The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER SIXTY TWO 3 страница
who rejoice in this day in His celestial paradise, and who tread the path of His good-pleasure.
116.
Veiled as they remain within their own selves, the generality of the people have failed to perceive the sweet accents of holiness, inhale the fragrance of mercy, or seek guidance, as bidden by God, from those who are the custodians of the Scriptures.
117.
He proclaimeth, and his word, verily, is the truth:
"Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the custody of the Scriptures, if ye know it not."[19]
118.
Nay rather, they have turned aside from the scriptures
and followed instead the Sámirí[20] of their own idle fancies.
119.
Thus have they strayed far from the mercy of their Lord
and failed to attain unto His Beauty in the day of His presence.
120.
For no sooner had He come unto them with a sign and a testimony from God
than the same people who had eagerly awaited the day of His Revelation,
who had called upon Him in the daytime and in the night season,
121.
who had implored Him to gather them together in His presence
and to grant that they may lay down their lives in His path,
be led aright by His guidance and illumined by His light
122.
- this very people condemned and reviled Him, and inflicted upon Him such cruelties as transcend both My capacity to tell and thine ability to hear them.
123.
My very pen crieth out at this moment and the ink weepeth sore and groaneth.
124.
By God! Wert thou to hearken with thine inner ear,
thou wouldst in truth hear the lamentations of the denizens of heaven;
125.
and wert thou to remove the veil from before thine eyes,
thou wouldst behold the Maids of Heaven overcome and the holy souls overwhelmed,
beating upon their faces and fallen upon the dust.
Tablet of the Gems of Divine Mysteries CHAPTER SIX
Divisons 126-155
GEMS OF DIVINE MYSTERIES
126.
Alas, alas,
for that which befell Him Who was the Manifestation of the Self of God,
and for that which He and His loved ones were made to suffer!
127.
The people inflicted upon them what no soul hath ever inflicted upon another, and what no infidel hath wrought against a believer or suffered at his hand.
128.
Alas, alas!
That immortal Being sat upon the darksome dust,
the Holy Spirit lamented in the retreats of glory,
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the pillars of the Throne crumbled in the exalted dominion,
129.
the joy of the world was changed into sorrow in the crimson land, [of Persia]
and the voice of the Nightingale was silenced in the golden realm.
130.
Woe betide them for what their hands have wrought and for what they have committed!
131.
Hearken then unto that which the Bird of Heaven uttered,
in the sweetest and most wondrous accents,
and in the most perfect and exalted melodies, concerning them -
132.
an utterance that shall fill them with remorse from now unto
"the day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds":
133.
"Although they had before prayed for victory over those who believed not,
yet when there came unto them He of Whom they had knowledge, they disbelieved in Him.
134.
The curse of God on the infidels!"[21]
135.
Such indeed are their condition and attainments in their vain and empty life.
136.
Erelong shall they be cast into the fire of affliction and find none to help or succour them.
137.
Be not veiled by aught that hath been revealed in the Qur'án,
or by what thou hast learned from the works of those Suns of immaculacy and Moons of majesty,
[22] regarding the perversion of the writings by the fanatical or their alteration by their corrupters.
138.
By these statements only certain specific and clearly indicated passages are intended.
139.
In spite of My weakness and poverty,
I would assuredly be able, should I so desire,
to expound these passages unto thine eminence.
140.
But this would divert us from our purpose and lead us astray from the outstretched path.
141.
It would immerse us in limited allusions
and distract us from that which is beloved in the court of the All-Praised.
142.
O thou who art mentioned in this outspread roll and who,
amidst the gloomy darkness that now prevaileth,
hast been illumined by the splendours of the sacred Mount in the Sinai of divine Revelation!
143.
Cleanse thy heart from every blasphemous whispering and evil allusion thou hast heard in the past, that thou mayest inhale the sweet savours of eternity from the Joseph of faithfulness,
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gain admittance into the celestial Egypt,
144.
and perceive the fragrances of enlightenment from this resplendent and luminous Tablet,
a Tablet wherein the Pen hath inscribed the ancient mysteries of the names of His Lord,
the Exalted, the Most High.
145.
Perchance thou mayest be recorded in the holy Tablets among them that are well assured.
146.
O thou who art standing before My Throne and yet remain unaware thereof!
147.
Know thou that whoso seeketh to scale the summits of the divine mysteries
must needs strive to the utmost of his power and capacity for his Faith,
that the pathway of guidance may be made clear unto him.
148.
And should he encounter One Who layeth claim to a Cause from God,
and Who holdeth from His Lord a testimony beyond the power of men to produce,
he must needs follow Him in all that He pleaseth to proclaim, command and ordain,
149.
even were He to decree the sea to be land, or to pronounce earth to be heaven,
or that the former lieth above the latter or below it, or to ordain any change or transformation,
for He, verily, is aware of the celestial mysteries, the unseen subtleties, and the ordinances of God.
150.
Were the peoples of every nation to observe that which hath been mentioned,
the matter would be made simple unto them,
and such words and allusions would not withhold them
from the Ocean of the names and attributes of God.
151.
And had the people known this truth, they would not have denied God's favours,
nor would they have risen against, contended with, and rejected His Prophets.
152.
Similar passages are also to be found in the Qur'án, should the matter be carefully examined.
153.
Know, moreover, that it is through such words that God proveth His servants and sifteth them,
separating the believer from the infidel,
154.
the detached from the worldly,
the pious from the profligate,
the doer of good from the worker of iniquity, and so forth.
155.
Thus hath the Dove of holiness proclaimed:
"Do men think when they say 'We believe'
they shall be let alone and not be put to proof?"[23]
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Tablet of the Gems of Divine Mysteries CHAPTER SEVEN
Divisons 156-190
GEMS OF DIVINE MYSTERIES
156.
It behoveth him who is a wayfarer in the path of God and a wanderer in His way
to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on the earth.
157.
He must renounce all save God, that perchance the portals of mercy may be unlocked before his face and the breezes of providence may waft over him.
158.
And when he hath inscribed upon his soul
that which We have vouchsafed unto him of the quintessence of inner meaning and explanation,
he will fathom all the secrets of these allusions,
and God shall bestow upon his heart a divine tranquillity
and cause him to be of them that are at peace with themselves.
159.
In like manner wilt thou comprehend the meaning of all the ambiguous verses
that have been sent down concerning the question thou didst ask of this Servant
Who abideth upon the seat of abasement,
Who walketh upon the earth as an exile with none to befriend, comfort, aid, or assist Him,
160.
Who hath placed His whole trust in God,
and Who proclaimeth at all times:
"Verily we are God's, and to Him shall we return."[24]
161.
Know thou that the passages that We have called "ambiguous" appear as such only in the eyes of them that have failed to soar above the horizon of guidance and to reach the heights of knowledge in the retreats of grace.
162.
For otherwise, unto them that have recognized the Repositories of divine Revelation
and beheld through His inspiration the mysteries of divine authority,
all the verses of God are perspicuous and all His allusions are clear.
163.
Such men discern the inner mysteries that have been clothed in the garment of words
as clearly as ye perceive the heat of the sun or the wetness of water,
nay even more distinctly.
164.
Immeasurably exalted is God above our praise of His loved ones, and beyond their praise of Him!
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165.
Now that We have reached this most excellent theme
and attained such lofty heights by virtue of that which hath [been written]
from this Pen through the incomparable favours of God, the Exalted, the Most High,
it is Our wish to disclose unto thee certain stations in the wayfarer's journey towards his Creator.
166.
Perchance all that thine eminence hath desired may be revealed unto thee,
that the proof may be made complete and the blessing abundant.
167.
Know thou of a truth that the seeker must, at the beginning of his quest for God,
enter the Garden of Search.
168.
In this journey it behoveth the wayfarer to detach himself from all save God
and to close his eyes to all that is in the heavens and on the earth.
169.
There must not linger in his heart either the hate or the love of any soul,
to the extent that they would hinder him from attaining the habitation of the celestial Beauty.
170.
He must sanctify his soul from the veils of glory
and refrain from boasting of such worldly vanities, outward knowledge,
or other gifts as God may have bestowed upon him.
171.
He must search after the truth to the utmost of his ability and exertion,
that God may guide him in the paths of His favour and the ways of His mercy.
For He, verily, is the best of helpers unto His servants.
172.
He saith, and He verily speaketh the truth:
"Whoso maketh efforts for Us, in Our ways shall We assuredly guide him."[25]
173.
And furthermore:
"Fear God and God will give you knowledge."[26]
174.
In this journey the seeker becometh witness to a myriad changes and transformations,
confluences and divergences.
175.
He beholdeth the wonders of Divinity in the mysteries of creation
and discovereth the paths of guidance and the ways of His Lord.
176.
Such is the station reached by them that search after God,
and such are the heights attained by those who hasten unto Him.
177.
When once the seeker hath ascended unto this station,
he will enter the City of Love and Rapture,
whereupon the winds of love will blow and the breezes of the spirit will waft.
178.
In this station the seeker is so overcome by the ecstasies of yearning and the fragrances of longing
that he discerneth not his left from his right,
nor doth he distinguish land from sea or desert from mountain.
179.
At every moment he burneth with the fire of longing
and is consumed by the onslaught of separation in this world.
180.
He speedeth through the Paran of love and traverseth the Horeb of rapture.
181.
Now he laugheth, now he weepeth sore;
now he reposeth in peace, now he trembleth in fear.
182.
Nothing can alarm him,
nothing can thwart his purpose, and no law can restrain him.
183.
He standeth ready to obey whatsoever His Lord should please to decree
about his beginning and his end.
184.
With every [day] he layeth down his life and offereth up his soul.
185.
He bareth his breast to meet the darts of the enemy
and raiseth his head to greet the sword of destiny;
nay rather, he kisseth the hand of his would-be murderer and surrendereth his all.
186.
He yieldeth up spirit, soul, and body in the path of his Lord,
and yet he doeth so by the leave of his Beloved and not of his own whim and desire.
187.
Thou findest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea,
abiding in every land and treading every path.
188.
Whosoever toucheth him in this state will perceive the heat of his love.
189.
He walketh the heights of detachment and traverseth the vale of renunciation.
190.
His eyes are ever expectant to witness the wonders of God's mercy
and eager to behold the splendours of His [kingdom].
Tablet of the Gems of Divine Mysteries CHAPTER EIGHT
Divisons 191-230
GEMS OF DIVINE MYSTERIES
191.
Blessed indeed are they that have attained unto such a station,
for this is the station of the ardent lovers and the [blissful] souls.
192.
And when this stage of the journey is completed
and the wayfarer hath soared beyond this lofty station,
he entereth the City of Divine Union, and the garden of unity, and the court of detachment.
193.
In this plane the seeker casteth away all signs, allusions, veils, and words,
and beholdeth all things with an eye illumined by the splendorous lights which God hath shone upon him.
194.
In his journey he seeth all differences return to a single word
and all allusions culminate in a single point.
195.
Unto this beareth witness he who sailed upon the ark of fire
and followed the inmost path to the pinnacle of glory in the realm of immortality:
196.
"Knowledge is one point, which the foolish have multiplied."[27]
197.
This is the station that hath been alluded to in the tradition:
"I am He, Him,
and He is I, Me,
198.
except that I am that I am,
and He is that He is."[28]
199.
In this station, were He Who is the embodiment of the End to say:
200.
"Verily, I am the Point of the Beginning",
201.
He would indeed be speaking the truth.
202.
And were He to say:
"I am other than Him",
this would be equally true.
203.
Likewise, were He to proclaim:
"Verily, I am the Lord of heaven and earth",
or "the King of kings", or "the Lord of the realm above",
204.
or Muhammad, or 'Alí [the Bab], or their descendants, or aught else,
He would indeed be proclaiming the truth of God.
205.
He, verily, ruleth over all created things and standeth supreme above all besides Him.
206.
Hast thou not heard what hath been said aforetime:
"Muhammad is our first [Arab prophet],
Muhammad our last [prophet before the end times],
Muhammad our all" [representing all the prophets]?
207.
And elsewhere:
"They all proceed from the same Light"?
208.
In this station the truth of the unity of God and of the signs of His sanctity is established.
209.
Thou shalt indeed see them all rising above the bosom of God's might and embraced in the arms of His mercy; nor can any distinction be made between His bosom and His arms.
210.
To speak of change or transformation in this plane would be sheer blasphemy and utter impiety,
for this is the station wherein the light of divine union shineth forth,
and the truth of His union is expressed,
and the splendours of the everlasting Morn are reflected in lofty and faithful mirrors.
211.
By God! Were I to reveal the full measure of that which He hath ordained for this station,
the souls of men would depart from their bodies,
the inner realities of all things would be shaken in their foundations,
they that dwell within the realms of creation would be dumbfounded,
and those who move in the lands of allusion would fade into utter nothingness.
212.
Hast thou not heard:
"No change is there in God's creation"?[29]
213.
Hast thou not read:
"No change canst thou find in God's mode of dealing"?[30]
214.
Hast thou not borne witness to the truth:
"No difference wilt thou see in the creation of the God of Mercy"?[31]
215.
Yea, by My Lord! They that dwell within this Ocean, they that ride upon this Ark,
witness no change in the creation of God and behold no differences upon His earth.
216.
And if God's creation be not prone to change and alteration,
how then could they who are the Manifestations of His own Being be subject to it?
217.
Immeasurably exalted is God above all that we may conceive of the Revealers of His Cause,
and immensely glorified is He beyond all that they may mention in His regard!
218.
Great God! This sea had laid up lustrous pearls in store;
The wind hath raised a wave that casteth them ashore.
219.
So put away thy robe and drown thyself therein,
And cease to boast of skill: it serveth thee no more!
220.
If thou be of the inmates of this city within the ocean of divine union,
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