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Chapter 28
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The Favour of God -- divine revelation from the Messengers of God.
1)
The favour of Jesus and the 12 Apostles:
And should they reply: "The Books that are in the hands of this people,
which they call the Gospel and attribute to Jesus, the Son of Mary,
have not been revealed by God and proceed not from the Manifestations
of His Self", then this would imply a cessation in the abounding grace
of Him Who is the Source of all grace. If so, God's testimony to His
servants would have remained incomplete and His favour proven
imperfect. His mercy would not have shone resplendent, nor would His
grace have overshadowed all. For if at the ascension of Jesus His Book
had likewise ascended unto heaven, then how could God reprove and
chastise the people on the Day of Resurrection, as hath been written by
the Imams of the Faith and affirmed by its illustrious divines?
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 12
2)
The favour of the Manifestation of God.
O kindreds of the earth! Incline your ears unto the Voice from the
divine Lote-Tree which overshadoweth the world and be not of the people
of tyranny on earth -- men who have repudiated the Manifestation of God
and His invincible authority and have renounced His favours -- they in
truth are reckoned with the contemptible in the Book of God, the Lord
of all mankind.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 53
3)
The favour of Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
Napoleon III
1.131
O King of Paris!11 Tell the priests to ring the bells no longer. By
God, the True One! The Most Mighty Bell hath appeared in the form of
Him Who is the Most Great Name, and the fingers of the Will of Thy
Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High, toll it out in the heaven of
Immortality in His name, the All-Glorious. Thus have the mighty verses
of Thy Lord been again sent down unto thee, that thou mayest arise to
remember God, the Creator of earth and heaven, in these days when all
the tribes of the earth have mourned, and the foundations of the cities
have trembled, and the dust of irreligion hath enwrapped all men,
except such as God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, was pleased to
spare. Say: He Who is the Unconstrained is come, in the clouds of
light, that He may quicken the world with the breezes of His name, the
Most Merciful, and unify its peoples, and gather all men around this
Table which hath been sent down from heaven. Beware that ye deny not
the favour of God after it hath been sent down unto you. Better is this
for you than that which ye possess; for that which is yours perisheth,
whilst that which is with God endureth. He, in truth, ordaineth what He
pleaseth. Verily, the breezes of forgiveness have been wafted from the
direction of your Lord, the God of Mercy; whoso turneth thereunto shall
be cleansed of his sins, and of all pain and sickness. Happy the man
that hath turned towards them, and woe betide him that hath turned
aside.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 67
4)
In the passage below, "How many
the húrís (maidens) of inner meaning that are as yet concealed within
the chambers of divine wisdom!": how many the pre-existent Dependent
Prophets of Bahá'u'lláh? As a parallel, Bahá'u'lláh also cites a
reference in the Quran to Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn who were Dependent
Prophets of Muhammad; the "pearls and coral" that came out from the Two
Seas (two bodies of flowing water), Imam Ali and Fatima, their parents
who belong to the Family of Muhammad. Cited in "Introduction to Shi'i
Islam," Moojan Momen, p. 153.
In Quran 55:21, "Then which of
the favours of your Lord will ye deny?" is a question to
believers, whether or not they will recognise the Holy Imams, Dependent
Prophets of Muhammad, who are the Face of God, and are referred to in
the preceding and subsequent verses.
In Quran 55:38, "Then which of
the favours of your Lord will ye deny?" is a question to
believers, whether or not they will recognise, Baha'u'llah, the Independent
Prophet, who is the Face of God, referred to in the preceding verse.
In Quran 55:57, "Then which of
the favours of your Lord will ye deny?" is a question to
believers, whether or not they will recognise, the Maidens ("húrís of inner
meaning"), Dependent Prophets of Bahá'u'lláh, who are the Face of God,
referred to in the preceding verse.
We have digressed from the purpose of Our argument, although whatsoever
is mentioned serveth only to confirm Our purpose. By God! however great
Our desire to be brief, yet We feel We cannot restrain Our pen.
Notwithstanding all that We have mentioned, how innumerable are the
pearls which have remained unpierced in the shell of Our heart! How
many the húrís of inner meaning that are as yet concealed within the
chambers of divine wisdom![1] None hath yet approached them;--húrís,
"whom no man nor spirit hath touched before." Notwithstanding all that
hath been said, it seemeth as if not one letter of Our purpose hath
been uttered, nor a single sign divulged concerning Our object. When
will a faithful seeker be found who will don the garb of pilgrimage,
attain the Ka'bih of the heart's desire, and, without ear or tongue,
discover the mysteries of divine utterance? [1 Qur'an 55:56.]
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 70
55:19 He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:
55:20 Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:
55:21 Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?
55:22 Out of them come Pearls and Coral:...
55:37 When the sky is rent asunder, and it becomes red like ointment [new dispensation, of Baha'u'llah]:
55:38 Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?...
55:56 In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-
55:57 Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?-
55:58 Like unto Rubies and coral.
-- The Qurán 55 - AR-RAHMAN
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