SURIY-I-RA'IS, TABLET [TO THE] MINISTER TO THE SULTAN
O Ra'is! Hear the Voice of God, the Protecting, Self-existing
King. Verily, He crieth between the earth and heaven
and summoneth all to the Most Glorious Outlook. Neither doth
thy croaking prevent Him, nor the barking of those who are
around thee, nor the hosts of the worlds.
The world hath been kindled by the Word of thy Lord, El-Abha.
It is softer than the breath of the east wind, and hath appeared
in the form of man; and by it God hath quickened His
advancing servants. In the inner part of this Word there is a
water whereby God hath purified the hearts of those who came
unto Him, who were negligent in mentioning aught else save Him;
and thus have We brought them nigh to the Outlook of His Great
Name. We have caused this water to descend upon the dead,
and they are looking toward the shining and brilliant Beauty of
God.
O Chief! Thou hast committed that by reason of which
Muhammad, the Prophet of God, lamenteth in the highest heaven.
And the world hath made thee proud in such wise that thou hast
turned away from the face of Him by whose light the people of
the Supreme Assembly are illumined, and thou shalt find thyself
in manifest loss. And thou didst unite with the Persian
Minister in opposition to Me, after that I came unto you from the
rising-place of greatness and might, with a matter whereby the
eyes of those near to God are consoled. By God, this is a Day
wherein the fire speaketh through all things: "The Beloved of
the two worlds hath come!" And on the part of everything an
interlocutor of the matter hath sprung up to listen to the Word
of thy Lord, the Precious, the Knowing. Verily, should We come
out from the Garment which We have worn for the sake of your
weakness, all, whosoever is in the heaven and on the earth, would
not hesitate to redeem Me by their souls, and to this thy Lord
beareth witness; but no one hears Him save those who have severed
themselves from the world, through the love of God, the Mighty,
the Powerful.
Dost thou imagine that thou canst quench the fire which God
hath kindled in the horizons? No, by Himself, the True One,
wert thou of those who know! Rather, by that which thou hast
done, its burning is increased, and its blaze; and it shall encompass
the earth and whosoever is thereupon. Thus hath the matter
been decreed and whosoever is in the heavens or upon the earth
could not withstand His command. And the Land of the Mystery
(Adrianople) and what is beside it shall be changed, shall pass
out of the hands of the Sultan of Turkey, and commotions shall
appear, lamentations shall arise and corruptions shall become
manifest on all sides, and matters shall be altered by reason of
that which hath come upon the hearts from the hosts of the oppressors.
The authority shall be changed, and to such an extent
shall the matter become grievous that the sandheaps in the desolate
hills shall lament and the trees in the mountains weep, and
blood shall flow from all things, and thou shalt see the people in
great disturbance.
O Chief! We have revealed Ourselves to thee once in Mt. Tina
(near Baghdad), and once in Mt. Ranita, and also in this Blessed
Spot; but thou didst not take any notice, become of that by
reason of which thou didst follow thy lust and become one of the
heedless.
Look! And then remember when Mohamet came with manifest
signs on the part of One Mighty and Wise. The people would
have stoned Him in the public places and streets, and they denied
the signs of God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy fathers who were
there. And the learned denied Him; then those factions who
followed them, and after them the kings of the earth, as thou
hast heard in the stories of those who were aforetime. And of
these was Kisra (the Sasanian king). Unto him He sent a kind
letter inviting him to God and forbidding him from polytheism;
and verily, thy Lord hath knowledge of all things. Verily he
made himself great against God, and tore up the letter, because
he followed his passion, the lust. Is he not of the people of hell?
Was Pharaoh able to hinder God by exercising his dominion,
when he relied on the earth and was of the disobedient? We
have indeed manifested the Interlocutor (Moses), from Pharaoh's
house in spit of his will; verily, We were able to do this. And
remember when Nimrod kindled the fire of polytheism, whereby
he would burn the Friend of God (Abraham). Verily, We calmed
the fire by the truth and brought upon Nimrod manifest grief.
Say: Verily, the oppressor (King of Persia) slew the Beloved
of the worlds (the Bab) that he mighty thereby extinguish the
light of God among His creatures and hinder mankind from the
pure water of life in the days of his Lord, the Mighty, the Kind.
We have made the matter manifest in the country and elevated
His mention (the Bab's) among the unitarians. Say: The Servant
hath assuredly come to vivify the world and bring to union
whosoever is upon the surface of the earth. That which God
willeth shall overcome and thou shalt see the earth as the garden
of El-Abha; thus hath it been written by the Pen of Command in
an irrevocable Tablet. Leave the mention of the Chief; then mention
the Friend who became accustomed to the love of God and
separated Himself from those who associated other things with
God and were lost. He rent asunder the veils in such wise that
the people of paradise heard the rending thereof. Glory be to
God, the King, the Knower, the Wise.
O Dove! Hear the voice of El-Abha in this night whereon the
military officers were assembled against Us, while We were in
great joy. O that Our blood might be shed on the surface of the
earth in the way of God and that We might be cast on the ground,
for this is My desire and the desire of him who hath Me in view
and who hath ascended unto My kingdom, the marvellous, the
most wonderful. Know then, O servant, that one day We found
the friends of God confronted by transgressors. The troops beset
all gates and prevented the servants of God from entrance
and exit, and were of the oppressors. And the friends of God
and His family were left without food in the first night. Thus
did it befall those for whose sake was created the world and what
is therein. Shame upon them, and upon those who command them
to do evil! And God shall consume their lives with fire -- and
verily, He is the fiercest of avengers. Men gathered around the
house and the eyes of Islam and the Christians wept and the
sound of wailing arose betwixt heaven and earth, because of that
which the oppressors had wrought. Verily, We found the Assembly
of the Son (Christians) more bitter in their weeping than
those of other creeds, and therein are indeed signs to the thoughtful.
And one from among the friends has sacrificed himself and
cut his throat by his own hand from the love of God. This is the
like of which We have not heard from former ages. This is what
God hath set apart for this Manifestation as showing forth His
Power, for, verily, He is the Mighty, the Powerful. And he
whose throat was cut in Iraq (Baghdad), verily, he is the beloved
of martyrs and their sultan. And that which appeared from him
was the proof of God unto all creatures. The beloved of God are
those in whom the Word of God taketh effect and who taste the
sweetness of commemoration, and upon whom the fragrance of
union hath taken hold in such wise that they separate themselves
from whosoever is upon the earth and advance to the Face with
brilliant countenances; and though they have committed that
which God never permitted, yet God pardoneth them as a favor
on His part; verily, He is the pardoner, the merciful. The attraction
of the Most Powerful hath overpowered them in such
wise that it seized from their hands the reins of option, until they
ascended into the station of presence and disclosure, before God,
the Precious, the Wise. Say: the Servant hath left this world,
but He put every tree and stone in charge of the trust which God
shall bring forth with the truth. Thus the True One hath come
and the matter hath been decreed on the part of the Designer, the
Wise, whose commands the hosts of heaven and earth could not
withstand, nor could all the kings and rulers withhold Him from
that which He willeth. Say: Calamities are as oil for this lamp
and through them its light increaseth, were ye of those who know.
Say: All oppositions displayed by the oppressors are indeed as
heralds to this matter and by such the appearance of God and
His affair have been widely spread among the people of the world.
Blessed are ye by reason of that whereby ye left your homes and
travelled over the country for the love of God, your Lord, the
Mighty, the Pre-existent, until ye came and entered into the Land
of Mystery (Adrianople) on a day wherein the fire of oppression
was kindling and the raven of separation was crying out. Ye are
the participators in My calamities, because ye were with us on a
night wherein the hearts of the unitarians were disturbed. Ye
entered the land in Our love, and ye left it by Our command.
By God, it beseemeth the earth, through you, to make itself great
against heaven! How precious is this great and exalted beauty!
O ye birds of Eternity, ye were withheld from your nests in the
Cause of the Lord, the Unconstrained. Verily, He will make for
you lodgings under the wings of the grace of your Lord, the
Merciful. Blessed are they who know.
O victim of Mine! The Spirit is to thee and to him who rejoiceth
by thee and from thee findeth My fragrance and heareth
that by reason of which the hearts of the seekers are purified.
Thank thou God for that through which thou hast reached the
shore of the Most Great Sea and heard the cry of all particles,
saying: "This is the Beloved of the World! And the people of
the world oppress Him and do not know Him whom they call upon
at all times." Those who are heedless and who turned away
from Him (the Bab) for the sake of whose Beloved they should
sacrifice themselves, are in great loss. How much more then for
His brilliant and shining perfection? Although thine heart
would assuredly melt at separation from God, be patient, for thou
hast with Him a great station. Rather, shalt thou stand before
the Face, and We will speak to thee with the tongue of might
and power, that which the ears of the sincere were withheld from
hearing. Say: Should He speak one word, verily it would be of
greater sweetness than the words of all the people of the world.
This is a Day unto which had Mohamet, the Prophet of God, attained,
He would assuredly say: "We have known Thee, O
Desire of all the Apostles!" And had the Friend of God, Abraham,
attained it, He would have placed His face upon the earth,
humbling Himself, before God, saying: "My heart is at peace,
O God of whosoever is in earth and heaven. And Thou hast
caused me to behold the kingdom of Thy Command and the
dominion of Thy Might; and I bear witness that at Thy Manifestation
the hearts of those who advance are at peace!" Had
the Interlocutor (Moses) attained it, He would surely say:
"Praise be to Thee for that Thou hast shown Me Thy Beauty and
hast made Me of those who commune with Thee."
Reflect upon the people and their condition and that which
cometh forth from their mouths and what their hands have wrought
in this blessed, holy and wonderful Day. Verily, they who did not
obey the Command but turned to Satan are of those who are
cursed by all things and they are of the people of fire. He who
heareth My voice will not be affect whatever by the voice of the
people of the world; and he in whom the voice of aught that is
beside Me taketh effect, verily, he did not hear My voice; he is
indeed deprived of My Kingdom and the empires of My greatness
and might and is of those who lose. Grieve not because of
that which hath befallen thee. Verily thou hast forborne for the
sake of My love what the majority of the servants have never
borne; and thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the Informed. And He
hath accompanied thee in the courts of law and heard that which
hath flowed from the water of thy pen in commemoration of thy
Lord, the Merciful. Verily, this is naught but a manifest grace.
And God shall raise up one among the kings who shall succor His
saints, for He compasseth all things. And He shall put into the
hearts of men the love of His saints and this is a decree on the
part of the Mighty, the Beautiful. We ask God to make, through
thy cry, the breasts of all the servants dilated with joy and to
make thee the standard of guidance throughout the empire, and
by thee to render the weak victorious. Thou shalt pay no attention
to the grunts of the grunters, but leave them to thy Lord, the
Pardoner, the Generous. Relate to My beloved the stories of the
Servant, of that which Thou hast learned and heard; then deliver
to them what We have delivered to thee; verily, thy God will
strengthen thee at all times, and He is thy guard. The Supreme
Assembly shall magnify thee and the family of God and His
household, the leaves who go around the Tree, shall praise thee
and remember thee with a marvellous remembrance.
O Pen of Revelation! Remind him whose letter hath come before
the Face in this somber night and who travelled over the
country until he arrived and entered the city for the purpose of
seeking refuge under the protection of the mercy of his Lord, the
Mighty, the Powerful, -- in which city he spent the night, awaiting
the grace of his Lord; and in the morning, by the command of
God, he left the city, on which occasion the servant became sad;
and God is a witness to all that I say, saying: "Blessed thou art
for that by reason of which thou hast received the wine of revelation
from the hand of the Merciful in such wise as made thee
deny thine own comfort, and because thou art of those who hasten
to the region of Paradise, the day-spring of the signs of thy Lord,
the Precious, the Peerless." What a victory it is to him who
hath drunk the wine of knowledge from the Countenance of his
Lord, and who drinketh again the pure sweetness of this wine!
By God, through this wine will the unitarians soar to the heaven
of greatness and glory, and imagination will be altered to reality.
Grieve not because of that which hath befallen thee. Rely upon
God, the Mighty, the Learned, the Wise; and let the corners of the
house be founded upon the Books of Revelation; then mention thy
Lord and He will make you dispense with all the people of the
world. Verily, He chooseth whom He willeth and He is indeed the
Beloved of the devout. By God, the Supreme Assembly seeth you
and pointeth to you; thus the grace of your Lord hath encompassed
you. O would that the people knew that whereof they are
neglectful in the Day of God, the Mighty, the Extolled! Give
thanks unto God, inasmuch as He hath strengthened thee with the
knowledge of Himself and caused thee to enter into His protection
on a Day whereon the unbelievers encompassed the people
of God and His saints and drove them forth from their houses with
evident tyranny. And they desired to bring about a separation
between us on the shore of the sea; and verily thy Lord is aware
of that which is in the breasts of the unbelievers. Say: Though
ye cut off our limbs, the love of God will not depart from our
hearts! Verily, we were created for sacrifice; therefore we glory
over the worms.
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