Apocalyptic imagery: upheaval, unveiling, and renewal

Nevertheless, O Questioner! Hearken unto My voice which sayeth: "Open thine eyes that thou mayest behold the Most Great Beauty, through Whom speaketh the Lord of divine decree. By God! Through Him the 'Hour' hath appeared, and the 'Resurrection' hath come to pass, and the 'Moon' hath been cleft asunder and thou wouldst behold all in a 'continuing Regeneration' if thou be of them that possess insight.

Say: O people! Do ye hesitate concerning Him by Whom the heaven was cleft asunder, the moon was split, and the Caller called out from the direction of a mighty throne? Have not the signs been sent down? Have not the tokens appeared? By God! The heaven of idle fancies hath been split and the All-Merciful hath come, surrounded by hosts of revelation and inspiration.

The path hath become smooth, the way straightened, the carpet of the Kingdom is spread, the Tabernacle hath been elevated upon the Hill of Might, the powers of heaven have been shaken, the corners of the earth have quaked, the sun has been darkened, the moon ceased to give light, the stars have fallen, the nations of the earth have lamented, and the Son of Man hath come upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and He hath sent His angels with the sound of the great trumpet, and no one knows the meaning of these emblems save the wise and informed.

This is why He says: "Then there shall be another blast, and lo! they shall rise and gaze around them: And the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord." And from the second blast, spiritual realities and celestial essences shall find life and shall be set in motion by the dawning of the Sun of Truth. This second blast is the appearance of the Ancient Beauty, "Him Whom God shall make manifest."

Then He saith "the Day of the Blast - and knowest thou what is the Blast?" All that descendeth from that Tree is either in affirmation of truth or in negation of negation. The negation of negation is the blast of death, like thy saying "There is no god," and the affirmation of affirmation is the blast of life, like thy saying "but God."

"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." Three days and a half, as we explained earlier, is 1,260 years. These two Persons whose bodies were lying soulless--that is, the teachings and the religion that Muhammad had established and that 'Ali had promoted, whose reality had vanished, and of which only an empty form had remained--were again endowed with spirit; that is to say, those teachings were established anew.

It runs as follows:

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the Sun, and the moon under her feet," means the Law of God which descended upon Mohammed, the Apostle of God. "Clothed with the Sun and the moon under her feet," refers to the two great kingdoms which are under the power of that brilliant Law.

As for the revelations of John, those twenty-four will all be unveiled later - it is not possible now.

Then know that the return of the Family of God has not occurred, and the Hour is coming, the Resurrection has arisen, Paradise has drawn near, Hell has been kindled, and the beasts have been gathered. I seek refuge with God from false judgment. All that is pure falsehood. By your life, all that will appear afterwards and is established with justice.

When Our Cause cometh, it shall come upon you suddenly, with mighty truth. Verily this Day is the truth from your Lord.

On that Day ye shall not possess even a particle of knowledge from the Book, cut off in truth by the truth. The Kingdom on that Day shall belong in truth to the All-Merciful, and ye shall not be able to utter a word, nay not even a whisper.

… Verily We have ordained upon the earth its quaking, and none can turn back God's true command save that the earth cast forth its burdens. On that Day shall man witness what hath been on earth of its possessions.

When the Resurrection comes and the Hour arrives and the Calamity approaches and the earth quakes with its quaking and the heaven splits with its layers and the mountains are blown away and the trees uprooted and the seas boil and the beasts are gathered and the Balance is set up and the fires blaze and Paradise draws near and the Path is extended and the Signs speak - can any objector object as to why the suns are folded and the moons eclipsed or the stars effaced and the shooting stars succeed one another?

Praise be to God Who, through the manifestation of His Self, has caused the suns to be folded up, the stars to be darkened, the mountains to be scattered, the earth to quake, its burdens to be brought forth, the heaven to be cleft asunder, the waters to overflow, every nursing mother to forget what she nursed, every pregnant one to lay down her burden, souls to be raised up in drunkenness, the straight path to be extended, the pavilion to be raised up, the balance to be set up, the weights to appear, the trumpet to be blown, those in the graves to be raised, the companions of the right hand to attain the garden of delight, the companions of the left hand to be grieved in the hell of error, the veil to be removed, the barrier to be lifted, the Manifester of the Mount to be revealed on the Day of Resurrection, and the earth to shine with the light of its Lord - while the heedless remain in their stupor, unconscious of when they shall be raised.

The Hour hath come to pass, the Resurrection, the gathering and raising of the dead have appeared, the earth hath quaked, the seas have boiled, the heaven hath been cleft asunder, the sun hath been folded up, the stars have been scattered, the Balance hath been set up, the Bridge hath been extended, the fires have been kindled, Paradise hath been brought nigh, the palaces have been adorned, the gardens have been embellished, and the fountains have gushed forth, the trees have been beautified in this witnessed Day.

Lo! The gardens have been adorned! The Kawthar and Salsabil have gushed forth! The dove hath warbled! The birds have sung! The lions have roared! The fish have swum! The earth hath quaked! The mountains have moved! The seas have boiled! The heaven hath been cleft! The sun hath been folded up! The stars have been scattered! The Hour hath arrived! The great catastrophe hath appeared! Paradise hath been brought near! The Fire hath been kindled!

O loved ones of God and His chosen ones! Verily the earth is in convulsion and the heaven is being cleft asunder, and verily the seas are boiling over and the mountains are passing away, and verily the Balance is set up and the Path is laid out, and verily the fires are raging and the depths are plunging, and verily the stars are being scattered and the tempest continues, and the trunks of palm trees are being uprooted, and the Manifest Luminary with the light of certitude grows dark, and the crystal water springs forth in the midst of the Garden of Delight, and Kawthar and Tasnim flow in a mighty paradise, and the righteous are singing and rejoicing and being gladdened while the forsaken are grieving and despairing and trembling - these in everlasting bliss and those in painful hell. And the Day was one and the Light was one and the Manifestation was one and the Call was one, yet souls were at great variance and creation was in ranks differing from each other by a straight line. Blessed are they whose consciences are pure and whose inner secrets are good and whose nature is refined and whose capacity is expanded and whose minds are clear and whose vision is precise and whose sight is sharp and whose joy is increased and whose gladness is great. By the life of God, their triumph is mighty!

Although the signs of the Most Great Resurrection and the Supreme Catastrophe were specific to the Day of the Manifestation of the Revealer of Sinai, yet His ordinances continue and His outpouring descends and His light shines forth and His dawn gleams bright. For every age has its Day and every cycle is the extended period between two Manifestations. Now, although the Sun of the Great Resurrection has outwardly set, yet its ordinances are in truth flowing and perfect. This is why you observe that today the ordinances of gathering and dispersion are clear and evident. Therefore O friends of God, be ever intoxicated and inebriated by the trumpet blast and the cry of the Most Forgiving Lord, and forget not for a moment the outpourings of the Most Glorious Beauty - may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones. That ancient grace and that mighty favor continues and endures and remains and persists, and "We shall show you from My Most Glorious Horizon" is the sweetest utterance. Therefore we must turn our attention and receive the outpouring.

O friends and chosen ones of God! By God the True One, verily the suns have been folded up, and the stars have been scattered, and the heaven has been cleft asunder, and the earth has been shaken with convulsions, and the mountains have been scattered as dust, and the palm trunks have been uprooted, and the seas have overflowed on the day when the earth shone with the light of its Lord and was illumined, and the sky thundered and flashed lightning, and overflowed with pouring rain and flooded forth, and the manifest light appeared, and the dawn of the Face shone forth, and the luminous moon beamed, and the veil of concealment was removed from the Ancient Root, and the mighty Treasure emerged, and the merciful signs of thy Lord, the Possessor of Great Bounty, spread far and wide.

Woe unto the deniers, and misery to the heedless, and abasement to those who have gone astray, who denied the signs of God and rejected the evidences of God and associated partners with the Beauty of God and disputed the proof of God - these are in manifest error.

And verily you, O friends and trustees of God, give thanks to God for gathering you beneath His banner and perfecting His favor and blessings upon you, and pouring forth upon you the outpouring of His knowledge, and bringing you out of darkness and surrounding you with lights. And glory be upon every steadfast one who stands firm.

O friends of the Lord God! In this Most Great Cycle when the Pre-existent Sun has risen and shone forth from the horizons of the nations, and through Its infinite bounties has illumined the East and West of contingent being, and through the breezes from the gardens of the Kingdom has bestowed the spirit of life upon all directions, and with the sweet fragrance of the flowers of the meadows of inner meanings has perfumed the nostrils of the people of understanding - He has brought about a resurrection and raised high the banner of protection, He has established the true Balance and extended the Straight Path, He has spread out the land of gathering and made manifest the assembling and dispersing.

The waves of the angels of the Concourse on High have arrived successively like billows, and the hosts of the Supreme Assembly have appeared consecutively like flights of birds in the manifest horizon. He has laid the foundation of the new Cycle in this glorious Age and established a mighty edifice in this wondrous and enduring world. He has opened the gates of the Kingdom and shown the way of salvation and life. He has adorned the rose-garden of infinite bounty and embellished the gathering of divine manifestation. He has opened wide the hand of bestowal and shown forth the white hand [of Moses]. He has invited all to the outstretched feasts and called everyone to the spread table of bounty. He has given every atom the capacity to receive divine grace and bestowed upon every drop the surge and swell of vast oceans of favor - so that all may unite and, taking refuge in the divine Covenant under the shade of one Word, arise with the utmost power and might to exalt the Word of God and engage in diffusing the divine fragrances, and sacrifice our lives in His path and strive with heart and soul and surge and seethe until the holy fragrances perfume the world and the raptures of holiness conquer the hearts and minds of the nations; until the divine fire blazes forth at the pole of contingent being and the flame of the Mount burns up the heart of existence; until the life-giving breezes make the trees of being green and verdant and the soul-stirring melodies of the celestial psalms bring delight to the ears of the Concourse on High.

Now hearts are still and souls are silent and faces are veiled and breasts are unopened. These are signs of faithlessness, not qualities of faithfulness; marks of lethargy, not glad-tidings of the All-Loving Lord.

Therefore, O friends of God, come, let us raise our heads from the ancient pillow and brighten our eyes with the manifest light and arise as we ought and should to fulfill our pledge, and sacrifice our lives in this path and burn and be content - until the horizon of the world becomes illumined and the furnace of the world becomes a rose garden and the signs of the Most Great Name become established at the pole of the world.

Hear ye the trumpet blast, drink ye from the cup whose mixture is of camphor, taste from the spring of Tasnim, and find the delicacy of the breezes from the divine gardens.

I entreat Thee by Thy Name through which the Hour hath struck, and the Resurrection came to pass, and fear and trembling seized all that are in heaven and all that are on earth, to rain down, out of the heaven of Thy mercy and the clouds of Thy tender compassion, what will gladden the hearts of Thy servants, who have turned towards Thee and helped Thy Cause.

I beseech Thee by the Name through which the trumpet was sounded and the dwellers of the graves arose, and through which Beauty was made manifest and the mountains were set in motion, to grant me the Kawthar of bounty from the hands of Thy favors and the choice wine of steadfastness through Thy grace and sovereignty.

And say: Praise be unto Thee for having bestowed Thy favor upon this servant of Thine and guided him to the straight path, and made firm the foundation, and granted success in remaining steadfast on a Day when the pillars of all created things were shaken, and the hearts of all beings were set ablaze, and every pregnant one cast forth her burden, and every nursing mother became heedless of the child she was nursing.

This is the terror of resurrection and the horror of loss in this world and the next! This is the fear when every pregnant woman shall lay down her burden, the dread when every nursing mother shall forget her nursling, and the terror when thou shalt see mankind as in a drunken state, yet they are not drunk: but severe is the chastisement of God!

Say: By God! The blast hath been blown on the trumpet, and lo, mankind hath swooned away before us! The Herald hath cried out, and the Summoner raised His voice saying: "The Kingdom is God's, the Most Powerful, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."

This is the Day on which all eyes shall stare up with terror, the Day in which the hearts of them that dwell on earth shall tremble, save them whom thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, pleaseth to deliver.

O Most Generous, Most Glorious One! Have the verses been sent down? Say: Yea, by the Lord of the heavens! Has the Hour come? Nay, it has passed, and the Manifestor of clear proofs has come. The Inevitable has come to pass and the Truth has come with proof and evidence. The Wakeful One has appeared and creation is in turmoil and agitation. The earthquakes have come and the tribes have wailed out of fear of God, the Mighty, the Compelling. Say: The Deafening Blast has cried out and this Day belongs to God, the One, the Chosen.

He hath arisen to establish His Cause with a power whereby the Resurrection hath come to pass, the Hour hath struck, the Reality hath appeared and the Great Calamity hath occurred.

By the life of God! The Hour hath come, and the Sure Truth hath appeared, and the Trump hath sounded, and the Trumpet hath been blown, and all who are in the heavens and on earth have swooned away, save those whom thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath willed.

By God! The Cry hath been raised, the mountains have passed away, the Balance hath been set up, the Trumpet hath been blown, and all who are in earth and heaven have swooned away, save whom God, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath willed.

O Israfil! By the life of God, the Trumpet hath been sounded, and all who are in the heavens and on the earth have swooned away, save only certain letters of the face of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

The Balance hath been set up and the Path laid down, and the Cry hath been raised in truth, and every atom hath spoken forth.

Say: By God, the Truth! The trumpet hath been blown by My command, and the Bell rings out in remembrance of Me, and the Bugle sounds forth My Name, which encompasseth all created things.

This is the day wherein the Bugle resoundeth and the Bell ringeth out and the Trumpet proclaimeth: 'The Kingdom is God's, the Possessor of this wondrous Day.'

This is a Day wherein the Most Great Ocean hath surged, and the atoms have cried out: The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful!

Say: O people! The light hath shone forth and the trumpet hath been blown and the mountains have been moved.

Say: By God! The sun hath been eclipsed and the moon darkened, and the Greatest Spectacle hath appeared, and the Lord of Destiny calleth out with His most exalted call, summoning all to His most sublime horizon.

The sun hath risen, the moon hath been cleft, and the stars have fallen, would that ye perceived.

By God! When He appeared the suns were eclipsed, the moons darkened, the fruits fell, and the earth trembled amongst the people of possibility.

The Hour hath come and the moon of reckoning hath been cleft, and trembling hath seized the ungodly. The palm trees have been uprooted and souls have been thunderstruck, and the houses lie desolate upon their trellises.

This is the earthquake of that Hour which hath appeared and seized all save a few who have drawn nigh unto the Divine Countenance.

O Lord! This is the Day wherein the earth hath quaked, the mountains have been crushed to powder, and the Balance hath been set up.

Say: O people! This is the Day wherein the heaven hath been cleft asunder, and the earth hath been rent, and the skin hath crept with fear, save of him who hath answered his Lord and turned toward this outstretched Shadow.

Then the earth was shaken and the pillars of existence trembled, and the heaven was cleft asunder, and the sun was folded up, and the stars were scattered, and the Hour arose, and the great calamity appeared, and thy Lord came with the angels rank on rank.

O thou who art attracted by the fragrances of God! The trumpet hath been blown, and the bugle hath sounded, and the earth hath quaked, and the sun hath been folded up, and the stars have been darkened, and the seas have boiled over, and the mountains have been scattered, and the heaven hath been cleft asunder, and brought forth manifest smoke, and the people have been overwhelmed - this is a grievous chastisement.

O my beloved! Truly the earth has drawn nigh, the mountains have been set in motion, the seas have boiled over, the stars have been scattered, the suns have been darkened, the Resurrection has come to pass, and thy Most Glorious Lord has come in the shadows of clouds with hosts that the heedless have not yet seen.

Today is the day when the heaven was rolled up. Today is the day when the sun was folded up. Today is the day when the moon was cleft asunder. Today is the day when the stars were scattered. Today is the day when the mountains moved. Today is the day when the dead came forth from their graves.

This is a Day wherein the heaven hath been rolled up and the mountains have been scattered.

When the cry was raised, all creation was shaken and smoke enveloped the face of heaven.

That which caused the kingdoms of earth and heaven to tremble hath appeared, all things were shaken, the dwellers of earth and heaven lamented, and the faces of the doubters were transformed.

How, then, shall I make mention of you, when the decree hath been decreed and the command established? This is a thing before which the heavens well-nigh burst, the earth is rent, and the mountains crumble to dust.

These are the verses of God sent down in truth, and none remember them except those possessed of understanding.

Say: O people, fear God and do not oppose the One through Whose will the suns of names were eclipsed and the moon was cleft in the heaven of destiny and the mountains passed away as passing clouds.

Say: O peoples of the earth! The All-Bountiful hath come, riding upon the clouds, while from His right the Herald of Glory proclaimeth: "O people! This is He Who was promised to you in the Books of old, and this is He at Whose appearance the Books of the peoples bowed down in submission."

… The Glory shining from the horizon of My utterance be upon thee and upon those who witnessed and declared: "This is He through Whom the countenance of Faith smiled in all creation, and the Hour appeared with its signs, and the Resurrection with its mysteries."

God testifies that there is no God but Him, and that He Who speaks is indeed the Dawning-Place of His signs and the Dayspring of His clear tokens - He at Whose appearance the heaven was cleft asunder, the earth was rent, and its peoples lamented, save whom God willed, the Lord of all worlds.

I testify before Thee that what Thou didst promise hath appeared, what Thou didst indicate hath come to pass, and the Day which Thou didst name as the Day of God hath arrived - wherein the Trump was sounded and all who are in Thy heaven and earth were thunderstruck, save those whom the hand of Thy power did rescue. And I testify that the Bridge hath been set up and the Balance hath been established and Thy call hath been raised from the precincts of Thy prison.

O questioner! Hearken unto the call of the Wronged One. He summoneth thee unto God, the Sovereign, the Self-Subsisting. As to what thou hast written concerning the manifestation of the Cause and the completion of the proof, know thou that the proof hath been completed, the heavenly table hath descended, the earth hath been cleft asunder, the heaven hath been split, the mountains have been scattered, the trees have been uprooted, the seas have been frozen, the path hath been laid, the balance hath been set up, the trumpet hath been blown, the door hath been knocked, the hosts have been arrayed, the inevitable hour hath come to pass, the tribes have been shaken, the bugle hath sounded, and the voice of the trumpet hath been raised, when this most exalted Word was sent down from the Most Exalted Pen: My glory and grandeur bear witness that this is not the day for questions. It behooveth every soul, when the call is raised between earth and heaven, to leave behind whatsoever he possesseth, to arise and say:

"Here am I, here am I, O Lord of Names! Here am I, here am I, O Creator of Heaven! I bear witness that Thou hast appeared and manifested what Thou didst desire through Thy command 'Be,' and it was."

O thou who strivest with thy words! Look with the eye of fairness. For years, the arrows of tribulation have rained down from the clouds of divine decree, by reason of what the hands of the wicked have wrought, upon the Truth and His loved ones, while thou didst repose upon the couch of heedlessness in utmost comfort. Now, in these latter days, when God's testimony hath encompassed the world and His proof hath risen like the sun from the horizon of His Cause, thou hast clung to the ropes of the world's soothsayers and their like, seeking to measure the Truth by a standard that is unworthy of mention. Return unto God Who created and nurtured thee, and say:

"O my Lord! I testify that I was heedless of the ocean of Thy knowledge and the heaven of Thy wisdom, and turned away from the Dayspring of Thy Revelation and the Source of Thy signs. I beseech Thee by Thy mercy that hath preceded all created things, and by Thy grace that hath encompassed all contingent beings, to forgive me and remit my sins. Thou, verily, art the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Thou art, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous."

O questioner! Sanctify thine ear that thou mayest hear the divine call, and cleanse thine eye from the dust and rheum of idle fancies that thou mayest behold the Supreme Horizon. Today the whispers of Satan are evident and the breezes of the All-Merciful are wafting. Cast off the former and take hold of the latter. In the name of the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the horizons have been filled with the signs of thy Lord, and such clear tokens have appeared that none but every heedless, turning away, denying one that is far astray would deny them. Observe the signs of God and ponder them, that perchance thou mayest inhale the fragrance of His garment and attain unto the Dayspring of Revelation. All that hath appeared in the world was previously announced in the divine Tablets with the most clear exposition. The Command is in His grasp, and He is the Mighty, the Powerful. This is the Day whereof the All-Merciful hath spoken in the Qur'an, saying: "The whole earth shall be but His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens shall be rolled up in His right hand."

If thou wouldst reflect a little, by the life of God, thou wouldst melt away in shame, for the Truth hath appeared in such wise as hath never been witnessed in all creation, and from His movement and stillness, His call and utterance, and all His ways, proofs, evidences and testimonies have become manifest and evident. Yet despite this, thou still seekest to know the Truth through conjecture and idle fancy. Cast aside what thou hast and take what is with God, the Lord of all worlds. Strive that thou mayest drink from the cup of everlasting life and not be numbered among those who swoon away. By the life of God! The trumpet hath been blown, and all who are in the heavens and on earth have swooned away, save those who have held fast unto His cord and clung to the hem of His luminous robe.

When thou hast received My Tablet and found from it the fragrance of My verses, go forth from thy house towards the wilderness and lament with the lamentation of the bereaved, and say, as many times as the number of the Greatest Name: "I repent before Thee, O God of the worlds!" Then turn thy face towards the Prison and say:

"I have come unto Thee, O Thou Wronged One of the worlds, with sincerity for Thy sake, in submission to Thy command, in humility before Thy decree, hoping for the wonders of Thy favor, and beseeching Thy ancient generosity, O Thou in Whose hand is the dominion of all worlds! I beseech Thee not to disappoint me of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones. Verily, Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Great."

When the Trumpet was sounded and the Cry was raised, hearts were thrown into commotion and mountains were moved. After the exalted Word was raised between earth and heaven, whosoever turned towards it, his deeds were accepted, his reckoning complete, and he attained unto all that was manifested from God at the Hour of Resurrection and the appearance of the Day of Judgment. And whosoever turned away was deprived of all that was mentioned, his evil deeds increased and his good deeds diminished.

Thereupon the heavens were cleft asunder, and the earth was rent, and the mountains crumbled, and the Balance was set up, and all who were in the Bayan were gathered together. Then were the people of Paradise admitted therein, and the denizens of the Fire consigned to their abode.

This is a Day wherein all who dwell on earth are seen to be thunderstruck and fallen prostrate by the divine trumpet-blast, save only for certain letters of thy Lord's countenance - they who are the people of the Crimson Ark, in whose praise hath spoken the Lord of Names and the Lord of both the beginning and the end.

Through Him hath the Resurrection come to pass, and the pillars of all beings have quaked, save whom God, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting, hath willed. Through Him have the Kingdom and the Dominion smiled, and every rejected idolater hath wailed.

The mountains have passed away and the Cry hath been raised, the Trumpet hath been sounded and the Herald hath called out, yet the people are in strange stupor.

The heavens have been cleft asunder, the earth hath been rent, and the mountains have crumbled, yet the people remain in heedlessness and schism. All things circle round the Prison, while the Concourse on High circle round the Throne at eventide and at dawn.

Say: O people, ye hear the call of God - what aileth you that ye answer not? By God, the True Call hath come, yet ye perceive it not. The heaven hath been cleft asunder with clouds, and the Youth hath come upon the clouds, yet ye know Him not.

The ocean hath surged and the divine fragrance hath wafted, and the Day is come, yet the people are in manifest doubt. The Cry hath been raised and the Hour hath appeared and the Trumpet hath been sounded, when He Who conversed with God took His seat upon the throne of Revelation and the Herald proclaimed: The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting!

The Gate hath been opened, the Doorkeeper expelled, the veils burned away, and the Sun hath shone forth from behind the clouds.

Praise be to God Who hath made the Hour a proof for this Hour which, when it uttered the First Word, established the Most Exalted Balance, and when it stirred of itself and by itself, caused the dwellers of the graves to quake through the stirring of the breezes of the Lord of Names.

All affairs proceed contrary to outward appearance - the mountain walketh upon the path, and from barren soil spring forth new and varied flowers. It is as though the Resurrection hath come to pass and the mysteries of the Hour been revealed.

Write to his honor Zein on my behalf: O Zein! The most great convulsion mentioned in the Tablets of Divine decree from the Pen of the Lord of Creation has shaken the pillars of all lands and perturbed the hearts of the servants. Glory be to God! How many souls cling to their borrowed life and grasp onto this base world. Of what use is a life not sacrificed in the path of the Friend? A body not offered in the way of the Beloved is not worth a mustard seed.

In all Tablets it has been revealed that the victory of God's Cause today has been and will be through wisdom and utterance, not through conflict and contention. Yet they committed that which was forbidden them. What was destined has come to pass. Soon will the words of the deniers and epistles of the ungodly be spread abroad. By the one true God! In the sight of those who gaze upon the Most Glorious Horizon, all that they have written has been and will be devoid of the garment of true meaning, deprived of the robe of acceptance, and bereft of the fragrances of truth. When the veils of fancy were rent asunder by the fingers of divine power, the words of the manifestations of Satan appeared more insignificant than the words of children.

Take thou the Pen of might and power, by the sovereignty of thy Lord, the All-Compelling, the Unconstrained. Then write in response to them, in complete detachment, whatsoever God has cast into thy heart. Thus does He command thee in truth, as a grace from Us upon thee, and I am the Almighty, the Glorious, the All-Compelling.

Tarry not today in the Cause of God, for the clamor has been raised from every quarter. Take thou the most pure wine in My Most Great Name, then pass it round among the people of Baha, that they may drink and become detached from all that hath been created in the realm of existence, and soar unto the station of thy Lord, the Most High, the Most Exalted. Thus hath the Most Glorious Pen inscribed in thy name in these days wherein the hearts of the chosen ones have been sorely troubled.

Say: By God! The Hour itself now wails and smites its head by reason of the severity of the Cause. The Resurrection itself hath arisen bewildered before the Face, turning now to the right, now to the left, as though waiting for that which is hidden from sight. Say: By God! The Trumpet hath not borne this most great blast, and the cords of the Balance have snapped, and the tribes of Names have lamented in the kingdom of destiny, and the seas have dried up, and the lands have been submerged, and the heavens of idle fancies have been rolled up in the grasp of the power of thy Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing. Then was spread the carpet of certitude with sovereignty and power.

By God the Truth! A single hair of those servants who have today shattered the greatest idol would be better in God's sight than all that hath been created on earth, and God would prefer it above all things, for they have borne what none before them have borne, whereunto testifieth the Tongue of God, the Peerless, the Mighty, the All-Forgiving.

Say: Were all the tablets and pages and books and scriptures between earth and heaven to be filled, and were no fragrance of My remembrance to waft from them, by God! The buzzing of a fly would be better than they in thy Lord's sight. Thus hath the Pen of the Unconstrained inscribed wondrous mysteries.

I testify, O Beloved One, that the Light hath shone forth and become manifest, the Hidden hath appeared and been revealed, the heavens have been cleft asunder and rent, the earth hath been split and torn, the mountains have been scattered and dispersed, minds have been demolished and shattered, the Countenance hath radiated and gleamed, the waters have flowed and streamed, the verses have descended and been sent down, the beasts have been gathered and assembled, souls have been annihilated and obliterated, witnesses have been crushed and demolished, [...] have served and rendered service, the Bird of Oneness hath warbled and sung, the Cock of Eternity hath trilled and caroled, the Peacock of Glory hath cried out and proclaimed, Beauty hath shone and radiated, the Cloud of the Unseen hath witnessed and testified, Perfection hath risen and appeared, the Countenance hath sung and clapped, the Maiden hath chanted and danced, declaring that all in all through all have been eclipsed and nullified and demolished and frozen and thunderstruck. Say: He is the One Who hath rolled up the heavens of your idle fancies while ye perceive it not. Glorified be He Who hath concealed from all His consummate wisdom, and all comprehend it not. Thus hath God, your Lord, testified, while ye, being less than what God hath testified, neither witness nor are capable of witnessing.

O Countenance of Glory and Mystery of the Most Glorious! Say: He is the One Who sendeth down verses unto whomsoever He willeth among His servants, yet all turn away from His verses. Among His signs is that light appeareth from the mist of camphor, yet people know it not. And among His signs is that the Tree warbleth on Mount Sinai, yet servants reflect not thereon.

O Beloved! Say to all who are on earth: Can anyone find a beloved apart from the Countenance of my Lord? Glorified be He above what the idolaters assert! Can anyone find beauty apart from the beauty of my Lord? Glorified be He above what the transgressors have wrought! Can anyone find victory apart from the unfurling of the banners of my Lord's triumph? Glorified be He above what the deniers witness! Can anyone find sovereignty in the kingdom apart from the dominion of my Lord? Glorified be He above what they imagine! [...] He is the One with Whom are the treasuries of verses and the treasures of all things, yet all are dead in their veils. Glorified be He Who is sanctified above verses and above what the believers describe.

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

Soon shall the heaven be cleft asunder and the Youth shall come upon the crimson Buraq, and the matter shall be determined by One mighty and powerful.

He it is Who gave the world the glad-tidings of the Day wherein the sun shall rise from its setting, and the mountains shall pass away with passing upon passing, and every soul shall be weighed with weighing upon weighing, wherein feet shall slip and mankind be confounded and the hearts of the possessors of understanding be thunderstruck and the limbs of all servants tremble, that His supreme sovereignty might be made manifest therein, even as He informed His servants in the Book that erreth not nor forgetteth.

Soon shall all that is on earth perish, and sovereignty and might shall endure unto God and His chosen ones who have believed in God in this Revelation whereby the Trumpet hath been sounded and the mountains have passed away, and trembling hath seized all who are in the heavens and on earth, save those whom thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath willed.

Hast thou heard the Call? The foundations of the Concourse on high were shaken when the Call was raised from the Supreme Horizon, and thou seest the people reeling from the great quaking that hath caused all the powers of the earth to tremble, and which shall be followed by a mightier convulsion, more bitter and terrible.

As to the fifth verse: When all these brutalities are committed, when governments and nations have had enough carnage, bloodshed, destruction, then the Balances of Divine Justice will be set up.

O thou who art admonished by goodly counsel!

By the True God! The Resurrection hath come to pass, and the great catastrophe hath appeared, and the sun is darkened, and the heaven is cleft asunder, and the stars are scattered, and the mountains are swept away, and the Event hath befallen, and the first blast hath resounded, and the second blast hath followed it, and the earth is stretched out, and the luminous pulpit is set up, and humanity is gathered together, and He Who sealed what had passed and opened what was to come hath mounted the pulpit and spoken words of praise, and proclaimed glad tidings, and counseled humanity, and advised all created things, and called them to steadfastness in the Covenant, and warned them against hypocrisy, and cautioned them about hearkening to the cawing of crows on the day of unity.

And verily, thou - hearken to the call of steadfastness and the dawning-places of splendor, and be a herald of the Covenant throughout all regions, and make feet firm, and perfume the nostrils, and call unto thy Lord with wisdom and goodly counsel. Verily thy Lord will assist thee with legions from heaven and armies from the Supreme Concourse and hosts from the Abha Kingdom.

And Glory be upon thee.