The Persian tablet of the Holy Mariner
THE HOLY MARINER 1
1.
He is the Foreigner, the Persian, the Iraqi.
2.
When the passengers on the divine ark had clung to one of the names,
with the permission of the holy mariner in the pre-existent vessel,
then did it set sail upon the sea of names.
3.
They traversed the stations of limitation,
so that they might make for the Yemen of the powerful sovereign of oneness,
arriving at the shore of divine unity.
4.
Thus might they drink from the chalice of transcendence.
5.
Indeed, by the aid of the lord, that eternal ark set sail upon and plied the spiritual waters of wisdom.
6.
Then they reached a place where the name, the Still, became dominant over their course,
so that the ship of the spirit was becalmed, unable to move.
7.
At that moment,
the impregnable command of the lord descended from the holy and everlasting heavens.
8.
The mariner of eternity was ordered to teach a single letter of the hidden word to the people of the ark.
9.
Thus did they, by the succor of the Unseen,
pass through the valley of psychological bewilderment and arrive at the great court of spiritual unity,
attaining the Mount Qaf of eternal life and the presence of the lord of souls.
10.
When the people of the ship attained to the word of the spiritual friend,
they were immediately filled with meaning and soared into the sacred sky.
11.
By the divine grace and mercy,
they passed beyond the peaks of carnal desire and the deepest levels of negligence and blindness.
12.
At that moment the breezes of paradise wafted upon their bodies
from the sanctuary of the All Merciful.
13.
After they soared in the heavens of divine nearness,
they traversed the spiritual stations in the place of safety and security.
14.
Finally, they halted at the homeland of lovers.
15.
The inhabitants of this station arose to serve them and show them kindness.
16.
The immortal attendants and the holy servers poured ruby wine liberally.
17.
Intoxication with the wine of divine knowledge,
and the cup of eternal wisdom induced such love and distraction
that they escaped from their own being and that of existing things.
18.
They gave their hearts to the beauty of the friend.
19.
For ages and centuries they settled and dwelt in that pleasant and spiritual station,
in that divine and holy rose garden, with perfect joy and happiness.
20.
Then the gales of divine tests and the winds of lordly temptation
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blew from the Sheba of the everlasting Cause.
21.
They became distracted by the beauty of the wine server
and grew heedless of the immortal countenance,
to the extent that they imagined the shadow to be the sun and phantoms to be light.
22.
They set out for the ladders of the greatest name so that they might scale those heavens
and arrive at that seat and place.
23.
When they rose toward it, the divine assayers descended upon them with the sacred touchstone,
by the irresistible decree of the lord.
24.
When these emissaries did not perceive the scent of the spiritual youth, they forbade entry to all.
25.
Afterwards, there occurred what is inscribed upon the guarded tablet.
The Persian tablet of the Holy Mariner CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 26-45
THE HOLY MARINER 1
26.
Then, you who dwell upon the plain of divine love and drink the wine of unceasing forgiveness,
do not exchange nearness to the beauty of the [worldly] friend for both worlds.
27.
Do not prefer the presence of the wine server to meeting him,
and do not give your heart to the intoxicant of ignorance and heedlessness
in preference to his wine of knowledge and wisdom.
28.
Lips are for mentioning the beloved;
do not defile them with filthy water.
29.
The heart is the home of everlasting mysteries,
do not busy it with perishable things.
30.
Seek the water of life from the fountain of the beauty of the All-Praised,
not from the manifestations of Satan.
31.
Yes, this ephemeral [temporal] youth here mentions
the highest station of the love of the divine friends.
32.
He does so by reference to the wonders of the text of divine unity
and the gems of the wisdom of the self-sufficient sovereign.
33.
Thus, perhaps some might recognize the value of courage and gallantry,
and put off the shirt of negligence and carnal appetites.
34.
Perhaps they will visit the illumined beauty of the pure, radiant, and sanctified friend
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in the land of love, detachment, amiability, and exaltation.
35.
Thus would they receive the lights
dawning from the morn of his brow and the effulgence [brightness] of the perspicuous [clear] day,
to at least the extent that they would be enabled to unite their inner and outer selves.
36.
We have passed beyond the loftiness of abstraction,
the sublimity of divine oneness,
the ultimate recognition that God is above all attributes,
and the most great sanctification.
37.
Now, they must put forth their utmost effort and give their unswerving attention,
so that their inward secrets not be contrary to their overt behavior,
nor their outward deeds at variance with their inner mysteries.
38.
We have traversed the stage of expending the self for others.
39.
Arise to expend justice and fairness upon the souls that pertain to you.
40.
In the end, however, you prefer the cloak of carnal longing and desire
to the robe of divine benediction,
41.
and you exchange the song of the nightingale of immortality
for the disagreeable croaking of death that issues from the throats of the hateful and rebellious.
42.
How miserable a trade you make!
43.
We are from God and to him do we return.
44.
God willing, we maintain the hope that the immortal temples of glory shall,
through the adornment of holiness and the divine attributes,
appear illumined, gentle, pure and undefiled like the eternal sun.
45.
This is not difficult for God.
Translation by J. R. I. Cole
The Arabic tablet of the Holy Mariner CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-25
THE HOLY MARINER 2
1.
He is the Precious, the Beloved.
2.
Holy mariner, bring the ship of immortality to the celestial concourse.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
3.
Moor it on the sea of pre-existence by means of a new name.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
4.
Then board upon it the temples of the spirit in the name of God,
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the exalted, the most high.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
5.
Weigh anchor so that it can ply the ocean of grandeur
and deliver its passengers to the precincts of nearness in the sanctuary of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
6.
Behold, you have brought them to the sacred shore, the beach of the crimson sea.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
7.
Then disembark them from the ship in this ethereal and most hidden station.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
8.
This is a station, wherein God showed forth the fire of beauty in the everlastingbush.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
9.
Therein the temples of the Cause put off the sandals of carnal desire.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
10.
Therein the Moses of grandeur circles with the hosts of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
11.
This is a station, wherein the hand of God was drawn forth from the cloak of grandeur.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
12.
This is a station, wherein the ship of the Cause shall never move,
even though all the divine names be recited to it.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
13.
Then, holy mariner,
teach the passengers on the ship what we taught you behind the cloud of unknowability--
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
lest they become idled in the valley of the white dune.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
14.
And so that they might fly with the wings of spirit
to the station that God has sanctified above mention in the kingdoms of creation--
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
15.
and might move through the sky like birds of nearness in the realm of the divine presence—
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
and learn the mysteries concealed within the waves of light.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
16.
They traversed the way-stations of worldly limitations,
until they arrived at the station of divine unity in the center of guidance.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
17.
They desired to ascend to a station that God ordained to be above their ranks,
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when the luminous comet expelled them from among the inhabitants of the kingdom of his presence.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
18.
They heard the melodies of greatness
from behind the pavilions of the Unseen in the sublime sanctuary.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
19.
Guardian angels, return them to their places in the realm of humanity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
20.
For they desired to fly into that heaven to which the wings of the dove never attained.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
21.
Nor will the ships of mere conjecture or the hearts of those endued with intellect ever stir therein.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
22.
Behold, the houri [nymph] of the spirit looked out from the most exalted chamber.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
23.
She arched her eyebrow toward the concourse of holiness.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
24.
The lights of her forehead shone from the earth to the sky.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
25.
The radiance of her beauty fell upon the people of the earth and clay.
The Arabic tablet of the Holy Mariner CHAPTER TWO
Divisions 26-50
THE HOLY MARINER 2
26.
Then, suddenly, the bodies of being shuddered forth from the graves of annihilation.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
27.
Then she called out with a melody
that the ear of hearing had never experienced from pre-existent eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
28.
She said, "By God,
those who do not have in their hearts the breezes of love that waft from the radiant Iraqi youth"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
shall never be able to ascend to the heights of the unknowable essence in this remotest realm."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
29.
Behold, she commanded one of her most beautiful slave girls,
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
30.
saying, "Descend from the palaces of immortality in the form of a sun in this void
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
then turn your attention to them,
insofar as they have imprisoned him within their hidden, inmost souls"
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious--
31.
"and if you smell the fragrance of the coat of the youth
who was concealed within pavilions of light by the wicked
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
32.
then cry out [from] within yourself
so that all the embodiments of wealth who inhabit the chambers of paradise may be informed thereof."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
33.
"Thus might all of them descend from the chambers of immortality
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
and kiss their hands and feet insofar as these had soared into the heavens of faithfulness."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
34.
"Perhaps you will discover the scent of the beloved on their shirts."
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
35.
Then the hour of nearness dawned from the horizon of the [concealed] chambers,
just as the visage [face] of the [youth rises] [man goes out] above [his] [the]robe.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
36.
She descended with an ornament that illumined the heavens and all that is in them.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
37.
Then she moved in the air so that she perfumed all things in the lands of holiness and sublimity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
38.
When she arrived at that station,
she arose like the meridian along the pole of creation.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
39.
She inhaled their scent at that time when there was neither beginning nor end.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
40.
She did not discover in them what she desired,
and this is an amazing tale!
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
41.
Then she shrieked, and wailed,
and returned to her place in her crimson palace.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
42.
Then she spoke a secret word beneath her spiritual breath.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
43.
She called out among the celestial concourse and the houris of eternity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
44.
By God, she did not perceive from those idle claimants the breezes of fidelity.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
45.
By God, the youth remained in the land of exile,
single and alone in the hands of the godless.
Praised be my Lord in the divine realm of sorrow.
46.
Thereafter she wailed within herself in a lamentation that shook the concourse on high
and set them to shrieking.
Praised be my Lord, who clad himself in vestments of black.
47.
She fell upon the earth and died,
as though she had been called, and had answered
the one who called her in the divine realm beyond all knowing. [living?]
Praised be the one who created her from the essence of chaste modesty.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
48.
Then suddenly those houris [nymphs] came outside,
who had never been glimpsed by anyone from among the people of the sublime garden.
Praised be my Lord, the most glorious.
49.
They gathered around her, discovering her body outstretched upon the dust.
Praised be our Lord, the most high.
50.
When they witnessed her condition and learned a single letter of the tales of the youth,
they bared their heads, rent their veils, slapped their own faces,
put away all frivolity, wept with their eyes, and struck their cheeks with their hands.
These are among the secret and most hidden calamities.
Praised be our Lord, the exalted, the most high.
Translated by Shoghi Effendi
Tablet of the Sacred Night
translated by J. R. I. Cole.
originally revealed as "Lawh Laylat al-Quds".
Translator's introduction
While it is customary for Bahá'ís to have community gatherings on the evening of May 22 to celebrate the declaration of the Bab, it is clear that another complex of individual and group means of celebrating that day was encouraged by Bahá'u'lláh. Surprisingly, these practices are especially associated with Bahá'í Sufis or dervishes (daravish, `urafa'), and involve prayers specifically revealed for this occasion and the custom of staying up most of the night of the 22nd, praying and chanting remembrances (dhikr) of God.
`Abdu'l-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari tells us in his survey of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets, Ganj-i Shayigan (Tehran: BPT, 124 B.E.), pp. 209-210, that the "Tablets of the Sacred Night (Alwah Laylat al-Quds)" were revealed in `Akka by Bahá'u'lláh with the intention that Bahá'í dervishes or Sufis should treat that night as a festival and read these Tablets.
In his encyclopaedic work, Rahiq-i Makhtum, 2 vols. (Tehran: BPT, ), 2:296, Ishraq-Khavari identifies the "Sacred Night" as none other than the night of the Bab's declaration (bi`that), and reaffirms that Bahá'u'lláh said it was good to stay up that night.
Of the Tablets of the Sacred Night, only one has, to my knowledge, been printed, (Bahá'u'lláh, "Lawh Laylat al-Quds," in A.H. Ishraq-Khavari, ed., Risalih- 'i Tasbih va Tahlil [New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982], pp. 174-181). The affinities of this short Tablet (which is really an extended supplication to God) with Sufi thought and practice, are evident. The first paragraph refers to the sufferings of the prophets, evoking the Egyptian Sufi mystic `Umar Ibn al-Farid's "Poem of the Way," which likewise details the tribulations of God's messengers. Human beings are characterized as "poor," the word the Sufis humbly used to describe themselves. Attaining nearness (qurb) to God and even the divine Presence (liqa') are mentioned as goals, and the language here is shared between Sufism and Babism.
The Sufi practice of staying up late praying is referred to when Bahá'u'lláh says, "I beseech Thee to look, O my Beloved, with Thy generous gaze, upon these persons, who are sleepless during this Night that Thou hast designated a festival for Thy creatures, wherein Thou shonest forth by Thy Name, the All-Merciful, upon the entire contingent world, and wherein the Beauty of Thy Divinity mounted the Throne of Forgiveness." In Sufism, such ceremonies were held on the "Laylat al-Qadr," the Night of Power upon which Muhammad was believed to have received the Qur'an from the angel Gabriel. Bahá'u'lláh has moved such observances to the equivalent night in the Babi-Bahá'í religion, the "Laylat al- Quds" or Night of Holiness, when the Bab is believed to have revealed himself to Mulla Husayn Bushru'i.
The mystical path in Sufism is characterized by a strong emotional component in worship. Bahá'u'lláh evokes this aspect of that path when he calls upon God to "endue their yearning with ardent passion." Another goal of Sufism is to attain a mystical knowledge (`irfan) of God. Bahá'u'lláh in the beginning of the Most Holy Book makes attainment of such mystical knowledge of God one of two prerequisites for salvation. In the Tablet of the Sacred Night, however, he reminds the Sufis that God singled out His Messengers for the mystical knowledge (`irfan) of His Self, a reference to the Bahá'í doctrine that the Manifestation of God stands in the place of the Self of God in the lower realms of being.
Sufis lay stress on achieving a powerful understanding of God's Unity (tawhid), which is, again, a repeated theme of this Tablet. Moreover, they employ sometimes scandalous metaphors for the spiritual drunkenness they seek, and Bahá'u'lláh here also evokes these literary themes when he says, "Yes, my Beloved: give them to drink of the cup of life from the hand of this Youth in this garden," representing himself as the wine-server or "saqi." He speaks of the supererogatory worship of the Sufis, urging that they "may make mention of Thee at eventide and sunrise," though such practices are also urged of all Bahá'ís in the Most Holy Book.
Sufis tended to seek to focus all their concentration upon God, finding Him in all things and using breathing and other meditation techniques to heighten their awareness of the divine. These practices are probably alluded to in the phrases, "that they might not speak save with love for Thee nor draw a breath save with devotion to Thee nor turn their faces toward any direction save the realm of Thy compassion and generosity, nor raise their hands save toward the heaven of Thy glory and nobility, nor open their eyes save to the marvels of the effulgence of the lights of Thy joy." Continual awareness of God, in every word one speaks, in every breath one takes, in every sight one sees, is an aspiration of mystics in many traditions, not only Sufis but also the Greek hesychasts, for instance.
Finally, Bahá'u'lláh refers toward the end of this Tablet to the Bahá'í ideals of unity, asking God to remove from the Bahá'í mystics gathered on the Sacred Night every vestige of "contention" (ikhtilaf). Their words, he says, should be such as to guide others to the court of God's love. The mystics in their devotions should become "as one soul." This mystical unity of worshippers mirrors the divine Oneness (tawhid), reflecting in the sublunar realm an attribute of God Himself. In the translation I offer below of this Tablet, I have presented it visually as a prose poem or psalm,which I think comes closer to conveying the lyrical quality and resort to rhymed prose that characterizes much of it, and underlines that this is a text meant to bechanted.
`Abdu'l-Bahá mentions a similar but distinct custom in Memorials of the Faithful (Wilmette: BPT, 1971), pp. 36-38, in his biography of Darvish Sidq-`Ali, the Bahá'í Sufi and companion of Bahá'u'lláh.
While in the barracks, Bahá'u'lláh set apart a special night and He dedicated it to Darvish Sidq-`Ali. He wrote that every year on that night the dervishes should bedeck a meeting place, which should be in a flower garden, and gather there to make mention of God. He went on to say that "dervish" does not denote those persons who wander about, spending their nights and days in fighting and folly; rather, He said, the term designates those who are completely severed from all but God, who cleave to His laws, are firm in His Faith, loyal to His Covenant, and constant in worship (p. 38). The date of this commemoration according to Fadil Mazandarani, Amr va Khalq is 2 Rajab of the Muslim calendar.
The nineteenth century Iranian Bahá'í community was divided into orders, as was Qajar society as a whole. There were Bahá'ís of high civil rank associated with the government, as officials and even provincial governors, known as the nawkar class. There were Bahá'í `ulama or Learned, who had a seminary training and often continued to wear the robes and turban of the clergy. There were Bahá'í tujjar or great merchants, Bahá'í artisans, and Bahá'í peasants. Among these orders were the Bahá'í `urafa' or mystics. These included eminent believers such as Darvish Sidq-`Ali, Ahmad Yazdi (the recipient of the Tablet of Ahmad), and Mishkin-Qalam (a member of the Ni`matu'llahi Sufi order). The Tablets of the Sacred Night and the practice of staying up that night and chanting prayers appear to have concerned this order in particular, though obviously they were available to all Bahá'ís. Mystics in the Middle East were known for performing extra acts of worship, such as "nawafil" or additional obligatory prayers beyond the five, and the late-night observance of the Declaration of the Bab appears to fall into this category of supererogatory acts of worship.
These customs, ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, appear to have ceased in the twentieth century Iranian community, but it is unclear upon what basis. Certainly, if Bahá'u'lláh ordained them, they cannot be abrogated. Ishraq-Khavari in Ganj, cited above, says that the practice of staying up all night to chant the Tablet of the Sacred Night on the anniversary of the Declaration of the Bab was "discontinued." He does not, however, say who discontinued it or by what authority. Sociologically, one could point to the decline of an order-based society and the rise of a class society in Pahlavi Iran, such that statuses like Bahá'í learned and mystics ceased to exist as separate categories with distinctive customs and dress. Sufism itself declined in the Middle East as an organized movement, though some groups, such as the upper-class Ni`matu'llahis, remained as a vigorous minority. The process in the 1920s and 1930s whereby Shoghi Effendi attempted to wean Bahá'ís away from dual membership in other religious bodies led to the end of any membership by Bahá'ís in Sufi orders. Nor do there appear to have been any special-interest societies with a mystical tendency within the Bahá'í community, though individuals with a strong orientation toward `Attar, Rumi, and Bahá'u'lláh's Seven Valleys and other mystical works continued to exist. (Such a special-interest society could in principle be formed.) There is to my knowledge no bar to Bahá'ís informally gathering together to stay up late the night of 22 May in order to say this and other prayers.
Tablet of the Sacred Night CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-45
SACRED NIGHT.
1.
This Tablet descended from the Realm of Holiness on the Sacred Night.
2.
His Word, Exalted may He be:
He is the Most Glorious
3.
Praise be to Thee, O my God.
I call upon Thee by Thy Name, whereby Thou didst save Adam from Satan, and didst deliver Noah from the deluge, Abraham from the flames, Moses from Pharaoh, the Spirit of God (Jesus) from the Jews, and Muhammad from the Abu Jahl of that time;
4.
And by Thy Name, by means of which the breezes of Thy munificence wafted over the bodies of contingent beings and the sun of Thy loving-kindness rose on all who dwell upon the earth and in the heavens;
5.
And by Thy Name, whereby every poor one standing before the gate of the city of Thy wealth gained self-sufficiency, everyone abased before the manifestations of Thy grandeur gained honor, and everyone remote from the wonders of Thy grace and beneficence drew nigh;
6.
And by Thy Name, whereby the Daystar dawned above the horizon of thy glorious Providence, the pavilions of splendor were raised in the realm of Thy charity,
and the trees of divine Unity were planted in the garden of Thy benevolence;
7.
Then by Thy Name, whereby all faces turned toward the Countenance of Oneness,
all souls advanced toward the shore of Thy majestic Nearness and Presence,
whereby the hearts of the Near Ones were launched like birds
into the atmosphere of Thine imposing Greatness,
and the intellects of the Sanctified Ones quaffed from the chalice of Thy Sublimity.
8.
By Thy Name I beseech Thee to look, O my Beloved, with Thy generous gaze, upon these persons, who are sleepless during this Night that Thou hast designated a festival for Thy creatures,
wherein Thou shonest forth by Thy Name, the All-Merciful, upon the entire contingent world,
and wherein the Beauty of Thy Divinity mounted the Throne of Forgiveness.
9.
Praise be to Thee!
I beseech Thee by this Night, and by them who remained wakeful during it
to send down upon them the most perfect good, the finest beneficence, the richest treasure,
10.
the most exquisite beauty, the most evident revelation, the soundest utterance, the most enduring sovereignty, the most flawless word, the most ancient grace,
11.
the most potent sign, the Greatest Name, the most ideal benevolence, the most glorious Glory,
the most sublime splendor, the most mighty power, the most clear authorization,
the most abiding Book, the most fruitful fruits.
12.
For they have, O my God, gathered around Thee on the Day whereon all the inhabitants of earth have scattered and deserted Thee.
13.
They have set out for Thy shrine when all have turned away from it.
14.
I ask Thee at this time, O my God, to transform their grief into a joy that Thou bestowest upon them, and their distress into a delight that deriveth from Thee.
15.
Then impart to them, O my God, from the clouds of Thy mercy, showers whereby there shall grow in their breasts the plants of wisdom and the herbs of the garden of Thy divine Unity.
16.
Then render them, O my Beloved, unswerving in Thy love and Thy Cause in such wise that were all the denizens of the heavens to hinder them, they would pay no heed to any of them, but would set out, both secretly and publicly, toward the domain of Thy loving-kindness and graciousness.
17.
Then honor them, O my Beloved, with Thy Most Great Presence on the Day whereon Thou seatest Thyself, by Thy Beauty, upon the Throne of Eternity, the Day whereon the feet of the wise stumble and all those dwelling on earth and in heaven are perturbed.
18.
Therefore, O My God, leave them not by themselves; take their hands by the supremacy of Thy grace, then resurrect them in the presence of Thy regal generosity.
19.
Send them forth, O my Beloved, to that which Thou didst desire for them by the majesty of Thine eternity.
20.
For this is that Good that shall never have any peer or likeness in all creation;
and verily, Thou art Powerful over all things.
21.
Praise be to Thee, my Beloved.
I ask Thee by Thy hidden Name, then by Thy concealed description and Thine impregnable mystery, not to deprive them of the billowing seas of Thy unicity.
22.
Bring them, O my Goal, aboard the ship of Thy Grandeur, nor deprive them, O my Desire, of that which is with Thee.
23.
Then reveal to them what will soothe their breasts, delight their hearts, render their souls upright, cause their tongues to speak forth, cause their hearts to soar, solace their eyes, give hearing to their ears, and endue their yearning with ardent passion,
24.
that they might be attracted by the breezes of Thy glorious verses, to which none hath attained save those whom Thou didst single out for the mystical knowledge of Thy Self;
25.
whom Thou didst select to receive the treasures of Thy resplendent Unity;
whom Thou didst advance in order to make manifest Thy Cause and Thy sovereignty;
26.
whom Thou didst render the dawning-point of Thy Being in Thy lands,
the rising-place of Thine eternity among Thy creatures
and the manifestation of Thy divinity between Thy heaven and Thy earth.
27.
Thou art, verily, Powerful to do as Thou desirest
and Exalted in accomplishing Thy will.
28.
None can resist Thy command or repulse Thy decree.
29.
Thou doest what Thou willest by Thine authority
and decreest what Thou desirest by Thy seal.
30.
Verily, Thou art the All-Seeing, the Omniscient,
the Giving, the Bestower, the Beloved, the Gracious.
31.
Then bless, O my God,
those who have believed in Thee, and in Thy signs
and in Thy Beauty that gleameth forth between Thy earth and Thy heaven.
32.
Then sever them, O my God, from all besides Thee,
and entice them to the court of Thy Grandeur.
33.
Verily, Thou art the Forgiving, the Loving,
the Reviver, the Resuscitator,
the Mighty, the All-Conquering, the Omnipotent.
34.
Praise be to Thee, O my god.
I beseech Thee by Thy Name whereby the oceans of Thy names have swelled in the realm of Thine attributes, so that the sun of Thy decree might appear in the East above the horizon of Thy judgment;
35.
and whereby the moon of Thy Plan hath striven to rise above the horizon of the realm of Thy command, to gather these persons together, O my Beloved, under the shade of the tree of Thy Oneness.
36.
Then nourish them in secret, O my God,
with the wonders of the favor bestowed by Thy uniqueness; that they may taste thereof, just as they sought aid publicly from the wonders of the bounties of Thy divinity.
37.
Then send down upon their hearts, O my Beloved,
what will purify them from all else save Thee and bring them nigh unto the hidden sanctuary of Thy good-pleasure and the source of Thy Will,
38.
that they might not speak save with love for Thee nor draw a breath save with devotion to Thee nor turn their faces toward any direction save the realm of Thy compassion and generosity, nor raise their hands save toward the heaven of Thy glory and nobility, nor open their eyes save to the marvels of the effulgence of the lights of Thy joy.
39.
Yes, my Beloved:
give them to drink of the cup of life from the hand of this Youth in this garden,
40.
that they may be severed from the temple of Satan and be agreed upon Thy Cause in these times, and may make mention of Thee at eventide and sunrise in the shade of Thy grace, O Benefactor, O Revealer of the Bayan and Countenance of the All-Praised and Creator of the contingent world.
41.
Then I beseech Thee, O my Beloved,
to remove all contention from among them, and clothe them in the garment of Thy loving-kindness and the robe of Thy kindness,
42.
in such wise that they shall not speak save of the wonders of the tokens of Thy Self-subsistence, nor shall there waft from them anything save that by which contingent beings will be guided to the court of Thy love,
43.
that they might ascend into the atmosphere of nearness to Thy Unity
and soar into the expanse of Thy sacred uniqueness;
and that they might thereby be united in the precincts of Thy mercy,
becoming as one soul before the city of Thy Grandeur.
44.
Then I beseech Thee, O my God, to cleanse their hearts from the grime of contingent things,
and the dust of beings so that the mirrors of their hearts might be polished
and therein can be reflected the marvels of the light of Thy scintillating Beauty.
45.
Verily, Thou art the Giving, the Unshakeable, the Omniscient,
and Thou art Powerful over all things.
Translated by J. R. I. Cole
Tablet of Holiness CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-40
HOLINESS
1.
This is the Tablet of Holiness, revealed to the Arabs who dwell in the City [Baghdad],
and who believe in God, the Powerful, the Omnipotent.
The Almighty is He.
2.
My Arabs, My Loved ones, My friends,
My legions, My manifestation!
3.
Hearken unto My call, if ye be among them with ears to hear.
4.
Have ye forgotten the Songbird of the Cause who flew amidst you
and ascended unto God, the Cherished, the Beauteous?
5.
Have ye forgotten the Dove who was with you
and sang before you the verses of God, the All-Knowing, the Omniscient?
6.
Have ye veiled yourselves from this Nightingale held captive under the talons of the idolaters?
7.
By God, there has befallen Me such as cannot be described or mentioned;
because of this have the tears of the near unto God fallen;
8.
by reason of this has the Hoopoe of the Cause been deprived of the remembrance of Sheba,
and the visages of the sanctified stained with blood.
9.
By God, the Nightingale of Paradise (Rizvan) has shut Its eyes to the charm of the rose,
by virtue of the sorrows having befallen this cherished and peerless Beauty.
10.
The rivers are cut off from joining the ocean,
for joy is cut off from this shining, resplendent Sun.
11.
My beloved ones,
do not forget My presence in My days,
My affection for you, and My grace unto you;
be not among the heedless.
12.
By God, the Sunna of God has returned in the person of Husayn,
no rather, the Sunnas of all the messengers,
until He arrived in this most remote and distant prison.
13.
When you gather in your homes in times of joy,
remember My sufferings and the things I endured from the satanic legions.
14.
When spring comes upon you and you enter your gardens,
meditate on My tribulations and hardship;
be of those who remember.
15.
Know, then, that although We were amongst you for the longest time,
you did not recognize Us,
for We had concealed Our visage from you and all created things.
16.
Because of this, you were withheld from recognizing God and His beauty,
His proof and His glory (bahá),
His guidance and His verses,
His servant and His thrall,
if ye are among them who understand.
17.
Say:
The Beauty of the Eternal was amongst you,
vested with the raiment of God, the Mighty, the Exalted, the All-Wise,
18.
and the Lord of all contingent beings was made manifest in the guise of the common man,
and you knew Him not.
19.
When the decree was realized and the promise fulfilled,
He was revealed from the orient of the divine Essence, with an irrefutable sovereignty.
20.
O beloved of God and His legions!
21.
Consecrate your endeavors unto God and His beauty,
and whenever you should hear His verses, thank God, your Creator,
for having enabled you to recognize His own Self after you had been heedless of Him.
22.
Then prostrate yourselves before God outwardly and in your hearts,
then praise Him for the revelation of this ancient grace.
23.
Beware lest you be in conflict regarding the cause of God
and fail to observe the laws of God
as are revealed in the Bayan from One Who is mighty and munificent.
24.
Then gather together in love,
and set right whatever antipathy has come between you,
that you may be as one soul upon a incomparable seat of truth.
25.
Beware lest you should exceed the [legal] limits which God has ordained for you
and transgress them;
do not be among those that breed corruption.
26.
Should one in destitution come before you,
freely give what God has bestowed upon you
and do not be among those who withhold their blessings.
27.
Should you discover one who has been wronged,
deal compassionately with them and consort with them with the utmost kindliness.
28.
Should you come across one who is weak in faith,
do not turn away from them,
29.
rather call them to remembrance with kindliness and an eloquent tongue,
that they might recognize the cause of God within themselves
and become apprised of that which they are commanded by One who is the Omniscient, the All-Knowing.
30.
Beware lest one be in conflict with another,
lest a soul wrong another,
lest someone be unfaithful to another,
lest a friend backbite another,
lest one disown their brothers in faith.
31.
Be mindful of God in all that We have revealed to you
and be among such as are assured thereof.
32.
Beware lest you withhold the bounties of your wealth
from your kindred and the poor and poverty stricken.
33.
In all this do We counsel you and God command you,
if ye be among those who understand.
34.
Thus do We set forth the verses affirming the divine unity
and that which you have been commanded,
that you may testify unto the oneness of your Creator,
with the tongue of your inner and outer being,
35.
to such measure that His signs be revealed from every limb of your bodies,
and that you be among those who confirm His singleness.
36.
God is the One unto Whom your souls, your hearts, your spirits,
your bodies and all that you possess shall return;
37.
indeed, He is the end of all in the heavens and on earth.
38.
May the Spirit be with you, O Assemblage of the Friends,
from the lowly to the lofty.
39.
Then magnify God, in Our name,
before your children and loved ones.
40.
This is of My command unto you; observe it,
that you may be among the rightly guided.
Provisionally translated by J. Hall 2016
Tablet of the Nymphs CHAPTER ONE
Divisions 1-40
THE NYMPHS
1.
In the name of God, the most holy, the most exalted.
2.
Praise be to Thee, O God, My God.
3.
I make mention of Thee at this time,
when the sun of Thy Godhead hath risen from the horizon of the splendid divinity of Thy oneness,
the lights of Thy lordship have shone forth from
the dawning of the indescribable encounter with the eternal kingdom of Thy independence,
4.
and the darkness of this world hath been illumined
by the radiance of the faithful realm of Thy cause--
in such wise that the garden of Paradise was made into being
above the essence of Thy glorious personhood.
5.
Therein were planted the trees of Thy quintessence,
which put forth the fruits of Thine essence,
and therein wafted the breezes of Thy spirit and the breaths of Thy sanctity.
6.
Therein were foreordained the gems of Thy bounties and the substance of Thy munificence;
and therein were uncovered the treasures of Thy knowledge and mystery.
7.
Over its terraces flow the streams of Thy glorious life,
the canals of Thy radiant eternality,
and the springs of the wine of Thine inaccessibility.
8.
When Thou didst desire, O my God, to manifest it,
Thou didst raise it up to the throne of grandeur and greatness,
embellish it with the rays of might and power,
render it brilliant by Thine essence,
and didst make to shine upon it the sun of oneness from the pre-eternal lights of Thy features.
9.
Thou didst light for it the wick of eternity in the lamp of pre-existence.
10.
Now, Thy most exalted decree hath come to the kingdom of command by Thy signature,
so that a visage might appear therefrom,
that the brilliance of Thy beauty might be manifest to all who dwell on earth,
and that the glory of Thy countenance might be seen by all who are in the realm of Thy cause.
11.
There arose the nymphs,
Who had dwelt in pre-eternity in the pavilions of holiness, protection, and glorification
and in the canopies of sinlessness, greatness and splendor.
12.
Upon Her creamy brow the most high pen hath written in crimson ink,
"Praise be to God!
13.
This is a nymph upon Whom nobody have gazed except God, the Exalted, the Most High.
14.
God hath purified the hem of Her purity
from the knowledge of the concourse of names in the realm of eternity,
and Her face from the view of all who are in the kingdom of creation.
15.
When She arose with the ornament of God from Her palace,
She looked with one glance toward the sky.
16.
The people of the heavens swooned at the rays of Her visage
and at the wafting of Her perfume.
17.
Then She looked with another glance toward the earth,
and it was illumined by the lights of Her beauty and the loveliness of Her splendor.
18.
Praise be to Thee, O my God,
for all the wonders of Thy handiwork that Thou hast shown Me in Her,
for the ensemble of Thy power, manifest in Her creation.
19.
She hung there, suspended.
20.
Then She journeyed through the sky as though striding across the horizon in mid-air.
21.
It is as though I discovered that the chain of being was set in motion by Her footfalls.
22.
She descended, drew nigh, and came until She halted before Me.
23.
I was bewildered by the subtleties and wonders of Her creation.
24.
Behold, I discovered within myself a passion that grew out of my yearning for Her.
25.
I raised my hands toward Her, and lifted the hem of Her veil from Her shoulder.
26.
I found Her hair to be sandy, wavy and curly,
lying on Her back in ringlets, hanging down almost to Her legs.
27.
And when the gales blew it to the right of Her shoulder,
it perfumed the heavens and the earth.
28.
When it was blown to the Left side,
from its fragrance there spread a holy musk-like scent.
29.
It is as though the motion of Her tresses
caused the spirit of life to quake in the inner essence of creation,
and caused the kingdom of mystical insight to tremble in the realities of being.
30.
Exalted be God, Her creator, for what He caused Me to see in Her.
30.
Then blessed be God, Her fashioner,
for the manifestation of might that I witnessed in Her beauty,
and the modalities of power that I saw in Her splendor.
31.
At one time, I perceived Her as the sweet water of life,
delicious and flowing through the realities of beings and the dark recesses of contingent things.
32.
I grew certain that the entirety of being survived by virtue of Her eternity,
and continued to exist because of Her perpetuity.
33.
At another time, I perceived Her as a fire that had blazed forth in the divine bush,
as though the element of fire had been created from a torch ignited by Her glowing embers.
34.
The hearts of both visible and invisible being were consumed by Her heat and flame
when they were shaken by a delicate yearning for Her and a wondrous hankering for Her.
35.
It is as though the fragrance of the All- Merciful wafted from the apertures in Her garments.
36.
Praise be to God,
Her creator, originator and fashioner.
37.
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