And Now Regarding Thy Question "how

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

And now regarding thy question, "How is it that no records are to be found

concerning the Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of Mankind, or

of the kings that lived in the days of those Prophets?" Know thou that the

absence of any reference to them is no proof that they did not actually

exist. That no records concerning them are now available, should be

attributed to their extreme remoteness, as well as to the vast changes br />
which the earth hath undergone since their time.



Moreover such forms and modes of writing as are now current amongst men

were unknown to the generations that were before Adam. There was even a

time when men were wholly ignorant of the art of writing, and had adopted

a system entirely different from the one which they now use. For a proper

exposition of this an elaborate explanation would be required.



Consider the differences that have arisen since the days of Adam. The

divers and widely-known languages now spoken by the peoples of the earth

were originally unknown, as were the varied rules and customs now

prevailing amongst them. The people of those times spoke a language

different from those now known. Diversities of language arose in a later

age, in a land known as Babel. It was given the name Babel, because the

term signifieth "the place where the confusion of tongues arose."



Subsequently Syriac became prominent among the existing languages. The

Sacred Scriptures of former times were revealed in that tongue. Later,

Abraham, the Friend of God, appeared and shed upon the world the light of

Divine Revelation. The language He spoke while He crossed the Jordan

became known as Hebrew (Ibrani), which meaneth "the language of the

crossing." The Books of God and the Sacred Scriptures were then revealed

in that tongue, and not until after a considerable lapse of time did

Arabic become the language of Revelation....



Witness, therefore, how numerous and far-reaching have been the changes in

language, speech, and writing since the days of Adam. How much greater

must have been the changes before Him!



Our purpose in revealing these words is to show that the one true God

hath, in His all-highest and transcendent station, ever been, and will

everlastingly continue to be, exalted above the praise and conception of

all else but Him. His creation hath ever existed, and the Manifestations

of His Divine glory and the Day Springs of eternal holiness have been sent

down from time immemorial, and been commissioned to summon mankind to the

one true God. That the names of some of them are forgotten and the records

of their lives lost is to be attributed to the disturbances and changes

that have overtaken the world.



Mention hath been made in certain books of a deluge which caused all that

existed on earth, historical records as well as other things, to be

destroyed. Moreover, many cataclysms have occurred which have effaced the

traces of many events. Furthermore, among existing historical records

differences are to be found, and each of the various peoples of the world

hath its own account of the age of the earth and of its history. Some

trace their history as far back as eight thousand years, others as far as

twelve thousand years. To any one that hath read the book of Juek it is

clear and evident how much the accounts given by the various books have

differed.



Please God thou wilt turn thine eyes towards the Most Great Revelation,

and entirely disregard these conflicting tales and traditions.