The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER SIXTY TWO 1 страница
Divisions 1846-1870
EPISTLE TO THE SON OF THE WOLF
1846.
O Hádí!
His book which he hath entitled “Mustayqiz” is in thy possession.
Read it.
1847.
Although thou hast seen the book, peruse it again,
that haply thou mayest obtain for thyself a lofty seat beneath the canopy of truth.
1848.
In like manner, Siyyid Ibráhím, concerning whom these words have flowed from the Pen of the Primal Point—magnified be His utterance:
1849.
“O thou who art mentioned as My friend in My scriptures, and as My remembrance in My books, next to My scriptures, and as My name in the Bayán”
1850.
—such a one, together with Dayyán, hath been surnamed by him (Mírzá Yahyá) Father of Iniquities and Father of Calamities.
1851.
Judge thou fairly,
how grievous hath been the plight of these oppressed ones, and this notwithstanding that one of them was occupied in serving him, whilst the other was his guest.
1852.
Briefly, I swear by God, the deeds he committed were such that Our Pen is ashamed to recount.
1853.
Reflect a while upon the dishonor inflicted upon the Primal Point. (the Bab)
Consider what hath happened.
1854.
When this Wronged One, after a retirement of two years during which He wandered through the deserts and mountains, returned to Baghdád, as a result of the intervention of a few, who for a long time had sought Him in the wilderness,
1855.
a certain Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alí of Rasht came to see Him, and related, before a large gathering of people, that which had been done, affecting the honor of the Báb, which hath truly overwhelmed all lands with sorrow.
1856.
Great God!
How could they have visaged this most grievous betrayal?
1857.
Briefly, We beseech God to aid the perpetrator of this deed to repent, and return unto Him.
He, verily, is the Helper, the All-Wise.
1858.
As to Dayyán—upon him be the glory of God and His mercy—he attained Our presence
in accordance with that which had been revealed by the pen of the Primal Point.
1859.
We pray God to aid the heedless to turn unto Him,
and such as have turned aside to direct themselves towards Him,
and them that have denied Him to acknowledge this Cause,
which, no sooner did it appear than all created things proclaimed:
1860.
“He that was hidden in the Treasury of Knowledge,
and inscribed by the Pen of the Most High in His Books, and His Scriptures,
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and His Scrolls, and His Tablets, is come!”
1861.
In this connection it hath been deemed necessary to mention such traditions as have been recorded regarding the blessed and honored city of ‘Akká, that haply thou mayest, O Hádí,
seek a path unto the Truth, and a road leading unto God.
[Tablet of the Spring of the Cow]
1862.
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
The following hath been recorded concerning the merits of ‘Akká, and of the sea,
and of Aynu’l-Baqár (The Spring of the Cow) which is in ‘Akká:
1863.
‘Abdu’l-’Aziz, son of ‘Abdu’-Salám, hath related unto us that the Prophet
—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon him—hath said:
“‘Akká is a city in Syria to which God hath shown His special mercy.”
1864.
Ibn-i-Mas’úd—may God be pleased with him—hath stated:
“The Prophet—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—hath said:
1865.
‘Of all shores, the best is the shore of Askelon,
and ‘Akká is, verily, better than Askelon,
and the merit of ‘Akká above that of Askelon
and all other shores is as the merit of Muhammad above that of all other Prophets.
1866.
I bring you tidings of a city betwixt two mountains in Syria, [in northwest Palestine]
in the middle of a meadow, which is called ‘Akká.
1867.
Verily, he that entereth therein, longing for it and eager to visit it,
God will forgive his sins, both of the past and of the future.
1868.
And he that departeth from it, other than as a pilgrim, God will not bless his departure.
1869.
In it is a spring called the Spring of the Cow.
1870.
Whoso drinketh a draught therefrom, God will fill his heart with light,
and will protect him from the most great terror on the Day of Resurrection.’”
The Book of the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf CHAPTER SIXTY THREE
Divisions 1871-1900
EPISTLE TO THE SON OF THE WOLF
1871.
Anas, son of Malík—may God be pleased with him—hath said:
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“The Apostle of God—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—hath said:
1872.
‘By the shore of the sea is a city, suspended beneath the Throne, and named ‘Akká.
1873.
He that dwelleth therein, firm and expecting a reward from God—exalted be He—
God will write down for him, until the Day of Resurrection, the recompense of such as have been patient, and have stood up, and knelt down, and prostrated themselves, before Him.’”
1874.
And He—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—hath said:
1875.
“I announce unto you a city, on the shores of the sea, white,
whose whiteness is pleasing unto God—exalted be He!
It is called ‘Akká.
1876.
He that hath been bitten by one of its fleas is better, in the estimation of God,
than he who hath received a grievous blow in the path of God.
1877.
And he that raiseth therein the call to prayer, his voice will be lifted up unto Paradise.
1878.
And he that remaineth therein for seven days in the face of the enemy, God will gather him with Khidr—peace be upon Him—and God will protect him from the most great terror on the Day of Resurrection.”
1879.
And He—may the blessings of God,—exalted be He—and His salutations be upon Him—hath said:
1880.
“There are kings and princes in Paradise.
1881.
The poor of ‘Akká are the kings of Paradise and the princes thereof.
1882.
A month in ‘Akká is better than 1,000 years elsewhere.”
1883.
The Apostle of God—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—is reported to have said:
1884.
“Blessed the man that hath visited ‘Akká, and blessed he that hath visited the visitor of ‘Akká.
1885.
Blessed the one that hath drunk from the Spring of the Cow and washed in its waters,
for the black-eyed damsels quaff the camphor in Paradise,
which hath come from [that] spring,
and from the Spring of Salván (i.e. Siloam), and the Well of Zamzam.
1886.
Well is it with him that hath drunk from these springs, and washed in their waters,
for God hath forbidden the fire of hell to touch him and his body on the Day of Resurrection.”
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1887.
The Prophet—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—is stated to have said:
1888.
“In ‘Akká are works of supererogation and acts which are beneficial, which God vouchsafed specially unto whomsoever He pleaseth.
1889.
And he that saith in ‘Akká:
‘Glorified be God, and praise be unto God, and there is none other God but God,
and most great is God, and there is no power nor strength except in God, the Exalted, the Mighty,’
1890.
God will write down for him 1,000 good deeds, and blot out from him 1,000 evil deeds,
and will uplift him a 1,000 grades in Paradise, and will forgive him his transgressions.
1891.
And whoso saith in ‘Akká:
‘I beg forgiveness of God,’ God will forgive all his trespasses.
1892.
And he that remembereth God in ‘Akká at morn and at eventide, in the night-season and at dawn,
is better in the sight of God than he who beareth swords, spears and arms in the path of God
—exalted be He!”
1893.
The Apostle of God—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—hath also said:
1894.
“He that looketh upon the sea at eventide, and saith: ‘God is Most Great!’ at sunset,
God will forgive his sins, though they be heaped as piles of sand.
1895.
And he that counteth 40 waves, while repeating: ‘God is Most Great!’—exalted be He—
God will forgive his sins, both past and future.”
1896.
The Apostle of God—may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him—hath said:
1897.
“He that looketh upon the sea a full night
is better than he who passeth two whole months betwixt the Rukn and the Maqám.
1898.
And he that hath been brought up on the shores of the sea
is better than he that hath been brought up elsewhere.
1899.
And he that lieth on the shore is as he that standeth elsewhere.”
1900.
Verily, the Apostle of God (may the blessings of God, exalted be He, and His salutations be upon Him)
hath spoken the truth.
INTRODUCTION
The decade-long exile of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Iráq began under the harshest of conditions and at the lowest ebb in the fortunes of the Bábí Faith. It witnessed, however, the gradual crystallization of those potent spiritual forces which were to culminate in the declaration of His world-embracing mission in 1863. In the course of these years, and from the city of Baghdád, there radiated, Shoghi Effendi writes, "wave after wave, a power, a radiance and a glory which insensibly reanimated a languishing Faith, sorely-stricken, sinking into obscurity, threatened with oblivion. From it were diffused, day and night, and with ever-increasing energy, the first emanations of a Revelation which, in its scope, its copiousness, its driving force and the volume and variety of its literature, was destined to excel that of the Báb Himself."
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Among these early effusions of the Pen of Glory is a lengthy epistle known as Javáhiru'l-Asrár, meaning literally the "gems" or "essences" of mysteries. A number of themes it enunciates are also elaborated in Persian - through different revelatory modes - in the Seven Valleys and the Book of Certitude, those two immortal volumes which Shoghi Effendi has characterized, respectively, as Bahá'u'lláh's greatest mystical composition and His pre-eminent doctrinal work. Undoubtedly the Gems of Divine Mysteries figures among those "Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue" which were referred to in the latter volume.[2]
One of the central themes of the book, Bahá'u'lláh indicates, is that of "transformation", meaning here the return of the Promised One in a different human guise. Indeed, in a prefatory note written above the opening lines of the original manuscript, Bahá'u'lláh states:
This treatise was written in reply to a seeker who had asked how the promised Mihdí could have become transformed into 'Alí-Muhammad (the Báb). The opportunity provided by this question was seized to elaborate on a number of subjects, all of which are of use and benefit both to them that seek and to those who have attained, could ye perceive with the eye of divine virtue.
The seeker alluded to the above passage was Siyyid Yúsuf-i-Sihdihí Isfahání, who at the time was residing in Karbilá. His questions were presented to Bahá'u'lláh through an intermediary, and this Tablet was revealed in response on the same day.
A number of other important themes are addressed in this work as well: the cause of the rejection of the Prophets of the past; the danger of a literal reading of scripture; the meaning of the signs and portents of the Bible concerning the advent of the new Manifestation; the continuity of divine revelation; intimations of Bahá'u'lláh's own approaching declaration; the significance of such symbolic terms as "the Day of Judgement", "the Resurrection", "attainment to the Divine Presence", and "life and death"; and the stages of the spiritual quest through "the Garden of Search", "the City of Divine Unity", "the Garden of Wonderment", "the City of Absolute Nothingness", "the City of Immortality", and "the City that hath no name or description".
The publication of Gems of Divine Mysteries is one of the projects undertaken in fulfilment of the Five Year Plan goal, announced in April 2001, of "enriching the translations into English from the Holy Texts". The volume will further deepen the Western reader's appreciation of a period infused with potentiality and described by Shoghi Effendi as "the vernal years of Bahá'u'lláh's ministry", and assist the students of His Revelation in gaining a more profound insight into its gradual unfoldment.
Tablet of the Gems of Divine Mysteries CHAPTER ONE
Divisons 1-25
[the pearls of Heaven's secrets]
GEMS OF DIVINE MYSTERIES
1.
He is the Exalted, the Most High!
2.
O thou who treadest the path of justice and beholdest the countenance of mercy!
3.
Thine epistle was received, thy question was noted,
and the sweet accents of thy soul were heard from the inmost chambers of thy heart.
4.
Whereupon the clouds of the Divine Will were raised
to rain upon thee the outpourings of heavenly wisdom,
5.
to divest thee of all that thou hadst acquired aforetime,
to draw thee from the realms of contradiction unto the retreats of oneness,
and to lead thee to the sacred streams of His Law.
6.
Perchance thou mayest quaff therefrom, repose therein, quench thy thirst, refresh thy soul,
and be numbered with those whom the light of God guided aright in this day.
7.
Encompassed as I am at this time by the dogs of the earth and the beasts of every land,
concealed as I remain in the hidden habitation of Mine inner being,
forbidden as I may be from divulging that which God hath bestowed upon Me
of the wonders of His knowledge, the gems of His wisdom, and the tokens of His power,
8.
yet am I loath to frustrate the hopes of one who hath approached the sanctuary of grandeur,
sought to enter within the precincts of eternity,
and aspired to soar in the immensity of this creation at the dawning of the divine decree.
9.
I shall therefore relate unto thee certain truths
from among those which God hath vouchsafed unto Me,
this only to the extent that souls can bear and minds endure,
lest the malicious raise a clamour or the dissemblers hoist their banners.
10.
I implore God to graciously aid Me in this,
for unto such as beseech Him, He is the All-Bounteous,
and of those who show mercy, He is the Most Merciful.
11.
Know then that it behoveth thine eminence to ponder from the outset these questions in thy heart:
12.
What hath prompted the divers peoples and kindreds of the earth to reject the Apostles whom God hath sent unto them in His might and power, whom he hath raised up to exalt His Cause and ordained to be the Lamps of eternity within the Niche of His oneness?
13.
For what reason have the people turned aside from them,
disputed about them, risen against, and contended with them?
14.
On what grounds have they refused to acknowledge their apostleship and authority,
nay, denied their truth and reviled their persons, even slaying or banishing them?
15.
O thou who hast set foot in the wilderness of knowledge
and taken abode within the ark of wisdom!
16.
Not until thou hast grasped the mysteries concealed in that which We shall relate unto thee canst thou hope to attain to the stations of faith and certitude in the Cause of God and in those who are the Manifestations of His Cause, the Daysprings of His Command, the Treasuries of His revelation, and the Repositories of His knowledge.
17.
Shouldst thou fail in this, thou wouldst be numbered with them that have not striven for the Cause of God, nor inhaled the fragrance of faith from the raiment of certitude, nor scaled the heights of the divine unity, nor yet recognized the stations of divine singleness within the Embodiments of praise and the Essences of sanctity.
18.
Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter,
that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart
and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced
with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion,
19.
to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom,
to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world,
and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures
and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth.[3]
20.
Now that the discourse hath reached this exalted and intractable theme
and touched upon this sublime and impenetrable mystery,
know that the Christian and Jewish peoples have not grasped the intent of the words of God
and the promises He hath made to them in His Book,
and have therefore denied His Cause, turned aside from His Prophets, and rejected His proofs.
21.
Had they but fixed their gaze upon the testimony of God itself,
had they refused to follow in the footsteps of the abject and foolish among their leaders and divines,
they would doubtless have attained to the repository of guidance and the treasury of virtue,
and quaffed from the crystal waters of life eternal in the city of the All-Merciful,
in the garden of the All-Glorious, and within the inner reality of His paradise.
22.
But as they have refused to see with the eyes wherewith God hath endowed them,
and desired things other than that which He in His mercy had desired for them,
they have strayed far from the retreats of nearness,
have been deprived of the living waters of reunion and the wellspring of His grace,
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