Divine Proof and the Challenge of Revelation

Abstract: This sacred Epistle of the Báb, revealed in the port city of Búshihr sometime between mid-May and late June 1845, was composed in Persian. In it, the Báb expounds with matchless lucidity the principle of divine proof and the touchstone by which truth is distinguished from falsehood. The Epistle exposes the peril of blind imitation and the vanity of human conjecture when confronted with the summons of Revelation. The Báb affirms that the essence of religion lies not in ritual observance, but in submission to the living command of Him Whom God hath made Manifest, and declares that any soul who advances a claim supported by sufficient proof, without contravening the fundamentals of faith, must be acknowledged by all peoples. In vindication of His mission, He cites the Commentary on the Súrah of Joseph, the Book, and the Ṣaḥífa as proofs surpassing human attainment, employing the idiom of “the ball and the arena” to dramatize the contest of Revelation.

The Epistle appears to have been revealed in response to the opposition of Mírzá Ibráhím-i-Shírází. Another extant copy identifies the direct addressee as Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥasan-‘Alí, the Báb’s maternal uncle (Khál-i-Aṣghar, “the Younger Uncle”) (Muḥammad Afnán, Safíneh-yi ‘Irfán, vol. 8, p. 118). The Epistle is preserved in INBA, vol. 91 (pp. 170–180) and Zuhūr al-Ḥaqq, vol. 3 (pp. 283–286). A provisional English rendering is presented here for scholarly study, with deep gratitude to Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir for his guidance and meticulous corrections.