Selections From the Writings of the Bab Part 7

Whenever the people ask Thee of the appointed Hour say: Verily the knowledge of it is only with My Lord,(46) Who is the Knower of the unseen.

There is none other G.o.d but Him-He Who hath created you from a single soul,(47) and I have no control over what profiteth Me or harmeth Me, but as My Lord pleaseth.(48) Indeed G.o.d is Self-Sufficient and He, My Lord, standeth supreme over all things. _Chapter LXIX._

"Doth it seem strange to the people that We should have ..."

Doth it seem strange to the people that We should have revealed the Book to a man from among themselves in order to purge them and give them the good tidings that they shall be rewarded with a sure stance in the presence of their Lord? He indeed beareth witness unto all things...

When the verses of this Book are recited to the infidels they say: 'Give us a book like the Qur'an and make changes in the verses.' Say: 'G.o.d hath not given Me that I should change them at My pleasure.' I follow only what is revealed unto Me. Verily, I shall fear My Lord on the Day of Separation, whose advent He hath, in very truth, irrevocably ordained.(49) _Chapter LXXI._

"O Peoples of the earth! Verily the true G.o.d calleth ..."

O Peoples of the earth! Verily the true G.o.d calleth saying: He Who is the Remembrance is indeed the sovereign Truth from G.o.d, and naught remaineth beyond truth but error,(50) and naught is there beyond error save fire, irrevocably ordained...

O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Point to Thy truthful breast through the power of truth and exclaim: I swear by the One true G.o.d, herein lieth the vicegerency of G.o.d; I am indeed the One Who is regarded as the Best Reward(51) and I am indeed He Who is the Most Excellent Abode. _Chapter LXXII._

"O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of ..."

O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of denial against Me once the Truth is made manifest, for indeed the mandate of the Bab hath befittingly been proclaimed unto you in the Qur'an aforetime. I swear by your Lord, this Book is verily the same Qur'an which was sent down in the past. _Chapter Lx.x.xI._

"O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the ..."

O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the melodies of this mystic Bird warbling in the loftiest heights of heaven. The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me to proclaim: Verily, verily, I am G.o.d, He besides Whom there is none other G.o.d. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.

O My servants! Seek ye earnestly this highest reward, as I have indeed created for the Remembrance of G.o.d gardens which remain inscrutable to anyone save Myself, and naught therein hath been made lawful unto anyone except those whose lives have been sacrificed in His Path. Hence beseech ye G.o.d, the Most Exalted, that He may grant you this meritorious reward, and He is in truth the Most High, the Most Great. Had it been Our wish, We would have brought all men into one fold round Our Remembrance, yet they will not cease to differ,(52) unless G.o.d accomplish what He willeth through the power of truth. In the estimation of the Remembrance this commandment hath, in very truth, been irrevocably ordained...

G.o.d hath indeed chosen Thee to warn the people, to guide the believers aright and to elucidate the secrets of the Book. _Chapter Lx.x.xV._

"Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, ..."

Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of Our Cause....

Truly other apostles have been laughed to scorn before Thee,(53) and Thou art none other but the Servant of G.o.d, sustained by the power of Truth.

Ere long We shall prolong the days of such as have rejected the Truth by reason of that which their hands have wrought,(54) and verily G.o.d will not deal unjustly with anyone, even to the extent of a speck on a date-stone.

_Chapter Lx.x.xVII._

"O ye peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of G.o.d, ..."

O ye peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of G.o.d, the True One, the testimony shown forth by His Remembrance is like unto a sun which the hand of the merciful Lord hath raised high in the midmost heart of the heaven, wherefrom it s.h.i.+neth in the plenitude of its meridian splendour...

With each and every Prophet Whom We have sent down in the past, We have established a separate Covenant concerning the Remembrance of G.o.d and His Day. Manifest, in the realm of glory and through the power of truth, are the Remembrance of G.o.d and His Day before the eyes of the angels that circle His mercy-seat. _Chapter XCI._

"O Hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the ..."

O Hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the divine Luminary sheddeth its radiance from the Dayspring of this Gate, call thou to mind that the appointed Day of G.o.d will indeed be at hand in less than the twinkling of an eye. Thus hath the decree of G.o.d been issued in the Mother Book. _Chapter XCIV._

"O Concourse of the faithful! Verily the object of each ..."

O Concourse of the faithful! Verily the object of each and every sign revealed by G.o.d in the Scriptures or in the world at large or in the hearts of men is but to make them fully realize that this Remembrance is indeed the True One from G.o.d. Verily G.o.d is cognizant of all things through the power of eternal Truth...

O ye that circle the throne of glory! Hearken unto My Call which is raised from the midst of the Burning Bush, 'Verily I am G.o.d and there is none other G.o.d but Me. Hence wors.h.i.+p Me, and for the sake of Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance, offer ye prayers, purged from the insinuations of the people, for verily your Lord, the One true G.o.d, is none other than the Sovereign Truth. Indeed such as invoke others besides Him are deservedly numbered among the inmates of the fire, while He Who is the Remembrance of G.o.d verily abideth, firm and undeviating, on the Path of Truth amidst the Burning Bush.'...

O peoples of the earth! Inflict not upon the Most Great Remembrance what the Umayyads cruelly inflicted upon ?usayn in the Holy Land. By the righteousness of G.o.d, the True One, He is indeed the Eternal Truth, and unto Him G.o.d, verily, is a witness. _Chapter XVII._

"G.o.d had, in truth, proposed Our Mission unto the ..."

G.o.d had, in truth, proposed Our Mission unto the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid thereof.

However, Man, this 'Ali, Who is none other but the Great Remembrance of G.o.d, undertook to bear it. Hence G.o.d, the All-Encompa.s.sing, hath referred to Him in His Preserved Book as the 'Wronged One', and by reason of His being undistinguished before the eyes of men, He hath, according to the judgement of the Book, been ent.i.tled 'the Unknown'...(55)

Erelong We will, in very truth, torment such as waged war against ?usayn [Imam ?usayn], in the Land of the Euphrates, with the most afflictive torment, and the most dire and exemplary punishment....

G.o.d knoweth well the heart of ?usayn, the heat of His burning thirst and His long-suffering for the sake of G.o.d, the Incomparable, the Ancient of Days; and unto Him G.o.d is verily a witness. _Chapter XII._