BH00004

1

هوالله المستعان

Huwa Allāh al-Mustaʿān.

He is God, whose help is sought.

2

مكتوبت كه مشعر بر بعض روايات غير محقّقه و اخبارات غير صادقه بود باين عبد فانى واصل از جهتى ابواب سرور گشود و از جهتى ابواب حزن مفتوح نمود امّا سرور چه كه مشعر بر سلامتى بود و امّا حزن نظر بآنكه مشاهده شد كه بالأخره انفس مشركه تو را از شطر احديّه ممنوع نموده‌اند و از نفحات حبّ الهّيه محروم داشته‌اند نسئل اللّه بأن ينصرفك عنهم و يقلبك الى وجهه المنير

Maktūbat kih mushʿir bar baʿḍ rivāyāt-i ghayr-i muḥaqqaqih va ikhbārāt-i ghayr-i ṣādiqih būd bi-īn ʿabd-i fānī vāṣil, az jihatī abvāb-i surūr gushūd va az jihatī abvāb-i ḥuzn maftūḥ namūd. Ammā surūr chih kih mushʿir bar salāmatī būd va ammā ḥuzn naẓar bi-ānkih mushāhidih shud kih bi’l-ākharah anfus-i mushrikih tu rā az shaṭr-i aḥadiyyih mamnūʿ namūdih-and va az nafaḥāt-i ḥubb-i ilāhiyyih maḥrūm dāshtih-and. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yanṣarifaka ʿanhum wa yuqallibaka ilā wajhihi al-munīr.

Your letter, conveying certain unverified accounts and untrue reports, reached this transitory servant. In one respect it opened the gates of joy, and in another it opened the gates of sorrow. As for joy, it gave news of your well-being; as for sorrow, it became apparent that, in the end, souls who associate partners with God have kept you from the realm of divine unity and deprived you of the breezes of divine love. We ask God to turn you away from them and direct you toward His radiant face.

3

و چون اين عبد ملاحظه نمود كه آنچه مرقوم داشته از فطرت ظاهر نشده بلكه از كلمات كاذبه انفس مشركه بوده كه نزد تو مذكورداشته‌اند لذا خالصاً لوجه اللّه و حبّاً لك لازم شد كه جواب مذكور دارم كه شايد بقوّه ربّ الأرباب حجاب اعظم و سبحات جلال را بانامل قدرت و انقطاع شقّ نمائى و بمقرّى كه مقدّس از ذكر و اشاره و كلمات و عبارات است صعود نمائى و سبّاحان قلزم كبريائى و طايران هواء عزّ ربّانى را از طيور ظلمانى تميز دهى

Va chūn īn ʿabd mulāḥiẓih namūd kih ānchih marqūm dāshtih az fiṭrat ẓāhir nashudih balkih az kalimāt-i kādhibih-yi anfus-i mushrikih būdih kih nazd-i tu madhkūr dāshtih-and, lidhā khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh va ḥubban laka lāzim shud kih javāb madhkūr dāram kih shāyad bi-quvvih-yi Rabb al-Arbāb ḥijāb-i aʿẓam va subuḥāt-i jalāl rā bi-anāmil-i qudrat va inqiṭāʿ shaqq namāʾī va bi-maqarrī kih muqaddas az dhikr va ishārih va kalimāt va ʿibārāt ast ṣuʿūd namāʾī va sabbāḥān-i qulzum-i kibriyāʾī va ṭāyirān-i havā-yi ʿizz-i rabbānī rā az ṭuyūr-i ẓulmānī tamīz dihī.

When this servant observed that what you had written had not arisen from your own nature, but consisted of the lying words of souls who associate partners with God, which they had recounted to you, it became necessary, solely for the sake of God and out of love for you, to give a reply. Perhaps, through the power of the Lord of Lords, you may rend the greatest veil and the veils of glory with the fingers of power and detachment, ascend to an abode sanctified beyond mention, allusion, words, and expressions, and distinguish those who swim in the ocean of majesty and soar in the heaven of divine glory from the birds of darkness.

4

اگرچه مشاهده ميشود كه حجاب اكبر بصرت را از منظر اكبر بكلّى محروم نموده ولكن چون بر حسب ظاهر كلمات نصحيّه ذكر نموده بودى لذا بر اين عبد لازم شد كه بآنچه از طمطام يمّ عنايت الهى و ظهورات تجلّى عزّ صمدانى فايز شده‌ام بهمان مقدار تو را اخبار نمايم كه شايد از حرم عزّ تقديس محروم نگردى و از كعبه قدس تجريد بی‌‌نصيب نمانى

Agarchih mushāhidih mīshavad kih ḥijāb-i akbar baṣarat rā az manẓar-i akbar bi-kullī maḥrūm namūdih va lākin chūn bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir kalimāt-i nuṣḥiyyih dhikr namūdih būdī lidhā bar īn ʿabd lāzim shud kih bi-ānchih az ṭamṭām-i yamm-i ʿināyat-i ilāhī va ẓuhūrāt-i tajallī-yi ʿizz-i ṣamadānī fāʾiz shudih-am bi-hamān miqdār tu rā ikhbār namāyam kih shāyad az ḥaram-i ʿizz-i taqdīs maḥrūm nagardī va az Kaʿbih-yi quds-i tajrīd bī-naṣīb namānī.

Although it is apparent that the greatest veil has entirely deprived your sight of the greatest vision, since you had offered words that outwardly took the form of counsel, it became necessary for this servant to inform you, to the extent of what I have received, of the surging ocean of divine favor and the manifestations of the radiance of everlasting glory. Perhaps you may not be deprived of the sanctuary of sanctified glory or left without a share in the sacred Kaaba of detachment.

5

اگرچه كلماتى از لسان مبارك استماع شد و از مضمون آن اين عبد از اكثرى از ناس مأيوس شده و لكن خالصاً لوجه اللّه اظهار ميشود كه لعلّ بنسيمى از رضوان عزّ تقديس فايز شوى و بثمره از اثمار سدره لاشرقيّه و لاغربيّه مرزوق گردى و آن كلمات اينست كه فرمودند انّ النّاس اكثرهم يسترضعون اليوم من ثدى الغفلة و الجهل و ما جائتهم ایّام فطامهم فكيف بلوغهم لذا لا تؤثّر فيهم الكلمة لانّهم لا يفقهون و لا يشعرون و انّك فاشهد هؤلآء الخلق كاغنام يذهبهم صبی‌ من الصّبيان كيف يشآء كذلك نزل من قبل و لكن النّاس هم لايعرفون

Agarchih kalimātī az lisān-i mubārak istimāʿ shud va az maḍmūn-i ān īn ʿabd az aktharī az nās maʾyūs shudih va lākin khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh iẓhār mīshavad kih laʿall bi-nasīmī az Riḍvān-i ʿizz-i taqdīs fāʾiz shavī va bi-thamarih az athmār-i sidrih-yi lā-sharqiyyih va lā-gharbiyyih marzūq gardī va ān kalimāt īnast kih farmūdand: Inna al-nāsa aktharahum yastarḍiʿūna al-yawma min thadyi al-ghaflati wa al-jahli wa mā jāʾathum ayyāmu fiṭāmihim fa-kayfa bulūghuhum lidhā lā tuʾaththiru fīhimu al-kalimatu li-annahum lā yafqahūna wa lā yashʿurūna wa innaka fa-ishhad hāʾulāʾi al-khalqa ka-aghnāmin yadhhabuhum ṣabiyyun mina al-ṣibyāni kayfa yashāʾu kadhālika nazala min qablu wa lākinna al-nāsa hum lā yaʿrifūn.

Although words were heard from the blessed tongue whose import has caused this servant to lose hope in most people, this is nevertheless set forth solely for the sake of God, so that perhaps you may receive a breeze from the Paradise of sanctified glory and be granted a fruit from the tree that is neither of the East nor of the West. These are the words that were spoken: “Most people today suckle at the breast of heedlessness and ignorance. The days of their weaning have not yet come, much less their maturity. Therefore the Word has no effect upon them, for they neither understand nor perceive. Behold these people as sheep whom a child leads wherever he wishes. Thus was it revealed before, yet the people do not recognize it.”

6

و چون در مكتوبت مطالب عديده ذكر شده بود لذا بر اين عبد لازم شد كه هر يك از مطالب تو را مرقوم نمايد و بعد جواب مذكور دارد كه لعلّ در اين ایّام كه ظلمت جميع ارض را احاطه نموده بعضى از قاصدين و طالبين بانوار شمس هدايت مهتدى شوند و از كوثر حيوان بی‌‌نصيب نمانند و انّه ليهدى من يشآء و انّه على كلّ شیء قدير

Va chūn dar maktūbat maṭālib-i ʿadīdih dhikr shudih būd lidhā bar īn ʿabd lāzim shud kih har yak az maṭālib-i tu rā marqūm namāyad va baʿd javāb madhkūr dārad kih laʿall dar īn ayyām kih ẓulmat jamīʿ-i arḍ rā iḥāṭih namūdih baʿḍī az qāṣidīn va ṭālibīn bi-anvār-i shams-i hidāyat muhtadī shavand va az kawthar-i ḥayavān bī-naṣīb namānand. Wa innahu la-yahdī man yashāʾu wa innahu ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr.

Since numerous points were mentioned in your letter, it became necessary for this servant to write down each of your points and then give a reply, so that perhaps, in these days when darkness has encompassed the whole earth, some of those who seek and aspire may be guided by the light of the sun of guidance and not be left without a share of the Kawthar of life. He indeed guides whomever He wills, and He has power over all things.

7

اينست اوّل مطلب تو كه مرقوم داشته اميد از خداوند متعال چنان است كه ملاقات نصيب گرداند كه شايد رفع تعيّنات ظلمانيّه و حجبات وهميّه گردد و معلوم شود سابحين در بحر احديّه و طايرين در فضاى رفعت از ساكنين در بئر ظلمت و واقفين در بيداى حيرت انتهى

Īnast avval maṭlab-i tu kih marqūm dāshtih: Umīd az Khudāvand-i mutaʿāl chunān ast kih mulāqāt naṣīb gardānad kih shāyad rafʿ-i taʿayyunāt-i ẓulmāniyyih va ḥujubāt-i vahmiyyih gardad va maʿlūm shavad sābiḥīn dar baḥr-i aḥadiyyih va ṭāyirīn dar faḍā-yi rifʿat az sākinīn dar biʾr-i ẓulmat va vāqifīn dar baydā-yi ḥayrat. Intahā.

This is the first point you wrote: “My hope in God, the Most Exalted, is that He may grant us a meeting, so that perhaps the dark limitations and veils of illusion may be removed, and those who swim in the sea of divine unity and soar in the heights may be distinguished from those who dwell in the pit of darkness and remain in the desert of bewilderment.” End of quotation.

8

اينكه خواسته بودى كه ملاقات حاصل شود و از آن ملاقات رفع حجبات گردد هر ملاقاتى علّت كشف حجاب نبوده و نخواهد بود در اكثرى ملاقات بر حجاب بيفزايد چنانچه نفسيكه منبع غلّ و معدن فساد بوده آمده و تو حجبات او را خرق ننموده كه سهل است بر حجبات تو افزوده اگر تو قادر بر خرق حجاب بودى البتّه حجبات مانعه از نفس محجوبه را كشف مينمودى و لكن انشآءاللّه از فضل الهى اميدواريم كه ملاقاتى بروح و ريحان دست دهد و جميع در انجمن قدس مجتمع شويم و از اشارات لفظيّه مقدّس شده بعوالم نامتناهى معانى پى بريم چه كه اين ایّام ایّام كشف و شهود است نه ایّام تحقيق ظنون و موهوم از خدا وصل و لقا را طالبيم و انّه لنعم المولى و نعم المجيب معلومست كه اين كلمات از خودت نبوده از وسوسه انفس بعيده مرقوم داشته

Īnkih khvāstih būdī kih mulāqāt ḥāṣil shavad va az ān mulāqāt rafʿ-i ḥujubāt gardad, har mulāqātī ʿillat-i kashf-i ḥijāb nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd. Dar aktharī mulāqāt bar ḥijāb bīfzāyad chunānchih nafsīkih manbaʿ-i ghill va maʿdan-i fasād būdih āmadih va tu ḥujubāt-i ū rā kharq nanamūdih kih sahl ast bar ḥujubāt-i tu afzūdih. Agar tu qādir bar kharq-i ḥijāb būdī al-battih ḥujubāt-i māniʿih az nafs-i maḥjūbih rā kashf mīnamūdī va lākin in shāʾ Allāh az faḍl-i ilāhī umīdvārīm kih mulāqātī bi-rūḥ va rayḥān dast dihad va jamīʿ dar anjuman-i quds mujtamiʿ shavīm va az ishārāt-i lafẓiyyih muqaddas shudih bi-ʿavālim-i nāmutanāhī-yi maʿānī pay barīm chih kih īn ayyām ayyām-i kashf va shuhūd ast nah ayyām-i taḥqīq-i ẓunūn va mawhūm. Az Khudā vaṣl va liqā rā ṭālibīm va innahu la-niʿma al-mawlā wa niʿma al-mujīb. Maʿlūmast kih īn kalimāt az khudat nabūdih az vasvasih-yi anfus-i baʿīdih marqūm dāshtih.

As for your wish that a meeting take place and that through it the veils be removed, not every meeting has been or will be a cause of unveiling. In most cases, a meeting adds to the veil. Thus, a person who was a source of malice and a mine of corruption came, and far from your rending his veils, he added to yours. Had you been capable of rending a veil, you would certainly have removed the obstructing veils from that veiled soul. Nevertheless, God willing, we hope through divine grace that a meeting may take place in joy and delight, that we may all gather in the assembly of holiness and, freed from verbal allusions, find our way into the limitless worlds of meaning. For these days are days of unveiling and witnessing, not days of investigating conjectures and imaginings. From God we seek reunion and meeting; He is indeed the best Protector and the best to answer. It is clear that these words were not your own: you wrote them at the prompting of souls far removed.

9

ذات نايافته از هستى بخش كى تواند كه شود هستى بخش

Dhāt nāyāftih az hastī-bakhsh kay tavānad kih shavad hastī-bakhsh.

A self that has received nothing from the Giver of being—how can it become a giver of being?

10

امثال آن نفوس پژمرده محرومه يمين را ازشمال تميز نداده‌اند چگونه خود را هادى و منجى فرض گرفته‌اند نفحات انفس الهيّه از فوحات انفس مشركه بسى واضح و معلوم است نه هر كه بصورت انسان از انسان محسوب و نه هر كه بدو كلمه ناطق از اهل بيان مذكور انفس محدوده از عالم احديّه محروم بوده و خواهند بود و ابصر مرموده از مشاهده انوار آفتاب معانى بی‌نصيب عجب است از تو كه جوهر وهم را نفس يقين دانسته و نفس موهوم را معلوم ذكر نموده انّهم خلقوا من الوهم و بدئوا منه و رجعوا اليه و اليوم طايران هواى قرب الهى و سبّاحان قلزم رحمت رحمانى چون شمس مشرق و مضيئند و واللّه اگر نفوس محتجبه ابصر خود را از رمد نفس و هوى مطهّر سازند فى الحين باشراق نيّر آفاق‌ فايز شوند

Amthāl-i ān nufūs-i pazhmurdih-yi maḥrūmih yamīn rā az shimāl tamīz nadādih-and chigūnih khud rā hādī va munjī farḍ giriftih-and. Nafaḥāt-i anfus-i ilāhiyyih az fawḥāt-i anfus-i mushrikih basī vāḍiḥ va maʿlūm ast. Nah har kih bi-ṣūrat-i insān az insān maḥsūb va nah har kih bi-du kalimih nāṭiq az ahl-i bayān madhkūr. Anfus-i maḥdūdih az ʿālam-i aḥadiyyih maḥrūm būdih va khvāhand būd va abṣur-i marmūdih az mushāhidih-yi anvār-i āftāb-i maʿānī bī-naṣīb. ʿAjab ast az tu kih jawhar-i vahm rā nafs-i yaqīn dānistih va nafs-i mawhūm rā maʿlūm dhikr namūdih. Innahum khuliqū mina al-wahmi wa budiʾū minhu wa rajaʿū ilayhi. Va imrūz ṭāyirān-i havā-yi qurb-i ilāhī va sabbāḥān-i qulzum-i raḥmat-i raḥmānī chūn shams mushriq va muḍīʾand va va’llāh agar nufūs-i muḥtajibih abṣur-i khud rā az ramad-i nafs va havā muṭahhar sāzand fī al-ḥīn bi-ishrāq-i nayyir-i āfāq fāʾiz shavand.

The likes of those withered, deprived souls have not distinguished right from left. How have they presumed themselves to be guides and saviors? The distinction between the breezes of divine souls and the odors of souls who associate partners with God is abundantly clear and evident. Not everyone with a human form is counted as human, nor is everyone who utters two words reckoned among the people of utterance. Limited souls have been and will remain deprived of the realm of divine unity, and diseased eyes have no share in beholding the rays of the sun of meanings. It is astonishing that you have taken the essence of illusion for certainty itself, and described what is imagined as something known. They were created from illusion, originated from it, and returned to it. Today, those who soar in the heaven of nearness to God and swim in the ocean of the All-Merciful’s mercy are radiant and shining like the sun. By God, if veiled souls cleanse their eyes of the disease of self and desire, they will at once receive the radiance of the Luminary of the horizons.

11

و لكن چه ذكر نمايم كه امر بسيار بر تو مشتبه شده و هذا لم يكن من عندك بل من الّذى لم يكن له ذكر عنداللّه و كان محروماً عن نفحات ایّام اللّه المهيمن القيّوم قولك بلى اگرچه حالتم بر حسب ظاهر خوب و در كمال صحّت در گذر است ولى از بس فسرده‌ام يكى از محرومى فيض خدمت احباب و ديگر آنكه هر قدر جان ميكنيم و كوشش مينمائيم و از شهر بشهر و وادى بوادى ميدويم بلكه نوعى شود خيال آسوده شود نميشود و نميگذارند عجب است از تو و اين عبد خادم بسيار متحيّر شده از اين عبارات كه مرقوم داشته كه شهر بشهر ميدويم كه خيال آسوده شود و نميشود چه كه از اين كلمه همچه مفهوم شد كه نعوذ باللّه ملتفت نشده كه شهر بشهر گشتن سبب آسود‌گى خيال نبوده و نخواهد شد كاش تو در همان محلّ توقف مينمودى و يك نفس خالصى للّه برمياوردى و البتّه آن نفس بمكمن رحمن حاضر ميشد چه كه اگر مقصود از حركت تو عرفان حقّ بوده بايد باينمدينه بيائى مطهّرا عن كلّ الاشارات و الدّلالات و بعد ملاقات نموده خود ببصر خود تميز دهى و حقّ را از دونش بشناسى نه بقول نفسيكه عنداللّه مردود بوده بشأنى محتجب شوى كه خود را از جمال مقصود بالمرّه محروم دارى و السّالك لن يبلغ الى وطن الأمن و الأمان الّا بكفّ الصّفر عما فى الامكان

Va lākin chih dhikr namāyam kih amr bisyār bar tu mushtabih shudih. Wa hādhā lam yakun min ʿindika bal mina alladhī lam yakun lahu dhikrun ʿinda Allāhi wa kāna maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāti ayyāmi Allāhi al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm. Qawluka: Balī agarchih ḥālatam bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir khūb va dar kamāl-i ṣiḥḥat dar gudhar ast valī az bas fasurdih-am, yakī az maḥrūmī-yi fayḍ-i khidmat-i aḥbāb va dīgar ānkih har qadr jān mīkanīm va kūshish mīnamāyīm va az shahr bi-shahr va vādī bi-vādī mīdavīm balkih nawʿī shavad khiyāl āsūdih shavad namīshavad va namīgudhārand. ʿAjab ast az tu va īn ʿabd-i khādim bisyār mutaḥayyir shudih az īn ʿibārāt kih marqūm dāshtih kih shahr bi-shahr mīdavīm kih khiyāl āsūdih shavad va namīshavad chih kih az īn kalimih hamchih mafhūm shud kih naʿūdhu bi’llāh multafit nashudih kih shahr bi-shahr gashtan sabab-i āsūdigī-yi khiyāl nabūdih va nakhvāhad shud. Kāsh tu dar hamān maḥall tavaqquf mīnamūdī va yak nafas-i khāliṣī li’llāh bar mīāvardī va al-battih ān nafas bi-makman-i Raḥmān ḥāḍir mīshud chih kih agar maqṣūd az ḥarakat-i tu ʿirfān-i Ḥaqq būdih bāyad bi-īn madīnih biyāʾī muṭahharan ʿan kulli al-ishārāti wa al-dalālāt va baʿd mulāqāt namūdih khud bi-baṣar-i khud tamīz dihī va Ḥaqq rā az dūnash bishināsī nah bi-qawl-i nafsīkih ʿinda Allāh mardūd būdih bi-shaʾnī muḥtajib shavī kih khud rā az jamāl-i Maqṣūd bi’l-marrih maḥrūm dārī. Wa al-sāliku lan yablugha ilā waṭani al-amni wa al-amāni illā bi-kaffi al-ṣifri ʿammā fī al-imkān.

But what can I say, when the matter has become so confused for you? This did not come from you, but from one who had no mention in God’s presence and was deprived of the breezes of the days of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Your words: “Yes, although outwardly my condition is good and I am passing my days in perfect health, I am deeply dispirited: first, from being deprived of the blessing of serving the friends, and second, because however much we struggle and strive, running from city to city and valley to valley in the hope that somehow we may find peace of mind, it does not happen, and they do not allow it.” This is astonishing on your part, and this servant is greatly bewildered by these expressions you have written: that you run from city to city to find peace of mind, yet do not find it. For these words suggest that, God forbid, you have failed to realize that roaming from city to city has never been and will never be a cause of peace of mind. If only you had remained in that same place and drawn a single breath purely for God! That breath would certainly have reached the hidden abode of the All-Merciful. For if the purpose of your journey was recognition of the Truth, you should come to this city, purified of all allusions and indications, and then meet and discern with your own eyes, distinguishing the Truth from all else—not become so veiled by the words of a soul rejected in God’s sight that you deprive yourself altogether of the beauty of the Desired One. The wayfarer will never reach the homeland of safety and security except with hands empty of all that is in the contingent world.

12

قوله رفته بود كه قدرى آسایش حاصل نمائيم و از شرّ فتنه ايمن باشيم فراغتى حاصل شود وساوس شياطين بهواى نفس شرّى برانگيخته خلل در اعتقادات انداخته فتنه نوى بر پا نموده الفتنة نائمة لعن اللّه من ايقظها انتهى تكاد ان تنفطر السّمآء ء من هذا القول و تنشق الأرض و تندكّ الجبال و تنقطع البحار عن الأمواج و الأشجار من الأثمار فواللّه تكاد ان تنعدم اركان الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود و بما خرج من فمك اصفرّت وجوه المقرّبين و لو يكون ذو دراية ليوقن بأنّ وجه نقطة الأولی حينئذ اصفرّ من لطمات هذه الكلمات و اذاً ينوح فى رفيق الأعلی و ينوح معه ملائكة المقرّبين هيچ ملاحظه نموده‌ئی كه چه نوشته مقصود از اين بيان چه و مقصود كه و لكن از سجيّه اهل اللّه نبوده كه فوق شأن خود تكلّم نمايند من لم يعرف حدّه و شأنه لم يعرف ربّه

Qawluhu: Raftih būd kih qadrī āsāyish ḥāṣil namāyīm va az sharr-i fitnih īman bāshīm farāghatī ḥāṣil shavad vasāvis-i shayāṭīn bi-havā-yi nafs sharrī bar angīkhtih khalal dar iʿtiqādāt andākhtih fitnih-yi nawī bar pā namūdih. Al-fitnatu nāʾimatun laʿana Allāhu man ayqaẓahā. Intahā. Takādu an tanfaṭira al-samāʾu [corrupted text] min hādhā al-qawli wa tanshaqqa al-arḍu wa tandakka al-jibālu wa tanqaṭiʿa al-biḥāru ʿani al-amwāji wa al-ashjāru mina al-athmār. Fa-wa’llāhi takādu an tanʿadima arkānu al-wujūdi mina al-ghaybi wa al-shuhūd wa bi-mā kharaja min famika iṣfarrat wujūhu al-muqarrabīn wa law yakūnu dhū dirāyatin li-yūqina bi-anna wajha Nuqṭati al-Ūlā ḥīnaʾidhin iṣfarra min laṭamāti hādhihi al-kalimāt wa idhan yanūḥu fī Rafīqi al-Aʿlā wa yanūḥu maʿahu malāʾikatu al-muqarrabīn. Hīch mulāḥiẓih namūdih-ī kih chih nivishtih maqṣūd az īn bayān chih va maqṣūd kih va lākin az sajiyyih-yi ahl-i Allāh nabūdih kih fawq-i shaʾn-i khud takallum namāyand. Man lam yaʿrif ḥaddahu wa shaʾnahu lam yaʿrif rabbahu.

His words: “It had been intended that we should gain some comfort, be safe from the evil of strife, and find some respite. The whisperings of devils, following selfish desire, have stirred up mischief, undermined beliefs, and raised a new disturbance. Strife is asleep; may God curse whoever awakens it.” End of quotation. The heaven is almost rent [corrupted original text] by this statement, the earth split apart, the mountains crushed, the seas deprived of their waves, and the trees of their fruits. By God, the very pillars of existence, unseen and visible, are almost brought to nothing. What has issued from your mouth has turned pale the faces of those brought near to God. Anyone possessed of understanding would surely know that the face of the Primal Point has now grown pale from the blows of these words. He therefore laments in the companionship of the Most High, and with Him lament the angels who are brought near. Have you considered at all what you have written, what is meant by this statement, and whom it concerns? Yet it is not the character of the people of God to speak beyond their station. Whoever has not known his own limits and station has not known his Lord.

13

بارى اين عباد كه بأيادى تربيت الهيّه تربيت شده‌اند و در ظل سدره ادب ساكنند دوست نداشته و ندارند كه اين كلمات را بمثل تو جواب ذكر نمايند فوّضنا الأمور الى اللّه و انّه لنعم الوكيل بشنو نداى عبد ناصح را فضل اعظم را غضب مدان و صلح اكبر را فتنه مشمر و رحمت كليّه الهيّه را قهر مبين ماء عذب فرات را از ملح اجاج بصر ظاهره تميز ندهد بلكه محتاج بذائقه بوده و خواهد بود و ذائقه هم اگر بامراض وارده تغيير نمايد انّهم از ادراك عاجز خواهد بود از خدا ميطلبيم ذائقه قدسيّه لطيفه عنايت فرمايد كه كوثر بيان الهى را از ملح اجاج نفسانى تميز دهيم و الأمر بيده انّه على كلّ شیء حكيم و على كلّ شیء قدير

Bārī īn ʿibād kih bi-ayādī-yi tarbiyat-i ilāhiyyih tarbiyat shudih-and va dar ẓill-i sidrih-yi adab sākinand dūst nadāshtih va nadārand kih īn kalimāt rā bi-mithl-i tu javāb dhikr namāyand. Fawwaḍnā al-umūra ilā Allāhi wa innahu la-niʿma al-wakīl. Bishnaw nidā-yi ʿabd-i nāṣiḥ rā faḍl-i aʿẓam rā ghaḍab madān va ṣulḥ-i akbar rā fitnih mashmur va raḥmat-i kulliyyih-yi ilāhiyyih rā qahr mabīn. Māʾ-i ʿadhb-i furāt rā az milḥ-i ujāj baṣar-i ẓāhirih tamīz nadihad balkih muḥtāj bi-dhāʾiqih būdih va khvāhad būd va dhāʾiqih ham agar bi-amrāḍ-i vāridih taghyīr namāyad ān ham az idrāk ʿājiz khvāhad būd. Az Khudā mīṭalabīm dhāʾiqih-yi qudsiyyih-yi laṭīfih ʿināyat farmāyad kih kawthar-i bayān-i ilāhī rā az milḥ-i ujāj-i nafsānī tamīz dihīm. Wa al-amru bi-yadihi innahu ʿalā kulli shayʾin ḥakīmun wa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr.

In any case, these servants, who have been nurtured by the hands of divine education and dwell in the shade of the tree of courtesy, have never wished, nor do they now wish, to answer such words from one like you. We have entrusted all matters to God; He is indeed the best Trustee. Listen to the call of a servant who offers sincere counsel: do not mistake the greatest grace for wrath, count the greatest peace as strife, or regard God’s all-embracing mercy as vengeance. The outward eye cannot distinguish sweet, refreshing water from bitter salt water; this has always required, and will always require, the sense of taste. If the sense of taste is altered by diseases that afflict it, it too will be incapable of perception. We ask God to bestow a delicate, sanctified sense of taste, so that we may distinguish the Kawthar of divine utterance from the bitter salt water of the self. The matter is in His hand. He is wise in all things and has power over all things.

14

اگر آسایش ميخواهى اين بيان حقّ را بشنو كه فرموده از آلايش نفس و هوى پاك شو تا بآسایش لايفنى فايز شوى اين آسایش در ظلّ حقّ بوده نه در دونش چه كه جز ظلّش اليوم برهوت عنداللّه محسوب انشآء اللّه اميدواريم كه صدر را از كلمات و اشارات مشركين ممرّد نموده تا محلّ تجلّى سلطان احديّه شود وبالمرّه از قيل و قال و جنگ و جدال بياسايد

Agar āsāyesh mīkhwāhī īn bayān-e Ḥaqq rā beshnow keh farmūdeh: az ālāyesh-e nafs va havā pāk show tā be-āsāyesh-e lā-yafnā fāyez shavī. Īn āsāyesh dar ẓell-e Ḥaqq būdeh nah dar dūnash, cheh keh joz ẓellash al-yawm barahūt ʿinda Allāh maḥsūb. In shāʾ Allāh omīdvārīm keh ṣadr rā az kalemāt va eshārāt-e moshrekīn momarrad namūdeh tā maḥall-e tajallī-ye Solṭān-e Aḥadīyeh shavad va bel-marreh az qīl o qāl va jang o jedāl beyāsāyad.

If you desire rest, listen to this utterance of God: “Purify yourself of the defilement of self and desire, so that you may attain imperishable rest.” This rest lies in the shade of God, not elsewhere, for today everything outside His shade is reckoned a barren wilderness in God’s sight. God willing, We hope that you will cleanse your breast of the words and insinuations of those who associate partners with God, so that it may become the seat of the revelation of the Sovereign of Oneness and find complete rest from disputation, conflict, and contention.

15

مذكور نموده بودى كه ازشرّ فتنه ايمن باشيم همچه مفهوم ميشود كه تو ظهورات حقّيّه كه در عالم شده از آدم تا خاتم جميع را فتنه دانسته و اعتقاد نموده كه تكلّم نمودن بكلمه حقّ فتنه است و لكن زين فتنه تا آن فتنه فرقى است بسيار و لايعقلها الّا اولو الأبصار فتنه حقّ فتنه‌ايست كه صد‌هزار شريعه امن و امان از او جارىست فواللّه اگر ذى شمّى يافت شود از اين فتنه نفحات احديّه استشمام نمايد و ديگر ميفرمايد قوله جلّ كبريائه الم احسب النّاس ان يتركوا ان يقولوا آمنّا و هم لايفتنون

Madhkūr namūdeh būdī keh az sharr-e fetneh īmen bāshīm. Hamcheh mafhūm mīshavad keh to ẓohūrāt-e ḥaqqīyeh keh dar ʿālam shodeh az Ādam tā Khātam jamīʿ rā fetneh dānesteh va eʿteqād namūdeh keh takallom namūdan be-kalemeh-ye ḥaqq fetneh ast. Va lāken zīn fetneh tā ān fetneh farqī ast besyār, va lā yaʿqiluhā illā ulū al-abṣār. Fetneh-ye Ḥaqq fetneh-īst keh ṣad-hezār sharīʿeh-ye amn o amān az ū jārīst. Fa-wa-Allāh agar dhī-shammī yāft shavad az īn fetneh nafaḥāt-e Aḥadīyeh estesḥmām namāyad. Va dīgar mīfarmāyad, qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu: Alif Lām Mīm. A-ḥasiba al-nāsu an yutrakū an yaqūlū āmannā wa-hum lā yuftanūn.

You had written, “May we be safe from the evil of strife.” It would appear that you have regarded all the Manifestations of God who have appeared in the world, from Adam to the Seal, as strife, and have believed that speaking the word of truth is strife. Yet there is a vast difference between this strife and that strife, and none comprehend it except those possessed of insight. The strife of God is a strife from which a hundred thousand streams of peace and security flow. By God, if anyone possessed of a sense of smell were found, he would inhale the fragrances of Oneness from this strife. Elsewhere He says—His words, exalted be His majesty: “Alif. Lam. Mim. Do people suppose that they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being put to the test?”

16

اگر آنچه از حقّ ظاهر ميشود آن را فتنه انگاشته صد‌هزار جان فداى چنين فتنه كه انفس مشركه فرعونيّه را از مظاهر احديّه تميز داده و تفصيل فرموده ای عبد از خدا ميطلبم كه بصر حديد بجميع ناس عنايت فرمايد و نفس زكيّه مرحمت نمايد و اذن واعيه مبذول دارد تا كلمات مشركه را از كلمات الهيّه فرق گذارند

Agar āncheh az Ḥaqq ẓāher mīshavad ān rā fetneh engāshteh, ṣad-hezār jān fadā-ye chonīn fetneh keh anfos-e moshrekeh-ye ferʿownīyeh rā az maẓāher-e Aḥadīyeh tamyīz dādeh va tafṣīl farmūdeh. Ey ʿAbd, az Khodā mīṭalabam keh baṣar-e ḥadīd be-jamīʿ-e nās ʿenāyat farmāyad va nafs-e zakīyeh marḥamat namāyad va odhon-e vāʿīyeh mabdhūl dārad tā kalemāt-e moshrekeh rā az kalemāt-e elāhīyeh farq godhārand.

If you have deemed what appears from God to be strife, may a hundred thousand lives be sacrificed for such strife, which has distinguished and separated the idolatrous, Pharaoh-like souls from the Manifestations of Oneness. O servant, I ask God to bestow keen sight upon all people, to grant them pure souls, and to endow them with attentive ears, so that they may distinguish idolatrous words from divine words.

17

هرگز راضى نميشوم كه تو چنين كلمات مرقوم نمائى ذكر شده بود كه وساوس شياطين بهواى نفس شرّى برانگيخته خلل در اعتقادات انداخته‌اى برادر من نفحات قدسيّه ربّ العالمين را وساوس شياطين ذكر منما فواللّه يبكى كلّ شیء و الّذى امرك بما ظهر من قلمك يلعنه كلّ الذّرّات و لكن هو لا يستشعر فى نفسه لانّ اللّه ضرب على قلبه غشاوة النّار يقول ما لا يفقه و تكلّم بما لا تكلّم به مظاهر النّفى كلّها و اذا هو فى خسران عظيم تكاد الوجود ان يذوب من هذه الكلمة و لكن ملقيك فى حجاب غليظ و امّا خلل در اعتقادات كه مذكور داشته بدانكه در اعتقادات احدى از ظهوراللّه و امره خلل نرسيده بلكه محكم و ثابت و راسختر شده مگر آن نفوسيكه در ظهور قبل كينوناتشان از سجّين بوده و بر حسب ظاهر بتصديق آن ظهور از علّييّن محسوب شده‌اند و چون امتحان كبرى ظاهر آن نفوس راجع باصل خود شده و نفوس قدسيّه منيره بوطن اصليّه خود كه اقرار و اعتراف بنفس ظهور است واصل شده‌اند طوبی‌ للواصلين

Hargez rāḍī namīshavam keh to chonīn kalemāt marqūm namāʾī. Dhekr shodeh būd keh vasāves-e shayāṭīn be-havā-ye nafs sharrī bar angīkhteh khalal dar eʿteqādāt andākhteh. Ey barādar-e man, nafaḥāt-e qodsīyeh-ye Rabb al-ʿālamīn rā vasāves-e shayāṭīn dhekr manamā. Fa-wa-Allāh yabkī kullu shayʾ wa-alladhī amaraka bi-mā ẓahara min qalamika yalʿanuhu kullu al-dharrāt, wa-lākin huwa lā yastashʿiru fī nafsihi li-anna Allāha ḍaraba ʿalā qalbihi ghishāwata al-nār. Yaqūlu mā lā yafqahu wa-takallama bi-mā lā takallama bihi maẓāhiru al-nafy kulluhā wa-idhā huwa fī khusrān ʿaẓīm. Takādu al-wujūd an yadhūba min hādhihi al-kalimah wa-lākin mulqīka fī ḥijāb ghalīẓ. Va ammā khalal dar eʿteqādāt keh madhkūr dāshteh, bedān keh dar eʿteqādāt-e aḥadī az ẓohūr Allāh va amrihi khalal naresīdeh balkeh moḥkam va thābet va rāsekhtar shodeh, magar ān nofūsī keh dar ẓohūr-e qabl kaynūnātashān az Sijjīn būdeh va bar ḥasab-e ẓāher be-taṣdīq-e ān ẓohūr az ʿIllīyīn maḥsūb shodeh-and. Va chon emteḥān-e kobrā ẓāher, ān nofūs rājeʿ be-aṣl-e khod shodeh va nofūs-e qodsīyeh-ye monīreh be-vaṭan-e aṣlīyeh-ye khod keh eqrār va eʿterāf be-nafs-e ẓohūr ast vāṣel shodeh-and. Ṭūbā li-l-wāṣilīn.

I can never consent to your writing such words. It had been stated that “the whisperings of devils, following selfish desire, have stirred up mischief and undermined beliefs.” My brother, do not call the holy breezes of the Lord of the worlds the whisperings of devils. By God, everything weeps, and every atom curses the one who instructed you in what has issued from your pen. Yet he is unaware within himself, for God has laid a veil of fire over his heart. He says what he does not understand and has spoken words that none of the manifestations of negation have spoken; he is indeed in grievous loss. Existence itself almost melts away at this statement, yet the one who prompted you is wrapped in a thick veil. As for the undermining of beliefs that you mentioned, know that no one’s beliefs have been undermined by the revelation of God and His Cause. Rather, they have become firm, steadfast, and more deeply rooted, except in the case of those souls whose very beings were of Sijjin in the previous revelation, but who, through their outward acknowledgment of that revelation, were reckoned as belonging to Illiyyin. When the greatest test appeared, those souls returned to their origin, while the radiant, holy souls reached their original homeland, which is acknowledgment and recognition of the Manifestation Himself. Blessed are those who have arrived.

18

آن اعتقاداتى كه منوط بعبادت عجل شده اصفياءاللّه و احبّائه از آن مقدّس و منزّه و مبرّا و هر نفسيكه العياذ باللّه در اين ظهور نيّر معانى محتجب ماند عقيده نداشته و نخواهد داشت تا خلل بهمرسد آيا نشنيده نغمه ورقاى الهى را كه ميفرمايد اگر نفسى بدوام ملك و ملكوت بقيام و قعود و سجود حقّ را ذاكر شود و عبادت نمايد و در حين ظهور اقلّ من آن توقّف نمايد ليحبط اعماله و بقدر همان توقّف در نار بوده و خواهد بود تا چه رسد باعراض و استكبار نسئل اللّه بأن يعصمنا من وساوس الشّياطين الّذين كفروا باللّه جهرة و يحسبون انّهم من العارفين لا فو‌ربّ العالمين

Ān eʿteqādātī keh manūṭ be-ʿebādat-e ʿejl shodeh, aṣfiyāʾ Allāh va aḥibbāʾihi az ān moqaddas va monazzah va mobarrā. Va har nafsī keh al-ʿiyādhu bi-Allāh dar īn ẓohūr-e Nayyir-e Maʿānī moḥtajeb mānd, ʿaqīdeh nadāshteh va nakhwāhad dāsht tā khalal be-ham resad. Āyā nashenīdeh naghmeh-ye Varqā-ye Elāhī rā keh mīfarmāyad agar nafsī be-davām-e molk va malakūt be-qīyām va qoʿūd va sojūd Ḥaqq rā dhāker shavad va ʿebādat namāyad va dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr aqall-e men ān tavaqqof namāyad, la-yaḥbaṭu aʿmāluhu, va be-qadr-e hamān tavaqqof dar nār būdeh va khwāhad būd, tā cheh resad be-eʿrāḍ va estekbār. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yaʿṣimanā min wasāwis al-shayāṭīn alladhīna kafarū bi-Allāhi jahratan wa-yaḥsabūna annahum min al-ʿārifīn. Lā fa-wa-Rabb al-ʿālamīn.

God’s chosen ones and His loved ones are sanctified, purified, and free from those beliefs that depend upon worship of the calf. Any soul who, God forbid, remains veiled in this revelation of the Luminary of Meanings has never possessed, nor will ever possess, a belief that could be undermined. Have you not heard the song of the divine Dove, who says that if a soul were to remember and worship God, standing, sitting, and bowing down, for as long as the earthly and heavenly kingdoms endure, yet were to hesitate for less than an instant at the time of His revelation, his deeds would surely come to nothing? For the duration of that hesitation he has been, and will remain, in the fire—how much more so in the case of rejection and arrogance. We ask God to protect us from the whisperings of devils who have openly disbelieved in God and imagine themselves to be among those who know. No, by the Lord of the worlds!

19

فتنه نو ذكر نموده بودى امر جديدى بر پا نشده و ظاهر نگشته اين عباد از اوّل يوميكه بعرفان اللّه فايز شده‌ايم نظر باين ظهور قدس صمدانى داشته‌ايم و مادون اين ظهور كليّه الهيّه را در ساحتش مفقود ميشمرديم چنانچه بعضى مذكور ميداشتند كه لأجل مصلحت ايشان اشاره بغير ميفرمايند و بعد كه معلوم شد آنچه ذكر شد حقّ بود و ما بعده الّا الضّلال عجب است از تو كه چنين ذكر نموده

Fetneh-ye now dhekr namūdeh būdī. Amr-e jadīdī bar pā nashodeh va ẓāher nagashteh. Īn ʿebād az avval-e yawmī keh be-ʿerfān Allāh fāyez shodeh-īm naẓar be-īn ẓohūr-e qods-e ṣamadānī dāshteh-īm va mā-dūn-e īn ẓohūr-e kollīyeh-ye elāhīyeh rā dar sāḥatash mafqūd mīshomordīm, chonāncheh baʿḍī madhkūr mīdāshtand keh li-ajl-e maṣlaḥat īshān eshāreh be-ghayr mīfarmāyand. Va baʿd keh maʿlūm shod āncheh dhekr shod ḥaqq būd va mā baʿdahu illā al-ḍalāl. ʿAjab ast az to keh chonīn dhekr namūdeh.

You had spoken of a new disturbance. No new cause has been established or appeared. From the very first day that we, these servants, attained recognition of God, we have had our eyes fixed upon this holy, eternal Revelation, and have counted everything other than this universal divine Revelation as nonexistent in His presence. Indeed, some used to say that He referred to another out of expediency. Later it became clear that what had been said was the truth, and beyond it there is nothing but error. It is astonishing that you should have spoken in this way.

20

اگر مقصود از فتنه فساد جديد بوده واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه همان نفسيكه اين كلمات را بتو القاء نموده او بر پا كرده چنانچه مشهود است چهل سنه با هم جمع بوده‌اند و خود تو موقنى بآنچه ذكر شده و در اين سفر كه آن مشرك در حزب اللّه وارد شد عامل شد آنچه را كه نمرود و شدّاد عامل نشده مع‌ذلك ندانستيم كه سبب چه شده كه باغواى او از بصر و سمع و فؤاد خود گذشته و آنچه او گفته مسلّم داشته

Agar maqṣūd az fetneh fasād-e jadīd būdeh, wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh hamān nafsī keh īn kalemāt rā be-to elqā namūdeh ū bar pā kardeh, chonāncheh mashhūd ast. Chehel saneh bā ham jamʿ būdeh-and va khod-e to mūqenī be-āncheh dhekr shodeh. Va dar īn safar keh ān moshrek dar ḥezb Allāh vāred shod ʿāmel shod āncheh rā keh Nimrūd va Shaddād ʿāmel nashodeh. Maʿa dhālek nadānestīm keh sabab cheh shodeh keh be-eghvā-ye ū az baṣar va samʿ va foʾād-e khod godhashteh va āncheh ū gofteh mosallam dāshteh.

If by strife you meant a new outbreak of disorder, by God, besides whom there is no god, the very person who prompted you to write these words has stirred it up, as is evident. They had been together for forty years, and you yourself are certain of what has been said. On this journey, when that idolater entered among the people of God, he committed what Nimrod and Shaddad had not committed. Even so, We have not understood what has caused you, through his deception, to abandon your own sight, hearing, and heart, and to accept whatever he has said as certain.

21

نسئل اللّه بأن يوفّقك على امره و يرزقك عرفان مظهر نفسه و يطهّرك عن اشارات المعرضين آنچه از حقّ ظاهر رحمت است از براى موحّدين و نقمت است از براى مشركين نسئله بأن يرزقك كأساً من مآء الحيوان الّذى جرى فى قطب الامكان لعلّ بها تنقطع عمّا سواه و تستقرب الى مقرّ الّذى لا يرى فيه الّا انوار وجه ربّك العلىّ العظيم و از خدا ميطلبيم كه از عبادى محسوب نشوى كه لازال برحقّ امثال اين اعتراضات را نموده‌اند چنانچه بحسين بن علىّ روح ما سواه فداه مشركين اعتراضاً عليه نوشتند كه تو سبب تفريق اجتماع امّت شده و در دين جدّت فتنه نموده و بعضى بدعتها گذاشته و همين كلمات مفصّل در كتب ثبت است ملاحظه نمائيد ديگر احتياج بذكر اين بنده نيست از ذكر فقرۀ آخر تكاد ان تنعدم اركان كلّ شیء و لكن صبرنا و نصبر بحول اللّه و قوّته و رجعنا الحكم الى اللّه المقتدر المهيمن القيّوم

Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yuwaffiqaka ʿalā amrihi wa-yarzuqaka ʿirfāna maẓhari nafsihi wa-yuṭahhiraka ʿan ishārāt al-muʿriḍīn. Āncheh az Ḥaqq ẓāher raḥmat ast az barā-ye movaḥḥedīn va neqmat ast az barā-ye moshrekīn. Nasʾaluhu bi-an yarzuqaka kaʾsan min māʾ al-ḥayawān alladhī jarā fī quṭb al-imkān laʿalla bihā tanqaṭiʿu ʿammā siwāhu wa-tastaqribu ilā maqarri alladhī lā yurā fīhi illā anwāru wajhi Rabbika al-ʿAliyy al-ʿAẓīm. Va az Khodā mīṭalabīm keh az ʿebādī maḥsūb nashavī keh lā-zāl bar Ḥaqq amthāl-e īn eʿterāḍāt rā namūdeh-and, chonāncheh be-Ḥosayn ibn ʿAlī, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāhu, moshrekīn iʿtirāḍan ʿalayhi neveshtand keh to sabab-e tafrīq-e ejtemāʿ-e ommat shodeh va dar dīn-e jaddat fetneh namūdeh va baʿḍī bedʿathā godhāshteh. Va hamīn kalemāt mofaṣṣal dar kotob thabt ast. Molāḥeẓeh namāʾīd, dīgar eḥtīāj be-dhekr-e īn bandeh nīst. Az dhekr-e feqreh-ye ākhar takādu an tanʿadima arkānu kulli shayʾ, wa-lākin ṣabarnā wa-naṣbiru bi-ḥawl Allāhi wa-quwwatihi wa-rajaʿnā al-ḥukma ilā Allāhi al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm.

We ask God to aid you in His Cause, to grant you recognition of the Manifestation of His own Self, and to purify you of the insinuations of those who turn away. What appears from God is mercy for those who acknowledge His oneness and chastisement for those who associate partners with Him. We ask Him to grant you a cup of the water of life that has flowed at the heart of contingent existence, so that through it you may detach yourself from everything but Him and draw near to the seat where nothing is seen but the lights of the face of your Lord, the Most High, the Almighty. We ask God that you may not be counted among those servants who have always raised such objections against God. Thus the idolaters wrote in protest to Husayn ibn Ali—may the souls of all others be sacrificed for Him—“You have caused division in the unity of the community, stirred up strife in the religion of your grandfather, and introduced certain innovations.” These very words are recorded at length in the books. Consult them; there is no further need for this servant to speak. At the mention of the final passage, the pillars of all things almost cease to exist. Yet We have been patient, and remain patient through God’s power and might, and We have referred the judgment to God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

22

فتنه كه تصوّر نموده لم ‌يزل شأن حقّ نبوده و اين ظهور مخصوص ايتلاف و اتّحاد و اتّفاق اهل ارض ظاهر شده كه شايد جميع امم مختلفه بر شريعه واحده جمع شوند و كلّ بتسبيح و تهليل پروردگار ناطق گردند معلوم شد كه مصلح و مفسد را فرق نگذاشته انشآء اللّه اميدواريم از فضل الهى كه اگر بمظاهر علّييّن عارف نشده اقلّاً مظاهر شياطين و مطالع سجّين و مفسدين را بشناسى

Fetneh keh taṣavvor namūdeh lam-yazal shaʾn-e Ḥaqq nabūdeh va īn ẓohūr makhṣūṣ-e eʾtelāf va etteḥād va ettefāq-e ahl-e arḍ ẓāher shodeh keh shāyad jamīʿ-e omam-e mokhtalefeh bar sharīʿeh-ye vāḥedeh jamʿ shavand va koll be-tasbīḥ va tahlīl-e Parvardegār nāṭeq gardand. Maʿlūm shod keh moṣleḥ va mofsed rā farq nagodhāshteh. In shāʾ Allāh omīdvārīm az faḍl-e elāhī keh agar be-maẓāher-e ʿIllīyīn ʿāref nashodeh aqallan maẓāher-e shayāṭīn va maṭāleʿ-e Sijjīn va mofsedīn rā beshenāsī.

The strife you have imagined has never been God’s way. This Revelation has appeared specifically to bring about harmony, unity, and concord among the people of the earth, so that perhaps all the diverse nations may gather around a single faith, and all may voice the praise and oneness of the Lord. It has become clear that you have not distinguished the one who puts things right from the one who causes corruption. God willing, We hope, through divine grace, that if you have not recognized the manifestations of Illiyyin, you may at least recognize the manifestations of devils, the dawning places of Sijjin, and the workers of corruption.

23

لم ‌يزل حقّ ناس را باتّحاد و اتّفاق خوانده در كلمات منزله ملاحظه نما تا بر تو معلوم شود هذه الكلمة ما كان من عندك لانّا ظننّا بأنّك ما ارتكبت هذا الذّنب من عند نفسك بل بما الهمك الّذى كان كأحد منّا فلمّا ارتكب ما ارتكب اطرده اللّه عن ساحة عزّه لذا قام على الاعراض قد اتّخذ لنفسه عجلا جسدا له خوار و يدعو النّاس اليه اعتراضاً على مظهر نفس اللّه و اثبات الرّياسة لنفسه و له كذلك كان الأمر ان انت من العارفين

Lam-yazal Ḥaqq nās rā be-etteḥād va ettefāq khwāndeh. Dar kalemāt-e monzaleh molāḥeẓeh namā tā bar to maʿlūm shavad. Hādhihi al-kalimah mā kāna min ʿindika li-annā ẓanannā bi-annaka mā irtakabta hādhā al-dhanba min ʿindi nafsika bal bi-mā alhamaka alladhī kāna ka-aḥadin minnā. Fa-lammā irtakaba mā irtakaba aṭradahu Allāhu ʿan sāḥati ʿizzihi li-dhā qāma ʿalā al-iʿrāḍ. Qad ittakhadha li-nafsihi ʿijlan jasadan lahu khuwār wa-yadʿū al-nāsa ilayhi iʿtirāḍan ʿalā maẓhari nafs Allāh wa-ithbāta al-riyāsati li-nafsihi wa-lahu. Kadhālika kāna al-amru in anta min al-ʿārifīn.

God has always called people to unity and concord. Examine the revealed words, so that this may become clear to you. This statement did not originate with you, for We have supposed that you did not commit this sin on your own initiative, but through what was suggested to you by one who was as one of Us. When he committed what he committed, God expelled him from the court of His glory; therefore he arose in opposition. He has taken for himself a calf, a body that lows, and calls people to it in protest against the Manifestation of God’s own Self, and to establish leadership for himself and for it. Such is the matter, if you are among those who know.

24

و اين كلمات كه كبد اصفياء از آن محترق شده از معانى و روح عارى و خالى بوده و خواهد بود و لكن در غمد آن كلمات عوض معانى اسياف شاحذه مستور و سرّاً در كلّ حين بجسد امر وارد اى كاش صاحب بصر و درايتى يافت ميشد تا ادراك نمايد چه ظلمى اليوم ظاهر شده و ظالمين تا بچه شأن بر ضرّ امر الهى ايستاده‌اند و لكن نسئل اللّه بأن ينزل من غمام امره ما يلحقهم بمقرّهم فى اسفل السّافلين

Va īn kalemāt keh kabed-e aṣfiyā az ān moḥtareq shodeh az maʿānī va rūḥ ʿārī va khālī būdeh va khwāhad būd, va lāken dar ghemd-e ān kalemāt ʿavaḍ-e maʿānī asyāf-e shāḥedheh mastūr va serran dar koll-e ḥīn be-jasad-e Amr vāred. Ey kāsh ṣāḥeb-e baṣar va derāyatī yāft mīshod tā edrāk namāyad cheh ẓolmī al-yawm ẓāher shodeh va ẓālemīn tā be-cheh shaʾn bar ḍorr-e Amr-e Elāhī īstādeh-and. Va lāken nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yunazzila min ghamāmi amrihi mā yulḥiquhum bi-maqarrihim fī asfal al-sāfilīn.

These words, which have set the hearts of the chosen ones ablaze, have been and will remain devoid of meaning and spirit. Yet concealed within the sheath of these words, in place of meanings, are sharpened swords that secretly strike the body of the Cause at every moment. If only someone possessed of sight and discernment could be found to perceive what oppression has appeared today, and to what extent the oppressors have risen to harm the Cause of God. We ask God to send down from the clouds of His command that which will consign them to their abode in the lowest depths.

25

و ديگر نوشته بودى قولك از اين جهت خيال آنكه جوابی‌ نويسم نداشتم ميخواستم دم فرو بسته از اين مقوله سخن نگويم حالت قيل و قال نمانده اين دو روز عمر لايق آن نيست كه همه بقال و جنگ و شرّ و تأويلات زوركى بخواهش نفس گذرد انتهى

Va dīgar neveshteh būdī, qawluka: az īn jahat khayāl-e ānkeh javābī nevīsam nadāshtam. Mīkhwāstam dam forū basteh az īn maqūleh sokhan nagūyam. Ḥālat-e qīl o qāl namāndeh. Īn do rūz ʿomr lāyeq-e ān nīst keh hameh be-qāl va jang va sharr va taʾvīlāt-e zūrakī be-khwāhesh-e nafs godharad. Intahā.

You had also written—your words: “For this reason I had no intention of writing a reply. I wished to remain silent and not speak of such matters. I no longer have the disposition for disputation. These two days of life are not worth spending entirely on argument, conflict, mischief, and forced interpretations at the bidding of the self.” End of quotation.

26

كاش جواب نمينوشتى و اگر هم مينوشتى از خود مرقوم ميداشتى نه كلمات مجعوله انفس مشركه را البتّه از چنين اذكار كه نموده دم فروبستن صدهزار هزار مرتبه ارجح بوده كلام خوب است در ذكر و اثبات امراللّه نه در مجادله و محاربه با او چنانچه در وصاياى الهى مذكور

Kāsh javāb namīneveshtī va agar ham mīneveshtī az khod marqūm mīdāshtī nah kalemāt-e majʿūleh-ye anfos-e moshrekeh rā. Albatteh az chonīn adhkār keh namūdeh dam forū bastan ṣad-hezār hezār martabeh arjaḥ būdeh. Kalām khūb ast dar dhekr va ethbāt-e Amr Allāh nah dar mojādeleh va moḥārebeh bā ū, chonāncheh dar vaṣāyā-ye elāhī madhkūr.

If only you had not written a reply, or, if you had, had written from yourself rather than the fabricated words of idolatrous souls. Certainly, remaining silent would have been a hundred thousand thousand times preferable to making such statements as you have made. Speech is good when it serves to proclaim and establish the Cause of God, not to dispute and wage war with Him, as is stated in the divine counsels.

27

لسان از براى ذكر رحمن خلق شده زينهار او را بكلمات مظاهر شيطان ميالائيد لسان مشرق انوار صدق است او را مطلع كلمات كذب منمائيد لسان مخزن بيان و ثناى من است او را بذكر اين و آن مشغول مسازيد چه كه او را در مقام خود آيه فرمايد نوشته بودى اين دو روزه عمر لايق و لاينفد قرار فرموده‌ام چنانچه آنچه نطق نمايد قادر است مادام كه وجود باقى نطق از او مقطوع نشود مگر مرضى حايل شود مابين او و ثنآء ربّ او و از او عارف بصير ادراك مينمايد كه علم الهى انتها نداشته و نخواهد داشت لآلىٴ بيان عالمين در او مستور و لكن بر جثّه او نيفزوده و انهار معانى از او جارى و از او ذرّه‌ئی كم نگشته

Lesān az barā-ye dhekr-e Raḥmān khalq shodeh, zīnhār ū rā be-kalemāt-e maẓāher-e shayṭān mayālāʾīd. Lesān mashreq-e anvār-e ṣedq ast, ū rā maṭlaʿ-e kalemāt-e kedhb manamāʾīd. Lesān makhzan-e bayān va thanā-ye man ast, ū rā be-dhekr-e īn o ān mashghūl masāzīd, cheh keh ū rā dar maqām-e khod āyeh farmāyad. Neveshteh būdī īn do rūzeh ʿomr lāyeq va lā-yanfad qarār farmūdeh-am, chonāncheh āncheh noṭq namāyad qāder ast. Mādām keh vojūd bāqī noṭq az ū maqṭūʿ nashavad magar maraḍī ḥāyel shavad mābeyn-e ū va thanā-ye Rabb-e ū. Va az ū ʿāref-e baṣīr edrāk mīnamāyad keh ʿelm-e elāhī entehā nadāshteh va nakhwāhad dāsht. Laʾālī-ye bayān-e ʿālamīn dar ū mastūr va lāken bar joth-theh-ye ū nayafzūdeh va anhār-e maʿānī az ū jārī va az ū dharreh-ī kam nagashteh.

The tongue was created to remember the All-Merciful; take care not to defile it with the words of the manifestations of Satan. The tongue is the dawning place of the lights of truthfulness; do not make it the rising place of words of falsehood. The tongue is the treasury of My utterance and praise; do not occupy it with mention of this person and that, for in its own station He designates it a sign. You had written, “These two days of life are worthy,” and I have made it inexhaustible, for it is capable of uttering whatever it may. As long as existence endures, speech will not be cut off from it, unless an illness intervenes between it and the praise of its Lord. From it the discerning knower perceives that divine knowledge has never had, nor will ever have, an end. The pearls of the utterance of the worlds are concealed within it, yet have not increased its bulk; rivers of meanings flow from it, yet it has not diminished by a single atom.

28

بارى در اينمقام اذكار بسيار است و اين عبد باين مختصر اكتفا نموده كه شايد لسان ظاهر و باطن را از مرض نفس و هوى مطهّر دارى و بثناء اللّه ناطق نمائى چه كه اليوم ناطق آن است كه بثناء حقّ قيام نمايد و الّا ناعق بوده و خواهد بود

Bārī dar īn maqām adhkār besyār ast va īn ʿabd be-īn mokhtaṣar ektefā namūde ke shāyad lesān-e ẓāher va bāṭen rā az maraż-e nafs va havā moṭahhar dārī va be-thanā-ye Allāh nāṭeq namāʾī che ke al-yawm nāṭeq ān ast ke be-thanā-ye Ḥaqq qīyām namāyad va ellā nāʿeq būde va khvāhad būd.

In any case, much could be said on this subject, but this servant has confined himself to this brief account, that perhaps you may purify your outward and inward tongue of the disease of self and desire and cause it to speak in praise of God. For today, one who truly speaks is one who arises to praise God; otherwise, he has been and will remain merely a crier.

29

نوشته بودى حالت قيل و قال نمانده كسى بجنگ و جدال بر نخواسته عجب است كه خود عامليد آنچه را از او شكايت مينمائيد قيل و قال عالم در اينكلمات كه ارسال داشته مستور و مكنون گويا در اين مكتوب تو ترك نشده ذرّه‌ئی از اقوال منكرين و مشركين كتاب هر نفسى در دستش داده شده و لكن نظر بعدم التفات مشعر نشده و ديار بديار ميفرستند

Neveshte būdī ḥālat-e qīl va qāl namānde kasī be-jang va jedāl bar nakhāste ʿajab ast ke khvod ʿāmelīd ānche rā az ū shekāyat mīnamāʾīd qīl va qāl-e ʿālam dar īn kalemāt ke ersāl dāshte mastūr va maknūn gūyā dar īn maktūb-e to tark nashode dharre-ʾī az aqvāl-e monkerīn va moshrekīn ketāb-e har nafsī dar dastash dāde shode va lāken naẓar be-ʿadam-e eltefāt moshʿer nashode va dīyār be-dīyār mīferestand.

You had written, “There is no disposition left for disputation; no one has risen to fight and quarrel.” It is astonishing that you yourselves practice what you complain of. The disputation of the whole world lies concealed and hidden in these words you have sent. It seems that not a particle of the sayings of the deniers and the idolaters has been left out of this letter of yours. Each soul’s book has been placed in his hand, yet through inattention he has not become aware of it, and they send it from land to land.

30

بسيار اين عبد تحيّر دارد كه چگونه تو اين كلمات ثقليّه را حمل نموده كاش بمبدئش راجع مينمودند خوب يا بد لايق ملقى بوده و خواهد بود از فضل اعظم الهى ميطلبيم كه تو را از آن دلالات وهميّه مقدّس قابل آن نيست كه همه بقيل و قال و جنگ و شرّ و تأويلات زوركى بجهت خواهش نفس گذرد عجب است كه اثبات انقطاع بلسان و ادّعا شده چنانچه نفسيكه بجميع نواهى كه تصوّر شود عامل بوده چنانچه حال در هر ارضى يك علامتى از آن شجره اعراض باقىیست مع‌ذلك او را منقطع دانسته و از آن گذشته نفسيكه بكلّ فواحش ظاهر و نار حرصش بشدّتى مشتعل كه از اينجا باسلامبول بجهت لقمه نان دويده اين بفعل از او ظاهر شده و لكن بعضى از متوهّمين را كه ملاقات نمايد يك آه طولانى و يك تحريك رأس و دو كلمه اظهار تبرّى از دنيا رأس المنقطعين محسوب

Besyār īn ʿabd taḥayyor dārad ke chegūne to īn kalemāt-e thaqīle rā ḥaml namūde kāsh be-mabdaʾash rājeʿ mīnamūdand khūb yā bad lāyeq-e molqī būde va khvāhad būd az fażl-e aʿẓam-e elāhī mīṭalabīm ke to rā az ān dalālāt-e vahmīye moqaddas qābel-e ān nīst ke hame be-qīl va qāl va jang va sharr va taʾvīlāt-e zūrakī be-jehat-e khvāhesh-e nafs godharad ʿajab ast ke ethbāt-e enqeṭāʿ be-lesān va eddeʿā shode chenānche nafsī ke be-jamīʿ-e navāhī ke taṣavvor shavad ʿāmel būde chenānche ḥāl dar har arżī yek ʿalāmatī az ān shajare-ye eʿrāż bāqīst maʿa dhālek ū rā monqaṭeʿ dāneste va az ān godhashte nafsī ke be-koll-e favāḥesh ẓāher va nār-e ḥerṣash be-sheddatī moshtaʿel ke az īnjā be-Eslāmbūl be-jehat-e loqme nān davīde īn be-feʿl az ū ẓāher shode va lāken baʿżī az motavahhemīn rā ke molāqāt namāyad yek āh-e ṭūlānī va yek taḥrīk-e raʾs va do kaleme eẓhār-e tabarrī az donyā raʾs-e monqaṭeʿīn maḥsūb.

This servant is greatly astonished that you have borne these weighty words. If only they would return them to their source! Good or bad, they have befitted, and will befit, the one who uttered them. We ask the surpassing grace of God to sanctify you from those illusory indications. It is not worthy that all should pass in disputation, warfare, mischief, and forced interpretations for the sake of selfish desire. It is astonishing that detachment has come to be established by words and claims. Thus, a person who has committed every conceivable forbidden act—so that even now, in every land, a trace of that tree of opposition remains—has nevertheless been regarded as detached. Beyond this, a person who has manifested every indecency, and whose fire of greed burns so fiercely that he has run from here to Istanbul for a morsel of bread—this has actually been manifested by him—need only meet some of those given to delusions, utter one long sigh, shake his head once, and say two words professing renunciation of the world, to be reckoned the foremost of the detached.

31

آلت حرب و حفظ مشركين ذكر موت و انقطاع از دنيا است و بتوهّم خوب تلقين نموده‌اند بشأنيكه در صدرت نقش بسته و لكن منقطعين را نفحات ديگر و عرف ديگر است حنظل اگر دعوى شكرى نمايد اهل ذائقه نپذيرند هر قولى را فعل لازم لازال نفوسيكه بر حقّ اعتراض نموده‌‌اند بامثال اين كلمات ناطق بوده‌اند چنانچه نفس مقدّسى كه در بلايائى بوده كه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر اين عباد گمان مينمودند كه محفوظ ماند شما نسبت بدنيا داده‌ايد و نفسيكه مادام عمر بكمال عيش و راحت مشغول بوده او را منقطع ناميده‌ايد فويل للّذين يتكلّمون باهوآء انفسهم و لايعرفون

Ālat-e ḥarb va ḥefẓ-e moshrekīn dhekr-e mawt va enqeṭāʿ az donyā ast va be-tavahhom khūb talqīn namūde-and be-shaʾnī ke dar ṣadrat naqsh baste va lāken monqaṭeʿīn rā nafaḥāt-e dīgar va ʿarf-e dīgar ast ḥanẓal agar daʿvā-ye shekarī namāyad ahl-e dhāʾeqe napadhīrand har qawlī rā feʿl lāzem lāzāl nofūsī ke bar Ḥaqq eʿterāż namūde-and be-amthāl-e īn kalemāt nāṭeq būde-and chenānche nafs-e moqaddasī ke dar balāyāʾī būde ke wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa ke agar īn ʿebād gomān mīnamūdand ke maḥfūẓ mānad shomā nesbat be-donyā dāde-īd va nafsī ke mādām-e ʿomr be-kamāl-e ʿeysh va rāḥat mashghūl būde ū rā monqaṭeʿ nāmīde-īd fa-waylun li-lladhīna yatakallamūna bi-ahwāʾi anfusihim wa-lā yaʿrifūn.

The idolaters’ weapon of warfare and defense is talk of death and detachment from the world. Through delusion they have instilled this so effectively that it has become impressed upon your heart. Yet those who are detached have another breath and another fragrance. If colocynth claims to be sugar, those with a sense of taste will not accept it. Every word requires a deed. Those who have objected to God have always uttered words such as these. Thus, you have attributed worldliness to a sanctified Soul who has suffered such afflictions that—by God, besides whom there is no other god—these servants could scarcely have thought He would survive; yet a person who has spent his entire life in the utmost pleasure and ease you have called detached. Woe, then, to those who speak according to their own desires and do not understand.

32

و ديگر ندانستم مقصود از تأويلات چه چيز است كه ذكر نموده مأوّل آنانند كه نديده ميگويند و نرسيده حكم مينمايند بفضل اللّه آنچه ذكر نموده‌ايم از محكمات الهيّه بوده است و از مسلّمات مطالب شما و ملأ بيانيّه بشأنيكه نازل نشده بيان مگر آنكه جميع را امر فرموده منصوصاً من غير تأويل كه اگر نفسى بآيات الهى ظاهر شود احدى معترض او نشود و بشأنى مبالغه فرموده‌اند در اين فقره كه ايمان و ايقان كل را منوط باقرار نفس ظهور نموده‌اند و تو اين كلمه محكمه الهيّه را متشابه و تأويل زوركى ناميده اگر اين مطلب از بيان برداشته شود ديگر بچه برهان اثبات ايمان مدّعيان ميشود فبئس ما ظنّوا فى انفسهم

Va dīgar nadānestam maqṣūd az taʾvīlāt che chīz ast ke dhekr namūde moʾavvel ānānand ke nadīde mīgūyand va naresīde ḥokm mīnamāyand be-faẓl-e Allāh ānche dhekr namūde-īm az moḥkamāt-e elāhīye būde ast va az mosallamāt-e maṭāleb-e shomā va malaʾ-e bayānīye be-shaʾnī ke nāzel nashode Bayān magar ānke jamīʿ rā amr farmūde manṣūṣan min ghayri taʾwīl ke agar nafsī be-āyāt-e elāhī ẓāher shavad aḥadī moʿtareż-e ū nashavad va be-shaʾnī mobāleghe farmūde-and dar īn feqre ke īmān va īqān-e koll rā manūṭ be-eqrār-e nafs-e ẓohūr namūde-and va to īn kaleme-ye moḥkame-ye elāhīye rā motashābeh va taʾvīl-e zūrakī nāmīde agar īn maṭlab az Bayān bardāshte shavad dīgar be-che borhān ethbāt-e īmān-e moddaʿīyān mīshavad fa-biʾsa mā ẓannū fī anfusihim.

Furthermore, I did not understand what you meant by the interpretations you mentioned. Those who interpret are those who speak without having seen and pass judgment without having attained. By the grace of God, what we have stated belongs to the unequivocal divine pronouncements and to the accepted tenets of you and the people of the Bayán. Indeed, the Bayán was revealed for no other purpose than to command everyone, explicitly and without interpretation, that if a Soul should appear with divine verses, no one should object to Him. So emphatically has this point been stressed that the faith and certitude of all have been made dependent upon their acknowledgment of the very Manifestation. Yet you have called this unequivocal divine statement ambiguous and a forced interpretation. If this principle were removed from the Bayán, by what proof could the faith of those who claim it be established? How evil, then, is what they have supposed within themselves.

33

بارى چه زود تحريف نمودند كلمات الهى را بعضى از هياكل جعليّه جعليّه سبب شده‌اند كه روايح رحمن را از اهل امكان منقطع نموده‌اند فرق اين است كه اين عباد ديده ميگويند و شما بوهم انشاء اللّه اميدواريم كه هوى را از خدا تميز دهى اگر منصف باشى خود شهادت ميدهى كه هميشه آنچه واقع شده بر خلاف مشتهيات نفسانيّه بوده چه كه نفس امّاره از راحت و آسایش خود نگذشته و نخواهد گذشت نفسى بجميع آيات الهيّه ظاهر و لازال در دست اعداء مبتلی و ناطق است بآنچه در كلّ الواح مذكور مع‌ذلك ما ظهر من عنده را بنفس و هوى تعبير نموده صد‌هزار جان مقرّبين فداى اين هوى كه بهبوبش نفحات مسكيّه از رضوان احديّه ساطع و از حركت آن انفس ساكنه شوقاً للقآء اللّه مهتزّ و متحرّك و از سكونش افئده مضطربه ساكن و مطمئن و از حرارتش نار الهى در سدره‌هاى وجود انسانى مشتعل و بندآء انّه لا اله الّا هو ناطق

Bārī che zūd taḥrīf namūdand kalemāt-e elāhī rā baʿżī az hayākel-e jaʿlīye-ye jaʿlīye sabab shode-and ke ravāyeḥ-e Raḥmān rā az ahl-e emkān monqaṭeʿ namūde-and farq īn ast ke īn ʿebād dīde mīgūyand va shomā be-vahm in shāʾa Allāh omīdvārīm ke havā rā az Khodā tamīz dehī agar monṣef bāshī khvod shahādat mīdehī ke hamīshe ānche vāqeʿ shode bar khelāf-e moshtahayāt-e nafsānīye būde che ke nafs-e ammāre az rāḥat va āsāyesh-e khvod nagodhashte va nakhvāhad godhasht nafsī be-jamīʿ-e āyāt-e elāhīye ẓāher va lāzāl dar dast-e aʿdā mobtalā va nāṭeq ast be-ānche dar koll-e alvāḥ madhkūr maʿa dhālek mā ẓahara min ʿindihi rā be-nafs va havā taʿbīr namūde ṣad-hezār jān-e moqarrabīn fedā-ye īn havā ke be-hobūbash nafaḥāt-e meskīye az Reżvān-e aḥadīye sāṭeʿ va az ḥarakat-e ān anfos-e sākene shawqan li-liqāʾi Allāh mohtazz va motaḥarrek va az sokūnash afʾede-ye moẓṭarebe sāken va moṭmaʾenn va az ḥarāratash nār-e elāhī dar sedre-hā-ye vojūd-e ensānī moshtaʿel va be-nedā-ye innahu lā ilāha illā Huwa nāṭeq.

How quickly they have distorted the words of God! Certain counterfeit, counterfeit figures have caused the fragrances of the All-Merciful to be cut off from the people of the world. The difference is that these servants speak from what they have seen, while you speak from imagination. God willing, we hope that you will distinguish desire from God. If you are fair, you yourself will testify that everything that has occurred has always run counter to selfish desires, for the self that commands evil has never relinquished its own comfort and ease, nor will it ever do so. A Soul has appeared with all the divine signs, has continually suffered at the hands of enemies, and speaks what is recorded in all the Tablets. Nevertheless, you have construed what has appeared from Him as self and desire. May a hundred thousand lives of those brought near be sacrificed for this desire, at whose wafting musky fragrances spread from the Paradise of oneness; through whose movement still souls are stirred and set in motion, longing to meet God; through whose stillness troubled hearts become calm and assured; and through whose heat the divine fire is kindled in the trees of human existence, voicing the call, “There is no god but Him.”

34

امیدواريم كه شئونات الهيّه و ظهورات ربوبيّه را هواى نفسيّه ندانى و بشطر انصاف ناظر گردى

Omīdvārīm ke shoʾūnāt-e elāhīye va ẓohūrāt-e robūbīye rā havā-ye nafsīye nadānī va be-shaṭr-e enṣāf nāẓer gardī.

We hope that you will not regard divine acts and the manifestations of lordship as selfish desire, and that you will turn your gaze toward fairness.

35

و ديگر نوشته بودى كه بر شما مشتبه شده دلم از اين ميسوزد كه ساليان سال در ميان كهنه عرفا بوده بقول عوام با ارانده قوم بسر برده باز امر مشتبه شود انتهى

Va dīgar neveshte būdī ke bar shomā moshtabeh shode delam az īn mīsūzad ke sāliyān-e sāl dar mīyān-e kohne ʿorafā būde be-qawl-e ʿavāmm bā [corrupted text] qawm be-sar borde bāz amr moshtabeh shavad intahā.

You had also written, “You have been mistaken. My heart burns at this: after spending year upon year among seasoned mystics and, as ordinary people say, living with the [corrupted original text] of the people, one should still be mistaken about the matter.” End of quotation.

36

آنقدر بدانيد كه در مقام يقين شبهه راه ندارد و اگر بگوئيد عرفان ظهور بديع براين عبد مشتبه شده فاحضر لتشهد و اگر بگوئيد كه در آيات منزله اين اشتباه واقع فاحضر لتسمع و ترى و اگر بگوئيد در عمل واقع كل ذى عمل عمله منوط بامره و معلّق باذنه مقام حقّ‌اليقين مقدّس از ظنون و اوهام عالمين و مغلّين معلوم است كه اينكلمات از تو نبوده چه كه باين مقدار گمان نميرود كه متابعت ظنون و اوهام نمائى

Ānqadr bedānīd ke dar maqām-e yaqīn shobhe rāh nadārad va agar begūʾīd ʿerfān-e ẓohūr-e badīʿ bar īn ʿabd moshtabeh shode fa-ḥḍur li-tashhad va agar begūʾīd ke dar āyāt-e monzale īn eshtebāh vāqeʿ fa-ḥḍur li-tasmaʿ wa-tarā va agar begūʾīd dar ʿamal vāqeʿ kullu dhī ʿamalin ʿamaluhu manūṭun bi-amrihi wa-muʿallaqun bi-idhnihi maqām-e ḥaqq al-yaqīn moqaddas az ẓonūn va awhām-e ʿālamīn va moghellīn maʿlūm ast ke īn kalemāt az to nabūde che ke be-īn meqdār gomān nemīravad ke motābeʿat-e ẓonūn va awhām namāʾī.

Know at least this much: doubt has no place in the station of certitude. If you say that this servant has been mistaken in recognizing the wondrous Manifestation, then come and witness. If you say that this mistake concerns the revealed verses, then come, hear, and see. If you say that it concerns deeds, the deeds of everyone who acts are dependent upon His command and contingent upon His permission. The station of true certitude is sanctified above the conjectures and imaginings of the peoples of the world and those who harbor malice. It is clear that these words did not originate with you, for it is not supposed that you would follow conjectures and imaginings to such a degree.

37

و جميع اين امور كه واقع شده از قبل در الواح منزله مذكور و از آن گذشته در سنۀ اوّل ورود اين ارض جمال ابهى در قرب مراديّه در بيتى ساكن و اين عباد هم در بيتى ديگر روزى طرف عصر از حرم بيرون تشريف آوردند و جميع عباد مهاجرين در خدمتشان قائم از جمله اين عبد و حاجى ميرزا احمد و سیّد محمّد و سايرين فرمودند اليوم امر غريبی‌ مشاهده شده اين عباد منتظر كه چه واقع شده مقدار عشرة دقايق او ازيد سكوت فرمودند و بعد باين عباد توجّه نموده فرمودند كه اليوم حين فجر طيرى بر غصنى از اغصان شجره بيت جالس و باينكلمه ناطق محمّد آمد و بلا آمد و كرّرت الطّير هذه الكلمة ثلثة مرّات

Va jamīʿ-e īn omūr ke vāqeʿ shode az qabl dar alvāḥ-e monzale madhkūr va az ān godhashte dar sane-ye avval-e vorūd-e īn arż Jamāl-e Abhā dar qorb-e Morādīye dar baytī sāken va īn ʿebād ham dar baytī dīgar rūzī ṭaraf-e ʿaṣr az ḥaram bīrūn tashrīf āvardand va jamīʿ-e ʿebād-e mohājerīn dar khedmatashān qāʾem az jomle īn ʿabd va Ḥājī Mīrzā Aḥmad va Seyyed Moḥammad va sāyerīn farmūdand al-yawm amr-e gharībī moshāhede shode īn ʿebād montaẓer ke che vāqeʿ shode meqdār-e ʿasharata daqāyeq aw azyad sokūt farmūdand va baʿd be-īn ʿebād tavajjoh namūde farmūdand ke al-yawm ḥīn-e fajr ṭayrī bar ghoṣnī az aghṣān-e shajare-ye bayt jāles va be-īn kaleme nāṭeq Moḥammad āmad va balā āmad wa-karrarat al-ṭayr hādhihi al-kalima thalātha marrāt.

All these things that have occurred were mentioned beforehand in the revealed Tablets. Beyond this, in the first year after arriving in this land, the Most Glorious Beauty was residing in a house near the Murádíyyih, while these servants were in another house. One afternoon He came out of the inner quarters, and all the emigrant servants stood in His presence, including this servant, Ḥájí Mírzá Aḥmad, Siyyid Muḥammad, and others. He said, “Today a strange thing was witnessed.” These servants waited to hear what had happened. He remained silent for ten minutes or more, then turned to these servants and said, “Today at dawn, a bird was perched on one of the branches of the tree in the house, uttering these words: ‘Muḥammad has come, and calamity has come.’ And the bird repeated these words three times.”

38

هيچ يك از اين عباد گمان محمّد موجود را نمينمود خود سيّد محمّد هم چنين امرى درباره خود محال ميدانست و اين عباد بتأويلات مشغول شديم و از جمله چند نفوس در اطراف بودند كه باين اسم موسوم بالأخره موقن شديم كه يكى از آنها بايد در اين ارض بيايد و فسادى از او ظاهر شود و بعد از انقضاء دو سنه كامله ظاهر شد آنچه ظاهر شد در آن حين معلوم شد كه مقصود از محمّد مذكور كه بوده واللّه واللّه افعال و اعمالش قابل ذكر نه و بحقّ خودشان كه اگر كلمه بغير آنچه واقع شده ذكر نموده‌ام آنچه واقع شده بعينه همين است كه ذكر شد و همچه ندانند كه ذكر اين فقره بجهت اظهار معجزات بوده لا فو‌ربّ العالمين چه كه موقنيم باينكه كسانيكه در صدرشان غلّ حقّ بوده بهيچ حجّت و برهانى موقن نشده و نخواهند شد چنانچه اخبار داده شده و ان يروا كلّ آية لن يؤمنوا بها و لكن مقصود آنكه احوال او معلوم بوده فى لوح ما غادر فيه ذرّة من اعمال الخلايق جميعاً

Hīch yek az īn ʿebād gomān-e Moḥammad-e mawjūd rā nemīnamūd khvod-e Seyyed Moḥammad ham chenīn amrī dar bāre-ye khvod moḥāl mīdānest va īn ʿebād be-taʾvīlāt mashghūl shodīm va az jomle chand nofūs dar aṭrāf būdand ke be-īn esm mawsūm be-l-ākhare mūqen shodīm ke yekī az ānhā bāyad dar īn arż bīyāyad va fasādī az ū ẓāher shavad va baʿd az enqeżā-ye do sane-ye kāmele ẓāher shod ānche ẓāher shod dar ān ḥīn maʿlūm shod ke maqṣūd az Moḥammad-e madhkūr ke būde wa-Allāh wa-Allāh afʿāl va aʿmālash qābel-e dhekr na va be-ḥaqq-e khvodashān ke agar kaleme be-ghayr-e ānche vāqeʿ shode dhekr namūde-am ānche vāqeʿ shode be-ʿayneh hamīn ast ke dhekr shod va hamche nadānand ke dhekr-e īn feqre be-jehat-e eẓhār-e moʿjezāt būde lā fa-wa-Rabbi al-ʿālamīn che ke mūqenīm be-īnke kasānī ke dar ṣadrashān ghell-e Ḥaqq būde be-hīch ḥojjat va borhānī mūqen nashode va nakhvāhand shod chenānche akhbār dāde shode wa-in yaraw kulla āyatin lan yuʾminū bihā va lāken maqṣūd ānke aḥvāl-e ū maʿlūm būde fī lawḥin mā ghādara fīhi dharratan min aʿmāli al-khalāʾiq jamīʿan.

None of these servants thought of the Muḥammad who was present. Siyyid Muḥammad himself considered such a thing impossible concerning himself. We servants began to offer interpretations. Among others, there were several people in the surrounding regions who bore this name. Eventually we became certain that one of them must come to this land and cause some disturbance. After two full years had passed, what came to pass came to pass. It then became clear who was meant by the Muḥammad mentioned. By God, by God, his deeds and actions are not fit to mention! By His own truth, if I have stated a word other than what occurred—what occurred is precisely what has been recounted. Nor should they think that this incident has been mentioned to display miracles. No, by the Lord of the worlds! For we are certain that those whose hearts harbor malice toward God have never become convinced by any proof or evidence, nor will they ever do so, as has been foretold: “Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it.” The point, however, is that his circumstances were known in a Tablet in which He has left out not a particle of the deeds of all created beings.

39

اين عبارت تو بسيار تحيّر افزود چه كه نفسيكه مردود اين طايفه بوده و قابل سخن گفتن نبوده و نيست بر تو چنان امر را مشتبه نموده كه حال در تيه شبهات سالكى و در باديه‌هاى ظنونات ساير چه كه نيكو است كه اين پر هاى عاريتى را بيفكنى و بپرهاى معنوى در هواهاى عزّ قدس صمدانى پرواز كنى و بفضاهاى خوش روحانى درائى و تو كه سالها خود را از رنود ميشمردى آخر يك هبوب قواصف ظنونيّه و وهميّه چنان ربوده و حركت داده كه وصف آن ممكن نه ديگر حقّ عالم است كه بكجا مقرّ دهد علمه عند ربّی‌ و ما انا الّا عبد منيب

Īn ʿebārat-e to besyār taḥayyor afzūd che ke nafsī ke mardūd-e īn ṭāyefe būde va qābel-e sokhan goftan nabūde va nīst bar to chenān amr rā moshtabeh namūde ke ḥāl dar tīh-e shobohāt sālekī va dar bādīye-hā-ye ẓonūnāt sāyer che ke nīkū ast ke īn par-hā-ye ʿārīyatī rā bīafkanī va be-par-hā-ye maʿnavī dar havā-hā-ye ʿezz-e qods-e ṣamadānī parvāz konī va be-fażā-hā-ye khvosh-e rūḥānī darāʾī va to ke sālhā khvod rā az ronūd mīshomordī ākhar yek hobūb-e qavāṣef-e ẓonūnīye va vahmīye chenān robūde va ḥarakat dāde ke vaṣf-e ān momken na dīgar Ḥaqq ʿālem ast ke be-kojā maqarr dehad ʿilmuhu ʿinda rabbī wa-mā anā illā ʿabdun munīb.

This statement of yours greatly increased my astonishment, for a person who was rejected by this community, and who was never and is not now fit to be spoken to, has so confused the matter for you that you now wander in the wilderness of doubts and roam the deserts of conjecture. It would be well for you to cast off these borrowed wings, fly on spiritual wings in the skies of the glory of divine holiness, and enter the delightful expanses of the spirit. You, who for years counted yourself among the worldly-wise, have at last been so swept away and shaken by a single gust of the tempests of conjecture and imagination that it cannot be described. God alone knows where He will finally bring you to rest. Knowledge of it is with my Lord, and I am only a servant who turns to Him.

40

اميدواريم كه از حبال وهميّه ظنونيّه بحبل محكمه شديده متمسّك شوى و از بيت ظنّ و گمان بمدينه طيّبه تمكين و يقين و اطمينان وارد گردى قسم بحقّ كه بسيار دلم بر شما سوخت و ميسوزد كه بعد از زحمتهاى لا يحصى بگير قول بيابان وهم و هوى افتاده‌ايد نسئل اللّه بأن يخلّصك و يشربك ما يطهّرك به عمّا سمعت و يجعلك مقدّساً عن دونه و يستقرك فى ظلّ عنايته و انّه هو ارحم الرّاحمين

Omīdvārīm ke az ḥebāl-e vahmīye-ye ẓonūnīye be-ḥabl-e moḥkame-ye shadīde motamassek shavī va az bayt-e ẓann va gomān be-madīne-ye ṭayyebe-ye tamkīn va yaqīn va eṭmīnān vāred gardī qasam be-Ḥaqq ke besyār delam bar shomā sūkht va mīsūzad ke baʿd az zaḥmat-hā-ye lā yuḥṣā be-gīr-e qawl-e bīyābān-e vahm va havā oftāde-īd nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yukhalliṣaka wa-yushribaka mā yuṭahhiruka bihi ʿammā samiʿta wa-yajʿalaka muqaddasan ʿan dūnihi wa-yastaqirraka fī ẓilli ʿināyatihi wa-innahu huwa arḥamu al-rāḥimīn.

We hope that you will turn from the cords of imagination and conjecture to grasp the firm and mighty cord, and leave the house of doubt and supposition to enter the goodly city of steadfastness, certitude, and assurance. I swear by God that my heart has burned and still burns deeply for you, for after countless hardships you have become ensnared by the speech of the wilderness of illusion and desire. We ask God to deliver you, to give you to drink what will purify you of what you have heard, to sanctify you from all besides Him, and to establish you beneath the shadow of His loving care. He is indeed the most merciful of the merciful.

41

و ديگر نوشته بودى كه دلم ميسوزد كه بجهت بعد زمان از بعثت پيغمبر امثال ما‌ها باديان تاويلى متمسّك بوده چندى را خيال خوش كرده خون جگر ميخورديم بخيال آنكه از دين تاويلى زوركى فارغ شده حال بفرمايش شما بقول مردم اوّل پياله و درد بايد باز داخل بدين تأويلى شد هنوز محكمات بيان رواج نگرفته و ظاهر نشده بدم متشابهات بايد چسبيد انتهى

Va dīgar nivishtih būdī kih dilam mīsūzad kih bi-jihat-i buʿd-i zamān az biʿthat-i Payghambar amthāl-i māhā bi-adyān-i taʾvīlī mutamassik būdih chandī rā khiyāl khush kardih khūn-i jigar mīkhurdīm bi-khiyāl-i ānkih az dīn-i taʾvīlī-yi zūrakī fārigh shudih ḥāl bi-farmāyish-i shumā bi-qawl-i mardum avval-i piyālih va durd bāyad bāz dākhil bi-dīn-i taʾvīlī shud hanūz muḥkamāt-i Bayān ravāj nagiriftih va ẓāhir nashudih bi-dum-i mutashābihāt bāyad chasbīd. Intahā.

You had also written: “My heart burns because, owing to the long interval since the Prophet’s mission, people like us have clung to religions based on interpretation. For a time we consoled ourselves with pleasant imaginings, suffering bitter anguish, thinking we had escaped a religion of forced interpretations. Now, according to what you say—as people put it, ‘the first cup, and already the dregs’—we must enter a religion of interpretation once again. Before the unambiguous statements of the Bayán have gained currency or become manifest, we must cling to the tails of its ambiguous statements.” End of quotation.

42

آنقدر معلوم بوده كه مأوّلين بهواى نفس و اهل ظنون و اوهام لازال بر مقرّ خود ساكن و مستريح اگر صدهزار تصريح نازل شود ابداً برشحى از آن فايز نگردند چنانچه مشاهده ميشود بحر تصريح موّاج و كلّ در بركهء وهم و تأویل مجتمع و لكن از براى تأويل مراتب ما لانهايه بوده يك تأويل برضاى حقّ بوده و يك تأويل اعتراضاً على الحقّ از براى كلمات الهيّه تأويلات لانهايه و لكن احدى بآن مطّلع نه الّا اللّه و اليوم بنصّ نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه حرام است بر مستظلين شجره بيان كه حرفى از كلمات اللّه را تأويل نمايند و يا تفسير كنند چه كه احدى مطّلع نه مگر نفس ظهور اين تأويل كه شأن خلق نبوده

Ānqadr maʿlūm būdih kih muʾavvilīn bi-havā-yi nafs va ahl-i ẓunūn va avhām lāzāl bar maqarr-i khud sākin va mustarīḥ agar ṣad-hizār taṣrīḥ nāzil shavad abadan bi-rashḥī az ān fāʾiz nagardand chunānchih mushāhidih mīshavad baḥr-i taṣrīḥ mavvāj va kull dar birkih-yi vahm va taʾvīl mujtamiʿ va lākin az barā-yi taʾvīl marātib-i mā lā-nihāyih būdih yik taʾvīl bi-riżā-yi Ḥaqq būdih va yik taʾvīl iʿtirāḍan ʿalā al-Ḥaqq az barā-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih taʾvīlāt-i lā-nihāyih va lākin aḥadī bi-ān muṭṭaliʿ nah illā Allāh va al-yawm bi-naṣṣ-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh ḥarām ast bar mustaẓillīn-i Shajarih-yi Bayān kih ḥarfī az kalimāt-i Allāh rā taʾvīl namāyand va yā tafsīr kunand chih kih aḥadī muṭṭaliʿ nah magar Nafs-i Ẓuhūr īn taʾvīl kih shaʾn-i khalq nabūdih.

This much has been clear: those who interpret according to their own desires, and those given to conjecture and delusion, have always remained settled and at ease in their own abode. Even if a hundred thousand explicit declarations were sent down, they would never receive so much as a drop from them. As can be seen, the ocean of explicit declaration is surging, while all are gathered in the pool of delusion and interpretation. Interpretation, however, has innumerable degrees: one interpretation accords with God’s good pleasure, while another is made in objection to God. The divine words have endless interpretations, but no one knows them except God. Today, according to the explicit text of the Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—it is forbidden for those sheltered beneath the Tree of the Bayán to interpret or expound a single letter of the words of God, for no one knows them except the Manifestation Himself. Such interpretation has never been the prerogative of created beings.

43

و امّا آن تأويلى كه تو ذكر نموده تأويلات انفس مشركه بوده كه لازال مردود بوده و خواهد بود چنانچه اليوم تصريح را گذاشته‌اند و از نفس ظهور محتجب و بظنون و اوهام در تفسير و تأويل كلمات قبلش مشغولند فويل لهم و بما هم يعملون مقصود از جميع تأويلات و تفاسير و معانى كلمات و آيات آن بوده كه معرفت حقّ حاصل شود و بعد از آنكه از نفس حقّ محتجب شده‌اند كلّ بمقام خود راجع و آن نفوس باسفل السّافلين مستقرّ

Va ammā ān taʾvīlī kih tu dhikr namūdih taʾvīlāt-i anfus-i mushrikih būdih kih lāzāl mardūd būdih va khvāhad būd chunānchih al-yawm taṣrīḥ rā gudhāshtih-and va az Nafs-i Ẓuhūr muḥtajib va bi-ẓunūn va avhām dar tafsīr va taʾvīl-i kalimāt-i qablash mashghūland fa-waylun lahum va bi-mā hum yaʿmalūn maqṣūd az jamīʿ-i taʾvīlāt va tafāsīr va maʿānī-yi kalimāt va āyāt ān būdih kih maʿrifat-i Ḥaqq ḥāṣil shavad va baʿd az ānkih az Nafs-i Ḥaqq muḥtajib shudih-and kull bi-maqām-i khud rājiʿ va ān nufūs bi-asfal al-sāfilīn mustaqarr.

As for the interpretation you mentioned, it is the interpretations of those who associate partners with God, which have always been and will always be rejected. Today, for example, they have set aside explicit declarations and remain veiled from the Manifestation Himself, occupying themselves, through conjecture and delusion, with expounding and interpreting His earlier words. Woe to them and to what they do! The purpose of all interpretations, expositions, and meanings of words and verses has been to attain the knowledge of God. Now that they have become veiled from God Himself, all these return to their own station, while those souls are lodged in the lowest depths.

44

و اينكه نوشته بودى كه خون جگر ميخوريم و بخيال اينكه آسوده شده از دين تأويلى زوركى فارغ شده نه واللّه خون جگر نخورده چه كه اگر خون جگر خورده بودى البتّه بمقرّ اطهر وارد ميشدى و منظر اكبر را از مطلع بقر تميز ميدادى اگر چه چنان معلوم و مستفاد ميشود كه بعضى از شياطين انسيّه اراده نموده‌اند كه ما بين تو و اين پست‌ترين بريّه فساد نمايند و لكن حقّ شاهد و گواه است كه اين عبد از كلمات تو اگر مخصوص باين عبد بود ولو هرچه بود نميرنجيدم و لكن احترقت اكباد العالمين من اشارات كلماتك و تصريحات الفاظك لأنّ كلّها ترجع بظنونكم الى مقرّ الّذى فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو لو يطيرنّ هؤلآء الّذين اتّخذتهم لنفسك محبوباً من دون اللّه بدوام اللّه لن يبلغن الى هوآء الّذى فيه تهبّ نسايم اسم من اسمائه الّتى خلقت بقوله فكيف نفسه المقتدر العلى الحكيم و لكنّ اللّه قد جعل ذيله مقدّساً عن نباح هؤلآء و قباعهم و عن مسّ ايدى هؤلآء المشركين

Va īnkih nivishtih būdī kih khūn-i jigar mīkhorīm va bi-khiyāl-i īnkih āsūdih shudih az dīn-i taʾvīlī-yi zūrakī fārigh shudih nah va-Allāh khūn-i jigar nakhurdih chih kih agar khūn-i jigar khurdih būdī al-battih bi-maqarr-i aṭhar vā rid mīshudī va Manẓar-i Akbar rā az maṭlaʿ-i baqar tamyīz mīdādī agar chih chunān maʿlūm va mustafād mīshavad kih baʿżī az shayāṭīn-i insiyyih irādih namūdih-and kih mā bayn-i tu va īn past-tarīn-i bariyyih fasād namāyand va lākin Ḥaqq shāhid va guvāh ast kih īn ʿabd az kalimāt-i tu agar makhṣūṣ bi-īn ʿabd būd valaw har-chih būd namīranjīdam va lākin iḥtaraqat akbādu al-ʿālamīn min ishārāti kalimātika va taṣrīḥāti alfāẓika li-anna kullahā tarjiʿu bi-ẓunūnikum ilā maqarri alladhī fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa law yaṭīranna hāʾulāʾi alladhīna ittakhadhtahum li-nafsika maḥbūban min dūni Allāh bi-dawāmi Allāh lan yablughanna ilā havāʾi alladhī fīhi tahubbu nasāʾimu ismin min asmāʾihi allatī khuliqat bi-qawlihi fa-kayfa Nafsihi al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAliyyi al-Ḥakīm va lākinna Allāha qad jaʿala dhaylahu muqaddasan ʿan nubāḥi hāʾulāʾi va qubāʿihim va ʿan massi aydī hāʾulāʾi al-mushrikīn.

As for your having written, “We suffer bitter anguish, thinking that we had found relief and escaped a religion of forced interpretations”—no, by God, you have not suffered such anguish. Had you done so, you would surely have entered the most pure abode and distinguished the Most Great Vision from the place where the ox appears. It does seem, however, that certain human devils have intended to sow discord between you and this lowliest of creatures. Yet God bears witness that, had your words been directed solely at this servant, whatever they might have been, I would not have been offended. But the hearts of all the worlds have burned at the implications of your words and the explicit statements of your utterances, for in your suppositions they all refer to the seat of Him who—by God, besides whom there is no other god—even if those whom you have taken as your beloved instead of God were to fly for as long as God endures, they would never reach the air in which blow the breezes of one of His names, which were created by His word, much less His own Self, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the All-Wise. But God has sanctified the hem of His robe from their barking and grunting and from the touch of the hands of these associators of partners with God.

45

بشنو ذكر اين عبد را و احتراز كن از آن نفوس فو‌اللّه بهم يتغيّر هوآء كلّ مدينة و انّهم يدّعون الايمان بعلىّ من قبل بما نزلت عليه آيات اللّه العزيز الكريم فلما نزلت مرّة اخرى كفروا بها الا لعنة اللّه على الكاذبين و الظّالمين از روايح كلمات تو جز اعراض و اعتراض چيزى استشمام نشده و نميشود لذا بسيار بر اين عبد صعب است تحرير در اينمقام و الّا فى‌الحقيقة اگر نفسى يافت شود و از اشارات مشركين شبهه نمايد البتّه محبوبست شبهات خود را مذكور دارد و اين عباد در اين ارض شغلى نداريم و منتظريم اگر بر نفسى شبهه‌ئی وارد شود جواب آنرا على قدر شأننا و استطاعتنا و شأنه مذكور داريم كه شايد بعنايت الهى قلبش از شبهات افكيّه و ظنونات وهميّه مقدّس شود و از تو همين قدر متوقّعيم كه ببصر مقدّس در آنچه ذكر ميشود ملاحظه نمائى

Bishnav dhikr-i īn ʿabd rā va iḥtirāz kun az ān nufūs fa-wa-Allāhi bihim yataghayyaru havāʾu kulli madīnatin va innahum yaddaʿūna al-īmāna bi-ʿAliyyin min qablu bi-mā nazalat ʿalayhi āyātu Allāhi al-ʿAzīzi al-Karīm fa-lammā nazalat marratan ukhrā kafarū bihā alā laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-kādhibīna va al-ẓālimīn az ravāyiḥ-i kalimāt-i tu juz iʿrāż va iʿtirāż chīzī istishmām nashudih va namīshavad lidhā bisyār bar īn ʿabd ṣaʿb ast taḥrīr dar īn maqām va illā fī al-ḥaqīqih agar nafsī yāft shavad va az ishārāt-i mushrikīn shubhih namāyad al-battih maḥbūb ast shubuhāt-i khud rā madhkūr dārad va īn ʿibād dar īn arż shughlī nadārīm va muntaẓirīm agar bar nafsī shubhih-ī vā rid shavad javāb-i ānrā ʿalā qadri shaʾninā va istiṭāʿatinā va shaʾnihi madhkūr dārīm kih shāyad bi-ʿināyat-i ilāhī qalbash az shubuhāt-i ifkiyyih va ẓunūnāt-i vahmiyyih muqaddas shavad va az tu hamīn qadr mutavaqqiʿīm kih bi-baṣar-i muqaddas dar ānchih dhikr mīshavad mulāḥiẓih namāʾī.

Listen to this servant’s words and keep away from those souls. By God, through them the air of every city is corrupted. They profess belief in ‘Alí of old because the verses of God, the Almighty, the Generous, were sent down to Him; yet when they were sent down once again, they disbelieved in them. Surely God’s curse rests upon the liars and the wrongdoers! Nothing but rejection and objection has been, or is, discernible in the scent of your words. It is therefore very difficult for this servant to write on this subject. Otherwise, if someone should truly be found who has developed doubts through the insinuations of those who associate partners with God, it is certainly desirable that he state his doubts. We servants have no occupation in this land, and we wait, should any soul be troubled by a doubt, to give an answer according to our station and ability and his station, so that perhaps, through divine loving-kindness, his heart may be purified of false doubts and delusive conjectures. All we expect of you is that you consider what is said with a purified vision.

46

از كلمات حضرت ابهى است روح ما سواه فداه كه ميفرمايند من لم يطهّر قلبه و فؤاده و بصره و اذنه عمّا عنده لم يقدر ان يعرف ما نزل بالحقّ فى الواح عزّ مبين لذا از خدا آمليم كه نسيمى از نسايم خوش رضون بر اهل امكان بفرستد تا جميع را از غبار عصيان پاك و مقدّس نموده بشطر قدس رحمن متوجّه سازد و انّه لمن دعاه قريب مجيب

Az kalimāt-i Ḥaḍrat-i Abhā ast rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh kih mīfarmāyand man lam yuṭahhir qalbahu va fuʾādahu va baṣarahu va udhunahu ʿammā ʿindahu lam yaqdir an yaʿrifa mā nazala bi-al-ḥaqqi fī alwāḥi ʿizzin mubīn lidhā az Khudā āmilīm kih nasīmī az nasāyim-i khush-i Riżvān bar ahl-i imkān bifiristad tā jamīʿ rā az ghubār-i ʿiṣyān pāk va muqaddas namūdih bi-shaṭr-i quds-i Raḥmān mutavajjih sāzad va innahu li-man daʿāhu qarībun mujīb.

Among the words of His Holiness the All-Glorious—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—is this utterance: “Whoever has not purified his heart, his inmost being, his sight, and his hearing of what he possesses cannot recognize what has been sent down in truth in the tablets of manifest glory.” We therefore hope that God will send one of the sweet breezes of Riḍván upon the people of the contingent world, to cleanse and sanctify them all from the dust of disobedience and turn them toward the holy presence of the All-Merciful. He is indeed near and responsive to whoever calls upon Him.

47

اى برادر من اين طيور هواى حبّ مظهر تفريد از خرمنهاى قدس توحيد دانه برداشته و از نغمات قدس معنوى استماع نموده‌اند مشكل بدام اهل دنيا درآيند و يا از وساوس كلمات معرضين و مشركين از ربّ العالمين ممنوع شوند ومحروم گردند قاصدين اينمطلب را جز حسرت بيفزايد و جز زحمت و كسالت نصيب نداشته و نخواهند داشت چه كه بفضل اللّه در رياض مكاشفه سايريم و در انجمن مشاهده حاضر از وهم و تقليد گذشته‌ايم و در مقرّ شهود و مشاهده آرميده‌ايم بدنيا و اهل آن كارى نداشته و نداريم چنانچه فعل ما بر دين ما گواه است از براى شهريّه و لقمهء نان بدرها ندويده‌ايم و زن بسرايه نفرستاده‌ايم و بحقّ افترا نبسته‌‌ایم فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر بهمان كذب‌هائيكه در آن ارض بشما گفته و مفترياتيكه بحقّ نسبت داده مطّلع شوى البتّه سر بصحرا گذارى و از كلّ من على الأرض منقطع شوى لو تكون من المنصفين

Ay barādar-i man īn ṭuyūr-i havā-yi ḥubb-i Maẓhar-i Tafrīd az kharman-hā-yi quds-i tawḥīd dānih bardāshtih va az naghamāt-i quds-i maʿnavī istimāʿ namūdih-and mushkil bi-dām-i ahl-i dunyā dar-āyand va yā az vasāvis-i kalimāt-i muʿriżīn va mushrikīn az Rabb al-ʿālamīn mamnūʿ shavand va maḥrūm gardand qāṣidīn-i īn maṭlab rā juz ḥasrat biyafzāyad va juz zaḥmat va kasālat naṣīb nadāshtih va nakhvāhand dāsht chih kih bi-faḍl-i Allāh dar riyāż-i mukāshifih sāyirīm va dar anjuman-i mushāhidih ḥāżir az vahm va taqlīd gudhashtih-īm va dar maqarr-i shuhūd va mushāhidih ārāmīdih-īm bi-dunyā va ahl-i ān kārī nadāshtih va nadārīm chunānchih fiʿl-i mā bar dīn-i mā guvāh ast az barā-yi shahrīyyih va luqmih-yi nān bi-darhā nadavīdih-īm va zan bi-sarāyih nafiristādih-īm va bi-Ḥaqq iftirā nabastih-īm fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa kih agar bi-hamān kidḥ-hāʾīkih dar ān arż bi-shumā guftih va muftariyātīkih bi-Ḥaqq nisbat dādih muṭṭaliʿ shavī al-battih sar bi-ṣaḥrā gudhārī va az kulli man ʿalā al-arḍ munqaṭiʿ shavī law takūnu min al-munṣifīn.

O my brother! These birds of the heaven of love for the Manifestation of Oneness have gathered grain from the sacred harvests of divine unity and have listened to spiritual melodies of holiness. They are hardly likely to fall into the snares of the worldly, or to be kept back and deprived of the Lord of the worlds by the insinuating words of those who turn away and associate partners with God. Those who seek this end will only increase their own regret; nothing but trouble and weariness has been or will be their portion. For, by the grace of God, we roam the gardens of revelation and are present in the gathering of direct vision. We have passed beyond delusion and imitation and have found repose in the abode of witnessing and beholding. We have had, and have, no concern with the world and its people, as our deeds bear witness to our faith. We have not run from door to door for a monthly allowance and a morsel of bread, nor sent a woman to the palace, nor fabricated lies against God. By God, besides whom there is no other god, if you were to learn of the lies they have told you in that land and the fabrications they have attributed to God, you would surely flee to the wilderness and detach yourself from everyone on earth, if you are fair-minded.

48

و ديگر نوشته اوّل پياله و درد اين كلمه را ذكر نموده و لكن ندانسته در چه محلّ بايد ذكر نمود نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه در جميع بيان تصريحاً ميفرمايند بآنچه خلق شده ما بين سموات و ارض چه از كتب منزله و چه از صحف قيّمه و چه از آيات بديعه و چه مظاهر تكوينيّه و چه مظاهر تشريعيّه از نفس ظهور محتجب نمانيد و مع آنكه اخذ عهد ولايت اين ظهور امنع اقدس را از كلّ فرموده بقوله عزّ ذكره سبحانك اللّهمّ فاشهد بانّى بذلك الكتاب قد اخذت عهد ولايت من تظهرنّه عن كلّ شیء قبل عهد ولايتى و كفى بك و بمن آمن بآياتك علىّ شهدآء و انّك انت حسبی‌ عليك توكّلت و انّك كنت على كلّ شیء حسيباً كلّ از جمالش معرض و بقاتلش متمسّك

Va dīgar nivishtih avval-i piyālih va durd īn kalimih rā dhikr namūdih va lākin nadānistih dar chih maḥall bāyad dhikr namūd Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh dar jamīʿ-i Bayān taṣrīḥan mīfarmāyand bi-ānchih khalq shudih mā bayn-i samāvāt va arż chih az kutub-i munzalih va chih az ṣuḥuf-i qayyimih va chih az āyāt-i badīʿih va chih maẓāhir-i takvīniyyih va chih maẓāhir-i tashrīʿiyyih az Nafs-i Ẓuhūr muḥtajib namānīd va maʿa ānkih akhdh-i ʿahd-i vilāyat-i īn Ẓuhūr-i Amnaʿ-i Aqdas rā az kull farmūdih bi-qawlihi ʿazza dhikruhu subḥānaka Allāhumma fa-shhad bi-annī bi-dhālika al-kitābi qad akhadhtu ʿahda vilāyati man tuẓhirannahu ʿan kulli shayʾin qabla ʿahdi vilāyatī va kafā bika va bi-man āmana bi-āyātika ʿalayya shuhadāʾa va innaka Anta ḥasbī ʿalayka tavakkaltu va innaka kunta ʿalā kulli shayʾin ḥasīban kull az Jamālash muʿriż va bi-qātilash mutamassik.

You also wrote, “The first cup, and already the dregs.” You have used this expression without knowing where it should be used. Throughout the Bayán, the Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—explicitly declares: “Do not let anything created between the heavens and the earth—whether revealed books, upright scriptures, wondrous verses, manifestations in creation, or manifestations of religious law—veil you from the Manifestation Himself.” And although He has taken from all the covenant of allegiance to this most unassailable, most holy Manifestation, saying—exalted be His mention—“Glory be to You, O God! Bear witness that through that Book I have taken from all things the covenant of allegiance to Him whom You will manifest, before the covenant of allegiance to Myself. You and those who believe in Your verses suffice as witnesses to Me. You, indeed, are sufficient for Me. In You have I placed My trust, and You have ever taken account of all things,” all have turned away from His Beauty and clung to His slayer.

49

فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه مشهود بود كه بر اين جمال مبارك چه وارد ميآورند ملاحظه كن كه در همين فقره نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه چه مقدار از نوحه و ندبه و حنين مستور است حقّ و جميع عباد را در اخذ عهد اين ظهور مبارك شاهد و گواه گرفته كه شايد اهل بيان در ظهور نفس رحمن طغيان ننمايند و عمّا نزل فى البيان حيا كنند مع‌‌ذلك وارد شده آنچه مشاهده ميشود و هنوز ایّامى نگذشته و در آذان كلّ كلمات منزل بيان بوده و هنوز اثر دم مطهّر آن شهيد مظلوم بر ارض باقى كه بنفس او و كينونت او و روح او وارد آورده‌اند آنچه را كه هيچ ملّتى وارد نيآورده اينجا است مقام آنكه بگوئى اوّل پياله و درد حال

Fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa kih mashhūd būd kih bar īn Jamāl-i Mubārak chih vā rid mīāvarand mulāḥiẓih kun kih dar hamīn faqarih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh chih miqdār az nawḥih va nudbih va ḥanīn mastūr ast Ḥaqq va jamīʿ-i ʿibād rā dar akhdh-i ʿahd-i īn Ẓuhūr-i Mubārak shāhid va guvāh giriftih kih shāyad ahl-i Bayān dar ẓuhūr-i Nafs-i Raḥmān ṭughyān nanamāyand va ʿammā nazala fī al-Bayān ḥayā kunand maʿa dhālik vā rid shudih ānchih mushāhidih mīshavad va hanūz ayyāmī nagudhashtih va dar ādhān-i kull kalimāt-i Munzil-i Bayān būdih va hanūz athar-i dam-i muṭahhar-i ān Shahīd-i Maẓlūm bar arż bāqī kih bi-Nafs-i Ū va Kaynūnat-i Ū va Rūḥ-i Ū vā rid āvardih-and ānchih rā kih hīch millatī vā rid nayāvardih īnjā ast maqām-i ānkih bigūʾī avval-i piyālih va durd ḥāl.

By God, besides whom there is no other god, it was plain what they would inflict upon this Blessed Beauty. Consider how much lamentation, mourning, and yearning is concealed in this very passage of the Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. In taking the covenant of this blessed Manifestation, He called upon God and all His servants as witnesses, so that perhaps the people of the Bayán would not rebel when the All-Merciful Himself appeared, and would feel shame before what was sent down in the Bayán. Nevertheless, what can now be seen has come to pass. Scarcely any time has elapsed; the words of the Revealer of the Bayán still ring in everyone’s ears, and traces of the pure blood of that wronged Martyr still remain upon the earth. Yet they have inflicted upon His own Self, His Being, and His Spirit what no religious community has ever inflicted. Here is the place for you to say, “The first cup, and already the dregs.” Now,

50

ملاحظه نمائيد كه چه مقدار كلمات را مغاير و مخالف و غير موقع ذكر مينمائيد نفسى را كه ميفرمايد اخذ ولايت او را قبل از اخذ عهد ولايت خود نموده‌ام مع‌ذلك معرضين بيانيّه نفوس مقبله باين نفس رحمانيّه را اهل تأويل شمرده‌اند نشكو بثنآء و حزننا الى اللّه فيما ورد عليه من عباده الّذين خلقوا بقوله كن فيكون

Mulāḥiẓih namāʾīd kih chih miqdār kalimāt rā mughāyir va mukhālif va ghayr-i mawqiʿ dhikr mīnamāʾīd Nafsī rā kih mīfarmāyad akhdh-i vilāyat-i Ū rā qabl az akhdh-i ʿahd-i vilāyat-i khud namūdih-am maʿa dhālik muʿriżīn-i Bayāniyyih nufūs-i muqbilih bi-īn Nafs-i Raḥmāniyyih rā ahl-i taʾvīl shumurdih-and nashkū bi-thanāʾin va ḥuznanā ilā Allāhi fīmā varada ʿalayhi min ʿibādihi alladhīna khuliqū bi-qawlihi kun fa-yakūn.

consider how greatly you use expressions in contrary, conflicting, and inappropriate ways. Of this Person He says, “I took allegiance to Him before taking the covenant of allegiance to Myself.” Nevertheless, those among the people of the Bayán who turn away have counted the souls who turn toward this all-merciful Person among the proponents of interpretation. With praise, we bring our complaint and sorrow to God concerning what has befallen Him at the hands of His servants, who were created by His word, “Be,” and it is.

51

و ديگر مذكور نموده بودى كه هنوز محكمات بيان رواج نگرفته و ظاهر نشده بدم متشابهات بايد چسبيد هيچ ذى عقل و درايتى چنين كلمه از لسانش جارى نميشود متحيّرم چگونه راضى شده كلمات مشركين را باسم خود ذكر نمود شأن اهل حقّ نبوده كه از مقام ادب تجاوز نمايند لذا اين عباد جواب بعضى از فقرات مذكوره‌ات را بخدا وا ميگذاريم چه كه مظلوميّت محبوب حقّ بوده

Va dīgar madhkūr namūdih būdī kih hanūz muḥkamāt-i Bayān ravāj nagiriftih va ẓāhir nashudih bi-dum-i mutashābihāt bāyad chasbīd hīch dhī-ʿaql va dirāyatī chunīn kalimih az lisānash jārī namīshavad mutaḥayyiram chigūnih rāżī shudih kalimāt-i mushrikīn rā bi-ism-i khud dhikr namūd shaʾn-i ahl-i Ḥaqq nabūdih kih az maqām-i adab tajāvuz namāyand lidhā īn ʿibād javāb-i baʿżī az faqarāt-i madhkūrih-at rā bi-Khudā vā mīgudhārīm chih kih maẓlūmiyyat maḥbūb-i Ḥaqq būdih.

You had also stated: “Before the unambiguous statements of the Bayán have gained currency or become manifest, we must cling to the tails of its ambiguous statements.” No one possessed of reason and discernment would utter such words. I am astonished that you consented to state in your own name the words of those who associate partners with God. It has never been fitting for the people of God to transgress the bounds of courtesy. We servants therefore leave the answer to some of the passages you have written to God, for being wronged has ever been beloved of God.

52

و امّا در محكم و متشابه كه ذكر نموده از اين بيان همچه مستفاد ميشود كه فرق ميانه محكم و متشابه درست در نظرت نبوده و الّا موقن ميشدى بآنكه محكمات ما نزل فى البيان باتمّها و اكملها ظاهر شده لذا مجملى در اينمقام ذكر ميشود بدانكه از محكم و متشابه ما بين هر حزبی‌ ذكرى مذكور و تفصيلى موجود چنانچه در كتب ثبت است و تفصيل آن موجب تطويل خواهد شد و لكن عند الحقّ آيات محكمات آنكه مقصود الهى از نفس آيه مستفاد شود و در اثبات آن محتاج ببرهان و ذكر ديگر نباشد حال انصاف دهيد در حقيقت اوّليّه آن آيه كدام است نزد هر ذى بصرى مبرهن و واضح است كه آن آيه اعظم كه در اثبات خود محتاج بدونش نبوده و نخواهد بود در حقيقت اوّليّه نفس ظهور بوده چه كه مادونش هر چه باشد و هر كه باشد محتاج بامرش و لاينكر ذلك الّا كلّ جاهل مردود

Va ammā dar muḥkam va mutashābih kih dhikr namūdih, az īn bayān hamchih mustafād mīshavad kih farq-i miyānih-yi muḥkam va mutashābih durust dar naẓarat nabūdih, va illā mūqin mīshudī bi-ānkih muḥkamāt-i mā nazala fī al-Bayān bi-atammihā va akmalihā ẓāhir shudih. Lidhā mujmalī dar īn maqām dhikr mīshavad. Bidānkih az muḥkam va mutashābih mā bayn-i har ḥizbī dhikrī madhkūr va tafṣīlī mawjūd, chinānchih dar kutub thabt ast, va tafṣīl-i ān mūjib-i taṭvīl khāhad shud. Va lākin ʿinda al-Ḥaqq āyāt-i muḥkamāt ānkih maqṣūd-i ilāhī az nafs-i āyih mustafād shavad va dar ithbāt-i ān muḥtāj bi-burhān va dhikr-i dīgar nabāshad. Ḥāl inṣāf dahīd, dar ḥaqīqat-i avvalīyyih ān āyih kudām ast? Nazd-i har dhī baṣarī mubarhan va vāḍiḥ ast kih ān āyih-yi aʿẓam kih dar ithbāt-i khud muḥtāj bi-dūnash nabūdih va nakhāhad būd, dar ḥaqīqat-i avvalīyyih nafs-i ẓuhūr būdih, chih kih mā dūnash har chih bāshad va har kih bāshad muḥtāj bi-amrash, va lā yunkiru dhālika illā kull jāhil mardūd.

As for what you mentioned concerning the unambiguous and the ambiguous, your statement suggests that the distinction between them was not clear to you. Otherwise, you would have been certain that the unambiguous passages of what was revealed in the Bayán have appeared in their fullest and most perfect form. A brief account is therefore given here. Know that every community has its own account and explanation of the unambiguous and the ambiguous, as recorded in the books; to explain this in detail would prolong the discussion. In the sight of the True One, however, unambiguous verses are those in which the divine intention can be understood from the verse itself, without requiring another proof or statement to establish it. Now judge fairly: in the primary reality, which is that verse? It is demonstrably clear to everyone possessed of insight that, in the primary reality, that greatest Verse, which has never needed and will never need anything other than itself to establish its truth, is the Manifestation Himself. For everything and everyone besides Him depends upon His command. None denies this but an ignorant outcast.

53

و اگر بگوئيد آيات محكمات اوامر الهيّه است كه در الواح نازل لاشكّ فى ذلك انّا كلّ بها موقنون و مؤمنون و من فضله آملون و اين محكمات بنسبتها الى احكم الحاكمين محكم بوده چنانچه مشهود است كه اگر نفسى بجميع آيات محكمات عارف شود و در تصديق آن آيه اعظم اقلّ من آن توقّف نمايد كلّ اعمال او او را ثمرى نبخشد و هباء بوده و خواهد بود و آن نفسيكه آيات او محكمات بوده و خواهد بود ميفرمايد جميع بيان ورقيست از اوراق جنّت نزد آن ساذج وجود و در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد ما نزل فى البيان منوط بامره و معلّق باذنه و مشيّته و در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد مخاطباً لملأ البيان كه مباد ببيان و ما نزل فيه از ظهور موعود محروم شويد و امثال اين بيانات محكمات زياده از حدّ احصا نازل و مع‌ذلك نفسى را كه جميع محكمات باراده‌اش ظاهر و جميع انهار معارف و بيان از اصبعى از اصابع مشيّتش جارى از او معرض و بگمان خود محكمات فهميده و ادراك نموده‌اند

Va agar bigūyīd āyāt-i muḥkamāt avāmir-i ilāhīyyih ast kih dar alvāḥ nāzil, lā shakka fī dhālika, innā kull bihā mūqinūn va muʾminūn va min faḍlihi āmilūn. Va īn muḥkamāt bi-nisbatihā ilā Aḥkam al-Ḥākimīn muḥkam būdih, chinānchih mashhūd ast kih agar nafsī bi-jamīʿ-i āyāt-i muḥkamāt ʿārif shavad va dar taṣdīq-i ān āyih-yi aʿẓam aqall min ān tavaqquf namāyad, kull-i aʿmāl-i ū ū rā thamarī nabakhshad va habāʾ būdih va khāhad būd. Va ān nafsī kih āyāt-i ū muḥkamāt būdih va khāhad būd mīfarmāyad jamīʿ-i Bayān varaqīst az avrāq-i jannat nazd-i ān sādhij-i vujūd. Va dar maqām-i dīgar mīfarmāyad mā nazala fī al-Bayān manūṭ bi-amrihi va muʿallaq bi-idhnihi va mashīyyatihi. Va dar maqām-i dīgar mīfarmāyad mukhāṭaban li-malaʾ al-Bayān kih mabād bi-Bayān va mā nazala fīhi az ẓuhūr-i mawʿūd maḥrūm shavīd. Va amthāl-i īn bayānāt-i muḥkamāt ziyādih az ḥadd-i iḥṣā nāzil, va maʿa dhālik nafsī rā kih jamīʿ-i muḥkamāt bi-irādih-ash ẓāhir va jamīʿ-i anhār-i maʿārif va bayān az iṣbaʿī az aṣābiʿ-i mashīyyatash jārī, az ū muʿriḍ va bi-gumān-i khud muḥkamāt fahmīdih va idrāk namūdih-and.

If you say that the unambiguous verses are the divine commandments revealed in the Tablets, there is no doubt of this: we are all certain of them, believe in them, and hope for His grace. These unambiguous passages are unambiguous by virtue of their relation to the Most Just of Judges. It is evident that if someone were to know all the unambiguous verses, yet hesitate for less than an instant to acknowledge that greatest Verse, none of that person’s deeds would bear fruit; they have been and will remain mere dust. He whose verses have been and will remain unambiguous says: “The whole Bayán is a leaf among the leaves of Paradise in the presence of that pure Essence of Being.” Elsewhere He says: “What has been revealed in the Bayán depends upon His command and is conditional upon His permission and His will.” Elsewhere, addressing the people of the Bayán, He says: “Do not let the Bayán and what has been revealed in it deprive you of the promised Manifestation.” Unambiguous statements such as these have been revealed beyond all reckoning. Nevertheless, they turn away from Him through whose will all the unambiguous passages have appeared and from one finger of whose will all the rivers of knowledge and utterance flow, while imagining that they have understood and comprehended the unambiguous passages.

54

حال چشم انصاف بگشا و اهل التباس و مظاهر خنّاس را بشناس يعنى نفوسى كه امثال ان كلمات را بر تو القاء نموده‌اند بلى لازال نفوسى خود را باسم حقّ ناميده و ضعفاى بيچاره را در تيه ظنون و اوهام مبتلا نموده و خود برياست مشغول شده‌اند ليس هذا اوّل سهم ورد علينا و لا اوّل رمح ورد على محبوب العالمين

Ḥāl chashm-i inṣāf bigushā va ahl-i iltibās va maẓāhir-i khannās rā bishinās, yaʿnī nufūsī kih amthāl-i ān kalimāt rā bar tu ilqā namūdih-and. Balī, lā zāl nufūsī khud rā bi-ism-i Ḥaqq nāmīdih va ḍuʿafā-yi bīchārih rā dar tīh-i ẓunūn va awhām mubtalā namūdih va khud bi-riyāsat mashghūl shudih-and. Laysa hādhā awwal sahm warada ʿalaynā va lā awwal rumḥ warada ʿalā Maḥbūb al-ʿĀlamīn.

Now open the eye of fairness and recognize the people of deception and the embodiments of the insidious whisperer—that is, those who have suggested such words to you. Indeed, there have always been people who have called themselves by the name of the True One, cast the helpless and weak into the wilderness of conjectures and delusions, and occupied themselves with leadership. This is not the first arrow to strike Us, nor the first spear to strike the Beloved of the worlds.

55

و اگر بگوئى محكمات اوصاف منزله در بيان است كه مخصوص بعضى نفوس نازل شده اوّلا آن اوصاف را تو عارف نبوده كه مقصود كيست و ثانى فو‌نفسه الحقّ كه كلّ اشیآء را بمنتهى وصف وصف فرموده‌اند بشأنيكه جميع اسماء و صفات را بكلّ شیء راجع نموده‌اند و اينمقام ما ترى فى خلق الرّحمن من تفاوت بوده ما سوايش خلق او و كلّ در اوصاف شريك چه كه در منظر اكبر كلّ در صقع واحد بوده و خواهند بود

Va agar bigūʾī muḥkamāt awṣāf-i munazzalih dar Bayān ast kih makhṣūṣ-i baʿḍī nufūs nāzil shudih, avvalan ān awṣāf rā tu ʿārif nabūdih kih maqṣūd kīst, va thānī fa-wa-nafsihi al-ḥaqq kih kull-i ashyāʾ rā bi-muntahā-yi vaṣf vaṣf farmūdih-and, bi-shaʾnī kih jamīʿ-i asmāʾ va ṣifāt rā bi-kull-i shayʾ rājiʿ namūdih-and. Va īn maqām mā tarā fī khalq al-Raḥmān min tafāwut būdih. Mā sivāyash khalq-i ū va kull dar awṣāf sharīk, chih kih dar manẓar-i akbar kull dar ṣuqʿ-i vāḥid būdih va khāhand būd.

If you say that the unambiguous passages are the descriptions revealed in the Bayán specifically concerning certain people, first, you have not understood whom those descriptions refer to. Second, by His own true Self, He has described all things in the most exalted terms, to such an extent that He has referred all names and attributes to every single thing. This is the station of “You see no disparity in the creation of the All-Merciful.” All besides Him are His creation, and all share in these attributes, for in the Most Great Perspective all have been and will remain on a single plane.

56

و اينكه درباره بعضى آيات الهيّه بر حسب ظاهر نازل مقصود تشويق آن نفوس بوده و از آن گذشته جميع بآيهء تجلّى حقّ راجع ماداميكه آن آيهء تجلّى در هر شیء موجود بكلّ اسماء و صفات موصوف ومذكور و بعد از اخذ آن معدوم بوده تفكّر فى ذلك لتكون من العارفين

Va īnkih darbārih-yi baʿḍī āyāt-i ilāhīyyih bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir nāzil, maqṣūd tashvīq-i ān nufūs būdih, va az ān gudhashtih jamīʿ bi-āyih-yi tajallī-yi Ḥaqq rājiʿ. Mādāmī kih ān āyih-yi tajallī dar har shayʾ mawjūd, bi-kull-i asmāʾ va ṣifāt mawṣūf va madhkūr, va baʿd az akhdh-i ān maʿdūm būdih. Tafakkar fī dhālika li-takūna min al-ʿārifīn.

As for the divine verses that outwardly concern certain people, their purpose was to encourage those souls. Beyond this, all refer to the sign of the True One’s self-revelation. So long as that sign of self-revelation is present in anything, it is described and mentioned by all names and attributes; once that sign is withdrawn, it is nonexistent. Reflect on this, that you may be among those who understand.

57

و سلمّنا كه بعضى اوصاف مخصوص نفسى كه ذكر نموده نازل آيا نشنيده كه ميفرمايد بحروفات بيان از نفس ظهور در حين ظهور محتجب مشويد و حروفات بيان اوّل نفوسى هستند كه بكلّ اوصاف موصوف گشته‌اند و بكلّ اسماء موسوم و همين قول سلطان قدم دليلى است واضح بر احتجاب بعضى از حروفات چنانچه مشاهده ميشود كه نفسى خود را از حروف و مرايا محسوب ميدارد از ذيل تقديس منقطع و بحبل نفس و هوى متمسّك

Va sallamnā kih baʿḍī awṣāf makhṣūṣ-i nafsī kih dhikr namūdih nāzil. Āyā nashunīdih kih mīfarmāyad bi-ḥurūfāt-i Bayān az nafs-i ẓuhūr dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr muḥtajib mashavīd? Va ḥurūfāt-i Bayān avval nufūsī hastand kih bi-kull-i awṣāf mawṣūf gashtih-and va bi-kull-i asmāʾ mawsūm. Va hamīn qawl-i Sulṭān-i Qidam dalīlī ast vāḍiḥ bar iḥtijāb-i baʿḍī az ḥurūfāt, chinānchih mushāhadih mīshavad kih nafsī khud rā az ḥurūf va marāyā maḥsūb mīdārad, az dhayl-i taqdīs munqaṭiʿ va bi-ḥabl-i nafs va havā mutamassik.

Even if we concede that certain descriptions were revealed specifically concerning the person you mentioned, have you not heard Him say: “Do not let the Letters of the Bayán veil you from the Manifestation Himself at the time of His appearance”? The Letters of the Bayán are the first souls to have been described by all attributes and designated by all names. This very statement of the Sovereign of Eternity is clear evidence that some of the Letters would be veiled, as can be seen: a person counts himself among the Letters and Mirrors, yet is cut off from the hem of holiness and clings to the cord of self and desire.

58

و هم چنين ميفرمايد كه در ظهور نيّر اعظم در كرّه اخرى طوريّون معدوم و لاشیء ميشوند قدرى تأمّل نمائيد كه شايد بعلوّ امر اطّلاع يابيد بعد از اينكه عظمت امر بشأنى است كه ميفرمايند طوريّون ميّت و لاشیء ميشوند حروفات و مرايا در آن مقرّ ذكر نداشته و ندارند الّا بعد حبّهنّ و هم‌چنين در مقام ديگر ميفرمايند قوله جلّ و عزّ حلّ لمن يظهر ان يردّ من لم يكن فوق الأرض اعلى منه اذ ذلك خلق فى قبضته انتهى

Va hamchunīn mīfarmāyad kih dar ẓuhūr-i Nayyir-i Aʿẓam dar karrih-yi ukhrā Ṭūriyyūn maʿdūm va lā shayʾ mīshavand. Qadrī taʾammul namāyīd kih shāyad bi-ʿuluvv-i amr iṭṭilāʿ yābīd. Baʿd az īnkih ʿaẓamat-i amr bi-shaʾnī ast kih mīfarmāyand Ṭūriyyūn mayyit va lā shayʾ mīshavand, ḥurūfāt va marāyā dar ān maqarr dhikr nadāshtih va nadārand illā baʿda ḥubbihinna. Va hamchunīn dar maqām-i dīgar mīfarmāyand, qawluhu jalla va ʿazza: ḥalla li-man yaẓhar an yarudda man lam yakun fawq al-arḍ aʿlā minhu, idh dhālika khalq fī qabḍatihi. Intahā.

He likewise says that at the appearance of the Most Great Luminary in another cycle, the dwellers of Sinai become nonexistent and as nothing. Reflect a little, that perhaps you may recognize the loftiness of the Cause. Since the greatness of the Cause is such that He says the dwellers of Sinai become dead and as nothing, the Letters and Mirrors have never had, and do not have, any standing in that court except after their love. Elsewhere He also says—exalted and mighty are His words: “It is lawful for Him who will appear to reject the one above whom there is none on earth, for that one is a creature in His grasp.” End of quotation.

59

اين بيانات موجد اسماء و صفات و ان كلمات انفس محتجبه مغلّه تاللّه اذاً قد اشرقت شموس محكمات و آيات واضحات و دلالات متقنات و كلمات تامّات و مع‌ذلك مينويسيد ميرزا يحيى نميشود مردود شود مع آنكه منتهى شأن او اين بوده كه بين يدى جمال ابهى حاضر ميشد و كلمات الهى بر او القاء ميگشت فواللّه مع افعال او احدى متعرّض او نشده خود خود را مردود نمود باعراض از حقّ الّذى خلق بقوله كذلك فصّل لك الأمر لتكون من العالمين

Īn bayānāt mūjid-i asmāʾ va ṣifāt va ān kalimāt-i anfus-i muḥtajibih-yi mughallih. Ta-llāh, idhan qad ashraqat shumūs muḥkamāt va āyāt wāḍiḥāt va dalālāt mutqanāt va kalimāt tāmmāt. Va maʿa dhālik mīnivīsīd Mīrzā Yaḥyā namīshavad mardūd shavad, maʿa ānkih muntahā-yi shaʾn-i ū īn būdih kih bayn-i yaday Jamāl-i Abhā ḥāḍir mīshud va kalimāt-i ilāhī bar ū ilqā mīgasht. Fa-wa-llāh maʿa afʿāl-i ū aḥadī mutaʿarriḍ-i ū nashudih, khud khud rā mardūd namūd bi-iʿrāḍ az Ḥaqq alladhī khuliqa bi-qawlihi. Kadhālika fuṣṣila laka al-amr li-takūna min al-ʿālimīn.

These utterances bring names and attributes into being, whereas those are the words of veiled and shackled souls. By God, the suns of unambiguous statements, clear verses, firmly established proofs, and perfect words have now shone forth. Nevertheless, you write that Mírzá Yaḥyá cannot be rejected, although the utmost extent of his station was that he would enter the presence of the All-Glorious Beauty and divine words would be imparted to him. By God, despite his deeds, no one has assailed him. He made himself an outcast by turning away from the True One, by whose word he was created. Thus has the matter been explained to you, that you may be among those who know.

60

حال تفكّر نمائيد كه محكمات آيات الهى كدام بوده و متشابهات كدام و تعرف الّذين اخذوا المتشابهات و تركوا المحكمات عن ورائهم و كانوا من المشركين در اينمقام محبوب است كه از آيات محكمات كه از سماء مشيّت ابهى جلّت عظمته نازل شده ذكر نمايم فواللّه يكفى الخلايق اجمعين تا هر صاحب ايمانى كه ذرّه از حبّ الهى در قلب او باشد بآن تمسّك جسته خود را از ظنونات اهل ارض و مؤتفكات مظاهر شيطان نجات دهد و ديگر در ايمان خود ثابت ماند و تزلزل مشاهده نكند و اين بعض آيات منزله است كه در لوح يكى از احبّا لأحد من الأشقیآء نازل شده قوله عزّ بهائه و ان رأيت اسم الها ذكره بآيات ربّك لعلّ يكون من المقبلين الى شطر الّذى من اقبل اليه فقد نجى و من اعرض فقد هلك كذلك نطق الرّوح حينئذ بين السّموات و الأرضين

Ḥāl tafakkur namāyīd kih muḥkamāt-i āyāt-i ilāhī kudām būdih va mutashābihāt kudām, va taʿrif alladhīna akhadhū al-mutashābihāt va tarakū al-muḥkamāt ʿan warāʾihim va kānū min al-mushrikīn. Dar īn maqām maḥbūb ast kih az āyāt-i muḥkamāt kih az samāʾ-i mashīyyat-i Abhā jallat ʿaẓamatuhu nāzil shudih dhikr namāyam, fa-wa-llāh yakfī al-khalāʾiq ajmaʿīn, tā har ṣāḥib-i īmānī kih dharrih az ḥubb-i ilāhī dar qalb-i ū bāshad bi-ān tamassuk justih, khud rā az ẓunūnāt-i ahl-i arḍ va muʾtafikāt-i maẓāhir-i shayṭān najāt dahad va dīgar dar īmān-i khud thābit mānad va tazalzul mushāhadih nakunad. Va īn baʿḍ-i āyāt-i munazzalih ast kih dar lawḥ-i yikī az aḥibbāʾ li-aḥad min al-ashqiyāʾ nāzil shudih, qawluhu ʿazza bahāʾuhu: va in raʾayta ism al-Hā dhakkirhu bi-āyāt rabbika laʿalla yakūn min al-muqbilīn ilā shaṭr alladhī man aqbala ilayhi fa-qad najā va man aʿraḍa fa-qad halaka. Kadhālika naṭaqa al-Rūḥ ḥīnaʾidh bayn al-samāwāt va al-araḍīn.

Now reflect on which of the divine verses are unambiguous and which are ambiguous, and recognize those who have taken hold of the ambiguous passages, cast the unambiguous ones behind their backs, and become among those who associate partners with God. Here I wish to mention some of the unambiguous verses revealed from the heaven of the will of the All-Glorious—exalted be His grandeur. By God, they suffice for all created beings, so that every person of faith who has an atom of divine love in their heart may cling to them, rescue themselves from the conjectures of the people of the earth and the fabrications of the manifestations of Satan, and thereafter remain steadfast in faith and experience no wavering. These are some of the verses revealed in a Tablet to one of the loved ones concerning one of the wretched. He says—mighty be His glory: “If you see the name Há, remind him of the verses of your Lord, that perhaps he may turn toward Him through turning to whom one is saved, and through turning away from whom one perishes. Thus has the Spirit spoken at this time between the heavens and the earths.”

61

قل ان يا عبد اسمع قولى تاللّه الحقّ لن تجد لنفسك ناصحاً انصح منّى لاتوقّف على الصّراط ثمّ مرّ عنه كمرّ السّحاب كذلك امرناك من قبل و نأمرك حينئذ و ان لن تقبل منّى فسوف نأمرك بذلك من بعد و من بعد بعد الى ان تمرّ عنه بسلطانى الغالب المقتدر الحكيم

Qul in yā ʿabd, ismaʿ qawlī. Ta-llāh al-Ḥaqq, lan tajida li-nafsika nāṣiḥan anṣaḥ minnī. Lā tawaqqaf ʿalā al-ṣirāṭ, thumma murr ʿanhu ka-marr al-saḥāb. Kadhālika amarnāka min qabl va naʾmuruka ḥīnaʾidh, va in lan taqbal minnī fa-sawfa naʾmuruka bi-dhālika min baʿd va min baʿd baʿd ilā an tamurra ʿanhu bi-sulṭānī al-ghālib al-muqtadir al-ḥakīm.

Say: “O servant, listen to My words. By God, the True One, you will find no counselor more sincere toward you than I. Do not linger on the path, but pass beyond it as the clouds pass. Thus We commanded you before and command you now. If you will not accept this from Me, We will command you to do so hereafter, and again thereafter, until you pass beyond it through My all-conquering, all-powerful, all-wise sovereignty.”

62

شقّ حجبات الأوهام بذكرى ثمّ اسمى و دع كلّ ما يمنعك عن ورائك ثمّ اظهر بغتةً بظهور ربّك و لاتكن من الصّابرين ایّاک ان تمنعك الرّياسة عن ذكر ربّك تاللّه الحقّ لو يسجدك كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و لم تكن فى ظلّى لاينفعك و بذلك يشهد روحك لو تكون من السّامعين اتحبّ بأن تكون من الّذين منعتهم الرّياسة فى ایّام الّتى شقّت فيها سمآء الأمر و اتى على ظلل و كفروا باللّه خالقهم و مبدعهم الى ان افتوا على قتله بعد الّذى جائهم بحجّة من لدى اللّه و برهان عظيم

Shuqq ḥujubāt al-awhām bi-dhikrī thumma ismī, va daʿ kull mā yamnaʿuka ʿan warāʾika, thumma iẓhar baghtatan bi-ẓuhūr rabbika va lā takun min al-ṣābirīn. Iyyāka an tamnaʿaka al-riyāsa ʿan dhikr rabbika. Ta-llāh al-Ḥaqq, law yasjuduka kull man fī al-samāwāt va al-arḍ va lam takun fī ẓillī lā yanfaʿuka, va bi-dhālika yashhadu rūḥuka law takūn min al-sāmiʿīn. A-tuḥibbu bi-an takūna min alladhīna manaʿathum al-riyāsa fī ayyām allatī shuqqat fīhā samāʾ al-amr va atā ʿalā ẓulal, va kafarū bi-llāh khāliqihim va mubdiʿihim ilā an aftaw ʿalā qatlihi baʿda alladhī jāʾahum bi-ḥujja min ladā Allāh va burhān ʿaẓīm.

Tear through the veils of delusion by My remembrance and then My name, and leave behind you everything that holds you back. Then appear suddenly through the appearance of your Lord, and do not be among those who wait. Beware lest leadership keep you from the remembrance of your Lord. By God, the True One, even if everyone in the heavens and on earth were to bow down before you, it would not benefit you if you were not beneath My shadow. Your own spirit bears witness to this, if you are among those who listen. Do you wish to be among those whom leadership held back in the days when the heaven of the Cause was split apart and He came upon clouds, and who disbelieved in God, their Creator and Originator, until they pronounced a sentence of death against Him after He had come to them with a testimony from God and a mighty proof?

63

تاللّه يا ايّها العبد ماكان مقصودى الّا تطهيرك عن كلّ ما لا ينبغى لك و كلّما اصمت فى ذكرك لسان اللّه ينطق على لسانى و يأمرنى بالتّبليغ عليك و ما علىّ الّا البلاغ المبين فكّر فى نفسك اقلّ من ان هل سمعت ظهوراً اعظم من هذا او من آيات اكبر عما نزّلت بالحقّ اذا فانطق على الصّدق الخالص و كن من الّذينهم توجّهوا الى منظر الأكبر فى يوم الّذى انقلبت فيه وجوه الخلايق اجمعين

Ta-llāh, yā ayyuhā al-ʿabd, mā kāna maqṣūdī illā taṭhīruka ʿan kull mā lā yanbaghī laka. Va kullamā aṣmut fī dhikrika lisān Allāh yanṭiqu ʿalā lisānī va yaʾmurunī bi-al-tablīgh ʿalayka, va mā ʿalayya illā al-balāgh al-mubīn. Fakkir fī nafsika aqall min ān, hal samiʿta ẓuhūran aʿẓam min hādhā aw min āyāt akbar ʿammā nuzzilat bi-al-ḥaqq? Idhan fa-nṭiq ʿalā al-ṣidq al-khāliṣ va kun min alladhīnahum tawajjahū ilā manẓar al-akbar fī yawm alladhī inqalabat fīhi wujūh al-khalāʾiq ajmaʿīn.

By God, O servant, My purpose has been only to purify you of everything unworthy of you. Whenever I fall silent concerning you, the tongue of God speaks through My tongue and commands Me to convey the message to you. My duty is only to convey it clearly. Reflect within yourself for less than an instant: have you heard of a revelation greater than this, or of verses greater than those revealed in truth? Then speak with pure truthfulness and be among those who have turned toward the Most Great Vision on the day when the faces of all created beings have been turned away.

64

و ان تخاف من ايمانك خذ هذا اللّوح ثمّ احفظه فى جيب توكّلك و اذا دخلت موقف الحشر فى يوم الّذى فيه يبعث كلّ الممكنات تلقآء وجه ربّك من نفحاته البديع المنيع و يسئلك اللّه بأىّ حجّة آمنت بهذا الظّهور اذا فاخرج اللّوح و قل بهذا الكتاب المنزل المبارك القديم ثمّ اقرأ ما نزل فيه تلقآء وجه ربّك مقرّ الّذى تشهد فيه كلّ النّبيين و المرسلين تاللّه اذاً تمدّ ايادى الكلّ اليك و يأخذنّ اللّوح و يضعنه على عيونهم شوقاً للقائى و شغفا لحبی‌ و يجدن منه روايح قدسى العزيز المنيع كذلك فصّلنا لك الآيات لتطمئنّ فى نفسك و تكون من المطمئنّين

Va in takhāf min īmānika khudh hādhā al-lawḥ thumma iḥfaẓhu fī jayb tawakkulika, va idhā dakhalta mawqif al-ḥashr fī yawm alladhī fīhi yubʿath kull al-mumkināt tilqāʾ wajh rabbika min nafaḥātihi al-badīʿ al-manīʿ, va yasʾaluka Allāh bi-ayy ḥujja āmanta bi-hādhā al-ẓuhūr, idhan fa-akhrij al-lawḥ va qul bi-hādhā al-kitāb al-munzal al-mubārak al-qadīm. Thumma iqraʾ mā nazala fīhi tilqāʾ wajh rabbika, maqarr alladhī tashhadu fīhi kull al-nabiyyīn va al-mursalīn. Ta-llāh, idhan tumadd ayādī al-kull ilayka va yaʾkhudhanna al-lawḥ va yaḍaʿnahu ʿalā ʿuyūnihim shawqan li-liqāʾī va shaghafan li-ḥubbī, va yajidanna minhu rawāʾiḥ qudsī al-ʿazīz al-manīʿ. Kadhālika faṣṣalnā laka al-āyāt li-taṭmaʾinna fī nafsika va takūna min al-muṭmaʾinnīn.

If you fear on account of your faith, take this Tablet and keep it in the breast of your trust in God. When you enter the place of gathering on the day when all contingent beings are raised before the face of your Lord through His wondrous, unassailable breaths, and God asks you, “By what proof did you believe in this Revelation?” then bring out the Tablet and say, “By this revealed, blessed, ancient Book.” Then read what has been revealed in it before the face of your Lord, in that abode where you will behold all the Prophets and Messengers. By God, then the hands of all will stretch out toward you, and they will take the Tablet and place it upon their eyes, longing to meet Me and aflame with love for Me. They will find in it the fragrances of My mighty, unassailable holiness. Thus have We set forth the verses for you, that you may be assured within yourself and be among those who are at peace.

65

و لو يعذّبك اللّه بما آمنت بآياته فى هذا الظّهور فبأىّ حجّة يعذّب الّذينهم ما آمنوا بعلىّ من قبل و من قبله بمحمّد رسول اللّه و من قبله بعيسى بن مريم و من قبله بالكليم و من قبله بالخليل الى ان ينتهى الظّهورات الى البديع الأوّل الّذى خلق بارادة ربّك القادر المريد

Va law yuʿadhdhibuka Allāh bi-mā āmanta bi-āyātihi fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr, fa-bi-ayy ḥujja yuʿadhdhib alladhīnahum mā āmanū bi-ʿAlī min qabl, va min qablihi bi-Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh, va min qablihi bi-ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, va min qablihi bi-al-Kalīm, va min qablihi bi-al-Khalīl, ilā an yantahiya al-ẓuhūrāt ilā al-Badīʿ al-Awwal alladhī khuliqa bi-irādat rabbika al-Qādir al-Murīd.

If God were to punish you for believing in His verses in this Revelation, by what proof would He punish those who did not believe in ‘Alí before this, and before Him in Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, and before Him in Jesus son of Mary, and before Him in the One who spoke with God, and before Him in the Friend of God, until the succession of Revelations reaches the First Wondrous One, who was created through the will of your Lord, the Powerful, the One who wills?

66

ان يا اسمى انّ الأمر اظهر من ان يخفى و ابين من ان يستر و يستضىء كالشّمس فى قطب الزّوال و انّك لو تخلص نفسك عن الحجبات لتصل اليه اقرب من ان يرتدّ بصرك الى نفسك و انّ هذا لحقّ يقين

In yā ismī, inna al-amra aẓharu min an yakhfā wa-abyanu min an yustara wa-yastaḍīʾu ka-al-shamsi fī quṭbi al-zawāl, wa-innaka law tukhliṣu nafsaka ʿan al-ḥujubāti la-taṣila ilayhi aqraba min an yartadda baṣaruka ilā nafsika, wa-inna hādhā la-ḥaqqu yaqīn.

O My Name, the Cause is too manifest to be concealed and too clear to be veiled; it shines like the sun at the zenith of noon. If you free yourself from the veils, you will reach it sooner than your gaze can return to yourself. This is indeed the certain truth.

67

اسمع قول من ينطق بالحقّ و لاتجادل بآيات اللّه بعد انزالها و لو يأمرك بذلك كلّ العباد و لاتمنع نفسك عن فضله و لو يمنعك عن ذلك كلّ الثّقلين فانظر امر ربّك ببصرك ثمّ اعرفه بنفسك و روحك لأنّ عرفان غيرك لم يكن دليلاً لك و اعراض ما سواك لم يكن حجّة عليك ایّاک ان تحتجب عن الّذى لو تحتجب عنه اقلّ من ان لتحبط اعمالك و يصدقنى فى ذلك كلّما نزل من قبل من صحايف اللّه الملك المنزل القدير انتهى

Ismaʿ qawla man yanṭiqu bi-al-ḥaqqi wa-lā tujādil bi-āyāti Allāhi baʿda inzālihā wa-law yaʾmuruka bi-dhālika kullu al-ʿibād, wa-lā tamnaʿ nafsaka ʿan faḍlihi wa-law yamnaʿuka ʿan dhālika kullu al-thaqalayn. Fa-unẓur amra rabbika bi-baṣrika thumma iʿrifhu bi-nafsika wa-rūḥika li-anna ʿirfāna ghayrika lam yakun dalīlan laka wa-iʿrāḍa mā siwāka lam yakun ḥujjatan ʿalayka. Iyyāka an taḥtajiba ʿan alladhī law taḥtajibu ʿanhu aqalla min ān la-taḥbaṭa aʿmāluka, wa-yuṣaddiqunī fī dhālika kullu mā nazala min qablu min ṣaḥāʾifi Allāhi al-maliki al-munzili al-qadīr. Intahā.

Listen to the words of Him who speaks the truth, and do not dispute God’s verses after they have been sent down, even if all people bid you do so. Do not deprive yourself of His grace, even if all humans and jinn would keep you from it. Examine your Lord’s Cause with your own eyes, then recognize Him with your own self and spirit, for another’s recognition is no proof for you, nor is the rejection of anyone else an argument against you. Beware of being veiled from Him: were you to remain veiled from Him for less than an instant, your deeds would come to nothing. Everything previously sent down in the scriptures of God, the King, the Revealer, the All-Powerful, bears witness to the truth of what I say. End of quotation.

68

اين كلمات منزله است كه ذكر شد حال انصاف دهيد و كلمات محكمات را از دونش بشناسيد و اگر نفسى جذوه از نار محبّت الهى در قلبش باشد بآنچه از سماء مشيّت ربّانى نازل شده عمل مينمايد و منقطعاً عن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و مستقرّاً على بساط السّكون و موقناً بامراللّه و مستغنياً عمّا سواه خود را مشاهده مينمايد و اللّه حجّت تمام و نعمت كامل و شمس مشرق و آيات نازل و ظهور اظهر و مع‌ذلك خود را در تيه تحقيق و ظنون و اشارات مبتلى نموده‌ايد نسئل اللّه بأن يوفّقنا و ایّاک و يرزقنا ما قدّر من عنده و انّه لهو العزيز الكريم

Īn kalemāt-e monazale ast keh dhekr shod. Ḥāl enṣāf dehīd va kalemāt-e moḥkamāt rā az dūnash beshenāsīd va agar nafsī jadhve az nār-e maḥabbat-e elāhī dar qalbash bāshad be-āncheh az samā-ye mashīyyat-e rabbānī nāzel shodeh ʿamal mīnamāyad va munqaṭiʿan ʿan kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi wa-mustaqirran ʿalā bisāṭi al-sukūni wa-mūqinan bi-amri Allāhi wa-mustaghniyan ʿammā siwāhu khod rā moshāhedeh mīnamāyad. Va-Allāh ḥojjat tamām va neʿmat kāmel va shams moshreq va āyāt nāzel va ẓohūr aẓhar va maʿa-dhālek khod rā dar tīh-e taḥqīq va ẓonūn va eshārāt mobtalā nemūdeh-īd. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yuwaffiqanā wa-iyyāka wa-yarzuqanā mā qaddara min ʿindihi wa-innahu la-huwa al-ʿazīzu al-karīm.

These are the revealed words that have been cited. Now judge fairly, and distinguish the unambiguous words from what is otherwise. If a soul has a spark of the fire of divine love in his heart, he acts according to what has descended from the heaven of the divine Will, and finds himself detached from all who are in the heavens and on earth, firmly established upon the plane of tranquillity, assured of God’s Cause, and independent of all else besides Him. By God, the proof is complete, the blessing perfect, the sun shining, the verses descending, and the Revelation most manifest; yet you have entangled yourselves in the wilderness of investigation, conjectures, and allusions. We ask God to grant success to us and to you, and to bestow upon us what He has ordained from His presence. He is indeed the Almighty, the Generous.

69

و ديگر قولك آفرين عجب كارى شد هنوز مردم در اصل حرف دارند باين معنى هنوز ندانسته‌اند سخن چه بوده و احكام چه داشته حال اوضاع تازه و دين تأويلى كه موجب هزار گونه فتنه شود برپا شده انتهى

Va dīgar qawluka: Āfarīn, ʿajab kārī shod! Hanūz mardom dar aṣl ḥarf dārand, be-īn maʿnā hanūz nadānesteh-and sokhan cheh būdeh va aḥkām cheh dāshteh. Ḥāl awżāʿ-e tāzeh va dīn-e taʾvīlī keh mūjeb-e hezār gūneh fetneh shavad barpā shodeh. Intahā.

And further, your statement: “Bravo! What a thing has happened! People still have objections to the very foundation—that is, they have not yet understood what the message was or what laws it contained. Now new arrangements and a religion of interpretation have been set up that will cause a thousand kinds of turmoil.” End of quotation.

70

بشما بی‌‌ادبی‌ نمينمايم و لكن اشهد باللّه كه تا حال هيچ عاقلى چنين تكلّم نمينمايد چه كه اگر منوط حرف مردم و ما عندهم باشد هرگز بايد حقّ ظاهر نشود چه كه لازال در هر عهد و عصر كه شمس حقيقت ربّانى از افق مشيّت طالع و مشرق كلّ حرف داشته و باشدّ اعراض معرض و جميع آن هيكل احديّه را از اهل فتنه و فساد ميشمردند مع آنكه نزد هر ذى بصرى مشهود است كه مقصود جز اتّحاد نبوده و نخواهد بود

Be-shomā bī-adabī namīnamāyam va lāken ashhadu bi-Allāh keh tā ḥāl hīch ʿāqelī chonīn takallom namīnamāyad, cheh keh agar manūṭ-e ḥarf-e mardom va mā ʿendahom bāshad hargaz bāyad Ḥaqq ẓāher nashavad, cheh keh lā-zāl dar har ʿahd va ʿaṣr keh shams-e ḥaqīqat-e rabbānī az ofoq-e mashīyyat ṭāleʿ va moshreq koll ḥarf dāshteh va be-ashadd-e eʿrāż moʿreż va jamīʿ ān haykal-e aḥadīyyeh rā az ahl-e fetneh va fasād mīshomordand, maʿ-e ānkeh nazd-e har dhī-baṣarī mashhūd ast keh maqṣūd joz etteḥād nabūdeh va nakhāhad būd.

I intend no discourtesy to you, but I call God to witness that no rational person has ever spoken in this way. For if it depended on people’s objections and what they possess, the True One would never be manifested. In every age and era when the Sun of divine Reality has risen and shone from the horizon of the divine Will, all have raised objections, turned away in the strongest rejection, and counted that embodiment of oneness among the people of turmoil and corruption. Yet it is evident to every discerning person that the purpose has never been, and will never be, anything but unity.

71

و از اين گذشته حرف اين مردم تخصيص باين ظهور نداشته در ظهور رسول اللّه هنوز حرف دارند اگر حرف مردم منوط باشد نعوذ باللّه بايد انكار كلّ ظهورات نمود و از آن گذشته از اين ظهور احكام بيان ثابت و ظاهر شده نه از آن انفس متوهّمه كه شما خيال نموده‌ايد و اللّه بحرفى از آن عامل نشده‌اند و نعوذ باللّه اگر از اعمالشان ذكر شود يفرّ الشّيطان من اعمالهم بسيار امور برتو مشتبه شده و مستور گشته نسئل اللّه بأن يفتح بصريك بالفضل و ينقذك عن الظّلمات النّفس و الهوى و يقرّبك الى سدرة المنتهى و انّه لهو القادر على ما یشآء و انّه بكلّ شیء رقيباً

Va az īn godhashteh ḥarf-e īn mardom takhṣīṣ be-īn ẓohūr nadāshteh, dar ẓohūr-e Rasūl Allāh hanūz ḥarf dārand. Agar ḥarf-e mardom manūṭ bāshad, naʿūdhu bi-Allāh, bāyad enkār-e koll-e ẓohūrāt nemūd. Va az ān godhashteh az īn ẓohūr aḥkām-e Bayān thābet va ẓāher shodeh, nah az ān anfos-e motavahhemeh keh shomā khayāl nemūdeh-īd. Va-Allāh be-ḥarfī az ān ʿāmel nashodeh-and va, naʿūdhu bi-Allāh, agar az aʿmāles hān dhekr shavad, yafirru al-shayṭānu min aʿmālihim. Besyār omūr bar to moshtabeh shodeh va mastūr gashteh. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yaftaḥa baṣrayka bi-al-faḍli wa-yunqidhaka ʿan al-ẓulumāti al-nafsi wa-al-hawā wa-yuqarribaka ilā sidrati al-muntahā wa-innahu la-huwa al-qādiru ʿalā mā yashāʾu wa-innahu bi-kulli shayʾin raqīban.

Moreover, these people’s objections have not been confined to this Revelation: they still object to the Revelation of the Messenger of God. If people’s objections were to be the deciding factor, we would have to deny all Revelations—God forbid! Furthermore, the laws of the Bayān have been established and made manifest through this Revelation, not through those deluded souls you have imagined. By God, they have not acted upon a single word of it. God forbid that their deeds should be mentioned: Satan flees from their deeds. Many matters have become confused and hidden from you. We ask God to open your eyes through His grace, rescue you from the darkness of self and desire, and bring you near to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Limit. He indeed has power over whatever He wills, and He watches over all things.

72

حقّ ناظر بقول و اعراض و اعتراض ناس نبوده و نخواهد بود يفعل ما یشآء رغماً لانف الّذينهم كفروا باللّه و كانوا من المعرضين اگر فى‌الجمله تعقّل نمائيد اين اعتراضات شما جميعاً بر نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه وارد و هم‌چنين من قبل بكلّ رسل اسمع قولى ثمّ استغفر عمّا ارتكبت لعلّ اللّه يغفرك و يكفّر عنك سيّئاتك و انّه لغفور رحيم

Ḥaqq nāẓer be-qawl va eʿrāż va eʿterāż-e nās nabūdeh va nakhāhad būd. Yafʿalu mā yashāʾu raghman li-anfi alladhīna-hum kafarū bi-Allāhi wa-kānū min al-muʿriḍīn. Agar fī-al-jomleh taʿaq qol namāyīd īn eʿterāżāt-e shomā jamīʿan bar Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, vāred va ham-chenīn men qabl be-koll-e rosol. Ismaʿ qawlī thumma istaghfir ʿammā irtakabta laʿalla Allāha yaghfiruka wa-yukaffiru ʿanka sayyiʾātika wa-innahu la-ghafūrun raḥīm.

The True One has never heeded, and will never heed, people’s words, rejection, or objections. He does whatever He wills, despite those who have disbelieved in God and turned away. If you reflect even a little, all these objections of yours apply to the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—and likewise to all the Messengers before Him. Listen to My words, then seek forgiveness for what you have done, that God may forgive you and blot out your misdeeds. He is indeed forgiving and merciful.

73

قول ديگر آن مبغض ملقى

Qawl-e dīgar-e ān mobgheż-e molqī.

Another statement by that hateful instigator:

74

پس بنابراين فكر خود را گر كنى تاويل به كه كنى تاويل آن نامشتبه

Pas banābarīn fekr-e khod rā gar konī taʾvīl beh keh konī taʾvīl-e ān nāmoshtabeh.

“Therefore, it is better to reinterpret your own thinking than to reinterpret what is unambiguous.

75

عجب است از شما كه امر بر شما مشتبه شده در صريح امر كم جو التباس انتهى

ʿAjab ast az shomā keh amr bar shomā moshtabeh shodeh. Dar ṣarīḥ-e amr kam jū eltebās. Intahā.

It is astonishing that the matter has become confused for you. Do not seek ambiguity in an explicit matter.” End of quotation.

76

اين عباد فكر خود را نموده‌اند و بفضل اللّه از آجام تاويل بصحراى با فضاى خوش تصريح رسيده‌اند مأوّل كسانى هستند كه حقّ ظاهر منيع را ميگذارند و از تيشه ظنون اصنام اوهام ميتراشند و بعد بمصنوع خود عاكف و ساجد و خاضع ميشوند و مع‌ذلك خود را از عابدين حقّ ميشمرند و منقطعين الى اللّه ميدانند

Īn ʿebād fekr-e khod rā nemūdeh-and va be-faḍl Allāh az ājām-e taʾvīl be-ṣaḥrā-ye bā-faẓā-ye khosh-e taṣrīḥ resīdeh-and. Moʾavvel kasānī hastand keh Ḥaqq-e ẓāher-e manīʿ rā mīgo dhārand va az tīsheh-ye ẓonūn aṣnām-e awhām mītarāshand va baʿd be-maṣnūʿ-e khod ʿākef va sājed va khāżeʿ mīshavand va maʿa-dhālek khod rā az ʿābedīn-e Ḥaqq mīshomorand va munqaṭiʿīn ilā Allāh mīdānand.

These servants have reflected for themselves and, through God’s grace, have emerged from the thickets of interpretation into the pleasant, spacious plain of explicit statement. The interpreters are those who abandon the manifest, exalted True One, carve idols of fancy with the axe of conjecture, and then devote themselves to their own handiwork, prostrating themselves and bowing before it. Yet they count themselves among the worshippers of the True One and regard themselves as detached from all but God.

77

بشنو ذكر اين عبد را و قلب را از اوهام فارغ كن و بربّ الأنام ناظر شو چه كه دوست آن است كه اگر ملاحظه نمايد دوستى در غرقاب فنا افتاده بقدر قوّه و استعداد خود اعانت نمايد كه شايد سبب نجاح و فلاح گردد لذا اميدواريم كه بحبل عنايت الهى متمسّك شويد و از غرقاب كدورت و ظلمت برهيد و در ظلّ اشراق فجر الهيّه وارد شويد

Beshnow dhekr-e īn ʿabd rā va qalb rā az awhām fāregh kon va be-Rabb al-anām nāẓer show, cheh keh dūst ān ast keh agar molāḥeẓeh namāyad dūstī dar gharqāb-e fanā oftādeh be-qadr-e qovveh va esteʿdād-e khod eʿānat namāyad keh shāyad sabab-e najāḥ va falāḥ gardad. Ledhā omīdvārīm keh be-ḥabl-e ʿenāyat-e elāhī motamassek shavīd va az gharqāb-e kodūrat va ẓolmat berahīd va dar ẓell-e eshrāq-e fajr-e elāhīyyeh vāred shavīd.

Listen to this servant’s words, free your heart from vain imaginings, and turn your gaze toward the Lord of all people. A friend is one who, on seeing a friend fallen into the whirlpool of destruction, helps him to the extent of his strength and ability, in the hope of bringing about his deliverance and salvation. We therefore hope that you will hold fast to the cord of divine providence, escape the whirlpool of impurity and darkness, and enter beneath the shelter of the radiance of the divine dawn.

78

شما امر باين صريحى كه الآن موجود است و بحقّ ناطق از او گذشته و چشم پوشيده‌ايد و باب تأويل كه لازال سقيم و عليل بوده بر وجه خود باز نموده‌ايد بشأنى كه بخود شما كذب القاء نموده و مع‌ذلك مينويسيد و صادقش ميشمريد از جمله كاغذى از آنجا رسيد معلوم نبود كه از كيست و كه نوشته چه كه بی‌مهر و اسم بوده و لكن بعضى كلمات كاذبه مجعوله در آن كاغذ ثبت بود و اين واضح است كه شيطان القاء نموده و آن جعّال كه معلوم نيست كيست بالقاى او نوشته خود نويسنده بر اين كذب مطّلع است و شما هم مطّلع و مع‌ذلك او را حقّ دانسته‌ايد و بظنون و اوهام ميخواهيد حقّ من له الحقّ را بدونش راجع نمائيد حال ملاحظه كنيد كه در صريح امر كه التباس جسته نسئل اللّه بأن يفتح بصرك و يؤيّدك على عرفان مظهر نفسه و يجعلك من الفائزين

Shomā amr be-īn ṣarīḥī keh al-ān mowjūd ast va be-ḥaqq nāṭeq az ū godhashteh va chashm pūshīdeh-īd va bāb-e taʾvīl keh lā-zāl saqīm va ʿalīl būdeh bar vajh-e khod bāz nemūdeh-īd, be-shaʾnī keh be-khod-e shomā kedhb elqā nemūdeh va maʿa-dhālek mīnevīsīd va ṣādeqash mīshomorīd. Az jomleh kāghadhī az ānjā resīd, maʿlūm nabūd keh az kīst va keh neveshteh, cheh keh bī-mohr va esm būdeh va lāken baʿżī kalemāt-e kādhebeh-ye majʿūleh dar ān kāghadh thabt būd va īn vāżeḥ ast keh shayṭān elqā nemūdeh va ān jaʿʿāl keh maʿlūm nīst kīst be-elqā-ye ū neveshteh. Khod-e nevīsandeh bar īn kedhb moṭṭaleʿ ast va shomā ham moṭṭaleʿ va maʿa-dhālek ū rā ḥaqq dānesteh-īd va be-ẓonūn va awhām mīkhāhīd ḥaqq-e man lahu al-ḥaqq rā be-dūnash rājeʿ namāyīd. Ḥāl molāḥeẓeh konīd keh dar ṣarīḥ-e amr keh eltebās josteh. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yaftaḥa baṣaraka wa-yuʾayyidaka ʿalā ʿirfāni maẓhari nafsihi wa-yajʿalaka min al-fāʾizīn.

You have passed over and disregarded a Cause so explicit, now present and speaking the truth, and have opened before yourselves the door of interpretation, which has always been unsound and infirm. It has gone so far as to instill falsehood in you yourselves, yet you write it down and regard it as true. Among other things, a letter arrived from there whose sender and writer were unknown, since it bore neither seal nor name. Yet certain false, fabricated statements were recorded in that letter. It is clear that Satan inspired them, and that the forger, whose identity is unknown, wrote at his prompting. The writer himself knows this falsehood, and you know it too; nevertheless, you have regarded it as true, and through conjectures and vain imaginings you wish to assign the right of Him to whom the right belongs to someone else. Now consider who has sought ambiguity in an explicit matter. We ask God to open your eyes, assist you to recognize the Manifestation of His own Self, and make you one of those who attain their goal.

79

قول ديگر آن معترض بلى بنده در ميان نبوده امّا چنان ميدانم كه بهتر از آن اشخاصيكه سالها بوده‌اند اطّلاع دارم علاوه از آنكه قواعد كلّيه كه ميزان هست در دست هست انتهى

Qawl-e dīgar-e ān moʿtareż: Balī bandeh dar mīyān nabūdeh ammā chonān mīdānam keh behtar az ān ashkhāṣī keh sālhā būdeh-and eṭṭelāʿ dāram, ʿalāveh az ānkeh qavāʿed-e kollīyyeh keh mīzān hast dar dast hast. Intahā.

Another statement by that objector: “Yes, I was not among them, but I believe I am better informed than those who were there for years. Moreover, the general principles that serve as the standard are at hand.” End of quotation.

80

اينكه ادّعاى اطّلاع نموده‌ايد نه واللّه ابداً كسى مطّلع نيست نه شما و نه غير شما و آنچه بشما القاء كرده‌اند واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كلّ خلاف بوده و خواهد بود كاش آن نفسى را كه الآن من دون اللّه حقّ اخذ کرده‌اند مثل يكى از آدمهاى سوق بود عجب است كه شما اراده نموده‌ايد كه باين عبد مشتبه نمائيد جميع كلمات شما و ظنونات و تأويلات و اشارات و دلالات و محكمات و متشابهات و ادّعاى علميّت كه در اين امر نمود‌ه‌ايد كلّ بسيّد محمّد اصفهانى راجع و منتهى ميشود فضيلت او نزد اين عباد خوب واضح است و از قبل هم واضح بوده عجب است از بصيرت شما خوب آدم ميشناسيد

Īnkeh eddeʿā-ye eṭṭelāʿ nemūdeh-īd, nah va-Allāh, abadan kasī moṭṭaleʿ nīst, nah shomā va nah ghayr-e shomā, va āncheh be-shomā elqā kardeh-and, wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, koll khelāf būdeh va khāhad būd. Kāsh ān nafsī rā keh al-ān men dūn Allāh Ḥaqq akhdh kardeh-and mesl-e yekī az ādamhā-ye sūq būd. ʿAjab ast keh shomā erādeh nemūdeh-īd keh be-īn ʿabd moshtabeh namāyīd. Jamīʿ-e kalemāt-e shomā va ẓonūnāt va taʾvīlāt va eshārāt va delālāt va moḥkamāt va motashābehāt va eddeʿā-ye ʿelmīyyat keh dar īn amr nemūdeh-īd koll be-Sayyed Moḥammad-e Eṣfahānī rājeʿ va montahī mīshavad. Fażīlat-e ū nazd-e īn ʿebād khūb vāżeḥ ast va az qabl ham vāżeḥ būdeh. ʿAjab ast az baṣīrat-e shomā, khūb ādam mīshenāsīd!

As for your claim to be informed: no, by God, no one is informed at all, neither you nor anyone else. By God, besides whom there is no other god, everything they have instilled in you has been, and will remain, contrary to the truth. Would that the person whom they have now taken as the True One apart from God were like even one of the people in the marketplace! It is astonishing that you have sought to confuse this servant. All your words, conjectures, interpretations, allusions, arguments, unambiguous and ambiguous statements, and claims to learning in this matter refer and lead back entirely to Sayyid Muḥammad of Iṣfahān. His excellence is perfectly clear to these servants, as it was before. How astonishing is your insight! How well you know people!

81

بارى اميدوارم كه حقّ آن مفسد را از ميان بردارد فسادى نموده كه از اوّل ابداع تا حال شبه آن ديده نشده و البتّه او هم ادّعاى اطّلاع نموده آنقدر بدانيد كه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو ابداً اطّلاع نداشته آنچه گفته كذب صرف و افتراى بحت اين چهار روزه عمر قابل نيست كه انسان بفساد و عناد و ارتكاب اينگونه امور شنيعه مشغول شود شأن تو آن بود كه بعد از ورود آن مفسد بآن ارض او را بموعظه حسنه و كلمات حكميّه نصيحت نمائى نه آنكه تقويت او نمائى و مرآت او شوى و حاكى از او گردى انشآءاللّه اميدواريم كه از گندم رى نخورد

Bārī omīdvāram keh Ḥaqq ān mofsed rā az mīyān bardārad. Fasādī nemūdeh keh az avval-e ebdāʿ tā ḥāl shebh-e ān dīdeh nashodeh va albatteh ū ham eddeʿā-ye eṭṭelāʿ nemūdeh. Ānqadr bedānīd keh, wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, abadan eṭṭelāʿ nadāshteh, āncheh gofteh kedhb-e ṣerf va efterā-ye baḥt. Īn chahār rūzeh ʿomr qābel nīst keh ensān be-fasād va ʿenād va ertekāb-e īngūneh omūr-e shanīʿeh mashghūl shavad. Shaʾn-e to ān būd keh baʿd az vorūd-e ān mofsed be-ān arż ū rā be-mowʿeẓeh-ye ḥasaneh va kalemāt-e ḥekmīyyeh naṣīḥat namāʾī, nah ānkeh taqvīyat-e ū namāʾī va merʾāt-e ū shavī va ḥākī az ū gardī. In shāʾ Allāh omīdvārīm keh az gandom-e Rey nakhorad.

In any case, I hope that the True One will remove that corrupter from our midst. He has wrought corruption the like of which has not been seen from the beginning of creation until now. Of course, he too has claimed to be informed. Know at least this: by God, besides whom there is no other god, he has never had any knowledge of the matter; everything he has said is sheer falsehood and utter fabrication. This fleeting, four-day life is not worth spending on corruption, hostility, and the perpetration of such disgraceful deeds. It befitted you, after that corrupter arrived in that land, to counsel him with goodly exhortations and words of wisdom, not to strengthen him, become his mirror, and repeat his words. God willing, we hope that he will not eat the wheat of Rayy.

82

حمد ميكنيم خدا را كه اين عباد را از شرّ و خدعه او حفظ فرمود ديگر اين عبد چه ذكر كند اين ایّامى است كه نزد متوهّمين قول بعوضه ارض جرزه مسموع است و كلمة اللّه غير مسموع اگر انصاف داشته باشند جميع بايد خون گريه كنند و در صحرا‌ها ناله نمايند چه كه بكلمات نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه استدلال حقّیّت از براى دونش مينمايند و بر نفسش سيف ميزنند

Ḥamd mīkonīm Khodā rā keh īn ʿebād rā az sharr va khodʿeh-ye ū ḥefẓ farmūd. Dīgar īn ʿabd cheh dhekr konad? Īn ayyāmī ast keh nazd-e motavahhemīn qawl-e baʿūżeh-ye arż-e jorozeh masmūʿ ast va kalemat Allāh ghayr-e masmūʿ. Agar enṣāf dāshteh bāshand jamīʿ bāyad khūn geryeh konand va dar ṣaḥrāhā nāleh namāyand, cheh keh be-kalemāt-e Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, estedlāl-e ḥaqqīyyat az barā-ye dūnash mīnamāyand va bar nafsash sayf mīzanand.

We praise God for having protected these servants from his malice and deceit. What more can this servant say? These are days when the deluded listen to the words of a gnat of the barren land, but do not listen to the Word of God. If they had any fairness, they would all weep tears of blood and lament in the wilderness, for they use the words of the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—to argue for the truth of someone other than Him, while striking His own Self with the sword.

83

و از اينها گذشته ميخواهيم به بينيم بنقطه اولى بچه حجّت و برهان مؤمنند فاتوا به و بها لو انتم من الصّادقين بهمان حجّتيكه بنقطه اولى مؤمن و موقنند ما باعظم از آن بنفس ظهور مؤمن و موقنيم فرقى كه در ميان است اينست كه چون محك الهى و ميزان عدل ربّانى بميان آمد موحّد و مشرك از هم معلوم شد انصاف دهيد اين ظهور و شئونات و آياتش را انكار كنيم ديگر بچه رو و بچه امر دعوى ايمان نمائيم

Va az īnhā godhashteh mīkhāhīm bebīnīm be-Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā be-cheh ḥojjat va borhān moʾmenand. Fa-ʾtū bihi wa-bihā law antum min al-ṣādiqīn. Be-hamān ḥojjatī keh be-Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā moʾmen va mūqenand mā be-aʿẓam az ān be-nafs-e ẓohūr moʾmen va mūqenīm. Farqī keh dar mīyān ast īnast keh chon meḥakk-e elāhī va mīzān-e ʿadl-e rabbānī be-mīyān āmad movaḥḥed va moshrek az ham maʿlūm shod. Enṣāf dehīd, īn ẓohūr va shoʾūnāt va āyātash rā enkār konīm dīgar be-cheh rū va be-cheh amr daʿvā-ye īmān namāʾīm?

Beyond all this, we wish to see by what testimony and proof they believe in the Primal Point. Bring them forth, if you are truthful. By the same testimony through which they believe with certitude in the Primal Point, we believe with certitude in the Manifestation Himself, on evidence greater still. The difference is this: when the divine touchstone and the balance of divine justice appeared, the believer in God’s oneness was distinguished from the one who joins partners with Him. Judge fairly: if we deny this Revelation, its manifestations, and its verses, with what face and on what grounds could we any longer claim to believe?

84

و اينكه نوشته بوديد علاوه از آنكه قواعد كلّيه كه ميزان است در دست هست قد كبر هذا القول منك لانّ هذا مقام قد جعله اللّه فوق العالمين لانّ نفس الظّهور هو ميزان اللّه و قسطاسه يتقلّب معه الحقّ كما يتقلّب الظلّ مع الشّمس و كذلك نزل فى البيان ان انت من العارفين بعينه مثل شما مثل كسى است كه يكقطعه حجر بردارد و پيش نفسى برد كه نزد او كنائز جواهر موجود و دعوى نمايد كه باين حجر ميخواهم جواهر تو را بشناسم و تميز دهم

Va īnkih nivishtih būdīd ʿalāvih az ānkih qavāʿid-i kullīyih kih mīzān ast dar dast hast, qad kabura hādhā al-qawlu minka li-anna hādhā maqāmun qad jaʿalahu Allāhu fawqa al-ʿālamīn, li-anna nafsa al-ẓuhūri huwa mīzānu Allāhi va qisṭāsuhu, yataqallabu maʿahu al-ḥaqqu kamā yataqallabu al-ẓillu maʿa al-shamsi, va kadhālika nazala fī al-Bayāni in anta mina al-ʿārifīn. Bi-ʿaynih mathal-i shumā mathal-i kasī ast kih yik qiṭʿih ḥajar bardārad va pīsh-i nafsī barad kih nazd-i ū kanāʾiz-i javāhir mawjūd va daʿvā namāyad kih bi-īn ḥajar mīkhvāham javāhir-i tu rā bishināsam va tamyīz daham.

As for what you wrote, “Besides, the universal principles that constitute the balance are at hand”—grave indeed is this statement of yours, for this is a station that God has placed above all the worlds. The Manifestation Himself is God’s balance and His scales of justice. Truth turns with Him as the shadow turns with the sun. Thus was it revealed in the Bayán, if you are among those who understand. Your likeness is precisely that of someone who picks up a piece of stone, takes it to a person who possesses treasuries of jewels, and declares, “With this stone I intend to recognize and distinguish your jewels.”

85

آن ميزانيكه در دست خلق است امثال خود را شايد بآن ميزان بشناسد نفس اللّه مقدّس از آن و ابداً باو شناخته نشده و نخواهد شد ميزان الهى لم‌يزل نفس او بوده و خواهد بود من عرفه فقد عرف الميزان و من احتجب ضلّ سعيه و كان من الخاسرين

Ān mīzānī kih dar dast-i khalq ast amthāl-i khud rā shāyad bi-ān mīzān bishināsad. Nafs-i Allāh muqaddas az ān va abadan bi-ū shinākhtih nashudih va nakhvāhad shud. Mīzān-i ilāhī lam-yazal nafs-i ū būdih va khvāhad būd. Man ʿarafahu fa-qad ʿarafa al-mīzāna va man iḥtajaba ḍalla saʿyuhu va kāna mina al-khāsirīn.

The balance in people’s hands may serve to recognize others like themselves. God’s own Self is sanctified above it and has never been, nor ever will be, known through it. The divine balance has always been, and will always be, His own Self. Whoever has recognized Him has recognized the balance; whoever remains veiled has wasted his efforts and is among the losers.

86

يقين ميزانى كه ذكر نمود‌ه‌ايد از همان ميزانى است كه در حين ظهور نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه در دست علماى عصر بود و هم‌چنين در ظهور رسول اللّه من قبل و از قبل او ظهور عيسى بن مريم كه جميع علماء و رؤسا بميزان انفس خود بر آن شموس حقيقت اعتراض نموده تا آنكه بالأخره فتوى بر قتل آن هياكل قدسيّه دادند الا لعنة اللّه على الظّالمين

Yaqīn mīzānī kih dhikr namūdih-īd az hamān mīzānī ast kih dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā, rūḥ-i mā sivāhu fidāh, dar dast-i ʿulamāy-i ʿaṣr būd va ham-chunīn dar ẓuhūr-i Rasūl-i Allāh min qabl va az qabl-i ū ẓuhūr-i ʿĪsā ibn-i Maryam kih jamīʿ-i ʿulamā va ruʾasā bi-mīzān-i anfus-i khud bar ān shumūs-i ḥaqīqat iʿtirāḍ namūdih tā ānkih bi-al-ākharah fatvā bar qatl-i ān hayākil-i qudsīyih dādand. Alā laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-ẓālimīn.

Surely the balance you have mentioned is the very balance that was in the hands of the learned of the age when the Primal Point appeared—may the soul of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—and likewise at the earlier appearance of the Messenger of God and, before Him, the appearance of Jesus son of Mary. All the learned and the leaders used the balance of their own selves to raise objections against those Suns of Truth, until at last they issued decrees for the killing of those sacred Temples. Indeed, God’s curse rests upon the wrongdoers.

87

اى راقد غافل بدانكه ميزان الهى لم‌يزل نفس او و ما يظهر من عنده بوده و خواهد بود كلّ ذلك فضلاً من لدنه ان انتم تعلمون و اگر فى‌الحقيقه نفسى بنقطه بيان و وصاياى او ناظر باشد اگر كلّ عالمين باسياف شاحذه باو رو نمايند و جميع اعضايش را قطعه قطعه سازند توقّف در اين ظهور نخواهد نمود چه كه آنچه مرقوم فرموده‌اند و از سماء مشيّت نازل شده كلّ صريح باين ظهور اعظم بوده و خواهد بود

Ay rāqid-i ghāfil, bidānkih mīzān-i ilāhī lam-yazal nafs-i ū va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi būdih va khvāhad būd. Kullu dhālika faḍlan min ladunhu in antum taʿlamūn. Va agar fī-al-ḥaqīqih nafsī bi-Nuqṭiy-i Bayān va vaṣāyāy-i ū nāẓir bāshad agar kull-i ʿālamīn bi-asyāf-i shāḥidhih bi-ū rū namāyand va jamīʿ-i aʿḍāyash rā qiṭʿih qiṭʿih sāzand tavaqquf dar īn ẓuhūr nakhvāhad namūd, chih kih ānchih marqūm farmūdih-and va az samāʾ-i mashīyyat nāzil shudih kull ṣarīḥ bi-īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam būdih va khvāhad būd.

O heedless sleeper! Know that the divine balance has always been, and will always be, His own Self and whatever appears from Him. All this is a bounty from Him, if you only knew. If someone truly looks to the Point of the Bayán and His counsels, even if all the peoples of the worlds should turn upon him with sharpened swords and cut every limb of his body to pieces, he would not hesitate over this Revelation. For everything He wrote, everything sent down from the heaven of His will, has been and will remain an explicit reference to this Most Great Revelation.

88

و اگر ناظر ببيان نيستيد و حجّت الهى را كه كلّ انبیاء و رسل بآن اتيان نموده انكار مينمائيد و آيات اللّه را كه لم‌يزل و لايزال حجّت محكمه بوده ميزان نميدانيد فاتوا بما عندكم لو انتم من الصّادقين البتّه بر شما لازم است كه آن ميزان و آن حجّتى كه اليوم بآن حقّیّت خود را ثابت مينمائيد بياوريد لا واللّه لن تستطيعن و لن تقدرن‌ّ كلّ الأمور فى قبضته و كلّ شیء فى كفّ اقتداره و ما دونه مخلوق عنده و بذلك يشهد كلّ ذى بصر عليم

Va agar nāẓir bi-Bayān nīstīd va ḥujjat-i ilāhī rā kih kull-i anbiyā va rusul bi-ān ityān namūdih inkār mīnamāyīd va āyāt-i Allāh rā kih lam-yazal va lā-yazāl ḥujjat-i muḥkamih būdih mīzān nimīdānīd, faʾtū bi-mā ʿindakum law antum mina al-ṣādiqīn. Al-battih bar shumā lāzim ast kih ān mīzān va ān ḥujjatī kih al-yawm bi-ān ḥaqqīyyat-i khud rā thābit mīnamāyīd biyāvarīd. Lā va-Allāhi lan tastaṭīʿunna va lan taqdiranna. Kullu al-umūri fī qabḍatihi va kullu shayʾin fī kaffi iqtidārihi va mā dūnahu makhlūqun ʿindahu va bi-dhālika yashhadu kullu dhī baṣarin ʿalīm.

If you do not look to the Bayán, if you deny the divine proof that all the Prophets and Messengers have brought, and if you do not regard the verses of God—which have always been and will always remain a conclusive proof—as the balance, then bring forward what you possess, if you are truthful. You must certainly produce that balance and that proof by which you establish the truth of your own claim today. No, by God! You will never be able to do so, nor will you have the power. All affairs are in His grasp, and all things are in the hand of His might. Everything besides Him is a creature in His presence; to this every discerning person of insight bears witness.

89

اگر نفسى اليوم اين شئونات الهيّه و ظهورات ربوبيّه و آيات منزله‌ئيكه در اين ظهور امنع اقدس ظاهر شده و بمثل غيث هاطل جارى انكار نمايد انكار حق و كلّ رسل را نموده و انّه من المشركين قد كان فى ام الألواح من قلم الأمر مرقوماً

Agar nafsī al-yawm īn shuʾūnāt-i ilāhīyih va ẓuhūrāt-i rubūbīyih va āyāt-i munazzalih-ī kih dar īn ẓuhūr-i amnaʿ-i aqdas ẓāhir shudih va bi-mithl-i ghayth-i hāṭil jārī inkār namāyad, inkār-i Ḥaqq va kull-i rusul rā namūdih va innahu mina al-mushrikīn qad kāna fī Ummi al-Alwāḥi min qalami al-amri marqūman.

If anyone today denies these divine expressions, these manifestations of lordship, and these revealed verses that have appeared in this most exalted, most holy Revelation and flow like pouring rain, he has denied God and all the Messengers. He is indeed among those who associate partners with God: this has been inscribed in the Mother of Tablets by the Pen of the Cause.

90

يك نغمه از نغمات ورقاء بيان در ذكر ميزان مخصوص قاصدان حرم رحمن ذكر ميشود لعلّ بمعرفت آن فائز شده از مظاهر شيطانيّه بكلّيه منقطع شوند و حجبات اوهام را شقّ نمايند على شأن يسمعنّ اهل ملأ الأعلی صوت خرقها و يشهدنّ انفسهم فوق ملأ البيان كلّها من الّذينهم كفروا و اشركوا و يفرّنّ من غصن الى غصن ليدخلنّ الشّكّ و الرّيب فى قلوب الّذين قلّبتهم نسمات الرّحمن عن شمال الظّنّ الى يمين اليقين قوله عزّ ذكره و عزّ ثنائه و عزّ كلمته و اعظم احسانه او است ميزان و امر اوست ميزان و احوال او است ميزان و دلالات او است ميزان ما ينسب الى الميزان ميزان انتهى

Yik naghmih az naghamāt-i Varqāy-i Bayān dar dhikr-i mīzān makhṣūṣ-i qāṣidān-i ḥaram-i Raḥmān dhikr mīshavad laʿall bi-maʿrifat-i ān fāʾiz shudih az maẓāhir-i shayṭānīyih bi-kullīyih munqaṭiʿ shavand va ḥujubāt-i awhām rā shaqq namāyand, ʿalā shaʾnin yasmaʿanna ahlu Malaʾi al-Aʿlā ṣawta kharqihā va yashhadanna anfusahum fawqa malaʾi al-Bayāni kullihā mina alladhīnahum kafarū va ashrakū va yafirrunna min ghuṣnin ilā ghuṣnin li-yudkhilanna al-shakka va al-rayba fī qulūbi alladhīna qallabathum nasamātu al-Raḥmāni ʿan shimāli al-ẓanni ilā yamīni al-yaqīn. Qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu va ʿazza thanāʾuhu va ʿazzat kalimatuhu va aʿẓama iḥsānahu: Ū ast mīzān va amr-i ūst mīzān va aḥvāl-i ū ast mīzān va dalālāt-i ū ast mīzān. Mā yunsabu ilā al-mīzāni mīzān. Intahā.

One melody from the melodies of the Dove of the Bayán concerning the balance is recounted especially for those who seek the sanctuary of the All-Merciful, so that they may attain an understanding of it, detach themselves entirely from satanic manifestations, and tear apart the veils of vain imaginings in such a way that the inhabitants of the Concourse on high will hear the sound of their rending, and they will see themselves above the entire assembly of the Bayán, consisting of those who have disbelieved and associated partners with God and who flee from branch to branch to instill doubt and misgiving in the hearts of those whom the breezes of the All-Merciful have turned from the left hand of conjecture to the right hand of certitude. His words—exalted be His remembrance, exalted be His praise, exalted be His word, and how great His bounty—are: “He is the balance, His command is the balance, His conditions are the balance, and His indications are the balance. Whatever is related to the balance is a balance.” End of quotation.

91

بارى ميزان نفس ظهور بوده و خواهد بود و آنچه از بحر جود وكرم ظاهر فرمايد و بآنچه اليوم عاملند و بآنچه ناطقند و بآنچه آمرند ميزان كلّ از قبل و بعد بوده و خواهد بود و اليوم هر نفسى را از اين ميزان قدس رحمانى خارج مشاهده نمائى باطل دان و مردود شمر و نعوذ باللّه باصل ميزان جسارت منما خف عن اللّه الّذى خلقك من قطرة ماء مهين

Bārī mīzān nafs-i ẓuhūr būdih va khvāhad būd va ānchih az baḥr-i jūd va karam ẓāhir farmāyad va bi-ānchih al-yawm ʿāmiland va bi-ānchih nāṭiqand va bi-ānchih āmirand mīzān-i kull az qabl va baʿd būdih va khvāhad būd va al-yawm har nafsī rā az īn mīzān-i quds-i raḥmānī khārij mushāhidih namāʾī bāṭil dān va mardūd shumur va naʿūdhu bi-Allāh bi-aṣl-i mīzān jasārat manamā. Khaf ʿan Allāhi alladhī khalaqaka min qaṭrati māʾin mahīn.

In short, the balance has been and will be the Manifestation Himself and whatever He brings forth from the ocean of bounty and generosity. What He does today, what He says, and what He commands have been and will be the balance for all, both before and after. Today, regard anyone you see standing outside this holy, all-merciful balance as false, and count him as rejected. Do not—God forbid—presume to assail the very source of the balance. Fear God, who created you from a drop of lowly water.

92

قول ديگران مبغض اوّلاً آنكه در اصل مدّعى و مطلب عرض نمايم همان حضرت باب كه شما ربّ اعلى ميگوئيد در حقّیّت خود آيات خود را مقرّر فرموده‌اند و بآيات اثبات حقّیّت خود فرموده‌و هيچ كسى را از معتقدين انكار بر اين نيست و يقين است كه شما هم نميتوانيد انكار نمائيد بلكه تصديق شما و ديگران حضرت باب را بآيات بوده انتهى

Qawl-i dīgarān-i mubghiḍ: Avvalan ānkih dar aṣl-i muddaʿā va maṭlab ʿarḍ namāyam hamān Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb kih shumā Rabb-i Aʿlā mīgūʾīd dar ḥaqqīyyat-i khud āyāt-i khud rā muqarrar farmūdih-and va bi-āyāt ithbāt-i ḥaqqīyyat-i khud farmūdih va hīch kasī rā az muʿtaqidīn inkār bar īn nīst va yaqīn ast kih shumā ham nimītavānīd inkār namāʾīd balkih taṣdīq-i shumā va dīgarān Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb rā bi-āyāt būdih. Intahā.

The words of other hostile persons: “First, let me address the central claim and issue. That same Báb whom you call the Most Exalted Lord established His own verses as the proof of His truth and demonstrated His truth through those verses. None of the believers denies this, and it is certain that you too cannot deny it. Indeed, your acceptance of the Báb, and that of others, was based on His verses.” End of quotation.

93

فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده كه هيچ ذى شمّى از اين كلمات كه مرقوم داشته رايحه حقّ استشمام ننمايد زهى حسرت و ندامت كه در اين ربيع روحانى بطراز بديع مزيّن نشدى و از نفحات خوش رضوان معانى استشمام ننمودى كلماتت مثل كلمات محتجبين بل احقر فو‌اللّه لو تتفكّر فيها لتكون خجلاً فى نفسك و تمحو كلّها قدر و شأن انسان از كلماتش ظاهر و فی‌‌الحقيقه كلمه مرآت نفس است لو انت من العارفين

Fa-va-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi kih hīch dhī shammī az īn kalimāt kih marqūm dāshtih rāyiḥiy-i Ḥaqq istishmām nanamāyad. Zihī ḥasrat va nadāmat kih dar īn rabīʿ-i rūḥānī bi-ṭirāz-i badīʿ muzayyan nashudī va az nafaḥāt-i khush-i Riḍvān-i maʿānī istishmām nanamūdī. Kalimātat mithl-i kalimāt-i muḥtajibīn bal aḥqar. Fa-va-Allāhi law tatafakkaru fīhā la-takūnu khajilan fī nafsika va tamḥū kullahā. Qadr va shaʾn-i insān az kalimātash ẓāhir va fī-al-ḥaqīqih kalimih mirʾāt-i nafs ast, law anta mina al-ʿārifīn.

By Him in whose hand is my soul! No one with a sense of smell could perceive the fragrance of truth in these words you have written. What sorrow and regret that, in this spiritual springtime, you have not adorned yourself with a wondrous adornment or inhaled the sweet breezes of the Riḍván of inner meanings! Your words resemble those of the veiled—indeed, they are baser. By God! If you reflected on them, you would feel ashamed within yourself and erase them all. A person’s worth and station are revealed by his words. In truth, a word is the mirror of the self, if you are among those who understand.

94

لم يزل باين كلمات غير متقنه هياكل ظنونيّه ناس را از شطر احديّه منع نمود‌ه‌اند چه مقام مشاهده ميشود تقديس امر و چه مقام مشاهده ميشود انفس محتجبه اسمع قولى ثمّ دعها عن ورائك فاقبل الى اللّه بكلّك لعلّ يجرى من قلبك بحور المعانى و البيان فى ذكر ربّك المقتدر العزيز المنّان

Lam-yazal bi-īn kalimāt-i ghayr-i mutqanih hayākil-i ẓunūnīyih nās rā az shaṭr-i aḥadīyih manʿ namūdih-and. Chih maqām mushāhidih mīshavad taqdīs-i amr va chih maqām mushāhidih mīshavad anfus-i muḥtajibih. Ismaʿ qawlī thumma daʿhā ʿan warāʾika fa-aqbil ilā Allāhi bi-kullika laʿalla yajrī min qalbika buḥūru al-maʿānī va al-bayāni fī dhikri Rabbika al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Mannān.

With such unsound words, these embodiments of conjecture have always kept people from turning toward the divine Unity. At what a station is the sanctity of the Cause seen, and at what a station these veiled souls! Hear my words, then leave those things behind you and turn with your whole being toward God, so that oceans of inner meanings and utterance may flow from your heart in remembrance of your Lord, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Bestower.

95

اگر چه قلم خجلت ميكشد در ذكر جواب چنين كلمات و لكن نظر بآنكه جواب را واجب دانسته‌اند مذكور ميدارم كه همين كلمات شما ردّ بر شما است و اثبات امراللّه نوشته و ملتفت نشده كذلك يجرى اللّه من القلم ما يكون غافلاً عنه كاتبه فويل للمحتجبين من عذاب يوم عظيم

Agar chih qalam khijlat mīkishad dar dhikr-i javāb-i chunīn kalimāt va lākin naẓar bi-ānkih javāb rā vājib dānistih-and madhkūr mīdāram kih hamīn kalimāt-i shumā radd bar shumā ast va ithbāt-i Amru’llāh nivishtih va multafit nashudih. Kadhālika yujrī Allāhu mina al-qalami mā yakūnu ghāfilan ʿanhu kātibuhu fa-waylun li-l-muḥtajibīna min ʿadhābi yawmin ʿaẓīm.

Although the pen feels ashamed to set down a reply to such words, since a reply has been deemed necessary, I state that these very words of yours refute you. You have written a proof of the Cause of God without realizing it. Thus God causes to flow from the pen what its writer is unaware of. Woe, then, to the veiled, from the punishment of a momentous day!

96

اى برادر مرئه عقيمه در كلّ ملل بی‌قدر بوده چه كه محروم گشته از نسل ظاهره فواللّه نفوسى كه قلوبشان عقيم گشته از ظهور ابكار معارف الهيّه اين نفوس اشدّ محروماً بنظر آيند و حال مشاهده ميشود اكثرى از محتجبين قلب و فؤاد و بصرشان عقيم گشته بشأنيكه آنچه خود مينويسند بادراك آن قادر نيستند تا چه رسد باشارات كلمات الهيّه و جواهر حكم بالغه ربّانيّه تاللّه اولئك عقيم من رحمة اللّه و من الصّدق و الانصاف و لم يظهر منهم الّا ما يشتدّ به غضب اللّه و سخطه عليهم و لكنّهم لا يفقهون

Ay barādar, marʾih-yi ʿaqīmih dar kull-i milal bī-qadr būdih chih kih maḥrūm gashtih az nasl-i ẓāhirih. Fa-va-Allāh nufūsī kih qulūbishān ʿaqīm gashtih az ẓuhūr-i abkār-i maʿārif-i ilāhīyih īn nufūs ashaddu maḥrūman bi-naẓar āyand va ḥāl mushāhidih mīshavad aktharī az muḥtajibīn qalb va fuʾād va baṣarishān ʿaqīm gashtih bi-shaʾnī kih ānchih khud mīnivīsand bi-idrāk-i ān qādir nīstand tā chih rasad bi-ishārāt-i kalimāt-i ilāhīyih va javāhir-i ḥikam-i bālighih-yi rabbānīyih. Ta-Allāhi ulāʾika ʿaqīmun min raḥmati Allāhi va mina al-ṣidqi va al-inṣāfi va lam yaẓhar minhum illā mā yashtaddu bihi ghaḍabu Allāhi va sakhaṭuhu ʿalayhim va lākinnahum lā yafqahūn.

O brother! A barren woman has been held in little esteem among all peoples because she has been deprived of physical offspring. By God! Those whose hearts have become barren of the emergence of the virginal truths of divine knowledge appear far more deprived. Now it can be seen that the hearts, inner understanding, and sight of most of the veiled have become so barren that they cannot comprehend what they themselves write, much less the allusions of the divine words and the gems of consummate heavenly wisdom. By God! These people are barren of God’s mercy, of truthfulness, and of fairness. Nothing has appeared from them but what intensifies God’s anger and wrath against them, yet they do not understand.

97

اينكه نوشته همان حضرت باب كه شما ربّ اعلى ميدانيد از اينكلمه معلوم ميشود كه شما ربّ اعلى نميدانيد و يا تقيّه نمود‌ه‌ايد مثل مرشدين شما كه در بعضى مواضع انكار مينمايند و تبرّى ميجويند و باطراف پشته پشته كتب مجعوله در اثبات حقّیّت خود ميفرستند شما و كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض جميعاً بدانيد بانّا كنّا موقناً معترفاً مذعناً ناطقاً ذاكراً قائلاً منادياً مضجّاً مصرخاً مصحاً متكلّماً مبلّغاً معجّاً بأعلى الصّوت بأنّه هو ربّ الأعلی و سدرة المنتهى و شجرة القصوى و ملكوت العلى و جبروت العمآء و لاهوت البقآء و روح البهآء و سرّ الأعظم و كلمة الأتمّ و مظهر القدم و هيكل الأکرم و رمز المنمنم و ربّ الأمم و البحر الملتطم و كلمة العليا و درّة الأولی و صحيفة المكنون و كتاب المخزون جمال الأحديّه و مظهر الهويّة و مطلع الصمديّة لولاه ما ظهر الوجود و ما عرف المقصود و ما برز جمال المعبود تاللّه باسمه قد خلقت السّمآء و ما فيها و الأرض و من عليها و به موّجت البحار و جرت الأنهار و اثمرت الأشجار و به حقّقت الأدیان و ظهر جمال الرّحمن فواللّه لو نصفه الى آخر الّذى لا آخر له لن يسكن فؤادى من عطش حبّ ذكر اسمائه و صفاته فكيف نفسه المقدّس العزيز الجميل

Īnkih nivishtih hamān Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb kih shumā Rabb-i Aʿlā mīdānīd az īn kalimih maʿlūm mīshavad kih shumā Rabb-i Aʿlā nimīdānīd va yā taqīyyih namūdih-īd mithl-i murshidīn-i shumā kih dar baʿḍī mavāḍiʿ inkār mīnamāyand va tabarrī mījūyand va bi-aṭrāf pushtih pushtih kutub-i majʿūlih dar ithbāt-i ḥaqqīyyat-i khud mīfiristand. Shumā va kull-i man fī al-samāvāti va al-arḍ jamīʿan bidānīd bi-annā kunnā mūqinan muʿtarifan mudhʿinan nāṭiqan dhākiran qāʾilan munādiyan muḍijjan muṣrikhan muṣiḥḥan mutakalliman muballighan muʿijjan bi-aʿlā al-ṣawti bi-annahu huwa Rabbu al-Aʿlā va Sidratu al-Muntahā va Shajaratu al-Quṣwā va Malakūtu al-ʿUlā va Jabarūtu al-ʿAmāʾ va Lāhūtu al-Baqāʾ va Rūḥu al-Bahāʾ va Sirru al-Aʿẓam va Kalimatu al-Atamm va Maẓharu al-Qidam va Haykalu al-Akram va Ramzu al-Munamnam va Rabbu al-Umam va al-Baḥru al-Mulṭaṭim va Kalimatu al-ʿUlyā va Durratu al-Ūlā va Ṣaḥīfatu al-Maknūn va Kitābu al-Makhzūn, Jamāl-i Aḥadīyih va Maẓhar-i Huvīyyat va Maṭlaʿ-i Ṣamadīyyat. Lawlāhu mā ẓahara al-wujūdu va mā ʿurifa al-Maqṣūdu va mā baraza jamālu al-Maʿbūd. Ta-Allāhi bi-ismihi qad khuliqati al-samāʾu va mā fīhā va al-arḍu va man ʿalayhā va bihi muwwijati al-biḥāru va jarati al-anhāru va athmarati al-ashjāru va bihi ḥuqqiqati al-adyānu va ẓahara jamālu al-Raḥmān. Fa-va-Allāhi law naṣifuhu ilā ākhiri alladhī lā ākhira lahu lan yaskuna fuʾādī min ʿaṭashi ḥubbi dhikri asmāʾihi va ṣifātihi fa-kayfa nafsihi al-muqaddasi al-ʿAzīzi al-Jamīl.

You wrote, “That same Báb whom you regard as the Most Exalted Lord.” From these words it is clear that you do not regard Him as the Most Exalted Lord, or else you have concealed your belief, like your guides, who in some places deny Him and disavow Him, while sending stacks upon stacks of fabricated books in every direction to establish the truth of their own claims. You, and all who are in the heavens and on earth, know that We have been certain, acknowledging, assenting, declaring, remembering, stating, proclaiming, crying aloud, calling out, affirming, speaking, conveying, and raising Our voice at its highest pitch that He is the Most Exalted Lord, the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Boundary, the Farthest Tree, the Kingdom on high, the Dominion of the Cloud, the Divinity of everlastingness, the Spirit of Glory, the Most Great Secret, the Most Perfect Word, the Manifestation of eternity, the Most Bountiful Temple, the finely adorned Mystery, the Lord of the nations, the surging Ocean, the Most Exalted Word, the Primal Pearl, the Hidden Scroll, the Treasured Book, the Beauty of Oneness, the Manifestation of the divine Identity, and the Dawning-Place of eternal Self-Sufficiency. Were it not for Him, existence would not have appeared, the Desired One would not have been known, and the beauty of the Worshipped One would not have emerged. By God! Through His name the heaven and all that is within it, and the earth and all who dwell upon it, were created. Through Him the seas were made to surge, the rivers flowed, and the trees bore fruit. Through Him the religions were established and the beauty of the All-Merciful appeared. By God! Were We to describe Him until the end that has no end, my heart’s thirst in its love of mentioning His names and attributes would not be stilled—how much less its thirst for His own sanctified, mighty, beautiful Self!

98

و شما شاهد و گواه باشيد همين لوح را بهر نفسى از نفوس معرضه كه بخواهيد بنمائيد مرخّصيد چنانچه مرشدت الواح الهيه بخطّ غصن ربانيّه اخذ نموده و ببعضى نشان داده و خود تبرّى جسته هذا ما فعل فى السّر و لكن فى الجهر يخضع رأسه و يطوّل نفسه بين ملأ البيان الّذين اتّخذوه ربا لانفسهم و يستدلّ لهم اثبات نفسه المجعولة المكذوبة و يفرح برياسته عليهم قل فويل لك يا ايّها الخائف الخائن الخائب الخاسر ما يغنيك اليوم شیء و لو تتمسّك بكلّ ما خلق بين السّموات و الأرضين

Va shumā shāhid va gavāh bāshīd hamīn lawḥ rā bi-har nafsī az nufūs-i muʿriḍih kih bikhvāhīd binamāʾīd murakhkhaṣīd chunānchih murshidat alvāḥ-i ilāhīyih bi-khaṭṭ-i ghuṣn-i rabbānīyih akhdh namūdih va bi-baʿḍī nishān dādih va khud tabarrī justih. Hādhā mā faʿala fī al-sirri va lākin fī al-jahri yakhḍaʿu raʾsahu va yuṭawwilu nafsahu bayna malaʾi al-Bayāni alladhīna ittakhadhūhu rabban li-anfusihim va yastadillu lahum ithbāta nafsihi al-majʿūlati al-makdhūbati va yafraḥu bi-riyāsatihi ʿalayhim. Qul fa-waylun laka yā ayyuhā al-khāʾifu al-khāʾinu al-khāʾibu al-khāsir, mā yughnīka al-yawma shayʾun va law tatamassaku bi-kulli mā khuliqa bayna al-samāvāti va al-arḍīn.

Be a witness and bear testimony: you have permission to show this very Tablet to any of the souls who have turned away, as you wish. Your guide obtained divine Tablets in the handwriting of the heavenly Branch and showed them to certain people, while himself disavowing them. This is what he did in secret. In public, however, he bows his head and exalts himself among the people of the Bayán, who have taken him as a lord for themselves. He offers them arguments to establish his own fabricated and false self, and rejoices in his leadership over them. Say: Woe to you, O fearful, treacherous, disappointed loser! Nothing will avail you today, even if you cling to everything created between the heavens and the earths.

99

و ايكاش بهمين كفايت مينمودند بلكه كلماتى شبه آن نوشته و باسم حقّ ببعضى نموده انّ اللّه يعلم ما فى سرّه و احصى كلّ شیء فى امام مبين حال شما هم اگر اراده نمائيد اين لوح را بهر نفسيكه اراده كنيد بنمائيد فو‌اللّه انّ ربی‌ ما حفظ نفسه و ما يحفظ ابداً و ينتظر الصّليب من اليهود و السّنان من السّنان لو انت من العارفين بدانكه حقّ منتظر است آنچه را كه بظهور قبلش وارد شده و هم‌چنين آنچه را كه برسول اللّه از قبل وارد شده و هم‌چنين از قبل او بروح ثمّ من قبله بالخليل ما خاف من احد و لن يخاف بفضل اللّه و عنايته اذا فاجتمعوا لسفك دمه المطهّر العزيز المنيع

Va ey kāsh be-hamīn kefāyat mī-nemūdand balke kalemātī shebh-e ān neveshte va be-esm-e Ḥaqq be-baʿżī nemūde. Inna Allāha yaʿlamu mā fī sirrihi wa-aḥṣā kulla shayʾin fī imāmin mubīn. Ḥāl shomā ham agar erāde namāyīd īn lowḥ rā be-har nafsī ke erāde konīd benamāyīd. Fa-wa-Allāhi inna rabbī mā ḥafiẓa nafsahu wa-mā yaḥfaẓu abadan wa-yantaẓiru al-ṣalība min al-Yahūd wa-l-sināna min al-sinān law anta min al-ʿārifīn. Bedān ke Ḥaqq montaẓer ast ānche rā ke be-ẓohūr-e qablash vāred shode va ham-chenīn ānche rā ke be-Rasūl Allāh az qabl vāred shode va ham-chenīn az qabl-e ū be-Rūḥ thumma min qablihi bi-l-Khalīl. Mā khāfa min aḥadin wa-lan yakhāfa bi-faḍli Allāhi wa-ʿināyatihi. Idhan fa-jtamiʿū li-safki damihi al-muṭahhari al-ʿazīzi al-manīʿ.

Would that they had been content with this! Instead, they wrote words resembling those and showed them to certain people in the name of the True One. God knows what is in his secret heart and has recorded all things in a manifest register. Now you too, if you wish, may show this Tablet to any soul you choose. By God! My Lord has not protected Himself, nor will He ever protect Himself, and He awaits the cross from the Jews and the spear from the spear, if you are among those who understand. Know that the True One awaits what befell His previous Manifestation, and likewise what befell the Messenger of God before Him, and, before Him, the Spirit, and before Him, the Friend. He has feared no one and will never fear, through God’s grace and loving care. Gather, then, to shed His purified, mighty, inviolable blood.

100

و اينكه نوشته بودى در حقّیّت خود آيات را مقرّر فرموده‌اند و بآيات اثبات حقّیّت خود فرموده همين كلمه لو تعرف در اثبات اين امر از قلم جارى شده و شما ادراك ننموده‌‌ايد چه كه اين آياتى كه ذكر نموده شما بآن موقنيد يا نه اگر نيستيد جميع اين كلمات كه ذكر نموده‌ايد لغو بوده و خواهد بود و اگر موقنيد چرا باين آيات منزله كه بمثابه غيث هاطله در كلّ حين نازل است منكر و معرضيد يقين بدان كه اهل بصر و فؤاد فرصتت نميدهند كه از كلمه اوّل تجاوز نمائى در همين يك كلمه تو برهان الهى و حجّت او را بر تو ثابت و مسجّل مينمايند بهمان نحو كه آن شجره احديّه اثبات امر خود فرموده و ما عارف شده‌ايم حال هم بهمان قسم امر اللّه ظاهر و آيات اللّه نازل و اين عباد موقن شده‌اند اهل انكار اين عباد نبوده و نخواهند بود منكر نفوسى هستند كه آمنوا ببعض الكتاب و كفروا ببعض لا واللّه بل كفروا بكلّ الكتب چه كه اليوم اگر نفسى از حرفى از اين آيات اعراض نمايد اعراضش بر كلّ ثابت و محقّق است انّا آمنّا بما نزل من قبل و حينئذ و يشهد بذلك كلّ شیء ان انت من الموقنين خوب استدلال مينمائى و بمحبوب نقطه اولى باعتراض و جدال مشغولى و مينويسى كه بآيات حقّ او ثابت شده بگمان خود بتنزيل ناظرى و لكن از منزل بسى بعيد

Va īnke neveshte būdī dar ḥaqqīyat-e khod āyāt rā moqarrar farmūde-and va be-āyāt ethbāt-e ḥaqqīyat-e khod farmūde, hamīn kaleme, law taʿrifu, dar ethbāt-e īn amr az qalam jārī shode va shomā edrāk na-nemūde-īd. Che ke īn āyātī ke dhekr nemūde shomā be-ān mūqenīd yā na? Agar nīstīd jamīʿ-e īn kalemāt ke dhekr nemūde-īd laghv būde va khāhad būd, va agar mūqenīd cherā be-īn āyāt-e monzale ke be-mathābe-ye gheyth-e hāṭele dar koll-e ḥīn nāzel ast monker va moʿreżīd? Yaqīn bedān ke ahl-e baṣar va foʾād forṣatat ne-mī-dehand ke az kaleme-ye avval tajāvoz namāyī. Dar hamīn yek kaleme-ye to borhān-e elāhī va ḥojjat-e ū rā bar to thābet va mosajjal mī-namāyand. Be-hamān naḥv ke ān shajare-ye aḥadīye ethbāt-e amr-e khod farmūde va mā ʿāref shode-īm, ḥāl ham be-hamān qesm amr Allāh ẓāher va āyāt Allāh nāzel va īn ʿebād mūqen shode-and. Ahl-e enkār īn ʿebād na-būde va na-khāhand būd. Monker nofūsī hastand ke āmanū bi-baʿḍi al-kitāb wa-kafarū bi-baʿḍ. Lā wa-Allāh bal kafarū bi-kulli al-kutub. Che ke al-yowm agar nafsī az ḥarfī az īn āyāt eʿrāż namāyad eʿrāżash bar koll thābet va moḥaqqaq ast. Innā āmannā bi-mā nazala min qablu wa-ḥīnaʾidhin wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu shayʾin in anta min al-mūqinīn. Khūb estedlāl mī-namāyī va be-maḥbūb-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā be-eʿterāż va jedāl mashghūlī va mī-nevīsī ke be-āyāt ḥaqq-e ū thābet shode. Be-gomān-e khod be-tanzīl nāẓerī va lāken az monzel basī baʿīd.

As for your statement that He established verses as the criterion of His own truth and proved His own truth through verses: these very words, if you understood, have flowed from the Pen in proof of this Cause, but you have not grasped them. For are you certain of these verses you have mentioned, or not? If you are not, all these words you have written have been and will remain futile. If you are certain, why do you deny and turn away from these revealed verses, which descend at every moment like pouring rain? Know for certain that those endowed with sight and understanding will not give you the chance to proceed beyond your first statement. Through this single statement of yours, they establish and confirm God’s proof and His testimony against you. Just as that Tree of Oneness established His Cause and we came to recognize it, so now, in the same way, the Cause of God is manifest, the verses of God are revealed, and these servants have attained certainty. These servants have not been, nor will they be, among the deniers. The deniers are those souls who have believed in part of the Book and disbelieved in part. No, by God! Rather, they have disbelieved in all the Books. For today, if a soul turns away from a single letter of these verses, his rejection of them all is established and confirmed. We have believed in what was revealed before and what is revealed now, and all things bear witness to this, if you are among those who are certain. How well you reason! You are occupied with objections and disputes against the Beloved of the Primal Point, while writing that His truth was established through verses. You imagine that you look to the revelation, yet you are far indeed from its Revealer.

101

و اينكه نوشته بودى كه يقين است شما هم نميتوانيد انكار نمائيد يشهد بآياته سرّنا و كينونتنا و لساننا و قلبنا و جوارحنا ان انت من العارفين قسم بآفتاب عزّ توحيد كه حرفى از كلمات آن مظهر اسماء و صفات نزد جمال ابهى احبّ و اعزّ است از كلّ آنچه در آسمانها و زمينها است ديگر تا چه رسد باين عباد كه معدوميم نزد حرفى از او و خاضعيم نزد آنچه ظاهر شده از آن شجره حقيقت و شمس عنايت و قمر عطوفت فرق ما بين اين عباد و شما اينست كه شما لفظاً از وراء هزار ستر و حجاب موقنيد و از نفس و كينونت و روح و ذات او معرض و كاش باعراض هم كفايت ميرفت لا فو‌نفسه الرّحمن الرّحيم بلكه در ليالى و ایّام در تدبير سفك دم طيّب طاهر مشغوليد چنانچه از مكرى كه در آن ارض نموده واضح شد و اين عباد بآيات او و كلمات او و ظهور او و نفس او و روح او بجميع موقن و مذعن و معترفيم اذا فاعرف شأن المعرضين و شأن اللّه العلى العظيم و شأن هؤلآء الفقرآء و المساكين و

Va īnke neveshte būdī ke yaqīn ast shomā ham ne-mī-tavānīd enkār namāyīd, yashhadu bi-āyātihi sirrunā wa-kaynūnatunā wa-lisānunā wa-qalbunā wa-jawāriḥunā in anta min al-ʿārifīn. Qasam be-āftāb-e ʿezz-e towḥīd ke ḥarfī az kalemāt-e ān maẓhar-e asmāʾ va ṣefāt nazd-e Jamāl-e Abhā aḥabb va aʿazz ast az koll-e ānche dar āsemānhā va zamīnhā ast. Dīgar tā che resad be-īn ʿebād ke maʿdūmīm nazd-e ḥarfī az ū va khāżeʿīm nazd-e ānche ẓāher shode az ān shajare-ye ḥaqīqat va shams-e ʿenāyat va qamar-e ʿoṭūfat. Farq-e mā-beyn-e īn ʿebād va shomā īnast ke shomā lafẓan az varā-ye hezār setr va ḥejāb mūqenīd va az nafs va keynūnat va rūḥ va dhāt-e ū moʿreż. Va kāsh be-eʿrāż ham kefāyat mī-raft. Lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm! Balke dar layālī va ayyām dar tadbīr-e safk-e dam-e ṭayyeb-e ṭāher mashghūlīd chenānche az makrī ke dar ān arż nemūde vāżeḥ shod. Va īn ʿebād be-āyāt-e ū va kalemāt-e ū va ẓohūr-e ū va nafs-e ū va rūḥ-e ū be-jamīʿ mūqen va modhʿen va moʿtarefīm. Idhan fa-ʿrif shaʾna al-muʿriḍīn wa-shaʾna Allāhi al-ʿAliyyi al-ʿAẓīm wa-shaʾna hāʾulāʾi al-fuqarāʾ wa-l-masākīn wa-

As for your statement, “It is certain that you too cannot deny”: our inmost being, our existence, our tongue, our heart, and our limbs bear witness to His verses, if you are among those who understand. I swear by the Sun of the glory of divine unity that a single letter of the words of that Manifestation of the names and attributes is dearer and more precious to the Most Glorious Beauty than all that is in the heavens and the earths. How much more is this true of these servants, who are as nothing before a single letter of His and are humble before all that has appeared from that Tree of Truth, that Sun of loving care, and that Moon of compassion. The difference between these servants and you is this: you profess certainty in words, from behind a thousand coverings and veils, while turning away from His Self, His being, His spirit, and His essence. Would that you had been content merely to turn away! No, by His own Self, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful! Rather, night and day you are occupied with devising ways to shed His good and pure blood, as became clear from the plot contrived in that land. These servants, however, are certain of, assent to, and acknowledge His verses, His words, His Manifestation, His Self, and His spirit—all of them. Recognize, then, the condition of those who turn away, the station of God, the Most High, the Most Great, and the condition of these poor and lowly ones, and

102

ديگر نوشته و خودش هم آيات را از غير آيات از ديگران بهتر تميز خواهد داد بلكه امتياز واقعى را او بايد بدهد و البتّه چنين شخصى دروغ‌گو هم نخواهد بود و بهواى نفس حركت نخواهد نمود انتهى

Dīgar neveshte va khodash ham āyāt rā az gheyr-e āyāt az dīgarān behtar tamīz khāhad dād balke emtīyāz-e vāqeʿī rā ū bāyad bedehad va albatte chenīn shakhṣī dorūgh-gū ham na-khāhad būd va be-havā-ye nafs ḥarakat na-khāhad nemūd. Intahā.

You further wrote, “He himself will also distinguish verses from what are not verses better than others; indeed, he is the one who must make the true distinction. Certainly, such a person will not be a liar, nor will he act according to selfish desire.” End of quotation.

103

اگر شما بظنّ و گمان نوشته‌ايد اين عباد موقناً بين سموات و ارض ناطقند بأنّه لا اله الّا هو و انّ نقطة البيان لميزانه و ظهوره و كلّما نزل من عنده لحقّ لاريب فيه و انّه لمميّز الحقّ عن الباطل و الشّكّ عن اليقين حال اين مميّزى كه ذكر نموده بكلّ آيات او موقن و مذعنى يا بآنچه بنفس و هواى خود تفسير نموده و مطابق ديده اگر بجميع ما نزل من عنده موقنى كه ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره كلّ آنچه در بيان است تحفه‌ايست از خدا از براى آنظهور عزّ صمدانى و بعد ميفرمايند سبحانك اللّهمّ يا الهى ما اصغر ذكرى و ما ينسب الىّ اذا اريد ان انسبه اليك فلتقبلننى و ما ينسب الىّ بفضلك و انّك انت خير الفاضلين

Agar shomā be-ẓann va gomān neveshte-īd īn ʿebād mūqanan beyn-e samāvāt va arż nāṭeqand bi-annahu lā ilāha illā huwa wa-inna Nuqṭata al-Bayān la-mīzānuhu wa-ẓuhūruhu wa-kullamā nazala min ʿindihi la-ḥaqqun lā rayba fīhi wa-innahu la-mumayyizu al-ḥaqq ʿan al-bāṭil wa-l-shakk ʿan al-yaqīn. Ḥāl īn momayyezī ke dhekr nemūde be-koll-e āyāt-e ū mūqen va modhʿenī yā be-ānche be-nafs va havā-ye khod tafsīr nemūde va moṭābeq dīde? Agar be-jamīʿ-e mā nazala min ʿindihi mūqenī ke mī-farmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu koll-e ānche dar Bayān ast toḥfe-īst az Khodā az barā-ye ān ẓohūr-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī va baʿd mī-farmāyand subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī mā aṣghara dhikrī wa-mā yunsabu ilayya idhā urīdu an ansibahu ilayka fa-la-taqbalannī wa-mā yunsabu ilayya bi-faḍlika wa-innaka anta khayru al-fāḍilīn.

If you have written on the basis of conjecture and supposition, these servants proclaim with certainty between the heavens and the earth that there is no God but Him, that the Point of the Bayán is indeed His Balance and His Manifestation, that everything revealed by Him is the truth, beyond all doubt, and that He is indeed the One who distinguishes truth from falsehood and doubt from certainty. Now, concerning this One who distinguishes, whom you have mentioned: are you certain of and do you assent to all His verses, or only those you have interpreted according to your own self and desire and found to accord with them? If you are certain of all that has been revealed by Him, He says—exalted be His mention—“Everything in the Bayán is a gift from God for that Manifestation of self-subsisting glory.” And afterward He says, “Glory be to You, O God, my God! How insignificant is my mention and all that is attributed to me when I wish to ascribe it to You! Accept, then, through Your grace, me and all that is attributed to me. You are indeed the best of those who bestow grace.”

104

اى غافلين از ملأ بيان مع اين خضوع نقطه اولى عند ظهوره الآخر مرّة اخرى متنبّه نشده باين اذكار مشغول گشته‌ايد فو‌اللّه اگر فی‌‌الجمله تفكّر نمائيد از براى انفس خود نوحه كنيد چه كه در اين مقام آن وجود مبارك خود را بكمال خشوع و فناى محض ذكر فرموده‌اند ديگر كجا مقام مرايا و ما ينسب اليهنّ مذكور ميشود آيا سطرى از بيان مشاهده شده كه منتهى باين ذكر ابدع بديع نشده لا فو‌نفسه الحقّ و لكن انتم لاتعرفون و اللّه در مقامى افتاده‌ايد كه گويا بهزار سلاسل حركت ننمائيد آخر يك نفس از مفازه اشارات بيرون خرام ودر فضاى خوش تجريد وارد شو تا حقّ منيع را بنفس مقدّسش بشناسى و از دونش منقطع شوى

Ey ghāfelīn az malaʾ-e Bayān, maʿ-e īn khożūʿ-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā ʿinda ẓuhūrihi al-ākhar marratan ukhrā motanabbeh na-shode be-īn adhkār mashghūl gashte-īd. Fa-wa-Allāh agar fī-l-jomle tafakkor namāyīd az barā-ye anfos-e khod nowḥe konīd, che ke dar īn maqām ān vojūd-e mobārak khod rā be-kamāl-e khoshūʿ va fanā-ye maḥż dhekr farmūde-and. Dīgar kojā maqām-e marāyā va mā yunsabu ilayhinna madhkūr mī-shavad? Āyā saṭrī az Bayān moshāhede shode ke montahī be-īn dhekr-e abdaʿ-e badīʿ na-shode? Lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-Ḥaqq wa-lākin antum lā taʿrifūn. Va-Allāh dar maqāmī oftāde-īd ke gūyā be-hezār salāsel ḥarakat na-namāyīd. Ākhar yek nafas az mafāze-ye eshārāt bīrūn kherām va dar fażā-ye khosh-e tajrīd vāred show tā Ḥaqq-e manīʿ rā be-nafs-e moqaddasash beshenāsī va az dūnash monqaṭeʿ shavī.

O heedless ones among the people of the Bayán! Despite this humility of the Primal Point before His other Manifestation, you have once again failed to take heed and have occupied yourselves with these assertions. By God! If you reflect even a little, you will lament for yourselves, for in this passage that blessed Being has spoken of Himself with utter humility and complete self-effacement. What place, then, is there to mention the station of the mirrors and what is attributed to them? Has a single line of the Bayán been seen that does not culminate in this most wondrous, incomparable remembrance? No, by His own Self, the True One! Yet you do not understand. By God! You have fallen into such a state that it is as though a thousand chains prevent you from moving. At last, step out for a moment from the wilderness of allusions and enter the delightful expanse of detachment, so that you may recognize the unassailable True One through His own sanctified Self and detach yourself from all besides Him.

105

و اينكه آن طلعت احديّه را مميّز ذكر نموده بچه دليل اگر بآيات بوده پس چرا از اين مميّز معرضى كه بآياتى ظاهر شده كه كلّ ذى آيه خاضع است لدى حضرته الّا الّذينهم تحرّكهم ارياح الرّياسة كيف تشآء مرّة يضربهم على قلل الجبال و مرّة على تيه الضّلال و مرّة يطرحهم الى غمرات الفنآء و مرّة يدعهم تحت ذياب النّفس و الهوى قل موتوا بغيظكم تاللّه قد ظهر من ثبت بقوله حجّة الأوّلين و الآخرین و به تثبت الى آخر الّذى لا آخر له و لاينكر ذلك الّا كلّ كفّار اثيم

Va īnke ān ṭalʿat-e aḥadīye rā momayyez dhekr nemūde be-che dalīl? Agar be-āyāt būde pas cherā az īn momayyez moʿreżī ke be-āyātī ẓāher shode ke koll-e dhī āye khāżeʿ ast ladā ḥaḍratihi illā alladhīna hum tuḥarrikuhum aryāḥu al-riʾāsa kayfa tashāʾ. Marratan yaḍribuhum ʿalā qulali al-jibāl wa-marratan ʿalā tīhi al-ḍalāl wa-marratan yaṭraḥuhum ilā ghamarāti al-fanāʾ wa-marratan yadaʿuhum taḥta dhiʾābi al-nafs wa-l-hawā. Qul mūtū bi-ghayẓikum. Ta-Allāhi qad ẓahara man thabata bi-qawlihi ḥujjatu al-awwalīn wa-l-ākhirīn wa-bihi tathbutu ilā ākhiri alladhī lā ākhira lahu wa-lā yunkiru dhālika illā kullu kaffārin athīm.

On what evidence have you described that Countenance of Oneness as the One who distinguishes? If it was on the basis of verses, why, then, do you turn away from this One who distinguishes, who has appeared with verses before which everyone endowed with verses bows humbly in His presence, except those whom the winds of leadership move as they please? At one time they dash them against the mountaintops, at another against the wilderness of error; at one time they cast them into the depths of extinction, and at another leave them beneath the wolves of self and desire. Say: Die in your rage! By God! The One has appeared through whose word the proof of the first and the last was established, and through whom it will remain established until the end that has no end. None denies this but every sinful, inveterate disbeliever.

106

و اينكه نوشته دروغ‌گو هم نخواهد بود اگر چه بظاهر تصديق صدق حضرت نموده و لكن اين تصديق شبحى بوده و اخذ شد چه كه اگر موقن بصدق نقطه اولى بودى منبع صدق را كه باراده از او حقيقت صدق مخلوق و ممدوح تكذيب نمينمودى و تصديق صدق حضرت در اينمقام نظر بآن بوده كه باين تصديق ظاهره كينونت و حقيقتش را تكذيب نمائى چنانچه علماى قبل حين ظهور نقطه بيان جلّت عظمته همين قسم متكلّم كه يقين ائمّه هدى صادقند احاديث متواتره از ايشان موجود كه هر نفسى قائل شود كه بايد قائم متولّد شود كاذب و منافق و مفترى است و قتلش واجب و هم‌چنين استدلال مينمودند كه خاتم النّبيّين قول خدا است و در قرآن بنصّ صريح نازل و يقين است كه خدا صادق است و نبی‌ او صادق و بعد اعتراضاً على اللّه و مظهر نفسه باين كلمات ناطق كه اين شخص مدّعى قولش باطل و از درجه اعتبار ساقط چه كه مخالف كتاب اللّه و سننه و نبی‌ صادق تكلّم نموده چنانچه در كتاب او است كه نبی‌ از اوّل لا اوّل آمده و الى آخر لا آخر خواهد آمد

Va īnke neveshte dorūgh-gū ham na-khāhad būd, agar-che be-ẓāher taṣdīq-e ṣedq-e Ḥażrat nemūde va lāken īn taṣdīq shabaḥī būde va akhdh shod, che ke agar mūqen be-ṣedq-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā būdī manbaʿ-e ṣedq rā ke be-erāde az ū ḥaqīqat-e ṣedq makhlūq va mamdūḥ takdhīb ne-mī-nemūdī. Va taṣdīq-e ṣedq-e Ḥażrat dar īn maqām naẓar be-ān būde ke be-īn taṣdīq-e ẓāhere keynūnat va ḥaqīqatash rā takdhīb namāyī. Chenānche ʿolamā-ye qabl ḥīn-e ẓohūr-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān jallat ʿaẓamatuhu hamīn qesm motakallem ke yaqīn aʾemme-ye hodā ṣādeqand. Aḥādīth-e motavātere az īshān mowjūd ke har nafsī qāʾel shavad ke bāyad Qāʾem motavalled shavad kādheb va monāfeq va moftarī ast va qatl-ash vājeb. Va ham-chenīn estedlāl mī-nemūdand ke Khātam al-Nabīyīn qowl-e Khodā ast va dar Qorʾān be-naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ nāzel va yaqīn ast ke Khodā ṣādeq ast va Nabī-ye ū ṣādeq. Va baʿd iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh wa-maẓhari nafsihi be-īn kalemāt nāṭeq ke īn shakhṣ-e moddaʿī qowlash bāṭel va az daraje-ye eʿtebār sāqeṭ che ke mokhālef-e Kitāb Allāh va sonan-ash va Nabī-ye ṣādeq takallom nemūde, chenānche dar ketāb-e ū ast ke Nabī az avval-e lā avval āmade va elā ākher-e lā ākher khāhad āmad.

As for your statement, “He will not be a liar”: although you have outwardly affirmed His truthfulness, this affirmation was a mere semblance and has been taken up. For had you been certain of the truthfulness of the Primal Point, you would not have denied the Source of truthfulness, by an act of whose will the very reality of truthfulness is created and praised. Your affirmation of His truthfulness here was intended to enable you, through this outward affirmation, to deny His being and His reality. In the same way, the divines of the past, at the appearance of the Point of the Bayán—glorified be His majesty—said, “The Imams of guidance are certainly truthful. There are widely transmitted traditions from them stating that anyone who says the Qá’im must be born is a liar, a hypocrite, and a fabricator, and must be put to death.” They also argued that “Seal of the Prophets” is God’s word, explicitly revealed in the Qur’an, and that God is certainly truthful and His Prophet truthful. Then, in objection to God and the Manifestation of His own Self, they uttered these words: “The words of this claimant are false and devoid of credibility, for he has spoken contrary to the Book of God, His established ways, and His truthful Prophet. Thus, in his book it says that Prophets have come from the beginning that has no beginning and will come until the end that has no end.”

107

بعينه همين قسم كه شما اعتراض نموده‌ايد اولئك اعترضوا بل انتم اشدّ اعتراضاً لو انتم تعرفون حال ملاحظه كن كه چه قدر متوهّمند آن معرضين كه اين كلماترا بشما القا نموده‌اند گويا بحرفى از معانى كلمات الهيّه فايز نشده‌اند و بغرفه از قلزم عزّ صمدانيه مرزوق نگشته‌اند فويل لهم و بما امرهم نفسهم و هويهم آنچه از بيان ذكر نمائيد و تسليم هم نمائيم كه جميع را فهميده‌ايد و حال آنكه اين محال بوده چه كه احدى بمعانى آن مطّلع نه الّا اللّه و هم‌چنين بجميع اعمال آن عامل در حين ظهور نفع نمى‌بخشد تو را الّا بتصديق ظهور چه كه بنص صريح ميفرمايد بما نزل فى البيان از آن طلعت رحمن محتجب نشويد تا چه رسد باين چهار كلمه كه شما ذكر نموده‌ايد

Be-ʿeyne hamīn qesm ke shomā eʿterāż nemūde-īd ulāʾika iʿtaraḍū bal antum ashaddu iʿtirāḍan law antum taʿrifūn. Ḥāl molāḥeẓe kon ke che qadr motavahhemand ān moʿreżīn ke īn kalemāt rā be-shomā elqā nemūde-and. Gūyā be-ḥarfī az maʿānī-ye kalemāt-e elāhīye fāʾez na-shode-and va be-ghorfe az qolzom-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānīye marzūq na-gashte-and. Fa-waylun lahum wa-bi-mā amarahum nafsuhum wa-hawāhum. Ānche az Bayān dhekr namāyīd va taslīm ham namāyīm ke jamīʿ rā fahmīde-īd va ḥāl ānke īn moḥāl būde che ke aḥadī be-maʿānī-ye ān moṭṭaleʿ na illā Allāh va ham-chenīn be-jamīʿ-e aʿmāl-e ān ʿāmel, dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr nafʿ ne-mī-bakhshad to rā illā be-taṣdīq-e ẓohūr, che ke be-naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ mī-farmāyad bi-mā nazala fī al-Bayān az ān ṭalʿat-e Raḥmān moḥtajeb na-shavīd tā che resad be-īn chahār kaleme ke shomā dhekr nemūde-īd.

They raised objections in precisely the same way you have done; indeed, your objections are even more vehement, if you only understood. Now consider how deluded are those who have turned away and instilled these words into you. It is as though they have not attained a single letter of the meanings of the divine words or received a single draught from the ocean of self-subsisting glory. Woe to them and to what their selves and desires have commanded them! Whatever you may cite from the Bayán—even if we concede that you have understood it all, though this is impossible, for no one knows its meanings except God, and that you also carry out all its prescribed deeds—it will not benefit you at the time of the Manifestation unless you acknowledge that Manifestation. For He explicitly says, “Do not let what has been revealed in the Bayán veil you from that Countenance of the All-Merciful.” How much less, then, can these few words you have mentioned avail you!

108

و يا بعد از ثبوت اين كلمه طيّبه مباركه كلّ آنچه ذكر نموده‌ايد و يا از بعد بآن مستدلّ شويد جميع راجع بانفس محدوده ذاكر و مستدلّ بوده و حقّ مقدّس از كلّ و اين بسى واضح است كه اگر نقطه اولى را صادق ميدانستى ابداً تكذيب اين ظهور ابدع امنع نمينمودى حال بلسان صادقش ميدانى و امّا بفعل نعوذ باللّه كاذب فاستغفر عما ظننت و قلت و كتبت و

Va yā baʿd az thobūt-e īn kaleme-ye ṭayyebe-ye mobārake koll-e ānche dhekr nemūde-īd va yā az baʿd be-ān mostadell shavīd jamīʿ rājeʿ be-anfos-e maḥdūde-ye dhāker va mostadell būde va Ḥaqq moqaddas az koll. Va īn basī vāżeḥ ast ke agar Noqṭe-ye Ūlā rā ṣādeq mī-dānestī abadan takdhīb-e īn ẓohūr-e abdaʿ-e amnaʿ ne-mī-nemūdī. Ḥāl be-lesān ṣādeqash mī-dānī va ammā be-feʿl naʿūdhu bi-Allāh kādheb. Fa-staghfir ʿammā ẓananta wa-qulta wa-katabta wa-

Or, after the truth of this good and blessed word has been established, everything you have mentioned, or may afterward adduce as evidence, refers entirely to the limited selves of those who mention it and argue from it, while the True One is sanctified above all. It is abundantly clear that, had you regarded the Primal Point as truthful, you would never have denied this most wondrous, most unassailable Manifestation. Now, with your tongue you deem Him truthful, but through your actions—God forbid—a liar. Seek forgiveness, then, for what you have thought and said and written, and

109

قل سبحانك اللّهمّ يا الهى انا الّذى فرّطت فى جنبك و سلكت مسالك الظّنون و الأوهام بما كنت محتجباً عن عرفان مظهر نفسك و استدللت بما احترق كبد علىّ ثمّ قلب محمّد رسول اللّه كانّى قتلت كلّ الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود اذا فانظرنى يا الهى بلحظات رأفتك و لا تدعنى بنفسى و هوائى ثمّ طهّرنى عن اشارات الّتى بها صرت محروماً عن رياض وصلك و لقائك و انّك انت المقتدر على ما تشآء و انّك انت المهيمن القيّوم

Qul subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī, anā alladhī farraṭtu fī janbika wa-salaktu masālika al-ẓunūni wa-al-awhām, bimā kuntu muḥtajiban ʿan ʿirfāni maẓhari nafsika, wa-istad laltu bimā iḥtaraqa kabidu ʿAliyyin thumma qalbu Muḥammadin Rasūli Allāh. Ka-annī qataltu kulla al-wujūdi mina al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūd. Idhan fa-unẓurnī yā ilāhī bi-laḥaẓāti raʾfatika wa-lā tadaʿnī bi-nafsī wa-hawāʾī, thumma ṭahhirnī ʿan ishārāti allatī bihā ṣirtu maḥrūman ʿan riyāḍi waṣlika wa-liqāʾika, wa-innaka anta al-muqtadiru ʿalā mā tashāʾu wa-innaka anta al-muhayminu al-qayyūm.

Say: “Glory be to You, O God, my God! I am the one who neglected his duty toward You and followed the paths of conjecture and delusion, for I was veiled from recognizing the Manifestation of Your own Self. I adduced as evidence that which burned the liver of ʿAlí and then the heart of Muḥammad, the Messenger of God. It is as though I had slain all existence, unseen and seen. Look upon me, then, O my God, with the glances of Your compassion, and do not abandon me to my own self and desires. Then purify me of the allusions through which I was deprived of the gardens of union with You and of meeting You. You indeed have power over whatever You will, and You are indeed the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.”

110

و ديگر نوشته بوديد احدى از خارج و داخل و شهرت و واقع تواند شكّى نمود كه حضرت باب تصديق ميرزا يحيى ننموده باين معنى كه باطراف و اصحاب در حقّیّت او بعبارات مختلفه ننوشته كه بعد از من او است و اطاعت او بر همه لازم است وصىّ و خليفه هر چه هست بعد از من او است صريحاً و بعبارات صريحه بجهت اهل تقليد و عوام بيان فرموده‌ اين را و امّا بجهت اولى الأبصار و الأفئده عبارات ديگر بيان فرموده كه انّ الأمر ينتهى الى اسم الوحيد لانّ ظهوره بنفسه حجّة و لا يحتاج الى نصىّ انتهى

Va dīgar nivishtih būdīd aḥadī az khārij va dākhil va shuhrat va vāqiʿ tavānad shakkī nimūd kih Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb taṣdīq-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā nanimūdih, bi-īn maʿnā kih bi-aṭrāf va aṣḥāb dar ḥaqqiyyat-i ū bi-ʿibārāt-i mukhtalifih nanivishtih kih baʿd az man ū ast va iṭāʿat-i ū bar hamih lāzim ast, vaṣī va khalīfih har chih hast baʿd az man ū ast. Ṣarīḥan va bi-ʿibārāt-i ṣarīḥih bi-jihat-i ahl-i taqlīd va ʿavāmm bayān farmūdih īn rā, va ammā bi-jihat-i ulī al-abṣār va al-afʾidih ʿibārāt-i dīgar bayān farmūdih kih inna al-amra yantahī ilā ismi al-waḥīd li-anna ẓuhūrahu bi-nafsihi ḥujjatun wa-lā yaḥtāju ilā naṣṣī. Intahā.

You also wrote: “Can anyone, whether an outsider or an insider, whether on the basis of common report or actual fact, doubt that the Báb confirmed Mírzá Yaḥyá—that is, that He wrote in various terms to the regions and the believers affirming his rightful standing: ‘After Me, it is he, and obedience to him is incumbent on everyone. Whatever the position of legatee and successor may be, after Me it is he’? He stated this explicitly and in plain terms for the followers of tradition and the common people. But for those endowed with insight and understanding He used other words: ‘The Cause will culminate in the name of the One, for His appearance is in itself a proof and requires no written designation.’” End of quotation.

111

بسيار دلم بعد از ملاحظه اين كلمات سوخت بر شما چه كه بعينه مثل طلبه‌هاى مدرسه كه حال در مدارس اثبات مطلب خود مينمايند بهمان دلايل وهميّه و كلمات متشابه مستدل شده‌ايد بقول خود شما كه اهل فرقان را موهوم ميدانيد وهم شما صد‌هزار درجه بيشتر از آن طايفه مشاهده ميشود الى متى تكون راقداً على البساط فارفع رأسك عن النّوم ثمّ افتح بصرك لتشهد الشّمس مشرقة فى قطب الزّوال بگذاريد اين كلمات را و بمنزل آن ناظر شويد وهم را بيندازيد و بسلطان يقين تشبّث نمائيد حيف سمع و بصر كه بمشاهده و استماع اين كلمات مشغول شود

Bisyār dilam baʿd az mulāḥaẓih-yi īn kalimāt sūkht bar shumā, chih kih bi-ʿaynih mithl-i ṭalabih-hā-yi madrisih kih ḥāl dar madāris ithbāt-i maṭlab-i khud mīnamāyand, bi-hamān dalāʾil-i vahmiyyih va kalimāt-i mutashābih mustadill shudih-īd. Bi-qawl-i khud-i shumā kih ahl-i Furqān rā mawhūm mīdānīd, vahm-i shumā ṣad-hizār darajih bīshtar az ān ṭāʾifih mushāhadih mīshavad. Ilā matā takūnu rāqidan ʿalā al-bisāṭ? Fa-irfaʿ raʾsaka ʿan al-nawm thumma iftaḥ baṣaraka li-tashhada al-shamsa mushriqatan fī quṭbi al-zawāl. Bigudhārīd īn kalimāt rā va bi-munzil-i ān nāẓir shavīd. Vahm rā biyandāzīd va bi-sulṭān-i yaqīn tashabbuth namāyīd. Ḥayf-i samʿ va baṣar kih bi-mushāhadih va istimāʿ-i īn kalimāt mashghūl shavad.

My heart burned with sorrow for you after reading these words, for you have relied on precisely the same fanciful arguments and ambiguous statements by which the seminary students now establish their claims in their schools. You yourself regard the people of the Qurʾán as deluded, yet your own delusion is seen to exceed theirs a hundred thousandfold. How long will you lie asleep upon the carpet? Raise your head from sleep, then open your eyes to behold the sun shining at its noonday height. Set these words aside and look toward the One who revealed them. Cast away delusion and cling to the Sovereign of certitude. What a waste of hearing and sight that they should be occupied with looking at and listening to these words!

112

اوّلا آنكه آنچه نوشته‌ايد بر عكس بوده و از آن گذشته ميفرمايد ا تؤمنون ببعض الكتاب و تكفرون ببعض چگونه اين كلماتى كه اصلش معلوم نيست كه بكجا راجع است مسلّم دانسته‌ايد و جميع بيان كه ميفرمايد در حين ظهور بهيچ شیء غير او متمسّك نشويد اين بيان رحمن غير مسموع و حال كلمات مجعوله بايد استماع نمود

Avvalan ānkih ānchih nivishtih-īd bar ʿaks būdih va az ān gudhashtih mīfarmāyad a-tuʾminūna bi-baʿḍi al-kitābi wa-takfurūna bi-baʿḍ? Chigūnih īn kalimātī kih aṣlash maʿlūm nīst kih bi-kujā rājiʿ ast musallam dānistih-īd va jamīʿ-i Bayān kih mīfarmāyad dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr bi-hīch shayʾ ghayr-i ū mutamassik nashavīd, īn bayān-i Raḥmān ghayr-i masmūʿ va ḥāl kalimāt-i majʿūlih bāyad istimāʿ nimūd.

First, what you have written is the reverse of the truth. Moreover, He says: “Do you believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in part?” How have you accepted as indisputable these words, whose reference is not known at all, while the whole Bayán declares that at the time of the Manifestation you must cling to nothing other than Him? This utterance of the All-Merciful goes unheard, while fabricated words must now be listened to!

113

ابداً در بيان ذكر وصايت و خلافت نبوده و نيست بقول شما اين كلمات اهل فرقان است آنچه در بيان ذكر شده ذكر حروفات و مرايا بوده و در جميع مواضع ميفرمايند مرايا منحصر نبوده و نخواهد بود هر نفسى باشراق شمس الهيّه مقابل شود او از مرايا محسوب بوده و اين شأن باقى مادامىكه از تقابل انحراف نجويد و بعد از انحراف يرجع النّور الى مقرّه و ينتهى المخلوق الى شكله و مثله

Abadan dar Bayān dhikr-i viṣāyat va khilāfat nabūdih va nīst. Bi-qawl-i shumā īn kalimāt-i ahl-i Furqān ast. Ānchih dar Bayān dhikr shudih dhikr-i ḥurūfāt va marāyā būdih va dar jamīʿ-i mavāḍiʿ mīfarmāyand marāyā munḥaṣir nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd. Har nafsī bi-ishrāq-i shams-i ilāhiyyih muqābil shavad ū az marāyā maḥsūb būdih va īn shaʾn bāqī mādāmīkih az taqābul inḥirāf najūyad va baʿd az inḥirāf yarjiʿu al-nūru ilā maqarrihi wa-yantahī al-makhlūqu ilā shaklihi wa-mithlihi.

There has never been, nor is there now, any mention in the Bayán of legateeship or succession. In your own words, these are the terms of the people of the Qurʾán. What is mentioned in the Bayán is Letters and Mirrors, and throughout it He states that the Mirrors have not been, and will not be, restricted to a fixed number. Any soul who faces the radiance of the divine Sun is counted among the Mirrors, and this station endures so long as that soul does not turn away from facing it. After that turning away, the light returns to its seat, and the creature reverts to its own kind and likeness.

114

و در كلّ بيان مخصوصاً منصوصاً ميفرمايد در يوم ظهور ابدا بغير او ناظر نباشيد چه كه آن جمال قدم ببصر غير خود شناخته نميشود چنانچه نشده و الآن خود نقطه اولى ميفرمايد كه آنچه شما مينويسيد خطا است و استدلالات شما راجع بانفس متوهّمين قد ظهر الحقّ بسلطانه و دليله آياته و ظهوره نفسه اذاً موتوا بغيظكم يا ملأ المتوهّمين

Va dar kull-i Bayān makhṣūṣan manṣūṣan mīfarmāyad dar yawm-i ẓuhūr abadan bi-ghayr-i ū nāẓir nabāshīd, chih kih ān Jamāl-i Qidam bi-baṣar-i ghayr-i khud shinākhtih namīshavad, chinānchih nashudih, va al-ān khud-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā mīfarmāyad kih ānchih shumā mīnivīsīd khaṭā ast va istidlālāt-i shumā rājiʿ bi-anfus-i mutavahhimīn. Qad ẓahara al-Ḥaqqu bi-sulṭānihi wa-dalīlihi āyātihi wa-ẓuhūrihi nafsihi. Idhan mūtū bi-ghayẓikum yā malaʾa al-mutawahhimīn.

Throughout the Bayán He specifically and explicitly declares: “On the day of the Manifestation, never look toward anyone other than Him,” for that Ancient Beauty cannot be recognized through the eyes of anyone other than Himself, nor has He been. Now the Primal Point Himself declares that what you write is erroneous and that your arguments refer back to the selves of the deluded. The True One has appeared with His sovereignty, His proof—His verses—and His manifestation—His own Self. Die, then, in your rage, you company of the deluded!

115

ذكر خارج و داخل و شهرت نموده جميع اين كلمات را بوهم صرف و ظنّ بحت نوشته امّا خارج كه ابدا اطّلاع نداشته و امّا داخل كه بعضى برفيق اعلى ارتقاء جسته‌اند و بعضى هم كه موجودند شما آن نفوس را تكذيب نموده‌ايد و بهواهاى خود جعليّاتى ترتيب داده كه شايد ضعفاى بيچاره را از حقّ منيع محروم نمائيد چنانچه از قبل نموده‌اند و كاش ادراك ميشد كه شهرت را كه داده و حكمت آن چه بوده لا يعرفها الّا اولى الأباب

Dhikr-i khārij va dākhil va shuhrat nimūdih, jamīʿ-i īn kalimāt rā bi-vahm-i ṣirf va ẓann-i baḥt nivishtih. Ammā khārij kih abadan iṭṭilāʿ nadāshtih va ammā dākhil kih baʿḍī bi-Rafīq-i Aʿlā irtiqā justih-and va baʿḍī ham kih mawjūdand shumā ān nufūs rā takdhīb nimūdih-īd va bi-havāhā-yi khud jaʿliyyātī tartīb dādih kih shāyad ḍuʿafā-yi bīchārih rā az Ḥaqq-i Manīʿ maḥrūm namāyīd, chinānchih az qabl nimūdih-and. Va kāsh idrāk mīshud kih shuhrat rā kih dādih va ḥikmat-i ān chih būdih. Lā yaʿrifuhā illā ulū [corrupted text].

You have mentioned outsiders, insiders, and common report, writing all these words out of sheer delusion and pure conjecture. As for outsiders, they have had no knowledge at all. As for insiders, some have ascended to the Most Exalted Companion, while those who are still present you have branded as liars. Following your own desires, you have put together fabrications so that you might deprive the helpless and weak of the unassailable True One, just as others have done before. If only it were understood who gave rise to that common report and what the wisdom behind it was! None knows it except those endowed with [corrupted original text].

116

و اين عبد متحيّر است كه تو بچه دليل ادعاى اطّلاع نموده چه كه هيچ وقت داخل اين امر نبوده بلى عنقريب است كه روايات غير صحيحه سقيمه از ناحيه كذب انفس مشركه ظاهر شود و البتّه معنعن هم خواهد شد آن روايات و منتهى ميشود بسيّد محمّد اصفهانى و يا بحسين مشهور بسوخته كه اين ایّام وارد شده و در ظلّ شيطان واقع و يا بميرزا حسين قمى الّذى تقل على وجه المحبوب لحفظ نفسه الخبيثة او الاعرج الّذى تبرّء عن اللّه حين الّذى كان على المنبر و خود شما هم ميدانيد كه هيچيك از اين نفوس خبر نداشته‌اند و لكن هوى شما را بر آن داشته كه تصديق من لا صدق له را نموده خف عن اللّه و لاتقل ما لا تعلم و لاتكن من المفترين

Va īn ʿabd mutaḥayyir ast kih tu bi-chih dalīl iddiʿā-yi iṭṭilāʿ nimūdih, chih kih hīch vaqt dākhil-i īn amr nabūdih. Balī ʿan-qarīb ast kih rivāyāt-i ghayr-i ṣaḥīḥih-yi saqīmih az nāḥiyih-yi kidhib-i anfus-i mushrikih ẓāhir shavad va al-battih muʿanʿan ham khvāhad shud ān rivāyāt va muntahī mīshavad bi-Sayyid Muḥammad-i Iṣfahānī va yā bi-Ḥusayn mashhūr bi-Sūkhtih kih īn ayyām vārid shudih va dar ẓill-i shayṭān vāqiʿ va yā bi-Mīrzā Ḥusayn-i Qummī alladhī taqala ʿalā wajhi al-Maḥbūb li-ḥifẓi nafsihi al-khabīthati aw al-aʿraji alladhī tabarraʾa ʿan Allāhi ḥīna alladhī kāna ʿalā al-minbar. Va khud-i shumā ham mīdānīd kih hīch-yik az īn nufūs khabar nadāshtih-and va lākin havā shumā rā bar ān dāshtih kih taṣdīq-i man lā ṣidqa lahu rā nimūdih. Khaf ʿan Allāh wa-lā taqul mā lā taʿlam wa-lā takun mina al-muftarīn.

This servant is bewildered as to the grounds on which you claim to have knowledge, for you have never been within this Cause. Indeed, before long unsound and false reports will emerge from the realm of the lies of idolatrous souls. Those reports will certainly be furnished with chains of transmission, ending with Siyyid Muḥammad-i-Iṣfahání, or Ḥusayn, known as Súkhtih, who has arrived in these days and is under the shadow of Satan, or Mírzá Ḥusayn-i-Qummí, who spat in the face of the Beloved to preserve his own vile self, or the lame man who disavowed God while on the pulpit. You yourself know that none of these souls had any knowledge, yet your desire has led you to affirm someone in whom there is no truthfulness. Fear God, do not say what you do not know, and do not be among those who fabricate falsehoods.

117

اگر كلّ ما على الأرض اليوم مراياى لطيفه شوند و شهادت دهند بر امرى كفايت نخواهد نمود چه كه شهادت كلّ منوط است بنفس ظهور چنانچه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه در ظهور آخر ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره اگر كلّ ما على الأرض شهادت دهند بر امرى و او شهادت دهد بدون آن كه آنها شهادت داده شهادت او مثل شمس است و شهادت آنها مثل شبح شمس است كه در تقابل واقع نشده و الّا مطابق با شهادت او ميگرديد قسم بذات اقدس الهى كه يك سطر از كلام او بهتر است از كلام كلّ ما على الأرض بلكه استغفار ميكنم از اين ذكر افعل التّفضيل كجا ميتواند آثار شموس در مرايا مثل آثار شمس در سماء گردد ذلك فى حدّ اللّا شیء و هذا فى حدّ مشىّئ الشّیئ باللّه عزّ و جلّ انتهى

Agar kull-i mā ʿalā al-arḍ al-yawm marāyā-yi laṭīfih shavand va shahādat dihand bar amrī kifāyat nakhvāhad nimūd, chih kih shahādat-i kull manūṭ ast bi-nafs-i ẓuhūr, chinānchih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān, rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh, dar ẓuhūr-i ākhar mīfarmāyad, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: Agar kull-i mā ʿalā al-arḍ shahādat dihand bar amrī va ū shahādat dihad bi-dūn-i ān kih ānhā shahādat dādih, shahādat-i ū mithl-i shams ast va shahādat-i ānhā mithl-i shabaḥ-i shams ast kih dar taqābul vāqiʿ nashudih va illā muṭābiq bā shahādat-i ū mīgardīd. Qasam bi-dhāt-i aqdas-i ilāhī kih yik saṭr az kalām-i ū bihtar ast az kalām-i kull-i mā ʿalā al-arḍ, balkih istighfār mīkunam az īn dhikr-i afʿal al-tafḍīl. Kujā mītavānad āthār-i shumūs dar marāyā mithl-i āthār-i shams dar samāʾ gardad? Dhālika fī ḥaddi al-lā shayʾ wa-hādhā fī ḥaddi mushayyiʾi al-shayʾ bi-Allāhi ʿazza wa-jall. Intahā.

Even if all who are on earth today were to become refined mirrors and testify to a matter, this would not suffice, for the testimony of all depends on the Manifestation Himself. Thus the Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—says concerning the other Manifestation, in His words, exalted be His mention: “If all who are on earth testify to a matter and He testifies to something other than what they have testified to, His testimony is like the sun, and theirs is like an image of the sun that has not been placed facing it; otherwise, it would accord with His testimony. I swear by the most holy Essence of God that one line of His words is better than the words of all who are on earth. Indeed, I ask forgiveness for this use of the comparative. How could the effects of suns in mirrors ever become like the effects of the sun in heaven? The former is at the level of nothingness, and the latter at the level of the One who brings things into being, by God, mighty and glorious is He.” End of quotation.

118

حال آنچه در نزد عباد مذكور و مشهور على زعمك ابداً عنداللّه معتبر نبوده و نخواهد بود و كلّ معلّق و منوط بتصديق اين ظهور ابدع امنع اقدس لو انتم تعلمون و بر فرض تصديق آنچه ذكر نموده‌ايد در حين ظهور آخر ميفرمايند عزّ ذكره كه طوريون ميّت و لاشیء ميشوند حروفات و ادلّاء نور محتجب ميمانند و شجره اثبات از نفى محسوب ميشود و هم‌چنين ميفرمايند بسا نفسى در ظهورى از اعلى علوّ اهل جنّت است و حين ظهور بعد از ادنى دنوّ اهل نار ميگردد

Ḥāl ānchih dar nazd-i ʿibād madhkūr va mashhūr ʿalā zaʿmika abadan ʿinda Allāh muʿtabar nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd va kull muʿallaq va manūṭ bi-taṣdīq-i īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ-i aqdas, law antum taʿlamūn. Va bar farḍ-i taṣdīq-i ānchih dhikr nimūdih-īd, dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i ākhar mīfarmāyand, ʿazza dhikruhu, kih ṭūriyyūn mayyit va lā shayʾ mīshavand, ḥurūfāt va adillāʾ-i nūr muḥtajib mīmānand va shajari h-yi ithbāt az nafy maḥsūb mīshavad. Va ham-chunīn mīfarmāyand basā nafsī dar ẓuhūrī az aʿlā ʿuluvv-i ahl-i jannat ast va ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd az adnā dunuvv-i ahl-i nār mīgardad.

Now, what you suppose to be mentioned and widely known among people has never had, and will never have, any standing before God. Everything is conditional upon and dependent on the confirmation of this most wondrous, most unassailable, most holy Manifestation, if you only knew. Even supposing that what you have mentioned is acknowledged, He says—exalted be His mention—that at the time of the other Manifestation the people of Sinai become dead and as nothing, the Letters and the guides of light remain veiled, and the tree of affirmation is reckoned among negation. He likewise says: “Many a soul who in one Manifestation is among the highest of the inhabitants of paradise becomes, at the time of the next Manifestation, among the lowest of the inhabitants of the fire.”

119

بگو بمعرضين و مغلّين كه اى بی‌‌بصران كه خود را از كوثر معانى و تسنيم معارف و سلسبيل بيان محروم و ممنوع نموده‌ايد در اعلى علوّ تفكّر نمائيد شايد بقطره از بحر اعظم مشروب گرديد و هم‌چنين در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد عزّ ذكره كه اعلى سكان جنّت قبل در ادنى دنوّ نار ساكن ميگردند حال بصر طاهر لازم تا در اين بيانات مظهر امر تفكّر نمايد لم‌يزل مشركين در احيان ظهور بكلمات قبلش تمسّك جسته بر مظهر نفس الهى اعتراض مينمودند چنانچه شما هم اليوم بكلمات قبلش تمسّك جسته بر نفسش اعتراض نموده و مينمائيد ويل لهم و لكم و لمن يتّبعكم من عذاب يوم عظيم

Bigū bi-muʿriḍīn va mughillīn kih ay bī-baṣarān kih khud rā az kawthar-i maʿānī va tasnīm-i maʿārif va salsabīl-i bayān maḥrūm va mamnūʿ nimūdih-īd, dar aʿlā ʿuluvv tafakkur namāyīd, shāyad bi-qaṭrih az baḥr-i aʿẓam mashrūb gardīd. Va ham-chunīn dar maqām-i dīgar mīfarmāyad, ʿazza dhikruhu, kih aʿlā-yi sukkān-i jannat-i qabl dar adnā dunuvv-i nār sākin mīgardand. Ḥāl baṣar-i ṭāhir lāzim tā dar īn bayānāt-i Maẓhar-i Amr tafakkur namāyad. Lam-yazal mushrikīn dar aḥyān-i ẓuhūr bi-kalimāt-i qablash tamassuk justih bar Maẓhar-i Nafs-i Ilāhī iʿtirāḍ mīnamūdand, chinānchih shumā ham al-yawm bi-kalimāt-i qablash tamassuk justih bar nafsash iʿtirāḍ nimūdih va mīnamāyīd. Waylun lahum wa-lakum wa-li-man yattabiʿukum min ʿadhābi yawmin ʿaẓīm.

Say to those who turn away and harbor malice: “You who lack sight and have deprived and debarred yourselves from the Kawthar of meanings, the Tasním of knowledge, and the Salsabíl of utterance! Reflect upon ‘the highest,’ so that you may perhaps drink a drop from the Most Great Ocean.” Likewise, in another passage He says—exalted be His mention—that the highest inhabitants of the former paradise come to dwell in the lowest depths of the fire. Pure sight is now needed to reflect upon these utterances of the Manifestation of the Cause. At the time of each Manifestation, the idolaters have always clung to His previous words and raised objections against the Manifestation of the divine Self, just as you today have clung to His previous words and have raised, and continue to raise, objections against His own Self. Woe to them, to you, and to those who follow you, from the punishment of a tremendous day!

120

و بشأنى غفلت نموده‌ايد كه كلماتى كه لايق ابصر مشركين است كه بآن نظر نمايند بمقرّ اطهر امنع ميفرستيد در اينمقام ظهور قبل روح ما سواه فداه بيانى فرموده‌اند خالصاً لوجه اللّه ذكر ميشود كه شايد معرضين متنبّه شوند و از شمس هدايت محجوب نمانند قوله عزّ ذكره مثل آن ایّام مثل شمس است بستارگان و هم‌چنين مثل اهل آن ظهور بالنّسبة بظاهر مثل همين است از اين جهت است كه در آن ظهور عارفين بآن قلم را جريان ندهند و حيا كنند از تصانيف و تأليف و انشاءات خود و ظهورات و بروزات خود انتهى ايكاش اين يك نصيحت سلطان احديّه را استماع مينمودند و ارتكاب نمينمودند آنچه را كه از آن نهى شده‌اند لم ادر باىّ صراط يمشون و فى اىّ مناهج يسلكون يستدلّون بآيات اللّه ثمّ بمنزله يكفرون

Va bi-shaʾnī ghaflat nimūdih-īd kih kalimātī kih lāyiq-i abṣar-i mushrikīn ast kih bi-ān naẓar namāyand bi-maqarr-i aṭhar-i amnaʿ mīfiristīd. Dar īn maqām ẓuhūr-i qabl, rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh, bayānī farmūdih-and, khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh dhikr mīshavad kih shāyad muʿriḍīn mutanabbih shavand va az shams-i hidāyat maḥjūb namānand. Qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: Mithl-i ān ayyām mithl-i shams ast bi-sitārigān va ham-chunīn mithl-i ahl-i ān ẓuhūr bi-al-nisbih bi-ẓāhir mithl-i hamīn ast. Az īn jihat ast kih dar ān ẓuhūr ʿārifīn bi-ān qalam rā jarayān nadihand va ḥayā kunand az taṣānīf va taʾlīf va inshāʾāt-i khud va ẓuhūrāt va burūzāt-i khud. Intahā. Ay kāsh īn yik naṣīḥat-i Sulṭān-i Aḥadiyyih rā istimāʿ mīnamūdand va irtikāb namīnamūdand ānchih rā kih az ān nahy shudih-and. Lam adri bi-ayyi ṣirāṭin yamshūna wa-fī ayyi manāhija yaslukūn. Yastadillūna bi-āyāti Allāhi thumma bi-munzilihi yakfurūn.

You have become so heedless that you send to the most pure, most unassailable Seat words fit for the most discerning of the idolaters to examine. On this subject the previous Manifestation—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—made a statement. It is quoted solely for the sake of God, so that those who turn away may perhaps be awakened and not remain veiled from the Sun of guidance. His words, exalted be His mention: “The likeness of those days is that of the sun in relation to the stars, and the likeness of the people of that Manifestation in relation to the One who appears is likewise the same. For this reason, in that Manifestation those who recognize Him do not set their pens in motion, and feel shame at their own compositions, writings, and literary productions, and their own manifestations and appearances.” End of quotation. If only they would listen to this one counsel of the Sovereign of Oneness and refrain from committing what they have been forbidden! I do not know what path they walk or what ways they follow. They adduce the verses of God as evidence, then disbelieve in the One who revealed them.

121

و اينكه نوشته كه حضرت باب تصديق ميرزا يحيى نموده اولّا تو از آن تصديق مطّلع نيستى كه مقصود چه بوده و مراد كه چه كه حوريات معانى الهيّه در غرفات كلمات عصمت ربانيّه لم‌يزل از انظر بريّة مستور بوده و خواهد بود لم يطمئهنّ احد الّا نفس الظّهور و الّذينهم كانوا ادلّآء عليه فى يوم ظهوره فو‌اللّه ما صدق الّا هذا الجمال الّذى وقع بين اظفار المشركين و تحت مخاليب المنكرين ثمّ السن الغافلين و المغلّين و بر فرض تصديق اين قول اگر ببصر دقيق ملاحظه نمائى اين تصديق را درباره كلّ مشاهده مينمائى چه كه ميفرمايد عزّ ذكره كه شكّى نبوده كه جميع نفوسى كه ببيان مومن شده‌اند از انبیاء و اولیاء و اصفیاء بوده و هستند و بعد در مقام ديگر ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره كلّ از براى اين است كه در يوم ظهور باسماء محتجب نمانى بلكه نظر كنى بما يقوم به الأسماء من كلّ شیء حتّى ذكر النّبی‌ فانّ ذلك الاسم يخلق به بما ينزل اللّه انتهى

Va īnke neveshte ke Ḥażrat-e Bāb taṣdīq-e Mīrzā Yaḥyā namūde, avvalan to az ān taṣdīq moṭṭaleʿ nīstī ke maqṣūd che būde va morād ke che, ke ḥūriyyāt-e maʿānī-ye elāhiyye dar ghorofāt-e kalemāt-e ʿeṣmat-e rabbāniyye lam-yazal az [corrupted text] bariyye mastūr būde va khāhad būd. Lam [corrupted text] aḥad illā nafs al-ẓuhūr wa-alladhīna-hum kānū adillāʾa ʿalayhi fī yawmi ẓuhūrihi. Fa-wa-llāhi mā ṣaddaqa illā hādhā al-jamāl alladhī waqaʿa bayna aẓfār al-mushrikīn wa-taḥta makhālīb al-munkirīn thumma alsun al-ghāfilīn wa-al-mughillīn. Va bar farż-e taṣdīq-e īn qawl agar be-baṣar-e daqīq molāḥeẓe namāʾī īn taṣdīq rā darbāre-ye koll moshāhede mīnamāʾī, che ke mīfarmāyad ʿazza dhikruhu ke shakkī nabūde ke jamīʿ-e nofūsī ke be-Bayān moʾmen shode-and az anbiyā va awliyā va aṣfiyā būde va hastand. Va baʿd dar maqām-e dīgar mīfarmāyand, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: Koll az barā-ye īn ast ke dar yawm-e ẓohūr be-asmāʾ moḥtajeb namānī balke naẓar konī bi-mā yaqūmu bihi al-asmāʾ min kulli shayʾ ḥattā dhikr al-nabī fa-inna dhālika al-ism yukhlaqu bihi bi-mā yunazzilu Allāh. Intahā.

As for your statement that the Báb endorsed Mírzá Yaḥyá: first, you do not understand that endorsement or what its purpose and intention were. For the heavenly maidens of divine meanings, within the chambers of words endowed with divine infallibility, have always been and will remain concealed from the [corrupted original text] of creation. No one has [corrupted original text] except the Manifestation Himself and those who pointed to Him on the day of His appearance. By God, He endorsed none other than this Beauty, who has fallen among the claws of the idolaters, beneath the talons of the deniers, and then beneath the tongues of the heedless and the malicious. Even supposing this claim to be true, if you examine it with discerning sight, you will see that this endorsement applies to everyone. For He says, exalted be His mention, that there has been no doubt that all souls who have believed in the Bayán have been and are prophets, saints, and chosen ones. Then, elsewhere, He says, exalted be His mention: “All this is so that, on the day of the Manifestation, you may not remain veiled by names, but may instead look to that through which the names of all things subsist, even the designation ‘Prophet’; for that name is created through Him by what God reveals.” End of quotation.

122

بسيار حيرت است كه هنوز در عقبه اسماء واقفيد آفرين خوب وصيّت الهى را عمل نموده‌ايد بشأنى غافل شده‌ايد كه باسماء عابد و عاكفيد چنانچه متّصل ذكر مينمائيد و بما يقوم به الأسماء در كلّ حين سيف كين كشيده و ميكشيد لا تشعرون ما تعلمون

Besyār ḥeyrat ast ke hanūz dar ʿaqabe-ye asmāʾ vāqefīd. Āfarīn, khūb vaṣiyyat-e elāhī rā ʿamal namūde-īd! Be-shaʾnī ghāfel shode-īd ke be-asmāʾ ʿābed va ʿākefīd, chenānche mottaṣel dhekr mīnamāʾīd, va bi-mā yaqūmu bihi al-asmāʾ dar koll-e ḥīn seyf-e kīn keshīde va mīkeshīd. Lā tashʿurūna mā taʿlamūn.

It is astonishing that you are still stopped at the obstacle of names. Well done! How well you have carried out the divine counsel! You have become so heedless that you worship names and remain devoted to them, as you continually declare, while at every moment you have drawn, and continue to draw, the sword of malice against Him through whom the names subsist. You do not perceive what you know.

123

جميع استدلال و اوصاف شما كه ذكر نموده و يا نمائيد نسبت باىّ نفس كان راجع ببيان ميشود و در كلّ بيان منصوص است كه بيان و ما فى البيان معلّق بمشيّت آن سلطان احديّه بوده و خواهد بود و آن جمال قدم قادر است بر اينكه جميع خلق او را بكلمه لا نفى فرمايد و باسفل النّار راجع نمايد و يا جميع را بقول بلى در ظلّ اثبات كشاند و باعلى ذروه جنّت عرفان مقرّ دهد لايسئل عمّا يفعل و كلّ عن كلّشیء يسئلون

Jamīʿ-e estedlāl va awṣāf-e shomā ke dhekr namūde va yā namāʾīd nesbat be-ayy-e nafs kān rājeʿ be-Bayān mīshavad, va dar koll-e Bayān manṣūṣ ast ke Bayān va mā fī al-Bayān moʿallaq be-mashiyyat-e ān solṭān-e aḥadiyye būde va khāhad būd. Va ān jamāl-e qedam qāder ast bar īnke jamīʿ-e khalq-e ū rā be-kaleme-ye lā nafy farmāyad va be-asfal-e nār rājeʿ namāyad va yā jamīʿ rā be-qawl-e balā dar ẓell-e ethbāt kashānad va be-aʿlā dhorve-ye jannat-e ʿerfān maqarr dehad. Lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu wa-kullun ʿan kulli shayʾin yusʾalūn.

All the arguments and descriptions you have offered or may offer concerning any person whatsoever refer back to the Bayán. Throughout the Bayán it is expressly stated that the Bayán and all it contains have been and will remain dependent on the will of that Sovereign of Oneness. That ancient Beauty has the power to negate all His creation with the word “No” and consign them to the lowest depths of the fire, or to draw them all beneath the shelter of affirmation with the word “Yes” and establish them on the loftiest summit of the paradise of recognition. He is not questioned about what He does, while everyone is questioned about everything.

124

و كاش ادراك مينمودى كه درباره كه تصديق فرموده فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو انّه ما اصبح الّا بذكره و ما امسى الّا بثنائه و ما تحرّك الّا بحبّه و ما تنفّس الّا فى امره و انتم اعرضتم عنه و اعترضتم عليه و تمسّكتم بالّذى كان عند اللّه احقر منكم لو انتم تعلمون محبوب امكان را كه درباره‌اش نقطه بيان ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره لو لا كان كتابه ما نزل ذلك الكتاب و لو لا كان نفسه ما اظهرنى اللّه از او اعراض نموده و مينويسيد كه در بيان فلان را وصف فرموده مع آنكه نه وصف را دانسته‌ايد و نه واصف و موصوف را شناخته‌ايد فو‌اللّه لو تعرف ما فعلت لتبكى على نفسك و لو عرفت هذا الظّهور و كان عندك ملأ السّموات و الأرض من الذّهب و الفضّة لانفقتها لتدخل فى ظلّه و تسمع نغمة من نغماته و لكن لما احتجبت عن ذلك صرت محروماً عن نفحات اللّه المهيمن القيّوم

Va kāsh edrāk mīnamūdī ke darbāre-ye ke taṣdīq farmūde. Fa-wa-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa innahu mā aṣbaḥa illā bi-dhikrihi wa-mā amsā illā bi-thanāʾihi wa-mā taḥarraka illā bi-ḥubbihi wa-mā tanaffasa illā fī amrihi wa-antum aʿraḍtum ʿanhu wa-iʿtaraḍtum ʿalayhi wa-tamassaktum bi-alladhī kāna ʿinda Allāhi aḥqara minkum law antum taʿlamūn. Maḥbūb-e emkān rā ke darbāre-ash Noqṭe-ye Bayān mīfarmāyad, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: Law lā kāna kitābuhu mā nazala dhālika al-kitāb wa-law lā kāna nafsuhu mā aẓharanī Allāh, az ū eʿrāż namūde va mīnevīsīd ke dar Bayān folān rā vaṣf farmūde, maʿ ānke na vaṣf rā dāneste-īd va na vāṣef va mawṣūf rā shenākhte-īd. Fa-wa-llāhi law taʿrifu mā faʿalta la-tabkī ʿalā nafsika wa-law ʿarafta hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-kāna ʿindaka milʾ al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ min al-dhahab wa-al-fiḍḍa la-anfaqtahu li-tadkhula fī ẓillihi wa-tasmaʿa naghmatan min naghamātihi wa-lākin lammā iḥtajabta ʿan dhālika ṣirta maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāt Allāhi al-muhaymin al-qayyūm.

If only you understood whom He endorsed! By God, besides whom there is no god, He passed no morning except in remembrance of Him, no evening except in His praise; He made no movement except out of love for Him and drew no breath except in His Cause. Yet you have turned away from Him, opposed Him, and clung to one who, in God’s sight, is more abject than you, if you only knew. You have turned away from the Beloved of all existence, concerning whom the Point of the Bayán says, exalted be His mention, “Had it not been for His Book, that Book would not have been revealed; and had it not been for His own Self, God would not have manifested Me.” Yet you write that He praised a certain person in the Bayán, although you have neither understood the praise nor recognized the one who praised or the one who was praised. By God, if you knew what you had done, you would weep for yourself. If you recognized this Manifestation and possessed enough gold and silver to fill the heavens and the earth, you would spend it to enter His shadow and hear a single melody among His melodies. But because you have remained veiled from this, you have been deprived of the breezes of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

125

ان يا اخى تاللّه الّذينهم كفروا اليوم قد كان لهم غبن بعد غبن و خسران بعد خسران و ذلّة بعد ذلّة و نقصان بعد نقصان و لكن هم لايفقهون الّا حين الّذى يأتيهم ملائكة العذاب و يتحرّك عيونهم عن سطوات الموت اذا يجزعون و يقولون هل لنا من سبيل اذا تضرب على فمهم بأيادى القهر و ترجعهم الى مثوئهم فى قعر النّار كذلك قضى الأمر من لدى اللّه المقتدر القهّار و انّك فامح ما عندك ثمّ اثبت ما عنداللّه على لوح صدرك لتجده ممرّداً منيراً بأنوار شموس الحكمة و المعانى كذلك يعظك هذا العبد لعلّ تكون من السّامعين

In yā akhī ta-llāhi alladhīna-hum kafarū al-yawm qad kāna lahum ghabnun baʿda ghabn wa-khusrānun baʿda khusrān wa-dhillatun baʿda dhilla wa-nuqṣānun baʿda nuqṣān wa-lākin hum lā yafqahūna illā ḥīna alladhī taʾtīhim malāʾikat al-ʿadhāb wa-yataḥarraku ʿuyūnuhum ʿan saṭawāt al-mawt idhan yajzaʿūna wa-yaqūlūna hal lanā min sabīl idhan taḍribu ʿalā famihim bi-ayādī al-qahr wa-turjiʿuhum ilā mathwāhum fī qaʿr al-nār kadhālika quḍiya al-amru min ladā Allāhi al-muqtadir al-qahhār wa-innaka fa-imḥu mā ʿindaka thumma uthbit mā ʿinda Allāh ʿalā lawḥi ṣadrika li-tajidahu mumarradan munīran bi-anwār shumūs al-ḥikma wa-al-maʿānī kadhālika yaʿiẓuka hādhā al-ʿabdu laʿalla takūna min al-sāmiʿīn.

O my brother! By God, those who have disbelieved today have suffered deprivation upon deprivation, loss upon loss, abasement upon abasement, and diminishment upon diminishment. Yet they will not understand until the angels of punishment come to them and their eyes move under the assaults of death. Then they will cry out in anguish and say, “Is there any way open to us?” Then the angels will strike their mouths with the hands of subjugation and return them to their dwelling in the depths of the fire. Thus has the matter been decreed by God, the All-Powerful, the All-Subduing. As for you, erase what you possess, then inscribe what is with God upon the tablet of your breast, so that you may find it polished and illumined by the light of the suns of wisdom and meanings. Thus does this servant counsel you, so that you may be among those who listen.

126

و اينكه نوشته كه فرموده‌اند وصىّ و خليفه هر چه هست بعد از من او است فو‌الّذى تفرّد بالعزّ و الكبريا و خلق الأشیآء بلا مثال بكلمة العليا كه اگر نفسى نفحه از رضوان بيان استشمام نموده باشد بچنين كلمات تكلّم نمينمايد بل يفرّ من الّذين يتكلّمون بتلك الكلمات شما هنوز حشر بديع و روح بديع و كلمات بديع ادراك ننموده‌ايد امر بيان مقدّس از آن امورى است كه از پيش گذشت قد طوى ما عندكم من قبل و بسط بساط آخر باذن اللّه العلى الأظهر و لكن انتم ما ادركتم لا اوّله و لا آخره حمد محبوب را كه مغلّين را چنان محروم كرده كه الآن احقر از ملل قبل بين يدى مذكور و مشهودند مثل آن است كه جامه از يكقطعه حديد پوشيده‌اند كه ابدا قادر بر حركت نيستند و هم‌چنين قلب و فؤادشان قدم برداشته‌اند تازه باثر قدم اهل فرقان گذارده‌اند

Va īnke neveshte ke farmūde-and vaṣī va khalīfe har che hast baʿd az man ū ast, fa-wa-alladhī tafarrada bi-al-ʿizz wa-al-kibriyā wa-khalaqa al-ashyāʾ bi-lā mithāl bi-kalimati al-ʿulyā, ke agar nafsī nafḥe az Reżvān-e Bayān esteshmām namūde bāshad be-chenīn kalemāt takallom namīnamāyad, bal yafirru min alladhīna yatakallamūna bi-tilka al-kalimāt. Shomā hanūz ḥashr-e badīʿ va rūḥ-e badīʿ va kalemāt-e badīʿ edrāk nanamūde-īd. Amr-e Bayān moqaddas az ān omūrī ast ke az pīsh godhasht. Qad ṭuwiya mā ʿindakum min qabl wa-busiṭa bisāṭun ākhar bi-idhni Allāhi al-ʿalī al-aẓhar wa-lākin antum mā adraktum lā awwalahu wa-lā ākhirahu. Ḥamd-e maḥbūb rā ke moghellīn rā chenān maḥrūm karde ke al-ān aḥqar az melal-e qabl bayna yaday madhkūr va mashhūdand. Methl-e ān ast ke jāme az yek qeṭʿe ḥadīd pūshīde-and ke abadan qāder bar ḥarekat nīstand va ham-chenīn qalb va foʾādshān. Qadam bardāshte-and tāze be-athar-e qadam-e ahl-e Forqān godhāshte-and.

As for your statement that He said, “Whatever the office of executor and successor may be, after Me it belongs to him”: by Him who alone possesses might and majesty and who created all things without a model through His exalted Word, if anyone had inhaled a single breeze from the Riḍván of the Bayán, he would not utter such words. Rather, he would flee from those who utter them. You have not yet understood the wondrous resurrection, the wondrous spirit, or the wondrous words. The Cause of the Bayán is sanctified above those things that came before. What you formerly possessed has been rolled up, and another expanse has been spread out by the permission of God, the Exalted, the Most Manifest. Yet you have understood neither its beginning nor its end. Praise be to the Beloved, who has so utterly deprived the malicious that they are now mentioned and seen before Him as more abject than the religious communities of the past. It is as though they have put on a garment made from a single piece of iron, so that they are utterly incapable of movement; so too are their hearts and inmost beings. They have taken a step only to set it in the footprints of the people of the Qur’an.

127

بشنويد و بشكنيد اين سدّه‌هاى مانعه را و بفضاى بديع وسيع مالك يوم الّدين درآئيد تا عوالمى غير عوالم خود مشاهده كنيد آنقدر بر خود سخت مگيريد ترحّم نمائيد بر خود و بر مستضعفين عباد تازه ببقيّه وهم ما ترك من اهل الفرقان تمسّك جسته‌ايد گاهى ذكر خلافت مجعول و وصايت مكذوب مينمائيد و گاهى كلمات جعل نموده بنقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه نسبت ميدهيد بشنو نداى ربّ علىّ اعلى را كه مخاطباً للمرايا ميفرمايند

Beshnavīd va beshkanīd īn sodde-hā-ye māneʿe rā va be-fażā-ye badīʿ-e vasīʿ-e Mālek-e Yawm-e Dīn darāʾīd tā ʿavālemī gheyr-e ʿavālem-e khod moshāhede konīd. Ānqadr bar khod sakht magīrīd. Taraḥḥom namāʾīd bar khod va bar mostażʿafīn-e ʿebād. Tāze be-baqiyye-ye vahm-e mā taraka min ahl al-Furqān tamassok joste-īd. Gāhī dhekr-e khelāfat-e majʿūl va veṣāyat-e makdhūb mīnamāʾīd va gāhī kalemāt jaʿl namūde be-Noqṭe-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh nesbat mīdehīd. Beshnow nedā-ye Rabb-e ʿAlī-ye Aʿlā rā ke mukhāṭaban li-al-marāyā mīfarmāyand.

Listen, break down these obstructing barriers, and enter the wondrous, boundless expanse of the Lord of the Day of Judgment, so that you may behold worlds other than your own. Do not be so hard on yourselves. Have mercy on yourselves and on the weak among His servants. You have now clung to the remnants of delusion left by the people of the Qur’an. At times you speak of a fabricated successorship and a falsely claimed executorship; at other times you invent words and attribute them to the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. Hear the call of the Lord, the Exalted, the Most High, who says, addressing the Mirrors:

128

اذا اشرقت شمس البهآء عن افق البقآء انتم فاحضر وا بين يدى العرش ایّاکم ان تقعدوا بين يديه او تسئلوا ما لا اذن لكم اتّقوا اللّه يا ايّها المرايا كلكم اجمعون ان اسئلوا من بدايع فضله ليظهر لكم ما شآء و اراد لانّ كلّ الفضل فى ذلك اليوم يطوف حول عرشه و يظهر من عنده ان انتم تعلمون ان اصمتوا تلقآء العرش لانّ الصّمت فى ذلك اليوم لخير عمّا خلق بين السّموات و الأرض و لا تكونوا من الّذين اوتوا العلم من قبل و استكبروا به على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم لانّه فى ذلك اليوم قد كان فوق كلّ ذى علم علّاماً عالماً عليم و فوق كلّ ذى قدرة كان قدّاراً مقتدراً قدير و فوق كلّ ذى عظمة قد كان عظّاماً متعظّماً عظيم و فوق كلّ ذى رفعة قد كان رفّاعاً مرتفعاً رفيع و فوق كلّ ذى عزّ قد كان عزّازا متعزّزاً عزيز وفوق كلّ ذى حكم قد كان حكّاماً حاكماً حكيم و فوق كلّ ذى جود قد كان جوّاداً جاوداً جويد و فوق كلّ ذى امر قد كان امّاراً آمرا امير و فوق كّل ذى فضل قد كان فضّالاً فاضلا فضيل

Idhā ashraqat shams al-Bahāʾ ʿan ufuq al-baqāʾ antum fa-uḥḍurū bayna yaday al-ʿarsh iyyākum an taqʿudū bayna yadayhi aw tasʾalū mā lā idhna lakum ittaqū Allāha yā ayyuhā al-marāyā kullukum ajmaʿūn in isʾalū min badāʾiʿ faḍlihi li-yuẓhira lakum mā shāʾa wa-arāda li-anna kulla al-faḍl fī dhālika al-yawm yaṭūfu ḥawla ʿarshihi wa-yaẓharu min ʿindihi in antum taʿlamūn in uṣmutū tilqāʾa al-ʿarsh li-anna al-ṣamt fī dhālika al-yawm la-khayrun ʿammā khuliqa bayna al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ wa-lā takūnū min alladhīna ūtū al-ʿilma min qabl wa-istakbarū bihi ʿalā Allāhi al-muhaymin al-qayyūm li-annahu fī dhālika al-yawm qad kāna fawqa kulli dhī ʿilmin ʿallāman ʿāliman ʿalīm wa-fawqa kulli dhī qudratin kāna qaddāran muqtadiran qadīr wa-fawqa kulli dhī ʿaẓamatin qad kāna ʿaẓẓāman mutaʿaẓẓiman ʿaẓīm wa-fawqa kulli dhī rifʿatin qad kāna raffāʿan murtafiʿan rafīʿ wa-fawqa kulli dhī ʿizzin qad kāna ʿazzāzan mutaʿazzizan ʿazīz wa-fawqa kulli dhī ḥukmin qad kāna ḥakkāman ḥākiman ḥakīm wa-fawqa kulli dhī jūdin qad kāna jawwādan jāwidan jawīd wa-fawqa kulli dhī amrin qad kāna ammāran āmiran amīr wa-fawqa kulli dhī faḍlin qad kāna faḍḍālan fāḍilan faḍīl.

“When the Sun of Bahá shines from the horizon of eternity, present yourselves before the Throne. Beware of sitting in His presence or asking what you have not been permitted to ask. Fear God, O Mirrors, all of you without exception. Ask for the wonders of His grace, so that He may reveal to you whatever He wishes and desires; for all grace on that day circles His Throne and proceeds from Him, if you only knew. Remain silent before the Throne, for silence on that day is better than all that has been created between the heavens and the earth. Do not be among those who were previously given knowledge and, because of it, behaved arrogantly toward God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. For on that day, above everyone possessed of knowledge, He is the All-Knowing, the Knowing, the Most Learned; above everyone possessed of power, He is the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent, the Mighty; above everyone possessed of greatness, He is the Supremely Great, the Most Majestic, the Great; above everyone possessed of elevation, He is the Supreme Exalter, the Exalted, the Lofty; above everyone possessed of might, He is the All-Mighty, the Supremely Glorious, the Mighty; above everyone possessed of judgment, He is the Supreme Judge, the Ruler, the Wise; above everyone possessed of generosity, He is the All-Bountiful, the Bestower, the Generous; above everyone possessed of command, He is the Supreme Ordainer, the Commander, the Sovereign; and above everyone possessed of grace, He is the All-Gracious, the Bestower of Grace, the Gracious.

129

كلكم خلقتم للقائه و الحضور فى ذلك الموقف الأعظم العظيم و انّه قد ينزل من سمآء جوده ما هو خير لكم و ما نزل من عنده انّه ليغنيكم عن العالمين لن ينفع اليوم كلّ ذى علم علمه و لا كلّ ذى فضل فضله و لا كلّ ذى عظمة عظمته و لا كلّ ذى قدرة قدرته و لا كلّ ذى ذكر ذكره و لا كلّ ذى عمل عمله و لا كلّ ذى ركوع ركوعه و لا كلّ ذى سجود سجوده و لا كلّ ذى توجّه توجّهه و لا كلّ ذى شرف شرفه و لا كلّ ذى نسب عالى نسبه و لا كلّ ذى حسب متعالى حسبه و لا كلّ ذى بيان بيانه ولا كلّ ذى نور نوره و لا كلّ ذى اسم اسمه لانّ كلّ ذلك و كلّ ما عرفتم و ادركتم كلّها قد خلق بقوله كن فيكون و انّه لو یشآء ليبعث الممكنات بكلمة من عنده ليقدر و انّه قد كان فوق ذلك لقدّاراً مقتدراً قدير

Kullukum khuliqtum li-liqāʾihi wa-al-ḥuḍūr fī dhālika al-mawqif al-aʿẓam al-ʿaẓīm wa-innahu qad yunazzilu min samāʾi jūdihi mā huwa khayrun lakum wa-mā nazala min ʿindihi innahu la-yughnīkum ʿan al-ʿālamīn lan yanfaʿa al-yawm kulla dhī ʿilmin ʿilmuhu wa-lā kulla dhī faḍlin faḍluhu wa-lā kulla dhī ʿaẓamatin ʿaẓamatuhu wa-lā kulla dhī qudratin qudratuhu wa-lā kulla dhī dhikrin dhikruhu wa-lā kulla dhī ʿamalin ʿamaluhu wa-lā kulla dhī rukūʿin rukūʿuhu wa-lā kulla dhī sujūdin sujūduhu wa-lā kulla dhī tawajjuhin tawajjuhuhu wa-lā kulla dhī sharafin sharafuhu wa-lā kulla dhī nasabin ʿālin nasabuhu wa-lā kulla dhī ḥasabin mutaʿālin ḥasabuhu wa-lā kulla dhī bayānin bayānuhu wa-lā kulla dhī nūrin nūruhu wa-lā kulla dhī ismin ismuhu li-anna kulla dhālika wa-kulla mā ʿaraftum wa-adraktum kulluhā qad khuliqa bi-qawlihi kun fa-yakūn wa-innahu law yashāʾu li-yabʿatha al-mumkināt bi-kalimatin min ʿindihi la-yaqdiru wa-innahu qad kāna fawqa dhālika la-qaddāran muqtadiran qadīr.

All of you were created to meet Him and to be present at that most great and mighty gathering. He sends down from the heaven of His bounty what is best for you, and whatever descends from Him will surely make you independent of all the worlds. Today, no one’s knowledge will benefit him, nor anyone’s grace, greatness, power, remembrance, deeds, bowing, prostration, turning toward God, honor, lofty lineage, exalted standing, utterance, light, or name. For all these things, and everything you have known and understood, were created through His saying, ‘Be,’ and it is. If He wished to raise up all contingent beings through a word from Himself, He would assuredly have the power; and beyond even that, He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent, the Mighty.

130

ایّاکم يا ايّها المرايا ان تغرّنكم الأسماء فى ذلك اليوم فاعلموا انتم و ما فوقكم و مادونكم قد خلقتم لذلك اليوم اتّقوا اللّه و لا ترتكبوا ما يحزن به فؤاده و تكوننّ من الغافلين ربّما يظهر بالحقّ و انتم راقدون على مقاعدكم و يأتيكم رسله بالواح عزّ مبين و انتم تستكبرون و تحكمون عليه ما لا تحكمون به على انفسكم و تقولون ليس هذا من اللّه المهيمن القيّوم

Iyyākum yā ayyuhā al-marāyā an taghurrannakum al-asmāʾ fī dhālika al-yawm fa-iʿlamū antum wa-mā fawqakum wa-mā dūnakum qad khuliqtum li-dhālika al-yawm ittaqū Allāha wa-lā tartakibū mā yaḥzanu bihi fuʾāduhu wa-takūnunna min al-ghāfilīn rubbamā yaẓharu bi-al-ḥaqq wa-antum rāqidūna ʿalā maqāʿidikum wa-yaʾtīkum rusuluhu bi-alwāḥi ʿizzin mubīn wa-antum tastakbirūna wa-taḥkumūna ʿalayhi mā lā taḥkumūna bihi ʿalā anfusikum wa-taqūlūna laysa hādhā min Allāhi al-muhaymin al-qayyūm.

Beware, O Mirrors, lest names deceive you on that day. Know that you, all that is above you, and all that is below you were created for that day. Fear God, and do not commit what would grieve His heart and make you among the heedless. He may appear in truth while you lie asleep upon your seats, and His messengers may come to you with Tablets of manifest glory, while you behave arrogantly, pass judgments against Him that you would not pass against yourselves, and say, ‘This is not from God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.’

131

سبحانك اللّهم يا الهى انت تعلم بانّى بلغت كلمتك و ما قصرت فيما امرتنى به اسئلك بأن تعتصمنّ فى ذلك اليوم خلق البيان بأن لا يعترضوا عليك و لا يجادلوا بياتك و لتحفظهم يا الهى بقدرتك الّتى استطلتها على العالمين

Subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī anta taʿlamu bi-annī ballaghtu kalimataka wa-mā qaṣṣartu fī-mā amartanī bihi asʾaluka bi-an taʿtaṣimanna fī dhālika al-yawm khalq al-Bayān bi-an lā yaʿtariḍū ʿalayka wa-lā yujādilū [corrupted text] wa-li-taḥfaẓhum yā ilāhī bi-qudratika allatī istaṭaltahā ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

Glory be to You, O God, my God! You know that I have conveyed Your word and have not fallen short in what You commanded Me. I ask You to protect the people of the Bayán on that day, so that they may neither oppose You nor dispute [corrupted original text]. Preserve them, O my God, through Your power, which You have exercised over all the worlds.”

132

در اينمقام باين كلمات قناعت شد اكثر بيانات الهى كه در اين ظهور امنع اقدس نازل شده احدى ملاحظه ننموده بعضى آن را از مواضع خود تحريف نموده‌اند و بعضى را ستر نموده و بعضى را بحسب ظاهر كلمه تغيير داده‌اند اگر چه فى‌الحقيقة آنچه از بيان نزد هر نفسى موجود است كفايت ميكند او را در تذكّر باين كلمه اتمّ اعظم و كان اللّه على ذلك شهيد و عليم

Dar īn maqām be-īn kalemāt qanāʿat shod. Akthar-e bayānāt-e elāhī ke dar īn ẓohūr-e amnaʿ-e aqdas nāzel shode aḥadī molāḥeẓe nanamūde. Baʿżī ān rā az mavāżeʿ-e khod taḥrīf namūde-and va baʿżī rā satr namūde va baʿżī rā be-ḥasab-e ẓāher kaleme taghyīr dāde-and. Agarche fī al-ḥaqīqe ānche az Bayān nazd-e har nafsī mawjūd ast kefāyat mīkonad ū rā dar tadhakkor be-īn kaleme-ye atamm-e aʿẓam. Wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalā dhālika shahīdan wa-ʿalīm.

At this point, these words have been deemed sufficient. No one has examined most of the divine utterances revealed concerning this most unassailable, most holy Manifestation. Some have distorted them out of their proper context, concealed others, and changed the outward wording of still others. In truth, however, whatever portion of the Bayán anyone possesses is sufficient to remind him of this most perfect, most great Word. God is a witness to this and knows it.

133

و اينكه نوشته كه فرموده انّ الأمر ينتهى الى اسم الوحيد لانّ ظهوره بنفسه حجّة و لايحتاج الى نصّى فو‌اللّه حين الّذى كتبت هذه الكلمة قد بكت كلّ الأشیآء و ناح اهل ملأ الأعلی و تزلزلت اركان الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود لانّك لاثبات عدوّا من اعدآء اللّه احتقرت شأن اللّه و عظمته و كبريائه فواللّه انّ الّذى اتّخذته ربّاً من دون اللّه انّه يحتاج بكلّ شیء و الّذى كلّ يحتاج اليه انّه قد ظهر بالحقّ فى سنة السّتّين و حينئذ استوى بالحقّ فتبارك اللّه احسن الخالقين

Va īnkih nivishtih kih farmūdih inna al-amra yantahī ilā ismi al-Waḥīd li-anna ẓuhūrahu bi-nafsihi ḥujjatun wa-lā yaḥtāju ilā naṣṣī fa-wa-llāhi ḥīna alladhī katabta hādhihi al-kalimata qad bakat kullu al-ashyāʾ wa-nāḥa ahlu malaʾi al-aʿlā wa-tazalzalat arkānu al-wujūdi min al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūd li-annaka li-ithbāti ʿaduwwan min aʿdāʾi Allāhi iḥtaqarta shaʾna Allāhi wa-ʿaẓamatahu wa-kibriyāʾahu fa-wa-llāhi inna alladhī ittakhadhtahu rabban min dūni Allāhi innahu yaḥtāju bi-kulli shayʾ wa-alladhī kullun yaḥtāju ilayhi innahu qad ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqqi fī sanati al-sittīn wa-ḥīnaʾidhin istawā bi-al-ḥaqqi fa-tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīn.

And as for your having written that He said, “The Cause will devolve upon the name of the Unique One, because his appearance is itself a proof and he has no need of My explicit designation”: by God, when you wrote these words, all things wept, the inhabitants of the Most Exalted Assembly lamented, and the foundations of existence, both unseen and visible, were shaken, because, to establish the claim of an enemy of God, you belittled God’s station, greatness, and majesty. By God, the one you have taken as a lord apart from God is in need of everything, whereas the One whom all need appeared in truth in the year sixty and then ascended His throne in truth. Blessed, then, is God, the best of creators.

134

خف عن اللّه و لاتجر قلمك فى اتباع نفسك و هوئك و لاتكفر بالّذى باشارة من قلمه ثبت اديان العالمين انّ الّذى قمت لحبّه على النّفاق كان ان يقوم تلقآء الوجه و يلقى عليه الآيات و كان مفتخراً بذلك اذ انّك اتّبعته من عند نفسك و به اعترضت على اللّه الّذى خلق كلّ شیء بأمر من عنده لا اله الّا هو الغالب القاهر المقتدر المتعالى العزيز المحبوب

Khaf ʿan Allāhi wa-lā tajur qalamaka fī ittibāʿi nafsika wa-hawāka wa-lā takfur bi-alladhī bi-ishāratin min qalamihi thabatat adyānu al-ʿālamīn. Inna alladhī qumta li-ḥubbihi ʿalā al-nifāqi kāna an yaqūma tilqāʾa al-wajhi wa-yulqā ʿalayhi al-āyātu wa-kāna muftakhiran bi-dhālika idh innaka ittabaʿtahu min ʿindi nafsika wa-bihi iʿtaraḍta ʿalā Allāhi alladhī khalaqa kulla shayʾin bi-amrin min ʿindihi lā ilāha illā huwa al-ghālibu al-qāhiru al-muqtadiru al-mutaʿālī al-ʿazīzu al-maḥbūb.

Fear God, and do not wield your pen in pursuit of your own self and desires. Do not disbelieve in the One through a gesture of whose Pen the religions of the worlds were established. The one for whose love you have risen in hypocrisy used to stand before the Presence and have the verses recited to him, and he took pride in this. Yet you have followed him of your own accord and, through him, opposed God, who created all things by a command from Himself. There is no God but Him, the All-Victorious, the All-Subduing, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Beloved.

135

نفسيكه خود شما ذكر ميكنيد كه مرآت است و بر هر ذى بصرى معلوم كه مرآت از خود تحقّقى نداشته و نخواهد داشت وجودش از براى آن بوده كه خاكى باشد از تجلّيات شمس در باره او قائل شده كه نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه فرموده كه او بنفسه حجّت است و احتياج بنصّ من ندارد فواللّه يؤيّد السنكم هوئكم و يظهر منه ما یشآء لاما قدّر من لدى اللّه العزيز القدير اين ظهور كه آيات و ظهوراتش كلّ عالم را احاطه نموده انكار نموده و نصّ خواسته مع آنكه كلّ بيان صريحاً منصوصاً در اين ظهور ابدع امنع نازل شده و مع آنكه اين امر لم‌يزل و لا‌یزال مقدّس از دليل و اشاره و عباره و دلاله بوده و خواهد بود ظهورش بنفسه حجّت و آياتش برهان اللّه على العالمين

Nafsīkih khud-i shumā dhikr mīkunīd kih mirʾāt ast va bar har dhī-baṣarī maʿlūm kih mirʾāt az khud taḥaqquqī nadāshtih va nakhvāhad dāsht vujūdash az barā-yi ān būdih kih khākī bāshad az tajalliyāt-i shams dar bārih-yi ū qāʾil shudih kih Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā-sivāh fidāh farmūdih kih ū bi-nafsih ḥujjat ast va iḥtiyāj bi-naṣṣ-i man nadārad. Fa-wa-llāhi yuʾayyidu alsunakum hawākum wa-yaẓharu minhu mā yashāʾu lā mā quddira min ladā Allāhi al-ʿazīzi al-qadīr. Īn ẓuhūr kih āyāt va ẓuhūrātash kull-i ʿālam rā iḥāṭih nimūdih inkār nimūdih va naṣṣ khvāstih maʿa ānkih kull-i Bayān ṣarīḥan manṣūṣan dar īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ nāzil shudih va maʿa ānkih īn amr lam-yazal va lā-yazāl muqaddas az dalīl va ishārih va ʿibārih va dilālih būdih va khvāhad būd ẓuhūrash bi-nafsih ḥujjat va āyātash burhānu Allāhi ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

Of the very person whom you yourselves describe as a mirror—and everyone endowed with sight knows that a mirror has never had, and will never have, any independent reality, its existence having been for the purpose of being dust from the radiances of the Sun—you have asserted that the Primal Point, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, said that he is himself a proof and has no need of My explicit designation. By God, your desire lends strength to your tongues, and from it emerges whatever it wishes, not what has been ordained by God, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. You have denied this Manifestation, whose verses and revelations have encompassed the whole world, and demanded an explicit designation, even though the whole Bayán was revealed explicitly and expressly concerning this most wondrous, most unassailable Manifestation. Moreover, this Cause has always been, and will forever remain, sanctified above evidence, allusion, expression, and indication. His manifestation is itself a proof, and His verses are God’s demonstration to all the worlds.

136

و ايكاش دلائل السّبعه كه از كلمات اوّليّه نقطه بيان است ملاحظه مينمودى از قراري كه معلوم ميشود مقصودى جز اعراض از حقّ و اعتراض بر او نداشته و نداريد لو يأتيكم اللّه بكلّ الآيات لن تؤمنوا به چنانچه نقطه بيان روح ماسواه فداه از اين ایّام خبر داد‌ه‌اند فانظروا فى كلمات اللّه لعلّ تكوننّ من المتنبّهين

Va ay kāsh Dalāʾil-i Sabʿih kih az kalimāt-i avvalīyih-yi Nuqṭih-yi Bayān ast mulāḥiẓih mīnamūdī. Az qarārī kih maʿlūm mīshavad maqṣūdī juz iʿrāḍ az Ḥaqq va iʿtirāḍ bar ū nadāshtih va nadārīd. Law yaʾtīkum Allāhu bi-kulli al-āyāti lan tuʾminū bihi. Chinānchih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā-sivāh fidāh az īn ayyām khabar dādih-and. Fa-unẓurū fī kalimāti Allāhi laʿalla takūnanna min al-mutanabbihīn.

If only you had examined the Seven Proofs, which is among the early writings of the Point of the Bayán. As is apparent, you have had, and still have, no purpose other than turning away from the Truth and opposing Him. Even if God were to come to you with every sign, you would not believe in Him. Thus did the Point of the Bayán, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, foretell these days. Examine, then, the words of God, that you may be among those who take heed.

137

و اينكه نوشته كه فرموده‌اند انّ الأمر ينتهى الى اسم الوحيد فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه وحيد را نشناخته و ندانسته كه مقصود كه بوده و سلّمنا كه مقصود از وحيد مقصود اوّل معرض باللّه باشد چرا عبارت بعد را ملاحظه ننموده كه ميفرمايد فان يظهر اللّه فى ایّامك مثلك هذا ما يورثن الأمر من اللّه الواحد الوحيد مع‌ذلك اين ظهورى كه بجميع شئونات الهيّه ظاهر شده بقدر يك مرآت هم نبوده كه جميع ص باظفار غلّ و بغضا حولش جمع شده‌ايد و در هر حين بمكر جديد در تضييع امرش مشغول گشته‌ايد فافّ على الّذينهم اعرضوا عن كلّ الآیات و اتّخذوا من الكتاب حرفاً و استدلّوا بهآء على ما عندهم و كفروا باللّه الّذى بامر من عنده نزلت صحايف عزّ كريم و الواح قدس منيع

Va īnkih nivishtih kih farmūdih-and inna al-amra yantahī ilā ismi al-Waḥīd fa-wa-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa kih Vaḥīd rā nashinākhtih va nadānistih kih maqṣūd kih būdih va sallamnā kih maqṣūd az Vaḥīd maqṣūd-i avval-i muʿriḍ bi-Allāh bāshad chirā ʿibārat-i baʿd rā mulāḥiẓih nanimūdih kih mīfarmāyad fa-in yuẓhiri Allāhu fī ayyāmika mithlaka hādhā mā yūrathanna al-amra min Allāhi al-wāḥidi al-waḥīd. Maʿa dhālik īn ẓuhūrī kih bi-jamīʿ-i shuʾūnāt-i ilāhīyih ẓāhir shudih bi-qadr-i yik mirʾāt ham nabūdih kih jamīʿ [corrupted text] bi-aẓfār-i ghill va baghḍā ḥawlash jamʿ shudih-īd va dar har ḥīn bi-makr-i jadīd dar taḍyīʿ-i amrash mashghūl gashtih-īd. Fa-uffin ʿalā alladhīna hum aʿraḍū ʿan kulli al-āyāti wa-ittakhadhū min al-kitābi ḥarfan wa-istadallū [corrupted text] ʿalā mā ʿindahum wa-kafarū bi-Allāhi alladhī bi-amrin min ʿindihi nazalat ṣaḥāʾifu ʿizzin karīmin wa-alwāḥu qudsin manīʿ.

And as for your having written that He said, “The Cause will devolve upon the name of the Unique One”: by God, besides whom there is no God, you have neither recognized the Unique One nor understood who was intended. Even if we concede that by the Unique One was intended the one meant by the foremost of those who turn away from God, why have you not considered the passage that follows, where He says, “If God should bring forth in your days one like you, this is the one who shall be made heir to the Cause by God, the One, the Unique”? Despite this, has this Manifestation, who has appeared with every divine attribute, not been worth even a single mirror, that you have all [corrupted original text] gathered around Him with the claws of malice and hatred, and at every moment busied yourselves with a new scheme to undermine His Cause? Shame on those who have turned away from all the verses, taken a single letter from the Book, and adduced [corrupted original text] in support of what they possess, and disbelieved in God, at whose command the scrolls of noble glory and the tablets of unassailable holiness were revealed.

138

اينست كه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ميفرمايد كه آن ظهور اعظم را اهل بيان يكى از مؤمنين هم نخواهند شمرد چه كه اگر مؤمن هم بدانند راضى نميشوند از براى او آنچه را كه از براى خود نمى‌پسندند صدق اللّه العلىّ العظيم

Īnast kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā-sivāh fidāh mīfarmāyad kih ān ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam rā ahl-i Bayān yikī az muʾminīn ham nakhvāhand shumurd chih kih agar muʾmin ham bidānand rāḍī namīshavand az barā-yi ū ānchih rā kih az barā-yi khud namīpasandand. Ṣadaqa Allāhu al-ʿaliyyu al-ʿaẓīm.

This is why the Point of the Bayán, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, says that the people of the Bayán will not count that Most Great Manifestation even as one of the believers. For if they regarded Him as even a believer, they would not consent to inflict on Him what they would not accept for themselves. God, the Most High, the Most Great, has spoken the truth.

139

از جميع اينها گذشته قول الحقّ كلمة واحدة و هى ما نزّلت من عنده ان انتم من العارفين قال و قوله الحقّ ایّاک ایّاک ایّام ظهوره ان تحتجب بالواحد البيانيّه فانّ ذلك الواحد خلق عنده و ایّاک ایّاک ان تحتجب بكلمات ما نزلت فى البيان فانّها كلمات نفسه فى هيكل ظهوره من قبل انتهى و

Az jamīʿ-i īnhā gudhashtih qawlu al-Ḥaqqi kalimatun wāḥidatun wa-hiya mā nuzzilat min ʿindihi in antum min al-ʿārifīn. Qāla wa-qawluhu al-ḥaqqu iyyāka iyyāka ayyāma ẓuhūrihi an taḥtajiba bi-al-wāḥidi al-bayānīyyati fa-inna dhālika al-wāḥida khul iqa ʿindahu wa-iyyāka iyyāka an taḥtajiba bi-kalimāti mā nazalat fī al-Bayāni fa-innahā kalimātu nafsihi fī haykali ẓuhūrihi min qablu intahā va.

Beyond all this, the word of the Truth is a single word: what has been revealed by Him, if you are among those who recognize. He said—and His word is the truth—“Beware, beware, in the days of His manifestation, lest you be veiled by the Váḥid of the Bayán, for that Váḥid was created in His presence. Beware, beware lest you be veiled by the words revealed in the Bayán, for they are His own words in the Temple of His former manifestation.” End of quotation. And

140

كلّ آنچه نوشته‌اند در صورت تصديق و تسليم رشحى از طمطام يمّ بيان الهى بوده صد‌هزار امثال اين نفوس بقولى خلق شده و ميشوند و مع‌ذلك افترإ على اللّه و كذباً عليه و بغياً على حضرته و طغياناً على بهائه و اثباتاً لأعدائه مينويسى كه حضرت اعلى فرموده كه احتياج بنصّ من ندارد و بهذه الكلمة تبرّء منك كلّ ما ظهر من القلم فى ممالك اللّه المقتدر العلىّ العليم

Kull-i ānchih nivishtih-and dar ṣūrat-i taṣdīq va taslīm rashḥī az ṭamṭām-i yamm-i bayān-i ilāhī būdih. Ṣad-hizār amthāl-i īn nufūs bi-qawlī khalq shudih va mīshavand va maʿa dhālik iftirāʾan ʿalā Allāhi wa-kadhiban ʿalayhi wa-baghyan ʿalā ḥaḍratihi wa-ṭughyānan ʿalā bahāʾihi wa-ithbātan li-aʿdāʾihi mīnivīsī kih Ḥaḍrat-i Aʿlā farmūdih kih iḥtiyāj bi-naṣṣ-i man nadārad wa-bi-hādhihi al-kalimati tabarraʾa minka kullu mā ẓahara min al-qalami fī mamāliki Allāhi al-muqtadiri al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿalīm.

Everything they have written, if acknowledged and accepted, has been but a spray from the surging ocean of divine utterance. A hundred thousand souls like these have been, and are being, created by a word. Yet, fabricating a falsehood against God, lying about Him, transgressing against His presence, rebelling against His glory, and vindicating His enemies, you write that His Holiness the Most Exalted said that he has no need of My explicit designation. Through these words, everything that has issued from the Pen throughout the realms of God, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the All-Knowing, has disowned you.

141

اليوم جميع اسماء حسنى بملكوت خود راجع و لايفقه ذلك الّا كلّ موقن عالم بصير و آنچه در بيان نازل شده چه از احكام و چه از اوصاف منزله در شأن حروفات و مرايا احدى را نفع نمىبخشد مگر بتصديق اين ظهور بذلك تنفّس نفس الرّحمن فى نفس البيان لو انتم من العارفين و اليوم چون معرضين قابل عرفان مثل اعلى كه حجّة اللّه و برهانه بوده نبوده و نيستند و از ادراك لطايف كلمات الهيّه عاجز مشاهده مى شوند لذا در اينمقام مثل ادنى ذكر ميشود كه شايد نفوس مقبله بحديقه معانى باطنيّه وارد شوند

Al-yawm jamīʿ-i asmāʾ-i ḥusnā bi-malakūt-i khud rājiʿ va-lā yafqahu dhālika illā kullu mūqinin ʿālimin baṣīr. Va ānchih dar Bayān nāzil shudih chih az aḥkām va chih az awṣāf-i munazzalih dar shaʾn-i ḥurūfāt va marāyā aḥadī rā nafʿ namībakhshad magar bi-taṣdīq-i īn ẓuhūr. Bi-dhālika tanaffasa nafasu al-Raḥmāni fī nafsi al-Bayāni law antum min al-ʿārifīn. Va al-yawm chūn muʿriḍīn qābil-i ʿirfān-i mathal-i aʿlā kih ḥujjatu Allāh va burhān-i ū būdih nabūdih va nīstand va az idrāk-i laṭāʾif-i kalimāt-i ilāhīyih ʿājiz mushāhidih mīshavand lidhā dar īn maqām mathal-i adnā dhikr mīshavad kih shāyad nufūs-i muqbilih bi-ḥadīqih-yi maʿānī-yi bāṭinīyih vārid shavand.

Today all the most beautiful names have returned to their own kingdom, and none understands this except those possessed of certitude, knowledge, and insight. Whatever has been revealed in the Bayán, whether laws or descriptions revealed concerning the Letters and the Mirrors, benefits no one unless they acknowledge this Manifestation. Thus has the breath of the All-Merciful breathed within the Bayán itself, if you are among those who recognize. Today, since those who turn away have not been, and are not, capable of recognizing the most exalted likeness, which is God’s proof and demonstration, and are seen to be incapable of grasping the subtleties of the divine words, a lesser analogy is given here, so that receptive souls may enter the garden of inner meanings.

142

سلطانى نفسى را حاكم و مختار مينمايد در كلّ امور چنانچه ديده ميشود كه بعضى از ولات كه از جانب سلطان در ديار حاكمند مختارند در كلّ امور مع‌ذلك آيا سلطان قادر است بر عزل آنها يا نه اگر تكذيب نمائى كاذب بوده چه كه مشهود است كه قادر است و هم‌چنين بعد از جلوس سلطان ثانى آيا آن فرمان و حكمى كه حكّام مختار بوده‌اند از قبل سلطان قبل منوط باجازه حكم سلطان ثانى بوده و يا نه شكّى نيست كه جميع منوط و معلّق بامر و اجازه سلطان بعد است اين در شأن ولات و سلاطين ظاهريّه ذكر شد كه شايد بآن سلطان مقتدرى كه در كلّ حين در شأن بديع بوده و خواهد بود لم‌يزل يفعل ما یشآء و يحكم ما يريد قدرت او را از او نفى ننمائيد و يداللّه را مغلول نشمريد اقلّا قدرتش را بقدر سلاطين ظاهريّه بدانيد

Sulṭānī nafsī rā ḥākim va mukhtār mīnamāyad dar kull-i umūr chinānchih dīdih mīshavad kih baʿḍī az vulāt kih az jānib-i sulṭān dar diyār ḥākimand mukhtārand dar kull-i umūr. Maʿa dhālik āyā sulṭān qādir ast bar ʿazl-i ānhā yā nah? Agar takdhīb namāʾī kādhib būdih chih kih mashhūd ast kih qādir ast. Va hamchinīn baʿd az julūs-i sulṭān-i thānī āyā ān farmān va ḥukmī kih ḥukkām mukhtār būdih-and az qibal-i sulṭān-i qabl manūṭ bi-ijāzih-yi ḥukm-i sulṭān-i thānī būdih va yā nah? Shakkī nīst kih jamīʿ manūṭ va muʿallaq bi-amr va ijāzih-yi sulṭān-i baʿd ast. Īn dar shaʾn-i vulāt va salāṭīn-i ẓāhirīyih dhikr shud kih shāyad bi-ān sulṭān-i muqtadirī kih dar kull-i ḥīn dar shaʾn-i badīʿ būdih va khvāhad būd lam yazal yafʿalu mā yashāʾu wa-yaḥkumu mā yurīdu qudrat-i ū rā az ū nafy nanamāʾīd va yadu Allāh rā maghlūl nashmurīd. Aqallan qudratash rā bi-qadr-i salāṭīn-i ẓāhirīyih bidānīd.

A sovereign appoints someone as governor and grants him authority in all affairs, just as some governors who rule regions on behalf of a sovereign are seen to have authority in all affairs. Nevertheless, can the sovereign dismiss them or not? If you deny it, you are a liar, for it is evident that he can. Likewise, after a second sovereign ascends the throne, are the decrees and authority under which the governors exercised their powers on behalf of the former sovereign subject to the sanction of the second sovereign’s rule or not? There is no doubt that all depend upon, and are subject to, the command and permission of the succeeding sovereign. This has been mentioned concerning outward governors and sovereigns so that you may not deny His power to that all-powerful Sovereign who has ever been, and will ever be, manifest in a new state at every moment, who has always done whatever He wills and decreed whatever He desires, and so that you may not regard the hand of God as fettered. At least consider His power equal to that of outward sovereigns.

143

واللّه اگر نفسى آن سلطان قدم را قادر بداند بامثال اين كلمات بر موجد اسماء و صفات اعتراض نمينمايد اى بی‌‌نصيبان از كوثر معارف رحمن سلّمنا بقول شما نفسى بقميص اسمى از اسماء بين ارض و سماء مزيّن شده آيا حقّ قادر نيست بر انتزاع آن فويل لكم تاللّه يكذّبكم كلّ الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود هرگز حقّ جلّ ذكره در حين اعطاء بنفسى مصلحت نمود كه در حين اخذ مصلحت نمايد قلم حيا مينمايد از ذكر آنچه اين ایّام تلقآء وجه مليك علّام بآن مشغول شده‌ايد خافوا عن اللّه ثمّ اتركوا ما عندكم و خذوا ما عند اللّه هذا خير لكم عمّا خلق بين السّموات و الأرضين

Va-llāh agar nafsī ān sulṭān-i qidam rā qādir bidānad bi-amthāl-i īn kalimāt bar mūjid-i asmāʾ va ṣifāt iʿtirāḍ namīnamāyad. Ay bī-naṣībān az kawthar-i maʿārif-i Raḥmān sallamnā bi-qawl-i shumā nafsī bi-qamīṣ-i ismī az asmāʾ bayn-i arḍ va samāʾ muzayyan shudih āyā Ḥaqq qādir nīst bar intizāʿ-i ān? Fa-waylun lakum ta-Allāhi yukadhdhibukum kullu al-wujūdi min al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūd. Hargiz Ḥaqq jalla dhikruhu dar ḥīn-i iʿṭā bi-nafsī maṣlaḥat nimūd kih dar ḥīn-i akhdh maṣlaḥat namāyad? Qalam ḥayā mīnamāyad az dhikr-i ānchih īn ayyām tilqāʾ-i vajh-i Malīk-i ʿAllām bi-ān mashghūl shudih-īd. Khāfū ʿan Allāhi thumma utrukū mā ʿindakum wa-khudhū mā ʿinda Allāhi hādhā khayrun lakum ʿammā khuliqa bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍīn.

By God, if anyone regarded that Sovereign of eternity as powerful, he would not raise objections such as these against the Creator of names and attributes. You who have no share of the Kawthar of the All-Merciful’s knowledge! Let us concede your assertion that someone has been adorned with the robe of one of the names between earth and heaven: is God not able to strip it away? Woe to you! By God, all existence, unseen and visible, gives you the lie. Did God—exalted be His mention—ever consult anyone when bestowing a gift, that He should consult anyone when taking it away? The Pen is ashamed to mention what you have busied yourselves with in these days before the face of the all-knowing King. Fear God, then abandon what you possess and take what is with God. This is better for you than all that has been created between the heavens and the earths.

144

و اينكه تقسيم نموده بوديد كه نقطه بيان روح ماسواه فداه بجهت اهل تقليد و عوام بيان فرموده اين را و بجهت اولى الأبصار و الافئده بيان ديگر فرموده هذا بغى منك على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم اين قول بسيار لغو و بی‌ معنى است قد ظهر بنفسه الحقّ بآيات بيّنات و انّها لحجّة من عند اللّه على كلّ نفس ان انت من العارفين حجّت الهى لم‌يزل واحد بوده و از براى كلّ همان آيات منزلات را حجّت قرار فرموده‌اند و اگر در خلق آيه عرفان و ادراك آيات نميبود البتّه بآيات ظاهر نميشدند فى ذلك لحكمة لأولى الأباب و لايعرفها الّا اولو الأبصار

Va īnkih taqsīm nimūdih būdīd kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā-sivāh fidāh bi-jahat-i ahl-i taqlīd va ʿavāmm bayān farmūdih īn rā va bi-jahat-i ulī al-abṣār va al-afʾidih bayān-i dīgar farmūdih hādhā baghyun minka ʿalā Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūm. Īn qawl bisyār laghv va bī-maʿnī ast. Qad ẓahara bi-nafsihi al-ḥaqqu bi-āyātin bayyinātin wa-innahā la-ḥujjatun min ʿindi Allāhi ʿalā kulli nafsin in anta min al-ʿārifīn. Ḥujjat-i ilāhī lam-yazal vāḥid būdih va az barā-yi kull hamān āyāt-i munazzalāt rā ḥujjat qarār farmūdih-and va agar dar khalq āyih-yi ʿirfān va idrāk-i āyāt namībūd albattih bi-āyāt ẓāhir namīshudand. Fī dhālika la-ḥikmatun li-ulī [corrupted text] wa-lā yaʿrifuhā illā ulū al-abṣār.

And as for the distinction you made, saying that the Point of the Bayán, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, made this statement for the imitators and the common people, and made another statement for those endowed with sight and understanding: this is a transgression on your part against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. This assertion is utterly vain and meaningless. The Truth Himself has appeared with clear verses, and these are indeed a proof from God for every soul, if you are among those who recognize. God’s proof has always been one, and He has appointed those same revealed verses as a proof for everyone. Had there been no sign within creation of the capacity to recognize and understand the verses, He would certainly not have appeared with verses. In this there is indeed wisdom for those endowed with [corrupted original text], and none recognizes it except those endowed with sight.

145

و ديگر معلوم نيست كه را اهل تقليد و عوام دانسته‌ايد و كه را اولو الافئده و اولو الأبصار اتّخذتم لانفسكم امراً و به ضللتم و ظلمتم و لا تعرفون بدانكه اولو الأبصار و غيره بتصديق و تكذيب معلوم ميشوند و ممتاز ميگردند هر نفسيكه موفّق شد بقول بلى در ظهور امنع اقدس اعلى او عنداللّه از اخيار و اولو الأبصار بوده و من دون آن از اشرار و فجّار و البتّه اولو الأبصار نزد شما جهلائى هستند كه ادّعاى علم و حكمت نموده‌اند بشنو بيان نقطه اوّلیّه و مظهر كليّه را كه فرموده‌اند گندم پاك‌كن ارض صاد لباس نقابت را پوشيد با اينكه حرفى از علم نخوانده بود و شيخ محمّد حسن كه پانصد هزار بيت در عمل باللّه نوشت حرفى ثمر نبخشيد كه در يوم قيامت او را از نار نجات دهد

Va dīgar maʿlūm nīst kih rā ahl-i taqlīd va ʿavāmm dānistih-īd va kih rā ulū al-afʾidih va ulū al-abṣār. Ittakhadhtum li-anfusikum amran wa-bihi ḍalaltum wa-ẓalamtum wa-lā taʿrifūn. Bidānkih ulū al-abṣār va ghayrih bi-taṣdīq va takdhīb maʿlūm mīshavand va mumtāz mīgardand. Har nafsīkih muwaffaq shud bi-qawl-i balā dar ẓuhūr-i amnaʿ-i aqdas-i aʿlā ū ʿinda Allāh az akhyār va ulū al-abṣār būdih va min dūn-i ān az ashrār va fujjār. Va albattih ulū al-abṣār nazd-i shumā juhalāʾī hastand kih iddiʿā-yi ʿilm va ḥikmat nimūdih-and. Bishnaw bayān-i Nuqṭih-yi Avvalīyih va Maẓhar-i Kullīyih rā kih farmūdih-and gandum pāk-kun-i arḍ-i Ṣād libās-i niqābat rā pūshīd bā īnkih ḥarfī az ʿilm nakhvāndih būd va Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥasan kih pānṣad hizār bayt dar ʿamal bi-Allāh nivisht ḥarfī thamar nabakhshīd kih dar yawm-i qiyāmat ū rā az nār najāt dahad.

Moreover, it is unclear whom you have regarded as imitators and common people, and whom as those endowed with understanding and sight. You have devised a matter for yourselves and through it have gone astray and acted unjustly, yet you do not know. Know that those endowed with sight and those who are not are identified and distinguished by their acknowledgment or denial. Every soul enabled to say “Yes” in this most unassailable, most holy, most exalted Manifestation is, in God’s sight, among the righteous and those endowed with sight; all others are among the wicked and the ungodly. Of course, those endowed with sight in your estimation are ignorant people who have claimed knowledge and wisdom. Listen to the utterance of the Primal Point and Universal Manifestation, who said, “The wheat-sifter of the land of Ṣád put on the robe of leadership, although he had not studied a single letter of learning, whereas Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥasan, who wrote five hundred thousand verses on acting in accordance with God, gained not a single letter’s benefit that would save him from the fire on the Day of Resurrection.”

146

و هم‌چنين در مقام ديگر منصوصاً در معنى اولو الأبصار ميفرمايند قوله جلّ ثنائه اينست كه مشتبه ميگردد در نزد هر ظهورى حقّ صرف از دون او الّا نزد اولى الأبصار كه ايشان حقایق اشیاء را كما هى مشاهده مينمايند و هميشه ناظر بشمس حقيقت هستند و ظهور او و حدودات مرايا ايشانرا محتجب از ظاهر در آنها نمينمايد اولئك هم المتّقون حقّا فی كتاب اللّه من قبل و من بعد اولئك هم المهتدون انتهى

Va ham-chunīn dar maqām-i dīgar manṣūṣan dar maʿnī-yi ulū al-abṣār mīfarmāyand qawluhu jalla thanāʾuhu īnast kih mushtabih mīgardad dar nazd-i har ẓuhūrī Ḥaqq-i ṣirf az dūn-i ū illā nazd-i ulī al-abṣār kih īshān ḥaqāyiq-i ashyā rā kamā hiya mushāhidih mīnamāyand va hamīshih nāẓir bi-shams-i ḥaqīqat hastand va ẓuhūr-i ū va ḥudūdāt-i marāyā īshānrā muḥtajib az ẓāhir dar ānhā namīnamāyad ulāʾika hum al-muttaqūn ḥaqqan fī kitābi Allāh min qabl wa-min baʿd ulāʾika hum al-muhtadūn intahā.

Likewise, in another passage He explicitly states concerning the meaning of those endowed with sight—His words, exalted be His praise: “At every Manifestation, the pure Truth becomes indistinguishable from all else except to those endowed with sight, who behold the realities of things as they are and always look toward the Sun of Truth and His manifestation. The limitations of the mirrors do not veil them from the One manifest in them. These are truly the God-fearing in the Book of God, before and after; these are the rightly guided.” End of quotation.

147

اين بيان نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه حال ملاحظه نما تا اولو الأبصار را بشناسى چنانچه مشاهده مينمائى كه ابدا حدودات مرايا آن نفوس مقدّسه را از شاطى بحر احديّه منع ننموده و صدهزار امثال آن مرايا را نزد اشراق تجلّى شمس حقيقت معدوم صرف مشاهده مينمايند آن نفوسند كه عنداللّه و مظاهر امر او باولو الأبصار معروفند نه نفوسيكه على زعم خود مرآتى درست نموده و بآن از حقّ منيع محتجب مانده‌اند فويل للّذين غفلوا عمّا نزل فى الكتاب و اخذوا كلمة منه و فسّروها بما تهوى به انفسهم و اهوائهم و اعترضوا بها على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم و ايكاش كه اين رؤساى بيان كه الآن موجودند علم ظاهره هم ميداشتند لافو‌الّذى نفسى بيده جز كذب و افترا و اعراض از حقّ و جعل نزد اين نفوس نبوده و نخواهد بود كذلك بيّن اللّه كلّ امر فى كتاب مبين

Īn bayān-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh ḥāl mulāḥiẓih namā tā ulū al-abṣār rā bishināsī chunānchih mushāhidih mīnamāʾī kih abadan ḥudūdāt-i marāyā ān nufūs-i muqaddasih rā az shāṭī-yi baḥr-i aḥadīyyih manʿ nanamūdih va ṣad-hizār amthāl-i ān marāyā rā nazd-i ishrāq-i tajallī-yi shams-i ḥaqīqat maʿdūm-i ṣirf mushāhidih mīnamāyand ān nufūsand kih ʿinda Allāh va maẓāhir-i amr-i ū bi-ulū al-abṣār maʿrūfand nah nufūsīkih ʿalā zaʿm-i khud mirʾātī durust namūdih va bi-ān az Ḥaqq-i manīʿ muḥtajib māndih-and fa-waylun li-lladhīna ghafalū ʿammā nazala fī al-kitāb wa-akhadhū kalimatan minhu wa-fassarūhā bi-mā tahwā bihi anfusuhum wa-ahwāʾuhum wa-iʿtaraḍū bihā ʿalā Allāh al-muhaymin al-qayyūm va ay kāsh kih īn ruʾasā-yi Bayān kih al-ān mawjūdand ʿilm-i ẓāhirih ham mīdāshtand lā fa-wa-lladhī nafsī bi-yadihi juz kidhb va iftirā va iʿrāḍ az Ḥaqq va jaʿl nazd-i īn nufūs nabūdih va nakhwāhad būd kadhālika bayyana Allāh kulla amrin fī kitābin mubīn.

This is the utterance of the Point of the Bayán, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. Now reflect, so that you may recognize those endowed with sight. As you observe, the limitations of the mirrors have never kept those sanctified souls from the shore of the ocean of oneness, and they regard a hundred thousand such mirrors as utter nothingness before the radiant revelation of the Sun of Truth. These are the souls known to God and the Manifestations of His Cause as those endowed with sight, not those who have fashioned a mirror according to their own fancy and through it remained veiled from the unassailable Truth. Woe, then, to those who have neglected what was sent down in the Book, taken a word from it, interpreted it according to the inclinations of their own selves and desires, and used it to object to God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. If only these present leaders of the Bayán possessed even outward learning! No, by Him in whose hand is my soul! Nothing but lies, slander, turning away from the Truth, and fabrication has ever been found among these souls, nor will it ever be. Thus has God made every matter clear in a lucid Book.

148

و ديگر نوشته بوديد مراد آن است كه مبالغه در اين امر فرموده از براى اشخاصيكه تميز آيات نميدهند و تصريح فرموده و امّا از براى اشخاصيكه تميز آيات ميدهند فرموده كه او خود صاحب آيات است و در تمام نوشته‌جات شكر و حمد پروردگار نموده كه وصىّ مرا بآيات ظاهر فرموده انتهى

Va dīgar nivishtih būdīd murād ān ast kih mubālaghih dar īn amr farmūdih az barā-yi ashkhāṣīkih tamīz-i āyāt namīdihand va taṣrīḥ farmūdih va ammā az barā-yi ashkhāṣīkih tamīz-i āyāt mīdihand farmūdih kih ū khud ṣāḥib-i āyāt ast va dar tamām-i nivishtih-jāt shukr va ḥamd-i Parvardigār namūdih kih vaṣī-yi marā bi-āyāt ẓāhir farmūdih intahā.

You also wrote: “The intention is that He emphasized this matter and stated it explicitly for those who cannot discern the verses. But for those who can discern the verses, He said that he himself is the possessor of verses, and throughout His writings He has thanked and praised the Lord, saying that He has made My successor manifest with verses.” End of quotation.

149

اوّلا اكثرى از اين كلمات از حضرت اعلى روح ماسواه فداه نبوده و نيست بسيار از اين اقوال جعل نموده و مينمايند شما بتفصيل مطّلع نيستيد و ثانيا آنكه آيات مرايا در رتبه مرايا مذكور مثل شبح شمس در مرآت حال آن تجلّى در مرآت در رتبه مرآت مشهود و مذكور و لكن نسبت بشمس سماء ذكرى نداشته و نخواهد داشت چنانچه مشاهده ميشود كه اگر مراياى مالانهايه مقابل شوند بشمس در كلّ شبح شمس ظاهر و بعد از انحراف كلّ فانى و شمس بتمام ضيا در مقرّ خود مشرق و مضئ و نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه در اينمقام بيانات لايحصى فرموده‌اند فطوبی‌ للنّاظرين ثمّ للعارفين هر ذى بصر و ذي شعورى ملاحظه نمايد از آياتش رتبه و مقامش را ادراك مينمايد

Avvalan aktharī az īn kalimāt az Ḥaḍrat-i Aʿlā rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh nabūdih va nīst bisyār az īn aqvāl jaʿl namūdih va mīnamāyand shumā bi-tafṣīl muṭṭaliʿ nīstīd va thāniyan ānkih āyāt-i marāyā dar rutbiy-i marāyā madhkūr mithl-i shabaḥ-i shams dar mirʾāt ḥāl ān tajallī dar mirʾāt dar rutbiy-i mirʾāt mashhūd va madhkūr va lākin nisbat bi-shams-i samā dhikrī nadāshtih va nakhwāhad dāsht chunānchih mushāhidih mīshavad kih agar marāyā-yi mā lā nihāyih muqābil shavand bi-shams dar kull shabaḥ-i shams ẓāhir va baʿd az inḥirāf kull fānī va shams bi-tamām-i ḍiyā dar maqarr-i khud mushriq va muḍīʾ va Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh dar īn maqām bayānāt-i lā yuḥṣā farmūdih-and fa-ṭūbā li-l-nāẓirīn thumma li-l-ʿārifīn har dhī baṣar va dhī shuʿūrī mulāḥiẓih namāyad az āyātash rutbih va maqāmash rā idrāk mīnamāyad.

First, most of these words have never come from His Holiness the Most Exalted, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. They have fabricated many such statements and continue to do so; you are not acquainted with the details. Second, the verses of the mirrors are spoken of at the level of the mirrors, like the image of the sun in a mirror. That reflection in the mirror is seen and spoken of at the level of the mirror, but in relation to the sun in the sky it has never merited mention, nor will it ever do so. As can be observed, if infinitely many mirrors face the sun, its image appears in them all; when they turn away, all those images vanish, while the sun shines resplendent in its own station with all its radiance. The Primal Point, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, has made countless statements on this subject. Blessed, then, are those who behold, and then those who recognize. Anyone endowed with sight and understanding who reflects will perceive his rank and station from his verses.

150

و ديگر آنكه در مقامى كلّ اشیآء آيات اللّه بوده و خواهد بود لو انتم فى آيات اللّه فى انفس الخلق تنظرون و كم من آية فى السّموات و الأرض يمرّون عليها و هم عنها معرضون و آيات الهى در كلّ شیء مشهود و موجود ولكن مادامى كه در ظلّ حقّ مشاهده ميشوند از آيات علّيين مذكور و من دون آن از سجّين محسوب

Va dīgar ānkih dar maqāmī kull-i ashyā āyāt-i Allāh būdih va khwāhad būd law antum fī āyāti Allāh fī anfusi al-khalq tanẓurūn wa-kam min āyatin fī al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ yamurrūna ʿalayhā wa-hum ʿanhā muʿriḍūn va āyāt-i ilāhī dar kull-i shayʾ mashhūd va mawjūd va lākin mā dāmī kih dar ẓill-i Ḥaqq mushāhidih mīshavand az āyāt-i ʿillīyyīn madhkūr va min dūn-i ān az sijjīn maḥsūb.

Moreover, in one sense all things have always been and will ever be signs of God, if you would look upon the signs of God within created beings. “How many a sign in the heavens and the earth do they pass by, turning away from it!” The divine signs are visible and present in everything. Yet so long as these things are seen beneath the shadow of the Truth, they are spoken of as signs of the highest heaven; otherwise, they are reckoned as belonging to the nethermost prison.

151

قسم بحقّ كه از كلمات تو خجلت بردم چه كه بكلماتى تكلّم نموده كه هيچيك از محتجبين قبل بآن تكلّم ننموده‌اند بحر اعظم مشهود و ملاحظه نموده و مينمائى مع‌ذلك باثبات ماء غدير كه از رايحه و طعمش انسان متأذّى است مشغول شده شمس باشراقها و انوارها ظاهر و مشهود و تو خود را از انوار و ضيائش محروم نموده و ادلّه براى معدومى كه نديده و ادراك ننموده ذكر مينمائى واللّه كه حرفى از بيان ادراك ننموده و بعوالم تبيان كه مقام ظهور نفحات الهيّه و فوحات قدس صمدانيّه است قدم نگذارده بكلمه از ذوالكلمه ممنوع شده و بحجاب اشارات از نفحات ربّ الأرباب‌ محروم گشته

Qasam bi-Ḥaqq kih az kalimāt-i tu khijlat burdam chih kih bi-kalimātī takallum namūdih kih hīch-yik az muḥtajibīn-i qabl bi-ān takallum nanamūdih-and baḥr-i aʿẓam mashhūd va mulāḥiẓih namūdih va mīnamāʾī maʿa dhālik bi-ithbāt-i māʾ-i ghadīr kih az rāyiḥih va ṭaʿmash insān mutaʾadhdhī ast mashghūl shudih shams bi-ishrāqihā va anwārihā ẓāhir va mashhūd va tu khud rā az anvār va ḍiyāʾash maḥrūm namūdih va adillih barā-yi maʿdūmī kih nadīdih va idrāk nanamūdih dhikr mīnamāʾī va-llāh kih ḥarfī az Bayān idrāk nanamūdih va bi-ʿavālim-i tibyān kih maqām-i ẓuhūr-i nafaḥāt-i ilāhīyyih va fawaḥāt-i quds-i ṣamadānīyyih ast qadam nagudhāshtih bi-kalimih az Dhu al-Kalimih mamnūʿ shudih va bi-ḥijāb-i ishārāt az nafaḥāt-i Rabb al-Arbāb maḥrūm gashtih.

By the Truth, I felt ashamed of your words, for you have spoken words that none of those veiled in the past have ever uttered. The Most Great Ocean is visible, and you have beheld it and continue to behold it; nevertheless, you have busied yourself with establishing the worth of water in a pool whose smell and taste cause distress. The sun is manifest and visible in its radiance and light, yet you have deprived yourself of its light and splendor and adduce proofs for a nonexistent thing that you have neither seen nor perceived. By God, you have not understood a single letter of the Bayán, nor set foot in the realms of exposition, where the divine breezes and the holy fragrances of the Eternal are made manifest. A word has kept you from the Possessor of the Word, and the veil of allusions has deprived you of the breezes of the Lord of Lords.

152

سبحان اللّه سلطان مقتدرى كه مع كمال ظهور و بروز مشركين را از مشاهده جمالش منع نموده و مع كمال سموّ و علوّ مغلّين را از ادراك انوار وجهش بی‌نصيب گذاشته بآيات اثبات بيّنه مينمايند و از سلطان آيات معرض كذلك كان مقتدراً على كلّ شیء و لكنّ النّاس لا يبصرون بشنو نداى اين عبد فانى را و بعرصه روحانى وارد شو نقطه اولى بنفسه ظاهر و انوار و تجلّياتش عالم غيب و شهاده را منوّر فرموده بآن ناظر نيستى و بكلماتش كه ابداً عارف بحرفى از آن نبوده اثبات حقّیّت از براى اعدايش مينمائى آفرين بر بصر شما كه يار را اغيار دانسته و فجّار را اخيار شمرده

Subḥān Allāh Sulṭān-i muqtadirī kih maʿa kamāl-i ẓuhūr va burūz mushrikīn rā az mushāhidiy-i jamālash manʿ namūdih va maʿa kamāl-i sumuvv va ʿuluvv mughillīn rā az idrāk-i anvār-i vajhash bī-naṣīb gudhāshtih bi-āyāt ithbāt-i bayyinih mīnamāyand va az Sulṭān-i āyāt muʿriḍ kadhālika kāna muqtadiran ʿalā kulli shayʾ wa-lākinna al-nāsa lā yubṣirūn bishinaw nidā-yi īn ʿabd-i fānī rā va bi-ʿarṣiy-i rūḥānī vārid shaw Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā bi-nafsih ẓāhir va anvār va tajallīyātash ʿālam-i ghayb va shahādih rā munavvar farmūdih bi-ān nāẓir nīstī va bi-kalimātash kih abadan ʿārif bi-ḥarfī az ān nabūdih ithbāt-i ḥaqqīyyat az barā-yi aʿdāyash mīnamāʾī āfarīn bar baṣar-i shumā kih yār rā aghyār dānistih va fujjār rā akhyār shumurdih.

Glory be to God! What a mighty Sovereign, who, despite His complete manifestation and appearance, has prevented the idolaters from beholding His beauty, and despite His consummate loftiness and exaltation, has left the malicious without a share in perceiving the lights of His face. They use verses to establish a proof, yet turn away from the Sovereign of verses. Thus has He ever been powerful over all things, but the people do not see. Hear the call of this evanescent servant and enter the spiritual realm. The Primal Point Himself is manifest, and His lights and revelations have illumined the worlds of the unseen and the seen. You do not look toward Him, but use His words, of which you have never understood a single letter, to establish the legitimacy of His enemies. Bravo for your sight, which has taken the Friend for a stranger and reckoned the wicked among the good!

153

فواللّه اين عبد متحيّر است بلكه عالمى متحيّر و مبهوت متّصل مينويسيد كه نقطه اولى چنين و چنان فرموده و نفس نقطه را در كلّ حين باسياف بغضا و رماح غلّ و فحشا مجروح مينمائى تضربون و لا تشعرون مثل شما مثل نفوسى است كه در ليالى و ایّام منتظر حقّ بوده‌اند و بعد از ظهور بكلمات قبلش استدلال بر كفر و فسادش نموده تا آنكه بالأخره‌ بتمام ظلم سفك دم مطهّرش نموده‌اند الا لعنة اللّه على الّذين ظلموا و يظلمون حينئذ و لا یشعرون متوهّم شنيده بوديم و لكن واللّه باين شأن كه تو ظاهر شده نشنيده و نديده بوديم نسئل اللّه بأن يطهّرنا و ایّاک و يجمعنا على شريعة حبّه و رضائه و لايجعلنا محروماً عن انوار وجهه المشرق المنير

Fa-va-llāh īn ʿabd mutaḥayyir ast balkih ʿālamī mutaḥayyir va mabhūt muttaṣil mīnivīsīd kih Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā chunīn va chunān farmūdih va nafs-i Nuqṭih rā dar kull-i ḥīn bi-asyāf-i baghḍā va rimāḥ-i ghill va faḥshā majrūḥ mīnamāʾī taḍribūna wa-lā tashʿurūn mathal-i shumā mathal-i nufūsī ast kih dar layālī va ayyām muntaẓir-i Ḥaqq būdih-and va baʿd az ẓuhūr bi-kalimāt-i qablash istidlāl bar kufr va fasādash namūdih tā ānkih bi-l-ākharah bi-tamām-i ẓulm safk-i dam-i muṭahharash namūdih-and alā laʿnatu Allāh ʿalā alladhīna ẓalamū wa-yaẓlimūna ḥīnaʾidhin wa-lā yashʿurūn mutavahhim shinīdih būdīm va lākin va-llāh bi-īn shaʾn kih tu ẓāhir shudih nashinīdih va nadīdih būdīm nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yuṭahhiranā wa-iyyāka wa-yajmaʿanā ʿalā sharīʿati ḥubbihi wa-riḍāʾihi wa-lā yajʿalanā maḥrūman ʿan anwāri wajhihi al-mushriq al-munīr.

By God, this servant is bewildered—indeed, a whole world is bewildered and astonished. You continually write that the Primal Point said this and that, while at every moment you wound the Point Himself with the swords of hatred and the spears of malice and abuse. You strike and do not realize it. You are like those souls who awaited the Truth by night and day, and after His appearance used His former words to argue for His unbelief and corruption, until at last, in utter injustice, they shed His sacred blood. Truly, God’s curse rests upon those who committed injustice and commit it now, yet do not realize it. We had heard of deluded people, but, by God, we had neither heard nor seen anything like the state you have displayed. We ask God to purify us and you, to gather us upon the path of His love and good pleasure, and not to deprive us of the lights of His radiant, luminous face.

154

وديگر نوشته بوديد كه صريح فرموده كه آيات او از من است و من او هستم و او من ميباشد و او را ثمره خود خوانده حال انصاف بدهيد كه خود حضرت باب آيات را بهتر تميز ميداد يا بنده و شما و اين تقليد نيست و اگر بفرمائيد تقليد است خود انصاف بدهيد كه از اوّل امر الى الآن از ميرزا يحيى چه قدرها آيات بظهور رسيده و ميرسد انتهى

Va dīgar nivishtih būdīd kih ṣarīḥ farmūdih kih āyāt-i ū az man ast va man ū hastam va ū man mībāshad va ū rā th marih-yi khud khwāndih ḥāl inṣāf bidihīd kih khud-i Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb āyāt rā bihtar tamīz mīdād yā bandih va shumā va īn taqlīd nīst va agar bifarmāʾīd taqlīd ast khud inṣāf bidihīd kih az avval-i amr ilā al-ān az Mīrzā Yaḥyā chih qadr-hā āyāt bi-ẓuhūr rasīdih va mīrasad intahā.

You also wrote: “He explicitly stated that his verses are from Me, and I am he and he is Me, and He called him His own fruit. Now judge fairly: was the Báb Himself better able to discern the verses, or are you and I? This is not imitation. And if you say it is imitation, judge fairly for yourself how many verses have appeared and continue to appear from Mírzá Yaḥyá from the beginning of the Cause until now.” End of quotation.

155

بر فرض تصديق اين فقره كلّ اشیآء را بخود نسبت داده‌اند و بكلّ اسماء خود را ناميده‌اند چه كه در كلّ آيه تجلّى خود را مشاهده فرموده‌اند مع تقديس ذاته عن كلّ صفة و تنزیه كينونته عن كلّ اسم چنانچه در مقامى ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره قل تنزّلت حتّى قلت انّنى انا ذرّ و دون ذرّ مثل ما انّنى انا قلت انا ربّ و مربّب كلّ ذى ربّ الى الآخر عجب است از شما كه پى باين مطلب واضح نبرده اگر بصير باشى موقن ميشوى كه از اوّل ظهور تا حين ارقاء غير خود را مشاهده نفرموده‌اند بشأنيكه چشم مبارك جز بر طلعت مبارك نيفتاده و اين يك مقام از مقامات آن طلعت قدم بوده و ما اطّلع به احد الّا نفسه العليم الحكيم

Bar farḍ-i taṣdīq-i īn faqrih kull-i ashyā rā bi-khud nisbat dādih-and va bi-kull-i asmā khud rā nāmīdih-and chih kih dar kull āyiy-i tajallī-yi khud rā mushāhidih farmūdih-and maʿa taqdīsi dhātihi ʿan kulli ṣifah wa-tanzīhi kaynūnatihi ʿan kulli ism chunānchih dar maqāmī mīfarmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu qul tanazzaltu ḥattā qultu innanī anā dharr wa-dūna dharr mithla mā innanī anā qultu anā rabb wa-murabbib kulli dhī rabb ilā al-ākhir ʿajab ast az shumā kih pay bi-īn maṭlab-i vāḍiḥ naburdih agar baṣīr bāshī mūqin mīshavī kih az avval-i ẓuhūr tā ḥīn-i irqāʾ ghayr-i khud rā mushāhidih nafarmūdih-and bi-shaʾnīkih chashm-i mubārak juz bar ṭalʿat-i mubārak nayuftādih va īn yik maqām az maqāmāt-i ān Ṭalʿat-i Qidam būdih wa-mā iṭṭalaʿa bihi aḥadun illā nafsuhu al-ʿalīm al-ḥakīm.

Even assuming this statement to be authentic, He has attributed all things to Himself and called Himself by every name, for in everything He has beheld a sign of His own revelation, while His essence remains sanctified above every attribute and His being exalted above every name. Thus, in one passage He says—His words, exalted be His mention: “Say: I have descended until I said, ‘I am indeed an atom, and less than an atom,’ just as I have said, ‘I am a Lord and the nurturer of every possessor of lordship,’” and so forth. It is astonishing that you have not grasped this clear matter. If you possess insight, you will become certain that from the beginning of His manifestation until the time of His ascension He beheld none but Himself, such that His blessed eye fell on nothing but His blessed countenance. This was one of the stations of that Countenance of Eternity, and no one has perceived it except He Himself, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

156

و فوق اين مقام مقامات لانهايه عنداللّه بوده لاينبغى اظهارها لم يزل اناء علم الهى بخاتم حفظ مختوم بوده و خواهد بود كلّ اشیاء از آنچه منسوب بحقّند بندآء انّنى انا اللّه لا اله الّا انا ناطق و اين بسى واضح است كه اين كلمه و اين رتبه از نفس آن شیء نبوده بلكه نظر بآن است كه در ظل حقّ ساكن گشته و از حقّ محسوب شده و بعد از قطع آن نسبت همان شیء از اهل سجّين عنداللّه مذكور چنانچه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه فرموده قوله عزّ ذكره اين حجره كه بلا ابواب است و بلا حدود معروفه امروز اعلى غرف رضوانست كه شجره حقيقت در او مستقرّ است كه گويا ذرّات آن همه بندآء ذكر انّنى انا اللّه لا اله الّا انا ربّ كلّ شیء ميخوانند بر كلّ حجرات اگرچه مقاعد مرءاتيّه مطرزه بذهب باشد ولى اگر شجره حقيقت در مثل آن حجرات ساكن گردد آن وقت آن ذرّات مرايا ميخوانند چنانچه ذرّات مراياى اعلى مقاعد عمارت صدرى كه در ایّام ارض صاد در آنجا ساكن بوده ميخوند و ميخوانند و حكم از براى هيچ شیء نيست الّا آنكه راجع بآن نفس ميگردد انتهى

Va fawq-i īn maqām maqāmāt-i lā nihāyih ʿinda Allāh būdih lā yanbaghī iẓhāruhā lam yazal ināʾ-i ʿilm-i ilāhī bi-khātam-i ḥifẓ makhtūm būdih va khwāhad būd kull-i ashyā az ānchih mansūb bi-Ḥaqqand bi-nidā-yi innanī anā Allāh lā ilāha illā anā nāṭiq va īn basī vāḍiḥ ast kih īn kalimih va īn rutbih az nafs-i ān shayʾ nabūdih balkih naẓar bi-ān ast kih dar ẓill-i Ḥaqq sākin gashtih va az Ḥaqq maḥsūb shudih va baʿd az qaṭʿ-i ān nisbat hamān shayʾ az ahl-i sijjīn ʿinda Allāh madhkūr chunānchih Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh farmūdih qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu īn ḥujrih kih bi-lā abvāb ast va bi-lā ḥudūd-i maʿrūfih imrūz aʿlā ghuraf-i Riḍvān ast kih Shajariy-i Ḥaqīqat dar ū mustaqarr ast kih gūyā dharrāt-i ān hamih bi-nidā-yi dhikr-i innanī anā Allāh lā ilāha illā anā rabbu kulli shayʾ mīkhwānand bar kull-i ḥujurāt agarchih maqāʿid-i mirʾātīyyih muṭarrazih bi-dhahab bāshad valī agar Shajariy-i Ḥaqīqat dar mithl-i ān ḥujurāt sākin gardad ān vaqt ān dharrāt-i marāyā mīkhwānand chunānchih dharrāt-i marāyā-yi aʿlā maqāʿid-i ʿimārat-i Ṣadrī kih dar ayyām-i arḍ-i Ṣād dar ānjā sākin būdih mīkhund va mīkhwānand va ḥukm az barā-yi hīch shayʾ nīst illā ānkih rājiʿ bi-ān nafs mīg ar dad intahā.

Above this station there have ever been limitless stations with God that should not be disclosed. The vessel of divine knowledge has always been, and will ever remain, sealed with the seal of protection. All things, insofar as they are attributed to the Truth, proclaim the call, “I am indeed God; there is no god but Me.” It is abundantly clear that this utterance and this rank do not arise from the thing itself, but are due to its having come to dwell beneath the shadow of the Truth and to be reckoned as belonging to Him. Once that relationship is severed, that same thing is spoken of in God’s sight as belonging to the people of the nethermost prison. Thus the Point of the Bayán, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, has said—His words, exalted be His mention: “This chamber, which is without doors and without customary boundaries, is today the loftiest of the chambers of Paradise, for the Tree of Truth is established within it. It is as though all its particles proclaim over every other chamber, ‘I am indeed God; there is no god but Me, the Lord of all things,’ even though those chambers be mirrored seats adorned with gold. But if the Tree of Truth should dwell in such chambers, then those particles of the mirrors would proclaim it, just as the particles of the mirrors of the loftiest seats of the Ṣadrí mansion, where He dwelt during His days in the land of Ṣád, proclaimed it and still proclaim it. No judgment applies to anything except insofar as it refers back to that Person.” End of quotation.

157

اين شهادت كه خود آن جمال مبارك در ذرّات تراب داده قدرى تفكّر كن شايد بكلماتى كه صدهزار رتبه در تحت وصف تراب افتاده از نفس حقّ محتجب نمانى اگرچه قسم بآفتاب عزّ تقديس كه محتجبين اين طايفه احجب از كلّ مشاهده ميشوند بشأنيكه نزديك بآن رسيده كه بروايت خبيثى از صدهزار قدرت مشهوده الهى و آيات منزله صمدانى محجوب مانند بلكه باعراض و اعتراض برخيزند و اينست از وعدههائيكه خود صاحب بيان روح ماسواه فداه فرموده و هم‌چنين اين ظهور امنع اقدس در اكثر الواح قبل ما يظهر من بعد را خبر داده‌اند

Īn shahādat kih khud ān Jamāl-i Mubārak dar dharrāt-i turāb dādih qadrī tafakkur kun shāyad bi-kalimātī kih ṣad-hizār rutbih dar taḥt-i vaṣf-i turāb uftādih az nafs-i Ḥaqq muḥtajib namānī agarchih qasam bi-āftāb-i ʿizz-i taqdīs kih muḥtajibīn-i īn ṭāʾifih aḥjab az kull mushāhidih mīshavand bi-shaʾnīkih nazdīk bi-ān rasīdih kih bi-rivāyat-i khabīthī az ṣad-hizār qudrat-i mashhūdiy-i ilāhī va āyāt-i munazzaliy-i ṣamadānī maḥjūb mānand balkih bi-iʿrāḍ va iʿtirāḍ bar khīzand va īnast az vaʿdih-hāʾīkih khud Ṣāḥib-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh farmūdih va ham-chunīn īn Ẓuhūr-i Amnaʿ-i Aqdas dar akthar-i alvāḥ-i qabl mā yaẓharu min baʿd rā khabar dādih-and.

Reflect a little on this testimony that the Blessed Beauty Himself has given concerning the particles of dust, so that you may not remain veiled from the Truth Himself by words that stand a hundred thousand degrees below the description of dust. Yet, by the sun of the glory of sanctity, the veiled among this people are seen to be more deeply veiled than all others, to such a degree that they have nearly reached the point where a malicious report would veil them from a hundred thousand visible manifestations of divine power and divinely revealed verses—indeed, would cause them to rise up in rejection and opposition. This is among the promises made by the Author of the Bayán Himself, may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. Likewise, this most unassailable, most holy Manifestation has foretold in most of His earlier Tablets what will appear hereafter.

158

مع آنكه درباره تراب تصديق انّه لا اله الّا هو فرموده‌اند ميفرمايند حكم از براى هيچ شیء نيست الّا آنكه راجع بآن نفس ميگردد يعنى نفس حقّ چنانچه اليوم جميع اوصاف بيان بجبروت صفات راجع و هم‌چنين جميع اسماء حسنى كه در او نازل بملكوت اسماء و مقصود از كلّ اين اذكار ظهور آخر در كرّه اخرى بوده چه كه او محبوب جان و مقصود روانش بوده چنانچه هر نفسى در بيان ناظر شود تصريحاً من غير تلويح مشاهده نمايد و موقن شود باينكه مقصود از كلّ بيان آن جوهر تبيان بوده و خواهد بود

Maʿ ānkih darbārih-yi turāb taṣdīq-i annahu lā ilāha illā huwa farmūdih-and, mīfarmāyand ḥukm az barā-yi hīch shayʾ nīst illā ānkih rājiʿ bi-ān nafs mīgardad, yaʿnī nafs-i Ḥaqq. Chunānchih al-yawm jamīʿ-i awṣāf-i Bayān bi-jabarūt-i ṣifāt rājiʿ va hamchunīn jamīʿ-i asmā-yi ḥusnā kih dar ū nāzil bi-malakūt-i asmā. Va maqṣūd az kull-i īn adhkār ẓuhūr-i ākhar dar karrih-yi ukhrā būdih, chih kih ū maḥbūb-i jān va maqṣūd-i ravānash būdih. Chunānchih har nafsī dar Bayān nāẓir shavad, taṣrīḥan min ghayri talwīḥ mushāhadih namāyad va mūqin shavad bi-īnkih maqṣūd az kull-i Bayān ān jawhar-i tibyān būdih va khwāhad būd.

Although He has affirmed concerning the dust, “There is no god but Him,” He says that no judgment applies to anything except insofar as it refers back to that Person, meaning the Truth Himself. Thus, today, all the attributes in the Bayán refer to the dominion of attributes, and likewise all the most beautiful names revealed in it refer to the kingdom of names. The purpose of all these references was the subsequent Manifestation in another cycle, for He was the beloved of His soul and the desire of His spirit. Anyone who examines the Bayán will see this stated explicitly, not merely implied, and will become certain that the purpose of the entire Bayán has been, and will remain, that Essence of exposition.

159

مثلاً ببعضى الواح فرستاده‌اند در صدر آن نازل هذا كتاب من عنداللّه المهيمن القيّوم الى من يظهره اللّه انّه لا اله الّا انا العزيز المحبوب و حال آنكه آن لوح بحسب ظاهر بجهت نفس ديگر بوده و هم‌چنين در كتاب بعضى نازل هذا كتاب من اللّه المهيمن القيّوم الى اللّه المهيمن القيّوم اينست كه ميفرمايد آنچه در بيان نازل شده در حقيقت اوّليه مقصود ظهور آخر است و در مادون آن نظر بآن نسبتى است كه بشجره حقيقت داشته‌اند و هم‌چنين مخصوص بعضى الواح ارسال و در صدر آن هو انت و انت هو نازل از جمله جناب ملّا محمّد على زنجانى و ديگر در ذكر تكميل مراتب توحيد در اعداد كلّ شیء ميفرمايند لا اله الّا هو و لا اله الّا انا و لا اله الّا اللّه و لا اله الّا انت و لا اله الّا الّذى و لا اله الّا ايّاى ربّ العالمين جميعاً و لا اله الّا ایّاک ربّ العالمين جميعاً

Mathalan bi-baʿḍī alvāḥ firistādih-and, dar ṣadr-i ān nāzil: hādhā kitābun min ʿindi Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūmi ilā man yuẓhiruhu Allāh, innahu lā ilāha illā anā al-ʿazīzu al-maḥbūb. Va ḥāl ānkih ān lawḥ bi-ḥasab-i ẓāhir bi-jihat-i nafs-i dīgar būdih. Va hamchunīn dar kitāb-i baʿḍī nāzil: hādhā kitābun min Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūmi ilā Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūm. Īnast kih mīfarmāyad ānchih dar Bayān nāzil shudih dar ḥaqīqat-i avvalīyih maqṣūd ẓuhūr-i ākhar ast va dar mādūn-i ān naẓar bi-ān nisbatī ast kih bi-shajari h-yi ḥaqīqat dāshtih-and. Va hamchunīn makhṣūṣ-i baʿḍī alvāḥ irsāl va dar ṣadr-i ān huwa anta va anta huwa nāzil, az jumlih Janāb-i Mullā Muḥammad ʿAlī-yi Zanjānī. Va dīgar dar dhikr-i takmīl-i marātib-i tawḥīd dar aʿdād-i kull-i shayʾ mīfarmāyand: lā ilāha illā huwa va lā ilāha illā anā va lā ilāha illā Allāh va lā ilāha illā anta va lā ilāha illā alladhī va lā ilāha illā iyyāya rabba al-ʿālamīna jamīʿan va lā ilāha illā iyyāka rabba al-ʿālamīna jamīʿan.

For example, He sent Tablets to certain people, at the beginning of which was revealed: “This is a Book from God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting, to Him whom God will make manifest. There is no god but Me, the Almighty, the Beloved.” Yet, outwardly, that Tablet was intended for another person. Likewise, in the letter to another was revealed: “This is a Book from God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting, to God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.” This is why He says that, in its primary reality, what has been revealed in the Bayán is intended for the subsequent Manifestation; at a lesser level, it concerns the relationship people have had to the Tree of Truth. Likewise, He sent Tablets specifically to certain people, at the beginning of which was revealed, “He is you, and you are He,” among them the honored Mullá Muḥammad ʿAlí of Zanján. Furthermore, in speaking of the completion of the degrees of divine unity in the numbers of all things, He says: “There is no god but Him, and there is no god but Me, and there is no god but God, and there is no god but You, and there is no god but He who is, and there is no god but Me, the Lord of all the worlds, and there is no god but You, the Lord of all the worlds.”

160

اميدواريم كه از اين بيانات مالك اسماء و صفات قدرى از حدودات نفسيّه و حجبات و اشارات انفس مردوده طاهر شويد كه اقلّا اگر در يوم ظهور اعانت حقّ نمينمائيد بر نفسش سيف نكشيد و فتوى بر قتلش ندهيد بارى در هر شیء از اشیآء كه منسوب الى اللّه است چه از اعلى علوّ و چه از ادنى دنوّ و اين علوّ و دنوّ نظر بخلق ذكر ميشود بر جميع كلّ اسماء و كلّ اوصاف اطلاق شده و ميشود ماداميكه در ظلّ حقّ مستقرّ و الّا حكم وجود بر آنها نميشود تا چه رسد بمراتب عاليه نسئل اللّه بأن يغسّلك من كوثر الّذى جرى من اصبع الفضل و ينزع عن هيكلك ثوب الاشارات و يخلعك بطراز اسمه العلى العظيم

Umīdvārīm kih az īn bayānāt-i Mālik-i asmā va ṣifāt qadrī az ḥudūdāt-i nafsīyih va ḥujubāt va ishārāt-i anfus-i mardūdih ṭāhir shavīd kih aqallan agar dar yawm-i ẓuhūr iʿānat-i Ḥaqq namīnamāyīd, bar nafsash sayf nakashīd va fatvā bar qatlash nadahīd. Bārī dar har shayʾ az ashyāʾ kih mansūb ilā Allāh ast, chih az aʿlā-yi ʿuluvv va chih az adnā-yi dunuvv, va īn ʿuluvv va dunuvv naẓar bi-khalq dhikr mīshavad, bar jamīʿ kull-i asmā va kull-i awṣāf iṭlāq shudih va mīshavad mādāmīkih dar ẓill-i Ḥaqq mustaqarr, va illā ḥukm-i vujūd bar ānhā namīshavad tā chih rasad bi-marātib-i ʿālīyih. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yughassilaka min kawthari alladhī jarā min iṣbaʿi al-faḍli va yanziʿa ʿan haykalika thawba al-ishārāti va yakhlaʿaka bi-ṭirāzi ismihi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīm.

We hope that through these utterances of the Sovereign of names and attributes you may become somewhat purified of the limitations of self and of the veils and allusions of rejected souls, so that, at the very least, if you do not aid the Truth on the Day of Manifestation, you will not draw a sword against Him or issue a decree for His death. In short, all names and all attributes have been, and are, applied to every thing that is attributed to God, whether at the highest height or the lowest depth—and this height and depth are spoken of with reference to creation—so long as it remains established beneath the shadow of the Truth. Otherwise, it is not even accounted as existing, much less as possessing exalted stations. We ask God to wash you with the heavenly water that has flowed from the finger of grace, to strip from your person the garment of allusions, and to invest you with the adornment of His name, the Most High, the Most Great.

161

و اينكه نوشته او را ثمره خود خوانده بگو بآن معرضين كه اى غافلان از معانى كلمات الهى و اى بی‌بهره‌گان از ثمره شجره ربّانى اوّل مذهب بيان را ادراك نمائيد كه چيست و مقصود نقطه بيان جلّت عظمته از كلمات و آياتش چه بعد بتحقيق مشغول شويد و مباشيد از نفوسيكه كلمات الهيّه را بهواى نفسانيه تأويل نموده‌اند و معانى آن را تحريف کرده‌اند

Va īnkih nivishtih ū rā thamarih-yi khud khwāndih, bigū bi-ān muʿriḍīn kih ay ghāfilān az maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhī va ay bī-bahrigān az thamarih-yi shajari h-yi rabbānī, avval madhhab-i Bayān rā idrāk namāyīd kih chīst va maqṣūd-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān, jallat ʿaẓamatuhu, az kalimāt va āyātash chih, baʿd bi-taḥqīq mashghūl shavīd va mabāshīd az nufūsīkih kalimāt-i ilāhīyih rā bi-havā-yi nafsānīyih taʾvīl namūdih-and va maʿānī-yi ān rā taḥrīf kardih-and.

As for your statement that He called him His own fruit, say to those who turn away: “You who are heedless of the meanings of the divine words and deprived of the fruit of the divine Tree! First understand what the teaching of the Bayán is, and what the Point of the Bayán—exalted be His grandeur—intends by His words and verses; then undertake your investigation. Do not be among those who have interpreted the divine words according to selfish desires and distorted their meanings.”

162

مذهب نقطه بيان اين است كه ذكر ميشود اصل ظهور را شجره ميفرمايند و بعد مظاهر آن ظهور كلّ را از اغصان و افنان و اوراق و اثمار شجره ظهور چنانچه مشاهده ميشود مثلاً خود نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه شجره ظهور الهيّه بوده و متديّنين بدين او جميع از اوراق و اغصان و افنان و اثمار او محسوب ميشوند و هم‌چنين در جميع ظهورات ملاحظه كن و بهر اسم و رسم كه بخواهى ذكر نما مثلاً نقطه را بحر و سايرين را امواج و هم‌‌چنين شمس و سايرين را مرايا در اينمقام اگر هر يك از مظاهر آن ظهور را بفرمايد كه او من است و من او حقّ بوده و لا ريب فيه چنانچه در حروفات حىّ كه بعضى از آن نفوس موجودند و هم‌‌چنين در اعداد لانهايه كه منتهى بواحد بيان ميشود ميفرمايد كه در كلّ ديده نميشود مگر جمال آن ظهور

Madhhab-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān īn ast kih dhikr mīshavad: aṣl-i ẓuhūr rā shajarih mīfarmāyand va baʿd maẓāhir-i ān ẓuhūr, kull rā az aghṣān va afnān va awrāq va athmār-i shajari h-yi ẓuhūr, chunānchih mushāhadih mīshavad. Mathalan khud-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā, rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh, shajari h-yi ẓuhūr-i ilāhīyih būdih va mutadayyinīn bi-dīn-i ū jamīʿ az awrāq va aghṣān va afnān va athmār-i ū maḥsūb mīshavand. Va hamchunīn dar jamīʿ-i ẓuhūrāt mulāḥiẓih kun va bi-har ism va rasm kih bikhwāhī dhikr namā, mathalan Nuqṭih rā baḥr va sāyirīn rā amvāj va hamchunīn shams va sāyirīn rā marāyā. Dar īn maqām agar har yak az maẓāhir-i ān ẓuhūr rā bifarmāyad kih ū man ast va man ū, ḥaqq būdih va lā rayba fīh. Chunānchih dar Ḥurūfāt-i Ḥayy kih baʿḍī az ān nufūs mawjūdand va hamchunīn dar aʿdād-i lā-nihāyih kih muntahī bi-Vāḥid-i Bayān mīshavad mīfarmāyad kih dar kull dīdih namīshavad magar jamāl-i ān ẓuhūr.

The teaching of the Point of the Bayán is as follows: He calls the source of the Manifestation the Tree, and then regards all the manifestations of that Revelation as branches, twigs, leaves, and fruits of the Tree of Revelation, as can be seen. For example, the Primal Point Himself—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—was the Tree of divine Revelation, and all who profess His religion are reckoned as His leaves, branches, twigs, and fruits. Consider all Revelations in the same way, and describe them by whatever name and designation you wish: for example, the Point as the ocean and the others as waves, or as the sun and the others as mirrors. In this station, if He says of any one of the manifestations of that Revelation, “He is Me, and I am he,” this is true, and there is no doubt about it. Thus, concerning the Letters of the Living, some of whom are still alive, and likewise the limitless numbers that culminate in the Váḥid of the Bayán, He says that in all of them nothing is seen but the beauty of that Manifestation.

163

جميع اشیاء در مقامى منسوب بحقّند و از حقّند و بحقّ قائمند و از حقّ ظاهرند و بحقّ راجعند و بحقّ ناظرند و بحقّ متحرّك و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو يك مقامى وراى آنچه مشاهده مينمائى در سرادق معانى الهى مستور است كه اگر انامل قدرت ربّ صمدانى حجاب سرادق روحانى را حركت دهد و از آن وجه معانى مستوره اشراقى ظاهر شود ننصعق و ينصعق كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و لكن كور از ظهور انوار شمس معانى مهجور و كر از صرير قلم سلطان لايزالى ممنوع

Jamīʿ-i ashyāʾ dar maqāmī mansūb bi-Ḥaqq-and va az Ḥaqq-and va bi-Ḥaqq qāʾimand va az Ḥaqq ẓāhirand va bi-Ḥaqq rājiʿand va bi-Ḥaqq nāẓirand va bi-Ḥaqq mutaḥarrik. Va Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, yak maqāmī varā-yi ānchih mushāhadih mīnamāʾī dar surādiq-i maʿānī-yi ilāhī mastūr ast kih agar anāmil-i qudrat-i Rabb-i ṣamadānī ḥijāb-i surādiq-i rūḥānī rā ḥarakat dihad va az ān vajh-i maʿānī-yi mastūrih ishrāqī ẓāhir shavad, nanṣaʿiqu va yanṣaʿiqu kullu man fī al-samāwāti va al-arḍ. Va lākin kūr az ẓuhūr-i anvār-i shams-i maʿānī mahjūr va kar az ṣarīr-i qalam-i Sulṭān-i lā-yazālī mamnūʿ.

In one station, all things are attributed to the Truth, are from the Truth, subsist through the Truth, appear from the Truth, return to the Truth, look toward the Truth, and move through the Truth. By God, besides whom there is no god! Beyond what you observe, a station lies concealed in the tabernacle of divine meanings. Should the fingers of the power of the Eternal Lord stir the veil of the spiritual tabernacle, and a radiance shine forth from that countenance of hidden meanings, We would swoon, and everyone in the heavens and on earth would swoon. Yet the blind are shut out from the shining lights of the sun of meanings, and the deaf are deprived of the sound of the Pen of the everlasting Sovereign.

164

بارى اين فضايلى كه من حيث لا يشعر بشما القاء نموده‌اند كه بشجره اعراض راجع نموده بر فرض تسليم بكلّ اشیآء در مقامى راجع بوده و خواهد بود از ارض تحديد بسماء. عزّ تجريد پرواز كن تا آنچه ذكر مينمايم بچشم خود ملاحظه نمائى و همچه ندانيد كه اين خادم فانى عمر تلف نموده و آب و علف خورده و مثل شما بوهم و تقليد اكتفا نموده بارى خوشتر آن است كه اينمطالب را بگذاريم چه كه ذكر اينمقام فوق ادراك همج رعاع بوده وخواهد بود

Bārī īn faḍāʾilī kih min ḥaythu lā yashʿur bi-shumā ilqā namūdih-and kih bi-shajari h-yi iʿrāḍ rājiʿ namūdih, bar farḍ-i taslīm bi-kull-i ashyāʾ dar maqāmī rājiʿ būdih va khwāhad būd. Az arḍ-i taḥdīd bi-samā-yi ʿizz-i tajrīd parvāz kun tā ānchih dhikr mīnamāyam bi-chashm-i khud mulāḥiẓih namāʾī. Va hamchih nadānīd kih īn khādim-i fānī ʿumr talaf namūdih va āb va ʿalaf khurdih va mithl-i shumā bi-vahm va taqlīd iktifā namūdih. Bārī khushtar ān ast kih īn maṭālib rā bigudhārīm, chih kih dhikr-i īn maqām fawq-i idrāk-i hamaj-i raʿāʿ būdih va khwāhad būd.

In short, even if one were to concede these virtues that have been conveyed to you unwittingly and that you have attributed to the tree of rejection, they have applied, and will apply, in one station to all things. Soar from the earth of limitation to the heaven of the glory of detachment, so that you may see with your own eyes what I am describing. Do not imagine that this mortal servant has wasted his life, consumed water and fodder, and, like you, contented himself with fancy and imitation. In any case, it is better to leave these matters aside, for discussion of this station has been, and will remain, beyond the understanding of the ignorant rabble.

165

بعالم ادراك شما راجع شويم و از مطالب آن نفوس ذكر نمائيم آنكه نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه اصل شجره امر و بحر اعظم و شمس حقيقت و سماء قدم را نفس ظهور دانسته در هر ظهور و مادونش را خلق آن ظهور كه بكلمه از حركت قلمش خلق شده‌اند چنانچه ميفرمايد اگر بشجره از اشجار مغرسه در اين ارض ظاهره نفس ظهور بفرمايد كه اين حجّت است بر كلّ شیء هرآينه حجّت است مثل آنچه خلق فرموده‌است حجج را از قبل و فرقى مابين اين دو مشهود نه و اين حجيّت نظر بتجلّى شمس كلمه است در او كه بقول او خلق شده چنانچه حجر محلّ طواف شده و معبد عباد گشته حال ملاحظه كن كه اگر آن حجر نبود و حجر ديگر را ميفرمود او هم بهمين شرافت مشرّف ميشد و اين شرافت اسماء است در ملكوت اسماء

Bi-ʿālam-i idrāk-i shumā rājiʿ shavīm va az maṭālib-i ān nufūs dhikr namāʾīm. Ānkih Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā, rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh, aṣl-i shajari h-yi amr va baḥr-i aʿẓam va shams-i ḥaqīqat va samā-yi qidam rā nafs-i ẓuhūr dānistih dar har ẓuhūr va mādūnash rā khalq-i ān ẓuhūr kih bi-kalimih az ḥarakat-i qalamash khalq shudih-and. Chunānchih mīfarmāyad agar bi-shajarih az ashjār-i mughar rasih dar īn arḍ-i ẓāhirih nafs-i ẓuhūr bifarmāyad kih īn ḥujjat ast bar kull-i shayʾ, har-āyinih ḥujjat ast, mithl-i ānchih khalq farmūdih-ast ḥujaj rā az qabl va farqī mābayn-i īn du mashhūd nah. Va īn ḥujjīyat naẓar bi-tajallī-yi shams-i kalimih ast dar ū kih bi-qawl-i ū khalq shudih, chunānchih ḥajar maḥall-i ṭavāf shudih va maʿbad-i ʿibād gashtih. Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih kun kih agar ān ḥajar nabūd va ḥajar-i dīgar rā mīfarmūd, ū ham bi-hamīn shirāfat musharraf mīshud va īn shirāfat-i asmā ast dar malakūt-i asmā.

Let Us return to the realm of your understanding and speak of the contentions of those people. The Primal Point—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—has regarded the root of the Tree of the Cause, the Most Great Ocean, the Sun of Truth, and the Heaven of Eternity, in every Revelation, as the Manifestation Himself, and all besides Him as the creation of that Revelation, brought into being by a word through the movement of His Pen. Thus He says that if the Manifestation Himself should declare of a tree planted in this visible earth, “This is a proof for all things,” it would assuredly be a proof, just as the proofs He created before, and no difference would be seen between the two. This standing as a proof is due to the radiance within it of the sun of the Word, for it was created by His utterance. Thus a stone has become a place of circumambulation and a sanctuary of worship for His servants. Now consider: if it had not been that stone, and He had pronounced this concerning another stone, it too would have been invested with this same honor. This is the honor of names in the kingdom of names.

166

ايكاش نفوس بالغ مشاهده ميشدند تا رشحى از طمطام اسماء در اينمقام ذكر ميگشت و معلوم ميشد كه جميع اشیاء در آن ساحت مقدّس در صقع واحد مشهود و امتيازات اسمائيّه نظر بحكمت بالغه الهيّه بوده كه از انظر بريّه مستور گشته الّا من شآء ربّه بهتر آنكه اينمقام هم از محتجبين مستور ماند چنانچه مستور بوده و هست اين قدر بدان كه اين اسامى صادق و اين شرافت باقى مادام كه در ظلّ حقّ بوده و بآن اسم متمسّك و بعد از تجاوز و خروج از حدّ خلعت اسمى اخذ ميشود و مطروح و مردود عنداللّه مذكور و مشهود و بشأنى از رضوان مشاهده و مكاشفه دور مانده‌اند كه مطالب وهميّه خود را هر وقت اراده نموده كه ذكر نمايند بروايتى از روايات ملل قبل متمسّك ميشوند و ذكر مينمايند

Ay kāsh nufūs-i bāligh mushāhadih mīshudand tā rashḥī az ṭamṭām-i asmā dar īn maqām dhikr mīgasht va maʿlūm mīshud kih jamīʿ-i ashyāʾ dar ān sāḥat-i muqaddas dar ṣuqʿ-i vāḥid mashhūd va imtiyāzāt-i asmāʾīyih naẓar bi-ḥikmat-i bālighih-yi ilāhīyih būdih kih az [corrupted text] barīyih mastūr gashtih illā man shāʾa rabbuhu. Bihtar ānkih īn maqām ham az muḥtajibīn mastūr mānad, chunānchih mastūr būdih va hast. Īn qadr bidān kih īn asāmī ṣādiq va īn shirāfat bāqī mādām kih dar ẓill-i Ḥaqq būdih va bi-ān ism mutamassik, va baʿd az tajāvuz va khurūj az ḥadd khilʿat-i ismī akhdh mīshavad va maṭrūḥ va mardūd ʿinda Allāh madhkūr va mashhūd. Va bi-shaʾnī az riḍvān-i mushāhadih va mukāshifih dūr māndih-and kih maṭālib-i vahmīyih-yi khud rā har vaqt irādih namūdih kih dhikr namāyand bi-rivāyatī az rivāyāt-i milal-i qabl mutamassik mīshavand va dhikr mīnamāyand.

If only mature souls could be found, so that a drop from the surging ocean of names might be mentioned in this connection! It would then become clear that all things in that sacred court are seen on a single plane, and that distinctions among names are due to the consummate divine wisdom, which has remained hidden from the [corrupted original text] of creation, except those whom their Lord wills. It is better that this station too remain hidden from the veiled, as it has been and still is. Know only this much: these names hold true and this honor endures so long as a thing remains beneath the shadow of the Truth and clings to that name. Once it transgresses and passes beyond the limit, the robe of the name is taken away, and it is spoken of and seen in God’s sight as cast out and rejected. They have remained so far from the paradise of vision and unveiling that whenever they wish to express their fanciful notions, they seize upon and cite a tradition from among the traditions of earlier religious communities.

167

بگو اى بی‌بصران قبل و بعد را از اين امر بشناسيد و عارف شويد چه كه اين امر بدونش شناخته نشده و نخواهد شد آنچه در دست ناس بوده جميع توهّمات لايغنيه بوده و خواهد بود و آنچه ذكر نمائيد نزد اولو البصر معلوم و واضحست كه از عدم بلوغ بچنين اذكار تمسّك جسته‌اند حقّ ظاهر و مشهود است او را ميزان كنيد و از ميزان اللّه تجاوز منمائيد و جميع امور را باين ميزان الهى بسنجيد هر كدام را مطابق ملاحظه نموديد قبول نمائيد چه از قبل و چه از بعد و هر كدام مخالف مشاهده شد دعه عن ورائك و كن فى استقامة بديع

Bigū ay bī-baṣarān, qabl va baʿd rā az īn amr bishināsīd va ʿārif shavīd, chih kih īn amr bi-dūnash shinākhtih nashudih va nakhwāhad shud. Ānchih dar dast-i nās būdih jamīʿ tavahhumāt-i lā-yughniyih būdih va khwāhad būd. Va ānchih dhikr namāʾīd nazd-i ulū al-baṣar maʿlūm va vāḍiḥ ast kih az ʿadam-i bulūgh bi-chunīn adhkār tamassuk justih-and. Ḥaqq ẓāhir va mashhūd ast, ū rā mīzān kunīd va az mīzān-i Allāh tajāvuz manamāʾīd va jamīʿ-i umūr rā bi-īn mīzān-i ilāhī bisanjīd. Har kudām rā muṭābiq mulāḥiẓih namūdīd qabūl namāʾīd, chih az qabl va chih az baʿd, va har kudām mukhālif mushāhadih shud, daʿhu ʿan warāʾika va kun fī istiqāmatin badīʿ.

Say: “You who lack insight! Recognize and understand what came before and what comes after through this Cause, for this Cause has not been, and will not be, known through anything but itself. Everything in people’s possession has been, and will remain, unavailing imaginings. Whatever you may say, it is evident and clear to those with insight that such statements have been seized upon out of immaturity. The Truth is manifest and visible. Make Him the standard, do not transgress God’s standard, and weigh all matters by this divine standard. Accept whatever you find to conform to it, whether from before or after; and whatever is found to conflict with it, cast it behind you and stand firm with wondrous steadfastness.”

168

ایدوست زبانى من مظاهر ظهور را ثمره شجره ظهور ملاحظه كن و اين اثمار ماداميكه بشجره متمسّك از او محسوب و بعد از قطع از شجره هبوب ارياح نفس و هوى چنان متغيّرش نمايد كه از طعم و لطافت و طراوت جميع ممنوع شود و محروم گردد و اين اذكار نظر بعرفان ناس ذكر شده و الّا قسم بجمال علىّ ابهى روح ماسواه فداه كه نفس ظهور را با دونش نسبت و ربط و مشابهت و مشاكلت بهيچ‌وجه نبوده و نخواهد بود و اين نسبتها در عوالم اسماء مذكور و الّا ساحت ظهور مقدّس است از آنچه ذكر شده و ميشود

Ay dūst-i zabānī-yi man, maẓāhir-i ẓuhūr rā thamarih-yi shajari h-yi ẓuhūr mulāḥiẓih kun, va īn athmār mādāmīkih bi-shajarih mutamassik az ū maḥsūb, va baʿd az qaṭʿ az shajarih hubūb-i aryāḥ-i nafs va havā chunān mutaghayyirash namāyad kih az ṭaʿm va laṭāfat va ṭarāvat jamīʿ mamnūʿ shavad va maḥrūm gardad. Va īn adhkār naẓar bi-ʿirfān-i nās dhikr shudih, va illā qasam bi-Jamāl-i ʿAlī-yi Abhā, rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh, kih nafs-i ẓuhūr rā bā dūnash nisbat va rabṭ va mushābahat va mushākalat bi-hīch vajh nabūdih va nakhwāhad būd. Va īn nisbat-hā dar ʿavālim-i asmā madhkūr, va illā sāḥat-i ẓuhūr muqaddas ast az ānchih dhikr shudih va mīshavad.

My friend in words alone! Regard the manifestations of the Revelation as the fruit of the Tree of Revelation. These fruits are reckoned as belonging to the Tree so long as they cling to it. Once severed from the Tree, the blowing winds of self and desire alter them so completely that they are deprived of all flavor, delicacy, and freshness. These descriptions have been given in accordance with people’s understanding. Otherwise, I swear by the exalted, all-glorious Beauty—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—that the Manifestation Himself has never had, and will never have, any relationship, connection, resemblance, or likeness whatsoever to anyone besides Him. These relationships are spoken of in the worlds of names; otherwise, the court of the Manifestation is sanctified above all that has been or is being said.

169

فتعالى عما ظننت و عرفت و علمت و قلت و تقول معانى كلمات بيان را احدى جز نفس رحمن مطلع نبوده و نخواهد بود اى كاش در ظلّ شجره فردانيّه مستظلّ ميشدى و از اثمارش كه بهيئت لا اله الّا هو ظاهر شده‌اند مرزوق ميگشتى و معلوم ميشد كه مقصود منزل بيان از بيان چه بوده و لكن قضى منك بما اكتسبت يداك

Fa-taʿālā ʿammā ẓananta va ʿarafta va ʿalimta va qulta va taqūl. Maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i Bayān rā aḥadī juz nafs-i Raḥmān muṭṭaliʿ nabūdih va nakhwāhad būd. Ay kāsh dar ẓill-i shajari h-yi fardānīyih mustaẓill mīshudī va az athmārash kih bi-hayʾat-i lā ilāha illā huwa ẓāhir shudih-and marzūq mīgashtī va maʿlūm mīshud kih maqṣūd-i Munzil-i Bayān az Bayān chih būdih, va lākin quḍiya minka bi-mā iktasabat yadāk.

Exalted is He above what you have imagined, recognized, known, said, and now say. No one but the All-Merciful Himself has known, or will ever know, the meanings of the words of the Bayán. If only you had sought shelter beneath the shadow of the Tree of Oneness and been nourished by its fruits, which have appeared in the form of “There is no god but Him”! Then it would have become clear what the Revealer of the Bayán intended by the Bayán. But judgment has been passed upon you through what your own hands have earned.

170

و اينكه نوشته كه حال انصاف بدهيد خود حضرت باب آيات را بهتر تميز ميداد يا بنده و شما و اين تقليد نيست الى آخر قد كبر قول من القاك و عظم كفره و عدم كينونته ميگويند و شاعر نيستند قسم بنقطه وجود در حينيكه اين كلمات از قلم معرضين جارى كلّ اشیاء بر عقل و درايتشان هم متحيّر و هم مضحك چه كه نقطه اولى بكينونته ظاهر و آيات الهى بمثل غيث هاطل نازل مع‌ذلك از آن اعراض نموده‌اند و بذكر اثبات دونش مشغول گشته‌اند

Va īnke neveshte ke ḥāl enṣāf bedahīd khod-e Ḥażrat-e Bāb āyāt rā behtar tamīz mīdād yā bande va shomā va īn taqlīd nīst ilā ākhir. Qad kabura qawlu man alqāka wa ʿaẓuma kufruhu wa ʿadamu kaynūnatihi. Mīgūyand va shāʿer nīstand. Qasam be Noqṭe-ye Vojūd dar ḥīnī ke īn kalemāt az qalam-e moʿreżīn jārī, koll-e ashyāʾ bar ʿaql va derāyatashān ham motaḥayyer va ham moḍḥek, che ke Noqṭe-ye Ūlā bi-kaynūnatihi ẓāher va āyāt-e elāhī be methl-e ghayth-e hāṭel nāzel, maʿa dhālek az ān eʿrāż nemūde-and va be dhekr-e ethbāt-e dūnash mashghūl gashte-and.

And as for what he has written: “Now judge fairly: did the Báb Himself discern the verses better, or do you and I? And this is not imitation,” and so forth. Grave indeed is the utterance of the one who prompted you, and great are his unbelief and his lack of true existence. They speak without awareness. I swear by the Point of Existence: as these words flow from the pens of those who turn away, all things are both bewildered by their reason and discernment and moved to laughter. For the Primal Point has appeared in His own Being, and the divine verses descend like pouring rain; nevertheless, they have turned away from Him and busied themselves with arguments to establish the claims of another.

171

اگر چشم بصيرت ميداشتند ملاحظه مينمودند كه نقطه بيان از ظلم مظاهر شيطان و مطالع حسبان فواللّه بصيحه و ندبه و نوحه مشغولست چه كه فرموده آنچه وصف در بيان نازل شده مقصود ظهور آخر است و حال مشاهده ميشود كه طلعت اولى در كرّه اخرى ظاهر و بكلمات ظهور قبلش بر نفسش سيف كشيده‌اند چنانچه از قبل هم امثال اين نفوس بكلمات ظهور قبلش مستدلّ شده دم مطهّرش را ريختند قل قد فعلتم و تفعلون حينئذ ما لافعل النّمرود و لا الشّمر و لا السّنان و لا ابن ملجم و لا الأوّل و لا الثّانى

Agar chashm-e baṣīrat mīdāshtand molāḥeẓe mīnemūdand ke Noqṭe-ye Bayān az ẓolm-e maẓāher-e shayṭān va maṭāleʿ-e ḥosbān, fa-wa-Allāh, be ṣayḥe va nodbe va nowḥe mashghūl ast, che ke farmūde ānche vaṣf dar Bayān nāzel shode maqṣūd ẓohūr-e ākhar ast. Va ḥāl moshāhede mīshavad ke Ṭalʿat-e Ūlā dar karre-ye okhrā ẓāher va be kalemāt-e ẓohūr-e qablash bar nafsash sayf keshīde-and, chenānche az qabl ham amthāl-e īn nofūs be kalemāt-e ẓohūr-e qablash mostadell shode dam-e moṭahharash rā rīkhtand. Qul qad faʿaltum wa tafʿalūna ḥīnaʾidhin mā lā faʿala al-Nimrūd wa lā al-Shimr wa lā al-Sinān wa lā Ibn Muljam wa lā al-Awwal wa lā al-Thānī.

Had they possessed the eye of insight, they would have seen that the Point of the Bayán is, by God, crying out, lamenting, and mourning because of the oppression of the manifestations of Satan and the sources of vain imaginings. For He has said that all the descriptions revealed in the Bayán refer to the later Revelation. And now it is seen that the Primal Countenance has appeared once more, yet with the words of His previous Revelation they have drawn a sword against His very Self, just as, in the past, souls like these invoked the words of His previous Revelation and shed His sacred blood. Say: You have done, and are now doing, what neither Nimrod, nor Shimr, nor Sinán, nor Ibn Muljam, nor the First, nor the Second ever did.

172

كاش از بصر و فؤاد كه محروم شده‌اند اقلّا شامّه ميداشتند و اللّه از آن هم محروم شده‌اند چه كه نكهت دفراء را از عرف طيب بقاء تميز نداده‌اند و برايحه جعل خود را از عطر رياحين رضوان عزّ صمدانى محروم نموده‌اند و اين كلمه را موهوم مدان چنانچه بسيّد محمّد اصفهانى كه واللّه هر نفسيكه اقلّ من ذرّ صاحب شامّه باشد رايحه منتنه‌اش را از فرسنگهاى بعيده ميشنود و احتراز ميجويد با او مأنوس شده از عرف گلزار قدس ربّانى بعيد و بی‌نصيب مانده‌اند

Kāsh az baṣar va foʾād ke maḥrūm shode-and aqallan shāmme mīdāshtand. Va-Allāh az ān ham maḥrūm shode-and, che ke nakhat-e dafrā rā az ʿarf-e ṭīb-e baqā tamīz nadāde-and va be rāyeḥe-ye joʿal khod rā az ʿeṭr-e rayāḥīn-e Reżvān-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī maḥrūm nemūde-and. Va īn kaleme rā mowhūm madān, chenānche be Sayyed Moḥammad-e Eṣfahānī, ke va-Allāh har nafsī ke aqall-e men dharr ṣāḥeb-e shāmme bāshad rāyeḥe-ye montene-ash rā az farsanghā-ye baʿīde mīshenavad va eḥterāz mījūyad, bā ū maʾnūs shode az ʿarf-e golzār-e qods-e rabbānī baʿīd va bī-naṣīb mānde-and.

If only, deprived as they are of sight and heart, they at least possessed a sense of smell! By God, they have been deprived of that as well, for they have failed to distinguish a foul stench from the sweet fragrance of eternity, and for the odor of a dung beetle they have deprived themselves of the perfume of the flowers of the Paradise of everlasting glory. Do not regard these words as imaginary. They have become intimate with Siyyid Muḥammad-i-Iṣfahání—whose foul odor, by God, anyone possessing even less than an atom of a sense of smell would detect from many leagues away and shun—and have remained far removed from, and deprived of, the fragrance of the rose garden of divine holiness.

173

متحيّرم كه با چنين انفس چه ذكر نمايم و چه القاء كنم بادلّه بر جعل ميتوان ثابت نمود كه رايحه گلزار محبوب است لا فو‌نفس المحبوب لو انت من العارفين آيا بكر ميتوان محقّق نمود كه نغمات الهى نيكو است لا فو‌ربّ الأسماء و الصّفات لو انت من المستشعرين

Motaḥayyeram ke bā chenīn anfos che dhekr namāyam va che elqā konam. Be adelle bar joʿal mītavān thābet nemūd ke rāyeḥe-ye golzār maḥbūb ast? Lā fa-wa-nafsi al-Maḥbūb law anta min al-ʿārifīn. Āyā be kar mītavān moḥaqqaq nemūd ke naghamāt-e elāhī nīkū ast? Lā fa-wa-Rabbi al-asmāʾ wa al-ṣifāt law anta min al-mustashʿirīn.

I am bewildered as to what I should say to such souls and what I should convey to them. Can one prove by arguments to a dung beetle that the fragrance of a rose garden is delightful? No, by the Self of the Beloved, if you are among those who know! Can one demonstrate to the deaf that the divine melodies are beautiful? No, by the Lord of names and attributes, if you are among those who perceive!

174

ميفرمايند ببيان و ما نزّل فيه از آن ساذج حقيقت محتجب نمانيد و شما بالقاى آن نفس مشرك اوصاف كلمات معرضين نوشته و بمقرّ اطهر ارسال داشته‌ايد و اعتراضا على اللّه بكلمات نقطه اولى هم مستدلّ شده‌ايد از براى نفس نقطه از كلمات قبلش استدلال مينمايند و شاعر نيستند و اگر شاعر بودند بايد آنچه از جمال احديّه اليوم ظاهر بآن متمسّك شوند بگو اى بی‌‌بصر چشم بگشا شمس قدم مقابل وجهت نشسته و قلب مباركش از ظلمت مجروح باو ناظر شو و رحم كن و از دونش از او سؤال مكن ببحر معنى رسيدى از تحريف كلمات بگذر بشمس واصل شدى از سراج منقطع شو

Mīfarmāyand be Bayān va mā nuzzila fīhi az ān Sādhej-e Ḥaqīqat moḥtajeb namānīd, va shomā be elqā-ye ān nafs-e moshrek owṣāf-e kalemāt-e moʿreżīn neveshte va be maqarr-e aṭhar ersāl dāshte-īd va iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh be kalemāt-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā ham mostadell shode-īd. Az barā-ye nafs-e Noqṭe az kalemāt-e qablash estedlāl mīnemāyand va shāʿer nīstand, va agar shāʿer būdand bāyad ānche az Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye al-yawm ẓāher be ān motamassek shavand. Begū ey bī-baṣar chashm bogshā, Shams-e Qedam moqābel-e vajhat neshaste va qalb-e mobārakash az ẓolmat majrūḥ. Be ū nāẓer show va raḥm kon va az dūnash az ū soʾāl makon. Be baḥr-e maʿnā resīdī, az taḥrīf-e kalemāt bogdhar. Be shams vāṣel shodī, az serāj monqaṭeʿ show.

He says: “Do not let the Bayán and what has been revealed in it veil you from that Essence of Truth.” Yet, at the prompting of that idolatrous soul, you have written descriptions of the words of those who turn away and sent them to the most holy Seat, and, in objection to God, you have even invoked the words of the Primal Point as evidence. They reason about the Point Himself from His earlier words, without awareness. If they were aware, they would have to hold fast to whatever appears today from the Beauty of Oneness. Say: O sightless one, open your eyes! The Sun of Eternity is seated before your face, and His blessed heart is wounded by your oppression. Look upon Him and have mercy, and do not question Him about anyone besides Him. You have reached the ocean of meaning: leave off distorting words. You have attained the sun: detach yourself from the lamp.

175

نقطه بيان ميفرمايد جميع بيان اليوم منوط بتصديق مظهر ظهور است مع‌ذلك از كلمات محكمه الهيّه غافل شده و بهواى نفس خود مشغول گشته‌اند فواللّه مثل آن مشاهده ميشوند كه از براى قطره ماء ملح اجاج اوصاف بحر عذب فرات ذكر نمايند عجب است كه شما نوشته‌ايد حال انصاف دهيد و تقليد نيست مع آنكه بسلاسل تقليد چنان بسته شده‌ايد كه اگر جنود سموات و ارض جمع شوند از گشودنش عاجز گردند

Noqṭe-ye Bayān mīfarmāyad jamīʿ-e Bayān al-yawm manūṭ be taṣdīq-e Maẓhar-e Ẓohūr ast. Maʿa dhālek az kalemāt-e moḥkame-ye elāhiyye ghāfel shode va be havā-ye nafs-e khod mashghūl gashte-and. Fa-wa-Allāh methl-e ān moshāhede mīshavand ke az barā-ye qaṭre-ye māʾ-e melḥ-e ojāj owṣāf-e baḥr-e ʿadhb-e forāt dhekr namāyand. ʿAjab ast ke shomā neveshte-īd ḥāl enṣāf dehīd va taqlīd nīst, maʿa ānke be salāsel-e taqlīd chenān baste shode-īd ke agar jonūd-e samāvāt va arż jamʿ shavand az goshūdanash ʿājez gardand.

The Point of the Bayán says that the entire Bayán today depends upon the confirmation of the Manifestation of Revelation. Nevertheless, they have neglected the decisive words of God and busied themselves with their own desires. By God, they are seen to be like those who ascribe the qualities of an ocean of sweet, refreshing water to a drop of bitter brine. It is astonishing that you have written, “Now judge fairly,” and, “This is not imitation,” when you are so tightly bound in the chains of imitation that, were the hosts of heaven and earth to gather together, they would be powerless to undo them.

176

و ديگر ذكر انصاف هم نموده حال اى با انصاف انصاف ده آنچه نوشته و بجمال قدم نسبت داده جز از سيّد محمّد شنيده بكدام شرع قول مدّعى مقبول و مسموع اگر در يكى از شرايع الهى كه از قبل لا قبل مابين ناس بوده حكمى آوردى كه مدلّ باشد بر اينكه كلمات مدّعى مسموع است اين عباد اذعان مينمايند قول شما را بقول نفسيكه لايعرف اليمين عن اليسار و لا النّور عن الظّلمة و جميع ذرّات شهادت بر فسق و فجور و عنادش داده و ميدهند بر حقّ وارد آورده آنچه را كه هيچ ظالمى وارد نياورد

Va dīgar dhekr-e enṣāf ham nemūde. Ḥāl ey bā-enṣāf enṣāf deh, ānche neveshte va be Jamāl-e Qedam nesbat dāde joz az Sayyed Moḥammad shenīde? Be kodām sharʿ qowl-e moddaʿī maqbūl va masmūʿ? Agar dar yekī az sharāyeʿ-e elāhī ke az qabl-e lā qabl mābayn-e nās būde ḥokmī āvordī ke modell bāshad bar īnke kalemāt-e moddaʿī masmūʿ ast, īn ʿebād edhʿān mīnemāyand qowl-e shomā rā. Be qowl-e nafsī ke lā yaʿrifu al-yamīn ʿan al-yasār wa lā al-nūr ʿan al-ẓulma va jamīʿ-e dharrāt shahādat bar fesq va fojūr va ʿenādash dāde va mīdehand, bar Ḥaqq vāred āvorde ānche rā ke hīch ẓālemī vāred nayāvard.

He has also spoken of fairness. Now, O fair-minded one, judge fairly: has he heard what he has written and attributed to the Ancient Beauty from anyone but Siyyid Muḥammad? Under which religious law is the claimant’s own statement accepted and admitted as testimony? If you produce a ruling from any of the divine laws that have existed among people from a beginning with no beginning, showing that the claimant’s words are admissible, these servants will acknowledge your assertion. On the word of a soul who cannot distinguish right from left or light from darkness, and to whose wickedness, depravity, and malice every atom has borne and continues to bear witness, you have inflicted upon the True One what no oppressor has ever inflicted.

177

قريب هفتاد نفس در اين سفر بوده‌اند و قريب همين عدد هم نفوس از بعد بمقرّ ظهور وارد شده‌اند اگر يك نفس بگويد احدى باين دو مشرك باللّه معارضه نموده و يا نزاع و مجادله و مكالمه مابين شده آنچه بقلم كذب نوشته‌اند مسلّم ميداريم فانصف فى نفسك يا عبد مع‌ذلك بقول سيّد محمّد ظلم بحقّ نسبت داده مع آنكه آنچه حكم فرمايند مختارند و آنچه عامل شوند عمل حقّ بوده و خواهد بود و لكن سمع نه تا اصغا نمايد و قلب نه تا ادراك كند از براى كر هر چه گفته شود حقّ يفعل ما یشآء و يحكم مايريد بوده چه فايده حاصل شود

Qarīb-e haftād nafs dar īn safar būde-and va qarīb-e hamīn ʿadad ham nofūs az baʿd be maqarr-e ẓohūr vāred shode-and. Agar yek nafs begūyad aḥadī be īn do moshrek be Allāh moʿāreże nemūde va yā nezāʿ va mojādele va mokāleme mābayn shode, ānche be qalam-e kedhb neveshte-and mosallam mīdārīm. Fa-anṣif fī nafsika yā ʿabd. Maʿa dhālek be qowl-e Sayyed Moḥammad ẓolm be Ḥaqq nesbat dāde, maʿa ānke ānche ḥokm farmāyand mokhtārand va ānche ʿāmel shavand ʿamal-e Ḥaqq būde va khvāhad būd. Va lāken samʿ na tā eṣghā namāyad va qalb na tā edrāk konad. Az barā-ye kar har che gofte shavad Ḥaqq yafʿalu mā yashāʾ va yaḥkumu mā yurīd būde, che fāyde ḥāṣel shavad?

Nearly seventy souls were on this journey, and about the same number subsequently arrived at the seat of Revelation. If a single soul should say that anyone opposed these two who associate partners with God, or that any quarrel, dispute, or exchange of words took place between them, We will concede what they have written with the pen of falsehood. So judge fairly within yourself, O servant. Nevertheless, on Siyyid Muḥammad’s word, you have attributed oppression to the True One, although He is free to decree whatever He wishes, and whatever He does has been and will be the action of the True One. But there is no ear to listen and no heart to understand. However often the deaf are told that the True One does whatever He wills and ordains whatever He desires, what benefit can result?

178

فواللّه اوراق شجرهء طوبی‌ از ظلم آن ظالمان فرو ريخته و اغصان سدره منتهى درهم شكسته و وجه منير علىّ اعلى از لطمات اشارات هياكل بغضا تغيير نموده و صدر ممرّد منيرش مجروح گشته و ذيل تقديسش بغبار مفتريات انفس مشركه آلوده شده از حقّ ميطلبم آيه تطهيرى تا ارض طيّبه مباركه عرفانش را از انفس خبيثه نجسّه كثيفه مشركه مطهّر نمايد

Fa-wa-Allāh owrāq-e shajare-ye Ṭūbā az ẓolm-e ān ẓālemān forū rīkhte va aghṣān-e Sedre-ye Montahā darham shekaste va vajh-e monīr-e ʿAliyy-e Aʿlā az laṭamāt-e eshārāt-e hayākel-e baghżā taghyīr nemūde va ṣadr-e momarrad-e monīrash majrūḥ gashte va dheyl-e taqdīsash be ghobār-e moftarayāt-e anfos-e moshreke ālūde shode. Az Ḥaqq mīṭalabam āye-ye taṭhīrī tā arż-e ṭayyebe-ye mobārake-ye ʿerfānash rā az anfos-e khabīthe-ye najese-ye kathīfe-ye moshreke moṭahhar namāyad.

By God, the leaves of the Tree of Blessedness have fallen through the oppression of those oppressors, the branches of the Tree beyond which there is no passing have been shattered, the radiant face of the Exalted, the Most High, has been altered by the blows of the insinuations of those embodiments of hatred, His smooth, radiant breast has been wounded, and the hem of His holiness has been soiled by the dust of the slanders of idolatrous souls. I ask the True One for a verse of purification, that He may cleanse the pure and blessed land of His recognition of wicked, unclean, filthy, idolatrous souls.

179

اى با‌انصاف نفسى ظاهر و بكلّ آيات قدرتيّه و ظهورات عزّ صمدانيّه مشهود چنانچه كلّ مشاهده نموده و مينمايند اگر شما منكرى از ملل مختلفه جويا شو و مع‌ذلك بهمان آيات كه نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه اثبات حقّيّت خود فرموده بل اعظم ظاهر شده و ميفرمايد يا قوم انّى لنفس علىّ بينكم و جمال محمّد فيكم و كينونة الرّوح بين السّموات و الأرضين يا قوم خافوا عن اللّه انّى عبد آمنت باللّه و آياته و كنت راقداً على بساطى مرّت علىّ نسائم الرّحمن و ايقظنى بالحقّ و علّمنى علم ما كان و ما يكون و اظهرنى بطراز نفسه و انطقنى بثنائه ان انتم تعلمون

Ey bā-enṣāf nafsī ẓāher va be koll-e āyāt-e qodratiyye va ẓohūrāt-e ʿezz-e ṣamadāniyye mashhūd, chenānche koll moshāhede nemūde va mīnemāyand. Agar shomā monkerī az melal-e mokhtalefe jūyā show. Va maʿa dhālek be hamān āyāt ke Noqṭe-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh ethbāt-e ḥaqqiyyat-e khod farmūde, bal aʿẓam, ẓāher shode va mīfarmāyad: Yā qawm innī la-nafsu ʿAlī baynakum wa jamālu Muḥammad fīkum wa kaynūnatu al-Rūḥ bayna al-samāwāt wa al-arḍīn. Yā qawm khāfū ʿan Allāh innī ʿabd āmantu bi-Allāh wa āyātihi wa kuntu rāqidan ʿalā bisāṭī marrat ʿalayya nasāʾimu al-Raḥmān wa ayqaẓanī bi-al-ḥaqq wa ʿallamanī ʿilma mā kāna wa mā yakūn wa aẓharanī bi-ṭirāzi nafsihi wa anṭaqanī bi-thanāʾihi in antum taʿlamūn.

O fair-minded one! A Soul has appeared, manifest with all the signs of power and the revelations of everlasting glory, as everyone has witnessed and continues to witness. If you deny this, inquire among the various peoples. Moreover, He has appeared with the very same verses by which the Primal Point—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—established His own truth, indeed with greater ones, and He says: “O people! I am indeed the very Self of ʿAlí among you, the Beauty of Muḥammad in your midst, and the Being of the Spirit between the heavens and the earths. O people! Fear God. I am a servant who has believed in God and His verses. I lay asleep upon My couch when the breezes of the All-Merciful passed over Me, and He awakened Me through the truth, taught Me the knowledge of all that has been and all that will be, arrayed Me in the adornment of His own Self, and caused Me to speak His praise, if you but knew.”

180

يا قوم ان لا تؤمنوا لاتتعرّضوا بی‌ و ل اتفعلوا ما منعتم عنه فى كلّ الألواح اتّقوااللّه و لا تشركون انّى آمنت بما عندكم من صحف اللّه و كتبه و اصدّق ما امرتم به من لدى اللّه المقتدر المهيمن العزيز القيّوم و من كان ذى شمّ يستنشق منّى رايحة القدس و من كان ذى ذائقة ليذوق من اثمار هذه الشّجرة ما ذاق محمّد من سدرة المنتهى و ماذاق علىّ من سدرة البيان ان انتم تعلمون

Yā qawm in lā tuʾminū lā tataʿarraḍū bī wa lā tafʿalū mā muniʿtum ʿanhu fī kull al-alwāḥ. Ittaqū Allāh wa lā tushrikūn. Innī āmantu bi-mā ʿindakum min ṣuḥuf Allāh wa kutubihi wa uṣaddiqu mā umirtum bihi min ladā Allāh al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm. Wa man kāna dhī shamm yastanshiqu minnī rāʾiḥata al-quds wa man kāna dhī dhāʾiqa li-yadhūq min athmār hādhihi al-shajara mā dhāqa Muḥammad min Sidrat al-Muntahā wa mā dhāqa ʿAlī min Sidrat al-Bayān in antum taʿlamūn.

“O people! If you do not believe, do not assail Me, and do not do what you have been forbidden in all the Tablets. Fear God and do not associate partners with Him. I have believed in the scriptures and books of God that are in your possession, and I affirm what you have been commanded by God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. Whoever possesses a sense of smell inhales from Me the fragrance of holiness, and whoever possesses a sense of taste, let him taste of the fruits of this Tree what Muḥammad tasted from the Tree beyond which there is no passing, and what ʿAlí tasted from the Tree of the Bayán, if you but knew.”

181

یا قوم خافوا عن اللّه انّى كنت كأحد منكم واردت ان اصمت تلقاء نفسى و لكنّ الرّوح اهتزّنى و حرّكنى بالحقّ و انطقنى بآيات اللّه ثمّ ببيّناته و هذا ليس منّى بل من لدى اللّه المقتدر العزيز المحبوب فواللّه لو كان فى قلوبكم حبّ اللّه اقلّ عمّا يحصى لم تسفكوا دم هذا المظلوم لانّه لو لم يكن كما انتم تظنّون و لكن ينسب نفسه الى محبوبكم و بحبّكم هذا الاسم لاينبغى ان تتعرّضوا عليه و تفعلوا ما يكبّ بوجهه على التّراب روح الأعظم ثمّ حقايق ما خلق بين الكاف و النّون

Yā qawm khāfū ʿan Allāh innī kuntu ka-aḥadin minkum wa aradtu an aṣmuta tilqāʾa nafsī wa lākinna al-Rūḥa ihtazzanī wa ḥarrakanī bi-al-ḥaqq wa anṭaqanī bi-āyāt Allāh thumma bi-bayyinātihi wa hādhā laysa minnī bal min ladā Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Maḥbūb. Fa-wa-Allāh law kāna fī qulūbikum ḥubbu Allāh aqall ʿammā yuḥṣā lam tasfikū dama hādhā al-Maẓlūm li-annahu law lam yakun ka-mā antum taẓunnūn wa lākin yansibu nafsahu ilā maḥbūbikum wa bi-ḥubbikum hādhā al-ism lā yanbaghī an tataʿarraḍū ʿalayhi wa tafʿalū mā yakubbu bi-wajhihi ʿalā al-turāb rūḥa al-Aʿẓam thumma ḥaqāʾiqa mā khuliqa bayna al-kāf wa al-nūn.

“O people! Fear God. I was as one of you and wished, of My own accord, to remain silent, but the Spirit stirred Me, moved Me through the truth, and caused Me to utter the verses of God and His clear proofs. This is not from Me, but from God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beloved. By God, if there were in your hearts a love of God smaller than could be reckoned, you would not shed the blood of this Wronged One. For even if He were not what you suppose, He nevertheless ascribes Himself to your Beloved; and, because of your love for this Name, you should not assail Him and do what casts the Spirit of the Most Great face down upon the dust, and with it the realities of all that has been created between the letters káf and nún.”

182

و يا قوم انا نهيناكم عمّا نهيتم عنه فى كلّ الألواح و امرناكم بما امرتم به فى الواح اللّه المهيمن العزيز القيّوم و انتم ما سمعتم قولى و تجاوزتم عن حدودكم الى ان تصرّفتم فى حرم اللّه و ارتكبتم ما ظهرت الصّيحة بين السّموات و الأرض و لكن انتم لا تسمعون و كذلك نهيناكم عن التّصرّف فى امآء النّاس ثمّ نسائهم و كذلك عن سفك الدّمآء و انتم بذلك قمتم علىّ بالاعراض و فعلتم ما لا فعله المشركون و لو اقتل فى كلّ حين بكلّ الأسياف لن اصدّق افعالكم و بذلك امرت من لدى اللّه و هذا لم يكن من عندى بل من لدنه و انّه لهو الحقّ علّام الغيوب

Wa yā qawm innā nahaynākum ʿammā nuhītum ʿanhu fī kull al-alwāḥ wa amarnākum bi-mā umirtum bihi fī alwāḥ Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm wa antum mā samiʿtum qawlī wa tajāwaztum ʿan ḥudūdikum ilā an taṣarraftum fī ḥaram Allāh wa irtakabtum mā ẓaharat al-ṣayḥatu bayna al-samāwāt wa al-arḍ wa lākin antum lā tasmaʿūn. Wa kadhālika nahaynākum ʿan al-taṣarruf fī imāʾ al-nās thumma nisāʾihim wa kadhālika ʿan safk al-dimāʾ wa antum bi-dhālika qumtum ʿalayya bi-al-iʿrāḍ wa faʿaltum mā lā faʿalahu al-mushrikūn. Wa law uqtal fī kull ḥīn bi-kull al-asyāf lan uṣaddiqa afʿālakum wa bi-dhālika umirtu min ladā Allāh wa hādhā lam yakun min ʿindī bal min ladunhu wa innahu la-huwa al-Ḥaqq ʿAllām al-ghuyūb.

“O people! We have forbidden you what you were forbidden in all the Tablets and commanded you what you were commanded in the Tablets of God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. Yet you did not heed My words and overstepped your bounds, until you violated the sanctity of God’s household and committed deeds that raised a cry between the heavens and the earth; but you do not hear. Likewise, We forbade you to violate other people’s maidservants and their wives, and likewise to shed blood. Because of this, you rose against Me in rejection and did what even those who associate partners with God have not done. Were I to be slain at every moment by every sword, I would never sanction your deeds. Thus have I been commanded by God. This is not from Me but from Him, and He is indeed the Truth, the Knower of all that is unseen.”

183

حال ملاحظه كن اى باانصاف كه كى بی‌انصاف است نفوس زانيه كه در اصل حرم عزّ صمدانيّه خيانت نموده‌اند و ديگر چه ارتكابات شنيعه كه بآن عامل گشته كه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه قلم از ذكرش حيا مينمايد مع‌ذلك نسبت حقّ باين نفوس داده و بحقّ نسبت ظلم راجع كرده حال ما بی‌انصافيم و شما با‌انصاف كتاب مستيقظ را بخوان كه در آن كتاب مرشدت ميرزا يحيى فتوى بر دم جميع نفوس مقدّسه داده چنانچه نفسى را كه منصوصاً نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه حرف ثالث من يظهره اللّه ناميده بفتواى آن ظالم شهيد شده و كتاب ديگرش كه در آن مخصوص در اماكن متعدّده فتوى بر قتل كلّ نفوس داده مع‌ذلك جميع را بحقّ راجع نموده

Ḥāl molāḥeẓe kon ey bā-enṣāf ke kī bī-enṣāf ast. Nofūs-e zāniye ke dar aṣl-e ḥaram-e ʿezz-e ṣamadāniyye khiyānat nemūde-and va dīgar che ertekābāt-e shanīʿe ke be ān ʿāmel gashte ke va-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke qalam az dhekrash ḥayā mīnemāyad, maʿa dhālek nesbat-e ḥaqq be īn nofūs dāde va be Ḥaqq nesbat-e ẓolm rājeʿ karde. Ḥāl mā bī-enṣāfīm va shomā bā-enṣāf? Ketāb-e Mostayqeẓ rā bekhvān ke dar ān ketāb morshedat Mīrzā Yaḥyā fatvā bar dam-e jamīʿ-e nofūs-e moqaddase dāde, chenānche nafsī rā ke manṣūṣan Noqṭe-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh Ḥarf-e Thāleth-e Man Yoẓheroh Allāh nāmīde be fatvā-ye ān ẓālem shahīd shode, va ketāb-e dīgarash ke dar ān makhṣūṣ dar amāken-e motaʿaddede fatvā bar qatl-e koll-e nofūs dāde. Maʿa dhālek jamīʿ rā be Ḥaqq rājeʿ nemūde.

Now consider, O fair-minded one, who is unfair. Adulterous souls have acted treacherously within the very household of everlasting glory, and what other abominable deeds they have committed—by God, besides whom there is no other god, the pen is ashamed to mention them! Nevertheless, you have ascribed right to these souls and attributed oppression to the True One. Are We, then, unfair, and you fair? Read the book Mustayqiẓ, for in that book your guide, Mírzá Yaḥyá, has issued a decree for the blood of all holy souls. Indeed, the soul whom the Primal Point—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—explicitly named the Third Letter of Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest was martyred by the decree of that oppressor. And read his other book, in which, in numerous places, he has specifically decreed the killing of all souls. Nevertheless, you have attributed it all to the True One.

184

و خود آن خبيث مشرك بحضرت ابهى عريضه معروض داشته و حال بخطّ خود او موجود است و نوشته آنچه ما بكنيم باسم شما تمام ميشود چه كه شما رئيس هستيد و در مدينه كبير مشافهه بيكى از اصحاب گفته كه تا حال آنچه از جعليات گفته‌‌ام نقلى نبوده من بعد جعلها خواهم كرد و فسادها خواهم برپا نمود چنانچه نموده مخصوص گفته كه جمال ابهى آدم باطراف بجهت فساد فرستاده‌اند و خود شما ميدانيد كه آنچه گفته كذب صرف بوده و مع‌ذلك صادقش شمرده مع آنكه در ليالى و ایّام كذب تعليم شما مينمود كه همچه بگو و همچه بنويس و شما عامل بوده و هستيد

Va khod ān khabīs-i mushrik bi-Ḥaḍrat-i Abhā ʿarīḍa maʿrūḍ dāshta va ḥāl bi-khaṭṭ-i khod-i ū mawjūd ast va nivishta ānchi mā bikunīm bi-ism-i shumā tamām mīshavad chi ki shumā raʾīs hastīd va dar Madīna-yi Kabīr mushāfahatan bi-yikī az aṣḥāb gufta ki tā ḥāl ānchi az jaʿliyyāt gufta-am naqlī nabūda min baʿd jaʿlhā khwāham kard va fasādhā khwāham barpā namūd chunānchi namūda makhṣūṣ gufta ki Jamāl-i Abhā ādam bi-aṭrāf bi-jihat-i fasād firistāda-and va khod-i shumā mīdānīd ki ānchi gufta kiẕb-i ṣirf būda va maʿa-dhālik ṣādiqash shumurda maʿa ānki dar layālī va ayyām kiẕb taʿlīm-i shumā mīnamūd ki hamcha bigū va hamcha binivīs va shumā ʿāmil būda va hastīd.

That wicked man who associates partners with God himself submitted a letter to His Most Glorious Presence, which still exists in his own handwriting, and wrote: “Whatever we do is attributed to you, because you are the chief.” In the Great City he told one of the companions face to face: “The fabrications I have uttered so far have been nothing of consequence. From now on I will invent falsehoods and stir up disorders”—as indeed he has done. He specifically said that the Abhá Beauty had sent people to various regions to stir up disorder. You yourself know that everything he said was sheer falsehood, yet you have considered him truthful, even though day and night he taught you to lie, saying, “Say this and write that,” and you have acted, and still act, accordingly.

185

و آنقدر ملتفت نيستيد كه آنى تفكّر نمائى كه ادرنه خلف كوه قاف نيست للّه چند روزى بروم و بچشم خود به‌بينم حقّ و دونش در آن ارض موجود باين موفّق نشده و بمفتريات مشغول گشته اليوم كه لقا ممكن بود بآن فايز نشدى بارى اين نعمت بی‌ زوال هميشه بدست نيايد و اين ربيع الهى هميشه ظاهر نه عنقريب است كه كلّ محروم شوند اين عبد از خدا ميطلبد كه در دنيا و آخرت اين عباد را از ظلّ فناء بابش محروم نفرمايد و لازال در حول بيت طايف باشيم و بانوارش مشرق و از فواكه عرفانش مرزوق و از كوثر رضايش مشروب دنيا را بطالبانش واگذاشته‌ايم از دنيا و عقبی‌ جز دوست نخواسته و نخواهيم انّه لخير معطى و احسن مجيب

Va ānqadr multafit nīstīd ki ānī tafakkur namāʾī ki Adrianih khalf-i Kūh-i Qāf nīst li-llāh chand rūzī biravam va bi-chashm-i khod bibīnam Ḥaqq va dūnash dar ān arḍ mawjūd bi-īn muvaffaq nashuda va bi-muftariyāt mashghūl gashta al-yawm ki liqā mumkin būd bi-ān fāʾiz nashudī bārī īn niʿmat-i bī-zavāl hamīsha bi-dast nayāyad va īn rabīʿ-i ilāhī hamīsha ẓāhir na ʿan-qarīb ast ki kull maḥrūm shavand īn ʿabd az Khudā mīṭalabad ki dar dunyā va ākhirat īn ʿibād rā az ẓill-i finā-yi bābash maḥrūm nafarmāyad va lā-zāl dar ḥawl-i bayt ṭāʾif bāshīm va bi-anvārash mushriq va az favākih-i ʿirfānash marzūq va az kawthar-i riḍāyash mashrūb dunyā rā bi-ṭālibānash vāgudhāshta-īm az dunyā va ʿuqbā juz Dūst nakhwāsta va nakhwāhīm innahu la-khayru muʿṭin wa-aḥsanu mujīb.

You are not attentive enough to reflect for a moment: “Adrianople is not beyond Mount Qáf. For God’s sake, let me go for a few days and see with my own eyes. The True One and those besides Him are present in that land.” You have not succeeded in doing this and have instead occupied yourself with fabrications. Today, when meeting Him was possible, you did not attain it. In any event, this unfailing bounty will not always be within reach, nor will this divine springtime always be manifest. Soon all will be deprived. This servant asks God not to deprive these servants, in this world or the next, of the shelter of the courtyard of His gate, and that we may always circle around the House, shine with His lights, be nourished by the fruits of His knowledge, and drink from the Kawthar of His good pleasure. We have left the world to those who seek it. From this world and the next we have sought, and will seek, none but the Friend. He is indeed the best of givers and the most gracious of responders.

186

از اهل انصاف نيستيد كه سهل است در كوى منصفين هم مرور ننموده و قدم نگذاشته چه كه اگر قدمى رفته بودى نمينوشتى كه تقليد نيست و حال آنكه ابدا از بيان اطّلاع نداشته و ندارى و آنچه ذكر نموده محض تقليد بوده كه از سيّد محمّد خبيث كاذب مفسد شنيده تا حين كه از روايح انصاف محروم بوده و لكن از خدا ميطلبم كه از شمال ظلم و اعتساف بيمين عدل و انصاف راجع شوى اگرچه بسيار مشكل است چه كه نحل انگبين جنس ديگر و زنبور جنس ديگر و لكن نزد قدرت الهى هيچ چيز محال نبوده و نيست و آن محاليّت در خود اشیاء موجود و مشهود

Az ahl-i inṣāf nīstīd ki sahl ast dar kūy-i munṣifīn ham murūr nanamūda va qadam nagudhāshta chi ki agar qadamī rafta būdī naminivishtī ki taqlīd nīst va ḥāl ānki abadan az Bayān iṭṭilāʿ nadāshta va nadārī va ānchi dhikr namūda maḥḍ-i taqlīd būda ki az Sayyid Muḥammad-i khabīs-i kādhib-i mufsid shinīda tā ḥīn ki az ravāyiḥ-i inṣāf maḥrūm būda va lākin az Khudā mīṭalabam ki az shimāl-i ẓulm va iʿtisāf bi-yamīn-i ʿadl va inṣāf rājiʿ shavī agarchi bisyār mushkil ast chi ki naḥl-i angabīn jins-i dīgar va zanbūr jins-i dīgar va lākin nazd-i qudrat-i ilāhī hīch chīz muḥāl nabūda va nīst va ān muḥāliyyat dar khod-i ashyā mawjūd va mashhūd.

Not only are you not among the fair-minded; you have never even passed through their quarter or set foot there. For had you taken a single step there, you would not have written that this was not blind imitation, when you have never had, and still have no, knowledge of the Bayán. Everything you have mentioned has been mere imitation of what you heard from that wicked, lying mischief-maker, Siyyid Muḥammad. Until now you have been deprived of the fragrances of fairness, but I ask God that you may turn from the left hand of oppression and injustice to the right hand of justice and fairness. This is very difficult, for the honeybee is one kind and the wasp another. Yet nothing has ever been, or is, impossible for divine power; that impossibility exists and is evident in the things themselves.

187

فكّر لتعرف ذكر مميّزى نقطه اولى نموده بودى اگر شما ناظر بمميّز بوديد چرا آن قول مميّز را اطاعت ننمودى كه در جميع بيان فرموده كه كلّ در حين ظهور بايد از كلّ شیء و عن كلّ ما عندهم منقطع شوند و بنفس ظهور ناظر گردند چه كه آنچه از قبل بآن متمسّك بوده‌اند در آن يوم كفايت نمينمايد الّا بتصديق باو بشأنيكه ميفرمايند سطرى از آيات آن شمس ظهور اعظم است از آنچه از قبل نازل شده و مع‌ذلك بذكر اثبات كلمات خلق او مشغول گشته و حال آنكه اطّلاع از كلمات آن نفس نداشته و ندارى و آنچه نزدش بوده رشحى از اين بحر اعظم بوده كه باو عنايت شده و بعد باعراضش از حقّ اخذ شده نفوسيكه بر جميع امور مطّلعند الآن موجود جميع اين عباد را بی‌دين مدان و بی‌ مذهب مشمر فواللّه كه للّه هجرت نموده‌ايم و الى اللّه ساير گشته‌ايم اگر چه معلوم است كه آن مفسد خبيث بشماچه القاء نموده و جميع اين عباد را بدنيا نسبت داده خود شما فكر نمائيد كجا دنيا بوده و بكه دنيا رسيده

Fakkir li-taʿrif dhikr-i mumayyizī-yi Nuqṭa-yi Ūlā namūda būdī agar shumā nāẓir bi-mumayyiz būdīd chirā ān qawl-i mumayyiz rā iṭāʿat nanamūdī ki dar jamīʿ-i Bayān farmūda ki kull dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr bāyad az kull-i shayʾ va ʿan kulli mā ʿindahum munqaṭiʿ shavand va bi-nafs-i ẓuhūr nāẓir gardand chi ki ānchi az qabl bi-ān mutamassik būda-and dar ān yawm kifāyat namīnamāyad illā bi-taṣdīq bi-ū bi-shaʾnī ki mīfarmāyand saṭrī az āyāt-i ān Shams-i Ẓuhūr aʿẓam ast az ānchi az qabl nāzil shuda va maʿa-dhālik bi-dhikr-i ithbāt-i kalimāt-i khalq-i ū mashghūl gashta va ḥāl ānki iṭṭilāʿ az kalimāt-i ān nafs nadāshta va nadārī va ānchi nazdash būda rashḥī az īn Baḥr-i Aʿẓam būda ki bi-ū ʿināyat shuda va baʿd bi-iʿrāḍash az Ḥaqq akhdh shuda nufūsī ki bar jamīʿ-i umūr muṭṭaliʿand al-ān mawjūd jamīʿ-i īn ʿibād rā bī-dīn madān va bī-madhhab mashmur fa-wa-llāh ki li-llāh hijrat namūda-īm va ilā Allāh sāyir gashta-īm agar chi maʿlūm ast ki ān mufsid-i khabīs bi-shumā chi ilqā namūda va jamīʿ-i īn ʿibād rā bi-dunyā nisbat dāda khod-i shumā fikr namāʾīd kujā dunyā būda va bi-ki dunyā rasīda.

Reflect, so that you may understand. You had mentioned the Primal Point’s discerning judgment. If you looked to that discerning Judge, why did you not obey His statement, repeated throughout the Bayán, that at the time of the Manifestation all must detach themselves from everything and from all that they possess, and look to the Manifestation Himself? For whatever they previously clung to will not suffice on that Day unless they acknowledge Him. So emphatically does He speak that He says a single line of the verses of that Sun of Revelation is greater than everything previously revealed. Nevertheless, you have occupied yourself with establishing the validity of the words of one of His creatures, although you have never had, and still have no, knowledge of that person’s words. Whatever he possessed was a sprinkling from this Most Great Ocean, bestowed upon him and then taken away when he turned from the True One. Those who are informed of all these matters are now present. Do not regard all these servants as irreligious or reckon them faithless. For, by God, we have emigrated for God’s sake and journeyed toward God. It is clear, however, what that wicked mischief-maker has insinuated to you, attributing worldliness to all these servants. Reflect for yourself: where has this worldly gain been, and to whom has it come?

188

و اگر اين عباد يك كلمه صدق ظاهره از آن نفوس ميشنيدند باز ممكن بود كه بعضى از اعمالشان را تأويل كنيم متّصلا بمكر و كذب و افترا مشغول چون ملاحظه نمودند كه اين عباد بفضل اللّه بر حقّ ثابت و مستقيمند تدبير نموده‌اند كه شايد بنسبت بدنيا و امورات كذبه اين عباد را تضييع نمايند و مظلوميّتى از براى خود ثابت كنند بحقّ نقطه وجود روح من فى ملكوت الغيب و الشّهود فداه كه ظلمى نموده‌اند كه از اوّل آفرينش ابداع تا بحال احدى ارتكاب ننموده الا لعنة اللّه على الكاذبين و المفترين و الظّالمين

Va agar īn ʿibād yik kalima-yi ṣidq-i ẓāhira az ān nufūs mīshinīdand bāz mumkin būd ki baʿḍī az aʿmālashān rā taʾvīl kunīm muttaṣilan bi-makr va kiẕb va iftirā mashghūl chūn mulāḥaẓa namūdand ki īn ʿibād bi-faḍli Allāh bar Ḥaqq thābit va mustaqīmand tadbīr namūda-and ki shāyad bi-nisbat bi-dunyā va umūrāt-i kādhiba īn ʿibād rā taḍyīʿ namāyand va maẓlūmiyyatī az barāy-i khod thābit kunand bi-ḥaqq-i Nuqṭa-yi Vujūd rūḥu man fī malakūti al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūdi fidāh ki ẓulmī namūda-and ki az avval-i āfarīnish-i ibdāʿ tā bi-ḥāl aḥadī irtikāb nanamūda alā laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-kādhibīna wa-al-muftarīna wa-al-ẓālimīn.

If these servants had heard even one manifestly truthful word from those people, it would still have been possible for us to interpret some of their deeds favorably. They are continually occupied with deceit, lies, and slander. When they saw that, by God’s grace, these servants remained firm and steadfast in the True One, they devised a scheme, hoping to discredit these servants by attributing worldliness and false matters to them, and to establish themselves as victims of oppression. By the Point of existence—may the spirit of all in the kingdom of the unseen and the seen be sacrificed for Him—they have committed an injustice that no one has committed from the beginning of creation until now. Indeed, God’s curse rests upon the liars, the slanderers, and the oppressors.

189

و اينكه ذكر آيات ميرزا يحيى نموده بودى نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه ميفرمايد كه از حين غروب شمس حقيقت ديگر احدى آيات اللّه نخواهد شنيد الّا در ظهور بعد چنانچه حال هم خود آن جمال مبارك همين را بنفسه ميفرمايد چه كه آيات دونش ماداميكه مدلّ بر آيات الهى است بحقّ نسبت داده ميشود و وجودش مثل وجود مرايا است كه از خود تحقّقى نداشته و ندارند و لكن مادامى كه بشمس عزّ صمدانى مقابل اشراق در او ظاهر و بعد از انحراف محو و اينهم از آن بيان است كه ميفرمايند در مظاهر ظهور ديده نميشود مگر نفس ظهور لذا در جميع مظاهر ظهور چه در كور فرقان و چه در كور انجيل و چه در كور زبور و چه در كور تورية ديده نميشود مگر نفس ظهور و هم‌چنين در سكّان بيان ديده نميشود مگر ظهور نقطه بيان و اين مادام كه در ظلّ بيانند و العياذ باللّه اگر نفسى خارج شد ديده نميشود در او مگر شيطان و افعال و اعمال او

Va īnki dhikr-i āyāt-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā namūda būdī Nuqṭa-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh mīfarmāyad ki az ḥīn-i ghurūb-i Shams-i Ḥaqīqat dīgar aḥadī āyāt-i Allāh nakhwāhad shinīd illā dar ẓuhūr-i baʿd chunānchi ḥāl ham khod-i ān Jamāl-i Mubārak hamīn rā bi-nafsih mīfarmāyad chi ki āyāt-i dūnash mādāmī ki mudill bar āyāt-i ilāhī ast bi-Ḥaqq nisbat dāda mīshavad va vujūdash mithl-i vujūd-i marāyā ast ki az khod taḥaqquqī nadāshta va nadārand va lākin mādāmī ki bi-Shams-i ʿIzz-i Ṣamadānī muqābil ishrāq dar ū ẓāhir va baʿd az inḥirāf maḥv va īnham az ān bayān ast ki mīfarmāyand dar maẓāhir-i ẓuhūr dīda namīshavad magar nafs-i ẓuhūr lidhā dar jamīʿ-i maẓāhir-i ẓuhūr chi dar kawr-i Furqān va chi dar kawr-i Injīl va chi dar kawr-i Zabūr va chi dar kawr-i Tawrāt dīda namīshavad magar nafs-i ẓuhūr va hamchunīn dar sukkān-i Bayān dīda namīshavad magar ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭa-yi Bayān va īn mādām ki dar ẓill-i Bayānand va al-ʿiyādhu bi-llāh agar nafsī khārij shud dīda namīshavad dar ū magar shayṭān va afʿāl va aʿmāl-i ū.

As for your mention of the verses of Mírzá Yaḥyá, the Primal Point—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—says that, from the setting of the Sun of Truth, no one will again hear the verses of God until the next Manifestation. Now that Blessed Beauty Himself likewise says this in person. For the verses of anyone besides Him are attributed to the True One only so long as they point to the divine verses. Their existence is like that of mirrors, which have never had, and do not have, any independent reality. As long as a mirror faces the Sun of everlasting glory, its radiance appears within it; once it turns away, that radiance vanishes. This, too, follows from the statement in which He says that nothing is seen in the manifestations of Revelation but Revelation itself. Thus, in all the manifestations of Revelation, whether in the cycle of the Qur’an, the Gospel, the Psalms, or the Torah, nothing is seen but Revelation itself. Likewise, in the inhabitants of the Bayán nothing is seen but the revelation of the Point of the Bayán, and this is so only while they remain beneath the shelter of the Bayán. Should anyone leave it—God forbid—nothing is seen in him but Satan and his deeds and actions.

190

و اين مسلّم است كه هر نفسى در اين ظهور توقّف نمايد از بيان خارج و از حصن معانى محروم چنانچه خود نقطه بيان روح ماسواه فداه باين تصريح فرموده‌اند لذا آيات هر يك از مظاهر ظهور ذكر آيتيّت بر ايشان صادق ماداميكه در ظلّ ذوالآيه مستقرّ و ساكنند و بعد از تجاوز از اهل نار محسوب و همان تجاوز نفس نار او است لو انتم من النّاظرين

Va īn musallam ast ki har nafsī dar īn ẓuhūr tavaqquf namāyad az Bayān khārij va az ḥiṣn-i maʿānī maḥrūm chunānchi khod-i Nuqṭa-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh bi-īn taṣrīḥ farmūda-and lidhā āyāt-i har yik az maẓāhir-i ẓuhūr dhikr-i āyatiyyat bar īshān ṣādiq mādāmī ki dar ẓill-i Dhu al-Āya mustaqarr va sākinand va baʿd az tajāvuz az ahl-i nār maḥsūb va hamān tajāvuz nafs-i nār-i ū ast law antum mina al-nāẓirīn.

It is certain that anyone who hesitates in this Revelation is outside the Bayán and deprived of the stronghold of inner meanings, as the Point of the Bayán Himself—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—has expressly stated. Thus the verses of each of the manifestations of Revelation may truly be called signs only so long as they remain established and abiding beneath the shelter of the Possessor of the Sign. Once they transgress that boundary, they are counted among the people of the fire, and that very transgression is their fire, if you are among those who see.

191

بارى اظلال و اشباح را شمس فرض مگيريد و بتحريف معانى كلمات الهيّه مشغول نشويد چنانچه از قبل مشغول شده‌ايد از جمال نقطه بيان كه الآن مشرق و مشهود است حيا كنيد بخلق او از او اعراض منمائيد كلماتش رحمتى بوده از نزد او بر عباد او او را سيف خود قرار مدهيد و بر نفس مباركش ضربت مزنيد چنانچه اهل فرقان بكلمات رسول اللّه استدلال نموده بر كينونتش وارد آوردند آنچه وارد آوردند

Bārī aẓlāl va ashbāḥ rā shams farḍ magīrīd va bi-taḥrīf-i maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyya mashghūl nashavīd chunānchi az qabl mashghūl shuda-īd az Jamāl-i Nuqṭa-yi Bayān ki al-ān mushriq va mashhūd ast ḥayā kunīd bi-khalq-i ū az ū iʿrāḍ manamāʾīd kalimātash raḥmatī būda az nazd-i ū bar ʿibād-i ū ū rā sayf-i khod qarār madihīd va bar nafs-i mubārakash ḍarbat mazanīd chunānchi ahl-i Furqān bi-kalimāt-i Rasūl-i Allāh istidlāl namūda bar kaynūnatash vā rid āvardand ānchi vā rid āvardand.

In short, do not mistake shadows and phantoms for the sun, and do not occupy yourselves with distorting the meanings of the divine words, as you have done before. Feel shame before the Beauty of the Point of the Bayán, who is now shining and visible. Do not turn away from Him because of His creatures. His words have been a mercy from Him to His servants. Do not make them your sword and strike His blessed person with them, as the people of the Qur’an, invoking the words of the Messenger of God as their proof, inflicted upon His being what they inflicted.

192

از جميع اين امور گذشته بگو اى غافلان مگر سمع و بصر نداريد خود آيات را بخوانيد فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو بلوحى از آيات بديع مقابله نمينمايد آنچه استماع نموده‌ايد آيا مشاهده نشد كه بالغ كامل طفل را چه قدر مرحمت مينمايد بشأنيكه افعال او را تعريف ميكند اين تعريف و توصيف نظر بملاطفت كبرى است و اگر همان فعل از عاقلى ظاهر شود البتّه قبيح بوده و خواهد بود در حقّ صبی‌ افعال او در رتبه او ممدوح و از رتبه كه تجاوز نمود قبيح و غير مقبول درست ملتفت شويد كه چه ذكر ميشود اگر چه در ناس شعور ملاحظه نشده و ادراك مشاهده نگشته و لكن اگر شما و امثال شما عارف نشويد عبادى خلق خواهد شد كه كوثر معانى را از كأس كلمات الهى بياشامند و بمقصود مطّلع گردند

Az jamīʿ-i īn umūr gudhashta bigū ay ghāfilān magar samʿ va baṣar nadārīd khod-i āyāt rā bikhwānīd fa-wa-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa bi-lawḥī az āyāt-i badīʿ muqābila namīnamāyad ānchi istimāʿ namūda-īd āyā mushāhada nashud ki bāligh-i kāmil ṭifl rā chi qadr marḥamat mīnamāyad bi-shaʾnī ki afʿāl-i ū rā taʿrīf mīkunad īn taʿrīf va tawṣīf naẓar bi-mulāṭafat-i kubrā ast va agar hamān fiʿl az ʿāqilī ẓāhir shavad albatta qabīḥ būda va khwāhad būd dar ḥaqq-i ṣabī afʿāl-i ū dar rutba-yi ū mamdūḥ va az rutba ki tajāvuz namūd qabīḥ va ghayr-i maqbūl durust multafit shavīd ki chi dhikr mīshavad agar chi dar nās shuʿūr mulāḥaẓa nashuda va idrāk mushāhada nagashta va lākin agar shumā va amthāl-i shumā ʿārif nashavīd ʿibādī khalq khwāhad shud ki kawthar-i maʿānī rā az kaʾs-i kalimāt-i ilāhī biyāshāmand va bi-maqṣūd muṭṭaliʿ gardand.

Apart from all these matters, say: “O heedless ones! Have you no hearing or sight? Read the verses yourselves. By God, besides whom there is no other god, all that you have heard cannot compare with a single tablet of wondrous verses. Have you not seen how kindly a fully mature adult treats a child, even praising his actions? Such praise and commendation arise from the utmost kindness. If the same action were performed by a person of understanding, it would certainly be, and remain, blameworthy. A child’s actions are praiseworthy at his own stage, but once he passes beyond that stage, they are blameworthy and unacceptable. Pay close attention to what is being said. Although no awareness has been discerned among the people and no understanding witnessed, if you and those like you fail to understand, servants will be created who will drink the Kawthar of inner meanings from the cup of the divine words and comprehend what is intended.”

193

اكثرى اليوم رضيع عنداللّه محسوبند چه كه از ثدى غفلت مياشامند و هنوز ایّام فطام ايشان نرسيده چه رسد ببلوغ و اگر بالغ يافت شود از آيات عزّ صمدانى كه در اين ظهور ظاهر شده حلاوت تسنيم معرفت ربّانى و سلسبيل قدس صمدانى را ميچشد و ادراك مينمايد و دونش را مثل سراب بقيعه مشاهده ميكند قل خافوا عن اللّه و ل اتذكروا دونه عنده ول اتقاسوا ما سواه بنفسه ول اتظنّوا فى حقّه ما لا يليق و لا ينبغى لكم اتّقوا اللّه يا قوم و لا تعقّبوا الّذين كفروا باللّه فى ایّامه و جادلوا ببرهانه و غصبوا حقّه و تجاوزوا عن عدله و ظلموا و استظلموا اولئك يلعنهم كلّ الذّرّات ان انتم تفقهون

Aktharī al-yawm raḍīʿ ʿinda Allāh maḥsūband chi ki az thady-i ghaflat mīyāshāmand va hanūz ayyām-i fiṭām-i īshān narasīda chi rasad bi-bulūgh va agar bāligh yāft shavad az āyāt-i ʿizz-i ṣamadānī ki dar īn ẓuhūr ẓāhir shuda ḥalāvat-i tasnīm-i maʿrifat-i rabbānī va salsabīl-i quds-i ṣamadānī rā mīchashad va idrāk mīnamāyad va dūnash rā mithl-i sarāb bi-qīʿa mushāhada mīkunad qul khāfū ʿani Allāhi wa-[corrupted text] dūnahu ʿindahu [corrupted text] mā siwāhu bi-nafsihi [corrupted text] fī ḥaqqihi mā lā yalīqu wa-lā yanbaghī lakum ittaqū Allāha yā qawmu wa-lā taʿaqqabū alladhīna kafarū bi-llāhi fī ayyāmihi wa-jādalū bi-burhānihi wa-ghaṣabū ḥaqqahu wa-tajāwazū ʿan ʿadlihi wa-ẓalamū wa-istaẓlamū ulāʾika yalʿanuhum kullu al-dharrāti in antum tafqahūn.

Most people today are accounted nursing infants in God’s sight, for they drink from the breast of heedlessness, and their time of weaning has not yet come, much less that of maturity. If a mature person is found, he tastes and perceives, in the verses of everlasting glory manifested in this Revelation, the sweetness of the Tasním of divine knowledge and the Salsabíl of everlasting holiness. He sees all besides Him as a mirage on a plain. Say: “Fear God, and [corrupted original text] anyone besides Him in His presence, [corrupted original text] anything other than Him with His own Self, [corrupted original text] concerning Him what is unfitting and unseemly for you. Fear God, O people, and do not follow those who disbelieved in God in His days, disputed His proof, usurped His right, transgressed His justice, and committed oppression while claiming to be oppressed. These are the ones whom every atom curses, if you understand.”

194

و ديگر نوشته بوديد آيات ميرزا يحيى در اطراف منبسط است و مدّعى مقام حقّيّت خود ميباشد به بيّنه آيات خود قطع نظر از نصّ ربّ اعلى كه اعظم دليل است انتهى اين دعوى از اصل باطل بوده چه كه اگر خلق مستقلّا ادّعاى آيات نمايند باطل بوده و خواهند بود و همان ادّعا دليل بر بطلان است بعينه مثل آن است كه عكس در مرآت بگويد كه من شمس سما هستم خود تو نوشته كه او مرآت است لو نصدّقك شكّى نيست كه وجود مرايا لانطباع تجلّى شمس بوده و خواهد بود مع اين رتبه ادّعاى رتبه فوق باطل بوده و خواهد بود تناقض در اينمقام است نه در آنمقام كه ذكر نموده چه كه با وصف مرآتيّت خواسته رتبه شمس ثابت نمائى آيا تجلّى كه در مرآت ديده ميشود اگر دعوى نمايد كه من بنفس خود قائمم صادق است لا فو‌نفس اللّه المهيمن القيّوم

Va dīgar nivishta būdīd āyāt-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā dar aṭrāf munbasiṭ ast va muddaʿī-yi maqām-i ḥaqqiyyat-i khod mībāshad bi-bayyina-yi āyāt-i khod qaṭʿ-i naẓar az naṣṣ-i Rabb-i Aʿlā ki aʿẓam dalīl ast intahā īn daʿvā az aṣl bāṭil būda chi ki agar khalq mustaqillan iddiʿā-yi āyāt namāyand bāṭil būda va khwāhand būd va hamān iddiʿā dalīl bar buṭlān ast bi-ʿaynih mithl-i ān ast ki ʿaks dar mirʾāt bigūyad ki man Shams-i Samā hastam khod-i tu nivishta ki ū mirʾāt ast law nuṣaddiquka shakkī nīst ki vujūd-i marāyā li-inṭibāʿ-i tajallī-yi shams būda va khwāhad būd maʿa īn rutba iddiʿā-yi rutba-yi fawq bāṭil būda va khwāhad būd tanāquḍ dar īn maqām ast na dar ān maqām ki dhikr namūda chi ki bā vaṣf-i mirʾātiyyat khwāsta rutba-yi shams thābit namāʾī āyā tajallī ki dar mirʾāt dīda mīshavad agar daʿvā namāyad ki man bi-nafs-i khod qāʾimam ṣādiq ast lā fa-wa-nafsi Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūm.

You had also written: “The verses of Mírzá Yaḥyá are spread abroad, and he claims the station of truth for himself on the evidence of his own verses, quite apart from the explicit text of the Most Exalted Lord, which is the greatest proof.” Here ends your statement. This claim is fundamentally invalid, for if creatures independently lay claim to verses, they have been, and will be, false; that very claim is proof of their falsity. It is exactly as though the reflection in a mirror were to say, “I am the sun in the sky.” You yourself have written that he is a mirror. Even if we accept your word, there is no doubt that mirrors have existed, and will exist, to receive the imprint of the sun’s radiance. While occupying this station, a claim to the station above it has been, and will be, invalid. The contradiction lies here, not where you have alleged it, for while describing him as a mirror, you have sought to establish for him the station of the sun. If the radiance seen in a mirror claims, “I subsist by myself,” is it truthful? No, by the very Self of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting!

195

و ديگر عجب است كه انتشار آيات موهومى را كه نشناخته حجّت اخذ نموده و دليل بر حقّيّت او ذكر نموده مع آنكه آن آيات در رتبه خود او بوده كلّما اظهر من الخلق فى حدّه و مقامه و از آياتيكه مهيمن است بر كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و مشرق است مثل شمس از افق ابهى محتجب مانده اگر انتشار است كه انتشار اين آيات بشأنى شده كه فوق آن متصوّر نه خف عن اللّه الّذى خلقك و لا تذكر آيات احد تلقآء ذكر آياته لو تقابل شمس الّتى كانت فى صور المرايا شمس الّتى كانت مشرقة عن افق القدس لتقابل آياته بآيات اللّه المهيمن العزيز القيّوم و اين در وقتى است كه مرآت حقيقى باشد و اگر مرآت امثال شما بوده كه ذكرى نزد حقّ نداشته و نخواهد داشت فافتح اذنك لتسمع من كلّ حرف من آيات ربّك انّه لا اله الّا انا ان يا كلّشیء قد خلقتم بنفسى لنفسى ایّاکم ان تنكرون و لو تطهّر بصرك لتشهد كلّ كلمات ربّك على هيكل الرّوح و ينطقن بأنّه لا اله الّا انا المقتدر المهيمن العزيز المحبوب قل فاستغفر عمّا ارتكبت يا ايّها الغافل لانّ ما عندك لن يذكر عند اللّه و ما عرفته يرجع اليك كذلك كان الأمر و لكن انت لا تكون من الشّاعرين

Va dīgar ʿajab ast keh enteshār-e āyāt-e mowhūmī rā keh nashenākhteh ḥojjat akhdh namūdeh va dalīl bar ḥaqqiyyat-e ū dhekr namūdeh maʿa ānkeh ān āyāt dar rotbeh-ye khod-e ū būdeh kullu mā aẓhara min al-khalq fī ḥaddihi va maqāmihi va az āyātī keh mohaymen ast bar kulli man fī al-samāwāt va al-arḍ va moshreq ast methl-e shams az ofoq-e Abhā moḥtajeb māndeh agar enteshār ast keh enteshār-e īn āyāt beh shaʾnī shodeh keh fowq-e ān motaṣavvar nah khaf ʿan Allāh alladhī khalaqaka va lā tadhkur āyāti aḥadin tilqāʾa dhikri āyātihi law tuqābilu shams allatī kānat fī ṣuwar al-marāyā shams allatī kānat mushriqatan ʿan ufuq al-quds la-tuqābilu āyātahu bi-āyāt Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm va īn dar vaqtī ast keh merʾāt ḥaqīqī bāshad va agar merʾāt amthāl-e shomā būdeh keh dhekrī nazd-e Ḥaqq nadāshteh va nakhāhad dāsht fa-ftaḥ udhunaka li-tasmaʿa min kulli ḥarfin min āyāti rabbika innahu lā ilāha illā anā in yā kulla shayʾin qad khuliqtum bi-nafsī li-nafsī iyyākum an tunkirūn va law tuṭahhir baṣaraka li-tashhada kulla kalimāti rabbika ʿalā haykal al-rūḥ va yanṭiqna bi-annahu lā ilāha illā anā al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Maḥbūb qul fa-staghfir ʿammā irtakabta yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil li-anna mā ʿindaka lan yudhkara ʿinda Allāh va mā ʿaraftahu yarjiʿu ilayka kadhālika kāna al-amr va lākin anta lā takūnu min al-shāʿirīn.

It is also astonishing that you have taken the circulation of imaginary verses that you have not recognized as proof, and cited it as evidence of his truth, even though those verses belong to his own rank. Whatever any creature brings forth is within its own limits and station. Yet you have remained veiled from verses that hold sway over all who are in the heavens and on earth and shine like the sun from the All-Glorious horizon. If circulation is the criterion, these verses have circulated to a degree beyond which nothing can be imagined. Fear God, who created you, and do not mention anyone’s verses in the presence of His verses. If the sun appearing in the images of mirrors could rival the sun shining from the horizon of holiness, then his verses could rival the verses of God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. And this is only if it is a true mirror; if it is a mirror like you, it has never had, and will never have, any standing before God. Open your ear, then, to hear from every letter of your Lord’s verses: “There is no God but Me. O all created things! You have been created by My own Self for My own Self. Beware lest you deny Me.” If you purify your sight, you will behold all the words of your Lord in the form of the Spirit, declaring: “There is no God but Me, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Beloved.” Say: “Ask forgiveness for what you have done, you who are heedless, for what you possess will never be accounted anything before God, and what you have recognized returns to you. Such has been the matter, but you are not among those who perceive.”

196

نسائم خريف را بنسائم ربيع چه مناسبت و نفحات علّيين را بنفحات سجّين چه مشابهت فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده اگر بصير بودى همان لوحى كه از سماء مشيّت الهى اتماماً لحجّته نازل و مخصوص تو ارسال شد حرفى از آن تو را كافى بود و همان لوح را ميزان كن با آنچه از قبل نازل شده لتشهد بانّ هذا قد نزل من لدن منزل قديم اگر در دون كلمات اللّه تعريف و يا توصيف شود اين نظر باظهار عنايت و تشويق نفوس است و على حدّهم و شأنهم ذكر ميشود لو يقترن المخلوق الى الخالق و يقابل السّراج بالشّمس لتقترن آيات دونه بآياته و تقابلها

Nasāʾem-e kharīf rā beh nasāʾem-e rabīʿ cheh monāsebat va nafaḥāt-e ʿilliyyīn rā beh nafaḥāt-e sijjīn cheh moshābahat fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi agar baṣīr būdī hamān lowḥī keh az samā-ye mashiyyat-e elāhī itmāman li-ḥujjatihi nāzel va makhṣūṣ-e to ersāl shod ḥarfī az ān to rā kāfī būd va hamān lowḥ rā mīzān kon bā āncheh az qabl nāzel shodeh li-tashhada bi-anna hādhā qad nazala min ladun Munzilin Qadīm agar dar dūn-e kalimāt-e Allāh taʿrīf va yā towṣīf shavad īn naẓar beh eẓhār-e ʿenāyat va tashvīq-e nofūs ast va ʿalā ḥaddihim va shaʾnihim dhekr mīshavad law yaqtarinu al-makhlūq ilā al-khāliq va yuqābalu al-sirāj bi-al-shams la-taqtarinu āyātu dūnihi bi-āyātihi va tuqābiluhā.

What affinity do the breezes of autumn have with the breezes of spring, and what resemblance do the breaths of the highest heaven bear to the breaths of the nethermost prison? By Him in whose hand is my soul! Had you possessed insight, a single letter of that Tablet which descended from the heaven of the divine will to complete His proof, and was sent expressly to you, would have sufficed you. Take that very Tablet as the balance against which to weigh what was revealed before, so that you may witness that this has descended from an eternal Revealer. If anything other than the words of God is praised or commended, this is to show favor and encourage souls, and it is spoken of within their limits and according to their station. If the creature could be joined to the Creator and the lamp could rival the sun, then the verses of anyone other than Him could be joined to His verses and rival them.

197

اتّق اللّه و لاتفسد فى الأرض بعد اصلاحها و لاتكن من الّذينهم بذكر الورقة احتجبوا عن الشّجر و افنانه و اغصانه و اوراقه و اثماره لو يكون ورقة حقيقيّة چون از عين كدره نوشيده از عين عذبه سايغه سايله جاريه محروم مانده و قل بسم اللّه و باللّه ثمّ ارفع يدك و خذ منه غرفة ثم اشربها تاللّه يستنير بها قلبك و تطمئن بها نفسك و يبرد فؤادك و تكون من الموقنين

Ittaq Allāh va lā tufsid fī al-arḍ baʿda iṣlāḥihā va lā takun min alladhīnahum bi-dhikr al-waraqah iḥtajabū ʿan al-shajar va afnānihi va aghṣānihi va awrāqihi va athmārihi law yakūnu waraqatan ḥaqīqiyyatan chūn az ʿayn-e kadereh nūshīdeh az ʿayn-e ʿadhbeh-ye sāʾegheh-ye sāʾeleh-ye jāriyeh maḥrūm māndeh va qul bi-sm Allāh va bi-Allāh thumma irfaʿ yadaka va khudh minhu ghurfatan thumma ishrabhā ta-Allāh yastanīru bihā qalbuka va taṭmaʾinnu bihā nafsuka va yabrudu fuʾāduka va takūnu min al-mūqinīn.

Fear God, and do not spread corruption on earth after it has been set right. Do not be among those who, through mention of the leaf, have become veiled from the tree, its boughs, its branches, its leaves, and its fruits—even if it is a true leaf. Because you have drunk from a turbid spring, you have remained deprived of the sweet, refreshing, flowing spring. Say, “In the name of God and by God,” then raise your hand, take a handful from it, and drink it. By God! Through it your heart will be illumined, your soul will find peace, your inner heart will be cooled, and you will be among those who are certain.

198

بدان اينكه نوشته مدّعى مقام حقّيّت خود است ببيّنه آيات خود هذا بغى منك و منه على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم چه كه اين رتبه مخصوص مظاهر احديّه و اين ظهور بدع رحمانيّه بوده و خواهد بود كه بآيات اللّه و بيّناته ظاهر شده و جز آيات منزله و ظهورات قدرتيّه بامرى متمسّك نشده چنانچه در جميع اوراق بيان مسطور است فافتح بصرك لتعرف و اينست مقام يا من دلّ على ذاته بذاته و هم‌‌چنين مقام دليله آياته و وجوده اثباته و هم‌‌چنين اعرفوا اللّه باللّه چه كه بر او جايز نيست كه بغير خود استدلال بر حقّیّت خود نمايد او بنفس خود معروف بوده و خواهد بود و ماسواه باو معروف و بنسبتهم اليه مفتخر او است ميزان الهيّه و صراط احديّه و شمس قدميّه و بحر اعظم و كلمه اتمّ و رمز مستور و بيت معمور و كتاب مسطور جميع باين ميزان سنجيده ميشوند و او بذات خود كلّ بنفحه از او مبعوث و او بنفس خود

Bedān īnkeh neveshteh moddaʿī-ye maqām-e ḥaqqiyyat-e khod ast beh bayyeneh-ye āyāt-e khod hādhā baghyun minka va minhu ʿalā Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm cheh keh īn rotbeh makhṣūṣ-e maẓāher-e aḥadiyyeh va īn ẓohūr-e badʿ-e raḥmāniyyeh būdeh va khāhad būd keh beh āyāt-e Allāh va bayyenātesh ẓāher shodeh va joz āyāt-e monzaleh va ẓohūrāt-e qodratiyyeh beh amrī motamassek nashodeh chenāncheh dar jamīʿ-e owrāq-e Bayān masṭūr ast fa-ftaḥ baṣaraka li-taʿrifa va īnast maqām-e yā man dalla ʿalā dhātihi bi-dhātihi va hamchenīn maqām-e dalīluhu āyātuhu va wujūduhu ithbātuhu va hamchenīn iʿrifū Allāh bi-Allāh cheh keh bar ū jāyez nīst keh beh gheyr-e khod estedlāl bar ḥaqqiyyat-e khod namāyad ū beh nafs-e khod maʿrūf būdeh va khāhad būd va māsavāh beh ū maʿrūf va bi-nisbatihim ilayhi moftakher ū ast mīzān-e elāhiyyeh va ṣerāṭ-e aḥadiyyeh va shams-e qedamiyyeh va baḥr-e aʿẓam va kalemeh-ye atamm va ramz-e mastūr va bayt-e maʿmūr va ketāb-e masṭūr jamīʿ beh īn mīzān sanjīdeh mīshavand va ū beh dhāt-e khod koll beh nafḥeh az ū mabʿūth va ū beh nafs-e khod.

As for what you wrote, that he claims the station of truth for himself on the evidence of his own verses, know that this is an act of rebellion by you and by him against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. For this rank has belonged, and will belong, exclusively to the Manifestations of divine unity and this wondrous Revelation of the All-Merciful, which has appeared with the verses of God and His clear proofs and has appealed to nothing but revealed verses and manifestations of power, as is recorded throughout the pages of the Bayán. Open your eyes, then, so that you may recognize. This is the station of “O You who have pointed to Your own Essence through Your own Essence,” and likewise the station of “His proof is His verses, and His existence is His evidence,” and likewise “Know God through God.” For it is not fitting for Him to appeal to anything other than Himself as evidence of His truth. He has been, and will be, known through His own Self, while all besides Him are known through Him and glory in their relationship to Him. He is the divine Balance, the Path of unity, the Sun of eternity, the Most Great Ocean, the Most Perfect Word, the Hidden Mystery, the Frequented House, and the Inscribed Book. All are weighed in this Balance, while He is weighed by His own Essence. All are raised up by a breath from Him, while He is raised up by His own Self.

199

قل يا ايّها البعيد تقول و لاتشعر و تذكر و لاتعرف اگر فى‌الجمله شعور ملاحظه ميشد ذكرى از معانى مستوره كه در سرادق عرفان معنوى اين ظهور مستور است مذكور ميامد تا بر جنّت لا ظل لها فى الجمله مطّلع ميشدى و لكن حيف است كه لآلىٴ قلزم عزّ ربّانى را بدست سارقين داد و حور معانى مقصوره را در محضر ظالمين مكشوف آورد چه كه بچشم و بصر و فؤاد و قلب خائن بوده و هستند مثل آنكه عبارات حضرت ابهى روح ماسواه فداه را سرقت نموده بكلمات مجعوله خود مركب نموده‌اند و باسم خود انتشار داده‌اند و غافل از اينكه صرّافان احديّه در صد هزار هزار حجر يكدانه لؤلؤ را بشناسند و از او بمعدنش پى‌برند چه كه از معدن آهك تسنيم قدس الهى جارى نشود و از منبع قطران سلسبيل حكمت ربّانى سارى نگردد و عبادى هستند كه برايحه رضوان بمكمن رحمن پى برند چه كه رايحه طيّبه هدايت نماينده است صاحبان شامّه اصفى را برضوان جمال علىّ ابهى البتّه در ملك ابصر حديده ظاهر شوند و صرّافان احديّه بوجود آيند و جواهر كلماتش را بجان خريدار شوند و از كون و امكان در سبيلش بگذرند و جان در رهش ايثار نمايند باسمش از رسم دنيا منقطع گردند و بذكرش از ذكر عالمين بی‌ نياز و بيادش از ياد دونش فارغ

Qul yā ayyuhā al-baʿīd taqūlu va lā tashʿuru va tadhkuru va lā taʿrifu agar fī al-jomleh shoʿūrī molāḥaẓeh mīshod dhekrī az maʿānī-ye mastūreh keh dar sorādeq-e ʿerfān-e maʿnavī-ye īn ẓohūr mastūr ast madhkūr mīāmad tā bar jannat-e lā ẓilla lahā fī al-jomleh moṭṭaleʿ mīshodī va lāken ḥeyf ast keh laʾālī-ye qolzom-e ʿezz-e rabbānī rā beh dast-e sāreqīn dād va ḥūr-e maʿānī-ye maqṣūreh rā dar maḥḍar-e ẓālemīn makshūf āvard cheh keh beh chashm va baṣar va foʾād va qalb khāʾen būdeh va hastand methl-e ānkeh ʿebārāt-e Ḥaḍrat-e Abhā rūḥ-e māsavāh fedāh rā serqat namūdeh beh kalemāt-e majʿūleh-ye khod morakkab namūdeh-and va beh esm-e khod enteshār dādeh-and va ghāfel az īnkeh ṣarrāfān-e aḥadiyyeh dar ṣad hezār hezār ḥajar yek dāneh loʾloʾ rā beshenāsand va az ū beh maʿdanash pey barand cheh keh az maʿdan-e āhak tasnīm-e qods-e elāhī jārī nashavad va az manbaʿ-e qaṭrān salsabīl-e ḥekmat-e rabbānī sārī nagardad va ʿebādī hastand keh beh rāyeḥeh-ye Reḍvān beh makman-e Raḥmān pey barand cheh keh rāyeḥeh-ye ṭayyebeh hedāyat namāyandeh ast ṣāḥebān-e shāmmeh-ye aṣfā rā beh Reḍvān-e Jamāl-e ʿAlī-ye Abhā albatteh dar molk abṣor-e ḥadīdeh ẓāher shavand va ṣarrāfān-e aḥadiyyeh beh vojūd āyand va javāher-e kalemātesh rā beh jān kharīdār shavand va az kown va emkān dar sabīlash bogdharand va jān dar rahash īthār namāyand beh esmash az rasm-e donyā monqaṭeʿ gardand va beh dhekrash az dhekr-e ʿālamīn bī-niyāz va beh yādash az yād-e dūnash fāregh.

Say: “You who are far away! You speak without perceiving and make mention without understanding.” Had even a little awareness been discerned, some of the hidden meanings concealed within the tabernacle of the spiritual knowledge of this Revelation would have been mentioned, so that you might have gained some knowledge of the paradise that has no shade. But it would be a pity to place the pearls of the ocean of divine glory in the hands of thieves, or to unveil the secluded maidens of inner meanings in the presence of oppressors, for they have been, and remain, treacherous in eye and sight, in soul and heart. Thus they have stolen the words of the Most Glorious—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—mingled them with their own fabricated words, and circulated them in their own name, heedless that the assayers of divine unity recognize a single pearl among a hundred thousand thousand stones and trace it to its source. For the Tasním of divine holiness does not flow from a limestone quarry, nor does the Salsabíl of divine wisdom stream from a spring of pitch. There are servants who find the hidden sanctuary of the All-Merciful through the fragrance of Riḍván, for that sweet fragrance guides those with the purest sense of smell to the Riḍván of the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious Beauty. Assuredly, keen eyes will appear in the world, and assayers of divine unity will arise. They will purchase the jewels of His words with their lives, renounce all existence and the contingent world in His path, and sacrifice their lives in His way. Through His name they will become detached from the ways of the world; through His remembrance they will have no need to mention the worlds; and through remembering Him they will be freed from remembering anything besides Him.

200

بگو اى بی‌‌بصر اگر بمنظر اكبر ناظر شوى و در رضوان بيان سير نمائى جز اينكلمه نخواهى ديد لم‌يزل بنفس خود دليل بر خود بوده و بظهورش حجّت بر جميع اهل عالم تمام و كامل و اگر از فضل و مرحمتش اتيان بآيات فرموده اين از فضل او است مخصوص عباد او ميفرمايد بغير ما يظهر من عنده بر او استدلال مكنيد چه كه دليل از او ظاهر و حجّت باو ثابت و برهان از او مشهود و غيرش در ساحت مقدّسش معدوم و مفقود

Begū ey bī-baṣar agar beh manẓar-e akbar nāẓer shavī va dar Reḍvān-e Bayān seyr namāʾī joz īn kalemeh nakhāhī dīd lam-yazal beh nafs-e khod dalīl bar khod būdeh va beh ẓohūrash ḥojjat bar jamīʿ-e ahl-e ʿālam tamām va kāmel va agar az faḍl va marḥamatesh etyān beh āyāt farmūdeh īn az faḍl-e ū ast makhṣūṣ-e ʿebād-e ū mīfarmāyad beh gheyr-e mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi bar ū estedlāl makonīd cheh keh dalīl az ū ẓāher va ḥojjat beh ū thābet va borhān az ū mashhūd va gheyrash dar sāḥat-e moqaddasash maʿdūm va mafqūd.

Say: “You who have no sight! If you look toward the Most Great Vision and wander through the Riḍván of the Bayán, you will see nothing but this statement: He has always been His own proof, and through His appearance the proof has been made complete and perfect for all the people of the world. If, out of His grace and mercy, He has brought forth verses, this is a token of His grace bestowed expressly upon His servants. He says: ‘Do not adduce anything as evidence of Him except what proceeds from Him, for evidence appears from Him, proof is established through Him, and demonstration is witnessed from Him, while all besides Him are nonexistent and absent in His holy presence.’”

201

بگو اى كر حقيقى آخر نشنيده كه فرموده ببيان و ما نزل فى البيان از آن طلعت رحمن محتجب نمانيد و بحروفات بيان در امرش توقّف مكنيد چه كه جميع حروفات و مرايا بقول او خلق شده‌اند و جميع بيان از سماء امرش نازل گويا شما از اهل جابلقاى موهوم اهل فرقانيد و تازه از جنگل وهميّه بيرون آمده‌ايد و به بيشه ظنّيّه اخرى وارد شده‌ايد حرفى از بيان مطّلع نبوده و نيستيد از سنن عارفين بی‌خبريد و از مذهب عاشقين بغايت دور

Begū ey kar-e ḥaqīqī ākhar nashenīdeh keh farmūdeh beh Bayān va mā nazala fī al-Bayān az ān Ṭalʿat-e Raḥmān moḥtajeb namānīd va beh ḥorūfāt-e Bayān dar amrash tavaqqof makonīd cheh keh jamīʿ-e ḥorūfāt va marāyā beh qowl-e ū khalq shodeh-and va jamīʿ-e Bayān az samā-ye amrash nāzel gūyā shomā az ahl-e Jābolqā-ye mowhūm-e ahl-e Forqānīd va tāzeh az jangal-e vahmiyyeh bīrūn āmadeh-īd va beh bīsheh-ye ẓanniyyeh-ye okhrā vāred shodeh-īd ḥarfī az Bayān moṭṭaleʿ nabūdeh va nīstīd az sonan-e ʿārefīn bī-khabarīd va az madhhab-e ʿāsheqīn beh ghāyat dūr.

Say: “You who are truly deaf! Have you not heard that He has said: ‘Do not let the Bayán and what was revealed in the Bayán veil you from that Countenance of the All-Merciful, and do not let the Letters of the Bayán cause you to hesitate in His Cause’? For all the Letters and Mirrors have been created by His word, and the whole Bayán has descended from the heaven of His command. It is as though you belong to the imaginary Jábulqá of the people of the Qur’an, and have only just emerged from the forest of delusion to enter another thicket of conjecture. You have never known, and do not now know, a single letter of the Bayán. You are unaware of the ways of those who possess true knowledge and are far indeed from the path of the lovers.”

202

بگو اى مغرور دارالغرور با اين ادراك سيف جفا بر تارك لولاك كشيده و بگمان خود عارف شده و بحقّ رسيده كاش اين راهى كه ميروى انتهايش بتركستان باشد چنانچه گفته‌اند اين ره كه تو ميروى بتركستان است و لكن اين سبيل منتهى باسفل نيران بوده و خواهد بود و اين عجب است كه مدّتها است در جوار حقّ آمده چه كه مدينهء كبيره با اين ارض طيّبه مباركه اينقدر بعيد نبوده كه قاصدين را زحمت دهد مع‌ذلك خود نيامديد كه سهل است يكنفس مقدّسى هم بساحت اقدس از تو نيامد و ذكر لطيفى بمقرّ الطف اطهر وارد نشد و بذلك جعلت نفسك محروماً عمّا خلقت له و كنت من المبعدين

Begū ey maghrūr-e dār al-ghorūr bā īn edrāk seyf-e jafā bar tārok-e Lawlāk keshīdeh va beh gomān-e khod ʿāref shodeh va beh Ḥaqq resīdeh kāsh īn rāhī keh mīravī entehāyash beh Torkestān bāshad chenāncheh gofteh-and īn rah keh to mīravī beh Torkestān ast va lāken īn sabīl montahī beh asfal-e nīrān būdeh va khāhad būd va īn ʿajab ast keh moddathā ast dar javār-e Ḥaqq āmadeh cheh keh Madīneh-ye Kabīreh bā īn arḍ-e ṭayyebeh-ye mobārakeh īnqadr baʿīd nabūdeh keh qāṣedīn rā zaḥmat dehad maʿa dhālek khod nayāmadīd keh sahl ast yek nafs-e moqaddasī ham beh sāḥat-e aqdas az to nayāmad va dhekr-e laṭīfī beh maqarr-e alṭaf-e aṭhar vāred nashod va bi-dhālika jaʿalta nafsaka maḥrūman ʿammā khuliqta lahu va kunta min al-mubʿadīn.

Say: “You who are deluded by the abode of delusion! With such understanding, you have drawn the sword of oppression against the head of Him addressed as ‘But for You,’ imagining that you have attained true knowledge and reached God. Would that the road you travel ended in Turkestan, as it has been said: ‘This road you travel leads to Turkestan.’ But this path has led, and will lead, to the lowest depths of the fires of hell. It is astonishing that you have long been in the vicinity of God, for the Great City has not been so far from this good and blessed land as to make the journey burdensome for those who intend it. Yet not only did you fail to come yourself, but not a single sanctified soul came from you to the Most Holy Court, nor did any gracious message reach the most gracious, most pure abode. Thus you have deprived yourself of that for which you were created and have been among those kept far away.”

203

در آخر اينمطلب ذكر ميشود بدانكه اين آيات همان آياتى است كه نقطه بيان بآن مبعوث شده و محمّدا رسول اللّه بآن ظاهر و روح بآن ناطق و كليم بآن ثابت حال قدرى تفكّر نمائيد كه معرضين باين ظهور چه ارتكاب نموده‌اند عند متغمّسين بحر معانى و ساكنين فلك حكمت ربّانى نفوس معرضه از اين آيات بديعه الهيّه از كلّ انبیاء و رسل معرض بوده و خواهند بود و لن يجدن رايحة الجنّة الّتى كانت نفس الظّهور اولئك من اخسر النّاس و لكن هم لايعلمون نسئل اللّه بأن يعطيك جناح اليقين فى هذا الأمر المبين لتطير بها الى سمآء العزّ و التّقديس و تقول الحمد للّه ربّ العالمين

Dar ākhar īn maṭlab dhekr mīshavad bedānkeh īn āyāt hamān āyātī ast keh Noqṭeh-ye Bayān beh ān mabʿūth shodeh va Muḥammadan Rasūl Allāh beh ān ẓāher va Rūḥ beh ān nāṭeq va Kalīm beh ān thābet ḥāl qadrī tafakkor namāʾīd keh moʿreḍīn beh īn ẓohūr cheh ertekāb namūdeh-and ʿend-e motaghammesīn-e baḥr-e maʿānī va sākenīn-e folk-e ḥekmat-e rabbānī nofūs-e moʿreḍeh az īn āyāt-e badīʿeh-ye elāhiyyeh az koll-e anbiyā va rosol moʿreḍ būdeh va khāhand būd va lan yajidanna rāʾiḥat al-jannah allatī kānat nafs al-ẓuhūr ulāʾika min akhsar al-nās va lākin hum lā yaʿlamūn nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yuʿṭiyaka janāḥ al-yaqīn fī hādhā al-amr al-mubīn li-taṭīra bihā ilā samāʾ al-ʿizz va al-taqdīs va taqūla al-ḥamdu li-Allāh rabb al-ʿālamīn.

Finally, this point is mentioned: know that these verses are the very verses with which the Point of the Bayán was sent forth, through which Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, appeared, through which the Spirit spoke, and through which He who conversed with God was established. Now reflect a little on what those who have turned away from this Revelation have committed. In the eyes of those immersed in the ocean of inner meanings and those dwelling in the ark of divine wisdom, souls who turn away from these wondrous divine verses have turned, and will turn, away from all the Prophets and Messengers. They will never perceive the fragrance of the paradise that is the very Person of the Manifestation. They are among the greatest losers, but they do not know. We ask God to grant you the wing of certainty in this manifest Cause, so that you may soar with it to the heaven of glory and holiness and say: “Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.”

204

و اينكه نوشته بودى قطع نظر از نصّ ربّ اعلى بشنو نداى اين عبد را و ابدا از نصّ نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه سخن ذكر منما چه كه و نفسه المنّان و جماله الرّحمن كه بهيچوجه مطّلع نيستى كه مقصود از نصّ نقطه بيان كه بوده و چيست نه شما مطّلع و نه دون شما چه كه اين امر از ابصر كلّ مستور و احدى بتفصيل آن مطّلع نه الّا نفسان واحد منهما استشهد فى سبيل اللّه و نفس ديگر موجود و مشركين او را كاذب دانسته‌اند كه هذيانات خود را بين ناس انتشار دهند

Va īnkeh neveshteh būdī qaṭʿ-e naẓar az naṣṣ-e Rabb-e Aʿlā beshnow nedā-ye īn ʿabd rā va abadan az naṣṣ-e Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e māsavāh fedāh sokhan dhekr manamā cheh keh va nafsihi al-Mannān va jamālihi al-Raḥmān keh beh hīch vajh moṭṭaleʿ nīstī keh maqṣūd az naṣṣ-e Noqṭeh-ye Bayān keh būdeh va chīst nah shomā moṭṭaleʿ va nah dūn-e shomā cheh keh īn amr az abṣor-e koll mastūr va aḥadī beh tafṣīl-e ān moṭṭaleʿ nah illā nafsān wāḥidun minhumā istushhida fī sabīl Allāh va nafs-e dīgar mowjūd va moshrekīn ū rā kādheb dānesteh-and keh hadhayānāt-e khod rā beyn-e nās enteshār dehand.

As for your having written, “Quite apart from the explicit text of the Most Exalted Lord,” listen to the call of this servant, and never speak of the explicit text of the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. For, by His bountiful Self and His all-merciful Beauty, you have no knowledge whatsoever of who was intended by the explicit text of the Point of the Bayán or what it means. Neither you nor anyone else knows, for this matter is hidden from the eyes of all, and no one knows its details except two souls. One of them was martyred in the path of God, and the other is still living. The idolaters have deemed him a liar so that they may spread their own ravings among the people.

205

و از اين گذشته اين نصّى كه معرض باللّه ادّعاى آن مينمايد و بشما ذكر نموده‌اند درباره اسم اللّه الديّان ميرزا اسداللّه اعظم از آن نازل بيانات نقطه بيان را ملاحظه كن كه جميع اسماء الهى را باو راجع فرموده‌اند و تفصيل اين در كلماتيكه از مشرق اصبع رحمن اشراق فرموده موجود و هم‌‌چنين عبد حاضر لدى العرش بعضى الواح در اين امور مبسوط نوشته‌اند ملاحظه كن لعلّ تتذكّر فى نفسك و تخرق احجاب التّقليد بقدرة ربّك المقتدر العزيز الحميد

Va az īn godhashteh īn naṣṣī keh moʿreḍ-e bi-Allāh eddeʿā-ye ān mīnamāyad va beh shomā dhekr namūdeh-and dar bāreh-ye Esm Allāh al-Dayyān Mīrzā Asad Allāh aʿẓam az ān nāzel bayānāt-e Noqṭeh-ye Bayān rā molāḥaẓeh kon keh jamīʿ-e asmā-ye elāhī rā beh ū rājeʿ farmūdeh-and va tafṣīl-e īn dar kalemātī keh az mashreq-e eṣbaʿ-e Raḥmān eshrāq farmūdeh mowjūd va hamchenīn ʿabd-e ḥāḍer ladā al-ʿarsh baʿḍī alvāḥ dar īn omūr mabsūṭ neveshteh-and molāḥaẓeh kon laʿallaka tatadhakkaru fī nafsika va takhriqu aḥjāb al-taqlīd bi-qudrati rabbika al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥamīd.

Moreover, as for this explicit text that the one who has turned away from God lays claim to, and which has been mentioned to you, something greater than it was revealed concerning the Name of God, the Judge, Mírzá Asadu’lláh. Consider the utterances of the Point of the Bayán, in which He referred all the divine names to him. The details of this are found in the words that have shone forth from the dawning-place of the finger of the All-Merciful. Likewise, the servant present before the Throne has written certain Tablets at length on these matters. Examine them, so that you may take heed within yourself and rend the veils of imitation through the power of your Lord, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Praised.

206

و همين اسم مذكور را كه نقطه بيان ديّان فرموده كه اعظم اسماء الهى است شما اليوم دنىّ ميخوانيد و ابوالشّرور ميناميد و مرشد شما ميرزا يحيى تصريحاً من غير تلويح در كتاب سجّين خود كه بمستيقظ معروف است فتواى قتل آن مظلوم را داده و هم‌‌چنين نفوس ديگر را برويد و بخوانيد تا مطّلع شويد كه بر مظاهر حقّ چه وارد شده و هم‌‌چنين نقطه اولى باو مرقوم فرموده انّك انت ان يا حرف الثّالث المؤمن بمن يظهره اللّه و اين مقامى است كه سبقت داشته بر كلّ مقامات و

Va hamīn ism-e madhkūr rā keh Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān Dayyān farmūdeh keh aʿẓam-e asmā-ye ilāhī ast shomā al-yawm danī mīkhvānīd va Abu’sh-Shurūr mīnāmīd va murshid-e shomā Mīrzā Yaḥyā taṣrīḥan min ghayri talwīḥ dar kitāb-e sijjīn-e khvod keh be-Mustayqiẓ maʿrūf ast fatvā-ye qatl-e ān maẓlūm rā dādeh va ham-chunīn nufūs-e dīgar rā. Beravīd va bekhvānīd tā muṭṭaliʿ shavīd keh bar maẓāhir-e Ḥaqq cheh vārid shodeh va ham-chunīn Nuqṭeh-ye Ūlā be-ū marqūm farmūdeh: innaka anta [corrupted text] yā ḥarfa al-thālithi al-muʾminu bi-man yuẓhiruhu Allāh. Va īn maqāmī ast keh sabqat dāshteh bar kull-e maqāmāt va

And this same person, whom the Point of the Bayán called Dayyán, declaring this to be the greatest of the divine names, you now call base and name the Father of Evils. Your leader, Mírzá Yaḥyá, explicitly and without allusion, has issued a sentence of death against that wronged one, as well as other souls, in his own book of perdition, known as the Mustayqiẓ. Go and read it, so that you may learn what has befallen the Manifestations of the Truth. Likewise, the Primal Point wrote to him: “You are indeed [corrupted original text], O third Letter, the believer in Him whom God will make manifest.” This is a station that has taken precedence over all stations, and

207

بعد بيانى در اينمقام فرموده‌اند كه از تلويح كلمات الهى چنان مستفاد ميشود كه بلقاء اللّه در ظهور بعد فايز ميگردد و آن هيكل قدم او را باو ميشناساند چنانچه بين يدى حاضر شد و لسان اللّه باو متكلّم مجملى از تفصيل او اينكه هنگامى كه ميرزا يحيى فتواى قتل او را نوشت حضرت ابهى از عراق هجرت اختيار فرموده بودند و قريب دو سنه بود كه ابدا احدى از ايشان اطّلاع نداشت و چون رقم قتل از نزد مرشدت ظاهر شد ميرزا محمّد نامى مخصوص رفته بآذربايجان كه آن مظلوم را شهيد نمايد ابی‌ اللّه عمّا اراد ليتمّ القول فيما ذكر فى اللّوح و اسم مذكور از آذربايجان آمده و جميع اصحاب بر قتلش ايستادند از عرب و عجم و اين در وقتى بود كه حضرت ابهى مراجعت فرموده بودند و در عراق تشريف داشتند بقسمى امر شديد شد كه يومى از ایّام جمال ابهى از اوّل طلوع فجر تا قريب بعصر يك يك از اصحاب را كه در صدد اذيّت بيچاره بودند طلبيده و نهى بليغ فرمودند

Baʿd bayānī dar īn maqām farmūdeh-and keh az talvīḥ-e kalamāt-e ilāhī chunān mustafād mīshavad keh be-liqāʾ Allāh dar ẓuhūr-e baʿd fāʾiz mīgardad va ān Haykal-e Qidam ū rā be-ū mīshināsānad, chunāncheh bayna yaday ḥāḍir shod va Lisān Allāh be-ū mutakallim. Mujmalī az tafṣīl-e ū īnkeh hangāmī keh Mīrzā Yaḥyā fatvā-ye qatl-e ū rā nivisht Ḥaḍrat-e Abhā az ʿIrāq hijrat ikhtiyār farmūdeh būdand va qarīb-e do saneh būd keh abadan aḥadī az īshān iṭṭilāʿ nadāsht va chūn raqam-e qatl az nazd-e murshidat ẓāhir shod Mīrzā Muḥammad-nāmī makhṣūṣ rafteh be-Ādharbāyjān keh ān maẓlūm rā shahīd namāyad. Abā Allāhu ʿammā arāda li-yatimma al-qawlu fīmā dhukira fī al-lawḥ. Va ism-e madhkūr az Ādharbāyjān āmadeh va jamīʿ-e aṣḥāb bar qatl-ash īstādand az ʿArab va ʿAjam va īn dar vaqtī būd keh Ḥaḍrat-e Abhā murājaʿat farmūdeh būdand va dar ʿIrāq tashrīf dāshtand. Be-qismī amr shadīd shod keh yawmī az ayyām Jamāl-e Abhā az avval-e ṭulūʿ-e fajr tā qarīb be-ʿaṣr yek yek az aṣḥāb rā keh dar ṣadad-e adhiyyat-e bīchāreh būdand ṭalabīdeh va nahy-e balīgh farmūdand.

He then made a statement concerning this station, from the allusions of whose divine words it is understood that he would attain the presence of God in the next Revelation, and that the Temple of Eternity would make Him known to him. Indeed, he came into His presence, and the Tongue of God spoke to him. A brief account of his story is this: when Mírzá Yaḥyá wrote the sentence of death against him, His Holiness the All-Glorious had departed from Iraq, and for nearly two years no one had any news of Him whatsoever. When the decree of death issued from your leader, a certain Mírzá Muḥammad went expressly to Azerbaijan to martyr that wronged one. God thwarted what he intended, so that the words recorded in the Tablet might be fulfilled. The aforementioned person came from Azerbaijan, and all the companions, Arab and Persian alike, rose up to kill him. This was at a time when His Holiness the All-Glorious had returned and was residing in Iraq. Matters became so grave that, one day, from the first light of dawn until nearly the afternoon, the All-Glorious Beauty summoned, one by one, those companions who were intent on harming that helpless man and emphatically forbade them.

208

و بعد از دو يوم اسم مذكور بين يدى حاضر و آنچه از مفتريات كه نسبت باو داده بودند از خود سلب نموده و قسم ياد نمود كه آنچه نسبت باين عبد داده‌اند كذب صرف است و جمال ابهى كمال ملاطفت باو فرمودند و بآنچه در لوح ثبت بود فايز شد و بمنزل خود راجع گشت بعد از چند يوم نفس مذكور او را فريب داده و از كاظمين آورده قرب خانه مرشدت آن بيچاره را شهيد نمود فواللّه در شهادت او غبارى در عراق مرتفع گشت و بقسمى ظلمت فرو گرفت كه روز بشب تبديل شد و در اسواق سراج برافروختند و جميع اهل عراق خائفاً مضطرباً متزلزلاً صيحه يا اللّه برآوردند و ندا مينمودند چه از اناث و چه از ذكور كه از سفك دم اين مظلوم است كه اين بليّه بر عراق نازل شده و مرشد مستشعر نشد و از نوم غفلت بيدار نگشت و اللّه بظلمى او را شهيد نمودند كه آسمانها بفزع و نوحه و ندبه درآمدند مع‌ذلك متنبّه نشده نفسى را كه حضرت اعلى روح ماسواه فداه او را فرد الأحد ناميده و هم‌‌چنين مظهر الأحديّه و اسم اللّه الديّان خطاب فرموده در الواح ناريّه خود بحقارت او را مينامند و تا حال احدى از مشركين او را نشناختند چه كه ستر رحمن حايل بود قل يا قوم اتّقوا اللّه و لاتسفكوا الدّمآء توبوا اليه يا معشر الغافلين لعلّ يكفّر عنكم جريراتكم و يغفر سيّئاتكم الّتى ناحت بها سكّان الملك و الملكوت ثمّ اهل ملأ العالّين

Va baʿd az do yawm ism-e madhkūr bayna yaday ḥāḍir va āncheh az muftariyāt keh nisbat be-ū dādeh būdand az khvod salb namūdeh va qasam yād namūd keh āncheh nisbat be-īn ʿabd dādeh-and kidhb-e ṣirf ast va Jamāl-e Abhā kamāl-e mulāṭafat be-ū farmūdand va be-āncheh dar lawḥ thabt būd fāʾiz shod va be-manzil-e khvod rājiʿ gasht. Baʿd az chand yawm nafs-e madhkūr ū rā farīb dādeh va az Kāẓimayn āvordeh qurb-e khāneh-ye murshidat ān bīchāreh rā shahīd namūd. Fa-wa-Allāh dar shahādat-e ū ghubārī dar ʿIrāq murtafiʿ gasht va be-qismī ẓulmat furū girift keh rūz be-shab tabdīl shod va dar asvāq sirāj bar-afrūkhtand va jamīʿ-e ahl-e ʿIrāq khāʾifan muḍṭariban mutazalzilan ṣayḥeh-ye yā Allāh bar-āvordand va nidā mīnamūdand cheh az ināth va cheh az dhukūr keh az safk-e dam-e īn maẓlūm ast keh īn baliyyeh bar ʿIrāq nāzil shodeh va murshid mustashʿir nashod va az nawm-e ghaflat bīdār nagasht. Va-Allāh be-ẓulmī ū rā shahīd namūdand keh āsmānhā be-fazaʿ va nawḥeh va nudbeh dar-āmadand. Maʿa dhālik mutanabbih nashodeh nafsī rā keh Ḥaḍrat-e Aʿlā rūḥ-e mā sivāh fidāh ū rā Fard al-Aḥad nāmīdeh va ham-chunīn Maẓhar al-Aḥadiyyah va Ism Allāh al-Dayyān khiṭāb farmūdeh dar alvāḥ-e nāriyyeh-ye khvod be-ḥaqārat ū rā mīnāmand va tā ḥāl aḥadī az mushrikīn ū rā nashinākhtand cheh keh sitr-e Raḥmān ḥāʾil būd. Qul yā qawmi ittaqū Allāha wa-lā tasfikū al-dimāʾ. Tūbū ilayhi yā maʿshara al-ghāfilīn laʿalla yukaffiru ʿankum jarīrātikum wa-yaghfiru sayyiʾātikumu allatī nāḥat bihā sukkānu al-mulki wa-l-malakūt thumma ahlu malaʾi al-ʿāllīn.

Two days later, the aforementioned person came into His presence, repudiated the fabrications attributed to him, and swore, “Whatever they have attributed to this servant is sheer falsehood.” The All-Glorious Beauty treated him with the utmost kindness. He attained what had been recorded in the Tablet and returned to his lodging. A few days later, the person already mentioned deceived him, brought him from Káẓimayn, and martyred that helpless man near your leader’s house. By God, at his martyrdom a cloud of dust rose over Iraq, and darkness descended so thickly that day turned to night and lamps were lit in the markets. All the people of Iraq, fearful, distraught, and shaken, cried out, “O God!” Women and men alike called out, “It is because the blood of this wronged one has been shed that this calamity has descended upon Iraq.” Yet the leader did not perceive it and did not awaken from the sleep of heedlessness. By God, they martyred him with such cruelty that the heavens were filled with terror, lamentation, and mourning. Even so, they have not taken heed, and in their fiery tablets they speak contemptuously of the soul whom His Holiness the Most Exalted—may the soul of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—named the Peerless One of the One, and likewise addressed as the Manifestation of Oneness and the Name of God, the Judge. To this day none of the idolaters has recognized him, for the veil of the All-Merciful intervened. Say: O people, fear God and do not shed blood. Turn to Him in repentance, O company of the heedless, that He may expiate your offenses and forgive your misdeeds, over which the inhabitants of the earthly world and the heavenly kingdom, and then the company of the exalted ones, have lamented.

209

و مرشد شما در مقام استحقار آن شهيد بی‌معين ذكر مينمود كه نقطه اولى باو مرقوم فرموده‌اند و سفارش نموده كه كاغذ و قلم خوب از براى من تحصيل نمايد كه من بر او بنويسم بگو سلّمنا كه اين قول مقبول از همين معلوم است كه تو در ظلّ او بوده چه كه اينگونه تلطّف از آباء ظاهر ميشود نسبت باطفال و كاش همين قدر مستشعر ميشد لاواللّه لن يستشعر فى نفسه و لو يأتى اللّه بكلّ آية او بقبيل من اهل السّموات او بجنود الرّوح او بصحف الأوّلين و الآخرین فواللّه از ظلم آن انفس مشركه هياكل احديّه در نوحه و ندبه و نقطه اولى بحنين و ناله مشغول فيا ليت يكون من ذى سمعٍ و ذى بصر و ذى قلب ليشهد و يسمع و يفقه غشت قلوبهم و افئدتهم شواظ من النّار و مارج من النّيران و منعتهم عن التّوجّه الى افعالهم و اعمالهم و ما ظهر من انفسهم و ما يخرج من افواههم

Va murshid-e shomā dar maqām-e istiḥqār-e ān shahīd-e bī-muʿīn dhikr mīnamūd keh Nuqṭeh-ye Ūlā be-ū marqūm farmūdeh-and va sifārish namūdeh keh kāghadh va qalam-e khūb az barā-ye man taḥṣīl namāyad keh man bar ū binivīsam. Begū sallamnā keh īn qawl maqbūl, az hamīn maʿlūm ast keh to dar ẓill-e ū būdeh cheh keh īngūneh talaṭṭuf az ābāʾ ẓāhir mīshavad nisbat be-aṭfāl va kāsh hamīn qadr mustashʿir mīshod. Lā wa-Allāh lan yastashʿira fī nafsihi wa-law yaʾtī Allāhu bi-kulli āyatin aw bi-qabīlin min ahli al-samāwāt aw bi-junūdi al-rūḥ aw bi-ṣuḥufi al-awwalīn wa-l-ākhirīn. Fa-wa-Allāh az ẓulm-e ān anfus-e mushrikeh hayākil-e aḥadiyyeh dar nawḥeh va nudbeh va Nuqṭeh-ye Ūlā be-ḥanīn va nāleh mashghūl. Fa-yā layta yakūnu min dhī samʿin wa-dhī baṣarin wa-dhī qalbin li-yashhada wa-yasmaʿa wa-yafqaha. Ghashat qulūbahum wa-afʾidatahum shuwāẓun min al-nār wa-mārijun min al-nīrān wa-manaʿathum ʿan al-tawajjuhi ilā afʿālihim wa-aʿmālihim wa-mā ẓahara min anfusihim wa-mā yakhruju min afwāhihim.

Your leader, seeking to belittle that martyr who had no helper, would mention that the Primal Point had written to him and requested that he obtain good paper and pens for Him to write with. Say: Granted that this statement is accepted, this very thing makes it clear that you were under his shadow, for such kindness is shown by fathers toward children. If only he had perceived even this much! No, by God, he will never perceive it within himself, even should God come with every sign, or with a company of the inhabitants of the heavens, or with the hosts of the Spirit, or with the scriptures of the former and latter generations. By God, because of the injustice of those idolatrous souls, the Temples of Oneness are lamenting and mourning, and the Primal Point is sighing and weeping. If only there were someone with ears, eyes, and a heart, that he might witness, hear, and understand! A flame of fire and a blaze of burning heat have enveloped their hearts and their inmost selves, preventing them from attending to their deeds and actions, to what has proceeded from their own selves, and to what comes from their mouths.

210

بگو اى غافل جاهل سلّمنا كه مجعولات تو قبول شد نصّ نقطه بيان است در كلّ بيان كه در حين ظهور ببيان و ما خلق فيه از نفس ظهور محتجب نشويد حمد خدا را كه آن مشرك و امثال او از تصريح كلمات محكمه متقنه الهيّه محروم مانده تا چه رسد بتلويح اشارات مالك اسماء و صفات بگو از خدا شرم كنيد و ذيل دين قويم الهى را بطين ظنون و اوهام ميالائيد و شمس مشرقه سماء احديّه را بحجبات نفسيّه مپوشانيد قل تاللّه انّ هذه لشمس ما اخذها الكسوف و قمر لايخسف ابداً اذا موتوا بغيظكم ثمّ بنار حسدكم يا ملأ الأشرار هنوز آن قدر ادراك ننموده‌ايد كه در حين اشراق شمس مدلول دليل لا يسمن و لا يغنى بوده چه كه مقصود از دليل عرفان نفس مدلول بوده اذا فافتح بصراك لتراها مشرقة عن افق العزّ و المجد و الجلال

Begū ay ghāfil-e jāhil sallamnā keh majʿūlāt-e to qabūl shod, naṣṣ-e Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān ast dar kull-e Bayān keh dar ḥīn-e ẓuhūr be-Bayān va mā khuliqa fīh az nafs-e ẓuhūr muḥtajib nashavīd. Ḥamd-e Khudā rā keh ān mushrik va amthāl-e ū az taṣrīḥ-e kalamāt-e muḥkameh-ye mutqaneh-ye ilāhiyyeh maḥrūm māndeh tā cheh rasad be-talvīḥ-e ishārāt-e Mālik-e Asmāʾ va Ṣifāt. Begū az Khudā sharm kunīd va dhayl-e dīn-e qavīm-e ilāhī rā be-ṭīn-e ẓunūn va awhām mayālāyīd va shams-e mushriqeh-ye samā-ye aḥadiyyeh rā be-ḥujubāt-e nafsiyyeh mapūshānīd. Qul ta-Allāhi inna hādhihi la-shamsun mā akhadhahā al-kusūfu wa-qamarun lā yukhsafu abadan. Idhan mūtū bi-ghayẓikum thumma bi-nāri ḥasadikum yā malaʾa al-ashrār. Hanūz ān qadr idrāk nanamūdeh-īd keh dar ḥīn-e ishrāq-e shams-e madlūl dalīl lā yusminu wa-lā yughnī būdeh cheh keh maqṣūd az dalīl ʿirfān-e nafs-e madlūl būdeh. Idhan fa-ftaḥ baṣrāka li-tarāhā mushriqatan ʿan ufuqi al-ʿizzi wa-l-majdi wa-l-jalāl.

Say: O heedless and ignorant one, granted that your fabrications are accepted, the explicit statement of the Point of the Bayán throughout the Bayán is that, at the time of the Revelation, you must not allow the Bayán and all that was created within it to veil you from the Revelation itself. Praise be to God! That idolater and those like him have remained deprived of the explicit meaning of God’s firm and incontrovertible words, let alone the allusions contained in the intimations of the Lord of Names and Attributes. Say: Be ashamed before God. Do not soil the hem of God’s steadfast religion with the mire of suppositions and imaginings, and do not conceal the Sun shining from the heaven of Oneness behind the veils of self. Say: By God, this is indeed a Sun that no eclipse has overtaken, and a Moon that will never be eclipsed. Die, then, in your rage and in the fire of your envy, O company of the wicked! You have not yet understood even this much: when the Sun of the One to whom the proof points shines forth, the proof neither nourishes nor avails, for the purpose of the proof is to recognize the very One to whom it points. Open your eyes, then, that you may see it shining from the horizon of might, glory, and majesty.

211

قوله كبر غفلته پس اگر ديگرى برآيد مدّعى مقامى بعد از نقطه بيان شود خالى از اين نيست يا مدّعى آن بايد باشد كه در ظلّ نقطه بيان است و دوره نقطه بيان هنوز منقضى نگشته و تكميل اين دوره نشده بايد در اينصورت كمال عبوديّت نسبت بربّ اعلى نمايد و غايت اطاعت بفرمايش او نمايد و ابدا بقدر جوى از فرمايش ربّ اعلى ايد تخلّف ننمايد چونكه دوره دوره اوست و خود مدّعى در ظلّ افتاده انتهى

Qawluhu, kabura ghaflatuhu: pas agar dīgarī bar-āyad muddaʿī-ye maqāmī baʿd az Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān shavad khālī az īn nīst, yā muddaʿī ān bāyad bāshad keh dar ẓill-e Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān ast va dawreh-ye Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān hanūz munqaḍī nagashteh va takmīl-e īn dawreh nashodeh bāyad dar īn ṣūrat kamāl-e ʿubūdiyyat nisbat be-Rabb-e Aʿlā namāyad va ghāyat-e iṭāʿat be-farmāyesh-e ū namāyad va abadan be-qadr-e javī az farmāyesh-e Rabb-e Aʿlā [corrupted text] takhalluf nanamāyad chūnkeh dawreh dawreh-ye ūst va khvod-e muddaʿī dar ẓill uftādeh. Intahā.

His words—great is his heedlessness: “Then, if another should arise and claim a station after the Point of the Bayán, it cannot be otherwise: either he must claim that he is under the shadow of the Point of the Bayán, while the dispensation of the Point of the Bayán has not yet ended and this dispensation has not been completed. In that case he must show perfect servitude toward the Most Exalted Lord and the utmost obedience to His command, and never depart, even by a barleycorn, from the command of the Most Exalted Lord [corrupted original text], for the dispensation is His dispensation, and the claimant himself stands under the shadow.” End of quotation.

212

حال قدرى انصاف ده و چشم بگشا كه در چه مقام واقعى و در چه رتبه قائم چه فرق مابين خود و ملل قبل مشاهده ميكنى چه كه آن قوم كه از زلال سلسال معارف عزّ صمدانى و كوثر افضال سلطان لايزالى محروم مانده‌اند سبب اين شده كه بدلايل مثبته نزد خود مستدلّ و معتكف و بان دلايل بر سلطان قبايل اعتراض نموده و از شريعه قدس احديّه محروم گشته‌اند

Ḥāl qadrī inṣāf deh va chashm bigushā keh dar cheh maqām vāqiʿī va dar cheh rutbeh qāʾim. Cheh farq mābayn-e khvod va milal-e qabl mushāhedeh mīkunī? Cheh keh ān qawm keh az zulāl-e salsāl-e maʿārif-e ʿizz-e ṣamadānī va kawthar-e afḍāl-e Sulṭān-e lā-yazālī maḥrūm māndeh-and sabab īn shodeh keh be-dalāʾil-e muthbiteh nazd-e khvod mustadill va muʿtakif va be-ān dalāʾil bar Sulṭān-e qabāʾil iʿtirāḍ namūdeh va az sharīʿeh-ye quds-e aḥadiyyeh maḥrūm gashteh-and.

Now be a little fair, and open your eyes to see the position you occupy and the rank in which you stand. What difference do you perceive between yourself and the religious communities of the past? The reason those people have remained deprived of the clear, flowing water of the knowledge of divine glory and the heavenly stream of the favors of the everlasting Sovereign is that they have relied upon and clung to proofs they themselves regard as established. With those proofs they have raised objections against the Sovereign of all peoples and have been deprived of the holy waters of Oneness.

213

مثلاً اهل تورئة بآن استدلال نموده كه بعد از موسى نفسى صاحب شريعت نخواهد آمد و هر نفسى هم بيايد بايد شريعت او را ترويج نمايد و هم‌‌چنين علاماتى معيّن نموده‌اند كه نفس ظهور بايد بآن علامات ظاهر شود و لذا ممنوع شدند از عرفان مظاهر ظهور چه كه نفس ظهور يظهر كيف يظهره اللّه و اراد لا بما عند النّاس و هم‌‌چنين اهل انجيل برآنند كه خود عيسى از آسمان نازل ميشود بعد از ظلمت شمس و تاريكى قمر و سقوط كواكب و هم‌چنين ملّت فرقان كه ابدا قائل بر اينكه صاحب شريعتى ظاهر شود نبوده و نيستند و ميگويند نفسى هزار سنه قبل از نرجس خاتون متولّد شده و در جابلقا و جابلسا الآن موجود است و منتظر اذن الهى است كه ظاهر شود و او ميايد و شريعت رسول اللّه را يعنى همين شريعت كه در دست هست ترويج ميدهد و علاماتى هم در اينمقام ذكر نموده‌اند كه اگر تفصيل ذكر شود كتابی‌ بايد تاليف نمود

Mathalan ahl-e Tawrāt be-ān istidlāl namūdeh keh baʿd az Mūsā nafsī ṣāḥib-e sharīʿat nakhvāhad āmad va har nafsī ham biyāyad bāyad sharīʿat-e ū rā tarvīj namāyad va ham-chunīn ʿalāmātī muʿayyan namūdeh-and keh nafs-e ẓuhūr bāyad be-ān ʿalāmāt ẓāhir shavad va lidhā mamnūʿ shodand az ʿirfān-e maẓāhir-e ẓuhūr cheh keh nafs-e ẓuhūr yaẓharu kayfa yuẓhiruhu Allāhu wa-arāda lā bi-mā ʿinda al-nās. Va ham-chunīn ahl-e Injīl bar-ānand keh khvod-e ʿĪsā az āsmān nāzil mīshavad baʿd az ẓulmat-e shams va tārīkī-ye qamar va suqūṭ-e kavākib va ham-chunīn millat-e Furqān keh abadan qāʾil bar īnkeh ṣāḥib-e sharīʿatī ẓāhir shavad nabūdeh va nīstand va mīgūyand nafsī hizār saneh qabl az Narjis Khātūn mutavallid shodeh va dar Jābulqā va Jābulsā al-ān mawjūd ast va muntaẓir-e idhn-e ilāhī ast keh ẓāhir shavad va ū mīāyad va sharīʿat-e Rasūl Allāh rā yaʿnī hamīn sharīʿat keh dar dast hast tarvīj mīdahad va ʿalāmātī ham dar īn maqām dhikr namūdeh-and keh agar tafṣīl dhikr shavad kitābī bāyad taʾlīf namūd.

For example, the people of the Torah have reasoned that no one bringing a religious law will come after Moses, and that whoever does come must promote His law. They have likewise specified signs with which the Manifestation Himself must appear. Thus they were prevented from recognizing the Manifestations of Revelation, for the Manifestation Himself appears as God makes Him appear and as He has willed, not according to what people possess. Likewise, the people of the Gospel hold that Jesus Himself will descend from heaven after the sun has been darkened, the moon has grown dim, and the stars have fallen. Likewise, the people of the Qur’an have never accepted, and do not now accept, that a bearer of a religious law will appear. They say that a person was born a thousand years ago to Narjis Khátún, that he now exists in Jábulqá and Jábulsá, and that he awaits God’s permission to appear. He will come and promote the law of the Messenger of God—that is, this very law now in their possession. They have also mentioned signs in this connection, which would require a book to set out in detail.

214

جميع اينمطالب را ببراهين متقنه و نصوص محكمه و دلائل محقّقه نزد خود چنان ثابت نموده‌اند كه منكرين آن را كافر و باطل و مشرك دانسته و ميدانند و در حين اشراق شموس عزّ تقديس چون بر خلاف آراء اين نفوس بوده لذا كلّ محجوب و محروم مانده‌اند مع‌ذلك تازه استدلال مينمائيد كه اين نفسيكه ظاهر است يا بايد فوق آن باشد يا در ظلّ او اگر در ظلّ او است بايد باعمال او عامل شود و اگر فوق او رتبه را ادّعا نمايد محال بوده چه كه هنوز دوره دوره او است و تكميل نشده

Jamīʿ-e īn maṭālib rā be-barāhīn-e mutqaneh va nuṣūṣ-e muḥkameh va dalāʾil-e muḥaqqaqeh nazd-e khvod chunān thābit namūdeh-and keh munkirīn-e ān rā kāfir va bāṭil va mushrik dānisteh va mīdānand va dar ḥīn-e ishrāq-e shumūs-e ʿizz-e taqdīs chūn bar khilāf-e ārā-ye īn nufūs būdeh lidhā kull muḥtajib va maḥrūm māndeh-and. Maʿa dhālik tāzeh istidlāl mīnamāyīd keh īn nafsī keh ẓāhir ast yā bāyad fawq-e ān bāshad yā dar ẓill-e ū. Agar dar ẓill-e ū ast bāyad be-aʿmāl-e ū ʿāmil shavad va agar fawq-e ū rutbeh rā iddiʿā namāyad muḥāl būdeh cheh keh hanūz dawreh dawreh-ye ū ast va takmīl nashodeh.

They have established all these matters to their own satisfaction with such firm arguments, explicit texts, and verified proofs that they have regarded, and still regard, those who deny them as unbelievers, followers of falsehood, and idolaters. When the Suns of the glory of holiness shone forth, their appearance ran contrary to the opinions of these souls, and so all remained veiled and deprived. Nevertheless, you now begin to argue that this Person who has appeared must either be above Him or under His shadow. If He is under His shadow, He must act according to His practices; and if He claims a rank above Him, that is impossible, for the dispensation is still His dispensation and has not been completed.

215

حال انصاف ده فرق شما با اين فئه چه چيز است بلى فرق لايحصى چه كه در كتب آنقوم باشارات معضله و آيات مقنّعه مستوره تلويحاً من غير تصريح ذكر ظهور بعد شده و لذا محتجب مانده‌اند چه كه ادراك ننموده‌اند معانى كلمات الهيّه را و لكن شما و امثال شما مع آنكه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه تصريحاً من غير تلويح ميفرمايند بآنچه مابين سموات و ارض خلق شده چه از كلمات و چه از اشارات از آن سلطان وجود و مليك شهود خود را منع ننمائيد دلايل ذكر ميكنيد كه حقّ جايز نيست ظاهر شود

Ḥāl inṣāf deh farq-e shomā bā īn fiʾeh cheh chīz ast? Balī farq lā yuḥṣā, cheh keh dar kutub-e ān qawm be-ishārāt-e muʿḍileh va āyāt-e muqannaʿeh-ye mastūreh talvīḥan min ghayri taṣrīḥ dhikr-e ẓuhūr-e baʿd shodeh va lidhā muḥtajib māndeh-and cheh keh idrāk nanamūdeh-and maʿānī-ye kalamāt-e ilāhiyyeh rā. Va lākin shomā va amthāl-e shomā maʿa ānkeh Nuqṭeh-ye Bayān rūḥ-e mā sivāh fidāh taṣrīḥan min ghayri talvīḥ mīfarmāyand be-āncheh mābayn-e samāvāt va arḍ khalq shodeh cheh az kalamāt va cheh az ishārāt az ān Sulṭān-e vujūd va Malīk-e shuhūd khvod rā manʿ nanamāyīd dalāʾil dhikr mīkunīd keh Ḥaqq jāʾiz nīst ẓāhir shavad.

Now be fair: what difference is there between you and this group? Indeed, the difference is beyond measure, for in those people’s books the next Revelation was mentioned through abstruse allusions and veiled, hidden verses, by implication rather than explicit statement. Thus they remained veiled, for they did not comprehend the meanings of the divine words. But you and those like you, even though the Point of the Bayán—may the soul of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—explicitly and without allusion says that you must not allow anything created between heaven and earth, whether words or allusions, to keep you from that Sovereign of existence and King of the visible world, adduce proofs that God may not manifest Himself.

216

صدهزار آفرين بر فهم و كمال شما و مرشدين شما از اين كلمات كبريّه غروريه كه بشما القاء نموده‌اند معلوم شد كه خود را مختار ميدانند نه حقّ را بگو اى متوهّم هرگز حقّ در هيچ ظهورى بخيال ناس ظاهر نشده و بر خلاف آنچه در دست جميع ناس بوده ظاهر شده چه كه مقدّس بوده ذات امنع اقدسش از جميع ظنون و اوهام و اشارات و دلالات و احدى بر نفس ظهور و كيفيّت او مطّلع نه الّا نفسه العليم الخبير آنقدر کرده‌اند كه روى يهود و جميع محتجبين ارض را سفيد کرده‌اند يهود يداللّه را مغلول دانسته ديگر دستور العمل از براى حقّ ذكر نكرده كه اگر همچه ادّعا نمايد جايز نيست و اگر فلان ادّعا نمايد بايد بشئون محدوده معيّنه ظاهر شود

Ṣad-hizār āfarīn bar fahm va kamāl-e shomā va morshedīn-e shomā! Az īn kalemāt-e kebrīyyeh-ye ghorūrīyyeh keh be-shomā elqā namūdeh-and maʿlūm shod keh khod rā mokhtār mīdānand nah Ḥaqq rā. Begū ey motavahhem, hargez Ḥaqq dar hīch ẓohūrī be-khīyāl-e nās ẓāher nashodeh va bar khelāf-e āncheh dar dast-e jamīʿ-e nās būdeh ẓāher shodeh, cheh keh moqaddas būdeh dhāt-e amnaʿ-e aqdasash az jamīʿ-e ẓonūn va avhām va eshārāt va dalālāt va aḥadī bar nafs-e ẓohūr va keyfīyyat-e ū moṭṭaleʿ nah, illā nafsuhu al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr. Ānqadr kardeh-and keh rūy-e Yahūd va jamīʿ-e moḥtajebīn-e arḍ rā sefīd kardeh-and. Yahūd yadullāh rā maghlūl dānesteh, dīgar dastūr al-ʿamal az barā-ye Ḥaqq dhekr nakardeh keh agar hamcheh eddeʿā namāyad jāyez nīst va agar folān eddeʿā namāyad bāyad be-shoʾūn-e maḥdūdeh-ye moʿayyanه ẓāher shavad.

A hundred thousand bravos for your understanding and accomplishments, and those of your guides! These grandiose, arrogant words they have instilled in you show that they consider themselves, not God, free to choose. Say: O deluded one, never in any Revelation has God appeared according to people’s imaginings. Rather, He has appeared contrary to what all people possessed, for His most inaccessible, most holy Essence has been sanctified above all conjectures, fancies, allusions, and indications. No one knows the Revelation itself or its manner except He Himself, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. They have gone so far as to make the Jews and all the veiled peoples of the earth seem blameless by comparison. The Jews considered the hand of God fettered, but they did not go on to prescribe instructions for God, saying that if He makes such a claim it is inadmissible, and if He makes some other claim He must appear in specified, limited ways.

217

قد كبر قولك يا غافل آنقدر ادراك ننموده كه تكميل هر ظهور قبلى بظهور بعد شده و خواهد شد چنانچه در اين ظهور بدع قدس رحمانى در سنه تسع در سرّ سرّ نفوس مقدّسه مطهّره زكيّه در همان حين تكميل شدند و لكن انت لا تشعر و لا تفقه و لا تعرف چه كه شكر مصر عرفان الهى قسمت طوطى معانى بوده نه قسمت زاغ ظلمانى و معرض باللّه چون توقّف نمود و از صراط لغزيد در همان حين هيكلش از قميص انسانى خارج و بجلود بهائم ظاهر و مشهود گشت فسبحان من يبدّل الوجود كيف یشآء و يقدّر الأمور كيف يريد لا رادّ لأمره و لا مردّ لمشيّته كلّ شیء منقاد لسلطنته و مشفق من خشيته و مرتعش من سطوته و لذلك الرّبّ يليق تهليل اهل ملأ الأعلی ثمّ تسبيح اهل مداين البقآء و لكن تو از آن نفوسى بنظر ميائى كه اراده ادراك امرى و يا تفقّه در شيئ نداشته و ندارى مقصود اثبات رياستى است كه از براى مرشد خود محقّق نمايند و خود هم در ظلّش معروف و موسوم باشند تاللّه انّ ظلّه برهوت و انّ مائه ملح اجاج لو انتم تفقهون

Qad kabura qawluka yā ghāfil. Ānqadr edrāk nanamūdeh keh takmīl-e har ẓohūr-e qablī be-ẓohūr-e baʿd shodeh va khāhad shod, chenāncheh dar īn ẓohūr-e badʿ-e qods-e raḥmānī dar saneh-ye tesʿ dar serr-e serr nofūs-e moqaddaseh-ye moṭahhareh-ye zakīyyeh dar hamān ḥīn takmīl shodand, va lākin anta lā tashʿuru wa-lā tafqahu wa-lā taʿrifu. Cheh keh shekar-e Meṣr-e ʿerfān-e elāhī qesmat-e ṭūṭī-ye maʿānī būdeh nah qesmat-e zāgh-e ẓolmānī, va moʿreḍ-e bi-Allāh chūn tavaqqof namūd va az ṣerāṭ laghzīd dar hamān ḥīn heykalash az qamīṣ-e ensānī khārej va be-jolūd-e bahāʾem ẓāher va mashhūd gasht. Fa-subḥāna man yubaddilu al-wujūda kayfa yashāʾu wa-yuqaddiru al-umūra kayfa yurīdu, lā rādda li-amrihi wa-lā maradda li-mashīʾatihi, kullu shayʾin munqādun li-salṭanatihi wa-mushfiqun min khashyatihi wa-murtaʿishun min saṭwatihi, wa-li-dhālika al-Rabbi yalīqu tahlīlu ahli malaʾi al-aʿlā thumma tasbīḥu ahli madāʾini al-baqāʾ. Va lāken to az ān nofūsī be-naẓar mīāyī keh erādeh-ye edrāk-e amrī va yā tafaqqoh dar shayʾī nadāshteh va nadārī. Maqṣūd ethbāt-e rīyāsatī ast keh az barā-ye morshed-e khod moḥaqqaq namāyand va khod ham dar ẓellash maʿrūf va mawsūm bāshand. Ta-Allāhi inna ẓillahu barahūtun wa-inna māʾahu milḥun ujājun law antum tafqahūn.

Grievous indeed are your words, O heedless one! You have not understood even this much: every former Revelation has been, and will be, brought to completion through the subsequent Revelation. Thus, in this wondrous, holy Revelation of the All-Merciful, in the year nine, holy, purified, stainless souls were brought to completion at that very moment, in the innermost secret. But you neither perceive, nor comprehend, nor recognize. For the sugar of the Egypt of divine knowledge has been the portion of the parrot of inner meanings, not of the raven of darkness. When the one who turns away from God halted and slipped from the path, at that very moment his form emerged from its human garment and appeared, plainly visible, in the skins of beasts. Glory, then, to Him who transforms existence as He pleases and ordains affairs as He wills. No one can repel His command or reverse His will. All things submit to His sovereignty, stand in awe of Him, and tremble before His might. That Lord deserves the acclamation of His unity by the people of the company on high, and the glorification offered by the inhabitants of the cities of eternity. But you appear to be one of those souls who have never intended, and do not intend, to understand any matter or comprehend anything. Their purpose is to establish a position of leadership for their guide, so that they themselves may become known and recognized under his shadow. By God, his shadow is a barren wilderness, and his water bitter salt, if only you understood.

218

بگو اى اصمّ باطنى احدى بر علم حقّ احاطه ننموده و نخواهد نمود علمه مكنون مخزون مصون من اطّلاعكم اگر اراده فرمايد در يك حين خلق اوّلين و آخرين را تكميل ميفرمايد و لكن تو هنوز تكميل را نفهميده كاش استعداد ادراك هم در تو مشاهده ميشد و اين عبد كه يكى از خدّام درگاه است تو را مستعدّ مييافت و بر تو كلماتى القاء مينمود كه از آن ادراك نمائى بعضى امور مستوره را اقلّا آنقدر ميشد كه اگر بر تكميل ظهور اطّلاع نمييافتى ببغض خود مطّلع ميشدى فاستحى عن اللّه و لا تقنّن له قوانين نفسك و هوئك انّه يظهر كيف یشآء لا بما انت تشآء

Begū ey aṣamm-e bāṭenī, aḥadī bar ʿelm-e Ḥaqq eḥāṭeh nanamūdeh va nakhāhad namūd. ʿIlmuhu maknūnun makhzūnun maṣūnun min iṭṭilāʿikum. Agar erādeh farmāyad dar yek ḥīn khalq-e avvalīn va ākherīn rā takmīl mīfarmāyad, va lāken to hanūz takmīl rā nafahmīdeh. Kāsh esteʿdād-e edrāk ham dar to moshāhedeh mīshod va īn ʿabd keh yekī az khoddām-e dargāh ast to rā mostaʿedd mīyāft va bar to kalemātī elqā mīnamūd keh az ān edrāk namāʾī baʿḍī omūr-e mastūreh rā. Aqallan ānqadr mīshod keh agar bar takmīl-e ẓohūr eṭṭelāʿ namīyāftī be-boghḍ-e khod moṭṭaleʿ mīshodī. Fa-staḥi ʿani Allāhi wa-lā tuqannin lahu qawānīna nafsika wa-hawāka, innahu yaẓharu kayfa yashāʾu lā bi-mā anta tashāʾ.

Say: O inwardly deaf one, no one has encompassed God’s knowledge, nor will anyone ever encompass it. His knowledge is hidden, treasured, and protected from your scrutiny. If He so wills, He brings the creation of the first and the last to completion in a single instant. Yet you have still not understood completion. If only some capacity for understanding could be seen in you, and this servant, who is one of the attendants at the threshold, could find you receptive and impart words to you through which you might understand certain hidden matters. At least, even if you did not come to understand the completion of the Revelation, you would become aware of your own hatred. Be ashamed before God, and do not prescribe for Him the laws of your own self and desires. He appears as He wills, not as you will.

219

چه مقدار جسور شده‌اند كه از براى حقّ جلّ ذكره قواعد ذكر مينمايند و شرايط مذكور ميدارند حال شما انصاف ده آن حقّيكه بدستور العمل مشركين ظاهر شود مثل خود آن انفس مشركه خواهد بود كلّما عرفتم و استدركتم هو مخلوق مثلكم و مردود اليكم و اللّه پست‌ترين خلق او و عباد او ننگ ميدارند كه بآدابيكه آن نفوس مشركه بشما القا نموده‌اند حركت نمايند لانّهم يعبدون العجل و لا يشعرون و يتّبعون الشّيطان و لا يعرفون و يعقّبون الجبت و لا يفقهون و يشربون فضلة ما شربه الطّاغوت و لا يعلمون

Cheh meqdār jasūr shodeh-and keh az barā-ye Ḥaqq, jalla dhikruhu, qavāʿed dhekr mīnamāyand va sharāyeṭ madhkūr mīdārand. Ḥāl shomā enṣāf deh, ān Ḥaqqī-keh be-dastūr al-ʿamal-e moshrekīn ẓāher shavad methl-e khod-e ān anfos-e moshrekeh khāhad būd. Kullamā ʿaraftum wa-stadraktum huwa makhlūqun mithlukum wa-mardūdun ilaykum. Va-Allāh past-tarīn-e khalq-e ū va ʿebād-e ū nang mīdārand keh be-ādābī-keh ān nofūs-e moshrekeh be-shomā elqā namūdeh-and ḥarakat namāyand, li-annahum yaʿbudūna al-ʿijla wa-lā yashʿurūna wa-yattabiʿūna al-shayṭāna wa-lā yaʿrifūna wa-yuʿaqqibūna al-jibta wa-lā yafqahūna wa-yashrabūna faḍlata mā sharibahu al-ṭāghūtu wa-lā yaʿlamūn.

How audacious they have become, prescribing rules and laying down conditions for God, exalted be His remembrance! Now judge fairly: a God who appeared according to the instructions of those who associate partners with Him would be like those idolatrous souls themselves. Whatever you have known and apprehended is a creature like yourselves and is returned to you. By God, the lowliest of His creatures and servants would be ashamed to act according to the practices those idolatrous souls have instilled in you. For they worship the calf without perceiving it, follow Satan without recognizing it, pursue the idol without understanding, and drink the dregs of what the false god has drunk, without knowing.

220

و آنقدر ادراك ننموده‌اند كه در هر ظهور اگر حقّ جلّ كبريائه بآداب و شرايط و اعماليكه مابين ناس بر حسب ظاهر بوده ظاهر ميشد هرگز احدى اعراض و اعتراض نمينمود و جميع بكوثر معانى حضرت لايزالى فايز ميشدند و بلقاء اللّه مرزوق ميگشتند آنانكه در هواء روح طايرند و ببصر حديد الهى در اشیآء ناظر صدهزار امثال آن نفوس را در غرقاب فنا مشاهده مينمايند كه هر يك بحشيش منبته متشبّث و لكن از براى آن حشيش قرار و استقرارى نبوده و نخواهد بود و بالأخره‌غرق خواهد شد اگر چه حال هم نزد جالسين فلك ابهى لاشیء محض و غريق و فانى و معدوم مشاهده ميشوند

Va ānqadr edrāk nanamūdeh-and keh dar har ẓohūr agar Ḥaqq, jalla kibriyāʾuhu, be-ādāb va sharāyeṭ va aʿmālī-keh mābeyn-e nās bar ḥasab-e ẓāher būdeh ẓāher mīshod hargez aḥadī eʿrāḍ va eʿterāḍ namīnamūd va jamīʿ be-kawthar-e maʿānī-ye Ḥaḍrat-e Lāyazālī fāʾez mīshodand va be-leqāʾ Allāh marzūq mīgashtand. Ānāṅ-keh dar havā-ye rūḥ ṭāyerand va be-baṣar-e ḥadīd-e elāhī dar ashyāʾ nāẓer ṣad-hizār amthāl-e ān nofūs rā dar gharqāb-e fanā moshāhedeh mīnamāyand keh har yek be-ḥashīsh-e monbeteh motashabbeth va lāken az barā-ye ān ḥashīsh qarār va esteqrārī nabūdeh va nakhāhad būd va be-l-ākhereh gharq khāhad shod, agarcheh ḥāl ham nazd-e jālesīn-e folk-e Abhā lā-shayʾ-e maḥḍ va gharīq va fānī va maʿdūm moshāhedeh mīshavand.

They have not understood even this much: if, in every Revelation, God, exalted be His majesty, had appeared in accordance with the outward practices, conditions, and deeds prevailing among people, no one would ever have turned away or objected. All would have attained the Kawthar of the meanings of the Eternal One and been granted the encounter with God. Those who soar in the atmosphere of the spirit and regard all things with the keen sight of God see a hundred thousand souls like these in the depths of destruction, each clinging to a growing blade of grass. Yet that grass has never had, and will never have, any firmness or stability, and in the end each will drown, although even now, in the eyes of those seated in the all-glorious Ark, they are seen as sheer nothingness, drowned, perished, and nonexistent.

221

سمع را از قطن تقليد پاك كن بشنو كلمه حقّ را از پست‌ترين خلق او و بدانكه حقّ جلّ شأنه بهيچ حجابی‌ محجوب نه و بهيچ حدودى محدود نخواهد بود ظاهر ميشود بهر قسم كه اراده فرمايد چه كه لم‌يزل مقتدر بوده و خواهد بود و هرگز قدرت كلّيّه‌اش سلب نشده و نخواهد شد حال بوهم شما اگر حقّ بدستور العمل معرضين ظاهر شود قدرتش را چه تاويل مينمائى چه كه از بيان شما چنان مستفاد ميشود كه لابدّ بايد باين قسم ظاهر شود و قادر نيست بغير آنچه شما نوشته‌ايد مظهرى از مظاهر امر خود را در ارض بفرستد فبئس ما ظننتم و تظنّون و قد حبطت اعمالكم بما خرجت من افواهكم و لكن انتم لا تستشعرون فى انفسكم و تكونن من الغافلين

Samʿ rā az qoṭn-e taqlīd pāk kon, beshnow kalemeh-ye Ḥaqq rā az past-tarīn-e khalq-e ū va bedān-keh Ḥaqq, jalla shaʾnuhu, be-hīch ḥejābī maḥjūb nah va be-hīch ḥodūdī maḥdūd nakhāhad būd. Ẓāher mīshavad be-har qesm keh erādeh farmāyad, cheh keh lam-yazal moqtader būdeh va khāhad būd va hargez qodrat-e kollīyyeh-ash salb nashodeh va nakhāhad shod. Ḥāl be-vahm-e shomā agar Ḥaqq be-dastūr al-ʿamal-e moʿreḍīn ẓāher shavad qodratash rā cheh taʾvīl mīnamāʾī? Cheh keh az bayān-e shomā chenān mostafād mīshavad keh lābodd bāyad be-īn qesm ẓāher shavad va qāder nīst be-gheyr-e āncheh shomā neveshteh-īd maẓharī az maẓāher-e amr-e khod rā dar arḍ beferestad. Fa-biʾsa mā ẓanantum wa-taẓunnūna wa-qad ḥabiṭat aʿmālukum bi-mā kharajat min afwāhikum wa-lākin antum lā tastashʿirūna fī anfusikum wa-takūnanna mina al-ghāfilīn.

Clear your hearing of the cotton of imitation. Hear the word of God from the lowliest of His creatures, and know that God, exalted be His glory, is concealed by no veil and will be confined by no limits. He appears in whatever manner He wills, for He has always been, and will always be, all-powerful. His absolute power has never been, and will never be, taken from Him. Now, if, as you imagine, God were to appear according to the instructions of those who turn away, how would you interpret His power? For your words imply that He must necessarily appear in this manner and is unable to send to earth a Manifestation of His Cause in any way other than what you have written. Evil indeed is what you have imagined and continue to imagine! Your deeds have come to nothing because of what has issued from your mouths, yet you do not perceive this within yourselves and are surely among the heedless.

222

فواللّه روايح منتنه كثيفه از اشارات كلمات آن انفس مشركه بر عالم و اهل آن مرور نموده از خدا ميطلبيم كه صرصر عنايتى بفرستد و اين ارياح را معدوم نمايد خود آن مشركين خمسين الف سنه يوم قيامت را مستدلّند كه بيك ساعت منقضى شد بگو اى بی‌‌بصران همان معنى در اينجا جارى پنجاه هزار سنه در ساعتى منقضى شود حرفى نداريد و لكن اگر دو هزار سال بوهم شما در سنين معدوده منقضى شود اعتراض مينمائيد فواللّه يكذّبكم كلّ الأشیآء و يضحك لقلّة عقولكم و عرفانكم كلّ ما خلق بين السّموات و الأرضين

Fa-wa-Allāh ravāyeḥ-e monteneh-ye kathīfeh az eshārāt-e kalemāt-e ān anfos-e moshrekeh bar ʿālam va ahl-e ān morūr namūdeh. Az Khodā mīṭalabīm keh ṣarṣar-e ʿenāyatī beferestad va īn aryāḥ rā maʿdūm namāyad. Khod-e ān moshrekīn khamsīn alf saneh-ye yawm-e qīyāmat rā mostadelland keh be-yek sāʿat monqaḍī shod. Begū ey bī-baṣarān, hamān maʿnī dar īnjā jārī. Panjāh hizār saneh dar sāʿatī monqaḍī shavad ḥarfī nadārīd va lāken agar do hizār sāl be-vahm-e shomā dar senīn-e maʿdūdeh monqaḍī shavad eʿterāḍ mīnamāʾīd. Fa-wa-Allāhi yukadhdhibukum kullu al-ashyāʾi wa-yaḍḥaku li-qillati ʿuqūlikum wa-ʿirfānikum kullu mā khuliqa bayna al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍīn.

By God, foul, noxious odors from the implications of those idolatrous souls’ words have swept over the world and its inhabitants. We ask God to send a mighty wind of grace and dispel these winds. Those idolaters themselves argue that the fifty thousand years of the Day of Resurrection elapsed in a single hour. Say: O sightless ones, the same meaning applies here. You have nothing to say if fifty thousand years elapse in an hour, but if two thousand years, as you imagine them, elapse in a few years, you object. By God, all things give you the lie, and everything created between the heavens and the earths laughs at how little understanding and knowledge you possess.

223

بشنو از اين عبد و سبحات اوهام را خرق كن و بحقّ بنفسه ناظر باش چه كه دون او مخلوق اويند و بكلمه من عند او ظاهر و ابدا بدون خود معروف نگشته بلكه ما سوايش باو معروف بوده و خواهد بود چشم بنفس ظهور و بما يظهر من عنده داشته باش و شكر كن پروردگار را كه ظاهر فرمود مظهر نفس خود را بغتة چنانچه نقطه بيان ميفرمايد و لقد قرب الزّوال و انتم راقدون شمس در قطب زوال مشرق و مضئ و اين مقام شكر است نه شكايت رحمترا نقمت مدان و نعمت را غضب مشمر اگرچه لم‌يزل ظهور مظاهر احديّه نعمت ابرار و نقمت فجّار بوده و خواهد بود فجّار و اشرار لازال نعمت را نقمت انگاشته‌اند و عنايت صرفه را غضب دانسته‌اند

Beshnow az īn ʿabd va soboḥāt-e avhām rā kharq kon va be-Ḥaqq be-nafseh nāẓer bāsh, cheh keh dūn-e ū makhlūq-e ūyand va be-kalemeh-ye min ʿend-e ū ẓāher va abadan be-dūn-e khod maʿrūf nagashteh balkeh mā-sevāyash be-ū maʿrūf būdeh va khāhad būd. Chashm be-nafs-e ẓohūr va bi-mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi dāshteh bāsh va shokr kon Parvardegār rā keh ẓāher farmūd maẓhar-e nafs-e khod rā baghtatan, chenāncheh Noqṭeh-ye Bayān mīfarmāyad: wa-laqad qaruba al-zawālu wa-antum rāqidūn. Shams dar qoṭb-e zavāl moshreq va moḍīʾ va īn maqām-e shokr ast nah shekāyat. Raḥmat rā neqmat madān va neʿmat rā ghaḍab mashmor, agarcheh lam-yazal ẓohūr-e maẓāher-e aḥadīyyeh neʿmat-e abrār va neqmat-e fojjār būdeh va khāhad būd. Fojjār va ashrār lāzāl neʿmat rā neqmat angāshteh-and va ʿenāyat-e ṣerfeh rā ghaḍab dānesteh-and.

Listen to this servant, tear through the veils of vain imaginings, and look to God Himself. For all besides Him are His creatures, made manifest by a word from Him. He has never been known through anyone but Himself; rather, all besides Him have been, and will be, known through Him. Keep your eyes on the Revelation itself and on whatever appears from Him, and thank the Lord for suddenly revealing the Manifestation of His own Self, as the Point of the Bayán says: “The noon has indeed drawn near, while you lie asleep.” The Sun shines and sheds its light at the zenith of noon. This is an occasion for gratitude, not complaint. Do not regard mercy as affliction or count blessing as wrath, although the appearance of the Manifestations of oneness has always been, and will always be, a blessing for the righteous and an affliction for the wicked. The wicked and evil have always taken blessing for affliction and regarded pure grace as wrath.

224

در تكميل دوره ذكر نموده بودى بشنو بيان منزل بيان روح من فى حقايق الأكوان فداه را كه بنصّ صريح ميفرمايند قوله جلّ كبريائه من اوّل ذلك الأمر الى قبل ان يكمل تسعة كينونات الخلق لم تظهر و انّ كلّما قد رأيت من النّطفة الى ما كسوناه لحماً ثمّ اصبر حتّى تشهد خلق الآخر اذا قل فتبارك اللّه احسن الخالقين و اشهد انّ فرق القائم و القيّوم عدد تسعة ذلك ما تكملن الكينونيات فى مقاعدهنّ ذلك فرق بين كلّ اعظم و عظيم و در مقام ديگر و لتراقبنّ فرق القائم و القيّوم ثمّ فى سنة التّسع كلّ خير تدركون و در اينمقام نازل هذا ما وعدناك قبل حين الّذى اجبناك اصبر حتّى يقضى عن البيان تسعة اذا قل فتبارك اللّه احسن المبدعين

Dar takmīl-e dowreh dhekr namūdeh būdī. Beshnow bayān-e Monzel-e Bayān, rūḥu man fī ḥaqāʾiqi al-akwāni fidāhu, rā keh be-naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ mīfarmāyand, qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu: min awwali dhālika al-amri ilā qabli an yakmula tisʿatun kaynūnātu al-khalqi lam taẓhar wa-inna kullamā qad raʾayta mina al-nuṭfati ilā mā kasawnāhu laḥman thumma iṣbir ḥattā tashhada khalqa al-ākhar idhan qul fa-tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīna wa-shhad anna farqa al-qāʾimi wa-l-qayyūmi ʿadadu tisʿatin dhālika mā takmulanna al-kaynūniyyātu fī maqāʿidihinna dhālika farqun bayna kulli aʿẓamin wa-ʿaẓīm. Va dar maqām-e dīgar: wa-la-turāqibanna farqa al-qāʾimi wa-l-qayyūmi thumma fī sanati al-tisʿi kulla khayrin tudrikūn. Va dar īn maqām nāzel: hādhā mā waʿadnāka qablu ḥīna alladhī ajabnāka iṣbir ḥattā yuqḍā ʿani al-bayāni tisʿatun idhan qul fa-tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-mubdiʿīn.

You had spoken of the completion of the dispensation. Listen to the words of the Revealer of the Bayán—may the soul of whoever dwells in the realities of existence be sacrificed for Him—who states in an explicit text, exalted be His majesty: “From the beginning of that Cause until before nine is completed, the essential realities of creation have not appeared. Indeed, all that you have seen is from the seed until We clothed it in flesh. Then wait until you witness the other creation. Then say: ‘Blessed be God, the best of creators!’ And bear witness that the difference between the Qá’im and the Qayyúm is the number nine. That is when the essential realities will be completed in their stations. That is the difference between every ‘most great’ and ‘great.’” And in another passage: “You shall surely watch for the difference between the Qá’im and the Qayyúm. Then, in the year nine, you will attain all good.” And in this connection it was revealed: “This is what We promised you before, at the time when We answered you: ‘Wait until nine has elapsed from the Bayán. Then say: Blessed be God, the best of originators!’”

225

اى صاحب بصر و انصاف دار على زعم خود چشم بگشا و از ظهور تسع تا حين خلق آخر مشاهده كن و بتبارك اللّه احسن الخالقين و تبارك اللّه احسن المبدعين ناطق شو ملاحظه كن كه در تكميل خلق و اعظميّت ظهور بعد در فرق قائم و قيّوم و هم‌‌چنين اعظم و عظيم تصريحاً من غير تلويح ميفرمايند و چون مدّت منقضى شد و ميقات اللّه بآخر رسيد ظهر جمال التّسع بسلطان مبين اذا فزع كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض الّا من اتى اللّه بقلب سليم اتّقوا اللّه يا قوم و لا تتّخذوا القيّوم مهجوراً بينكم خافوا عن اللّه و كونوا من المتّقين ایّاکم ان تحرّفوا كلمات اللّه عن مواضعها لانّ ذلك خطأ عظيم فى الواح عزّ حفيظ

Ey ṣāḥeb-e baṣar va enṣāf-dār ʿalā zaʿm-e khod, chashm bogshā va az ẓohūr-e tesʿ tā ḥīn khalq-e ākhar moshāhedeh kon va be-tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-khāliqīn va tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-mubdiʿīn nāṭeq show. Molāḥeẓeh kon keh dar takmīl-e khalq va aʿẓamīyyat-e ẓohūr-e baʿd dar farq-e Qāʾem va Qayyūm va ham-chenīn aʿẓam va ʿaẓīm taṣrīḥan min ghayri talwīḥ mīfarmāyand. Va chūn moddat monqaḍī shod va mīqāt Allāh be-ākhar rasīd, ẓahara Jamālu al-Tisʿi bi-sulṭānin mubīnin idhan faziʿa kullu man fī al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi illā man atā Allāha bi-qalbin salīm. Ittaqū Allāha yā qawmu wa-lā tattakhidhū al-Qayyūma mahjūran baynakum. Khāfū ʿani Allāhi wa-kūnū mina al-muttaqīn. Iyyākum an tuḥarrifū kalimāti Allāhi ʿan mawāḍiʿihā li-anna dhālika khaṭaʾun ʿaẓīmun fī alwāḥi ʿizzin ḥafīẓ.

O you who, in your own estimation, possess sight and fairness! Open your eyes and behold the other creation from the Revelation of the year nine until now, and proclaim: “Blessed be God, the best of creators!” and “Blessed be God, the best of originators!” Observe how explicitly, without allusion, He speaks of the completion of creation and the greater greatness of the subsequent Revelation in the difference between Qá’im and Qayyúm, and likewise between “most great” and “great.” When the period elapsed and God’s appointed time reached its end, the Beauty of the year Nine appeared with manifest authority. Then all who are in the heavens and on earth were seized with terror, except those who came to God with a sound heart. Fear God, O people, and do not leave the Qayyúm forsaken among you. Stand in awe of God and be among the God-fearing. Beware of distorting the words of God from their proper places, for that is a grievous error in the preserved Tablets of glory.

226

و لكن نطفه مقام بلوغ را ادراك ننمايد چنانچه اليوم ادراك بيانات الهى را احدى ننموده الّا من شآء ربّك اگرچه اين كلمات را بظنونات باطله خود تأويل نموده تحريف خواهند نمود چنانچه نقطه اولى جلّت عظمته خبر داده

Va lāken noṭfeh maqām-e bolūgh rā edrāk nanamāyad, chenāncheh al-yawm edrāk-e bayānāt-e elāhī rā aḥadī nanamūdeh illā man shāʾa rabbuka, agarcheh īn kalemāt rā be-ẓonūnāt-e bāṭeleh-ye khod taʾvīl namūdeh taḥrīf khāhand namūd, chenāncheh Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā, jallat ʿaẓamatuhu, khabar dādeh.

But the seed cannot comprehend the station of maturity, just as today no one has understood the divine utterances except those whom your Lord has willed. Yet they will interpret these words according to their own vain conjectures and distort them, as the Primal Point, exalted be His grandeur, has foretold.

227

حال از اينها گذشته يك ذكر مينمايم لعلّ بآن مستشعر شويد و بشعور آئيد اگر نفسى مذكور دارد كه شجره از حين الى انقضاء دوهزار سنه باوراد لطيفه حمريّه معطّره ظاهر خواهد شد با كمال طراوت و نضارت و عطر و روايح محبوبه و حصر نمايد كه شما ناظر بخود آن شجره و ظهور آن باشيد نه دون او و بعد صبح از خواب برخيزيد و بغتةً ملاحظه نمائيد كه آن شجره طيّبه مباركه باوراد حمريّه لطيفه منيعه ظاهر شده حال چه ميكنى انكار خواهى نمود آنچه ببصر مشاهده ميكنى و بشامّه مييابی‌ يا بآنچه ديده موقن خواهى شد لا واللّه شما و امثال شما از آن نفوسى مشاهده ميشويد كه آن اوراد مشهوده ظاهره را باحجار ظنون و هوى در هم ريزند كه اين زود بثمر آمده بايد دوهزار سنه بعد از اين اوراد ظاهر شود و از اين شجره مشهود آيد افّ لكم يا ملأ المتوهّمين

Ḥāl az īnhā goẕashte yek ẕekr mīnamāyam laʿalla be-ān mostashʿer shavīd va be-shoʿūr āyīd. Agar nafsī maẕkūr dārad ke shajare az ḥīn ilā inqiḍāʾ-e do-hezār sane be-ovrād-e laṭīfe-ye ḥamriyye-ye moʿaṭṭare ẓāher khvāhad shod bā kamāl-e ṭarāvat va naḍārat va ʿeṭr va ravāyeḥ-e maḥbūbe va ḥaṣr namāyad ke shomā nāẓer be-khod-e ān shajare va ẓohūr-e ān bāshīd na dūn-e ū va baʿd ṣobḥ az khvāb barkhīzīd va baghtatan molāḥeẓe namāyīd ke ān shajare-ye ṭayyebe-ye mobārake be-ovrād-e ḥamriyye-ye laṭīfe-ye manīʿe ẓāher shode, ḥāl che mīkonī? Enkār khvāhī namūd ānche be-baṣar moshāhede mīkonī va be-shāmme mīyābī yā be-ānche dīde mūqen khvāhī shod? Lā wa-Allāh! Shomā va amthāl-e shomā az ān nofūsī moshāhede mīshavīd ke ān ovrād-e mashhūde-ye ẓāhere rā be-aḥjār-e ẓonūn va havā dar ham rīzand ke īn zūd be-thamar āmade, bāyad do-hezār sane baʿd az īn ovrād ẓāher shavad va az īn shajare mashhūd āyad. Uffin lakum yā malaʾ al-mutawahhimīn!

Now, setting these matters aside, I will mention something, so that perhaps you may become aware of it and come to your senses. Suppose someone states that a tree will appear, sometime between now and the end of two thousand years, adorned with delicate, fragrant crimson blossoms, in the fullness of freshness and verdure, with perfume and pleasing fragrances, and expressly directs you to look to that tree itself and its appearance, and to nothing else. Then, one morning, you rise from sleep and suddenly see that this good and blessed tree has appeared with delicate, sublime crimson blossoms. What will you do now? Will you deny what you see with your eyes and perceive by smell, or will you become certain of what you have seen? No, by God! You and those like you are seen to be among those who would batter those visible, manifest blossoms with the stones of conjecture and desire, saying: “This has borne fruit too soon. These blossoms should appear two thousand years from now and be seen upon this tree.” Shame on you, O company of the deluded!

228

مع آنكه بنصّ صريح منزل بيان ابدا ظهور بعد محدود بوقتى نشده چنانچه منصوصاً ميفرمايد اگر اين حين بخواهد ظاهر شود مختار است چه كه عارف بحين ظهور احدى الّا اللّه نبوده و نيست و در جميع بيان ميفرمايند منوط باراده و مشيّت خود آن سلطان احديّه است يظهر نفسه كيف یشآء و يريد انّما الدّليل آياته و الوجود على نفسه نفسه اذ الغير يعرف به و هو لا يعرف بدونه سبحان اللّه عمّا تصفون و هم‌‌چنين ميفرمايند چه كسى عالم بظهور نيست غير اللّه هر وقت شود بايد كلّ تصديق بنقطه حقيقت نمايند و شكر الهى بجا آورند انتهى

Maʿ-e ānke be-naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ-e Monzel-e Bayān abadan ẓohūr-e baʿd maḥdūd be-vaqtī nashode, chenānche manṣūṣan mīfarmāyad: agar īn ḥīn bekhvāhad ẓāher shavad mokhtār ast, che ke ʿāref be-ḥīn-e ẓohūr aḥadī illā Allāh nabūde va nīst. Va dar jamīʿ-e Bayān mīfarmāyand manūṭ be-erāde va mashiyyat-e khod-e ān Solṭān-e Aḥadiyye ast. Yuẓhiru nafsahu kayfa yashāʾu wa-yurīd. Innamā al-dalīlu āyātuhu wa-al-wujūdu ʿalā nafsihi nafsuhu, idh al-ghayru yuʿrafu bihi wa-huwa lā yuʿrafu bi-dūnihi. Subḥāna Allāhi ʿammā taṣifūn. Va hamchenīn mīfarmāyand: che kasī ʿālem be-ẓohūr nīst ghayr Allāh, har vaqt shavad bāyad koll taṣdīq be-Noqṭe-ye Ḥaqīqat namāyand va shokr-e elāhī be-jā āvarand. Intahā.

Yet, according to the explicit text of the Revealer of the Bayán, the subsequent Revelation has never been confined to any particular time, as He expressly states: “If He wishes to appear at this very moment, He is free to do so, for no one but God has ever known or now knows the time of His appearance.” And throughout the Bayán He states that it depends upon the will and wish of that Sovereign of Oneness Himself: “He manifests Himself however He wishes and desires. His verses alone are the proof, and His existence rests upon His own Self, since all others are known through Him, while He is not known through anything besides Him. Exalted is God above what you describe.” And He likewise states: “Since no one but God knows of the Revelation, whenever it occurs, all must acknowledge the Point of Truth and offer thanks to God.” End of quotation.

229

حال ملاحظه نمائيد كه بچه صراحت ميفرمايند كه هر وقت ظاهر شود بايد تصديق نمايند مع‌ذلك بجاى آنكه فرموده شكر الهى بجا آورند عوض شكر شكايت آغاز نموده و بجاى تصديق سهام كين و سيف بغضا بر آن مطاف ارواح نبيّين و مرسلين هجوم نموده‌اند بگو اى محروم ملاحظه نما كه سلطان معلوم آن ظهور محتوم مكنون را بهيچ شرطى مشروط فرموده فأت بها لا فو‌الّذى خلق الممكنات بكلمة من عنده ابدا اين ظهور را معلّق و مشروط بامرى و شرطى نفرموده‌اند چه كه شرط در آن ساحت مفقود صرف است و جز نفس او بر او احدى محيط و مطّلع نه

Ḥāl molāḥeẓe namāyīd ke be-che ṣarāḥat mīfarmāyand ke har vaqt ẓāher shavad bāyad taṣdīq namāyand. Maʿa-dhālik be-jā-ye ānke farmūde shokr-e elāhī be-jā āvarand, ʿevaḍ-e shokr shekāyat āghāz namūde va be-jā-ye taṣdīq sehām-e kīn va seyf-e baghḍā bar ān maṭāf-e arvāḥ-e nabiyyīn va morsalīn hojūm namūde-and. Begū ey maḥrūm, molāḥeẓe namā ke Solṭān-e Maʿlūm ān Ẓohūr-e Maḥtūm-e Maknūn rā be-hīch sharṭī mashrūṭ farmūde? Faʾti bihā! Lā fa-wa-alladhī khalaqa al-mumkināti bi-kalimatin min ʿindihi! Abadan īn ẓohūr rā moʿallaq va mashrūṭ be-amrī va sharṭī nafarmūde-and, che ke sharṭ dar ān sāḥat mafqūd-e ṣerf ast va joz nafs-e ū bar ū aḥadī moḥīṭ va moṭṭaleʿ na.

Now consider how explicitly He states that whenever He appears, they must acknowledge Him. Nevertheless, instead of offering thanks to God as He instructed, they have begun to complain rather than give thanks, and instead of acknowledging Him, they have assailed with arrows of malice and the sword of hatred the One around whom circle the spirits of the Prophets and Messengers. Say: O deprived one! Consider whether the known Sovereign has made that hidden, inevitable Revelation subject to any condition. Produce it! No, by Him who created all contingent things through a word from Himself! He has never made this Revelation dependent upon or subject to any matter or condition, for in that court conditions are utterly nonexistent, and no one but His own Self encompasses or knows Him.

230

ميفرمايد آياتش دليل بر اوست و ظهور و وجودش مثبت نفسش مع‌ذلك بكلمات موهومه و اشارات نالايقه حقّ منيع را محدود نموده‌اند فويل لهم و بما اكتسبت ايديهم كلمات الهى را بهواهاى خود تحريف منمائيد و تفسير مكنيد چه كه احدى بمقصود آن فايز نشود چنانچه در احكام ظاهريّه رؤساى بيان را امر فرموده‌اند كه از جناب آقا سيّد حسين عليه بهآء اللّه كه تلقاء عرش بود سؤال نمايند ميفرمايند چه كه شما عارف بمراد اللّه نيستيد مع‌ذلك شما معرض باللّه را نفس اللّه دانسته‌ايد

Mīfarmāyad āyātash dalīl bar ūst va ẓohūr va vojūdash mothbet-e nafsash. Maʿa-dhālik be-kalemāt-e mowhūme va eshārāt-e nālāyeqe Ḥaqq-e Manīʿ rā maḥdūd namūde-and. Fa-waylun lahum wa-bi-mā iktasabat aydīhim. Kalemāt-e elāhī rā be-havāhā-ye khod taḥrīf manamāyīd va tafsīr makonīd, che ke aḥadī be-maqṣūd-e ān fāʾez nashavad. Chenānche dar aḥkām-e ẓāheriyye roʾasā-ye Bayān rā amr farmūde-and ke az Janāb-e Āqā Seyyed Ḥoseyn, ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh, ke telqāʾ-e ʿarsh būd soʾāl namāyand. Mīfarmāyand: che ke shomā ʿāref be-morād-e Allāh nīstīd. Maʿa-dhālik shomā moʿreḍ-e bi-Allāh rā nafs-e Allāh dāneste-īd.

He states that His verses are the proof of Him, and His appearance and existence establish His own Self. Nevertheless, they have confined the unassailable Truth within fanciful words and unworthy allusions. Woe to them and for what their hands have earned! Do not distort or interpret the words of God according to your own desires, for no one can attain their intended meaning. Thus, concerning outward ordinances, He instructed the leaders of the Bayán to ask Áqá Siyyid Ḥusayn, upon him be the glory of God, who was in the presence of the Throne. He states: “For you do not know what God intends.” Nevertheless, you have regarded one who turns away from God as the very Self of God.

231

از اين گذشته خاتم النّبيّين از محكمات آيات كتاب ربّ العالمين است اگر هزار و دويست و هفتاد سنه احدى بمعنى آن مطّلع شد حال هم معانى كلمات منزله بيان را نفسى دون اللّه ميتواند ادراك نمايد بسيار تفكّر نمائيد در آنچه ذكر ميشود و از قلم باذن اللّه جارى ميگردد كه شايد از صرير قلم اين ضعيف بجمال قدم فايز شوى انّه ليهدى من یشآء الى صراط مستقيم

Az īn goẕashte, Khātam al-Nabiyyīn az moḥkamāt-e āyāt-e Ketāb-e Rabb al-ʿĀlamīn ast. Agar hezār va devīst va haftād sane aḥadī be-maʿnī-ye ān moṭṭaleʿ shod, ḥāl ham maʿānī-ye kalemāt-e monzale-ye Bayān rā nafsī dūn Allāh mītavānad edrāk namāyad. Besyār tafakkor namāyīd dar ānche ẕekr mīshavad va az qalam be-eẕn-e Allāh jārī mīgardad ke shāyad az ṣarīr-e qalam-e īn ḍaʿīf be-Jamāl-e Qedam fāʾez shavī. Innahu la-yahdī man yashāʾu ilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīm.

Furthermore, “the Seal of the Prophets” is among the unequivocal verses of the Book of the Lord of the worlds. If anyone understood its meaning over the course of one thousand two hundred and seventy years, then now, too, someone other than God can comprehend the meanings of the revealed words of the Bayán. Reflect deeply on what is being stated and flows from the Pen by God’s permission, so that perhaps, through the scratching of this feeble one’s pen, you may attain the Ancient Beauty. He indeed guides whomever He wills to a straight path.

232

و ديگر معلوم نشد مقصود شما از تكميل چه بوده اگر مقصود تكميل آيات الهيّه است كه آن در حين نزول كامل و ابدا در آن ساحت نقص راه نداشته و نخواهد داشت ما نزل من عنده كان كاملاً من قبل و يكون كاملاًمن بعد و فى‌الحين و اگر مقصود تكميل نفوس است كه نفوسى مشاهده شده هرچه مدّت طول كشيد ناقص‌تر ظاهر شده‌اند چنانچه در منتهى دوره فرقان بعقيده شما منتهى كمال رؤساى آن عصر آن بود كه جميع الواح اللّه را طرد نموده و برسل الهى وارد آوردند آنچه شنيده‌ايد و يا از تكميل تكميل اعمال ظاهريه مقصود است اگر اينست كه مشاهده شده اكثرى را همان اعمال سبب احتجاب گشته چنانچه ملاحظه شد كه عاملين فرقان چون ظهور نيّر اعظم را مخالف اعمال خود مشاهده نمودند فتوى بر قتلش دادند و سفك دم مطهّرش نمودند و هم‌‌چنين اهل انجيل و هم‌‌چنين اهل تورئة تا منتهى شود ظهورات ببديع اوّل

Va dīgar maʿlūm nashod maqṣūd-e shomā az takmīl che būde. Agar maqṣūd takmīl-e āyāt-e elāhiyye ast ke ān dar ḥīn-e nozūl kāmel va abadan dar ān sāḥat naqṣ rāh nadāshte va nakhvāhad dāsht. Mā nazala min ʿindihi kāna kāmilan min qablu wa-yakūnu kāmilan min baʿdu wa-fī al-ḥīn. Va agar maqṣūd takmīl-e nofūs ast ke nofūsī moshāhede shode harche moddat ṭūl keshīd nāqeṣtar ẓāher shode-and. Chenānche dar montahā-ye dowre-ye Forqān be-ʿaqīde-ye shomā montahā-ye kamāl-e roʾasā-ye ān ʿaṣr ān būd ke jamīʿ-e alvāḥ-e Allāh rā ṭard namūde va be-rosol-e elāhī vāred āvardand ānche shenīde-īd. Va yā az takmīl takmīl-e aʿmāl-e ẓāheriyye maqṣūd ast? Agar īnast ke moshāhede shode aktharī rā hamān aʿmāl sabab-e eḥtejāb gashte. Chenānche molāḥeẓe shod ke ʿāmelīn-e Forqān chūn ẓohūr-e Nayyِer-e Aʿẓam rā mokhālef-e aʿmāl-e khod moshāhede namūdand fatvā bar qatlash dādand va safk-e dam-e moṭahharash namūdand, va hamchenīn ahl-e Enjīl va hamchenīn ahl-e Towrāt tā montahī shavad ẓohūrāt be-Badīʿ-e Avval.

Moreover, it is not clear what you mean by completion. If you mean the completion of the divine verses, they are complete at the moment of revelation, and imperfection has never entered and will never enter that realm. Whatever has descended from Him was complete before and will be complete afterward and at this very moment. If you mean the perfecting of souls, souls have been seen to become increasingly imperfect the more time passed. Thus, at the end of the dispensation of the Qur’an, which according to your belief was the height of perfection, the utmost perfection of the leaders of that age consisted in rejecting all the Tablets of God and inflicting upon the divine Messengers what you have heard. Or does completion mean the perfecting of outward deeds? If so, those very deeds have been seen to become a veil for most people. Thus it was observed that when those who practiced the ordinances of the Qur’an saw that the appearance of the Most Great Luminary was contrary to their practices, they issued a decree for His death and shed His pure blood. Likewise did the people of the Gospel, and likewise the people of the Torah, and so on through the Revelations, back to the First Originator.

233

بدانكه تكميل كل‌‌شیء منوط بقول و تصديق نقطه حقيقت بوده بشنو كه نقطه بيان روح ماسواه فداه چه ميفرمايد كه شايد از كوثر بيانات رحمن از غبار تيره اشارات مظاهر شيطان مطهّر شوى اگرچه يقين است كه كلمات اللّه در تو اثر ننموده و نخواهد نمود و لكن لحاظ اللّه در اكثر بيانات متوجّه افئده مخلصين از عباد خود بوده چه كه آن نفوس مقدّسه منقطعه روايح مسك معانى را از فرسنگهاى بعيده استشمام نمايند و بكلمات الهى از كلمات عالمين منقطع شوند قوله تبارك ذكره فانّه لو يجعل ما على الأرض نبيّاً ليكوننّ ابنياء عند اللّه از اين بيان رحمن حقيقت تكميل را ادراك كن كه شايد متنبّه شوى و خزف اشارات ببحر لؤلؤ معانى الهى هديه نفرستى و موقن شوى باينكه كلّ امور از حقّ ظاهر و بحقّ راجع و بتصديق او ثابت و محقّق

Bedān ke takmīl-e koll-e shayʾ manūṭ be-qowl va taṣdīq-e Noqṭe-ye Ḥaqīqat būde. Beshnow ke Noqṭe-ye Bayān, rūḥ-e mā-sevāh fedāh, che mīfarmāyad, ke shāyad az kawthar-e bayānāt-e Raḥmān az ghobār-e tīre-ye eshārāt-e maẓāher-e shayṭān moṭahhar shavī. Agarche yaqīn ast ke kalemāt-e Allāh dar to athar nanamūde va nakhvāhad namūd, va lāken leḥāẓ-e Allāh dar akthar-e bayānāt motavajjeh-e afʾede-ye mokhleṣīn az ʿebād-e khod būde, che ke ān nofūs-e moqaddase-ye monqaṭeʿe ravāyeḥ-e meshk-e maʿānī rā az farsanghā-ye baʿīde esteshmām namāyand va be-kalemāt-e elāhī az kalemāt-e ʿālamīn monqaṭeʿ shavand. Qawluhu tabāraka dhikruhu: fa-innahu law yajʿalu mā ʿalā al-arḍi nabiyyan la-yakūnanna [corrupted text] ʿinda Allāh. Az īn bayān-e Raḥmān ḥaqīqat-e takmīl rā edrāk kon ke shāyad motanabbeh shavī va khazaf-e eshārāt be-baḥr-e loʾloʾ-e maʿānī-ye elāhī hadiyye naferestī va mūqen shavī be-īnke koll-e omūr az Ḥaqq ẓāher va be-Ḥaqq rājeʿ va be-taṣdīq-e ū thābet va moḥaqqaq.

Know that the perfection of all things has depended upon the word and confirmation of the Point of Truth. Listen to what the Point of the Bayán—may the spirit of all besides Him be His sacrifice—says, so that perhaps, through the heavenly stream of the All-Merciful’s utterances, you may be cleansed of the dark dust of the allusions of the manifestations of Satan. Although it is certain that the words of God have had and will have no effect upon you, in most of His utterances God’s gaze has been directed toward the hearts of the sincere among His servants, for those sanctified and detached souls inhale the musk-laden fragrances of meaning from many leagues away, and through the words of God detach themselves from the words of all the worlds. His words, blessed be His mention, are: “For if He were to make all that is on earth a prophet, they would assuredly be [corrupted original text] in the sight of God.” From this utterance of the All-Merciful, comprehend the reality of perfection, so that perhaps you may be awakened, may not offer the potsherds of allusions as a gift to the ocean of the pearls of divine meanings, and may become certain that all things proceed from God, return to God, and are established and realized through His confirmation.

234

قدرى تفكّر نما مع آنكه منتهى رتبه تكميل هياكل بشريّه برتبه نبوّت است و اكثرى اين رتبه بلند اعلى را محال دانسته‌اند كه نفسى بانمقام فايز شود مع‌ذلك ميفرمايند اگر آن ظهور اعظم اراده فرمايد جميع ما على الأرض را باين رتبه كه اكمل مراتب بوده نزد كلّ فايز ميفرمايد فو‌عمره لمثل هذا الرّبّ ينبغى ان نفدى انفسنا و ارواحنا ثمّ ذواتنا و حقايقنا و هذا قليل عند ظهور عطاياه و بروز مواهبه الّتى احاطت الثّقلين

Qadrī tafakkor namā. Maʿ-e ānke montahā-ye rotbe-ye takmīl-e hayākel-e bashariyye be-rotbe-ye nobovvat ast va aktharī īn rotbe-ye boland-e aʿlā rā moḥāl dāneste-and ke nafsī be-ān maqām fāʾez shavad, maʿa-dhālik mīfarmāyand agar ān Ẓohūr-e Aʿẓam erāde farmāyad jamīʿ-e mā ʿalā al-arḍ rā be-īn rotbe ke akmal-e marāteb būde nazd-e koll fāʾez mīfarmāyad. Fa-wa-ʿumrihi la-mithli hādhā al-Rabbi yanbaghī an nafdī anfusanā wa-arwāḥanā thumma dhawātanā wa-ḥaqāʾiqanā, wa-hādhā qalīlun ʿinda ẓuhūri ʿaṭāyāhu wa-burūzi mawāhibihi allatī aḥāṭati al-thaqalayn.

Reflect a little. Although the highest degree of perfection for human beings is the rank of prophethood, and most have considered it impossible for any soul to attain this lofty and exalted station, He nevertheless states that if that Most Great Revelation should will it, He would cause all who are on earth to attain this rank, which everyone regards as the most perfect of stations. By His life! For such a Lord we should sacrifice our selves and our souls, and then our very beings and realities. Yet this is little in the face of the manifestation of His gifts and the emergence of His bestowals, which have encompassed both humankind and jinn.

235

اگر نفسى بدوام ملك و ملكوت عمر نمايد و بكلّ اعمال عامل شود و در ظهور اقلّ من آن توقّف نمايد جميع اعمال او كه در زمن لايحصى عامل بوده هباء ميشود بلكه وجود و كينونتش لاشیء ميشود تا چه رسد بتكميل او و هم‌‌چنين اگر در اينمدّت نعوذ باللّه تارك كلّ اعمال بوده و در حين ظهور فايز بقول بلى شود جميع اعمال در حقّ او ثبت و عند اللّه كامل بوده و خواهد بود

Agar nafsī be-davām-e molk va malakūt ʿomr namāyad va be-koll-e aʿmāl ʿāmel shavad va dar ẓohūr aqall min ān tavaqqof namāyad, jamīʿ-e aʿmāl-e ū ke dar zaman-e lā yuḥṣā ʿāmel būde habāʾ mīshavad, balke vojūd va kaynūnatash lā shayʾ mīshavad, tā che resad be-takmīl-e ū. Va hamchenīn agar dar īn moddat, naʿūdhu bi-Allāh, tārek-e koll-e aʿmāl būde va dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr fāʾez be-qowl-e balā shavad, jamīʿ-e aʿmāl dar ḥaqq-e ū thabt va ʿinda Allāh kāmel būde va khvāhad būd.

If a soul should live as long as the earthly dominion and the heavenly kingdom endure, and perform every prescribed deed, yet hesitate for less than an instant at the Revelation, all the deeds he has performed over that immeasurable time become dust. Indeed, his very existence and being become nothing, let alone his perfection. Likewise, if throughout this period he has—God forbid—neglected every deed, but at the moment of Revelation attains the declaration “Yes,” all deeds are recorded to his credit, and he has been and will be perfect in the sight of God.

236

بر تكميل دوره احدى الّا اللّه مطّلع نه بسا كه در اقرب من آن تكميل ظاهر و بسا كه در الف سنه و فوق آن تكميل نميشود و اين بسى واضح است كه تكميل هر شیء بتصديق اللّه بوده نه بطول مدّت و ظهور اوهام ناس نفس ظهور بعد بنفسه دليل بر تكميل ما ظهر فى ظهور القبل بوده بحقّ ناظر باشيد نه بطول مدّت و زمان چه كه حقّ قادر است در آنى كلّ اوان را منقضى فرمايد و يا آنكه يك آن را در صدهزار سنه امتداد دهد له الخلق و الأمر كلّ بأمره يعملون

Bar takmīl-e dowre aḥadī illā Allāh moṭṭaleʿ na. Basā ke dar aqrab min ān takmīl ẓāher va basā ke dar alf sane va fowq-e ān takmīl namīshavad. Va īn basī vāḍeḥ ast ke takmīl-e har shayʾ be-taṣdīq-e Allāh būde na be-ṭūl-e moddat va ẓohūr-e owhām-e nās. Nafs-e ẓohūr-e baʿd be-nafsehi dalīl bar takmīl-e mā ẓahara fī ẓuhūr al-qabl būde. Be-Ḥaqq nāẓer bāshīd na be-ṭūl-e moddat va zamān, che ke Ḥaqq qāder ast dar ānī koll-e avān rā monqaḍī farmāyad va yā ānke yek ān rā dar ṣad-hezār sane emtedād dahad. Lahu al-khalqu wa-al-amru, kullun bi-amrihi yaʿmalūn.

No one but God knows when a dispensation is complete. Completion may appear in less than an instant, or it may not occur in a thousand years or more. It is abundantly clear that the completion of every thing depends upon God’s confirmation, not upon the length of time or the emergence of people’s imaginings. The subsequent Revelation is itself the proof of the completion of what appeared in the preceding Revelation. Look to God, not to the length of the period or the passage of time, for God is able to bring all ages to an end in a single instant, or to extend one instant over a hundred thousand years. His are creation and command; all act at His command.

237

در اينمقام چند فردى از لسان ابدع امنع در عراق نازل لاجل تنبّه ذكر ميشود

Dar īn maqām chand fardī az Lesān-e Abdaʿ-e Amnaʿ dar ʿErāq nāzel, li-ajl-e tanabboh ẕekr mīshavad.

At this point, a few couplets revealed in Iraq by the most wondrous, most exalted Tongue are cited for your awakening.

238

سائلى مر عارفى را گفت كى تو بر اسرار الهى بردۀ پى وى تو از خمر عنايت گشته مست هيچ يادت آيد از روز الست گفت ياد آيد مرا آن صوت و گفت كو بدى بود و نباشد اين شگفت هست در گوشم همى آواى او وان صداى روح و جان افزاى او عارفى ديگر كه بر تر رفته بود درّ اسرار الهى سفته بود گفت آن روز خدا آخر نشد ما در آن روزيم آن قاصر نشد

Sāʾelī mar ʿārefī rā goft: key to bar asrār-e elāhī borde-ī pey? Vey to az khamr-e ʿenāyat gashte mast, hīch yādat āyad az rūz-e alast? Goft: yād āyad marā ān ṣowt va goft, k-ū [corrupted text] būd va nabāshad īn shegeft. Hast dar gūsham hamī āvā-ye ū, v-ān ṣadā-ye rūḥ va jān-afzā-ye ū. ʿĀrefī dīgar ke bartar rafte būd, dorr-e asrār-e elāhī softe būd, goft: ān rūz-e Khodā ākhar nashod, mā dar ān rūzīm, ān qāṣer nashod.

A questioner said to a mystic: “When did you come to know the divine mysteries? O you who are drunk with the wine of grace, do you remember anything of the day of ‘Am I not?’” He said: “I remember that voice and speech, which was [corrupted original text], and this is no wonder. His voice is ever in my ear, that spirit- and soul-nourishing call of His.” Another mystic, who had ascended higher and had pierced the pearl of the divine mysteries, said: “That day of God has not ended. We are in that day; it has not been cut short.”

239

اين كلمات مخصوص آن ذكر شد كه معلوم شود ادراك اين امور منوط بعرفان عارفين است هر نفسى اين مراتب را ادراك ننمايد و اطّلاع نيابد عجب است كه تو خود را عارف ميدانى و از كلمات عرفا هم اطّلاع ندارى و الّا در اينمقام اعتراض نمينمودى چه كه عرفا برآنند كه اسماء الهى در كلّ حين مؤثّر چه كه تعطيل جايز نه و لذا گفته‌اند اسم مميت در كلّ حين كلّ موجودات را از وجود اضافى بعدم اضافى راجع مينمايد و هم‌‌چنين اسم محيى و مبعث در كلّ ان كلّ اكوان را از عدم اضافى بوجود اضافى جلوه ميدهد چنانچه آيه مباركه بل هم فى لبس من خلق جديد را در اين مقام تفسير نموده‌اند

Īn kalemāt makhṣūṣ-e ān ẕekr shod ke maʿlūm shavad edrāk-e īn omūr manūṭ be-ʿerfān-e ʿārefīn ast. Har nafsī īn marāteb rā edrāk nanamāyad va eṭṭelāʿ nayābad. ʿAjab ast ke to khod rā ʿāref mīdānī va az kalemāt-e ʿorafā ham eṭṭelāʿ nadārī, va illā dar īn maqām eʿterāḍ namīnamūdī. Che ke ʿorafā bar ānand ke asmāʾ-e elāhī dar koll-e ḥīn moʾathther, che ke taʿṭīl jāyez na. Va leẕā gofte-and esm-e Momīt dar koll-e ḥīn koll-e mowjūdāt rā az vojūd-e eḍāfī be-ʿadam-e eḍāfī rājeʿ mīnamāyad va hamchenīn esm-e Moḥyī va Mobʿeth dar koll-e ān koll-e akvān rā az ʿadam-e eḍāfī be-vojūd-e eḍāfī jelve mīdahad, chenānche āye-ye mobārake-ye bal hum fī labsin min khalqin jadīd rā dar īn maqām tafsīr namūde-and.

These words were cited specifically to make it clear that comprehending these matters depends upon the insight of the mystics. Not every soul can comprehend or become aware of these degrees. It is strange that you consider yourself a mystic, yet do not even know the words of the mystics; otherwise, you would not have raised an objection here. For the mystics hold that the divine names are effective at every moment, since their suspension is inadmissible. Thus they have said that the name “the Giver of Death” returns all beings at every moment from relative existence to relative nonexistence, and likewise the names “the Giver of Life” and “the Raiser” bring all created things at every instant from relative nonexistence into relative existence. It is in this sense that they have interpreted the blessed verse: “Rather, they are in confusion concerning a new creation.”

240

در اينصورت آن خلق بعد در حين قبل موجود نه و هم‌‌چنين در حين قبل آن خلق موجود حين بعد معلوم نه پس چگونه تصوّر تكميل شیء از اشیاء نموده‌اند چه كه آن شیء كه در اين حين موجود است در حين بعد نيست چه كه تجدّد و حدوث است از براى اين شیء چگونه تكميل دست ميدهد اگر بگوئى در همان حين محدثه در حين ميشود اين طول مدّت لازم نداشت و ندارد و اگر ناس قابل ادراك معانى كلمات الهيّه ميبودند هرآينه در اينمقام تفصيلى ذكر ميشد تا آنكه از جميع عرفان قبل و بعد منقطع شده و بشريعه عرفان بديع كه اليوم از يمين عرش رحمن جارى است توجّه نمايند

Dar īn ṣūrat ān khalq-i baʿd dar ḥīn-i qabl mawjūd na va ham-chunīn dar ḥīn-i qabl ān khalq-i mawjūd-i ḥīn-i baʿd maʿlūm na. Pas chigūna taṣavvur-i takmīl-i shayʾ az ashyāʾ namūda-and, chi ki ān shayʾ ki dar īn ḥīn mawjūd ast dar ḥīn-i baʿd nīst, chi ki tajaddud va ḥudūth ast az barāy-i īn shayʾ. Chigūna takmīl dast mīdahad? Agar bigūʾī dar hamān ḥīn-i muḥdatha dar ḥīn mīshavad, īn ṭūl-i muddat lāzim nadāsht va nadārad. Va agar nās qābil-i idrāk-i maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyya mībūdand, har-āyina dar īn maqām tafṣīlī dhikr mīshud tā ānki az jamīʿ-i ʿirfān-i qabl va baʿd munqaṭiʿ shuda va bi-sharīʿa-yi ʿirfān-i badīʿ ki al-yawm az yamīn-i ʿarsh-i Raḥmān jārī ast tavajjuh namāyand.

In this case, the subsequent creation did not exist at the preceding moment, and likewise, at the preceding moment, the creation existing at the subsequent moment was not known. How, then, have they conceived of the perfection of any single thing? For the thing that exists at this moment does not exist at the next, since this thing undergoes renewal and origination. How can perfection be attained? If you say that it takes place at once, in that very moment of origination, this long duration was not and is not necessary. If people were capable of comprehending the meanings of the divine words, a detailed explanation would certainly be given here, so that they might detach themselves from all knowledge, past and future, and turn toward the waters of wondrous new knowledge that today flow from the right hand of the throne of the All-Merciful.

241

بشنو ذكر اين فانى را و امر را بر خود مشتبه منما كلمات الهى را احدى ادراك ننموده و نخواهد نمود چه كه مفتاح ابواب او بيد مقتدر قدير بوده و تا ختم اناء معارف الهيّه را يد قدرت نگشايد احدى بر آن مطّلع نشده و نخواهد شد بلكه عرف آن را هم نيافته و نخواهند يافت چنانچه تا يد قدرت ظهور قبل ختم كنائز علوم فرقان را نگشود احدى ادراك ننمود بارى تكميل در دست قدرت حقّ بوده و خواهد بود

Bishnaw dhikr-i īn fānī rā va amr rā bar khud mushtabih manamā. Kalimāt-i ilāhī rā aḥadī idrāk nanamūda va nakhwāhad namūd, chi ki miftāḥ-i abvāb-i ū bi-yad-i Muqtadir-i Qadīr būda va tā khatm-i ināʾ-i maʿārif-i ilāhiyya rā yad-i qudrat nagushāyad aḥadī bar ān muṭṭaliʿ nashuda va nakhwāhad shud, balki ʿarf-i ān rā ham nayāfta va nakhwāhand yāft. Chunānchi tā yad-i qudrat-i ẓuhūr-i qabl khatm-i kanāʾiz-i ʿulūm-i Furqān rā nagushūd aḥadī idrāk nanamūd. Bārī takmīl dar dast-i qudrat-i Ḥaqq būda va khwāhad būd.

Listen to the words of this transient one, and do not confuse the matter for yourself. No one has comprehended or will comprehend the divine words, for the key to their gates has been in the hand of the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Until the hand of power breaks the seal on the vessel of divine knowledge, no one has gained or will gain access to it; indeed, they have not even caught, nor will they catch, its fragrance. Likewise, until the hand of power of the preceding Revelation broke the seal on the treasuries of the knowledge of the Qur’an, no one comprehended them. In short, perfection has been and will remain in the hand of God’s power.

242

تكميل هر دوره بظهور بعد بوده و در حين ظهور تكميل حقيقى واقع و لكن استطاعت ادراك آن را امثال آن نفوس ضعيفه نداشته و ندارند چنانچه ادراك آن انقضاى خمسين الف سنه در ساعت واحده نشده و اگر نفسى هم ادّعا نموده بر حسب تقليد بوده الّا من علّمه اللّه من جواهر علمه بسا از علوم ربّانى كه در سماء علم لدنّى الهى وديعه مانده ديگر تا چه وقت و زمان از افق امكان مظاهر قدسيّه و مطالع منيعه ظاهر شوند و مستعد ادراك گردند و از سماء مشيّت على قدر مقدور نازل شود الأمر بيده يفعل ما یشآء و لا يسئل عمّا شآء

Takmīl-i har dawra bi-ẓuhūr-i baʿd būda va dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr takmīl-i ḥaqīqī vāqiʿ, va lākin istiṭāʿat-i idrāk-i ān rā amthāl-i ān nufūs-i ḍaʿīfa nadāshta va nadārand, chunānchi idrāk-i ān inqiḍā-yi khamsīn alf sana dar sāʿat-i vāḥida nashuda va agar nafsī ham iddiʿā namūda bar ḥasab-i taqlīd būda, illā man ʿallamahu Allāhu min jawāhiri ʿilmihi. Basā az ʿulūm-i rabbānī ki dar samā-yi ʿilm-i ladunnī-yi ilāhī vadīʿa mānda. Dīgar tā chi vaqt va zamān az ufuq-i imkān maẓāhir-i qudsiyya va maṭāliʿ-i manīʿa ẓāhir shavand va mustaʿidd-i idrāk gardand va az samā-yi mashiyyat ʿalā qadr-i maqdūr nāzil shavad. Al-amru bi-yadihi yafʿalu mā yashāʾu wa-lā yusʾalu ʿammā shāʾa.

The perfection of each cycle has come through the subsequent Revelation, and true perfection occurs at the moment of revelation. Yet the likes of those feeble souls have not had and do not have the capacity to comprehend it, just as that passage of fifty thousand years in a single hour has not been comprehended. If anyone has claimed to do so, it has been by imitation, except those whom God has taught from the gems of His knowledge. Much divine learning remains deposited in the heaven of God’s innate knowledge. It remains to be seen at what time and season holy Manifestations and exalted Daysprings will appear from the horizon of contingent existence, and receptivity to understanding will arise, and it will descend from the heaven of the divine will in the measure ordained. The command is in His hand. He does whatever He wills and is not questioned about what He has willed.

243

و اينكه نوشته بايد از فرمايش ربّ اعلى بقدر جوى تخلّف ننمايد معلوم نشد كه اين حكم حكم شما است بايد عمل شود يا حكم نقطه بيان نقطه بيان که ميفرمايند عمل او ميزان كلّ بوده و بهر چه آن وجود مبارك عامل شود بايد كلّ عامل شوند گويا اصلا بيان را نديده و اطّلاع هم ندارى بتعليم شيطان ناطقى و بتحريك او متحرّك آخر

Va īnki nivishta bāyad az farmāyish-i Rabb-i Aʿlā bi-qadr-i jawī takhalluf nanamāyad, maʿlūm nashud ki īn ḥukm ḥukm-i shumā ast bāyad ʿamal shavad yā ḥukm-i Nuqṭa-yi Bayān. Nuqṭa-yi Bayān ki mīfarmāyand ʿamal-i ū mīzān-i kull būda va bi-har chi ān vujūd-i mubārak ʿāmil shavad bāyad kull ʿāmil shavand. Gūyā aṣlan Bayān rā nadīda va iṭṭilāʿ ham nadārī. Bi-taʿlīm-i shayṭān nāṭiqī va bi-taḥrīk-i ū mutaḥarrik, ākhar.

As for your statement that he must not deviate from the words of the Exalted Lord by so much as a barleycorn, it is unclear whether this is your decree that must be obeyed or the decree of the Point of the Bayán. The Point of the Bayán states that His action is the standard for all, and that whatever that blessed Being does, everyone must do. It seems you have never seen the Bayán at all and have no knowledge of it. After all, you speak at Satan’s instruction and move at his prompting.

244

اى نفسيكه بعرفان موسومى و خود را عارف دانسته از خود هم يك اظهار وجودى بنما و خود را مثل اغنام مكن كه هر راعى بهر جهت اراده نمايد شما را ببرد و اىكاش راعى انسان ميشد راعى ذئب پيدا نموده‌ايد و جميع عرفان و ايقان و ثمرات توحيدت را در ساعت اوّل ملاقات بلع نموده و حال جسدى ميّت و لاشیء مشهودى و بقسمى هم ميّت و لاشیء ملاحظه ميشوى كه بصدهزار صور هم مهتزّ نشوى و بحركت نيائى بحقّ معبود يكتا كه دلم بر تو و امثال تو ميسوزد چه كه كينه و بغضا در اين قلوب نبوده و نيست و آنچه ذكر شده و ميشود خالصاً لوجه اللّه بوده و خواهد بود

Ay nafsī ki bi-ʿirfān mawsūmī va khud rā ʿārif dānista, az khud ham yak iẓhār-i vujūdī binamā va khud rā mithl-i aghnām makun ki har rāʿī bi-har jahat irāda namāyad shumā rā bibarad. Va ay kāsh rāʿī insān mīshud. Rāʿī dhiʾb paydā namūda-īd va jamīʿ-i ʿirfān va īqān va thamarāt-i tawḥīdat rā dar sāʿat-i avval-i mulāqāt balʿ namūda va ḥāl jasadī mayyit va lā-shayʾ mashhūdī. Va bi-qismī ham mayyit va lā-shayʾ mulāḥiẓa mīshavī ki bi-ṣad-hizār ṣūr ham muhtazz nashavī va bi-ḥarakat nayāʾī. Bi-Ḥaqq-i Maʿbūd-i Yaktā ki dilam bar tu va amthāl-i tu mīsūzad, chi ki kīna va baghḍā dar īn qulūb nabūda va nīst va ānchi dhikr shuda va mīshavad khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh būda va khwāhad būd.

O you who are known for spiritual knowledge and consider yourself a mystic! Show some sign of an independent existence, and do not make yourself like sheep, to be led by any shepherd in whatever direction he wishes. If only the shepherd were human! You have found a wolf for a shepherd, and at the very first meeting he swallowed all your spiritual knowledge and certitude and the fruits of your belief in divine unity. Now you appear as a dead body, a thing of nothing. Indeed, you are seen to be so dead and insubstantial that even a hundred thousand trumpet blasts would not stir you or bring you to move. By the one true God who is worshipped, my heart burns for you and those like you, for malice and hatred have never been and are not in these hearts. Whatever has been and is being said has been and will be solely for the sake of God.

245

و ديگر طلعت ابهى روح ما سواه له الفدآء بجميع اعمال عاملند لو انت من المتبصّرين چن دسنه ميشود كه اين عبد ليلاً و نهاراً معاشر بوده فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه امرى كه فى‌الجمله مكروه باشد از اين جمال مبارك ديده نشده جميع اشیاء بر تقديس ذات مقدّسشان شهادت داده و ميدهند در ليالى و ایّام جز ذكر اللّه و ارتفاع كلمته از آن بيت مطهّر مقدّس استماع نشده خود شما اگر قدرى بانصاف بيائيد شهادت ميدهيد كه مقدّسند از اوهام ما سواه و منزّهند از ادراك ما دونه

Va dīgar Ṭalʿat-i Abhā, rūḥu mā siwāhu lahu al-fidāʾ, bi-jamīʿ-i aʿmāl ʿāmiland, law anta mina al-mutabaṣṣirīn. [corrupted text] mīshavad ki īn ʿabd laylan va nahāran muʿāshir būda. Fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ki amrī ki fī al-jumla makrūh bāshad az īn Jamāl-i Mubārak dīda nashuda. Jamīʿ-i ashyāʾ bar taqdīs-i dhāt-i muqaddasishān shahādat dāda va mīdihand. Dar layālī va ayyām juz dhikr-i Allāh va irtifāʿ-i kalimatihi az ān bayt-i muṭahhar-i muqaddas istimāʿ nashuda. Khud-i shumā agar qadrī bi-inṣāf biyāʾīd shahādat mīdihīd ki muqaddasand az awhām-i mā siwāh va munazzahand az idrāk-i mā dūnih.

Furthermore, the All-Glorious Countenance—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him—observes every prescribed deed, if you are among those who see clearly. It has been [corrupted original text] that this servant has been in His company night and day. By God, besides whom there is no god, nothing even slightly objectionable has been seen from this Blessed Beauty. All things have testified and continue to testify to the sanctity of His holy Being. Throughout the nights and days, nothing has been heard from that pure and holy house except the remembrance of God and the exaltation of His Word. You yourself, if you show a little fairness, will testify that He is sanctified beyond the imaginings of all others and exalted beyond the comprehension of all besides Him.

246

كدام عمل فوق انفاق جان است در سبيل رحمن آيا نشنيده‌ايد كه بيست سنه در سبيل الهى بر ايشان چه وارد شده اگر چه آن مفترى خبيث اعمال خود و مرشدش را بجمال اطهر اقدس نسبت داده و تو هم من غير دليل و برهان از او پذيرفته و لكن نه واللّه بقول او و امثال او ذيل مطهّر نيالايد

Kudām ʿamal fawq-i infāq-i jān ast dar sabīl-i Raḥmān? Āyā nashanīda-īd ki bīst sana dar sabīl-i ilāhī bar īshān chi vārid shuda? Agar chi ān muftarī-yi khabīth aʿmāl-i khud va murshidash rā bi-Jamāl-i Aṭhar-i Aqdas nisbat dāda va tu ham min ghayr-i dalīl va burhān az ū padhīrufta, va lākin na, va-Allāh, bi-qawl-i ū va amthāl-i ū dhayl-i muṭahhar nayālāyad.

What deed is greater than offering one’s life in the path of the All-Merciful? Have you not heard what He has suffered for twenty years in the path of God? That wicked slanderer has indeed attributed his own deeds and those of his guide to the most pure, most holy Beauty, and you have accepted them from him without evidence or proof. But no, by God! The words of that man and his like cannot stain His pure robe.

247

و اينكه نوشته مدّعى در ظلّ افتاده اگر چه از جمال اقدس اطهر جز عبوديّت صرفه چيزى استماع نشده و لكن اين كلمه ملقى بسيار لغو بوده و خواهد بود از اينقرار حضرت اعلى روح ما سواه فداه در ظلّ علماء عصر بوده چه كه در آن عصر ظاهر و اگر از علماء سلب نمايند در ظلّ رسول اللّه بوده ما صغر شأنهم و قلّ عقلهم و صغر درايتهم و كبر قولهم و لكن شهادت ميدهم كه قبل از ظهور در ظلّ نبی‌ بوده و حين ظهور فوق كلّ ذى رسالة

Va īnki nivishta muddaʿī dar ẓill uftāda, agar chi az Jamāl-i Aqdas-i Aṭhar juz ʿubūdiyyat-i ṣirfa chīzī istimāʿ nashuda, va lākin īn kalima-yi mulqā bisyār laghv būda va khwāhad būd. Az īn qarār Ḥaḍrat-i Aʿlā, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāh, dar ẓill-i ʿulamā-yi ʿaṣr būda, chi ki dar ān ʿaṣr ẓāhir, va agar az ʿulamā salb namāyand dar ẓill-i Rasūl-i Allāh būda. Mā ṣaghura shaʾnuhum wa-qalla ʿaqluhum wa-ṣaghura dirāyatuhum wa-kabura qawluhum. Va lākin shahādat mīdaham ki qabl az ẓuhūr dar ẓill-i nabī būda va ḥīn-i ẓuhūr fawq-i kull-i dhī risāla.

As for your statement that the claimant has fallen under the shadow: although nothing but pure servitude has been heard from the most holy, most pure Beauty, this utterance has been and will remain utterly idle. By this reasoning, His Holiness the Exalted One—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him—was under the shadow of the religious scholars of His age, since He appeared in that age. If they deny that He was under the scholars’ shadow, then He was under the shadow of the Messenger of God. How low their station, how little their reason, how meager their understanding, and how great their claim! Yet I testify that before His Revelation He was under the shadow of a Prophet, and at the moment of His Revelation He was above every bearer of a divine message.

248

قوله عظم ظلّه پس چنين شخصى اگر خود و اصحابش در تقرير و تحرير مدّعى آن شوند كه برترى از ربّ اعلى جسته و هست زهى تناقض و خلاف صريح با مدّعاى اوّل است ادّعاى دو امر متناقض از شخصى بزرگ بلكه از هر ذى شعورى قبيح است هيچ عاقلى ادّعاى دو امر متناقض صريح نمينمايد خصوص اگر ادّعاى آن نمايد كه ربّ اعلى از يك كلمه من ايجاد شده پناه بر خدا كه يك فى‌الجمله تجلّى اشخاص بزرگ ببعضى بجهت امتحان چه ادّعاها بروز مينمايد و جمعى از عوام هم باور مينمايند و بلاتصوّر تصديق ميكنند انتهى

Qawluhu, ʿaẓuma ẓilluhu: Pas chunīn shakhṣī agar khud va aṣḥābash dar taqrīr va taḥrīr muddaʿī-yi ān shavand ki bartarī az Rabb-i Aʿlā justa va hast, zihī tanāquḍ va khilāf-i ṣarīḥ bā muddaʿā-yi avval ast. Iddiʿā-yi du amr-i mutanāqiḍ az shakhṣī buzurg, balki az har dhī-shuʿūrī, qabīḥ ast. Hīch ʿāqilī iddiʿā-yi du amr-i mutanāqiḍ-i ṣarīḥ namīnamāyad, khuṣūṣ agar iddiʿā-yi ān namāyad ki Rabb-i Aʿlā az yak kalima-yi man ījād shuda. Panāh bar Khudā ki yak fī al-jumla tajallī-yi ashkhāṣ-i buzurg bi-baʿḍī bi-jahat-i imtiḥān chi iddiʿāhā burūz mīnamāyad va jamʿī az ʿavāmm ham bāvar mīnamāyand va bi-lā taṣavvur taṣdīq mīkunand. Intahā.

His words—may his shadow grow: “If such a person and his companions then claim, in speech and writing, that he has attained superiority over the Exalted Lord and is superior to Him, what a contradiction and explicit conflict with the original claim! For a great person, or indeed any person possessed of understanding, to make two contradictory claims is reprehensible. No rational person makes two explicitly contradictory claims, especially if he claims that ‘the Exalted Lord was created by a single word of mine.’ God save us! What claims a mere partial revelation of great personages to certain people as a test brings forth! And a number of ordinary people believe them and assent without reflection.” End of quotation.

249

قل للمشركين اذا لو تسمعون منّى فابكوا على انفسكم ثمّ نوحوا لقلّة عقولكم و درايتكم ذكر امثال آن معرضين در كتاب قبل و بعد نازل قوله تعالى كمثل الحمار يحمل اسفاراً بگو تناقض وجود خود شما است او را از ميان بردار تا جز توحيد صرف و تفريد بحت مشاهده ننمائى اگر تو بخواهى اين ادّعا را بفهمى و آنچه فرموده‌ ادراك نمائى كه شايد بمنبع معين قدس لايزال وارد شوى اينست قوله عزّ اجلاله يا قوم انّى لجمال علىّ بينكم و نفس محمّد فيكم و كينونة الرّوح بين السّموات و الأرض ان انتم تعرفون و اين همان مطلبی‌ است كه بعينه نقطه بيان فرموده آن اراده نفس اين اراده بوده و خواهد بود و آن مشيّت بعينه همين مشيّت بوده و خواهد بود و اين مشيّت و اراده بعينه همان مشيّت و اراده بوده و خواهد بود ذكر تناقض من غير شعور نموده چه كه فى‌الحقيقة در حقّ جميع انبیاء اين تناقض را ثابت نموده زيرا كه هر نبی‌ بعدى در ظلّ نبی‌ قبل بوده و با ثبوت ظلّيّت ادّعاى برترى كه نموده نعوذ باللّه بقول مشركين تناقضست و از درجه اعتبار ساقط حاشا ثمّ حاشا

Qul li-l-mushrikīn idhan law tasmaʿūna minnī fa-bkū ʿalā anfusikum thumma nūḥū li-qillati ʿuqūlikum wa-dirāyatikum. Dhikr-i amthāl-i ān muʿriḍīn dar kitāb-i qabl va baʿd nāzil. Qawluhu taʿālā: Ka-mathali al-ḥimāri yaḥmilu asfāran. Bigū tanāquḍ vujūd-i khud-i shumā ast. Ū rā az miyān bardār tā juz tawḥīd-i ṣirf va tafrīd-i baḥt mushāhada nanamāʾī. Agar tu bikhwāhī īn iddiʿā rā bifahmī va ānchi farmūda idrāk namāʾī ki shāyad bi-manbaʿ-i maʿīn-i quds-i lā-yazāl vārid shavī, īnast qawluhu ʿazza ijlāluhu: Yā qawmi innī la-Jamālu ʿAliyyin baynakum wa-nafsu Muḥammadin fīkum wa-kaynūnatu al-Rūḥi bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi in antum taʿrifūn. Va īn hamān maṭlabī ast ki bi-ʿaynihi Nuqṭa-yi Bayān farmūda. Ān irāda nafs-i īn irāda būda va khwāhad būd va ān mashiyyat bi-ʿaynihi hamīn mashiyyat būda va khwāhad būd va īn mashiyyat va irāda bi-ʿaynihi hamān mashiyyat va irāda būda va khwāhad būd. Dhikr-i tanāquḍ min ghayr-i shuʿūr namūda, chi ki fī al-ḥaqīqa dar ḥaqq-i jamīʿ-i anbiyā īn tanāquḍ rā thābit namūda, zīrā ki har nabī-yi baʿdī dar ẓill-i nabī-yi qabl būda va bā thubūt-i ẓilliyyat iddiʿā-yi bartarī ki namūda, naʿūdhu bi-Allāh, bi-qawl-i mushrikīn tanāquḍ ast va az daraja-yi iʿtibār sāqiṭ. Ḥāshā thumma ḥāshā.

Say to those who associate partners with God: “If you would listen to Me, then weep for yourselves and lament the paucity of your reason and understanding.” Descriptions of the likes of those who turn away have been revealed in the former and latter Books. His words, exalted is He: “Like a donkey carrying books.” Say: Your own existence is the contradiction. Remove it, so that you may behold nothing but pure unity and absolute oneness. If you wish to understand this claim and comprehend what He has said, so that you may perhaps reach the source of the ever-flowing waters of everlasting holiness, these are His words, exalted be His majesty: “O people! I am indeed the Beauty of ‘Alí among you, the very Self of Muhammad in your midst, and the Being of the Spirit between the heavens and the earth, if you only knew.” This is precisely the same truth that the Point of the Bayán expressed. That intention has been and will remain this very intention, and that will has been and will remain this very will; and this will and intention have been and will remain precisely that same will and intention. He has spoken of contradiction without understanding, for in truth he has established this contradiction with respect to all the Prophets. Every subsequent Prophet was under the shadow of the preceding Prophet; thus, with this relationship of being under the shadow established, His claim to superiority is—God forbid!—according to the words of those who associate partners with God, a contradiction and devoid of validity. Far be it, far be it!

250

قل يا ايّها النّائم على فراش الشّهوات و المسترضع عن ثدى الغفلة و الجهل و الهوى تناقض را در ساحت اقدس مظاهر مقدّسه الهيّه راه نبوده و نخواهد بود اين تناقض در نفس خلق است نه در امر حقّ بپذير قول اين عبد را و نفس خود را از ثقل حمل اين اشارات و كلمات نجات ده تا خفيف شده بهواى قدس روحانى پرواز نمائى و بمقرّ مقدّس از تحديدات بشريّه وارد شوى تا آن ساحت را مقدّس از ذكر تناقض و اضداد و انقلاب و اختلاف و محاربه و مكالمه و مجادله و اشاره و دلاله يابی‌ چه كه آن مقرّ اطهر از اسطقسّات اضداديّه خلق نشده و از عناصر اربعه مختلفه بوجود نيامده از عنصر روح ظاهر شده هوائش عين نار و نارش نفس هواء و مائش صرف تراب كلّ متّحدند من غير تغيير و اختلاف و رطبش عين يبوست و يبوستش عين برودت و برودتش حقيقت حرارت و از اين حرارت حركت ما فى الوجود خلق لو لا الحرّ لم تكن الحركة و الحرارة هى الفاعل و انّما الحركة هى الفعل و لكن

Qul yā ayyuhā al-nāʾimu ʿalā firāshi al-shahawāti wa-al-mustarḍiʿu ʿan thadyi al-ghaflati wa-al-jahli wa-al-hawā. Tanāquḍ rā dar sāḥat-i aqdas-i maẓāhir-i muqaddasa-yi ilāhiyya rāh nabūda va nakhwāhad būd. Īn tanāquḍ dar nafs-i khalq ast na dar amr-i Ḥaqq. Bipadhīr qawl-i īn ʿabd rā va nafs-i khud rā az thiql-i ḥaml-i īn ishārāt va kalimāt najāt dih tā khafīf shuda bi-havā-yi quds-i rūḥānī parvāz namāʾī va bi-maqarr-i muqaddas az taḥdīdāt-i bashariyya vārid shavī tā ān sāḥat rā muqaddas az dhikr-i tanāquḍ va aḍdād va inqilāb va ikhtilāf va muḥāraba va mukālama va mujādala va ishāra va dalāla yābī, chi ki ān maqarr-i aṭhar az usṭuqussāt-i aḍdādiyya khalq nashuda va az ʿanāṣir-i arbaʿa-yi mukhtalifa bi-vujūd nayāmada. Az ʿunṣur-i rūḥ ẓāhir shuda. Havāyash ʿayn-i nār va nārash nafs-i havā va māʾash ṣirf-i turāb. Kull muttaḥidand min ghayr-i taghyīr va ikhtilāf va raṭbash ʿayn-i yubūsat va yubūsatash ʿayn-i burūdat va burūdatash ḥaqīqat-i ḥarārat va az īn ḥarārat ḥarakat-i mā fī al-vujūd khalq. Law lā al-ḥarru lam takuni al-ḥarakatu wa-al-ḥarāratu hiya al-fāʿilu wa-innamā al-ḥarakatu hiya al-fiʿlu wa-lākin

Say: “O you who sleep on the bed of desires and suckle at the breast of heedlessness, ignorance, and passion!” Contradiction has never had and will never have access to the most holy court of the sacred Manifestations of God. This contradiction lies within creation itself, not in the Cause of God. Accept the words of this servant and free yourself from the burden of carrying these allusions and words, so that, unburdened, you may fly in the atmosphere of spiritual holiness and enter the abode sanctified from human limitations. Then you will find that court sanctified beyond any mention of contradiction, opposites, transformation, difference, conflict, conversation, disputation, allusion, or indication. For that most pure abode was not created from opposing constituents, nor did it come into being from the four differing elements. It has appeared from the element of spirit. Its air is fire itself, its fire is air itself, and its water is pure earth. All are united, without change or difference. Its moisture is dryness itself, its dryness is cold itself, and its cold is the very reality of heat. From this heat the motion of all that exists was created. Were it not for heat, there would be no motion. Heat is the agent, while motion is the action, but

251

امثال آن نفوس كه از طين حرص و نار كبر و هواء نفس و ماء غفلت خلق شده‌اند البتّه بآن مقرّ اقدس اطهر كه مقدّس از عرفان كلّ من فى الملك بوده و خواهد بود نتوانند تقرّب جست لو يخطر التقرّب ببالهم ليحترقون فى الحين آنچه در مظاهر قبل ذكر شده در اين ظهور ابدع امنع هو بهو و كلمه بكلمه و حرف بحرف ذكر ميشود يرجع التّناقض و الاضداد الى اشكالهم و امثالهم و يبقى الاتّحاد و الايتلاف لاحبّاء اللّه فى المبدأ و المآب اى منصف بقول خود ظلّيّت فرض مگير و مايظهر من جمال الأبهی را تناقض مبين

Amthāl-i ān nufūs ki az ṭīn-i ḥirṣ va nār-i kibr va havā-yi nafs va māʾ-i ghaflat khalq shuda-and albatta bi-ān maqarr-i aqdas-i aṭhar ki muqaddas az ʿirfān-i kull-i man fī al-mulk būda va khwāhad būd natavānand taqarrub just. Law yakhṭuru al-taqarrubu bi-bālihim la-yaḥtariqūna fī al-ḥīn. Ānchi dar maẓāhir-i qabl dhikr shuda dar īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ hū bi-hū va kalima bi-kalima va ḥarf bi-ḥarf dhikr mīshavad. Yarjiʿu al-tanāquḍu wa-al-aḍdādu ilā ashkālihim wa-amthālihim wa-yabqā al-ittiḥādu wa-al-iʾtilāfu li-aḥibbāʾi Allāhi fī al-mabdaʾi wa-al-maʾāb. Ay munṣif, bi-qawl-i khud ẓilliyyat farḍ magīr va mā yaẓharu min Jamāli al-Abhā rā tanāquḍ mabīn.

The likes of those souls who have been created from the clay of greed, the fire of pride, the air of self, and the water of heedlessness certainly cannot draw near to that most holy, most pure abode, which has been and will remain sanctified beyond the knowledge of all who dwell in the realm of creation. Should the thought of drawing near enter their minds, they would burn up at once. Whatever was said in the former Manifestations is stated in this most wondrous, most exalted Revelation, identically, word for word and letter for letter. Contradiction and opposites revert to those of their kind and their like, while unity and harmony remain for the loved ones of God, in the beginning and at the return. O fair-minded one! Do not assume, on your own assertion, a relationship of being under the shadow, and do not regard what appears from the All-Glorious Beauty as a contradiction.

252

و ديگر نوشته بودند خصوص اگر ادّعاى آن نمايد كه ربّ اعلى از يكحرف من ايجاد شده از اين قسم كلمات جعليّه شركيّه كه آن نفس مشرك بشما القا نموده از انفس خبيثه مشركه در جميع اعصار ظهور مظاهر الهيّه ظاهر شده تخصيص باين ظهور بديع نداشته و ندارد چنانچه در ظهور نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه نسبت كذب و افترا و شرك و كفر بآن شجره طيّبه الهيّه داده‌اند و كلّ استماع نموده و ميدانند لذا اگر از امثال آن معرضين اينكلمات ظاهر شود عجب نيست چه كه لازال شأن آن مردود و امثال او اين بوده و خواهد بود فواللّه هر ذى بصرى از امثال اين كلمات ايقان و تصديقش بحقّ زياد شده و خواهد شد چه كه اين امور از سنن امر بوده و خواهد بود چنانچه در كلّ كتب از قبل و بعد مسطور است و همّت كلّ امّة برسولهم ليأخذوه و جادلوا به بالباطل ليدحضوا به الحقّ فاخذتهم فكيف كان عقاب و در مقام ديگر و ما يأتيهم من رسول الّا كانوا به يستهزئون لذا هر چه از اين اعتراضات ذكر شود صدق كلمات الهى كه دركتب او ثبت شده نزد موقنين و متبصّرين ظاهر شده و ميشود

Va dīgar nivishteh būdand khuṣūṣ agar iddiʿā-yi ān namāyad kih Rabb-i Aʿlā az yik ḥarf-i man ījād shudih. Az īn qism kalimāt-i jaʿliyyih-yi shirkiyyih kih ān nafs-i mushrik bi-shumā ilqā namūdih az anfus-i khabīthih-yi mushrikih dar jamīʿ-i aʿṣār-i ẓuhūr-i maẓāhir-i ilāhiyyih ẓāhir shudih, takhṣīṣ bi-īn ẓuhūr-i badīʿ nadāshtih va nadārad. Chunānchih dar ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān, rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh, nisbat-i kidhb va iftirā va shirk va kufr bi-ān shajari h-yi ṭayyibih-yi ilāhiyyih dādih-and va kull istimāʿ namūdih va mīdānand. Lidhā agar az amthāl-i ān muʿriḍīn īn kalimāt ẓāhir shavad ʿajab nīst, chih kih lāzāl shaʾn-i ān mardūd va amthāl-i ū īn būdih va khvāhad būd. Fa-va’llāh har dhī-baṣarī az amthāl-i īn kalimāt īqān va taṣdīqash bi-Ḥaqq ziyād shudih va khvāhad shud, chih kih īn umūr az sunan-i Amr būdih va khvāhad būd, chunānchih dar kull-i kutub az qabl va baʿd masṭūr ast: wa-hammat kullu ummatin bi-rasūlihim li-yaʾkhudhūhu wa-jādalū bihi bi’l-bāṭili li-yudḥiḍū bihi al-ḥaqqa fa-akhadhtuhum fa-kayfa kāna ʿiqāb. Va dar maqām-i dīgar: wa-mā yaʾtīhim min rasūlin illā kānū bihi yastahziʾūn. Lidhā har chih az īn iʿtirāḍāt dhikr shavad ṣidq-i kalimāt-i ilāhī kih dar kutub-i ū thabt shudih nazd-i mūqinīn va mutabaṣṣirīn ẓāhir shudih va mīshavad.

They had also written: “Especially if he claims that the Most Exalted Lord was created from a single letter of mine.” Fabricated, idolatrous words of this kind, which that idolatrous soul has instilled in you, have issued from wicked, idolatrous souls in every age when the Manifestations of God have appeared. They have never been peculiar to this wondrous Revelation. Thus, at the appearance of the Point of the Bayān—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—they accused that goodly divine Tree of falsehood, fabrication, idolatry, and unbelief, as everyone has heard and knows. It is therefore no wonder if such words issue from the likes of those who turn away, for this has always been, and will remain, the way of that rejected one and his like. By God, words such as these have increased, and will increase, the certainty of everyone with insight and their acknowledgment of the True One, for such things have always been, and will remain, among the established ways of the Cause, as recorded in all the Books, both earlier and later: “Every nation plotted against its messenger to seize him, and they disputed with falsehood to refute the truth thereby. So I seized them, and how was My punishment!” And elsewhere: “No messenger comes to them without their mocking him.” Thus, whatever objections of this kind are voiced, the truth of the divine words recorded in His Books has become, and continues to become, apparent to those who are certain and discerning.

253

بگو اى بی‌ بصر آنچه از بيانات بديعه منيعه نازل شده حقّ نازل فرموده آيا نشنيده كه از سماء احديّه نازل قوله جلّ كبريائه و عزّ اعزازه يا قوم انّى قد كنت راقداً فى البيت و صامتاً عن الذّكر هبّت علىّ نسمات اللّه و احيتنى بالحقّ و انطقنى بثنآء نفسه و جعلنى هدى و ذكرى للعالمين و كلّما اريد ان اصمت روح القدس ينطقنى بالحقّ و روح الأعظم يهتزّنى و روح البقآء يحرك قلم البهآء ان انتم من العارفين

Bigū ay bī-baṣar, ānchih az bayānāt-i badīʿih-yi manīʿih nāzil shudih Ḥaqq nāzil farmūdih. Āyā nashnīdih kih az samā-yi aḥadiyyih nāzil, qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu wa-ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: yā qawmi innī qad kuntu rāqidan fī al-bayti wa-ṣāmitan ʿani al-dhikri habbat ʿalayya nasamātu Allāhi wa-aḥyatnī bi’l-ḥaqqi wa-anṭaqanī bi-thanāʾi nafsihi wa-jaʿalanī hudan wa-dhikrā li’l-ʿālamīn. Wa-kullamā urīdu an aṣmuta Rūḥu al-Qudusi yunṭiqunī bi’l-ḥaqqi wa-Rūḥu al-Aʿẓami yahuzzunī wa-Rūḥu al-Baqāʾi yuḥarriku Qalama al-Bahāʾi in antum mina al-ʿārifīn.

Say: O you who lack insight! Whatever wondrous and exalted utterances have been sent down, the True One has sent them down. Have you not heard what has descended from the heaven of oneness? His words—glorious is His majesty and mighty His exaltation—are: “O people! I was asleep in the house and silent in remembrance when the breezes of God blew over Me and quickened Me through the truth. He caused Me to speak in praise of Himself and made Me a guidance and a reminder to the worlds. Whenever I wish to remain silent, the Holy Spirit causes Me to speak the truth, the Most Great Spirit stirs Me, and the Spirit of Eternity moves the Pen of Bahāʾ, if you are among those who understand.”

254

يا قوم خافوا عن اللّه ثمّ استحيوا عن جماله و لا تتكلّموا بما يلعنكم به كلّ الذّرّات و عن ورائها لسان اللّه الملك الصّادق الأمين و ليس هذا من عندى بل من عنده لو انتم من الشّاعرين فواللّه لو كان الأمر بيدى لسترت نفسى عن ابصاركم و ما القيت كبدى تحت مخاليب ذياب الأرض و كان اللّه على ما اقول شهيد

Yā qawmi khāfū ʿani Allāhi thumma istaḥyū ʿan jamālihi wa-lā tatakallamū bi-mā yalʿanukum bihi kullu al-dharrāti wa-ʿan warāʾihā lisānu Allāhi al-Maliki al-Ṣādiqi al-Amīn. Wa-laysa hādhā min ʿindī bal min ʿindihi law antum mina al-shāʿirīn. Fa-wa’llāhi law kāna al-amru bi-yadī la-satartu nafsī ʿan abṣārikum wa-mā alqaytu kabidī taḥta makhālībi dhiyābi al-arḍi wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd.

O people! Fear God, and be ashamed before His Beauty. Do not speak words for which every atom curses you, and beyond them the Tongue of God, the King, the Truthful, the Trustworthy. This is not from Me but from Him, if only you perceived. By God, if the matter were in My hands, I would have concealed Myself from your eyes and would not have cast My heart beneath the claws of the wolves of the earth. God is witness to what I say.

255

ایّاکم يا قوم ان تمنعكم النّفس و الهوى عن الصّعود الى مقرّ الأقصى فانظروا بطرف الانصاف الى حجج النّبيّين و المرسلين تاللّه انّ هذا لغلام الرّحمن قد اظهره اللّه بين ملأ الاكوان و اصطفاه من بين بريّته و اظهره بطراز نفسه بين العالمين و يقول فى كلّ حين مخاطباً الى ملأ اليهود ان يا ملأ العنود تاللّه قد جائكم الموعود و انّ هذا لهو الرّوح ان تريدوا ان تصلبوه فافعلوا ما شئتم و لا تكوننّ من الصّابرين ثمّ يخاطب ملأ الانجيل و يقول ان تريدوا ان تجادلوا محمّداً رسول اللّه انّ هذا لمحمّد بينكم فافعلوا ما اردتم لانّه انفق روحه فى سبيل اللّه المهيمن العزيز القدير

Iyyākum yā qawmi an tamnaʿakumu al-nafsu wa’l-hawā ʿani al-ṣuʿūdi ilā maqarri al-aqṣā fa’nẓurū bi-ṭarfi al-inṣāfi ilā ḥujaji al-nabiyyīna wa’l-mursalīn. Ta’llāhi inna hādhā la-ghulāmu al-Raḥmāni qad aẓharahu Allāhu bayna malaʾi al-akwāni wa’ṣṭafāhu min bayni bariyyatihi wa-aẓharahu bi-ṭirāzi nafsihi bayna al-ʿālamīn. Wa-yaqūlu fī kulli ḥīnin mukhāṭiban ilā malaʾi al-Yahūdi an yā malaʾa al-ʿunūdi ta’llāhi qad jāʾakumu al-Mawʿūdu wa-inna hādhā la-huwa al-Rūḥu in turīdū an taṣlibūhu fa’fʿalū mā shiʾtum wa-lā takūnanna mina al-ṣābirīn. Thumma yukhāṭibu malaʾa al-Injīli wa-yaqūlu in turīdū an tujādilū Muḥammadan Rasūla Allāhi inna hādhā la-Muḥammadun baynakum fa’fʿalū mā aradtum li-annahu anfaqa rūḥahu fī sabīli Allāhi al-Muhaymini al-ʿAzīzi al-Qadīr.

Beware, O people, lest self and desire prevent you from ascending to the highest abode. Look with the eye of fairness upon the proofs of the Prophets and Messengers. By God, this is indeed the Youth of the All-Merciful, whom God has manifested among the concourse of created beings, chosen from among His creatures, and revealed among the worlds adorned with His own Self. At every moment He addresses the company of the Jews, saying: “O company of obstinacy! By God, the Promised One has come to you, and this is indeed the Spirit. If you wish to crucify Him, do whatever you please, and do not delay.” Then He addresses the people of the Gospel and says: “If you wish to dispute with Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, this is indeed Muḥammad among you. Do whatever you desire, for He has offered up His soul in the path of God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.”

256

ثمّ يخاطب اهل الفرقان و يقول يا ملأ الطّغيان ان تشائوا ان تعلّقوا مظهر نفسى الّذى سمّى بعلىّ فى الهواء تاللّه انّ هذا لعلىّ قد حضر تلقآء وجوهكم يا ملأ الذّياب ثمّ يا شرذمة الخنازير فافعلوا به ما شئتم و لا تصبروا اقلّ من حين لانّه ما اتّخذ لنفسه معيناً و لا ناصراً و علّمه اللّه بالحقّ ما ورد عليه و يرد يا جنود الشّياطين

Thumma yukhāṭibu ahla al-Furqāni wa-yaqūlu yā malaʾa al-ṭughyāni in tashāʾū an tuʿalliqū maẓhara nafsī alladhī summiya bi-ʿAliyyin fī al-hawāʾi ta’llāhi inna hādhā la-ʿAliyyun qad ḥaḍara tilqāʾa wujūhikum yā malaʾa al-dhiyābi thumma yā shirdhimata al-khanāzīri fa’fʿalū bihi mā shiʾtum wa-lā taṣbirū aqalla min ḥīnin li-annahu mā ittakhadha li-nafsihi muʿīnan wa-lā nāṣiran wa-ʿallamahu Allāhu bi’l-ḥaqqi mā warada ʿalayhi wa-yaridu yā junūda al-shayāṭīn.

Then He addresses the people of the Qurʾān and says: “O company of tyranny! If you wish to suspend in the air the Manifestation of My Self who was named ʿAlī, by God, this is indeed ʿAlī standing before your faces, O company of wolves, O band of swine! Do to Him whatever you please, and do not delay for even a moment, for He has taken neither helper nor supporter for Himself. God has truly taught Him what has befallen Him and what will befall Him, O armies of devils!”

257

ثمّ يخاطب ملأ البيان و يقول يا ملأ الطّغيان و الكفران قد جائكم الموعود الّذى وعدتم به فى كلّ الألواح فو‌جماله انّه قد ظهر بالحقّ و ما حفظ نفسه فى سبيل اللّه الملك المتعالى العزيز الحميد و كان بين يدى الأعداء فى كلّ اللّيالى و الأیّام و نصر امر ربّه بنفسه المتعالى العزيز الجميل و ورد عليه ما لا يذكر بالبيان و ما اطّلع به احد الّا اللّه الّذى بعثه بالحقّ و ارسله على العالمين انتم ان تريدوا ان تقتلوه كما قتلتموه فافعلوا ما شئتم لأنّه ينتظر ما وعد به فى كلّ الألواح ان انتم من العارفين

Thumma yukhāṭibu malaʾa al-Bayāni wa-yaqūlu yā malaʾa al-ṭughyāni wa’l-kufrāni qad jāʾakumu al-Mawʿūdu alladhī wuʿidtum bihi fī kulli al-alwāḥi fa-wa-jamālihi innahu qad ẓahara bi’l-ḥaqqi wa-mā ḥafiẓa nafsahu fī sabīli Allāhi al-Maliki al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīzi al-Ḥamīd. Wa-kāna bayna yaday al-aʿdāʾi fī kulli al-layālī wa’l-ayyāmi wa-naṣara amra rabbihi bi-nafsihi al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīzi al-Jamīl. Wa-warada ʿalayhi mā lā yudhkaru bi’l-bayāni wa-mā iṭṭalaʿa bihi aḥadun illā Allāhu alladhī baʿathahu bi’l-ḥaqqi wa-arsalahu ʿalā al-ʿālamīn. Antum in turīdū an taqtulūhu kamā qataltumūhu fa’fʿalū mā shiʾtum li-annahu yantaẓiru mā wuʿida bihi fī kulli al-alwāḥi in antum mina al-ʿārifīn.

Then He addresses the people of the Bayān and says: “O company of tyranny and unbelief! The Promised One, who was promised to you in all the Tablets, has come to you. By His Beauty, He has appeared in truth and has not safeguarded Himself in the path of God, the King, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the All-Praised. He has been in the presence of His enemies every night and day and has aided the Cause of His Lord through His own Self, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the All-Beautiful. What has befallen Him cannot be expressed in words, and no one knows it except God, who raised Him up in truth and sent Him to the worlds. If you wish to kill Him as you killed Him before, do whatever you please, for He awaits what He was promised in all the Tablets, if you are among those who understand.”

258

اذاً يخاطب علىّ عن يمين العرش ملأ البيان و يقول يا عباد اما بشّرناكم بهذا الظّهور فى كلّ الألواح اما اخذت عنكم عهد نفسه فى ذرّ البيان اذا فاستحيوا عن جمال الرّحمن و لا تفعلوا ما يرتفع به ضجيج اهل ملأ الأعلی خافوا عن اللّه و لا تكوننّ من الظّالمين

Idhan yukhāṭibu ʿAliyyun ʿan yamīni al-ʿarshi malaʾa al-Bayāni wa-yaqūlu yā ʿibādi a-mā bashsharnākum bi-hādhā al-ẓuhūri fī kulli al-alwāḥi a-mā akhadhtu ʿankum ʿahda nafsihi fī dharri al-Bayāni idhan fa’staḥyū ʿan jamāli al-Raḥmāni wa-lā tafʿalū mā yartafiʿu bihi ḍajīju ahli malaʾi al-aʿlā khāfū ʿani Allāhi wa-lā takūnanna mina al-ẓālimīn.

Then ʿAlī, from the right hand of the Throne, addresses the people of the Bayān and says: “O servants! Did We not give you the glad tidings of this Revelation in all the Tablets? Did I not take from you the covenant of His very Self in the primordial realm of the Bayān? Be ashamed, then, before the Beauty of the All-Merciful, and do not act in a way that causes the lamentation of the people of the Concourse on high to rise. Fear God, and do not be among the wrongdoers.”

259

تاللّه انّى قد فديت نفسى شوقاً للقائه و طلباً لوصاله و اكون معه فى كلّ الأحيان و ابكى على ما ورد عليه منكم يا معشر الظّالمين فآه آه بعد وصاياى قد فعلتم ما لا فعل احد باحد اذاً بكى و يبكى مظاهر النّبيّين و المرسلين فواللّه يا قوم انّى جعلت كلّ الأمور فى قبضته و ما تحركت فى ایّامى الّا بذكره و ثنائه و ما تفوّهت الّا باسمه و ما امرت العباد الّا بالدّخول فى ظلّه العزيز المنيع فيا ليت انتم فعلتم كما فعلت اليهود بالرّوح و عملتم بما عمل ملأ الانجيل بمحمّد رسول اللّه و ارتكبتم ما ارتكبت به ملأ الفرقان حين ظهورى بالحقّ بسلطان مبين

Ta’llāhi innī qad fadaytu nafsī shawqan li-liqāʾihi wa-ṭalaban li-wiṣālihi wa-akūnu maʿahu fī kulli al-aḥyāni wa-abkī ʿalā mā warada ʿalayhi minkum yā maʿshara al-ẓālimīn. Fa-āhi āhi baʿda waṣāyāya qad faʿaltum mā lā faʿala aḥadun bi-aḥadin idhan bakā wa-yabkī maẓāhiru al-nabiyyīna wa’l-mursalīn. Fa-wa’llāhi yā qawmi innī jaʿaltu kulla al-umūri fī qabḍatihi wa-mā taḥarraktu fī ayyāmī illā bi-dhikrihi wa-thanāʾihi wa-mā tafawwahtu illā bi’smihi wa-mā amartu al-ʿibāda illā bi’l-dukhūli fī ẓillihi al-ʿazīzi al-manīʿ. Fa-yā layta antum faʿaltum kamā faʿalati al-Yahūdu bi’l-Rūḥi wa-ʿamiltum bi-mā ʿamila malaʾu al-Injīli bi-Muḥammadin Rasūli Allāhi wa’rtakabtum mā irtakabat bihi malaʾu al-Furqāni ḥīna ẓuhūrī bi’l-ḥaqqi bi-sulṭānin mubīn.

By God, I sacrificed Myself out of longing to meet Him and a desire for union with Him. I am with Him at all times and weep over what He has suffered at your hands, O company of wrongdoers! Alas, alas! Despite My counsels, you have done what no one has done to another. At this the Manifestations of the Prophets and Messengers have wept and continue to weep. By God, O people, I placed all matters in His grasp. Throughout My days I moved only to remember and praise Him, spoke only His name, and commanded the servants only to enter His mighty, impregnable shelter. If only you had acted as the Jews acted toward the Spirit, done what the people of the Gospel did to Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, and committed what the people of the Qurʾān committed when I appeared in truth with manifest authority!

260

لا فو‌نفسى ما قنعتم بما فعلوا هؤلآء و تفعلون ما يستعيذ منه حقايق كلّ الملل لو انتم من الشّاعرين اتقتلون الّذى سفك دمى فى سبيله تاللّه بعد سفكه على الأرض نقش باسمه المتعالى العزيز البديع يا قوم فاستحيوا عن اللّه و لاتدحضوا الحقّ بما عندكم و لاترتكبوا ما يجعلكم محروماً عن نفحات اللّه العزيز الحكيم اسمعوا قولى ثمّ ارجعوا اليه ثمّ توبوا و استغفروا لعلّ يغفركم ببدايع رحمته و يطهّركم عن دنس العصيان و عن رجس انفسكم يا ملأ الغافلين

Lā fa-wa-nafsī mā qaniʿtum bi-mā faʿala hāʾulāʾi wa-tafʿalūna mā yastaʿīdhu minhu ḥaqāʾiqu kulli al-milali law antum mina al-shāʿirīn. A-taqtulūna alladhī sufika damī fī sabīlihi ta’llāhi baʿda safkihi ʿalā al-arḍi nuqisha bi’smihi al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīzi al-Badīʿ. Yā qawmi fa’staḥyū ʿani Allāhi wa-lā tudḥiḍū al-ḥaqqa bi-mā ʿindakum wa-lā tartakibū mā yajʿalukum maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāti Allāhi al-ʿAzīzi al-Ḥakīm. Ismaʿū qawlī thumma irjiʿū ilayhi thumma tūbū wa’staghfirū laʿalla yaghfirukum bi-badāʾiʿi raḥmatihi wa-yuṭahhirukum ʿan danasi al-ʿiṣyāni wa-ʿan rijsi anfusikum yā malaʾa al-ghāfilīn.

No, by My own Self! You have not been content with what those people did, and you do what the very realities of all religions seek refuge from, if only you perceived. Will you kill the One in whose path My blood was shed? By God, after it was shed upon the earth, it was inscribed with His name, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Wondrous. O people! Be ashamed before God. Do not refute the truth with what you possess, and do not commit what will deprive you of the breezes of God, the Almighty, the All-Wise. Listen to My words, then return to Him; repent and seek forgiveness, so that He may forgive you through the wonders of His mercy and cleanse you of the stain of disobedience and the defilement of your own selves, O company of the heedless!

261

فواللّه يا قوم انّى نزلت ما يرد عليه فى الألواح فسوف يظهر ما رقم من قلم الأعلی على الواح عزّ حفيظ اذاً ينوحنّ قبايل مداين الأعلی و انتم تفرحون فى انفسكم و تلعبون بآيات اللّه بعد الّذى بها بشّرناكم فى صحايف عزّ منيع يا قوم انّه روحى و انا روحه و لم يزل كان مشيّتى مشيّته لاتفرقوا بينى و بينه و كلّما يظهر من عنده لكان محبوب قلبی‌ و فؤادى لو انتم من الموحّدين

Fa-wa’llāhi yā qawmi innī nazzaltu mā yaridu ʿalayhi fī al-alwāḥi fa-sawfa yaẓharu mā ruqima min Qalami al-Aʿlā ʿalā alwāḥi ʿizzin ḥafīẓ. Idhan yanūḥanna qabāʾilu madāʾini al-aʿlā wa-antum tafraḥūna fī anfusikum wa-talʿabūna bi-āyāti Allāhi baʿda alladhī bihā bashsharnākum fī ṣaḥāʾifi ʿizzin manīʿ. Yā qawmi innahu rūḥī wa-anā rūḥuhu wa-lam yazal kāna mashīʾatī mashīʾatahu lā tufarriqū baynī wa-baynihi wa-kullamā yaẓharu min ʿindihi la-kāna maḥbūba qalbī wa-fuʾādī law antum mina al-muwaḥḥidīn.

By God, O people, I revealed in the Tablets what would befall Him, and what was inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen upon the Tablets of securely guarded glory will soon appear. Then the tribes of the cities on high will lament, while you rejoice within yourselves and trifle with the verses of God, after We gave you glad tidings through them in the pages of impregnable glory. O people! He is My spirit, and I am His spirit, and My will has always been His will. Do not distinguish between Me and Him. Whatever proceeds from Him is beloved of My heart and inmost being, if you are among those who affirm the divine unity.

262

اين بدايع كلمات الهى كه از سحاب فيض رحمت رحمانى نازلشده اين عبد ذكر نموده كه شايد عباد غافلين بشعور آيند و قياس بنفس ننمايند و آنقدر مشعر شوند كه معرضين از اين آيات بدع ربّانى معارض و محارب با حقّ بوده و خواهند بود چه كه منزل آيات حقّ است حال اگر با پروردگار عالميان محاربند خود ميدانند مفرّى از براى نفسى اليوم نه و مقرّى مشهود نه مگر آنكه يا بايد اقرار نمايند بآنچه ظاهر شده يا آنكه بايد بجميع صحف و كتب و زبر كافر شوند اينست قول حقّ و نيست بعد از حقّ مگر گمراهى آشكار و هويدا

Īn badāyiʿ-i kalimāt-i ilāhī kih az saḥāb-i fayḍ-i raḥmat-i raḥmānī nāzil shudih īn ʿabd dhikr namūdih kih shāyad ʿibād-i ghāfilīn bi-shuʿūr āyand va qiyās bi-nafs nanamāyand va ān-qadr mushʿir shavand kih muʿriḍīn az īn āyāt-i budaʿ-i rabbānī muʿāriḍ va muḥārib bā Ḥaqq būdih va khvāhand būd, chih kih munzil-i āyāt Ḥaqq ast. Ḥāl agar bā Parvardigār-i ʿālamiyān muḥāriband khud mīdānand. Mafarrī az barā-yi nafsī al-yawm nah va maqarrī mashhūd nah magar ānkih yā bāyad iqrār namāyand bi-ānchih ẓāhir shudih yā ānkih bāyad bi-jamīʿ-i ṣuḥuf va kutub va zubur kāfir shavand. Īn ast qawl-i Ḥaqq va nīst baʿd az Ḥaqq magar gumrāhī-yi āshkār va huvaydā.

This servant has cited these wondrous divine words, which have descended from the cloud of the outpouring of the All-Merciful’s mercy, so that the heedless servants may perhaps become aware and not judge by the measure of their own selves. May they at least realize that those who turn away from these wondrous divine verses have opposed, and will continue to oppose and wage war against, the True One, for it is the True One who sends down the verses. Now, if they are at war with the Lord of the worlds, that is their own affair. Today there is no escape for any soul, nor any evident refuge: either they must acknowledge what has appeared, or they must disbelieve in all the scriptures, books, and sacred writings. This is the word of truth, and beyond the truth there is nothing but plain and manifest error.

263

مثل معرضين مثل نفوسى است كه در حين ظهور نقطه اولى بعضى اعراضا عن اللّه و اعتراضا عليه مذكور مينمودند اين سيّد ادّعاى ولايت نموده و بعضى ادّعاى نبوّت و بعضى ادّعاى ربوبيّت و هر كدام از مغلّين بكلمه ناطق و آنقدر ادراك ننمودند كه بايد معين نمود كه منزل كيست و منزل هم معلوم نميشود الّا از نفس آيه و قد خسر الّذينهم كفروا و اشركوا باللّه و بغوا على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم

Mathal-i muʿriḍīn mathal-i nufūsī ast kih dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā baʿḍī iʿrāḍan ʿani Allāhi wa-iʿtirāḍan ʿalayhi madhkūr mīnamūdand īn siyyid iddiʿā-yi vilāyat namūdih va baʿḍī iddiʿā-yi nubuwwat va baʿḍī iddiʿā-yi rubūbiyyat va har kudām az mughillīn bi-kalimih nāṭiq va ān-qadr idrāk nanamūdand kih bāyad muʿayyan namūd kih munzil kīst va munzil ham maʿlūm namīshavad illā az nafs-i āyih. Wa-qad khasira alladhīnahum kafarū wa-ashrakū bi’llāhi wa-baghaw ʿalā Allāhi al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm.

Those who turn away are like the souls who, at the appearance of the Primal Point, turned away from God and objected to Him. Some said, “This Siyyid has claimed spiritual authority”; others, that He had claimed prophethood; and others, that He had claimed lordship. Each of those malicious people voiced a different word, yet they did not understand even this much: that one must determine who sends down the verses, and that the One who sends them down can be known only through the verse itself. Lost indeed are those who have disbelieved, associated partners with God, and rebelled against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

264

و ديگر ذكر تجلّى نموده بودى و اللّه آن نفس ملقى و مرشدش نه تجلّى را ادراك نموده و نه مجلّى را چه كه اگر ادراك نموده بودند بحقّ اعتراض نمينمودند سزاوار بود كه اين كلمات را بنفس معرض باللّه راجع كنى چه كه از قميص يك اسمى از اسماء بر حقّ استكبار نموده و كافر شده بنفسى كه باو ادّعاى ايمان مينمايد آيات او را ميخواند و بر كينونتش سيف ميزند يفعل و لايشعر يقول و لايعرف هو و امثاله عند اللّه فى حدّ سواء الّا انّه اشرّ و اظلم اعاذنا اللّه و احبّائه من شرّه و شرّهم و انّه لهو الحافظ الحاكم العليم الخبير

Va dīgar dhikr-i tajallī namūdih būdī. Va’llāh ān nafs-i mulqī va murshidash nah tajallī rā idrāk namūdih va nah mujallī rā, chih kih agar idrāk namūdih būdand bi-Ḥaqq iʿtirāḍ namīnamūdand. Sazāvār būd kih īn kalimāt rā bi-nafs-i muʿriḍ bi’llāh rājiʿ kunī, chih kih az qamīṣ-i yik ismī az asmā bar Ḥaqq istikbār namūdih va kāfir shudih bi-nafsī kih bi-ū iddiʿā-yi īmān mīnamāyad. Āyāt-i ū rā mīkhvānad va bar kaynūnatash sayf mīzanad. Yafʿalu wa-lā yashʿuru yaqūlu wa-lā yaʿrifu huwa wa-amthāluhu ʿinda Allāhi fī ḥaddin sawāʾin illā annahu asharru wa-aẓlamu aʿādhanā Allāhu wa-aḥibbāʾahu min sharrihi wa-sharrihim wa-innahu la-huwa al-Ḥāfiẓu al-Ḥākimu al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr.

You had also mentioned revelation through divine radiance. By God, neither that soul who instilled these ideas nor his guide has understood either the radiance or the One who sheds it, for had they understood, they would not have objected to the True One. It would have been fitting for you to direct these words at the one who turns away from God, for, clothed in a single one of the names, he has exalted himself against the True One and disbelieved in the very One in whom he professes faith. He reads His verses and strikes with his sword at His being. He acts without perceiving and speaks without knowing. He and his like are on an equal footing before God, except that he is more wicked and more unjust. May God protect us and His loved ones from his evil and theirs. He is indeed the Preserver, the Ruler, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

265

و ديگر ذكر عوام نموده بودى و اينكه بلا تصوّر تصديق ميكنند حال تو انصاف ده اين عبد حال شش سنه ميشود كه ليلا و نهارا در خدمت حاضر و با هر يك معاشر بوده و هستم و آنچه بچشم خود ديده ام ميگويم و شما محض قول يك مفسد خبيث ملحدى كه آسمان سايه نينداخته بر مفسدى مثل او حال اين عباد بلا تصوّر تصديق حقّ نموده‌اند يا تو فو‌اللّه حمير بر عقل و درايت آن نفس مشرك كه اينكلمات را بتو القاء نموده ميخندد چه جاى انسان مع‌ذلك اين عباد را عوام دانسته و ذكر نموده كه بلا تصوّر تصديق حقّ نموده‌ايم

Va dīgar dhikr-i ʿavāmm namūdih būdī va īnkih bilā taṣavvur taṣdīq mīkunand. Ḥāl tu inṣāf dih: īn ʿabd ḥāl shish sanih mīshavad kih laylan va nahāran dar khidmat ḥāḍir va bā har yak muʿāshir būdih va hastam, va ānchih bi-chashm-i khud dīdih-am mīgūyam, va shomā maḥḍ-i qawl-i yak mufsid-i khabīth-i mulḥidī kih āsmān sāyih nayandākhtih bar mufsidī mithl-i ū. Ḥāl īn ʿibād bilā taṣavvur taṣdīq-i Ḥaqq namūdih-and yā tu? Fa-va-llāh ḥamīr bar ʿaql va dirāyat-i ān nafs-i mushrik kih īn kalimāt rā bi-tu ilqā namūdih mīkhandad, chih jāy-i insān. Maʿa-dhālik īn ʿibād rā ʿavāmm dānistih va dhikr namūdih kih bilā taṣavvur taṣdīq-i Ḥaqq namūdih-īm.

You had also spoken of the common people, saying that they assent without forming a conception. Now judge fairly: for six years this servant has been present, day and night, in His service, and has associated, and continues to associate, with each of them. I speak of what I have seen with my own eyes, while you rely solely on the word of a wicked, impious troublemaker—the sky has never cast its shadow over a troublemaker like him. Now, is it these servants who have affirmed the True One without forming a conception, or you? By God, even donkeys laugh at the intelligence and discernment of that idolatrous soul who has instilled these words in you, let alone human beings. Nevertheless, you have regarded these servants as common people and stated that we have affirmed the True One without forming a conception.

266

يقين تو خود را عالم ميدانى اولّا اينكه اين مطلب از كجا بر شما معلوم شد چه كه خدمت جمال ابهى نرسيده‌ايد هيچ منصفى چنين ارتكابی‌ ننموده كه نديده و نرسيده بمجرّد حرف اخبث ناس و افسدهم بردارد من غير شعور آنچه از قلم جارى ميشود نوشته و بشهرها بفرستد كاش بقول طلبه‌هاى مدرسه هم عمل مينموديد چه كه نزد آن طايفه تصديق منوط بسه تصوّر بوده اوّل موضوع و ثانى محمول و ثالث نسبت حكميّه و بعد تصديق ثابت ميشود و جارى ميگردد آن موضوعى كه تو فهميده چه بوده و آن محمول كدام است و فواللّه ارتكبت ما لا ارتكبه احد من الجاهلين

Yaqīn tu khud rā ʿālim mīdānī. Avvalan īnkih īn maṭlab az kujā bar shomā maʿlūm shud, chih kih khidmat-i Jamāl-i Abhā narisīdih-īd. Hīch munṣifī chunīn irtikābī nanamūdih kih nadīdih va narisīdih bi-mujarrad-i ḥarf-i akhbath-i nās va afsadihim bardārad min ghayr-i shuʿūr ānchih az qalam jārī mīshavad nivishtih va bi-shahrhā bifiristad. Kāsh bi-qawl-i ṭalabih-hā-yi madrisih ham ʿamal mīnamūdīd, chih kih nazd-i ān ṭāʾifih taṣdīq manūṭ bi-sih taṣavvur būdih: avval mawḍūʿ va thānī maḥmūl va thālith nisbat-i ḥukmiyyih, va baʿd taṣdīq thābit mīshavad va jārī mīg ar dad. Ān mawḍūʿī kih tu fahmīdih chih būdih va ān maḥmūl kudām ast? Va fa-wa-llāh irtakabta mā lā irtakabahu aḥadun min al-jāhilīn.

Surely you consider yourself learned. First, how did you come to know this, since you have not attained the presence of the All-Glorious Beauty? No fair-minded person has ever committed such an act: without seeing Him or attaining His presence, merely on the word of the most wicked and corrupt of people, heedlessly taking up the pen, writing whatever flows from it, and sending it to the cities. If only you had acted even according to what the students in the seminaries say! For among them assent depends on three conceptions: first, the subject; second, the predicate; and third, the relation of judgment. Only then is assent established and brought into effect. What was the subject you understood, and what was the predicate? By God, you have committed what none of the ignorant has committed.

267

بلى اين عباد تصديق مظاهر الهيّه از قبل نموده و از بعد هم بفضل اللّه و منّه خواهند نمود و انشآء اللّه از عنايت و مكرمت او بهيچ حجابی‌ محتجب نشويم و بهيچ منعى ممنوع نگرديم فواللّه آنچه از آن ملحد خبيث شنيده كذب صرف و افتراء بحت بوده و نميدانى كه بنَفَس كه مؤانس شده تاللّه الحقّ يفرّ الجحيم من نفسه و يستعيذ الحسبان باللّه من وجهه و لقائه بحقّ ايشان كه اگر يك كلمه صدق اين عباد از اين دو نفس استماع نموده و نميدانى چه کرده‌اند بكلّ ظلم قيام نمودند و بعد نظر بالقاى شبهه در قلوب ناس و ستر اعمال مردوده شنيعه خود مفترياتى بحقّ نسبت داده‌اند كه احصاى آن ممكن نه اميدوارم كه در دنيا و آخرت خير نه‌بينند و بعذاب دنيا قبل عذاب آخرت معذّب شوند

Balī īn ʿibād taṣdīq-i maẓāhir-i ilāhiyyih az qabl namūdih va az baʿd ham bi-faḍl-i Allāh va mannih khvāhand namūd, va in shāʾ Allāh az ʿināyat va mukarramat-i ū bi-hīch ḥijābī muḥtajib nashavīm va bi-hīch manʿī mamnūʿ nagardīm. Fa-va-llāh ānchih az ān mulḥid-i khabīth shinīdih kidhib-i ṣirf va iftirā-yi baḥt būdih va namīdānī kih bi-nafas kih muʾānis shudih. Ta-llāhi al-Ḥaqq yaf irru al-jaḥīmu min nafasihi wa-yastaʿīdhu al-ḥusbānu bi-llāhi min wajhihi wa-liqāʾihi. Bi-ḥaqq-i īshān kih agar yak kalimih ṣidq īn ʿibād az īn du nafs istimāʿ namūdih, va namīdānī chih kardih-and. Bi-kull-i ẓulm qiyām namūdand va baʿd naẓar bi-ilqā-yi shubhih dar qulūb-i nās va satr-i aʿmāl-i mardūdih-yi shanīʿih-yi khud muftariyātī bi-Ḥaqq nisbat dādih-and kih iḥṣā-yi ān mumkin nah. Umīdvāram kih dar dunyā va ākhirat khayr nabīnand va bi-ʿadhāb-i dunyā qabl-i ʿadhāb-i ākhirat muʿadhdhab shavand.

Yes, these servants have affirmed the Manifestations of God in the past, and through God’s grace and favor they will do so in the future. God willing, through His care and generosity, may no veil conceal Him from us and no hindrance hold us back. By God, whatever you have heard from that wicked unbeliever has been sheer falsehood and pure fabrication, and you do not know with whose breath you have become familiar. By God, the True One, hell flees from his breath, and the fire of punishment seeks refuge in God from his face and his presence. By His truth, these servants have not heard a single truthful word from these two souls, and you do not know what they have done. They have perpetrated every injustice and then, with the aim of casting doubts into people’s hearts and concealing their own vile and reprehensible deeds, have attributed to the True One more fabrications than can be counted. I hope that they see no good in this world or the next, and that they suffer punishment in this world before the punishment of the next.

268

بارى للّه كلمه ذكر ميشود كه شايد از تصوّر و تصديق و بديهيات و نظريات خود طاهر و مقدّس شوى و بشريعه تصديق كه عين و حقيقت تصوّر است وارد شوى نقطه اولى جلّت عظمته ميفرمايند قبل ان يعرفكم نفسه انتم فى نار الحبّ تدخلون ميفرمايند قبل از آنكه آن جمال قدم بشناساند نفس خود را شما در نار حبّ او داخل شويد و اين عباد سالهاى سال است كه ذكر و ثناى ايشان را از كلّ عباد شنيده‌ايم تا اينكه بشريعه قرب وارد شديم و در كلّ حين ديده آنچه از احدى نديده و نشنيده‌ايم و از كلّ اين امور گذشته آيات الهى بمثل باران نيسانى در كلّ حين نازل مع‌ذلك چگونه توقّف جايز با آنكه نقطه بيان تصريحا در كلّ بيان ميفرمايند منتهى جدّ و جهد خود را نموده كه بقدر قول بلى توقّف ننمائى كه همان قدر در نار خواهى بود و جميع اعمالت هباء ميگردد

Bārī li-llāh kalimih dhikr mīshavad kih shāyad az taṣavvur va taṣdīq va badīhiyyāt va naẓariyyāt-i khud ṭāhir va muqaddas shavī va bi-sharīʿih-yi taṣdīq kih ʿayn va ḥaqīqat-i taṣavvur ast vārid shavī. Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā jallat ʿaẓamatuhu mīfarmāyand: qabla an yuʿarrifakum nafsahu antum fī nāri al-ḥubbi tadkhulūn. Mīfarmāyand qabl az ānkih ān Jamāl-i Qidam bishināsānad nafs-i khud rā shomā dar nār-i ḥubb-i ū dākhil shavīd. Va īn ʿibād sālhā-yi sāl ast kih dhikr va thanā-yi īshān rā az kull-i ʿibād shinīdih-īm tā īnkih bi-sharīʿih-yi qurb vārid shudīm va dar kull-i ḥīn dīdih ānchih az aḥadī nadīdih va nashinīdih-īm. Va az kull-i īn umūr gudhashtih āyāt-i ilāhī bi-mithl-i bārān-i naysānī dar kull-i ḥīn nāzil. Maʿa-dhālik chigūnih tavaqquf jāʾiz, bā ānkih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān taṣrīḥan dar kull-i Bayān mīfarmāyand muntahā-yi jidd va jahd-i khud rā namūdih kih bi-qadr-i qawl-i balī tavaqquf nanamāʾī kih hamān qadr dar nār khvāhī būd va jamīʿ-i aʿmālat habā mīgardad.

In any case, a word is spoken for God’s sake, so that perhaps you may be cleansed and sanctified from your conceptions and assents, your self-evident truths and theoretical judgments, and reach the water’s edge of assent, which is the very essence and reality of conception. The Primal Point—exalted be His grandeur—says: “Before He makes Himself known to you, enter the fire of love.” He says that before that Ancient Beauty makes Himself known, you should enter the fire of His love. For many years these servants heard all people speak of Him and praise Him, until we reached the water’s edge of nearness and at every moment witnessed what we had neither seen nor heard from anyone else. Apart from all these things, the verses of God descend at every moment like spring rain. How, then, can hesitation be permissible, when the Point of the Bayán explicitly states throughout the Bayán that you must exert your utmost effort not to hesitate even for the time it takes to say “Yes,” for during that very interval you will be in the fire, and all your deeds will come to nothing?

269

بسيار اين عبد شرم نمود از اين كلمه تو خود تو هم تصديق اين عبد مينمودى و لكن حجاب حايل شد نسئل اللّه بأن يرفعه بقدرته لتشهد شمس وجه ربّك مشرقاً مضيئاً طالعاً بين العالمين و اللّه حيرت فوق حيرت است كه چه باز داشته تو را كه بهتك حرمت حقّ كمر بسته و بمنتهى سعى بمجادله و محاربه بر خواسته فواللّه سيف اعراضك احدّ من سيف الحديد لانّ منه يجرح جسد الظّاهر و من سيفك قطع اكباد الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود و لكن انت تفرح فى نفسك كانّك لا ذنب لك نسئل اللّه بأن يرجع اليك ما عملت و فعلت و ارتكبت او يكفّر عنك خطيئاتك و يهديك الى نفسه و يرزقك لقائه العزيز المنيع

Bisyār īn ʿabd sharm namūd az īn kalimih-yi tu. Khud-i tu ham taṣdīq-i īn ʿabd mīnamūdī va lākin ḥijāb ḥāʾil shud. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yarfaʿahu bi-qudratihi li-tashhada shamsa wajhi rabbika mushriqan muḍīʾan ṭāliʿan bayna al-ʿālamīn. Va-llāh ḥayrat fawq-i ḥayrat ast kih chih bāz dāshtih tu rā kih bi-hatk-i ḥurmat-i Ḥaqq kamar bastih va bi-muntahā-yi saʿy bi-mujādilih va muḥāribih bar khāstih. Fa-wa-llāh sayfu iʿrāḍika aḥaddu min sayfi al-ḥadīd li-anna minhu yujraḥu jasadu al-ẓāhir wa-min sayfika quṭiʿa akbādu al-wujūd min al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūd wa-lākin anta tafraḥu fī nafsika ka-annaka lā dhanba laka. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yarjiʿa ilayka mā ʿamilta wa-faʿalta wa-irtakabta aw yukaffira ʿanka khaṭīʾātika wa-yahdiyaka ilā nafsihi wa-yarzuqaka liqāʾahu al-ʿazīza al-manīʿ.

This servant was deeply ashamed by these words of yours. You yourself would have affirmed this servant, but a veil intervened. We ask God to lift it through His power, so that you may witness the sun of your Lord’s countenance rising, radiant and luminous, among the worlds. By God, it is bewilderment upon bewilderment: what has held you back, so that you have set yourself to violating the sanctity of the True One and have risen with all your might to dispute and wage war? By God, the sword of your rejection is sharper than a sword of iron, for the latter wounds the outward body, while your sword has cut through the very hearts of existence, both unseen and seen. Yet you rejoice within yourself, as though you were without sin. We ask God either to return to you what you have done, performed, and perpetrated, or to atone for your sins, guide you to Himself, and grant you His mighty, unassailable presence.

270

و اينكه اين عباد را عوام ذكر نموده قسم بمربی‌ امكان همين قول شما دليل بر حجيّت اين امر است چه كه در اوّل ظهور ستّين اعتراضا على الحقّ بعينه همين قول را ذكر مينمودند و از قبل هم در احيان مظاهر ظهور لسان مشركين باين كلمات ناطق چنانچه در كتاب مبين نازل قوله تعالى فقال الملأ الّذين كفروا من قومه ما نراك الّا بشراً مثلنا و ما نراك اتّبعك الّا الّذينهم اراذلنا بادى الرّاى و ما نرى لكم علينا من فضل بل نظنّكم كاذبين كه جميع مؤمنين بحقّ را اراذل و عوام ميشمردند و اللّه انعام از قول آن ملقى ملحد ننگ دارند بگو خود را بشناس و بحدّ خود تكلّم كن قدرت از آنچه القاء نموده مشهود و معلوم شد انّا لا نشرك بربّنا احدا و لا نتوجّه الى احد دونه بحول اللّه و قوّته

Va īnkih īn ʿibād rā ʿavāmm dhikr namūdih, qasam bi-Murabbī-yi imkān hamīn qawl-i shomā dalīl bar ḥujjiyyat-i īn Amr ast, chih kih dar avval-i ẓuhūr-i sittīn iʿtirāḍan ʿalā al-Ḥaqq bi-ʿaynih hamīn qawl rā dhikr mīnamūdand. Va az qabl ham dar aḥyān-i maẓāhir-i ẓuhūr lisān-i mushrikīn bi-īn kalimāt nāṭiq, chunānchih dar Kitāb-i Mubīn nāzil, qawluhu taʿālā: fa-qāla al-malaʾu alladhīna kafarū min qawmihi mā narāka illā basharan mithlanā wa-mā narāka ittabaʿaka illā alladhīnhum arādhilunā bādiya al-raʾyi wa-mā narā lakum ʿalaynā min faḍlin bal naẓunnukum kādhibīn. Kih jamīʿ-i muʾminīn bi-Ḥaqq rā arādhil va ʿavāmm mīshumurdand. Va-llāh anʿām az qawl-i ān mulqī-yi mulḥid nang dārand. Bigū khud rā bishinās va bi-ḥadd-i khud takallum kun. Qadrat az ānchih ilqā namūdih mashhūd va maʿlūm shud. Innā lā nushriku bi-rabbinā aḥadan wa-lā natawajjahu ilā aḥadin dūnahu bi-ḥawli Allāhi wa-quwwatihi.

As for your calling these servants common people, I swear by the Educator of all existence that this very statement of yours is proof of the validity of this Cause. For at the beginning of the Revelation of the year sixty, they voiced precisely the same statement as an objection to the True One. Previously, too, in the days of the Manifestations of Revelation, the tongues of the idolaters uttered these words, as revealed in the manifest Book—exalted are His words: “The chiefs among His people who disbelieved said, ‘We see you only as a human being like ourselves, and we see that none but the lowliest among us have followed you, without reflection. Nor do we see that you have any advantage over us; rather, we think you are liars.’” Thus they counted all who believed in the True One as lowly and common people. By God, even livestock are ashamed of the words of that unbeliever who instilled these ideas. Say: Know yourself, and speak within your limits. Your worth has become manifest and known from what you have put forward. Through God’s power and might, we associate no one with our Lord and turn to no one besides Him.

271

در اينمقام چون مشاهده شد كه معرضين از كأس غرور شاربند و از كوب كبر مشروب چه كه عارفين باللّه را عوام ذكر نموده‌اند لذا لازم شد كه اين عبد بعضى از آيات نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه را ذكر نمايم تا اقلّا عالم از جاهل تميز داده شود قوله عزّ ذكره قل ما خلق اللّه شيئاً اعزّ من العلم عنده كلّ به يخلقون كلّ به يرزقون كلّ به يميتون كلّ به يحيون ذلك علمكم باللّه ثمّ بمظهر نفسه فى كلّ ظهور ثمّ ما يظهر من عند مظهر نفسه دون ذلك لم يكن عند اللّه بعلم ان انتم تعلمون و عند ظهور الأخرى كلّ العلم علمكم به و ما يظهر من عنده لا بما قد ظهر من قبل و علمكم بما قدّر من قبل فانكم انتم حينئذ به لا توجرون بل عنه تسئلون ينبغى فى كلّ ظهور ادلّاء ذلك ان يحيطون بما نزل فى ذلك الظّهور لا على فصَل الّتى انتم تفصلون الى ان قال عزّ ذكره بل الأمر ان تتركن كلّ ذلك و تعد من انفسكم و علمكم ان انتم باللّه و آياته مؤمنون

Dar īn maqām chūn mushāhidih shud kih muʿriḍīn az kaʾs-i ghurūr shāriband va az kūb-i kibr mashrūb, chih kih ʿārifīn bi-llāh rā ʿavāmm dhikr namūdih-and, lidhā lāzim shud kih īn ʿabd baʿḍī az āyāt-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā sivāhu fidāh rā dhikr namāyam tā aqallan ʿālim az jāhil tamyīz dādih shavad. Qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: qul mā khalaqa Allāhu shayʾan aʿazza min al-ʿilmi ʿindahu kullun bihi yukhlaqūn kullun bihi yurzaqūn kullun bihi yumītūn kullun bihi yuḥyawn dhālika ʿilmukum bi-llāhi thumma bi-maẓhari nafsihi fī kulli ẓuhūrin thumma mā yaẓharu min ʿindi maẓhari nafsihi dūna dhālika lam yakun ʿinda Allāhi bi-ʿilmin in antum taʿlamūn wa-ʿinda ẓuhūri al-ukhrā kullu al-ʿilmi ʿilmukum bihi wa-mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi lā bi-mā qad ẓahara min qablu wa-ʿilmukum bi-mā quddira min qablu fa-innakum antum ḥīnaʾidhin bihi lā tuʾjarūn bal ʿanhu tusʾalūn yanbaghī fī kulli ẓuhūrin adillāʾa dhālika an yuḥīṭūna bi-mā nazala fī dhālika al-ẓuhūri lā ʿalā fiṣali allatī antum tufaṣṣilūn. Ilā an qāla ʿazza dhikruhu: bal al-amru an tatrukunna kulla dhālika wa-taʿudda min anfusikum wa-ʿilmikum in antum bi-llāhi wa-āyātihi muʾminūn.

At this point, since it was observed that those who turn away are drinking from the chalice of conceit and are drunk from the cup of pride—for they have called those who know God common people—it became necessary for this servant to quote some of the verses of the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—so that at least the learned may be distinguished from the ignorant. He says—exalted be His remembrance: “Say: God has created nothing more precious in His sight than knowledge. Through it all are created; through it all are sustained; through it all are put to death; through it all are brought to life. This is your knowledge of God, then of the Manifestation of His Self in every Revelation, and then of what appears from the Manifestation of His Self. Apart from this, nothing is knowledge in God’s sight, if you but knew. At the appearance of the next Revelation, all knowledge consists in your knowledge of Him and of what appears from Him, not of what appeared before, nor in your knowledge of what was ordained before. For at that time you will not be rewarded for it, but rather questioned about it. In every Revelation, its guides should comprehend what has been sent down in that Revelation, not according to the divisions you make.” He continues—exalted be His remembrance—until He says: “Rather, the command is that you abandon all that and count it as belonging to yourselves and your knowledge, if you believe in God and His verses.”

272

حال قدرى ملاحظه در اين كلمات الهيّه لازم كه شايد علمى را كه لم يزل عند اللّه محبوب و محمود بوده ادراك نمايند و معرضين باللّه را عالم ندانيد فو‌الّذى ايّد الرّوح بالرّوح اليوم اگر كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض بتمام علوم ارض ظاهر شوند و در امر بديع توقّف نمائيد از جهلا عند اللّه مذكور مؤيّد اين بيان نصّ بيان نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه قوله جلّ و عزّ مخاطباً لحرف الحىّ ان آمنتَبه سواء علمت من شیء او لا علمت فلا ينقص من فضلك من شیء و لكن ان احتجبت عنه ان علمت كلّ علم لا ينفعك بنصّ آن جوهر وجود اليوم اطلاق اسم عالم بر احدى نخواهد شد مگر آن نفوسيكه بقميص ايمان امر بديع مزيّن شده‌اند

Ḥāl qadrī mulāḥiẓih dar īn kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih lāzim kih shāyad ʿilmī rā kih lam yazal ʿinda Allāh maḥbūb va maḥmūd būdih idrāk namāyand va muʿriḍīn bi-llāh rā ʿālim nadānīd. Fa-wa-alladhī ayy ada al-Rūḥa bi-al-rūḥ al-yawm agar kull-i man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ bi-tamām-i ʿulūm-i arḍ ẓāhir shavand va dar Amr-i Badīʿ tavaqquf namāʾīd az juhalā ʿinda Allāh madhkūr. Muʾayyid-i īn bayān naṣṣ-i bayān-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāhu fidāh, qawluhu jalla wa-ʿazza mukhāṭiban li-Ḥarfi al-Ḥayy: in āmanta bihi sawāʾun ʿalimta min shayʾin aw lā ʿalimta fa-lā yanquṣu min faḍlika min shayʾin wa-lākin in iḥtajabta ʿanhu in ʿalimta kulla ʿilmin lā yanfaʿuka. Bi-naṣṣ-i ān Jawhar-i Vujūd al-yawm iṭlāq-i ism-i ʿālim bar aḥadī nakhvāhad shud magar ān nufūsī kih bi-qamīṣ-i īmān-i Amr-i Badīʿ muzayyan shudih-and.

Now some reflection on these divine words is needed, so that perhaps they may comprehend the knowledge that has always been beloved and praiseworthy in God’s sight, and you may not regard those who turn away from God as learned. By Him who strengthened the Spirit through the spirit, today, even if all who are in the heavens and on earth were to appear with all earthly learning, and you were to hesitate before this wondrous Cause, you would be counted among the ignorant in God’s sight. Supporting this statement is the explicit utterance of the Point of the Bayán—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him. He says—glorified and exalted be He—addressing the Letter of the Living: “If you believe in Him, whether you know anything or do not know, nothing whatsoever will diminish your merit. But if you are veiled from Him, even if you possess all knowledge, it will not benefit you.” According to the explicit words of that Essence of existence, today the designation ‘learned’ will apply to no one except those souls adorned with the robe of faith in this wondrous Cause.

273

عجب است مع اين آيات واضحات مع‌ذلك مؤمنين باللّه را عوام ناميده‌ايد چه زود نفس رحمن از آن قلوب منقطع شده و از نفس سبحان محتجب گشته‌اند چه كه اگر اقلّ من ذر رايحه علم و حكمتش بر نفوس معرضه مرور ميفرمود هرگز باين كلماتى كه پست‌ترين ملّت فرقان سالها بآن مستدلّ بوده‌اند مشغول نميشدند فواحسرتا عليهم بما ارتكبوا فى جنب اللّه و كانوا من الخاسرين

ʿAjab ast maʿ-i īn āyāt-i vāḍiḥāt maʿa-dhālik muʾminīn bi-llāh rā ʿavāmm nāmīdih-īd. Chih zūd nafas-i Raḥmān az ān qulūb munqaṭiʿ shudih va az Nafs-i Subḥān muḥtajib gashtih-and, chih kih agar aqall-i min dharr rāyiḥih-yi ʿilm va ḥikmatash bar nufūs-i muʿriḍih murūr mīfarmūd hargiz bi-īn kalimātī kih past-tarīn millat-i Furqān sālhā bi-ān mustadill būdih-and mashghūl namīshudand. Fa-wā ḥasratā ʿalayhim bi-mā irtakabū fī janbi Allāhi wa-kānū min al-khāsirīn.

It is astonishing that, despite these clear verses, you have nevertheless called those who believe in God common people. How quickly the breath of the All-Merciful has been cut off from those hearts, and they have become veiled from the sanctified One! For if less than a mote of the fragrance of His knowledge and wisdom had passed over these wayward souls, they would never have occupied themselves with these words, which the lowliest followers of the Qur’an have used as arguments for years. Alas for them, for what they have perpetrated against God! They are among the losers.

274

نغمه ديگر آن سلطان احديّه را بشنو مخاطباً لحرف الحىّ ميفرمايند قوله عزّ بيانه فانّه يعرف كلشیء نفسه بنفسه فمن يقدر ان يعرفه بغيره الا انّك لو ادركت يوم ظهوره ان عرفته باعلم علمآء البيان و ان رأيته واقفاً فى امره ثمّ ذكرت عليه اسم الانسانيّة ما انفيت حروف النّفى لاثبات مظهر الأحديّة انتهى

Naghmih-yi dīgar-i ān Sulṭān-i Aḥadiyyih rā bishinav. Mukhāṭiban li-Ḥarfi al-Ḥayy mīfarmāyand, qawluhu ʿazza bayānuhu: fa-innahu yuʿarrifu kulla shayʾin nafsahu bi-nafsihi fa-man yaqdiru an yuʿarrifahu bi-ghayrihi illā innaka law adrakta yawma ẓuhūrihi in ʿaraftahu bi-aʿlami ʿulamāʾi al-Bayāni wa-in raʾaytahu wāqifan fī amrihi thumma dhakarta ʿalayhi isma al-insāniyyati mā anfayta ḥurūfa al-nafyi li-ithbāti Maẓhari al-Aḥadiyyah. Intahā.

Listen to another melody of that Sovereign of Oneness. Addressing the Letter of the Living, He says—exalted be His utterance: “He Himself makes Himself known to all things through Himself. Who, then, can make Him known through anything other than Him? Yet, if you attain the day of His Revelation, and if you recognize someone as the most learned of the learned of the Bayán, but see him hesitating before His Cause and then apply to him the designation ‘human,’ you have not negated the letters of negation in order to affirm the Manifestation of Oneness.” End of quotation.

275

فما اعزّ كلماته و احكم اشاراته و اظهر برهانه و اجلّ بيانه و لكن انتم يا ملأ البيان ظلمتم على نفس اللّه و كينونته و انّه ما قصّر فى بيانه قد شرع لكم كلّ مناهج و بين لكم كلّ ما كان مستوراً عنكم و فصّل لكم من كلّ شیء تفصيلاً رحمة من عنده عليكم و هدى و ذكرى للعالمين و انتم اشتبهتم امر اللّه على انفسكم كما اشتبهوا ملل القبل على انفسهم و بذلك ضل سعيهم فى الدّنيا و الآخرة و كانوا قوم سوء اخسرين

Fa-mā aʿazza kalimātihi wa-aḥkama ishārātihi wa-aẓhara burhānahu wa-ajalla bayānahu wa-lākin antum yā malaʾa al-Bayān ẓalamtum ʿalā nafsi Allāhi wa-kaynūnatihi wa-innahu mā qaṣṣara fī bayānihi qad sharaʿa lakum kulla manāhija wa-bayyana lakum kulla mā kāna mastūran ʿankum wa-faṣṣala lakum min kulli shayʾin tafṣīlan raḥmatan min ʿindihi ʿalaykum wa-hudan wa-dhikrā li-al-ʿālamīn wa-antum ishtabahtum amra Allāhi ʿalā anfusikum kamā ishtabahū milalu al-qabli ʿalā anfusihim wa-bi-dhālika ḍalla saʿyuhum fī al-dunyā wa-al-ākhirati wa-kānū qawma sawʾin akhsarīn.

How precious are His words, how firm His allusions, how manifest His proof, and how exalted His utterance! Yet you, O people of the Bayán, have wronged the Self of God and His very being. He has left nothing lacking in His exposition: He has laid out every path for you, made clear to you all that was concealed from you, and explained everything to you in detail, as a mercy to you from Him and as guidance and a reminder to the worlds. Yet you have confused the Cause of God for yourselves, just as the religious communities of the past confused it for themselves. Thus their efforts came to nothing in this world and the next, and they were an evil people, the greatest losers.

276

مع آنكه آن جمال رحمن ميفرمايد كه اگر اعلم علماء بيان را در يوم ظهور و طلوع و اشراق نيّر اعظم متوقّف ديدى و ذكر انسانيّت بر او نمودى هرآينه از نفوسى خواهى بود كه حروف نفى را در آن يوم نفى ننموده‌اند از براى اثبات مظهر احديّه

Maʿ-i ānkih ān Jamāl-i Raḥmān mīfarmāyad kih agar aʿlam-i ʿulamā-yi Bayān rā dar yawm-i ẓuhūr va ṭulūʿ va ishrāq-i Nayyir-i Aʿẓam mutavaqqif dīdī va dhikr-i insāniyyat bar ū namūdī har-āyinih az nufūsī khvāhī būd kih ḥurūf-i nafy rā dar ān yawm nafy nanamūdih-and az barā-yi ithbāt-i Maẓhar-i Aḥadiyyih.

And yet that All-Merciful Beauty says that if, on the day of the revelation, rising, and radiance of the Most Great Luminary, you see the most learned of the learned of the Bayán hesitating and apply to him the designation ‘human,’ you will assuredly be among those souls who have not negated the letters of negation on that day in order to affirm the Manifestation of Oneness.

277

اليوم هر نفسى بر احدى از معرضين من اعلاهم او من ادناهم ذكر انسانيّت نمايد از جميع فيوضات رحمانى محروم است تا چه رسد كه بخواهد از براى آن نفوس اثبات رتبه و مقام نمايد

Al-yawm har nafsī bar aḥadī az muʿriḍīn min aʿlāhum aw min adnāhum dhikr-i insāniyyat namāyad az jamīʿ-i fuyūḍāt-i raḥmānī maḥrūm ast tā chih rasad kih bikhvāhad az barā-yi ān nufūs ithbāt-i rutbih va maqām namāyad.

Today, anyone who applies the designation “human” to any of those who turn away, whether the highest or the lowest among them, is deprived of all the outpourings of the All-Merciful—how much more so if he wishes to establish a rank or station for those souls.

278

ملاحظه نموده كه مخاطب آيه منزله يكى از حروفات حىّ است كه اسبق از كلّ بيان بوده و خواهد بود بنصّ خود نقطه بيان كه ميفرمايند ايشانند اوّل خلق بيان و ميفرمايند كلّ بوجود اين حروفات بشريعه احديّه و ظهور الهيّه فايز شدند و مع‌ذلك بآن نفوس باين قسم تحديد فرموده چنانچه ذكر شد فتفكّروا يا اولو الأبصار فتفكّروا يا اولو الأنظار فتفكّروا يا اولو الأخيار فتفكّروا يا اولو الأبرار فتفكّروا يا اولو العلم و الحكمة و البيان

Mulāḥiẓih namūdih kih mukhāṭab-i āyih-yi munazzalih yakī az ḥurūfāt-i Ḥayy ast kih asbaq az kull-i Bayān būdih va khvāhad būd bi-naṣṣ-i khud-i Nuqṭih-yi Bayān kih mīfarmāyand īshānand avval-i khalq-i Bayān va mīfarmāyand kull bi-vujūd-i īn ḥurūfāt bi-sharīʿih-yi aḥadiyyih va ẓuhūr-i ilāhiyyih fāʾiz shudand va maʿa-dhālik bi-ān nufūs bi-īn qism taḥdīd farmūdih chunānchih dhikr shud fa-tafakkarū yā ulū al-abṣār fa-tafakkarū yā ulū al-anẓār fa-tafakkarū yā ulū al-akhyār fa-tafakkarū yā ulū al-abrār fa-tafakkarū yā ulū al-ʿilm wa-al-ḥikmah wa-al-bayān.

Consider that the person addressed in the revealed verse is one of the Letters of the Living, who has preceded, and will precede, all the people of the Bayán, according to the explicit statement of the Point of the Bayán Himself: “They are the first creation of the Bayán.” He also says: “Through the existence of these Letters, all attained the law of Divine Oneness and the divine Revelation.” Yet He issued such a warning to those souls, as has been mentioned. Reflect, then, O people of insight! Reflect, O people of discernment! Reflect, O people of goodness! Reflect, O people of righteousness! Reflect, O people of knowledge, wisdom, and utterance!

279

قل تاللّه كلّما نزل فى البيان قد رجع الى نقطة و انّها هى حينئذ مقبوضة بكفّ القدرة و الاقتدار و نريد ان نفصّلها مرّهً اخرى رغماً لا نفسكم يا ملأ المشركين كما فصّلناها مرّه بعد مرّة و هذه من مرّة فزعت عنها سكّان السّموات و الأرض ثمّ سكّان مداين الأسماء ان انتم من العارفين قل انّه قد كان نفسى و ان حينئذ قد ظهرت نفسه بالحقّ و نطقت بين السّموات و الأرضين و يقول بالحقّ ان كلّ الآیات قد رجعت الى آياتى و بعثت فى كلماتى و ظهرت باذنى و نزلت من سماء مشيّتى ان انتم من الموقنين ثمّ كلّ الظّهورات انتهت بظهورى و كلّ المشارق قد اشرقت باشراقى و كلّ المطالع قد استبهت بطلوعى و ظهورى فاين ابصار النّاظرة فاين قلوب العارفة فاين افئدة المقدّسة و اين انفس الزّكيّة و اين صدور المنيرة ليعرف و يفقه و ينظر و يشهد ما ظهر و اشرق من افق اللّه المقتدر العزيز العظيم قل موتوا بغيظكم انّه قد ظهر بالحقّ و لايخاف من احد و ينتظر ما قدّر له من لدن محبوبه المقتدر العليم الحكيم

Qul ta-llāhi kullamā nazala fī al-Bayān qad rajaʿa ilā nuqṭah wa-innahā hiya ḥīnaʾidhin maqbūḍah bi-kaff al-qudrah wa-al-iqtidār wa-nurīdu an nufaṣṣilahā marratan ukhrā raghman li-anfusikum yā malaʾ al-mushrikīn kamā faṣṣalnāhā marratan baʿda marrah wa-hādhihi min marrah faziʿat ʿanhā sukkān al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ thumma sukkān madāʾin al-asmāʾ in antum min al-ʿārifīn qul innahu qad kāna nafsī wa-in ḥīnaʾidhin qad ẓaharat nafsuhu bi-al-ḥaqq wa-naṭaqat bayna al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn wa-yaqūlu bi-al-ḥaqq inna kull al-āyāt qad rajaʿat ilā āyātī wa-buʿithat fī kalimātī wa-ẓaharat bi-idhnī wa-nazalat min samāʾ mashīʾatī in antum min al-mūqinīn thumma kull al-ẓuhūrāt intahat bi-ẓuhūrī wa-kull al-mashāriq qad ashraqat bi-ishrāqī wa-kull al-maṭāliʿ qad istabhat bi-ṭulūʿī wa-ẓuhūrī fa-ayna abṣār al-nāẓirah fa-ayna qulūb al-ʿārifah fa-ayna afʾidah al-muqaddasah wa-ayna anfus al-zakiyyah wa-ayna ṣudūr al-munīrah li-yaʿrif wa-yafqah wa-yanẓur wa-yashhad mā ẓahara wa-ashraqa min ufuq Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-ʿAẓīm qul mūtū bi-ghayẓikum innahu qad ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqq wa-lā yakhāfu min aḥad wa-yantaẓiru mā quddira lahu min ladun maḥbūbihi al-Muqtadir al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm.

Say: By God, all that was revealed in the Bayán has returned to a single point, and it is now held in the grasp of power and might. We intend to unfold it once again, despite you, O company of those who associate partners with God, just as We have unfolded it time after time. This is a time that has struck terror into the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and then the inhabitants of the cities of names, if you are among those who understand. Say: He was My own Self, and now His Self has appeared in truth and spoken between the heavens and the earths. He says in truth: “All verses have returned to My verses, have been raised to life in My words, have appeared by My permission, and have descended from the heaven of My will, if you are among those who are certain. All revelations have culminated in My Revelation, all daysprings have shone through My radiance, and all dawning places have grown resplendent through My rising and My appearance. Where are the eyes that see? Where are the hearts that understand? Where are the sanctified souls? Where are the pure selves? Where are the illumined breasts, that they may recognize, comprehend, behold, and witness what has appeared and shone from the horizon of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Most Great?” Say: Die in your rage! He has appeared in truth and fears no one. He awaits what has been ordained for Him by His Beloved, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

280

و يقول فى كلّ حين مخاطباً لاسيافكم و رماحكم و سهامكم هلمّوا و تعالوا لانّى اكون مشتاقاً بكم و يشهد بذلك شوقى و اشتياقى ثمّ شغفى و نغماتى لو انتم من الشّاعرين انّ الّذى قد ظهر بالحقّ هو محبوبی‌ و انا محبوبه و هو نفسى و انا نفسه و ما يخرج من لسانى هو بيانه الابدع الاملح الأقدس المنيع و من يكون عنده اقلّ من الشّعر شعور و اقلّ من الذّرّ بصر ليشهد ظهور اللّه و عظمته و يجد روايح قدسه من نفحات هذه النّغمات و يكون من الرّاسخين على هذا الأمر الأعظم المبين

Wa-yaqūlu fī kull ḥīn mukhāṭiban li-asyāfikum wa-rimāḥikum wa-sihāmikum halummū wa-taʿālaw li-annī akūnu mushtāqan bikum wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika shawqī wa-ishtiyāqī thumma shaghafī wa-naghamātī law antum min al-shāʿirīn inna alladhī qad ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqq huwa maḥbūbī wa-anā maḥbūbuhu wa-huwa nafsī wa-anā nafsuhu wa-mā yakhruju min lisānī huwa bayānuhu al-abdaʿ al-amlaḥ al-aqdas al-manīʿ wa-man yakūnu ʿindahu aqall min al-shaʿr shuʿūr wa-aqall min al-dharr baṣar la-yashhadu ẓuhūr Allāh wa-ʿaẓamatahu wa-yajidu rawāʾiḥ qudsihi min nafaḥāt hādhihi al-naghamāt wa-yakūnu min al-rāsikhīn ʿalā hādhā al-amr al-aʿẓam al-mubīn.

At every moment He says, addressing your swords, your spears, and your arrows: “Come, draw near, for I yearn for you!” My longing and yearning, My ardor and My melodies bear witness to this, if you are among those who perceive. He who has appeared in truth is My Beloved, and I am His beloved; He is My Self, and I am His Self. What proceeds from My tongue is His wondrous, most gracious, most holy, and unassailable utterance. Anyone who possesses awareness finer than a hair and sight smaller than a speck of dust will surely witness the Revelation of God and His grandeur, perceive the fragrances of His holiness in the breaths of these melodies, and be among those who stand firm in this most great and manifest Cause.

281

قل انّى اكون حيّاً بحيوته و اتحرّك بحبّه كما انّه كان حيّاً بحيوتى و ما تنفّس الّا بذكرى و ثنائى بين العالمين نفسى فداه و نفسه فداى كلّى فداه و كلّه فداى كلّما اقول انّه فداى هو نفس قوله بأنّه فدائه ایّاکم ان تشهدوا الفرق يا ملأ المتبصّرين كذلك نزل اللّه حينئذ من آيات عظمته على طور الفؤاد و قد اظهرناها لكم لتشكروا اللّه بارئكم يا ملأ البيان و لا تكوننّ من المحتجبين ان

Qul innī akūnu ḥayyan bi-ḥayātihi wa-ataḥarraku bi-ḥubbihi kamā innahu kāna ḥayyan bi-ḥayātī wa-mā tanaffasa illā bi-dhikrī wa-thanāʾī bayna al-ʿālamīn nafsī fidāhu wa-nafsuhu fidāya kullī fidāhu wa-kulluhu fidāya kullamā aqūlu innahu fidāya huwa nafs qawlihi bi-annahu fidāʾuhu iyyākum an tashhadū al-farq yā malaʾ al-mutabaṣṣirīn kadhālika nazzala Allāh ḥīnaʾidhin min āyāt ʿaẓamatihi ʿalā ṭūr al-fuʾād wa-qad aẓharnāhā lakum li-tashkurū Allāh bāriʾakum yā malaʾ al-Bayān wa-lā takūnanna min al-muḥtajibīn in.

Say: I live through His life and am moved by His love, just as He lived through My life and breathed only in remembrance and praise of Me among the worlds. May My soul be sacrificed for Him, and His soul for Me; may My whole being be sacrificed for Him, and His whole being for Me. Whenever I say that He is a sacrifice for Me, it is His very statement that He is a sacrifice for Him. Beware of seeing any distinction, O company of the discerning! Thus has God now sent down verses of His grandeur upon the Sinai of the heart. We have made them manifest to you so that you may thank God, your Maker, O people of the Bayán, and not be among those who are veiled. If

282

يا ايّها المستغرق فى بحر الاشارات فاعلم بانّ اعراضك و اعتراضك لا يرجع الى نفسى بل على اللّه ربّی‌ و ربّك و ربّ آبائنا الأوّلين لانّى عبد آمنت به و برسله و صفوته و لا اجد لنفسى من وجود لانّه قد بعثنى بالحقّ و ارسلنى على العالمين انّك لو تريد الاعتراض اذهب اليه و قل بأىّ جهة بعثت الّذى به فزعت كينونتى ثمّ حقايق المشركين و لو وجدته و تكون مستطيعاً فى نفسك فاذكر لى كلمة عنده لعلّ يخلّصنى منك و من ملأ الأشرار و يجعلنى من المنقطعين قل اى ربّ انت تعرف ملأ البيان لم ارسلت عبدك هذا اذاً فاشهده تحت اسيافهم و مخاليبهم و اظفارهم يا من بيدك ملكوت ملك السّموات و الأرضين ارحمه يا مالك الملوك ثمّ انصره بالحقّ و انّك انت المقتدر المتعالى الغالب العزيز المريد

Yā ayyuhā al-mustaghriq fī baḥr al-ishārāt fa-iʿlam bi-anna iʿrāḍaka wa-iʿtirāḍaka lā yarjiʿu ilā nafsī bal ʿalā Allāh rabbī wa-rabbika wa-rabb ābāʾinā al-awwalīn li-annī ʿabd āmantu bihi wa-bi-rusulihi wa-ṣafwatihi wa-lā ajidu li-nafsī min wujūd li-annahu qad baʿathanī bi-al-ḥaqq wa-arsalanī ʿalā al-ʿālamīn innaka law turīdu al-iʿtirāḍ idhhab ilayhi wa-qul bi-ayyi jihah baʿathta alladhī bihi faziʿat kaynūnatī thumma ḥaqāʾiq al-mushrikīn wa-law wajadtahu wa-takūnu mustaṭīʿan fī nafsika fa-udhkur lī kalimah ʿindahu laʿalla yukhalliṣanī minka wa-min malaʾ al-ashrār wa-yajʿalanī min al-munqaṭiʿīn qul ay rabb anta taʿrifu malaʾ al-Bayān lima arsalta ʿabdaka hādhā idhan fa-ashhadhu taḥta asyāfihim wa-makhālībihim wa-aẓfārihim yā man bi-yadika malakūt mulk al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn irḥamhu yā Mālik al-Mulūk thumma unṣurhu bi-al-ḥaqq wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadir al-Mutaʿālī al-Ghālib al-ʿAzīz al-Murīd.

O you who are immersed in the sea of allusions! Know that your rejection and objections are directed not at Me, but at God, My Lord and your Lord and the Lord of our forefathers. For I am a servant who has believed in Him, His Messengers, and His chosen ones. I find no existence of My own, for He has raised Me up in truth and sent Me to the worlds. If you wish to object, go to Him and say: “Why did You raise up One through whom my being, and then the realities of those who associate partners with You, have been struck with terror?” If you find Him and are able, speak a word on My behalf in His presence, that He may deliver Me from you and the company of the wicked and make Me one of those who are detached. Say: “O Lord, You know the people of the Bayán. Why did You send this servant of Yours? Behold Him, then, beneath their swords, their claws, and their talons. O You in whose hand is the dominion of the kingdom of the heavens and the earths! Have mercy on Him, O King of kings, and aid Him in truth. You are indeed the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the All-Conquering, the Almighty, He who wills.”

283

فو‌الّذى ارسلنى بالحقّ انّى اكون متحيّراً من فعله فى حقّى لأنّه بعثنى فى ایّام ما هبّت فى مثلها نفحات اللّه المقتدر العزيز العليم و بذلك ابتليت بما لا ابتلى به احد من الأصفیاء و يشهد بذلك نفسه العليم الخبير هل تظنّ بانّى انطق من تلقآء نفسى و اكون موجود بوجودى لا فو‌ربّ العالمين بل يحركنى ارياح مشيّته كيف شآء و اراد و من كان له دراية ليجد من اهتزاز نفسى اهتزاز اللّه الملك المقتدر الغالب القدير هل تقدر ان تسكن تلقآء نفسك حين الّذى يأخذك حمّى الرّعد الّذى به يرتعش كلّ الأعضا لا فو‌الّذى خلقك بالحقّ لو انت من المستشعرين فكما يحرّكك و لا تقدر ان تسكن كذلك تحركنى ارياح مشيّة اللّه و انّك ان تريد ان تعترض فاعترض عليه و ما انا الّا عبد منيب و لم اجد لنفسى سكوناً و لا قرارا و لاحركة الّا بعد امره و لا ينكر ذلك الّا كلّ مغلّ معتد اثيم

Fa-wa-alladhī arsalanī bi-al-ḥaqq innī akūnu mutaḥayyiran min fiʿlihi fī ḥaqqī li-annahu baʿathanī fī ayyām mā habbat fī mithlihā nafaḥāt Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-ʿAlīm wa-bi-dhālika ubtulītu bi-mā lā ubtuliya bihi aḥad min al-aṣfiyāʾ wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika nafsuhu al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr hal taẓunnu bi-annī anṭiqu min tilqāʾ nafsī wa-akūnu mawjūd bi-wujūdī lā fa-wa-rabb al-ʿālamīn bal yuḥarrikunī aryāḥ mashīʾatihi kayfa shāʾa wa-arāda wa-man kāna lahu dirāyah la-yajidu min ihtizāz nafsī ihtizāz Allāh al-Malik al-Muqtadir al-Ghālib al-Qadīr hal taqdiru an taskuna tilqāʾ nafsika ḥīna alladhī yaʾkhudhuka ḥummā al-raʿd alladhī bihi yartaʿishu kull al-aʿḍā lā fa-wa-alladhī khalaqaka bi-al-ḥaqq law anta min al-mustashʿirīn fa-kamā yuḥarrikuka wa-lā taqdiru an taskuna kadhālika tuḥarrikunī aryāḥ mashīʾat Allāh wa-innaka in turīdu an taʿtariḍ fa-iʿtariḍ ʿalayhi wa-mā anā illā ʿabd munīb wa-lam ajid li-nafsī sukūnan wa-lā qarāran wa-lā ḥarakah illā baʿda amrihi wa-lā yunkiru dhālika illā kull mughill muʿtad athīm.

By Him who has sent Me in truth, I am bewildered by His dealings with Me, for He has raised Me up in days the like of which have never been stirred by the breaths of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Through this I have been afflicted as none of His chosen ones has been afflicted. His own Self, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, bears witness to this. Do you imagine that I speak of My own accord and exist through an existence of My own? No, by the Lord of the worlds! Rather, the winds of His will move Me as He wishes and desires. Anyone possessed of understanding will perceive, in the stirring of My being, the stirring of God, the King, the All-Powerful, the All-Conquering, the Omnipotent. Can you keep yourself still when a shivering fever seizes you and makes every limb tremble? No, by Him who created you in truth, if you are among those who perceive! Just as it moves you and you cannot keep still, so the winds of the will of God move Me. If you wish to object, object to Him. I am only a servant who turns to Him, and I find for Myself neither stillness, repose, nor movement except at His command. None denies this but every treacherous, transgressing sinner.

284

بارى در جميع ظهورات اوّل معرض علماء عصر بوده‌‌اند چه كه اگر علماء انكار حقّ اللّه نمينمودند احدى اعراض نمينمود و آنچه فساد در ارض شده از انكار علماء بوده چنانچه تصريحاً ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره و انّ اوّل من احتجب عن نقطة البيان ادلّآء العلم عند انفسهم و لكنّهم عند اللّه لا يدركون من شیء و لا يتعقلون اينست كه عند اللّه امثال آن نفوس از اهل علم محسوب نه و نفوسى كه بايمان موفّق شده‌اند بر كرسى علم مستقرّ اگرچه بحرفى از علوم ظاهره مطّلع نباشند

Bārī dar jamīʿ-i ẓuhūrāt avval muʿriḍ ʿulamā-yi ʿaṣr būdih-and chih kih agar ʿulamā inkār-i Ḥaqq Allāh namīnamūdand aḥadī iʿrāḍ namīnamūd va ānchih fasād dar arḍ shudih az inkār-i ʿulamā būdih chunānchih taṣrīḥan mīfarmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu wa-inna awwal man iḥtajaba ʿan Nuqṭat al-Bayān adillāʾ al-ʿilm ʿinda anfusihim wa-lākinnahum ʿinda Allāh lā yudrikūna min shayʾ wa-lā yataʿaqqalūn īnast kih ʿinda Allāh amthāl-i ān nufūs az ahl-i ʿilm maḥsūb nah va nufūsī kih bi-īmān muwaffaq shudih-and bar kursī-yi ʿilm mustaqarr agarchih bi-ḥarfī az ʿulūm-i ẓāhirih muṭṭaliʿ nabāshand.

In every Revelation, the first to turn away have been the religious scholars of the age. For had the scholars not denied God, the Truth, no one would have turned away, and whatever corruption has arisen on earth has resulted from the scholars’ denial. Thus He explicitly states—exalted be His mention: “The first to be veiled from the Point of the Bayán are those who regard themselves as the guides of learning. Yet, in God’s sight, they perceive nothing and do not understand.” Thus, in God’s sight, such souls are not counted among the learned, while those who have been enabled to believe are established upon the seat of knowledge, even if they know not a single letter of outward learning.

285

اليوم علم و جهل و اعلى و ادنى و قرب و بعد و صادق و كاذب حىّ و ميّت بالغ و رضيع عاقل و غافل بتصديق ظهور معلوم و ممتاز ميشوند من آمن به فهو من اعلى العلمآء و اعزّ النّاس و ابصرهم و اتقاهم و اعقلهم و اعلاهم و اقربهم و اصدقهم و ادقّهم و افقههم كذلك نزل بالحقّ من جبروت عزّ عظيم اين است كه نقطه بيان در اينمقام ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره فلتهدينّ اللّهمّ كلّ اولى محبّتى الى دينك فانّ الأمر من عندك على حدّ سواء لو يومن بحجّتك و آياتك ادنى الخلق ليكون اعلاه و ابعد الخلق ليكون اقربه

Al-yawm ʿilm va jahl va aʿlā va adnā va qurb va buʿd va ṣādiq va kādhib ḥayy va mayyit bāligh va raḍīʿ ʿāqil va ghāfil bi-taṣdīq-i ẓuhūr maʿlūm va mumtāz mīshavand man āmana bihi fa-huwa min aʿlā al-ʿulamāʾ wa-aʿazz al-nās wa-abṣarihim wa-atqāhum wa-aʿqalihim wa-aʿlāhum wa-aqrabihim wa-aṣdaqihim wa-adaqqihim wa-afqahihim kadhālika nazala bi-al-ḥaqq min jabarūt ʿizz ʿaẓīm īn ast kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān dar īn maqām mīfarmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu fa-la-tahdiyanna Allāhumma kulla ulī maḥabbatī ilā dīnika fa-inna al-amr min ʿindika ʿalā ḥadd sawāʾ law yuʾminu bi-ḥujjatika wa-āyātika adnā al-khalq la-yakūnu aʿlāhu wa-abʿad al-khalq la-yakūnu aqrabahu.

Today, knowledge and ignorance, high and low, nearness and remoteness, the truthful and the false, the living and the dead, the mature and the suckling, the discerning and the heedless are known and distinguished by their acknowledgment of the Revelation. Whoever believes in Him is among the highest of the learned, the most honored of people, the most perceptive, the most God-fearing, the most discerning, the most exalted, the nearest, the most truthful, the most exact in understanding, and the most comprehending. Thus has it descended in truth from the dominion of great glory. Hence the Point of the Bayán says in this connection—exalted be His mention: “Guide, O God, all who love Me to Your religion, for the matter rests equally with You: if the lowest of creation believes in Your Proof and Your verses, he will become its highest, and the most remote of creation will become its nearest.”

286

مقصود از اين بيانات آنكه جميع بدانند كه عند اللّه اهل علم نفوسى هستند كه عالم باو شده‌اند و در كلمه بلى توقّف ننموده‌اند آن نفوسند اهل علم و ادلّاء آن و اهل عصمت و معدن حكمت و منبع بيان و مطلع ذكر كلّ اسماء خير بآن نفوس راجع ماداميكه در ظلّ اللّه مستقرّند علوم ظاهريّه در اينمقام معتبر نبوده و نخواهد بود اينست كه آن نقطه وجود و طلعت مقصود در كلمات منزله مخاطباً باهل علم وصاياى لايحصى فرموده‌اند و جميع را وصيّت فرموده كه در حين ظهور مغرور بعلم و حكمت و بيان خود نشده كه شايد بعلم اللّه و ما عنده فايز گردند اينست كه نقطه بيان ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره لعلّ يوم ظهور حقّ كسى بافتخار تعلّم نزد آن مبدأ علم متعلّم گردد و چه بسيار عظيم است اين امر زيرا كه علم او غير بنفس او نيست و ميفرمايد عزّ ذكره هيچ لذّتى اعظم‌تر در امكان خلق نشده كه كسى استماع نمايد آيات آن را و بفهمد مراد آن و لم و بم در حقّ كلمات آن نگويد و مقايسه با كلام غير او نكند همين قسم كه كينونت او مظهر الوهيّت و ربوبيّت است بر كلّ شیء همين قسم كلام او مظهر الو هيّت و ربوبيّت است بر كلّ كلامها كه اگر آن انسانى بود متكلّم هرآينه ميگفت انّى انا اللّه لا اله الّا انا و انّ ما دونى خلقى ان يا كلّ الحروف ايّاى فاتّقون انتهى

Maqṣūd az īn bayānāt ānkih jamīʿ bidānand kih ʿinda Allāh ahl-i ʿilm nufūsī hastand kih ʿālim bi-ū shudih-and va dar kalimih-yi balā tavaqquf nanamūdih-and ān nufūsand ahl-i ʿilm va adillā-yi ān va ahl-i ʿiṣmat va maʿdin-i ḥikmat va manbaʿ-i bayān va maṭlaʿ-i dhikr kull-i asmā-yi khayr bi-ān nufūs rājiʿ mādāmīkih dar ẓill-i Allāh mustaqarrand ʿulūm-i ẓāhiriyyih dar īn maqām muʿtabar nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd īnast kih ān Nuqṭih-yi Vujūd va Ṭalʿat-i Maqṣūd dar kalimāt-i munazzalih mukhāṭaban bi-ahl-i ʿilm vaṣāyā-yi lā yuḥṣā farmūdih-and va jamīʿ rā vaṣiyyat farmūdih kih dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr maghrūr bi-ʿilm va ḥikmat va bayān-i khud nashudih kih shāyad bi-ʿilm-i Allāh va mā ʿindahu fāʾiz gardand īnast kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān mīfarmāyad qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu laʿall yawm-i ẓuhūr-i Ḥaqq kasī bi-iftikhār-i taʿallum nazd-i ān Mabdaʾ-i ʿIlm mutaʿallim gardad va chih bisyār ʿaẓīm ast īn amr zīrā kih ʿilm-i ū ghayr bi-nafs-i ū nīst va mīfarmāyad ʿazza dhikruhu hīch lidhdhatī aʿẓam-tar dar imkān khalq nashudih kih kasī istimāʿ namāyad āyāt-i ān rā va bifahmad murād-i ān va lim va bim dar ḥaqq-i kalimāt-i ān nagūyad va muqāyisih bā kalām-i ghayr-i ū nakunad hamīn qism kih kaynūnat-i ū maẓhar-i ulūhiyyat va rubūbiyyat ast bar kull-i shayʾ hamīn qism kalām-i ū maẓhar-i ulūhiyyat va rubūbiyyat ast bar kull-i kalām-hā kih agar ān insānī būd mutakallim har-āyinih mīguft innī anā Allāh lā ilāha illā anā wa-inna mā dūnī khalqī an yā kull al-ḥurūf iyyāya fa-ittaqūn intahā.

The purpose of these statements is that all may know that, in God’s sight, the learned are those souls who have come to know Him and have not hesitated to utter the word “Yes.” These souls are the possessors of knowledge and its guides, the possessors of purity, the mine of wisdom, the source of utterance, and the dawning place of remembrance. All good names refer to these souls so long as they remain beneath the shadow of God. Outward learning has never carried weight in this station, nor will it ever do so. Thus that Point of Existence and Countenance of the Desired One has given countless counsels in His revealed words addressed to the learned. He has counseled them all not to become conceited about their own knowledge, wisdom, and utterance at the time of the Revelation, so that they may attain the knowledge of God and what is with Him. Hence the Point of the Bayán says—exalted be His mention: “Perhaps, on the day of the Revelation of the True One, someone may attain the honor of learning by becoming a student before that Source of Knowledge. How exceedingly great is this matter, for His knowledge is none other than His own Self!” He also says—exalted be His mention: “No greater delight has been created in the realm of possibility than for someone to hear His verses, understand their meaning, ask no ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’ concerning His words, and not compare them with the words of anyone else. Just as His being is the manifestation of Divinity and Lordship over all things, so His words are the manifestation of Divinity and Lordship over all words. Were His words a human being endowed with speech, they would assuredly say: ‘I am God; there is no god but Me, and all besides Me is My creation. O all you letters, fear Me!’” End of quotation.

287

اى اهل بيان اگر چه بحدودى ظاهر شده‌ايد كه ابدا گمان تقديس و تنزيه نميرود كه احدى بآن فايز شود و چنان مشاهده ميشود كه اگر صد‌هزار باب معارف الهيّه مفتوح شود احدى گوش ندهد تا چه رسد بادراك بشنويد نصح الهى را و در كلّ ایّام تفكّر در ظهور قبل و امورات واقعه در ایّامش نمائيد كه شايد آن امور محدثه از نظر محو نشود و سبب استقامت گردد

Ay ahl-i Bayān agar chih bi-ḥudūdī ẓāhir shudih-īd kih abadan gumān-i taqdīs va tanzīh namīravad kih aḥadī bi-ān fāʾiz shavad va chunān mushāhadih mīshavad kih agar ṣad-hizār bāb-i maʿārif-i ilāhiyyih maftūḥ shavad aḥadī gūsh nadahad tā chih rasad bi-idrāk bishnavīd nuṣḥ-i ilāhī rā va dar kull-i ayyām tafakkur dar ẓuhūr-i qabl va umūrāt-i vāqiʿih dar ayyāmash namāʾīd kih shāyad ān umūr-i muḥdathih az naẓar maḥv nashavad va sabab-i istiqāmat gardad.

O people of the Bayán! Although you have appeared in such a state of limitation that there is no prospect of anyone attaining sanctity and purity, and it seems that even if a hundred thousand doors of divine knowledge were opened, no one would listen, much less understand, heed the divine counsel. At all times, reflect upon the previous Revelation and the events that took place in its days, so that those occurrences may not fade from view and may become a cause of steadfastness.

288

در اوّل ظهور كلّ علماء بر انكار قيام نمودند بنصّ خود نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه يعنى مجتهدينى كه در كلّ اطراف بودند آن طلعت احديّه بهر يك لوحى باسمه و رسمه نازل فرمود و در آن لوح ذكر اعراض او را بتفصيل فرموده‌اند و سواد آن الواح الآن موجود و بعلماى نجف و كربلا واحداً بعد واحد مرقوم داشته‌اند و هم‌‌چنين بعلماى فارس اسماء بعد اسم و هم‌‌چنين بعلماى ارض صاد و ارض قاف و ساير بلاد بشأنى ابواب انصاف مسدود بود كه يك نفر آن قوم كه از معارف و بعلم مشهور بآن شجره علم الهى و منبع حكمت صمدانى و مطلع بيان رحمانى موقن نشده و فايز نگشته

Dar avval-e ẓohūr koll-e ʿolamā bar enkār qiyām namūdand be-naṣṣ-e khod-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fadāh, yaʿnī mojtahedīnī ke dar koll-e aṭrāf būdand, ān Ṭalʿat-e Aḥadiyye be-har yek lowḥī bi-smihi wa-rasmihi nāzel farmūd va dar ān lowḥ dhekr-e eʿrāż-e ū rā be-tafṣīl farmūde-and va savād-e ān alvāḥ al-ān mowjūd va be-ʿolamā-ye Najaf va Karbalā wāḥidan baʿda wāḥid marqūm dāshte-and va ham-chenīn be-ʿolamā-ye Fārs asmāʾ baʿda ism va ham-chenīn be-ʿolamā-ye arż-e Ṣād va arż-e Qāf va sāyer-e belād. Be-shaʾnī abvāb-e enṣāf masdūd būd ke yek nafar ān qowm ke az maʿāref va be-ʿelm mashhūr be-ān Shajare-ye ʿElm-e Elāhī va Manbaʿ-e Ḥekmat-e Ṣamadānī va Maṭlaʿ-e Bayān-e Raḥmānī mūqen nashode va fāyez nagashte.

At the beginning of the Revelation, all the religious scholars rose in denial, according to the explicit statement of the Point of the Bayán Himself—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him. That is, to each of the mujtahids throughout the regions, that Countenance of Oneness revealed a tablet bearing his name and designation, and in that tablet described his rejection in detail. Copies of those tablets are now extant. He wrote to the scholars of Najaf and Karbalá, one after another, and likewise to the scholars of Fárs, name after name, and likewise to the scholars of the Land of Ṣád, the Land of Qáf, and other lands. The doors of fairness were so firmly closed that not a single one of those people renowned for learning and knowledge came to believe in that Tree of divine knowledge, that Source of everlasting wisdom, that Dawning Place of the All-Merciful’s utterance, or attained His presence.

289

و نفسيكه قبل از كلّ نفوس بشرافت كبرى فايز و باب رحمت و باب علم و باب هدايت و باب فضل شد از براى كلّ موجودات جناب باب بهآءاللّه عليه بوده و البتّه تفصيل آن ذات مقدّس را هر نفسى شنيده كه مابين ناس اشتهار نداشته و صاحب منبر و محراب هم نبوده‌اند يكى از تلامذه جناب حاجى سيّد كاظم عليه رحمة اللّه و فيوضاته بودند و اكثرى از علماى ظاهره آن نفس مقدسّه را تكفير مينمودند و در تلاميذ سيّد مرحوم هم بعضى از نفوس بوده كه از ايشان معروف‌تر بوده‌اند چنانچه يومى از جناب ملّا مهدى خوئى كه يكى از اصحاب جناب سيّد بود از علم جناب باب استفسار شده او چند نفوس متعدّده را اسم برده و جميع را در علم و فضل ظاهره ترجيح ميداد بر باب اعظم و كلمه اكرم و

Va nafsī ke qabl az koll-e nofūs be-sharāfat-e kobrā fāyez va bāb-e raḥmat va bāb-e ʿelm va bāb-e hedāyat va bāb-e fażl shod az barā-ye koll-e mowjūdāt Janāb-e Bāb, Bahāʾuʾllāh ʿalayh, būde va albatte tafṣīl-e ān dhāt-e moqaddas rā har nafsī shenīde ke mābeyn-e nās eshtehār nadāshte va ṣāḥeb-e menbar va meḥrāb ham nabūde-and. Yekī az talāmedhe-ye Janāb-e Ḥājī Seyyed Kāẓem, ʿalayhi raḥmatuʾllāh wa-fuyūḍātuh, būdand va aktharī az ʿolamā-ye ẓāhere ān nafs-e moqaddase rā takfīr mīnamūdand va dar talāmīdh-e Seyyed-e marḥūm ham baʿżī az nofūs būde ke az īshān maʿrūf-tar būde-and. Chenānche yowmī az Janāb-e Mollā Mahdī-ye Khūʾī ke yekī az aṣḥāb-e Janāb-e Seyyed būd az ʿelm-e Janāb-e Bāb estefsār shode, ū chand nofūs-e motaʿaddede rā esm borde va jamīʿ rā dar ʿelm va fażl-e ẓāhere tarjīḥ mīdād bar Bāb-e Aʿẓam va Kaleme-ye Akram va

The soul who, before all others, attained the greatest honor and became the gate of mercy, the gate of knowledge, the gate of guidance, and the gate of grace for all beings was the honored Báb—may the glory of God rest upon him. Surely everyone has heard the account of that holy person: he was not widely known among the people, nor did he occupy a pulpit or prayer niche. He was one of the students of the honored Ḥájí Siyyid Káẓim—may God’s mercy and blessings rest upon him—and most of the outwardly learned declared that holy soul an unbeliever. Among the students of the departed Siyyid, too, there were some who were better known than he. Thus, one day, when the honored Mullá Mahdí Khú’í, one of the Siyyid’s companions, was asked about the learning of the honored Báb, he named several individuals and ranked them all above that Most Great Gate and Most Noble Word in outward learning and accomplishments, and

290

نفوس مشهوره معروفه هيچ كدام موقن نشدند بلكه بر اعراض و اعتراض قيام نمودند از جمله ملّا حسن گوهر و ميرزا محيط و ميرزا كريم خان و همچنين سايرين كه در آذربايجان و اطراف معروف بودند بارى جميع علماى معروفين چه از فئه شيخيّه و چه از فئه ظاهره در امراللّه توقّف نمودند بلكه معرض و منكر و نظر باعراض سلب علم از آن نفوس غافله فرموده‌اند

Nofūs-e mashhūre-ye maʿrūfe hīch kodām mūqen nashodand balke bar eʿrāż va eʿterāż qiyām namūdand, az jomle Mollā Ḥasan-e Gowhar va Mīrzā Moḥīṭ va Mīrzā Karīm Khān va hamchenīn sāyerīn ke dar Ādharbāyjān va aṭrāf maʿrūf būdand. Bārī jamīʿ-e ʿolamā-ye maʿrūfīn che az feʾe-ye Sheykhiyye va che az feʾe-ye ẓāhere dar Amruʾllāh tavaqqof namūdand balke moʿreż va monker va naẓar be-eʿrāż salb-e ʿelm az ān nofūs-e ghāfele farmūde-and.

None of the prominent, well-known figures came to believe; instead, they rose in rejection and opposition. Among them were Mullá Ḥasan Gawhar, Mírzá Muḥíṭ, and Mírzá Karím Khán, as well as others who were renowned in Azerbaijan and the surrounding regions. In short, all the renowned scholars, whether of the Shaykhí school or of the outwardly learned, hesitated concerning the Cause of God; indeed, they turned away and denied it. Because of their rejection, He denied those heedless souls the designation of knowledge.

291

و لكن جناب باب اعظم يعنى اوّل من آمن و سبعة عشر انفس كه با ايشان بودند چون بشرافت ايمان فايز شدند كلّ عند اللّه از ادلّاء علم مذكور چنانچه ميفرمايد اين نفوس در جميع اسماء حسنى ابواب رحمتند بر كلّ ناس و در بيان پارسى بتفصيل مذكور و مسطور ملاحظه نمايند منتهى جدّ و جهد را نموده كه در يوم ظهور از هيچ امرى محتجب نمانيد و ناظر بهيچ شیء عمّا خلق و يخلق نشويد چه كه هر نفسى در آن يوم در اقلّ من آن بشیء غير حقّ ناظر شود بقدر همان از شريعه قرب بعيد خواهد بود

Va lāken Janāb-e Bāb-e Aʿẓam yaʿnī avval-e man āmana va sabʿata ʿashara anfus ke bā īshān būdand chūn be-sharāfat-e īmān fāyez shodand koll ʿindaʾllāh az adellā-ye ʿelm madhkūr. Chenānche mīfarmāyad īn nofūs dar jamīʿ-e asmā-ye ḥosnā abvāb-e raḥmatand bar koll-e nās va dar Bayān-e Pārsī be-tafṣīl madhkūr va masṭūr. Molāḥeẓe namāyand. Montahā-ye jedd va jahd rā namūde ke dar yowm-e ẓohūr az hīch amrī moḥtajeb namānīd va nāẓer be-hīch shayʾ ʿammā kholiqa va yokhlaq nashavīd che ke har nafsī dar ān yowm dar aqall-e men ān be-shayʾ-e gheyr-e Ḥaqq nāẓer shavad be-qadr-e hamān az sharīʿe-ye qorb baʿīd khāhad būd.

But the honored Most Great Gate—that is, the first to believe—and the seventeen souls who were with him, having attained the honor of faith, are all accounted in God’s sight as guides to knowledge. Thus He says: “These souls, in all the most beautiful names, are gates of mercy to all people.” This is mentioned and recorded in detail in the Persian Bayán; let them consult it. He exerted the utmost effort so that, on the day of the Revelation, you would not remain veiled by anything, nor fix your gaze on anything that has been or will be created. For if, on that day, any soul looks for less than an instant toward anything other than the True One, to that same extent he will be far from the waters of nearness.

292

قلب را از كلّ مطهّر داريد و نظر را از علامات و اشارات و قرب و بعد كه بعقل خود ادراك نموده‌ايد بر‌داريد چه كه احدى بر مشيّت مكنونه الهيّه و اراده مستوره‌اش اطّلاع نداشته و ندارد و در كلّ حين بشأن بديع ظاهر شده و خواهد شد بسا است كه بشأنى ظاهر ميشود كه ابدا احدى از قبل تعقّل ننموده پناه بخدا برده و در ليل و نهار مسئلت نمائيد كه بامرى ظاهر شود كه ادراك آن از براى خلق سهل باشد كه لعلّ از فيوضات آن بحر اعظم و اشراق انوار شمس معانى محروم نمانند

Qalb rā az koll moṭahhar dārīd va naẓar rā az ʿalāmāt va eshārāt va qorb va boʿd ke be-ʿaql-e khod edrāk namūde-īd bar-dārīd che ke aḥadī bar mashiyyat-e maknūne-ye Elāhiyye va erāde-ye mastūre-ash eṭṭelāʿ nadāshte va nadārad va dar koll-e ḥīn be-shaʾn-e badīʿ ẓāher shode va khāhad shod. Basā ast ke be-shaʾnī ẓāher mīshavad ke abadan aḥadī az qabl taʿaqqol nanamūde. Panāh be-Khodā borde va dar leyl va nahār masʾalat namāyīd ke be-amrī ẓāher shavad ke edrāk-e ān az barā-ye khalq sahl bāshad ke laʿall az foyūżāt-e ān Baḥr-e Aʿẓam va eshrāq-e anvār-e Shams-e Maʿānī maḥrūm namānand.

Keep your heart pure of all things, and turn your gaze away from the signs and allusions, the nearness and remoteness, that you have apprehended through your own reason. For no one has ever known, or now knows, God’s hidden will and His concealed purpose. At every time He has appeared, and will appear, in a wondrous manner. He may well appear in a manner that no one has ever previously conceived. Seek refuge in God and beseech Him night and day to appear in a way that His creatures can readily comprehend, so that perhaps they may not be deprived of the outpourings of that Most Great Ocean and the radiance of the lights of the Sun of inner meanings.

293

ظهور قبل روحى و نفسى له الفدآء در اين امر بسيار نصيحت فرموده‌اند و ببيانات لايحصى ذكر نموده‌اند على شأن لن يخطر ببال احد امر الّا و انّه رقم من قلمه الأعلی مثلا اگر نفسى ببيان ناظر باشد ميفرمايد ایّاک ان تحتجب به عن منزله و اگر كسى بحروف متمسّك باشد ميفرمايد ایّاک ان تحتجب بالحروف عن موجدهم و خالقهم و اگر كسى بعلم مفتخر باشد ميفرمايد لم يصدق اسم العلم على احد الّا بأن يكون عالماً بنفس الظّهور و اگر نفسى بعلامات محدود باشد ميفرمايد كه ایّاکم ان تحتجبوا بها چه كه احدى بر كيفيّت ظهور آن ذات قدم مطّلع نه يظهر نفسه كيف یشآء و اگر كسى بتكميل ناظر باشد ميفرمايد تصديق كلّ شیء منوط بتصديق آن منبع صدق بوده و خواهد بود اگر بفرمايد كلّ كاملند ليس لأحد ان يقول لم و بم و اگر بفرمايد كلّ ناقصند ليس لأحد ان يعترض عليه و اگر نفسى بوقت محدود باشد چنانچه اين ایّام كلّ بآن محتجب ميفرمايد هر وقت ظاهر شود بايد كلّ تصديق بشجره حقيقت نمايند و شكر الهى بجا آورند و اگر نفسى برؤسا و مراياى عصر ناظر باشد مخاطباً ايّاهم ميفرمايد كه شما بقول من حجّت شده‌ايد زينهار كه از نفس من در ظهور آخر محتجب شويد

Ẓohūr-e qabl, rūḥī wa-nafsī lahu al-fidāʾ, dar īn amr besyār naṣīḥat farmūde-and va be-bayānāt-e lā yoḥṣā dhekr namūde-and, ʿalā shaʾnin lan yakhṭura bi-bāli aḥadin amrun illā wa-innahu ruqima min qalamihi al-aʿlā. Mathalan agar nafsī be-Bayān nāẓer bāshad mīfarmāyad iyyāka an taḥtajiba bihi ʿan munzilihi va agar kasī be-ḥorūf motamassek bāshad mīfarmāyad iyyāka an taḥtajiba bi-l-ḥurūfi ʿan mūjidihim wa-khāliqihim va agar kasī be-ʿelm moftakher bāshad mīfarmāyad lam yaṣduq ismu al-ʿilmi ʿalā aḥadin illā bi-an yakūna ʿāliman bi-nafsi al-ẓuhūr va agar nafsī be-ʿalāmāt maḥdūd bāshad mīfarmāyad ke iyyākum an taḥtajibū bihā che ke aḥadī bar keyfiyyat-e ẓohūr-e ān Dhāt-e Qedam moṭṭaleʿ na, yuẓhiru nafsahu kayfa yashāʾ. Va agar kasī be-takmīl nāẓer bāshad mīfarmāyad taṣdīq-e koll-e shayʾ manūṭ be-taṣdīq-e ān Manbaʿ-e Ṣedq būde va khāhad būd. Agar befarmāyad koll kāmeland laysa li-aḥadin an yaqūla lima wa-bima va agar befarmāyad koll nāqeṣand laysa li-aḥadin an yaʿtariḍa ʿalayh. Va agar nafsī be-vaqt maḥdūd bāshad chenānche īn ayyām koll be-ān moḥtajeb mīfarmāyad har vaqt ẓāher shavad bāyad koll taṣdīq be-Shajare-ye Ḥaqīqat namāyand va shokr-e Elāhī be-jā āvarand va agar nafsī be-roʾasā va marāyā-ye ʿaṣr nāẓer bāshad mukhāṭiban iyyāhum mīfarmāyad ke shomā be-qowl-e man ḥojjat shode-īd zīnhār ke az nafs-e man dar ẓohūr-e ākhar moḥtajeb shavīd.

The previous Manifestation—may my spirit and my self be sacrificed for Him—gave abundant counsel on this matter and spoke of it in countless utterances, so that no matter could occur to anyone’s mind without having been recorded by His Most Exalted Pen. For example, if someone looks to the Bayán, He says: “Beware lest you be veiled by it from the One who revealed it.” If someone clings to the Letters, He says: “Beware lest you be veiled by the Letters from their Originator and Creator.” If someone prides himself on knowledge, He says: “The designation of knowledge does not truly apply to anyone unless he knows the Manifestation Himself.” If a soul is confined by signs, He says: “Beware lest you be veiled by them,” for no one knows how that Eternal Essence will appear: “He manifests Himself however He wills.” If someone looks to the attainment of perfection, He says that the validation of all things has always depended, and will always depend, on the validation of that Source of truth. If He says that all are perfect, “No one may say ‘why’ or ‘wherefore.’” If He says that all are imperfect, “No one may object to Him.” If a soul is confined by a fixed time, as everyone is veiled by it in these days, He says that whenever He appears, all must acknowledge the Tree of Truth and give thanks to God. If a soul looks to the leaders and mirrors of the age, He addresses them, saying: “You have become proofs through My word. Beware lest you be veiled from My own Self in the other Revelation.”

294

و لذلك الرّبّ يليق تسبيحى و تسبيح كلّ شیء و تقديسى و تقديس كلّ شیء و ذكرى و ذكر كلّ شیء لأنّه ما قصّر فى نصح عباده فى هذا النّبأ الأعظم العظيم و اجاب من قبل كلّ اعتراضات الّتى كانت فى انفس عباده لئلّا يرد فى ظهوره مرّة اخرى ما يحزن به نفسه و يكدّر به فؤاده حال ملاحظه امراللّه نمائيد و ملاحظه شأن عباد كه چه قدر غافلند و آن نفوسيكه بقول او موجود شده عوض آنكه شكرش نمايند و بحمدش حامد و بثنائش مثنى و بذكرش ذاكر و بنعمتش شاكر كلّ باسياف كين ظاهر شده‌اند نسئل اللّه بأن يحفظ هذا المظلوم من هؤلآء المغلّين و المشركين و ينصر امره و يظهر برهانه و يعلو حجّته بين السّموات و الأرضين روحى له الفدآء و نفسى له الفدآء لأنّه ما بقى من نصح الّا و قد نصح به عباده

Wa-li-dhālika al-Rabbi yalīqu tasbīḥī wa-tasbīḥu kulli shayʾin wa-taqdīsī wa-taqdīsu kulli shayʾin wa-dhikrī wa-dhikru kulli shayʾin li-annahu mā qaṣṣara fī nuṣḥi ʿibādihi fī hādhā al-nabaʾi al-aʿẓami al-ʿaẓīm wa-ajāba min qablu kulla iʿtirāḍāti allatī kānat fī anfusi ʿibādihi li-allā yarida fī ẓuhūrihi marratan ukhrā mā yaḥzanu bihi nafsuhu wa-yukaddaru bihi fuʾāduh. Ḥāl molāḥeẓe-ye Amruʾllāh namāyīd va molāḥeẓe-ye shaʾn-e ʿebād ke che qadr ghāfeland va ān nofūsī ke be-qowl-e ū mowjūd shode ʿevaż-e ānke shokrash namāyand va be-ḥamdash ḥāmed va be-thanāyash mothnī va be-dhekrash dhāker va be-neʿmatash shāker koll be-asyāf-e kīn ẓāher shode-and. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yaḥfaẓa hādhā al-Maẓlūma min hāʾulāʾi al-mughillīna wa-l-mushrikīna wa-yanṣura amrahu wa-yuẓhira burhānahu wa-yaʿluwa ḥujjatahu bayna al-samāwāti wa-l-araḍīn. Rūḥī lahu al-fidāʾ wa-nafsī lahu al-fidāʾ li-annahu mā baqiya min nuṣḥin illā wa-qad naṣaḥa bihi ʿibādah.

To that Lord belong my glorification and the glorification of all things, my sanctification and the sanctification of all things, my remembrance and the remembrance of all things, for He neglected nothing in counseling His servants concerning this most great and mighty Announcement. He answered beforehand all the objections within His servants’ souls, so that when He appeared once more, nothing would befall Him that would grieve His soul or trouble His heart. Now consider the Cause of God and consider the condition of His servants—how heedless they are! Those souls who were brought into being by His word, instead of thanking Him, praising Him, extolling Him, remembering Him, and showing gratitude for His bounty, have all appeared with swords of malice. We ask God to protect this Wronged One from these malicious people and those who associate partners with God, to aid His Cause, to make His proof manifest, and to exalt His testimony throughout the heavens and the earths. May my spirit be sacrificed for Him, and may my self be sacrificed for Him, for no counsel remained that He had not given His servants.

295

مخصوص چون از علماء در ظهور قبل غرور و استكبار مشاهده فرموده‌اند اين فئه را بسيار نصيحت نموده و بمواعظ حسنه و بيانات شافيه ايشان را متذكّر داشته كه مباد بسنن قبل عمل نمايند و در حين مظهر ظهور از حقّ غافل شوند چه كه باعراض آن نفوس جميع ناس معرض الّا من شآء ربّك چنانچه ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره اينست كه در نزد هر ظهورى اهل آن ظهور بعلماى آن ظهور محتجب ميشوند و حال آنكه از وراى امر غافلند كه بيك قول لاى او كلّ اينها غير صادق ميگردند مراقب باش ظهور حقّ را كه در يوم ظهور بتصديق اهل بيان تصديق او نكنى كه كلّ تصديقهاى ايشان در نزد او بيك بلى تصديق صرف ميشود و بيك لا دون آن انتهى

Makhṣūṣ chūn az ʿolamā dar ẓohūr-e qabl ghorūr va estekbār moshāhede farmūde-and īn feʾe rā besyār naṣīḥat namūde va be-mavāʿeẓ-e ḥasane va bayānāt-e shāfiye īshān rā motadhakker dāshte ke mabād be-sonan-e qabl ʿamal namāyand va dar ḥīn-e maẓhar-e ẓohūr az Ḥaqq ghāfel shavand che ke be-eʿrāż-e ān nofūs jamīʿ-e nās moʿreż illā man shāʾa rabbuk. Chenānche mīfarmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruh: īnast ke dar nazd-e har ẓohūrī ahl-e ān ẓohūr be-ʿolamā-ye ān ẓohūr moḥtajeb mīshavand va ḥāl ānke az varā-ye amr ghāfeland ke be-yek qowl-e lā-ye ū koll-e īnhā gheyr-e ṣādeq mīgardand. Morāqeb bāsh ẓohūr-e Ḥaqq rā ke dar yowm-e ẓohūr be-taṣdīq-e ahl-e Bayān taṣdīq-e ū nakonī ke koll-e taṣdīq-hā-ye īshān dar nazd-e ū be-yek balā taṣdīq-e ṣerf mīshavad va be-yek lā dūn-e ān. Intahā.

In particular, since He had witnessed conceit and arrogance among the scholars in the previous Revelation, He counseled this group at length, reminding them through gracious admonitions and healing utterances not to follow the ways of the past or become heedless of the True One at the time of the Manifestation’s appearance. For when those souls turn away, all people turn away, except those whom your Lord wills. Thus He says—His words, exalted be His mention: “It is thus that, at every Revelation, the people of that Revelation are veiled by its scholars, while they remain heedless of what lies beyond the matter: by a single ‘No’ from Him, all these become untrue. Watch for the Revelation of the True One, lest on the day of the Revelation you acknowledge Him on the strength of the acknowledgment of the people of the Bayán. For in His presence all their affirmations become pure affirmation through a single ‘Yes,’ and through a single ‘No,’ the opposite.” End of quotation.

296

و هم‌‌چنين در اينمقام مخاطباً لعلماء البيان ميفرمايند قوله جلّ كبريائه ان يا علماء البيان فلترحمنّ على انفسكم ثمّ ترحمون بأن لا تحتجبنّ عن الّذى يظهر بالحقّ بشئون دينكم فانّ كلّ دينكم عنده بمثل يوم قد خلق اللّه ذلك الدّين انتم الى نقطة البدء تنظرون فانكم انتم مثل كلّ اولى الظّهورات مبتلون و بما ليل راقدون و انتم عنداللّه مؤمنون و فى نهاركم مثلكم كمثل العلمآء من قبلكم لن يحكم اللّه عليكم بشىء فلتتراقبن انفسكم ثمّ لتراقبون

Va ham-chenīn dar īn maqām mukhāṭiban li-ʿulamāʾi al-Bayān mīfarmāyand qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuh: in yā ʿulamāʾa al-Bayāni fa-la-tarḥamunna ʿalā anfusikum thumma tarḥamūna bi-an lā taḥtajibanna ʿani alladhī yaẓharu bi-l-ḥaqqi bi-shuʾūni dīnikum fa-inna kulla dīnikum ʿindahu bi-mithli yawmin qad khalaqa Allāhu dhālika al-dīn. Antum ilā nuqṭati al-badʾi tanẓurūna fa-innakum antum mithla kulli ulī al-ẓuhūrāti mubtalūna wa-bi-mā laylin rāqidūna wa-antum ʿinda Allāhi muʾminūna wa-fī nahārikum mithlukum ka-mithli al-ʿulamāʾi min qablikum lan yaḥkuma Allāhu ʿalaykum bi-shayʾin fa-la-tatarāqabinna anfusakum thumma la-turāqibūn.

Likewise, in this connection He addresses the scholars of the Bayán, saying—His words, glorious be His majesty: “O scholars of the Bayán! Have mercy on yourselves, and show mercy by not allowing the concerns of your religion to veil you from the One who appears with the truth. For your entire religion is, in His presence, as it was on the day God created that religion. Look to the Point of the Beginning, for you are being tested like the people of all Revelations. In a night you lie asleep, while in God’s sight you are believers; and in your daytime you are like the scholars before you. God will pass no judgment in your favor. Watch over yourselves, then remain watchful.”

297

اى ملأ بيان رحم بر خود و امراللّه نموده سبب اختلاف مشويد و ارتكاب منمائيد امرى را كه بآن كلمه جامعه متّحده تفريق شود در امور وارده خالصاً لوجه اللّه تفكّر نمائيد و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه حقّ در هر وقتى از اوقات و عصرى از اعصار كه ظاهر شده بشأنى ظاهر كه بر متبصّرين و منصفين مجال توقّف و شبهه و ريب نبوده مگر نفوسيكه خود برخود مشتبه نموده‌اند فلتّتقنّ اللّه يا ملأ البيان و لتعتصمنّ باللّه يا ملأ البيان و لترحمن على انفسكم يا ملأ البيان و لاتعترضنّ على الّذى آمنتم به فى ظهور قبله و به ثبت ايمان كلّ مؤمن و ايقان كلّ موقن و توحيد كلّ موحّد و علم كلّ عالم و ذكر كلّ ذاكر هذا خير النّصح من لدى العبد لكم و عليكم ان انتم من المنصفين

Ey malaʾ-e Bayān raḥm bar khod va Amruʾllāh namūde sabab-e ekhtelāf mashavīd va ertekāb nanamāyīd amrī rā ke be-ān kaleme-ye jāmeʿe-ye mottaḥede tafrīq shavad. Dar omūr-e vārede khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh tafakkor namāyīd. Wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke Ḥaqq dar har vaqtī az owqāt va ʿaṣrī az aʿṣār ke ẓāher shode be-shaʾnī ẓāher ke bar motabaṣṣerīn va monṣefīn majāl-e tavaqqof va shobhe va reyb nabūde magar nofūsī ke khod bar khod moshtabeh namūde-and. Fa-la-ttaqinna Allāha yā malaʾa al-Bayāni wa-la-taʿtaṣimunna bi-Allāhi yā malaʾa al-Bayāni wa-la-tarḥamunna ʿalā anfusikum yā malaʾa al-Bayāni wa-lā taʿtariḍanna ʿalā alladhī āmantum bihi fī ẓuhūri qablihi wa-bihi thabata īmānu kulli muʾminin wa-īqānu kulli mūqinin wa-tawḥīdu kulli muwaḥḥidin wa-ʿilmu kulli ʿālimin wa-dhikru kulli dhākir. Hādhā khayru al-nuṣḥi min ladā al-ʿabdi lakum wa-ʿalaykum in antum mina al-munṣifīn.

O people of the Bayán! Have mercy on yourselves and on the Cause of God, and do not become a cause of discord. Do not commit any act that would divide the united body gathered around one word. Reflect on what has occurred solely for the sake of God. By God, besides whom there is no other god, whenever and in whatever age the True One has appeared, He has appeared in such a manner that those endowed with insight and fairness had no room for hesitation, misgiving, or doubt, except for souls who have deliberately confused themselves. Fear God, O people of the Bayán! Hold fast to God, O people of the Bayán! Have mercy on yourselves, O people of the Bayán! Do not oppose the One in whom you believed in His previous Revelation, through whom the faith of every believer, the certitude of every assured soul, the affirmation of divine unity by everyone who professes it, the knowledge of every learned person, and the remembrance of everyone who remembers God have been established. This is the best counsel from this servant for you, and it is incumbent upon you, if you are fair-minded.

298

و ديگر نوشته بودى و اگر مدّعى آن است كه من خود آن نقطه بيان هستم خالى از اين نيست يا آنكه مرادش آن است كه او هستم بعينه و بشخصه كه واضح البطلان است چه كه تكرّر تجلّيات جايز نيست و بالبديهه باطل و اگر تجدّد امثال است كه واضح تر است بطلانش بر علاوه بايد در اينصورت هم بعينه بهمان احكام سابق بلاتفاوت امر نمايد پس كجا تغيير جايز است انتهى

Va dīgar neveshte būdī va agar moddaʿī ān ast ke man khod ān Noqṭe-ye Bayān hastam khālī az īn nīst yā ānke morādash ān ast ke ū hastam bi-ʿaynihi va bi-shakhṣihi ke vāżeḥ al-boṭlān ast che ke takarror-e tajalliyāt jāyez nīst va bi-l-badīhe bāṭel va agar tajaddod-e amthāl ast ke vāżeḥ-tar ast boṭlānash. Bar ʿalāve bāyad dar īn ṣūrat ham bi-ʿaynihi be-hamān aḥkām-e sābeq belā tafāvot amr namāyad pas kojā taghyīr jāyez ast. Intahā.

You also wrote: “If he claims, ‘I myself am that Point of the Bayán,’ it must mean one of two things. Either he means, ‘I am that very same individual in person,’ which is clearly false, since the repetition of divine manifestations is inadmissible and self-evidently false; or he means the renewal of like beings, whose falsity is even clearer. Moreover, even in this case he must command precisely the same former laws, without any difference. How, then, can change be permissible?” End of quotation.

299

از قراريكه معلوم ميشود هنوز معنى تجلّى را هم ادراك ننموده چه كه محلّش را ندانسته اينجا محلّ مجلّى است نه تجلّى اگر بعين بصيرت ملاحظه نمائى بمبدأ تجلّيات لانهايه پى‌برى و اين جواب از قبل ذكر شده كه بعينه ميفرمايند آنچه را نقطه اولى فرموده ذكر تجلّى و عدم تكرار تجلّى را بگذار و مجلّى را ادراك كن و از دونش منقطع شو

Az qarārī ke maʿlūm mī-shavad hanūz maʿnā-ye tajallī rā ham edrāk na-namūde, che ke maḥallash rā na-dāneste. Īnjā maḥall-e mojallī ast na tajallī. Agar be-ʿayn-e baṣīrat molāḥeẓe namāʾī be-mabdaʾ-e tajalliyāt-e lā-nehāye pey barī. Va īn javāb az qabl dhekr shode ke be-ʿayneh mī-farmāyand ānche rā Noqṭe-ye Ūlā farmūde. Dhekr-e tajallī va ʿadam-e tekrār-e tajallī rā be-godhār va mojallī rā edrāk kon va az dūnash monqaṭeʿ show.

From what appears, you have not yet understood even the meaning of effulgence, for you have not recognized its proper place. What is at issue here is the Source of effulgence, not effulgence itself. If you look with the eye of insight, you will recognize the Origin of infinite effulgences. This answer has already been given: He says precisely what the Primal Point said. Set aside discussion of effulgence and its non-recurrence, recognize the Source of effulgence, and detach yourself from all else.

300

چه ميگوئيد در نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه كه ميفرمايند نقطه بيان بعينه همان نقطه فرقان است از قبل و هم‌‌چنين در جميع بيان كه ميفرمايند من ظهر عين من يظهر و من يظهر عين من ظهر و هم‌‌چنين ميفرمايند انّنى انا ايّاه و انّه هو ايّاى

Che mī-gūʾīd dar Noqṭe-ye Ūlā, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāhu, ke mī-farmāyand Noqṭe-ye Bayān be-ʿayneh hamān Noqṭe-ye Forqān ast az qabl, va ham-chenīn dar jamīʿ-e Bayān ke mī-farmāyand man ẓahara ʿaynu man yaẓharu va man yaẓharu ʿaynu man ẓahara, va ham-chenīn mī-farmāyand innanī anā iyyāhu wa-innahu huwa iyyāya.

What do you say about the Primal Point—may the souls of all else be sacrificed for Him—who says that the Point of the Bayán is precisely that same Point of the Qur’an of former times? Likewise, throughout the Bayán He says, “He who has appeared is the very same as He who will appear, and He who will appear is the very same as He who has appeared.” He also says, “I am indeed He, and He is indeed I.”

301

از اين گذشته مظاهر احديّه از جهتى متّحد و از جهتى بظهورات مختلفه ظاهر از آنجهت كه كلّ از مشرق امر مشرق و من عنداللّه تكلّم نموده‌اند و كلّ بتبليغ ناس مأمور گشته‌اند كلّ واحد بوده اينست كه ميفرمايد لانفرّق بين احد منهم و در مقام ديگر كه مقام شرايع و اسم و جهات ملكيّه است هر كدام باسمى و شريعتى و هيكل و هيئتى ظاهر شده‌اند و اگر بديده بصيرت ملاحظه نمائى فواللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه كلّ را بحقيقت واحده و ظهور واحد و حركت واحده و فعل واحد و عمل واحد و شريعت واحده و اسم واحد و رسم واحد مشاهده نمائى عجب است كه باين بيان نرسيده اطفال اين ظهور بر اين عارف شده‌اند چه كه در الواح پارسيّه كه در سنين توقّف در عراق از سماء عزّ احديّه نازل جميع اين مراتب بتفصيل در آن الواح مذكور آمده فطوبی‌ للفائزين و العارفين

Az īn godhashte maẓāher-e aḥadiyye az jahatī mottaḥed va az jahatī be-ẓohūrāt-e mokhtalefe ẓāher. Az ān jahat ke koll az mashreq-e amr moshreq va min ʿindi Allāh takallom namūde-and va koll be-tablīgh-e nās maʾmūr gashte-and, koll vāḥed būde. Īnast ke mī-farmāyad lā nufarriqu bayna aḥadin minhum. Va dar maqām-e dīgar ke maqām-e sharāyeʿ va esm va jahāt-e molkiyye ast, har kodām be-esmī va sharīʿatī va heykal va heyʾatī ẓāher shode-and. Va agar be-dīde-ye baṣīrat molāḥeẓe namāʾī, fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, ke koll rā be-ḥaqīqat-e vāḥede va ẓohūr-e vāḥed va ḥarakat-e vāḥede va feʿl-e vāḥed va ʿamal-e vāḥed va sharīʿat-e vāḥede va esm-e vāḥed va rasm-e vāḥed moshāhede namāʾī. ʿAjab ast ke be-īn bayān na-rasīde. Aṭfāl-e īn ẓohūr bar īn ʿāref shode-and, che ke dar alvāḥ-e pārsiyye ke dar senīn-e tavaqqof dar ʿErāq az samāʾ-e ʿezz-e aḥadiyye nāzel, jamīʿ-e īn marāteb be-tafṣīl dar ān alvāḥ madhkūr āmade. Fa-ṭūbā li-l-fāʾizīna wa-l-ʿārifīn.

Beyond this, the Manifestations of divine unity are united in one respect and appear in different revelations in another. Insofar as all shine from the dawning-place of the Cause, have spoken from God, and have been commissioned to convey the message to humanity, they are all one. Thus He says, “We make no distinction between any of them.” In another station, that of laws, names, and earthly conditions, each has appeared with a name, a law, a human form, and an outward appearance. Yet if you look with the eye of insight—by God, besides whom there is no other god—you will behold them all as one reality, one revelation, one movement, one deed, one action, one law, one name, and one practice. It is astonishing that you have not grasped this explanation. The children of this Revelation have come to understand it, for all these degrees have been described in detail in the Persian Tablets that descended from the heaven of the glory of divine unity during the years of residence in Iraq. Blessed, then, are those who have attained and those who understand.

302

و تو هنوز مطّلع بر كيفيت ظهور نشده و قدرت الهيّه را مثل قدرت خود فرض گرفته و امرش را منوط بامر خود فبئس ما ظننت انّه يظهر كيف یشآء كما ظهر بالحقّ رغماً لأنف المشركين

Va to hanūz moṭṭaleʿ bar keyfiyyat-e ẓohūr na-shode va qodrat-e elāhiyye rā mesl-e qodrat-e khod farż gerefte va amrash rā manūṭ be-amr-e khod. Fa-biʾsa mā ẓananta. Innahu yaẓharu kayfa yashāʾu kamā ẓahara bi-l-ḥaqqi raghman li-anfi al-mushrikīn.

You have not yet understood the nature of the Revelation. You have supposed divine power to be like your own power and made His Cause dependent on your own affairs. How evil is what you have imagined! He appears however He wills, just as He has appeared in truth, despite those who associate partners with God.

303

همان قسم كه نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه فرموده است اين ظهور بعينه همان قسم ميفرمايد تفكّر لتعرف و اينست همان ظهور موعودى كه كلّ بآن وعده داده شده‌اند در بيان و اليوم عمل كلّ من اعرض عن هذا الظّهور عنداللّه مردود و غير مذكور انّه يقول حينئذ انّنى انا اللّه لا اله الّا انا كما قال النّقطة من قبل و بعينه يقول من يأتى من بعد آيا نديده كه ميفرمايد اگر صد‌هزار مرتبه شمس طالع شود يك شمس بوده و خواهد بود و ميفرمايد همين قسم در مظاهر احديّه ملاحظه نمائيد

Hamān qesm ke Noqṭe-ye Ūlā, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāhu, farmūde ast, īn ẓohūr be-ʿayneh hamān qesm mī-farmāyad. Tafakkar li-taʿrif. Va īnast hamān ẓohūr-e mowʿūdī ke koll be-ān vaʿde dāde shode-and dar Bayān. Va al-yawm ʿamal-e kulli man aʿraḍa ʿan hādhā al-ẓuhūr ʿinda Allāh mardūd va gheyr-e madhkūr. Innahu yaqūlu ḥīnaʾidhin innanī anā Allāhu lā ilāha illā anā kamā qāla al-Nuqṭatu min qablu wa-bi-ʿaynihi yaqūlu man yaʾtī min baʿd. Āyā na-dīde ke mī-farmāyad agar ṣad-hezār martabe shams ṭāleʿ shavad yek shams būde va khwāhad būd, va mī-farmāyad hamīn qesm dar maẓāher-e aḥadiyye molāḥeẓe namāʾīd.

This Revelation speaks in precisely the same manner as the Primal Point—may the souls of all else be sacrificed for Him—has spoken. Reflect, so that you may understand. This is that very promised Revelation which all were promised in the Bayán. Today the deeds of everyone who turns away from this Revelation are rejected before God and receive no mention. He now says, “I am indeed God; there is no god but Me,” just as the Point said before, and precisely the same will be said by whoever comes afterward. Have you not seen that He says, “If the sun rises a hundred thousand times, it has been and will be one sun”? And He says, “Regard the Manifestations of divine unity in this same way.”

304

بدانكه در تجلّى دو نظر ملحوظ بنظرى مكرّر و بنظرى غير مكرّر و اين دو نظر منسوب بتجلّيات ظاهريّه ملكيّه است و نفس تجلّى در مقرّ خود مقدّس از اين دو نظر بوده و خواهد بود و لكن ادراك اينمقام قدرى مشكل هر نفسى بخواهد على ما هو عليه ادراك نمايد بايد بين يدى الوجه حاضر شود ليعرف ما لاعرفه من قبل و يطلع بما هو المستور

Be-dān ke dar tajallī do naẓar malḥūẓ: be-naẓarī mokarrar va be-naẓarī gheyr-e mokarrar. Va īn do naẓar mansūb be-tajalliyāt-e ẓāheriyye-ye molkiyye ast, va nafs-e tajallī dar maqarr-e khod moqaddas az īn do naẓar būde va khwāhad būd. Va lāken edrāk-e īn maqām qadrī moshkel. Har nafsī be-khwāhad ʿalā mā huwa ʿalayhi edrāk namāyad bāyad bayna yaday al-wajh ḥāżer shavad li-yaʿrifa mā lā ʿarafahu min qablu wa-yaṭṭaliʿa bi-mā huwa al-mastūr.

Know that effulgence is considered from two perspectives: from one it recurs, and from the other it does not. These two perspectives pertain to outward, earthly effulgences, while effulgence itself, in its own station, has been and will remain sanctified above both perspectives. Understanding this station, however, is somewhat difficult. Anyone who wishes to understand it as it truly is must come into the presence of the Countenance, so that he may understand what he did not understand before and become acquainted with what is concealed.

305

و ديگر تجدّد امثال را محال دانسته اگر تجدّد امثال مظاهر الهيّه محال باشد تجدّد امثال شيطانيّه كه موجود و مشهود است و مجال انكار نه چنانچه ديده ميشود كه در هر شهرى مثالى از هياكل ظلمانيّه بعينه موجود و مشهود فاعتبروا يا اولو الألباب

Va dīgar tajaddod-e amthāl rā moḥāl dāneste. Agar tajaddod-e amthāl-e maẓāher-e elāhiyye moḥāl bāshad, tajaddod-e amthāl-e shayṭāniyye ke mowjūd va mashhūd ast va majāl-e enkār na, chenānche dīde mī-shavad ke dar har shahrī methālī az hayākel-e ẓolmāniyye be-ʿayneh mowjūd va mashhūd. Fa-ʿtabirū yā ulī al-albāb.

Furthermore, you have held the renewal of like beings to be impossible. If the renewal of beings like the divine Manifestations is impossible, the renewal of satanic counterparts is nonetheless a visible reality that leaves no room for denial. As can be seen, in every city an exact likeness of these embodiments of darkness exists and is visible. Take heed, then, O people of understanding!

306

بارى تجلّى از مجلّى من غير انقطاع بوده و خواهد بود در صور مظاهر اختلاف ظاهر لو انت من العارفين و اگر قدرى برتر خرامى و از كلمات مشركين قلب خود را مطهّر نمائى خود ادراك مينمائى آنچه را كه حال من غير التفات انكار نموده ذكر تكرار تجلّى نيست كه جايز باشد يا غير جايز

Bārī tajallī az mojallī min ghayri inqiṭāʿ būde va khwāhad būd. Dar ṣovar-e maẓāher ekhtelāf ẓāher, law anta min al-ʿārifīn. Va agar qadrī bartar kherāmī va az kalemāt-e moshrekīn qalb-e khod rā moṭahhar namāʾī, khod edrāk mī-namāʾī ānche rā ke ḥāl min ghayri iltifāt enkār namūde. Dhekr-e tekrār-e tajallī nīst ke jāyez bāshad yā gheyr-e jāyez.

In short, effulgence has proceeded and will continue to proceed without interruption from its Source. Differences appear in the forms of the Manifestations, if you are among those who understand. If you rise a little higher and cleanse your heart of the words of those who associate partners with God, you will yourself understand what you have now denied without consideration. The issue is not the recurrence of effulgence, such that it might be admissible or inadmissible.

307

بشنو كلمات اين عبد را و بقلب طاهر و بصر منير در كلمات اللّه و ظهوره ملاحظه نما و بدو كلمه مجعوله كه شيطان القاء نموده افتخار منما در امم قبل و علماى آنها مشاهده كن كه صدهزار كتب تأليف نموده‌اند و مقصودشان از جميع آن كتب اثبات حقّیّت حقّ بوده و بعد از ظهور كلّ بهمان كتب محروم مانده مع‌ذلك هنوز معرضين متنبّه نشده تازه دست برساله نويسى گذاشته‌اند فويل لأناملهم و بصرهم و يدهم در حين ظهور هيچ كلمه بمقرّ خود مستقرّ نه الّا باذن مظهر ظهور

Be-shnow kalemāt-e īn ʿabd rā va be-qalb-e ṭāher va baṣar-e monīr dar kalemāt-e Allāh va ẓohūrash molāḥeẓe namā va be-do kaleme-ye majʿūle ke shayṭān elqā namūde eftekhār ma-namā. Dar omam-e qabl va ʿolamā-ye ānhā moshāhede kon ke ṣad-hezār kotob taʾlīf namūde-and va maqṣūdshān az jamīʿ-e ān kotob ethbāt-e ḥaqqiyyat-e Ḥaqq būde va baʿd az ẓohūr koll be-hamān kotob maḥrūm mānde. Maʿa dhālek hanūz moʿreżīn motanabbeh na-shode tāze dast be-resāle-nevīsī godhāshte-and. Fa-waylun li-anāmilihim wa-baṣarihim wa-yadihim. Dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr hīch kaleme be-maqarr-e khod mostaqarr na illā be-edhn-e maẓhar-e ẓohūr.

Listen to the words of this servant, and with a pure heart and clear sight consider the words of God and His Revelation. Do not take pride in two fabricated words that Satan has suggested. Consider the peoples of the past and their scholars, who composed a hundred thousand books. Their purpose in all those books was to establish the truth of the True One, yet after His appearance they were all deprived of Him by those very books. Nevertheless, those who turn away have still not taken heed and have now begun writing treatises. Woe to their fingers, their sight, and their hands! At the time of Revelation, no word is established in its proper place except by permission of the Manifestation of Revelation.

308

نقطه بيان جلّ و عزّ فرموده كه در يوم ظهور بكلمات او بر او احتجاج منمائيد بالقاى شيطان بمجعولات انفس معرضه احتجاج نموده و مينمائيد و همين احتجاجات شما و امثال شما را خبر فرموده‌اند صدق اللّه العلىّ العظيم نصّ بيان منزل بيان است كه ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره منتهاى جدّ و جهد خود را نموده كه در يوم ظهور حقّ از كلمات او بر او احتجاج نگردد كه كلّ بيان كلام ظهور قبل او است و او است عالم‌تر از آنچه نازل فرموده از كلّ خلق زيرا كه روح كلّ در قبضه او است و در نزد كلّ نيست الّا شبحى اگر بر حقّ مستقرّ باشند و الّا كه لايق ذكر نيست چنانچه نفسى اگر افلاطون زمان باشد در هر علمى اگر تصديق نكند حقّ را آيا ثمر خواهد بخشيد او را علم او سبحان اللّه عن ذلك بلكه از براى او علم اون است كه علم بخدا و رسول و مظاهر امر و مظاهر حكم آن باشد و مادون آن را اطلاق علم اولوالأفئده ننمايند انتهى

Noqṭe-ye Bayān, jalla wa-ʿazza, farmūde ke dar yawm-e ẓohūr be-kalemāt-e ū bar ū eḥtejāj ma-namāʾīd. Be-elqā-ye shayṭān be-majʿūlāt-e anfos-e moʿreże eḥtejāj namūde va mī-namāʾīd, va hamīn eḥtejājāt-e shomā va amthāl-e shomā rā khabar farmūde-and. Ṣadaqa Allāhu al-ʿAliyyu al-ʿAẓīm. Naṣṣ-e bayān-e Monazzel-e Bayān ast ke mī-farmāyad, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: montahā-ye jedd va jahd-e khod rā namūde ke dar yawm-e ẓohūr-e Ḥaqq az kalemāt-e ū bar ū eḥtejāj na-gardad, ke koll-e Bayān kalām-e ẓohūr-e qabl-e ū ast va ū ast ʿālem-tar az ānche nāzel farmūde az koll-e khalq, zīrā ke rūḥ-e koll dar qabże-ye ū ast va dar nazd-e koll nīst illā shabaḥī agar bar Ḥaqq mostaqarr bāshand, va illā ke lāyeq-e dhekr nīst. Chenānche nafsī agar Aflāṭūn-e zamān bāshad dar har ʿelmī, agar taṣdīq na-konad Ḥaqq rā āyā thamar khwāhad bakhshīd ū rā ʿelm-e ū? Subḥāna Allāhi ʿan dhālik. Balke az barā-ye ū ʿelm ūn ast ke ʿelm be-Khodā va rasūl va maẓāher-e amr va maẓāher-e ḥokm-e ān bāshad, va mā-dūn-e ān rā eṭlāq-e ʿelm ulū al-afʾede na-namāyand. Intahā.

The Point of the Bayán—glorious and exalted is He—has said, “On the day of Revelation, do not use His words as arguments against Him.” At Satan’s prompting, you have used, and continue to use, the fabrications of souls who turn away as arguments against Him. He foretold these very arguments of yours and of others like you. God, the Most High, the Most Great, has spoken the truth. This is the explicit statement of the Revealer of the Bayán, who says—exalted be His mention—“He has exerted His utmost effort so that, on the day of the appearance of the True One, His words should not be used as arguments against Him, for the whole Bayán is the utterance of His previous Revelation, and He knows what He has revealed better than all creation, since the spirit of all is in His grasp. With all others there is only a shadow, if they are established in the truth; otherwise, it is not worthy of mention. Thus, even if someone were the Plato of his age in every science, would his knowledge benefit him if he did not acknowledge the True One? Far be it from God! Rather, for him knowledge is that which is knowledge of God, His Messenger, the Manifestations of His Cause, and the Manifestations of His command. Those endowed with understanding do not apply the term knowledge to anything else.” End of quotation.

309

قل فافتح بصرك يا ايّها الغافل ثمّ اسمع ما تغرّد الورقآء على افنان دوحة البيان باللّه المقتدر العزيز المنّان ملاحظه نما كه امر تا بچه مقام بلند و مرتفع است كه آن هيكل احديّه و ذات صمديّه كلمات خود را از آن ساحت اقدس اطهر اظهر انور منع فرموده‌اند و بنصّ صريح ميفرمايند كه در حين ظهور بكلمات بيان بر آن هيكل معانى و مظهر عزّ صمدانى احتجاج منمائيد و مع‌ذلك اهل بيان شرم ننموده و ايكاش بكلمات او احتجاج مينمودند بلكه بكلمات مجعوله مردوده كه از انفس خبيثه ظاهر شده بر جواهر احديّه و ساذج قدميّه احتجاج نموده و مينمايند زهى حسرت بر اين نفوس كه بدو كلمه الفاظ مجعوله از شاطى بحر علم الهى محروم مانده‌اند و برايحه منتنه از نفحات قدس احديّه ممنوع گشته‌اند و ايكاش كه باحتجاج كفايت ميشد لا فو‌الّذى دلع لسان الرّوح بثنآء نفسه كه باحتجاج قانع نشده و نخواهند شد بلكه باسياف كين و رماح بغضا بشطر علىّ اعلى توجّه نموده و مينمايند

Qul fa-ftaḥ baṣaraka yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu thumma ismaʿ mā tugharridu al-Warqāʾu ʿalā afnāni dawḥati al-bayāni bi-Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Mannān. Molāḥeẓe namā ke amr tā be-che maqām boland va mortafeʿ ast ke ān heykal-e aḥadiyye va dhāt-e ṣamadiyye kalemāt-e khod rā az ān sāḥat-e aqdas-e aṭhar-e aẓhar-e anvar manʿ farmūde-and va be-naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ mī-farmāyand ke dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr be-kalemāt-e Bayān bar ān heykal-e maʿānī va maẓhar-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī eḥtejāj ma-namāʾīd. Va maʿa dhālek ahl-e Bayān sharm na-namūde, va ey kāsh be-kalemāt-e ū eḥtejāj mī-namūdand, balke be-kalemāt-e majʿūle-ye mardūde ke az anfos-e khabīthe ẓāher shode bar javāher-e aḥadiyye va sādhaj-e qedamiyye eḥtejāj namūde va mī-namāyand. Zehī ḥasrat bar īn nofūs ke be-do kaleme alfāẓ-e majʿūle az shāṭī-ye baḥr-e ʿelm-e elāhī maḥrūm mānde-and va be-rāyeḥe-ye montene az nafaḥāt-e qods-e aḥadiyye mamnūʿ gashte-and. Va ey kāsh ke be-eḥtejāj kefāyat mī-shod. Lā fa-wa-alladhī dalaʿa lisāna al-Rūḥi bi-thanāʾi nafsihi ke be-eḥtejāj qāneʿ na-shode va na-khwāhand shod, balke be-asyāf-e kīn va remāḥ-e baghżā be-shaṭr-e ʿAliyy-e Aʿlā tavajjoh namūde va mī-namāyand.

Say: Open your eyes, O heedless one, and then listen to what the Dove sings upon the branches of the tree of utterance concerning God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. Consider how lofty and exalted the Cause is, that that Temple of divine unity and self-subsisting Essence has barred His own words from that most holy, most pure, most manifest, most luminous court, expressly saying that at the time of Revelation you must not use the words of the Bayán as arguments against that Temple of inner meanings and Manifestation of self-subsisting glory. Nevertheless, the people of the Bayán have felt no shame. If only they had used His words as arguments! Instead, they have used, and continue to use, rejected, fabricated words issuing from malicious souls as arguments against the Gems of divine unity and the Essence of eternity. Alas for these souls, who have been deprived of the shore of the ocean of divine knowledge by two fabricated expressions, and have been kept from the holy breezes of divine unity by a foul odor! If only they had been content with argument. No, by Him who has set the tongue of the Spirit speaking in His own praise, they have not been and will not be content with argument. Rather, with swords of malice and spears of hatred, they have advanced and continue to advance toward the Most High, the Most Exalted.

310

و هم‌‌چنين ميفرمايند بيانه عزّ بيانه احدى بر بيان مطّلع نه و بعلم او محيط نبوده و نخواهد بود مگر آن هيكل الهيّه و معدن و منبع علوم ربّانيّه مع‌ذلك نفوسيكه بمحاربه برخواسته ادّعاى علم نموده و مينمايند مع آنكه فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه در دبستان علم حقيقى با طفل ابجد خوان برابرى نكرده و نخواهند كرد بلكه در آن محضر اگر وارد شوند خود را كليل مشاهده نمايند ميفرمايد روح كلّ در قبضه اقتدار آن ظهور امنع اقدس بوده و خواهد بود و در نزد كلّ نيست مگر شبحى از او و اينهم اگر بر حقّ ثابت باشند و الّا ميفرمايد كه قابل ذكر نيستند

Va ham-chenīn mī-farmāyand, bayānuhu ʿazza bayānuhu: aḥadī bar Bayān moṭṭaleʿ na va be-ʿelm-e ū moḥīṭ na-būde va na-khwāhad būd magar ān heykal-e elāhiyye va maʿdan va manbaʿ-e ʿolūm-e rabbāniyye. Maʿa dhālek nofūsī ke be-moḥārebe bar-khāste eddeʿā-ye ʿelm namūde va mī-namāyand, maʿ ānke fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke dar dabestān-e ʿelm-e ḥaqīqī bā ṭefl-e abjad-khwān barābarī na-karde va na-khwāhand kard, balke dar ān maḥżar agar vāred shavand khod rā kalīl moshāhede namāyand. Mī-farmāyad rūḥ-e koll dar qabże-ye eqtedār-e ān ẓohūr-e amnaʿ-e aqdas būde va khwāhad būd va dar nazd-e koll nīst magar shabaḥī az ū, va īn ham agar bar Ḥaqq thābet bāshand, va illā mī-farmāyad ke qābel-e dhekr nīstand.

He also says—His utterance, exalted be His utterance—“No one is acquainted with the Bayán, nor has anyone encompassed or will anyone encompass its knowledge, except that divine Temple, the mine and wellspring of divine knowledge.” Nevertheless, those who have risen to wage war have claimed and continue to claim knowledge, although—by God, besides whom there is no other god—in the school of true knowledge they have never equaled and will never equal a child learning the alphabet. Indeed, if they entered that presence, they would find themselves incapable. He says that the spirit of all has been and will remain in the grasp of the power of that most unapproachable, most holy Revelation, and that with all others there is only a shadow of it—and even this only if they remain steadfast in the truth. Otherwise, He says, they are not worthy of mention.

311

حال ملاحظه كن اين نفوس را كه بچه مقام افتاده‌ند فواللّه فى اسفل الهاوية لو انتم تشعرون اليوم كلّ علوم ارض عنداللّه معدوم و غير مذكور بلكه علم الهى كه مقصود بوده و در كلّ كتب ربّانى و زبر صمدانى ممدوح علم بمظهر نفس او بوده در هر ظهورى حين ظهور اليوم هر نفسى بآن فايز شد ولو حرفى عالم نباشد اعلم ناس عنداللّه مذكور و اگر العياذ باللّه از اين فضل اعظم محروم ماند و حافظ كلّ كتب باشد اجهل از كلّ ناس عنداللّه مشهود

Ḥāl molāḥeẓe kon īn nofūs rā ke be-che maqām oftāde-and. Fa-wa-Allāhi fī asfali al-hāwiyati law antum tashʿurūn. Al-yawm koll-e ʿolūm-e arż ʿinda Allāh maʿdūm va gheyr-e madhkūr. Balke ʿelm-e elāhī ke maqṣūd būde va dar koll-e kotob-e rabbānī va zobor-e ṣamadānī mamdūḥ, ʿelm be-maẓhar-e nafs-e ū būde dar har ẓohūrī ḥīn-e ẓohūr. Al-yawm har nafsī be-ān fāyez shod va law ḥarfī ʿālem na-bāshad aʿlam-e nās ʿinda Allāh madhkūr, va agar al-ʿiyādhu bi-Allāh az īn fażl-e aʿẓam maḥrūm mānad va ḥāfeẓ-e koll-e kotob bāshad ajhal az koll-e nās ʿinda Allāh mashhūd.

Now consider to what a station these souls have fallen. By God, they are in the lowest depths of the abyss, if only you perceived it. Today all the sciences of the earth are as nothing before God and receive no mention. Rather, the divine knowledge that has been intended and has been praised in all the divine Books and everlasting Scriptures is knowledge of the Manifestation of His own Self in every Revelation, at the time of His appearance. Today, whoever attains this, even if he does not know a single letter, is accounted before God the most learned of all people. But if—God forbid—he remains deprived of this supreme bounty, even if he knows all the books by heart, he is regarded before God as more ignorant than anyone else.

312

بشنو بيان ديگر منزل بيان روح ماسواه فداه را قوله عزّ اجلاله و همچنين تصوّر كن در نزد ظهور آن جمال قدم كه اگر كلّ اهل بيان در جوهر علم مثل او گردند كه ثمر نمى‌بخشد الّا بتصديق باو فلتعتبرن ان يا اولى العلم ثمّ ايّاه تتّقون انتهى واللّه حال خجلت ميبرد اين عبد كه چه ذكر نمايد اين بيان نقطه اولى روح ماسواه فداه و آن كلمات شما كه عالم را بكدورت و غبار تيره نموده فارفع رأسك عن النّوم ثمّ اشهد انوار تجلّى ربّك لعلّ تطّلع بما كنت غافلاً عنه و تكون من التّائبين الى اللّه الّذى خلقنى و ایّاک و جعلنا من الّذينهم ادركوا ایّام لقائه و كانوا من الفائزين از خدا ميطلبم كه نسيم عنايتى بوزد كه شايد آن مرده را بعرصه حيات كشاند و از فضل و عنايت خود قطره از ماء حيوان و كوثر جاريه از يمين عرش ربّك الرّحمن مشروب فرمايد و او است بر كلّ شیء قادر و توانا

Beshnow bayān-i dīgar-i Munzil-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh rā, qawluhu ʿazza ijlāluhu: Va hamchenīn taṣavvor kon dar nazd-i ẓuhūr-i ān Jamāl-i Qidam ke agar koll-i ahl-i Bayān dar jawhar-i ʿelm mes̱l-i ū gardand ke s̱amar nemī-bakhshad illā be-taṣdīq be-ū. Fa-ltaʿtabirunna an yā ulī al-ʿilm thumma iyyāhu tattaqūn. Intahā. Va’llāh ḥāl khejlat mībarad īn ʿabd ke che dhekr namāyad, īn bayān-i Nuqṭe-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh va ān kalemāt-i shomā ke ʿālam rā be-kodūrat va ghobār tīre namūde. Fa-rfaʿ raʾsaka ʿan al-nawm thumma ishhad anwār-i tajallī rabbika laʿalla taṭṭaliʿu bi-mā kunta ghāfilan ʿanhu wa-takūnu min al-tāʾibīn ilā Allāh alladhī khalaqanī wa-iyyāka wa-jaʿalanā min alladhīna hum adrakū ayyāma liqāʾihi wa-kānū min al-fāʾizīn. Az Khodā mīṭalabam ke nasīm-i ʿenāyatī bevazad ke shāyad ān morde rā be-ʿarṣe-yi ḥayāt keshānad va az faḍl va ʿenāyat-i khod qaṭre az māʾ-i ḥayavān va kawthar-i jāriye az yamīn-i ʿarsh-i rabbika al-Raḥmān mashrūb farmāyad va ū ast bar koll-i shayʾ qāder va tavānā.

Listen to another utterance of the Revealer of the Bayán—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him. His words, exalted be His majesty: “And likewise consider that, at the appearance of that Ancient Beauty, even if all the people of the Bayán should become like Him in the essence of knowledge, this yields no fruit except through affirming Him. Take heed, then, O people of knowledge, and fear Him.” End of quotation. By God, this servant is now ashamed to speak: here is this utterance of the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—and there are those words of yours that have darkened the world with gloom and dust. Raise your head from sleep, then behold the lights of your Lord’s revelation, so that you may become aware of what you have neglected and be among those who turn in repentance to God, who created me and you and made us among those who attained the days of meeting Him and were among the victorious. I ask God that a breeze of loving care may blow, that perhaps it may draw that dead one into the realm of life, and that, through His grace and loving care, He may give him a drop of the water of life and of the heavenly stream flowing from the right hand of the throne of your Lord, the All-Merciful. He is powerful and mighty over all things.

313

از اينمراتب گذشته در يحيى بن ذكريّا و عيسى بن مريم چه ميگوئيد كه يحيى بن ذكريّا مبعوث شد قبل از عيسى و ادّعاى نبوّت هم نمود چنانچه جميع فرق اسلام بنبوّت او قائل و مذعنند و باحكام و شرايع هم ظاهر شدند چنانچه هر نفسى كه بين يديه حاضر ميشد و برسالتش معترف بآدابيكه در آنوقت از سماء مشيّت نازل باب غسلش ميداد و تلقين كلمات الهيّه ميفرمود و همچنين بشارت ميداد ناس را بظهور كلمه اعظم يعنى روح اللّه

Az īn marāteb godhashte dar Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā va ʿĪsā ibn-i Maryam che mīgūʾīd ke Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā mabʿūs̱ shod qabl az ʿĪsā va eddeʿā-yi nobovvat ham namūd chenānche jamīʿ-i feraq-i Eslām be-nobovvat-i ū qāʾel va modhʿenand va be-aḥkām va sharāyeʿ ham ẓāher shodand chenānche har nafsī ke bayn-i yadayh ḥāḍer mīshod va be-resālatash moʿtaref be-ādābī ke dar ān vaqt az samāʾ-i mashiyyat nāzel ba-āb ghoslash mīdād va talqīn-i kalemāt-i elāhiyye mīfarmūd va hamchenīn beshārat mīdād nās rā be-ẓuhūr-i Kaleme-yi Aʿẓam yaʿnī Rūḥ Allāh.

Leaving these matters aside, what do you say about John son of Zechariah and Jesus son of Mary? John son of Zechariah was sent before Jesus and also claimed prophethood, as all the sects of Islam acknowledge and affirm his prophethood. He also appeared with laws and ordinances. Thus, whenever anyone entered his presence and acknowledged his mission, he baptized him with water according to the rites sent down at that time from the heaven of the divine will, and instructed him in the divine words. He also gave the people glad tidings of the appearance of the Most Great Word, that is, the Spirit of God.

314

بعد از آنكه روح ظاهر شد و كلمه الهيّه از خلف حجبات ستريّه باشراقات احديّه طالع و مشرق و منير گشت ناس اعتراض نمودند چه كه آنحضرت بحسب ظاهر با خاطئين مجالس و مؤانس بودند چنانچه در خود انجيل مسطور و مكتوب كه با عشارين معاشرت ميفرمود چنانچه در مواضع عديده بر آن سلطان احديّه اعتراض نمودند مخصوص در يومى از ایّام بعضى از غافلين بين يديه حاضر و اعتراض نمود يا روح اللّه اصحاب يحيى بن ذكريّا بسيار زاهد و عابد بودند بشأنيكه در ایّام صائم و ليالى بذكر اللّه قائم لكن آنچه از شما و اصحاب شما مشاهده ميشود بعبادت و ذكر مشغول نيستيد بلكه اجتناب از مال ناس نمينمائيد فتفكّر الرّوح فى نفسه ثمّ رفع رأسه و قال لو كان يحيى على ما انتم تقولون لم قتلتموه يا ملأ المشركين ميفرمايد بقول شما من خاطى يحيى بن ذكريّا كه تقصيرى نكرده و جميع هم مقرّيد بزهد و تقواى آن جمال مبين پس او را چرا كشتيد فبهت الّذى كفر و خائباً خاسراً راجع گشت

Baʿd az ānke Rūḥ ẓāher shod va Kaleme-yi Elāhiyye az khalf-i ḥojobāt-i setriyye be-eshrāqāt-i aḥadiyye ṭāleʿ va moshreq va monīr gasht nās eʿterāḍ namūdand che ke ān Ḥaḍrat be-ḥasab-i ẓāher bā khāṭeʾīn mojāles va moʾānes būdand chenānche dar khod-i Enjīl masṭūr va maktūb ke bā ʿashshārīn moʿāsherat mīfarmūd chenānche dar mavāḍeʿ-i ʿadīde bar ān Solṭān-i Aḥadiyye eʿterāḍ namūdand makhṣūṣ dar yawmī az ayyām baʿḍī az ghāfelīn bayn-i yadayh ḥāḍer va eʿterāḍ namūd yā Rūḥ Allāh aṣḥāb-i Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā besyār zāhed va ʿābed būdand be-shaʾnī ke dar ayyām ṣāʾem va layālī be-dhekr-i Allāh qāʾem lāken ānche az shomā va aṣḥāb-i shomā moshāhede mīshavad be-ʿebādat va dhekr mashghūl nīstīd balke ejtenāb az māl-i nās nemīnamāʾīd. Fa-tafakkara al-Rūḥ fī nafsihi thumma rafaʿa raʾsahu wa-qāla law kāna Yaḥyā ʿalā mā antum taqūlūna li-ma qataltumūhu yā malaʾ al-mushrikīn. Mīfarmāyad be-qawl-i shomā man khāṭī, Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā ke taqṣīrī nakarde va jamīʿ ham moqerrīd be-zohd va taqvā-yi ān Jamāl-i Mobīn pas ū rā cherā koshtīd. Fa-buhita alladhī kafara va khāʾiban khāsiran rājeʿ gasht.

After the Spirit appeared and the divine Word rose from behind the concealing veils, shining and resplendent with the radiance of divine oneness, the people raised objections, because He outwardly associated and consorted with sinners. It is recorded and written in the Gospel itself that He associated with tax collectors. Thus, on numerous occasions they objected to that Sovereign of Oneness. In particular, one day some of the heedless entered His presence and objected: “O Spirit of God, the companions of John son of Zechariah were very ascetic and devout, so much so that they fasted by day and stood in remembrance of God by night. But from what we observe of you and your companions, you do not engage in worship and remembrance; rather, you do not refrain from taking people’s property.” The Spirit reflected within Himself, then raised His head and said, “If John was as you say, why did you kill him, O company of those who associate partners with God?” He says: “According to you, I am a sinner. But John son of Zechariah had done no wrong, and you all acknowledge the asceticism and piety of that manifest Beauty. Why, then, did you kill him?” The one who disbelieved was confounded and went back disappointed and defeated.

315

و هم‌‌چنين اعتراض مينمودند كه تو شريعت يحيى را تغيير داده مع آنكه هنوز امر او مابين عباد ثابت نشده و تكميل دوره او نگشته چه كه ایّامى نگذشت مابين آن ظهور و اين ظهور و او عباد را باب غسل ميداد و توقائل كه بروح القدس غسل ميدهم چنانچه اصحابت داده‌اند و آنها صائم بودند و اصحاب تو آكل و او بتمام زهد ظاهر چنانچه ابدا در اموال ناس بقدر خردلى تصرّف ننموده و اصحاب شما هر يك كه از مزارع عبور مينمايند اجتناب از اخذ و اكل نمينمايند و ديگر بهيچ عملى عامل نيستند فرمودند اين ایّام ایّام شادى و عيش است وقتى آيد كه بكلّ اعمال عامل شوند و مقصودشان اين بود كه چون ایّام لقاء اللّه است فى‌الحقيقة مقام جنّت احديّه است و در آنمقام اگر در بعضى از امور ظاهره اهمال رود حقّ تعالى شأنه عفو خواهد فرمود و بعد از ارتقاى روح برفيق اعلى آنچه باو مأمور شده‌اند البتّه عامل خواهند شد

Va hamchenīn eʿterāḍ mīnamūdand ke to sharīʿat-i Yaḥyā rā taghyīr dāde maʿa ānke hanūz amr-i ū mābayn-i ʿebād s̱ābet nashode va takmīl-i dawre-yi ū nagashte che ke ayyāmī nagodhasht mābayn-i ān ẓuhūr va īn ẓuhūr va ū ʿebād rā ba-āb ghosl mīdād va to qāʾel ke be-Rūḥ al-Qodos ghosl mīdaham chenānche aṣḥābat dāde-and va ānhā ṣāʾem būdand va aṣḥāb-i to ākel va ū be-tamām-i zohd ẓāher chenānche abadan dar amvāl-i nās be-qadr-i khardalī taṣarrof nanamūde va aṣḥāb-i shomā har yek ke az mazāreʿ ʿobūr mīnamāyand ejtenāb az akhdh va akl nemīnamāyand va dīgar be-hīch ʿamalī ʿāmel nīstand. Farmūdand īn ayyām ayyām-i shādī va ʿeysh ast vaqtī āyad ke be-koll-i aʿmāl ʿāmel shavand va maqṣūd-shān īn būd ke chon ayyām-i liqāʾ-i Allāh ast fī al-ḥaqīqe maqām-i jannat-i aḥadiyye ast va dar ān maqām agar dar baʿḍī az omūr-i ẓāhere ehmāl ravad Ḥaqq taʿālā shaʾnuhu ʿafv khāhad farmūd va baʿd az erteqā-yi Rūḥ be-Rafīq-i Aʿlā ānche be-ū maʾmūr shode-and albatte ʿāmel khāhand shod.

They also objected: “You have changed the law of John, even though his Cause has not yet been established among the people and his dispensation has not run its course, for only a few days have passed between that revelation and this one. He baptized people with water, while you say, ‘I baptize with the Holy Spirit,’ as your companions have done. They fasted, while your companions eat. He appeared in perfect asceticism, never taking so much as a mustard seed’s worth of people’s property, whereas whenever any of your companions pass through the fields, they do not refrain from taking and eating, nor do they observe any other practice.” He said: “These are days of joy and delight. A time will come when they will observe all the practices.” His meaning was that, since these are the days of meeting God, this is in truth the station of the paradise of oneness, and in that station, should there be negligence in certain outward matters, God—exalted be His glory—will forgive it. After the Spirit’s ascent to the Most Exalted Companion, they will certainly carry out what they have been commanded.

316

فواللّه ظهور نقطه اولى و اين ظهور ابدع ابهى بعينه ظهور يحيى بن ذكريا و روح اللّه است و جميع مطابق واقع شده ‌همان قسم كه يحيى نبی‌ و رسول بود من عنداللّه و هم‌‌چنين مبشّر بظهور بعد چنانچه ميفرمود يا قوم انّى ابشّركم بملكوت اللّه و انّه قد اقترب و در مقام ديگر و قد اقتربت ملكوت اللّه و هم‌‌چنين صاحب احكام و شريعت بوده و هم‌‌چنين در ایّام ظهور او روح ظاهر شده نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه بعد از آنكه اخذ عهد از كلّ نموده و بشارت داده بظهور بعد ميفرمايد و لقد قرب الزّوال و انتم راقدون كه بعينه همان مضمون است كه يحيى بن ذكريّا بآن تكلّم نموده و بشارت داده

Fa-va’llāh ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭe-yi Ūlā va īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i abhā be-ʿayneh ẓuhūr-i Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā va Rūḥ Allāh ast va jamīʿ moṭābeq vāqeʿ shode hamān qesm ke Yaḥyā nabī va rasūl būd min ʿindi Allāh va hamchenīn mobashsher be-ẓuhūr-i baʿd chenānche mīfarmūd yā qawmi innī ubashshirukum bi-malakūt Allāh wa-innahu qad iqtaraba va dar maqām-i dīgar wa-qad iqtarabat malakūt Allāh va hamchenīn ṣāḥeb-i aḥkām va sharīʿat būde va hamchenīn dar ayyām-i ẓuhūr-i ū Rūḥ ẓāher shode Nuqṭe-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā-sivāhu fidāh baʿd az ānke akhdh-i ʿahd az koll namūde va beshārat dāde be-ẓuhūr-i baʿd mīfarmāyad wa-laqad qaruba al-zawāl wa-antum rāqidūn ke be-ʿayneh hamān maḍmūn ast ke Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā be-ān takallom namūde va beshārat dāde.

By God, the revelation of the Primal Point and this most wondrous, most glorious Revelation are exactly like the revelations of John son of Zechariah and the Spirit of God, and everything has occurred in correspondence with them. John was a prophet and messenger from God, and also the herald of the revelation to follow, as he said: “O my people, I bring you glad tidings of the Kingdom of God, and it has drawn near,” and elsewhere, “And the Kingdom of God has drawn near.” He also brought laws and a religious code, and the Spirit appeared during the days of his revelation. Likewise, the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—after taking a covenant from everyone and giving glad tidings of the revelation to follow, says: “The decline has indeed drawn near, while you lie asleep.” This conveys exactly the same meaning that John son of Zechariah expressed and announced as glad tidings.

317

و در اين ظهور هم آنچه بعيسى بن مريم اعتراض نمودند ملأ بيان هم همان اعتراضات را نموده چنانچه شما مينويسيد كه تكميل دوره نشده و همچنين مينويسيد كه بايد احكام تغيير داده نشود و تلويحاً ميخواهيد ذكر نمائيد كه احكام را تغيير داده‌اند و همين را كذب محض بشما تلقين نموده‌اند چه كه مخصوص فرموده‌اند كه ببيان پارسى عمل نمايند و

Va dar īn ẓuhūr ham ānche be-ʿĪsā ibn-i Maryam eʿterāḍ namūdand malaʾ-i Bayān ham hamān eʿterāḍāt rā namūde chenānche shomā mīnevīsīd ke takmīl-i dawre nashode va hamchenīn mīnevīsīd ke bāyad aḥkām taghyīr dāde nashavad va talvīḥan mīkhāhīd dhekr namāʾīd ke aḥkām rā taghyīr dāde-and va hamīn rā kedhb-i maḥḍ be-shomā talqīn namūde-and che ke makhṣūṣ farmūde-and ke be-Bayān-i Pārsī ʿamal namāyand va

In this Revelation too, the people of the Bayán have raised the same objections that were raised against Jesus son of Mary. Thus you write that the dispensation has not run its course, and you also write that the laws must not be changed, wishing to imply that He has changed the laws. This very claim, which is an outright lie, has been instilled in you, for He has expressly instructed them to act according to the Persian Bayán, and

318

ديگر تغيير احكام دخلى برتبه ندارد كه هر ظهورى ادّعاى برترى از ظهور قبل نمايد بايد احكام تغيير دهد و ناسخ اوامر قبل باشد چنانچه خود نقطه بيان فرموده كه اگر اعتراضات اهل فرقان نميبود شريعت فرقان را نسخ نمينمودم و از آن گذشته باعتقاد خود شما و جميع حضرات داود يكى از انبياى اعظم است و صاحب كتاب مع‌ذلك ناس را بشريعت تورية امر فرمود و هم‌‌چنين از كلمه عيسى بن مريم است كه ميفرمايد ما جآء ابن الانسان ليدين العالم بل جآء ليحيى العالم از اين بيان همچه معلوم ميشود كه در اوّل ظهور اراده تغيير احكام قبل نداشته‌اند چنانچه يحيى بن ذكريا هم تغيير كلّيه نداده‌اند الّا در بعض امور و آنچه مسلّم است حكم سبت را حضرت روح تغيير دادند و يوم احد قرار فرمودند و هم‌‌چنين حكم سيف را مرتفع فرمودند و طلاق را هم منع نمودند

Dīgar taghyīr-i aḥkām dakhlī be-rotbe nadārad ke har ẓuhūrī eddeʿā-yi bartarī az ẓuhūr-i qabl namāyad bāyad aḥkām taghyīr dahad va nāsekh-i avāmer-i qabl bāshad chenānche khod-i Nuqṭe-yi Bayān farmūde ke agar eʿterāḍāt-i ahl-i Forqān nemībūd sharīʿat-i Forqān rā naskh nemīnamūdam va az ān godhashte be-eʿteqād-i khod-i shomā va jamīʿ-i ḥaḍarāt Dāvūd yekī az anbiyā-yi aʿẓam ast va ṣāḥeb-i ketāb maʿa dhālek nās rā be-sharīʿat-i Tawrāt amr farmūd va hamchenīn az kaleme-yi ʿĪsā ibn-i Maryam ast ke mīfarmāyad mā jāʾa ibn al-insān li-yadīna al-ʿālam bal jāʾa li-yuḥyiya al-ʿālam az īn bayān hamche maʿlūm mīshavad ke dar avval-i ẓuhūr erāde-yi taghyīr-i aḥkām-i qabl nadāshte-and chenānche Yaḥyā ibn-i Zakariyyā ham taghyīr-i kolliyye nadāde-and illā dar baʿḍ-i omūr va ānche mosallam ast ḥokm-i sabt rā Ḥaḍrat-i Rūḥ taghyīr dāde-and va yawm-i aḥad qarār farmūde-and va hamchenīn ḥokm-i sayf rā mortafeʿ farmūde-and va ṭalāq rā ham manʿ namūde-and.

Furthermore, changing the laws has no bearing on rank, such that every revelation claiming superiority to the preceding revelation must change the laws and abrogate the previous commandments. The Point of the Bayán Himself has said: “Were it not for the objections of the people of the Qur’an, I would not have abrogated the law of the Qur’an.” Moreover, according to your own belief and that of all your associates, David is one of the greatest prophets and the bearer of a Book; nevertheless, he commanded the people to follow the law of the Torah. Likewise, among the words of Jesus son of Mary is this saying: “The Son of Man did not come to judge the world, but came to give life to the world.” From this utterance it appears that, at the beginning of His revelation, He did not intend to change the previous laws, just as John son of Zechariah made no wholesale change, except in certain matters. What is certain is that the Spirit changed the law of the Sabbath and appointed Sunday, and likewise abolished the law of the sword and also prohibited divorce.

319

و لكن در اين ظهور اگر ملاحظه نمائيد با اينكه در اوّل امر جز عبوديّت صرفه امرى ظاهر نشد مع‌ذلك ذياب ارض از ملأ بيان باعراض و اعتراض برخواستند و از ايكات نفاق بقصد نيّر آفاق‌ بيرون آمدند با آنكه حكم محكم بيان است و در كلّ الواح اللّه مسطور كه اگر نفسى بآيات ظاهر شود باو معارضه ننمائيد و مجادله نكنيد و احتجاج ننمائيد و بشأنى در اينحكم مبالغه فرموده‌اند كه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو حكمى از اين محكم تر و ثابت تر در بيان نازل نشده گويا جميع بيان در اين امر ابدع امنع نازل شده مع‌ذلك اوّل معرض و امثال او باعراض برخواسته و وارد آورده‌ا‌ند آنچه را كه هيچ ظالمى عامل نشده شما اين ارض نبوده‌ايد كه مطّلع باشيد بحقّ نقطه اولى و جميع نبيّين و مرسلين كه بحقّ و راستى تكلّم مينمايم چون ملاحظه نمودند كه آيات الهى مثل غيث هاطل نازل و بحر اعظم ربّانى در امواج و شجره عزّ صمدانيّه باثمار بديعه منيعه مزيّن شده و ارياح فضليّه از يمين عرش الهيّه در هبوب و سماء مرتفعه قدميّه بانجم علوم و معارف جديده مطرّز بنفاق برخواست و درصدد قطع شجره ربّانيّه افتاد و چون از آن عاجز شد مكر صدرش ظاهر گشت و جميع مهاجرين مضطرب و اهل حرم در نوحه و ندبه مشغول و جمال احديّه از بين بريّه خارج شدند بعد بافترا و كذب برخواستند و اراده نمودند كه بمفتريات جعليّه و ظنونات افكيّه خبيثه ستر نمايند آن فعل شنيع را و بعد عامل شدند آنچه را كه عامل شدند چنانچه خود شما هم ميدانيد كه آن مفسد مفترى كه بآن ارض آمده چه گفته و چه كرده و بآن اصل هاويه نفسى متعرّض نشده و سخن نگفته مع‌ذلك خود را مظلوم ناميده و بامثال خود القاء نموده آنچه را كه شيطان باولياى خود القاء نموده و مينمايد فويل لهم و للّذين اتّبعوهم تاللّه انّهم لفى خسران عظيم

Va lāken dar īn ẓuhūr agar molāḥeẓe namāʾīd bā īnke dar avval-i amr joz ʿobūdiyyat-i ṣerfe amrī ẓāher nashod maʿa dhālek dheʾāb-i arḍ az malaʾ-i Bayān be-eʿrāḍ va eʿterāḍ barkhāstand va az aykāt-i nefāq be-qaṣd-i Nayyir-i Āfāq bīrūn āmadand bā ānke ḥokm-i moḥkam-i Bayān ast va dar koll-i alvāḥ-i Allāh masṭūr ke agar nafsī be-āyāt ẓāher shavad be-ū moʿāreḍe nanamāʾīd va mojādele nakonīd va eḥtejāj nanamāʾīd va be-shaʾnī dar īn ḥokm mobāleghe farmūde-and ke va’llāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ḥokmī az īn moḥkam-tar va s̱ābet-tar dar Bayān nāzel nashode gūyā jamīʿ-i Bayān dar īn amr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ nāzel shode maʿa dhālek avval-i moʿreḍ va ams̱āl-i ū be-eʿrāḍ barkhāste va vāred āvarde-and ānche rā ke hīch ẓālemī ʿāmel nashode shomā īn arḍ nabūde-īd ke moṭṭaleʿ bāshīd be-ḥaqq-i Nuqṭe-yi Ūlā va jamīʿ-i nabiyyīn va morsalīn ke be-ḥaqq va rāstī takallom mīnamāyam chon molāḥeẓe namūdand ke āyāt-i elāhī mes̱l-i ghayth-i hāṭel nāzel va baḥr-i aʿẓam-i rabbānī dar amvāj va shajare-yi ʿezz-i ṣamadāniyye be-as̱mār-i badīʿe-yi manīʿe mozayyan shode va aryāḥ-i faḍliyye az yamīn-i ʿarsh-i elāhiyye dar hobūb va samāʾ-i mortafeʿe-yi qidamiyye be-anjom-i ʿolūm va maʿāref-i jadīde moṭarraz be-nefāq barkhāst va dar ṣadad-i qaṭʿ-i shajare-yi rabbāniyye oftād va chon az ān ʿājez shod makr-i ṣadrash ẓāher gasht va jamīʿ-i mohājerīn moḍṭareb va ahl-i ḥaram dar nawḥe va nodbe mashghūl va Jamāl-i Aḥadiyye az bayn-i bariyye khārej shodand baʿd be-efterā va kedhb barkhāstand va erāde namūdand ke be-moftarayāt-i jaʿliyye va ẓonūnāt-i efkiyye-yi khabīs̱e satr namāyand ān feʿl-i shanīʿ rā va baʿd ʿāmel shodand ānche rā ke ʿāmel shodand chenānche khod-i shomā ham mīdānīd ke ān mofsed-i moftarī ke be-ān arḍ āmade che gofte va che karde va be-ān aṣl-i hāviye nafsī motaʿarreḍ nashode va sokhan nagofte maʿa dhālek khod rā maẓlūm nāmīde va be-ams̱āl-i khod elqā namūde ānche rā ke shayṭān be-awliyā-yi khod elqā namūde va mīnamāyad fa-waylun lahum wa-li-alladhīna ittabaʿūhum ta’llāh innahum la-fī khusrān ʿaẓīm.

Yet consider this Revelation: although at the outset nothing appeared but pure servitude, the wolves of the earth among the people of the Bayán nevertheless rose in rejection and opposition, emerging from the thickets of hypocrisy to assail the Luminary of the horizons. This was despite the firm command of the Bayán, recorded in all the Tablets of God, that if anyone should appear with verses, you must not oppose him, dispute with him, or argue against him. He has emphasized this command to such a degree that, by God, besides whom there is no other god, no command firmer or more established than this has been revealed in the Bayán. It is as though the entire Bayán had been revealed concerning this most wondrous, most unassailable Cause. Nevertheless, the first to turn away and others like him have risen in rejection and inflicted what no oppressor has ever perpetrated. You were not in this land to know of it. By the Primal Point and all the prophets and messengers, I speak in truth and sincerity. When he saw the divine verses descending like pouring rain, the most great divine Ocean surging, the Tree of everlasting glory adorned with wondrous, lofty fruits, the winds of grace blowing from the right hand of the divine throne, and the lofty heaven of eternity embroidered with the stars of new sciences and knowledge, he rose in hypocrisy and sought to cut down the divine Tree. When he proved incapable of this, the deceit within his breast became manifest. All the emigrants were thrown into turmoil, the members of the holy household were occupied with lamentation and mourning, and the Beauty of Oneness withdrew from among the people. Then they resorted to slander and lies, intending to conceal that heinous deed with fabricated calumnies and foul, lying suppositions. Afterward, they did what they did, as you yourself know what that mischief-making slanderer who came to that land has said and done. No one has assailed or spoken against that source of the abyss. Nevertheless, he has called himself wronged and instilled in others like himself what Satan has instilled and continues to instill in his allies. Woe to them and to those who have followed them! By God, they are indeed in grievous loss.

320

قول ديگر آنكه بايد اكمل و اتمّ باشد چنانچه ظهور هر رسولى و نبيّى اعلى از ظهور سابق بوده و ربّ اعلى هم‌چنين ادّعا نموده بالنّسبة بسابقين اينست كه هر لاحقى نسخ سابق نموده انتهى

Qawl-i dīgar ānke bāyad akmal va atamm bāshad chenānche ẓuhūr-i har rasūlī va nabiyyī aʿlā az ẓuhūr-i sābeq būde va Rabb-i Aʿlā hamchenīn eddeʿā namūde bi’l-nesbe be-sābeqīn īn ast ke har lāḥeqī naskh-i sābeq namūde. Intahā.

Another statement: “He must be more perfect and more complete, just as the revelation of every messenger and prophet has been higher than the preceding revelation, and the Most Exalted Lord has made the same claim in relation to His predecessors. This is why each successor has abrogated what came before.” End of quotation.

321

اوّلا آنكه اگر بصر انصاف مفتوح مشاهده مينمايد كه شبه اين ظهور در ابداع نيامده و يشهد بذلك ما نزل من جبروت اللّه المهيمن العزيز القدير فافتح بصراك لتشهد بأنّ جمال الظّهور قد كان حينئذ مستقرّاً على عرش العظمة و الاستقلال و عن يمينه نقطة البيان بسلطان العزّة و الاجلال و عن يساره محمّد رسول اللّه بانوار اللّه عزيز المتعال و فى مقابلة الوجه قد قام الرّوح بقبيل من ملأ الأعلی و نزل بالحقّ ان انتم تفقهون ثمّ عن خلفه صفوفاً من ملائكة السّمآء باباريق من كوثر البقآء و اكواب من التّسنيم ان انتم تعلمون و كلّهم ينوحن و يبكينّ و يصيحن على ما ورد على جمال اللّه المهيمن العزيز القيّوم

Avvalan ānke agar baṣar-e enṣāf maftūḥ, moshāhede mīnamāyad ke shebh-e īn ẓohūr dar ebdāʿ nayāmade, va yashhad bi-dhālika mā nazala min jabarūt Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qadīr. Fa-ftaḥ baṣarāka li-tashhad bi-anna Jamāl al-Ẓuhūr qad kāna ḥīnaʾidhin mustaqirran ʿalā ʿarsh al-ʿaẓama wa-l-istiqlāl, wa-ʿan yamīnihi Nuqṭat al-Bayān bi-sulṭān al-ʿizza wa-l-ijlāl, wa-ʿan yasārihi Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh bi-anwār Allāh ʿAzīz al-Mutaʿāl, wa-fī muqābalat al-wajh qad qāma al-Rūḥ bi-qabīl min Malaʾ al-Aʿlā wa-nazala bi-l-ḥaqq, in antum tafqahūn. Thumma ʿan khalfihi ṣufūfan min malāʾikat al-samāʾ bi-abārīq min Kawthar al-baqāʾ wa-akwāb min al-Tasnīm, in antum taʿlamūn. Wa-kulluhum yanūḥna wa-yabkīna wa-yaṣīḥna ʿalā mā warada ʿalā Jamāl Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm.

First, if the eye of fairness is open, it sees that nothing like this Revelation has appeared in creation. What has descended from the dominion of God, the All-Compelling, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, bears witness to this. Open your eyes, then, to witness that the Beauty of Revelation is now established upon the throne of grandeur and independence. At His right is the Point of the Bayán, with the sovereignty of might and majesty; at His left is Muhammad, the Messenger of God, with the lights of God, the Mighty, the Most Exalted. Before His face the Spirit stands with a company of the heavenly concourse and has descended in truth, if you understand. Behind Him are ranks of the angels of heaven, with pitchers from the Kawthar of everlasting life and cups of Tasnim, if you know. They all lament, weep, and cry out over what has befallen the Beauty of God, the All-Compelling, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.

322

اگر صاحب بصر بودى و بمنظر اكبر راجع ميشدى بالمشاهدة و المشافهة انوار الهى را از مظهر عزّ سلطان لايزالى مشاهده مينمودى و لكن رمد اوهام بشأنى ابصار را عليل نموده كه اگر بمقرّ اطهر هم وارد شوند گمان نميبرم كه بلقا فايز گردند چنانچه جعل اگر قرب رضوان مسكن نمايد از عرف اوراد محروم بوده و خواهد بود و هم‌چنين اعمى اگر در مقابل شمس حاضر شود از انوار او ممنوع بوده و خواهد بود ليس لهم نصيب من هذا البحر الأعظم

Agar ṣāḥeb-e baṣar būdī va be-manẓar-e akbar rājeʿ mīshodī, bi-l-mushāhada wa-l-mushāfaha anvār-e elāhī rā az maẓhar-e ʿezz-e solṭān-e lāyazālī moshāhede mīnamūdī, va lāken ramad-e avhām be-shaʾnī abṣār rā ʿalīl namūde ke agar be-maqarr-e aṭhar ham vāred shavand gomān nemībaram ke be-leqā fāyez gardand. Chenānche joʿal agar qorb-e Reżvān maskan namāyad az ʿarf-e avrād maḥrūm būde va khvāhad būd, va ham-chenīn aʿmā agar dar moqābel-e shams ḥāżer shavad az anvār-e ū mamnūʿ būde va khvāhad būd. Laysa lahum naṣīb min hādhā al-baḥr al-aʿẓam.

If you had sight and turned toward the Most Great Vision, you would behold the divine lights directly, face to face, in the Manifestation of the glory of the everlasting Sovereign. But the inflammation of vain imaginings has so afflicted their eyes that, even if they entered the most holy abode, I do not suppose they would attain His presence. Just as a dung beetle, even if it dwells near Ridvan, has always been and will remain deprived of the fragrance of its roses, so a blind person, even if he stands before the sun, has always been and will remain deprived of its light. They have no share in this most great Ocean.

323

اينكه ذكر نمودى هر لاحقى بايد مقدم و اعلى بر سابق باشد اگر مضطرب و متزلزل مشاهده نميشدى در اينمقام كلمه كه از حقّ استماع نموده‌ام مذكور ميداشتم و اين مطلبی‌ است كه غير اللّه هر كه در آن تكلّم نمايد از فضولى محسوب است اللّه يعلم مراده فيما نزل چه كه لئالى معانى مكنونه در صدف ابحر كلمات الهيّه را جز نفس ظهور مطّلع نبوده و نخواهد بود كلّ ذلك علمه عند ربّی‌ و ما اطّلع به احد الّا نفسه العالم العليم چون ملأ بيان احجب از متوهّمين قبل مشاهده ميشوند لذا بهتر آنكه مدارا نمائيم و آنچه را ادراك نموده‌ايم مستور داريم كه مباد فزع ديگر مرتفع شود قدرت محيطه و رحمت منبسطه الهيّه هرگز محدود بحدودى نبوده و نخواهد بود يفعل ما یشآء و يحكم ما يريد

Īnke dhekr namūdī har lāḥeqī bāyad moqaddam va aʿlā bar sābeq bāshad, agar możṭareb va motazalzel moshāhede nemīshodī dar īn maqām kalame ke az Ḥaqq estemāʿ namūde-am madhkūr mīdāshtam, va īn maṭlabī ast ke gheyr Allāh har ke dar ān takallom namāyad az fożūlī maḥsūb ast. Allāh yaʿlam murādahu fīmā nazala. Che ke laʾālī-ye maʿānī-ye maknūne dar ṣadaf-e abḥor-e kalemāt-e elāhiyye rā joz nafs-e ẓohūr moṭṭaleʿ nabūde va nakhvāhad būd. Kullu dhālika ʿilmuhu ʿinda rabbī wa-mā iṭṭalaʿa bihi aḥad illā nafsuhu al-ʿĀlim al-ʿAlīm. Chon malaʾ-e Bayān aḥjab az motavahhemīn-e qabl moshāhede mīshavand, ledhā behtar ānke modārā namāyīm va ānche rā edrāk namūde-īm mastūr dārīm ke mabād fazaʿ-e dīgar mortafeʿ shavad. Qodrat-e moḥīṭe va raḥmat-e monbaseṭe-ye elāhiyye hargez maḥdūd be-ḥodūdī nabūde va nakhvāhad būd. Yafʿal mā yashāʾ wa-yaḥkum mā yurīd.

As for your statement that every successor must take precedence over and be higher than his predecessor: if you had not appeared troubled and shaken, I would have mentioned here a word I heard from the True One. This is a matter in which anyone other than God who speaks is reckoned to be meddling. God knows His intention in what He has revealed, for none but the Manifestation Himself has ever known or will ever know the pearls of meaning concealed within the shells of the oceans of divine words. Knowledge of all this is with my Lord, and no one has become acquainted with it except His own Self, the All-Knowing, the Omniscient. Since the people of the Bayán appear more veiled than those who clung to vain imaginings before them, it is better that we show forbearance and conceal what we have understood, lest another outcry arise. God’s all-encompassing power and all-embracing mercy have never been and will never be confined within any limits. He does what He wills and decrees what He desires.

324

و در نسخ احكام سابق نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ميفرمايد كلّ منوط باراده نفس ظهور است اگر بخواهد اوامر و نواهى قبل را امضاء ميفرمايد و اگر بخواهد نسخ ميفرمايد بيده الأمر ليس لأحد ان يعترض عليه او يقول لم و بم فى كلّ ما يفعل و يأمر و من قال لم و بم فقد كفر باللّه و حارب بنفسه و جادل بسلطانه و انكر امره و كان من المشركين

Va dar naskh-e aḥkām-e sābeq Noqṭe-ye Bayān, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, mīfarmāyad koll manūṭ be-erāde-ye nafs-e ẓohūr ast. Agar bekhvāhad avāmer va navāhī-ye qabl rā emżā mīfarmāyad va agar bekhvāhad naskh mīfarmāyad. Bi-yadihi al-amr. Laysa li-aḥad an yaʿtariḍ ʿalayhi aw yaqūl lima wa-bima fī kulli mā yafʿal wa-yaʾmur. Wa-man qāla lima wa-bima fa-qad kafara bi-Allāh wa-ḥāraba bi-nafsihi wa-jādala bi-sulṭānihi wa-ankara amrahu wa-kāna min al-mushrikīn.

Concerning the abrogation of previous laws, the Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—says that everything depends upon the will of the Manifestation Himself. If He wishes, He confirms the former commandments and prohibitions, and if He wishes, He abrogates them. Authority is in His hand. No one has the right to object to Him or to say, “Why?” or “For what reason?” concerning anything He does or commands. Whoever says, “Why?” or “For what reason?” has disbelieved in God, fought against His own Self, disputed His sovereignty, denied His Cause, and become one of those who associate partners with God.

325

قول ديگر اگر بطريق استعكاس است مثل حضرات ائمّه اطهار بالنسبة بحضرت محمّد كه ادّعاى مثليّت بآنحضرت مينمودند و حال آنكه در ظلّ او بودند پس مطلب واضح است چه چنين شخصى را نميسزد كه ادّعاى برترى در چنين صورتى نمايد انتهى

Qowl-e dīgar: Agar be-ṭarīq-e esteʿkās ast, mesl-e ḥażarāt-e aʾemme-ye aṭhār bi-l-nisba be-Ḥażrat-e Moḥammad ke eddeʿā-ye methliyyat be-ān Ḥażrat mīnamūdand va ḥāl ānke dar ẓell-e ū būdand, pas maṭlab vāżeḥ ast, che chenīn shakhṣī rā nemīsazad ke eddeʿā-ye bartarī dar chenīn ṣūratī namāyad. Intahā.

Another statement: “If it is by way of reflection, as with the holy and pure Imams in relation to Muhammad, who claimed likeness to Him while remaining beneath His shadow, then the matter is clear, for it does not befit such a person to claim superiority under such circumstances.” End of quotation.

326

در بيان قبل ذكر اينمقام شده ديگر اين كلمات آن مشرك ملقى كه احقر از كلمات صبيان است بی‌جواب بوده و خواهد بود اى مرد عكس چه عاكس چه اين ساحت مقدّس از ذكر و بيان است و منزّه از ادراك من فى الامكان

Dar bayān-e qabl dhekr-e īn maqām shode. Dīgar īn kalemāt-e ān moshrek-e molqī ke aḥqar az kalemāt-e ṣebyān ast bī-javāb būde va khvāhad būd. Ey mard, ʿaks che, ʿākes che? Īn sāḥat moqaddas az dhekr va bayān ast va monazzah az edrāk-e man fī al-imkān.

This matter has been addressed in the preceding explanation. These further words of that prompter who associates partners with God, which are more contemptible than the words of children, have been and will remain unanswered. O man, what reflection? What reflector? This court is sanctified above mention and description and exalted beyond the understanding of all who dwell in the contingent world.

327

در اينمقام حكايتى بنظر آمد ایّاميكه نقطه اولى جلّ و عزّ در جبل ماكو مسجون بودند چنانچه حال هم در اين ارض مسجونند و لكن اين سجن را بآن سجن قياس مكن چه كه حال هم مسجون دولتند و هم مسجون اهل بيان و سجن ظهور قبل مخصوص بدولت بوده و اگر خوب ملاحظه كنى در اين سجن كلّ دول هم شريك

Dar īn maqām ḥekāyatī be-naẓar āmad. Ayyāmī ke Noqṭe-ye Ūlā, jalla wa-ʿazza, dar Jabal-e Mākū masjūn būdand, chenānche ḥāl ham dar īn arż masjūnand, va lāken īn sejn rā be-ān sejn qiyās makon, che ke ḥāl ham masjūn-e dowlatand va ham masjūn-e ahl-e Bayān, va sejn-e ẓohūr-e qabl makhṣūṣ be-dowlat būde, va agar khūb molāḥeẓe konī dar īn sejn koll-e doval ham sharīk.

At this point a story came to mind. In the days when the Primal Point, glorified and exalted be He, was imprisoned in the mountain of Maku—as He is now imprisoned in this land, though do not compare this imprisonment with that one, for now He is imprisoned both by the government and by the people of the Bayán, whereas the imprisonment of the former Manifestation was solely at the hands of the government; and if you consider carefully, all governments also share in this imprisonment.

328

بارى در آن ایّام جناب وحيد يعنى آقا سيّد يحيى عليه بهآء اللّه بنصرت امر علم برافراخته بودند چنانچه شنيده‌ايد و در كلّ ديار علما بر اعراض و انكار برخواسته و بر كلّ منابر نعوذاً باللّه بسبّ و لعن نقطه اولى و اصحابش مشغول امام جمعه طهران اگر چه فى‌الحقيقة او مبغض نبود و انصافش هم از جميع برترى داشته‌ روزى بر منبر رفته مذكور نمود كه از جمله شنيده‌ام حضرت باب هوا را مطهّر دانسته آخر بگوئيد اى مرد در كتاب كدام فقها و علماء چنين كلمه مشاهده نموده كه هوا مطهّر است و آنقدر ملتفت نشده بود كه مقام اجتهاد نيست مقامى است ماوراى اين اذكار و كلمات و خود بنفسه مجدّد شرايع بوده و همچه ادراك نموده بود كه يكى از فقها هستند و اين مسئله فقهيّه را مخالفاً للعلمآء ذكر نموده‌اند و جايز دانسته‌اند

Bārī dar ān ayyām Janāb-e Vaḥīd, yaʿnī Āqā Seyyed Yaḥyā, ʿalayhi Bahāʾ Allāh, be-noṣrat-e Amr ʿalam bar afrākhte būdand, chenānche shenīde-īd, va dar koll-e deyār ʿolamā bar eʿrāż va enkār bar khāste va bar koll-e manāber, naʿūdhan bi-Allāh, be-sabb va laʿn-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā va aṣḥābash mashghūl. Emām-e Jomʿe-ye Ṭehrān, agarche fī al-ḥaqīqa ū mobgheż nabūd va enṣāfash ham az jamīʿ bartarī dāshte, rūzī bar menbar rafte madhkūr namūd ke az jomle shenīde-am Ḥażrat-e Bāb havā rā moṭahher dāneste. Ākhar begūʾīd ey mard, dar ketāb-e kodām foqahā va ʿolamā chenīn kalame moshāhede namūde ke havā moṭahher ast? Va ānqadr moltafet nashode būd ke maqām-e ejtehād nīst, maqāmī ast māvarā-ye īn adhkār va kalemāt, va khod be-nafsehe mojadded-e sharāyeʿ būde, va hamche edrāk namūde būd ke yekī az foqahā hastand va īn masʾale-ye feqhiyye rā mukhālifan li-l-ʿulamāʾ dhekr namūde-and va jāyez dāneste-and.

In those days, then, the honored Vahid, that is, Aqa Siyyid Yahya—upon him be the glory of God—had raised the banner in support of the Cause, as you have heard. In every land the religious scholars had risen in rejection and denial, and from every pulpit they were occupied—God forbid—with reviling and cursing the Primal Point and His companions. The Imam-Jumih of Tehran, although in truth he bore no hatred and was fairer than all the others, one day ascended the pulpit and said, “Among other things, I have heard that the Báb has declared air to be a purifier. Now tell me, O man, in the book of which jurist or scholar has He seen such a statement, that air is a purifier?” He had not realized even this much: that this was not the station of independent legal reasoning, but a station beyond such discussions and words, and that He Himself was the renewer of religious laws. Instead, he had understood Him to be one of the jurists who had stated this point of religious law and deemed it permissible in opposition to the scholars.

329

و حال شما هم نميدانيد چه نقل است و چه امر از افق اراده الهى ظاهر شده مع‌ذلك باين كلمات كه لايق انفس ملقيه بوده و هست و شما هم بالقاى آنها نوشته‌ايد افتخار مينمائيد و البتّه باغواى شيطان باطراف هم فرستاده‌ايد چنانچه مخصوص اخبار فرموده‌اند و انّه لهو الصّادق العليم فسوف يبطل اللّه ما عندهم بقوله الحقّ و يظهر مكر نفوسهم لعباده المقرّبين

Va ḥāl shomā ham nemīdānīd che naql ast va che amr az ofoq-e erāde-ye elāhī ẓāher shode. Maʿa dhālika be-īn kalemāt ke lāyeq-e anfos-e molqiye būde va hast va shomā ham be-elqā-ye ānhā neveshte-īd eftekhār mīnamāyīd, va albatte be-eghvā-ye sheyṭān be-aṭrāf ham ferestāde-īd, chenānche makhṣūṣ ekhbār farmūde-and. Wa-innahu la-huwa al-Ṣādiq al-ʿAlīm. Fa-sawfa yubṭil Allāh mā ʿindahum bi-qawlihi al-ḥaqq wa-yuẓhir makr nufūsihim li-ʿibādihi al-muqarrabīn.

And now you too do not know what is happening or what Cause has appeared from the horizon of the divine will. Nevertheless, you take pride in these words, which have always befitted those who prompted them and which you too have written at their prompting. Surely, at Satan’s instigation, you have also sent them far and wide, as He has specifically informed us. He is indeed the Truthful, the All-Knowing. Soon God will nullify what they possess through His true word and expose the scheming of their souls to His servants who are near to Him.

330

شأن شما آن بود كه اوّلا سؤال نمائيد از نفس ظهور كه ادّعا چيست و حجّت چه تا بر آن مطّلع شويد اگر ميفرمود كه اين همان ظهورى است كه نقطه بيان بآن بشارت داده و اخذ عهد او را از كلّ نموده ديگر اين اعتراضات جميع بی‌ثمر بوده و خواهد بود و اين همه زحمت بخود نميداديد كه حروفات جعليّه آن انفس ملقيه را تركيب نمائيد اتّق اللّه و لاتقل ما لا تعلم و لا تتبّع كلّ ناعق و لو تريد ان تطّلع بالحقّ فاسئل اللّه ربّك و ربّ العالمين

Shaʾn-e shomā ān būd ke avvalan soʾāl namāyīd az nafs-e ẓohūr ke eddeʿā chīst va ḥojjat che tā bar ān moṭṭaleʿ shavīd. Agar mīfarmūd ke īn hamān ẓohūrī ast ke Noqṭe-ye Bayān be-ān beshārat dāde va akhdh-e ʿahd-e ū rā az koll namūde, dīgar īn eʿterāżāt jamīʿ bī-thamar būde va khvāhad būd, va īn hame zaḥmat be-khod nemīdādīd ke ḥorūfāt-e jaʿliyye-ye ān anfos-e molqiye rā tarkīb namāyīd. Ittaqi Allāh wa-lā taqul mā lā taʿlam wa-lā tattabiʿ kulla nāʿiq. Wa-law turīd an taṭṭaliʿ bi-l-ḥaqq fa-sʾal Allāh rabbaka wa-rabb al-ʿālamīn.

What befitted you was first to ask the Manifestation Himself what His claim was and what His proof was, so that you might become acquainted with it. If He said that this was the very Revelation whose advent the Point of the Bayán had announced and for whom He had taken a covenant from everyone, then all these objections were and would remain fruitless. You would not have put yourself to so much trouble to piece together the fabricated words of those who prompted you. Fear God, do not say what you do not know, and do not follow everyone who cries out. If you wish to become acquainted with the truth, ask God, your Lord and the Lord of the worlds.

331

قول ديگر كبر غفلة من القاه غايت امر اين است كه يكى از ادلّاء و مراياى او ميباشند و مرايا را مراتب است و حاكى بالتّمام از نسل يكى خواهد بود رشته مرآت تام واحدا بعد واحد خواهد بود باقى ديگر حاكى بالتّمام نخواهد بود و آن را هم حضرت ربّ اعلى حصر در ميرزا يحيى نموده انتهى

Qowl-e dīgar, kabura ghaflat man alqāhu: Ghāyat-e amr īn ast ke yekī az adellāʾ va marāyā-ye ū mībāshand, va marāyā rā marāteb ast, va ḥākī be-l-tamām az nasl-e yekī khvāhad būd. Reshte-ye merʾāt-e tāmm vāḥedan baʿd-e vāḥed khvāhad būd. Bāqī dīgar ḥākī be-l-tamām nakhvāhad būd, va ān rā ham Ḥażrat-e Rabb-e Aʿlā ḥaṣr dar Mīrzā Yaḥyā namūde. Intahā.

Another statement—how great the heedlessness of the one who prompted it: “At most, He is one of His guides and mirrors. The mirrors have ranks, and the one who fully reflects will be from the lineage of one. The succession of the perfect mirror will be one after another. The others will not fully reflect, and the Most Exalted Lord has confined this too to Mirza Yahya.” End of quotation.

332

قد اخطأ من القاك و عصى فيما ارتكب و كفر باللّه الّذى خلقه من تراب و افترى بالّذى اليه يرجع فى منقلبه و مثوئه و هو من الّذين جعل الكتاب عضين چه كه تازه مرآت تام و غير تام ذكر نموده واللّه قلم متحيّر است كه در جواب امثال آن غافلين چه ذكر نمايد خود نقطه اولى در مقام مناجات ميفرمايد الهى در هر سنه بفرست مرآتى تا آنكه مدلّ باشد بر تو و حاكى باشد از تو و بعد ميفرمايد در هر شهرى بفرست و اگر تسليم نمائيم قول شما را مخالف است با قول نقطه بيان منتهى رتبه مرايا اين رتبه است كه ميفرمايد قوله جلّ اجلاله قل ان يا شموس المرايا انتم الى شمس الحقيقة تنظرون فانّ قيامكم بها لو انتم تتبصّرون كلكم كحيتان بالمآء فى البحر تتحرّكون و تحتجبون عن الماء و تسئلون عما انتم به قائمون

Qad akhṭaʾa man alqāka wa-ʿaṣā fīmā irtakaba wa-kafara bi-Allāh alladhī khalaqahu min turāb wa-ftarā bi-alladhī ilayhi yarjiʿ fī munqalabihi wa-mathwāhu wa-huwa min alladhīna jaʿala al-kitāb ʿiḍīn. Che ke tāze merʾāt-e tāmm va gheyr-e tāmm dhekr namūde. Wa-Allāh qalam motaḥayyer ast ke dar javāb-e amthāl-e ān ghāfelīn che dhekr namāyad. Khod-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā dar maqām-e monājāt mīfarmāyad: Elāhī dar har sane beferest merʾātī tā ānke modell bāshad bar to va ḥākī bāshad az to. Va baʿd mīfarmāyad dar har shahrī beferest. Va agar taslīm namāyīm qowl-e shomā rā mokhālef ast bā qowl-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān. Montahā rotbe-ye marāyā īn rotbe ast ke mīfarmāyad, qawluhu jalla ijlāluhu: Qul in yā shumūs al-marāyā antum ilā Shams al-Ḥaqīqa tanẓurūn, fa-inna qiyāmakum bihā law antum tatabaṣṣarūn. Kullukum ka-ḥītān bi-l-māʾ fī al-baḥr tataḥarrakūn wa-taḥtajibūn ʿan al-māʾ wa-tasʾalūn ʿammā antum bihi qāʾimūn.

The one who prompted you has erred, rebelled in what he has perpetrated, disbelieved in God who created him from dust, and slandered the One to whom he returns in his final destination and abode. He is among those who have divided the Book into fragments, for he has now introduced the notion of a perfect and an imperfect mirror. By God, the Pen is bewildered as to what it should say in answer to such heedless people. The Primal Point Himself says in prayer, “My God, send in every year a mirror, that it may point to You and reflect You.” Then He says, “Send one in every city.” Even if we were to accept your statement, it contradicts the words of the Point of the Bayán. The highest rank of the mirrors is this rank of which He speaks—His words, exalted be His majesty: “Say: O suns of the mirrors, you look toward the Sun of Truth, for your existence depends upon it, if you perceive. You are all like fish moving through the water in the sea, yet you are veiled from the water and ask about that by which you subsist.”

333

بگو اى غافل ملاحظه نما كه بشموس مرايا كه منتهى رتبه آنها است ميفرمايد كه شما بشمس حقيقت ناظر باشيد و بعد ميفرمايند مثل شما مثل حيتان است كه در بحر حركت مينمائيد و محتجبيد از ماء و سؤال كرده ميشويد از آنچه باو قائميد

Begū ey ghāfel, molāḥeẓe namā ke be-shomūs-e marāyā ke montahā rotbe-ye ānhā ast mīfarmāyad ke shomā be-Shams-e Ḥaqīqat nāẓer bāshīd, va baʿd mīfarmāyand mathal-e shomā mathal-e ḥītān ast ke dar baḥr ḥarakat mīnamāyīd va moḥtajebīd az māʾ va soʾāl karde mīshavīd az ānche be-ū qāʾemīd.

Say: O heedless one, consider how He tells the suns of the mirrors, which is their highest rank, to look toward the Sun of Truth. Then He says that you are like fish moving in the sea, veiled from the water, and questioned about that by which you subsist.

334

فواللّه اگر اهل بيان انصاف دهند همين بيان منزل بيان جميع را كافيست از كلمات مشركين منقطع ميشوند و معنى اين كلمات الهيّه را اليوم مشاهده مينمايند چنانچه اين نفس معرض كه خود را مرآت ميداند و بعضى هم من غير شعور او را مرآت فرض گرفته بر فرض تسليم از شمس حقيقت محروم مانده چنانچه مشاهده ميشود كه بنفس خود ناظر و بموهوم متشبّث و از شمس حقيقت بعيد و ممنوع در ماء حركت ميكند چنانچه در ظلّ اشراقات انوار الهيّه مستظلّ و لكن از او مهجور و محجوب و محروم و هم‌‌چنين اليوم از كلّ مرايا سؤال كرده ميشود چنانچه كلّ در موقف سؤال حاضر هر كدام از شريعه عرفان اللّه خارج شد از حجر محسوب بلكه قابل ذكر نبوده و هر كدام عارف شد و در ظلّ عنايتش مأوى گرفت از مراياى اوّلیّه عنداللّه مذكور كذلك فصل الأمر لعلّ النّاس هم يفقهون

Fa-wa-Allāh agar ahl-e Bayān enṣāf dehand hamīn bayān-e Monzel-e Bayān jamīʿ rā kāfīst. Az kalemāt-e moshrekīn monqaṭeʿ mīshavand va maʿnā-ye īn kalemāt-e elāhiyye rā al-yawm moshāhede mīnamāyand. Chenānche īn nafs-e moʿreż ke khod rā merʾāt mīdānad va baʿżī ham min ghayri shuʿūr ū rā merʾāt farż gerefte, bar farż-e taslīm, az Shams-e Ḥaqīqat maḥrūm mānde. Chenānche moshāhede mīshavad ke be-nafs-e khod nāẓer va be-mowhūm motashabbeth va az Shams-e Ḥaqīqat baʿīd va mamnūʿ. Dar māʾ ḥarakat mīkonad, chenānche dar ẓell-e eshrāqāt-e anvār-e elāhiyye mostaẓell va lāken az ū mahjūr va maḥjūb va maḥrūm. Va ham-chenīn al-yawm az koll-e marāyā soʾāl karde mīshavad, chenānche koll dar mowqef-e soʾāl ḥāżer. Har kodām az sharīʿe-ye ʿerfān Allāh khārej shod az ḥajar maḥsūb, balke qābel-e dhekr nabūde, va har kodām ʿāref shod va dar ẓell-e ʿenāyatash maʾvā gereft az marāyā-ye avvaliyye ʿend Allāh madhkūr. Kadhālika fuṣṣila al-amr laʿalla al-nās hum yafqahūn.

By God, if the people of the Bayán were fair, this utterance of the Revealer of the Bayán alone would suffice them all. They would detach themselves from the words of those who associate partners with God and would witness today the meaning of these divine words. Thus this soul who has turned away, who considers himself a mirror and whom some, without understanding, have assumed to be a mirror—even granting this assumption—has remained deprived of the Sun of Truth. As can be seen, he looks to his own self, clings to a vain imagining, and remains distant from and denied access to the Sun of Truth. He moves in the water, inasmuch as he shelters beneath the radiance of the divine lights, yet he is estranged, veiled, and deprived of Him. Likewise, today all the mirrors are questioned, for all stand at the place of questioning. Whichever departs from the water’s edge of the recognition of God is reckoned as stone—indeed, is unworthy of mention—and whichever recognizes Him and takes refuge beneath the shadow of His loving care is numbered among the foremost mirrors in the sight of God. Thus has the matter been set forth in detail, so that people may understand.

335

حال قدرى در اين بيان تفكّر نما كه شايد بكوثر احديّه كه از معين كلمات الهيّه جارى است فايز گردى بگو اى ظالم بی‌‌خبر اين تحديدات در كجاى از بيان مسطور است كه القاء نموده افترا بر حقّ بسته كه مرآت حاكى بالتمام از نسل يكى خواهد بود و آن را هم حضرت ربّ اعلى در فلان حصر نموده قل افتريت بربّ العرش و الكرسىّ الرّفيع از اين كلمات حقيقت عرفان من القى اليك و اوحى اليه معلوم شده آفرين خوب يد منبسطه الهيّه را مغلول نموده‌ايد يتكلّمون بمثل اليهود و لا يشعرون خاك بر فم امثال آن قائلين و طين بر رأس نابالغين كه تنزيه امر و تقديس كلمات الهيّه را بغبار جهل و تحديد آلوده نموده‌اند لم يزل امراللّه مقدّس از اين حدود بوده

Ḥāl qadrī dar īn bayān tafakkur namā keh shāyad be-kawthar-i aḥadiyyeh keh az maʿīn-i kalimāt-i ilāhiyyeh jārī ast fāʾiz gardī. Begū ey ẓālim-i bī-khabar īn taḥdīdāt dar kojā-yi az Bayān masṭūr ast keh ilqā namūdeh iftirā bar Ḥaqq basteh keh mirʾāt-i ḥākī bi-t-tamām az nasl-i yekī khwāhad būd va ān rā ham Ḥaḍrat-i Rabb-i Aʿlā dar fulān ḥaṣr namūdeh. Qul iftarayta bi-Rabbi l-ʿarshi wa-l-kursiyyi r-rafīʿ. Az īn kalimāt ḥaqīqat-i ʿirfān-i man alqā ilayka wa-awḥā ilayhi maʿlūm shodeh. Āfarīn khūb yad-i munbasiṭeh-yi ilāhiyyeh rā maghlūl namūdeh-īd. Yatakallamūna bi-mithli l-Yahūdi wa-lā yashʿurūn. Khāk bar fam-i amthāl-i ān qāʾilīn va ṭīn bar raʾs-i nābālighīn keh tanzīh-i amr va taqdīs-i kalimāt-i ilāhiyyeh rā be-ghubār-i jahl va taḥdīd ālūdeh namūdeh-and. Lam yazal Amruʾllāh muqaddas az īn ḥudūd būdeh.

Now reflect a little on this utterance, so that you may perhaps attain the Kawthar of oneness flowing from the wellspring of the divine words. Say: O uninformed oppressor, where in the Bayán are these restrictions recorded, which you have put forward, slandering God by claiming that the mirror that fully reflects will come from the descendants of one person, and that the Most Exalted Lord has further confined this to a certain individual? Say: You have fabricated a lie against the Lord of the throne and the exalted seat. These words reveal the true measure of the understanding of the one who prompted you and to whom inspiration was given. Well done! How thoroughly you have fettered the outstretched hand of God! They speak like the Jews and do not perceive it. Dust upon the mouths of such speakers, and clay upon the heads of the immature, who have sullied the transcendence of the Cause and the sanctity of the divine words with the dust of ignorance and restriction. The Cause of God has always been sanctified above these limitations.

336

واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه از پست‌ترين اهل ملل قبل محتجب‌تر مشاهده ميشوند و لكن مرشد بسيار از اين كلمه مسرور شده و البتّه شما را هم نظر باين خدمت يكى از شهداى نار قرار داده و يا خواهد داد چه كه هميشه اراده داشته كه امراللّه را مخصوص بخود و ما يخرج من صلبه نمايد و شما پيش از اراده او امضا داشته‌ايد مريد يعنى شما صدهزار آفرين بر شما كه از براى يك مخلوق خبيثى كه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه شيطان از افعالش احتراز جسته و ميجويد از خالق گذشته افّ له و لمن اتّبعه فواللّه بافترائه اهتزّت اركان العرش و تزلزلت قوائم كرسىّ الرّفيع

Wa-llāhi lladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa keh az past-tarīn-i ahl-i milal-i qabl muḥtajib-tar mushāhedeh mī-shavand va lākin murshid bisyār az īn kalimeh masrūr shodeh va al-batteh shomā rā ham naẓar be-īn khidmat yekī az shuhadā-yi nār qarār dādeh va yā khwāhad dād cheh keh hamīsheh irādeh dāshteh keh Amruʾllāh rā makhṣūṣ be-khod va mā yakhruju min ṣulbihi namāyad va shomā pīsh az irādeh-yi ū imḍā dāshteh-īd. Murīd yaʿnī shomā ṣad-hizār āfarīn bar shomā keh az barā-yi yek makhlūq-i khabīthī keh wa-llāhi lladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa keh shayṭān az afʿālash iḥtirāz jasteh va mī-jūyad az Khāliq gudhashteh. Uffin lahu wa-li-man ittabaʿahu fa-wa-llāhi bi-iftirāʾihi ihtazzat arkānu l-ʿarshi wa-tazalzalat qawāʾimu kursiyyi r-rafīʿ.

By God, besides whom there is no other god, they are seen to be more veiled than the lowliest followers of earlier religions. Yet the master has been greatly pleased by this statement, and in consideration of this service he has certainly appointed you, or will appoint you, as one of the witnesses of the fire. For he has always intended to confine the Cause of God to himself and what proceeds from his loins, and you have endorsed this even before he intended it. A disciple—that is you! A hundred thousand congratulations to you for forsaking the Creator for the sake of a vile creature whose deeds, by God, besides whom there is no other god, Satan has shunned and continues to shun. Shame on him and on whoever follows him! By God, at his fabrication the pillars of the throne shook and the supports of the exalted seat trembled.

337

بشنو نداء اين عبد را و اين دفتر نفس و هوا را كه بالقاى شيطان بكلمات ظنونيّه كاذبه مفتريه نقش نموده بشوى و از مفازه تنگ بفضاى وسيع منيع وارد شو نديده مگو و نفهميده منويس عنقريب تو و او و ما همه بخاك راجعيم اى با انصاف باين شدّت چرا در تضييع امراللّه كمر بسته و براى رضاى مخلوقى بی‌قدر و بی‌‌شأن اين همه مفتريات بحقّ نسبت داده قد اخذتكم نفحات القهر و اى قهر اعظم من ذلك تعبدون البقر و لا تعرفون ثمّ تدعون اللّه بأن يخرج لكم من صلبه عجلاً لتعبدوه و تكوننّ من العابدين ثم من نسل هذا العجل عجلاً آخر و لو ينقطع النّسل لتعزون فى انفسكم و تنوحون و تبكون كما تبكون فى فقدان آبائكم و امّهاتكم بل اعظم لو تكوننّ من الشّاعرين

Bishnav nidā-yi īn ʿabd rā va īn daftar-i nafs va havā rā keh be-ilqā-yi shayṭān be-kalimāt-i ẓunūniyyeh-yi kādhibeh-yi muftariyeh naqsh namūdeh bishūy va az mafāzeh-yi tang be-faḍā-yi vasīʿ-i manīʿ vārid shaw. Nadīdeh magū va nafahmīdeh manavīs. ʿAn-qarīb to va ū va mā hameh be-khāk rājiʿīm. Ey bā-inṣāf be-īn shiddat cherā dar taḍyīʿ-i Amruʾllāh kamar basteh va barā-yi riḍā-yi makhlūqī bī-qadr va bī-shaʾn īn hameh muftariyāt be-Ḥaqq nisbat dādeh. Qad akhadhatkum nafaḥātu l-qahri wa-ayyu qahrin aʿẓamu min dhālika taʿbudūna l-baqara wa-lā taʿrifūna thumma tadʿūna Allāha bi-an yukhrija lakum min ṣulbihi ʿijlan li-taʿbudūhu wa-takūnanna mina l-ʿābidīn. Thumma min nasli hādhā l-ʿijli ʿijlan ākhara wa-law yanqaṭiʿu n-naslu la-taʿzawna fī anfusikum wa-tanūḥūna wa-tabkūna kamā tabkūna fī fuqdāni ābāʾikum wa-ummahātikum bal aʿẓama law takūnanna mina sh-shāʿirīn.

Hear the call of this servant, and wash clean this book of self and desire that, at Satan’s prompting, you have inscribed with conjectural, lying, slanderous words. Leave this narrow wasteland and enter a vast, lofty expanse. Do not speak without seeing, and do not write without understanding. Soon you and he and we will all return to dust. O fair-minded one, why have you set yourself so fiercely to undermining the Cause of God, and attributed all these fabrications to God to please a worthless, insignificant creature? The blasts of wrath have seized you. What wrath could be greater than this: you worship the cow and do not know it, then implore God to bring forth a calf for you from his loins, so that you may worship it and be among its worshippers; then, from the descendants of this calf, another calf. Should the line of descent be cut off, you would console yourselves, lament, and weep as you weep at the loss of your fathers and mothers—indeed, even more, if you were among those who perceive.

338

ملاحظه نما كه چه قدر غافلند اين نفوس كه شمس معانى با منتهى علوّ عظمت و جلال از افق حقيقت طالع و مشرق شده او را بقدر ما يظهر من صلب البقر هم ندانسته‌اند بگو لعنت بر شما و بر حياى شما قد شقّ هيكل الأحديّه رداء العظمة من ظلمكم يا ملأ العنود

Mulāḥiẓeh namā keh cheh qadr ghāfil-and īn nufūs keh Shams-i Maʿānī bā muntahā-yi ʿuluvv-i ʿaẓamat va jalāl az ufuq-i ḥaqīqat ṭāliʿ va mushriq shodeh ū rā be-qadr-i mā yaẓharu min ṣulbi l-baqari ham nadānisteh-and. Begū laʿnat bar shomā va bar ḥayā-yi shomā. Qad shaqqa Haykalu l-Aḥadiyyati ridāʾa l-ʿaẓamati min ẓulmikum yā malaʾa l-ʿanūd.

Consider how heedless these souls are: the Sun of meanings has risen and shone from the horizon of reality in the utmost sublimity of grandeur and glory, yet they have not esteemed Him even as much as what comes forth from the loins of the cow. Say: A curse upon you and upon your sense of shame! The Temple of Oneness has torn the robe of grandeur because of your oppression, O company of the obstinate.

339

حيرت از اين است كه سيّد محمّد اصفهانى كه ابداً از اين امر اطّلاع نداشته و با او نبوده شما او را صادق فرض گرفته‌ايد و جميع نفوسيكه مطّلع بوده‌اند كاذب دانسته‌ايد و باغواى او شمشير كين بر جمال ربّ العالمين آخته بريز اين وساوس نفسانيّه و خدع نسناسيّه را قسم بآفتاب معانى كه طائفين حول ننگ دارند از ذكر اين مراياى كاذبه شما و آنقدر شما ادراك ننموده‌ايد كه وجود مرايا بنفسه لنفسه نبوده بلكه در حين تقابل اشراقى از شمس در آنها ظاهر و بعد از انحراف معدوم بوده و خواهند بود صدهزار مرايا بكلمه خلق شده و ميشوند وتا در ظلّ شجره اثبات و شمس حقيقت باقيند از مرايا مذكور و الّا از احجار سجّين و اهل نار مذكور

Ḥayrat az īn ast keh Siyyid Muḥammad-i Iṣfahānī keh abadan az īn amr iṭṭilāʿ nadāshteh va bā ū nabūdeh shomā ū rā ṣādiq farḍ girifteh-īd va jamīʿ-i nufūsī-keh muṭṭaliʿ būdeh-and kādhib dānisteh-īd va be-ighvā-yi ū shamshīr-i kīn bar Jamāl-i Rabbi l-ʿĀlamīn ākhteh. Birīz īn vasāvis-i nafsāniyyeh va khudaʿ-i nasnāsiyyeh rā. Qasam be-Āftāb-i Maʿānī keh ṭāʾifīn-i ḥawl nang dārand az dhikr-i īn marāyā-yi kādhibeh-yi shomā va ān-qadr shomā idrāk nanamūdeh-īd keh vujūd-i marāyā bi-nafsihi li-nafsihi nabūdeh balkeh dar ḥīn-i taqābul ishrāqī az shams dar ānhā ẓāhir va baʿd az inḥirāf maʿdūm būdeh va khwāhand būd. Ṣad-hizār marāyā be-kalimeh khalq shodeh va mī-shavand va tā dar ẓill-i Shajareh-yi Ithbāt va Shams-i Ḥaqīqat bāqī-and az marāyā madhkūr va illā az aḥjār-i sijjīn va ahl-i nār madhkūr.

What is astonishing is that you have assumed Siyyid Muḥammad of Isfahan to be truthful, though he had no knowledge whatsoever of this matter and was not with Him, while you have deemed all the souls who were informed to be liars. At his instigation you have drawn the sword of hatred against the Beauty of the Lord of the worlds. Cast away these selfish promptings and subhuman deceits. By the Sun of meanings, those who circle around Him are ashamed to mention these false mirrors of yours. You have not understood even this much: the existence of the mirrors has not been of itself and for itself. Rather, when they face the sun, a radiance from it appears in them; after they turn away, it has vanished and will vanish. A hundred thousand mirrors have been and are created by a word. So long as they remain beneath the shadow of the Tree of Affirmation and the Sun of Truth, they are reckoned as mirrors; otherwise, they are reckoned among the stones of Sijjin and the people of the fire.

340

قول ديگر مسلّم ميداريم كه بر ربّ اعلى برترى دارد و قيامت او است و دوره او مرتفع شده باينمعنى كه من همان من يظهره اللّه هستم كه وعده خود حضرت ربّ اعلى است كه دوره بيان باو مرتفع ميشود و ناسخ خواهد بود بطلان اين سخن اظهر من الشّمس است اوّلا خود حضرت باب بنوعى كه احدى خلاف نكند بيان يكى از آن بيانات مجملاً اين عبارت است لو لم يكمل خلق ذلك الظّهور لم يظهر اللّه مظهر الآخر و معنى تكميل را نيز بيان فرموده اينست كه آنچه فرموده و امر نموده چونكه من اللّه بايد تخلّف نكند و خلقى در ظلّ او خلق شود و كلّ فرمايشات او چه از مقامات عاليه و چه از فروعات دينيّه بظهور آيد و الّا ظهور چنين شخصى لغو خواهد بود و اخبارى كه از حقّ است كلّ كذب خواهد بود انتهى

Qawl-i dīgar: musallam mī-dārīm keh bar Rabb-i Aʿlā bartarī dārad va qiyāmat-i ū ast va dawreh-yi ū murtafiʿ shodeh be-īn maʿnī keh man hamān Man Yuẓhiruhuʾllāh hastam keh vaʿdeh-yi khod-i Ḥaḍrat-i Rabb-i Aʿlā ast keh dawreh-yi Bayān be-ū murtafiʿ mī-shavad va nāsikh khwāhad būd. Buṭlān-i īn sukhan aẓharu mina sh-shams ast. Avvalan khod-i Ḥaḍrat-i Bāb be-nawʿī keh aḥadī khilāf nakonad bayān; yekī az ān bayānāt mujmalan īn ʿibārat ast: law lam yukmal khalqu dhālika ẓ-ẓuhūri lam yuẓhiri Allāhu maẓhara l-ākhar. Va maʿnī-yi takmīl rā nīz bayān farmūdeh īn ast keh āncheh farmūdeh va amr namūdeh chūn-keh min Allāh bāyad takhalluf nakonad va khalqī dar ẓill-i ū khalq shavad va kull-i farmāyishāt-i ū cheh az maqāmāt-i ʿāliyeh va cheh az furūʿāt-i dīniyyeh be-ẓuhūr āyad va illā ẓuhūr-i chunīn shakhsī laghv khwāhad būd va akhbārī keh az Ḥaqq ast kull kidhb khwāhad būd. Intahā.

Another statement: “Let us concede that he is superior to the Most Exalted Lord, that he is His Resurrection, and that His dispensation has been superseded—in the sense that ‘I am that very One whom God will make manifest, promised by the Most Exalted Lord Himself, through whom the dispensation of the Bayán will be superseded, and who will abrogate it.’ The falsity of this claim is clearer than the sun. First, the Báb Himself has stated this in a manner that no one can dispute. One of those statements, in brief, is this: ‘If the creation of that Revelation is not completed, God will not manifest the other Manifestation.’ He has also explained the meaning of completion: since whatever He has said and commanded is from God, it must not fail to be fulfilled. A creation must be created beneath His shadow, and all His pronouncements, whether concerning exalted stations or subsidiary religious ordinances, must be realized. Otherwise, the appearance of such a person would be futile, and all the tidings that come from God would be false.” End of quotation.

341

قل يا ايّها الحمير حقّ آنچه بفرمايد حقّ است و بكلمات مشركين باطل نشود بلكه آنچه اليوم بطلانش اظهر من الشّمس است انفس خود معرضين بوده و خواهد بود قل خذ زمامك يا ايّها المكّار و يا ايّها المتوهّم الّذى ما شهدت عين الدّهر مثلك نميدانم بكدام نفس آن نفوس را شبيه نمايم چه كه در اعراض شبه و كفو و مانند ندارند

Qul yā ayyuhā l-ḥamīr Ḥaqq āncheh be-farmāyad ḥaqq ast va be-kalimāt-i mushrikīn bāṭil nashavad balkeh āncheh al-yawm buṭlānash aẓharu mina sh-shams ast anfus-i khod-i muʿriḍīn būdeh va khwāhad būd. Qul khudh zimāmaka yā ayyuhā l-makkāru wa-yā ayyuhā l-mutawahhimu lladhī mā shahidat ʿaynu d-dahri mithlaka. Namī-dānam be-kodām nafs ān nufūs rā shabīh namāyam cheh keh dar iʿrāḍ shibh va kufv va mānand nadārand.

Say: O asses! Whatever God says is true and is not invalidated by the words of those who associate partners with Him. Rather, what is and will be clearer than the sun today is the falsity of those very souls who turn away. Say: Rein yourself in, O deceiver, O deluded one, whose like the eye of time has never seen! I do not know to whom I can compare those souls, for in turning away they have no likeness, equal, or counterpart.

342

بگو بآن مشرك ملقى كه اى غافل حقّ را باطل مدان و كلمات حقّ را باطل مشمر و اللّه يا ايّها المنكر رايحه كلمات الهى از دونش بسى ممتاز بحيث لو يكون فى شرق الابداع و يتكلّم بكلمة ليجد رايحة القدس منها من كان فى الغرب ان يكون مطهّراً عن ارياح المشركين آنچه از حقّ جلّ جلاله و عظم كبريائه ظاهر شود فعلاً و قولاً مطاع بوده و خواهد بود نزد اولو الافئده و بر احدى اعراض و اعتراض جايز نه و يشهد بذلك كلّ ذى عقل و كلّ ذى دراية و شعور و لكن انّهم لما خلقوا من الجهل لن يستشعروا و يكوننّ من الغافلين بايد اوّل عارف بحقّ شد كه چه ميفرمايد و حجّتش چه بعد از ثبوت و اظهار بيّنه و برهان كلّ اين كلمات و قائلين و متكلّمين آن راجع بنار بوده و خواهند بود و انّ النّار مثويهم فبئس مثوى المشركين

Begū be-ān mushrik-i mulqī keh ey ghāfil Ḥaqq rā bāṭil madān va kalimāt-i Ḥaqq rā bāṭil mashmur. Wa-llāh yā ayyuhā l-munkir rāyiḥeh-yi kalimāt-i ilāhī az dūnash basī mumtāz bi-ḥaythu law yakūnu fī sharqi l-ibdāʿi wa-yatakallamu bi-kalimatin la-yajida rāʾiḥata l-qudsi minhā man kāna fī l-gharbi in yakūnu muṭahharan ʿan aryāḥi l-mushrikīn. Āncheh az Ḥaqq jalla jalāluhu wa-ʿaẓuma kibriyāʾuhu ẓāhir shavad fiʿlan va qawlan muṭāʿ būdeh va khwāhad būd nazd-i ulu l-afʾideh va bar aḥadī iʿrāḍ va iʿtirāḍ jāʾiz nah. Wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu dhī ʿaqlin wa-kullu dhī dirāyatin wa-shuʿūrin wa-lākin innahum lammā khuliqū mina l-jahli lan yastashʿirū wa-yakūnanna mina l-ghāfilīn. Bāyad avval ʿārif be-Ḥaqq shud keh cheh mī-farmāyad va ḥujjatash cheh. Baʿd az thubūt va iẓhār-i bayyineh va burhān kull-i īn kalimāt va qāʾilīn va mutakallimīn-i ān rājiʿ be-nār būdeh va khwāhand būd. Wa-inna n-nāra mathwāhum fa-biʾsa mathwā l-mushrikīn.

Say to that prompter who associates partners with God: O heedless one, do not deem God false, and do not reckon His words false. By God, O denier, the fragrance of the divine words is so distinct from that of all others that, were He in the east of creation and to speak a single word, one in the west would perceive the fragrance of holiness from it, provided he were purified from the winds of those who associate partners with God. Whatever proceeds from God—glorious is His glory and great His majesty—in deed or word has been and will be obeyed by those endowed with hearts. No one is permitted to turn away or object. To this every person of reason, understanding, and perception bears witness. Yet, since they were created from ignorance, they will not perceive and will remain among the heedless. One must first recognize God, what He says, and what His proof is. Once this is established and clear evidence and proof have been presented, all these words, and those who utter and speak them, have returned and will return to the fire. The fire is indeed their abode, and wretched is the abode of those who associate partners with God.

343

و اينكه نوشته حضرت اعلى فرموده لو لم يكمل خلق ذلك الظّهور الخ امر تكميل در قبضه قدرت الهى بوده شما و امثال شما ادراك ننموده و نخواهيد نمود چه كه ميشود هزار سنه ناس بشريعتى عامل باشند و مع‌ذلك لفظ تكميل بر او صادق نيايد و ميشود در يومى كلّ تكميل شوند و احدى بر تكميل و غير آن جز حقّ مطّلع نه چه كه تكميل هر امرى منوط باراده او است چنانچه از قبل ذكر شد اگر بخواهد جميع ناس را بيك نفس راجع و از همان نفس بنفس او راجع و محشور و ظاهر ميفرمايد و هم‌چنين بعث جميع نفوس و تكميل ايشانرا باقرار نفسى بصاحب ظهور در همان حين حكم تكميل ظهور قبل در نفس او ميشود كلّ ذلك تقدير من لدن مقتدر قدير و لكن محتجبين و متوهّمين باينمقام واصل و بعرفانش فايز نگشته

Va īn-keh nivishteh Ḥaḍrat-i Aʿlā farmūdeh law lam yukmal khalqu dhālika ẓ-ẓuhūri ilā ākhir, amr-i takmīl dar qabḍeh-yi qudrat-i ilāhī būdeh shomā va amthāl-i shomā idrāk nanamūdeh va nakhwāhīd namūd cheh keh mī-shavad hizār saneh nās be-sharīʿatī ʿāmil bāshand va maʿa-dhālik lafẓ-i takmīl bar ū ṣādiq nayāyad va mī-shavad dar yawmī kull takmīl shavand va aḥadī bar takmīl va ghayr-i ān juz Ḥaqq muṭṭaliʿ nah cheh keh takmīl-i har amrī manūṭ be-irādeh-yi ū ast. Chunāncheh az qabl dhikr shud agar bi-khwāhad jamīʿ-i nās rā be-yek nafs rājiʿ va az hamān nafs be-nafs-i ū rājiʿ va maḥshūr va ẓāhir mī-farmāyad va ham-chunīn baʿth-i jamīʿ-i nufūs va takmīl-i īshān-rā be-iqrār-i nafsī be-Ṣāḥib-i Ẓuhūr dar hamān ḥīn ḥukm-i takmīl-i ẓuhūr-i qabl dar nafs-i ū mī-shavad. Kullu dhālika taqdīrun min ladun muqtadirin qadīr. Va lākin muḥtajibīn va mutawahhimīn be-īn maqām vāṣil va be-ʿirfānash fāʾiz nagashteh.

As for his having written that the Most Exalted One said, “If the creation of that Revelation is not completed,” and so forth: the matter of completion lies within the grasp of divine power. You and those like you have not understood it and will not understand it. People may practice a religious law for a thousand years, yet the term “completion” may not apply to it; or all may be brought to completion in a single day. No one but God knows whether completion has occurred or not, for the completion of every matter depends on His will. As mentioned before, if He wishes, He causes all people to return to a single soul, and from that same soul causes them to return to His own Self, to be gathered and made manifest. Likewise, the resurrection of all souls and their completion: upon a soul’s acknowledgment of the Revealer, at that very moment the completion of the preceding Revelation is decreed in that soul. All this is an ordainment from One who is all-powerful and mighty. Yet those who are veiled and deluded have not attained this station or come to understand it.

344

بسا ميشود كه شمس حقيقت ظاهر و مشرق و كلّ ناس محتجب و جميع مظاهر اثباتيّه در نفس ظهور ظاهر و ثابت و مستقرّ و حكم نفى بر كلّ جارى و صادق و هذا سرّ خفىّ لم يعرفه احد الّا من فتح اللّه بصره و نوّره بنور الايقان چنانچه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ميفرمايد قوله عزّ كبريائه تو را محتجب نكند كثرت اين خلق و انجماد آنها بر امر خود كه اگر فرض تصوّر شود در يك ظهورى شجره حقيقت ناطق گردد و كلّ تامّل نمايند در حقّ او كلّ در لا اله منفى بوده و هستند اگر چه در روى ارض باقى هستند ولى بقاى ايشان بقاى در نار بوده و هست و كلّ اثبات آن نفس ممتنعه مرتفعه بوده انتهى

Basā mī-shavad keh Shams-i Ḥaqīqat ẓāhir va mushriq va kull-i nās muḥtajib va jamīʿ-i maẓāhir-i ithbātiyyeh dar nafs-i Ẓuhūr ẓāhir va thābit va mustaqarr va ḥukm-i nafy bar kull jārī va ṣādiq. Wa-hādhā sirrun khafiyyun lam yaʿrifhu aḥadun illā man fataḥa Allāhu baṣarahu wa-nawwarahu bi-nūri l-īqān. Chunāncheh Nuqṭeh-yi Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh mī-farmāyad qawluhu ʿazza kibriyāʾuhu: to rā muḥtajib nakonad kathrat-i īn khalq va injimād-i ānhā bar amr-i khod keh agar farḍ taṣavvur shavad dar yek ẓuhūrī Shajareh-yi Ḥaqīqat nāṭiq gardad va kull taʾammul namāyand dar ḥaqq-i ū kull dar lā ilāh manfī būdeh va hastand agar-cheh dar rū-yi arḍ bāqī hastand valī baqā-yi īshān baqā-yi dar nār būdeh va hast va kull-i ithbāt ān nafs-i mumtaniʿeh-yi murtafiʿeh būdeh. Intahā.

It may well be that the Sun of Truth appears and shines while all people remain veiled, and all the manifestations of affirmation appear, are established, and abide in the person of the Revelation Himself, while the decree of negation applies to and holds true of all others. This is a hidden mystery that no one has known except one whose sight God has opened and illumined with the light of certitude. Thus the Point of the Bayán—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him—says, exalted is His majesty: “Do not let the multitude of these people and their rigid adherence to their own cause veil you. For if it be supposed that in a Revelation the Tree of Truth were to speak and all were to hesitate concerning Him, all would have been and would be negated within ‘there is no god.’ Though they remain on the face of the earth, their continued existence has been and is an existence in the fire, and the whole of affirmation would be that inaccessible, exalted Soul.” End of quotation.

345

حال در اين بيان نقطه بيان چه ميگوئى و تكميل دوره آنظهور را چگونه تعقّل مينمائى مع آنكه احدى بعرفانش فايز نشده پس عارف شو كه تكميل دوره بنفس خود ظهور بوده و خواهد بود و لكن لايعقله الّا من شرب كوثر المعانى من بحر الأعظم الّذى ظهر عن يمين العرش بامواج ظاهر مبين

Ḥāl dar īn bayān-i Nuqṭeh-yi Bayān cheh mī-gūʾī va takmīl-i dawreh-yi ān ẓuhūr rā chigūneh taʿaqqul mī-namāʾī maʿa ān-keh aḥadī be-ʿirfānash fāʾiz nashodeh. Pas ʿārif shaw keh takmīl-i dawreh be-nafs-i khod-i Ẓuhūr būdeh va khwāhad būd va lākin lā yaʿqiluhu illā man shariba kawthara l-maʿānī min Baḥri l-Aʿẓami lladhī ẓahara ʿan yamīni l-ʿarshi bi-amwājin ẓāhirin mubīn.

Now, what do you say about this utterance of the Point of the Bayán? How do you conceive of the completion of the cycle of that Revelation, when no one has attained recognition of Him? Understand, then, that the completion of the cycle has been and will be through the person of the Revelation Himself. Yet no one understands this except one who has drunk the Kawthar of meanings from the Most Great Ocean, which has appeared to the right of the throne with manifest, unmistakable waves.

346

و هم‌‌چنين مضمون بيان نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه است كه ميفرمايند اينكه ما بين ظهورين بطول ميانجامد سبب عدم استعداد ناس است و شمس حقيقت بعد از غروب در افق ابهى ناظر بعباد خود بوده هر حين كه ملاحظه فرمايد نفسى ظاهر شده كه تواند اصغاى كلمة اللّه نمايد در همان حين نفس خود را باو بشناساند و اقلّ از تسع تسع عشر عشر دقيقه صبر ننمايد و در اينمقام مثل بنقطه فرقان جلّت عظمته زده‌اند و فرموده‌اند كه مثلا بعد از غروب شمس محمّديّه هميشه ناظر بخلق خود بوده اگر ملاحظه ميفرمود كه نفسى در ارض موجود شده كه حمل امانة اللّه نمايد ابدا در ظهور تأخير نميفرمود و اينكه عدد غريس طول انجاميده باينجهت بوده چنانچه حين استعداد اوّل من آمن و قبول او كلمه اعظم را اقلّ از آن در اظهار امر تأخير نرفت و همان حين القاى كلمة اللّه باو شد و اگر يك آن قبل از آن بالغ ميشد و بين يدى حاضر همان يك آن هم تأخير در القاء نميشد

Va ham-chunīn maḍmūn-i bayān-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāhu, ast ki mīfarmāyand: Īnki mā bayn-i ẓuhūrayn bi-ṭūl mīanjāmad sabab-i ʿadam-i istiʿdād-i nās ast va Shams-i Ḥaqīqat baʿd az ghurūb dar ufuq-i Abhā nāẓir bi-ʿibād-i khud būdi, har ḥīn ki mulāḥiẓi farmāyad nafsī ẓāhir shudi ki tavānad iṣghā-yi Kalimat Allāh namāyad, dar hamān ḥīn nafs-i khud rā bi-ū bishināsānad va aqall az tusʿ-i tusʿ-i ʿushr-i ʿushr-i daqīqi ṣabr nanamāyad. Va dar īn maqām mathal bi-Nuqṭiy-i Furqān, jallat ʿaẓamatuhu, zadi-and va farmūdi-and ki mathalan baʿd az ghurūb-i Shams-i Muḥammadiyyi hamīshi nāẓir bi-khalq-i khud būdi, agar mulāḥiẓi mīfarmūd ki nafsī dar arḍ mawjūd shudi ki ḥaml-i Amānat Allāh namāyad, abadan dar ẓuhūr taʾkhīr namīfarmūd. Va īnki ʿadad-i Gharīs ṭūl anjāmīdi bi-īn jihat būdi, chunānchi ḥīn-i istiʿdād-i avval man āman va qabūl-i ū Kalimiy-i Aʿẓam rā, aqall az ān dar iẓhār-i amr taʾkhīr naraft va hamān ḥīn ilqā-yi Kalimat Allāh bi-ū shud. Va agar yak ān qabl az ān bāligh mīshud va bayn-i yaday ḥāḍir, hamān yak ān ham taʾkhīr dar ilqā namīshud.

Likewise, the substance of the utterance of the Point of the Bayán—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him—is that He says: The interval between two Revelations is prolonged because people lack readiness. After setting in the All-Glorious horizon, the Sun of Truth watches over His servants. Whenever He observes that a soul has appeared who can hear the Word of God, He makes Himself known to that soul at that very moment, and does not wait even for less than a ninth of a ninth of a tenth of a tenth of a minute. In this connection He has given the Point of the Qur’an—exalted is His grandeur—as an example, saying that after the setting of the Muhammadan Sun, He continually watched over His creation. Had He observed that a soul had come into existence on earth who could bear the Trust of God, He would never have delayed His Revelation. The interval extended to the number of Gharís for this reason. Thus, when the first believer became ready and accepted the Most Great Word, there was not the slightest delay in making the Cause manifest, and at that very moment the Word of God was imparted to him. Had he attained maturity and entered His presence one instant earlier, its imparting would not have been delayed even for that one instant.

347

اى محتجبين در كلمات و بيان الهى تفكّر نمائيد كه شايد برشحى از طمطام بحر معانى فايز شويد و اگر با بصر باشيد نفس اين ظهور بديع را سبب تكميل بيان مشاهده مينمائيد كه همان حين ظهور تكميل دوره بيان شده و از آن گذشته جميع را باحكام بيان امر فرموده‌اند و خود بنفسه عامل بوده‌اند و اگر جميع حجبات خرق ميشد چه ميكرديد بدانيد كه در حين ظهور هر نفسيكه بين يدى حاضر شد جميع اسماء و صفات و شرايع و احكام و اوامر كه از قبل بوده باقبال او بحقّ در نفس او تكميل شده و ميشود اذا تفكّر لتكون من العارفين

Ay muḥtajibīn, dar kalimāt va bayān-i ilāhī tafakkur namāyīd ki shāyad bi-rashḥī az ṭamṭām-i baḥr-i maʿānī fāʾiz shavīd. Va agar bā baṣar bāshīd, nafs-i īn ẓuhūr-i badīʿ rā sabab-i takmīl-i Bayān mushāhidi mīnamāyīd ki hamān ḥīn-i ẓuhūr takmīl-i dawriy-i Bayān shudi, va az ān gudhashti jamīʿ rā bi-aḥkām-i Bayān amr farmūdi-and va khud bi-nafsihi ʿāmil būdi-and. Va agar jamīʿ-i ḥujubāt kharq mīshud chi mīkardīd? Bidānīd ki dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr har nafsī ki bayn-i yaday ḥāḍir shud, jamīʿ-i asmā va ṣifāt va sharāyiʿ va aḥkām va avāmir ki az qabl būdi bi-iqbāl-i ū bi-Ḥaqq dar nafs-i ū takmīl shudi va mīshavad. Idhan tafakkar li-takūna mina al-ʿārifīn.

You who are veiled, reflect on the words and utterances of God, that you may perhaps attain a sprinkling from the surging ocean of meanings. If you have eyes to see, you will recognize the very person of this wondrous Revelation as the means of completing the Bayán, for at the very moment of His Revelation the cycle of the Bayán was completed. Beyond this, He has enjoined everyone to observe the laws of the Bayán and has Himself acted in accordance with them. Had all the veils been torn apart, what would you have done? Know that, at the time of the Revelation, in every soul who entered His presence, all the names, attributes, religious laws, ordinances, and commandments that had existed before were, and are, brought to completion through that soul’s turning toward the Truth. Reflect, then, that you may be among those who recognize.

348

و اينكه نوشته بودى بايد كلّ فرمايشات او چه از مقامات عاليه و چه از فروعات دينيّه بظهور آيد و الّا ظهور چنين شخص لغو خواهد بود و كلّ اخبار حقّ كذب بدانكه كلّ ما فى البيان بعالم ظهور آمده و بين يدى اللّه محشور گشته و لكن آن وقت امثال آن نفوس ميّت و لاشیء بوده‌اند و لذا مستشعر نشده‌اند بعد از ظهور اين اقوال احدى را غنى ننموده و نخواهد نمود چه كه تكميل كلّ بتصديق او بوده و عزّ كلّ بامر او و اعمال كلّ بقبول او منوط بوده

Va īnki nivishti būdī bāyad kull-i farmāyishāt-i ū chi az maqāmāt-i ʿāliyi va chi az furūʿāt-i dīniyyi bi-ẓuhūr āyad va illā ẓuhūr-i chunīn shakhs laghv khvāhad būd va kull-i akhbār-i Ḥaqq kidhb, bidānki kull-i mā fī al-Bayān bi-ʿālam-i ẓuhūr āmadi va bayn-i yaday Allāh maḥshūr gashti va lākin ān vaqt amthāl-i ān nufūs mayyit va lā-shayʾ būdi-and va lidhā mustashʿir nashudi-and. Baʿd az ẓuhūr īn aqvāl aḥadī rā ghanī nanamūdi va nakhvāhad namūd, chi ki takmīl-i kull bi-taṣdīq-i ū būdi va ʿizz-i kull bi-amr-i ū va aʿmāl-i kull bi-qabūl-i ū manūṭ būdi.

As for your statement that all His pronouncements, whether concerning exalted stations or subsidiary religious matters, must be fulfilled, otherwise the appearance of such a person would be futile and all God’s tidings false—know that everything in the Bayán has come into the realm of manifestation and has been gathered into the presence of God. At that time, however, such souls were dead and as nothing, and therefore remained unaware. After the Revelation, these assertions have availed no one and never will, for the completion of all things has depended on His confirmation, the glory of all on His command, and the deeds of all on His acceptance.

349

مثلا اگر بخواهد كلّ آنچه را در ظهور قبل عنايت فرمود اخذ نمايد احدى را نرسد كه بر او اعتراض نمايد چه كه او قادر بوده و خواهد بود يك بيان از نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ذكر ميشود لعلّ تستشعر فى نفسك و تكون من المستشعرين

Mathalan agar bikhvāhad kull-i ānchi rā dar ẓuhūr-i qabl ʿināyat farmūd akhdh namāyad, aḥadī rā narisad ki bar ū iʿtirāḍ namāyad, chi ki ū qādir būdi va khvāhad būd. Yak bayān az Nuqṭiy-i Bayān, rūḥu mā siwāhu fidāhu, dhikr mīshavad, laʿallaka tastashʿiru fī nafsika va takūna mina al-mustashʿirīn.

For example, should He wish to take back everything He bestowed in the preceding Revelation, no one has the right to object to Him, for He has been and will remain powerful. An utterance of the Point of the Bayán—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him—is quoted, that you may perhaps become aware within yourself and be among those who perceive.

350

قوله جلّ كبريائه مثل كلّ بيان مثل جوهرى است كه نزد كسى امانت گذارد و در يوم ظهور مظهر حقيقت اگر از كلّ خواهد اخذ نمايد آنچه بايشان داده قدر شیء صبر ننمايند نه آنكه يكى بمسئله فروع آن محتجب گردد و يكى باصول آن و يكى بشئون حكم و يكى بشئون عزّ بلكه كلّ از اوست و باو راجع ميگردد و او را شناخته بآيات او و احتياط در عرفان او نكرده كه بقدر همان در نار محتجب خواهيد بود و اگر در مابين خود و خدا توجّه ميكنيد مثال او است كه در افئده شماست باو از او محتجب نگرديد بشناسيد كسى را كه از براى عرفان او خلق شده‌ايد

Qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu: Mathal-i kull-i Bayān mathal-i jawharī ast ki nazd-i kasī amānat gudhārad va dar yawm-i ẓuhūr-i Maẓhar-i Ḥaqīqat agar az kull khvāhad akhdh namāyad ānchi bi-īshān dādi, qadr-i shayʾ ṣabr nanamāyand, na ānki yakī bi-masʾaliy-i furūʿ-i ān muḥtajib gardad va yakī bi-uṣūl-i ān va yakī bi-shuʾūn-i ḥukm va yakī bi-shuʾūn-i ʿizz, balki kull az ūst va bi-ū rājiʿ mīgardad. Va ū rā shinākhti bi-āyāt-i ū va iḥtiyāṭ dar ʿirfān-i ū nakardi ki bi-qadr-i hamān dar nār muḥtajib khvāhīd būd. Va agar dar mābayn-i khud va Khudā tavajjuh mīkunīd, mithāl-i ū ast ki dar afʾidiy-i shumāst. Bi-ū az ū muḥtajib nagardīd. Bishināsīd kasī rā ki az barā-yi ʿirfān-i ū khalq shudi-īd.

His words—exalted is His majesty: “The whole Bayán is like a jewel entrusted to someone. On the day of the appearance of the Manifestation of Truth, if He wishes to take back from everyone what He has given them, they must not hesitate in the slightest—not that one should be veiled by a question concerning its subsidiary matters, another by its principles, another by the aspects of authority, and another by the aspects of glory. Rather, everything comes from Him and returns to Him. Recognize Him by His verses and exercise no caution in recognizing Him, for to that same extent you will remain veiled in the fire. If, in the privacy between yourselves and God, you turn toward Him, it is His image that is in your hearts. Do not let it veil you from Him. Recognize the One for whose recognition you have been created.”

351

انتهى حال ملاحظه نمائيد كه چه قدر از شاطى بحر عرفان دور مانده‌ايد و چه مقدار بحجاب نفس و هوى از موجد و محقّق اسماء محروم گشته‌ايد فواللّه آنچه نقطه بيان خواسته خلاف او نموده‌ايد آنچه آيات محكمات او بوده بظنونات افكيّه تحريف و تاويل نموده‌ايد قطره از بحر تقديس نياشاميده‌ايد و بهبوبی‌ از ارياح عزّ تنزيه فايز نگشته‌ايد مع اينكه كوثر بيان كه از معين قلم سلطان امكان جارى شده گاهى فروع ذكر مينمائيد و گاهى اصول مذكور ميداريد و اللّه مقصودى نداشته و نداريد جز آنكه بحبلى از حبال نفس تمسّك جسته و بآن بر سلطان احديّه اعتراض نمائيد

Intahā. Ḥāl mulāḥiẓi namāyīd ki chi qadr az shāṭī-yi baḥr-i ʿirfān dūr māndi-īd va chi miqdār bi-ḥijāb-i nafs va havā az Mūjid va Muḥaqqiq-i asmā maḥrūm gashti-īd. Fa-wa-Allāh ānchi Nuqṭiy-i Bayān khvāsti khilāf-i ū namūdi-īd. Ānchi āyāt-i muḥkamāt-i ū būdi bi-ẓunūnāt-i ifkiyyi taḥrīf va taʾvīl namūdi-īd. Qaṭri az baḥr-i taqdīs nayāshāmīdi-īd va bi-hubūbī az aryāḥ-i ʿizz-i tanzīh fāʾiz nagashti-īd. Maʿ-i īnki Kawthar-i Bayān ki az maʿīn-i qalam-i Sulṭān-i imkān jārī shudi, gāhī furūʿ dhikr mīnamāyīd va gāhī uṣūl madhkūr mīdārīd. Va Allāh maqṣūdī nadāshti va nadārīd juz ānki bi-ḥablī az ḥibāl-i nafs tamassuk justi va bi-ān bar Sulṭān-i Aḥadiyyi iʿtirāḍ namāyīd.

End of quotation. Now consider how far you have remained from the shore of the ocean of recognition, and how greatly the veil of self and desire has deprived you of the Originator and Establisher of the names. By God, you have acted contrary to everything the Point of the Bayán desired. You have distorted and explained away all His decisive verses through false conjectures. You have not drunk a drop from the ocean of holiness or received a breath of the winds of the glory of sanctification. Yet concerning the Kawthar of utterance that has flowed from the wellspring of the pen of the Sovereign of existence, you speak sometimes of subsidiary matters and sometimes of principles. By God, you have had, and still have, no aim but to seize a cord among the cords of self and use it to object to the Sovereign of Oneness.

352

حال ملاحظه نمائيد كه كلمات الهى چگونه محقّق شده نصّ فرموده‌اند كه در آن يوم احدى بذكر فروع و اصول و حكم و شئون عزّ محتجب نماند چه كه آن ساذج قدم خود بنفسه مطاع بوده و هر چه در حين ظهور بفرمايد آن حكم الهى و امر او بوده ما بين عباد مع‌ذلك تو و امثال تو بذكر اصول و فروع احتجاج بر حقّ نموده‌ايد و مرشد بشئون عزّ و حكم اليوم كلّ در نار مشاهده ميشويد الّا من تمسّك باللّه المقتدر العزيز المختار

Ḥāl mulāḥiẓi namāyīd ki kalimāt-i ilāhī chigūni muḥaqqaq shudi. Naṣṣ farmūdi-and ki dar ān yawm aḥadī bi-dhikr-i furūʿ va uṣūl va ḥukm va shuʾūn-i ʿizz muḥtajib namānad, chi ki ān Sādhij-i Qidam khud bi-nafsihi muṭāʿ būdi va har chi dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr bifarmāyad ān ḥukm-i ilāhī va amr-i ū būdi mā bayn-i ʿibād. Maʿa dhālik tu va amthāl-i tu bi-dhikr-i uṣūl va furūʿ iḥtijāj bar Ḥaqq namūdi-īd va murshid bi-shuʾūn-i ʿizz va ḥukm. Al-yawm kull dar nār mushāhidi mīshavīd illā man tamassaka bi-Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Mukhtār.

Now consider how the words of God have been fulfilled. He expressly stated that on that day no one should remain veiled by reference to subsidiary matters, principles, authority, or the aspects of glory, for that Essence of Eternity is Himself the One to be obeyed, and whatever He pronounces at the time of His Revelation is the decree of God and His command among His servants. Nevertheless, you and those like you have argued against the Truth by invoking principles and subsidiary matters, and the spiritual guide by invoking the aspects of glory and authority. Today you are all seen in the fire, except those who have held fast to God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Unconstrained.

353

اى بی‌خبران بشأنى مبالغه فرموده‌اند كه ميفرمايند در آن يوم احتياط در عرفان او مكنيد كه بقدر همان احتياط در نار خواهيد بود مع‌ذلك وارد آورده‌ايد آنچه را كه هيچيك از مظاهر نفى و سجّين وارد نياورده‌اند يك بيان ديگر از بيان منزل بيان لوجه اللّه ذكر ميشود شايد اثواب رثيثه بغضا را از هيكل بيندازيد و برداء عزّ الهى فايز شويد قوله جلّ كبريائه ولى مغرور نگشته بحبّ نقطه و حروف حىّ كه آن روز روز امتحان است اگر كسى آن نقطه و حروف را دوست داشت و بهدايت آن مهتدى گشت دليل است كه اين نقطه و حروف را دوست داشته انتهى

Ay bī-khabarān, bi-shaʾnī mubālaghi farmūdi-and ki mīfarmāyand dar ān yawm iḥtiyāṭ dar ʿirfān-i ū makunīd ki bi-qadr-i hamān iḥtiyāṭ dar nār khvāhīd būd. Maʿa dhālik vārd āvardi-īd ānchi rā ki hīch-yak az maẓāhir-i nafy va sijjīn vārd nayāvardi-and. Yak bayān-i dīgar az bayān-i Munzil-i Bayān li-wajh Allāh dhikr mīshavad, shāyad athvāb-i rathīthiy-i baghḍā rā az haykal biyandāzīd va bi-ridā-yi ʿizz-i ilāhī fāʾiz shavīd. Qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu: Valī maghrūr nagashti bi-ḥubb-i Nuqṭi va Ḥurūf-i Ḥayy ki ān rūz rūz-i imtiḥān ast. Agar kasī ān Nuqṭi va Ḥurūf rā dūst dāsht va bi-hidāyat-i ān muhtadī gasht, dalīl ast ki īn Nuqṭi va Ḥurūf rā dūst dāshti. Intahā.

You who are unaware! So emphatically has He spoken that He says: On that day, exercise no caution in recognizing Him, for to the extent of that caution you will be in the fire. Nevertheless, you have inflicted what none of the manifestations of negation and Sijjín has inflicted. Another utterance of the Revealer of the Bayán is quoted for the sake of God, that you may perhaps cast the tattered garments of hatred from your bodies and attain the robe of divine glory. His words—exalted is His majesty: “But do not become complacent through love for the Point and the Letters of the Living, for that day is the day of testing. If someone loves that Point and those Letters and is guided by their guidance, this is proof that he has loved this Point and these Letters.” End of quotation.

354

ملاحظه كن كه چه مقدار محكم و متقن اين امر ابدع امنع اقدس را در كتاب ذكر فرموده‌اند حتّى آنكه ميفرمايند بحبّ من مغرور نشويد و از آن جمال قدم محجوب نمانيد مع‌ذلك در كلّ حين باحتجاجات لايحصى احتجاج نموده و مينمائيد و اگر بگوئيد اين ظهور آن ظهور نيست اين همان قولى است كه كلّ ملل قبل در احيان ظهور مظاهر احديّه گفته‌اند مثلا در حين ظهور روح اللّه و كلمه او جميع بكتب قبل استدلالات بر بطلان او نموده و جميع معارض و منكران الّا من شآء ربّك كه معدودى قليلى بودند و هم‌‌چنين در ظهور خاتم انبیاء كه از مشرق بطحا اشراق فرمود كلّ منكر شدند كه تو آن ظهور موعود نيستى و ادلّه‌هاى مجعوله ذكر نموده رسايل بر ردّ حقّ نوشتند و هم‌‌چنين در ظهور نقطه بيان مشاهده نموده و مينمائيد كه چه كرده و ميكنند چه فرق است مابين اين طايفه و آن گروه

Mulāḥiẓi kun ki chi miqdār muḥkam va mutqan īn amr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ-i aqdas rā dar Kitāb dhikr farmūdi-and, ḥattā ānki mīfarmāyand bi-ḥubb-i man maghrūr nashavīd va az ān Jamāl-i Qidam maḥjūb namānīd. Maʿa dhālik dar kull-i ḥīn bi-iḥtijājāt-i lā-yuḥṣā iḥtijāj namūdi va mīnamāyīd. Va agar bigūʾīd īn ẓuhūr ān ẓuhūr nīst, īn hamān qawlī ast ki kull-i milal-i qabl dar aḥyān-i ẓuhūr-i Maẓāhir-i Aḥadiyyi gufti-and. Mathalan dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i Rūḥ Allāh va Kalimiy-i ū jamīʿ bi-kutub-i qabl istidlālāt bar buṭlān-i ū namūdi va jamīʿ muʿāriḍ va munkirān, illā man shāʾa rabbuka ki maʿdūdī qalīlī būdand. Va ham-chunīn dar ẓuhūr-i Khātam-i Anbiyā ki az mashriq-i Baṭḥā ishrāq farmūd, kull munkir shudand ki tu ān ẓuhūr-i mawʿūd nīstī va adillihā-yi majʿūli dhikr namūdi, rasāʾil bar radd-i Ḥaqq nivishtand. Va ham-chunīn dar ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān mushāhidi namūdi va mīnamāyīd ki chi kardi va mīkunand. Chi farq ast mābayn-i īn ṭāʾifi va ān gurūh?

Consider how firmly and conclusively He has set forth this most wondrous, most unassailable, most holy Cause in the Book, even saying: Do not become complacent through love for Me, and do not remain veiled from that Ancient Beauty. Nevertheless, at every moment you have advanced, and continue to advance, countless arguments. If you say that this Revelation is not that Revelation, this is the very assertion made by all previous religious communities at the times when the Manifestations of Oneness appeared. For example, when the Spirit of God and His Word appeared, everyone invoked the former scriptures to argue that He was false, and all were opponents and deniers, except those whom your Lord willed, who were but a few. Likewise, at the Revelation of the Seal of the Prophets, who shone from the dawning-place of Bathá, all denied Him, saying, ‘You are not the promised Revelation.’ They put forward fabricated proofs and wrote treatises refuting the Truth. Likewise, in the Revelation of the Point of the Bayán, you have seen, and still see, what they have done and are doing. What difference is there between this community and that group?

355

انسان بصير بايد اليوم بنفس ظهور و اصل امر ناظر باشد اگر همان بيّنه و برهان كه بآن اثبات نقطه اوّلیّه و طلعت احديّه نموده مشاهده نمود اقلّ من آن توقّف جايز نه چه كه بقدر همان توقّف در نار خواهد بود و الّا از براى ناظرين منظر اكبر نفس ظهور بنفسه حجّت بوده اين عبد متحيّر است كه چه ذكر نمايد چه كه مشاهده ميشود كه از تصريح كلمات الهى محروم مانده‌ايد چه رسد بتلويح و اشاره و گويا اراده ادراك هم نداشته ونداريد لذا قول اين عبد و ترنّماتش مثل نواختن بربط است از براى نفوسى كه از سمع محروم باشند اين فرد در اينمقام مناسب است

Insān-i baṣīr bāyad al-yawm bi-nafs-i ẓuhūr va aṣl-i amr nāẓir bāshad. Agar hamān bayyini va burhān ki bi-ān ithbāt-i Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā va Ṭalʿat-i Aḥadiyyi namūdi mushāhidi namūd, aqall min ān tavaqquf jāʾiz na, chi ki bi-qadr-i hamān tavaqquf dar nār khvāhad būd. Va illā az barā-yi nāẓirīn-i Manẓar-i Akbar nafs-i ẓuhūr bi-nafsihi ḥujjat būdi. Īn ʿabd mutaḥayyir ast ki chi dhikr namāyad, chi ki mushāhidi mīshavad ki az taṣrīḥ-i kalimāt-i ilāhī maḥrūm māndi-īd chi risad bi-talvīḥ va ishāri. Va gūyā irādiy-i idrāk ham nadāshti va nadārīd. Lidhā qawl-i īn ʿabd va tarannumātash mithl-i navākhtan-i barbaṭ ast az barā-yi nufūsī ki az samʿ maḥrūm bāshand. Īn fard dar īn maqām munāsib ast.

A person of insight must today look to the Revelation Himself and the essence of the Cause. If he sees the same clear evidence and proof by which he established the Primal Point and the Countenance of Oneness, hesitation for less than an instant is not permissible, for to the extent of that hesitation he will be in the fire. Indeed, for those who behold the Most Great Vision, the Revelation Himself is His own proof. This servant is bewildered as to what to say, for it is evident that you have remained deprived of the explicit statements of God’s words, let alone their allusions and intimations. It seems that you have not even intended to understand, nor do you now. Thus this servant’s words and melodies are like playing a lute for souls deprived of hearing. This verse is fitting here.

356

نكته رمز سنائى نزد نادانان چنانكه پيش كر بربط سراى پيش كور آيينه دار ضرب اللّه على آذانكم و قراً و على قلوبكم غشاوة من النّار

Nukti-yi ramz-i Sanāʾī nazd-i nādānān chunānki pīsh-i kar barbaṭ sarāy, pīsh-i kūr āyīni dār. Ḍaraba Allāhu ʿalā ādhānikum waqran va ʿalā qulūbikum ghishāwatan mina al-nār.

Saná’í’s subtle, enigmatic words among the ignorant are like playing a lute before the deaf or holding a mirror before the blind. God has laid deafness upon your ears and a covering of fire upon your hearts.

357

ان يا ايّها الغافل ميفرمايند عزّ ذكره لاتحتجبوا بحجب العلم و الحكمة فانّ هذا ليصدّنّكم عن صراط اللّه تازه شما اشارات علميّه پيش سلطان معلوم هديه ميفرستيد و ورقه يابسه برضوان عزّ احديّه تحفه ارسال ميداريد اى كاش صاحب علم و حكمت هم ميبوديد لا واللّه لاشیء محض و جلود يابسه مشاهده ميشويد كه در آن احجار صغيره باشد و در حين حركت صدائى از او ظاهر و از وجود و حركت اصلى بی‌‌نصيب و عارى عجل جسد له خوار

In yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil, mīfarmāyand, ʿazza dhikruhu: Lā taḥtajibū bi-ḥujubi al-ʿilmi wa-al-ḥikmati fa-inna hādhā la-yaṣuddannakum ʿan ṣirāṭi Allāh. Tāzi shumā ishārāt-i ʿilmiyyi pīsh-i Sulṭān-i Maʿlūm hadiyyi mīfiristīd va varaqiy-i yābisi bi-Riḍvān-i ʿizz-i Aḥadiyyi tuḥfi irsāl mīdārīd. Ay kāsh ṣāḥib-i ʿilm va ḥikmat ham mībūdīd. Lā va Allāh, lā-shayʾ-i maḥḍ va julūd-i yābisi mushāhidi mīshavīd ki dar ān aḥjār-i ṣaghīri bāshad va dar ḥīn-i ḥarakat ṣadāʾī az ū ẓāhir va az vujūd va ḥarakat-i aṣlī bī-naṣīb va ʿārī. ʿIjlun jasadun lahu khuwār.

O heedless one! He says—exalted is His remembrance: “Do not veil yourselves with the veils of knowledge and wisdom, for this will surely bar you from the path of God.” Yet now you send learned allusions as gifts to the Sovereign of all that is known, and dispatch a dried leaf as an offering to the Ridván of the glory of Oneness. If only you possessed knowledge and wisdom! No, by God, you are seen as sheer nothingness and dried skins containing small stones, from which a sound emerges when they move, yet which are bereft and devoid of true existence and movement: “A calf, a body that lows.”

358

اليوم هيچ ادلّه مدلول را از امرش منع نمينمايد و هيچ شیء از آنچه مابين سموات و ارض خلق شده كافى نبوده و نخواهد بود مگر دخول در ظلّ امر او اگر كلّ ارض مملوّ از كتب شود مقابله نمينمايد با يكحرف كه از لسان جوهر قدم اليوم ظاهر ميگردد بريزيد اين تحقيقات لايسمنه لايغنيه را و پاك كنيد صدور را از وساوس عبارات اولى الاشارات كه شايد در اين ربيع الهى برضوان بديع فايز شويد از دونش بگسليد و باو متمسّك گرديد جهد نمائيد كه شايد اليوم بكلمات و اشارات و اسماء و مظاهر آن از موجد و محقّق آن محجوب نمانيد اينست كه نقطه بيان جلّ اعزازه ميفرمايد قوله عزّ قوله كلّ از براى اينست كه در يوم ظهور باسماء محتجب نمانيد بلكه نظر كنيد بما يقوم به الأسماء من كلّ شیء حتّى ذكر النّبی‌ فانّ ذلك الاسم يخلق به بما ينزل اللّه انتهى

Al-yawm hīch adilla madlūl rā az amrash manʿ namīnamāyad va hīch shayʾ az ānchi mābayn-i samāvāt va arḍ khalq shuda kāfī nabūda va nakhvāhad būd magar dukhūl dar ẓill-i amr-i ū. Agar kull-i arḍ mamlūv az kutub shavad muqābila namīnamāyad bā yak ḥarf ki az lisān-i Jawhar-i Qidam al-yawm ẓāhir mīgardad. Birīzīd īn taḥqīqāt-i lā yusminuhu lā yughnīhi rā va pāk kunīd ṣudūr rā az vasāvis-i ʿibārāt-i ūlī al-ishārāt ki shāyad dar īn rabīʿ-i ilāhī bi-Riḍvān-i badīʿ fāyiz shavīd. Az dūnash buguslīd va bi-ū mutamassik gardīd. Jahd namāyīd ki shāyad al-yawm bi-kalimāt va ishārāt va asmāʾ va maẓāhir-i ān az mūjid va muḥaqqiq-i ān maḥjūb namānīd. Īnast ki Nuqṭa-yi Bayān jalla iʿzāzuhu mīfarmāyad qawluhu ʿazza qawluhu: Kull az barā-yi īnast ki dar yawm-i ẓuhūr bi-asmāʾ muḥtajib namānīd balki naẓar kunīd bi-mā yaqūmu bihi al-asmāʾ min kulli shayʾ ḥattā dhikr al-Nabī fa-inna dhālika al-ism yukhlaqu bihi bi-mā yunazzilu Allāh. Intahā.

Today no proofs can bar the One they attest from His Cause, and nothing created between the heavens and the earth has been or will be sufficient except entry beneath the shadow of His Cause. Were the whole earth filled with books, they would not equal a single letter appearing today from the tongue of the Essence of Eternity. Cast away these investigations that neither nourish nor enrich, and cleanse your hearts of the misgivings arising from the expressions of those versed in allusions, that perhaps in this divine springtime you may attain the wondrous Paradise. Sever yourselves from all but Him and cling to Him. Strive, that today you may not be veiled by words, allusions, names, and their manifestations from the One who brings them into being and gives them reality. This is why the Point of the Bayán—exalted be His glory—says, in His exalted words: “All is for this purpose: that on the Day of Manifestation you may not remain veiled by names, but rather look to that through which the names of all things subsist, even the designation ‘Prophet,’ for that name is created through Him by what God sends down.” End of quotation.

359

اگر منصف باشيد از اين بيان جمال رحمن ادراك مينمائيد آنچه را كه اليوم از او محتجب شده‌ايد چنانچه باسمى از اسماء كه نميدانيد كيست و چيست از خالق آن محروم مانده‌ايد چند نفرى جمع شده بايادى وهميّه ظنونيّه هيكلى ترتيب داده‌ايد و بعد باو عاكف شده‌ايد صنعتم بأيادى الجهل هيكل العجل ثمّ اتّخذتموه لأنفسكم ربّاً من دون اللّه فويل لكم يا ملأ الشّرك و النّفاق

Agar munṣif bāshīd az īn bayān-i Jamāl-i Raḥmān idrāk mīnamāyīd ānchi rā ki al-yawm az ū muḥtajib shuda-īd. Chunānchi bi-ismī az asmāʾ ki namīdānīd kīst va chīst az khāliq-i ān maḥrūm mānda-īd. Chand nafarī jamʿ shuda bi-ayādī-yi vahmiyya-yi ẓunūniyya haykalī tartīb dāda-īd va baʿd bi-ū ʿākif shuda-īd. Ṣanaʿtum bi-ayādī al-jahl haykal al-ʿijl thumma ittakhadhtumūhu li-anfusikum rabban min dūni Allāh fa-waylun lakum yā malaʾ al-shirk wa-al-nifāq.

If you are fair-minded, you will perceive from this utterance of the Beauty of the All-Merciful that from which you are veiled today. Through one of the names, whose identity and nature you do not know, you have been deprived of its Creator. A few of you have gathered together and fashioned a figure with the hands of fancy and conjecture, and then devoted yourselves to it. With the hands of ignorance you fashioned the figure of the calf, then took it as a lord for yourselves instead of God. Woe to you, people of idolatry and hypocrisy!

360

از جميع آيات و كلمات ميگذريم امرى را اليوم مجدّداً ميزان معرفة اللّه قرار دهيد و طرفين را بسنجيد اگر چه حقّ بايد عباد را امتحان نمايد و بسنجد نه عباد او را چه كه نفس حقّ و ما يظهر من عنده مقدّس از ميزان ناس بوده و خواهد بود و لكن باين راضى شديم كه حقّ از باطل معلوم شود چه كه حجّت الهى را حجّت نميدانيد و برهان او را طرد نموده‌ايد در اينصورت اتماماً لحجّة اللّه عليكم اظهار ميشود كه هر ميزان و برهانى كه نزد آن گروه ميزان معرفت حقّ است ميزان قرار دهند تا حقّ از باطل معلوم شود و اين كلمه بعقايد شما ذكر ميشود تا ديگر عذرى نماند و حقّ چون شمس بر هر نفسى ظاهر و لايح و هويدا گردد و الّا حقّ مقدّس از ميزان عباد و برهانهم و حججهم و دلايلهم بوده و خواهد بود چه كه ميزان اللّه اليوم نفس حقّ بوده و برهان و حجّتش ما ظهر من عنده ان انتم تفقهون

Az jamīʿ-i āyāt va kalimāt mīgudharīm. Amrī rā al-yawm mujaddadan mīzān-i maʿrifat Allāh qarār dahīd va ṭarafayn rā bisanjīd. Agar chi Ḥaqq bāyad ʿibād rā imtiḥān namāyad va bisanjad na ʿibād ū rā, chi ki nafs-i Ḥaqq va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi muqaddas az mīzān-i nās būda va khvāhad būd. Va lākin bi-īn rāḍī shudīm ki Ḥaqq az bāṭil maʿlūm shavad chi ki ḥujjat-i ilāhī rā ḥujjat namīdānīd va burhān-i ū rā ṭard namūda-īd. Dar īn ṣūrat itmāman li-ḥujjati Allāh ʿalaykum iẓhār mīshavad ki har mīzān va burhānī ki nazd-i ān gurūh mīzān-i maʿrifat-i Ḥaqq ast mīzān qarār dahand tā Ḥaqq az bāṭil maʿlūm shavad. Va īn kalima bi-ʿaqāyid-i shumā dhikr mīshavad tā dīgar ʿudhrī namānad va Ḥaqq chun shams bar har nafsī ẓāhir va lāyiḥ va huvaydā gardad. Va illā Ḥaqq muqaddas az mīzān-i ʿibād va burhānihim va ḥujajihim va dalāyilihim būda va khvāhad būd, chi ki mīzān Allāh al-yawm nafs-i Ḥaqq būda va burhān va ḥujjatash mā ẓahara min ʿindihi in antum tafqahūn.

We set aside all the verses and words. Today, once again, establish a criterion for the recognition of God and weigh both sides. It is God who should test and weigh His servants, not His servants Him, for God Himself and whatever appears from Him have always been and will always remain sanctified above the standards of humanity. Yet We have consented to this so that truth may be distinguished from falsehood, since you do not regard the divine testimony as testimony and have rejected His proof. Therefore, to make God’s testimony against you complete, it is declared that they should adopt as their standard whatever criterion and proof that group regards as the measure for recognizing God, so that truth may be distinguished from falsehood. This statement is made in accordance with your beliefs, so that no excuse may remain and the Truth may become as manifest, evident, and plain as the sun to every soul. Otherwise, God has always been and will always remain sanctified above the standards of His servants and their proofs, testimonies, and arguments, for God’s standard today is His own Self, and His proof and testimony are whatever has appeared from Him, if you understand.

361

و اينكه بلسان شرك و اعراض القاء نموده كه ظهور چنين شخصى لغو خواهد بود و اخبار حقّ كلّ كذب قطع اللّه لسان ملقيك و كسّراللّه يده و انامله و قلمه لانّه تجاوز عن حدّه و افترى باللّه المهيمن المقتدر العزيز القيوم و ارتكب ما ضيعت به حرمة الأمر بين العباد اذا يتبرئنّ منه اهل السجّين و كيف عباد اللّه المقرّبين

Va īnki bi-lisān-i shirk va iʿrāḍ ilqā namūda ki ẓuhūr-i chunīn shakhṣī laghv khvāhad būd va akhbār-i Ḥaqq kull kidhb: qaṭaʿa Allāh lisāna mulqīka wa-kassara Allāh yadahu wa-anāmilahu wa-qalamahu li-annahu tajāwaza ʿan ḥaddihi wa-iftarā bi-Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm wa-irtakaba mā ḍuyyiʿat bihi ḥurmatu al-Amr bayna al-ʿibād. Idhan yatabarraʾanna minhu ahlu al-sijjīn wa-kayfa ʿibādu Allāh al-muqarrabīn.

As for what he has suggested in the language of idolatry and rejection—that the appearance of such a person would be futile and all God’s pronouncements false—may God cut out the tongue of the one who prompted you, and may God break his hand, his fingers, and his pen, for he has overstepped his bounds, fabricated lies against God, the All-Compelling, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting, and committed what has violated the sanctity of the Cause among His servants. Even the inhabitants of the nethermost prison will disown him, how much more God’s servants who are near to Him!

362

بگو اوّلاً تو آن اخبار را ندانسته و بمعنى آن ابدا مطّلع نيستى هم‌چنانكه ملل قبل هم نظر بعدم ادراك معانى كلمات الهيّه از شاطى بحر احديّه در حين ظهور مظاهر ربوبيّه توقّف نموده محروم گشته‌اند از جمله در انجيل در علائم ظهور بعد ميفرمايد شمس در آن يوم تاريك ميشود و قمر از نور ممنوع و كواكب بر ارض ميريزند و بهمين عبارات اهل انجيل الى حال اقبال بشريعه محمّديّه ننموده‌اند حال تو چه ميگوئى اين اخبار كذب بوده و يا آن فئه ادراك معانى آن را ننموده‌اند

Bigū avvalan tu ān akhbār rā nadānista va bi-maʿnā-yi ān abadan muṭṭaliʿ nīstī hamchunānki milal-i qabl ham naẓar bi-ʿadam-i idrāk-i maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyya az shāṭī-yi baḥr-i aḥadiyya dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i maẓāhir-i rubūbiyya tavaqquf namūda maḥrūm gashta-and. Az jumla dar Injīl dar ʿalāyim-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd mīfarmāyad shams dar ān yawm tārīk mīshavad va qamar az nūr mamnūʿ va kavākib bar arḍ mīrīzand. Va bi-hamīn ʿibārāt ahl-i Injīl ilā ḥāl iqbāl bi-sharīʿa-yi Muḥammadiyya nanamūda-and. Ḥāl tu chi mīgūyī īn akhbār kidhb būda va yā ān fiʾa idrāk-i maʿānī-yi ān rā nanamūda-and.

Say: First, you have not understood those pronouncements and are wholly unaware of their meaning, just as the peoples of the past, through failing to comprehend the meanings of the divine words, held back from the shore of the ocean of oneness at the appearance of the Manifestations of Lordship and were deprived. For example, concerning the signs of the next Manifestation, the Gospel says: “The sun will be darkened on that day, the moon will be deprived of light, and the stars will fall upon the earth.” Because of these very expressions, the people of the Gospel have not, to this day, turned toward the religion of Muhammad. Now, what do you say? Were these pronouncements false, or did those people fail to comprehend their meanings?

363

و هم‌‌چنين ذكر خاتم النّبيين در فرقان و هم‌‌چنين در علائم ظهور بعد و علائم قيامت از انفطار سماء و انشقاق ارض و نسف جبال و قيام اموات از قبور ظاهره و امثال اين بيانات كه از علائم قيامت بوده و كلّ اليوم بهمين عبارات از مالك اسماء و صفات ممنوعند حال چه ميكنى تصديق مينمائى يا تكذيب چه كه بر حسب ظاهر آنچه مرقوم شده ظاهر نگشته يا بايد بگوئى كلّ كذب است و يا بگوئى كه معانى آن را ادراك ننموده‌اند و در نصّ خاتم النّبيين نميدانم چه خواهى گفت كه نقطه اولى تصريحا فرموده كه نبی‌ از اوّل لا اوّل آمد و الى آخر لا آخر خواهد آمد مع آنكه محال دانسته‌اند كه بعد از حضرت رسول نفسى بيايد و ادّعاى نبوّت نمايد

Va hamchunīn dhikr-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn dar Furqān va hamchunīn dar ʿalāyim-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd va ʿalāyim-i qiyāmat az infiṭār-i samāʾ va inshiqāq-i arḍ va nasf-i jibāl va qiyām-i amvāt az qubūr-i ẓāhira va amthāl-i īn bayānāt ki az ʿalāyim-i qiyāmat būda va kull al-yawm bi-hamīn ʿibārāt az Mālik-i asmāʾ va ṣifāt mamnūʿand. Ḥāl chi mīkunī taṣdīq mīnamāyī yā takdhīb, chi ki bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir ānchi marqūm shuda ẓāhir nagashta. Yā bāyad bigūyī kull kidhb ast va yā bigūyī ki maʿānī-yi ān rā idrāk nanamūda-and. Va dar naṣṣ-i Khātam al-Nabiyyīn namīdānam chi khvāhī guft ki Nuqṭa-yi Ūlā taṣrīḥan farmūda ki nabī az avval-i lā avval āmad va ilā ākhir-i lā ākhir khvāhad āmad maʿa ānki muḥāl dānista-and ki baʿd az Ḥaḍrat-i Rasūl nafsī biyāyad va iddiʿā-yi nubuwwat namāyad.

Likewise, there is the mention of the “Seal of the Prophets” in the Qur’an, and, among the signs of the next Manifestation and the signs of the Resurrection, the splitting of heaven, the cleaving of the earth, the scattering of the mountains, the rising of the dead from outward graves, and similar statements describing the signs of the Resurrection. Today, all are barred by these very expressions from the Sovereign of names and attributes. Now what will you do—affirm or deny them? For, in their outward sense, what was written has not appeared. You must either say that all is false or say that they have not comprehended its meanings. And I do not know what you will say about the explicit designation “Seal of the Prophets,” for the Primal Point has expressly stated that prophets have come from a beginning that has no beginning and will come until an end that has no end, although people have deemed it impossible for anyone to come after the Messenger and claim prophethood.

364

بگو اى غافل بدانكه احدى بر معانى كلمات الهيّه على ما هى عليه مطّلع نبوده و نخواهد بود مگر مظهر علم و حكمت ربّانى چنانچه نقطه بيان تصريحا ميفرمايند كه احدى بر جواهر معانى الهيّه كه در خزاين كلمات بيان مستور است مطّلع نشده و نخواهد شد مگر نفس ظهور بعد و اگر كلّ ملل معانى كلمات را ادراك مينمودند هرگز از مشارق وحى و الهام محروم نميشدند چنانچه اليوم محتجبين اهل بيان نظر بعدم ادراك ما نزل فى البيان از جمال رحمن محروم مانده‌اند واللّه اگر فى‌الجمله بشعور آيند از عرفان بلكه از انفس خود منقطع شوند

Bigū ay ghāfil bidānki aḥadī bar maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyya ʿalā mā hiya ʿalayhi muṭṭaliʿ nabūda va nakhvāhad būd magar maẓhar-i ʿilm va ḥikmat-i rabbānī. Chunānchi Nuqṭa-yi Bayān taṣrīḥan mīfarmāyand ki aḥadī bar javāhir-i maʿānī-yi ilāhiyya ki dar khazāyin-i kalimāt-i Bayān mastūr ast muṭṭaliʿ nashuda va nakhvāhad shud magar nafs-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd. Va agar kull-i milal maʿānī-yi kalimāt rā idrāk mīnamūdand hargiz az mashāriq-i vaḥy va ilhām maḥrūm namīshudand. Chunānchi al-yawm muḥtajibīn-i ahl-i Bayān naẓar bi-ʿadam-i idrāk-i mā nazala fī al-Bayān az Jamāl-i Raḥmān maḥrūm mānda-and. Va-Allāh agar fī al-jumla bi-shuʿūr āyand az ʿirfān balki az anfus-i khud munqaṭiʿ shavand.

Say: O heedless one! Know that no one has ever been or will ever be acquainted with the true meanings of the divine words except the Manifestation of divine knowledge and wisdom. The Point of the Bayán expressly states that no one has attained or will attain knowledge of the gems of divine meaning concealed in the treasuries of the words of the Bayán except the next Manifestation Himself. Had all peoples comprehended the meanings of the words, they would never have been deprived of the Dawning-Places of revelation and inspiration. Today, likewise, those among the people of the Bayán who remain veiled have been deprived of the Beauty of the All-Merciful through failing to comprehend what was revealed in the Bayán. By God, if they attained even a little awareness, they would renounce their knowledge—indeed, their very selves.

365

اى غافل از كوثر معانى كلمات الهى را كذب مدان و عبث مشمر و خود را عاجز از ادراك آن مشاهده نما و از عرفان هر كدام كه خود را عاجز مشاهده نمائى از منبع و معدن علم لدنّى سؤال نما كه شايد از فيوضات بحر معانى لب‌تشنه نمانى و در بحور وساوس شيطانى غريق و فانى نگردى حرفى از آنچه نازل شده لغو نبوده و نخواهد بود بلكه لآلىٴ معانى كلّ در هر حرفى از كلمات منزله سبحانى مستور بوده و لايقدر ان يخرجها الّا ذو قدرة عظيم و اگر هم بخواهى نعوذ باللّه در كلمات منزله و ظهورات قدرتيّه لغو و فطور ملاحظه نمائى انفس محتجبه اولى است قل فانصب مرآتك فى مقابلة وجهك لتشهد جلدك و تعرف مافيه لعلّ توفّق على الرّجوع و تكون تائباً منيباً معترفاً مقرّاً مذعناً بخطيئاتك و سيّئاتك و انّه لهو الغفور الرّحيم

Ay ghāfil az kawthar-i maʿānī kalimāt-i ilāhī rā kidhb madān va ʿabath mashmur va khud rā ʿājiz az idrāk-i ān mushāhida namā va az ʿirfān-i har kudām ki khud rā ʿājiz mushāhida namāyī az manbaʿ va maʿdan-i ʿilm-i ladunnī suʾāl namā ki shāyad az fuyūḍāt-i baḥr-i maʿānī lab-tishna namānī va dar buḥūr-i vasāvis-i shayṭānī gharīq va fānī nagardī. Ḥarfī az ānchi nāzil shuda laghv nabūda va nakhvāhad būd balki laʾāliʾ-i maʿānī-yi kull dar har ḥarfī az kalimāt-i munzala-yi subḥānī mastūr būda va lā yaqdiru an yukhrijahā illā dhū qudratin ʿaẓīm. Va agar ham bikhvāhī naʿūdhu bi-Allāh dar kalimāt-i munzala va ẓuhūrāt-i qudratiyya laghv va fuṭūr mulāḥiẓa namāyī anfus-i muḥtajiba awlā ast. Qul fa-inṣub mirʾātaka fī muqābalati wajhika li-tashhada jildaka wa-taʿrifa mā fīhi laʿalla tuwaffaqu ʿalā al-rujūʿ wa-takūna tāʾiban munīban muʿtarifan muqirran mudhʿinan bi-khaṭīʾātika wa-sayyiʾātika wa-innahu la-huwa al-Ghafūr al-Raḥīm.

O you who are heedless of the heavenly river of meanings! Do not regard the divine words as false or count them as futile. Rather, recognize your own inability to comprehend them, and concerning any that you find yourself unable to understand, ask the Source and Wellspring of innate knowledge, so that you may not remain thirsty for the outpourings of the ocean of meanings or drown and perish in the seas of satanic misgivings. Not a single letter of what has been revealed has been or will ever be futile. Rather, the pearls of the meanings of all things lie concealed in every letter of the divinely revealed words, and none can draw them forth except one possessed of mighty power. And if, God forbid, you wish to discern futility and flaws in the revealed words and manifestations of power, the souls that remain veiled are more deserving of such scrutiny. Say: Set your mirror before your face, that you may behold your skin and know what is in it, so that you may be enabled to return and become repentant, turning back, acknowledging, confessing, and admitting your transgressions and misdeeds. He is indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Merciful.

366

قوله كبر غلّه هنوز هيچ از شئونات و اوامر او بظهور نرسيده و علائم ظهور قائم را كه اهل فرقان قائلند اگر چه علائم حين ظهور ظاهر شده ومردم نفهميده امّا علائم بعد از ظهور ظاهر نشده اگر اهل فرقان ايراد نمايند كه علائم بعد از ظهور چه چيز است جواب چه خواهد بود از نفهميدن علائم حين ظهور و ظاهر نشدن علائم بعد از ظهور موجب حجاب خلق از حقّ خواهد بود و اين از حقّ دور است خود ملاحظه فرموده غرس حبّه بدون ظهور اصول و اوراق و اغصان او حبّه ديگر كه ثمره و قيامت او است چگونه ممكن است انتهى

Qawluhu kabura ghilluhu: Hanūz hīch az shuʾūnāt va avāmir-i ū bi-ẓuhūr narasīda va ʿalāyim-i ẓuhūr-i Qāʾim rā ki ahl-i Furqān qāyiland agar chi ʿalāyim-i ḥīn-i ẓuhūr ẓāhir shuda va mardum nafahmīda ammā ʿalāyim-i baʿd az ẓuhūr ẓāhir nashuda. Agar ahl-i Furqān īrād namāyand ki ʿalāyim-i baʿd az ẓuhūr chi chīz ast javāb chi khvāhad būd. Az nafahmīdan-i ʿalāyim-i ḥīn-i ẓuhūr va ẓāhir nashudan-i ʿalāyim-i baʿd az ẓuhūr mūjib-i ḥijāb-i khalq az Ḥaqq khvāhad būd va īn az Ḥaqq dūr ast. Khud mulāḥiẓa farmūda ghars-i ḥabba bidūn-i ẓuhūr-i uṣūl va avrāq va aghṣān-i ū ḥabba-yi dīgar ki thamara va qiyāmat-i ū ast chigūna mumkin ast. Intahā.

His words—great is his malice: “As yet, none of His functions or commands have appeared. As for the signs of the appearance of the Qá’im affirmed by the people of the Qur’an, although the signs accompanying His appearance have appeared and people have not understood them, the signs following His appearance have not appeared. If the people of the Qur’an object and ask what the signs following His appearance are, what will the answer be? The failure to understand the signs accompanying His appearance, and the failure of the signs following His appearance to appear, will cause people to be veiled from God, and this is far removed from God. Consider for yourself: when a seed is planted, how can there be another seed, which is its fruit and resurrection, without its roots, leaves, and branches appearing?” End of quotation.

367

آنقدر شده كه متّصل بر خود ردّ مينويسيد و مستشعر نيستيد چه كه نوشته علائم ظهور قائم در حين ظهور ظاهر شده و مردم نفهميده‌اند حال ملاحظه كن اين عدم فهم از چه رو بوده شكّى نيست كه از عدم ظهورات توهميّه ناس بوده چنانچه از علائم ظهور آنچه ذكر شده از آن عبارات معانى توهّم نموده و چون موافق توهّمات خود در عالم ملكيّه مشاهده ننمودند لذا بعرفان نقطه بيان فايز نشدند چنانچه خود تو و امثال تو هم عارف نبوده تا آنكه منزل بيان كلمات قبل را تفسير فرمودند و بعد از بيان هيكل رحمن قليلى تصديق نموده و اكثر انكار و اين فعلى است كه اليوم تو و امثال تو از ملأ بيان عاملند چه كه معنى كلمات الهيّه را ادراك ننموده‌ايد و لا يشعر صيحه ميزنيد كه نبايد اين ظهور ظاهر شود هنوز تكميل خلق بيان نشده و اگر ادراك مينموديد البتّه باين كلمات محتجب نميشديد حقّ را مثل خود عاجز مشاهده نموده‌ايد فو‌اللّه اگر نفسى بقدرت حقّ موقن باشد ابدا در امثال اين كلمات توقّف نمينمايد چه كه قادر است در كلمه از كلمات خود كلّ كتب را عود فرمايد و هم‌‌چنين بدء فرمايد انّه لهو المقتدر على ما یشآء و انّه لهو العليم الحكيم

Ānqadr shuda ki muttaṣil bar khud radd mīnivīsīd va mustashʿir nīstīd chi ki nivishta ʿalāyim-i ẓuhūr-i Qāʾim dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr ẓāhir shuda va mardum nafahmīda-and. Ḥāl mulāḥiẓa kun īn ʿadam-i fahm az chi rū būda. Shakkī nīst ki az ʿadam-i ẓuhūrāt-i tavahhumiyya-yi nās būda chunānchi az ʿalāyim-i ẓuhūr ānchi dhikr shuda az ān ʿibārāt maʿānī tavahhum namūda va chūn muvāfiq-i tavahhumāt-i khud dar ʿālam-i mulkiyya mushāhida nanamūdand lidhā bi-ʿirfān-i Nuqṭa-yi Bayān fāyiz nashudand. Chunānchi khud-i tu va amthāl-i tu ham ʿārif nabūda tā ānki Munzil-i Bayān kalimāt-i qabl rā tafsīr farmūdand va baʿd az bayān-i Haykal-i Raḥmān qalīlī taṣdīq namūda va akthar inkār. Va īn fiʿlī ast ki al-yawm tu va amthāl-i tu az malaʾ-i Bayān ʿāmiland chi ki maʿnā-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyya rā idrāk nanamūda-īd va lā yashʿur ṣayḥa mīzanīd ki nabāyad īn ẓuhūr ẓāhir shavad hanūz takmīl-i khalq-i Bayān nashuda. Va agar idrāk mīnamūdīd albatta bi-īn kalimāt muḥtajib namīshudīd. Ḥaqq rā mithl-i khud ʿājiz mushāhida namūda-īd. Fa-va-Allāh agar nafsī bi-qudrat-i Ḥaqq mūqin bāshad abadan dar amthāl-i īn kalimāt tavaqquf namīnamāyad chi ki qādir ast dar kalima az kalimāt-i khud kull-i kutub rā ʿawd farmāyad va hamchunīn badʾ farmāyad. Innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadir ʿalā mā yashāʾ wa-innahu la-huwa al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm.

It has reached the point where you continually write refutations of yourselves without realizing it. For you have written that the signs of the appearance of the Qá’im appeared at the time of His appearance, but people did not understand them. Now consider why this failure to understand occurred. Undoubtedly it was because the things people imagined did not appear: they imagined meanings for the expressions describing the signs of His appearance, and when they did not observe anything in the material world corresponding to their imaginings, they failed to attain recognition of the Point of the Bayán. You yourself and others like you likewise did not understand until the Revealer of the Bayán interpreted the earlier words. Even after the explanation of the Temple of the All-Merciful, only a few affirmed, while most denied. This is precisely what you and others like you among the people of the Bayán are doing today, for you have not comprehended the meaning of the divine words and unthinkingly cry out that this Manifestation must not appear, since the creation of the Bayán has not yet been completed. Had you understood, you would certainly not have been veiled by these words. You have regarded God as powerless like yourselves. By God, if a soul were certain of God’s power, it would never hesitate over such words, for He is able, through a single word of His, to bring all the Books back and likewise to originate them. He is indeed powerful over whatever He wills, and He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

368

علائم بعد از ظهور كلّ ظاهر شده و لكن شما ادراك ننموده چنانچه بقول خود شما علايم حين ظهور را فئه فرقان عارف نشده‌اند و هر علامتى كه بعد از ظهور آن را لازم دانسته و عارف بآن نشده چنانچه نوشته از منبع علم الهى سؤال نما تا موقن شوى بآنكه كلّ ظاهر شده و لكن امثال آن نفوس از ادراك كلّ محتجب مانده‌اند

ʿAlāyim-i baʿd az ẓuhūr kull ẓāhir shuda va lākin shumā idrāk nanamūda chunānchi bi-qawl-i khud-i shumā ʿalāyim-i ḥīn-i ẓuhūr rā fiʾa-yi Furqān ʿārif nashuda-and. Va har ʿalāmatī ki baʿd az ẓuhūr ān rā lāzim dānista va ʿārif bi-ān nashuda chunānchi nivishta az manbaʿ-i ʿilm-i ilāhī suʾāl namā tā mūqin shavī bi-ānki kull ẓāhir shuda va lākin amthāl-i ān nufūs az idrāk-i kull muḥtajib mānda-and.

All the signs following the Manifestation have appeared, but you have not understood them, just as, by your own account, the people of the Qur’an did not recognize the signs accompanying His appearance. Concerning every sign that you have deemed necessary after the Manifestation but have not recognized, as you have written, ask the Source of divine knowledge, so that you may become certain that all have appeared, but that such souls have remained veiled from comprehending them all.

369

و اصل علامت ظهور بعد از قائم ظهور حسينى بوده شما اوّل را بقول خود مذعنيد و ثانى را منكر در همين كلمه اگر تفكّر نمائى بر اسرار ما لانهايه مطّلع شوى و در ظهور حسينى بعد از قائم نوشته‌اند در كتب اخبار خود شما كه كلّ انبیاء و مرسلين در ظلّ رايت حضرت در آيند و هم‌‌چنين نوشته اند كه قائم رجعت نمايد و او هم بحضرت ملحق شود اگر قدرى در اين عبارات تأمّل نمائيد ادراك مينمائيد كه بيان كتب مطابق است بما نزل فى البيان آنقدر بدان كه علائم بعد از ظهور كلّ ظاهر شده بعضى را ادراك ننموده‌ايد و بعضى را انكار نموده‌ايد كذلك امركم هوئكم ان انتم تعلمون

Va aṣl-e ʿalāmat-e ẓohūr baʿd az Qāʾim ẓohūr-e Ḥosaynī būde shomā avval rā be-qowl-e khod modhʿenīd va thānī rā monker dar hamīn kalame agar tafakkor namāʾī bar asrār-e mā lā-nehāye moṭṭaleʿ shavī va dar ẓohūr-e Ḥosaynī baʿd az Qāʾim neveshte-and dar kotob-e akhbār-e khod-e shomā ke koll-e anbiyā va morsalīn dar ẓell-e rāyat-e Ḥażrat dar āyand va ham-chenīn neveshte-and ke Qāʾim rajʿat namāyad va ū ham be-Ḥażrat molḥaq shavad agar qadrī dar īn ʿebārāt taʾammol namāʾīd edrāk mīnamāʾīd ke bayān-e kotob moṭābeq ast be-mā nazala fī al-Bayān ānqadr bedān ke ʿalāʾem baʿd az ẓohūr koll ẓāher shode baʿżī rā edrāk nanemūde-īd va baʿżī rā enkār nemūde-īd kadhālika amarakum hawākum in antum taʿlamūn.

The principal sign of the Manifestation after the Qāʾim was the appearance of Ḥusayn. By your own account, you acknowledge the first and deny the second. If you reflect on this very statement, you will discover boundless mysteries. Concerning the appearance of Ḥusayn after the Qāʾim, it is written in your own books of traditions that all the Prophets and Messengers will come beneath His banner. It is likewise written that the Qāʾim will return and will also join Him. If you reflect a little on these passages, you will understand that what the books say accords with what has been revealed in the Bayān. Know at least this: all the signs following the Manifestation have appeared; some you have not understood, and others you have denied. Thus have your desires commanded you, if you only knew.

370

حال چه ميگوئيد در نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه كه ابداً علامتى ذكر نفرموده و منصوص فرموده‌اند كه هروقت ظاهر شود بايد كلّ تصديق نمايند و شكر الهى بجا آورند و بظهور بنفسه ناظر شوند و بما يظهر من عنده و صريح ميفرمايند او مختار است بهر نوع كه اراده فرمايد ظاهر شود بر احدى نيست كه باو احتجاج نمايد و وصاياى لايحصى فرموده ملأ بيان را كه مباد ببيان و مانزل فيه بر نفس رحمن احتجاج نمايند مع‌ذلك تو بوهميّات نفس خود احتجاج نموده و ذكر تكميل دوره كرده نفس حقّ ظاهر و بآيات نقطه ناطق و ميفرمايد بظهور من تكميل دوره بيان شده و ميشود مع‌ذلك آنقدر محتجبی‌ كه نفس حقّ را بقدر خلق ندانسته ميگوئى كه مخصوص بايد در خلق تكميل شود و حال آنكه امر حقّ بدونش تكميل نشده و نخواهد شد بلكه بنفس مقدّسش تكميل شده و ميشود لو انتم تشعرون كلّما تكلّمت به بغى منك على اللّه المقتدر المهيمن القيّوم

Ḥāl che mīgūʾīd dar Noqṭe-ye Bayān rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh ke abadan ʿalāmatī dhekr nafarmūde va manṣūṣ farmūde-and ke har vaqt ẓāher shavad bāyad koll taṣdīq namāyand va shokr-e elāhī be-jā āvarand va be-ẓohūr be-nafseh nāẓer shavand va be-mā yaẓharu min ʿindih va ṣarīḥ mīfarmāyand ū mokhtār ast be-har nowʿ ke erāde farmāyad ẓāher shavad bar aḥadī nīst ke bā ū eḥtejāj namāyad va vaṣāyā-ye lā-yoḥṣā farmūde malaʾ-e Bayān rā ke mabād be-Bayān va mā nazala fīh bar nafs-e Raḥmān eḥtejāj namāyand maʿa-dhālek to be-vahmiyyāt-e nafs-e khod eḥtejāj nemūde va dhekr-e takmīl-e dowre karde nafs-e Ḥaqq ẓāher va be-āyāt-e Noqṭe nāṭeq va mīfarmāyad be-ẓohūr-e man takmīl-e dowre-ye Bayān shode va mīshavad maʿa-dhālek ānqadr moḥtajebī ke nafs-e Ḥaqq rā be-qadr-e khalq nadāneste mīgūʾī ke makhṣūṣ bāyad dar khalq takmīl shavad va ḥāl ānke amr-e Ḥaqq bedūnash takmīl nashode va nakhāhad shod balke be-nafs-e moqaddasash takmīl shode va mīshavad law antum tashʿurūn kullu mā takallamta bihi baghyun minka ʿalā Allāh al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm.

Now what do you say concerning the Point of the Bayān—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—who mentioned no sign whatsoever and expressly stated that whenever He appears, all must affirm Him, give thanks to God, and look to the Manifestation Himself and to whatever appears from Him? He explicitly says that He is free to appear in whatever manner He wills, and that no one has the right to dispute with Him. He gave the people of the Bayān countless counsels, lest they use the Bayān and what was revealed in it to dispute with the very Person of the All-Merciful. Yet you have advanced your own vain imaginings as arguments and spoken of the completion of the dispensation. God Himself has appeared, uttering the verses of the Point, and says, “Through My appearance the dispensation of the Bayān has been and is being completed.” Yet you are so veiled that you have not considered God Himself to be equal even to His creation, and you say that it must specifically be completed among the creatures. But the Cause of God has not been and will not be completed without Him; rather, it has been and is being completed through His holy Person, if you would only perceive. Everything you have said is an act of rebellion on your part against God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

371

نميدانم اگر نقطه بيان علائم ذكر ميفرمودند چه ميكرديد و چه وارد مياورديد آيا در بيان كلمه مشاهده شده كه اگر نفسى بآيات الهيّه و شئونات عزّ ربانيّه ظاهر شود بر قتلش قيام نمائيد و يا بمفتريات نفسيّه رداء عزّ احديّه را بيالائيد بلكه در جميع بيان ميفرمايد اگر نفسى ظاهر شود و بگويد من محبوب شما هستم من دون آنكه از او برهانى ظاهر شود بر احدى نيست كه بر او اعتراض نمايد

Namīdānam agar Noqṭe-ye Bayān ʿalāʾem dhekr mīfarmūdand che mīkardīd va che vāred mīāvardīd āyā dar Bayān kalame moshāhede shode ke agar nafsī be-āyāt-e elāhiyye va shoʾūnāt-e ʿezz-e rabbāniyye ẓāher shavad bar qatl-ash qiyām namāʾīd va yā be-moftarayāt-e nafsiyye redā-ye ʿezz-e aḥadiyye rā beyālāʾīd balke dar jamīʿ-e Bayān mīfarmāyad agar nafsī ẓāher shavad va begūyad man maḥbūb-e shomā hastam min dūn-e ānke az ū borhānī ẓāher shavad bar aḥadī nīst ke bar ū eʿterāż namāyad.

I do not know what you would have done or what you would have inflicted had the Point of the Bayān mentioned signs. Has a single word been found in the Bayān saying that if someone appears with divine verses and manifestations of divine glory, you should rise up to kill Him or stain the robe of the glory of divine oneness with your self-inspired fabrications? Rather, throughout the Bayān He says that if someone appears and says, “I am your Beloved,” even without producing any proof, no one has the right to object to Him.

372

و حال شمس معانى از افق عنايت رحمانى مشرق و بآيات الهى ناطق بشأنيكه احدى بر احصاى آن قادر نه مع‌ذلك بعضى ميگوئيد تكميل دوره قبل نشده بعضى ميگوئيد زود ظاهر شده

Va ḥāl Shams-e Maʿānī az ofoq-e ʿenāyat-e raḥmānī moshreq va be-āyāt-e elāhī nāṭeq be-shaʾnī ke aḥadī bar eḥṣā-ye ān qāder na maʿa-dhālek baʿżī mīgūʾīd takmīl-e dowre-ye qabl nashode baʿżī mīgūʾīd zūd ẓāher shode.

And now the Sun of Meanings is shining from the horizon of the grace of the All-Merciful, uttering divine verses in such abundance that no one can count them. Yet some of you say that the previous dispensation has not been completed, and others say that He has appeared too soon.

373

بگو اى بی‌‌انصافان خود جمال ابهى ميفرمايد كه معنى پارسى آن اين است كه اى قوم بودم يكى از شما بر بستر خود آرميده و نائم نفحات رحمانيّه از يمين عزّ احديّه وزيد و مرا بيدار نمود و بثنآء نفسش ناطق فرمود مابين آسمانها و زمينها اى قوم قسم بخدا كه افتخار بر نفسى ننمودم و منكر آيات الهى نبوده و نيستم و مذعنم آنچه مابين دستهاى شما است از بيان و موقنم بپروردگارى كه جميع را خلق فرمود رحم نمائيد بر من و متعرّض نشويد و اگر باين شريعه عزّ ربّانيّه اقبال نمينمائيد اعتراض مكنيد ايقوم اگر اختيار بدست من بود البتّه خود را از ابصر شما ستر مينمودم و راضى نميشدم بر نفس خود آنچه را كه احدى از ممكنات حمل آن ننموده چه كه روزى نگذشته مگر آنكه بسبّ و شماتت و استهزاء مبتلى بوده‌ام و لكن روح القدس نطق فرمود در صدرم و روح اعظم تكلّم نمود بلسانم و اين نيست از جانب من بلكه از جانب قادرى است كه قدرتش بر همه اشیاء محيط و فايق است

Begū ey bī-enṣāfān khod-e Jamāl-e Abhā mīfarmāyad ke maʿnī-ye pārsī-ye ān īn ast ke ey qowm būdam yekī az shomā bar bestar-e khod ārāmīde va nāʾem nafaḥāt-e raḥmāniyye az yamīn-e ʿezz-e aḥadiyye vazīd va marā bīdār nemūd va be-thanā-ye nafsash nāṭeq farmūd mābeyn-e āsmānhā va zamīnhā ey qowm qasam be-Khodā ke eftekhār bar nafsī nanemūdam va monker-e āyāt-e elāhī nabūde va nīstam va modhʿenam ānche mābeyn-e dasthā-ye shomā ast az Bayān va mūqenam be-Parvardegārī ke jamīʿ rā khalq farmūd raḥm namāʾīd bar man va motaʿarreż nashavīd va agar be-īn sharīʿe-ye ʿezz-e rabbāniyye eqbāl namīnamāʾīd eʿterāż nakonīd ey qowm agar ekhtiyār be-dast-e man būd albatte khod rā az abṣor-e shomā satr mīnamūdam va rāżī namīshodam bar nafs-e khod ānche rā ke aḥadī az momkenāt ḥaml-e ān nanemūde che ke rūzī nagodhashte magar ānke be-sabb va shamātat va estehzā mobtalā būde-am va lāken Rūḥ al-Qodos noṭq farmūd dar ṣadram va Rūḥ-e Aʿẓam takallom nemūd be-lesānam va īn nīst az jāneb-e man balke az jāneb-e Qāderī ast ke qodratash bar hame-ye ashyā moḥīṭ va fāʾeq ast.

Say: You who are unjust! The All-Glorious Beauty Himself speaks, and the meaning of His words in Persian is this: “People! I was one of you, resting asleep on My bed. The breezes of the All-Merciful blew from the right hand of the glory of divine oneness, awakened Me, and caused Me to voice His praise between the heavens and the earths. People! I swear by God that I have not vaunted Myself over anyone, nor have I denied or do I now deny the verses of God. I acknowledge what you possess of the Bayān, and I am certain of the Lord who created all. Have mercy on Me and do not assail Me. If you will not turn toward this river of divine glory, do not object. People! Had the choice been Mine, I would certainly have concealed Myself from your sight and would not have accepted for Myself what no contingent being has ever borne. For not a day has passed without My suffering abuse, taunts, and ridicule. But the Holy Spirit spoke within My breast, and the Most Great Spirit spoke through My tongue. This is not from Me, but from One whose power encompasses and surpasses all things.”

374

اى قوم قرب و بعد ظهور دست من و شما هيچكدام نبوده و نيست بلكه در دست قدرت الهى بوده و خواهد بود و در قبضه اقتدار او مقبوض ظاهر فرمود هر قسم كه خواسته بترسيد از خدا و نباشيد از ظلم كنندگان ايقوم از كاس كلمات الهى كوثر معانى بياشاميد اگر روايح قدس تجريد از او استشمام نموديد در آن وقت انصاف دهيد و وارد نياوريد آنچه را كه بآن بجزع آيند اهل غرفات رضوان و نباشيد از غفلت كنندگان

Ey qowm qorb va boʿd-e ẓohūr dast-e man va shomā hīch-kodām nabūde va nīst balke dar dast-e qodrat-e elāhī būde va khāhad būd va dar qabże-ye eqtedār-e ū maqbūż ẓāher farmūd har qesm ke khāste betarsīd az Khodā va nabāshīd az ẓolm-konandegān ey qowm az kās-e kalemāt-e elāhī kowthar-e maʿānī beyāshāmīd agar ravāyeḥ-e qods-e tajrīd az ū esteshmām nemūdīd dar ān vaqt enṣāf dehīd va vāred nayāvarīd ānche rā ke be-ān be-jazaʿ āyand ahl-e ghorofāt-e Reżvān va nabāshīd az ghaflat-konandegān.

“People! Whether the Manifestation comes sooner or later has never been and is not in either My hands or yours. Rather, it has been and will be in the hand of divine power, held within the grasp of His might. He has brought it forth however He wished. Fear God and do not be among the wrongdoers. People! Drink the Kawthar of meanings from the cup of the words of God. If you inhale from it the holy fragrances of detachment, then be fair, and do not inflict that which would cause the inhabitants of the chambers of Paradise to cry out in anguish. Do not be among the heedless.”

375

اى قوم براستى ميگويم آنچه از پروردگار شما مأمور شده‌ام و نفحات صدق از كذب بسى واضح و معلوم است بترسيد از خدا و نباشيد از دورماندگان اى قوم هرگز متعرّض نفسى نشده‌ام و با اهل بيان در كمال رحمت و رافت و خضوع و خشوع معاشرت نموده‌ام و در ایّاميكه جميع قلوب از سطوت مضطرب بوده و جميع نفوس از سياط قهر متزلزل بنفس خود مابين اعدا ايستاده‌ام و در كلّ حين از سهام اعدا بر صدرم وارد شده و احدى قادر بر احصاى ضرّم نبوده مگر پروردگار عالم دانا بسا از شبها كه جميع راحت بوده و اين عبد در سلاسل و اغلال و بسا ایّام كه شما در بيوت خود ساكن و اين عبد در دست اعداء مبتلا و كلّ بر آنچه ذكر شده شاهد و گواهيد اگر بصدق تكلّم نمائيد و باشيد از راست گويان

Ey qowm be-rāstī mīgūyam ānche az Parvardegār-e shomā maʾmūr shode-am va nafaḥāt-e ṣedq az kedhb basī vāżeḥ va maʿlūm ast betarsīd az Khodā va nabāshīd az dūr-māndegān ey qowm hargez motaʿarreż-e nafsī nashode-am va bā ahl-e Bayān dar kamāl-e raḥmat va raʾfat va khożūʿ va khoshūʿ moʿāsherat nemūde-am va dar ayyāmī ke jamīʿ-e qolūb az saṭvat możṭareb būde va jamīʿ-e nofūs az seyāṭ-e qahr motazalzel be-nafs-e khod mābeyn-e aʿdā īstāde-am va dar koll-e ḥīn az sehām-e aʿdā bar ṣadram vāred shode va aḥadī qāder bar eḥṣā-ye żorram nabūde magar Parvardegār-e ʿālam-e dānā basā az shabhā ke jamīʿ rāḥat būde va īn ʿabd dar salāsel va aghlāl va basā ayyām ke shomā dar boyūt-e khod sāken va īn ʿabd dar dast-e aʿdā mobtalā va koll bar ānche dhekr shode shāhed va govāhīd agar be-ṣedq takallom namāʾīd va bāshīd az rāst-gūyān.

“People! I speak truthfully what I have been commanded by your Lord, and the breezes of truth are readily and clearly distinguished from falsehood. Fear God and do not be among those who remain far away. People! I have never assailed anyone, and I have associated with the people of the Bayān with the utmost mercy, kindness, humility, and lowliness. In the days when every heart was troubled by the onslaught and every soul trembled beneath the scourges of wrath, I Myself stood among the enemies. At every moment their arrows struck My breast, and no one but the knowing Lord of the world could count My afflictions. How many nights everyone was at ease while this servant was in chains and fetters! How many days you dwelt in your homes while this servant suffered in the hands of the enemies! You are all witnesses to what has been related, if you speak honestly and are among the truthful.”

376

اى قوم شما مقتدريد يا پروردگار عالميان اگر او مقتدر است ظاهر فرمود مظهر نفس خود را هر قسم كه اراده فرمود و اگر ذنب عبد اين است اين نبوده از نزد او بلكه از نزد خالق زمين و آسمان اى قوم بشنويد ندايم را و تسنيم حيوان را از كأس رحمن در اين ایّام بياشاميد و نباشيد از محرومان انتهى

Ey qowm shomā moqtaderīd yā Parvardegār-e ʿālamiyān agar ū moqtader ast ẓāher farmūd Maẓhar-e nafs-e khod rā har qesm ke erāde farmūd va agar dhanb-e ʿabd īn ast īn nabūde az nazd-e ū balke az nazd-e Khāleq-e zamīn va āsmān ey qowm beshnavīd nedāyam rā va tasnīm-e ḥayavān rā az kaʾs-e Raḥmān dar īn ayyām beyāshāmīd va nabāshīd az maḥrūmān intahā.

“People! Are you powerful, or is the Lord of the worlds? If He is powerful, He has brought forth the Manifestation of His own Self in whatever manner He willed. If this is the servant’s sin, it did not originate with Him, but with the Creator of earth and heaven. People! Hear My call, drink in these days the Tasnīm of life from the cup of the All-Merciful, and do not be among the deprived.” End of quotation.

377

اينست معنى كلمات الهيّه كه اين عبد بقدر ادراك خود ذكر نموده كه لعلّ ملتفت شويد كه امر در دست احدى نبوده و نيست و بر كيفيّت ظهور احدى مطّلع نبوده و نخواهد بود كلّ در قبضه قدرت و اقتدار اسيرند و او است حاكم هر چه بخواهد ظاهر ميفرمايد و كلّ مأمور كه در ظهور بنفس ظهور ناظر باشند نه بكلمات و اشارات

Īn ast maʿnī-ye kalemāt-e elāhiyye ke īn ʿabd be-qadr-e edrāk-e khod dhekr nemūde ke laʿall moltafet shavīd ke amr dar dast-e aḥadī nabūde va nīst va bar keyfiyyat-e ẓohūr aḥadī moṭṭaleʿ nabūde va nakhāhad būd koll dar qabże-ye qodrat va eqtedār asīrand va ū ast Ḥākem har che bekhāhad ẓāher mīfarmāyad va koll maʾmūr ke dar ẓohūr be-nafs-e ẓohūr nāẓer bāshand na be-kalemāt va eshārāt.

This is the meaning of the divine words, which this servant has related according to his understanding, so that you may perhaps recognize that the matter has never been and is not in anyone’s hands, and that no one has known or will know the manner of the Manifestation’s appearance. All are held captive in the grasp of His power and might, and He is the Ruler: He brings forth whatever He wishes. All are commanded, at the Manifestation, to look to the Manifestation Himself, not to words and allusions.

378

فو‌اللّه چون آيات الهى من غير تعطيل از سماء مشيّت لايزالى نازل نفس معرض باللّه و سيّد محمّد با هم ملحق شده تدبير نمودند كه شايد ببعضى مفتريات ناس را از اين سلسبيل محروم نمايند اينست كه يكى باستانبول دويد و يكى متّصلاً در اين ارض بمكاتيب مجعوله مشغول شد و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه با كمال رافت و شفقت بآن دو نفس و كلّ سلوك فرموده‌اند عجب است با آنكه خود شما از اوصاف جمال مبارك شنيده و اكثرى از اهل ديار بچشم خود ديده‌اند مع‌ذلك بدو كلمه مفتريات شجره فساد جميع را از قلب محو نموده و باين شدّت بر اعراض و اعتراض بر خواسته نسئل اللّه بأن يوفّقك لعرفان نفسه و ينقطعك عن الاشارات لعلّ تطّلع بما كنت محتجباً عنه و تكون من الفائزين

Fa-wa-Allāh chūn āyāt-e elāhī min ghayr-e taʿṭīl az samā-ye mashiyyat-e lā-yazālī nāzel nafs-e moʿreż bi-Allāh va Seyyed Moḥammad bā ham molḥaq shode tadbīr nemūdand ke shāyad be-baʿżī moftarayāt nās rā az īn salsabīl maḥrūm namāyand īn ast ke yekī be-Estānbūl davīd va yekī mottaṣelan dar īn arż be-makātīb-e majʿūle mashghūl shod wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke bā kamāl-e raʾfat va shafaqat be-ān do nafs va koll solūk farmūde-and ʿajab ast bā ānke khod-e shomā az owṣāf-e Jamāl-e Mobārak shenīde va aktharī az ahl-e deyār be-chashm-e khod dīde-and maʿa-dhālek be-do kalame moftarayāt-e shajare-ye fasād jamīʿ rā az qalb maḥv nemūde va be-īn sheddat bar eʿrāż va eʿterāż bar khāste nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yuwaffiqaka li-ʿirfāni nafsihi wa-yanqaṭiʿaka ʿan al-ishārāt laʿallaka taṭṭaliʿu bi-mā kunta muḥtajaban ʿanhu wa-takūna min al-fāʾizīn.

By God! When divine verses were descending without interruption from the heaven of the everlasting Will, the one who turned away from God and Siyyid Muḥammad joined forces and devised a plan, hoping to deprive people of this Salsabīl through certain fabrications. Thus one rushed to Istanbul, while the other busied himself continually in this land with fabricated letters. By God, besides whom there is no other god, He has treated those two souls and everyone else with the utmost kindness and compassion. It is astonishing that, although you yourself have heard of the qualities of the Blessed Beauty and most of the people of the region have seen them with their own eyes, you have nevertheless erased them all from your heart because of a few fabricated words from the tree of corruption, and have risen up with such vehemence in rejection and opposition. We ask God to enable you to recognize His own Self and to detach you from allusions, so that you may discover what you have been veiled from and be among those who attain.

379

اگر بر احوال اين عباد مطّلع شوى كه چه گذشته در اين سنين توقّف در ادرنه و منصف باشيد نوحه و ندبه نمائيد خداى واحد شاهد است كه در هر ساعتى از آن قيامتى بر پا شده چه كه در هر حين آن نفسيكه او را من دون اللّه باغواى شيطان حقّ ميدانى بامرى شنيع و فعلى قبيح ظاهر شده تو را قسم ميدهم بخداوندى كه جميع اشیآء را باراده خود خلق فرموده كه هيچ بعقلت ميرسد كه ايشان از نفسى كه منسوب است نان منع نمايند چه فايده كه نبوده و نيستيد محض تضييع امر از براى لقمه نان بمدينه كبيره دويدند و چه مقدار شكايت در اين ارض نموده‌اند و اللّه كذب نميگويم و مقصودى ندارم ولى قلب از اين محترق است كه چنين نفوس را ربّ دانسته‌ايد و خود و ناس را از حقّ منيع محروم نموده‌ايد آخر ایّام اين عباد است اگر چه شما توهّم نموده‌ايد كه بجهت دنيا باين ارض آمده‌ايم و لكن خدا شاهد و گواه است كه بچه قسم آمده‌ايم و مقصود چه بوده شما خود ميدانيد كه اين عبد در مقرّ خود محتاج بنان نبوده كه شهر بشهر براى نان بدود بلكه نفحات رحمن اين عباد را جذب نموده لو انت من العارفين

Agar bar aḥvāl-e īn ʿebād moṭṭaleʿ shavī ke che godhashte dar īn senīn-e tavaqqof dar Edrene va monṣef bāshīd nowḥe va nodbe namāʾīd Khodā-ye vāḥed shāhed ast ke dar har sāʿatī az ān qiyāmatī bar pā shode che ke dar har ḥīn ān nafsī ke ū rā min dūni Allāh be-eghvā-ye sheyṭān Ḥaqq mīdānī be-amrī shanīʿ va feʿlī qabīḥ ẓāher shode to rā qasam mīdaham be-Khodāvandī ke jamīʿ-e ashyā rā be-erāde-ye khod khalq farmūde ke hīch be-ʿaqlat mīresad ke īshān az nafsī ke mansūb ast nān manʿ namāyand che fāʾede ke nabūde va nīstīd maḥż-e tażyīʿ-e amr az barā-ye loqme nān be-Madīne-ye Kabīre davīdand va che meqdār shekāyat dar īn arż nemūde-and va-Allāh kedhb namīgūyam va maqṣūdī nadāram valī qalb az īn moḥtareq ast ke chonīn nofūs rā Rabb dāneste-īd va khod va nās rā az Ḥaqq-e manīʿ maḥrūm nemūde-īd ākher-e ayyām-e īn ʿebād ast agar che shomā tavahhom nemūde-īd ke be-jehat-e donyā be-īn arż āmade-īm va lāken Khodā shāhed va govāh ast ke be-che qesm āmade-īm va maqṣūd che būde shomā khod mīdānīd ke īn ʿabd dar maqarr-e khod moḥtāj-e nān nabūde ke shahr be-shahr barā-ye nān bedavad balke nafaḥāt-e Raḥmān īn ʿebād rā jadhb nemūde law anta min al-ʿārifīn.

If you learned of the circumstances of these servants and what has happened during these years of residence in Adrianople, and were fair-minded, you would weep and lament. The one God is witness that in every hour of those years an upheaval has arisen, for at every moment that person whom, through Satan’s seduction, you regard as God instead of God has committed some abominable deed or shameful act. I adjure you by the God who created all things through His will: can you imagine that He would withhold bread from someone associated with Him? But what use is it? You were not here and are not here. Solely to discredit the Cause, they rushed to the Great City for a morsel of bread, and how many complaints they have made in this land! By God, I do not lie, and I have no ulterior purpose. But my heart burns because you have regarded such souls as the Lord and have deprived yourselves and the people of the unapproachable True One. These are the last days of these servants. Although you have imagined that we came to this land for worldly ends, God is witness to how we came and what our purpose was. You yourselves know that this servant was not in need of bread in his own dwelling, that he should run from city to city for bread. Rather, the breezes of the All-Merciful have drawn these servants onward, if you are among those who understand.

380

بارى حرمت خود و اين عباد و امر همه را ضايع كردند و مع‌ذلك به بنده نصيحت مينمائيد و موعظه مينويسيد كه چرا بچنين نفوس مؤمن نشدى و موقن نيستى رذالتشان بمرتبه رسيده كه مجعولا سياهه داده‌اند كه چه قدر از مهاجرين رفته‌اند و چه قدر هم در اين ارض ساكنند و آنچه ببعضى از فقرا ميرسيد قطع نموده و باسم خود گذرانده‌اند فو‌اللّه انسان زقّوم بخورد بهتر از چنين نانى است چنانچه تفصيل سياهه نفوس كه آنجا داده باين ارض فرستاده‌اند و احدى هم بر آن تفصيل مطّلع نبوده جز شجره فساد و من معه

Bārī ḥormat-e khod va īn ʿebād va amr hame rā żāyeʿ kardand va maʿa-dhālek be-bande naṣīḥat mīnamāʾīd va mowʿeẓe mīnevīsīd ke cherā be-chonīn nofūs moʾmen nashodī va mūqen nīstī radhālatashān be-martabe resīde ke majʿūlan siyāhe dāde-and ke che qadr az mohājerīn rafte-and va che qadr ham dar īn arż sākenand va ānche be-baʿżī az foqarā mīresīd qaṭʿ nemūde va be-esm-e khod godharānde-and fa-wa-Allāh ensān zaqqūm bekhorad behtar az chonīn nānī ast chenānche tafṣīl-e siyāhe-ye nofūs ke ānjā dāde be-īn arż ferestāde-and va aḥadī ham bar ān tafṣīl moṭṭaleʿ nabūde joz shajare-ye fasād va man maʿahu.

In short, they have ruined their own reputation, that of these servants, and that of the Cause—all of them. Yet you counsel this servant and write admonitions asking why he has not come to believe in such souls and is not certain of them. Their baseness has reached the point that they have submitted a fabricated list stating how many of the emigrants have left and how many still reside in this land. They have cut off what used to reach some of the poor and have entered it in their own names. By God, it would be better to eat Zaqqūm than such bread! Indeed, they have sent to this land the details of the list of persons submitted there, and no one knew of those details except the tree of corruption and those with him.

381

و كاش اين باقى را هم باسم خود ميگذراندند فو‌اللّه كه اين عباد ممنون ميشديم آنقدر بدان كه بحقّ حقّ اكثرى از مهاجرين لباس ندارند و مع‌ذلك باين نفوس كه للّه حركت نموده‌اند و بناله و نوحه با جمال احديّه باين شطر توجّه نموده‌اند نسبت دنيا داده‌اند و از براى خود انقطاع ثابت نموده‌اند فيا ليت كنت مطّلعاً بهم و بما عندهم و بما ارتكبوا فى الحيوة الباطلة لابقآء رياساتهم و كنت من المطّلعين

Va kāsh īn bāqī rā ham be-ism-e khod mī-godharāndand. Fa-wa-llāh ke īn ʿebād mamnūn mī-shodīm. Ān-qadr bedān ke be-ḥaqq-e Ḥaqq aktharī az mohājerīn lebās nadārand va maʿa-dhālek be-īn nofūs ke li-llāh ḥarakat namūde-and va be-nāle va nowḥe bā Jamāl-e Aḥadīye be-īn shaṭr tavajjoh namūde-and nesbat-e donyā dāde-and va az barā-ye khod enqeṭāʿ thābet namūde-and. Fa-yā layta kunta muṭṭaliʿan bihim wa-bi-mā ʿindahum wa-bi-mā irtakabū fī al-ḥayāt al-bāṭila li-ibqāʾ riyāsātihim wa-kunta min al-muṭṭaliʿīn.

If only they had entered this remainder in their own names as well! By God, we servants would have been grateful. Know at least this much: by the truth of the True One, most of the emigrants have no clothes. Yet they have attributed worldly motives to these souls, who set out for God’s sake and turned toward this region with the Beauty of Divine Unity, weeping and lamenting, while claiming detachment for themselves. If only you knew them, what they possess, and what they have committed in this vain life to preserve their positions of leadership, and were among those who are informed!

382

و آنچه در غرس حبّه و تفصيل آن نوشته بوديد از جميع اين كلمات چنان مفهوم ميشود كه بحرفى از علم الهى مطّلع نشده‌ايد و مقصود از ظهور را ندانسته‌ايد كه چه بوده و چه خواهد بود حال از مثل اعلى گذشته و بمثل ادنى اعتراضاً على اللّه ناطق شده تسليم مينمائيم كه همين است كه شما نوشته‌ايد و مذكور ميداريد آيا اين حبّه سقايه لازم داشته و يا ندارد ميفرمايد منم آن هبوب ارياح احديّه كه از يمين رضوان اعرفوا اللّه باللّه در هبوب است و تربيت كلّ شیء منوط باين هبوب عزّ رحمانى و نفحه قدس روحانى بوده و خواهد بود و ميفرمايد منم آن كوثر حيوانى كه باو حبّه‌‌هاى معرفت و معانى و سنبلات علم و حكمت صمدانى انبات مينمايد و من غير هبوب اين ارياح و اين ماء عذب فرات هيچ حبّه علميّه از رضوان صدور بريّه نروئيده و نخواهد روئيد و مع‌ذلك ميگوئيد و مينويسيد و لا تشعرون ما تقولون

Va ānche dar ghars-e ḥabbe va tafṣīl-e ān neveshte būdīd, az jamīʿ-e īn kalemāt chenān mafhūm mī-shavad ke be-ḥarfī az ʿelm-e elāhī moṭṭaleʿ nashode-īd va maqṣūd az ẓohūr rā nadāneste-īd ke che būde va che khāhad būd. Ḥāl az mathal-e aʿlā godhashte va be-mathal-e adnā iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh nāṭeq shode. Taslīm mī-namāyīm ke hamīn ast ke shomā neveshte-īd va madhkūr mī-dārīd. Āyā īn ḥabbe seqāye lāzem dāshte va yā nadārad? Mī-farmāyad: Manam ān hobūb-e aryāḥ-e aḥadīye ke az yamīn-e Reḍvān-e iʿrifū Allāh bi-llāh dar hobūb ast va tarbīyat-e koll-e shayʾ manūṭ be-īn hobūb-e ʿezz-e raḥmānī va nafḥe-ye qods-e rūḥānī būde va khāhad būd. Va mī-farmāyad: Manam ān Kowthar-e ḥayavānī ke be-ū ḥabbe-hā-ye maʿrefat va maʿānī va sonbolāt-e ʿelm va ḥekmat-e ṣamadānī enbāt mī-namāyad. Va men gheyr-e hobūb-e īn aryāḥ va īn māʾ-e ʿadhb-e forāt hīch ḥabbe-ye ʿelmīye az Reḍvān-e ṣodūr-e barīye narūʾīde va nakhāhad rūʾīd. Va maʿa-dhālek mī-gūʾīd va mī-nevīsīd wa-lā tashʿurūna mā taqūlūn.

As for what you wrote about planting the seed and your explanation of it, all these words suggest that you have not understood a single letter of divine knowledge and have not known what the purpose of revelation has been or will be. Now, passing over the most exalted analogy, you have spoken through the lowliest analogy in protest against God. Let us concede that it is just as you have written and stated. Has this seed needed watering, or does it not? He says: “I am that blowing of the winds of divine unity that comes from the right hand of the Paradise of ‘Know God through God’; the nurture of all things has depended, and will depend, upon this glorious, merciful breeze and this holy, spiritual breath.” And He says: “I am that life-giving Kawthar through which the seeds of understanding and inner meanings, and the ears of divine knowledge and wisdom, sprout.” Without the blowing of these winds and this sweet, refreshing water, no seed of knowledge has sprouted, or will sprout, in the paradise of human hearts. Yet you speak and write, and do not perceive what you are saying.

383

اين انظر مشركه را بگذار و ببصر توحيد ملاحظه كن تا جميع مظاهر را نفس واحده مشاهده نمائى و شرايع كلّ را شريعت واحده بينى جميع اين اختلافات باقتضاى وقت و مقام و استعدادات مظاهر وجود بوده و خواهد بود خدا را اراضى طيّبه مباركه مقدّسه بوده كه حين القاى بزر ظهور سنبلات اخرى اقرب من لمح البصر مشاهده ميشود و اين مقام عالم امر است و خلق از ادراك آن عاجز چنانچه ميفرمايد انّما امره اذا اراد شيئاً ان يقول له كن فيكون و اين اراضى است كه ميفرمايد يخرج نباته باذن ربّه و لكن اراضى نفوس مشركه هرگز نميرويد الّا آنچه را حقّ جلّ ذكره خبر داده بقوله تعالى لايخرج الّا نكداً در اراضى آن نفوس اگر صدهزار سال هم درظهور تأخير شود بقول شما هرگز سنبلات طيّبه از آن اراضى جرزه نروئيده و نخواهد روئيد

Īn [corrupted text] moshreke rā be-godhār va be-baṣar-e towḥīd molāḥeẓe kon tā jamīʿ-e maẓāher rā nafs-e vāḥede moshāhede namāʾī va sharāyeʿ-e koll rā sharīʿat-e vāḥede bīnī. Jamīʿ-e īn ekhtelāfāt be-eqteḍā-ye vaqt va maqām va esteʿdādāt-e maẓāher-e vojūd būde va khāhad būd. Khodā rā arāḍī-ye ṭayyebe-ye mobārake-ye moqaddase būde ke ḥīn-e elqā-ye bazr ẓohūr-e sonbolāt-e okhrā aqrab min lamḥ al-baṣar moshāhede mī-shavad va īn maqām ʿālam-e amr ast va khalq az edrāk-e ān ʿājez. Chenānche mī-farmāyad: Innamā amruhu idhā arāda shayʾan an yaqūla lahu kun fa-yakūn. Va īn arāḍī ast ke mī-farmāyad: Yakhruju nabātuhu bi-idhni rabbihi. Va lāken arāḍī-ye nofūs-e moshreke hargaz namī-rūyad ellā ānche rā Ḥaqq jalla dhikruhu khabar dāde bi-qawlihi taʿālā: Lā yakhruju illā nakidan. Dar arāḍī-ye ān nofūs agar ṣad-hezār sāl ham dar ẓohūr taʾkhīr shavad be-qowl-e shomā, hargaz sonbolāt-e ṭayyebe az ān arāḍī-ye joroze narūʾīde va nakhāhad rūʾīd.

Set aside this [corrupted original text] that associates partners with God, and look with the eye of divine unity, so that you may see all the Manifestations as one soul and the religious laws of all as one law. All these differences have arisen, and will arise, according to the requirements of time and circumstance and the capacities of the manifestations of existence. God has had good, blessed, holy soils in which, when the seed is sown, the appearance of further ears of grain is witnessed in less than the blink of an eye. This station is the realm of command, which creation is powerless to comprehend. As He says: “His command, when He desires a thing, is only to say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” It is of these soils that He says: “Its vegetation comes forth by the permission of its Lord.” But the soils of souls that associate partners with God never bring forth anything except what the True One—exalted be His mention—has announced in His exalted words: “It brings forth only scantily.” Even if, as you would have it, the revelation were delayed a hundred thousand years, good ears of grain have never grown, and will never grow, from the barren soils of those souls.

384

البتّه شما خواهيد گفت دوره تمام نشده و كامل نگشته فويل للّذينهم يعرفون نعمة اللّه ثمّ ينكرونها بچشم خود ملاحظه مينمائيد كه سنبلات معانى مكنونه از حبّه هاى كلمات الهيّه روئيده و سر سبز و خرّم در رضوان احديّه مشهودند مع‌ذلك انكار نموده و مينمائيد و شايد كه شما نديده و نشنيده و مطّلع نيستيد انشآءاللّه كه چنين باشد و از آن اشخاصى نباشى كه بچشم خود ديده و انكار نموده‌اند و بگوش خود شنيده و معرض گشته‌اند

Albatte shomā khāhīd goft dowre tamām nashode va kāmel nagashte. Fa-waylun li-lladhīna hum yaʿrifūna niʿmata Allāh thumma yunkirūnahā. Be-cheshm-e khod molāḥeẓe mī-namāyīd ke sonbolāt-e maʿānī-ye maknūne az ḥabbe-hā-ye kalemāt-e elāhīye rūʾīde va sar-sabz va khorram dar Reḍvān-e Aḥadīye mashhūdand. Maʿa-dhālek enkār namūde va mī-namāyīd va shāyad ke shomā nadīde va nashenīde va moṭṭaleʿ nīstīd. In shāʾ Allāh ke chonīn bāshad va az ān ashkhāṣī nabāshī ke be-cheshm-e khod dīde va enkār namūde-and va be-gūsh-e khod shenīde va moʿreḍ gashte-and.

Of course you will say that the cycle has not ended or reached completion. Woe, then, to those who recognize God’s favor and then deny it! You see with your own eyes that ears of hidden meanings have sprung from the seeds of divine words and stand verdant and flourishing in the Paradise of Divine Unity. Yet you have denied, and continue to deny. Perhaps, however, you have neither seen nor heard and are unaware. God willing, this is so, and you are not among those who have seen with their own eyes and denied, and heard with their own ears and turned away.

385

از اينها گذشته ذات اقدسش لم‌يزل مقدّس از امثال بوده و خواهد بود چه كه مثل و امثال بآن مقرّ راه نداشته و ندارد و اينكه امثال ذكر ميشود نظر بعرفان ناس است كه شايد از آن امثله حدوديّه ادراك بعضى از امور الهيّه را على قدر شأنهم نمايند حقّ منيع اگر اراده فرمايد در يك حين بيك هبوب ارياح فضليّه جميع اشجار يابسه را بطراز ربيع مزيّن فرمايد و بيك كلمه جميع حبّات وجود را بسنبلات حكمت و علم ظاهر مينمايد گويا آيينه در پيش خود گذاشته‌ايد و آنچه در خود مشاهده ميكنيد از عجز و جهل و شئونات ضدّيّه و دلالات حمقيّه كلّ را بحقّ راجع نموده و مينمائيد تب الى اللّه يا ايّها النّائم و كاش از نائمين محسوب بودى چه كه نائم خود آسوده است و هم ناس از او آسوده‌اند چنانچه گفته‌اند عملى از براى ظالم بهتر از نوم نبوده و نيست چه كه در حالت نوم خود و ناس هر دو آسوده‌اند تفكّر فى ظلمك يا ايّها الظّالم الّذى بظلمك ناحت الأشیاء كلّها و اضطربت نفوس المقدّسين خف عن الله و لاتتّبع هواك فالق ما عندك ثمّ اتّخذ ما عند اللّه بقوّة من عنده لعلّ يرتدّ اليك بصر العناية و يجعلك من المنصفين

Az īnhā godhashte Dhāt-e Aqdasash lam-yazal moqaddas az amthāl būde va khāhad būd, che ke methl va amthāl be-ān maqarr rāh nadāshte va nadārad. Va īnke amthāl dhekr mī-shavad naẓar be-ʿerfān-e nās ast ke shāyad az ān amthele-ye ḥodūdīye edrāk-e baʿḍī az omūr-e elāhīye rā ʿalā qadri shaʾnihim namāyand. Ḥaqq-e manīʿ agar erāde farmāyad dar yek ḥīn be-yek hobūb-e aryāḥ-e faḍlīye jamīʿ-e ashjār-e yābese rā be-ṭerāz-e rabīʿ mozayyan farmāyad va be-yek kaleme jamīʿ-e ḥabbāt-e vojūd rā be-sonbolāt-e ḥekmat va ʿelm ẓāher mī-namāyad. Gūyā āyīne dar pīsh-e khod godhāshte-īd va ānche dar khod moshāhede mī-konīd az ʿajz va jahl va shoʾūnāt-e ḍeddīye va dalālāt-e ḥomqīye koll rā be-Ḥaqq rājeʿ namūde va mī-namāyīd. Tub ilā Allāh yā ayyuhā al-nāʾim. Va kāsh az nāʾemīn maḥsūb būdī, che ke nāʾem khod āsūde ast va ham nās az ū āsūde-and. Chenānche gofte-and ʿamalī az barā-ye ẓālem behtar az nowm nabūde va nīst, che ke dar ḥālat-e nowm khod va nās har do āsūde-and. Tafakkar fī ẓulmika yā ayyuhā al-ẓālim alladhī bi-ẓulmika nāḥat al-ashyāʾ kulluhā wa-iḍṭarabat nufūs al-muqaddasīn. Khaf ʿan Allāh wa-lā tattabiʿ hawāka fa-alqi mā ʿindaka thumma ittakhidh mā ʿinda Allāh bi-quwwatin min ʿindihi laʿalla yartadda ilayka baṣar al-ʿināya wa-yajʿalaka min al-munṣifīn.

Apart from all this, His most holy Essence has always been, and will remain, sanctified above analogies, for likenesses and comparisons have never had, and do not have, access to that seat. Analogies are mentioned only with regard to human understanding, so that through these limited comparisons people may perhaps comprehend some divine matters according to their capacity. If the unapproachable True One so wills, in a single instant, with one breath of the winds of grace, He can adorn all withered trees with the raiment of spring; with one word He brings forth all the seeds of existence as ears of wisdom and knowledge. It is as though you have placed a mirror before yourself and have attributed, and continue to attribute, to the True One everything you observe in yourself: impotence, ignorance, contrary dispositions, and signs of foolishness. Repent to God, you who are asleep! If only you could be counted among the sleeping, for a sleeping person is himself at rest, and people are at rest from him. As has been said, no deed has been or is better for a tyrant than sleep, since while he sleeps both he and the people are at rest. Reflect on your injustice, you tyrant whose injustice has caused all things to lament and the souls of the sanctified to tremble. Fear God and do not follow your desires. Cast away what you possess, then take hold of what is with God through a power from Him, so that the gaze of providence may return to you and He may make you one of the fair-minded.

386

قول من ناح بقوله قبائل العالمين عرض ديگر آنكه تعريفات حضرت باب بجهت شخص معيّن بهاء است و بجهت مسمّاى بعينه است و يا بجهت اسم بهاء اگر بجهت مسمّاى بعينه و شخص بخصوص است اين اوّل حرف است و محتاج بدليل است بيان فرموده كه در كجاى بيان و بچه عبارت است و اگر بجهت اسم بهاء است اين اسم از اسماء اللّه است تعريفات اسماء اللّه اختصاص باسم بهاء ندارد اسم جلال و جمال را نيز تعريف فرموده و هكذا كلّ اسماء اللّه را پس هر ميرزا كمال و ميرزا جمال بايد ادّعاى اين امر نمايد علاوه ديّان و ميرزا غوغا و شيخ اسمعيل و حاجى ملاّ هاشم هم ادّعاى اين امر نمودند و ادّعاى آنها باطل شده پس محض ادّعا كفايت نخواهد كرد و الّا اين حضرات بايد همان موعود باشند انتهى

Qawlu man nāḥa bi-qawlihi qabāʾil al-ʿālamīn: ʿArḍ-e dīgar ānke taʿrīfāt-e Ḥaḍrat-e Bāb be-jehat-e shakhṣ-e moʿayyan-e Bahā ast va be-jehat-e mosammā-ye be-ʿeyneh ast va yā be-jehat-e esm-e Bahā? Agar be-jehat-e mosammā-ye be-ʿeyneh va shakhṣ-e be-khoṣūṣ ast īn avval-e ḥarf ast va moḥtāj be-dalīl ast. Bayān farmūde ke dar kojā-ye Bayān va be-che ʿebārat ast. Va agar be-jehat-e esm-e Bahā ast īn esm az asmāʾ-e Allāh ast. Taʿrīfāt-e asmāʾ-e Allāh ekhteṣāṣ be-esm-e Bahā nadārad. Esm-e Jalāl va Jamāl rā nīz taʿrīf farmūde va hākadhā koll-e asmāʾ-e Allāh rā. Pas har Mīrzā Kamāl va Mīrzā Jamāl bāyad eddeʿā-ye īn amr namāyad. ʿElāve Dayyān va Mīrzā Ghowghā va Shaykh Esmāʿīl va Ḥājī Mollā Hāshem ham eddeʿā-ye īn amr namūdand va eddeʿā-ye ānhā bāṭel shode. Pas maḥḍ-e eddeʿā kefāyat nakhāhad kard va ellā īn ḥaḍarāt bāyad hamān mowʿūd bāshand. Intahā.

The words of him whose speech caused the tribes of the worlds to lament: “Another submission is this: are the praises of the Báb directed toward the particular person of Bahá, toward a specifically designated individual, or toward the name Bahá? If they are directed toward a specifically designated individual and a particular person, this is the very point at issue and requires proof. Explain where in the Bayán this appears and in what words. If they are directed toward the name Bahá, this name is one of the names of God. Praise of the names of God is not confined to the name Bahá. He also praised the names Jalál and Jamál, and likewise all the names of God. Thus every Mírzá Kamál and Mírzá Jamál should lay claim to this Cause. Moreover, Dayyán, Mírzá Ghawghá, Shaykh Ismáʿíl, and Ḥájí Mullá Háshim also laid claim to this Cause, and their claims have been shown to be false. A mere claim, therefore, will not suffice; otherwise, these gentlemen must be that very Promised One.” End of quotation.

387

قل فامسك قلمك يا ايّها الّذى صرت محروماً عن رداء الأدب و الانصاف و بما جرى من قلمك قد ضيّعت حرمة اللّه بين عباده و اذا يتبرّء منك قلمك و لوح الّذى رقمت عليه ما رقمت تاللّه لو كانت اذنك واعية لسمعت فى حين الّذى كنت مشتغلاً بهذه الأذکار‌ حنين اهل ملأ الأعلی ثمّ ضجيج الأصفیا‌ء ثمّ نوح الأولیاء‌ ثمّ صريخ كلّ الأشیآء عمّا خلق بقول اللّه الملك المتعالى العلىّ العظيم خذ لسانك يا عدوّ اللّه ثمّ امسك قلمك و دع لوحك فاستحى عن اللّه الّذى قد خلقك بأمر من عنده لهذا الظّهور الّذى ظهر بالحقّ و انفطرت عنه سموات ايقانكم يا ملأ الغافلين ا تظنّ بأن يعزب من علمه من شیء لا فو‌ربّ العالمين

Qul fa-amsik qalamaka yā ayyuhā alladhī ṣirta maḥrūman ʿan ridāʾ al-adab wa-l-inṣāf wa-bi-mā jarā min qalamika qad ḍayyaʿta ḥurmata Allāh bayna ʿibādihi wa-idhā yatabarraʾu minka qalamuka wa-lawḥ alladhī raqamta ʿalayhi mā raqamta. Ta-llāh law kānat udhunuka wāʿiya la-samiʿta fī ḥīn alladhī kunta mushtaghilan bi-hādhihi al-adhkār ḥanīna ahl malaʾ al-aʿlā thumma ḍajīja al-aṣfiyāʾ thumma nawḥa al-awliyāʾ thumma ṣarīkha kull al-ashyāʾ ʿammā khuliqa bi-qawli Allāh al-Malik al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAlī al-ʿAẓīm. Khudh lisānaka yā ʿaduwwa Allāh thumma amsik qalamaka wa-daʿ lawḥaka fa-istaḥi ʿan Allāh alladhī qad khalaqaka bi-amrin min ʿindihi li-hādhā al-ẓuhūr alladhī ẓahara bi-l-ḥaqq wa-infaṭarat ʿanhu samāwāt īqānikum yā malaʾ al-ghāfilīn. A-taẓunnu bi-an yaʿzuba min ʿilmihi min shayʾ? Lā fa-wa-rabb al-ʿālamīn.

Say: Restrain your pen, you who have been deprived of the robe of courtesy and fairness! Through what has flowed from your pen, you have violated the sanctity of God among His servants. Now your pen disowns you, as does the tablet on which you inscribed what you inscribed. By God, had your ear been attentive, you would have heard, while you were occupied with these statements, the lament of the company on high, then the outcry of the chosen ones, then the mourning of the holy ones, then the cry of all things created by the word of God, the King, the Transcendent, the Most High, the Most Great. Hold your tongue, enemy of God, restrain your pen, and leave your tablet! Be ashamed before God, who created you by a command from Him for this Revelation, which has appeared in truth and through which the heavens of your certitude have been torn apart, you heedless company! Do you imagine that anything escapes His knowledge? No, by the Lord of the worlds!

388

حين الّذى جرى من قلمك ما جرى لبكت عين علىّ فى سمآء القضا و كان ناظرا اليك و مخاطباً الى نفسك يا ايّها الشّقىّ قد سوّد اللّه وجهك لانّك ارتكبت ما لا ارتكبه احد من الأوّلین‌ و لايرتكبه نفس من الآخرین اما نصحناكم فى كلّ الألواح بأن لا تقولوا فى حين الظّهور لم و بم و انّك يا ايّها الملحد المكّار قد اتّخذت امر اللّه هزوا و ضربت و تضرب على جسدى فى كلّ حين اسياف الغلّ و النّفاق و لا تشعر و تظنّ بانّك تكون من المستقيمين فى امرى و باستدلالك تريد ان تثبت ما ظهر منّى ثمّ تقتل فى كلّ حين نفسى المحبوب و لا تستحيى عن اللّه الّذى اليه ترجع امور العالمين و بفعلكم قد خجلت بين ملأ المقرّبين ثمّ اصفیاء اللّه المقدّسين ثمّ انبيائه المصطفين

Ḥīn alladhī jarā min qalamika mā jarā la-bakat ʿaynu ʿAlī fī samāʾ al-qaḍā wa-kāna nāẓiran ilayka wa-mukhāṭiban ilā nafsika: Yā ayyuhā al-shaqī qad sawwada Allāh wajhaka li-annaka irtakabta mā lā irtakabahu aḥadun min al-awwalīn wa-lā yartakibuhu nafsun min al-ākhirīn. A-mā naṣaḥnākum fī kull al-alwāḥ bi-an lā taqūlū fī ḥīn al-ẓuhūr lima wa-bima? Wa-innaka yā ayyuhā al-mulḥid al-makkār qad ittakhadhta amra Allāh huzuwan wa-ḍarabta wa-taḍribu ʿalā jasadī fī kull ḥīn asyāfa al-ghill wa-l-nifāq wa-lā tashʿur wa-taẓunnu bi-annaka takūnu min al-mustaqīmīn fī amrī. Wa-bi-istidlālika turīdu an tuthbita mā ẓahara minnī thumma taqtulu fī kull ḥīn nafsī al-Maḥbūb wa-lā tastaḥyī ʿan Allāh alladhī ilayhi tarjiʿu umūr al-ʿālamīn. Wa-bi-fiʿlikum qad khajiltu bayna malaʾ al-muqarrabīn thumma aṣfiyāʾ Allāh al-muqaddasīn thumma anbiyāʾihi al-muṣṭafayn.

When what flowed from your pen came forth, the eye of ʿAlí wept in the heaven of decree. He gazed upon you and addressed you: “Wretched one! God has blackened your face, for you have committed what no one among the former generations committed and no soul among the later generations will commit. Did We not counsel you in all the Tablets not to say, at the time of the Revelation, ‘Why?’ and ‘By what means?’ Yet you, deceitful unbeliever, have made a mockery of the Cause of God. You have struck, and continue at every moment to strike, My body with the swords of malice and hypocrisy, without perceiving it, while imagining yourself among those who are steadfast in My Cause. With your arguments you seek to establish what appeared from Me, yet at every moment you slay My beloved Self, and you feel no shame before God, to whom the affairs of the worlds return. Through your deeds I have been put to shame before the company of those brought near, then before God’s sanctified chosen ones, then before His elect Prophets.”

389

فو‌اللّه بنسبة نفسك الى البيان قد بكت حروفاته و كلماته و حقايقه و معانيه و انّك تفرح و تضحك و تلعب و تكون من المستهزئين فسوف يأخذك اللّه بقهر من عنده و سطوة من لدنه و انّه هو اشدّ المنتقمين اما تفكّرت فى نفسك باىّ حجّة آمنت بنفسى و باىّ برهان نسبت نفسك الى نفسى اذا تبرّء منك و يتبرّء كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و كان نفسى على ما اقول شهيد انّ الّذى بعث بينكم اما ظهر بآياتى و ظهورى و سلطنتى و كبريائى و حجّتى و برهانى و دليلى لم كفرتم به و اقررتم بنفسى لا فو‌نفسى العليم الخبير انّكم ما آمنتم بنفسى و لابآياتى و لا بما نزل فى ازل الآزال من جبروت اللّه الملك المقتدر العلىّ العليم

Fa-wa-llāh bi-nisbati nafsika ilā al-Bayān qad bakat ḥurūfātuhu wa-kalimātuhu wa-ḥaqāʾiquhu wa-maʿānīhi wa-innaka tafraḥu wa-taḍḥaku wa-talʿabu wa-takūnu min al-mustahziʾīn. Fa-sawfa yaʾkhudhuka Allāh bi-qahrin min ʿindihi wa-saṭwatin min ladunhu wa-innahu huwa ashaddu al-muntaqimīn. A-mā tafakkarta fī nafsika bi-ayyi ḥujjatin āmanta bi-nafsī wa-bi-ayyi burhānin nasabta nafsaka ilā nafsī? Idhan tabarraʾa minka wa-yatabarraʾu kullu man fī al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-kāna nafsī ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd. Inna alladhī buʿitha baynakum a-mā ẓahara bi-āyātī wa-ẓuhūrī wa-salṭanatī wa-kibriyāʾī wa-ḥujjatī wa-burhānī wa-dalīlī? Lima kafartum bihi wa-aqrartum bi-nafsī? Lā fa-wa-nafsī al-ʿAlīm al-Khabīr innakum mā āmantum bi-nafsī wa-lā bi-āyātī wa-lā bi-mā nazala fī azal al-āzāl min jabarūt Allāh al-Malik al-Muqtadir al-ʿAlī al-ʿAlīm.

“By God, because you have associated yourself with the Bayán, its letters, words, realities, and meanings have wept, while you rejoice, laugh, play, and join the mockers. Soon God will seize you with His overpowering might and His crushing force. He is indeed the most severe of avengers. Have you not reflected within yourself on the testimony through which you believed in Me, and the proof through which you associated yourself with Me? Thus everyone in the heavens and on earth has disowned, and will disown, you, and My own Self is witness to what I say. Has not the One raised up among you appeared with My verses, My revelation, My sovereignty, My majesty, My testimony, My proof, and My evidence? Why have you disbelieved in Him while acknowledging Me? No, by My own all-knowing, all-informed Self! You have not believed in Me, nor in My verses, nor in what descended in the eternity of eternities from the dominion of God, the King, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the All-Knowing.”

390

اذا فانصف يا ايّها الغافل ثمّ خلّص نفسك فى ساعة للّه ربّك و ربّ العالمين انّ الّذى يتلو عليكم فى كلّ حين آيات اللّه لو لم تومن به لاتتعرّض عليه خف عن اللّه انّه قد تجاوز عن ايمانك و ايمان مثلائك لو تكوننّ من الشّاعرين قد خجل كلّ الأشیآء بين يدى اللّه لنسبة الّتى كانت بينك و بينها لانّ الكلّ ينتهى الى ظلّ اسمه الصّانع كذلك كان الأمر ان انت من الشّاعرين اذا يتبرّئنّ الأشیآء عن نسبتك اليها و يستعيذنّ باللّه من نفسك يا ايّها الّذى بفعلك احترقت اكباد النّبيّين و المرسلين

Idhan fa-anṣif yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil thumma khalliṣ nafsaka fī sāʿatin li-llāh rabbika wa-rabb al-ʿālamīn. Inna alladhī yatlū ʿalaykum fī kull ḥīn āyāt Allāh law lam tuʾmin bihi lā tataʿarraḍ ʿalayhi. Khaf ʿan Allāh innahu qad tajāwaza ʿan īmānika wa-īmāni mithlāʾika law takūnanna min al-shāʿirīn. Qad khajila kull al-ashyāʾ bayna yaday Allāh li-l-nisba allatī kānat baynaka wa-baynahā li-anna al-kull yantahī ilā ẓill ismihi al-Ṣāniʿ. Kadhālika kāna al-amr in anta min al-shāʿirīn. Idhan yatabarraʾanna al-ashyāʾ ʿan nisbatika ilayhā wa-yastaʿidhanna bi-llāh min nafsika yā ayyuhā alladhī bi-fiʿlika iḥtaraqat akbād al-nabiyyīn wa-l-mursalīn.

Be fair, then, heedless one, and for one hour devote yourself sincerely to God, your Lord and the Lord of the worlds. If you do not believe in the One who recites God’s verses to you at every moment, do not assail Him. Fear God! He has dispensed with your belief and the belief of those like you, if only you could perceive it. All things have been put to shame before God because of the relationship between you and them, for all ultimately rest beneath the shadow of His name, the Maker. Such is the matter, if you are among those who perceive. Thus all things will surely disown your association with them and seek refuge in God from you, you whose deeds have set ablaze the hearts of the Prophets and Messengers.

391

و ما كان مقصودك فيما جرى من قلمك الّا سخريّة و استهزاء على اللّه و انّك تستهزئ على نفسك و رؤسائك و لاتكون من الشّاعرين كما استهزء عباد من قبلك على سفرآء اللّه و امنائه و انّك جئت عن ورائه بامر اضطربت عنه اركان الاطمينان ثمّ قوائم الايقان و تزلزلت نفس السّكون و اهتزّت اركان عرش عظيم

Wa-mā kāna maqṣūduka fīmā jarā min qalamika illā sukhriyyatan wa-istihzāʾan ʿalā Allāh wa-innaka tastahziʾu ʿalā nafsika wa-ruʾasāʾika wa-lā takūnu mina al-shāʿirīn kamā istahzaʾa ʿibādun min qablika ʿalā sufarāʾi Allāh wa-umanāʾihi wa-innaka jiʾta ʿan warāʾihi bi-amrin iḍṭarabat ʿanhu arkānu al-iṭmiʾnān thumma qawāʾimu al-īqān wa-tazalzalat nafsu al-sukūn wa-ihtazzat arkānu ʿarshin ʿaẓīm.

Your purpose in what flowed from your pen was nothing but mockery and derision of God. Yet you mock yourself and your leaders without perceiving it, just as servants before you mocked God’s emissaries and His trusted ones. You have followed in their wake with a deed that has shaken the foundations of assurance and the pillars of certitude, convulsed stillness itself, and caused the supports of a mighty throne to tremble.

392

اسمع قولى و لاتجاوز عن حدّك فاعرف نفسك يا ايّها المشرك باللّه و آياته و المجادل بنفسه و المحارب بكينونته ثمّ اكف بما ارتكبت تاللّه بفعلك قد هبّت عواصف الانتقام على العالمين فسوف تأخذك و اوليائك و انّه ما من اله الّا هو له القدرة و الاقتدار و له العظمة و الأختيار ينزل ما يشآء بأمر من عنده و انّه لهو المقتدر القهّار

Ismaʿ qawlī wa-lā tatajāwaz ʿan ḥaddika fa-iʿrif nafsaka yā ayyuhā al-mushriku bi-Allāh wa-āyātihi wa-al-mujādilu bi-nafsihi wa-al-muḥāribu bi-kaynūnatihi thumma ikfā bi-mā irtakabta ta-Allāh bi-fiʿlika qad habbat ʿawāṣifu al-intiqām ʿalā al-ʿālamīn fa-sawfa taʾkhudhuka wa-awliyāʾaka wa-innahu mā min ilāhin illā huwa lahu al-qudratu wa-al-iqtidār wa-lahu al-ʿaẓamatu wa-al-ikhtiyār yunazzilu mā yashāʾu bi-amrin min ʿindihi wa-innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadiru al-Qahhār.

Listen to My words and do not overstep your bounds. Know yourself, you who associate partners with God and His verses, dispute with His own Self, and wage war against His Being. Enough of what you have committed! By God, your deed has unleashed the tempests of vengeance upon the worlds. Soon they will seize you and your allies. There is no God but Him. His are power and might; His are majesty and the freedom to choose. He sends down whatever He wills by a command from Himself. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the All-Subduing.

393

كلّ اشیآء متعجّب است كه چه تو را بآن داشته كه بالقاى آن نفس مردوده باين شأن و جسارت با جمال احديّه بمحاربه برخواستى جمال امنع اقدس اعظم اقدمى را كه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ميفرمايد اشاره من باو راه ندارد و هيچ اشاره از مشيرين لعلوّ قدره و عظمة جلاله و ارتفاع اجلاله باو راجع نميشود تو استهزاءً عليه نوشته آنچه را كه تا حال هيچ نفسى بآن ارتكاب ننموده و ننوشته و عجب است كه خجلت نميبرى و ذكر نقطه بيان مينمائى آخر بچه دليل و برهان اينگونه جسارت را جايز دانسته

Kull-i ashyāʾ mutaʿajjib ast kih chih tu rā bi-ān dāshtih kih bi-ilqā-yi ān nafs-i mardūdih bi-īn shaʾn va jisārat bā Jamāl-i Aḥadiyyih bi-muḥāribih bar-khāstī Jamāl-i amnaʿ-i aqdas-i aʿẓam-i aqdamī rā kih Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh mī-farmāyad ishāriy-i man bi-ū rāh nadārad va hīch ishārih az mushīrīn li-ʿuluwwi qadrihi wa-ʿaẓamati jalālihi wa-irtifāʿi ijlālihi bi-ū rājiʿ nimī-shavad tu istihzāʾan ʿalayhi nivishtih ānchih rā kih tā ḥāl hīch nafsī bi-ān irtikāb nanimūdih va nanivishtih va ʿajab ast kih khijlat nimī-barī va dhikr-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān mī-namāʾī ākhar bi-chih dalīl va burhān īn-gūnih jisārat rā jāʾiz dānistih.

All things marvel at what could have prompted you, at the instigation of that rejected soul, to rise up with such audacity and insolence to wage war against the Beauty of Divine Unity. Of that most unapproachable, most holy, most great and most ancient Beauty, the Primal Point of the Bayán—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—says: “My allusion cannot reach Him, nor can any allusion made by anyone refer to Him, so exalted is His station, so great His glory, and so lofty His majesty.” Yet in mockery of Him you have written what no soul has ever dared to commit or write. It is astonishing that you feel no shame and still make mention of the Point of the Bayán. On what evidence and proof, after all, have you deemed such insolence permissible?

394

تحيّر اين عبد سهل است جميع اهل ملأ اعلى متحيّرند از امثال شما چه زود كافر شديد بنفسى كه باو ادّعاى ايمان مينموديد گرفتم اين امر را ادراك ننمودى آخر با اين همه ظهورات عزّ صمدانى و آيات منزله ربّانى اقلّا بايد توقّف كنى اگر چه اگر ببيان ناظر باشى بهيچوجه سندى در دست نداشته و نداريد كه بر چنين نفسى اعتراض نمائيد و لو هر چه بفرمايد

Taḥayyur-i īn ʿabd sahl ast jamīʿ-i ahl-i Malaʾ-i Aʿlā mutaḥayyirand az amthāl-i shumā chih zūd kāfir shudīd bi-nafsī kih bi-ū iddiʿā-yi īmān mī-namūdīd giriftam īn amr rā idrāk nanimūdī ākhar bā īn hamih ẓuhūrāt-i ʿizz-i ṣamadānī va āyāt-i munazzalih-yi rabbānī aqallan bāyad tavaqquf kunī agar-chih agar bi-Bayān nāẓir bāshī bi-hīch-vajh sanadī dar dast nadāshtih va nadārīd kih bar chunīn nafsī iʿtirāḍ namāʾīd va law har chih bi-farmāyad.

This servant’s bewilderment is of little consequence: all the inhabitants of the Concourse on high are bewildered by the likes of you. How quickly you have disbelieved in the very One in whom you professed faith! Granted that you have not understood this Cause, surely, in the face of all these manifestations of divine glory and divinely revealed verses, you should at least withhold judgment. Indeed, if you look to the Bayán, you have never had, nor do you now have, any warrant whatsoever to object to such a Being, whatever He may say.

395

افّ للّذينهم نفخوا فيك و ملئوا صدرك من غلّ اللّه و بغضه فآه آه فآه الّذى لا يذكر بالقلم فاه الّذى لن يتمّ بالبيان على ما فعلت استرضاء لمن يفرّ عنه السجّين بكينونته و الجحيم بحقيقته و النّار باشتعالها و لهيبها

Uffin li-alladhīna hum nafakhū fīka wa-malaʾū ṣadraka min ghilli Allāh wa-bughḍihi fa-āh āh fa-āh alladhī lā yudhkaru bi-al-qalam fa-āh alladhī lan yatimma bi-al-bayān ʿalā mā faʿalta istirḍāʾan li-man yafirru ʿanhu al-sijjīnu bi-kaynūnatihi wa-al-jaḥīmu bi-ḥaqīqatihi wa-al-nāru bi-ishtiʿālihā wa-lahībihā.

Shame on those who have breathed into you and filled your breast with malice and hatred toward God! Alas, alas! A lament that no pen can record, a lament that no utterance can fully express, for what you have done to please one from whom Sijjín in its very being, hell in its reality, and fire in its blazing and flaming flee.

396

در جميع بيان من فى البيان را از تعرّض و احتجاج با يكديگر منع فرموده و ميفرمايند اگر هم بخواهيد با يكديگر در دلايل و براهين احتجاج نمائيد بكمال ادب و حيا دلايل و براهين خود را ذكر نمائيد و مرقوم داريد كه مباد از آن احتجاج بر آن جوهر عزّ و شمس معانى در ایّام ظهور و اشراق حزنى وارد شود چنانچه ميفرمايد قوله جلّ كبريائه و ان حين ما تحبّون ان تتحاجّون بدلائل و البرهان على اكمل الحيا تكتبون دلائلكم ثمّ على منتهى الأدب لتقولون الى ان قال عزّ ذكره لعلّكم لاتلاقون اللّه ربّكم و تكسبون عملاً يحزن به اللّه ربّكم بما يحزن مظهر نفسه و انتم لاتلتفتون و لا تتذكّرون انتهى

Dar jamīʿ-i Bayān man fī al-Bayān rā az taʿarruḍ va iḥtijāj bā yakdīgar manʿ farmūdih va mī-farmāyand agar ham bi-khvāhīd bā yakdīgar dar dalāʾil va barāhīn iḥtijāj namāʾīd bi-kamāl-i adab va ḥayā dalāʾil va barāhīn-i khud rā dhikr namāʾīd va marqūm dārīd kih mabād az ān iḥtijāj bar ān Jawhar-i ʿIzz va Shams-i Maʿānī dar ayyām-i ẓuhūr va ishrāq ḥuznī vārid shavad chunānchih mī-farmāyad qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu wa-in ḥīna mā tuḥibbūna an tataḥājjūna bi-dalāʾili wa-al-burhān ʿalā akmali al-ḥayā taktubūna dalāʾilakum thumma ʿalā muntahā al-adab la-taqūlūna ilā an qāla ʿazza dhikruhu laʿallakum lā tulāqūna Allāha rabbakum wa-taksibūna ʿamalan yaḥzanu bihi Allāhu rabbukum bi-mā yaḥzanu maẓhara nafsihi wa-antum lā taltafitūna wa-lā tatadhakkarūna intahā.

Throughout the Bayán, He has forbidden the people of the Bayán to assail or dispute with one another. He says that if you wish to debate with one another using evidence and proofs, you should state and write down your evidence and proofs with the utmost courtesy and modesty, lest that debate bring sorrow upon that Essence of Glory and Sun of Meanings in the days of His manifestation and radiance. Thus He says—exalted be His majesty: “And when you wish to debate using evidence and proof, write down your evidence with the utmost modesty, and then speak with the greatest courtesy.” Further on He says—exalted be His remembrance: “Lest you encounter God, your Lord, and commit a deed that grieves God, your Lord, by grieving the Manifestation of His own Self, while you neither take heed nor remember.” Here ends the quotation.

397

كاش همين قدر وصيّت آن محبوب امكان را عامل ميشدى نه و اللّه حرفى از بيان را عامل نشده‌ايد مگر آنچه را كه بهواى خود مطابق ديده‌ايد فنعوذ باللّه من هذا الذّنب لانّ كلماته قد كانت مقدّسة من انفسكم و اهوائكم و عرفانكم و ادراككم كاش باحتجاج هم با مظهر ربّ الأرباب‌ كفايت مينمودى نه حيا نمودى و نه مراعات ادب منظور داشتى ارتكاب نموده امرى را كه از اين يوم الى يوم الّذى لا آخر له هر ذى ادب و حيائى نظر نمايد بآنچه نوشته خجل و شرمسار گردد تاللّه ارتكبت ما احترقت به اكباد المقرّبين و

Kāsh hamīn qadr vaṣiyyat-i ān Maḥbūb-i imkān rā ʿāmil mī-shudī nah va-Allāh ḥarfī az Bayān rā ʿāmil nashudih-īd magar ānchih rā kih bi-havā-yi khud muṭābiq dīdih-īd fa-naʿūdhu bi-Allāh min hādhā al-dhanb li-anna kalimātihi qad kānat muqaddasatan min anfusikum wa-ahwāʾikum wa-ʿirfānikum wa-idrākikum kāsh bi-iḥtijāj ham bā Maẓhar-i Rabb al-Arbāb kifāyat mī-namūdī nah ḥayā namūdī va nah murāʿāt-i adab manẓūr dāshtī irtikāb nimūdih amrī rā kih az īn yawm ilā yawm alladhī lā ākhira lahu har dhī adab va ḥayāʾī naẓar namāyad bi-ānchih nivishtih khajil va sharmsār gardad ta-Allāh irtakabta mā iḥtaraqat bihi akbādu al-muqarrabīn wa-

If only you had observed even this much of the counsel of that Beloved of all creation! No, by God, you have not acted upon a single letter of the Bayán except what you have found to accord with your own desires. We seek refuge in God from this sin, for His words are sanctified above your selves, your desires, your knowledge, and your understanding. If only you had confined yourself to disputing with the Manifestation of the Lord of Lords! You showed neither modesty nor regard for courtesy. You have committed a deed such that, from this day until the day that has no end, every person possessed of courtesy and modesty who looks at what you have written will be ashamed and abashed. By God, you have committed what has burned the hearts of those brought near, and

398

كاش حقّ را بمثل يكى از نفوس اهل ارض ميدانستى چه كه با آن نفوس جرئت اينگونه جسارت و تكلّم نداشته و ندارى فو‌اللّه لو تسمع نفس الحيا يتبرّء منك و كينونة الأدب يستعيذ باللّه من فعلك ادب از سجيّه انسان است و باو از دونش ممتاز و هر نفسيكه باو فايز نشده البتّه عدمش بر وجودش رجحان داشته و دارد و تو بمقرّى كه اصل ادب مخصوص آن مقرّ خلق شده معمول داشته آنچه را كه هر ذى حيائى از ذكرش شرم دارد قد خرق حجاب ادبكم و حيائكم يا معشر الفاسقين

Kāsh Ḥaqq rā bi-mithl-i yakī az nufūs-i ahl-i arḍ mī-dānistī chih kih bā ān nufūs jurʾat-i īn-gūnih jisārat va takallum nadāshtih va nadārī fa-wa-Allāh law tasmaʿu nafsu al-ḥayā yatabarraʾu minka wa-kaynūnatu al-adab yastaʿīdhu bi-Allāh min fiʿlika adab az sajiyyih-yi insān ast va bi-ū az dūnash mumtāz va har nafsī kih bi-ū fāʾiz nashudih albattih ʿadamash bar vujūdash rujḥān dāshtih va dārad va tu bi-maqarrī kih aṣl-i adab makhṣūṣ-i ān maqarr khalq shudih maʿmūl dāshtih ānchih rā kih har dhī ḥayāʾī az dhikrash sharm dārad qad khuriqa ḥijābu adabikum wa-ḥayāʾikum yā maʿshara al-fāsiqīn.

If only you had regarded the True One as you would any person on earth, for you have never dared, nor do you now dare, to show such insolence or speak in this way to those people. By God, if you could hear, modesty itself disowns you, and the very being of courtesy seeks refuge in God from your deed. Courtesy is a human virtue, distinguishing a human being from what is beneath him. For any soul who has not attained it, nonexistence has assuredly been, and remains, preferable to existence. Yet toward that Seat for whom the very essence of courtesy was specifically created, you have acted in a way that everyone possessed of modesty is ashamed even to mention. The veil of your courtesy and modesty has been torn apart, you company of the ungodly!

399

جوهر قدسيكه ميفرمايد يا قوم قد جئتكم عن مشرق الرّوح بنبأ اللّه المهيمن القيّوم و ما انطق من تلقاء نفسى بل ينطق ربّكم الرّحمن بهذا اللّسان الصّادق المتكلّم العزيز المحبوب يا قوم لاتقتلونى باسياف البغضآء و لاتحكموا علىّ ما يضيع به حرمة اللّه المقتدر العزيز المحبوب فيا قوم انّه يناديكم بلسانى و ينطق فى صدرى و اقامنى على امره فو‌اللّه لا اجد لى من حركة و لا سكون الّا بأمره تفكّروا لكى تشعرون هل يجرى كوثر الحيوان من عيون الكدرة لا فو‌ربّ العالمين ان انتم تعرفون

Jawhar-i qudsī kih mī-farmāyad yā qawmi qad jiʾtukum ʿan mashriqi al-rūḥ bi-nabaʾi Allāh al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm wa-mā anṭiqu min tilqāʾi nafsī bal yanṭiqu rabbukumu al-Raḥmān bi-hādhā al-lisāni al-ṣādiqi al-mutakallimi al-ʿAzīzi al-Maḥbūb yā qawmi lā taqtulūnī bi-asyāfi al-baghḍāʾ wa-lā taḥkumū ʿalayya mā yaḍīʿu bihi ḥurmatu Allāh al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Maḥbūb fa-yā qawmi innahu yunādīkum bi-lisānī wa-yanṭiqu fī ṣadrī wa-aqāmanī ʿalā amrihi fa-wa-Allāh lā ajidu lī min ḥarakatin wa-lā sukūnin illā bi-amrihi tafakkarū li-kay tashʿurūn hal yajrī kawtharu al-ḥayawān min ʿuyūni al-kadirah lā fa-wa-Rabbi al-ʿālamīn in antum taʿrifūn.

That holy Essence says: “O people, I have come to you from the dawning-place of the Spirit with the tidings of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. I do not speak of My own accord; rather, your Lord, the All-Merciful, speaks through this truthful, eloquent, mighty and beloved tongue. O people, do not kill Me with the swords of hatred, nor pass against Me a judgment that violates the sanctity of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beloved. O people, He calls to you through My tongue, speaks within My breast, and has raised Me up for His Cause. By God, I find in Myself neither movement nor stillness except at His command. Reflect, so that you may perceive. Does the heavenly river of life flow from turbid springs? No, by the Lord of the worlds, if only you knew!

400

يا قوم هذا معين مشيّة اللّه قد جرت منه انهار ارادته بالحقّ كيف شآء و انّه لهو الحاكم بالحقّ و انّه لهو الحقّ علّام الغيوب لو تجدنّ عندكم من ذائقة فاشربوه لعلّ تجدون منه حلاوة القول ثمّ رايحة اللّه ربّكم و هذا قول الحقّ و ما بعد الحقّ الّا الضّلال ان انتم تفقهون

Yā qawmi hādhā maʿīnu mashīʾati Allāh qad jarat minhu anhāru irādatihi bi-al-ḥaqqi kayfa shāʾa wa-innahu la-huwa al-ḥākimu bi-al-ḥaqq wa-innahu la-huwa al-Ḥaqqu ʿAllāmu al-ghuyūb law tajidunna ʿindakum min dhāʾiqatin fa-ishrabūhu laʿalla tajidūna minhu ḥalāwata al-qawl thumma rāʾiḥata Allāh rabbikum wa-hādhā qawlu al-ḥaqq wa-mā baʿda al-ḥaqqi illā al-ḍalāl in antum tafqahūn.

O people, this is the wellspring of God’s Will, from which the rivers of His purpose have flowed in truth, as He has willed. He is indeed the One who rules in truth; He is indeed the Truth, the Knower of the unseen. If you find within yourselves any sense of taste, drink from it, that you may discover in it the sweetness of utterance and the fragrance of God, your Lord. This is the word of truth, and beyond truth there is nothing but error, if only you understood.

401

هل تعترضون على الّذى ارسلنى و ينطق فى صدرى اذاً وا حسرتا عليكم و على ما انتم به تعملون انّ الّذى جائكم بآيات اللّه و يقول انّها قد نزلت من عنده هل ينبغى لأحد ان يعترض عليه اذا فانصفوا ان انتم منصفون يا قوم انّى لم اقدر ان اتنفّس بنفس وحده الّا بعد اذنه و انتم تجدون نفس الرّحمن من هذه النّفس الّتى ارسلها اللّه بالحقّ ان انتم بقلوبكم فاقبلون

Hal taʿtariḍūna ʿalā alladhī arsalanī wa-yanṭiqu fī ṣadrī idhan wā ḥasratā ʿalaykum wa-ʿalā mā antum bihi taʿmalūn inna alladhī jāʾakum bi-āyāti Allāh wa-yaqūlu innahā qad nazalat min ʿindihi hal yanbaghī li-aḥadin an yaʿtariḍa ʿalayhi idhan fa-anṣifū in antum munṣifūn yā qawmi innī lam aqdir an atanaffasa bi-nafasin waḥdahu illā baʿda idhnihi wa-antum tajidūna nafasa al-Raḥmān min hādhihi al-nafsi allatī arsalahā Allāhu bi-al-ḥaqq in antum bi-qulūbikum fa-aqbilūn.

Do you object to the One who sent Me and speaks within My breast? Alas for you, then, and for what you do! Is it fitting for anyone to object to the One who has come to you with God’s verses and says that they have been sent down from Him? Be fair, then, if you are fair-minded. O people, I cannot draw a single breath except with His permission. You will find the breath of the All-Merciful coming from this Soul whom God has sent in truth, if you turn toward Me with your hearts.

402

لاتعروا انفسكم عن ردآء الأدب و الانصاف و لاتكلّموا بما نهيتم عنه فى الواح ربّكم المهيمن القيّوم و الّذى جعل محروماً عن الأدب انّه لعرىّ و لو يلبس حرر الأرض كلّها و هذا قد نزل بالحقّ فى الواح عزّ محفوظ و من لا ادب له لا ايمان له و بذلك يشهد ما نزل فى البيان ان انتم تشهدون قد خلق الأدب فى البيان لهذا الجمال و كذلك كلّ اسم خير ان انتم تعرفون

Lā tuʿarrū anfusakum ʿan ridāʾi al-adabi wa-al-inṣāf wa-lā takallamū bi-mā nuhītum ʿanhu fī alwāḥi rabbikumu al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm wa-alladhī juʿila maḥrūman ʿani al-adab innahu la-ʿariyyun wa-law yalbasu ḥurara al-arḍi kullahā wa-hādhā qad nazala bi-al-ḥaqqi fī alwāḥi ʿizzin maḥfūẓ wa-man lā adaba lahu lā īmāna lahu wa-bi-dhālika yashhadu mā nazala fī al-Bayān in antum tashhadūn qad khuliqa al-adabu fī al-Bayān li-hādhā al-Jamāl wa-ka-dhālika kullu ismi khayrin in antum taʿrifūn.

Do not strip yourselves of the robe of courtesy and fairness, and do not utter what you have been forbidden in the tablets of your Lord, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Whoever is deprived of courtesy is indeed naked, even if he wears all the silks of the earth. This has been sent down in truth in preserved tablets of glory. Whoever has no courtesy has no faith. To this, what has been revealed in the Bayán bears witness, if you would bear witness. Courtesy was created in the Bayán for this Beauty, as was every good name, if only you knew.

403

فو‌عمر من ظهر بالحقّ انّه ما قصد فى البيان الّا نفسى و ما تنفّس الّا بذكرى و ما قدّر كلّ خير الّا لجمالى لو لا ذكرى ما نزل البيان و ما تكلّم جمال الرّحمن بكلمة بينكم لانّ لمثلكم لاينبغى الّا كلماتكم ان انتم تفقهون

Fa-wa-ʿumri man ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqq innahu mā qaṣada fī al-Bayān illā nafsī wa-mā tanaffasa illā bi-dhikrī wa-mā qaddara kulla khayrin illā li-jamālī law lā dhikrī mā nazala al-Bayān wa-mā takallama Jamālu al-Raḥmān bi-kalimatin baynakum li-anna li-mithlikum lā yanbaghī illā kalimātukum in antum tafqahūn.

By the life of Him who has appeared in truth! In the Bayán He intended none but My own Self; He breathed only in remembrance of Me and ordained every good thing solely for My Beauty. Were it not for My remembrance, the Bayán would not have been revealed, nor would the Beauty of the All-Merciful have uttered a word among you, for nothing befits the likes of you but your own words, if only you understood.

404

قد نزل البيان لنفسى و انّى حينئذ اقرئه فى كلّ الأحيان و ما نزل حينئذ انّه لهو البيان لو انتم تعرفون ما نزل حينئذ ليكون شاهداً على ما نزل من قبل و ما نزل من عنده ليكون دليلاً على ما ينزل حينئذ من قلم اللّه المقتدر العزيز المحبوب

Qad nazala al-Bayānu li-nafsī wa-innī ḥīnaʾidhin aqraʾuhu fī kulli al-aḥyān wa-mā nazala ḥīnaʾidhin innahu la-huwa al-Bayān law antum taʿrifūn mā nazala ḥīnaʾidhin li-yakūna shāhidan ʿalā mā nazala min qabl wa-mā nazala min ʿindihi li-yakūna dalīlan ʿalā mā yanzilu ḥīnaʾidhin min qalami Allāh al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Maḥbūb.

The Bayán was revealed for My own Self, and I now recite it at all times. What is being revealed now is indeed the Bayán, if only you knew. What is being revealed now is to bear witness to what was revealed before, and what was revealed from Him is to serve as proof of what now descends from the Pen of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beloved.

405

يا قوم انّى نفسه و هو نفسى و انّه قد فدى نفسه لنفسى و انّى قد اخذت نفسى و روحى على يدى لانفقهما فى سبيله ثمّ فى حبّه و رضائه و يشهد بذلك كلّ الذّرّات لو انتم تسمعون خافوا عن اللّه و لاتفرقوا بينى و بينه و لو جعل اللّه هذا فوق قدرتكم لو اجتمعن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض ان يفرقن بيننا لن يقدرن و لن يستطيعنّ

Yā qawmi innī nafsuhu wa-huwa nafsī wa-innahu qad fadā nafsahu li-nafsī wa-innī qad akhadhtu nafsī wa-rūḥī ʿalā yadayya li-unfiqahumā fī sabīlihi thumma fī ḥubbihi wa-riḍāʾihi wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu al-dharrāt law antum tasmaʿūn khāfū ʿani Allāh wa-lā tufarriqū baynī wa-baynihi wa-law jaʿala Allāhu hādhā fawqa qudratikum law ijtamaʿanna kullu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ an yufarriqna baynanā lan yaqdirna wa-lan yastaṭīʿunn.

O people, I am His own Self, and He is My own Self. He sacrificed Himself for Me, and I have taken My life and My soul in My hands to expend them in His path, for His love and His good pleasure. Every atom bears witness to this, if only you could hear. Fear God and do not separate Me from Him, although God has placed this beyond your power. Were all who are in the heavens and on earth to unite to separate Us, they would have neither the power nor the ability.

406

و انه حينئذ كان جالساً عن يمين عرشه و كان انامله بين انيابه و ينظر متفكّرا فيكم بما ظهر منكم يا ملأ المشركين و يضجّ و يبكى بما ورد علىّ و ما يرد منكم من بعد و حينئذ يقصّ علىّ ما هو المكنون فى صدوركم و يبكى و ببكائه ينوحنّ اهل ملأ الأعلی و لكن انتم لا تعرفون و لا تشعرون

Wa-innahu ḥīnaʾidhin kāna jālisan ʿan yamīni ʿarshihi wa-kāna anāmiluhu bayna anyābihi wa-yanẓuru mutafakkiran fīkum bi-mā ẓahara minkum yā malaʾa al-mushrikīn wa-yaḍijju wa-yabkī bi-mā warada ʿalayya wa-mā yaridu minkum min baʿd wa-ḥīnaʾidhin yaquṣṣu ʿalayya mā huwa al-maknūnu fī ṣudūrikum wa-yabkī wa-bi-bukāʾihi yanūḥanna ahlu Malaʾi al-Aʿlā wa-lākin antum lā taʿrifūna wa-lā tashʿurūn.

He is now seated at the right of His throne, with His fingertips between His teeth, looking upon you in reflection on what has proceeded from you, you company of those who associate partners with God. He cries out and weeps over what has befallen Me and what will yet come from you. He now recounts to Me what is hidden in your breasts and weeps; at His weeping, the inhabitants of the Concourse on high lament. Yet you neither know nor perceive.”

407

مع‌ذلك وارد آورده‌‌ايد آنچه در ارض شبه نداشته اگر فى‌الجمله شاعر باشيد ادراك مينمائيد كه آنچه اعتراض نموده‌ايد بر حقّ وارد چه كه منزل حقّ بوده و خواهد بود و دخلى باحدى نداشته و ندارد اگر چه مشعر نخواهيد شد چنانچه ملل قبل آنچه اعتراض نمودند من غير شعور بوده و اگر مستشعر بودند و ادراك مينمودند كه آن اعتراضات بر حقّ وارد است ابدا باعتراض مشغول نميشدند و بهمين جهت لازال مظاهر نفى بر مظاهر اثبات وارد آورده‌اند آنچه قلم و لسان از ذكر و بيانش حيا ميكند

Maʿa dhālik vāred āvardeh-īd ānchih dar arḍ shabah nadāshtih. Agar fi’l-jumlih shāʿir bāshīd idrāk minamāyīd kih ānchih iʿtirāḍ namūdeh-īd bar Ḥaqq vāred, chih kih munzil Ḥaqq būdih va khvāhad būd va dakhlī bi-aḥadī nadāshtih va nadārad. Agarchih mushʿir nakhvāhīd shud, chunānchih milal-i qabl ānchih iʿtirāḍ namūdand min ghayr-i shuʿūr būdih va agar mustashʿir būdand va idrāk minamūdand kih ān iʿtirāḍāt bar Ḥaqq vāred ast abadan bi-iʿtirāḍ mashghūl namīshudand. Va bi-hamīn jihat lāzāl maẓāhir-i nafy bar maẓāhir-i ithbāt vāred āvardeh-and ānchih qalam va lisān az dhikr va bayānash ḥayā mikunad.

Nevertheless, you have inflicted what has had no parallel on earth. If you had even a little awareness, you would realize that the objections you have raised are directed against God, for it is God who has sent down revelation and will continue to do so; no one else has had or has any part in it. Yet you will not perceive this, just as the objections raised by former religious communities were made without understanding. Had they been aware and realized that those objections were directed against God, they would never have occupied themselves with objecting. For this very reason, the manifestations of negation have always inflicted upon the Manifestations of affirmation what pen and tongue are ashamed to recount and describe.

408

و زود است كه آنچه اخبار فرموده واقع شود چه كه باعراض و اعتراض تنها كفايت ننموده و نخواهيد نمود جمال قدم ميفرمايد اى اصمّ وجود يك نغمه از نغمات ورقاء ظهور قبلم ذكر مينمايم كه لعلّ فى الجمله ادراك نمائى و اگر تو ادراك ننمائى حقايق كلّ شیء اصغا نمايند و حجاب حيا را خرق ننمايند و طراز ادب را از هيكل خود نيندازند و آن اين است كه بحرف حىّ و وحيد اكبر عليهما بهائى ميفرمايد در حينيكه از اين ظهور امنع اقدس سؤال نموده‌اند قوله تكبّر كبريائه فو‌الّذى تفرّد بالعزّ و الجلال و ذرء الأشیآء لا من شیء بالمثال يستحيى اليقين ان يوقن فيه او يسجد له و يستحيى الدّليل ان يدلّ عليه لغيره ترى لاعرفنك او على دونه تشهد لاستدلنّ به عليه

Va zūd ast kih ānchih ikhbār farmūdih vāqiʿ shavad, chih kih bi-iʿrāḍ va iʿtirāḍ tanhā kifāyat nanamūdih va nakhvāhīd namūd. Jamāl-i Qidam mifarmāyad: Ay aṣamm-i vujūd, yik naghmih az naghamāt-i Varqā-yi Ẓuhūr-i Qablam dhikr minamāyam kih laʿalla fi’l-jumlih idrāk namāʾī, va agar tū idrāk nanamāʾī ḥaqāʾiq-i kull-i shayʾ iṣghā namāyand va ḥijāb-i ḥayā rā kharq nanamāyand va ṭirāz-i adab rā az haykal-i khud nayandāzand. Va ān īn ast kih bi-Ḥarf-i Ḥayy va Vaḥīd-i Akbar, ʿalayhimā bahāʾī, mifarmāyad dar ḥīnī kih az īn Ẓuhūr-i Amnaʿ-i Aqdas suʾāl namūdeh-and. Qawluhu, takabbara kibriyāʾuhu: Fa-wa’lladhī tafarrada bi’l-ʿizzi wa’l-jalāli wa-dharaʾa al-ashyāʾa lā min shayʾin bi’l-mithāl, yastaḥyī al-yaqīnu an yūqina fīhi aw yasjuda lahu, wa-yastaḥyī al-dalīlu an yadulla ʿalayhi li-ghayrihi. Turā li-aʿrifannaka aw ʿalā dūnihi tashhadu li-astadillanna bihi ʿalayhi?

Soon what He has foretold will come to pass, for you have not been content, nor will you be, with rejection and objection alone. The Ancient Beauty says: O deaf one of existence! I will recount one melody from the melodies of the Dove of My previous Revelation, that perhaps you may understand a little. Even if you do not understand, the realities of all things may listen, refrain from tearing the veil of modesty, and not cast the adornment of courtesy from their forms. It is this, addressed to the Letter of the Living and the Greater Vaḥīd—My glory rest upon them both—when they asked about this most unassailable, most holy Revelation. His words—exalted be His majesty—are: “By Him who is alone in might and majesty and brought things into being from nothing through the exemplar! Certitude is ashamed to attain certainty concerning Him or to bow before Him, and proof is ashamed to point Him out to another. Are You seen, that I might know You, or do You bear witness to anything other than Him, that I might infer Him from it?”

409

ساذج قدمى را كه ميفرمايد يقين حيا مينمايد از ايقان در او و سجده از براى او و دليل حيا مينمايد از آنكه دليل شود لنفس او و تو بی‌شرم بی‌حيا بتضييع امر اللّه چنان قيام نموده كه شبه آن در اكوان ممكن نه قد شققت بأنامل الشّرك حجبات الحياء و الحرمة نسئل اللّه بأن يشقّ حجابك و يظهر نفسك الخبيث بين العالمين و ينزع عنك ردآء السّتر و يعريك من اثواب الحرمة و يكشف لعباده ما كنت عليه و انّه لمن دعاه مجيب و اللّه يا ايّها الغافل بفعلك اضطرب كلّ شیء و شقّت ستر حجاب العصمة و تزلزلت اركان ملأ العالين

Sādhij-i qidamī rā kih mifarmāyad yaqīn ḥayā minamāyad az īqān dar ū va sajdih az barā-yi ū va dalīl ḥayā minamāyad az ānkih dalīl shavad li-nafs-i ū, va tū bī-sharm-i bī-ḥayā bi-taḍyīʿ-i Amru’llāh chunān qiyām namūdih kih shabah-i ān dar akvān mumkin nah. Qad shaqaqta bi-anāmili al-shirki ḥujubāti al-ḥayāʾi wa’l-ḥurmati. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yashuqqa ḥijābaka wa-yuẓhira nafsaka al-khabītha bayna al-ʿālamīna wa-yanziʿa ʿanka ridāʾa al-sitri wa-yuʿarriyaka min athwābi al-ḥurmati wa-yakshifa li-ʿibādihi mā kunta ʿalayhi, wa-innahu li-man daʿāhu mujībun. Wa’llāhi yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu, bi-fiʿlika iḍṭaraba kullu shayʾin wa-shuqqat sitru ḥijābi al-ʿiṣmati wa-tazalzalat arkānu malaʾi al-ʿālīn.

Of that Essence of eternity He says that certitude is ashamed to attain certainty concerning Him or to bow before Him, and proof is ashamed to serve as a proof of His very Self. Yet you, shameless and immodest, have arisen to undermine the Cause of God in a manner whose like is impossible in all the worlds of being. You have torn the veils of modesty and reverence with the fingers of association with God. We ask God to tear away your veil, expose your wicked self among the peoples of the world, strip you of the mantle of concealment, divest you of the garments of respectability, and disclose to His servants what you have been doing. He indeed answers those who call upon Him. By God, heedless one! Through your deed all things have been thrown into turmoil, the covering of the veil of purity has been torn, and the pillars of the exalted Concourse have been shaken.

410

قسم بمحبوب امكان كه من‌بعد حرمت هيچ مظهرى از مظاهر الهيّه را منظور نداشته و نداريد مگر نفوس مشركه را آن هم لأجل وساوس و ظنونى كه در آن انفس مستور است يك بيان ديگر از بيان منزل بيان خالصاً لوجه الرّحمن القا ميشود كه شايد نسيمى از رضوان كلمات الهى بر اهل اكوان مرور نمايد و شايد از ميامن آن انفس قدسيّه از خلف ستر و حجاب بعرصه شهود آيند و بمراد اللّه فايز گردند و بآنچه از قبل ذكر شده عامل شوند و اين ایّام را غنيمت شمرند و هم‌‌چنين امثال آن نفوس آنقدر ادراك نمايند كه بچه شأن حرمت اين ظهور عند اللّه منظور بوده لعلّ از جسارت ممنوع شوند

Qasam bi-Maḥbūb-i imkān kih min-baʿd ḥurmat-i hīch maẓharī az maẓāhir-i ilāhiyyih rā manẓūr nadāshtih va nadārīd magar nufūs-i mushrikih rā, ān ham li-ajl-i vasāvis va ẓunūnī kih dar ān anfus mastūr ast. Yik bayān-i dīgar az bayān-i Munzil-i Bayān khāliṣan li-wajhi al-Raḥmān ilqā mīshavad kih shāyad nasīmī az Riḍvān-i kalimāt-i ilāhī bar ahl-i akvān murūr namāyad va shāyad az mayāmin-i ān anfus-i qudsiyyih az khalf-i sitr va ḥijāb bi-ʿarṣih-yi shuhūd āyand va bi-murād-i Allāh fāʾiz gardand va bi-ānchih az qabl dhikr shudih ʿāmil shavand va īn ayyām rā ghanīmat shumarand. Va hamchunīn amthāl-i ān nufūs ānqadr idrāk namāyand kih bi-chih shaʾn ḥurmat-i īn Ẓuhūr ʿinda’llāh manẓūr būdih, laʿalla az jisārat mamnūʿ shavand.

I swear by the Beloved of all contingent being that henceforth you have shown and show regard for the sanctity of none of the Manifestations of God, but only for souls who associate partners with Him—and even that is because of the insinuations and conjectures concealed within those souls. Another utterance of the Revealer of the Bayān is now presented solely for the sake of the All-Merciful, so that perhaps a breeze from the paradise of divine words may pass over the inhabitants of the worlds of being. Perhaps, through its blessings, holy souls may emerge from behind their veils and coverings into the realm of visibility, attain what God desires, act upon what has previously been stated, and cherish these days as a precious opportunity. Likewise, perhaps those who resemble such souls may understand, at least to some degree, how highly the sanctity of this Revelation has been regarded in the sight of God, and may thus be restrained from insolence.

411

قوله عزّ اعزازه فقد سمعت كتابك و ان ما فيه جوهر لو لا ما فيه ما اجبتك على ذلك القرطاس و لا حينئذ يا على ما قدّر فى الابداع فما اعظم ذكر من قد سئلت عنه و انّ ذلك اعلى و اعزّ و اجلّ و امنع و اقدس من ان يقدر الأفئدة بعرفانها و الأرواح بالسّجود له و الأنفس بثنائه و الاجساد بذكر بهائه فما عظمت مسئلتك و صغرت كينونيّتك هل شمس الّتى هى فى مراياء ظهوره فى نقطة البيان يسئل عن شمس الّتى تلك الشّموس فى يوم ظهوره سجّاد لطلعتها ان كانت شموساً حقيقيّة و الّا لا ينبغى لعلوّ قدسها و سموّ ذكرها و لو لا كنت من واحد الأوّل لجعلت لك من الحدّ حيث قد سئلت عن اللّه الّذى قد خلقك و رزقك و اماتك و ابعثك فى هيكلك هذا بالنّقطة البيان فى ذلك الظّهور المنفرد بالكيان فقل اوّلاً اذا اردت ان تخطر بعلمك ذكره سبحان الّذى ذوالملك و الملكوت تسعة عشر مرّة الى ان يقول عزّ ذكره و قد كتبت جوهرة فى ذكره و هو انّه لا يستشار باشارتى و لا بما ذكر فى البيان بلى و عزّته تلك الكلمة اكبر عند اللّه عن عبادة ما على الأرض اذ جوهر كلّ العبادة ينتهى الى ذلك فعلى ما قد عرفت اللّه فاعرف مظهر نفسه فانّه اجلّ و اعلى من ان يكون معروفاً بدونه او مستشيراً باشارة خلقه و انّنى انا اوّل عبد قد آمنت به و بآياته و اخذت من ابكار حدائق جنّة عرفانه حدائق كلماته بلى و عزّته هو الحقّ لا اله الّا هو كلّ بأمره قائمون

Qawluhu, ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: Fa-qad samiʿtu kitābaka wa-inna mā fīhi jawharun, law lā mā fīhi mā ajabtuka ʿalā dhālika al-qirṭāsi wa-lā ḥīnaʾidhin yā ʿAlī mā quddira fī al-ibdāʿi. Fa-mā aʿẓama dhikra man qad saʾalta ʿanhu, wa-inna dhālika aʿlā wa-aʿazzu wa-ajallu wa-amnaʿu wa-aqdasu min an yaqdiru al-afʾidatu bi-ʿirfānihā wa’l-arwāḥu bi’l-sujūdi lahu wa’l-anfusu bi-thanāʾihi wa’l-ajsādu bi-dhikri bahāʾihi. Fa-mā ʿaẓumat masʾalatuka wa-ṣaghurat kaynūniyyatuka. Hal shamsu allatī hiya fī marāyā ẓuhūrihi fī Nuqṭati al-Bayāni yusʾalu ʿan shamsi allatī tilka al-shumūsu fī yawmi ẓuhūrihi sujjādun li-ṭalʿatihā in kānat shumūsan ḥaqīqiyyatan, wa-illā lā yanbaghī li-ʿuluwwi qudsihā wa-sumuwwi dhikrihā? Wa-law lā kunta min Wāḥidi al-Awwali la-jaʿaltu laka mina al-ḥaddi ḥaythu qad saʾalta ʿani Allāhi alladhī qad khalaqaka wa-razaqaka wa-amātaka wa-abʿathaka fī haykalika hādhā bi’l-Nuqṭati al-Bayāni fī dhālika al-ẓuhūri al-munfaridi bi’l-kiyān. Fa-qul awwalan idhā aradta an tukhṭira bi-ʿilmika dhikrahu: Subḥāna alladhī Dhū al-Mulki wa’l-Malakūt, tisʿata ʿashara marratan. Ilā an yaqūla, ʿazza dhikruhu: Wa-qad katabtu jawharatan fī dhikrihi wa-huwa annahu lā yustashāru bi-ishāratī wa-lā bi-mā dhukira fī al-Bayāni. Balā wa-ʿizzatihi tilka al-kalimatu akbaru ʿinda Allāhi ʿan ʿibādati mā ʿalā al-arḍi, idh jawharu kulli al-ʿibādati yantahī ilā dhālika. Fa-ʿalā mā qad ʿarafta Allāha fa-ʿrif Maẓhara Nafsihi, fa-innahu ajallu wa-aʿlā min an yakūna maʿrūfan bi-dūnihi aw mustashīran bi-ishārati khalqihi. Wa-innanī anā awwalu ʿabdin qad āmantu bihi wa-bi-āyātihi wa-akhadhtu min abkāri ḥadāʾiqi jannati ʿirfānihi ḥadāʾiqa kalimātihi. Balā wa-ʿizzatihi huwa al-Ḥaqqu lā ilāha illā huwa, kullun bi-amrihi qāʾimūn.

His words—exalted be His honor—are: “I have heard your letter, and what it contains is a gem. Were it not for what it contains, I would not have answered you on that sheet, nor then, O ʿAlī, on whatever has been ordained in creation. How momentous is the mention of Him about whom you have asked! This is higher, mightier, more glorious, more unassailable, and holier than hearts can attain through recognition, spirits through bowing before Him, souls through praising Him, or bodies through recounting His splendor. How great is your question, and how small your own being! Is a sun among the mirrors of His revelation in the Point of the Bayān to be asked about that Sun before whose countenance those suns will bow on the day of His revelation, if they are true suns? Otherwise, they are unworthy of the loftiness of its sanctity and the sublimity of its mention. Were you not of the First Unity, I would have imposed a penalty upon you, since you have asked about God, who created you, sustained you, caused you to die, and raised you up in this form of yours through the Point of the Bayān, in that revelation unique in existence. First, then, whenever you wish to bring His mention to mind, say nineteen times: ‘Glory be to Him who possesses the kingdoms of earth and heaven.’” He continues—exalted be His mention—until He says: “I have written a gem concerning Him, namely, that He is not to be consulted through My indication, nor through what has been mentioned in the Bayān. Indeed, by His might, that utterance is greater in the sight of God than the worship of all that is on earth, for the essence of all worship culminates in this. As you have known God, then, know the Manifestation of His Self, for He is too glorious and exalted to be known through anyone other than Himself or to seek counsel through the indication of His creatures. I am indeed the first servant to believe in Him and His verses, and from the pristine gardens of the paradise of His recognition I have taken the gardens of His words. Indeed, by His might, He is the Truth; there is no God but Him. All subsist through His command.”

412

حال از اين بيانات منزل بيان جلّت عظمته شأن مرايائى كه من دون اللّه از براى خود حقّ فرض گرفته و شأن معرضين و متعرّضين را ملاحظه نمائيد ساذج عزّى را كه محبوب عالميان كه بحرفى از او جميع من فى البيان خلق شده باين احترام ذكر مينمايند كه ميفرمايد اگر تو از واحد اوّل نبودى حدّ بر تو جارى مينمودم حال قدرى تفكّر نمائيد كه مقصود از اين تحديد كبرى چه بوده بچنين نفسى اگر فى‌الجمله صاحب ادراك باشيد از همين كلمات صيحه زنيد و فرياد واحسرتا على ما فرطنا فى جنب اللّه برآوريد و حال آنكه سائل خلاف ادب و احترام در عريضه خود ذكر ننموده بمجرّد سؤال اين قسم تحديد فرموده‌اند كه او و ساير اهل بيان متنبّه شوند و از غير نفس او از او سؤال ننمايند چه كه او بنفسه دليل خود بوده و بدون خود معروف نه چنانچه در آخر اين توقيع ميفرمايد هر نفسيكه آن جمال قدم را بغير عين او مشاهده نمايد ابداً باو عارف نگردد

Ḥāl az īn bayānāt-i Munzil-i Bayān, jallat ʿaẓamatuhu, shaʾn-i marāyāʾī kih min dūni’llāh az barā-yi khud ḥaqq farḍ giriftih va shaʾn-i muʿriḍīn va mutaʿarriḍīn rā mulāḥiẓih namāyīd. Sādhij-i ʿizzī rā kih Maḥbūb-i ʿālamiyān kih bi-ḥarfī az ū jamīʿ-i man fi’l-Bayān khalq shudih bi-īn iḥtirām dhikr minamāyand kih mifarmāyad agar tū az Vāḥid-i Avval nabūdī ḥadd bar tū jārī minamūdam. Ḥāl qadrī tafakkur namāyīd kih maqṣūd az īn taḥdīd-i kubrā chih būdih bi-chunīn nafsī. Agar fi’l-jumlih ṣāḥib-i idrāk bāshīd az hamīn kalimāt ṣayḥih zanīd va faryād-i vā ḥasratā ʿalā mā farraṭnā fī janbi Allāh bar-āvarīd. Va ḥāl ānkih sāʾil khilāf-i adab va iḥtirām dar ʿarīḍih-yi khud dhikr nanamūdih, bi-mujarrad-i suʾāl īn qism taḥdīd farmūdeh-and kih ū va sāʾir-i ahl-i Bayān mutanabbih shavand va az ghayr-i nafs-i ū az ū suʾāl nanamāyand, chih kih ū bi-nafsih dalīl-i khud būdih va bi-dūn-i khud maʿrūf nah. Chunānchih dar ākhir-i īn tawqīʿ mifarmāyad har nafsī kih ān Jamāl-i Qidam rā bi-ghayr-i ʿayn-i ū mushāhidih namāyad abadan bi-ū ʿārif nagardad.

Now, in light of these utterances of the Revealer of the Bayān—glorious is His grandeur—consider the standing of those mirrors who, apart from God, have assumed a right for themselves, and the standing of those who turn away and raise objections. Consider that Essence of glory whom the Beloved of the worlds, through one letter of whom all who are in the Bayān were created, mentions with such reverence that He says: “Were you not of the First Unity, I would have imposed a penalty upon you.” Reflect a little, then, on the purpose of this most severe warning to such a person. If you possess even a little understanding, these very words should cause you to cry out and raise the lament: “Alas for what we have neglected in our duty toward God!” Yet the questioner had written nothing contrary to courtesy and respect in his petition. Merely for asking, He warned him in this manner, so that he and the rest of the people of the Bayān might take heed and not ask anyone other than His own Self about Him. For He Himself has been His own proof and is not known through anyone other than Himself. Thus, at the end of this epistle, He says that whoever beholds that Ancient Beauty with any eye other than His own will never recognize Him.

413

قوله عزّ ذكره فاشهد بعين فؤادك و لاتنظر اليه الّا بعينه فانّ من ینظر اليه بعينه يدركه و الّا يحتجب ان اردت اللّه و لقائه فارده فانظر اليه و هم‌‌چنين اعزازاً لنفسه و اظهاراً لشأنه در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد قوله جلّ اعزازه الا انّه جلّ ذكره يعرف كلّ شیء نفسه و انّى استحيى ان اقول يعرف كلّ شیء نفسه بمثل ما انّى قد عرفت كلّ شیء بآياتى اذ كلّ ما تجد من كلّ شیء خلق له و انّ اللّه اجلّ و اعلى من ان يعرف بخلقه بل الخلق يعرف به انتهى

Qawluhu, ʿazza dhikruhu: Fa-shhad bi-ʿayni fuʾādika wa-lā tanẓur ilayhi illā bi-ʿaynihi, fa-inna man yanẓuru ilayhi bi-ʿaynihi yudrikuhu wa-illā yaḥtajibu. In aradta Allāha wa-liqāʾahu fa-aridhu fa-nẓur ilayhi. Va hamchunīn iʿzāzan li-nafsihi va iẓhāran li-shaʾnihi dar maqām-i dīgar mifarmāyad, qawluhu, jalla iʿzāzuhu: Alā innahu, jalla dhikruhu, yuʿarrifu kulla shayʾin nafsahu, wa-innī astaḥyī an aqūla yaʿrifu kullu shayʾin nafsahu bi-mithli mā innī qad ʿarraftu kulla shayʾin bi-āyātī, idh kullu mā tajidu min kulli shayʾin khuliqa lahu, wa-inna Allāha ajallu wa-aʿlā min an yuʿrafa bi-khalqihi, bali al-khalqu yuʿrafu bihi. Intahā.

His words—exalted be His mention—are: “Behold with the eye of your heart, and look upon Him only with His own eye, for whoever looks upon Him with His own eye perceives Him; otherwise, he remains veiled. If you desire God and attainment to His presence, desire Him and look upon Him.” Likewise, to honor His Self and manifest His station, He says elsewhere—glorious be His honor: “Indeed, He—glorious be His mention—makes His Self known to all things. I am ashamed to say that all things know His Self, in the same way that I have made all things known through My verses, for whatever you find among all things was created for Him. God is too glorious and exalted to be known through His creation; rather, creation is known through Him.” End of quotation.

414

ملاحظه كن كه بچه ادب و اعزاز در جميع اين بياناتيكه متعلّق بظهور بعد است ذكر ميفرمايند ميفرمايد كه او بنفسه ميشناساند نفس مقدّس خود را بكلّ اشیآء و من حيا ميكنم اينكه بگويم عارف ميشود نفس او را كلّ شیء اگر در اين بيانات لسان رحمن اقلّ من آن تفكّر نمائى و بفواكه طيّبه عرفان كه در او مستور است مرزوق شوى صنم وهم را كه مصنوع ايادى ظنون است شكسته بشطر قدم توجّه نمائى و لكن بسيار بعيد است كه باين توفيق موفّق شوى چه كه جسارتت از حدّ گذشته

Mulāḥiẓih kun kih bi-chih adab va iʿzāz dar jamīʿ-i īn bayānātī kih mutaʿalliq bi-ẓuhūr-i baʿd ast dhikr mifarmāyand. Mifarmāyad kih ū bi-nafsih mishināsānad nafs-i muqaddas-i khud rā bi-kull-i ashyāʾ va man ḥayā mikunam īnkih bigūyam ʿārif mīshavad nafs-i ū rā kull-i shayʾ. Agar dar īn bayānāt-i Lisān-i Raḥmān aqall-i min ān tafakkur namāʾī va bi-favākih-i ṭayyibih-yi ʿirfān kih dar ū mastūr ast marzūq shavī, ṣanam-i vahm rā kih maṣnūʿ-i ayādī-yi ẓunūn ast shikastih bi-shaṭr-i Qidam tavajjuh namāʾī. Va lākin bisyār baʿīd ast kih bi-īn tawfīq muvaffaq shavī, chih kih jisāratat az ḥadd gudhashtih.

Observe with what courtesy and honor He speaks in all these utterances concerning the subsequent Revelation. He says that He Himself makes His holy Self known to all things, and: “I am ashamed to say that all things know His Self.” If you were to reflect for less than a moment on these utterances of the Tongue of the All-Merciful and be nourished by the wholesome fruits of recognition concealed within them, you would shatter the idol of delusion, fashioned by the hands of conjecture, and turn toward the Eternal One. Yet it is most unlikely that you will receive this grace, for your insolence has exceeded all bounds.

415

بحقّ نقطه وجود و جمال معبود كه اين عبد متحيّر است از امثال شما اين كلمات ربّ اعلى و تو ذكر ميرزا جمال و ميرزا كمال استهزاء على اللّه مينمائى و همچه گمان نموده‌ايد كه حرمة اللّه مابين ناس باين كلمات ضايع ميشود چنانچه معرضين باللّه بهمين كلمات مفتريات بر جمال رحمن بسته و لكن غافل از آنكه نزد هر ذى بصرى از همين كلماتى كه مذكور داشته‌ايد احقر و اشرّ و ابعد از هر ذكر دون خيرى بوده و خواهيد بود هر ذى شأنى از شئون امثال آن انفس مشركه احتراز جويد و هر ذى قدرى از هتك حرمتى كه نموده‌ايد بخدا پناه برد

Bi-ḥaqq-i Nuqṭih-yi vujūd va Jamāl-i Maʿbūd kih īn ʿabd mutaḥayyir ast az amthāl-i shumā. Īn kalimāt-i Rabb-i Aʿlā va tū dhikr-i Mīrzā Jamāl va Mīrzā Kamāl istihzāʾan ʿala’llāh minamāʾī, va hamchih gumān namūdeh-īd kih ḥurmatu’llāh mābayn-i nās bi-īn kalimāt ḍāyiʿ mīshavad, chunānchih muʿriḍīn bi’llāh bi-hamīn kalimāt muftariyāt bar Jamāl-i Raḥmān bastih. Va lākin ghāfil az ānkih nazd-i har dhī baṣarī az hamīn kalimātī kih madhkūr dāshteh-īd aḥqar va asharr va abʿad az har dhikr-i dūn-i khayrī būdih va khvāhīd būd. Har dhī shaʾnī az shuʾūn-i amthāl-i ān anfus-i mushrikih iḥtirāz jūyad va har dhī qadrī az hatk-i ḥurmatī kih namūdeh-īd bi-Khudā panāh barad.

By the Point of existence and the Beauty of the Adored One, this servant is bewildered by people such as you. Such are the words of the Most Exalted Lord, yet you speak of Mīrzā Jamāl and Mīrzā Kamāl in mockery of God! You have imagined that these words will undermine the reverence for God among the people, just as those who turn away from God have used these very words to fabricate slanders against the Beauty of the All-Merciful. Yet you are unaware that, in the eyes of everyone with insight, these very words you have uttered have made and will make you more contemptible, more wicked, and more remote than any description of evil can convey. Everyone of standing shuns the conduct of such souls who associate partners with God, and everyone of worth seeks refuge in God from the desecration you have committed.

416

و هم‌‌چنين از اين بيانات مذكوره ثابت و محقّق كه دون نفس مقدّسش دليل او نبوده و نخواهد بود و سؤال از دون او لعرفان نفس او لم‌يزل مردود بوده و خواهد بود و هر نفسى اراده نمايد بآن ساذج غيب عارف شود بايد بنفس او بما يظهر من عنده عارف گردد نه بكلمات قبل و بعد فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده اوراد منيعه احديّه در روضه اين كلمات الهيّه مشهود و اثمار معارف جنيّه از سدرات كلمات مرقومه موجود و لكن دون صاحبان بصر و شامّه و ذائقه احديرا از آن قسمتى نه و اليوم احدى از اهل بصر و ذائقه و فؤاد مذكور نه الّا اهل البهآء الّذين نوّر اللّه وجوههم بأنوار جماله و قدّسهم عمّا سواه و عرفهم ما اضطربت عنه القلوب و استقرّهم فى ظلّ سدرة امره و انقطعهم عن العالمين

Va hamchunīn az īn bayānāt-i madhkūrih thābit va muḥaqqaq kih dūn-i nafs-i muqaddasash dalīl-i ū nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd va suʾāl az dūn-i ū li-ʿirfān-i nafs-i ū lam-yazal mardūd būdih va khvāhad būd. Va har nafsī irādih namāyad bi-ān Sādhij-i Ghayb ʿārif shavad bāyad bi-nafs-i ū bi-mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi ʿārif gardad nah bi-kalimāt-i qabl va baʿd. Fa-wa’lladhī nafsī bi-yadihi, avrād-i manīʿih-yi aḥadiyyih dar rawḍih-yi īn kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih mashhūd va athmār-i maʿārif-i janiyyih az sidrāt-i kalimāt-i marqūmih mawjūd, va lākin dūn-i ṣāḥibān-i baṣar va shāmmih va dhāʾiqih aḥadī rā az ān qismatī nah. Va al-yawm aḥadī az ahl-i baṣar va dhāʾiqih va fuʾād madhkūr nah illā ahl-i al-Bahāʾ, alladhīna nawwara Allāhu wujūhahum bi-anwāri jamālihi wa-qaddasahum ʿammā siwāhu wa-ʿarrafahum mā iḍṭarabat ʿanhu al-qulūbu wa-istaqarrahum fī ẓilli Sidrati Amrihi wa-inqaṭaʿahum ʿani al-ʿālamīn.

Likewise, these utterances establish beyond doubt that none other than His holy Self has been or will be His proof, and that asking anyone other than Him in order to recognize His Self has always been and will remain unacceptable. Whoever wishes to recognize that Essence of the Unseen must recognize His own Self through what proceeds from Him, not through the words of those who came before or come after. By Him in whose hand is my soul! In the garden of these divine words the exalted roses of oneness are visible, and from the lote-trees of these written words the ripe fruits of spiritual knowledge are available. Yet no one has a share in them except those endowed with sight, smell, and taste. Today none are accounted among those endowed with sight, taste, and heart except the people of Bahāʾ, whose faces God has illumined with the lights of His beauty, whom He has sanctified from all besides Him, to whom He has made known that which has thrown hearts into turmoil, whom He has established in the shade of the Lote-Tree of His Cause, and whom He has detached from all the worlds.

417

و حال چون اهل بيان بغير رضآء اللّه سايرند و در تيه وهم سالك و از مقصود اللّه و آياته محروم چنانچه نوشته كه اين اسم مبارك اعظم اقدم ابهى در كجاى بيان و بچه عبارت است لذا اين عبد از مقرّ اقصى و سدرة منتهى كه مقام اعرفوا اللّه باللّه است تنزّل نموده و بارض تحديد كه مقام ذكر و اشارات است ناظر كه شايد آنچه در اينمقام اين عبد مذكور دارد بپذيرند و بحبل كلمات الهى از غرقاب فانى نجات يافته بعرصه نورانى باقى خرامند

Va ḥāl chūn ahl-e Bayān be-ghayr-e reżā-ye Allāh sāyerand va dar tīh-e vahm sālek va az maqṣūd-e Allāh va āyātih maḥrūm, chenānche neveshte ke īn esm-e mobārak-e aʿẓam-e aqdam-e abhā dar kojā-ye Bayān va be-che ʿebārat ast, ledhā īn ʿabd az maqarr-e aqṣā va sedrat-e montahā ke maqām-e iʿrifū Allāha bi-Allāh ast tanazzol namūde va be-arż-e taḥdīd ke maqām-e dhekr va eshārāt ast nāẓer, ke shāyad ānche dar īn maqām īn ʿabd madhkūr dārad bepadhīrand va be-ḥabl-e kalemāt-e elāhī az gharqāb-e fānī nejāt yāfte be-ʿarṣe-ye nūrānī-ye bāqī kherāmand.

Now, since the people of the Bayān travel contrary to God’s good pleasure, walk in the wilderness of delusion, and remain deprived of God’s intended One and His verses—as he has written, asking where in the Bayān this blessed, Most Great, Most Ancient, Most Glorious Name appears, and in what terms—this servant has therefore descended from the most distant abode and the Lote-Tree of the Utmost Limit, the station of “Recognize God through God,” and turned toward the realm of limitation, the station of mention and allusion. Perhaps they will accept what this servant states in this station and, holding to the cord of divine words, escape the perishing depths and walk into the everlasting realm of light.

418

اينكه نوشته تعريفات حضرت باب بجهت شخص معيّن و يا بجهت اسم بهاء اوّلا بگوئيد كه حضرت اعلى روح ما سواه فداه كه خود را بذكر ناميده و جميع اسماء حسنى را بنفس مبارك خود راجع فرموده بچه دليل تصديقش نموديد و بچه برهان موقن و مذعن گشتيد بهمان دليل و برهان حال هم ناظر شويد جميع اسماء و ملكوت آن بقول مظهر ظهور خلق شده و ميشوند و كلّ طايف حول و لكن انّك لا تعرف و تكون من الغافلين ميفرمايند آنچه در بيان ذكر اسماء حسنى شده كلّ مقصود ظهور بعد بوده و خواهد بود و هم‌‌چنين آنچه ذكر خير كه در بيان نازل شده در حقيقت اوّليّه مقصود ظهور بعد بوده و در حقيقت ثانويّه اوّل مؤمن باو

Īnke neveshte taʿrīfāt-e Ḥażrat-e Bāb be-jehat-e shakhṣ-e moʿayyan va yā be-jehat-e esm-e Bahāʾ, avvalan begūyīd ke Ḥażrat-e Aʿlā, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, ke khod rā be-Dhekr nāmīde va jamīʿ-e asmā-ye ḥosnā rā be-nafs-e mobārak-e khod rājeʿ farmūde, be-che dalīl taṣdīqash nemūdīd va be-che borhān mūqen va modhʿen gashtīd? Be-hamān dalīl va borhān ḥāl ham nāẓer shavīd. Jamīʿ-e asmā va malakūt-e ān be-qowl-e maẓhar-e ẓohūr khalq shode va mīshavand va koll ṭāyef-e ḥowl, wa-lākin innaka lā taʿrifu wa-takūnu mina al-ghāfilīn. Mīfarmāyand ānche dar Bayān dhekr-e asmā-ye ḥosnā shode koll maqṣūd ẓohūr-e baʿd būde va khāhad būd va hamchenīn ānche dhekr-e khayr ke dar Bayān nāzel shode dar ḥaqīqat-e avvaliyye maqṣūd ẓohūr-e baʿd būde va dar ḥaqīqat-e thānaviyye avval moʾmen be-ū.

As to his writing about whether the Bāb’s praises refer to a particular person or to the name Bahāʾ, first say: By what evidence did you acknowledge the Most Exalted One—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—who called Himself the Remembrance and referred all the most beautiful names to His own blessed Self? By what proof did you become certain and assent? Look now to that same evidence and proof. All names and their kingdom have been and are created by the word of the Manifestation of Revelation, and all circle around Him, but you do not recognize this and are among the heedless. He says that wherever the most beautiful names are mentioned in the Bayān, the intended referent has always been and will always be the subsequent Revelation. Likewise, every mention of good revealed in the Bayān has, in its primary reality, referred to the subsequent Revelation, and in its secondary reality, to the first to believe in Him.

419

اليوم بنصّ نقطه بيان نفوسى كه از اين امر بديع معرضند از رداء اسميّه وصفيّه محروم و كلّ از بهائم بين يدى اللّه محشور و مذكور قل مت بغيظك يا ايّها الّذى تنكر هذا الفضل و تموت حين استماعه انّه قد ظهر بالحقّ و يطوف فى حوله مظاهر الأسمآء و ملكوتها ثمّ حقايقها و مسمّياتها لو انت من العارفين و انّه لن يحتاج الى غيره و لا باسمآء الّتى كانت بينكم بل كلّ محتاج اليه و كلّ من فضله لمن السّائلين اذا ينوحنّ كينونات الأسمآء من ظلمك و فعلك و يستعيذن باللّه منك و من امثالك و يقولن مخاطباً اليك يا ايّها الغافل انّا خلقنا و بعثنا بأمر من لدى اللّه المقتدر العزيز القدير و نكون خادماً لحضرته و طائفاً حول بابه و مفتخراً بنسبتنا اليه و هو قد كان غنيّاً عنّا ان انت من المستشعرين و انّك لما اشتعلت بنار الحسد و البغضآء ما رضيت بانّ الّذى خلق بأمره ملكوت الأسمآء ينسب الى نفسه اسمآء منها و هذا من ظلم الّذى ما ظهر شبهه فى الابداع و اذا ينوحنّ قبايل مداين البقآء من ظلمكم يا ملأ المغلّين

Al-yowm be-naṣṣ-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān nofūsī ke az īn amr-e badīʿ moʿreżand az redā-ye esmiyye-ye vaṣfiyye maḥrūm va koll az bahāʾem bayna yaday Allāh maḥshūr va madhkūr. Qul mut bi-ghayẓika yā ayyuhā alladhī tunkiru hādhā al-faḍla wa-tamūtu ḥīna istimāʿihi. Innahu qad ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqqi wa-yaṭūfu fī ḥawlihi maẓāhiru al-asmāʾi wa-malakūtuhā thumma ḥaqāʾiquhā wa-musammayātuhā law anta mina al-ʿārifīn. Wa-innahu lan yaḥtāja ilā ghayrihi wa-lā bi-asmāʾi allatī kānat baynakum bal kullun muḥtājun ilayhi wa-kullun min faḍlihi la-mina al-sāʾilīn. Idhan yanūḥanna kaynūnātu al-asmāʾi min ẓulmika wa-fiʿlika wa-yastaʿidhna bi-Allāhi minka wa-min amthālika wa-yaqulna mukhāṭiban ilayka yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu innā khuliqnā wa-buʿithnā bi-amrin min ladā Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Qadīr. Wa-nakūnu khādiman li-ḥaḍratihi wa-ṭāʾifan ḥawla bābihi wa-muftakhiran bi-nisbatinā ilayhi wa-huwa qad kāna ghaniyyan ʿannā in anta mina al-mustashʿirīn. Wa-innaka lammā ishtaʿalta bi-nāri al-ḥasadi wa-al-baghḍāʾi mā raḍīta bi-anna alladhī khuliqa bi-amrihi malakūtu al-asmāʾi yansibu ilā nafsihi asmāʾan minhā wa-hādhā min al-ẓulmi alladhī mā ẓahara shibhuhu fī al-ibdāʿi wa-idhan yanūḥanna qabāʾilu madāʾini al-baqāʾi min ẓulmikum yā malaʾa al-mughillīn.

Today, according to the explicit words of the Point of the Bayān, souls who turn away from this wondrous Cause are deprived of the robe of names and attributes, and all are gathered and accounted as beasts before God. Say: Die in your rage, you who deny this grace and die upon hearing of it! He has indeed appeared in truth, and around Him circle the manifestations of the names and their kingdom, and then their realities and the things they designate, if you are among those who understand. He will never need anyone else, nor the names current among you. Rather, all stand in need of Him, and all ask for His bounty. Then the very beings of the names lament your injustice and your deeds, seek refuge in God from you and your kind, and address you, saying: “Heedless one! We were created and raised up by a command from God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Omnipotent. We serve His presence, circle around His door, and glory in our relationship to Him, while He has ever been independent of us, if you are among those who perceive. Because you have become ablaze with the fire of envy and hatred, you have refused to allow Him, through whose command the kingdom of names was created, to ascribe to Himself any of those names. This is an injustice the like of which has never appeared in creation.” Then the peoples of the cities of eternity lament your injustice, you company of the malicious!

420

قل انّه لهو الّذى يفتخر الأسمآء بعبد من عباده لو تنسب اليه او يسمّى بها و انّك ما استشعرت فى نفسك و كنت من المبعدين قل تاللّه انّى لعلىّ فى ملكوت البقآء و محمّد فى جبروت الأسمآء ثمّ الرّوح فى مداين البقآء ثمّ بالحسين فى هذا الظّهور الكبرى و لنا اسمآء اخرى فى ممالك القدم الّتى ما اطّلع بها احد الّا اللّه الفرد العالم الخبير مت بغيظك يا ايّها الغافل انّ شرافة الّتى قدرت للأسمآء انّها كانت لنسبتها الى نفسى العزيز العليم و ما ارتفع اسم فى الملك الّا بتوجّهه الى شطرى المقدّس المتعالى العزيز المنيع فو‌نفسى كلّ اسم خير يرجع الى نفسى و كلّ ذكر بديع ينتهى الى جمالى ان انت من الموقنين

Qul innahu la-huwa alladhī yaftakhiru al-asmāʾu bi-ʿabdin min ʿibādihi law tunsabu ilayhi aw yusammā bihā wa-innaka mā istashʿarta fī nafsika wa-kunta mina al-mubʿadīn. Qul ta-Allāhi innī la-ʿAlīyun fī malakūti al-baqāʾi wa-Muḥammadun fī jabarūti al-asmāʾi thumma al-Rūḥu fī madāʾini al-baqāʾi thumma bi-al-Ḥusayni fī hādhā al-ẓuhūri al-kubrā wa-lanā asmāʾun ukhrā fī mamāliki al-qidami allatī mā iṭṭalaʿa bihā aḥadun illā Allāhu al-Fardu al-ʿĀlimu al-Khabīr. Mut bi-ghayẓika yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu inna sharāfata allatī quddirat li-al-asmāʾi innahā kānat li-nisbatihā ilā nafsī al-ʿAzīzi al-ʿAlīm. Wa-mā irtafaʿa ismun fī al-mulki illā bi-tawajjuhihi ilā shaṭrī al-muqaddasi al-mutaʿālī al-ʿazīzi al-manīʿ. Fa-wa-nafsī kullu ismi khayrin yarjiʿu ilā nafsī wa-kullu dhikrin badīʿin yantahī ilā jamālī in anta mina al-mūqinīn.

Say: He is the One whose servant the names glory in, should they be attributed to that servant or should he be called by them. Yet you have not perceived this within yourself and have been among those kept far away. Say: By God! I am indeed ʿAlī in the kingdom of eternity, Muḥammad in the dominion of names, then the Spirit in the cities of eternity, and then called Ḥusayn in this greatest Revelation. We have other names in the realms of ancient eternity of which no one is aware except God, the Unique, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Die in your rage, heedless one! The honor ordained for the names is due to their relationship to My Self, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. No name has been exalted in the world except by turning toward My sanctified, transcendent, mighty, unassailable presence. By My Self! Every name of goodness refers to My Self, and every wondrous mention leads to My beauty, if you are among those who are certain.

421

و لو تسمّى دونى بكلّ الأسماء لن يصدق عليه بل انّ حقايق تلك الأسماء يلعنك حين الّذى تخرج من فمك و يفرّن منك و يرجعنّ الى مقرّ الأقصى هذا المقام المقدّس الممتنع الرّفيع انّك لو تسمّى الظّلمة نوراً هل يصدق ذلك الاسم عليها لا فو‌ربّ العالمين او تسمّى الخزف بالّلؤلؤ هل ينبغى هذا الاسم له لا فو‌ربّك الرّحمن الرّحيم ا تعترض بالّذى كلّ الأسماء سجّاد لطلعته و لن يتحرّكن الّا باذنه و لن يستضيئن الّا ببهائه المشرق المتعالى المقدّس اللّايح المنير خف عن اللّه و لا تتّبع هواك و لا تتعرّض بالّذى قدّسه اللّه عن كلّ اسم و رسم ثمّ عن كلّ ذكر و بيان و جعله بنفسه مدلّاً لنفسه و بذاته معترفاً لذاته العزيز المنيع

Wa-law tusammī dūnī bi-kulli al-asmāʾi lan yaṣduqa ʿalayhi bal inna ḥaqāʾiqa tilka al-asmāʾi yalʿanuka ḥīna alladhī takhruju min famika wa-yafirarna minka wa-yarjiʿanna ilā maqarri al-aqṣā hādhā al-maqāmi al-muqaddasi al-mumtaniʿi al-rafīʿ. Innaka law tusammī al-ẓulmata nūran hal yaṣduqu dhālika al-ismu ʿalayhā? Lā fa-wa-Rabbi al-ʿālamīn. Aw tusammī al-khazafa bi-al-luʾluʾi hal yanbaghī hādhā al-ismu lahu? Lā fa-wa-Rabbika al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm. A-taʿtariḍu bi-alladhī kullu al-asmāʾi sujjādun li-ṭalʿatihi wa-lan yataḥarrakna illā bi-idhnihi wa-lan yastaḍiʾna illā bi-bahāʾihi al-mushriqi al-mutaʿālī al-muqaddasi al-lāʾiḥi al-munīr? Khaf ʿan Allāhi wa-lā tattabiʿ hawāka wa-lā tataʿarraḍ bi-alladhī qaddasahu Allāhu ʿan kulli ismin wa-rasmin thumma ʿan kulli dhikrin wa-bayānin wa-jaʿalahu bi-nafsihi mudillan li-nafsihi wa-bi-dhātihi muʿtarifan li-dhātihi al-ʿAzīzi al-Manīʿ.

Even if you call someone other than Me by all the names, they will not apply to him. Rather, the realities of those names curse you as they leave your mouth, flee from you, and return to the most distant abode, this sanctified, inaccessible, exalted station. If you call darkness light, does that name apply to it? No, by the Lord of the worlds! Or if you call earthenware a pearl, does this name befit it? No, by your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate! Do you object to Him before whose countenance all names bow down, moving only by His permission and shining only through His radiant, transcendent, sanctified, resplendent, luminous glory? Fear God, do not follow your desires, and do not assail Him whom God has sanctified above every name and designation, and above every mention and exposition, and whom He has made, through His own Self, the guide to Himself, and through His own Essence, the acknowledger of His Essence, the Almighty, the Unassailable.

422

انّ ربّك قد خلق ملكوت الأسماء كخلق كلّ شیء بقوله كن فيكون لو انت من النّاظرين و لو یشآء ليرجعها الى عدم البحت و انّه لهو المقتدر على ما یشآء و انّه لهو العليم الحكيم اسمع قولى و تب الى اللّه الّذى خلقك لعرفان نفسه و لاتجادل بأمره بعد ظهوره و لاتكن من المغلّين طهّر قلبك ثمّ اذنك لتسمع نغمات اللّه من لسانه الأطهر الأنور الصّادق الأمين هل تظنّ بانّ غيره يقدر ان يأتى بمثل ما اتى لا فو‌نفسه المهيمن القيّوم او دونه يقدر ان يتكلّم تلقآء الوجه لا فو‌جماله العزيز المحبوب انّه لن يشتبه بدونه و ما يظهر منه ليكون مقدّساً عن كلّ ما ظهر فى العالمين لو انتم تعلمون

Inna Rabbaka qad khalaqa malakūta al-asmāʾi ka-khalqi kulli shayʾin bi-qawlihi kun fa-yakūnu law anta mina al-nāẓirīn. Wa-law yashāʾu la-yurjiʿuhā ilā ʿadami al-baḥti wa-innahu la-huwa al-muqtadiru ʿalā mā yashāʾu wa-innahu la-huwa al-ʿAlīmu al-Ḥakīm. Ismaʿ qawlī wa-tub ilā Allāhi alladhī khalaqaka li-ʿirfāni nafsihi wa-lā tujādil bi-amrihi baʿda ẓuhūrihi wa-lā takun mina al-mughillīn. Ṭahhir qalbaka thumma udhunaka li-tasmaʿa naghamāti Allāhi min lisānihi al-aṭhari al-anwari al-ṣādiqi al-amīn. Hal taẓunnu bi-anna ghayrahu yaqdiru an yaʾtiya bi-mithli mā atā? Lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm. Aw dūnahu yaqdiru an yatakallama tilqāʾa al-wajhi? Lā fa-wa-jamālihi al-ʿAzīzi al-Maḥbūb. Innahu lan yashtabiha bi-dūnihi wa-mā yaẓharu minhu la-yakūnu muqaddasan ʿan kulli mā ẓahara fī al-ʿālamīna law antum taʿlamūn.

Your Lord has created the kingdom of names just as He creates everything, through His word “Be,” and it is, if you are among those who see. Should He wish, He would return them to utter nothingness. He indeed has power over whatever He wills, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Listen to My words and turn in repentance to God, who created you to recognize His Self. Do not dispute His Cause after His appearance, and do not be among the malicious. Purify your heart, and then your ears, so that you may hear the melodies of God from His most pure, most luminous, truthful, trustworthy tongue. Do you imagine that anyone else can produce the like of what He has brought? No, by His Self, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting! Or can anyone else speak before His face? No, by His beauty, the Almighty, the Beloved! He can never be confused with anyone else, and whatever proceeds from Him is sanctified above all that has appeared in the worlds, if only you knew.

423

قل انّه مرّة يسمّى نفسه بكلّ الأسماء و مرّة ينزّهها عنها و عن كلّ ما خلق بين السّموات و الأرض و عن كلّ ما كان و ما يكون قل كلّ الأمور فى قبضته يفعل ما یشآء بأمره و من قال لم و بم فقد كفر باللّه المقتدر المهيمن القيّوم خف عن اللّه و لا تتّبع سبيل اوّل من اعرض باللّه تجنّب منه ثمّ استغفر ربّك لعلّ يهبّ على حقيقتك ما يذهب به روايح هؤلآء و انّه لهو الغفور العطوف ان سمعت فلنفسك و ان انكرت و اعرضت فعليها فانّ ربّك الرّحمن لغنىّ عمّا فى الأكوان و انّه لهو المقدّس المتعالى العزيز المحمود

Qul innahu marratan yusammī nafsahu bi-kulli al-asmāʾi wa-marratan yunazzihuhā ʿanhā wa-ʿan kulli mā khuliqa bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi wa-ʿan kulli mā kāna wa-mā yakūn. Qul kullu al-umūri fī qabḍatihi yafʿalu mā yashāʾu bi-amrihi wa-man qāla lima wa-bima fa-qad kafara bi-Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm. Khaf ʿan Allāhi wa-lā tattabiʿ sabīla awwali man aʿraḍa bi-Allāhi tajannab minhu thumma istaghfir Rabbaka laʿalla yahubbu ʿalā ḥaqīqatika mā yadhhabu bihi rawāʾiḥu hāʾulāʾi wa-innahu la-huwa al-Ghafūru al-ʿAṭūf. In samiʿta fa-li-nafsika wa-in ankarta wa-aʿraḍta fa-ʿalayhā fa-inna Rabbaka al-Raḥmāna la-ghaniyyun ʿammā fī al-akwāni wa-innahu la-huwa al-Muqaddasu al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīzu al-Maḥmūd.

Say: At one time He calls Himself by all the names, and at another He exalts Himself above them, above everything created between the heavens and the earth, and above all that has been and will be. Say: All affairs are in His grasp. By His command He does whatever He wills. Whoever says “Why?” or “By what means?” has disbelieved in God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Fear God and do not follow the path of the first to turn away from God. Shun him, then seek your Lord’s forgiveness, so that there may blow upon your inner reality that which will dispel the odors of these people. He is indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Kind. If you listen, it is for your own good; if you deny and turn away, it is to your own detriment. Your Lord, the All-Merciful, is independent of all that exists, and He is the Sanctified, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the All-Praised.

424

بدانكه آنچه لفظ بهآء در كلمات اللّه بوده بجهت هيكل معيّن مشخّص مشهود ظاهر واضح نازل شده و كلّ رحمت اليوم از براى كسى است كه مؤمن باشد باو و جميع نقمت از براى نفوسى است كه باو موقن نشوند و معرض گردند بلكه آن اسمائى را كه درباره اوّل معرض شنيده و باو راجع كرده جميع مخصوص اين ظهور بوده و معرضين من حيث لا يشعر تحريف نموده‌اند و نيست اين ظلم مگر از آن اصل شجره اعراض و فساد

Bedānke ānche lafẓ-e Bahāʾ dar kalemāt-e Allāh būde be-jehat-e haykal-e moʿayyan-e moshakhkhaṣ-e mashhūd-e ẓāher-e vāżeḥ nāzel shode va koll-e raḥmat al-yowm az barā-ye kasī ast ke moʾmen bāshad be-ū va jamīʿ-e neqmat az barā-ye nofūsī ast ke be-ū mūqen nashavand va moʿreż gardand. Balke ān asmāʾī rā ke dar bāre-ye avval moʿreż shenīde va be-ū rājeʿ karde jamīʿ makhṣūṣ-e īn ẓohūr būde va moʿreżīn min ḥaythu lā yashʿur taḥrīf nemūde-and va nīst īn ẓolm magar az ān aṣl-e shajare-ye eʿrāż va fasād.

Know that every occurrence of the word Bahāʾ in the words of God was revealed for a particular, distinct, visible, manifest, unmistakable person. Today all mercy is for whoever believes in Him, and all retribution is for those souls who do not become certain of Him and turn away. Indeed, those names that you have heard concerning the first to turn away and have referred to him were all reserved for this Revelation. Those who turn away have distorted them without realizing it. This injustice comes from none other than that root of the tree of rejection and corruption.

425

و از اينها گذشته اگر ذكرى از اين ظهور در بيان نباشد بزعم تو و مرشدينت و لفظ بهآء هم در كتاب نازل نگشته باشد چه ضرر بظهور دارد ميفرمايد من بهمان حجّت نقطه اولى ظاهر شده‌ام بل اعظم لو انتم تشعرون و واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه ابداً دوست نداشته‌اند كه جز بنفس ظهور و آيات منزله احدى در اثبات امرشان استدلال نمايد بلى اين سؤال شما در وقتى جايز كه صاحب ظهور بفرمايد بيّنه من اسم من است فتعالى من ذلك بيّنه نفس ظهور بوده و خواهد بود و من دونه ما ظهر من عنده و نزل من لدنه و اينست آن حجّتى كه جميع انبیاء و رسل بآن مبعوث شده‌اند و من اعرض فقد اعرض عن اللّه بارئه و كفر بآياته و كان من المشركين من قلم اللّه على اللّوح مذكوراً

Va az īnhā godhashte agar dhekrī az īn ẓohūr dar Bayān nabāshad be-zaʿm-e to va morshedīnat va lafẓ-e Bahāʾ ham dar Ketāb nāzel nagashte bāshad che żarar be-ẓohūr dārad? Mīfarmāyad man be-hamān ḥojjat-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā ẓāher shode-am, bal aʿẓam law antum tashʿurūn. Va wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke abadan dūst nadāshte-and ke joz be-nafs-e ẓohūr va āyāt-e monzale aḥadī dar ethbāt-e amreshān estedlāl namāyad. Balī īn soʾāl-e shomā dar vaqtī jāyez ke ṣāḥeb-e ẓohūr befarmāyad bayyene-ye man esm-e man ast, fa-taʿālā min dhālik. Bayyene nafs-e ẓohūr būde va khāhad būd va min dūnihi mā ẓahara min ʿindihi va nazala min ladunhi va īnast ān ḥojjatī ke jamīʿ-e anbiyā va rosol be-ān mabʿūth shode-and, wa-man aʿraḍa fa-qad aʿraḍa ʿani Allāhi bāriʾihi wa-kafara bi-āyātihi wa-kāna mina al-mushrikīna min qalami Allāhi ʿalā al-lawḥi madhkūran.

Beyond all this, even if, as you and your guides suppose, this Revelation were not mentioned in the Bayān and the word Bahāʾ had not been revealed in the Book, what harm would that do to the Revelation? He says: “I have appeared with the same proof as the Primal Point—indeed, a greater one, if only you perceived.” By God, besides whom there is no god, He has never wished anyone to argue in support of His Cause through anything other than the Revelation itself and the verses revealed. Your question would be legitimate only if the Bearer of Revelation were to say, “My evidence is My name.” Exalted is He above that! The evidence has always been and will always be the Revelation itself, and besides it, whatever has proceeded from Him and descended from His presence. This is the proof with which all the Prophets and Messengers have been sent. Whoever turns away has turned away from God, his Creator, disbelieved in His verses, and been recorded by the Pen of God upon the Tablet as one of those who associate partners with Him.

426

و خود نقطه بيان هم روح ما سواه فداه جز بآيات استدلال نفرموده‌اند چنانچه در مجالس عديده ايشان را حاضر نمودند و برهان طلبيدند جز بآيات از آن مكمن اسماء و صفات ظاهر نشد و هر يك از عباد هم كه طلب حجّت و برهان نمودند جواب صادر كه بآيات الهى ناظر باشيد چه كه حجّت لم‌يزل آيات اللّه بوده و كلّ من على الأرض را همين حجّت كافى است و در اين ظهور اعظم اكثرى از ناس آنچه خواسته‌اند مشاهده نموده‌اند چه از آيات منزله الهى كه احدى شبه آن نديده و چه از بيانات علميّه و خوارق عادتيّه مع‌ذلك بحقيقت و ذات و كينونت و نفس نقطه اولى كافر شده‌اند و شاعر نيستند تازه ذكر اسماء مذكور ميداريد لازال ناس از سلطان معلوم معرض بوده‌اند و بموهوم انفس خود مقبل

Va khod-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān ham, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, joz be-āyāt estedlāl nafarmūde-and, chenānche dar majāles-e ʿadīde īshān rā ḥāżer nemūdand va borhān ṭalabīdand joz be-āyāt az ān makman-e asmā va ṣefāt ẓāher nashod va har yek az ʿebād ham ke ṭalab-e ḥojjat va borhān nemūdand javāb ṣāder ke be-āyāt-e elāhī nāẓer bāshīd, che ke ḥojjat lam-yazal āyāt-e Allāh būde va koll-e man ʿalā al-arż rā hamīn ḥojjat kāfī ast. Va dar īn ẓohūr-e aʿẓam aktharī az nās ānche khāste-and moshāhede nemūde-and, che az āyāt-e monzale-ye elāhī ke aḥadī shebh-e ān nadīde va che az bayānāt-e ʿelmiyye va khavāreq-e ʿādatiyye, maʿa-dhālek be-ḥaqīqat va dhāt va kaynūnat va nafs-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā kāfer shode-and va shāʿer nīstand. Tāze dhekr-e asmā madhkūr mīdārīd. Lā-zāl nās az Solṭān-e maʿlūm moʿreż būde-and va be-mowhūm-e anfos-e khod moqbel.

The Point of the Bayān Himself—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—likewise offered no proof other than verses. Thus, when they brought Him before numerous assemblies and demanded proof, nothing but verses appeared from that sanctuary of names and attributes. Whenever any of His servants requested evidence and proof, the answer was given: “Look to the divine verses,” for the proof has always been the verses of God, and this proof alone suffices for everyone on earth. In this Most Great Revelation, most people have witnessed whatever they desired, whether divinely revealed verses the like of which no one has seen, learned expositions, or extraordinary feats. Nevertheless, they have disbelieved in the reality, essence, being, and very Self of the Primal Point, and do not realize it. Now you bring up the names! People have always turned away from the known Sovereign and toward the imaginings of their own selves.

427

اينكه نوشته اگر بجهت مسمّاى بعينه و شخص بخصوص است در كجاى بيان و بچه عبارت است لذا خالصاً لوجه اللّه اين عبد بعضى آيات منزله كه از سماء مشيّت علىّ اعلى در اين اسم مبارك اعزّ اقدم و ظهور امنع اقدس نازل شده ذكر مينمايم اگر چه واللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو هرگز جمال ابهى جز آيات منزله كه از سماء احديّت نازل است حجّت و ميزان امر نفرموده‌اند اگر چه همين كلمات را اعتراضاً على اللّه ذكر نموده و ابداً مقصودت فهميدن نبوده لذا اين عبد هم اتماماً لحجّة اللّه بعضى كلمات منزل بيان را ذكر مينمايم و انّك لو لم تهتدى بها كما ما اهتديت من قبل لعلّ يهدى بها عباد آخرون اگر چه حجّت نفس او بوده و لكن ميخواهم همين قدر بر خود تو معلوم شود كه از آن اشخاصى هستى كه ميفرمايد و ان يروا كلّ آية لم يؤمنوا بها و در مقام ديگر قوله تعالى انّ الّذين حقّت عليهم كلمة ربّك لايؤمنون و لو جائتهم كلّ آية حتّى يروا العذاب الأليم

Īnkih nivishtih agar bi-jihat-i musammā-yi bi-ʿaynih va shakhṣ-i bi-khuṣūṣ ast dar kujā-yi Bayān va bi-chih ʿibārat ast, lidhā khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh īn ʿabd baʿżī āyāt-i munazzalih kih az samā-yi mashiyyat-i ʿAlī-yi Aʿlā dar īn ism-i mubārak-i aʿazz-i aqdam va ẓuhūr-i amnaʿ-i aqdas nāzil shudih dhikr mīnamāyam. Agarchih wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa hargiz Jamāl-i Abhā juz āyāt-i munazzalih kih az samā-yi aḥadiyyat nāzil ast ḥujjat va mīzān-i amr nafarmūdih-and. Agarchih hamīn kalimāt rā iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh dhikr namūdih va abadan maqṣūdat fahmīdan nabūdih, lidhā īn ʿabd ham itmāman li-ḥujjati Allāh baʿżī kalimāt-i Munazzil-i Bayān rā dhikr mīnamāyam. Wa-innaka law lam tahtadī bihā kamā mā ihtadayta min qabl laʿalla yahdī bihā ʿibād ākharūn. Agarchih ḥujjat nafs-i ū būdih va lākin mīkhvāham hamīn qadr bar khud-i tu maʿlūm shavad kih az ān ashkhāṣī hastī kih mīfarmāyad: wa-in yaraw kulla āyah lam yuʾminū bihā. Va dar maqām-i dīgar qawluhu taʿālā: inna alladhīna ḥaqqat ʿalayhim kalimatu rabbika lā yuʾminūn wa-law jāʾathum kullu āyah ḥattā yaraw al-ʿadhāb al-alīm.

As for what he has written—“If it concerns a specifically named individual and a particular person, where in the Bayān is this, and in what words?”—solely for the sake of God, this servant will therefore mention some of the revealed verses that have descended from the heaven of the will of the Most Exalted One concerning this blessed, most mighty, most ancient Name and this most unassailable, most holy Revelation. Yet, by God, besides whom there is no god, the All-Glorious Beauty has never designated anything as the proof and standard of His Cause except the revealed verses that descend from the heaven of divine unity. Although you have raised these very words as an objection to God and have never intended to understand, this servant will nevertheless mention some of the words of the Revealer of the Bayān, to make God’s proof complete. Even if you are not guided by them, just as you were not guided before, perhaps other servants will be guided by them. Although He Himself is the proof, I wish only that you yourself should realize that you are among those of whom He says: “Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it.” And elsewhere, His words—exalted is He: “Those against whom your Lord’s word has come into effect will not believe, even if every sign comes to them, until they see the painful punishment.”

428

چه كه شمس مشرق و بصدهزار اشراق و انوار مضئ و نقطه بيان هم در جميع الواح ميفرمايد او را بخود او بشناسيد و بآيات او و فى‌الحقيقة بر كلّ نفوس حرام است كه بغير نفس اقدس امنع و ما يظهر من عنده باو استدلال نمايند و لكن اين عبد اين ارتكاب را حمل مينمايد و از سلطان قدم چشم عفو داشته و دارم و اگر اين عبد بخواهد آنچه در اين فقره كه خواسته ذكر نمايد الواح كفايت نكند چه كه لايحصى از جبروت بقاء نازل

Chih kih shams mushriq va bi-ṣad-hizār ishrāq va anvār muḍīʾ va Nuqṭiy-i Bayān ham dar jamīʿ-i alvāḥ mīfarmāyad ū rā bi-khud-i ū bishināsīd va bi-āyāt-i ū, va fī al-ḥaqīqih bar kull-i nufūs ḥarām ast kih bi-ghayr-i nafs-i aqdas-i amnaʿ va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi bi-ū istidlāl namāyand. Va lākin īn ʿabd īn irtikāb rā ḥaml mīnamāyad va az Sulṭān-i Qidam chashm-i ʿafv dāshtih va dāram. Va agar īn ʿabd bikhvāhad ānchih dar īn fiqrih kih khvāstih dhikr namāyad alvāḥ kifāyat nakunad, chih kih lā yuḥṣā az jabarūt-i baqā nāzil.

For the Sun has risen and shines with a hundred thousand radiances and lights, and the Point of the Bayān likewise says in all His Tablets: “Recognize Him through Himself and through His verses.” Indeed, it is forbidden for any soul to adduce proof of Him through anything other than His most holy, most unassailable Self and what appears from Him. Yet this servant takes upon himself this transgression and has looked, and still looks, to the Sovereign of Eternity for pardon. If this servant wished to mention everything concerning the matter he has asked about, tablets would not suffice, for countless utterances have descended from the dominion of everlasting life.

429

لذا بچند فقره اكتفا ميرود و آن اينست قوله عزّ كبريائه و انّ بمثل ذلك نزلنا القرآن من قبل و لكنّكم كنتم عن مرادى محتجبون ذلك ما طاف اللّيل و النّهار عليه ثمانية واحد و انتم به فى العبادة تتوحّدون و كنتم عن سرّه بعد ما قضى لمحتجبون ذلك ميزان الهدى فى البيان انتم به مؤمنون الى حين ما يشرق شمس البهآء ذلك ظهور اللّه ان تعملنّ به لمؤمنون و انتم فى الرّضوان خالدون و الّا انتم فانيون انتهى

Lidhā bi-chand fiqrih iktifā mīravad va ān īnast, qawluhu ʿazza kibriyāʾuhu: wa-inna bi-mithli dhālika nazzalnā al-Qurʾān min qabl wa-lākinnakum kuntum ʿan murādī muḥtajibūn. Dhālika mā ṭāfa al-layl wa-al-nahār ʿalayhi thamāniyat wāḥid wa-antum bihi fī al-ʿibādah tatawaḥḥadūn wa-kuntum ʿan sirrihi baʿda mā quḍiya la-muḥtajibūn. Dhālika mīzān al-hudā fī al-Bayān antum bihi muʾminūn ilā ḥīn mā yushriqu shams al-Bahāʾ. Dhālika ẓuhūr Allāh in taʿmalunna bihi la-muʾminūn wa-antum fī al-Riḍwān khālidūn wa-illā antum fāniyūn. Intahā.

A few passages will therefore suffice. They are as follows, in His words—exalted be His majesty: “Indeed, in like manner We sent down the Qurʾān before, but you were veiled from My intent. That is what night and day revolved around for eight vāḥids, and through it you profess unity in worship; yet you remained veiled from its mystery after it had been fulfilled. That is the standard of guidance in the Bayān, in which you believe until the time when the Sun of Bahāʾ rises. That is the Revelation of God. If you act according to it, you are indeed believers and will abide forever in Riḍwān; otherwise, you will perish.” End of quotation.

430

و اليوم ظهور اللّه ظاهر و شمس بهآء از افق اعلى مشرق و مضئ و معرضين فانى و معدوم صرف چنانچه مشاهده مينمائيد لو تكوننّ من المنصفين كذلك كان حيّاً فى الأفق الأبهی لو انتم تقدرنّ ان تكوننّ من السّامعين او تكوننّ من النّاظرين اقسمك باللّه الّذى انطق كلّشیء بثنآء نفسه كه بعد از اين كلمه محكمه و آيهء متقنه و اين ظهور عزّ ربانيّه ديگر از براى نفسى مجال اعراض و يا توقّف مانده لا فو‌نفسه الحقّ لو انتم تعلمون در مقام ديگر ميفرمايد قوله جلّ اجلاله و عزّ اعزازه من اوّل ما تطلع شمس البهآء الى ان تغرب خير فى كتاب اللّه عن كلّ اللّيل ان انتم تدركون ما خلق اللّه من شیء الّا ليؤمئذ اذ كلّ للقآء اللّه ثمّ رضائه يعملون انتهى

Va al-yawm Ẓuhūr-i Allāh ẓāhir va Shams-i Bahāʾ az ufuq-i aʿlā mushriq va muḍīʾ va muʿriḍīn fānī va maʿdūm-i ṣirf, chunānchih mushāhidih mīnamāyīd, law takūnunna min al-munṣifīn. Kadhālika kāna ḥayyan fī al-ufuq al-Abhā law antum taqdirunna an takūnunna min al-sāmiʿīn aw takūnunna min al-nāẓirīn. Uqsimuka bi-Allāh alladhī anṭaqa kulla shayʾ bi-thanāʾi nafsihi kih baʿd az īn kalimiy-i muḥkamih va āyiy-i mutqanih va īn ẓuhūr-i ʿizz-i rabbāniyyih dīgar az barā-yi nafsī majāl-i iʿrāḍ va yā tavaqquf māndih? Lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-Ḥaqq law antum taʿlamūn. Dar maqām-i dīgar mīfarmāyad, qawluhu jalla ijlāluhu va ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: min awwal mā taṭluʿu shams al-Bahāʾ ilā an taghrub khayr fī kitāb Allāh ʿan kull al-layl in antum tudrikūn. Mā khalaqa Allāh min shayʾ illā [corrupted text] idh kull li-liqāʾ Allāh thumma riḍāʾihi yaʿmalūn. Intahā.

Today the Revelation of God is manifest, and the Sun of Bahāʾ has risen from the highest horizon and shines, while those who turn away are perishing and utterly nonexistent, as you can see, if you are fair-minded. Thus He was living in the All-Glorious Horizon, if you can be among those who hear or those who see. I adjure you by God, who has caused all things to speak in praise of Himself: after this decisive utterance, this firmly established verse, and this revelation of divine glory, is any room left for a soul to turn away or hesitate? No, by His own true Self, if only you knew! Elsewhere He says—His words, exalted be His glory and mighty His exaltation: “From the first rising of the Sun of Bahāʾ until its setting is better, in the Book of God, than all the night, if you perceive. God has created nothing except [corrupted original text], for all labor to attain the presence of God and then His good pleasure.” End of quotation.

431

بصر اطهر بايد تا بمنظر اكبر ناظر شود و معنى كلمات الهى را ادراك نمايد بشنو ندآء سلطان بيان را كه بكمال تصريح ظهور بعد را ذكر فرموده‌اند كه لعلّ آن هياكل اضلال بعد از ظهور توقّف ننمايند و شبه و مثل و نظير براى مظهر توحيد نه‌بينند چه كه توحيد ذات محققّ نشود مگر بمظهر ظهور و تنزيه الهى از اشباح و امثال مبرهن نگردد مگر بمظهر ظهور و اگر از براى مظهر ظهور شبه و ندّ و مثلى ملحوظ گردد تنزيه ذات قدم از مثليّت معيّن نگردد و تقديس نفسش از اثنينيّت محقّق نيايد فاستحى عن اللّه و لاتجعل له شريكاً فى الملك انّه كان واحداً فى ذاته و كان اللّه على ما اقول شهيد و در اينمقام ميفرمايد قوله جلّ كبريائه و لقد قرب الزّوال و انكم انتم ذلك اليوم لا تعرفون و من يكن لقائه ذات لقائى لاترضين له ما لا ترضى نفس لنفس انتهى

Baṣar-i aṭhar bāyad tā bi-manẓar-i akbar nāẓir shavad va maʿnī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhī rā idrāk namāyad. Bishinaw nidā-yi Sulṭān-i Bayān rā kih bi-kamāl-i taṣrīḥ ẓuhūr-i baʿd rā dhikr farmūdih-and kih laʿall ān hayākil-i iḍlāl baʿd az ẓuhūr tavaqquf nanamāyand va shabah va mithl va naẓīr barā-yi Maẓhar-i Tawḥīd nabīnand. Chih kih tawḥīd-i dhāt muḥaqqaq nashavad magar bi-Maẓhar-i Ẓuhūr va tanzīh-i ilāhī az ashbāḥ va amthāl mubarhan nagardad magar bi-Maẓhar-i Ẓuhūr. Va agar az barā-yi Maẓhar-i Ẓuhūr shabah va nidd va mithlī malḥūẓ gardad tanzīh-i Dhāt-i Qidam az mithliyyat muʿayyan nagardad va taqdīs-i nafsash az ithnayniyyat muḥaqqaq nayāyad. Fa-istaḥyi ʿan Allāh wa-lā tajʿal lahu sharīkan fī al-mulk innahu kāna wāḥidan fī dhātihi wa-kāna Allāh ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd. Va dar īn maqām mīfarmāyad, qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu: wa-laqad qaruba al-zawāl wa-innakum antum dhālika al-yawm lā taʿrifūn. Wa-man yakun liqāʾuhu dhāta liqāʾī lā tarḍayanna lahu mā lā tarḍā nafs li-nafs. Intahā.

The purest sight is needed to behold the Most Great Vision and apprehend the meaning of the divine words. Listen to the call of the Sovereign of the Bayān, who has spoken of the next Revelation with complete explicitness, so that perhaps those embodiments of misguidance may not hesitate after its appearance or see any likeness, peer, or equal to the Manifestation of divine unity. For the oneness of the Essence is established only through the Manifestation of Revelation, and God’s transcendence above likenesses and equals is demonstrated only through the Manifestation of Revelation. If any likeness, rival, or equal is envisaged for the Manifestation of Revelation, the transcendence of the eternal Essence above all likeness is not established, nor is His own sanctity above duality demonstrated. Feel shame before God, and assign Him no partner in sovereignty. He is one in His Essence, and God is witness to what I say. In this connection He says—His words, exalted be His majesty: “Noon has indeed drawn near, yet you do not recognize that Day. As for Him whose presence is My very presence, do not consent for Him to what no soul would consent to for itself.” End of quotation.

432

مع‌ذلك كلّ از حدود خود تجاوز نموده و بوصاياى الهيّه اعتنا ننمودند و راضى شدند آنچه را كه يهود از براى روح راضى نشد و هم‌‌چنين امّت فرقان از براى نقطه بيان راضى نشده و اين نيست مگر از جهل و عدم بلوغ و اگر تا حال نشنيدى حال بشنو و از حقّ شرم نما از شمال ضلالت بيمين هدايت راجع شو عنقريب تو و امثال تو و آنچه بآن تكلّم نموده‌ايد فانى خواهيد شد چنانچه اليوم فانى هستيد چه كه هر نفسيكه بين يدى اللّه مذكور نيست كلّ اشیآء بر فناى او شهادت ميدهند طهّر نفسك عن الدّنيا و لا تقل ما لا علمته و لا تذكر ما لا عرفته فاعرف حدّك و مقدارك و لا تجاوز عن شأنك

Maʿa dhālik kull az ḥudūd-i khud tajāvuz namūdih va bi-vaṣāyā-yi ilāhiyyih iʿtinā nanamūdand va rāḍī shudand ānchih rā kih Yahūd az barā-yi Rūḥ rāḍī nashud va hamchunīn ummat-i Furqān az barā-yi Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rāḍī nashudih. Va īn nīst magar az jahl va ʿadam-i bulūgh. Va agar tā ḥāl nashunīdī ḥāl bishinaw va az Ḥaqq sharm namā. Az shimāl-i ḍalālat bi-yamīn-i hidāyat rājiʿ shaw. ʿAn-qarīb tu va amthāl-i tu va ānchih bi-ān takallum namūdih-īd fānī khvāhīd shud, chunānchih al-yawm fānī hastīd, chih kih har nafsī kih bayna yaday Allāh madhkūr nīst kull-i ashyāʾ bar fanā-yi ū shahādat mīdihand. Ṭahhir nafsaka ʿan al-dunyā wa-lā taqul mā lā ʿalimtahu wa-lā tadhkur mā lā ʿaraftahu fa-iʿraf ḥaddaka wa-miqdāraka wa-lā tajāwaz ʿan shaʾnika.

Despite this, all have overstepped their bounds and paid no heed to the divine counsels. They have consented to what the Jews did not consent to for the Spirit, nor the people of the Qurʾān for the Point of the Bayān. This comes only from ignorance and immaturity. If you have not heard until now, hear now, and feel shame before God. Turn from the left hand of error to the right hand of guidance. Before long, you and those like you, and everything you have uttered, will perish, just as you are perished today, for all things testify to the extinction of any soul who is not remembered in the presence of God. Purify yourself from the world, do not say what you have not learned, and do not mention what you have not understood. Know your limits and your measure, and do not exceed your station.

433

تصريح ميفرمايند كه ظهور شمس در قطب زوال نزديك است و شما آن روز را نميشناسيد و ادراك نمينمائيد چنانچه ادراك ننموده‌ايد و عارف نگشته‌ايد و ابدا آن جمال قدم در ذكر ظهور بعد جز تصريح بيانى نفرموده‌اند بر خلاف كتب قبل كه جميع باشارات معضله ذكر فرموده‌اند انامل قدرت در ظهور ستّين جميع آن حجبات را خرق نمود و ذكر ظهور بعد را در جميع بيان تصريحا من غير تلويح فرمود

Taṣrīḥ mīfarmāyand kih ẓuhūr-i shams dar quṭb-i zavāl nazdīk ast va shumā ān rūz rā namīshināsīd va idrāk namīnamāyīd, chunānchih idrāk nanamūdih-īd va ʿārif nagashtih-īd. Va abadan ān Jamāl-i Qidam dar dhikr-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd juz taṣrīḥ bayānī nafarmūdih-and, bar khilāf-i kutub-i qabl kih jamīʿ bi-ishārāt-i muʿḍilih dhikr farmūdih-and. Anāmil-i qudrat dar ẓuhūr-i sittīn jamīʿ-i ān ḥujubāt rā kharq namūd va dhikr-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd rā dar jamīʿ-i Bayān taṣrīḥan min ghayr-i talvīḥ farmūd.

He states explicitly that the appearance of the Sun at its noonday zenith is near, and that you do not recognize or apprehend that Day, just as you have neither apprehended nor recognized it. In speaking of the next Revelation, that eternal Beauty has never spoken otherwise than explicitly, unlike the earlier Books, which all spoke in abstruse allusions. In the Revelation of the year sixty, the fingers of power tore through all those veils and spoke of the next Revelation throughout the Bayān explicitly, without allusion.

434

امرى را كه ببصر عباد و درايتهم گذارده اينست كه در قرب و بعد آن مختلف ذكر فرموده‌اند اگر چه در باطن جميع كلمات مختلفه بنقطه واحده راجع و ابدا اختلافى ملحوظ نه و لكن همين قدر كه بر حسب ظاهر فى‌الجمله مختلف ذكر شده جهت امتياز بوده چنانچه در مقامى ذكر مستغاث فرموده‌اند و در مقامى ميفرمايند كه بمستغاث نميرسد و اميد است كه از قبل كلمة اللّه مرتفع گردد و در مقامى ميفرمايد چه كسى عالم بظهور نيست غير اللّه هر وقت شود بايد كلّ تصديق بنقطه حقيقت نمايند و در مقامى ميفرمايند كه اين حين اگر بخواهد ظاهر شود مختار بوده و ليس لأحد ان يقول لم و بم و بيكى از حروفات كه سؤال از آن ظهور اعظم نموده ميفرمايد شايد تو لقاى او را ادراك نمائى و هم‌‌چنين لوحى از سماء مشيّت نازل و فرموده‌اند در مكتب‌خانه ظهور بعد ملاحظه فرمايد

Amrī rā kih bi-baṣar-i ʿibād va dirāyatihim gudhāshtih īnast kih dar qurb va buʿd-i ān mukhtalif dhikr farmūdih-and. Agarchih dar bāṭin jamīʿ-i kalimāt-i mukhtalifih bi-nuqṭiy-i vāḥidih rājiʿ va abadan ikhtilāfī malḥūẓ nah, va lākin hamīn qadr kih bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir fī al-jumlih mukhtalif dhikr shudih jihat-i imtiyāz būdih. Chunānchih dar maqāmī dhikr-i Mustaghāth farmūdih-and va dar maqāmī mīfarmāyand kih bi-Mustaghāth namīrasad va umīd ast kih az qabl Kalimat-i Allāh murtafiʿ gardad. Va dar maqāmī mīfarmāyad chih kasī ʿālim bi-ẓuhūr nīst ghayr Allāh, har vaqt shavad bāyad kull taṣdīq bi-Nuqṭiy-i Ḥaqīqat namāyand. Va dar maqāmī mīfarmāyand kih īn ḥīn agar bikhvāhad ẓāhir shavad mukhtār būdih, wa-laysa li-aḥad an yaqūla lima wa-bima. Va bi-yikī az ḥurūfāt kih suʾāl az ān ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam namūdih mīfarmāyad shāyad tu liqā-yi ū rā idrāk namāʾī. Va hamchunīn lawḥī az samā-yi mashiyyat nāzil va farmūdih-and dar maktab-khāniy-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd mulāḥiẓih farmāyad.

The matter He has left to the sight and discernment of His servants is this: He has spoken variously of its nearness and remoteness. Although inwardly all these differing words refer to a single point and no difference whatsoever is envisaged, the measure of outward difference in His statements has been for the sake of distinction. Thus, in one passage He has mentioned Mustaghāth, while in another He says that it will not reach Mustaghāth, and expresses the hope that the Word of God will be raised up before then. Elsewhere He says that no one knows of the Revelation except God, and that whenever it occurs, all must acknowledge the Point of Truth. In another passage He says that if He wishes to appear at this very moment, He is free to do so, and no one has the right to say why or wherefore. To one of the Letters who asked about that Most Great Revelation, He says: “Perhaps you will attain His presence.” Likewise, a Tablet descended from the heaven of His will, and He directed that it be perused in the school of the next Revelation.

435

و اين اختلافات ظاهريّه قوليّه كلّ بكلمه محكمه رفع ميشود و تحذير بليغ ميفرمايند كه در حين ظهور آن جوهر مقصود بما نزل فى البيان ناظر نباشيد بلكه بنفس ظهور و ما يظهر من عنده ناظر باشيد و بر صاحبان بصر معلوم بوده كه قبل و بعد و قرب و بعد در ساحت حقّ نبوده و نخواهد بود چنانچه زمن اوّلين و آخرين را اگر بخواهد در يك آن مبعوث فرمايد قادر بوده و خواهد بود چه كه اين حدودات در خلق مذكور چنانچه خمسين الف سنه قيامت در ساعتى منقضى شد

Va īn ikhtilāfāt-i ẓāhiriyyiy-i qawliyyih kull bi-kalimiy-i muḥkamih rafʿ mīshavad va taḥdhīr-i balīgh mīfarmāyand kih dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i ān Jawhar-i Maqṣūd bi-mā nuzila fī al-Bayān nāẓir nabāshīd, balkih bi-nafs-i ẓuhūr va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi nāẓir bāshīd. Va bar ṣāḥibān-i baṣar maʿlūm būdih kih qabl va baʿd va qurb va buʿd dar sāḥat-i Ḥaqq nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd. Chunānchih zaman-i avvalīn va ākhirīn rā agar bikhvāhad dar yik ān mabʿūth farmāyad qādir būdih va khvāhad būd, chih kih īn ḥudūdāt dar khalq madhkūr, chunānchih khamsīn alf sanih qiyāmat dar sāʿatī munqaḍī shud.

All these apparent differences of wording are resolved by a decisive utterance. He gives a most emphatic warning that, when that desired Essence appears, you should not look to what has been revealed in the Bayān, but rather to the Revelation itself and what appears from Him. Those endowed with sight know that before and after, nearness and remoteness, have never existed and will never exist in the court of God. Thus, if He wishes to bring forth the time of the first and the last in a single instant, He has always been and will always be able to do so, for these limitations pertain to creation, just as the fifty thousand years of the Resurrection elapsed in an hour.

436

اى بيهوشان خمر جهل و غفلت تا كى در ظلمات سالكيد و بهواى نفس عامل دل از تحديدات بشريّه برداريد و بمقرّ سلطان احديّه ناظر شويد كه شايد بمقام اعرفوا اللّه باللّه وارد گرديد و از چون و چرا فارغ ائيد از شمس سؤال ننمائيد كه اسمت چيست و دليل ضيائت چه

Ay bīhūshān-i khamr-i jahl va ghaflat, tā kay dar ẓulumāt sālikīd va bi-havā-yi nafs ʿāmil? Dil az taḥdīdāt-i bashariyyih bardārīd va bi-maqarr-i Sulṭān-i Aḥadiyyih nāẓir shavīd kih shāyad bi-maqām-i iʿrifū Allāh bi-Allāh vārid gardīd va az chūn va chirā fārigh āyīd. Az shams suʾāl nanamāyīd kih ismat chīst va dalīl-i ḍiyāʾat chih.

You who are senseless with the wine of ignorance and heedlessness! How long will you walk in darkness and act according to your own desires? Detach your hearts from human limitations and look toward the seat of the Sovereign of Oneness, so that perhaps you may enter the station of “Know God through God” and be free of how and why. Do not ask the Sun, “What is your name, and what is the evidence of your light?”

437

اى بی‌ بصر دليل اشراقش اشراقش و برهان ضيائش ضيائش بوده و خواهد بود بشنو كلمه عليم خبير را كه تصريحا اخبار فرموده كه در اين ظهور قدس صمدانى كلّ هالك الّا الّذينهم تمسّكوا بفلك القدم فى هذا الظّهور الأعظم و انّهم لأهل سفينة القدس عند اللّه المقتدر العلىّ العظيم و من تمسّك بهذا الفلك فقد نجى و من اعرض فقد غرق و انّ هذا لتنزيل من لدن عليم خبير

Ay bī-baṣar, dalīl-i ishrāqash ishrāqash va burhān-i ḍiyāʾash ḍiyāʾash būdih va khvāhad būd. Bishinaw kalimiy-i ʿAlīm-i Khabīr rā kih taṣrīḥan ikhbār farmūdih kih dar īn ẓuhūr-i quds-i ṣamadānī kull hālik illā alladhīnahum tamassakū bi-fulk al-qidam fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr al-aʿẓam wa-innahum la-ahl safīnat al-quds ʿinda Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAlī al-ʿAẓīm. Wa-man tamassaka bi-hādhā al-fulk fa-qad najā wa-man aʿraḍa fa-qad ghariqa wa-inna hādhā la-tanzīl min ladun ʿAlīm Khabīr.

You who are without sight! The evidence of its radiance has always been and will always be its radiance, and the proof of its light, its light. Listen to the word of the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, who has explicitly foretold that in this holy and everlasting Revelation all perish except those who hold fast to the Ark of Eternity in this Most Great Revelation. They are indeed the people of the Ark of Holiness in the sight of God, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the Most Great. Whoever holds fast to this Ark is saved, and whoever turns away is drowned. This is indeed a revelation from One who is All-Knowing, All-Informed.

438

قوله جلّ اجلاله و عظم استقلاله يا ملأ الأنوار انّا نحن تاللّه الحقّ ما ننطق عن الهوى و ما ننزل حرفا من ذلك الكتاب الّا باذن اللّه الحقّ اتّقوا اللّه و لا تشكّوا فى امر اللّه فانّ سرّ هذا الباب مستورا تحت عمآء السّطر و مرقوماً مافوق حجاب السّتر بايدى اللّه ربّ السّتر و السّطر و لقد خلق اللّه فى حول ذلك الباب بحورا من مآء الاكسير محمر بالدّهن الوجود و حيواناً بالثّمرة المقصود و قدّر اللّه له سفنا من ياقوتة الرّطبة الحمراء و لا يركب فيها الّا اهل البهآء باذن اللّه العلىّ و هو اللّه قد كان عزيزا و حكيماً هنالك يحمل عرش اللّه ملائكة العمآء فى الأنفس الثّمان و قد كان الحكم فى امّ الكتاب مشهودا فسوف يعرضون المجرمون على الرّحمن فى حول العرش على الحقّ بالحقّ رمزا انتهى

Qawluhu jalla ijlāluhu va ʿaẓuma istiqlāluhu: yā malaʾ al-anwār innā naḥnu ta-Allāh al-Ḥaqq mā nanṭiqu ʿan al-hawā wa-mā nunazzilu ḥarfan min dhālika al-kitāb illā bi-idhni Allāh al-Ḥaqq. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā tashukkū fī amr Allāh fa-inna sirra hādhā al-bāb mastūran taḥta ʿamāʾ al-saṭr wa-marqūman mā fawqa ḥijāb al-satr bi-aydī Allāh rabb al-satr wa-al-saṭr. Wa-laqad khalaqa Allāh fī ḥawl dhālika al-bāb buḥūran min māʾ al-iksīr muḥmarr bi-al-duhn al-wujūd wa-ḥayawānan bi-al-thamarah al-maqṣūd wa-qaddara Allāh lahu sufunan min yāqūtat al-raṭbah al-ḥamrāʾ wa-lā yarkabu fīhā illā ahl al-Bahāʾ bi-idhni Allāh al-ʿAlī wa-huwa Allāh qad kāna ʿazīzan wa-ḥakīman. Hunālika yaḥmilu ʿarsh Allāh malāʾikat al-ʿamāʾ fī al-anfus al-thamān wa-qad kāna al-ḥukm fī umm al-kitāb mashhūdan. Fa-sawfa yuʿraḍūna al-mujrimūn ʿalā al-Raḥmān fī ḥawl al-ʿarsh ʿalā al-ḥaqq bi-al-ḥaqq ramzan. Intahā.

His words—exalted be His glory and great His independence: “O concourse of lights! By God, the True One, We do not speak from desire, nor do We send down a single letter of that Book except by the permission of God, the True One. Fear God and do not doubt the Cause of God, for the mystery of this Gate is concealed beneath the cloud of the written line and inscribed above the veil of concealment by the hands of God, the Lord of concealment and of the written line. Around that Gate God has indeed created seas of the water of the elixir, reddened with the oil of existence, and life through the intended fruit. God has ordained for it ships of moist red ruby, and none but the people of Bahāʾ embark upon them, by the permission of God, the Most High. He is God, ever mighty and wise. There the angels of the cloud, in the eight souls, bear the throne of God, and the decree is witnessed in the Mother Book. The guilty will then be brought before the All-Merciful around the throne, in truth and by the Truth, symbolically.” End of quotation.

439

اگر ادراك ميداشتيد بهمين آيات منزلات كه در قيّوم كتب نازل شده جميع در سبيل اين ظهور كلّيه الهيّه جان ايثار مينموديد و لكن اخذ شعور از امثال آن نفوس كلّ شده بما اكتسبت ايّديكم لذا از فيوضات رحمن و نيسان حكمت حضرت سبحان در اين ربيع روحانى و سلطان فصول و ایّام الهى محروم گشته‌ايد و از رضاى مليك علّام دور مانده‌ايد و در تيه شهوات و روضه اشارات مثل حيوانات بچريدن مشغول

Agar edrāk mīdāshtīd, be-hamīn āyāt-e monazzalāt ke dar Qayyūm-e kotob nāzel shode, jamīʿ dar sabīl-e īn ẓohūr-e kollīye-ye elāhīye jān īthār mīnamūdīd, va lāken akhdh-e shoʿūr az amthāl-e ān nofūs koll shode bi-mā iktasabat aydīkum. Ledhā az foyūḍāt-e Raḥmān va naysān-e ḥekmat-e Ḥażrat-e Sobḥān dar īn rabīʿ-e rūḥānī va solṭān-e foṣūl va ayyām-e elāhī maḥrūm gashte-īd va az reżā-ye Malīk-e ʿAllām dūr mānde-īd va dar tīh-e shahavāt va rowże-ye eshārāt methl-e ḥayvānāt be-charīdan mashghūl.

Had you possessed understanding, these very revealed verses sent down in the Qayyūm of Books would have led you all to sacrifice your lives in the path of this universal divine Revelation. Yet understanding has been taken away from all souls such as these because of what your hands have earned. Thus, in this spiritual springtime, this sovereign of seasons and these days of God, you have been deprived of the outpourings of the All-Merciful and the April rain of the wisdom of the All-Glorious. You have remained far from the good pleasure of the all-knowing King and are occupied, like animals, with grazing in the wilderness of desires and the garden of allusions.

440

بارى اليوم جز راكبين اين فلك عزّ صمدانى احدى عند‌اللّه مذكور نه اين نفوسند كه اقلّ از كبريت احمرند و زود است كه مشاهده نمائى كه اكثر از ناس من حيث لا يشعر در غمرات بحر جهل و اعراض مستغرق شوند و از فلك الهى محروم مانند الّا عدّة معدودات ديگر تا چه زمان ارياح فضليّه بوزيدن آيد و بر هياكل مردگان نفس و هوى مرور نمايد و ايشانرا حيات بخشد و بشطر احديّه متوجّه سازد

Bārī, al-yowm joz rākebīn-e īn folk-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī aḥadī ʿinda Allāh madhkūr na. Īn nofūsand ke aqall az kebrīt-e aḥmarand va zūd ast ke moshāhede namāʾī ke akthar az nās min ḥaythu lā yashʿur dar ghamarāt-e baḥr-e jahl va eʿrāż mostaghraq shavand va az folk-e elāhī maḥrūm mānand ellā ʿedde-ye maʿdūdāt. Dīgar tā che zamān aryāḥ-e fażlīye be-vazīdan āyad va bar hayākel-e mordegān-e nafs va havā morūr namāyad va īshānrā ḥayāt bakhshad va be-shaṭr-e aḥadīye motavajjeh sāzad.

In short, today no one is accounted worthy of mention before God except those who ride in this Ark of eternal glory. These souls are rarer than red sulfur. Soon you will see most people, without realizing it, submerged in the depths of the ocean of ignorance and rejection, and deprived of the divine Ark, except for a numbered few. It remains to be seen when the winds of grace will blow, pass over the bodies of those dead in self and desire, give them life, and turn them toward the realm of oneness.

441

و بعد كه ميفرمايد حمل مينمايد عرش پروردگار را ملائكه عما در انفس ثمانيّه همان برهانى است واضح كه اهل بيان موقن باين ظهور نشوند الّا قليل چنانچه بثمانيه ذكر فرمود چه كه در اوّل هر ظهور چنين بوده تخصيص باين ظهور نداشته و ندارد و مقصود از عرش در اينمقام امر اللّه بوده و خواهد بود و كلمة اللّه بوده و خواهد بود و اوّل ما يتفوّه به لسان اللّه بوده و خواهد بود و آن كلمه‌يست كه بفزع آيند از او كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و منصعق شوند كلّ من فى جبروت الأمر و الخلق و آن كلمه‌ايست كه بثقل اكبر ناميده شده در الواح اللّه و هر نفسى قابل حمل آن نه و آن كلمه‌ايست كه بعد از ظهور آن كلّ قبايل بنوحه آيند و اركان كلّ شیء متزلزل شود و احدى قابل حمل اين عرش نه مگر ملائكه عما كه باعانة اللّه اين امانت اكبر را حمل نمايند و بقبول آن هياكل امر اللّه ظاهر شود و كلمه ابدع اعظم تنطّق فرمايد

Va baʿd ke mīfarmāyad ḥaml mīnamāyad ʿarsh-e Parvardegār rā malāʾeke-ye ʿamā dar anfos-e thamānīye, hamān borhānī ast vāżeḥ ke ahl-e Bayān mūqen be-īn ẓohūr nashavand ellā qalīl, chenānche be-thamānīye dhekr farmūd. Che ke dar avval-e har ẓohūr chenīn būde, takhṣīṣ be-īn ẓohūr nadāshte va nadārad. Va maqṣūd az ʿarsh dar īn maqām Amr Allāh būde va khvāhad būd va Kalemat Allāh būde va khvāhad būd va avval mā yatafawwahu bihi Lisān Allāh būde va khvāhad būd. Va ān kalame-īst ke be-fazaʿ āyand az ū kullu man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ va monṣaʿeq shavand kullu man fī jabarūt al-amr wa-al-khalq. Va ān kalame-īst ke be-theql-e akbar nāmīde shode dar alvāḥ-e Allāh va har nafsī qābel-e ḥaml-e ān na. Va ān kalame-īst ke baʿd az ẓohūr-e ān koll-e qabāʾel be-nowḥe āyand va arkān-e koll-e shayʾ motazalzel shavad va aḥadī qābel-e ḥaml-e īn ʿarsh na magar malāʾeke-ye ʿamā ke be-eʿānat-e Allāh īn amānat-e akbar rā ḥaml namāyand va be-qabūl-e ān hayākel-e Amr Allāh ẓāher shavad va kalame-ye abdaʿ-e aʿẓam tanaṭṭoq farmāyad.

Then, where he says that the angels of the cloud, in eight souls, bear the throne of the Lord, this is itself clear proof that only a few of the people of the Bayān will become certain of this Revelation, as he indicated by mentioning eight. For such has been the case at the beginning of every Revelation; it has not been, nor is it, peculiar to this Revelation. The throne in this passage has meant, and will mean, the Cause of God, the Word of God, and the first utterance of the Tongue of God. It is that Word which strikes terror into all who are in the heavens and on earth, and causes all who are in the dominion of command and creation to fall thunderstruck. It is that Word which has been named the Most Great Weight in the Tablets of God, and not every soul is capable of bearing it. It is that Word at whose appearance all kindreds lament and the foundations of all things are shaken. No one is capable of bearing this throne except the angels of the cloud, who, with God’s assistance, bear this most great Trust. Through accepting it, the embodiments of the Cause of God appear, and the most wondrous, most great Word speaks.

442

و در يكمقام عرش نفس ظهور است كه ما بين ناس مشهود چه كه آن آيه توحيد و جوهر تفريد در مقرّ خود واحد بوده و احدى با او نه كان اللّه و لم يكن معه من شیء در آنمقام عرش نفس ظهور است و ملائكه ثمانيه مدلّين بر اين اسم مبارك ابدع امنع چنانچه عددش با عدد بهآء من غير همزه مطابق و در حقيقت اوليّه حامل آن عرش جز نفس مقدّسش نه

Va dar yek maqām ʿarsh nafs-e ẓohūr ast ke mā beyn-e nās mashhūd, che ke ān āye-ye towḥīd va jowhar-e tafrīd dar maqarr-e khod vāḥed būde va aḥadī bā ū na: kāna Allāhu wa-lam yakun maʿahu min shayʾ. Dar ān maqām ʿarsh nafs-e ẓohūr ast va malāʾeke-ye thamānīye modellīn bar īn esm-e mobārak-e abdaʿ-e amnaʿ, chenānche ʿadadash bā ʿadad-e Bahāʾ min ghayr-e hamze moṭābeq. Va dar ḥaqīqat-e avvalīye ḥāmel-e ān ʿarsh joz nafs-e moqaddasash na.

In one station, the throne is the Manifestation himself, who is visible among the people, for that sign of divine unity and essence of singleness has ever been alone in his own seat, with no one beside him: “God was, and there was nothing with him.” In that station, the throne is the Manifestation himself, and the eight angels point to this blessed, most wondrous and most inaccessible Name, for its numerical value corresponds to that of Bahāʾ without the hamza. In the primal reality, none bears that throne except his own sanctified Self.

443

عرش او را اين زمان جز ذات او مى‌نيارد حمل اين از من شنو

ʿArsh-e ū rā īn zamān joz dhāt-e ū mīnayārad ḥaml, īn az man shenow.

At this time none but his own Self can bear his throne—hear this from me.

444

و اين فرد از اشعارى است كه از لسان ابدع احلى در عراق جارى

Va īn fard az ashʿārī ast ke az lesān-e abdaʿ-e aḥlā dar ʿErāq jārī.

This couplet is among the verses that flowed from the most wondrous, most sweet Tongue in Iraq.

445

و در مقام ديگر عرش اوّل من آمن است و اوّل من حضر و اوّل من بعث و اوّل من حمل او است اوّل خلق و اوّل ناطق و اوّل بصير و اوّل سميع و اوّل عارف و اوّل موقن و اوّل خبير و سمع او باب سمع الهى است از براى كلّ وجود و هر سمعى بآن باب داخل نشد از اهل سمع نيست و عند اللّه اصمّ مذكور و هم‌‌چنين بصر او باب بصر الهى است از براى كلّ نفوس و هم‌‌چنين علم او باب علم الهى است در ما بين بريّه او و هم‌‌چنين قدرت او باب قدرت صمدانى است و لسان او باب لسان الهى و قلب او باب قلب الهى و عرفان او باب عرفان الهى و بقول او ظاهر ميشود آنچه مستور بوده و بطلب اوكوثر حيوان افاضه ميشود و بتوجّه او سحاب رحمت رحمانى اعطاى فيض نمايد و باستماع او كلمه الهيّه از مخزن علم احديّه ظاهر شود اگر قدرى بشعور آئى و بهمين فضل و عنايتى كه بذكر اوّل و كلمه اوّليّه و درّۀ اولى و ركن قضا و مستسرّ عما عنايت شده بر عنايت و رحمت و كرم و فضل حقّ فى‌الجمله مطّلع ميشوى

Va dar maqām-e dīgar ʿarsh avval man āmana ast va avval man ḥaḍara va avval man buʿitha va avval man ḥamala. Ū ast avval-e khalq va avval-e nāṭeq va avval-e baṣīr va avval-e samīʿ va avval-e ʿāref va avval-e mūqen va avval-e khabīr. Va samʿ-e ū bāb-e samʿ-e elāhī ast az barā-ye koll-e vojūd va har samʿī be-ān bāb dākhel nashod az ahl-e samʿ nīst va ʿinda Allāh aṣamm madhkūr. Va hamchenīn baṣar-e ū bāb-e baṣar-e elāhī ast az barā-ye koll-e nofūs va hamchenīn ʿelm-e ū bāb-e ʿelm-e elāhī ast dar mā beyn-e barīye-ye ū va hamchenīn qodrat-e ū bāb-e qodrat-e ṣamadānī ast va lesān-e ū bāb-e lesān-e elāhī va qalb-e ū bāb-e qalb-e elāhī va ʿerfān-e ū bāb-e ʿerfān-e elāhī. Va be-qowl-e ū ẓāher mīshavad ānche mastūr būde va be-ṭalab-e ū Kowthar-e ḥayavān efāże mīshavad va be-tavajjoh-e ū saḥāb-e raḥmat-e raḥmānī eʿṭā-ye feyż namāyad va be-estemāʿ-e ū kalame-ye elāhīye az makhzan-e ʿelm-e aḥadīye ẓāher shavad. Agar qadrī be-shoʿūr āʾī va be-hamīn fażl va ʿenāyatī ke be-Dhekr-e Avval va Kalame-ye Avvalīye va Dorre-ye Ūlā va Rokn-e Qażā va Mostaserr-e ʿAmā ʿenāyat shode, bar ʿenāyat va raḥmat va karam va fażl-e Ḥaqq fī al-jomle moṭṭaleʿ mīshavī.

In another station, the throne is the first to believe, the first to enter the divine presence, the first to be raised up, and the first to bear the burden. He is the first of creation, the first to speak, the first to see, the first to hear, the first to recognize, the first to be certain, and the first to be informed. His hearing is the gate of divine hearing for all existence, and any hearing that has not entered that gate is not numbered among those that hear, but is accounted deaf before God. Likewise, his sight is the gate of divine sight for all souls; his knowledge is the gate of divine knowledge among God’s creatures; his power is the gate of eternal power; his tongue is the gate of the divine tongue; his heart is the gate of the divine heart; and his recognition is the gate of divine recognition. Through his speech, what was concealed is revealed; at his request, the Kawthar of life is poured forth; through his turning toward God, the cloud of the All-Merciful’s mercy bestows its grace; and through his listening, the divine Word emerges from the treasury of the knowledge of oneness. If you attain a measure of understanding, through this very grace and favor bestowed upon the First Remembrance, the Primal Word, the First Pearl, the Pillar of Decree, and the Hidden Mystery of the Cloud, you will gain some awareness of the favor, mercy, generosity, and grace of the True One.

446

بارى كور را با بصير مشابهتى نبوده و كر را با سميع مناسبتى نه در اين آيه منزله معانى لانهايه مستور و لكن تا تشنه سلسبيل معانى يافت نشود ساقى احديّه كاؤس معنويّه باقيه بذل ننمايد و ملاحظه كن كه بچه تصريح احوال معرضين و مجرمين در كتاب الهى نازل شده و معنى آيه منزله مباركه مشهود گشته و آن مجرمين از اهل بيان بوده و خواهند بود و آنچه ضرّ بر جمال رحمن وارد شود از اهل بيان وارد خواهد شد چنانچه بنقطه بيان وارد نشد مگر از اهل فرقان و لكن فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّاهو كه بر اين ساذج قدم در كلّ حين وارد شده آنچه بر احدى وارد نشده و اگر اهل بيان بصير بودند همان آيه مباركه اننّى انا حىّ فى الأفق الأبهی كلّ را كفايت مينمود

Bārī, kūr rā bā baṣīr moshābehatī nabūde va kar rā bā samīʿ monāsebatī na. Dar īn āye-ye monazzale maʿānī-ye lā-nehāye mastūr va lāken tā teshne-ye Salsabīl-e maʿānī yāft nashavad sāqī-ye aḥadīye koʾūs-e maʿnavīye-ye bāqīye badhl nanamāyad. Va molāḥeẓe kon ke be-che taṣrīḥ aḥvāl-e moʿreżīn va mojremīn dar Ketāb-e elāhī nāzel shode va maʿnī-ye āye-ye monazzale-ye mobārake mashhūd gashte. Va ān mojremīn az ahl-e Bayān būde va khvāhand būd va ānche żorr bar Jamāl-e Raḥmān vāred shavad az ahl-e Bayān vāred khvāhad shod, chenānche be-Noqṭe-ye Bayān vāred nashod magar az ahl-e Forqān. Va lāken fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā Hu ke bar īn Sādhej-e Qedam dar koll-e ḥīn vāred shode ānche bar aḥadī vāred nashode. Va agar ahl-e Bayān baṣīr būdand hamān āye-ye mobārake innanī anā ḥayyun fī al-ufuq al-abhā koll rā kefāyat mīnamūd.

In short, the blind bear no resemblance to those who see, nor do the deaf have any affinity with those who hear. Endless meanings lie concealed in this revealed verse, but until someone is found who thirsts for the Salsabīl of meanings, the Cupbearer of oneness will not offer the everlasting cups of spiritual meaning. Consider how explicitly the condition of those who turn away and those who are guilty has been revealed in the Book of God, and how the meaning of the blessed revealed verse has become manifest. Those guilty ones have been, and will be, among the people of the Bayān, and whatever harm befalls the Beauty of the All-Merciful will come from the people of the Bayān, just as what befell the Point of the Bayān came only from the people of the Qurʾān. Yet, by God, besides whom there is no other god, at every moment this Essence of Eternity has suffered what no one else has suffered. Had the people of the Bayān possessed sight, that blessed verse alone, “I am indeed alive in the All-Glorious Horizon,” would have sufficed them all.

447

و هم‌‌چنين كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض را روحى لنفسه الفدآء ما قصّر فى نصحه اهل البيان و تبليغه ايّاهم در هيچ عصر و عهدى ظهور قبل باين تفصيل و تصريح ظهور بعد را ذكر ننموده چنانچه جميع شاهد و گواهيد لو انتم تنصفون بشنو ذكر اين عبد را و از ظلمات فوق ظلمات خود را نجات ده و از براى دو روزه فانيه خود را مستحقّ عذاب لانهايه منما و در دين اللّه و امره بتحريف مشغول مشو

Va hamchenīn koll-e man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ rā, rūḥī li-nafsihi al-fidāʾ, mā qaṣṣara fī nuṣḥihi ahla al-Bayān wa-tablīghihi iyyāhum. Dar hīch ʿaṣr va ʿahdī ẓohūr-e qabl be-īn tafṣīl va taṣrīḥ ẓohūr-e baʿd rā dhekr nanamūde, chenānche jamīʿ shāhed va govāhīd, law antum tunṣifūn. Beshnow dhekr-e īn ʿabd rā va az ẓolomāt-e fowq-e ẓolomāt khod rā nejāt deh va az barā-ye do rūze-ye fānīye khod rā mostaḥaqq-e ʿadhāb-e lā-nehāye manamā va dar dīn Allāh va Amreh be-taḥrīf mashghūl mashow.

Likewise, may my soul and all who are in the heavens and on earth be sacrificed for him: he left nothing undone in counseling the people of the Bayān and conveying his message to them. In no age or era has the preceding Manifestation spoken of the subsequent Manifestation with such detail and explicitness, as you all witness and attest, if you judge fairly. Listen to the words of this servant and rescue yourself from darkness upon darkness. Do not, for the sake of two fleeting days, make yourself deserving of endless torment, and do not occupy yourself with distorting the religion of God and his Cause.

448

نيكو است اين فرد در اينمقام گرد دين بهر صلاح تن به بيدينى متن تخم دنيا در فضاى دين بمكّارى مكار

Nīkū ast īn fard dar īn maqām: gerd-e dīn bahr-e ṣalāḥ-e tan be-bīdīnī matan; tokhm-e donyā dar fażā-ye dīn be-makkārī makār.

This couplet is fitting here: “Do not, for the body’s welfare, weave irreligion around religion; do not deceitfully sow the seed of the world in the field of faith.”

449

جميع آيات منزله را منتهى باين كلمات ابدع امنع اقدس اعلى كه از سماء عزّ نقطه اولى نازل شده مينمايم كه شايد نفحات قدسش قاصدان حرم رحمن و عاشقان جمال سبحان را معطّر نمايد اگر چه امثال آن نفوس نفحاتش را نيابند ناظراً الى نفوس المشتاقين ذكر ميشود قسم بمليك آفاق‌ كه هر سمعى استماع نمايد بحيات بديعه فايز شود و از اصغاى كلمات ما سوى اللّه منقطع گردد و هر قلبی‌ ادراك نمايد البتّه منبع علوم نامتناهيه الهيّه شود و اصرح از آن ممكن نه تا ذكر گردد و ابين از آن از ملكوت لسان تا حال ظاهر نشده

Jamīʿ-e āyāt-e monazzale rā montahī be-īn kalemāt-e abdaʿ-e amnaʿ-e aqdas-e aʿlā ke az samā-ye ʿezz-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā nāzel shode mīnamāyam, ke shāyad nafaḥāt-e qodsash qāṣedān-e ḥaram-e Raḥmān va ʿāsheqān-e Jamāl-e Sobḥān rā moʿaṭṭar namāyad. Agarche amthāl-e ān nofūs nafaḥātash rā nayāband, nāẓiran ilā nufūs al-mushtāqīn dhekr mīshavad. Qasam be-Malīk-e āfāq ke har samʿī estemāʿ namāyad be-ḥayāt-e badīʿe fāʾez shavad va az eṣghā-ye kalemāt-e mā sevā Allāh monqaṭeʿ gardad va har qalbī edrāk namāyad albatte manbaʿ-e ʿolūm-e nāmotanāhīye-ye elāhīye shavad. Va aṣraḥ az ān momken na tā dhekr gardad va abyan az ān az malakūt-e lesān tā ḥāl ẓāher nashode.

I bring all the revealed verses to a close with these most wondrous, most inaccessible, most holy and most exalted words, which have descended from the heaven of the glory of the Primal Point, so that their holy fragrances may perfume those who seek the sanctuary of the All-Merciful and those who love the Beauty of the All-Glorious. Although souls such as these may not perceive their fragrances, they are mentioned with regard for the souls who yearn. I swear by the King of all horizons that every ear that hears them will attain a wondrous life and cease listening to the words of anyone but God, and every heart that understands them will assuredly become a wellspring of God’s boundless knowledge. Nothing more explicit is possible to mention, and nothing clearer has yet appeared from the kingdom of utterance.

450

و چه قدر مشابه است اين ذكر و ثناى نقطه اولى با حكايتى كه از شيخ احمد مرفوع عليه بهآء اللّه مذكور است چنانچه در سفرى كه بحجّ تشريف برده بحاجى محمّد اسمعيل نامى ساكن در ارض صاد فرموده بودند سلام مرا بحضرت باب برسان و حضرت را باسم مبارك ذكر فرموده بودند و مقصود جناب شيخ جز هدايت آن نفس و نفوس نبوده آن شخص بعد از كلام حضرت شيخ متحيّر شده كه مقصود كيست و بچه جهت اين كلمه طيّبه از لسان مبارك ظاهر شده تا آنكه از سفر حجّ مراجعت نموده و سنين معدوده منقضى شده و حضرت اعلى بارض صاد وارد شدند و ذكرشان مابين ناس مرتفع كه شخصى پيدا شده و ادّعاى بابيّت نموده آن وقت آن شخص متنبّه شده كه مقصود شيخ چه بوده

Va che qadr moshābeh ast īn dhekr va thanā-ye Noqṭe-ye Ūlā bā ḥekāyatī ke az Shaykh Aḥmad-e marfūʿ, ʿalayhi Bahāʾ Allāh, madhkūr ast. Chenānche dar safarī ke be-ḥajj tashrīf borde be-Ḥājī Moḥammad Esmāʿīl nāmī sāken dar arż-e Ṣād farmūde būdand salām-e marā be-Ḥażrat-e Bāb berasān va Ḥażrat rā be-esm-e mobārak dhekr farmūde būdand. Va maqṣūd-e Janāb-e Shaykh joz hedāyat-e ān nafs va nofūs nabūde. Ān shakhs baʿd az kalām-e Ḥażrat-e Shaykh motaḥayyer shode ke maqṣūd kīst va be-che jahat īn kalame-ye ṭayyebe az lesān-e mobārak ẓāher shode, tā ānke az safar-e ḥajj morājaʿat namūde va senīn-e maʿdūde monqażī shode va Ḥażrat-e Aʿlā be-arż-e Ṣād vāred shodand va dhekrashān mā beyn-e nās mortafeʿ ke shakhsī peydā shode va eddeʿā-ye bābīyat namūde. Ān vaqt ān shakhs motanabbeh shode ke maqṣūd-e Shaykh che būde.

How closely this mention and praise by the Primal Point resembles the account related of the departed Shaykh Aḥmad—upon him be the glory of God. On a journey to perform the pilgrimage, he said to a certain Ḥājī Muḥammad Ismāʿīl, who lived in the land of Ṣād, “Convey my greetings to the Bāb,” mentioning him by his blessed name. The Shaykh’s purpose was nothing but to guide that soul and other souls. After hearing the Shaykh’s words, that man was bewildered as to who was intended and why these good words had issued from his blessed tongue. He returned from the pilgrimage, and some years passed. When the Most Exalted One arrived in the land of Ṣād and talk of him spread among the people—that someone had appeared and claimed to be the Bāb—the man then realized what the Shaykh had meant.

451

و لكن امثال شما از اين بيانات واضحه لايحه مشرقه مضيئه متنبّه نشده و نخواهيد شد قوله عزّ اعزازه انتم قدام طائفة تظهر فيها النّقطة لا تقدمون ان هم كانوا مؤمنين قل اولئك خير من على الأرض و لو علم اللّه خيرا منهم فى الايمان ليظهره منهم انتم الى ابيه و امّه و ما كان معه و من آمن به من اولى قرابته من اللّه تسلمون ان انتم تحسنن بكلّ نفس لعلّكم تدركون هذا قبل ان يظهر و بعد ذلك انتم ستدركون و تعلمون عليك ان يا بهآء اللّه ثمّ اولى قرابتك ذكر اللّه و ثنآء كلّ شیء فى كلّ حين و قبل حين و بعد حين انتهى

Va lāken amthāl-e shomā az īn bayānāt-e vāżeḥe-ye lāʾeḥe-ye moshreqe-ye możīʾe motanabbeh nashode va nakhvāhīd shod. Qawluhu ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: antum quddāma ṭāʾifatin taẓharu fīhā al-Nuqṭatu lā taqaddamūn in hum kānū muʾminīn. Qul ulāʾika khayru man ʿalā al-arḍ wa-law ʿalima Allāhu khayran minhum fī al-īmān li-yuẓhirahu minhum. Antum ilā abīhi wa-ummihi wa-mā kāna maʿahu wa-man āmana bihi min ulī qarābatihi min Allāhi tusallimūn. In antum tuḥsinunna bi-kulli nafsin laʿallakum tudrikūna hādhā qabla an yaẓhara wa-baʿda dhālika antum satudrikūna wa-taʿlamūn. ʿAlayka an yā Bahāʾ Allāh thumma ulī qarābatika dhikru Allāhi wa-thanāʾu kulli shayʾin fī kulli ḥīnin wa-qabla ḥīnin wa-baʿda ḥīn. Intahā.

Yet people such as you have not been, and will not be, awakened by these clear, manifest, radiant and luminous statements. His words—exalted be his glory: “Do not put yourselves ahead of the people among whom the Point will appear, if they are believers. Say: They are the best of those on earth, and had God known any better than them in faith, he would have caused him to appear from among them. Convey greetings from God to his father and his mother, to whatever was with him, and to those of his kindred who believe in him. If you show kindness to every soul, perhaps you will grasp this before he appears; afterward you will indeed grasp it and know. Upon you, O Bahāʾuʾllāh, and then upon your kindred, be the remembrance of God and the praise of all things at every moment, before every moment and after every moment.” End of quotation.

452

و مقصود نقطه بيان از اين آيات آنكه اراده فرموده‌اند كه اصل ظهور را معيّن فرمايند حال اى بی‌انصاف ملاحظه كن كه بچه ادب امر فرموده‌اند باهل بيان ميفرمايند شما قدام طايفه كه آن نقطه اوليّه از آنها ظاهر ميشود تقدّم نجوئيد ميفرمايد اگر از مؤمنين باشند و باين بيان آخر حبل انتساب منتسبين اين ظهور كه اليوم از حقّ معرضند منقطع چنانچه تصريحاً فرموده و ميفرمايند آن طايفه بهترين طوايف روى ارضند چه كه اگر طايفه در ارض از آن طايفه بهتر بود هرآينه آن طلعت احديّه و كينونت الهيّه از آن طايفه ظاهر ميشد و امر ميفرمايند كه اهل بيان باب و امّ آن نيّر اعظم و هم‌‌چنين ذوى قرابه او از كسانيكه مؤمنند باو من قبل اللّه سلام برسانند

Va maqṣūd-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān az īn āyāt ānke erāde farmūde-and ke aṣl-e ẓohūr rā moʿayyan farmāyand. Ḥāl ey bī-enṣāf, molāḥeẓe kon ke be-che adab amr farmūde-and. Be-ahl-e Bayān mīfarmāyand shomā qoddām-e ṭāyefe ke ān Noqṭe-ye Avvalīye az ānhā ẓāher mīshavad taqaddom najūʾīd. Mīfarmāyad agar az moʾmenīn bāshand. Va be-īn bayān-e ākhar ḥabl-e entesāb-e montasebīn-e īn ẓohūr ke al-yowm az Ḥaqq moʿreżand monqaṭeʿ, chenānche taṣrīḥan farmūde. Va mīfarmāyand ān ṭāyefe behtarīn-e ṭavāyef-e rū-ye arżand, che ke agar ṭāyefe dar arż az ān ṭāyefe behtar būd har-āyene ān Ṭalʿat-e Aḥadīye va Keynūnat-e Elāhīye az ān ṭāyefe ẓāher mīshod. Va amr mīfarmāyand ke ahl-e Bayān be-ab va omm-e ān Nayyer-e Aʿẓam va hamchenīn dhavī-ye qarābe-ye ū az kasānī ke moʾmenand be-ū min qibal Allāh salām berasānand.

The Point of the Bayān’s purpose in these verses was to identify the origin of the Manifestation. Now, you who are without fairness, consider what courtesy he enjoined. He tells the people of the Bayān not to put themselves ahead of the people from whom that Primal Point will appear. He says, “If they are believers.” By this final statement, the bond of kinship of those related to this Manifestation who today turn away from the True One is severed, as he has explicitly stated. He says that those people are the best of the peoples on earth, for had there been a better people on earth, that Countenance of oneness and divine Being would certainly have appeared from among them. He commands the people of the Bayān to convey greetings from God to the father and mother of that Most Great Luminary, and likewise to those of his kindred who believe in him.

453

از احمقى ملأ بيان بعيد نيست كه بگويند اب و امّى كه حال موجود نه سلام الهى بچه محلّ راجع ميشود اى بی‌‌بصران همان حين كه از لسان ربّ العالمين سلام نازل بمقرّش وارد و اين تاكيد در بيان نظر بآن بوده كه امرى در ظهور واقع نشود كه آن ساذج قدم را محزون نمايد و بعد از اين وصاياى الهيّه و آداب مذكوره و كلمات ممتنعه منيعه نفس اقدس اطهر متوجّهاً الى مقرّ الظّهور والى ذوى قرابته ذكر و ثنا فرموده‌اند فو‌اللّه بملاحتى اين كوثر بيان از لسان رحمن جارى شده كه اگر بقطره آن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض خالصاً لوجه اللّه فايز شوند جميع از آن خمر الهيّه سرمست شده بشطر قدم توجّه نمايند و ما سوايش را معدوم و مفقود و لاشیء محض مشاهده كنند

Az aḥmaqī-yi malaʾ-i Bayān baʿīd nīst kih bigūyand ab va ummī kih ḥāl mawjūd nah, salām-i ilāhī bih chih maḥall rājiʿ mīshavad. Ay bī-baṣarān, hamān ḥīn kih az lisān-i Rabb al-ʿālamīn salām nāzil, bih maqarraš vārid. Va īn taʾkīd dar Bayān naẓar bih ān būdih kih amrī dar ẓuhūr vāqiʿ nashavad kih ān sādhij-i qidam rā maḥzūn namāyad. Va baʿd az īn vaṣāyā-yi ilāhiyyih va ādāb-i madhkūrih va kalimāt-i mumtaniʿih-yi manīʿih, nafs-i aqdas-i aṭhar mutawajjihan ilā maqarri al-ẓuhūr wa-ilā dhawī qarābatihi dhikr va thanā farmūdih-and. Fa-wa-llāh, bih malāḥatī īn kawthar-i bayān az lisān-i Raḥmān jārī shudih kih agar bih qaṭrih-yi ān kullu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ khāliṣan li-wajhi Allāh fāʾiz shavand, jamīʿ az ān khamr-i ilāhiyyih sarmast shudih, bih shaṭr-i qidam tavajjuh namāyand va mā sivāyash rā maʿdūm va mafqūd va lā-shayʾ-i maḥḍ mushāhidih kunand.

It would be no surprise, given the foolishness of the people of the Bayān, if they were to say, “To whom do the divine greetings return, when the father and mother are no longer living?” O sightless ones! The very moment the greeting descended from the tongue of the Lord of the worlds, it reached its destination. This emphasis in the Bayān was intended to ensure that nothing should occur during the Manifestation to sadden that Essence of Eternity. After these divine counsels, the prescribed courtesies, and these exalted, unassailable words, that most holy and pure Being offered remembrance and praise, turning toward the seat of the Manifestation and his kindred. By God, this heavenly stream of utterance has flowed from the tongue of the All-Merciful with such sweetness that, if all who are in the heavens and on earth were to partake of a drop of it purely for the sake of God, they would all become intoxicated with that divine wine, turn toward the Eternal One, and see everything other than him as nonexistent, lost, and utter nothingness.

454

بنصّ طلعت اعلى روح ما سواه فداه كلّ مأمور شده‌اند بثناء و سلام در حين ظهور و لكن احدى بآن موفّق نشده و نصح الهى را لغو شمرده‌اند و وصيّتش را از قلب محو نموده بلى اگر بثناء و سلام در بين يدى مليك علّام حاضر نشده‌اند و لكن بسنان و سهام از كلّ اطراف هجوم آورده‌اند و للّه الأمر من قبل و من بعد و عليه يثنى نفسه وذاته لو انتم من العارفين و چون احدى باين ثناء موفّق نشد كه من قبل الرّحمن ابلاغ دارد لذا كينونت سبحانى در اين ظهور بدع رحمانى خود من قبل اللّه بر نفس خود ابلاغ ذكر و ثناء فرموده‌اند قوله جلّ ثنائه ان يا محبوب البهآء بلغت ذكرك و ثنائك ثمّ ثنآء كلّ شیء من قبلك على نفسى ليثبت قولك فى العالمين و يظهر آياتك للعارفين و اذا اقول عليك يا محبوب البهآء ذكر اللّه و ثنائه ثمّ ثنآء اهل ملأ الأعلی و ثنآء اهل مداين البقآء ثمّ ثنآء اهل لجج الكبريا ثمّ ثنآء العالمين فى كلّ حين و قبل حين و بعد حين و حين حين

Bih naṣṣ-i Ṭalʿat-i Aʿlā, rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh, kull maʾmūr shudih-and bih thanā va salām dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr, va lākin aḥadī bih ān muwaffaq nashudih va nuṣḥ-i ilāhī rā laghv shumurdih-and va vaṣiyyatash rā az qalb maḥv namūdih. Balī, agar bih thanā va salām dar bayn-i yaday-i Malīk-i ʿAllām ḥāḍir nashudih-and, va lākin bih sinān va sihām az kull-i aṭrāf hujūm āvardih-and. Wa-li-llāhi al-amru min qablu wa-min baʿdu wa-ʿalayhi yuthnī nafsuhu wa-dhātuhu law antum mina al-ʿārifīn. Va chūn aḥadī bih īn thanā muwaffaq nashud kih min qibali al-Raḥmān iblāgh dārad, lidhā kaynūnat-i subḥānī dar īn ẓuhūr-i badʿ-i raḥmānī khud min qibali Allāh bar nafs-i khud iblāgh-i dhikr va thanā farmūdih-and. Qawluhu jalla thanāʾuhu: An yā maḥbūba al-Bahāʾ, ballaghtu dhikraka wa-thanāʾaka thumma thanāʾa kulli shayʾin min qibalika ʿalā nafsī li-yathbuta qawluka fī al-ʿālamīn wa-yaẓhara āyātuka li-l-ʿārifīn. Wa-idhan aqūlu ʿalayka yā maḥbūba al-Bahāʾ dhikru Allāhi wa-thanāʾuhu thumma thanāʾu ahli malaʾi al-aʿlā wa-thanāʾu ahli madāʾini al-baqāʾ thumma thanāʾu ahli lujaji al-kibriyāʾ thumma thanāʾu al-ʿālamīn fī kulli ḥīnin wa-qabla ḥīnin wa-baʿda ḥīnin wa-ḥīna ḥīn.

By the explicit text of the Most Exalted Countenance—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for him—all were commanded to offer praise and greetings at the time of the Manifestation. Yet no one has succeeded in doing so; they have regarded the divine counsel as futile and erased his testament from their hearts. Indeed, although they have not entered the presence of the all-knowing Sovereign with praise and greetings, they have assailed him from every side with spears and arrows. Authority belongs to God, before and after, and upon him his own Self and Essence bestow praise, if you are among those who understand. Since no one succeeded in conveying this praise on behalf of the All-Merciful, the divine Being has himself, in this wondrous, merciful Manifestation, conveyed remembrance and praise to his own Self on behalf of God. His words—exalted be his praise: “O Beloved of Bahāʾ! I have conveyed your remembrance and praise, and then the praise of all things, from you to myself, so that your word may be established among the worlds and your signs made manifest to those who understand. And now I say: Upon you, O Beloved of Bahāʾ, be the remembrance of God and his praise, then the praise of the dwellers in the highest Assembly, and the praise of the dwellers in the cities of eternity, then the praise of the dwellers in the oceans of grandeur, then the praise of all the worlds, at every moment, before every moment, after every moment, and at the very moment of each moment.”

455

در اينمقام از جبروت ابهى اين كلمات ابدع احلى فى المناجات مع اللّه العلىّ الأعلی نازل عليك يا بهآء اللّه محبوب البهآء ذكر اللّه و بهآئه ثمّ بهآء اهل ملأ الأعلی ثمّ بهآء اهل مداين البقآء ثمّ بهآء كلّ الاشیآء ثمّ بهآء نفسك لنفسك بنفسك و بهآء هذا البهآء الّذى ظهر لنصرك بين العالمين فيا محبوب البهآء فو‌عزّتك و جلالك انّك ما قصّرت فى تبليغك عبادك و تدبيرك بريّتك و ما اردت فى كلّ ذلك الّا خضوعهم بين يدى سلطان احديّتك و الخشوع عند ظهورات انوار وجهتك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ انّى اجد نفسى خجلاً عمّا بلغته لظهورى بحيث ما تنفّست الّا بذكرى و ما تكلّمت الّا لاثبات امرى و ما جرى من قلمك الّا ما كان فيه مقصود نفسك ذكرى و ثنائى و فى كلّ شأن ظهر منك ما يكون مدلاً لنفسى و صريحاً فى ظهورى و حاكيا عن جمالى

Dar īn maqām az jabarūt-i Abhā īn kalimāt-i abdaʿ-i aḥlā fī al-munājāt maʿa Allāhi al-ʿAliyyi al-Aʿlā nāzil: ʿAlayka yā Bahāʾa Allāh, maḥbūba al-Bahāʾ, dhikru Allāhi wa-bahāʾuhu thumma bahāʾu ahli malaʾi al-aʿlā thumma bahāʾu ahli madāʾini al-baqāʾ thumma bahāʾu kulli al-ashyāʾ thumma bahāʾu nafsika li-nafsika bi-nafsika wa-bahāʾu hādhā al-Bahāʾ alladhī ẓahara li-naṣrika bayna al-ʿālamīn. Fa-yā maḥbūba al-Bahāʾ, fa-wa-ʿizzatika wa-jalālika innaka mā qaṣṣarta fī tablīghika ʿibādaka wa-tadbīrika bariyyataka wa-mā aradta fī kulli dhālika illā khuḍūʿahum bayna yaday sulṭāni aḥadiyyatika wa-al-khushūʿa ʿinda ẓuhūrāti anwāri wajhatika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī, innī ajidu nafsī khajilan ʿammā ballaghtahu li-ẓuhūrī bi-ḥaythu mā tanaffasta illā bi-dhikrī wa-mā takallamta illā li-ithbāti amrī wa-mā jarā min qalamika illā mā kāna fīhi maqṣūdu nafsika dhikrī wa-thanāʾī wa-fī kulli shaʾnin ẓahara minka mā yakūnu mudillan li-nafsī wa-ṣarīḥan fī ẓuhūrī wa-ḥākiyan ʿan jamālī.

At this point, these wondrous and most sweet words descended from the all-glorious Dominion in prayer to God, the Exalted, the Most High: “Upon you, O Glory of God, Beloved of Bahāʾ, be the remembrance of God and his glory, then the glory of the dwellers in the highest Assembly, then the glory of the dwellers in the cities of eternity, then the glory of all things, then the glory of your own Self, for yourself, through yourself, and the glory of this Bahāʾ who has appeared to aid you among the worlds. O Beloved of Bahāʾ! By your might and majesty, you have fallen short in neither conveying your message to your servants nor ordering the affairs of your creation. In all this you have desired only their submission before the sovereignty of your oneness and their humility at the appearances of the lights of your countenance. By your might, O my Beloved, I find myself abashed before all that you have conveyed for my manifestation, for you have breathed only in remembrance of me, spoken only to establish my Cause, and nothing has flowed from your pen in which your purpose was not my remembrance and praise. In every circumstance, there has appeared from you that which points to me, speaks explicitly of my manifestation, and tells of my beauty.”

456

و مع‌ذلك كيف اذكرك يا محبوبی‌ بعد الّذى فو‌عزّتك لترادف القضايا و تتابع البلايا لن اجد من فرصة لابكى على نفسى و كيف ثنآء نفسك العلىّ العظيم كلّما اريد ان اثنيك بثنآء او اتقرّب اليك ببدايع ذكرك يمنعنى غلّ اعدائك و اعراض طغاة بريّتك بحيث لو التفت الى اليمين اجد كتاب السّجّين من احد من خلقك و فيه ما اضطربت عنه اركان كلّ شیء ثمّ اركان ملكوت اسمائك الحسنى و كلّما اتوجّه الى اليسار اجد كتاباً من الفجّار و فيه ما صاحت و ضجّت و ناحت حقايق اصفيائك و افئدة انبيائك بعد الّذى انّك امرت ملأ البيان الّذين يدّعون الايمان بنفسك و الاقرار بفردانيّتك و الاذعان عند ظهورات انوار عزّ وحدانيّتك بأن يكتب كلّ نفس فى كلّ واحد كتاباً فى اثبات امرك فى هذا الظّهور الّذى به اشرقت شمس العزّة و الاقتدار عن افق سمآء عزّ رحمانيّتك ليتذكرن به العباد و ينتظرن هذا النّبأ الّذى بشّرتهم فى كلّ الواحك و زبرك و صحايف مجدك بقولك الحقّ مخاطباً لملأ البيان و انتم فى كلّ واحد كتاب اثبات لمن نظهره بعضكم الى بعض تكتبون لعلّكم يوم ظهوره بما تكتبون لتعملون

Wa-maʿa dhālika kayfa adhkuruka yā maḥbūbī baʿda alladhī fa-wa-ʿizzatika li-tarādufi al-qaḍāyā wa-tatābuʿi al-balāyā lan ajida min furṣatin li-abkiya ʿalā nafsī wa-kayfa thanāʾu nafsika al-ʿAliyyi al-ʿAẓīm. Kullamā urīdu an uthniyaka bi-thanāʾin aw ataqarraba ilayka bi-badāʾiʿi dhikrika yamnaʿunī ghillu aʿdāʾika wa-iʿrāḍu ṭughāti bariyyatika bi-ḥaythu law iltafattu ilā al-yamīn ajidu kitāba al-sijjīn min aḥadin min khalqika wa-fīhi mā iḍṭarabat ʿanhu arkānu kulli shayʾin thumma arkānu malakūti asmāʾika al-ḥusnā. Wa-kullamā atawajjahu ilā al-yasār ajidu kitāban mina al-fujjār wa-fīhi mā ṣāḥat wa-ḍajjat wa-nāḥat ḥaqāʾiqu aṣfiyāʾika wa-afʾidatu anbiyāʾika baʿda alladhī innaka amarta malaʾa al-Bayān alladhīna yaddaʿūna al-īmāna bi-nafsika wa-al-iqrāra bi-fardāniyyatika wa-al-idhʿāna ʿinda ẓuhūrāti anwāri ʿizzi waḥdāniyyatika bi-an yaktuba kullu nafsin fī kulli wāḥidin kitāban fī ithbāti amrika fī hādhā al-ẓuhūr alladhī bihi ashraqat shamsu al-ʿizzati wa-al-iqtidār ʿan ufuqi samāʾi ʿizzi raḥmāniyyatika li-yatadhakkaranna bihi al-ʿibād wa-yantaẓiranna hādhā al-nabaʾ alladhī bashshartahum fī kulli alwāḥika wa-zuburika wa-ṣaḥāʾifi majdika bi-qawlika al-ḥaqq mukhāṭiban li-malaʾi al-Bayān: Wa-antum fī kulli wāḥidin kitāba ithbātin li-man nuẓhiruhu baʿḍukum ilā baʿḍin taktubūn laʿallakum yawma ẓuhūrihi bi-mā taktubūna la-taʿmalūn.

“Yet how can I remember you, O my Beloved, when, by your might, the succession of adversities and the unceasing calamities leave me no opportunity to weep for myself, much less to praise your exalted and mighty Self? Whenever I wish to praise you or draw near to you through the wonders of your remembrance, the malice of your enemies and the aversion of the tyrants among your creation prevent me. If I turn to the right, I find the book of Sijjīn from one of your creatures, containing what has shaken the foundations of all things and the foundations of the kingdom of your most beautiful names. Whenever I turn to the left, I find a book from the wicked, containing what has caused the inmost realities of your chosen ones and the hearts of your prophets to cry out, lament, and mourn. This, even though you commanded the people of the Bayān—who profess faith in you, acknowledge your singleness, and claim submission at the appearances of the lights of your glorious unity—that every soul should write, in every Vāḥid, a book establishing your Cause in this Manifestation, through which the sun of might and power has shone from the horizon of the heaven of your glorious mercy, so that your servants might be reminded by it and await this announcement of which you gave them glad tidings in all your Tablets, your scriptures, and the scrolls of your glory, through your true words addressed to the people of the Bayān: ‘In every Vāḥid, you are to write to one another a book establishing the truth of the One whom we shall manifest, so that perhaps, on the day of his appearance, you may act according to what you write.’”

457

و انّهم يا الهى نبذوا احكامك عن ورائهم و نسوا ما نصحتهم به فى الواحك فيا ليت كانوا قانعاً بذلك بل كتب كلّ واحد منهم كتاباً احترقت عنه نفسك و حقايق كلّ شیء و اكباد المقرّبين من احبّائك و المقدّسين من اصفيائك و انتشروه فى البلاد ليضيع به حرمة اللّه بين بريّته و عزّة اللّه بين خلقه و احترامه بين عباده فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ ما ادركت صباحاً الّا و قد ارتدّ فيه بصرى الى ما احترق به كبدى و اضطرب به نفسى و حزن به قلبی‌ و بذلك بكيت بعيون سرّى و بكت ببكائى عيون الّذين كرّمتهم من بريّتك و اصطفيتهم من بين خلقك و جعلتهم مهابط وحيك و مخازن علمك و مظاهر امرك و مطالع قدرتك و مكامن الهامك و مشارق شموس احسانك

Wa-innahum yā ilāhī nabadhū aḥkāmaka ʿan warāʾihim wa-nasū mā naṣaḥtahum bihi fī alwāḥika. Fa-yā layta kānū qāniʿan bi-dhālika bal kataba kullu wāḥidin minhum kitāban iḥtaraqat ʿanhu nafsuka wa-ḥaqāʾiqu kulli shayʾin wa-akbādu al-muqarrabīna min aḥibbāʾika wa-al-muqaddasīna min aṣfiyāʾika wa-intasharūhu fī al-bilād li-yaḍīʿa bihi ḥurmatu Allāhi bayna bariyyatihi wa-ʿizzatu Allāhi bayna khalqihi wa-iḥtirāmuhu bayna ʿibādihi. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī mā adraktu ṣabāḥan illā wa-qad irtadda fīhi baṣarī ilā mā iḥtaraqa bihi kabidī wa-iḍṭaraba bihi nafsī wa-ḥazina bihi qalbī wa-bi-dhālika bakaytu bi-ʿuyūni sirrī wa-bakat bi-bukāʾī ʿuyūnu alladhīna karramtahum min bariyyatika wa-iṣṭafaytahum min bayni khalqika wa-jaʿaltahum mahābiṭa waḥyika wa-makhāzina ʿilmika wa-maẓāhira amrika wa-maṭāliʿa qudratika wa-makāmina ilhāmika wa-mashāriqa shumūsi iḥsānika.

“O my God, they have cast your ordinances behind them and forgotten the counsels you gave them in your Tablets. If only they had been content with that! Instead, each of them has written a book that has set ablaze your own Self, the realities of all things, and the inmost hearts of those among your loved ones who are near to you and those among your chosen ones who are sanctified. They have spread it throughout the lands to destroy the sanctity of God among his creatures, the majesty of God among his creation, and reverence for him among his servants. By your might, O my Beloved, no morning has come upon me without my gaze falling upon something that has burned my inmost heart, agitated my soul, and saddened my heart. Thus I have wept with the eyes of my innermost being, and with my weeping have wept the eyes of those whom you have honored among your creatures, chosen from among your creation, and made the recipients of your revelation, the treasuries of your knowledge, the manifestations of your Cause, the dawning places of your power, the repositories of your inspiration, and the daysprings of the suns of your bounty.”

458

و ما ادركت من مساء الّا و فیه قد ورد علىّ ما منعت به نسمات رحمانيّتك عن الممكنات و غلقت به ابواب فضلك على وجوه الكاينات فوعزّتك يا محبوبی‌ صرت متحيّراً فى امرى و اذا تشاهدنى كالحوت المتبلبل على التّراب و تسمع صريخ قلبی‌ يا من بيدك جبروت الآیات و كلّ ذلك ورد علىّ بعد الّذى دعوتهم الى شطر مواهبك و الطافك و عرفتهم مناهج امرك و رضائك و امرتهم بالخضوع لدى باب رحمانيّتك و الورود على فنآء فردانيّتك و كلّما ناديتهم يا الهى بما الهمتنى من بدايع كلماتك و جواهر آياتك قاموا على الاعراض بشأن لايقدر احد ان يحصيه و انّك انت احصيته بسلطانك و علمك

Wa-mā adraktu min masāʾin illā wa-fīhi qad warada ʿalayya mā muniʿat bihi nasamātu raḥmāniyyatika ʿani al-mumkināt wa-ghuliqat bihi abwābu faḍlika ʿalā wujūhi al-kāʾināt. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī ṣirtu mutaḥayyiran fī amrī wa-idhan tushāhidunī ka-al-ḥūti al-mutabalbili ʿalā al-turāb wa-tasmaʿu ṣarīkha qalbī yā man bi-yadika jabarūtu al-āyāt. Wa-kullu dhālika warada ʿalayya baʿda alladhī daʿawtuhum ilā shaṭri mawāhibika wa-alṭāfika wa-ʿarraftuhum manāhija amrika wa-riḍāʾika wa-amartuhum bi-al-khuḍūʿi ladā bābi raḥmāniyyatika wa-al-wurūdi ʿalā fināʾi fardāniyyatika. Wa-kullamā nādaytuhum yā ilāhī bi-mā alhamtanī min badāʾiʿi kalimātika wa-jawāhiri āyātika qāmū ʿalā al-iʿrāḍi bi-shaʾnin lā yaqdiru aḥadun an yuḥṣiyahu wa-innaka anta aḥṣaytahu bi-sulṭānika wa-ʿilmika.

“No evening has come upon me without there befalling me something that has withheld the breezes of your mercy from all contingent things and closed the doors of your grace upon all created beings. By your might, O my Beloved, I am bewildered by my plight. You see me now like a fish thrashing upon the dust, and you hear the cry of my heart, O you in whose hand is the dominion of signs. All this has befallen me after I called them toward your gifts and favors, acquainted them with the paths of your Cause and your good pleasure, and commanded them to bow humbly at the door of your mercy and enter the court of your singleness. Whenever I called to them, O my God, with the wondrous words and the gems of your verses that you inspired in me, they rose up in opposition to a degree that no one can reckon. You alone have reckoned it through your sovereignty and knowledge.”

459

فاذا يا محبوب البهآء و محيى البهآء و مشوّق البهآء و ذكر البهآء و حبيب البهآء فابك على نفس البهآء تاللّه انّها قد بقت فريداً بين خلقك و وحيداً بين عبادك و يفعلون به ما يريدون و ليس لى من ناصر ليمنعهم عن فعلهم او يطردهم عن حول حرم قدسك و سرادق عزّك و اجلالك فلك الحمد فى كلّ ذلك و فى كلّ ما ورد على نفسى فى سبيلك ولو انّ عبادك نزعوا عن هيكلى ثوب السّرور و ردآء البهجة و العزّة و الحرمة و لكن اعطيتنى بفضلك ما لايقدر ان يتصرّف فيه احد ولو يجتمع علىّ خلق السّموات و الأرضين فلك الحمد على ما اعطيتنى بجودك يا محبوب قلبی‌ و مقصود قلوب العارفين و انا الّذى بحبّك لن اجزع من شیء ولو يمطر علىّ سحاب القضا سهام البلا فوضت امرى اليك و توكّلت عليك و انت حسبی‌ و معينى و ناصرى و بك اكتفيت عن الخلايق اجمعين و الحمد لك اذ انّك انت معبودى و معبود من فى العالمين انتهى

Fa-idhan yā maḥbūba al-Bahāʾ wa-muḥyī al-Bahāʾ wa-mushawwiqa al-Bahāʾ wa-dhikra al-Bahāʾ wa-ḥabība al-Bahāʾ fa-bki ʿalā nafsi al-Bahāʾ. Ta-llāhi innahā qad baqat farīdan bayna khalqika wa-waḥīdan bayna ʿibādika wa-yafʿalūna bihi mā yurīdūn wa-laysa lī min nāṣirin li-yamnaʿahum ʿan fiʿlihim aw yaṭrudahum ʿan ḥawli ḥarami qudsika wa-surādiqi ʿizzika wa-ijlālika. Fa-laka al-ḥamdu fī kulli dhālika wa-fī kulli mā warada ʿalā nafsī fī sabīlika wa-law anna ʿibādaka nazaʿū ʿan haykalī thawba al-surūr wa-ridāʾa al-bahjati wa-al-ʿizzati wa-al-ḥurmati wa-lākin aʿṭaytanī bi-faḍlika mā lā yaqdiru an yataṣarrafa fīhi aḥadun wa-law yajtamiʿu ʿalayya khalqu al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍīn. Fa-laka al-ḥamdu ʿalā mā aʿṭaytanī bi-jūdika yā maḥbūba qalbī wa-maqṣūda qulūbi al-ʿārifīn. Wa-anā alladhī bi-ḥubbika lan ajzaʿa min shayʾin wa-law yumṭiru ʿalayya saḥābu al-qaḍā sahāma al-balā. Fawwaḍtu amrī ilayka wa-tawakkaltu ʿalayka wa-anta ḥasbī wa-muʿīnī wa-nāṣirī wa-bika iktafaytu ʿani al-khalāʾiqi ajmaʿīn. Wa-al-ḥamdu laka idh innaka anta maʿbūdī wa-maʿbūdu man fī al-ʿālamīn. Intahā.

“Now, O Beloved of Bahāʾ, giver of life to Bahāʾ, awakener of Bahāʾ’s longing, remembrance of Bahāʾ, and dear one of Bahāʾ, weep for the person of Bahāʾ! By God, he has remained alone among your creatures and solitary among your servants. They do to him whatever they wish, and I have no helper to restrain them from their deeds or drive them away from your sacred sanctuary and the pavilion of your might and majesty. Praise be to you in all this and in all that has befallen me in your path. Although your servants have stripped from my body the garment of joy and the robe of gladness, majesty, and honor, you have nevertheless bestowed on me through your grace that which no one can lay hands upon, even should all the creatures of the heavens and the earth unite against me. Praise be to you for what you have bestowed on me through your generosity, O Beloved of my heart and the desire of the hearts of those who know you. Through my love for you, I will not be dismayed by anything, even should the clouds of destiny rain down upon me the arrows of affliction. I have committed my affairs to you and placed my trust in you. You are sufficient for me, my helper and my supporter, and through you I have become independent of all creatures. Praise be to you, for you are the one I worship and the one worshipped by all who are in the worlds.” End of quotation.

460

و ايكاش مهلت ميدادند كه جمال ربّ العالمين بثنآء اللّه و ذكره مشغول شود فو‌اللّه فرصت آنكه بر نفس خود نوحه نمايد از ظلم مشركين نيافته تا چه رسد بذكر و ثنا مع آنكه نقطه بيان كلّ اهل بيان را امر فرموده كه در هر واحد بعضى ببعضى كتابی‌ مرقوم دارند و در آن كتاب يكديگر را ببدايع ذكر اين ظهور اعظم متذكّر دارند كه ذكرى باشد آن كتاب لاثبات امر اللّه و تذكّر آن نفوس تا آنكه جميع مستعدّ شوند از براى تصديق و تسليم در حين ظهور مشيّت اوليّه و كلمه جامعه و استواء كينونت قدميّه بر عرش رحمانيّه چنانچه فرموده قوله عزّ ذكره انتم فى كلّ واحد كتاب اثبات لمن نظهره بعضكم الى بعض تكتبون لانّكم يوم ظهوره بما تكتبون لتعملون و لكن آنچه اهل بيان معمول داشته‌اند اين است كه مشاهده ميشود در رأس ميقات و وعده الهيّه كلّ الواح ردّيّه بر جمال احديّه نوشته‌اند و بعضى ببعضى ارسال داشته‌اند و بعضى هم بساحت عرش فرستاده‌اند و از جمله كتاب سجّين آن نفس غافل است كه بين يدى حاضر شده فافّ لوفائكم فافّ لحيائكم فافّ لاَدَبكم فافّ لما اكتسبت ايديكم يا ملأ الغافلين

Va ay kāsh muhlat mīdādand kih Jamāl-i Rabb al-ʿālamīn bih thanāʾi Allāh wa-dhikrihi mashghūl shavad. Fa-wa-llāh, furṣat-i ānkih bar nafs-i khud nawḥih namāyad az ẓulm-i mushrikīn nayāftih, tā chih rasad bih dhikr va thanā. Maʿ ānkih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān kull-i ahl-i Bayān rā amr farmūdih kih dar har Vāḥid baʿḍī bih baʿḍī kitābī marqūm dārand va dar ān kitāb yakdīgar rā bih badāyiʿ-i dhikr-i īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam mutadhakkir dārand kih dhikrī bāshad ān kitāb li-ithbāti amri Allāh va tadhakkur-i ān nufūs tā ānkih jamīʿ mustaʿidd shavand az barā-yi taṣdīq va taslīm dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr-i mashiyyat-i avvaliyyih va kalimih-yi jāmiʿih va istivā-yi kaynūnat-i qidamiyyih bar ʿarsh-i raḥmāniyyih. Chinānchih farmūdih, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: Antum fī kulli wāḥidin kitāba ithbātin li-man nuẓhiruhu baʿḍukum ilā baʿḍin taktubūn li-annakum yawma ẓuhūrihi bi-mā taktubūna la-taʿmalūn. Va lākin ānchih ahl-i Bayān maʿmūl dāshtih-and īn ast kih mushāhidih mīshavad. Dar raʾs-i mīqāt va vaʿdih-yi ilāhiyyih kull alvāḥ-i raddiyyih bar Jamāl-i Aḥadiyyih nivishtih-and va baʿḍī bih baʿḍī irsāl dāshtih-and va baʿḍī ham bih sāḥat-i ʿarsh firistādih-and. Va az jumlih kitāb-i sijjīn-i ān nafs-i ghāfil ast kih bayn-i yaday ḥāḍir shudih. Fa-uffin li-wafāʾikum fa-uffin li-ḥayāʾikum fa-uffin li-adabikum fa-uffin li-mā iktasabat aydīkum yā malaʾa al-ghāfilīn.

If only they would allow the Beauty of the Lord of the worlds time to occupy himself with the praise and remembrance of God! By God, because of the oppression of those who associate partners with him, he has found no opportunity even to lament his own plight, much less to offer remembrance and praise. Yet the Point of the Bayān commanded all the people of the Bayān to write to one another in every Vāḥid, and in that book to remind one another of this Most Great Manifestation through wondrous expressions of remembrance. That book was to be a reminder establishing the Cause of God and awakening those souls, so that all might be prepared to acknowledge and submit at the appearance of the Primal Will and the all-embracing Word, and the establishment of the Eternal Being upon the throne of mercy. Thus he said—exalted be his remembrance: “In every Vāḥid, you are to write to one another a book establishing the truth of the One whom we shall manifest, for on the day of his appearance you will surely act according to what you write.” But what the people of the Bayān have actually done is what is now witnessed. At the appointed time of the divine promise, they have all written tablets refuting the Beauty of Oneness and sent them to one another; some have also sent them to the court of the throne. Among these is the book of Sijjīn by that heedless soul, which has been brought into this presence. Shame on your fidelity! Shame on your modesty! Shame on your courtesy! Shame on what your hands have wrought, O company of the heedless!

461

ملاحظه نمائيد اى اهل بيان كه آن سلطان سرير تقدير چه مقدار تدبير فرموده بعينه مشابه آنكه انسان طيور را نطق تعليم ميدهند و واللّه اعظم از آن اهل بيان را تعليم فرموده‌اند و اوقات مبارك را مصروف داشته‌اند كه مباد در حين ظهور احدى وارد آورد امرى را كه سبب حزن آن قلب رقيق لطيف منير شود چنانچه در مقامى بعد از نصايح مشفقه متقنه محكمه ميفرمايند قوله جلّ اجلاله فانّ مثله جلّ ذكره كمثل الشّمس لو يقابلنه الى ما لا نهاية مراياء كلّهنّ ليستعكسن عن تجلّى الشّمس فى حدّهم و ان لم يقابلها من احد فيطلع الشّمس و يغرب و الحجاب للمرايا و انّى ما قصّرت عن نصحى لذلك الخلق و تدبيرى لاقبالهم الى اللّه ربّهم و ايمانهم باللّه بارئهم انتهى

Mulāḥiẓih namāyīd ay ahl-i Bayān kih ān sulṭān-i sarīr-i taqdīr chih miqdār tadbīr farmūdih, bi-ʿaynih mushābih-i ānkih insān ṭuyūr rā nuṭq taʿlīm mīdihand, va va-llāh aʿẓam az ān ahl-i Bayān rā taʿlīm farmūdih-and va awqāt-i mubārak rā maṣrūf dāshtih-and kih mabād dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr aḥadī vārid āvarad amrī rā kih sabab-i ḥuzn-i ān qalb-i raqīq-i laṭīf-i munīr shavad. Chinānchih dar maqāmī baʿd az naṣāyiḥ-i mushfiqih-yi mutqanih-yi muḥkamih mīfarmāyand, qawluhu jalla ijlāluhu: fa-inna mithlahu jalla dhikruhu ka-mathali al-shams law yuqābilnahu ilā mā lā nihāyata marāyā kulluhunna la-yastaʿkisna ʿan tajallī al-shams fī ḥaddihim wa-in lam yuqābilhā min aḥad fa-yaṭluʿu al-shams wa-yaghrub wa-al-ḥijābu lil-marāyā wa-innī mā qaṣṣartu ʿan nuṣḥī li-dhālika al-khalq wa-tadbīrī li-iqbālihim ilā Allāh rabbihim wa-īmānihim bi-Allāh bāriʾihim. Intahā.

Consider, O people of the Bayān, how much that Sovereign of the throne of destiny has done to prepare the way. It is just as people teach birds to speak; indeed, by God, he has taught the people of the Bayān far more than this, devoting his blessed time to ensuring that, at the time of the Manifestation, no one should do anything that would grieve that tender, gentle, radiant heart. Thus, in one passage, after giving compassionate, firm, and well-founded counsels, he says—exalted be his glory: “His likeness—exalted be his remembrance—is that of the sun. If infinitely many mirrors face him, they will all reflect the sun’s radiance according to their capacity. And if none faces it, the sun will still rise and set, while the veiling belongs to the mirrors. I have spared no effort in counseling these people and preparing them to turn toward God, their Lord, and to believe in God, their Maker.” End of quotation.

462

حال ملاحظه نمائيد در آن بيان كه فرموده‌اند در رأس هر واحد كتابی‌ در اثبات ظهور بعد مرقوم دارند چه تدبير فرموده‌اند و هم‌‌چنين در اين بيان كه ميفرمايند اگر مراياى ما لانهايه مقابل شوند بشمس هرآينه تجلّى در حدّ آن مرايا ظاهر و اگر كلّ محتجب مانند شمس در كمال ضيا و اشراق و انوار طالع و مشرق چنانچه مشهود است بافاضه‌اش بر كلّ مرايا و انطباع كلّ از او بر قدرش نيفزايد و هم‌‌چنين اگر كلّ از او محتجب مانند نقصى بر او وارد نگردد و تدبير اين بيان آن جمال رحمن اينكه اهل بيان در يوم ظهور و اشراق شمس معانى بمرايا متمسّك نشوند چه كه وجود و عدم كلّ مرايا نزد آن شمس ممتنعه منيعه فى حدّ سواء بوده

Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih namāyīd dar ān bayān kih farmūdih-and dar raʾs-i har vāḥid kitābī dar ithbāt-i ẓuhūr-i baʿd marqūm dārand chih tadbīr farmūdih-and, va ham-chinīn dar īn bayān kih mīfarmāyand agar marāyā-yi mā lā-nihāyih muqābil shavand bi-shams har-āyinih tajallī dar ḥadd-i ān marāyā ẓāhir va agar kull muḥtajib mānand shams dar kamāl-i ḍiyā va ishrāq va anvār ṭāliʿ va mushriq. Chinānchih mashhūd ast bi-ifāḍih-ash bar kull-i marāyā va inṭibāʿ-i kull az ū bar qadrash nayafzāyad va ham-chinīn agar kull az ū muḥtajib mānand naqṣī bar ū vārid nagardad. Va tadbīr-i īn bayān-i ān Jamāl-i Raḥmān īnkih ahl-i Bayān dar yawm-i ẓuhūr va ishrāq-i shams-i maʿānī bi-marāyā mutamassik nashavand, chih kih vujūd va ʿadam-i kull-i marāyā nazd-i ān shams-i mumtaniʿih-yi manīʿih fī ḥadd-i savāʾ būdih.

Now consider what provision he made in that statement in which he instructed them to write, at the beginning of every Vāḥid, a book establishing the truth of the next Manifestation, and likewise in this statement in which he says that, if infinitely many mirrors face the sun, its radiance will assuredly appear according to the capacity of those mirrors; and if all remain veiled, the sun will still rise and shine in the fullness of its light, splendor, and radiance. As is evident, its outpouring upon all the mirrors, and the reflection of all of them from it, add nothing to its worth; likewise, if all remain veiled from it, no deficiency befalls it. The purpose of this statement by that Beauty of the All-Merciful is that the people of the Bayān should not cling to the mirrors on the day when the Sun of inner meanings appears and shines forth, for the existence and nonexistence of all the mirrors are alike before that inaccessible, exalted Sun.

463

فيا ليت كان نقطة الأولی حينئذ و يشهد بانّكم اتخذتم لانفسكم مراياء و جعلتموها ميزاناً لمعرفة الّذى لولاه ما خلقت حقايقهن و كينوناتهنّ و اسرفتم فى امر اللّه على شأن علّقتم تصديقكم نفسه بتصديق مراياء المحتجبين فويل لكم يا معشر الظّالمين و الغافلين مع اين بيانات واضحه لايحه و اين تدبيرات محكمه متقنه آن شمس عزّ احديّه بعد از اتمام واحد اوّل و ظهور نيّر آفاق‌ كلّ ميثاق اللّه را شكسته بنفاق برخواستند و تدابير و نصايح الهى را فراموش نمودند كانّهم اتّخذوها هزوا فويل لهم بما ارتكبوا تلقآء وجه اللّه العلىّ العظيم

Fa-yā layta kāna Nuqṭatu al-Ūlā ḥīnaʾidhin wa-yashhadu bi-annakum ittakhadhtum li-anfusikum marāyā wa-jaʿaltumūhā mīzānan li-maʿrifati alladhī lawlāhu mā khuliqat ḥaqāʾiquhunna wa-kaynūnātuhunna wa-asraftum fī amri Allāh ʿalā shaʾnin ʿallaqtum taṣdīqakum nafsahu bi-taṣdīqi marāyā al-muḥtajibīn fa-waylun lakum yā maʿshara al-ẓālimīn wa-al-ghāfilīn. Maʿ-i īn bayānāt-i vāḍiḥih-yi lāyiḥih va īn tadbīrāt-i muḥkamih-yi mutqanih-yi ān shams-i ʿizz-i aḥadiyyih, baʿd az itmām-i vāḥid-i avval va ẓuhūr-i nayyir-i āfāq kull mīthāq-i Allāh rā shikastih bi-nifāq barkhāstand va tadābīr va naṣāyiḥ-i ilāhī rā farāmūsh namūdand. Ka-annahum ittakhadhūhā huzuwan fa-waylun lahum bi-mā irtakabū tilqāʾa wajhi Allāh al-ʿAliyy al-ʿAẓīm.

If only the Primal Point were here now to witness that you have taken mirrors for yourselves and made them the standard for recognizing the One without whom their realities and their very beings would not have been created! You have gone to such excess in the Cause of God that you have made your acknowledgment of him dependent on the acknowledgment of veiled mirrors. Woe to you, O company of the unjust and the heedless! Despite these clear and manifest statements and these firm and well-founded provisions made by that Sun of the glory of oneness, after the completion of the first Vāḥid and the appearance of the Luminary of the horizons, all broke the Covenant of God, rose up in hypocrisy, and forgot the divine provisions and counsels. It is as though they had made a mockery of them. Woe to them for what they have committed before the face of God, the Most High, the Most Great!

464

و اينكه نوشته بودى كه اگر اوصاف نازله بجهت اسم بهآء است اين اسم از اسماء اللّه و تعريفات اسماء اللّه اختصاص باين اسم مبارك نداشته و استهزاء على اللّه ذكر ميرزا كمال و ميرزا جمال نموده بودى و بذلك صرت من اوّل من استهزء على فطرة البديع ثمّ على الخليل ثمّ على الكليم تاللّه انّك انت اوّل من استهزء على الرّوح ثمّ استهزء بمحمّد رسول اللّه ثمّ استهزء بعلىّ حين الّذى فلق فجر المعانى و اشرقت شمس البيان بسلطنة اللّه المهيمن القيّوم و كنت اوّل من استهزء على هذا الظّهور الّذى به ثبت كلّ ما نزل فى ازل الآزال و به استعرج كلّ نفس الى معراج الحقايق و دخل كلّ موقن فى رضوان اللّه المقتدر العزيز المحبوب خذ قلمك يا ايّها المستهزء باللّه تاللّه به ناح قلم الأعلی ثمّ ما كان و ما يكون و كلّما ارتكبت يرجع و ينتهى الى قلم اوّل من اعرض باللّه الواحد الفرد الملك المهيمن القيّوم

Va īnkih nivishtih būdī kih agar awṣāf-i nāzilih bi-jahat-i ism-i Bahāʾ ast īn ism az asmāʾ-i Allāh va taʿrīfāt-i asmāʾ-i Allāh ikhtiṣāṣ bi-īn ism-i mubārak nadāshtih va istihzāʾan ʿalā Allāh dhikr-i Mīrzā Kamāl va Mīrzā Jamāl namūdih būdī. Wa-bi-dhālika ṣirta min awwali man istahzaʾa ʿalā fiṭrati al-Badīʿ thumma ʿalā al-Khalīl thumma ʿalā al-Kalīm. Ta-Allāh innaka anta awwalu man istahzaʾa ʿalā al-Rūḥ thumma istahzaʾa bi-Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh thumma istahzaʾa bi-ʿAlī ḥīna alladhī falaqa fajra al-maʿānī wa-ashraqat shamsu al-bayān bi-salṭanati Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm. Wa-kunta awwala man istahzaʾa ʿalā hādhā al-ẓuhūr alladhī bihi thabata kullu mā nazala fī azal al-āzāl wa-bihi istaʿraja kullu nafsin ilā miʿrāj al-ḥaqāʾiq wa-dakhala kullu mūqinin fī Riḍwān Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Maḥbūb. Khudh qalamaka yā ayyuhā al-mustahziʾ bi-Allāh. Ta-Allāh bihi nāḥa Qalamu al-Aʿlā thumma mā kāna wa-mā yakūn wa-kullamā irtakabta yarjiʿu wa-yantahī ilā qalami awwali man aʿraḍa bi-Allāh al-Wāḥid al-Fard al-Malik al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm.

As for your having written that, if the revealed descriptions concern the name Bahāʾ, this name is one of the names of God, and that the praises of the names of God are not exclusive to this blessed name, you also mentioned Mīrzā Kamāl and Mīrzā Jamāl in mockery of God. Through this you have become one of the first to mock the nature of the Wondrous Creator, then the Friend, then the One who conversed with God. By God, you are the first to have mocked the Spirit, then to have mocked Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, then to have mocked ʿAlī when he caused the dawn of inner meanings to break and the sun of utterance to shine through the sovereignty of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. You were the first to mock this Manifestation, through whom everything sent down from all eternity was established, through whom every soul ascended to the heights of realities, and every assured believer entered the Paradise of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beloved. Take up your pen, you who mock God! By God, because of it the Most Exalted Pen has lamented, and with it all that has been and all that will be. Everything you have committed goes back and ultimately leads to the pen of the first to turn away from God, the One, the Unique, the King, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

465

و ان حقيقة قلمه قد فرّ عنه و حضر بين يدى اللّه و ضجّ بضجيج بكى عليه كلّ ما وقع عليه اسم شیء و ناح بين يدى ربّه ثمّ اشتكى من صاحبه ان انت من الّذينهم يعرفون حقيقت قلم معرض باللّه در يومى از ایّام بين يدى العرش حاضر و نوحه نمود بنوحه كه اهل ملأ اعلى بر حال او گريستند و عجب است كه شما ناله و حنين كلّ شیء را در آن حين نشنيده‌ايد و اصغا ننموده‌ايد و از آن يوم الى حين جميع مقدّسين و مقرّبين ثمّ حقايق كلّ شیء بنوحه و ندبه و جزع مشغولند در اينمقام لازم شد كه مناجات او را كه بين يدى العرش نموده ذكر نمايم لعلّ نفوس مستعدّه از ناله آنمظلوم بمظلوميّت محبوب امكان پى‌برند كه بر آن جمال اقدس چه وارد شده از ظلم ظالمان فئه بيان و هذا ما ناجى به القلم ربّه و ربّ كلّ شیء و ربّ العالمين

Wa-inna ḥaqīqata qalamihi qad farra ʿanhu wa-ḥaḍara bayna yaday Allāh wa-ḍajja bi-ḍajījin bakā ʿalayhi kullu mā waqaʿa ʿalayhi ismu shayʾ wa-nāḥa bayna yaday rabbihi thumma ishtakā min ṣāḥibihi in anta min alladhīna hum yaʿrifūn. Ḥaqīqat-i qalam-i muʿriḍ bi-Allāh dar yawmī az ayyām bayna yaday al-ʿarsh ḥāḍir va nawḥih namūd bi-nawḥih kih ahl-i malaʾ-i aʿlā bar ḥāl-i ū girīstand va ʿajab ast kih shumā nālih va ḥanīn-i kull-i shayʾ rā dar ān ḥīn nashinīdih-īd va iṣghā nanamūdih-īd va az ān yawm ilā ḥīn jamīʿ-i muqaddasīn va muqarrabīn thumma ḥaqāyiq-i kull-i shayʾ bi-nawḥih va nudbih va jazaʿ mashghūland. Dar īn maqām lāzim shud kih munājāt-i ū rā kih bayna yaday al-ʿarsh namūdih dhikr namāyam laʿalla nufūs-i mustaʿiddih az nālih-yi ān maẓlūm bi-maẓlūmiyyat-i Maḥbūb-i imkān pay barand kih bar ān Jamāl-i Aqdas chih vārid shudih az ẓulm-i ẓālimān-i fiʾih-yi Bayān. Wa-hādhā mā nājā bihi al-qalamu rabbahu wa-rabba kulli shayʾin wa-rabba al-ʿālamīn.

Indeed, the reality of his pen has fled from him and appeared before God, crying out with such a cry that everything bearing the name of a thing wept over it. It lamented before its Lord and then complained of its owner, if you are among those who understand. One day, the reality of the pen of the one who has turned away from God appeared before the Throne and lamented with such a lament that the inhabitants of the celestial assembly wept over its plight. It is astonishing that you did not hear or heed the lamentation and plaintive cries of all things at that moment. From that day until now, all the sanctified ones and those brought near, and indeed the realities of all things, have been occupied with lamentation, mourning, and anguish. Here it has become necessary for me to recount the prayer it offered before the Throne, so that receptive souls may, from the lament of that wronged one, perceive the wrongs suffered by the Beloved of all creation—what has befallen that Most Holy Beauty through the oppression of the oppressors among the people of the Bayān. This is how the Pen addressed its Lord, the Lord of all things and the Lord of the worlds:

466

سبحانك اللّهمّ يا الهى و محبوبی‌ انت الّذى بأمرك ارتفع صرير قلم الأعلی بين الأرض و السّمآء و به قضيت على الألواح ما قضيت بعلمك المحفوظ و بأمرك المحتوم و بما اثبتت به على اللّوح تظهر فى الابداع ما قدّر بمشيّتك و قضى بارادتك اذاً يا الهى اسمع ندآء هذا القلم الّذى بعد عن شاطى قربك و لقائك و ابتلى بين انامل احد من اشقيآء خلقك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ اكون خائفاً من سطوة قهرك و شئونات انتقامك اذاً تشهد اضطراب نفسى و تزلزل فؤادى و تبلبل جسدى بما جعلتنى مقهورا بأنامل هذا المشرك الّذى ما استنشق روايح الانصاف من رضوان عدلك و مواهبك و ما وجد نفحات الطّيب من قميص فضلك و الطافك

Subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī wa-maḥbūbī anta alladhī bi-amrika irtafaʿa ṣarīru Qalami al-Aʿlā bayna al-arḍ wa-al-samāʾ wa-bihi qaḍayta ʿalā al-alwāḥ mā qaḍayta bi-ʿilmika al-maḥfūẓ wa-bi-amrika al-maḥtūm wa-bi-mā athbatta bihi ʿalā al-lawḥ tuẓhiru fī al-ibdāʿ mā quddira bi-mashīʾatika wa-quḍiya bi-irādatika. Idhan yā ilāhī ismaʿ nidāʾa hādhā al-qalam alladhī baʿuda ʿan shāṭiʾi qurbika wa-liqāʾika wa-ibtuliya bayna anāmili aḥadin min ashqiyāʾi khalqika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī akūnu khāʾifan min saṭwati qahrika wa-shuʾūni intiqāmika. Idhan tashhadu iḍṭirāba nafsī wa-tazalzula fuʾādī wa-tabalbula jasadī bi-mā jaʿaltanī maqhūran bi-anāmili hādhā al-mushrik alladhī mā istanshaqa rawāʾiḥa al-inṣāf min Riḍwāni ʿadlika wa-mawāhibika wa-mā wajada nafaḥāti al-ṭīb min qamīṣi faḍlika wa-alṭāfika.

“Glory be to you, O God, my God and my Beloved! You are the One at whose command the sound of the Most Exalted Pen rose between earth and heaven. Through it you decreed upon the Tablets what you decreed through your guarded knowledge and your irrevocable command; and through what you inscribed with it upon the Tablet, you bring forth in creation what was ordained by your will and decreed by your purpose. Now, my God, hear the cry of this pen, which has become far removed from the shore of nearness to you and meeting with you, and has been afflicted between the fingers of one of the most wretched of your creatures. By your might, my Beloved, I am afraid of the force of your wrath and the manifestations of your vengeance. You now witness the agitation of my soul, the trembling of my heart, and the turmoil of my body, because you have placed me in subjection to the fingers of this one who associates partners with you, who has not inhaled the fragrances of fairness from the paradise of your justice and your gifts, nor sensed the sweet breezes from the garment of your grace and your loving-kindness.

467

اذاً يا الهى فو‌عزّتك لو تأمرنى لاشقّ بطنه من قدرة الّتى قدرت فى سرّى لعلّ بذلك تستريح نفسى و يسكن فؤادى لانّه استعان منّى فى هتك حجاب عزّتك و حرمتك و ارتكب ما احترقت به افئدة اصفيائك فى خبآء مجدك و قلوب امنائك فى غرفات عزّ تقديسك و خيام قدس تجريدك اسئلك يا محبوبی‌ بسلطانك ثمّ باسمك و ظهورك و كبريائك بانّك ان لا تأمرنى بما دعوتك به خلّصنى عن هذا الخبيث و انامله

Idhan yā ilāhī fa-wa-ʿizzatika law taʾmurunī la-ashuqqanna baṭnahu min qudrati allatī quddirat fī sirrī laʿalla bi-dhālika tastarīḥu nafsī wa-yaskunu fuʾādī li-annahu istaʿāna minnī fī hatki ḥijābi ʿizzatika wa-ḥurmatika wa-irtakaba mā iḥtaraqat bihi afʾidatu aṣfiyāʾika fī khibāʾi majdika wa-qulūbu umanāʾika fī ghurufāti ʿizzi taqdīsika wa-khiyāmi qudsi tajrīdika. Asʾaluka yā maḥbūbī bi-sulṭānika thumma bi-ismika wa-ẓuhūrika wa-kibriyāʾika bi-annaka in lā taʾmuranī bi-mā daʿawtuka bihi khalliṣnī ʿan hādhā al-khabīth wa-anāmilihi.

“Now, my God, by your might, if you command me, I will assuredly tear open his belly through the power ordained within my inmost being, so that my soul may perhaps find rest and my heart be still. For he has enlisted my aid in rending the veil of your majesty and sanctity, and has committed that which has burned the hearts of your chosen ones within the pavilion of your glory, and the hearts of your trusted ones in the chambers of your sanctified might and the tents of your holy detachment. I ask you, my Beloved, by your sovereignty, and by your name, your manifestation, and your grandeur: if you do not command me to do what I have asked of you, deliver me from this wicked one and his fingers.

468

فآه آه يا محبوبی‌ انت خلقتنى لذكرك و ثنآء نفسك و انّى صرت محروماً عمّا خلقت له و ظهر منّى ما شقّ به ستر العظمة و الكبرياء و تغيّرت وجوه اهل ملأ الأعلی و انعدمت حقايق من فى ملكوت الأسماء و تزلزلت اركان مداين البقآء فكيف يا الهى ارفع رأسى بين الاقلام لخجلة الّتى به ناكس رأسى فى محضر المقرّبين عند ظهورات انوار جمالك و مقعد الموحّدين على فنآء باب عظمتك فوعزّتك لو تلبسنى رداء الغفران و تهبّ علىّ من شطر عنايتك نفحات اسمك الرّحمن و تغمسنى فى ابحر عطوفتك و الطافك و تغفرنى عمّا ارتكبت فى ایّامك فو‌عزّتك لن يسكن فؤادى و لن تطمئن نفسى هبنى يا محبوبی‌ بأنّك بفضلك وعنايتك طهّرتنى عن العصيان فكيف يذهب منّى روايح خجلة الّتى تهبّ من نفسى على نفسى فى كلّ الأحيان و جعلنى محروماً عن نفحات رضوان الّذى جعلته فوق الجنان

Fa-āh āh yā maḥbūbī anta khalaqtanī li-dhikrika wa-thanāʾi nafsika wa-innī ṣirtu maḥrūman ʿammā khuliqtu lahu wa-ẓahara minnī mā shuqqa bihi sitru al-ʿaẓama wa-al-kibriyāʾ wa-taghayyarat wujūhu ahli malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-inʿadamat ḥaqāʾiqu man fī malakūt al-asmāʾ wa-tazalzalat arkānu madāʾini al-baqāʾ. Fa-kayfa yā ilāhī arfaʿu raʾsī bayna al-aqlām li-khajlati allatī bihi nākisu raʾsī fī maḥḍari al-muqarrabīn ʿinda ẓuhūrāti anwāri jamālika wa-maqʿadi al-muwaḥḥidīn ʿalā fināʾi bābi ʿaẓamatika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika law tulbisunī ridāʾa al-ghufrān wa-tahubbu ʿalayya min shaṭri ʿināyatika nafaḥātu ismika al-Raḥmān wa-taghmisunī fī abḥuri ʿuṭūfatika wa-alṭāfika wa-taghfirunī ʿammā irtakabtu fī ayyāmika fa-wa-ʿizzatika lan yaskuna fuʾādī wa-lan taṭmaʾinna nafsī. Habnī yā maḥbūbī bi-annaka bi-faḍlika wa-ʿināyatika ṭahhartanī ʿan al-ʿiṣyān fa-kayfa yadhhabu minnī rawāʾiḥu khajlati allatī tahubbu min nafsī ʿalā nafsī fī kulli al-aḥyān wa-jaʿalanī maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāti Riḍwān alladhī jaʿaltahu fawqa al-jinān.

“Alas, alas, my Beloved! You created me to remember you and praise your very self, yet I have been deprived of that for which I was created. From me has proceeded that which has torn the veil of majesty and grandeur, changed the faces of the inhabitants of the celestial assembly, reduced to nothing the realities of those in the kingdom of names, and shaken the foundations of the cities of eternity. How, then, my God, can I raise my head among the pens, because of the shame that makes me bow my head in the presence of those brought near, at the manifestations of the lights of your beauty, and in the gathering of those who affirm your oneness in the court of the gate of your majesty? By your might, even if you clothe me in the robe of forgiveness, the breezes of your name, the All-Merciful, blow upon me from the direction of your loving care, you immerse me in the oceans of your tenderness and loving-kindness, and you forgive me for what I have committed in your days—by your might, my heart will not be still and my soul will not find peace. Suppose, my Beloved, that through your grace and loving care you have cleansed me of disobedience: how can the odors of shame leave me, when they blow from my own self upon my own self at every moment and have deprived me of the breezes of the Paradise you have placed above all gardens?

469

و انّك يا الهى و مالكى لو تجاوزت عنّى بحلمك و غفرت لى خطيئتى بفضلك و كرمك كيف ارفع رأسى تلقآء مدين عزّك و لقائك فو‌عزّتك قد بلغت فى الذّلّة الى مقام لو تنظر الىّ بلحظات رأفتك لتبكى بنفسك على هذا المسكين الّذى صار مأيوساً عن نفسه و عن كلّ الجهات بما جعل محروماً من بوارق انوار جمالك الّتى اشرقت عن افق سماء عزّك و مشيّتك فآه آه عن يأسى فى هذا اليوم الّذى فتحت فيه ابواب وصلك لمن فى ارضك و سمائك و دعوت الكلّ الى مقرّ قربك و لقائك فآه آه عمّا قدّر لى فى الواح قضائك و محوت به حظّى و لذيذ مناجاتى عند مشاهدة انوار وجهك فيا ليت كنت محروماً عن كلّ ما قدّرته لخير بريّتك و ما عاشرت مع الّذين ما عرفوك و ما سجدوك و ظهر منهم باعانتى ما احترقت عنه قلوب امنائك و اصفيائك

Wa-innaka yā ilāhī wa-mālikī law tajāwazta ʿannī bi-ḥilmika wa-ghafarta lī khaṭīʾatī bi-faḍlika wa-karamika kayfa arfaʿu raʾsī tilqāʾa madīni ʿizzika wa-liqāʾika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika qad balaghtu fī al-dhilla ilā maqāmin law tanẓuru ilayya bi-laḥaẓāti raʾfatika la-tabkī bi-nafsika ʿalā hādhā al-miskīn alladhī ṣāra maʾyūsan ʿan nafsihi wa-ʿan kulli al-jihāt bi-mā juʿila maḥrūman min bawāriqi anwāri jamālika allatī ashraqat ʿan ufuqi samāʾi ʿizzika wa-mashīʾatika. Fa-āh āh ʿan yaʾsī fī hādhā al-yawm alladhī fataḥta fīhi abwāba waṣlika li-man fī arḍika wa-samāʾika wa-daʿawta al-kulla ilā maqarri qurbika wa-liqāʾika. Fa-āh āh ʿammā quddira lī fī alwāḥi qaḍāʾika wa-maḥawta bihi ḥaẓẓī wa-ladhīdha munājātī ʿinda mushāhadati anwāri wajhika. Fa-yā layta kuntu maḥrūman ʿan kulli mā qaddartahu li-khayri bariyyatika wa-mā ʿāshartu maʿa alladhīna mā ʿarafūka wa-mā sajadūka wa-ẓahara minhum bi-iʿānatī mā iḥtaraqat ʿanhu qulūbu umanāʾika wa-aṣfiyāʾika.

“Even if you, my God and my Master, pardon me through your forbearance and forgive my sin through your grace and generosity, how can I raise my head before the city of your might and your presence? By your might, I have reached such a degree of abasement that, if you looked upon me with the glances of your compassion, you yourself would weep over this wretched one, who has lost hope in himself and in every direction because he has been deprived of the flashing lights of your beauty that shone from the horizon of the heaven of your might and your will. Alas, alas for my despair on this day when you have opened the gates of union with you to those in your earth and your heaven, and called everyone to the seat of nearness to you and meeting with you! Alas, alas for what has been ordained for me in the tablets of your decree, through which you have effaced my portion and the sweetness of my communion with you while beholding the lights of your face! If only I had been deprived of all that you ordained for the good of your creatures and had not associated with those who neither knew you nor bowed down before you, and from whom, with my assistance, proceeded that which burned the hearts of your trusted and chosen ones!

470

و لو اقول هذا ورد علىّ بما كنت مستحقّاً به فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ لم اجد لنفسى استقراراً عند هبوب ارياح قضائك و لا لكينونتى وجودا تلقآء مدين سلطان قدرتك و اقتدارك و لا لى ذكر عند ظهورات عزّ وحدانيّتك و الّذى لم يكن له وجود تلقآء ظهورك و قدرتك كيف يقدر ان يتحرّك بغير اذنك و ارادتك

Wa-law aqūlu hādhā warada ʿalayya bi-mā kuntu mustaḥiqqan bihi fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī lam ajid li-nafsī istiqrāran ʿinda hubūbi aryāḥi qaḍāʾika wa-lā li-kaynūnatī wujūdan tilqāʾa madīni sulṭāni qudratika wa-iqtidārika wa-lā lī dhikran ʿinda ẓuhūrāti ʿizzi waḥdāniyyatika wa-alladhī lam yakun lahu wujūdun tilqāʾa ẓuhūrika wa-qudratika kayfa yaqdiru an yataḥarraka bi-ghayri idhnika wa-irādatika.

“If I say that this has befallen me because I deserved it—by your might, my Beloved, I have found no stability for myself when the winds of your decree blow, no existence for my being before the city of the sovereignty of your power and might, and no mention of myself at the manifestations of the glory of your oneness. How can one who has no existence before your manifestation and your power move without your permission and your will?

471

و لو اقول انّك ابتليتنى بذلك من غير استحقاقى هذا بغى منّى عليك لانّى ما اطّلعت باسرار امرك و شئونات حكمتك و قضائك و بذلك صرت متحيّراً فى امرى و لن يرتقى عرفانى الى سموات حكمتك الّتى جعلتها مستوراً عن انظر خلقك و بريّتك و لن يطير طير علمى الى هوآء علمك الّذى جعلته مكنوناً فى كنائز عصمتك و بذلك يزيد اضطرابی‌ و يشتدّ حزنى و بأسى و ابتلائى

Wa-law aqūlu innaka ibtalaytanī bi-dhālika min ghayri istiḥqāqī hādhā baghyun minnī ʿalayka li-annī mā iṭṭalaʿtu bi-asrāri amrika wa-shuʾūni ḥikmatika wa-qaḍāʾika wa-bi-dhālika ṣirtu mutaḥayyiran fī amrī wa-lan yartaqiya ʿirfānī ilā samāwāti ḥikmatika allatī jaʿaltahā mastūran ʿan anẓar khalqika wa-bariyyatika wa-lan yaṭīra ṭayru ʿilmī ilā hawāʾi ʿilmika alladhī jaʿaltahu maknūnan fī kanāʾizi ʿiṣmatika wa-bi-dhālika yazīdu iḍṭirābī wa-yashtaddu ḥuznī wa-baʾsī wa-ibtilāʾī.

“And if I say that you have afflicted me with this without my deserving it, this would be an act of rebellion on my part against you, for I have not learned the mysteries of your Cause or the workings of your wisdom and decree. Thus I have become bewildered about my plight. My understanding will never ascend to the heavens of your wisdom, which you have concealed from the sight of your creatures and your creation, nor will the bird of my knowledge fly into the atmosphere of your knowledge, which you have hidden in the treasuries of your infallibility. Thus my agitation increases, and my sorrow, distress, and affliction grow more severe.

472

فآه آه يا محبوبی‌ كيف اذكر ما اشاهد من ظهورات فعلك و شئونات امرك مرّة اشاهد بانّك اخذت قلم الّذى كان مثلى بأنامل رحمتك و جعلته معاشر نفسك و مؤانس جمالك و تأخذه باصابع عزّك و كبريائك و تجرى منه بحور الحيوان الّتى بقطرة منها بعثت حقايق الامكان و افئدة اهل الاكوان و من صريره استجذبت قلوب المقرّبين و افئدة المخلصين و مرّة اشاهد بأنّك ابتليتنى بأنامل المشركين و جعلتنى مقهورا تحت اصابعهم و ظهر منّى ما اضطربت منه افئدة ملأ الأعلی ثمّ سكّان مداين البقآء و تشبّكت اكباد الّذين كرّمت وجوههم عن التّوجّه الى غيرك و قدّستهم عن اشارات اهل ارضك و استقربتهم فى ظلّ عنايتك و افضالك فو‌عزّتك اخاف بأنّ من عصيانى يتوقّف قلم امرك و يعطّل الواح قضائك و صحايف تقديرك فيا ليت ما كنت موجودا و ما كنت مذكورا

Fa-āh āh yā maḥbūbī, kayfa adhkuru mā ushāhidu min ẓuhūrāti fiʿlika wa-shuʾūnāti amrika? Marratan ushāhidu bi-annaka akhadhta qalama alladhī kāna mithlī bi-anāmili raḥmatika wa-jaʿaltahu muʿāshira nafsika wa-muʾānisa jamālika wa-taʾkhudhuhu bi-aṣābiʿi ʿizzika wa-kibriyāʾika wa-tujrī minhu buḥūra al-ḥayawāni allatī bi-qaṭratin minhā baʿathta ḥaqāʾiqa al-imkāni wa-afʾidata ahli al-akwāni wa-min ṣarīrihi istajdhabta qulūba al-muqarrabīna wa-afʾidata al-mukhliṣīna, wa-marratan ushāhidu bi-annaka ibtalaytanī bi-anāmili al-mushrikīna wa-jaʿaltanī maqhūran taḥta aṣābiʿihim wa-ẓahara minnī mā iḍṭarabat minhu afʾidatu malaʾi al-aʿlā thumma sukkāni madāʾini al-baqāʾi wa-tashabbakat akbādu alladhīna karramta wujūhahum ʿani al-tawajjuhi ilā ghayrika wa-qaddastahum ʿan ishārāti ahli arḍika wa-istaqrabtahum fī ẓilli ʿināyatika wa-ifḍālika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika akhāfu bi-anna min ʿiṣyānī yatawaqqafu qalamu amrika wa-yuʿaṭṭalu alwāḥu qaḍāʾika wa-ṣaḥāʾifu taqdīrika. Fa-yā layta mā kuntu mawjūdan wa-mā kuntu madhkūran.

Ah, ah, my Beloved! How can I recount what I witness of the manifestations of your action and the workings of your Cause? At one time I see that you have taken a pen like me in the fingers of your mercy and made it a companion to your own self and an intimate of your beauty. You take it in the fingers of your might and majesty and cause oceans of life to flow from it, with a drop of which you have quickened the realities of contingent existence and the hearts of the inhabitants of all worlds. Through its scratching you have drawn to yourself the hearts of those brought near and the souls of the sincere. At another time I see that you have afflicted me with the fingers of those who associate partners with you and made me powerless beneath their fingers. From me has appeared that which has troubled the hearts of the Concourse on high and the inhabitants of the cities of eternity, and has entangled the inmost hearts of those whose faces you have honored by turning them away from all but you, whom you have sanctified from the allusions of the people of your earth, and whom you have drawn near beneath the shadow of your care and bounty. By your might, I fear that my disobedience will bring the Pen of your Cause to a halt and leave the tablets of your decree and the pages of your ordainment idle. If only I had not existed and had never been mentioned!

473

فو‌عزّتك يا الهى لن اجد لنفسى وجودا بعد ذلك و ان لا ترجعنى الى العدم فاحكم بينى و بين هذا الظّالم الّذى من فعله تغيّر وجهى بين المخلصين من بريّتك و المقرّبين من احبّتك و انّى فى تلك السّاعة يا الهى قد هربت منه اليك و جئتك بضجيج الفاقدين و صيحة العاصين و نوح الخاطئين اذا فاحكم بينى و بينه بسلطان قضائك و مليك عدلك و اقتدارك هل من حاكم يا محبوبی‌ دونك لالتجآء به و افرّ اليه لا فو‌عزّتك لا مهرب الّا انت و لا مفرّ الّا اليك

Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā ilāhī lan ajida li-nafsī wujūdan baʿda dhālika wa-in lā turjiʿnī ilā al-ʿadami fa-uḥkum baynī wa-bayna hādhā al-ẓālimi alladhī min fiʿlihi taghayyara wajhī bayna al-mukhliṣīna min bariyyatika wa-al-muqarrabīna min aḥibbatika. Wa-innī fī tilka al-sāʿati yā ilāhī qad harabtu minhu ilayka wa-jiʾtuka bi-ḍajīji al-fāqidīna wa-ṣayḥati al-ʿāṣīna wa-nawḥi al-khāṭiʾīna. Idhan fa-uḥkum baynī wa-baynahu bi-sulṭāni qaḍāʾika wa-malīki ʿadlika wa-iqtidārika. Hal min ḥākimin yā maḥbūbī dūnaka li-altajiʾa bihi wa-afirra ilayhi? Lā fa-wa-ʿizzatika lā mahraba illā anta wa-lā mafarra illā ilayka.

By your might, my God, I will find no existence for myself after this. If you do not return me to nonexistence, then judge between me and this oppressor, whose action has altered my face among the sincere among your creatures and those of your loved ones who have been brought near. At that very hour, my God, I fled from him to you and came to you with the clamor of the bereaved, the cry of the disobedient, and the lamentation of sinners. Judge, then, between me and him by the sovereignty of your decree and the dominion of your justice and power. Is there any judge besides you, my Beloved, with whom I may seek refuge and to whom I may flee? No, by your might! There is no refuge but you and nowhere to flee except to you.

474

و انّ هذا مظلوم قد وقف تلقآء مدين عدلك و رحمتك و انّ هذا فقير قد تشبّث بذيل غنائك و انّ هذا محروم قد استظلّ فى ظلّ حرم قدسك و الطافك اسئلك باسمك الّذى به كسّرت اصنام الوهم و الهوى و زيّنت المقرّبين بخلع عرفانك و غفرانك و نزعت عن المشركين رداء اسمائك و الطافك بأن تنزل من سحاب قدرتك و سمآء فضلك ما يسكن به قلبی‌ و تطمئن به نفسى

Wa-inna hādhā maẓlūmun qad waqafa tilqāʾa madīni ʿadlika wa-raḥmatika wa-inna hādhā faqīrun qad tashabbatha bi-dhayli ghināʾika wa-inna hādhā maḥrūmun qad istaẓalla fī ẓilli ḥarami qudsika wa-alṭāfika. Asʾaluka bi-ismika alladhī bihi kassarta aṣnāma al-wahmi wa-al-hawā wa-zayyanta al-muqarrabīna bi-khilaʿi ʿirfānika wa-ghufrānika wa-nazaʿta ʿani al-mushrikīna ridāʾa asmāʾika wa-alṭāfika bi-an tunzila min saḥābi qudratika wa-samāʾi faḍlika mā yaskunu bihi qalbī wa-taṭmaʾinnu bihi nafsī.

This is a wronged one who has stood before the city of your justice and mercy; this is a poor one who has clung to the hem of your wealth; this is a deprived one who has sought shelter in the shadow of the sanctuary of your holiness and kindness. I ask you by your name through which you shattered the idols of illusion and desire, adorned those brought near with the robes of your recognition and forgiveness, and stripped from those who associate partners with you the mantle of your names and kindness, to send down from the clouds of your power and the heaven of your grace that which will calm my heart and bring peace to my soul.

475

فآه آه يا محبوبی‌ اذا قد اخذنى الاضطراب و الاضطرار عند استقرار عرش اسمك المختار لأنّك لو تعذّب ظالم الّذى ظلمنى بدوام ملكك و ملكوتك لن تفرح بذلك نفسى و لن يذهب وحشتى و لن يسكن اضطرابی‌ و اضطرارى لانّ وجهى يا الهى اصفرّ من خجلتى بما ظهر منّى و هذه من رايحة الّتى لن يذهب منّى و لو يهبّ علىّ عن يمين عنايتك ارياح غفرانك بدوام عزّ احديّتك اذا هل ترى يا محبوبی‌ خاسراً اخسر منّى او ذليلاً اذلّ عنّى

Fa-āh āh yā maḥbūbī, idhan qad akhadhanī al-iḍṭirābu wa-al-iḍṭirāru ʿinda istiqrāri ʿarshi ismika al-Mukhtāri li-annaka law tuʿadhdhibu ẓālima alladhī ẓalamanī bi-dawāmi mulkika wa-malakūtika lan tafraḥa bi-dhālika nafsī wa-lan yadhhaba waḥshatī wa-lan yaskuna iḍṭirābī wa-iḍṭirārī li-anna wajhī yā ilāhī iṣfarra min khajlatī bi-mā ẓahara minnī wa-hādhihi min rāʾiḥati allatī lan yadhhaba minnī wa-law yahubbu ʿalayya ʿan yamīni ʿināyatika aryāḥu ghufrānika bi-dawāmi ʿizzi aḥadiyyatika. Idhan hal tarā yā maḥbūbī khāsiran akhsara minnī aw dhalīlan adhalla ʿannī?

Ah, ah, my Beloved! Agitation and distress have seized me while the throne of your name, the Unconstrained, stands firm. Even if you were to torment the oppressor who wronged me for as long as your sovereignty and kingdom endure, my soul would not rejoice at it, my desolation would not depart, and my agitation and distress would not be stilled. For my face, my God, has grown pale with shame at what has proceeded from me. This is a scent that will never leave me, even if the winds of your forgiveness blow upon me from the right hand of your care for as long as the glory of your oneness endures. Do you see, then, my Beloved, anyone more bereft than I, or anyone more abased?

476

و انّى قد كنت يا الهى فى كلّ الأیّام مشتاقاً لوصالك بحيث نمت فى اللّيالى رجآء للقائك و ما ارفعت رأسى فى الاصباح الّا شوقاً لحضرتك و كنت فى تلك الحالة الى ان حركت ارياح قضائك عن يمين ارادتك و ظهرت ظهورات تقديرك عن افق قضائك و انصرفنى عن شطرك الى شطر اعدائك فاه آه من هذا الهبوب فآه آه من هذا المرور فآه آه من هذه المرسلات الّتى اخذتنى بقدرتك و اودعتنى فى محضر المشركين بنفسك و المعاندين بجمالك فيا ليت كانوا قانعاً بما ارتكبوا فى ایّامك و وردوا على نفسك لا فو‌عزّتك اولئك لن يستريحوا الّا بان يسفكوا دمك بين بريّتك و يأكلوا لحمك بانياب البغضآء فى ملكوت الانشآء هؤلآء الأشقیآء الّذين يفرّ الفرعون من كبرهم و غرورهم و يهرب النّمرود من طغيانهم و بغيهم و يستعيذ الشّيطان بك من شرّهم و غلّهم

Wa-innī qad kuntu yā ilāhī fī kulli al-ayyāmi mushtāqan li-wiṣālika bi-ḥaythu nimtu fī al-layālī rajāʾan li-liqāʾika wa-mā arfaʿtu raʾsī fī al-iṣbāḥi illā shawqan li-ḥaḍratika wa-kuntu fī tilka al-ḥālati ilā an ḥarakat aryāḥu qaḍāʾika ʿan yamīni irādatika wa-ẓaharat ẓuhūrātu taqdīrika ʿan ufuqi qaḍāʾika wa-inṣarafanī ʿan shaṭrika ilā shaṭri aʿdāʾika. Fa-āh āh min hādhā al-hubūbi fa-āh āh min hādhā al-murūri fa-āh āh min hādhihi al-mursalāti allatī akhadhatnī bi-qudratika wa-awdaʿatnī fī maḥḍari al-mushrikīna bi-nafsika wa-al-muʿānidīna bi-jamālika. Fa-yā layta kānū qāniʿan bi-mā irtakabū fī ayyāmika wa-waradū ʿalā nafsika. Lā fa-wa-ʿizzatika ulāʾika lan yastarīḥū illā bi-an yasfikū damaka bayna bariyyatika wa-yaʾkulū laḥmaka bi-anyābi al-baghḍāʾi fī malakūti al-inshāʾi. Hāʾulāʾi al-ashqiyāʾu alladhīna yafirru al-firʿawnu min kibrihim wa-ghurūrihim wa-yahrubu al-nimrūdu min ṭughyānihim wa-baghyihim wa-yastaʿīdhu al-shayṭānu bika min sharrihim wa-ghillihim.

Throughout all these days, my God, I longed for reunion with you, so that I slept at night in the hope of meeting you and raised my head in the morning only out of longing for your presence. I remained in that state until the winds of your decree stirred from the right hand of your will, the manifestations of your ordainment appeared from the horizon of your decree, and I was turned away from you toward your enemies. Ah, ah, for this blowing! Ah, ah, for this passing! Ah, ah, for these winds sent forth, which seized me through your power and left me in the presence of those who associate partners with your own self and oppose your beauty! If only they had been content with what they committed in your days and inflicted upon your own self! No, by your might! They will find no rest until they shed your blood among your creatures and devour your flesh with the fangs of hatred in the kingdom of creation. These are the wretched ones from whose pride and arrogance Pharaoh flees, from whose tyranny and oppression Nimrod runs away, and from whose evil and malice Satan seeks refuge in you.

477

فآه آه يا محبوبی‌ دعوتك حين الّذى نبتت فى شاطى قدس احديّتك باسمك الرّئوف ثمّ باسمك الرّحمن ثمّ باسمك الرّحيم ثمّ باسمك الغفور ثمّ باسمك العطوف ثمّ باسمك الودود ثمّ باسمك الكافى ثمّ باسمك المعطى و كلّما وجدت نفسى محزوناً بشّرتها بقربك و لقائك و كلما اضطربت سكنتها بذكر ایّام وصالك فلمّا كمل خلقى اذا قلعنى عن مكانى احد من عبادك و نقلت من يد الى يد و من سوق الى سوق الى ان وردت فى سوق الّذى انت عالم به بعلمك الّذى احاط كلّ شیء اذا اشترانى احد من خلقك و بريّتك و لكن يا الهى و محبوبی‌ فو‌عزّتك لما اخذنى بيده رأيت بأنّه غافل عن ذلك و كنت فى ذلك متحيّراً فى نفسى لان هذا الضّجيج ظهر منّى من دون اختيار

Fa-āh āh yā maḥbūbī, daʿawtuka ḥīna alladhī nabattu fī shāṭiʾi qudsi aḥadiyyatika bi-ismika al-Raʾūfi thumma bi-ismika al-Raḥmāni thumma bi-ismika al-Raḥīmi thumma bi-ismika al-Ghafūri thumma bi-ismika al-ʿAṭūfi thumma bi-ismika al-Wadūdi thumma bi-ismika al-Kāfī thumma bi-ismika al-Muʿṭī wa-kullamā wajadtu nafsī maḥzūnan bashshartuhā bi-qurbika wa-liqāʾika wa-kullamā iḍṭarabat sakkantuhā bi-dhikri ayyāmi wiṣālika. Fa-lammā kamula khalqī idhā qalaʿanī ʿan makānī aḥadun min ʿibādika wa-nuqiltu min yadin ilā yadin wa-min sūqin ilā sūqin ilā an waradtu fī sūqi alladhī anta ʿālimun bihi bi-ʿilmika alladhī aḥāṭa kulla shayʾin. Idhan ishtarānī aḥadun min khalqika wa-bariyyatika wa-lākin yā ilāhī wa-maḥbūbī fa-wa-ʿizzatika lammā akhadhanī bi-yadihi raʾaytu bi-annahu ghāfilun ʿan dhālika wa-kuntu fī dhālika mutaḥayyiran fī nafsī li-anna hādhā al-ḍajīja ẓahara minnī min dūni ikhtiyārin.

Ah, ah, my Beloved! When I sprouted on the shore of the holiness of your oneness, I called upon you by your name, the Compassionate, then by your name, the All-Merciful, then by your name, the Merciful, then by your name, the All-Forgiving, then by your name, the Tenderhearted, then by your name, the All-Loving, then by your name, the All-Sufficing, then by your name, the Bestower. Whenever I found my soul sorrowful, I cheered it with the glad news of nearness to you and of meeting you, and whenever it grew agitated, I calmed it by recalling the days of reunion with you. When my growth was complete, one of your servants uprooted me from my place, and I was passed from hand to hand and from market to market until I reached the market known to you through your knowledge, which encompasses all things. Then one of your creatures and created beings bought me. But, my God and my Beloved, by your might, when he took me in his hand, I saw that he was unaware of this. I was bewildered within myself at this, for this clamor arose from me involuntarily.

478

و كنت فى سرّ السّرّ دعوتك بندآء المشتاقين و صريخ الأملين بأن تكشف لى سرّ ذلك و ما سترته عنّى بحجبات تقديرك و سبحات قضائك الى ان حملنى الى ارض الّتى استويت فيها على عرش مظلوميّتك وجدت رايحة القميص من ترابها و نفحات التّقديس من هوائها و اخذنى الابتهاج و السّرور على شأن رأيت نفسى على معارج العزّة و الاجلال كانى صرت مالكا على اعلى ملوك ممالك البقآء و سلطانا على من فى ملكوت الانشآء

Wa-kuntu fī sirri al-sirri daʿawtuka bi-nidāʾi al-mushtāqīna wa-ṣarīkhi al-āmilīna bi-an takshifa lī sirra dhālika wa-mā satartahu ʿannī bi-ḥujubāti taqdīrika wa-subuḥāti qaḍāʾika ilā an ḥamalanī ilā arḍi allatī istawayta fīhā ʿalā ʿarshi maẓlūmiyyatika. Wajadtu rāʾiḥata al-qamīṣi min turābihā wa-nafaḥāti al-taqdīsi min hawāʾihā wa-akhadhanī al-ibtihāju wa-al-surūru ʿalā shaʾnin raʾaytu nafsī ʿalā maʿāriji al-ʿizzati wa-al-ijlāli ka-annī ṣirtu mālikan ʿalā aʿlā mulūki mamāliki al-baqāʾi wa-sulṭānan ʿalā man fī malakūti al-inshāʾi.

In the innermost secrecy I called upon you with the call of those who yearn and the cry of those who hope, asking you to disclose to me the secret of this and what you had concealed from me behind the veils of your ordainment and the splendors of your decree, until he carried me to the land where you were established upon the throne of your wronged condition. I perceived the fragrance of the shirt from its dust and the breaths of holiness from its air. Joy and gladness so seized me that I saw myself upon the heights of might and majesty, as though I had become ruler over the highest kings of the realms of eternity and sovereign over all who dwell in the kingdom of creation.

479

و كنت فى تلك الحالة الى ان بلغ حاملى الى سبيل انشعب منه السّبيلان سبيل الى اليمين و سبيل الى اليسار و انّه انحرف من اليمين الى الشّمال فآ آه اذاً وجدت فى نفسى الاضطراب و فزعت و فزع كلّ‌شیء من فزعى الى ان بلغنى الى باب لما فتح وجدت رايحة الجحيم و نفحات السجّين الّتى لو تهبّ رايحة منها على الممكنات كلّها ترجعن الى عدم البحت و اودعنى بيد هذا الظّالم الّذى قام عليك بالاعراض و ورد منه عليك ما بدلت الأسمآء و ملكوتها و انقطعت الصّفات عن مقاعدها فلمّا اطّلعت به و بما ارتكبت باعانتى ما ارتكب فررت عنه و عن لقائه الى ساحة عزّ احديّتك و مقرّ عرش عظمتك

Wa-kuntu fī tilka al-ḥālati ilā an balagha ḥāmilī ilā sabīlin inshaʿaba minhu al-sabīlāni sabīlun ilā al-yamīni wa-sabīlun ilā al-yasāri wa-innahu inḥarafa min al-yamīni ilā al-shimāli. Fa-ā āh idhan wajadtu fī nafsī al-iḍṭirāba wa-faziʿtu wa-faziʿa kullu shayʾin min fazaʿī ilā an ballaghanī ilā bābin lammā futiḥa wajadtu rāʾiḥata al-jaḥīmi wa-nafaḥāti al-sijjīni allatī law tahubbu rāʾiḥatun minhā ʿalā al-mumkināti kullihā tarjʿanna ilā ʿadami al-baḥti wa-awdaʿanī bi-yadi hādhā al-ẓālimi alladhī qāma ʿalayka bi-al-iʿrāḍi wa-warada minhu ʿalayka mā baddala al-asmāʾa wa-malakūtahā wa-inqaṭaʿati al-ṣifātu ʿan maqāʿidihā. Fa-lammā iṭṭalaʿtu bihi wa-bi-mā irtakabtu bi-iʿānatī mā irtakaba farartu ʿanhu wa-ʿan liqāʾihi ilā sāḥati ʿizzi aḥadiyyatika wa-maqarri ʿarshi ʿaẓamatika.

I remained in that state until the one carrying me reached a road that branched into two paths, one to the right and one to the left. He turned from the right toward the left. Ah, ah! Then I felt agitation within me and was terrified, and everything was terrified at my terror, until he brought me to a door. When it opened, I perceived the stench of hell and the breaths of the infernal prison, a single breath of which, were it to blow upon all contingent things, would return them to utter nonexistence. He placed me in the hand of this oppressor who rose against you in rejection and inflicted upon you that which changed the names and their kingdom and severed the attributes from their seats. When I became aware of him and of what I had committed by assisting in what he committed, I fled from him and from meeting him to the court of the glory of your oneness and the seat of the throne of your grandeur.

480

اذا فانظر يا الهى الىّ بلحظات عنايتك ثمّ ارتد بصر فضلك الى هذا المظلوم الّذى صار من عمله قانطاً من روحك و عنايتك و مأيوساً عن بدايع فضلك و اكرامك فآهء آه من عظم بلائى و كثرة حيرتى و احتراقى لم ادر ما اطلب من بدايع فضلك لانّ كلّما يبلغ اليه اعلى مشعرى اشاهد بأنّه لايسكن فؤادى و لن يستريح به قلبی‌ اذاً لمّا اجد نفسى فى هذا الحال و تلك الأحوال احبّ بأن افوّض امرى بيدك و فى قبضتك لتقدّر ما هو خير عندك لنفسى و كينونتى و حقيقتى اذا اسئلك يا محبوبی‌ بمظاهر امرك فى تلك الأیّام و مطالع وحيك و مخازن علمك بأن تنزل علىّ ما يستضئ به وجهى بين السّموات و الأرض و انّك انت المقتدر على ما تشآء و انّك انت المقتدر المهيمن العزيز القيّوم

Idhan fa-unẓur yā ilāhī ilayya bi-laḥaẓāti ʿināyatika thumma irtadda baṣara faḍlika ilā hādhā al-maẓlūmi alladhī ṣāra min ʿamalihi qāniṭan min rawḥika wa-ʿināyatika wa-maʾyūsan ʿan badāʾiʿi faḍlika wa-ikrāmika. Fa-āh āh min ʿiẓami balāʾī wa-kathrati ḥayratī wa-iḥtirāqī. Lam adri mā aṭlubu min badāʾiʿi faḍlika li-anna kullamā yablughu ilayhi aʿlā mashʿarī ushāhidu bi-annahu lā yusakkinu fuʾādī wa-lan yastarīḥa bihi qalbī. Idhan lammā ajidu nafsī fī hādhā al-ḥāli wa-tilka al-aḥwāli uḥibbu bi-an ufawwiḍa amrī bi-yadika wa-fī qabḍatika li-tuqaddira mā huwa khayrun ʿindaka li-nafsī wa-kaynūnatī wa-ḥaqīqatī. Idhan asʾaluka yā maḥbūbī bi-maẓāhiri amrika fī tilka al-ayyāmi wa-maṭāliʿi waḥyika wa-makhāzini ʿilmika bi-an tunzila ʿalayya mā yastaḍīʾu bihi wajhī bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi wa-innaka anta al-muqtadiru ʿalā mā tashāʾu wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadiru al-Muhayminu al-ʿAzīzu al-Qayyūmu.

Look upon me, then, my God, with the glances of your care, and turn the gaze of your grace toward this wronged one who, through his own deed, has despaired of your solace and care and lost hope in the wonders of your grace and generosity. Ah, ah, for the greatness of my affliction, the depth of my bewilderment, and my burning anguish! I do not know what to ask of the wonders of your grace, for I see that whatever my highest perception can reach will not calm my soul or bring my heart to rest. Since I find myself in this state and these conditions, I wish to entrust my affair to your hand and into your grasp, so that you may ordain what is best in your sight for my soul, my being, and my reality. I ask you, then, my Beloved, by the manifestations of your Cause in these days, the dawning places of your revelation, and the treasuries of your knowledge, to send down upon me that which will make my face shine amid the heavens and the earth. You have power over whatever you will, and you are the All-Powerful, the All-Subduing, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.

481

اذا يا محبوبی‌ اخذنى الاضطراب مرّةً اخرى من خطيئتى الكبرى يا من بيدك ملكوت الامضا و جبروت القضا و كلما اسكن نفسى و احدثها من رحمتك الّتى سبقت الممكنات و اذكرها بعنايتك الّتى احاطت من فى الأرض و السّمآء و اقول لها اطمئنّى و لاتجزعى انّ محبوبی‌ رحيم و سلطانى كريم و مالكى عطوف و خالقى غفور تظهر منها نار الحسرة و الخجلة و يحترق منها صبرى و صبرها و اصطبارى و اصطبارها و سكونى و سكونها لذا لن ينقطع صريخى بين يديك و لاينتهى ضجيجى تلقآء وجهك فو‌عزّتك اخاف بأن يحزن من حزنى سكّان جبروت سرورك و قبائل ملكوت ابتهاجك اسئلهم بك بأن لايمنعونى عن صريخى و حنينى تلقآء مدين وحدانيّتك لانّ الّذينهم يطوفنّ فى حول عرشك و شربوا كوثر العزّ و الأمال و وجدوا حلاوة القرب و الوصال ينبغى لهم بأن ينظرن الّذى بعد عن ساحة قربك و جعل محروماً من بدايع نعمائك

Idhan yā maḥbūbī akhadhanī al-iḍṭirābu marratan ukhrā min khaṭīʾatī al-kubrā yā man bi-yadika malakūtu al-imḍāʾi wa-jabarūtu al-qaḍāʾi wa-kullamā usakkinu nafsī wa-uḥaddithuhā min raḥmatika allatī sabaqati al-mumkināti wa-udhakkiruhā bi-ʿināyatika allatī aḥāṭat man fī al-arḍi wa-al-samāʾi wa-aqūlu lahā iṭmaʾinnī wa-lā tajzaʿī inna maḥbūbī raḥīmun wa-sulṭānī karīmun wa-mālikī ʿaṭūfun wa-khāliqī ghafūrun taẓharu minhā nāru al-ḥasrati wa-al-khajlati wa-yaḥtariqu minhā ṣabrī wa-ṣabruhā wa-iṣṭibārī wa-iṣṭibāruhā wa-sukūnī wa-sukūnuhā. Li-dhā lan yanqaṭiʿa ṣarīkhī bayna yadayka wa-lā yantahī ḍajījī tilqāʾa wajhika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika akhāfu bi-an yaḥzana min ḥuznī sukkānu jabarūti surūrika wa-qabāʾilu malakūti ibtihājika. Asʾaluhum bika bi-an lā yamnaʿūnī ʿan ṣarīkhī wa-ḥanīnī tilqāʾa madīni waḥdāniyyatika li-anna alladhīnahum yaṭūfanna fī ḥawli ʿarshika wa-sharibū kawthara al-ʿizzi wa-al-āmāli wa-wajadū ḥalāwata al-qurbi wa-al-wiṣāli yanbaghī lahum bi-an yanẓurna alladhī baʿuda ʿan sāḥati qurbika wa-juʿila maḥrūman min badāʾiʿi naʿmāʾika.

Now, my Beloved, agitation has seized me once again because of my most grievous sin, you in whose hand are the kingdom of fulfillment and the dominion of decree. Whenever I calm my soul, speak to it of your mercy that preceded all contingent things, remind it of your care that encompasses everyone in earth and heaven, and say to it, “Be at peace and do not despair; my Beloved is merciful, my Sovereign is generous, my Master is tenderhearted, and my Creator is forgiving,” the fire of regret and shame rises from it, consuming my patience and its patience, my endurance and its endurance, my tranquility and its tranquility. Thus my cry will never cease before you, nor will my clamor end before your face. By your might, I fear that my sorrow will grieve the inhabitants of the dominion of your joy and the tribes of the kingdom of your gladness. I ask them, by you, not to prevent me from crying out and lamenting before the city of your unity, for those who circle your throne, have drunk the heavenly waters of glory and hope, and have tasted the sweetness of nearness and reunion should look upon the one who is far from the court of your presence and has been deprived of your wondrous blessings.

482

فآهء آه يا محبوبی‌ فآهء آه يا مقصودى فآهء آه يا منائى فآهء آه يا رجائى فآهء آه كيف ارفع رأسى عند قلم علىّ الّذى جعلته مشرق وحيك و مطّلع الهامك فكيف انظر الى قلم الّذى ينسب الى محمّد رسولك و به رقم اسرار قضائك و كتب الواح امرك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ تكاد ان ارجع الى العدم من خجلتى و ما ورد علىّ فى ایّامى هل اقدر ان اشاهد قلم الّذى جرى ما نزلته على الرّوح من مقادير امرك و اسرار سننك و قضائك و ظهر منه ما ثبت به تنزيه ذاتك عن الامثال و تقديس نفسك عن الاشباح او اسمع صرير قلم الكليم الّذى به كتبَ احكامك و حكمك و جواهر توحيدك و آثار تفريدك

Fa-āh āh yā maḥbūbī fa-āh āh yā maqṣūdī fa-āh āh yā munāʾī fa-āh āh yā rajāʾī fa-āh āh kayfa arfaʿu raʾsī ʿinda qalami ʿAliyyin alladhī jaʿaltahu mashriqa waḥyika wa-muṭṭalaʿa ilhāmika fa-kayfa anẓuru ilā qalami alladhī yunsabu ilā Muḥammadin rasūlika wa-bihi ruqima asrāru qaḍāʾika wa-kutiba alwāḥu amrika? Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī takādu an arjiʿa ilā al-ʿadami min khajlatī wa-mā warada ʿalayya fī ayyāmī. Hal aqdiru an ushāhida qalama alladhī jarā mā nazzaltahu ʿalā al-Rūḥi min maqādīri amrika wa-asrāri sunanika wa-qaḍāʾika wa-ẓahara minhu mā thabata bihi tanzīhu dhātika ʿani al-amthāli wa-taqdīsu nafsika ʿani al-ashbāḥi aw asmaʿa ṣarīra qalami al-Kalīmi alladhī bihi kataba aḥkāmaka wa-ḥikamaka wa-jawāhira tawḥīdika wa-āthāra tafrīdika?

Ah, ah, my Beloved! Ah, ah, my Goal! Ah, ah, my Desire! Ah, ah, my Hope! Ah, ah! How can I raise my head before the pen of ʿAlī, which you made the dawning place of your revelation and the rising place of your inspiration? How can I look upon the pen associated with Muḥammad, your Messenger, through which the mysteries of your decree were inscribed and the tablets of your Cause were written? By your might, my Beloved, I am on the verge of returning to nonexistence from my shame and from what has befallen me in my days. Can I look upon the pen that set down what you revealed to the Spirit of the ordinances of your Cause and the mysteries of your ways and decree, and from which appeared that which established that your essence is exalted above all likenesses and your self sanctified above all forms? Or can I hear the scratching of the pen of the one who spoke with you, through which he wrote your laws and your wisdom, the gems of your unity and the signs of your uniqueness?

483

اى محبوب كيف اشاهد قلم الخليل الّذى بعثته بأمرك و جعلته سراج وحيك بين عبادك و كلمة امرك بين بريّتك فآهء آه من خجلتى الّتى لن تذهب منّى بدوام عزّك و بقآء كينونتك هبنى يا الهى غمّستنى فى بحور الغفران فكيف تذهب منّى روايح العصيان الّتى ما اتى به دونى فى ایّامك فيا الهى بحلمك الّذى ما اخذت به اعدائك بل مددتهم بسلطان قضائك بحيث كلّ من اراد ان يجرّ على وجهك سيف البغضآء انّك شحذتهُ لحكمة الّتى كانت مستورة عن انظر بريّتك و بعنايتك الّتى ما امسكها شئونات خلقك و عمل المشركين فى بلادك بأن ترجعنى الى العدم ثمّ ابعثنى فى ایّامك بسلطان مشيّتك مرّة اخرى لعلّ يمحى عن قلبی‌ ما ظهر منّى فى كرّة الأولی و اكون غافلاً عما ارتكبت لتجعل هذه الغفلة نعمة على نفسى و رحمة على كينونتى و عناية على ذاتى و انّك انت المقتدر المتعالى العزيز الكريم انتهى

Ay maḥbūb, kayfa ushāhidu qalama al-Khalīl alladhī baʿathtahu bi-amrika wa-jaʿaltahu sirāja waḥyika bayna ʿibādika wa-kalimata amrika bayna bariyyatika? Fa-āh āh min khajlatī allatī lan tadhhaba minnī bi-dawāmi ʿizzika wa-baqāʾi kaynūnatika. Habnī yā ilāhī ghammastanī fī buḥūri al-ghufrān, fa-kayfa tadhhabu minnī rawāʾiḥu al-ʿiṣyān allatī mā atā bihi dūnī fī ayyāmika? Fa-yā ilāhī, bi-ḥilmika alladhī mā akhadhta bihi aʿdāʾaka bal madadtahum bi-sulṭāni qaḍāʾika bi-ḥaythu kullu man arāda an yajurra ʿalā wajhika sayfa al-baghḍāʾ innaka shaḥadhtahu li-ḥikma allatī kānat mastūra ʿan anẓur bariyyatika, wa-bi-ʿināyatika allatī mā amsakahā shuʾūnātu khalqika wa-ʿamalu al-mushrikīn fī bilādika, bi-an turjiʿanī ilā al-ʿadam thumma ibʿathnī fī ayyāmika bi-sulṭāni mashīʾatika marratan ukhrā laʿalla yumḥā ʿan qalbī mā ẓahara minnī fī karrati al-ūlā wa-akūna ghāfilan ʿammā irtakabtu li-tajʿala hādhihi al-ghaflata niʿmatan ʿalā nafsī wa-raḥmatan ʿalā kaynūnatī wa-ʿināyatan ʿalā dhātī wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadir al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAzīz al-Karīm. Intahā.

O Beloved, how can I look upon the pen of the Friend whom you sent at your command and made the lamp of your revelation among your servants and the word of your command among your creatures? Ah, ah, for my shame, which will never leave me as long as your might endures and your being remains! Suppose, my God, that you immersed me in the oceans of forgiveness: how could the odors of disobedience leave me, when no one but me has committed such disobedience in your days? My God, by your forbearance, through which you have not seized your enemies but have instead sustained them through the sovereignty of your decree, so that whenever anyone sought to draw the sword of hatred against your face, you sharpened it for a wisdom hidden from the eyes of your creatures; and by your care, which neither the affairs of your creation nor the deeds of the idolaters in your lands have withheld, I ask you to return me to nonexistence. Then raise me up once more in your days through the sovereignty of your will, so that what proceeded from me in the first existence may be erased from my heart and I may be unaware of what I committed. Make this unawareness a blessing upon my soul, a mercy upon my being, and a favor to my self. You are indeed the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Almighty, the Generous. End of quotation.

484

فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده اگر كلّ من فى الابداع بقميص انصاف مزيّن شوند از ضجيج قلم و صرير آن كه بين يدى الرّحمن نموده جميع از كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض منقطع شده بكوى دوست توجّه نمايند و از دنيا و عما قدّر فيها منقطع گردند و لكن اين ایّام كه چنين نفوسى مشاهده نميشوند الّا قليل قليل ديگر تا چه وقت و زمان وجوه مقدّسه منيره از جيب احديّة بيرون خرامند و بنفحات اللّه و كلماته فايز شوند و از غيرش بی‌‌نياز آيند انّهم من خيرة الخلق عند اللّه الملك المهيمن القيّوم

Fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi, agar kullu man fī al-ibdāʿ bi-qamīṣ-i inṣāf muzayyan shavand, az ḍajīj-i qalam va ṣarīr-i ān kih bayna yaday al-Raḥmān nimūdih, jamīʿ az kullu man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ munqaṭiʿ shudih bi-kūy-i dūst tavajjuh namāyand va az dunyā va ʿammā quddira fīhā munqaṭiʿ gardand. Va lākin īn ayyām kih chunīn nufūsī mushāhidih nimīshavand illā qalīl qalīl. Dīgar tā chih vaqt va zamān vujūh-i muqaddasih-yi munīrih az jayb-i aḥadiyyat bīrūn khirāmand va bi-nafaḥāt-i Allāh va kalimātash fāʾiz shavand va az ghayrash bī-niyāz āyand. Innahum min khīrati al-khalq ʿinda Allāh al-Malik al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm.

By him in whose hand is my soul, if all who are in creation adorned themselves with the garment of fairness, the lament of the pen and the sound of its scratching before the All-Merciful would cause them all to detach themselves from everyone in the heavens and on earth and turn toward the dwelling of the Friend, and to detach themselves from the world and whatever has been ordained within it. Yet in these days such souls are nowhere to be seen, except for very, very few. At what time and hour will radiant, sanctified faces emerge from the bosom of oneness, receive the breaths of God and his words, and become independent of all but him? They are among the choicest of creation in the sight of God, the King, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

485

اگر چه اين عبد هر مطلبی‌ مذكور ميدارد بعد خود را نادم مشاهده مينمايد چه كه معلوم نيست حرارت حبّ الهى در آن قلوب احداث شود چنانچه در ظهور ستّين بيانات نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه را كه پيش هر نفسى ميبردند در كمال بی‌‌اعتنائى بيك دست اخذ نموده مقدار عشره دقايق او اقلّ ملاحظه نموده ميانداخت و قالوا ان هذه الكلمات مفتريات و اگر فى‌الجمله منصف بودند حرفى از آن را بجميع من فى السّموات و الأرض مبادله نمينمودند بشنو از اين عبد و قلب و سمع را از كلّ آنچه شنيده و ادراك نموده طاهر نما و بعد در آيات منزله قبل كه بر نبيّين و مرسلين نازل شده ملاحظه كن و اين آيات ابدع امنع را مشاهده نما و خود انصاف ده و البتّه اگر بآنچه ذكر شد عمل نمائى بحقّ فايز شوى و از وسواس شياطين منزّه گردى

Agar chih īn ʿabd har maṭlabī madhkūr mīdārad, baʿd khud rā nādim mushāhidih mīnamāyad, chih kih maʿlūm nīst ḥarārat-i ḥubb-i ilāhī dar ān qulūb iḥdāth shavad. Chunānchih dar ẓuhūr-i sittīn bayānāt-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān, rūḥ-i mā sivāhu fidāh, rā kih pīsh-i har nafsī mīburdand, dar kamāl-i bī-iʿtināʾī bi-yik dast akhdh nimūdih miqdār-i ʿasharih daqāyiq aw aqall mulāḥiẓih nimūdih mīandākht, wa-qālū inna hādhihi al-kalimāt muftarayāt. Va agar fī al-jumlih munṣif būdand, ḥarfī az ān rā bi-jamīʿ-i man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ mubādilih nimīnamūdand. Bishnaw az īn ʿabd va qalb va samʿ rā az kull-i ānchih shinīdih va idrāk nimūdih ṭāhir namā va baʿd dar āyāt-i munzalih-yi qabl kih bar nabiyyīn va mursalīn nāzil shudih mulāḥiẓih kun va īn āyāt-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ rā mushāhidih namā va khud inṣāf dih. Va al-battih agar bi-ānchih dhikr shud ʿamal namāʾī, bi-Ḥaqq fāʾiz shavī va az vasvās-i shayāṭīn munazzah gardī.

Whatever this servant mentions, he afterward finds himself regretting it, for it is uncertain whether the warmth of divine love will be kindled in those hearts. Thus, in the Revelation of the year sixty, whenever the utterances of the Point of the Bayān—may the souls of all besides him be sacrificed for him—were brought before anyone, he would take them in one hand with utter indifference, look at them for ten minutes or less, and cast them aside. They said, “These words are fabrications.” Had they been even somewhat fair, they would not have exchanged a single letter of them for all who are in the heavens and on earth. Listen to this servant, and purify your heart and hearing of everything you have heard and understood. Then examine the verses revealed before, which descended upon the prophets and messengers, and behold these most wondrous, most exalted verses, and judge fairly for yourself. If you act upon what has been stated, you will assuredly attain the Truth and be freed from the whisperings of devils.

486

اراده چنان بود كه جميع آيات منزله كه از سماء مشيّت ربّ علىّ اعلى در اين امر ابدع امنع نازل شده ذكر شود نهى فرمودند و فرمودند چندى تأمّل نمائيد تا معلوم شود كه اهل بيان در چه رتبه و مقام واقف و قائمند و جوهر آن اخذ شود يعنى آن نفوسى كه بغير اللّه ناظر نبوده و نيستند و بعد اگر مقتضى شد آيات مكنونه بيان و معانى مكنونه آن از سماء مشيّت رحمانى نازل تا جمعى ادراك نمايند كه قلم اللّه حركت ننموده مگر بوصف اين ظهور اعظم و لسان اللّه ناطق نشده مگر بذكر اين جمال اطهر الأمر بيد اللّه و انّه كان على كلّ شیء قدير

Irādih chunān būd kih jamīʿ-i āyāt-i munzalih kih az samā-yi mashiyyat-i Rabb-i ʿAlī-yi Aʿlā dar īn amr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ nāzil shudih dhikr shavad. Nahy farmūdand va farmūdand chandī taʾammul namāyīd tā maʿlūm shavad kih ahl-i Bayān dar chih rutbih va maqām vāqif va qāʾimand va jawhar-i ān akhdh shavad, yaʿnī ān nufūsī kih bi-ghayr-i Allāh nāẓir nabūdih va nīstand. Va baʿd agar muqtaḍī shud, āyāt-i maknūnih-yi Bayān va maʿānī-yi maknūnih-yi ān az samā-yi mashiyyat-i raḥmānī nāzil tā jamʿī idrāk namāyand kih Qalam-i Allāh ḥarakat nanimūdih magar bi-vaṣf-i īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam va Lisān-i Allāh nāṭiq nashudih magar bi-dhikr-i īn jamāl-i aṭhar. Al-amru bi-yadi Allāh wa-innahu kāna ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr.

The intention was to cite all the revealed verses that have descended from the heaven of the will of the Most High, the Most Exalted Lord concerning this most wondrous, most exalted Cause. He forbade it, saying, “Wait a while, so that it may become clear at what rank and station the people of the Bayān stand, and its essence may be gathered—that is, those souls who have not looked, and do not look, to anyone but God. Then, if it is fitting, the hidden verses of the Bayān and its concealed meanings will descend from the heaven of the will of the All-Merciful, so that some may understand that the Pen of God has moved only to describe this Most Great Revelation, and the Tongue of God has spoken only to mention this Most Pure Beauty.” The matter is in God’s hand, and he has power over all things.

487

لذا اين عبد فانى بآنچه از آيات مشرقه كه از مشرق فم سلطان بيان اشراق نموده كفايت نمود و لكن بر هر ذى بصرى اليوم لازم كه قلب را از كلّ اشارات و دلالات و اسماء مقدّس نمايد و بنفس ظهور و ما يظهر من عنده ناظر باشد و كلّ باين مأمور شده‌اند در بيان چه كه اسماء و اذكار كلّ خلق او بوده و خواهند بود اليوم اكثرى از اهل بيان در عقبه اسماء واقف و عند اللّه از عبده آن مشهود و مذكور اهل منظر اكبر عند اللّه آن نفوسى هستند كه اثمار شجره الهيّه را در اين ربيع عزّ فردانيّه بدست خود اخذ نموده و تناول نموده‌اند و متمسّكين بغير اين شجره عند اللّه مردود و از اهل نفى و نار محسوب

Lidhā īn ʿabd-i fānī bi-ānchih az āyāt-i mushriqih kih az mashriq-i fam-i Sulṭān-i Bayān ishrāq nimūdih kifāyat nimūd. Va lākin bar har dhī baṣarī al-yawm lāzim kih qalb rā az kull-i ishārāt va dalālāt va asmā muqaddas namāyad va bi-nafs-i ẓuhūr va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi nāẓir bāshad. Va kull bi-īn maʾmūr shudih-and dar Bayān, chih kih asmā va adhkār kull khalq-i ū būdih va khvāhand būd. Al-yawm aktharī az ahl-i Bayān dar ʿaqabiy-i asmā vāqif va ʿinda Allāh az ʿabadi-yi ān mashhūd va madhkūr. Ahl-i manẓar-i akbar ʿinda Allāh ān nufūsī hastand kih athmār-i shajariy-i ilāhiyyih rā dar īn rabīʿ-i ʿizz-i fardāniyyih bi-dast-i khud akhdh nimūdih va tanāvul nimūdih-and va mutamassikīn bi-ghayr-i īn shajarih ʿinda Allāh mardūd va az ahl-i nafy va nār maḥsūb.

This mortal servant has therefore contented himself with those radiant verses that have shone from the dawning place of the mouth of the Sovereign of Utterance. Yet today everyone endowed with sight must sanctify the heart from all allusions, indications, and names, and look to the Revelation itself and whatever proceeds from him. All have been commanded to do this in the Bayān, for names and invocations have all been, and will remain, his creation. Today most of the people of the Bayān have halted at the obstacle of names and are seen and counted before God among their worshippers. In God’s sight, the people of the Most Great Vista are those souls who, in this springtime of the glory of singleness, have gathered with their own hands the fruits of the divine Tree and eaten them. Those who cling to anything other than this Tree are rejected before God and numbered among the people of negation and fire.

488

در اين وقت روح ندا فرمود كه بنويس بعباد ظلمى فوق آن مشاهده نميشود كه از ظهور حقّ نفسى دليل و برهان من غير ما ظهر من عنده و نزل من لدنه طلب نمايد بحقّ ناظر شويد اگر آن حجّتى كه بآن اثبات حجّيت نقطه اوّليه شده مشاهده شد و من لدى اللّه ظاهر گشت ديگر مجال توقّف نه در اين صورت هيچ عذرى از احدى مسموع نبوده و نخواهد بود و لو بكلمات اوّلين و آخرين متمسّك شود و مستدل گردد كذلك يبيّن اللّه امره ان انتم تفقهون

Dar īn vaqt Rūḥ nidā farmūd kih binivīs bi-ʿibād: ẓulmī fawq-i ān mushāhidih namīshavad kih az ẓuhūr-i Ḥaqq nafsī dalīl va burhān min ghayri mā ẓahara min ʿindihi wa-nazala min ladunhi ṭalab namāyad. Bi-Ḥaqq nāẓir shavīd. Agar ān ḥujjatī kih bi-ān ithbāt-i ḥujjiyyat-i Nuqṭiy-i Avvaliyyih shudih mushāhidih shud va min ladā Allāh ẓāhir gasht, dīgar majāl-i tavaqquf nah. Dar īn ṣūrat hīch ʿudhrī az aḥadī masmūʿ nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd, va law bi-kalimāt-i avvalīn va ākhirīn mutamassik shavad va mustadill gardad. Kadhālika yubayyinu Allāhu amrahu in antum tafqahūn.

At this moment the Spirit called out, “Write to the servants: No injustice greater than this can be seen—that someone should ask the Manifestation of the Truth for evidence and proof other than what has appeared from him and descended from his presence. Look to the Truth. If that proof by which the authority of the Primal Point was established is seen and has appeared from God, there is no longer any room for hesitation. In that case, no excuse from anyone has been or will be accepted, even if he clings to the words of the first and the last and adduces them as evidence. Thus does God explain his Cause, if you understand.”

489

و اينكه نوشته بودى ديّان و ميرزا غوغا و شيخ اسمعيل و حاجى ملّا هاشم ادّعا نموده و باطل شده‌اند الخ مثل اين اعتراضات را در اوّل ظهور بيان مشركين نموده‌اند و چنين مذكور ميداشتند كه انفس معدودات قبل از سيّد باب اين ادّعا را نموده و باطل بودند لذا نعوذ باللّه اين قول هم مثل اقوال آن نفوس بوده و باين اقوال اعراض از حقّ نمودند لازال نزد هر ظهورى مشركين آن عصر بامثال اين اعتراضات مشغول شده‌اند و لكن عارف بصير و منقطع خبير را امثال اين اعتراضات از صراط اللّه منع ننموده و ننمايد بلكه سبب رسوخ و ثبوت انفس مستقيمه خواهد شد بسى واضح بوده كه هر چه ظهور اعظم‌تر و حقّ ظاهر‌تر اعراض احرف نفى شديدتر بوده و خواهد بود چنانچه مشاهده ميشود و لكن اين نفوسى كه ذكر نموده اولًا از كجا بطلان اين نفوس بر شما واضح شده

Va īnkih nivishtih būdī Dayyān va Mīrzā Ghawghā va Shaykh Ismāʿīl va Ḥājī Mullā Hāshim iddiʿā nimūdih va bāṭil shudih-and ilā ākhir, mithl-i īn iʿtirāḍāt rā dar avval-i ẓuhūr-i Bayān mushrikīn nimūdih-and va chunīn madhkūr mīdāshtand kih anfus-i maʿdūdāt qabl az Sayyid-i Bāb īn iddiʿā rā nimūdih va bāṭil būdand, lidhā naʿūdhu bi-Allāh īn qawl ham mithl-i aqvāl-i ān nufūs būdih, va bi-īn aqvāl iʿrāḍ az Ḥaqq nimūdand. Lā yazāl nazd-i har ẓuhūrī mushrikīn-i ān ʿaṣr bi-amthāl-i īn iʿtirāḍāt mashghūl shudih-and va lākin ʿārif-i baṣīr va munqaṭiʿ-i khabīr rā amthāl-i īn iʿtirāḍāt az ṣirāṭ-i Allāh manʿ nanimūdih va nanamāyad, balkih sabab-i rusūkh va thubūt-i anfus-i mustaqīmih khvāhad shud. Basī vāḍiḥ būdih kih har chih ẓuhūr aʿẓamtar va Ḥaqq ẓāhirtar, iʿrāḍ-i aḥruf-i nafy shadīdtar būdih va khvāhad būd, chunānchih mushāhidih mīshavad. Va lākin īn nufūsī kih dhikr nimūdih, avvalan az kujā buṭlān-i īn nufūs bar shumā vāḍiḥ shudih?

As for your statement that Dayyān, Mīrzā Ghawghā, Shaykh Ismāʿīl, and Ḥājī Mullā Hāshim made claims and proved false, and so forth: the idolaters raised objections like these at the beginning of the Revelation of the Bayān. They used to say that a few people had made this claim before the Sayyid, the Bāb, and had been false; therefore—God forbid—this assertion too was like the assertions of those people. With such words they turned away from the Truth. At every Revelation, the idolaters of that age have always occupied themselves with objections of this kind. Yet such objections have never kept, and will never keep, an insightful knower or a discerning, detached soul from the path of God. Rather, they will strengthen the firmness and steadfastness of upright souls. It has been abundantly clear that the greater the Revelation and the more manifest the Truth, the fiercer has been, and will be, the rejection of the letters of negation, as can be seen. But as for these souls you have mentioned: first, how has their falsity become clear to you?

490

امّا الدّيّان الّذى سمّى فى كتاب اللّه بكلّ اسمائه الحسنى ابدا ادّعائى ننموده كه مخالف باشد در سنه اوّل امرش چند مناجاتى از او در ساحت اقدس ارسال داشتند و در آن الواح جز اظهار خضوع و خشوع و ايمان باللّه و مظاهر امر او مشاهده نشد و لكن نفس معروف چون مشاهده نمود كه نفسى ظاهر شده و مناجات نوشته نار حسدش بشأنى مشتعل كه فتوى بر قتل او و محبّينش داده چنانچه آن مظهر احديّه را بنص نقطه بيان بفتواى او شهيد نمودند و بعد در كتاب خود مفترياتى باو نسبت داده كه ابدا صدق نبوده و فوق آنچه ادّعا نموده بود از منزل بيان تصريحا درباره او نازل فانظر فى البيان لتكون من العارفين

Ammā al-Dayyān alladhī summiya fī kitābi Allāh bi-kulli asmāʾihi al-ḥusnā, abadan iddiʿāʾī nanimūdih kih mukhālif bāshad. Dar saniy-i avval-i amrash chand munājātī az ū dar sāḥat-i aqdas irsāl dāshtand va dar ān alvāḥ juz iẓhār-i khuḍūʿ va khushūʿ va īmān bi-Allāh va maẓāhir-i amr-i ū mushāhidih nashud. Va lākin nafs-i maʿrūf chūn mushāhidih nimūd kih nafsī ẓāhir shudih va munājāt nivishtih, nār-i ḥasadash bi-shaʾnī mushtaʿil kih fatvā bar qatl-i ū va muḥibbīnash dādih, chunānchih ān maẓhar-i aḥadiyyih rā bi-naṣṣ-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān bi-fatvā-yi ū shahīd nimūdand. Va baʿd dar kitāb-i khud muftarayātī bi-ū nisbat dādih kih abadan ṣidq nabūdih va fawq-i ānchih iddiʿā nimūdih būd az Munzil-i Bayān taṣrīḥan darbāriy-i ū nāzil. Fa-unẓur fī al-Bayān li-takūna min al-ʿārifīn.

As for Dayyān, who was named in the Book of God by all his most beautiful names, he never made any claim that was contrary. In the first year of his cause, several prayers of his were sent to the Most Holy Court, and in those tablets nothing was seen but expressions of humility, reverence, and faith in God and the Manifestations of his Cause. Yet when the well-known individual saw that someone had appeared and written prayers, the fire of his envy blazed so fiercely that he issued a ruling for the killing of him and his loved ones. Thus, through his ruling, they martyred one who, according to the explicit text of the Point of the Bayān, was a manifestation of oneness. Afterward, in his own book, he attributed fabrications to him that had no truth whatsoever, although statements explicitly concerning him, surpassing what he had claimed, had been revealed by the Revealer of the Bayān. Look, then, into the Bayān, so that you may be among those who know.

491

و جمعى از اين نفوس بوده‌اند كه نفس معروف آنها را ردّ نموده و حكم بر كفر جميع كرده و عند اللّه آن نفوس مردود نبوده و نخواهند بود بلكه شعرٌ منهم خير منه لو انت من المتبصّرين از جمله جناب آقا سيّد ابراهيم عليه بهآء اللّه الأبهی كه در حقّ او آياتى نازل شده و از جمله آن آيات اينست كه ذكر ميشود شايد كه ادراك نمائى و مطّلع شوى كه احدى بنقطه اولى و ما نزل من عنده ناظر نبوده بلكه حبّاً لرياسته و حفظاً لعزّه مرتكب شده آنچه را كه احدى از اوّل ابداع تا حين مرتكب نشده قوله عزّ اعزازه ان اشهد ان يا ابراهيم انّك كنت فى يوم عرش ظهور ربّك و انّا كنّا من قبل ثمّ من بعد لظاهرين انظر قد خلقناك و رزقناك و امتناك و احييناك الى حينئذ و انّ الّذين اوتوا الصّحف هم الى حينئذ محتجبون فلما نزلت على اللّه ربّك ربّ ما يرى و ما لايرى ربّ العالمين قد سمعت صوت ما يتبعن امرك و هم يحسبون انّهم فى حبّك يتعاليون قل كلّا ثمّ کلّا انّنى انا قد حشرت و من اتّبعنى على اللّه ربّی‌ فى يوم الّذى كنت بموسى عرش ظهور اللّه من المؤمنين و انّ هؤلآء لا يتّبعون و ان اتّبعونى لأمنوا بموسى قبل عيسى ثمّ بمحّمد بعد عيسى ثمّ بنقطة البيان يوم القيمة

Va jamʿī az īn nufūs būdih-and kih nafs-i maʿrūf ānhā rā radd nimūdih va ḥukm bar kufr-i jamīʿ kardih va ʿinda Allāh ān nufūs mardūd nabūdih va nakhvāhand būd, balkih shaʿrun minhum khayrun minhu law anta min al-mutabaṣṣirīn. Az jumlih Jināb-i Āqā Sayyid Ibrāhīm, ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh al-Abhā, kih dar ḥaqq-i ū āyātī nāzil shudih va az jumliy-i ān āyāt īnast kih dhikr mīshavad, shāyad kih idrāk namāʾī va muṭṭaliʿ shavī kih aḥadī bi-Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā va mā nazala min ʿindihi nāẓir nabūdih, balkih ḥubban li-riyāsatihi wa-ḥifẓan li-ʿizzihi murtakib shudih ānchih rā kih aḥadī az avval-i ibdāʿ tā ḥīn murtakib nashudih. Qawluhu ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: An ishhad an yā Ibrāhīm innaka kunta fī yawmin ʿarsha ẓuhūri rabbika wa-innā kunnā min qablu thumma min baʿdu la-ẓāhirīn. Unẓur qad khalaqnāka wa-razaqnāka wa-amatnāka wa-aḥyaynāka ilā ḥīniʾidhin wa-inna alladhīna ūtū al-ṣuḥufa hum ilā ḥīniʾidhin muḥtajibūn. Fa-lammā nazalta ʿalā Allāh rabbika rabbi mā yurā wa-mā lā yurā rabbi al-ʿālamīn qad samiʿta ṣawta mā yatbaʿna amraka wa-hum yaḥsabūna annahum fī ḥubbika yataʿālayūn. Qul kallā thumma kallā innanī anā qad ḥushirtu wa-man ittabaʿanī ʿalā Allāh rabbī fī yawmi alladhī kuntu bi-Mūsā ʿarsha ẓuhūri Allāh min al-muʾminīn. Wa-inna hāʾulāʾi lā yattabiʿūn wa-in ittabaʿūnī la-āmanū bi-Mūsā qabla ʿĪsā thumma bi-Muḥammad baʿda ʿĪsā thumma bi-Nuqṭati al-Bayān yawma al-qiyāma.

There have been a number of these souls whom the well-known individual rejected, pronouncing them all unbelievers. Before God, those souls have not been, and will not be, rejected. Indeed, a single hair of theirs is better than him, if you are among those who see clearly. Among them is the honored Āqā Sayyid Ibrāhīm—upon him be the glory of God, the All-Glorious—concerning whom verses were revealed. Among those verses is the passage cited here, so that perhaps you may understand and realize that no one was looking to the Primal Point and what descended from him. Rather, out of love for his leadership and to preserve his standing, he committed what no one had committed from the beginning of creation until now. His words—exalted be his glory—are: “Bear witness, O Ibrāhīm, that you were, on a day, the throne of the revelation of your Lord, and we were indeed manifest before and afterward. Behold, we have created you, sustained you, caused you to die, and brought you to life up to this moment, while those who were given the scriptures remain veiled to this moment. When you came before God, your Lord, the Lord of what is seen and what is unseen, the Lord of the worlds, you heard the voice of those who follow your cause, while they suppose that they rise to exalted heights in their love for you. Say: No, indeed, no! I and those who followed me have been gathered before God, my Lord, on the day when, as Moses, I was the throne of God’s revelation, among the believers. These people do not follow; had they followed me, they would have believed in Moses before Jesus, then in Muḥammad after Jesus, then in the Point of the Bayān on the Day of Resurrection.”

492

حال ملاحظه نما كه او را از عرش ظهور ناميده ميفرمايند مشاهده نما خلق نموديم و رزق داديم و ميرانديم و زنده نموديم تو را در اين هنگام و آن نفوسيكه بتو ايمان آورده بودند در صحف تا حين محتجبند و شنيديم ندآء نفوسىیكه متابعت مينمودند امر تو را و گمان مينمودند كه در محبّت تو بمقامات عاليه فايز شده‌اند بگو كلّا ثمّ كلّا من محشور شدم بين يدى اللّه با نفوسيكه متابعت من مينمودند در حينيكه ظاهر شد عرش ظهور باسم موسى و آن نفوس محتجبه متابعت من نكردند و اگر متابعت من نموده بودند هرآينه بمظاهر بعد و بتصديق و ايمان بآن انفس قدسيّه فايز ميشدند

Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih namā kih ū rā az ʿarsh-i ẓuhūr nāmīdih mīfarmāyand: Mushāhidih namā, khalq nimūdīm va rizq dādīm va mīrāndīm va zindih nimūdīm tu rā dar īn hangām va ān nufūsī kih bi-tu īmān āvardih būdand dar ṣuḥuf tā ḥīn muḥtajiband va shinīdīm nidā-yi nufūsī kih mutābiʿat mīnimūdand amr-i tu rā va gumān mīnimūdand kih dar maḥabbat-i tu bi-maqāmāt-i ʿāliyih fāʾiz shudih-and. Bigū kallā thumma kallā, man maḥshūr shudam bayna yaday Allāh bā nufūsī kih mutābiʿat-i man mīnimūdand dar ḥīnī kih ẓāhir shud ʿarsh-i ẓuhūr bi-ism-i Mūsā va ān nufūs-i muḥtajibih mutābiʿat-i man nakardand va agar mutābiʿat-i man nimūdih būdand har-āyinih bi-maẓāhir-i baʿd va bi-taṣdīq va īmān bi-ān anfus-i qudsiyyih fāʾiz mīshudand.

Now consider how he has called him a throne of revelation, saying, “Behold, we have created you, sustained you, caused you to die, and brought you to life at this time. Those souls who had believed in you in the scriptures remain veiled until now. We heard the call of the souls who followed your cause and supposed that through their love for you they had attained exalted stations. Say: No, indeed, no! I was gathered before God, together with the souls who followed me, when the throne of revelation appeared in the name of Moses. Those veiled souls did not follow me. Had they followed me, they would assuredly have attained the subsequent Manifestations and would have acknowledged and believed in those holy souls.”

493

بگو اى اصمّ روزگار درست متوجّه شو و التفات نما كلمات الهى را كه تصريحاً من غير تلويح او را عرش ظهور ناميده و بعد از اين شأن محكم متعالى كلّ اسماء طايف او بوده لو يخاطبه بانت اللّه او هو اللّه او من اللّه او الى اللّه او ذات اللّه و كينونة اللّه جميع اينمراتب در رتبه او ثابت و محقّق و همين نفس را اليوم اهل بيان بفتواى نفس معروف ابو الدّواهى مينامند و قسمى باو اعتراض نموده‌اند و حكم كفرش در اطراف منتشر كه حال مدّتها است از كلّ كناره نموده الا لعنة اللّه على الظّالمين

Begū ey aṣamm-e rūzgār, dorost motavajjeh shov va eltefāt namā kalemāt-e elāhī rā keh taṣrīḥan min ghayr-e talvīḥ ū rā ʿarsh-e ẓohūr nāmīdeh va baʿd az īn shaʾn-e moḥkam-e motaʿālī koll-e asmāʾ ṭāyef-e ū būdeh. Law yukhāṭibuhu bi-anta Allāh aw huwa Allāh aw min Allāh aw ilā Allāh aw dhāt Allāh wa kaynūnat Allāh, jamīʿ-e īn marāteb dar rotbeh-ye ū thābet va moḥaqqaq va hamīn nafs rā al-yawm ahl-e Bayān be-fatvā-ye nafs-e maʿrūf Abū al-Davāhī mīnāmand va qesmī be-ū eʿterāż nemūdeh-and va ḥokm-e kofrash dar aṭrāf montasher keh ḥāl moddat-hā ast az koll kenāreh nemūdeh. A-lā laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-ẓālimīn.

Say: O deaf one of this age! Pay close attention and give heed to the words of God, which explicitly, without any allusion, have called him the throne of revelation. Beyond this firm and exalted station, all names circle around him. Whether he addresses him as “You are God,” “He is God,” “from God,” “to God,” “the Essence of God,” or “the Being of God,” all these stations are established and confirmed in his rank. Yet today the people of the Bayān call this very soul Abū al-Davāhī, at the decree of the well-known individual. They have assailed him so severely, and the verdict declaring him an unbeliever has been so widely circulated, that he has now withdrawn from everyone for a long time. Indeed, God’s curse rests upon the oppressors.

494

حال ملاحظه كن چه مقدار در امراللّه اسراف نموده‌اند و بغيا على اللّه چه اعمال را مرتكب شده‌اند و بعد ميفرمايند مخاطباً لذلك الاسم الجليل قوله عزّ اعزازه ان يا خليلى فى الصّحف لم يكن لاعراش ظهور اللّه من حدّ لا من قبل و لا من بعد ولكنّ النّاس عن سرّ الأمر محتجبون و ان يا ذكرى فى الكتب من بعد الصّحف لم يكن فى الاعراش الّا ما يدلّنّ على اللّه ربّهم قل كلّ من اللّه الى اللّه يرجعون ان يا اسمى فى البيان انظر كيف ترقبن ادلّائى فى كلّ ظهور و الى حينئذ ما فتحت باب الاسم فى ظهور من قبل هذا من فضل اللّه لمن فى البيان و لكن النّاس لايعلمون

Ḥāl molāḥeẓeh kon cheh meqdār dar Amr Allāh esrāf nemūdeh-and va baghyan ʿalā Allāh cheh aʿmāl rā mortakeb shodeh-and va baʿd mīfarmāyand mukhāṭiban li-dhālika al-ism al-jalīl, qawluhu ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: In yā khalīlī fī al-ṣuḥuf, lam yakun li-aʿrāsh ẓuhūr Allāh min ḥadd, lā min qabl wa lā min baʿd, wa-lākinna al-nāsa ʿan sirr al-amr muḥtajibūn. Wa-in yā dhikrī fī al-kutub min baʿd al-ṣuḥuf, lam yakun fī al-aʿrāsh illā mā yadullanna ʿalā Allāh rabbihim. Qul kullun min Allāh ilā Allāh yarjiʿūn. In yā ismī fī al-Bayān, unẓur kayfa tarqubanna adillāʾī fī kull ẓuhūr, wa-ilā ḥīniʾidhin mā fataḥtu bāb al-ism fī ẓuhūr min qabl. Hādhā min faḍl Allāh li-man fī al-Bayān, wa-lākinna al-nāsa lā yaʿlamūn.

Now consider how far they have exceeded all bounds in the Cause of God, and what deeds they have committed in rebellion against God. He then says, addressing that glorious name—these are his words, exalted be his glory: “O my friend in the Scriptures! There has been no limit to the thrones of God’s revelation, either before or afterward, but the people are veiled from the mystery of the Cause. And O my remembrance in the Books after the Scriptures! There has been nothing in the thrones but what points to God, their Lord. Say: All are from God and return to God. O my name in the Bayān! Consider how you will watch for my guides in every revelation. Until that time, I had not opened the gate of the name in any previous revelation. This is a grace from God to those in the Bayān, but the people do not know.”

495

نفسى را كه تصريح ميفرمايد تو خليل منى در صحف و ذكر منى در كلّ كتب سماوى و اسم من در بيان ابوالدّواهى مينامند و شاعر نيستند قل قد اخذ اللّه سمعكم و ابصاركم و افئدتكم و انتم لا تسمعون و لا تبصرون و لا تفقهون كتاب مستيقظ كه از تأليفات معرض باللّه است كه او را ربّ اخذ نموده بخوان و ببين باين هياكل مقدّسه چه نسبتها داده و امر بقسمى صعب شد كه اين اسم وقتى در عراق آمده بود جميع در صدد قتل او هم برآمدند و طلعت ابهى ایّام و ليالى ناس را منع نمودند تا آنكه از آن ارض صحيحاً و سالماً بمحلّ خود مراجعت نمود كذلك كان الأمر و كان اللّه على ما اقول شهيد حمد خدا را كه كتاب مستيقظش نزد هر نفسى هست و الّا فو‌الّذى خلق البريّة لا من شیء كه انكار مينمود چنانچه اكثر اعمال را انكار نموده

Nafsī rā keh taṣrīḥ mīfarmāyad to khalīl-e manī dar ṣoḥof va dhekr-e manī dar koll-e kotob-e samāvī va esm-e man dar Bayān, Abū al-Davāhī mīnāmand va shāʿer nīstand. Qul qad akhadha Allāhu samʿakum wa abṣārakum wa afʾidatakum wa antum lā tasmaʿūn wa lā tubṣirūn wa lā tafqahūn. Ketāb-e Mostayqeẓ keh az taʾlīfāt-e moʿreż be-Allāh ast keh ū rā rabb akhdh nemūdeh bekhān va bebīn be-īn hayākel-e moqaddaseh cheh nesbat-hā dādeh va amr be-qesmī ṣaʿb shod keh īn esm vaqtī dar ʿErāq āmadeh būd jamīʿ dar ṣadad-e qatl-e ū ham bar-āmadand va Ṭalʿat-e Abhā ayyām va layālī nās rā manʿ nemūdand tā ānkeh az ān arż ṣaḥīḥan va sāleman be-maḥall-e khod morājaʿat nemūd. Kadhālika kāna al-amr wa kāna Allāhu ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd. Ḥamd-e Khodā rā keh ketāb-e Mostayqeẓash nazd-e har nafsī hast va ellā fa-wa-alladhī khalaqa al-bariyya lā min shayʾ keh enkār mīnemūd chenāncheh akthar-e aʿmāl rā enkār nemūdeh.

The very soul to whom he explicitly says, “You are my friend in the Scriptures, my remembrance in all the heavenly Books, and my name in the Bayān,” they call Abū al-Davāhī, and they are unaware. Say: God has taken away your hearing, your sight, and your hearts, and you neither hear, nor see, nor understand. Read the book Mostayqeẓ, among the writings of the one who has turned away from God and whom he has taken as his lord, and see what accusations he has made against these holy temples. Matters became so difficult that, when this name once came to Iraq, they all sought to kill him as well. The All-Glorious Beauty restrained the people day and night until he returned from that land to his own home safe and sound. Such was the matter, and God is witness to what I say. Praise be to God that everyone has his book Mostayqeẓ; otherwise, by the One who created all beings out of nothing, he would have denied it, just as he has denied most of his deeds.

496

و اى كاش بشأن يكى از اين نفوسيكه مردود شمرده عند اللّه مذكور بود قد جعلت الوهم لنفسك ربّاً من دون اللّه و لا تشعر ما تقول و لكن اللّه يشهد ما ارتكبتم فى الحيوة الباطلة فسوف يأخذكم بقهر من عنده و انّه اشدّ المنتقمين مع‌ذلك چنين نفوس تاركه را عامل بيان دانسته و نفسى را كه بيان بظهور او ظاهر شده او را تارك شمرده فو‌اللّه تكلّم ننموده مگر بهوى و سالك نيستى الّا در تيه وهم و غرور و تظنّ فى نفسك بأنّك من المهتدين

Va ey kāsh be-shaʾn-e yekī az īn nofūsī keh mardūd shomordeh ʿinda Allāh madhkūr būd. Qad jaʿalta al-wahma li-nafsika rabban min dūni Allāh wa lā tashʿuru mā taqūl, wa-lākinna Allāha yashhadu mā irtakabtum fī al-ḥayāt al-bāṭila fa-sawfa yaʾkhudhukum bi-qahrin min ʿindihi wa innahu ashaddu al-muntaqimīn. Maʿa dhālek chenīn nofūs-e tārekeh rā ʿāmel-e Bayān dānesteh va nafsī rā keh Bayān be-ẓohūr-e ū ẓāher shodeh ū rā tārek shomordeh. Fa-wa-Allāh takallom nanemūdeh magar be-havā va sālek nīstī ellā dar tīh-e vahm va ghorūr, wa taẓunnu fī nafsika bi-annaka min al-muhtadīn.

Would that he were mentioned before God as being of the rank of even one of these souls whom he has counted as rejected! You have made delusion a lord for yourself instead of God, and you do not realize what you are saying. But God witnesses what you have committed in this vain life, and he will soon seize you with a might from himself. He is indeed the most severe of avengers. Yet you have regarded such neglectful souls as followers of the Bayān, while counting as one who has abandoned it the very soul through whose revelation the Bayān appeared. By God, you have spoken only out of desire, and you walk only in the wilderness of delusion and conceit, while imagining yourself to be among the rightly guided.

497

و از اين گذشته اين نفوس بآيات الهى ظاهر نشده‌اند و اگر تو ميگوئى كه صاحب آيات بودند و مردود شمرده هذا بغى منك على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم چه كه اگر صاحب آيات باطل شود از براى تو و من على الأرض ايمان باقى نخواهد ماند چه كه ايمان كلّ محقّق است بمظاهر امريّه الهى كه آن مظاهر امريّه بآيات ظاهر شده‌اند و اگر نعوذ باللّه صاحب آيات باطل شود بچه برهان اثبات حقّ نقطه بيان مينمائى كبرت كلمة تخرج من افواهكم يا ملأ المعرضين معلوم است كه اين نفوس را محض تضييع امر اللّه مذكور داشته و اين ظهور را هم قياس بآن نفوس نموده‌اى غافل بدان كه آن نفوس عند‌اللّه مردود نبوده و نخواهند بود بل المردود هو الّذى انكرهم و اعترض عليهم و حكم بقتلهم

Va az īn godhashteh īn nofūs be-āyāt-e elāhī ẓāher nashodeh-and va agar to mīgūʾī keh ṣāḥeb-e āyāt būdand va mardūd shomordeh, hādhā baghyun minka ʿalā Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm. Cheh keh agar ṣāḥeb-e āyāt bāṭel shavad az barā-ye to va man ʿalā al-arḍ īmān bāqī nakhāhad mānd, cheh keh īmān-e koll moḥaqqaq ast be-maẓāher-e amrīyeh-ye elāhī keh ān maẓāher-e amrīyeh be-āyāt ẓāher shodeh-and va agar naʿūdhu bi-Allāh ṣāḥeb-e āyāt bāṭel shavad be-cheh borhān ethbāt-e ḥaqq-e Noqṭeh-ye Bayān mīnamāʾī? Kaburat kalimatan takhruju min afwāhikum yā malaʾ al-muʿriḍīn. Maʿlūm ast keh īn nofūs rā maḥż-e tażyīʿ-e Amr Allāh madhkūr dāshteh va īn ẓohūr rā ham qiyās be-ān nofūs nemūdeh-ī. Ghāfel, bedān keh ān nofūs ʿinda Allāh mardūd nabūdeh va nakhāhand būd, bal al-mardūd huwa alladhī ankarahum wa iʿtaraḍa ʿalayhim wa ḥakama bi-qatlihim.

Moreover, these souls did not appear with divine verses. If you say that they possessed verses and were counted as rejected, this is rebellion on your part against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. For if one who possesses verses is false, no faith will remain for you or anyone on earth. The faith of all is established through the Manifestations of God’s Cause, and those Manifestations of the Cause appeared with verses. If, God forbid, one who possesses verses is false, by what proof will you establish the truth of the Point of the Bayān? Grave is the word that comes from your mouths, O company of those who turn away! It is clear that you have mentioned these souls solely to disparage the Cause of God, and have also compared this revelation to those souls. Heedless one! Know that those souls have not been, and will not be, rejected before God. Rather, the rejected one is he who denied them, assailed them, and decreed their death.

498

و از جمله آن نفوس كه نوشته يكى جناب حاجى ملّا هاشم است و عرايضی كه از او بمقرّ عرش آمده الآن موجود و جز خضوع كبرى از او امرى ظاهر نشده‌ اى مدّعى عرفان همه عرفا را تضييع نمودى شنيده شد كه يكى از حكما وقتى در ارض صاد بود و علماى آن ارض آن بيچاره فقير را تكفير نموده امر بخروج نمودند و جمعى بر آن فقير هجوم آورده از جمله آن نفوس ملّا على حكيم نورى مشهور بود آن مظلوم در آن حين بهيچيك از علماء سخنى نگفت و لكن بحكيم مذكور توجّه نموده و گفت كلمه كه ذكرش محبوب نه و مقصودش آنكه تو خود را حكيم ميشمرى چرا بر حكيم اعتراض مينمائى حال شما با اين اعتراضات ادّعاى حكمت و عرفان هم دارى تب الى اللّه الّذى خلقك و سوّاك و لاتعترض على الّذينهم آمنوا باللّه و آياته و ورد عليهم فى سبيله ما لايحصيه احد من العالمين تصديق و تكذيب نفوس ابدا بتقليد كفايت نشده و نخواهد شد ربّ لاعن يرجع اللّعن الى نفسه و ربّ رادّ يرجع الرّد اليه و هو لا يستشعر فى نفسه و يكون من الغافلين

Va az jomleh-ye ān nofūs keh neveshteh yekī Janāb-e Ḥājī Mollā Hāshem ast va ʿarāyeżī keh az ū be-maqarr-e ʿarsh āmadeh al-ān mawjūd va joz khożūʿ-e kobrā az ū amrī ẓāher nashodeh. Ey moddaʿī-ye ʿerfān, hameh-ye ʿorafā rā tażyīʿ nemūdī. Shenīdeh shod keh yekī az ḥokamā vaqtī dar arż-e Ṣād būd va ʿolamā-ye ān arż ān bīchāreh-ye faqīr rā takfīr nemūdeh amr be-khorūj nemūdand va jamʿī bar ān faqīr hojūm āvardeh, az jomleh-ye ān nofūs Mollā ʿAlī Ḥakīm-e Nūrī-ye mashhūr būd. Ān maẓlūm dar ān ḥīn be-hīch-yek az ʿolamā sokhanī nagoft va lāken be-ḥakīm-e madhkūr tavajjoh nemūdeh va goft kalameh keh dhekrash maḥbūb nah va maqṣūdash ānkeh to khod rā ḥakīm mīshomorī cherā bar ḥakīm eʿterāż mīnamāʾī. Ḥāl shomā bā īn eʿterāżāt eddeʿā-ye ḥekmat va ʿerfān ham dārī. Tub ilā Allāh alladhī khalaqaka wa sawwāka wa lā taʿtariḍ ʿalā alladhīna hum āmanū bi-Allāh wa āyātihi wa warada ʿalayhim fī sabīlihi mā lā yuḥṣīhi aḥadun min al-ʿālamīn. Taṣdīq va takdhīb-e nofūs abadan be-taqlīd kefāyat nashodeh va nakhāhad shod. Rubba lāʿinin yarjiʿu al-laʿnu ilā nafsihi wa rubba rāddin yarjiʿu al-raddu ilayhi wa huwa lā yastashʿiru fī nafsihi wa yakūnu min al-ghāfilīn.

Among the souls he has mentioned is the honored Ḥājī Mollā Hāshem. The petitions he sent to the seat of the throne still exist, and nothing but the utmost humility has appeared from him. O claimant to spiritual knowledge! You have disparaged all the mystics. It has been heard that one of the philosophers was once in the land of Ṣād, and the religious scholars of that land pronounced that poor, helpless man an unbeliever and ordered him to leave. A group attacked that poor man; among them was the well-known Mollā ʿAlī Ḥakīm of Nūr. At that moment the wronged man said nothing to any of the religious scholars, but turned to the philosopher just mentioned and said a word that it is not pleasing to repeat. His meaning was: You consider yourself a philosopher; why do you assail a philosopher? Now, with all these objections, you also claim wisdom and spiritual knowledge! Turn in repentance to God, who created and fashioned you, and do not assail those who have believed in God and his verses, and who have suffered in his path what no one in all the worlds can reckon. Affirming or denying souls on the basis of imitation has never sufficed, nor will it ever suffice. Many a curse returns upon the one who utters it, and many a rejection returns upon the one who rejects, while he remains unaware of it within himself and is among the heedless.

499

قل موتوا بغيظكم قد كسر صنم الوهم و الهوى و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه بوهمى متشبّث شده كه در ابداع شبه نداشته نميدانم بچه دليل و برهان نفسى كه آن نفوس را ردّ نموده ترجيح داده بشنو نصيحت اين عبد را و ابدا نفسى را ردّ مكن چه كه مخصوص نقطه بيان جميع را وصيّت فرموده كه احدى بر احدى تعرّض ننمايد چنانچه نفس معروف و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو با آنكه با كمال حيله و تدبير در صدد قطع سدره ربانيّه بر آمد و كشف شد آنچه در صدرش0پنهان بود مع‌ذلك ايشان باو تعرّض نفرمودند تا آنكه اوراقى از او بين يدى حاضر شد و جميع در ردّ اللّه و آياته بوده و الان بخطّ خود او موجود لذا آيات الهى در ردّ من ردّ على اللّه از جبروت امر نازل و هذا لم يكن من عنده بل من لدى اللّه المقتدر المهيمن العزيز القيّوم

Qul mūtū bi-ghayẓikum qad kusira ṣanam al-wahm wa al-hawā. Wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh be-vahmī motashabbeth shodeh keh dar ebdāʿ shebh nadāshteh. Namīdānam be-cheh dalīl va borhān nafsī keh ān nofūs rā radd nemūdeh tarjīḥ dādeh. Beshnow naṣīḥat-e īn ʿabd rā va abadan nafsī rā radd makon, cheh keh makhṣūṣ Noqṭeh-ye Bayān jamīʿ rā vaṣīyat farmūdeh keh aḥadī bar aḥadī taʿarroż nanamāyad. Chenāncheh nafs-e maʿrūf, wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, bā ānkeh bā kamāl-e ḥīleh va tadbīr dar ṣadad-e qaṭʿ-e Sedreh-ye Rabbānīyeh bar-āmad va kashf shod āncheh dar ṣadrash [corrupted text] penhān būd, maʿa dhālek īshān be-ū taʿarroż nafarmūdand tā ānkeh awrāqī az ū bayna yaday ḥāżer shod va jamīʿ dar radd Allāh va āyātih būdeh va al-ān be-khaṭṭ-e khod-e ū mawjūd. Ledhā āyāt-e elāhī dar radd-e man radda ʿalā Allāh az jabarūt-e amr nāzel, wa hādhā lam yakun min ʿindihi bal min ladā Allāh al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm.

Say: Die in your rage! The idol of delusion and desire has been shattered. By God, besides whom there is no god, he has clung to a delusion without parallel in creation. I do not know by what evidence or proof you have preferred the person who rejected those souls. Hear the counsel of this servant and never reject anyone, for the Point of the Bayān specifically enjoined everyone not to assail anyone. Thus, although the well-known individual—by God, besides whom there is no god—sought with the utmost cunning and calculation to cut down the divine Lote Tree, and what lay [corrupted original text] hidden in his heart was disclosed, he nevertheless did not assail him until some papers from him were brought into his presence. They were all in rejection of God and his verses, and they still exist in his own handwriting. Thus divine verses descended from the dominion of the Cause in rejection of the one who rejected God. This was not from himself, but from God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.

500

و آيات مختص است بصاحب ظهور چنانچه نقطه بيان تصريح فرموده كه بعد از غروب شمس حقيقت احدى استماع آيات اللّه نخواهد نمود الّا حين ظهور بعد و همين نفس معروف ليالى و اسحار بين يدى قائم و آيات الهى بر او القاء ميشد و بعد بمجرّد دو كلمه چنان مغرور شده كه ارتكاب نمود آنچه را كه احدى از مظاهر نفى ارتكاب ننموده و هر نفسيكه فى‌الجمله صاحب شعور باشد ميداند كه او لازال خدمت حضرت ابهى بوده و اگر هم چيزى ادراك نموده رشحى از طمطام اين بحر موّاج باو افاضه شده مع‌ذلك تو نوشته آنچه را كه هيچ عاقلى ننوشته فو‌اللّه اگر صد‌هزار امثال او بين يدى قادر بر تكلم باشند چنانچه اين عباد بچشم خود مشاهده نموده‌اند و تو بوهم صرف ميگوئى بارى لعنت كند خدا آن شيطانى كه او و تو هر دو را اغوا نموده و براى رياست ظاهره چه مقدار مفتريات بحقّ نسبت داده انشآءالله اميدواريم كه بگندم رى مرزوق نشود

Va āyāt mokhtaṣṣ ast be-ṣāḥeb-e ẓohūr chenāncheh Noqṭeh-ye Bayān taṣrīḥ farmūdeh keh baʿd az ghorūb-e Shams-e Ḥaqīqat aḥadī estemāʿ-e āyāt Allāh nakhāhad nemūd ellā ḥīn-e ẓohūr-e baʿd va hamīn nafs-e maʿrūf layālī va asḥār bayna yaday qāʾem va āyāt-e elāhī bar ū elqā mīshod va baʿd be-mojarrad-e do kalameh chenān maghrūr shodeh keh ertekāb nemūd āncheh rā keh aḥadī az maẓāher-e nafy ertekāb nanemūdeh va har nafsī keh fī al-jomleh ṣāḥeb-e shoʿūr bāshad mīdānad keh ū lā-zāl khedmat-e Ḥażrat-e Abhā būdeh va agar ham chīzī edrāk nemūdeh rashḥī az ṭamṭām-e īn baḥr-e mavvāj be-ū efāżeh shodeh. Maʿa dhālek to neveshteh āncheh rā keh hīch ʿāqelī naneveshteh. Fa-wa-Allāh agar ṣad hezār amthāl-e ū bayna yaday qāder bar takallom bāshand, chenāncheh īn ʿebād be-chashm-e khod moshāhedeh nemūdeh-and va to be-vahm-e ṣerf mīgūʾī. Bārī laʿnat konad Khodā ān shayṭānī keh ū va to har do rā eghvā nemūdeh va barā-ye rīyāsat-e ẓāhereh cheh meqdār moftarayāt be-Ḥaqq nesbat dādeh. In shāʾ Allāh omīdvārīm keh be-gandom-e Ray marzūq nashavad.

Verses belong exclusively to the bearer of a revelation, as the Point of the Bayān has explicitly stated: after the setting of the Sun of Truth, no one will hear the verses of God until the next revelation. This same well-known individual would stand in his presence through the nights and at dawn, and divine verses were imparted to him. Afterward, on the strength of merely two words, he became so conceited that he committed what none of the manifestations of negation had committed. Anyone with even a little understanding knows that he was always in the service of the All-Glorious One, and if he understood anything at all, it was a sprinkling bestowed upon him from the depths of this surging ocean. Yet you have written what no rational person has written. By God, if a hundred thousand like him could speak in his presence! These servants have witnessed it with their own eyes, whereas you speak from sheer delusion. In any case, may God curse that satan who has led both him and you astray, and who has attributed so many fabrications to the True One for the sake of outward leadership. God willing, we hope that he will not be granted the wheat of Ray.

501

و ديگر نميدانم كه ميرزا غوغا چه ارتكاب نموده كه باين قسم بغضش در قلوب امثال او جا گرفته بشأنى كه در رسائل در ردّ او مينويسند بسا از نفوسند كه در غلبات ذوق و شوق كلماتى ميگويند ايشانهم سخنى ذكر نموده‌اند ديگر نبايد باين شدّت در صدد هتك حرمت عباد باشند بترسيد از خدا و قلوب عباد او را ميازاريد هيچ امرى از امثال شما ظاهر نشده كه فى‌الجمله رايحه حقّ از او استشمام شود نسئل اللّه بأن يجعل صدوركم خالياً عن غلّ احبّائه و انّه كان على كلّ شیء قدير

Va dīgar namīdānam keh Mīrzā Ghawghā cheh ertekāb nemūdeh keh be-īn qesm boghżash dar qolūb-e amthāl-e ū jā gerefteh be-shaʾnī keh dar rasāʾel dar radd-e ū mīnevīsand. Basā az nofūsand keh dar ghalabāt-e dhowq va showq kalemātī mīgūyand, īshān ham sokhanī dhekr nemūdeh-and. Dīgar nabāyad be-īn sheddat dar ṣadad-e hatk-e ḥormat-e ʿebād bāshand. Betarsīd az Khodā va qolūb-e ʿebād-e ū rā mayāzārīd. Hīch amrī az amthāl-e shomā ẓāher nashodeh keh fī al-jomleh rāyeḥeh-ye Ḥaqq az ū esteshmām shavad. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yajʿala ṣudūrakum khāliyan ʿan ghilli aḥibbāʾihi wa innahu kāna ʿalā kull shayʾ qadīr.

Furthermore, I do not know what Mīrzā Ghawghā has done that such hatred of him has taken root in the hearts of people like him, to the point that they write treatises against him. Many souls utter words when overcome by spiritual delight and longing; he too has said something. They should not seek so fiercely to dishonor God’s servants. Fear God and do not wound the hearts of his servants. Nothing has appeared from people like you from which even a trace of the fragrance of the True One can be perceived. We ask God to free your hearts from rancor toward his loved ones. He is indeed powerful over all things.

502

قول الملقى كبر اعراضه و عظم نفاقه و اگر مدّعى اينمقام حجّتى غير از آيات دارند بفرمائيد و اگر آيات است ميرزا يحيى علاوه از نصّ صريح و براهين قاطعه در مقابل ايستاده ادّعاى بالاتر و بيشتر و بهتر دارد و مجلّدات كثيره در دست دارد انتهى

Qawl al-mulqī, kabura iʿrāḍuhu wa ʿaẓuma nifāquhu: Va agar moddaʿī-ye īn maqām ḥojjatī ghayr az āyāt dārand befarmāʾīd va agar āyāt ast Mīrzā Yaḥyā ʿelāveh az naṣṣ-e ṣarīḥ va barāhīn-e qāṭeʿeh dar moqābel īstādeh eddeʿā-ye bālātar va bīshtar va behtar dārad va mojalladāt-e kathīreh dar dast dārad. Intahā.

The words of the instigator—great is his aversion and immense his hypocrisy: “If the claimant to this station has a proof other than verses, please state it. If it is verses, Mīrzā Yaḥyā, in addition to an explicit text and decisive proofs, stands opposed with a higher, greater, and better claim, and has many volumes in hand.” End of quotation.

503

فو‌اللّه بكلماتى تكلّم نموده كه انسان شرم ميدارد كه ملاحظه نمايد چه زود ميزان اللّه را تغيير داده‌ايد و حرمة اللّه را ضايع نموده‌ايد و چه زود بتحريف كلماتش مشغول گشته‌ايد فو‌اللّه هر ذى بصرى از آنچه نوشته شأنك و شأن ملقيك را ادراك نموده و مينمايد فويل له و للّذين اتّبعوه اين عبد متحيّر است كه كدام يك از اين مزخرفاترا استماع نمايد و جواب ذكر كند آخر اين چهار روز عمر چه تو را بآن داشته كه باين هذيانات وهميّه نفسيّه بالقاى شيطان مشغول شده و از شاطى بحر احديّه محروم مانده گيرم جميع نفوس او را من دون اللّه ربّ اخذ نمودند چه نفعى از براى تو و او حاصل لا فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده بل خسران دنيا و آخرت

Fa-wa-Allāh be-kalemātī takallom nemūdeh keh ensān sharm mīdārad keh molāḥeẓeh namāyad. Cheh zūd mīzān Allāh rā taghyīr dādeh-īd va ḥormat Allāh rā żāyeʿ nemūdeh-īd va cheh zūd be-taḥrīf-e kalemātash mashghūl gashteh-īd. Fa-wa-Allāh har dhī-baṣarī az āncheh neveshteh shaʾnaka wa shaʾna mulqīka rā edrāk nemūdeh va mīnamāyad. Fa-waylun lahu wa li-alladhīna ittabaʿūhu. Īn ʿabd motaḥayyer ast keh kodām yek az īn mozakhrafāt rā estemāʿ namāyad va javāb dhekr konad. Ākhar īn chahār rūz ʿomr cheh to rā be-ān dāshteh keh be-īn hadhayānāt-e vahmīyeh-ye nafsīyeh be-elqā-ye shayṭān mashghūl shodeh va az shāṭī-ye baḥr-e aḥadīyeh maḥrūm māndeh? Gīram jamīʿ-e nofūs ū rā min dūn Allāh rabb akhdh nemūdand, cheh nafʿī az barā-ye to va ū ḥāṣel? Lā fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi, bal khosrān-e donyā va ākherat.

By God, he has spoken words that one is ashamed to read. How quickly you have changed God’s standard and violated his sanctity, and how quickly you have set about distorting his words! By God, everyone with discernment has perceived, and continues to perceive, your standing and that of your instigator from what you have written. Woe to him and to those who have followed him! This servant is bewildered as to which of these absurdities to hear and answer. In the end, during these few brief days of life, what has driven you to occupy yourself with these fanciful, self-centered ravings at Satan’s prompting, and to remain deprived of the shore of the ocean of divine unity? Suppose that all souls took him as a lord instead of God: what benefit would come to you and him? None, by the One in whose hand is my soul! Rather, it would be loss in this world and the next.

504

نوشته كه صاحب اين ظهور غير از آيات اگر چيزى دارد بياورد و اين تصريحا مخالف است بآنچه نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه در كلّ بيان نازل فرموده و من تكلّم بهذه الكلمة او يتكلّم لعن و يلعنه كلّ الذّرّات و من فى ملكوت الأمر و الخلق بلى و اللّه ناس را احمق دانسته‌ايد چه كه اگر ناس احمق نبودند تو و نفس معرض قادر نبوديد بر اينكه جهرا بغير ما تكلّم به اللّه تكلّم نمائيد نقطه بيان در كلّ بيان تصريحا فرموده كه حجّت ظهور بعد غير آيات نبوده و نخواهد بود و تو تصريحا نوشته كه اگر حجّتى غير از آيات دارد اتيان نمايد و تقول ما لا تشعران

Neveshte ke ṣāḥeb-e īn ẓohūr gheyr az āyāt agar chīzī dārad biyāvarad va īn taṣrīḥan mokhālef ast bā ānche Noqṭe-ye Bayān rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh dar koll-e Bayān nāzel farmūde va man takallama bi-hādhihi al-kalima aw yatakallam luʿina wa yalʿanuhu kull al-dharrāt wa man fī malakūt al-amr wa al-khalq. Balā va Allāh nās rā aḥmaq dāneste-īd che ke agar nās aḥmaq nabūdand to va nafs-e moʿreż qāder nabūdīd bar īnke jahran be-gheyr-e mā takallama bihi Allāh takallom namāyīd. Noqṭe-ye Bayān dar koll-e Bayān taṣrīḥan farmūde ke ḥojjat-e ẓohūr-e baʿd gheyr-e āyāt nabūde va nakhāhad būd va to taṣrīḥan neveshte ke agar ḥojjatī gheyr az āyāt dārad etyān namāyad wa taqūlu mā lā tashʿurān.

You have written that if the bearer of this revelation has anything other than verses, he should produce it. This explicitly contradicts what the Point of the Bayān—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for him—has revealed throughout the Bayān. Whoever has spoken or speaks these words has been cursed and is cursed by every atom and everyone in the kingdoms of command and creation. Yes, by God, you have taken people for fools, for if people were not fools, you and that soul who has turned away would not have been able to speak openly in terms other than those God has spoken. The Point of the Bayān has explicitly stated throughout the Bayān that the proof of the next revelation has been and will be nothing other than verses, yet you have explicitly written that if he has a proof other than verses, he should produce it. You say what neither of you understands.

505

مقامى را كه اراده نموده كه از براى معرض باللّه ثابت نمائى آن مقام منوط بقول نقطه اولى بوده و نقطه اولى بآيات الهى ثابت شده حال تفكّر كن كه چه قدر از سبيل حقّ دور مانده‌ايد و در تيه ضلالت افتاده‌ايد تفكّر فيما ارتكبت و تكلّمت به لعلّ تتنبّه من فعلك و تكون من المستغفرين الى اللّه الّذى خلق كلّ شیء بأمره و اظهر مظهر نفسه بسلطانه و جعل ذيله مقدّساً منك و من ظنونك و من اوهامك ثمّ اوهام الأصنام الّذين اتّخذتموها ربّاً من دون اللّه فويل لهم من عذاب يوم عقيم

Maqāmī rā ke erāde namūde ke az barā-ye moʿreż be-Allāh thābet namāyī ān maqām manūṭ be-qowl-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā būde va Noqṭe-ye Ūlā be-āyāt-e elāhī thābet shode. Ḥāl tafakkor kon ke che qadr az sabīl-e Ḥaqq dūr mānde-īd va dar tīh-e żalālat oftāde-īd. Tafakkar fīmā irtakabta wa takallamta bihi laʿalla tatanabbahu min fiʿlika wa takūnu min al-mustaghfirīn ilā Allāh alladhī khalaqa kulla shayʾ bi-amrihi wa aẓhara maẓhara nafsihi bi-sulṭānihi wa jaʿala dhaylahu muqaddasan minka wa min ẓunūnika wa min awhāmika thumma awhām al-aṣnām alladhīna ittakhadhtumūhā rabban min dūni Allāh fa-waylun lahum min ʿadhābi yawmin ʿaqīm.

The station you have sought to establish for the one who has turned away from God depended on the words of the Primal Point, and the Primal Point was established by divine verses. Now reflect on how far you have strayed from the path of the True One and fallen into the wilderness of error. Reflect on what you have done and said, so that you may become aware of your deed and be among those who seek forgiveness from God, who created all things by his command, brought forth the Manifestation of his own Self through his sovereignty, and kept the hem of his robe sanctified from you, your suppositions, and your imaginings, and from the imaginings of the idols you have taken as a lord instead of God. Woe to them for the punishment of a barren day!

506

و اللّه از حمقاى بيان مطمئنّيد و حقّ داريد حال آيات را كنار ميگذاريم آنچه نفس معروف ظاهر نمايد اگر فوق آن از منبع قدرت الهيّه ظاهر نشد تسليم مجعولات تو و آن نفس مشرك باللّه را مينمائيم فو‌اللّه در اين امر هم ثابت نيستيد و نخواهيد بود چه كه نفس معروف را ميشناسيم در دعوى و ادّعا اكبر من كلّ كبير و در ظهور و فعل اصغر من كلّ صغير اى فقير بی‌بضاعت كاش اقلّا يك مثل خودى را ربّ اخذ نموده بودى چه فايده كه بسيار غافل مشاهده ميشوى و الّا بعضى مطالب مذكور ميداشتم تا وهم را خوب ادراك نمائى و بر مكرش مطّلع گردى

Va Allāh az ḥomaqā-ye Bayān moṭmaʾennīd va ḥaqq dārīd. Ḥāl āyāt rā kenār mīgoẕārīm ānche nafs-e maʿrūf ẓāher namāyad agar fowq-e ān az manbaʿ-e qodrat-e elāhiyye ẓāher nashod taslīm-e majʿūlāt-e to va ān nafs-e moshrek be-Allāh rā mīnamāyīm. Fa-wa-Allāh dar īn amr ham thābet nīstīd va nakhāhīd būd che ke nafs-e maʿrūf rā mīshenāsīm dar daʿvī va eddeʿā akbar min kull kabīr va dar ẓohūr va feʿl aṣghar min kull ṣaghīr. Ey faqīr-e bī-beżāʿat kāsh aqallan yek methl-e khodī rā rabb akhẕ namūde būdī. Che fāyede ke besyār ghāfel moshāhede mīshavī va ellā baʿżī maṭāleb maẕkūr mīdāshtam tā vahm rā khūb edrāk namāyī va bar makrash moṭṭaleʿ gardī.

By God, you feel secure in the fools of the Bayān, and you have reason to. Now we will set verses aside: whatever that well-known soul may produce, if something surpassing it does not appear from the source of divine power, we will submit to your fabrications and those of that soul who associates partners with God. Yet, by God, you do not stand firm in this matter either, nor will you, for we know that well-known soul: in claims and pretensions, greater than anyone great, and in manifestation and action, smaller than anyone small. O destitute pauper, if only you had at least taken someone like yourself as a lord! But what use is it? You appear utterly heedless. Otherwise, I would have mentioned certain matters so that you might fully comprehend this illusion and become aware of his deceit.

507

و اينكه نوشته اگر آيات است ميرزا يحيى در مقابل ايستاده و ادّعاى بالاتر و بيشتر و بهتر دارد و مجلّدات كثيره در دست دارد ما صغر شأنه و كبر قوله اين ادّعا از آن منبع غرور و نفس و هوى مثل آن است كه نمله وادى جرزه ادّعاى ربوبيّت نمايد بلكه اعظم عند كلّ ذى بصر منير چه كه كينونت او بحرفى از اين آيات عزّ صمدانى خلق شده و آنچه كلمات از او ظاهر شده در رتبه او بوده فافتح بصرك لتعرف و ما عنده لن يذكر عند اللّه ابداً الّا بأن يرجع اليه و يتوب و يكون من التّائبين و المستغفرين فو‌اللّه ارتكب ما لا ارتكبه احد قبله

Va īnke neveshte agar āyāt ast Mīrzā Yaḥyā dar moqābel īstāde va eddeʿā-ye bālātar va bīshtar va behtar dārad va mojalladāt-e kathīre dar dast dārad mā aṣghara shaʾnahu wa akbara qawlahu. Īn eddeʿā az ān manbaʿ-e ghorūr va nafs va havā methl-e ān ast ke namle-ye vādī-ye joroze eddeʿā-ye robūbiyyat namāyad balke aʿẓam ʿinda kull dhī baṣar munīr che ke keynūnat-e ū be-ḥarfī az īn āyāt-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī khalq shode va ānche kalemāt az ū ẓāher shode dar rotbe-ye ū būde fa-ftaḥ baṣaraka li-taʿrif wa mā ʿindahu lan yudhkara ʿinda Allāh abadan illā bi-an yarjiʿa ilayhi wa yatūba wa yakūna min al-tāʾibīn wa al-mustaghfirīn fa-wa-Allāh irtakaba mā lā irtakabahu aḥad qablahu.

As for your statement, “If it is verses, Mīrzā Yaḥyā stands opposed with a higher, greater, and better claim, and has many volumes in hand”—how low his standing, and how grand his words! This claim from that source of pride, self, and desire is like an ant in a barren valley claiming lordship; indeed, to everyone with illumined sight it is even greater, for his very being was created through a single letter of these verses of eternal glory, and whatever words have issued from him have been at his own level. Open your eyes, then, so that you may recognize this. What he possesses will never be mentioned before God unless he returns to him, repents, and becomes one of those who repent and seek forgiveness. By God, he has committed what no one before him has committed.

508

حال خود تو انصاف ده كه اين كلمه از چه رو ظاهر شده كه نوشته او در مقابل ايستاده و ادّعاى بالاتر و بيشتر و بهتر دارد هر جاهلى از اين قول ننگ داشته تا چه رسد بعاقل اى بی‌ بصر همينكه نوشته كه در مقابل ايستاده همين دليلى است واضح بر بطلان او صاحبان شامّه مقدّسه از نفس همين كلمات روايح غرور و استكبار و اعراض از حقّ استشمام نمايند گويا ابداً تلاوت فرقانهم ننموده كه ميفرمايد قوله تعالى و من اظلم ممن افترى على اللّه كذباً او قال اوحى الىّ و لم يوح اليه شیء و من قال سانزل بمثل ما انزل اللّه انتهى قدرى تفكّر در اين آيه منزله نما كه شايد موقن شوى باينكه هر نفسى بگويد نازل ميكنم مثل آنچه حقّ نازل فرموده همين كلمه مبطل و مكذب او بوده و خواهد بود

Ḥāl khod-e to enṣāf deh ke īn kaleme az che rū ẓāher shode ke neveshte ū dar moqābel īstāde va eddeʿā-ye bālātar va bīshtar va behtar dārad. Har jāhelī az īn qowl nang dāshte tā che resad be-ʿāqel. Ey bī-baṣar hamīnke neveshte ke dar moqābel īstāde hamīn dalīlī ast vāżeḥ bar boṭlān-e ū. Ṣāḥebān-e shāmme-ye moqaddase az nafs-e hamīn kalemāt ravāyeḥ-e ghorūr va estekbār va eʿrāż az Ḥaqq esteshmām namāyand. Gūyā abadan telāvat-e Forqān ham nanamūde ke mīfarmāyad qawluhu taʿālā wa man aẓlamu mimmani iftarā ʿalā Allāhi kadhiban aw qāla ūḥiya ilayya wa lam yūḥa ilayhi shayʾun wa man qāla sa-unzilu mithla mā anzala Allāh intahā. Qadrī tafakkor dar īn āye-ye monzale namā ke shāyad mūqen shavī be-īnke har nafsī begūyad nāzel mīkonam methl-e ānche Ḥaqq nāzel farmūde hamīn kaleme mobṭel va mokaẕẕeb-e ū būde va khāhad būd.

Now judge fairly for yourself: what prompted these words you have written, that he stands opposed with a higher, greater, and better claim? Any ignorant person would be ashamed of this statement, let alone a person of understanding. O sightless one, the very fact that you have written that he stands opposed is itself a clear proof of his falsity. Those with a sanctified sense of smell perceive in these very words the odors of pride, arrogance, and turning away from the True One. It seems you have never even read the Qurʾān, which declares—exalted are his words: “Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God, or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ when nothing has been revealed to him, or one who says, ‘I will send down the like of what God has sent down’?” End of quotation. Reflect a little on this revealed verse, so that you may become certain that whenever anyone says, “I will send down the like of what the True One has sent down,” this very statement has been and will be what invalidates his claim and proves him false.

509

اى اصمّ حقيقى بشنو نغمه ورقاى الهى را كه بر اعلى سدره بيان تغنّى فرموده ميفرمايد كه اگر تو در اين حين ظاهر شوى من از اوّل ساجدين و اوّل مؤمنين بتو بوده و خواهم بود و تو حيا و شرم از اين بيان لسان رحمن ننموده و تصريحا نوشته كه در مقابل ايستاده و بالاتر و بيشتر و بهتر ادّعا دارد و اللّه همين كلمات برهانيست آشكار بر اعراض و كفر و نفاق امثال آن نفوس و هم‌چنين ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره اگر كلّ اهل بيان در جوهر علم مثل او گردند كه ثمر نمى‌بخشد الّا بتصديق باو و اين بسى واضح است كه احدى در جوهر علم مثل او ممكن نه الّا نفس نقطه آن شمس الهى درباره خود چنين ميفرمايد و تو از براى نفسى كه ميخواهى بقول آن شمس حقيقت امرش را مجعولاً ثابت نمائى بذكر اينگونه كلمات نالايقه مشغول شده فوا حسرتا لك و له و للّذين اتّبعو كما تاللّه ان هم الّا على ضلال مبين

Ey aṣamm-e ḥaqīqī beshnow naghme-ye Varqā-ye Elāhī rā ke bar aʿlā-ye Sedre-ye Bayān taghannī farmūde mīfarmāyad ke agar to dar īn ḥīn ẓāher shavī man az avval-e sājedīn va avval-e moʾmenīn be-to būde va khāham būd. Va to ḥayā va sharm az īn bayān-e Lesān-e Raḥmān nanamūde va taṣrīḥan neveshte ke dar moqābel īstāde va bālātar va bīshtar va behtar eddeʿā dārad. Va Allāh hamīn kalemāt borhānīst āshkār bar eʿrāż va kofr va nefāq-e amthāl-e ān nofūs. Va hamchenīn mīfarmāyad qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu agar koll-e ahl-e Bayān dar jowhar-e ʿelm methl-e ū gardand ke thamar namībakhshad ellā be-taṣdīq be-ū va īn basī vāżeḥ ast ke aḥadī dar jowhar-e ʿelm methl-e ū momken na ellā nafs-e Noqṭe. Ān Shams-e Elāhī darbāre-ye khod chenīn mīfarmāyad va to az barā-ye nafsī ke mīkhāhī be-qowl-e ān Shams-e Ḥaqīqat amrash rā majʿūlan thābet namāyī be-ẕekr-e īngūne kalemāt-e nālāyeqe mashghūl shode fa-wā ḥasratā laka wa lahu wa li-lladhīna ittabaʿūkumā ta-Allāh in hum illā ʿalā ḍalālin mubīn.

O truly deaf one, hear the song of the divine Dove, who has sung upon the highest branches of the Tree of the Bayān, saying: “If you were to appear at this moment, I have been and will be the first to bow down and the first to believe in you.” Yet you have felt no shame or embarrassment before this utterance of the Tongue of the All-Merciful, and have explicitly written that he stands opposed with a higher, greater, and better claim. By God, these very words are a manifest proof of the aversion, unbelief, and hypocrisy of such souls. He also says—exalted be his mention: “If all the people of the Bayān were to become like him in the essence of knowledge, it would bear no fruit except through acknowledgment of him. And it is perfectly clear that no one can be like him in the essence of knowledge except the Point himself.” That divine Sun speaks thus of himself, while you have occupied yourself with such unworthy statements on behalf of a soul whose cause you wish falsely to establish through the words of that Sun of Truth. Alas for you, for him, and for those who have followed you both! By God, they are in nothing but manifest error.

510

و از اين گذشته مينويسى كه مجلّدات كثيره در دست دارد بعينه اين قول مثل اقوال معرضين نزد هر ظهور است كه افتخار بتاليفات و تصنيفات خود نموده و بر سلطان اسماء و صفات اعتراض نموده‌اند اگر كتب نفسى را غنى مينمود هرآينه كتب روى ارض در حين ظهور نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه ناس را غنى و مستغنى مينمود لا و اللّه كلّ فقراء لدى باب غنائه و كلّ جهلاء لدى باب علمه و كلّ عجزاء عند ظهور قدرته و انّه لهو الغنىّ بنفسه عمّا سواه و انّه لهو المقتدر على العالمين

Va az īn goẕashte mīnevīsī ke mojalladāt-e kathīre dar dast dārad. Be-ʿeyneh īn qowl methl-e aqvāl-e moʿreżīn nazd-e har ẓohūr ast ke eftekhār be-taʾlīfāt va taṣnīfāt-e khod namūde va bar Solṭān-e Asmā va Ṣefāt eʿterāż namūde-and. Agar kotob nafsī rā ghanī mīnamūd harāyene kotob-e rū-ye arż dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh nās rā ghanī va mostaghnī mīnamūd. Lā wa-Allāh kull fuqarāʾ ladā bābi ghināʾihi wa kull juhalāʾ ladā bābi ʿilmihi wa kull ʿujazāʾ ʿinda ẓuhūri qudratihi wa innahu la-huwa al-ghaniyy bi-nafsihi ʿammā siwāhu wa innahu la-huwa al-muqtadir ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

Besides this, you write that he has many volumes in hand. This statement is exactly like the statements of those who turn away at every revelation, who have taken pride in their own writings and compositions and objected to the Sovereign of names and attributes. If books could make a soul self-sufficient, then surely the books on the face of the earth at the time of the revelation of the Point of the Bayān—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for him—would have made people self-sufficient and free of need. No, by God! All are poor at the gate of his wealth, all are ignorant at the gate of his knowledge, and all are powerless before the manifestation of his power. He, in his own Self, is indeed independent of all else, and he is indeed the All-Powerful over all worlds.

511

از خود تو انصاف ميطلبم اگر نزد نفسى يكقطعه از ياقوت باشد و نزد نفسى صد‌هزار خروار حصاة حال كدام را غنىّ ميدانى و بی‌نياز ميشمرى اگر صدهزار كتب ظاهر شود كه ثمرى نبخشيده و نخواهد بخشيد الّا بتصديق بظهور چه كه كلمات بمنزله مشكوة و حبّ و ذكر الهى بمنزله سراج اگر آن مشكوة از سراج محروم ماند آلتى خواهد بود معطّل كلمات خوب است در وقتيكه نفحات حبّ الهى از او استشمام شود و بعد از فقدان اين رتبه مثل ادنى كلمات اهل ارض ملاحظه ميشود خف عن اللّه و لا تقابل معه احد من عباده و لا تذكر غيره فى ساحة قدسه فاخرق الأحجاب ثمّ انطق بثنآء ربّك بين العالمين

Az khod-e to enṣāf mīṭalabam agar nazd-e nafsī yek qeṭʿe az yāqūt bāshad va nazd-e nafsī ṣad hezār kharvār ḥaṣāt ḥāl kodām rā ghanī mīdānī va bī-niyāz mīshomorī. Agar ṣad hezār kotob ẓāher shavad ke thamarī nabakhshīde va nakhāhad bakhshīd ellā be-taṣdīq be-ẓohūr che ke kalemāt be-manzale-ye meshkāt va ḥobb va ẕekr-e elāhī be-manzale-ye serāj. Agar ān meshkāt az serāj maḥrūm mānad ālatī khāhad būd moʿaṭṭal. Kalemāt khūb ast dar vaqtīke nafaḥāt-e ḥobb-e elāhī az ū esteshmām shavad va baʿd az foqdān-e īn rotbe methl-e adnā kalemāt-e ahl-e arż molāḥeẓe mīshavad. Khaf ʿan Allāh wa lā tuqābil maʿahu aḥadan min ʿibādihi wa lā tadhkur ghayrahu fī sāḥati qudsihi fa-khriq al-aḥjāb thumma inṭiq bi-thanāʾi rabbika bayna al-ʿālamīn.

I ask you yourself to judge fairly: if one person possesses a single ruby and another a hundred thousand donkey-loads of pebbles, which do you consider rich and free of need? Even if a hundred thousand books were to appear, they have borne and will bear no fruit except through acknowledgment of the revelation, for words are like a niche, and the love and remembrance of God are like a lamp. If that niche remains without the lamp, it will be a useless object. Words are good when the fragrances of divine love can be perceived in them; when they lack this quality, they are regarded as the lowliest words of the people of the earth. Fear God, set none of his servants against him, and mention no one other than him in the court of his holiness. Tear through the veils, then speak the praise of your Lord among all peoples.

512

در اينمقام بيان منزل بيان را استماع نما كه بيكى از حروفات حىّ وصيّت فرموده ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره اگر يك آيه از آيات آن جوهر قدم را تلاوت كنى يا ثبت كنى اعزّ تر خواهد بود عند اللّه از آنكه كلّ بيان را ثبت كنى زيرا كه آن روز آن يك آيه تو را نجات ميدهد ولى كلّ بيان نميدهد مثل آنكه اگر كسى در زمان رسول خدا كلّ كتب سماويّه و آنچه در ظلّ آنها نوشته شده ثبت مينمود حكم لاشیء در حقّ او ميشد ولى اگر يك آيه از قرآن ثبت مينمود حكم ايمان در حقّ او ميشد اينست جوهر علم و عمل انتهى

Dar īn maqām bayān-e Monzel-e Bayān rā estemāʿ namā ke be-yekī az Ḥorūfāt-e Ḥayy vaṣiyyat farmūde mīfarmāyad qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu agar yek āye az āyāt-e ān Jowhar-e Qedam rā telāvat konī yā thabt konī aʿazz-tar khāhad būd ʿinda Allāh az ānke koll-e Bayān rā thabt konī zīrā ke ān rūz ān yek āye to rā nejāt mīdahad valī koll-e Bayān namīdahad methl-e ānke agar kasī dar zamān-e Rasūl-e Khodā koll-e kotob-e samāviyye va ānche dar ẓell-e ānhā neveshte shode thabt mīnamūd ḥokm-e lā-shayʾ dar ḥaqq-e ū mīshod valī agar yek āye az Qorʾān thabt mīnamūd ḥokm-e īmān dar ḥaqq-e ū mīshod īnast jowhar-e ʿelm va ʿamal intahā.

Here listen to the words of the Revealer of the Bayān, who gave this counsel to one of the Letters of the Living. He says—exalted be his mention: “If you recite or write down a single verse from the verses of that Essence of Eternity, it will be more precious in the sight of God than if you were to write down the whole Bayān, for on that day that single verse will save you, while the whole Bayān will not. Similarly, if someone in the time of the Messenger of God had written down all the heavenly books and everything written under their shadow, he would have been judged as nothing; but if he had written down a single verse of the Qurʾān, he would have been judged a believer. This is the essence of knowledge and action.” End of quotation.

513

حال ملاحظه كن كه عظمت امر بچه مقدار بلند و عظيم است و حقارت تو و كلماتت و كلمات مشركين در چه رتبه و مقام شمس مشرقه باين حجبات محجوب نماند و نفس ظهور بآلايش اين كلمات نيالايد انّه قد كان مقدّساً منكم و من كلماتكم و انّه بنفسه حجّة اللّه بين بريّته و ينبغى لمن على الأرض بأن يتّبعوا ما يظهر من عنده لا بما كان عندهم و انّ هذا لهو الحقّ و ما بعد الحقّ الّا الضّلال ان انتم من العارفين

Ḥāl molāḥeẓe kon ke ʿaẓamat-e amr be-che meqdār boland va ʿaẓīm ast va ḥaqārat-e to va kalemātat va kalemāt-e moshrekīn dar che rotbe va maqām. Shams-e moshreqe be-īn ḥojobāt maḥjūb namānad va nafs-e ẓohūr be-ālāyesh-e īn kalemāt nayālāyad. Innahu qad kāna muqaddasan minkum wa min kalimātikum wa innahu bi-nafsihi ḥujjat Allāh bayna bariyyatihi wa yanbaghī li-man ʿalā al-arḍ bi-an yattabiʿū mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi lā bi-mā kāna ʿindahum wa inna hādhā la-huwa al-ḥaqq wa mā baʿda al-ḥaqq illā al-ḍalāl in antum min al-ʿārifīn.

Now consider how lofty and immense is the greatness of the Cause, and how low the station and standing of you, your words, and the words of those who associate partners with God. The shining Sun will not remain concealed by these veils, nor will the Manifestation himself be defiled by the stain of these words. He has ever been sanctified from you and your words, and he himself is God’s proof among his creatures. Those on earth should follow what appears from him, not what they themselves possess. This is indeed the truth, and beyond the truth there is nothing but error, if you are among those who understand.

514

بسا از حمير كه مجلّدات زياد حمل نموده و لكن خود بحرفى از آن شاعر نه چنانچه اين مثل در كتب قبل ذكر شده و در كتاب مبين تصريحاً نازل و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو مجلّداتى كه ميگوئى از براى اين خوبست كه به آب محو شود او يرجعها احد الى مبدئه لانّ ينبغى ان يكون بظنّه قبرا لكلماته اين عباد بسيار از آن مجلّدات ديده‌اند ايكاش صنم وهم را ميشكستى و بديده بصيرت بكلمات مجعوله‌اش نظر مينمودى تاللّه يضحك به و بما ظهر من عنده كلّ عاقل بصير

Basā az ḥamīr ke mojalladāt-e ziyād ḥaml namūde va lāken khod be-ḥarfī az ān shāʿer na chenānche īn mathal dar kotob-e qabl ẕekr shode va dar Ketāb-e Mobīn taṣrīḥan nāzel. Va Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa mojalladātī ke mīgūʾī az barā-ye īn khūb ast ke be-āb maḥv shavad aw yurjiʿahā aḥad ilā mabdaʾihi li-anna yanbaghī an yakūna bi-ẓannihi qabran li-kalimātihi. Īn ʿebād besyār az ān mojalladāt dīde-and. Ey kāsh ṣanam-e vahm rā mīshekastī va be-dīde-ye baṣīrat be-kalemāt-e majʿūle-ash naẓar mīnamūdī. Ta-Allāh yaḍḥaku bihi wa bi-mā ẓahara min ʿindihi kull ʿāqil baṣīr.

Many a donkey has carried numerous volumes without itself understanding a single letter of them, as this likeness has been mentioned in earlier books and explicitly revealed in the perspicuous Book. By God, besides whom there is no god, the volumes you speak of are fit only to be washed away with water, or for someone to return them to their source, for in his own estimation it ought to be a grave for his words. These servants have seen many of those volumes. If only you would shatter the idol of illusion and look with the eye of insight at his fabricated words! By God, every discerning person of understanding laughs at him and at what has issued from him.

515

و ديگر از آن منبع كبر و غرور القاء شده بود قوله حقر قدره سهل است ادّعاى آن دارند كه كلّ آيات مدّعى را كه در مدّت عمر نوشته در يك روز خواهم نوشت بهتر و خوبتر و فصيح تر كه هر طفلى تميز دهد انتهى

Va dīgar az ān manbaʿ-e kebr va ghorūr elqā shode būd qawluhu ḥaqura qadruhu sahl ast eddeʿā-ye ān dārand ke koll-e āyāt-e moddaʿī rā ke dar moddat-e ʿomr neveshte dar yek rūz khāham nevesht behtar va khūbtar va faṣīḥ-tar ke har ṭeflī tamīz dahad intahā.

Another statement had been put forward by that source of arrogance and pride—his words, abased be his standing: “That is easy. He claims, ‘I will write in a single day all the verses the claimant has written during his lifetime, better, finer, and more eloquent, so that any child can tell the difference.’” End of quotation.

516

جميع فضيلتهاى شما و او از اين يك كلمه معلوم شده اين عبد متحيّر است كه در اين مقام چه ذكر نمايد چه كه بكلمه تنطّق كرده كه و اللّه فرعون هم در مقابل كليم بچنين كلمه تكلّم ننموده بيكتا خداوند بی‌مانند كه اگر مقابل يك نفر از طايفين حول قادر بر تكلّم باشد تا چه رسد بمنبع و مظهر و مصدر فيوضات ربانيّه و حال همين قول را تجربه نمائيد آن معرض حاضر و خدّام بيت هم حاضر اگر توانست بشأنى از شئون با خدّام مقابله نمايد نصدّقكم فى كلّ ما قلتم مع آنكه زياد گفتن دليل بر حقّیّت نبوده و نخواهد بود چون تو اعتراضا على اللّه باين دلايل وهميّه مستدلّ شده لذا اين عبد در جواب باين كلمات ذاكر لئلّا يبقى لك من عذر و حجّة و برهان و دليل و الّا ساحت اقدس اطهر از جميع اين دلايل و اذكار و كلمات و اشارات و مدلوليكه بآن تمسّك جسته‌ايد مقدّس بوده و خواهد بود

Jamīʿ-i faḍīlat-hā-yi shumā va ū az īn yak kalameh maʿlūm shudeh. Īn ʿabd mutaḥayyir ast keh dar īn maqām cheh dhikr namāyad, cheh keh bi-kalameh tanaṭṭuq kardeh keh va-Allāh Firʿawn ham dar muqābil-i Kalīm bi-chunīn kalameh takallum nanamūdeh. Bi-yiktā Khudāvand-i bī-mānand keh agar muqābil-i yak nafar az ṭāʾifīn-i ḥawl qādir bar takallum bāshad, tā cheh rasad bi-manbaʿ va maẓhar va maṣdar-i fuyūḍāt-i rabbānīyeh. Va ḥāl hamīn qawl rā tajrebeh namāyīd. Ān muʿriḍ ḥāḍir va khuddām-i bayt ham ḥāḍir. Agar tavānest bi-shaʾnī az shuʾūn bā khuddām muqābeleh namāyad, nuṣaddiqukum fī kulli mā qultum. Maʿ-i ānkeh ziyād guftan dalīl bar ḥaqqīyat nabūdeh va nakhvāhad būd. Chūn tu iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh bi-īn dalāʾil-i vahmīyeh mustadill shudeh, lidhā īn ʿabd dar javāb bi-īn kalamāt dhākir, li-allā yabqā laka min ʿudhrin va ḥujjatin va burhānin va dalīl. Va illā sāḥat-i aqdas aṭhar az jamīʿ-i īn dalāʾil va adhkār va kalamāt va ishārāt va madlūlī keh bi-ān tamassuk justeh-īd muqaddas būdeh va khvāhad būd.

All your virtues and his have become evident from this one statement. This servant is bewildered as to what to say here, for he has uttered words such that, by God, even Pharaoh never spoke their like before Moses. By the one, incomparable God, if only he could speak before a single one of those who circle around, let alone before the source, manifestation, and fountainhead of divine outpourings! Now put this very assertion to the test. That opponent is present, and the servants of the House are also present. If he can confront the servants in any respect, we will acknowledge you in everything you have said. Yet speaking at length has never been, and will never be, a proof of truth. Since you have adduced these imaginary proofs in objection to God, this servant speaks these words in reply, so that no excuse, testimony, demonstration, or proof may remain to you. Otherwise, the most holy, most pure court has always been, and will always remain, sanctified above all these proofs, references, words, allusions, and the meaning to which you have clung.

517

اى بی‌خبر تا حال معادل آنچه از سماء بيان نازل شده نازل و بيك آيه معادله نمينمايد كلّ آنچه در آسمانها و زمين است و اگر تو باين شئون ناظرى پس حاضر شو بين يدى تا ملاحظه نمائى كه حين نزول آيات احدى از عهده تحرير آن بر نيايد جرّب يا ايّها المجرّب بعد الّذى لا ينبغى لأحد ان يجرّب اللّه بل انّه يجرب عباده و يمتحنهم كما امتحنك و رجعك الى اسفل الجحيم

Ay bī-khabar, tā ḥāl muʿādil-i āncheh az samā-yi bayān nāzil shudeh nāzil, va bi-yak āyeh muʿādeleh namīnamāyad kull-i āncheh dar āsmān-hā va zamīn ast. Va agar tu bi-īn shuʾūn nāẓirī, pas ḥāḍir shaw bayna yaday tā mulāḥaẓeh namāʾī keh ḥīn-i nuzūl-i āyāt aḥadī az ʿuhdeh-yi taḥrīr-i ān bar nayāyad. Jarrib yā ayyuhā al-mujarrib, baʿda alladhī lā yanbaghī li-aḥadin an yujarriba Allāh, bal innahu yujarribu ʿibādahu va yamtaḥinuhum kamā imtaḥanaka va rajaʿaka ilā asfali al-jaḥīm.

O unaware one! Thus far, the equivalent of what has descended from the heaven of utterance has been revealed, yet all that is in the heavens and on earth cannot equal a single verse. If you are looking to such matters, then come into my presence, so that you may see that, when the verses descend, no one can manage to write them down. Put it to the test, you who would test, although it is not fitting for anyone to test God. Rather, He tests His servants and tries them, just as He tried you and returned you to the lowest depths of hell.

518

نزد هر عاقل بالغى اين ادلّه شما مثل كلمات صبيان بوده و خواهد بود قد جعلتم امر اللّه لهواً و لعبّا و هزوا و سخریا فسوف يأخذكم اللّه بقهر من لدنه و انّه لقهّار مقتدر قدير روايح دليل و استدلالت رياحين رضوان دليل و برهان الهى را پژمرده نموده و اگر خود اقلّ من آن در كلماتت بانصاف ملاحظه نمائى بر قبائحش اقرب من آن ملتفت شوى هيچ شنيده از اوّل ابداع تا حين كه نفسى بحقّ معارضه نمايد بآنچه تو در اين كتاب سجّين خود معارضه نموده لا فو‌ربّ العالمين ما شهدت عين الابداع احجب منك و لا عين الاختراع اغفل منك و لكن انّك انت تفرح بما رقمت و تكون من الفرحين نسئل اللّه بأن يبدّل فرحك بالحزن الكبرى الّا بأن تتوب و ترجع اليه و تكون من التّائبين

Nazd-i har ʿāqil-i bālighī īn adilleh-yi shumā mithl-i kalamāt-i ṣibyān būdeh va khvāhad būd. Qad jaʿaltum amra Allāhi lahwan va laʿiban va huzuwan va sukhriyyan, fa-sawfa yaʾkhudhukumu Allāhu bi-qahrin min ladunhu va innahu la-qahhārun muqtadirun qadīr. Ravāyiḥ-i dalīl va istidlālat rayāḥīn-i Riḍvān-i dalīl va burhān-i ilāhī rā pazhmurdeh namūdeh. Va agar khud aqall-i min ān dar kalamātat bi-inṣāf mulāḥaẓeh namāʾī, bar qabāyiḥash aqrab-i min ān multafit shavī. Hīch shanīdeh az avval-i ibdāʿ tā ḥīn keh nafsī bi-Ḥaqq muʿāraḍeh namāyad bi-āncheh tu dar īn kitāb-i Sijjīn-i khud muʿāraḍeh namūdeh? Lā fa-wa-rabbi al-ʿālamīn, mā shahidat ʿaynu al-ibdāʿi aḥjaba minka va lā ʿaynu al-ikhtirāʿi aghfala minka, va lākin innaka anta tafraḥu bi-mā raqamta va takūnu mina al-fariḥīn. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yubaddila faraḥaka bi-al-ḥuzni al-kubrā illā bi-an tatūba va tarjiʿa ilayhi va takūna mina al-tāʾibīn.

To every mature, rational person, these proofs of yours have always been, and will always be, like the words of children. You have made the Cause of God a diversion, a game, a mockery, and an object of ridicule. God will therefore seize you with a subduing power from Himself. He is indeed the All-Subduing, the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent. The odors of your proof and argument have withered the fragrant flowers of the paradise of divine proof and demonstration. If you yourself were to consider your words fairly for less than a moment, you would recognize their ugliness in less than a moment. Have you ever heard, from the beginning of creation until now, of anyone opposing the True One with anything like what you have used to oppose Him in this book of Sijjín of yours? No, by the Lord of the worlds! The eye of creation has never witnessed anyone more veiled than you, nor the eye of origination anyone more heedless. Yet you rejoice in what you have written and are among the exultant. We ask God to change your joy into the greatest sorrow, unless you repent, return to Him, and become one of the repentant.

519

و ديگر بالقاى آن مشرك ملقى نوشته عجب‌تر از اين خودشان ادّعاى آن دارند كه عبارات من آيه است و رسولان ايشان ميگويند اطفال هفت ساله ايشان هم آيه ميگويند پس كجا آيات من يظهره اللّه دليل حجّيّت او خواهد بود كه خلق او هم آيه گويد و پسر كوچك ايشانهم آيه ميگويد و اگر گويند كه آيه هم از مقام خلق و حروفات ظاهر گردد و هم از اصل نقطه و شجره حقيقت پس نفس آيه دليل بر حقّیّت اصل شجره نخواهد بود شیء ديگر لازم است بيان شود كه چه چيز است انتهى

Va dīgar bi-ilqā-yi ān mushrik-i mulqī nivishteh: ʿAjab-tar az īn khudishān iddiʿā-yi ān dārand keh ʿibārāt-i man āyeh ast va rasūlān-i īshān mīgūyand aṭfāl-i haft-sāleh-yi īshān ham āyeh mīgūyand. Pas kujā āyāt-i Man Yuẓhiruhu Allāh dalīl-i ḥujjīyat-i ū khvāhad būd keh khalq-i ū ham āyeh gūyad va pisar-i kūchak-i īshān ham āyeh mīgūyad? Va agar gūyand keh āyeh ham az maqām-i khalq va ḥurūfāt ẓāhir gardad va ham az aṣl-i Nuqṭeh va Shajareh-yi Ḥaqīqat, pas nafs-i āyeh dalīl bar ḥaqqīyat-i aṣl-i Shajareh nakhvāhad būd. Shayʾ-i dīgar lāzim ast bayān shavad keh cheh chīz ast. Intahā.

Again, at the prompting of that insinuating idolater, he has written: “Stranger still, he himself claims that his expressions are verses, and his messengers say that even his seven-year-old children utter verses. How, then, will the verses of Him Whom God will make manifest establish His authority, when His creatures also utter verses and his little son also utters verses? If they say that verses can appear both from the station of the creatures and the letters, and from the original Point and Tree of Truth, then the verse itself will not prove the truth of the original Tree. Something else is needed; let it be explained what that is.” End of quotation.

520

بلى انّه لو يريد ان ينطق كلّ نفس بثنآء نفسه ليقدر و انّه لهو المقتدر القدير و لو يريد ان يظهر نفساً بكلّ الآیات ليكون قادراً بسلطانه و ليس لأحد ان يعترض عليه و كان اللّه على ما اقول شهيد انّه انطق صبيّاً من الصّبيان ليكون دليلاً عليه و برهاناً لنفسه و هذا مقام الّذى انتم تشكرون اللّه بذلك و تحمدونه و انتم فتحتم السنكم بالاعتراض بهذا الذّكر الّذى ظهر باسم الأبهی بين السّموات و الأرضين

Balā, innahu law yurīdu an yunṭiqa kulla nafsin bi-thanāʾi nafsihi la-yaqdiru va innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadiru al-Qadīr. Va law yurīdu an yuẓhira nafsan bi-kulli al-āyāti la-yakūnu qādiran bi-sulṭānihi va laysa li-aḥadin an yaʿtariḍa ʿalayhi va kāna Allāhu ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd. Innahu anṭaqa ṣabiyyan mina al-ṣibyāni li-yakūna dalīlan ʿalayhi va burhānan li-nafsihi va hādhā maqāmu alladhī antum tashkurūna Allāha bi-dhālika va taḥmadūnahu va antum fataḥtum alsinakum bi-al-iʿtirāḍi bi-hādhā al-Dhikri alladhī ẓahara bi-ismi al-Abhā bayna al-samāwāti va al-araḍīn.

Yes, if He wishes to cause every soul to speak His praise, He is able to do so. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent. If He wishes to bring forth a soul endowed with all the verses, He is able to do so through His sovereignty, and no one has the right to object to Him. God is witness to what I say. He has caused a child among the children to speak, that he might be a sign pointing to Him and a proof of His own Self. This is a matter for which you should thank and praise God, yet you have opened your mouths in objection to this Remembrance, who has appeared under the name of the All-Glorious between the heavens and the earths.

521

حال ملاحظه كن كه هيچ جاهلى چنين اعتراض نموده و يا مينمايد لا و اللّه مگر تو و امثال تو كه از هواء نفس و ماء اعراض و نار حسد و تراب بغضا خلق شده‌ايد اذا موتوا بغيظكم انّه قد ظهر بالحقّ و لا مردّ له و انّ ربّكم الرّحمن قد كتب على نفسه بأن يظهر فى الأكوان ادلّاء عليه ليقومنّ بين السّموات و الأرض و ينطقنّ بثنآء نفسه و يرتفعنّ اعلام النّصر بين الخلايق اجمعين اولئك عباد الّذين جعلهم اللّه مطهّراً عن دونه و منقطعاً عمّا عندكم و متمسّكاً بحبل اللّه المحكم المتين اولئك لا يمنعهم اشارات من على الأرض و دلالات المشركين

Ḥāl mulāḥaẓeh kun keh hīch jāhilī chunīn iʿtirāḍ namūdeh va yā mīnamāyad? Lā va-Allāh, magar tu va amthāl-i tu keh az havā-yi nafs va māʾ-i iʿrāḍ va nār-i ḥasad va turāb-i baghḍā khalq shudeh-īd. Idhan mūtū bi-ghayẓikum, innahu qad ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqqi va lā maradda lahu va inna rabbakumu al-Raḥmāna qad kataba ʿalā nafsihi bi-an yuẓhira fī al-akwāni adillāʾa ʿalayhi la-yaqūmunna bayna al-samāwāti va al-arḍi va yanṭiqunna bi-thanāʾi nafsihi va yartafiʿanna aʿlāmu al-naṣri bayna al-khalāʾiqi ajmaʿīn. Ulāʾika ʿibādun alladhīna jaʿalahumu Allāhu muṭahharan ʿan dūnihi va munqaṭiʿan ʿammā ʿindakum va mutamassikan bi-ḥabli Allāhi al-muḥkami al-matīn. Ulāʾika lā yamnaʿuhum ishārātu man ʿalā al-arḍi va dalālātu al-mushrikīn.

Now consider: has any ignorant person ever made, or does any make, such an objection? No, by God, except you and those like you, who have been created from the air of selfish desire, the water of rejection, the fire of envy, and the dust of hatred. Then die in your rage! He has appeared in truth, and there is no turning Him back. Your Lord, the All-Merciful, has taken it upon Himself to bring forth throughout existence guides who point to Him. They will assuredly arise between the heavens and the earth and speak His praise, and the banners of victory will be raised among all creatures. These are servants whom God has made pure of all besides Him, detached from what you possess, and steadfast in holding to the firm, mighty cord of God. Neither the allusions of those on earth nor the arguments of the idolaters can hold them back.

522

بگو اى جاهل نقمت را از نعمت فرق نداده و خير محض را شرّ شمرده و جوهر رحمت و عدل را نفس ظلم دانسته بلى طفلى از اطفال بيت در سنّ شش سالگى بآيات اللّه تكلّم نموده و آن طفل حال حاضر است و واللّه خود همان شجره فساد بكرّات ميگفت كه آنچه از او شده از هيچ نفسى از بديع اوّل تا حين ظاهر نشده و اكثر ليالى و ایّام بثنائش مشغول بوده و حال امر بقسمى شده كه از حقّ منيع اعراض نموده سهل است از اطفال هم دست برنداشته و نخواهد داشت و تا ارض را باين دماء مطهّره صبغ ندهند دست برندارند و هذا ما نزل فى الألواح ان انتم من النّاظرين بكرّات فرموده‌اند كه او را در طفوليّت بآيات ناطق فرموده‌ايم تا دليل باشد بر اين ظهور رحمانى و طلوع قدس صمدانى و تو اين رحمت كبرى را نقمت شمرده عوض آنكه شكر نمائى حقّ منيع را شكايت آغاز كرده

Bigū ay jāhil, niqmat rā az niʿmat farq nadādeh va khayr-i maḥḍ rā sharr shumurdeh va jawhar-i raḥmat va ʿadl rā nafs-i ẓulm dānisteh. Balā, ṭiflī az aṭfāl-i bayt dar sinn-i shish-sālegī bi-āyāt-i Allāh takallum namūdeh va ān ṭifl ḥāl ḥāḍir ast. Va va-Allāh khud hamān shajareh-yi fasād bi-karrāt mīguft keh āncheh az ū shudeh az hīch nafsī az badīʿ-i avval tā ḥīn ẓāhir nashudeh va akthar-i layālī va ayyām bi-thanāyash mashghūl būdeh. Va ḥāl amr bi-qismī shudeh keh az Ḥaqq-i manīʿ iʿrāḍ namūdeh sahl ast, az aṭfāl ham dast barnadāshteh va nakhvāhad dāsht. Va tā arḍ rā bi-īn dimāʾ-i muṭahhareh ṣibgh nadahand dast barnadārand. Va hādhā mā nazala fī al-alwāḥi in antum mina al-nāẓirīn. Bi-karrāt farmūdeh-and keh ū rā dar ṭufūlīyat bi-āyāt nāṭiq farmūdeh-īm tā dalīl bāshad bar īn ẓuhūr-i raḥmānī va ṭulūʿ-i quds-i ṣamadānī. Va tu īn raḥmat-i kubrā rā niqmat shumurdeh, ʿivaḍ-i ānkeh shukr namāʾī Ḥaqq-i manīʿ rā shikāyat āghāz kardeh.

Say: O ignorant one! You have failed to distinguish affliction from blessing, have counted pure good as evil, and have regarded the essence of mercy and justice as injustice itself. Yes, a child among the children of the House spoke the verses of God at the age of six, and that child is now present. By God, that very tree of corruption himself repeatedly said that what had come from him had never appeared from anyone, from the beginning of creation until now, and he spent most nights and days praising him. Now matters have reached such a point that, not content with turning away from the exalted True One, he has not left even the children alone, nor will he do so. They will not desist until they have dyed the earth with this pure blood. This is what has been revealed in the Tablets, if you are among those who look. He has repeatedly declared: “We have caused him to speak verses in childhood, that he might be a proof of this merciful Revelation and this holy, eternal Dawning.” Yet you have counted this supreme mercy as an affliction and, instead of thanking the exalted True One, have begun to complain.

523

و اينكه نوشته كه خودشان ادّعاى آن دارند كه عبارات من آيه است نزد خود استهزاء على اللّه عبارات ذكر كرده خذ زمامك يا ايّها الجاهل هذا مقام انقطعت عنه يداك و ايدى المشركين نقطه بيان ميفرمايد كه كلّ آنچه در ارض موجود است آيات او بوده و خواهد بود تا چه رسد بما نزل من عنده و ظهر من لدنه و الحقّ يقول فاعلم بانّ هذا لهو الّذى ظهر من قبل و يظهر من بعد و من فرق بينه و بين من ظهر او يظهر انّه كفر باللّه و آياته و لو يكون ذا بصر حديد ليشهد كلّ الظّهورات فى هذا الظّهور الّذى ظهر بالحقّ بآيات مبين

Va īnkeh nivishteh keh khudishān iddiʿā-yi ān dārand keh ʿibārāt-i man āyeh ast, nazd-i khud istihzāʾan ʿalā Allāh ʿibārāt dhikr kardeh. Khudh zimāmaka yā ayyuhā al-jāhil, hādhā maqāmun inqaṭaʿat ʿanhu yadāka va aydī al-mushrikīn. Nuqṭeh-yi Bayān mīfarmāyad keh kull-i āncheh dar arḍ mawjūd ast āyāt-i ū būdeh va khvāhad būd, tā cheh rasad bi-mā nazala min ʿindihi va ẓahara min ladunhu. Va al-Ḥaqqu yaqūlu fa-iʿlam bi-anna hādhā la-huwa alladhī ẓahara min qablu va yaẓharu min baʿdu va man farraqa baynahu va bayna man ẓahara aw yaẓharu innahu kafara bi-Allāhi va āyātihi va law yakūnu dhā baṣarin ḥadīdin la-yashhadu kulla al-ẓuhūrāti fī hādhā al-ẓuhūri alladhī ẓahara bi-al-ḥaqqi bi-āyātin mubīn.

As for his statement that “he himself claims that his expressions are verses,” he has used the word “expressions,” imagining that he is mocking God. Restrain yourself, O ignorant one! This is a station beyond the reach of your hands and the hands of the idolaters. The Point of the Bayán declares that everything existing on earth has always been, and will always be, His signs, let alone what has descended from Him and appeared from His presence. The True One says: Know that this is indeed the One who appeared before and will appear hereafter. Whoever makes a distinction between Him and anyone who has appeared or will appear has disbelieved in God and His signs. If he possessed keen sight, he would behold all Revelations in this Revelation, which has appeared in truth with manifest verses.

524

بدانكه آنچه از اوّل لا اوّل كه حجج و براهين ظاهر شده از جميع انبیاء و مرسلين كلّ حجّت اين ظهور بوده و آنچه در اين ظهور حجّت است لازال حجّت حجج قبل و بعد بوده و خواهد بود و لكن اين طفل را مخصوص بآيات ناطق فرموديم تا بعضى از نفوس كه برشحى از فيوضات ما لانهايه اين بحر اعظم فايز شده‌اند استكبار بر منزل آيات ننمايند آن نفسى را كه باو متمسّكى لازال بين يدى بوده و برشحى از بحر البحور محروم ماند و رجع الى مقرّه فى النّار و انّها لمقرّ الفجّار و بئس مقرّ هؤلآء الاشرار لو انت من الموقنين

Bidānkeh āncheh az avval-i lā avval keh ḥujaj va barāhīn ẓāhir shudeh az jamīʿ-i anbiyā va mursalīn, kull ḥujjat-i īn ẓuhūr būdeh, va āncheh dar īn ẓuhūr ḥujjat ast lā-zāl ḥujjat-i ḥujaj-i qabl va baʿd būdeh va khvāhad būd. Va lākin īn ṭifl rā makhṣūṣ bi-āyāt nāṭiq farmūdīm tā baʿḍī az nufūs keh bi-rashḥī az fuyūḍāt-i mā lā-nihāyeh-yi īn baḥr-i aʿẓam fāʾiz shudeh-and istikbār bar Munzil-i āyāt nanamāyand. Ān nafsī rā keh bi-ū mutamassikī lā-zāl bayna yaday būdeh va bi-rashḥī az Baḥr al-Buḥūr maḥrūm mānd va rajaʿa ilā maqarrihi fī al-nāri va innahā la-maqarru al-fujjāri va biʾsa maqarru hāʾulāʾi al-ashrāri law anta mina al-mūqinīn.

Know that all the testimonies and proofs manifested by all the Prophets and Messengers from the beginning that has no beginning have been proofs of this Revelation. Whatever constitutes a proof in this Revelation has always been, and will always be, the proof of the proofs of the past and the future. Yet We specifically caused this child to speak verses so that certain souls who have received a sprinkling of the boundless outpourings of this Most Great Ocean would not exalt themselves arrogantly above the Revealer of verses. The person to whom you cling was continually in Our presence, yet remained deprived of a sprinkling from the Ocean of Oceans and returned to his abode in the fire. It is indeed the abode of the wicked, and wretched is the abode of these evildoers, if you are among those who are certain.

525

بدان مابين شمس و تجلّيات آن بر جدار و احجار فرق لايحصى مشهود هر بصر ضعيفى ادراك مينمايد تا چه رسد باَ بصر حديده و از اين گذشته مثال شمس در مرآت ظاهره مشاهده ميشود آيا ميتوان گفت كه اين نفس شمس سماء است بلكه فرق ما بين ارض و سماء مشهود و لاينكر هذا الّا كلّ مغلّ مبغوض چنانچه اليوم اگر سمعت را لطيف نمائى و از آنچه شنيده از مشركين پاك و طاهر كنى كلمات معرض باللّه را مثل كلمات صبيان بل احقر عند كلمات منزله از سماء بيان رحمن مشاهده مينمائى قسم بخدا كه نسبت نميتوان داد بلكه دونش لايق ذكر نه و در صورتى قابل ذكرند كه بعنايت الهى موقن باشند و بعد از انكار لاشیء محض بوده و خواهند بود

Bidān mābayn-i shams va tajalliyāt-i ān bar jidār va aḥjār farq-i lā yuḥṣā mashhūd. Har baṣar-i ḍaʿīfī idrāk mīnamāyad, tā cheh rasad bā baṣar-i ḥadīdeh. Va az īn gudhashteh mithāl-i shams dar mirʾāt-i ẓāhereh mushāhedeh mīshavad. Āyā mītavān guft keh īn nafs-i shams-i samā ast? Balkeh farq mābayn-i arḍ va samā mashhūd, va lā yunkiru hādhā illā kullu mughillin mabghūḍ. Chunāncheh al-yawm agar samʿat rā laṭīf namāʾī va az āncheh shanīdeh az mushrikīn pāk va ṭāhir kunī, kalamāt-i muʿriḍ-i bi-Allāh rā mithl-i kalamāt-i ṣibyān bal aḥqar ʿinda kalamāt-i munazzaleh az samā-yi bayān-i Raḥmān mushāhedeh mīnamāʾī. Qasam bi-Khudā keh nisbat namītavān dād, balkeh dūnash lāyiq-i dhikr nah. Va dar ṣūratī qābil-i dhikr-and keh bi-ʿināyat-i ilāhī mūqin bāshand va baʿd az inkār lā-shayʾ-i maḥḍ būdeh va khvāhand būd.

Know that an immeasurable difference is evident between the sun and its radiance upon walls and stones. Even weak sight perceives it, let alone keen sight. Moreover, the image of the sun is seen in an outward mirror. Can it be said that this is the very sun in heaven? Rather, a difference as great as that between earth and heaven is evident, and none denies this except one who is treacherous and detested. Likewise, today, if you refine your hearing and cleanse and purify it of what you have heard from the idolaters, you will find the words of the one who turns away from God to be like the words of children—indeed, more contemptible—beside the words sent down from the heaven of the All-Merciful’s utterance. I swear by God that no comparison can be made; rather, what is other than Him is not worthy of mention. They are worthy of mention only if they are assured of divine favor; after denial, they have been and will remain sheer nothingness.

526

بدان لازال اصل حجّت آيات الهى بوده و لكن از اين ظهور اعظم من دون آيات ظاهر شده آنچه از اتيان بمثلش كلّ عاجز بوده و خواهند بود خف عن اللّه و لاتتّبع ما يأمرك هواك فاتّبع الحقّ الّذى جائكم من مشرق الرّوح بنبأ اللّه المقتدر المهيمن العزيز القيّوم و انّه ليكفيكم عن كلّ شیء و من دونه لن يكفيكم و لو تتمسّكوا بخلق السّموات و الأرضين ان انتم توقنون هذا نصح اللّه عليك و على عباده من استنصح بنصح ربّه فله و من اعرض انّ اللّه غنى عمّا كان و عمّا يكون

Bidān lā-zāl aṣl-i ḥujjat āyāt-i ilāhī būdeh, va lākin az īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam min dūn-i āyāt ẓāhir shudeh āncheh az ityān bi-mithlash kull ʿājiz būdeh va khvāhand būd. Khaf ʿan Allāh va lā tattabiʿ mā yaʾmuruka hawāka fa-ittabiʿ al-Ḥaqqa alladhī jāʾakum min mashriqi al-Rūḥi bi-nabaʾi Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-Muhaymini al-ʿAzīzi al-Qayyūm. Va innahu la-yakfīkum ʿan kulli shayʾin va min dūnihi lan yakfīkum va law tatamassakū bi-khalqi al-samāwāti va al-araḍīna in antum tūqinūn. Hādhā nuṣḥu Allāhi ʿalayka va ʿalā ʿibādihi. Man istanṣaḥa bi-nuṣḥi rabbihi fa-lahu va man aʿraḍa inna Allāha ghaniyyun ʿammā kāna va ʿammā yakūn.

Know that divine verses have always been the fundamental proof. Yet from this Most Great Revelation there has appeared, apart from verses, that which all have been and will remain powerless to match. Fear God and do not follow what your desire commands you. Follow the True One, who has come to you from the dawning-place of the Spirit with the tidings of God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. He will indeed suffice you in place of all things, while nothing besides Him will suffice you, even if you cling to the creatures of the heavens and the earths, if you are certain. This is God’s counsel to you and to His servants. Whoever heeds his Lord’s counsel does so for his own benefit. As for whoever turns away, God is independent of all that has been and all that will be.

527

و ديگر القاى آن معرض ملقى اگر گويند كه آنها تصديق ايشان نموده حال سخن ميرزا يحيى هم همين سخن است كه بر فرض كه شما هم آيه بگوئيد يا هزار كس چنانچه ربّ اعلى فرموده كه بعدد كلّ شیء اگر خواهم مبعوث بلسان آيات نمايم باز بايد تصديق من نمايند و در ظلّ من باشند بعلّت آنكه اوّل مرآت هستم و كلّ منعكس از من ميباشند چونكه فطرة اللّه از من ظاهر است بتصديق نقطه بيان انتهى

Va dīgar ilqā-yi ān muʿriḍ-i mulqī: Agar gūyand keh ānhā taṣdīq-i īshān namūdeh, ḥāl sukhan-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā ham hamīn sukhan ast keh bar farḍ keh shumā ham āyeh bigūʾīd yā hizār kas, chunāncheh Rabb-i Aʿlā farmūdeh keh bi-ʿadad-i kull-i shayʾ agar khvāham mabʿūth bi-lisān-i āyāt namāyam, bāz bāyad taṣdīq-i man namāyand va dar ẓill-i man bāshand, bi-ʿillat-i ānkeh avval mirʾāt hastam va kull munʿakis az man mībāshand, chūnkeh fiṭrat-i Allāh az man ẓāhir ast bi-taṣdīq-i Nuqṭeh-yi Bayān. Intahā.

Another insinuation from that insinuating opponent: “If they say that those people have acknowledged him, Mírzá Yaḥyá’s statement now is precisely this: even supposing that you too utter verses, or that a thousand people do so—as the Most Exalted Lord has said, ‘If I wish, I can raise up, to the number of all things, those who speak in the language of verses’—they must still acknowledge me and remain beneath my shadow, because I am the first mirror and all are reflected from me, since the innate nature of God is manifest through me, as attested by the Point of the Bayán.” End of quotation.

528

بر فرض تصديق از براى حقّ لم يزل و لايزال مرايا بوده و اوّليّت آن را احدى احصا ننموده و اين مخصوص بنفسى دون نفسى نبوده كلّ شیء مراياى الهيّه بوده و خواهند بود و لكن ظهور قبل از مرايا بكلّها شكايت فرموده‌اند بقوله عزّ و جلّ لاشكونّ اليك ان يا مرآت جودى عن كلّ المرايا كلّ بألوانهم الىّ لينظرون و مخاطباً لذلك الاسم ميفرمايند كه توئى آن مرآت اوّلیّه كه لم‌يزل از حقّ حكايت كرده و لايزال حكايت خواهى كرد در مقام ديگر اوّل من آمن را مرآت اوّلیّه فرموده‌اند و اين اذكار در رتبه ملكيّه ذكر ميشود و الّا از براى مرايا نه اوّلى بوده و نه آخرى و جميع اين مرايا بقولى خلق شده و خواهند شد ماداميكه در ظلّ شجره فردانيّه مستقرّند انوار حقّ در آنها ظاهر بحيث لايرى فيهنّ الّا اللّه و بعد از انحراف مظاهر شيطانيّه بوده و خواهند بود فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده كه اين شكايتى كه از جميع مرايا فرموده‌اند برهانى است عظيم اگر باشيد از شاعران

Bar farż-i taṣdīq, az barā-yi Ḥaqq lam yazal va lā yazāl marāyā būdeh va avvaliyyat-i ān rā aḥadī iḥṣā nanamūdeh, va īn makhṣūṣ bi-nafsī dūn-i nafsī nabūdeh. Kull-i shayʾ marāyā-yi ilāhiyyeh būdeh va khvāhand būd, va lākin Ẓuhūr-i qabl az marāyā bi-kullihā shikāyat farmūdeh-and, bi-qawlihi ʿazza wa-jall: La-ashkuwanna ilayka an yā mirʾāta jūdī ʿan kulli al-marāyā, kullun bi-alwānihim ilayya la-yanẓurūn. Va mukhāṭaban li-dhālika al-ism mīfarmāyand keh tuʾī ān mirʾāt-i avvaliyyeh keh lam yazal az Ḥaqq ḥikāyat kardeh va lā yazāl ḥikāyat khvāhī kard. Dar maqām-i dīgar avval man āmana rā mirʾāt-i avvaliyyeh farmūdeh-and. Va īn adhkār dar rutbeh-yi mulkiyyeh dhikr mīshavad, va illā az barā-yi marāyā nah avvalī būdeh va nah ākhirī. Va jamīʿ-i īn marāyā bi-qawlī khalq shodeh va khvāhand shod. Mādāmī keh dar ẓill-i shajareh-yi fardāniyyeh mustaqarrand, anvār-i Ḥaqq dar ānhā ẓāhir, bi-ḥaythu lā yurā fīhinna illā Allāh, va baʿd az inḥirāf maẓāhir-i shayṭāniyyeh būdeh va khvāhand būd. Fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi keh īn shikāyatī keh az jamīʿ-i marāyā farmūdeh-and burhānī ast ʿaẓīm, agar bāshīd az shāʿirān.

Even supposing this claim is accepted, there have always been and will always be mirrors of the True One, and no one has reckoned their beginning. This has not been exclusive to one soul rather than another. All things have been and will be divine mirrors. Yet the former Manifestation complained of all the mirrors, saying—exalted and glorified is He: “I will surely complain to you, O Mirror of My bounty, of all the mirrors: each looks upon Me through its own colors.” Addressing that Name, He says: “You are that Primal Mirror which has always reflected the True One and will always reflect Him.” Elsewhere He called the First to Believe the Primal Mirror. These designations are mentioned at the earthly level; otherwise, the mirrors have neither a first nor a last. All these mirrors have been and will be created by a word. As long as they remain beneath the shadow of the Tree of Oneness, the lights of the True One are manifest in them, so that nothing is seen in them but God. After turning aside, however, they have been and will be satanic manifestations. By Him in whose hand is my soul, this complaint He made against all the mirrors is a mighty proof, if you are among those who understand.

529

اين شأن مرايا كه ذكر شد بنصّ نقطه بيان و مع‌ذلك تلقاء شمس ذكر مرايا مينمائى كه شموس مرايا عند تجلّى او معدوم صرف بوده و خواهند بود اگر نفس ظهور بر جميع اشیاء اطلاق مرآتيّت در رتبه اوّلیّه فرمايد حقّ لاريب فيه بشنو نداى اين عبد را و از اين اراضى جرزه خود را نجات ده و بفضاهاى قدس وارد شو فو‌اللّه اين اذكار جز بر توهّمات و حجبات نيفزايد و هر قدر باين كلمات مشغول شوى از زلال سلسال بی‌مثال حضرت لايزال بعيد مانى و محروم گردى بريز اين امثال را بحقّ و ما يظهر من عنده ناظر شو چه كه كلّ باو منتهى و از او ظاهر اين كلمات خوب است از براى امثال خود در فنون جهليّه ظاهريّه كه بزعم خود علم ناميده‌ايد استدلال نمائيد قطره ملح اجاج ببحر عذب فرات مفرست بدانكه آنچه لفظ وجود بر آن صادق مخلوق بوده و خواهد بود

Īn shaʾn-i marāyā keh dhikr shod bi-naṣṣ-i Nuqṭeh-yi Bayān, va maʿa-dhālik tilqāʾ-i shams dhikr-i marāyā mīnamāʾī, keh shumūs-i marāyā ʿinda tajallī-yi ū maʿdūm-i ṣirf būdeh va khvāhand būd. Agar nafs-i Ẓuhūr bar jamīʿ-i ashyāʾ iṭlāq-i mirʾātiyyat dar rutbeh-yi avvaliyyeh farmāyad, ḥaqq lā rayba fīhi. Bishnaw nidā-yi īn ʿabd rā va az īn arāżī-yi jurzeh khud rā najāt dih va bi-faḍāhā-yi quds vārid shaw. Fa-wa-Allāh īn adhkār juz bar tavahhumāt va ḥujubāt nayafzāyad, va har qadr bi-īn kalimāt mashghūl shavī az zulāl-i salsāl-i bī-mithāl-i Ḥażrat-i Lā Yazāl baʿīd mānī va maḥrūm gardī. Birīz īn amthāl rā, bi-Ḥaqq va mā yaẓharu min ʿindihi nāẓir shaw, cheh keh kull bi-ū muntahī va az ū ẓāhir. Īn kalimāt khūb ast az barā-yi amthāl-i khud dar funūn-i jahliyyeh-yi ẓāhiriyyeh keh bi-zaʿm-i khud ʿilm nāmīdeh-īd istidlāl namāyīd. Qaṭreh-yi milḥ-i ujāj bi-baḥr-i ʿadhb-i furāt mafirist. Bidān keh āncheh lafẓ-i vujūd bar ān ṣādiq makhlūq būdeh va khvāhad būd.

Such is the station of the mirrors, as stated in the explicit text of the Point of the Bayán. Yet you speak of mirrors before the Sun, when the very suns of the mirrors have been and will be utter nothingness at His revelation. If the Manifestation Himself designates all things as mirrors of the first rank, it is the truth, beyond all doubt. Hear the call of this servant, rescue yourself from these barren lands, and enter the expanses of holiness. By God, these references only increase vain imaginings and veils. The more you occupy yourself with these words, the further you remain from the peerless, pure, flowing water of the Eternal One, and the more deprived you become. Cast aside these comparisons and look to the True One and what appears from Him, for all things culminate in Him and proceed from Him. Such words are suitable for presenting arguments to people like yourself in those outward arts of ignorance which you imagine to be knowledge. Do not send a bitter, briny drop to the ocean of sweet, refreshing water. Know that whatever the word “existence” applies to has been and will be created.

530

ذكر فطرة اللّه نموده كلّ اشیاء بر فطرة اللّه خلق شده‌اند فطرت را ندانسته از اين گذشته بشنو نداى فطرت را كه بهيكلى مبعوث و تلقاء باب اعظم باين كلمات ناطق قوله عزّ بهائه و من المشركين من قال هذه الآیات ما نزلت على الفطرة تاللّه الحقّ انّ الفطرة حينئذ قد ظهرت على هيكل خادم و قامت لدى الباب بخضوع و اناب و يضج و يقول فويل لكم يا معشر المغلّين تاللّه انّى قد خلقت بأمر من لدنه كذلك تشهد لنفسها و لكن لا يفقهون هؤلآء الأشرار تاللّه انها لتفتخر بنسبتها الى نفسنا الحقّ و انّا لم يزل كنّا غنيّاً عنها قد خلقناها و كلّ شیء بأمر من لدنا و لا ينكر ذلك الّا كلّ منكر كفّار

Dhikr-i fiṭrat Allāh namūdeh. Kull-i ashyāʾ bar fiṭrat Allāh khalq shodeh-and. Fiṭrat rā nadānesteh. Az īn gudhashteh, bishnaw nidā-yi fiṭrat rā keh bi-haykalī mabʿūth va tilqāʾ-i Bāb-i Aʿẓam bi-īn kalimāt nāṭiq. Qawluhu ʿazza bahāʾuhu: Wa-min al-mushrikīna man qāla hādhihi al-āyātu mā nazalat ʿalā al-fiṭrah. Ta-Allāhi al-Ḥaqq, inna al-fiṭrata ḥīnaʾidhin qad ẓaharat ʿalā haykali khādim wa-qāmat ladā al-bāb bi-khuḍūʿin wa-ināb, wa-yaḍijju wa-yaqūlu fa-waylun lakum yā maʿshara al-mughillīn. Ta-Allāhi innī qad khuliqtu bi-amrin min ladunhu. Kadhālika tashhadu li-nafsihā wa-lākin lā yafqahūna hāʾulāʾi al-ashrār. Ta-Allāhi innahā la-taftakhiru bi-nisbatihā ilā nafsinā al-Ḥaqq, wa-innā lam yazal kunnā ghaniyyan ʿanhā. Qad khalaqnāhā wa-kulla shayʾin bi-amrin min ladunnā, wa-lā yunkiru dhālika illā kullu munkirin kaffār.

You have mentioned the innate nature of God. All things have been created according to the innate nature of God. You have not understood innate nature. Beyond this, hear the call of innate nature, raised up in a bodily form and speaking these words before the Most Great Gate. His words—exalted be His glory: “Among those who associate partners with God are some who say, ‘These verses were not revealed according to innate nature.’ By God, the True One, innate nature has now appeared in the form of a servant and has stood at the Gate in humility and repentance, crying aloud and saying, ‘Woe to you, company of the malicious! By God, I was created by a command from Him.’ Thus it testifies on its own behalf, but these wicked ones do not understand. By God, it indeed takes pride in its relationship to Our own Self, the True One, while We have always been independent of it. We created it and all things by a command from Us. None denies this but every ungrateful denier.”

531

و اين آياتى است كه از قبل در ذكر فطرت اصليّه الهيّه از سماء ابهى نازل و اين از مطالب اهل فرقان است چنانچه در كتاب الهى نازل اقم للّدين حنيفاً فطرة اللّه الّتى فطر النّاس عليها اينست كه در حديث نبوى وارد كلّ مولود يولد على الفطره الى آخر و اين فطرت همان فطرة اللّه بوده و اين مقام صادق ماداميكه در ظلّ ايمان مستقرّ باشد و بعد از تغيير از مشركين محسوب چنانچه باقى حديث ميفرمايد انما ابواه يهوّدانه و يمجّسانه و ينصّرانه

Va īn āyātī ast keh az qabl dar dhikr-i fiṭrat-i aṣliyyeh-yi ilāhiyyeh az samā-yi Abhā nāzil, va īn az maṭālib-i ahl-i Furqān ast, chunāncheh dar Kitāb-i ilāhī nāzil: Aqim li-al-dīni ḥanīfan fiṭrata Allāhi allatī faṭara al-nāsa ʿalayhā. Īnast keh dar ḥadīth-i nabavī vārid: Kullu mawlūdin yūladu ʿalā al-fiṭrah, ilā ākhir. Va īn fiṭrat hamān fiṭrat Allāh būdeh, va īn maqām ṣādiq mādāmī keh dar ẓill-i īmān mustaqarr bāshad, va baʿd az taghyīr az mushrikīn maḥsūb, chunāncheh bāqī-yi ḥadīth mīfarmāyad: Innamā abawāhu yuhawwidānihi wa-yumajjisānihi wa-yunaṣṣirānihi.

These are verses previously revealed from the Abhá heaven concerning the original divine innate nature. This is among the subjects addressed by the people of the Qur’an, as revealed in the divine Book: “Stand upright in devotion to religion—the innate nature of God according to which He fashioned humanity.” Thus it is stated in the prophetic tradition: “Every child is born according to innate nature,” and so forth. This innate nature is that same innate nature of God, and this station holds true as long as one remains beneath the shadow of faith. After a change, one is counted among those who associate partners with God, as the remainder of the tradition says: “It is only his parents who make him a Jew, a Magian, or a Christian.”

532

بگو اى مهمل مبهم تو اليوم بچشم و گوش مشاهده و استماع مينمائى كه بحر آيات موّاج و چون غيث هاطل از سماء مشيّت نازل مع‌ذلك مينويسى كه ميرزا يحيى ميگويد كه صاحب آيات منعكس از من ميباشد اى محروم اينمقام از عاكس و معكوس مقدّس است اگر بعدد واحد در بيان بالغ مشاهده ميشد هرآينه ارض عرفانى منبسط ميگشت كه كلّ مذعن شوند بر آنكه حرفى از بيان ادراك ننموده‌اند و لكن تا حال كه مشاهده نشده و بعد الأمر بيده

Bigū ay muhmal-i mubham, tu al-yawm bi-chashm va gūsh mushāhadeh va istimāʿ mīnamāʾī keh baḥr-i āyāt mavvāj va chūn ghayth-i hāṭil az samā-yi mashiyyat nāzil. Maʿa-dhālik mīnivīsī keh Mīrzā Yaḥyā mīgūyad keh ṣāḥib-i āyāt munʿakis az man mībāshad. Ay maḥrūm, īn maqām az ʿākis va maʿkūs muqaddas ast. Agar bi-ʿadad-i vāḥid dar Bayān bāligh mushāhadeh mīshod, har-āyineh arż-i ʿirfānī munbasiṭ mīgasht keh kull mudhʿin shavand bar ānkeh ḥarfī az Bayān idrāk nanamūdeh-and. Va lākin tā ḥāl keh mushāhadeh nashodeh, va baʿd al-amru bi-yadihi.

Say: O heedless, confused one! Today you see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears that the ocean of verses is surging and that they descend like pouring rain from the heaven of the divine will. Yet you write that Mírzá Yaḥyá says, “The revealer of verses is a reflection of me.” O deprived one! This station is sanctified above both the one who casts a reflection and what is reflected. Had mature souls to the number of Váḥid been found in the Bayán, a land of spiritual knowledge would surely have been spread out, such that all would acknowledge that they had not understood a single letter of the Bayán. Yet none have been seen thus far, and hereafter the matter is in His hand.

533

قوله كبر غفلته قطع نظر از كلّ سخنها الآن ميرزا يحيى مدّعى هر مقاميكه فوق آن متصوّر نشود ميباشند بدليل آيات هر كه مدّعى باشد بايد اتيان بمثل و اعلاى از آن نمايد انتهى اين كلمات ظاهر نشده مگر از منبع غرور و معدن كذب و مطّلع فحشا اگر تصديق مرآتيّت او شود نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه ميفرمايد كه اگر مرآت ادّعا نمايد كه من شمس هستم نزد شمس واضح است كه او شبحى است از او كه ميگويد فو‌اللّه اين بيان منزل بيان نصّ صريح است بر اينكه بعد از او بر حقّ اعتراض نمايند و نفوسيكه دعوى مرآتيّت دارند در مقابل شمس حقيقت ادّعاى شمسى كنند فويل له و لك تفترون على انفسكم ثمّ على اللّه و لا تشعرون

Qawluhu kabura ghaflatuhu: Qaṭʿ-i naẓar az kull-i sukhanhā, al-ān Mīrzā Yaḥyā muddaʿī-yi har maqāmī keh fawq-i ān mutaṣavvar nashavad mībāshand, bi-dalīl-i āyāt. Har keh muddaʿī bāshad bāyad ityān bi-mithl va aʿlā-yi az ān namāyad. Intahā. Īn kalimāt ẓāhir nashodeh magar az manbaʿ-i ghurūr va maʿdan-i kidhb va maṭlaʿ-i faḥshā. Agar taṣdīq-i mirʾātiyyat-i ū shavad, Nuqṭeh-yi Ūlā, rūḥ-i mā sivāhu fidāh, mīfarmāyad keh agar mirʾāt iddiʿā namāyad keh man shams hastam, nazd-i shams vāżiḥ ast keh ū shabaḥī ast az ū keh mīgūyad. Fa-wa-Allāh īn bayān-i Munzil-i Bayān naṣṣ-i ṣarīḥ ast bar īnkeh baʿd az ū bar Ḥaqq iʿtirāż namāyand va nufūsī keh daʿvā-yi mirʾātiyyat dārand dar muqābil-i Shams-i Ḥaqīqat iddiʿā-yi shamsī kunand. Fa-waylun lahu wa-laka, taftarūna ʿalā anfusikum thumma ʿalā Allāhi wa-lā tashʿurūn.

His words—great is his heedlessness: “Setting all other statements aside, Mírzá Yaḥyá now claims, on the evidence of verses, a station above which none can be conceived. Whoever makes a claim must produce their like or something greater.” End of quotation. These words have issued from nothing but the wellspring of arrogance, the mine of falsehood, and the dawning-place of obscenity. Even if his status as a mirror is acknowledged, the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—says that if the mirror claims, “I am the sun,” it is clear to the sun that it is an image of itself that is speaking. By God, this statement of the Revealer of the Bayán is an explicit declaration that after Him they would raise objections against the True One, and that souls claiming to be mirrors would claim to be suns before the Sun of Truth. Woe to him and to you! You invent falsehoods about yourselves and then about God, yet you do not perceive it.

534

و ديگر اينكلمه بسيار بی‌شرمى است كه نوشته اليوم هر نفسى مدّعى باشد بايد اتيان بمثل آيات ميرزا يحيى نمايد و يا اعلى يا ايّها الاعمى انّه قد كان كليل عند ما نزل من جبروت البيان من لدى اللّه المقتدر العزيز المنّان و اللّه كلّ اشیاء متحيّرند از اين اقوال كه ذكر نموده وجود و كينونتش اليوم قابل ذكر نيست تا چه رسد بكلماتش و هر ذى شعورى ميداند كه اگر هم كلمه از كلمات حقّ نزدش يافت شود از اين مقرّ اقدس اطهر اخذ نموده بسيار بی‌‌خبرى از خدا ميطلبم كه بصرت را بكحل عرفان موفّق فرمايد كه شايد از رمد اوهام فارغ شده بكمات مليك علّام ناظر شود تا جميع كلمات را نزد حرفى از كلمات اللّه معدوم صرف مشاهده نمائى كذلك نزل الأمر من جبروت الحكم فضلاً من عنده على العالمين

Va dīgar īn kalameh bisyār bī-sharmī ast keh nivishteh: Al-yawm har nafsī muddaʿī bāshad bāyad ityān bi-mithl-i āyāt-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā namāyad va yā aʿlā. Yā ayyuhā al-aʿmā, innahu qad kāna kalīl ʿinda mā nazala min jabarūti al-bayān min ladā Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Mannān. Va-Allāh kull-i ashyāʾ mutaḥayyirand az īn aqvāl keh dhikr namūdeh. Vujūd va kaynūnatash al-yawm qābil-i dhikr nīst tā cheh rasad bi-kalimātash. Va har dhī-shuʿūrī mīdānad keh agar ham kalameh az kalimāt-i Ḥaqq nazdash yāft shavad az īn maqarr-i aqdas-i aṭhar akhdh namūdeh. Bisyār bī-khabarī. Az Khudā mīṭalabam keh baṣarat rā bi-kuḥl-i ʿirfān muwaffaq farmāyad keh shāyad az ramad-i awhām fārigh shodeh [corrupted text] Malīk-i ʿAllām nāẓir shavad tā jamīʿ-i kalimāt rā nazd-i ḥarfī az kalimāt Allāh maʿdūm-i ṣirf mushāhadeh namāʾī. Kadhālika nazala al-amru min jabarūti al-ḥukmi faḍlan min ʿindihi ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

Furthermore, this statement he has written is utterly shameless: “Today anyone making a claim must produce verses like those of Mírzá Yaḥyá, or greater.” O blind one! He has indeed been powerless before what has descended from the realm of utterance, from God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Bestower. By God, all things are bewildered by these assertions you have made. His very existence and being are unworthy of mention today, let alone his words. Every discerning person knows that if even a word of the words of the True One is found with him, he has taken it from this most holy, most pure Seat. How unaware you are! I ask God to favor your sight with the eye-salve of spiritual knowledge, so that it may perhaps be freed from the inflammation of vain imaginings and look [corrupted original text] of the all-knowing King, that you may see all words as utter nothingness beside a single letter of the words of God. Thus has the decree descended from the dominion of judgment, as a grace from Him to all the worlds.

535

قوله قلّ ادراكه حال اى برادر من و اللّه امر بر شما مشتبه شده اگر بخواهيد واقعاً بفهميد كه غرض در كار نيست شما خود وكيل من هستيد اگر محقّق شد بر شما بمن بنويسيد امّا با انصاف از براى شما بسيار آسان است سياست مدنيه مدخليّتى بحقّيّت ندارد و اين حكمت عملى است كه تهذيب اخلاق و تدبير منزل و سياست مدنيه ميگويند كه علم سلوك با خلق است و با اشخاصيكه تعلّق دارند از خدّام و مريدان كه هر كسى را بمحبّت و خلق با آنچه موافق طبع او است حركت نمايند شما اشتباه نموده‌ايد اين حكمت عملى را بجوهر حقيقت و اينها حجاب بر شما گشته اگر بخواهيد تجربه نمائيد روزى را قرار بدهيد در مقام امتحان برآئيد يك صفحه از قرآن را بخوانيد با كمال جلدى نزد كسى كه مدّعى حقّيّت است مضمون آن صفحه را بسجع خاصّى بلا تأمّل بنويسد و دفعه ديگر بسجع و عبارت ديگر و هكذا هر كه نوشت در مدّعاى خود صادق و الّا كاذب بخلاف ميرزا يحيى كه مدّعى اين مقام است در هر دو خود تجربه نموده و بمن اعلام دهيد اما از روى انصاف يقين هر كه داراى اينمقام است حقّ و كلام او حقّ و غير او كاذب انتهى

Qawluhu qalla idrākuhu: Ḥāl ay barādar-i man, va-Allāh amr bar shumā mushtabih shodeh. Agar bikhvāhīd vāqiʿan bifahmīd keh gharaż dar kār nīst, shumā khud vakīl-i man hastīd. Agar muḥaqqaq shod bar shumā bi-man binivīsīd, ammā bā inṣāf. Az barā-yi shumā bisyār āsān ast. Siyāsat-i madaniyyeh mudākhilīyatī bi-ḥaqqiyyat nadārad, va īn ḥikmat-i ʿamalī ast keh tahdhīb-i akhlāq va tadbīr-i manzil va siyāsat-i madaniyyeh mīgūyand, keh ʿilm-i sulūk bā khalq ast va bā ashkhāṣī keh taʿalluq dārand az khuddām va murīdān, keh har kasī rā bi-maḥabbat va khulq bā āncheh muvāfiq-i ṭabʿ-i ū ast ḥarakat namāyand. Shumā ishtibāh namūdeh-īd īn ḥikmat-i ʿamalī rā bi-jawhar-i ḥaqīqat, va īnhā ḥijāb bar shumā gashteh. Agar bikhvāhīd tajrubeh namāyīd, rūzī rā qarār bidahīd, dar maqām-i imtiḥān bar-āyīd. Yik ṣafḥeh az Qurʾān rā bikhvānīd bā kamāl-i jaldī nazd-i kasī keh muddaʿī-yi ḥaqqiyyat ast, mażmūn-i ān ṣafḥeh rā bi-sajʿ-i khāṣṣī bilā taʾammul binivīsad, va dafʿeh-yi dīgar bi-sajʿ va ʿibārat-i dīgar, va hākadhā. Har keh nivisht dar muddaʿā-yi khud ṣādiq va illā kādhib, bi-khilāf-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā keh muddaʿī-yi īn maqām ast. Dar har du khud tajrubeh namūdeh va bi-man iʿlām dihīd, ammā az rū-yi inṣāf. Yaqīn har keh dārā-yi īn maqām ast ḥaqq va kalām-i ū ḥaqq va ghayr-i ū kādhib. Intahā.

His words—little is his understanding: “Now, my brother, by God, you have become confused about the matter. If you truly wish to understand that no ulterior motive is involved, you yourself are my representative. If it becomes clear to you, write to me, but be fair. It is very easy for you. Civic governance has no bearing on the truth of a claim. This is practical philosophy, whose branches are called the refinement of character, household management, and civic governance: the knowledge of how to deal with people and with those attached to one, whether servants or disciples, treating each with affection and good character in a manner agreeable to his disposition. You have mistaken this practical philosophy for the essence of truth, and these things have become a veil for you. If you wish to test this, appoint a day and undertake an examination. Read a page of the Qur’an with the utmost speed before the person claiming to be the true one, and let him write the substance of that page in a particular rhymed prose without hesitation, then a second time in a different rhyme and wording, and so on. Whoever writes it is truthful in his claim; otherwise he is a liar, in contrast to Mírzá Yaḥyá, who claims this station. Test both of them yourself and inform me, but do so fairly. Certainly, whoever possesses this station is true, and his words are true, and anyone else is a liar.” End of quotation.

536

فو‌اللّه يضحك على كلماتك كلّ ذى بصر حديد گويا ابدا رايحه رضوان الهى بر تو مرور ننموده چه كه اليوم هر نفسى كه منسوب بحقّ است لابدّ از او اثرى ظاهر و هويداست و اللّه كلماتت پست‌تر از كلمات ملل قبل بنظر ميايد چون بغض اللّه در قلبت بوده قلمت از لطافت ذكر و تحرير ممنوع و محروم گشته امر بر تو مشتبه شده كه از حزب رحمن خارج شده و بحزب شيطان توجّه نموده بر هر ذى بصرى معلوم است كه اين عباد بعد از پنج سنه معاشرت كه ليلا و نهارا آنچه بچشم خود ديده‌ايم و بسمع خود شنيده‌ايم ذكر مينمائيم و تو بقول خبيثى كه نزد اين عبد مردود بوده تا چه رسد نزد ساكنان اعراش معانى تمسّك جسته بالمرّه خود را از اشراقات انوار فجر معانى كه در اين ایّام رحمانى مشرق و مضئ است ممنوع نموده

Fa-wa-Allāhi yaḍḥaku ʿalā kalimātika kullu dhī baṣarin ḥadīd. Gūyā abadan rāyiḥeh-yi Riḍvān-i ilāhī bar tu murūr nanamūdeh, cheh keh al-yawm har nafsī keh mansūb bi-Ḥaqq ast lābudd az ū atharī ẓāhir va huvaydāst. Va-Allāh kalimātat past-tar az kalimāt-i milal-i qabl bi-naẓar mīāyad. Chūn bughż Allāh dar qalbat būdeh, qalamat az laṭāfat-i dhikr va taḥrīr mamnūʿ va maḥrūm gashteh. Amr bar tu mushtabih shodeh keh az ḥizb-i Raḥmān khārij shodeh va bi-ḥizb-i shayṭān tavajjuh namūdeh. Bar har dhī-baṣarī maʿlūm ast keh īn ʿibād baʿd az panj saneh muʿāsharat keh laylan va nahāran āncheh bi-chashm-i khud dīdeh-īm va bi-samʿ-i khud shinīdeh-īm dhikr mīnamāʾīm, va tu bi-qawl-i khabīthī keh nazd-i īn ʿabd mardūd būdeh tā cheh rasad nazd-i sākinān-i aʿrāsh-i maʿānī tamassuk juste h, bi-al-marreh khud rā az ishrāqāt-i anvār-i fajr-i maʿānī keh dar īn ayyām-i raḥmānī mushriq va muḍīʾ ast mamnūʿ namūdeh.

By God, everyone with keen sight laughs at your words. It seems that the fragrance of the divine Riḍván has never reached you, for today some sign must necessarily be manifest and evident in every soul associated with the True One. By God, your words appear more base than those of the religious communities of the past. Because hatred of God has been in your heart, your pen has been deprived of grace in expression and writing. You have become confused about the matter, leaving the company of the All-Merciful and turning toward the company of Satan. It is clear to every discerning person that, after five years of association, we servants recount what we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, by night and day. Yet you have clung to a vile statement rejected by this servant—let alone by the inhabitants of the thrones of inner meanings—and have utterly deprived yourself of the radiance of the lights of the dawn of inner meanings, which is rising and shining in these merciful days.

537

حال اى با انصاف انصاف ده بر ما مشتبه شده يا بر شما و اينكه نوشته غرض در كار نيست و اللّه نفس همين قول غرض صرف است و محض نفس و هوى چنانچه خود شما نوشته‌ايد كه حال برو و تجربه كن اين عبد را مأمور بتجربه نموده كه بعد آنچه ظاهر شود تو را اخبار نمايم و تو خود اينجا نبوده و تجربه ننموده لذا قبل از تجربه چرا آنقدر مجعولات مفتريه نفسانيّه بحقّ نسبت داده و انكار صرف نموده حال ملاحظه كن كه اهل غرض كيست تاللّه لو تنصف لتجد نفسك فى خسران عظيم ان يا بحر الغرض خف عن اللّه الّذى خلقك بأمر من عنده و لاتتكلّم بما يكذّبك به كلّ الذّرّات اتّق اللّه و كن من المتّقين حال ملاحظه كن كه چه قدر افعال و اعمالت نزد حقّ رسوا و واضح است و چگونه عقلت بيد قدرت اخذ شده كه خود غرض و بغضاى خود را بقلم مينويسى و ثابت ميكنى و مع‌ذلك شاعر نيستى اذاً يشهد بغرضك كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض ثمّ يشهد نفسك على غرضك و انّ هذا لحقّ يقين

Ḥāl ey bā-inṣāf, inṣāf deh: bar mā mushtabah shudeh yā bar shumā? Va īnkih nivishteh gharaḍ dar kār nīst, va-Allāh nafs-i hamīn qawl gharaḍ-i ṣirf ast va maḥḍ-i nafs va havā. Chinānchih khud-i shumā nivishteh-īd kih ḥāl biraw va tajribih kun. Īn ʿabd rā maʾmūr bi-tajribih namūdeh kih baʿd ānchih ẓāhir shavad tu rā ikhbār namāyam, va tu khud īnjā nabūdeh va tajribih nanamūdeh. Lidhā qabl az tajribih chirā ānqadr majʿūlāt-i muftariyih-yi nafsāniyyih bi-Ḥaqq nisbat dādih va inkār-i ṣirf namūdeh? Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih kun kih ahl-i gharaḍ kīst. Ta-Allāh law tunṣif la-tajid nafsaka fī khusrān ʿaẓīm. An yā baḥr al-gharaḍ, khaf ʿan Allāh alladhī khalaqaka bi-amr min ʿindihi wa-lā tatakallam bi-mā yukadhdhibuka bihi kull al-dharrāt. Ittaq Allāh wa-kun min al-muttaqīn. Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih kun kih chih qadr afʿāl va aʿmālat nazd-i Ḥaqq rusvā va vāḍiḥ ast va chigūnih ʿaqlat bi-yad-i qudrat akhdh shudeh kih khud gharaḍ va baghḍā-yi khud rā bi-qalam mīnivīsī va thābit mīkunī va maʿa-dhālik shāʿir nīstī. Idhan yashhad bi-gharaḍika kullu man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ thumma tashhad nafsuka ʿalā gharaḍika wa-inna hādhā la-ḥaqq yaqīn.

Now, you who claim to be fair, judge fairly: is it we who have become confused, or you? As for your writing that no ulterior motive is involved, by God, that very statement is pure ulterior motive and nothing but self and desire. You yourself wrote, “Now go and test it.” You commissioned this servant to conduct a test and then inform you of whatever became apparent, while you yourself have neither been here nor conducted a test. Why, then, before testing, have you attributed so many selfish fabrications and slanders to the True One and denied Him outright? Now consider who harbors ulterior motives. By God, if you judge fairly, you will find yourself in grievous loss. O ocean of ulterior motives, fear God, who created you by a command from His presence, and do not say what every atom proves false. Fear God and be among the God-fearing. Now consider how exposed and evident your deeds and actions are before the True One, and how your understanding has been seized by the hand of power, so that you yourself write down and establish your own ulterior motives and hatred, yet remain unaware. Thus everyone in the heavens and on earth bears witness to your ulterior motives; then your own self bears witness to your ulterior motives. This is indeed the certain truth.

538

غرض مشركين بمقامى رسيده كه بعضى از امثال شما ايراد گرفته‌اند و در خلق جمال رحمن حرف گفته‌اند و اعتراضات نموده‌اند و تو شهادت بر خلق داده و بعد بغرض نفسانى اعتراض نموده انسان متحيّر است كه كدام يك از اقوال را تصديق نمايد از يكطرف هيكل فساد باطراف نوشته و شكايتها نموده و اخلاق رحمانيّه را از مظهر الوهيّه سلب نموده اين كلماتيكه بخارج نوشته‌اند از آنطرف بشما القا نموده كه بطائفين حول بيت اين قسم نوشته اگر اخلاق صحيح است انكار آنقوم چه صورتى دارد اگر عدمش صادق بوده اين ذكر تو چه معنى دارد و اللّه هر بصيرى موقن است كه كلمه حقّ نگفته و نخواهند گفت باقتضاى وقت هر چه مصلحت انفس خبيثه دانند بآن متكلّم و مستدلّند

Gharaḍ-i mushrikīn bi-maqāmī rasīdeh kih baʿḍī az amthāl-i shumā īrād giriftih-and va dar khulq-i Jamāl-i Raḥmān ḥarf guftih-and va iʿtirāḍāt namūdih-and, va tu shahādat bar khulq dādih va baʿd bi-gharaḍ-i nafsānī iʿtirāḍ namūdeh. Insān mutaḥayyir ast kih kudām yak az aqvāl rā taṣdīq namāyad. Az yik ṭaraf Haykal-i Fasād bi-aṭrāf nivishteh va shikāyathā namūdeh va akhlāq-i raḥmāniyyih rā az Maẓhar-i Ulūhiyyih salb namūdeh. Īn kalimātīkih bi-khārij nivishtih-and az ān ṭaraf bi-shumā ilqā namūdeh kih bi-ṭāʾifīn-i ḥawl-i Bayt īn qism nivishteh. Agar akhlāq ṣaḥīḥ ast inkār-i ān qawm chih ṣūratī dārad? Agar ʿadamash ṣādiq būdeh īn dhikr-i tu chih maʿnī dārad? Va-Allāh har baṣīrī mūqin ast kih kalimih-yi ḥaqq nagu⁣fteh va nakhāhand guft. Bi-iqtiḍā-yi vaqt har chih maṣlaḥat-i anfus-i khabīthih dānand bi-ān mutakallim va mustadill-and.

The ulterior motives of those who associate partners with God have reached such a point that some like you have found fault with the character of the Beauty of the All-Merciful and raised objections to it. Yet you have testified to His character and then, out of selfish motives, objected. One is bewildered as to which statement to believe. On the one hand, the embodiment of corruption has written to various places, made complaints, and denied that the Manifestation of Divinity possesses merciful virtues. These are the statements they have written to those outside; on the other hand, he has suggested to you that he has written in this fashion to those who circle the House. If the good character is genuine, what justification is there for those people’s denial? If its absence is true, what does this statement of yours mean? By God, every discerning person is certain that they have not spoken a word of truth and never will. According to the requirements of the moment, they say and adduce as proof whatever they consider advantageous to their vile selves.

539

بارى اين عباد نشهد بانّه لعلى خلق عظيم و نشهد بانّه حجّة اللّه بين خلقه و برهانه بين بريّته و مظهر امره فى بلاده و مطّلع العزّ بين عباده و كلّما ظهر من عنده لحقّ بمثل وجوده و ما دونه معدوم فى ساحته و مفقود عند ظهورات سلطانه و انّه لهو محبوب العارفين و مقصود العالمين من اعرض عنه فقد اعرض عن اللّه المهيمن العزيز القدير

Bārī īn ʿibād nashhadu bi-annahu la-ʿalā khuluq ʿaẓīm wa-nashhadu bi-annahu Ḥujjat Allāh bayna khalqihi wa-burhānuhu bayna bariyyatihi wa-maẓhar amrihi fī bilādihi wa-muṭṭalaʿ al-ʿizz bayna ʿibādihi wa-kullamā ẓahara min ʿindihi la-ḥaqq bi-mithl wujūdihi wa-mā dūnahu maʿdūm fī sāḥatihi wa-mafqūd ʿinda ẓuhūrāt sulṭānihi wa-innahu la-huwa maḥbūb al-ʿārifīn wa-maqṣūd al-ʿālamīn. Man aʿraḍa ʿanhu fa-qad aʿraḍa ʿan Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qadīr.

In any case, we servants testify that He is indeed of exalted character. We testify that He is God’s proof among His creation, His demonstration among His creatures, the Manifestation of His Cause in His lands, and the Dawning-place of glory among His servants. Whatever has appeared from Him is indeed true, just as His own being is true; all else is nonexistent in His court and lost before the manifestations of His sovereignty. He is indeed the Beloved of those who know and the Desire of all the worlds. Whoever turns away from Him has turned away from God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

540

اى اهل دين شما را بمالك يوم الدّين قسم ميدهم كه از اين كلمات اقلّ من ذرّ رايحه حقّ استشمام ميشود لا فو‌نفسه الحقّ اين سخنان مشابه سخنان اراذل اهل ارض است كه در حين مخاصمه با يكديگر ذكر مينمايند كه من قدرتم از تو بيشتر و قوّتم از تو برتر و امثال اين سخنان لغو كه ما بين جهّال متداول است و اللّه حال نوحه بر امر لازم چه كه نقطه بيان با آنمقام و شأن چه مقدار خضوع و خشوع و تسليم و رضا نسبت باين ظهور فرموده و مع‌ذلك تو باين كلماتيكه اراذل از آن ننگ دارند تكلّم نموده و بآن كلمات بر بطلان حقّ استدلال كرده بلى حال امر اللّه بشأنى تنزّل نموده كه جميع ما فى البيان منوط بقول تو و ميرزا يحيى و سيّد محمّد و على محمّد سرّاج شده و امثال آن نفوس چنانچه در اواخر دوره فرقان جميع امور الهى و شرع محكم ربّانى بقول شيخى از مشايخ منوط و مشروط بود

Ey ahl-i dīn, shumā rā bi-Mālik-i Yawm al-Dīn qasam mīdiham kih az īn kalimāt aqall-i min dharr rāyiḥih-yi ḥaqq istishmām mīshavad? Lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-Ḥaqq. Īn sukhanān mushābih-i sukhanān-i arādhil-i ahl-i arḍ ast kih dar ḥīn-i mukhāṣimih bā yikdīgar dhikr mīnamāyand kih man qudratam az tu bīshtar va quvvatam az tu bartar va amthāl-i īn sukhanān-i laghv kih mā bayn-i juhhāl mutadāvil ast. Va-Allāh ḥāl nawḥih bar Amr lāzim, chih kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān bā ān maqām va shaʾn chih miqdār khuḍūʿ va khushūʿ va taslīm va riḍā nisbat bi-īn Ẓuhūr farmūdeh, va maʿa-dhālik tu bi-īn kalimātīkih arādhil az ān nang dārand takallum namūdeh va bi-ān kalimāt bar buṭlān-i Ḥaqq istidlāl kardeh. Balī ḥāl Amr Allāh bi-shaʾnī tanazzul namūdeh kih jamīʿ-i mā fī al-Bayān manūṭ bi-qawl-i tu va Mīrzā Yaḥyā va Siyyid Muḥammad va ʿAlī Muḥammad-i Sarrāj shudeh va amthāl-i ān nufūs, chinānchih dar avākhir-i dawrih-yi Furqān jamīʿ-i umūr-i ilāhī va sharʿ-i muḥkam-i rabbānī bi-qawl-i shaykhī az mashāyikh manūṭ va mashrūṭ būd.

O people of religion, I adjure you by the Master of the Day of Judgment: can even the slightest trace of the fragrance of truth be perceived in these words? No, by His own true Self! These words resemble those uttered by the basest people on earth when quarreling with one another: “My power is greater than yours, and my strength surpasses yours,” and similar idle talk current among the ignorant. By God, the Cause must now be mourned, for the Point of the Bayān, with all His station and dignity, has shown such humility, reverence, submission, and contentment toward this Revelation. Yet you have uttered words of which even the base would be ashamed, and have used those words to argue that the True One is false. Indeed, the Cause of God has now been brought so low that everything in the Bayān has become dependent upon your word and that of Mīrzā Yaḥyā, Siyyid Muḥammad, ʿAlī Muḥammad the saddler, and others like them, just as, toward the end of the dispensation of the Qur’an, all divine affairs and the firmly established law of God depended upon, and were conditional on, the word of one shaykh among the shaykhs.

541

و اين معلوم است كه از القاهاى شيطان است گويا تو از خود هيچ شعورى ندارى بر تند باد نفس و هوى مبتلا گشته هر قسم كه ميخواهد تو را ميبرد آنقدر فكر ننموده كه اصل اين فقره نزد مبصّرين از الحاد است و در الحاد اختلاف نموده‌اند بعضى بر آنند كه ملحد نفوسى هستند كه خدا را باسامى مينامند كه اذن داده نشده‌اند در كتاب الهى و بعضى برآنند كه ملحد نفوسى هستند كه از اسماء الهى اسمائى اشتقاق نموده‌اند و بآن اسماء عاكفند من دون اللّه چنانچه لفظ منات را از منّان و عزّى را از عزيز و لات را از اللّه اخذ نموده‌اند و بآن اسماء ساجد و عاكفند و بعضى برآنند كه الحاد همان تحريف است و آن تحريف هم در معانى نه در الفاظ چه كه لحد بمعنى ستر آمده و آن نفوسى هستند كه معانى كلمات الهى را بهواهاى خود ستر نموده‌اند يعنى بهواهاى خود تفسير نموده و مينمايند و بعضى برآنند كه ملحد نفوسى هستند كه معانى غير را بلباس الفاظ خود جلود دهند اين معانى الحاد كه مابين ناس معروف است

Va īn maʿlūm ast kih az ilqāhā-yi shayṭān ast. Gūyā tu az khud hīch shuʿūrī nadārī. Bar tundbād-i nafs va havā mubtalā gashteh, har qism kih mīkhāhad tu rā mībarad. Ānqadr fikr nanamūdeh kih aṣl-i īn fiqrih nazd-i mubṣirīn az ilḥād ast. Va dar ilḥād ikhtilāf namūdih-and. Baʿḍī bar ānand kih mulḥid nufūsī hastand kih Khudā rā bi-asāmī mīnāmand kih idhn dādih nashudih-and dar Kitāb-i Ilāhī. Va baʿḍī bar ānand kih mulḥid nufūsī hastand kih az asmā-yi ilāhī asmāʾī ishtiqāq namūdih-and va bi-ān asmā ʿākif-and min dūn Allāh, chinānchih lafẓ-i Manāt rā az Mannān va ʿUzzā rā az ʿAzīz va Lāt rā az Allāh akhdh namūdih-and va bi-ān asmā sājid va ʿākif-and. Va baʿḍī bar ānand kih ilḥād hamān taḥrīf ast va ān taḥrīf ham dar maʿānī nah dar alfāẓ, chih kih laḥd bi-maʿnī-yi satr āmadeh va ān nufūsī hastand kih maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhī rā bi-havāhā-yi khud satr namūdih-and, yaʿnī bi-havāhā-yi khud tafsīr namūdeh va mīnamāyand. Va baʿḍī bar ānand kih mulḥid nufūsī hastand kih maʿānī-yi ghayr rā bi-libās-i alfāẓ-i khud [corrupted text] dihand. Īn maʿānī-yi ilḥād kih mā bayn-i nās maʿrūf ast.

It is clear that this is one of Satan’s promptings. It seems you have no understanding of your own. You have been caught in the tempest of self and desire, which carries you wherever it wishes. You have not reflected enough to realize that, in the eyes of the discerning, this very proposal is a form of deviation. Opinions differ concerning deviation. Some hold that deviators are those who call God by names not authorized in the divine Book. Others hold that deviators are those who derive names from the divine names and devote themselves to those names instead of God, just as they derived the word Manāt from Mannān, ʿUzzā from ʿAzīz, and Lāt from Allāh, and bow down and devote themselves to those names. Others hold that deviation is distortion, and that this distortion concerns meanings, not words, for laḥd has the meaning of concealment: these are people who have concealed the meanings of the divine words with their own desires—that is, they have interpreted and continue to interpret them according to their own desires. Others hold that deviators are those who [corrupted original text] the meanings of another in the garb of their own words. These are the meanings of deviation commonly known among people.

542

حال اين مطلبی‌ كه خواسته از اين اقسام خارج نه در هر صورت الحاد بوده و خواهد بود ملقيت اين فقره را براى تو معجزه قرار داده و از اين گذشته اين اسهل طرق است عجب است كه صعب بنظر شما آمده چه كه معنى موجود باشد تحديد الفاظ بغايت سهل و آسان بوده و خواهد بود

Ḥāl īn maṭlabī kih khāstih az īn aqsām khārij nah. Dar har ṣūrat ilḥād būdeh va khāhad būd. Mulqī-at īn fiqrih rā barā-yi tu muʿjizih qarār dādeh. Va az īn gudashteh īn ashal-i ṭuruq ast. ʿAjab ast kih ṣaʿb bi-naẓar-i shumā āmadeh, chih kih maʿnī mawjūd bāshad taḥdīd-i alfāẓ bi-ghāyat sahl va āsān būdeh va khāhad būd.

Now, this thing you have requested falls within these categories. In any case, it has been and will remain deviation. The one prompting you has presented this matter to you as a miracle. Besides, this is the easiest of methods. It is surprising that it has seemed difficult to you, for when the meaning is already present, determining the wording has always been and will always be exceedingly easy and simple.

543

حال ملاحظه كن كه چه قدر بی‌‌شعورى و از اين مراتب هم گذشته و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اعظم از آنچه بتصوّر آيد بچشم ديده و بگوش شنيده‌ايم و يقين است كه شما موقن بقول اين عبد نبوده و نيستى و اگر ميبودى همان مكتوب كه چندى قبل بشما ارسال شد حقّ را از باطل تميز ميدادى در اينصورت لازم است يا خود بيائى و يا وكيل ديگر تعيين نمائى با جميع كتب سماوى بين يدى حاضر شود اين عبد عهد مينمايد كه آيات الهى بشأنى نازل شود كه احدى قادر بر تحرير آن نباشد حال اين قولى است كه خود شما ذكر نموده‌ايد و طلب کرده‌ايد بيائيد و ملاحظه نمائيد

Ḥāl mulāḥiẓih kun kih chih qadr bī-shuʿūrī. Va az īn marātib ham gudashteh, va-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa kih aʿẓam az ānchih bi-taṣavvur āyad bi-chashm dīdih va bi-gūsh shinīdih-īm. Va yaqīn ast kih shumā mūqin bi-qawl-i īn ʿabd nabūdeh va nīstī, va agar mībūdī hamān maktūb kih chandī qabl bi-shumā irsāl shud Ḥaqq rā az bāṭil tamyīz mīdādī. Dar īn ṣūrat lāzim ast yā khud biyāʾī va yā vakīl-i dīgar taʿyīn namāʾī bā jamīʿ-i kutub-i samāvī bayna yaday ḥāḍir shavad. Īn ʿabd ʿahd mīnamāyad kih āyāt-i ilāhī bi-shaʾnī nāzil shavad kih aḥadī qādir bar taḥrīr-i ān nabāshad. Ḥāl īn qawlī ast kih khud-i shumā dhikr namūdih-īd va ṭalab kardih-īd. Biyāʾīd va mulāḥiẓih namāʾīd.

Now consider how lacking in understanding you are. Beyond all this, by God, besides whom there is no other god, we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears things greater than can be imagined. It is certain that you have never had, and still do not have, confidence in this servant’s word. Had you done so, you would have distinguished truth from falsehood through that very letter sent to you some time ago. Under these circumstances, you must either come yourself or appoint another representative to appear in His presence with all the heavenly books. This servant pledges that divine verses will be revealed in such a manner that no one will be able to write them down. This, then, is a proposal that you yourselves have mentioned and requested. Come and see.

544

گذشته از اينكه حقّ باين امور معروف نشده و نميشود و او است ميزان كلّ شیء و خلق او ميزان معرفت او نبوده و نخواهند بود و اين مطلب از اصل صحيح نيست چنانچه ذكر شد و آنقدر شعور نداريد كه ميفرمايد لاتجرّب الرّبّ چه كه بر حقّ است كه ناس را تجربه و امتحان نمايد و خلق او را لايق و سزاوار نه كه او را تجربه كنند ولكن چون تو اين را ميزان قرار داده و بميزان اللّه راضى نشده و كفايت ننموده استدعا نموده‌ام كه از فضل و عنايت خود قبول فرمايند و قبول فرموده‌اند چنانچه حينئذ ميفرمايند ان احضر بكتب السّمآء بين يدى اللّه ربّك و ربّ الأوّلین‌ و الآخرین ثمّ اقرأ ما تشآء كيف تشآء لينزل من جبروت اللّه فى كلّ كلمة كلمات عزّ منيع على شأن يعجز عن احصائها كلّ العالمين و باىّ عبارة تريد و باىّ شأن تشآء ينزلها اللّه بالحقّ من سماء قدس رفيع ما يعجز عن تحريرها كلّ الخلايق اجمعين

Gudashteh az īnkih Ḥaqq bi-īn umūr maʿrūf nashudeh va namīshavad va Ū ast mīzān-i kull-i shayʾ va khalq-i Ū mīzān-i maʿrifat-i Ū nabūdeh va nakhāhand būd, va īn maṭlab az aṣl ṣaḥīḥ nīst chinānchih dhikr shud. Va ānqadr shuʿūr nadārīd kih mīfarmāyad lā tujarrib al-Rabb, chih kih bar Ḥaqq ast kih nās rā tajribih va imtiḥān namāyad va khalq-i Ū rā lāyiq va sizāvār nah kih Ū rā tajribih kunand. Va-lākin chūn tu īn rā mīzān qarār dādih va bi-mīzān Allāh rāḍī nashudeh va kifāyat nanamūdeh, istidʿā namūdih-am kih az faḍl va ʿināyat-i khud qabūl farmāyand va qabūl farmūdih-and, chinānchih ḥīnaʾidh mīfarmāyand: an iḥḍur bi-kutub al-samāʾ bayna yaday Allāh Rabbika wa-Rabb al-awwalīn wa-al-ākhirīn thumma iqraʾ mā tashāʾ kayfa tashāʾ li-yanzila min jabarūt Allāh fī kull kalimah kalimāt ʿizz manīʿ ʿalā shaʾn yaʿjizu ʿan iḥṣāʾihā kull al-ʿālamīn wa-bi-ayyi ʿibārah turīd wa-bi-ayyi shaʾn tashāʾ yunazziluhā Allāh bi-al-ḥaqq min samāʾ quds rafīʿ mā yaʿjizu ʿan taḥrīrihā kull al-khalāʾiq ajmaʿīn.

Quite apart from the fact that the True One has never been and will never be known through such things, He is the measure of all things, and His creatures have never been and will never be the measure by which He is known. As already stated, this proposal is fundamentally unsound. You do not even have enough understanding to recognize that He says, “Do not put the Lord to the test,” for it is the prerogative of the True One to test and try people, and it is neither fitting nor proper for His creatures to test Him. Yet because you have made this your measure, have not been content with God’s measure, and have not found it sufficient, I have asked Him, out of His grace and loving care, to accept, and He has accepted. Thus He now says: “Come with the books of heaven into the presence of God, your Lord and the Lord of the first and the last. Then read whatever you wish, however you wish, so that from the dominion of God there may descend, for every word, words of unassailable glory in such a manner that all the worlds will be unable to count them. In whatever wording you desire and in whatever manner you wish, God will send them down in truth from a heaven of exalted holiness—words that all created beings together will be unable to write down.”

545

اين كلمات محكمات در جواب مطلب شما نازل و لكن فرموده‌اند كه يقين است بعذر ديگر متعذّر خواهند شد چه كه كلمه حقّ لايزيد المشركين الّا خساراً نميدانم ديگر بچه عذرى متمسّك خواهيد شد و بچه ميزانى متشبّث و اللّه يا عبد از شاطى انصاف بسيار بعيدى و از مقرّ قرب بسيار دور نميدانم چه شما را بر آن داشته مع آنكه بين يدى حاضر نشده و خدمت ظهور قبل هم فايز نگشته و قبل از تجربه بقول خودت باينكلمات مفتريات مشغول گشته و كسانى را كه مطّلع بر امرند ايشان را تكذيب نموده‌ايد و نفسى را كه مثل تو بوده و ابدا اطّلاع از جائى نداشته او را تصديق نموده

Īn kalimāt-i muḥkamāt dar javāb-i maṭlab-i shumā nāzil, va-lākin farmūdih-and kih yaqīn ast bi-ʿudhr-i dīgar mutaʿadhdhir khāhand shud, chih kih kalimih-yi Ḥaqq lā yazīdu al-mushrikīn illā khasāran. Namīdānam dīgar bi-chih ʿudhrī mutamassik khāhīd shud va bi-chih mīzānī mutashabbith. Va-Allāh yā ʿabd, az shāṭī-yi inṣāf bisyār baʿīdī va az maqarr-i qurb bisyār dūr. Namīdānam chih shumā rā bar ān dāshteh, maʿa ānkih bayna yaday ḥāḍir nashudeh va khidmat-i Ẓuhūr-i qabl ham fāʾiz nagashteh va qabl az tajribih bi-qawl-i khudat bi-īn kalimāt-i muftariyāt mashghūl gashteh va kasānī rā kih muṭṭaliʿ bar Amr-and īshān rā takdhīb namūdih-īd va nafsī rā kih mithl-i tu būdeh va abadan iṭṭilāʿ az jāʾī nadāshteh ū rā taṣdīq namūdeh.

These firm words have been revealed in response to your request. Yet He has said that you will certainly resort to another excuse, for the word of the True One “increases those who associate partners with God in nothing but loss.” I do not know what further excuse you will cling to, or what measure you will seize upon. By God, O servant, you are far indeed from the shore of fairness and far removed from the seat of nearness. I do not know what has prompted you to do this, when you have neither appeared in His presence nor attained the presence of the previous Manifestation. Before conducting a test, by your own account, you have occupied yourself with these slanderous words, denied those who are informed about the Cause, and believed someone who was like yourself and had no knowledge from any quarter.

546

و از اينمراتب گذشته يكذّبك كلماتك بعضها بعض چنانچه در اينمقام نوشته يقين هركه داراى اين مقام است حقّ و كلام او حقّ و غير او كاذب و بعد نوشته كه اگر اتيان باين امر هم نمايد آنوقت هم دليل بر آن نفس موعود نيست و يكى از اولياى دوره بيان خواهد بود و آنهم بعد از تصديق ميرزا يحيى حال خود انصاف ده اگر يقين حقّ است ديگر چگونه منوط بتصديق دونش خواهد شد حال از اين دو بيرون نيست يا كلمه اوّل را بايد اقرار نمائى كه لغو بوده و من غير شعور ذكر نموده و يا بيان ثانى را و اللّه علامت قهر در امثال آن نفوس ظاهر و مشهود شده چه كه شاعر نيستيد كه چه مينويسيد و چه ذكر مينمائيد

Va az īn marātib gudashteh yukadhdhibuka kalimātuka baʿḍuhā baʿḍ, chinānchih dar īn maqām nivishteh: yaqīn har kih dārā-yi īn maqām ast ḥaqq va kalām-i ū ḥaqq va ghayr-i ū kādhib. Va baʿd nivishteh kih agar ityān bi-īn amr ham namāyad ān vaqt ham dalīl bar ān nafs-i mawʿūd nīst va yikī az awliyā-yi dawrih-yi Bayān khāhad būd va ān ham baʿd az taṣdīq-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā. Ḥāl khud inṣāf deh: agar yaqīn Ḥaqq ast dīgar chigūnih manūṭ bi-taṣdīq-i dūnash khāhad shud? Ḥāl az īn du bīrūn nīst: yā kalimih-yi avval rā bāyad iqrār namāʾī kih laghv būdeh va min ghayr-i shuʿūr dhikr namūdeh va yā bayān-i thānī rā. Va-Allāh ʿalāmat-i qahr dar amthāl-i ān nufūs ẓāhir va mashhūd shudeh, chih kih shāʿir nīstīd kih chih mīnivīsīd va chih dhikr mīnamāʾīd.

Beyond all this, your own words prove you false, contradicting one another. Thus, at this point you have written: “Certainly, whoever possesses this station is true, and his words are true, and anyone else is a liar.” Then you have written that even if He accomplishes this, it will still not be proof that He is that promised Person, and He will be one of the holy ones of the dispensation of the Bayān—and that only after Mīrzā Yaḥyā’s confirmation. Now judge fairly for yourself: if He is certainly the True One, how can He depend upon the confirmation of anyone besides Him? There are only two alternatives: you must admit either that the first statement was idle talk uttered without understanding, or that the second statement was. By God, the sign of wrath has become manifest and evident in such souls, for you are unaware of what you write and what you say.

547

بدان اليوم آنچه بعقلت رسيده و برسد و يا بعقول فوق تو و دون تو ادراك شود هيچيك ميزان معرفت حقّ نبوده و نخواهد بود و حقّ منيع از جميع مقدّس و منزّه و مبرّا و اگر نفسى باعلى رتبه عرفان صعود نمايد و يا باعلى ذروه بيان ارتقاء جويد كه نفع نمى‌بخشد او را و ثمرى نداشته و نخواهد داشت الّا بعد از اقرار باين ظهور اعظم كذلك نزل الأمر فى البيان ثمّ فى الفرقان ثمّ فى الانجيل و التّوريّة و الزّبور و الصّحف ان انتم توقنون

Bidān al-yawm ānchih bi-ʿaqlat rasīdih va birasad va yā bi-ʿuqūl-i fawq-i tu va dūn-i tu idrāk shavad hīch-yik mīzān-i maʿrifat-i Ḥaqq nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd va Ḥaqq-i manīʿ az jamīʿ muqaddas va munazzah va mubarrā va agar nafsī bi-aʿlā rutbiy-i ʿirfān ṣuʿūd namāyad va yā bi-aʿlā dhurviy-i bayān irtiqā jūyad kih nafʿ namībakhshad ū rā va thamarī nadāshtih va nakhvāhad dāsht illā baʿd az iqrār bi-īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam. Kadhālika nazala al-amru fī al-Bayān thumma fī al-Furqān thumma fī al-Injīl wa-al-Tawrāt wa-al-Zabūr wa-al-Ṣuḥuf in antum tūqinūn.

Know that today, whatever your mind has grasped or may grasp, or whatever minds above or below yours may comprehend, has never been and will never be the measure of the knowledge of the True One. The inaccessible True One is sanctified, exalted, and free from all of these. Even if a soul ascends to the highest rank of spiritual knowledge or rises to the loftiest summit of utterance, this will not benefit that soul and has never borne, nor will ever bear, any fruit except after acknowledgment of this Most Great Revelation. Thus was the command revealed in the Bayān, then in the Qur’an, then in the Gospel, the Torah, the Psalms, and the Scriptures, if you are certain.

548

قوله كبر كذبه و جعله انصاف بدهيد كسيكه بيست سال در اين دوره پرورش يافته بيست سال هم در دوره عرفا چهار كلمه بل هزار كلمه مطالب عرفان و صورت آيات بنويسد كسبيّه چه مدخليّت دارد با فطرت فرق اين دو همان است كه عرض شد و اگر هم بهمان نوع نوشتند و حال آنكه مشكل است آنوقت هم دليل بر آن شخص موعود نيست و دليل بر انكار و تكفير ميرزا يحيى نيست بلكه يكى از اولياى دوره بيان هستند آنهم بشرط تصديق ثمره نه بانكار و ظلم بر او انتهى

Qawluhu kabura kadhibuhu va jaʿluhu: inṣāf bidahīd kasī kih bīst sāl dar īn dawrih parvarish yāftih bīst sāl ham dar dawriy-i ʿurafā chahār kalamih bal hazār kalamih maṭālib-i ʿirfān va ṣūrat-i āyāt binivīsad kasbiyyih chih madkhaliyyat dārad bā fiṭrat farq-i īn du hamān ast kih ʿarḍ shud va agar ham bi-hamān nawʿ nivishtand va ḥāl ānkih mushkil ast ān vaqt ham dalīl bar ān shakhṣ-i mawʿūd nīst va dalīl bar inkār va takfīr-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā nīst balkih yakī az awliyā-yi dawriy-i Bayān hastand ān ham bi-sharṭ-i taṣdīq-i thumrih nah bi-inkār va ẓulm bar ū. Intahā.

His words—great are his falsehood and fabrication: “Be fair: someone who has been nurtured for twenty years in this dispensation and twenty years in the circle of the mystics may write four words, indeed a thousand words, on mystical subjects and in the form of verses. What does acquired learning have to do with innate capacity? The difference between these two is just what was explained. Even if He were to write in that same manner—which would be difficult—it would still not prove that He is that promised Person, nor would it justify denying Mīrzā Yaḥyā and declaring him an unbeliever. Rather, He would be one of the holy ones of the dispensation of the Bayān, and that only on condition of acknowledging the Fruit, not denying him and wronging him.” End of quotation.

549

اوّلا اى مفترى كاذب كسبيّت از كجا معلوم شد پيش كه درس خوانده‌اند و معلّم كه بوده و ثانيا آن عرفائيكه با آن جمال اقدس معاشر بوده‌اند كه بوده يكذّبك نفسك فيما افتريت و لكن لا تستشعر و تكوننّ من الغافلين

Avvalan ay muftarī-yi kādhib kasbiyyat az kujā maʿlūm shud pīsh-i kih dars khvāndih-and va muʿallim kih būdih va thāniyan ān ʿurafāʾī kih bā ān Jamāl-i Aqdas muʿāshir būdih-and kih būdih. Yukadhdhibuka nafsuka fīmā iftarayta wa-lākin lā tastashʿiru wa-takūnanna min al-ghāfilīn.

First, you lying slanderer, how was it established that His knowledge was acquired? With whom did He study, and who was His teacher? Second, who were those mystics who associated with that Most Holy Beauty? Your own self gives the lie to what you have fabricated, but you do not perceive it and are indeed among the heedless.

550

آنچه مبرهن و واضح اينست كه تا والدشان در حيات بود با احدى معاشر نبودند مگر گاهى بنفوسيكه در خدمت والدشان مراوده مينمودند و جميع اهل ايران مطّلعند كه والدشان هم بحسب ظاهر از اهل علم نبوده‌اند تفحّص لعلّ تجد الى الحقّ سبيل

Ānchih mubarhan va vāḍiḥ īnast kih tā vālidishān dar ḥayāt būd bā aḥadī muʿāshir nabūdand magar gāhī bi-nufūsī kih dar khidmat-i vālidishān murāvadih mīnamūdand va jamīʿ-i ahl-i Īrān muṭṭaliʿand kih vālidishān ham bi-ḥasab-i ẓāhir az ahl-i ʿilm nabūdih-and. Tafaḥḥaṣ laʿalla tajidu ilā al-Ḥaqq sabīl.

What is established and clear is that, while His father was alive, He associated with no one except occasionally those who visited His father. All the people of Iran know that His father, too, was not outwardly one of the learned. Investigate, so that perhaps you may find a path to the Truth.

551

و اگر هم بعضى از عرفا به بيت ميامدند و ملاقات واقع ميشد اين دخلى بتعليم و تعلّم نداشته و اين كلماتى است كه ميرزا يحيى القا نموده و اگر بر فرض هم‌چنين بوده جميع ذرّات شهادت ميدهند كه ميرزا يحيى در خدمت ايشان بوده در هر حال او هم شريك بوده

Va agar ham baʿḍī az ʿurafā bi-bayt mīāmadand va mulāqāt vāqiʿ mīshud īn dakhlī bi-taʿlīm va taʿallum nadāshtih va īn kalimātī ast kih Mīrzā Yaḥyā ilqā namūdih va agar bar farḍ ham-chunīn būdih jamīʿ-i dharrāt shahādat mīdihand kih Mīrzā Yaḥyā dar khidmat-i īshān būdih dar har ḥāl ū ham sharīk būdih.

Even if some mystics came to the house and meetings took place, this had nothing to do with teaching and learning. These are words that Mīrzā Yaḥyā has suggested. Even supposing it had been so, every atom bears witness that Mīrzā Yaḥyā was in His service: in every circumstance, he too shared in it.

552

حال تفكّر كن اى بی‌‌انصاف كه چه گفته و چه ميگوئى در دوره بيان با كه معاشر بوده‌اند هر نفسى كه بين يدى حاضر ميشد كسب معارف الهيّه و شئونات حكمت ربّانيه مينمود و ابدا در حضور امنع اقدس نفسى قادر بر تكلّم نبوده تا چه رسد بآنكه از او چيزى اخذ فرمايند چنانچه اين عباد در عراق بوده‌ايم و بچشم خود ديده‌ايم فاسئل من اهل العراق لعلّ تطّلع و تكون من العارفين

Ḥāl tafakkur kun ay bī-inṣāf kih chih guftih va chih mīgūʾī dar dawriy-i Bayān bā kih muʿāshir būdih-and har nafsī kih bayn-i yaday ḥāḍir mīshud kasb-i maʿārif-i ilāhiyyih va shuʾūnāt-i ḥikmat-i rabbāniyyih mīnamūd va abadan dar ḥuḍūr-i amnaʿ-i aqdas nafsī qādir bar takallum nabūdih tā chih rasad bi-ānkih az ū chīzī akhdh farmāyand chunānchih īn ʿibād dar ʿIrāq būdih-īm va bi-chashm-i khud dīdih-īm. Fa-sʾal min ahl al-ʿIrāq laʿalla taṭṭaliʿu wa-takūnu min al-ʿārifīn.

Now reflect, you unfair one, on what you have said and what you are saying. With whom did He associate during the dispensation of the Bayān? Every soul who entered His presence acquired divine knowledge and the manifold expressions of heavenly wisdom. In His most inaccessible, most holy presence, no one was ever able to speak, much less could He have learned anything from them. We servants were in Iraq and saw this with our own eyes. Ask the people of Iraq, so that perhaps you may learn and be among those who recognize the truth.

553

و از اين گذشته از اوّل ظهور نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه تا حين آسایش نبوده چنانچه در اكثر اوقات در حبس و در دست اعدا مبتلا بوده‌اند و بعد از والد مخصوص ميرزا يحيى ملّا مهدى كندى را آورده و معلّم او قرار فرمودند كه روزى يكساعت ميامد و بتعليم او مشغول بود حال از ارض طاء تفحّص نمائيد اگر نفسى يافت شد كه بگويد درس خوانده و يا كسب نموده‌اند حقّ با شما است و

Va az īn gudhashtih az avval-i ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh tā ḥīn āsāyish nabūdih chunānchih dar akthar-i awqāt dar ḥabs va dar dast-i aʿdā mubtalā būdih-and va baʿd az vālid makhṣūṣ-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā Mullā Mihdī-yi Kandī rā āvardih va muʿallim-i ū qarār farmūdand kih rūzī yak sāʿat mīāmad va bi-taʿlīm-i ū mashghūl būd ḥāl az arḍ-i Ṭāʾ tafaḥḥuṣ namāyīd agar nafsī yāft shud kih bigūyad dars khvāndih va yā kasb namūdih-and Ḥaqq bā shumā ast va

Beyond this, from the beginning of the revelation of the Point of the Bayān—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—until now, He has had no rest, having spent most of His time afflicted by imprisonment and in the hands of enemies. After His father’s death, He brought Mullā Mihdī Kandī specifically for Mīrzā Yaḥyā and appointed him as his teacher; he would come for an hour each day and teach him. Now make inquiries in the land of Ṭāʾ. If anyone is found who says that He studied or acquired learning, you are right, and

554

حال آنكه هيچ يك از اين امور دليل بر امرى نبوده و نخواهد بود خوب در قلبت القاى بغضا نموده‌اند و خوب در صدرت مفتريات نقش بسته در ظهور نقطه بيان هم بعينه همين كلمات از مشركين ظاهر شده كه با شيخيها مراوده فرموده‌اند و آنچه نوشته از كلمات شيخ احمد اخذ نموده‌ و هم‌چنين نسبت دادند كه نزد فلان در ارض شين تحصيل نموده‌و علم ظاهريّه كسب فرموده لعن اللّه من الهمك و القى فى صدرك ما كان به مستحقّاً عن دونه

Ḥāl ānkih hīch yak az īn umūr dalīl bar amrī nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd khūb dar qalbat ilqā-yi baghḍā namūdih-and va khūb dar ṣadrat muftariyāt naqsh bastih dar ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān ham bi-ʿaynih hamīn kalimāt az mushrikīn ẓāhir shudih kih bā Shaykhīhā murāvadih farmūdih-and va ānchih nivishtih az kalimāt-i Shaykh Aḥmad akhdh namūdih va ham-chunīn nisbat dādand kih nazd-i fulān dar arḍ-i Shīn taḥṣīl namūdih va ʿulūm-i ẓāhiriyyih kasb farmūdih. Laʿana Allāhu man alhamaka wa-alqā fī ṣadrika mā kāna bihi mustaḥiqqan ʿan dūnihi.

Yet none of these things has ever been, or will ever be, proof of anything. How thoroughly they have instilled hatred in your heart, and how firmly slanders have been imprinted in your breast! At the revelation of the Point of the Bayān, these very same words came from those who associated partners with God: that He had associated with the Shaykhīs and had taken what He wrote from the words of Shaykh Aḥmad. They also alleged that He had studied under someone in the land of Shīn and acquired outward learning. May God curse the one who prompted you and cast into your breast that for which he, rather than anyone else, deserved this curse.

555

و ديگر صورت آيات ذكر نموده ‌اين قولى است كه مدّتها است مشركين بآن ناطقند گاهى قشر و لبّ ذكر نموده‌گاهى صورت و هيولى در آيات ذكر کرده‌اند كلّما خرج من افواههم يرجع الى انفسهم و انّ ربّك الرّحمن لبرئ منهم و عما يقولون اى بيچاره اعمى تو فرق ما بين يمين و يسار ننموده‌چگونه مميّز فطرت و غير فطرت شده حقّى كه مميّزش تو باشى همان لايق و سزاوار تو است لو يوجد من بصر ليعرف و يوقن بأن لايعادل بآية عمّا نزل بالحقّ كلمات العالمين جميع ناس كه از شاطى بحر معرفت رحمانى محروم شده‌اند سبب آن بوده كه عرفان خود را ميزان عرفان حقّ قرار داده بودند لذا از كوثر معانى محروم و ممنوع گشته‌اند چنانچه هر ملّتى اليوم بادلّه و براهين خود منتظرند و در ظهورات مظاهر احديّه توقّف نموده‌اند و اين حال نفوسى است كه فى‌الجمله اراده عرفان داشته‌اند و لكن امثال شما كه ببغضاى صرف و غلّ بحت بر وجه حقّ ايستاده‌ايد ذكرى عند اللّه نداشته و نداريد

Va dīgar ṣūrat-i āyāt dhikr namūdih īn qawlī ast kih muddat-hā ast mushrikīn bi-ān nāṭiqand gāhī qishr va lubb dhikr namūdih gāhī ṣūrat va hayūlā dar āyāt dhikr kardih-and. Kullamā kharaja min afwāhihim yarjiʿu ilā anfusihim wa-inna rabbaka al-Raḥmāna la-barīʾun minhum wa-ʿammā yaqūlūn. Ay bīchāriy-i aʿmā tu farq mā bayn-i yamīn va yasār nanamūdih chigūnih mumayyiz-i fiṭrat va ghayr-i fiṭrat shudih Ḥaqqī kih mumayyizash tu bāshī hamān lāyiq va sazāvār-i tu ast. Law yūjadu min baṣar la-yaʿrifa wa-yūqina bi-an lā yuʿādalu bi-āyatin ʿammā nazala bi-al-Ḥaqq kalimātu al-ʿālamīn. Jamīʿ-i nās kih az shāṭī-yi baḥr-i maʿrifat-i Raḥmānī maḥrūm shudih-and sabab ān būdih kih ʿirfān-i khud rā mīzān-i ʿirfān-i Ḥaqq qarār dādih būdand lidhā az kawthar-i maʿānī maḥrūm va mamnūʿ gashtih-and chunānchih har millatī al-yawm bi-adillih va barāhīn-i khud muntaẓirand va dar ẓuhūrāt-i maẓāhir-i aḥadiyyih tavaqquf namūdih-and va īn ḥāl-i nufūsī ast kih fī-al-jumlih irādiy-i ʿirfān dāshtih-and va lākin amthāl-i shumā kih bi-baghḍā-yi ṣirf va ghill-i baḥt bar vajh-i Ḥaqq īstādih-īd dhikrī ʿinda Allāh nadāshtih va nadārīd.

Furthermore, you have mentioned “the form of verses.” This is something that those who associate partners with God have long been saying. Sometimes they have spoken of shell and kernel, and sometimes of form and matter, in connection with the verses. Everything that comes from their mouths returns upon themselves. Your Lord, the All-Merciful, is indeed free of them and of what they say. You miserable blind one! You have not distinguished right from left; how have you become a judge of what is innate and what is not? A true one whose judge you are is indeed fit and worthy of you. If any sight were to be found, it would recognize and be certain that all the words of the world cannot equal a single verse of what has been revealed by the True One. All those who have been deprived of the shore of the ocean of the All-Merciful’s knowledge have been deprived because they made their own understanding the measure of the knowledge of the True One. Thus they have been barred and excluded from the heavenly waters of meaning. Today every religious community waits according to its own proofs and arguments and has hesitated at the revelations of the Manifestations of Divine Unity. This is the condition of souls who have had at least some desire for recognition. But people like you, who have stood against the face of the True One with sheer hatred and pure malice, have never had, and do not have, any standing before God.

556

و كاش نداى اركانت را ميشنيدى كه در حين تحرير كلماتت مخاطباً اليك چه ميگفت حتّى شعرى كه در بدنت موجود پناه بخدا برده از شرّ و مكر و خدعه تو بدانكه حقّ منيع در كلّ يوم در شأن بديع بوده و عرفان ناس ميزان عرفان او نشده و نخواهد شد بسا از نفوس كه در ظهور قبل از اعلى سدره رضوان محسوب و در ظهور بعد از ادنى شجره سجّين مذكور چنانچه در اينمقام نقطه بيان روح ما سواه فداه تصريح فرموده و از قبل ذكر شده

Va kāsh nidā-yi arkānat rā mīshinīdī kih dar ḥīn-i taḥrīr-i kalimātat mukhāṭaban ilayk chih mīguft ḥattā shaʿrī kih dar badanat mawjūd panāh bi-Khudā burdih az sharr va makr va khudʿiy-i tu bidānkih Ḥaqq-i manīʿ dar kull-i yawm dar shaʾn-i badīʿ būdih va ʿirfān-i nās mīzān-i ʿirfān-i ū nashudih va nakhvāhad shud basā az nufūs kih dar ẓuhūr-i qabl az aʿlā sidriy-i Riḍvān maḥsūb va dar ẓuhūr-i baʿd az adnā shajariy-i Sijjīn madhkūr chunānchih dar īn maqām Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh taṣrīḥ farmūdih va az qabl dhikr shudih.

If only you could hear the cry of your limbs, and what they were saying to you as you wrote your words! Even a hair on your body has sought refuge in God from your evil, your scheming, and your deceit. Know that the inaccessible True One appears each day in a wondrous new way, and human understanding has never been, nor will ever be, the measure of the knowledge of Him. How many souls were counted among the loftiest trees of Paradise in the previous revelation, but were named among the lowliest trees of hell in the revelation that followed! The Point of the Bayān—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—has explicitly stated this matter, as has already been mentioned.

557

و اينكه از قلم جعل و كذب نوشته شده كه دليل بر انكار و تكفير ميرزا يحيى نبوده الخ اذا يتكلّم لسان اللّه بأن لعن اللّه اوّل ظالم ظلم نقطة الأولی فى ظهوره الأخرى و كفر بآياته و انكر بظهوره و جاحد ببرهانه و نازع بسلطانه و حارب بنفسه و اراد سفك دمه بعد الّذى جائهم بآيات عزّ مبين يشهد كلّ الذّرّات بانّه ما اعترض على احد و كان ارحم بكلّ نفس من نفسه على نفسه و يشهد بذلك كلّ شیء ان انتم تنكرون

Va īnkih az qalam-i jaʿl va kadhib nivishtih shudih kih dalīl bar inkār va takfīr-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā nabūdih ilā ākhir. Idhan yatakallamu lisānu Allāh bi-an laʿana Allāhu awwala ẓālimin ẓalama Nuqṭata al-Ūlā fī ẓuhūrihi al-ukhrā wa-kafara bi-āyātihi wa-ankara bi-ẓuhūrihi wa-jāḥada bi-burhānihi wa-nāzaʿa bi-sulṭānihi wa-ḥāraba bi-nafsihi wa-arāda safka damihi baʿda alladhī jāʾahum bi-āyāti ʿizzin mubīn. Yashhadu kullu al-dharrāt bi-annahu mā iʿtaraḍa ʿalā aḥadin wa-kāna arḥama bi-kulli nafsin min nafsihi ʿalā nafsihi wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu shayʾin in antum tunkirūn.

As for what has been written by the pen of fabrication and falsehood, that this would not justify denying Mīrzā Yaḥyā and declaring him an unbeliever, and so forth: the Tongue of God now declares, “May God curse the first oppressor who wronged the Primal Point in His latter revelation, disbelieved in His verses, denied His revelation, rejected His proof, disputed His sovereignty, fought against His own Person, and sought to shed His blood after He had come to them with verses of manifest glory.” Every atom bears witness that He opposed no one and was more merciful to every soul than that soul was to itself. Everything bears witness to this, even if you deny it.

558

بحقّ خودشان كه با كلّ بكمال محبّت رفتار فرموده‌اند تا آنكه بعد از تفصيل كبرى نوشته‌جاتى از ميرزا يحيى مشاهده شد و تفصيل آن مجملا از قبل ذكر شده و در آن نوشته‌جات جميع شرور اوّلين و آخرين را بحقّ نسبت داده بعد از مشاهده آن الواح مفتريه مجعوله كاذبه فى ردّ من ردّ على اللّه نازل شد آنچه نازل شد و هذا لم يكن من عنده بل من عند اللّه المنزل العزيز الكريم

Bi-ḥaqq-i khudishān kih bā kull bi-kamāl-i maḥabbat raftār farmūdih-and tā ānkih baʿd az tafṣīl-i kubrā nivishtih-jātī az Mīrzā Yaḥyā mushāhadih shud va tafṣīl-i ān mujmalan az qabl dhikr shudih va dar ān nivishtih-jāt jamīʿ-i shurūr-i avvalīn va ākhirīn rā bi-Ḥaqq nisbat dādih baʿd az mushāhadiy-i ān alvāḥ-i muftariyiy-i majʿūliy-i kādhibih fī raddi man radda ʿalā Allāh nāzil shud ānchih nāzil shud. Wa-hādhā lam yakun min ʿindihi bal min ʿindi Allāhi al-Munzili al-ʿAzīzi al-Karīm.

By His own truth, He treated everyone with perfect love, until, after the great affair, some writings by Mīrzā Yaḥyā were seen. An outline of that affair has already been given. In those writings he attributed to the True One all the evils of those who came before and those who came after. After those slanderous, fabricated, lying writings were seen, what was revealed was revealed in refutation of the one who had rejected God. This was not from Him, but from God, the Revealer, the Almighty, the Generous.

559

اى بی‌ انصاف و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر ذرّه‌ئی در قلبت حبّ الهى ميبود هرآينه باو مينوشتى كه بچه دليل و برهان درصدد قطع شجره ربّانيّه افتادى و اعتراض نمودى بكينونتى كه ميفرمايد يا قوم انّى حجّة اللّه بينكم و برهانه فيكم و رحمة عليكم و قد جئتكم عن افق المعانى و البيان بنبأ قد كان على الحقّ عظيماً قد بعثنى اللّه و ارسلنى بآيات الّتى ارسل بها كلّ النّبيين و المرسلين ثمّ علىّ بالحقّ فباىّ حجّة تكفرون هذا الأمر الّذى اشرق عن افق القدس بسلطان مبينا يا قوم هل تعترضون بالّذى به ثبت ايمانكم و ايمان كلّ مؤمن و به رفعت اسمائكم و علت مراتبكم و ظهرت كلمة اللّه فى الآفاق و كان اللّه على ذلك شهيدا

Ay bī-inṣāf va-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa kih agar dharrih-ī dar qalbat ḥubb-i ilāhī mībūd har-āyinih bi-ū mīnivishtī kih bi-chih dalīl va burhān dar ṣadad-i qaṭʿ-i shajariy-i rabbāniyyih uftādī va iʿtirāḍ namūdī bi-kaynūnatī kih mīfarmāyad: Yā qawmi innī ḥujjatu Allāhi baynakum wa-burhānuhu fīkum wa-raḥmatun ʿalaykum wa-qad jiʾtukum ʿan ufuqi al-maʿānī wa-al-bayān bi-nabaʾin qad kāna ʿalā al-Ḥaqq ʿaẓīman qad baʿathanī Allāhu wa-arsalanī bi-āyāti allatī arsala bihā kulla al-nabiyyīn wa-al-mursalīn thumma ʿalayya bi-al-ḥaqq fa-bi-ayyi ḥujjatin takfurūna hādhā al-amra alladhī ashraqa ʿan ufuqi al-quds bi-sulṭānin mubīnan yā qawmi hal taʿtariḍūna bi-alladhī bihi thabata īmānukum wa-īmānu kulli muʾminin wa-bihi rufiʿat asmāʾukum wa-ʿalat marātibukum wa-ẓaharat kalimatu Allāhi fī al-āfāq wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalā dhālika shahīdan.

You unfair one! By God, besides whom there is no god, if there were an atom of divine love in your heart, you would surely have written to him: “By what proof and argument did you set about cutting down the divine Tree and object to a Being who says: ‘My people, I am God’s testimony among you, His proof in your midst, and a mercy to you. I have come to you from the horizon of meanings and utterance with tidings that are momentous in the sight of the True One. God has raised Me up and sent Me with the verses with which He sent all the Prophets and Messengers, and then bestowed them upon Me in truth. By what argument, then, do you reject this Cause, which has dawned from the horizon of holiness with manifest authority? My people, do you oppose the One through whom your faith and the faith of every believer have been established, through whom your names have been exalted and your ranks raised, and through whom the Word of God has appeared throughout the world? God is witness to this.’”

560

مع‌ذلك باو كلمه نصحى للّه ذكر ننمودى و سيفى برداشته و بفعل او مشغول شده و اين مقام اعتراض بر او بود نه بر حقّ و اللّه عامل شده آنچه را كه احدى عامل نشده نفسى كه فتوى بر قتل كلّ نبيّين داده او را حقّ دانسته و بالّذى منه ظهر الحقّ و به حقّق الحقّ اعتراض نموده ‌فوا حسرة عليك و بما ارتكبت فى الحيوة الباطلة فوا اسفا عليك بما ضيّعت عمرك و ما كنت من المستشعرين

Maʿa dhālik bi-ū kalimiy-i nuṣḥī li-llāh dhikr nanamūdī va sayfī bardāshtih va bi-fiʿl-i ū mashghūl shudih va īn maqām-i iʿtirāḍ bar ū būd nah bar Ḥaqq va-Allāh ʿāmil shudih ānchih rā kih aḥadī ʿāmil nashudih nafsī kih fatvā bar qatl-i kull-i nabiyyīn dādih ū rā Ḥaqq dānistih va bi-alladhī minhu ẓahara al-Ḥaqq wa-bihi ḥuqqiqa al-Ḥaqq iʿtirāḍ namūdih. Fa-wā ḥasratan ʿalayka wa-bi-mā irtakabta fī al-ḥayāti al-bāṭilah fa-wā asafan ʿalayka bi-mā ḍayyaʿta ʿumraka wa-mā kunta min al-mustashʿirīn.

Nevertheless, you did not offer him a word of counsel for God’s sake, but took up a sword and occupied yourself with his deeds. This was the occasion to object to him, not to the True One. By God, he has done what no one has done! You have regarded as true a person who has issued a verdict for the killing of all the Prophets, and have opposed the One from whom the Truth has appeared and through whom the Truth has been established. Alas for you and for what you have committed in this vain life! Alas for you, for you have wasted your life and have not been among those who perceive.

561

هر نفسيكه اقلّ من ذرّ شاعر باشد يقين مينمايد كه اگر ايشان اراده ميفرمودند هرگز او موجود نبود بيست سنه در اين امر و بيست سنه قبل از اين امر بكمال شفقت و مهربانى در حفظ و تعليمش جهد بليغ فرمودند ثمره آن شد كه شنيده‌ايد قد بكت السّموات و الأرض ثمّ الهوآء و المياه و الأحجار و الأشجار و الأثمار و الأوراق و لكن المشركين هم فى فرح عظيم

Har nafsī kih aqall-i min dharr shāʿir bāshad yaqīn mīnamāyad kih agar īshān irādih mīfarmūdand hargiz ū mawjūd nabūd bīst sanih dar īn amr va bīst sanih qabl az īn amr bi-kamāl-i shafaqat va mihrabānī dar ḥifẓ va taʿlīmash jahd-i balīgh farmūdand thamariy-i ān shud kih shinīdih-īd. Qad bakat al-samāwātu wa-al-arḍ thumma al-hawāʾu wa-al-miyāhu wa-al-aḥjāru wa-al-ashjāru wa-al-athmāru wa-al-awrāq wa-lākinna al-mushrikīna hum fī faraḥin ʿaẓīm.

Any soul with less than an atom of awareness knows with certainty that, had He so willed, that man would never have existed. For twenty years in this Cause and twenty years before this Cause, He exerted the utmost effort, with perfect compassion and kindness, to protect and educate him. The result was what you have heard. The heavens and the earth have wept, and likewise the air, the waters, the stones, the trees, the fruits, and the leaves. Yet those who associate partners with God are greatly rejoicing.

562

و ديگر كجا شما در اين ارض بوده كه ظلم فهميده و نسبت داده و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر احدى بآن نفس معرض تكلّم نموده‌تا چه رسد بظلم ظالم را مظلوم دانسته و مشرك را موحّد شمرده خود تو اقرار بر اخلاق حقّ نموده‌ و مع‌ذلك ظلم نسبت ميدهى لا تشعر ما تقول در كلّ اوقات با نسآء متعدّده در محلّ راحت بعيش و عشرت مشغول بوده بلى در اين ارض آن سيّد مفسد كه انشآء اللّه خير نه‌بيند و بمقصودش نرسد باو تلقين نموده ‌آنچه تلقين نموده‌ و جميع اين امور از تدبيرات او است اگر چه خود اصل شجره اعراض و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه بمكر و خدعه ظاهر شده كه در ابداع مثل و شبه نداشته و ندارد درايت شما معلوم شد كه خوب مطلب را مى فهميد يحرّكك هوآء الشّرك و النّفاق كيف یشآء

Va dīgar kojā shomā dar īn arż būdeh keh ẓolm fahmīdeh va nesbat dādeh? Va Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh agar aḥadī be-ān nafs-e moʿreż takallom namūdeh, tā cheh resad be-ẓolm! Ẓālem rā maẓlūm dānesteh va moshrek rā movaḥḥed shomordeh. Khod-e to eqrār bar akhlāq-e Ḥaqq namūdeh va maʿa dhālek ẓolm nesbat mīdehī. Lā tashʿuru mā taqūl. Dar koll-e owqāt bā nesāʾ-e motaʿaddedeh dar maḥall-e rāḥat be-ʿeysh va ʿeshrat mashghūl būdeh. Balī dar īn arż ān seyyed-e mofsed keh in shāʾ Allāh kheyr na-bīnad va be-maqṣūdash na-resad be-ū talqīn namūdeh āncheh talqīn namūdeh va jamīʿ-e īn omūr az tadbīrāt-e ū ast, agar cheh khod aṣl-e shajareh-ye eʿrāż. Va Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh be-makr va khodʿeh ẓāher shodeh keh dar ebdāʿ methl va shebh nadāshteh va nadārad. Derāyat-e shomā maʿlūm shod keh khūb maṭlab rā mīfahmīd. Yuḥarrikuka hawāʾ al-shirk wa-l-nifāq kayfa yashāʾ.

And where, moreover, were you in this land that you perceived oppression and made this accusation? By God, besides whom there is no god, no one has so much as spoken to that soul who turned away, let alone wronged him! You have regarded the oppressor as the oppressed and counted the one who associates partners with God as a believer in His oneness. You yourself have acknowledged the character of the True One, yet you accuse Him of oppression. You do not comprehend what you say. At all times he was occupied with pleasure and enjoyment, with several women, in a place of comfort. Yes, in this land that troublemaking sayyid—may God grant that he see no good and fail to attain his purpose—instilled in him whatever he instilled, and all these matters are of his devising, although he himself is the root of the tree of rejection. By God, besides whom there is no god, he has displayed such deceit and trickery as have never had, and do not have, any equal or likeness in creation. Your discernment has become apparent: how well you understand the matter! The desire to associate partners with God and to practice hypocrisy moves you however it wishes.

563

قوله عظم افترائه خلاصه از شما بسيار تعجّب است سابقاً هر كه از دنيا و رياست او گذشته ممدوح بود حال اسم او را شما خوف گذاشته‌ايد و كسيرا كه حضرت اعلى در توقيعات باو من اللّه و الى اللّه اوّل عنوان توقيع مينوشته شما بنويسيد كه در چادر نسوان مخفى شده عجب عجب طالب حقّ بوده‌ايد و خوب زيرآب از انبیاء سابق كشيديد عيسى كه در مغاره‌ها مأوى گزيده بود و پيغمبر كه در جوال مخفى گشته و ذكريا كه در درخت مقرّ جسته و كلّ اولیاء از خوف و يا جهت ديگر نفس نميكشيدند از شهر بشهر و ديار بديار فرار ميكردند

Qawluhu, ʿaẓuma iftirāʾuhu: Kholāṣeh az shomā besyār taʿajj ob ast. Sābeqan har keh az donyā va reyāsat-e ū gozasht mamdūḥ būd. Ḥāl esm-e ū rā shomā khowf goẕāshteh-īd va kasī rā keh Ḥażrat-e Aʿlā dar towqīʿāt be-ū min Allāh wa-ilā Allāh avval-e ʿonvān-e towqīʿ mīneveshteh shomā benevīsīd keh dar chādor-e nesvān makhfī shodeh. ʿAjab, ʿajab! Ṭāleb-e Ḥaqq būdeh-īd va khūb zīrāb az anbiyā-ye sābeq keshīdīd. ʿĪsā keh dar maghāreh-hā maʾvā gozīdeh būd va Peyghambar keh dar javāl makhfī gashteh va Zakariyyā keh dar derakht maqarr josteh va koll-e owliyā az khowf va yā jehat-e dīgar nafas nemīkeshīdand, az shahr be-shahr va deyār be-deyār farār mīkardand.

His words—great is his slander: “In short, one is greatly astonished at you. Formerly, whoever renounced the world and its leadership was praised. Now you have called this fear, and of someone to whom the Most Exalted One, in His epistles, would write ‘From God and to God’ at the beginning of the address, you write that he hid himself in women’s veils. Astonishing, astonishing! You have been seekers of the True One, and how thoroughly you have undermined the Prophets of the past! Jesus took refuge in caves, the Prophet hid in a sack, and Zechariah found shelter in a tree. All the holy ones, from fear or for some other reason, dared not breathe and fled from city to city and from land to land.”

564

انتهى كذبت باللّه الّذى خلق كلّ شیء تو خبر از آنچه از نزد نقطه اولى صادر شده نداشته و ندارى چند جزوه از سماء مشيّت نقطه بيان نازل در بعضى من اللّه الى اللّه و در بعضى من اللّه الى من يظهره اللّه مذكور و مقصود كلّ اين ظهور امنع اقدس بوده كه تو و امثال تو از او معرض و بكمال انكار منكر يكى مخصوص ميرزا اسد اللّه نازل و نقطه بيان او را ديّان فرموده و بكلّ اسماء حسنى ناميده و مرشدت او را سبّ و لعن نموده‌و فتوى بر قتل او داده و آن بيچاره را شهيد نمودند و هم‌چنين يكى مخصوص جناب آقا سيّد ابراهيم از سماء مشيّت مقتدر عظيم نازل و او را مرشدت ابو الدّواهى ناميده بعضى از امور وارده بر اين دو نفر از قبل ذكر شده فاقرئه لتطّلع بحسنات مرشدك و بما ورد عليهما

Intahā. Kadhabta bi-Allāh alladhī khalaqa kulla shayʾ. To khabar az āncheh az nazd-e Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā ṣāder shodeh nadāshteh va nadārī. Chand jozveh az samā-ye mashiyyat-e Noqṭeh-ye Bayān nāzel, dar baʿżī min Allāh ilā Allāh va dar baʿżī min Allāh ilā man yuẓhiruhu Allāh maẕkūr, va maqṣūd-e koll īn ẓohūr-e amnaʿ-e aqdas būdeh keh to va amthāl-e to az ū moʿreż va be-kamāl-e enkār monker. Yekī makhṣūṣ-e Mīrzā Asad Allāh nāzel va Noqṭeh-ye Bayān ū rā Dayyān farmūdeh va be-koll-e asmā-ye ḥosnā nāmīdeh va morshedat ū rā sabb va laʿn namūdeh va fatvā bar qatl-e ū dādeh va ān bīchāreh rā shahīd namūdand. Va hamchenīn yekī makhṣūṣ-e Janāb-e Āqā Seyyed Ebrāhīm az samā-ye mashiyyat-e moqtader-e ʿaẓīm nāzel va ū rā morshedat Abū al-Davāhī nāmīdeh. Baʿżī az omūr-e vāredeh bar īn do nafar az qabl ẕekr shodeh. Fa-qraʾhu li-taṭṭaliʿa bi-ḥasanāti murshidika wa-bi-mā warada ʿalayhimā.

End of quotation. You have lied, by God who created all things! You have never known, and do not know, what issued from the Primal Point. Several booklets descended from the heaven of the will of the Point of the Bayān. In some, ‘From God to God’ is mentioned, and in others, ‘From God to Him whom God will make manifest.’ The intended object of them all was this most unassailable, most holy Revelation, from which you and your like have turned away and which you deny with utter rejection. One was revealed specifically for Mīrzā Asad Allāh, whom the Point of the Bayān called Dayyān and named with all the most beautiful names. Your guide reviled and cursed him and issued a decree for his death, and they martyred that hapless man. Likewise, one was revealed specifically for His Honor Āqā Sayyid Ibrāhīm from the heaven of the mighty, all-powerful Will, and your guide called him the Father of Calamities. Some of the things that befell these two have been mentioned before. Read it, then, so that you may learn of your guide’s good deeds and of what befell them.

565

اين كلمات مذكور شد تا من حيث لايشعر سخن نگوئى و بهر ريحى متحرّك نشوى و از حقّيكه اگر بخواهد جميع اسامى كه تو او را احصا نموده‌ بقبضه از تراب راجع نمايد قادر است اعراض نكنى چه كه يك مقام از مقامات توصيف حقّ آن است كه چون در كلّ شیء آثار تجلّيات خود مشاهده ميفرمايد لذا بادنى آيه ظاهره در ارض كلّ اسماء و صفات راجع شده و خواهد شد چه كه مقصود از اسماء حسنى كه باو خطاب ميشود راجع است بآن تجلّى ربانيّه كه من غير جهة در او تجلّى فرموده و تا اين آيه تجلّى در كلّ شیء باقى بر كلّ شیء اطلاق كلّ اسماء صادق و بعد از اعراض هر يك محروم و بمقرّ نار راجع و اگر مشاهده ميشد كه قابل عرفانى هر آينه بحر معانى و عرفان رشحى بتو مبذول ميفرمود و لكن بهتر همانكه محروم باشى و بهمين كلمات محدوده موتفكه محتجبه تكلّم نمائى لا تخرج من اهل السّجّين الّا كلمات السّجّينيّة

Īn kalemāt maẕkūr shod tā min ḥaythu lā yashʿur sokhan nagūʾī va be-har rīḥī motaḥarrek nashavī va az Ḥaqqī keh agar bekhāhad jamīʿ-e asāmī keh to ū rā eḥṣā namūdeh be-qabżeh az torāb rājeʿ namāyad qāder ast eʿrāż nakonī. Cheh keh yek maqām az maqāmāt-e towṣīf-e Ḥaqq ān ast keh chūn dar koll-e shayʾ āthār-e tajalliyāt-e khod moshāhedeh mīfarmāyad, leẕā be-adnā āyeh-ye ẓāhereh dar arż koll-e asmā va ṣefāt rājeʿ shodeh va khwāhad shod. Cheh keh maqṣūd az asmā-ye ḥosnā keh be-ū kheṭāb mīshavad rājeʿ ast be-ān tajallī-ye rabbāniyyeh keh min ghayri jihah dar ū tajallī farmūdeh va tā īn āyeh-ye tajallī dar koll-e shayʾ bāqī bar koll-e shayʾ eṭlāq-e koll-e asmā ṣādeq va baʿd az eʿrāż har yek maḥrūm va be-maqarr-e nār rājeʿ. Va agar moshāhedeh mīshod keh qābel-e ʿerfānī har āyeneh baḥr-e maʿānī va ʿerfān rashḥī be-to mabẕūl mīfarmūd va lāken behtar hamān keh maḥrūm bāshī va be-hamīn kalemāt-e maḥdūdeh-ye moʾtafekeh-ye moḥtajebeh takallom namāʾī. Lā takhruju min ahl al-sijjīn illā kalimāt al-sijjīniyyah.

These words have been mentioned so that you may not speak without awareness, be moved by every wind, or turn away from the True One, who, if He wishes, has the power to reduce all the names you have enumerated to a handful of dust. For one of the stations of the True One’s description is this: since He beholds in all things the traces of His own revelations, all names and attributes have referred, and will refer, to the lowliest sign manifest on earth. For the most beautiful names by which it is addressed refer to that divine revelation which He has manifested within it without direction. As long as this sign of revelation remains in all things, the application of all names to all things is valid; after turning away, each is deprived and returns to the abode of fire. Had you been seen to be capable of recognition, the Ocean of meanings and recognition would surely have bestowed a sprinkling upon you. But it is better that you remain deprived and speak these same limited, perverted, veiled words. Nothing issues from the people of the nethermost prison but words belonging to that prison.

566

و اينكه نوشته سابق هر كه از دنيا و رياست او گذشته ممدوح بود حال شما اسم او را خوف گذاشته‌ايد و نوشته كه فلان در چادر نسوان مخفى شده آنچه من عند اللّه نازل و المنزل هو الحقّ و هو صادق فيما قال و يقول خوب منقطعى يافتى بلى منقطع از حقّ نه منقطع از ما سوى فو‌اللّه شرم دارم كه ذكر اعمالش نمايم چه كه تو مطّلع نيستى نفوسيكه با او بوده‌اند حال موجود نفسيكه در شهوت نفسانى بمقامى رسيد كه از حرم يزدانى نگذشت و تصرّف در حرم نقطه نمود فو‌اللّه ستر حجاب اكبر را هتك كرد اين بی‌‌ادب بی‌‌شرم او را منقطع مينويسى

Va īnkeh neveshteh sābeq har keh az donyā va reyāsat-e ū goẕashteh mamdūḥ būd, ḥāl shomā esm-e ū rā khowf goẕāshteh-īd, va neveshteh keh folān dar chādor-e nesvān makhfī shodeh. Āncheh min ʿind Allāh nāzel, wa-l-munzil huwa al-Ḥaqq wa-huwa ṣādiqun fī-mā qāla wa-yaqūl. Khūb monqaṭeʿī yāftī! Balī monqaṭeʿ az Ḥaqq, nah monqaṭeʿ az mā sevā. Fa-wa-Allāh sharm dāram keh ẕekr-e aʿmālash namāyam cheh keh to moṭṭaleʿ nīstī. Nofūsī keh bā ū būdeh-and ḥāl mowjūd. Nafsī keh dar shahvat-e nafsānī be-maqāmī resīd keh az ḥaram-e Yazdānī nagoẕasht va taṣarrof dar ḥaram-e Noqṭeh namūd. Fa-wa-Allāh setr-e ḥejāb-e akbar rā hatk kard. Īn bī-adab-e bī-sharm, ū rā monqaṭeʿ mīnevīsī!

And as for his writing, ‘Formerly, whoever renounced the world and its leadership was praised; now you have called this fear,’ and his writing that a certain person hid himself in women’s veils: what was revealed came from God, and the One who reveals it is the True One, and He is truthful in what He has said and says. What a detached soul you have found! Yes, detached from the True One, not detached from all else. By God, I am ashamed to mention his deeds, for you are unaware. The people who were with him are still alive. This is someone whose carnal desire reached such a point that he did not spare the divine household, but took possession of the Point’s wife. By God, he tore through the covering of the Most Great Veil. This shameless, insolent man—you describe him as detached!

567

در سنين قبل هفت نفر شهداى ناريّه معيّن نموده ‌يكى از آن نفوس بعد از اطّلاع تائب شده و رجع الى اللّه و تاب اليه و البسه اللّه ثوب غفرانه و ردآء فضله و ارتقاه الى جنّة الأبهی فوق سدرة المنتهى الّذى سمّى بموسى فى ملكوت الأسماء انّه لهو الّذى ارتقى الى افق الأعلی و حينئذ يكون بالمنظر الأبهی و يطوفن فى حوله اهل مداين البقآء و آن نفس مبارك ميرزا موسى قمى عليه بهآء اللّه بود كه شكست صنم وهم و هوى را و در فلك ابهى باذن اللّه خالق الأرض و السّمآء مستقرّ شد و بعد الى اللّه رجوع نمود و نفس ديگر ابدا قبول اين افك ننمود كانّ روح القدس اخبره و حفظه عن مفتريات هؤلآء المفترين

Dar senīn-e qabl haft nafar shohadā-ye nāriyyeh moʿayyan namūdeh. Yekī az ān nofūs baʿd az eṭṭelāʿ tāʾeb shodeh va rajaʿa ilā Allāh wa-tāba ilayhi wa-albasahu Allāh thawba ghufrānihi wa-ridāʾa faḍlihi wa-artaqāhu ilā jannat al-Abhā fawqa Sidrat al-Muntahā alladhī summiya bi-Mūsā fī malakūt al-asmāʾ. Innahu la-huwa alladhī irtaqā ilā ufuq al-Aʿlā wa-ḥīnaʾidhin yakūnu bi-l-manẓar al-Abhā wa-yaṭūfanna fī ḥawlihi ahlu madāʾin al-baqāʾ. Va ān nafs-e mobārak Mīrzā Mūsā-ye Qomī ʿalayhi bahāʾ Allāh būd keh shekast ṣanam-e vahm va havā rā va dar falak-e Abhā be-eẕn-e Allāh khāliq al-arḍ wa-l-samāʾ mostaqarr shod va baʿd ilā Allāh rojūʿ namūd va nafs-e dīgar abadan qabūl-e īn efk nanamūd. Ka-anna Rūḥ al-Qudus akhbarahu wa-ḥafiẓahu ʿan muftarayāti hāʾulāʾ al-muftarīn.

In former years he designated seven people as martyrs of fire. One of these souls, upon learning of it, repented and returned to God and turned to Him in repentance. God clothed him in the garment of His forgiveness and the robe of His grace, and raised him to the All-Glorious Paradise above the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary—he who was named Mūsā in the kingdom of names. He is indeed the one who ascended to the Most Exalted Horizon, and now he dwells in the All-Glorious Vista, while the inhabitants of the cities of eternity circle around him. That blessed soul was Mīrzā Mūsā of Qum, upon him be the glory of God, who shattered the idol of delusion and desire and, by the permission of God, the Creator of earth and heaven, became established in the All-Glorious sphere, and afterward returned to God. Another soul never accepted this falsehood, as though the Holy Spirit had informed him and protected him from the fabrications of these fabricators.

568

بارى اگر تفصيل ذكر شود بطول ميانجامد مختصر آنكه سه نفر از آن نفوس باقى و در آن جزوه اين نفوس را شهيد نموده‌و تصريحا نوشته كه هر كدام دختر بكرى از براى او بفرستند مع درهم و دنانير و آن جزوه الآن در دست موجود يقين اين امور را از انقطاع شمرده فو‌اللّه اين امور مذكوره نسبت باعمال ديگرش حسنه بوده و اين عبد شرم مينمايم از ذكر آن تا حال ستر كبريائى عيوبش را پوشيده بود چون خرق نمود ستر را لذا حقّ كشف فرمود العجب كلّ العجب بل العجب بنفسه يقول العجب ثمّ العجب كه فرق ميانه خزف و لؤلؤ ننموده‌ و از اين مقرّ اقدس گذشته مفتريات بنبيّين و مرسلين هم بسته بجهت اثبات امر موهومى زبان شتم بسلاطين وجود گشوده

Bārī agar tafṣīl ẕekr shavad be-ṭūl mīanjāmad. Mokhtaṣar ānkeh seh nafar az ān nofūs bāqī va dar ān jozveh īn nofūs rā shahīd namūdeh va taṣrīḥan neveshteh keh har kodām dokhtar-e bekrī az barā-ye ū beferestand maʿa derham va danānīr va ān jozveh al-ān dar dast mowjūd. Yaqīn īn omūr rā az enqeṭāʿ shomordeh. Fa-wa-Allāh īn omūr-e maẕkūreh nesbat be-aʿmāl-e dīgarash ḥasaneh būdeh va īn ʿabd sharm mīnamāyam az ẕekr-e ān. Tā ḥāl setr-e kebriyāʾī ʿoyūbash rā pūshīdeh būd. Chūn kharq namūd setr rā leẕā Ḥaqq kashf farmūd. Al-ʿajab kull al-ʿajab bal al-ʿajab bi-nafsihi yaqūlu al-ʿajab thumma al-ʿajab keh farq-e miyāneh-ye khazaf va loʾloʾ nanamūdeh va az īn maqarr-e aqdas goẕashteh moftariyāt be-nabiyyīn va morsalīn ham basteh. Be-jehat-e ethbāt-e amr-e mowhūmī zabān-e shatm be-salāṭīn-e vojūd goshūdeh.

In any case, to give the details would take too long. In short, three of those souls remained, and in that booklet he made these souls martyrs and explicitly wrote that each should send him a virgin girl, together with dirhams and dinars. That booklet is now at hand. Surely you have counted these things as detachment. By God, these deeds, compared with his other acts, were good deeds, and I, this servant, am ashamed to mention those. Until now the covering of divine majesty had concealed his faults. Since he tore the covering, the True One therefore disclosed them. Astonishing, utterly astonishing! Indeed, astonishment itself says, ‘Astonishing, and again astonishing!’ For he has not distinguished earthenware from pearls, and, going beyond this most holy Seat, has also fabricated slanders against the Prophets and Messengers. To establish an imaginary cause, he has opened his mouth to revile the sovereigns of existence.

569

اى بی‌اطّلاع بشنو امّا عيسى بن مريم از اوّل بعثت اكثر ایّام در هيكل با رؤساى يهود مكالمه ميفرمود و من غير تقيّه تبليغ امر مينمود چنانچه در كتب ثبت است و تو نديده نصّ انجيل است وقتيكه آن روح مقدّس رحمانى را در مجلس يكى از علماى يهود كه موسوم بحنّاس بود بردند و او از حضرت سؤال نمود كه قول تو چيست و چه ميگوئى حضرت فرمودند كه چرا از من سؤال مينمائى از ملأ يهود سؤال كن چه كه من در خلوت كلمه نگفته‌ام بلكه آنچه گفته‌ام در هيكل و در مجمع يهود گفته‌ام بعد يكى از عسكريه كه در آن مجلس حاضر بود طپانچه بر صورت مبارك حضرت زده كه چرا بكاهن بزرگ بگستاخى تكلّم مينمائى

Ey bī-eṭṭelāʿ, beshnow. Ammā ʿĪsā ibn Maryam az avval-e beʿthat akthar-e ayyām dar heykal bā roʾasā-ye Yahūd mokālemeh mīfarmūd va min ghayri taqiyyah tablīgh-e amr mīnamūd chenāncheh dar kotob thabt ast va to nadīdeh. Naṣṣ-e Enjīl ast vaqtī keh ān rūḥ-e moqaddas-e raḥmānī rā dar majles-e yekī az ʿolamā-ye Yahūd keh mowsūm be-Ḥannās būd bordand va ū az Ḥażrat soʾāl namūd keh qowl-e to chīst va cheh mīgūʾī, Ḥażrat farmūdand keh cherā az man soʾāl mīnamāʾī? Az malaʾ-e Yahūd soʾāl kon cheh keh man dar khalvat kalemeh nagoft eh-am balkeh āncheh gofteh-am dar heykal va dar majmaʿ-e Yahūd gofteh-am. Baʿd yekī az ʿaskariyyeh keh dar ān majles ḥāżer būd ṭapāncheh bar ṣūrat-e mobārak-e Ḥażrat zadeh keh cherā be-kāhen-e bozorg be-gostākhī takallom mīnamāʾī?

Listen, you who are uninformed. As for Jesus son of Mary, from the beginning of His mission He conversed with the Jewish leaders in the Temple on most days and proclaimed the Cause without concealment, as is recorded in the books, which you have not seen. The Gospel explicitly states that when they brought that holy, merciful Spirit into the assembly of one of the Jewish scholars, who was named Annas, he asked Him, ‘What is Your teaching, and what do You say?’ He replied, ‘Why do you question Me? Question the Jewish people, for I have not spoken a word in secret; rather, whatever I have said, I have said in the Temple and in the gathering of the Jews.’ Then one of the soldiers present in that assembly struck His blessed face, saying, ‘Why do You speak insolently to the high priest?’

570

بعد آن عالم حكم نمود كه حضرت را نزد قيافا كه قاضى آن سنه بود بردند يعنى در آن سنه احكام شرعيّه ملّت يهود با او بود با اينكه نصّ كتاب است كه هر روز در هيكل تبليغ امر اللّه جهرةً ميفرمود حال نوشته كه عيسى در مغاره‌ها بوده و از خوف نفس نميكشيدند بسيار تعدّى نموده‌ و از شأن خود تجاوز جسته

Baʿd ān ʿālem ḥokm namūd keh Ḥażrat rā nazd-e Qeyāfā keh qāżī-ye ān saneh būd bordand, yaʿnī dar ān saneh aḥkām-e sharʿiyyeh-ye mellat-e Yahūd bā ū būd. Bā īnkeh naṣṣ-e ketāb ast keh har rūz dar heykal tablīgh-e amr Allāh jahratan mīfarmūd ḥāl neveshteh keh ʿĪsā dar maghāreh-hā būdeh va az khowf nafas nemīkeshīdand. Besyār taʿaddī namūdeh va az shaʾn-e khod tajāvoz josteh.

Then that scholar gave orders, and they took Him to Caiaphas, who was the judge that year—that is, in that year the administration of the Jewish community’s religious law rested with him. Although the Book explicitly states that every day He publicly proclaimed the Cause of God in the Temple, he has now written that Jesus lived in caves and dared not breathe from fear. He has committed a grave transgression and overstepped his station.

571

در اينمقام يك بيان از روح ذكر ميشود كه شايد از كوثر بيان جمال رحمن بحديقه سبحان وارد شوى فلمّا رأى الصّليب حمله بنفسه ثمّ اعتنقه قائلاً هلمّ يا صليبی‌ العزيز الّذى منذ ثلثة و ثلثين سنة انا منتظرك و مفتّشاً عليك و اريد ان اموت مسمّراً فيك حبّاً باغنامى اگر چه نفحات اين كلمه را جز روحانيّين نيابند و لذّت اين بيان را جز اهل منظر رحمن درك ننمايند امثال آن نفوس بی‌‌نصيب بوده و خواهند بود چنانچه ادراك اينمقام ننموده ‌اگر مينمودى باينگونه جسارت و بی‌ حرمتى بآن شموس افق تجريد تحرير نمينمودى بشنو كه چه فرموده در حينيكه جميع يهود بر قتل آنحضرت مجتمع شده بودند و چون صليب حاضر نمودند و چشم مبارك بر صليب افتاد فرمود بيا بيا كه سى و سه سنه است منتظر توام و مشتاق تو كجا است اينمقام و مقاميكه تو درك نموده‌و نوشته

Dar īn maqām yek bayān az Rūḥ ẕekr mīshavad keh shāyad az kawthar-e bayān-e Jamāl-e Raḥmān be-ḥadīqeh-ye Sobḥān vāred shavī. Fa-lammā raʾā al-ṣalīb ḥamalahu bi-nafsihi thumma iʿtanaqahu qāʾilan halumma yā ṣalībī al-ʿazīz alladhī mundhu thalāthatin wa-thalāthīna sanah anā muntaẓiruka wa-mufattishan ʿalayka wa-urīdu an amūta musammanran fīka ḥubban bi-aghnāmī. Agar cheh nafaḥāt-e īn kalemeh rā joz rūḥāniyyīn nayāband va leẕẕat-e īn bayān rā joz ahl-e manẓar-e Raḥmān dark nanamāyand. Amthāl-e ān nofūs bī-naṣīb būdeh va khwāhand būd chenāncheh edrāk-e īn maqām nanamūdeh. Agar mīnamūdī be-īngūneh jasārat va bī-ḥormatī be-ān shomūs-e ofoq-e tajrīd taḥrīr nemīnamūdī. Beshnow keh cheh farmūdeh dar ḥīnī keh jamīʿ-e Yahūd bar qatl-e ān Ḥażrat mojtameʿ shodeh būdand va chūn ṣalīb ḥāżer namūdand va chashm-e mobārak bar ṣalīb oftād farmūd biyā biyā keh sī va seh saneh ast montaẓer-e to-am va moshtāq-e to. Kojā ast īn maqām va maqāmī keh to dark namūdeh va neveshteh?

Here a saying of the Spirit is mentioned, so that perhaps, through the heavenly stream of the utterance of the Beauty of the All-Merciful, you may enter the garden of the All-Glorious. When He saw the cross, He carried it Himself, then embraced it, saying, ‘Come, My beloved cross, for thirty-three years I have awaited you and searched for you, and I wish to die nailed to you out of love for My sheep.’ Yet none but the spiritually minded perceive the fragrances of these words, and none but the people of the Vista of the All-Merciful comprehend the sweetness of this utterance. The likes of those souls have been, and will remain, without a share, just as you have not understood this station. Had you understood it, you would not have written with such audacity and disrespect about those Suns of the horizon of detachment. Listen to what He said when all the Jews had gathered to put Him to death. When they brought the cross and His blessed eyes fell upon it, He said, ‘Come, come, for thirty-three years I have awaited you and longed for you.’ How far apart are this station and the station you have understood and written about!

572

و در اينمقام اختلاف شده آنچه در انجيل منصوص آن است كه آن ساذج قدم را بر صليب آويختند و روح را تسليم فرمود و بعد از سى و شش ساعت زنده شد و بآسمان ارتقاء جست و آنچه در اخبار اهل فرقان آن است كه قبل از آن بآسمان ارتقاء جست و لكن حقيقت امر علمه عند ربّی‌ فى كتاب الّذى ما ترك فيه نبأ الأوّلین‌ و الآخرین چه كه اكثرى از ناس معانى كلمات الهى را درك ننموده‌سخن گفته‌اند لذا از اصل مقصود محجوب مانده‌اند

Va dar īn maqām ekhtelāf shodeh. Āncheh dar Enjīl manṣūṣ ān ast keh ān sāẕaj-e qedam rā bar ṣalīb āvīkhtand va rūḥ rā taslīm farmūd va baʿd az sī va shesh sāʿat zendeh shod va be-āsmān erteqā jost. Va āncheh dar akhbār-e ahl-e Forqān ān ast keh qabl az ān be-āsmān erteqā jost. Va lāken ḥaqīqat-e amr ʿilmuhu ʿinda rabbī fī kitāb alladhī mā taraka fīhi nabaʾ al-awwalīn wa-l-ākhirīn. Cheh keh aktharī az nās maʿānī-ye kalemāt-e elāhī rā dark nanamūdeh sokhan gofteh-and leẕā az aṣl-e maqṣūd maḥjūb māndeh-and.

There has been disagreement on this point. What is explicitly stated in the Gospel is that they hung that Essence of Eternity upon the cross, and He yielded up His spirit; after thirty-six hours He came to life and ascended to heaven. What is related in the traditions of the people of the Qurʾān is that He ascended to heaven before that. But as for the reality of the matter, its knowledge is with my Lord in a Book in which He has omitted none of the tidings of the first or the last. For most people have spoken without understanding the meanings of the divine words, and have therefore remained veiled from the underlying intent.

573

اين مجملى از حكايت روح كه ذكر شد و حينئذ هذا الرّوح يخاطبكم و يقول هلمّوا هلمّوا يا ملأ المنكرين باسيافكم و رماحكم و سهامكم و انّى اشتاق كما هو كان مشتاقاً فو‌الّذى نفس حسين بيده لاكون اشدّ اشتياقاً و اعظم انتظاراً و لكن انتم لا تشعرون چه كه از كوثر معانى نچشيده‌ايد و از سلسبيل حبّ نياشاميده‌ايد فآهء آه عمّا افتريت على انبیاء اللّه و ظلمت على مظاهره و مطالع وحيه و مشارق الهامه و مكامن علمه و مخازن حكمته و اين ارتكاب را ننموده‌ مگر آنكه خواسته عمل مرشدت را تصحيح كنى كذلك سوّلت لك نفسك امراً و جعلك من المعتدين ا فمن كان مستوراً تحت القناع كمن فدى روحه فى سبيل اللّه

Īn mojmalī az ḥekāyat-e Rūḥ ke dhekr shod va ḥīnaʾidh hādhā al-Rūḥ yukhāṭibukum wa-yaqūlu halummū halummū yā malaʾ al-munkirīn bi-asyāfikum wa-rimāḥikum wa-sihāmikum wa-innī ashtāqu kamā huwa kāna mushtāqan fa-wa-alladhī nafsu Ḥusayn bi-yadihi la-akūnu ashadda ishtiyāqan wa-aʿẓama intiẓāran wa-lākin antum lā tashʿurūn che ke az kawthar-e maʿānī nacheshīde-īd va az salsabīl-e ḥobb nayāshāmīde-īd fa-āh āh ʿammā iftarayta ʿalā anbiyāʾ Allāh wa-ẓalamta ʿalā maẓāhirihi wa-maṭāliʿ waḥyihi wa-mashāriq ilhāmihi wa-makāmin ʿilmihi wa-makhāzin ḥikmatihi va īn ertekāb rā nanemūde magar ānke khāste ʿamal-e morshedat rā taṣḥīḥ konī kadhālika sawwalat laka nafsuka amran wa-jaʿalaka min al-muʿtadīn a-fa-man kāna mastūran taḥt al-qināʿ ka-man fadā rūḥahu fī sabīl Allāh.

This is a brief account of the story of the Spirit that has been related. Now this Spirit addresses you and says, “Come, come, O company of deniers, with your swords, your spears, and your arrows! I long for them just as He longed for them. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Ḥusayn, I am even more eager and more expectant, but you do not perceive.” For you have not tasted the heavenly abundance of meanings or drunk from the sweet spring of love. Alas, alas for what you have fabricated against the Prophets of God, and for the wrong you have done to His Manifestations, the dawning-places of His revelation, the daysprings of His inspiration, the repositories of His knowledge, and the treasuries of His wisdom! You have committed this only because you wished to justify your guide’s conduct. Thus your own self has made a deed seem fair to you and made you one of the transgressors. Is one who remained concealed beneath a veil like one who sacrificed His spirit in the path of God?

574

قرآن هم نخوانده كه ميفرمايد قوله تعالى فضل اللّه المجاهدين على القاعدين اجراً عظيماً ا فمن كان قاعدا فى البيت كمن كان مجاهدا فى سبيل اللّه انفس منقطعه را از انفس مشركه محدوده بسى فرق است قياس مكن و ذيل تقديس انبیاء را بغبار ظنون و اوهام ميالاى اينكه نوشته كه از خوف نفس نميكشيدند همچه نفوسى مثل تو خواهند بود فسبحانهم عن ذلك

Qurʾān ham nakhānde ke mīfarmāyad qawluhu taʿālā faḍḍala Allāhu al-mujāhidīna ʿalā al-qāʿidīna ajran ʿaẓīman a-fa-man kāna qāʿidan fī al-bayt ka-man kāna mujāhidan fī sabīl Allāh anfos-e monqaṭeʿe rā az anfos-e moshreke-ye maḥdūde basī farq ast qiyās makon va dheyl-e taqdīs-e anbiyā rā be-ghobār-e ẓonūn va awhām mayālāy īnke neveshte ke az khawf nafas nemīkeshīdand hamcho nofūsī methl-e to khāhand būd fa-subḥānahum ʿan dhālik.

You have not even read the Qurʾān, where He says—exalted are His words—“God has favored those who strive over those who sit idle with a mighty reward.” Is one who sits at home like one who strives in the path of God? Vast is the difference between detached souls and those who associate partners with God and are confined by limitations. Do not compare them, and do not soil the hem of the Prophets’ holiness with the dust of conjectures and imaginings. As for your statement that they did not dare breathe for fear, such souls would be like you. Exalted are They above that!

575

اى مقلّد متوهّم چنين نفوس بچه كار خواهند آمد ما فى‌حقيقتت از اين كلمه معلوم شد كه عقيده تو و معرضين باللّه چه بوده و چه خواهد بود جواهر وجود را مثل خود دانسته كه شموس حقيقت را بانفس مشركه قياس كرده فو‌اللّه اضطربت من قولك كلّ شیء آنقدر بدان كه آنچه در اعلى رتبه عرفان خود عارف شوى وهمى است از تو كه راجع بنفس خود تو بوده و اصفياى الهى از آن مقدّس و مبرّا قسم بآفتاب عزّ معانى كه در كلّ حين و حان بتمام اشتياق منتظر بوده‌اند كه در سبيل رحمن جان انفاق نمايند و تو استهزاء على اللّه مينويسى كه پيغمبر در جوال رفته بود از كلمه‌ات قدرت معلوم ديگر لفظى نبود كه مذكور نمائى كه مخصوص باين لفظ قبيح ذكر كرده افّ لك و لحيائك فطرت مرشدت هم مثل خودت بوده و خواهد بود

Ey moqalled-e motavahhem chenīn nofūs be-che kār khāhand āmad mā fī ḥaqīqatat az īn kaleme maʿlūm shod ke ʿaqīde-ye to va moʿreżīn bi-llāh che būde va che khāhad būd javāher-e vojūd rā methl-e khod dāneste ke shomūs-e ḥaqīqat rā be-anfos-e moshreke qiyās karde fa-wa-Allāh iḍṭarabat min qawlika kull shayʾ ānqadr bedān ke ānche dar aʿlā rotbe-ye ʿerfān-e khod ʿāref shavī vahmī ast az to ke rājeʿ be-nafs-e khod-e to būde va aṣfiyā-ye elāhī az ān moqaddas va mobarrā qasam be-āftāb-e ʿezz-e maʿānī ke dar koll-e ḥīn va ān be-tamām-e eshtiyāq montaẓer būde-and ke dar sabīl-e Raḥmān jān enfāq namāyand va to estehzāʾan ʿalā Allāh mīnevīsī ke peyghambar dar javāl rafte būd az kaleme-at qadrat maʿlūm dīgar lafẓī nabūd ke madhkūr namāʾī ke makhṣūṣ be-īn lafẓ-e qabīḥ dhekr karde off laka wa-li-ḥayāʾika feṭrat-e morshedat ham methl-e khodat būde va khāhad būd.

O deluded imitator! What use would such souls be? What lies within your own reality has become evident from this statement: what your belief and that of those who turn away from God has been and will be. You have considered the jewels of existence to be like yourself, comparing the Suns of Truth to souls who associate partners with God. By God, everything has been shaken by your words! Know at least this: whatever you may comprehend at the highest degree of your own understanding is an imagining of yours that refers back to your own self, while God’s chosen ones are sanctified and free from it. By the Sun of the glory of meanings, at every moment and instant They have eagerly awaited the chance to offer up Their lives in the path of the All-Merciful. Yet you write in mockery of God that the Prophet had gone into a sack. Your words reveal your worth. Was there no other expression you could use, that you chose to mention Him with this vile expression? Shame on you and your sense of shame! Your guide’s nature, too, has been and will remain like your own.

576

قسم بهمان مظاهر عزّ تقديس كه اگر فى‌الجمله حبّ در تو بود اگر جميع اركانت را باسياف برنده قطعه قطعه مينمودند چنين الفاظ ركيكه در شأن مظاهر احديّه از لسان معتقله كليله‌ات جارى نميشد مرشدت هم از اين حرفها بسيار گفته و همين سيّد محمّد باو استهزاء مينمود حمد محبوبی‌ را كه امثال آن وجود را از عرفان مظاهر خود محروم نموده ‌و از حلاوت حبّ ممنوع داشته آيا نشنيدى كه خاتم انبیاء روح ما سواه فداه در مدّت بيست سال جان مباركش در دست اعدا مبتلا و در هيچ شب اميد صبح نبود و در هيچ صبح اميد شب نه فو‌اللّه در كلّ احيان منتظر و آمل كه جان در ره دوست ايثار نمايد و برفيق اعلى شتابد

Qasam be-hamān maẓāher-e ʿezz-e taqdīs ke agar fī al-jomle ḥobb dar to būd agar jamīʿ-e arkānat rā be-asyāf-e borrande qeṭʿe qeṭʿe mīnemūdand chenīn alfāẓ-e rakīke dar shaʾn-e maẓāher-e aḥadiyye az lesān-e moʿtaqele-ye kalīle-at jārī nemīshod morshedat ham az īn ḥarfhā besyār gofte va hamīn Seyyed Moḥammad be-ū estehzā mīnemūd ḥamd-e maḥbūbī rā ke amthāl-e ān vojūd rā az ʿerfān-e maẓāher-e khod maḥrūm nemūde va az ḥalāvat-e ḥobb mamnūʿ dāshte āyā nashenīdī ke Khātam-e Anbiyā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh dar moddat-e bīst sāl jān-e mobārakash dar dast-e aʿdā mobtalā va dar hīch shab omīd-e ṣobḥ nabūd va dar hīch ṣobḥ omīd-e shab na fa-wa-Allāh dar koll-e aḥyān montaẓer va āmel ke jān dar rah-e dūst īthār namāyad va be-Rafīq-e Aʿlā shetābad.

By those very Manifestations of the glory of holiness, had there been even a little love in you, such base words about the Manifestations of oneness would not have issued from your halting, faltering tongue, even if all your limbs had been cut to pieces with sharp swords. Your guide, too, has said many such things, and this same Siyyid Muḥammad used to mock Him. Praise be to the Beloved, who has deprived the likes of that person of the recognition of His Manifestations and denied them the sweetness of love! Have you not heard that for twenty years the blessed life of the Seal of the Prophets—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—was afflicted at the hands of His enemies, and that on no night was there hope of morning, and on no morning hope of night? By God, at all times He awaited and hoped to sacrifice His life in the path of the Friend and hasten to the Most Exalted Companion.

577

اى زاغ ارض جرزه حكايت از طوطى مصر احديّه منما اى طنين ذباب از صرير قلم اعلى ذكر مكن كه عرض خود ميبرى و زحمت ما ميارى آيا نشنيده كه حسين بن علىّ روح من فى ملكوت الابداع فداهما بچه شوق و اشتياق جان در ره حقّ باخت و اگر بگوئى چنانچه ملحدين گفته‌اند كه بين يدى اعدا مبتلى شد و چاره جز كشته شدن نداشت هذا القول بغى منك و منهم على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم چه كه در حينى كه از مدينه حركت ميفرمود بهمين نيّت و اراده حركت فرمود فو‌اللّه بشوق لقاء محبوب حركت نمود و طلباً لوصاله قطع مراحل فرمود چنانچه در حين خروج آن جمال احديّه از مدينه مخصوص وداع بروضه مقدّسه ساذج وجود من الغيب و الشّهود جدّ مطهّر خود تشريف برده و باين كلمات ابدع احلى ناطق

Ey zāgh-e arż-e joroze ḥekāyat az ṭūṭī-ye Meṣr-e aḥadiyye manamā ey ṭanīn-e dhobāb az ṣarīr-e Qalam-e Aʿlā dhekr makon ke ʿerż-e khod mībarī va zaḥmat-e mā mayārī āyā nashenīde ke Ḥosayn ebn-e ʿAlī rūḥu man fī malakūt al-ibdāʿ fidāhumā be-che shawq va eshtiyāq jān dar rah-e Ḥaqq bākht va agar begūʾī chenānche molḥedīn gofte-and ke bayn-e yadey-e aʿdā mobtalā shod va chāre joz koshte shodan nadāsht hādhā al-qawlu baghyun minka wa-minhum ʿalā Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm che ke dar ḥīnī ke az Madīne ḥarekat mīfarmūd be-hamīn niyyat va erāde ḥarekat farmūd fa-wa-Allāh be-shawq-e leqā-ye maḥbūb ḥarekat nemūd va ṭalaban li-wiṣālihi qaṭʿ-e marāḥel farmūd chenānche dar ḥīn-e khorūj ān Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye az Madīne makhṣūṣ-e vedāʿ be-rawże-ye moqaddase-ye sādhaj-e vojūd men al-ghayb va al-shohūd jadd-e moṭahhar-e khod tashrīf borde va be-īn kalemāt-e abdaʿ-e aḥlā nāṭeq.

O raven of the barren land, do not speak of the parrot of the Egypt of oneness! O buzzing of a fly, do not mention the sound of the Most Exalted Pen, for you disgrace yourself; do not trouble Us. Have you not heard with what ardor and longing Ḥusayn son of ʿAlī—may the spirit of everyone in the kingdom of creation be sacrificed for them both—gave His life in the path of the True One? If you say, as the unbelievers have said, that He fell into the hands of His enemies and had no choice but to be killed, this statement is an outrage by you and them against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. For when He set out from Medina, He departed with this very intention and resolve. By God, He departed longing to meet the Beloved and traversed the stages of His journey in quest of union with Him. Thus, when that Beauty of oneness was leaving Medina, He went expressly to bid farewell at the sacred shrine of His sanctified grandfather, the pure essence of existence in the unseen and the visible, and spoke these wondrous, most sweet words:

578

و انت تعلم يا محبوب ما اردت لوجه اللّه معتمداً فان الصّبر منقطع منّى لحبی‌ جمال اللّه منكشفا و انت تعلم ما اراد ابن الزّنا فى دمى متعمّداً لا و حضرة عزّك لا ابايع به لاخفية و لا جهراً اللّه قرّب يوم دمى ثمّ دمعى على التّراب متّكئاً فيا ليت يومى يوم دمى كنت بالثّرى متعطشاً تاللّه برايحة من روايح الّتى هبت من رضوان حبّه للّه محبوبه عطر كلّ الوجود و استجذب اهل ممالك الغيب و الشّهود و من كلماته فى ذلك المقام تحيّرت اهل ملأ الأعلی و كلّ الوجود ناح نوح المشتاقين و بكى بكآء العاشقين و بنار حبّه اشتعلت مشاعل الحبّ بين الأرض و السّمآء و بتوجّهه الى ارض الطفّ لفدآء نفسه للّه قد توجّهت الممكنات الى شطر اللّه و لكن اينمقام را محبّ خالص و عاشق صادق ادراك نموده ‌و مينمايد و قد جعله اللّه فوق عرفانك و عرفان مرشديك

Wa-anta taʿlamu yā maḥbūb mā aradtu li-wajh Allāh muʿtamidan fa-inna al-ṣabra munqaṭiʿun minnī li-ḥubbī jamāl Allāh munkashifan wa-anta taʿlamu mā arāda ibn al-zinā fī damī mutaʿammidan lā wa-ḥaḍrat ʿizzika lā ubāyiʿu bihi lā khufyatan wa-lā jahran Allāh qarrib yawma damī thumma damʿī ʿalā al-turāb muttakiʾan fa-yā layta yawmī yawma damī kuntu bi-al-tharā mutaʿaṭṭishan ta-Allāh bi-rāʾiḥatin min rawāʾiḥ allatī habbat min riḍwān ḥubbihi li-llāh maḥbūbihi ʿaṭṭara kull al-wujūd wa-istajdhaba ahla mamālik al-ghayb wa-al-shuhūd wa-min kalimātihi fī dhālika al-maqām taḥayyarat ahlu malaʾ al-aʿlā wa-kull al-wujūd nāḥa nawḥ al-mushtāqīn wa-bakā bukāʾ al-ʿāshiqīn wa-bi-nār ḥubbihi ishtaʿalat mashāʿil al-ḥubb bayna al-arḍ wa-al-samāʾ wa-bi-tawajjuhihi ilā arḍ al-Ṭaff li-fidāʾ nafsihi li-llāh qad tawajjahat al-mumkināt ilā shaṭr Allāh va lāken īn maqām rā moḥebb-e khāleṣ va ʿāsheq-e ṣādeq edrāk nemūde va mīnemāyad wa-qad jaʿalahu Allāhu fawqa ʿirfānika wa-ʿirfān murshidayk.

“You know, O Beloved, what I have intended for the sake of God, relying upon Him. My patience has run out because of my love for the unveiled beauty of God. You know what the son of adultery has deliberately intended against my blood. No, by Your glorious presence, I will not pledge allegiance to him, either secretly or openly. O God, bring near the day of my bloodshed, then my tears, as I lie upon the dust. If only my day were the day of my bloodshed, when I would lie thirsting in the earth!” By God, with a single fragrance among those that wafted from the paradise of His love for God, His Beloved, He perfumed all existence and drew to Himself the inhabitants of the kingdoms of the unseen and the visible. At His words on that occasion, the inhabitants of the heavenly Concourse were bewildered, and all existence lamented with the lamentation of those who yearn and wept with the weeping of lovers. Through the fire of His love, the torches of love were kindled between earth and heaven, and through His turning toward the land of Ṭaff to sacrifice Himself for God, all created things turned toward God. Yet only a pure lover and a true devotee has comprehended, and comprehends, this station. God has placed it beyond your understanding and that of your two guides.

579

خذ زمامك يا ايّها المستهزء باللّه و احبّائه و اصفيائه و اودّائه و انّ هذا الحسين يقول حينئذ قد جعل اللّه هذا السّجن ارض الطّفّ لنفسى و حينئذ اكون حاضراً لسيوف القضا و مشتاقاً لسهام البلا و لن اخاف من احد و لن افرّ من نفس و لن استر وجهى و انّه كان مستضيئاً بين السّموات و الأرضين و اقول يا ايّها السّنان هلم بسنانك و يا ايّها الخولى فأت برمحك و يا ايّها الشّمر اسرع بخنجرك و انّى انفقت نفسى و روحى و ذاتى فى سبيل اللّه المهيمن العزيز القيّوم در كلّ ایّام منتظر شهادت بوده و هستم و مطّلعم آنچه تو باغواى شجره فساد ببعضى از اركان گفته و لكن بدان كه عمل حقّ از دونش واضح و ممتاز بوده و در هيچ امرى احدى شبيه نه او است مظهر توحيد و مطّلع تفريد مابين عباد در وقتى كه جمال ابهى در مدينه كبير وارد شدند چند فردى فرموده‌اند بعضى از آن در اينمقام ذكر ميشود لعلّ تتذكّر و تخشى و تمسك قلمك عن المفتريات و لعلّ تكون من الرّاجعين و التّائبين الى اللّه الّذى خلقك و خلق كلّ شیء و كلّ اليه لمن الرّاجعين و آن اين است

Khudh zimāmaka yā ayyuhā al-mustahziʾ bi-llāh wa-aḥibbāʾihi wa-aṣfiyāʾihi wa-awiddāʾihi wa-inna hādhā al-Ḥusayn yaqūlu ḥīnaʾidh qad jaʿala Allāhu hādhā al-sijn arḍ al-Ṭaff li-nafsī wa-ḥīnaʾidh akūnu ḥāḍiran li-suyūf al-qaḍāʾ wa-mushtāqan li-sihām al-balāʾ wa-lan akhāfa min aḥad wa-lan afirra min nafs wa-lan astura wajhī wa-innahu kāna mustaḍīʾan bayna al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn wa-aqūlu yā ayyuhā al-Sinān halumma bi-sinānika wa-yā ayyuhā al-Khawlī faʾti bi-rumḥika wa-yā ayyuhā al-Shimr asriʿ bi-khanjarika wa-innī anfaqtu nafsī wa-rūḥī wa-dhātī fī sabīl Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm dar koll-e ayyām montaẓer-e shahādat būde va hastam va moṭṭaleʿam ānche to be-eghvā-ye shajare-ye fasād be-baʿżī az arkān gofte va lāken bedān ke ʿamal-e Ḥaqq az dūnash vāżeḥ va momtāz būde va dar hīch amrī aḥadī shabīh na ū ast maẓhar-e tawḥīd va moṭṭaleʿ-e tafrīd mābeyn-e ʿebād dar vaqtī ke Jamāl-e Abhā dar Madīne-ye Kabīr vāred shodand chand fardī farmūde-and baʿżī az ān dar īn maqām dhekr mīshavad laʿallaka tatadhakkaru wa-takhshā wa-tumsiku qalamaka ʿan al-muftarayāt wa-laʿallaka takūnu min al-rājiʿīn wa-al-tāʾibīn ilā Allāh alladhī khalaqaka wa-khalaqa kulla shayʾ wa-kullun ilayhi la-min al-rājiʿīn va ān īn ast.

Rein yourself in, O you who mock God, His loved ones, His chosen ones, and His friends! This Ḥusayn now says: God has made this prison the land of Ṭaff for Me. Now I stand ready for the swords of destiny and yearn for the arrows of affliction. I will fear no one, flee from no soul, nor conceal My face, which has shone between the heavens and the earths. I say: O Sinān, come with your spearhead! O Khawlī, bring your spear! O Shimr, hasten with your dagger! I have offered up My self, My spirit, and My very being in the path of God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting. Every day I have awaited martyrdom, and I still do. I am aware of what, at the prompting of the tree of corruption, you have said to certain leading figures. But know that the action of the True One has been clear and distinct from that of anyone else, and no one resembles Him in any matter. He is the Manifestation of unity and is privy to singleness among His servants. When the All-Glorious Beauty arrived in the Great City, He uttered several verses, some of which are mentioned here, so that perhaps you may take heed, stand in awe, and restrain your pen from fabrications, and perhaps be among those who return and repent to God, who created you and created all things. All will surely return to Him. They are these:

580

اى صبا از پيش جانان يكزمان خوش بران تا كوى آن زورائيان

Ey ṣabā az pīsh-e jānān yek zamān khosh berān tā kūy-e ān Zawrāʾiyān.

O morning breeze, from the Beloved’s presence, speed gently for a moment to the quarter of the people of Zawrā.

581

پس بگويش كى مدينه كردگار چون بماندى چونكه رفت از برت يار

Pas begūyash k-ey Madīne-ye Kerdgār chūn bemāndī chūnke raft az barat yār.

Then say to her: “O city of the Creator, how have you endured, now that the Friend has left your side?

582

يار تو در دست اعدا مبتلا چون حسين اندر زمين كربلا يكحسين

Yār-e to dar dast-e aʿdā mobtalā chūn Ḥosayn andar zamīn-e Karbalā yek Ḥosayn.

Your Friend is afflicted in the hands of enemies, like Ḥusayn on the land of Karbalā—one Ḥusayn,

583

و صدهزارانش يزيد يك حبيب و صد ابوجهل عنيد

Va ṣad hazārānash Yazīd yek Ḥabīb va ṣad Abū Jahl-e ʿanīd.

And against Him a hundred thousand Yazīds; one Beloved, and a hundred obstinate Abū Jahls.

584

چون كليم اندر ميان قبطيان يا چه روح اللّه ميان جاحدان

Chūn Kalīm andar miyān-e Qebṭiyān yā che Rūḥ Allāh miyān-e jāḥedān.

Like Moses among the Egyptians, or like the Spirit of God among the deniers.

585

همچه يوسف اندر افتاده بچاه آن چهى كه نبودش پايان و راه

Hamcho Yūsof andar oftāde be-chāh ān chahī ke nabūdash pāyān va rāh.

Like Joseph, fallen into a well—a well with neither bottom nor way out.”

586

فرمودند آنچه ظاهر شده كه شده و مابقى هم ظاهر خواهد شد و ما كان مؤسّسه الّا الّذين افتروا عليه بين العباد و انّك احد منهم و كان علم اللّه على ما فعلتم محيط و حينئذ يقول يا ملأ البيان انّ هذا رأسى قد كان عريا بين السّموات و الأرض و كان منتظرا لاسيافكم اذاً فاضربوه كيف شتم و لا تكوننّ من المتوقّفين و ان هذا صدرى مشتاقاً لسهام البغضآء اذا فاضربوه كيف اردتم يا ملأ المفترين و انّ هذا حنجرى يشتاق خنجركم ان اقطعوه لانّا انفقناه فى سبيل محبوبی‌ و محبوب العالمين و نشكره فى كلّ ذلك و نحمده و انّه لمقصود روحى و ما ظهر و يظهر من عنده قد كان مقصودى لو انتم من الشّاعرين

Farmūdand ānche ẓāher shode ke shode va mābaqī ham ẓāher khāhad shod wa-mā kāna muʾassisuhu illā alladhīna iftaraw ʿalayhi bayna al-ʿibād wa-innaka aḥadun minhum wa-kāna ʿilm Allāh ʿalā mā faʿaltum muḥīṭ wa-ḥīnaʾidh yaqūlu yā malaʾ al-bayān inna hādhā raʾsī qad kāna ʿuryan bayna al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ wa-kāna muntaẓiran li-asyāfikum idhan fa-iḍribūhu kayfa [corrupted text] wa-lā takūnanna min al-mutawaqqifīn wa-inna hādhā ṣadrī mushtāqan li-sihām al-baghḍāʾ idhan fa-iḍribūhu kayfa aradtum yā malaʾ al-muftarīn wa-inna hādhā ḥanjarī yashtāqu khanjarakum an iqṭaʿūhu li-annā anfaqnāhu fī sabīl maḥbūbī wa-maḥbūb al-ʿālamīn wa-nashkuruhu fī kull dhālika wa-naḥmaduhu wa-innahu la-maqṣūd rūḥī wa-mā ẓahara wa-yaẓharu min ʿindihi qad kāna maqṣūdī law antum min al-shāʿirīn.

He said: What has appeared has appeared, and the rest will also appear. None laid its foundation but those who fabricated lies against Him among His servants, and you are one of them. God’s knowledge encompasses what you have done. Now He says: “O people of the Bayān! Here is My head, laid bare between the heavens and the earth, awaiting your swords. Strike it, then, however [corrupted original text], and do not be among those who hesitate. Here is My breast, yearning for the arrows of hatred. Strike it, then, however you wish, O company of fabricators! Here is My throat, longing for your dagger. Cut it, for We have offered it up in the path of My Beloved and the Beloved of all worlds. In all this We thank Him and praise Him. He is indeed the desire of My soul, and whatever has appeared and appears from Him has been My desire, if only you could perceive.”

587

بدانكه شأن انبیاء بلندتر از آن است كه امثال تو بتوانند ادراك نمايند و آن شموس احديّه لازال بشوق و اشتياق الهى بوده‌اند و آنچه در سبيل محبوب بر آن نفوس قدسى وارد كلّ راضى و شاكر بوده‌اند و دقيقه در تبليغ امر اللّه اهمال نفرموده‌اند آيا نشنيدى كه نوح چه مقدار در امر اللّه نوحه نمود در كلّ ایّام مقابل قوم ميايستاد و ناس را بشريعه عزّ ربانيّه دعوت ميفرمود و در هر يوم بعد از تبليغ بشأنى بر ايذاى آن مظهر امر مبالغه و اصرار مينمودند كه وصف آن ممكن نه و در بعض ایّام از شدّت بلايا كه بر آنحضرت وارد ميامد گمان موت مينمودند كلّ اين امور را حبّا للّه حمل ميفرمودند و اگر از خوف انبیاء ذكرى در كتاب ديده چنانچه در مقدّمه كليم در كتاب اللّه مسطور امر او را نه تو و نه مرشدينت هيچكدام ادراك ننموده‌ايد اگر بخواهى ادراك نمائى فاسئل ليبيّن اللّه لك ما عنده و انّ عنده علم كلّ شیء و علم السّموات و الأرضين

Bedānke shaʾn-e anbiyā bolandtar az ān ast ke amthāl-e to betavānand edrāk namāyand va ān shomūs-e aḥadiyye lāzāl be-shawq va eshtiyāq-e elāhī būde-and va ānche dar sabīl-e maḥbūb bar ān nofūs-e qodsī vāred koll rāżī va shāker būde-and va daqīqe dar tablīgh-e amr Allāh ehmāl nafarmūde-and āyā nashenīdī ke Nūḥ che meqdār dar amr Allāh nawḥe nemūd dar koll-e ayyām moqābel-e qawm mī-īstād va nās rā be-sharīʿe-ye ʿezz-e rabbāniyye daʿvat mīfarmūd va dar har yawm baʿd az tablīgh be-shaʾnī bar īdhā-ye ān maẓhar-e amr mobāleghe va eṣrār mīnemūdand ke vaṣf-e ān momken na va dar baʿż-e ayyām az sheddat-e balāyā ke bar ān ḥażrat vāred mī-āmad gomān-e mawt mīnemūdand koll-e īn omūr rā ḥobban li-llāh ḥaml mīfarmūdand va agar az khawf-e anbiyā dhekrī dar ketāb dīde chenānche dar moqaddame-ye Kalīm dar Ketāb Allāh masṭūr amr-e ū rā na to va na morshedīnat hīch kodām edrāk nanemūde-īd agar bekhāhī edrāk namāʾī fa-isʾal li-yubayyina Allāhu laka mā ʿindahu wa-inna ʿindahu ʿilma kull shayʾ wa-ʿilma al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn.

Know that the station of the Prophets is too exalted for the likes of you to comprehend. Those Suns of oneness have always been filled with divine ardor and longing. Whatever befell those holy Souls in the path of the Beloved, They were all content and thankful, and They did not neglect the proclamation of the Cause of God for a moment. Have you not heard how greatly Noah lamented in the Cause of God? Every day He stood before His people and summoned them to the waters of divine glory. Each day, after He had delivered His message, they persisted in tormenting that Manifestation of the Cause with an intensity beyond description. On some days, so severe were the afflictions that befell Him that they thought He was dead. He bore all these things out of love for God. If you have seen mention in the Book of the Prophets’ fear, as is recorded in the Book of God in the account of Moses, neither you nor your guides have understood His case. If you wish to understand, then ask, so that God may explain to you what is with Him. With Him is the knowledge of all things and the knowledge of the heavens and the earths.

588

و امّا حكايت ذكريّا مقدّمه او را اگر شنيده قدرى تفكّر كن كه از همان حكايت تفصيل معلوم ميشود و اين عبد مصلحت نديده كه آنچه از منبع علم لدنّى افاضه شده مذكور دارم آنقدر بدان كه جميع انبیاء در كمال اشتياق جان در سبيل حقّ تسليم نموده‌اند و بعضى هم كه بشهادت ظاهريّه نرسيده‌اند در باطن بآن نفوس مقدّسه سمّ داده‌اند و يا بتلبيسات ديگر و علمه عند ربّی‌ چنانچه مرشدت و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه بهمين امور مشغول شد و لكنّ اللّه حفظ مظهر نفسه بسلطانه و انّه لهو المقتدر القدير

Va ammā ḥekāyat-e Zakariyyā, moqaddame-ye ū rā agar shenīde, qadrī tafakkor kon ke az hamān ḥekāyat tafṣīl maʿlūm mīshavad. Va īn ʿabd maṣlaḥat nadīde ke ānche az manbaʿ-e ʿelm-e ladonnī efāże shode madhkūr dāram. Ānqadr bedān ke jamīʿ-e anbiyā dar kamāl-e eshtiyāq jān dar sabīl-e Ḥaqq taslīm namūde-and, va baʿżī ham ke be-shahādat-e ẓāheriyye naresīde-and dar bāṭen be-ān nofūs-e moqaddase samm dāde-and va yā be-talbīsāt-e dīgar, wa ʿilmuhu ʿinda rabbī. Chenānche morshedat, wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, ke be-hamīn omūr mashghūl shod, wa lākinna Allāha ḥafiẓa maẓhara nafsihi bi-sulṭānihi wa innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadiru al-Qadīr.

As for the account of Zechariah, if you have heard His story, reflect on it a little, for the details will become clear from that very account. This servant has not deemed it advisable to mention what has been imparted from the source of innate knowledge. Know only this: all the Prophets surrendered Their lives in the path of God with the utmost longing. Even some who did not outwardly suffer martyrdom were secretly poisoned, or subjected to other deceptions; knowledge of this rests with my Lord. Your guide, too—I swear by God, besides whom there is no god—occupied himself with these very things. But God protected the Manifestation of His own Self through His sovereignty. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Almighty.

589

و امّا حكايت نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه وقتيكه از فارس با چاپار متعدّده آن هيكل ربانيّه را مياوردند كه بآذربايجان ببرند بعضى از اصحاب از جمله جناب عظيم عليه بهآء اللّه نوشتند ببعضى از احبّاى ساكنه در ارض طاء كه ما همرهان را راضى نموده‌ايم كه قدرى زخارف بدهيم و حضرت را در شب از ما بين آن قوم برده و مستور داريم و اين امر را در پيشگاه حضور اقدس اعلى جلّ كبريائه معروض داشتند آن جمال احديّه تبسّم فرمودند و از تبسّم مبارك اصحاب چنان ادراك نمودند كه راضيند بآنچه اراده نموده‌اند و بعد از اجتماع اسباب در وقتيكه در كلين تشريف داشتند در محضر اقدس معروض داشتند كه امشب بايد از ما بين اين قوم تشريف ببريد مجدّد تبسّمى فرمودند و فرمودند جبل آذربايجان هم قسمتى دارد هذا من فعل الحقّ و ظهر من الحقّ و كان على الحقّ و سطع منه رايحة الحقّ و لكن انت و امثالك لا تجدن و تكوننّ من الغافلين

Va ammā ḥekāyat-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, vaqtī ke az Fārs bā chāpār-e motaʿaddede ān haykal-e rabbāniyye rā mīāvardand ke be-Ādharbāyjān bebarand, baʿżī az aṣḥāb, az jomle Janāb-e ʿAẓīm, ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh, neveshtand be-baʿżī az aḥebbā-ye sākene dar arż-e Ṭā ke mā hamrahān rā rāżī namūde-īm ke qadrī zakhāref bedehīm va Ḥażrat rā dar shab az mā beyn-e ān qowm borde va mastūr dārīm. Va īn amr rā dar pīshgāh-e ḥożūr-e aqdas-e aʿlā, jalla kibriyāʾuhu, maʿrūż dāshtand. Ān Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye tabassom farmūdand va az tabassom-e mobārak aṣḥāb chenān edrāk namūdand ke rāżī-and be-ānche erāde namūde-and. Va baʿd az ejtemāʿ-e asbāb, dar vaqtī ke dar Kolayn tashrīf dāshtand, dar maḥżar-e aqdas maʿrūż dāshtand ke emshab bāyad az mā beyn-e īn qowm tashrīf bebarīd. Mojaddad tabassomī farmūdand va farmūdand: Jabal-e Ādharbāyjān ham qesmatī dārad. Hādhā min fiʿli al-Ḥaqqi wa ẓahara mina al-Ḥaqqi wa kāna ʿalā al-ḥaqqi wa saṭaʿa minhu rāʾiḥatu al-ḥaqqi wa lākin anta wa amthāluka lā tajidunna wa takūnanna mina al-ghāfilīn.

As for the account of the Primal Point—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—when that divine Being was being brought from Fars with successive mounted couriers to be taken to Azerbaijan, some of His companions, including Jináb-i-ʿAẓím, upon him be the glory of God, wrote to some of the believers living in the Land of Ṭá: “We have secured the agreement of those accompanying Him to accept a little money, so that we may take Him away from among these people at night and conceal Him.” They submitted this matter to His most holy and exalted presence—glorified be His majesty. That Beauty of Oneness smiled, and from His blessed smile the companions understood that He approved of what they intended. After the arrangements had been made, while He was in Kulayn, they submitted in His most holy presence: “Tonight You must leave these people.” Again He smiled and said: “The mountain of Azerbaijan also has its share.” This was among the deeds of the True One; it proceeded from the True One, was founded on truth, and shed the fragrance of truth. Yet you and those like you do not perceive it and remain among the heedless.

590

فرمودند كه بنويس بآن نفس كه يك سخن للّه گفته ميشود استماع نما بعداوت اين مسجون هتك حرمت انبیاء مكن و ستر عظمت را شقّ منما و حرمة اللّه را ضايع مكن خف عن اللّه الّذى خلقك و كلّ شیء و لا تكن من المفترين على انبیاء اللّه و امنائه و اصفيائه فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده كلّ واحد منهم فى كلّ يوم ينادى ربّه و يقول يا ليت لى الف روح و الف جسد و الف نفس لا فديها فى سبيلك يا محبوب العالمين و يا مقصود المشتاقين و يا وله صدور العاشقين و اگر هم بخواهى در اينمقامات مثالى بزنى بنفس اين مسجون راجع كن مثل افعال ديگر كه راجع نموده‌ اذيال عصمت الهى را بغبار نفس و هوى تيره مكن هذه نصيحة منّى عليك ان سمعت فلنفسك و ان اعرضت فعليها و كان اللّه بنا و بك رقيب و شهيد

Farmūdand ke benevīs be-ān nafs ke yek sokhan li-llāh gofte mīshavad, estemāʿ namā. Be-ʿadāvat-e īn masjūn hatk-e ḥormat-e anbiyā makon va setr-e ʿaẓamat rā shaqq manamā va ḥormat Allāh rā żāyeʿ makon. Khaf ʿani Allāhi alladhī khalaqaka wa kulla shayʾin wa lā takun mina al-muftarīna ʿalā anbiyāʾi Allāhi wa umanāʾihi wa aṣfiyāʾihi. Fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi kullu wāḥidin minhum fī kulli yawmin yunādī rabbahu wa yaqūlu yā layta lī alfa rūḥin wa alfa jasadin wa alfa nafsin la-afdiyahā fī sabīlika yā Maḥbūba al-ʿālamīna wa yā Maqṣūda al-mushtāqīna wa yā walaha ṣudūri al-ʿāshiqīn. Va agar ham bekhāhī dar īn maqāmāt methālī bezanī be-nafs-e īn masjūn rājeʿ kon, methl-e afʿāl-e dīgar ke rājeʿ namūde. Adhyāl-e ʿeṣmat-e elāhī rā be-ghobār-e nafs va havā tīre makon. Hādhihi naṣīḥatun minnī ʿalayka in samiʿta fa-li-nafsika wa in aʿraḍta fa-ʿalayhā wa kāna Allāhu binā wa bika raqībun wa shahīd.

He said: Write to that person: A word is spoken for God’s sake; listen to it. Do not, out of hostility toward this Prisoner, violate the sanctity of the Prophets, tear apart the veil of grandeur, or dishonor the sanctity of God. Fear God, who created you and all things, and do not be among those who fabricate lies against God’s Prophets, His trusted ones, and His chosen ones. By Him in whose hand is my soul! Every one of Them calls upon His Lord each day and says: “If only I had a thousand spirits, a thousand bodies, and a thousand souls to sacrifice in Your path, O Beloved of the worlds, O Desire of those who yearn, O ardent longing in the hearts of lovers!” If you wish to offer an example in these matters, refer it to this Prisoner Himself, just as you have attributed other deeds to Him. Do not sully the hems of divine purity with the dust of self and desire. This is My counsel to you: if you listen, it is for your own good; if you turn away, it is to your own detriment. God watches over us and you and is a witness.

591

بشنو نداى اين عبد را و نصيحت كن آن مفترين را بس است در تضييع كوشيدند امر بجائى رسيده كه نزد كلّ نفوس رفته متّصلا افترا گفته و ميگويند قل خافوا عن اللّه و لاتفتروا عليه ان اتّقوا فى انفسكم انّه حفظكم فى سنين معدودات و ستر اعمالكم و افعالكم و انتم لما اطمئنتم فى انفسكم خرجتم عن خلف القناع و افتريتم عليه بما لا افترى به احد من المفسدين و يشهد بذلك لسان اللّه الملك المقتدر العزيز الكريم

Beshnow nedā-ye īn ʿabd rā va naṣīḥat kon ān moftarīn rā. Bas ast dar tażyīʿ kūshīdand. Amr be-jāʾī resīde ke nazd-e koll-e nofūs rafte mottaṣelan efterā gofte va mīgūyand. Qul khāfū ʿani Allāhi wa lā taftarū ʿalayhi an ittaqū fī anfusikum innahu ḥafiẓakum fī sinīnin maʿdūdātin wa satara aʿmālakum wa afʿālakum wa antum lammā iṭmaʾnantum fī anfusikum kharajtum ʿan khalfi al-qināʿi wa iftaraytum ʿalayhi bi-mā lā iftarā bihi aḥadun mina al-mufsidīna wa yashhadu bi-dhālika lisānu Allāhi al-Maliki al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAzīzi al-Karīm.

Listen to this servant’s call and counsel those fabricators. Enough of their efforts to bring dishonor! Matters have reached the point where they have gone to everyone, continually uttering slanders, and they continue to do so. Say: Fear God and do not fabricate lies against Him. Be mindful of your conduct. He protected you for a number of years and concealed your deeds and actions. Yet when you felt secure, you emerged from behind the veil and fabricated against Him what no spreader of corruption had ever fabricated. To this bears witness the Tongue of God, the King, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Generous.

592

قوله عظم مكره و كبره مذكور نموديد كه جناب ميرزا بتنهائى قيام در امر حقّ نموده‌ از كجا بايد تميز داد كه اين قيام بجهت ارتفاع امر اللّه بوده و يا بجهت حبّ جاه و رياست و شوكت و ثروت بلى قيام در امر اللّه اشخاصى نمودند كه در مازندران علف و چرم خوردند نه اشخاصيكه در بغداد و جاى ديگر ایّام و ليالى در صرف چاى با سماور و اوضاع و دستگاه با رفقا و خدم و قهوه‌خانها با اجامر و اوباش و صحبتهاى لاطايل و نهار و غذاهاى رنگين بسر رود و همّت مصروف اطعمه و شيرينيها و مهمانيها شود و اصحاب در بدر جمع شده راحت نمايند چه قيام در امر اللّه شده انتهى

Qawluhu, ʿaẓuma makruhu wa kibruhu: Madhkūr namūdīd ke Janāb-e Mīrzā be-tanhāʾī qiyām dar amr-e Ḥaqq namūde. Az kojā bāyad tamīz dād ke īn qiyām be-jehat-e ertefāʿ-e amr Allāh būde va yā be-jehat-e ḥobb-e jāh va reyāsat va showkat va thervat? Balī, qiyām dar amr Allāh ashkhāṣī namūdand ke dar Māzandarān ʿalaf va charm khordand, na ashkhāṣī ke dar Baghdād va jā-ye dīgar ayyām va layālī dar ṣarf-e chāy bā samāvar va owżāʿ va dastgāh bā rofaqā va khadam va qahve-khānehā bā ajāmer va owbāsh va ṣoḥbathā-ye lāṭāyel va nahār va ghadhāhā-ye rangīn be-sar ravad va hemmat maṣrūf-e aṭʿeme va shīrīnihā va mehmānihā shavad va aṣḥāb dar be-dar jamʿ shode rāḥat namāyand. Che qiyām dar amr Allāh shode? Intahā.

His words—great are his deceit and arrogance: “You have stated that Jináb-i-Mírzá arose alone to serve the Cause of God. How can one determine whether this undertaking was for the exaltation of the Cause of God or for the love of rank, leadership, pomp, and wealth? Yes, those who arose to serve the Cause of God were the people who ate grass and leather in Mazandaran, not those whose days and nights in Baghdad and elsewhere are spent drinking tea, with samovars and all their arrangements and trappings, with friends and servants; in coffeehouses with rabble and riffraff, in idle conversations, and over lunches and sumptuous meals; whose efforts are devoted to food, sweets, and banquets; and whose companions gather from door to door to take their ease. What service to the Cause of God has been undertaken?” End of quotation.

593

يشهد بذلك كلّ الذّرّات لو نفسك الخبيثة تكون من المنكرين بعد از مقدّمه ارض طاء نار حبّ الهى در كلّ قلوب مخمود و سراج ودّش در افئده عارفين خاموش چنانچه در سنين اوّليّه كه در عراق وارد شدند ابدا هبوب ارياح امر از جهتى نوزيده و نفحات قميص محبّت رحمن از شطرى استشمام نشده بشأنى امر صعب بوده كه كلّ قلوب مضطرب و اكثرى از نفوس متزلزل و اگر هم در بعضى از ديار بعضى انفس معدوده بوده مخمود و محتجب و مستور تو انصاف ده كه در مقابل اعدا كه ايستاد آنوقت نه عزّتى بود و نه نفوسى تا رياست محقّق شود لذا بنفسه وحده در عراق ساكن

Yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu al-dharrāti law nafsuka al-khabīthatu takūnu mina al-munkirīn. Baʿd az moqaddame-ye arż-e Ṭā nār-e ḥobb-e elāhī dar koll-e qolūb makhmūd va serāj-e voddash dar afʾede-ye ʿārefīn khāmūsh. Chenānche dar senīn-e avvaliyye ke dar ʿErāq vāred shodand abadan hobūb-e aryāḥ-e amr az jehatī navazīde va nafaḥāt-e qamīṣ-e maḥabbat-e Raḥmān az shaṭrī esteshmām nashode. Be-shaʾnī amr ṣaʿb būde ke koll-e qolūb możṭareb va aktharī az nofūs motazalzel va agar ham dar baʿżī az deyār baʿżī anfos-e maʿdūde būde makhmūd va moḥtajeb va mastūr. To enṣāf deh ke dar moqābel-e aʿdā ke īstād? Ān vaqt na ʿezzatī būd va na nofūsī tā reyāsat moḥaqqaq shavad. Ledhā be-nafsehe vaḥdeh dar ʿErāq sāken.

Every atom bears witness to this, even if your wicked self is among those who deny it. After the events in the Land of Ṭá, the fire of divine love was extinguished in every heart, and the lamp of His love had gone out in the hearts of those who knew Him. Thus, in the early years after His arrival in Iraq, no breeze of the Cause blew from any direction, nor was the fragrance of the garment of the All-Merciful’s love perceived from any quarter. Matters were so difficult that every heart was troubled and most souls were shaken. Even if a few souls remained in certain lands, they were dispirited, veiled, and concealed. Judge fairly: who stood against the enemies? At that time there was neither prestige nor a body of followers over whom leadership could be exercised. Thus He dwelt in Iraq by Himself, alone.

594

و چون در نظر اهل عراق اين طايفه حقير و بی‌‌مقدار بودند بشأنى كه جز لعن و سبّ و شتم از احدى نسبت باين طايفه مذكور ميشد لذا احدى مراوده نمينمود تا از كوثر بيان معارف الهى و سلسبيل حكم نامتناهى ربّانى مرزوق شود محض مخالطه مدّتى بقهوه كه در يم شط واقع بود تشريف بردند تا آنكه در آن محلّ با بعضى از اهل عراق گفتگو شد و بعد بناى مراوده گذاردند و بشأنى امر اللّه معزّز شد كه كلّ بثنآءاللّه ناطق و بشطر مقصود مايل گشتند اى بی‌ بصر اگر بقدر خفّاش بصر ميداشتى هرآينه تصديق مينمودى كه جلوسه فى القهوه فى اقلّ من آن لخير منك و من وجودك و عمّا عملت و تعمل ثمّ عمل مثلائك

Va chon dar naẓar-e ahl-e ʿErāq īn ṭāʾefe ḥaqīr va bī-meqdār būdand be-shaʾnī ke joz laʿn va sabb va shatm az aḥadī nesbat be-īn ṭāʾefe madhkūr mīshod, ledhā aḥadī morāvede namīnamūd tā az kawthar-e bayān-e maʿāref-e elāhī va salsabīl-e ḥekam-e nāmotanāhī-ye rabbānī marzūq shavad. Maḥż-e mokhāleṭe moddatī be-qahve ke dar yam-e shaṭṭ vāqeʿ būd tashrīf bordand tā ānke dar ān maḥall bā baʿżī az ahl-e ʿErāq goftogū shod va baʿd banā-ye morāvede godhārdand. Va be-shaʾnī amr Allāh moʿazzaz shod ke koll be-thanāʾ Allāh nāṭeq va be-shaṭr-e Maqṣūd māyel gashtand. Ey bī-baṣar, agar be-qadr-e khoffāsh baṣar mīdāshtī har-āyene taṣdīq mīnamūdī ke julūsuhu fī al-qahwati fī aqalla min ānin la-khayrun minka wa min wujūdika wa ʿammā ʿamilta wa taʿmalu thumma ʿamalu mithlāʾik.

Since the people of Iraq regarded this community as lowly and insignificant, to such a degree that nothing but curses, abuse, and insults was spoken of it, no one associated with them to receive sustenance from the heavenly stream of the exposition of divine knowledge and the sweet waters of boundless divine wisdom. Solely for the sake of mingling with people, He went for a time to a coffeehouse situated by the waters of the river. There He entered into conversation with some of the people of Iraq, who then began to visit Him. The Cause of God became so exalted that all spoke in praise of God and turned toward the Desired One. O blind one! If you had even the sight of a bat, you would assuredly acknowledge that His sitting in the coffeehouse for less than a moment is better than you, your existence, all you have done and will do, and the deeds of those like you.

595

چه قدر مشابه است اين اعتراض تو با اعتراضاتيكه يهود بعيسى بن مريم نمودند كه اعتراضاً عليه ميگفتند كه اين ناصرى در عشارخانها با عشّار مجالس است صدق محبوبی‌ و محبوب العارفين كه بايد آنچه از قبل در ازمنه كلّ رسل ظاهر شده در اين ظهور بدع ربّانى ظاهر شود الحرف بالحرف و علاوه بايد نفوسى در اعراض قيام نمايند كه اشرّ نفوس جميع اوّلين و آخرين باشند چنانچه مشاهده ميشود و لكن چون تو بالمرّه از بصر ظاهريّه و باطنيّه محرومى لذا منكر تشعشعات انوار شمس حقيقت و معانى بوده و خواهى بود

Che qadr moshābeh ast īn eʿterāż-e to bā eʿterāżātī ke Yahūd be-ʿĪsā ibn-e Maryam namūdand ke iʿtirāḍan ʿalayhi mīgoftand ke īn Nāṣerī dar ʿashshār-khānehā bā ʿashshār mojāles ast. Ṣadaqa maḥbūbī va maḥbūb al-ʿārefīn ke bāyad ānche az qabl dar azmane-ye koll-e rosol ẓāher shode dar īn ẓohūr-e badīʿ-e rabbānī ẓāher shavad, al-ḥarfa bi-al-ḥarf. Va ʿelāve bāyad nofūsī dar eʿrāż qiyām namāyand ke asharr-e nofūs-e jamīʿ-e avvalīn va ākherīn bāshand, chenānche moshāhede mīshavad. Va lāken chon to be-al-marre az baṣar-e ẓāheriyye va bāṭeniyye maḥrūmī ledhā monker-e tashaʿshoʿāt-e anvār-e Shams-e Ḥaqīqat va Maʿānī būde va khāhī būd.

How closely this objection of yours resembles the objections the Jews raised against Jesus, son of Mary! In protest against Him, they used to say: “This Nazarene sits with tax collectors in the tax houses.” My Beloved and the Beloved of those who know Him spoke truly: all that appeared in the past in the ages of all the Messengers must appear in this wondrous divine Revelation, letter for letter. Moreover, souls must arise in opposition who are the most wicked of all people, first and last, as can be seen. But since you are utterly deprived of both outward and inward sight, you have denied, and will continue to deny, the radiance of the Sun of Truth and Inner Meanings.

596

و بعد از علوّ امر در آن ارض از اطراف قلوب صافيه مقدّسه بشطر احديّه توجّه نمودند و هر نفسى بين يدى حاضر چه از اهل عراق و مادونش از آنچه سؤال نمودند بمقصود خود فايز گشتند و لكن از انكار خفّاش انوار شمس محجوب نگردد چنانچه از انكار تو غلّا للّه و اعتراضا عليه و اعراضا منه انوار وجه مستور نماند و در آن مدّت توقّف در عراق ساعتى آسایش نبوده و آنى راحت مشاهده نگشته چه كه اعدا از كلّ اطراف در كمين بودند و خود تو دانسته انكار مينمائى انت من الّذين عرفوا نعمة اللّه ثمّ انكروها قل ويل لك يا ايّها المشرك المردود

Va baʿd az ʿolovv-e amr dar ān arż az aṭrāf qolūb-e ṣāfiye-ye moqaddase be-shaṭr-e Aḥadiyye tavajjoh namūdand va har nafsī bayna yaday ḥāżer, che az ahl-e ʿErāq va mādūnash, az ānche soʾāl namūdand be-maqṣūd-e khod fāyez gashtand. Va lāken az enkār-e khoffāsh anvār-e shams maḥjūb nagardad, chenānche az enkār-e to, ghillan li-llāhi wa iʿtirāḍan ʿalayhi wa iʿrāḍan minhu, anvār-e vajh mastūr namānad. Va dar ān moddat-e tavaqqof dar ʿErāq sāʿatī āsāyesh nabūde va ānī rāḥat moshāhede nagashte, che ke aʿdā az koll-e aṭrāf dar kamīn būdand va khod-e to dāneste enkār mīnamāʾī. Anta mina alladhīna ʿarafū niʿmata Allāhi thumma ankarūhā. Qul waylun laka yā ayyuhā al-mushriku al-mardūd.

After the Cause had been exalted in that land, pure and holy hearts turned from every direction toward the One. Every soul who entered His presence, whether from Iraq or elsewhere, attained what they sought in whatever they asked. Yet the bat’s denial cannot veil the light of the sun, just as your denial, born of malice toward God, protest against Him, and rejection of Him, cannot conceal the light of His countenance. Throughout His stay in Iraq there was not an hour of ease, nor a moment’s rest, for enemies lay in wait on every side. You yourself know this, yet deny it. You are among those who recognized God’s favor and then denied it. Say: Woe to you, O rejected one who associates partners with God!

597

و در بعضى ایّام چنان مذكور ميشد كه مأمور شده‌اند اين طايفه را گرفته بارض طاء بفرستند مخصوص جمال ابهى امر فرمود كه كلّ از عراق بروند و اين حكم محكم را بشأنى جارى فرمودند كه زين‌العابدين خان معروف آمده بين يدى حاضر و توسّط از آقا سيّد حسين قنّاد نمود كه خروج او موقوف شود و اذن توقّف بفرمايند ابدا اذن داده نشد او هم از عراق خارج شد فرمودند دوست ميدارم كه بلاياى كلّ را وحده حامل شوم و باين عبد وارد نمايند آنچه را اراده نموده‌اند و احبّاى الهى محفوظ مانند و تو مفترى بچنين كلمات شمس تقديس و انقطاع را بعبارات غلّيه ميالائى آخر نشنيدى كه در دو سنه آخر در عراق چه واقع شد و چه وارد گشت بشأنيكه اكثر ناس و جميع علماء بمعارضه برخواستند خود انصاف ده در همچه حالتى اميد جان از براى نفسى باقى تا فكر رياست نمايد فعل حقّ بر امر حقّ برهان و گواه و شاهد بوده و خواهد بود

Va dar baʿżī ayyām chenān madhkūr mīshod ke maʾmūr shode-and īn ṭāʾefe rā gerefte be-arż-e Ṭā beferestand. Makhṣūṣ Jamāl-e Abhā amr farmūd ke koll az ʿErāq beravand va īn ḥokm-e moḥkam rā be-shaʾnī jārī farmūdand ke Zayn al-ʿĀbedīn Khān-e maʿrūf āmade bayna yaday ḥāżer va tavassoṭ az Āqā Seyyed Ḥosayn-e Qannād namūd ke khorūj-e ū mowqūf shavad va edhn-e tavaqqof befarmāyand. Abadan edhn dāde nashod. Ū ham az ʿErāq khārej shod. Farmūdand: Dūst mīdāram ke balāyā-ye koll rā vaḥdeh ḥāmel shavam va be-īn ʿabd vāred namāyand ānche rā erāde namūde-and va aḥebbā-ye elāhī maḥfūẓ mānand. Va to moftarī be-chenīn kalemāt Shams-e Taqdīs va Enqeṭāʿ rā be-ʿebārāt-e ghelliyye mīālāʾī. Ākhar nashenīdī ke dar do sane-ye ākhar dar ʿErāq che vāqeʿ shod va che vāred gasht, be-shaʾnī ke akthar-e nās va jamīʿ-e ʿolamā be-moʿāreże barkhāstand? Khod enṣāf deh, dar hamcho ḥālatī omīd-e jān az barā-ye nafsī bāqī tā fekr-e reyāsat namāyad? Feʿl-e Ḥaqq bar amr-e Ḥaqq borhān va govāh va shāhed būde va khāhad būd.

At certain times it was reported that orders had been issued to arrest this community and send them to the Land of Ṭá. The Abhá Beauty expressly commanded everyone to leave Iraq. He enforced this firm decree so strictly that when the well-known Zaynu’l-ʿÁbidín Khán came into His presence and interceded for Áqá Siyyid Ḥusayn the confectioner, asking that his departure be suspended and that he be permitted to remain, no permission whatsoever was given. He too left Iraq. He said: “I wish to bear everyone’s afflictions alone, so that they may inflict on this servant whatever they have intended, while the loved ones of God remain safe.” Yet you, a fabricator, seek with such words to sully the Sun of Holiness and Detachment with expressions of malice. Have you not heard what happened and what befell Him during the last two years in Iraq, when most of the people and all the religious scholars arose in opposition? Judge fairly for yourself: in such circumstances, would anyone retain enough hope of surviving to think of leadership? The deeds of the True One have been, and will remain, a proof, testimony, and witness to His Cause.

598

نفسى را كه از جميع من فى الأرض منقطع و ظاهراً باهراً چون شمس ما بين اعدا مشرق و مضئ و از كلّ اطراف سهام بغضا بر جسد مباركش وارد مع‌ذلك شرم ننموده‌و نوشته آنچه را كه حقايق كلّ شیء نوحه نموده‌اند و از اينها گذشته بلاياى جمال احديّه را در عراق نشنيدى در ارض طاء چه ميگوئى اى بی‌خبر و بی‌‌بصر همين ميرزا يحيى با سليمان خان در دزاشوب بودند و بعد آمده بارض طاء در خانه سليمان خان چند روز مستور بود و بعد كه اسباب فساد جمع شد فرار نمود تا آنكه واقع شد آنچه واقع شد و حضرت ابهى واضحا مشهودا در مقرّ خود ساكن چنانچه آمدند و دستگير نمودند با آنكه و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه در همان ایّام از ارض طفّ مراجعت فرموده بودند و ابدا اطّلاع نداشتند چهار ماه متوالى در اغلال و سلاسل بوده و ضرّ آن ایّام احتياج ذكر ندارد كه چه وارد مينمودند و

Nafsī rā ke az jamīʿ-e man fī al-arḍ monqaṭeʿ va ẓāheran bāheran chon shams mā beyn-e aʿdā moshreq va moḍīʾ va az koll-e aṭrāf sehām-e baghḍā bar jasad-e mobārakash vāred maʿa-dhālek sharm nanemūde va neveshte ānche rā ke ḥaqāyeq-e koll-e shayʾ nowḥe nemūde-and va az īnhā goẕashte balāyā-ye Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye rā dar ʿErāq nashenīdī dar arḍ-e Ṭāʾ che mīgūʾī ey bī-khabar va bī-baṣar hamīn Mīrzā Yaḥyā bā Solaymān Khān dar Dezāshūb būdand va baʿd āmade be-arḍ-e Ṭāʾ dar khāne-ye Solaymān Khān chand rūz mastūr būd va baʿd ke asbāb-e fasād jamʿ shod farār nemūd tā ānke vāqeʿ shod ānche vāqeʿ shod va Ḥaẓrat-e Abhā vāḍeḥan mashhūdan dar maqarr-e khod sāken chonānche āmadand va dastgīr nemūdand bā ānke wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke dar hamān ayyām az arḍ-e Ṭaff morājaʿat farmūde būdand va abadan eṭṭelāʿ nadāshtand chahār māh-e motavālī dar aghlāl va salāsel būde va ḍorr-e ān ayyām eḥtiyāj-e dhekr nadārad ke che vāred mīnemūdand va

Yet you felt no shame in writing what you wrote about One who was detached from all who are on earth, who shone visibly and brilliantly like the sun among His enemies, and whose blessed body was struck from every side by the arrows of hatred—words over which the realities of all things have lamented. Besides all this, have you not heard of the afflictions of the Beauty of Oneness in Iraq? What do you say of the Land of Ṭāʾ, you who are unaware and blind? This same Mīrzā Yaḥyā was with Sulaymān Khān in Dizāshūb. He then came to the Land of Ṭāʾ and remained concealed in Sulaymān Khān’s house for a few days. Once the means of sedition had been assembled, he fled, until what happened came to pass. His Holiness the Most Glorious remained openly and visibly in His own residence, so that they came and arrested Him, although, by God, besides whom there is no other god, He had only just returned from the Land of Ṭaff in those very days and had no knowledge of it at all. He spent four consecutive months in chains and fetters. The harm inflicted in those days needs no recounting—what they inflicted—and

599

هم‌چنين قبل از آن در مازندران كه همين ميرزا يحيى همراه بود كه ايشان را اسير نموده‌شهر بشهر و ديار بديار گرداندند و روزى كه جميع علماء و ساير ناس بر رجم جمال احديّه مجتمع شدند و آن جمال مبارك را در محضر ظالمين حاضر نمودند وقع ما وقع يستحى القلم ان يذكر ما ورد على مظهر نفس اللّه و بعد اراده نمودند كه ميرزا يحيى را تأديب نمايند فرمودند او با من بود اگر تقصيرى شده از من بوده و باين جهت باو تعرّض ننموده ‌و بآن جمال قدم وارد آوردند آنچه وارد آوردند و هم‌چنين توسّط از ساير همراهان فرمودند از جمله جناب ملّا باقر حرف حىّ عليه بهآء اللّه كه الآن موجود است جويا شويد

Ham-chenīn qabl az ān dar Māzandarān ke hamīn Mīrzā Yaḥyā hamrāh būd ke īshān rā asīr nemūde shahr be-shahr va diyār be-diyār gardāndand va rūzī ke jamīʿ-e ʿolamā va sāyer-e nās bar rajm-e Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye mojtameʿ shodand va ān Jamāl-e Mobārak rā dar maḥẓar-e ẓālemīn ḥāẓer nemūdand waqaʿa mā waqaʿa yastaḥyī al-qalamu an yadhkura mā warada ʿalā maẓhari nafsi Allāh va baʿd erāde nemūdand ke Mīrzā Yaḥyā rā taʾdīb namāyand farmūdand ū bā man būd agar taqṣīrī shode az man būde va be-īn jehat be-ū taʿarroẓ nanemūde va be-ān Jamāl-e Qedam vāred āvardand ānche vāred āvardand va ham-chenīn tavassoṭ az sāyer-e hamrāhān farmūdand az jomle Janāb-e Mollā Bāqer Ḥarf-e Ḥayy ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh ke al-ān mowjūd ast jūyā shavīd

Likewise, before that, in Mazandaran, when this same Mīrzā Yaḥyā was with Him, they took Him captive and led Him from city to city and region to region. On the day when all the religious scholars and the rest of the people gathered to stone the Beauty of Oneness, and brought that blessed Beauty before the oppressors, what happened came to pass. The Pen is ashamed to recount what befell the Manifestation of God’s own Self. Afterward, they intended to punish Mīrzā Yaḥyā. He said, “He was with Me. If any fault has been committed, it was Mine.” For this reason they did not molest him, but inflicted on that Ancient Beauty what they inflicted. He likewise interceded for His other companions, among them the honored Mullā Bāqir, the Letter of the Living—may the glory of God rest upon him—who is still alive. Ask him.

600

و از اين مراتب هم گذشته در نيالا كه دهى از دهات دار المرز است بغتةً خمسة مأة نفس او ازيد بر آن جمال احديّه هجوم آوردند و وارد شد در آن ارض آنچه وارد شد اگر انصاف دهى از اوّل ظهور بديع تا حين ابداً آسایش ندیده‌اند و مع‌ذلك نوشته آنچه را كه نوشته اين امور چرا واقع شده و از براى كه واقع شده شايد اين امور را هم انكار نمائى چه كه از آن نفوس عجيب نيست

Va az īn marāteb ham goẕashte dar Niyālā ke dehī az dehāt-e Dār al-Marz ast baghtatan khamsata miʾati nafsin aw azyad bar ān Jamāl-e Aḥadiyye hojūm āvardand va vāred shod dar ān arḍ ānche vāred shod agar enṣāf dehī az avval-e ẓohūr-e badīʿ tā ḥīn abadan āsāyesh nadīde-and va maʿa-dhālek neveshte ānche rā ke neveshte īn omūr cherā vāqeʿ shode va az barā-ye ke vāqeʿ shode shāyad īn omūr rā ham enkār namāʾī che ke az ān nofūs ʿajīb nīst

Beyond all this, in Niyālā, a village among the villages of Dār al-Marz, five hundred people or more suddenly attacked that Beauty of Oneness, and what befell Him in that land befell Him. If you judge fairly, from the beginning of this wondrous Revelation until now He has never known ease. Yet you have written what you have written. Why did these things happen, and for whose sake did they happen? Perhaps you will deny these things as well, for that would be no surprise from such people.

601

حال از معرض باللّه مرشدت بگو كه در اين امر بر او چه وارد شده مسلّم است كه لازال باكل و شرب و تصرّف در ابكار و نساء ناس بوده و اعماليكه و اللّه خجلت ميكشم از ذكرش مرتكب بعد از فسادى كه در ارض طاء نمود منهزم گشته به عراق آمده و در بيت ايشان وارد شد و بقسمى خائف كه با وجود حضرت ابهى كه جميع ميدانند كه كلّ ناس در صدد آن وجود مبارك بودند مع‌ذلك فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده بمجرّد يك خبر كه از ايران ميرسيد از عراق باطراف ميرفت و متّصل هم بعيش و عشرت نفسانى مشغول مع‌ذلك آنچه مشهود است انكار نموده ‌و نوشته كه از كجا معلوم شد كه اين قيام للّه بوده‌

Ḥāl az moʿreẓ be-Allāh morshedat begū ke dar īn amr bar ū che vāred shode mosallam ast ke lā-zāl be-akl va shorb va taṣarrof dar abkār va nesā-ye nās būde va aʿmālī ke va-Allāh khejlat mīkasham az dhekrash mortakeb baʿd az fasādī ke dar arḍ-e Ṭāʾ nemūd monhazem gashte be ʿErāq āmade va dar beyt-e īshān vāred shod va be-qesmī khāʾef ke bā vojūd-e Ḥaẓrat-e Abhā ke jamīʿ mīdānand ke koll-e nās dar ṣadad-e ān Vojūd-e Mobārak būdand maʿa-dhālek fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi be-mojarrad-e yek khabar ke az Īrān mīresīd az ʿErāq be-aṭrāf mīraft va mottaṣel ham be-ʿeysh va ʿeshrat-e nafsānī mashghūl maʿa-dhālek ānche mashhūd ast enkār nemūde va neveshte ke az kojā maʿlūm shod ke īn qiyām li-llāh būde

Now tell us about your guide, who has turned away from God: what has befallen him in this Cause? It is certain that he has continually occupied himself with eating and drinking, taking possession of other people’s virgins and wives, and committing deeds that, by God, I am ashamed to mention. After the sedition he stirred up in the Land of Ṭāʾ, he fled to Iraq and entered His house. He was so fearful that, despite the presence of His Holiness the Most Glorious—whom everyone knows all the people were seeking to harm—by Him in whose hand is my soul, whenever a single report arrived from Iran, he would leave Iraq for the surrounding regions. All the while he was occupied with sensual pleasure and enjoyment. Yet you have denied what is plain to see and written, “How was it established that this uprising was for God’s sake?”

602

اى مغلّ معرض از كجا بر تو معلوم شد كه لغير اللّه بوده هرگز نفس مقدّس را در آنى حفظ نفرموده‌اند در اينمقام يك فقره از مناجات كه مع اللّه نموده‌اند ذكر ميشود لعلّ تتذكّر فى نفسك و تكون من المتذكّرين مضمون آن بلسان پارسى اينست اى اله من هرگز نفس خود را در سبيل تو حفظ ننموده‌ام و با اعدايت مداهنه ننمودم در كلّ اوان در دست اعدا مبتلى بوده‌ام و در احيان قضاياى وارده اراده چنان بود كه جان انفاق نمايم و لكن تو اى پروردگار من بحكم بالغه و مصالح مستوره از انظر بريّه عبد خود را حفظ فرمودى و لكن اين حفظ نه بجهت آسایش او بوده بلكه لاجل قضاى آخر و توئى محمود در كلّ افعال خود و محبوب در اراده خود حال اگر امثال تو در كلمات منزله الهيّه نظر مينمودند مطّلع ميشدند بامورى كه احدى بر آن مطّلع نشده و لكن قضى عنك و عنهم

Ey moghell-e moʿreẓ az kojā bar to maʿlūm shod ke li-ghayri Allāh būde hargez Nafs-e Moqaddas rā dar ānī ḥefẓ nafarmūde-and dar īn maqām yek faqre az monājāt ke maʿa Allāh nemūde-and dhekr mīshavad laʿallaka tatadhakkaru fī nafsika wa-takūnu mina al-mutad h akkirīn maẓmūn-e ān be-lesān-e pārsī īnast ey Elāh-e man hargez nafs-e khod rā dar sabīl-e to ḥefẓ nanemūde-am va bā aʿdāyat modāhene nanemūdam dar koll-e avān dar dast-e aʿdā mobtalā būde-am va dar aḥyān-e qaẓāyā-ye vārede erāde chonān būd ke jān enfāq namāyam va lāken to ey Parvardegār-e man be-ḥekam-e bāleghe va maṣāleḥ-e mastūre az anẓor-e bariyye ʿabd-e khod rā ḥefẓ farmūdī va lāken īn ḥefẓ na be-jehat-e āsāyesh-e ū būde balke li-ajl-e qaḍā-ye ākhar va toʾī maḥmūd dar koll-e afʿāl-e khod va maḥbūb dar erāde-ye khod ḥāl agar amthāl-e to dar kalemāt-e monzale-ye elāhiyye naẓar mīnemūdand moṭṭaleʿ mīshodand be-omūrī ke aḥadī bar ān moṭṭaleʿ nashode va lāken quḍiya ʿanka wa-ʿanhum

You malicious denier! How did you establish that it was for anyone other than God? He has never, for a moment, sought to safeguard His sacred Self. Here a passage from His supplication to God is recounted, so that you may reflect within yourself and be among those who take heed. Its meaning in Persian is this: “O my God, I have never sought to safeguard Myself in Your path, nor have I compromised with Your enemies. At all times I have suffered in the hands of enemies, and amid the events that befell Me, My intention was to offer up My life. But You, O my Lord, through consummate wisdom and purposes hidden from the eyes of Your creatures, have preserved Your servant. Yet this preservation was not for His ease, but for another decree. You are praised in all Your actions and beloved in Your will.” Now, if people like you had considered the divinely revealed words, they would have become aware of things of which no one has become aware. But it has been decreed concerning you and them.

603

و اينكه نوشته بودى نصرت امر اللّه كسانى نمودند كه در مازندران چرم خوردند فرمودند در ایّاميكه در ارض طاء محبوس بوديم چند يوم اوّل چرم هم نبود كه كسى بخورد فوا حسرتا عليك يا ايّها الغافل عن كلّ خير و العامل بكلّ شرّ تنطق بما لا علمته و هذا لم يكن من عندك بل بما القى الشّيطان فى صدرك نسئل اللّه بأن يأخذه اخذ عزيز مقتدر جميع ذرّات شهادت ميدهند كه جمال ابهى وحده در مقابل اعدا قائم بودند چنانچه بعضى از احبّا از ارض طفّ در آن ایّام نوشتند و استدعا نمودند كه چند روزى مستور شوند چه كه امر بقسمى صعب شده بود كه هر نفسى در كلّ يوم بين يدى وارد ميشد خبرى جديد از مكر ماكرين و اراده معرضين ذكر مينمود و بشأنى اعدا باعراض برخواستند كه در كوچه ها و اسواق بعضى را معين نموده‌كه در حين مرور بضرب رصاص شهيد نمايند مع‌ذلك آنى وجه مبارك را ستر نفرموده و وحده از بيت بيرون تشريف مياوردند و ابدا اعتنا بنفسى نميفرمودند و هميشه وا شوقا للقآء المحبوب ميفرمودند اهل ملأ اعلى از فعلشان متحيّر و جميع بتبارك اللّه احسن المبدعين ناطق و تو جميع را انكار نموده‌چه كه بانفس فجّار مأنوس گشته و از حقّ تبرّى جسته

Va īnke neveshte būdī noṣrat-e Amr Allāh kasānī nemūdand ke dar Māzandarān charm khordand farmūdand dar ayyāmī ke dar arḍ-e Ṭāʾ maḥbūs būdīm chand yowm-e avval charm ham nabūd ke kasī bekhorad fa-wā ḥasratā ʿalayka yā ayyuhā al-ghāfilu ʿan kulli khayrin wa-al-ʿāmilu bi-kulli sharrin tanṭiqu bi-mā lā ʿalimtahu wa-hādhā lam yakun min ʿindika bal bi-mā alqā al-shayṭānu fī ṣadrika nasʾalu Allāha bi-an yaʾkhudhahu akhdha ʿazīzin muqtadir jamīʿ-e dharrāt shahādat mīdehand ke Jamāl-e Abhā vaḥdahu dar moqābel-e aʿdā qāʾem būdand chonānche baʿẓī az aḥebbā az arḍ-e Ṭaff dar ān ayyām neveshtand va estedʿā nemūdand ke chand rūzī mastūr shavand che ke amr be-qesmī ṣaʿb shode būd ke har nafsī dar koll-e yowm beyn-e yaday vāred mīshod khabarī jadīd az makr-e mākerīn va erāde-ye moʿreẓīn dhekr mīnemūd va be-shaʾnī aʿdā be-eʿrāẓ barkhāstand ke dar kūchehā va asvāq baʿẓī rā moʿayyan nemūde ke dar ḥīn-e morūr be-ẓarb-e raṣāṣ shahīd namāyand maʿa-dhālek ānī vajh-e mobārak rā satr nafarmūde va vaḥdahu az beyt bīrūn tashrīf mīāvardand va abadan eʿtenā be-nafsī nemīfarmūdand va hamīshe wā shawqā li-liqāʾi al-Maḥbūb mīfarmūdand ahl-e Malaʾ-e Aʿlā az feʿlshān motaḥayyer va jamīʿ be-tabāraka Allāhu aḥsanu al-mubdiʿīn nāṭeq va to jamīʿ rā enkār nemūde che ke be-anfos-e fojjār maʾnūs gashte va az Ḥaqq tabarrī joste

As for your statement that those who aided the Cause of God were the ones who ate leather in Mazandaran, He said, “During the days when We were imprisoned in the Land of Ṭāʾ, for the first few days there was not even leather for anyone to eat.” Alas for you, you who are heedless of every good and commit every evil! You speak of what you do not know. This did not originate with you, but with what Satan cast into your breast. We ask God to seize him with the grip of One who is mighty and all-powerful. Every atom bears witness that the Most Glorious Beauty stood alone against His enemies. Indeed, in those days some of the loved ones wrote from the Land of Ṭaff, imploring Him to remain concealed for a few days, for matters had become so grave that everyone who entered His presence each day brought fresh news of the schemers’ plots and the deniers’ intentions. The enemies rose in such opposition that they stationed men in the lanes and markets to shoot Him dead as He passed. Nevertheless, He did not conceal His blessed face for a moment, but went out of the house alone, paying no heed to anyone. He would always say, “Oh, how I long to meet the Beloved!” The dwellers of the heavenly Assembly marveled at His conduct, and all proclaimed, “Blessed is God, the best of originators!” Yet you have denied it all, for you have befriended wicked souls and disowned the True One.

604

بلى چيزى که فرق بوده اين بوده كه اين ظهور ابدع ناس را از قتل و نزاع و جدال منع فرمودند چنانچه در سنين توقّف در عراق ابدا در محلّ محاربه واقع نشد و تصريحا در آيات نازل كه نصرت و تبليغ امر بمواعظ حسنه و بيانات شافيه بوده و خواهد بود نه بمجادله و محاربه و بشأنى اين حكم محكم نازل شده كه در بعضى از كلمات الهى مذكور كه

Balī chīzī ke farq būde īn būde ke īn Ẓohūr-e Abdaʿ nās rā az qatl va nezāʿ va jedāl manʿ farmūdand chonānche dar senīn-e tavaqqof dar ʿErāq abadan dar maḥall-e moḥārebe vāqeʿ nashod va taṣrīḥan dar āyāt nāzel ke noṣrat va tablīgh-e amr be-mavāʿeẓ-e ḥasane va bayānāt-e shāfiye būde va khvāhad būd na be-mojādele va moḥārebe va be-shaʾnī īn ḥokm-e moḥkam nāzel shode ke dar baʿẓī az kalemāt-e elāhī madhkūr ke

Yes, the difference was that this most wondrous Revelation forbade people to kill, dispute, or fight. Thus, throughout the years of His stay in Iraq, no occasion for battle arose. It was expressly revealed in the verses that the Cause has been, and will be, aided and taught through good counsel and healing words, not through contention and warfare. So emphatically was this binding command revealed that in some of the divine words it is stated that

605

اگر نفسى بابناء و يا ذوى قرابه من ضرّى وارد آورد نزد اين عبد احسن و محبوبتر است از اينكه متعرّض نفسى شود

Agar nafsī be-abnā va yā dhavī qarābe-ye man ḍorrī vāred āvarad nazd-e īn ʿabd aḥsan va maḥbūbtar ast az īnke motaʿarreẓ-e nafsī shavad

“If someone were to inflict harm on My children or My relatives, it would be better and more pleasing in the sight of this servant than for him to assail another soul.”

606

فانظر فيما نزل فى الألواح لعلّ تنصف فى نفسك و تكون من المنصفين و لذا در اينمدّت امرى واقع نشد مگر اينكه چند نفر از اين طايفه خود بامر مرشدت يكديگر را كشتند و ديگر باحدى متعرّض نشدند و در جميع الواح نازل كه مقصود اين ظهور اتّحاد و اتّفاق بوده نه افتراق و اختلاف

Fa-nẓur fī-mā nazala fī al-alwāḥi laʿallaka tunṣifu fī nafsika wa-takūnu mina al-munṣifīn va le-dhā dar īn moddat amrī vāqeʿ nashod magar īnke chand nafar az īn ṭāyefe khod be-amr-e morshedat yekdīgar rā koshtand va dīgar be-aḥadī motaʿarreẓ nashodand va dar jamīʿ-e alvāḥ nāzel ke maqṣūd-e īn ẓohūr etteḥād va ettefāq būde na efterāq va ekhtelāf

Consider, then, what has been revealed in the Tablets, so that you may judge fairly within yourself and be among the just. Accordingly, throughout this period nothing happened except that a few members of this community killed one another at your guide’s command. They assailed no one else. In all the Tablets it has been revealed that the purpose of this Revelation is unity and concord, not division and discord.

607

و اينكه نوشته بودى كه نه اشخاصيكه در بغداد و جاى ديگر در ایّام و ليالى در صرف چاى با سماور و اوضاع و دستگاه الخ اى ارذل وجود و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر اقلّ از ذرّه نجابت در تو و مرشدينت بود هرگز چنين كلمات مذكور نمينمودى و نفس اللّه را بجهت سرور انفس خبيثه نميازردى تا حال هيچ رذلى چنين كلمات ذكر نموده‌كه تو نموده ‌لا فو‌ربّ العالمين الّا انت و امثالك اسمع ندآء نقطة البيان ثمّ استحى عن جماله و لاتضرب محبوبه بسيوف البغضآء و لا مقصوده برماح الفحشا اتّق من يوم تضطرب فيه كلّ الوجود من الغيب و الشّهود و تقشعر فيه جلود العالمين

Va īnke neveshte būdī ke na ashkhāṣī ke dar Baghdād va jā-ye dīgar dar ayyām va layālī dar ṣarf-e chāy bā samāvar va owẓāʿ va dastgāh ilā ākhir ey ardhal-e vojūd va-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke agar aqall az dharre najābat dar to va morshedīnat būd hargez chonīn kalemāt madhkūr nemīnemūdī va Nafs Allāh rā be-jehat-e sorūr-e anfos-e khabīthe nemīāzordī tā ḥāl hīch radhlī chonīn kalemāt dhekr nemūde ke to nemūde lā fa-wa-Rabbi al-ʿālamīna illā anta wa-amthāluka ismaʿ nidāʾa Nuqṭati al-Bayān thumma istaḥyi ʿan jamālihi wa-lā taḍrib maḥbūbahu bi-suyūfi al-baghḍāʾi wa-lā maqṣūdahu bi-rimāḥi al-faḥshā ittaqi min yawmin taḍṭaribu fīhi kullu al-wujūdi mina al-ghaybi wa-al-shuhūdi wa-taqshaʿirru fīhi julūdu al-ʿālamīn

As for what you wrote, “Not those people who, in Baghdad and elsewhere, spend their days and nights drinking tea with samovars and all their arrangements and equipment,” and so forth: you most abject of beings! By God, besides whom there is no other god, if you and your guides possessed less than an atom of decency, you would never have uttered such words or hurt God’s own Self to delight wicked souls. Has any vile person ever uttered words like those you have uttered? No, by the Lord of the worlds, none but you and those like you! Hear the call of the Point of the Bayān, then feel shame before His beauty. Do not strike His Beloved with the swords of hatred, nor the One He seeks with the spears of indecency. Beware of a day when all existence, unseen and seen, will tremble, and the skins of all the world’s peoples will shudder.

608

قوله عزّ اعزازه و جلّ كبريائه ثمّ فى ليلة من الاء اللّه تسعة عشر عدّة بين ايديكم لتحصون الى عدد المستغاث اذن لمن يقدر و لاتحزنن اذا انتم لاتستطيعون انتهى ميفرمايد تا عدد مستغاث اگر مستطيع باشيد در يك مجلس حاضر نمائيد اذن داده شده‌ايد و مع‌ذلك تو نفهميده اعتراضاً على اللّه ذكر چاى و سماور و اطعمه و شيرينى و مهمانيها نموده ‌مع آنكه امر نقطه بيانست كه ميفرمايند قوله عزّ ذكره فلتضيفن فى تسعة عشر يوماً تسعة عشر نفساً ولو انتم ماء الواحد لتؤتون و هم‌چنين ميفرمايند كه فرض است بر هر نفسى كه عدد واحد از بلّور دربيت خود موجود نمايد و هم‌چنين ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره و انتم اسبابكم الّتى بها فى سرّكم لتعيشون من الذّهب و الفضّة تصنعون مع‌ذلك تو پست فطرت و ارذل اعتراض بچاى و سماور نموده‌ جميع اين بيانات را نقطه اولى ذكر نفرموده مگر آنكه كسى تمسّك نجويد كه خبز شعير خوردم تا برتبه اعلى فايز شدم

Qawluhu ʿazza iʿzāzuhu wa-jalla kibriyāʾuhu thumma fī laylatin min ālāʾi Allāhi tisʿata ʿashara ʿiddatan bayna aydīkum li-tuḥṣūna ilā ʿadadi al-Mustaghāth udhina li-man yaqdiru wa-lā taḥzanunna idhā antum lā tastaṭīʿūna intahā mīfarmāyad tā ʿadad-e Mostaghāth agar mostaṭīʿ bāshīd dar yek majles ḥāẓer namāyīd edhn dāde shode-īd va maʿa-dhālek to nafahmīde iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh dhekr-e chāy va samāvar va aṭʿeme va shīrīnī va mehmānīhā nemūde maʿa ānke amr-e Noqṭe-ye Bayān ast ke mīfarmāyand qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu fa-latuḍīfunna fī tisʿata ʿashara yawman tisʿata ʿashara nafsan wa-law antum māʾa al-wāḥidi la-tuʾtūn va ham-chenīn mīfarmāyand ke farẓ ast bar har nafsī ke ʿadad-e vāḥed az bollūr dar beyt-e khod mowjūd namāyad va ham-chenīn mīfarmāyad qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu wa-antum asbābakumu allatī bi-hā fī sirrikum la-taʿīshūna mina al-dhahabi wa-al-fiḍḍati taṣnaʿūn maʿa-dhālek to past-feṭrat va ardhal eʿterāẓ be-chāy va samāvar nemūde jamīʿ-e īn bayānāt rā Noqṭe-ye Ūlā dhekr nafarmūde magar ānke kasī tamassok najūyad ke khobz-e shaʿīr khordam tā be-rotbe-ye aʿlā fāʾez shodam

His words—exalted be His honor and great His majesty—are: “Then, on a night, among the favors of God, let nineteen be numbered before you, that you may count up to the number of al-Mustaghāth. Permission is given to whoever is able; do not grieve if you are unable.” End of quotation. He says that you have been given permission, if you are able, to bring together in one gathering as many as the number of al-Mustaghāth. Yet, without understanding, you have mentioned tea, samovars, food, sweets, and hospitality as an objection against God, although it is the command of the Point of the Bayān, who says—exalted be His remembrance—“You must entertain nineteen souls every nineteen days, even if you can offer only water to each one.” He likewise says that every soul is required to have in his house a number of crystal vessels equal to one vāḥid. He also says—exalted be His remembrance—“You shall make of gold and silver the furnishings by which you live in your private life.” Yet you, base-natured and most abject, have objected to tea and samovars. The Primal Point uttered all these statements only so that no one would claim, “I ate barley bread and thereby attained the highest rank.”

609

بلى آنقدر هست كه انسان بايد بقليل كفايت كند و شاكر باشد و بكثير از حقّ غافل نشود اصل امر اينست و الّا رياضت و عدم آن علامت حقّ و باطل نبوده و علامت احبّاى حقّ از جبينشان ظاهر و مشهود چنانچه اليوم بخاتم عقيق معانى بر جبين احبّاى الهى مرقوم كه هذا من اهل اللّه بين العالمين و واللّه مقصودى از اين بيان نداشته‌اند مگر آنكه شايد بعنايت الهى عباد از اين حدودات فارغ شوند فرمودند اگر ممكن ميشد اليوم امر مينمودم كه جميع اهل اللّه بر اكراس ذهب جالس شوند چه كه آنچه خلق شده در حقيقت اوّليّه مخصوص مؤمنين باللّه بوده كجا است اين نظر و آن نظرى كه در چاى خوردن اعتراض مينمايد مع آنكه از مذهب بيان است

Balī ānqadr hast keh ensān bāyad be-qalīl kefāyat konad va shāker bāshad va be-kathīr az Ḥaqq ghāfel nashavad. Aṣl-e amr īnast va ellā riyāḍat va ʿadam-e ān ʿalāmat-e ḥaqq va bāṭel nabūdeh va ʿalāmat-e aḥebbā-ye Ḥaqq az jabīneshān ẓāher va mashhūd, chenāncheh al-yawm be-khātam-e ʿaqīq-e maʿānī bar jabīn-e aḥebbā-ye elāhī marqūm keh hādhā min ahl Allāh bayna al-ʿālamīn. Va va-llāh maqṣūdī az īn bayān nadāshteh-and magar ānkeh shāyad be-ʿenāyat-e elāhī ʿebād az īn ḥodūdāt fāregh shavand. Farmūdand agar momken mīshod al-yawm amr mīnamūdam keh jamīʿ-e ahl Allāh bar akrās-e dhahab jāles shavand, cheh keh āncheh khalq shodeh dar ḥaqīqat-e avvalīyeh makhṣūṣ-e moʾmenīn be-Allāh būdeh. Kojā ast īn naẓar va ān naẓarī keh dar chāy khordan eʿterāḍ mīnamāyad maʿ-e ānkeh az madhhab-e Bayān ast.

Yes, this much is required: a person should be content with little and be thankful, and should not let abundance make him heedless of God. This is the essence of the matter; otherwise, neither asceticism nor its absence has been a sign of truth or falsehood. The mark of God’s loved ones is plain and visible on their foreheads, just as today the agate seal of inner meanings has inscribed on the foreheads of God’s loved ones: “This is one of the people of God among the worlds.” By God, His only purpose in this utterance was that, through divine favor, His servants might perhaps be freed from these restrictions. He said, “If it were possible, today I would command all the people of God to sit on seats of gold,” for everything that has been created was, in its primary reality, intended especially for those who believe in God. How far removed is this outlook from that of someone who objects to drinking tea, even though he belongs to the religion of the Bayān!

610

اى اهل بيان تفكّر در اعتراضات معرضين نمائيد كه چه وارد نموده‌اند تفكّروا لتكوننّ فيهم لمن المتبصّرين چه زود جميع شئونات الهيّه را تبديل نموده‌اند چه كه مخصوص حضرت اعلى روح ماسواه فداه در كلّ يوم چاى ميل ميفرمودند و جميع احبّا را امر فرموده‌اند بشرب چاى و ميفرمايند برياضت باين مقام نرسيده‌ام چنانچه جمال ابهى ميفرمايند هرگز رياضت نكشيده‌ام و از اهل علم نبوده‌ام بلكه اين عنايتى كه ظاهر شده از فضل پروردگار بوده من غير استحقاقى به و لكن باضطرار بسيار از ليالى كه از نعم الهى بين يدى هيچ شیء نبوده حتّى نان و هم‌چنين دو سنه متواليه بحسب ظاهر هيچ از اسباب تعيّش نبوده و لكن در كلّ حال شاكر بوده‌ايم و راضى خواهيم بود

Ey ahl-e Bayān, tafakkor dar eʿterāḍāt-e moʿreḍīn namāyīd keh cheh vāred namūdeh-and. Tafakkarū la-takūnunna fīhim la-min al-mutabaṣṣirīn. Cheh zūd jamīʿ-e shoʾūnāt-e elāhīyeh rā tabdīl namūdeh-and, cheh keh makhṣūṣ Ḥaḍrat-e Aʿlā, rūḥ-e mā-sevāh fedāh, dar koll-e yawm chāy meyl mīfarmūdand va jamīʿ-e aḥebbā rā amr farmūdeh-and be-shorb-e chāy va mīfarmāyand be-riyāḍat be-īn maqām narasīdeh-am. Chenāncheh Jamāl-e Abhā mīfarmāyand hargaz riyāḍat nakeshīdeh-am va az ahl-e ʿelm nabūdeh-am, balkeh īn ʿenāyatī keh ẓāher shodeh az faḍl-e Parvardegār būdeh min ghayr istiḥqāqī bihi. Va lāken be-eḍṭerār besyār az layālī keh az neʿam-e elāhī bayna yadayya hīch shayʾ nabūdeh ḥattā nān, va ham-chenīn do saneh-ye motavālīyeh be-ḥasab-e ẓāher hīch az asbāb-e taʿayyosh nabūdeh, va lāken dar koll-e ḥāl shāker būdeh-īm va rāḍī khāhīm būd.

People of the Bayān! Reflect on the objections of those who turn away, and on what they have brought forward. Reflect, so that you may be among those who discern their ways. How quickly they have altered all the divine observances! For the Most Exalted One Himself—may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him—drank tea every day, commanded all His loved ones to drink tea, and says, “I have not attained this station through asceticism.” Likewise, the Abhā Beauty says, “I have never practiced asceticism, nor have I belonged to the learned. Rather, this favor that has appeared has come from the grace of the Lord, without any merit on My part. Yet, out of necessity, on many nights none of God’s bounties lay before Me, not even bread. Likewise, for two consecutive years, to outward appearances there were no means of subsistence at all. Yet in every condition We have been thankful and will remain content.”

611

و اليوم احبّاى الهى بايد بهيچ وجه بر خود سخت نگيرند در صورت امكان باغذيه لطيفه متنعّم شوند و در كلّ احوال بحدّ اعتدال حركت نمايند و اگر غذا واحد باشد احبّ است عند اللّه و لكن جهد نموده‌كه آن واحد از اغذيه لطيفه باشد على قدر وسع و بايد اولو الغنا فقرا را فراموش ننمايند چه كه فقرا امانات اللّه‌اند بين عباد ان انفقوا يا قوم ما رزقكم اللّه به و كونوا من الّذين يؤثّرون على انفسهم و لو كان بهم خصاصة كذلك نزل فى البيان ثمّ فى الفرقان ثمّ فى الانجيل و الزّبور و التّوريّة و صحف اللّه المهيمن العزيز القيّوم

Va al-yawm aḥebbā-ye elāhī bāyad be-hīch vajh bar khod sakht nagīrand. Dar ṣūrat-e emkān be-aghdhīyeh-ye laṭīfeh motanaʿʿem shavand va dar koll-e aḥvāl be-ḥadd-e eʿtedāl ḥarakat namāyand. Va agar ghadhā vāḥed bāshad aḥabb ast ʿinda Allāh, va lāken jahd namūdeh keh ān vāḥed az aghdhīyeh-ye laṭīfeh bāshad ʿalā qadr-e vosʿ. Va bāyad ulu al-ghinā foqarā rā farāmūsh nanamāyand, cheh keh foqarā amānāt Allāh-and bayn-e ʿebād. An anfiqū yā qawm mā razaqakum Allāhu bihi wa-kūnū min alladhīna yuʾthirūna ʿalā anfusihim wa-law kāna bihim khaṣāṣah. Kadhālika nazala fī al-Bayān thumma fī al-Furqān thumma fī al-Injīl wa-al-Zabūr wa-al-Tawrīyah wa-ṣuḥuf Allāh al-Muhaymin al-ʿAzīz al-Qayyūm.

Today God’s loved ones should in no way impose hardship on themselves. Where possible, they should enjoy fine foods and in all circumstances conduct themselves with moderation. If there is only one dish, this is more beloved in God’s sight; yet they should endeavor, according to their means, to make that one dish a fine one. Those who possess wealth must not forget the poor, for the poor are God’s trusts among His servants. Spend, My people, from what God has provided for you, and be among those who prefer others to themselves, even though they are in need. Thus was it revealed in the Bayān, and in the Qur’an, and in the Gospel, the Psalms, the Torah, and the scriptures of God, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.

612

بارى امر اللّه مقدّس از جميع اين امور بوده و كلّ آنچه خلق شده ما بين سموات و ارض مخصوص مظاهر امر خلق شده و لكن فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه آن نفوس مشرقه از افق احديّه لازال خود بقليل كفايت فرموده‌اند و ناس را در اين امورات بر انفس مبارك خود مقدّم داشته‌اند چنانچه بسا شده كه آنچه در بيت حاضر بوده مخصوص احبّا فرستاده‌اند و آن ليل و يا يوم را اهل حرم گرسنه مانده‌اند فللّه الحمد فى كلّ الأحوال و انّه اطّلع ما لا اطّلعتم به يا معشر المفترين

Bārī Amr Allāh moqaddas az jamīʿ-e īn omūr būdeh va koll-e āncheh khalq shodeh mā bayn-e samāvāt va arḍ makhṣūṣ-e maẓāher-e Amr khalq shodeh. Va lāken fa-wa-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh ān nofūs-e moshreqeh az ofoq-e aḥadīyeh lāzāl khod be-qalīl kefāyat farmūdeh-and va nās rā dar īn omūrāt bar anfos-e mobārak-e khod moqaddam dāshteh-and, chenāncheh basā shodeh keh āncheh dar bayt ḥāḍer būdeh makhṣūṣ-e aḥebbā ferestādeh-and va ān layl va yā yawm rā ahl-e ḥaram gorosneh māndeh-and. Fa-li-llāhi al-ḥamdu fī kull al-aḥwāl wa-innahu iṭṭalaʿa mā lā iṭṭalaʿtum bihi yā maʿshar al-muftarīn.

In short, the Cause of God is sanctified above all these matters, and everything created between the heavens and the earth has been created especially for the Manifestations of the Cause. Yet, by God, besides whom there is no other god, those Souls who shine from the horizon of oneness have always contented themselves with little and, in these matters, have given others precedence over Their own blessed selves. It has often happened that They sent whatever was available in the house expressly to the loved ones, while the members of Their household went hungry that night or day. Praise be to God in every circumstance! He knows what you do not know, you company of slanderers.

613

اگر كلّ من على الأرض و آنچه در او خلق شده از نعماى لطيفه و فواكه طيّبه در يك مجلس حبّاً للّه از براى نفس مؤمن باللّه حاضر شود اسراف نبوده و نخواهد بود ولكن تو و امثال تو اگر لقمهء نانى تصرّف نمائيد مسرف بوده و خواهد بود چه كه اسراف در غفلت از حقّ مشهود است و همان لقمه نان كه بنفس آن معرض باللّه معذّب شده پناه ميبرد بخدا از اينكه نصيب او گشته و واللّه كلّ ما يأكل ليَنوح و يضجّ و يقول يا الهى باىّ جرم جعلتنى رزق هذا الفاجر الّذى كفر بك و بآياتك ولكن تو شاعر نشده و نخواهى شد و از اين مراتب گذشته

Agar koll-e man ʿalā al-arḍ va āncheh dar ū khalq shodeh az naʿmā-ye laṭīfeh va favākeh-e ṭayyebeh dar yek majles ḥubban li-llāh az barā-ye nafs-e moʾmen be-Allāh ḥāḍer shavad esrāf nabūdeh va nakhāhad būd. Va lāken to va amthāl-e to agar loqmeh-ye nānī taṣarrof namāyīd mosref būdeh va khāhad būd, cheh keh esrāf dar ghaflat az Ḥaqq mashhūd ast. Va hamān loqmeh nān keh be-nafs-e ān moʿreḍ be-Allāh moʿadhdhab shodeh panāh mībarad be-Khodā az īnkeh naṣīb-e ū gashteh. Va va-llāh kullu mā yaʾkulu la-yanūḥu wa-yaḍijju wa-yaqūlu yā ilāhī bi-ayyi jurmin jaʿaltanī rizqa hādhā al-fājir alladhī kafara bika wa-bi-āyātika. Va lāken to shāʿer nashodeh va nakhāhī shod va az īn marāteb godhashteh.

If everyone on earth, together with all the fine blessings and good fruits created upon it, were brought into a single gathering for the sake of one believer in God, out of love for God, this would not be, nor would it ever be, extravagance. But if you and those like you consume a morsel of bread, you have been and will be extravagant, for extravagance is manifest in heedlessness of God. That very morsel of bread, tormented by that person who turns away from God, takes refuge in God from having become his portion. By God, everything he eats laments, cries out, and says, “My God, for what crime have You made me the sustenance of this wicked man who has denied You and Your signs?” Yet you have not perceived this, nor will you. And leaving these matters aside—

614

و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو و بحقّ طلعت مبارك خود ايشان كه اكثر اوقات در حرم غذاى يوم نبوده و بسا از ایّام كه قريب بعصر نان از براى اهل حرم تحصيل ميشد آن هم بدين و بعضى احيان كه بعضى از اصحاب ضيافت مينمودند بعضى از احباب را حبّاً للّه طلب ميفرمودند و بعد از قرائت آيات الهى و كلمات عزّ صمدانى هر كسى بقدر خود مرزوق ميشد و اين مقصود اظهار حبّ بوده بارى در آن ایّام خيال نميرفت كه مثل تو معرض محتجبی‌ پيدا شود كه باينگونه امور اعتراض نمايد ولكن فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه آن نفس معرض باللّه كه جميع اين كلمات را بتو القا نموده‌در جميع ایّام راحت بوده و با نساء متعدّده بعيش مشغول و بحقّ خود ايشان كه لازال زخارف ملكيّه نزدش موجود و هر وقت كه فى‌الجمله گفتگوئى در عراق ميشد عازم بصره و ديار اخرى بوده چنانچه كل ميدانند و لكن كلمات الحقّ لا يزيدك الّا غلّا و اعراضاً

Va-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa va be-ḥaqq-e ṭalʿat-e mobārak-e khod-e īshān keh akthar-e awqāt dar ḥaram ghadhā-ye yawm nabūdeh va basā az ayyām keh qarīb be-ʿaṣr nān az barā-ye ahl-e ḥaram taḥṣīl mīshod ān ham be-dayn. Va baʿḍī aḥyān keh baʿḍī az aṣḥāb ḍiyāfat mīnamūdand baʿḍī az aḥbāb rā ḥubban li-llāh ṭalab mīfarmūdand va baʿd az qerāʾat-e āyāt-e elāhī va kalemāt-e ʿezz-e ṣamadānī har kasī be-qadr-e khod marzūq mīshod va īn maqṣūd eẓhār-e ḥobb būdeh. Bārī dar ān ayyām khayāl namīraft keh methl-e to moʿreḍ-e moḥtajebī peydā shavad keh be-īngūneh omūr eʿterāḍ namāyad. Va lāken fa-wa-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa keh ān nafs-e moʿreḍ be-Allāh keh jamīʿ-e īn kalemāt rā be-to elqā namūdeh dar jamīʿ-e ayyām rāḥat būdeh va bā nesā-ye motaʿadded eh be-ʿeysh mashghūl, va be-ḥaqq-e khod-e īshān keh lāzāl zakhāref-e molkīyeh nazdash mawjūd va har vaqt keh fī al-jomleh goftogūʾī dar ʿErāq mīshod ʿāzem-e Baṣreh va deyār-e okhrā būdeh chenāncheh koll mīdānand. Va lāken kalimāt al-Ḥaqq lā yazīduka illā ghillan wa-iʿrāḍan.

By God, besides whom there is no other god, and by His own blessed countenance, most of the time there was no food for the day in the household. On many days, bread for the household was obtained only toward the afternoon, and even then on credit. Sometimes, when some of the companions offered hospitality, He would invite some of the loved ones out of love for God. After the recitation of divine verses and words of everlasting glory, each person would receive his share. The purpose of this was to express love. In short, in those days it never occurred to anyone that a veiled opponent like you would arise and object to such things. Yet, by God, besides whom there is no other god, that person who turns away from God and has put all these words into your mind has lived in comfort all his days, occupied with pleasure with numerous women. By His own truth, worldly finery has always been at that man’s disposal, and whenever there was the slightest commotion in Iraq, he would set off for Basra or other lands, as everyone knows. Yet the words of the True One only increase your rancor and aversion.

615

اى بی‌خبر بی‌بصر در حسين بن علىّ چه ميگوئى كه در حين حركت از مدينه طيّبه مباركه با هودجهاى زرّين حركت فرمودند و با كمال اسباب ظاهره چنانچه امثال تو ميگويند كه ساربان حضرت چون ديده بود كه بند ازار مبارك مطرّز بلآلىٴ است لذا بعد از شهادت حضرت رفته و بعد واقع شد آنچه اين عبد شرم مينمايد از ذكر آن البتّه آن را هم نسبت بدنيا خواهى داد

Ey bī-khabar-e bī-baṣar, dar Ḥosayn ibn ʿAlī cheh mīgūʾī keh dar ḥīn-e ḥarakat az Madīneh-ye ṭayyebeh-ye mobārakeh bā howdajhā-ye zarrīn ḥarakat farmūdand va bā kamāl-e asbāb-e ẓāhereh. Chenāncheh amthāl-e to mīgūyand keh sārebān-e Ḥaḍrat chon dīdeh būd keh band-e ezār-e mobārak moṭarraz be-laʾālī ast ledhā baʿd az shahādat-e Ḥaḍrat rafteh va baʿd vāqeʿ shod āncheh īn ʿabd sharm mīnamāyad az dhekr-e ān. Albatteh ān rā ham nesbat be-donyā khāhī dād.

You who are unaware and blind! What do you say of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, who, when departing from the good and blessed city of Medina, set out with golden howdahs and every outward provision? Indeed, people like you say that, because His camel driver had seen that His blessed waistband was embroidered with pearls, he went there after His martyrdom, and then there occurred what this servant is ashamed to mention. No doubt you will attribute that, too, to worldliness.

616

و از كلّ اين امور گذشته در اين ظهور تا بحال اسباب دنيا فراهم نيامد تا تو يا غير تو اعتراض نمايد فى كلّ حين قد كنّا فى بلآء و شدّةعظيم لو انتم من المنصفين و اينكه بالقاى آن معرض ملقى نوشته كه جمال احديّه با اجامر و اوباش معاشر بوده‌اند و بصحبتهاى لاطايل مشغول بوده‌اند يكذّبك كلمات بعدك كلمات قبلك مينويسى بيست سال با عرفا مجالس و مؤانس بوده‌اند و بعد نوشته با اجامر و اوباش مت بغيظك يا ايّها الغافل انّك انت الّذى ذكرت فى كتاب القبل بقوله تعالى كمثل الكلب ان تحمل عليه يلهث او تتركه يلهث در كلّ احوال بهوى ناطقند و در مسالك نفس سالك بلى و اللّه اگر با اجامر معاشر نبودند البتّه با سيّد محمّد و مرشدش معاشر نميشدند اجامر و او باش امثال اين نفوس بوده‌اند و الّا آن اجامر كه بوده و اوباش چه نفوسى بوده‌اند

Va az koll-e īn omūr godhashteh dar īn ẓohūr tā be-ḥāl asbāb-e donyā farāham nayāmad tā to yā ghayr-e to eʿterāḍ namāyad. Fī kulli ḥīn qad kunnā fī balāʾ wa-shiddah ʿaẓīm law antum min al-munṣifīn. Va īnkeh be-elqā-ye ān moʿreḍ-e molqī neveshteh keh Jamāl-e Aḥadīyeh bā ajāmer va awbāsh moʿāsher būdeh-and va be-ṣoḥbathā-ye lāṭāyel mashghūl būdeh-and, yukadhdhibuka kalimātu baʿdika kalimātu qablika. Mīnevīsī bīst sāl bā ʿorafā majāles va moʾānes būdeh-and va baʿd neveshteh bā ajāmer va awbāsh. Mut bi-ghayẓika yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil. Innaka anta alladhī dhukirta fī kitāb al-qabl bi-qawlihi taʿālā ka-mathal al-kalb in taḥmil ʿalayhi yalhath aw tatrukhu yalhath. Dar koll-e aḥvāl be-havā nāṭeqand va dar masālek-e nafs sālek. Balī va-llāh agar bā ajāmer moʿāsher nabūdand albatteh bā Seyyed Moḥammad va morshedash moʿāsher namīshodand. Ajāmer va awbāsh amthāl-e īn nofūs būdeh-and va ellā ān ajāmer keh būdeh va awbāsh cheh nofūsī būdeh-and.

Apart from all these matters, in this Revelation worldly means have not been available up to now for you or anyone else to object to. At every moment We have been in affliction and great hardship, if you are fair-minded. As for what you have written at the prompting of that opponent who puts words into your mind—that the Beauty of Oneness associated with rabble and scoundrels and engaged in idle conversations—your later words and your earlier words give you the lie. You write that for twenty years He sat and enjoyed companionship with mystics, and then you write, “with rabble and scoundrels.” Die in your rage, heedless one! You are the one mentioned in the former Book in His words—exalted is He—“Like a dog: if you assail it, it pants, and if you leave it alone, it pants.” In every condition they speak from desire and tread the paths of self. Yes, by God, had He not associated with rabble, He would certainly not have associated with Siyyid Muḥammad and his guide. People like these have been the rabble and scoundrels. Otherwise, who were that rabble, and who were those scoundrels?

617

البتّه كلمات الهى را لاطايل دانسته چه كه تكلّم نفرموده‌اند مگر بآيات الهى برو و از اهل عراق سؤال كن بسيار كلمات صدقى بتو القا نموده‌اند يكذّبك كلّ شیء و لكن انت لا تشعر از اين گذشته اى بی‌انصاف ظالم تو كجا بوده و كجا ديده كه ايشان با اجامر و اوباش نشسته باشند البتّه اراذل و اوبا ش مؤمنين باللّه را دانسته لازال در احيان هر ظهور مشركين مخصوص بهمين كلمه تكلّم نموده‌اند بقوله تعالى و ما نراك اتّبعك الّا الّذينهم اراذلنا بادى الرّأى چنانچه از قبل ذكر شد لايق تو آنكه بامثال اين كلمات تكلّم نمايد فو‌اللّه همين كلمه تو دليل بر حقّیّت حقّ بوده و خواهد بود لعن اللّه اوّل ظالم ظلم نقطة الأولی فى ظهوره الأخرى و افترى على نفسه و كفر بآياته و ملا صدره من غلّه و بغضائه و بهذا اللّعن يلعنه كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرضين

Albatteh kalemāt-e elāhī rā lāṭāyel dānesteh, cheh keh takallom nafarmūdeh-and magar be-āyāt-e elāhī. Boro va az ahl-e ʿErāq soʾāl kon. Besyār kalemāt-e ṣedqī be-to elqā namūdeh-and! Yukadhdhibuka kullu shayʾ wa-lākin anta lā tashʿur. Az īn godhashteh ey bī-enṣāf-e ẓālem, to kojā būdeh va kojā dīdeh keh īshān bā ajāmer va awbāsh neshasteh bāshand? Albatteh arādhel va awbāsh moʾmenīn be-Allāh rā dānesteh. Lāzāl dar aḥyān-e har ẓohūr moshrekīn makhṣūṣ be-hamīn kalemeh takallom namūdeh-and, bi-qawlihi taʿālā wa-mā narāka ittabaʿaka illā alladhīnahum arādhilunā bādiya al-raʾy. Chenāncheh az qabl dhekr shod lāyeq-e to ānkeh be-amthāl-e īn kalemāt takallom namāyad. Fa-va-llāh hamīn kalemeh-ye to dalīl bar ḥaqqīyat-e Ḥaqq būdeh va khāhad būd. Laʿana Allāhu awwala ẓālim ẓalama Nuqṭat al-Ūlā fī ẓuhūrihi al-ukhrā wa-iftarā ʿalā nafsihi wa-kafara bi-āyātihi wa-malaʾa ṣadrahu min ghillihi wa-baghḍāʾihi wa-bi-hādhā al-laʿn yalʿanuhu kullu man fī al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn.

Clearly, you have regarded the divine words as idle talk, for He spoke nothing but divine verses. Go and ask the people of Iraq. What a wealth of truthful words they have put into your mind! Everything gives you the lie, yet you do not perceive it. Furthermore, you unjust oppressor, where were you, and where did you see Him sitting with rabble and scoundrels? Clearly, you have taken the believers in God to be the lowly and the scoundrels. In the days of every revelation, the idolaters have always uttered precisely these words, as in His saying—exalted is He—“We see that none have followed you but those who are the lowliest among us, at first sight.” As mentioned before, it is fitting for you to utter such words. By God, this very statement of yours has been and will remain a proof of the truth of the True One. May God curse the first oppressor who wronged the Primal Point in His latter manifestation, slandered His person, denied His signs, and filled His breast with his rancor and hatred. With this curse, all who are in the heavens and the earths curse him.

618

و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو بلايائى بر اين جمال مظلوم وارد شده كه بر احدى از اوّل ابداع تا حين وارد نشده امرى كه مشهود عالميان است او را انكار نموده‌ايد مثل آنكه كلّ مشاهده نموده‌اند كه در امر اللّه بنفسى مداهنه نفرموده‌اند و بنفسى ملتجى نشده‌اند چنانچه در عراق سركار مشير خواستند معاشرت نمايند قبول نفرمودند تا آنكه بالأخره‌بمسجد تشريف بردند چنانچه كلّ شنيده‌اند و بعد از ورود بمدينه كبير هم نزد احدى نرفتند و بنفسى توجّه نفرمودند و كلّ شاهد و گواهند مع‌ذلك چنين نفسى را مينويسيد كه با اجامر و اوباش معاشر بوده و نفسى را كه براى لقمه نان بكلّ نفوس شكايت كرده كه سواد عرايضش الآن موجود و زن مخصوص نان بسرايه فرستاده و باستانبول دويده و بهر نفسى ملتجى شده افعال چنين نفسى مقبول و افعال حقّ غير مقبول اى و اللّه كذلك ينبغى لكم و لا نفسكم

Va-llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, balāyāʾī bar īn Jamāl-e Maẓlūm vāred shodeh keh bar aḥadī az avval-e ebdāʿ tā ḥīn vāred nashodeh. Amrī keh mashhūd-e ʿālamiyān ast ū rā enkār namūdeh-īd, methl-e ānkeh koll moshāhedeh namūdeh-and keh dar Amr Allāh be-nafsī modāheneh nafarmūdeh-and va be-nafsī moltajī nashodeh-and. Chenāncheh dar ʿErāq Sarkār-e Moshīr khāstand moʿāsherat namāyand, qabūl nafarmūdand tā ānkeh be-al-ākhereh be-masjed tashrīf bordand chenāncheh koll shenīdeh-and. Va baʿd az vorūd be-Madīneh-ye Kabīr ham nazd-e aḥadī naraftand va be-nafsī tavajjoh nafarmūdand va koll shāhed va govāhand. Maʿa dhālek chenīn nafsī rā mīnevīsīd keh bā ajāmer va awbāsh moʿāsher būdeh. Va nafsī rā keh barā-ye loqmeh nān be-koll-e nofūs shekāyat kardeh keh savād-e ʿarāyeḍash al-ān mawjūd va zan makhṣūṣ-e nān be-sarāyeh ferestādeh va be-Estānbūl davīdeh va be-har nafsī moltajī shodeh, afʿāl-e chenīn nafsī maqbūl va afʿāl-e Ḥaqq ghayr-e maqbūl. Ī va-llāh kadhālika yanbaghī lakum wa-li-anfusikum.

By God, besides whom there is no other god, afflictions have befallen this wronged Beauty such as have befallen no one from the beginning of creation until now. You have denied something witnessed by all the world. For example, everyone has seen that in the Cause of God He has flattered no one and sought refuge with no one. In Iraq, when His Excellency the Mushīr wished to meet with Him, He did not accept, until at last He went to the mosque, as everyone has heard. After His arrival in the Great City, too, He visited no one and turned to no one, and all are witnesses to this. Despite this, you write of such a Person that He associated with rabble and scoundrels. Yet there is one who complained to everyone for a morsel of bread—the copies of his petitions still exist—who sent a woman to the government residence specifically for bread, ran to Istanbul, and sought refuge with every person. The deeds of such a person are acceptable, while the deeds of the True One are unacceptable! Yes, by God, this is what befits you and your own selves.

619

قدرى تفكّر كن كه همين كلمه امثال تو چه قدر عظيم است و چگونه خورشيد نورانى را در فكر افتاده‌ايد كه بحجبات نفس و هوى مستور داريد و اعمالش را ضايع كنيد نه و اللّه جز امثال تو احدى باين كلمات التفات ننمايد چه كه كلّ فعل حقّ را ببصر خود دیده‌اند يومى از ایّام فرمودند كه اعظم از اين بلايا در سرادق قضا مستور است و بايد نازل شود چنانچه خوابی‌ در عراق دیده‌ام و از آن چنين مستفاد ميشود قال و قوله الحقّ كنت نائماً فى ليلة البلماء بعد عفراء اذاً رأيت بأن اجتمعت فى حولى النّبيّون و المرسلون و هم قد جلسوا فى اطرافى و كلّهم ينوحون و يبكون و يصرخون و يضجّون و انّى تحيّرت فى نفسى فسئلت عنهم اذاً اشتدّ بكائهم و صريخهم و قالوا لنفسك يا سرّ الأعظم و يا هيكل القدم و بكوا على شأن بكيت ببكائهم و

Qadrī tafakkur kun kih hamīn kalimiy-i amthāl-i tu chih qadr ʿaẓīm ast va chigūnih khurshīd-i nūrānī rā dar fikr uftādih-īd kih bi-ḥujubāt-i nafs va havā mastūr dārīd va aʿmālash rā ḍāyiʿ kunīd. Nah va-Allāh, juz amthāl-i tu aḥadī bi-īn kalimāt iltifāt nanamāyad chih kih kull fiʿl-i Ḥaqq rā bi-baṣar-i khud dīdih-and. Yawmī az ayyām farmūdand kih aʿẓam az īn balāyā dar surādiq-i qaḍā mastūr ast va bāyad nāzil shavad chunānchih khwābī dar ʿIrāq dīdih-am va az ān chunīn mustafād mīshavad. Qāla wa-qawluhu al-ḥaqq: Kuntu nāʾiman fī laylatin balmāʾ baʿda ʿafrāʾ idhan raʾaytu bi-an ijtamaʿat fī ḥawlī al-nabiyyūna wa-l-mursalūn wa-hum qad jalasū fī aṭrāfī wa-kulluhum yanūḥūna wa-yabkūna wa-yaṣrukhūna wa-yaḍijjūn wa-innī taḥayyartu fī nafsī fa-saʾaltu ʿanhum idhan ishtadda bukāʾuhum wa-ṣarīkhuhum wa-qālū li-nafsika yā sirr al-aʿẓam wa-yā haykal al-qidam wa-bakaw ʿalā shaʾnin bakaytu bi-bukāʾihim wa-

Reflect a little on how grave this very statement by people like you is, and how you have conceived the idea of concealing the radiant Sun behind the veils of self and desire and rendering His deeds fruitless. No, by God, no one but people like you would pay attention to such words, for all have seen the deeds of the True One with their own eyes. One day He said that afflictions greater than these lay concealed in the tabernacle of destiny and must descend, as He had seen a dream in Iraq from which this could be understood. He said—and His word is truth—“I was asleep on a dark night following a bright one, when I saw that the Prophets and Messengers had gathered around Me. They were seated on every side of Me, and all were lamenting, weeping, crying out, and wailing. I was bewildered within Myself and questioned them. Then their weeping and cries intensified, and they said, ‘For You, O Most Great Mystery, O Temple of Eternity!’ They wept so much that I wept at their weeping, and

620

اذا سمعت بكاء اهل ملأ الأعلی و فى تلك الحالة خاطبونى و قالوا قد عظم بلائك يا سدرة المنتهى و كبر قضائك يا سرّ الآخرة و الأولی عليك بالصّبر يا آية الكبرى و ظهور نقطة الأولی ثمّ عليك بالصّبر يا شجرة القصوى و ظهور القضآء فى ملكوت الامضآء فسوف ترى بعينك ما لا رءاه احد من المعشر النّبيّين و تشهد ما لا شهده احد من العالمين و تسمع ما لا سمعه اذن الأصفیآء و الأودّاء فصبراً صبراً يا سرّ اللّه المكنون و رمز المخزون و كلمته المحتوم و كتابه المختوم

Idhā samiʿtu bukāʾa ahl-i malaʾ-i aʿlā wa-fī tilka al-ḥālati khāṭabūnī wa-qālū qad ʿaẓuma balāʾuka yā sidrat al-muntahā wa-kabura qaḍāʾuka yā sirr al-ākhirati wa-l-ūlā ʿalayka bi-l-ṣabr yā āyat al-kubrā wa-ẓuhūr nuqṭat al-ūlā thumma ʿalayka bi-l-ṣabr yā shajarat al-quṣwā wa-ẓuhūr al-qaḍāʾ fī malakūt al-imḍāʾ fa-sawfa tarā bi-ʿaynika mā lā raʾāhu aḥadun min al-maʿshar al-nabiyyīn wa-tashhadu mā lā shahidahu aḥadun min al-ʿālamīn wa-tasmaʿu mā lā samiʿahu udhun al-aṣfiyāʾ wa-l-awiddāʾ fa-ṣabran ṣabran yā sirr Allāh al-maknūn wa-ramz al-makhzūn wa-kalimatuhu al-maḥtūm wa-kitābuhu al-makhtūm.

when I heard the weeping of the people of the Supreme Concourse, in that state they addressed Me and said, ‘Great indeed is Your affliction, O Tree beyond which there is no passing, and momentous is Your destiny, O Mystery of the next world and this one. Be patient, O Most Great Sign and Manifestation of the Primal Point. Again, be patient, O Uttermost Tree and Manifestation of the Decree in the kingdom of its fulfillment. You will see with Your own eyes what none of the company of Prophets has seen, witness what no one in all the worlds has witnessed, and hear what the ears of the chosen ones and the beloved have never heard. Be patient, be patient, O hidden Mystery of God, His treasured Symbol, His irrevocable Word, and His sealed Book.’

621

و كنت معهم فى تلك الليلة خاطبتهم و خاطبونى الى ان قرب الفجر و ارفعت رأسى عن النّوم و كنت متفكّراً فى نفسى ما بلآء الّذى ما شهده احد فى الابداع و ما حكيته عند احد الى ان حضر تلقآء الوجه احد من علمآء العراق الّذى سمّى بعبد السّلام افندى فلمّا حضر القيناه و اخبرناه و قصصنا له ما ارانى اللّه فى المنام و هو حزن تلقآء الوجه بحزن عظيم كذلك كان الأمر و لكن النّاس هم فى غفلة مبين

Wa-kuntu maʿahum fī tilka al-laylati khāṭabtuhum wa-khāṭabūnī ilā an qaruba al-fajr wa-arfaʿtu raʾsī ʿan al-nawm wa-kuntu mutafakkiran fī nafsī mā balāʾ alladhī mā shahidahu aḥadun fī al-ibdāʿ wa-mā ḥakaytuhu ʿinda aḥadin ilā an ḥaḍara tilqāʾa al-wajh aḥadun min ʿulamāʾ al-ʿIrāq alladhī summiya bi-ʿAbd al-Salām Afandī fa-lammā ḥaḍara alqaynāhu wa-akhbarnāhu wa-qaṣaṣnā lahu mā arānī Allāhu fī al-manām wa-huwa ḥazina tilqāʾa al-wajh bi-ḥuznin ʿaẓīm kadhālika kāna al-amr wa-lākinna al-nāsa hum fī ghaflatin mubīn.

“I was with them that night, speaking to them and hearing them speak to Me, until dawn drew near and I raised My head from sleep. I wondered within Myself what this affliction could be that no one in creation had witnessed. I told no one of it until one of the scholars of Iraq, named ʿAbd al-Salām Afandī, came into My presence. When he arrived, We related it to him, informed him, and recounted to him what God had shown Me in the dream. He was deeply saddened in Our presence. Such was the matter, yet the people are in manifest heedlessness.”

622

اين رؤيائى است كه در عراق مشاهده فرموده و ذكر فرموده‌اند و در اين ایّام بعضى از آن تعبير شده چنانچه شنيده‌ايم از اقوال شما آنچه را كه احدى از قبل نشنيده و دیده‌ايم آنچه را نفسى نديده و فرمودند در كلّ احوال صابر و شاكريم و جميع مقصود آن نفوس اينست كه چرا حقّ ظاهر شده فو‌اللّه هذا لم يكن من عندى بل من لدن من ارسلنى بالحقّ و جعلنى رحمة على العالمين

Īn ruʾyāʾī ast kih dar ʿIrāq mushāhidih farmūdih va dhikr farmūdih-and va dar īn ayyām baʿḍī az ān taʿbīr shudih chunānchih shinīdih-īm az aqvāl-i shumā ānchih rā kih aḥadī az qabl nashnīdih va dīdih-īm ānchih rā nafsī nadīdih va farmūdand dar kull-i aḥvāl ṣābir va shākirīm va jamīʿ-i maqṣūd-i ān nufūs īnast kih chirā Ḥaqq ẓāhir shudih. Fa-wa-Allāh hādhā lam yakun min ʿindī bal min ladun man ar salanī bi-l-ḥaqq wa-jaʿalanī raḥmatan ʿalā al-ʿālamīn.

This is a dream that He saw in Iraq and recounted, and in these days part of it has been fulfilled: We have heard from your utterances what no one has ever heard before and have seen what no one has seen. He said, “In every circumstance We are patient and thankful.” The entire concern of those souls is why the True One has appeared. By God, this did not originate with Me, but with Him who sent Me with the truth and made Me a mercy to all the worlds.

623

قوله كبر غلّه مذكور نموده‌ بوديد كه زن در سرايه فرستاده عرض نموده‌اند اوّلا آنكه ظلم موجب زياده از اين خواهد بود علاوه مرحبا از شما كه با ادّعاى حقّیّت شما و زيركى زير آب‌كشى ديگر از انبیاء و اولیاء نموديد آيا بجهت فدك حضرت فاطمه دست حسنين را نگرفته و بدر مهاجر و انصار نبرده آفرين بر شما انتهى

Qawluhu, kabura ghilluhu: Madhkūr namūdih būdīd kih zan dar sarāyih firistādih ʿarḍ namūdih-and. Avvalan ānkih ẓulm mūjib-i ziyādih az īn khwāhad būd. ʿAlāvih marḥabā az shumā kih bā iddiʿā-yi ḥaqqiyyat-i shumā va zīrakī zīr-āb-kashī-yi dīgar az anbiyā va awliyā namūdīd. Āyā bi-jahat-i Fadak Ḥaḍrat-i Fāṭimih dast-i Ḥasanayn rā nagiriftih va bi-dar-i Muhājir va Anṣār naburdih? Āfarīn bar shumā. Intahā.

His words—great is his rancor: “You mentioned that they had sent a woman to the government residence to present a petition. First, oppression will lead to more than this. Moreover, bravo to you! With your claim to being in the right and your cleverness, you have made yet another attempt to undermine the Prophets and holy ones. Did not Her Holiness Fāṭimih, for the sake of Fadak, take Ḥasan and Ḥusayn by the hand and bring them to the doors of the Emigrants and the Helpers? Well done!” End of quotation.

624

صه لسانك يا ايّها الكافر باللّه ثمّ صه لسانك يا ايّها المشرك باللّه ثمّ صه لسانك يا ايّها المحارب باللّه

Ṣah lisānaka yā ayyuhā al-kāfir bi-Allāh thumma ṣah lisānaka yā ayyuhā al-mushrik bi-Allāh thumma ṣah lisānaka yā ayyuhā al-muḥārib bi-Allāh.

Silence your tongue, you who disbelieve in God! Again, silence your tongue, you who associate partners with God! Again, silence your tongue, you who wage war against God!

625

ولو اكررّ تلك الكلمة من حینئذ الى آخر الّذى لا آخر له لتكون مستحقّاً بها بل لا تذكر عند ما ارتكبت فى جنب اللّه يا ايّها الغافل عن امر اللّه و المستكبر على نفس اللّه

Wa-law ukarrir tilka al-kalimata min ḥīniʾidhin ilā ākhir alladhī lā ākhira lahu la-takūna mustaḥiqqan bihā bal lā tudhkaru ʿinda mā irtakabta fī janb Allāh yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil ʿan amr Allāh wa-l-mustakbir ʿalā nafs Allāh.

Even if I repeated those words from this moment until the end that has no end, you would deserve them. Indeed, they are nothing beside what you have committed against God, you who are heedless of the Cause of God and arrogant toward God Himself.

626

بعد از ورود اين ارض جمال مبارك و حضرت كليم و ميرزا يحيى هر يك در بيت عليحدّه مقرّ داشتند و اين ارض محلّى نيست كه نفسى بنفسى ظلم نمايد و ظلمى را كه مشرك باللّه ارتكاب نمود در وقتى بود كه تفريق كبرى واقع نشده بود و بعد از ظهور ما فى صدره تفصيل و تفريق واقع چنانچه ذكر شد و ابداً ديگر ملاقات نشده و گفتگوى لسانى هم بميان نيامده فاسئل من اهل تلك الأرض لكى تجد الى الصّدق سبيل

Baʿd az vurūd-i īn arḍ Jamāl-i Mubārak va Ḥaḍrat-i Kalīm va Mīrzā Yaḥyā har yak dar bayt-i ʿalāḥaddih maqarr dāshtand va īn arḍ maḥallī nīst kih nafsī bi-nafsī ẓulm namāyad va ẓulmī rā kih mushrik bi-Allāh irtikāb namūd dar vaqtī būd kih tafrīq-i kubrā vāqiʿ nashudih būd va baʿd az ẓuhūr-i mā fī ṣadrihi tafṣīl va tafrīq vāqiʿ chunānchih dhikr shud va abadan dīgar mulāqāt nashudih va guftugū-yi lisānī ham bi-miyān nayāmadih. Fa-sʾal min ahl tilka al-arḍ li-kay tajida ilā al-ṣidq sabīl.

After arriving in this land, the Blessed Beauty, His Holiness Kalīm, and Mīrzā Yaḥyā each resided in a separate house. This land is not a place where one person can oppress another. The wrong committed by the one who associates partners with God took place before the Most Great Separation had occurred. After what lay within his breast was revealed, the division and separation took place, as has been mentioned. Since then there has never been another meeting, nor has any spoken exchange taken place. Ask the people of that land, so that you may find a path to the truth.

627

و ديگر آنكه مملكت مال دولت عليّه و در اين ارض جميع مسجون و غريب و بعد از اظهار ما فى سرّه احدى معاشرت ننموده‌جز درويش صدقعلى كه بجهت خدمات او مراوده مينمود و هم‌چنين يك نفر در خدمت جمال اقدس و يكنفر هم خدمت حضرت كليم و باقى اصحاب كلّ در منزلهاى عليحدّه متفرّق ديگر اين ظلم چه بوده و از چه رو وارد شده با آنكه جميع ذرّات ميدانند كه سبب ظلم آن ظالم بود كه ايشان بافتضاح خود راضى شدند و تفريق فرمودند

Va dīgar ānkih mamlakat māl-i Dawlat-i ʿAliyyih va dar īn arḍ jamīʿ masjūn va gharīb va baʿd az iẓhār-i mā fī sirrihi aḥadī muʿāsharat nanamūdih juz Darvīsh Ṣidqʿalī kih bi-jahat-i khadamāt-i ū murāvadih mīnamūd va hamchunīn yak nafar dar khidmat-i Jamāl-i Aqdas va yak nafar ham khidmat-i Ḥaḍrat-i Kalīm va bāqī aṣḥāb kull dar manzilhā-yi ʿalāḥaddih mutafarriq. Dīgar īn ẓulm chih būdih va az chih rū vārid shudih bā ānkih jamīʿ-i dharrāt mīdānand kih sabab-i ẓulm ān ẓālim būd kih īshān bi-iftiḍāḥ-i khud rāḍī shudand va tafrīq farmūdand.

Moreover, the country belongs to the Ottoman government, and in this land all are prisoners and strangers. After he disclosed what lay hidden within him, no one associated with him except Darvīsh Ṣidqʿalī, who visited him to attend to his needs. Likewise, one person served the Most Holy Beauty and one served His Holiness Kalīm, while all the other companions were dispersed in separate dwellings. What, then, was this oppression, and how did it come about? Every atom knows that the cause of the wrongdoing was that oppressor, who consented to his own disgrace and brought about the separation.

628

و مع‌ذلك تقول ما لا تشعر اصل شجره ظلم را عدل شمرده و شجره فضل و عدل را ظالم دانسته هذا مكر منك و منهم فى امر اللّه آنقدر درايت ندارى كه سخنى استماع نمودى تفكّر كنى در همان ایّام كه زنش بسرايه رفته فو‌اللّه كه در اوّل ماه مخصوص او از آن زخرفيكه در هر شهر مياوردند مع يك بقچه اسباب درويش كه مباشر او بود الآن موجود است برده و چند نفر هم مجدّد در اين ارض وارد شده بودند كلّ مطّلع از جمله جناب ميرزا حيدر على و سلمان و استاد عبد الكريم از اهل صاد و مع‌ذلك مخصوصاً زن بسرايه فرستاده و بهمين لفظ گفته نسبت بجمال ابهى كه ما را آورده و نان و لباس بما نميدهد و افتضاحى در اين ارض برپاشد كه يكى از قنصلهاى اين ارض بسيار تعجّب نموده ‌بشخصى ذكر نمود كه امروز امر عجبی‌ واقع شده و جميع اعجام بشماتت برخواستند كه در اين طايفه عصمت و عفّت نيست

Va maʿa dhālik taqūlu mā lā tashʿur. Aṣl-i shajariy-i ẓulm rā ʿadl shumurdih va shajariy-i faḍl va ʿadl rā ẓālim dānistih. Hādhā makrun minka wa-minhum fī amr Allāh. Ānqadr dirāyat nadārī kih sukhanī istimāʿ namūdī tafakkur kunī dar hamān ayyām kih zanash bi-sarāyih raftih. Fa-wa-Allāh kih dar avval-i māh makhṣūṣ-i ū az ān zukhrufī kih dar har shahr mīāvardand maʿ yak buqchih asbāb Darvīsh kih mubāshir-i ū būd al-ān mawjūd ast burdih va chand nafar ham mujaddad dar īn arḍ vārid shudih būdand kull muṭṭaliʿ az jumlih Jināb-i Mīrzā Ḥaydar ʿAlī va Salmān va Ustād ʿAbd al-Karīm az ahl-i Ṣād va maʿa dhālik makhṣūṣan zan bi-sarāyih firistādih va bi-hamīn lafẓ guftih nisbat bi-Jamāl-i Abhā kih mā rā āvardih va nān va libās bi-mā namīdihad va iftiḍāḥī dar īn arḍ bar-pā shud kih yakī az qunṣulhā-yi īn arḍ bisyār taʿajjub namūdih bi-shakhṣī dhikr namūd kih imrūz amr-i ʿajabī vāqiʿ shudih va jamīʿ-i aʿjām bi-shamātat bar-khāstand kih dar īn ṭāʾifih ʿiṣmat va ʿiffat nīst.

Yet you say what you do not understand. You have accounted the very root of the tree of oppression to be justice, and have judged the tree of grace and justice to be oppressive. This is a plot by you and them against the Cause of God. You do not have enough discernment to reflect on something you have heard. In those very days when his wife went to the government residence—by God—at the beginning of the month, Darvīsh, who acted as his agent and is still alive, had taken his allotted portion of the money brought in each city, together with a bundle of belongings. Several people had also newly arrived in this land, and all knew of it, including Jināb-i Mīrzā Ḥaydar ʿAlī, Salmān, and Ustād ʿAbd al-Karīm of the people of Ṣād. Yet he deliberately sent his wife to the government residence, and she said these very words about the All-Glorious Beauty: “He has brought us here and gives us neither bread nor clothing.” Such a scandal arose in this land that one of its consuls was greatly astonished and remarked to someone, “A strange thing has happened today.” All the Persians began to gloat, saying that this community had neither chastity nor decency.

629

و خود نفس غافلت آنقدر دانسته كه اگر يهود بر ايشان وارد شود بقدر مقدور زخرف فانيه از او منع نميشود مع‌ذلك نوشتى آنچه نوشتى و فدك را كثيف نمودى و لكن مطمئنّ باش كه در هر ارضى يك سيّدة النّسائى دارى و از آن رشته مراياى تام واحداً بعد واحد هم بسيار و در هر ارضى موجود دوازده سنه جمال ابهى در عراق تشريف داشتند و احدى از ايشان امرى كه فى‌الجمله مغاير و مخالف باشد نديده از جميع اهل عراق سؤال كن حال از آن رشته مراياى تام واحداً بعد واحد يكى در عراق است بايد از اهل عراق احوال او را پرسيد باو نوشته انّا جعلناك على العالمين نوراً منيراً و هم‌چنين هو النّور فى النّور و انّ مثل نوره كنور نور من نور اللّه و بامّ الفواحش اين آيهء مباركه قرآن را بعينه نوشته يا مريم اقنتى لربّك و اسجدى و اركعى مع الرّاكعين انّ اللّه طهّرك و اصطفاك على نسآء العالمين حال حظّ كن از آن سيّدة النّسآء و از آن مرآت تام كاش آنجا هم ميرفتى و يك سجده مينمودى لعن اللّه الّذين تحرّفوا كلمة اللّه عن موضعها و اعرضوا عن جماله و اتّخذوا لانفسهم عجلاً من دونه فما لهؤلآء لا يكادون يفقهون ذكراً من اللّه العلىّ العظيم

Va khud nafs-i ghāfilat ānqadr dānistih kih agar Yahūd bar īshān vārid shavad bi-qadr-i maqdūr zukhruf-i fāniyih az ū manʿ namīshavad. Maʿa dhālik nivishtī ānchih nivishtī va Fadak rā kathīf namūdī va lākin muṭmaʾinn bāsh kih dar har arḍī yak Sayyidat al-Nisāʾī dārī va az ān rishtih marāyā-yi tāmm wāḥidan baʿda wāḥid ham bisyār va dar har arḍī mawjūd. Davāzdah sanih Jamāl-i Abhā dar ʿIrāq tashrīf dāshtand va aḥadī az īshān amrī kih fī-l-jumlih mughāyir va mukhālif bāshad nadīdih. Az jamīʿ-i ahl-i ʿIrāq suʾāl kun. Ḥāl az ān rishtih marāyā-yi tāmm wāḥidan baʿda wāḥid yakī dar ʿIrāq ast bāyad az ahl-i ʿIrāq aḥvāl-i ū rā pursīd. Bi-ū nivishtih innā jaʿalnāka ʿalā al-ʿālamīn nūran munīran va hamchunīn huwa al-nūr fī al-nūr wa-inna mathala nūrihi ka-nūri nūrin min nūr Allāh va bi-Umm al-Favāḥish īn āyiy-i mubārakiy-i Qurʾān rā bi-ʿaynihi nivishtih yā Maryam uqnutī li-rabbiki wa-sjudī wa-rkaʿī maʿa al-rākiʿīn inna Allāha ṭahharaki wa-ṣṭafāki ʿalā nisāʾ al-ʿālamīn. Ḥāl ḥaẓẓ kun az ān Sayyidat al-Nisāʾ va az ān mirʾāt-i tāmm. Kāsh ānjā ham mīraftī va yak sajdih mīnamūdī. Laʿana Allāhu alladhīna taḥarrafū kalimat Allāh ʿan mawḍiʿihā wa-aʿraḍū ʿan jamālihi wa-ttakhadhū li-anfusihim ʿijlan min dūnihi fa-mā li-hāʾulāʾ lā yakādūna yafqahūna dhikran min Allāh al-ʿAliyy al-ʿAẓīm.

Your own heedless self knows at least this much: if a Jew came to Him, such perishable wealth as was available would not be withheld from him. Yet you wrote what you wrote and sullied Fadak. But rest assured that in every land you have a “Mistress of Women,” and many of that succession of “perfect mirrors, one after another,” are to be found in every land. The All-Glorious Beauty resided in Iraq for twelve years, and no one saw Him do anything even remotely improper or contrary to what is right. Ask all the people of Iraq. Now, one of that succession of “perfect mirrors, one after another,” is in Iraq: you should ask the people of Iraq about him. He wrote to him, “We have made you a shining light to all the worlds,” and likewise, “He is the light within the light, and the likeness of his light is as the light of a light from the light of God.” To the Mother of Obscenities he wrote this blessed verse of the Quran, word for word: “O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord, prostrate yourself, and bow with those who bow. God has purified you and chosen you above the women of all the worlds.” Now take pleasure in that “Mistress of Women” and that “perfect mirror”! If only you had gone there too and performed a prostration! May God curse those who have displaced the word of God from its proper place, turned away from His Beauty, and taken a calf for themselves in His stead. What is wrong with these people that they can scarcely understand a word from God, the Most High, the Almighty?

630

و اللّه ناله مينمايم و اين كلمات مينويسم چه كه امر بجائى رسيده كه بايد بچنين اذكار مشغول شد قد ضيّعتم حرمة اللّه و حرمة انفسكم قلب را از كثافات اوهام مشركين طاهر نما و ذكر انبیاء و مرسلين را باذكار انفس مشركين مقترن منما چه كه جميع آن طلعات رحمن جان در سبيل محبوب داده و براى نان بكلّ من على الأرض اعتنا نفرموده‌اند حال انصاف ده تو از اهل قياسى با اين عباد كه چگونه فعلى را بچه فعلى قياس نموده ‌فانصف لتنصف ثمّ ارحم امر الّذى سفك فى سبيله دمآء المقرّبين و عباد اللّه المخلصين

Va-Allāh nālih mīnamāyam va īn kalimāt mīnivīsam chih kih amr bi-jāʾī rasīdih kih bāyad bi-chunīn adhkār mashghūl shud. Qad ḍayyaʿtum ḥurmat Allāh wa-ḥurmat anfusikum. Qalb rā az kathāfāt-i awhām-i mushrikīn ṭāhir namā va dhikr-i anbiyā va mursalīn rā bi-adhkār-i anfus-i mushrikīn muqtarin manamā chih kih jamīʿ-i ān ṭalaʿāt-i Raḥmān jān dar sabīl-i Maḥbūb dādih va barā-yi nān bi-kull-i man ʿalā al-arḍ iʿtinā nafarmūdih-and. Ḥāl inṣāf dih tu az ahl-i qiyāsī bā īn ʿibād kih chigūnih fiʿlī rā bi-chih fiʿlī qiyās namūdih. Fa-anṣif li-tunṣaf thumma irḥam amr alladhī sufika fī sabīlihi dimāʾ al-muqarrabīn wa-ʿibād Allāh al-mukhliṣīn.

By God, I lament as I write these words, for matters have reached a point where such things must be discussed. You have dishonored God and yourselves. Purify your heart of the filth of the delusions of those who associate partners with God, and do not link mention of the Prophets and Messengers with accounts of those souls who associate partners with Him. All those Countenances of the All-Merciful gave their lives in the path of the Beloved and paid no heed to anyone on earth for the sake of bread. Now judge fairly: you are one who draws comparisons with these servants—what sort of deed have you compared to what other deed? Be fair, that you may be treated fairly, and have mercy on the Cause of Him in whose path the blood of those brought near and of God’s sincere servants has been shed.

631

قوله عظم كذبه عرض ديگر آنكه در باب آمدن حاجى سيّد محمّد در اسلامبول و خودم همه را مطّلعم و حضور داشتم شب اوّل آمده در سفارت جناب مشير الدّوله بودند و سركار حاجى ميرزا صفى و بنده و بس و مشير الدّوله باو گفت كه چرا آمده گفت بجهت استخلاص خود و عرض حال عالى پاشا را هم من ديدم تا آنكه رسولان ايشان آمدند و آغاز بدگوئى نمودند و او هم بجهت اين بدگوئيها بقدر لازم گفت انتهى

Qawluhu, ʿaẓuma kadhibuhu: ʿArḍ-i dīgar ānkih dar bāb-i āmadan-i Ḥājī Siyyid Muḥammad dar Islambūl va khudam hamih rā muṭṭaliʿam va ḥuḍūr dāshtam. Shab-i avval āmadih dar sifārat Jināb-i Mushīr al-Dawlih būdand va Sarkār Ḥājī Mīrzā Ṣafī va bandih va bas va Mushīr al-Dawlih bi-ū guft kih chirā āmadih guft bi-jahat-i istikhlāṣ-i khud va ʿarḍ-i ḥāl-i ʿĀlī Pāshā rā ham man dīdam tā ānkih rasūlān-i īshān āmadand va āghāz-i badgūʾī namūdand va ū ham bi-jahat-i īn badgūʾīhā bi-qadr-i lāzim guft. Intahā.

His words—great is his falsehood: “Another point I submit concerns the arrival of Ḥājī Siyyid Muḥammad in Istanbul. I myself know all about it and was present. On the first night he came to the embassy, Jināb-i Mushīr al-Dawlih was there, together with His Honor Ḥājī Mīrzā Ṣafī and myself, and no one else. Mushīr al-Dawlih asked him why he had come. He said, ‘To secure my release.’ I also saw the petition to ʿĀlī Pāshā. Then their messengers came and began to speak ill of him, and in response to this disparagement he too said as much as was necessary.” End of quotation.

632

قد سوّد اللّه وجه الكاذب اگر مخصوص استخلاص آمده سياهه نفوس را كه احدى مطّلع نبوده كه داده هشت نفر بودند بقلم داده بيست و يك نفريم و شش ماه معطّل شده تا آنكه بهزار تدليس وصل الى مقصوده و مقصود صاحبه باعوا يوسف الأمر بدراهم معدودة فافّ لهم و لوفائهم تاللّه بفعلهم ضيع امر اللّه بين النّاس

Qad sawwada Allāhu wajh al-kādhib. Agar makhṣūṣ-i istikhlāṣ āmadih siyāhiy-i nufūs rā kih aḥadī muṭṭaliʿ nabūdih kih dādih? Hasht nafar būdand bi-qalam dādih bīst va yak nafarīm va shash māh muʿaṭṭal shudih tā ānkih bi-hizār tadlīs waṣala ilā maqṣūdihi wa-maqṣūd ṣāḥibihi. Bāʿū Yūsuf al-amr bi-darāhima maʿdūdah fa-uffin lahum wa-li-wafāʾihim ta-Allāh bi-fiʿlihim ḍuyyiʿa amr Allāh bayna al-nās.

God has blackened the face of the liar. If he came solely to secure his release, who supplied the list of people, of which no one had any knowledge? There were eight of them, but he submitted in writing, “We are twenty-one.” He spent six months waiting until, through a thousand deceptions, he attained his own purpose and that of his companion. They sold the Joseph of the Cause for a few dirhams. Shame on them and their faithfulness! By God, through their actions the Cause of God was dishonored among the people.

633

و امرنامه كه از استامبول آمده نوشته‌اند كه بعضى از همرهان ايشان آمده و شكايت نموده‌اند كه ايشان بما نان نميدهند و الان آن امرنامه موجود مع‌ذلك نوشته آنچه را نوشته لعن اللّه الّذين بدّلوا حرمة اللّه بزخارف الدّنيا و اذا خلوا الى الشّياطين يتبرّئون من اللّه و امره ثمّ يكتبون الى الحمقآء من امثالهم انّا رؤسآء الأمر و مرایاء العباد و اثمار التّوحيد و اوراق التّجريد و لكن الّذين جعل اللّه بصرهم حديداً يشهدون و يطلعون بما ارتكبوا فى الحيوة الباطلة و لايشتبه عليهم لانّهم يجدون عن كلّ فعل من افعالهم روايح الكذب و النّفاق و التّزوير و الشّقاق و انّهم من جواهر الخلق بين عباد اللّه و بريّته و عليهم ذكر اللّه و ثنائه فى كلّ حين و بعد حين و حين حين

Va amr-nāme ke az Estāmbol āmade neveshte-and ke baʿżī az hamrahān-e īshān āmade va shekāyat namūde-and ke īshān be mā nān nemīdahand va al-ān ān amr-nāme mawjūd maʿa-dhālek neveshte ānche rā neveshte. Laʿana Allāhu alladhīna baddalū ḥurmata Allāhi bi-zakhārifi al-dunyā wa idhā khalaw ilā al-shayāṭīni yatabarraʾūna min Allāhi wa amrihi thumma yaktubūna ilā al-ḥumaqāʾi min amthālihim innā ruʾasāʾu al-amri wa marāyāʾu al-ʿibādi wa athmāru al-tawḥīdi wa awrāqu al-tajrīdi wa lākinna alladhīna jaʿala Allāhu baṣarahum ḥadīdan yashhadūna wa yaṭṭaliʿūna bi-mā irtakabū fī al-ḥayāti al-bāṭilati wa lā yashtabihu ʿalayhim li-annahum yajidūna ʿan kulli fiʿlin min afʿālihim rawāʾiḥa al-kadhibi wa al-nifāqi wa al-tazwīri wa al-shiqāqi wa innahum min jawāhiri al-khalqi bayna ʿibādi Allāhi wa bariyyatihi wa ʿalayhim dhikru Allāhi wa thanāʾuhu fī kulli ḥīnin wa baʿda ḥīnin wa ḥīna ḥīn.

In the official order that came from Istanbul, they wrote that some of his companions had come and complained, “He does not give us bread.” That order is still in existence, yet he has written what he has written. May God curse those who have bartered the honor of God for the vanities of this world, and who, when alone with the devils, disavow God and His Cause, then write to fools like themselves, “We are the leaders of the Cause, the mirrors of the servants, the fruits of divine unity, and the leaves of detachment.” But those whose sight God has made keen witness and perceive what they have committed in this vain life. They are not deceived, for in every one of their actions they detect the odors of falsehood, hypocrisy, deceit, and dissension. They are among the gems of creation amid the servants of God and His creatures. May God’s remembrance and praise rest upon them at every moment, time after time, and at all times.

634

و اللّه خوب مريدى هستى و خوب بستر فحشا مشغول شده بعد از شهود و لكن بر بصير خبير امر پوشيده نيست و مطّلعيم كه چه افتراها گفته و چگونه كمر قتل بسته حتّى گفته‌اند كه ايشان مخصوص آدم به طهران فرستاده‌اند بجهت امر شنيع لعنة اللّه على المفترين و الكاذبين

Va Allāh khūb morīdī hastī va khūb be satr-e faḥshā mashghūl shode baʿd az shohūd va lāken bar baṣīr-e khabīr amr pūshīde nīst va moṭṭaleʿīm ke che efterāhā gofte va chegūne kamar-e qatl baste ḥattā gofte-and ke īshān makhṣūṣ ādam be Ṭehrān ferestāde-and be jahat-e amr-e shanīʿ. Laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-muftarīna wa al-kādhibīn.

By God, what a fine disciple you are, and how diligently you have occupied yourself with concealing indecency after witnessing it! But the matter is not hidden from the All-Seeing, the All-Informed. We know what slanders he has uttered and how he has resolved upon murder. They have even said that He sent someone to Tehran expressly to carry out a shameful deed. May God’s curse be upon the slanderers and liars.

635

حال فعل حقّ را مشاهده كن كه بهمان مدينه وارد شدند و ابدا بكسى مراوده نفرمودند و در امر اللّه با نفسى مداهنه نشد و چون آن خبيث ديده كه سفير ايران مكدّر است از ايشان محض خدعه و تلبيس و نفاق با حقّ بآن مقرّ وارد و التجا نموده‌و گفته آنچه گفته اگر او استخلاص ميخواست كسى باو حرف نداشت او از حاجى ميرزا احمد معروف‌تر نبوده بهيچوجه و از سايرين كه رفته‌اند معتبرتر نه بلكه نزد بعضى ذكر نداشته فو‌اللّه كه مخصوص شهريه آمده چنانچه اين ارض هم عرايضى كه او و ميرزا يحيى بباب مشير نوشته‌اند موجود و

Ḥāl feʿl-e Ḥaqq rā moshāhede kon ke be hamān madīne vāred shodand va abadan be kasī morāvede nafarmūdand va dar amr-e Allāh bā nafsī modāhane nashod va chon ān khabīth dīde ke safīr-e Īrān mokaddar ast az īshān maḥż-e khodʿe va talbīs va nefāq bā Ḥaqq be ān maqarr vāred va eltejā namūde va gofte ānche gofte agar ū estekhlāṣ mīkhāst kasī bā ū ḥarf nadāsht ū az Ḥājī Mīrzā Aḥmad maʿrūf-tar nabūde be hīch vajh va az sāyerīn ke rafte-and moʿtabar-tar na balke nazd-e baʿżī dhekr nadāshte fa-wa-Allāh ke makhṣūṣ-e shahrīye āmade chenānche īn arż ham ʿarāyeżī ke ū va Mīrzā Yaḥyā be bāb-e moshīr neveshte-and mawjūd va

Now observe the conduct of the True One: He entered that same city and had no dealings with anyone, and no compromise was made with anyone concerning the Cause of God. But when that wicked man saw that the Persian ambassador was displeased with Him, he went to that residence and sought refuge there, solely to deceive, dissemble, and act hypocritically toward the True One, and said what he said. If he had wanted his release, no one would have objected. He was by no means better known than Ḥājī Mīrzā Aḥmad, nor more esteemed than the others who left; indeed, some had never even heard of him. By God, he came expressly for a stipend, as the petitions that he and Mīrzā Yaḥyā wrote to the office of the Mushīr are also here in this land, and

636

از استامبول جميع امور را از اينجا استفسار نمودند كه او ميگويد هفت نفر رفته‌اند و باقى بكسب مشغولند و من و ميرزا يحيى بيست و يكنفريم و شهريّه نداريم سركار والى مخصوص فرستاده و استفسار نموده‌كه باب عالى همچه ذكر نموده‌اند و تو مينويسى كه بجهت استخلاص بوده حال كه بمنتهى مراد خود رسيدند ايكاش كه ديگر باطراف ننويسند كه نان نداريم

Az Estāmbol jamīʿ-e omūr rā az īnjā estefsār namūdand ke ū mīgūyad haft nafar rafte-and va bāqī be kasb mashghūland va man va Mīrzā Yaḥyā bīst-o yek nafarīm va shahrīye nadārīm sarkār-e vālī makhṣūṣ ferestāde va estefsār namūde ke bāb-e ʿālī hamche dhekr namūde-and va to mīnevīsī ke be jahat-e estekhlāṣ būde ḥāl ke be montahā-ye morād-e khod resīdand ey kāsh ke dīgar be aṭrāf nanevīsand ke nān nadārīm.

From Istanbul they inquired here about all these matters, saying, “He says that seven people have left and the rest are occupied in earning a living, while Mīrzā Yaḥyā and I number twenty-one and have no stipend.” His Excellency the Governor sent someone expressly to inquire, saying that the Sublime Porte had reported this. Yet you write that it was to secure his release. Now that they have attained the utmost of their desire, if only they would stop writing far and wide that they have no bread!

637

حال انصاف ده آن فعل حقّ و اين فعل اين گروه از كدام رايحه حقّ استشمام ميشود و اللّه چنين رؤسا از براى امثال شما بسيار خوبند و همچه مدان كه سفير ايران غافلند لا و اللّه يومى آيد كه خود ايشان تصديق بر فعل حقّ نمايند و منكر فعل آن نفوس شوند و اگر هم بر تو مشتبه شود بر ايشان مشتبه نخواهد شد

Ḥāl enṣāf deh ān feʿl-e Ḥaqq va īn feʿl-e īn gorūh az kodām rāyeḥe-ye Ḥaqq esteshamām mīshavad va Allāh chonīn roʾasā az barā-ye amthāl-e shomā besyār khūband va hamche madān ke safīr-e Īrān ghāfeland lā va Allāh yawmī āyad ke khod-e īshān taṣdīq bar feʿl-e Ḥaqq namāyand va monker-e feʿl-e ān nofūs shavand va agar ham bar to moshtabeh shavad bar īshān moshtabeh nakhwāhad shod.

Now judge fairly: that is the conduct of the True One, and this is the conduct of this group. From which can the fragrance of truth be perceived? By God, such leaders are very well suited to people like you. Do not imagine that the Persian ambassador is unaware. No, by God! A day will come when he himself will affirm the conduct of the True One and repudiate the conduct of those people. Even if you are deceived, he will not be.

638

و ديگر رسولان را ندانستم كه را گفته اگر مقصود جناب عبد حاضر لدى الوجه بوده و اللّه مخصوص امرى آمده در آن مدينه كه هيچ دخلى باو نداشته چنانچه نزد احدى نرفته جميع شاهد و گواهند كه آن نفس خبيث در اين ارض جميع افعال شنيعه قبيحه را بحقّ نسبت داده و ذر آن ارض هم گفته‌اند آنچه را كه احدى در حقّ احدى نگفته عبد حاضر لدى الوجه حال ميگويد خود نفس كاذبت نيامدى و مذكور ننمودى كه سيّد محمّد چنين و چنان ميگويد و چه مقدار كلمات نالايقه در حقّ ايشان ذكر نمودى كه او ميگويد حتّى مذكور نمودى كه از براى شهريه خوب نيست حرف گفته شود هر قسم هست اصلاح شود

Va dīgar rasūlān rā nadānestam ke rā gofte agar maqṣūd janāb-e ʿabd-e ḥāżer ladā al-wajh būde va Allāh makhṣūṣ-e amrī āmade dar ān madīne ke hīch dakhlī bā ū nadāshte chenānche nazd-e aḥadī narafte jamīʿ shāhed va govāhand ke ān nafs-e khabīth dar īn arż jamīʿ-e afʿāl-e shanīʿe-ye qabīḥe rā be Ḥaqq nesbat dāde va [corrupted text] ān arż ham gofte-and ānche rā ke aḥadī dar ḥaqq-e aḥadī nagofte ʿabd-e ḥāżer ladā al-wajh ḥāl mīgūyad khod-e nafs-e kādhebat nayāmadī va madhkūr nanamūdī ke Siyyid Moḥammad chonīn va chonān mīgūyad va che meqdār kalemāt-e nālāyeqe dar ḥaqq-e īshān dhekr namūdī ke ū mīgūyad ḥattā madhkūr namūdī ke az barā-ye shahrīye khūb nīst ḥarf gofte shavad har qesm hast eṣlāḥ shavad.

As for the messengers, I do not know whom he meant. If he meant His Honor, the servant present before the Face, by God, he came to that city for a particular matter that had nothing to do with him, and he visited no one. All are witnesses and can testify that in this land that wicked man attributed every shameful and vile deed to the True One, and [corrupted original text] that land too they have said what no one has ever said of anyone. The servant present before the Face now says: “Did you not come yourself, liar that you are, and report that Siyyid Muḥammad was saying such and such? How many unseemly statements about Him did you repeat, saying that he was uttering them! You even said that it was not good for talk to arise over the stipend and that the matter should be settled somehow.”

639

و من در جواب گفتم كه معارضه نبوده و نخواهد بود اعراض از آن نفوس لامر اللّه واقع شده نه لاجل امور ظاهره جميع شهريه را واگذارند بآن نفوس مشركه جنگى و جدالى نبوده و در مجالس متعدّده از تو خواستم كه در يك مقرّ با او مجتمع شويم تا بر تو ثابت گردد كه آنچه گفته بافتراى محض نسبت داده آمدى گفتى كه قبول نميكند

Va man dar javāb goftam ke moʿāreże nabūde va nakhwāhad būd eʿrāż az ān nofūs li-amri Allāh vāqeʿ shode na li-ajl-e omūr-e ẓāhere jamīʿ-e shahrīye rā vāgod hārand be ān nofūs-e moshreke jangī va jedālī nabūde va dar majāles-e motaʿaddede az to khwāstam ke dar yek maqarr bā ū mojtameʿ shavīm tā bar to thābet gardad ke ānche gofte be efterā-ye maḥż nesbat dāde āmadī goftī ke qabūl nemīkonad.

“I replied that there had been no dispute and would be none. Our turning away from those people was for the sake of the Cause of God, not for outward concerns. Let them give the entire stipend to those idolatrous souls; there has been no quarrel or contention. On several occasions I asked you to arrange for us to meet with him in one place, so that it would become clear to you that everything he had said was sheer slander. You came back and said that he would not agree.”

640

فو‌اللّه كلّ وجود متحيّرند از كذب شما و افتراى ما اى بی‌‌درايت سالها اين ميرزا يحيى در خدمت ايشان بوده آيا هيچ شنيده كه نفسى از منتسبين ايشان حرف بد و يا مكروهى نسبت باو گفته باشد هر جاهلى ميداند كه آنچه واقع شود افتضاح امر بوده و خواهد بود و اللّه كه هميشه فرموده‌اند كه راضى بودم هزار مرتبه شهيد شوم و اين امور بين ناس ذكر نشود كه يكى از منتسبين ايشان براى نان شكايت نموده‌و بشهرها عريضه فرستاده لعن اللّه الّذين ارتكبوا ما ناح به كلّ شیء و احترقت عنه اكباد المقرّبين

Fa-wa-Allāh koll-e vojūd motaḥayyerand az kedhb-e shomā va efterā-ye mā ey bī-derāyat sālhā īn Mīrzā Yaḥyā dar khedmat-e īshān būde āyā hīch shenīde ke nafsī az montasebīn-e īshān ḥarf-e bad va yā makrūhī nesbat be ū gofte bāshad har jāhelī mīdānad ke ānche vāqeʿ shavad efteżāḥ-e amr būde va khwāhad būd va Allāh ke hamīshe farmūde-and ke rāżī būdam hezār martabe shahīd shavam va īn omūr beyn-e nās dhekr nashavad ke yekī az montasebīn-e īshān barā-ye nān shekāyat namūde va be shahrhā ʿarīże ferestāde laʿana Allāhu alladhīna irtakabū mā nāḥa bihi kullu shayʾin wa iḥtaraqat ʿanhu akbādu al-muqarrabīn.

By God, all existence is bewildered by your lies and our fabrications! You who lack understanding! For years this Mīrzā Yaḥyā was in His service. Has he ever heard anyone associated with Him say anything bad or offensive about him? Even an ignorant person knows that whatever happens has brought, and will bring, disgrace upon the Cause. By God, He has always said, “I would willingly be martyred a thousand times rather than have these matters spoken of among the people—that one of those associated with Him has complained about bread and sent petitions to the cities.” May God curse those who have committed what has caused all things to lament and the hearts of those brought near to Him to burn.

641

فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه جميع اين عباد راضى بوديم كه كشته شويم و اين حرفها بميان نيايد آنچه حال ميگوئيم مكلّفيم چه كه مشاهده ميشود كه جمعى كمر بسته‌اند در هتك حرمت امر اللّه چه كه متديّن بدينى نبوده و نيستند و لاجل رياست خود را بمهلكه انداخته و مياندازند قريب پنج سنه در اين ارض توقّف شده و ابدا نفسى بباب عالى نفرستاده‌اند و مطلبی‌ اظهار نشده و آنچه وارد شده حرمة لأمر اللّه صبر نموده‌ايم و لكن آن خبيث مرتكب شده امرى را كه نفسى از قبل مرتكب نشده اميدواريم كه بمقصود خود نرسند چنانچه حرمت يك سلسله را تمام نمود او كه شأنى نداشته و نخواهد داشت

Fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke jamīʿ-e īn ʿebād rāżī būdīm ke koshte shavīm va īn ḥarfhā be miyān nayāyad ānche ḥāl mīgūyīm mokallafīm che ke moshāhede mīshavad ke jamʿī kamar baste-and dar hatk-e ḥormat-e amr-e Allāh che ke motadayyen be dīnī nabūde va nīstand va li-ajl-e reyāsat khod rā be mahlake andākhte va mīandāzand qarīb-e panj sane dar īn arż tavaqqof shode va abadan nafsī be bāb-e ʿālī naferestāde-and va maṭlabī eẓhār nashode va ānche vāred shode ḥurmatan li-amri Allāh ṣabr namūde-īm va lāken ān khabīth mortakeb shode amrī rā ke nafsī az qabl mortakeb nashode omīdvārīm ke be maqṣūd-e khod narasand chenānche ḥormat-e yek selsele rā tamām namūd ū ke shaʾnī nadāshte va nakhwāhad dāsht.

By God, besides whom there is no god, all of us servants would willingly have been killed rather than have such things brought up. We are duty-bound to say what we now say, for we see that a group has resolved to violate the honor of the Cause of God. They have never adhered to any religion and still do not, and for the sake of leadership they have cast themselves, and continue to cast themselves, into destruction. We have resided in this land for nearly five years, and He has never sent anyone to the Sublime Porte, nor has any request been made. Whatever has befallen us, we have borne patiently out of reverence for the Cause of God. But that wicked man has committed what no one has ever committed before. We hope they will not attain their aim, for he has utterly destroyed the honor of an entire community. He himself has never had, and will never have, any standing.

642

خود انصاف ده اسم او در كجا مذكور بوده اولياى دولت عليه كجا او را ميشناخته‌اند بسبب كه معروف شده خود تو ميدانى و لكن بغضآء للّه ستر مينمائى و انت من الّذين غطّيت عيوب المشركين و ما ارتكبوا لتّضييع حرمة اللّه كذلك جرى الأمر حینئذ من هذا القلم المتكلّم الصّادق الأمين

Khod enṣāf deh esm-e ū dar kojā madhkūr būde awliyā-ye dawlat-e ʿalīye kojā ū rā mīshenākhte-and be sabab-e ke maʿrūf shode khod-e to mīdānī va lāken bughḍan li-llāh satr mīnamāʾī wa anta mina alladhīna ghaṭṭayta ʿuyūba al-mushrikīna wa mā irtakabū li-taḍyīʿi ḥurmati Allāhi kadhālika jarā al-amru ḥīnaʾidhin min hādhā al-qalami al-mutakallimi al-ṣādiqi al-amīn.

Judge fairly yourself: where had his name ever been mentioned? How had the officials of the exalted government ever known him? You yourself know through whom he became known, but out of hatred for God you conceal it. You are among those who have covered up the faults of the idolaters and what they have committed to dishonor God. Thus has the matter now issued from this speaking Pen, the truthful, the trustworthy.

643

قوله كبر حمقه خيلى خيلى عجب است از شما كه قريب بيست سال است ميرزا يحيى را بخدائى پرستيديد كه خود مطّلعم در اصفهان در نزد خودم اقرار نموديد حال مردود شده به آقا ميرزا محمّد على و ميرزا ابوالحسن و ديگران و ميرزا حسين ورزنه چه جواب بگويم كه فلانيها هر روز بيكى ميچسبند و يكى را حقّ ميدانند و بعد باطل مينمايند اين از عدم تميز آنها است بجهت آنكه حقّ باطل نميشود و اين تناقض است دين اينها بوالهوسى است چنانچه ميرزا ابوالحسن در طهران بمن گفت حيف از شما بچه دليل اوّل حقّ بود و خدا و حال باطل است و عبد كافر اى به به عجب يك انصاف از شما ميپرسم شما را بخدا اين است در بعضى مقامات با شما در وقتى حركت كرده كه در عرض هم بوديم حالا را هر يك بديگرى نميتوانيم برترى نمائيم اگر چه هر قدر كامل شده باشيم انتهى

Qawluhu kabura ḥumquhu kheylī kheylī ʿajab ast az shomā ke qarīb-e bīst sāl ast Mīrzā Yaḥyā rā be khodāʾī parastīdīd ke khod moṭṭaleʿam dar Eṣfahān dar nazd-e khodam eqrār namūdīd ḥāl mardūd shode be Āqā Mīrzā Moḥammad ʿAlī va Mīrzā Abu’l-Ḥasan va dīgarān va Mīrzā Ḥoseyn-e Varzane che javāb begūyam ke folānīhā har rūz be yekī mīchasband va yekī rā ḥaqq mīdānand va baʿd bāṭel mīnamāyand īn az ʿadam-e tamīz-e ānhā ast be jahat-e ānke ḥaqq bāṭel nemīshavad va īn tanāqoż ast dīn-e īnhā bū’l-havasī ast chenānche Mīrzā Abu’l-Ḥasan dar Ṭehrān be man goft ḥeyf az shomā be che dalīl avval ḥaqq būd va khodā va ḥāl bāṭel ast va ʿabd-e kāfer ey bah bah ʿajab yek enṣāf az shomā mīporsam shomā rā be khodā īn ast dar baʿżī maqāmāt bā shomā dar vaqtī ḥarakat karde ke dar ʿarż-e ham būdīm ḥālā rā har yek be dīgarī nemītavānīm bartarī namāʾīm agar che har qadr kāmel shode bāshīm intahā.

His words—great is his folly: “It is very, very astonishing that for nearly twenty years you worshipped Mīrzā Yaḥyā as God. I know this myself, for you admitted it in my own presence in Isfahan. Now he has been rejected. What answer should I give Āqā Mīrzā Muḥammad ʿAlī, Mīrzā Abu’l-Ḥasan, the others, and Mīrzā Ḥusayn of Varzanih, who say that these people attach themselves to someone new every day, consider someone to be the truth, and then declare him false? This is due to their lack of discernment, because truth does not become falsehood, and this is a contradiction. Their religion is caprice. As Mīrzā Abu’l-Ḥasan said to me in Tehran, ‘What a pity for you! On what grounds was he at first the truth and God, and now false and an unbelieving servant?’ Oh, bravo! How astonishing! I ask you for just one fair judgment, for God’s sake! This is someone who, on certain occasions, associated with you at a time when we were on an equal footing. At present neither of us can claim superiority over the other, however much we may have advanced in perfection.” End of quotation.

644

اوّلا اين بحث بر شما و امثال شما وارد چه كه سالها نفوسى را پيشوا ميدانستيد كه اخبث از آن نفوس در ابداع نيامده چنانچه بحكم آن نفوس مظهر نفس الهى را بتمام ظلم شهيد نمودند و ثانياً اينكه اين عباد باو خلوص داشته‌ايم و مقرّيم چه كه در كلمات حضرت ابهى بعضى اوصاف مشاهده ميشد و همچه گمان مينموديم كه مرجع آن اوصاف نفس موهوم است الى ان كشف اللّه لنا ما كشف و اطّلعنا من افعاله ما لا فعله النّمرود و لا الفرعون و لذا كسّرنا صنم الوهم و عرفنا ما هو المقصود فى كلماته الابدع البديع ثمّ اطّلعنا به و باصل امره ما كان مقنوعا عنك و عن مثلائك و انّك لو تعرف لتفرّ منه و تشقّ سبحات الجلال و تتوجّه الى مشرق الجمال و تكون من الموقنين

Avvalan īn baḥth bar shomā va amthāl-e shomā vāred che ke sālhā nofūsī rā pīshvā mīdānestīd ke akhbath az ān nofūs dar ebdāʿ nayāmade chenānche be ḥokm-e ān nofūs maẓhar-e nafs-e elāhī rā be tamām-e ẓolm shahīd namūdand va thāniyan īnke īn ʿebād bā ū kholūṣ dāshte-īm va moqerrīm che ke dar kalemāt-e Ḥażrat-e Abhā baʿżī awṣāf moshāhede mīshod va hamche gomān mīnamūdīm ke marjaʿ-e ān awṣāf nafs-e mawhūm ast ilā an kashafa Allāhu lanā mā kashafa wa iṭṭalaʿnā min afʿālihi mā lā faʿalahu al-Nimrūdu wa lā al-Firʿawnu wa li-dhā kassar nā ṣanama al-wahmi wa ʿarafnā mā huwa al-maqṣūdu fī kalimātihi al-abdaʿi al-badīʿi thumma iṭṭalaʿnā bihi wa bi-aṣli amrihi mā kāna maqnūʿan ʿanka wa ʿan muthalāʾika wa innaka law taʿrifu la-tafirru minhu wa tashuqqu subuḥāti al-jalāli wa tatawajjahu ilā mashriqi al-jamāli wa takūnu mina al-mūqinīn.

First, this objection applies to you and those like you, for years you regarded as leaders people more wicked than any who have ever appeared in creation. It was at their command that the Manifestation of the divine Self was martyred with the utmost cruelty. Second, we admit that we servants were sincerely devoted to him, for certain descriptions appeared in the words of His Most Glorious Presence, and we supposed that those descriptions referred to that imagined person, until God revealed to us what He revealed, and we learned of deeds of his that neither Nimrod nor Pharaoh had committed. Therefore we shattered the idol of delusion and recognized what was intended in His most wondrous and incomparable words. Then we learned about him and the true nature of his affair what had been concealed from you and those like you. If you knew, you would flee from him, tear through the veils of glory, turn toward the Dawning-Place of Beauty, and be among those who are certain.

645

حمد ميكنيم خدا را كه ببازوى توكّل و انقطاع صنم وهم را شكستيم و بشريعه يقين وارد شديم و كاش تو هم ميبودى و ببصر خود مشاهده مينمودى نحمد اللّه بذلك و نشكره فى كلّ حين فو‌اللّه اگر ذرّه انصاف در تو ميبود هرآينه بايد ليل و نهار باوصاف اين عباد متكلّم شوى چه كه فعل ما بر دين ما گواهى است صادق و شاهدى است واضح و آشكار چه كه سلاسل تقليد را شكستيم و بحقّ فايز گشتيم و از وهميكه جميع قلوب را اخذ نموده ‌بود فارغ شديم اى فقير بی‌‌بضاعت بسيار بسيار در وهم مستغرقى فيا ليت رايته و عرفته و اطلعت بما عنده كاش ملاقات شده بود و از عرفانيكه در مجالس ذكر مينمود مذكور ميامد و مطّلع ميشدى از آنچه اين ایّام از او محتجبی‌

Ḥamd mīkonīm Khodā rā ke be bāzū-ye tavakkol va enqeṭāʿ ṣanam-e vahm rā shekastīm va be sharīʿe-ye yaqīn vāred shodīm va kāsh to ham mībūdī va be baṣar-e khod moshāhede mīnamūdī naḥmadu Allāha bi-dhālika wa nashkuruhu fī kulli ḥīn fa-wa-Allāh agar dharre enṣāf dar to mībūd har-āyene bāyad leyl va nahār be awṣāf-e īn ʿebād motakallem shavī che ke feʿl-e mā bar dīn-e mā govāhī ast ṣādeq va shāhedī ast vāżeḥ va āshkār che ke salāsel-e taqlīd rā shekastīm va be Ḥaqq fāyez gashtīm va az vahmī ke jamīʿ-e qolūb rā akhdh namūde būd fāregh shodīm ey faqīr-e bī-beżāʿat besyār besyār dar vahm mostaghraqī fa-yā layta raʾaytahu wa ʿaraftahu wa iṭṭalaʿta bi-mā ʿindahu kāsh molāqāt shode būd va az ʿerfānī ke dar majāles dhekr mīnamūd madhkūr mīāmad va moṭṭaleʿ mīshodī az ānche īn ayyām az ū moḥtajebī.

We praise God that, through the strength of trust in Him and detachment, we shattered the idol of delusion and reached the waters of certainty. Would that you too had been there and seen with your own eyes! We praise God for this and thank Him at all times. By God, if you had a particle of fairness, you would surely speak day and night of the qualities of these servants, for our conduct is a truthful testimony to our faith and a clear and evident witness. We broke the chains of imitation, attained the True One, and freed ourselves from the delusion that had seized every heart. You poor, destitute one! You are deeply, deeply immersed in delusion. If only you had seen him, known him, and learned what he possessed! Would that a meeting had taken place, that the spiritual knowledge of which he spoke in gatherings had been discussed, and that you had learned what remains veiled from you concerning him in these days.

646

و انّك ان لاتعرفنا نحن نعرفك انفسنا لتطلع و تكون من العالمين نحن عباد الّذين جعل اللّه ابصارنا حديداً و عرفناه بنفسه و انقطعنا عن العالمين و ما منعنا منع مانع و لا مكر ماكر و لاخدع خادع و لاريب قلوب المغلّين نحمد اللّه بما عرفنا نفسه الّذى كان موعوداً فى الواحه المقدّس المحكم البديع و ما منعنا عن عرفانه حجبات الّذينهم كفروا باللّه ثمّ سبحات الّذينهم اشركوا بنفسه الواحد الفرد العزيز الحميد

Wa-innaka in lā taʿrifunā naḥnu nuʿarrifuka anfusanā li-taṭṭaliʿa wa-takūna mina al-ʿālimīn. Naḥnu ʿibād alladhīna jaʿala Allāhu abṣāranā ḥadīdan wa-ʿarafnāhu bi-nafsihi wa-inqaṭaʿnā ʿani al-ʿālamīn. Wa-mā manaʿanā manʿu māniʿ wa-lā makru mākir wa-lā khidʿu khādiʿ wa-lā raybu qulūbi al-mughillīn. Naḥmadu Allāha bi-mā ʿarrafanā nafsahu alladhī kāna mawʿūdan fī alwāḥihi al-muqaddasi al-muḥkami al-badīʿ. Wa-mā manaʿanā ʿan ʿirfānihi ḥujubātu alladhīnahum kafarū bi-Allāh thumma subuḥātu alladhīnahum ashrakū bi-nafsihi al-Wāḥidi al-Fardi al-ʿAzīzi al-Ḥamīd.

If you do not know us, we will make ourselves known to you, so that you may understand and be among those who know. We are servants whose sight God has made keen; we have recognized Him through Himself and detached ourselves from all the worlds. No obstruction by anyone, no schemer’s plotting, no deceiver’s deception, and no doubt in the hearts of the malicious have held us back. We praise God for making known to us His own Self, who was promised in His holy, firmly established, wondrous Tablets. Neither the veils of those who disbelieved in God nor the veils of glory of those who associated partners with His Self, the One, the Unique, the Almighty, the All-Praised, prevented us from recognizing Him.

647

عجب است كه باينگونه تحقيقات مشغول شده اذا ظهر الشّطّ هل يليق لأحد ان يلتفت الى مآء الغدير اذا فانصف يا ايّها الحمير و اذا اشرقت الشّمس هل ينبغى لأحد ان يستضئ بالسّراج و لو كان سراجاً حقيقيّاً فانصف يا ايّها الغافل الّذى بغفلتك ناح كلّ شیء و لو انّك انت فى حجبات غليظ و اذا تموّج بحر الأعظم هل يتوجّه العاقل الى سراب بقيعة لا فو‌ربّنا الرّحمن الرّحيم و لكن انت لن تجد ما نذكر لانّ قلبك صار محروماً من نفحات اللّه المقتدر العلىّ الحكيم

ʿAjab ast kih bi-īn-gūnih taḥqīqāt mashghūl shudih. Idhā ẓahara al-shaṭṭu hal yalīqu li-aḥadin an yaltafita ilā māʾi al-ghadīr? Idhan fa-anṣif yā ayyuhā al-ḥamīr. Wa-idhā ashraqati al-shamsu hal yanbaghī li-aḥadin an yastaḍīʾa bi-al-sirāj wa-law kāna sirājan ḥaqīqiyyan? Fa-anṣif yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil alladhī bi-ghaflatika nāḥa kullu shayʾ wa-law innaka anta fī ḥujubātin ghalīẓ. Wa-idhā tamawwaja baḥru al-Aʿẓam hal yatawajjahu al-ʿāqilu ilā sarābin bi-qīʿah? Lā fa-wa-Rabbinā al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm. Wa-lākin anta lan tajida mā nadhkuru li-anna qalbaka ṣāra maḥrūman min nafaḥāti Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAliyyi al-Ḥakīm.

It is astonishing that you have occupied yourself with investigations of this kind. When the great river has appeared, is it fitting for anyone to turn toward the water of a pool? Be fair, then, you ass! When the sun has risen, should anyone seek illumination from a lamp, even if it is a real lamp? Be fair, heedless one, through whose heedlessness all things have lamented, though you remain within thick veils. When the Most Great Ocean surges, would a rational person turn toward a mirage on a plain? No, by our Lord, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful! Yet you will never grasp what We recount, for your heart has been deprived of the breezes of God, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the All-Wise.

648

و اللّه نسوان ننگ دارند از ادلّه تو شيطان در هر آسمانى باسمى معروف و معلّم ملكوت بوده و زياده از الف سنه بكلّ اسماء موسوم و بعد يكمرتبه رجيم شده اين امور از بدايع قدرت الهى است هل تنكرها و انّك لو تنكر يصدقها عباده الموقنين

Va-Allāh nisvān nang dārand az adillih-yi tu. Shayṭān dar har āsmānī bi-ismī maʿrūf va muʿallim-i malakūt būdih va ziyādih az alf sanih bi-kull-i asmāʾ mawsūm va baʿd yik-martabih rajīm shudih. Īn umūr az badāyiʿ-i qudrat-i ilāhī ast. Hal tunkiruhā wa-innaka law tunkir yuṣaddiquhā ʿibāduhu al-mūqinīn.

By God, women are ashamed of your arguments. Satan was known by a name in every heaven and was a teacher of the Kingdom. For more than a thousand years he bore every name, and then, all at once, he was cast out. These things are among the wonders of divine power. Do you deny them? Even if you deny them, His servants who are certain affirm them.

649

آيا نشنيده يهوداى اسخريوطى يكى از حروفات اثنا عشريّه انجيل بوده و بعد بشقاوتى ظاهر كه كلمة اللّه را تسليم يهود نمود و كاش رئيس شما بفعل او ارتكاب مينمود چه كه او بعد از آن عمل شنيع نادم شده و لكن مرشدت نقطه بيان و كلّ انبیاء و مرسلين و حرمة اللّه جميع را بزخارف ارض مبادله نموده‌ و فروخته چنانچه ذكر شد و تو بجميع مطّلعى

Āyā nashanīdih Yahūdā-yi Iskharīyūṭī yikī az ḥurūfāt-i ithnā-ʿasharīyyih-yi Injīl būdih va baʿd bi-shiqāvatī ẓāhir kih Kalimat Allāh rā taslīm-i Yahūd namūd? Va kāsh raʾīs-i shumā bi-fiʿl-i ū irtikāb mīnamūd, chih kih ū baʿd az ān ʿamal-i shanīʿ nādim shudih, va lākin murshidat Nuqṭih-yi Bayān va kull-i anbiyā va mursalīn va ḥurmat-i Allāh jamīʿ rā bi-zakhārif-i arḍ mubādilih namūdih va furūkhtih, chunānchih dhikr shud, va tu bi-jamīʿ muṭṭaliʿī.

Have you not heard that Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve Letters of the Gospel, and afterward displayed such wickedness that he delivered the Word of God into the hands of the Jews? Would that your leader had committed his deed, for Judas repented after that heinous act. Your guide, however, has exchanged and sold the Point of the Bayán, all the Prophets and Messengers, and the sanctity of God for earthly vanities, as has been recounted, and you are aware of it all.

650

و ديگر در اسمعيل بن حضرت صادق چه ميگوئى بعد از آنكه بجميع ولايات نوشته كه او بعد از من امام است و پيشواى خلق بعد از مدّتى امورى از او ظاهر شد و حضرت او را عزل فرمودند كه مخصوص زراده و بعضى از اصحاب عرض كردند يا ابن رسول اللّه اين امر بزرگى است چگونه ميشود شخصى امام خلق باشد و حقّ و بعد باطل شود حضرت ذكر بدا فرمود برو و روايت كلينى را ببين

Va dīgar dar Ismaʿīl ibn-i Ḥaḍrat-i Ṣādiq chih mīgūʾī? Baʿd az ānkih bi-jamīʿ-i vilāyāt nivishtih kih ū baʿd az man imām ast va pīshvā-yi khalq, baʿd az muddatī umūrī az ū ẓāhir shud va Ḥaḍrat ū rā ʿazl farmūdand, kih makhṣūṣ Zarādih va baʿḍī az aṣḥāb ʿarḍ kardand: Yā ibn-i Rasūl-i Allāh, īn amr-i buzurgī ast, chigūnih mīshavad shakhṣī imām-i khalq bāshad va ḥaqq va baʿd bāṭil shavad? Ḥaḍrat dhikr-i badā farmūd. Biraw va rivāyat-i Kulaynī rā bibīn.

And what do you say about Ismaʿil, the son of His Holiness Ṣádiq? After he had written to all the provinces that Ismaʿil would be the Imam and leader of the people after him, certain things appeared from Ismaʿil after a time, and His Holiness dismissed him. In particular, Zarádih and some of the companions submitted: “O son of the Messenger of God, this is a weighty matter. How can someone be the Imam of the people and be true, and then become false?” His Holiness spoke of badá. Go and read Kulayní’s account.

651

اى فقير از هيچ امرى خبر ندارى نه از بيان و نه از فرقان و نه از تورية و نه از انجيل و در ظهور اين امر انقلابات بسيار شده و اين عبد نظر باختصار ذكر ننمود و در كتب خود شما مذكور است چنانچه حال هم بعضى از اطراف اسمعيل را امام ميدانند كتب ظاهره را هم نديده و مطّلع نيستى شان شما اينست كه بحرفهاى ّ تكلّم نمائيد و باينگونه ادلّه مستدلّ شويد بر بصير خبير مشتبه نشده و نميشود و بسا از امور كه واقع شده و احدى مطّلع نه چه كه حقّ از قبل ستر فرموده ايكاش كه از هوى ميگذشتى و چندى للّه در كوى دوست مقرّ ميگزيدى تا بعضى از امور مستوره بر تو كشف ميشد

Ay faqīr, az hīch amrī khabar nadārī, nah az Bayān va nah az Furqān va nah az Tawrāt va nah az Injīl. Va dar ẓuhūr-i īn amr inqilābāt-i bisyār shudih va īn ʿabd naẓar bi-ikhtiṣār dhikr nanamūd, va dar kutub-i khud-i shumā madhkūr ast, chunānchih ḥāl ham baʿḍī az aṭrāf Ismaʿīl rā imām mīdānand. Kutub-i ẓāhirih rā ham nadīdih va muṭṭaliʿ nīstī. Shaʾn-i shumā īnast kih bi-ḥarfhā-yi [corrupted text] takallum namāyīd va bi-īn-gūnih adillih mustadill shavīd. Bar baṣīr-i khabīr mushtabih nashudih va namīshavad. Va basā az umūr kih vāqiʿ shudih va aḥadī muṭṭaliʿ nah, chih kih Ḥaqq az qabl satr farmūdih. Ay kāsh kih az havā mīgudhashtī va chandī li-llāh dar kūy-i Dūst maqarr mīguzīdī tā baʿḍī az umūr-i mastūrih bar tu kashf mīshud.

You poor man, you know nothing of any matter—neither of the Bayán, nor of the Qur’an, nor of the Torah, nor of the Gospel. Many reversals have occurred in the unfolding of this matter, and this servant has not recounted them for the sake of brevity. They are recorded in your own books; even now, people in some regions regard Ismaʿil as the Imam. You have not even seen the readily available books and are uninformed. Your way is to utter words of [corrupted original text] and to argue with proofs of this kind. The discerning and well-informed have not been misled, nor will they be. Many things have happened of which no one is aware, for God concealed them in the past. If only you would abandon your desires and dwell for a time, for God’s sake, in the Beloved’s neighborhood, so that some hidden matters might be disclosed to you.

652

و ديگر از بلعم باعور اطّلاع ندارى كه بسيار از رئيس شما مشهورتر بود ولايتش كه مسلّم بوده مع‌ذلك بعد از ظهور شمس كليم من افق ربّك الرّحمن الرّحيم فعل ما فعل و بذلك بدّل اللّه نوره بالنّار و انّه لعلى كلّ شیء قدير كاش از رئيس خود اطّلاع ميداشتى فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو انّ يد القدرة و القوّة قد اخذ كفّا من التّراب و نفخ فيه روحاً من ارواح الّتى خلقت بمشيّته فلمّا اهتزّ و قام البسه بقميص الأسماء بين الأرض و السّمآء لحكمة الّتى ما اطّلع بها احد الّا نفسه العليم الخبير زياده از اين نبوده و نخواهد بود فلمّا عاد على اللّه عاد اللّه عليه كما عاد كذلك يجزى عباده المعتدين

Va dīgar az Balʿam-i Bāʿūr iṭṭilāʿ nadārī kih bisyār az raʾīs-i shumā mashhūrtar būd. Vilāyatash kih musallam būdih, maʿa-dhālik baʿd az ẓuhūr-i shams-i Kalīm min ufuqi Rabbika al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm faʿala mā faʿala wa-bi-dhālika baddala Allāhu nūrahu bi-al-nār wa-innahu la-ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr. Kāsh az raʾīs-i khud iṭṭilāʿ mīdāshtī. Fa-wa-Allāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa inna yada al-qudrati wa-al-quwwati qad akhadha kaffan mina al-turāb wa-nafakha fīhi rūḥan min arwāḥi allatī khuliqat bi-mashīʾatihi fa-lammā ihtazza wa-qāma albasahu bi-qamīṣi al-asmāʾ bayna al-arḍi wa-al-samāʾ li-ḥikmati allatī mā iṭṭalaʿa bihā aḥad illā nafsuhu al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr. Ziyādih az īn nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd. Fa-lammā ʿāda ʿalā Allāh ʿāda Allāhu ʿalayhi ka-mā ʿād. Kadhālika yajzī ʿibādahu al-muʿtadīn.

Nor do you know about Balaam son of Beor, who was far more renowned than your leader. His spiritual authority was acknowledged; nevertheless, after the sun of Moses rose from the horizon of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful, he did what he did, and through this God changed his light into fire. He indeed has power over all things. Would that you knew about your own leader! By God, besides whom there is no other god, the hand of power and might took a handful of dust and breathed into it a spirit from among the spirits created by His will. When it stirred and stood upright, He clothed it in the garment of names between earth and heaven, for a wisdom known to no one but His own Self, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. It has never been, nor will it ever be, more than this. Then, when he turned against God, God turned against him as he had turned. Thus does He recompense His transgressing servants.

653

بشنو سخن اين عبد را سبب وهم ناس مشو رحم كن بر امر اللّه و برناس در هر عصر نفوس متوهّمه مجتمع شده و ناس را از شاطى بحر احديّه محروم نموده‌اند قدرى تفكّر نما كه چه مقدار توهّمات در ما بين ملأ فرقان بود از ظهور قائم و ظهور قيامت و ظهور ساعت و بعد از ظهور نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه معلوم شد كه جميع خاطى بوده‌اند و بقطره از بحر علم مشروب نه و آن جمال قدم بزحمت تمام كسر اصنام وهم و هوى نموده ‌تازه امثال آن نفوس اراده نموده‌اند ناس را باوهام جديد مبتلا نمايند بگو بترسيد از خداوند يكتا و مرتكب مشويد امري را كه از چشم مقرّبين بجاى اشك خون جارى شود حقّ را باطل مدانيد و باطل را حقّ مشمريد بلى حقّ لم‌يزل حقّ بوده و لكن تو آن حقّ را نشناخته

Bishnaw sukhan-i īn ʿabd rā, sabab-i vahm-i nās mashaw. Raḥm kun bar Amr-i Allāh va bar nās. Dar har ʿaṣr nufūs-i mutavahhimih mujtamiʿ shudih va nās rā az shāṭī-yi baḥr-i aḥadīyyih maḥrūm namūdih-and. Qadrī tafakkur namā kih chih miqdār tavahhumāt dar mā bayn-i malaʾ-i Furqān būd az ẓuhūr-i Qāʾim va ẓuhūr-i qiyāmat va ẓuhūr-i sāʿat, va baʿd az ẓuhūr-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā, rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh, maʿlūm shud kih jamīʿ khāṭī būdih-and va bi-qaṭrih az baḥr-i ʿilm mashrūb nah. Va ān Jamāl-i Qidam bi-zaḥmat-i tamām kasr-i aṣnām-i vahm va havā namūdih, tāzih amthāl-i ān nufūs irādih namūdih-and nās rā bi-avhām-i jadīd mubtalā namāyand. Bigū bitarsīd az Khudāvand-i yiktā va murtakib mashavīd amrī rā kih az chashm-i muqarrabīn bi-jā-yi ashk khūn jārī shavad. Ḥaqq rā bāṭil madānīd va bāṭil rā ḥaqq mashmurīd. Balī Ḥaqq lam-yazal ḥaqq būdih va lākin tu ān Ḥaqq rā nashnākhtih.

Listen to the words of this servant, and do not cause people to fall into delusion. Have mercy on the Cause of God and on the people. In every age, deluded souls have gathered together and deprived people of the shore of the ocean of oneness. Reflect a little on how many misconceptions existed among the people of the Qur’an concerning the appearance of the Qá’im, the advent of the Resurrection, and the coming of the Hour. After the appearance of the Primal Point—may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—it became clear that they had all been mistaken and had not drunk a single drop from the ocean of knowledge. That Ancient Beauty shattered the idols of delusion and desire with immense difficulty, and now others like those souls have set out to afflict people with new delusions. Say: Fear the one God, and do not commit a deed that would cause blood rather than tears to flow from the eyes of those near to Him. Do not regard truth as falsehood, or reckon falsehood as truth. Yes, the True One has always been true, but you have not recognized that True One.

654

و اين مسلّم بوده كه بعد از نقطه حقّ منحصر است در حروفات حىّ چه كه كلّ خلق بيان در ظلّ واحد اوّل خلق شده و ميشوند و حقّ هر ذى حقّى باين نفوس ثابت و هم‌چنين كلّ صفات و اسماء حسنى و مع‌ذلك خطاب ميفرمايد بيكى از حروفات حىّ كه از ظهور بعد سؤال نموده ‌ميفرمايد اگر بدانم كه تو در يوم اشراق نيّر معانى بايمان باو فايز نميشوى حال حكم دون ايمان در حقّ تو جارى مينمايم و اگر بدانم يكى از نصارى در يوم ظهور مؤمن باو ميشود حال حكم ايمان درباره او ميفرمودم مع آنكه مؤمن نيست و فعل محبوبی‌ از او ظاهر نشده قدرى تفكر نما و حقّ را بشناس

Va īn musallam būdih kih baʿd az Nuqṭih ḥaqq munḥaṣir ast dar Ḥurūfāt-i Ḥayy, chih kih kull-i khalq-i Bayān dar ẓill-i Vāḥid-i Avval khalq shudih va mīshavand, va ḥaqq-i har dhī-ḥaqqī bi-īn nufūs thābit va ham-chunīn kull-i ṣifāt va asmāʾ-i ḥusnā. Va maʿa-dhālik khiṭāb mīfarmāyad bi-yikī az Ḥurūfāt-i Ḥayy kih az ẓuhūr-i baʿd suʾāl namūdih, mīfarmāyad: Agar bidānam kih tu dar yawm-i ishrāq-i nayyir-i maʿānī bi-īmān bi-ū fāʾiz namīshavī, ḥāl ḥukm-i dūn-i īmān dar ḥaqq-i tu jārī mīnamāyam, va agar bidānam yikī az Naṣārā dar yawm-i ẓuhūr muʾmin bi-ū mīshavad, ḥāl ḥukm-i īmān dar bārih-yi ū mīfarmūdam, maʿa ānkih muʾmin nīst va fiʿl-i maḥbūbī az ū ẓāhir nashudih. Qadrī tafakkur namā va Ḥaqq rā bishnās.

It has been acknowledged that, after the Point, truth is confined to the Letters of the Living, for the entire creation of the Bayán has been and continues to be created beneath the shadow of the First Váḥid. The right of everyone possessing a right is established through these souls, as are all the attributes and most beautiful names. Nevertheless, addressing one of the Letters of the Living who had asked about the next Revelation, He says: “If I know that, on the day when the Luminary of inner meanings rises, you will not attain faith in Him, I pronounce upon you now the judgment of unbelief. And if I know that one of the Christians will believe in Him on the day of His Revelation, I would pronounce upon him now the judgment of faith, even though he is not a believer and no pleasing deed has appeared from him.” Reflect a little and recognize the True One.

655

اين نفوس حقّند ماداميكه در ظلّ حقّ باشند چه كه در آنوقت ديده نميشود در آن نفوس مگر حقّ و بعد از توقّف دام الملك فى الملك و رجع المخلوق الى شكله و مثله آن حقّيكه لم‌يزل باطل نشده و نخواهد شد آن شجره حقيقت است فاعرف لو تكون من العارفين كذلك فصّل الأمر من لدن منزل قديم تفكّر يا عبد لعلّ تكون من المهتدين

Īn nufūs ḥaqq-and mādāmīkih dar ẓill-i Ḥaqq bāshand, chih kih dar ān vaqt dīdih namīshavad dar ān nufūs magar Ḥaqq. Va baʿd az tavaqquf dāma al-mulku fī al-mulk wa-rajaʿa al-makhlūqu ilā shaklihi wa-mithlihi. Ān Ḥaqqīkih lam-yazal bāṭil nashudih va nakhvāhad shud ān Shajarih-yi Ḥaqīqat ast. Fa-iʿrif law takūnu mina al-ʿārifīn. Kadhālika fuṣṣila al-amru min ladun Munzilin Qadīm. Tafakkar yā ʿabd laʿalla takūnu mina al-muhtadīn.

These souls are true as long as they remain beneath the shadow of the True One, for at that time nothing is seen in them but the True One. After they hesitate, sovereignty remains within sovereignty, and the creature returns to its own kind and likeness. That True One who has never become false, nor ever will, is the Tree of Reality. Recognize this, if you are among those who know. Thus has the matter been expounded by the Ancient Revealer. Reflect, O servant, so that you may be among the rightly guided.

656

اى غافل غير بالغ بدانكه در بعث مراتب ما لانهايه بوده و خواهد بود و بعث اسماء را از دونش تميز ده بسا نفوس كه اسماء مبعوثند من غير رسم ذلك لحكمة لن يعرفها احد و لو تريد ان تعرفها فاسئل عن اللّه ربّك بخضوع و خشوع و انابة مبين ليعلّمك ما عنده و انّه لهو العليم الخبير در الواح قبل در اينمقام از قلم امر فى الجمله نازل شده اگر اراده نمائى در آن الواح نظر كن شايد بهمان قدر قناعت نمائى و مقصود از اين ذكر آنكه باسماء از منزل آن محتجب نمانى اگر چه بشأنى محتجب مانده كه ابداً گمان نميرود كه خرق شود الّا بارادة اللّه و مشيّته

Ay ghāfil-i ghayr-i bāligh, bidānkih dar baʿth marātib-i mā lā nihāyih būdih va khvāhad būd va baʿth-i asmāʾ rā az dūnash tamyīz dih. Basā nufūs kih asmāʾ mabʿūthand min ghayri rasm. Dhālika li-ḥikmatin lan yaʿrifahā aḥad. Wa-law turīdu an taʿrifahā fa-isʾal ʿan Allāhi Rabbika bi-khuḍūʿin wa-khushūʿin wa-inābatin mubīn li-yuʿallimaka mā ʿindahu wa-innahu la-huwa al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr. Dar alvāḥ-i qabl dar īn maqām az Qalam-i Amr fī al-jumlih nāzil shudih. Agar irādih namāʾī dar ān alvāḥ naẓar kun, shāyad bi-hamān qadr qanāʿat namāʾī. Va maqṣūd az īn dhikr ānkih bi-asmāʾ az Munzil-i ān muḥtajib namānī, agar-chih bi-shaʾnī muḥtajib māndih kih abadan gumān namīravad kih kharq shavad illā bi-irādati Allāhi wa-mashīʾatihi.

O heedless, immature one! Know that resurrection has had and will have limitless degrees, and distinguish the resurrection of names from other kinds. Many are the souls whose names have been raised without any outward trace. This is for a wisdom that no one will know. If you wish to know it, ask God your Lord with humility, reverence, and manifest repentance, so that He may teach you what is with Him. He is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. In earlier Tablets, something on this subject has been revealed by the Pen of the Cause. If you wish, consult those Tablets; perhaps you will be content with that much. The purpose of this mention is that you should not remain veiled by the names from the One who reveals them, although you have remained so veiled that it is inconceivable that the veil should ever be torn away except through God’s purpose and will.

657

نقطه بيان جلّت عظمته در تبديل كينونات هم ذكر فرموده‌اند تا چه رسد باسماء چنانچه بعضى از آن از قبل ذكر شد و هم‌چنين ميفرمايد قوله جلّ ذكره فانّ عند كلّ ظهور ادلّآء اثباتها يبدّلنّ بالنّفى و لكن اللّه فى ذلك الظّهور يثبت امره و يتقن صنعه لانّ فيه لايبدّلنّ النّور بالنّار الّا فى ظهور اللّه فانّ حزنى على كلّ من فى البيان من يؤمئذ انتهى

Nuqṭih-yi Bayān, jallat ʿaẓamatuhu, dar tabdīl-i kaynūnāt ham dhikr farmūdih-and tā chih rasad bi-asmāʾ, chunānchih baʿḍī az ān az qabl dhikr shud. Va ham-chunīn mīfarmāyad, qawluhu jalla dhikruhu: Fa-inna ʿinda kulli ẓuhūrin adillāʾa ithbātihā yubaddalunna bi-al-nafy wa-lākinna Allāha fī dhālika al-ẓuhūri yuthbitu amrahu wa-yutqinu ṣunʿahu li-anna fīhi lā yubaddalunna al-nūru bi-al-nār illā fī ẓuhūri Allāh fa-inna ḥuznī ʿalā kulli man fī al-Bayān min [corrupted text]. Intahā.

The Point of the Bayán—exalted be His grandeur—has spoken even of the transformation of essential realities, let alone names, as some of this has already been mentioned. He also says—His words, exalted be His mention: “At every Revelation, the exponents of its affirmation are changed into negation. Yet in that Revelation God establishes His Cause and perfects His handiwork, for in it light is not changed into fire except at the Revelation of God. My sorrow is indeed for everyone in the Bayán from [corrupted original text].” End of quotation.

658

ملاحظه نمائيد كه صريح ميفرمايند نور مبدّل بنار ميشود چنانچه نورى كه شما آن را نور فرض گرفته‌ايد كينونتش بنار تبديل شده و لكن شاعر نيست و در كمال غفلت مشغول بتحريف كلمات الهيّه بوده و هست و اينكه ميفرمايند الّا فى ظهور اللّه همچه ندانيد كه قبل از ظهور تبديل نور نميشود بلى فو‌نفسه الحقّ غير از نفس ظهور كلّ تبديل شده و ميشوند و اين مسائل موهومه نزد ناس بوده و تا اين ظهور كشف نشده فلمّا خرقتم حجاب حرمة اللّه لذا خرق ستر حجابكم بأنامل القدرة و القوّة

Mulāḥiẓih namāyīd kih ṣarīḥ mīfarmāyand nūr mubaddal bi-nār mīshavad, chunānchih nūrī kih shumā ān rā nūr farḍ giriftih-īd kaynūnatash bi-nār tabdīl shudih va lākin shāʿir nīst, va dar kamāl-i ghaflat mashghūl bi-taḥrīf-i kalimāt-i ilāhīyyih būdih va hast. Va īnkih mīfarmāyand illā fī ẓuhūri Allāh hamchih nadānīd kih qabl az ẓuhūr tabdīl-i nūr namīshavad. Balī fa-wa-nafsihi al-Ḥaqq ghayr az nafs-i Ẓuhūr kull tabdīl shudih va mīshavand. Va īn masāʾil-i mawhūmih nazd-i nās būdih va tā īn ẓuhūr kashf nashudih. Fa-lammā kharaqtum ḥijāba ḥurmati Allāh li-dhā kharaqa sitra ḥijābikum bi-anāmili al-qudrati wa-al-quwwah.

Observe that He explicitly says that light is changed into fire. Thus the light you have assumed to be light has had its essential reality changed into fire, yet he is unaware, and in utter heedlessness has been and remains occupied with distorting the divine words. Do not understand His statement, “except at the Revelation of God,” to mean that light is not transformed before the Revelation. Yes, by His own Self, the True One, all except the Manifestation Himself have been and continue to be transformed. These imaginary notions existed among the people, and the matter had not been disclosed until this Revelation. But when you tore through the veil of God’s sanctity, He therefore tore away the covering of your veil with the fingers of power and might.

659

فرق اينست كه در حين ارتقاء مظهر احديّه برفيق اعلى الى ظهور بعد مشيّت ظاهره مشهود نه تا حكم نمايد اگر چه لازال انّه هو حىّ فى الأفق الأبهی و لكن چون بر حسب ظاهر احدى بر او عارف نه و كلّ نفوس از لقا ممنوع لذا حكم تبديل مستور تا حين ظهور چه كه در آن حين اگر نور اقلّ من آن توقّف نمايد در قول بلى حكم نار از منبع علم لدنّى الهى در حقّ او جارى چنانچه در ظهور قبل مشاهده شد و در اين ظهور هم ببصر ظاهر و باطن ديده ميشود كه نفوسى كه خود را نور ميناميدند عند اللّه حكم نار در حقّ آن نفوس جارى و لكن خود من غير شعور حركت مينمايند

Farq īnast kih dar ḥīn-i irtiqā-yi Maẓhar-i Aḥadīyyih bi-Rafīq-i Aʿlā ilā ẓuhūr-i baʿd Mashīyyat-i Ẓāhirih mashhūd nah tā ḥukm namāyad, agar-chih lā-zāl innahu huwa ḥayyun fī al-ufuq-i al-Abhā. Va lākin chūn bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir aḥadī bar ū ʿārif nah va kull-i nufūs az liqā mamnūʿ, li-dhā ḥukm-i tabdīl mastūr tā ḥīn-i ẓuhūr, chih kih dar ān ḥīn agar nūr aqall min ān tavaqquf namāyad dar qawl-i balā ḥukm-i nār az manbaʿ-i ʿilm-i ladunnī-yi ilāhī dar ḥaqq-i ū jārī, chunānchih dar ẓuhūr-i qabl mushāhidih shud va dar īn ẓuhūr ham bi-baṣar-i ẓāhir va bāṭin dīdih mīshavad kih nufūsī kih khud rā nūr mīnāmīdand ʿinda Allāh ḥukm-i nār dar ḥaqq-i ān nufūs jārī va lākin khud min ghayr-i shuʿūr ḥarakat mīnamāyand.

The difference is that, from the time when the Manifestation of Oneness ascends to the Companion on high until the next Revelation, the manifest Will is not visibly present to pronounce judgment, although He is ever alive in the All-Glorious Horizon. But since outwardly no one knows Him and all souls are denied access to His presence, the judgment of transformation remains concealed until the time of the Revelation. At that time, if a light hesitates for less than an instant to say “Yes,” the judgment of fire is pronounced upon it from the source of innate divine knowledge. This was witnessed in the previous Revelation, and in this Revelation too it is seen with both the outward and the inward eye that souls who called themselves light are judged as fire in God’s sight, yet they themselves go about unaware.

660

در كلّ حين پناه بخدا برده كه از نفس ظهور محتجب نمانى چه كه مقصود بالذّات او بوده و خواهد بود او است آيه ليس كمثله شیء و او است آيه لم يلد و لم يولد بل مظاهر لم يلد و لم يولد خلق عنده ان انتم توقنون و لكن اينمقام را هر نفسى ادراك ننمايد الّا المنقطعون و هم فى عرفان منيع

Dar koll-e ḥīn panāh be-Khodā borde ke az nafs-e ẓohūr moḥtajeb namānī, che ke maqṣūd be-dh-dhāt ū būde va khwāhad būd. Ū ast āye-ye laysa ka-mithlihi shayʾ, va ū ast āye-ye lam yalid wa-lam yūlad. Bal maẓāhir-i lam yalid wa-lam yūlad khalqun ʿindahu in antum tūqinūn. Va lāken īn maqām rā har nafsī edrāk nanamāyad illā al-munqaṭiʿūn wa-hum fī ʿirfānin manīʿ.

At every moment, seek refuge in God, that you may not remain veiled from the Manifestation Himself, for He has always been and will ever be the One sought in His own right. He is the verse, “Nothing is like Him,” and He is the verse, “He neither begets nor is begotten.” Indeed, the manifestations of “He neither begets nor is begotten” are created beings in His sight, if you are certain. Yet not every soul can comprehend this station, but only those who are detached, who dwell in exalted understanding.

661

از اين جهت است كه نقطه مشيّت اوّلیّه روح ما سواه فداه در مقام ذكر حروفات و مرايا و نور و امثالها من اعلى مراتب الأسماء و الصّفات الى ان ينتهى الى ادنى رتبة الأشیآء ميفرمايند اينها از خود تحقّقى نداشته چون بشمس حقيقى مقابل شده‌اند اشراق تجلّيات لانهايه بر آنها شده در اينمقام ديده نميشود در آن مظاهر الّا اللّه ميفرمايد شما ناظر باسماء نباشيد بل بما يقوم به الأسماء ناظر شويد و هم‌چنين ما يقوم به الصّفات چه كه كلّ باقبالهم الى اللّه و بايمانهم باللّه باثواب بديعه منيعه اسماء مزيّن شده و ميشوند جمعى از حروفات ناميده ميشوند و جمعى از مرايا و جمعى از ادلّاء نوريّه وهم‌چنين از مظاهر جمال و جلال و حىّ و قديم و امثال آن از اسماء اللّه الحسنى تختلف ظهورات التّجلّى باعتباراتهم و استعداداتهم و الّا انّ التّجلّى واحد و المجلّى واحد

Az īn jahat ast ke Noqṭe-ye Mashiyyat-e Avvaliyye, rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh, dar maqām-e dhekr-e ḥorūfāt va marāyā va nūr va amthāl-e ānhā, min aʿlā marātib al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt ilā an yantahī ilā adnā rutbat al-ashyāʾ, mīfarmāyand īnhā az khod taḥaqqoqī nadāshte, chon be-shams-e ḥaqīqī moqābel shode-and eshrāq-e tajalliyāt-e lā-nehāye bar ānhā shode. Dar īn maqām dīde nemīshavad dar ān maẓāher illā Allāh. Mīfarmāyad shomā nāẓer be-asmā nabāshīd bal be-mā yaqūmu bihi al-asmāʾ nāẓer shavīd va ham-chenīn mā yaqūmu bihi al-ṣifāt, che ke koll bi-iqbālihim ilā Allāh va bi-īmānihim bi-Allāh be-athvāb-e badīʿe-ye manīʿe-ye asmā mozayyan shode va mīshavand. Jamʿī az ḥorūfāt nāmīde mīshavand va jamʿī az marāyā va jamʿī az adellā-ye nūriyye va ham-chenīn az maẓāher-e jamāl va jalāl va ḥayy va qadīm va amthāl-e ān az asmāʾ Allāh al-ḥusnā. Takhtalifu ẓuhūrāt al-tajallī bi-iʿtibārātihim wa-istiʿdādātihim wa-illā inna al-tajallī wāḥid wa-l-mujallī wāḥid.

For this reason, the Point of the Primal Will—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—when speaking of the Letters, the Mirrors, the Light, and the like, from the highest degrees of the names and attributes down to the lowest rank of things, states that these had no independent reality of their own. When they faced the true Sun, the radiance of infinite revelations shone upon them. In this station, nothing is seen in those manifestations but God. He says that you should look not to the names, but to that through which the names subsist, and likewise to that through which the attributes subsist. For all, through their turning to God and their faith in God, have been and are adorned with the wondrous, exalted robes of the names. Some are called Letters, some Mirrors, and some luminous Guides, and likewise manifestations of Beauty, Majesty, the Living, the Ancient, and other such most beautiful names of God. The manifestations of the revelation differ according to their respective conditions and capacities; otherwise, the revelation is one, and the One who reveals it is one.

662

و بصير خبير ادراك مينمايد كه كلّ اين اسماء نظر بآن ايمانى است كه در آنها بوده و هست وهم را بگذار ملاحظه در اوّل من آمن كن و هم‌چنين ثانى من آمن كه هيچ نفسى را بيان ازيد از اين دو نفس و ساير حروفات حىّ وصف نفرموده‌اند چنانچه در زيارتشان يا ساذج اللّه و يا كينونة اللّه و يا ذات اللّه و بامثال اين كلمات ذكر فرموده‌اند حال اگر اوّل من آمن نفس مذكور نبود و نفس ديگر بود البتّه اينمقام باو عنايت ميشد اگر در اين بحر متغمّس شوى ادراك مينمائى بعضى از اسرار محجّبه مقنّعه مستوره را و فرق شمس معانى را از ظلّش تميز ميدهى و مرتكب نميشوى آنچه را كه كلّ ذرّات بنوحه مشغولند

Va baṣīr-e khabīr edrāk mīnamāyad ke koll-e īn asmā naẓar be-ān īmānī ast ke dar ānhā būde va hast. Vahm rā begoẕār, molāḥeẓe dar avval-e man āmana kon va ham-chenīn thānī-ye man āmana, ke hīch nafsī rā Bayān azyad az īn do nafs va sāyer-e Ḥorūfāt-e Ḥayy vaṣf nafarmūde-and, chenānche dar ziyārat-e shān yā sādhij Allāh va yā kaynūnat Allāh va yā dhāt Allāh va be-amthāl-e īn kalemāt dhekr farmūde-and. Ḥāl agar avval-e man āmana nafs-e madhkūr nabūd va nafs-e dīgar būd albatte īn maqām be-ū ʿenāyat mīshod. Agar dar īn baḥr motaghamm es shavī edrāk mīnamāʾī baʿẓī az asrār-e moḥajjabe-ye moqannaʿe-ye mastūre rā va farq-e shams-e maʿānī rā az ẓell-ash tamīz mīdehī va mortakeb nemīshavī ānche rā ke koll-e dharrāt be-nawḥe mashghūl-and.

One who is discerning and well informed understands that all these names refer to the faith that has existed and continues to exist within them. Set aside illusion and consider the first to believe, and likewise the second to believe, for the Bayán has praised no souls more highly than these two and the other Letters of the Living. Thus, in their visitation prayers, He has addressed them as “O pure Essence of God,” “O Being of God,” and “O Essence of God,” and in similar words. Now, if the first to believe had not been the person in question, but someone else, this station would assuredly have been bestowed upon that other person. If you immerse yourself in this ocean, you will comprehend some of the veiled, shrouded, hidden mysteries, distinguish the Sun of inner meanings from its shadow, and refrain from committing that over which every atom is lamenting.

663

مثلا ملاحظه كن اگر ترابی‌ بيد مبارك اخذ فرمايد و بفرمايد كه اين قبضه خاك مسجود عالمين است حقّ لاريب فيه و هم‌چنين اگر صد قبضه خاك ديگر بردارد و درباره كلّ همين حكم را فرمايد جارى بوده و خواهد بود چه كه در اينمقام نظر بامر است كه از مصدر امر ظاهر شده نه بشىء من حيث هو شیء

Mathalan molāḥeẓe kon agar torābī be-yad-e mobārak akhdh farmāyad va befarmāyad ke īn qabẓe khāk masjūd-e ʿālamīn ast, ḥaqqun lā rayba fīh. Va ham-chenīn agar ṣad qabẓe khāk-e dīgar bardārad va dar bāre-ye koll hamīn ḥokm rā farmāyad jārī būde va khwāhad būd, che ke dar īn maqām naẓar be-amr ast ke az maṣdar-e amr ẓāher shode na be-shayʾ min ḥaythu huwa shayʾ.

Consider, for example: if He takes some dust in His blessed hand and declares that this handful of earth is the object before which all worlds bow down, it is true beyond any doubt. Likewise, if He takes a hundred other handfuls of earth and pronounces the same decree concerning them all, it has been and will remain in force. For in this station, regard is given to the command that has issued from the Source of command, not to a thing considered merely as a thing.

664

و اينكه امثال آن نفوس محتجبه بذكر وصايت از ما يقوم به الوصىّ و فوقه من الولاية و النّبوّة و الرّسالة و الرّبوبيّة غافل شده‌اند اوّلا بدان فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه ابداً نقطه اولى بچنين كلمه مخصوص نفسى در بيان تكلّم نفرموده بلى يك توقيعى بميرزا سليمان التفات فرموده بودند در صدر آن توقيع كلمه بود كه جميع از خواندن آن عاجز شدند خود ميرزا سليمان در ایّام مراجعت از ماكو ميگفت اين لفظ وصايت است و بمن نوشته‌اند و او در سرّ سرّ اين ادّعاى اين رتبه مينمود و ايكاش شما باو متشبّث ميشديد در اين امر اوعندالله سزاوارتر است از اين نفسى كه باو تمسّك جسته‌ايد و ديگر همچه ذكرى ابداً نبوده مگر آنكه بعضى الواح نوشته‌اند و باسم نقطه اولى شهرت داده‌اند كلّها كذب بربّ البهآء

Va īnke amthāl-e ān nofūs-e moḥtajebe be-dhekr-e veṣāyat az mā yaqūmu bihi al-waṣī wa-fawqahu min al-wilāya wa-l-nubuwwa wa-l-risāla wa-l-rubūbiyya ghāfel shode-and, avvalan bedān fa-wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa ke abadan Noqṭe-ye Ūlā be-chenīn kaleme makhṣūṣ-e nafsī dar Bayān takallom nafarmūde. Balī yek tawqīʿī be-Mīrzā Solaymān eltefāt farmūde būdand. Dar ṣadr-e ān tawqīʿ kaleme būd ke jamīʿ az khwāndan-e ān ʿājez shodand. Khod-e Mīrzā Solaymān dar ayyām-e morājaʿat az Mākū mīgoft īn lafẓ veṣāyat ast va be-man neveshte-and va ū dar serr-e serr īn eddeʿā-ye īn rotbe mīnamūd. Va ey kāsh shomā be-ū motashabbeth mīshodīd dar īn amr. Ū ʿinda Allāh sazāvārtar ast az īn nafsī ke be-ū tamassok joste-īd. Va dīgar hamche dhekrī abadan nabūde magar ānke baʿẓī alvāḥ neveshte-and va be-nām-e Noqṭe-ye Ūlā shohrat dāde-and. Kulluhā kadhib bi-Rabb al-Bahāʾ.

As for such veiled souls becoming heedless, through mention of successorship, of that through which the successor subsists, and of the higher degrees of guardianship, prophethood, messengership, and lordship: first, know—by God, besides whom there is no god—that the Primal Point never spoke such a word in the Bayán specifically concerning any individual. He did, however, graciously send a Tablet to Mírzá Sulaymán. At the beginning of that Tablet was a word that everyone was unable to read. Mírzá Sulaymán himself, during his return from Mákú, would say, “This word is ‘successorship,’ and He has written it to me.” In the utmost secrecy, he laid claim to this rank. Would that you had held fast to him in this matter! In God’s sight, he is more deserving than the person to whom you have attached yourselves. There has never been any other such mention, except that some Tablets have been written and circulated in the name of the Primal Point. They are all false, by the Lord of Bahá!

665

و ثانيا اين رتبه رتبه نيست كه بخواهيم از نفسى سلب نمائيم يا اثبات نمائيم چه كه آنچه فخر وصى است ان ما يقوم به الوصايه بوده و خواهد بود و بعد از انقطاع عند اللّه ذكر نداشته و نخواهد داشت چنانچه نقطهء اولى روح ما سواه فداه در اينمقام ميفرمايد قوله عزّ ذكره زيرا كه جوهر كلّ همان است كه آن محتجب مانده از چيزيكه وصىّ بآن وصىّ است نه اينست كه اين شأن وصايت را هم بشأن خاصّ نظر كنى بلكه ناظر شو بما يقوم به كه امر شجره حقيقت باشد كه اگر فرضا رسول خدا باسم وصايت نصب نميفرمود امروز ذكر بغير وصايت ميشد كلّ اينها از براى اين است كه در يوم ظهور باسماء محتجب نمانى بلكه نظر كنى بما يقوم به الأسماء من كلّ شیء حتّى ذكر النّبی‌ انتهى

Va thāniyan īn rotbe rotbe nīst ke bekhwāhīm az nafsī salb namāʾīm yā ethbāt namāʾīm, che ke ānche fakhr-e vaṣī ast inna mā yaqūmu bihi al-waṣāya būde va khwāhad būd va baʿd az enqeṭāʿ ʿinda Allāh dhekr nadāshte va nakhwāhad dāsht. Chenānche Noqṭe-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fedāh dar īn maqām mīfarmāyad, qawluhu ʿazza dhikruhu: zīrā ke jawhar-e koll hamān ast ke ān moḥtajeb mānde az chīzī ke vaṣī be-ān vaṣī ast. Na īn ast ke īn shaʾn-e veṣāyat rā ham be-shaʾn-e khāṣṣ naẓar konī balke nāẓer shaw be-mā yaqūmu bihi ke amr-e Shajare-ye Ḥaqīqat bāshad, ke agar farẓan Rasūl-e Khodā be-nām-e veṣāyat naṣb nemīfarmūd emrūz dhekr be-ghayr-e veṣāyat mīshod. Koll-e īnhā az barā-ye īn ast ke dar yawm-e ẓohūr be-asmā moḥtajeb namānī balke naẓar konī be-mā yaqūmu bihi al-asmāʾ min kulli shayʾ ḥattā dhikr al-Nabī. Intahā.

Second, this rank is not a rank that We would wish either to take away from someone or to affirm for someone. For the glory of the successor has always been and will ever be that through which successorship subsists; once severed from it, he has had and will have no standing before God. Thus the Primal Point—may the spirit of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him—states in this connection, His words, exalted be His mention: “For the essence of the whole matter is precisely this: he has remained veiled from that by which the successor is a successor. It is not that you should regard even this station of successorship as a special distinction; rather, look to that through which it subsists, which is the command of the Tree of Truth. For if, hypothetically, the Messenger of God had not appointed him under the name of successorship, today he would be spoken of by a name other than successorship. All this is so that, on the Day of Manifestation, you may not remain veiled by names, but may instead look to that through which the names of all things subsist, even the designation ‘Prophet.’” End of quotation.

666

حال قدرى تفكّر نما تا عارف شوى كه كلّ بامر او معزّزند و بذكر او مفتخر و اين شأن صادق است ماداميكه از حدّ خود تجاوز ننمايند و در حين بعث امر اوّلیّه كلّ اين اسامى از مسمّيات خود خارج و بملكوت راجع اگر ثانيا امر مبرم نازل يصدق عليهم كلّ الأسماء من اسماء اللّه الحسنى و الّا يرجعن الى مقرّهم قبل ان يقول لم او بم

Ḥāl qadrī tafakkor namā tā ʿāref shavī ke koll be-amr-e ū moʿazzaz-and va be-dhekr-e ū moftakher va īn shaʾn ṣādeq ast mādāmī ke az ḥadd-e khod tajāvoz nanamāyand. Va dar ḥīn-e baʿth-e amr-e avvaliyye koll-e īn asāmī az mosammayāt-e khod khārej va be-malakūt rājeʿ. Agar thāniyan amr-e mobram nāzel, yaṣduqu ʿalayhim kull al-asmāʾ min asmāʾ Allāh al-ḥusnā, wa-illā yarjiʿna ilā maqarrihim qabla an yaqūla lima aw bima.

Now reflect a little, that you may recognize that all are exalted through His command and honored through His mention. This condition holds true so long as they do not overstep their bounds. At the raising up of the primal Cause, all these names are withdrawn from those who bear them and return to the Kingdom. If a binding command descends anew, all the most beautiful names of God apply to them; otherwise, they return to their abode before one can say “Why?” or “By what?”

667

بارى نظر از اين تحديدات بردار و بآن نقطه ساريه در كلّشیء ناظر شو و آن نقطه را موهوم مدان چنانچه از قبل كلّ عباد بتوهّمات مانده و الى حين عارف نشده و نخواهند شد الّا من شآء ربّك و همين ميرزا يحيى كه بواسطه او از حقّ معرض شده بين يدى مثل يكى از خدّام حاضر بوده و القاى كلمات اللّه بر او ميشد چنانچه حال جمعى تلقاء وجه حاضرند بهمان قسم بر ايشان القاء ميشود در كلّ ليالى و ایّام و لكن فرق است كه آن نفس مغرور چون دو كلمه از لسانش جارى شد ارتكب ما لا ارتكب مظاهر النّفى كلّها و لكن اين نفوس حاضره تلقاء وجه بابدع كلمات ناطق و مع‌ذلك ليس لهم من امر الّا بعد اذنه كذلك كان الأمر ان انت من العالمين

Bārī naẓar az īn taḥdīdāt bardār va be-ān noqṭe-ye sāriye dar koll-e shayʾ nāẓer shaw va ān noqṭe rā mawhūm madān, chenānche az qabl koll-e ʿebād be-tavahhomāt mānde va ilā ḥīn ʿāref nashode va nakhwāhand shod illā man shāʾa Rabbuka. Va hamīn Mīrzā Yaḥyā ke be-vāseṭe-ye ū az Ḥaqq moʿreẓ shode, bayna yaday mithl-e yekī az khoddām ḥāẓer būde va elqā-ye kalemāt-e Allāh bar ū mīshod, chenānche ḥāl jamʿī telqāʾ-e vajh ḥāẓer-and, be-hamān qesm bar īshān elqā mīshavad dar koll-e layālī va ayyām. Va lāken farq ast ke ān nafs-e maghrūr chon do kaleme az lesān-ash jārī shod irtakaba mā lā irtakaba maẓāhir al-nafy kulluhā, va lāken īn nofūs-e ḥāẓere telqāʾ-e vajh be-abdaʿ-e kalemāt nāṭeq va maʿa dhālik laysa lahum min amrin illā baʿda idhnihi. Kadhālika kāna al-amr in anta min al-ʿālimīn.

In short, turn your gaze away from these limitations and look to that Point which pervades all things. Do not regard that Point as imaginary, as all the servants of former times remained caught in imaginings and, to this day, have not attained recognition and never will, except those whom your Lord wills. This very Mírzá Yaḥyá, on whose account you have turned away from the True One, used to stand in My presence like one of the attendants, and the words of God were imparted to him, just as a number of people now stand before My face and receive them in the same manner every night and day. The difference, however, is that when a mere two words flowed from the tongue of that deluded soul, he committed what all the manifestations of negation had never committed. These souls now present before My face, by contrast, utter the most wondrous words, yet undertake nothing without His permission. Such has been the matter, if you are among those who know.

668

اگرچه كلمات مشركين در قلبت مقرّ گرفته و محو آن مشكل مگر آنكه از اين سلسبيل عنايت كه در عيون كلمات بنفس كلمات جارى و سارى است بياشامى كذلك نبّأناك و اخبرناك و قصصناك ما كنت محتجباً عنه لعلّ تخرق الأحجاب بقدرة ربّك العزيز الوهّاب و تشهد ما لا شهدته من قبل و تعرف ما كنت غافلاً عنه و لكن لن توفّق بذلك الّا بأن تنقطع عما خلق بين السّموات و الأرض و تتوجّه الى اللّه الملك المقتدر العزيز المختار

Agarche kalemāt-e moshrekīn dar qalb-at maqarr gerefte va maḥv-e ān moshkel magar ānke az īn salsabīl-e ʿenāyat ke dar ʿoyūn-e kalemāt be-nafs-e kalemāt jārī va sārī ast biyāshāmī. Kadhālika nabbaʾnāka wa-akhbarnāka wa-qaṣaṣnāka mā kunta muḥtajiban ʿanhu laʿalla takhruqa al-aḥjāb bi-qudrati Rabbika al-ʿAzīz al-Wahhāb wa-tashhada mā lā shahidtahu min qablu wa-taʿrifa mā kunta ghāfilan ʿanhu. Wa-lākin lan tuwaffaqa bi-dhālika illā bi-an tanqaṭiʿa ʿammā khuliqa bayna al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-tatawajjaha ilā Allāh al-Malik al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Mukhtār.

Although the words of those who associate partners with God have lodged in your heart, and it is difficult to efface them unless you drink from this Salsabíl of loving-kindness that flows and courses through the wellsprings of the words by means of the words themselves. Thus have We told you, informed you, and recounted to you what you were veiled from, that you may rend the veils through the power of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful, witness what you have never witnessed before, and recognize what you were heedless of. Yet you will not succeed in this unless you detach yourself from all that has been created between the heavens and the earth and turn toward God, the King, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the One who chooses.

669

اى عباد در عرفان اين ظهور بكلمات و اشارات معرضين و تصديق و تكذيب آن نفوس متمسّك نشويد و باصل امر ناظر شويد چه كه اكثرى از ناس لم‌يزل و لايزال محتجب و متوهّم مشاهده شده و ميشوند و رؤساى عصر نظر باستحكام رياست خود ناس را از شطر احديّه و عرفان آيات اللّه ممنوع و مأيوس نموده ‌و خواهند نمود مثلاً ملاحظه در ظهور نقطه فرقان نما كه آنحضرت بآيات اللّه ظاهر شدند و در فرقان حجّت و برهان جز آيات نازل نشده مع‌ذلك بعد از ارتقاى نقطه فرقان برفيق اعلى و انقطاع روايح رحمن امر بدست علماء افتاد و آن نفوس بالمرّه ناس را از عرفان آيات منع نموده‌كه شما آيات اللّه را ادراك نمينمائيد و علم آن نزد ما است باينجهت حجّيت آيات از ميان رفت و زمام خلق بدست آن نفوس آمد و ناس را باوهامى تربيت نمودند كه ذكر آن ممكن نه چنانچه ديده و شنيده‌ايد و آياتيكه در ظهور بعد و قيامت و امثال آن نازل شده جميع را بهواى خود تفسير نمودند و ناس هم متابعت آن نفوس را من حيث لايشعر نموده ‌تا آنكه امر بمقامى رسيد كه ضرّ آن اوهام جميع بشجره ظهور بعد وارد شد و

Ey ʿebād, dar ʿerfān-e īn ẓohūr be-kalemāt va eshārāt-e moʿreẓīn va taṣdīq va takdhīb-e ān nofūs motamassek nashavīd va be-aṣl-e amr nāẓer shavīd, che ke aktharī az nās lam-yazal va lā-yazāl moḥtajeb va motavahhem moshāhede shode va mīshavand va roʾasā-ye ʿaṣr naẓar be-esteḥkām-e reyāsat-e khod nās rā az shaṭr-e aḥadiyye va ʿerfān-e āyāt-e Allāh mamnūʿ va maʾyūs namūde va khwāhand namūd. Mathalan molāḥeẓe dar ẓohūr-e Noqṭe-ye Forqān namā ke ān Ḥaẓrat be-āyāt-e Allāh ẓāher shodand va dar Forqān ḥojjat va borhān joz āyāt nāzel nashode. Maʿa dhālik baʿd az erteqā-ye Noqṭe-ye Forqān be-Rafīq-e Aʿlā va enqeṭāʿ-e ravāyeḥ-e Raḥmān amr be-dast-e ʿolamā oftād va ān nofūs be-l-marre nās rā az ʿerfān-e āyāt manʿ namūde ke shomā āyāt-e Allāh rā edrāk nemīnamāʾīd va ʿelm-e ān nazd-e mā ast. Be-īn jahat ḥojjiyyat-e āyāt az miyān raft va zemām-e khalq be-dast-e ān nofūs āmad va nās rā be-awhāmī tarbiyat namūdand ke dhekr-e ān momken na, chenānche dīde va shenīde-īd. Va āyātī ke dar ẓohūr-e baʿd va qiyāmat va amthāl-e ān nāzel shode jamīʿ rā be-havā-ye khod tafsīr namūdand va nās ham motābaʿat-e ān nofūs rā min ḥaythu lā yashʿur namūde tā ānke amr be-maqāmī resīd ke ẓorr-e ān awhām jamīʿ be-Shajare-ye Ẓohūr-e baʿd vāred shod va

O servants! In seeking to recognize this Revelation, do not cling to the words and allusions of those who turn away, or to those souls’ affirmations and denials. Look instead to the foundation of the Cause itself, for most people have always been and continue to be seen veiled and deluded. The leaders of the age, intent on consolidating their own authority, have barred people from the realm of oneness and the recognition of God’s verses, and have deprived them of hope, and will continue to do so. Consider, for example, the Revelation of the Point of the Qur’an: He appeared with the verses of God, and in the Qur’an no proof or testimony was revealed other than the verses. Nevertheless, after the Point of the Qur’an ascended to the Companion on high and the fragrances of the All-Merciful ceased, the matter fell into the hands of the learned. Those souls completely barred people from recognizing the verses, saying, “You cannot comprehend the verses of God; knowledge of them rests with us.” Thus the evidentiary authority of the verses disappeared, the reins of the people passed into those souls’ hands, and they instructed people in imaginings that cannot be recounted, as you have seen and heard. They interpreted all the verses revealed concerning the next Manifestation, the Resurrection, and the like according to their own desires. The people, too, followed those souls unawares, until matters reached the point where all the harm of those imaginings befell the Tree of the next Revelation, and

670

بعد از ظهور موعود در سنه ستّين مجدّدا ارياح فضل وزيد و سموات علم مرتفع شد و ارض عرفان منبسط و آيات اللّه از سماء مشيّت نازل و لكن نظر باوهام قبل ناس در حجيّت آيات توقّف نموده‌كه ما ادراك نمينمائيم و حال آنكه حقّ جلّ ذكره اعظم و اكرم و ارحم از آن است كه مظهر نفس خود را بفرستد و جميع را بعرفان او كه نفس عرفان اللّه است امر فرمايد و مع‌ذلك حجّتى بفرستد فوق ادراك ناس سبحانه عن ذلك

Baʿd az ẓohūr-e Mawʿūd dar sane-ye settīn mojaddadan aryāḥ-e faẓl vazīd va samavāt-e ʿelm mortafeʿ shod va arẓ-e ʿerfān monbaseṭ va āyāt-e Allāh az samā-ye mashiyyat nāzel. Va lāken naẓar be-awhām-e qabl nās dar ḥojjiyyat-e āyāt tavaqqof namūde ke mā edrāk nemīnamāʾīm, va ḥāl ānke Ḥaqq jalla dhikruhu aʿẓam va akram va arḥam az ān ast ke maẓhar-e nafs-e khod rā beferestad va jamīʿ rā be-ʿerfān-e ū ke nafs-e ʿerfān-e Allāh ast amr farmāyad va maʿa dhālik ḥojjatī beferestad fawq-e edrāk-e nās. Subḥānahu ʿan dhālik.

After the appearance of the Promised One in the year sixty, the winds of grace blew anew, the heavens of knowledge were raised, the earth of recognition was spread out, and the verses of God descended from the heaven of His will. Yet, because of their former imaginings, people hesitated to acknowledge the evidentiary authority of the verses, saying, “We do not comprehend them.” The True One—exalted be His mention—is, however, far too great, generous, and merciful to send the Manifestation of His own Self, command everyone to recognize Him, which is itself the recognition of God, and yet send a proof beyond people’s comprehension. Far exalted is He above such a thing!

671

بالأخرة باوهام انفس خود مشغول و محجوب بشأنيكه بآيات اللّه كفايت ننموده‌مع آنكه نصّ فرقان است او لم يكفهم انّا انزلنا عليك الكتاب و جميع مستدلّ باينكه ادراك آيات فوق عقول و عرفان ما است امر ديگر بايد ظاهر شود قد غيّروا نعمة اللّه و حجّته و ارادوا بغير ما اراد اللّه لذا اكثر اعراض نموده‌ بهاويه راجع شدند و هر چه اعراض مشركين شدّت نمود آن شمس معانى محكم‌تر حجّيت آيات را نازل فرمودند بشأنيكه كلّ حجّت و برهان را منحصر بآيات نمودند

Be-l-ākhare be-awhām-e anfos-e khod mashghūl va maḥjūb be-shaʾnī ke be-āyāt-e Allāh kefāyat nanamūde, maʿa ānke naṣṣ-e Forqān ast a-wa-lam yakfihim annā anzalnā ʿalayka al-kitāb, va jamīʿ mostadell be-īnke edrāk-e āyāt fawq-e ʿoqūl va ʿerfān-e mā ast, amr-e dīgar bāyad ẓāher shavad. Qad ghayyarū niʿmata Allāh wa-ḥujjatahu wa-arādū bi-ghayri mā arāda Allāh. Le-dhā akthar eʿrāẓ namūde be-hāviye rājeʿ shodand va har che eʿrāẓ-e moshrekīn sheddat namūd ān Shams-e Maʿānī moḥkamtar ḥojjiyyat-e āyāt rā nāzel farmūdand be-shaʾnī ke koll-e ḥojjat va borhān rā monḥaṣer be-āyāt namūdand.

In the end, they were so absorbed in and veiled by their own imaginings that they did not regard the verses of God as sufficient, even though the explicit text of the Qur’an states, “Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book?” All argued, “Comprehension of the verses is beyond our reason and understanding; something else must appear.” They altered God’s blessing and His proof, and desired something other than what God desired. Thus most turned away and returned to the abyss. The more fiercely those who associated partners with God turned away, the more firmly that Sun of inner meanings revealed the evidentiary authority of the verses, to the point that He confined all proof and testimony to the verses alone.

672

و رغماً لأنف المشركين اين آيه از سماء احديّة نازل لو ارادت نملة ان يتصرّف فى القرآن و باطنه و باطن باطنه فى حكم سواد عينيها لتقدر لانّ سرّ الصّمدانيّة و تجلّى الأحدانيّة قد تلجلجت فى كلّ شیء و اين آيه نازل كه جميع مستشعر شوند كه ابواب رحمت و عنايت مسدود نيست هر نفسى مقبل شود و الى اللّه توجّه نمايد حجيّت آيات اللّه را بنفس آيه ادراك مينمايد و ادراك آن مقام بعلوم ظاهره منوط نبوده و نخواهد بود بلكه بنفوس زكيّه و قلوب طاهره مقبله منوط طوبی‌ للمقبلين

Va raghman li-anfi l-mushrikīn īn āyih az samā-yi aḥadiyyat nāzil: law arādat namlatun an yataṣarrafa fī l-Qurʾān wa-bāṭinihi wa-bāṭini bāṭinihi fī ḥukmi sawādi ʿaynayhā la-taqdiru li-anna sirra l-ṣamadāniyya wa-tajalliya l-aḥadāniyya qad talajlajat fī kulli shayʾ. Va īn āyih nāzil kih jamīʿ mustashʿir shavand kih abvāb-i raḥmat va ʿināyat masdūd nīst. Har nafsī muqbil shavad va ila Allāh tavajjuh namāyad ḥujjiyyat-i āyāt-i Allāh rā bi-nafs-i āyih idrāk mīnamāyad va idrāk-i ān maqām bi-ʿulūm-i ẓāhirih manūṭ nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd balkih bi-nufūs-i zakiyyih va qulūb-i ṭāhirih-yi muqbilih manūṭ. Ṭūbā li-l-muqbilīn.

And despite those who associate partners with God, this verse descended from the heaven of oneness: “If an ant wished to exercise power over the Qur’an, its inner meaning, and the inner meaning of its inner meaning, as over the black of its own eyes, it would be able to do so, for the mystery of self-sufficiency and the revelation of oneness have stirred within every thing.” This verse was revealed so that all might realize that the doors of mercy and loving care are not closed. Whoever turns toward God perceives the evidentiary authority of the verses of God through the verse itself. Understanding this station has never depended, nor will it ever depend, on outward learning; rather, it depends on pure souls and unsullied hearts turned toward Him. Blessed are those who turn toward Him.

673

و هم‌چنين آن ساذج معانى حجبات و اوهاميكه از قبل بود و ناس بآن محتجب و متوهّم جميع را خرق نمودند و بافق انّنى انا حىّ فى الأفق الأبهی راجع شدند حال جمعى انفس موهومه لاثبات رياست و حفظ آن اراده نموده‌اند اوّلا حجيّت آيات را از بيان محو نمايند و در اين فقره بسيار سعى نموده‌ و مينمايند و بتمام مكر و حيله در اين امر مشغولند و لكن ابی‌ اللّه الّا ان يثبت آياته بالحقّ و لو تنكرها المشركون و حال در نفاق بمقامى رسيده‌اند كه اگر نفسى بحجيّت آيات متكلّم شود باو استهزاء و سخريه مينمايند بعينه مثل ملل قبل بل هؤلآء اشدّ جهلا و اكبر نفاقاً لو انتم تعرفون

Va ham-chunīn ān sādhij-i maʿānī ḥujubāt va avhāmī kih az qabl būd va nās bi-ān muḥtajib va mutavahhim jamīʿ rā kharq namūdand va bi-ufuq-i innanī anā ḥayyun fī l-ufuqi l-abhā rājiʿ shudand. Ḥāl jamʿī anfus-i mawhūmih li-ithbāt-i riyāsat va ḥifẓ-i ān irādih namūdih-and avvalan ḥujjiyyat-i āyāt rā az Bayān maḥv namāyand va dar īn fiqrih bisyār saʿy namūdih va mīnamāyand va bi-tamām-i makr va ḥīlih dar īn amr mashghūland va lākin abā Allāhu illā an yuthbita āyātihi bi-l-ḥaqq wa-law tunkiruhā l-mushrikūn. Va ḥāl dar nifāq bi-maqāmī rasīdih-and kih agar nafsī bi-ḥujjiyyat-i āyāt mutakallim shavad bi-ū istihzā va sukhriyyih mīnamāyand bi-ʿaynih mithl-i milal-i qabl bal hāʾulāʾi ashaddu jahlan va akbaru nifāqan law antum taʿrifūn.

Likewise, that Quintessence of meanings tore through all the veils and imaginings that had existed before and by which people had been veiled and deluded, and returned to the horizon of “Indeed, I am alive in the all-glorious horizon.” Now a number of deluded souls, intent on establishing and preserving their leadership, have resolved first to erase from the Bayán the evidentiary authority of the verses. They have striven greatly in this matter and continue to do so, employing every trick and stratagem. But God refuses to do anything other than establish His verses in truth, even though those who associate partners with Him deny them. Their hypocrisy has now reached such a degree that if anyone speaks of the evidentiary authority of the verses, they ridicule and mock him, exactly like the religious communities of the past. Indeed, these people are more ignorant and greater in hypocrisy, if you only knew.

674

لازال عرفان منبسطه الهيّه را نفوس محتجبه محدود نموده‌اند و باين جهت اكثر عباد از فيوضات رحمانى و عنايات ربّانى محروم مانده‌اند چنانچه نفس ملقى يومى از ایّام استهزاء على نقطة البيان ذكر مينمود كه فرموده‌اند كه احدى بر اتيان يك آيه قادر نه و حال آنكه مى بينيم كه بعضى نفوس قادرند كه دو كلمه آيات تكلّم نمايند پس از اين قرار اين نفوس هم حقّ خواهند بود فو‌اللّه من وجد رايحة رضوان المعانى ليعرف من هذه الكلمة كفره و نفاقه و بغيه و اعتراضه على كلّ النّبيين و المرسلين

Lāzāl ʿirfān-i munbasiṭih-yi ilāhiyyih rā nufūs-i muḥtajibih maḥdūd namūdih-and va bi-īn jihat akthar-i ʿibād az fuyūḍāt-i raḥmānī va ʿināyāt-i rabbānī maḥrūm māndih-and. Chunānchih nafs-i mulqī yawmī az ayyām istihzāʾan ʿalā Nuqṭati l-Bayān dhikr mīnamūd kih farmūdih-and kih aḥadī bar ityān-i yik āyih qādir nah va ḥāl ānkih mībīnīm kih baʿḍī nufūs qādirand kih du kalimih āyāt takallum namāyand pas az īn qarār īn nufūs ham Ḥaqq khvāhand būd. Fa-wa-Allāhi man wajada rāʾiḥata Riḍwāni l-maʿānī la-yaʿrifu min hādhihi l-kalimati kufrahu wa-nifāqahu wa-baghyahu wa-iʿtirāḍahu ʿalā kulli l-nabiyyīn wa-l-mursalīn.

Veiled souls have always confined the all-embracing knowledge of God, and for this reason most people have remained deprived of the outpourings of the All-Merciful and the loving care of the Lord. Thus, one day, the very person who put this notion forward said in mockery of the Point of the Bayán: “He has stated that no one is capable of producing a single verse, yet we see that some people are able to utter two words of verses. On this basis, these people too would be the True One.” By God, anyone who has caught the fragrance of the paradise of meanings will recognize from this statement his unbelief, hypocrisy, rebellion, and opposition to all the Prophets and Messengers.

675

مشاهده شد كه ابداً از كوثر معانى مرزوق نشده و از رضوان معنوى الهى بغايت محروم مانده چه كه اين بسى واضح است كه مقصود حضرت از اين بيان چه بوده و كلمه حقّ اگر چه بحرفين باشد سلطان كلمات اهل ارض بوده وخواهد بود و اللّه از نفحات همان كلمه وحده عارفين نفحات حقّ را مييابند و برضوانش توجّه مينمايند ملاحظه نما كه اگر از شطّ عذب فرات كاسى اخذ شود صاحبان ذايقه ادراك مينمايند كه اين ماء از كدام منبع بوده و از عذوبت او پى‌برند بمنبع او و حال آنكه بحسب ظاهر يك كاس ماء بوده و چون منبع علم و عرفان و عنايت و مكرمت و فضل و قدرت و جلال و عظمت جارى و سارى است لذا از آن كلمه مخلصين و مقرّبين ادراك مينمايند و بمنبع آن پى‌ميبرند كذلك فصّل لك لعلّ تهتدى بهدى اللّه ربّك و لاتلتفت الى جنود الشّياطين

Mushāhidih shud kih abadan az kawthar-i maʿānī marzūq nashudih va az Riḍvān-i maʿnavī-yi ilāhī bi-ghāyat maḥrūm māndih chih kih īn basī vāḍiḥ ast kih maqṣūd-i Ḥaḍrat az īn bayān chih būdih va kalimih-yi Ḥaqq agar chih bi-ḥarfayn bāshad sulṭān-i kalimāt-i ahl-i arḍ būdih va khvāhad būd. Va-Allāh az nafaḥāt-i hamān kalimih vaḥdih ʿārifīn nafaḥāt-i Ḥaqq rā mīyāband va bi-Riḍvānash tavajjuh mīnamāyand. Mulāḥiẓih namā kih agar az shaṭṭ-i ʿadhb-i furāt kāsī akhdh shavad ṣāḥibān-i dhāʾiqih idrāk mīnamāyand kih īn māʾ az kudām manbaʿ būdih va az ʿudhūbat-i ū pay barand bi-manbaʿ-i ū va ḥāl ānkih bi-ḥasab-i ẓāhir yik kās-i māʾ būdih va chūn manbaʿ-i ʿilm va ʿirfān va ʿināyat va makramat va faḍl va qudrat va jalāl va ʿaẓamat jārī va sārī ast lidhā az ān kalimih mukhliṣīn va muqarrabīn idrāk mīnamāyand va bi-manbaʿ-i ān pay mībarand. Kadhālika faṣṣala laka laʿalla tahtadī bi-hudā Allāhi rabbika wa-lā taltafit ilā junūdi l-shayāṭīn.

It became evident that he had never been nourished by the heavenly waters of meanings and had remained utterly deprived of the divine paradise of spiritual understanding, for what His Holiness intended by this statement is abundantly clear. The word of the True One, even if it consists of only two letters, has always been and will always be sovereign over the words of the people of the earth. By God, from the fragrance of that word alone, those endowed with understanding perceive the fragrances of the True One and turn toward His paradise. Consider: if a cup is drawn from a sweet, refreshing river, those with a sense of taste perceive the source of this water and recognize its source from its sweetness, although outwardly it is only a cup of water. And since the wellspring of knowledge, recognition, loving care, generosity, grace, power, glory, and grandeur flows and pervades all things, the sincere and those brought near perceive through that word and recognize its source. Thus He has explained it to you, so that you may be guided by the guidance of God, your Lord, and pay no heed to the hosts of devils.

676

و اگر نفسى دو كلمه بگويد و در كلمه سيّم معطّل ماند مبرهن است كه از اين منبع جاريه ساريه نبوده و نخواهد بود فو‌اللّه يا عبد حقّ بجميع شئونش از دونش ممتاز بوده و خواهد بود بر خود مشتبه مكن ميخواهى تجربه كن بين يدى حاضر شو و يك آيه از آيات اللّه سؤال نما اذا تطّلع ببحر الّذى يتموّج بذاته لذاته و لم يكن لامواجه من نفاد و تطّلع بمكمن المعانى و العرفان و مخزن العلم و الحكمة و تكون من الموقنين

Va agar nafsī du kalimih bigūyad va dar kalimih-yi siyyum muʿaṭṭal mānad mubarhan ast kih az īn manbaʿ-i jāriyih-yi sāriyih nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd. Fa-wa-Allāh yā ʿAbd Ḥaqq bi-jamīʿ-i shuʾūnash az dūnash mumtāz būdih va khvāhad būd. Bar khud mushtabih makun mīkhvāhī tajribih kun bayna yaday ḥāḍir shaw va yik āyih az āyāt-i Allāh suʾāl namā. Idhan taṭṭaliʿ bi-baḥri lladhī yatamawwaju bi-dhātihi li-dhātihi wa-lam yakun li-amwājihi min nafād wa-taṭṭaliʿ bi-makmani l-maʿānī wa-l-ʿirfān wa-makhzani l-ʿilmi wa-l-ḥikma wa-takūnu mina l-mūqinīn.

If someone utters two words but is at a loss for a third, it is evident that these have not come, nor will they ever come, from this flowing, all-pervading wellspring. By God, O servant, the True One has always been and will always be distinguished from all others in every aspect of His being. Do not confuse the matter for yourself. If you wish, put it to the test: enter My presence and ask for a single verse of the verses of God. Then you will behold the ocean that surges of itself and for itself, whose waves have no end, and you will discover the sanctuary of meanings and recognition and the treasury of knowledge and wisdom, and be among those who are certain.

677

و اين ظهور اعظم را چون نقطه بيان جلّ كبريائه مخصوص در جميع بيان فرموده بآيات ظاهر ميشود لذا بآيات ظاهر شده و الّا كلّ ما ظهر من عنده حجّة على العالمين در اين ظهور اعظم جميع آيات قدرتيّه و آفاقيّه و انفسيّه مشاهده شده و لاينكرها الّا كلّ مغلّ مكّار

Va īn Ẓuhūr-i Aʿẓam rā chūn Nuqṭih-yi Bayān jalla kibriyāʾuhu makhṣūṣ dar jamīʿ-i Bayān farmūdih bi-āyāt ẓāhir mīshavad lidhā bi-āyāt ẓāhir shudih va illā kullu mā ẓahara min ʿindihi ḥujjatun ʿalā l-ʿālamīn. Dar īn Ẓuhūr-i Aʿẓam jamīʿ-i āyāt-i qudratiyyih va āfāqiyyih va anfusiyyih mushāhidih shudih va-lā yunkiruhā illā kullu mughillin makkār.

Since the Point of the Bayán—exalted be His majesty—specifically stated throughout the Bayán that this Most Great Revelation would appear through verses, it has therefore appeared through verses. Otherwise, everything that has appeared from Him is a proof to all the worlds. In this Most Great Revelation, all the signs of power, all the signs in the world and within human souls, have been witnessed, and none denies them except the treacherous and deceitful.

678

بر هر نفسى اليوم لازم كه از انفس خبيثه مشركه اجتناب نمايد چه كه بمكرى ظاهر شده‌اند كه در ابداع شبه آن ممكن نه چنانچه از ارض صاد بجناب اسم اللّه آقاسيّد مهدى عليه بهآء اللّه نوشته‌اند كه امّ الفواحش و الخطيئات مكتوبی‌ باين ارض فرستاده مضمون آنكه در بيت ايشان لوحى مدفون بوده از خطّ حضرت اعلى و من آن لوح را بيرون آورده‌ام و در آن لوح عباراتى مسطور و نسبت بنقطه اولى داده كه بطلعت ابهى در سفارش ميرزا يحيى نوشته‌‌اند فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كلّ متحيّر مانديم از جعل اين نفوس و مكر اين قوم

Bar har nafsī al-yawm lāzim kih az anfus-i khabīthih-yi mushrikih ijtināb namāyad chih kih bi-makrī ẓāhir shudih-and kih dar ibdāʿ shibh-i ān mumkin nah. Chunānchih az arḍ-i Ṣād bi-janāb-i Ismuʾllāh Āqā Siyyid Mahdī ʿalayhi Bahāʾuʾllāh nivishtih-and kih Umm-i l-Fawāḥish va-l-Khaṭīʾāt maktūbī bi-īn arḍ firistādih maḍmūn ānkih dar bayt-i īshān lawḥī madfūn būdih az khaṭṭ-i Ḥaḍrat-i Aʿlā va man ān lawḥ rā bīrūn āvardih-am va dar ān lawḥ ʿibārātī masṭūr va nisbat bi-Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā dādih kih bi-Ṭalʿat-i Abhā dar sifārish-i Mīrzā Yaḥyā nivishtih-and. Fa-wa-Allāhi lladhī lā ilāha illā huwa kull mutaḥayyir māndīm az jaʿl-i īn nufūs va makr-i īn qawm.

Today everyone must avoid these wicked souls who associate partners with God, for they have appeared with a deceit whose like is impossible in creation. Thus, a letter has been written from the land of Ṣád to His Honor Ismu’lláh, Áqá Siyyid Mahdí—may the glory of God rest upon him—reporting that the Mother of Abominations and Sins has sent a letter to that land. Its purport is that a Tablet in the handwriting of His Holiness the Most Exalted had been buried in their house, and that “I have brought that Tablet out.” In that Tablet, certain passages are inscribed and attributed to the Primal Point, purportedly written to the All-Glorious Beauty in commendation of Mírzá Yaḥyá. By God, besides whom there is no other god, we were all astonished at the fabrications of these souls and the deceit of these people.

679

و بعد از مصدر امر حكم شده كه بروند و باو بگويند كه آن لوح را از كدام محلّ بيت بيرون آورده و بنما لعلّ تتنبّه فى نفسها و تكون من التّائبات باين شدّت بر افترا قيام نموده‌اند و اين امور دستور‌العملى است كه ميرزا يحيى از اينجا مينويسد و ميفرستد لعنة اللّه على الكاذبين و المفترين اذا يتبرّء منهم نقطة البيان فى عرش الجنان و يقول خسرانا لكم يا ملأ المشركين و نارا عليكم يا ملأ المغرضين

Va baʿd az maṣdar-i amr ḥukm shudih kih biravand va bi-ū bigūyand kih ān lawḥ rā az kudām maḥall-i bayt bīrūn āvardih va binamā laʿalla tatanabbahu fī nafsihā va takūnu mina l-tāʾibāt. Bi-īn shiddat bar iftirā qiyām namūdih-and va īn umūr dastūr al-ʿamalī ast kih Mīrzā Yaḥyā az īnjā mīnivīsad va mīfiristad. Laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā l-kādhibīn wa-l-muftarīn. Idhan yatabarraʾu minhum Nuqṭatu l-Bayān fī ʿarshi l-jinān wa-yaqūlu khusrānan lakum yā malaʾa l-mushrikīn va nāran ʿalaykum yā malaʾa l-mughriḍīn.

Afterward, the Source of authority commanded that they go and ask her from which part of the house she had brought out that Tablet, and tell her, “Show it,” so that she might come to her senses and be among those who repent. They have risen to fabricate falsehoods with such vehemence. These actions follow instructions that Mírzá Yaḥyá writes and sends from here. May God’s curse rest upon the liars and fabricators. Thereupon the Point of the Bayán, on the throne of paradise, disavows them and says: “Ruin upon you, you who associate partners with God! Fire upon you, you people of malice!”

680

اليوم بايد بصر را حديد نمود و قلب را طاهر و صدر را منزّه تا انسان خود را از دونش بشناسد و تميز دهد و اين رتبه اگر چه بسيار بلند و عظيم است ولكن نزد منصفين بسيار سهل و يسير اگرچه حال اهل بيان بمقامى رسيده‌اند و بامورى بر حقّ اعتراض نموده‌اند كه از اوّل ابداع تا حين احدى در مثل آن امور بر حقّ اعتراض ننموده ‌جميع اين عباد سالها است طايف حول بوده‌ايم و اللّه العظيم كه هرگز نزدشان از زخرف دنيا شيئى نبوده و اگر هم بوده جميع شريك بوده‌ايم و هر نفسى ببيت اعظم وارد گويا خود صاحب بيت است كمال عنايت درباره او مبذول و مع‌ذلك اهل بيان اعتراضا على اللّه بكلّ ما ظهر من الحقّ اعتراض نموده‌اند حتّى شرب چاى و همچنين در لباس و امثال آن افّ لهم و لحيائهم

Al-yawm bāyad baṣar rā ḥadīd namūd va qalb rā ṭāhir va ṣadr rā munazzah tā insān khud rā az dūnash bishināsad va tamyīz dihad va īn rutbih agar chih bisyār buland va ʿaẓīm ast va lākin nazd-i munṣifīn bisyār sahl va yasīr. Agarchih ḥāl ahl-i Bayān bi-maqāmī rasīdih-and va bi-umūrī bar Ḥaqq iʿtirāḍ namūdih-and kih az avval-i ibdāʿ tā ḥīn aḥadī dar mithl-i ān umūr bar Ḥaqq iʿtirāḍ nanamūdih. Jamīʿ-i īn ʿibād sālhā ast ṭāʾif-i ḥawl būdih-īm va-Allāhu l-ʿaẓīm kih hargiz nazdishān az zukhruf-i dunyā shayʾī nabūdih va agar ham būdih jamīʿ sharīk būdih-īm va har nafsī bi-Bayt-i Aʿẓam vārid gūyā khud ṣāḥib-i bayt ast kamāl-i ʿināyat dar bārih-yi ū mabdhūl va maʿa dhālik ahl-i Bayān iʿtirāḍan ʿalā Allāh bi-kulli mā ẓahara mina l-Ḥaqq iʿtirāḍ namūdih-and ḥattā shurb-i chāy va hamchunīn dar libās va amthāl-i ān. Uffin lahum va li-ḥayāʾihim.

Today one must sharpen one’s sight, purify one’s heart, and sanctify one’s breast, so that a person may recognize and distinguish himself from others. Although this rank is very lofty and great, it is very easy and simple for the fair-minded. Yet the people of the Bayán have now reached such a state, and have objected to the True One over such matters, that from the beginning of creation until now no one has objected to the True One over anything like them. All of us servants have circled around Him for years. By God the Almighty, He has never possessed anything of this world’s finery, and if there has been anything, we have all shared in it. Anyone who enters the Most Great House is treated as though he himself were its owner, and the utmost loving care is lavished upon him. Nevertheless, the people of the Bayán, in opposition to God, have objected to everything that has appeared from the True One, even the drinking of tea, and likewise to His clothing and similar things. Shame on them and their sense of shame!

681

نميدانم چه شده كه هر نفسى در عقبه واقف و مبتلى لوحى در اين ایّام از مشرق مشيّت رحمن مخصوص يكى از احبّا مشرق و نازل در اينمقام لاجل تنبّه ذكر ميشود شايد متنبّه شوند و بشنوند قول نقطه اولى را در كرّه اخرى از لسان ابدع ابهى و از ضجيج و حنين و ناله آن حضرت شرم نمايند و بآنچه عامل شده كفايت كنند و هذه صورة ما نزل من جبروت اللّه العلىّ العظيم

Namīdānam chih shudih kih har nafsī dar ʿaqabih vāqif va mubtalā. Lawḥī dar īn ayyām az mashriq-i mashiyyat-i Raḥmān makhṣūṣ-i yikī az aḥibbā mushriq va nāzil. Dar īn maqām li-ajl-i tanabbuh dhikr mīshavad shāyad mutanabbih shavand va bishinavand qawl-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā rā dar karrih-yi ukhrā az lisān-i abdaʿ-i abhā va az ḍajīj va ḥanīn va nālih-yi ān Ḥaḍrat sharm namāyand va bi-ānchih ʿāmil shudih kifāyat kunand. Va hādhihi ṣūratu mā nazala min jabarūti Allāhi l-ʿAliyyi l-ʿAẓīm.

I do not know what has happened that every soul has halted at the mountain pass and become afflicted. In these days a Tablet has dawned and descended from the dayspring of the will of the All-Merciful, addressed specifically to one of the loved ones. It is quoted here to awaken them, so that they may perhaps come to their senses and hear once again the words of the Primal Point from a wondrous, all-glorious tongue, feel ashamed at His cries, lamentations, and weeping, and content themselves with what they have already done. This is the text of what descended from the dominion of God, the Most High, the Almighty.

682

بسم اللّه الأقدس العلىّ الأعلی

Bi-smi Allāhi l-Aqdasi l-ʿAliyyi l-Aʿlā.

In the name of God, the Most Holy, the High, the Most Exalted.

683

هذا كتاب نقطة الأولی الى الّذينهم آمنوا باللّه الواحد الفرد العزيز العليم و فيه يخاطب الّذينهم توقّفوا فى هذا الأمر من ملأ البيانييّن لعلّ يستشعرن ببدايع كلمات اللّه و يقومن عن رقد الغفلة فى هذا الفجر المشرق المنير قل انّا امرناكم فى الكتاب بأن لاتقدموا طايفة الّتى يظهر منها محبوب العارفين و مقصود من فى السّموات و الأرضين و امرناكم ان ادركتم لقآء اللّه قوموا تلقآء الوجه ثمّ انطقوا من قبلى بهذه الكلمة العزيز المنيع عليك يا بهآء اللّه و ذوى قرابتك ذكر اللّه و ثنآء كلّ شیء فى كلّ حين و قبل حين و بعد حين و جعلنا هذه الكلمة عزّاً لاهل البيان لعلّ بها يرتقون الى معارج القدس و يكوننّ من الفائزين و انّهم تركوا ما امروا به بحيث ما ظهر احد تلقآء الوجه بما امرناهم فى الواح عزّ عظيم بل رموا نحوه من كلّ الآفاق رمى النّفاق و بذلك بكيت و بكت اهل جبروت العظمة ثمّ روح الأمين

Hādhā kitābu Nuqṭati l-Ūlā ilā lladhīnahum āmanū bi-Allāhi l-Wāḥidi l-Fardi l-ʿAzīzi l-ʿAlīm wa-fīhi yukhāṭibu lladhīnahum tawaqqafū fī hādhā l-amri min malaʾi l-bayāniyyīn laʿalla yastashʿirna bi-badāʾiʿi kalimāti Allāhi wa-yaqūmna ʿan raqdi l-ghaflati fī hādhā l-fajri l-mushriqi l-munīr. Qul innā amarnākum fī l-kitābi bi-an lā taqdamū ṭāʾifata llatī yaẓharu minhā maḥbūbu l-ʿārifīn wa-maqṣūdu man fī l-samāwāti wa-l-arḍīn wa-amarnākum in adraktum liqāʾa Allāhi qūmū tilqāʾa l-wajhi thumma nṭiqū min qiblī bi-hādhihi l-kalimati l-ʿazīzi l-manīʿ: ʿalayka yā Bahāʾa Allāhi wa-dhawī qarābatika dhikru Allāhi wa-thanāʾu kulli shayʾin fī kulli ḥīnin wa-qabla ḥīnin wa-baʿda ḥīn. Wa-jaʿalnā hādhihi l-kalimata ʿizzan li-ahli l-Bayāni laʿalla bihā yartaqūna ilā maʿāriji l-qudsi wa-yakūnanna mina l-fāʾizīn. Wa-innahum tarakū mā umirū bihi bi-ḥaythu mā ẓahara aḥadun tilqāʾa l-wajhi bi-mā amarnāhum fī alwāḥi ʿizzin ʿaẓīm bal ramaw naḥwahu min kulli l-āfāqi ramya l-nifāqi wa-bi-dhālika bakaytu wa-bakat ahlu jabarūti l-ʿaẓamati thumma Rūḥu l-Amīn.

This is the Book of the Primal Point to those who have believed in God, the One, the Unique, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. In it He addresses those among the people of the Bayán who have hesitated in this Cause, so that they may become aware of the wonders of God’s words and rise from the sleep of heedlessness in this radiant, luminous dawn. Say: We commanded you in the Book not to take precedence over the community from which would appear the Beloved of those endowed with understanding and the Desire of all who are in the heavens and on earth. We commanded you, should you attain the presence of God, to stand before His face and then utter on My behalf these mighty, exalted words: “Upon You, O Bahá’u’lláh, and upon Your kindred, be the remembrance of God and the praise of every thing, at every moment, before every moment, and after every moment.” We made these words an honor for the people of the Bayán, so that through them they might ascend to the heights of holiness and be among those who attain their goal. Yet they abandoned what they were commanded, so that no one appeared before His face with what We had enjoined upon them in Tablets of great glory. Instead, from every horizon they hurled the shafts of hypocrisy at Him. At this I wept, and the inhabitants of the dominion of grandeur wept, and then the faithful Spirit.

684

قل يا قوم فاستحيوا عن جمالى انّ الّذى قد ظهر بالحقّ انّه لبهآء العالمين لو انتم من العارفين و انّه لبهآء اللّه و عليه ذكر اللّه و ثنائه ثم ثنآء اهل ملأ الأعلی و ثنآء اهل جبروت البقآء و ثنآء كلّ شیء فى كلّ حين ایّاکم ان تحتجبوا بما خلق بين الأرض و السّمآء ان اسرعوا الى رضوان رضائه و لا تكوننّ من الرّاقدين

Qul yā qawmi fa-staḥyū ʿan jamālī inna lladhī qad ẓahara bi-l-ḥaqqi innahu la-Bahāʾu l-ʿālamīn law antum mina l-ʿārifīn wa-innahu la-Bahāʾu Allāhi wa-ʿalayhi dhikru Allāhi wa-thanāʾuhu thumma thanāʾu ahli malaʾi l-aʿlā wa-thanāʾu ahli jabarūti l-baqāʾ wa-thanāʾu kulli shayʾin fī kulli ḥīn. Iyyākum an taḥtajibū bi-mā khuliqa bayna l-arḍi wa-l-samāʾ an asriʿū ilā Riḍwāni riḍāʾihi wa-lā takūnanna mina l-rāqidīn.

Say: My people, feel shame before My beauty! He who has appeared in truth is indeed the Glory of all the worlds, if you are among those endowed with understanding. He is indeed Bahá’u’lláh, and upon Him be the remembrance of God and His praise, and the praise of the inhabitants of the highest assembly, the praise of the inhabitants of the dominion of eternity, and the praise of every thing at every moment. Beware lest you be veiled by anything created between earth and heaven. Hasten to the paradise of His good pleasure, and do not be among those who sleep.

685

قل انّ جماله كان جمالى بالحقّ و انّ نفسه نفسى و كلّما نزّلناه فى البيان قد نزل لأمره المحكم البديع اتّقو اللّه و لاتجادلوا بالّذى اخبرناكم به و بشّرناكم بظهوره و اخذت عهد نفسه قبل عهد نفسى و يشهد بذلك كلّ شیء ان انتم من المنكرين تاللّه بنغمة من نغماته ولدت حقايق كلّ شیء مرّة اخرى و بنغمة اخرى استجذبت افئدة المقرّبين ایّاکم ان تحتجبوا بشىء عن الّذى كان لقائه ذات لقائى و فدى نفسه فى سبيلى كما فديت فى سبيله حبّاً لجماله العزيز المنيع

Qul inna jamālahu kāna jamālī bi-l-ḥaqq wa-inna nafsahu nafsī wa-kullamā nazzalnāhu fī al-Bayān qad nazala li-amrihi al-muḥkam al-badīʿ. Ittaqū Allāh wa-lā tujādilū bi-lladhī akhbarnākum bihi wa-bashsharnākum bi-ẓuhūrihi wa-akhadhtu ʿahda nafsihi qabla ʿahda nafsī wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika kull shayʾ in antum min al-munkirīn. Ta-llāh bi-naghma min naghamātihi wulidat ḥaqāʾiq kull shayʾ marra ukhrā wa-bi-naghma ukhrā istujdhibat afʾidat al-muqarrabīn. Iyyākum an taḥtajibū bi-shayʾ ʿan alladhī kāna liqāʾuhu dhāta liqāʾī wa-fadā nafsahu fī sabīlī kamā fadaytu fī sabīlihi ḥubban li-jamālihi al-ʿazīz al-manīʿ.

Say: His beauty was truly My beauty, and His own Self My Self, and everything We sent down in the Bayán was revealed for His firm and wondrous Cause. Fear God, and do not dispute concerning Him of whom We informed you and whose appearance We announced to you. I took the covenant concerning His Self before the covenant concerning My own Self, and every thing bears witness to this, if you are among those who deny it. By God! Through one of His melodies the realities of all things were born anew, and through another melody the hearts of those brought near were drawn to Him. Beware lest anything veil you from Him, meeting whom was the very essence of meeting Me. He sacrificed Himself in My path, just as I sacrificed Myself in His path, out of love for His mighty, unassailable beauty.

686

قل لولاه ما ركب الحآء بالبآء و ما استقرّ هيكل الهآء على الواو و ما خلق ما كان و ما يكون لو انتم من الشّاعرين و لولاه ما القيت نفسى بين يدى المشركين و ما علّقت بين الهوا تاللّه باشتياقى اليه و شوقى الى نفسه قد حملت ما لا حمله النّبيّين و المرسلين و رضيت كلّ ذلك على نفسى لئلّا يرد عليه ما يحزن به فؤاده الألطف الأرقّ اللّطيف المنيع و وصّيناكم فى كلّ البيان بأن لايحزن احد احداً لعلّ لايرد عليه من حزن و الّا مالى و ذكرى لكم و اشتغالى بكم يا ملأ التّاركين

Qul lawlāhu mā rukkiba al-Ḥāʾ bi-l-Bāʾ wa-mā istaqarra haykal al-Hāʾ ʿalā al-Wāw wa-mā khuliqa mā kāna wa-mā yakūn law antum min al-shāʿirīn. Wa-lawlāhu mā alqaytu nafsī bayna yaday al-mushrikīn wa-mā ʿulliqtu bayna al-hawā. Ta-llāh bi-ishtiyāqī ilayhi wa-shawqī ilā nafsihi qad ḥamaltu mā lā ḥamalahu al-nabiyyīn wa-l-mursalīn wa-raḍītu kulla dhālika ʿalā nafsī li-allā yarida ʿalayhi mā yaḥzanu bihi fuʾāduhu al-alṭaf al-araqq al-laṭīf al-manīʿ. Wa-waṣṣaynākum fī kull al-Bayān bi-an lā yuḥzina aḥad aḥadan laʿalla lā yarida ʿalayhi min ḥuzn wa-illā mā lī wa-dhikrī lakum wa-ishtighālī bikum yā malaʾ al-tārikīn.

Say: Were it not for Him, the Ḥāʾ would not have been joined to the Bāʾ, nor would the form of the Hāʾ have been established upon the Wāw, nor would anything that has been or will be have been created, if you are among those who perceive. Were it not for Him, I would not have cast Myself into the hands of those who associate partners with God, nor would I have been suspended in the air. By God! In My yearning for Him and My longing for His Self, I bore what the Prophets and Messengers did not bear, and willingly accepted all this for Myself, lest anything befall Him that would grieve His most tender, most delicate, gracious, unassailable heart. Throughout the Bayán We enjoined you not to cause anyone sorrow, that perhaps no sorrow might befall Him. Otherwise, what have I to do with mentioning you or concerning Myself with you, O assembly of those who have turned away?

687

و انّى ما اردت فى البيان الّا نفسه و لا من الأذکار‌ الّا ذكره و لا من الأسماء الّا اسمه المبارك الأمنع الأقدس الأبدع البديع فو‌عمرى لو ذكرت ذكر الرّبوبيّة ما اردت الّا ربوبيّته على كلّ الأشیآء و ان جرى من قلمى ذكر الالوهيّة ما كان مقصودى الّا اله العالمين و ان جرى من قلمى ذكر المقصود فهو كان مقصودى و كذلك فى المحبوب انّه قد كان محبوبی‌ و محبوب العارفين و ان ذكرت ذكر السّجود ما اردت الّا السّجود لوجهه المتعالى العزيز المنيع و ان اثنيت نفساً ما كان مقصود قلبی‌ الّا ثنآء نفسه و ان امرت النّاس بعمل ما اردت الّا العمل فى رضائه فى يوم ظهوره و بذلك يشهد كلّما نزل علىّ من جبروت ربّی‌ العليم الحكيم و علّقت كلّ شیء بتصديقه و رضائه و انّه لهو الّذى قد كان بنفسه اله العالمين و مقصود القاصدين و انتم لو تدقّون الأبصار لتشهدون مظاهر يفعل ما يشآء فى ظلّه لمن العابدين و انتم قد فعلتم بنفسه ما لا فعل امّة الفرقان بنفسى و لا ملأ اليهود بالرّوح

Wa-innī mā aradtu fī al-Bayān illā nafsahu wa-lā min al-adhkār illā dhikrahu wa-lā min al-asmāʾ illā ismahu al-mubārak al-amnaʿ al-aqdas al-abdaʿ al-badīʿ. Fa-wa-ʿamrī law dhakartu dhikr al-rubūbiyya mā aradtu illā rubūbiyyatahu ʿalā kull al-ashyāʾ wa-in jarā min qalamī dhikr al-ulūhiyya mā kāna maqṣūdī illā ilāh al-ʿālamīn wa-in jarā min qalamī dhikr al-maqṣūd fa-huwa kāna maqṣūdī wa-kadhālika fī al-maḥbūb innahu qad kāna maḥbūbī wa-maḥbūb al-ʿārifīn wa-in dhakartu dhikr al-sujūd mā aradtu illā al-sujūd li-wajhihi al-mutaʿālī al-ʿazīz al-manīʿ wa-in athnaytu nafsan mā kāna maqṣūd qalbī illā thanāʾ nafsihi wa-in amartu al-nās bi-ʿamal mā aradtu illā al-ʿamala fī riḍāʾihi fī yawm ẓuhūrihi wa-bi-dhālika yashhadu kullamā nazala ʿalayya min jabarūt rabbī al-ʿalīm al-ḥakīm. Wa-ʿallaqtu kulla shayʾ bi-taṣdīqihi wa-riḍāʾihi wa-innahu la-huwa alladhī qad kāna bi-nafsihi ilāh al-ʿālamīn wa-maqṣūd al-qāṣidīn wa-antum law tudiqqūn al-abṣār la-tashhadūn maẓāhir yafʿalu mā yashāʾ fī ẓillihi la-min al-ʿābidīn. Wa-antum qad faʿaltum bi-nafsihi mā lā faʿala ummat al-Furqān bi-nafsī wa-lā malaʾ al-Yahūd bi-l-Rūḥ.

In the Bayán I intended none but His Self; by its remembrances, none but His remembrance; and by its names, none but His blessed, most unassailable, most holy, most wondrous, incomparable Name. By My life! If I made mention of lordship, I intended only His lordship over all things. If mention of divinity flowed from My pen, My purpose was none but the God of all worlds. If mention of the Desired One flowed from My pen, He was My Desired One; and likewise with the Beloved: He was My Beloved and the Beloved of those who know. If I made mention of prostration, I intended only prostration before His exalted, mighty, unassailable countenance. If I praised anyone, My heart intended only to praise His Self. If I commanded people to perform a deed, I intended only that it be done for His good pleasure on the day of His appearance. Everything sent down to Me from the dominion of My Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, bears witness to this. I made everything dependent on His confirmation and good pleasure. He is indeed the One who in His own Self has been the God of all worlds and the Desire of all who seek. If you look closely, you will surely see the Manifestations of “He does whatever He wills” among those who worship in His shadow. Yet you have done to His Self what neither the people of the Qur’an did to Me nor the assembly of the Jews to the Spirit.

688

فآهء آه من حرقة قلبی‌ و حنين نفسى فيما ورد على محبوبی‌ من ملأ المشركين افّ لكم و لوفائكم يا معشر الظّالمين انا خلقنا الوفآء و الأدب لنفسه لعلّ عند ظهوره لا تفعلوا امراً تجزع به حقيقتى و حقايق الأشیآء و انتم تجاوزتم عما حدّد فى كتاب اللّه الملك العلىّ العظيم و خرقتم حجاب الحيا ثمّ ستر الحرمة و عملتم ما يستحيى من ذكره قلم الانشآء بين الأرض و السّمآء

Fa-āh āh min ḥurqat qalbī wa-ḥanīn nafsī fīmā warada ʿalā maḥbūbī min malaʾ al-mushrikīn. Uff lakum wa-li-wafāʾikum yā maʿshar al-ẓālimīn. Innā khalaqnā al-wafāʾ wa-l-adab li-nafsihi laʿalla ʿinda ẓuhūrihi lā tafʿalū amran tajzaʿu bihi ḥaqīqatī wa-ḥaqāʾiq al-ashyāʾ wa-antum tajāwaztum ʿammā ḥuddida fī kitāb Allāh al-malik al-ʿalī al-ʿaẓīm wa-kharaqtum ḥijāb al-ḥayā thumma sitr al-ḥurma wa-ʿamiltum mā yastaḥyī min dhikrihi qalam al-inshāʾ bayna al-arḍ wa-l-samāʾ.

Alas, alas for the burning of My heart and the lamentation of My soul at what has befallen My Beloved at the hands of those who associate partners with God! Shame on you and your faithfulness, O company of wrongdoers! We created faithfulness and courtesy for His sake, so that at His appearance you might not do anything that would cause My reality and the realities of all things to grieve. Yet you have overstepped the bounds set in the Book of God, the King, the Most High, the Most Great. You have torn the veil of modesty and then the covering of reverence, and have done what the Pen of creation is ashamed to mention between earth and heaven.

689

فآهء آه بما ورد منكم على هذا المظلوم الفريد الغريب و لم ادر ما تفعلون به من بعد لا فو‌نفسى العليم بل اعلم و عندى علم كلّ شیء فى لوح جعله اللّه محفوظاً عن انظر المشركين و اخبرناه من قبل بما ورد عليه و يرد ولو انّه قد كان بنفسه عالماً بما فى صدور العالمين و لن يعزب عن علمه من شیء و لا يفوت عن قبضته ما خلق بكلمة من عنده لا اله الّا هو الفرد الباعث المحيى المميت

Fa-āh āh bi-mā warada minkum ʿalā hādhā al-maẓlūm al-farīd al-gharīb wa-lam adri mā tafʿalūna bihi min baʿd. Lā fa-wa-nafsī al-ʿalīm bal aʿlam wa-ʿindī ʿilm kull shayʾ fī lawḥ jaʿalahu Allāh maḥfūẓan ʿan [corrupted text] al-mushrikīn wa-akhbarnāhu min qabl bi-mā warada ʿalayhi wa-yarid wa-law innahu qad kāna bi-nafsihi ʿāliman bi-mā fī ṣudūr al-ʿālamīn wa-lan yaʿzuba ʿan ʿilmihi min shayʾ wa-lā yafūtu ʿan qabḍatihi mā khuliqa bi-kalima min ʿindihi lā ilāha illā huwa al-fard al-bāʿith al-muḥyī al-mumīt.

Alas, alas for what you have inflicted on this Wronged One, alone and a stranger! I do not know what you will do to Him hereafter. No, by My all-knowing Self! Rather, I do know, and with Me is the knowledge of all things in a Tablet that God has kept safe from the [corrupted original text] of those who associate partners with Him. We told Him beforehand what had befallen Him and what would befall Him, although He Himself knew what lay within the hearts of all the world. Nothing will escape His knowledge, nor will anything created by a word from Him elude His grasp. There is no God but Him, the Unique, the Raiser of the dead, the Giver of life, the Bringer of death.

690

قل يا قوم انّه لهو الّذى لو يريد ان يجعل كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض حجّة باقية من عنده ليقدر و انّ هذا عنده سهل يسير و انّه لهو الّذى قد خلق رضوان البيان لنفسه و منه بدء كلّ شیء و يعود لو انتم من العالمين و انتم بالّذى كان فى قبضته ملكوت الابداع ما رضيتم ان يسمّى نفسه باسم من الأسمآء بعد الّذى انّها و ملكوتها قد خلقت بأمره العزيز المنيع فآهء آه عن غفلتكم يا ملأ البيان فآهء آه من احتجابكم يا ملأ المشركين

Qul yā qawm innahu la-huwa alladhī law yurīdu an yajʿala kulla man fī al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ ḥujja bāqiya min ʿindihi la-yaqdir wa-inna hādhā ʿindahu sahl yasīr. Wa-innahu la-huwa alladhī qad khalaqa Riḍwān al-Bayān li-nafsihi wa-minhu badʾ kull shayʾ wa-yaʿūd law antum min al-ʿālimīn. Wa-antum bi-lladhī kāna fī qabḍatihi malakūt al-ibdāʿ mā raḍītum an yusammiya nafsahu bi-ism min al-asmāʾ baʿda alladhī innahā wa-malakūtahā qad khuliqat bi-amrihi al-ʿazīz al-manīʿ. Fa-āh āh ʿan ghaflatikum yā malaʾ al-Bayān fa-āh āh min iḥtijābikum yā malaʾ al-mushrikīn.

Say: My people, He is indeed the One who, if He wished to make everyone in the heavens and on earth an enduring testimony from Him, would have the power to do so. This is easy and effortless for Him. He is indeed the One who created the Paradise of the Bayán for Himself. From Him all things originate and to Him they return, if you are among those who know. Yet you were unwilling that He in whose grasp was the kingdom of creation should call Himself by any name, even though those names and their kingdom were created by His mighty, unassailable command. Alas, alas for your heedlessness, O people of the Bayán! Alas, alas for your veiling, O assembly of those who associate partners with God!

691

و انتم لمّا اسرفتم فى انفسكم و بلغتم الى معارج العرفان بزعمكم تذكرون الوصاية لأحد من اعدائه و تستدلّون بها على اللّه الّذى به شرعت شرايع الأدیان فى الأوّلین‌ و الآخرین و رجعتم الى ما استدلّ به اولو الفرقان بعد الّذى نهيناكم فى ساحته عن كلّ الأذکار‌ الّا بعد اذنه و كان اللّه على ذلك لشهيد و خبير اذا فانظروا فى شأنكم و عرفانكم فافّ لكم و لعقولكم ثمّ درايتكم يا ملأ الأخسرين اما علمتم بانّا طوينا ما عند النّاس و بسطنا بساطاً آخر فتبارك اللّه الملك الباسط العزيز الكريم

Wa-antum lammā asraftum fī anfusikum wa-balaghtum ilā maʿārij al-ʿirfān bi-zaʿmikum tadhkurūna al-waṣāya li-aḥad min aʿdāʾihi wa-tastadillūna bihā ʿalā Allāh alladhī bihi shuriʿat sharāʾiʿ al-adyān fī al-awwalīn wa-l-ākhirīn wa-rajaʿtum ilā mā istadalla bihi ulū al-Furqān baʿda alladhī nahaynākum fī sāḥatihi ʿan kull al-adhkār illā baʿda idhnihi wa-kāna Allāh ʿalā dhālika la-shahīd wa-khabīr. Idhan fa-nẓurū fī shaʾnikum wa-ʿirfānikum fa-uff lakum wa-li-ʿuqūlikum thumma dirāyatikum yā malaʾ al-akhsarīn. A-mā ʿalimtum bi-annā ṭawaynā mā ʿinda al-nās wa-basaṭnā bisāṭan ākhar fa-tabāraka Allāh al-malik al-bāsiṭ al-ʿazīz al-karīm.

When you went to excess in your own estimation and, as you imagined, attained the heights of knowledge, you invoked a succession conferred by testament upon one of His enemies, and used it to argue against God, through whom the laws of the religions were ordained among earlier and later generations. You returned to the arguments used by the people of the Qur’an, even though We had forbidden you to make any mention in His presence except with His permission. God is indeed a witness to this and fully informed. Consider, then, your condition and your knowledge! Shame on you, your reason, and your understanding, O assembly of those who have suffered the greatest loss! Did you not know that We rolled up what people possessed and spread out another carpet? Blessed, then, is God, the King, the One who spreads it out, the Almighty, the Generous.

692

قل يا قوم لاتفتروا على نفسى و انّى ما تكلّمت الّا بذكر هذا الظّهور و ثنائه و ما تنفّست الّا بحبّه و ما توجّهت الّا بوجهه المشرق المنير و جعلت البيان و ما نزل فيه ورقة من اوراق حديقة الرّضوان لنفسه المهيمن العزيز القدير ایّاکم ان تغصبوها و ترجعوها الى الّذى اراد سفك دمى مرّه اخرى بما اتّبع النّفس و الهوى و كان من الحاربين

Qul yā qawm lā taftarū ʿalā nafsī wa-innī mā takallamtu illā bi-dhikr hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-thanāʾihi wa-mā tanaffastu illā bi-ḥubbihi wa-mā tawajjahtu illā bi-wajhihi al-mushriq al-munīr wa-jaʿaltu al-Bayān wa-mā nazala fīhi waraqa min awrāq ḥadīqat al-Riḍwān li-nafsihi al-muhaymin al-ʿazīz al-qadīr. Iyyākum an taghṣabūhā wa-turjiʿūhā ilā alladhī arāda safka damī marra ukhrā bi-mā ittabaʿa al-nafs wa-l-hawā wa-kāna min al-ḥāribīn.

Say: My people, do not fabricate lies about Me. I spoke only in remembrance and praise of this Revelation; I breathed only in love for Him; and I turned only toward His radiant, luminous countenance. I made the Bayán and all that was revealed in it a leaf from the leaves of the garden of Paradise for His Self, the All-Protecting, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Beware lest you seize it and turn it over to the one who wished to shed My blood once again, because he followed self and desire and was among those who waged war.

693

قد فصّلنا البيان من كلمة ثمّ رجعناه اليها و امرنا الكلمة بان يحضر تلقآء العرش ليشهد خلق قبله و يفرح به نفسه العليم الحكيم اذا فانصفوا هل ينبغى ان يتصرّف فيها صاحبها او دونها فما لكم يا معشر المحتجبين انّا امرنا ملأ البيان بأن يلبسن الحرير و ينظفنّ انفسهم و اثوابهم لئلّا تقع عينه على ما لا يحبّه و كذلك فى كلّ شیء فصّلنا تفصيلاً فى كتاب مبين كلّ ذلك لنفسه لو انتم من المنصفين

Qad faṣṣalnā al-Bayān min kalima thumma rajaʿnāhu ilayhā wa-amarnā al-kalima bi-an yaḥḍura tilqāʾ al-ʿarsh li-yashhada khalqa qablahu wa-yafraḥa bihi nafsuhu al-ʿalīm al-ḥakīm. Idhan fa-anṣifū hal yanbaghī an yataṣarrafa fīhā ṣāḥibuhā aw dūnahā fa-mā lakum yā maʿshar al-muḥtajibīn. Innā amarnā malaʾ al-Bayān bi-an yalbasna al-ḥarīr wa-yunaẓẓifunna anfusahum wa-athwābahum li-allā taqaʿa ʿaynuhu ʿalā mā lā yuḥibbuhu wa-kadhālika fī kull shayʾ faṣṣalnā tafṣīlan fī kitāb mubīn kull dhālika li-nafsihi law antum min al-munṣifīn.

We unfolded the Bayán from a word, then returned it to that word, and commanded the word to appear before the Throne, that it might witness creation before Him and that His all-knowing, all-wise Self might rejoice in it. Judge fairly, then: should its possessor exercise authority over it, or someone other than it? What is the matter with you, O company of the veiled? We commanded the people of the Bayán to wear silk and to cleanse themselves and their clothes, lest His eyes fall upon anything He dislikes. Likewise, concerning every thing, We set out the details in a clear Book. All this was for His sake, if you are among those who judge fairly.

694

و خلقنا السّموات و الأرض و ما قدّر بينهما لاحبّائه فكيف جماله المشرق العزيز المنير و انتم تمسّكتم بما قدّرناه له و اعترضتم به على محبوبی‌ فما لكم يا ملأ البغضآء و ما يغنيكم اليوم يا معشر المفسدين و انتم اعترضتم عليه و بكلّ ما ظهر من عنده بعد ما وصّيناكم به فى الألواح بأن كلّ من يخطر بباله ذكر اسمه الأعظم البديع يقوم عن مقرّه و يقول سبحان اللّه ذوالملك و الملكوت تسعة عشر مرّة ثمّ سبحان اللّه ذى العزّة و الجبروت تسعة عشر مرّة الى آخر ما نزلناه فى لوح عزّ عظيم

Wa-khalaqnā al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ wa-mā quddira baynahumā li-aḥibbāʾihi fa-kayfa jamāluhu al-mushriq al-ʿazīz al-munīr. Wa-antum tamassaktum bi-mā qaddarnāhu lahu wa-iʿtaraḍtum bihi ʿalā maḥbūbī fa-mā lakum yā malaʾ al-baghḍāʾ wa-mā yughnīkum al-yawm yā maʿshar al-mufsidīn. Wa-antum iʿtaraḍtum ʿalayhi wa-bi-kull mā ẓahara min ʿindihi baʿda mā waṣṣaynākum bihi fī al-alwāḥ bi-anna kulla man yakhṭuru bi-bālihi dhikr ismihi al-aʿẓam al-badīʿ yaqūmu ʿan maqarrihi wa-yaqūlu subḥāna Allāh dhū al-mulk wa-l-malakūt tisʿata ʿashara marra thumma subḥāna Allāh dhī al-ʿizza wa-l-jabarūt tisʿata ʿashara marra ilā ākhir mā nazzalnāhu fī lawḥ ʿizz ʿaẓīm.

We created the heavens and the earth and all that was ordained between them for His loved ones—how much more, then, for His radiant, mighty, luminous Beauty! Yet you clung to what We ordained for Him and used it to object to My Beloved. What is the matter with you, O assembly of hatred? What will avail you today, O company of those who spread corruption? You objected to Him and to everything that appeared from Him, even though We had enjoined you in the Tablets that whoever calls to mind His most great and wondrous Name should rise from his seat and say, “Glory be to God, the Possessor of sovereignty and dominion,” nineteen times, and then, “Glory be to God, the Possessor of might and supreme power,” nineteen times, and so on to the end of what We revealed in a Tablet of great glory.

695

و انتم كفرتم به و بآياته و ما اكتفيتم بذلك و ما لاحظتم حقوق اللّه فى حقّه و ما راعيتم امر اللّه فى نفسه العلىّ العليم الى ان اعترضتم بكلّ افعاله واحدا بعد واحد و كنتم من المستهزئين و منكم من قال انّه يشرب الچاى و منكم من قال انّه يأكل الطّعام و منكم من اعترض على لباسه بعد الّذى كلّ خيط من خيوطه يشهد بانّه لا اله الّا هو و انّه لمقصود المقرّبين

Wa-antum kafartum bihi wa-bi-āyātihi wa-mā iktafaytum bi-dhālika wa-mā lāḥaẓtum ḥuqūq Allāh fī ḥaqqihi wa-mā rāʿaytum amr Allāh fī nafsihi al-ʿalī al-ʿalīm ilā an iʿtaraḍtum bi-kull afʿālihi wāḥidan baʿda wāḥid wa-kuntum min al-mustahziʾīn. Wa-minkum man qāla innahu yashrabu al-chāy wa-minkum man qāla innahu yaʾkulu al-ṭaʿām wa-minkum man iʿtaraḍa ʿalā libāsihi baʿda alladhī kull khayṭ min khuyūṭihi yashhadu bi-annahu lā ilāha illā huwa wa-innahu la-maqṣūd al-muqarrabīn.

You disbelieved in Him and His verses, and were not content with that. You did not regard the rights of God in relation to Him, nor did you observe God’s command concerning His exalted, all-knowing Self, until you objected to all His actions, one after another, and became mockers. Some of you said, “He drinks tea”; some said, “He eats food”; and some objected to His clothing, even though every thread of it bears witness that there is no God but Him and that He is indeed the Desire of those brought near.

696

و انّى اشهد بنفسى ما كان عند حضرته فى بعض الأحيان من ثوبين ليبدّل احدهما بالآخر كذلك يشهد لسان صدق عليم و ما كان فى بعض اللّيالى ما يسترزقن به آل اللّه و انّه ستر امره حفظاً لأمر اللّه المحكم المتين بعد الّذى خلق كلّ شیء لنفسه و عنده مفتاح خزاين السّموات و الأرضين افّ لحيائكم يا ملأ البيان تاللّه خجلت من فعلكم و اذاً اتبرّء منكم يا ملأ الشّياطين فآهء آه من ابتلائه بينكم فآهء آه عمّا ورد و يرد عليه فى كلّ حين

Wa-innī ashhadu bi-nafsī mā kāna ʿinda ḥaḍratihi fī baʿḍ al-aḥyān min thawbayn li-yubaddila aḥadahumā bi-l-ākhar kadhālika yashhadu lisān ṣidq ʿalīm. Wa-mā kāna fī baʿḍ al-layālī mā yastarziqna bihi āl Allāh wa-innahu satara amrahu ḥifẓan li-amr Allāh al-muḥkam al-matīn baʿda alladhī khuliqa kull shayʾ li-nafsihi wa-ʿindahu miftāḥ khazāʾin al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍīn. Uff li-ḥayāʾikum yā malaʾ al-Bayān. Ta-llāh khajiltu min fiʿlikum wa-idhan atabarraʾu minkum yā malaʾ al-shayāṭīn. Fa-āh āh min ibtilāʾihi baynakum fa-āh āh ʿammā warada wa-yaridu ʿalayhi fī kull ḥīn.

I Myself bear witness that at times He did not possess two garments so that He could change from one into the other. Thus bears witness a truthful, knowing tongue. On some nights the family of God had nothing to sustain them. Yet He concealed His circumstances to safeguard the firm and steadfast Cause of God, even though all things were created for His sake and He holds the key to the treasuries of the heavens and the earth. Shame on your modesty, O people of the Bayán! By God! I am ashamed of your conduct, and I therefore disown you, O assembly of devils! Alas, alas for His affliction among you! Alas, alas for what has befallen Him and befalls Him at every moment!

697

يا قوم فانصفوا ثمّ تفكّروا اقلّ من ان لو انتم فى تلك الحجبات لم اظهرت نفسى و ما ثمر ظهورى يا ملأ المنافقين قد بعثنى اللّه لخرق الأحجاب و تطهيركم لهذا الظّهور و انتم فعلتم به ما يتذرّف به عيناى و عيون المقدّسين قد ابيضّت وجوه ملل القبل من فعلكم لأنكم احجب منهم و اغفل من ملأ التّورية و الزّبور و الانجيل فيا ليت ما ولدت من امّى و ما اظهرت نفسى بينكم يا ملأ الخائبين فو‌الّذى بعثنى بالحقّ احصيت علم كلّ شیء و كلّ ما كنز فى كنائز حفظ اللّه و ما ستر عن انظر العالمين و لكن ما احصيت نفوساً اشقى منكم و ابعد عنكم لانّا بعد ما فصّلناه فى الألواح و ما نصحنا به انفسكم فى كلّ الأوراق ما ظننّا بأن يظهر فى الملك احد ان يعترض على اللّه الّذى فى قبضته ملكوت ملك السّموات و الأرضين اذا تحيّرنا من خلقكم و لم ادر باىّ كلمة خلقتم يا من تحيّر فيكم و من فعلكم افئدة اهل ملأ العالين ثمّ افئدة المخلصين و المقرّبين كذلك قصصنا لك يا عبد فى هذا اللّوح ما تغرّدت به حمامة البيان حينئذ لدى عرش ربّك العزيز الحميد و انّك انت فاقرأ ما نزل فيه ثمّ احفظ لؤلؤ المعانى عن كلّ خائن سارق من ملأ الشّياطين

Yā qawm fa-anṣifū thumma tafakkarū aqall min an law antum fī tilka al-ḥujubāt lam aẓhartu nafsī wa-mā thamar ẓuhūrī yā malaʾ al-munāfiqīn qad baʿathanī Allāh li-kharq al-aḥjāb wa-taṭhīrikum li-hādhā al-ẓuhūr wa-antum faʿaltum bihi mā yatadharrafa bihi ʿaynāya wa-ʿuyūn al-muqaddasīn qad ibyaḍḍat wujūh milal al-qabl min fiʿlikum li-annakum aḥjab minhum wa-aghfal min malaʾ al-Tawriyya wa-al-Zabūr wa-al-Injīl fa-yā layta mā wulidtu min ummī wa-mā aẓhartu nafsī baynakum yā malaʾ al-khāʾibīn fa-wa-alladhī baʿathanī bi-al-ḥaqq aḥṣaytu ʿilm kull shayʾ wa-kull mā kuniza fī kanāʾiz ḥifẓ Allāh wa-mā sutira ʿan anẓar al-ʿālamīn wa-lākin mā aḥṣaytu nufūsan ashqā minkum wa-abʿad ʿankum li-annā baʿda mā faṣṣalnāhu fī al-alwāḥ wa-mā naṣaḥnā bihi anfusakum fī kull al-awrāq mā ẓanannā bi-an yaẓhara fī al-mulk aḥad an yaʿtariḍa ʿalā Allāh alladhī fī qabḍatihi malakūt mulk al-samāwāt wa-al-araḍīn idhan taḥayyarnā min khalqikum wa-lam adri bi-ayy kalima khuliqtum yā man taḥayyara fīkum wa-min fiʿlikum afʾidat ahl malaʾ al-ʿālīn thumma afʾidat al-mukhliṣīn wa-al-muqarrabīn kadhālika qaṣaṣnā laka yā ʿabd fī hādhā al-lawḥ mā tagharradat bihi ḥamāmat al-bayān ḥīnaʾidh ladā ʿarsh rabbika al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥamīd wa-innaka anta fa-iqraʾ mā nuzzila fīhi thumma iḥfaẓ luʾluʾ al-maʿānī ʿan kull khāʾin sāriq min malaʾ al-shayāṭīn.

O people, be fair, then reflect. At the very least, had you remained in those veils, I would not have manifested Myself. What is the fruit of My appearance, O assembly of hypocrites? God sent Me to tear away the veils and purify you for this Revelation, yet you have done to Him what makes My eyes and the eyes of the sanctified shed tears. Your conduct has vindicated the peoples of the past, for you are more veiled than they and more heedless than the people of the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. If only My mother had not given birth to Me, and I had not manifested Myself among you, O assembly of the disappointed! By Him who sent Me with the truth! I have encompassed the knowledge of all things, everything treasured in the repositories of God’s keeping, and whatever is concealed from the most discerning of the world’s people. Yet I have not counted any souls more wretched than you or more distant from you. For after all We set forth in detail in the Tablets, and all the counsel We gave you in every page, We did not think that anyone would appear in the world to object to God, in whose grasp is the dominion of the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. Thus We were bewildered at your creation, and I do not know by what word you were created, O you at whom, and at whose conduct, the hearts of the inhabitants of the exalted Assembly, and then the hearts of the sincere and those brought near, are bewildered! Thus, O servant, We have recounted to you in this Tablet what the Dove of Utterance sang at that time before the throne of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Read what has been revealed in it, then guard the pearls of meaning from every treacherous thief among the assembly of devils.

698

و ان وجدت من ذى بصر فانشرها امام عينيه ليشهد و يكون من الفائزين لعلّ اولى الأبصار من عبادنا الأخيار يطّلعن بما ورد على جمال المختار من هؤلآء الفجّار الّذين اتّخذوا العجل لانفسهم ربّا من دون اللّه و يسجدونه فى العشىّ و الأبكار و يكونن من الفرحين و انّك انت لا تحزن عمّا ورد علينا ثمّ اصبر كما صبرنا و انّه لخير ناصر و معين ان اذكر ربّك فى اللّيالى و الأیّام ثمّ انطق بثنآء نفسه بين عباده لعلّ بثنائه تحدث نار حبّه فى قلوب المحسنين و كلّ يقومنّ على ثنآء اللّه ربّهم و ربّ ما يرى و ما لايرى و ربّ آبائكم الأوّلین‌ و الحمد للّه ربّ العالمين

Wa-in wajadta min dhī baṣar fa-unshurhā amāma ʿaynayhi li-yashhada wa-yakūna min al-fāʾizīn laʿalla ulī al-abṣār min ʿibādinā al-akhyār yaṭṭaliʿna bi-mā warada ʿalā jamāl al-Mukhtār min hāʾulāʾ al-fujjār alladhīna ittakhadhū al-ʿijl li-anfusihim rabban min dūn Allāh wa-yasjudūnahu fī al-ʿashiyy wa-al-ibkār wa-yakūnanna min al-fariḥīn wa-innaka anta lā taḥzan ʿammā warada ʿalaynā thumma iṣbir kamā ṣabarnā wa-innahu la-khayr nāṣir wa-muʿīn an udhkur rabbaka fī al-layālī wa-al-ayyām thumma inṭiq bi-thanāʾ nafsihi bayna ʿibādihi laʿalla bi-thanāʾihi taḥduthu nār ḥubbihi fī qulūb al-muḥsinīn wa-kull yaqūmanna ʿalā thanāʾ Allāh rabbihim wa-rabb mā yurā wa-mā lā yurā wa-rabb ābāʾikum al-awwalīn wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāh rabb al-ʿālamīn.

If you find someone with insight, spread them before his eyes, so that he may witness and be among those who attain their goal. Perhaps those endowed with insight among Our righteous servants will learn what has befallen the Beauty of the Chosen One at the hands of these wicked people, who have taken the calf as their lord instead of God, prostrate themselves before it evening and morning, and rejoice. Do not grieve over what has befallen Us, but be patient as We have been patient. He is indeed the best helper and supporter. Remember your Lord by night and day, then voice His praise among His servants, so that through His praise the fire of His love may arise in the hearts of those who do good, and all may arise to praise God, their Lord and the Lord of all that is seen and unseen, and the Lord of your forefathers. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

699

هر صاحب بصر و ادراكى از اين آيات مذكوره البتّه بر حقّ و نفس خود هر دو نوحه نمايد امّا بر حقّ منيع چه كه در دست امثال آن ظالمين مبتلى شده بشأنيكه عين ابداع نديده و سمع اختراع نشنيده و امّا بر نفس خود چه كه بشأنيكه بايد بر اين امر بديع قيام نمايد ننموده‌نسئل اللّه بأن يبعث بسلطانه خلقا ليأت بما فات من هؤلآء كه شايد آن نفوس مقدّسه بآنچه لايق و سزاوار اين ظهوراست قيام نمايند من يطوف حول الرّوح يقول لا تستر فاخرق الأحجاب ثمّ اظهر ما كنز فى السّرّ من علم اللّه المهيمن القيّوم و الّذين يطوفن فى حول العقل يقولن ایّاک ایّاک ان اصبر و لاتفش ما يفزع به هياكل المغلّين و تميّز به صدور المشركين ان الق على العباد ما ينبغى لشأنهم و مقامهم ایّاک ان تلق على الرّضيع مقامات البلوغ او على المحروم اسرار حرم اللّه او على الأصمّ نغمات اللّه العزيز المحبوب

Har ṣāḥeb-e baṣar va edrākī az īn āyāt-e madhkūre albatte bar Ḥaqq va nafs-e khod har do nowḥe namāyad ammā bar Ḥaqq-e manīʿ che ke dar dast-e amthāl-e ān ẓālemīn mobtalā shode be-shaʾnī ke ʿayn-e ebdāʿ nadīde va samʿ-e ekhterāʿ nashenīde va ammā bar nafs-e khod che ke be-shaʾnī ke bāyad bar īn amr-e badīʿ qīyām namāyad nanamūde nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yabʿatha bi-sulṭānihi khalqan li-yaʾta bi-mā fāta min hāʾulāʾ ke shāyad ān nofūs-e moqaddase be-ānche lāyeq va sazāvār-e īn ẓohūr ast qīyām namāyand man yaṭūfu ḥawla al-Rūḥ yaqūlu lā tastur fa-ikhruq al-aḥjāb thumma aẓhir mā kuniza fī al-sirr min ʿilm Allāh al-Muhaymin al-Qayyūm wa-alladhīna yaṭūfna fī ḥawl al-ʿaql yaqūlna iyyāka iyyāka an iṣbir wa-lā tufshi mā yafzaʿu bihi hayākil al-mughillīn wa-tamayyazu bihi ṣudūr al-mushrikīn an alqi ʿalā al-ʿibād mā yanbaghī li-shaʾnihim wa-maqāmihim iyyāka an tulqi ʿalā al-raḍīʿ maqāmāt al-bulūgh aw ʿalā al-maḥrūm asrār ḥaram Allāh aw ʿalā al-aṣamm naghamāt Allāh al-ʿAzīz al-Maḥbūb.

Anyone endowed with sight and understanding will surely, on reading these verses, lament both for God and for himself: for the exalted God, because He has been afflicted at the hands of such oppressors in a manner that the eye of creation has never seen and the ear of existence has never heard; and for himself, because he has not arisen to serve this wondrous Cause as he should. We ask God to raise up, through His sovereignty, a people who will make good what these people have failed to do, so that those sanctified souls may arise to do what is fitting and worthy of this Revelation. The one who circles around the Spirit says, “Do not conceal it! Tear away the veils, then reveal what has been secretly treasured of the knowledge of God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.” And those who circle around the intellect say, “Beware, beware! Be patient, and do not divulge what would terrify the embodiments of malice and tear apart the breasts of those who associate partners with God. Impart to the servants what befits their condition and station. Beware of imparting the stations of maturity to a suckling infant, or the mysteries of God’s sanctuary to one who is deprived, or the melodies of God, the Almighty, the Beloved, to the deaf.”

700

اى غير منصف غير بصير چرا از شجره اعراض سؤال ننمودى كه چرا نفسى را كه بيست سال باسمش معروف و موسوم بودى و بكلماتش از براى خودشان ثابت نموده‌ حال فتوى بر قتلش داده و عامل شده آنچه را كه احدى عامل نشده و در كلّ حين بمكر جديد در تضييع امرش مشغول و حال آنكه تو و امثال تو كلّ از كلمه او خلق شده و لكن چه ذكر شود كه آنچه گفته شود ابدا در نفس مغلّين و مشركين تأثير ننموده‌و نخواهد نمود

Ey gheyr-e monṣef-e gheyr-e baṣīr cherā az shajare-ye eʿrāḍ soʾāl nanamūdī ke cherā nafsī rā ke bīst sāl be-esmash maʿrūf va mowsūm būdī va be-kalemātash az barā-ye khodeshān thābet namūde ḥāl fatvā bar qatl-ash dāde va ʿāmel shode ānche rā ke aḥadī ʿāmel nashode va dar koll-e ḥīn be-makr-e jadīd dar taḍyīʿ-e amrash mashghūl va ḥāl ānke to va amthāl-e to koll az kaleme-ye ū khalq shode va lāken che dhekr shavad ke ānche gofte shavad abadan dar nafs-e moghellīn va moshrekīn taʾthīr nanamūde va nakhāhad namūd.

O unjust and undiscerning one! Why did you not ask the tree of aversion why he has now issued a decree for the death of the One by whose name you were known and designated for twenty years, and by whose words they established their own standing? He has done what no one has ever done, and at every moment he is occupied with a new scheme to undermine His Cause, even though you and all those like you were created by His word. But what can be said? Whatever is said has never had, and will never have, any effect on malicious souls and those who associate partners with God.

701

و اين بسى واضح است كه اگر نفسى بجذوه از نار حبّ الهى فايز ميشد ابدا باين كلمات مشغول نميگشت و باين اعتراضات بر سلطان اسماء و صفات وارد نمياورد آنچه شبه آن در ابداع ظاهر نشده فسوف يبعثن اللّه خلقا ينتبّهنّ من كلماته و يعرفنّ مراده و يتوجّهنّ اليه و ينقطعنّ عن العالمين

Va īn basī vāḍeḥ ast ke agar nafsī be-jadhve az nār-e ḥobb-e elāhī fāʾez mīshod abadan be-īn kalemāt mashghūl namīgasht va be-īn eʿterāḍāt bar Solṭān-e asmāʾ va ṣefāt vāred namīāvard ānche shebh-e ān dar ebdāʿ ẓāher nashode fa-sawfa yabʿathanna Allāh khalqan yantabihunna min kalimātihi wa-yaʿrifanna murādahu wa-yatawajjahunna ilayhi wa-yanqaṭiʿunna ʿan al-ʿālamīn.

It is abundantly clear that if a soul had attained even a spark of the fire of divine love, he would never have occupied himself with these words or, through these objections, inflicted on the Sovereign of names and attributes what has no precedent in creation. God will assuredly raise up a people who will be awakened by His words, recognize His intent, turn toward Him, and detach themselves from all the worlds.

702

و اينكه نوشته كه جواب ميرزا محمّد على و ميرزا ابو الحسن و ديگران را چه بگويم شما قاضى كاينات نبوده و نيستيد قاضى نفس خود باش و فكر خود را كن كه جواب خدا را چه بگوئى جواب خلق آسانست اى بی‌‌شرم بی‌ حيا در جواب مخلوقى چند اظهار تحيّر نموده‌ و ابدا در فكر جواب حقّ نيفتاده حال انصاف ده تو كه از چند نفر مخلوق اظهار شرم و تحيّر از جواب نموده‌ اين عباد در مقرّ عرش اعظم مقاميكه جميع انبیاء و مقرّبين حاضرند جواب چه بگوئيم فاشهد نفسك فى ذلك الموقف ثمّ ملأ البيان كلّهم اجمعين و نقطة الأولی عن يمين العرش يخاطبك و ايّاهم بفارسى

Va īnke neveshte ke javāb-e Mīrzā Moḥammad ʿAlī va Mīrzā Abu al-Ḥasan va dīgarān rā che begūyam shomā qāḍī-ye kāʾenāt nabūde va nīstīd qāḍī-ye nafs-e khod bāsh va fekr-e khod rā kon ke javāb-e Khodā rā che begūʾī javāb-e khalq āsān ast ey bī-sharm-e bī-ḥayā dar javāb-e makhlūqī chand eẓhār-e taḥayyor namūde va abadan dar fekr-e javāb-e Ḥaqq nayoftāde ḥāl enṣāf de to ke az chand nafar makhlūq eẓhār-e sharm va taḥayyor az javāb namūde īn ʿebād dar maqarr-e ʿarsh-e aʿẓam maqāmī ke jamīʿ-e anbīyā va moqarrabīn ḥāḍerand javāb che begūʾīm fa-ishhad nafsaka fī dhālika al-mawqif thumma malaʾ al-bayān kullahum ajmaʿīn wa-Nuqṭat al-Ūlā ʿan yamīn al-ʿarsh yukhāṭibuka wa-iyyāhum be-fārsī.

As for what you wrote, “What answer should I give Mírzá Muḥammad ʿAlí, Mírzá Abu’l-Ḥasan, and the others?”—you have never been, and are not, the judge of all creation. Be the judge of your own self, and consider what answer you will give God. Answering His creatures is easy. O shameless and immodest one! You have expressed bewilderment about answering a few created beings, yet have never given a thought to answering God. Now be fair: you have expressed shame before a few created beings and bewilderment about how to answer them; what answer are we servants to give at the seat of the Most Great Throne, where all the Prophets and those brought near are present? Behold yourself at that gathering, and then the entire assembly of the Bayán, all together, while the Primal Point, at the right hand of the throne, addresses you and them in Persian.

703

ذكر ميشود تا درست ادراك نمائى ميفرمايد اى ملأ بيان آيا بشما خبر ندادم در كلّ الواح كه بعد از من ظهورى ظاهر خواهد شد البتّه كلّ ميگوئيد بلى و نفسك الحقّ در جميع الواح بشارت فرموده و اخذ عهد آن نيّر اعظم را از كلّ فرموده بعد ميفرمايند كه آيا نگفته‌ام كه آن جمال قدم بآيات اللّه ظاهر ميشود و آيا نفرموده‌ام كه طوريّون در آن مقرّ منصعق و ميّت ميشوند و آيا نفرموده‌ام كه اعلى شجره اثبات از ادنى شجره نفى ميشود و آيا نفرموده‌ام كه هر ذى نورى نزد ضياء انوار وجهش مظلم مشاهده ميشود و آيا نفرموده‌ام كه بنفس ظهور احدى جز ذاتش مطّلع نه و آيا نفرموده‌ام در حين ظهور بآنچه در بيان نازل شده از او محتجب نشويد و آيا نفرموده‌ام بحروفات بيان كه اوّل خلق بيانند از آن جمال قدم محروم نمانيد و آيا نفرموده‌ام كلّ بيان ورقه ايست از اوراق جنّت نزد آن شجره احديّت آيا نفرموده‌ام كه او قادر است بر آنكه نفسى را كه اعلى است از كلّ خلق ردّ فرمايد و آيا نفرموده‌ام كه كلّ بيان خلق اويند در ظهور قبل او

Dhekr mīshavad tā dorost edrāk namāʾī mīfarmāyad ey malaʾ-e Bayān āyā be-shomā khabar nadādam dar koll-e alvāḥ ke baʿd az man ẓohūrī ẓāher khāhad shod albatte koll mīgūʾīd balā wa-nafsika al-Ḥaqq dar jamīʿ-e alvāḥ beshārat farmūde va akhdh-e ʿahd-e ān nayyer-e aʿẓam rā az koll farmūde baʿd mīfarmāyand ke āyā nagofte-am ke ān Jamāl-e Qedam be-āyāt-e Allāh ẓāher mīshavad va āyā nafarmūde-am ke Ṭūrīyūn dar ān maqarr monṣaʿeq va mayyet mīshavand va āyā nafarmūde-am ke aʿlā shajare-ye ethbāt az adnā shajare-ye nafy mīshavad va āyā nafarmūde-am ke har dhī nūrī nazd-e ḍīyā-ye anvār-e vajhash moẓlem moshāhede mīshavad va āyā nafarmūde-am ke be-nafs-e ẓohūr aḥadī joz dhātash moṭṭaleʿ na va āyā nafarmūde-am dar ḥīn-e ẓohūr be-ānche dar Bayān nāzel shode az ū moḥtajeb nashavīd va āyā nafarmūde-am be-ḥorūfāt-e Bayān ke avval-e khalq-e Bayān-and az ān Jamāl-e Qedam maḥrūm namānīd va āyā nafarmūde-am koll-e Bayān varaqe-īst az owrāq-e jannat nazd-e ān shajare-ye aḥadīyyat āyā nafarmūde-am ke ū qāder ast bar ānke nafsī rā ke aʿlā ast az koll-e khalq radd farmāyad va āyā nafarmūde-am ke koll-e Bayān khalq-e ūyand dar ẓohūr-e qabl-e ū.

It is recounted so that you may understand correctly. He says, “O assembly of the Bayán! Did I not inform you in all the Tablets that after Me a Revelation would appear?” You will all surely say, “Yes, by Your own true Self! In all the Tablets You gave these glad tidings and received from everyone a covenant concerning that Most Great Luminary.” He then says, “Did I not say that that Ancient Beauty would appear with the verses of God? Did I not say that the people of Sinai would be struck down and die in that presence? Did I not say that the highest tree of affirmation would become one of the lowest trees of negation? Did I not say that every luminous being would be seen as dark before the radiance of the lights of His face? Did I not say that no one but His own Self knows the Revelation itself? Did I not say that, at the time of His appearance, you should not let what has been revealed in the Bayán veil you from Him? Did I not tell the Letters of the Bayán, who are the first of the creation of the Bayán, not to remain deprived of that Ancient Beauty? Did I not say that the whole Bayán is but a leaf among the leaves of paradise before that Tree of Oneness? Did I not say that He is able to reject a soul who is the most exalted of all creation? Did I not say that all the people of the Bayán are His creation in His previous Revelation?”

704

البتّه جميع را تصديق مينمائيد چه كه كلّ در الواح بيان منصوصا نازل و مسطور مع اين وصاياى لايحصى و نصايح محكمه متقنه بچه دليل و برهان باينجمال مبارك سيف جفا كشيده‌ايد و جميع بر هتك حرمتش قيام نموده‌ايد و اراده سفك دم مطهّرش کرده‌‌ايد و از جميع اشطار باسياف نفاق هجوم آورده‌ايد مع آنكه بحجّتى ظاهر شده كه من از قبل بآن ظاهر شده‌ام و هم‌چنين از قبل قبل محمّد رسول اللّه و از قبل قبل قبل روح اگر بگوئيد از كجا اين آيات من عند اللّه است ميگويم بهمان دليل كه آيات مرا ادراك نموده‌ايد كه من عند اللّه است مع آنكه جميع مقرّيد كه اين آيات بديعه در كلّ اقطار منتشر و در كلّ حين بآياتى تكلّم فرموده كه كلّ نزد كلمه آن معدوم بوده و خواهند بود مع‌ذلك شما نفسى را كه محارب با حقّ است او را ربّ اخذ نموده‌ايد بعضى متمسّك شده‌ايد كه من او را ثمره خوانده‌ام مع آنكه در كتاب من نازل كه اگر مشاهده شود بر من غصنى يا ورقى و ثمرى كه سجده ننمايد از براى آن شمس ظهور در يوم ظهور او نيست از من و راجع نميشود بسوى من

Albatte jamīʿ rā taṣdīq mīnamāʾīd che ke koll dar alvāḥ-e Bayān manṣūṣan nāzel va masṭūr maʿ-e īn vaṣāyā-ye lā yoḥṣā va naṣāyeḥ-e moḥkame-ye motqane be-che dalīl va borhān be-īn Jamāl-e mobārak seyf-e jafā keshīde-īd va jamīʿ bar hatk-e ḥormatash qīyām namūde-īd va erāde-ye safk-e dam-e moṭahharash karde-īd va az jamīʿ-e ashṭār be-asyāf-e nefāq hojūm āvarde-īd maʿ-e ānke be-ḥojjatī ẓāher shode ke man az qabl be-ān ẓāher shode-am va ham-chenīn az qabl-e qabl Moḥammad Rasūl Allāh va az qabl-e qabl-e qabl Rūḥ agar begūʾīd az kojā īn āyāt min ʿind Allāh ast mīgūyam be-hamān dalīl ke āyāt-e marā edrāk namūde-īd ke min ʿind Allāh ast maʿ-e ānke jamīʿ moqerrīd ke īn āyāt-e badīʿe dar koll-e aqṭār montasher va dar koll-e ḥīn be-āyātī takallom farmūde ke koll nazd-e kaleme-ye ān maʿdūm būde va khāhand būd maʿa dhālek shomā nafsī rā ke moḥāreb bā Ḥaqq ast ū rā rabb akhdh namūde-īd baʿḍī motamassek shode-īd ke man ū rā thamare khānde-am maʿ-e ānke dar ketāb-e man nāzel ke agar moshāhede shavad bar man ghoṣnī yā varaqī va thamarī ke sajde nanamāyad az barā-ye ān shams-e ẓohūr dar yowm-e ẓohūr-e ū nīst az man va rājeʿ namīshavad be-sū-ye man.

“You will surely acknowledge all of these, for they are all explicitly revealed and recorded in the Tablets of the Bayán. Despite these countless counsels and firm, conclusive admonitions, by what evidence or proof have you drawn the sword of oppression against this blessed Beauty, all arisen to violate His sanctity, sought to shed His pure blood, and attacked Him from every side with the swords of hypocrisy? Yet He has appeared with the very proof with which I appeared before, and with which Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, appeared before that, and the Spirit before that. If you ask, ‘How do we know that these verses are from God?’ I say: by the same evidence through which you recognized that My verses are from God. Moreover, you all acknowledge that these wondrous verses have spread throughout every region, and that at every moment He has uttered verses before a single word of which all have been, and will be, as nothing. Despite this, you have taken as your lord someone who is at war with God. Some of you cling to the fact that I called him a fruit, although it is revealed in My Book that if a branch, a leaf, or a fruit is seen upon Me that does not prostrate itself before that Sun of Revelation on the day of His appearance, it is not of Me and does not return to Me.”

705

و بعضى متمسّك كه من او را مرآت اخذ نموده‌ام مع آنكه صد‌هزار امثال او بنصّ من از يك تجلّى شمس ظاهر و مشرق و حال آنكه امر آن مرآت را هم ندانسته‌ايد بر فرض تسليم كه او آن مرآت باشد شكّى نيست كه بقول من او را مرآت دانسته‌ايد و من منصوصاً فرموده‌ام كه از آنچه نازل شده در كتاب از آن مظهر ربّ الأرباب‌ محجوب نمانيد و هم‌چنين فرموده‌ام كه طوريّون نزد آن ظهور اعظم ميّت و لاشیء ميشوند و صد‌هزار امثال آن مرايا نزد نفسى از آن نفوس طوريّه مشرقه از افق احديّه معدوم صرف بوده و خواهند بود

Va baʿḍī motamassek ke man ū rā merʾāt akhdh namūde-am maʿ-e ānke ṣad hezār amthāl-e ū be-naṣṣ-e man az yek tajallī-ye shams ẓāher va moshreq va ḥāl ānke amr-e ān merʾāt rā ham nadāneste-īd bar farḍ-e taslīm ke ū ān merʾāt bāshad shakkī nīst ke be-qowl-e man ū rā merʾāt dāneste-īd va man manṣūṣan farmūde-am ke az ānche nāzel shode dar ketāb az ān maẓhar-e Rabb al-Arbāb maḥjūb namānīd va ham-chenīn farmūde-am ke Ṭūrīyūn nazd-e ān ẓohūr-e aʿẓam mayyet va lā shayʾ mīshavand va ṣad hezār amthāl-e ān marāyā nazd-e nafsī az ān nofūs-e Ṭūrīyye-ye moshreqe az ofoq-e aḥadīyye maʿdūm-e ṣerf būde va khāhand būd.

“Some cling to the fact that I designated him a mirror, although, according to My explicit text, a hundred thousand like him appear and shine forth through a single effulgence of the Sun. Yet you have not even understood the matter of that mirror. Even supposing that he is that mirror, there is no doubt that you have recognized him as a mirror because of My words. And I explicitly stated that you should not allow what has been revealed in the Book to veil you from that Manifestation of the Lord of Lords. I also stated that the people of Sinai would become dead and as nothing before that Most Great Revelation. A hundred thousand like those mirrors have been, and will be, sheer nothingness before a single one of those Sinaitic souls shining from the horizon of oneness.”

706

و اگر بگوئيد كه اين مرآت هم حال همين دعوى را نموده‌شكّى نيست كه در اين قول كاذب بوده چه كه مخصوص نازل فرموده‌ام كه اگر مرآت دعوى شمسى نمايد نزد شمس واضح است كه او شبحى است از او و از همين بيان من محقّق كه مرآت على زعم شما دعوى شمسى خواهد نمود و همين نفس ادّعاى او در اين ایّام دليل بر كذب او است چه كه بعد از ظهور اشراق شمس احديّه اعتراضاً على نفسه و بغياً على كينونته و استكباراً على ذاته و الحاداً فى امره باين كلمات متكلّم شده و اكثرى از شما هم متابعت او نموده‌ايد

Va agar begūʾīd ke īn merʾāt ham ḥāl hamīn daʿvā rā namūde shakkī nīst ke dar īn qowl kādheb būde che ke makhṣūṣ nāzel farmūde-am ke agar merʾāt daʿvā-ye shamsī namāyad nazd-e shams vāḍeḥ ast ke ū shabaḥī ast az ū va az hamīn bayān-e man moḥaqqaq ke merʾāt ʿalā zaʿm-e shomā daʿvā-ye shamsī khāhad namūd va hamīn nafs-e eddeʿā-ye ū dar īn ayyām dalīl bar kedhb-e ū ast che ke baʿd az ẓohūr-e eshrāq-e shams-e aḥadīyye iʿtirāḍan ʿalā nafsihi wa-baghyan ʿalā kaynūnatihi wa-istikbāran ʿalā dhātihi wa-ilḥādan fī amrihi be-īn kalemāt motakallem shode va aktharī az shomā ham motābaʿat-e ū namūde-īd.

“If you say that this mirror has now made the same claim, there is no doubt that he has lied in saying this. For I specifically revealed that if a mirror should claim to be the sun, it is clear to the Sun that it is only an image of Him. From this very statement of Mine, it is established that the mirror, as you regard him, would claim to be the sun. His very claim in these days is proof of his falsehood, for after the dawning radiance of the Sun of Oneness appeared, he uttered these words in opposition to His Self, in rebellion against His Being, in arrogance before His Essence, and in impiety toward His Cause. And most of you have followed him.”

707

افّ لكم يا ملأ البيان ثمّ افّ لكم يا ملأ البيان ثمّ افّ لكم يا ملأ البيان ثمّ افّ لكم الى آخر الّذى لا آخر له لانّ من فعلكم ذاب قلبی‌ و احترق كبدى و تشبّك حشائى و تقطّعت اعضائى و تزلزلت اركانى و اقشعرّ جلدى و اهتزّت نفسى و جنّت كينونتى و ضجّ سرّى و حزن ظاهرى و باطنى و اوّلى و آخرى

Uffin lakum yā malaʾa al-Bayān, thumma uffin lakum yā malaʾa al-Bayān, thumma uffin lakum yā malaʾa al-Bayān, thumma uffin lakum ilā ākhiri alladhī lā ākhira lahu, li-anna min fiʿlikum dhāba qalbī wa-iḥtaraqa kabidī wa-tashabbaka ḥashāʾī wa-taqaṭṭaʿat aʿḍāʾī wa-tazalzalat arkānī wa-iqshaʿarra jildī wa-ihtazzat nafsī wa-junnat kaynūnatī wa-ḍajja sirrī wa-ḥazina ẓāhirī wa-bāṭinī wa-awwalī wa-ākhirī.

“Shame on you, O people of the Bayān! Again, shame on you, O people of the Bayān! Again, shame on you, O people of the Bayān! Again, shame on you, without end! For because of your deeds My heart has melted, My liver has burned, My entrails have become entangled, My limbs have been torn apart, My frame has been shaken, My skin has shuddered, My soul has trembled, My being has been driven mad, My inmost self has cried out, and My outward and inward being, My beginning and My end, have been overcome with sorrow.”

708

آنچه شما ذكر نموده‌و مينمائيد بمن نسبت ميدهيد و بقول من باو متمسّك شده‌ايد و حجّيت نفس من ببيان ثابت و مخصوص فرموده‌ام ببيان از نفس رحمن محتجب نمانيد لم ادر بعد ذلك باىّ عذر تتمسّكون و باىّ حبل تتشبّثون بامر من ناظر نيستيد و نصح اللّه را نپذيرفتيد نفسى را كه حال محارب باللّه است باسمى از اسماء موسوم نموده‌ بنفس من محاربه و مجادله مينمائيد مع آنكه مظاهر كلّ اسماء را تصريحا فرموده‌ام كه در آن ظهور عزّ تقديس خادمند وظائف چنانچه فرموده‌ام

Ānchih shumā dhikr namūdih va mīnamāyīd bi-man nisbat mīdahīd va bi-qawl-i man bi-ū mutamassik shudih-īd va ḥujjiyyat-i nafs-i man bi-Bayān thābit va makhṣūṣ farmūdih-am bi-Bayān az nafs-i Raḥmān muḥtajib namānīd. Lam adri baʿda dhālika bi-ayyi ʿudhrin tatamassakūna wa-bi-ayyi ḥablin tatashabbathūn. Bi-amr-i man nāẓir nīstīd va nuṣḥ-i Allāh rā napadhīruftīd. Nafsī rā kih ḥāl muḥārib bi-Allāh ast bi-ismī az asmāʾ mawsūm namūdih bi-nafs-i man muḥāribih va mujādilih mīnamāyīd, maʿa ānkih maẓāhir-i kull-i asmāʾ rā taṣrīḥan farmūdih-am kih dar ān ẓuhūr-i ʿizz-i taqdīs khādimand vaẓāʾif, chunānchih farmūdih-am.

“What you have mentioned and continue to mention, you attribute to Me, and it is on the strength of My words that you have clung to him. The authority of My own Self is established through the Bayān, and I have specifically stated that you must not let the Bayān veil you from the Person of the All-Merciful. I do not know, after this, what excuse you will cling to or what cord you will grasp. You pay no heed to My command and have not accepted God’s counsel. You have designated a soul who is now at war with God by one of the names, and you wage war and dispute with My own Self, even though I have explicitly stated that the manifestations of all the names are servants in their duties in that Revelation of sanctified glory, as I have stated:”

709

ان اقول انّه واحد فذلك اسم من اسمائه وان اقول انّه سبّوح فظهر ذلك الاسم اسم من اسمائه و ان اقول انّه قدّوس فهو الّذى يتجلّى بذلك الاسم بامثاله و ان اقول انّه عزيز فكلّ عزيز ساجد لعلوّ عزّته و ان اقول انّه محبوب فكلّ محبوب قد شغف فى حبّ عرفانه و جلال عزّته و ان اقول انّه مهيمن فهو الّذى من يستدل يوم ظهوره قد جعله اللّه مهيمنا على كلّ شیء بأمره و ان اقول انّه قيّوم فذلك مظهر احد من قوّام بساط احديّته فتعالى تعالى ذكره

In aqūlu innahu wāḥidun fa-dhālika ismun min asmāʾihi wa-in aqūlu innahu subbūḥun fa-ẓahara dhālika al-ismu ismun min asmāʾihi wa-in aqūlu innahu quddūsun fa-huwa alladhī yata jallā bi-dhālika al-ismi bi-amthālihi wa-in aqūlu innahu ʿazīzun fa-kullu ʿazīzin sājidun li-ʿuluwwi ʿizzatihi wa-in aqūlu innahu maḥbūbun fa-kullu maḥbūbin qad shaghifa fī ḥubbi ʿirfānihi wa-jalāli ʿizzatihi wa-in aqūlu innahu muhayminun fa-huwa alladhī man yastadillu yawma ẓuhūrihi qad jaʿalahu Allāhu muhayminan ʿalā kulli shayʾin bi-amrihi wa-in aqūlu innahu qayyūmun fa-dhālika maẓharu aḥadin min quwwāmi bisāṭi aḥadiyyatihi fa-taʿālā taʿālā dhikruhu.

“If I say that He is One, that is one of His names; and if I say that He is All-Glorious, that name appears as one of His names; and if I say that He is Most Holy, He is the One who reveals Himself through that name to those like Him. If I say that He is Mighty, every mighty one prostrates before the loftiness of His might; and if I say that He is Beloved, every beloved one is consumed with love for the recognition of Him and the majesty of His might. If I say that He is All-Protecting, He is the One who, by His command, causes God to make whoever adduces proof on the day of His appearance a protector over all things. If I say that He is Self-Subsisting, that is the manifestation of one of those who stand upon the expanse of His oneness. Exalted, exalted be His remembrance!”

710

ثمّ تعالى تعالى شأنه كه معنى پارسى آن اينست كه اگر بگويم او واحد است اين واحد يكى از اسماء او بوده اگر بگويم او سبّوح است محل ظهور اين اسم اسمى از اسماء او بوده اگر بگويم او قدّوس است او است آنچنان نفسيكه تجلّى فرموده و ميفرمايد باين اسم بامثال او و اگر بگويم او عزيز است هر عزيزى ساجد است از براى علوّ عزّت او و اگر بگويم او محبوب است هر محبوبی‌ شقّ نموده‌ پرده قلب خود را در دوستى و محبّت او و اگر بگويم او مهيمن است او است آن سلطانيكه هر نفسى استدلال نمايد بدليل او در يوم ظهور او بتحقيق ميگرداند او را خدا مهيمن بر كلّ شیء بامر او و اگر بگويم او قيّوم است پس آن مظهر يكى از قائمين بساط احديّت او است مع آنكه باين تصريح جميع اسماء حسنى را از خدّام درگهش ذكر نمودم و آن جوهر مقصود و طلعت موعود را از كلّ مقدّس و منزّه و مبرّا مع‌ذلك اسمى از كتاب من اخذ نموده‌ايد و بآن اسم تشبّث نموده‌وارد آورده‌ايد آنچه را كه هيچ ملّتى از قبل وارد نياورده

Thumma taʿālā taʿālā shaʾnuhu, kih maʿnī-yi pārsī-yi ān īn ast kih agar bigūyam ū vāḥid ast īn vāḥid yakī az asmāʾ-i ū būdih, agar bigūyam ū subbūḥ ast maḥall-i ẓuhūr-i īn ism ismī az asmāʾ-i ū būdih, agar bigūyam ū quddūs ast ū ast ānchunān nafsī kih tajallī farmūdih va mīfarmāyad bi-īn ism bi-amthāl-i ū, va agar bigūyam ū ʿazīz ast har ʿazīzī sājid ast az barā-yi ʿuluvv-i ʿizzat-i ū, va agar bigūyam ū maḥbūb ast har maḥbūbī shaqq namūdih pardih-yi qalb-i khud rā dar dūstī va maḥabbat-i ū, va agar bigūyam ū muhaymin ast ū ast ān sulṭānī kih har nafsī istidlāl namāyad bi-dalīl-i ū dar yawm-i ẓuhūr-i ū bi-taḥqīq mīgardānad ū rā Khudā muhaymin bar kull-i shayʾ bi-amr-i ū, va agar bigūyam ū qayyūm ast pas ān maẓhar yakī az qāʾimīn-i bisāṭ-i aḥadiyyat-i ū ast. Maʿa ānkih bi-īn taṣrīḥ jamīʿ-i asmāʾ-i ḥusnā rā az khuddām-i dargahash dhikr namūdam va ān jawhar-i maqṣūd va ṭalʿat-i mawʿūd rā az kull muqaddas va munazzah va mubarrā, maʿa dhālik ismī az kitāb-i man akhdh namūdih-īd va bi-ān ism tashabbuth namūdih vārid āvardih-īd ānchih rā kih hīch millatī az qabl vārid nayāvardih.

“And exalted, exalted be His station!” Its meaning in Persian is this: “If I say that He is One, this One is one of His names. If I say that He is All-Glorious, the locus of the manifestation of this name is one of His names. If I say that He is Most Holy, He is that very Person who has revealed and continues to reveal Himself through this name to those like Him. If I say that He is Mighty, every mighty one prostrates before the loftiness of His might. If I say that He is Beloved, every beloved one has torn the veil of his own heart in affection and love for Him. If I say that He is All-Protecting, He is that Sovereign by whose command God assuredly makes every soul who adduces His proof on the day of His appearance a protector over all things. If I say that He is Self-Subsisting, that manifestation is one of those who stand upon the expanse of His oneness.” “Although I thus explicitly described all the most beautiful names as servants at His threshold, and that desired Essence and promised Countenance as sanctified, exalted, and free from them all, you have nevertheless taken a name from My Book, clung to that name, and inflicted what no religious community has ever inflicted before.”

711

كذلك نطق لسان اللّه الملك المقتدر العلىّ العظيم اين بيانات نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه آيا نفسى قادر است بر جواب لا و اللّه بل جميع منفعل و خجل و شرمساريم چه كه نفوسيكه مقبل شده‌اند على ما هو عليه بشرايط اقبال قيام ننموده‌اند و نفوس معرضين معلوم كه چه ارتكاب نموده‌ و مينمايند مع آنكه بنصّ نقطه اولى جميع اسماء حسنى از مهيمن و قیّوم و فوق آن و دون آن جميع نفوسى هستند كه در امر اين ظهور بديع ببيّنه خود اين ظهور استدلال نمايند ديگر ملاحظه كن شأن نفوسيكه ببيان و قلم در اثبات اين ظهور اعظم استدلال نموده‌و نوشته‌اند آنچه را كه بر آن قلوب مجرّده القا شده تاللّه انّهم من اعلى الخلق و ابهاهم بحيث ما سبقهم احد من قبل و لن يسبقهم نفس من الآخرین

Kadhālika naṭaqa lisānu Allāhi al-Maliki al-Muqtadiri al-ʿAliyyi al-ʿAẓīm. Īn bayānāt-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā rūḥ-i mā sivāh fidāh āyā nafsī qādir ast bar javāb? Lā wa-Allāh, bal jamīʿ munfaʿil va khajil va sharmsārīm, chih kih nufūsī kih muqbil shudih-and ʿalā mā huwa ʿalayhi bi-sharāyiṭ-i iqbāl qiyām nanamūdih-and va nufūs-i muʿriḍīn maʿlūm kih chih irtikāb namūdih va mīnamāyand. Maʿa ānkih bi-naṣṣ-i Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā jamīʿ-i asmāʾ-i ḥusnā az Muhaymin va Qayyūm va fawq-i ān va dūn-i ān jamīʿ nufūsī hastand kih dar amr-i īn ẓuhūr-i badīʿ bi-bayyin ih-yi khud-i īn ẓuhūr istidlāl namāyand. Dīgar mulāḥiẓih kun shaʾn-i nufūsī kih bi-bayān va qalam dar ithbāt-i īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam istidlāl namūdih va nivishtih-and ānchih rā kih bar ān qulūb-i mujarradih ilqā shudih. Ta-Allāhi innahum min aʿlā al-khalqi wa-abhāhum bi-ḥaythu mā sabaqahum aḥadun min qablu wa-lan yasbiqahum nafsun mina al-ākhirīn.

Thus has spoken the Tongue of God, the King, the All-Powerful, the Most High, the Most Great. These are the words of the Primal Point—may the soul of all else be sacrificed for Him. Is any soul capable of answering them? No, by God! Rather, we are all abashed, ashamed, and embarrassed, for those souls who have turned toward Him have not fulfilled the conditions of turning toward Him as they truly require, while it is evident what the souls who turn away have perpetrated and continue to perpetrate. Yet, according to the explicit text of the Primal Point, all the most beautiful names, from the All-Protecting and the Self-Subsisting to those above and below them, are all souls who establish the truth of this wondrous Revelation by the proof of this Revelation itself. Consider, then, the station of those souls who, through speech and writing, have adduced proofs establishing this Most Great Revelation and have written what has been cast upon those detached hearts. By God, they are among the most exalted and most glorious of creation, such that no one before them has surpassed them, nor will any soul among those to come surpass them.

712

اى نفس امّاره چرا بذكر آن نفوس مشغول شدى و اظهار تحيّر در جواب نمودى و تنبّه ننمودى از فعل نفوسى كه در سبيل اين امر جان دادند و فعل هر يك در اثبات اين ظهور ابدع امنع برهانى بود واضح و حجّتى لائح بين السّموات و الأرضين از جمله محبوب الشّهداء جناب آقا سيّد اسمعيل زواره كه بدست خود حبّاً لهذا الظّهور سر فدا نمود و هيچ نفسى در زهد و تقوى و ورع و فضل و علم او باللّه منكر نبوده از فعل چنين نفسى مهتدى نشدى و ذكر نفوسى كه حال معلوم نيست كه در چه صراط قائمند بين يدى العرش فرستاده و لعلّ اللّه يؤيّدهم على امره و ينقطعهم عنك و عن امثالك و يجعلهم من المخلصين

Ay nafs-i ammārih chirā bi-dhikr-i ān nufūs mashghūl shudī va iẓhār-i taḥayyur dar javāb namūdī va tanabbuh nanamūdī az fiʿl-i nufūsī kih dar sabīl-i īn amr jān dādand va fiʿl-i har yak dar ithbāt-i īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i amnaʿ burhānī būd vāḍiḥ va ḥujjatī lāʾiḥ bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīn. Az jumlih Maḥbūb al-Shuhadā Janāb-i Āqā Siyyid Ismāʿīl-i Zavārih kih bi-dast-i khud ḥubban li-hādhā al-ẓuhūr sar fidā namūd va hīch nafsī dar zuhd va taqvā va varaʿ va faḍl va ʿilm-i ū bi-Allāh munkir nabūdih. Az fiʿl-i chunīn nafsī muhtadī nashudī va dhikr-i nufūsī kih ḥāl maʿlūm nīst kih dar chih ṣirāṭ qāʾimand bayna yaday al-ʿarsh firistādih, va laʿalla Allāha yuʾayyiduhum ʿalā amrihi wa-yanqaṭiʿuhum ʿanka wa-ʿan amthālika wa-yajʿalahum mina al-mukhliṣīn.

O commanding self, why did you occupy yourself with mentioning those souls and express bewilderment at answering, yet take no heed of the deeds of souls who gave their lives in the path of this Cause? The deed of each was a clear proof and a shining testimony, between the heavens and the earths, establishing this most wondrous, most unassailable Revelation. Among them was the Beloved of Martyrs, Āqā Siyyid Ismāʿīl of Zavārih, who sacrificed his life by his own hand out of love for this Revelation. No soul denied his asceticism, piety, devoutness, learning, or knowledge of God. You were not guided by the deed of such a soul, but sent before the Throne an account of souls whose present path is unknown. May God strengthen them in His Cause, detach them from you and those like you, and make them among the sincere.

713

بارى لازم شد كه تفصيل جناب سيّد شهيد عليه بهآء اللّه و عليه عزّ اللّه و عليه نور اللّه و عليه كبريآء اللّه و عليه سرّ اللّه و عليه عظمة اللّه و عليه ضيآء اللّه و عليه ثنآء اللّه و ثنآء كلّ شیء و ثنآء العالمين در اينمقام ذكر شود كه شايد مطّلع شوى بر آن نفوسى كه نقطه بيان جلّ اقتداره خبر فرموده كه قبل از ظهور آن شمس احديّه بنار حبّش مشتعل شوند چنانچه مخاطباً لظهور بعد ميفرمايند كه مضمون پارسى آن اين است قوله عزّ اعزازه اگر چه عباد كلّ از تو محجوب بوده و خواهند بود و لكن از براى تو عبادى هم خواهد خلق شد كه قبل از ظهور تو بنار محبّت تو مشتعل گردند چنانچه سيّد مذكور قبل از ظهور مشتعل شده و البتّه امثال آن نفس هم ظاهر خواهند شد و لو انتم و امثالكم تنكرون او تكفرون حكايت آن شهيد آنكه وارد عراق شدند و جوار بيت اعظم بيت آقا محمّد رضا عليه بهآء اللّه منزل و مقرّ گرفتند اسم مذكور از حضرت ابهى مستدعى شده كه وقتى از اوقات ببيت او تشريف ببرند چند يوم تأخير افتاد و در جواب توقّف فرمودند تا آنكه يومى از ایّام قبول فرموده و بآن مقرّ تشريف بردند و جناب مذكور بقدر استطاعت خود مجلسى آراست و چند سينى از مركّبات و ميوه و حلويات بحضور آورد اذاً توجّه وجه اللّه الى وجه الّذى استشهد فى سبيله و خاطبه تعال و كلّ ما حضر بين يديك من الآء اللّه و نعمائه

Bārī lāzim shud kih tafṣīl-i Janāb-i Siyyid-i shahīd, ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh wa-ʿalayhi ʿizzu Allāh wa-ʿalayhi nūru Allāh wa-ʿalayhi kibriyāʾu Allāh wa-ʿalayhi sirru Allāh wa-ʿalayhi ʿaẓamatu Allāh wa-ʿalayhi ḍiyāʾu Allāh wa-ʿalayhi thanāʾu Allāh wa-thanāʾu kulli shayʾin wa-thanāʾu al-ʿālamīn, dar īn maqām dhikr shavad kih shāyad muṭṭaliʿ shavī bar ān nufūsī kih Nuqṭih-yi Bayān jalla iqtidāruhu khabar farmūdih kih qabl az ẓuhūr-i ān shams-i aḥadiyyih bi-nār-i ḥubbash mushtaʿil shavand. Chunānchih mukhāṭiban li-ẓuhūr-i baʿd mīfarmāyand kih maḍmūn-i pārsī-yi ān īn ast, qawluhu ʿazza iʿzāzuhu: agar chih ʿibād kull az tu maḥjūb būdih va khvāhand būd va lākin az barā-yi tu ʿibādī ham khvāhad khalq shud kih qabl az ẓuhūr-i tu bi-nār-i maḥabbat-i tu mushtaʿil gardand. Chunānchih Siyyid-i madhkūr qabl az ẓuhūr mushtaʿil shudih va al-battih amthāl-i ān nafs ham ẓāhir khvāhand shud, wa-law antum wa-amthālukum tunkirūna aw takfurūn. Ḥikāyat-i ān shahīd ānkih vārid-i ʿIrāq shudand va jivār-i Bayt-i Aʿẓam bayt-i Āqā Muḥammad Riḍā ʿalayhi bahāʾu Allāh manzil va maqarr giriftand. Ism-i madhkūr az Ḥaḍrat-i Abhā mustadʿī shudih kih vaqtī az awqāt bi-bayt-i ū tashrīf bibarand. Chand yawm taʾkhīr uftād va dar javāb tavaqquf farmūdand tā ānkih yawmī az ayyām qabūl farmūdih va bi-ān maqarr tashrīf burdand va Janāb-i madhkūr bi-qadr-i istiṭāʿat-i khud majlisī ārāst va chand sīnī az murakkabāt va mīvih va ḥalaviyyāt bi-ḥuḍūr āvard. Idhan tawajjaha wajhu Allāhi ilā wajhi alladhī istushhida fī sabīlihi wa-khāṭabahu taʿāl wa-kul mā ḥaḍara bayna yadayka min ālāʾi Allāhi wa-naʿmāʾihi.

It has therefore become necessary to recount here the story of the martyred Siyyid—upon him be the glory of God, the might of God, the light of God, the grandeur of God, the mystery of God, the greatness of God, the radiance of God, the praise of God, the praise of all things, and the praise of the worlds—so that perhaps you may learn of those souls of whom the Point of the Bayān—glorious is His power—foretold that, before the appearance of that Sun of Oneness, they would be set ablaze with the fire of His love. Thus, addressing the subsequent Manifestation, He says, in words whose substance in Persian is as follows—His words, exalted be His honor: “Although the servants have all been, and will remain, veiled from You, yet servants will also be created for You who, before Your appearance, will be set ablaze with the fire of Your love.” Thus the aforementioned Siyyid was set ablaze before the Revelation, and others like that soul will assuredly appear, even though you and those like you deny or disbelieve. The story of that martyr is this: he arrived in Iraq and took up residence near the Most Great House, in the house of Āqā Muḥammad Riḍā—upon him be the glory of God. The aforementioned person requested that the Most Glorious One visit his house at some time. Several days passed, and He deferred His reply until one day He accepted and went to that dwelling. The aforementioned Siyyid arranged a gathering according to his means and brought into His presence several trays of citrus fruits, other fruit, and sweets. Then the Face of God turned toward the face of him who was martyred in His path and addressed him: “Come and eat what has been set before you of God’s favors and bounties.”

714

انّه تكلّم بين يدى اللّه بخضوع و خشوع و صريخ و انابة و قال اريد من بديع مواهبك بأن ترزقنى من نعمائك الرّوحانيّة اذا اشتعل وجه الرّوح ثمّ قال تعال يا عبد و امر بجلوسه امام وجهه ثمّ تكلّم لسان اللّه بكلمات يترشّح منها رشحات المعانى على كلّ ما كان و ما يكون و انّى لم اقدر ان اصفها او اذكرها و لم ادر ما انفق عليه يد العناية من نعمائه المكنونة الرّوحانيّة بحيث استجذبت منها نفسه و روحه و كينونته و ذاته و اخذته غلبات الشّوق على شأن غفل عن نفسه و عن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرضين فتوجّه بسرّه و جهره الى محبوب العالمين الى ان انتهى المجلس و رجع الرّوح الى مقرّه

Innahu takallama bayna yaday Allāhi bi-khuḍūʿin wa-khushūʿin wa-ṣarīkhin wa-inābatin wa-qāla urīdu min badīʿi mawāhibika bi-an tarzuqanī min naʿmāʾika al-rūḥāniyyah. Idhan ishtaʿala wajhu al-Rūḥi thumma qāla taʿāl yā ʿabd wa-amara bi-julūsihi amāma wajhihi thumma takallama lisānu Allāhi bi-kalimātin yatarashshaḥu minhā rashaḥātu al-maʿānī ʿalā kulli mā kāna wa-mā yakūn wa-innī lam aqdir an aṣifahā aw adhkurahā wa-lam adri mā anfaqa ʿalayhi yadu al-ʿināyati min naʿmāʾihi al-maknūnati al-rūḥāniyyati bi-ḥaythu istajdh ab at minhā nafsuhu wa-rūḥuhu wa-kaynūnatuhu wa-dhātuhu wa-akhadhat-hu ghalabātu al-shawqi ʿalā shaʾnin ghafala ʿan nafsihi wa-ʿan kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīn fa-tawajjaha bi-sirrihi wa-jahrihi ilā Maḥbūbi al-ʿālamīn ilā an intahā al-majlisu wa-rajaʿa al-Rūḥu ilā maqarrihi.

He spoke before God with humility, reverence, cries, and supplication, saying, “I desire, from Your wondrous gifts, that You grant me a share of Your spiritual bounties.” Then the face of the Spirit blazed, and He said, “Come, O servant,” and bade him sit before His face. Then the Tongue of God spoke words from which drops of meaning rained upon all that has been and will be. I could neither describe nor recount them, nor do I know what hidden spiritual bounties the hand of providence bestowed upon him, such that his soul, his spirit, his being, and his essence were enraptured by them. The overpowering force of longing seized him so completely that he became oblivious to himself and to all who are in the heavens and the earths. Inwardly and outwardly he turned toward the Beloved of the worlds, until the gathering ended and the Spirit returned to His dwelling.

715

و لكن انّه بعد استماع كلمات اللّه و ما ذاق عمّا اراد ما شهد احد فى نفسه سكوناً و قراراً و قضت عليه ایّام معدودات و فى كلّ حين يزداد شوقه و يشتدّ شغفه باللّه بارئه الى ان حضر فى فجر يوم من الأیّام و كنس بعمامته فنآء البيت و رجع و اخذ سكّيناً و تجنّب عن العباد و خرج عن المدينة الى ورد شاطى الشّط قام مقبلاً الى البيت بيد اخذ لحاه و بيد آخر قطع حنجره حبّاً للّه المقتدر المهيمن القيّوم اذا ارتفع بين النّاس ضوضآء و ارتفعت الصّياح من كلّ النّفوس و اجتمعوا فى حوله خلق كثير و راوا بانّ السّكين كان بيده و وضع يده على صدره فتحيّر بذلك كلّ الوجود ثمّ اهل ملأ الأعلی ثمّ اهل مداين الكبريا ثمّ اهل ملكوت الأسماء و جبروت البقآء و كلّهم صلّوا عليه و كبّروا على وجهه و نزلوا عليه و طافوا فى حوله و استنشقوا روايح حبّه و انّى لو اذكر ما ظهر فى ذلك اليوم انّك لن تقبل و لن تستطيع ان تعرف و كان اللّه على ما اقول شهيد

Wa-lākin innahu baʿda istimāʿi kalimāti Allāhi wa-mā dhāqa ʿammā arāda mā shahida aḥadun fī nafsihi sukūnan wa-qarāran wa-qaḍat ʿalayhi ayyāmun maʿdūdātun wa-fī kulli ḥīnin yazdādu shawquhu wa-yashtaddu shaghafuhu bi-Allāhi bāriʾihi ilā an ḥaḍara fī fajri yawmin mina al-ayyāmi wa-kanasa bi-ʿimāmatihi fināʾa al-bayti wa-rajaʿa wa-akhadha sikkīnan wa-tajannaba ʿani al-ʿibādi wa-kharaja ʿani al-madīnati ilā wardi shāṭiʾi al-shaṭṭi qāma muqbilan ilā al-bayti bi-yadin akhadha liḥāhu wa-bi-yadin ākhar qaṭaʿa ḥanjarahu ḥubban li-Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm. Idhan irtafaʿa bayna al-nāsi ḍawḍāʾun wa-irtafaʿati al-ṣiyāḥu min kulli al-nufūsi wa-ijtamaʿū fī ḥawlihi khalqun kathīrun wa-raʾaw bi-anna al-sikkīna kāna bi-yadihi wa-waḍaʿa yadahu ʿalā ṣadrihi fa-taḥayyara bi-dhālika kullu al-wujūdi thumma ahlu malaʾi al-aʿlā thumma ahlu madāyini al-kibriyā thumma ahlu malakūti al-asmāʾi wa-jabarūti al-baqāʾi wa-kulluhum ṣallaw ʿalayhi wa-kabbarū ʿalā wajhihi wa-nazalū ʿalayhi wa-ṭāfū fī ḥawlihi wa-istanshaqū rawāʾiḥa ḥubbihi wa-innī law adhkuru mā ẓahara fī dhālika al-yawmi innaka lan taqbala wa-lan tastaṭīʿa an taʿrifa wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalā mā aqūlu shahīd.

But after he had heard the words of God and tasted what he had desired, no one saw any calm or repose in him. A few days passed, and at every moment his longing increased and his ardent love for God, his Maker, grew more intense, until one day he came at dawn and swept the courtyard of the House with his turban. He returned, took a knife, withdrew from the people, and left the city for a watering place on the riverbank. He stood facing the House, grasped his beard with one hand, and with the other cut his throat out of love for God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Then an uproar arose among the people, cries went up from every soul, and a great crowd gathered around him. They saw that the knife was in his hand and that he had placed his hand upon his breast. All existence was astonished at this, as were the people of the Concourse on High, the inhabitants of the cities of grandeur, and the inhabitants of the kingdom of names and the dominion of eternity. They all offered prayers for him, proclaimed God’s greatness before his face, descended upon him, circled around him, and inhaled the fragrances of his love. Were I to recount what appeared on that day, you would neither accept it nor be able to comprehend it. God is witness to what I say.

716

بلسان پارسى ذكر ميشود كه سيّد مذكور بعد از ورود حضرت ابهى غذاى روحانى طلب نموده ‌فرمودند بيا و در مقابل بنشين بعد از جلوس بياناتى فرمودند فو‌اللّه سكر خمر معانى كلمات الهيّه چنان جذبش نمود كه از خود و كونين غافل گشت و اگر عالمين اراده نمايند كه تفصيل آنمجلس را ذكر كنند و يا بوصف آن كوثر معانى كه از بحر بيان طلعت لايزالى جارى شد مشغول شوند البتّه خود را عاجز مشاهده نمايند و بشأنى كلمات اللّه در قلب مقبل الى اللّه مؤثّر افتاد كه جميع اركانش بنار محبّت الهى مشتعل و ديگر حقّ عالم است كه باو چه عنايت شد قد ذاق ما لاعرفه احد الّا اللّه العليم الخبير

Bi-lisān-i pārsī dhikr mīshavad kih Siyyid-i madhkūr baʿd az vurūd-i Ḥaḍrat-i Abhā ghadhā-yi rūḥānī ṭalab namūdih, farmūdand biyā va dar muqābil binishīn. Baʿd az julūs bayānātī farmūdand, fa-wa-Allāh sukr-i khamr-i maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih chunān jadhbash namūd kih az khud va kawnayn ghāfil gasht va agar ʿālamayn irādih namāyand kih tafṣīl-i ān majlis rā dhikr kunand va yā bi-vaṣf-i ān kawthar-i maʿānī kih az baḥr-i bayān-i ṭalʿat-i lā-yazālī jārī shud mashghūl shavand al-battih khud rā ʿājiz mushāhidih namāyand. Va bi-shaʾnī kalimāt-i Allāh dar qalb-i muqbil ilā Allāh muʾaththir uftād kih jamīʿ-i arkānash bi-nār-i maḥabbat-i ilāhī mushtaʿil va dīgar Ḥaqq ʿālim ast kih bi-ū chih ʿināyat shud. Qad dhāqa mā lā ʿarafahu aḥadun illā Allāhu al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr.

It is recounted in Persian that, after the arrival of the Most Glorious One, the aforementioned Siyyid asked for spiritual food. He said, “Come and sit before Me.” After he had seated himself, He spoke certain words. By God, the intoxication of the wine of meanings in the divine words so enraptured him that he became oblivious to himself and to both worlds. If both worlds sought to recount the details of that gathering or to describe that Kawthar of meanings which flowed from the ocean of the utterance of the eternal Countenance, they would assuredly find themselves powerless. The words of God so affected the heart of him who had turned toward God that his entire frame was set ablaze with the fire of divine love. God alone knows what was bestowed upon him. He tasted what no one has known except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware.

717

و بعد مجلس منقضى شده جمال ابهى تشريف بردند و لكن آن سيّد در كلّ حين بشأن بديع ظاهر و بشأنى حبّ اللّه اخذش نمود كه بالأخره‌ از اكل و شرب منقطع شد و مدّتى باينحالت بوده تا آنكه در يومى اشعارى در مدح اللّه گفته و باصحاب داده و الان موجود اگر نفسى ملاحظه نمايد از اشتعال كينونت آن ساذج قدس مطّلع ميشود تا آنكه يومى از ایّام در اوّل فجر برخواسته و به بيت اعظم توجّه نمود و بعمامه خود فناء اطهر بيت را جاروب نموده‌و بعد رفته تيغى اخذ نمود و ببيت آقا محمّد رضا هم رفته و ديدنى نمود و بمقرّ قربانگاه دوست شتافت منقطعاً عن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرضين و در آن حين توجّه جميع ملائكه عالين در حولش بوده و با او بقربانگاه توجّه نمودند تا آنكه در خارج مدينه قرب شط مقابل بيت بدست خود حنجر مبارك خود را قطع نمود شوقاً لحبّ ربّه و شغفاً فى ودّه و طلباً لوصاله و راضياً لقضائه و مقبلاً الى حرم وصله

Va baʿd majlis munqaḍī shude Jamāl-i Abhā tashrīf burdand va lākin ān siyyid dar kull-i ḥīn bi-shaʾn-i badīʿ ẓāhir va bi-shaʾnī ḥubb-i Allāh akhdhash namūd kih bi’l-ākhirih az akl va shurb munqaṭiʿ shud va muddatī bi-īn ḥālat būde tā ānkih dar yawmī ashʿārī dar madḥ-i Allāh gufte va bi-aṣḥāb dāde va al-ān mawjūd agar nafsī mulāḥiẓih namāyad az ishtiʿāl-i kaynūnat-i ān sādhij-i quds muṭṭaliʿ mīshavad tā ānkih yawmī az ayyām dar avval-i fajr bar-khāste va bi-Bayt-i Aʿẓam tavajjuh namūd va bi-ʿammāmiy-i khud fanā-yi aṭhar-i bayt rā jārūb namūde va baʿd rafte tīghī akhdh namūd va bi-bayt-i Āqā Muḥammad Riḍā ham rafte va dīdanī namūd va bi-maqarr-i qurbāngāh-i Dūst shitāft munqaṭiʿan ʿan kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa’l-araḍīn va dar ān ḥīn tavajjuh-i jamīʿ-i malāʾikiy-i ʿāllīn dar ḥawlash būde va bā ū bi-qurbāngāh tavajjuh namūdand tā ānkih dar khārij-i madīnih qurb-i shaṭṭ muqābil-i bayt bi-dast-i khud ḥanjar-i mubārak-i khud rā qaṭʿ namūd shawqan li-ḥubbi rabbihi wa-shaghafan fī wuddihi wa-ṭalaban li-wiṣālihi wa-rāḍiyan li-qaḍāʾihi wa-muqbilan ilā ḥarami waṣlihi.

Afterward, the gathering ended and the Most Glorious Beauty departed. But that Siyyid manifested a wondrous state at every moment, and the love of God so seized him that he eventually ceased eating and drinking. He remained in this condition for a time, until one day he composed verses in praise of God and gave them to the companions. They still exist, and anyone who reads them will become aware of the fire that consumed the very being of that embodiment of holiness. Then, one day, he arose at the first light of dawn and turned toward the Most Great House. With his turban he swept the most pure courtyard of the House, and afterward went and took a blade. He also went to the house of Āqā Muḥammad Riḍā and paid a visit, then hastened to the place of sacrifice for the Beloved, detached from all who are in the heavens and the earths. At that moment, all the exalted angels were gathered around him, their attention fixed upon him, and they went with him toward the place of sacrifice. Outside the city, near the river, facing the House, he cut his blessed throat with his own hand, out of longing for the love of his Lord, passionate devotion to Him, and a desire for reunion with Him, content with His decree and turning toward the sanctuary of reunion with Him.

718

و بعد در مدينه اين امر شهرت نمود بشأنيكه كلّ استماع نمودند و تفنگچى باشى با جمعى از عرب و عجم توجّه بآن مقرّ اطهر نموده ‌مشاهده نمودند كه آن هيكل مقدّس خوابيده و تيغ در دستش و باينحالت جان فدا نموده ‌بعد از ملاحظه كلّ متحيّر شده و همان فعل سبب شد كه چند نفر از اعدا از افعال خود نادم شده بحبّ الهى فايز شدند و در هيچ عصرى چنين امرى واقع نشد حال ملاحظه كن كه اسم اين نفس مبارك هم اسمعيل بوده و لكن اين اسمعيل از قربانگاه دوست زنده برنگشت و جان در رهش ايثار نمود فو‌اللّه اين فعل حجّت است بر كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و لكن تو نيابی‌ و امثال تو نيابند تو را چه باين عوالم تو برو و ذكر وصايت مجعوله كن و در آنمقام تحقيق كن و رساله بنويس

Va baʿd dar madīnih īn amr shuhrat namūd bi-shaʾnī kih kull istimāʿ namūdand va tufangchī-bāshī bā jamʿī az ʿarab va ʿajam tavajjuh bi-ān maqarr-i aṭhar namūde mushāhidih namūdand kih ān haykal-i muqaddas khābīde va tīgh dar dastash va bi-īn ḥālat jān fidā namūde baʿd az mulāḥiẓih kull mutaḥayyir shude va hamān fiʿl sabab shud kih chand nafar az aʿdā az afʿāl-i khud nādim shude bi-ḥubb-i ilāhī fāʾiz shudand va dar hīch ʿaṣrī chunīn amrī vāqiʿ nashud ḥāl mulāḥiẓih kun kih ism-i īn nafs-i mubārak ham Ismāʿīl būde va lākin īn Ismāʿīl az qurbāngāh-i Dūst zindih bar-nagasht va jān dar rahash īthār namūd fa-wa’llāh īn fiʿl ḥujjat ast bar kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa’l-arḍ va lākin tu nayābī va amthāl-i tu nayāband tu rā chih bi-īn ʿavālim tu biraw va dhikr-i viṣāyat-i majʿūlih kun va dar ān maqām taḥqīq kun va risālih binivīs.

Afterward, news of this event spread through the city until everyone had heard it. The chief of the musketeers, with a group of Arabs and Persians, went to that most pure spot and saw that sacred figure lying there, the blade in his hand, having sacrificed his life in this manner. All who saw him were astonished, and this very deed caused several of his enemies to repent of their actions and attain the love of God. In no age had such a thing occurred. Now consider that the name of this blessed soul was also Ishmael, but this Ishmael did not return alive from the place of sacrifice for the Beloved: he gave his life in His path. By God, this deed is a proof to all who are in the heavens and on earth, but you do not comprehend it, nor do those like you. What have you to do with these realms? Go and speak of a fabricated successorship; investigate that matter and write a treatise.

719

و هم‌چنين نفوس ديگر كه در اين ظهور جان داده‌اند و تا مقرّ قربانگاه بذكر محبوب ناطق بوده‌اند ذكر اين نفوس را كه مثل شموس مشرقه ما‌بين ناس مشرق و مضئ‌اند بغضاً على اللّه ننموده‌ و مينويسى كه جواب فلان و فلان را چه بگويم قد خسر الّذينهم كفروا بآيات اللّه و اتّبعوك و امثالك فى الدّنيا و الآخرة و انّ النّار مثويهم فبئس مثوى المنكرين

Va hamchunīn nufūs-i dīgar kih dar īn ẓuhūr jān dāde-and va tā maqarr-i qurbāngāh bi-dhikr-i Maḥbūb nāṭiq būde-and dhikr-i īn nufūs rā kih mithl-i shumūs-i mushriqih mā-bayn-i nās mushriq va muḍīʾ-and bughḍan ʿalā Allāh nanamūde va mīnivīsī kih javāb-i fulān va fulān rā chih bigūyam qad khasira alladhīnahum kafarū bi-āyāti Allāh wa-ttabaʿūka wa-amthālaka fī al-dunyā wa’l-ākhirah wa-inna al-nāra mathwāhum fa-biʾsa mathwā al-munkirīn.

Likewise, there are other souls who have given their lives in this Revelation and continued to speak in remembrance of the Beloved until they reached the place of sacrifice. Out of hatred for God, you have made no mention of these souls, who shine resplendent among the people like rising suns, and you write, “What answer should I give to this person and that?” Those who have disbelieved in the verses of God and followed you and your like have indeed suffered loss in this world and the next. The Fire is their dwelling place: how wretched is the dwelling of the deniers!

720

و اينكه نوشته كه چه جواب گويم كه فلانيها هر روز بيكى ميچسبند و يكى را حقّ ميدانند و باطل مينمايند اين حقّيكه ذكر نموده ‌لازال خلق بوده بقميصى از قمايص اسماء مفتخر شد و بعد از طغيان و غرور و اعراض آن قميص از او اخذ شده خذ زمام القلم لانّ بما جرى منه يلعنك اهل ممالك القدم و يشهد بذلك لسان اللّه الصّادق النّاطق الأمين ميفرمايد طوريّون در كرّه اخرى عند رشح من ذلك النّور المهيمن الحمرا ميّت و لاشیء ميشوند تو تازه ذكر مينمائى كه چگونه ميشود مرآتى على زعم تو باطل شود و يا ثمره ساقط گردد منصوص است كه بسا شجره اثبات كه در ظهور بعد باعراض از شجره نفى ميشود و تو حال بيك ثمره بزعم خود چسبيده و متمسّك شده لو يكون ثمرة حقيقيّة باعراضها سقطت عن سدرة الالهيّة و رجعت الى اوّل مقرّها فى النّار

Va īnkih nivishte kih chih javāb gūyam kih fulānīhā har rūz bi-yikī mīchasband va yakī rā ḥaqq mīdānand va bāṭil mīnamāyand īn ḥaqqī kih dhikr namūde lāzāl khalq būde bi-qamīṣī az qamāyiṣ-i asmāʾ muftakhir shud va baʿd az ṭughyān va ghurūr va iʿrāḍ ān qamīṣ az ū akhdh shude khudh zimāma al-qalam li-anna bi-mā jarā minhu yalʿanuka ahlu mamāliki al-qidam wa-yashhadu bi-dhālika lisānu Allāhi al-ṣādiqu al-nāṭiqu al-amīn mīfarmāyad Ṭūriyyūn dar karrih-yi ukhrā ʿinda rashḥin min dhālika al-nūri al-muhaymini al-ḥamrā mayyit va lā-shayʾ mīshavand tu tāzih dhikr mīnamāʾī kih chigūnih mīshavad mirʾātī ʿalā zaʿm-i tu bāṭil shavad va yā thamarah sāqiṭ gardad manṣūṣ ast kih basā shajariy-i ithbāt kih dar ẓuhūr-i baʿd bi-iʿrāḍ az shajariy-i nafy mīshavad va tu ḥāl bi-yik thamarah bi-zaʿm-i khud chasbīde va mutamassik shude law yakūnu thamaratan ḥaqīqiyyatan bi-iʿrāḍihā saqaṭat ʿan sidrati al-ilāhiyyah wa-rajaʿat ilā awwali maqarrihā fī al-nār.

As for what you have written, “What answer should I give, when these people attach themselves to someone new every day, regard someone as true, and then declare him false?”—this one whom you have called true has always been a created being. He was honored with one of the garments of the names, and after his rebellion, pride, and turning away, that garment was taken from him. Rein in your pen, for because of what has flowed from it, the inhabitants of the realms of eternity curse you. To this bears witness the truthful, speaking, trustworthy Tongue of God. He says that, in another cycle, the people of Sinai become dead and as nothing at a sprinkling from that all-protecting crimson Light. Yet you now ask how a mirror, as you suppose him to be, can become false, or a fruit can fall. It is expressly stated that many a tree of affirmation, through turning away in the next Revelation, becomes a tree of negation. Yet now you have attached yourself to and held fast to what you imagine to be a fruit. Even if it were a true fruit, by turning away it would fall from the divine Lote-Tree and return to its original abode in the Fire.

721

در اينمقام يك بيان از نقطه بيان و طلعت رحمن و نفس سبحان روح من فى ممالك الأكوان و الامكان فداه ذكر ميشود كه شايد حيا نمائى و دست تعدّى بسرادق علم و عرفان الهى دراز ننمائى اگر چه تو و امثال تو عند اللّه از محرومين محسوب و لكن وجه بيان بمقرّبين بوده و خواهد بود قال و قوله الحقّ و اجعل اللّهمّ تلك الشّجرة كلّها لها لتظهرن ما فيها ثمرات ما قد خلق اللّه فيها لمن قد اراد اللّه ان يظهر به ما اراد فانّنى انا و عزّتك ما اردت ان يكون على تلك الشّجرة من غصن و لا ورق و لا ثمر لن يسجد له يوم ظهوره و لا يسبّحك به بما ينبغى لعلوّ علوّ ظهوره و سموّ سموّ بطونه و ان شهدت يا الهى علىّ من غصن او ورق او ثمر لم يسجد له يوم ظهوره فاقطعه اللّهمّ عن تلك الشّجرة فانّه لم يكن منّى و لايرجع الىّ انتهى

Dar īn maqām yik bayān az Nuqṭiy-i Bayān va Ṭalʿat-i Raḥmān va Nafs-i Subḥān rūḥu man fī mamāliki al-akwāni wa’l-imkān fidāh dhikr mīshavad kih shāyad ḥayā namāʾī va dast-i taʿaddī bi-surādiq-i ʿilm va ʿirfān-i ilāhī dirāz nanamāʾī agar chih tu va amthāl-i tu ʿinda Allāh az maḥrūmīn maḥsūb va lākin vajh-i bayān bi-muqarrabīn būde va khvāhad būd qāla wa-qawluhu al-ḥaqq wa-jʿal allāhumma tilka al-shajarata kullahā lahā li-taẓharanna mā fīhā thamarātu mā qad khalaqa Allāhu fīhā li-man qad arāda Allāhu an yuẓhira bihi mā arād fa-innanī anā wa-ʿizzatika mā aradtu an yakūna ʿalā tilka al-shajarati min ghuṣnin wa-lā waraqin wa-lā thamarin lan yasjuda lahu yawma ẓuhūrihi wa-lā yusabbiḥaka bihi bi-mā yanbaghī li-ʿuluwwi ʿuluwwi ẓuhūrihi wa-sumūwwi sumūwwi buṭūnihi wa-in shahidta yā ilāhī ʿalayya min ghuṣnin aw waraqin aw thamarin lam yasjud lahu yawma ẓuhūrihi fa-qṭaʿhu allāhumma ʿan tilka al-shajarah fa-innahu lam yakun minnī wa-lā yarjiʿu ilayya intahā.

Here an utterance of the Point of the Bayān, the Countenance of the All-Merciful and the Person of the All-Glorious—may the souls of all who dwell in the realms of existence and contingency be sacrificed for Him—is cited, so that perhaps you may feel shame and not stretch out a hand of aggression toward the pavilion of divine knowledge and recognition. Although you and your like are numbered among the deprived in God’s sight, the utterance has been, and will remain, addressed to those who are near to Him. He said, and His word is truth: “Make, O God, that Tree wholly hers, so that the fruits of what God has created within it may appear within it for Him through whom God has willed to manifest what He has willed. For I, by Your might, have not desired that there should be upon that Tree any branch, leaf, or fruit that will not bow down before Him on the day of His appearance, or glorify You through Him as befits the loftiest heights of His manifestation and the most exalted sublimity of His concealment. And if, O my God, You should behold upon Me any branch, leaf, or fruit that does not bow down before Him on the day of His appearance, cut it off, O God, from that Tree, for it is not of Me and does not return to Me.” End of quotation.

722

نفسى فداه و روحى فداه و سرّى فداه و ظاهرى فداه و باطنى فداه و الملك و الملكوت فداه و القدرة و اللّاهوت فداه و العزّ و الياقوت فداه و الظّهور و النّاسوت فداه و ما خلق فى ممالك القدم فداه لانّه روحى فداه ما تحرّك قلمه الّا فى هذا الذّكر البديع و هذا الظّهور المتباذخ المنيع و هذا العلوّ المتعالى الرّفيع و هذه الشّمس المشرقة المنير و هذا الأمر الظّاهر الباهر العزيز المنيع قدرى تفكّر كن كه چه ميفرمايد آن نقطه وجود و جمال معبود ميفرمايد اى پروردگار من اراده نکرده‌ام اينكه باقى بماند بر اين شجر از غصن و ورق و ثمرى كه ساجد نشود از براى او يوم ظهور او و تسبيح ننمايد تو را بآن مظهر ظهور بآنچه سزاوار است از براى علوّ علوّ ظهور او و سموّ سموّ بطون او و ميفرمايد اگر مشاهده نمودى تو اى پروردگار من بر من از غصن و ورق و ثمرى كه ساجد نشود از براى او يوم ظهور او پس قطع كن او را اى پروردگار از اين شجره بدرستيكه او نبوده است از من و راجع نميشود بسوى من

Nafsī fidāh wa-rūḥī fidāh wa-sirrī fidāh wa-ẓāhirī fidāh wa-bāṭinī fidāh wa’l-mulku wa’l-malakūtu fidāh wa’l-qudratu wa’l-lāhūtu fidāh wa’l-ʿizzu wa’l-yāqūtu fidāh wa’l-ẓuhūru wa’l-nāsūtu fidāh wa-mā khuliqa fī mamāliki al-qidami fidāh li-annahu rūḥī fidāh mā taḥarraka qalamuhu illā fī hādhā al-dhikri al-badīʿ wa-hādhā al-ẓuhūri al-mutabādhikhi al-manīʿ wa-hādhā al-ʿuluwwi al-mutaʿālī al-rafīʿ wa-hādhihi al-shamsi al-mushriqati al-munīr wa-hādhā al-amri al-ẓāhiri al-bāhiri al-ʿazīzi al-manīʿ qadrī tafakkur kun kih chih mīfarmāyad ān Nuqṭiy-i Vujūd va Jamāl-i Maʿbūd mīfarmāyad ay Parvardigār-i man irādih nakarde-am īnkih bāqī bimānad bar īn shajar az ghuṣn va varaq va thamarī kih sājid nashavad az barā-yi ū yawm-i ẓuhūr-i ū va tasbīḥ nanamāyad tu rā bi-ān maẓhar-i ẓuhūr bi-ānchih sazāvār ast az barā-yi ʿuluvv-i ʿuluvv-i ẓuhūr-i ū va sumuvv-i sumuvv-i buṭūn-i ū va mīfarmāyad agar mushāhidih namūdī tu ay Parvardigār-i man bar man az ghuṣn va varaq va thamarī kih sājid nashavad az barā-yi ū yawm-i ẓuhūr-i ū pas qaṭʿ kun ū rā ay Parvardigār az īn shajarih bi-durustī kih ū nabūde ast az man va rājiʿ namīshavad bi-sū-yi man.

May my self be sacrificed for Him, and my soul be sacrificed for Him, and my inmost secret be sacrificed for Him, and my outward being be sacrificed for Him, and my inward being be sacrificed for Him; may the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom be sacrificed for Him, and power and the divine realm be sacrificed for Him, and glory and ruby be sacrificed for Him, and manifestation and the human realm be sacrificed for Him, and all that has been created in the realms of eternity be sacrificed for Him. For He—may my soul be sacrificed for Him—moved His pen only in celebration of this wondrous Remembrance, this supremely exalted and unassailable Revelation, this transcendent and lofty height, this radiant, shining Sun, and this manifest, resplendent, mighty, inviolable Cause. Reflect a little on what that Point of Existence and Beauty of the Adored One says. He says, “O my Lord, I have not desired that there should remain upon this Tree any branch, leaf, or fruit that does not bow down before Him on the day of His appearance, and does not glorify You through that Manifestation of revelation as befits the loftiest heights of His manifestation and the most exalted sublimity of His concealment.” And He says, “If, O my Lord, You should behold upon Me any branch, leaf, or fruit that does not bow down before Him on the day of His appearance, then cut it off, O Lord, from this Tree. Truly, it has not been of Me and does not return to Me.”

723

قدرى تفكّر نما ثمره شجره حقيقت در ظهور قبل آن است كه كلّ اهل بيان در ظلّ اين شجره ساكن شوند اين بوده اصل مقصود از آنچه تقدير شد در شجره قبل حال هر نفسى بآنمقام فايز شد از اثمار و افنان و اغصان و ما قدّر لها مذكور و من دون آن ساقط و مقطوع حال قدرى نوحه نما بر ثمره كه من دون اللّه اخذ نموده ‌و اگر ثمرهء حقيقى باشد بنصّ نقطه بيان كه ميفرمايد اگر حقّ را در يوم ظهور تصديق ننمايد از من نبوده و نخواهد بود مع اين بيان واضح لايح آشكار تعجّب مينمائيد كه چگونه ميشود ثمره باطل گردد و يا ساقط شود

Qadrī tafakkur namā thamarah-yi shajariy-i ḥaqīqat dar ẓuhūr-i qabl ān ast kih kull-i ahl-i Bayān dar ẓill-i īn shajarih sākin shavand īn būde aṣl-i maqṣūd az ānchih taqdīr shud dar shajariy-i qabl ḥāl har nafsī bi-ān maqām fāʾiz shud az athmār va afnān va aghṣān va mā quddira lahā madhkūr va min dūn-i ān sāqiṭ va maqṭūʿ ḥāl qadrī nawḥih namā bar thamarah kih min dūni Allāh akhdh namūde va agar thamarah-yi ḥaqīqī bāshad bi-naṣṣ-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān kih mīfarmāyad agar Ḥaqq rā dar yawm-i ẓuhūr taṣdīq nanamāyad az man nabūde va nakhvāhad būd maʿ-i īn bayān-i vāḍiḥ-i lāyiḥ-i āshkār taʿajjub mīnamāyīd kih chigūnih mīshavad thamarah bāṭil gardad va yā sāqiṭ shavad.

Reflect a little. The fruit of the Tree of Truth in the former Revelation is that all the people of the Bayān should dwell beneath the shade of this Tree. This was the essential purpose of all that was ordained in the former Tree. Now, whoever has attained that station is numbered among its fruits, twigs, branches, and whatever has been ordained for it; anyone else is fallen and cut off. Now lament a little for the fruit that has taken hold of something other than God. Even if it is a true fruit, the Point of the Bayān expressly says, “If it does not acknowledge the True One on the day of His appearance, it has not been, and will not be, of Me.” Despite this clear, evident, manifest utterance, you wonder how a fruit can become false or fall!

724

حال عظمت امر اللّه را مشاهده كن و شأن خود و مرشدت را بگو اى طفل دبستان جهل هنوز بالغ نشده چه كه اگر بالغ بودى باين كلمات مشغول نميشدى فافّ لك و بما عندك و بما استدللت به و بما تكون مسروراً به اليوم بالغين آنانند كه بمظهر ربّ العالمين عارف شده و بر اعراش تمكين و وقار متمكّن نزد تو و امثال تو بسيار مشكل است خرق اين حجبات و لكن از براى حقّ جلّ ثنائه نفوسى هست كه بنفحاتش جميع احجاب را خرق نمايند و ايشانند آن نفوسى كه كلّ نفس ايشان مهيمن است بر كلّ اهل بيان و هم‌چنين كلمات ايشان و افعال ايشان و عرفان ايشان چنانچه نقطه بيان ميفرمايد كه نطفه يكساله ظهور بعد اقوى است از كلّ من فى البيان و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو كه اگر در همين بيان نقطه بيان تفكّر نمايند جميع از كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و از روح و نفس و ذات خود منقطع شده بشطر احديّه توجّه نمايند

Ḥāl ʿaẓamat-i Amr-i Allāh rā mushāhidih kun va shaʾn-i khud va murshidat rā bigū ay ṭifl-i dabistān-i jahl hanūz bāligh nashude chih kih agar bāligh būdī bi-īn kalimāt mashghūl namīshudī fa-uffin laka wa-bi-mā ʿindaka wa-bi-mā istad­lalta bihi wa-bi-mā takūnu masrūran bihi al-yawm bālighīn ānānand kih bi-Maẓhar-i Rabb-i ʿālamīn ʿārif shude va bar aʿrāsh-i tamkīn va vaqār mutamakkin nazd-i tu va amthāl-i tu bisyār mushkil ast kharq-i īn ḥujubāt va lākin az barā-yi Ḥaqq jalla thanāʾuhu nufūsī hast kih bi-nafaḥātash jamīʿ-i aḥjāb rā kharq namāyand va īshānand ān nufūsī kih kull-i nafs-i īshān muhaymin ast bar kull-i ahl-i Bayān va hamchunīn kalimāt-i īshān va afʿāl-i īshān va ʿirfān-i īshān chinānchih Nuqṭiy-i Bayān mīfarmāyad kih nuṭfih-yi yiksālih-yi ẓuhūr-i baʿd aqvā ast az kulli man fī al-Bayān wa’llāhi alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa kih agar dar hamīn bayān-i Nuqṭiy-i Bayān tafakkur namāyand jamīʿ az kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa’l-arḍ va az rūḥ va nafs va dhāt-i khud munqaṭiʿ shude bi-shaṭr-i Aḥadiyyih tavajjuh namāyand.

Now behold the greatness of the Cause of God and the standing of yourself and your guide. Say: O child in the school of ignorance, you have not yet reached maturity, for had you matured, you would not have occupied yourself with these words. Shame on you, on what you possess, on what you have adduced as proof, and on what delights you today! The mature are those who have recognized the Manifestation of the Lord of the worlds and are established upon the thrones of steadfastness and dignity. For you and your like, tearing through these veils is exceedingly difficult. Yet God—exalted be His praise—has souls who, through His breaths, tear through every veil. These are the souls each one of whom holds sway over all the people of the Bayān, as do their words, their deeds, and their recognition. Thus the Point of the Bayān says that the year-old embryo of the next Revelation is mightier than all who are in the Bayān. By God, besides whom there is no god, if they reflected upon this very utterance of the Point of the Bayān, they would all detach themselves from everyone in the heavens and on earth, and from their own souls, selves, and beings, and turn toward the One.

725

و اين كلمه بسيار بزرگ است لو انتم تتفكّرون چه اگر امر عظيم نباشد چگونه چنين بيان از منزل بيان ظاهر ميشد اذا نشهد بأن صدق اللّه العلىّ العظيم چه كه اگر اقوى از كلّ خلق نباشد نميتواند اين سبحات اوهام را خرق نمايد و اين اصنام كبيره را بقوّه خليل آفاق‌ بشكند كجا است مقام اين عباد و مقام عباد قبل هؤلآء عباد يصلين عليهم اهل ملأ الأعلی ثمّ حقايق الأشیآء و لكن انتم لا تشعرون

Va īn kalimih bisyār buzurg ast law antum tatafakkarūn chih agar amr ʿaẓīm nabāshad chigūnih chunīn bayān az Munzil-i Bayān ẓāhir mīshud idhan nashhadu bi-anna ṣadaqa Allāhu al-ʿaliyyu al-ʿaẓīm chih kih agar aqvā az kull-i khalq nabāshad namītavānad īn subuḥāt-i awhām rā kharq namāyad va īn aṣnām-i kabīrih rā bi-quvvih-yi Khalīl-i āfāq bishikanad kujā ast maqām-i īn ʿibād va maqām-i ʿibād-i qabl hāʾulāʾi ʿibādun yuṣallīna ʿalayhim ahlu malaʾi al-aʿlā thumma ḥaqāʾiqu al-ashyāʾ wa-lākin antum lā tashʿurūn.

This utterance is exceedingly momentous, if you would reflect. For if the Cause were not mighty, how could such an utterance have appeared from the Revealer of the Bayān? Thus We testify that God, the Most High, the Most Great, has spoken the truth. For unless one is mightier than all creation, one cannot tear through these veils of vain imaginings or shatter these mighty idols through the power of the Friend of all the worlds. How far apart are the station of these servants and that of the servants of former times! These are servants upon whom the inhabitants of the Concourse on High, and then the realities of all things, invoke blessings, but you do not perceive.

726

و اينكه بقلم غلّ و افترا نوشته كه بعضى مردم نسبت عصيان بجمال ابهى ميدهند و نوشته آنچه قلم حيا مينمايد از ذكر آن كلّما ذكرت كذب صراح جميع اين كلمات را آن ملقى كذّاب بتو القا نموده‌ و نوشته و الّذى تكلّم بذلك افترى على اللّه المهيمن القيّوم اذا يخاطبك ملائكة التّقديس من فردوس الأعظم و يقول يا ايّها المشرك صه لسانك بقطرة من ابحر تقديسه خلقنا و بعثنا و جعلنا اللّه مطهّراً عن دلالة غيره و منزّها عن ذكر ما سواه و اذا نسبّحنه و نقدسنه فى هذا المقرّ الأعظم العظيم

Va īnkih bi-qalam-i ghill va iftirā nivishte kih baʿḍī mardum nisbat-i ʿiṣyān bi-Jamāl-i Abhā mīdihand va nivishte ānchih qalam ḥayā mīnamāyad az dhikr-i ān kullu mā dhakarta kadhibun ṣurāḥ jamīʿ-i īn kalimāt rā ān mulqī-yi kadhdhāb bi-tu ilqā namūde va nivishte wa’lladhī takallama bi-dhālika iftarā ʿalā Allāhi al-muhaymini al-qayyūm idhan yukhāṭibuka malāʾikatu al-taqdīsi min Firdawsi al-Aʿẓam wa-yaqūlu yā ayyuhā al-mushriku ṣah lisānaka bi-qaṭratin min abḥuri taqdīsihi khuliqnā wa-buʿithnā wa-jaʿalanā Allāhu muṭahharan ʿan dalālati ghayrihi wa-munazzahan ʿan dhikri mā siwāhu wa-idhan nusabbiḥannahu wa-nuqaddisannahu fī hādhā al-maqarri al-aʿẓami al-ʿaẓīm.

As for what you have written with the pen of malice and slander, that some people accuse the Most Glorious Beauty of disobedience, and your having written what the pen is ashamed to mention: everything you have said is an outright lie. That lying prompter has prompted you with all these words and written them. Whoever spoke thus has fabricated a lie against God, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting. Now the angels of holiness address you from the Most Great Paradise, saying, “O you who associate partners with God, silence your tongue! From a drop of the oceans of His holiness we were created and raised up, and God has made us pure of the guidance of anyone other than Him and sanctified us from the mention of all besides Him. Thus we assuredly glorify Him and proclaim His holiness in this most great and mighty abode.”

727

ثمّ يخاطبك ملائكة التّنزيه من جنّة الأعلی و يقولنّ خذ قلمك يا ايّها المشرك باللّه تاللّه بهبوب من ارياح تنزيهه قد بعثنا و خلقنا و اذا ننزهنّه و نسبّحنه و نقدسنه فى هذا المقام الّذى جعله اللّه مطهّراً عن ذكرك و ثنائك و عرفانك و عرفان العالمين ثمّ يخاطبك ملائكة التّجريد فى جنّة الأبهی و يقولن فاستحى يا ايّها المعرض عن اللّه قد خلقنا اللّه من ابحر تجريده و انقطعنا عن كلّ ذكر دون ذكره و اذا نسير فى هذه الجنّة الأعظم و نذكرنه و نحمدنه فى كلّ بكور و اصيل

Thumma yukhāṭibuka malāʾikat al-tanzīh min jannat al-Aʿlā wa-yaqulna khudh qalamaka yā ayyuhā al-mushrik bi-llāh ta-llāh bi-hubūb min aryāḥ tanzīhihi qad buʿithnā wa-khuliqnā wa-idhan nunazzihannahu wa-nusabbiḥannahu wa-nuqaddisannahu fī hādhā al-maqām alladhī jaʿalahu Allāh muṭahharan ʿan dhikrika wa-thanāʾika wa-ʿirfānika wa-ʿirfān al-ʿālamīn thumma yukhāṭibuka malāʾikat al-tajrīd fī jannat al-Abhā wa-yaqulna fa-staḥi yā ayyuhā al-muʿriḍ ʿan Allāh qad khalaqanā Allāh min abḥur tajrīdihi wa-nqaṭaʿnā ʿan kull dhikr dūna dhikrihi wa-idhan nasīr fī hādhihi al-jannat al-aʿẓam wa-nadhkurannahu wa-naḥmadannahu fī kull bukūr wa-aṣīl.

Then the angels of transcendence address you from the Most Exalted Paradise, saying, “Take up your pen, O you who associate partners with God! By God, through a breath from the winds of His transcendence we were raised up and created. Thus we proclaim His transcendence, glorify Him, and declare His holiness in this station, which God has purified of your mention, your praise, your recognition, and the recognition of all the worlds.” Then the angels of detachment address you in the All-Glorious Paradise, saying, “Be ashamed, O you who turn away from God! God has created us from the oceans of His detachment, and we have severed ourselves from every mention but His. Thus we walk in this Most Great Paradise, remembering and praising Him every morning and evening.”

728

ثمّ يخاطبك اهل جنّة الأمر و يقولن يا ايّها الغافل عن ذكر اللّه و المحارب بنفسه انّا خلقنا بامر الّذى جرى من قلمه العزيز البديع و انّه لهو الّذى بأمره رقم قلم الأعلی على الألواح كلّما اراد و انّه لهو الحاكم على ما يريد انّه لا يسئل عمّا فعل و ما سواه يسئلون لو انت من العالمين انّه لهو المختار فى نفسه يفعل ما يشآء بسلطانه ليس لأحد ان يعترض عليه و انّما الاعتراض يرجع الى نفسك الشّقىّ البعيد ما احصينا احجب منك من ملل القبل تاللّه بنار غلّك اشتعلت نار السّعير خف عن اللّه و لاتنسب اليه ما يأمرك نفسك و هويك و لاتكن من المشركين تاللّه يشهد بتقديسه كلّ الذّرّات ثمّ بتنزيهه كلّ الأشیآء و بتجريده اهل ملأ اعلى و بتوحيد ذاته اهل مداين البقآء انّه لو يحكم لنفس الشّرك حكم التّوحيد يقدر بسلطانه المقتدر القدير و لو يريد ان يبدّل ذنوب الممكنات بكلمة من عنده ليكون قادراً بأمره و انّما العجز شأنك و شأن امثالك يا ايّها الّذى جعلت نفسك محروماً عن نفحات اللّه فى هذه الأیّام الأبدع البديع

Thumma yukhāṭibuka ahl jannat al-amr wa-yaqulna yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil ʿan dhikr Allāh wa-l-muḥārib bi-nafsihi innā khuliqnā bi-amr alladhī jarā min qalamihi al-ʿazīz al-badīʿ wa-innahu la-huwa alladhī bi-amrihi raqama qalam al-Aʿlā ʿalā al-alwāḥ kullamā arāda wa-innahu la-huwa al-ḥākim ʿalā mā yurīd innahu lā yusʾalu ʿammā faʿala wa-mā siwāhu yusʾalūn law anta min al-ʿālimīn innahu la-huwa al-mukhtār fī nafsihi yafʿalu mā yashāʾ bi-sulṭānihi laysa li-aḥad an yaʿtariḍa ʿalayhi wa-innamā al-iʿtirāḍ yarjiʿu ilā nafsika al-shaqiyy al-baʿīd mā aḥṣaynā aḥjab minka min milal al-qabl ta-llāh bi-nār ghillika ishtaʿalat nār al-saʿīr khaf ʿan Allāh wa-lā tansub ilayhi mā yaʾmuruka nafsuka wa-hawāka wa-lā takun min al-mushrikīn ta-llāh yashhadu bi-taqdīsihi kull al-dharrāt thumma bi-tanzīhihi kull al-ashyāʾ wa-bi-tajrīdihi ahl malaʾ aʿlā wa-bi-tawḥīd dhātihi ahl madāʾin al-baqāʾ innahu law yaḥkumu li-nafs al-shirk ḥukm al-tawḥīd yaqdiru bi-sulṭānihi al-muqtadir al-qadīr wa-law yurīdu an yubaddila dhunūb al-mumkināt bi-kalima min ʿindihi la-yakūnu qādiran bi-amrihi wa-innamā al-ʿajz shaʾnuka wa-shaʾn amthālika yā ayyuhā alladhī jaʿalta nafsaka maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāt Allāh fī hādhihi al-ayyām al-abdaʿ al-badīʿ.

Then the inhabitants of the Paradise of the Command address you, saying, “O you who are heedless of the remembrance of God and wage war against His own Self! We were created by a command that flowed from His mighty, wondrous Pen. He is indeed the One at whose command the Most Exalted Pen inscribed on the Tablets whatever He desired. He is indeed the Ruler over whatever He wills. He is not questioned about what He does, while all besides Him are questioned, if you are among those who know. He indeed chooses freely in His own right, doing whatever He wishes through His sovereignty. No one has the right to object to Him; any objection only turns back upon your own wretched, wayward self. We have counted none among the religious communities of the past more veiled than you. By God, the fire of your malice has kindled the fire of hell! Fear God, and do not attribute to Him what your own self and desires dictate to you, and do not be among those who associate partners with Him. By God, every atom bears witness to His holiness, all things to His transcendence, the inhabitants of the Concourse on High to His detachment, and the inhabitants of the cities of eternity to the oneness of His Essence. If He were to pronounce belief in His oneness upon unbelief itself, He would have the power through His all-compelling, all-powerful sovereignty. If He wished to transform the sins of all contingent beings with a word from Himself, He would assuredly have the power through His command. Powerlessness belongs only to you and those like you, O you who have deprived yourself of the breaths of God in these most wondrous days.”

729

افٍّ لك و لعرفانك اما عرفت بأن الحكم يظهر منه و لايرجع اليه حكم احد و انّه لهو الأمر فى ازل الازال و لايجرى عليه امر احد لانّ كلّ فقراء عنده و خلقوا بقوله العزيز البديع هل ينبغى لورقة الّتى سقطت من السّدرة و اصفرّت من هوآء نفسها يعترض على سدرة الّتى ينطق كلّ ورقة منها بانّه لا اله الّا هو العزيز المتعالى العليم الحكيم هل ينبغى للعدم بأن يعترض على سلطان القدم او يقنّن له قوانين نفسه لا فو‌نفسه العلىّ العظيم اذاً اسمع قولى ثمّ استغفر بدوام عمرك لعلّ اللّه يغفرك و يطهّرك عمّا ابتليت به و ينقطعك عن نفسك و هويك و يقرّبك الى ما هو خير لك عن ملكوت ملك السّموات و الأرضين فو‌اللّه ما اردت فيما ذكرت الّا تضييع امر اللّه و نسئل اللّه بأن يضيّعك ثمّ الّذين ايّدوك على ما فعلت و ارتكبت و انّه لعلى كلّ شیء قدير

Uffin laka wa-li-ʿirfānika a-mā ʿarafta bi-anna al-ḥukm yaẓharu minhu wa-lā yarjiʿu ilayhi ḥukm aḥad wa-innahu la-huwa al-amr fī azal al-āzāl wa-lā yajrī ʿalayhi amr aḥad li-anna kull fuqarāʾ ʿindahu wa-khuliqū bi-qawlihi al-ʿazīz al-badīʿ hal yanbaghī li-waraqa allatī saqaṭat min al-sidra wa-ṣfarrat min hawāʾ nafsihā yaʿtariḍ ʿalā sidra allatī yanṭiqu kull waraqa minhā bi-annahu lā ilāha illā huwa al-ʿAzīz al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm hal yanbaghī li-l-ʿadam bi-an yaʿtariḍa ʿalā sulṭān al-qidam aw yuqannina lahu qawānīn nafsihi lā fa-wa-nafsihi al-ʿaliyy al-ʿaẓīm idhan ismaʿ qawlī thumma istaghfir bi-dawām ʿumrika laʿalla Allāh yaghfiruka wa-yuṭahhiruka ʿammā ibtulīta bihi wa-yanqaṭiʿuka ʿan nafsika wa-hawāka wa-yuqarribuka ilā mā huwa khayr laka ʿan malakūt mulk al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍīn fa-wa-llāh mā aradta fīmā dhakarta illā taḍyīʿ amr Allāh wa-nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yuḍayyiʿaka thumma alladhīna ayyadūka ʿalā mā faʿalta wa-rtakabta wa-innahu la-ʿalā kull shayʾ qadīr.

Shame on you and your understanding! Have you not recognized that judgment proceeds from Him, while no one’s judgment applies to Him? He is indeed the Command from all eternity, and no one’s command holds sway over Him, for all are destitute before Him and were created by His mighty, wondrous word. Is it fitting for a leaf that has fallen from the Lote Tree and yellowed through the air of its own self to object to a Tree whose every leaf proclaims that there is no God but Him, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise? Is it fitting for nothingness to object to the Sovereign of eternity, or to prescribe its own laws for Him? No, by His own exalted, mighty Self! Listen, then, to My words, and seek forgiveness throughout your life, that God may perhaps forgive you, purify you of what has afflicted you, detach you from your self and desires, and bring you near to what is better for you than sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. By God, in what you have said you intended only to bring the Cause of God to ruin. We ask God to bring you to ruin, and those who supported you in what you have done and committed. He indeed has power over all things.

730

اين عبد را ملجأ نموده‌ اگر جواب ذكر نشود بيم آنست كه بعضى از نفوس ضعيفه باين كلمات جعليّه از حقّ محروم مانند و اگر ذكر شود و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو فطرت اصليّه راضى نميشود كه از ذكر اللّه غافل شود و بكلمات مشركين توجّه نمايد و لكن چه چاره تكليف اينست آنچه گفته‌ايد جواب ذكر شودلعلّ آن مجعولات ما بين عباد و سلطان يوم ميعاد حجاب نگردد

Īn ʿabd rā muljaʾ namūdeh agar javāb dhekr nashavad bīm ān ast keh baʿżī az nofūs-e żaʿīfeh be-īn kalemāt-e jaʿlīyyeh az Ḥaqq maḥrūm mānand va agar dhekr shavad va-llāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa feṭrat-e aṣlīyyeh rāżī nemīshavad keh az dhekr-e Allāh ghāfel shavad va be-kalemāt-e moshrekīn tavajjoh namāyad va lāken cheh chāreh taklīf īn ast āncheh gofteh-īd javāb dhekr shavad laʿall ān majʿūlāt mā beyn-e ʿebād va Solṭān-e yowm-e mīʿād ḥejāb nagardad.

You have left this servant no choice: if no answer is given, there is a fear that some weak souls may be deprived of the True One through these fabricated words. Yet if an answer is given—by God, besides whom there is no other god—one’s innate nature is unwilling to become heedless of the remembrance of God and turn its attention to the words of those who associate partners with Him. But what can be done? The duty is to answer what you have said, so that those fabrications may not become a veil between His servants and the Sovereign of the Day of Promise.

731

و از اين كلمات كه بتو القا نموده‌مقصودى نداشته مگر آنكه بعضى نفوس را از شطر فردوس منع نمايند و عباد را بدام كلمات صيد كنند در دوازده سنه توقّف در عراق جميع ميدانند كه چه مقدار جدّ و جهد فرموده‌اند تا آنكه بعضى فواحش را از ما بين اين طايفه برداشتند و اگر هم نعوذ باللّه بعضى مرتكب شده‌اند در ستر بوده فو‌اللّه يا غافل مطّلع نيستى كه بر چه مقرّى اين اعتراضات نموده ‌لو تعرف لتهلك نفسك فى الحين

Va az īn kalemāt keh be-to elqā namūdeh maqṣūdī nadāshteh magar ānkeh baʿżī nofūs rā az shaṭr-e ferdows manʿ namāyand va ʿebād rā be-dām-e kalemāt ṣeyd konand dar davāzdah saneh tavaqqof dar ʿErāq jamīʿ mīdānand keh cheh meqdār jedd o jahd farmūdeh-and tā ānkeh baʿżī favāḥesh rā az mā beyn-e īn ṭāʾefeh bardāshtand va agar ham naʿūdhu bi-llāh baʿżī mortakeb shodeh-and dar setr būdeh fa-wa-llāh yā ghāfel moṭṭaleʿ nīstī keh bar cheh maqarrī īn eʿterāżāt namūdeh law taʿrif la-tahlika nafsuka fī al-ḥīn.

In prompting you with these words, he had no purpose but to keep some souls from turning toward Paradise and to catch His servants in the snare of words. Everyone knows how strenuously He exerted Himself during His twelve years’ residence in Iraq, until He eliminated certain shameful practices from among this community. And if some did commit them—God forbid—it was in secret. By God, O heedless one, you do not know against what station you have raised these objections! If you knew, you would perish that very instant.

732

علّت و سبب اعظم كدورت جمال ابهى از ميرزا يحيى و اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو اين بوده كه در حرم نقطه اولى روح ما سواه فداه تصرّف نمود با اينكه در كلّ كتب سماوى حرام است و بی‌‌شرمى او بمقامى رسيده كه مخصوص زوجات خود را در مكتوبات خود حرام نموده‌ مع‌ذلك دست تعدّى و خيانت بحرم مظهر مليك علام گشوده فافّ له و لوفائه و كاش بنفس خود قناعت مينمود بلكه او را بعد از ارتكاب خود وقف مشركين نمود و جميع اهل بيان شنيده و ميدانند سيّئات او را بايد از معاشرين او سؤال نمود

ʿEllat va sabab-e aʿẓam-e kodūrat-e Jamāl-e Abhā az Mīrzā Yaḥyā va-llāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa īn būdeh keh dar ḥaram-e Noqṭeh-ye Ūlā rūḥ-e mā sevāh fadāh taṣarrof namūd bā īnkeh dar koll-e kotob-e samāvī ḥarām ast va bī-sharmī-ye ū be-maqāmī resīdeh keh makhṣūṣ-e zowjāt-e khod rā dar maktūbāt-e khod ḥarām namūdeh maʿa-dhālek dast-e taʿaddī va khīyānat be-ḥaram-e Maẓhar-e Malīk-e ʿAllām goshūdeh fa-uffin lahu wa-li-wafāʾihi va kāsh be-nafs-e khod qanāʿat mīnamūd balkeh ū rā baʿd az ertekāb-e khod vaqf-e moshrekīn namūd va jamīʿ-e ahl-e Bayān shenīdeh va mīdānand sayyeʾāt-e ū rā bāyad az moʿāsherīn-e ū soʾāl namūd.

The chief reason and greatest cause of the All-Glorious Beauty’s displeasure with Mīrzā Yaḥyā—by God, besides whom there is no other god—was that he took possession of the wife of the Primal Point, may the souls of all besides Him be sacrificed for Him, although this is forbidden in all the heavenly Books. His shamelessness reached such a point that, while he specifically forbade marriage to his own wives in his writings, he nevertheless stretched out the hand of transgression and betrayal toward the wife of the Manifestation of the all-knowing King. Shame on him and his faithfulness! If only he had confined himself to his own act; instead, after committing it himself, he made her available to those who associate partners with God. All the people of the Bayān have heard and know of this. His associates should be asked about his misdeeds.

733

و از اينها گذشته عجب در اينست كه همين فقره كه نوشته دليلى است واضح و برهانى است قاطع بر حقّیّت اين امر و تو هنوز مستشعر نشده نفسى را كه خود تو ميدانى كه از اهل علم و زهد نبوده و از عرفا و ارباب عمايم محسوب نه و بقول تو با امثال مشير الدّوله معاشر بوده و بعد يكمرتبه كوثر معانى الهيّه من غير جهات از او جارى و شموس حكمت ربانيّه از افق اراده‌اش مشرق و مضئ اى بی‌ انصاف اين مقامى است فوق كلّ مقام لو تكون من المنصفين اين فضل اكبر را حقير شمرده و بخيال خود اين كلمات را بجهت اغواى ناس ذكر كرده قد اخطات يا ايّها المجرم العاصى هر عاقل بصيرى كه بشنود البتّه در امر اللّه ثابت‌تر و مستقيم‌تر شده و خواهد شد

Va az īnhā godhashteh ʿajab dar īn ast keh hamīn faqreh keh neveshteh dalīlī ast vāżeḥ va borhānī ast qāṭeʿ bar ḥaqqīyyat-e īn Amr va to hanūz mostashʿer nashodeh nafsī rā keh khod-e to mīdānī keh az ahl-e ʿelm va zohd nabūdeh va az ʿorafā va arbāb-e ʿamāyem maḥsūb nah va be-qowl-e to bā amthāl-e Moshīr al-Dowleh moʿāsher būdeh va baʿd yek-martabeh kowthar-e maʿānī-ye elāhīyyeh min ghayr-e jahāt az ū jārī va shomūs-e ḥekmat-e rabbānīyyeh az ofoq-e erādeh-ash moshreq va możīʾ ey bī-enṣāf īn maqāmī ast fowq-e koll-e maqām law takūnu min al-munṣifīn īn fażl-e akbar rā ḥaqīr shemordeh va be-khīyāl-e khod īn kalemāt rā be-jehat-e eghvā-ye nās dhekr kardeh qad akhṭaʾta yā ayyuhā al-mujrim al-ʿāṣī har ʿāqel-e baṣīrī keh beshnavad albatteh dar Amr-e Allāh thābet-tar va mostaqīm-tar shodeh va khvāhad shod.

Beyond all this, what is astonishing is that the very passage he has written is clear evidence and conclusive proof of the truth of this Cause, yet you have still not perceived it. You yourself know that this Person was not one of the learned or the ascetics, nor counted among the mystics and the turbaned clergy, and that, according to you, He associated with the likes of Moshīr al-Dowleh. Then, all at once, the heavenly stream of divine meanings flows from Him, without dependence on any source, and the suns of divine wisdom rise and shine from the horizon of His will. O unfair one! This is a station above every station, if you are among the fair-minded. You have belittled this greatest favor and, as you imagine, spoken these words to lead people astray. You have erred, O sinful transgressor! Every discerning person of reason who hears them has certainly become, and will become, firmer and more steadfast in the Cause of God.

734

بارى فكر ديگر براى خود نموده‌كه اين وساوس در انفس خنّاسيّه اثر نمايد نه در انفس رحمانيّه قلوب كدره محدوده شايد باينكلمات كذبه نالايقه از ذكر سلطان احديّه غافل شوند و لكن انفس مجرّده بجان بشطر رحمن توجّه نمايند حال از تو ميپرسم اگر نفسى از مابين قومى كه ابدا معروف بعلم نبوده و باسم فضل و عدل مابين ناس مشهور نه برخيزد و بجواهر كلمات اللّه ناطق شود چنانچه شنيده و ميشنويد اين نفس اعظم است و يا نفسيكه در ميانه اهل علم تربيت شود شكّى نيست كه اوّل ارجح بوده چه كه او بصرف قدرت الهيّه ظاهر

Bārī fekr-e dīgar barā-ye khod namūdeh keh īn vasāves dar anfos-e khannāsīyyeh athar namāyad nah dar anfos-e raḥmānīyyeh qolūb-e kadereh-ye maḥdūdeh shāyad be-īn kalemāt-e kadhebeh-ye nālāyeqeh az dhekr-e Solṭān-e Aḥadīyyeh ghāfel shavand va lāken anfos-e mojarradeh be-jān be-shaṭr-e Raḥmān tavajjoh namāyand ḥāl az to mīporsam agar nafsī az mā beyn-e qowmī keh abadan maʿrūf be-ʿelm nabūdeh va be-esm-e fażl va ʿadl mā beyn-e nās mashhūr nah barkhīzad va be-javāher-e kalemāt-e Allāh nāṭeq shavad chenāncheh shenīdeh va mīshenavīd īn nafs aʿẓam ast va yā nafsī keh dar mīyāneh-ye ahl-e ʿelm tarbīyat shavad shakkī nīst keh avval arjaḥ būdeh cheh keh ū be-ṣerf-e qodrat-e elāhīyyeh ẓāher.

In any case, devise another plan for yourself, for these insinuations affect souls given to whispering evil, not souls that belong to the All-Merciful. Clouded, constrained hearts may become heedless of the remembrance of the Sovereign of Oneness through these false, unworthy words, but detached souls turn wholeheartedly toward the All-Merciful. Now I ask you: if someone arises from among a people who have never been known for learning or renowned among others for excellence and justice, and gives voice to the gems of God’s words, as you have heard and continue to hear, is this person greater, or someone educated among the learned? There is no doubt that the former is superior, for He has appeared solely through divine power.

735

خوب است كه حقّ جلّ اجلاله از لسان خود شما كلماتى فرموده كه متبصّرين را در معرفت امثال آن نفوس كافى بوده و خواهد بود لازال حقّ محلّ اينگونه اعتراضات بوده چنانچه بروح اللّه اعتراض نمودند كه با خاطئين و عشارين مجالس و مؤانس است فو‌اللّه بر اين ظهور مع وصاياى نقطه بيان جلّ اعزازه بلايائى وارد شده كه بر احدى از مظاهر قبل وارد نشده بلاياى اوّلين و آخرين معادله نمينمايد با همين قرطاس نجسه كه بساحت اقدس ارسال داشته با آنكه از هيچ امرى مطّلع نبوده و نيستى و محض هوى و مجرّد نفس تكلّم نموده‌ و اين از رزايائى است كه مشهود شده و لكن بلايائى بر اين ظهور وارد كه احدى محصى آن نه الّا اللّه

Khūb ast keh Ḥaqq jalla ijlāluhu az lesān-e khod-e shomā kalemātī farmūdeh keh motabaṣṣerīn rā dar maʿrefat-e amthāl-e ān nofūs kāfī būdeh va khvāhad būd lā yazāl Ḥaqq maḥall-e īngūneh eʿterāżāt būdeh chenāncheh be-Rūḥ Allāh eʿterāż namūdand keh bā khāṭeʾīn va ʿashshārīn mojāles va moʾānes ast fa-wa-llāh bar īn Ẓohūr maʿa vaṣāyā-ye Noqṭeh-ye Bayān jalla iʿzāzuhu balāyāʾī vāred shodeh keh bar aḥadī az Maẓāher-e qabl vāred nashodeh balāyā-ye avvalīn va ākherīn moʿādeleh nemīnamāyad bā hamīn qerṭās-e najeseh keh be-sāḥat-e aqdas ersāl dāshteh bā ānkeh az hīch amrī moṭṭaleʿ nabūdeh va nīstī va maḥż-e havā va mojarrad-e nafs takallom namūdeh va īn az razāyāʾī ast keh mashhūd shodeh va lāken balāyāʾī bar īn Ẓohūr vāred keh aḥadī moḥṣī-ye ān nah illā Allāh.

It is well that the True One—exalted be His glory—has spoken through your own tongue words that have been, and will be, sufficient for the discerning to recognize souls such as these. The True One has always been the object of such objections, just as they objected to the Spirit of God for sitting and associating with sinners and tax collectors. By God, despite the counsels of the Point of the Bayān—exalted be His honor—afflictions have befallen this Revelation that have befallen none of the Manifestations of the past. The afflictions of the first and the last do not equal this very defiled sheet that you have sent to the Most Holy Court, although you have had, and still have, no knowledge of any of these matters, and have spoken out of sheer desire and self alone. This is one of the calamities that have been witnessed, yet afflictions have befallen this Revelation that no one but God can count.

736

چنانچه در توقيع جناب جود عليه بهآء اللّه يك آيه نازل كه و اللّه كبد اهل آفاق‌ را گداخته قوله جلّ كبريائه انّك رأيتنى و عاشرت معى و عرفت بحر سكونى و جبل اصطبارى فكّر ما اقامنى على الصّيحة بين السّموات و الأرضين و لكن چه فايده كه آيات الهى بر تو القا نموده مثل آن است كه عندليبی‌ از براى كر تغنّى نمايد نسئل اللّه بأن يطهّر الأرض من رجسك و رجس الّذينهم كانوا معك و انّه لمجيب دعوة السّايلين قدرت آن قدر معلوم شده كه بقول اخبث ناس و ادناهم از حقّ معرض شده و بشجره نفس و هوى متمسّك

Chenāncheh dar towqīʿ-e Janāb-e Jūd ʿalayhi bahāʾ Allāh yek āyeh nāzel keh va-llāh kabed-e ahl-e āfāq rā godākhteh qawluhu jalla kibriyāʾuhu innaka raʾaytanī wa-ʿāsharta maʿī wa-ʿarafta baḥr sukūnī wa-jabal iṣṭibārī fakkir mā aqāmanī ʿalā al-ṣayḥa bayna al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍīn va lāken cheh fāyedeh keh āyāt-e elāhī bar to elqā namūdeh methl-e ān ast keh ʿandalībī az barā-ye kar taghannī namāyad nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yuṭahhira al-arḍ min rijsika wa-rijs alladhīnahum kānū maʿaka wa-innahu la-mujīb daʿwat al-sāʾilīn qadrat ān qadr maʿlūm shodeh keh be-qowl-e akhbath-e nās va adnāhom az Ḥaqq moʿreż shodeh va be-shajareh-ye nafs va havā motamassek.

Thus, in the Tablet to Jināb-i-Jūd—upon him be the glory of God—a verse was revealed that, by God, has melted the hearts of the people of every land. He says—exalted be His majesty—“You have seen Me, associated with Me, and known the ocean of My calm and the mountain of My patience. Consider what has made Me raise My cry between the heavens and the earth.” But what use is there in conveying divine verses to you? It is like a nightingale singing to someone deaf. We ask God to cleanse the earth of your defilement and the defilement of those who were with you. He indeed answers the prayers of those who ask. Your worth has become clear to this extent: at the word of the vilest and most abject of people, you have turned away from the True One and clung to the tree of self and desire.

737

و ديگر نوشته بودى كه در مجلسها صحبت ميشود كه جمال ابهى بناى فساد و فتنه گذاشته‌اند و مشهور شده كه اوّل برادرش را قائم و پنهان كرده باسم او نانى پخت حالا او را در كرده ميخواهند آجيل بخورند انتهى

Va dīgar neveshteh būdī keh dar majleshā ṣoḥbat mīshavad keh Jamāl-e Abhā banā-ye fasād va fetneh godhāshteh-and va mashhūr shodeh keh avval barādarash rā qāʾem va penhān kardeh be-esm-e ū nānī pokht ḥālā ū rā dar kardeh mīkhvāhand ājīl bokhorand intahā.

You had also written, “It is being said in gatherings that the All-Glorious Beauty has set about fomenting corruption and discord. It has become common talk that He first set up His brother as the Qāʾim and hid him away, baking bread for Himself in his name; now He has cast him out and wants to eat nuts.” End of quotation.

738

لعن اللّه من القاك و لعن اللّه من كذب و افترى ثمّ بغى و اطغى ثمّ كفر و اشقى و اللّه بسيار ناس را احمق يافته جميع ميدانند كه ایشان حسب الأمر دولت ايران به عراق تشريف آوردند و ميرزا يحيى بعد از مقدمه ارض طاء فرار نموده‌به عراق آمد قل ان يا ايّها المشرك انّ الّذى انفق روحه فى سبيل اللّه و كان بين يدى النّاس و ورد عليه فى كلّ حين سهام القضا ما لم يحصيها احد الّا اللّه الملك العليم الخبير و قام عليه اكثر النّاس فى ایّام الّتى كان فى العراق و فى كلّ يوم ينادى منهم بأن يأخذوه و يرسلوه الى ارض الطّاء و منهم من قال فسوف يغرقونه فى الشّط و منهم من قال ينفيه الدّولة و كان اللّه على ذلك لشهيد و عليم و بكت عليه عيون كلّ الأشیآء بما مسّته البأسآء و الضرآء و انّك كتبت ما كتبت الا لعنة اللّه على الكاذبين

Laʿana Allāhu man alqāka wa-laʿana Allāhu man kadhaba wa-iftarā thumma baghā wa-aṭghā thumma kafara wa-ashqā. Va-Allāh, bisyār nās rā aḥmaq yāftih. Jamīʿ mīdānand kih īshān ḥasb al-amr-i dawlat-i Īrān bih ʿIrāq tashrīf āvardand va Mīrzā Yaḥyā baʿd az muqaddamih-yi Arḍ-i Ṭāʾ farār nimūdih bih ʿIrāq āmad. Qul an yā ayyuhā al-mushrik, inna alladhī anfaqa rūḥahu fī sabīli Allāh wa-kāna bayna yaday al-nās wa-warada ʿalayhi fī kulli ḥīn sihāmu al-qaḍāʾ mā lam yuḥṣihā aḥad illā Allāhu al-Maliku al-ʿAlīmu al-Khabīr, wa-qāma ʿalayhi aktharu al-nās fī ayyām allatī kāna fī al-ʿIrāq, wa-fī kulli yawm yunādī minhum bi-an yaʾkhudhūhu wa-yursilūhu ilā arḍ al-Ṭāʾ, wa-minhum man qāla fa-sawfa yughriqūnahu fī al-shaṭṭ, wa-minhum man qāla yanfīhi al-dawlah, wa-kāna Allāhu ʿalā dhālika la-shahīd wa-ʿalīm. Wa-bakat ʿalayhi ʿuyūnu kulli al-ashyāʾ bi-mā massathu al-baʾsāʾ wa-al-ḍarrāʾ, wa-innaka katabta mā katabta. Alā laʿnatu Allāhi ʿalā al-kādhibīn.

May God curse the one who prompted you, and may God curse the one who lied and fabricated, then acted unjustly and led others into transgression, then disbelieved and brought misery. By God, he has found people very foolish. Everyone knows that He came to Iraq at the command of the government of Iran, while Mīrzā Yaḥyā fled after the incident in the Land of Ṭā and came to Iraq. Say: O idolater! The One who expended His life in the path of God was in full view of the people, and at every moment the arrows of fate rained upon Him in numbers that no one but God, the King, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed, could count. Most of the people rose against Him during His days in Iraq. Every day some called for Him to be seized and sent to the Land of Ṭā; some said, “They will drown Him in the river”; and others said, “The government will exile Him.” God indeed witnessed and knew all this. The eyes of all things wept for Him because of the suffering and adversity that afflicted Him, yet you wrote what you wrote. Surely God’s curse rests upon the liars.

739

كلّ اشیآء شاهد و گواهند كه در سنين توقّف در عراق ابدا اميد جان نبود و در كلّ حين ببلاياى جديده مبتلا و مع‌ذلك امثال آن نفوس رذليّه ذكر نان و آجيل مينمايند و ملاحظه كن كه چه قدر از عقل ظاهره محروم شده و اللّه هر نفسى كلماتت را ملاحظه نمايد قهر حقّ را ظاهر و آشكار در تو مشاهده مينمايد سبحان اللّه نفسيكه عاجز است دو كلمه پارسى را بعبارات حسنه تحرير نمايد اعترض على الّذى بارادة منه خلق قلم الأعلی و ظهر منه الصّرير الّذى به استجذبت قلوب ما كان و ما يكون افّ لك و بما ظهر منك

Kull-i ashyāʾ shāhid va guvāhand kih dar sinīn-i tavaqquf dar ʿIrāq abadan umīd-i jān nabūd va dar kull-i ḥīn bih-balāyā-yi jadīdih mubtalā, va maʿa dhālik amthāl-i ān nufūs-i radhīliyyih dhikr-i nān va ājīl mīnamāyand. Va mulāḥiẓih kun kih chih qadr az ʿaql-i ẓāhirih maḥrūm shudih. Va-Allāh, har nafsī kalimātat rā mulāḥiẓih namāyad qahr-i Ḥaqq rā ẓāhir va āshkār dar tu mushāhidih mīnamāyad. Subḥān Allāh, nafsī kih ʿājiz ast du kalimih-yi pārsī rā bih-ʿibārāt-i ḥasanih taḥrīr namāyad, iʿtaraḍa ʿalā alladhī bi-irādatin minhu khuliqa Qalamu al-Aʿlā wa-ẓahara minhu al-ṣarīru alladhī bihi istujdhibat qulūbu mā kāna wa-mā yakūn. Uffin laka wa-bi-mā ẓahara minka.

All things bear witness and testify that during the years of residence in Iraq there was never any hope of survival, and at every moment new afflictions arose. Yet the likes of those vile souls speak of bread and nuts. Consider how utterly bereft of ordinary reason you have become. By God, anyone who reads your words sees God’s wrath plainly and manifestly in you. Glory be to God! Someone unable to write two words of Persian in a graceful manner has objected to the One by whose will the Most Exalted Pen was created and from whom came the sound of its writing, through which the hearts of all that has been and will be were drawn. Shame on you and on what has proceeded from you!

740

و لكن از اين مردم غافل بعيد نيست كه همين كلمات تو را بر كلمات حقّ ترجيح دهند چنانچه سنين لانهاية لهاعجل را بر حقّ ترجيح داده و پرستيده‌اند و حال هم بآن مشغولند بسيار حيف است كه انسان باينگونه كلمات نالايقه تكلّم نمايد چه كه كلمات حاكيند از نفس انسانى لذا كلمات اهل منظر اكبر مزيّن است بطراز ادب نسئل اللّه بأن لا يجعلنا عريّا من هذا الثّوب الّذى به يظهر قدر الانسان بين ملأ الأكوان و امتيازه عن الحيوان ثمّ نسئله بأن يقرّبنا عليه و ينقطعنا عن دونه و يطهّرنا عن روايح الوهم و التّقليد و يجعلنا من الّذين قالوا اللّه ربّنا ثمّ استقاموا و ما منعهم استهزاء الخلايق اجمعين و لاشماتة الغافلين

Va-lākin az īn mardum-i ghāfil baʿīd nīst kih hamīn kalimāt-i tu rā bar kalimāt-i Ḥaqq tarjīḥ dihand, chunānchih sinīn lā nihāyata lahā ʿijl rā bar Ḥaqq tarjīḥ dādih va parastīdih-and va ḥāl ham bi-ān mashghūland. Bisyār ḥayf ast kih insān bi-īngūnih kalimāt-i nālāyiqih takallum namāyad, chih kih kalimāt ḥākī-and az nafs-i insānī. Lidhā kalimāt-i ahl-i Manẓar-i Akbar muzayyan ast bih-ṭirāz-i adab. Nasʾalu Allāha bi-an lā yajʿalanā ʿariyyan min hādhā al-thawb alladhī bihi yaẓharu qadru al-insān bayna malaʾ al-akwān wa-imtiyāzuhu ʿan al-ḥayawān. Thumma nasʾaluhu bi-an yuqarribanā ʿalayhi wa-yanqaṭiʿanā ʿan dūnihi wa-yuṭahhiranā ʿan rawāʾiḥ al-wahm wa-al-taqlīd wa-yajʿalanā min alladhīna qālū Allāhu rabbunā thumma istaqāmū wa-mā manaʿahum istihzāʾu al-khalāʾiq ajmaʿīn wa-lā shamātatu al-ghāfilīn.

Yet it would not be surprising if these heedless people preferred these very words of yours to the words of the True One, just as for endless years they have preferred the calf to the True One and worshipped it, and are still doing so. It is a great pity for a human being to utter such unworthy words, for words reflect the human soul. Thus the words of the people of the Most Great View are adorned with the ornament of courtesy. We ask God not to leave us stripped of this robe, through which human worth becomes manifest among all created beings, as does the distinction between humans and animals. Then we ask Him to draw us near to Him, detach us from all besides Him, purify us of the odors of delusion and imitation, and make us among those who said, “God is our Lord,” and then stood firm, undeterred by the mockery of all creatures or the gloating of the heedless.

741

اللّهمّ يا الهى فافتح ابصار هؤلآء ليروك ظاهراً بين خلقك و مشرقاً فى مملكتك و انّك يا الهى لو فتحت ابصارهم ما ابتليت باستهزائهم و احجار ظنونهم و سهام اوهامهم كما فتحت ابصار احبّائك و عرفتهم ما لاعرفته دونهم و انّك لو كشفت الحجبات لهم كما كشفت عن وجوههم ما احتجبوا و ما اعترضوا فلمّا سترت عن هؤلآء و كشفت لاحبّائك لذا ارتفع ضجيج الغافلين من بريّتك و صريخ المتوهّمين من اهل مملكتك اذا اسئلك بنفسك بأن تكشف لهم حجبات الّتى منعتهم عن عرفانك و عرفان مظهر نفسك ليجمعنّ كلّ على شاطى بحر توحيدك و مقرّ عزّ تقديسك و تفريدك و انّك انت على ما تشآء قدير

Allāhumma yā ilāhī, fa-ftaḥ abṣāra hāʾulāʾ li-yarawka ẓāhiran bayna khalqika wa-mushriqan fī mamlakatika. Wa-innaka yā ilāhī law fataḥta abṣārahum mā ibtulīta bi-istihzāʾihim wa-aḥjāri ẓunūnihim wa-sihāmi awhāmihim, kamā fataḥta abṣāra aḥibbāʾika wa-ʿarraftahum mā lā ʿarafathu dūnahum. Wa-innaka law kashafta al-ḥujubāt lahum kamā kashafta ʿan wujūhihim mā iḥtajabū wa-mā iʿtaraḍū. Fa-lammā satarta ʿan hāʾulāʾ wa-kashafta li-aḥibbāʾika lidhā irtafaʿa ḍajīju al-ghāfilīn min bariyyatika wa-ṣarīkhu al-mutawahhimīn min ahli mamlakatika. Idhan asʾaluka bi-nafsika bi-an takshifa lahum ḥujubāt allatī manaʿathum ʿan ʿirfānika wa-ʿirfāni maẓhari nafsika li-yajmaʿanna kullun ʿalā shāṭiʾi baḥri tawḥīdika wa-maqarri ʿizzi taqdīsika wa-tafrīdika. Wa-innaka anta ʿalā mā tashāʾ qadīr.

O God, my God! Open the eyes of these people, that they may see You manifest among Your creatures and shining in Your kingdom. My God, had You opened their eyes, You would not have been afflicted by their mockery, the stones of their suspicions, and the arrows of their imaginings, just as You opened the eyes of Your loved ones and made known to them what no others knew. Had You lifted the veils for these people as You lifted them from the faces of Your loved ones, they would not have remained veiled or raised objections. But because You concealed Yourself from these and revealed Yourself to Your loved ones, the clamor of the heedless among Your creatures and the cries of the deluded among the people of Your kingdom have risen. I therefore ask You by Your own Self to lift for them the veils that have kept them from recognizing You and the Manifestation of Your Self, so that all may gather on the shore of the ocean of Your oneness and at the seat of the glory of Your holiness and singleness. You indeed have power over whatever You will.

742

آنانكه ذكر نموده‌اند كه ايشان نان باسم او درست نموده ‌و اللّه خجالت ميبرم از ذكر چنين نفوس بی‌‌ادب رذلى و آن خود سيّد محمّد خبيث است اين اذكار اذكار اولى النّجابه نبوده و نخواهد بود و هر نفسى كه چنين كلمه تكلّم نموده‌ مثل آنست كه كسى بگويد شمس از ظلمت مستنير شده و يا عندليب از زاغ تغنّى آموخته و يا قطعهء ياقوت از حجر كسب ضيا و لون كرده چه فايده كه آن غافل مطّلع نيست و نفوسى كه مابين بوده جميع را تكذيب نموده‌اند كه مبادا حرف صدقى بميان آيد و ناس بشنوند

Ānān kih dhikr nimūdih-and kih īshān nān bih-ism-i ū durust nimūdih—va-Allāh khijālat mībaram az dhikr-i chunīn nufūs-i bī-adab-i radhilī—va ān khud-i Siyyid Muḥammad-i khabīth ast. Īn adhkār adhkār-i ulī al-najābih nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd, va har nafsī kih chunīn kalimih takallum nimūdih mithl-i ānast kih kasī bigūyad shams az ẓulmat mustanīr shudih va yā ʿandalīb az zāgh taghannī āmūkhtih va yā qiṭʿih-yi yāqūt az ḥajar kasb-i ḍiyā va lawn kardih. Chih fāʾidih kih ān ghāfil muṭṭaliʿ nīst, va nufūsī kih mābayn būdih jamīʿ rā takdhīb nimūdih-and kih mabādā ḥarf-i ṣidqī bih-miyān āyad va nās bishnavand.

Those who have stated that He made bread in his name—by God, I am ashamed to mention such vile, ill-mannered souls—and it is that wicked Siyyid Muḥammad himself. Such remarks have never been, nor will they ever be, the remarks of noble people. Anyone who has uttered such a statement is like someone saying that the sun has been illumined by darkness, that the nightingale has learned to sing from the crow, or that a ruby has acquired its radiance and color from a stone. But what use is it? That heedless one is unaware, and they have branded as liars all those who were present, lest a truthful word be uttered and the people hear it.

743

سيّد محمّدى كه و اللّه العظيم افتخار مينمود كه در حضور مبارك بايستد حال آمده و اينگونه مفتريات نسبت بحقّ داده حمد خدا را كه اين عباد بغير حقّ و راستى تكلّم ننموده‌ و نخواهيم نمود و دين بدنيا مبادله ننموده‌ايم و از حقّ چشم نپوشيده‌ايم جميع شكر مينمايند كه بايمان باللّه در اين ظهور فايز شده‌اند و اين عبد ناطق يا ليتنى ما ولدت من امّى و لو ولدت ما رضعت و لو رضعت ما اشدّ ظهرى فيا ليت كنت من الفاقدين در هر نفسى كه اقلّ من ذرّ حبّ اللّه باشد راضى نشده و نخواهد شد كه چنين امور مشاهده نمايد الى اللّه فوضنا الأمر و عليه توكّلنا و نسئل من بدايع جوده بأن يوفّقنا على الاقرار بوحدانيّته و الاعتراف بفردانيّته و ينقطعنا عن دونه و انّه لعلى كلّ شیء قدير ثمّ نسئله باسم الّذى به فصّل بين الحقّ و الباطل بأن يوفّقك على ذكره و عرفان مظهر نفسه و يطهّرك عن اشارات هؤلآء الكاذبين

Siyyid Muḥammadī kih va-Allāh al-ʿAẓīm iftikhār mīnamūd kih dar ḥuḍūr-i mubārak bāyistad ḥāl āmadih va īngūnih muftariyāt nisbat bih-Ḥaqq dādih. Ḥamd-i Khudā rā kih īn ʿibād bih-ghayr-i ḥaqq va rāstī takallum nanimūdih va nakhvāhīm nimūd va dīn bih-dunyā mubādilih nanimūdih-īm va az Ḥaqq chashm napūshīdih-īm. Jamīʿ shukr mīnamāyand kih bih-īmān bi-Allāh dar īn ẓuhūr fāʾiz shudih-and va īn ʿabd nāṭiq: yā laytanī mā wulidtu min ummī wa-law wulidtu mā raḍiʿtu wa-law raḍiʿtu mā ushidda ẓahrī fa-yā layta kuntu min al-fāqidīn. Dar har nafsī kih aqall-i min dharr ḥubb Allāh bāshad rāḍī nashudih va nakhvāhad shud kih chunīn umūr mushāhidih namāyad. Ilā Allāhi fawwaḍnā al-amr wa-ʿalayhi tawakkalnā wa-nasʾalu min badāʾiʿi jūdihi bi-an yuwaffiqanā ʿalā al-iqrār bi-waḥdāniyyatihi wa-al-iʿtirāf bi-fardāniyyatihi wa-yanqaṭiʿanā ʿan dūnihi wa-innahu la-ʿalā kulli shayʾ qadīr. Thumma nasʾaluhu bi-ismi alladhī bihi fuṣṣila bayna al-ḥaqq wa-al-bāṭil bi-an yuwaffiqaka ʿalā dhikrihi wa-ʿirfāni maẓhari nafsihi wa-yuṭahhiraka ʿan ishārāti hāʾulāʾ al-kādhibīn.

Siyyid Muḥammad, who, by God the Almighty, used to take pride in standing in the blessed presence, has now come forward and attributed such fabrications to the True One. Praise be to God that we servants have spoken nothing but truth and honesty, and never will speak otherwise. We have not exchanged faith for worldly gain, nor have we turned our eyes away from the True One. All give thanks that they have attained faith in God in this Revelation, while this servant says: “If only I had not been born of my mother! And if I had been born, had not been suckled; and if I had been suckled, my back had not been strengthened. If only I had been among those lost!” No soul possessing even less than a mote of the love of God has ever been, or ever will be, content to witness such things. To God we have committed the matter, and in Him we have placed our trust. We ask, from the wonders of His bounty, that He enable us to affirm His unity and acknowledge His singleness, and detach us from all besides Him. He indeed has power over all things. Then we ask Him, by the Name through which truth was distinguished from falsehood, to enable you to remember Him and recognize the Manifestation of His Self, and to purify you of the insinuations of these liars.

744

فو‌اللّه الّذى لا اله الّا هو بلايائى در اين ارض وارد كه احدى قادر بر احصاى آن نه بكرّات فرموده‌اند آنچه در سجن و تحت سلاسل و اغلال بوده‌ام و در دست مشركين مبتلا بشأنيكه ديار بديار برده‌اند و سر و پاى برهنه از محلّ بمحلّ كشيده‌اند هيچكدام از بلا محسوب نه اعظم بليّه كه در ابداع شبه نداشته و نخواهد داشت آن است كه حقّ بدست ظالمى كه باسم عدل معروف است مبتلا شود چه كه آن بی‌انصاف اعتمادا على حمقاء الأرض لايخاف و لايبالى يفعل ما يأمره النّفس و الهوى چنانچه مشاهده ميشود نفسى را كه آن همه تربيت و حفظ نمودم بعد استكباراً على اللّه و اعراضاً منه و اعتراضاً عليه وارد آورده آنچه را هيچ ظالمى وارد نياورده و علّت اين ظلم اطمينان از عباد غافلين بوده چه كه اگر موقن بود باينكه ناس صاحب بصرند و اعمالش را تصديق نمينمايند بچنين اعمال ارتكاب نمينمود

Fa-wa-Allāh alladhī lā ilāha illā huwa, balāyāʾī dar īn arḍ vārid kih aḥadī qādir bar iḥṣā-yi ān nah. Bih-karrāt farmūdih-and: ānchih dar sijn va taḥt-i salāsil va aghlāl būdih-am va dar dast-i mushrikīn mubtalā, bih-shaʾnī kih diyār bih-diyār burdih-and va sar va pāy barahnih az maḥall bih-maḥall kashīdih-and, hīchkudām az balā maḥsūb nah. Aʿẓam baliyyih kih dar ibdāʿ shibh nadāshtih va nakhvāhad dāsht ān ast kih Ḥaqq bih-dast-i ẓālimī kih bih-ism-i ʿadl maʿrūf ast mubtalā shavad, chih kih ān bī-inṣāf iʿtimādan ʿalā ḥumaqāʾ al-arḍ lā yakhāfu wa-lā yubālī yafʿalu mā yaʾmuruhu al-nafs wa-al-hawā. Chunānchih mushāhidih mīshavad nafsī rā kih ān hamih tarbiyat va ḥifẓ nimūdam baʿd istikbāran ʿalā Allāh wa-iʿrāḍan minhu wa-iʿtirāḍan ʿalayhi vārid āvardih ānchih rā hīch ẓālimī vārid nayāvardih. Va ʿillat-i īn ẓulm iṭmīnān az ʿibād-i ghāfilīn būdih, chih kih agar mūqin būd bi-īnkih nās ṣāḥib-i baṣarand va aʿmālash rā taṣdīq namīnamāyand bih-chunīn aʿmāl irtikāb namīnimūd.

By God, besides whom there is no other god, afflictions have befallen us in this land that no one can count. He has repeatedly said: “All that I suffered in prison, in chains and fetters, and at the hands of the idolaters, who took Me from land to land and dragged Me, bareheaded and barefoot, from place to place—none of this counts as affliction. The greatest affliction, which has never had and will never have its like in creation, is for the True One to fall into the hands of an oppressor known for justice. For that unjust man, relying on the fools of the earth, has neither fear nor concern, and does whatever self and desire command him.” As can be seen, the person whom I nurtured and protected so much afterward, out of arrogance toward God, aversion to Him, and opposition to Him, inflicted what no oppressor had ever inflicted. The cause of this oppression was his confidence in the heedless servants, for had he been certain that the people possessed discernment and would not endorse his deeds, he would not have committed such acts.

745

لازال باكثرى از عباد هر قدر عنايت بيشتر شده بيشتر بكفران قيام نموده‌اند حكايت شيطان از قبل ذكر شد كه در هر يك از سموات باسمى معروف و در ملكوت اعلى بكمال وصف موصوف و قرنها در قيام و ركوع و قعود و سجود بوده و بعد چنان شد كه بر مراصد جالس و عباد را از شطر رحمن منع مينمود و كاش انفس مشركه در اين ایّام باين مقدار كفايت مينمودند لا فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده لن يسكن عطش بغضهم الّا بشرب دمى و كان الشّيطان استعاذ بين يدى الرّحمن منهم و من اعمالهم و لكن النّاس هم لا يفقهون و لا يشعرون

Lā yazāl bi-aktharī az ʿibād har qadr ʿināyat bīshtar shudih bīshtar bih-kufrān qiyām nimūdih-and. Ḥikāyat-i shayṭān az qabl dhikr shud kih dar har yak az samāvāt bih-ismī maʿrūf va dar malakūt-i aʿlā bih-kamāl-i vaṣf mawṣūf va qarnhā dar qiyām va rukūʿ va quʿūd va sujūd būdih, va baʿd chunān shud kih bar marāṣid jālis va ʿibād rā az shaṭr-i Raḥmān manʿ mīnamūd. Va kāsh anfus-i mushrikih dar īn ayyām bi-īn miqdār kifāyat mīnamūdand. Lā fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi lan yaskuna ʿaṭashu bughḍihim illā bi-shurbi damī, wa-kāna al-shayṭānu istaʿādha bayna yaday al-Raḥmān minhum wa-min aʿmālihim, wa-lākin al-nāsu hum lā yafqahūn wa-lā yashʿurūn.

It has always been the case with most servants that the more favor they have received, the more they have risen in ingratitude. The story of Satan was mentioned earlier: he was known by a name in each of the heavens, was described in the most perfect terms in the kingdom on high, and for centuries stood, bowed, sat, and prostrated himself in worship. Yet afterward he came to sit in ambush, keeping the servants from turning toward the All-Merciful. If only the idolatrous souls in these days had contented themselves with that much! No, by Him in whose hand is my soul, the thirst of their hatred will never be quenched except by drinking my blood. Satan himself has sought refuge before the All-Merciful from them and their deeds, but the people neither understand nor perceive.

746

معلوم نشد كه مقصود از آجيل كه از قلم نحست جارى شده چه بوده هرگز اشیآء فانيه و زخارف دنيويه در ميان نبوده گويا مقصود دراهمى كه در هر شهر از باب عالى مخصوص خدّام ميفرستاده‌اند بوده اگر اينست حال كه راجع بمشرك باللّه شده و بمحبوب خود فايز شدند افّ لهم و لحيائهم و لوفائهم از باب اللّه منقطع شده بهر بابی‌ توجّه نموده‌و التجا نموده‌اند و از جمال قدم شكايت کرده‌‌اند تا آنكه بمطلوب خود رسيدند خوب حقّ يافتى محكم متمسّك شو كه شايد بمتابعت آن نفوس باسفل النّيران وارد شوى

Maʿlūm nashud kih maqṣūd az ājīl kih az qalam-i naḥsat jārī shudih chih būdih. Hargiz ashyāʾ-i fāniyih va zakhārif-i dunyaviyyih dar miyān nabūdih. Gūyā maqṣūd darāhimī kih dar har shahr az Bāb-i ʿĀlī makhṣūṣ-i khuddām mīfiristādih-and būdih. Agar īnast, ḥāl kih rājiʿ bih-mushrik bi-Allāh shudih va bih-maḥbūb-i khud fāʾiz shudand. Uffin lahum wa-li-ḥayāʾihim wa-li-wafāʾihim. Az bāb Allāh munqaṭiʿ shudih bih-har bābī tavajjuh nimūdih va iltijā nimūdih-and va az Jamāl-i Qidam shikāyat kardih-and tā ānkih bih-maṭlūb-i khud rasīdand. Khūb ḥaqq yāftī, muḥkam mutamassik shaw kih shāyad bih-mutābiʿat-i ān nufūs bih-asfal-i nīrān vārid shavī.

It is not clear what was meant by the nuts that flowed from your ill-omened pen. Perishable things and worldly vanities were never at issue. Apparently, the reference was to the sums of money that the Sublime Porte sent in each city specifically for the attendants. If that is what was meant, these have now passed to the one who associates partners with God, and they have attained their beloved. Shame on them, their sense of shame, and their fidelity! Having cut themselves off from God’s door, they have turned to every door, sought refuge there, and complained of the Ancient Beauty until they attained their object. What a fine truth you have found! Cling firmly to it, that perhaps, by following those souls, you may enter the lowest depths of the fires.

747

آىغافل نفوس رذيله كه باطّلاع نفس ملحدت مخصوص زخارف چه مقدار ذلّت نموده‌اند و تضييع امر کرده‌اند مع‌ذلك چنين نفوس را حقّ دانسته و از حقّى كه ابدا اعتنا بنفسى نفرموده بلكه خدّامش اعتنا نداشته‌اند معرض شده لعن اللّه من شهد برهان اللّه و انكره و عرف تنزيهه عمّا سواه و اعرض عنه

Ay ghāfil, nufūs-i radhīlih kih bi-iṭṭilāʿ-i nafs-i mulḥidat makhṣūṣ-i zakhārif chih miqdār dhillat nimūdih-and va taḍyīʿ-i Amr kardih-and, maʿa dhālik chunīn nufūs rā ḥaqq dānistih va az Ḥaqqī kih abadan iʿtinā bih-nafsī nafarmūdih balkih khuddāmash iʿtinā nadāshtih-and muʿriḍ shudih. Laʿana Allāhu man shahida burhāna Allāh wa-ankarahu wa-ʿarafa tanzīhahu ʿammā siwāhu wa-aʿraḍa ʿanhu.

O heedless one! As your own impious self knows, those vile souls have abased themselves to such a degree solely for worldly vanities, and have dishonored the Cause. Yet you have regarded such souls as true and turned away from the True One, who has never paid heed to anyone—indeed, even His attendants have paid them no heed. May God curse the one who witnessed God’s proof and denied it, and recognized His transcendence above all besides Him yet turned away from Him.

748

اى ملأ بيان اعتراضات اين مردود كه بالقاى ميرزا يحيى و سيّد محمّد نوشته مخصوص ذكر شد تا بدانيد كه چه مقدار ضرّ وارد شده و ادراك نمائيد نوحه و ندبه نقطه اولى را بر ظهور آخر و آن جمال مبارك چون مطّلع بوده‌اند بر نفوس مشركه كه چه خواهند نمود لذا در جميع بيان بوصاياى لايحصى كلّ را وصيّت فرموده‌اند و بشأنى تأكيد فرموده‌اند كه فوق آن ممكن نه چنانچه از قلم اعلى نازل كه جميع بكمال تقديس و تنزيه خود را مقدس و منزّه نمايند و هم‌چنين لباس و اسباب بيت را كه مباد لحاظ اللّه در حين ظهور بر شیء غير محبوب افتد و بهمان قدر سبب حزن قلب اطهر گردد با اين وصايا شأن اهل بيان را ملاحظه نمائيد كه مخصوص رسائل رديّه نوشته و بمقرّ عرش فرستاده‌اند اين بيان اولو الأفئدة و اولو العزّة و اولو الوفا را كافى است

Ay malaʾ-i Bayān, iʿtirāḍāt-i īn mardūd kih bih-ilqā-yi Mīrzā Yaḥyā va Siyyid Muḥammad nivishtih makhṣūṣ dhikr shud tā bidānīd kih chih miqdār ḍurr vārid shudih va idrāk namāyīd nawḥih va nudbih-yi Nuqṭih-yi Ūlā rā bar Ẓuhūr-i Ākhar. Va ān Jamāl-i Mubārak chūn muṭṭaliʿ būdih-and bar nufūs-i mushrikih kih chih khvāhand nimūd, lidhā dar jamīʿ-i Bayān bih-vaṣāyā-yi lā yuḥṣā kull rā vaṣiyyat farmūdih-and va bih-shaʾnī taʾkīd farmūdih-and kih fawq-i ān mumkin nah. Chunānchih az Qalam-i Aʿlā nāzil kih jamīʿ bih-kamāl-i taqdīs va tanzīh khud rā muqaddas va munazzah namāyand va hamchunīn libās va asbāb-i bayt rā, kih mabād liḥāẓ Allāh dar ḥīn-i ẓuhūr bar shayʾ-i ghayr-i maḥbūb uftad va bih-hamān qadr sabab-i ḥuzn-i qalb-i aṭhar gardad. Bā īn vaṣāyā shaʾn-i ahl-i Bayān rā mulāḥiẓih namāyīd kih makhṣūṣ rasāʾil-i raddiyyih nivishtih va bih-maqarr-i ʿarsh firistādih-and. Īn bayān ulū al-afʾidih va ulū al-ʿizzih va ulū al-wafā rā kāfī ast.

O people of the Bayān! The objections that this rejected one wrote at the prompting of Mīrzā Yaḥyā and Siyyid Muḥammad have been specifically mentioned so that you may know how much harm has been inflicted and understand the Primal Point’s lamentation and mourning over the later Revelation. Since that blessed Beauty knew what the idolatrous souls would do, He admonished everyone throughout the Bayān with countless counsels, emphasizing them to a degree beyond which nothing is possible. Thus it was revealed by the Most Exalted Pen that all should sanctify and purify themselves with the utmost holiness and purity, and likewise their clothing and household furnishings, lest at the time of the Revelation God’s gaze fall upon anything displeasing and thereby cause even that much sorrow to His most pure heart. In light of these counsels, consider the condition of the people of the Bayān: they have deliberately written treatises of refutation and sent them to the seat of the throne. This statement suffices for those possessed of understanding, honor, and fidelity.

749

فو‌اللّه وارد شده آنچه بر احدى از مظاهر قبل وارد نشده و با جميع بلايا و رزايا و محن كه وارد شده شاكر و صابريم و ابدا حزنى نه و لكن از تضييع امر اللّه قلب در احتراق است قسم بحقّ كه بر جميع لازم است نوحه و ندبه بر امر الهى چه كه بشانى امر اللّه را تضييع نموده‌اند كه فاسقه ارض را خير النّسا ناميده اند ملاحظه كنيد كه چگونه بطلان اين قوم را حقّ ظاهر فرمود فو‌اللّه بهمين فعل بر كلّ حجّت تمام شد چه كه اكثرى آن فاسقه را ميشناسند و بر احوالش مطّلعند و از آن خير النّسا خير الرّجال را عارف شويد يعنى آن نفسى كه او را سيّده نساء نوشته فو‌اللّه لعنه كلّ الذّرّات و لكن هو ما استشعر فى نفسه و يكون من الفرحين بی‌‌شرميش بمقامى رسيده كه زوجات خود را خير النّسا ناميده و حرم نقطه اولى را تصرّف نموده ‌و بخشيده فويل لهم من عذاب يوم عظيم

Fa-wa-llāh vārid shudih ānchih bar aḥadī az maẓāhir-i qabl vārid nashudih va bā jamīʿ-i balāyā va razāyā va miḥan kih vārid shudih shākir va ṣābirīm va abadan ḥuznī nah va lākin az taḍyīʿ-i Amr Allāh qalb dar iḥtirāq ast. Qasam bi-Ḥaqq kih bar jamīʿ lāzim ast nawḥih va nudbih bar Amr-i Ilāhī chih kih bi-shaʾnī Amr Allāh rā taḍyīʿ namūdih-and kih fāsiqiy-i arḍ rā khayr al-nisāʾ nāmīdih-and. Mulāḥiẓih kunīd kih chigūnih buṭlān-i īn qawm rā Ḥaqq ẓāhir farmūd. Fa-wa-llāh bi-hamīn fiʿl bar kull ḥujjat tamām shud chih kih aktharī ān fāsiqih rā mīshināsand va bar aḥvālash muṭṭaliʿand va az ān khayr al-nisāʾ khayr al-rijāl rā ʿārif shavīd yaʿnī ān nafsī kih ū rā sayyidiy-i nisāʾ nivishtih. Fa-wa-llāh laʿanahu kull al-dharrāt wa lākin huwa mā istashʿara fī nafsihi wa yakūnu min al-fariḥīn. Bī-sharmīsh bi-maqāmī rasīdih kih zawjāt-i khud rā khayr al-nisāʾ nāmīdih va ḥaram-i Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā rā taṣarruf namūdih va bakhshīdih. Fa-waylun lahum min ʿadhābi yawmin ʿaẓīm.

By God, what has befallen Us has befallen none of the Manifestations of the past. Yet despite all the afflictions, calamities, and ordeals that have befallen Us, We remain thankful and patient, with no sorrow whatsoever. But Our heart burns over the dishonoring of the Cause of God. By the True One, everyone must lament and mourn for the divine Cause, for they have so dishonored the Cause of God that they have called a depraved woman of the earth “the best of women.” Consider how the True One has exposed the falsity of these people. By God, through this act alone the proof against all has been made complete, for most people know that depraved woman and are acquainted with her circumstances. And through that “best of women,” recognize the “best of men”—namely, the person who has described her as the foremost of women. By God, every atom has cursed him, yet he remains unaware within himself and is among those who rejoice. His shamelessness has reached such a point that he has called his own wives “the best of women,” and has taken possession of the wife of the Primal Point and given her away. Woe to them, then, for the punishment of a tremendous day!

750

در اينمقام اين آيات ابدع احلى من لسان اللّه العلى الأبهی نازل هذا ما نزل حينئذ من جبروت عزّ عليّا يا قوم فاعلموا بانّا اصطفينا امّ نقطة الأولی و انّها قد كانت من خيرة الاماء لدى العرش مذكوراً و حرّم اطلاق هذا الاسم على غيرها كذلك رقم من قلم الأعلی فى لوح القضا الّذى كان فى كنائز عصمة ربّك محفوظا و انّها لخير النّسا و بعدها تطلق على ضلع النّقطة الّتى ما خرجت عن حصن العصمة و ما مسّتها ايدى الخائنين و كذلك كان الأمر مقضيّا و الّتى خانت انّها خرجت عن النّقطة و قطعت نسبتها من اللّه الّذى قدّر كلّ امر فى لوح مبينا قل انّ المشركين ظنّوا بانّا اردنا ان ننسخ ما نزل على نقطة البيان

Dar īn maqām īn āyāt-i abdaʿ-i aḥlā min lisān Allāh al-ʿAlī al-Abhā nāzil: Hādhā mā nazala ḥīnaʾidhin min jabarūti ʿizzin ʿaliyyā. Yā qawm fa-iʿlamū bi-annā iṣṭafaynā umma Nuqṭati al-Ūlā wa innahā qad kānat min khīrati al-imāʾ ladā al-ʿarsh madhkūrā. Wa ḥurrima iṭlāqu hādhā al-ism ʿalā ghayrihā. Kadhālika ruqima min Qalami al-Aʿlā fī Lawḥi al-Qaḍā alladhī kāna fī kanāʾizi ʿiṣmati rabbika maḥfūẓā. Wa innahā la-khayru al-nisāʾ wa baʿdahā tuṭlaqu ʿalā ḍilʿi al-Nuqṭah allatī mā kharajat ʿan ḥiṣni al-ʿiṣmah wa mā massathā aydī al-khāʾinīn. Wa kadhālika kāna al-amru maqḍiyyā. Wa allatī khānat innahā kharajat ʿan al-Nuqṭah wa qaṭaʿat nisbatāhā min Allāh alladhī qaddara kulla amrin fī lawḥin mubīnā. Qul inna al-mushrikīn ẓannū bi-annā aradnā an nansakha mā nazala ʿalā Nuqṭati al-Bayān.

At this point these wondrous, most sweet verses were revealed from the tongue of God, the Most High, the All-Glorious: “This is what has now descended from the dominion of lofty glory. O people, know that We have chosen the mother of the Primal Point, and she has been recorded before the Throne as among the choicest of handmaidens. Applying this name to anyone other than her has been forbidden. Thus has it been inscribed by the Most Exalted Pen in the Tablet of Decree, preserved within the treasuries of your Lord’s unfailing protection. She is indeed the best of women, and after her this designation applies to the wife of the Point who has not left the stronghold of purity and whom the hands of the treacherous have not touched. Thus has the matter been decreed. As for the one who acted treacherously, she has departed from the Point and severed her relationship with God, who has ordained all things in a clear Tablet. Say: The idolaters have imagined that We intended to abrogate what was revealed to the Point of the Bayān.”

751

قل فو‌ربّی‌ الرّحمن لو نريد كما ظنّوا ليس لأحد ان يعترض على اللّه الّذى خلق كلّ شیء بأمر من عنده و انّه كان على كلّ شیء قديرا و كلّما نريد هو ما اراد اللّه و ما يظهر منّى هو ما ظهر منه و يشهد بذلك كلّ موحّد عليماً و لكن اللّه اراد بهذا الظّهور ان يثبت ما نزل من عند نقطة البيان و يضع احكامه على اعناق الفراعنة من ملأ الطّغيان و كان نفسه الحقّ على ذلك شهيدا و انّا اردنا ان نفدى نفسنا فى سبيله كما فدى نفسه فى سبيلى اتّقوا اللّه يا قوم و لاتفتروا على الّذى به اشرقت شمس البيان و ظهر حكمه بين الخلايق جميعاً فسوف نثبت احكامه و نبرهن آثاره فى الأرض بقدرة و سلطان مبيناً

Qul fa-wa-rabbī al-Raḥmān law nurīdu kamā ẓannū laysa li-aḥadin an yaʿtariḍa ʿalā Allāh alladhī khalaqa kulla shayʾin bi-amrin min ʿindihi wa innahu kāna ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrā. Wa kullamā nurīdu huwa mā arāda Allāh wa mā yaẓharu minnī huwa mā ẓahara minhu wa yashhadu bi-dhālika kullu muwaḥḥidin ʿalīmā. Wa lākin Allāh arāda bi-hādhā al-ẓuhūr an yuthbita mā nazala min ʿindi Nuqṭati al-Bayān wa yaḍaʿa aḥkāmahu ʿalā aʿnāqi al-farāʿinah min malaʾi al-ṭughyān wa kāna nafsuhu al-Ḥaqq ʿalā dhālika shahīdā. Wa innā aradnā an nafdī nafsanā fī sabīlihi kamā fadā nafsahu fī sabīlī. Ittaqū Allāh yā qawm wa lā taftarū ʿalā alladhī bihi ashraqat shamsu al-Bayān wa ẓahara ḥukmuhu bayna al-khalāʾiqi jamīʿā. Fa-sawfa nuthbitu aḥkāmahu wa nubarhinu āthārahu fī al-arḍ bi-qudratin wa sulṭānin mubīnā.

Say: By my Lord, the All-Merciful, if We wished to do as they have imagined, no one would have the right to object to God, who created all things through a command from Himself. He is indeed powerful over all things. Whatever We wish is what God has wished, and whatever appears from Me is what has appeared from Him. Every knowledgeable believer in His oneness bears witness to this. But through this Revelation God has intended to confirm what was revealed by the Point of the Bayān and to place His laws upon the necks of the Pharaohs among the hosts of tyranny. His own Self, the True One, bears witness to this. We have intended to sacrifice Ourself in His path, just as He sacrificed Himself in My path. Fear God, O people, and do not fabricate lies against Him through whom the Sun of the Bayān has shone and His decree has appeared among all created beings. We will assuredly establish His laws and demonstrate the truth of His writings on earth with power and manifest authority.

752

اليوم خير النّسا امّ نقطه اولى است و حرام شده اطلاق اين اسم بر اماء اللّه و هم‌چنين اذن داده شده اطلاق اين اسم بعدها بر ضلع نقطه كه در فارس ساكنند و از حصن عصمت ربّانى خارج نشده‌اند و حرمة اللّه را رعايت نموده‌ و دست خائنين بذيل عصمتش نرسيده فو‌نفسى الحقّ او است بتول عذرا و حرم اعلى و عصمت كبرى ان اخدموها يا احبّائى بصدق مبين لانّها بقيّة اللّه بينكم ان انتم من العارفين نسئل اللّه بأن يستقيمها على ما هى عليه و يعصمها عن مسّ الهاتكين الّذين تحرّكهم ارياح النّفس و الهوى كيف یشآء اولئك هم فى ضلال مبين و بأن يثبتها على هذا الأمر و انّه على كلّ شیء قدير

Al-yawm khayr al-nisāʾ umm-i Nuqṭiy-i Ūlā ast va ḥarām shudih iṭlāq-i īn ism bar imāʾ Allāh va hamchunīn idhn dādih shudih iṭlāq-i īn ism baʿdahā bar ḍilʿ-i Nuqṭih kih dar Fārs sākinand va az ḥiṣn-i ʿiṣmat-i rabbānī khārij nashudih-and va ḥurmat Allāh rā riʿāyat namūdih va dast-i khāʾinīn bi-dhayl-i ʿiṣmatash narisīdih. Fa-wa-nafsī al-Ḥaqq ū ast Batūl-i ʿAdhrā va Ḥaram-i Aʿlā va ʿIṣmat-i Kubrā. An ikhdumūhā yā aḥibbāʾī bi-ṣidqin mubīn li-annahā baqiyyatu Allāh baynakum in antum min al-ʿārifīn. Nasʾalu Allāh bi-an yastaqīmahā ʿalā mā hiya ʿalayhi wa yaʿṣimahā ʿan massi al-hātikīn alladhīna tuḥarrikuhum aryāḥu al-nafs wa al-hawā kayfa yashāʾ. Ulāʾika hum fī ḍalālin mubīn. Wa bi-an yuthbitahā ʿalā hādhā al-amr wa innahu ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr.

Today the best of women is the mother of the Primal Point, and applying this name to the handmaidens of God has been forbidden. Permission has likewise been given to apply this name after her to the wife of the Point who resides in Fārs, who has not left the stronghold of divine purity, who has observed the sanctity of God, and whose robe of purity the hands of the treacherous have not reached. By My own Self, the True One, she is the chaste Virgin, the Most Exalted Consort, and the Most Great Purity. Serve her, O My loved ones, with manifest sincerity, for she is what remains of God among you, if you are among those who understand. We ask God to keep her steadfast in her present state and to protect her from the touch of those who violate sanctity, whom the winds of self and desire move as they please. They are indeed in manifest error. And We ask Him to establish her firmly in this Cause. He is powerful over all things.

753

يا قوم انّى ما اردت فيما اقول نفسى بل نفس اللّه ان انتم من المنصفين و نلقى عليكم ما اراد ربّكم العلىّ العظيم حرمت حرم اللّه بر كلّ لازم در جميع احوال رعايتشان محبوب بوده و هم‌چنين نفوسيكه نفس الرّحمن از مابين آن نفوس ظاهر شده عزّزوهم و وقّروهم يا قوم و لاتكوننّ من الغافلين و جميع اين فضل محقّق مادام كه حبل نسبت منقطع نشود

Yā qawm innī mā aradtu fīmā aqūlu nafsī bal nafsa Allāh in antum min al-munṣifīn wa nulqī ʿalaykum mā arāda rabbukum al-ʿAlī al-ʿAẓīm. Ḥurmat-i ḥaram-i Allāh bar kull lāzim dar jamīʿ-i aḥvāl riʿāyatishān maḥbūb būdih va hamchunīn nufūsī kih Nafs-i Raḥmān az mābayn-i ān nufūs ẓāhir shudih. ʿAzzizūhum wa waqqirūhum yā qawm wa lā takūnanna min al-ghāfilīn. Va jamīʿ-i īn faḍl muḥaqqaq mādām kih ḥabl-i nisbat munqaṭiʿ nashavad.

O people, in what I say I have not intended My own self, but the Self of God, if you judge fairly. We convey to you what your Lord, the Most High, the Almighty, has willed. Respect for the family of God is incumbent upon all; showing them consideration in every circumstance has been deemed desirable, as has showing consideration to those from whose midst the Person of the All-Merciful has appeared. Honor and revere them, O people, and do not be among the heedless. All this bounty holds true so long as the bond of relationship is not severed.

754

و انت تعلم يا الهى بانّى احبّ هؤلآء و كلّ ما نسب الى نفسك وَ اَجد منهم نفحات قميص رحمانيّتك وفوحات ثوب عزّك و مواهبك و اشتاق لقائهم و الاجتماع معهم و المؤانسة بهم اذا اسئلك يا الهى باسم الّذى جعلته سلطان الأسماء بين الأرض و السّمآء و به كسّرتَ اصنام النّفس و الهوى و به غسّلت العارفين و المشتاقين و طهّرتهم عن روايح ما سواك فى ملكوت الانشآء بأن تشتعل فى صدور هؤلآء مشاعل حبّك ليهتدى بها اهل مملكتك الّذينهم غفلوا عن ذكرك و ثنائك و بعدوا عن شاطى قربك و لقائك

Wa anta taʿlamu yā ilāhī bi-annī uḥibbu hāʾulāʾ wa kulla mā nusiba ilā nafsika wa ajidu minhum nafaḥāti qamīṣi raḥmāniyyatika wa fawaḥāti thawbi ʿizzika wa mawāhibika wa ashtāqu liqāʾahum wa al-ijtimāʿa maʿahum wa al-muʾānasata bihim. Idhan asʾaluka yā ilāhī bi-ismi alladhī jaʿaltahu sulṭāna al-asmāʾ bayna al-arḍ wa al-samāʾ wa bihi kassarta aṣnāma al-nafs wa al-hawā wa bihi ghassalta al-ʿārifīn wa al-mushtāqīn wa ṭahhartahum ʿan rawāʾiḥi mā siwāka fī malakūti al-inshāʾ bi-an tashtaʿila fī ṣudūri hāʾulāʾ mashāʿilu ḥubbika li-yahtadiya bihā ahlu mamlakatika alladhīnahum ghafalū ʿan dhikrika wa thanāʾika wa baʿudū ʿan shāṭiʾi qurbika wa liqāʾika.

You know, O my God, that I love these souls and all that is related to Your own Self. From them I perceive the fragrances of the shirt of Your all-mercifulness and the sweet scents of the robe of Your glory and Your gifts, and I long to meet them, to gather with them, and to enjoy their companionship. I therefore ask You, O my God, by the Name that You have made sovereign over all names between earth and heaven, through which You have shattered the idols of self and desire, and through which You have washed those who know You and long for You, purifying them from the scents of all besides You in the kingdom of creation, to kindle the torches of Your love in the hearts of these souls, so that through them the inhabitants of Your realm may be guided—those who have neglected Your remembrance and praise and have strayed far from the shore of nearness to You and meeting with You.

755

فيا الهى لاتمنعهم عمّا ظهر بينهم و لاتحرمهم عمّا رشحت فى تلك الأیّام من سحاب رحمتك و غمام فضلك ثمّ اسمعهم يا الهى فى كلّ حين نغماتك و الحانك الّتى ارتفعت عن مقرّ عرش وحدانيّتك و كرسىّ عزّ فردانيّتك ثمّ اقبل منهم يا الهى ما ترك عنهم فى ایّامك الّتى فيها اشرقت شمس جمالك عن افق مشيّتك و كان ان يمشى بينهم سلطان الرّسل باقتدارك و عظمتك و انت ترى يا الهى بانّ البكا منعنى حينئذ عن ذكرك و ثنائك و ثنآء الّذين نسبتهم الى مظهر نفسك بما خطر ببالى ذكر محبوبی‌ و مقصودى و رجائى و ذكر ایّامه و شئوناته

Fa-yā ilāhī lā tamnaʿhum ʿammā ẓahara baynahum wa lā taḥrimhum ʿammā rashaḥta fī tilka al-ayyām min saḥābi raḥmatika wa ghamāmi faḍlika. Thumma asmiʿhum yā ilāhī fī kulli ḥīnin naghamātika wa alḥānaka allatī irtafaʿat ʿan maqarri ʿarshi waḥdāniyyatika wa kursiyyi ʿizzi fardāniyyatika. Thumma iqbal minhum yā ilāhī mā turika ʿanhum fī ayyāmika allatī fīhā ashraqat shamsu jamālika ʿan ufuqi mashīʾatika wa kāna an yamshiya baynahum Sulṭānu al-Rusul bi-iqtidārika wa ʿaẓamatika. Wa anta tarā yā ilāhī bi-anna al-bukāʾ manaʿanī ḥīnaʾidhin ʿan dhikrika wa thanāʾika wa thanāʾi alladhīna nasabtahum ilā maẓhari nafsika bi-mā khaṭara bi-bālī dhikru maḥbūbī wa maqṣūdī wa rajāʾī wa dhikru ayyāmihi wa shuʾūnātihi.

O my God, do not keep them from what has appeared among them, and do not deprive them of what You have showered in these days from the clouds of Your mercy and Your grace. Let them hear, O my God, at every moment, Your melodies and songs that have risen from the seat of the throne of Your oneness and the seat of the glory of Your singleness. Accept from them, O my God, what they have left behind in Your days, in which the Sun of Your beauty has shone from the horizon of Your will and the Sovereign of the Messengers has walked among them through Your might and grandeur. You see, O my God, that weeping has now prevented me from remembering and praising You and from praising those whom You have related to the Manifestation of Your own Self, for there has come to my mind the remembrance of my Beloved, my Desire, and my Hope, and the remembrance of His days and His ways.

756

فو‌عزّتك يا الهى بنفسى ضيع اسم الوفآء بين الأرض و السّمآء لانّ محبوبی‌ فدى نفسه فى سبيلك و انّى اكون موجوداً فى مملكتك بين بريّتك مع انّك انت تعلم يا الهى بانّى فى كلّ حين احبّ ان انفق روحى و نفسى فى سبيله و فى كلّ آن انتظر هذا و لكن لم ادر باىّ جهة منعت عمّا اردت فو‌عزّتك اذاً انقطع الصّبر منّى حبّاً للقائك و طلباً لوصالك و لاتفرح نفسى الّا حين الّذى تشاهد وجهى محمرّاً بدمى و كلّما القيت نفسى بين يدى الأعدا انّك حفظتنى بسلطان مشيّتك و كلّما اودعت جسدى تحت ايادى اولى البغضآء انت عصمتنى بقدرتك و قوّتك

Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā ilāhī bi-nafsī ḍuyyiʿa ismu al-wafāʾ bayna al-arḍ wa al-samāʾ li-anna maḥbūbī fadā nafsahu fī sabīlika wa innī akūnu mawjūdan fī mamlakatika bayna bariyyatika maʿa annaka anta taʿlamu yā ilāhī bi-annī fī kulli ḥīnin uḥibbu an unfiqa rūḥī wa nafsī fī sabīlihi wa fī kulli ānin antaẓiru hādhā wa lākin lam adri bi-ayyi jihatin muniʿtu ʿammā aradtu. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika idhan inqaṭaʿa al-ṣabru minnī ḥubban li-liqāʾika wa ṭalaban li-wiṣālika wa lā tafraḥu nafsī illā ḥīna alladhī tushāhidu wajhī muḥmarran bi-damī. Wa kullamā alqaytu nafsī bayna yaday al-aʿdāʾ innaka ḥafiẓtanī bi-sulṭāni mashīʾatika wa kullamā awdaʿtu jasadī taḥta ayādī ulī al-baghḍāʾ anta ʿaṣamtanī bi-qudratika wa quwwatika.

By Your glory, O my God, through me the very name of faithfulness has been lost between earth and heaven, for my Beloved sacrificed Himself in Your path, while I remain alive in Your realm among Your creatures. Yet You know, O my God, that at every moment I long to offer up my spirit and my life in His path, and at every instant I await this. But I do not know why I have been prevented from attaining what I desired. By Your glory, my patience has now come to an end through love of meeting You and longing for union with You. My soul will rejoice only when You behold my face reddened with my blood. Whenever I have cast myself into the hands of my enemies, You have preserved me through the sovereignty of Your will; and whenever I have placed my body beneath the hands of those possessed of hatred, You have protected me through Your power and might.

757

فلمّا جعلتنى محروماً عمّا اردته فى سبيلك قرّبنى الى ارض الّتى استوى عليها محبوبی‌ و محبوب العالمين ومقصودى و مقصود العارفين لاستأنس بها و اقبّل ترابها و اجد منها روايح قدسك و نفحات رحمتك لعلّ بذلك تسكن نفسى من اضطرابها و روحى من احتراقها و جسدى من اهتزازه و استغفرك يا الهى عن كلّ ذلك لانّه حینئذ يكون حيّاً فى الأفق الأبهی يشهد و يرى و بذلك تشهد نفسى و روحى و ذاتى و قلمى و لسانى و ظاهرى و باطنى و اوّلى و آخرى لا اله الّا انت العزيز المتعالى المقتدر المهيمن العليم الحكيم

Fa-lammā jaʿaltanī maḥrūman ʿammā aradtuhu fī sabīlika qarribnī ilā arḍi allatī istawā ʿalayhā maḥbūbī wa maḥbūbu al-ʿālamīn wa maqṣūdī wa maqṣūdu al-ʿārifīn li-astaʾnisa bihā wa uqabbila turābahā wa ajida minhā rawāʾiḥa qudsika wa nafaḥāti raḥmatika laʿalla bi-dhālika taskunu nafsī min iḍṭirābihā wa rūḥī min iḥtirāqihā wa jasadī min ihtizāzihi. Wa astaghfiruka yā ilāhī ʿan kulli dhālika li-annahu ḥīnaʾidhin yakūnu ḥayyan fī al-Ufuqi al-Abhā yashhadu wa yarā wa bi-dhālika tashhadu nafsī wa rūḥī wa dhātī wa qalamī wa lisānī wa ẓāhirī wa bāṭinī wa awwalī wa ākhirī. Lā ilāha illā anta al-ʿAzīz al-Mutaʿālī al-Muqtadir al-Muhaymin al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm.

Since You have deprived me of what I desired in Your path, bring me near to the land upon which my Beloved and the Beloved of all worlds, my Desire and the Desire of those who know You, once dwelt, so that I may find solace in it, kiss its dust, and perceive from it the fragrances of Your holiness and the breezes of Your mercy. Perhaps through this my soul may be stilled from its agitation, my spirit from its burning, and my body from its trembling. I ask Your forgiveness, O my God, for all this, for He is even now alive in the All-Glorious Horizon, witnessing and seeing. To this bear witness my soul, my spirit, my being, my pen, my tongue, my outer and inner self, my beginning and my end. There is no God but You, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

758

بدانيد ايقوم كه اين غلام رحمن در جميع احيان اراده‌اش آن بوده كه آنچه از ظهور قبلش نقطه بيان روح من فى الأكوان فداه نازل شده ثابت نمايد حركت ننموده‌ام مگر برضاى او چنانچه او حركت نفرمود مگر برضاى اين غلام مع آنكه كلّ آنچه از اين مشيّت ظاهر شود نفس مشيّت و اراده او بوده و كفى بنفسه شهيداً و لكن مشركين بيان گمان نموده‌اند و در باديه‌هاى مهلكه ظنّ مشى کرده‌اند چنانچه نسبت داده‌اند كه اين غلام گفته كه نقطه بيان از يكحرف من خلق شده لا و اللّه آنچه نازل شده منزل حقّ تعالى سلطنته و تعالى قدرته و تعالى عظمته و تعالى اقتداره و تعالى عزّه و تعالى رفعته و تعالى شأنه و تعالى بهائه و تعالى امره بوده و خواهد بود

Bidānīd ay qawm kih īn Ghulām-i Raḥmān dar jamīʿ-i aḥyān irādih-ash ān būdih kih ānchih az ẓuhūr-i qablash Nuqṭiy-i Bayān rūḥu man fī al-akwān fidāhu nāzil shudih thābit namāyad. Ḥarakat nanamūdih-am magar bi-riḍā-yi ū chunānchih ū ḥarakat nafarmūd magar bi-riḍā-yi īn Ghulām maʿa ānkih kull-i ānchih az īn Mashiyyat ẓāhir shavad nafs-i mashiyyat va irādiy-i ū būdih wa kafā bi-nafsihi shahīdā. Va lākin mushrikīn-i Bayān gumān namūdih-and va dar bādiyih-hā-yi muhlikiy-i ẓann mashy kardih-and chunānchih nisbat dādih-and kih īn Ghulām guftih kih Nuqṭiy-i Bayān az yik ḥarf-i man khalq shudih. Lā wa-llāh ānchih nāzil shudih munzil Ḥaqq taʿālā salṭanatuhu wa taʿālā qudratuhu wa taʿālā ʿaẓamatuhu wa taʿālā iqtidāruhu wa taʿālā ʿizzuhu wa taʿālā rifʿatuhu wa taʿālā shaʾnuhu wa taʿālā bahāʾuhu wa taʿālā amruhu būdih va khwāhad būd.

Know, O people, that this Youth of the All-Merciful has at all times intended to establish whatever was revealed by His previous Manifestation, the Point of the Bayān—may the souls of all in existence be sacrificed for Him. I have acted only in accordance with His good pleasure, just as He acted only in accordance with the good pleasure of this Youth. Moreover, whatever appears from this Will has been His very will and purpose, and His own Self is sufficient as a witness. But the idolaters of the Bayān have indulged in conjecture and wandered through the deadly wildernesses of supposition, even alleging that this Youth has said that the Point of the Bayān was created from a single letter of Mine. No, by God! Whatever has been revealed, its Revealer has been and will be the True One—exalted be His sovereignty, exalted be His power, exalted be His grandeur, exalted be His might, exalted be His glory, exalted be His loftiness, exalted be His station, exalted be His splendor, and exalted be His Cause.

759

بگوئيد اى بي‌شرمهاى ارض آنچه در اين ظهور نازل بعينه همان كلمات نقطه اوّليّه بوده و خواهد بود و اين غلام لازال جز عبوديّت صرفه دوست نداشته فو‌الّذى نفسى بيده عبوديّت محبوب جانم بوده بشأنيكه كلّما اشاهد موقفاًمن مواقف الأرض احبّ ان اخرّ عليه سجّدا للّه محبوبی‌ و محبوب العارفين فيا ليت على كلّ ذرّة من ترابها سجدت للّه ربّی‌ و ربّ العالمين و اينكه در الواح ذكر مقامات عاليه شده ناظراً الى امر اللّه و شأنه و عزّه و اجلاله بوده چنانچه نقطهء بيان فرموده ‌انّه ينطق فى كلّ شیء بانّى انا اللّه لا اله الّا انا ان يا خلقى ايّاى فاعبدون و اگر نظر باينمقام نبود فو‌نفسه المحبوب ما ذكرت الّا العبوديّة الصّرفة للّه الحقّ كذلك كان الأمر و لكن النّاس هم لا يشعرون

Bigūyīd ay bī-sharmhā-yi arḍ ānchih dar īn ẓuhūr nāzil bi-ʿaynihi hamān kalimāt-i Nuqṭiy-i Avvaliyyih būdih va khwāhad būd va īn Ghulām lā yazāl juz ʿubūdiyyat-i ṣirfih dūst nadāshtih. Fa-wa-alladhī nafsī bi-yadihi ʿubūdiyyat maḥbūb-i jānam būdih bi-shaʾnī kih kullamā ushāhidu mawqifan min mawāqifi al-arḍ uḥibbu an akhirra ʿalayhi sujjadan li-llāh maḥbūbī wa maḥbūbi al-ʿārifīn. Fa-yā layta ʿalā kulli dharratin min turābihā sajadtu li-llāh rabbī wa rabbi al-ʿālamīn. Va īnkih dar alvāḥ dhikr-i maqāmāt-i ʿāliyih shudih nāẓiran ilā Amr Allāh wa shaʾnihi wa ʿizzihi wa ijlālihi būdih chunānchih Nuqṭiy-i Bayān farmūdih innahu yanṭiqu fī kulli shayʾin bi-annī anā Allāh lā ilāha illā anā an yā khalqī iyyāya fa-uʿbudūn. Va agar naẓar bi-īn maqām nabūd fa-wa-nafsihi al-Maḥbūb mā dhakartu illā al-ʿubūdiyyata al-ṣirfata li-llāh al-Ḥaqq. Kadhālika kāna al-amr wa lākin al-nāsu hum lā yashʿurūn.

Say: O shameless ones of the earth! Whatever is revealed in this Revelation has been and will be precisely the words of the Primal Point, and this Youth has always loved nothing but pure servitude. By Him in whose hand is my soul, servitude has been the beloved of my heart, to such a degree that whenever I behold any spot on earth, I long to fall prostrate upon it before God, my Beloved and the Beloved of those who know Him. Would that upon every atom of its dust I had prostrated myself before God, my Lord and the Lord of all worlds! The exalted stations mentioned in the Tablets have been spoken of with regard to the Cause of God, His station, His glory, and His majesty, just as the Point of the Bayān has said: “He speaks in all things, saying, ‘I am God; there is no God but Me. O My creation, worship Me alone.’” Were it not with regard to this station, then by His own beloved Self, I would have spoken of nothing but pure servitude to God, the True One. Such is the matter, but the people do not perceive it.

760

در اينمقام مناجاتى كه مخصوص يكى از احبّا از سماء عزّ ابهى نازل ذكر ميشود تا كلّ عارف شوند كه در جميع مراتب اكمل از كلّ مظاهر ظاهر شده‌اند حتّى در مقام عبوديّت

Dar īn maqām munājātī kih makhṣūṣ-i yikī az aḥibbā az samāʾ-i ʿizz-i Abhā nāzil dhikr mīshavad tā kull ʿārif shavand kih dar jamīʿ-i marātib akmal az kull-i maẓāhir ẓāhir shudih-and ḥattā dar maqām-i ʿubūdiyyat.

At this point a prayer revealed from the heaven of all-glorious majesty especially for one of the loved ones is cited, so that all may recognize that He has appeared in every degree more perfect than all the Manifestations, even in the station of servitude.

761

سبحانك اللّهمّ يا الهى تشهد السن الممكنات على سلطنتك و اقتدارك و على فقرى و افتقارى عند ظهورات غنائك اذا يا الهى فانظر هذا العاصى الّذى لم يزل كان ناظراً الى شطر غفرانك و قلبه متوجّهاً الى افق فضلك و مواهبك و انّى يا الهى من اوّل يوم الّذى خلقتنى بامرك و احييتنى من نسماءت جود رحمانيّتك ما توجّهت الى احد دونك و قمت الى مقابلة الأعدآء لسلطنتك و اقتدارك و دعوت الكلّ الى شاطى بحر توحيدك و سماء عزّ تفريدك و ما اردت فى ایّامى حفظ نفسى من طغاة خلقك بل اعلآء ذكرك بين بريّتك و بذلك ورد علىّ ما لا حمله احد من خلقك

Subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī, tashhadu alsunu al-mumkināti ʿalā salṭanatika wa-iqtidārika wa-ʿalā faqrī wa-iftiqārī ʿinda ẓuhūrāti ghināʾika. Idhan yā ilāhī fa-nẓur hādhā al-ʿāṣī alladhī lam yazal kāna nāẓiran ilā shaṭri ghufrānika wa-qalbuhu mutawajjihan ilā ufuqi faḍlika wa-mawāhibika. Wa-innī yā ilāhī min awwali yawmin alladhī khalaqtanī bi-amrika wa-aḥyaytanī min nasamāʾāti jūdi raḥmāniyyatika mā tawajjahtu ilā aḥadin dūnaka wa-qumtu ilā muqābalati al-aʿdāʾi li-salṭanatika wa-iqtidārika wa-daʿawtu al-kulla ilā shāṭiʾi baḥri tawḥīdika wa-samāʾi ʿizzi tafrīdika. Wa-mā aradtu fī ayyāmī ḥifẓa nafsī min ṭughāti khalqika bal iʿlāʾa dhikrika bayna bariyyatika wa-bi-dhālika warada ʿalayya mā lā ḥamalahu aḥadun min khalqika.

Glory be to You, O God, my God! The tongues of all contingent beings testify to Your sovereignty and power, and to my poverty and need before the manifestations of Your wealth. Look, then, O my God, upon this sinner, who has always gazed toward Your forgiveness, his heart turned toward the horizon of Your grace and Your gifts. O my God, from the very first day when You created me by Your command and brought me to life through the breezes of Your all-merciful generosity, I have turned to no one but You. I arose to confront the enemies for the sake of Your sovereignty and power, and summoned everyone to the shore of the ocean of Your oneness and the heaven of the glory of Your singleness. Throughout my days, I have sought not to protect myself from the tyrants among Your creatures, but to exalt Your remembrance among Your creation. Because of this, there has befallen me what none of Your creatures has borne.

762

و كم من ایّام يا الهى كنت فريداً بين المذنبين من عبادك و كم من ليالى يا محبوبی‌ كنت اسيراً بين الغافلين من خلقك و فى موارد البأسآء و الضّرّآء كنت ناطقاً بثنآء نفسك بين سمائك و ارضك و ذاكراً ببدايع ذكرك فى ملكوت امرك و خلقك و لو انّ كلّ ما ظهر منّى لاينبغى لسلطان عزّ وحدانيّتك و لايليق لشأنك و اقتدارك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ لم اجد لنفسى وجوداً تلقآء مدين عزّك و كلّما اريد ان اثنى نفسك بثنآء يمنعنى فؤادى لانّ دونك لم يقدر ان يطير فى هواء ملكوت قربك او ان يصعد الى سماء جبروت لقائك فو‌عزّتك اشاهد بانّى لو اسجد لكفّ من التّراب الى آخر الّذى لا آخر له لنسبته الى اسمك الصّانع لا أجد نفسى بعيداً عن التّقرّب اليه و اشاهد بأنّ عملى لا ينبغى له بل كان محدوداً بحدودات نفسى و لو اخدم احداً من عبادك بحيث اقوم بين يديه بدوام ملكوتك و بقآء جبروتك لنسبته الى اسمك الخالق فو‌عزّتك لأجد نفسى مقصّراً عن ادآء خدمته و محروماً عمّا يليق له لانّ فى هذا المقام لا يرى الّا نسبتهم الى اسمائك و صفاتك

Wa-kam min ayyāmin yā ilāhī kuntu farīdan bayna al-mudhnibīna min ʿibādika wa-kam min layālin yā maḥbūbī kuntu asīran bayna al-ghāfilīna min khalqika. Wa-fī mawāridi al-baʾsāʾi wa-l-ḍarrāʾi kuntu nāṭiqan bi-thanāʾi nafsika bayna samāʾika wa-arḍika wa-dhākiran bi-badāʾiʿi dhikrika fī malakūti amrika wa-khalqika. Wa-law anna kulla mā ẓahara minnī lā yanbaghī li-sulṭāni ʿizzi waḥdāniyyatika wa-lā yalīqu li-shaʾnika wa-iqtidārika, fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī lam ajid li-nafsī wujūdan tilqāʾa madīni ʿizzika. Wa-kullamā urīdu an uthniya nafsaka bi-thanāʾin yamnaʿunī fuʾādī li-anna dūnaka lam yaqdir an yaṭīra fī hawāʾi malakūti qurbika aw an yaṣʿada ilā samāʾi jabarūti liqāʾika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika ushāhidu bi-annī law asjudu li-kaffin mina al-turābi ilā ākhiri alladhī lā ākhira lahu li-nisbatihi ilā ismika al-Ṣāniʿi lā ajidu nafsī baʿīdan ʿani al-taqarrubi ilayhi wa-ushāhidu bi-anna ʿamalī lā yanbaghī lahu bal kāna maḥdūdan bi-ḥudūdāti nafsī. Wa-law akhdumu aḥadan min ʿibādika bi-ḥaythu aqūmu bayna yadayhi bi-dawāmi malakūtika wa-baqāʾi jabarūtika li-nisbatihi ilā ismika al-Khāliqi fa-wa-ʿizzatika la-ajidu nafsī muqaṣṣiran ʿan adāʾi khidmatihi wa-maḥrūman ʿammā yalīqu lahu li-anna fī hādhā al-maqāmi lā yurā illā nisbatuhum ilā asmāʾika wa-ṣifātika.

How many days, O my God, I was alone among the sinful among Your servants, and how many nights, O my Beloved, I was a captive among the heedless among Your creatures! Amid hardship and adversity, I spoke Your praise between Your heaven and Your earth, and proclaimed the wonders of Your remembrance in the kingdom of Your command and creation. Although everything that has proceeded from me is unworthy of the sovereignty of Your glorious oneness and unbefitting Your station and power, yet, by Your glory, O my Beloved, I have found no existence of my own before the city of Your glory. Whenever I wish to offer You praise, my heart restrains me, for no one other than You can soar in the atmosphere of the kingdom of Your nearness or ascend to the heaven of the dominion of Your presence. By Your glory! I see that, were I to prostrate myself before a handful of dust until the end that has no end, because of its relationship to Your name, the Maker, I would not consider myself far from drawing near to it. I see that my deed would be unworthy of it, being confined instead within the limits of my own self. Were I to serve one of Your servants, standing before him for as long as Your kingdom endures and Your dominion remains, because of his relationship to Your name, the Creator, then, by Your glory, I would find myself falling short in serving him and deprived of what befits him, for in this station nothing is seen but their relationship to Your names and attributes.

763

انّ الّذى كان شأنه ذلك كيف يقدر ان يذكر الّذى باشارة من اصبعه خلقت الأسمآء و ملكوتها و الصّفات و جبروتها و باشارة اخرى ركّبت الكاف بالنّون و ظهر منها ما عجز عن عرفانه اعلى افئدة المقرّبين من اصفيائك و ابهى مشاعر المخلصين من اودّائك

Inna alladhī kāna shaʾnuhu dhālika kayfa yaqdiru an yadhkura alladhī bi-ishāratin min iṣbaʿihi khuliqati al-asmāʾu wa-malakūtuhā wa-l-ṣifātu wa-jabarūtuhā wa-bi-ishāratin ukhrā rukkibati al-kāfu bi-l-nūni wa-ẓahara minhā mā ʿajaza ʿan ʿirfānihi aʿlā afʾidati al-muqarrabīna min aṣfiyāʾika wa-abhā mashāʿiri al-mukhliṣīna min awiddāʾika.

How can one whose condition is such make mention of Him at a gesture of whose finger the names and their kingdom, and the attributes and their dominion, were created, and at another gesture of whom the letter kāf was joined to the letter nūn, and from this appeared that which the loftiest hearts of those drawn near among Your chosen ones, and the most radiant faculties of the sincere among Your loved ones, are powerless to comprehend?

764

فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ صرت متحيّراً فى مظاهر صنعك و مطالع قدرتك و اشاهد نفسى عاجزاً عن عرفان ادنى آيتك و كيف عرفان نفسك اذاً اسئلك يا الهى باسمك الّذى به طيّرت العاشقين فى هوآء ارادتك و اهتديت به المشتاقين الى رضوان قربك و وصالك بأن تهبّ من رضوان عنايتك روايح الاطمينان على المضطرّين من احبّائك فى تلك الأیّام الّتى احاطتهم ارياح الافتتان من كلّ الجهات بحيث اضطربت النّفوس من سطوة قضائك و تزلزلت اركان الوجود عمّا نزل عليهم من سمآء تقديرك و بلغت اضطرابهم الى مقام تكاد ان تخمد فى مشكوة قلوبهم سراج حبّك و ذكرك و انّك انت المقتدر على ما تشآء و انّك انت الغفور الكريم

Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī ṣirtu mutaḥayyiran fī maẓāhiri ṣunʿika wa-maṭāliʿi qudratika wa-ushāhidu nafsī ʿājizan ʿan ʿirfāni adnā āyatika wa-kayfa ʿirfāni nafsika. Idhan asʾaluka yā ilāhī bi-ismika alladhī bihi ṭayyarta al-ʿāshiqīna fī hawāʾi irādatika wa-ihtadayta bihi al-mushtāqīna ilā riḍwāni qurbika wa-wiṣālika bi-an tahubba min riḍwāni ʿināyatika rawāʾiḥu al-iṭmiʾnāni ʿalā al-muḍṭarrīna min aḥibbāʾika fī tilka al-ayyāmi allatī aḥāṭathum aryāḥu al-iftitāni min kulli al-jihāti bi-ḥaythu iḍṭarabati al-nufūsu min saṭwati qaḍāʾika wa-tazalzalat arkānu al-wujūdi ʿammā nazala ʿalayhim min samāʾi taqdīrika wa-balaghat iḍṭirābuhum ilā maqāmin takādu an takhmuda fī mishkāti qulūbihim sirāju ḥubbika wa-dhikrika. Wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadiru ʿalā mā tashāʾu wa-innaka anta al-Ghafūru al-Karīmu.

By Your glory, O my Beloved! I am bewildered by the manifestations of Your handiwork and the dawning places of Your power. I see myself powerless to know even Your least sign; how much less can I know Your own Self! I therefore ask You, O my God, by Your name through which You have made the lovers soar in the atmosphere of Your will and guided those who yearn to the paradise of Your nearness and reunion with You, to let the fragrances of assurance waft from the paradise of Your care over those of Your loved ones who are in distress, in these days when the winds of trial have surrounded them from every direction. Souls have been shaken by the force of Your decree, and the pillars of existence have trembled at what has descended upon them from the heaven of Your ordainment. Their agitation has reached such a degree that the lamp of Your love and remembrance is almost extinguished in the niche of their hearts. You indeed have power over whatever You will, and You are indeed the Ever-Forgiving, the Generous.

765

فيا الهى و سيّدى تسمع ضجيج محبّيك و صريخهم من كلّ الأقطار بما ورد عليهم من الّذين كانت قلوبهم محروماً عن نفحات حبّك و ليس لهم من معين ليعينهم و لا من ناصر لينصرهم و كذلك ليس لاعدائهم من مانع ليمنعهم عن ضرّ هؤلآء لذا يفعلون ما يريدون و يعملون ما يشاؤن اذا فانصر يا الهى ببديع نصرك احبّائك الّذين ما استنصروا من غيرك و ما توجّهوا الى دونك و كانت عيونهم منتظرة لبدايع مواهبك و الطافك ثمّ ارحمهم يا الهى ببدايع رحمتك ثمّ ادخلهم فى حصن حمايتك و عنايتك و انّك انت الّذى يا الهى لم تزل كنت مأمن الخائفين و ملجأ المضطرّين

Fa-yā ilāhī wa-sayyidī tasmaʿu ḍajīja muḥibbīka wa-ṣarīkhahum min kulli al-aqṭāri bi-mā warada ʿalayhim mina alladhīna kānat qulūbuhum maḥrūman ʿan nafaḥāti ḥubbika wa-laysa lahum min muʿīnin li-yuʿīnahum wa-lā min nāṣirin li-yanṣurahum wa-kadhālika laysa li-aʿdāʾihim min māniʿin li-yamnaʿahum ʿan ḍarri hāʾulāʾi li-dhā yafʿalūna mā yurīdūna wa-yaʿmalūna mā yashāʾūna. Idhan fa-nṣur yā ilāhī bi-badīʿi naṣrika aḥibbāʾaka alladhīna mā istanṣarū min ghayrika wa-mā tawajjahū ilā dūnika wa-kānat ʿuyūnuhum muntaẓiratan li-badāʾiʿi mawāhibika wa-alṭāfika. Thumma irḥamhum yā ilāhī bi-badāʾiʿi raḥmatika thumma adkhilhum fī ḥiṣni ḥimāyatika wa-ʿināyatika wa-innaka anta alladhī yā ilāhī lam tazal kunta maʾmana al-khāʾifīna wa-maljaʾa al-muḍṭarrīna.

O my God and my Lord! You hear the lamentation of those who love You and their cries from every region over what has befallen them at the hands of those whose hearts are deprived of the breaths of Your love. They have no helper to assist them and no supporter to come to their aid. Nor is there anyone to restrain their enemies from harming them; thus they do whatever they desire and act as they please. Aid, then, O my God, with Your wondrous assistance, Your loved ones who have sought help from none but You and turned to no one besides You, whose eyes have awaited the wonders of Your gifts and Your favors. Have mercy on them, O my God, through the wonders of Your mercy, and bring them into the stronghold of Your protection and care. You, O my God, have always been the refuge of the fearful and the shelter of those in distress.

766

اسئلك بأن لاتحرم هؤلآء الضّعفآء عن بدايع جودك و افضالك و لاتدعهم بين ايدى الّذين ما خلقت كينوناتهم الّا من نار غضبك و قهرك و ما وجدوا روايح الرّحم و الانصاف و غرّتهم الدّنيا بغرورها الى شأن انكروا برهانك و اشركوا بنفسك و كفروا بآياتك و سفكوا دم احبّائك و امنائك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ ارتكبوا ما لم يرتكبه احد من قبل و بذلك استحقّوا غضبك و سياط قهرك خذهم بسلطانك ثمّ سلّط عليهم من لا يرحمهم الّا بأن يرجعوا اليك و يدخلوا فى ظلّ عنايتك و يتوبوا اليك و انّك انت لم تزل كنت قادراً و لاتزال تكون مقتدراً و انّك انت المقتدر المتعالى العادل الحكيم

Asʾaluka bi-an lā taḥrima hāʾulāʾi al-ḍuʿafāʾa ʿan badāʾiʿi jūdika wa-ifḍālika wa-lā tadaʿhum bayna aydī alladhīna mā khalaqta kaynūnātihim illā min nāri ghaḍabika wa-qahrika wa-mā wajadū rawāʾiḥa al-raḥmi wa-l-inṣāfi wa-gharrathumu al-dunyā bi-ghurūrihā ilā shaʾnin ankarū burhānaka wa-ashrakū bi-nafsika wa-kafarū bi-āyātika wa-safakū dama aḥibbāʾika wa-umanāʾika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī irtakabū mā lam yartakibhu aḥadun min qablu wa-bi-dhālika istaḥaqqū ghaḍabaka wa-siyāṭa qahrika. Khudhhum bi-sulṭānika thumma salliṭ ʿalayhim man lā yarḥamuhum illā bi-an yarjiʿū ilayka wa-yadkhulū fī ẓilli ʿināyatika wa-yatūbū ilayka. Wa-innaka anta lam tazal kunta qādiran wa-lā tazālu takūnu muqtadiran wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadiru al-Mutaʿālī al-ʿĀdilu al-Ḥakīmu.

I ask You not to deprive these weak ones of the wonders of Your generosity and bounty, and not to leave them in the hands of those whose beings You created from nothing but the fire of Your wrath and Your subduing might. They have never sensed the fragrances of compassion and fairness, and the world has so beguiled them with its deceptions that they have denied Your proof, associated partners with You, disbelieved in Your signs, and shed the blood of Your loved ones and Your trusted ones. By Your glory, O my Beloved! They have committed what no one before them has committed, and have thereby deserved Your wrath and the scourges of Your subduing might. Seize them through Your sovereignty, and set over them one who will show them no mercy unless they return to You, enter beneath the shadow of Your care, and turn to You in repentance. You have always been powerful and will forever be mighty. You are indeed the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Just, the All-Wise.

767

سبحانك اللّهمّ يا الهى فانصر هذا المظلوم الّذى ابتلى بين يدى الظّالمين من خلقك و المشركين من اعدائك بعد الّذى ما تنفّس الّا باذنك و امرك قد كنت يا الهى راقداً على مهد السّكون مرّت علىّ ارياح فضلك و الطافك و ايقظتنى بها بسلطانك و مواهبك و اقمتنى بين عبادك بثنآء نفسك و اعلآء كلمتك اذا اعترض علىّ اكثر بريّتك

Subḥānaka Allāhumma yā ilāhī fa-nṣur hādhā al-Maẓlūma alladhī ibtuliya bayna yaday al-ẓālimīna min khalqika wa-l-mushrikīna min aʿdāʾika baʿda alladhī mā tanaffasa illā bi-idhnika wa-amrika. Qad kuntu yā ilāhī rāqidan ʿalā mahdi al-sukūni marrat ʿalayya aryāḥu faḍlika wa-alṭāfika wa-ayqaẓtanī bihā bi-sulṭānika wa-mawāhibika wa-aqamtanī bayna ʿibādika bi-thanāʾi nafsika wa-iʿlāʾi kalimatika idhan iʿtaraḍa ʿalayya aktharu bariyyatika.

Glory be to You, O God, my God! Aid this Wronged One who has been afflicted at the hands of the unjust among Your creatures and those among Your enemies who associate partners with You, even though he has never drawn a breath except by Your permission and command. I was asleep, O my God, in the cradle of stillness. The winds of Your grace and favors passed over me, and through them You awakened me by Your sovereignty and Your gifts. You raised me up among Your servants to praise You and exalt Your word. Then most of Your creatures opposed me.

768

فو‌عزّتك يا الهى ما ظننت فى حقّهم ما ظهر منهم بعد الّذى انّك بشّرتهم بهذا الظّهور فى صحايف امرك و الواح قضائك و ما نزلت من عندك كلمة الّا و قد اخذت بها عهد هذا الغلام من خلقك و بريّتك اذاً صرت متحيّراً يا الهى و لم ادر ما افعل بين هؤلآء و كلّما اصمت عن بدايع ذكرك ينطقنى الرّوح بين سمائك و ارضك و كلّما اسكن يهتزّنى ما تهبّ عن يمين مشيّتك و ارادتك و اجد نفسى كورقة الّتى تحركها ارياح قضائك و تذهبها كيف تشآء بامرك و اذنك

Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā ilāhī mā ẓanantu fī ḥaqqihim mā ẓahara minhum baʿda alladhī innaka bashshartahum bi-hādhā al-ẓuhūri fī ṣaḥāʾifi amrika wa-alwāḥi qaḍāʾika wa-mā nazalat min ʿindika kalimatun illā wa-qad akhadhta bihā ʿahda hādhā al-ghulāmi min khalqika wa-bariyyatika. Idhan ṣirtu mutaḥayyiran yā ilāhī wa-lam adri mā afʿalu bayna hāʾulāʾi wa-kullamā aṣmutu ʿan badāʾiʿi dhikrika yunṭiqunī al-Rūḥu bayna samāʾika wa-arḍika wa-kullamā askunu yahtazzunī mā tahubbu ʿan yamīni mashīʾatika wa-irādatika wa-ajidu nafsī ka-waraqatin allatī tuḥarrikuhā aryāḥu qaḍāʾika wa-tudhhibuhā kayfa tashāʾu bi-amrika wa-idhnika.

By Your glory, O my God! I had never expected from them what they have shown, after You had given them the glad tidings of this Revelation in the scriptures of Your Cause and the Tablets of Your decree. Not a word has descended from You through which You have not taken from Your creatures and Your creation a covenant concerning this Youth. I am therefore bewildered, O my God, and do not know what to do among these people. Whenever I fall silent concerning the wonders of Your remembrance, the Spirit makes me speak between Your heaven and Your earth. Whenever I am still, what blows from the right hand of Your purpose and will stirs me. I find myself like a leaf moved by the winds of Your decree and carried wherever You will, by Your command and permission.

769

و بما ظهر منّى يوقن كلّ بصير بانّ الأمر ليس بيدى بل بيدك و لم يكن زمام الاختيار فى قبضتى بل فى قبضتك و اقتدارك مع‌ذلك يا الهى اجتمعوا علىّ اهل مملكتك و ينزلن فى كلّ حين ما تفزع به حقايق اصفيائك و امنائك اذا اسئلك يا الهى باسمك الّذى به اهتديت العاشقين الى كوثر فضلك و الطافك و استجذبت المشتاقين الى رضوان قربك و لقائك بأن تفتح ابصار بريّتك ليشهدن فى هذا الظّهور ظهور عزّ فردانيّتك و طلوع انوار وجهك و جمالك ثمّ طهّرهم يا الهى من الظّنون و الأوهام ليجدن روايح التّقديس من قميص ظهورك و امرك لعلّ لايردنّ علىّ ما تمنع به انفسهم من نفحات شئون رحمانيّتك فى ایّام ظهور مظهر نفسك و مطلع امرك و لايرتكبن ما تجعل به ذواتهم مستحقّاً لظهورات قهرك و غضبك

Wa-bi-mā ẓahara minnī yūqinu kullu baṣīrin bi-anna al-amra laysa bi-yadī bal bi-yadika wa-lam yakun zimāmu al-ikhtiyāri fī qabḍatī bal fī qabḍatika wa-iqtidārika. Maʿa dhālika yā ilāhī ijtamaʿū ʿalayya ahlu mamlakatika wa-yunazzilunna fī kulli ḥīnin mā tafzaʿu bihi ḥaqāʾiqu aṣfiyāʾika wa-umanāʾika. Idhan asʾaluka yā ilāhī bi-ismika alladhī bihi ihtadayta al-ʿāshiqīna ilā kawthari faḍlika wa-alṭāfika wa-istajdhabta al-mushtāqīna ilā riḍwāni qurbika wa-liqāʾika bi-an taftaḥa abṣāra bariyyatika li-yashhadanna fī hādhā al-ẓuhūri ẓuhūra ʿizzi fardāniyyatika wa-ṭulūʿa anwāri wajhika wa-jamālika. Thumma ṭahhirhum yā ilāhī mina al-ẓunūni wa-l-awhāmi li-yajidanna rawāʾiḥa al-taqdīsi min qamīṣi ẓuhūrika wa-amrika laʿalla lā yuridunna ʿalayya mā tamnaʿu bihi anfusahum min nafaḥāti shuʾūni raḥmāniyyatika fī ayyāmi ẓuhūri maẓhari nafsika wa-maṭlaʿi amrika wa-lā yartakibanna mā tajʿalu bihi dhawātuhum mustaḥaqqan li-ẓuhūrāti qahrika wa-ghaḍabika.

Through what has proceeded from me, every discerning person knows with certainty that the matter is not in my hands but in Yours, and that the reins of choice are not in my grasp but in Your grasp and power. Nevertheless, O my God, the people of Your realm have gathered against me, and at every moment they bring down upon me what terrifies the inmost beings of Your chosen ones and Your trusted ones. I therefore ask You, O my God, by Your name through which You have guided the lovers to the heavenly river of Your grace and favors, and drawn those who yearn to the paradise of Your nearness and presence, to open the eyes of Your creatures so that in this Revelation they may witness the manifestation of the glory of Your singleness and the dawning of the lights of Your countenance and beauty. Purify them, O my God, of conjectures and delusions, that they may sense the fragrances of holiness from the garment of Your Revelation and Your Cause. Perhaps they will not inflict upon me what would deprive their own souls of the breaths of the expressions of Your all-merciful grace in the days of the appearance of the Manifestation of Your Self and the Dawning Place of Your Cause, nor commit what would make their own beings deserving of the manifestations of Your subduing might and wrath.

770

و انت تعلم يا الهى بانّى كنت بين ملأ البيان كاَحد منهم و عاشرت معهم بالشّوق و الاشتياق و دعوتهم الى نفسك فى العشىّ و الاشراق ببدايع وحيك و الهامك و ورد علىّ منهم ما عجزت عن ذكره سكّان مداين انشائك فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ ما اصبحت الّا و قد صرت هدفا لسهام غلّهم و ما امسيت الّا و قد ورد علىّ رماح بغضهم و مع ما جعلتنى عالماً بما فى انفسهم و قادراً عليهم سترت و صبرت ناظراً الى ميقاتك

Wa-anta taʿlamu yā ilāhī bi-annī kuntu bayna malaʾi al-bayāni ka-aḥadin minhum wa-ʿāshartu maʿahum bi-l-shawqi wa-l-ishtiyāqi wa-daʿawtuhum ilā nafsika fī al-ʿashiyyi wa-l-ishrāqi bi-badāʾiʿi waḥyika wa-ilhāmika wa-warada ʿalayya minhum mā ʿajazat ʿan dhikrihi sukkānu madāʾini inshāʾika. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī mā aṣbaḥtu illā wa-qad ṣirtu hadafan li-sihāmi ghillihim wa-mā amsaytu illā wa-qad warada ʿalayya rimāḥu bughḍihim wa-maʿa mā jaʿaltanī ʿāliman bi-mā fī anfusihim wa-qādiran ʿalayhim satartu wa-ṣabartu nāẓiran ilā mīqātika.

You know, O my God, that I lived among the people of the Bayān as one of them, associated with them with ardent longing, and summoned them to You at evening and at dawn through the wonders of Your revelation and inspiration. Yet there has befallen me at their hands what the inhabitants of the cities of Your creation are powerless to recount. By Your glory, O my Beloved! No morning came without my becoming a target for the arrows of their malice, and no evening came without the spears of their hatred striking me. Although You had made me aware of what was within them and given me power over them, I concealed it and remained patient, looking toward Your appointed time.

771

فلمّا جاء الوعد و تمّت الميقات حركت ذيل السّتر اقلّ من ان يحصى اذاً فزع من فى جبروت الأمر و الخلق الّا الّذين خلقتهم من نار حبّك و هوآء شوقك و مآء عنايتك و تراب فضلك اولئك يصلّين عليهم اهل ملأ الأعلی و سكّان مداين البقآء فلك الحمد يا الهى بما عصمت الموحّدين و اهلكت المشركين و فصّلت بين الكلّ بكلمة اخرى الّتى خرجت من فم مشيّتك و ظهرت من قلم ارادتك و بذلك اعترض علىّ عباد الّذينهم خلقوا بكلمة امرك و بعثوا بارادتك و بلغوا فى الاعراض الى مقام كفروا بك و بآياتك و حاربوا بنفسك

Fa-lammā jāʾa al-waʿdu wa-tammat al-mīqātu ḥarraktu dhayla al-sitri aqalla min an yuḥṣā idhan faziʿa man fī jabarūti al-amri wa-l-khalqi illā alladhīna khalaqtahum min nāri ḥubbika wa-hawāʾi shawqika wa-māʾi ʿināyatika wa-turābi faḍlika. Ulāʾika yuṣallīna ʿalayhim ahlu malaʾi al-aʿlā wa-sukkānu madāʾini al-baqāʾi. Fa-laka al-ḥamdu yā ilāhī bi-mā ʿaṣamta al-muwaḥḥidīna wa-ahlakta al-mushrikīna wa-faṣṣalta bayna al-kulli bi-kalimatin ukhrā allatī kharajat min fami mashīʾatika wa-ẓaharat min qalami irādatika. Wa-bi-dhālika iʿtaraḍa ʿalayya ʿibādun alladhīnahum khuliqū bi-kalimati amrika wa-buʿithū bi-irādatika wa-balaghū fī al-iʿrāḍi ilā maqāmin kafarū bika wa-bi-āyātika wa-ḥārabū bi-nafsika.

When the promise came and the appointed time was fulfilled, I moved the hem of the veil by an immeasurably small degree. Then all who dwell in the dominion of command and creation were terrified, except those whom You had created from the fire of Your love, the air of longing for You, the water of Your care, and the dust of Your grace. Upon them the people of the Concourse on high and the inhabitants of the cities of eternity invoke blessings. Praise be to You, O my God, for protecting those who affirm Your oneness, destroying those who associate partners with You, and distinguishing everyone from one another through another word that issued from the mouth of Your purpose and appeared from the Pen of Your will. Because of this, servants who had been created by the word of Your command and raised up by Your will opposed me. Their rejection reached such a degree that they disbelieved in You and Your signs and waged war against Your own Self.

772

فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ لن يقدر القلم ان يذكر ما ورد منهم على مظهر امرك و مطلع وحيك و مشرق الهامك فلك الحمد فى كلّ ذلك و انّى فو‌عزّتك يا الهى قد كنت مشتاقاً لما قدّر فى سماء قضائك و ملكوت تقديرك لانّ ما يرد علىّ فى سبيلك هو محبوب ذاتى و مقصود نفسى و هذا لم يكن الّا بحولك و قوّتك انا الّذى يا الهى بحبّك استغنيت عن كلّ من فى السّموات و الأرض و به لن اجزع و لو يرد علىّ ضرّ العالمين

Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī lan yaq dira al-qalamu an yadhkura mā warada minhum ʿalā maẓhari amrika wa-maṭlaʿi waḥyika wa-mashriqi ilhāmika. Fa-laka al-ḥamdu fī kulli dhālika wa-innī fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā ilāhī qad kuntu mushtāqan li-mā quddira fī samāʾi qaḍāʾika wa-malakūti taqdīrika li-anna mā yaridu ʿalayya fī sabīlika huwa maḥbūbu dhātī wa-maqṣūdu nafsī wa-hādhā lam yakun illā bi-ḥawlika wa-quwwatika. Anā alladhī yā ilāhī bi-ḥubbika istaghnaytu ʿan kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi wa-bihi lan ajzaʿa wa-law yaridu ʿalayya ḍurru al-ʿālamīna.

By Your glory, O my Beloved! The Pen can never recount what has befallen the Manifestation of Your Cause, the Dawning Place of Your revelation, and the Dayspring of Your inspiration at their hands. Praise be to You in all of this! By Your glory, O my God, I have longed for what has been ordained in the heaven of Your decree and the kingdom of Your ordainment, for whatever befalls me in Your path is the beloved of my being and the desire of my soul. This has come about only through Your might and power. I am the one, O my God, who through Your love has become independent of all who are in the heavens and on earth. Through it I shall never be dismayed, even should the affliction of all the worlds befall me.

773

فيا ليت كان حينئذ حين الّذى فيه يسفك دمى على وجه الأرض بين يديك و تشهدنى على حالة الّتى بها شهدت المقرّبين من عبادك و المصطفين من خيرة خلقك فلك الحمد يا الهى على ما قضيت بسلطان قضائك و تقضى بتقديرك و امضائك اسئلك يا محبوبی‌ باسمك الّذى به رفعت اعلام امرك و اشرقت انوار وجهك بأن تنزل علىّ و على المخلصين من عبادك كلّ خير قدّرته فى الألواح ثمّ اجعل لنا مقعد صدق عندك يا من بيدك ملكوت كلّ شیء و انّك انت المقتدر العزيز الرّحمن

Fa-yā layta kāna ḥīnaʾidhin ḥīna alladhī fīhi yusfaku damī ʿalā wajhi al-arḍi bayna yadayka wa-tashhadunī ʿalā ḥālatin allatī bihā shahidta al-muqarrabīna min ʿibādika wa-al-muṣṭafayna min khīrati khalqika fa-laka al-ḥamdu yā ilāhī ʿalā mā qaḍayta bi-sulṭāni qaḍāʾika wa-taqḍī bi-taqdīrika wa-imḍāʾika asʾaluka yā maḥbūbī bi-smika alladhī bihi rafaʿta aʿlāma amrika wa-ashraqat anwāru wajhika bi-an tunazzila ʿalayya wa-ʿalā al-mukhliṣīna min ʿibādika kulla khayrin qaddartahu fī al-alwāḥi thumma ijʿal lanā maqʿada ṣidqin ʿindaka yā man bi-yadika malakūtu kulli shayʾin wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadiru al-ʿAzīzu al-Raḥmān.

If only this were the hour when my blood is shed upon the face of the earth before You, and You behold me in the condition in which You beheld those of Your servants who are near to You and the chosen ones among the best of Your creation. Praise be to You, O my God, for what You have decreed through the sovereignty of Your judgment and what You decree through Your ordainment and sanction. I ask You, O my Beloved, by Your name through which You have raised the banners of Your Cause and the lights of Your countenance have shone, to send down upon me and upon the sincere among Your servants every good thing You have ordained in the Tablets. Then appoint for us a seat of truth in Your presence, O You in whose hand is the dominion of all things. You are indeed the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Merciful.

774

اميد چنان است كه از فضل سبحانى در اين ربيع روحانى كلّ بخلع انسانى فايز شوند و اثواب خلقهء عتيقهء رثيثه باليه را باثواب جديده الهيّه تبديل نمايند و كلّ بر امر حقّ بمنتهاى استطاعت و قدرت خود قائم شوند و اهل بهاء جناح يكديگر باشند از براى طيران كلّ در اين هواى روحانى و فضاى قدس نورانى و بغير ما قدّره اللّه تكلّم ننمايند و بغير رضاى او مشى نكنند و بر امرى تكلّم ننمايند مگر باذن اللّه و بادراك خود در معانى كلمات الهيّه اكتفا ننمايند چه كه غير اللّه بر معانى كلمات خود على ما هى عليها مطّلع نه چنانچه بعضى من غير اذن نسبت باغصان شجره الهيّه بعضى سخنها گفته‌اند كه عند‌اللّه مرضىّ نبوده چه كه اينگونه بيانات سبب فساد و اختلاف در امر است مخصوص در اين ایّام كه اكثرى از معرضين منتظرند كه فسادى در امر احداث شود

Umīd chunān ast kih az faḍl-i subḥānī dar īn rabīʿ-i rūḥānī kull bi-khilaʿ-i insānī fāʾiz shavand va athvāb-i khaliqih-yi ʿatīqih-yi rathīthih-yi bāliyih rā bi-athvāb-i jadīdih-yi ilāhiyyih tabdīl namāyand va kull bar amr-i Ḥaqq bi-muntahā-yi istiṭāʿat va qudrat-i khud qāʾim shavand va ahl-i Bahāʾ janāḥ-i yakdīgar bāshand az barā-yi ṭayarān-i kull dar īn havā-yi rūḥānī va faḍā-yi quds-i nūrānī va bi-ghayr-i mā qaddarahu Allāh takallum nanamāyand va bi-ghayr-i riḍā-yi ū mashy nakunand va bar amrī takallum nanamāyand magar bi-idhn-i Allāh va bi-idrāk-i khud dar maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih iktifā nanamāyand chih kih ghayr-i Allāh bar maʿānī-yi kalimāt-i khud ʿalā mā hiya ʿalayhā muṭṭaliʿ nah chunānchih baʿḍī min ghayr-i idhn nisbat bi-aghṣān-i shajariy-i ilāhiyyih baʿḍī sukhanhā guftih-and kih ʿinda Allāh marḍī nabūdih chih kih īngūnih bayānāt sabab-i fasād va ikhtilāf dar amr ast makhṣūṣ dar īn ayyām kih aktharī az muʿriḍīn muntaẓirand kih fasādī dar amr iḥdāth shavad.

The hope is that, through divine grace, all may attain the robes of humanity in this spiritual springtime, exchange their old, worn, threadbare, and tattered garments for new, divine garments, and arise to uphold the Cause of the True One to the utmost of their ability and power. May the people of Bahāʾ be wings for one another, so that all may soar in this spiritual atmosphere and this luminous expanse of holiness. May they speak only what God has ordained, walk only in accordance with His good pleasure, and speak of no matter except with God’s permission. They should not content themselves with their own understanding of the meanings of the divine words, for none but God knows the meanings of His own words as they truly are. Thus, some have, without permission, said certain things concerning the branches of the divine Tree that have not been pleasing to God, for such statements cause corruption and dissension in the Cause, especially in these days when most of those who turn away are waiting for some corruption to arise in the Cause.

775

اتّقوا اللّه يا قوم و لاتكوننّ من المتجاوزين ان اذكروا ما امرناكم به لا بما امركم انفسكم و اهوائكم اتّقوا اللّه و كونوا من المتّقين انا انطقناه حين الّذى قضت من عمره ستّة سنين متواليات ليكون دليلاً على هذا النّبأ الأعظم العظيم حقّ او را ناطق فرمود تا دليل باشد بر امرش نفوسى كه بچنين كلمات تكلّم نموده ‌از عظمت اين امر غافل شده‌اند لأنّه لو يريد ان ينطق كلّ شیء ليقدر و انّه لعلى كلّ شیء قدير قبل از الف ل ايظهر غير من ظهر كذلك نزل الأمر فى اوّل هذا الظّهور لو انتم من العارفين

Ittaqū Allāha yā qawmu wa-lā takūnanna mina al-mutajāwizīn in udhkurū mā amarnākum bihi lā bi-mā amarakum anfusukum wa-ahwāʾukum ittaqū Allāha wa-kūnū mina al-muttaqīn innā anṭaqnāhu ḥīna alladhī qaḍat min ʿumrihi sittatu sinīna mutawāliyātin li-yakūna dalīlan ʿalā hādhā al-nabaʾi al-aʿẓami al-ʿaẓīm Ḥaqq ū rā nāṭiq farmūd tā dalīl bāshad bar amrash nufūsī kih bi-chunīn kalimāt takallum namūdih az ʿaẓamat-i īn amr ghāfil shudih-and li-annahu law yurīdu an yunṭiqa kulla shayʾin la-yaqdiru wa-innahu la-ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr qabl az alf [corrupted text] yaẓharu ghayru man ẓahara kadhālika nazala al-amru fī awwali hādhā al-ẓuhūri law antum mina al-ʿārifīn.

Fear God, O people, and do not be among those who transgress. Remember what We have commanded you, not what your own selves and desires have commanded you. Fear God and be among the God-fearing. We caused him to speak when six successive years of his life had passed, that he might be a proof of this most great and mighty Announcement. The True One caused him to speak so that he might be a proof of His Cause. Those who have spoken such words have become heedless of the greatness of this Cause, for if He wishes to cause all things to speak, He is able to do so, and He indeed has power over all things. Before a thousand, [corrupted original text] anyone other than the One who has appeared appears. Thus was the command sent down at the beginning of this Revelation, if you are among those who understand.

776

و قد بعث اللّه و سوف يبعث لهذا الأمر ادلّاء ينطقن عنه و يتوجّهنّ فى كلّ حين اليه و لايتحرّكنّ الّا بعد اذنه اولئك لا يبدلنّ نغمة من نغماتى بكلّ من فى السّموات و الأرضين اولئك ادلّائى فى الأرض و اصفيائى فى البلاد و امنائى بين العباد عليهم رحمتى و بهائى و ذكرى و ثنائى و هم عباد مكرمون

Wa-qad baʿatha Allāhu wa-sawfa yabʿathu li-hādhā al-amri adillāʾa yanṭiqna ʿanhu wa-yatawajjahnna fī kulli ḥīnin ilayhi wa-lā yataḥarrakna illā baʿda idhnihi ulāʾika lā yubaddilna naghmatan min naghamātī bi-kulli man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīn ulāʾika adillāʾī fī al-arḍi wa-aṣfiyāʾī fī al-bilādi wa-umanāʾī bayna al-ʿibādi ʿalayhim raḥmatī wa-bahāʾī wa-dhikrī wa-thanāʾī wa-hum ʿibādun mukramūn.

God has raised up, and will raise up, guides for this Cause who speak on His behalf, turn toward Him at all times, and make no move without His permission. They will not exchange a single one of My melodies for all who are in the heavens and on earth. They are My guides on earth, My chosen ones in the lands, and My trusted ones among the servants. Upon them rest My mercy, My glory, My remembrance, and My praise. They are honored servants.

777

آنقدر معلوم بوده كه الى حين تفصيل اين ظهور ابدع ابهى ذكر نشده لو يذكر ليشهدنّ الكلّ بانّه لهو الّذى ما سبقه احد من قبل و لن يسبقه احد من الآخرین و من يدّعى قبل الألف انّه افترى على اللّه لانّ بذلك يفسد الأمر و لا يستقرّ هيكل المشيّة على عرش عزّ عظيم در اوّل اين ظهور منيع در اينمقام آياتى نازل و بعضى از آن در بعضى از الواح مذكور ان اشهدوها لتستقرّوا على الأمر و تكوننّ من الثّابتين

Ānqadr maʿlūm būdih kih ilā ḥīn tafṣīl-i īn ẓuhūr-i abdaʿ-i abhā dhikr nashudih law yudhkaru la-yashhadanna al-kullu bi-annahu la-huwa alladhī mā sabaqahu aḥadun min qablu wa-lan yasbiqahu aḥadun mina al-ākhirīn wa-man yaddaʿī qabla al-alfi innahu iftarā ʿalā Allāhi li-anna bi-dhālika yafsudu al-amru wa-lā yastaqirru haykalu al-mashīʾati ʿalā ʿarshi ʿizzin ʿaẓīm dar avval-i īn ẓuhūr-i manīʿ dar īn maqām āyātī nāzil va baʿḍī az ān dar baʿḍī az alvāḥ madhkūr in ishhadūhā li-tastaqirrū ʿalā al-amri wa-takūnanna mina al-thābitīn.

Let this much be known: until now, the details of this most wondrous, most glorious Revelation have not been set forth. Were they set forth, all would surely testify that He is the One whom no one before Him has surpassed and whom no one among those to come will surpass. Whoever makes a claim before the thousand has fabricated a lie against God, for this corrupts the Cause, and the Temple of the Will cannot be established upon a throne of mighty glory. At the beginning of this exalted Revelation, verses were revealed on this subject, and some of them are recorded in certain Tablets. Consider them, that you may stand firm in the Cause and be among the steadfast.

778

و ديگر معلوم بوده كه مقصود از وادى نبيل كه در الواح ذكر شده نفس اين ظهور اعظم بوده و خواهد بود و وادى آن ارض قدسى است كه فوق طبقات جنان خلق شده و لايقدر ان يرد عليها الّا اهل البهآء تاللّه انّهم اهل وادى النّبيل و وادى العظمة و وادى الاستقلال و وادى الجلال و وادى الاقتدار و وادى العزّة و وادى البقآء و وادى التّقديس و وادى التّنزيه و وادى الكبريا و غير اين نفوس از وادى نبيل خارج و در تيه نفس و هوى متحيّر و مبتلى و كينونة النّبيل حينئذ يتبرّء منهم و من اعمالهم و افعالهم و ما يظهر منهم و بذلك يشهد كلّ شیء ان انتم تعلمون

Va dīgar maʿlūm būdih kih maqṣūd az vādī-yi Nabīl kih dar alvāḥ dhikr shudih nafs-i īn ẓuhūr-i aʿẓam būdih va khvāhad būd va vādī ān arḍ-i qudsī ast kih fawq-i ṭabaqāt-i jinān khalq shudih va lā yaqdiru an yarida ʿalayhā illā ahlu al-Bahāʾ ta-Allāhi innahum ahlu wādī al-Nabīli wa-wādī al-ʿaẓamati wa-wādī al-istiqlāli wa-wādī al-jalāli wa-wādī al-iqtidāri wa-wādī al-ʿizzati wa-wādī al-baqāʾi wa-wādī al-taqdīsi wa-wādī al-tanzīhi wa-wādī al-kibriyā va ghayr-i īn nufūs az vādī-yi Nabīl khārij va dar tīh-i nafs va havā mutaḥayyir va mubtalā va kaynūnatu al-Nabīli ḥīnaʾidhin yatabarraʾu minhum wa-min aʿmālihim wa-afʿālihim wa-mā yaẓharu minhum wa-bi-dhālika yashhadu kullu shayʾin in antum taʿlamūn.

Furthermore, let it be known that what is meant by the Valley of Nabīl mentioned in the Tablets has been, and will be, this Most Great Revelation itself. That valley is the holy land created above the levels of paradise, and none but the people of Bahāʾ can enter it. By God, they are the people of the Valley of Nabīl, the Valley of Grandeur, the Valley of Independence, the Valley of Majesty, the Valley of Power, the Valley of Might, the Valley of Eternity, the Valley of Sanctification, the Valley of Transcendence, and the Valley of Glory. All others are outside the Valley of Nabīl, bewildered and afflicted in the wilderness of self and desire. The very being of Nabīl then disavows them, their works, their deeds, and whatever proceeds from them. To this all things bear witness, if you know.

779

ایّاکم يا قوم ان تحرفوا كلمات اللّه عن مواضعها ان اشهدوا بما شهد اللّه ثمّ كونوا اخوانا على سرر متقابلين ان اتّحدوا على شأن لايجد احد بينكم روايح الاختلاف و باتّحادكم يظهر امر اللّه بين بريّته و تثبت آثاره بين عباده و تبرهن انواره بين العالمين اميد چنان است كه كلّ بكلمه جامعه مجتمع شده بذكر و ثناى حقّ مشغول شوند و بكمال انقطاع در ارض ظاهر گردند و بشأنى بنار حبّ الهى مشتعل شوند كه كلّ بحرارت آن مشتعل شده بشطر قدس ناظر گردند

Iyyākum yā qawmu an tuḥarrifū kalimāti Allāhi ʿan mawāḍiʿihā in ishhadū bi-mā shahida Allāhu thumma kūnū ikhwānan ʿalā sururin mutaqābilīn in ittaḥidū ʿalā shaʾnin lā yajidu aḥadun baynakum rawāʾiḥa al-ikhtilāfi wa-bi-ittiḥādikum yaẓharu amru Allāhi bayna bariyyatihi wa-tathbutu āthāruhu bayna ʿibādihi wa-tubarhanu anwāruhu bayna al-ʿālamīn umīd chunān ast kih kull bi-kalimiy-i jāmiʿih mujtamiʿ shudih bi-dhikr va thanā-yi Ḥaqq mashghūl shavand va bi-kamāl-i inqiṭāʿ dar arḍ ẓāhir gardand va bi-shaʾnī bi-nār-i ḥubb-i ilāhī mushtaʿil shavand kih kull bi-ḥarārat-i ān mushtaʿil shudih bi-shaṭr-i quds nāẓir gardand.

Beware, O people, lest you distort the words of God from their proper places. Bear witness to what God has witnessed, and be brothers seated upon couches facing one another. Unite in such a way that no one can detect among you the scents of discord. Through your unity, the Cause of God will become manifest among His creatures, its traces will be established among His servants, and its lights will be demonstrated among the peoples of the world. The hope is that all may gather around the all-embracing Word, occupy themselves with the remembrance and praise of the True One, and appear on earth in perfect detachment. May they be so ablaze with the fire of divine love that all may be kindled by its heat and turn their gaze toward the realm of holiness.

780

و آنچه از آيات الهى ادراك نشود از معدن و مبدء آن سؤال نمايند مقصود از اينكلمه آنكه مباد در معنى كلمات مابين احبّاى الهى اختلاف شود و بدانند كه كلمات الهيّه كلّ از نقطه واحده ظاهر و باو راجع ایّاکم ان تشهدوا الاختلاف فيهنّ اگرچه بظاهر مختلف نازل شود در باطن بكلمه واحده و نقطه واحده راجع و منتهى چنانچه در بعضى مقام ذكر شده كه احدى بمعنى كلمات الهى مطّلع نه الّا اللّه شكّى نيست كه اين قول حقّ است چه كه حرفى از حروفات منزله در هر عالمى از عوالم لايتناهى اثر مخصوصى و معانى مخصوصه باقتضاى آن عالم داشته و خواهد داشت و هم‌نين حروفات و كلمات الهيّة هر يك كنز علم لدنّى بوده وخواهد بود و ما اطّلع بما كنز فيهنّ الّا اللّه احدى قادر بر عرفان آن على ما ينبغى لها نبوده و نخواهد بود

Va ānchih az āyāt-i ilāhī idrāk nashavad az maʿdan va mabdaʾ-i ān suʾāl namāyand maqṣūd az īn kalimih ānkih mabād dar maʿnī-yi kalimāt mābayn-i aḥibbā-yi ilāhī ikhtilāf shavad va bidānand kih kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih kull az nuqṭiy-i vāḥidih ẓāhir va bi-ū rājiʿ iyyākum an tashhadū al-ikhtilāfa fīhinna agarchih bi-ẓāhir mukhtalif nāzil shavad dar bāṭin bi-kalimiy-i vāḥidih va nuqṭiy-i vāḥidih rājiʿ va muntahī chunānchih dar baʿḍī maqām dhikr shudih kih aḥadī bi-maʿnī-yi kalimāt-i ilāhī muṭṭaliʿ nah illā Allāh shakkī nīst kih īn qawl ḥaqq ast chih kih ḥarfī az ḥurūfāt-i munazzalih dar har ʿālamī az ʿavālim-i lā-yatanāhī athar-i makhṣūṣī va maʿānī-yi makhṣūṣih bi-iqtiḍā-yi ān ʿālam dāshtih va khvāhad dāsht va [corrupted text] ḥurūfāt va kalimāt-i ilāhiyyih har yak kanz-i ʿilm-i ladunnī būdih va khvāhad būd wa-mā iṭṭalaʿa bi-mā kuniza fīhinna illā Allāh aḥadī qādir bar ʿirfān-i ān ʿalā mā yanbaghī lahā nabūdih va nakhvāhad būd.

Whatever they do not understand of the divine verses, they should ask about from their mine and source. The purpose of this statement is that no disagreement over the meaning of the words should arise among the loved ones of God, and that they should know that the divine words all proceed from a single point and return to it. Beware lest you perceive discord among them. Although outwardly they may be revealed in differing forms, inwardly they return and lead to a single word and a single point. Thus, in certain passages it has been stated that no one knows the meaning of the divine words except God. There is no doubt that this statement is true, for a single letter among the revealed letters has had, and will have, a particular effect and particular meanings in each of the infinite worlds, according to the requirements of that world. And [corrupted original text] the divine letters and words have each been, and will be, a treasury of knowledge bestowed by God. None but God has known what is treasured within them. No one has been, or will be, capable of knowing them as they deserve to be known.

781

و هم‌چنين در مقامى ذكر شده كه كلّ آيات الهى را درك مينمايند چه كه اگر صاحب اينمقام نبودند حجّيت آيات مبرهن نميشد اين دو بيان مختلفند بر حسب ظاهر و لكن نزد متبصّرين و صاحبان ابصر حديده معلومست كه مقصود از آنكه فرموده كلّ ادراك مينمايند على قدرهم و مقدارهم بوده لا على قدر و مقدار ما نزل من لدى اللّه المقتدر المهيمن القيّوم

Va hamchunīn dar maqāmī dhikr shudih kih kull āyāt-i ilāhī rā dark mīnamāyand chih kih agar ṣāḥib-i īn maqām nabūdand ḥujjiyyat-i āyāt mubarhan namīshud īn du bayān mukhtalifand bar ḥasab-i ẓāhir va lākin nazd-i mutabaṣṣirīn va ṣāḥibān-i abṣār-i ḥadīdih maʿlūm ast kih maqṣūd az ānkih farmūdih kull idrāk mīnamāyand ʿalā qadrihim wa-miqdārihim būdih lā ʿalā qadri wa-miqdāri mā nazala min ladā Allāhi al-Muqtadiri al-Muhaymini al-Qayyūm.

Likewise, in another passage it has been stated that all understand the divine verses, for if they did not possess this capacity, the authority of the verses as proof could not be demonstrated. These two statements differ outwardly, but to those endowed with insight and keen vision it is clear that the statement that all understand means according to their own capacity and measure, not according to the capacity and measure of what has been sent down from God, the All-Powerful, the All-Protecting, the Self-Subsisting.

782

اليوم نفوسيكه در هتك حرمت بيان ساعيند چنانچه ديده و شنيده‌ايد آن نفوس نظر بحماقت مريدين خود ادّعاى امر نموده‌اند لعن اللّه على الّذين تجاوزوا عن حدود البيان و هتكوا حرمة اللّه و نقضوا ميثاقه و كفروا بنقطة الأولى و محبوبه و مقصوده الّذى ظهر باسمه الأبهی بين الأرض و السّمآء و منه استضآء افئدة المقرّبين و صدور المخلصين و لكن قد اخطاؤا ما توهّموا بحول اللّه و قوّته حصن امر بيد قدرت حفظ خواهد شد و انّه لعلى كلّ شیء قدير

Al-yawm nufūsī kih dar hatk-i ḥurmat-i Bayān sāʿīand chunānchih dīdih va shinīdih-īd ān nufūs naẓar bi-ḥamāqat-i murīdīn-i khud iddiʿā-yi amr namūdih-and laʿnu Allāhi ʿalā alladhīna tajāwazū ʿan ḥudūdi al-Bayāni wa-hatakū ḥurmata Allāhi wa-naqaḍū mīthāqahu wa-kafarū bi-Nuqṭati al-Ūlā wa-maḥbūbihi wa-maqṣūdihi alladhī ẓahara bi-smihi al-Abhā bayna al-arḍi wa-al-samāʾi wa-minhu istaḍāʾa afʾidatu al-muqarrabīna wa-ṣudūru al-mukhliṣīn va lākin qad akhṭaʾū mā tavahhamū bi-ḥawl-i Allāh va quvvat-i ū ḥiṣn-i amr bi-yad-i qudrat ḥifẓ khvāhad shud wa-innahu la-ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr.

Today, those who strive to violate the sanctity of the Bayān, as you have seen and heard, have put forward claims to a Cause in view of the foolishness of their followers. God’s curse be upon those who have transgressed the bounds of the Bayān, violated the sanctity of God, broken His covenant, and disbelieved in the Primal Point and in His Beloved and His Desired One, who has appeared in His name, the All-Glorious, between earth and heaven, and from whom the hearts of those brought near and the breasts of the sincere have received light. But they have been mistaken in what they imagined. Through God’s power and His might, the fortress of the Cause will be guarded by the hand of power. He indeed has power over all things.

783

و فى آخر القول غرّدت ورقآء الأمر على افنان سدرة عزّ رفيع و يقول يا ملأ البيان اتّقوا اللّه و لاتفسدوا فى الأرض بعد اصلاحها و لاترتكبوا الفحشآء طهّروا انفسكم عن كلّ ما حرّم فى كتاب اللّه العلىّ العظيم ایّاکم ان تسفكوا الدّمآء و الّذى سفك انّه ليس منّى و كان اللّه برئ منه و هذا ما نزل فى اوّل هذا الظّهور من ملكوت ربّكم الرّحمن الرّحيم

Wa-fī ākhiri al-qawli gharradat warqāʾu al-amri ʿalā afnāni sidrati ʿizzin rafīʿin wa-yaqūlu yā malaʾa al-Bayāni ittaqū Allāha wa-lā tufsidū fī al-arḍi baʿda iṣlāḥihā wa-lā tartakibū al-faḥshāʾa ṭahhirū anfusakum ʿan kulli mā ḥurrima fī kitābi Allāhi al-ʿAliyyi al-ʿAẓīm iyyākum an tasfikū al-dimāʾa wa-alladhī safaka innahu laysa minnī wa-kāna Allāhu barīʾan minhu wa-hādhā mā nazala fī awwali hādhā al-ẓuhūri min malakūti rabbikumu al-Raḥmāni al-Raḥīm.

At the close of this discourse, the Dove of the Cause sang upon the branches of the Tree of lofty glory, saying: “O people of the Bayān, fear God, and do not spread corruption on earth after it has been set right, nor commit indecency. Purify yourselves of everything forbidden in the Book of God, the Most High, the Most Great. Beware lest you shed blood. Whoever has shed blood is not of Me, and God disavows him.” This is what was sent down at the beginning of this Revelation from the kingdom of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate.

784

ایّاکم ان ترتكبوا ما يكرهه عقولكم و افئدتكم اتّقوا اللّه يا ملأ المؤمنين ان انقطعوا عن الدّنيا و ما فيها و لاتصرّفوا فى اموال النّاس الّا بعد اذنهم كذلك نزلنا من قبل و حينئذ من لدن عزيز جميل كونوا امنآء اللّه فى البلاد بحيث لو تمرّنّ على مداين الذّهب لن ترتدّ ابصاركم اليها كذلك ينبغى لكم يا ملأ الموحّدين ان انصروا ربّكم الرّحمن باعمالكم ليجدنّ منكم روايح الحقّ عباد اللّه بين السّموات و الأرضين تخلّقوا يا قوم باخلاق اللّه و لاترتكبوا ما تضيع به حرمة مظهر نفسه بين خلقه كذلك وصّاكم اللّه فى الواح عزّ حفيظ لا تتعرّضوا باحد و لا تجادلوا بنفس ان وجدتم من مقبل ذكّروه بكلمة الأعظم و ان وجدتم من معرض فاعرضوا عنه ثمّ اقبلوا الى اللّه ربّكم و انّه يكفيكم عن العالمين

Iyyākum an tartakibū mā yakrahuhu ʿuqūlukum wa-afʾidatukum ittaqū Allāha yā malaʾa al-muʾminīn in inqaṭiʿū ʿani al-dunyā wa-mā fīhā wa-lā taṣarrafū fī amwāli al-nāsi illā baʿda idhnihim kadhālika nazzalnā min qablu wa-ḥīnaʾidhin min ladun ʿazīzin jamīl kūnū umanāʾa Allāhi fī al-bilādi bi-ḥaythu law tamurrunna ʿalā madāʾini al-dhahabi lan tartadda abṣārukum ilayhā kadhālika yanbaghī lakum yā malaʾa al-muwaḥḥidīn in unṣurū rabbakumu al-Raḥmāna bi-aʿmālikum li-yajidanna minkum rawāʾiḥa al-Ḥaqqi ʿibādu Allāhi bayna al-samāwāti wa-al-araḍīn takhallaqū yā qawmu bi-akhlāqi Allāhi wa-lā tartakibū mā taḍīʿu bihi ḥurmatu maẓhari nafsihi bayna khalqihi kadhālika waṣṣākumu Allāhu fī alwāḥi ʿizzin ḥafīẓ lā tataʿarraḍū bi-aḥadin wa-lā tujādilū bi-nafsin in wajadtum min muqbilin dhakkirūhu bi-kalimati al-aʿẓami wa-in wajadtum min muʿriḍin fa-aʿriḍū ʿanhu thumma aqbilū ilā Allāhi rabbikum wa-innahu yakfīkum ʿani al-ʿālamīn.

Beware lest you commit what your minds and hearts abhor. Fear God, O company of believers. Detach yourselves from the world and all that is in it, and do not dispose of people’s property without their permission. Thus have We sent down before and now, from One who is Mighty and Beautiful. Be God’s trusted ones in the lands, such that, were you to pass through cities of gold, your eyes would not turn toward them. Such should be your conduct, O company of those who affirm His oneness. Aid your Lord, the All-Merciful, through your deeds, so that God’s servants throughout the heavens and the earth may sense from you the fragrances of the True One. Adorn yourselves, O people, with the attributes of God, and do not commit what would diminish the honor of the Manifestation of His own Self among His creatures. Thus has God counseled you in Tablets of preserving might. Do not assail anyone or dispute with any soul. If you find someone receptive, remind him through the word of the Most Great; and if you find someone who turns away, turn away from him, then turn toward God, your Lord. He will indeed suffice you against all the peoples of the world.

785

ان اتّحدوا يا احبّائى ثمّ اجتمعوا على شريعة امرى و لا تكوننّ من المختلفين و انّ اقربكم الى اللّه اخشاكم و اخشعكم لو انتم من العارفين تاللّه الحقّ لو انتم تظلمون احبّ عندى من ان تظلموا على احد و هذا من سجيّتى و احسن خصالى لو انتم من الموقنين ان اصبروا يا احبّائى فى البأسآء و الضّرّآء و ان يظلمكم من ظالم فارجعوا حكمه الى اللّه الّذى بيده ملكوت كلّ شیء و انّه لهو المقتدر على ما یشآء و انّه هو اشدّ المنتقمين

In ittaḥidū yā aḥibbāʾī thumma ijtamiʿū ʿalā sharīʿati amrī wa-lā takūnanna mina al-mukhtalifīn wa-inna aqrabakum ilā Allāhi akhshākum wa-akhshaʿukum law antum mina al-ʿārifīn ta-Allāhi al-Ḥaqqi law antum tuẓlamūna aḥabbu ʿindī min an taẓlimū ʿalā aḥadin wa-hādhā min sajiyyatī wa-aḥsani khiṣālī law antum mina al-mūqinīn in iṣbirū yā aḥibbāʾī fī al-baʾsāʾi wa-al-ḍarrāʾi wa-in yaẓlimkum min ẓālimin fa-arjiʿū ḥukmahu ilā Allāhi alladhī bi-yadihi malakūtu kulli shayʾin wa-innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadiru ʿalā mā yashāʾu wa-innahu huwa ashaddu al-muntaqimīn.

Unite, O My loved ones, and gather around the law of My Cause. Do not be among those who disagree. The nearest of you to God are those who most fear Him and are most humble before Him, if you are among those who understand. By God, the True One, that you should suffer injustice is dearer to Me than that you should wrong anyone. This is of My nature and among My finest attributes, if you are among those who are certain. Be patient, O My loved ones, in hardship and adversity. If an oppressor wrongs you, leave judgment upon him to God, in whose hand is the dominion of all things. He indeed has power to do whatever He wills, and He is the most severe of avengers.

786

و انّا وصّيناكم فى اكثر الألواح بأن لا تتعرّضوا بأحد و انتم فعلتم ما رجع ضرّه الى سدرة عزّ رفيع يا قوم اتّقوا اللّه و لاتجاوزوا عمّا امرتم به فى الألواح و انّ هذا خير لكم عمّا عندكم لو انتم من العارفين ان اجتنبوا من الّذينهم كفروا و اشركوا باللّه و جادلوا بآياته و حاربوا بنفسه العلىّ العظيم ثمّ اصبروا كما صبرنا و لاتحاربوا مع احد من المشركين توكّلوا فى كلّ الأمور على اللّه و انّه ينصرنى كما نصرنى اوّل مرّة اذ كنت فى السّجن تحت السّلاسل و الأغلال و نصرنى بالحقّ بجنود السّموات و الأرضين الى ان اخرجنى عنه بسلطان مبين فى قبضته ملكوت كلّ شیء ينصر من یشآء كيف یشآء و انّه لهو المقتدر القدير

Wa-innā waṣṣaynākum fī akthar al-alwāḥ bi-an lā tataʿarraḍū bi-aḥad wa-antum faʿaltum mā rajaʿa ḍarruhu ilā sidrat ʿizz rafīʿ. Yā qawm ittaqū Allāh wa-lā tatajāwazū ʿammā umirtum bihi fī al-alwāḥ wa-inna hādhā khayr lakum ʿammā ʿindakum law antum min al-ʿārifīn. An ijtanibū min alladhīnahum kafarū wa-ashrakū bi-Allāh wa-jādalū bi-āyātihi wa-ḥārabū bi-nafsihi al-ʿAlī al-ʿAẓīm. Thumma iṣbirū kamā ṣabarnā wa-lā tuḥāribū maʿa aḥad min al-mushrikīn. Tawakkalū fī kull al-umūr ʿalā Allāh wa-innahu yanṣurunī kamā naṣaranī awwal marra idh kuntu fī al-sijn taḥta al-salāsil wa-al-aghlāl wa-naṣaranī bi-al-ḥaqq bi-junūd al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍīn ilā an akhrajanī ʿanhu bi-sulṭān mubīn. Fī qabḍatihi malakūt kull shayʾ yanṣur man yashāʾ kayfa yashāʾ wa-innahu la-huwa al-Muqtadir al-Qadīr.

We have counseled you in most of the Tablets not to assail anyone, yet you have done what has brought harm upon the Tree of lofty glory. O people, fear God and do not transgress what you have been commanded in the Tablets. This is indeed better for you than what you possess, if you are among those who understand. Avoid those who have disbelieved, associated partners with God, disputed His verses, and made war against His own exalted and mighty Self. Then be patient as We have been patient, and do not wage war against any of those who associate partners with God. Put your trust in God in all matters. He will indeed aid Me as He aided Me the first time, when I was in prison under chains and fetters. He aided Me in truth with the hosts of the heavens and the earth until He brought Me out of it with manifest authority. In His grasp is the dominion of all things. He aids whomever He wills, however He wills. He is indeed the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent.

787

ایّاکم يا قوم ان تتمسّكوا بالأسمآء و تعترضوا على الّذى خلقها بامر من عنده لا اله الّا هو المقتدر العالم الحكيم قل انّه خلق الأسماء كما خلق كلّ شیء ان انتم من العالمين كلّ ذى قدرة عاجز عند سلطان قدرته و كلّ ذى علم جاهل لدى علمه و كلّ ذى غنآء فقير لدى بابه الّذى فتح على وجه الخلايق اجمعين ایّاکم ان يصدّنكم الأسماء عن موجدها تجنّبوا عن الّذين تمسّكوا بها و كانوا عليها لمن العاكفين قل انّ النّبی‌ من سمع نبأى و آمن بنفسى و الرّسول من بلّغ رسالاتى و الأمام من قام امام وجهى وفاز بأیّامى و الولىّ من دخل حصن ولايتى و انقطع عن سوائى و الوصىّ من وصّى نفسه ثمّ العباد بحبّی‌ و ذكرى و ثنائى كذلك اشرقت شمس البيان عن افق مشيّة ربّكم الرّحمن فى هذا الرّضوان المقدّس الممتنع المتعالى المنيع و الحمد للّه محبوبی‌ و محبوب العارفين

Iyyākum yā qawm an tatamassakū bi-al-asmāʾ wa-taʿtariḍū ʿalā alladhī khalaqahā bi-amr min ʿindihi lā ilāha illā huwa al-Muqtadir al-ʿĀlim al-Ḥakīm. Qul innahu khalaqa al-asmāʾ kamā khalaqa kull shayʾ in antum min al-ʿālimīn. Kull dhī qudra ʿājiz ʿinda sulṭān qudratihi wa-kull dhī ʿilm jāhil ladā ʿilmihi wa-kull dhī ghināʾ faqīr ladā bābihi alladhī fataḥa ʿalā wajh al-khalāʾiq ajmaʿīn. Iyyākum an yaṣuddannakum al-asmāʾ ʿan mūjidihā tajannabū ʿan alladhīna tamassakū bihā wa-kānū ʿalayhā la-min al-ʿākifīn. Qul inna al-nabī man samiʿa nabaʾī wa-āmana bi-nafsī wa-al-rasūl man ballagha risālātī wa-al-imām man qāma amāma wajhī wa-fāza bi-ayyāmī wa-al-walī man dakhala ḥiṣn wilāyatī wa-inqaṭaʿa ʿan siwāʾī wa-al-waṣī man waṣṣā nafsahu thumma al-ʿibād bi-ḥubbī wa-dhikrī wa-thanāʾī. Kadhālika ashraqat shams al-bayān ʿan ufuq mashīʾat rabbikum al-Raḥmān fī hādhā al-Riḍwān al-muqaddas al-mumtaniʿ al-mutaʿālī al-manīʿ wa-al-ḥamd li-llāh maḥbūbī wa-maḥbūb al-ʿārifīn.

Beware, O people, lest you cling to names and object to the One who created them by a command from Himself. There is no God but Him, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Say: He created the names just as He created all things, if you are among those who know. Everyone endowed with power is helpless before the sovereignty of His power; everyone endowed with knowledge is ignorant before His knowledge; and everyone endowed with wealth is poor at His door, which He has opened to all created beings. Beware lest the names keep you from their Creator. Shun those who have clung to them and remained devoted to them. Say: The prophet is the one who has heard My tidings and believed in My own Self; the messenger is the one who has conveyed My messages; the imam is the one who has stood before My face and attained My days; the guardian is the one who has entered the stronghold of My guardianship and detached himself from all but Me; and the appointed successor is the one who has enjoined upon himself, and then upon the servants, love for Me, remembrance of Me, and praise of Me. Thus has the sun of utterance shone from the horizon of the will of your Lord, the All-Merciful, in this sanctified, inaccessible, exalted, and impregnable Paradise. Praise be to God, My Beloved and the Beloved of those who know Him.

788

و اذا نخاطب الّذى افترى على اللّه و اعترض عليه و ارسل الى مقرّ القدس اوراق النّاريّة و ذكر فيها ما احترقت عنها اكباد الأصفیا‌ء و المقرّبين لعلّ يستيقظ عن نوم الغفلة و يتوجّه الى شطر القدس مقرّ اللّه المقتدر العزيز العليم و لو انّه اتى بذنب اثقل عن ثقل السّموات و الأرضين و لكن لمّا تموّجت ابحر الفضل فى تلك الأیّام لو يتوب و يرجع لعلّ ان يغفره اللّه برحمته الّتى سبقت العالمين

Wa-idhā nukhāṭib alladhī iftarā ʿalā Allāh wa-iʿtaraḍa ʿalayhi wa-arsala ilā maqarr al-quds awrāq al-nāriyya wa-dhakara fīhā mā iḥtaraqat ʿanhā akbād al-aṣfiyāʾ wa-al-muqarrabīn laʿalla yastayqiẓ ʿan nawm al-ghafla wa-yatawajjaha ilā shaṭr al-quds maqarr Allāh al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-ʿAlīm. Wa-law innahu atā bi-dhanb athqal ʿan thiqal al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍīn wa-lākin lammā tamawwajat abḥur al-faḍl fī tilka al-ayyām law yatūb wa-yarjaʿ laʿalla an yaghfirahu Allāh bi-raḥmatihi allatī sabaqat al-ʿālamīn.

And now We address the one who has fabricated lies against God, objected to Him, and sent fiery pages to the seat of holiness, setting down in them what has burned the hearts of the chosen ones and those brought near, so that he may awaken from the sleep of heedlessness and turn toward the holy region, the seat of God, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Although he has committed a sin heavier than the weight of the heavens and the earth, yet, since the oceans of grace have surged in these days, if he repents and returns, perhaps God will forgive him through His mercy, which has preceded all the worlds.

789

قل ان يا ايّها الغافل لو تسمع من هذا العبد فاعمل بما نذكرك به لتكون من الفائزين طهّر نفسك عن غير اللّه ثمّ قل بسم اللّه و باللّه و غسل بالمآء و بعد فراغك قل يا الهى و محبوبی‌ كما طهّرت ظاهرى من هذا المآء طهّر قلبی‌ و فؤادى عن النّفس و الهوى لاعرفك بنفسك و انقطع عن العالمين ثمّ ضع وجهك على التّراب خضّعاً للّه ربّ الأرباب‌ قل يا الهى و سيّدى اسئلك باسمك الّذى به ظهر الزّلزال فى قبائل الأرض و السّمآء و ارتفع الضّجيج بين ملأ الانشآء و اضطربت انفس المريبين و حقايق الغافلين بأن تغفرلى جريراتى الّتى ما شهدت عين الابداع شبهها فو‌عزّتك يا محبوبی‌ قد جئتك بذنب لا يعادله ذنوب من خلق بقولك الابدع البديع

Qul in yā ayyuhā al-ghāfil law tasmaʿ min hādhā al-ʿabd fa-iʿmal bi-mā nadhkuruka bihi li-takūna min al-fāʾizīn. Ṭahhir nafsaka ʿan ghayr Allāh thumma qul bi-sm Allāh wa-bi-Allāh wa-ghassil bi-al-māʾ wa-baʿda farāghika qul yā ilāhī wa-maḥbūbī kamā ṭahharta ẓāhirī min hādhā al-māʾ ṭahhir qalbī wa-fuʾādī ʿan al-nafs wa-al-hawā li-aʿrifaka bi-nafsika wa-anqaṭiʿa ʿan al-ʿālamīn. Thumma ḍaʿ wajhaka ʿalā al-turāb khuḍḍaʿan li-llāh rabb al-arbāb qul yā ilāhī wa-sayyidī asʾaluka bi-ismika alladhī bihi ẓahara al-zilzāl fī qabāʾil al-arḍ wa-al-samāʾ wa-irtafaʿa al-ḍajīj bayna malaʾ al-inshāʾ wa-iḍṭarabat anfus al-murībīn wa-ḥaqāʾiq al-ghāfilīn bi-an taghfira lī jarīrātī allatī mā shahidat ʿayn al-ibdāʿ shibhahā. Fa-wa-ʿizzatika yā maḥbūbī qad jiʾtuka bi-dhanb lā yuʿādiluhu dhunūb man khuliqa bi-qawlika al-abdaʿ al-badīʿ.

Say: O heedless one, if you will listen to this servant, act upon what We tell you, so that you may be among those who attain their goal. Purify yourself of all but God, then say, “In the name of God and by God,” and wash with water. When you have finished, say, “O my God and my Beloved, just as You have cleansed my outward being with this water, cleanse my heart and my inmost being of self and desire, so that I may know You through Your own Self and detach myself from all the worlds.” Then place your face upon the dust in humility before God, the Lord of lords, and say, “O my God and my Master, I ask You by Your name, through which the earthquake has appeared among the tribes of earth and heaven, the clamor has risen among the company of creation, and the souls of the doubters and the realities of the heedless have been shaken, to forgive my transgressions, the like of which the eye of creation has never witnessed. By Your might, O my Beloved, I have come to You with a sin that cannot be equaled by the sins of those created through Your most wondrous, incomparable word.

790

اذا فارحم على هذا العاصى ثمّ البسنى ثوب الغفران و طهّرنى من تعيّنات البشر و وجّهنى الى منظرك الأكبر بحيث لايبقى فى صدرى الّا بدايع عرفانك و لا فى قلبی‌ الّا ظهورات حبّك و لا من وجهى الّا نضرة رضوانك و انّك انت المقتدر على ما تشآء و انّك انت المهيمن المقتدر العزيز القدير يا الهى هذا عاصى قد سرع الى مدين غفرانك و هذا المسكين قد تمسّك باذيال ردآء غنائك و استغنائك اى ربّ لاتحرمنى عمّا عندك ثمّ اجعلنى خالصاً لوجهك و خاضعاً عند ظهورات انوار عزّ فردانيّتك و انّك لم تزل كنت ذوالفضل القديم و تكون على كلّ شیء قدير

Idhan fa-irḥam ʿalā hādhā al-ʿāṣī thumma albisnī thawb al-ghufrān wa-ṭahhirnī min taʿayyunāt al-bashar wa-wajjihnī ilā manẓarika al-akbar bi-ḥaythu lā yabqā fī ṣadrī illā badāʾiʿ ʿirfānika wa-lā fī qalbī illā ẓuhūrāt ḥubbika wa-lā min wajhī illā naḍrat riḍwānika wa-innaka anta al-Muqtadir ʿalā mā tashāʾ wa-innaka anta al-Muhaymin al-Muqtadir al-ʿAzīz al-Qadīr. Yā ilāhī hādhā ʿāṣī qad saraʿa ilā madīn ghufrānika wa-hādhā al-miskīn qad tamassaka bi-adhyāl ridāʾ ghināʾika wa-istighnāʾika. Ay rabb lā taḥrimnī ʿammā ʿindaka thumma ijʿalnī khāliṣan li-wajhika wa-khāḍiʿan ʿinda ẓuhūrāt anwār ʿizz fardāniyyatika wa-innaka lam tazal kunta dhū al-faḍl al-qadīm wa-takūn ʿalā kull shayʾ qadīr.

Then have mercy on this sinner, clothe me in the robe of forgiveness, purify me of human limitations, and turn me toward Your Most Great Countenance, so that nothing may remain in my breast but the wonders of the knowledge of You, nor in my heart but the manifestations of Your love, nor shine from my face but the radiance of Your good pleasure. You are indeed powerful to do whatever You will, and You are the All-Protecting, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Omnipotent. O my God, this is a sinner who has hastened to the city of Your forgiveness, and this poor one has clung to the hem of the robe of Your wealth and self-sufficiency. O Lord, do not deprive me of what is with You. Then make me wholly devoted to You and humble before the manifestations of the lights of the glory of Your singleness. You have ever been the Possessor of ancient grace, and You are powerful over all things.”

791

و نسئل اللّه بذلك يفتح بصراك و يعرّفك ما لا عرفته من قبل و يعلّمك ما تجعل به غنيّا عن دونه و عنده علم السّموات و الأرض و انّه قد كان على كلّ شیء محيط

Wa-nasʾal Allāh bi-dhālika yaftaḥ baṣarāka wa-yuʿarrifaka mā lā ʿaraftahu min qabl wa-yuʿallimaka mā tujʿal bihi ghaniyyan ʿan dūnihi wa-ʿindahu ʿilm al-samāwāt wa-al-arḍ wa-innahu qad kāna ʿalā kull shayʾ muḥīṭ.

And We ask God, through this, to open your eyes, make known to you what you did not know before, and teach you that through which you may be made independent of all but Him. With Him is the knowledge of the heavens and the earth, and He indeed encompasses all things.