Tablet to Jinab-i Khalil “the Friend”

The Ode of the Dove                                                                                               CHAPTER ONE Divisions 1-35   A large poem revealed in Arabic in 1856, (with 127 lines that are now renumbered), the Ode is one of the earliest early writings of Baha-ullah set forth as prophetic teaching. The translation of poetry is always tricky, thus some lines might be questionable. See Bahá'ulláh's notes following the tablet. ODE OF THE DOVE 1. The Ode of the Dove     2. In praise of the Beloved, secretly, in private. 3. He is the Exalted, the All-Glorious.   127 lines 4. I was enthralled by light rays from a face Whose advent dimmed and darkened every star, As though the sunbeams of Her beauty's glow appeared and dazzled planets from afar. 6. Her joy diffused the musk of the unseen, Her stature raised the Spirit up above. The End-Time's Trump resounded when She blew; Her breath caused shadows of the clouds to move. 8. Her gleam reveals Mount Sinai's deathlessness; Baha's bright light is kindled when She glows. Then to Her west the sun of splendor dawned, and to Her east, the moon of moons arose. 10. The mistral's fragrance wafted from Her hair, and Beauty's eyes were solaced by Her gaze. Her shining face gave Guidance sage advice, and Moses' soul was cleansed by Her form's blaze. 12. The heart of hearts embraced Her eyelid's dart. For Her locks' lasso, Being's head was bent. Her footprints constitute My highest aim, the earth She trod, the most high Throne's advent. 14. To win Her I have wept in every eye; in exile, I have burned in every fire. I spread myself out so that Her foot might tread on My heart, and I win My desire. 16. I sought to gain Our union everywhere; I scrawled letters of nearness on all earth. And if I rush to oneness with Her light, Then I am cast back, losing closeness' berth. 18. And if I plead for union, hands upraised, She answers with a sword: "My lovers' prize!" The firmness of our bond was My sole care; Her goal is our relationship's demise. 20. I said, "To meet, I'd offer Thee My all. Have mercy, do not publish My disgrace. Since I love Thee too well, then make us one-- That we might for eternity embrace."   22. By revelation's secret! Everything appeared from Her unveiling. She raised Me! By Husayn's sorrow! Emulating Me, the world-gyre is weighed down with agony. 24. "Thou art My breast's desire, My soul's sole hope, My spirit's master and My light, My heart. And after My hard journey, let's unite, be intimates after My pain apart." 26. My incandescence kindled every fuel, the Seen world was illumined by My sigh. God's sea was dried up by My thirst, which the wide stream of glory cannot satisfy. 28. And all the gore that I saw on the earth bespoke the tears of blood that My eyes shed. The ocean's but a drop before My tear, The Friend's blaze was, before mine, underfed. 30. For My grief froze the great sea of delight; the spring of sorrow flowed at My despair My grandeur fainted and My brilliance swooned; their gloating vanity snuffed out My flare. 32. My bones were whittled down, My body worn; The fever of My heat burned up My soul. Love for Thee felled Me, passion ground Me down. To leave Thee melts Me; union is My goal. 34. The secret of My sorrow cleft the sky, My anguish sundered the earth of the breast. The tears in My eyes spoke of My heart's fire, My face paled at the sighing of My chest.     The Ode of the Dove                                                                                                CHAPTER TWO Divisions 36-65   ODE OF THE DOVE 36. My critics' gloating makes Me wail all night. I plead all day since My support is gone. For I have reached dishonor's lowest rung, so that tongues stutter when they speak thereon. 38. The houris in their castles clothed themselves in mourning black at My soul's deep despair. I've fallen into anguish in all hearts; I feel constricted in the open air. 40. Then from behind Me She cried out, "Be still! and hold Thy tongue from all that it hath told. How many Husayns like Thee wanted Me; there love Me, just like Thee, `Alis untold. 42. How many intimates I had who were thy peers--and loves, superior to Thee Who always wail but cannot reach My gaze one instant, by the light of unity. 44. My dawn makes revelation's sun a star, My brilliance makes pure light only a glint; My soul's gleam renders Being's secret naught, Of My love's flames all bonfires only hint. 46. My nature molded the creation's rite; the White Palm was withdrawn before My hand. The stern injunction came from a clear Cause; My wisdom's fairness shaped the just Command. 48. The wave within Me stilled the ocean's surf; the Holy Ghost stirred at My rapture's lights. Immortal Moses swooned before My gaze; My gleam destroyed the Sinai of all heights. 50. The spread of My Cause quickened all the souls; old bones were wakened by My spirit's breath. The soul of this Cause circled round its House; My visage raised that House's soul from death. 52. The B of "speak the secret" swooned before My Point! The B hides the realm of high lore. All guidance shines forth from My dawning Cause; the news of My descent, all the heights bore. 54. My bounties lent birdsongs their melody, from My tune comes the humming of the bee. I rendered Thee a suspect by My Law: Thou didst another's love quaff, wrongfully. 56. Thou didst bring forth depictions and kinships and crave names, thus departing from My way. Thou didst describe a self and say it's mine-- the gravest sin, for therein limits lay. 58. Thou didst desire a hopeless union, the condition for which Thou must satisfy: Thou must drain every cup of fate's ordeals; thy heart must spew the blood of tyranny. 60. Thou must cut off all hope of comfort's touch; Thou must renounce every necessity. Thy duty is to shed blood in love's faith; a love-scorched soul is fealty to Me. 62. Nights spent awake at slanderer's attacks, a constant stream of insults all the days; In My faith poison's as a healing drink; in My Path, fate's wrath is a tender grace. 64. Cease claiming to love, or accept all this, For thus was it ordained in My Law's scroll."   In private I called out to Her, "My love, My ultimate hope, and My heart's sole goal!   The Ode of the Dove                                                                                            CHAPTER THREE Divisions 66-95   ODE OF THE DOVE 66. I stand here in the presence of Thy might, aspiring to all that Thou dost relate. Here I am asking for all Thou dost love, then here I stand, prepared for thy mandate. 68. My breast yearns for the shafts of thine assault; My body craves the swords of cruelty. Thy fire's My light, thy harshness is My wish; My rest is thy wrath, My goal thy decree. 70. Look on the tears of My eyes, how they flow; gaze on My inmost heart, how it doth fade. Each day the spears of all have struck Me down, and each night I died by rejection's blade. 72. I read each line of atheism's book; each second I heard everyone's rude jeers, And faced false charges of idolatry. Each day I was transfixed by exile's spears-- 74. As though fate's woes descended just for Me, and fury's blades were sharpened for My neck: The grief of Jacob, Joseph's prison cell; the Friend's white hot flames, and Job's tragic check; 76. And Adam's brooding, Jonah's urgent flight; the sad lament of David, Noah's cry; Eve's separation, Mary's agony; Isaiah's trials, Zachariah's sigh. 78. My rain of grief hath sealed the fate of all, My flood of woes gave rise to all distress. See how I roamed the lands without a friend save for the beast within the wilderness. 80. At My heart's breaking, springs broke through the earth; My open eyes caused heaven's eye to flow. My spirit's grief cut short the endless Soul; the Most High Throne shook at My suffering's glow. 82. Red everywhere was reddened by My blood, and from My tears there grew up this world's bower. For bitter hurt in thy love's path is sweet; From any but Thee heaven's mead is sour. 84. And iron's scars can be seen on My neck, on My legs marks of fetters yet remain; For not a day passed save that I was scorched by clear prose and the hints verses contain. 86. My spirit disappeared, My heart dissolved; My soul boiled from the pain of misery. I was left with no spirit, heart or soul; that I existed at all startled Me. 88. My secret's loftiness convicted Me; I wish that My creation never rose. For thus have difficulties wiped Me out, and thus was I encompassed by My woes.   90. Then I ascended and withdrew alone; I reached the real Encounter in My heart. I saw Thy traits in My eyes' portraiture, through Thine eye's glance, which is sharp as a dart. 92. If I had limits, they appeared from Thee; If I had traits then they derived from Thee. Night's darkness was fulfilled when I was roiled; My joy refined the daylight's clarity. 94. No matter if I am today cast out; I saw, when sent forth, the exalted light. I knew Jerusalem by the Friend's glow; I journeyed in Tihran when taking flight.     The Ode of the Dove                                                                                              CHAPTER FOUR Divisions 96-130   ODE OF THE DOVE 96. My inner light gave Me faith in the Light; I rose up, by the spirit, in My soul." I call on thee, life-spirit, to depart; within Me, no part is left of the whole. 98. Transcendent spirit, climb down from thy throne; for thee, My stigma is no source of blame. I waken thee, My heart: thou must depart; thou hast no honor in this realm of shame. 100. My patience: Bear all that which Thou hast seen, of hardship and of ease in thy Love's way. In spirit, She told Me to persevere: "I knew of all the proofs Thou dost display. 102. Forget all that Thou hast known and adored; idolatry, for Me, is unity; For to Me Sinai's brightest glow is naught; and the sublimest light is gloom to Me. 104. Thy verses' sketch of Me is a child's truth; For My subjects, thy words of praise are sound. I never ceased to dwell in sanctity, and My transcendence hath remained unbound. 106. How many just ones, I deemed mere despots; how many wise ones I saw as untaught; How fleeting were immortals of all kinds; how many learned never will know aught; 108. How many worshippers have disobeyed; how many genuflicting have not kneeled! My Being vindicated heaven's psalms; My scripture hath unveiled scrolls that were sealed. 110. My atom made the cosmic sun revolve, My drop evoked great praise from Being's sea; The songs of all the creatures were to Me the buzzing of a tiny ant or bee. 112. All minds turned unto My soul's ecstasy; all souls were by My spirit's tune revived. My raining Cause made deities divine; all Lords have by My ample order thrived. 114. The Spirit's realm moved in Me by decree; I set My foot down on Mount Sinai's throne; At My light the star's radiance blazed forth; the sun of rapture at My spirit shone. 116. Collected verses, revelation's gleam; the Traces and Day-Stars of sanctity; Thought's essences and contemplation's gems; Light-beams' adornments, wisdom's jewelry. 118. The Alpha of My Cause judged everyone; all wonders came forth from My soul's good will. Thou didst leave Me and reckon thyself near, and waters of whim in myth's spring didst spill. 120. Thou dost forsake the Unseen's light, in what Thou wreakest in thyself--and My works lose! Hold fast to the cord of the outward Cause; to befriend light's concealed face must Thou choose. 122. Rend nearness' veil without a hint! Look on the sacred Beauty secretly, within. Be silent, for earth's Powers are disturbed. Forbear! The Unseen's eyes wept a fountain. 124. In Thee is veiled meaning beyond knowledge that even radiant minds never knew. The holy mystery hides joy and friendship, which Thou must not divulge if Thou be true. 126. Wert Thou to unmask what Thou didst behold, the world would in a trice be lost to sight! For thus the throne of glory hath decreed, and so ordained the mystery of might. 128. They who attain are blessed for they kept faith;  blessed are they who embrace the wondrous Rite; Blessed are the lovers for the blood they shed; blessed are the ones who with My love unite. Blessed are the sincere, who to the shade of My Lordliness made haste from every side."   Translated by J. R. I. Cole Notes to “Ode of the Dove”, revealed in Persian. These notes were revealed by Bahá'ulláh, in Persian, upon his return to Baghdad to supplement the Arabic poem. 4. Shadows of the clouds:   A reference to that which He hath said, Blessed and Exalted may He be, "That God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds."                        Quran 2:210   To move: A reference to the mountains moving, insofar as they will stir even as clouds, as He hath said, "and thou shalt see the mountains, that thou supposest fixed, passing by like clouds" Quran 27:88 All these are signs of the Resurrection Day, and the events associated therewith.     7. Solaced:   Which is to say, illumined. From the fragrance of Her locks the breeze of delight and splendor, and the perfume of compassion and glory, have been wafted from north of the paradise of the divine Essence, which stretcheth to the right of the eternal garden. In this wise, perchance the dusty bones of the substances of all created things shall be honored with life without end and everlasting existence, and bestow honor upon the pride of Being through the agency of those heart-entrancing gales and pleasing, fragrant scents that waft from the wondrous and imperishable chalice that holds a new, incomparable wine. Even so, the eye of true Beauty, of which the sun of the heaven of Being is the least significant sign, did by gazing upon Her face become brilliant, radiant and illumined. Exalted be God, Her Creator, above that of which ye make mention.     8. When Moses cleansed and sanctified the feet of the divine Self, Who had been consigned to human form, from the sandals of contingent fancies and drew forth the hand of divine Power from the fold of grandeur in the cloak of splendor, He arrived in the holy, good and blessed valley of the heart. This is the base of the throne of everlasting effulgence and the seat of divine and glorious converse. And when He reached that land of Sinai, which lieth outstretched to the right of the illumined Spot, He smelled the perfumed odor of the Spirit from east of eternity, and perceived the undying lights from all directions, without direction. After the darkened glass of self had been removed, the wick of the divine Essence blazed forth in the lamp of his heart, ignited by the passionate scent of godly love and the flaming brand of the fire of divine unity. And after the stations of opposition had been eliminated, He arrived in the valley of eternal sobriety through the wine of the attainment to an incomparable Countenance and the pure nectar of the imperishable.   Through the attractive power of His longing for the divine Meeting, He became aware of the city of everlasting life. "He entered the city at a time when its people were heedless" (Q. 28:15). And behold, He discerned the fire of the timeless godhead, and shone with the light of the Almighty God. He said to His family, "Do ye tarry here. Verily, I observe a fire" (Q. 20:10). When He discovered and perceived the visage of pre-existent, most gracious Guidance in the tree that is neither of the east nor the west (Q. 24:35), the changeable and ephemeral face was honored and glorified by attaining to the ancient, imperishable Countenance. In the blazing fire He discovered the wondrous, inaccessible visage of Guidance which had been concealed in the bosoms of the Unseen. This is that to which He then gave utterance: "or I shall find guidance in this fire." (Q. 20:10).   Even so, perceive ye the intent of the blessed verse, "He who made for ye fire from the green tree." (Q. 36:80). O would that there were a listener to comprehend it, and that one drop from the vast ocean of fire, one spark from the storehouse of flames, could be mentioned. But it is better, after all, that this pearl remain hidden within the shell of pure longing and stored in the vessels of secrecy, that every stranger might be excluded and every intimate friend may be garbed in pilgrim's dress before the Ka`bah of splendor, that he may enter the sanctuary of beauty. How happy is the soul that consumes the cage of the body in the flames of the fire of love, and becomes the familiar of the Spirit, that he may attain unto the exalted mercy of repose, and that the lofty bounty of glory may be bestowed upon him.   All that of which mention hath been made concerning the ranks of guidance and the grades of self-purification in the station of Moses- -may peace be upon Him and our Prophet--hath reference to the manifestation of these effulgences in the world of outward appearances. Otherwise, that Exalted One was always and shall forever be led by the guidance of God. Nay, more, it was from Him that the sun of guidance dawned and the moon of God's grace appeared. It was from His essential being that the flames of the divine Essence were ignited, and from the brilliance of His forehead that the light of eternity became radiant. He Himself resolved such doubts by the words He spoke when questioned by Pharaoh about the man He had killed. He responded, "I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred. And I fled from you when I feared you; but My Lord hath given Me judgment and hath made Me One of the Apostles." (Q. 26:20-21). The discourse hath come to an end, though in truth this matter is inexhaustible and unending.     17. My all: That is, "All that which hath descended upon Me of the stations of eloquent exposition and hidden meanings, and that which it hath been given to Me to know of the modes of the divine Names and Attributes, and that which God hath bestowed upon Me in the worlds of the unseen and the seen--all this I offer up that I might meet Thee once, and gaze upon Thee a single time."   I beseech Thy forgiveness, O My God, for that which I have presumed to assert in Thy presence. But, by Thy Might, if I were not so, I would wish to be so in Thy precincts, for without this nothing can ever benefit Me, and naught else can grant repose to My heart, even wert Thou to bestow upon Me all who are in heaven and on earth. I ask Thee, O My God, by Him Who witnessed in Thy path what none else hath witnessed, to send down upon Thy Servant the most great signs of Thy love and the evidences of Thy glorious loving-kindness, that My soul may be content in that for which it hopeth. Verily, Thou art powerful over all things.     23. Fuel: Even so, He saith, "the fire, whose fuel is men and stones."                                       Quran 2:24 Flames and intense anxiety are also intended.     28. Gloating: Malicious gloaters greater in number than the atoms of all created things, such as the eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor soul numbered, nor imagination conceived, like unto a downpour. Lo, it is as rainfall descending from the sky of heedlessness! Say: O people of the earth, oppose not Him in Whose heart there is naught save the effulgence of the lights of the celestial morn. Fear ye God and turn not away, for if ye never love, ye will never hate. Once the love of God comes to exist, the loss of all else is of no importance. We praise God that He hath rendered Us unneedful of their love and mention. And He is God, Powerful over all things.     31. Cleft:  A reference to the verse, "The heavens are wellnigh cleft asunder from above." (Q. 42:5).     32 Fire:  Flame.     34. Stutter:  The stammering of the tongue.     40. Wail:  With the sense of importuning and lamenting out of love and grief.     42. Bonfires:  A reference to the verse, "Do ye tarry here: I observe a fire. Perhaps I shall bring you a brand from it." (Q. 20:10 [Regarding Moses and the burning bush.])     43. My nature:  A reference to the verse, "God's original creation, upon which He patterned mankind's creation." (Q. 30:30).   Rite: The verse, "Set thy face toward the religion, with pure faith." (Q. 30:30).   Palm: "Now clasp they hand to thy side; and it shall come forth white, but unhurt." (Q. 20:22).   Withdrawn: A reference to the verse, "Now draw they hand close to thy side." (Q. 20:22, 27:12, 28:32).     46. Gaze: "gaze toward the Mount" (Q. 7:143).   Swooned: "Moses fell in a swoon." (Q. 7:143).   Destroyed: "And when God manifested Himself to the mountain, He turned it to dust" (Q. 7:143).     49. B: By the letter B (ba'), existence was manifested and by the Point the worshipper was distinguished from the object of worship. Refer to the Tradition, "Everything in the Qur'an is contained in its first chapter . . ." and so on.   Point: The meanings of the Point are innumerable, unlimited, and inexhaustible. The messianic Countenance, the universal Word, the divine Form, hath described the Most Great Throne, which is the place of descent and the seat of the Invisible Eassence, with this exalted name and lofty appellation. It is reserved for this very Being. And they Lord is in Himself sufficent for a Witness.     56. Heart: The inmost heart, the blood of the heart, and the spirit are all three intended.     63. relate: That which hath been mentioned of tyranny and wrath.     72. Jacob: A reference to the verse, "and his eyes became white with grief" (Q. 12:82).   Joseph: The verse, "I prever the prison to compliance with their bidding" (Q. 12:33).   Job: "Truly evil hath touched me" (Q. 21:83).     74. Eve: In her separation from Adam for forty days or more, as it is mentioned in the former traditions.     77. Breaking: "and We caused the earth to break forth with springs" (Q. 54:11).   Broke through: "and their waters met by a settled decree" (Q. 54:11).   Open: A reference to the verse, "so we opened the gates of heaven" (Q. 54:11).   Flow: "With water which fell in torrents" (Q. 54:11).     88. Sharp: "and so thy sight today is piercing" (Q. 50:22).     115. Cause: The world of Cause is intended.     117. This effulgence is meant. It is an effulgence from the luminaries of the morn of Reality, and from the dawning rays of the sun of sanctity and splendor. It rose from the sun of Being, the moon of the Beloved and the Point of the Adored One, and shone forth upon the realities of all contingent beings and the inmost essences of all creatures. Then, through droplets from the elixir of divine Being and pure spray from the inexhaustible Fountain, this effulgence honored and adorned the very atoms of all existing things, and all those of which mention hath been made, with everlasting, perpetual life. It thus invested them with the mantle of imperishability and clothed them in the vestments of exaltation and the robes of eternity.   But in spite of all this, we have departed from this greatest of signs and this most great bestowal, and from these inextinguishable lights and imperishable gifts, nor have we been steadfast in this mighty handiwork, these perfect honors, this ancient glory, this unending grace. We have remained shut away from the sanctified breaths of the Holy Spirit and the fragrant breezes wafting from the glow of intimacy, to such an extent that were a thousand Davids of Existence to serenade the dusty bones of mankind with psalmody and songs of beatitude in fresh and wondrous melodies, these latter would never stir nor move an iota. For all readiness for the descent of compassion from the heaven of divine Power hath vanished, and all have been imprisoned in the cage of the body and dazed by evil passions. They have swooned with heedlessness in such wise that they shall never regain consciousness nor reach the station of attainment and nearness, which is the original goal. What a sign of grief and regret we must breathe, for we have not been led by the quintessence of Guidance, nor have we emulated the essence of the Ancient of Days. We have neither advanced toward the Sinai of His proximity, nor have we opposed His deniers. We have not patterned ourselves according to the attractions of His Holy Spirit, nor have we rendered the lights of His delight our exemplars. The quintessence of emulation is martyrdom, to which honor we have failed to attain; and it is to clad oneself in the robe of steadfastness, which we have failed to accomplish. Aye, we are surrounded by the Lake of His Essence, yet we seat ourselves and await a drink of water. We dwell in the shade of the Sun of His Eternity, and call for a Lamp! Such is the case with this Servant, with mankind, and with everyone in every land.   If even a flame from this Lote-Tree were to blaze forth, we would not thereby be ignited, but would, rather, arise to extinguish it! Happy is he who clothes himself in the garb of equity for this battle. If thou dost acquire this most great attribute, thou wilt most certainly attain to the most glorious bounty. This is that invisible golden thread by whose movement all creation is set in motion, and by whose quiescence all who are in the realms of the Worshipped One are brought to a standstill. The breast must then be purified and cleansed from corrupt, groundless and satanic fancies, that the wondrous countenance of Equity might lift up its head from behind the mountains of Qaf.   Thereafter shall we experience the everlasting assaults of rapture and the divine ecstasies of yearning through the ruffling of the wings of the doves of eternity and the hands of the spirits of splendor. In the fluttering of love shall we then find rest and repose. This is the ultimate goal and the least of His stations. We must in every matter shun all else, which derives from the opposers of the eternal Truth. It is impermissible for us to sit and socialize even for a moment, for by God, the corrupt souls are melting away the pure ones, even as the blaze of dry firewood and cold, white snow. Be not thou among those whose hearts grow hard at the mention of God, the Creator.   That which hath been mentioned in commentary upon this verse was as a kindness to the gaze of the opposers and a mercy to the eyes of the hateful, that they might not understand it according to their evil passions, nor interpret it thereby. These verses were spoken at the time when We travelled into exile in the lands of the Ottoman Empire. No one among the divines and eminent men of that realm made any protest or objection. But from the railing of this people, I believe that even after this explanation they will raise objections and by reason of self-delusion will become wayfarers on the path of vain imagination, error, idle fancy and blindness. To God is the setting out on the path, whether thankfully or ungratefully, whether advancing or fleeing away. When the seal of a perfume bottle is removed, those with a sense of smell can perceive the scent, whereas those suffering from rheum will remain deprived. Were all to be stricken with the malady of rheum, this would not indicate a fault in the rose-water of Eternity, nor would the musk of Cathay thereby be brought into disrepute.   Praise be to Thee, O God, My God! I call upon Thee at that time, a time in which Thou didst send down upon Me the evidences of divine sorrow, which, were they to overflow into the universe, would cause the seen and the unseen world to pass out of existence, in such wise that the spirit well-nigh departed in its agitation. By Thy Might, and Thine invisible Eternality, were I to breathe a word of it, the hearts would burn in their inmost essences, the heavens and all that is in them would be cleft asunder and the earth and all that is upon it would be devastated. Alas, alas, thereby the fragrance of constancy would never be diffused from the garden of glory, nor would the everlasting breezes be wafted from the city of splendor. The nightingale of pre-existence would never warble upon the crimson twigs, nor would the chanticleer of grandeur raise his voice in the kingdom of exaltation.   By the glory of Him Whom Thou has glorified and made the Manifestation of Thy Divinity and the Fountainhead of Thy supreme Power, I have forgotten every mention, and all the wonders of Thy knowledge, and the comprehensive signs of Thy wisdom which Thou didst teach Me aforetime. Nay, I was forgetful and oblivious, as though I were not in the realms of the seen. And by the Lives of `Ali and Muhammad, and by the pure Spirit, the compassion of the Merciful, the attraction of Mahmud, the distraction of Ahmad, the secret of the Beloved, the delight of the Pure One, I like not to remain in this kingdom even a second. And God was behind Me as My witness.   O people of the Bayan, and whoso draweth nigh to God and His verses in the Living One of Utterance: Give ear to that which the Dove of the divine Essence doth warble in the utmost rapture, overwhelmed with the love of God and with yearning for Him, having died to the self and now living in God, the Mighty, the Powerful.   Fear God, and do not differ concerning His cause. Worship naught else but Him, and wreak not corruption in the land of knowledge. Accept the counsel proffered ye by this Servant, upon Whom the darts of the divine decree have rained down from the crimson cloud, in such wise that none but God can ever estimate their number, or fully perceive them. O people, be merciful, fear God and devour not this Servant in the flames of your own selves. Torture Him not with the idle fancies of your base desires, and do not deliver Him into the prison of your heedlessness. Do not slay Him with the swords of your hypocrisy, nor banish Him with the spears of your injustice and malice. For He hath but summoned ye to God, and shall never call ye unto anyone save the Manifestations of His Self, the Mirrors of His inmost Essence, and Him Who standeth in the stead of His Cause itself.   Say: Fear God, and oppose Him not, nor transgress the bounds of His counsel. Know yet that there is among ye one who worketh corruption in this good and blessed land. The malediction of God be upon him, and whosoever raiseth his hand without the approval or permission of God, or stirreth in disobedience to Him. Such a one is deprived of God's compassion. Whosoever taketh his hands from his pockets and followeth his selfish passions, casting the Cause of God behind his back, hath removed himself from the shadow of Providence, though he dwell in the vicinity of the shrine of God. Whoso submitteth to his base desires and attributeth this to God hath forfeited the garden of His loving-kindness, and whoso faileth to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on earth shall never be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. For he who hath in his heart aught else but the love of God shall never step foot in His city. The vengeance of the Lord be upon whoso teacheth anyone without His permission, and the awful might of God be upon whoso distributeth His words to any soul without His leave.     Translated by J. Cole     Juan Cole's notes to this translation In 1977-78 while in Beirut I produced a translation of this work, with which I am now (nearly 20 years later) dissatisfied. The first translation was very neo-Romantic in style, with much dependence on Latin-derived words. I did not attempt a rhyme, nor a standard foot-length. I treated the poem as a series of independent couplets, of varying length, but with a basic iambic beat. I am going now to try something different, under the influence of Dick Davis's wonderful translation of `Attar. I'm going to approach the poem as a series of iambic pentameter quatrains rhyming in abcb. The downside of meter and rhyme is that a) they make the translator depart from the literal meaning and b) they make the poem unrespectable among contemporary poets. The upside is that they preserve something of the feel of the original (which has a mono-rhyme and a classical meter, though the latter is sometimes departed from). P.S. The prefatory line about silence may be a reference to the "silent dhikr" preferred by the Naqshbandi order of Sufis, among whom Bahá'u'lláh was then living. P.P.S. The "face" is that of Bahá'u'lláh's houri, the bearer to Him of the Revelation, who represents the feminine aspect of the divine. 2. Many thanks to David, Frank, Terry and others who kindly took the time to comment on my "Ode" retranslation. With regard to meter, I promise to throw in some trochees time to time; this is in fact guaranteed by the impossibility of translating accurately and keeping an absolutely consistent beat. As for rhyme, well, perhaps this should in fact be looked at as an attempt at a song lyric, since Bahá'u'lláh encouraged such things to be chanted and sung. I could have translated the poem as free verse, and maybe will yet. In the future, there will be no reason not to have several versions of such pieces, each for a different purpose, just as there is more than one version of Rumi. Anyway, I'm encouraged to continue: The rhetorical devices employed here include the appeal to the tropes of love poetry for mystical purposes; the hyperbole of a lover boasting about the depth of his love; and his frustration at it being unrequited. It seems fairly clear that unrequited love is being employed as a symbol for the unknowability of God. In Mediterranean societies the honor of the clan's men is invested in the chastity of their women, of whom they are therefore very protective. Because in the Muslim Middle East respectable women did not mix with unrelated men, and because their families typically married them off, romantic love was (and largely is) illicit. For an unrelated man who hasn't spoken to her father to show interest in a woman puts her honor and perhaps even life in danger (outraged fathers and brothers, feeling themselves disgraced, every year dump into the Nile tens of the bodies of their daughters or sisters who slept around). The woman is therefore obliged cruelly to reject him, at least in public, no matter what her true feelings. This entire complex of the uncertainties and illicitness of love, of endangered honor, and of an almost sado-masochistic love play, informs Middle Eastern classics such as Nizami's "Majnun and Laila." Ibn al-Farid innovated in taking this complex over for the purposes of mystical religion. I suspect this Muslim cultural complex influence St. John of the Cross in Spain. Frank would know better.(Incidentally, Victoria Rowe Holbrook insists that Eric Clapton's "Laila" was inspired by the Middle Eastern story of Majnun and Laila.) 6. Notes: "tha'r" in line 25 means blood, according to a manuscript in the hand of Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin kindly provided to me by the World Centre. Line 28 is almost certainly a reference to Azal's partisans in Baghdad, who so violently objected to Bahá'u'lláh's growing popularity there in 1852-53, and who probably were the ones who drove him to choose to leave for Sulaymaniyyah. Many of the other lines here have parallels with Ibn al-Farid's "Ta'iyyah," and it would be interesting to carry out a detailed comparison. In verses 1-36, of which I have posted provisional translations, Bahá'u'lláh praises the transcendent beauty of the Maid of Heaven, the Figure who bears to Him God's revelation, and He launches into a series of complaints about how He has suffered from His separation from her. It seems to me that this motif of "separation from the beloved" is a way of symbolizing what Heidegger refers to as our "thrownness" in the world. Human beings come to consciousness without a clear innate understanding of the origin of their being. They are, as Rumi says, like reed-pipes cut from reeds along the riverbed, alienated from their origin. Moreover, the Divine is transcendent, unknowable, and unattainable. Seeking our origins in God is just like being in unrequited love. The inaccessibility of the Beloved is a symbol for the unattainability of God. In the next section of the poem, the Houri or Maid of Heaven replies to Bahá'u'lláh's complaints about separation. In this section of the Ode of the Dove, the Maid of Heaven is replying to Bahá'u'lláh's complaints and stressing her inaccessibility and power. I will come back later to Bahá'u'lláh's notes on the poem, which explain some cryptic references. The reference to the Maid's nature and molding the creation's rite has to do with a hadith attributed to the Prophet that parents make a child a Christian or Jew, but children are by nature born "Muslim" (that is, submissive to the Will of God). This ties in with another hadith that the nature (fitrah) of the Creation is patterned after God's Nature (fitrah). This verse is thus saying that the Maid of Heaven is the Template for the cosmos. The White Palm is a reference to the white hand of Moses. The other Moses reference is to a famous verse of the Qur'an in which Moses pleads with God to show Himself to the prophet. God says "thou shalt never see me," and refuses. To demonstrate His unattainability, He *does* show himself to the mountain, which is destroyed by the sight. Moses then falls into a faint. I myself am puzzled by the reference to the House (bayt) in line 48. I think it is the Kaaba in Mecca, around which pilgrims circumambulate. I suppose it could be the Bab's House in Shiraz. Or perhaps the archetype of both, in the Imaginal World! The symbolism of the letter "B" has to do with a hadith that says Muhammad was the "B" and `Ali was the point beneath it." In Arabic the letter B has this basic form: ___/ , but shares it with a number of other letters. What gives the form the specific phonological value of "B" is one point underneath. In Jewish and Islamic letter-mysticism, this ability of the point to give forms meaning was stressed and used symbolically. Incidentally, our "B" is descended from the same Phoenician pictogram, "bayt" ("house") as are the Arabic, Hebrew and Greek equivalents. I thought the other lines above quite touching in the aftermath of the Khomeinist onslaught against the Faith. The note to verse 17 is very interesting in that it seems to me to be an early claim to supernatural knowledge, even though it is expressed very humbly. Bahá'u'lláh knows "hidden meanings" and the modes (shu'unat) of the divine names and attributes. The claims are so grandiose, in fact, that Bahá'u'lláh then feels compelled to apologize to God for expressing them. This is important, because some academics have questioned the earliness of Bahá'u'lláh's own messianic convictions about himself. His note on verse 23 links the lover's intense suffering because of distance from the beloved to hell-fire. And, of course, this is the Bahá'í definition of hell--existential distance from the divine beloved. "...The discourse hath come to an end, though in truth this matter is inexhaustible and unending." Note: This passage is extremely important for Bahá'u'lláh's theophanology, since it explains how he thought the Manifestation of God could *both* be spoken of as traversing various spiritual stations and growing in spiritual stature *and* could be spoken of as an eternal sun of guidance. The former diction has to do with the tajalli or effulgence/manifestation of these attributes in the external world, while the latter diction has to do with the esoteric world. The metaphysical assumptions here derive from the Ibn al-`Arabi tradition. Bahá'u'lláh's solution is important, because otherwise Moses' admission in the Qur'an that he was among the sinners or those gone astray (Da:lli:n) appears to contradict the Shi`ite/Babi tenet of the `iSmat or infallibility/immaculacy of the Prophets. Here is evidence that Bahá'u'lláh thought prophets could commit murder exoterically while maintaining their immaculacy esoterically (presumably on the level of the Universal Intellect). I append the last, long substantive note Bahá'u'lláh wrote on his "Ode of the Dove," once he had returned to Baghdad, presumably in the latter half of 1856. It is clear from this note that he was criticized for having written and distributed the "Ode of the Dove," probably by Babi partisans of `Ali, and that some of the impetus for appending notes to the poem was to answer his critics and clarify verses that had been misunderstood. Bahá'u'lláh appears to allude here to his disappointment in Azal (who during Bahá'u'lláh's absence 1854-56 in Sulaymaniyyah had committed a number of enormities, including a further attempt on the life of the shah, entanglement in mafia-like gangs in the shrine cities, and marrying and then discarding a widow of the Bab--an act strictly forbidden in the Bayan). The restrictions Bahá'u'lláh attempted to place on Babi teaching and spread of the Writings are also apparent, and these derived from a new emphasis on "wisdom" in teaching the Faith. The last part of this note is missing in printed versions and is derived from a manuscript sent me by the World Centre.   The Proclamation of Bahá-ulláh                                                                           CHAPTER ONE Divisions 1-35     THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND 1. The time fore-ordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. 2. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. 3. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. 4. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsistent.   5. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, 6. so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause.     7. Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. 8. The Call of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. 9. It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.     10. Great indeed is this Day! 11. The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. 12. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. 13. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. 14. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of God's Will, 15. than all, except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found dumbfounded and heedless.     16. O thou that hast remembered Me! 17. The most grievous veil hath shut out the peoples of the earth from His glory, and hindered them from hearkening to His call. 18. God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, `the Kingdom is God's', may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples.     19. O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. 20. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity.     21. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. 22. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. 23. Our hope is that the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. 24. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requires...     25. It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise moderation in all things. 26. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. 27. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. 28. However much men of understanding may favourably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men...     29. Please God, the peoples of the world may be led, as the result of the high endeavours exerted by their rulers and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests. 30. How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? 31. How long will injustice continue? 32. How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men?   How long will discord agitate the face of society?     33. The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. 34. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. 35. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station.     The Proclamation of Bahá-ulláh                                                                             CHAPTER TWO Divisions 36-60     THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND 36. O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! 37. Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. 38. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention amongst you. 39. Then will the effulgence of the world's great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of one and the same throne. 40. This wronged One hath, ever since the early days of His life, cherished none other desire but this, and will continue to entertain no wish except this wish.     41. There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. 42. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies [crises] of the age in which they were revealed. 43. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.     44. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. 45. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you. 46. This, verily, is the most exalted Word which the Mother Book hath sent down and revealed unto you. 47. To this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His habitation of glory.     48. The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: 49. The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, all-embracing gathering of mankin will be universally realized. 50. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men. 51. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among themselves. 52. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him.     53. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, 54. except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories. 55. This will ensure the peace and composure of every people, government, and nation. 56. We fain would hope that the kings and rulers of the earth, the mirrors of the gracious and almighty name of God, may attain unto this station, and shield mankind from the onslaught of tyranny...     57. The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. 58. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home. 59. These things are obligatory and absolutely essential. 60. It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action.     The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh                                                                          CHAPTER THREE Divisions 61-95     THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND 61. That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. 62. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth. 63. In another passage He hath proclaimed: 64. It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. 65. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.     66. The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. 67. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. 68. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. 69. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. 70. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements. 71. We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions. 72. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and disillusioned.   73. They that are intoxicated by conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible Physician. 74. Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices. 75. They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have they any knowledge of the remedy. 76. They have conceived the straight to be crooked, and have imagined their friend an enemy. 77. Incline your ears to the sweet melody of this Prisoner.     78. Arise, and lift up your voices, that haply they that are fast asleep may be awakened. 79. Say: O ye who are as dead! The Hand of Divine bounty proffereth unto you the Water of Life. 80. Hasten and drink your fill.   Whoso hath been re-born in this Day, shall never die; whoso remaineth dead, shall never live.     81. O peoples of the earth! God, the Eternal Truth, is My witness that streams of fresh and soft-flowing waters have gushed from the rocks, through the sweetness of the words uttered by your Lord, the Unconstrained; and still ye slumber. 82. Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things. 83. Thus biddeth you the Lord of creation, the movement of Whose Pen hath revolutionized the soul of mankind.     84. Know ye from what heights your Lord, the All-Glorious is calling? 84. Think ye that ye have recognized the Pen wherewith your Lord, the Lord of all names, commandeth you? 85. Nay, by My life!   Did ye but know it, ye would renounce the world, and would hasten with your whole hearts to the presence of the Well-Beloved. 86. Your spirits would be so transported by His Word as to throw into commotion the Greater World — how much more this small and petty one!     87. Thus have the showers of My bounty been poured down from the heaven of My loving-kindness, as a token of My grace; that ye may be of the thankful... 88. Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you.   89. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body. 90. Thus counselleth you the Pen of Revelation, if ye be of them that believe.     91. Consider the mercy of God and His gifts. 92. He enjoineth upon you that which shall profit you, though He Himself can well dispense with all creatures. 93. Your evil doings can never harm Us, neither can your good works profit Us. 94. We summon you wholly for the sake of God. 95. To this every man of understanding and insight will testify.     The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh                                                                            CHAPTER FOUR Divisions 96-130     THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MANKIND 96. The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. 97. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System — the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.     98. Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. 99. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause — a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. 100. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. 101. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. 102. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath refused to seek it – verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures.     103. Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth.     104. Say: Through it the poor have been enriched, the learned enlightened, and the seekers enabled to ascend unto the presence of God. 105. Beware, lest ye make it a cause of dissension amongst you. 106. Be ye as firmly settled as the immovable mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving.   107. O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. 108. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. 109. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness.     110. From My laws the sweet smelling savour of My garment can be smelled, and by their aid the standards of victory will be planted upon the highest peaks. 111. The Tongue of My power hath, from the heaven of My omnipotent glory, addressed to My creation these words: 112. `Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty.' 113. Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best-Beloved from these words, laden with the perfume of a grace which no tongue can describe. 114. By My life! He who hath drunk the choice wine of fairness from the hands of My bountiful favour, will circle around My commandments that shine above the Dayspring of My creation.     115. Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. 116. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the [choice Wine] [fresh waters?] with the [fingers] [words?] of might and power. 117. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed.   118. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!...   Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all, though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder. 119. He doth what He pleaseth.   He chooseth; and none may question His choice. 120. Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved. 121. To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me witness. 122. Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst men. 123. Well is it with him that hath turned thereunto, and apprehended the meaning of His decisive decree.     124. This is the day in which God's most excellent favours have been poured out upon men, the day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. 125. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the tree of His care and loving-kindness. 126. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. 127. Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal. 128. Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. 129. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. 130. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.      Tablet of the [Explaination]                                                                                   CHAPTER ONE Divisions 1-25 Tablet of the Bayan     No addressee is named. However, there is reference to the "land of Ta'" which identifies as Tabriz. A certain Jawad is mentioned that may be Jawad Qazvini, whom lived in Tabriz. He was regarded a covenant breaker after the end of Baha-ullah in 1892. He could also be known as Muh. Ibrahim-Khalil Qazvini.   THE BAYAN (THE EXPLAINATION) 1. This is the chapter of the Bayan (the Explaination). 2. It was sent down from the Omnipotent Realm of the Kingdom unto he who hath believed in God and was numbered amongst those rightly-guided in the inscribed scriptural Tablets. Introductory script taken from the Book of Names, 4:108   3. He is the Elevated, the Most-Elevated in the omnipotent realm of Ahba. (the Glorious realm) 4. Commemorate the Name of thy Lord, His servant, since he entered the Locale of Paradise, occupying the mercy-seat, 5. from whence he was irradiated through the Lights of the Divine Visage from the Dawning-Place of the Divine Beauty with manifest signs. (verses)     6. And he rose up nigh the Divine Throne, before the Vision of God, the Exalted, the Most Exalted. 7. And he heard the melodies of his Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate. 8. He attained to "All Good" the "moment" when there blew upon him the Breezes of Sanctity from the Ridwan of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Magnificent.     9. O Ancient Beauty! Annouce then the Good News, of He Who was situated between the hands of the Divine Throne for He hath decreed for him a Sanctuary within the retreats of sanctity.   10. Say, Thou hast attained unto the Shore of the Divine Grandeur, a station where the Ocean of Names did surge with the Elevated, the Most Elevated Name of God. 11. This for the sake of the "good" of whatsoever was created between the heavens and the earths.     12. O wayfarer in the path of God! Take thou thy portion of the ocean of His grace, and deprive not thyself of the things that lie hidden in its depths. 13. Be thou of them that have partaken of its treasures. 14. A dewdrop out of this ocean, would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on the earth, suffice to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.   15. With the hands of renunciation draw forth from its life-giving waters, and sprinkle therewith all created things, 16. that they may be cleansed from all man-made limitations and may approach the mighty seat of God, this hallowed and resplendent Spot. 17. Be not grieved if thou performest the washing of God's creation all alone. 18. Let God be all-sufficient for thee. 19. Commune intimately with His Spirit, and be thou of the thankful.     20. Proclaim the Cause of thy Lord unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth. 21. Should any man respond to thy call, lay bare before him the pearls of the wisdom of the Lord, thy God, which His Spirit hath sent down unto thee, and be thou of them that truly believe. 22. And should any one reject thine offer, turn thou away from him, and put thy trust and confidence in the Lord, thy God, the Lord of all worlds.     23. By the righteousness of God! Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 24. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light. 25. Thus hath it been foreordained in the realm of God’s Revelation, by the order of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.     Tablet of the [Explaination]                                                                                    CHAPTER TWO Divisions 26-50 Tablet of the Bayan   THE BAYAN (THE EXPLAINATION) 26. There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men, who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the entire human race rise up and war against them. 27. These are the ones who, before the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven, shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised.     28. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. 29. Be of them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in the path of their Creator, can never sadden, and whose purpose the blame of the blamer will never defeat. 30. Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that have believed in Me, and announce unto them tidings of Our most holy Paradise. 31. Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him. 32. Say, I am come to you, O people, from the Throne of glory, and bear you an announcement from God, the Most Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. 33. In mine hand I carry the testimony of God, your Lord and the Lord of your sires of old. 34. Weigh it with the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of God. 35. If ye find it to be established in truth, if ye believe it to be of God, beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain, and be numbered with the infidels. 36. It is indeed the sign of God that hath been sent down through the power of truth, through which the validity of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto His creatures, and the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.     37. Say, This is the sealed and mystic Scroll, the repository of God’s irrevocable Decree, bearing the words which the Finger of Holiness hath traced,   that lay wrapt within the veil of impenetrable mystery, and hath now been sent down as a token of the grace of Him Who is the Almighty, the Ancient of Days. 38. In it have We decreed the destinies of all the dwellers of the earth and the denizens of heaven, and written down the knowledge of all things from first to last. 39. Nothing whatsoever can escape or frustrate Him, whether created in the past or to be created in the future, could ye but perceive it.     40. Say, The revelation sent down by God hath most surely been repeated, and the outstretched Hand of Our power hath overshadowed all that are in the heavens and all that are on the earth. 41. We have, through the power of truth, the real truth, manifested an infinitesimal glimmer of Our impenetrable Mystery, 42. and lo, they that have recognized the radiance of the Sinaic splendor expired, as they caught a lightening glimpse of this Crimson Light enveloping the Sinai of Our Revelation. 43. Thus hath He Who is the Beauty of the All-Merciful come down in the clouds of His testimony, and the decree accomplished by virtue of the Will of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise.     44. Say,   Step out of Thy holy chamber, O Maid of Heaven, citizen of the Exalted Paradise! 45. Drape thyself in whatever manner pleaseth Thee in the silken Vesture of Immortality, and put on, in the name of the All-Glorious, the broidered Robe of Light. 46. Hear, then, the sweet, the wondrous accent of the Voice that is sounding from the Throne of Thy Lord, the Inaccessible, the Most High.     47. Unveil Thy face, and manifest the beauty of the [bright]-eyed Damsel, and suffer not the servants of God to be deprived of the light of Thy shining visagee.   48. Grieve not if Thou hearest the sighs of the dwellers of the earth, or the voice of the lamentation of the citizens of heaven. 49. Leave them to perish on the dust of extinction. 50. Let them be reduced to nothingness, inasmuch as the flame of hatred hath been kindled within their breasts.     Tablet of the [Explaination]                                                                                CHAPTER THREE Divisions 51-80 Tablet of the Bayan THE BAYAN (THE EXPLAINATION) 51. Intone, then, before the face of the peoples of earth and heaven, and in a most melodious voice, the anthem of praise, for a remembrance of Him Who is the King of the names and attributes of God. 52. Thus have We decreed Thy destiny. 53. Well able are We to achieve Our purpose.     54. Beware that Thou divest not Thyself, Thou Who art the Essence of Purity, of Thy robe of brilliant glory. 55. Nay, enrich Thyself increasingly, in the kingdom of creation, with the incorruptible vestures of Thy God,   that the beauteous image of the Almighty may be reflected through Thee in all created things and the grace of Thy Lord be infused in the plenitude of its power into the entire creation.     56. If Thou smellest from anybody the smell of the love of Thy Lord, offer up Thyself for Him, for We have created Thee for this purpose, 57. and have covenanted with Thee, from time immemorial, and in the presence of the congregation of Our well-favored ones, for this very purpose. 58. Be not impatient if the blind in heart hurl down the shafts of their idle fancies upon Thee. 59. Leave them to themselves, for they follow the promptings of the evil ones.     60. Cry out before the gaze of the dwellers of heaven and of earth, 61. I am the Maid of Heaven, the Offspring begotten by the Spirit of Bahá. 62. My habitation is the Mansion of His Name, the All-Glorious. 63. Before the Concourse on high I was adorned with the ornament of His names. 64. I was wrapt within the veil of an inviolable security, and lay hidden from the eyes of men.     65. Methinks that I heard a Voice of divine and incomparable sweetness, proceeding from the right hand of the God of Mercy, 66. and lo, the whole Paradise stirred and trembled before Me, in its longing to hear its accents, and gaze on the beauty of Him that uttered them. 67. Thus have We revealed in this luminous Tablet, ad in the sweetest of languages, the verses which the Tongue of Eternity was moved to utter in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá.     68. Say, He ordaineth as He pleaseth, by virtue of His sovereignty, and doeth whatsoever He willeth at His own bidding. 69. He shall not be asked of the things it pleaseth Him to ordain. 70. He, in truth, is the Unrestrained, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.     71. They that have disbelieved in God and rebelled against His sovereignty are the helpless victims of their corrupt inclinations and desires. 72. These shall return to their abode in the fire of hell!  73. Wretched is the abode of the deniers! Gleanings 129     74. Say, Doth it beseem a man while claiming to be a follower of his Lord, the All-Merciful, he should yet in his heart do the very deeds of the Evil One? 75. Nay, it ill beseemeth him, and to this He Who is the Beauty of the All-Glorious will bear Me witness. 76. Would that ye could comprehend it! 77. Cleanse from your hearts the love of worldly things, 78. and from your tongues every remembrance except His remembrance, 79. and from your entire being whatsoever may deter you from beholding His face, or may tempt you to follow the promptings of your evil and corrupt inclinations. 80. Let God be your fear, O people, and be ye of them that tread the path of righteousness.     Tablet of the [Explaination]                                                                                  CHAPTER FOUR Divisions 81-105 Tablet of the Bayan   THE BAYAN (THE EXPLAINATION) 81. Say, Should your conduct, O people, contradict your professions, how think ye, then, to be able to distinguish yourselves from them who, though professing their faith in the Lord their God, have, as soon as He came unto them in the cloud of holiness, refused to acknowledge Him, and repudiated His truth? 82. Disencumber yourselves of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof. 83. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path. 84. Know ye that by “the world” is meant your unawareness of Him Who is your Maker, and your absorption in aught else except Him. 85. The “life to come,” on the other hand, signifieth the things that give you a safe approach to God, the All-Glorious, the Incomparable.     86. Whatsoever deterreth you, in this Day, from loving God is nothing except the world. 87. Flee it, that ye may be numbered with the blest. 88. Should a man wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, 89. no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him.     90. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. 91. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.     92. O thou that hast fled thy home and sought the presence of God! 93. Proclaim unto men the Message of thy Lord, that it may haply deter them from following the promptings of their evil and corrupt desires, and bring them to the remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.     94. Say: Fear God, O people, and refrain from shedding the blood of any one. 95. Contend not with your neighbor, and be ye of them that do good. 96. Beware that ye commit no disorders on the earth after it hath been well ordered, and follow not the footsteps of them that are gone astray.   97. Whoso ariseth among you to teach the Cause of his Lord, let him, before all else, teach his own person, that his speech may attract the hearts of them that hear him. 98. Unless he teacheth his own person, the words of his mouth will not influence the heart of the seeker.     99. Take heed, O people, lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others, yet forget to follow it themselves. 100. The words of such as these, and beyond the words the realities of all things, and beyond these realities the angels that are nigh unto God, bring against them the accusation of falsehood. 101. Should such a man ever succeed in influencing anybody, this success should be attributed not to him, yet rather to the influence of the words of God, as decreed by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. 102. In the sight of God he is regarded as a lamp that imparteth its light, and yet is all the while being consumed within itself.     103. Say, Commit not, O people, that which will bring shame upon you or dishonor the Cause of God in the eyes of men, and be not of the mischief-makers. 104. Approach not the things which your minds condemn. 105. Shun and avoid all manner of wickedness, for such things are forbidden unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God hath cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the purified.     Tablet of the [Explaination]                                                                                    CHAPTER FIVE Divisions 106-130 Tablet of the Bayan   THE BAYAN (THE EXPLAINATION) 106. Be fair to yourselves and to others, that the evidences of justice may be revealed, through your deeds, among Our faithful servants. 107. Beware lest ye encroach upon the substance of your neighbor. 108. Prove yourselves worthy of his trust and confidence in you, and withhold not from the poor the gifts which the grace of God hath bestowed upon you. 109. He, verily, shall recompense the charitable, and doubly repay them for what they have bestowed.     110. No God is there except for Him. 111. All creation and its empire are His. 112. He bestoweth His gifts on whom He will, and from whom He will He withholdeth them.   He is the Great Giver, the Most Generous, the Benevolent.     113. Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Bahá, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds. 114. Such a deed is acceptable only when he that teacheth the Cause is already a firm believer in God, the Supreme Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. 115. He hath, moreover, ordained that His Cause be taught through the power of men’s utterance, and not through resort to violence. 116. Thus hath His ordinance been sent down from the Kingdom of Him Who is the Most Exalted, the All-Wise.      117. Beware lest ye contend with anybody, 118. nay, strive instead to make him aware of the truth with a kindly manner and most convincing exhortation. 119. If your hearer respond, he will have responded to his own behoof, 120. and if not, turn ye away from him, and set your faces towards God’s sacred Court, the seat of resplendent holiness.     121. Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its affairs, for God hath abandoned them to such as have set their affection upon them. 122. Out of the whole world He hath chosen for Himself the hearts of men— hearts which the hosts of revelation and of utterance can subdue. 123. Thus hath it been ordained by the Fingers of Bahá, upon the Tablet of God’s irrevocable decree, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing. Gleanings 128   124. If ye meet the abased or the down-trodden, turn not away disdainfully from them, for the King of Glory ever watcheth over them 125. and surroundeth them with such tenderness as none can fathom except them that have suffered their wishes and desires to be merged in the Will of your Lord, the Gracious, the All-Wise.     126. O ye rich ones of the earth! Flee not from the face of the poor that lieth in the dust, 127. Nay, rather, befriend him and suffer him to recount the tale of the woes with which God’s inscrutable Decree hath caused him to be afflicted. 128. By the righteousness of God! Whilst ye consort with him, the Concourse on high will be looking upon you, will be interceding for you, will be extolling your names and glorifying your action. 129. Blessed are the learned that pride not themselves on their attainments; 130. and well is it with the righteous that mock not the sinful, yet rather conceal their misdeeds, so that their own shortcomings may remain veiled to men’s eyes. Gleanings 145 Translated by S. Effendi in Gleanings 128, 129, and 145  Translated by S. Lambden   Tablet of the Pen                                                                                                     CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-30

THE PEN

1.

This is the Tablet of the Pen sent down from the heaven of eternity

for those whose gaze is directed toward the divine Throne!

 

 

2.

In the Name of God, the Most Wondrous, the Most Glorious!

 

 

3.

O most exalted Pen!

Bear witness with your own being that He is God,

there is no God but Me, 

the Help in peril, the Self-Subsistent.

4.

Then bear witness with Your inmost essence,

that I, in truth, am God — there is no God except Him! —

and that all have been created by and act in conformity with My command.

5.

Bear witness, moreover, within Your Own being

that this is indeed the Beauty of God which has shone forth from the unseen realm,

6.

though none have recognized Him except He Himself,

and none shall ever know Him but He alone.

7.

He is, in truth, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the one [best?] Beloved.

8.

Thru a single emanation from Him,

the suns of grandeur and divine majesty have dawned resplendent,

the hearts of those who dwell in the eternal Concourse were created,

9.

the inner realities of holiness hidden within the veils of divine mystery were brought into being,

and the secrets of all that is and has been were made manifest.

 

 

10.

O Pen!

Do not be dazed and swoon away,

for We have with sovereign might and power conferred on You Our protection,

11.

and have breathed into You such spirit that,

were an infinitesimal breeze of it to waft over the lifeless bodies of all contingent being,

they would assuredly, one and all, arise from their resting places,

12.

with their tongue proclaiming, their inner essence affirming,

and their inmost being testifying that there is no God but Me,

13.

the All-Powerful, the Majestic, the Most Exalted,

the Almighty, the Single, the Victorious, the Self-Subsistent.

 

 

14.

O Pen of Revelation!

Remain steadfast and true to Your essence,

and reveal unto all created beings a measure of that bounty which God bestowed upon You

15.

before the creation of letters and words,

before the existence of contingent beings,

16.

before the kingdom of names and attributes was established

and His mighty and guarded Tablets revealed.

17.

Say: These are, indeed, a mighty portent,

one unequalled from before the beginning until beyond the end of time,

if you would only comprehend, O Concourse of the spirit! 

18.

And this is, indeed, a Beauty unequalled

since the beginning without beginning, if you only knew.

 

 

19.

Say: should it occur to any heart that it may compare to or become partners with this Pen,

that it has approached near to or understood what has been revealed through it,

let that heart know for certain that Satan is whispering within.

20.

Thus has it been revealed, could you but perceive it.

21.

Say: By God! None in all creation has ever surpassed Me,

nor shall any soul ever do so. 

22.

Thus is it now written by the fingers of everlasting holiness.

23.

Say: At a single Word revealed through Me were created all contingent beings,

and the inner realities of all existence,

and worlds which none can fathom but Myself, the Mighty, the Manifest.

 

 

24.

O Pen!

Hearken to that which those who join partners with God say of You.

25.

Say: O host of enmity!

Die in your envy, your rancor, your jealousy, and your blasphemy.

26.

By God, the True One!

This is, in truth, a Pen at whose behest were created the souls of the Concourse on High,

the inner realities of the people of Eternity,

and the inmost essence of all hearts and minds.

27.

With a single trace of this Pen the suns of might and grandeur were created,

and beyond them, the moons of purity and loftiness,

and the stars of grace and generosity.

28.

Thru it the gardens of Paradise and Ridván, and all that they contain,

have appeared, did you but know.

29.

Say: At a single stroke from Me was made manifest the knowledge of all that is and has been,

and beyond that, the creation of the former and the latter days.

30.

Open, then, your eyes that you may perceive it!

 

Tablet of the Pen                                                                                                  CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 31-60

THE PEN

31.

O Pen!

Let what You have thus far cast over the world of contingent being

by way of Your sovereignty and power

to suffice, for the hearts of the malicious may well burst in their malice.

32.

Conceal, then, Your Cause and divulge it no further,

for Your words have caused the heavens of eternity to crack,

and the earth of holiness to split asunder,

and all those wrapped in veils of communion in the paradise of Grandeur to fall down dumbstruck! 

 

33.

Hold your peace, for none who dwell on earth can ever witness Your sovereign might

nor hear your manifold revelations,

how much less those of Your Fashioner and Creator,

He who created You through a single utterance.

34.

Exalted is Your Lord above all that emanates from Him,

or that has been revealed through You before this.

35.

Exalted is He above that which those who are near unto God have thought,

or that which the sincere ones conceive of Him.

 

 

36.

Beware, beware!

Allow what He has already revealed through You to suffice.

37.

By God, the True one!

Were all that is in the heavens and the earth, and whatsoever lies between the two

— the trees, fruits, leaves, twigs, branches, waters, seas and mountains —

38.

were all these brought face to face with but one letter that has been revealed through You,

they would indeed give voice within themselves to that which the burning bush spoke to Moses

upon Sinai, at the spot of revelation, in the blessed vale of sanctity.

 

 

39.

O Pen!

Refrain from mention of those wonders imparted to You by God

and detach Yourself from all that you possess.

40.

Yet inform the people of the glad tidings of the great announcement

enshrined in this most great Revelation,

that they may come to know their Creator, and detach themselves from all else but Him.

41.

Then inform the Concourse on High of these glad tidings and say:

O people of the Concourse of Grandeur in the pavilions of majesty!

42.

O people of the sanctified Realm of divine power,

concealed within the tabernacles of the All-Glorious!

43.

O people of the Realm of the seen and the unseen,

within the holy precincts, immersed in the waves of eternity!

44.

O manifestations of the kingdom of names in the veils of divine mystery!

45.

Rejoice within yourselves in this most great and joyous festival,

during which God Himself is pouring out the most pure wine

for those who stand before His face in well-pleasing humility.

46.

Adorn, then, your souls with the silk of certitude

and your bodies with the brocade of the All-Merciful,

47.

inasmuch as a light has appeared, flashed forth,

and shone radiantly from the dawning-place of his countenance. 

48.

At its appearance all on heaven and earth have bowed down in adoration,

if only could you perceive.

 

 

49.

Say: By God, the True one!

Never has one like him appeared throughout all creation!

50.

Any soul who maintains otherwise has deviated from the testimony of God Himself,

and will be accounted in His mighty and guarded tablets

among those who have joined partners with God.

51.

Say: Through this light, the realm of Divine Essence and its realities were brought into being,

and the outward forms and inner essences of the people of the realm of eternity were raised up.

52.

Through it, God has created worlds without beginning or end,

that none can fathom except those whom the Lord wills.

53.

Thus do We shower the divine mysteries upon You,

that you might reflect upon the works of God.

 

 

54.

Say: This is a light at Whose emanation every neck has bowed down in humility

and at whose appearance the souls of those near to God, and the hearts of the sanctified,

and the inner realities of those who truly praise God, and every honored servant have prostrated.

55.

O dwellers in the sacred precincts!

By God, this is, standing among you and before your very faces,

the Meccan sanctuary of God,

56.

and the hallowed precincts surrounding it,

and the plain of worship leading to it,

and the station of refuge on the inner and outer pilgrimage!

 

 

57.

Take heed that you do not deprive yourselves of the sanctuary of recognition.

58.

Rather, hasten to Him and be not of those who tarry along the way,

for this is the sanctuary around whom circumambulate the forms of divine oneness,

and beyond them the everlasting realities and ancient eternal essences.

59.

God has made His threshold sanctified from the defilement of every rejected blasphemer.

60.

The dark-eyed maids of Paradise, and the denizens of the upper chambers of heaven,

and beyond them, those who enjoy intimate communion within the confines of holiness,

kneel in constant service before Him, and yet most of the people fail to comprehend.

 

Tablet of the Pen                                                                                                  CHAPTER THREE

Divisions 61-95

THE PEN

61.

O peoples of the heavens and the earth!

Abandon your resting places for the most great Pilgrimage

to the person of this most pure and radiant, this most beauteous Youth.

62.

God has, however, beholding your weakness, relieved you of this duty. 

63.

And yet, you should hasten to Him with all your heart,

even though no one can ever attain thereto,

 

except those who regard all the heavens and the earth

as of no more worth than on the day when none shall be remembered. [in the hereafter]

64.

Such are they who drink from the hands of their Lord the holy and sealed wine.

65.

And whoso turns to face this most pure and radiant direction will be encircled by luminous orbs

over which no beginning or end has been appointed.

66.

The daystar of all suns, before whose light the sun of Names dims and darkens,

shall dawn from the horizon of such a heart, if you but knew.

 

67.

O Pen!

Raise the call among the Concourse of Eternity and say:

O people of the plains of eternity and the pavilions of grandeur!

68.

And O gems hidden from the sight of the people of creation!

Rise up from your couches and rejoice in jubilation,

69.

magnify the name of your Lord,

and drink deep from the glass of eternity proffered unto you

by the all-glorious [fingers] [words] of this [deathless] Youth on this day,

70.

whose like the eyes of the universe [or, world] have never seen,

and on which the eyes of grandeur, upon the praiseworthy seat of might, were solaced.

 

 

71.

O Bearers of the Throne!

Adorn the most great throne in finery on this day, for the hidden beauty has appeared,

He to whose presence the people of the highest Paradise and the sheltering garden have not attained.

72.

Say: By God! The hidden secret has been fully revealed

and the eyes of the seen and the unseen have been solaced by His beauty,

73.

and beyond them the eyes of all those who have purified their souls

with the sprinklings of the Kawthar of holiness

that flows forth from the sea of the name of their Lord, the Manifest.

 

 

74.

Say:This is the day on which God has made Himself known to all who are in the heavens and the earth

75.

and has raised Himself in His sovereignty above all who are in the realms of creation and command.

76.

How exalted is this bounty, how sanctified, blessed and beloved!

77.

In this day, the Ancient Beauty has appeared in such raiment

that the veils have been rent asunder and the secrets revealed.

78.

All things make mention of their Lord, the Unconstrained:

79.

the trees have borne fruit, and the heaven and the earth have brought forth all that they contain,

all that lay hid in the midst of the mountains and the depths of the seas,

though they had once been veiled in obscurity.

80.

This is a day whereon the idols of blasphemy and rebellious passion have been shattered,

and the Ancient Beauty is firmly established upon His most great Throne.

81.

On this day the Most Great Spirit from the concealment of eternity,

and the spirit of holiness from the Lote Tree beyond which there is no passing,

82.

and the spirit of Command from the most distant tree,

and the spirit of Might from the divine realm on high, all give voice to this:

83.

Blessed be the Merciful,

Who has appeared in the realms of creation with that which no eye has ever before perceived!

 

 

84.

Say: This is He Who, by a single movement of His fingers,

causes the very creation of heaven and earth to pass away,

85.

and with merely one word of His mouth brings all creatures back to life,

86.

and at a sign from His eye, makes all existence to turn toward God,

the Help in peril, the Mighty, the All-Loving.

 

87.

Say: O assemblage of Monks!

[Abandon] [Adorn] the churches in which you praise God,

for the One Who was borne up to heaven has come down with the truth,

and now circles round the Throne. 

88.

By God, the True One!

On this day the bell [of _____] peals out in mention of Me

89.

and the horn and trumpet resound with My description and My name,

the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsistent.

90.

Do not deprive yourselves of the bounty of this day,

but hasten to the seat of the Throne,

91.

and renouncing all that you possess, grasp hold of the cord of God,

the Risen, the Visible, the Speaking, the Manifest.

92.

O denizens of the realms of the Seen and the Unseen!

93.

Sing out and melodiously celebrate this festival which God has brought forth,

for none has nor will attain the like of it,

whether in the past or in the future, if you but knew.

94.

God has raised the Pen on this day over all who are in the heavens and the earth.

95.

This is that which the decree of the Ancient of Days caused to rise above the dawning place of the Pen,

that you might rejoice within yourselves and be of those who experience true joy.

 

 

Tablet of the Pen                                                                                                    CHAPTER FOUR

Divisions 96-130

THE PEN

96.

O Pen!

Inform the Maiden of Paradise and say unto Her:

97.

By God, the True One!

Today is Your day; reveal, therefore, what You will.

98.

Wear, as you please, the satin raiment of names and the brocades of pure white,

and then emerge from the chambers of eternity

same as the sun rising above the horizon of the visage of Bahá. (heavenly glory)

99.

Come down, then, from the retreats on high and,

standing between the heavens and the earth,

and cast aside the veil that conceals Your angelic face,

100.

that the most great veils may be rent asunder from the faces of all these,

and they may behold the most great vision of the Beauty of God,

the sanctified, the Almighty, the One Beloved.

 

 

101.

O Solace of the Ancient of Days!

I swear by God, those who join partners with God are drunk with vain imaginings

and will never be able to turn their gaze in this most pure direction.

102.

You have in truth safeguarded Me by Your sovereign might

within Your pristine sanctity, behind the veils of light,

and preserved My beauty from the view of Your enemies.

 

 

103.

Within Your hands, You hold the command, and through Your word,

“Be and it is,” You rule as You please.

 

 

104.

O Maiden of Bahá!

Emerge from the concealment of eternity,

Your immaculate vision purified from beholding the faces of mortal beings.

105.

By the One True God!

None will attain to You but those who receive their sight from this most great Vision.

106.

Leave behind the Kingdom of Names on your right and the Realm of Divine Attributes on your left,

to appear in radiant splendor, through My permission, from the horizon of My chastity,

107.

naked of all that has been created in the realm of Command,

and divested of all that exists in the realm of Creation,

that through you God’s own beauty may be revealed to all else but Him.

108.

Sing then in the most pleasing melodies between earth and heaven,

that the universe may become wholly detached and turn to the face of your Lord,

the Holy, the Mighty, the Beloved.

 

 

109.

Rise above the horizon of Ridván with the radiant beauty of the All-Merciful,

your sweet-scented tresses dangling down upon your breasts,

that the fragrances of your Lord, the Giving, may waft over all the worlds. 

110.

Take care not to conceal the yielding hollows of Your bosom from the people of revelation,

or the curls of sanctity from intimate glances.

111.

Enter, then, before the throne,

Your hair dangling down, your face flush, your cheeks adorned,

your eyelids shadowed with face paint,

and take up in the palm of Your angelic hand the chalices of pure white in My Most Exalted Name.

112.

Pour out, then, for the Concourse of Eternity the sealed red wine of the Abhá Beauty,

that the people of revelation may be cleansed by this pure wine

from the veils of pride during this illustrious festival,

113.

and may emerge from the hidden clouds of glory through My mighty sovereignty,

the Powerful, the Help in peril, the Self-Subsisting.

 

 

114.

By the One True God!

I am that Maiden Who dwelt in the very center of the Ridván Paradise,

guarded in the seclusion of the All-Merciful and untouched by the eyes of contingent beings.

115.

Hidden from eternity behind veils of chastity within the pavilions of majesty,

I heard a most sweet voice emanating from the right hand of the throne of My Lord, the Exalted,

116.

and saw the Paradise of Ridván stirring within its borders,

and all that was created therein stirred by the longing to meet God, the Most Glorious.

117.

Thereupon another call was raised: By God, the Beloved of the worlds has appeared!

118.

Blessed the one who attains to His presence, receives the honor of meeting Him, and hears His melodies, the Mighty, the Sanctified, the one Beloved. 

119.

The hearts of the Concourse on High and the people of the plains of eternity are enraptured by the call of God, and longing desire has drawn them toward a station in which, one and all, their souls quiver.

120.

They have turned in the direction of holiness,

toward a place of inviolable and momentous might.

121.

Though I desire to mention what I beheld in that state,

I never shall be able to do so, even were I to speak in every tongue.

122.

Despite this bounty which has encompassed all things,

and this longing that has seized all those immersed in the sea of names,

I saw that the People of the Bayán are heedless,

wrapped in veils, like corpses interred in the tombs of nothingness.

 

THE PEN

123.

O People of the Bayán!

Do you suppose, after you have turned away from this revelation,

that you are following in the paths of the spirit? 

124.

No, by My beauty through which God has revealed His own beauty

to all that which has been and shall be!

 

 

125.

O Maiden of Holiness!

Refrain from mention of them, for their hearts are made of hardest stone.

126.

Nothing shall move them, except that which satisfies their selfish passions,

for they lack maturity in this Cause,

desiring to suckle the milk of ignorance from the breast of heedlessness.

127.

Leave them, then, to the dust,

and sing in the accents of My voice within the realm of divine eternity.

 

128.

Inform those who recline upon the couches of Paradise

of what has been revealed within the kingdom of creation,

that your melodies might attract them and they might hasten to a beauty promised and holy.

129.

Thus may they recognize this day on which

the form of all things has been adorned with the robe of names,

 

and every poor one has attained to the exalted retreats of wealth,

and every banished wrong-doer has been forgiven.

 

130.

Seek in these days, O people,

to attain the bounty of God and His mercy which has encompassed all created beings

 

 

 

 

Tablet of Visitation                                                                                                   CHAPTER ONE

                                                                                                  Divisions 1-30

for Mulláh Husayn  

 

VISITATION OF MULLAH HUSAYN

1.

This is the Súrah of Visitation

that has been sent down from the realm of grace for the name of God, the First,

 

that she who is the most pious of women may visit him,

as well as those who believe in God and His verses and are of those who have attained.

2.

He is the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Exalted, the All-Glorious.

 

 

3.

This is a letter from a wronged One, who is known in the kingdom of eternity as Bahá, [-ullah]

in the dominion of exaltation as the Exalted, the Most High,

in the unseen realm as all God's beauteous names,

and in the contingent world as Husayn;

 

yet most of the people are under a veil and an immense delusion.

4.

No one can reckon what has befallen Him in every dispensation, save God,

the Sovereign, the Sublime.

 

 

5.

At one time, He was slain at the hands of Cain

and, oppressed, ascended unto God,

Who witnessed and knew full well what came to pass.

6.

At one time, He was cast into the fire at the hands of Nimrod,

but God made the flames a light and a mercy.

7.

Indeed, He protects such among His servants as have drawn near.

 

 

8.

At one time, He suffered such tribulations at the hands of Pharaoh

that the hearts of the sincere were set aflame.

9.

At one time, He was put on the cross,

and He was taken up unto God, the August, the Beauteous.

10.

At one time, such things befell Him

at the hands of Abú Jahl and the hypocrites who, in sedition, arose against Him,

as no one can recount or befittingly describe or mention.

11.

The All-Merciful Himself knew all that afflicted Him and was a witness to it.

 

 

12.

At one time, He was wronged in the land of Taf and martyred

along with those whom God had caused to be related to his sanctified and luminous self.

13.

They cut of His head, imprisoned His family, and drove them throughout the lands.

14.

Thus did it come to pass by reason of the satanic legions.

15.

At one time, He was suspended in the air and martyred in the path of God,

the Help in Peril, the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent.

 

 

16.

At one time, I was imprisoned in the Land of Ta' for a span of four months.

17.

The pen of the worlds could not recount what befell Us there.

18.

Afterwards, I was driven out of prison

and My kindred and I were exiled from our homes.

19.

We traveled to Iraq and were among those who settled in that country.

20.

None can measure what befell Us in that land from those who had been created at My command.

21.

It was such that I was, at all times, pierced by the javelin of hypocrisy.

 

 

22.

In spite of this, I concealed the matter and was a herald among the people,

summoning all to God, the Cherished, the Beauteous.

23.

Then, with no respite, every community stood up against Me.

24.

Alone I rose up to face My adversaries,

and I served My Lord insofar as I was able,

until the Cause of God was vindicated by His words and the works of the idolaters proved futile.

25.

Consequently, the fire of hatred was ignited

in the hearts of those claiming faith in the Point of the Bayán,

and in this way did they deceive themselves.

26.

Thus did Satan make their deeds appear seemly to them,

while they were accounted among the heedless.

 

 

27.

By God!

They heaped on Me such abuse as no one else had ever endured.

28.

The eyes of the maidens in their chambers wept over Me,

the hearts of the sincere cried out,

and beyond them wept the eye of God,

the Sovereign, the All-Praised, the 3 Omnipotent, the Exalted, the All-Wise.

29.

Anyone whose ears God has opened would hear the wailing of all things

and their lamentation during these days

because of what has befallen Me at the hands of those who had recognized God in His former Manifestation

but denied Him after He had come in another beauty, with manifest sovereignty.

30.

We were among them, and those deniers from past communities,

until the sun of tribulation rose from the horizon of destiny and the decree of exile was laid down,

as was written in tablets of inviolable holiness.

 

Tablet of Visitation                                                                                              CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 31-60

for Mulláh Husayn

 

VISITATION OF MULLAH HUSAYN

31.

By the One True God!

I rose up to face My adversaries during days when the hearts of the mystics were troubled,

the limbs of every soul shook,

and all those around Us who affirmed the divine unity trembled in fear,

until the hosts of salvation descended from the realm of God,

the Help in Peril, the Mighty, the Sublime.

32.

In truth, He protected Me and the angels of the heavens and earth championed Me

as did the exalted hosts, which were concealed until then.

33.

We left the city with an adornment that awed and bewildered

the minds of the learned and the hearts of the mystics.

34.

In every city the Ancient Beauty [Baha-ullah] passed,

the necks of the haughty were brought low by His appearance,

and in every place He stayed,

both the faithful and idolaters were abased before Him.

35.

Eventually, We came to this prison

and God is well aware of what befell Me here because of those who harbor hatred for [me].

36.

They are as those who see through the eyes of malice.

37.

Not one second has elapsed

where I have not been pierced with the dart of hypocrisy by the forces of the malicious.

38.

By God, in each moment have I been slain by the swords of hatred.

39.

The tongue of God, the Exalted, the Most High,

bears witness to this, and yet the people are heedless and in grievous dissension.

40.

If the people were to clear their ears, they would hear what their Lord, the All-Glorious,

is calling aloud in the loftiest heaven and would be of those who listen.

41.

Yet they shut themselves out

from what the Tongue of Eternity proclaims in the realm of the Almighty

and are among the heedless.

42.

They have proceeded to pronounce the sentence of death against Me

without any proof from God or noble book.

43.

Time and again have the hosts of salvation descended,

and through them has God protected Me.

44.

He has enabled Me to proclaim His mention,

to reveal Myself in His sovereignty,

to be effulgent with the holy light of His majesty,

and to celebrate the praise of His own persona, the Exalted, the Sublime.

45.

Thus was it ordained for Us,

and we have recounted it in truth, that the people might understand.

 

 

46.

O Leaf of Paradise!

When you receive this luminous, effulgent tablet,

rise up from your place and take hold of it with the hand of humility.

47.

Inhale from it the fragrance of God, your Lord and the Lord of the worlds.

 

48.

Commemorate My sufferings, which it relates,

so that you may be counted among those who have remembered in the tablets of God,

the Overshadowing, the Mighty, the Powerful.

49.

Teach the Cause of God to those around you

and to those who have been guided by the Spirit’s counsel and are among the assured.

 

 

50.

Blessed are you, O Leaf of Paradise,

for you have been carried away by the breezes of the Spirit

and taken to the Egypt of the Divine Presence

- the place of the recognition of your Lord, the Sublime, the Wondrous.

51.

You have drunk from the cups of your Lord's mercy

and attained to that which no other in all the worlds has attained.

52.

Thank your Lord.

Humble yourself and bow before Him.

53.

Take hold of the book of God with such strength as is borne of Him,

for it is indeed a sublime book.

 

How blessed you are in that God has related you to His name.

 

 

54.

Through him, the ensigns of salvation were manifested,

the sun of grace dawned, the moon of bounty rose,

and the Ancient Beauty was established on the throne of His name, the Exalted, the Sublime.

55.

By him, the kingdom of names was exalted,

the forms of the divine attributes were adorned,

and the Temple of Holiness was revealed in the garment of His name, the Ancient of Days.

56.

By him, the supremacy of the Cause encompassed all contingent things

and the sun of bounty shone its light on all creation.

57.

By him, the two mighty rivers flowed through the two exalted names.

58.

None have drunk from them except those whom God has singled out for His Cause,

favoured among His servants and chosen out of His peoples.

59.

He has made them manifestations of His most excellent names

and embodiments of His most exalted attributes,

and enabled them to be among them who have entered His transcendent, sublime, and wondrous presence.

60.

O Leaf of Paradise,

visit him on My behalf with what is now being revealed from the realm of God,

the Sanctified, the Lofty, the Wise, the All-Knowing.

 

 

Tablet of Visitation                                                                                              CHAPTER THREE

Divisions 61-95

for Mulláh Husayn

 

VISITATION OF MULLAH HUSAYN

61.

When you wish to begin your visitation

with him who is the dawning place and wellspring of God's names,

and the orient and treasury of His attributes,

 

arise and set your face toward Paradise, the place where the First Name is buried,

which God has made the resting place of his holy, majestic, and luminous temple.

62.

Stand and magnify God your Lord, nineteen times.

63.

As you recite each prayer of praise,

God will open one of the doors of Riḍván before your face,

and the fragrant breeze of the All-Praised will waft over you from the garden.

64.

Thus has it been ordained by One Who is almighty and wise.

 

 

65.

Then glorify God nine times with certitude in His Cause,

affirming His sovereignty, proclaiming His majesty,

recognizing His Manifestation, and turning toward

His sanctified, effulgent, manifest, dazzling, scintillating, resplendent and luminous countenance.

66.

Then say:

I testify by my soul, my essence, my being, my tongue, my heart and the limbs of my body

that there is none other god beside Him,

67.

and that the Point of the Bayan [the Bab] is His manifestation, His advent,

His majesty, His honor, and His grandeur

before those in the celestial concourse,

and His sublimity, His power and His might between heaven and earth.

68.

He who the One True God has made manifest

is His appointed sovereign to all in the heavens and on earth,

and His effulgence to each and every one in the kingdom of command and creation.

 

 

69.

Say:

The first spirit manifested from the realm of grandeur

and the first mercy revealed from the heaven of holiness at the right of the throne,

where our Lord, the Exalted, the Most High is seated

70.

– may they rest upon you,

O secret of the divine decree, temple of the realization,

most perfect word in the realm of eternity,

and most great name in the kingdom of creation.

 

 

71.

I testify by my essence, my soul, and my tongue that by you

the beauty of the All-Praised was established upon the throne of His name, the All-Merciful,

 

that in you the Primal Will was made manifest to the people of existence,

72.

that through you the melody of Paradise was revealed from the heaven of grace

on the part of your Lord, the Almighty, the Beneficent,

 

and that because of you the Cause of God,

the Omnipresent, the Omnipotent, the Mighty, the Powerful, was made manifest.

 

73.

I testify that you are the first light to dawn from the beauty of God's unity

and the first sun to rise

from the horizon of divinity.

74.

Were it not for you,

the beauty of the Essence would have remained concealed

and the mysteries of eternity would not have been revealed.

 

 

75.

I testify that, because of you, the birds of the souls of those consumed with longing flew

through the expanse of nearness and reunion,

76.

and the hearts of those overcome with yearning tasted the sweet savour of beauty and communion, at the dawning of the sun of the visage of your Lord,

the Possessor of majesty and glory.

77.

Were it not for you, no one would have recognized the Being of God and His beauty,

no one would have reached the shore of His nearness and presence,

78.

contingent beings would not have drunk from the waters of His magnanimity and abundance,

and created things would not have partaken of the wine of His bounty and munificence.          5

 

 

79.

Because of you the veils of existent things have been torn away.

80.

Because of you the kingdom of names and attributes has been manifested.

81.

Because of you every soul has been guided to the shore of a sublime sanctity.

82.

Because of you the dove warbled upon the branches of eternity

and the songbird of the throne sang its melodies upon the boughs of the lote tree of glory.

83.

Because of you the Beauty of the Unseen has been manifested in His Name,

the Exalted, the Most High.

84.

Because of you all good has been sent down

from the realm of the unseen unto the kingdom of creation,

and every grace has been inscribed by the fingers of God upon the tablets of destiny.

85.

And because of you contingent beings have been embraced by the mercy of God,

the Omnipotent, the All-Knowing, the Sublime, the Majestic.

 

86.

Were it not for you, neither would heaven have been raised above,

nor would the earth have beenspread below,

nor would the oceans have been revealed.

87.

Were it not for you, neither would the trees have borne fruit,

nor would the leaves have appeared in their green verdure,

nor would the orb of divine grace have shone from a horizon of effulgent sanctity.

88.

Because of you, the breezes of forgiveness have wafted over all in the heavens and on earth,

the doors of the garden have been opened to all beings,

and the hearts of those who believe in God,

the Mighty, the Powerful, the Munificent, have been enraptured.

89.

You are the word through which contingent things are distinguished from each other

- the blessed from the wicked, the light from the darkness,

and the believer from the unbeliever -

on this day until the day on which heaven is cleft

and God comes in clouds of the Cause surrounded by a company of the angels.

 

 

90.

At that time, the clouds are rent asunder and the divine visage appears from behind the veil,

with tens of thousands in great glory.

91.

Those who joined partners with God flee, in that moment,

from the right and the left, and a stupor takes hold of all in the heavens and on earth,

save a few letters of the countenance of your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate.

 

 

92.

I testify that you were entrusted with the faith of your Lord, the All-Merciful,

and that you recognized the Beauty of the All-Praised before the creation of the universe

and attained the presence of God on a day when you alone had recognized Him.

93.

By means of this grace,

God favoured you, before He created the heavens and the earth.

 

 

94.

I testify that, through your remembrance,

the tongues of created things were inspired with the mention of their Lord,

the All-Knowing, the Wise,

and through your praising your Creator, all rose in celebration of Him.

95.

All existence, both seen and unseen, bears witness to this

and, beyond it, God is a witness and fully aware.

 

 

Tablet of Visitation                                                                                             CHAPTER FOUR

Divisions 96-130

for Mulláh Husayn

 

VISITATION OF MULLAH HUSAYN

96.

I testify that you championed the religion of God,

manifested His Cause and struggled in His path insofar as you were able.

97.

I moreover testify that, through your victory,

the proof of God and His testimony were revealed,

and likewise His power and ascendency, His grandeur and majesty,

and His sovereignty over all created things.

98.

Blessed be those who struggled with you

and waged war against the enemies of God at your command,

99.

who circled round you,

entered the stronghold of your guardianship,

and drank from the Kawthar of your love,

[and] who were martyred for turning toward your countenance

and who rested in the court of your nearness.

100.

They are of those who repose in tranquility.

 

 

101.

I testify that they are the champions of God on His earth,

the bearers of His trust in His lands,

the kindred of God among His people,

the legions of God in the midst of His creation,

and the chosen of God between the heavens and earth.

 

 

102.

I testify that you fell victim to the most grievous tribulations and deplorable hardships

in the path of your Lord and that adversity encompassed you on all sides.

103.

Yet nothing could deter you from the path of your Creator.

104.

Alone you fought until you became a martyr in His Cause and gave up your spirit,

your soul and your body in your love for your Lord, the Eternal.

 

 

105.

I testify that all things between heaven and earth wept by reason of your suffering,

as did the eyes of the near ones behind the tabernacle of manifest majesty.                           6

106.

The houris in their private rooms uncovered their heads

and struck them with wondrous and sanctified fingers.

107.

They fell down with their faces in the dust, sat upon the ashes,

and lamented at that time in their luminous red chambers.

 

 

108.

I testify that, due to your suffering, all things were clothed in a black robe of mourning,

the faces of the sincere paled, the limbs of such as had affirmed the divine unity trembled,

and the eye of majesty and grandeur wept in the realm of exalted holiness.

 

 

108.

I testify, O my master, here where I stand,

that you did not fail in the Cause of your Lord, nor did you hold back in the love of your God.

109.

You took His command to the east of the land and the west of it,

until you were sacrificed in His path and became a martyr.

110.

God curses the people who oppressed you, rose up against you, fought against you,

argued to your face, denied your testimony, left your side,

disdained being humble before you, and were among the idolaters.

 

 

111.

Therefore, do I beseech God by you and by those around

you that He forgive me and pardon my sins,

that He cleanse me of earthly defilement and number me among the purified.

112.

I ask that He honor me with His presence

during these days when all have been heedless of Him

and are among those who have veiled themselves.

113.

I ask that He aid me in recognizing Him,

confessing His Cause,

believing in Him with all assurance,

affirming His verses,

entering into His shelter,

standing present in the court of His mercy,

bearing witness on His path,

and turning wholly unto Him, the Exalted, the Sublime.

114.

We beseech God by you

that He not cut us off from the shining lights of His visage in these days,

nor make us deprived of the wonders of His grace or debarred from His mercy,

which encompasses the worlds.

115.

We ask that He establish us securely in His love and stand us upright in His Cause,

so that our feet shall not slip on His path,

which has appeared in reality between the heavens and the earth.

 

 

116.

Mercy, praise and glory be upon you,

O chosen of God among His servants and trusted of God throughout His lands,

and upon your bodily forms, your celestial forms, and your spirits,

and upon your first, your last, your manifest and your concealed.

117.

And mercy, praise and glory be upon those who have dismounted at your precinct,

circled around you, come before the gate of your mercy,

stood before the manifest lights of your clemency, and entered the threshold of your nearness.

118.

These are they who have been brought near to God because of you,

who have sought mediation with God through you

and who have visited your sanctuary;

who were blessed by the dust of your graves,

119.

who have sought guidance through your teaching,

and who were among those who turned toward your visages,

pure, sanctified, effulgent and luminous.

 

 

120.

O Lord, my God!

I beseech You by him and by those who have rested in his vicinity,

to make us of those who have flown in the expanse of Your mercy,

drunk the wine of Your munificence and beneficence,

attained the summit of grace through Your bounty and abundance,

and tasted the sweetness of Your remembrance.

121.

Make us of those who have ascended to the ladders of the remotest region

and the seats of the highest realm through Your grace and bestowals,

122.

who have cut themselves off from all sides,

who have hastened in the direction of Your favors

and who have been seized by the glorious breezes of Your compassion

and the holy fragrances of Your eternity.

123.

Indeed, You are the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the Wise.

124.

Our God and our Beloved!

Forgive us, our parents, our relations,

and those who have believed in You and in Your verses

and in him who has been made manifest in Your sovereignty.

125.

Grant, moreover, O my God,

that we be empowered by Your strength in this world,

and that we attain Your presence in the next.

126.

Do not decree us forbidden from that which you possess,

nor denied of such as is worthy of You.

127.

In truth, You are the Possessor of bounty and beneficence,

and of grace and benevolence.                                                                                                  7

128.

Indeed, You are our Lord, the All-Merciful,

and our God, Whom we supplicate and in Whom we place our trust.

129.

None other god is there beside You,

the Forgiving, the Munificent, the Merciful.

 

 

130.

Thus have We revealed this Súrah to you, O Leaf of Paradise,

that you may follow such as you are bidden

and be numbered among the pious in the tablets of luminous sanctity.

 

Based on the the translation by W. McCants

 

Tablet to Jinab-i Khalil “the Friend”

 

 

 

Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá 'Alí-Akbar                                                                     CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-35

[   ]

1.

He is the Ever-Abiding, the All-Knowing, the Omniscient.

 

 

2.

O Pen of the Most High!

Make mention of him who is immersed in the seas of doubt and passion,

that perchance thou mayest purify him through that which floweth from thee

and purge him from the defilement of the superstitious.

3.

Say:

O servant who tarrieth in the land of bewilderment,

and droneth round the Fire, say:

4.

“In the name of God,

the Most Mighty, the Most Holy, the Most Glorious.”

5.

Then enter therein, and let the fear of no one dismay thee,

put thy trust in God, the Lord of might and power.

6.

Verily, He causes it to become a light for thee,

and a mercy upon thee, and a safety to the worlds.

7.

Beware, beware lest thou fearest the God Who created thee by virtue of His behest,

or hast a doubt about the Revealer of the Bayán and what is therein

8.

whereby they may recognize Him Who is the Compassionate, the All Merciful,

and God hath quickened all things that they may attain His presence.

9.

This is what We have revealed in all the Tablets, if thou art of them that apprehend.

10.

All things are in the grasp of His power, all faces submit to His sovereignty,

and all were created through the potency of His weighty and unerring Command.

 

 

11.

Hast thou any doubt concerning Him before Whose visage every luminary bows down,Koran 12:4

before Whose majesty, every man of glory is submissive,

 

before Whose sovereignty, every man of light humbles himself,

before Whose knowledge, every man of learning is ignorant,

12.

before Whose door, every man of wealth is poor,

before the manifestations of Whose might, every man of power is abject,

 

before the signs of Whose potency, every mighty one is powerless,

before Whose holiness, every essence is subjected to limitations,

13.

before the evidences of the lights of Whose eternity,

every man of the eternal realm is extinguished,

 

and before the brilliance of Whose sanctified and luminous Face,

every man of splendor is eclipsed?

 

 

14.

Dost thou hesitate in your acceptance of Him on Whom all books have descended,

to Whom all Scriptures have been revealed,

and through Whom all the most glorious and exalted Names have been created?

15.

Dost thou ask the shadow about the sun and its light?

16.

Open thine eyes,

then behold so that thou mayest find it in its zenith,

in its sovereignty, might and grandeur with the lights that have enveloped with their brightness the Concourse on high and the denizens of the oceans of names and all that was and is,

couldst thou but perceive it.

17.

And should the ophthalmia [eye disease] of vain imaginings prevent thine eyes

from beholding the lights of the Beauty of thy Lord, the Exalted, the Most High,

heal thou them, in My Name,

the Healing, the Sufficing, the Manifest, the Wondrous.

18.

Dost thou ask the drop that hath remained in the depths of the darkest abyss

about the ocean and its waves and sovereignty?

19.

I swear by God, this is an injustice from thee towards thee

and towards thy Lord, the Mighty, the All Knowing.

20.

Doth it beseem a man that hath eyes to perceive to ask about the sun in the sky after it has shone forth?

21.

No, by the Lord of the worlds.

 

 

22.

Beware, beware,

the Decree of thy Lord is not dependent upon the sanction of anything

except Him or the acceptance of any creature.

23.

Verily, all else besides Him have been created through His command

and have been fashioned through His will.

24.

And He hath created them as He hath created thee,

and there is no difference in this day between thee and all else except thee,

except him whom God hath assisted through His Cause

and acquainted with the manifestation of His Being.

25.

And verily he is the best among all creatures in the holy and preserved Tablets.

 

 

26.

Say:

Verily He hath been known from eternity through Himself,

and not by the testimony of anyone among His servants and their acceptance.

27.

He remaineth for eternity as He was,

and no one denieth this truth but all contumacious deniers.

 

 

28.

Therefore, O servant, be fair in thyself.

29.

Is God powerful over His Cause or canst thou fix His manifestation in a time of times?

30.

If thou recognizeth that He is powerful to exalt His transcendent sovereignty,

verily He manifesteth Himself as He wisheth and no one questions what He desireth.

31.

And if thou dost imagine that thou art powerful, adduce then thy proof and be not of the negligent.

32.

Beware lest thou deemest the Cause of God subject either to the limitations of thy self or to those of any of His people.

33.

Know thou, then, that all else besides Him is powerless to know His Being and the nature of His Manifestation, except they who know Him through a bounty on His part and a mercy from Him.

 

Verily, He is the Most Merciful of the Merciful.

 

 

34.

The whirlwinds of wrath and the tempests of rage were ready to blow from thy doubts upon all beings.

35.

Fear thou God, then beg thou forgiveness 70 times,

so that He may forgive thee by His grace.

 

And verily He is the Great Giver, the Bountiful.

 

Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá 'Alí-Akbar                                                                       CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 36-70

[   ]

36.

Purify thine heart from all allusions that are in thee

and from the [  ] words of the [   ] people of the Qur’án.

37.

Then, arise towards the atmosphere wherein the lights of the Face of thy Lord, the

Merciful, shine forth, that thou mayest perceive thyself independent from whatever thou hast heard and mayest find thyself freed from the worlds.

38.

O servant! I swear by God!

Verily, in this most great, most mighty Revelation, the testimony of God hath been fulfilled ere the revelation of a single letter of His Verses which the most learned of the learned are powerless to comprehend.

39.

After this Revelation, look thou with thine inward eyes upon the proof through which thy faith hath been previously confirmed.

40.

Beware lest thou question anyone about this.

41.

Content thyself with what is revealed on the part of thy Lord.

42.

Verily, He suffices thee above anything else but Him.

 

43.

Say:

Praised be God, the King of the Mighty Throne.

44.

Often in the time of the Revelation to those to whom the people turn for answers (lit. questioned persons) are wrapt in the dense veils of the self and are among the heedless.

45.

And whosoever questions such people as these is like unto one born blind who questions another born blind.

46.

Does this profit him in any way?

47.

No, by the Being of the Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Wise.

 

 

48.

Beware lest thou art among them that have clung to the hem of their leaders in the time when God came upon the clouds of the Cause in His Name, the Most August, the Most Mighty,

49.

and have turned their back upon God in opposition,

and therefore the verdict of divine chastisement was pronounced against them

and they returned to their abode,

and wretched is the abode of them that have repudiated the Truth.

50.

Cast the veil of vain imaginings under thy feet.

51.

Then ascend towards the resplendent court of Sanctity and Majesty,

that thou mayest see all things under the shadow of the Word that was revealed by His Pen,

or even better under the shadow of His Self, the Exalted, the Incomparable.

 

 

52.

O servant!

Verily, We have perceived from thee the odor of the ancient allusions of them to whom the Qur’án was given, allusions about references to the vicegerency and others, wherefore I was saddened and the Manifestations of the Names in their Realms and the Revealers of His attributes in their dominions were grieved.

53.

For We have enjoined Our servants in the Bayán to sanctify themselves from all that pertaineth unto them, because all that pertaineth unto them does not make them wholly independent in the Day of Judgment and shuts them out from the presence of God and deprives them of His holy fragrance, as thou thyself didst behold and didst bear witness.

 

 

54.

Hast thou not heard that He liveth in the All-Glorious Horizon

and hath no need of a vicegerent after His Revelation?

55.

Say:

Far be from the glory of God what I have imagined in my heart and the wrongs I have committed,

and I was among the oppressors.

56.

And there is no temporal thing with Him that His vicegerent may divide among his heirs.

57.

As to His Cause, it is with Him and is not separated from Him.

58.

Beware lest thou dost assign to Him any representative, or vicegerent,

or reckoner, or counselor, or peer,

and be among them that have truly repented.

59.

Verily, He is sufficient through Himself to all creation

and nothing is independent of Him in the heavens and on earth, if thou art among the mindful.

 

 

60.

Yea, God hath mirrors for Himself wherein He may shine to themselves for themselves,

if they are placed before the sun and its rays.

61.

This is what thou beholdest in the outer mirrors, if thou art among the observers.

62.

And they speak of the splendor of the sun, if they are placed before it and if they remain where they were beforehand.

63.

When they depart, the light returns unto its source and place, and with the mirrors the veils remain.

64.

Thus have We explained unto thee that of which thou wert unaware, that thou mayest be among the true believers.

65.

And this station is not specially set aside for anyone at the exception of any other one.

66.

By God, the True [Lord],

in this Day should all creatures turn themselves towards the lights of the sun

that shine above the All-Glorious Horizon with the ornament of God,

the Omnipotent, the Exalted, the Mighty,

 

the splendor of the lights of the sun would be reflected in them and none would deny it,

except those who are ignorant and far removed and others similar to them.

 

 

67.

Hast thou not heard, O servant,

that the Manifestation that became manifest in the year 60 was the Manifestation of God and brought to a close the Prophethood of Muhammad, the Messenger of God?

68.

Verily, God, thy Lord, is sanctified from all mention,

and allusion, and proof, and relation, and association.

69.

Verily, He has been established throughout eternity upon the Throne of Holiness and sanctified from all created things and it would be unseemly for anyone to assign to Him a vicegerent.

70.

Verily, the vicegerent is for those prophets who were created through His word.

 

Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá 'Alí-Akbar                                                                    CHAPTER THREE

Divisions 71-105

[   ]

71.

Say:

Blessed be God, the most excellent of creators!

 

Blessed be God, the most excellent of makers!

72.

Verily, We have abrogated such names in the Bayán

and We have dashed to the ground the idols of fancy,

that none should remain shut out as by a veil by them from God,

thy Lord and the Lord of thy fathers.

73.

Beware lest thou lookest at Me through the eyes of anyone except Me

74.

and if thou wishest to know Me,

look at Me through My eyes and thou wilt not know Me through anything but those, 2

 

although thou ponderest so that thou mayest know Me till

the end that none among the reckoners can reckon. 3

 

 

75.

Whenever thou wishest to attain to the pinnacle of grace and draw nigh unto the most exalted court and desirest that all the good in the heaven of the divine decree may be ordained for thee,

on the part of thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious,

76.

detach thyself from all things, perform ablutions with clear 4 and pure water,

as hast been ordained for thee in the Book 5 on the part of Him Who is the Sovereign Revealer,

the Ancient of Days

77.

and, while thou art washing thy hands, say: 6

 

O Lord!

Cleanse me from all save Thee, and prepare me to meet thee

in the day of the manifestation of Thy Beauty and the rise of Thy Being.

78.

Sanctify me from whatsoever may shut me out as by a veil from Thy resplendent Beauty.

79.

Purify me, moreover, O my God, that I may recognise Thy Being,

the Most Exalted, the Omniscient. 7

 

 

80.

And while washing thy face, say: 8

O Lord!

This is my face that I wash with this water, as Thou didst ordain.

81.

I beseech Thee, therefore, O my God, by Thy Name

from which Thy servants, 9 except the faithful among Thy creatures, are shut out as by a veil,

82.

to cleanse my face with the waters of Thy mercy,

flowing out from the right hand of the throne of Thy Majesty,

that it may be purified through Thine hallowed, resplendent and luminous Face.

83.

O Lord!

Protect it, through Thy Name,

the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most Wondrous, the Most Glorious,

84.

that it may have no regard for aught else besides Thee,

and may not turn towards them who have disbelieved in the greatest of Thy signs

in the day of the manifestation of Thy Being, the Exalted, the Most High.

85.

O my God!

Withhold not from me the glances of the eye of Thy loving-kindness,

and shatter not my hopes in the holy breezes of Thy favour.

86.

Verily, Thou art He Who is ready to answer whosoever calleth upon Thee

and is nigh unto them that seek Thy presence. 10

 

Verily, Thou art the Possessor of Great Bounty!

 

 

87.

O Lord!

Illumine my face in the day when faces 11 have turned black

and enlighten it with the lights of Thy bountiful Face.

88.

And shouldst thou recite this after ablutions, it would be permissible,

and this is a grace on the part of thy Lord, the Omniscient.

89.

When thou hast finished, perfume thyself,

then attire thyself with thy finest raiment,

turn thy face towards the Sanctuary of God (the Qiblih),

90.

round which at this moment, the spirits of every existence, whether seen or unseen,

and those who were not enjoined to prostrate themselves before Adam

and who have been and will always be turned towards the countenance of thy Lord,

the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the Most High, circle.

 

 

91.

Then, stand firm in your place,

raise thy hands 12 towards God with manifest poise and dignity and say: 13

92.

O Lord!

I ask Thee by Thy Name,

whereby Thou didst shine forth upon all beings and didst transcend the entire creation,

that even as I have anointed myself with this perfume,

93.

so Thou mayest imbue me with the fragrances of the holy paradise 14 of Thy mercy

and with the breezes wafting the savours of the raiment of Thy Being,

the Almighty, the Luminous,

94.

so that none 15 may inhale from me but the pure scent of Thy Grace and Favour,

and I may be wholly turned towards Thee and detached from all save Thee.

95.

Verily, potent art Thou to do as Thou willest,

and Thou art, in truth, the Bestower, the Pitier.

96.

O Lord!

My Beloved, 16 my Hope, the Possessor of my being and my soul!

97.

Send down, at this moment, upon Thy servant

that which beseemeth the sovereignty of Thy generosity and bounty

and is worthy of the wonders of Thy grace and celestial glory. 17

98.

Deprive me not, O my God,

of the things Thou hast ordained, in the heaven of Thy will and the clouds 18 of Thy purpose,

for Thy chosen ones, whom Thou hast singled out for Thine own Being,

the Almighty, the Beauteous.

 

99.

O Lord!

I am poor,

and I cling to the cord of Thy wealth; 19

100.

I am lowly,

and I hold fast to the rope of Thy might and majesty;

101.

I am weak,

and I have drawn nigh unto the Pavillions of Thy transcendent power

and unto the glorified Tabernacle of the glory of Thy dominion and sovereignty.

102.

Therefore, O my God,

I am standing before Thee, longing for Thy grace,

forgetful of anyone except Thee,

fleeing from all else save Thee,

turning towards the sanctuary of Thy presence and the goal of Thy good- pleasure. 20

 

 

103.

Is there anyone save Thee to whom 21 I may turn?

Or any manifestation, except Thine Own, 22 that I may approach?

104.

No, by Thy Beauty.

 

All that is manifest is as nothing when compared with the revelations of the holy lights of Thy greatness. and all that is exalted sinks into oblivion when brought before the manifestations of Thy glorious highness and loftiness.

105.

Send down, then, O my God,

upon Thy servant that which shall so enrich him

as to dispense with all the things which have been created in the heavens and on the earth.

 

Verily, Thou art the Most Merciful of the Merciful.

 

Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá 'Alí-Akbar                                                                        CHAPTER FOUR

Divisions 106-130

[   ]

106.

Then, take three paces forward, turning towards God,

and while taking the first pace say: 23

107.

O Lord!

Reveal unto me, in this station, 24

that which Thou didst reveal unto the Speaker (Moses) upon the Paran of Thy love,

and the Horeb of Thy benevolence,

and on the Sinai of Thine glorious and most exalted might and mercy!

108.

Detach me, moreover, O my God, from the Names and their kingdoms,

lest I be shut out as by a veil, through them,

from Him Who created them by a command from Him.

109.

Thy might, in truth, is equal to all things over all things.

110.

O my God!

Cause me to hear, moreover, Thy call from every tree,

as Thou didst cause Thy servant, 25 whom Thou hast chosen and sent to the worlds,

to hearken to Thy call from the Lote-Tree of Thy Cause.

 

 

111.

Then take a second pace, stop and say: 26

 

O Lord!

Shine forth upon me, 27 in this station, as Thou didst shine forth upon the Spirit (Jesus),

that I may arise to praise Thy Being and to proclaim Thy verses among Thy heedless servants,

112.

perchance thereby their hearts may be cleansed 28 from all doubts and uncertainty

regarding Thy Cause,

at which all, except a few, of them that dwell in the kingdoms of names 29 swooned away. 30

113.

O Lord!

Sanctify me, in this station, 31 from the attributes and their kingdom,

that have come 32 between me and the sight of the splendour of the divine Essence.

114.

Give me to drink, moreover, O my God,

of the cup of immortality from the hands of the remembrance of the Name of my Lord,

the Exalted, the Most High, 33 once more. 34

 

Verily, Thou 35 art the Lord of immeasurable Grace.

115.

O Lord!

Give me to drink from the stream of everlasting life,

that I may be set afire by the heat of Thy love,

in such wise that Thy servants may be inflamed thereof.

116.

Cause, moreover, the waters of knowledge to flow out from my mouth,

in my recognition of Thy Being, the Merciful,

 

that through it I may produce Thy proof unto such of Thy creatures

as trembled on Thy manifest, radiant and undeviating path.

 

 

117.

Then, 36 take a third pace forward, stop and say: 37

 

O Lord!

Shine forth upon me, 38 in this station, as Thou didst shine forth upon all Thy Prophets and Chosen Ones as have drawn nigh unto Thee.

118.

Then, detach me, O my God, from this world and from the world to come, cause me to enter the Paradise of Thy presence and 39 the Garden of Thy mighty and luminous glory. 40

119.

O Lord!

Blot out from my heart every remembrance except Thine, 41

that I may arise to praise Thy Being 42 between earth and heaven.

120.

O Lord!

Forgive my mighty sins, my grievous trespasses,

all that in which I have failed in my duty towards my Lord, the Exalted, the Most High

and my hesitation upon the path 43 that hath encompassed the worlds.

121.

O Lord!

Attire me with the raiment of forgiveness and the robe of certitude.

 

Verily, Thou art He Who supplieth the needs of those who seek Him.

 

122.

Then fall down44 upon the ground and say: 45

 

Praise be to Thee, O my God,

for the wonders of Thy bounties and the revelations of Thy benevolence towards me,

inasmuch as Thou taught me the ways of Thy knowledge and 46 the paths of Thy guidance!

123.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by the light of Thy face,

through which all beings have been enlightened and the entire creation hath been illumined,

 

not to reckon me among them who heard Thy voice and failed to answer Thy call,

or them unto whom Thou hast revealed Thy Being in Thy most exalted manifestation and glorious splendour, and did not obey Thee.

124.

Then, establish me upon a seat of glory nigh unto Thy Name, the Merciful,

in the garden Thou hast created in the midmost heart of Paradise

and join me with such of Thy servants as have drawn nigh unto Thee.

125.

Send down upon me, 47 then, every good thing that is in Thy knowledge,

and cause me to be raised up on the Day of Resurrection in the presence of the Manifestation of Thy Self, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Powerful. 48

 

 

126.

Then lift up thy face from the ground,

for thou hast completed that which has been prescribed unto thee in this lucid Tablet.

127.

I swear by the life of Him Whom God shall make manifest,

whoever performs this action wholly for the sake of his Lord and rid of all attachment to all else except Him,

128.

verily God can satisfy his wants and shall raise him up on the day of resurrection in such wise that the company of the favoured angels will be bewildered. 49

129.

Verily, We have instructed and warned thee, that thou mayest attain unto the presence of thy Lord and mayest not 50 be deprived of what is better for thee than the treasures of the heavens and the earth.

130.

If thou dost perform it, it is for thine own sake,

and if thou dost neglect it, thy Lord, verily, can well dispense with all creatures.

 

 

Translated by J. Savi and F. Mardani

 

 

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