Tablet to Fuad Pasha the Heart 4 страница

2. Translation, by Juan Cole

The Nightingale and the Owl CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-25

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE OWL

The spiritual rose in the divine garden blossoms into mystical meanings at the approach of spring, yet the artificial nightingales remain deprived.

The rose says,

"Nightingales: I am your beloved,

and have appeared with perfect color, fragrance and delicacy, and with unparalleled freshness.

Come mingle with your friend and do not fly away."

The metaphorical nightingales say,

"We are natives of Medina, and were intimate with the Arabian rose.

You hail from the plane of true reality,

and you threw off your veil in the garden of Iraq."

The rose said,

"It has become apparent that for all this time,

you were deprived of the beauty of the All-Merciful, and never recognized me.

Rather, you recognized walls, rafters and buildings.

If you had known me, you would not now flee your friend.

Nightingales, I am neither from Medina nor from Mecca,

neither from Iraq nor Syria.

10.

Rather, from time to time I travel through the lands and observe.

11.

At one time I appeared in Egypt, at another in Bethlehem.

12.

At one point I was in Arabia and at another I bloomed in Iraq, then in Shiraz.

13.

Now, in Edirne I have thrown off my veil.

14.

You are known for your love of me,

yet it is apparent that you have begun to ignore me.

15.

It is obvious that you are really crows, who have learned to mimic nightingales.

16.

You are wandering in the land of illusion and blind obedience,

and are bereft of the blessed garden of divine unity.

17.

"You are like the owl, who once said to the nightingale,

'Crows sing more beautifully than you.'

18.

"The nightingale replied,

'Owl, why are you being so unfair and closing your eyes to the truth?

19.

Every claim, in the end, requires substantiation

and every assertion needs to be supported by evidence.

20.

I am present and the crow is present,

so let him sing and then let me sing.'

21.

"The owl responded, '

This suggestion is unacceptable, and must be rejected.

22.

For, I heard a delightful melody from a garden.

23.

Afterwards I asked who had sung it.

24.

They told me that it was the voice of a crow.

25.

Moreover, I saw a crow come out of that garden,

and I was convinced that the answer was true.'

The Nightingale and the Owl CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 26-50

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE OWL

26.

"The poor nightingale said,

'Owl, that was not the voice of a crow. That was my voice.

27.

Now I will sing that same melody that you heard,

rather, an even better and more original one.'

28.

"The owl insisted,

'I will not budge from what I have said, and your offer is rejected,

for I have heard the same thing from my forebears and peers.

29.

Now, the crow is present with documentary evidence in hand.

If it was you, why did his name gain renown?'

30.

"The nightingale said,

'You are completely unfair!

31.

The hateful hunter had trapped me, and to my back was the sword of tyranny.

32.

That is the reason for which the crow became famous for it.

33.

I was concealed, rather than being fully manifest,

and silent rather than singing flawlessly.

34.

Those possessing ears, however,

are able to distinguish the song of the All-Merciful from the cawing of the crow.

35.

Now attend to the original voice and melody,

so that it may show you the truth.'

36.

"You nightingales are just like that owl.

37.

Do not transform a minor illusion into a hundred thousand certainties,

nor one syllable you overheard into the entire visible world.

38.

Listen to the counsel of the friend,

and do not look at the face of your sweetheart with the eyes of a stranger.

39.

Know me by myself,

not by my location or my dwelling places."

40.

They were conversing when suddenly, from the blessed garden that belongs to God,

a illumined nightingale with a divine embellishment arrived, warbling a celestial song.

41.

He busied himself with circling around the rose, then said,

"Although you have the form of nightingales,

you have for some time associated intimately with crows,

and their ways have become apparent in you.

42.

Your place is not this garden. Fly away!

43.

This spiritual rose is the center around which fly the nightingales from the divine nest."

44.

Thereforenightingales, make every effort to recognize the friend.

45.

Protect the rose of the heavenly garden from its enemies.

46.

That is, friends of truth, you must arm yourselves with service

and safeguard the people of the world

from the plotting and hypocrisy of the fomenters of dissension.

47.

You should appear among the people adorned with respect and humility

and all the other attributes of God.

48.

Let the hem of holiness remain pure and undefiled by the slanders of Satan and his manifestations,

and let the falsehoods of liars become clear and apparent to the peoples of the world.

49.

If, God forbid, an impure act is observed among you,

all must return to the most holy abode,

and only those actions will confirm the slanders of the liars.

50.

That is the sure truth,

and praise be to God, lord of the worlds.

Passages from the Tablet to Hájí Mírzá Kamálu'd-Dín CHAPTER [TWO]

Divisons [27-44]

Brief comments by Bahá'u'lláh on the Isaac/Ishmael controversy.

Revealed in 1878

("In the letter of Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din, Hakim Hizqiel Hayyim asks two questions...")

HAJI MIRZA

27.

The question is that whereas in past Scriptures[1][2] Isaac is said to have been the sacrifice;[3]

in the Qur’án this station is given to Ishmael.[5]

28.

This is, undoubtedly, true.

29.

All, however, must fix their gaze upon the word which hath dawned from the Divine Horizon:[6]

30.

it is incumbent upon every soul to ponder upon its sovereignty, influence, might, and on its all-encompassing nature.

31.

There hath never been any doubt whatsoever

that all these things are confirmed and corroborated only by the Word of God.

32.

It is the Word of God that transcendeth all things, creates the universe, educateth the people,

guideth them who are sore athirst from separation unto the ocean of reunion,

and penetrateth through the darkness of ignorance with the light of understanding.

33.

Consider:

all those who believe in past Scriptures[7] think of Isaac as the Sacrifice;

likewise, the people of Qur’án confirm this station for Ishmael.

34.

It is clear and evident to every possessor of insight and every religious person that no one was, outwardly[9] sacrificed;

all agree that an animal was sacrificed.

35.

So, ponder upon this:

Why is it that a person who hath gone to the altar of sacrifice for the Beloved and yet hath come back [alive], is adorned with the raiment of ‘Sacrifice of God’ and accepted[10] as such?

36.

There is no doubt that this is so because of the Word of God.

37.

Therefore, the criterion[11] for the manifestation of all names and for confirmation and fulfillment of all stations is dependent upon the Word of God.[12]

38.

Likewise, there is no doubt, that the Inaccessible, Unknowable [God] doth not talk as He is,

and hath always been, sanctified from such conditions;

39.

rather, He speaketh through the tongue of His Manifestations.[13]

40.

Thus the Torah issued from the tongue of Moses.

41.

The same is true of other Holy Scriptures:

42.

all were revealed by the tongues of Prophets and Messengers,

yet, the real Speaker[14] in all these Holy Books is the One true God.

43.

It is now, therefore, established and confirmed that the station of ‘Sacrifice of God’

was, according to past Books,[15] given to Isaac by Abraham

44.

and that very same station is, according to Divine Revelation,

Ishmael’s in the Qur’ánic Dispensation.[16]

Translated by Iskandar Hai

[1] Hájí Mírzá Kamálu’d-Dín was a Jewish convert to the Faith. This Tablet was revealed for him — or perhaps Kamálu'd-Dín merely conveyed the question — on 14 Ramadan 1295 AH (September 11th, 1878) and is published in “Amr va Khalq”, Volume 2, pp 197-198.

Moojan Momen clarifies:

From the information given by Mazandarani in Amr va Khalq, it is not possible to be 100% sure who Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din was, but I cannot think of any prominent Baha'i at that time with that name other than Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din Naraqi. However, Naraqi was definitely not a Jew. He was the grandson of one of the most famous Muslim clerics of the reign of Fath-`Ali Shah, Mulla Ahmad Naraqi. In any case, a Jew is unlikely to have had the name Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din.

The text of Amr va Khalq is a little difficult to understand but to me it appears to say "In the letter of Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din, Hakim Hizqiel Hayyim asks two questions..."

Hakim Hizqiel Hayyim is undoubtedly a Jewish name. So I think it is correct that the questioner as Jewish, but Kamalu'd-Din himself was probably not the questioner. He merely conveyed the question. I cannot at present identify Hakim Hizqiel Hayyim and 1878 is before there were Jewish Baha'is resident in Kashan/Naraq, where Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din Naraqi was. So this may have been a question from a Jew, rather than a Jewish convert to the Baha'i Faith. This is interesting as it indicates that the Baha'is were talking to the Jews about the Baha'i Faith as early as 1878. [note from an email, 2015-12-04]

[2] kutub-i-qabl [i.e., the Torah or Pentateuch]

[3] See Genesis 22:1-13: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

[5] See Qur’án, 37:83-114, esp. v 102 - 113: “Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: ‘O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!’ (The son) said: ‘O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if God so wills one practicing Patience and Constancy!’ So when they had both submitted their wills (to God), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice), We called out to him ‘O Abraham! Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!’ - thus indeed do We reward those who do right. For this was obviously a trial- And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice: And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times: ‘Peace and salutation to Abraham!’ Thus indeed do We reward those who do right. For he was one of our believing Servants. And We gave him the good news of Isaac - a prophet,- one of the Righteous. We blessed him and Isaac: but of their progeny are (some) that do right, and (some) that obviously do wrong, to their own souls.”

[6] i.e., the Manifestation of God

[7] i.e., the Bible, the Pentateuch

[9] or “actually”

[10] i.e. in His sight

[11] madár

[12] Thus, Bahá’u’lláh many times refers to God as the ‘Lord of Names’ ; in one of the prayers, He is referred to as the ‘King of Names’

[13] This is demonstrated by the Words of Yeshua, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49).

In the Qur’án, Alláh reveals,

“Say: ‘It is not for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow naught but what is revealed unto me: if I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the penalty of a Great Day (to come).’”

(Qur’án, 10:15, Yusef ‘Alí trans.)

Tablet to Jamal-i-Burujirdi CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-25

Many tablets were addressed to Jamal-i Burujirdi. The Persian text was first printed in 1892 — a compilation of revelations of Bahá-ulláh in the handwriting of His prominent apostle Mishkin Qalam. A remarkable yet arrogant Baha'i teacher, Jamal-iBurujirdi was numbered among them that broke the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh at the time of His passing in 1892.

He was therefore stigmatized by Shoghi Effendi as one "powerful and perfidious."[2]

Though about half of the English translation of a significant revelation addressed to him has long been known since it is printed in Shoghi Effendi's 'Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá-ulláh', the full text of this tablet is provisionally translated below.

Of particular interest are the opening paragraphs in which diverse perceptions of Bahá-ulláh's station or claims are said to be "acceptable" as long as no contention results. The last paragraph makes it clear that teachers of the Bahai Cause should, though levels of knowledge and insight differ, manifest the "utmost unity".

JAMAL

"The Ocean of Divine Revelation which is hidden within the Supreme Pen

hath sprinkled forth in the form of these Words:

O Jamal!

Thou didst arrive in the Most Holy Presence and attain the Most Great Vision.

With thine outer eye thou didst witness the waves of the Ocean of Divine Significances

and with thine own ears didst hear the Consummate Words,

each of which is a Treasury of the pearls of Wisdom and Utterance.

As far as understanding is possible and befitting for thee,

thou didst apprehend the merciful, all-encompassing Bounties

and the all-embracing Compassion directed towards all mankind.

O Jamal!

On this Day it is befitting that you should exhibit

such love, compassion, humility, detachment and sanctity

that none of the servants (of God) may inhale from your words and deeds,

the unsavoury odour of the words and deeds of past communities

who, on hearing merely one word, would immediately anathematize and curse one another,

for “We have created souls to be in diverse states.” [14] [3] Quran 71:13

There are those who have attained to the highest levels of spiritual comprehension

while others are different therefrom.

For example, one person envisages the Unseen, the Transcendent, the Inaccessible [Lord] (God)

in the Person [4] of the Manifestation (of God)

without making any distinction or connection (between them) [5]

Others there are who recognise the Person of the Manifestation as the Appearance of God,

and consider the commands and prohibitions of the Manifestation (of God)

to be identical with such as originate with the only True God.

10.

These two positions are both acceptable before the throne of God.

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