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Chapter 75
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Trumpet -- the call of the Prophet (both Independent and Dependent Prophets).
1)
"Trumpet", the appearance of Muhammad, the Independent Prophet.
Nay, by "trumpet" is meant the trumpet-call of Muhammad's Revelation,
which was sounded in the heart of the universe, and by "resurrection"
is meant His own rise to proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring
and wayward arise and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies,
arrayed them with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them with
the breath of a new and wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muhammad,
that divine Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in
the symbolic terms "resurrection," "judgment," "paradise," and "hell,"
Gabriel, the Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying: "Erelong will they
wag their heads at Thee, and say, 'When shall this be?' Say: 'Perchance
it is nigh.'"[1] The implications of this verse alone suffice the
peoples of the world, were they to ponder it in their hearts. [1 Qur'an
17:51].
--Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 116
2)
The trumpet-call of Imam Ali, the first Dependent (Lesser) Prophet in the era of Muhammad:
In like manner, two of the people of Kufih went to Ali, the Commander
of the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell it; the other was
to be the purchaser. They had agreed that this transaction should be
effected and the contract be written with the knowledge of Ali. He, the
exponent of the law of God, addressing the scribe, said: "Write thou:
'A dead man hath bought from another dead man a house. That house is
bounded by four limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the other to the
vault of the grave, the third to the Sirat, the fourth to either
Paradise or hell.'" Reflect, had these two souls been quickened by the
trumpet-call of Ali, had they risen from the grave of error by the
power of his love, the judgment of death would certainly not have been
pronounced against them.
In every age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and their
chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual significance
of the terms "life," "resurrection," and "judgment." If one will ponder
but for a while this utterance of Ali in his heart, one will surely
discover all mysteries hidden in the terms "grave," "tomb," "sirat,"
"paradise" and "hell." But oh! how strange and pitiful! Behold, all the
people are imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried beneath
the nethermost depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to but a
dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily
realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the
spirit. For the life of the flesh is common to both men and animals,
whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart
who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of
certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by
immortality. Even as it hath been said: "He who is a true believer
liveth both in this world and in the world to come." If by "life" be
meant this earthly life, it is evident that death must needs overtake
it.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 119
3)
Muhammad fortells the coming of
the Bab (first Trumpet), and Baha'u'llah (second Trumpet), and the
Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
39:67 No just estimate have they made of God, such as is due to Him: On
the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and
the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is
He above the Partners they attribute to Him!
39:68 The Trumpet will (just) be sounded [appearance of the Bab],
when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such
as it will please God (to exempt). Then will a second one be sounded [appearance of Baha'u'llah], when, behold, they will be standing and looking on!
39:69 And the Earth will shine with the Glory of its Lord [the Day of God, era of Baha'u'llah]: the Record (of Deeds) will be placed (open); the prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward [pre-existent Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah will be summoned to appear on earth] and a just decision pronounced between them; and they will not be wronged (in the least).
39:70 And to every soul will be paid in full (the fruit) of its Deeds; and (God) knoweth best all that they do.
39:71 The Unbelievers will be led to Hell in crowd: until, when they
arrive, there, its gates will be opened. And its keepers will say, "Did
not apostles [Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah] come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing [promoting the teachings of Baha'u'llah, the same way the Holy Imams promoted teachings of Muhammad]
to you the Signs of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of This
Day of yours?" The answer will be: "True: but the Decree of Punishment
has been proved true against the Unbelievers!"
-- Qur'an: 39 - AZ-ZUMAR
Verily We have sounded the Trumpet [appearance of Baha'u'llah]
which is none other than My Pen of Glory, and lo, mankind hath swooned
away before it, save them whom God pleaseth to deliver as a token of
His grace. He is the Lord of bounty, the Ancient of Days.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 61
Upon Our arrival in Iraq We found the Cause of God sunk in deep apathy
and the breeze of divine revelation stilled. Most of the believers were
faint and dispirited, nay utterly lost and dead. Hence there was a
second blast on the Trumpet [appearance of Baha'u'llah],
whereupon the Tongue of Grandeur uttered these blessed words: `We have
sounded the Trumpet for the second time.' Thus the whole world was
quickened through the vitalizing breaths of divine revelation and
inspiration.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 131
The second blast hath been blown on the trumpet [appearance of Baha'u'llah]. On whom are ye gazing? This is your Lord, the God of Mercy.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 98
O Haydar-`Alí! I swear by the righteousness of God! The Blast hath been
blown on the Trumpet of the Bayán as decreed by the Lord, the Merciful,
and all that are in the heavens and on the earth have swooned away
except such as have detached themselves from the world, cleaving fast
unto the Cord of God, the Lord of mankind.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 244
4)
Jesus foretells the coming of
Muhammad ("the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory") and the 12 Holy Imams ("And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet").
These are the melodies, sung by Jesus, Son of Mary, in accents of
majestic power in the Ridvan of the Gospel, revealing those signs that
must needs herald the advent of the Manifestation after Him. In the
first Gospel according to Matthew it is recorded: And when they asked
Jesus concerning the signs of His coming, He said unto them:
"Immediately after the oppression[1] of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the earth shall be shaken: and then
[1] The Greek word used (Thlipsis) has two meanings: pressure [1] and
oppression. shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet."[1] Rendered
into the Persian tongue,[2] the purport of these words is as follows:
When the oppression and afflictions that are to befall mankind will
have come to pass, then shall the sun be withheld from shining, the
moon from giving light, the stars of heaven shall fall upon the earth,
and the pillars of the earth shall quake. At that time, the signs of
the Son of man shall appear in heaven, that is, the promised Beauty and
Substance of life shall, when these signs have appeared, step forth out
of the realm of the invisible into the visible world. And He saith: at
that time, all the peoples and kindreds that dwell on earth shall
bewail and lament, and they shall see that divine Beauty coming from
heaven, riding upon the clouds with power, grandeur, and magnificence,
sending His angels with a great sound of a trumpet. Similarly, in the
three other Gospels, according to Luke, Mark, and John, the same
statements are recorded. As We have referred at length to these in Our
Tablets revealed in the Arabic tongue, We have made no mention of them
in these pages, and have confined Ourselves to but one reference.
[1 Matthew 24:29-31.]
[2 The passage is quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Arabic and interpreted in Persian.]
Inasmuch as the Christian divines have failed to apprehend the meaning
of these words, and did not recognize their object and purpose, and
have clung to the literal interpretation of the words of Jesus, they
therefore became deprived of the streaming grace of the Muhammadan
Revelation and its showering bounties. The ignorant among the Christian
community, following the example of the leaders of their faith, were
likewise prevented from beholding the beauty of the King of glory,
inasmuch as those signs which were to accompany the dawn of the sun of
the Muhammadan Dispensation did not actually come to pass. Thus, ages
have passed and centuries rolled away, and that most pure Spirit hath
repaired unto the retreats of its ancient sovereignty. Once more hath
the eternal Spirit breathed into the mystic trumpet, and caused the
dead to speed out of their sepulchres of heedlessness and error unto
the realm of guidance and grace. And yet, that expectant community
still crieth out: When shall these things be? When shall the promised
One, the object of our expectation, be made manifest, that we may arise
for the triumph of His Cause, that we may sacrifice our substance for
His sake, that we may offer up our lives in His path? In like manner,
have such false imaginings caused other communities to stray from the
Kawthar of the infinite mercy of Providence, and to be busied with
their own idle thoughts.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 26
5)
The Surih of the Temple, an important tablet revealed by Baha'u'llah, is another
place where Baha'u'llah refers to His many Dependent Prophets ("temples
of the Oneness of God") in separate paragraphs, in addition to other
important themes covered in the tablet. In the passages below, "Sound
the trumpet in My Name" can be interpreted as Baha'u'llah calling on
the "Maid of Heaven" (the last Dependent Prophet) to appear on earth
bringing divine revelation (referred to earlier as, "O Temple of Divine
Revelation!"). Also, "His servants" referred to in paragraph 1.101 are
the Dependent (Lesser) Prophets of Baha'u'llah, the same way the Holy
Imams were servants of Muhammad, and all else besides them are as
naught, described in more detail in the subsequent passage from the
Iqan about the Manifestations of God.
1.100
O Temple of Divine Revelation! Sound the trumpet in My Name! O Temple
of Divine mysteries! Raise the clarion call of Thy Lord, the
Unconditioned, the Unconstrained! O Maid of Heaven! Step forth from the
chambers of paradise and announce unto the people of the world: By the
righteousness of God! He Who is the Best-Beloved of the worlds -- He
Who hath ever been the Desire of every perceiving heart, the Object of
the adoration of all that are in heaven and on earth, and the Cynosure
of the former and the latter generations -- is now come!
1.101
Take heed lest ye hesitate in recognizing this resplendent Beauty when
once He hath appeared in the plenitude of His sovereign might and
majesty. He, verily, is the True One, and all else besides Him is as
naught before a single one of His servants, and paleth into nothingness
when brought face to face with the revelation of His splendours.
Hasten, then, to attain the living waters of His grace, and be not of
the negligent. As to him who hesitateth, though it be for less than a
moment, God shall verily bring his works to naught and return him to
the seat of wrath; wretched indeed is the abode of them that tarry!
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 53
And of all men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished and the
most excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all
else besides these Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will,
and move and have their being through the outpourings of their grace.
"But for Thee, I would have not created the heavens." Nay, all in their
holy presence fade into utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten.
Human tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech
can never unfold their mystery. These Tabernacles of holiness, these
primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but
expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the
revelation of these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes
of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy
and wisdom, glory, bounty and grace, are made manifest.
These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed
specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the
Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and
chosen Messengers, are, without exception, the bearers of His
names, and the embodiments of His attributes. They only differ in the
intensity of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their
light. Even as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused
to excel the others."[1] It hath therefore become manifest and evident
that within the tabernacles of these Prophets and chosen Ones of God
the light of His infinite names and exalted attributes hath been
reflected, even though the light of some of these attributes may or may
not be outwardly revealed from these luminous Temples to the eyes of
men. That a certain attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested
by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that they Who are
the Daysprings of God's attributes and the Treasuries of His holy names
did not actually possess it. Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these
beauteous Countenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed
with all the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, dominion, and the
like, even though to outward seeming they be shorn of all earthly
majesty. To every discerning eye this is evident and manifest; it
requireth neither proof nor evidence.
[1 Qur'án 2:253.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 102
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