Say: O people of the Furqan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, then judge with fairness concerning that which hath appeared in truth, and be not of the transgressors.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Jinab Khi Jim -- BH04107)
Addressing Muslims: scripture, fairness, and response
proclamation to Muslims
Editorial introduction
Do you read the Qur’án and yet object to its Revealer? Bahá’u’lláh puts the question to the people of the Furqán with a directness that assumes they love the Book. His appeal is to the fairness such love ought to produce: ponder a single verse honestly, and the straight path will open; judge with equity rather than from inherited expectation or self-interest. The Báb, before Him, had called the people of Mecca to recognise a proof descended in tablets from a preserved Book, and had warned against a faith built on conjecture. Behind the urgency stands the day when all shall stand before the Lord of the worlds. The Qur’án itself asks that disagreement with the People of the Book be conducted in the best manner, with the one God acknowledged on both sides, a discipline worth carrying into any such encounter [1]. Reading these addresses honestly means weighing the evidence offered and the fairness of one’s own response, and then turning to Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, to the Faith of Islam itself, and to the parallel calls addressed to Christians and to Jews.
Selected passages
Say: O people of the Qur'an, know ye your station! Ye made mention of Me throughout ages and centuries, yet when the fingers of might rent asunder the veils and shrouds, ye pronounced judgment against Me with such tyranny as caused the pillars to tremble.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Husayn-Quli Mirza -- BH03259)
O people of the Qur'an! Do ye read the Qur'an yet object to its Revealer? Then are ye in manifest error. Your deeds curse you, and what ye read from God's Book, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Abandon oppression and open your eyes with fairness that ye may behold the Sun of Utterance shining from this luminous Horizon.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290-05-15 ? [1873-Jul-11], to Zaynul-Abidin -- BH00876)
If the followers of the Qur'an would but ponder a single verse, they would find their way to the Straight Path and the Most Great Announcement.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Haji Ahmad son of Haji Muhammad Salih Kazirani -- BH01632)
Say: O people of Mecca! Fear God and know that the proof of your Lord has descended unto His servant as tablets from a preserved Book, that perchance people may believe in God and His signs and be upon a straight path.
(The Báb, Proclamation to the people of Mecca, 1260-12 (Mecca) [1844-Dec], to people of Mecca -- BB00333)
O people of Islam! After one thousand two hundred and seventy years have passed, when one of our followers, whose name is mentioned by our name in your religion and within the bounds of your faith, pronounces judgment concerning your departure from your religion - because you follow conjecture rather than truth while supposing you do well - if this be your station before one of our followers, how must it be before Us or before God, your Lord and our Lord?
(The Báb, Kitab-i-Asma' (Book of Names), 1264 (late) or early 1265 [1848-1849] -- BB00003)
At another time We address the concourse of the Furqan: Fear ye the All-Merciful, and oppose not Him through Whom all religions have been fulfilled. Say: The laws have been ordained in My Name, and the verses have been sent down for My Remembrance, which God hath made the Sovereign of all remembrance.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Siyyid Mihdi Dahaji et al -- BH00898)
Say: O people of the Furqan! Have ye not heard the call of your Lord, the All-Merciful, in His words "On the day when all men shall stand before the Lord of the worlds"?
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305-05 [1888-Jan], to Haji Mulla Muhammad Kazim Nasrabadi -- BH01140)
O concourse of the Furqan! Hearken unto the call of the All-Merciful from the Mount of Knowledge. Verily it draweth you nigh unto Him and guideth you unto His straight path. Beware lest ye deprive yourselves of this most great favor.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Mulla Muhammad et al -- BH00493)
Arise in the name of God and say: O people of the Furqan! By God, the All-Merciful hath come, and that which was hidden in knowledge hath been revealed. Fear ye God, and be not of them that hesitate.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-02-27 [1888-Nov-2], to Aqa Siyyid Muhammad Ali -- BH00333)
And the Qur'an calls humanity unto the Truth Who was promised by the Most Exalted Pen in a preserved tablet.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1299-05-29 [1882-Apr-18], to Mihdi son of one who ascended -- BH06042)
O people of the Furqan! By God, that which ye were promised in the Book hath appeared. Fear ye God and deny not the Cause of God when it hath appeared with the truth, and dispute not the signs of God when they have been sent down from this heaven. Turn ye unto God, your Ancient Lord.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1291-03 [1874-Apr], to Karbalai Aqa Husayn -- BH01815)
Say: O Concourse of the Qur'an! The All-Merciful hath come. Fear ye God and be not of them that deny.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-10 [1889-May], to Haq Nazar -- BH07375)
Say: O people of the Furqan! Hearken unto the call of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Verily it hath been raised in the prison before the faces of all religions. Follow not your selfish desires, but follow Him Who calleth you unto God, the One, the All-Informed.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1304-12-11 [1887-Aug-31], to Mir Muhammad Bayk Farani et al -- BH01060)
O people of the Furqan (Qur'an), fear God and follow not your vain desires. He guides you to the Dawning-Place of lights. Cast aside what you possess and take what is with God, the Lord of all men.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1300-12-25 [1883-Oct-27] -- BH06673)
Say: O concourse of the Furqan and all who are in the heavens and on earth! Do ye follow what your desires command you and forsake Him Who created you and sustaineth you? Woe unto you, O company of Muslims! Fear God and cast not the Book of God behind your backs, and deprive not yourselves of this wondrous bounty.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Nabil -- BH01532)
Say: O people of the Furqan! Do ye bar men from the path of God while ye claim to be Muslims?
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Haji Siyyid Ibrahim, Yi -- BH03846)
Say: O people of the Qur'an! By God, the All-Merciful Spirit hath lamented because of your deeds when He came from the heaven of utterance with clear sovereignty. Ye have denied Him by Whose leave all things were created, and turned away from Him unto Whom every radiant countenance hath been directed.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1304 ? [1886-1887], to Zaynul-Muqarrabin et al -- BH00566)
Continue exploring
- Muhammad; Islam
- corruption and decline of Islam; of the Shi'ih
- proclamation of the Cause (general or uncategorized)
- proclamation to Christians
Compare another address that calls religious leaders to examine a claim.
- proclamation to Jews
Consider the place of remembered inheritance in recognition.
- proclamation to divines; to religious leaders
- proclamation to people of the Bayan
- proclamation to the people of the world
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What does fair judgment require when a claim challenges a reader’s understanding of their own scripture?
- How do the selections distinguish evidence, inherited expectation, and self-interest in forming a response?
- What does Qur’án 29:46 contribute to the manner of a difficult interreligious conversation, and how should its qualification concerning injustice be considered?
- How might the neighboring study of prophetic finality help make the disagreement more specific and the inquiry more productive?