Selections From the Writings of the Bab Part 4

_Chapter IX._

"Glorified is He besides Whom there is none other G.o.d. ..."

Glorified is He besides Whom there is none other G.o.d. In His grasp He holdeth the source of authority, and verily G.o.d is powerful over all things. We have decreed that every long life shall in truth suffer decline(17) and that every hards.h.i.+p shall be followed by ease,(18) that perchance men may recognise the Gate of G.o.d as He Who is the eternal Truth, and verily G.o.d shall stand as witness unto those that have believed. _Chapter XIII._

"O ye servants of G.o.d! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye ..."

O ye servants of G.o.d! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye asked of Him remaineth unanswered, inasmuch as He hath been commanded by G.o.d to observe silence, a silence which is in truth praiseworthy. We have indeed enabled Thee to truly see in Thy dream a measure of Our Cause, but wert Thou to acquaint them with the hidden Mystery, they would dispute its truth among themselves. Verily Thy Lord, the G.o.d of truth, knoweth the very secrets of hearts(19) ...

O peoples of the world! Whatsoever ye have offered up in the way of the One True G.o.d, ye shall indeed find preserved by G.o.d, the Preserver, intact at G.o.d's Holy Gate. O peoples of the earth! Bear ye allegiance unto this resplendent light wherewith G.o.d hath graciously invested Me through the power of infallible Truth, and walk not in the footsteps of the Evil One,(20) inasmuch as he prompteth you to disbelieve in G.o.d, your Lord, and verily G.o.d will not forgive disbelief in Himself, though He will forgive other sins to whomsoever He pleaseth.(21) Indeed His knowledge embraceth all things... _Chapter XVII._

"O Peoples of the East and the West! Be ye fearful of G.o.d ..."

O Peoples of the East and the West! Be ye fearful of G.o.d concerning the Cause of the true Joseph and barter Him not for a paltry price(22) established by yourselves, or for a trifle of your earthly possessions, that ye may, in very truth, be praised by Him as those who are reckoned among the pious who stand nigh unto this Gate. Verily G.o.d hath deprived of His grace him who martyred ?usayn, Our forefather, lonely and forsaken as He was upon the land of Taff [Karbila]. Yazid, the son of Mu'aviyih, out of corrupt desire, bartered away the head of the true Joseph to the fiendish people for a trifling price and a petty sum from his property.

Verily they repudiated G.o.d by committing a grievous error. Erelong will G.o.d wreak His vengeance upon them, at the time of Our Return, and He hath, in very truth, prepared for them, in the world to come, a severe torment.

_Chapter XXI._

"O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! We have, verily, dilated Thine ..."

O Qurratu'l-'ayn!(23) We have, verily, dilated Thine heart in this Revelation, which stands truly unique from all created things, and have exalted Thy name through the manifestation of the Bab, so that men may become aware of Our transcendent power, and recognize that G.o.d is immeasurably sanctified above the praise of all men. He is verily independent of the whole of creation. _Chapter XXIII._

"The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, ..."

The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, descend, by the leave of G.o.d, upon this Gate(24) ...' and circle round this Focal Point in a far-stretching line. Greet them with salutations, O Qurratu'l-'Ayn, for the dawn hath indeed broken; then proclaim unto the concourse of the faithful: 'Is not the rising of the Morn, foreshadowed in the Mother Book, to be near at hand?(25)

O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Turn Thou eagerly unto G.o.d in Thy Cause, for the peoples of the world have risen in iniquity, and but for the outpouring of the grace of G.o.d and Thy mercy unto them, no one could purge even a single soul for evermore.(26) O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! The life to come is indeed far more advantageous unto Thee and unto such as follow Thy Cause than this earthly life and its pleasures. This is what hath been foreordained according to the dispensations of Providence...

O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Say: Verily I am the 'Gate of G.o.d' and I give you to drink, by the leave of G.o.d, the sovereign Truth, of the crystal-pure waters of His Revelation which are gus.h.i.+ng out from the incorruptible Fountain situate upon the Holy Mount. And those who earnestly strive after the One True G.o.d, let them then strive to attain this Gate.(27) Verily G.o.d is potent over all things...

O peoples of the earth! Give ear unto G.o.d's holy Voice proclaimed by this Arabian Youth Whom the Almighty hath graciously chosen for His Own Self.

He is indeed none other than the True One, Whom G.o.d hath entrusted with this Mission from the midst of the Burning Bush. O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Unravel what Thou pleasest from the secrets of the All-Glorious, for the ocean is surging high(28) at the behest of the incomparable Lord. _Chapter XXIV._

"Are ye wickedly scheming, according to your selfish ..."

Are ye wickedly scheming, according to your selfish fancies, an evil plot against Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance of G.o.d? By the righteousness of G.o.d, all who are in the heaven and on earth and whatsoever lieth between them are regarded in My sight even as a spider's web,(29) and verily G.o.d beareth witness unto all things. Indeed they will not lay plots but against themselves. G.o.d hath caused this Remembrance to be, in very truth, independent of all the dwellers of earth and heaven. _Chapter XXV._

"O ye peoples of the earth! During the time of My ..."

O ye peoples of the earth! During the time of My absence I sent down the Gates unto you. However the believers, except for a handful, obeyed them not. Formerly I sent forth unto you A?mad and more recently Kazim, but apart from the pure in heart amongst you no one followed them. What hath befallen you, O people of the Book? Will ye not fear the One true G.o.d, He Who is your Lord, the Ancient of Days?... O ye who profess belief in G.o.d!

I adjure you by Him Who is the Eternal Truth, have ye discerned among the precepts of these Gates anything inconsistent with the commandments of G.o.d as set forth in this Book? Hath your learning deluded you by reason of your impiety? Take ye heed then, for verily your G.o.d, the Lord of Eternal Truth, is with you and in very truth is watchful over you... _Chapter XXVII._

"O ye kinsmen of the Most Great Remembrance! This ..."

O ye kinsmen of the Most Great Remembrance! This Tree of Holiness, dyed crimson with the oil of servitude, hath verily sprung forth out of your own soil in the midst of the Burning Bush, yet ye comprehend nothing whatever thereof, neither of His true, heavenly attributes, nor of the actual circ.u.mstances of His earthly life, nor of the evidences of His powerful and unblemished behaviour. Actuated by your own fancies, you consider Him to be alien to the sovereign Truth, while in the estimation of G.o.d He is none other than the Promised One Himself, invested with the power of the sovereign Truth, and verily He is, as decreed in the Mother Book, held answerable in the midst of the Burning Bush...

O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Deliver the summons of the most exalted Word unto the handmaids among Thy kindred, caution them against the Most Great Fire and announce unto them the joyful tidings that following this mighty Covenant there shall be everlasting reunion with G.o.d in the Paradise of His good-pleasure, nigh unto the Seat of Holiness. Verily G.o.d, the Lord of creation, is potent over all things.

O Thou Mother of the Remembrance! May the peace and salutation of G.o.d rest upon thee. Indeed thou hast endured patiently in Him Who is the sublime Self of G.o.d. Recognize then the station of thy Son Who is none other than the mighty Word of G.o.d. He hath verily pledged Himself to be answerable for thee both in thy grave and on the Judgement Day, while thou hast, in the Preserved Tablet of G.o.d, been immortalized as the 'Mother of the Faithful' by the Pen of His Remembrance. _Chapter XXVIII._

"O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Stretch not Thy hands wide open ..."

O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Stretch not Thy hands wide open in the Cause, inasmuch as the people would find themselves in a state of stupor by reason of the Mystery, and I swear by the true, Almighty G.o.d that there is yet for Thee another turn after this Dispensation.

And when the appointed hour hath struck, do Thou, by the leave of G.o.d, the All-Wise, reveal from the heights of the Most Lofty and Mystic Mount a faint, an infinitesimal glimmer of Thy impenetrable Mystery, that they who have recognized the radiance of the Sinaic Splendour may faint away and die as they catch a lightning glimpse of the fierce and crimson Light that envelops Thy Revelation. And G.o.d is, in very truth, Thine unfailing Protector. _Chapter XXVIII._

"O People of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious ..."

O People of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious honour which the supreme Remembrance of G.o.d hath conferred upon you? Verily ye have been especially favoured by G.o.d through this mighty Word. Then do not withdraw from the sanctuary of His presence, for, by the righteousness of the One true G.o.d, He is none other than the sovereign Truth from G.o.d; He is the most exalted One and the Source of all wisdom, as decreed in the Mother Book...