The Proclamation of the Cause, and the Manifest Sign

Abstract: This Tablet, revealed between late September 1846 and March 1847, is dated by internal evidence, notably its reference to the land of Ṣād — understood as Isfahan — where the Báb sojourned prior to His transfer to the fortress of Maku. The recipient remains unknown. The Tablet opens with the proclamation that the Cause, once veiled in mystery, hath now been revealed; the Hour approaches, and the Moon hath been cleft asunder. It then presents, in the third person, the scorn and incredulity of those who reject divine truth: “Shall the Remembrance be cast upon thee among Us? Thou art naught but a lying, wicked soul.”

Central to the Tablet is the Qur’anic allegory of the She-Camel, symbolizing a divine test and a manifest Sign for the perceptive. It affirms that the advent of the Remembrance — the Báb Himself — brings guidance, while warning of iniquity’s consequences, and declares that that which cometh from the Lord — the awaited Imám, the Remnant of God — is better for His people. The Tablet concludes with instructions for its precise transcription and conveyance, attesting to its origin from the Báb.

The present paper offers a provisional English rendering of this Tablet, revealed in Arabic, based on the manuscript preserved in the Iran National Bahá’í Archives (INBA), Vol. 60, pp. 155–156