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Chapter 57
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References on the Revelation of the Prophets (both Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets).
1)
The Revelation of the Manifestation of God:
That which is preeminent above all other gifts, is incorruptible in
nature, and pertaineth to God Himself, is the gift of Divine
Revelation. Every bounty conferred by the Creator upon man, be it
material or spiritual, is subservient unto this. It is, in its essence,
and will ever so remain, the Bread which cometh down from Heaven. It is
God's supreme testimony, the clearest evidence of His truth, the sign
of His consummate bounty, the token of His all-encompassing mercy, the
proof of His most loving providence, the symbol of His most perfect
grace. He hath, indeed, partaken of this highest gift of God who hath
recognized His Manifestation in this Day.
Render thanks unto thy Lord for having vouchsafed unto thee so great a
bounty. Lift up thy voice and say: All praise be to Thee, O Thou, the
Desire of every understanding heart!
--Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 195
2)
The following passage on the
"station of pure abstraction and essential unity" of the Manifestations
of God includes Muhammad, Adam, Noah, Moses and Jesus, who are
Independent Prophets; and Ali [Imam Ali] and the Imams, who were
Dependent (Lesser) Prophets of Muhummad; all of whom are "day-springs
of His Revelation":
These Manifestations
of God have each a twofold station. One is the station of pure
abstraction and essential unity. In this respect, if thou callest them
all by one name, and dost ascribe to them the same attribute, thou hast
not erred from the truth. Even as He hath revealed: "No distinction do
We make between any of His Messengers!"[1] For they one and all summon
the people of the earth to acknowledge the Unity of God, and herald
unto them the Kawthar of an infinite grace and bounty. They are all
invested with the robe of Prophethood, and honoured with the mantle of
glory. Thus hath Muhammad, the Point of the Qur'án, revealed: "I am all
the Prophets." Likewise, He saith: "I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses,
and Jesus." Similar statements have been made by Ali. Sayings such as
this, which indicate the essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness,
have also emanated from the Channels of God's immortal utterance, and
the Treasuries of the gems of divine knowledge, and have been recorded
in the scriptures. These Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and the day-springs of His Revelation.
This Revelation is exalted above the veils of plurality and the
exigencies of number. Thus He saith: "Our Cause is but one."[2]
Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also
must needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imams of the Muhammadan Faith, those lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all."
[1 Qur'án 2:285.]
[2 Qur'án 54:50.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 152
3)
1.92
Say: O people! We have commanded you in Our Tablets to strive, at the
time of the promised Revelation, to sanctify your souls from all names,
and to purify them from all that hath been created in the heavens or on
the earth, that therein may appear the splendours of the Sun of Truth
which shineth forth above the horizon of the Will of your Lord, the
Almighty, the Most Great. We have, moreover, commanded you to cleanse
your hearts from every trace of the love or hate of the peoples of the
world, lest aught should divert you from one course or impel you
towards another. This, verily, is among the weightiest counsels I have
vouchsafed unto you in the perspicuous Book, for whoso attacheth
himself to either of these shall be prevented from attaining a proper
understanding of Our Cause. To this beareth witness every just and
discerning soul.
1.93
Ye, however, have broken the Covenant of God, forgotten His Testament,
and at last turned away from Him Whose appearance hath solaced the eyes
of every true believer in the Divine Unity. Lift up the veils and
coverings that obscure your vision, and consider the testimonies of the
Prophets and Messengers, that haply ye may recognize the Cause of God
in these days when the Promised One hath come invested with a mighty
sovereignty. Fear God, and debar yourselves not from Him Who is the
Dayspring of His signs. This shall, in truth, but profit your own
selves; as to your Lord, He, verily, can afford to dispense with all
creatures. From everlasting was He alone; there was none else besides
Him. He it is in Whose name the standard of Divine Unity hath been
planted upon the Sinai of the visible and invisible worlds, proclaiming
that there is none other God but Me, the Peerless, the Glorious, the
Incomparable.
1.94
Behold, however, how those who are but a creation of His Will and
Command have turned aside from Him and have taken unto themselves a
lord and master beside God; these, truly, are of the wayward. The
mention of the All-Merciful hath at all times been upon their lips, and
yet when He was manifested unto them through the power of truth they
warred against Him. Wretched indeed shall be the plight of such as have
broken the Covenant of their Lord when the Luminary of the world shone
forth above the horizon of the Will of God, the Most Holy, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise! It was against God that they unsheathed the
swords of malice and hatred, and yet they perceive it not. Methinks
they remain dead and buried in the tombs of their selfish desires,
though the breeze of God hath blown over all regions. They, truly, are
wrapt in a dense and grievous veil. And oft as the verses of God are
rehearsed unto them, they persist in proud disdain; it is as though
they were devoid of all understanding, or had never heard the Call of
God, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 49
4)
The Revelation of the Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
III. The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as
the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most
cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the
pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been
revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded
in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an
announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself
from its glory.
Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly
recognize and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts. This is a
Revelation, under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood,
myriads of oceans will be his recompense. Take heed, O friends, that ye
forfeit not so inestimable a benefit, or disregard its transcendent
station. Consider the multitude of lives that have been, and are still
being, sacrificed in a world deluded by a mere phantom which the vain
imaginations of its peoples have conceived. Render thanks unto God,
inasmuch as ye have attained unto your heart's Desire, and been united
to Him Who is the Promise of all nations. Guard ye, with the aid of the
one true God--exalted be His glory--the integrity of the station which
ye have attained, and cleave to that which shall promote His Cause. He,
verily, enjoineth on you what is right and conducive to the exaltation
of man's station. Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Revealer of this
wondrous Tablet.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 5-6
5)
The revelation of Baha'u'llah
(an Independent Prophet) who is the Return of Imam Husayn (the third
Dependent Prophet in the era of Muhammad).
X. O Husayn! Consider the eagerness with which certain peoples and
nations have anticipated the return of Imám-Husayn, whose coming, after
the appearance of the Qá'im, hath been prophesied, in days past, by the
chosen ones of God, exalted be His glory. These holy ones have,
moreover, announced that when He Who is the Day Spring of the manifold
grace of God manifesteth Himself, all the Prophets and Messengers,
including the Qá'im, will gather together beneath the shadow of the
sacred Standard which the Promised One will raise. That hour is now
come. The world is illumined with the effulgent glory of His
countenance. And yet, behold how far its peoples have strayed from His
path! None have believed in Him except them who, through the power of
the Lord of Names, have shattered the idols of their vain imaginings
and corrupt desires and entered the city of certitude. The seal of the
choice Wine of His Revelation hath, in this Day and in His Name, the
Self-Sufficing, been broken. Its grace is being poured out upon men.
Fill thy cup, and drink in, in His Name, the Most Holy, the All-Praised.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 12
6)
The revelation of Muhammad (an Independent Prophet):
For this reason did Muhammad cry out: "No Prophet of God hath suffered
such harm as I have suffered." And in the Qur'án are recorded all the
calumnies and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the
afflictions which He suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be
informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous was
His plight, that for a time all ceased to hold intercourse with Him and
His companions. Whoever associated with Him fell a victim to the
relentless cruelty of His enemies....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 25
7)
The revelation of the Prophets and chosen Ones:
Such revelation is confined to His Prophets and chosen Ones, inasmuch
as none mightier than they hath come to exist in the world of being.
This truth all recognize, and bear witness thereto. These Prophets and
chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the
unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors that
truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable
to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the
Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin of
all things, and attainment unto Him, are impossible save through
knowledge of, and attainment unto, these luminous Beings who proceed
from the Sun of Truth.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 142
8)
The revelation of the Maids of Heaven, the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah. "I have summoned the Maids of Heaven to emerge from behind the veil of concealment" -- Bahá'u'lláh has called on His pre-existent Dependent/Lesser Prophets to appear on earth. "and have clothed them with these words of Mine -- words of consummate power and wisdom" -- and they receive their revelation from Him, the Independent Prophet (explained further by Abdu'l-Baha when describing the two classes of Prophets). "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". The Dependent Prophets have the same title,
Maid of Heaven, as Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, consistent
with them all being the Face of God..
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. With firm
determination, with the whole affection of your heart, and with the
full force of your words, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the ways of
the foolish. The world is but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing,
bearing the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it.
Break not the bond that uniteth you with your Creator, and be not of
those that have erred and strayed from His ways.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 328
9)
The revelation of one of the
Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise
(one of the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah).
"We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof
in the estimation of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty Throne. One
day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We
beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight
playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what
the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the
eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most
sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left
We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing
on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: 'O inmates of earth and
heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My
effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the
revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever
will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast
unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Baha, and
the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am
the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon
of assurance unto all beings.' Thus have We sent down for thee that
which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation."
This Wronged One hath, at all times, summoned the peoples of the world
unto that which will exalt them, and draw them nigh unto God. From
the Most Sublime Horizon there hath shone forth that which leaveth no
room unto any one for vacillation, repudiation or denial. The wayward,
however, have failed to profit therefrom; nay, it shall only increase
their loss.
-- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 136
10)
The revelation of the "Brides of inner meaning", another symbolic reference to Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah:
By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust, can, besides
these melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able, apart from these
utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries. Every single note of its
unpronounced utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath
already been revealed, and immensely glorified beyond that which hath
streamed from this Pen. Let the future disclose the hour when the
Brides of inner meaning will, as decreed by the Will of God, hasten
forth, unveiled, out of their mystic mansions, and manifest themselves
in the ancient realm of being. Nothing whatsoever is possible without
His permission; no power can endure save through His power, and there
is none other God but He. His is the world of creation, and His the
Cause of God. All proclaim His Revelation, and all unfold the mysteries
of His Spirit.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 175
11)
The revelation of the Manifestations of God:
XXI. O Salmán! The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever
been, and will continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No
man's understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a
token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He
hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the
Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these
sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self.
Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth to their
call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the
truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself.
Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso
disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God. Every one of them is the
Way of God that connecteth this world with the realms above, and the
Standard of His Truth unto every one in the kingdoms of earth and
heaven. They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of
His Truth, and the signs of His glory.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 49
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