Manifestation of God as sun
Editorial introduction
On a bright morning the sun gives light and warmth to everything beneath it without asking what it is. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá begins there, with the plain experience of a sunny day, and lets it open onto the Sun of Truth whose rays educate souls as sunlight draws out seeds. The light is the light, whichever lamp it shines from, and the sun of today may truly call itself the sun of yesterday; so the Messengers of God are one radiance from different horizons, and the trouble begins when love for a particular lamp makes a new dawn invisible. The same light shows differently in a polished mirror and a dull stone, which turns attention to the heart that receives it and to the clouds of prejudice and desire that veil it. The sun does not set when it seems to; the earth turns. The Qur’an’s niche and lamp and Jesus’ word that he is the light of the world say this in neighbouring ways. From here educator, physician and gardener describe what the light does, the mirror asks how it is received, and the question comes home: whether one has become a lighted taper or merely bears a name.
The light is the light, no matter from what lamp it shines. The rose is the rose, no matter from which rose-garden it comes. The fruit is the fruit, no matter upon which tree it is produced. The breeze possesses life, no matter from which direction it is wafted.
O Ahmad! Behold the grace of God like unto the sun. When it shines forth, its rays encompass all the world.
What characterises the sun? That it sends forth rays of light and heat which cause living things in the world to grow and evolve. As this is the characteristic quality of the physical sun, so that of the Sun of Reality is to teach and educate human souls; through the warmth of the love of God and the glory of God to appear to the souls of men.
The Sun of Truth also shines, giving light and warmth to the souls of men. All existing creatures need the sun to shine upon them and develop them that they may grow. The souls of men also need the Sun of Truth to shine upon them, to educate and encourage them.
The centers of progress for each age are the manifestations of God as seen in his prophets. In whatever country or at whatever time they appear, they are the focus of the creational day - for as the sun in the material heaven develops the material beings, so do these spiritual suns develop the world of minds and souls.
Then we are lead to the thought of the world of humanity, to the ideal flowers and roses that are being produced through the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. Just as this phenomenal sun is the educator of the contingent beings, likewise the Sun of Reality is the Educator of the Ideal principles of life.
The true light is the ray of the Sun of Reality which leads the human world from the abyss of imperfection to the highest summit of perfection, bestows the spirit of life upon the lifeless and barren earth, and adorns it with various flowers and fragrances.
Verses 12-20: There is a great difference between God and all creatures. All the creation is in darkness but God is the Light. Jesus says, "I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the Light of Life." The Light here spoken of means the Light of His Perfections - justice, mercy, goodness, love, holiness, truth, unworldliness, righteousness, purity, etc.
"As we know the physical sun by its splendor, by its light and heat so we know God, by the spiritual sun, when he shines forth from the temple of Manifestation by his attributes of perfection, by the beauty of his qualities and by the splendor of his light.
However, the centers of divine Virtues are the Manifestations of God. Just as the Sun is the center of lights, likewise each one of the prophets of God is the focal point of ideal perfections, the dawning-place of the creational virtues and the shining point of heavenly attributes. If this sun trains the earthly bodies; that sun educates the spiritual verities. If this sun is the center of material lights; that Sun is the Center of ideal lights. This is a phenomenal Sun; that is, the Sun of Reality.
Yet despite this, I say and my word is the truth, and I draw on allusions and symbolic terms: He is the Lamp, the Light that shineth resplendent unto the whole world and it is bound by no man whether clear sighted or blind, for the nature of light is to shed and manifest its radiance.
In truth, the mention of the Sun and its like refers to His exalted and sublime station among the servants, otherwise every person of insight beareth witness to the sanctification of His Essence from whatsoever hath been mentioned and the detachment of His Self from whatsoever hath been or shall be comprehended. And that this Most Great Manifestation hath been or may be designated as the heaven is due to the fact that the sun, outwardly speaking, appeareth and becometh visible from the horizon of this expanse which is called heaven, and the heaven dominateth and encompasseth it, as can be observed.
To comprehend the Sun of Reality we would have to be greater (than the Sun). In order to comprehend the Essence of God a Prophet would have to encompass the Infinite.
The lower can never comprehend the higher, but the higher can comprehend the lower.
"The sun that would come down and enter everything would not remain the sun. Its identity would be scattered."
Fifthly: The Reality of the divine Religions is one, because the Reality is one and cannot be two. All the prophets are united in their message, and unshaken. They are like the sun; in different seasons they ascend from different rising points on the horizon.
Like the sun passing through the zodiacal stations, at each point of the zodiacal circle it has a designated function, an inevitable influence, and a manifestation that differs and varies in the eyes of those endowed with insight and those who understand the positions of the stars. At one point it appears with the attribute of majesty, at another point it shines with the quality of beauty, and at another point it rises with the light of perfection.
Likewise, the Sun of Reality has a special manifestation at each dawning-place of truth and noble constellation.
The Prophets and Their religions are to be compared to the sun which rises on different days and at different times - but always as the same, identical in Their nature, differing only as to Their place in history and Their activity -, Who educate mankind as the teacher educates the child.
And thou must bear witness that His likeness is as the sun in the heavens - though it may rise countless times, it is but one sun, and likewise when it setteth.
The four seasons are caused by the reflection of the sun upon this sphere. As by the Light of the Sun upon the earth, the seasons are formed, so in the same way the Spiritual Sun makes seasons.
As to the seasons formed by the Sun of Truth, the appearance of a Prophet is the Spring season.
The Sun of Reality is like unto the physical sun. It will rise and set everlastingly.
Just as the sun arises from several points. This sun after one month will arise from another point. It is just like this; but the reality is the same sun."
And these were spiritual suns. Baha'u'llah was a Sun, and Christ was a Sun, and their dawning-point, or the sunrise, takes place there, and the sun appears in the heavens.
The Manifestation (Baha'u'llah) had all the qualities of the Sun of Truth manifested in him.
The light is the same though the lamps may be different; we must look at the Light not at the Lamp. If we accept the Light in one, we must accept the Light in all; all agree, because all are the same.
The essence of prophethood is one, just as the effect of one or more lights is that of one. If you want to see the light, you must look at the essence, and not be misled by the lamp through which it manifests itself. If we look at the lamps we find them different, but the light is the same. It is sent by GOD (exalted is His name). There is no difference between the prophets, because all of them are lightened from the same light, and all have attained through the Giver of the Light, but some have fallen in love with the lamp. Thus, when Jesus Christ came the Jews could not believe that the same light which was in Moses was manifest in Christ. For instance, Abraham was a lantern, and Moses was a lantern, Jesus Christ was a lantern, also Mohammed, and the seal of the prophets (Bab) a lantern, in all of which the Lights of GOD were manifest. But those who love the Light will worship it whenever they see it shine.
When the Lights of prophethood shone forth from Mohammed, those who loved the Light believed in Mohammed, but those who loved the lantern of Jesus Christ refused to accept Mohammed. If we have a lamp lighted in the room tonight, and tomorrow we have another lamp, would we not be foolish not to accept the light, though the lamps are changed? But if we loved the lamp we will only accept the light from the first lamp. Jesus said in the Gospels "After Me shall come the Paraclete". The Christians claim that this means the Holy Spirit which came after Christ and abode in His disciples. But if this is true, why, after 600 years, did one come claiming to be the Paraclete? When Mohammed brought forth His claim a great multitude of the disciples of Christ, viz., the Christians, believed in Him as the Comforter mentioned in St. John xvi, 13. In the Bible all the prophecies of Jesus Christ were fulfilled in His Coming. When the Christians say that the Comforter was prophesied as coming from Nazareth, it is not so, but they believed it to be so. We beg GOD to send down upon us the true knowledge, that we may always know the Light, and not look at the lamp.
(Our Lord's Words at Dinner, November 27, 1900)
The nations of the world are looking to the personality and hence they are deprived of the reality of spiritual Truth. It is as if one looked at the horizon instead of the sun, and because the sun was last seen at this horizon, should expect it to appear again at the same place. So, one horizon is that of Jesus, another that of Moses, another of Mohammed, etc. The Jews looked at the horizon of Moses. They were so much under the influence of his personality that they did not recognize Jesus when He came. If we can know the sun we do not need the limitation of horizons.
We must adore the Sun of Reality, no matter from what horizon it may appear, rather than worship the horizon; for if we concentrate our attention upon one horizon, the Sun may arise from quite another point, and we consequently be deprived of the Sun's bestowals. These benefactions are the bounty and guidance of God, the favor of God. This is spiritual progress.
Hence, the Baha'is believe in the fundamental truth of all the religions and turn to the Sun of truth. From whatever dawning point it may appear they turn toward it.
But in the eyes of the people of Truth, the Baha'is, that unseen and unknowable Being is like unto the sun, which hath dawned above all things and from whose rays all creatures, whether mineral, plant, animal, or human, obtain illumination. That is to say, its effulgent rays shine upon them all and they, in turn, reflect faithfully its light.
Know thou that all names and praises, all attributes and perfections, are among the distinguishing properties of the Sun of Truth. The light proceedeth from Him and returneth unto Him. These perfections, in the realities of all others, are but borrowed from that Sun of Truth; and each reality, according to its own capacity and worthiness, deriveth illumination from those lights.
Therefore, O Lord, recompense each letter with the most excellent reward wherewith Thou dost recompense any letter in Thy presence, for all point to a single Point, which hath no equal, no likeness, no peer, no similitude, and no companion. For verily it is as a single Sun, and all else are but mirrors wherein is reflected the image of its revelation, each according to its capacity.
For the shadows present in the mirrors, return not, except unto that form which they have proceeded. Therefore, when the mirror is removed, that which it containeth of the image of the Sun, returneth unto the True Sun, inasmuch as it hath proceeded therefrom. Yet neither its return nor its resurrection taketh place, except at the level of its mirrorness.
Thou seest that his body returneth unto clay, his essential body returneth unto the Gates, his essential soul returneth unto the Imams, his essential spirit returneth unto the Prophet, and his essential heart returneth unto the Manifestation of Glorification, which is intended to be the Sun of Truth.
The rays return, for it is the Sun, and the ultimate ascent is this luminous station.
The divine spirit which is from God's command refers to the holy power, divine confirmations, eternal assistance, divine knowledge and heavenly sciences with which God aids whomever He wishes among His righteous servants.
… The heavenly spirit is a holy essence, a perfect word, a complete sign, the mystery of existence and the reality hidden from the eyes of all beings. It is the Supreme Pen, the Divine Soul, and the manifestation of Truth from the dawning-place of creation and its sun at the dayspring of invention. This is specific to the Prophets in the worlds of creation.
These are mathematical discussions, but we must speak of the Sun of Reality, that celestial Luminary which revolves around itself, not around another, and receives illumination from the lights of the One, nay rather, manifests through itself to itself and does not manifest through another's power, while all circle around it and derive from its lights and benefit from its heat.
That Sun of Reality and Most Great Luminary of the divine world has no setting or declining, no ascent or descent, no fall or rising, no absence or presence in Its Most Holy Essence. This manifestation and concealment, rising and setting, relates to the worlds. The brilliant Sun is always at Its zenith at Its point of burning.
For, in truth, that Daystar in its essence hath neither rising nor setting. In His Kingdom of glory He is always manifest.
The material sun is stationary, but to the eyes it appears to rise and set, because of the revolution of the earth. The Spiritual Sun is purified and sanctified above rising and setting, but because the contingent beings appear and disappear, it also seems to do the same. Although, It, like the material Sun, is stationary and is ever shining.
Consider the sun: The Sun of Reality is like the physical sun, but this rising and setting pertains to the world of creation, not to God, for the Sun of Reality has eternally been sanctified in its own center of holiness from rising and setting. … Observe the visible sun: it is ever-present in its center of radiance, having no rising or setting in its own essence. Rather, its rising and setting are in relation to the earth.
The sun is always fixed in its center. Its apparent changes are due to our conditions. In the space of a year the sun rises from one hundred eighty horizon points, which are called the dawning places. As the sun of the universe has no rising or setting, so also with the Sun of Reality. According to our station, He has a rising and a setting, and we have named those points according to our own natures.
The Sun of Reality, by which we mean the Perfections of God, appears, like the physical sun, to change its position in the spiritual heavens relatively to us.
As the physical sun has its path of movement during the course of the year, so the Sun of Reality appears to us to move; yet it is ever a fixed centre, radiating always a constant spiritual force.
The sun has two risings. It appears to rise but really does not (it is the earth that changes). It shines regardless of the earth. If there were no earth, it would shine just the same (though by means of the earth the wonderful effect of the sun in producing life is beautiful).
The sun is the light and life of the world. The intention of the sun is to illumine the earth, and the function of the earth is to produce growth in the different kingdoms, vegetable, animal, human, and so on. Everything of earth may have growth because it is the quality (lit.-requirement) of the sun that it should. All this is the effect of the sun upon the body of the earth. The sun in his station is self-sufficient and does not need growth. There is no rising or setting for the sun, because there is no movement to it in its station.
The Divine Reality is to man what the sun is to earth. The sun is life, radiance, heat, energy, power. The earth is dead, inert, helpless, incapable of initiative or change. It is poor, cold, and without resources.
as we can only see different objects by the light of the sun, one might in one sense and with truth say the aim is in everything. In this sense also is our Lord Christ in everything. As all things are nourished and sustained by the light and warmth of the sun, so are all created beings filled with the overflowing bounty of Christ.
Although the atom has no existence by itself, yet under the effulgence of the Sun it becomes apparent.
Is it possible to accept the sun and to reject its rays? He who rejects the rays is a rejector of the sun, too.
… They do not know that the divine Manifestations are the bright rays of the Sun of Truth and a means of educating the realities of man.
It is as if a person wishes to make a sun out of oil and wick.
However intense human powers may be, they are like a lamp that illumines a limited space and educates a limited number of souls. The sun is needed to illuminate the horizons; a heavenly power is needed to unite all peoples and nations at a single point.
For example this electric bulb is a center of light but it only illumines the room but the Sun shines upon all the created phenomena without any distinction ...
Some are like lamps, some like the moon, some like distant stars, and a few are like the sun, shining from one end of the earth to the other.
My hope is that day by day your spiritual feelings will increase and your attraction to the Abha Kingdom will grow stronger, so that you may acquire the lights of guidance from the Center of Reality, the true Sun. For though lamps are bright, their light is not continuous, but the light of the sun is continuous and independent, with no darkness following it.
But the Heavenly Sovereignty is like the Sun when all the satellites of the Solar System revolve around it. To all of them the Sun gives light, and is eternal. Both the sovereign and the citizen receive bounty.
Reality is like unto the sun.
… Even as this sun has become manifest and shining upon all phenomena, all earthly phenomena owe their existence and their development to the sun. The bounty of the sun reaches all.
"Where, where, is the Sun of Truth?"
"The Sun of Truth is everywhere. It is shining on the whole world."
O friends of Truth! It is the afternoon time and the sun's rays are diminishing, but the Sun of Reality is shining and gleaming from the unseen Kingdom with an ever-increasing and multiplying world-illumining radiance. Although for its shining there is no increase or decrease, yet as the intervening clouds and dense vapors increasingly dissipate, the radiance of the Sun of Reality becomes greater and the effulgence of the Luminary of the horizons becomes more magnificent.
The Kingdom of God is like unto the sun. It sends the rays on all things. This globe of earth is illuminated by it. In every country where there is no cloud the sun reflects and where there is a cloud all of the sun of the country is concealed.
The clouds of idle fancies have concealed the rays of the Sun of Truth.
Fix your eyes on the Sun of Truth for his light floods the whole earth. Let the sun give you of his strength then the clouds of prejudice will not hide his light from your eyes, then will the sun be without clouds for you.
This abasement sufficeth you, that the Sun hath appeared behind veils and coverings because ye cannot gaze upon it, as your eyes are clouded by self and passion; therefore hath it risen from the holy horizon according to a fixed measure.
The mirror must be clear, delicate and polished to reflect the light; then the light of the sun will be revealed therein. But if the sun shine forever upon a black stone its rays and heat will not be effective and there will be no result.
Should a black stone be placed facing the light of the sun, the signs of brilliancy would not appear, but, in the pure mirror, the sun, with all of its attributes and perfections, becomes reflected instantly.
And this illumination will increase day by day until hearts become like mirrors and the Sun of Reality and the light of guidance shines forth, and the effulgences of the favors of the Luminary of the horizons become manifest and radiant.
Thy heart was pure and holy, and the rays of the Sun of Truth immediately shone forth.
The Kingdom of God is like unto the sun, but only those with sight can find the sun - the blind receive not the rays of the sun.
Yet the blind ones, being gathered without sight or insight, remained veiled and deprived from beholding the Sun of Truth with its mighty rays.
O thou who gazeth upon the Kingdom of God! Although the Sun of Truth hath appeared manifest and evident like unto the radiant moon and brilliant sun, yet the eyes of the blind remain bereft and the hearts of the ignorant remain constricted and dark.
And when the brilliant Sun arose, they crept into the corners of their doubts and the crypts of their various delusions, saying "This is night, not day; darkness, not heart-ravishing light.
But when the Sun of Truth dawned from the horizon of manifestation and the Preserved Tablet was sent down from the heaven of loving-kindness, all clung to their own idle fancies and turned away from the Sovereign of certitude, save those who came unto God with an illumined, believing, and steadfast heart.
Yet when the Sun of Revelation appeared manifest and evident from the horizon of light, all remained veiled save those souls who perceived the sweetness of the divine Word.
Yet when the Sun of Revelation dawned from the horizon of the world, and the Speaker of Sinai spoke forth, all were found to be veiled save a few.
The Sun of Truth has appeared with perfect manifestation and effulgence, and the ocean of bounty is surging. Nevertheless, all remain deprived and veiled save those whom God, thy Lord, has willed.
They behold the Sun yet deny it - verily they are in grievous error. Thou seest them shown the Light and thou sayest "Behold this Light of your Lord, the Mighty, the Generous" but they say "We deny what the leader denieth."
And when, through divine power and might, the Sun of Truth shone forth from behind the veil, the buzzing of flies emerged from behind the curtains as they arose to object and oppose.
O thou who art attracted by the fragrances of God!
When the Most Great Luminary shed its splendor from the horizons of the nations, the dark realities that were enemies of light drew veils over their eyes and crept into the abyss of decline and fall.
… The Sun of Truth with one ray rent asunder and destroyed all those veils and shrouds, and shone so brilliantly at the meridian of the heavens that the contingent world became illumined with the lights of the realm of the unconstrained, and the dark dwelling of the horizons became resplendent with the effulgence of the Supreme Horizon.
Verily that light (i.e., the Light of the Manifestation) shone forth from the horizon of the Manifestation, appeared upon the horizon of existence, and the darkness was changed into light; the Sun of Guidance dawned in the horizon of heaven, whereby the eyes which were looking unto the Kingdom of God were illuminated, the breasts which were filled with God's love were dilated, and the heavenly spirits were attracted by the magnet of the Holy Spirit, so that the hearts became as pure mirrors reflecting the godlike appearances and manifesting the heavenly lights--except the eyes which were in the veil of imitation of the forefathers (i.e., those who followed the theories of their fathers) were hindered from or veiled from witnessing that brilliant and godlike illumination, and the people held to the superstitions of the Pharisees and neglected the mystery of God and the glad-tidings (recorded) in the Holy Scriptures, which elucidated the appearance of the Lord of Hosts in the promised day.
O daughter of the Kingdom! When the Sun of Truth dawned from the horizon of Iran, every soul that belonged to the world of nature - that is, whose element of existence was purely earthly - remained completely veiled and deprived.
When that divine Sun of the world shone forth, they blindly turned away their gaze, and when that peerless Sapling of the heavenly garden cast its shade, they all fled.
But alas, a hundred thousand regrets that when that Sun rose with the light of manifestation, the bat-like people crept into the corner of darkness and ran into underground caves, not seeing His evident lights.
The Sun of Reality is in the height of its power and majesty but they prefer dark rooms and the light of the candles.
While the Sun was concealed behind the clouds, all were engaged in lamentation and weeping, yet when it emerged through the blessing of the Most Great Name from behind the clouds, most failed to behold it, for eyes were afflicted with the ophthalmia of desire.
All were waiting, yet when the Sun of Revelation shone forth from the horizon of the world, they arose in opposition.
This is Our remembrance for him who consorted with his Lord yet knew Him not, who heard the call of God yet answered it not, and upon whom in every moment there shone forth the Sun of Beauty from the horizon of glory, yet he recounted not its effulgences.
From this blessed word is established this supreme truth: that this Most Great Manifestation and Mighty Announcement cannot be known through the Primal Point and the Bayan. Therefore, if any soul denies the divine verses and heavenly evidences and lordly favors in this Manifestation, he is deprived of the Most Great Ocean and forbidden from the effulgences of the lights of the Sun of Truth.
And whoso hath hesitated in His Cause hath departed from beneath the shadow of My sovereignty and removed himself from My mercy and associated partners with My dominion and been debarred from the outpourings of the heaven of My loving-kindness and from the dawning of the lights of My countenance whereby the Concourse on High and the dwellers of the Cities of Names were illumined, and they who circle round My mighty throne.
The Sun [of Glory] hath dawned from the horizon of eternity with the ornament of God, the Almighty, the Most High, the Most Exalted.
… By God, O bat, the day of thy death hath come, for the Sun of Beauty hath risen at the meridian with the sovereignty of grandeur and majesty.
Deny not the Sun after its light hath illumined all who dwell in the kingdom of Command and Creation and those who abide behind the ocean of grandeur in an exalted and holy station.
Say: O people, deny not God and His signs, now that the Sun of Beauty hath dawned from the horizon of majesty and standeth at the meridian with sovereign independence, and uttereth at every moment the sweetest melodies, saying: O peoples of the earth, deprive not yourselves of His beauty, nor your eyes from gazing upon His countenance, nor your ears from hearkening unto His verses, nor your hearts from recognizing My Self, the Mighty, the Beloved.
Beware lest ye deny Him through Whom the sun hath shone forth and the moon hath appeared in this heaven which hath been raised up through this Great Name.
Say: O people! By God, the Sun hath risen from a mighty horizon. Deprive not yourselves of that which hath appeared in truth, whose light shineth with brilliant radiance.
Say: If ye desire the Sun, behold, it hath appeared in its form and hath shone forth from the horizon of might and power with rays that have encompassed the worlds. From it all things draw their sustenance, and verily it is the Most Great Bounty unto all who are in the realm of possibility, yet the people are debarred therefrom by following their desires, save those who have cast away what they possessed and taken what they were bidden by the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Beseech ye God that He may, with the finger of His power, rend asunder the veils that have hindered men, and withhold them not from beholding the lights of the Sun of Revelation.
I beseech God, exalted be His glory, to strengthen weak eyes with the light of His bounty that they may behold the Sun of Manifestation and gaze upon its horizon.
Lift up your heads and open your eyes, that ye may behold the Sun of the Beauty of your Lord shining forth from the horizon of destiny with the sovereignty of His Most Glorious and Most Sublime Remembrance.
Open your eyes - verily the Sun is at its zenith. Hold fast unto it and be not of the wrongdoers.
Open your eyes, then raise up your heads - verily the Sun shineth at its zenith!
Say: Look ye, look ye, for the Sun hath risen from the horizon of proof.
Say: This is the Sun which hath dawned from the horizon of God's beauty; turn ye towards it, O ye who are beloved!
Therefore, just as the physical sun has its rising and setting, and by its radiance and heat illumines the horizons and nurtures all created things, likewise the Sun of Divine Reality has its rising and setting, its manifestation and concealment. Through its appearance and rising from the Dayspring of Possibility, it illumines the horizons of existence through the outpouring of the All-Merciful and nurtures the pure, sanctified and blessed realities through its mighty effusion and brilliant rays reaching all regions.
That Light of Truth shone upon East and West, then was hidden in the clouds of glory and set from this world, yet forever shines and gleams in the horizon of the invisible realm of contingent being.
Now that Greatest Luminary has ascended and risen to the Most Exalted Horizon, and eyes are deprived of beholding that Beauty.
When that rising Sun set and that shining Light disappeared, they were stunned and fainted.
O Servant of God! Some of the heedless ones have imagined that since the Sun of Truth has set from the horizon of the human temple, its holy rays have also declined, meaning that the realm of possibility has become the longest night and darkness has been established upon the throne.
When the Sun of Guidance disappeared behind clouds of might and grandeur, they imagined that the fire kindled on the Mount of Revelation in the right valley of Paran of love, in the dome of pomegranate, had been extinguished.
And though we remain far from the outpourings of the Day of Meeting, let us benefit from the effulgences of His Sun of Guidance that riseth and shineth from the horizon of eternity.
And I earnestly beseech and implore the presence of the All-Merciful that my eyes may be consoled by beholding radiant faces gazing upon their Lord, by whose lights the kingdom of existence, both unseen and seen, is illumined, inasmuch as they have turned toward the Sun of Guidance in the Most Glorious Kingdom and have been enkindled by the fire of God kindled in the Blessed Tree and have received the lights from the Most Great Luminary which has set from the horizons of the nations while it shines from its most exalted horizon and its most glorious kingdom upon the people of Baha.
During times of misfortune and hardship, one should take consolation through the memory of the martyrs, for the fruit of this world shall ever be loss and regret, especially after the setting of the Sun of Existence and the Most Great Luminary of the placeless.
When the Most Luminous Sun hath set, if a ray ascendeth it hath no effect, and when the Most Great Ocean disappeareth, the separation of a drop createth no commotion.
When such an eclipse and waning befalls the radiant Sun and shining Moon, what care need we destitute ones have of tribulation?
O loved ones of God! Do not grieve over what hath befallen the Luminary of the horizons. Verily, the sun is eclipsed and the moon is darkened.
By God! Were ye to perceive within yourselves, ye would weep with the weeping of the bereaved for this Sun that hath vanished from you, which had been illumined with the light of God.
That orb is setting while this Light is rising. That one causes the mixing, blending, growth and development of bodies, while this one causes the enkindlement, attraction, joy and delight of spirits. That one is setting while this one is dawning; that one is fading while this one is flashing.
I beg of God that thou mayst discover the stars of the Kingdom of Abha, behold the zodiacal towers in the world on High, unfold the secrets of God and worship a Sun which never sets in the horizon and its rays are the mysteries of phenomena.
Despite this, the veil has so obscured vision that among the people of the world only a few are enlightened while all the rest remain captive to the darkness of the furnace. However, the rays of the Sun of Truth have become so brilliant that this darkness cannot endure. Soon you will see that in this new age and wondrous century, the gleaming light of the morn of guidance will illuminate distant horizons.
"Now is only the emergence of the dawn of the Sun of Truth," His blessed Person told us. "Soon it will envelop the whole earth."
And verily We have made thee unto all worlds a brilliant sun and an illuminating moon and a chaste mortal and a mighty pillar unto all worlds, that perchance mankind might become, through God and His verses, with truth upon truth, a surety.
The Dawning-Place, the Manifestation and the Day-Spring of that invisible Sun hath been and shall ever be the Temple of Unity, and His Will and Purpose appear and shine forth from Him.
Say: By God! At times I behold Him as the sun in the temple of holiness, and at times I witness that He surgeth within His Own Self, by His Own Self, for His Own Self, like the ocean that encompasseth all worlds. At times I behold that He hath risen like the heaven, and all created things dwell beneath His shadow, nay, beneath the shadow of His shadow, inhabited in justice. At times He appeareth with light, then radiance, then effulgence, then manifestation and gleaming that seizeth the eyes of all who are in the heavens and earth from turning to His countenance or gazing upon His beauty.
We must strive with complete determination to raise the blessed and goodly Word - which sometimes appears in human form, at times in the form of light, once in the image of the Tree, and another time in the likeness of the Sun - from earth to heaven, that people may be freed from the clay of idle fancies and vain imaginings and attain to what God has willed.
Through My command did the sun shine forth from the horizon of heaven, and the Nightingale of Holiness sang out that this is the Beauty of God in the human realm of beginning, and the Manifestation of God in the heavenly kingdom on high, and the Concealment of God in the realm of might and immortality, and the Essence of Eternity in this radiant, snow-white garment.
When the divine Dhu'l-Qarnayn traversed the East and West of existence and unveiled the horizon of the unseen and the visible, He saw the Sun of Truth rising and setting in the dawning-place of lights of the human temple and elemental frame, "He found it setting in a murky spring."
This Luminous Light and Merciful Star and Divine Full Moon and Sun that has no equal has a rising and shining forth from the horizon of horizons, and a dawning and appearance from the horizon of souls, as God the Exalted has said: "We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth."
O Misbah! In the blessed verse He says that when the luminosity of the lamp, the delicacy of the glass, and the purity of the niche combine, light upon light results: "The likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp, the lamp in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star, lit from a blessed tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow forth though no fire touched it - light upon light."
O thou who art illumined by the Greatest Light of Guidance!
When His Holiness Moses hastened to Mount Sinai, he found the flame of light and declared "I perceive a fire wherein I find guidance."
The Light hath shone forth and He Who conversed on Sinai hath been established upon the throne of Revelation and the Herald hath cried out before His face: "O peoples of the earth! This is He with Whose mention God hath adorned His Books, and this is He by Whose name hearts have been enraptured.
This is the Day whereon He Who conversed with God upon Sinai hath seated Himself upon the throne of Manifestation before all faces, calling aloud with the most exalted utterance and summoning all who are on earth and in heaven unto the Supreme Horizon - that station wherein hath shone forth the Sun of knowledge by the command of God, the Lord of the worlds.
Today the Sun of Truth is His dawning - that Announcement wherewith all the Prophets gave glad tidings to the servants, and wherewith the divine Books, Scrolls and Psalms were adorned and embellished.
Thus doth the Dawning-Place of the verses of God, the Lord of the Day of Resurrection, command thee. In this day the Sun of Truth, from the horizon of the prison of 'Akka, speaketh this most sublime Word: I say in truth, the blessed word "but He is the Apostle of God and the Seal of the Prophets" found its consummation in "the Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds."
O Muhammad! The Fire is speaking in all trees with "The Chosen One hath come," and the Light from the horizon of Sinai is dawning and shining with infinite radiance.
He announced and gave glad tidings, saying: "The Hour has drawn nigh and the moon is cleft asunder, and the stars are darkened and scattered, and the greatest spectacle shall appear on a continuing day of gathering, and the Sun of Truth shall be manifested with the most brilliant beauty, and on that Day mankind shall be divided groups scattered about - a company from among the people of hearing and sight, and a band from among those who went astray and were proud.
The Cup-Bearer of 'Ama offers the goblet of the wine of faithfulness with radiant light, that ye may become enraptured in the Sinai of love through the manifestation of Beauty, and after attaining unto "when he recovered from his swoon," ye may hear from the tongue of the heart the blessed verse "And to God belongeth the Kingdom of the heavens and of the earth," that ye may enter, intoxicated, into the gathering of love and the assembly of affection and become thankful.
O ye intoxicated lovers of the countenance of the Beloved Friend! When the Beauteous Beloved revealed Himself among souls in the form of a precious human being, the light shining from this Joseph illumined the whole world with its beauty and the lamp of reunion was lit in Egypt of the spirit.
But when the idolaters imprisoned Us in this remote prison, We therefore rent asunder the veils of concealment and revealed the Face like the manifest, radiant Sun, that thereby might be consumed the hearts of the deceivers and might increase the faith of the believers.
The Sun of Baha hath shone forth from the horizon of eternity in this Prison which God hath illumined with His presence.
In the darkness of the earth, after the turning away of souls, He was witnessed like the sun from the horizon of the spirit in the holy dawning-place of truth.
Its likeness is as the sun: when it shineth forth from its horizon it illumineth the regions and brighteth the faces of those who have attained.
Today the Sun of Manifestation is shining and the light of His countenance is radiant.
Say: The Sun hath dawned from the horizon of holiness with manifest radiance. Blessed is he who hath been illumined by its lights and hath dwelt beneath its shade and is of them that have turned unto it.
Verily it announceth unto the world the appearance of God and His sovereignty and His transcendence and His exaltation and His ascendancy.
Verily the sun proclaimeth and beareth glad-tidings to the sincere of what hath been ordained for them in a perspicuous Book.
O Ibrahim! The Sun of Revelation hath appeared and is visible from the horizon of the heaven of divine knowledge, and the Most Exalted Pen is occupied with the praise of the friends of God in this glorious station.
The inscribed Tablet hath descended from the heaven of loving-kindness and hath made manifest the hidden meanings like unto a spiritual sun from the mystic horizon.
Verily they are the Sun of inner meanings, and by them are nourished the realities of all things, would ye but understand.
At times they appear in the form of the sun and shine forth from the horizon of eternity - how excellent is he who hath been illumined by their lights!
Glorified be He by Whose name the ocean of utterance surged in the realm of possibility, and the Sun of Manifestation shone forth from the horizon of the heaven of proof, and the Dove of Paradise warbled upon the branch of certitude.
Say: O people, do ye not witness how the sun hath risen and the light hath shone forth and the veil hath been rent asunder and God hath stood forth in the holy concourse while the Dove announceth before Him with such melody that all in the kingdom are stunned thereby?
Follow thou God's religion and His way, then seek shelter beneath the shade of this Youth Who, when He appeareth from the horizon of the House, causeth suns to rise from the horizon of the worlds of the unseen and the seen, shining from a station truly exalted.
Say: O peoples of the earth! Behold how the Sun hath dawned from the Most Glorious Horizon and the Light hath shone forth from this noble station.
Say: Verily He hath shone forth from the horizon of glory like the sun at its zenith.
Say: The Sun hath risen and the Day of God hath appeared, effacing thereby the light of the stars, if ye be possessed of insight.
The Sun of Beauty hath made the world of hearts more radiant than the luminous day, and hath wiped clean from the tablets of hearts the rust of rational knowledge's manifestations.
For the shadow has ever been with the sun and moves around it, and the fruit has ever been with the ultimate tree - at times manifest and at times hidden.
Today the Kingdom of God is illumined by the lights of the Sun of Manifestation, and the radiance of the Sun of Grace hath encompassed the world.
The earth hath been illumined by the lights of the Countenance and the heaven hath been adorned with the stars of wisdom and utterance, yet the people behold not. Thus hath the Sun of Knowledge shone forth from the horizon of the Pen of thy Lord, the Merciful.
Verily We make mention of the Tablet at times as the Written and at other times as the Preserved, and they are one and the same station, and it is the Sun shining from the horizon of the heaven of the knowledge of your Lord, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
The faces have been illumined by the lights of the Countenance, and the horizons by My luminous horizon.
Glorified is He Who sends down verses at all times, and through them the Sun has shone forth from a holy and exalted horizon.
Say: O people! By God, the Most Great Luminary hath appeared and through Him the heavens and earth have been illumined.
The remembrance of God, in the form of the Sun behind the ocean of grandeur, hath been witnessed above the horizon of utterance.
… The Most Great Ocean hath appeared, and upon it hath moved the Sun of Beauty with a light that hath encompassed all worlds.
God beareth witness that there is none other God but Him, and that He Who hath appeared is verily the Sun risen from the horizon of this heaven which hath been upraised in truth through His name, the Mighty, the Inaccessible.
O my handmaid, upon thee be My glory! Today the Sun of Truth has risen from the horizon of the heaven of grandeur, and the Lord of mankind has departed for another land.
And upon thee be the glory from this Glory which hath shone forth from the Dayspring of the Cause with brilliant lights.
Praise be to God that the realm of existence hath been illumined and brightened by the Sun of the Divine Name, and the Call of the Divine Tree hath been raised.
Praise be to God that the Luminary of the Most Great Name hath risen and shone forth from the horizon of eternity, and the Ocean of bounty is manifest and billowing.
By God, from it hath shone forth the Sun of God's Beauty, the Lord of all worlds.
The voice of the Most Exalted Pen is raised at all times, and the tongue of Grandeur speaks forth in every moment, and the Sun of the Beauty of the Beloved is ever-dawning from the horizon of glory.
O My handmaiden! Today the Sun of Manifestation hath risen and is shining from the horizon of the heaven of God's Command, and the rustling of the Divine Lote-Tree is raised before the faces of humanity.
The Day of the Peerless Friend hath appeared, and through the triumph of the divine Day the world hath been illumined.
Soon shalt thou behold the Sun of eternity shining forth from the horizon of glory with a sovereignty supreme over all truth.
Verily the Sun of Guidance, Light of the highest heavens, Lamp of the Supreme Concourse, has risen from the niche of the human realm and is kindled and shining in the glass of His most glorious Kingdom and the zenith of His most exalted horizon, shedding its lights upon the righteous ones and the holy manifestations among the chosen ones.
Today that all-embracing Word is the Cause of the Ancient Beauty, which encompasses the world of creation and by whose radiance, manifestation and appearance the luminosity of existence is sustained.
O ye who are guided by the light of guidance!
The lamp of guidance is aflame and the supreme horizon is radiant and resplendent with the light of the Most Glorious Beauty, shining forth upon the horizons of nations.
The call of the Manifestation of the Lord of Sinai has caused tumult in all regions, and the fame of the greatness of the Sun of Truth has spread throughout the horizons.
His sun shone forth in the east and orient.
O thou who art intoxicated with the wine of divine love! In this mortal world the Sun of eternal Truth hath dawned from the horizon of oneness and the dawning-place of singleness, bestowing limitless lights upon all regions.
O kind friend! When the Most Great Luminary rose from the horizon of reality, the lights of mysteries cast such radiance upon all regions that East and West became the vale of Sinai and the scene of manifestation.
Otherwise, human structures shall be leveled to dust, and the pearls in the shell of contingent being shall turn to worthless pottery, unless the rays of the Sun of Reality shine forth and bestow grace, brilliance and radiance.
The Sun of Truth, the Most Great Luminary, the Most Luminous Orb, the Dawn of Guidance rose and shone forth from the dayspring of hopes of the kings of the realm of knowledge. From the intensity of its radiating rays, the inner and outer worlds, the realm of bodies and spirits, and the kingdom of truth and metaphor were brought to excitement and tumult.
Through the grace of that world-illumining Sun's rays, the universe became the envy of the gardens of Paradise, and through the light of that Sun of Reality's manifestation, the horizons became the object of the Ridvan Garden's jealousy.
O spiritual star! When the procession of the Merciful Luminary arrived, the spiritual star of fortune for the spiritually-minded rose.
But the Sun of Truth reveals all created things and uncovers the realities of things and knows the realities of things and casts a special radiance upon the hearts of the beloved ones.
O thou servant who art supplicating and imploring the Abha Kingdom!
On this morn of eternity, when the lights of the Kingdom of "Be and it is" have immersed the realms of the unseen and the seen in splendor, and the Most Great Bounty hath encompassed the worlds of existence, the Sun of Reality hath shone forth from the supreme horizon at the meridian with such grace and radiance as to stir the unseen realm of contingent being into motion.
When that melody and song reaches the ears of the people of mystery in the monasteries of the Kingdom, that clime will be stirred into motion and the morn of guidance will shine so brightly that the darkness of error will be utterly dispersed and matters will be set right.
O faithful servant! That Manifest Light, like unto a shining candle, was set ablaze in the assemblage of man. The moths of the flower-garden of the Merciful circled round that Incandescent Lamp, and they feared no one save God.
O namesake of His Holiness the Exalted One! Since thou hast been named with this blessed name, thou must seek a portion and share of His grace and, like a moth, burn thy wings and pinions circling round the luminous candle of the Concourse on High.
That Lamp of Guidance is the Abha Beauty, Who shineth resplendent in the Concourse on High upon all horizons.
They acknowledge the supreme movement of existence and minds, and observe the intense power of the mystery of being, yet they know not and are heedless of the center of this great outpouring, unaware that although the lights of mysteries have illumined the horizons, the center of light is the Sun of Truth which has shone forth and radiated from the Kingdom of mysteries.
However, from the homeland of the Intended One, the region of Mazandaran, good news is arriving that, praise be to God, the lights of the Sun of Truth are shining in that land and the breeze of providence is wafting and the hearts of the friends are in motion.
O pure friends of God! All the vast multitudes of the world are watching and waiting to see that King remove His veil and that enchanting Face reveal itself like the sun and moon, and to catch the musk-scented fragrance of that World-Sheltering Beloved.
The Sun radiated forth and the World-illumining Light appeared.
The Sun of the divine realm is manifest and appearing from the placeless Orient upon the kingdoms of the world.
O seeker of the lights of Truth! In the Orient of the world, the Sun of the most luminous heaven has risen and illumined the horizon of divine unity.
Though we are people of the West, yet in intelligence, knowledge, freedom and wisdom we are leaders over the people of the East. If this Most Great Luminary had risen from our horizon, by now the regions of the West would have become the illumined morn, the embodied spirit, and the manifest light."
And if thou asketh about the effulgences of the Sun of Reality, they are radiant upon the horizons of the world.
Now, through divine grace and bounty, the Sun of Reality hath risen from the horizon of oneness and hath illumined and brightened the world of existence with the lights of its manifestation.
O fragrant flower of the divine garden of love! At this time when the Sun of the heaven of sanctification is shining with utmost brilliance from the horizon of the Most Glorious Beauty - He alone with no partner in His Essence, attributes, names, deeds, effusions and manifestations, and none like Him in the loftiness of His proof, the exaltation of His sovereignty, His mighty signs and His clear evidences, for He alone is the Beloved of the mystics, the Goal of the sincere ones, the Object of worship of the believers, the Refuge of the believers, the Shelter of the steadfast and firm ones, the Adored One of those who have attained, and the Promised One in all the tablets revealed to the Prophets and Messengers - immerse yourself in the ocean of oneness, ascend to the heaven of detachment, abide eternally in the paradise of divine unity, and turn toward the Most Glorious Kingdom.
This connection and attachment and unity and harmony are among the special characteristics of this Most Great Cycle, wherein the Sun of Truth from the Dayspring of Oneness hath shed the lights of unity upon the temples of detachment, and the Most Great Sea hath bestowed upon the shores of contingent beings the luminous pearls of unity and detachment.
O thou who holdest fast to God's Strong Cord!
The Morn of Guidance hath dawned from the Dayspring of eternity, and the Sun of Truth hath shone forth from the horizon of glory, bestowing infinite bounties upon the dawning-places of creation.
The Sun of Truth hath no greater guide than its world-encompassing rays, and the Most Great Ocean no mightier evidence than its sanctified waves.
In brief, this praised station is a sun that hath dawned and shone forth in the heaven of prophethood and the firmament of the Cause. Yet its rays and effulgence are manifest in all degrees.
O thou who art immersed in the ocean of mystic knowledge of the All-Glorious Beauty! In His most noble Temple He unveiled His countenance and lifted all veils, and with a face like unto the sun He became manifest in the gathering of revelation, illumining all horizons with the lights of His beauty.
O thou who gazest upon the Most Transcendent Scene! The reality of generosity, like the Most Great Name, became manifest and embodied in this most glorious Revelation, and like the sun became visible and evident at the center of possibility.
O sapling of the garden of conscience! The Day of God has come when the true Sun rose, appeared and shone forth from the divine horizon, and Its radiant lights from the Sun of Truth illumined earth and heaven. Now It shines in the realm of placelessness while It has set from the horizon of the contingent world. The darkest night has encompassed all. The loved ones of the All-Merciful must each become like a lamp aflame.
O thou who art called the chosen one and who gazest upon the traces from the Kingdom of Mysteries! Be of good cheer and rejoice in spirit, for thou hast attained to an age which taketh pride over all ages through the appearance therein of the Light of Truth in the niche of lights.
The Sun of Truth dawned and the light of God appeared.
O true divine loved ones! On that dawn when the Sun of Reality shone forth from the horizon of the world upon the temples of nations, its brilliant rays illumined and enlightened East and West, and the spirit of life was breathed into the bodies of all things.
The Blessed Beauty caused the appearance of the Sun of Reality.
The Apostle believed in that which was sent down unto him, and likewise the manifestation and effulgence of heat and radiance of the sun in its own true mirror.
Jesus was the sun and his rays shone upon his disciples through his teachings.
The sun illumines the entire world, yet its influence is strongest at the equator. Similarly, the divine teachings should have their most powerful effect in Iran.
The Sun of Reality shone forth, casting the effulgences of His Graces upon that country. He proclaimed the Heavenly Teachings and instituted the Religion of the Clement Lord. It is hoped that the Splendor of this Sun might make the expanse of Persia like unto the luminous immensity of heaven.
O my God! In the midmost heart of the world the fire of Thy love hath been set ablaze, whose light hath illumined the kingdom of creation, both seen and unseen, and the whole world hath been perfumed with the sweet savours of Thy Holiness that have been shed from the gardens of Thy sanctity, and all faces have been illumined with the rays of the Sun of Truth that shine from the Abha Kingdom on the Tablernacles of the Unity of God, the Manifestations of Oneness, the Day Springs of Holiness and the Dawning Places of the light of detachment from aught else except Thee.
I beseech Thee by Thy light which hath shone forth upon the world, and by the fire of Thy Lote-Tree whereby the hearts of the nations have been set ablaze, and by the lights of Thy Manifestation and the Call raised upon Thy Mount, to aid Thy servants to turn toward the lights of Thy countenance.
O Most Glorious Beauty! O Sun of Reality of the Supreme Concourse!
Praise be unto Thee for having made me the lamp of the worlds and the light of those who know Thee.
Therefore I hope that a ray from the Sun of Reality, which hath shone forth from the horizon of manifestation, may fall upon thy heart and that the breathings of the Holy Spirit may quicken thy spirit.
My God, my God! This is a servant who has been illumined by the guiding lights shining from the Sun of Truth and has been enlightened by the Lamp kindled in the Glass of the All-Merciful. O Lord! Illumine his face with the light of bounty and expand his breast through the verses of faithfulness, and make him a goodly example to all humanity. Verily, Thou doest whatsoever Thou willest.
Then Thou didst choose, O my Lord, from among humankind souls of pure essence, goodly origin and noble descent, and didst distinguish them with grace and beneficence - Thou dost single out for Thy mercy whomsoever Thou pleasest - and didst make them signs of divine unity in the kingdom of creation and mirrors pure, subtle and resplendent from the gleaming of the morn of guidance, illumined by the rays shining forth from the star of the Most High.
Say: O God of Names and Creator of Heaven! I beseech Thee by Thy Name, the All-Compelling over all things, through which the gate of Thy bounty was opened to all who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, and the Water of Life flowed forth amongst Thy creatures, to make me attracted to Thy verses, detached from all else but Thee, and in all conditions turned toward the horizon from which shone forth the Sun of Thy Manifestation.
I beseech Thee by Thy favors which the pens of the world are powerless to recount, and by Thy gifts which the hearts of nations confess are beyond limitation, and by the Light wherewith the Mount was illumined when it shone forth from the horizon of the will of the Lord of Manifestation, to bless the steps of Thy handmaiden whom Thou hast named Neshat-Angiz by Thy wondrous and mighty Pen among Thy chosen ones and loved ones.
I beseech Thee by the Most Exalted Horizon, the Station from which the Sun of Thy beauty hath shone forth, to strengthen me under all conditions to make mention of Thee and to praise Thee.
O servant! Hearken unto the call of thy Lord from this quarter from whose horizon hath shone forth the Sun of the Beauty of thy Lord, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
Thus has the Sun of Revelation shone forth from the horizon of grace, that thou mayest give thanks unto thy Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Praise be to God, the Sun of Truth hath dawned and is manifest from the Dayspring of loving-kindness.
If you thirst for Salsabil, drink from the pure spring, and if you seek brilliant rays, fix your heart upon the Sun of Truth.
The bounty and loving-kindness of the Blessed Tree towards Its leaves is even as the sun shining resplendent from the horizon of the heaven of grace.
I swear by the Sun of utterance which shineth from the horizon of the prison, should a soul sacrifice his life a hundred thousand times in the path of the Friend, verily it would be seen as non-existent and as naught compared to this most great bounty.
O My loved ones! Look not upon the sedition and its darkness, but rather gaze upon the Sun from which nothing has withheld It, and be illumined by Its lights from this Quarter unto which the hearts of those near unto God have been attracted.
By God! Wert thou to become aware of its greatness and the greatness of the station of Him Who manifesteth it, thou wouldst melt away with the fire of longing even as snow melteth from the heat of the sun.
The sanctified and pure beings have then been illumined with these shining lights and luminous splendors so long as they are turning towards that rising sun.
You took the cup of salvation from the hand of the Cup-bearer of the Covenant and became inebriated with supreme joy, delight and longing upon beholding the lights of the Daystar of the horizons.
Place thy trust in all matters in Him and turn thy heart toward the holy direction, this Paradise from whose horizon hath shone forth the Sun of Beauty by a command that hath, from time immemorial, encompassed the worlds.
O Muhammad-Quli! Praise be to God that thou hast been favored with divine grace and hast recognized the Sun of Truth which hath dawned from the horizon of the heaven of bounty.
Convey My greetings to the leaves and handmaidens on behalf of the Wronged One and illumine them with the lights of the Sun of Truth.
O friends of God! The light of sanctity from the Most Glorious Beauty has shone upon the hearts of the friends and the rays of detachment have dawned.
Therefore be in the utmost joy and delight, for the Sun of Truth is shining forth from the horizon of forgiveness, and surely that boundless Ocean will purify and cleanse the defilement of these sinners.
In this divine springtime thou hast become verdant and flourishing through the outpourings of the rain of the All-Merciful, been blessed by the waves of the Most Great Sea, drawn illumination from the rays of the Sun of Truth, and found rest in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree.
Happiness be unto you, for ye have been illumined by the Sun of Truth, the Light of the Horizons, on the Day of Radiance, and ye have remained firm in the Covenant, and have borne trials and tribulations in the path of Baha, and have drunk to the full a brimming cup of the wine of fidelity out of love for the Most Exalted Beauty.
O friends of God! Praise be to God that you have been illumined by the effulgent rays of the Sun of Truth and have turned your faces toward the Sanctuary of true understanding after the turning away of the peoples of creation.
And this is God's sun shining upon you - be illumined thereby, O people of truth and certitude!
Be thou thankful unto thy Lord, inasmuch as the Sun of Remembrance hath shone forth upon thee from this manifest and gleaming horizon.
Thus hath the Sun of Utterance shone forth from the horizon of thy Lord's will, the All-Merciful, that thou mayest render thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn.
Give thanks unto God that the Wronged One hath turned toward thee from His Most Great Prison and remembereth thee with that which God hath made a light unto the world, a lamp unto the nations, and a flowing spring unto every thirsty one who is endowed with insight.
Blessed is he who fulfilleth God's Covenant in days wherein there hath dawned from the horizon of the Bayan the Sun of Wisdom and Exposition, which appeared in His Most Glorious Name in the Kingdom of creation.
O Nuriyyih! Blessed art thou for having been illumined by the Sun of Beauty after it had risen at the meridian with the sovereignty of God, the Mighty, the Exalted.
May the rays of the divine eastern Sun illumine thy face and make thy countenance a lamp of the gathering.
How excellent and blessed, then, is the one who, having gained insight and wisdom in creation, attains to a noble portion and reaches a lofty station, and who, like the loving sun of the supreme heaven, shines forth from the dawning-place of glory.
O gentle branch! Today's responsibility is mighty - one must gird up the loins of service mightily and advance day by day in the degrees of understanding, so that through the aid and protection of the Self-Subsisting Lord, one may shine forth like a luminous lamp in the glass of contingent being.
O luminous lamp! Light a flame and become the lamp of the gathering. … Assist Your servant to light the lamp of guidance at the pole of the valley of piety and to kindle the fires of love in the heart of contingent being.
And verily you, O dignified sage, arise to serve the Cause of God with such power that the pillars of ignorance and evil will be shaken, and the dense clouds in the horizon of existence will vanish, until the Sun of Truth appears with brilliant rays in the East and West of the earth.
Therefore, Abdul-Baha is ever watchful and expectant for the appearance of this bestowal, so that that clime may become an adornment of the world of creation, become the dawning-place for the Sun of Reality, and the manifest and obvious signs of the Beloved of the horizons may appear.
O my son! Be a brilliant lamp, a fruitful tree, a radiant star, and a luminous pearl in the shell of possibility, so that the crown of glory may be adorned by your unique gem and pearl.
When the sun shines in the constellation of Gemini, it forms two seasons - the end of spring and beginning of summer. … I hope that you two brothers will likewise, through the outpourings of the Sun of Truth, adorn the gardens of hearts with the flowers and herbs of divine knowledge, and make the orchard of souls fruitful with the sweet fruits of the love of God.
O Bayda' Nura'! Bayda' is one of the names of the sun, therefore your radiance and effulgence is the endurance of hardship and tribulation, and the heat of the flame of the love of God. This is the gleaming and brilliance of the sun. This light is eternal and this heat is everlasting.
O thou who gazest toward the Kingdom of Abha! In this Most Great Cycle, when the Sun of Truth hath illumined both East and West, the rays of His bounty have fallen upon the weak and the poor, and through His grace and favor He hath granted them ancient glory, so that His all-encompassing power might become manifest and evident at the world's center like the appearance of the Most Great Luminary.
Take for example, the sun. There is a material sun, and there is also a spiritual sun. As the physical sun rises and sets, so also does the spiritual sun. When the sun rises the darkness vanishes. So, also, when the Sun of Truth arises, all errors and ignorance disappears. As everything in the world depends entirely upon the material sun for life and growth, and for producing fruit, for without its rays no fruit would be possible, so, also, without the Light of the Spiritual Sun, souls can produce no fruit.
As soon as he begins to be detached from this world the Spirit of the Kingdom, like unto a sun, will shine from the horizon of his heart.
The dawning of the Sun of reformation from the horizon of the world is dependent upon and connected with the Manifestations of power, by the will of God, exalted be His glory.
Verily, when thou hearest this mighty counsel and rollest up the sleeves of effort in this noble Cause and tightenest thy grip upon this wondrous deed, thou shalt see the doors of divine confirmation opened before thy face, the hosts of divine success following behind thee in succession, the holy fragrances perfuming thy nostrils, the seas of spiritual revelation expanding before thy countenance, the clouds of grace raining upon thy earth, the lights of the Sun of Reality shining upon thy sight, the breeze of God awakening thy heart, and the breath of God quickening thy spirit.
This is why in every age the Sun of Truth shines forth and from the dawning-place of the horizons bestows the light of unity, so that the human world becomes the dawning-place of divine lights, and limited and restricted realities become temples of oneness, and the world of existence puts on a new garment.
I hope that assembly, like sparkling stars, may shed the lights of love and unison upon the human world, and become the cause of the happiness and joy of the inhabitants of the earth; that they may become like unto clear mirrors reflecting (the rays) of the Sun of Truth, and give the glad-tidings of the manifestation of the Lord of the Kingdom.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant!
When the Sun of Truth shone forth with intense light and heat from the horizon of the placeless realm upon the world of existence, sanctified souls reached such a station that they sacrificed their lives for one another, arose to serve each other, and became offerings for one another.
O yearning one! even as the planet that circles around the sun, seek thou thy light from this Daystar that hath risen above the horizon of the world, so that thou mayest become entirely illumined, and a sign of His manifestation.
We hope that through the heat of the Sun of Truth which is rising and shining from the horizon of the Unseen, the cold and moisture of hearts and souls will likewise be dispelled, so that sacred realities may be set in motion and, through the heat of that Sun of the heaven of sanctification, may stir in such a way as to bring the world of being into motion and revolution.
May they become bright candles in the assembly of humanity and clear, pure mirrors reflecting the rays of the Sun of Reality.
Therefore strive that these signs may appear and shine forth like the rays of the sun from the dawning-place of existence, and that the attributes of this supreme gift may encompass the reality of being from all directions.
This station is like the mighty ocean whose waves strike the shores of contingent realities, and like the most luminous sun whose rays reach the mirrors of pure hearts.
O thou tree planted in the Vineyard of God!
Verily, the clouds of the mercy of thy Lord have poured forth the rain of His greatest gift; the heat of the Sun of Truth hath become intense upon the plains, valleys and hills, and the winds of fecundation of the mercy of thy Lord have blown o'er the gardens, mountains and thickets.
Those which strive to speak only that which is truth, which hold the mirror up to truth, are like the sun: they light the world everywhere with truth and their work is imperishable.
These are the suns in the heavens of knowledge and understanding, and these are the guides to the path and the dawning-places of proof and evidence.
O people! This is the lamp of God - extinguish it not with your desires, nor touch it with the evil of your souls, that perchance your misdeeds may be forgiven you on the Day whereon the false ones shall be in loss.
God willing, in this luminous morn when the world is illumined by the effulgent rays of the Sun of Truth, may you be occupied with the remembrance of the Friend, the praise of the Friend, and service to the Friend.
He was a vision of all divine qualities. In this vision the light of the Sun of Reality was reflected to the world.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
...the First Remembrance, which is the Primal Will of God, may be likened unto the sun. God hath created Him through the potency of His might, and He hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, caused Him to be manifested in every Dispensation through the compelling power of His behest, and God will, to the end that knoweth no end, continue to manifest Him according to the good-pleasure of His invincible Purpose. And know thou that He indeed resembleth the sun. Were the risings of the sun to continue till the end that hath no end, yet there hath not been nor ever will be more than one sun.... It is this Primal Will which appeareth resplendent in every Prophet and speaketh forth in every revealed Book. … Hence the inner meaning of the words uttered by the Apostle of God, 'I am all the Prophets', inasmuch as what shineth resplendent in each one of Them hath been and will ever remain one and the same sun....
For thought and discussion