The Declaration of the Bab: recognition and a new dawn

On the night of the fifth of Jamadiyu'l-Avval, Mulla Husayn was seated in the presence of the Bab, who was preparing the tea. As the Bab was serving the tea, He recited certain verses. Mulla Husayn was amazed and astonished to hear a young man, with no religious education or training in the Arabic tongue, recite verses of the utmost eloquence and power, a feat which he could have never thought possible. This led to his awakening and allegiance.

When I awoke, I felt that the Spirit of God had permeated and taken possession of My soul. My heart was thrilled with the joy of His Divine presence, and the mysteries of His Revelation were unfolded before My eyes in all their glory.

O thou who art the first to believe in Me! Verily I say, I am the Bab, the Gate of God, and thou art the Babu'l-Bab, the gate of that Gate.

There I shall deliver the Message of God to the Sharif of Mecca. I then shall return to Kufih, where again, in the Masjid of that holy city, I shall manifest His Cause.

As for the Bab---may my soul be His sacrifice!---it was at a young age, that is, in the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, that He arose to proclaim His Cause.

He began to speak and to declare the rank of Bab-hood. Now what He intended by the term Bab [Gate] was this, that He was the channel of grace from some great Person still behind the veil of glory, Who was the possessor of countless and boundless perfections, by Whose will He moved, and to the bond of Whose love He clung.

His holiness the Bab gave to Himself the titles 'Bab', 'First Point,' (Noqteyeh Qala) and 'The Mention of God' (Zekrullah).

O Baqir! Bear thou witness in thy soul, thy being and thy spirit that the Tree of Sinai hath been raised up in truth in the year sixty and hath spoken in the most exalted voice that there is none other God but Him, the Sovereign, the Powerful, the Almighty, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, and that 'Ali before Nabil - His light, His glory and His sovereignty over the dwellers of the heavens and the earth - hath come with the truth upon clouds of light, and around Him circled the denizens of the Supreme Concourse and the angels drawn nigh.

Say: By God! The Spirit at this moment moveth before His presence, and the Sun deriveth its light from His resplendent brow, and the Beauty of the Unseen speaketh above His head with a call that draweth unto it the hearts of those possessed of understanding: "This, verily, is He Who appeared in the year sixty, and this is one of His mighty signs."

The beginning of the year 1260 marked the first appearance of the Mystery, and for this reason was revealed the phrase "There is no power nor strength except through God, the Exalted, the Great" after the number of the negation and affirmation. The year 1260 concludeth, and every six is the manifestation of the Mystery of Muhammad and His Family, upon them be the blessings of God and all His glory.

The third festival is the fifth day of Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1260, near the evening hour when the Exalted One - may the spirit of all worlds be sacrificed for Him - by command of the Sovereign Who doeth what He willeth, made His declaration to the Babu'l-Bab, upon him be the glory of God.

This is 23 May, the anniversary of the message and Declaration of the Bab. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Bab was the early light of the true morn, whereas the manifestation of the Blessed Beauty, Baha'u'llah, was the shining forth of the sun. Therefore, it is a blessed day, the inception of the heavenly bounty, the beginning of the divine effulgence. On this day in 1844 the Bab was sent forth heralding and proclaiming the Kingdom of God, announcing the glad tidings of the coming of Baha'u'llah and withstanding the opposition of the whole Persian nation.

"Today is the anniversary of the declaration of the Bab - Peace be upon thee! Today the Bab declared this cause in Shirza, Persia. The appearance of the Bab resembles the dawn, for the dawn holds the promise of the sun. The dawn of the Bab promised the rising of the sun of truth that is to envelop the whole world.

This Day is a blessed day, and many Tablets have been revealed for this Day by Baha'u'llah. The Blessed Beauty celebrated this Feast every year. For this Day of the Bab's Declaration is the dawn of the Manifestation of the Cause. The dawn of the day is a very blessed time. Though at dawn the fullness of the Sun's splendor is not manifest, yet as the dawn bears the glad tidings of the rising of the Sun, it is found with exceeding purity and brilliancy and the air is then at its purest.

This is the Night from the orient of whose Day the Morn of Eternity hath dawned and the whole world hath been illumined by the splendour of its light, shining forth above this radiant Horizon.

Say, verily this is the Day in which God hath entered into a covenant concerning Him Who proclaimeth the Truth when He sent forth the One bearing unto mankind the tidings of this Great Announcement.

And in this second year of my Revelation -- a Revelation which took place at Thy behest -- I bear witness that Thou art the Most Manifest, the Omnipotent, the Ever-Abiding; that of all things that exist on earth and in the heavens nothing whatsoever can frustrate Thy purpose and that Thou art the Knower of all things and the Lord of might and majesty.

The Primal Point appeared from the Dawning Place of God's Will with divine majesty from the unseen realm into the visible world, and gave tidings of this blessed and wondrous Day.

And the Primal Point appeared and gave glad tidings unto all of My manifestation and My Book and My presence and My firm and mighty Cause.

He hath manifested the Manifestation of His Self with the name of 'Ali, to give glad tidings unto all men of the Revelation of God, the Powerful, the Supreme, the Mighty, the Compelling.

That which Mirza Abu'l-Fadl stated is proven by the Sacred Text. In the Ahsanu'l-Qisas, which is the first Book of the Bab, He addresses Siyyid Akbar. The Speaker is the Bab, and He says regarding who this Siyyid Akbar is: "By God the True One! I am verily a Houri whom Baha gave birth to in a palace of moist crimson ruby" and "I and those who dwell in Paradise yearn for the soul who is martyred in His path."

Then he cites the blessed verse from the Furqan which states "This is but a Reminder for all the worlds, and you shall surely know its tidings after a time," meaning that focal point is the Remembrance of God, and what He announces will become manifest and evident in the year after sixty-eight, which corresponds to the numerical value of "time," and after "time" is sixty-nine, meaning it will bear fruit, just as the Exalted One [the Bab] has stated: "Then in the year nine you shall attain all good."

By calculation, the Day of the Bab is foretold, and also the prophecies of the Koran, as to the twelve Imams. One prophecy says that in 1260 A.H. (1844 A.D.) the Day of the Lord shall appear (after the flight of Mohammed).

After 1260 years this Mehdi or Bab appeared and He said " the morning has dawned and the hour has come. I am this door and have come to prepare the way before Him." The Bab has explicitly declared in the Book of Bayan, that after 19 years the Promised One will appear or come."

From the East, from Iran, the Great Dawn of Guidance, the Bab, appeared. Then the luminous candle of Baha'u'llah shone forth and the teachings of Baha'u'llah were promoted.

At such a time the Dawn of Guidance, His Highness the Supreme, the Bab, appeared, His Holiness Baha'u'llah, like unto a sun, shone forth and all this darkness was converted into light.

As day follows night, and after sunset comes the dawn, so Jesus Christ appeared on the horizon of this world like a Sun of Truth; even so when the people -- after forgetting the teachings of Christ and His example of love to all humanity -- had again grown tired of material things, a heavenly Star shone once more in Persia, a new illumination appeared and now a great light is spreading throughout all lands.

The Bab - may my spirit be sacrificed for His most pure blood - like a lion emerged from that jungle and raised such a cry throughout all regions that trembling and tumult seized their foundations. That noble Being taught all the lesson of the love of God and kindled the fire of divine love.

O servant of the Self-Sufficient Lord! Shiraz at the beginning of the dawning of the Sun of Truth became a sanctuary of mysteries and the melody and song of the Supreme Concourse began.

Praise be to God that in that honored region, which was the native land of His Holiness the Exalted One, may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him, the holy fragrances are spreading and the life-giving breezes from the gardens of bounty are stirring.

Jesus was forced to leave the Holy Land for Egypt, but this separation became the cause of blessings. Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina, but His flight resulted in victory. The Bab was likewise banished from Shiraz to the banks of the river Araxes, but auspicious indeed were the results of His banishment!

He said, "I have come from the fortress of Maku, having attained the honor of meeting His Holiness the Exalted One."

That city was illumined with the presence of His Highness, the Bab, after he left Shiraz; the Word of God was promulgated; many blessed souls became believers; a number of them hastened toward the arena of martyrdom; his highness, the leader of the righteous ones, the "King of the Martyrs," and the master of the friends, the "Beloved of Martyrs," gave up their lives at the altar of love.

The Bab appeared in Shiraz seventy years ago and gave the glad tidings of the appearance of the Kingdom. He sacrificed His life in the path of God and made souls ready for the love of God.

This is the Day when the Sun of Truth was hidden behind the clouds of divine providence. This is the Day when that shining Moon did set. This is the Day when that sacred and delicate Body rolled in dust and blood.

If the Blessed Perfection had not exerted Himself to raise up the Cause of God, the Cause of the Primal Point [the Bab] would have been completely effaced.

This is a Tablet from Our presence to glorify the Night in which heavens and earth were illumined by the Day-Star whose effulgent splendour hath encompassed the dwellers of the whole world.

Immeasurably blessed art thou, inasmuch as the Day of God hath been born in thee -- the Day which hath been singled out by Us to be the lamp of salvation unto the denizens of the cities of names, the chalice of blissfulness for such as dwell within the immensities of the realm of immortality and the source of joy and gladness unto all the inmates of the world of creation.

This is the day of the Proclamation of the Bab! It is the Festival of the Forerunner of the Blessed Beauty (Baha'u'llah). It is the day of the dawning of the Morning of Guidance.

Regarding what you wrote about the Day of the Declaration of the Bab (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), it is recorded in the Questions and Answers that the Day of Kamal falls in the Month of 'Azamat, and the Day of Martyrdom falls on the Day of Sultan in the Month of Rahmat.

O Thou Pure God!

Thou art the Seer and the Hearer! Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty! The fame of Thy Most Great Cause hath traveled forth and radiated from all the horizons! The believers have the utmost joy and fragrance, and the friends are attracted to the Face of that Brilliant Orb. The tongues are engaged in Thy Commemoration and the hearts are at all times dilated with the Fragrances of Thy Holiness. The faces are all turned toward Thee; the hearts are captive of Thy Abode, and the souls are athirst for the Salubrious Water of Thy River. The call of Thy Greatest Name hath caused a mighty reverberation throughout all the kingdoms, and the Power of Thy Consummate Word hath unfurled Thy Ensign to the East and to the West! The favored ones supplicate with the utmost humility, and the righteous ones are in an attitude of soulful invocation to the Kingdom of Beauty.

O my God! Assist Thou all of them and pour upon them the showers of Thy Supreme Confirmations; so that they may become the cause of the tranquility of the world of creation; to be the servants of the human race; to become, with all their hearts and souls, the real friends of all nations; to become with the utmost joy and fragrance, the spiritual companions of the adherents of all religions; to dispel the darkness of strangeness and to spread the lights of friendship in this transitory world!

O God! Grant Thou to all them an Asylum in Thy Neighborhood and gladden their hearts and impart to them rejoicing through Thine Incomparable Bounties! Thou are the Omnipotent and the Mighty! Thou art the Seer and the Hearer!

O ye true friends! Day and night 'Abdu'l-Baha calleth his loved ones to mind, and with every breath he communeth with them and longeth to behold their blessed faces. I beseech the Lord of the worlds that they may all attain unto that which is meet and seemly and may succeed in wholly following the Law of God.

O ye friends of God! According to what is heard, some of the friends have celebrated my birthday in some countries on the fifth of Jamadi-Avval (23rd day of May). Although their intention is no other than good, their aim be to promote the Word of God and to commemorate the True One among the people in this manner, yet, according to the text of the Religion of God and the irrefutable command, the fifth of Jamadi-Avval (May 23rd) is the day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (the Bab)---may my life be a sacrifice to Him! Consequently, they must celebrate and adorn that Blessed Day in the name of the Declaration of that Orb of regions; make rejoicing and happiness, and impart the glad-tidings of heavenly beatitude to each other. For that holy essence was the Herald of the Most great Name. Therefore, no one must mention that day of the fifth of Jamadi-Avval (May 23rd) except as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Bab. This is the unquestionable text of the Religion of God.

Regarding the birth of this servant, which also happened on that day, this a proof of the favors and bounties of God toward this servant. However, this Blessed Day must be known as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (the Bab) and the beginning of the effulgence of the Sun of Reality. You must on this account be engaged in rejoicing, happiness and gladness. This is the truth! Beware! Beware! that you avoid that which is mentioned; otherwise, it will cause the utmost grief to the heart of Abdul-Baha.

I ask from the inexhaustible bounties of His Highness the Almighty, that the righteous ones become assisted to live in accord with the Religion of God; neither do they deviate a hairis breadth therefrom; and spread this Tablet throughout all regions, so that all the friends may comprehend the truth and act accordingly. And upon you be greeting and praise.

In the year sixty, on the fifth of Jumadail-Avval, the Day of the Declaration of His Holiness the Exalted One and of the birth of 'Abduil-Baha, according to the solar reckoning, falleth on 23 May.

O joyous Bahhaj!

Yesterday, which was the fifth of Jumada al-Awwal, the Day of the Declaration of His Holiness the Exalted One, they pitched the pavilion near the Holy Shrine and Blessed Tomb (may my spirit be a sacrifice for its dust), and in perfect joy and fragrance the feast of happiness was arranged.

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O flowers of the garden of truth! Your letter arrived and its contents made clear that praise be to God, on the Day of the Declaration of His Holiness the First Point, may my soul be sacrificed for Him, you held a heavenly celebration and arranged a divine feast, and recalled those days when 'Abdu'l-Baha met with you in that divine garden and blessed meadow.

You wrote about the celebration of the Day of the Declaration of the Bab, that on that day you arranged a feast and engaged in mention of God, recited verses and said prayers.

O ye kind friends and the beloved maid servants of His Holiness the Incomparable One!

The letter that you have written on the anniversary day of the declaration of the First Point (the Bab) - may my life be a ransom to him - became the cause of great happiness.

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O thou dear maid-servant of God!

Thy letter, concerning the celebration of the anniversary of the declaration of His Holiness the Supreme --may my spirit be sacrificed for Him!--which was held on the land of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, was read.

O divine friends and handmaidens of the Merciful! The congratulations for the Day of the Declaration of the Bab (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him) arrived and I was very pleased that such a grand celebration was held in Paris.

We hope through divine favors that this gathering will be held every year, engaged in remembering the dawning of the Morn of Guidance--the Primal Point--and that the glad tidings He gave concerning the blessed appearance of Baha'u'llah will be recited.