kulli ṣabāḥin wa-masāʾ. Inna alladhī lam yatlu lam yūfi bi-ʿahdi Allāhi wa-mīthāqihi wa-alladhī aʿraḍa ʿanhā al-yawma innahu mimman aʿraḍa ʿani Allāhi fī azali al-āzāl. Ittaqinna Allāha yā ʿibādī kullukum ajmaʿūn. Lā taghurrannakum kathratu al-qirāʾati wa-al-aʿmāli fī al-layli wa-al-nahār. Law yaqraʾu aḥadun āyatun mina al-āyāti bi-al-rūḥi wa-al-rayḥān khayrun lahu min an yatluwa bi-al-kasālati ṣuḥufa Allāhi al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm. Utlū āyāti Allāhi ʿalā qadrin lā taʾkhudhukumu al-kasālatu wa-al-aḥzān. Lā taḥmilū ʿalā al-arwāḥi mā yuksiluhā wa-yuthqiluhā bal mā yukhaffifuhā li-taṭīra bi-ajniḥati al-āyāti ilā maṭlaʿi al-bayyināt. Hādhā aqrabu ilā Allāhi law antum taʿqilūn.

Recite the verses of God every morning and evening. Whoever does not recite them has not fulfilled God’s covenant and pledge, and whoever turns away from them today is among those who have turned away from God from all eternity. Fear God, My servants, each and every one of you. Do not let abundant recitation and deeds by night and day delude you. For someone to read a single verse with joy and gladness is better than to read with weariness the scriptures of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Recite the verses of God to such an extent that weariness and sorrow do not overtake you. Do not burden souls with what wearies and weighs them down, but rather with what lightens them, so that they may soar on the wings of the verses to the Dawning-Place of clear proofs. This is nearer to God, if you understand.

151

علّموا ذرّیاتکم ما نزّل من سمآء العظمة و الاقتدار لیقرٴوا الواح الرّحمن بحسن الألحان فی الغرف المبنیة فی مشارق الأذکار انّ الّذی اخذه جذب محبّة اسمی الرّحمن انّه یقرء آیات اللّه علی شأن تنجذب به افئدة الرّاقدین هنیئاً لمن شرب رحیق الحیوان من بیان ربّه الرّحمن بهذا الاسم الّذی به نسف کلّ جبل باذخ رفیع

ʿAllimū dhurriyyātikum mā nuzzila min samāʾi al-ʿaẓamati wa-al-iqtidār li-yaqraʾū alwāḥa al-Raḥmāni bi-ḥusni al-alḥāni fī al-ghurafi al-mabniyyati fī mashāriqi al-adhkār. Inna alladhī akhadhahu jadhbu maḥabbati ismī al-Raḥmān innahu yaqraʾu āyāti Allāhi ʿalā shaʾnin tanjadhibu bihi afʾidatu al-rāqidīn. Hanīʾan li-man shariba raḥīqa al-ḥayawāni min bayāni rabbihi al-Raḥmān bi-hādhā al-ismi alladhī bihi nusifa kullu jabalin bādhikhin rafīʿ.

Teach your children what has been revealed from the heaven of grandeur and power, so that they may recite the Tablets of the All-Merciful in beautiful melodies in the chambers built within the Dawning-Places of Remembrance. Whoever is seized by the rapture of love for My name, the All-Merciful, recites the verses of God in such a manner that the hearts of those who sleep are enraptured. Blessed is the one who has drunk the choice wine of life from the utterance of his Lord, the All-Merciful, through this Name by which every lofty, towering mountain has been scattered.

152

کتب علیکم تجدید اسباب البیت بعد انقضآء تسع عشرة سنة کذلک قضی الأمر من لدن علیم خبیر انّه اراد تلطیفکم و ما عندکم اتّقوا اللّه و لا تکوننّ من الغافلین و الّذی لم یستطع عفا اللّه عنه انّه لهو الغفور الکریم

Kutiba ʿalaykum tajdīdu asbābi al-bayti baʿda inqiḍāʾi tisʿa ʿashrata sanah. Kadhālika quḍiya al-amru min ladun ʿalīmin khabīr. Innahu arāda talṭīfakum wa-mā ʿindakum. Ittaqū Allāha wa-lā takūnunna mina al-ghāfilīn. Wa-alladhī lam yastaṭiʿ ʿafā Allāhu ʿanhu. Innahu la-huwa al-Ghafūru al-Karīm.

You are required to renew your household furnishings after nineteen years have elapsed. Thus has the matter been decreed by One who is All-Knowing, All-Informed. He desires refinement for you and for what you possess. Fear God, and do not be among the heedless. Whoever is unable to do so is excused by God. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, the Generous.

153

اغسلوا ارجلکم کلّ یوم فی الصّیف و فی الشّتآء کلّ ثلثة ایّام مرّة واحدة

Ighsilū arjulakum kulla yawmin fī al-ṣayfi wa-fī al-shitāʾi kulla thalāthati ayyāmin marratan wāḥidah.

Wash your feet every day in summer, and once every three days in winter.

154

و من اغتاظ علیکم قابلوه بالرّفق و الّذی زجرکم لا تزجروه دعوه بنفسه و توکّلوا علی اللّه المنتقم العادل القدیر

Wa-man ightāẓa ʿalaykum qābilūhu bi-al-rifqi wa-alladhī zajarakum lā tazjurūhu. Daʿūhu bi-nafsihi wa-tawakkalū ʿalā Allāhi al-Muntaqimi al-ʿĀdili al-Qadīr.

Meet anyone who is angry with you with gentleness, and do not rebuke anyone who rebukes you. Leave that person alone, and put your trust in God, the Avenger, the Just, the All-Powerful.

155

قد منعتم عن الارتقآء الی المنابر من اراد ان یتلو علیکم الآیات ربّه فلیقعد علی الکرسی الموضوع علی السّریر و یذکر اللّه ربّه و ربّ العالمین قد احبّ اللّه جلوسکم علی السّرر و الکراسی لعزّ ما عندکم من حبّ اللّه و مطلع امره المشرق المنیر

Qad muniʿtum ʿani al-irtiqāʾi ilā al-manābir. Man arāda an yatluwa ʿalaykumu al-āyāti rabbihi fa-l-yaqʿud ʿalā al-kursiyyi al-mawḍūʿi ʿalā al-sarīri wa-yadhkuri Allāha rabbahu wa-rabba al-ʿālamīn. Qad aḥabba Allāhu julūsakum ʿalā al-sururi wa-al-karāsī li-ʿizzi mā ʿindakum min ḥubbi Allāhi wa-maṭlaʿi amrihi al-mushriqi al-munīr.

You have been forbidden to ascend pulpits. Anyone who wishes to recite the verses of his Lord to you should sit on a chair placed upon a platform and remember God, his Lord and the Lord of all worlds. God has wished you to sit on platforms and chairs, in honor of the love you bear for God and for the radiant, luminous Dawning-Place of His Cause.

156

حرّم علیکم المیسر و الأفیون اجتنبوا یا معشر الخلق و لا تکوننّ من المتجاوزین ایّاکم ان تستعملوا ما تکسل به هیاکلکم و یضرّ ابدانکم انّا ما اردنا لکم الا ما ینفعکم یشهد بذلک کلّ الأشیآء لو انتم تسمعون

Ḥurrima ʿalaykumu al-maysiru wa-al-afyūn. Ijtanibū yā maʿshara al-khalqi wa-lā takūnunna mina al-mutajāwizīn. Iyyākum an tastaʿmilū mā taksalu bihi hayākilukum wa-yaḍurru abdānakum. Innā mā aradnā lakum illā mā yanfaʿukum. Yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu al-ashyāʾi law antum tasmaʿūn.

Gambling and opium have been forbidden to you. Avoid them, O people of creation, and do not be among those who overstep the bounds. Beware of using anything that makes your bodies sluggish and harms them. We have desired for you only what benefits you. All things bear witness to this, if you listen.

157

اذا دعیتم الی الولآئم و العزائم اجیبوا بالفرح و الانبساط و الّذی وفی بالوعد انّه امن من الوعید هذا یوم فیه فصّل کلّ امر حکیم

Idhā duʿītum ilā al-walāʾimi wa-al-ʿazāʾimi ajībū bi-al-faraḥi wa-al-inbisāṭ. Wa-alladhī wafā bi-al-waʿdi innahu amina mina al-waʿīd. Hādhā yawmun fīhi fuṣṣila kullu amrin ḥakīm.

When you are invited to feasts and festive gatherings, respond with joy and delight. Whoever keeps a promise is safe from the threat of punishment. This is a day on which every wise decree has been set out.

158

قد ظهر سرّ التّنکیس لرمز الرّئیس طوبی لمن ایده اللّه علی الاقرار بالسّتّة الّتی ارتفعت بهذا الألف القائمة الا انّه من المخلصین کم من ناسک اعرض و کم من تارک اقبل و قال لک الحمد یا مقصود العالمین انّ الأمر بید اللّه یعطی من یشآء ما یشآء و یمنع عمّن یشآء ما اراد یعلم خافیة القلوب و ما یتحرّک به اعین اللّامزین کم من غافلٍ اقبل بالخلوص اقعدناه علی سریر القبول و کم من عاقل رجعناه الی النّار عدلا من عندنا انّا کنّا حاکمین انّه لمظهر یفعل اللّه ما یشآء و المستقرّ علی عرش یحکم ما یرید

Qad ẓahara sirru al-tankīsi li-ramzi al-raʾīs. Ṭūbā li-man ayyadahu Allāhu ʿalā al-iqrāri bi-al-sittati allatī irtafaʿat bi-hādhihi al-alifi al-qāʾimah. Alā innahu mina al-mukhliṣīn. Kam min nāsikin aʿraḍa wa-kam min tārikٍ aqbala wa-qāla laka al-ḥamdu yā Maqṣūda al-ʿālamīn. Inna al-amra bi-yadi Allāh yuʿṭī man yashāʾu mā yashāʾu wa-yamnaʿu ʿamman yashāʾu mā arād. Yaʿlamu khāfiyata al-qulūbi wa-mā tataḥarraku bihi aʿyunu al-lāmizīn. Kam min ghāfilin aqbala bi-al-khulūṣi aqʿadnāhu ʿalā sarīri al-qabūli wa-kam min ʿāqilin rajaʿnāhu ilā al-nāri ʿadlan min ʿindinā. Innā kunnā ḥākimīn. Innahu la-maẓharu yafʿalu Allāhu mā yashāʾu wa-al-mustaqirru ʿalā ʿarshi yaḥkumu mā yurīd.

The mystery of the inversion in the symbol of the Chief has been revealed. Blessed is the one whom God has enabled to acknowledge the six raised up by this upright alif. He is indeed among the sincere. How many a devout worshipper has turned away, and how many a neglectful one has turned toward Him and said, “Praise be to You, O Desire of all worlds!” The matter is in God’s hands: He gives to whomever He wishes whatever He wishes, and withholds from whomever He wishes whatever He wills. He knows what hearts conceal and what moves the eyes of those who find fault. How many a heedless person who turned toward Us with sincerity have We seated upon the throne of acceptance, and how many a learned person have We consigned to the fire, in justice on Our part. We have indeed been the judge. He is indeed the manifestation of “God does whatever He wishes” and the One established upon the throne of “He decrees whatever He wills.”

159

طوبی لمن وجد عرف المعانی من اثر هذا القلم الّذی اذا تحرّک فاحت نسمة اللّه فیما سواه و اذا توقّف ظهرت کینونة الاطمینان فی الامکان تعالی الرّحمن مظهر هذا الفضل العظیم قل بما حمل الظّلم ظهر العدل فیما سواه و بما قبل الذّلّة لاح عزّ اللّه بین العالمین

Ṭūbā li-man wajada ʿarfa al-maʿānī min athari hādhā al-qalami alladhī idhā taḥarraka fāḥat nasmatu Allāhi fīmā siwāhu wa-idhā tawaqqafa ẓaharat kaynūnatu al-iṭmiʾnāni fī al-imkān. Taʿālā al-Raḥmānu muẓhiru hādhā al-faḍli al-ʿaẓīm. Qul bi-mā ḥamala al-ẓulma ẓahara al-ʿadlu fīmā siwāhu wa-bi-mā qabila al-dhillata lāḥa ʿizzu Allāhi bayna al-ʿālamīn.

Blessed is the one who has perceived the fragrance of inner meanings from the traces of this Pen, which, when it moves, spreads the breeze of God through all that is other than Him, and, when it rests, manifests the very essence of tranquillity throughout the world of being. Exalted is the All-Merciful, who manifests this great bounty. Say: Because He bore oppression, justice appeared throughout all that is other than Him, and because He accepted humiliation, the glory of God shone among all worlds.

160

حرّم علیکم حمل آلات الحرب الاّ حین الضّرورة و احلّ لکم لبس الحریر قد رفع اللّه عنکم حکم الحدّ فی اللّباس و اللّحی فضلاً من عنده انّه لهو الآمر العلیم اعملوا ما لا تنکره العقول المستقیمة و لا تجعلوا انفسکم ملعب الجاهلین طوبی لمن تزیّن بطراز الآداب و الأخلاق انّه ممّن نصر ربّه بالعمل الواضح المبین

Ḥurrima ʿalaykum ḥamlu ālāti al-ḥarbi illā ḥīna al-ḍarūrati wa-uḥilla lakum lubsu al-ḥarīr. Qad rafaʿa Allāhu ʿankum ḥukma al-ḥaddi fī al-libāsi wa-al-liḥā faḍlan min ʿindihi. Innahu la-huwa al-Āmiru al-ʿAlīm. Iʿmalū mā lā tunkiruhu al-ʿuqūlu al-mustaqīmatu wa-lā tajʿalū anfusakum malʿaba al-jāhilīn. Ṭūbā li-man tazayyana bi-ṭirāzi al-ādābi wa-al-akhlāq. Innahu mimman naṣara rabbahu bi-al-ʿamali al-wāḍiḥi al-mubīn.

You are forbidden to carry weapons except when necessary, and you are permitted to wear silk. As a bounty from Him, God has removed the restrictions on clothing and beards. He is indeed the Ordainer, the All-Knowing. Do what sound minds do not disapprove of, and do not make yourselves the playthings of the ignorant. Blessed is the one adorned with good manners and character. Such a person is among those who have aided their Lord through clear and manifest deeds.

161

عمّروا دیار اللّه و بلاده ثمّ اذکروه فیها بترنّمات المقرّبین انّما تعمّر القلوب باللّسان کما تعمّر البیوت و الدّیار بالید و اسباب آخر قد قدّرنا لکلّ شئ سبباً من عندنا تمسّکوا به و توکّلوا علی الحکیم الخبیر

ʿAmmirū diyāra Allāhi wa-bilādahu thumma udhkurūhu fīhā bi-tarannumāṭi al-muqarrabīn. Innamā tuʿammaru al-qulūbu bi-al-lisāni kamā tuʿammaru al-buyūtu wa-al-diyāru bi-al-yadi wa-asbābin ukhar. Qad qaddarnā li-kulli shayʾin sababan min ʿindinā. Tamassakū bihi wa-tawakkalū ʿalā al-Ḥakīmi al-Khabīr.

Develop God’s cities and lands, and remember Him there in the melodies of those brought near to Him. Hearts are built up through the tongue, just as houses and cities are built through the hand and other means. We have appointed a means for everything from Our own presence. Hold fast to it, and put your trust in the All-Wise, the All-Informed.

162

طوبی لمن اقرّ باللّه و آیاته و اعترف بانّه لا یسئل عمّا یفعل هذه کلمة قد جعلها اللّه طراز العقاید و اصلها و بها یقبل عمل العاملین اجعلوا هذه الکلمة نصب عیونکم لئلّا تزلّکم اشارات المعرضین

Ṭūbā li-man aqarra bi-Allāh wa-āyātihi wa-iʿtarafa bi-annahu lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿal. Hādhihi kalima qad jaʿalahā Allāh ṭirāz al-ʿaqāʾid wa-aṣlahā wa-bihā yuqbalu ʿamal al-ʿāmilīn. Ijʿalū hādhihi al-kalima nuṣba ʿuyūnikum li-allā tuzillakum ishārāt al-muʿriḍīn.

Blessed is the one who acknowledges God and His verses and recognizes that He is not to be questioned about what He does. This is a statement that God has made the adornment and foundation of all beliefs, and through it the deeds of those who act are accepted. Keep this statement before your eyes, so that the insinuations of those who turn away do not cause you to stumble.

163

لو یحلّ ما حرّم فی ازل الآزال او بالعکس لیس لأحد ان یعترض علیه و الّذی توقّف فی اقلّ من انٍ انّه من المعتدین

Law yuḥillu mā ḥarrama fī azal al-āzāl aw bi-l-ʿaks laysa li-aḥad an yaʿtariḍa ʿalayhi wa-alladhī tawaqqafa fī aqalla min ānin innahu min al-muʿtadīn.

Were He to make lawful what He had forbidden from all eternity, or the reverse, no one would have the right to object to Him. Whoever hesitates for less than an instant is among the transgressors.

164

و الّذی ما فاز بهذا الأصل الأسنی و المقام الأعلی تحرّکه اریاح الشّبهات و تقلّبه مقالات المشرکین من فاز بهذا الأصل قد فاز بالاستقامة الکبری حبّذا هذا المقام الأبهی الّذی بذکره زین کلّ لوح منیع کذلک یعلّمکم اللّه ما یخلّصکم عن الرّیب و الحیرة و ینجّیکم فی الدّنیا و الآخرة انّه هو الغفور الکریم هو الّذی ارسل الرّسل و انزل الکتب علی انّه لا اله الّا انا العزیز الحکیم

Wa-alladhī mā fāza bi-hādhā al-aṣl al-asnā wa-l-maqām al-aʿlā tuḥarrikuhu aryāḥ al-shubuhāt wa-tuqallibuhu maqālāt al-mushrikīn. Man fāza bi-hādhā al-aṣl qad fāza bi-l-istiqāma al-kubrā. Ḥabbadhā hādhā al-maqām al-abhā alladhī bi-dhikrihi zuyyina kull lawḥ manīʿ. Kadhālika yuʿallimukum Allāh mā yukhalliṣukum ʿan al-rayb wa-l-ḥayra wa-yunajjīkum fī al-dunyā wa-l-ākhira. Innahu huwa al-ghafūr al-karīm. Huwa alladhī arsala al-rusul wa-anzala al-kutub ʿalā annahu lā ilāha illā anā al-ʿazīz al-ḥakīm.

Whoever has not attained this most exalted principle and this highest station is shaken by the winds of doubt and tossed about by the assertions of those who associate partners with God. Whoever has attained this principle has attained the greatest steadfastness. How excellent is this most glorious station, with whose mention every exalted Tablet is adorned! Thus God teaches you what will free you from doubt and bewilderment and save you in this world and the next. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful. He is the One who sent the Messengers and revealed the Books, declaring: “There is no god but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

165

یا ارض الکاف و الرّآء انّا نراک علی ما لا یحبّه اللّه و نری منک ما لا اطّلع به احد الّا اللّه العلیم الخبیر و نجد ما یمرّ منک فی سرّ السّرّ عندنا علم کلّ شئ فی لوح مبین لا تحزنی بذلک سوف یظهر اللّه فیک اولی باس شدید یذکروننی باستقامة لا تمنعهم اشارات العلمآء و لا تحجبهم شبهات المریبین اولئک ینظرون اللّه باعینهم و ینصرونه بأنفسهم الا انّهم من الرّاسخین

Yā arḍ al-kāf wa-l-rāʾ innā narāki ʿalā mā lā yuḥibbuhu Allāh wa-narā minki mā lā iṭṭalaʿa bihi aḥad illā Allāh al-ʿalīm al-khabīr wa-najidu mā yamurru minki fī sirr al-sirr. ʿIndanā ʿilm kull shayʾ fī lawḥ mubīn. Lā taḥzanī bi-dhālika sawfa yuẓhiru Allāh fīki ulī baʾs shadīd yadhkurūnanī bi-istiqāma lā tamnaʿuhum ishārāt al-ʿulamāʾ wa-lā taḥjubuhum shubuhāt al-murībīn. Ulāʾika yanẓurūna Allāh bi-aʿyunihim wa-yanṣurūnahu bi-anfusihim alā innahum min al-rāsikhīn.

O land of Kāf and Rāʾ! We see you in a condition that God does not love, and We see from you what no one knows but God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We perceive what passes within you in the deepest secrecy. With Us is the knowledge of all things in a clear Tablet. Do not grieve over this. God will soon raise up within you people of mighty strength who will remember Me with a steadfastness that neither the insinuations of the learned can hinder nor the doubts of those who sow doubt can veil. They will see God with their own eyes and aid Him with their own selves. They are indeed among those firmly established.

166

یا معشر العلمآء لمّا نزّلت الآیات و ظهرت البینات رأیناکم خلف الحجبات ان هذا الّا شئ عجاب قد افتخرتم باسمی و غفلتم عن نفسی اذ اتی الرّحمن بالحجّة و البرهان انّا خرقنا الأحجاب ایّاکم ان تحجبوا النّاس بحجاب اخر کسّروا سلاسل الأوهام باسم مالک الأنام و لا تکوننّ من الخادعین اذا اقبلتم الی اللّه و دخلتم هذا الأمر لا تفسدوا فیه و لا تقیسوا کتاب اللّه بأهوائکم هذا نصح اللّه من قبل و من بعد یشهد بذلک شهداء اللّه و اصفیائه انّا کلّ له شاهدون

Yā maʿshar al-ʿulamāʾ lammā nuzzilat al-āyāt wa-ẓaharat al-bayyināt raʾaynākum khalf al-ḥujubāt. In hādhā illā shayʾ ʿujāb. Qad iftakhartum bi-ismī wa-ghafaltum ʿan nafsī idh atā al-Raḥmān bi-l-ḥujja wa-l-burhān. Innā kharaqnā al-aḥjāb iyyākum an taḥjubū al-nās bi-ḥijāb ākhar. Kassirū salāsil al-awhām bi-ism mālik al-anām wa-lā takūnanna min al-khādiʿīn. Idhā aqbaltum ilā Allāh wa-dakhaltum hādhā al-amr lā tufsidū fīhi wa-lā taqīsū kitāb Allāh bi-ahwāʾikum. Hādhā nuṣḥ Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd yashhadu bi-dhālika shuhadāʾ Allāh wa-aṣfiyāʾuhu innā kull lahu shāhidūn.

O company of the learned! When the verses were revealed and the clear proofs appeared, We saw you behind veils. This is truly an astonishing thing. You took pride in My name but neglected My own Self when the All-Merciful came with testimony and proof. We have torn through the veils; beware lest you veil the people with another veil. Break the chains of vain imaginings in the name of the Lord of all people, and do not be among the deceivers. When you turn to God and enter this Cause, do not spread corruption within it or measure the Book of God against your own desires. This is God’s counsel, before and hereafter. God’s witnesses and His chosen ones bear witness to this; We all bear witness to it.

167

اذکروا الشّیخ الّذی سمّی بمحمّد قبل حسن و کان من اعلم العلمآء فی عصره لمّا ظهر الحقّ اعرض عنه هو و امثاله و اقبل الی اللّه من ینقّی القمح و الشّعیر و کان یکتب علی زعمه احکام اللّه فی اللّیل و النّهار و لمّا اتی المختار ما نفعه حرف منها لو نفعه لم یعرض عن وجه به انارت وجوه المقرّبین لو آمنتم باللّه حین ظهوره ما اعرض عنه النّاس و ما ورد علینا ما ترونه الیوم اتّقوا اللّه و لا تکوننّ من الغافلین

Udhkurū al-shaykh alladhī summiya bi-Muḥammad qabla Ḥasan wa-kāna min aʿlam al-ʿulamāʾ fī ʿaṣrihi lammā ẓahara al-ḥaqq aʿraḍa ʿanhu huwa wa-amthāluhu wa-aqbala ilā Allāh man yunaqqī al-qamḥ wa-l-shaʿīr. Wa-kāna yaktubu ʿalā zaʿmihi aḥkām Allāh fī al-layl wa-l-nahār wa-lammā atā al-mukhtār mā nafaʿahu ḥarf minhā. Law nafaʿahu lam yuʿriḍ ʿan wajh bihi anārat wujūh al-muqarrabīn. Law āmantum bi-Allāh ḥīna ẓuhūrihi mā aʿraḍa ʿanhu al-nās wa-mā warada ʿalaynā mā tarawnahu al-yawm. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā takūnanna min al-ghāfilīn.

Remember the shaykh whose name was Muḥammad followed by Ḥasan, who was among the most learned scholars of his age. When the Truth appeared, he and others like him turned away from Him, while a sifter of wheat and barley turned to God. Night and day the shaykh wrote what he imagined were the laws of God, yet when the Chosen One came, not a single letter of them benefited him. Had they benefited him, he would not have turned away from the Face through which the faces of those brought near to God were illumined. Had you believed in God when He appeared, the people would not have turned away from Him, nor would We have suffered what you see today. Fear God, and do not be among the heedless.

168

ایّاکم ان تمنعکم الأسماء عن مالکها او یحجبکم ذکر عن هذا الذّکر الحکیم استعیذوا باللّه یا معشر العلمآء و لا تجعلوا انفسکم حجاباً بینی و بین خلقی کذلک یعظکم اللّه و یأمرکم بالعدل لئلّا تحبط اعمالکم و انتم غافلون انّ الّذی اعرض عن هذا الأمر هل یقدر ان یثبت حقاً فی الابداع لا و مالک الاختراع ولکنّ النّاس فی حجاب مبین قل به اشرقت شمس الحجّة و لاح نیر البرهان لمن فی الامکان اتّقوا اللّه یا اولی الابصار و لا تنکرون ایّاکم ان یمنعکم ذکر النّبی عن هذا النّبأ الأعظم او الولایة عن ولایة اللّه المهیمنة علی العالمین قد خلق کلّ اسم بقوله و علّق کلّ امر بأمره المبرم العزیز البدیع قل هذا یوم اللّه لا یذکر فیه الاّ نفسه المهیمنة علی العالمین هذا امر اضطرب منه ما عندکم من الأوهام و التّماثیل

Iyyākum an tamnaʿakum al-asmāʾ ʿan mālikihā aw yaḥjubakum dhikr ʿan hādhā al-dhikr al-ḥakīm. Istaʿīdhū bi-Allāh yā maʿshar al-ʿulamāʾ wa-lā tajʿalū anfusakum ḥijāban baynī wa-bayna khalqī. Kadhālika yaʿiẓukum Allāh wa-yaʾmurukum bi-l-ʿadl li-allā taḥbaṭa aʿmālukum wa-antum ghāfilūn. Inna alladhī aʿraḍa ʿan hādhā al-amr hal yaqdiru an yuthbita ḥaqqan fī al-ibdāʿ lā wa-mālik al-ikhtirāʿ wa-lākinna al-nās fī ḥijāb mubīn. Qul bihi ashraqat shams al-ḥujja wa-lāḥa nayyir al-burhān li-man fī al-imkān. Ittaqū Allāh yā ulī al-abṣār wa-lā tunkirūn. Iyyākum an yamnaʿakum dhikr al-nabī ʿan hādhā al-nabaʾ al-aʿẓam aw al-wilāya ʿan wilāyat Allāh al-muhaymina ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Qad khalaqa kull ism bi-qawlihi wa-ʿallaqa kull amr bi-amrihi al-mubram al-ʿazīz al-badīʿ. Qul hādhā yawm Allāh lā yudhkaru fīhi illā nafsuhu al-muhaymina ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Hādhā amr iḍṭaraba minhu mā ʿindakum min al-awhām wa-l-tamāthīl.

Beware lest names keep you from their Lord, or any remembrance veil you from this wise Remembrance. Seek refuge in God, O company of the learned, and do not make yourselves a veil between Me and My creation. Thus God admonishes you and commands you to act justly, lest your deeds come to nothing while you remain unaware. Can one who has turned away from this Cause establish any truth in creation? No, by the Lord of all that has been brought into being! Yet the people are plainly veiled. Say: Through Him the sun of testimony has shone and the luminary of proof has dawned for all who dwell in the realm of existence. Fear God, you who have insight, and do not deny. Beware lest mention of the Prophet keep you from this Most Great Announcement, or guardianship from the guardianship of God, which encompasses all the worlds. He has created every name through His word and made every matter dependent on His irrevocable, mighty, wondrous command. Say: This is the Day of God, in which none is to be mentioned but His own Self, who holds sway over all the worlds. This is a Cause that has shaken the imaginings and idols you possess.

169

قد نری منکم من یأخذ الکتاب و یستدلّ به علی اللّه کما استدلّت کلّ ملّة بکتابها علی اللّه المهیمن القیوم قل تاللّه الحقّ لا تغنیکم الیوم کتب العالم و لا ما فیه من الصّحف الاّ بهذا الکتاب الّذی ینطق فی قطب الابداع انّه لا اله الاّ انا العلیم الحکیم

Qad narā minkum man yaʾkhudhu al-kitāb wa-yastadillu bihi ʿalā Allāh kamā istadallat kull milla bi-kitābihā ʿalā Allāh al-muhaymin al-qayyūm. Qul ta-Allāh al-ḥaqq lā tughnīkum al-yawm kutub al-ʿālam wa-lā mā fīhi min al-ṣuḥuf illā bi-hādhā al-kitāb alladhī yanṭiqu fī quṭb al-ibdāʿ innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-ʿalīm al-ḥakīm.

We see among you those who take the Book and use it to argue against God, just as every religious community has used its own Book to argue against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Say: By God, the Truth! Today neither the books of the world nor any of its scriptures can avail you except through this Book, which proclaims at the heart of creation: “There is no god but Me, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

170

یا معشر العلمآء ایّاکم ان تکونوا سبب الاختلاف فی الأطراف کما کنتم علّة الاعراض فی اوّل الأمر اجمعوا النّاس علی هذه الکلمة الّتی بها صاحت الحصاة الملک للّه مطلع الآیات کذلک یعظکم اللّه فضلاً من عنده انّه لهو الغفور الکریم

Yā maʿshar al-ʿulamāʾ iyyākum an takūnū sabab al-ikhtilāf fī al-aṭrāf kamā kuntum ʿillat al-iʿrāḍ fī awwal al-amr. Ijmaʿū al-nās ʿalā hādhihi al-kalima allatī bihā ṣāḥat al-ḥaṣāh al-mulk li-Allāh maṭlaʿ al-āyāt. Kadhālika yaʿiẓukum Allāh faḍlan min ʿindihi innahu la-huwa al-ghafūr al-karīm.

O company of the learned! Beware lest you become a cause of discord throughout the lands, just as you were the cause of people turning away at the beginning of the Cause. Gather the people around this word, through which the pebbles have cried out: “Sovereignty belongs to God, the Dawning-Place of the verses.” Thus God admonishes you as a bounty from His presence. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

171

اذکروا الکریم اذ دعوناه الی اللّه انّه استکبر بما اتّبع هواه بعد اذ ارسلنا الیه ما قرّت به عین البرهان فی الامکان و تمّت حجّة اللّه علی من فی السّموات و الأرضین انّا امرناه بالاقبال فضلا من الغنی المتعال انّه ولی مدبراً الی ان اخذته زبانیة العذاب عدلا من اللّه انّا کنّا شاهدین

Udhkurū al-Karīm idh daʿawnāhu ilā Allāh innahu istakbara bi-mā ittabaʿa hawāhu baʿda idh arsalnā ilayhi mā qarrat bihi ʿayn al-burhān fī al-imkān wa-tammat ḥujjat Allāh ʿalā man fī al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn. Innā amarnāhu bi-l-iqbāl faḍlan min al-ghaniyy al-mutaʿāl. Innahu wallā mudbiran ilā an akhadhat-hu zabāniyat al-ʿadhāb ʿadlan min Allāh innā kunnā shāhidīn.

Remember Karīm when We called him to God. He grew arrogant, following his own desires, after We had sent him that which gladdened the eye of proof in the realm of existence and completed God’s testimony to all who dwell in the heavens and the earth. We commanded him to turn toward Us, as a bounty from the All-Sufficient, the Most Exalted. He turned his back until the wardens of torment seized him, as an act of justice from God. We were indeed witnesses.

172

اخرقنّ الأحجاب علی شأن یسمع اهل الملکوت صوت خرقها هذا امر اللّه من قبل و من بعد طوبی لمن عمل بما امر ویلٌ للتّارکین

Ikhriqanna al-aḥjāb ʿalā shaʾn yasmaʿu ahl al-malakūt ṣawt kharqihā. Hādhā amr Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd. Ṭūbā li-man ʿamila bi-mā umira waylun li-l-tārikīn.

Tear through the veils so that the inhabitants of the Kingdom hear the sound of their tearing. This is God’s command, before and hereafter. Blessed is the one who acts as commanded; woe to those who neglect it.

173

انّا ما اردنا فی الملک الاّ ظهور اللّه و سلطانه و کفی باللّه علی شهیداً انّا ما اردنا فی الملکوت الاّ علوّ امر اللّه و ثنائه و کفی باللّه علی وکیلا انّا ما اردنا فی الجبروت الاّ ذکر اللّه و ما نزّل من عنده و کفی باللّه معینا

Innā mā aradnā fī al-mulk illā ẓuhūr Allāh wa-sulṭānahu wa-kafā bi-Allāh ʿalayya shahīdan. Innā mā aradnā fī al-malakūt illā ʿuluww amr Allāh wa-thanāʾihi wa-kafā bi-Allāh ʿalayya wakīlan. Innā mā aradnā fī al-jabarūt illā dhikr Allāh wa-mā nuzzila min ʿindihi wa-kafā bi-Allāh muʿīnan.

In the earthly realm, We have desired only the manifestation of God and His sovereignty, and God is sufficient as a witness over Me. In the Kingdom, We have desired only the exaltation of God’s Cause and His praise, and God is sufficient as My guardian. In the realm of power, We have desired only the remembrance of God and what has been sent down from His presence, and God is sufficient as a helper.

174

طوبی لکم یا معشر العلمآء فی البهآء تاللّه انتم امواج البحر الأعظم و انجم سمآء الفضل و الویة النّصر بین السّموات و الأرضین انتم مطالع الاستقامة بین البریة و مشارق البیان لمن فی الامکان طوبی لمن اقبل الیکم ویل للمعرضین ینبغی الیوم لمن شرب رحیق الحیوان من ید الطاف ربّه الرّحمن ان یکون نبّاضاً کالشّریان فی جسد الامکان لیتحرّک به العالم و کلّ عظم رمیم

Ṭūbā lakum yā maʿshar al-ʿulamāʾ fī al-Bahāʾ. Ta-Allāh antum amwāj al-baḥr al-aʿẓam wa-anjum samāʾ al-faḍl wa-alwiyat al-naṣr bayna al-samāwāt wa-l-araḍīn. Antum maṭāliʿ al-istiqāma bayna al-bariyya wa-mashāriq al-bayān li-man fī al-imkān. Ṭūbā li-man aqbala ilaykum waylun li-l-muʿriḍīn. Yanbaghī al-yawm li-man shariba raḥīq al-ḥayawān min yad alṭāf rabbihi al-Raḥmān an yakūna nabbāḍan ka-l-shiryān fī jasad al-imkān li-yataḥarraka bihi al-ʿālam wa-kull ʿaẓm ramīm.

Blessed are you, O company of the learned in Bahā! By God, you are the waves of the Most Great Ocean, the stars of the heaven of bounty, and the banners of victory between the heavens and the earth. You are the dawning-places of steadfastness among creation and the daysprings of utterance for all who dwell in the realm of existence. Blessed is the one who turns toward you; woe to those who turn away. Today, whoever has drunk the choice wine of life from the hand of the loving kindness of his Lord, the All-Merciful, should pulse like an artery in the body of existence, so that through him the world and every crumbling bone may be stirred to life.

175

یا اهل الانشآء اذا طارت الورقاء عن ایک الثّنآء و قصدت المقصد الأقصی الأخفی ارجعوا ما لا عرفتموه من الکتاب الی الفرع المنشعب من هذا الأصل القویم

Yā ahl al-inshāʾ idhā ṭārat al-warqāʾ ʿan ayk al-thanāʾ wa-qaṣadat al-maqṣad al-aqṣā al-akhfā irjiʿū mā lā ʿaraftumūhu min al-kitāb ilā al-farʿ al-munshaʿib min hādhā al-aṣl al-qawīm.

O people of creation! When the Dove has flown from the grove of praise and made its way to the farthest, most hidden destination, refer whatever you have not understood in the Book to the Branch that has sprung from this firmly established Root.

176

یا قلم الأعلی تحرّک علی اللّوح باذن ربّک فاطر السّمآء ثمّ اذکر اذ اراد مطلع التّوحید مکتب التّجرید لعلّ الاحرار یطّلعنّ علی قدر سمّ الابرة بما هو خلف الأستار من اسرار ربّک العزیز العلاّم قل انّا دخلنا مکتب المعانی و التّبیان حین غفلة من فی الامکان و شاهدنا ما انزله الرّحمن و قبلنا ما اهداه لی من آیات اللّه المهیمن القیوم و سمعنا ما شهد به فی اللّوح انّا کنّا شاهدین و اجبناه بأمر من عندنا انّا کنّا آمرین

Yā qalam al-aʿlā taḥarrak ʿalā al-lawḥ bi-idhn rabbika fāṭir al-samāʾ thumma udhkur idh arāda maṭlaʿ al-tawḥīd maktab al-tajrīd laʿalla al-aḥrār yaṭṭaliʿunna ʿalā qadr samm al-ibra bi-mā huwa khalf al-astār min asrār rabbika al-ʿazīz al-ʿallām. Qul innā dakhalnā maktab al-maʿānī wa-l-tibyān ḥīna ghaflat man fī al-imkān wa-shāhadnā mā anzalahu al-Raḥmān wa-qabilnā mā ahdāhu lī min āyāt Allāh al-muhaymin al-qayyūm wa-samiʿnā mā shahida bihi fī al-lawḥ innā kunnā shāhidīn wa-ajabnāhu bi-amr min ʿindinā innā kunnā āmirīn.

O Most Exalted Pen! Move across the Tablet by permission of your Lord, the Creator of heaven. Then recount when the Dawning-Place of Divine Unity set out for the school of detachment, so that the free may glimpse, to the extent of a needle’s eye, the mysteries of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, that lie behind the veils. Say: We entered the school of inner meanings and exposition while those in the realm of existence were heedless. We beheld what the All-Merciful had sent down and accepted what He offered Me as a gift of the verses of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. We heard what He testified to in the Tablet; We were indeed witnesses. And We answered Him with a command from Our presence; We were indeed the One who commanded.

177

یا ملاء البیان انّا دخلنا مکتب اللّه اذ انتم راقدون و لاحظنا اللّوح اذ انتم نائمون تاللّه الحقّ قد قرئناه قبل نزوله و انتم غافلون قد احطنا الکتاب اذ کنتم فی الأصلاب هذا ذکری علی قدرکم لا علی قدر اللّه یشهد بذلک ما فی علم اللّه لو انتم تعرفون و یشهد بذلک لسان اللّه لو انتم تفقهون تاللّه لو نکشف الحجاب انتم تنصعقون

Yā malaʾ al-bayān innā dakhalnā maktab Allāh idh antum rāqidūn wa-lāḥaẓnā al-lawḥ idh antum nāʾimūn. Ta-Allāh al-ḥaqq qad qaraʾnāhu qabla nuzūlihi wa-antum ghāfilūn. Qad aḥaṭnā al-kitāb idh kuntum fī al-aṣlāb. Hādhā dhikrī ʿalā qadrikum lā ʿalā qadr Allāh yashhadu bi-dhālika mā fī ʿilm Allāh law antum taʿrifūn wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika lisān Allāh law antum tafqahūn. Ta-Allāh law nakshif al-ḥijāb antum tanṣaʿiqūn.

O people of the Bayān! We entered the school of God while you lay sleeping, and We examined the Tablet while you slumbered. By God, the Truth! We read it before it was revealed, while you were heedless. We encompassed the Book while you were still in the loins of your fathers. This account of Mine is according to your capacity, not according to God’s measure. What is in the knowledge of God bears witness to this, if only you knew, and the Tongue of God bears witness to it, if only you understood. By God! Were We to lift the veil, you would be struck senseless.

178

ایّاکم ان تجادلوا فی اللّه و امره انّه ظهر علی شأن احاط ما کان و ما یکون لو نتکلّم فی هذا المقام بلسان اهل الملکوت لنقول قد خلق اللّه ذلک المکتب قبل خلق السّموات و الأرض و دخلنا فیه قبل ان یقترن الکاف برکنها النّون هذا لسان عبادی فی ملکوتی تفکّروا فیما ینطق به لسان اهل جبروتی بما علّمناهم علما من لدنّا و ما کان مستورا فی علم اللّه و ما ینطق به لسان العظمة و الاقتدار فی مقامه المحمود

Iyyākum an tujādilū fī Allāh wa-amrihi innahu ẓahara ʿalā shaʾn aḥāṭa mā kāna wa-mā yakūn. Law natakallam fī hādhā al-maqām bi-lisān ahl al-malakūt la-naqūl qad khalaqa Allāh dhālika al-maktab qabla khalq al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-dakhalnā fīhi qabla an yaqtarina al-kāf bi-ruknihā al-nūn. Hādhā lisān ʿibādī fī malakūtī tafakkarū fīmā yanṭiqu bihi lisān ahl jabarūtī bi-mā ʿallamnāhum ʿilman min ladunnā wa-mā kāna mastūran fī ʿilm Allāh wa-mā yanṭiqu bihi lisān al-ʿaẓama wa-l-iqtidār fī maqāmihi al-maḥmūd.

Beware of disputing about God and His Cause. He has appeared in such a manner as to encompass all that has been and all that will be. Were We to speak of this matter in the language of the inhabitants of the Kingdom, We would say: God created that school before creating the heavens and the earth, and We entered it before the Kāf was joined to its counterpart, the Nūn. This is the language of My servants in My Kingdom. Reflect on what the tongue of the inhabitants of My realm of power utters through the knowledge We have taught them from Our presence, on what has been concealed in God’s knowledge, and on what the Tongue of grandeur and power utters in its praiseworthy station.

179

لیس هذا امر تلعبون به بأوهامکم و لیس هذا مقام یدخل فیه کلّ جبان موهوم تاللّه هذا مضمار المکاشفة و الانقطاع و میدان المشاهدة و الارتفاع لا یجول فیه الاّ فوارس الرّحمن الّذین نبذوا الامکان اولئک انصار اللّه فی الأرض و مشارق الاقتدار بین العالمین

Laysa hādhā amr talʿabūna bihi bi-awhāmikum wa-laysa hādhā maqām yadkhulu fīhi kull jabān mawhūm. Ta-Allāh hādhā miḍmār al-mukāshafa wa-l-inqiṭāʿ wa-maydān al-mushāhada wa-l-irtifāʿ lā yajūlu fīhi illā fawāris al-Raḥmān alladhīna nabadhū al-imkān. Ulāʾika anṣār Allāh fī al-arḍ wa-mashāriq al-iqtidār bayna al-ʿālamīn.

This is not a Cause with which you may toy through your imaginings, nor is this a station that every deluded coward may enter. By God! This is the course of unveiling and detachment, the arena of vision and ascent. None may ride within it but the horsemen of the All-Merciful who have cast aside the realm of existence. They are God’s helpers on earth and the daysprings of power among the worlds.

180

ایّاکم ان یمنعکم ما فی البیان عن ربّکم الرّحمن تاللّه انّه قد نزّل لذکری لو انتم تعرفون لا یجد منه المخلصون الاّ عرف حبّی و اسمی المهیمن علی کلّ شاهد و مشهود قل یا قوم توجّهوا الی ما نزّل من قلمی الأعلی ان وجدتم منه عرف اللّه لا تعترضوا علیه و لا تمنعوا انفسکم عن فضل اللّه و الطافه کذلک ینصحکم اللّه انّه لهو النّاصح العلیم

Iyyākum an yamnaʿakum mā fī al-bayān ʿan rabbikum al-Raḥmān. Ta-Allāh innahu qad nuzzila li-dhikrī law antum taʿrifūn. Lā yajidu minhu al-mukhliṣūn illā ʿarf ḥubbī wa-ismī al-muhaymin ʿalā kull shāhid wa-mashhūd. Qul yā qawm tawajjahū ilā mā nuzzila min qalamī al-aʿlā in wajadtum minhu ʿarf Allāh lā taʿtariḍū ʿalayhi wa-lā tamnaʿū anfusakum ʿan faḍl Allāh wa-alṭāfihi. Kadhālika yanṣaḥukum Allāh innahu la-huwa al-nāṣiḥ al-ʿalīm.

Beware lest what is in the Bayān keep you from your Lord, the All-Merciful. By God! It was sent down to make mention of Me, if only you knew. The sincere find in it only the fragrance of My love and of My name, which holds sway over all who witness and all that is witnessed. Say: O people! Turn toward what has been sent down from My Most Exalted Pen. If you find in it the fragrance of God, do not object to it or deprive yourselves of God’s bounty and loving kindness. Thus God counsels you. He is indeed the All-Knowing Counsellor.

181

ما لا عرفتموه من البیان فاسئلوا اللّه ربّکم و ربّ ابائکم الأوّلین انّه لو یشآء یبین لکم ما نزّل فیه و ما ستر فی بحر کلماته من لآلیٴ العلم و الحکمة انّه لهو المهیمن علی الأسمآء لا اله الاّ هو المهیمن القیوم

Mā lā ʿaraftumūhu mina al-Bayāni fa-sʾalū Allāha rabbakum wa-rabba ābāʾikumu al-awwalīna. Innahu law yashāʾu yubayyinu lakum mā nuzzila fīhi wa-mā sutira fī baḥri kalimātihi min laʾāliʾi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ḥikmati. Innahu la-huwa al-muhayminu ʿalā al-asmāʾi lā ilāha illā huwa al-muhayminu al-qayyūmu.

Whatever you have not understood in the Bayān, ask God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. If He wishes, He will explain to you what has been sent down in it and the pearls of knowledge and wisdom concealed in the ocean of His words. He is indeed the Guardian over all names. There is no god but Him, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

182

قد اضطرب النّظم من هذا النّظم الأعظم و اختلف التّرتیب بهذا البدیع الّذی ما شهدت عین الابداع شبهه

Qadi iḍṭaraba al-naẓmu min hādhā al-naẓmi al-aʿẓami wa-ikhtalafa al-tartību bi-hādhā al-badīʿi alladhī mā shahidat ʿaynu al-ibdāʿi shibhahu.

The established order has been shaken by this Most Great Order, and its arrangement has been transformed by this wondrous new order, the like of which the eye of creation has never witnessed.

183

اغتمسوا فی بحر بیانی لعلّ تطّلعون بما فیه من لآلیٴ الحکمة و الأسرار ایّاکم ان توقّفوا فی هذا الأمر الّذی به ظهرت سلطنة اللّه و اقتداره اسرعوا الیه بوجوه بیضآء هذا دین اللّه من قبل و من بعد من اراد فلیقبل و من لم یرد فانّ اللّه لغنی عن العالمین

Ightamisū fī baḥri bayānī laʿalla taṭṭaliʿūna bi-mā fīhi min laʾāliʾi al-ḥikmati wa-al-asrāri. Iyyākum an tawaqqafū fī hādhā al-amri alladhī bihi ẓaharat salṭanatu Allāhi wa-iqtidāruhu. Asriʿū ilayhi bi-wujūhin bayḍāʾa. Hādhā dīnu Allāhi min qablu wa-min baʿdu. Man arāda fa-līuqbil wa-man lam yurid fa-inna Allāha la-ghaniyyun ʿani al-ʿālamīna.

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My utterance, so that you may discover the pearls of wisdom and mysteries within it. Beware of hesitating in this Cause, through which God’s sovereignty and might have been revealed. Hasten to Him with radiant faces. This is the religion of God, before and hereafter. Whoever wishes, let him turn toward it; and whoever does not wish—God is indeed independent of all the worlds.

184

قل هذا لقسطاس الهدی لمن فی السّموات و الأرض و البرهان الأعظم لو انتم تعرفون قل به ثبت کلّ حجّة فی الأعصار لو انتم توقنون قل به استغنی کلّ فقیر و تعلّم کلّ عالمٍ و عرج من اراد الصّعود الی اللّه ایّاکم ان تختلفوا فیه کونوا کالجبال الرّواسخ فی امر ربّکم العزیز الودود

Qul hādhā la-qisṭāsu al-hudā li-man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi wa-al-burhānu al-aʿẓamu law antum taʿrifūna. Qul bihi thabata kullu ḥujjatin fī al-aʿṣāri law antum tūqinūna. Qul bihi istaghnā kullu faqīrin wa-taʿallama kullu ʿālimin wa-ʿaraja man arāda al-ṣuʿūda ilā Allāhi. Iyyākum an takhtalifū fīhi. Kūnū ka-al-jibāli al-rawāsikhi fī amri rabbikumu al-ʿazīzi al-wadūdi.

Say: This is indeed the balance of guidance for all who are in the heavens and on earth, and the greatest proof, if only you knew. Say: Through it every proof throughout the ages has been established, if only you were certain. Say: Through it every poor person has been enriched, every learned person has gained knowledge, and whoever has desired to ascend to God has risen. Beware of differing over it. Be like firmly rooted mountains in the Cause of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Loving.

185

قل یا مطلع الاعراض دع الاغماض ثمّ انطق بالحقّ بین الخلق تاللّه قد جرت دموعی علی خدودی بما اراک مقبلاً الی هواک و معرضاً عمّن خلقک و سوّاک اذکر فضل مولاک اذ ربّیناک فی اللّیالی و الأیّام لخدمة الأمر اتّق اللّه و کن من التّائبین هبنی اشتبه علی النّاس امرک هل یشتبه علی نفسک خف عن اللّه ثمّ اذکر اذ کنت قائما لدی العرش و کتبت ما القیناک من ایات اللّه المهیمن المقتدر القدیر ایّاک ان تمنعک الحمیّة عن شطر الأحدیة توجّه الیه و لا تخف من اعمالک انّه یغفر من یشآء بفضل من عنده لا اله الاّ هو الغفور الکریم انّما ننصحک لوجه اللّه ان اقبلت فلنفسک و ان اعرضت انّ ربّک غنی عنک و عن الّذین اتّبعوک بوهم مبین قد اخذ اللّه من اغواک فارجع الیه خاضعاً خاشعاً متذلّلاً انّه یکفّر عنک سیئاتک انّ ربّک لهو التّوّاب العزیز الرّحیم

Qul yā maṭlaʿa al-iʿrāḍi daʿi al-ighmāḍa thumma inṭiq bi-al-ḥaqqi bayna al-khalqi. Ta-Allāhi qad jarat dumūʿī ʿalā khudūdī bi-mā arāka muqbilan ilā hawāka wa-muʿriḍan ʿamman khalaqaka wa-sawwāka. Udhkur faḍla mawlāka idh rabbaynāka fī al-layālī wa-al-ayyāmi li-khidmati al-amri. Ittaqi Allāha wa-kun mina al-tāʾibīna. Habnī ishtabaha ʿalā al-nāsi amruka hal yashtabihu ʿalā nafsika. Khaf ʿani Allāhi thumma udhkur idh kunta qāʾiman ladā al-ʿarshi wa-katabta mā alqaynāka min āyāti Allāhi al-muhaymini al-muqtadiri al-qadīri. Iyyāka an tamnaʿaka al-ḥamiyyatu ʿan shaṭri al-aḥadiyyati. Tawajjah ilayhi wa-lā takhaf min aʿmālika. Innahu yaghfiru man yashāʾu bi-faḍlin min ʿindihi lā ilāha illā huwa al-ghafūru al-karīmu. Innamā nanṣaḥuka li-wajhi Allāhi. In aqbalta fa-li-nafsika wa-in aʿraḍta inna rabbaka ghaniyyun ʿanka wa-ʿani alladhīna ittabaʿūka bi-wahmin mubīnin. Qad akhadha Allāhu man aghwāka fa-irjiʿ ilayhi khāḍiʿan khāshiʿan mutadhallilan. Innahu yukaffiru ʿanka sayyiʾātika inna rabbaka la-huwa al-tawwābu al-ʿazīzu al-raḥīmu.

Say: O source of rejection! Give up your willful blindness, then speak the truth among the people. By God! My tears have flowed down My cheeks because I see you turning toward your own desires and away from Him who created and fashioned you. Remember the bounty of your Lord, when We nurtured you through the nights and days for service to the Cause. Fear God and be among those who repent. Suppose your true condition is unclear to others: is it unclear to yourself? Fear God, then remember when you stood before the Throne and wrote down the verses of God, the All-Protecting, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, that We imparted to you. Beware lest pride keep you from turning toward the Divine Unity. Turn to Him and do not fear because of your deeds. He forgives whomever He wishes through His grace. There is no god but Him, the Ever-Forgiving, the Generous. We counsel you only for the sake of God. If you turn toward Him, it is for your own good; and if you turn away, your Lord has no need of you or of those who have followed you in manifest delusion. God has seized the one who led you astray, so return to Him in submission, humility, and lowliness. He will indeed efface your misdeeds. Your Lord is indeed the Ever-Relenting, the Almighty, the Merciful.

186

هذا نصح اللّه لو انت من السّامعین هذا فضل اللّه لو انت من المقبلین هذا ذکر اللّه لو انت من الشّاعرین هذا کنز اللّه لو انت من العارفین

Hādhā nuṣḥu Allāhi law anta mina al-sāmiʿīna. Hādhā faḍlu Allāhi law anta mina al-muqbilīna. Hādhā dhikru Allāhi law anta mina al-shāʿirīna. Hādhā kanzu Allāhi law anta mina al-ʿārifīna.

This is God’s counsel, if only you would listen. This is God’s grace, if only you would turn toward Him. This is God’s remembrance, if only you would perceive. This is God’s treasure, if only you would recognize it.

187

هذا کتاب اصبح مصباح القدم للعالم و صراطه الأقوم بین العالمین قل انّه لمطلع علم اللّه لو انتم تعلمون و مشرق اوامر اللّه لو انتم تعرفون

Hādhā kitābun aṣbaḥa miṣbāḥa al-qidami li-al-ʿālami wa-ṣirāṭahu al-aqwama bayna al-ʿālamīna. Qul innahu la-maṭlaʿu ʿilmi Allāhi law antum taʿlamūna wa-mashriqu awāmiri Allāhi law antum taʿrifūna.

This is a Book that has become the lamp of eternity for the world and His straightest path among all peoples. Say: It is indeed the dawning place of God’s knowledge, if only you knew, and the dayspring of God’s commandments, if only you recognized it.

188

لا تحملوا علی الحیوان ما یعجز عن حمله انّا نهیناکم عن ذلک نهیاً عظیماً فی الکتاب کونوا مظاهر العدل و الانصاف بین السّموات و الأرضین

Lā taḥmilū ʿalā al-ḥayawāni mā yaʿjizu ʿan ḥamlihi. Innā nahaynākum ʿan dhālika nahyan ʿaẓīman fī al-kitābi. Kūnū maẓāhira al-ʿadli wa-al-inṣāfi bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍīna.

Do not load an animal with more than it can carry. We have most emphatically forbidden you to do so in the Book. Be manifestations of justice and fairness throughout the heavens and the earth.

189

من قتل نفساً خطأً فله دیة مسلّمة الی اهلها و هی مائة مثقال من الذّهب اعملوا بما امرتم به فی اللّوح و لا تکوننّ من المتجاوزین

Man qatala nafsan khaṭaʾan fa-lahu diyatun musallamatun ilā ahlihā wa-hiya miʾatu mithqālin mina al-dhahabi. Iʿmalū bi-mā umirtum bihi fī al-lawḥi wa-lā takūnanna mina al-mutajāwizīna.

Whoever kills a person by mistake must pay compensation to that person’s family, amounting to one hundred mithqāls of gold. Act according to what you have been commanded in the Tablet, and do not be among those who transgress.

190

یا اهل المجالس فی البلاد اختاروا لغة من اللّغات لیتکلّم بها من علی الأرض و کذلک من الخطوط انّ اللّه یبین لکم ما ینفعکم و یغنیکم عن دونکم انّه لهو الفضّال العلیم الخبیر هذا سبب الاتّحاد لو انتم تعلمون و العلة الکبری للاتّفاق و التّمدّن لو انتم تشعرون انّا جعلنا الأمرین علامتین لبلوغ العالم الأوّل و هو الاسّ الأعظم نزّلناه فی الواح اخری و الثّانی نزل فی هذا اللّوح البدیع

Yā ahla al-majālisi fī al-bilādi ikhtārū lughatan mina al-lughāti li-yatakallama bihā man ʿalā al-arḍi wa-kadhālika mina al-khuṭūṭi. Inna Allāha yubayyinu lakum mā yanfaʿukum wa-yughnīkum ʿan dūnikum. Innahu la-huwa al-faḍḍālu al-ʿalīmu al-khabīru. Hādhā sababu al-ittiḥādi law antum taʿlamūna wa-al-ʿillatu al-kubrā li-al-ittifāqi wa-al-tamadduni law antum tashʿurūna. Innā jaʿalnā al-amrayni ʿalāmatayni li-bulūghi al-ʿālami. Al-awwalu wa-huwa al-ussu al-aʿẓamu nazzalnāhu fī alwāḥin ukhrā wa-al-thānī nazala fī hādhā al-lawḥi al-badīʿi.

O members of assemblies in the countries of the world! Choose one language from among the languages for everyone on earth to speak, and likewise one script from among the scripts. God makes clear to you what will benefit you and make you independent of others. He is indeed the Most Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. This is a means of unity, if only you knew, and the greatest means of harmony and civilization, if only you perceived. We have made these two matters signs of the world’s maturity. The first, which is the greatest foundation, We have sent down in other Tablets, and the second has been sent down in this wondrous Tablet.

191

قد حرّم علیکم شرب الأفیون انّا نهیناکم عن ذلک نهیاً عظیماً فی الکتاب و الّذی شرب انّه لیس منّی اتّقوا اللّه یا اولی الألباب

Qad ḥurrima ʿalaykum shurbu al-afyūni. Innā nahaynākum ʿan dhālika nahyan ʿaẓīman fī al-kitābi wa-alladhī shariba innahu laysa minnī. Ittaqū Allāha yā ulī al-albābi.

Consuming opium has been forbidden to you. We have most emphatically forbidden you to do so in the Book, and whoever consumes it is not of Me. Fear God, O people of understanding.