Suriy-i-Haykal (Surah of the Temple)

He is the most innovative, the most glorious.

Praise and Blessings for God

1) Praise be to the One who sends down verses for people who understand. Praise be to the One who reveals verses for those who are aware. Glory to the One who guides whoever He wills to His path. Say, indeed, I am on God’s path for all in the heavens and the earth. Good news to those who hasten. Praise be to the One who sends down verses for people who know. Glory to the One who speaks from the power of command, only known to His honored servants. Glory to the One who brings to life whoever He wishes by His word: Be and it is. Glory to the One who elevates whoever He wishes to the heavens of grace and sends down from it whatever He wills according to a determined measure.

2) Blessed be the One who does what He wills by a command from Him, for He is the Truth, the Knower of all things. Blessed be the One who inspires whoever He wishes with whatever He wills by His established and hidden command. Blessed be the One who aids whoever He wishes with the unseen forces, for He is indeed the Doer of what He wills, and He is the Mighty, the Sustainer. Blessed be the One who empowers whoever He wishes with the authority of His power and supports whoever He wishes in whatever way He wills. Good news to those who understand. Blessed be the One who determines a measure for everything in a stored tablet.

3) Blessed be the One who revealed to His servant what enlightens hearts and minds. Blessed be the One who sends down upon His servant from affliction what burns the hearts of those who have settled in the tent of permanence, then the hearts of those who are drawn near. Blessed be the One who sends down upon His servant from the clouds of fate the arrows of affliction, then you see me in beautiful patience. Blessed be the One who has determined for His servant what He has not determined for any of His servants, for He is the One, the Mighty, the Sustainer.

4) Blessed be the One who sends down upon His servant from the clouds of resentment from the first of the hateful, the spears of fate, then he sees it in great gratitude. Blessed be the One who sends down upon His servant the weight of the heavens and the earth, indeed we praise Him for that, and only the knowers know it. Glory be to the One who places His beauty under the clutches of hatred from the first of the obscenities, indeed we are satisfied with that, and only those who perceive it know it.

5) Glory be to the One who deposited Hussain among the parties of the enemies, and he constantly returns to his body the spears of tyranny and hatred, indeed we thank Him for what He has decreed upon His repentant, grieving servant.

The Beginning of Revelation

6) So when I saw myself at the pole of affliction, I heard the most beautiful, the sweetest voice above my head. When I turned, I saw a maiden, the mention of my Lord’s name suspended in the air, aligned with the sun’s head, and I saw her rejoicing in herself. As if the embroidery of pleasure appears from her face and the light of mercy declares from her cheek. She was speaking between the heavens and the earth with a call that attracts hearts and minds and gives all my limbs, both outward and inward, the good news that my soul was rejoiced with, and honored servants rejoiced from it.

7) She pointed with her finger at my head and addressed those in the heavens and the earth, by God, this is the beloved of the worlds, but you do not understand. This is the beauty of God among you and His authority within you, if you indeed know. This is the secret of God and His treasure and the command of God and His dignity for those in the dominion of command and creation, if you indeed comprehend. Indeed, this is the one whom those in the realm of permanence long to meet, then those who have settled behind the most splendid pavilion, but you turn away from his beauty.

The Negligence of the Eloquent Ones (Bayani)

8) Indeed, oh eloquent ones, if you do not aid him, God will aid him with the forces of the heavens and the earth, then the unseen forces by His command: Be and it is. He brings forth by His will a creation that no one has insight into except Himself, the Guardian, the Sustainer. He purifies them from the stain of illusion and desire, elevates them to the position of sanctification, and reveals from them the effects of the authority of His power on the earth. Thus, it is decreed from God, the Mighty, the Loving.

9) Oh eloquent ones, do you disbelieve in what you were created for? You rejoice and dispute about someone whose insignificance is more valuable to Allah than all in the heavens and the earth, and yet you mock us. Bring forth what you have and I will know by which evidence you believed in the manifestations of the command before, and today, what proof makes you arrogant.

10) By He who created me from the light of His beauty, I found no one more negligent than you, no one more blind than you. You are led to your faith in God by what you have from the tablets when the verses descended and the lamp was lit, yet you disbelieve in that which His pen has decreed in the preserved tablet. You read the verses and deny their origin and revelation. In this way, Allah took your sight as a reward for your actions, if you were to feel it.

11) You write the verses in the evening and dawn, yet you are veiled from their origin. The high-ranking will show you the evil of your actions and disassociate from you, while you do not listen. Some ask others about what you say, these crimson ones, in which valley do they graze? They deny what their selves witness, do they close their eyes while they see? By Allah, oh people, with your actions, you have confused the inhabitants of the cities of names, and you are lost in the valley of Jerz and do not realize it.

The Resurrection of the Temples of Oneness

12) Oh supreme pen, listen to the call of your Lord from the lote-tree of the utmost boundary in the blessed, radiant place. You will find yourself on spirit and scent from the melodies of your Lord, the Merciful, and you will be sanctified from the sorrows of these breezes that pass from the noble name of the Forgiver. Then resurrect in this temple the temples of oneness to speak in the kingdom of creation about their Lord, the High, the Glorious, and they will be those who illuminate with the lights of their Lord.

13) Indeed, we have destined this temple the beginning of existence in the creation of the Badi’ (Originator) so that everyone realizes that I can do as I will with my word: Be and it is. Under the shade of each letter of this temple’s letters, we send forth a creation whose number is known only to Allah, the Guardian, the Sustainer. Allah will create from it a creation that is not veiled by the signs of those who rebelled against Allah, and they drink in all times from the Kawthar of life, they are the successful ones.

14) These are the servants who settled under the shade of their Lord’s mercy and nothing prevented them. They see from their faces the light of the Merciful and hear from their hearts the remembrance of the most noble hidden name. If they open their lips in praising their Lord, all those in the heavens and the earth would praise with them, and only a few of the people listen. And when they remember their Creator, all things remember with them. Thus, Allah has favored them over the creation, but people do not know.

15) They move around the command of Allah as the shadow moves around the sun. Open your eyes, oh eloquent ones, perhaps you will witness. With their movement, everything moves, and with their stillness, everything becomes still. If you have certainty in them, the Monotheists turn to the direction of the highest. Tranquility and dignity appear among the righteous if you know.

16) Through them, the earth has stabilized, the clouds have rained, and the holy table has descended from the sky of grace if you understand. These are the guardians of Allah’s command on earth, protecting the beauty of the command from the turmoil of every hated polytheist, and they fear not for themselves in the path of Allah but spend it in hope of meeting the Beloved, and in exaltation with this name, the Capable, the Able, the Mighty, the Holy.

Commandments to the Living Temple

17) Indeed, oh this temple, rise by yourself in a way that all possibilities will rise by your standing. Then support your Lord with what we have given you from power and ability. Beware of being anxious at the time when everything becomes anxious. Be a manifestation of the most exalted name, the Sustainer, then support your Lord with what you are capable of, and do not look at the beings and what comes out of their mouths except as the gleam of a mosquito in an undefined valley. Indeed, drink from the Kawthar of life by the most exalted name, the Merciful, then quench the thirst of those who are near among the people of this approval so that they disconnect from all the names and enter them into this blessed and extended shade.

18) Indeed, oh this temple, we have gathered in you all things that were created between the earth and the sky, and we asked them what we took from them as a covenant in the particle of existence. Then, we found most of them to be tongue-tied and wide-eyed, with very few having clear faces and eloquent speech, and we created from them a creation of what was and what will be. These are the ones that God has honored their faces to avoid turning towards the faces of the polytheists, and He made them dwell in the shade of His selfhood and descended upon them the tranquility of the matter and supported them with the unseen and visible armies.

To the Body Parts of the Temple

Eye

19) Indeed, oh the eye of this temple, do not look to the sky and what’s in it, nor to the earth and who’s on it. We have created you for My beauty, here it is, so look as you wish and do not prevent your gaze from the beauty of your Lord, the Mighty, the Beloved. We will send through you iron eyes and observant visions that see the signs of their Creator and divert the gaze from everything perceivable. Through you, we give the power of sight to whom we will and take from those who have prevented this bounty, even though they are drinking from the cup of illusion and do not understand.

Ears

20) Indeed, oh the hearing of this temple, purify yourself from the cawing of every rejected cawer, then listen to the melodies of your Lord. Indeed, He inspires you from the direction of the Throne, proclaiming that there is no deity except Me, the Mighty, the Capable, the Dominant, the Sustainer. We will send through you purified ears, attuned to the word of God and what has appeared from the dawn of your Lord’s eloquent discourse, the Merciful, except that they find the melodies of revelation from this blessed, praiseworthy verse.

21) They find the melodies of revelation from this blessed, praiseworthy verse. Indeed, oh the tongue of this temple, we have created you with the most Merciful name, and taught you what was treasured in speech, and made you utterance for my remembrance in all existences. Indeed, speak with this extraordinary remembrance and do not fear the appearances of Satan, for you were created for that by my command, the Dominant, the Sustainer. Through you, we have opened the tongue with eloquence in what has been and will open with my authority in what will be, and through you, we send forth tongues, all of them moving with praise in the realm of eternity and among all of creation. Thus, the signs have descended, and the matter has been decreed from the possessor of names and attributes, indeed your Lord, He is the Truth, the Knower of the unseen. Those individuals, nothing prevents them from praising their Creator. Through them, all things stand in the remembrance of the owner of names, proclaiming that there is no deity but Me, the Capable, the Mighty, the Beloved. The tongues of the rememberers do not utter except that this tongue from this approval extends to them, and few of the people know. Indeed, from every tongue, it glorifies its Lord and speaks in His remembrance, and among people, there are those who understand and remember, and there are those who remember but do not understand.

To the Nymph of Meanings

22) Indeed, oh the nymph of meanings, emerge from the chambers of words by the permission of Allah, the owner of the Earths and the Heavens. Then reveal yourself in the pattern of divinity, then water the wine of Majesty with ruby fingers. Maybe the people of the human realm would glimpse what has risen from the horizon of the kingdom, the sun of existence, in the pattern of glory and will stand to praise between the Earth and the Sky, in the remembrance of this youth who settled on the throne of His Generous name in the pole of paradises. From His face, the light of the Merciful appeared, and from His gaze, the moments of the Glorious, and from His affairs, the affairs of Allah, the Dominant, the Sustainer.

23) And indeed, you will not find anyone, oh who takes from the white hand the red wine, in the name of your Lord, the Most High, the Supreme, who appeared once after the first, with His most glorious name. Do not grieve, leave these people to themselves, then return to behind the canopy of greatness and majesty, then you will find people whose faces’ light is like the sun in the middle of its setting, and they are glorifying and praising their Lord with this name that stood on the seat of independence with the authority of honor and glory. And you will not hear from them anything but my remembrance, indeed, your Lord is a witness to what I say.

24) And these people have not been commanded by the prostration of Adam, nor have they turned their faces away from the face of your Lord. They are enjoying the blessing of sanctification at all times. Thus, the pen of the Merciful recorded the secrets of what has been and what will be. Perhaps the people will know. Indeed, they have not been commanded by the prostration of Adam, and they have not turned their faces away from the face of your Lord, and they enjoy the blessing of sanctification at all times. Thus, the secrets of what has been and what will be have been recorded by the pen of the Merciful. Perhaps people will know. Allah will manifest these people on Earth and raise His remembrance through them, spreading His signs, affirming His words, and announcing His signs, despite those who disbelieved, denied, and rejected His signs.

The News of the Boy (Baha’u’llah) and the Chosen Brother (Mirza Yahya)

25) Indeed, oh the splendor of oneness, if you find them and anticipate meeting them, then narrate to them what the boy tells you about his stories and what happened to him, so they may glimpse what is written on the preserved tablet. Tell them about the news of the boy and what afflicted him of hardship and adversity so that they may remember my trials and be among those who remember. Then remind them that we chose one of our brothers and sprinkled on him from the ocean of knowledge, then dressed him in a robe of one of the names and elevated him to the position where everyone stood to praise themselves, and we protected him from the harm of every harmful one on a matter that the capable ones are incapable of.

26) We were unity in the face of the people of the heavens and the earth in days when all the servants stood to kill me, and we were among them, speaking the remembrance of Allah and His praise and standing for His command until the word of Allah was fulfilled among His creation, and His traces became famous and His power became high, and His sovereignty appeared, and honorable servants witness to that. Indeed, when my brother saw the matter rise, he found arrogance and vanity in himself, so he emerged from behind the curtains and fought with me, argued with my signs, denied my proof, denied my traces, and the belly of the greedy did not satiate until he wanted to eat my flesh and drink my blood, and the servants who migrated with Allah witness that, and behind them are close servants.

27) And he consulted in that with one of my servants and seduced him for that, then Allah supported me with the troops of the unseen and the witness, and He protected me with the truth, and He descended upon me what prevented him from what he wanted, and the plot of those who disbelieved in the signs of the Merciful was nullified, but they are denying people. When he paraded what his soul desired, and he showed it to those who had migrated, the noise of these people rose and reached a place that almost became famous in the city, so we prevented them and cast on them the word of patience to be among those who are patient.

28) I swear by Allah, there is no god but He, that we were patient in that and we commanded the servants to be patient and endure, and we went out from among these people and settled in another house so that the fire of hatred would settle in his chest and he becomes among those who are guided. We did not mention what we had gone through and what we saw afterwards, and we sat in the house alone, anticipating the favor of Allah, the Dominant, the Sustainer. When he realized that the matter had become famous, he took the pen of lies and wrote to the servants, attributing everything he did with my unique, oppressed beauty, seeking to create turmoil in himself and instilling hatred in the hearts of those who believe in Allah, the Mighty, the Loving.

29) I swear by the one in whose hand is my soul, we were perplexed by his scheme, in fact, all of existence was perplexed by it, from the unseen and the witnesses. Despite this, he was not content in himself until he committed what the pen cannot run on, and with it he violated my sanctity and the sanctity of Allah, the Able, the Mighty, the Praised. If I mention what he did to me, the seas of the earth will not suffice it even if Allah makes them ink, and things will not express it even if Allah turns them into pens. That is how we throw what happened to me, if you know.

30) Indeed, O Pen of Eternity, do not grieve over what has befallen you. Allah will surely raise a people who will see with their own eyes and remember what has happened to you. Set aside the mention of these folks, and then move on to the mention of the Owner of Eternity. Leave the possible and drink from the nectar of My sealed remembrance. Beware of being preoccupied with the mention of those who will only give off the scent of hatred and whose love for leadership over a position will lead them to their own destruction in order to elevate their reputation and perpetuate their names. Allah has written these folks down as the servants of the names in a preserved tablet. Indeed, remember what I intended for this temple, to manifest its traces on the earth, to fill the horizons with the lights of this illumination, and to purify the earth from the filth of those who have disbelieved in Allah. Thus, We have revealed the signs and clarified the matter for those who understand.

The Hands of the Temple

31) Indeed, O Temple, stretch out your hand over those in the heavens and the earth, and then take the reins of the matter with the grip of your will. Indeed, We have placed in your right hand the dominion of everything. Do as you wish, and do not fear those who do not know. Then raise your hand to the Tablet that has shone from the horizon of your Lord’s finger and take it as you are meant to take it, as hands from creation should take it. Thus, it is appropriate for you if you are among those who understand. And by raising your hand to the sky of My bounty, all hands will rise to Allah, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Loving. We will send forth from your hand the hands of power, strength, and authority, and We will display My power through them to those in the dominion of command and creation so that the servants will indeed know that there is no god but I, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Through them, We give and We take, and only those who look with the eye of the spirit will know this.

32) Say, O my people, do you flee from the power of Allah? By Allah, there is no escape for you today, nor can anyone be protected except by Allah’s mercy and His grace. Indeed, He is the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving. Say, O my people, let go of what you have, and then enter into the shadow of your Merciful Lord. This is better for you than what you have done or will do. Fear Allah and do not deprive yourselves of the breezes of Allah’s days, the Master of names and attributes, and do not alter Allah’s word, and do not distort it from its place. Fear Allah and be among those who fear Him.

33) Say, O my people, this is Allah’s hand that has not ceased to be over you if you comprehend. And in it, we have destined the best of heavens and earth, where no good appears except it manifests from it. Thus, we have made it the source of goodness and its repository in what was and what will be. Say, all that has flowed in the tablets from the rivers of meanings and explanations has connected with this greatest sea if you perceive. And what is detailed in the books has ended in this supreme word that has shone from the horizon of the mouth of the Most Glorious Will in this manifestation, through which the mouth of the unseen and the witnesses has burst open.

34) Allah will bring forth from the sleeves of power the hands of strength and domination, and He will indeed support the youth and purify the earth from the filth of every rejected polytheist. They will establish command and open countries in the name of the Supreme, the Self-Subsisting, they will enter into the homes, and their terror will strike all servants. This is from Allah’s punishment, indeed His punishment is severe with justice. He encompasses all that is in the heavens and the earth. He sends down what He wills as predestined.

35) If anyone of these stands against what is created in the creation to be dominant with the dominance of My Will, this is from My Power. But My creatures do not know, and this is from My Sovereignty, but My creation does not understand, and this is from My Command, but My servants do not perceive, and this is from My Domination, but people do not give thanks except those whom Allah has enlightened their eyes with the light of His knowledge, made their hearts repositories of His revelation, and their selves bearers of His command. Those will find the fragrances of the Most Merciful from the shirt of His name, and they rejoice at all times with Allah’s signs. As for those who disbelieved and associated partners with Him, Allah’s wrath is upon them, and they will swim into the Fire, then in its layers they will grieve. Thus, We detail the signs and clarify the truth with clear proofs, perhaps people will ponder upon the signs of their Lord.

36) Indeed, O Temple, We have made you a sign of consolation between what was and what will be, and We have made you a sign of My command between the heavens and the earth with My word “Be” and it becomes.

Names of the Temple

Ha (God’s Will)

37) Indeed, O ‘Ha’ of existence, in this name, We have made you a storehouse of My Will, then a sanctuary of My decree for those in the dominion of command and creation, a grace from the Dominant, the Ever-Sustaining.

Ya (Sovereignty)

38) Indeed, O ‘Ya’ of My venerable name, We have made you a manifestation of My sovereignty and a source of My Names, and I am capable of all that I say.

Kaf (Generosity)

39) Truly, O Kaf of My generous name, We have made you a source of My generosity among My creation, and a fountain of My beneficence among My creatures. I am capable, by My sovereignty, and nothing can escape My knowledge of what has been created between the heavens and the earth. I am the Ultimate Truth, the Knower of unseen realities.

40) From the cloud of your generosity, produce that which can enrich potentialities. Do not withhold your grace from existence, for you are indeed generous in the realm of continuity, and greatly beneficent to those within the dominion of names. Do not look upon the people and what they possess, rather look upon the beauty of your own benevolence and the wonders of your gifts. Admit the servants into your extended shade. Extend the hand of bounty to potentialities and the fingers of generosity to beings. This befits you, but people do not understand. Whoever turns to you, this is of your bounty, and whoever turns away, indeed your Lord is self-sufficient beyond what He created within possibilities. That is witnessed by sincere servants.

41) God will raise through you dominant hands and subduing limbs that will emerge from behind the curtains and support the self of the Merciful among possibilities. They will cry out with a call from which hearts will distinguish. Thus it is inscribed on a written tablet. They will manifest with an authority that will cause the inhabitants of the earth to fear and be disturbed.

42) Beware of shedding blood. Unsheath the sword of speech from the scabbard of eloquence, for with it, the cities of hearts are opened. We have lifted the ruling of killing from among you. Indeed, My mercy has preceded possibilities. You know this, so assist your Merciful Lord with the sword of clear explanation. Indeed, it is one of explanations and above it, if you look into your Lord’s words. Thus, the armies of revelation descended from the part of God, the Dominant, the Sustainer, and the troops of inspiration appeared from the east of the Command from the Beloved Almighty.

43) Say: the measures of things have been predetermined in this treasured, witnessed temple, and within it is stored the knowledge of the heavens and the earth, the knowledge of what was and what will be. It is inscribed by the finger of your Lord’s creation in this book that is beyond the comprehension of the knowledgeable. In it are the structures which no one has perceived except the Self of God, if you are certain. Blessed are those who read it, contemplate it, and are among those who understand.

44) Say: in my structure there is nothing but the structure of God, and in my beauty, there is nothing but His beauty. In my existence, there is nothing but His existence, in my essence, there is nothing but His essence, in my movement, there is nothing but His movement, in my stillness, there is nothing but His stillness, and in my pen, there is nothing but His exalted, praiseworthy pen. Say: in my self, there is nothing but the Truth, and in my essence, there is nothing but God.

45) Beware of mentioning the two signs in my self. The particles speak: There is no god but Him, the One, the Unique, the Mighty, the Loving. I have always been speaking in the realm of continuity. Indeed, I am God, there is no god but Me, the Dominant, the Sustainer. And I still speak in the kingdom of names. Indeed, I am God, there is no god but Me, the Mighty, the Beloved. Say: the lordship, My name, has created manifestations in the kingdom. We have always been transcendent of it, if you witness. And the divinity, My name, We have made viewing points for it that encompass the servants and make them God’s servants, if you understand. Thus, recognize all the names, if you know.

Lam (Grace)

46) Indeed, O Lam of favor within this name, you’ve been appointed as a manifestation of grace between the heavens and the earth. We began bestowing grace among the potentials from you, and to you we return it. Then, from you, we reveal it once more as a decree from us. I have the power to make what I wish happen with a mere utterance of ‘Be, and it is.’ Every grace that appeared in the kingdom started from you and to you it returns. This is what was preordained on a tablet. We preserved it behind the curtain of majesty and shielded it from the gaze of eyes. How fortunate are those who haven’t deprived themselves of this constant, sent favor.

47) Today, the pollinating winds of favor have spread over all things, bearing everything just as it is. Yet, people are turning away from it. The trees have been burdened with exceptional fruits, the seas with luminous pearls, humanity with meanings and knowledge, the cosmos with the manifestations of the Merciful, and the earth with things unknown to all except the Truth, the Knower of the Unseen. Everything will set down its burden; how blessed is the sender of this favor that encompasses all things, visible and hidden. This is how we created the cosmos anew today, yet most people remain unaware. No one can grasp the extent of divine favor in its actuality. So how can one grasp the nature of His being, the ever sustaining, the Self-Subsisting?

48) Indeed, O Temple of Command, if you find no one drawn towards your gifts, do not despair. I have been created for my own remembrance among my servants. This is what has been preordained for you in the preserved tablet. When we found the hands on earth to be impure, we therefore made yours a purifier from their touch and the touch of those who associate others with God. Be patient in the command of your Lord. God will send forth pure hearts and illuminated eyes that will rush from all directions towards the expansiveness of your bestowed favor.

The Holy Spirit’s Language

49) Indeed, O Temple of God, when the armies of revelation descended bearing the banners of verses from the King of names and attributes, the ones who point to signs were defeated. They denied the clear signs of God, the Dominant, the Sustainer, and adopted hypocrisy. Among them were those who said, these are not clear signs from God and were not revealed upon nature. Thus, the idolaters heal the wounds of their hearts, and they are cursed by those in the heavens and the earth, while they, within themselves, do not realize.

50) Say that the Holy Spirit has created a language from what was revealed by this Supreme Spirit, if you understand. And that nature, in its existence, was created from the signs of God, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Beloved. Say that it takes pride in its relationship to our True Self, and we do not take pride in it or anything below it, for what is beneath me has been created by my word, if you comprehend.

51) Say that we have revealed the verses on nine affairs, each of which indicates the dominion of God, the Dominant, the Sustainer. An affair among them is sufficient evidence for those in the heavens and the earth, but most people are oblivious. If we wanted, we could reveal on other innumerable matters.

52) O people, fear God and do not move your lying tongues about what God does not love. Be shy of the One who created you from a drop of water, as you know. We created all that is in the heavens and the earth upon the nature of God. Whoever turns to this face will manifest upon what they were created, and whoever veils themselves will veil from this immense hidden grace. We did not withhold anything from the grace; we created things on the edge of equilibrium and presented to them the trust of our love, by a word from us. So whoever carries it will be saved, secure, and among those who are safe from the terror of the day. And whoever turns away, disbelieves in God, the Dominant, the Sustainer. And by this, we have differentiated between the servants and have distinguished among them; we indeed are the distinguishers.

The Word of God is Not the Words of His Creation

53) Say, the word of God will not be confused with the words of His creation. It is the authority of words, as His self is the authority of souls, and His command is dominant over what was and what will be. Enter, O people, into the certainty of Egypt, the established throne of your Merciful Lord. This is what the pen of the Glorious commands you, a grace from Him upon you if you do not differ in His command.

54) Among the idolaters are those who disbelieve within themselves, wage war, and say these verses are fabricated. Thus said the servants who have passed before, and so they are in the fire, they cry for help. Woe to you for what comes out of your mouths. If the verses are fabricated, then by what argument did you believe in God? Bring it if you understand. Whenever we revealed clear verses upon them, they disbelieved in them, and when they saw what all of creation could not replicate, they said, this is magic.

55) What are these people saying without knowledge? Thus said the nation of distinction when the one who came from God with His command, they are indeed a denying people. They prevented people from attending in the presence of the beauty of antiquity and eating with its beloved ones. One of them said, do not approach these people; they bewitch people and lead them astray from the path of God, the Dominant, the Sustainer. By the true God, one who cannot speak in our presence to say what the predecessors did not say and commit what no soul among those who disbelieved in the Merciful has committed in all eras, their words and actions bear witness to that if you are fair.

56) Whoever attributes the signs of God to magic has not believed in any of the messengers of God. His striving is misguided in the false life, and he is among those who speak without knowledge. O servant, fear God who created you and formed you. Do not fail in the side of God, then be just in yourself and be among those who are just. Those who were given knowledge from God, they find strong evidence in their objections to refute them and affirm this witnessed light. Say, do you say what the idolaters said when a reminder came to them from their Lord? Woe to you, O assembly of the ignorant, and what a terrible thing you earn.

57) O beauty of antiquity, leave the idolaters and what they possess, then perfume the realms with the remembrance of your beloved, the Most High, the Great. By His remembrance, the existents are revived and the structures of the worlds are renewed. Say, He is established on the throne of greatness and majesty, whoever wants to see His beauty, here it is, blessed is God who has appeared with this radiant, illuminating beauty. Whoever wants to hear His melodies, they have risen from this mouth of radiant pearls. Whoever wants to be illuminated by His lights, say, attend the meeting of the throne, this is what God has permitted for you, a grace from Him upon the worlds.

58) O people, we ask you for a word on the Greater Truth and we take God as a witness between us and you, He is the patron of the good-doers. Make your presence before the throne, then be just in speech and be among the just. Is God capable of His command, or are you the capable ones? Was He chosen in Himself, as you say, that He does what He wills and is not questioned about what He wants, or are you the chosen ones and you say this word traditionally as your forefathers spoke in the time of the messengers?

All Matters End With the Signs

59) If He was chosen in Himself, He has manifested the appearance of His command with signs that nothing can stand with, neither in the heavens nor on the earths, and has appeared in a manner that has never appeared in creation, as you have seen and heard, when the bright light of the horizons shone from the horizon of Iraq with a clear authority. All matters end with the signs, and these are the signs of God, the King, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Able, and besides them, He has appeared with a command that all possible things have approved of His authority, and none deny that except every sinful idolater.

60) O people, do you want to cover the beauty of the sun with the veils of your selves, or prevent the spirit from singing in this illuminating chest? Fear God and do not fight against His self, and do not argue with the one who created the “Kaf” by His command and connected it to its great pillar. Believe in God’s envoys and His authority, then in God Himself and His greatness, and do not follow those who disbelieve after their faith and have taken a position for themselves in their passion, they are indeed among the idolaters. Bear witness to what God has witnessed so that the near ones may be enlightened by what comes out of your mouths. Say, we believe in what was revealed to the messengers of God before and what was revealed to Ali truthfully and what descends from the side of the great throne. Thus, God teaches you generosity from Him and grace from His side. Indeed, His bounty encompasses the worlds.

Body Parts of the Temple

Leg

61) O leg of this structure, we have created you from iron. Stand firm on the command of your Lord as those who are firm stand. Beware of moving due to the storms of hatred and tempests of these wretched ones. Be steadfast on the command and be among the steadfast. We have sent you with Our name by which all those who are firm stand straight, and with all of our beautiful names, between the heavens and the earth, we will raise from you straight legs that stand on the path and do not deviate from it, even if armies equivalent to the armies of the first and the last combat them. All the bounty is in Our hand, and We give it to whom We wish from Our near servants. Thus, We have favored you time after time so that you may thank your Lord with a thankfulness that opens the possible worlds to thank Our merciful, compassionate Self.

62) Stand on the command with power from Us and authority from Us, then throw to the servants what has been thrown to you by the Spirit of God, the King, the Unique, the Mighty, the Knowledgeable. Say, O people, do you call the truth beyond you and call what We created with a handful of clay? This is injustice from you to yourselves, surely you are among the contemplative in the signs of your Lord. Say, O people, purify your hearts then your sights so that perhaps you may recognize your Creator in this holy, luminous garment. Say, this is the divine youth who has settled on the throne of majesty and has appeared with the authority of power and independence, and he cries between the earth and the sky with his most creative, most beautiful call.

“O people of the worlds, why have you disbelieved in your merciful Lord and turned away from the beauty of the Glorious One? By God, this is the hidden mystery that has risen from the east of possibility, and this is the beauty of the Beloved that has shone from the horizon of this satisfaction, by the sovereignty of Allah, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Overcomer, the Powerful.”

Chest

63) O Temple of Holiness, indeed, we have made your chest free from the signs of possibilities and sacred from the implications of existences, so that my beauty’s lights may be imprinted in it, and from it, the mirrors of the worlds may reflect. Thus, we have chosen you over what was created in the heavens and the earth, we have preferred you over what was ordained in the kingdom of command and creation, and we have singled you out for myself. This is the grace of Allah upon you, from this day to the day that will never end in the kingdom and will remain with the permanence of Allah, the Dominant, the Mighty, the Knowledgeable. For indeed, the day of Allah is Himself, so He appears in truth, and the night will not follow Him, and the mention will not limit Him, if you are of those who know.

64) O chest of this temple, indeed, we have made things mirrors of yourself, and we have made you a mirror of Myself. So illuminate upon the chests of all possibilities with what has been revealed to you from the lights of your Lord to purify them from the boundaries and signs. In the same way, the sun of judgment has risen from the horizon of the pen of the eternal owner. Blessed are those who perceive. Indeed, we have begun from you chests that are rebellious and we will return them to you as a mercy from us to you and to the close ones. We will raise through you pure chests and bright reflections that will narrate only about My beauty and will indicate only about My manifestations. Indeed, they are mirrors of My names among all creatures.

Heart

65) O holy temple, indeed, we have made your heart a repository of knowledge of what was and what will be, and an observer of our knowledge which we have predestined for the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, so that the existents may overflow from you and they will attain through your astonishing knowledge to the recognition of God, the Capable, the Most High, the Great. And indeed, My knowledge that is attributed to My essence is not known by anyone, no self knows it, and no one from the worlds will carry it. If a word of it were to appear, souls would be disturbed, the pillars of everything would vanish, and the feet of those who have attained would slip.

66) We have knowledge that if we threw upon the existents a word from it, everyone would certainly believe in the appearance of God and His knowledge, and they would gain insight into all the secrets of knowledge and would reach the station where they see themselves independent of the knowledge of the former and the latter. And we have other sciences that we cannot mention a letter of them, nor can people bear to hear a mention of them. In this way, we inform you from the knowledge of God, the Knower, the Expert. If we find vessels, we would cast into them the treasures of meanings and teach them what encompasses a letter from it in the worlds.

67) O heart of this temple, indeed, we have made you a beacon of My knowledge and a manifestation of My wisdom between the heavens and the earths, and we have made you emanate knowledge and return it to you, then we will cause it to emanate from you again, a promise from Us, indeed, we were doers. We will send forth from you one with remarkable knowledge and one with powerful deeds, and we will make manifest from it what no heart of any servant has ever imagined. Thus, we give to whomever we will whatever we will, and we take from whomever we will whatever we have given them, and we rule with Our command whatever we want.

68) Say, indeed, if we manifest upon the mirrors of the existents with the sun of our providence in one moment, and take from them the lights of our manifestations in another moment, we are able, and no one can say why or how, for we are the doer of whatever we will, and we are not questioned about what we have done, and no one doubts this except every doubting polytheist. Say, our ability will not be prevented, and our rule will not be obstructed. We raise whomever we will to the dominion of glory and power, then we bring him back, if we wish, to the lowest of the low. Do you, O people of the earth, assume that if we ascend someone to the utmost boundary (sidrat al-muntaha), then my power and authority will be separated from him? No, by My Self, but if we wish, we will surely bring him back to the dust in less than a moment.

69) So look at the tree, indeed, we plant it in the gardens and water it from the water of our providence. When it has risen within itself and is covered with green leaves and produces good fruits, then we send upon it the storms of the command and leave it on the face of the earth. Thus we were doers, and thus we do with everything. This is from the wonders of our sunnah before and after in all things, indeed you are among the watchers, and no one knows the wisdom of that except Allah, the Capable, the Mighty, the Wise.

70) Do you deny, O people, what you see? Woe to you, O crowd of deniers! And the one that will not change is He Himself, the Most Merciful, the Merciful, if you are among the observant, and other than Him changes by a will from Him, and He is the Capable, the Mighty, the Wise.

71) O people, do not speak in my matter, for you cannot reach the wisdom of your Lord, nor will you attain his knowledge, the Mighty, the Encompassing. And whoever claims to know his essence is among the most ignorant of people. Every atom denies him and my truthful and trustworthy tongue testifies to this. Remember my matter, then speak about it and about what you have been commanded from us, and besides that, it is not appropriate for you, and no one has a way to it, if you are among the listeners.

Sent in God’s Image

72) Indeed, O structure, we’ve appointed you as the beacon of all our beautiful names, the display of our supreme attributes, the source of all our remembrances for those in heaven and earth. We’ve sent you in my image between the heavens and earth, made you a mighty sign for those in the realms of existence and command, guiding my servants towards the right path. We’ve made you the generous lote-tree for those in the heavens and earth. Congratulations to those who seek shelter in your shade, drawing closer to your governing soul over all the worlds.

73) We’ve assigned every name a purpose, let rivers of wisdom and knowledge flow from it in command’s gardens. Nobody knows their number except your Holy, Capable, Knowing, Wise Lord. We began all the letters from the dot and returned them to it, then sent them on a human form. The Most High, the Creator, the Inventor, the Unique, will detail it once more with my most glorious name, a grace from me, I am the Old Benefactor.

74) We illuminated the lights from the sun of our name, the Truth, returned them to it, and displayed it on the human form. The Most High, the Capable, the Powerful, will not be prevented by anyone from my command, nor will any being obstruct my sovereignty and power. I am the one who commanded possibilities into existence and I am Capable of whatever I wish.

75) If we desire to seize the lives of all things in a single breath and resurrect them again, we can. Only Allah, the Knowing, the Wise, has knowledge of this. If we wish to manifest suns from an atom without beginning or end, we can. We can display all of them by my command in less than a moment. If we wish to bring forth the oceans of the heavens and the earth from a droplet, and detail the knowledge of what was and what will be from a letter, we can. This is simple, easy, thus I was capable from the first, the one with no first, to the last, the one with no last. But my creation ignored my power, turned away from my authority, and disputed about my Knowing, Wise self.

76) Nothing moves between the heavens and earth without my permission, no soul ascends to the kingdom without my command. Yet, my creation has veiled itself from my power and authority, they have been among the heedless. Only Allah’s presence is seen in my presence, only Allah’s power in my power, if you are among the knowers. The analogy of my creation is like the leaves on a tree. They were visible through their existence, sustained by themselves, but oblivious to their roots. In this way we’ve given an analogy for our wise servants, hopefully they ascend from the level of vegetation and achieve the stage of maturity in this solid, strong command. Say, their condition is like that of a fish in the water. Indeed, it lives because of it but doesn’t realize that its life is sustained by the powerful and wise one. It remains hidden, so if asked about the water and its qualities, it wouldn’t know. Thus, we provide examples so that people may turn towards the direction of those in the heavens and earth.

O People, Fear Allah

77) O people, fear Allah and do not disbelieve in the one whose mercy encompasses all possibilities, whose grace preceded all existence, and whose command’s authority covers your outer and inner selves, your beginning and your end. Fear Allah and be among the cautious. Beware of being like those who are exposed to the signs of Allah but fail to recognize them. Indeed, they are among the heedless.

78) Say, do you worship those who cannot hear or see, who are the most inferior and misguided of servants? Why don’t you follow the one who came with the news of the Almighty Allah, the Great? O people, do not be like those who entered the proximity of the throne, only to be completely oblivious and feeling insignificant. We recite to them the verses that attract the inhabitants of the divine dominions and the dwellers of the kingdom, but they return, veiled from them, eagerly waiting for the call of one of the servants who lives by the will of Allah. This is how we inspire you with what will guide you on the path of those who draw near.

79) Many servants have entered the spot of Paradise, the location of the Throne, before their Great Almighty Lord, and they were asked about the four gates or about one of the leaders of the Criterion. Such was the condition of these people if you are among the knowers. Just as you see in these days, those who disbelieved and associated others with Allah, they cling to a name of the names, and veiled themselves from its source. We bear witness that they are among the dwellers of Hell. They ask the sun about what the shadow says, and about the truth of what the creation spoke, if you are among the witnesses. Say, O people, the sun has nothing but its shine, what appears from it, and everything else is illuminated by its light. Fear Allah and do not be among the ignorant. Some ask darkness about light, say, if your vision is opened, you will see the shine that encompasses the horizons. Indeed, with the eye, this is a light that shines and emerges from the horizon of meanings with clear illumination. Do you ask the Jews if the Spirit is truly from Allah, or do the idols say if Muhammad was a Messenger, or if the Criterion is filled with the remembrance of Allah, the Great and Exalted?

80) Say, O people, leave what you have when this appearance is unveiled. Take what you were commanded with, this is Allah’s command to you, and He is the best of commanders. My goal in these words was not myself but the one who will come after me, and Allah is a witness to this and knowing. Do not do to him what you did to me when Allah’s verses descended upon you from my bounty. Do not say they have not descended on the natural disposition. The natural disposition was created by my word and orbits around me, if you are among the certain. If you inhale the scents of the shirt of meanings from the explanation of your Merciful Lord, it has spread in the universes and perfumed the possibilities. Blessed is the one who finds and recognizes it, and turns to Allah with an illuminated heart.

The Temple Is a Mirror

81) Say, “O this temple, indeed, we have made you a mirror to the kingdom of names, to speak of my sovereignty among all creatures, and to call people to my presence and beauty. You shall guide them to my clear and straight path. We have exalted your name among the servants, a grace from Us. We adorned you with the embellishment of my self and cast my word upon you so that you may rule in the kingdom as you wish and do what you want. We have destined for you the best of the heavens and the earth, in a way that no one has any good except by entering under your shade, a matter from your knowledgeable, expert Lord. We have given you the staff of command and the criterion of judgment, so you may distinguish between every wise matter. We have stirred in your heart oceans of meanings and clarity in the remembrance of your merciful Lord, so that you may thank your Lord and be among the thankful. We have chosen you among my creation and made you the manifestation of my self between the heavens and the earths.

82) Indeed, We have sent by our permission reflective mirrors and lofty characters to speak of your sovereignty and power, and to demonstrate your ability and greatness, and to manifest your names among the worlds. We have made you the origin of the mirrors and their creator, just as We have begun them from you for the first time, and We will return you to myself, just as we started you. Indeed, your Lord is the dominant, the capable, the powerful. Inform the mirrors at their appearance not to be arrogant about their creator and maker at the time of his appearance, and let them not be misled by leadership from humility before the mighty, beautiful God.

83) Say, ‘You, O mirrors, have been created by my command and sent by my will. Beware of denying the signs of my Lord, and be not among those who have wronged and were of the losers, and cling to what is with you and take pride in the exaltation of your names. It is incumbent upon you to cut off from everyone in the heavens and the earth, so has it been decreed by the capable, powerful.’”

84) Say, “O temple of my command, if I wished to make all things mirrors of my names in less than an instant, I could. So how about my Lord who created me by His firm and strong command? If I wished to flip the possibilities closer than the blink of an eye, I could. So how about the will stored in the volition of Allah, my Lord, and the Lord of the worlds?

Do Not Object to the Manifestation of Command

85) Say, O manifesters of my names, even if you strive in the way of Allah with your wealth and yourselves, and worship Allah by the number of grains of sand on earth, drops of rain, and waves of the sea, and you object to the manifestation of the command when it appears, your deeds will not be mentioned in the sight of Allah. But if you abandon your deeds and believe in Him in those days, perhaps Allah will forgive your misdeeds. Indeed, He is the Mighty, the Generous. Thus, Allah teaches you what is meant, so perhaps you will not be arrogant about that which has been established in the timeless eternity. Blessed is the one who approaches the grand spectacle and woe to those who turn away.

86) How many of Allah’s servants spend their wealth in His way, but when the time of appearance comes, we see them among those who turn away. How many of the servants fast during the days and object to the one who, by his command, made the decree of fasting true, but they are among the ignorant. How many servants eat barley bread, sit on what sprouts from the earth, and bear hardships to preserve their leadership. This is how we have detailed their deeds for you, as a reminder for others. These ones bear hardships for the sake of people to keep their names after that which will not remain except for what is cursed by those in the heavens and the earths.

87) Say, if your names remain as you claim, will it benefit you in any way? No, by the Lord of the worlds. Will a person’s honor increase by the lasting of his name among those who worship the names? No, by the soul of the Mighty, the Powerful God. And if no one on earth mentions you, and Allah is pleased with you, then you are in the treasures of his inner name. Thus, we have revealed the verses to draw you to the rising of the lights and to let you know what your knowledgeable, wise Lord wants. If you restrain yourselves from what you were prohibited in the book and eat from what Allah has provided you lawfully, do not deprive yourselves of His blessings. Indeed, He is the Generous, the Greatly Bountiful. Do not impose hardships upon yourselves. Do what we have explained to you with clear proofs and visible signs, and do not be among the heedless.”

True Honor is Submission in Private and Public

88) O scholars, if you abstain from wine and its likes that you’ve prohibited in this book, it won’t be an honor for you. By indulging in them, you lose your status among the people, alter your affairs, and your coverings are torn apart. True honor is in submitting to the word of truth and distancing yourself in both private and public from anything other than the Almighty, the Mighty and Majestic. Blessed is the scholar who doesn’t let knowledge become a veil between him and the known. When he approaches the Self-Sustaining, he approaches with a radiant face. There are scholars whose breaths are sought for blessings by the people of paradise, and their light illuminates those in the heavens and the earth. Such a scholar is among the heirs of the prophets. Seeing him is like seeing the truth, and approaching him is like approaching the Mighty, Wise God.

89) O seekers of knowledge, be wary of changing yourselves, for when you change, most of the servants change too. This is oppression towards yourselves and towards the servants. Every knowledgeable person attests to this. You are like a spring; if it changes, the rivers branching from it change too. Fear God and be among the righteous. Similarly, if a person’s heart becomes corrupt, his limbs become corrupt, and just like a tree, if its root is corrupt, its branches, twigs, leaves, and fruits become corrupt as well. We provide these examples for you so that you might not become veiled by your own understanding and recognize the generosity granted to you by the Mighty, Noble.

Nobility Comes From God

90) Even if we were to take a handful of soil and embellish it with the embroidery of names, it would become noble. This nobility is a favor upon it without it deserving it. Just as we have sent down the truth from a knowledgeable source. Consider the Black Stone which God has made revered among the worlds; its honor isn’t from itself, by my soul! Nor is this nobility from its own essence, by my essence! None in the worlds can truly recognize it.

91) Similarly, look at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the places we’ve made pilgrimage sites for those from distant lands. Their honor isn’t inherent but due to their association with our manifestations, which we’ve made beacons of our revelation among the servants. In all this, there’s wisdom known only to God. If asked, He will clarify for you what He intends, for He is knowledgeable about everything. O people, distance yourselves from the world and its adornments and do not turn towards those who disbelieve and associate partners with God. Turn your gaze to the horizon of clarity in remembrance of your Merciful Lord. This is what God intends for you. Blessed are those who understand.

The Greatest Advice

92) Say, O people, we commanded you in the tablets to sanctify yourselves when names manifest and from everything created between the earth and the sky, so that the sun of truth may manifest from the horizon of the will of your Mighty, Magnificent Lord. We also commanded you to purify your souls from both love and hatred towards those on earth, so that nothing diverts you in one direction and compels you in another. This is among the greatest advice to you in a clear book. Anyone who clings to either of them is incapable of truly understanding the matter. Every fair and knowledgeable person attests to this.

The Covenant and His Signs

93) You’ve forgotten God’s covenant and broken His pact until you turned away from that which, by its appearance, brings delight to the eyes of the monotheists. Purify your gaze from obstructions and barriers, then look at the arguments of the prophets and messengers to know God’s decree in those days when the Promised One came with great authority. Fear God and do not deprive yourselves from the source of His signs. This is what benefits you. Your Lord is indeed self-sufficient, indifferent to the worlds. He has always been, and nothing was with Him. His banner of monotheism has risen on the mount of existence, both in the unseen and the seen. Indeed, there is no god but He, the One, the Mighty, the Unique.

94) Those who were created by His will and sent by His command turned away from Him and took for themselves a god other than God. They are indeed among the astray. They should remember the Merciful at all times, but when the truth appeared, they opposed it. Woe to them for breaking the covenant when the light of the horizons shone from the will of the Holy, Knowledgeable, Wise God. They have drawn their swords of hatred against God, feeling in their souls as if they are dead in the tombs of their desires, even though God’s breeze has blown between the houses. But they are behind a great veil. When God’s verses are recited to them, they turn away arrogantly, as if they knew nothing and did not hear God’s melody.

95) Oh, what a pity on you! You claim faith for yourselves but deny God’s mighty and knowledgeable signs. Say, “O people, turn your faces to the Merciful God. Beware lest what is revealed in the clarification blinds you. It was revealed as a reminder by the Mighty, the Impenetrable, and its purpose is nothing but My beauty, which has filled the horizons with My evidence, if you are fair.

96) Had the Initial Point (Bab), as you claim, been other than Me, and had he realized my meeting, he would not have left me. He preceded me to give glad tidings of my kingdom to people. This was revealed in the tablets if you are among the observers. Oh, if only someone with ears would listen to the uproar in the declaration because of what has come upon me from these heedless ones, recognize his longing in my absence and his passion for meeting me. Thus, his beloved is witnessed among the servants who were created for His days and prostrating before Him with humility. The pen has confessed its inability to mention it because of what has been inflicted by these oppressors.

97) Say, “O people, we called you in the first appearances to the greatest sight, this most holy position, and gave them glad tidings of God’s days. But when the greatest veil was torn and the beauty of the Eternal appeared on the cloud of destiny, you disbelieved in what you believed in. Woe to you, O group of polytheists! Fear God and do not refute the truth with what you have. When the sun of signs shines upon you from the horizon of the King of Names and Attributes, bow down with your faces in prostration to God, the Lord of the worlds. Your prostration is a fleeting door, better than worshiping the two weighty ones (humans and jinn). Your submission during its appearance is better for you than what is created in the heavens and the earth.

The Call of the Devil Follows God’s

98) Say, “O people, I remind you for God’s sake and I do not want any reward from you. My reward is only from God, who created me, sent me with the truth, and made me a reminder for all creatures. Hasten to God’s sight and residence and do not follow Satan in your souls. He orders you to wrongdoing and indecency and prevents you from the path set up in the world by this wise and firm command.

99) The devil has appeared in relation to his likeness in the places, and so has the beauty of the Merciful with an embroidery the likes of which the eyes of the ancients did not comprehend. The call of the Merciful has risen, and behind it is the call of the devil. Blessed is he who hears God’s call and turns to the direction of the throne, a sanctified and generous sight. Anyone who has even the least love other than mine in his heart will not be able to enter my kingdom. My evidence is what the fabric of the book of existence is embroidered with, if you are among the knowledgeable. Say, today is the day in which the greatest grace has appeared, and there was nothing, neither in the high heavens nor in the lower earths, but speaks of my remembrance and chirps in praise of myself, if you are among the listeners.

Announce the Beloved of the Worlds Has Appeared

100) O structure of appearance, blow in the trumpet in my name. Then, O structure of secrets, breathe into the flute in remembrance of your chosen Lord. Then, O nymph of paradise, come out from the chambers of heaven and inform the inhabitants of the universes. By God, the beloved of the worlds has appeared, the purpose of the knowers, worshiped by those in the heavens and the earths, and prostrated to by the first and the last.

101) Beware of stopping at this beauty after what has appeared with the authority of power and majesty. Indeed, it is the truth, and anything other than it is non-existent to any of his servants and lost upon the appearance of his lights. Hasten to the abundance of grace and do not be among the patient ones. And whoever stops short of that, God will nullify his deeds and return him to the abode of subjugation. What a terrible place for those who halt.

To Pope Pius IX

102) O Pope, the veils have been torn. The Lord of lords has come among the shadows of the clouds, and the decree has been passed by the Almighty and Chosen God. Uncover the divine mysteries with the authority of your Lord, then ascend to the kingdom of names and attributes, as the highest pen instructs you from your mighty and powerful Lord. He has come from the heavens again, just as he came from them the first time. Do not oppose him as the Pharisees did without evidence and proof. Streams of grace flow to his right and channels of justice to his left. Ahead of him, the angels of paradise march with banners of verses. Let not the names prevent you from God, the creator of the earth and the heavens. Leave the mortals behind and turn to your Lord, who illuminated the horizons.

Leave Your Palaces

103) We adorned the kingdom with our most glorious name, as decreed by God, the creator of all things. Beware that suspicions don’t hinder you after the sun of certainty has risen from the horizon of your magnificent and gracious Lord’s declaration. You dwell in palaces, and the sultan of appearances resides in the most desolate of homes. Leave them to their inhabitants and turn to the kingdom with spirit and fragrance.

104) O people of the earth, demolish the houses of neglect with the hands of power and tranquility and construct chambers of knowledge in your hearts so the Merciful may manifest upon them. This is better for you than where the sun rises, and those with him bear witness to this decisive speech. The scent of God has wafted in the world as the desired one arrives in his greatest glory. Every stone and mound proclaims the awaited one’s appearance, and dominion belongs to the Almighty, the Mighty, and the Forgiver.

Serve Those Who Approach from the Followers of Religions

105) Let not knowledge prevent you from the sultan of the known, or the world from its creator. Arise in the name of your merciful Lord among the people of the worlds and take the cup of life with a hand of tranquility. Drink from it first, then serve those who approach from among the followers of religions. The moon of expression has appeared from the horizon of wisdom and clarity.

The Opposition to Moses

106) Tear the veils of knowledge so they don’t prevent you from the sublime name, the Sustainer. Remember when the Spirit came, the most learned of his time in his Egypt ruled on him. And the one who caught the whale believed in him. Reflect, O possessors of intellect. You are among the suns of the heavens of names. Guard yourself lest darkness deceive you and veil you from the light. Look at what was revealed in the book from your mighty and generous Lord.

107) Say, O scholars, hold your pens. The shrieking of the highest pen has risen between the earth and the sky. Leave what you have and take what we’ve sent to you with power and authority. The hour, once concealed in God’s knowledge, has come, and the atoms proclaim the ancient one of great glory has arrived. Hurry to him, O people of the earth, with humility and repentance.

The Opposition to the Son (Jesus)

108) See those who opposed the Son when He came with sovereignty and power. How many Pharisees awaited his meeting and implored in his absence, but when the fragrance of union diffused and beauty was unveiled, they turned away and opposed him. This is what’s decreed for you, as written in scriptures and tablets. Few turned to the face, but today, everyone boasts his name, each with power and authority. Look at this era. How many monks secluded themselves in churches in my name. But when the appointed time came and beauty was revealed, they did not recognize me even though they called upon me day and night. By my name, they shielded themselves from me. It’s truly astonishing.

Read the Gospel and Pay Homage to the Glorious Lord

109) Say, let not the remembrance prevent you from the remembered, or worship from the worshipped. Break the veils of illusions. This is your mighty and all-knowing God. He came for the life of the world and unity on all the earth. Approach, O people, to the source of revelation and don’t stop short. Do you read the Gospel and not pay homage to the glorious Lord? This isn’t fitting for you, O learned ones.

110) Say, if you deny this matter with any argument, believing in God, then present it. This is the decree from the highest pen from your most glorious Lord on this tablet from whose horizon the lights have dawned. Many servants have deeds that veil them and, with them, they are kept from drawing nearer to God, the sender of the winds.

111) O assembly of monks, the breezes of the Merciful One have spread throughout the universes. Blessed is the one who rejects desires and takes guidance. They are among those who have succeeded in meeting God on this day when earthquakes took the inhabitants of the Earth, and everything was terrified except for whom God wills, the Master of necks.

112) You adorn your bodies, but God’s shirt is stained red with the blood of hatred from those who aggressed against it. If you leave your places, then let the servants enter into the Kingdom of God, the Master of the Day of Calling. The Word that was concealed by the Son has now descended upon the human temple in this time. Blessed is the Lord, who is the Father, who came with His greatest glory among the nations. Turn to Him, O assembly of the virtuous.

The Father Has Come

113) Say, O assembly of religions, we see you wandering in the maze of loss. You were like whales in this sea, but you prevented yourselves from returning to your origin. It surges before your faces; hasten towards it from all directions. On this day, the rock cries out in the loudest voice and glorifies with the name of its Lord, the Rich, the Exalted. The Father has come and fulfilled what you promised in the kingdom. This word was kept behind the veil of greatness, but when the promise came, it shone from the horizon of the Divine Will with clear signs.

Baha’u’llah’s Body Was Imprisoned to Free Your Souls

114) My body was imprisoned to free your souls, and we accepted humiliation for your honor. Follow the Lord of glory and the kingdom and do not follow every idolatrous tyrant. My body longs for the cross, and my head awaits the spike for the sake of the Merciful to purify the world from disobedience. Thus, the sun of judgment has risen from the horizon by the command of the Master of Names and Attributes.

The People of the Qur’an Rose Against Us

115) The people of the Criterion rose against us and tortured us with a punishment that made the Holy Spirit cry out, the thunder shouted, and the clouds wept over us. Among the idolaters, some thought that calamities could prevent God’s glory. But the sender of rain says nothing can prevent Him from mentioning His Lord.

116) By God, the truth, if they burn it on land, from the pole of the sea it raises its head and proclaims that it is the God of the heavens and the Earth. If they throw it into a dark well, they’ll find it on top of the mountains calling that the intended has come with the power of greatness and independence. And if they bury it in the ground, it emerges from the horizon of the sky and speaks with the loudest call, proclaiming the glory of God, the Holy, the Mighty, the Chosen. If they spill its blood, every drop cries out and invokes God with this name through which the scents of the shirt spread in all directions.

117) Under the swords of the enemies, we call the servants to God, the Creator of the Earth and the skies, and we support Him in a matter. Neither the troops of the oppressors nor the power of the wicked can deter us. Say, O people of the Earth, break the idols of illusions in the name of your Mighty, All-Knowing Lord, and turn to Him on this day that God has made the sovereign of days.

Sell Your Ornate Adornments

118) O leader of the people, listen to the advice of the one who sketches ruins, from half of His Greatest Name. Sell what you have of ornate adornments, and spend it in the way of God, the Turner of night and day. Leave the kingdom to the kings, then emerge from the horizon of the house, turning towards the Kingdom of God, detaching from the worldly life, and then mention your Lord between the earth and the sky. Thus commands you the Master of Names from your Mighty, All-Knowing Lord. When advising kings, say, “Act justly among people. Beware of exceeding what is prescribed in the Book.” This is fitting for you. Do not indulge in worldly glitter and its ornaments. Leave it for those who desire it and take what you have been commanded from the Master of Creation. If someone brings you all the treasures of the earth, do not turn your gaze towards them. Be as your Lord was. Thus spoke the tongue of revelation as God made it a pattern in the Book of Creation.

119) Look at the pearl; its clarity is in its essence. If you cover it with silk, it conceals its beauty and clarity. Similarly, a human’s honor is in their manners and what is befitting them, not in what children play with. Know that your adornment is the love of God and your detachment from everything else, not the ornaments you possess. Leave them for their people and turn to God, the Flow of rivers.

120) Whatever parables descend, they come through the tongue of the Son, and he who speaks today does not mention them. Beware of clinging to the ropes of illusions and depriving yourself of what is decreed in the Kingdom of God, the Mighty, the Bestower. If the intoxication of the signs’ wine takes you and you wish to present yourself before the Throne of your Lord, the Creator of the Earths and the heavens, make your shirt love, your armor remembrance, and your provision reliance on God, the Manifestor of forces.

John Was Sent Once More

121) O assembly of the Son, we have sent unto you John once more; he proclaimed in the wilderness of clear proclamation. O creation of all worlds, purify your eyes for the day of witnessing and meeting draws near. Then, O assembly of the Gospel, prepare the way; for the day is near when the Majestic Lord will come. Get ready to enter the Kingdom as decreed by God, the Splitter of dawn.

122) Listen to what the everlasting dove sang atop the Divine Lote Tree’s branches. O people of the Earth, we have sent to you one named John to baptize you with water, so you may purify your bodies for the appearance of the Messiah. And he has cleansed you with the fire of love and the water of the Spirit in preparation for those days in which the Merciful wishes to wash you with the water of life from the hands of grace and benevolence. This is the Father foretold by Isaiah and the Comforter who took the covenant of the Spirit. Open your eyes, O assembly of scholars, to see your Lord seated on the Throne of Dignity and Majesty.

Do Not Be LIke Those Who Followed the Pharisees

123) Say, O people of religions, do not be like those who followed the Pharisees and thus were veiled from the Spirit; they are indeed in heedlessness and misguidance. The Ancient Beauty has come with His Greatest Name, wishing to usher the world into His Holiest Kingdom, and the saved ones will see the Kingdom of God before His face. Hasten unto Him and do not follow every disbelieving idolater. If anyone’s eye opposes this, it’s fitting for them to pluck it out. Such is inscribed by the Pen of the Ancient from the Sovereign of possibilities. He has come again for your salvation, O people of creation. Will you kill Him after He has intended eternal life for you? Fear God, O possessors of insight.

124) O people, listen to what is revealed from a part of your Most Glorious Lord and turn towards God, the Lord of the hereafter and the former. Thus commands you the rising sun of inspiration from the Creator of beings. We have created you for light, and we do not desire to leave you for the fire. Come out, O people, from the darkness with this sun that has risen from the horizon of God’s care. Approach it with purified hearts, contented souls, discerning eyes, and radiant faces. This is what the Master of Fate advises you with from the perspective of the greater view to attract you to the realm of the heavens.

Blessed Are Those Who Fulfill Their Covenant

125) Blessed are those who fulfill their covenant, and woe to those who break the pact and disbelieve in God, the Knower of secrets. Say: this is the day of grace. Come so I may make you kings of my Kingdom’s realms. If you obey me, you will see what we have promised you and make you a companion of my soul in the dominion of my greatness and an associate of my beauty in the sky of my authority forever. If you disobey me, I am patient in my forbearance, hoping you might awaken and rise from the bed of negligence. Thus, my mercy preceded you. Fear God and do not follow those who turned away from the Face after what they claimed in the mornings and evenings.

126) Indeed, the day of harvest has come, and a distinction has been made between things. What was chosen was stored in vessels of justice, and what was deserving was thrown into the fire. This is the decree of your Mighty, Loving Lord on that promised day. He rules as He wishes, none worthy of worship but Him, the All-Powerful, the Overwhelming. He only wishes to store every good thing for Himself, and He only speaks of what makes you aware of my command and guides you to the path which I have adorned in the tablets.

127) Say: O assembly of Christians, we have manifested to you before, and you did not recognize me then. Now, once more, this is the day of God. Turn to Him. He has come from the heavens as He came the first time, wishing to shelter you under the shade of His mercy. He is the Most High, the Mighty, the Helper. The Beloved does not want you to burn with the fire of passion. Even if you were veiled, it’s only because of your negligence and lack of recognition. You remember me but do not know me. You call upon me but are heedless of my appearance, despite my coming to you from the primordial heavens with my grand glory. Tear away the veils with my name and authority so that you may find a path to the Lord.

128) The Glorious Lord, from the horizon of the canopy of greatness and majesty, calls out, saying: O assembly of the Gospel, the Kingdom has been entered by those who were outside of it, and today we see you standing at the door. Tear away the veils with the power of your Mighty, Giving Lord. Then enter into my Kingdom in my name. Thus, commands you the one who desires eternal life for you. Indeed, He is capable of everything. Blessed are those who recognized the light and hastened to it; they are in the Kingdom, eating and drinking with the chosen ones.

129) We show you, O children of the Kingdom, in the darkness. This is not fitting for you. Are you afraid of facing the light because of your deeds? Approach it. Your Glorious Lord has honored His abodes with His arrival. We teach you the path that the Spirit informed of. I bear witness to it, as it was a witness to me. He, the Most High, once said, “I will make you fishers of men,” and today we say, “Come so that we may make you revivers of the world.” Thus, the decree was written in a tablet inscribed by the Pen of Command.

130) O exalted pen, move in remembrance of other kings on this blessed, luminous page. Let them rise from the slumber of desire and hear what the luminous pages sing upon the branches of the Lote Tree of the Farthest Boundary. Let them hasten to God in this most magnificent and impervious appearance.

To the King of Paris (Napoleon III)

131) Say, O King of Paris, inform the priest not to ring the bells. By God, the truth has manifested. The grandest bell tolls upon the temple of the supreme name, struck by the fingers of the divine will in the realm of eternity. Thus, the verses of your Lord have been revealed again, standing as a reminder of God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, during those days when all tribes on earth lamented, when the foundations of lands shook, and when people were enveloped in the dust of disbelief, except those whom your wise and mighty Lord willed. The chosen one has arrived under shades of light, reviving worlds with the essence of the merciful name, seeking unity in the world and gathering them on this table sent from the heavens. Beware of denying God’s favors after they are revealed. This is better for you than what you possess because it will perish, while what is with God remains. He has authority over everything he wills. The breezes of forgiveness have blown from your Merciful Lord. Whoever turns to them will be purified from disobedience, diseases, and ailments. Blessed are those who turn towards them, and woe to those who turn away.

132) If you attune your natural hearing to things, you’ll hear them say: The Ancient of Days, full of glory, has come. Everything praises their Lord. Among them are those who recognize God and remember Him, and those who remember but do not recognize. Such is the detailed decree.

133) O King, listen to the call from this blazing fire, from this verdant tree upon this elevated mount, in this sacred white spot beyond the realm of existence. There is no god but Me, the Forgiving, the Merciful. We sent from us, with the Holy Spirit, to inform you of this light which shone from the horizon of the will of your exalted Lord, and its traces appeared in the west. So you may turn to it on this day that God made the foremost of days, wherein the Merciful was manifested to those in the heavens and the earth. Stand in service to God, aiding His cause. He will support you with unseen and seen forces, making you a ruler over all that the sun shines upon. Your Lord is capable, powerful.

134) The breezes of mercy spread throughout the universe. Fortunate is the one who discovers and recognizes them and turns to them with a sincere heart. Adorn your temple with the highest pattern, your tongue with remembrance, and your heart with my strong, mighty love. We only desire what’s best for you, more than what you have and more than all the treasures of the earth. Your Lord is knowledgeable and well-aware. Rise among the people with my name and say, “O people of the earth, come towards the one who has come to you. This is the face of God among you, His evidence within you, and His sign for you. He has brought you verses that scholars cannot comprehend.” The tree on the mount speaks to the world, and the Holy Spirit calls among nations, declaring that the intended one has arrived with clear authority.

135) O King, the stars of the scholarly sky who used their knowledge to assert my cause have fallen. When I came with my glory, they turned away, except for the fallen ones. This is what the Spirit informed you of when he came with the truth. But scholars resisted until they committed what made the Holy Spirit lament, and the eyes of the close ones wept. Look at the Pharisees: some worshipped God for seventy years but denied the Son when he came. Others who committed sins entered the kingdom. In this way, the eternal pen reminds you to look at what was decreed previously and to be among those turning towards it today.

Do Not Seclude Yourselves in Churches and Temples

136) O monks, do not seclude yourselves in churches and temples! Go out by my permission and engage in what benefits both yourselves and other servants. This is the command of the King of the Day of Judgment. If you seclude yourselves, do so in the fortress of my love, for this is the true seclusion if you are among the knowledgeable. The one who resides near the sacred house is like the deceased; it’s appropriate for a person to reveal from it what benefits all creation. And that which bears no fruit should be for the fire. This is how your Lord admonishes you; He is indeed Mighty and Generous. Marry so someone after you can take your place. We have prohibited you from betrayal, not from what manifests trust. Have you taken your own principles and disregarded God’s? Fear God and do not be among the ignorant. Were it not for people, who would mention me on earth? And how would my attributes and names be manifested? Reflect and do not be among those who are veiled and are of the heedless. The one who didn’t marry hasn’t found a place to reside or rest his head, because of the betrayal they have acquired. Sanctifying oneself isn’t by what you’ve known or the delusions you hold but by what we have. Ask to know his status which is sacred from the assumptions of everyone on earth. Blessed are the knowledgeable.

137) O King, we’ve heard a word you spoke when the King of the Russians asked you about the ruling of invasion. Your Lord is All-Knowing and Aware. You said, “I was asleep in the cradle when the cries of the oppressed awakened me until they drowned in the Black Sea.” That’s what we heard, and your Lord is a witness to what I say. We bear witness that it wasn’t the cries that awakened you but desires. We tested you and found you in a place you claim. Recognize the tone of the statement and be among the vigilant. We don’t like to send you any harsh words, preserving the status we gave you in this apparent life. We chose manners and made it the characteristic of those drawn near. It’s a garment that suits souls both young and old. Blessed is the one who adorns himself with it, and woe to those deprived of this great bounty. If you were the man of the word, you wouldn’t have thrown God’s book behind your back when it was sent to you from the Mighty and Wise. We tested you with it and found you based on what you claimed. Rise and make up for what you missed. The world and what you have will vanish, and dominion will remain with God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. It isn’t fitting for you to limit matters based on your desires. Beware of the sigh of the oppressed and protect it from the arrows of the oppressors.

Dominion Will Slip From Your Hand

138) Due to your actions, affairs in your kingdom will differ, and dominion will slip from your hand as a result. Then, you’ll find yourself in clear loss, and earthquakes will affect all tribes unless you stand in support of this cause and follow the spirit on this straight path. The honor you value won’t last, it will fade unless you hold onto this strong rope. We see humiliation following you while you are among the heedless. When you hear the call from the bank of greatness, leave what you have and respond, “Here I am, O God of the heavens and the earths.”

139) O King, we were in the mother of Iraq until the heat of separation directed us to the King of Islam by his command. When we arrived, he responded with the hypocrisy of those who aren’t genuine, which cannot be described in words. Because of that, the residents of paradise and the people of the sacred sanctuaries lamented, but the people are veiled by a thick curtain. Say, do you object to the One who has come to you with the clear proofs of God, His evidence, His argument, and His signs? This is not of His own invention, but from the One who has sent Him and dispatched Him with the truth, making Him a lamp unto the worlds.

Baha’u’llah was Imprisoned Solely for Renewing Religion

140) Our situation has become more severe every day, even every hour, until they took us out of prison and put us into a greater prison with clear injustice. When it was asked why they imprisoned us, they said that we intended to renew the religion. If the old ways were chosen by you, you would not have abandoned what was ordained in the Torah and the Gospel. Be clear, O people, by my life, there is no escape for you today. If this is my crime, then Muhammad, the Messenger of God, the Spirit before him, and the Speaker before him have preceded me in this. If my sin is to exalt the word of God and manifest His command, then I am the first of sinners; I would not exchange this sin for the dominion of the King of the heavens and the earth.

141) When we arrived in prison, we wanted to convey the messages of their Mighty, Praiseworthy Lord to the kings. If we had conveyed what was commanded in various Tablets, it would have been another favor from God, so that they might recognize the Lord when He comes upon the clouds with clear authority.

142) The more the affliction increases, the more my love for God and His command increases, so that nothing prevents me from what has come upon me from the armies of the heedless. Even if they bury me in layers of earth, they will find me riding on the clouds, calling to the Mighty, Powerful God. Indeed, I have sacrificed myself in the way of God, and I long for tribulations in His love and His pleasure. My sufferings bear witness to this, such that no one in the worlds has borne them, and every hair of mine speaks as the tree on the Mount spoke, and every vein of mine calls to God, saying, “O that I might be cut in Your way for the life of the world and the unity of those in it.” So has the matter been decreed by the Knowledgeable, Aware one.

Your Subjects are the Trusts of God Among You

143) Know that the subjects are the trusts of God among you; preserve them as you would preserve yourselves. Beware lest you make wolves the shepherds of the sheep and let pride and arrogance prevent you from turning to the poor and the needy. If you drink the nectar of life from the cups of the words of your Merciful Lord, you will reach a station where you will break away from what you have and cry out in My name among the worlds. Wash yourself with the water of detachment from this mention that has shone forth from the horizon of creation; it will purify you from the dust of the world. Leave the palaces to the people of the graves and the dominion to whoever wants it, and then turn to this dominion that God has chosen for you if you are of those who turn. Those who did not turn to the face in this appearance are not alive; they are moved by their desires however they wish, but they are among the dead. If you wish to bear the weight of the dominion, bear it for the support of the command of your Exalted Lord, this is the station that whoever attains has attained all good from the Knowledgeable, Wise one.

144) If you rise from the horizon of detachment in My name, then turn to the dominion by the command of your Mighty, Powerful Lord. Stand among the servants with My authority, say, “O people, today the breezes of God have wafted among the worlds.” Those who turned away from the face are overcome by the desires of themselves, but they are among the bewildered.

Walk Among the People

145) Adorn the body of dominion with the embroidery of My name, and stand to convey My command; this is better for you than what you have, and God will elevate your name among the kings; He is indeed Powerful over all things. Walk among the people in the name of God and His authority, so that His effects may appear from you among the worlds. Indeed, kindle with this fire ignited by the Merciful in the pole of existence, so that it may cause a warmth of His love in the hearts of those who turn towards Him. Walk my path, then attract the hearts with my remembrance, the Mighty, the Impenetrable.

146) Say, indeed, he from whom the breezes of the garment of the remembrance of his Lord, the Merciful, have not diffused in this time, will not be attributed the name of man. He is indeed of those who have followed their passions and will find himself in great loss. Say, O people, is it proper for you to attribute yourselves to the Merciful and commit what the devil has committed? No, by the beauty of the Sublime if you are among those who know. Sanctify your hearts from the love of the world, and your tongues from slander, and your limbs from that which prevents you from drawing near to God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Say, the world is your distraction from the source of revelation and your inclination towards that which does not benefit you, and what prevents you today from the path of God, it is the root of the world; avoid it, and draw near to the Greater Sight, this Luminous, Shining Abode. Blessed is the one who is not prevented by anything from his Lord; there is no harm upon him if he acts in the world with justice, for We have created everything for Our monotheist servants.

Do Not Shed Blood

147) O people, if you say what you do not do, what is the difference between you and those who said, “Our Lord is God,” but when they entered under the shadows of the clouds, they turned away and were arrogant towards God, the Mighty, the Knowing. O people, do not shed blood, and do not judge a soul except with truth; thus you have been commanded from the Knowledgeable, the Aware. Indeed, those who cause corruption on the earth after its reform, they have transgressed what was determined in the Book; a miserable abode for the transgressors.

148) God has written for every soul the proclamation of His command, and he who desires what he has been commanded, he should first adopt the good qualities, then convey to the people, so the hearts of those who turn towards Him may be attracted by his speech, and without that, his remembrance will not influence the hearts of the servants; thus God teaches you, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Do not Oppress While Commanding People to Justice

149) Indeed, those who oppress and command people to justice, the inhabitants of the celestial realm and those who circulate around the throne of your Lord, the Mighty, the Beautiful, belie what comes out of their mouths. O people, do not commit what would compromise your dignity and the sanctity of the command among the servants, and do not approach what your minds deny. Fear God, and do not follow the heedless. Do not betray the people’s wealth; be trustworthy on earth and do not deprive the poor of what God has given you of His grace, for He gives you double what you have; indeed, He is the Generous Giver.

Arguing is a Veil

150) Say, We have determined the proclamation with clear evidence; do not argue with anyone, and he who desires to proclaim sincerely for the face of his Lord, the Holy Spirit will support him and inspire him with what illuminates the breast of the world, and how the breasts of the seekers. O people of Bahá, subjugate the cities of hearts with the swords of wisdom and eloquence. Indeed, those who argue with the passions of their souls, they are in a manifest veil. Say, the sword of wisdom is hotter than fire and sharper than a sword of iron if you are among those who know. If you bring it forth with my name and authority, then open with it the cities of the hearts of those who have fortified themselves in the fortress of passion; thus, your Lord, the Most Exalted, commands you when He was seated under the swords of the polytheists.

Cover a Mistake

151) If you have come across a mistake, cover it, so God may cover you; indeed, He is the Veiler, the Possessor of Great Grace. O assembly of the wealthy, if you see a poor person, do not be arrogant towards him. Reflect on what you were created from; indeed, all were created from a base fluid. It is upon you to be truthful; with it, you will adorn your edifices, elevate your names, and raise your ranks among creation, and with the Truth, for you is a great reward.

152) O assembly of the earth, listen to what the Pen commands you from the Lord of the nations, and know that the laws have culminated in the Law branching from the Greatest Ocean. Embrace it by a command from Us; indeed, We are the Rulers. So consider the world as a human edifice afflicted by diseases, and its healing is dependent on the unity of those within it. If you come together on what We have legislated for you, do not follow the paths of the divided.

Two Greatest Feasts

153) The festivals have ended in the two greatest feasts: the first, days in which God was revealed by His Most Beautiful Names to those in the heavens and the earth, and the second, the day on which We sent forth one who announced to the servants this great news, and others in two days. Thus, it has been determined in the Book from One Mighty, Able. These are four complete, and beyond them, you may engage in your affairs and do not prevent yourselves from committing and crafts. Thus the matter has been decreed, and the judgment has come from your Lord, the Knowing, the Wise.

Do Not Avoid Meats and 19 Day Fast

154) Say, O assembly of priests and monks, eat what God has permitted and do not avoid meats. God has allowed you to eat them except on specific numbered days, a grace from Him; indeed, He is the Mighty, the Generous. Lay down what you have and take what God wants; this is better for you if you are among those who know. We have prescribed fasting for nineteen days in the fairest of seasons, and We have excused what is below that in this luminous, radiant appearance. Thus have We detailed and explained to you what you have been commanded, so that you may follow God’s commands and come together on what has been determined for you from One Mighty, Wise. Indeed, your Lord, the Merciful, loves to see from those in the worlds a single breath and one edifice. If you take advantage of God’s grace and mercy in those days the likes of which the eye of creation has never seen, blessed is he who casts aside what he has, seeking what is with God; We witness that he is among the successful.

155) Indeed, O King, I bear witness to what God has borne witness to Himself for Himself, before the creation of His heavens and His earth, that there is no god but I, the One, the Singular, the Exalted, the Mighty, the Impenetrable. Stand with great uprightness at the command of your Most Glorious Lord, so have you been commanded in this wondrous Tablet.

156) We desire for you nothing but what is better for you than all that is on the earth, and all things, and beyond them, this clear Book bear witness to it. Reflect upon the world and the condition of its people. Indeed, He who created the world for Himself has been confined in the most desolate of homes by what the hands of the oppressors have wrought, and from the horizon of the prison, He calls people to the dawn of God, the Most High, the Great. Do you rejoice in your ornaments, knowing that they will perish, or do you boast about your rule over a span of earth, knowing that to the people of splendor it was but like the blackness of a dead ant’s eye? Leave it to its people, then turn to the Desired One of the worlds. Where are the people of vanity and their palaces? Look into their graves to take a lesson from what We have made an example for the onlookers. If the breezes of revelation take you, you would flee from the kingdom, turning to the dominion, and expend what you have to draw near to this noble sight.

Most Servants are Worshipers of Names

157) We see that most of the servants are worshipers of names, as you see them casting themselves into destruction to preserve their names, after which everyone with insight bears witness that the name benefits no one after his death unless attributed to God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Thus have delusions been set over them as a reward for their deeds, so look at their shallow minds, seeking with utmost seriousness and effort what does not benefit them. If you ask them, “Does what you seek benefit you?” you find them bewildered. If anyone is just, he would say, “No, by the Lord of the worlds.” This is the condition of the people and what they have; leave them in their plunge, then turn your face towards God. This is what is fitting for you, to take counsel with what you have been counseled from your Lord, and say, “Indeed, all praise is for You, O God of all that is in the heavens and the earth.”

To the King of Russia (Czar Alexander II)

158) O King of Russia, hearken to the call of God, the sovereign, the holy, then turn to the paradise, the abode wherein dwelt He who was named with the beautiful Names, amongst the celestial concourse, and in the kingdom of creation, in the name of God, the glorious, the most glorious. Let not your passion prevent you from turning to the face of your Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate. We have heard what you have proclaimed to your Sovereign in your secret prayers; therefore, my bounty was stirred, and the sea of my mercy was agitated, and I answered you in truth. Verily, your Lord is the Knowing, the Wise. One of your ambassadors has helped me when I was in prison, under chains and shackles, thus God has decreed for you a station that no one knows except Him. Beware lest you exchange this great station. Verily, your Lord is capable of doing whatever He wills. He effaces whatever He wishes and confirms, and with Him is the knowledge of everything in a preserved tablet.

159) Beware lest the kingdom prevent you from the Sovereign. He has come with His dominion, and the atoms cry out: The Lord has appeared with His great glory. The Father and the Son have come to the holy valley, saying, “Here we are, O God, here we are,” and the Mount circumambulates around the House, and the trees call out with the highest cry: The Giver has come, riding upon the clouds. Blessed is he who draws near to Him, woe to those who are far off.

160) Arise among the people with this firm decree, then call the nations to God, the Most High, the Great. Do not be of those who, if they call upon God by one of the Names, and when the named One comes, they disbelieve in Him and turn away from Him, until they unjustly decree against Him; look, then remember the days in which the Spirit came, and Herod judged Him. God supported the Spirit with invisible hosts and protected Him with the truth, and sent Him to another land, promising Him that He is the ruler over whatever He wills. Verily, your Lord preserves whom He wills, whether he is in the pole of the sea, or in the mouth of the serpent, or under the swords of the oppressors.

161) Blessed is the king who is not prevented by the embellishments of glory from turning to the sunrise of beauty, and discards what he has in seeking what is with God, except that he is from the choice of creation before the truth, upon whom the inhabitants of paradise and those who circumambulate around the Throne, in the morning and the evening, pray.

162) If you hearken to my call again from my prison’s direction, to acquaint you with what has appeared upon my beauty from the manifestations of my glory, and to know my patience after my power, and my steadfastness after my ability, and my life - if you knew what has descended from my pen, and looked into the treasuries of my command, and the gems of my secrets, in the oceans of my Names, and the receptacles of my words - you would sacrifice yourself in my path, out of love for my Name and longing for my invincible, impregnable dominion.

163) Know my body under the swords of the enemies and my flesh in a calamity that cannot be counted, but the soul is in a glad tidings that no joy of the worlds equals. Turn to the Qibla of the world with your heart and say, “O people of the earth, have you disbelieved in the one who was martyred for His cause, who came with the truth with the news of your exalted, great Lord? Say, this is news that has delighted the hearts of the Prophets and the Messengers; this is the play mentioned in the heart of the world, and promised in the scrolls of God, the Mighty, the Wise. The hands of the messengers have been raised to meet me to God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. It is witnessed by what was revealed in the tablets from an able, mighty one.

The One Mentioned by the Tongue of Isaiah

164) Some of them wailed in my absence, some of them endured hardships in my way, and some of them sacrificed themselves for my beauty, if you are among those who know. Say, I did not want to describe myself but the soul of God if you are among the fair. Nothing is seen in me but God and His command, if you are among those who observe. Say, I am the one mentioned by the tongue of Isaiah and adorned with my name in the Torah and the Gospel; so the matter has been decreed in the tablets of your Lord, the Compassionate. He has borne witness for me, and I bear witness for Him, and God is a witness over what I say.

165) Say, the books have not been revealed but for my remembrance; every seeker who knows my name and praise, and who opens the hearing of his heart, hears from every word of it that the truth has come. Indeed, He is the beloved of the worlds.

166) Indeed, my tongue advises you sincerely for the sake of God, and my pen moves in your remembrance after what does not harm me: the harm of those on earth and their avoidance, nor benefits me the approach of all creatures. We remind you of what we commanded you, and we do not want anything from you but to bring you closer to what benefits you in this world and the Hereafter. Say, do you kill the one who calls you to eternal life? Fear God, and do not follow every arrogant tyrant.

167) Say, O people of vanity, do you see yourselves in the palaces and the Sultan of appearances in the ruined houses? No, by my life, you are in the graves if you are among the poets. The one who will not be shaken by the breath of God in his days is indeed among the dead with God, the Owner of the names and attributes. Rise from the graves of desire, turning to the kingdom of your Lord, the Owner of the throne and the earth, to see what you were promised from before, from your knowing Lord.

168) Do you think what you have will benefit you? Others will own it, and you will return to the dust without a helper or supporter. There is no good in a life that death comes to, nor for permanence that decay reaches, nor for a blessing that changes. Leave what you have and turn to the blessing of God that has come down with this beautiful name.

169) So sang to you the highest pen by the permission of your most glorious Lord, when you heard and read, say to Him, praise be to You, O God of the worlds, for You have mentioned me with the tongue of the manifestation of Your soul, when it was confined in the greatest prison for the liberation of the worlds.

170) Blessed is the king, whose kingdom did not prevent him from his Owner, and turned to God with his heart. He is among those who have succeeded in what God, the Mighty, the Wise, wanted. He will see himself from the kings of the kingdoms of the kingdom; indeed, your Lord is the one who is able to do whatever He wills. He gives to whom He wills whatever He wills and denies from whom He wills what He desired. Indeed, He is the one who is able, mighty.

To the Queen in London (Victoria)

171) O Queen in London! Hearken to the call of your Lord, the Creator of all beings, from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, there is no God but Me, the Mighty, the Wise. Lay aside what is on the earth, and adorn the head of sovereignty with the crown of the remembrance of your glorious Lord. He has come into the world with His most great glory, and has completed what was mentioned in the Gospel. The land of Syria has been honored by the advent of its Lord, the Sovereign of all beings, and has taken the intoxication of the wine of union, both south and north. Blessed is he who has found, known the Compassionate, and turned towards the Sunrise of Beauty in this manifest dawn. The Al-Aqsa Mosque has been stirred by the breezes of its Lord, the Most Glorious, and the courtyard from the call of God, the Most High, the Most High; every stone thereof praises the Lord with this Great Name.

Forbidden the Sale of Slaves

172) Abandon your desire, then turn with your heart to your Ancient Lord. We remind you for the sake of God, and we love that your name be exalted with the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the earth and the heavens. He is a Witness to what I say. We have been informed that you have forbidden the sale of male and female slaves; this is what God has decreed in this wondrous Revelation. God has written for you the reward for that; He is the one who fulfills the rewards of the beneficent. Follow what has been sent to you from the Knowing, the Aware. Verily, he who turns away and is arrogant after the clear proofs have come to him from the Revealer of signs, God will nullify his work; He is Powerful over all things. Verily, deeds are accepted after acceptance; he who turns away from the truth, he has been veiled from the creation, thus has it been decreed from the Mighty, the Able.

Consultation in the Hands of the Public

173) We have heard that you have entrusted the reins of consultation to the hands of the public. Well done what you have done, for by it the foundations of the structure of matters are strengthened, and the hearts of those under your shadow, both insignificant and noble, are reassured. However, they must be trustworthy among the servants and see themselves as representatives of all who are upon the earth; this is what they were advised with in the Tablet from the Wise Planner. When anyone turns towards the assembly, he turns his eye to the highest horizon and says: O my God, I ask You by Your Most Glorious Name to assist me in what rectifies the affairs of Your servants and populates Your lands with it. You are Powerful over all things. Blessed is he who enters the assembly for the sake of God and judges between the people with pure justice; verily, he is of the successful.

174) O ye members of councils in those regions and in other lands, deliberate and speak concerning what will reform the world and its state if ye are of those who are insightful. Look upon the world as the body of a human being, created whole and perfect, then afflicted with various ailments due to different and varying causes. His soul has not been at ease for a day, but his illness has grown more severe as it has come under the treatment of unskilled physicians who have ridden the steed of desire and are lost. If a skilled physician has treated one of his organs during an era, the other organs have remained as they were, and thus the Wise and Knowing informs you.

175) Today, we see it under the control of those who have been intoxicated by the wine of pride, so they do not recognize the good for themselves; so how will they handle this complex and perilous situation? If one of them seeks to heal it, his aim is nothing but to benefit from it in name or in fame. Thus, he can only cure it to a limited extent.

Unity of All Under One Order and One Law

176) That which God has made the greatest remedy and the most complete cause for its healing is the unity of all on earth under one order and one law. This can never happen unless there is a skillful, complete, and divine Physician. By my life, this is the truth, and what follows it is clear error. Every time that great Cause has come and that Light has shone from the eternal horizon, the unskilled physicians have opposed it and become clouds between it and the world. Thus, the world’s sickness has not healed and has remained in its affliction until now. They could not preserve and heal it, and He who was the manifestation of power among creatures was prevented from what He desired by what the hands of the physicians had earned.

177) Consider, in these days when the Beauty of the Eternal and the Greatest Name has come for the life of the world and their union, they have risen against Him with sharpened swords and committed what has terrified the faithful soul, until they made Him a prisoner in the most desolate of lands, a place cut off from the reach of those who turn towards Him. If it is said to them that the Reformer of the world has come, they say, “It has been proven that He is one of the corrupt,” even though they have not associated with Him, and they see that He has not protected Himself in less than a moment, whereas He was always in the hands of the oppressors. Once they imprisoned Him, another time they released Him, and at times they moved Him around the lands. Thus, they ruled over us, and God knows what I am saying. Those are the most ignorant of creation in the eyes of Truth, cutting off their own limbs and not realizing it, preventing good from themselves and not knowing it. They are like children who do not know the corrupt from the reformer, and evil from good. Today we see them in a manifest veil.

178) O assembly of rulers! Since you have become clouds over the face of the sun and have prevented it from shining, listen to what the Supreme Pen advises you, so that you may find comfort in it, and then the poor and the needy. We ask God to support the kings in bringing about reform, for He is indeed capable of what He wills.

Choose For Your Subjects What You Choose For Yourselves

179) O assembly of kings! We see you increasing your expenditures every year and imposing them on your subjects. Indeed, this is nothing but great injustice. Fear the sighs and tears of the oppressed, and do not burden your subjects beyond their capacity, nor ruin them to build your palaces. Choose for them what you would choose for yourselves. Thus do We clarify to you what will benefit you if you are among those who perceive. Indeed, they are your treasuries. Beware of ruling over them with what God has not ordained, and beware of handing them over to thieves. By them you rule, eat, and triumph, yet you act arrogantly towards them. Truly, this is a strange matter.

Cling To This Lesser Peace

180) Since you have cast aside the greater peace, cling to this lesser peace so that it may reform your affairs and those under your shadow to the degree, O leaders.

181) If you rectify the relations between yourselves, then you will not need a multitude of soldiers and their equipment except to the degree that you protect your kingdoms and lands. Beware of neglecting what you have been advised by the Knowledgeable and Trustworthy One.

182) If you unite, O assembly of kings, the winds of discord will calm among you, and the subjects and those around you will find peace if you are among those who understand. If one of you rises against another, stand together against him, for indeed, this is nothing but manifest justice. Thus have We instructed you in the Tablet that We sent before this time. Follow what has been revealed from the Mighty, Wise One. If anyone seeks refuge under your shadow, protect him and do not hand him over. Thus does the Supreme Pen admonish you from the Knowledgeable, Expert One.

183) Beware of doing what the King of Islam did when he judged against Us and Our followers with injustice that made things lament and burned the hearts of those who are near. The winds of passion have stirred them as they please; We have found no stability in them, for indeed, they are among those who wander astray.

Remember the Queen

184) O Pen of Eternity! Hold the pen and let them indulge in their fantasies. Then remember the Queen, that she may turn with the purest heart towards the grandest sight, and do not prevent the vision from looking upon the part of her Lord, the Owner of Destiny. Let her gaze upon what has been revealed in the Tablets and Scriptures from the Creator of humanity, by Whom the sun has darkened, the moon has eclipsed, and the call has risen between the heavens and the earths.

185) Turn to God and say, “O my Sovereign, I am the owned, and You are the Owner of kings. I have raised my hand of hope to the sky of Your grace and gifts, so send down from the clouds of Your bounty what will cut me off from all but You and bring me near to You. O Lord! I ask You by Your Name, which You have made the authority of names and the manifestation of Yourself to those on earth and in the heavens, to pierce the veils that have stood between me and the recognition of the rising place of Your signs and the dawning-place of Your revelation. Verily, You are the Mighty, the Powerful, the Generous. O Lord! Do not deprive me of the breezes of Your garment of mercy in Your days, and write for me what You have written for Your handmaidens who have believed in You and Your signs, who have succeeded through Your knowledge, and turned with their hearts towards the horizon of Your command. Verily, You are the Lord of the worlds and the most merciful of the merciful. Then, strengthen me, O my God, in Your remembrance among Your handmaidens and in supporting Your cause in Your lands. Then accept from me what has passed me by when the lights of Your face rose. Verily, You are capable of all things, and glory be to You, O the One in Whose hand is the dominion of the kingdom of the heavens and the earths.”

King of the Earth (Násiri’d-Dín Sháh)

186) O King of the Earth! Hearken to the cry of this servant. I am a slave who has believed in God and His signs and sacrificed myself in His way. And my witness to that is what I endure of the tribulations which none of the servants have borne, and my Lord, the All-Knowing, is a witness to what I say. I have called people only to God, your Lord and the Lord of the worlds, and in His love, He has returned to me what the eye of creation has never seen a likeness of. The servants who are not hindered by the human limitations from turning towards the greater spectacle, and from beyond them, the knowledge of everything in a guarded tablet, bear witness to that.

187) Whenever the clouds of destiny rained down arrows of tribulation in the way of God, the Master of Names, I have embraced them, and every fair and expert person bears witness to this. How many nights when the beasts have rested in their dens, and the birds in their nests, but the youth was in chains and fetters, and found no helper or supporter for himself.

188) If I mention God’s favor upon you when you were in prison with a few souls, and He brought you out of it, and helped you with armies of the unseen and witnessed, until He sent you as the ruler to Iraq after what We revealed to you that you were not of the corrupt. Indeed, those who followed desire and turned away from piety are in manifest error. And those who spread corruption on the earth and shed blood and consume people’s wealth unjustly, we are free from them, and we ask God that He does not gather us with them, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter unless they repent to Him. He is indeed the most Merciful of the merciful.

189) The one who turns to God should be distinguished in all his deeds from others and follow what is commanded in the Book. Thus, the matter is decreed in a clear book, and those who have thrown away God’s command behind them and followed their desires are in great error.

190) O Sultan! I adjure you by your Lord, the Most Merciful, to look at the servants with glances of your compassion’s eyes and judge between them with justice so that God may reward you with grace. Indeed, your Lord is the One who judges as He wills. The world and everything in it of glory and humiliation will vanish, and the dominion will remain for God, the Supreme, the All-Knowing.

191) Say that He has lit the lamp of explanation and extends it with the oil of meanings and clarification. Exalted is your Lord, the Most Merciful, from standing with His command of creation. He manifests whatever He wills with His authority and preserves it with a battalion of the angels drawn near.

Baha’u’llah Was Taught Knowledge He Did Not Have

192) He is the Dominator over His creation and the Victor over His creatures. He is indeed the All-Knowing, the Wise. O Sultan! I was like one of the servants and asleep on the bed when the breezes of the Glorious passed by me and taught me knowledge that I did not have. This is not from me, but from the presence of the Mighty, the All-Knowing, and He commanded me to call between the earth and the sky. With that, He returned to me what had shed the eyes of the knowing. I did not read what people have of sciences, nor did I enter schools, so ask the city in which I was to be certain that I am not of the liars. This is a paper stirred by the winds of the will of your Lord, the Mighty, the Praised. Is there stability for it when the winds of storms blow? No, by the Master of the Names and Attributes, but it is moved as He wills. The nonexistence has no existence over eternity. His determined command has come and made me speak His remembrance among the worlds. I was but like the dead in the face of His command; the hand of your Lord’s will, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate, turned me over. Can anyone speak on his own with what he opposes the servants with, of all low and noble? No, by He who taught the pen the secrets of eternity, except one who is supported from the presence of a Capable, Powerful One.

193) The Supreme Pen addresses me and says, “Fear not to tell the presence of the Sultan what has been revealed to you. Indeed, his heart is between the fingers of your Lord, the Most Merciful. Perhaps the sun of justice and benevolence will rise from the horizon of his heart.” Thus, the command from the presence of the Wise was revealed.

194) Say, O Sultan! Look with the edge of justice at the youth, then judge with the truth in what has been revealed to him. God has made you His shadow among the servants and a sign of His power for those in the lands. Judge between us and those who have wronged us without evidence or a luminous book. Indeed, those around you love you for themselves, and the youth loves you for yourself and only wishes to bring you closer to the abode of grace and turn you to the right of justice, and your Lord is a witness to what I say.

195) O Sultan! If you could hear the screeching of the Supreme Pen and the roar of the pages of eternity on the branches of the Tree of the End, in the remembrance of God, the Originator of names and the Creator of the earth and the heavens, it would bring you to a station where you see nothing in existence but the appearance of the Presence of the Adored One. You would see sovereignty as the most trivial thing in your eyes, and you would bestow it upon whomever you wish. You would turn to the horizon that is illuminated by the lights of the Face, and you would never bear the burden of sovereignty except to aid your exalted Lord. Then the High Assembly would bless you, how excellent this exalted station is if you were to ascend to it with a sovereignty that is known by the name of God!

196) Among people are those who said the Youth wanted nothing but the preservation of his name, and some of them said he wanted the world for himself after what I have not found in my days a place of safety to the extent that I could put my foot on it. I was always in the depths of calamities that no one knew but God; He was indeed knowledgeable about what I say. How many days my loved ones were disturbed by my harm, and how many nights the wailing of tears rose from my family fearing for me! None denies this except those deprived of truth. And he who does not see life for himself in less than that, does he want the world? How strange from those who speak by their whims and have wandered in the wilderness of the self and desire; they will be questioned about what they said, on that day they will find neither a friend nor a supporter for themselves.

197) And among them are those who said that he disbelieved in God after all my limbs bear witness that there is no god but He, and those whom He sent with truth and sent them with guidance, these are the manifestations of His beautiful names and the dawning places of His exalted attributes and the descent of His revelation in the kingdom of creation. Through them, the proof of God was perfected over all else, and the banner of monotheism was erected, and the sign of abstraction appeared, and through them, every soul has taken a path to the Lord of the Throne. We bear witness that there is no god but He. He has always been, and there was nothing with Him, and He will continue to be as He has always been. The Merciful is exalted beyond the grasp of the hearts of the people of knowledge or the comprehension of His essence by those in the worlds. He is sanctified from knowing anything other than Him, and He is far above the understanding of anything besides Him. He was independent of the worlds in the eternity of eternities.

198) Remember the days in which the sun of truth shone forth from the horizon of the will of your exalted Lord. The scholars turned away from it, and the learned opposed it, to look for what is today veiled in the veil of light and things intensified upon it from all sides until those around Him scattered by His command. Such was the command that descended from the heaven of might. Then remember when one of them entered upon the Negus and recited to him a chapter from the Quran, he said to those around him that it was revealed from the presence of the Knowing, the Wise. Whoever believes in the Most Beautiful and trusts in what Jesus brought cannot help but turn towards what was recited. We bear witness for him just as we bear witness to what we have from the Books of God, the Dominant, the Self-Subsisting.

199) By God, O King! If you could hear the melodies of the songs that sing on the branches in the arts of tunes by the command of your merciful Lord, you would leave the sovereignty behind you and turn to the greater view, the station where the Book of the Dawn was witnessed on its horizon, and you would spend what you have in seeking what is with God. Then you will find yourself in the height of dignity and supremacy and the loftiness of greatness and independence. Thus was the matter written in the Mother of the Book by the Pen of the Merciful. There is no good in what you possess today, for tomorrow someone else will possess it. If you choose for yourself what God has chosen for His chosen ones, He will give you in His kingdom great sovereignty. We ask God to support you in listening to the word from which the world is enlightened and to protect you from those who were far from the shore of nearness.

A Prayer and Plea to God

200) Glorified are You, O God, my God, how many heads were raised on the spear in Your path, how many chests faced the arrows in Your satisfaction, how many hearts intertwined for the elevation of Your word and the spread of Your command, and how many eyes shed tears in Your love. I ask You, O Master of Kings and Merciful to the subjects, by Your greatest name, which You made the rising of Your beautiful names and the manifestation of Your high attributes, to raise the barriers that stood between You and Your creation and prevented them from turning to the horizon of Your revelation. Then draw them, O my God, with Your supreme word, from the left of illusion and forgetfulness to the right of certainty and knowledge, so that they may know what You have intended for them with Your generosity and favor, and turn to the manifestation of Your command and the rising of Your signs.

201) O my God, You are the Generous, Possessor of great favor, do not deprive Your servants of the greatest sea, which You have made a carrier for the pearls of Your knowledge and wisdom, and do not banish them from Your door, which You have opened for those in Your heaven and earth. Oh Lord, do not leave them to themselves, for they do not know and flee from what is better for them than what was created in Your earth. Look at them, O my God, with the glances of Your kindness and gifts, and free them from the self and desire to draw near to Your highest horizon and to find the sweetness of Your remembrance and the pleasure of the banquet that You have sent down from the heaven of Your will and the breeze of Your favor. Your generosity has always surrounded the possible things, and Your mercy preceded the beings. There is no god but You, the Forgiving, the Merciful.

202) Glorified are You, O my God, You know that my heart has melted in Your command, and my blood boils in every vein from the fire of Your love, and every drop of it calls You with the language of the state, “O my Lord, the Exalted, spill me on the ground in Your path, so that from it may grow what You have wanted in Your tablets and concealed from the sight of Your servants, except those who drank from the Kawthar of knowledge from the hands of Your favor and the Salsabil of knowledge from the cup of Your gift,

203) and You know, O my God, that I have not intended anything in my command except Your command, and I have not aimed at any mention except Your mention, and my pen did not move except that I intended with it Your satisfaction and to reveal what You have commanded me with by Your authority.

204) You see me, O my God, bewildered in Your land; if I mention what You have commanded me with, Your creation objects to me, and if I leave what You have commanded me with, I deserve the whips of Your wrath and am far from the gardens of Your nearness.”

204 continues - 205 missing. Needs fixed

What Happened in Iraq

206) By the permission and grace of the Sultan of the Age, this servant turned his attention from the royal seat in Iraq-Arab and resided there for twelve years. During the stay, the situation was not presented to the royal court, nor was it expressed to foreign countries, trusting in God in that land, until one of the officials entered Iraq and began to torment a group of the poor after his arrival. Every day he would assault these servants in the company of some of the outward scholars, and so on, even though nothing contrary to the government, nation, or against the principles and manners of the people of the country ever appeared from these servants.

207) This servant, considering that something contrary to the wisdom of the world-wise Sultan might be done by the transgressors, briefly referred the matter to the foreign minister Mirza Saeed Khan, to be presented in His presence, and to be carried out whatever command the Sultan would issue. A long time passed, and no command was issued until the matter reached a point where there was fear that suddenly corruption would arise, and the blood of many would be shed. A few officials in Iraq turned their attention;

208) If they consider with justice what has happened, it will become clear to their enlightened hearts that what has happened was in the interest and there was no alternative to it apparently. The royal essence is witness and testifier that in every country where a few of this sect were present, the sight of some of the rulers would ignite the fire of war and strife, but this transient one, after entering Iraq, prevented all from corruption and strife, and the witness to this servant is his action. The whole are aware and testify that the congregation of this party in Iraq was more than all the countries, yet no one exceeded their limits or attacked anyone. It has been almost fifteen years that all are observant unto God and have been trusting in Him, and they have endured what has happened to them, and have left it to the truth.

209) After this servant entered this country, which is known as Adirneh, some people in Iraq and others asked about the meaning of ‘victory’ that was revealed in the divine Book. Several answers were sent in response. One of those answers is being presented on this page so that it may become clear in His presence that this servant has looked at nothing but improvement and reform in this matter. Even if some of the divine graces that have been conferred upon me undeservedly are not clear and apparent, this much will become known that by His expansive favor and preceding mercy, He has not deprived the heart from the imprint of reason. The form of the words that were expressed in the meaning of ‘victory’ is as follows:

The Meaning of Victory in the Divine Book

210) He is God, exalted is He. It is known that God, may His mention be exalted, is sanctified from the world and whatever is in it, and the purpose of assistance is not that one should fight soul against soul or argue. The Sovereign does what He wills. He has placed the dominion of creation, by His will, under the control of the kings from land and sea. They are the manifestations of divine power according to their ranks. If they enter the shadow of truth, they are considered of the truth, otherwise, your Lord is indeed Knowing and Wise.

211) And what God, may His mention be exalted, has desired for Himself are the hearts of His servants, which are treasures of remembrance and divine love and the stores of knowledge and divine wisdom. The will of the eternal Sovereign has always been to purify the hearts of the servants from the allusions of the world and whatever is in it, so that they become receptive to the illuminations of the manifestations of the King of names and attributes. Thus, in the city of the heart, a stranger must not find a way, so that the unique Friend may come to His abode, meaning the manifestation of His names and attributes, not His essence exalted is He. For that Sovereign without equal has always been sanctified from ascent and descent and will be.

212) So, the assistance today is not opposition to any one or arguing with a soul, and it will not be. Rather, the Beloved is that the cities of hearts, which are under the control of the troops of the soul and passion, be opened with the sword of explanation, wisdom, and exposition. Therefore, every soul that wishes to assist must first take possession of the city of his heart with the sword of meanings and explanations, and keep it preserved from our mention towards God, and then turn to the cities of hearts.

213) This is the purpose of assistance. Never has corruption been the Beloved of truth, nor is it, and what some of the ignorant have committed before has never been satisfactory. “If you kill in His pleasure, it is better for you than if you kill.” Today, the friends of God must appear among the servants in a way that guides everyone with their deeds to the satisfaction of the Lord of Glory.

214) I swear by the sun of the horizon of sanctification that the friends of truth have never and will never look at the transient land and possessions. God has always looked at the hearts of His servants, and this is also a glance of great grace, so that perhaps the transient souls may become pure and sanctified from the earthly matters and enter the eternal stations. Otherwise, that true Sovereign, by Himself for Himself, has been independent of all, neither benefited by the love of the possible things nor harmed by their hatred. All will become manifest from earthly possibilities and will relate to Him, and God, tomorrow, alone in His abode, which is sanctified from place and time, and mention and explanation, and indication and description, and exaltation and nearness, will be established, and no one knows that but He and those with Him who have the knowledge of the Book. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Bestower. The end.

215) But the goodness of deeds is conditional upon the royal nature itself looking at it with a glance of justice and favor, and not regarding the entreaties of some as insignificant and not considering them sufficient proof. We ask Allah to support the Sultan in what he wants, and what he wants must be the desire of the worlds.

Baha’u’llah Summoned to Istanbul

216) After this, they summoned this servant to Istanbul. We entered that city with a group of the poor, and after entering, we never met with anyone since we had no request, and there was no purpose except to prove to all that this servant did not have corrupt thoughts and never consorted with corrupt people. He who gave speech to the tongue of everything, looking at the consideration of some ranks of attention in some difficult aspects, has been difficult. But to preserve the souls, these matters have occurred. My Lord knows what is in my soul, and He is a witness to what I say.

217) A just ruler is the shadow of Allah on earth. All must find refuge in the shadow of his justice and rest in the shade of his grace. This position is not specific or limited so that it becomes exclusive to some rather than others; the shadow speaks of the one who casts it. Allah, may His mention be exalted, has called Himself the Lord of the worlds, for He nurtures all and says, “Exalted is His grace that precedes possibilities and His mercy that precedes the worlds.”

The Qualities and Purpose of Baha’u’llah’s Followers

218) It is quite clear that right or wrong, according to the claim of the people of this sect, is something they know to be true and have accepted. Therefore, they have passed by us in seeking what is with Allah, and this passing by the soul in the path of love for the Merciful is true testimony and evidence speaking of what they also claim. Has it ever been observed that a sane person would pass away without reason or evidence from his soul? And if it is said that these people are mad, this is quite unlikely, for it is not confined to one breath or two breaths. Rather, a large group of various kinds has become intoxicated from the fountain of divine knowledge and hastened with soul and heart to sacrifice in the path of the beloved.

219) If these souls, who have passed away from us for Allah and have sacrificed their lives and property in His way, are denied, by what argument and evidence will the truth of others’ words against us also be established in the presence of the Sultan?

The late Hajj Sayyid Muhammad, may Allah elevate his station and immerse him in the abyss of His mercy and forgiveness, although he was among the scholars of his age, most God-fearing and ascetic of his time, his dignity was to a degree that every tongue was articulate in his mention and praise. In the war against Russia, even though he himself had issued a fatwa for jihad and had paid attention to his homeland’s prominent support for religion with manifest knowledge, he nevertheless passed over much good with little severity and withdrew. If only the veil would be lifted, and what is concealed from sight would appear!

220) This sect has been passing for over twenty years, tormented in days and nights under the dominance of the imperial wrath, each one having fallen into a homeland due to the gusts of the storms of the sultan’s anger. How many children are left fatherless, how many fathers have become sonless, how many mothers have not dared to lament over their slain children from fear and dread, and many of the servants who were in the evening in the utmost wealth and prosperity, have been observed in the morning in the extreme poverty and humiliation? There is no land but has been tinged with their blood, and no air but has ascended their sighs. In these few years, calamities’ arrows have been shot non-stop from the clouds of destiny, and with all these decrees and tribulations, the fire of divine love in their hearts is inflamed to a degree that if they are all cut piece by piece, they would not pass from the love of the Beloved of the worlds, but with soul they are eager and hopeful for whatever happens in the path of Allah.

Baha’u’llah Requests to Meet the Sultan

221) O Sultan, may the breezes of the mercy of the Compassionate have turned these servants and drawn them to Unity. May the witness of a sincere lover be hidden in his sleeve, but some of the outward scholars have clouded the luminous heart of the king of the time against the intimates of the sanctuary of the Compassionate and the seekers of the Kaaba of Gnosis. If only the judgment of the king who judges the world was set to have this servant gather with the scholars of the age and present his arguments and proofs in the presence of His Majesty, the Sultan. This servant is ready and hopeful from truth that such a gathering comes together, so that the truth of the matter becomes clear and apparent in the presence of the Sultan, and thereafter the matter is in your hands, and I am present before the throne of your sovereignty, so command either for or against me.

The Standard of the Qur’an

222) God, the Merciful, in the Furqan (Qur’an), which is the remaining argument among the universes, says, “So wish for death if you are truthful.” He has proclaimed the wish for death as the proof of truthfulness, and it is known in the luminous mirror of the enlightened conscience which group today has passed from life in the way of the God of all worlds. And if the books of this people’s arguments in proving us were marked with “and they have shed their blood in His way,” countless books would have been apparent and visible among creation.

223) Now, how can this people, whose words and deeds are consistent, be denied, and how can souls be confirmed that have not passed, and do not pass, from a bit of credibility in the way of the Chosen One? Some of the scholars who have declared this servant an unbeliever have never met, have never seen this servant, have not become aware of the purpose, and yet they say, “They wish and they do what they want.” Every claim needs proof, not just words and the appearances of asceticism.

From the Concealed Writings of Fatimah

224) A few paragraphs from the concealed writings of Fatimah, peace be upon her, which are suitable for this station, are spoken in the Persian language, so that some of the hidden matters may be uncovered in the royal court, and the addressees of these statements in the mentioned writings, which are famous for concealed words today, are a people who are famous for knowledge and piety on the outside but obey their desires and lusts inwardly.

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225) He says, “O traitors, why do you claim to be shepherds in appearance, but have become wolves of my sheep inwardly? You are like the star before dawn that appears bright and shining but inwardly leads to the misguidance and destruction of my caravans.

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226) He also says, “O outwardly adorned and inwardly lacking, your likeness is like clear bitter water that may appear perfectly delicate and pure, but when it falls into the hands of the taster of unity, he will not accept a drop of it.” The manifestation of the sun is in both soil and mirror, but know the difference from the thunderbolt to the earth, rather an endless difference in between.

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227) And he also says, “O son of the world, many a dawn the radiance of my grace came from the non-place to your place, found you unoccupied in the bed of comfort, and when the spiritual lightning returned to the place of honor and glory, I did not declare it in the places of nearness to the holy soldiers, I did not like your shame,

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228) and likewise says, “O claimant of love for me, in the early mornings, the breeze of my grace passed over you and found you asleep on the bed of negligence, cried for your state, and returned. The end.”

Follow the Justice of the Qur’an

229) Therefore, in the court of the Sovereign’s justice, one should not be content with the claim of the claimant, and in the Furqan, which distinguishes between truth and falsehood, it says, “O you who have believed, if a wicked person brings you news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become over what you have done, regretful.” In the noble hadith, it is stated, “Do not believe the talebearer.” Some scholars have become confused about the matter, and they have not seen this servant. The souls that have met him bear witness that this servant has not spoken anything other than the decree of Allah in the Book, and with this blessed verse in mind, he says, “Do you resent us except that we have believed in Allah, and what has been revealed to us and what was revealed before?”

230) O King of the Age, direct the eyes of these wanderers towards the mercy of the Merciful and regard these afflictions as a greater mercy and these great adversities as a great relief. But hope is such that His Majesty the Sultan will himself pay attention to the affairs so that it becomes a cause for the contentment of hearts. This pure good has been mentioned, and God is sufficient as a witness.

231) Glory be to You, O God, my God! I bear witness that the heart of the Sultan has been between the fingers of Your power. If You will, turn his heart, O my God, towards mercy and benevolence. Verily, You are the Exalted, the Powerful, the Bestower. There is no god but You, the Mighty, the Helper.

232) Regarding the scholars, it is stated, “But whoever of the scholars guards himself, preserves his religion, opposes his passions, and obeys his Lord’s command, it is obligatory for the common people to follow him.” If the King of the Age were to look at this statement, which has come from the tongue of the Manifestation of God’s Revelation, he would observe that those possessing these qualities mentioned in the noble hadith are rarer than red sulfur. Therefore, anyone who claims knowledge should not be heeded,

233) and likewise, it is stated about the scholars of the last age, “The scholars of that time are the most evil scholars under the shade of heaven; from them, temptation emerges, and to them, it returns.”

It also says, “When the standard of truth appears, the people of the East and the West curse it.” If someone denies these hadiths, their proof is upon this servant. Since the purpose is to be concise, the details of the narrators are not presented.

234) Those scholars who have truly partaken from the cup of detachment have never targeted this servant, such as the late Sheikh Morteza, may Allah elevate his station, and may he reside in the shadow of the dome of His grace. During his stay in Iraq, he expressed affection and did not speak on this matter without the permission of Allah. We ask Allah to guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with.

The Scholars Engage in Killing and Plunder

235) The condition of all souls is hidden from all affairs, and they are focused on the suffering of this sect, as if they are asked of some who have taken refuge in the shadow of the Sultan’s mercy after the grace of God and have been blessed with infinite blessings. What service have you expressed in return for the Sultan’s bounty? Have you added to the kingdom’s welfare by good governance over the realms, or have you paid attention to something that will bring comfort to the subjects and prosperity to the kingdom, and perpetuate the good name of the government? They have no answer except that they present some, either truthfully or falsely, in the name of the Bab, in the presence of the Sultan, and then engage in killing and plunder. Such was done in Tabriz and Mansuriyya in Egypt, where they sold some and took many ornaments, and never presented this matter to the Sultan’s presence.

236) All these affairs are overlooked, finding these poor ones without support, and have passed through serious matters, and have dealt with these poor ones. Various sects and different nations are at ease under the Sultan’s shadow. This community should be the same; rather, the nobility and elevation of the nature of the Sultan’s servants must be observed to be in the management that all religions come under the Sultan’s shadow, and they all govern with justice.

237) The execution of the bounds of Allah is pure justice, and everyone is content with it; indeed, the divine limits are the cause and reason for the preservation of creatures, and have been and will be so, by His saying, “And there is for you in legal retribution life, O you [people] of understanding.” It is far from the justice of the Sultan that some souls should be subject to the wrath of his anger by mistake. The truth, may His name be exalted, says, “No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.” And it is well known that in every sect, there are the learned and ignorant, wise and foolish, sinful and pious, and the commission of heinous deeds is far from the wise, whether the wise is a seeker of this world or an abandoner of it. If he abandons it, he certainly does not pay attention to other than the truth, and apart from this, the fear of Allah prevents him from committing the forbidden, reprehensible deeds. If he is a seeker of the world, he certainly does not commit things that are the cause of people’s aversion and terror in the lands; rather, he acts in ways that cause people’s inclination, so it is proved that the rejected deeds have been and will be from the ignorant souls. We ask Allah to preserve His servants from paying attention to other than Him and bring them closer to Him. Indeed, He is capable of everything.

Asks God to Turn the Heart of the Sultan

238) Glory be to You, O Allah, my God! You hear my lament, see my condition, my distress, and my trials, and You know what is in my soul. If my call is purely for Your face, then draw the hearts of Your creatures to the horizon of the sky of Your recognition, and turn the heart of the Sultan to the right of the throne of Your name, the Most Merciful. Then grant him, O my God, the blessing that has descended from the sky of Your generosity and the clouds of Your mercy, so that he may cut off what is with him and turn to the shore of Your kindness.

O Lord, strengthen him to support Your Cause and to exalt Your word among Your creatures. Then assist him with the hosts of the unseen and the witnessed, that he may subdue the cities in Your Name and rule over all on earth by Your power and sovereignty. O You in Whose hand is the dominion of all creation! Indeed, You are the Ruler in the beginning and the return. There is no god but You, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Wise.

Baha’u’llah is Persecuted for Shameful Acts of His Community

239) They have confused my case before the royal presence, imagining that if a shameful act is committed by someone of this community, it is ascribed to the religion of these servants. But by God, besides Whom there is no other god, this servant has never deemed the commission of foul deeds permissible, much less what has been explicitly forbidden in the divine Book.

240) God has prohibited people from drinking wine, and its prohibition has been revealed and recorded in the divine Book. The scholars of the age, may God increase their like, have likewise forbidden people from this vile act, yet some still commit it. The punishment for this act falls upon heedless souls, and all existence, both unseen and witnessed, bears witness to the sanctity of those holy and blessed manifestations.

241) Indeed, these servants know that God does what He wills and decrees what He desires. They do not consider the manifestations of divine Oneness impossible in the realm of dominion, and if a soul deems it impossible, what difference is there between him and those who considered God’s hand to be tied? And if they regard God, exalted be His mention, as free to choose, they must accept every command that emanates from the source of His decree, without escape or refuge. There is no sanctuary or shelter except in Him.

242) The matter that requires presenting evidence and proof of a claim is not contingent upon the opinions of people, whether knowledgeable or ignorant, and it never has been and never will be.

Prophets, who are the loyal to the ocean of divine unity and the descent places of divine revelation, have become the subjects of people’s denial and opposition, as it says, “And if the entire nation’s aspiration was toward their messenger to take him, and they argue with falsehood to defeat the truth with it.” And likewise, it says, “There came not to them a messenger but they did mock him.”

Consider the Appearance of Prior Prophets

243) Consider in the appearance of the Seal of the Prophets and the Sultan of the Chosen, the soul of the worlds sacrificed, after the sunrise of the truth from the horizon of Hijaz, how much oppression from the people of misguidance befell that manifestation of grandeur and glory. They were so neglectful of their servitude that they considered afflicting that presence among the greatest deeds and a means of attaining the Supreme Truth. Even the scholars of that era, in the early years, from the Jews and Christians, turned away from that highest horizon sun and with their turning away, all people, lowly and noble, put on the belt to extinguish the light of that bright horizon. The names of all are mentioned in the books, including Wahb bin Rahib, Ka’b bin Ashraf, Abdullah Abi, and the likes of those souls,

244) until the matter reached a point where they arranged a council to shed the pure blood of that presence, as the Truth, may His mention be glorious, has informed, “And when those who disbelieve plot against you to wound you fatally or to kill you or to drive you out, they plot, but Allah also plots, and Allah is the best of plotters.” And likewise, it says, “And if their turning away is grievous to you, then, if you can, seek a hole in the ground or a ladder to the sky so that you may bring them a sign. And if Allah had willed, He would have gathered them unto guidance, so be not one of the ignorant.” By Allah, the content of these two blessed verses sets the hearts of those near to God on fire, and the likes of these matters are gone from the sight of the true and they never contemplate or show that the cause of the people’s turning away during the appearance of the study of divine lights was what,

245) and likewise before the Seal of the Prophets, consider in Jesus son of Mary, after the appearance of that manifestation of the Compassionate, all the scholars of that simple faith attributed faith to disbelief and rebellion until finally, with the permission of Hinnas, who was the greatest scholar of that era, and also Qayyafa, who was the judge of judges, they inflicted on that presence what the pen is shy and incapable of mentioning. The earth, vast as it is, became narrow until Allah raised him to the sky.

246) And if a detailed account of all the Prophets were to be given, there is fear of fatigue being induced, and it is specific to the scholars of the Torah that after Moses, an independent prophet and a possessor of the law, no one from the descendants of David will appear, and he will be the promoter of the law of the Torah so that with his help, the command of the Torah may be prevalent and effective between the people of the East and the West.

Scholars Insist God Will Never Change the Law

247) And likewise, the people of the Gospel have deemed it impossible that after Jesus son of Mary, the possessor of a new divine command will appear from the East, and they have proven this with this verse that is in the Gospel, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of the Son of Man shall never pass away,” and they insist that what Jesus son of Mary has commanded and ordered will never change.

248) In one station of the Gospel, it says, “I am going, and I will come.” And in the Gospel of John, the comforter is prophesied to come after me, and in the Gospel of Luke, some signs are mentioned. However, when some scholars of that nation interpreted every statement according to their own desires, they remained veiled from the intended meaning.

249) If only you had given me permission, O Sultan, to send to Your Presence what delights the eyes and reassures the souls, and every just person would be certain that he has knowledge of the Book. Some people, when they are unable to answer an opponent, cling to the rope of distorting books, even though the mention of distortion was in specific places. Were it not for the turning away of the ignorant and the blindness of the scholars, I would have spoken a word that would have gladdened the hearts and flown to the air, which hears from its rustling wind that there is no god but He. But now, due to the unfitness of the time, I have withheld my tongue from speaking and sealed the vessel of explanation until God opens it by His power. Indeed, He is the One with Power, the Able.

Prayer For Those Heedless of God’s Secrets

250) Glory be to You, O my God! I ask You by Your Name, by which You have subjugated those in the heavens and the earth, to preserve the lamp of Your command within the glass of Your power and Your kindness so that the winds of denial from the direction of those who are heedless of the secrets of Your chosen Name do not pass over it. Then increase its light with the oil of Your wisdom. Indeed, You are the One with Power over all that is in Your earth and Your heavens.

251) O Lord! I ask You by the Supreme Word, by which those in the earth and the heavens were terrified except those who cling to the firm handle, not to leave me among Your creation but to raise me to You, to enter me into the shades of Your mercy, and to make me drink the pure wine of Your favor so that I may dwell in the hidden places of Your glory and under the domes of Your kindness. Indeed, You are the One with Power over whatever You will, and You are the All-Controlling, the Sustainer.

252) O Sultan! The lamps of justice have been extinguished, and the fire of injustice has flared up in all directions until they have made my family prisoners from the wronged ones of Zawra to the hunchbacked ones of Mosul. This is not the first sacrilege committed in the path of God. Every soul should look and remember what befell the family of the Messenger when the people made them prisoners and brought them into the hollows of Damascus. Among them was the master of those who prostrate, the support of the near ones, and the Kaaba of the longing ones, a soul to whom all besides Him are sacrificed.

253) It was said to them, “Are you the dissenters?” They said, “No, by God! We are servants who have believed in God and His signs. With us, the mouth of faith was opened, and the sign of the Merciful shone forth. With our mention, the stagnant waters flowed, and the darkness that was between the earth and the heavens dissipated.”

254) They were asked, “Have you forbidden what God has made lawful, or made lawful what God has forbidden?” They said, “We are the first to follow the commands of God, and we are the root of the command and its beginning, and the first of all good and its end. We are the sign of eternity and its mention among the nations.”

255) They were asked, “Have you abandoned the Quran?” They said, “The Compassionate revealed it in us, and we are the breezes of the Glorious among the worlds, and we are the channels that branched from the great sea by which God revived the earth and will revive it after its death. From us, His signs spread, His clear proofs appeared, His traces emerged, and with us are its meanings and secrets.”

256) They were asked, “For what crime have you been filled?” They said, “For the love of God and our detachment from all else.

257) We have not mentioned his speech, peace be upon him, but sprinkled a drop from the living sea which was deposited in his words, to revive those who approach, and to make them aware of what befell the confidants of God from the wicked losers. Today, we see them obstructing the people against those who wronged them before, and they are doing greater wrong than those who wronged them, and they do not know.

Baha’u’llah’s Mission is to Purify the Servants

258) By God, I did not intend corruption, but rather the purification of the servants from all that prevents them from drawing near to God, the Owner of the Day of Calling.

“I was sleeping on my bed when the breezes of my Lord the Merciful passed over me and woke me from sleep, and commanded me to call between the earth and the heavens. This was not from me, but from Him, and the inhabitants of His celestial realm and His dominion, and the people of His majestic cities, bear witness to this. By the truth of His soul, I am not afraid of the calamities in His path, nor of the misfortunes in His love and pleasure. God has made calamity food for this green ecstasy, and a moth for His lamp by which the earth and heavens were illuminated.

Where Are the Scholars?

259) Will anyone’s wealth remain with him tomorrow or make him rich before the Owner of his forelock? If anyone looks at those who have slept under the dirt and dwell with the worms, can he distinguish the skulls of the owner from the skulls of the owned? No, by the Lord of kings, and does he know the rulers from the shepherds or distinguish the ones with wealth and riches from the one who was without shoes and covering? By God, the difference has been raised except for the one who fulfills the truth and judges with truth.

260) Where are the scholars, the virtuous, the princes? Where is the acuity of their vision, the sharpness of their sight, the refinement of their thoughts, the integrity of their remembrances? Where are their hidden treasures, their seen ornaments, their composed joys, and their laid out carpets? Alas, all has become dust, and God’s decree has made them scattered dust. What they hoarded has been wasted, what they gathered has been dispersed, what they concealed has been dissipated. They have become nothing but their empty places, their vacant ceilings, their concave trunks, and their worn-out stalks.”

“Indeed, the perceptive is not distracted by wealth from looking towards the ultimate goal, and the expert is not held back by riches from turning to the transcendent richness.

261) Where is the one who ruled over all that the sun shone upon, and who was excessive and extravagant in this world and all that was created in it? Where is the owner of the dark battalion and the yellow banner? Where is the one who ruled in the desert, and where is the one who oppressed in the fertile land? Where are those whose generosity made treasures tremble, and whose generosity made the sea contract? Where is the one whose arm reached out in disobedience, and whose arm was averted from the Merciful?

262) Where is the one who used to pick pleasures and harvest the fruits of desires? Where are the mistresses of perfection and possessors of beauty? Where are their swaying branches, their towering palms, their lofty palaces, their covered gardens, and where is the fineness of their soil, the delicacy of their breeze, the babble of their water, the rustling of their winds, the roar of their leaves, the whispering of their trees? Where are their enchanting evenings, their smiling dawn? Woe to them! They have descended to the lowest point, and they have become neighbors to the abyss; today no mention of them is heard, nor focus, nor any knowledge of their matter or symbol.

263) They deny, and they witness; they disbelieve, and they know; I did not know in which valley they wander. Do they not see that they are going away and not returning? How long will they change and howl, descend and ascend? Has not the time come for those who believe for their hearts to be humbled by the remembrance of God? Blessed is the one who said and says: ‘Yes, my Lord, the time has come,’ and cuts himself off from what was to the Owner of the worlds and the King of places.

264) It is futile; one reaps only what he has sown and takes only what he has laid down, except by the grace of God and His generosity. Has the earth carried that which does not prevent the adornments of majesty from ascending to the kingdom of his mighty, transcendent Lord? And do we have any deeds that remove ailments and bring us closer to the Owner of ailments? We ask God to treat us with His grace, not His justice, and to make us among those who turn to Him and sever all else but Him.

Baha’u’llah Cries For the People

265) O King, I have seen in the path of God what no eye has seen and no ear has heard. The knowledgeable have denied me, and the openings have become narrow for me. The bubbling of safety has dried up, and the bubbling of comfort has turned yellow. How many calamities have descended, and how many will yet descend? I walk facing towards the Mighty, the Giver, and behind me, love flows. How sweet is the bitterness of sorrow, and how bitter is the sweetness of joy!”

266) My eyes have begun to shed tears until my resting place is soaked, and my grief is not for myself. By God, my head longs for spears in love for its Lord, and whenever I pass by a tree, my heart addresses it, “I wish I were cut down for my name’s sake and crucified upon you in my Lord’s path.” What I see of people in their intoxication, wandering aimlessly, not knowing, they have raised their whims and set down their idols, as if they have taken the matter of God in jest, play, and amusement, and they think that they are doing well and in the fortress of security, they are fortified. The matter is not as they suppose; tomorrow they will see what they deny.

Baha’u’llah Will Be Sent to Acre

267) So, they will take us out, the rulers and the rich, from this land called Bádrinah, to the city of Acre, and from what they tell, it is the most desolate of the world’s cities and ugliest in appearance, worst in air, and foulest in water, as if it were the dwelling of the echo, where nothing is heard but the sound of its reverberation. They want to imprison the youth in it and shut the doors of comfort upon our faces and withhold the pleasures of worldly life from us for the remaining days of our lives.

268) By God, if the stupidity overwhelms me and the folly destroys me, and my bed is made of deaf rock, and my companions are the beasts of the wilderness, I will not grieve and will be patient as the people of resolution and the companions of determination have been patient, by the power of God, the Owner of antiquity, the Creator of the nations, and I thank God for all conditions.

We hope from His generosity, exalted is He, that with this imprisonment He will free the necks from chains and shackles, and make the faces pure for His exalted and bountiful countenance. Indeed, He answers those who call Him, and is near to those who supplicate Him. We ask Him to make this darkest calamity a shield for the structure of His Cause, with which He protects it from sharpened swords and penetrating lances. His Cause has always been exalted by calamity, and His remembrance has been glorified. This is a precedent in past generations and ages gone by. The people will come to know what they do not comprehend today when their steeds stumble, their cradles fold, their swords break, and their feet slip.

269) I do not know until when they will ride the mount of desire and wander in the wilderness of heedlessness and misguidance.

Will there remain any honor for the honorable or disgrace for the disgraced? Or will there remain one who leaned on the highest cushion and reached the utmost limit of glory? No, by my merciful Lord, all upon it will perish, and the face of my Lord, the Mighty, the Munificent, will remain.

270) What shield was not pierced by the arrow of fate? What flood was not laid bare by the hand of destiny? What fortress has kept out the messenger of death when he came? What bed was not broken, what reservoir was not emptied? If people knew what lies beyond the seal from the nectar of the mercy of their Mighty, All-Knowing Lord, they would cast aside blame and be content with the youth. But now, they have veiled me with a veil of darkness, which they wove with the hands of suspicions and illusions.

The hand of the White will cut a pocket for this dark night, and God will open a door crowned to His city, then people will enter it in droves and will say what the blamers said before, to reveal in the ends what appeared in the beginnings.

The Day of Judgment

271) They want to reside, and their leg in the journey, do they see for their departure any return? No, by the Lord of Lords, except in the destination, on that day people will rise from their graves and will be asked about the inheritance. Blessed is the one who is not burdened by weight on that day when the mountains pass, and all will be present for questioning in the presence of the exalted God, for He is severe in punishment.

Baha’u’llah Chooses Hardship and Calamity

272) We ask God to sanctify the hearts of some scholars from malice and hatred, to look at things with an eye not overcome by darkness, and to elevate them to a status that does not turn them away from looking at the highest horizon, and not to distract them with livelihood and the causes of comfort from the day when the mountains will be like wool, and even if they rejoice in the calamities that have befallen us, a day will come when they will wail and weep. By my Lord, if I were given the choice between what they have of honor, wealth, fortune, elevation, comfort, and affluence, and what I am in today of hardship and calamity, I would choose what I am in today and now. I would not exchange an atom of these afflictions for what was created in the dominion of creation.

273) If it were not for affliction in the way of God, my remaining would not have humiliated me, and my life would not have benefited me, and it is not hidden from those with insight and those looking at the greater view that in most of my days I was like a servant who sits under a sword hung by a single hair, not knowing whether it will fall on him instantly or after a while, and in all that, we thank God, the Lord of the worlds, and praise Him in all circumstances, for He is a witness to everything.

Shade For the Unitarians

274) We ask God to extend His shade so that the Unitarians will hurry to it, and the sincere will seek refuge in it, and that He grants the servants some blossoms from the garden of His grace, and some flowers from the horizon of His kindness, and supports him in what He loves and is pleased with, and brings him success in what brings him closer to the appearance of His beautiful names, so that he may lower his gaze from what he sees of injustice, and look at the subjects with an eye of kindness, and protect them from transgression. We ask Him, the Exalted, to gather everyone on the bay of the greatest sea, every drop of which calls out that He is the bringer of good news to the worlds and the reviver of the worlds, and praise be to God, the owner of the Day of Judgment.

275) We ask Him, the Exalted, to make you a supporter of His command and an observer of His justice, so that you may judge the servants as you judge your relatives and choose for them what you choose for yourself. Indeed, He is the Capable, the Exalted, the Guardian, the Sustainer.

The Temple Is Built

276) Thus, We built the Temple with the hands of power and might. If you know this, this is the Temple you have promised in the Book, draw near to it; this is better for you if you understand. Be just, O people of the Earth, is this better or the Temple that is built of clay? Turn to it, so you were commanded from God, the Guardian, the Sustainer. Follow the command, then praise your Lord God in what He has bestowed upon you. Indeed, He is the Truth, there is no god but He, He reveals what He wills by saying “Be,” and it is.