Proclamation to the people of the Bayán: promise, recognition, and response

Say: O people of the Bayan! Come ye, come ye! By what proof did ye believe in the Primal Point? Bring it forth, then read what hath been sent down from the presence of the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. If ye deny the Revelation of God, His Cause, and the effects and influence of the Supreme Pen, by what cause was that which ye possess established?

Say: O people of the Bayan! Be fair in the Cause of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Do ye deny the waves while beholding them? Come ye, come ye, that I may show you what was hidden from eternity of eternities.

Say: O people of the Bayan, be fair and speak with justice. Be not of those who, after witnessing, denied, nor of those concerning whom the Desired One of all creation hath said in the Qur'an: "How many a sign do they pass by and turn away therefrom!"

O congregation of the Bayan, and all who are therein! Recognize ye the limits imposed upon you, for such a One as the Point of the Bayan Himself hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest, before all things were created. Therein, verily, do I glory before all who are in the kingdom of heaven and earth. Suffer not yourselves to be shut out as by a veil from God after He hath revealed Himself.

O people of the Bayan! Ye shall surely ask from Him Whom God shall make manifest and aid in this matter according to your ability. God shall raise up from the Manifestation of His Self one of Truth from among those who are His chosen ones and who stand firm in His Cause.

… O people of the Bayan! Ye are the fruits of your own selves. Waste not yourselves, but manifest all that ye perform in secret on the Day of Resurrection, if ye be sincere in your deeds.

In My Name, the Most Glorious

Praise be unto Thee, Who art my God and the God of all men, and my Desire and the Desire of all them that have recognized Thee, and my Beloved and the Beloved of such as have acknowledged Thy unity, and the Object of my adoration and of the adoration of them that have near access to Thee, and my Wish and the Wish of such as are wholly devoted to Thee, and my Hope and the Hope of them that have fixed their hearts upon Thee, and my Refuge and the Refuge of all such as have hastened towards Thee, and my Haven and the Haven of whosoever hath repaired unto Thee, and my Goal and the Goal of all them that have set themselves towards Thee, and my Object and the Object of those who have fixed their gaze upon Thee, and my Paradise and the Paradise of them that have ascended towards Thee, and my Lodestar and the Lodestar of all such as yearn after Thee, and my Joy and the Joy of all them that love Thee, and my Light and the Light of all such as have erred and asked to be forgiven by Thee, and my Exultation and the Exultation of all them that remember Thee, and my Stronghold and the Stronghold of all such as have fled to Thee, and my Sanctuary and the Sanctuary of all that dread Thee, and my Lord and the Lord of all such as dwell in the heavens and on the earth! Unto Thee be praise for that Thou hast enraptured me by the sweetness of Thine utterances, and set me towards the horizon above which the splendors of the Daystar of Thy face have shone, and caused me to turn unto Thee at a time when most of Thy creatures had broken off from Thee.

Thou art He, O my God, Who hath unlocked the gate of heaven with the key of Thy Name, the Ever-Blessed, the All-Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Most Great, and hast summoned all mankind to the ocean of Thy presence. No sooner had Thy most sweet voice been raised, than all the inmates of the Kingdom of Names and the Concourse on high were stirred up. By Thy call the fragrance of the raiment of Thy Revelation was wafted over such of Thy creatures as have loved Thee, and such of Thy people as have yearned towards Thee. They rose up and rushed forth to attain the Ocean of Thy meeting, and the Horizon of Thy beauty, and the Tabernacle of Thy Revelation and Thy majesty, and the Sanctuary of Thy Presence and Thy glory. They were so inebriated with the wine of their reunion with Thee, that they rid themselves of all attachment to whatever they themselves and others possessed.

These are Thy servants whom the ascendancy of the oppressor hath failed to deter from fixing their eyes on the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and whom the hosts of tyranny have been powerless to affright and divert their gaze from the Dayspring of Thy signs and the Dawning-Place of Thy testimonies.

I swear by Thy glory, O Thou the Lord of all being and the Enlightener of all things visible and invisible! Whoso hath quaffed from the hands of Thy bounteousness the living waters of Thy love will never allow the things pertaining to Thy creatures to keep him back from Thee, neither will he be dismayed at the refusal of all the dwellers of Thy realm to acknowledge Thee. Before all who are in heaven and on earth such a man will cry aloud, and announce unto the people the tumult of the Ocean of Thy bounty and the splendors of the Luminaries of the heaven of Thy bestowals.

Happy indeed is the man that hath turned towards the sanctuary of Thy presence, and rid himself of all attachment to any one except Thyself. He is truly exalted who hath confessed Thy glory, and fixed his eyes upon the Daystar of Thy loving-kindness. He is endued with understanding who is aware of Thy Revelation and hath acknowledged Thy manifold tokens, Thy signs, and Thy testimonies. He is a man of insight whose eyes have been illumined with the brightness of Thy face, and who, as soon as Thy call was raised, hath recognized Thee. He is a man of hearing who hath been led to hearken unto Thy speech, and to draw nigh unto the billowing ocean of Thine utterances.

Behold Thou this stranger, O my Lord, who hath hastened to attain his most exalted Home in the shelter of Thy shadowing mercy, and this ailing soul who hath set his face towards the ocean of Thy healing.

Look, then, O Thou my God Who settest my soul on fire, upon the tears I shed, and the sighs I utter, and the anguish that afflicteth my heart and the fire that consumeth my being. Thy glory beareth me witness, O Thou, the Light of the world! The fire of Thy love that burneth continually within me hath so inflamed me that whoever among Thy creatures approacheth me, and inclineth his inner ear towards me, cannot fail to hear its raging within each of my veins.

I am so carried away by the sweetness of Thine utterances, and so inebriated with the wine of Thy tender mercies, that my voice can never be stilled, nor can my suppliant hands any longer desist from being stretched out towards Thee. Thou seest, O my Lord, how mine eyes are fixed in the direction of Thy grace, and mine ears inclined towards the kingdom of Thine utterance, and my tongue unloosed to celebrate Thy praise, and my face set towards Thy face that surviveth all that hath been created by Thy word, and my hands raised up towards the heaven of Thy bounty and favor.

Wilt Thou keep back from Thee the stranger whom Thou didst call unto his most exalted Home beneath the shadow of the wings of Thy mercy, or cast away the wretched creature that hath hastened to attain the shores of the ocean of Thy wealth? Wilt Thou shut up the door of Thy grace to the face of Thy creatures after having opened it through the power of Thy might and of Thy sovereignty, or close the eyes of Thy people when Thou hast already commanded them to turn unto the Dayspring of Thy Beauty and the Dawning-Place of the splendors of Thy countenance?

Nay, and to this Thy glory beareth me witness! Such is not my thought of Thee, nor the thought of those of Thy servants that have near access to Thyself, nor that of the sincere amongst Thy people.

Thou knowest, and seest, and hearest, O my Lord, that before every tree I am moved to lift up my voice to Thee, and before every stone I am impelled to sigh and lament. Hath it been Thy purpose in creating me, O my God, to touch me with tribulation, or to enable me to manifest Thy Cause in the kingdom of Thy creation?

Thou hearest, O my God, my sighs and my groaning, and beholdest my powerlessness, and my poverty, and my misery, and my woes, and my wretchedness. I swear by Thy might! I have wept with such a weeping that I have been unable to make mention of Thee, or to extol Thee.

So loud hath been the voice of My lamentation that every mother mourning for her child would be amazed, and would still her weeping and her grief.

I implore Thee, O my Lord, by Thine Ark, through which the potency of Thy will was manifested and the energizing influences of Thy purpose were revealed, and which saileth on both land and sea through the power of Thy might, not to seize me in my mighty sins and great trespasses.

I swear by Thy glory! The waters of Thy forgiveness and Thy mercy have emboldened me, as hath Thy dealing, in bygone ages, with the sincere among Thy chosen ones, and with such of Thy Messengers as have proclaimed Thy oneness.

I am well aware, O my Lord, that I have been so carried away by the clear tokens of Thy loving-kindness, and so completely inebriated with the wine of Thine utterance, that whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me, and it remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy testimonies. By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence.

I swear by Thy might, O Thou in Whose grasp are the reins of all mankind, and the destinies of the nations! I am so inflamed by my love for Thee, and so inebriated with the wine of Thy oneness, that I can hear from the whisper of the winds the sound of Thy glorification and praise, and can recognize in the murmur of the waters the voice that proclaimeth Thy virtues and Thine attributes, and can apprehend from the rustling of the leaves the mysteries that have been irrevocably ordained by Thee in Thy realm.

Glorified art Thou, O God of all names and Creator of the heavens! I render Thee thanks that Thou hast made known unto Thy servants this Day whereon the river that is life indeed hath flowed forth from the fingers of Thy bounty, and the springtime of Thy revelation and Thy presence hath appeared through Thy manifestation unto all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.

This is the Day, O my Lord, whose brightness Thou hast exalted above the brightness of the sun and the splendors thereof. I testify that the light it sheddeth proceedeth out of the glory of the light of Thy countenance, and is begotten by the radiance of the morn of Thy Revelation. This is the Day whereon the hopeless have been clothed with the raiment of confidence, and the sick attired with the robe of healing, and the poor drawn nigh unto the ocean of Thy riches.

I swear by Thy Beauty, O King of eternity Who sittest on Thy most glorious Throne! He Who is the Dayspring of Thy signs and the Revealer of Thy clear tokens hath, notwithstanding the immensity of His wisdom and the loftiness of His knowledge, confessed His powerlessness to comprehend the least of Thine utterances, in their relation to Thy most exalted Pen, -- how much more is He incapable of apprehending the nature of Thine all-glorious Self and of Thy most august Essence!

I cannot think, O my God, of any words wherewith to make mention of Thee, and know not how to express or extol Thee. Were I to attempt to describe Thee by Thy names, I would readily recognize that the kingdom of these names is itself created through the movement of Thy fingers, and trembleth for fear of Thee. And were I to venture to extol Thine attributes, I would be forced to admit that these attributes are Thine own creation, and lie within Thy grasp. It behooveth not Them Who are the Manifestations of these names and attributes to stand before the gate of the city of Thy Revelation, how much less to scale the heights whereon Thou didst stablish the throne of Thy majesty.

I swear by Thy might, O Thou Who art the King of names and the Maker of the heavens! Whatsoever hath been adorned with the robe of words is but Thy creation which hath been generated in Thy realm and begotten through the operation of Thy will, and is wholly unworthy of Thy highness and falleth short of Thine excellence.

And since it hath been demonstrated that Thy most august Self is immeasurably exalted above all that hath been created in the world of being, and is far above the reach and ken of the apprehension of Thy chosen Ones and Thy loved Ones, the splendors of the light of Thy unity are therefore manifested, and it becometh evident unto every one, whether free or bond, that Thou art One in Thine own Self, one in Thy Cause, and one in Thy Revelation. Great is the blessedness of the man who, in his love towards Thee, hath rid himself of all attachment from every one except Thyself, and hastened unto the horizon of Thy Revelation, and attained unto this Cup which Thou hast caused to excel all the seas of the earth.

I beg of Thee, O my God, by Thy power, and Thy might, and Thy sovereignty, which have embraced all who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, to make known unto Thy servants this luminous Way and this straight Path, that they may acknowledge Thy unity and Thy oneness, with a certainty which the vain imaginations of the doubters will not impair, nor the idle fancies of the wayward obscure. Illumine, O my Lord, the eyes of Thy servants, and brighten their hearts with the splendors of the light of Thy knowledge, that they may apprehend the greatness of this most sublime station, and recognize this most luminous Horizon, that haply the clamor of men may fail to deter them from turning their gaze towards the effulgent light of Thy unity, and to hinder them from setting their faces toward the Horizon of detachment.

This is the Day, O my Lord, which Thou didst announce unto all mankind as the Day whereon Thou wouldst reveal Thy Self, and shed Thy radiance, and shine brightly over all Thy creatures. Thou hast, moreover, entered into a covenant with them, in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Scrolls, and Thy Tablets, concerning Him Who is the Dayspring of Thy Revelation, and hast appointed the Bayan to be the Herald of this Most Great and all-glorious Manifestation, and this most resplendent and most sublime Appearance.

And when the world's horizon was illumined, and He Who is the Most Great Name was manifested, all disbelieved in Him and in His signs, except such as have been carried away by the sweetness of Thy glorification and praise. There befell Him what must remain inscrutable to everyone except Thee, Whose knowledge transcendeth all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.

Thou well knowest, O my God, that the Revealer of the Bayan (the Bab) hath commanded all mankind concerning Thy Cause, and Thy Revelation, and Thy Sovereignty. He hath said, and sweet is His speech: "Beware lest the Bayan and its Letters keep you back from Him Who is the Most Merciful and from His sovereignty." He, moreover, hath written: "Were He to produce no more than one verse, ye must not deny Him. Haste ye towards Him, that haply He may cause to descend upon you what He pleaseth, as a token of His grace unto you. He truly is the Possessor of His servants, and the King of creation."

Thou seest, then, O Thou Who art the Beloved of the world and the Revealer of the Most Great Name, how He hath come down with the kingdom of His signs, and in a manner that hath caused the atoms of the earth to testify that the whole world hath been filled with these signs. And yet, notwithstanding this most manifest and all-glorious Revelation, and these signs which none can appraise except Thee, O Thou the King of names, Thou beholdest how they have broken off from Him Who is the Dayspring of Thine Essence, and have caviled at the One Who is the Fountainhead of Thy wisdom and of Thine utterance. They were so seized with thirst for fame, that they rejected Thy tokens, and Thy testimonies, and Thy signs, which every man of insight perceiveth in whatsoever declareth Thy greatness, and Thy sovereignty, and acknowledgeth Thy Revelation and Thy might. They have so traduced Him as to cause the inmates of the all-glorious Tabernacle and the Concourse on high to lament, and have uttered such calumnies against Him that the souls of Thy chosen Ones and the hearts of them that are dear to Thee have melted. They have erred so grievously that they cast away Thy most resplendent signs, and clung to their idle fancies, O Thou Who art the Possessor of Names and the Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below!

Thou art, O my God and the Exultation of my heart, the One Who hath adorned Thy Tablet, of which none is aware except Thee, with the mention of this Day which Thou didst call after Thy name, that haply none may on that day be seen save Thy most august Self, and naught else be brought to mind except Thy most sweet remembrance.

No sooner had He revealed Himself than the foundations of the kindreds of the earth shook and trembled, and the learned swooned away, and the wise were bewildered, except such as have, through the power of Thy might, drawn nigh unto Thee, and received the choice wine of Thy Revelation from the hand of Thy grace, and have quaffed it in Thy name, and exclaimed: "Praise be unto Thee, O Thou the Desire of the worlds! and glory be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Exultation of the hearts that pant after Thee!"

My God, my Master, my Highest Hope, and the Goal of my desire! Thou seest and hearest the sighing of this wronged One, from this darksome well which the vain imaginations of Thine adversaries have built, and from this blind pit which the idle fancies of the wicked among Thy creatures have digged. By Thy Beauty, O Thou Whose glory is uncovered to the face of men! I am not impatient in the troubles that touch me in my love for Thee, neither in the adversities which I suffer in Thy path. Nay, I have, by Thy power, chosen them for mine own self, and I glory in them amongst such of Thy creatures as enjoy near access to Thee, and those of Thy servants that are wholly devoted to Thy Self.

I beseech Thee, however, O Thou Who art the Enlightener of the world and the Lord of the nations, at this very moment when, with the hands of hope, I have clung to the hem of the raiment of Thy mercy and Thy bounty, to forgive Thy servants who have soared in the atmosphere of Thy nearness, and set their faces towards the splendors of the light of Thy countenance, and turned unto the horizon of Thy good pleasure, and approached the ocean of Thy mercy, and all their lives long have spoken forth Thy praise, and have been inflamed with the fire of their love for Thee. Do Thou ordain for them, O Lord my God, both before and after their death, what becometh the loftiness of Thy bounty and the excellence of Thy loving-kindness.

Grant, O my Lord, that they who have ascended unto Thee may repair unto Him Who is the most exalted Companion, and abide beneath the shadow of the Tabernacle of Thy majesty and the Sanctuary of Thy glory. Sprinkle, O my Lord, upon them from the ocean of Thy forgiveness what will make them worthy to abide, so long as Thine own sovereignty endureth, within Thy most exalted kingdom and Thine all-highest dominion. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee.

Deny not Thy loved ones, O my Lord, the sweet savors of this Day whereon the mysteries of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting, were unraveled, and all that had been enshrined within the treasuries of Thy wisdom was revealed. This is the Day, O my Lord, whereon every atom of the earth hath been made to vibrate and to cry out: "O Thou Who art the Revealer of signs and the King of creation! I, verily, perceive the fragrance of Thy presence. Methinks Thou hast revealed Thyself, and unlocked the door of reunion with Thee before all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth. I am persuaded through the fragrance of Thy robe, O my Lord, that the world hath been honored through Thy presence, and hath inhaled the sweet smell of Thy meeting. I know not, however, O Thou the Beloved of the world and the Desire of the nations, the place wherein the throne of Thy majesty hath been established, nor the seat which hath been made Thy footstool, and been illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy face."

I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the Possessor of all things visible and invisible! Every man of understanding hath been so bewildered at Thy knowledge, and every man endued with insight been so perplexed in his attempt to fathom the signs of Thy great glory, that all have recognized their powerlessness to visualize, and their impotence to soar into, the heaven wherefrom one of the Luminaries of the Manifestations of Thy knowledge and of the Daysprings of Thy wisdom hath shone forth. Who is he that shall befittingly describe this most sublime station and this most august seat -- the seat which, as decreed by Thee, transcendeth the comprehension of Thy creatures and the testimonies of Thy servants, and which hath everlastingly been hid from the understanding and the knowledge of men, and been closed with the seal of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting.

I swear by Thy glory and Thy sovereignty which overshadow the kingdoms of earth and of heaven! Were any of Thy chosen Ones and Thy Messengers to meditate on the manifold evidences of Thy most exalted Pen -- a Pen which is driven by the fingers of Thy will -- and were he to muse on its mysteries, and its tokens, and all that it showeth forth, he would be so perplexed that his tongue would fail to extol and describe Thee, and his heart would be utterly unable to understand Thee. For he would, at one time, discover that from this Pen there floweth out unto all created things the water that is life indeed, and that the Pen itself hath been named by Thee the trumpet whereby the dead speed out of their sepulchers. At another time he would find that there proceedeth from this Pen such fire as Thine own Revelation can kindle, and as He Who conversed with Thee (Moses) on Sinai hath perceived.

How marvelous, then, are the manifold tokens of Thy might, and how great are the diverse evidences of Thy power! The learned have, without exception, admitted their ignorance when confronted with the radiance of the Luminary of Thy knowledge; and the mighty have all confessed their impotence in the face of the billowing Ocean of Thy power; and the rich have one and all acknowledged their poverty before the effusions of the Treasuries of Thy wealth; and the worldly wise have each recognized their nothingness beside the splendors of the Light of Thy beauty; and the exalted have all witnessed unto their abasement when face to face with the effulgence of the Daystar of Thy glory; and they who are in authority have borne witness to their own evanescence and to the evanescence of others, and discovered the eternity of Thy majesty, and of Thy sovereignty, and of Thy sublimity, and of Thy power.

My God, and the God of all things, and my King and the King of all things, and the Beloved of my soul, and the Goal of my desire! Thou knowest full well that I make mention of Thee, in this day, in the name of such of Thy creatures as have detached themselves from all except Thee, and I extol Thy virtues through the tongue of those of Thy people that have recognized Thy oneness, that haply there may pour out from the sighs which they utter in their love and their yearning for Thee what will melt away all that may hinder Thy servants from setting their faces towards the heaven of Thy knowledge and the kingdom of Thy signs.

This, then, O my God and the God of all names, and the Creator of earth and heaven, is the Day whereon He Whose heart gloweth with the flaming fire of Thy presence is calling upon Thee. Where can separation from Thee be found, O my God, so that reunion with Thee may be clearly recognized at the appearance of the Light of Thy unity, and the revelation of the splendors of the Sun of Thy oneness? I ask pardon of Thee, O my God, for all that hath been said, and for whatsoever hath flowed out, and is now flowing out from my Pen in Thy days. I testify that Thou hast decreed that the offering of prayer should befit not me, but Him Who hath, at Thy bidding and in conformity with Thy pleasure, preceded me. Rather hast Thou ordained that the revelation of verses should be specially attributed unto this mighty Manifestation, and to This Announcement that hath adorned the Scrolls of Thy majesty and Thy Tablet in which account is kept.

I render Thee thanks, O Thou Who hast lighted Thy fire within my soul, and cast the beams of Thy light into my heart, that Thou hast taught Thy servants how to make mention of Thee, and revealed unto them the ways whereby they can supplicate Thee, through Thy most holy and exalted tongue, and Thy most august and precious speech. But for Thy leave, who is there that could venture to express Thy might and Thy grandeur; and were it not for Thine instruction, who is the man that could discover the ways of Thy pleasure in the kingdom of Thy creation?

I beseech Thee, O God of bounty and King of all created things, to guard Thy servants from the imaginations which their hearts may devise. Raise them up, then, to such heights that their footsteps may slip not in the face of the evidences of Thy handiwork, which the manifold exigencies of Thy wisdom have ordained, and whose secrets Thou hast hid from the face of Thy people and Thy creatures. Withhold them not, O my Lord, from the ocean of Thy knowledge, neither do Thou deprive them of what Thou didst destine for such of Thy chosen ones as have near access to Thee, and those of Thy trusted ones as are wholly devoted to Thy Self. Supply them, then, from Thy sea of certainty with what will calm the agitation of their hearts. Turn, O Lord my God, the darkness of their fancies into the brightness of certitude, and cause them to arise, and to walk steadfastly in Thy straight Path, that haply Thy Book may not hinder them from recognizing Him Who is its Revealer, and Thy names from acknowledging the One Who is their Creator, and their Provider, and their Origin, and their King, and their Begetter, and their Destroyer, and their Glorifier, and their Abaser, and their Governor, and the Sovereign Protector of their Bearers.

Thou art the One, O my God and my Ruler, Who hast sent down Thy Book that Thou mayest manifest my Cause, and glorify my Word. Through it Thou didst enter into a Covenant, concerning me, with all that hath been created in Thy realm. Thou seest, O Beloved of the world, how the rebellious among Thy creatures have made of that Covenant a bulwark for themselves, and through it have withdrawn from Thy Beauty, and repudiated Thy signs.

Thou art He, O my God, Who hath commanded them in Thy great Book, and said: "Fear ye the Most Merciful, O people of the Bayan, and deny not Him for Whom I have ordained the Bayan to be one of the leaves of His Paradise. I, verily, esteem it as a gift from me unto Him. Were it His pleasure to accept it, He, truly, is the Most Bountiful; and if He cast it away and refuse to consider it, His verdict is just, and He, in very truth, is Praiseworthy in His acts, and meet to be obeyed in His behests. To none is given the right to cavil at Him."

Thou beholdest, therefore, O my God, how this wronged one hath fallen into the hands of such as have denied Thy right, and broken off from Thy sovereignty. He, round whose person circleth Thy proof, and in whose name and on behalf of whose sovereignty Thy testimony crieth out unto all created things, hath suffered more grievously in his days than any pen can recount, and been so harassed that He Who is Thy Spirit (Jesus) lamented, and all the denizens of Thy Kingdom and all the inmates of Thy Tabernacle in the realms above cried with a great and bitter lamentation.

Should any one incline his inner ear, he would hear the cry and the wailing of all created things over what hath befallen Him Whom the world hath wronged, at the hands of them with whom Thou hast covenanted in the Day of Separation. Where is that fair-minded soul, O my God, who will judge equitably Thy Cause, and where is the man of insight to be found who will behold Thee with Thine own eyes? Is there any man of hearing who will hear Thee with Thine ears, or one endued with eloquence who will speak the truth in Thy days?

I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who beholdest me from Thine all-glorious horizon, and hearest the voice of the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing! Should any one consider Thy Books which Thou didst name the Bayan, and ponder in his heart what hath been revealed therein, he would discover that each of these Books announceth my Revelation, and declareth my Name, and testifieth to my Self, and proclaimeth my Cause, and my Praise, and my Rising, and the radiance of my Glory. And yet, notwithstanding Thy proclamation, O my God, and in spite of the words Thou didst utter, O my Beloved, Thou hast seen and heard their calumnies against me, and their evil doings in my days.

I testify in my present state, O my Lord, and against the will of him who hath turned his back to Thee (Mirza Yahya), that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee. This, verily, is the Day wherewith Thy Scriptures, and Thy Books, and Thy Tablets, have been adorned. And He Who now speaketh is, in truth, the Well-guarded Treasure, and the Hidden Secret, and the Preserved Tablet, and the Impenetrable Mystery, and the Sealed Book. He, truly, is to be obeyed in whatsoever He commandeth, and decreeth, and revealeth, and is to be loved in everything He, through His sovereignty, enjoineth, and, through His power, ordaineth. Whoso will hesitate for less than the twinkling of an eye, hath, verily, denied Thy right, and repudiated all that Thou hast revealed in Thy Books, and in Thy Scriptures, and sent down with Thy chosen Ones, and Thy Prophets, and Thy Messengers, and the Trustees of Thy Revelation.

I beg of Thee, O Thou in Whose hands are the kingdoms of earth and heaven, and in Whose grasp lie all who dwell in the dominions of Thy Revelation and Thy creation, not to withhold the glance of Thy favors from such as have sustained tribulations in Thy path, and tasted of the cup of woe in their love towards Thee, and have been cast into prison in Thy name, and endured what none of Thy creatures and Thy people have endured. They are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have responded to Thee as soon as Thou didst send out Thy summons, and have set their faces towards Thee when the light of Thy countenance was lifted upon them, and turned unto Thee at the time when Thy most exalted horizon shone forth with the brightness of Thy name through which all who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth swooned away. Ordain for them, O my Lord, what Thou didst ordain for Thy chosen ones who have welcomed the darts of the infidels in Thy Cause and for love of Thee, and hasted to attain the orient of tribulation with Thy name on their lips and Thy remembrance in their hearts. Thou art the One, O my God, Who hath promised in Thy perspicuous utterances to remember them in Thy Book as a recompense for their works in Thy days.

Bless them, O my God, and ascribe unto them such glory as hath shone forth above the horizon of Thy will, and hath shed its splendors from the kingdom of Thine utterance. Immerse them, O my Lord, beneath the ocean of Thy mercy, and illumine them with the dawning light of Thy Revelation. Forgive, then, O my God, their fathers and their mothers, by Thy favor, and Thy bounty, and Thy tender mercies. Send, then, upon them from the right hand of Thy most exalted Paradise the fragrance of the robe of Thine all-glorious Beauty. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the Governor, the Ordainer, the All-Bountiful, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

Praise be unto Thee, O Thou the Beloved of the world, and the Adored of the hearts of them that have recognized Thee.

Say: Beware, O people of the Bayan, lest that which was revealed in the Bayan withhold you from His presence, or its letters prevent you from recognizing Him - a recognition which is the most glorious of all things in the estimation of God, the Lord of all beings.

… Be fair, O people of the Bayan - ye were commanded not to look this Day to the Bayan and its letters, but rather to that which the Revealer of verses ordaineth for you.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Do ye deny Him Who was among you, from Whom in every moment there dawned upon you suns of glory and majesty, then suns of power and sovereignty, and Who was more merciful to you than your own selves, and Who watched over you and conversed with you as one of you, and associated with you morning and evening, and from Whom ye perceived the fragrance of the Beloved at dawn and at dusk?

Say: O people of the Bayan, present yourselves before the Divine Countenance that ye may hear the verses at the time of their revelation. Beware lest the ignorant ones among the people who have denied God's verses prevent you from this bounty, the Lord of lords.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Come ye, come ye! By what proof did ye believe in the Point of the Bayan? Bring it forth, then read what hath been sent down from the presence of the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. If ye deny the appearance of God and His Cause and the effects and influence of the Most Exalted Pen, by what proof can that which ye possess be established? Be fair, and be not of the wrongdoers.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By what proof did ye believe in the All-Merciful, and by what evidence did ye turn away from Him Who, when He appeared, caused the Spirit to proclaim before His face: "The Hidden One hath appeared with manifest sovereignty!"

Say: In the name of God and by God! Then turn to the people of the Bayan and say: O people! Have ye not been promised in the Tablets of your Lord, the All-Merciful, this Revelation which hath come to you with the proof of God, the Almighty, the Powerful, the All-Knowing? If ye deny it, by what proof can ye establish your faith in God, your Lord? Bring it forth and be not of the patient ones.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Be fair in God's sight, then acknowledge that which hath been sent down from the Kingdom of God's knowledge, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. By God's life! The books of the world cannot compare with that which hath been sent down in truth, were ye of them that judge fairly.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, then judge with fairness concerning that which hath appeared at this Station which God hath made the point round which circle them who are nigh unto Him from all eternity.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Judge fairly in this Cause and follow not every heedless doubter.

Say: O people of the Bayan! He Who is the Lord of all religions hath appeared with a Cause before which no cause can stand, and with a sovereignty that no earthly forces can weaken. He Who hath with Him the Mother Book beareth witness unto this. Say: Verily, He is with you and heareth your utterances. With Him is the knowledge of all things preserved in a Manifest Tablet. Say: Behold, then judge with equity that which hath appeared from Him. He guideth you unto His Straight Path.

The Tongue of God speaks and bears witness to the Beauty of the Promised One Who has appeared with manifest sovereignty, and says: O people of the Bayan! Be fair in the name of your Lord, the All-Merciful. If you deny Him Who speaks the truth, to whom will you turn?

Say: O people of the Bayan! Be fair in judging God's proof and His evidence, His glory and His grandeur and His sovereignty. Beware lest you follow those who have violated God's covenant and testament and denied what has been sent down from the heaven of His grace upon His servants.

O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and be not of the wrongdoers. The horizons have been filled with the signs of your Lord. Be fair-minded, and be not of the abased ones.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and oppose not Him through Whom the decree of God hath been established, both in the past and in the future. Be fair-minded, and be not of the wrongdoers.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Be fair in the name of God and follow not the desires of those who were behind the veil and who, when We revealed the Cause, came forth and uttered that which even the idolaters had not said.

O people of the Bayan! The Kingdom of Utterance is stirred by the Word of the All-Merciful, while ye are gathered in the clay around earthworms, wasting your lives in idle talk and disputation. By God's life! Ye are seen to be deprived even of the mirage, let alone the ocean of inner meanings. O ye who are devoid of fairness! Turn with pure sight toward the Most Great Scene and speak with truthfulness.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The head of wisdom is the fear of God. Fear ye Him Who created you and raised you to the heavens of knowledge, and sent down unto you wisdom and utterance, and made you to be among those endowed with understanding.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fix your gaze upon this Word, which is of the pearls of the ocean of divine knowledge, and ponder it: Until ye recognize the falsehood of the past, ye shall not testify to the truth of today and shall remain deprived of the ocean of truthfulness. God, with perfect grace and kindness, offereth counsel and commandeth that which causeth the exaltation and elevation of His Cause. O ye essences! Today is the day of testing and the day of supreme profit. Waste not the moments which are more precious than red sulphur, and strive to manifest that which beseemeth and behooveth man.

Fear ye God, O people of the Bayan, then fear ye Me. Verily I am the Mirror of God, my Lord; all turn unto Me. Verily I commune from the most exalted horizon. I hear what ye utter and observe what ye do. No seeker shall petition Me through the Bayan but that I shall grant it for the sake of God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting.

Therefore, O ye who were created in the Bayan through My verses to know Him, be not veiled from Him for Whom the entire Bayan is but as a ring upon the finger of His Will and a leaf in the paradise of His Cause.

O people of the Bayan! Cleave ye unto the Book of the Temples which the All-Merciful hath sent down unto His Name, the Judge. Verily, it is the hidden knowledge, the treasured secret, and the preserved symbol which God hath deposited in the heart of him whom He named the Judge in the kingdom of the Bayan.

O people of the Bayan! Did not God announce unto you in the Book this Revelation in a language of manifest truth, in that which was revealed unto the Great One when he inquired about God's Hidden Name, and He answered him in truth saying: "Verily, he is the son of 'Ali, an Imam of indubitable truth." And this was the last that was revealed concerning this irrevocable, mighty, transcendent and powerful Cause.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the Most Merciful and follow not those who have denied God's signs and His proof, and who turned away from Him when He came with manifest sovereignty. This is He Whose Covenant the Primal Point took before taking His own covenant.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The Chosen One took from you the covenant of My Self in the atoms of the Bayan before the mention of His own Self. Beware lest ye break God's covenant, for whoso breaketh it is indeed in manifest loss.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Were ye not commanded in the tablets of God to behold Him with His own eyes and not to be veiled on the Day of His Manifestation by what was revealed in the Bayan, nor by its letters and mirrors? Yet ye have violated God's covenant and His testament, and have clung to fancy and desire, and become of those who have turned away.

Say: O people of the Bayan! We see you more veiled than these, for ye have turned away from Him through Whom the Bayan began and by Whose mighty mention it was sealed. Ye were commanded not to follow your own desires at the time of His manifestation and not to cling to your own fancies. Ye have rejected the Cause of God and turned away from Him through Whom every wise command appeared. All good hath been made dependent upon His mention and every matter upon His leave, were ye but among those who understand.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful, and turn not away from Him by Whom the horizon of divine knowledge hath been illumined and the Nightingale warbleth upon the branches. Verily, there is none other God but Him, the Truth, the Knower of the unseen. By God! The Bayan was sent down for My remembrance, the Book for My Name, and the Tablets for this irrevocable Cause.

Say: O people! By God, the entire Bayan was revealed in My remembrance and praise. Be ye ashamed before God Who created you by His command and gave you glad tidings of this resplendent, luminous Beauty.

Rise and say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful. Do ye object to Him Whom God hath made the Dawning-Place of His power and sovereignty, and made the Bayan a gift unto His Own Self? Fear God and follow not every doubting idolator.

Arise in My Name and say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful and follow not every accursed Satan. By God! He hath come through Whose praise and mention the Bayan was honored - to this do those who are fair-minded bear witness.

This is the Book of the All-Merciful from which the proof hath shone forth unto those who are in the Bayan.

Behold how the people of the Bayan have failed to understand that whatsoever the Herald of My Beauty and the Manifestation before Me uttered was in contemplation of this Revelation and its establishment. Otherwise, by His true Self, they would not have uttered a single word of what they said. These ignorant ones have considered the Cause of the Self-Subsisting, the Most High, as child's play. Each day they move according to some fancy and wander in some wilderness.

Consider the people of the Bayan - though they count themselves among the most exalted of creation, they are seen to be several degrees lower than other religions. Some have made arguments about "Him Whom God shall make manifest" yet remained deprived of His presence. They have clung to the Bayan while being barred from the One Who revealed it, even though the Point of the Bayan - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake - hath said in the fifteenth chapter of the third Vahid, these exalted words: "None knoweth the time of the Revelation except God.

Say: O concourse of the Bayan! This is the Best-Beloved of all possible worlds, Who hath come with the Kingdom of verses, yet ye remain heedless. Was this Revelation made conditional upon any conditions, and doth the Cause rest in your hands or in the hand of God? Consider well, and be not of the ignorant.

Say: O concourse of the Bayan! This is the Best-Beloved of all created things, Who hath come with the kingdom of verses, while ye remain heedless. Was this Revelation made conditional upon any stipulation? Was this Cause in your hands or in God's hand? Be discerning, and be not of the ignorant ones.

O Nasru'llah! Say: O deniers of the Bayan! "He doeth what He willeth" hath ever been and shall ever be the truth. No affair among affairs and no deed among deeds is hidden from Him. Were they to drink from the ocean of this blessed Word, they would be enabled by the blessed words "We turn unto Thee."

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful and speak not that which would cause the hearts of them who are nigh unto God to burn. He hath come as He willeth. The command is in God's hands - He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Verily He is the Almighty, the Powerful. Look ye at what He possesseth, not at what ye possess. This is what We counsel you in the Tablets. Read them and follow not the ways of the calumniators.

Say: If ye deny Him Who speaketh between earth and heaven, unto whom will ye turn? Consider, if ye be of the truthful.

Say: Be fair, O people of the Bayan, concerning this Book which God hath made the point round which circle all the books of the world, and this Remembrance before which all remembrances bow down. Say: Present yourselves before the Face that your eyes may behold what no eyes have seen and your ears may hear what no ears have heard. He is the One Who cannot be known except through Himself and Who needeth not the testimony of scriptures, books and tablets to prove His Cause.

Say: O people of the Bayan! He Who speaketh before all faces hath no need of aught else to prove His Cause.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By God, the All-Merciful hath come, and He cannot be indicated by the indications in the books of earth, nor by what the Daysprings of existence have uttered.

Say: O people of the Bayan! It behooveth no one to test the Dawning-Places of God's Revelation, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Yet the Wronged One summoneth you and biddeth you to present yourselves that ye may hear that which is sent down from the heaven of the Will of God, the Lord of the Day of Judgment.

Say: O concourse of the Bayan! Fear ye God, and confound not the Cause within your own selves. His melodies and His words, and whatsoever hath appeared from His presence, can never be mistaken for aught besides, could ye but comprehend. Can the buzzing of a fly be confounded with the warbling of the dove, or the croak of a raven with the shrill voice of the Most Exalted Pen? No---by the life of the Beauty!---were ye to ponder the signs of your Lord.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By the life of God! I have not claimed that which ye possess, nor do I desire to establish for Myself that which ye have.

O Mir, formerly Muhsin! Say: O people of the Bayan! Verily, He hath claimed neither prophethood, nor guardianship, nor imamate, nor any name from among the names. I was asleep when the hands of divine power awakened me, I was seated when they raised me up, and I was silent when they caused me to speak.

Say: O people of the Bayan! He speaketh not of His own desire - to this beareth witness what hath been sent down from My Most Exalted Pen. Fear God and follow not every heedless doubter.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Cling not to names as did the people before you. Fear God and be not of the idolaters. This is the Day of God wherein none save Him is mentioned.

And now some among the people of the Bayan cling to those same names and hold fast to those same things.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful. Cast behind you the idols of names, turning unto God, the One, the Alone, the Omnipotent, the Mighty, the All-Forgiving. This is a Day wherein none save Him is mentioned, as attesteth the Mother Book which is with Him. Say: Fear God, O people of the Bayan, and deny not Him Who hath come unto you with God's signs and sovereignty.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Open your eyes! Today is not the day for mentioning names. Pass by that which is neither worthy nor befitting. Defile not the Day of God with mention of this one and that one.

Verily He hath appeared and come, despite those who follow self and passion.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Cast the names behind you, turning unto the ocean of inner meanings which surgeth before your faces and from whose waves is heard "The Truth hath come with manifest sovereignty."

Say: O people of the Bayan, cast aside what ye possess and take what ye have been given from the presence of an ancient Bestower. The Bayan profiteth you not except through this mighty and exalted Book.

Say: O Concourse of the Bayan! The books of the world profit you not this day except through this Book which speaketh before the faces of the nations. Cast aside vain imaginings; the light of certitude hath dawned from the horizon of God's loving-kindness, the Lord of all worlds.

O people of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come, and that which ye possess shall profit you not this day. Cast it aside in My Name, then turn ye toward the light of the Countenance, as commanded by God, the Ordainer, the Most Praiseworthy.

O party of God throughout all lands! Rend asunder with the fingers of power all veils, that ye may attain unto the lights of true unity. Today is the Day of God; none else is mentioned or existeth save Him. Take ye what hath been given unto you from God, the Lord of all worlds. Make firm your resolve, lest turbans and staffs and robes once again become the cause of vain imaginings and afflict helpless souls in the pit of doubts and fancies.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Cast aside your vain imaginings. Beware lest ye act as they acted aforetime. Fear the All-Merciful and be not of those who turned away from God, the Lord of Lords.

O 'Ali-Akbar! Thou hast heard My call time and again. It hath drawn thee to the most exalted station. Say: "O people of the Bayan! Cast aside your vain imaginings. The Sun of Certitude hath shone forth from the horizon of God's will, the Lord of the earth and the heavens." He who loved Me hath made mention of thee and hath spoken My praise, and We have sent thee from the direction of the Prison that which shall assist thee in guiding those who have broken the Covenant and the Testament.

Say: O people of the Bayan! He Who was treasured in knowledge and concealed from eyes hath come. Cast behind you your vain imaginings and turn yourselves toward the horizon which God hath made the Dawning-place of lights.

Fear ye God, O people of the Bayan, and follow not the manifestations of fancy and vain imaginings.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the Most Merciful and follow not your idle fancies. Follow that which ye have been commanded by One All-Knowing, All-Informed.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and follow not your idle fancies. Follow Him through Whom the proof hath been established and the evidence made clear.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful and follow not your own selves. Follow Him Who hath come with the hosts of divine inspiration from the horizon of the heaven of your Lord's power, the Self-Subsisting.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful and follow not your idle fancies. Follow Him Who hath come with the truth by a command whereagainst all who are in the heavens and earth are powerless to stand.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful. Follow Him before Whom the verses have prostrated themselves and to Whom the necks of the proud have been humbled. Beware lest ye claim that which hath not been ordained for you by your Lord, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By the life of the All-Merciful! He desired no mention from among all mentions except for the drawing near of the servants and their turning to God, the Lord of the Day of Return.

O people of the Bayan and whosoever hath believed in God and His verses in the realm of exposition! Hearken unto that which the Dove of Identity warbleth unto you from the uttermost heights of Its ecstasy in the love of God and the pinnacle of Its passionate longing for God, Its self-effacement and Its subsistence in God, the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling.

Say: O people of the Bayan! We have chosen you out of the world to know and recognize Our Self. We have caused you to draw nigh unto the right side of Paradise—the Spot out of which the undying Fire crieth in manifold accents: “There is none other God besides Me, the All-Powerful, the Most High!” Take heed lest ye allow yourselves to be shut out as by a veil from this Daystar that shineth above the dayspring of the Will of your Lord, the All-Merciful, and whose light hath encompassed both the small and the great.

And if thou attainest unto that which hath been mentioned and art honored with the presence of the Beauty of the All-Merciful, then stand firm in His Cause and cry out among the servants, and with Our sweetest melodies proclaim between the heavens and the earth: "O people of the Bayan! By the True One! The Sun of Knowledge hath risen from the horizon of glory and hath dawned from the chambers of the Ridvan Garden - this Youth, upon Whose countenance shineth the radiance of the All-Bountiful, in Whose hand is the Wine of Life, and Who giveth drink to all created things in My Most Glorious Name, this crimson Wine.

O concourse of the Bayan! Draw ye near unto this Fire which hath been kindled in this wilderness and hath appeared upon the Temple of the Square in the form of the Triangle, and which speaketh forth the truth at every moment that there is none other God but I, the Protector, the Mighty, the Powerful.

O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Glorious, and be not veiled from Him Who hath come upon clouds of holiness with a sovereignty manifest and true. The Kingdom of God moveth at His right hand, and the dominion of Names at His left, while before Him march the hosts of might invincible.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Die in your wrath! The Hidden Treasure hath appeared, and He Who was concealed in God's knowledge, the Lord of all men, hath been made manifest. Say: The Sun hath risen, and the Light hath shone forth, and the Fire in the Tree on Sinai doth call aloud and give glad-tidings unto the people of this Revelation which was promised in the Books of God, the Lord of Lords.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful. He hath come through Whose name the gates of grace, bounty and bestowals were opened before the faces of all who are in earth and heaven. Fear God and follow not the oppressors who have denied God's proof and evidence, disbelieved in His signs, remained heedless of His sovereignty and turned away from His holy and glorious countenance.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful. He of Whom mention was made in the Books of God hath come, and the Point of the Bayan gave glad-tidings of Him, would that ye might know!

Say: O people of the Bayan! By God, the Truth! The Expected One hath appeared and we have truly submitted ourselves unto Him.

Say: O people of the Bayan! That which lay treasured in the divine repository of knowledge hath appeared.

Say: O people of the Bayan! He around Whom the Bayan revolved hath come, and that which was mentioned by the tongue of the Point, Who gave the glad tidings to the servants of the appearance of Him Who conversed on Sinai, hath been made manifest in this mighty and wondrous station.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Judge fairly concerning this Announcement which Muhammad, the Messenger of God, foretold, and unto whose mention the Point of the Bayan bowed down.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, then judge with fairness concerning this Cause, whereof Muhammad the Apostle of God gave tidings, and the One Who conversed with God warned of, and the Spirit gave glad-tidings of.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Beware lest ye reject the truth with your mouths. Observe, then judge with fairness concerning this Most Great Announcement, whereof the Qur'an, and before it the Gospel and the Psalms, gave glad-tidings.

O My Name, O thou who hast drunk the wine of My utterance! Say: O people of the Bayan, remember, then observe what the All-Merciful hath revealed in the Qur'an: "The Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds." Say: O company of the heedless, fear God and oppose not Him through Whom the banner of divine knowledge hath been raised to the highest station of possibility, and through Whom the ocean of utterance hath surged and the sweet savors of the All-Merciful have wafted.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful. This is the Primal Point, Who circles round the Throne and proclaims with His most exalted call: "O my people! This is He Whom I gave you glad tidings of in the Books of God and what the All-Merciful revealed in the Furqan through His words 'the Day when thy Lord cometh, or some of the signs of thy Lord,' if ye be of those who know.

O Husayn! Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful. This is that Husayn Who was promised in the Book of God, the Lord of lords. Verily, He hath appeared after the Qa'im with a Cause before which all who are in earth and heaven shall not stand. Cast away your vain imaginings.

Say: O Concourse of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come, and there hath been raised on His right hand the banner "He is God" and on His left the standard "He doeth whatsoever He willeth."

O people of the Bayan! The banners of the Revelation have been raised in the name of the All-Merciful, and the pavilion of the Cause hath been pitched at the midmost heart of contingent being, and the most exalted Tasnim is being passed round by the immortal youths.

The Remembrance proclaimeth and saith: O people of the Bayan! By God, the All-Merciful hath come and the matter hath been decided by One mighty and powerful.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come with manifest sovereignty.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come with the lights of certitude.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come with the standards of divine knowledge, though it be against your wishes. He is the One before Whose name the Point of the Bayan and the Concourse on High and the angels brought nigh have prostrated themselves.

O ye people of the Bayan! By the righteousness of God, this is My beauty with which I pride Myself in My realm, and the denizens of My celestial kingdom seek blessings from My presence. Nay, rather, all else move by His Will, He verily is powerful over all that He willeth and He is the Gracious, the All-Bountiful. He appeared amongst you with such power that astonished them that devoutly worship Him. He rose alone before all that dwell in the heavens and on earth with the power bestowed by Us and I, verily, am the Almighty, the All-Glorious.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The All-Merciful hath come with clear proof. Fear ye God and be not of the wrongdoers.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the Most Merciful, and oppose not Him through Whom the proof hath been perfected and the evidence made manifest.

Say: O people of the Bayan! The hearts of them that are nigh unto God are bewildered at you. I know not what ye desire, O ye heedless ones! If ye seek God's signs, by God they have descended in the most wondrous utterance, to which every thing beareth witness, if ye be of them that deny.

The Unseen from the horizon of appearance now speaketh and saith: "O people of the Bayan! Have ye denied the All-Merciful after that through which My wisdom was made manifest amongst the servants and through which the standards of the Cause were raised in all lands?"

Say: O people! Ali hath come unto you with the truth, and this is His Temple among you, speaking from the right hand of the Throne: O people of the Bayan! By God, this is indeed My Self and My Beloved Who hath come unto you with manifest sovereignty. Beware lest ye differ concerning Him and dispute with Him as did the people of the Furqan when I came unto them from the dawning-place of the Spirit with a mighty command.

From the Burning Bush beyond the Radiant City upon the hallowed Spot of God's Command, the Mystery of God hath, by the power of the spirit, been witnessed, and speaketh in truth saying: "O people of the Bayan! Have ye disbelieved in the One through Whom ye believed in God aforetime? Here is My Beauty, which hath been revealed through His grace; yet have ye allowed them that are the manifestations of names in the kingdom of creation to shut you out therefrom; notwithstanding that they were all created by His Word.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Do ye claim faith within yourselves and seek to prove your cause through My verses revealed aforetime, yet deny My Self? Alas for you, O company of unbelievers! By the True One! Ye have committed that which no peoples before you have committed, as doth bear witness the Tongue of God, the True, the Speaking, the Trustworthy King.

Say: O people! Be not of those who name the Point of the Bayan as the Beloved while at the moment this name issueth from their mouths their eyes turn right and left in show of their longing for Him, yet they slay His very self and essence with the swords of rejection and turning away, and are not among those who perceive.

Therefore, O people of the Bayan, be fair, for they said exactly what ye say today. Do ye enjoin righteousness upon men while forgetting for yourselves the melodies of God and then deny them?

Say: O people of the Bayan, judge fairly within yourselves: what is the difference between you and those whom ye denounce as unbelievers? If ye say they opposed 'Ali at the time of His manifestation, verily ye have opposed His very Self, His Spirit, and His Essence, and ye perceive it not.

Say: O people of the Bayan! If ye persist in your ways, why then did ye leave the community of the Furqan and enter into the party of God, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the Most Great? For We observe you speaking as did the peoples of former times in those days, and advancing the same arguments as did the followers of religions past. It would behoove you, then, to return to your former path and follow your forbears of old.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful and be not of those who disbelieved in Muhammad, the Messenger of God, when He came with the truth, and turned away from the Spirit when He appeared from the presence of a Mighty, Ancient One.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear God and utter not that which the people of the Furqan uttered, who claimed faith throughout the ages, yet when the Manifestation thereof came unto them with the standards of signs, they slew Him with such injustice as caused the dwellers of the highest Paradise and the inmates of the pavilion of glory to lament in an exalted station.

Say: Beware, O people of the Bayan! Have mercy upon yourselves and upon the souls of the servants, and be not like the people of the Furqan when the Most High came unto them with luminous Tablets of holiness.

Say: O people of the Bayan, We behold you as We beheld them. Soon shall ye reap from the trees of your deeds the fruits which they reaped before. Take ye heed, O ye who are endued with insight!

The people of the Bayan are seen today to be more veiled than the people of the Furqan. By God's life! They have no share of this Most Great Ocean, nor any path to this Straight Way.

Say: O concourse of the Bayan! By the True God, heedlessness and intoxication have seized you more severely than the peoples of old, and this is testified to by this truthful and trustworthy Pen.

Say: O concourse of the Bayan! Your mention beseemeth you not, for ye are the most veiled of all people before the Self-Sufficient, the Most High. We have rent asunder some of the veils for you that ye might recognize the others.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Were ye to awaken even slightly and ascend somewhat toward the holy heaven of the Eternal Sovereign, ye would realize how ye have divided the blessed, universal, and eternal Word.

O people of the Bayan! Reckon ye to be treading the path of the spirit even as ye have rejected this Revelation? Nay, by my Beauty, which God hath ordained as the manifestation of His own Beauty amongst all the former and latter generations!"

Say: O people of the Bayan! By the life of the All-Merciful, you are worshippers of idols. Fear God and follow not every heedless remote one.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Have ye forbidden what God hath made lawful unto you, or have ye made lawful what He hath forbidden, or have ye altered His decree from what was revealed in the Tablets of God, the Omnipotent, the Mighty, the Gracious?

Say: O people of the Bayan! How excellent is what ye have done unto My Person and what ye were enjoined in all the Tablets from God! By God, O 'Ali! There remained not a single Tablet but that He informed them of My Cause, gave them glad-tidings of My Being, spoke unto them of My signs, and acquainted them with My mention. Yet, despite this, they did unto My Person what no one hath ever done unto anyone, and God sufficeth as witness unto this - after I had manifested My Self with sovereignty of might and power, and beyond that with proof that encompassed all worlds.

O people of truth! Behold ye the Truth in what shineth forth from the sun of His beauty, then hearken unto the melodies of truth that proceed from His lips, then drink from the Salsabil of truth that He offereth you from the cup of His bounty, and eat of the favors of truth that have been sent down from the heaven of His mighty sovereignty and the clouds of His holy grace. Then take shelter in the shade of the Tree of Truth, this Youth, Who when He moveth within Himself causeth to move thereby all manifestations of truth and suns of oneness, and when He remaineth still within Himself, the beauty of truth and His temple are established upon an exalted and impregnable throne.

O people of truth! If ye would but cleanse your eyes from the dust of contingent things and whatsoever proceedeth therefrom that befitteth not the sovereignty of names and attributes, ye would witness that the Manifestations of truth, its Daysprings, its Dawning-places and its Repositories all circle round this Truth Who hath appeared through truth and been established through truth upon the throne, before Whose shadow all who are in the heavens and on earth prostrate themselves, though they recognize it not and are unaware within themselves, being among those who are heedless of this Truth Who, were He to rend asunder the veil of glory from the face of beauty, would cause all things to proclaim, confirmed by the Holy Spirit even as the Beauty Himself was confirmed in the realm of eternity: "Verily I am the Truth, there is no God but Him, and verily we all, at the appearance of this Truth, are among those who prostrate themselves."

And verily this is He before Whom walk the Manifestations of truth, behind Whom proceed the Daysprings of divinity, at Whose right hand move the Essences of glory and at Whose left advance the Temples of the All-Merciful, all of them speaking, crying out and proclaiming: "O people of the Bayan! By God, the tongues of the All-Merciful have given the lie to your claims that ye believe in God, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Omnipotent. For ye claimed within yourselves that ye had believed in God and in His Manifestation Who was named 'Ali before Nabil, yet when His Messenger came with authority from the divine Command upon clouds of holiness in the most exalted Paradise, ye denied Him and rejected Him, even to the point where ye pronounced sentence of death upon Him just as the divines of the Qur'an pronounced sentence upon 'Ali aforetime, the Manifestation of His exalted, transcendent, powerful, supreme and omnipotent Self. Therefore nothing do ye pass by that doth not give you the lie and dissociate itself from you and seek refuge in God from meeting with you. By God! Were ye to judge fairly within yourselves, ye would witness that the very breath that proceedeth from you giveth you the lie, that the heaven raised above your heads dissociateth itself from you, and that all that raineth down from the clouds denieth what issueth from your tongues, were ye but of them who hear.

Through you have the clouds of mercy and grace been withheld, and the life of the people of the highest paradise transformed, and the countenance of grandeur turned pale, for ye have done what none before you have done. We have concealed it through Our grace, for verily We are the All-Bountiful, the Almighty, the All-Wise. What We have manifested among men is but a drop from the ocean of your deeds; otherwise, were I to speak the truth concerning what ye have done, the command of what shall be would return to what was, existence would revert to absolute and utter nothingness, and all that is witnessed in the kingdom would be transformed to dust. Thus hath the Command been sent down from the presence of the Mighty, the All-Bestowing, if ye be of them who are mindful."

Say: O people of the Bayan! By the life of God, the Point of the Furqan and the Point of the Bayan bewail you in the most exalted Paradise. Fear ye God and be not of the oppressors.

O people of the Bayan! By God, ye have perpetrated that which hath caused the Primal Point and the Concourse on High and those settled in the Kingdom of Names to lament. Ye have committed that which none in the world hath committed, and perpetrated that which none among the peoples of the earth hath perpetrated.

Desire hath kept them back from the Lord of all beings. Thus have their souls prompted them. They are indeed among the idolaters. Say: O people! Fear God and believe in Him Who hath come to you with a mighty sovereignty, on His right hand the hosts of revelation and inspiration, and on His left the angels and the Spirit, if ye be of them that know. And before Him walketh the Point of the Bayan, saying: "O my people! Your sayings and deeds have put me to shame, after We counseled you night and day.

His Beloved now waileth and weepeth, saying: "O people! Have mercy upon Him Who sat beneath the swords of the deniers, against Whom the followers of all religions have risen, conspiring at every moment to slay Him. If ye believed in the Exalted One (the Bab), why do ye wage war against His Beloved with the swords of rejection? If ye show no mercy to Him, then have mercy upon yourselves and be not of the wrongdoers."

Say: He is now living in this Most Holy and Mighty Horizon, and He saith: "O people of the Bayan! Have mercy upon your Lord, the All-Merciful, and oppose Him not after He hath come unto you with the verses of your Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

And from the depths of the pit He crieth out saying: "O people of the Bayan! Be fair, by God, and look upon that which hath been sent down from before the Throne, and be not tyrannous oppressors in the land.

O Ghulam! Hearken unto the call of this Youth, through Whose countenance the heavens and earth were illumined - though, if thou shouldst inquire about Him, by God at this very moment He hath been cast into a pit and speaketh at all times saying: "O people of the Bayan! Detach yourselves from whatsoever hindereth you from God and from recognizing the Manifestation of His Self, and turn unto Him with faces radiant and resplendent."

Say: O people of the Bayan! Do ye rest in your homes after the Ancient Beauty hath been exiled and settled in lands where none of its people, neither noble nor base, recognize Him?

Say: O people of the Bayan! Neither your clamor nor what ye possess can hinder Him, for He hath come with a power that the might of the world cannot weaken, and with a sovereignty that the barking of the barkers cannot impede. Where were ye when the Wronged One lay beneath chains and fetters, and where were ye when He was in the hands of the idolaters?

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear God and dispute not with Him Who hath endured that which no one in all lands hath endured, Who hath suffered the arrows of the ungodly for twenty years, and Who hath arisen to establish the Cause with sovereignty and power.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Hearken unto the call of this Prisoner. He commandeth you to observe that which God hath ordained in all the Tablets.

In one of the Tablets, this exalted word hath in these days flowed from the Most Exalted Pen: "O people of the Bayan! Reflect upon these two souls: the first is Al-Ashraf, whom neither love of the world nor its ornaments and colors prevented from sacrificing his spirit in His path, exalted be He; and the second is Hadi and his words and the preservation of his life. The martyrdom of the first is a truthful witness to steadfastness and acknowledgment, and the life of the second to wavering and denial.

Do ye imagine, O people of the Bayan and all who are on earth, that ye have believed in God and will not be tested thereafter? Nay, God will surely test you through His Cause that He may distinguish those who are upon truth from God's presence and are steadfast in God's religion. God shall soon annihilate your bodies and erase your traces and your names and all that ye have pursued and gathered unto yourselves and stored in your houses, and shall return you on the Day when the Sovereign of Eternity shall come with manifest dominion.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By the life of God, if anyone in this Revelation should miss a single matter, he shall never be able to make amends for it, now or ever....

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

Say: O people of the Bayan, die in your wrath! By God, the True One, the King, sovereignty on that Day belongeth unto God, the One, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Subduer.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Whither do ye flee? The word of chastisement hath been fulfilled against him who hath denied the All-Merciful in this Revelation which hath shone forth from the horizon of all existence with manifest sovereignty.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear God and contend not with Him with Whom should anyone contend, all who dwell in the highest Paradise and the realities of the Prophets and Messengers would curse him.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear your Lord, the All-Merciful, and dispute not with Him Who hath dawned from the horizon of the Cause with manifest sovereignty. O people! Fear God and deny not Him around Whom circle the proof and the evidence, Who came in the shadows of the clouds when the matter was decreed by God, the Almighty, the Glorious, the All-Loving.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Do ye dispute with Him Who hath come unto you with a proof wherewith all who are in the highest heavens could not prevail? Fear God and be of the righteous.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Do ye deny Him Whose meeting ye were promised in all the Tablets? Alas for you and for those whom ye have taken as lords for yourselves besides God!

O people of the Bayan! Ye have cast the All-Merciful behind your backs and have clung to every ignorant remote one. That which is on earth shall profit you not this day. Fear God and deny not Him through Whom the standard of God hath been raised upon every lofty and noble mountain.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and follow not every sinful liar who hath barred you from the path of God and led you astray from this manifest announcement.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and follow not the dawning-places of idle fancies who have turned away from God, the Lord of all worlds.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful and follow not those who have denied the proof of God and His evidence after they were revealed in truth from this swift Pen.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Follow not that party, and deliver yourselves from the obstructing and intervening smoke.

However, We have veiled their names in the Book, that perchance they may become aware within themselves: O people of the Bayan! Draw not nigh unto them, neither accept their words, if ye desire to hear God's decree within yourselves and then unto Him return.

O people of Baha! Keep yourselves apart from such as these, and turn not unto a people with whom God is wroth and whom He hath seized with vengeance from His presence. He, verily, is the most severe in punishment. Hasten unto God's good-pleasure and His satisfaction, then take up your abode in the secure station of this mighty Stronghold. Beware that ye draw not nigh unto them who have denied all the verses, whose eyes are veiled from My remembrance, and whose ears are wrapped in coverings from hearkening unto My holy, wondrous Words.

Fear God, O people of the Bayan, and deny not God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful and follow not the desires of those who have denied the Day of Judgment. Whoso objecteth to this Cause hath indeed objected to God, the Lord of the worlds.

Then remind the people of the Bayan there. Say: "Have ye denied your Lord, the All-Merciful, after He came upon the clouds of explanation with a mighty proof?" Say: "Fear ye God and cast not the Truth behind your backs. Take what ye have been given from the presence of One All-Knowing, All-Wise."

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear God and destroy not His House of Command with hands of hatred, and demolish not its pillars through the promptings of self and passion. Fear God Who created you through the manifestation of His Self and sent unto you that whereby the eyes of eternity were consoled by His beauty, but ye are wrapped in the veils of your selves among the dead.

Say: O people! I have come to you from the Orient of your Lord's command, the Most High, the Most Great. This is God's Tablet which hath come from the presence of the Lord of Names. Fear God and be not of the mischief-makers.

Fear God and commit not that which causeth the Primal Point to lament in the Most Glorious Paradise. Read ye what hath been sent down in the Bayan and follow not those who have denied God - verily they are the companions of the Fire.

O people of the Bayan! Fear the All-Merciful and be not of those who have broken God's covenant and His pledge, and denied what was sent down from His presence.

Say: O people of the Bayan! By God, the All-Merciful hath come with a sovereignty that your vain imaginings cannot withhold, nor what ye possess of the tales of old. Fear God and be not of the wrongdoers.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Have mercy upon the servants. The fire of the past is not yet extinguished; ye kindle another fire. Fear God, O people, and follow not vain imaginings and idle fancies. Follow Him Who guideth you to His straight path and directeth you to the horizon of certitude.

Fear God, O people of the Bayan, and corrupt not the earth after its reformation, neither shed blood nor follow every sinful idolater.

Say: Beware, O people of the Bayan, lest ye create discord in the Cause and dispute in God's religion - this is better for you than that which ye do.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Fear ye the All-Merciful, and commit not that which would cause the clamor of nations to be raised.

Therefore, O people of the Bayan, forsake all that ye have been forbidden and then act according to that which ye have been commanded in a preserved Book of might from the Pen of the Beloved of might - this is better for you than all that ye hear.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Aid your Lord through the hosts of deeds. Thus have We commanded you before and in this wondrous Tablet.

The day is approaching when God will have, by an act of His Will, raised up a race of men the nature of which is inscrutable to all save God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. He shall purify them from the defilement of idle fancies and corrupt desires, shall lift them up to the heights of holiness, and shall cause them to manifest the signs of His sovereignty and might upon earth. Thus hath it been ordained by God, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.

O people of the Bayan! Stand firm in the Cause when trials shall come upon you from all directions nigh. Know then that We were among you for numbered years, and every day thereof We recited unto you from the verses of God, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.

O people of the Bayan! Remember within yourselves what We have mentioned unto you in truth from this hidden and luminous Pen, and grieve not over anything, and turn not to the world and its ornaments and all that pertaineth to it and is in it and upon it, but turn to what is with God for that is better for you, if ye approach the shore of this counsel with the foot of detachment. … Be not veiled, O people of the Bayan, from this bounty which hath descended from the holy heaven while ye witness it with your own eyes.

O people of the Bayan, grieve not over this, but put your trust in God - in Him let them that profess His unity place their trust.

O people of the Bayan, be ye not disturbed by this, but place your trust in God, the Lord of all worlds. … O people of the Bayan, follow Me in all this, for this is better for you than all who are in the heavens and on earth.

O people of the Bayan! Grieve not at this, but put your trust in God, if ye be of them that know.

And ye, O people of the Bayan, hear My call at this moment and then know Me. Take heed of My counsel and beware lest ye transgress. When ye hear that the Servant hath migrated unto God, be ye not then disturbed nor grieve at anything, but be patient and be not of them who are impatient.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Hearken unto My call, then put your trust in God, the Powerful, the Supreme, the Mighty.

Arise and say: O people of the Bayan! By God, the Quickener of all creation hath come! Detach yourselves from all who are on earth, then turn unto God, the King, the Self-Subsisting, the All-Compelling.

Arise to serve God and say: "O people of the Bayan! Your Lord, the All-Merciful, hath come with manifest sovereignty. Fear ye God and deny not Him for Whose path the blood of those near unto God was shed."

Say: O people of the Bayan! Are diverse lords better, or God, the One Powerful, Mighty, Peerless? Hold fast unto God and detach yourselves from all else - this is better for you, if you be of those who know.

Say: O ye who turn aside! Even if ye were to soar with the wings of idle fancy from this moment until the Day that hath no end, ye would never reach the atmosphere of this heaven. Therefore, O ye who are filled with rancor, perish in your wrath and in the fire of your own selves. God is well aware of what ye conceal today in your hearts. Say: Have ye forgotten what God counseled you in the Book and in all the Tablets, that should ye find a fire in the Divine Lote-Tree, ye should not extinguish it with the water of your rancor, nor touch it with your idle fancies? Fear God, O people of the Bayan, then be not disdainful of His worship. Ye have cast the counsel of God behind your backs and have not answered the call of God, and ye are of those who believed and then turned away, then increased in their wretchedness while thinking they had attained the countenance of guidance. Nay, rather they are those who have turned away from the beauty of God.

Say: The example of what ye write and send to various regions is like unto those who wrote papers and hung them upon the House to refute the Truth by their words. Woe unto them and unto you for what they did and what ye do today. Say: God upholdeth the truth by His words and nullifieth falsehood by His command, and He rendereth void the deeds of those who have perpetrated calumny and sin, and He cutteth off the last traces of those who have risen against His servant without proof or evidence. Such hath been His way aforetime, if ye would observe in the horizons of the Cause. Say: O thou who turneth away! Hear My words and transgress not thy bounds. Descend from the ladder of self and passion, then ascend the ladder of equity and contentment, that perchance God may forgive thee and cause thee to enter the shore of His love and grant thee the fruits of detachment and make thee among those who rejoice at the glad tidings of holiness. We bear witness at the end of the Book that He Whom God shall make manifest is the Truth, there is no doubt in Him, and God shall manifest Him at the time of Mustaghath, and then ye shall turn away from Him. By God! Were ye to be in this garment, ye would not believe in Him nor in those whom He would send unto you from His presence, for ye would object to Him and dispute with Him concerning what ye possess, and ye would argue based on what Satan hath cast into your hearts, while He is sanctified above all that. He calleth unto you with the tongue of the unseen: "Verily, there is no God but Me. O people of the Bayan, return ye unto Me!" By God, I then wept at these words to such an extent that none can reckon save God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. It is as though I perceived His sorrow and all that would befall Him through your evil surmises. The curse of God be upon those who have wronged and continue to wrong without any proof from God or any beloved Book.

I swear by God that this servant glories in the dust trodden by the blessed feet of that Most Great Luminary, and every tract of earth is beloved unto this servant, for it may become the place whereon that blessed Being walks. The very air hath become the object of this servant's desire, for He doth breathe it, and likewise all the waters of the earth, for He doth drink thereof. I yearn for all existence to become the focus of that Sovereign of the unseen and the seen. How excellent are the words: "My ultimate goal is the ground touched by Her feet, and the throne of Glory is but earth whereon She walks." Yet I know not why such meaningless utterances have flowed from the tongues and mouths of these brutish common folk. Say: Hath God given you permission for this, or do ye forge lies against God? In any case, I have resigned all matters unto Him. Verily, we are God's and to Him shall we return.

Say: O people of the Bayan, hesitate not in this Cause which is more manifest than any manifestation and more wondrous than any wonder. Be not of those who turn away.

Say: O people of the Bayan, have mercy upon yourselves and waste not the Cause of Him Who was promised in the Tablets. Fear God and doubt not His Cause, for verily He hath appeared with manifest sovereignty.

Say: O people of the Bayan! Be ye ashamed before your Lord, the All-Merciful. He hath now appeared from the horizon of creation with manifest sovereignty, and He saith, pointing with His blessed finger to this Head, addressing them: "This is He of Whose meeting We gave you tidings and commanded you to bow down before His gate and took from you His covenant, O company of the wrongdoers!"

Say: O people of the Bayan! Deny not Him Who has come with the truth from the presence of One mighty, powerful. He has come as 'Ali came from the heaven of the Cause with manifest sovereignty, and He commands you but what 'Ali commanded before. Fear God and be not of the deniers.

Say: This is a chalice filled with the mercy of God; drink ye of it, O people of the Bayan!