Letter concerning the Tablet of the Divine Test 6 страница
after We had announced this Cause unto them in mighty, preserved tablets.
[ 0].
So recite thou all that which hath been revealed by Our Primal Beauty (the Bāb),
in the Qayyúm al-Asmā' [Sura 28],
that thou mayest comprehend the secret of the Cause
regarding this Mystery which was veiled behind many mysteries.
As the return of the "Primal Beauty" manifest in the Bāb, Bahā'u'llāh claims to have divulged the glory (tajallā) of a mere glirnmer of the Sinaitic lights of his Face. This stunning theophany, anticipated in the Qayyúm al-asmā', caused the mysterious Sinaites or "inhabitants of the Mount" (al-túriyyún) to swoon away. Similarly, at yet another point in the Sura of the Robe, we read,
[ ]2.
Purify then the mirrors of thine hearts,
that the theophany of the lights of this Beauty may be realized.
[ ]3.
Say,
By God! The inhabitants of the Mount have fallen into a swoon on the Sinai of the Cause.
[ ]4.
The citizens of the heavenly Kingdom have taken flight before this Divine Lion. Quran 7:(451)
[ ]5.
Spiritual souls expire on account of this Terror which hath unsettled all things;
except, that is, those who have been seized by the Hand of the Divine Bounty
on the part of [the Lord] Mighty and Powerful.
The inhabitants of Sinai (the Mount), among other exalted beings, have been powerfully influenced by the manifestation of Bahā-ullāh. Several verses of the tablet are addressed to the peoples of the worlds, as well as to members of the Bābī community. In various ways Bahā'-ullāh proclaims his exalted status as the Messianic prophet predicted in Bābí and other sacred scriptures. He states that the revelations of the Bāb were revealed for his sake.
We did not send down the Bayān except for the sake of this Call
that remained secreted in the Wine of Holiness
on tablets that did not reduce to ashes [with] the gaze of human vision.
The Divine and messianic status of the prophet Bahā-ullāh is said to be concealed from humankind and from the followers of the Bab. His great prophetic reality was concealed behind 70,000 veils of Light, something that the Earthly human vision had not witnessed. Proclaiming his mission Bahā-ullāh states,
Say:
O people!
This is the Logos-Person of God amongst you, and His Sovereignty in your midst.
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Bahā'-allāh expresses his concern over the rejection of a future theophany,
[ 6].
Say:
O people!
I fear not for mine own Logos-Person.
[ 7].
Nay rather, for He who shall come after me
on the day in which the fire will blaze up and the lights will radiate forth within it.
Bahā'-allāh laments the peoples rejection of the prophetic mission of the Bab,
[ ]5.
O Concourse of the Bayān!
Hast thou forgotten the moment when there came unto thee `Alí (the Bāb)
with the sovereignty of the divine Command?
[ ]6.
When the `ulamā’ of the Furqan (the Quran) rejected Him,
and issued a decree against him and executed him,
it was such that both the heavens and earth wept over Him
and those near unto God did weep and wail.
The last verses of the tablet are addressed to various Bābīs, including Radi al-Rúh, who became an important Bahai apologist and that compiled Bahai proof texts of 'Testimony'. The tablet ends with a two-page prayer, followed by an address to the letter J. [That is, Joseph, using the abbreviation of titles, an Arabic literary practice]
[ ]3.
We, when We desire that We might finish and complete the Word,
We hear the Call betwixt earth and heaven, saying,
[ ]4.
`O Joseph of the Divine Grandeur in garments of glory,
deprive not the ears from the melodies of Thy holiness,
nor the the eyes, from being smeared with the eye-makeup of the knowledge of thy Beauty,
[ ]5.
nor the suns, from the flashes of the Lights of Thy Grace;
nor the hearts, from the breezes of Thy Love,
[ ]6.
neither the uncertain and needy existence,
from the sprinklings of the Bounty of Thy Mercy which surroundeth all the worlds.
[ ]7.
O, letter "J"!
Steal away this Robe, then cast it upon the Visage of Existent Reality,
[ ]8.
that perchance the dawning points of the Divine Attributes might emerge from behind the veils,
and beam forth from the Veils of Glory,
[ ]9.
and thus [all will] come to know the [Lord] who came unto them
from the Shore of Eternity with manifest Sovereignty.
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[ ]0.
Praise be unto whomsoever knoweth his Patron through this resplendent manifest robe.
Translated by S. Lambden
Transcription in progress
Tablet of the Commencement CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-[20]
Written in Arabaic, the tablet that addresses the start of Baha-ullah's dispensation, is named after its recipient, a Bahai called by the name Fath al-A`zam. An important scriptural tablet, it is probably from the Adrianople-Edirne days, about 1865-7.
In order to explain and legitimate his own years of acting as a leading Bābī from the mid 1840's until the mid 1860's, yet now claiming to be the exalted Prophethood and subordinate Divinity,
there exists an important verse here clarifying his gradually evolving claims, from servitude unto theophanic subordinate divinity of Messianic prophethood.
(The messianic claims of Baha-ullah may yet be disputed, however the greater mantle of the prophethood of the the prophet Baha-ullah (Peace be upon Him) cannot be doubted whatsoever, despite some indications of a few forged tablets (or simply translations) in his name. The authenticity of his doctrines and volumious nature of his writings are overwhelming proof of his authenticity as a legitimate prophet of God, although more a prolific writer of prophetic instruction, than raised up to be a leader of the people, as was Mohammed, Samuel, or Moses.)
THE COMMENCEMENT
1.
In the name of Our Lord, the One Whose aid is sought.
2.
This was indeed sent down from the heaven of the Divine Command
unto whomsoever is within the heavens and the earth(s).
3.
O Fatḥ al-A`zam!
I took firm hold of the Pen that there might be revealed for thee what will gladden thee
and generate within thy heart what will attract thee
towards the Sanctum of God, the Exalted, the All Mighty.
4.
And when it inclined unto this level of Exposition (Bayān),
I hearkened unto the yearning of My heart and the clamoring of My Pen,
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5.
for they both did sing mystic meaning upon the twigs of the Lote-Tree of the All-Merciful
in the Riḍwān of this Elevated, Sanctified, and Luminous Tablet.
6.
At this lamentation encompassed Me to such a degree that [ ].
7.
So recollect, O people, the moment when there came unto you
the Revealer of the Bayān [the Bāb] with wondrous, holy verses.
8.
At one moment he said,
`I am the Gate of Knowledge
and whosoever is convinced of the truth of My Claim in addition to that [surpassing that station],
hath certainly invented lies about Me and acquires great sin within himself '.
9.
Then [later] He said,
`I am the Qā'im, the True [Servant]
whose manifestation you were promised in mighty, noble Scrolls.
10.
This, verily, is assuredly [the Reality of] Muhammad, the Messenger of God,
just as you have heard and witnessed in the tablets of God, the King, the Ruler'.
11.
He [subsequently] then said,
`I am the Primordial Point'. [the first prophet of many more]
12.
And when the beings of a number of predisposed souls were refined,
then were the veils torn asunder
13.
and there rose up from the Dawning-Place of Holiness [the Bāb's claim],
14.
`I verily am God,
no God is there except Me, thy Lord and the Lord of all the worlds'.
15.
And [He also said],
`I, verily, from the beginning which has no beginning, was a Divinity, Alone, Single, Unique.
16.
I (the divine, primordial Bāb), verily, sent the [past] Prophets
and the sent Messengers from an eternity of eternities past.
17.
Then gaze upon Me, (the Bab, words now inferred by Bahā'-ullāh) the Logos-Soul of God.
18.
By God, O people!
[Initially] I (Bahā'-Allāh) did not desire any Cause for Me personally,
and followed all the Manifestations of old.
19.
I supported the Cause of God on all levels
during the days when faces were concealed out of fear of the oppressors.
20.
I humbled My soul before every soul in the Bayān, (all the Bābīs)
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and lowered the wing of submission before every worthy believer.
[21].
Translated by S. Lambden
Transcription in progress
Tablet of [the Preaching] CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-[35]
The entirely Arabic tablet appears from the early-mid Edirne-Adrianople days of 1863-1868. The Address is characteristic of the time, with claims addressed to the Bābīs, and the voicing of the claim to be the "return" of the Bāb or messianic 'Remembrance of God', claims reflected, for example, in tablets similar to the tablet of the Traveller.
The tablet of the chapter of the Khiṭāb ishere translated into English for the first time. The name could be taken to imply the eloquent nature of this tablet, since words formed from the Arabic root kh-ṭ-b have connotations of rhetorical eloquence in the course of an address, speech, or sermon. The word khiṭāb is fairly common in classical and modern Arabic.
1.
To Jinab-i Mulla `Abd of the [region of the] Euphrates (Baghdad)
who was present before the [divine] throne.
2.
This was sent down on the part of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Munificient.
3.
He is Mighty in the Abhā Horizon on account of His name, the Exalted, the All-Glorious.
4.
The Remembrance of God in the form of Fire, in the Temple of Light,
from the Lote-Tree of [the Perfect] Man,
hath, in truth, been made manifest
with the permission of the All-Merciful at the very Summit of Paradise.
5.
And He, in very truth, crieth out [saying],
`He, verily, no God is there except Him'.
6.
And this Beauty is no one other than the Beauty of the Cause of God (the Command of God)
within the Supreme Horizon,
7.
the Mystery of the Inner Depth, in the Hidden Sphere of the Divine Cloud,
8.
the Visage of the Divine Theophany, in the Kingdom of the Regeneration,
9.
the Temple of Pre-existence, in the Cities of Immortality,
10.
the Greatest Name, in the Egypt of Splendor,
11.
the Manifest Beauty, in the beloved Temple of Holiness.
12.
O Concourse of the Bayān!
Fear ye the [veils of the Divine] Grandeur and veil not thy hearts
from the [Lord] who came in the shadows of Holiness
with a Sovereignty, which was, in very truth, resplendently clear.
13.
Accompanying him at his right-hand was the Kingdom of God,
then at his left the Kingdom of Names and before him the mighty, powerful hosts.
14.
Follow ye O people, the Cause of God and His Decree!
15.
And do not follow the [way of] Satan.
16.
Follow ye the Beauty of the All-Merciful during these days
and fear ye God who created thee through a command on His behalf.
17.
While on earth do not be a sinful oppressor.
18.
O Ahmad!
Hearken unto that which hath been revealed for thee
from the Shore of Pre-existence about the Blessed, Pre-Eternal, All-Eternal Locale
wherein the Beauty of the All-Merciful hath mounted up on a lofty, mighty Throne.
19.
This is that thou might be attracted by the breezes of the All-Merciful unto the Throne of Riḍwān,
be detached from the domain of created existence
and be purified from earthly defilement.
20.
This is indeed an expression of the Bounty of God unto thee,
[that thou wouldst know] if thou should be cognisant in this respect.
21.
Rise up in the Cause of thy Master then burn away the veils of idle fancy
through a power which originates with Us
and a sovereignty which cometh from Us.
22.
Fear no one, even if all on earth should combine together to wage war against thee.
23.
Say :
This Day no soul should be reliant upon any single thing!
24.
Even if all the inhabitants of the heavens and of the earth should rise up
in servitude outside of My love, My proof, My uprightness
and whatsoever hath flowed out from this Mighty, All-Knowing, Pen,
25.
[then] place [all their] vain illusions behind thee
and set all [their spurious] evidences beneath thy feet,
and orient thee with a luminous visage towards a Trustworthy, Sacred Court.
26.
And thus thou should indeed enter the Locale of Paradise
and be seated in the reception hall of the Divine Throne.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
Translated by S. Lambden
Transcription in progress
Tablet of Glory CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-[ ]
Tablet of Baha
Dated to around early 1866, or to the middle of the Edirne-Adrianople period in about 1865-6, whch was shortly before the `Most Great Separation' beween Mirza Yahya and Baha-ullah. Another source, sets the tablet's date at around the time of the exile from Baghdad to Constantinople-Istanbul. Starting in Arabic, there is a Persian part too.
Addressed to Khatun Jan Qazviniyya, the daughter of Hajji Asad-Allah Farhadi Qazvini.
GLORY
1.
This is the tablet of Glory which was revealed from the Heaven of Eternity.
2.
So recite it then, O concourse of the Theophanic Cloud,
that perchance ye might soar up unto the heaven of the Cause of God in this atmosphere
and thus be firmly established within the Cause of thy Lord, the All-Merciful.
3.
He is the All-Eternal.
Then the female figure Khatum Jan is addressed as follows,
3.
O Maidservant of God!
Be patient under all circumstances,
and mindful of the fact that the robe of this Youth was dyed crimson
with the blood of hatred between earth and heaven.
4.
At every moment crieth out with a soul-saddending cry.
5.
All His associates that have attempted to help Him
found themselves assailed by the swords of hatred.
6.
7...
Introduction and initial translation by S. Lambden
Tablet of the Name CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-35
Sent to a certain Mullāh Ṣādiq-i Muqaddas-i Khurāsāní,
entitled Ism'u'llāh al-Aṣdaq (the Name of God, the Most Truthful)
THE NAME
1.
He is the Most Wondrous in the realm of the All Glorious
2.
O my name!
Give ear to the call of God, from the dawning point of all utterance
that I am God thy Lord, and the Lord of all things,
the Lord of all the worlds.
3.
Then give ear to that which thou hast been inspired with from the direction of the Bayan,
4.
that I am the Compassionate, the Merciful,
that there is no other God except Me, the Mighty, the All Wise.
5.
Rise, then warn humanity for having neglected the things concerning God,
then give them the glad tidings of the Ridvan of God,
the Most High, the All Powerful, the Almighty.
6.
Say,
O people!
Are ye in any wonder that the primal beauty has come unto you once again
in this luminous radiant attire.
7.
Say,
There are in this revelation signs for the people of knowledge,
clear proofs for those who are near,
and allusions for those with the eye of discernment.
8.
O my name!
Turn thy face towards the Sanctuary.
9.
By God, this is the Sanctuary of God within your heart,
and the dwelling place (Hall) of Holiness amongst you
and a point of pilgrimage of the Cause between the heavens and the earth.
10.
Leave the Name (the kingdom of names) behind thee,
and the forms beneath thy feet, then the domain of sovereignty, to its people,
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