Tablet on the Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures
The Tablet of God (Allah) CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-35
GOD
1.
This is the Surah of God that hath been revealed in truth
from the divine realm of the Hallowed, the Glorious, the Illumined One.
2.
He is the Powerful.
3.
O Muhammad-`Ali, [Baha-ullah]
hearken to this proclamation from thy Lord,
at a time when He desireth to depart out from among ye by reason
of what the hands of the oppressors have wrought.
4.
Thereby have sorrows encompassed the entire creation in such wise
that the Pen is hindered from mentioning the mysteries,
5.
the Tablet from giving its written testimony,
the clouds of grace from raining down,
and the trees of paradise from bearing fruit, if ye be of them that know.
6.
Say:
O people,
ye are so wrapped in dense veils that ye expel God from His House
and yet make mention of His names at morn and eventide.
7.
Say: Blinded be the eyes that open every morning
and yet shall never fall upon My glorious and refulgent Beauty,
8.
deaf be the ears that hear every sound but neglect to hearken to My wondrous and sweet melodies,
9.
and dumb be the tongue that shall never move with My Name,
the All-Subduing, the Omnipotent, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
10.
Contemplate within thyself My calamities, and that which hath befallen Me.
11.
By God, they have afflicted no one else before Me,
and they shall never be borne by the heavens and the earth.
12.
Matters have come to such a pass for Me on every side
that I have resigned Myself to that which no one in all the worlds will accept for himself.
13.
Say:
O People of the Bayan,
have I forbidden you what God allowed you,
or have I enjoined upon you what God proscribed?
14.
Have I altered even one of the ordinances that were revealed in the Tablets of God,
the Almighty, the Glorious, the Generous?
15.
If My sin be the divine verses that are revealed to Me,
this was not from Me, but rather from the All-Powerful, the All-Beautiful.
16.
By God, I am not the first to perpetrate this crime, rather, most of the Prophets committed it,
including `Ali-Muhammad (The Bab),
17.
and, before Him, Muhammad the Apostle of God,
[and] Christ, and Moses.
18.
Each spoke forth that with which the Strong Spirit inspired Him from the kingdom of God,
the Protector, the Omnipotent.
19.
By God, the creation hath never seen My like and no eye hath beheld My peer,
for I am Powerful to do what I will, and I am the Pardoner, the Compassionate.
20.
Whoso denieth My Cause hath repudiated all the Messengers,
and whoso turneth away from My face hath shunned the Countenance of God.
21.
To this bear witness the essences of all contingent beings,
and the tongues of all existing things,
then this Tongue, the All-Knowing, the All-Perceiving.
22.
Say: O People of the Bayan, We lived among you as one of you,
but you were not pleased thereby.
23.
For this reason did We draw some of the 70,000 veils from the face of this Cause,
but this also gladdened you not.
24.
We lifted some more of the veils,
until affairs came to the pass where this lofty and inaccessible station stood revealed.
25.
Should ye never be pleased therewith, We shall, in spite of you,
continue to lift the veils with a power and sovereignty that derive from Us,
O assemblage of the hateful.
26.
This hath ever been the practice of the Messengers
and the character of the Sincere Ones, if ye but knew.
27.
Since ye have turned away from the primal Beauty in His subsequent form,
repudiated His verses, and disbelieved in His bounty,
28.
therefore doth He depart alone out from among you
at a time when He is detached from all who are in the heavens and on earth.
29.
My deeds bear witness thereto, if ye be of the fair-minded.
30.
Say: Verily, We have turned Our face toward Him that created the heavens and the Throne,
and I shall never ask for a helper other than God, the Glorious, the All-Praised.
31.
O people, know that My succorer is My heart and my fortress is My trust in God.
32.
My confidant is My beauty,
My troops are My mention
and My party is the concourse of the worlds.
33.
By God, when We discovered the people
adoring the graven images of their delusions and vain imaginations instead of God,
34.
We visited upon them thereby a retribution for their deeds,
that they might thus be led to perceive that a new people had come into being.
35.
Therefore, be just with thyself.
The Surah of God (Allah) CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 36-70
GOD
36.
Is it seemly that those who turn their faces toward utter nothingness
should make mention of the eternal Beauty?
37.
Nay, by My Self, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
38.
Therefore hath God cleansed the hem of His robe from the filth of any mention by the wicked,
and hath purified it from all names and attributes, in private and in public.
39.
The people, however, neglected to take note, and remain heedless.
40.
O `Ali, close thine eyes to the like of these,
and turn they gaze away from all who are in the heavens and on earth.
41.
Then remind the people of that with which the Spirit inspireth thee at all times.
42.
If thou cleanseth thy soul from this world
and from those in whom thou perceivest the odor of unbelief,
thou wilt find that thou hast attained that station
whereunto the hearts of the Near Ones shall never soar.
43.
Thou wilt discover that thou art more learned
than all those endued with perfect and sagacious knowledge.
44.
Therefore, rend the veils in My Name, the Chosen, and pay no heed to the impudent.
45.
Quaff the waters of the river of paradise that are reserved for the righteous,
from this gleaming and radiant chalice, and stand in trepidation of no one.
46.
Put thy trust in My Name, the Forgiving, the Glorious, the Munificent.
47.
Abandon the world to those who seek it, and depart from the prison of earthly hopes.
48.
Content thyself with My love,
for, verily it is better than the treasures of the heavens and the earth,
and more excellent than all that was and is yet to be.
49.
This is My command to thee, and My counsel to the people of sanctity.
50.
Through the power of the All-Merciful,
shun the serpent that hideth within its heart a hatred for the All-Bountiful,
51.
and turn away from it,
though it recite for thee all that hath been revealed in the Holy Scriptures
and though it cling to glorious and articulate Tablets.
52.
O `Ali, We heard with Our own ears what the ear of no contingent being hath heard.
53.
It issued from behind the walls, from those who lived in Our House
and dwelt in the precincts of that Sacred Spot around which circle the denizens of paradise,
and the people of the holy veils, then the angels that render praise to God.
54.
Nevertheless, We concealed this matter in such wise
that they privately imagined God to be heedless of them.
55.
Say: How wretched is what ye have imagined!
56.
Verily, He knoweth what is invisible in the heavens and on earth,
and He is, in truth, Omniscient.
57.
Thus was I tormented while I was among those persons and dwelt behind them.
58.
At My back was the murky gloom of rancor,
and at My right hand were the somber depths of malevolence,
and God standeth witness to what I say.
59.
The matter continued into these very days,
when the sacred Beauty desireth to deny Himself the silk brocade of human friendship
60.
and to sever Himself from all, male and female, young and old,
save from those women toward whom God hath laid upon Me responsibilities.
61.
Verily, there is no God but Him,
the Possessor of the world of creation and the kingdom of the Cause,
and all is with Him upon a Preserved Tablet.
62.
Know, however, that the reason for My withdrawal
was not what We have enumerated for thee in this luminous Tablet.
63.
Rather, We had found Ourselves to be a chief in the land and a guardian of this people,
but then abandoned this position to such as desired and would accept it.
64.
There was no such person among the people,
and distress, terror and murder were abroad in the land.
65.
We therefore manifested Ourselves between the heavens and the earth,
and dawned forth from the axis of the horizon with perspicuous sovereignty.
66.
Then, when We observed that the land was tranquil,
We secluded Ourselves and gave it into the care of another people.
67.
For, by My Life, a subject is better than a thousand rulers,
a subordinate is more exalted than a myriad of superiors,
and one oppressed is more excellent than a city full of tyrants.
68.
Emulate thy Beloved therein and sever thyself from all things.
69.
Issue from behind the curtains of silence
and speak forth with the truth in wondrous and precious melodies.
70.
Then soar into the realm of detachment with the wings of the Sanctified,
the Exalted, the Soaring, the Benevolent, the All-High.
Translation by J. R. I. Cole
Tablet to Ashraf CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-35
Tablet to Siyyid Ashraf-i Zanjani (the Noble)
Revealed in Arabic, the Tablet to Ashraf is a dispatch that Baha-ullah wrote for Siyyid Ashraf-i Zanjani at the end of Ashraf's second visit with Baha-ullah in Adrianople. The context for the communication was that Ashraf was about to leave and travel back to Iran. The tablet has instructions for Ashraf for when Ashraf gets there, what news to share with the believers about Baha-ullah, and guidance for Ashraf, and statements about the nature of Baha-ullah’s revelation. The tablet also addresses two other believers that were also martyred for the faith.
THE NOBLE
1.
O Ashraf, [1]
listen carefully to what the Tongue of the Eternal has to say.
2.
Any one of the melodies of your Lord would be sufficient to attract the hearts of all people,
if they were to perceive it with a new and purified ear.
3.
And if the names were to release themselves from the limitations of the world of creation,
they would surely all become the most great Name, could you but apprehend,
for the Ancient Beauty has manifested himself to all things in the splendor of all the names
during these blessed, mighty, and sublime days.
4.
Strive to act uprightly in the Cause of your Lord and wholly for the sake of His love
that He may appoint you among His most beautiful names in the kingdom of creation.
This, indeed, is a great bounty.
5.
I swear by my life!
Were the hands of all created things to be lifted in this day, free of any evil suggestions,
toward the court of hope of the King of Names,
and ask Him for the treasures of the heavens and the earth,
He would grant their wish, by His all-pervasive grace, before they lowered their hands.
Thus does His mercy encompass all things.
6.
Say:
O people![2]
Do not withhold yourselves from the grace of God and His mercy.
7.
Whoever withholds himself from it is indeed in great loss.
8.
Say: O people!
Do you worship the dust, and forsake your Lord, the Gracious, the Bountiful?
9.
Fear God, and be not of those who have gone astray.
10.
Say: The Book of God has now appeared in the temple of this youth.
11.
Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of makers!
12.
Flee not from him, O peoples of the world;
rather, hasten to attain his presence and be of those who have returned.
13.
Repent, O people, for having abandoned God and for having transgressed against His Cause.
Do not be heedless.
14.
It is He who has created you, who has provided for you by His command and acquainted you with himself—the Mighty, the Exalted, the Knowing—
and who has unveiled to you the treasures of His knowledge and caused you to ascend to the heaven of certainty in His incorruptible, resistless, and transcendent Faith.
15.
Take care that you do not deprive yourselves of the grace of God, invalidate your works,
and disavow Him in this most manifest, most exalted, shining, and glorious Revelation.
16.
Judge, then, the Cause of God, your maker, with justice,
examine what He has sent down from the throne on high,
and meditate on it with pure and faultless hearts.
17.
In this way, the truth of this Cause will appear to you as clearly as the midday sun
and you will be assured. [and therefore completely certain]
18.
Say:
His first evidence is His own self, and following that is His revelation.[3]
19.
But for whoever is unable to recognize these two evidences,
He has made His verses His proof by His grace to all the worlds.
20.
He has endowed every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God.
21.
If human beings did not have this capacity,
He could not complete His proof to them, were you to reflect on His Cause.
22.
He will never deal unjustly with anyone, nor will He task a soul beyond its power.
He, verily, is the Compassionate, the Merciful.
23.
Say:
The Cause of God has become manifested in such a manner that even the blind can perceive it, how much more those whose vision is sharp and pure.
24.
Although the blind cannot see the light of the sun, they can feel its continual heat.
25.
The blind in heart, however, among the people of the Bayān—and to this God is my witness—
are powerless, no matter how long the Sun may shine on them,
either to perceive the radiance of its glory or to appreciate the warmth of its rays.
26.
Say:
O people of the Bayān!
We have singled you out from among humankind to recognize us.
27.
We have caused you to draw near to the right side of Paradise
—the place from which the undying Fire[4] proclaims in every melody:
“There is no God besides Me, the Powerful, the Most High!”
28.
Take care not to veil yourselves
from this Sun that is shining above the horizon of the Will of your Lord, the All-Merciful,
with a radiance that has encompassed all things, small and great.
29.
Open your eyes that you may behold it with your own vision,
without depending on the vision of anyone else, for God does not burden a soul beyond its ability.
30.
Thus has it been revealed in all the scriptures to the prophets and messengers of the past.
31.
Enter, O people, into this vast expanse for which neither a beginning nor an end has been decreed,
in which the call of God has been raised and the breezes of His transcendent sanctity are wafting.
32.
Remove not from yourselves the robe of glory;
neither let your hearts be deprived of remembering your Lord
nor your ears from hearing His wondrous, sublime, compelling, and most eloquent melodies.[5]
33.
O Ashraf!
Give thanks to God inasmuch as He has honored you with meeting Him
and permitted you to enter His presence, the seat of sublime glory.
34.
Blessed are your eyes, for they have beheld the beauty of God,
your Lord and the Lord of the entire creation.
35.
Blessed are your ears, for they have heard the melody of God,
the Powerful, the Knowing, the Wise.
Tablet to Ashraf CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 36-70
THE NOBLE
36.
Know that the time has come for your sojourn before the throne to end. [ ]
37.
Arise, and go forth with the tablet of God to His faithful servants,
who have consumed the veils with the fire of their attraction and ascended to God,
the King, the Mighty, the Praised.
38.
Tell them what has happened to us at the hands of those who were created by our command,
then announce to them the glad tidings of the Paradise of God that they may rejoice.
39.
Recount to them one of the stories of this youth that they may be informed and give praise to God.
40.
Say:
O loved ones of God!
Arise and assist Him.
Pay no attention to those who contend with the Being of God
and who repudiate the evidence
that God has made the proof of His Cause between the heavens and the earth.
41.
They have wronged God by arising in opposition against Him,
and they do not feel ashamed before God, who created them by His command.
42.
This is what has befallen the Ancient Beauty at the hands of these oppressors.
43.
So severe did their opposition become
that they attempted to kill me through a plan that Satan cast into their breasts.
God knows and is a witness to this.
44.
When they found themselves impotent before the sovereignty of God and His power,
they devised a new plot.
45.
This is what befell us at the hands of those who were created by our command,
yet we are well able to achieve our purpose.
46.
O loved ones of God!
Be clouds of bounty to those who believe in God and in His verses,
and a sure torment to those who disbelieve in Him and His Cause and who join partners with God.
47.
Say:
O people!
Do not listen to the words of those who are unfaithful to God and the Manifestation of Himself.
48.
Be mindful of the day when each will be asked about his deeds in the presence of his Lord,
the Exalted, the Great,
and will receive either reward or punishment for what he has done during this vain life.
This is what has been ordained in God’s mighty and guarded tablets.
49.
Do not be like those who habitually adhere to something as it suits them
and at another moment reject it.
50.
Fear God, O concourse of believers.
Hold fast to what has been sent down to you from the throne on high,
forsake all else, and remain steadfast in His Cause.
51.
If you see Muḥammad ʿAlī, [6]
give him our greetings and deliver to him that with which you have been entrusted
that he may arise to serve the Cause
and be so steadfast that his steps will not slip from the path of God, the Almighty, the Praised.
52.
Say:
O servant!
I swear by God! All you have heard and perceived has been manifested by us,
and all besides me has been created by my command, if you apprehend.
53.
All that we have mentioned is due to a wisdom on our part,
of which no one is apprised save for those whom we have acquainted
with the libraries of divine revelation and aided with the Faithful Spirit.
54.
Tear away the veils of idle fancies
that the daystar of certainty may shine on you from the dawning place of my name,
the All-Merciful, and He may appoint you among the sincere.
55.
Arise to serve your Lord,
and turn away from those who have disbelieved in God and have denied Him.
56.
Summon the people to remembrance with wisdom and heavenly counsel,
and do not dispute idly with anyone concerning the Cause of your Lord
that His proof may be fulfilled to the entire creation.
57.
Be united with the loved ones of God,
and gather them into the haven of security under the shade of the name of your Lord,
the Almighty, the Knowing.
58.
Shield His servants so that the temptations of Satan do not cause them to falter
when he arrives in your land with a great deception,
by which he intends to deprive all of you of the love of this youth.
Thus do we inform you with a message from the Unseen
that you may be aware and remain steadfast.
59.
Be detached from all things, then set your face toward the sanctuary that is the seat of the throne of your Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
60.
Know that we have admonished you in other tablets,
and we found you lacking in what is worthy of you.
61.
Beware that you do not deprive yourself of what we have ordained for you in our holy and preserved tablets.
62.
Cleanse yourself of everything that stands between you and God,
then commune with Him with a humble and radiant heart.
63.
You should be so steadfast in the Cause
that were all in the heavens and on earth to conspire against you,
they would be unable to turn you aside from it and would find themselves powerless.
64.
This is what is worthy of those who consider themselves followers of God,
in these days when most of the servants are submerged in a deluge of doubts and vain imaginings
and set on the path of perdition.
65.
If you see Abā Baṣīr [7], bring him this tablet so that he can read it and be of those who know.
66.
Convey my greetings to him that he may rejoice in the glad tidings of the spirit coming from the Almighty, the All-Wise.
67.
Say: O servant!
We have sent down the verses to you and delivered them to you as a mercy from us
so that those who dwell in your land may be admonished, awaken from their slumber,
and turn with their hearts toward the object of the adoration of the world,
at whose appearance the inmates of the concourse on high fall prostrate.
68.
Call then to remembrance the loved ones of God, whom no obstacles have prevented from entering the depths of the ocean of the mercy of your Lord, the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous.
69.
Thus, do we bid and direct you that you may be thankful to God, your Lord, at all times.
70.
Peace, honor and glory rest upon you, O people of Bahā,
and upon those who have desired God’s countenance and turned toward Him.
Translated by K. Brown 2016
[1] Siyyid Ashraf-i-Zanjāni. In Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, section LXIX, Bahā’u’llāh tells the story of Siyyid Ashraf's mother, who was brought to the scene her son’s imminent death so she could urge him to recant, but instead she urged him not to.
[2] The section of the Tablet to Ashraf commencing here has also been translated by Shoghi Effendi.
[3] Or ...His “manifestation” (ẓuhūr).
[4] This is a reference to the Fire in the Burning Bush from which Moses heard the voice of God proclaiming “I am God, the Lord of the universe…” (Qurʿān 28:30; cf. Exodus 3:1–15).
[5] The section of this tablet that Shoghi Effendi has also translated ends here.
[6] Probably a reference to Āqā Mīrzā Muḥammad-ʿAlīy-i-Ṭabīb, who was also from Zanjān and died a martyr.
Bahā’u’llāh wrote a tablet of visitation jointly for him, Siyyid Ashraf and Abā Baṣīr.
[7] Āqā Naqd-ʿAlī, who was blind and given the title ‘Baṣīr’ (Seeing) by Bahā’u’llāh. He was Siyyid Ashraf’s close friend and was beheaded just before Ashraf was killed.
The sacrifice of the pair is mentioned by Bahā’u’llāh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 73–74.
Tablet of the Bell CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-35
Also called the Tablet of the Garden of Ridvan, not to be confused with another tablet of the same name.
THE BELL
1.
He is the Mighty.
2.
This is the Garden of Paradise,
wherein hath been raised the melody of God, the Protector, the Self-Subsistent.
3.
Wherein have been established the maidens of eternity whom none hath touched save God,
the Mighty, the Holy.
4.
Wherein the Nightingale of Eternity hath warbled
upon the branches of the Lote-tree beyond which there is no passing,
with a melody that hath filled with astonishment the minds of all men.
5.
Wherein is that which bringeth the poor ones near unto the shores of the ocean of wealth
and guideth mankind unto the word of God.
6.
This, verily, is a manifest truth.
7.
In Thy name "He",
for Thou art, verily, He O He.
8.
O monk of divine unity, toll the bell,
for the Day of God hath been made manifest and the Beauty of the All-Glorious
hath been established upon the Throne of manifest holiness.
9.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
10.
O Hud of the decree, blow upon the trumpet in the name of God, the Mighty, the Generous,
for the tabernacle of holiness bath been established upon the throne of inaccessible glory.
11.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
12.
O Countenance of Eternity!
Strike with the fingers of the spirit upon the rebec of a wondrous holiness,
for the Beauty of the Essence hath appeared clothed in a robe of shining silk.
13.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
14.
O angel of light, blow into the horn in this revelation,
for the letter Ha' hath come riding upon a letter of ancient majesty.
15.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
16.
O Nightingale of Splendour,
warble upon the twigs in this garden, singing the name of the Beloved,
for the Beauty of the Rose hath appeared from behind a heavy veil.
17.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
18.
O Songbird of Paradise, trill thou upon the branches in this wondrous age,
for God hath shone forth upon all that dwell in the kingdom of earth.
19.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
20.
O Bird of Eternity, soar in this sky,
for the bird of faithfulness bath winged its flight in an atmosphere of blessed nearness.
21.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
22.
O Inhabitants of Paradise, sing and chant in the most melodious and charming of voices,
for the song of God hath been raised behind pavilions of exalted holiness.
23.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
24.
O Inhabitants of the Kingdom, invoke the name of the Beloved,
for the Beauty of the Cause bath shone forth from behind the veils adorned with a shining spirit.
25.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
26.
O Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Names, bedeck the farthest reaches of heaven,
for the Greatest Name hath come riding upon the clouds of a mighty holiness.
27.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
28.
O Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Attributes upon the most glorious horizon,
make yourselves ready to enter the presence of God,
for the breezes of holiness have breathed from the Spot wherein His Essence is hidden,
and this is, verily, a manifest grace.
29.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
30.
O Paradise of oneness, rejoice within thyself,
for there hath appeared the paradise of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Knowing.
31.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
32.
O Heaven of Glory, give thanks unto God in thine essence,
for the heaven of holiness hath been lifted up in the sky of a gracious heart.
33.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
34.
O Sun of the kingdom of the world, cover thy face,
for the Sun of Eternity bath shone forth from the horizon of a resplendent dawn.
35.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
[O earth of [knowledge, swallow] all that you [know],
for the Earth of Knowledge hath been [spread out within] the Being of God,
the Exalted, the Mighty, the Generous.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.]
Tablet of the Bell CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 36-65
THE BELL
36.
O Lamp of the kingdom of the world, extinguish thy light,
for the Lamp of God hath shone within the niche of eternity
and the peoples of the heavens and the earth have been illumined by it.
37.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
38.
O oceans of the earth!
Cease ye the rolling of your waves, for the Red Sea bath surged at a wondrous command.
39.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
40.
O Peacock of Union, cry out amidst the bushes of the heavenly kingdom,
for the melody of God hath appeared from every direction, near at hand.
41.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
42.
O Bird of Eternity, crow in the thicket of the kingdom on high,
for the Herald of God hath cried out from every unapproachable direction.
43.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
44.
O Concourse of lovers, rejoice in your souls,
for the days of separation are come to an end and the appointed time is come
wherein the Best-Beloved hath appeared in the Beauty of an inaccessible glory.
45.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
46.
O People of mystic knowledge, be ye glad in your inmost beings,
for the days of parting are past and certitude is come
and the Beauty of the Youth hath shone forth with the ornament of holiness
in the paradise of a mighty name.
47.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is.none other than He.
48.
Praised be Thou, O my God,
I beseech Thee by Thy Day, whereon all days have been resurrected,
and by Thy enumerating from it both former and latter times.
49.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is. none other than He.
50.
And by Thy Name which Thou hast made a monarch in the kingdom of names
and a ruler over all that are in heaven and on earth.
51.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
52.
That Thou mayest make these souls independent of all save Thee
and bring them nigh unto Thee and cause them to be detached from all others save Thee.
Thou, verily, art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Compassionate.
53.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
54.
Make them, then, O my God, among those who testify to Thy oneness
and among those who submit their selves to Thy singleness,
in such wise that they may behold none else but Thee and gaze upon none save Thee.
Thou art, verily, Powerful and Mighty to accomplish this.
55.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
56.
Create, then, in their hearts, O my Beloved, the fire of Thy love,
to such an extent that the mention of all save Thee may be consumed by it,
that they may witness within their hearts that Thou hast ever been in the loftiness of eternity,
and that there has never been anything with Thee,
and that Thou art as Thou bast ever been;
no god is there save Thee, the Generous, the Mighty.
57.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
58.
For, should Thy servants who seek to ascend unto the heights of Thy oneness,
establish themselves in the mention of aught else save Thee,
the decree of unity shall have no validity in respect of them,
nor shall the title of singleness find any conformation in them.
59.
Praised be Thou, O He; O He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
60.
And Praised be Thou, O God, my God.
61.
Since this is how matters stand, send down from the clouds of Thy compassion
that which shall cleanse the hearts of Thy lovers and sanctify the breasts of them that adore Thee.
62.
Raise them up, then, through Thy exaltation
and cause them to be victorious over all that dwell on earth.
63.
This is that which Thou didst promise Thy friends by Thy unerring words:
64.
"We desire to show Our grace unto them that have been made wretched on the earth
and to make them leaders and to make them Our heirs."
65.
Praised be Thou, O He; He that is He;
O He that there is none other than He.
Translated by D. MacEoin
Tablet of Medicine CHAPTER ONE
Alias the Tablet to the Physician
A old tablet of Bahá-ulláh, revealed to a doctor. 1870 (?)
MEDICINE
1.
He is God!
2.
O God the supreme Knower!
The ancient Tongue Speaks that which will content the wise in the absence of the Doctors.
3.
Say:
O people, do not eat except when you are hungry.
4.
Do not drink after you have retired to sleep.
5.
Exercise is good when the stomach is empty; it strengthens the muscles.
6.
When the stomach is full, exercise is very bad.
7.
Do not neglect medical treatment when it is necessary
yet leave it off when the body is in good condition.
8.
Do not take nourishment except when digestion is completed.
9.
Do not swallow until you have thoroughly masticated your food.
10.
Treat disease first of all through the diet and refrain from medicines.
11.
If you find what you need for healing in a single herb,
do not use compound medicines.
12.
Leave off medicine when the health is good and use it in case of necessity.
13.
If two opposites are put on the table do not mix them, be content with one of them.
14.
Begin first with liquid food before partaking of solid food.
15.
The taking of food before what you have already eaten is digested, is dangerous--avoid this.
16.
When you begin to eat, begin with My Name El Abhá,
and finish with the Name of [*]God the Possessor of the Throne and the earth.
17.
When you have eaten walk a little that the food may settle.
18.
What is difficult to masticate is forbidden by the Wise.
--Thus the Supreme Pen Commands you.
19.
A little food in the morning is like a light to the body.
20.
Leave all harmful habits, they cause unhappiness in the world.
21.
Search for the cause of disease.
22.
This saying is the end of this speech.
23.
Be content in all conditions,
by this the person is preserved from a bad condition and from lassitude.
24.
Shun grief and sorrow, they cause the greatest misery.
25.
Say:
Jealousy eats the body and anger burns the liver.
26.
Refrain from these two as you would avoid a lion.
27.
To cleanse the body is essential,
yet only in temperate seasons (should it be done frequently).
28.
He who over-eats, his illness becomes more severe.
29.
We have arranged for each thing a cause and We have Bestowed upon it an effect.
30.
All this is from the Effulgence of My Name, which Influences everything.
31.
Your God is the Commander of all things.
32.
Say:
From what We have explained, the humors of the body should not be excessive
and their quantity depends upon the condition of the body.
33.
One sixth of each sixth part in its normal condition is the right proportion.
34.
In God must be our trust.
35.
There is no God but Him, the Healer, the Knower and the Helper.
Tablet of Medicine CHAPTER TWO
MEDICINE
36.
The Supreme Pen has not Written such Words but for the Love of thee,
that thou mayest know that grief has not seized upon the Blessed Beauty.
37.
He is not sorrowful because of what has befallen Him from the nations,
yet the sadness is for him whose reason does not grant something of the Word of God.
38.
Nothing in the earth or Heaven is outside the Grasp of God.
39.
O Doctor!
Heal the sick first by the mentioning of the Name of God,
the Possessor of the Day of Judgment
and after that use what God hath destined for the health of the constitution of His creatures.
40.
By My Life! The Doctor who has drunk from the Wine of My Love,
his visit is healing and his breath is mercy and hope.
41.
Say:
Cling to him for the welfare of the constitution.
42.
He is Confirmed by God in his treatments.
43.
Say:
This knowledge is the most knowable of all the sciences
for it is the greatest means from God (the Life-Giver to the dust)
to preserve the bodies of the peoples
and He has put it in the forefront of all the sciences and wisdoms.
44.
For Today is the Day when you must arise for My victory detached from all the world.
45.
Say:
O my God, Thy Name is my healing.
46.
Thy Remembrance is my remedy.
47.
Thy Nearness is my hope.
48.
Thy Love is my joyous companion,
and Thy Mercy is my healer and my helper in this world and in the next.
49.
Thou art the Giver, the Knower, the Wise!
50.
Give Greetings and Love to all the friends on the Part of God.
51.
Say:
Today two things are loved and sought for.
52.
One is Wisdom and Interpretation,
and the second is Preservation of the Cause of God, the Merciful.
53.
Each soul that has attained these two Commandments graces
he is accounted Before God an inhabitant of the City of Eternity,
because by those two things the Cause of God has been and will be made firm.
54.
For if Wisdom and Interpretation do not exist all will be afflicted.
55.
In this case, there would be no breath left to convert the people to the Law of God
and if Preservation is lacking there would not be any breath to mention God
or to affect the people.
56.
Say:
O friends!
Fear and anguish are womanly qualities
57.
yet if the friends of God meditate on the world and the apparent disharmony in it
the power of the oppressors will not frighten them
58.
and they will fly with the wings of longing to the Light of Heaven.
59.
What ever this One has Wished for Himself,
He has Desired it for all the friends of the True One
and that Preservation was and will be Commanded.
60.
The Purpose is that those who speak of the Cause
will remain on the earth so that they may be occupied with
the remembrance mentioning of the God of the Universe.
61.
That is why the preservation of yourselves and your brothers
is necessary and obligatory for the Cause of God.
62.
If all the friends were acting in accordance with what they are commanded,
the condition of the greater part of those on the earth would be adorned by the Garment of Faith.
63.
Blessed is the soul that brings another to the Law of God and has guided him to Eternal Life.
64.
This is one of the greatest actions in the Sight of God,
the Dear One, the Supreme, the Highest.
65.
The Spirit of Bahá be upon you.
Дата добавления: 2019-02-12; просмотров: 315; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!