We eventually succeeded in manifesting
the Cause of God, and exalted it to
so eminent a position that all the
people, except those who cherished
ill-will in their hearts against
this Youth and joined partners with the
Almighty,
acknowledged the sovereignty of God and His mighty dominion. And
yet, notwithstanding this Revelation
whose influence hath pervaded all
created things, and despite the brightness
of this Light, the like of which
none of them hath ever beheld, witness
how the people of the Bayan have
denied and contended with Me. Some
have turned away from the Path of God,
rejected the authority of Him in
Whom they had believed, and acted
insolently towards God, the Most
Powerful, the Supreme Protector, the Most
Exalted, the Most Great. Others hesitated
and halted in His Path, and
regarded the Cause of the Creator,
in its inmost truth, as invalid unless
substantiated by the approval of
him who was created through the operation
of My Will. Thus have their works
come to naught, and yet they failed to
perceive it. Among them is he who
sought to measure God with the measure of
his own self, and was so misled by
the names of God as to rise up against
Me, who condemned Me as one that
deserved to be put to death, and who
imputed to Me the very offenses of
which he himself was guilty.
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 273
Beware, beware lest thou behave like
unto the people of the Bayan. For
indeed they erred grievously, misguided
the people, ignored the Covenant of
God and His Testament and joined
partners with Him, the One, the
Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily
they failed to recognize the Point of
the Bayan, for had they recognized
Him they would not have rejected His
manifestation in this luminous and
resplendent Being. And since they fixed
their eyes on names, therefore when
He replaced His Name 'the Most Exalted'
by 'the Most Glorious' their eyes
were dimmed. They have failed to
recognize Him in these days and are
reckoned with those that perish.
Indeed, had they known Him through
His own Self or by virtue of that which
He hath revealed, they would not
have repudiated Him when He appeared in
this glorious and incomparable Name,
which God hath ordained to be the
Sword of His Revelation between heaven
and earth, and through which truth
is separated from error, even from
now until the Day when mankind shall
stand before the Lord of the worlds.
--Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 185
O thou who hast gone astray! Thou
hast neither seen Me, nor associated with
Me, nor been My companion for the
fraction of a moment. How is it, then,
that thou hast bidden men to curse
Me? Didst thou, in this, follow the
promptings of thine own desires,
or didst thou obey thy Lord? Produce thou
a sign, if thou art one of the truthful.
We testify that thou hast cast
behind thy back the Law of God, and
laid hold on the dictates of thy
passions. Nothing, in truth, escapeth
His knowledge; He, verily, is the
Incomparable, the All-Informed. O
heedless one! Hearken unto that which the
Merciful hath revealed in the Qur'an:
'Say not to every one who meeteth you
with a greeting, "Thou art not a
believer."' [1] Thus hath He decreed in
Whose grasp are the kingdoms of Revelation
and of creation, if thou be of
them that hearken. Thou hast set
aside the commandment of God, and clung
unto the promptings of thine own
desire. Woe, then, unto thee, O careless
one that doubtest! If thou deniest
Me, by what proof canst thou vindicate
the truth of that which thou dost
possess? Produce it, then, O thou who
hast joined
partners with God, and turned aside from His sovereignty that
hath encompassed the worlds! [1 Qur'an
4:96.]
--Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 207
The Commander of the Faithful (Imam
Ali) hath said: "I am He Who can
neither be named, nor described."
And likewise He hath said: "Outwardly I
am an Imam; inwardly I am the Unseen,
the Unknowable." Abu-Ja'far-i-Tusi
hath said: "I said to Abi Abdi'llah:
'You are the Way mentioned in the Book
of God, and you are the Impost, and
you are the Pilgrimage.' He replied: 'O
man! We are the Way mentioned in
the Book of God, -- exalted and glorified
be He -- and We are the Impost, and
We are the Fast, and We are the
Pilgrimage, and We are the Sacred
Month, and We are the Sacred City, and We
are the Kaaba of God, and We are
the Qiblih of God, and We are the Face of
God.'" Jabir hath said that Abu-Ja'far
-- peace be upon him -- spoke to him
as follows: "O Jabir! Give heed unto
the Bayan (Exposition) and the Ma'ani
(Significances)." He -- peace be
upon him -- added: "As to the Bayan, it
consisteth in thy recognition of
God -- glorified be He -- as the One Who
hath no equal, and in thy adoration
of Him, and in thy refusal to join
partners with
Him. As to the Ma'ani, We are its meaning, and its side, and
its hand, and its tongue, and its
cause, and its command, and its
knowledge, and its right. If We wish
for something, it is God Who wisheth
it, and He desireth that which We
desire." Moreover, the Commander of the
Faithful (Imam Ali) -- peace be upon
him -- hath said: "How can I worship a
Lord Whom I have not seen?" And,
in another connection, he saith: "Nothing
have I perceived except that I perceived
God before it, God after it, or
God with it."
--Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son
of the Wolf, p. 111
There lay concealed within the Holy
Veil, and prepared for the service of
God, a company of His chosen ones
who shall be manifested unto men, who
shall aid His Cause, who shall be
afraid of no one, though the entire human
race rise up and war against them.
These are the ones who, before the gaze
of the dwellers on earth and the
denizens of heaven, shall arise and,
shouting aloud, acclaim the name
of the Almighty, and summon the children
of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious,
the All-Praised. Walk thou in
their way, and let no one dismay
thee. Be of them whom the tumult of the
world, however much it may agitate
them in the path of their Creator, can
never sadden, whose purpose the blame
of the blamer will never defeat.
Go forth with the Tablet of God and
His signs, and rejoin them that have
believed in Me, and announce unto
them tidings of Our most holy Paradise.
Warn, then,
those that have joined partners with Him. Say: I am come to
you, O people, from the Throne of
glory, and bear you an announcement from
God, the Most Powerful, the Most
Exalted, the Most Great. In mine hand I
carry the testimony of God, your
Lord and the Lord of your sires of old.
Weigh it with the just Balance that
ye possess, the Balance of the
testimony of the Prophets and Messengers
of God. If ye find it to be
established in truth, if ye believe
it to be of God, beware, then, lest ye
cavil at it, and render your works
vain, and be numbered with the infidels.
It is indeed the sign of God that
hath been sent down through the power of
truth, through which the validity
of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto
His creatures, and the ensigns of
purity lifted up betwixt earth and
heaven.
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 280
Among others, these perspicuous verses
have, in answer to certain
individuals, been sent down from
the Kingdom of Divine knowledge: "O thou
who hast set thy face towards the
splendors of My Countenance! Vague
fancies have encompassed the dwellers
of the earth and debarred them from
turning towards the Horizon of Certitude,
and its brightness, and its
manifestations and its lights. Vain
imaginings have withheld them from Him
Who is the Self-Subsisting. They
speak as prompted by their own caprices,
and understand not. Among them are
those who have said: 'Have the verses
been sent down?' Say: 'Yea, by Him
Who is the Lord of the heavens!' 'Hath
the Hour come?' 'Nay, more; it hath
passed, by Him Who is the Revealer of
clear tokens! Verily, the Inevitable
is come, and He, the True One, hath
appeared with proof and testimony.
The Plain is disclosed, and mankind is
sore vexed and fearful. Earthquakes
have broken loose, and the tribes have
lamented, for fear of God, the Lord
of Strength, the All-Compelling.' Say:
'The stunning trumpet blast hath
been loudly raised, and the Day is God's,
the One, the Unconstrained.' 'Hath
the Catastrophe come to pass?' Say:
'Yea, by the Lord of Lords!' 'Is
the Resurrection come?' 'Nay, more; He Who
is the Self-Subsisting hath appeared
with the Kingdom of His signs.' 'Seest
thou men laid low?' 'Yea, by my Lord,
the Exalted, the Most High!' 'Have
the tree-stumps been uprooted?' 'Yea,
more; the mountains have been
scattered in dust; by Him the Lord
of attributes!' They say: 'Where is
Paradise, and where is Hell?' Say:
'The one is reunion with Me; the other
thine own self, O thou who dost
associate a partner with God and doubtest.'
They say: 'We see not the Balance.'
Say: 'Surely, by my Lord, the God of
Mercy! None can see it except such
as are endued with insight.' 'Have the
stars fallen?' Say: 'Yea, when He
Who is the Self-Subsisting dwelt in the
Land of Mystery (Adrianople). Take
heed, ye who are endued with
discernment!' All the signs appeared
when We drew forth the Hand of Power
from the bosom of majesty and might.
--Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son
of the Wolf, p. 131
XV. The Pen of Revelation exclaimeth:
"On this Day the Kingdom is God's!"
The Tongue of Power is calling: "On
this Day all sovereignty is, in very
deed, with God!" The Phoenix of the
realms above crieth out from the
immortal Branch: "The glory of all
greatness belongeth to God, the
Incomparable, the All-Compelling!"
The Mystic Dove proclaimeth from its
blissful bower, in the everlasting
Paradise: "The source of all bounty is
derived, in this Day, from God, the
One, the Forgiving!" The Bird of the
Throne warbleth its melody in its
retreats of holiness: "Supreme ascendancy
is to be attributed, this Day, to
none except God, Him Who hath no peer nor
equal, Who is the Most Powerful,
the All-Subduing!" The inmost essence of
all things voiceth in all things
the testimony: "All forgiveness floweth,
in this Day, from God, Him to Whom
none can compare, with Whom no partners
can be joined,
the Sovereign Protector of all men, and the Concealer of
their sins!" The Quintessence of
Glory hath lifted up its voice above My
head, and crieth from such heights
as neither pen nor tongue can in any
degree describe: "God is my witness!
He, the Ancient of everlasting days is
come, girded with majesty and power.
There is none other God but Him, the
All-Glorious, the Almighty, the All-Highest,
the All-Wise, the
All-Pervading, the All-Seeing, the
All-Informed, the Sovereign Protector,
the Source of eternal light!"
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 35
XXVIII. Happy is the man who will
arise to serve My Cause, and glorify My
beauteous Name. Take hold of My Book
with the power of My might, and cleave
tenaciously to whatsoever commandment
thy Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise,
hath prescribed therein. Behold,
O Muhammad, how the sayings and doings of
the followers of Shi'ih Islam have
dulled the joy and fervor of its early
days, and tarnished the pristine
brilliancy of its light. In its primitive
days, whilst they still adhered to
the precepts associated with the name of
their Prophet, the Lord of mankind,
their career was marked by an unbroken
chain of victories and triumphs.
As they gradually strayed from the path of
their Ideal Leader and Master, as
they turned away from the Light of God
and corrupted the principle of His
Divine unity, and as they increasingly
centered their attention upon them
who were only the revealers of the
potency of His Word, their power
was turned into weakness, their glory into
shame, their courage into fear. Thou
dost witness to what a pass they have
come. Behold, how they have joined
partners with Him Who is the Focal-Point
of Divine unity.
Behold how their evil doings have hindered them from
recognizing, in the Day of Resurrection,
the Word of Truth, exalted be His
glory. We cherish the hope that this
people will henceforth shield
themselves from vain hopes and idle
fancies, and will attain to a true
understanding of the meaning of Divine
unity.
The Person of the Manifestation hath
ever been the representative and
mouthpiece of God. He, in truth,
is the Day Spring of God's most excellent
Titles, and the Dawning-Place of
His exalted Attributes. If any be set up
by His side as peers, if they be
regarded as identical with His Person, how
can it, then, be maintained that
the Divine Being is One and Incomparable,
that His Essence is indivisible and
peerless? Meditate on that which We
have, through the power of truth,
revealed unto thee, and be thou of them
that comprehend its meaning.
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 69
Consider, in like manner, the revelation
of the light of the Name of God,
the Incomparable. Behold, how this
light hath enveloped the entire
creation, how each and every thing
manifesteth the sign of His Unity,
testifieth to the reality of Him
Who is the Eternal Truth, proclaimeth His
sovereignty, His oneness, and His
power. This revelation is a token of His
mercy that hath encompassed all created
things. They that have joined
partners with
Him, however, are unaware of such a revelation, and are
deprived of the Faith through which
they can draw near unto, and be united
with, Him. Witness how the divers
peoples and kindreds of the earth bear
witness to His unity, and recognize
His oneness. But for the sign of the
Unity of God within them, they would
have never acknowledged the truth of
the words, "There is none other God
but God." And yet, consider how
grievously they have erred, and strayed
from His path. Inasmuch as they
have failed to recognize the Sovereign
Revealer, they have ceased to be
reckoned among those who may be regarded
as true believers in the Unity of
God.
This sign of the revelation of the
Divine Being in them that have joined
partners with Him may, in a sense,
be regarded as a reflection of the glory
with which the faithful are illumined.
None, however, can comprehend this
truth save men endued with understanding.
They that have truly recognized
the Unity of God should be regarded
as the primary manifestations of this
Name. It is they who have quaffed
the wine of Divine Unity from the cup
which the hand of God hath proffered
unto them, and who have turned their
faces towards Him. How vast the distance
that separateth these sanctified
beings from those men that are so
far away from God!...
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 190