Selections From the Writings of the Bab Part 11

Better is it for a person to write down but one of His verses than to transcribe the whole of the Bayan and all the books which have been written in the Dispensation of the Bayan. For everything shall be set aside except His Writings, which will endure until the following Revelation. And should anyone inscribe with true faith but one letter of that Revelation, his recompense would be greater than for inscribing all the heavenly Writings of the past and all that has been written during previous Dispensations. Likewise continue thou to ascend through one Revelation after another, knowing that thy progress in the Knowledge of G.o.d shall never come to an end, even as it can have no beginning. VII, 13.

"O People of the Bayan! Be on your guard; for on the ..."

O People of the Bayan! Be on your guard; for on the Day of Resurrection no one shall find a place to flee to. He will s.h.i.+ne forth suddenly, and will p.r.o.nounce judgement as He pleaseth. If it be His wish He will cause the abased to be exalted, and the exalted to be abased, even as He did in the Bayan, couldst thou but understand. And no one but Him is equal unto this.

Whatever He ordaineth will be fulfilled, and nothing will remain unfulfilled. VII, 9.

"Since all men have issued forth from the shadow of the ..."

Since all men have issued forth from the shadow of the signs of His Divinity and Lords.h.i.+p, they always tend to take a path, lofty and high.

And because they are bereft of a discerning eye to recognize their Beloved, they fall short of their duty to manifest meekness and humility towards Him. Nevertheless, from the beginning of their lives till the end thereof, in conformity with the laws established in the previous religion, they wors.h.i.+p G.o.d, piously adore Him, bow themselves before His divine Reality and show submissiveness toward His exalted Essence. At the hour of His manifestation, however, they all turn their gaze toward their own selves and are thus shut out from Him, inasmuch as they fancifully regard Him as one like unto themselves. Far from the glory of G.o.d is such a comparison. Indeed that august Being resembleth the physical sun, His verses are like its rays, and all believers, should they truly believe in Him, are as mirrors wherein the sun is reflected. Their light is thus a mere reflection. VII, 15.

"O People of the Bayan! If ye believe in Him Whom G.o.d ..."

O People of the Bayan! If ye believe in Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest, to your own behoof do ye believe. He hath been and ever will remain independent of all men. For instance, were ye to place unnumbered mirrors before the sun, they would all reflect the sun and produce impressions thereof, whereas the sun is in itself wholly independent of the existence of the mirrors and of the suns which they reproduce. Such are the bounds of the contingent beings in their relation to the manifestation of the Eternal Being...

In this day no less than seventy thousand people make pilgrimage every year to the holy House of G.o.d in compliance with the bidding of the Apostle of G.o.d; while He Himself Who ordained this ordinance took refuge for seven years in the mountains of Mecca. And this notwithstanding that the One Who enjoined this commandment is far greater than the commandment itself. Hence all this people who at this time go on pilgrimage do not do so with true understanding, otherwise in this Day of His Return which is mightier than His former Dispensation, they would have followed His commandment. But now behold what hath happened. People who profess belief in His former religion, who in the daytime and in the night season bow down in wors.h.i.+p in His Name, have a.s.signed Him to a dwelling place in a mountain, while each one of them would regard attaining recognition of Him as an honour. VII, 15.

"The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments ..."

The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of G.o.d, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved. Let not thy tongue pay lip service in praise of G.o.d while thy heart be not attuned to the exalted Summit of Glory, and the Focal Point of communion. Thus if haply thou dost live in the Day of Resurrection, the mirror of thy heart will be set towards Him Who is the Day-Star of Truth; and no sooner will His light s.h.i.+ne forth than the splendour thereof shall forthwith be reflected in thy heart. For He is the Source of all goodness, and unto Him revert all things. But if He appeareth while thou hast turned unto thyself in meditation, this shall not profit thee, unless thou shalt mention His Name by words He hath revealed. For in the forthcoming Revelation it is He Who is the Remembrance of G.o.d, whereas the devotions which thou art offering at present have been prescribed by the Point of the Bayan, while He Who will s.h.i.+ne resplendent in the Day of Resurrection is the Revelation of the inner reality enshrined in the Point of the Bayan-a Revelation more potent, immeasurably more potent, than the one which hath preceded it. IX, 4.

"It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, ..."

It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate G.o.d to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents. Thereupon G.o.d's call will be raised: 'Thousand upon thousand of what thou hast asked for thy parents shall be thy recompense!' Blessed is he who remembereth his parents when communing with G.o.d. There is, verily, no G.o.d but Him, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved. VIII, 16.

"As this physical frame is the throne of the inner temple, ..."

As this physical frame is the throne of the inner temple, whatever occurs to the former is felt by the latter. In reality that which takes delight in joy or is saddened by pain is the inner temple of the body, not the body itself. Since this physical body is the throne whereon the inner temple is established, G.o.d hath ordained that the body be preserved to the extent possible, so that nothing that causeth repugnance may be experienced. The inner temple beholdeth its physical frame, which is its throne. Thus, if the latter is accorded respect, it is as if the former is the recipient. The converse is likewise true.

Therefore, it hath been ordained that the dead body should be treated with the utmost honour and respect. V, 12.

"At the time of the appearance of Him Whom G.o.d shall ..."

At the time of the appearance of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest, wert thou to perform thy deeds for the sake of the Point of the Bayan, they would be regarded as performed for one other than G.o.d, inasmuch as on that Day the Point of the Bayan is none other than Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest...

It is for this reason that at the beginning of every Dispensation a vast mult.i.tude, who fondly imagine that their deeds are for G.o.d, become drowned and unG.o.dly, and perceive this not, except such as He guideth at His behest.

It is better for a man to guide a soul than to possess all that lies between East and West. Likewise better is guidance for him who is guided than all the things that exist on earth, for by reason of this guidance he will, after his death, gain admittance into Paradise, whereas by reason of the things of the world below, he will, after his death, receive his deserts. Hence G.o.d desireth that all men should be guided aright through the potency of the Words of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest. However, such as are conceited will not suffer themselves to be guided. They will be debarred from the Truth, some by reason of their learning, others on account of their glory and power, and still others due to reasons of their own, none of which shall be of any avail at the hour of death.

Take thou good heed that ye may all, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Him Who is the Source of Divine Guidance, be enabled to direct thy steps aright upon the Bridge, which is sharper than the sword and finer than a hair, so that perchance the things which from the beginning of thy life till the end thou hast performed for the love of G.o.d, may not, all at once and unrealized by thyself, be turned to acts not acceptable in the sight of G.o.d. Verily G.o.d guideth whom He will into the path of absolute cert.i.tude.

VII, 2.

"Everyone is eagerly awaiting His appearance, yet since ..."

Everyone is eagerly awaiting His appearance, yet since their inner eyes are not directed towards Him sorrow must needs befall Him. In the case of the Apostle of G.o.d-may the blessings of G.o.d rest upon Him-before the revelation of the Qur'an everyone bore witness to His piety and n.o.ble virtues. Behold Him then after the revelation of the Qur'an. What outrageous insults were levelled against Him, as indeed the pen is ashamed to recount. Likewise behold the Point of the Bayan. His behaviour prior to the declaration of His mission is clearly evident unto those who knew Him.

Now, following His manifestation, although He hath, up to the present, revealed no less than five hundred thousand verses on different subjects, behold what calumnies are uttered, so unseemly that the pen is stricken with shame at the mention of them. But if all men were to observe the ordinances of G.o.d no sadness would befall that heavenly Tree. VI, 11.

"The acts of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest are like ..."

The acts of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest are like unto the sun, while the works of men, provided they conform to the good-pleasure of G.o.d, resemble the stars or the moon... Thus, should the followers of the Bayan observe the precepts of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest at the time of His appearance, and regard themselves and their own works as stars exposed to the light of the sun, then they will have gathered the fruits of their existence; otherwise the t.i.tle of 'stars.h.i.+p' will not apply to them.

Rather it will apply to such as truly believe in Him, to those who pale into insignificance in the day-time and gleam forth with light in the night season.

Such indeed is the fruit of this precept, should anyone observe it on the Day of Resurrection. This is the essence of all learning and of all righteous deeds, should anyone but attain unto it. Had the peoples of the world fixed their gaze upon this principle, no Exponent of divine Revelation would ever have, at the inception of any Dispensation, regarded them as things of naught. However, the fact is that during the night season everyone perceiveth the light which he himself, according to his own capacity, giveth out, oblivious that at the break of day this light shall fade away and be reduced to utter nothingness before the dazzling splendour of the sun.

The light of the people of the world is their knowledge and utterance; while the splendours shed from the glorious acts of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest are His Words, through whose potency He rolleth up the whole world of existence, sets it under His Own authority by relating it unto Himself, then as the Mouthpiece of G.o.d, the Source of His divine light-exalted and glorified be He-proclaimeth: 'Verily, verily, I am G.o.d, no G.o.d is there but Me; in truth all others except Me are My creatures.

Say, O My creatures! Me alone, therefore, should ye fear'. VIII, 1.

"Know thou that in the Bayan purification is regarded as ..."