Selections from the Writings of the Báb

5 EXCERPTS FROM THE KITÁB-I-ASMÁ (The Book of Names)

VERILY God hath caused ...

VERILY God hath caused the people of the Bayán to be called into being through the power of Him unto Whom the Bayán was revealed, in preparation for the Day when they will return to their Lord.

Indeed those who will bear allegiance unto Him Whom God shall make manifest are the ones who have grasped the meaning of that which hath been revealed in the Bayán; they are indeed the sincere ones, while those who turn away from Him at the time of His appearance will have utterly failed to comprehend a single letter of the Bayán, even though they profess belief and assurance in whatever is revealed in it or observe its precepts.

Say, every favourable and praiseworthy designation in the Bayán is but an allusion to those who recognize Him Whom God shall make manifest, and who believe with certainty in God and in His holy Writings, while every unfavourable designation therein is meant to refer to such as repudiate Him Whom God shall make manifest, though they may act uprightly within the bounds laid down in the Bayán. Say, if ye embrace the truth on the Day of Resurrection, God will assuredly pardon you for your night[See footnote on page 129] and will grant you forgiveness.

As to those who have faithfully observed the ordinances in the Bayán from the inception of its revelation until the Day when Him Whom God shall make manifest will appear, these are indeed the companions of the paradise of His good-pleasure who will be glorified in the presence of God and will dwell in the pavilions of His celestial Garden. Yet, within less than a tiny fraction of an instant from the moment God will have revealed Him Who is the Manifestation of His Own Self, the entire company of the followers of the Bayán shall be put to proof.