Word of God and human limitations
Editorial introduction
A single word can open a world of meaning without placing that world in our hands. Bahá’u’lláh pictures the Word of God as a cup whose wine lies hidden, as an ocean folded within one letter, as a river of names that must be crossed before the sea of meaning is reached. The humbling lesson is that the profoundest thinker and the holiest saint never step outside the circle of their own conceptions, and that a finite mind cannot encompass the Creator of whom it is itself a sign. Yet this is no counsel of despair. Knowing what cannot be grasped becomes a discipline of attention: the joyful recitation of one verse, fair judgment of unfamiliar claims, a heart made pure enough to hear. Paul’s picture of knowing in part and seeing through a glass [1] asks how such awareness might soften both the way we study and the way we treat one another. The path leads on into the limits of language and of the intellect, the unknowability of God, and the puzzle of a Word at once near and abstruse, until understanding is measured by a good word and a righteous deed.
Time and again this exalted word was heard from the Sovereign of the Kingdom of Names - blessed and exalted be His utterance: "Until they pass beyond the river of names, they shall not attain unto the ocean of inner meanings."
Say: The cup is the words of God and the choice wine is what is concealed therein of the mysteries of hidden knowledge.
One goodly word and one righteous deed are, in this Day, more precious in the sight of God than all the books of the earth - namely, those books which the heedless divines have written according to their vain imaginings.
To recite one verse in a spirit of joy and fragrance is better for you than to recite a thousand verses while witnessing aught else but that joy and fragrance.
And when thou observest thine own powerlessness and limitation in attaining to the knowledge of the sign that exists within thyself, thou wilt surely behold with the eye of inner and outer vision thine own impotence and that of all created things in knowing the Divine Essence and the Sun of eternal glory. The acknowledgment of powerlessness in this station, when based on insight, is the utmost limit of the knowledge of the servant and the highest attainment of the worshippers.
He hath come unto you from the heaven of bounty with the Kingdom of verses and the Dominion of clear proofs, with a sovereignty that encompasseth all worlds. Read ye what hath been sent down from His presence - verily it guideth you unto a path that is straight through justice.
Thus have We sent down the verses and dispatched them unto thee. By the life of God! Within each letter thereof lieth concealed an ocean of meanings and utterance, were men to know.
He speaks the truth in the Kingdom of Utterance according to a measured degree, and remains silent concerning that which the ears of men cannot bear to hear. Verily, He is the All-Wise One Who speaks with measure.
The details of this Most Great Revelation have not been mentioned except according to the known capacity of the people.
And whenever We have repeated words, We have intended in each one of them a meaning that none hath comprehended save My all-knowing and informed Self. By thy life! Had We found the people to have attained maturity, We would not have repeated the words. … But since We have found their souls accustomed to fancy and imitation, therefore doth the Pen of Command reveal that which befitteth the condition of these weak ones.
For they are as children, so far as knowledge is concerned. They are unable to bear the higher realities revealed from the Merciful Kingdom: as Christ (upon Him is Glory!) said in the text of the Gospel. "I have yet many things to tell you but ye cannot bear them now" (John 16:18).
Indeed, such utterance from one like Me is not befitting, for its time hath not yet come. But since I see thee among those who desire the pure religion, I have sprinkled from that surging ocean a sprinkling of that which was about to overflow from Me. Though My fear for that land is evident to thee, yet since My hope in God exceeds My fear of them, I have mentioned what thou knowest.
None but the ignorant would deny it. Yet, as a token of grace unto thee--for verily He loveth His remembering servants--another explanation shall be set forth in the Persian tongue.
Hear then: The two Holy Books of the Bab's and of the Baha'i Teachings are written in Arabic, the holy language of the divine Revelation. Each translation into a secular language makes their comprehension more difficult. The Blessed Perfection Baha'u'llah therefore decreed that these books - the Holy Book Kitab-i-Aqdas, by the way, is but the completion of the Bayan - should only be translated into other languages when the peoples concerned will have accepted the Baha'i Teachings.
I have given thee examples of the highest and lowest, that thou mayest understand what lieth between them.
Move with insight in every Dispensation, look not to its beginning but fix thine eyes upon its end, which is the next Manifestation, for the exaltation of the former Manifestation is in the beginning of the latter.
They cannot attain even a thousandth part of a tenth of what God intended in its meanings. Thus did the Imam say, in essence, that the Word of God is neither ancient nor new-born, for it occupies the station of the intermediary realm and the supreme creation.
Man is limited, weak, fearful, poverty-stricken and helpless. The Divine Reality represents the Power Absolute, capacity for all things, fulfillment for all the needs of man.
What I mean is this -- philosophy and science will not suffice to elevate and civilize a people who are in a bestial condition.
… Philosophy of necessity is restricted to a small school and cannot have an essentially moral influence.
Therefore establishing such law is beyond human capacity, for human intellect must become fully informed of all the requirements of human realities - that is, the necessities that reality requires - and then establish law accordingly. But this is impossible for human capacity.
To understand the oneness of life is to acknowledge the universe as a unit - a whole - not only half the circle or arc, the positive, but also the other half the negative. The negative side represents the human - the limitations of mankind.
In truth, man is the greater world, and the world is but a lesser reflection of him, as hath been said: "Were I to speak of it, it would overwhelm minds; were I to write of it, many pens would break."
O divine lover! The seekers of truth and the yearners for the Absolute Beauty sought the rising of the Sun of Truth in the horizons of the world and within themselves. Some beheld a gleam, others a flame, while some became bewildered and wandered astray.
How many a learned one hath been reckoned as ignorant before the Throne, and how many an ignorant one confirmed with knowledge in the Tablet of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed!
Nicodemus was a learned man; nevertheless he was one of those to whom Jesus referred when He said: "Because seeing, they see not, and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand." V. 10, Jesus said: "What will become of your pupils; you yourself cannot understand."
Say: Whosoever doth not cleanse his heart of the veils of blind imitation shall be unable to approach this sublime, irradiant Face.
I speak the truth when I say that every soul, in turning to the Most Exalted Horizon, must purify their hearing from the false tales that have circulated among the various sects through the Kawthar of divine utterance, and must cleanse their breast from the impressions of idle fancies and vain imaginings.
Most of the people of the world cling to their own desires, imagining themselves to be turning toward the truth. If the Hand of Divine Power should rend asunder one veil, they would take up other veils for themselves, whereby they remain deprived of the Lord of Names and the Creator of Heaven.
All souls have been promised the Day of God and have been given the promise of the manifestation of Truth, as mentioned countless times in the Qur'an, the Bayan, and the heavenly Books. This is the foundation of the Book and its essence. Nevertheless, none has understood this station.
Every sect among the sects hath taken unto itself one of the names and made it lord for itself besides God. Thus have their souls beguiled them.
O 'Ali! The names of the servants have been prevented from their Owner and Creator. In the pool of names they have drowned. Glory be to God! The Most Great Ocean surges before all faces, and the Purpose of the world is manifest and evident from the horizon of the Most Great Name. Nevertheless, they remain deprived and forbidden.
They that have turned away - these shall have no portion. They make mention of God with their tongues while their hearts tell of images and idols.
Today the Dawning-Place of Revelation and the Source of Divine inspiration hath appeared and shone forth from the horizon of the heaven of God's loving-kindness. Yet the people of the earth remain heedless and veiled from it, save those souls who have burned away the veils of fancy and idle imaginings with the fire of the love of God, exalted be His glory, and have become free and detached from all else but Him.
Every soul that rises up for the sake of God in that very moment enters the presence of the Intended One and finds the Beloved through the fragrance of hearts.
… God willing, through the grace of the All-Merciful, may you be free at all times from idle fancies and imaginings, and be attentive and turned toward the direction of certitude.
Blessed is the soul whom neither the veils of the divines nor the clouds of the jurisprudents have withheld from the Most Exalted Horizon.
We have illumined the world with the Sun of wisdom and utterance, but the peoples have turned away, following every remote ignorant one.
Did ye but know what He desireth for you, ye would hasten unto Him with your very eyes. But ye are held back through following vain imaginings.
Strange, nay most strange, that they remain heedless of that which profiteth them and cling to that which harmeth and destroyeth them.
Is this Light a veil? Nay, by My Self, rather it is your own eyes that are veiled, O people of the Book!
They pass by the verses and recognize them not, they hear from the direction of the Prison and perceive not.
By God! The Book speaketh, yet the people hear not. The rock hath cried out, and the cry hath been raised, and all things have spoken, yet the people understand not.
The Tongue of Grandeur speaketh, yet the people hear not. Verily the Spirit giveth glad tidings to the servants, yet the people turn not unto it.
And He Who conversed on Sinai, seated upon the throne of Manifestation, crieth out with loudest voice, yet the people comprehend not.
This is a Day wherein all atoms speak even as the Tongue of Grandeur and Glory hath spoken, yet most of the people remain heedless.
All things have heard the call of the Lord of Names, yet most people are unaware. The mountains have been moved by the breezes of the days of God, yet the people do not understand.
The ocean of utterance has surged and the fragrance of the All-Merciful has wafted, yet the people do not understand. The shrill voice of My Pen has been raised up, along with the flowing of the water of My mercy and the rustling of My Divine Lote-Tree, yet most people do not perceive.
Verily the Book speaketh, yet the people hear not; and the Pen warbleth, yet mankind knoweth not; and the Tablet lamenteth over what hath befallen the Cause of God, the Lord of all being, the Self-Subsisting.
Despite such manifestation and appearance, such signs and evidences, such tokens and such power and might, the people of the world remain heedless and unaware.
He hath sent down the verses and revealed the evidences, yet the people remain in a strange sleep.
Night and day its shrill voice is raised, yet ears capable of hearing are rarer than the red elixir. The revelation has encompassed all possibility and divine verses have descended like torrential rain, yet ignorant servants cling to vain imaginings and hold fast to calumnies.
Most wondrous of all is the heedlessness of the servants and the tyranny of them that dwell in the lands. We beseech God not to deprive His servants of the outpourings of the Day of Retribution, nor to withhold from them the hearing of His Word and the beholding of His Horizon.
In reflecting upon the conditions of faith for those souls and the conditions of faith for these new souls, much contemplation is required. Blessed are they who are awake and alert - those souls who have been awakened by the divine breeze and have turned toward the Most Exalted Horizon, detached from the world and all that is therein.
And thou, O handmaiden of God, hearken unto the holy, divine melodies, that through hearing them the Holy Spirit may be raised up in thy heart and the Spirit of Power may speak in thy breast.
By God! Whoso pondereth today, the melodies of the All-Merciful will draw him to the heaven of good-pleasure and purify him from human limitations and bring him nigh unto the Most Great Prospect.
Say: O concourse of the learned! Hold back your pens, for the Most Exalted Pen hath been raised up between earth and heaven. Then be silent, that ye may hear what the Tongue of the All-Merciful uttereth in the midmost heart of Paradise.
The former shall forever speak and the latter shall forever flow.
May thy honor hearken unto it with a pure ear and taste thereof at all times with a refined palate.
Among the people is he who, upon hearing the verses of God, is so seized by the rapture of longing that he forsaketh all who dwell on earth and turneth with his heart unto God, the Mighty, the Wise.
By God! Wert thou to become aware of its greatness and the greatness of the station of Him Who manifesteth it, thou wouldst melt away with the fire of longing even as snow melteth from the heat of the sun.
This is a Book sent down in truth on this Day unto him who hath believed in God, the Supreme Ruler, the Self-Subsisting, that the rapture of its utterance may so seize him that no one shall be able to deter him from the path of God, the Lord of all existence. We have indeed expounded the mysteries of the Book and revealed that which lay hidden in the knowledge of God, whereunto bear witness His favored servants.
In all days doth move the Pen of the Lord of all names that hearts may be attracted by its traces, and in every night doth speak the tongue of Revelation that perchance men may attain certitude through God's verses.
We have heard their call and answered them through Our grace, and I am the Hearer, the Answerer. And We remember them once again through these verses which have been sent down from the heaven of the grace of their Lord, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
When thou hast attained unto the utterance of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, say: Blessed be He Who hath turned toward His servant from the direction of the Prison and revealed unto him that which cannot be equaled by whatsoever is with all mankind.
All the treasures of the world cannot compare with what hath been revealed concerning you. This is from God's grace which He bestoweth upon whomsoever He willeth.
O my Beloved! This letter, whose very point merits such description and is worthy of such praise - how can this perishable frame prove equal to answering it or venture to make response?
In secret, with utmost supplication I was saying: Would that all the world were present to attain unto the hearing of the revealed verses which flow and descend like pouring rain. I seek God's forgiveness for this comparison, I seek His forgiveness and turn unto Him.
When the rich and highly-gifted spiritual Artist breaks forth into a concourse of soft lays and colorful tones of minstrelsy, them the melodies and scores of the earthly singers will sink lower and lower till at least they are lost in a sea of eternal silence,- obscure and mystifying. When the sweet harmonies of the Bird of the Supreme Paradise are raised, the buzzings of the bees are not heeded.
God is the Light of the heavens and earth [Q24:35]. His Light is like a niche wherein is a lamp, a lamp, a lamp, a lamp, within a crystal above a crystal, a crystal, a crystal, well-nigh shining forth of itself even as doth shine the morning star.
In these days when in the heavens of manifestation the spiritual suns have risen from the horizons of visibility, and the effulgences of the Sun of the Most Glorious Countenance shine forth from the dawning-places of existence, and the dawnings of divine knowledge gleam from the eastern horizons of the Kingdom, the moons of wisdom, in accordance with their illumination from the Ancient Sun, are giving light in every direction, and the stars of eternity are shining with perfect radiance from the heavenly spheres of existence.
O Ahmad! The Word of God is in one station likened unto a divine Lote-Tree - blessed are they who have found their habitation beneath its shade. And in another station it is likened unto a Pavilion - well is it with such souls as have taken up their abode in that place of security.
We have adorned the heaven of utterance with the mention of Our wondrous Name, through which the great terror hath appeared amongst mankind.
Praise be to God, Who is unique in utterance and peerless in expression, before Whose Word the oceans of inner meanings bow down when spoken by the tongue of His Will, and all the books of the world prostrate themselves at the revelation of but a single letter of His verses. Through a movement of His finger, the Supreme Pen moves in the Kingdom of Creation and decrees the fate of the last and the first. Every eloquent one has confessed inability before His utterance, and every articulate one has acknowledged inadequacy before His exalted Word, by which He has distinguished between all peoples.
Hearken unto what the idolaters say, that these verses were not revealed naturally. Say: Open your eyes, O company of the heedless ones! By God, by a single letter of what hath been sent down from the dominion of God, the Mighty, the Bountiful, nature and its sources and its manifestations were created.
These are the verses of the Book which have been sent down in the most melodious tones, and they in themselves shall be a proof unto all who dwell in the heavens and on earth. Through them hath been created the kingdom of names and attributes, and for each letter thereof hath been ordained a tongue that speaketh between earth and heaven that this is verily the Beloved amidst the Concourse on High, and the Desired One amidst the company of creation, and the Hidden One concealed in the essence of Glory in the most wondrous heights.
Say: By God! Were but a single letter thereof cast upon the graves of all created things, they would surely emerge from their tombs, humble before God, the Almighty, the Mighty, the Impregnable. And were another letter thereof cast, they would return to what they were. Thus have We made the Word to be the Sword of God, distinguishing thereby between the believers and the ungodly.
The penetrating power of this blessed Word hath no peer or likeness, despite those who have denied the penetrating influence of the Word and its power.
Glory be to God! In the Tablet of Wisdom mention is made of the penetrating power of the Word. God, our Lord and the Lord of the mighty Throne and the elevated Seat, speaketh the truth. This servant beareth witness that the word of the loved ones courseth and floweth through and penetrateth all elements - how much more so the Most Exalted Word of God! This evanescent one is incapable of describing its effect and penetrating power.
Say: Through His utterance all things were attracted, through His call the names were set ablaze, and through His remembrance the near ones drew nigh unto a station which was raised up through the name of Truth.
The verses have been sent down in such wise that the sincere ones are powerless to reckon them.
Today the divine verses have encompassed all things, and from the Dayspring of divine revelation at every moment there appears and rises a utterance the like of which the eye of the world and the ears of nations have never seen or heard.
This is among His great favors, for verily every word that hath issued from the mouth of the Divine Will and been recorded by the Most Exalted Pen shall endure and remain forever.
This blessed word which has flowed from the Most Exalted Pen is greater and more excellent than a hundred thousand children and monuments, for all shall return to extinction while the Word of God endures for the duration of the Kingdom and the Realm.
Verily the Pen of the Most Merciful moves at all times and calls out with the most exalted call to all who dwell in the realm of creation, summoning all to God in their return.
O Most Exalted Pen! The Lord of Names declares: Thou wert created for the purpose of proclamation. This is the Day whereon thou must give glad tidings of the appearance of the Lord of all creation to all the friends and guide them to the straight path of God.
This is a Book which the All-Merciful hath sent down for all who are in the realm of possibility, that it may draw all to God, the Lord of all worlds.
O people of the earth! Hearken unto the call of the Lord of Heaven, for verily it will draw you nigh unto the supreme horizon, that station wherein the Divine Lote Tree proclaimeth: The kingdom belongeth unto God, the Single, the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
Therefore hearken unto His wondrous and decisive Word, that ye may be mentioned before God as being among the dwellers of the eternal cities.
The Book is revealed, the Fountain is flowing, the Hidden is manifest, and the Promised One speaks. Turn ye with clear certitude that ye may hear and see and drink and attain.
Take it with the hand of power and say: By God! That which was hidden behind the veils of the Unseen hath appeared, and the Nightingale of Immortality hath warbled upon the branches. The Hidden One hath been made manifest and God hath come with a mighty Cause.
Verily the Book crieth out before the faces of the world: The Hidden One hath appeared, Who was concealed from eyes and inscribed in the Books of God, the Lord of Lords.
Today the world is adorned with a new ornament, and the Most Great Word is dawning and manifest from the horizon of God's Book. Whosoever attaineth unto it hath attained unto all good.
The dawn hath broken and the moon hath appeared, and the Sun crieth out: "To Me, to Me, O peoples of the earth!" By God! There hath appeared what hath never appeared in creation, and there hath been raised up what hath never been raised up from time immemorial.
This is the Day which God hath made the Dayspring of grace unto all who are in the heavens and on earth, the Orient of knowledge unto all who are in the realm of creation, and the Manifestation of generosity unto all who dwell in the seen and unseen.
This is the Book of utterance which the All-Merciful has sent down from the Kingdom of mystic knowledge to those who have believed in Him in His days and have testified to that which His Most Exalted Pen has testified: The Kingdom, the Dominion, the Grandeur and the Might belong unto God, the Lord of the worlds.
Say: We have sent forth the Word in human temple and adorned it with the ornament of Mine own Self amidst the Concourse of Names, and thus was the matter decreed in the preserved tablets of glory.
Verily We hear at this hour the Call which hath been raised betwixt earth and heaven, as though the Caller were God, the Lord of all worlds. And when We turned toward it with Our most pure hearing, We heard it say: "O concourse of humanity! By God, the Most Great Spectacle hath appeared, and God hath made it the seat of His mighty Throne.
This is the Day wherein that which was recorded by the Supreme Pen in the Scriptures and Tablets hath been made manifest, and wherein the betrayal of the eyes and the secrets of the hearts have been unveiled.
In these days the mystery of what the All-Merciful revealed in the Qur'an is made manifest, His blessed and exalted Word: "Though it be but the weight of a mustard seed and though it be hidden in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, God will bring it to light."
When the trumpet was blown and the tombs arose, the people were shaken: among them were those who were bewildered, those who swooned away, and those who took wing in their longing for the appearance of God, the Lord of the worlds.
When He says "The Day of Resurrection is fifty thousand years," it means matters that would take fifty thousand years to occur or be achieved will be manifested in one day in the Day of Manifestation.
I testify that the likeness of the Books of God is as the likeness of the sun - though it rise countless times, it is but one sun, and though it set countless times, it is but one sun. Similarly, though Books be revealed from God times without number, they are but one Book, and though they be raised up times without number, they are raised up unto God and are but one Book. I testify that the Book is the Word of God from the Sun of Truth in every Dispensation, howsoever God willeth and in whatsoever tongue He revealeth it.
All have been created for the meeting with the Face of God; and it is nigh that, in the very reality of truth, the mediation of the Names shall be attained. Yet the mirrors have not recognized their own reflection, and they imagine unity through the effulgent Revelation that preceded Him, which appeared in the Muhammadan Temple -- peace be upon Him -- whereas that Revelation hath been lifted up, even as, at the advent of the Messenger of God, the dispensation of Moses, the Spirit of God, was lifted up.
For all who are veiled are veiled by what Thou didst ordain before. Therefore have mercy, O my God, upon those who profess Thy unity, that they may follow Thy Manifestation on the Day of Resurrection and not be veiled by the manifestation before it, for all are from Thee and Thou art the All-Knowing, the Wondrous.
Consider also the words of the Letters and the Gates concerning the appearance of the Qa'im. Yet at the time of His wondrous manifestation all these sayings were set aside by a single word, as thou thyself bearest witness that the Prophet hath been from the beginning that hath no beginning and will continue unto the end that hath no end, as mentioned in the words of the Exalted One - may the life of all else be a sacrifice unto Him.
When the verses were sent down, they said: "These were revealed before in the tongue of the Remembrance." Nay, they are among the fabricators.
Among them were those who said He had uttered in the Bayan that which was inconsistent with this Revelation, while others claimed He had decreed other than what God had ordained in the Book.
Leave them, O people, to themselves, that they may wallow in their desires and sport with what they possess. By Him Who holdeth my soul in His hands, all the words of the Bayan and the laws revealed therein lament the tyranny of those unbelievers. Though they mention the Bayan with their tongues to preserve their leadership, they have visited upon its Revealer that which no religious community hath ever visited upon the divine Manifestations.
At every moment the verses of God are being sent down, and His clear evidences made manifest. This is the day of pure and absolute unity unto God, the True, exalted be His glory; for this Day is His Day, and none is commemorated therein save Him -- despite the people of the Bayan, who have cast away that which they were commanded in the Book of God, the Lord of Names and the Creator of heaven, and have returned to their former step.
He had promised all peoples the appearance of the Ancient King, but when He came with the truth, the people turned away from Him, save whom God, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, did will.
How many were the souls who laid claim to steadfastness, yet were unsettled by the croak of a raven, to such degree that they turned away from the Mother Book of God.
Beware lest the happenings of the world prevent thee from the Ancient Beauty or the doubts of the nations veil thee from this irrevocable Cause.
Beware lest the conditions of the world withhold you from the Most Great Name. Cast them behind you, turning unto God, the Lord of all worlds.
Had men recognized the excellence of this Day, they would have cast blame behind their backs, turning unto God, the Lord of all mankind.
Ye dwell in your homes, holding a Book in your hands, reading what is therein, yet ye perceive not that this is from God Who created you, sustaineth you, causeth you to die, and giveth you life. It hath been sent down by Him Whom God shall make manifest unto you, that ye might be guided by His appearance. Why do ye not understand a matter when ye read it, failing to be guided by the proofs contained therein?
Say: God is the Hidden of all hidden, if ye be of them that magnify His remembrance. Doth not that Book suffice you wherein is the decree of all things? Will ye not then be thankful? Say: A single verse sufficeth as a proof from God unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth and whatsoever lieth between them, would ye but know it.
The Eternal. It hath been ordained in the third Gate that whatsoever is sent down in the Bayan of verses---each single verse thereof---constituteth His proof against all who are in the heavens and on the earth and whatsoever lieth between them. And should all who are in the heavens and on the earth and whatsoever lieth between them gather together to produce the like thereof, they shall not be able, neither shall they have power---by their very nature.
Thou hast manifested Thy power therein such that were all who dwell on earth to gather together to produce a verse like unto Thy verses, they would be powerless.
We have indeed sent unto thee what was revealed in the prison, and verily a single letter thereof is greater than the creation of the heavens and earth, and through it God's proof, His evidence, His testimony and His signs have been perfected for all, whether small or great.
In this Revelation, every word that hath dawned from the horizon of the Will of God, glory be to His majesty, all mention, nay all books, bow down before it. Where is the vision to see, and where is the hearing to hear, and where is the heart to understand?
He hath come with the hosts of divine revelation and inspiration, and hath manifested that which lay hidden in the treasuries of His knowledge and stored in the repositories of His might. Thereupon the servants and dwellers of the lands rose up in rejection and protest, to such extent that they denied the Books of God and His Scriptures and whatsoever was revealed aforetime unto His Prophets and Messengers. Say: O people of the earth! Be fair in the name of God - if ye deny this Most Great Cause and this Mighty Announcement, by what proof can ye establish that which ye possess?
Say: O people! Fear ye God, then judge with fairness concerning that which hath appeared in truth from One Who is powerful and ancient. He speaketh not of His own desire, but rather from God, the Lord of the worlds.
They who have veiled themselves there and followed the Calf are in grievous error. There hath been sent down for each one of them that whereby the sun of proof and evidence hath shone forth.
None who are endowed with understanding shall be admonished by Our verses except through the decree of thy Lord, whilst most people are more astray than cattle according to the judgment of the Qur'an, yet most people perceive not. What aileth these people that they believe not in the signs of God save a little? Indeed these people, according to the judgment of the Qur'an, are as cattle - nay, more astray in their path.
Know that Javad Qazvini wrote in his Persian letter according to what he wrote from the realms of hell with false words, including that testing the proof from the followers of God's family, peace be upon them, necessitates the testing of the Prophet - may the peace and blessings of God be upon Him and His family - and verily the testing of the Prophet necessitates the testing of the Lord, exalted be His glory. This is manifest unbelief, yet most people do not understand.
Know then that there hath come before the Divine Throne thy letter wherein thou didst make mention of thyself, and toward which were directed the glances of thy Lord, the Lord of all worlds. Therein didst thou ask that which befitteth neither thy station nor the station of any in the heavens and earth. Dost thou question Him by Whose command all that was and shall be hath appeared? Him Who created all things by His word "Be," and it was, if thou be of them that understand?
As to what thou hast asked regarding what We have revealed before, know that We have explained and detailed all that hath been and will be mentioned. Search and thou wilt find it in the Tablets.
By My life, O Imam! This is not the Day for questions.
If you say the decisive verses are the divine commandments revealed in the Tablets, there is no doubt in this - we all are assured of them, believe in them, and hope for His grace. These decisive verses are decisive in relation to the Most Wise of Judges, as it is evident that if a person were to comprehend all the decisive verses but hesitate even slightly in accepting that Most Great Verse, all his deeds would yield no fruit and would be as dust.
Say: This is a Day wherein the books of the world shall profit you not, nor shall the treasures of the nations suffice you.
Cast away what ye possess and turn unto the Singular, the All-Informed. On this Day, no soul's belief shall profit it except after its acceptance.
Hearken, O people, unto that which hath been sent down from My Most Exalted Pen, and hearken not unto what the people of idle fancies utter.
Verily My commandments are the lamps of My loving-kindness amidst My creation and the sweet-scented savors of My raiment in My kingdom. Blessed is he who attaineth unto them, and woe betide those who turn away.
No one is permitted to utter a word except as ordained by God in the Most Holy Book which hath been sent down from the kingdom of My wondrous utterance.
Beware, O people of the earth, lest ye abandon that which ye have been commanded to observe, or break the covenant ye have made in My holy and impregnable presence.
Whosoever worships His Essence without attention to aught else in His creation, and without desire for any recompense save Him, has truly worshipped God in the manner possible within the realm of contingency. One must be certain that the Essence in its essence was and is beyond description, recognition, or worship. … Should anyone worship Him or call upon Him in hope of paradise or fear of hell-fire, he has indeed been veiled from true worship of God and is unworthy of His Essence. Rather, the way of worship is to worship Him according to how He has described Himself, without mention of aught else.
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.
I say in truth that there hath never been and shall never be any barrier against the decreed hour. Thus He saith that death shall overtake every soul, even if they be in lofty, impregnable towers. But that which is not decreed may be lifted through God's absolute Will and His pervading divine Purpose.
The world and all that is therein shall perish, and ye shall return to the seat of a mighty, self-subsisting Sovereign, and shall be questioned concerning what ye acquired in your vain days, and shall be recompensed for what ye have earned or will earn.
Consider how many afflictions and tribulations have befallen the Cause of God and His loved ones in this Most Great Revelation, successively and continuously, and that the purpose of bearing these hardships hath been the exaltation of God's Cause and the elevation of the manifestation of His divine will.
One night among those nights, Khwajeh Ilyas 'Abbud, in whose house the Throne is now established, attained the Most Holy Presence, and after seeing the dishes, at one point asked this servant whether it would be possible to write and have brought one set of coffee cups with one covered soup bowl from the Chinese dishes.
Let not the affairs of the world grieve thee. By My life! They shall pass away, and thou shalt witness what hath been ordained for those near unto God.
Say: The path of God hath appeared - hasten ye unto it and be not of them that tarry.
We have ordained that hearts should turn towards Him - know ye this and be not of those who turn their feet toward this praiseworthy Station. Indeed He hath not permitted them to do so, lest there arise a clamor among the people.
Every universal matter is from God; and every limited matter is from man. Therefore, if people's services and efforts are undertaken for the benefit of all, they are acceptable to God and leave lasting traces. Otherwise, every other effort is limited and transitory.
Thus have We revealed unto thee the pearls of the ocean of knowledge. When thou hast attained unto them, turn thy face toward God and say: "I testify that Thou hast come from the heaven of grace with a manifest light." The glory that shineth resplendent from the horizon of the brow be upon thee and upon those who are illumined by the lights of certitude....
Glorified, glorified art Thou from the hearts of Thy servants reaching unto Thee or the minds of Thy creatures attaining the seat of Thy glory!
I know not what lieth with Thee or what shall benefit me, but with Thee is the knowledge of all things in a perspicuous Book.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
Regarding your question concerning a deep and profound study of the teachings: of course the Baha'is can and should meditate upon the significances of the writings, and endeavour to grasp their meaning to the utmost.... However certain things are, by their very nature, a mystery to us, at least in our present stage of development. One of these is what the next world, the purely spiritual world, is like. To try and visualize that realm in the terms of this physical one is absolutely impossible.
The Baha'i Faith is the Revelation of Baha'u'llah: His Own Words as interpreted by 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian. It is a Revelation of such staggering magnitude that no Baha'i at this early stage in Baha'i history can rightly claim to have more than a partial and imperfect understanding of it.
...whenever a statement is made through the lens of human understanding it is thereby limited, for human understanding is limited; and where there is limitation there is the possibility of error; and where there is error, conflicts can arise. For example, at the present time many people are convinced that it is unscientific to believe in God...
...scientific statements and theories ... are in their very nature ephemeral and limited.
...the principle of harmony between religion and science, while it enables us, with the help of reason, to see through the falsity of superstitions, does not imply that truth is limited to what can be explained by current scientific concepts. Not only do all religions have their miracles and mysteries, but religion itself, and certain fundamental religious concepts, such as the nature of the Manifestations of God, are far from being explicable by present-day scientific theories.
The human intellect is in truth the most mighty sign of God... Thou beholdest, however, that notwithstanding his lofty and sublime position, man is incapable of apprehending the reality of created things, for the chief instrument whereby human understanding can function is the power of vision. Unless the eye seeth the palm tree, the mind will not envisage the realm of fruits, leaves, branches and twigs that lie enfolded in the seed.
Baha'u'llah has said that learning can be the veil between the soul of man and the eternal truth; in other words, between man and the knowledge of God. We have seen that many people who become very advanced in the study of modern physical sciences are led to deny God, and to deny His Prophets.
Such conclusive truth hath been revealed through the gaze of the heart (fu'ad), and not that of intellect. For intellect conceives not save limited things. Verily, bound by the realm of limitations, men are unable to gaze upon things simultaneously in their manifold aspects. Thus it is perplexing for them to comprehend that lofty station. No one can recognize the truth of the Middle Way between the two extreme poles except after attaining unto the gate of the heart and beholding the realities of the worlds, visible and unseen.
Indeed, all who have endeavoured to explain the problem of Destiny have advocated either absolute divine determinism or human choice, and thus all the philosophers have confessed their powerlessness to explain the truth of this question. Indeed, this verily is the truth, inasmuch as the philosophers wanted to explain the divine truth, the Middle Path between absolute determinism and absolute freedom, by proofs of reason, which is, however, impossible. For, verily, reason, even in its utmost level of abstraction, is confined to understanding mere limited phenomenona, which fail to guide humans unto the summit of the delight of their heart.
...discursive thought, in order to express anything in words, has to consider one thing after another: this is the method of description; but how can one describe the absolutely simple? ... One must believe one has seen, when the soul suddenly takes light...
When reason is left to its own devices, it recognizes at best a God who is infinitely distant and difficult of access. Sufis accepted this point of view, but they insisted that it had to be complemented by another point of view, according to which God is 'with you wherever you are,' as the Qur'an puts it. Presence, in short, is just as important as absence; the divine immanence [tashbih] is every bit as real as the divine transcendence [tanzih]. (Chittick, intro to al-Ghazali's Mishkatu'l-Anwar, p. xii)
Man often lacks the understanding to fathom the wisdom of some of the ordinances which are not to his liking. It therefore becomes a matter of demonstration of the depth of his faith when he is faced with a divine command the wisdom and rationale of which he cannot at that time understand.
For thought and discussion