Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Part 76

Deliver on my behalf longing greeting to his honor Mr. ........ .

When the friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful gather together on Sundays, in the spiritual a.s.semblies, exercise ye toward them, on behalf of this imprisoned one, the utmost affection, love and kindness.

Convey on behalf of this longing one the glad-tidings of the attainment to confirmation to his honor Mr. ........; that ere long he shall in such wise be a.s.sisted by the confirmations of the Kingdom of Abha that he, himself, will become astonished.

O ye members of the spiritual a.s.sembly! Become ye firm and steadfast in the Covenant and Testament to such a degree that your meeting become the expression of one soul and endeavor ye with your hearts and minds so that ye may become the cause of the illumination of this darkened world and that through your efforts the lights of the Kingdom dawn upon this nether sphere.

Whatever hath and will transpire in this land is through the conspiracy of the brothers who are not resting, neither day nor night, and are thirsting for the blood of Abdul-Baha. The government is not responsible at all.

These difficulties are brought about through the evil slanders and machinations of the nakazeen(202) .

"O thou whose heart is attracted and whose breast is..."

O thou(203) whose heart is attracted and whose breast is dilated with joy by the Holy Fragrances!

Give the glad-tidings to the a.s.semblies of the beloved who are firm in the Covenant and say:

"Verily the Lord hath manifested Himself in this new and wonderful age with the greatest bounty and mercy, which have never been preceded and whereof the eye of existence hath never seen the like; and it is His Great Covenant and New Testament, as appointed by the trace of His Supreme Pen, through which, and according to clear ordinances and explicit statements, the matter was plainly shown and the branches (sons), twigs (relations), kinsmen and beloved were commanded to obey the "appointed Center of the Covenant." But the Covenant of G.o.d and His Testament is a bounty to the righteous and a curse to the wicked.

"On hearing this Command some faces have rejoiced by this Glowing Lamp, and others become gloomy and in their hearts the fire of jealousy and rebellion hath been kindled. They disobeyed the Command of their Lord the Merciful, endeavored to spread lies and arose to divulge seditious rumors contrary to that which was descended from G.o.d. They imagine that they are able to resist this Power, which penetrates into the heart of the contingent world, or to cover the Truth through their false tongues and complicated opinions, and to withhold this Sea from surging, the holy fragrances from being spread, and the breaths of the Spirit of the Ancient from reaching the beloved! No, by no means! Verily, the Word of G.o.d penetrates into the core of all things and cannot be resisted either by the hosts of the world or by the armies of the enemies! In the past ages there is a warning to every intelligent one! Ye shall see their banners reversed, their sign abolished, their happiness destroyed in those regions in a similar way to the disappointment of their hopes in the East.

"But, as the people of the West are still children in the Cause(204) and have not perfect knowledge of its reality and validity, the nakazeen thought it to be an easy prey and availed themselves of this opportunity for laying doubts and suspicions, speaking false words, divulging seditious calumnies among the people. Ye shall see all this as scattered dust, and all these thick, dark clouds which were gathered in those far regions, will disappear and the Sun of Certainty and Reality shall s.h.i.+ne with the Most Dazzling Light; the darkness will vanish, the firm believers will be in great joy, and the nakazeen shall be in evident loss."

"O ye servants of G.o.d and maid-servants of the..."

O ye(205) servants of G.o.d and maid-servants of the Merciful!

The letter, which was in reality the congratulation for the entrance of the day of the anniversary of His Highness the Promised One, was received.

The names of the friends of G.o.d were read one after another and caused great joy.

I hope that upon the coming of each auspicious day the friends of G.o.d may become doubled, that is, may become twofold; that the gentle fragrances of the love of G.o.d may be spread so universally that large cohorts enter under the shadow of the Word of G.o.d in a short s.p.a.ce of time, and arise to serve, according to the heavenly instructions, in order that strife and warfare may vanish wholly from the human world, and the beauty of love, friends.h.i.+p and harmony may appear with such an appearance that all the intellects may become astonished, all the souls entranced and all the hearts attracted.

O ye friends! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful! Should ye realize in what a state this Tablet is written, a.s.suredly ye will soar heavenward with joy and exultations and begin to cry out: "Glad-tidings!

Glad-tidings!"

Today the whole world is heedless and ye are aware; all are in sleep and ye are wide awake; all are deprived and ye are the custodians of the mysteries of the Kingdom! Therefore, to render thanks for these bounties, open ye the tongue of praise and glorification and engage yourselves in the divine commemoration, in order that the confirmation may be added and the a.s.sistance may become renewed!

"O ye beloved! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!..."

O ye(206) beloved! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!

What a wonderful meeting ye have arranged and longed for the beauty of service and have arisen to spread the fragrances of G.o.d! Truly I declare, ye are confirmed by the cohorts of the Supreme Concourse and are reinforced and empowered by the Exalted Realm!

When the confirmation of the Holy Spirit descendeth, ye are not a drop, but a roaring sea! Ye are the stars of the horizon of guidance! If this committee become firm, it will grow and develop; if it remain steadfast, it will become a gift of the Almighty to the human world; if it last, it will display marvelous signs for the well-being of the children of man!

The hosts of the Kingdom of Abha are drawn and filed up in battle-array on the plain of the Supreme Apex and are expecting that a band of volunteers step upon the field of action with the intention of service; so that they may a.s.sist that band and make it victorious and triumphant.

O Thou Almighty G.o.d! Confirm Thou these friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Grant Thou to them a.s.sistance. Open Thou before their faces the closed doors and make them intimate with the fragrances of holiness, so that they may become the confident friends of each other; raise the melody and the song of joy and sing the harmony of heaven, in order that they may exhilarate and gladden the regions of the West and impart attraction and ecstasy!

Make Thou them the magnets of love so that they may attract the hearts to the Kingdom of Abha!

Verily, Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty; and Thou art the Giver, the Seer and the Hearer! There is no G.o.d but Thee, the Generous, the Merciful!

"O ye whom G.o.d hath chosen from among those who..."

O ye(207) whom G.o.d hath chosen from among those who are called!-know that "many are called but few are chosen"!-upon whom He caused the evident Light to descend; whom He guided into the right Path, and to whom He gave the Glad-tidings of the Great Success!

Ye must be sincere and faithful, ye must follow the ordinances which refer to the Covenant of G.o.d, who is the solid edifice.

O ye beloved of G.o.d, know that steadfastness and firmness in this new and wonderful Covenant is indeed the spirit that quickeneth the hearts which are overflowing with the love of the Glorious Lord; verily, it is the power which penetrates into the hearts of the people of the world! Your Lord hath a.s.suredly promised His servants who are firm and steadfast to render them victorious at all times, to exalt their word, propagate their power, diffuse their lights, strengthen their hearts, elevate their banners, a.s.sist their hosts, brighten their stars, increase the abundance of the showers of mercy upon them, and enable the brave lions (or teachers) to conquer.

Hasten, hasten, O ye firm believers! Hasten, hasten, O ye steadfast!

Abandon the heedless, set aside every ignorant, take hold of the strong rope, be firm in this Great Cause, draw light from this Evident Light, be patient and be steadfast in this wise Religion! Ye shall see the hosts of inspiration descending successively from the Supreme World, the procession of attraction falling incessantly from the heights of heaven, the abundance of the Kingdom of El-Abha outpouring continually and the teachings of G.o.d penetrating with the utmost power, while the heedless are indeed in evident loss.

"O ye esteemed maid-servants of G.o.d, and ye revered..."

O ye(208) esteemed maid-servants of G.o.d, and ye revered beloved ones (or men believers) of the Merciful!

Your letter was received and its contents noted. The maid-servant of G.o.d, she who hath ascended to heaven, i.e., Mrs. ........, hastened from this mortal world to the divine world and soared from this temporal realm to the expanse of the Kingdom. She abandoned the earthly cage and flew toward the bower of the upper world; so that, like unto a nightingale of significances, she may, in that divine rose-garden, engage in praising, glorifying and sanctifying the True One, with the most marvelous melody.

Consequently, do ye not sigh in grief of her decease, and be not dejected on account of her ascension.

To the people of adoration, death is an ark of deliverance, and to pure souls, flight from this world of dust is the means of attaining the Kingdom of Spheres. By "Spheres" is not meant this infinite s.p.a.ce, nay, is meant the divine world, and the invisible realm.

To be brief: I hope her n.o.ble son may seek the Path wherein his mother walked, and may become better and more ill.u.s.trious; nay, rather, the lights of his love may also take effect in his grand parents.

As to ye who are friends of that bird of the meadow of guidance, ye must, after her, have such unison, love, a.s.sociation and unity that it may make things better and more favorable than they were during her days.

Praise be to G.o.d! the divine bounty favors all of you, he doors of gifts are open before the faces of you all, and the radiance of the Sun of Truth is s.h.i.+ning upon you all. Capacity, worth (or merit) and ability, are necessary, for the clearer and purer the mirror is, the lights of the Sun are more manifest thereon.