justice and wrath of God
Editorial introduction
The cry goes up from a prison and from a grave: how long will the oppressor be given respite, and will the murdered ever be avenged? Bahá’u’lláh answers that cry with a Name, the Just, breathed into all created things, and then turns the demand back on the one who utters it, asking each of us to judge ourselves and others without deviating by a hair’s breadth. Justice gives to each his due; grace gives without regard to worthiness, and mercy is said to run ahead of wrath. Yet the warnings are real: the tyrant’s refuge is temporary, every deed is weighed hair by hair, and thrones that seemed secure are overturned within living memory. The Qur’án promises that no good deed is lost and that God wrongs no one [1]; Paul asks the wronged to leave vengeance to God and feed a hungry enemy [2]. From here the path leads into the fate of those who persecute the Prophets, into the trials that test a soul, and into the mystery of why suffering falls on the innocent at all.
How long, O my God, wilt Thou leave the oppressed to be toyed with by the hands of the oppressors? How long, O my God, wilt Thou grant respite to the murderers and not take vengeance for the murdered? How long, O my God, wilt Thou be patient with these painful events, these deadly injustices, these tragic calamities and these grievous crimes? Has not the Hour drawn nigh, to be followed by the Catastrophe?
This is a Tablet wherein God has sent forth His Name the Just, and breathed from it the spirit of justice into the temples of all created things, that all may arise to observe pure justice and judge themselves and others, not deviating therefrom by so much as a hair's breadth.
O Manifestation of Grace!
Justice is to give to each one his due, while grace is bestowal without regard to capacity or worthiness.
Regarding the matter in question, it is abundantly clear that in the sight of God, any matter that causes harm to anyone, or afflicts any soul, or indeed causes sorrow and distress to any souls, is in this Most Great Revelation rejected and unacceptable.
O Lord! The fire of tyranny hath been kindled in the world - where is the light of Thy justice, O Ancient King?
O Lord! Eyes have wept at what hath befallen Thy chosen ones. I beseech Thee, O Lord of the world and Sovereign of the nations, by the Most Great Name, to transform the throne of tyranny into the seat of Thy justice, and the chair of heedlessness and oppression into the throne of humility and fairness.
Thy Lord would not wrong anyone by so much as the weight of a date-stone's film. Glorified be God above what the wrongdoers ascribe to His judgment. Today not an atom's weight of injustice shall be done, for thy Lord is independent of all the worlds. O concourse! Verily, judgment on the Day of Resurrection belongeth unto God, and naught in the Book is hidden from Him. Fear ye God concerning that of which ye are heedless.
What we should do lies between what we will do and what we must do, and God, the Lord, in His eternal Justice, can alone weigh and evaluate the responsibility of our free will versus the compulsion of heredity and instinct. From him to whom the Lord has given much in his cradle, will He require much later."
As they suffered in the world and were treated unjustly and thus died unwillingly, therefore God will have mercy and forgive their shortcomings and will reward them. He will compensate them for loss. Is it just to be so afflicted and killed and suffer and have no reward? This is contrary to the Kingdom of God. We supplicate God that these murdered ones will become and stay alive in His Kingdom and be submerged in the sea of His mercy and be happy."
Children of unbelievers and infidels who die before the age of responsibility are not punished, because they are under the favor of God.
We enjoined upon all men to be just and fair-minded and to fear God, the Lord of the worlds.
The glory of existence lieth in justice, not in oppression. At present, falsehood and vainglory have prevented the world and its peoples from turning to the Truth. Soon shall come a day wherein God will raise up His patient and beneficent servants.
And if someone does not willingly pay another's rights and wishes to trample them, certainly that right must be obtained through the power of the government.
We beseech God to grant you your rights from him. Verily He is the Just, the Mighty, the All-Powerful.
O concourse of rulers! Turn unto the poor; verily God hath created them and you from the selfsame substance. Let a portion of your wealth be shared by them. This is that which will profit you throughout all times and ages. Bestow a part of that which God in His grace bath given you; for thereby will your wealth be increased....
In truth, the glorious government - may God strengthen it - hath manifested justice, and justice is the cause of the elevation, majesty and power of kings. Blessed is he who is adorned therewith, who drinketh from its chalice and is illumined by its effulgences.
In truth, in these days His Majesty Sultan Abdul-Hamid Khan--may the All-Merciful strengthen him--is established upon the throne of justice. In his reign, oppression hath no place and tyranny no splendor. His sovereignty hath excelled in justice and beneficence.
O people of Baha! The sun of justice was indeed concealed and veiled beneath the clouds of oppression, but God hath assisted His Majesty the illustrious Russian State to cause its shining forth and appearance, and its deliverance from every thick veil and mighty cloud.
The darkness of oppression and error has been dispelled by the light of justice and fairness, and just authority has been established.
For the general body is like the human person: since it is composed of individual elements and different, opposing, and conflicting components, it is necessarily subject to ailments and exposed to diseases. When disorders arise from various causes, the skilled physician and superior sage diagnoses the disease, proceeds to analyze the symptoms, contemplates the realities and subtleties of the cause and requirements of nature, investigates origins and results, means and needs, and distinguishes between particulars and universals. Then he considers what this illness requires and what these symptoms demand, and proceeds with treatment and cure.
This would not however be an unjust coercion. Such is that exercised by Turkey on the Russian government in the past, but a just coercion in the interest of the people themselves and to prevent disorder and chaos.
Take, for example, the Governor here. Who has given him this power? The English government has given him the power, to do as he wishes. Now it is possible that he may do either justice or injustice. Justice is good, injustice is bad. If the English government has given him this power, he can do not justice except through this power.
However, the just government must discipline and admonish the heedless souls, and to the extent possible carry out retribution, so that others may not show audacity or seek aggression, and like predatory wolves and biting dogs not stain their fangs and teeth with the blood of the spiritual ones.
I said: "Then we have been remiss in our duty toward you. Friends, seize him!" He received a thorough beating. He immediately went to the governor to complain. When the governor heard the details, he too cursed at him. From then on, the pool was always full. Such is the nature of people.
Mu'ayth said, "Until the warriors return from the battlefield, it would be far from justice and fairness to give you dates."
Consider how fortunate was the life he lived as a result of his justice and fairness, and how doomed were the fates of those who practised tyranny and oppression. How high was his rank, and how low the estates of Mirza aqa Khan and Mirza Taqi Khan!'
Say: O concourse of princes! By God, We have not come to create disorder in the land but rather to reform it. To this beareth witness the Lord of the Kingdom of Names. Fear ye God and be not of the wrongdoers.
Fear God, O people, and spread not corruption in the land after its reformation, and cast not the ways of God behind your backs, and be not of those who forsake them.
He forbiddeth them tyranny and wickedness, yet they persist in committing them.
Say: O people! Fear ye God, and follow not the ways of them that scoff at His signs.
Glory be unto him who hath shown justice in the Cause of God, the Lord of what was and what shall be.
The justice of this Wronged One hath shone forth even as the sun from the horizon of equity.
We beseech God to grant justice and not deprive His servants.
Justice hath its hosts, which are the requital and recompense of deeds, and through these the pavilion of order hath been raised in the world, and every transgressor hath taken hold of his own reins through fear of retribution. Thus hath spoken the Lord of Names; He is verily the Speaker, the All-Knowing.
Soon shall they behold the recompense of their deeds in this vain life, for divine justice and heavenly wisdom will not forgo reward and punishment, and upon these two depend the order of the world and the tranquility of nations.
Repeatedly from the Tongue of Grandeur hath flowed this exalted word - blessed and exalted be His utterance: "The tabernacle of order in the world is upheld by two pillars: reward and punishment." Assuredly the reward of the friends and the punishment of the enemies will become manifest and evident.
Be not grieved by the conduct of certain souls, for the true Reckoner is keeping watch over them. All these things shall come to pass, and the firmament of truth shall be rid of every intervening cloud. Should anyone, therefore, commit a sin, he will have transgressed against his own self. Eventually he will be seized with regret and remorse.
If a person commit a transgression, he has been unjust unto himself and soon he will find that he is in manifest regret and remorse...
There are two kinds of suffering, one subtle, the other gross. The subtle suffering is hatred, anger, fear, and torment which follow evil actions of the soul. The gross suffering is imprisonment, chastisement, and physical pain of martyrdom.
Doth the wrongdoer think he hath profited? Nay, by My Self! Soon shall punishment seize him from every direction.
The oppressor rejoiceth and scoffeth as though he would abide forever on earth. Nay, by the Self of God that holdeth dominion over all that hath been and shall be! Soon shall he behold the recompense of his deeds and shall bewail his own self, and shall find none to help him. He Who possesseth the Preserved Tablet doth testify to this.
He is the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, and for every deed He has ordained a recompense.
Soon shall the oppressors behold the recompense of their deeds. Verily, thy Lord is the Just, the All-Wise.
Soon shall they behold the recompense of their calumnies from the presence of the Just, the Equitable, the Wise One.
Soon shall the recompense of your deeds encompass you, and ye shall wail and lament and find no helper, for ye have become deserving of divine wrath. The hand of justice is manifest and evident, and hath not and will not overlook the oppression of the oppressors.
For example, if a man does a great injustice to another in his life, then, after his death, his son will be despised for having had such a father, and in some cases the injury might also be so serious that the effect would reach to the grandson, etc., or a man may, by wrong living, fall into consumption and give that disease to his children unto the third or fourth generation.
Both physically and mentally, the sins of the fathers may be visited upon the children.
The reference of the words of the Old Testament An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' is double: it refers, first, to the balance which is preserved by human law, that there may be a check to evil-doing; and, second, to the inevitable retribution which will fall upon each individual during his life, or upon the race after his death, for his evil acts.
Our Lord said: By the Justice and judgment of God those who commit evil suffer and are punished for it and eternal punishment is merited by these evil-doers.
You ask: "What then is the wrath of God?" The wrath of God is the erroneous designation for logic, causality, in brief, the justice of God. If we ignore God, He will ignore us and subject us to His unchangeable laws of nature; if we avoid Him, He will retreat from our lives. He, the Creator, lets His Sun rise over the just (those loving God) and the unjust (those far from God), but the first have the dew of His blessing, the latter shiver under the mildew of His curse!
Whosoever attaineth unto good through Thee, that is his recompense from Thee; and whosoever is deprived of good at the Daysprings of Thy unity - this is Thy justice towards him and Thy fire within his own self.
And when you become an oppressor, it behooves God to cause another oppressor to gain dominion over you. This is justice from His presence, if you be of those who understand.
Having affirmed this, we say: How can existence be brought into being except in accordance with acceptance and acquiescence? For the matter resolves to one of four possibilities: either compelling all to obedience, or compelling all to disobedience, or compelling some to obedience and others to disobedience, or giving each its due according to the capacities of contingent beings.
All are created in the same station by the Justice of God, but if some of these have become prophets and some teachers, this is from the favours and bounty of God."
The judgment of justice is given as a recompense, as money is paid for a debt for something equivalent, but a merciful judgment is given as one gives to a poor beggar.
'Has the Lord God foreseen that this human being will not let himself be saved, or has He, for reasons inscrutable to us, let him be ensnared from the begin-ning in folly and delusion?' But as the Lord God is not only the Almighty, but also the All-Merciful - for true might and power are always paired with kind-ness and goodness - and is at the same time the Just and the Avenger, we lowly creatures have to bow to His inscrutable decree and believe that the Potter in His absolute wisdom and goodness, in His justice and truth, creates, changes and completes everything to the best for the individual and for the whole -even where our own understanding and comprehension largely fail.
Concerning thy mention of a certain person at the time his spirit was separated from his body: all events that have occurred have not been without purpose or reason. If thou wouldst reflect upon the deeds and deserts of certain souls, thou wouldst testify that whatsoever hath happened or will happen is pure justice, nay rather, pure bounty.
Blessed are those servants who have recognized all the deeds of God as praiseworthy, for whatsoever proceedeth from the Absolute Wise One hath been and shall ever be for the good of all.
Consider with justice, O my God - that justice which Thou hast enjoined upon Thy servants - can any one of them that love Thee behold a city and not see Thee rising resplendent above its horizon?
… Thou art He Who hath established supreme justice between earth and heaven.
Verily it judgeth between the servants with pure justice, and it is indeed the Judge from God, the Mighty, the Praised.
Say: My Lord knoweth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth. There is no God but Him. He shall judge between all with justice on the Day of Resurrection, and not an atom's weight of injustice shall be done this Day, and all shall be questioned concerning the Cause of God.
Verily He knoweth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth, and He judgeth between all with justice concerning that wherein they differ.
Verily thy Lord will judge between all with justice on the Day of Resurrection, and there shall be no injustice on that Day, and all shall be brought before Us.
God shall judge between all with justice on the Day of Resurrection, and thy Lord wrong not His servants.
He is the One Who standeth by His Cause, Who recompenseth every soul for what it hath earned - there is no God but Him, the All-Powerful, the Everlasting. His is the right to question those who are in the heavens and earth, and all shall be tested by Him.
O Muhammad! Say: Verily He is the True One Who shall gather mankind on the Day of Resurrection through His command, that He may recompense every soul according to what it hath earned, and before Him shall all be brought.
Such is the state of mankind. The Truth hath not and will never overlook the oppression of the oppressors, especially in this Revelation wherein each of the tyrants hath been requited. Consider the Sultan of Rum aforetime and those who circled round him. God seized them with the grasp of the Mighty, the Powerful, for without cause he sent the people of God to the Most Great Prison.
All divine commandments and prohibitions are established and confirmed by a word, yet they have imprisoned the Author of the Word with manifest injustice while occupying themselves with His former commandments.
The Truth, exalted be His glory, hath come for the salvation and life of all, yet this group hath risen to slay Him, banish Him, and harm Him. However they shall gain nothing. Not an atom's weight of deeds shall remain concealed on God's Day, nor ever shall.
Such oppression hath appeared as hath caused the liver of justice to melt. To this beareth witness the Lord of the unseen and the seen.
O 'Abdu'l-Baqi! The essence of justice is witnessed beneath the talons of oppression.
O Muhammad-Quli! The world hath been encompassed by tyranny, and the clouds of hatred have prevented the lights of the Sun of Justice from shining forth.
In these days, according to outward appearances, grievous tidings have arrived from every direction, for the embodiment of tyranny sitteth enthroned upon the seat of oppression while justice, poor and forlorn, hath withdrawn to a corner.
In these days the Sun of Justice is veiled behind clouds of oppression, while the Wronged One calls out from the horizon of tribulation and commands all to that which is befitting.
The Sun of Justice hath set, inasmuch as the embodiment of tyranny hath been established upon the throne of authority through manifest delusion.
O Mihdi, upon thee be My glory! Hadi of Dawlatabad hath appeared with an oppression that hath no equal and shall have none, and through darkness hath been deprived of light. No path leadeth to fairness in his court, and justice findeth there no dwelling place.
In truth, the affairs that occurred in the Great City have become a cause of astonishment. People's wealth has been scattered to the wind, a great injustice has been inflicted upon justice, and the severest blow has been dealt to religion. I beseech God to protect His loved ones from the harm of those souls. Verily He has power over whatsoever He willeth.
As can now be observed in Europe, by their own admission, they commit murder in various ways with an oppression the like of which has never been heard, let alone witnessed. Ere long they shall be seized with great punishments, for the vitality of men's belief in God is dying out in every land, and this weakening has given strength to the ignorant and caused their audacity and presumption.
Then, he readily puts thousands upon thousands of them to the sword's blade. It takes twenty years for a person to grow to maturity and full strength, but in an instant, these people massacre tens of thousands of men and allow them to perish. How many cities are thoroughly destroyed, how many villages are reduced to heaps of dust, how much blood reddens the soil and how immense are the properties that are plundered and wrecked! And yet, there is no benefit in any of this!
God created man after His own image and likeness ... but now, behaving contrarily, man has become more merciless and fearless than rapacious beasts.
How wilt thou answer the moaning and the lamentations of women before the throne of the Almighty on the Judgment Day? Yea, yea, what wilt thou say? Dost thou dare to plea[d] not guilty before the Supreme Judge who seest the secrets of the heart[?]
After listening to their arguments they were astonished and silenced when the heavenly Judge arose from His imperial seat and proclaimed His "Neutrality.
He it is Who hath ordained tribulation for His loved ones and decreed trials for His chosen ones, and He it is Who hath written upon me that which was written. But woe unto thee, for God hath caused evil to flow from thy hands. And blessed am I for having been patient in the path of my Lord until certitude came unto me. Verily, I was never heedless of thy infidelity, nor veiled from thy tyranny. I saw thee not before except as a rebellious devil, and I see thee not except as an obstinate oppressor.
Sufficient art Thou as witness over me and the believers, and sufficient is Thy grace and bounty for the wounds that have pierced my heart. Then Thy help and Thy might shall come to those who have unjustly grown proud against the unitarians among Thy servants and who have wronged people without right according to Thy Book.
Among these is a sword against the polytheists of Arabia, as God the Exalted has said: "Slay the polytheists wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and establish prayer and give alms, then let them go their way. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful." From these servants nothing is accepted except death or entering Islam.
By reason of the loftiness of His wrath and the greatness of His displeasure, He sent forth Muhammad - peace be upon him and his family - from the innermost heart of eternity unto all nations, distinct from any similitude among the children of his kind. He made him the manifestation of His justice and His overwhelming power, then of His grace and His almighty sovereignty.
Say: God will assuredly take vengeance on them that act with tyranny in the earth to the extent of a mustard seed, and He will take vengeance on them by His command - He is mighty and severe.
… Say: Nothing can frustrate God from hastening your destruction, yet He granteth you respite that He may intensify your fire. Then will He seize you by His command. Verily He hath power over all things.
And your Lord, the All-Merciful, is never in the least unjust to His servants.
If you do good, you do good for your own souls -- this is the truth that exists from God your Lord upon the paths of the Gate around the water. And if you do evil, you do it against yourselves -- this decree from you is inscribed in the Mother Book around the fire.
The people have committed that which neither the Jews did unto the Spirit, nor Abu-Jahl unto Muhammad, My Messenger, whom We adorned with the ornament of the Seal and sent unto all who are in the heavens and on earth. They have perpetrated that which none in the world hath ever perpetrated, as doth bear witness the Lord of Eternity from this glorious horizon. When Hasan and Husayn were martyred and their days were ended, We seized the source of tyranny and oppression with a sovereignty from Our presence. Verily thy Lord is the Almighty, the Powerful. Blessed are they who drew nigh unto them and visited their resting-places.
Thou hast admitted to the Ridvan those who believe in Thy unity, having bestowed upon them glory and immortality. And Thou hast destroyed those who believe not in Thy unity and cast them into the fire for what their hands have wrought. Thy sign admits of no doubt. Who is mightier than Thee in punishment, and greater than Thee in prowess? Such is Thy punishment for him who believeth not in Thee, whom Thou cursest along with all things, even their own souls, by names before them until the Day of Resurrection.
Therefore, O my God, at this time do Thou chastise all Thine enemies, and the enemies of Thy Beloved, and the enemies of the Manifestations of Thyself, and the enemies of those who claim relationship to Thee.
… Seize them, O my God, through Thy might with a mighty seizure, for verily Thou art the All-Powerful, the Almighty. Chastise them, O my God, through Thy power with a great chastisement, for verily Thou art most severe in punishment and in retribution.
And upon such as knew not the right of those beloved Manifestations, from the billows of the Most High unto the lowest atom, and the purposed Dawning-Places, in the world to come and in this first life -- send down what beseemeth the deserts of each in Thy sight. For Thou art the Possessor of dread chastisement against such as know Thee not, and the Ordainer of unerring retribution against those who love not them that have believed in Thee and in Thy signs.
God shall take vengeance upon those who observed not God's command concerning Thee and showed no shame before Thy countenance. He is most severe in might and punishment.
Sufficient unto them is what they have earned regarding thee, and God will take vengeance upon them through the sovereignty of His overwhelming power, and the dominion of His almightiness, and the might of His everlastingness, and the independence of His glorification, and the enjoyment of His grandeur. For He is the All-Powerful, the Mighty in Punishment, the All-Compelling, the Overwhelming, the Manifest, the All-Prevailing, the Triumphant, the All-Conquering, the Wrathful, the Avenger.
My wrath hath descended upon those who knew them not, and in the fire shall they abide forever. God will visit His retribution upon them by their own hands and the hands of all the believers together, and they shall take vengeance upon themselves by their own selves, and curse themselves with names from before them from their own midst, yet they perceive not.
And verily He is the Almighty Who shall assuredly take vengeance upon those who believe not in God and His signs, and who have caused even an atom's weight of sorrow unto them that have believed in God and His signs. Verily He was ever possessed of immense power.
The people of Sad have risen against those through whom the horizons of all lands were illumined, in that they have taken the viper as their leader instead of God. Thus have their souls enticed them. Thy Lord, verily, is the All-Explaining, the All-Knowing. We have seized him who arose in tyranny with a vengeance from Us. Verily, thy Lord is the Avenger, the Almighty. And We shall seize those who conspired with him in his designs.
Forty days after the martyrdom of those two noble ones - on their fortieth day - the manifest Ruler seized the Imam of the ungodly through His power with an abasement beyond which none can be conceived. The Causer of causes thereafter brought about circumstances that led to complete discord between him and the governor, who is the son of the sovereign.
Verily He has seized him who oppressed - thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Powerful.
However, the traces of the blood of those wronged ones shall appear in the earth. Although that oppressor who arose to deny this Cause was seized, yet this much does not suffice and will not suffice.
Praise be to God, the evil ones have received and are receiving their just deserts, and their attack on Jinab-i-Haji Siyyid Kazim was for material gain.
But as for him who sowed corruption and killed - verily he hath met the recompense of his deeds, for by his action were troubled the hearts of them that profess the unity of God.
That person imagines that matters will remain thus, not knowing that oppression and tyranny uproot foundations and ultimately no trace of the foolish shall remain. "For him who is slain unjustly, We have indeed given authority to his heir."
Observe how they treat each other and how they stain their mouths and teeth with each other's blood, showing not a trace of justice but rather pursuing the path of oppression.
This turmoil, this torment, and this punishment are the consequences of those misdeeds. The Jews beheaded John the Baptist, and after forty years God raised up Titus the Roman, and the land of Palestine was stained with the blood of the slain. Now, if the people of Tabriz shed each other's blood, be not surprised. This is the recompense for those deeds.
Thus it was that he resisted, and Afrasiyab overcame him and slew him.
The fire of wrath was kindled in Iran and Turan. Rustam killed Sudaba, for she had caused Siyavash's exile, and the army marched on Turan, and Afrasiyab and Garsivaz were killed, and this caused the ruin of Turkistan for it lasted a long time.
Now the Almighty God has subjugated that audacious person and inflicted thorough punishment upon that tyrannical traitor. Similarly, Mirza Davud the obstinate one received the recompense for his deeds and saw severe punishment, taking up residence in the depths of hell-fire, and whatever he had amassed was also plundered and pillaged.
But verily, Thou, O my God, wert ever watching until Thou didst seize them. And how severe was their punishment! Thou didst send upon them a yellow, raging wind that spared nothing and left nothing, scorching all flesh. The transgressors abandoned all their homes and properties, fleeing to the wilderness in fear of the deceptive disease. They could find no rest, O my God, even in the mountain peaks, for the disease crushed them, the devastating plague destroyed them, and the torrent of illness swept them away. Thou didst punish each one a thousandfold, O my God, scattered their gatherings and dispersed their assemblies until not one could find another.
Then We seized him whom We had promised chastisement in the Scriptures and Tablets. When the agony of death overtook him, he said: "Is there any protector?" It was said: "There is no protector for thee this day." The angels of wrath cast him face down into the fire.
We seized him even as We seized the factions before him. Verily He is powerful when He willeth, and He is severe in punishment. How many were the houses We left to the spider, and how many were the kings We brought down from their palaces to their graves, making them a lesson for those possessed of vision.
Verily Thou art most severe in punishment and most exemplary in retribution. And how many servants have possessed the east of the earth and its west, yet today none remembereth them save to curse them if they are remembered, or else Thou hast elevated their mention as though they had no mention. Thus dost Thou cause the Tree of Negation to perish, even as Thou hast promised unto Thyself.
O thou who gazest upon the Countenance! Observe how the Hand of Divine Power hath seized nearly one million souls in retribution for their deeds and consigned them to a most wretched destination. How many princes and ministers, together with their kings and rulers, were returned to the fire.
The wretchedness of those who denied the Days of God, wherein the Cause dawned from the horizon of mysteries, hath prevailed. We have seized those who disbelieved in God and wronged the Dawning-Places of Revelation. Verily thy Lord is severe in punishment. Among them were those whom We seized with might from Our presence, those whom We destroyed with a single cry, those whom We drowned in the sea, those whom We caused the earth to swallow, those whom We burned with the flames of fire, and those upon whom We rained stones.
In brief, difficulties and trials assailed that wronged one from every side until it ended in deposition - he found no chance to act. During Istanbul's revolution, the head of the investigating committee, Arif, swallowed three bullets, the military commander was exiled to distant lands, the army general perished, and the colonel fled to Egypt and begged alms from the friends. Thus did God seize them with the grip of One mighty and powerful.
This commission of investigation and oppression was on its way back to Istanbul from 'Akka when the majesty of the justice of God revolutionized all matters.
Because of your arrogance, God will shortly destroy your sovereignty and a revolution shall be set up in that kingdom, and the reins of government shall be taken from your hands, and in the utmost of debasement and degradation will you be cast, and now surely I see you in degradation.
He is now surrounded with far worse sufferings than those with which he surrounded me. I did not feel the pains of his fiendish persecutions, because I possessed the glad-tidings of the Kingdom, but he is afflicted with the pangs of regret and remorse as the result of his evil days. These dark days have come upon him as the consequence of his darker days of tyranny and oppression.
When he exceeded all bounds, divine justice seized him and the other officials who were his partners and confederates - the seizure of One mighty and powerful. In brief, through two days of authority he prepared for himself eternal retribution.
The angels of divine wrath seized them suddenly and made them a lesson to the worlds. The All-Merciful did not have mercy on their graves. This occurred suddenly. Were you to hear the details, you would testify that the Hand of God's power seized them - no one else had any part in it, nor will they. Pure power was manifested from the presence of a Mighty, Powerful One.
Where are the swords of Thy vengeance, O Destroyer of the worlds?" … Therefore We took hold of the reins of wrath with a sovereignty from Our presence.
… The angels of divine wrath suddenly seized them and made them a lesson to the worlds. May the All-Merciful not have mercy on their graves!
Nevertheless his fire burned more intensely and his wickedness increased more and more until suddenly the hands of divine wrath seized him and his circle of officials. The Governor of the province who resides in Damascus, and the chief who rules in Beirut, as well as other officers, all became troubled. Great causes appeared and that wicked one and his like were cast out and rejected.
We took several persons in this city - some We banished, some We afflicted with illness, and some We seized through Our power in such wise that none discovered the cause thereof. He, verily, is the Ruler over whatsoever He pleaseth through His word "Be" and it is.
Amin, if you wish details about that land: verily the fly therein became as an eagle, therefore God cast him into the abyss, and likewise his kind - may God curse them. They corrupted and caused corruption to such a degree that after their destruction the Tongue of Grandeur proclaimed: "The All-Forgiving shall not forgive their burial places."
The servant was gladdened by the breaking of a hand that had stretched forth in oppression and tyranny. We beseech God that other hands may meet the same fate - those who have acted as he acted. Verily He is the Just, the Avenger, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
The divines assembled to harm Us, but God seized them with justice - verily He is the Mighty, the Powerful.
We have seized him who pronounced judgment against My loved ones, then We seized one who was greater than he. Verily thy Lord is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He judgeth as He pleaseth, even as He judged in the beginning of the Cause.
God hath seized their leader - He, verily, is powerful over whatsoever He willeth through His word "Be" and it is. Yet the idolaters remained heedless of this. He seized another - He, verily, is powerful over whatsoever He willeth and in His grasp are the reins of all things.
God has seized the oppressors with complete conquest. He is the One with such power that the might and dominion of the people of the world cannot weaken Him. Soon will God seize those who have oppressed in the land of Ta (Tehran) just as He seized the Wolf and the Spotted One and the one who was secretly with them.
He hath seized him through whom the furnace of tyranny was set ablaze, by virtue of His sovereignty. Verily, He is the One Who hath power over whatsoever He willeth. There is none other God but Him, the One Who ruleth over all that was and that shall be. Soon will He seize those who were partners in oppression.
God hath seized the source of oppression, and He shall soon seize those who followed him without any clear proof or enlightening Book.
Thus you witnessed how We seized the leader of the people with a wondrous Book, despite knowing his rejection and rebellion. Now what was a blessing for him became a curse, and its effects are evident in all lands. Soon it shall become manifest in his own self.
As for those who have fled from the Beauty of the All-Merciful, God hath rendered their deeds void and cast them into the abyss of His wrath as recompense for their actions and they were among the doers thereof. Take heed lest the denial of the deniers grieve thee, for We have found them today isolated in their unbelief, and therefore have We forbidden them from the holy shores with justice from Our presence, and verily We are just.
Those who altered the Tablets of God - these have lost both this world and the next, and they shall have no portion of this cup. These have sold the traces of God for their own selves and their desires. Soon shall they discover what they have wrought when the angels of wrath seize them with a grievous punishment. Thus doth God distinguish between truth and falsehood, and between the believers and the idolaters.
Loss in this world and the next shall return to the treacherous souls, and continueth to do so. That which they have taken shall profit them not; rather, humiliation shall descend upon them in this world and in the next, and a grievous chastisement shall afflict them.
The gate of the Most Great Prison was opened by the key of the Name of the Ancient King, and the rain of grace descended from the heaven of mercy, until heedlessness seized some. They did that which caused God to lament, yet We concealed it. Verily thy Lord is the Concealer.
We rained down upon him from the heaven of justice the arrows of tribulation - evil was the rain of those who warn.
Thus have We seized them in requital for their deeds. Soon shall they find themselves in an irrevocable torment.
The vainglorious have fallen into evident loss. Soon thou shalt witness even greater than this, and God shall make them an example to all observers. Abasement and wretchedness have been stamped upon them, and they have incurred the wrath of God.
Nasiru'l-Millih received his recompense, and likewise Muvaqqaru's-Saltanih attained the reward of his tyranny and oppression. But what benefit is there when none becomes aware, when no soul becomes mindful? The signs and warnings profit none.
However those who planned to destroy the Faith of God, were themselves destroyed by God. "So their Lord destroyed them for their crime, and visited all alike: Nor feared he the issue."
O My Name! By the life of God, what occurred - the people deserved it, nay, they deserved punishments beyond that, for they were heedless of that which caused the eyes of the people of the cities of justice to weep and the companions of equity to lament.
Have ye grown heedless of the power of divine justice, or have ye obtained a letter of immunity from His might? By God's life! All the concourse of the near angels and the cherubim lament and shed tears of blood.
Thereupon We tried its people with that wherewith We tried them, that perchance they might awaken and turn repentant unto God, the Mighty, the Praised. Behold, then, how the might of thy Lord encompassed them; verily I am the All-Compelling, the Severe. We seized them first, for through them the root of oppression was strengthened; ere long shall We return unto it, for He is indeed the Powerful, the Omnipotent.
The mention of thy Lord's name hath witnessed among the sedentary ones the word of chastisement. God hath changed His favor toward them, and We seized them for their deeds contrary to truth, that perchance they might believe in the meeting with God.
Therefore did God seize those in the lands and sent down upon them hunger and fear that they might awaken and be of those who repent. He awakened not at God's might; soon will He seize him with vengeful power from His presence. Verily He is the most severe of avengers.
As He says: "We did seize them with punishment closer at hand, before the greater punishment, that perchance they might return." "Verily thy Lord is ever watchful."
But those oppressors, nay rather all the people of that land, will be subjected to the most great and severe calamities. … He says to grant a respite, do not hasten - punishment is ultimately decreed, unless they become humble and suppliant, repent and show remorse, pray and seek forgiveness for their sins.
The oppressor will ultimately receive retribution, for God is not pleased with injustice and treachery. This is why He says: "We grant them enjoyment for a little while, then We compel them to a harsh punishment" - this is a promise that will not prove false, unless they become remorseful and repentant and turn in supplication to the threshold of the All-Merciful.
Were it not for My mercy, We would send down chastisement upon them, but We grant them respite, looking to the appointed time.
Were it not for His grace and other wisdoms, verily those souls who have caused the least harm and injury to the loved ones of God would have been cast into the lowest depths of hell, and the earth would not have borne them for a moment. This applieth to the weak, heedless, and ignorant souls. As for those who arose in utter opposition and who stood against the Dawning-Places of God's love and the Daysprings of His remembrance in this Most Great Revelation with rejection and protest, they have been and shall be seized by the hand of power. Verily, thy Lord is the Avenger, the Mighty Wielder of Authority.
In this Most Great Revelation, God, exalted be His glory, hath not and will not grant respite to the oppressors. Were it not for His prior decree, they would have seen the recompense of their deeds in less than a moment, such that the tempests of wrath would have scattered them like dust.
In this Revelation, God, exalted be His glory, has not given respite to the oppressors and has seized most with utmost severity and speed. By My life, He is indeed the Powerful, the Mighty!
Leave them to themselves that they may worship their lords besides God; soon shall they be summoned before the seat of justice where the Balance shall be set up by the command of the Mighty, the Wise.
Divine justice lieth in wait. He shall seize the oppressors with His might and authority from His presence. Verily, He is the most powerful of the powerful ones and the most generous of the generous ones.
Be confident that divine justice will take revenge on the oppressors and afflict the tyrannical ones with a great calamity. He grants respite but does not neglect - He gives time but does not pass over oppression and tyranny.
Verily thy Lord is ever watchful, and He hath power over all things.
… Observe how He never overlooks injustice and transgression - He grants respite but does not neglect. Every soul will soon witness the recompense of their deeds and the consequences of their actions.
But they are unaware that although God the Avenger is patient, He is also jealous. Soon He will strike such an axe to the root of these oppressors that the trees of their hopes will be uprooted from their foundation. Verily thy Lord is ever watchful.
Sorrow not in the oppression thou encountereth, erelong will your Lord take the tyrants. He is verily powerful in His command and He is mighty in prowess.
Let not the deeds of the wrongdoers grieve thee. God shall soon seize them with His might. Verily He is severe in punishment.
Rest assured that that unjust one will be seized by divine retribution.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Although the wavering ones are full of evil, shameless and proud, yet leave them to the jealous Lord. Verily thy Lord lieth in wait.
Every injustice manifested by an oppressor - leave it to the Truth Itself. The hand of divine justice is all-encompassing and all-pervading.
Assuredly the Just and All-Wise shall take from the oppressor the rights of the oppressed. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
God shall soon seize those who have wronged, for He is the most severe in retribution. Nothing escapeth His knowledge. He heareth the sighing of the oppressed and the wailing of the oppressors.
Soon shall the world and the glory of them that oppressed pass away. Then shall they find themselves in the abyss of divine punishment, with none to deliver them from that which God, the Lord of what was and what shall be, hath ordained for them.
Soon shall appear upon the faces of the sinful the dust of fire, and tribulation shall seize them from every direction nigh at hand, except those who have turned their hearts to God and who, when they hear the verses of God, fall down in prostration and weeping.
For them that have turned unto Him He hath ordained that which shall gladden their hearts, and for them that have turned away, the wrath of thy Lord - verily His punishment is severe.
As to them that have disbelieved, nothing shall profit them save the punishment of thy Lord, and He, verily, is possessed of terrible might.
But God will seize the wrongdoers with His wrath and will punish them with an unquenchable fire and a torment without end. He is verily the Almighty, the All-Compelling.
But oppressive souls shall be afflicted with the flames of divine wrath a second time, and after their spirits depart they shall be tormented with a punishment a hundred thousand times more severe than earthly torment.
When the fire of their own selves encompassed them, they cried for help but found no helper, and they called out but received no response. Thus was the matter decreed from the presence of the Mighty, the Powerful. Greater than what befell them in their vain life has been ordained for the transgressors, as attested by the Lord of creation when seated upon His mighty throne.
Then were the people of Paradise admitted therein, and the denizens of the Fire consigned to their abode. This is clear justice.
Those who have disbelieved, God will seize them with a mighty vengeance from His presence. Soon shall come a day wherein none shall find for himself any protector. Then shall the believers rejoice in God's mercy and bounty.
They that have turned away this Day have no portion in the Book. God will soon seize them with His justice. He, verily, is the Just, the All-Wise.
God shall soon erase the traces of them who have disbelieved and shall manifest the station of every servant who hath turned unto God and been of the assured ones.
How many a servant was prevented by Thy decree from turning unto Thee, in requital for his deeds in Thy days, and how many a handmaiden and leaf turned unto Thee, detached from all else save Thee, in hope of what lieth with Thee.
Say: O people of the world! The Most Great Name hath rent asunder the veils and with the hand of power hath removed that which barred the way, and like unto the sun is visible and manifest. Deprive not yourselves and forbid not yourselves from the Countenance of the All-Merciful because of the sayings of this one or that. Soon shall perish that which hath occupied you and prevented you from attaining unto and drawing nigh unto the Self-Sufficient, the Most High.
At all times doth the Book of God call out and declare: "O people of the earth! The True One, glorified be His majesty, hath sent Me down from His Kingdom of utterance that ye might all hold fast unto Me and find the path of salvation. Through Me is the straight path made clear and the evident proof established. Through My being hath the world been established, through Me are mysteries revealed and lights made manifest, the ocean of knowledge billoweth and the sun of wisdom shineth resplendent.
Soon shall We seize these as We seized those who were mightier than them in strength. Thy Lord, verily, is powerful over what He willeth and ruleth over what He pleaseth.
Dost thou see those who committed injustice aforetime? We seized them for their sins. Verily thy Lord is the Mighty, the Powerful. Soon shall We seize these ones and join them with an evil and most wretched people.
Behold those who were unjust of old - their traces have been effaced, their roofs have fallen in, and their couches have been rolled up until the flames encompassed them. Soon shall the breezes of torment seize these who have denied God. Verily thy Lord is severe in punishment, and He is the Mighty, the Help in Peril.
God hath seized those who oppressed Us with a mighty grasp from His presence, and will seize those who transgressed against the Mighty, the All-Wise.
O My loved ones! Hearken unto My call in these days wherein the fire of oppression hath been kindled and the face of justice hath been veiled. There is no God but Me, the Wronged One, the Unique. We have seized him by whom all things have lamented, with an authority from Us and a power from Our presence. He, verily, is the Mighty, the Powerful. And We shall seize those who have acted unjustly without clear proof or illuminating Book.
He shall lay hold on the wrongdoers, even as He laid hold on him that was their chief; He, truly, is severe in punishing!
However, the All-Informed gave no respite to oppression and hypocrisy, and seized them, and He shall soon seize those who have committed oppression on the earth without clear proof or enlightening Book.
Yet verily your Lord lies in wait. Soon they shall know who receives a humiliating punishment and is made an example for those who have insight.
He shall establish the truth through His sovereignty and seize those who have disbelieved and then committed injustice. He is, verily, the Subduer, the Mighty.
Verily thy Lord hath seized him who manifested oppression and arose in tyranny, and He shall soon seize those who have denied God, the Lord of lords.
Soon shall the wrath and anger of God seize them. He is the most severe of avengers. By My life! My mercy hath preceded My wrath, and My patience hath encompassed the worlds.
Soon will God seize those who have acted unjustly and make them a lesson to all who are on earth. Verily, He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
Ere long shall the hand of justice decree the punishment that is due. Shame upon you and upon every oppressor!
He knoweth what hath been and what shall be. Looking from this horizon upon those who have wronged Us, He shall assuredly seize them through His justice.
He hath indeed seized him who oppressed, and soon will He seize those who have denied Him and His verses which have filled the East and West of the earth. Verily our Lord, the All-Merciful, is the Almighty, the All-Powerful.
Know thou with clear certainty that God, exalted be His glory, is just, and assuredly according to the requirements of justice shall He requite those who led astray, the ungodly, the slanderers and the murderers. Not an atom escapeth His knowledge.
God shall soon seize them with a justice from His presence. Verily, He is the Almighty, doing whatsoever He willeth.
Soon shall they who have wronged be made to drink from the cup from which they made My loved ones drink. Thy Lord, verily, is the Just, the All-Wise.
Verily He seizeth the transgressors; nothing can frustrate Him. He seizeth every wicked one even as He seized in His days. Thy Lord is, in truth, the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
Soon will He seize the oppressors with a mighty vengeance from His presence. … He doeth what He willeth and ordaineth what He pleaseth. He is the All-Commanding, the All-Wise.
They accepted not the word of truth and move with utmost tyranny in the arena of oppression, heedless that the true Judge and the just Almighty observeth and will surely requite them.
God shall soon seize them with a mighty wrath from His presence. Verily He destroyed the generations of old and shall exalt your names in truth. He, verily, is the Powerful, the Mighty.
They shall behold what they have wrought. Verily thy Lord lieth in wait. He seizeth him who hath disbelieved - verily He is severe in punishment.
And whatsoever hath flowed from the Most Exalted Pen shall assuredly be made manifest, and there shall remain not a single letter but the fair-minded shall behold it established upon the throne of revelation.
O Thou Mighty and Powerful One! The oppressive souls deserve severe punishment and retribution - the longer they remain, the more oppression they commit. Do not let these tyrannical souls endure.
Though I know, O my God, that Thou wert with Thy loved ones from all eternity and wilt be with them through Thy sovereignty and majesty, and that what hath befallen them from Thy enemies shall be their recompense with Thee, nevertheless I beseech Thee by Thy Name, the Avenger, to send down upon some of Thy enemies that which shall cause their souls to tremble in this world and in the next. Ordain for them all a grievous punishment.
Therefore, O my God, since his heart is clinging to the handhold of trust in the sovereignty of Thy protection, and relying upon the wondrous effulgences of the manifestations of Thy watchfulness, do Thou protect him from every evil and calamity, and from the afflictions that his enemies may bring down upon his head, that Thou mayest gain dominion over them through Thy sovereignty and power, and prevail over Thine enemies through Thy mighty wrath and ancient indignation.
I beseech Thee, O God of might and power, by Thy dominant sovereignty and Thy overwhelming authority, to seize them through Thy power and might, and prevent them from what they intended against Thy loved ones.
O Lord! Seize them through Thy power, then suffice against their evil through Thy sovereignty. Verily Thou art He Whose power encompasseth all and Whose sovereignty is manifest, and Thou art powerful over all things.
I beseech Thee, O King of Kings, by the mysteries of Thy kingdom and the lights of the Orb of Thy justice, to seize the oppressors with the scourges of Thy wrath and the transgressors with the fire of Thy anger.
O my Lord! Make them taste the scourges of Thy wrath and the heat of Thy anger. There is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the Vengeful, the All-Compelling.
Therefore, O my God, send down upon them all Thy severity, Thy grasp, Thy might, and Thy vengeance. Seize them with the grasp of One mighty and powerful. Destroy them as Thou didst destroy those of old before them, and shalt destroy those who come after them. Verily, Thou art the Lord of great retribution, of severe chastisement, and of mighty power.
I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thyself and by those who have ascended unto Thee through the attraction of their hearts and the severance of their bodies, to visit those who have waxed proud in the land without right and who refuse to prostrate themselves before Thee or worship Thee with Thy most severe vengeance, to destroy them with utmost speed, to afflict them with Thy most grievous punishment, and to annihilate them from the face of the earth until no mention of them remaineth except coupled with Thy curse. For this is the recompense of those who believe not in Thee, who deny Thy Messenger, and who believe not in Thy signs.
And do Thou send down, O God, upon those who have not believed in Him, all Thy chastisement and retribution, for Thou art the most severe in punishment and the most terrible in vengeance.
And punish, O God, those who deny Thee and Thy days, and send down upon them the fire of Thy might and power. Verily, Thou art praised in Thy deeds, thanked in Thy Cause, and obeyed in Thy decree. There is no God but Thee, and Thou art powerful over all things.
O my God! Send forth from Thy presence one who shall seize these infidels, and from Thy side one who shall lay hold upon these immoral ones, and from among Thy servants one who shall subdue these transgressors, and from all Thy creation one who shall overcome these oppressors.
The consequences are obvious, unless the Hand of Power uproots the foundation of injustice and punishes the oppressors, so that in this world they may be caught by their evil deeds and in the next world become hopeless and loathe themselves. We beseech God to cut off their posterity, even as He cut off the posterity of the transgressing people.
O Lord! Let Thy just servant drink from the cup of bounty and make him drunk with the wine of guidance, and make him a sword of equity unsheathed upon the necks of the people of tyranny, and a gleaming blade upon the necks of the deniers, and a cutting sword upon the necks of the proud ones. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Strong, the Triumphant, the Able, the Chosen One. There is no God but Thee, the Distressed, the Sovereign, the Just, the Mighty, the Compelling.
How knowest Thou not, O God of the worlds, how to forbear and not seize them when Thou art most severe in might and most severe in exemplary punishment? How knowest Thou not, O our God, how to be patient and not judge, when Thou art most severe in seizure and most severe in conquest?
Therefore, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hasten that whereby Thou shalt gladden the eyes of Thy loved ones, when Thou dost punish Thine enemies with what they deserve through Thy chastisement and vengeance. For were the veil to be lifted from their insight, they would love the punishment of their own souls, for that is what Thou hast loved and been pleased with.
Thy mercy hath preceded Thy god-fearing servants and Thy vengeance is assured against Thy proud servants.
And We shall forget them as they forget Our presence, for We are all-powerful and all-encompassing.
… By God! He shall seize them and banish them as though they had never been mentioned.
And verily it is God's mercy unto the righteous and His vengeance unto the wicked. Thus has the matter been decreed by the finger of might and power.
You are the punishment of sinners and the blessing of those drawn nigh - a flowing spring of mercy for seeking hearts, and a cup of wrath specially for the hearts of those who turn away.
There has been and will be no remedy for divine wrath. By their own deeds they have become deserving of discord and opposition and darkness and ignorance. Otherwise, the Truth created all through one Word and called all through one Call. Verily He is the Just, the Wise.
Thus affairs became disordered, O my God, throughout the realm; oppression and wickedness spread far and wide; darkness prevailed; roads and paths were cut off; hands were lengthened; and every grateful servant was troubled - until Thou didst seize with Thy vengeance the vainglorious ones with the grasp of One mighty, powerful, supreme and jealous. Thou didst take vengeance upon them for their refusal to hearken to Thy counsels and their disobedience to the Messenger.
O Lord! The idolaters have not known the essence of Thy Being, and have veiled their eyes with the veils of association, until they pronounced judgment for the slaying of the Manifestation of Thine own Self, the luminous, most luminous, and arose to accomplish it, that the people might rise to commit this deed. They caused some to slip from Thy path, through the lying words that issued from their mouths. Wherefore, O my Beloved, seize Thou them with Thy grievous chastisement for that which their hands have wrought. Verily Thou art powerful to do whatsoever Thou willest: Thou doest what Thou pleasest and ordainest what Thou desirest; Thou art, indeed, the Beginning and the Return, and Thou art the Hearer, the Answerer.
O Mihdi! These are grievous days when all the spirits of the worlds are in trembling and perturbation, until the breeze of gracious favor seizes whom it will and grants them dwelling in the loftiest chambers on high, and until the winds of justice pass over whom they will, consigning them to the lowest depths of hell. All this proceedeth from the command of thy Lord Who doeth as He pleaseth and shall not be asked of His doings.
O My servant! Verily thy Lord, when He chastiseth His servants, is called by His name the Just One, and when He forgiveth, is called by His name the All-Forgiving, and He careth not whether He be called by this or by that, for verily He is sanctified above all names, and verily He is the One possessed of such power as none knoweth save His own Self, the All-Knowing.
He is never angry. He curses nothing. It has been said otherwise; but such teaching is the teaching of heathenism- of the teachers of the time -not that of the Messengers of God.
Read, my daughter, the Holy Books of mankind; as a Christian study particularly the New Testament; show me, where does the great Master Jesus speak of the "Wrath of God"? But rather of the all-consuming love of the Father for His lost son!
These heedless people merit the descent of the terrible wrath of God. they are not at all entitled to His Love. Even what they have and are enjoying has been and is through His limitless Mercy.
If thou wouldst observe with the eye of truth, all people deserve punishment, for they are engaged in oppression, save those whom thy Lord willeth.
O my God, my God! Thy grace hath emboldened me, and Thy justice hath made me fearful. Blessed is the servant with whom Thou dealest with grace, and woe unto him with whom Thou dealest with justice.
Even if Thou shouldst make all that Thou hast created and wilt create into fire wherein naught is mentioned save Thy fire, and shouldst enlarge my body to the greatest extent possible within Thy power, and cast me alone therein, and continue to inflict upon me at every moment that supreme torment which none before me can comprehend - even then I would deserve this as requital for my good deeds before Thy face.
O my God! By Thy might and Thy majesty, if Thou shouldst punish me in the fire with all Thy torments, and enlarge my body until it fills all the fire with Thy wrath, and extend me in the fire at every moment through Thy power and Thy dominion throughout the eternity of Thine Own Self, [...] I would still declare in the fire as I now declare before Thee: Thou art God, the Just in judgment, the Obeyed in deed, and that judgment from Thee upon me regarding my right is truth, even as Thy Reality is truth, and this stems only from Thy love for me.
O God, Thy judgment is justice and Thy decree is final and there is no averting Thy command, and verily He is independent of all the worlds.
And shouldst Thou deny us what we have mentioned before Thee, Thy decree would be justice wherein there is no tyranny, and Thy ruling would be truth that cannot be reversed.
This would be naught but a favor from Thee regarding my right and a bounty from Thy presence regarding my station, for Thou knowest best the interests of one who turns to Thee in his days.
And if Thou sayest "Nay," then I am he who clingeth to the hem of Thy bounty, who imploreth Thee by Thyself, who persistently beseecheth Thee by the right of Thy Lordship. For verily Thou art independent of all that is in the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them.
And as for me, within the bounds of my low estate, when I behold one who treadeth the path of Thy good-pleasure, how could I fail to manifest toward him the modes of mercy? For from me he hath acquired naught that would call forth My judgment upon him, but rather pardon from My presence. And when I behold one bereft of the modes of Thy love and good-pleasure, needs must I robe myself in the garment of decree and of forgiveness -- albeit this proceedeth from the repugnance of my heart and from what Thy beingness would fain not witness concerning him.
The meaning in Persian is this: "O Lord, make that judge content who gave the verdict for the shedding of this wanderer's blood both within and without the sanctuary of the Kaaba, while even hunting is forbidden in the sacred precinct. Yet that wretched one was so hard of heart that he made this servant's blood lawless both within and without the sanctuary."
Verily, Thy grace hath preceded Thy justice, and Thy mercy hath preceded Thy wrath.
He exalts whomsoever He willeth and abases whomsoever He willeth, and bestows upon whomsoever He willeth the holy and gracious lights.
… His mercy hath preceded all things and His grace hath encompassed all things, and He hath established His Cause with justice throughout all the worlds.
He rendered visible that blameworthy prying; He melted the well-accepted mountains of snow; He withered the useless weeds, and made the rootless trees forlorn and faded. Upon righteous and wicked alike He lavished His bounty, and illumined alike the cottage of the sinner and of the godly. Upon the brow of the perfect and the imperfect, the learned and the ignorant alike, He scattered His rays, and upon flower-garden and dung-hill alike did He shed His splendor.
O My Name the All-Forgiving! Through Thee have I been tried, and through Thee have I drunk what no one hath drunk, and tasted what no soul hath tasted. Were I not beholding Thee, I would have destroyed the wicked ones and delivered My chosen ones from the letters of fire.
O My Name! By My glory and grandeur and majesty: at the moment when I gaze upon thee, I see no one possessed of sin upon the face of the earth. Know this and conceal it.
These are the days of grace - we look to grace. Were we to look to justice, not a single word would flow from the Pen of the Ancient of Days.
Pray, pray that God may not punish His unfaithful servants more than this! that He may pity them! This is indeed a great punishment! Pray, again pray!
Soon shall they see the recompense of their deeds, for after every injustice the light of justice dawns, and after every tyranny the sun of equity shines forth.
When thou hearest the decree of justice, verily the decree of the oppressors this day shall diminish.
The darkness of tyranny hath prevented the Sun of Justice from shining forth. Assuredly one day the Finger of the Will of the Lord of Oneness shall rend asunder the obscuring veil, and the lights of the Sun of Truth shall become manifest and evident.
The hand of oppression has intended to veil the lights of the Sun of Justice and prevent the light of the Cause from reaching eyes. By the life of God, this is beyond the station of anyone on earth.
Soon will the luminary of justice shine forth from the horizon of the heaven of divine providence. Then shall they find themselves in manifest error.
The banner of tyranny hath been rolled up and the light of justice hath shone forth from the horizon of God's will, the Lord of Religions.
God shall soon replace injustice with justice and shall manifest him who shall arise to serve the Cause at eventide and at dawn.
Ere long will the oppressor return to his abode, and the radiance of the Sun of Justice will illumine the world.
God shall soon roll up the carpet of tyranny and spread out the carpet of justice. He, verily, is powerful over whatsoever He willeth through His word "Be" and it is.
Soon will God seize those who have wronged, and raise up those who were oppressed.
Soon shall the oppressor witness the supreme remorse and the oppressed the most great glad-tidings.
His justice shall ultimately seize the oppressors and liars, and His grace shall not deprive His loved ones. He is the Owner of existence and the Sovereign of the seen and unseen.
Through their oppression the countenance of justice hath been illumined, yet they remain in wondrous stupor. That which they have wrought shall cause you no harm, for He is the Mighty, the All-Bestowing.
That oppression caused the standard of guidance to be raised high, and that tyranny caused the city of justice and fairness to be built.
However, God, exalted be His glory, made this imprisonment the cause of freedom and this confinement the means of liberation for all the peoples of the world.
No good deed has been or ever will be lost - all are preserved and safeguarded in the treasury of divine knowledge, and their reward shall assuredly come.
For each is a portion in the Book. He, verily, is the Just, the Munificent, the Bountiful.
Praise be unto Him Who is worthy and deserving, Who hath educated the world through justice and adorned it with the lights of grace.
Praise be to God that warfare and strife have been removed, and the light of justice hath shone forth from the horizon of the Will of God, glorified be His majesty, and the pavilion of grace hath been raised at the midmost heart of contingent being.
Say: O God of the sea and the pearls of wisdom therein, and Sovereign of the land and whatsoever moves therein of Thy creation, I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which were raised the standards of Thy remembrance and the banners of Thy Revelation, to transform the throne of tyranny and oppression into the seat of justice and equity.
O my Lord! Illumine the horizon of Thy justice through Thy sovereignty, then preserve it from the clouds of tyranny and the veils of oppression. Verily, Thou art the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
I beseech God by thee and by those who loved thee to open before the faces of His servants the gates of justice and fairness, and to send down upon them from the heaven of His bounty the rain of His mercy and His gifts.
For thought and discussion