The Báb's Epistle Revealed in Isfahán in Response to Four Questions

Abstract: This sacred Epistle, revealed in Arabic by the Báb during His sojourn in the land of Ṣād (Isfahán) from late September 1846 to late March 1847, responds to four questions from an unknown inquirer and ranks among the most illuminating Tablets of that period. The Báb first expounds upon the mystery of the Resurrection, unveiling its inner dimension as a timeless, ever-recurring reality renewed through every divine Manifestation. He then addresses an inquiry concerning a sanctified woman — identified by Denis MacEoin in The Sources for Early Bábí Doctrine and History as Táhirih Qurratu’l-‘Ayn — affirming that the divine Word had descended regarding her exalted station. The remaining questions concern the seeker’s spiritual condition, the call to moderation and steadfastness, and the injunction to avoid exaggeration in invoking the Divine Names. The Epistle culminates in a sublime avowal of servitude, wherein the Báb proclaims His utter submission to the Will of God. The present paper offers a provisional English rendering of the original Arabic Epistle, based on the manuscript preserved in the Iran National Bahá’í Archives (INBA), vol. 53, pp. 398–400.