The station of the Báb: recognition, revelation, and a promised dawn

At the time when the Bab was being driven by his enemies from place to place there lived in a certain city a believer who had never seen him. He had heard that the Bab wore a green turban, as did all the descendants of Muhammad. This believer went to see the Bab, and he looked for the green turban. It so happened that just before his arrival the Bab had taken off his green turban, putting on instead, a Persian cap. So the man did not recognize Him. The Bab joked, saying, 'I have heard that you have become a believer in the new movement. What has caused this change?'

The man answered: 'The proof of Muhammad was His eloquent Arabic book. I have heard that this young man has brought through revelation several eloquent Arabic and Persian epistles which have the spirit of the word of Muhammad.'

The Bab said: 'Whoever thus reveals, you believe?'

He then began writing verses, like a crystal river. The man, overwhelmed, cried out that such an one must be a Manifestation. 'But why does not he wear a green turban?'

The Primal Point is verily the Truth from thy Lord; let not the deeds of men veil thee.

O Nabil-i-'Ali! Some among the people are observed to be most unfair. Consider Hasan-i-Bajistani: when he was present in Iraq before Us, he entertained doubts concerning the Cause of the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - which he presented before Our countenance, and received the answer directly from the tongue of the Manifestation of Divine Unity.

Touching the individual known as the Bab and the true nature of this sect diverse tales are on the tongues and in the mouths of men, and various accounts are contained in the pages of Persian history and the leaves of European chronicles. But because of the variety of their assertions and the diversity of their narratives not one is as worthy of confidence as it should be. Some have loosed their tongues in extreme censure and condemnation; some foreign chronicles have spoken in a commendatory strain; while a certain section have recorded what they themselves have heard without addressing themselves either to censure or approbation.

… The Bab was a young merchant of the Pure Lineage. … On account of what was observed in Him He was noted for godliness, devoutness, virtue, and piety, and was regarded in the sight of men as so characterized.

I am, I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten.

Remember, O people, when the Revealer of the Bayan came to you with novel and holy verses, saying: "I am the Gate of Knowledge, and whoso believeth concerning Me more than this hath indeed fabricated a calumny and earned for himself a grievous sin." Then He said: "I am verily the promised Qa'im Whose appearance was promised you in sacred scrolls." Then did He, exalted be His remembrance, declare: "I am the Primal Point, which is indeed Muhammad, the Messenger of God, as ye have heard and witnessed in the Tablets of God, the Sovereign, the All-Wise." When the essence of certain souls had been elevated, He then rent asunder the veil and rose from the Holy Dayspring, proclaiming: "I am God, there is no God but Me, your Lord and the Lord of all worlds. I am He Who, from the beginning that hath no beginning, hath been one God, Single, Unique, Alone, Self-Subsisting. I have taken neither partner, nor likeness, nor vizier, nor peer. I have sent Prophets and Messengers from the beginning of beginnings and shall continue to send them unto the end of endings."

However, when we include His Holiness the Commander among the twelve, His Holiness the Exalted One (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him) is the Promised One of the Qur'an and the final of the pure Imams, since what is meant by the twelfth Imam who is the Promised Qa'im is His Holiness the Exalted One (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), for in the Qur'anic dispensation He is the Promised Mahdi and in this wondrous dispensation the Primal Point and Dawn of Guidance and Herald of the Most Glorious Beauty.

The Bab, the Exalted One, is the Morn of Truth, the splendour of Whose light shineth through all regions. He is also the Harbinger of the Most Great Light, the Abha Luminary.

The belief of this evanescent servant is that His Holiness the Exalted One, the Primal Point, may my spirit be sacrificed for Him, was the Sun of the highest realm, the Dawning-place of Lordship, and the Herald of the Ancient Beauty.

For the sincere belief of 'Abdu'l-Baha is this: that the Primal Point, His Holiness the Exalted One - may my spirit be sacrificed for Him - is the Manifestation of Supreme Lordship and the Herald of the Beauty of Abha and the Sun of Truth and the Essence of Singleness and the Revelation of Divinity, the Most Great Luminary of the higher world, the Beauty of Abha, and 'Abdu'l-Baha is the weak, mortal servant of those two peerless Stars.

It was eloquent and fluent, but it was not in accordance with the ways of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and its content did not conform to the beliefs of 'Abdu'l-Baha, for the true belief of this servant is that the Beauty of Abha--may my spirit be a sacrifice for His loved ones--was the Sun of Truth which, in this cycle, shone forth at its zenith, and that the Exalted Beauty--may my spirit be sacrificed for Him--was the Herald of the Most Great Name and the Supreme Lord of all peoples, and that this servant is the manifestation of pure and utter servitude to the Ancient Beauty, without any interpretation, explanation or allusion.

Whoso knoweth of a certainty that He is the Point of the Qur'an manifested in His Resurrection, and the Point of the Bayan in His first Revelation, and that He is the Primal Will Who existeth by Himself, the Self-Subsistent, while all things are created by His bidding, and exist by Him, he is numbered among those whose inmost realities have testified unto the unity of his Lord.

… Were all the people that dwell on earth to assemble together, they would be unable to produce a single verse like unto the ones which God hath caused to stream forth from the tongue of the Point of the Bayan. Indeed, if any living creature were to pause to meditate he would undoubtedly realize that these verses are not the work of man, but are solely to be ascribed unto God, the One, the Peerless, Who causeth them to flow forth from the tongue of whomsoever He willeth, and hath not revealed nor will He reveal them save through the Focal Point of God's Primal Will. He it is, through Whose dispensations divine Messengers are raised up and heavenly Books are sent down.

The essence of all remembrance is that

I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things. I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade. Whoso recognizeth Me, assurance and all good are in store for him, and whoso faileth to recognize Me, infernal fire and all evil await him.…

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God manifested Muhammad among the Arabs, while I was raised among those who cannot speak Arabic words, so how do they utter verses? God sent him forth after forty years of his life had passed, as you all remember.

But God sent me forth after twenty-four years of my life had passed, and I completed My proof upon all who are on earth through the Book which We revealed in truth, but you are far removed from God's command. We have revealed a thousand verses in six hours, while you are all together unable to comprehend them, let alone utter the like of this.

When the Cause hath reached unto God, look not upon your proofs, for all this hath been revealed by God. Were ye to reflect upon what hath been revealed, that which God revealed in twenty-three years is now revealed in four days.

These Manifestations of transcendent oneness have appeared from time immemorial until the time culminated in the first wondrous Manifestation in the final Vesture, and the Primal Point - exalted be His grandeur, sublime be His traces, and glorious be His majesty - arose from the Most Exalted Horizon and guided mankind to the pathway of immortality. Yet all the people clung to their religious leaders from among the divines and turned not to that Essence of Divine Unity, although He appeared with such compelling proof that all found themselves powerless to produce the like thereof. Then they arose in opposition and demanded supernatural signs. That Ancient Being composed the treatise of proofs known as the Seven Proofs [Dala'il-i-Sab'ih], wherein He showed that all evidence and proof culminate in verses.

In any case, these glorious divine Manifestations have existed from the beginning that hath no beginning until the time ended with the wondrous First Manifestation in the garment of the Last, and the Primal Point, exalted be His grandeur, elevated be His signs, and mighty be His glory, rose from the Most Exalted Horizon and guided the people to the pathway of eternity. All the servants clung to their religious leaders among the divines and never turned to the Essence of Divine Unity, although He appeared with such compelling proof that all found themselves powerless to produce the like thereof. Then they arose in opposition and demanded supernatural signs.

God hath indeed exalted Joseph through Our name, and God hath made him in the Book a guardian, stationed around the Fire.

God hath made Joseph and his brethren the Word of Unity, and the All-Merciful hath ordained them as twelve letters, and this Word hath been inscribed in the Mother Book with thy Lord, written in the Line around the Line.

… God offered Our authority to the heavens, earth and mountains; they refused to bear it and were afraid of it. But man -- God's Great Remembrance, this Ali -- undertook it.

Thou didst create me, O my God, in the realm of creation from the beginning that hath no beginning until Thou didst bring me to this hour. I bear witness, and so doth every thing, that Thou hast brought all things into being through me, and I do observe the paths which Thou hast established among Thy creation, whereby all do worship Thee, glorify Thee, sanctify Thee, unite with Thee, and magnify Thee.

Then I made Myself known on the Day of Resurrection through the Point of the Bayan, whereupon all My servants were veiled save those who recognized Me and were assured of My signs. Then I chose them for Myself and selected for them the most exalted life and raised them unto Me by My command.

I have manifested the Gate through the revelation of My Self on the Day of Resurrection, that We might recompense those who believed in the Qur'an and cast into the fire those who believed not therein.

God testifieth that there is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Beauteous, and that the Point of the Bayan is His servant and His splendor unto all who are in the heavens and on earth.

God beareth witness that there is none other God but Him and that the Point of the Bayan is His servant and His Glory.

O Rida, bear thou witness in thy soul and being, with the tongue which God hath placed within thee, that there is none other God but Him, and that He Who was sent with the name of 'Ali is verily the Truth from His presence, though most of the people perceive it not.

Through Him appeared the Kingdom of Names and Attributes, and by Him was distinguished every irrevocable decree from God, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting.

Say: O people, the Primal Point was not as any one among you, nor is this Youth, were ye to know it.

Verily the Tree of the Bayan was the first tree raised up in truth, and it spoke: "I am God, the Mighty, the Generous." Through it the fire was kindled in existence and the beauty of the Worshipped One appeared to every seeing eye. Through it the face of misbelief was veiled and the beauty of divine unity dawned from the dayspring of the name All-Knowing. Through it the idols were shattered and God was established upon the throne of manifest might.

O Hasan! Say: O deniers! The Herald, that is, the Primal Point, hath declared: "Verily, in every state He speaketh: 'I, verily, am God. There is none other God but Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.'"

Praise be to God Who created and brought forth a comprehensive, perfect, all-encompassing Point, possessing and containing all universal meanings in the world of existence, wherein all realities, effects and ordinances are integrated and included through simplicity and unity, calling to oneness in all affairs in the realm of being.

Then it became detailed, multiplied, branched out and was explained, and revolved in the circle of letters, appearing in the most wonderful forms, becoming a magnet for its spirits, and manifesting with the most beautiful beauty in all ranks and stations.

Then it returned and came back to its center in the praiseworthy station. Through its rotation, movement, inclination, beginning and return, the perfect words and exalted letters were realized, and the clear verses were arranged. Thus appeared the Preserved Tablet, the Inscribed Book, and the Outstretched Parchment.

We have made manifest the Point and have expounded it until there appeared books which none can reckon save the All-Knowing.

In the dogmatic teachings about the Qur'an, called Hadith, it says: "Everything that is in the Qur'an lies in the first Surih, the Fatihah, and everything that is in the Fatihah is to be found in the first sentence: Bismi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim = in the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, and everything in this first sentence is contained in the "bi" (its initial letter), and everything contained in the "bi" is to be found in the point under the "bi" (its smallest part), and I (the Prophet, here 'Ali) (successor and interpreter of Muhammad and the Qur'an) am the Point (Nuqtih) under the "bi"." - His Holiness the Bab has found from counting the letters of the phrase: Bismi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim that the number 19 represents the mystic basic number of the cosmos (universe). This mystic basic number 19 at the same time represents the Logos, the Manifestation, the Emanation of God, which can at the same time be designated by the "bi" or the point (nuqtih) under the "bi".

How exalted and powerful, that He referred all letters to the Word, and the Word to the Point, and the Point to a speck of darkness, and made that darkness a Fisher, giving it dwelling on the shore of the sea of eternity!

Do Thou bless, O Lord my God, the Primal Point, through Whom the point of creation hath been made to revolve in both the visible and invisible worlds, Whom Thou hast designated as the One whereunto should return whatsoever must return unto Thee, and as the Revealer of whatsoever may be manifested by Thee.

Magnify Thou, O Lord my God, Him Who is the Primal Point, the Divine Mystery, the Unseen Essence, the Dayspring of Divinity, and the Manifestation of Thy Lordship, through Whom all the knowledge of the past and all the knowledge of the future were made plain, through Whom the pearls of Thy hidden wisdom were uncovered, and the mystery of Thy treasured name disclosed, Whom Thou hast appointed as the Announcer of the One through Whose name the letter B and the letter E have been joined and united, through Whom Thy majesty, Thy sovereignty and Thy might were made known, through Whom Thy words have been sent down, and Thy laws set forth with clearness, and Thy signs spread abroad, and Thy Word established, through Whom the hearts of Thy chosen ones were laid bare, and all that were in the heavens and all that were on the earth were gathered together, Whom Thou hast called 'Ali-Muhammad in the kingdom of Thy names, and the Spirit of Spirits in the Tablets of Thine irrevocable decree, Whom Thou hast invested with Thine own title, unto Whose name all other names have, at Thy bidding and through the power of Thy might, been made to return, and in Whom Thou hast caused all Thine attributes and titles to attain their final consummation.

This is a Prayer revealed, at the time of breaking the fast, from the presence of God, the Almighty, the All-Chosen. He is the Ordainer.

Exalted art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by those whom Thou hast bidden to observe the Fast for the sake of Thy love and good-pleasure, who have demonstrated their allegiance to Thy law and followed Thy verses and precepts, and who have broken their fast while enjoying near access to Thee and beholding Thy countenance. By Thy glory! Since they are turning to the court of Thy good-pleasure, all their days are days of fasting. Were the mouth of Thy will to address them saying: "Observe, for My beauty's sake, the fast, O people, and set no limit to its duration," I swear by the majesty of Thy glory, that every one of them will faithfully observe it, will abstain from whatsoever will violate Thy law, and will continue to do so until they yield up their souls unto Thee, for they have tasted the sweetness of Thy call, and become inebriated with Thy remembrance and praise and with the words proceeding from the lips of Thy command.

I beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thyself, the Exalted, the Most High, and by Thy Latter Manifestation through Whom the kingdom of names and the dominion of attributes have been convulsed, and the inhabitants of earth and heaven became intoxicated, and all who dwell in the realms of Revelation and creation trembled except such as have fasted from all that is repugnant to Thy good-pleasure and restrained themselves from turning toward aught besides Thee, to include us among them and to write down our names on the Tablet whereon Thou hast inscribed their names. O God, through the wonders of Thy might and the tokens of Thy sovereignty and grandeur, Thou didst send forth their names from out of the sea of Thy names, and didst create their inner essences out of the substance of Thy love, and their inmost beings from the spirit of Thy Cause. Theirs is a reunion not succeeded by separation, a nearness that knoweth no remoteness, and a perpetuity that hath no end. Verily, these are servants who ever recount Thee, who eternally circle round Thee, and who circumambulate the sanctuary of Thy presence and the Kaaba of reunion with Thee. Thou hast ordained, O my God, no distinction between them and Thee, except that when they beheld the lights of Thy countenance, they set their faces towards Thee, and prostrated themselves before Thy beauty, submissive to Thy greatness and severed from all things besides Thee.

We have fasted this day, O my Lord, by Thy command and Thy bidding in accordance with what Thou hast revealed in Thy perspicuous Book. We have withheld our souls from passion and from whatsoever Thou abhorest until the day drew to an end and the time arrived to break the Fast. Wherefore, I implore Thee, O Desire of the hearts of ardent lovers and Beloved of the souls of them who are endued with understanding, O Rapture of the breasts of them that yearn after Thee and Object of the desire of them that seek Thee, to cause us to soar in the atmosphere of Thy nearness and the heaven of Thy presence, and to accept from us what we have performed in the pathway of Thy love and good-pleasure. Write down our names, then, among those who have acknowledged Thy oneness and confessed to Thy singleness and who have humbled themselves before the evidences of Thy majesty and the tokens of Thy grandeur, those who have taken refuge in Thy nearness and sought shelter in Thee, who have expended their lives in their eagerness to meet Thee and attain the court of Thy presence, and who have cast the world behind their backs for love of Thee and severed every tie with aught save Thee in their eagerness to draw nigh unto Thee. These are servants whose hearts melt in ardent desire for Thy beauty at the mention of Thy Name, and whose eyes overflow with tears in their longing to find Thee and enter the precincts of Thy court.

This is, O my Lord, my tongue which testifieth to Thy unity and peerlessness, mine eye which beholdeth the seat of Thy generosity and manifold bounties, and mine ear which is ready to hearken unto Thy summons and Thine utterance, for I am assured, O my God, that Thou hast decreed the words proceeding out of the mouth of Thy will to be inexhaustible, and unto them the ears which Thou hast sanctified to hear Thy words and verses are at all times hearkening. And these are my hands, O my Lord, uplifted toward the heaven of Thy favor and tender mercy. Wilt Thou, then, turn away this poor one who hath taken to himself no beloved except Thee, no bestower beside Thee, nor king other than Thee, no shelter save beneath the shadow of Thy mercy, and no refuge but before Thy gate, which Thou hast opened unto all who dwell in Thy heaven and on Thine earth? Nay, by Thy glory! I am he whose confidence in Thy loving kindness will remain undaunted even though Thou wert to afflict me with torments for the duration of Thy dominion; and should anyone ask me about Thee, every limb of my body would proclaim: "He is beloved in His acts and obeyed in His decree, merciful in His nature and compassionate to His creatures!"

Thy might beareth me witness, O Well-Beloved of the hearts of them that yearn after Thee, wert Thou to turn me away from Thy door and abandon me to the swords of the tyrants amongst Thy servants and to the rods of the ungodly amongst Thy creatures, and should someone ask me about Thee, every hair of my body would still declare: "He is, in truth, the Best Beloved of the worlds; He is the Most Bountiful; He is the Ever-Abiding! He draweth me nigh whilst distancing me from Himself; He granteth me His sanctuary whilst debarring me from His presence. None found I more merciful than He, by Whom I have become independent of all else but Him and have been raised up above aught besides Himself."

Well is it with the one, O my God, who hath been so enriched by Thee as to be made independent of the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Rich is the one who hath held fast to the cord of Thy wealth, is submissive before Thy face, and for whom Thou art sufficient above all things. Poor is the one who hath dispensed with Thee, waxed proud before Thee, turned away from Thy presence, and disbelieved in Thy signs. Suffer me, then, O my God and my Beloved, to be numbered with those whom the breezes of Thy will move as they list, not with those whom the wind of self and passion stirreth and directeth as it pleaseth. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the Exalted, the Most Bountiful.

All glory be to Thee, O my God, for Thou hast graciously enabled me to fast during this month which Thou hast related to Thy Name, the Most Exalted, and called 'Ala (Loftiness). Thou hast commanded that Thy servants and Thy people should fast therein and seek thereby to draw nearer unto Thee. The days and months of the year have culminated with the Fast, even as the first month began with Thy Name, Baha, that all might testify that Thou art the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and be well assured that the glory of all names is conferred only through the glory of Thy Cause and the word expounded by Thy will and revealed through Thy purpose. Thou hast ordained that this month be a remembrance and honor from Thee, and a sign of Thy presence amongst them, that they may not forget Thy grandeur and Thy majesty, Thy sovereignty and Thy glory, and may be well assured that from time immemorial Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be Ruler over the entire creation. Nothing created in the heavens or on the earth can hinder Thee in Thy governance, nor can anyone in the realms of Revelation and creation prevent Thee from fulfilling Thy purpose.

I implore Thee, O my God, by Thy name whereby all the kindreds of the earth have wailed, except such as Thou hast safeguarded with Thine unerring protection and sheltered beneath the shadow of Thy transcendent mercy, to make us so firm in Thy Cause and steadfast in Thy love that were Thy servants to rise up against Thee and Thy people turn away from Thee, and no one would remain on earth to invoke Thy name or set his face toward the sanctuary of communion with Thee and the Kaaba of Thy sanctity, I would still arise singly and alone to render Thy Cause victorious, to exalt Thy word, to proclaim Thy sovereignty, and to celebrate the praise of Thine august Self. And this, O Lord, even though each time I venture to extol Thee by any name, I am filled with perplexity, for I am fully aware that all of Thine exalted attributes and all of the most excellent names which I associate with Thee and by which in Thy holy presence I supplicate Thee, reflect naught but the measure of mine own understanding, inasmuch as whenever I have regarded a name to be laudable, I have associated it with Thyself.

Immeasurably exalted is Thy true state above the description or knowledge of anyone besides Thee, and sanctified art Thou from the glorification of Thy creatures and the praise of Thy servants in their attempts to ascend unto Thee. Whatsoever appeareth from Thy servants is limited by the limitations of their own selves and is created by their own idle fancies and imaginings.

Alas, alas, O my Beloved, for mine inability to befittingly praise Thee and for my shortcomings during Thy days! If I acclaim Thee, O my God, as Him Who knoweth all things, I readily perceive that shouldst Thou point to a mute rock with a single finger of Thy will, Thou wouldst enable it to unfold the knowledge of all past and future ages; and if I extol Thee as the All-Powerful, I find that one word issuing from the mouth of Thy purpose is sufficient to convulse the heavens and the earth.

Thy glory beareth me witness, O Beloved of all that recognize Thee, should any learned one fail to confess his ignorance before the revelations of Thy knowledge, he would be accounted the most ignorant of Thy people; and should any mighty one refuse to admit his weakness before the evidences of Thy power, he would be considered the weakest and the most heedless of Thy creatures. Given my knowledge and certainty that this is so, how can I extol Thee or describe and praise Thee? Wherefore, knowing my weakness, I have hastened toward the shelter of Thy strength; and realizing my poverty, I have sought refuge under the shadow of Thy wealth; and recognizing my powerlessness, I have arisen to stand before the tabernacle of Thy power and might. Wilt thou cast away this poor one after he hath taken no one but Thee as his succorer, or turn away this stranger after he hath found no one but Thee to be his true beloved?

Thou knowest all that is in me, O Lord, but I know not what is in Thee. Have mercy then upon me through Thy loving providence and inspire me with that which shall give peace to my heart during Thy days and tranquillity to my soul through the revelations of Thy sacred presence. All created things have been illumined with the splendors of the lights of Thy countenance, O Lord, and the dwellers of earth and heaven are shining resplendently on account of the manifestations of Thine incomparable majesty, in such wise that I behold nothing without first beholding within it the revelation of Thyself, a revelation which is hidden from the sight of those among Thy servants who lie fast asleep. Deprive me not, O my Lord, of Thy grace which hath encompassed all the realms of existence, whether visible or invisible. Wilt Thou stay far removed, O my God, after Thou hast invited all mankind to return and draw nigh unto Thee, and urged them to hold fast to Thy cord? Wilt Thou cast me out, O my Beloved, even when Thou hast promised in Thine incorruptible Book and in Thy wondrous verses to gather all those who yearn after Thee within the pavilion of Thy gracious providence, and those who desire Thee under the shadow of Thy bountiful favor, and those who search for Thee under the canopy of Thy mercy and loving-kindness?

I swear by Thy might, O my God, that my lamentations have halted my heart within me, and its groans have seized the reins from my hands! At whatever time I reassure myself and gladden my soul with the wonders of Thy mercy, the tokens of Thy gracious providence, and the evidences of Thy generosity, I tremble before the manifestations of Thy justice and the signs of Thy wrath. I recognize that Thou art known by these two names and described by these two attributes, yet Thou carest not whether Thou art invoked by Thy name the Ever-Forgiving, or Thy name the Wrathful. By Thy glory, were it not for my knowledge that Thy mercy surpasseth all things, the limbs of my body would have ceased to exist, my reality been extinguished and my inner being reduced to utter nothingness. But when I behold that Thy grace encompasseth all things and Thy mercy embraceth the entire creation, my soul and my inmost being become well assured.

Alas, alas, O my God, for the things that have escaped me during Thy days, and again alas, alas, O Desire of my heart, for what I have left undone in service and obedience to Thee during these days the likes of which the eyes of Thy chosen ones and trusted ones have never witnessed! I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by Thy Self and by the Manifestation of Thy Cause Who is seated upon the throne of Thy mercy, to confirm me in Thy service and good-pleasure. Guard me, then, from those who have turned away from Thee and disbelieved in Thy verses, who have denied Thy truth, resisted Thine evidences, and violated Thy Covenant and testament.

All praise, O Lord my God, be unto Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine Essence, the Dayspring of Thy oneness, the Mine of Thy knowledge, the Source of Thy Revelation, the Repository of Thine inspiration, the Seat of Thy sovereignty, and the Dawning-Place of Thy Divinity--He Who is the Primal Point, the Most Exalted Countenance, the Ancient Root, and the Quickener of nations; and glory be upon him who was the first to believe in Him and in His verses, whom Thou didst make a throne for the ascendancy of Thy most sublime Word, a focal-point for the manifestation of Thy most excellent names, a dayspring of the radiance of the Sun of Thy providence, a dawning-place for the appearance of Thy names and attributes, and a treasury of the pearls of Thy wisdom and Thy commandments. And all honor be upon him who was the last to come unto Him, whose arrival was like His arrival, and Thy manifestation in him like Thy manifestation in Him , except that he was illumined with the lights of His face and prostrated himself before Him and testified to his servitude unto Him; and glory be upon those who were martyred in His path and who offered up their lives for love of His beauty.

We testify, O my God, that these are servants who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs, who have sought the sanctuary of Thy presence and turned toward Thy countenance, who have directed their faces toward the court of Thy nearness and walked in the path of Thy good-pleasure, who have worshipped Thee according to Thy desire and detached themselves from all but Thee. O Lord, confer upon their spirits and their bodies at all times a share of the wonders of Thine all-encompassing mercy. Thou art, verily, powerful to do as Thou pleaseth. No God is there save Thee, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, Whose help is implored by all men.

I beseech Thee, O Lord, by Him and by them, and by Him Whom Thou hast established on the throne of Thy Faith and caused to overshadow all the dwellers of earth and heaven, to purify us from our transgressions, to ordain for us a seat of truth in Thy presence and to cause us to associate with those whom the adversities of the world and its misfortunes have not hindered from turning toward Thee. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Protector, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Send Thy blessings upon the Point of the Bayan, our Sovereign, our King, our Lord, our Beloved, and our Desire, in its beginning and its end, and upon the evidences of Thy Names in their beginning and their end, and upon the likeness of Thy Names in their beginning and their end, for Thy power extendeth over both, Thy sovereignty prevaileth over both, Thy Will is manifest in both, Thy Purpose is triumphant in both, Thy signs are resplendent in both, Thy words are perfected in both, and Thy revelations shine forth in both.

Thou hast been raised up and there is none above thee in elevation, then thou hast descended and there is none like thee in humility. How lofty is thy station and how glorious thy rank, wherein God hath honored thee with faith in the Manifestation of His Self before all things and hath created in thee the word of the Covenant before all things. Through thee hath God opened the gates of the Bayan and created the essences of Paradise. There is no right after God like thy right over all who dwell in the kingdom of the heavens and earth and what lies between them.

Blessing, salutation and praise rest upon the Primal Point - that Light of Divine Guidance and the Flame illuminating the concourse on high, the Dawning-Place of the Luminary shining from the realms above, and the Day Spring of splendors from the Abha Kingdom, the Manifestation of the Great Sign and the Source of Divine Illumination from the horizon of the concourse on high, from His Lord, the Glory of the Most Glorious.

Salutation and praise rest upon the Light gleaming in the midmost point of heaven and the Shining Star on the equator, His Exalted Beauty, His Primal Point, and upon every twig attracted to the Root through the potency of the magnet of guidance, and upon those loved ones who have fastened their eyes on the Kingdom of the All-Glorious.

Say, He is the most perfect Balance amongst nations. Through Him the measure assigned unto everything hath been revealed by virtue of the Will of the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Men of discernment, inebriated with the choice wine of His utterance, have rent the veils asunder through the sovereign might of My Name which pervadeth all mankind.

In the Name of God, the All-Knowing!

The Supreme Pen hath, in the prison of 'Akka, turned towards the loved ones in the land of Kha, that is, those souls who have been adorned with the new raiment, who are turned towards the horizon of oneness, and who revolve, through their essential, original motion, around the Will of God. Although this motion is mentioned as opposed to rest, yet it is sanctified from ascent and descent, and is exalted above vacillation and the comprehension of them that are bounded by limitations. Its effect is witnessed to be swifter than lightning and more penetrating than the winds. Nay, it is the cause and source of the appearance of the winds. These winds, if they be not mixed with carnal desires, will cause the effect of spring to appear in the realities of existence; otherwise, the effect of autumn will be manifest.

The source of this motion appeareth from the manifestations of the motion of the Primal Point, which in one station hath been interpreted as the First Mystery, the First Ornament, and the White Pearl, and from it the Fire of Oneness surgeth forth from the Blessed Tree, and the substance of burning is witnessed and concealed in all things. Exalted be God, the Sovereign, the Self-Subsisting, Who hath created that which all who are in the kingdom of earth and heaven have been powerless to know! Those souls who today hold fast to the divine commandments and act according to that which they have been bidden - We testify that they are the ones who move by the Will of God and they are the achievers of that which the Mighty, the Generous, hath desired for them.

The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause.

In the Book of Isaiah it is written: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty.” No man that meditateth upon this verse can fail to recognize the greatness of this Cause, or doubt the exalted character of this Day—the Day of God Himself. This same verse is followed by these words: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day.” This is the Day which the Pen of the Most High hath glorified in all the holy Scriptures. There is no verse in them that doth not declare the glory of His holy Name, and no Book that doth not testify unto the loftiness of this most exalted theme. Were We to make mention of all that hath been revealed in these heavenly Books and holy Scriptures concerning this Revelation, this Tablet would assume impossible dimensions. It is incumbent, in this Day, upon every man to place his whole trust in the manifold bounties of God, and arise to disseminate, with the utmost wisdom, the verities of His Cause. Then, and only then, will the whole earth be enveloped with the morning light of His Revelation.

O Pen! Make mention of him who attained the presence of the Throne and heard the call of this wronged exile. Verily, We have mentioned him and do mention him in this Tablet, that it may be a treasure and honor for him in the Kingdom of his Lord, the Mighty, the Inaccessible. Then make mention of his brother who attained unto this station and entered beneath the shadow of the mercy of his Lord, the Generous. Then of him who attained the presence aforetime, submissive and humble before the Command of God, the Lord of the worlds. We beseech God to assist all to recognize the Dawning-Place of His Cause and to draw them nigh unto the horizon of His Revelation, and to ordain for them that which He hath ordained for His chosen ones. Verily, He is the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Behold, behold how the Countenance hath turned toward thee from the direction of the Prison. Hearken, hearken to God's call from His mighty Throne: "Verily, there is none other God but He, the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous." He speaketh before the faces of the world and summoneth them to a station wherein naught is seen save the lights of the countenance of their Lord, the All-Merciful, the All-Knowing.

The Merciful Beauty, the Primal Point and His Holiness the Exalted One (may my spirit be a sacrifice unto Him) drew aside the veil.

By God! This is the Primal Point Who came to you with all the signs and hath appeared in this final revolution with the Most Great Mystery - secrets beyond reckoning.

Say: Verily the Primal Point, in His latter Manifestation, speaketh with the Most Glorious tongue, saying: "O people! Did We not give you glad tidings of My appearance after Me?

Say: He hath appeared as 'Ali appeared aforetime. Open your eyes that ye may behold Him now upon this most luminous horizon, speaking forth the truth with a sorrowful voice saying: "Do ye deny, O people, Him Who created you from dust, then from a drop of fluid, and made you complete beings?

And furthermore He says: "Glory be unto Thee, O my God! How insignificant is my mention and whatever is attributed to me when I wish to ascribe it unto Thee. Accept me and whatever is attributed to me through Thy grace, for Thou art the best of those who show grace."

O heedless ones among the people of the Bayan! Despite such humility from the Primal Point regarding His subsequent manifestation, you remain unaware and occupy yourselves with such utterances.

… As He states in one place - exalted be His mention: "Say: I have descended to where I said I am an atom and less than an atom, just as I have said I am the Lord and Creator of every possessor of lordship..."

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Indeed ye have been called into being through the power of the Point of the Bayan while the Point Himself is resigned to the Will of Him Whom God shall make manifest, is exalted through His transcendent sublimity, is sustained by the evidences of His might, is glorified by the majesty of His oneness, is adorned by the beauty of His singleness, is empowered by His eternal dominion and is invested with authority through His everlasting sovereignty.

Observe the comprehensiveness of the favors, for the ultimate hope of the Luminary of the Kingdom, the Morning of Guidance, the Primal Point, His Holiness the Exalted One, may my spirit be sacrificed for Him, was that the Countenance of the Intended One, the Beauty of the Adored One, the Sun of Truth, His Holiness "Him Whom God shall make manifest" would make mention of that Tree of Sinai on the Day of His Manifestation.

The Point of the Bayan hath said that all exist that they might be mentioned but once in the holy court.

O Samandar! Reflect upon the power of God, exalted be His glory, and likewise upon the manifestations of suppositions and idle fancies. The Most Exalted Herald, the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else but Him be sacrificed for His sake - hath declared: "I have written the essence concerning His mention: He shall not be known through My allusions, nor through what hath been revealed in the Bayan."

The Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - states: "I have written an essence regarding His mention, which is that He cannot be known through My allusion nor through what was revealed in the Bayan."

He made mention of Me after He had established through clear proof the sanctification of My Being from whatsoever was revealed in the Bayan, saying: "I have written a gem concerning His remembrance: He shall not be referred to by My reference nor by what hath been revealed in the Bayan." Thus did speak He Who sacrificed His spirit in My straight and manifest path...

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But the Bab - may my spirit be a sacrifice unto Him - left no veil for the people of the Bayan. He declared that whatever the Desired Beauty would reveal would be the truth, and that all of the Bayan and its contents could not resist even one of His words.

He counseled you throughout the Bayan not to pause at the time of His manifestation for anything created between the heavens and earth.

Then We raised up the Sovereign of the Messengers, who was named Ali in all the tablets, and through him We opened the gates of grace unto the faces of all created things. We made him the herald of this Manifestation. He said: "O people! When the Beloved of the worlds cometh unto you, beware lest ye hesitate in His Manifestation and cling to what ye possess from the tidings of the ancients. Verily, I have revealed the Bayan for His sake and made it as a leaf among the leaves of Paradise for Him. Beware lest ye differ concerning His wondrous Cause. Follow not your leaders at the time of His appearance, for on that Day the affairs of the worlds shall be changed, and the followers of the Mount shall perish at the dawning of a drop from that crimson Light rising from the Most Glorious Horizon. Fear God and be not of them that are veiled.

In any case, the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - in view of the existence of this Manifestation and its dawning in those days, completed all the Bayan with this Most Great Remembrance, lest the people of the Bayan be debarred from the All-Merciful.

Say: O people! The Primal Point desired from the Bayan naught save My Self and the manifestation of My Cause. Were anyone to inhale it, he would discover from its every word the fragrance of My raiment. Thus was the Command sent down in the Bayan from the presence of the All-Merciful.

We have counseled the servants through the tongue of the Manifestation of My Self, Whom We made the Herald of this mighty and impregnable Cause. He revealed the Bayan solely for My wondrous remembrance.

Read ye the Bayan, that ye may know him whom the followers of all religions have failed to recognize.

We sent unto you aforetime 'Ali with a perspicuous Book, Who gave you the glad-tidings of this Most Great, Most Mighty Revelation and took from you a covenant concerning Mine own Self. Look ye, therefore, into the Bayan, that ye may be numbered among them that truly know. And 'Ali wept in His days until He sacrificed His life in My path - to this all things bear witness, if ye be not of them that deny.

Then We adorned the tablet of creation with the ornament of the Primal Point, Who gave the people glad tidings of this wondrous Cause. He began the Book with this Name and sealed it with this beauteous Remembrance.

The Herald, the Primal Point, proclaimed "I am the first to worship Him," yet these shameless people strive to lead the servants astray.

The wondrous Manifestation appeared in the year sixty and gave tidings to the people of this most great Manifestation, as has been explicitly stated throughout the Bayan. And besides Him, whosoever has stood firm in His Cause and followed what was revealed - these are guides unto Him.

I am indeed the Youth heralded by the Primal Point and, before Him, by the Prophets and Messengers.

This is He by Whose name We adorned the Bayan and by Whose mention the books of the All-Merciful were embellished.

O Kamal, thou hast been blessed with two great bounties: First, that in the year Nine thou wast vouchsafed the presence of God, concerning which the Primal Point gave all this glad-tiding in His words: "And in the year Nine ye shall be blessed with attaining the presence of God."

By His life! He breathed naught save mention of this Most Great Remembrance, giving unto the people glad tidings of this Hidden Pearl, and the Dove of the Bayan warbled not save in My praise and glorification, as witnessed by such servants as are endowed with insight.

The Manifestation was specific to the Primal Point, Who was the Herald of this Most Great Manifestation.

Say: By the life of God! The Point of the Bayan appeared for My Cause, My remembrance and My praise, and gave the glad-tidings to all of this Manifestation, which was promised in the Books of God, the Lord of existence.

Say: O people! The Revealer of the Bayan declared: O concourse of creation! Ye were created for His days. Fear God and be not of those who are veiled. Whoso hath attained unto but one word from Him - this is better for him than all that was revealed in the Bayan.

Were it not for My Cause, the Point would not have appeared and the Bayan would not have been revealed - to this testifieth he who is powerful in the Cause.

And the Author of the Bayan proclaimeth amidst all possibilities, declaring: 'The All-Merciful hath come! He, verily, is the Promised One, the Remembered One, the One inscribed, the Hidden Treasure!'

We desire to write for thee that which the Point of the Bayan and the Primal Beauty intended for the people of Baha, that thou mayest render thanks unto thy Lord, the Generous.

Through all the cities that you shall pass, convey to all the friends my wonderful Abha greeting and announce to them:-

Firstly: His Holiness the Supreme (Bab) was the morning star heralding the daybreak; he was the herald proclaiming the approaching arrival of the King of Kings, the messenger bringing the Glad news of the appearance of the Kingdom.

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The Manifestations are as suns in the Heaven of the Divine Will. Sometimes the sun and moon are far apart; for instance, in the middle of month they are 180 degrees from each other. But in the beginning and end of the lunar month they are only one degree apart.

In the Qur'an Muhammad prophesied that in this Day the Sun and Moon will meet in Heaven; that is, the spiritual Sun and Moon of this Dispensation will rise together in the form of man.

This is why the Primal Point - may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him - states: "By God! The Hour has come and the moon has been cleft asunder, and all are in continuous resurrection."

This was when the Bab came who was Ali Mohamed, and according to the Hebrew language, if we take those two words, Elijah and the prophet, it will mean Ali and Mohammed or Ali Mohammed who is the First Point.

Verily, everything in me I sacrifice to Thee and I desire only to be killed in Thy path.' To whom do these addresses in the Ahsan-el-Kessas refer? Undoubtedly to the One-Whom-God-Shall-Manifest, that is His Holiness Baha'u'llah, and not to Mirza Yahya (Ezel).

O people! This is He for Whose sake the Primal Point sacrificed Himself, then those who took the path unto God. Say: Have ye not read in the Bayan that which was revealed concerning this Manifestation from God, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise?

Say: "Verily, He Who came unto you by the name of 'Ali was the Herald of this Most Great, Most Glorious Manifestation, and His Most Exalted Pen moved only in My remembrance and praise, and there flowed from His ink naught but this wise Remembrance, until He sacrificed His soul in My love that ye might not commit in the time of the Manifestation what the people of the Furqan, and before them the people of the Torah and the Gospel, committed."

O people! Fear ye God, then be ashamed before Him Who was suspended in the air and sacrificed Himself in the path of God, the Just King, the All-Informed. By God! He sacrificed Himself for naught else but to manifest that which hath been manifested in these days. Yet ye, O people of the Bayan, have remained heedless of that which was intended and have clung to your own idle fancies, without any clear authority or enlightening Book.

And yet another time doth He expose his sacred breast to a thousand bullets of tyranny, like unto the Primal Point - He Who is the Mystery of Existence and the Manifestation of the Adored One, may My soul be a sacrifice unto Him.

Consider how His Holiness the Exalted One - may my spirit and my very being be sacrificed for Him - laid down His life for that All-Effulgent Lamp and guided His lovers to self-sacrifice and martyrdom.

May my spirit, my inner being, my reality, my truth, my identity, my hidden and manifest self be offered up for a single drop of His pure blood.

His Holiness the Supreme (the Bab) has said in one of His supplications: 'Were it not to suffer calamities in the path of Love I would never have accepted to be born into this world.'

Consider how the Bab endured difficulties and tribulations; how He gave His life in the Cause of God; how He was attracted to the love of the Blessed Beauty, Baha'u'llah; and how He announced the glad tidings of His manifestation. We must follow His heavenly example; we must be self-sacrificing and aglow with the fire of the love of God.

In this pilgrimage upon which We are soon to embark, We have chosen Quddus as Our companion.

But for My incarceration in the Jabal-i-Shadid, the fortress of Chihriq, it would have been incumbent upon Me to lend My personal assistance to My beloved Quddus.

The Herald, that is, the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake - in the days of His journey to Maku, while outwardly veiled from all, attained the honor of His presence, [cf. AB11477] and His Holiness Quddus - upon him be the Most Glorious of all Glory - attained it repeatedly. During the journey to the Land of Kha He specifically summoned him, and for several months he was blessed with attaining His presence.

Spiritual Relationship is the true Family-hood of God's children. The Bab had many relatives. He particularly wished that His mother should believe in thisRevelation and attain.

The Bab--may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him--would sometimes partake of frankincense and rock candy.

There are three frames present - two with the blessed likenesses of the Ancient Beauty and one with the blessed likeness of His Holiness the Exalted One, may my spirit be a sacrifice for Their loved ones.

O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The elegy that you composed in commemoration of that Pure Light, that Embodied Spirit, that Brilliant Star of the Supreme Concourse, that Sun of the Higher World, the Primal Point - may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him - was reviewed.

O consummate scholar! Shiraz hath ever been the focal point of the denizens of the realm of mysteries and the fountainhead of fervent prayers and supplications. Blessed souls have been raised up in that land who have become the object of exaltation and praise. And this even more so, as that city hath now become the dawning-place of the Morn of Oneness and the dayspring of the Sun of Truth.

In any case, that region was the homeland of the Great Announcer and that country the dawning-place of that luminous Star. Its flame must be intense and its light evident, its meteor penetrating and its arrows piercing, its sword world-conquering and its star a brilliant sun, its ocean surging and its whale roaring, its spring gushing and its lamp radiant, its breeze life-giving and its fountain spirit-bestowing, its hosts of divine knowledge the vanguard of victories and its armies of certitude confirmed by the Kingdom of the All-Loving Lord - so that the banner of the love of God may be raised high and the pillars of the Cause of God exalted.

O my God, my God! These are servants who have turned toward the Kingdom of Thy mercy, have clung to the hem of the robe of Thy oneness, have sincerely turned their faces to Thy beauty, and have believed in Thy unity and in Thy divine Word - the Primal Point and the Most Exalted One - Who gave glad tidings to all on earth and in heaven of Thy Most Great Manifestation, the luminous Sun of Thy Reality.

When the above-mentioned Siyyid arrived at Shiraz he interviewed the Bab three times. In the first and second conferences questioning and answering took place; in the third conference he requested a commentary on the Surih called Kawthar in his presence, the above-mentioned Siyyid was charmed and enraptured with Him, and straightway, without consideration for the future or anxiety about the results of this affection, hastened to Burujird to his father Siyyid Ja'far, known as Kashfi, and acquainted him with the matter.

Catalogue reference: AB00003 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.