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Chapter 48
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"Pearl" and its association with the Prophets (both Independent and Dependent/Lesser).
1)
The pearls revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet:
Say, by the righteousness of God! The All-Merciful is come invested
with power and sovereignty. Through His power the foundations of
religions have quaked and the Nightingale of Utterance hath warbled its
melody upon the highest branch of true understanding. Verily, He Who
was hidden in the knowledge of God and is mentioned in the Holy
Scriptures hath appeared. Say, this is the Day when the Speaker on
Sinai hath mounted the throne of Revelation and the people have stood
before the Lord of the worlds. This is the Day wherein the earth hath
told out her tidings and hath laid bare her treasures; when the oceans
have brought forth their pearls and the divine Lote-Tree its fruit;
when the Sun hath shed its radiance and the Moons have diffused their
lights, and the Heavens have revealed their stars, and the Hour its
signs, and the Resurrection its dreadful majesty; when the pens have
unloosed their outpourings and the spirits have laid bare their
mysteries. Blessed is the man who recognizeth Him and attaineth His
presence, and woe betide such as deny Him and turn aside from Him. I
beseech God to aid His servants to return unto Him. Verily He is the
Pardoner, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 107
2)
The pearls revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet:
Attract the hearts of men, through the call of Him, the one alone
Beloved. Say: This is the Voice of God, if ye do but hearken. This is
the Day Spring of the Revelation of God, did ye but know it. This is
the Dawning-Place of the Cause of God, were ye to recognize it. This is
the Source of the commandment of God, did ye but judge it fairly. This
is the manifest and hidden Secret; would that ye might perceive it. O
peoples of the world! Cast away, in My name that transcendeth all other
names, the things ye possess, and immerse yourselves in this Ocean in
whose depths lay hidden the pearls of wisdom and of utterance, an ocean
that surgeth in My name, the All-Merciful. Thus instructeth you He with
Whom is the Mother Book.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 33
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord of the world and Desire of the nations, O
Thou Who hast become manifest in the Greatest Name whereby the pearls
of wisdom and utterance have appeared from the shells of the great sea
of Thy knowledge, and the heavens of divine revelation have been
adorned with the light of the appearance of the Sun of Thy countenance.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 33
3)
The pearls revealed by the Maids of Heaven, the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah:
Wherefore, O My servants, defile not your wings with the clay of
waywardness and vain desires, and suffer them not to be stained with
the dust of envy and hate, that ye may not be hindered from soaring in
the heavens of My divine knowledge.
O My servants! Through the might of God and His power, and out of the
treasury of His knowledge and wisdom, I have brought forth and revealed
unto you the pearls that lay concealed in the depths of His everlasting
ocean. I have summoned the Maids of Heaven to emerge from behind the veil of concealment,
and have clothed them with these words of Mine -- words of consummate
power and wisdom. I have, moreover, with the hand of divine power,
unsealed the choice wine of My Revelation,
and have wafted its holy, its hidden, and musk-laden fragrance upon all
created things. Who else but yourselves is to be blamed if ye choose to
remain unendowed with so great an outpouring of God's transcendent and
all-encompassing grace, with so bright a revelation of His resplendent
mercy?...
O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart except the
unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth
proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God
hath revealed. Follow not, therefore, your earthly desires, and violate
not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 327
4)
The pearls revealed by the
"beauties of divine mystery" (the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah).
The "wolves as have denied God both in the beginning and in the end"
and "those who have bartered away heavenly blessings for disbelief and
have chosen for their people the abode of perdition" refers to those
who will reject Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah. The "birds abiding
within the domains of My Kingdom and the doves dwelling in the
rose-garden of My wisdom" is another reference to the Dependent
Prophets of Baha'u'llah. Those who "have rejected the bounty of God and
His proofs and have repudiated the testimony of God and His signs" also
refers to those who will reject Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
O thou honoured enquirer! [1] We bear witness that thou didst firmly
adhere unto seemly patience during the days when the Pen was held back
from movement and the Tongue hesitated to set forth an explanation
regarding the wondrous sign, the Most Great Infallibility. Thou hast
asked this Wronged One to remove for thee its veils and coverings, to
elucidate its mystery and character, its state and position, its
excellence, sublimity and exaltation. By the life of God! Were We to
unveil the pearls of testimony which lie hid within the shells of the
ocean of knowledge and assurance or to let the beauties of divine
mystery which are hidden within the chambers of utterance in the
Paradise of true understanding, step out of their habitation, then from
every direction violent commotion would arise among the leaders of
religion and thou wouldst witness the people of God held fast in the
teeth of such wolves as have denied God both in the beginning and in
the end. Therefore We restrained the Pen for a considerable lapse of
time in accordance with divine wisdom and for the sake of protecting
the faithful from those who have bartered away heavenly blessings for
disbelief and have chosen for their people the abode of perdition. [2]
[1 This Tablet was addressed to Jalil-i-Khu'i, one of the early
believers in Adhirbayjan, Persia. After the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh he
broke the Covenant.]
[2 cf. Qur'án 14:33.]
O thou seeker who art gifted with keen insight. I swear by Him Who
attracted the Concourse on High through the potency of His most sublime
Word! Verily, the birds abiding within the domains of My Kingdom and
the doves dwelling in the rose-garden of My wisdom utter such melodies
and warblings as are inscrutable to all but God, the Lord of the
kingdoms of earth and heaven; and were these melodies to be revealed
even to an extent smaller than a needle's eye, the people of tyranny
would utter such calumnies as none among former generations hath ever
uttered, and would commit such deeds as no one in past ages and
centuries hath ever committed. They have rejected the bounty of God and
His proofs and have repudiated the testimony of God and His signs. They
have gone astray and have caused the people to go astray, yet perceive
it not. They worship vain imaginings but know it not. They have taken
idle fancies for their lords and have neglected God, yet understand
not. They have abandoned the most great Ocean and are hastening towards
the pool, but comprehend not. They follow their own idle fancies while
turning aside from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 105
5)
The "pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the seas of My names" of the Independent Prophet, Baha'u'llah:
And further We have said: "Again I say: Hearken unto My voice that
calleth from My prison, that it may acquaint thee with the things that
have befallen My Beauty, at the hands of them that are the
manifestations of My glory, and that thou mayest perceive how great
hath been My patience, notwithstanding My might, and how immense My
forbearance, notwithstanding My power. By My life! Couldst thou but
know the things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of My
Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the seas of My
names and in the goblets of My words, thou wouldst for longing after
His glorious and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in the path of God.
Know thou that though My body be beneath the swords of My foes, and My
limbs be beset with incalculable afflictions, yet My spirit is filled
with a gladness with which all the joys of the earth can never compare."
-- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 58
6)
The pearls revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet:
And likewise, in the Lawh-i-Fu'ád, and in the Tablet of the King of
Paris (Napoleon III), and in other Tablets, there hath been revealed
that which will lead every fair-minded person to testify unto the
power, and the majesty, and the wisdom of God -- exalted be His glory.
Were men to observe with the eye of justice, they would be made aware
of the secret of this blessed verse: "Neither is there a thing green or
sere, but it is noted in a distinct writing," and would comprehend it.
On this day, however, men's repudiation of the truth hath prevented
them from understanding what hath been sent down in truth by Him Who is
the Revealer, the Ancient of Days. Gracious God! Perspicuous signs have
appeared on every side, and yet men are, for the most part, deprived of
the privilege of beholding and of comprehending them. We beseech God to
bestow His aid, that all men may recognize the pearls that lie hid
within the shells of the Most Great Ocean, and exclaim: "Praised be
Thou, O God of the world!"
-- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 149
7)
The pearls revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet:
Hidden allusions are concealed within these verses and holy letters are
treasured up within these words. Blessed is the one who hath seized
these pearls, recognized their value, and attained the presence of
their Supreme Meaning. It is clear and evident that the root of
differences, from the farthest worlds of meaning to the nearest degree
of expression, is caused by the diversity of the forms of the mirrors.
Each person speaketh and expresseth himself according to that which is
reflected within him. For example, with reference to the same analogy
of the flooding reiver, observe that it floweth forward in one manner
and its relationship to all buildings and structures is the same, yet
any valley that hath more capacity is able to resist it. These
differences, therefore, have arisen from the diversity of recipients.
In like manner, consider the rays of the Eternal Sun, which shine with
the same illumination in the heaven of human hearts but, when reflected
in the forms of mirrors, differ by reason of differences among the
mirrors themselves. Thus it is that some abide exalted in their
essences and high in their endeavors, while others sink into the depths
of lethargy and degradation. All things have their rank before God, and
all return unto Him.
-- Baha'u'llah, Sahífiy-i-Shattíyyih, Book of the River - Saiedi, p. 59
8)
The pearls revealed the Bab, the Primal Point, the Independent Prophet:
Magnify Thou, O Lord my God, Him Who is the Primal Point, the Divine
Mystery, the Unseen Essence, the Day-Spring of Divinity, and the
Manifestation of Thy Lordship, through Whom all the knowledge of the
past and all the knowledge of the future were made plain, through Whom
the pearls of Thy hidden wisdom were uncovered, and the mystery of Thy
treasured name disclosed, Whom Thou hast appointed as the Announcer of
the One through Whose name the letter B and the letter E have been
joined and united, through Whom Thy majesty, Thy sovereignty and Thy
might were made known, through Whom Thy words have been sent down, and
Thy laws set forth with clearness, and Thy signs spread abroad, and Thy
Word established, through Whom the hearts of Thy chosen ones were laid
bare, and all that were in the heavens and all that were on the earth
were gathered together, Whom Thou hast called Ali-Muhammad in the
kingdom of Thy names, and the Spirit of Spirits in the Tablets of Thine
irrevocable decree, Whom Thou hast invested with Thine own title, unto
Whose name all other names have, at Thy bidding and through the power
of Thy might, been made to return, and in Whom Thou hast caused all
Thine attributes and titles to attain their final consummation. To Him
also belong such names as lay hid within Thy stainless tabernacles, in
Thine invisible world and Thy sanctified cities.
-- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 84.
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