Realms of being: widening the horizon of existence

Abdu'l-Baha smiled and replied: "No, I am tired of going about looking at the things of this world. I want to go above and travel and see in the spiritual worlds. What do you think about that?" The old watchman looked somewhat puzzled and scratched his head.

Abdu'l-Baha then pursued: "Which would you rather posses, the material or the spiritual world?" The watchman answered seriously: "Well, I guess the material; you know you have that one anyway."

"But," continued Abdu'l-Baha, "you do not lose it when you attain the spiritual. When you go upstairs in a house you do not leave the house. The lower floor is under you."

Now the greatest doubt of the deniers is this: where is that world? And everything which has no concrete external existence is mere imagination. However, the world of existence is one world, but it becomes manifold in relation to diverse realities. For example, the mineral, vegetable and animal worlds are one world, but the animal world in relation to the vegetable world is a spiritual reality and another realm, another condition.

But if ye ask as to the place, know ye that the world of existence is a single world, although its stations are various and distinct. For example, the mineral life occupieth its own plane, but a mineral entity is without any awareness at all of the vegetable kingdom, and indeed, with its inner tongue denieth that there is any such kingdom. In the same way, a vegetable entity knoweth nothing of the animal world, remaining completely heedless and ignorant thereof, for the stage of the animal is higher than that of the vegetable, and the vegetable is veiled from the animal world and inwardly denieth the existence of that world---all this while animal, vegetable and mineral dwell together in the one world.

As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Though the worlds of God be infinite, yet some refer to them as four: the world of time, which hath both a beginning and an end; the world of duration, which hath a beginning but whose end is not apparent; the world of primordial reality, whose beginning is not to be seen but which is known to have an end; and the world of eternity, of which neither the beginning nor the end is visible. … Others have called these the worlds of the Heavenly Court, of the Celestial Dominion, of the Divine Kingdom, and of Mortal Existence.

Know also that the three horizontal lines represent the World of God, the World of Command, and the World of Creation, for they are the sources of the [divine] influences. The World of God is the source of the grace of the Almighty; the World of Command is the pure and refined mirror in which the Sun of Reality is manifested; and the World of Creation is the source of the acquisition of effulgences which appear through the medium of the Most Great Channel, that is, the recipient of the grace of God and the bestower of grace upon created things.

Know that the degrees of existence are finite--the degrees of servitude, of prophethood and of Divinity--but that the perfections of God and of creation are infinite.

As to the attributes and perfections such as will, knowledge, power and other ancient attributes that we ascribe to that Divine Reality, these are the signs that reflect the existence of beings in the visible plane and not the absolute perfections of the Divine Essence that cannot be comprehended.

As to the station of the Godhead, it is exalted above and sanctified beyond the understanding of all created things, how much more above resolving itself into their realities! His Holiness the Bab (may my life be a sacrifice unto Him) hath stated that the meaning of the verse "The sea hath ever been the sea, and all contingent things its waves and forms" is fulfilled in the Primal Will, not in the Divine Essence.

Existence is of two kinds: One is the existence of the True One (God) which is sanctified above the comprehension of creation. He is the Unknowable Invisible. He is not preceded by any cause, but rather is the Creator of the Cause of causes. He is Ancient without beginning and absolutely Self-Sufficient. The second existence is that of creation. It is a general existence which is a mental concept that human reason can comprehend. This existence is originated, dependent, preceded by cause, and contingent.

But in the view of the Prophets it is not so. Rather, through proofs and evidences they established a third realm: the world of Truth [Haqq; also God], the world of Command, and the world of creation. … The world of Command is the station of the Primal Will which is a universal reality that is resolved into infinite forms. This is the reality of existence that is comprehended and understood by the human world. As for the world of creation, it consists of the infinite forms of that sea of Will which is the world of Command.

In summary, the Sufis speak only of God and creation, and believe that God has resolved Himself into, and manifested Himself through, the infinite forms of His creation, even as the sea which appears in the infinite forms of its waves. These originated and imperfect waves are identical to the pre-existent Sea, which is the sum of all the divine perfections. The Prophets, however, hold that there are the world of God, the world of the Kingdom, and the world of creation: three things.

But as to the question of the Trinity, know, O advancer unto God, that in each one of the cycles wherein the Lights have shone forth upon the horizons (i. e., in each prophetic dispensation) and the Forgiving Lord hath revealed Himself on Mount Paran (see Habbakkuk 3:3, etc.) or Mount Sinai, or Mount Seir (see Ezekiel 35), there are necessarily three things: The Giver of Grace, and the Grace, and the Recipient of the Grace; the Source of the Effulgence, and the Effulgence, and the Recipient of the Effulgence; the Illuminator, and the Illumination, and Illuminated.

Say, He Whom God shall make manifest is indeed the Primal Veil of God. Above this Veil ye can find nothing other than God, while beneath it ye can discern all things emanating from God. He is the Unseen, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Best Beloved.

Among them is the Paradise of Oneness, the Yellow Land, the Ocean of Jabarut. This is the station of "Thou art He and He is thou" - servants who speak not save by God's leave, who act not save by His command, and who forbid not save by His decree, even as God hath described them: "honored servants who precede Him not in speech and who act by His command."

… Among them is the station of the Paradise of Grace, the Crimson Land, the mystery of the Yellow, the hidden secret of the White, the Point of Nasut. Verily the evidences of remembrance therein are greatest, did ye but know.

… If the Primal Point were alive in these days and witnessed My grief he would assuredly, at all times, comfort Me, treat Me tenderly, and fill Me with ardent joy. At every moment would he strengthen Me. Alas, alas! Would that I had died after him before these days, or had become a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!

A questioned, on the night of the sitting, concerning the matter of the Ascension in the Land of Sad:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Praise be to God Who has manifested Himself to all contingent beings through the appearance of the Will for them and through them, that all contingent beings might know what God has placed within the essential realities of their beings regarding the stations of action and manifestations of passivity, until each station knows itself and recognizes the decree of its origin in what God has ordained for it in every condition without end, that it might testify in the realm of contingency to what God has testified to Himself and to His creation that there is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Most High.

That esteemed one asked regarding a difficulty well-known among the people of divine knowledge: How it was possible for the Prophet to be present simultaneously in all regions of existence, both hidden and manifest?

Know that none can understand this lofty station except through knowledge of "the matter between the two matters" which is the mystery of destiny. For things have three ranks: the rank of eternity (sarmad), which is the station of action, though God has given it an end in the station of manifestation due to the inexhaustibility of divine outpouring in the rank of existence - this is the station of Muhammad and his successors, where none can grasp anything of the wisdom of that rank; the rank of perpetuity (dahr), which in God's knowledge has a beginning from the station of eternity and an end in the station of concealment - this is the station of other contingent beings in the ranks of essences in the worlds of abstraction; and the rank of time (zaman), which God has given bounds in both beginning and end, and which is realized through the motion of the celestial spheres.

Having established these ranks, there is no doubt that in the first rank the heart knows that a thing has all ranks established for it and all manifestations tell its story, for the universal body which God made the bearer of the loci of action speaks of its essential station which indicates the station of eternity. For although the Prophet's body on the Night of the Ascension was in the house of Humayra according to tradition, it is established by consensus that he was in heaven and the ranks of paradise and hell. For just as nothing in the contingent worlds can veil his essence, so too with his body. Since minds can only perceive things as limited, they cannot witness the matter between matters and the decree of eternity in the decree of determination.

Thus whatever was said in the two gatherings, the mind turned from it due to its unity, until some souls acknowledged their lack of knowledge of what actually occurred regarding the rank of the body. Had God willed and desired, He would have explained the reality of this matter through the mystery of what occurred and the conclusive wisdom in its station, that all might know who knew the matter in the stations of manifestation and not be veiled from beholding the light of the unseen when veiled from the court of the presence of nearness.

At that station the pen has ceased to flow, and to God returns the decree of exposition in beginning and return. Glory be to God, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe. Peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.

And praise be to God, Who hath devised all inventions in the station wherein the ultimate ends of Command and the seals of consummation are revealed, in accordance with what He hath willed in the mystery of essential realities, in the mention of identities, in the ordinance of beings, and in the decree concerning the souls -- yea, and what God hath willed beyond these stations, in the indications of Lahut and the degrees of Jabarut and the signs of Mulk and Malakut, and the finalities of Command in the manifestations of Nasut -- to the end that all may learn the rulings of all things from their beginnings unto their endings, and thereafter whatsoever God hath willed beyond such allusions, of infinity upon infinity, and of what no one's knowledge can encompass save God.

Know thou that every letter thereof hath seven stations---those stations which the Imam, in the realm of recognition, enjoined upon Jabir, when He said (exalted be His remembrance) unto the end of the tradition. And for each of these stations there are the four worlds, which in certain places are expressed as: the Lahut, which is the rank of the heart, and the first atom; the Jabarut, which is the station of the intellect, and the second; the Mulk, which is the station of the soul and the third scene, and the Word of tahlil; and the Malakut, which is the station of the Proof and the fourth scene, and the Word of takbir.

The description of each subsequent world describes the nature of the world before it unto the end of its station. Therefore it is related in the tradition that the ant claims for God two lordships, and that description which is in everything is God's lordship over it thereby.

"This exalted Word has manifested from the world of the Divine Will to the world of Divine Purpose, and from Purpose to the realm of Lahut, and from Lahut to Jabarut, and from Jabarut to Malakut, and its manifestation in the form of the All-Embracing Word was revealed in the Tablet to Haydar-'Ali and Husayn - upon them be My glory and loving-kindness.

Through My command did the sun shine forth from the horizon of heaven, and the Nightingale of Holiness sang out that this is the Beauty of God in the human realm of beginning, and the Manifestation of God in the heavenly kingdom on high, and the Concealment of God in the realm of might and immortality, and the Essence of Eternity in this radiant, snow-white garment.

Were We to say it is the sun, this would be true by virtue of My being, for it hath dawned from this praiseworthy horizon. And were We to say it is the heaven, this too would be true, for it hath been adorned with brilliant stars and luminous planets formed of the words of thy Lord, Who in the heaven of eternity was called the Ancient Truth, and in the realm of the cloud the Most High, the Most Great, and in the kingdom of names the Everlasting God, and then by this Name in the world of creation - the Name whereby the dwellers of earth and heaven were seized with trembling, save whom thy Lord, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved, did will.

The divine worlds are infinite. One world among the worlds of God is this elemental world, which is but a sign of other worlds. But those of limited vision, lacking spiritual insight, imagine that existence is confined to the material realm and thus become veiled from the worlds of God by earthly conditions.

And when the soul hath unfolded the wings of the spirit, been attracted by the Joy of God, hath soared to the most exalted horizon, hath sought the most glorious Companion (rafiq al-abha), it doth ascend to the divine station of Jabarut (the realm of Command) and is assisted by an overwhelming and all-conquering power and by the intricate and ancient secret and by the noble and mighty mystery. It becomes aware of the secrets of hidden and invisible realities which consumes in envy the hearts of the mystic knowers. It is imprinted by the rays shining forth from the Sun of Truth and by its effects and comes to resemble its appearance and its light in every state and condition.

… And as for "the Divine Soul" (an-nafs al-ilahiyyah), it consists of the Universal Reality which brings together all of the Divine realities of the realm of Primal Manifestation (lahutiyyah) and the eternal secrets, the outer aspect of which is the ancient light and the inner aspect is the most mighty and sublime mystery, the Primal Point from which appear all things and to which they revert, from which they originate and to which they return. Thus is it the Primal Oneness (al-ahadiyyah) in its essence and the derived Oneness (al-wahidiyyah) in its attributes.

The divine spirit which is from God's command refers to the holy power, divine confirmations, eternal assistance, divine knowledge and heavenly sciences with which God aids whomever He wishes among His righteous servants.

… The heavenly spirit is a holy essence, a perfect word, a complete sign, the mystery of existence and the reality hidden from the eyes of all beings. It is the Supreme Pen, the Divine Soul, and the manifestation of Truth from the dawning-place of creation and its sun at the dayspring of invention. This is specific to the Prophets in the worlds of creation.

This matter is correct, but what is meant by spirit is existence and life, for existence has a single concept that is not multiple. Existence has ranks, and in each rank it has determination, individuation and special capacity. For example, the mineral, plant, animal and human realms are all in the realm of existence, and none of these realities is deprived of that concept. However, existence has manifestation, emergence and conditions in each of these ranks.

The greatest power in the realm and range of human existence is spirit -- the divine breath which animates and pervades all things. It is manifested throughout creation in different degrees or kingdoms.

I thought of how the spirit radiates in all the realms of nature according to the receptive degree. In the mineral world the spirit shows itself, but limited to that mineral condition. It is proved through science that the mineral has the power of attraction, the vegetable has the power of growth; life is according to capacity.

Regard this globe. Its divisions are mineral, vegetable and animal. Man is the result of all these; therefore man is the result of all existence here.

The contingent world is in two great divisions--the physical and the mental.

The material or physical world or the "world of sense" is comprehended through the five senses, but the intellectual world is comprehended through the instrumentality of knowledge.

The luminous bodies are of three kinds: among them are those whose light is derived from another, like the planets revolving around the sun; and among them are those whose light is other than their body and whose body is other than their light, but the body necessitates and entails it, and since there is otherness between them, separation from light is conceivable, like the sun and the fixed stars; and among them is light itself, and the separation of a thing from itself is not conceivable - "God is the Light of the heavens and the earth."

Man is possessed of three realities: first, the animal reality; second, the human reality; third, the reality of the Kingdom. The animal reality can only conceive of the animal world and this is, according to terminology, the animal mold. The second reality is the human reality, which constitutes intellectual perception and the capacity of conceiving every image freely present, the capacity to attain to the image of the Kingdom, and acquires the capacity to present simply the image of the animal. This may be termed the human mold. As to the third reality, which is the reality of the Kingdom, that is the reality representing the image and likeness of God, which is entitled the body of the Kingdom and is sometimes called the astral mold or body.

Man has three aspects. These have been interpreted according to former terminology as three molds.

One is the animal mold, which is also known as the reality of darkness, -- that is, a reality emanating from the world of nature, -- and in that reality man has faculties and powers in common with the animal.

The second mold is the human reality, sometimes termed the astral reality. It is the mold between darkness and light, in which the soul is able to choose whether it will acquire all the virtues or remain subject to all vices.

The third mold is the spiritual reality, which is light itself.

Man may be said to have three natures: The first is sunk in darkness and here he is a prisoner to his desires for here he is co-possessor of the same qualities as the animals. The second nature might be called his human nature and in this human nature is the home of the mind and the soul. The third is his likeness to God and this he possesses in proportion to the divine qualities he imparts, the breeze of the holy spirit, pure spiritually, luminosity.

The world of existence has two estates: the one is the Unconditioned, the Absolute, the Divine; the other is that of submission to God. The one is the estate of God, the other of created beings.

That is to say, when we speak of God or Truth, we mean that which is endowed with the highest perfection, and when we speak of the created world, we mean that which is subject to utter imperfection. The one is eternal, the other temporal. The one is rich, the other poor. The one is powerful, the other impotent. The one is all-knowing, the other plunged in ignorance. The one is wholly pure, the other swayed by desire.

But the eternal flows out to, envelops, and permeates all things which are impermanent. God, or Truth which is the reality of God, gives life to mankind.

The earth in its own inherent condition is dark, while the sun is bright; but the sun shines upon the earth, and the earth is bright by reason of the shining of the sun.

So God has given His light to created beings. God is a perfection which flows out to, envelops, and permeates the world; and mankind should reflect the perfection of God as the earth reflects the rays of the sun.

The grace which is between the Creator and the created is Love. The intermediary of that grace of God is the Holy Spirit. If there were no love, there would be no communication between God and created beings. Were there no light, there would be no communication between the sun and the earth.

The rays of the sun shine forth from the mirror when it is exposed to the sun, although the mirror of itself is dark. The light which we see in the mirror is but the effect of the power and grace of the sun. In the same way, the visible world is altogether imperfect; all the virtues and all the perfections which appear in this world are the reflections of the perfections of God.

The efforts of all the Divine Teachers have been directed to the end of so educating mankind that the souls of men shall attain the capacity to reflect in their essence the rays sent forth from God -that the light of the Sun of Reality should shine in the mirror of the heart, giving forth radiance.

The intermediary of these graces and benefits is the Holy Spirit.

Although the beings of the visible world have voluntary activity, and effects follow their activities,- that is to say, although all conditioned beings have powers and faculties, for every power has its corresponding faculty, -yet these powers are exercised by them under the law of nature. Conditioned beings are like mirrors, which have shape and form, and of which the faculty is to reflect light. In other words, the power of every conditioned being is according to its character, because it is under the law of nature.

But the Holy Spirit is other than these; its power is beyond the control of nature, not under the law of nature. It is Eternal Life, Infinite Light, and Unconditioned Power. It transforms darkness into light. It transforms the hater into the lover. It transforms imperfection into perfection. It transforms poverty into wealth. It transforms ignorance into knowledge. It transforms weakness into strength. It transforms blindness into seeing. It transforms deafness into hearing. It transforms dulness into speech. From it the soul destitute of spirit, and therefore dead, receives everlasting life.

This is why Jesus said that though men have eyes, they see not; though they have ears, they hear not; though they have tongues, they speak not; and that he brought healing to them. By this he meant that although they have material ears they have not the power of spiritual hearing; although they have material eyes they have not the power of spiritual sight -they perceive not the kingdom of God, and that the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit is the means of putting these spiritual faculties into operation.

I hope that the perfumed fragrance of the Holy Spirit will breathe upon you all.

We, of the Orient, distinguish between the wholly transcendent Primal Deity, in the Christian sense God the Father, and the Logos (Gospel of St. John, chapt. 1, verses 1 and 2), in the Christian sense God the Son, also called Demiurge (in the sense of the Greek philosophers), also called the Primal Will by His Holiness the Bab and designated by the Sufis (religious brotherhood) by the name of tawhid = oneness.

Those who lack wisdom think that the worlds of God are limited to the material universe. They deny that there are spiritual realms.

Ignorant people imagine this to be the only world of existence, but there are many, very, very many worlds of existence, many more than we can see."

"Why should you wish to return here? In My Father's House are many mansions -- many, many worlds! Why should you desire to come back to this particular planet?"

The meaning of this is: The worlds of GOD are sanctified from place and limitation. They are the worlds of the divine attributes and qualities, such as the world of love, faith, purity, knowledge, etc.

Likewise, in the realm of truth, past, present, and future are the same, and future events are even as past and present occurrences. From the perspective of that realm, all events and incidents take place in the present and are witnessed by the Prophets and the chosen ones. And so it is that the Prophets herald events that will transpire two or three thousand years hence, for they abide in the realm of truth, wherein the mysteries of the universe are revealed and laid bare.

The pinions of those nigh unto God, despite all their ardor and ecstasy, their attraction and rapture, are debarred from this atmosphere, and the wings of men are bound and fettered. No thought or knowledge or intelligence can traverse beyond heaven and earth - all that exists lieth between these twain. Yet the guardians of the pavilion of grandeur and the sentinels of the sanctuaries of the Kingdom exist above a hundred thousand visible worlds. This heaven, compared to that heaven, is as the earth before this heaven - nay, I seek God's forgiveness from every limitation and delimitation. The fettered wing knoweth not how to soar, and wings besmeared with clay cannot transcend their bounds.

If such is what will take place in this visible world, then imagine what it will be in the spiritual realms of God, so exalted above the comprehension of all beings.

O thou kind friend! However much the contingent world is a soul-stirring ocean, it is but an insignificant drop from the realms of the Placeless.

You well know that the realm of earthly existence is confined and restricted, and that the birds of the Kingdom have clipped wings therein.

This is the matrix world for the soul, even as the womb was the matrix world for the body or vehicle. - Birth into consciousness of another world begins here, a world for which this physical and material one is but the preparation and foundation."

Not on the earthly planet does this development and purification of the imperfectly matured souls take place, but in the uncounted spiritual worlds of God; also not out of own endeavor and tiring penance, but in the creative light, in the purifying mercy and the purifying bounty of God, the Eternal, Almighty, and All-kind.

O Breakwell, O my dear one!

… Thou hast quit this earthly world and risen upward to the Kingdom, thou hast reached unto the grace of the invisible realm, and offered thyself at the threshold of its Lord.

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For they have hastened from the world of darkness to the world of light, and pitched their tent in the precincts of the Throne of the All-Merciful.

You will witness freedom in both worlds and agility in every arena. At times you will traverse the realm of the material world, at times you will journey through the Kingdom. Sometimes you will hasten to the heights of evanescence, sometimes you will race into the depths of effacement and nothingness.

O thou who hast believed in God! When, in the desert of deprivation, the intensity of thy thirst increased, thou didst hasten to the fountainhead of the Water of Life and didst drink from the Spring of the All-Merciful. Seek thou the effects of this heavenly sustenance in the realm of the Kingdom, and search after the outpourings of this divine reality in the desert of the invisible Empyrean. For this earthly abode is a place of concealment, not of manifestation, and a station of weakness, not of perceiving the results of all things.

Know then that the Lord God possesseth invisible realms which the human intellect can never hope to fathom nor the mind of man conceive. When once thou hast cleansed the channel of thy spiritual sense from the pollution of this worldly life, then wilt thou breathe in the sweet scents of holiness that blow from the blissful bowers of that heavenly land.

6. O SON OF EARTH! Know, verily, the heart wherein the least remnant of envy yet lingers, shall never attain My everlasting dominion, nor inhale the sweet savors of holiness breathing from My kingdom of sanctity.

And similarly, some of those who dwell among the sanctified signs consider that the Love of the True One for the creatures is the appearance of the effulgences of the Divinity [uluhiyyat] and the continuance of the attributes of the Heavenly Realm [lahutiyyat] in the temples and places of manifestation of the physical world [nasutiyya]. The Love of the servant for the Absolute is the annihilation of the existence and the passing away of the attributes of the physical world in Heavenly Perpetuation [baqa-yi lahutiyya] and Divine Manifestations.

The 'Spiritual Words' are the ethical and moral Teachings of the Manifestations of God. They are unchangeable and unalterable. The spirit behind these words is the spirit of God and therefore eternal.

I constantly pray for you and beg for each the divine Confirmations, so that the eyes of your insight may be opened and thus be enabled to see those objects which are not seen by others, to feel those susceptibilities which are not felt by others, to be reinforced by the invisible powers, to become cognizant of the worlds of God, because the divine worlds are infinite.

But God has given us wings whereby we may soar toward the immensity of space wherein we find the radiant worlds of abstraction, beatitude and certainty.

I am sore athirst; give me to drink of the oceans of Thy bountiful favor. I am a stranger; draw me nearer unto the source of Thy gifts. I am sick; sprinkle upon me the healing waters of Thy grace. I am a captive; rid me of my bondage, by the power of Thy might and through the force of Thy will, that I may soar on the wings of detachment towards the loftiest summits of Thy creation.

I implore Thee by the signs of Thy Kingdom and the mysteries of Thy Dominion to do with Thy loved ones as becometh Thy bounty, O Lord of all being, and is worthy of Thy grace, O King of the seen and the unseen!

I pray Thee, O my Lord, by Thy hidden, Thy treasured Name, that calleth aloud in the kingdom of creation, and summoneth all peoples to the Tree beyond which there is no passing, the seat of transcendent glory, to rain down upon us, and upon Thy servants, the overflowing rain of Thy mercy, that it may cleanse us from the remembrance of all else but Thee, and draw us nigh unto the shores of the ocean of Thy grace. Ordain, O Lord, through Thy most exalted Pen, that which will immortalize our souls in the Realm of glory, will perpetuate our names in Thy Kingdom, and safeguard our lives in the treasuries of Thy protection and our bodies in the stronghold of Thy inviolable fastness.

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.

… 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.

Through His immovable constancy in Thy Cause, and His unwavering adherence to whatsoever Thou, in the plentitude of the light of Thy glory, didst unveil to His eyes, throughout the domains of Thy Revelation and creation, the souls of Thy servants were stirred up in their longing for Thy Kingdom, and the dwellers of Thy realms rushed forth to enter into Thy heavenly dominion.

… Cast upon this poor and desolate creature, O my Lord, the glance of Thy wealth, and flood his heart with the beams of Thy knowledge, that he may apprehend the verities of the unseen world, and discover the mysteries of Thy heavenly realm, and perceive the signs and tokens of Thy kingdom, and behold the manifold revelations of this earthly life all set forth before the face of Him Who is the Revealer of Thine own Self.

I testify that no sooner had the First Word proceeded, through the potency of Thy will and purpose, out of His mouth, and the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth were stirred to the depths. Through that Word the realities of all created things were shaken, were divided, separated, scattered, combined and reunited, disclosing, in both the contingent world and the heavenly kingdom, entities of a new creation, and revealing, in the unseen realms, the signs and tokens of Thy unity and oneness.

How can, then, such a man succeed in befittingly extolling the One through a motion of Whose finger all the names and their kingdom were called into being, and all the attributes and their dominion were created, and Who, through yet another motion of that same finger, hath united the letters B and E (Be) and knit them together, manifesting thereby what the highest thoughts of Thy chosen ones who enjoy near access to Thee are unable to grasp, and what the profoundest wisdom of those of Thy loved ones that are wholly devoted to Thee are powerless to fathom.

Magnified, O Lord my God, be Thy Name, whereby the trees of the garden of Thy Revelation have been clad with verdure, and been made to yield the fruits of holiness during this Springtime when the sweet savors of Thy favors and blessings have been wafted over all things, and caused them to bring forth whatsoever had been preordained for them in the Kingdom of Thine irrevocable decree and the Heaven of Thine immutable purpose.

This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out: "Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne." The realm of glory exclaimeth: "Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He Who is the Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty upon thee, through the power of His Name that hath been promised unto all things, whether of the past or of the future."

We, of a certainty, have had no purpose in this earthly realm save to make God manifest and to reveal His sovereignty; sufficient unto Me is God for a witness. We, of a certainty, have had no intent in the celestial Kingdom but to exalt His Cause and glorify His praise; sufficient unto Me is God for a protector. We, of a certainty, have had no desire in the Dominion on high except to extol God and what hath been sent down by Him; sufficient unto Me is God for a helper.

Heard it ye ever reported by your fathers of old, or by the generations that preceded them, even unto the first Adam, that any one coming in the clouds of revelation, being invested with manifest and transcendent sovereignty, having on his right hand the Kingdom of God and on his left all the power and glory of His everlasting dominion, any one preceded by the hosts of God, the Almighty, the All-Compelling, the Most Powerful, and uttering continually verses whose import the minds of the most learned and wisest of men are powerless to fathom, should yet be the bearer of a message that is not of God?

Then remind the letter Jim from Us and give him glad tidings of a holy, preserved tablet which We have sent down unto him, a single letter of which cannot be equaled by all that hath been created in the realm of Lahut, then in the realm of Jabarut, then in the realm of Malakut, then in the heavens and earths.

The inhabitants of the realms of My eternity, the dwellers of the cities of My immortality, and the companions of the depths of My grandeur yearn to meet this servant, and around him circle the Houris of the chambers of My paradise and the chaste maidens of My garden of paradise and good-pleasure.

Those who are brought to life by the Word of God - these are the companions of eternity who soar in the atmosphere of the spirit on wings of detachment, and upon whom shower blessings the angels of the divine Command, then those who dwell in the precincts of the Divine Essence, then those within the veil of the Kingdom, then those in the atmosphere of the Realm of Might, then those in the earthly realm, if ye be of those who know.

Ascend, O people, unto My Kingdom which perisheth not, then behold the lights of your Lord's countenance which fade not away.

...'we' are third in order counting from God, being made, Plato says, 'from the undivided,' that which is above, 'and from that which is divided in bodies'...

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So we must not go after other first principles but put this [the One] first, and then after it Intellect, that which primarily thinks, and then Soul after Intellect: and we must not posit more principles than these in the intelligible world, or fewer.

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Know that things in their act of existence [wujudiyyah] possess three degrees [maratib]: the first degree is Pure Being which is without limit. This the gnostics call the Hidden Ipseity [al-huwiyyat al-ghaybiyyah], the absolutely Hidden [al-ghayb al-mutlaq] and the Essence of Unity [al-dhat al-ahadiyyah].... The second degree is that of existence belonging to something other than the thing itself. It is relative existence conditioned by qualifications that are added to it and qualified by limiting conditions... The third degree is that of the 'Absolute Existence in its deployment' [al-wujud al-munbasit al-mutlaq].... It is, according to the common language of the Sufis, the principle of the Universe, the empyrean of life, the 'throne of the Compassionate', the truth by which things are created and the reality of realities.

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All things are dependent on one first cause; and that first cause is dependent on the One and Only. The first cause is moved, that it may come to be first cause of all things; the One alone stands fast, and is not moved. There are these three then,--God, Kosmos, Man. The Kosmos is contained by God, and man is contained by the Kosmos. The Kosmos is son of God; man is son of Kosmos, and grandson, so to speak, of God.

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In the Sufi world-view, five 'worlds' ('awalim) or five basic planes of Being are distinguished, each one of them representing a Presence or an ontological mode of the absolute Reality in its self-manifestation. (1) The plane of the Essence (dhat), the world of the absolute non-manifestation (al-ghayb al-mutlaq) or the Mystery of Mysteries. (2) The plane of the Attributes and the Names, the Presence of Divinity (uluhiyah). (3) The plane of the Actions, the Presence of Lordship (rububiyah). (4) The plane of Images (amthal) and Imagination (khayal). (5) The plane of the senses and sensible experience (mushahadah). These five planes constitute among themselves an organic whole, the things of a lower plane serving as symbols or images for the things of the higher planes."

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This power comes from the life infused into things, life which one calls lahut, whereas the recipient to which the spirit gives life is called nasut; and this nasut (which contains the corporeal form) is in its turn considered as a spirit because of that which maintains its existence.

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The inscription upon the Baha'i ringstone is the symbol of the Greatest Name, Baha, who is the Manifestation of the essence of God. It is also symbolic of the three planes representing the World of God, the World of Revelation and the World of Creation.

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...the gnostics maintain the existence of only two worlds, the world of God and the world of the creature. The prophets, however, maintained the existence of three worlds: the world of God, the world of the Will or the Word, and the world of created things. The Prophets, therefore, maintained that a knowledge of God is impossible.... There is, therefore, only one way to God and that is through the realization of His Manifestation or Prophet in that age.

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Now as regards the fourth letter [of Sura 103 of the Qur'an] which is the letter 'ayn, it signifieth the sublimity of the Divine Unicity ('uluw al-ahadiyah) in the realms of Lahut; the sublimity of the Divine Uniqueness ('uluw al-wahidiyah) in the grades of Jabarut; the sublimity of the Divine Mercy in the realms of the dominion (al-mulk) and Malakut; the sublimity of the Divine Perpetuity ('uluw as-samadaniyah) in that God revealed Himself (tajalla Allah) unto all (and) in all in the realities of the 'selves' (fi haqa'iq al-anfus) and the 'horizons' (al-afaq - see

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Existence is divided into three sorts. The first, that which was - is and shall be. The second was not - but is and shall be. The third is - but at first was not and after shall not be. That which was and is and shall be is God. That which was not, and is and shall be, is man. That which is, but was not and shall not be, is the animal. I hope we shall be like those who really will be.

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...it is evident that the spirit manifests different aspects and traverses various contrasting and endless grades or stations. It has capacity to become a mirror for the reflection of the manifestation of divine (Lahutiyyih) realities and a point for reflecting perfect divine attributes.

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The meaning of the Kingdom (malakut) in its primary sense and degree is the scene of His transcendent glory. In another sense it is the world of similitudes ('alam-i-mithal) which existeth between the Dominion on high (jabarut) and this mortal realm (nasut); whatever is in the heavens or on the earth hath its counterpart in that world. Whilst a thing remaineth hidden and concealed within the power of utterance it is said to be of the Dominion (jabarut), and this is the first stage of its substantiation (taqyid). Whenever it becometh manifest it is said to be of the Kingdom (malakut). The power and potency it deriveth from the first stage, it bestoweth upon whatever lieth below.

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In one sense all the events are decreed. The decree itself is a proof of their irrevocability. (But its explanation) will remain, at the present time, hidden in the heaven of Mashiyyat, until such time as it may come forth from the Jabarut-i-mashiyyat to the Malakut-i-bayan and be written down by the Pen of Providence. These limitations of degree and station are due to human conditions and worldly means which have been created from the will of contingent things (mashiyyat-i-imkaniyyih) and unto which they will return. All that is with God and His own Will are and will continue to be sanctified from any condition of limitation.

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In truth, this ephemeral world hath never been, nor is it now, deserving of permanent residence. In one respect, however, it taketh precedence over every other world, for in spite of its transience and its vicissitudes, it hath been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of might and power as the place wherein eternal stations and exalted ranks are to be acquired.

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