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"... The first Tablet, known as the Lawh-i- Mánikchi Sáhib, is celebrated for its striking and well-known passages epitomizing the universality of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic claim. Revealed, at Mánikchi Sáhib’s bold request, in pure Persian, the Tablet responds to the questions he had raised and proclaims some of the central tenets of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh: “Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” “Turn your faces from the darkness of estrangement to the effulgent light of the daystar of unity.” “Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” “[W]hatsoever leadeth to the decline of ignorance and the increase of knowledge hath been, and will ever remain, approved in the sight of the Lord of creation.”
As inferred from the contents of a second Tablet, Mánikchi Sáhib was not entirely satisfied with this reply, having anticipated a more expansive discussion of his specific questions. Bahá’u’lláh’s further reply is contained in a lengthy Tablet, revealed on 14 Sha’bán 1299 (1 July 1882) in the voice of His amanuensis Mírzá Aqá Jan. The Tablet is addressed to Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, but a lengthy portion of it addresses Mánikchi Sáhib’s questions. Bahá’u’lláh states at the outset that he had “failed to consider the matter closely, for otherwise he would have readily admitted that not a single point was omitted”, and explains that out of wisdom his questions had not been directly answered, but that even so, “the answers were provided in a language of marvellous concision and clarity”. Throughout the remainder of the Tablet, the text of each of Mánikchi Sáhib’s questions is successively quoted and detailed replies are given to each, in some cases connecting the questions to the universal principles enunciated in the first Tablet.
The Tablet is noteworthy for its discussion of a range of questions regarding the tenets of both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions, as understood by Mánikchi Sáhib, including the nature of creation, the connection between faith and reason, the reconciliation of the differences that exist among the laws and ordinances of various religions, their respective claims to exclusivity and their differing degrees of eagerness to welcome others into their fold. Bahá’u’lláh’s responses emphasize that which is right and true in the various doctrines and beliefs under examination, rather than discarding them outright for inaccuracy or insufficiency..."
– From the introduction to "The Tabernacle of Unity". |
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