The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER SIXTY TWO 27 страница
Thus the whole world was quickened
through the vitalizing breaths of divine revelation and inspiration.
357.
Certain souls have now sallied forth from behind the veils,
intent on inflicting harm upon this Wronged One.
358.
They have hindered and denied the outpouring of this priceless bounty.
359.
O ye that judge with fairness!
If this Cause is to be denied then what other cause in this world can be vindicated
or deemed worthy of acceptance?
360.
Such as have turned away from the Cause of God are diligently seeking
to collect the Holy Writings of this Revelation;
and they have already, through gestures of friendship,
managed to secure certain of these Writings from those who held them in their possession.
361.
Moreover, when they meet the followers of any religion,
they hold themselves out as believers therein.
362.
Say,
Die ye in your wrath!
363.
Verily He hath appeared with so great an authority that no man of vision, of hearing,
of insight, of justice, or of equity can ever deny Him.
364.
Unto this beareth witness in this resplendent Hour the Pen of Him Who is the Ancient of Days.
365.
O Jalíl!
Upon thee be My glory.
We exhort the loved ones of God to perform good deeds
that perchance they may be graciously assisted
and may hold fast to that which hath been sent down from the heaven of His Revelation.
366.
The benefits arising from this divine utterance shall fall upon such as observe His precepts.
367.
We beseech God to enable them to do that which is pleasing and acceptable unto Him,
to grant that they may deal equitably and may observe justice in this all-compelling Cause,
to acquaint them with His Holy Writings and to direct their steps towards His straight Path.
368.
Our Exalted Herald—may the life of all else besides Him be offered up for His sake—
hath revealed certain laws.
369.
However, in the realm of His Revelation these laws were made subject to Our sanction,
hence this Wronged One hath put some of them into effect
by embodying them in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in different words.
Others We set aside.
370.
He holdeth in His hand the authority.
371.
He doeth what He willeth and He ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.
He is the Almighty, the All-Praised.
372.
There are also ordinances newly revealed.
373.
Blessed are they that attain.
374.
Blessed are they that observe His precepts.
375.
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The people of God should make the utmost endeavour [to observe them] that perchance
the fire of hatred and malice which smouldereth in the breasts of kindreds and peoples
may, through the living waters of utterance
and the exhortations of Him Who is the Desire of the world,
be quenched and the trees of human existence may be adorned with wondrous and excellent fruit.
He is, in truth, the Admonisher, the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful.
The Tablet of Splendours CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Divisions 376-400
SPLENDOURS
376.
May the brightness of His glory shining above the horizon of bounty rest upon you,
O people of Bahá,
upon every one who standeth firm and steadfast
and upon those that are well grounded in the Faith, and are endued with true understanding.
377.
As to thy question concerning interest and profit on gold and silver:
Some years ago the following passage was revealed from the heaven of the All-Merciful
in honour of the one who beareth the name of God, entitled Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín
—upon him be the glory of the Most Glorious.
378.
He—exalted be His Word—saith:
Many people stand in need of this.
379.
Because if there were no prospect for gaining interest,
the affairs of men would suffer collapse or dislocation.
380.
One can seldom find a person who would manifest such consideration
towards his fellow-man, his countryman, or towards his own brother
and would show such tender solicitude for him
as to be well-disposed to grant him a loan on benevolent terms.
381.
Therefore as a token of favour towards men We have prescribed that interest on money
should be treated like other business transactions that are current amongst men.
382.
Thus, now that this lucid commandment hath descended from the heaven of the Will of God,
it is lawful and proper to charge interest on money,
that the people of the world may, in a spirit of amity and fellowship and with joy and gladness,
devotedly engage themselves in magnifying
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the Name of Him Who is the Well-Beloved of all mankind.
383.
Verily He ordaineth according to His Own choosing.
384.
He hath now made interest on money lawful, even as He had made it unlawful in the past.
385.
Within His grasp He holdeth the kingdom of authority.
386.
He doeth and ordaineth.
He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Knowing.
387.
Render thou thanks unto thy Lord, O Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín, for this manifest bounty.
388.
Many ecclesiastics in Persia have, through innumerable designs and devices,
been feeding on illicit gains obtained by usury.
389.
They have contrived ways to give its outward form a fair semblance of lawfulness.
390.
They make a plaything of the laws and ordinances of God, but they understand not.
391.
However, this is a matter that should be practised with moderation and fairness.
392.
Our Pen of Glory hath, as a token of wisdom and for the convenience of the people,
desisted from laying down its limit.
393.
Nevertheless We exhort the loved ones of God to observe justice and fairness,
and to do that which would prompt the friends of God
to evince tender mercy and compassion towards each other.
He is in truth the Counsellor, the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful.
394.
God grant that all men may be graciously aided to observe
that which the Tongue of the One true God hath uttered.
395.
And if they put into practice what We have set forth,
God—exalted be His glory—will assuredly double their portion through the heaven of His bounty.
Verily He is the Generous, the Forgiving, the Compassionate.
396.
Praise be unto God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.
397.
Nevertheless the conduct of these affairs hath been entrusted to the men of the House of Justice that they may enforce them according to the exigencies of the time and the dictates of wisdom.
398.
Once again We exhort all believers to observe justice and fairness
and to show forth love and contentment.
399.
They are indeed the people of Bahá, the companions of the Crimson Ark.
400.
Upon them be the peace of God, the Lord of all Names, the Creator of the heavens.
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| 1. | i.e., the letter ‘B’, the second letter of the alphabet. |
| 2. | The opening chapter of the Qur’án, which begins with the letter ‘B’: Bismi’lláhi’r-Rahmáni’r-Raḥím (In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful). This chapter of the Qur’án was revealed twice, once in Mecca and once in Medina. |
| 3. | The opening chapter of the Qur’án, which begins with the letter ‘B’: Bismi’lláhi’r-Rahmáni’r-Raḥím (In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful). This chapter of the Qur’án was revealed twice, once in Mecca and once in Medina. |
| 4. | Jesus. |
| 5. | Moses. |
| 6. | This Tablet was addressed to Jalíl-i-Khú’í, one of the early believers in Ádhirbayján, Persia. After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh he broke the Covenant. |
| 7. | cf. Qur’án 14:33. |
| 8. | cf. Qur’án 21:23. |
| 9. | Mecca. |
| 10. | Qur’án 3:91. |
| 11. | Muḥammad. |
| 12. | Mírzá Yaḥyá. |
| 13. | Muḥammad. |
| 14. | Qur’án 83:6. |
| 15. | Moses. |
| 16. | Qur’án 14:5. |
| 17. | Jesus. |
| 18. | Adrianople. |
| 19. | Arabic. |
| 20. | Persian. |
| 21. | Muḥammad. |
| 22. | The Imáms. |
| 23. | The Báb. |
| 24. | Kitáb-i-Aqdas. |
| 25. | One of the early believers who is best known to the friends for his reliable transcriptions of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh. |
| 26. | Such loans as bear no interest and are repayable whenever the borrower pleases. |
Tablet of the City of Patient Endurance CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-30
1863
THE CITY OF PATIENT ENDURANCE
1.
This is the City of Patience.
2.
Strive ye to enter it, O concourse of the patient ones!
3.
In His name, the Exalted One, He Who is the Most Exalted.
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4.
This is the remembrance of God in the City of Patience regarding Job, Our servant,
Whom We sheltered under the shade of that Holy Tree planted in His heart,
to Whom We demonstrated the fire ignited in His Own Essence,
and to Whose Self We revealed Our Own Self by His Own Self.
5.
We called Job from this sacred Spot whose environs are sanctified with this call,
6.
"Verily, He is God, Thy Lord and the Lord of all things.
He is All-Powerful over all things, the Self-Subsistent [Lord]."
7.
When Job's face was illumined by the fire burning in the sacred Tree,
We clothed Him with the garment of Prophethood
and commanded Him to instruct men in the essence of graciousness and bounty
and to invite the people to the holy and beloved Shore.
8.
We established Job on earth
and caused the waters of divine munificence to descend on Him
so that through riches He became independent of all the inhabitants of the earth.
9.
We conferred on Him a bounteous fortune
and made Him very wealthy in the kingdom.
10.
We caused Him to receive a portion of all wealth
and strengthened His back with great power.
11.
We gave Him sons from his loins
and established an exalted station for Him in all the lands.
12.
Job was amongst His people many years,
counseling them with the hidden gems of the knowledge We taught Him,
and He reminded His people of the Days of God that were truly to come.
13.
He said,
"O my people!
In truth, oceans of knowledge are contained within
the Being of God Who hath arisen to establish justice.
14.
Hasten ye therefore that ye may find a way unto it.
15.
Verily, the Sun of God's loving kindness continues to shine forth from the midmost zenith
and the beauty of the Countenance of God hath appeared from behind the Holy Tabernacles.
16.
Attend unto His presence
that haply He may bestow upon you portions of His much-loved splendor.
17.
The heavens of grandeur are uplifted
and have become adorned with constellations of knowledge and wisdom.
18.
Thus has God's holy cause dawned forth from the sanctified horizon.
19.
O my people!
Before Me Messengers came with the divine Word
and They all announced unto you that which will turn you towards the exalted and glorious shore.
20.
The divinely appointed time hath come upon you
and the Lights of God's justice hath shone forth,
the Immortal Bird hath sung,
the Dove of Revelation has warbled,
the clouds of God's illumination have become uplifted,
and the oceans of divine bounty have poured forth.
21.
O people of the earth!
Ye are deprived of all this.
22.
Fear ye God, [deprive] not the earth of God's wisdom,
and hearken unto these words which are descending from the heaven of God's nearness."
23.
From the beginning that hath no beginning, to the end that hath no end,
We have thus counseled Our servants through the tongue of the Messengers,
yet all have turned away from God's admonitions
and have retreated therefrom save those who have been encompassed by Our loving-kindness.
24.
These are the souls who hearkened unto God's call as voiced from behind the hidden veils of glory.
25.
They responded to the Summoner unto God with both their inner and outer being
and sought attraction through the melodies of the Beloved,
attaining unto the stations of guidance.
26.
Upon them be the mercy of God, and the salutations of God, Who hath given them what no one knoweth and hath caused them to reach a station that is hidden from the eyes of all creation.
27.
Ere long will the cause of God be manifested
and truth shall be distinguished from falsehood.
28.
The standards of guidance will be uplifted
and all traces of those who have joined partners with God obliterated.
29.
The earth shall be inherited by those servants who are wholly consecrated unto God,
have not imbibed the love of the "Calf" in their hearts,
and who turn away from those who continue to disbelieve
despite clear evidences presented to them.
30.
Thus have the fingers of might upon the tablets of light inscribed the divine behest.
Tablet of the City of Patient Endurance CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 31-55
THE CITY OF PATIENT ENDURANCE
31.
Call to mind Our servant, Job.
When He appeared with the standards of wealth in the kingdom of earth,
His people were envious of Him, continually defaming Him in their gatherings.
32.
All their deeds are preserved in God's secret scrolls. [ ]
33.
They vainly imagined that Job summoned people to God merely because
He had been granted the treasures of this nether world,
although, in fact, Job was sanctified from both their vain beliefs and certain truths,
and indeed from all that is in this world.
34.
When We purposed to show the signs of the [only] true God
as demonstrated in Job's detachment and reliance,
We caused to descend upon Him tribulations from all sides and truly tried Him with many tests.
35.
We took His sons from Him and discontinued the bounty We had given Him.
36.
Every day We deprived Him of something good;
not a day passed but there descended on Job, from the site of divine decree,
what hath been written by the Pen of God's will and suffering.
37.
Loss engulfed Him as had been ordained by the Mighty, the Self-Subsistent [Lord].
38.
We burnt what He had planted by the hands of the angels of God's command
and everything [he had] was utterly lost.
39.
When We had cleansed Him of earthly ornaments and material pollution,
and had purified Him of physical possessions,
then, as a further test, We caused the angels of divine wrath to blow poisonous air on His skin,
making His body weaken, His temple tremble, and His limbs quiver
so much that no portion of His being was left uncovered by wounds,
and yet, in all these states, His gratitude increased daily.
40.
He remained patient and did not complain.
41.
We thus accounted Him of those who trust and are patient and grateful.
42.
Job's people expelled Him from the town where He lived,
showing no shame toward God, their Creator.
43.
They hurt Job as much as they could,
and thus did We deem Him one of the wronged of this world.
44.
The portals of wealth were closed to His face, and the doors of poverty opened,
in such wise that several days passed before He could satisfy His intense hunger.
45.
Thus was the matter decreed.
46.
There remained unto Him no friend or companion
and He became alone in the world except for His wife,
who believed in God and served Job in all His tribulations.
47.
We confirmed her to be His support in all matters.
48.
When this companion found her Husband in such a grievous state,
she went to her people and asked them for a loaf of bread,
yet those embodiments of iniquity refused to give her any.
49.
In truth, We have registered all things in Our clearly stated Book. [the Bible]
50.
As His condition grew extreme, she sought help from the worst of women,
yet even this woman refused to give a piece of bread
until she had taken from Job's wife what she wanted.
51.
I swear by God! The pen is ashamed to recall such events,
yet God is a witness of their deeds.
52.
Job's wife came to Him with the bread, yet when He saw that her hair was cut off,
He bewailed in such a way that all the heavens and earth bewailed as well.
54.
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