Give Ear O My Servant Unto That Which
Sources:
Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah
Give ear, O My servant, unto that which is being sent down unto thee from
the Throne of thy Lord, the Inaccessible, the Most Great. There is none
other God but Him. He hath called into being His creatures, that they may
know Him, Who is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful. Unto the cities of
all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath commissioned to
announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good pleasure, and to
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draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of eternal
holiness and transcendent glory.
Some were guided by the Light of God, gained admittance into the court of
His presence, and quaffed, from the hand of resignation, the waters of
everlasting life, and were accounted of them that have truly recognized
and believed in Him. Others rebelled against Him, and rejected the signs
of God, the Most Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
Ages rolled away, until they attained their consummation in this, the Lord
of days, the Day whereon the Day Star of the Bayan manifested itself above
the horizon of mercy, the Day in which the Beauty of the All-Glorious
shone forth in the exalted person of 'Ali-Muhammad, the Bab. No sooner did
He reveal Himself, than all the people rose up against Him. By some He was
denounced as one that hath uttered slanders against God, the Almighty, the
Ancient of Days. Others regarded Him as a man smitten with madness, an
allegation which I, Myself, have heard from the lips of one of the
divines. Still others disputed His claim to be the Mouthpiece of God, and
stigmatized Him as one who had stolen and used as his the words of the
Almighty, who had perverted their meaning, and mingled them with his own.
The Eye of Grandeur weepeth sore for the things which their mouths have
uttered, while they continue to rejoice upon their seats.
"God," said He, "is My witness, O people! I am come to you with a
Revelation from the Lord, your God, the Lord of your fathers of old. Look
not, O people, at the things ye possess. Look rather at the things God
hath sent down unto you. This, surely, will be better for you than the
whole of creation, could ye but perceive it. Repeat the gaze, O people,
and consider the testimony of God and His proof which are in your
possession, and compare them unto the Revelation sent down unto you in
this Day, that the truth, the infallible truth, may be indubitably
manifested unto you. Follow not, O people, the steps of the Evil One;
follow ye the Faith of the All-Merciful, and be ye of them that truly
believe. What would it profit man, if he were to fail to recognize the
Revelation of God? Nothing whatever. To this Mine own Self, the
Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the All-Wise, will testify."
The more He exhorted them, the fiercer grew their enmity, till, at the
last, they put Him to death with shameful cruelty. The curse of God be
upon the oppressors!
A few believed in Him; few of Our servants are the thankful. These He
admonished, in all His Tablets--nay, in every passage of His wondrous
writings--not to give themselves up in the Day of the promised Revelation
to anything whatever, be it in the heaven or in the earth. "O people!"
said He, "I have revealed Myself for His Manifestation, and have caused My
Book, the Bayan, to descend upon you for no other purpose except to
establish the truth of His Cause. Fear ye God, and contend not with Him as
the people of the Qur'an have contended with Me. At whatever time ye hear
of Him, hasten ye towards Him, and cleave ye to whatsoever He may reveal
unto you. Naught else besides Him can ever profit you, no, not though ye
produce from first to last the testimonies of all those who were before
you."
And when after the lapse of a few years the heaven of Divine decree was
cleft asunder, and the Beauty of the Bab appeared in the clouds of the
names of God, arrayed in a new raiment, these same people maliciously rose
up against Him, Whose light embraceth all created things. They broke His
Covenant, rejected His truth, contended with Him, caviled at His signs,
treated His testimony as falsehood, and joined the company of the
infidels. Eventually, they determined to take away His life. Such is the
state of them who are in a far-gone error!
And when they realized their powerlessness to achieve their purpose, they
arose to plot against Him. Witness how every moment they devise a fresh
device to harm Him, that they may injure and dishonor the cause of God.
Say: Woe be to you! By God! Your schemings cover you with shame. Your
Lord, the God of mercy, can well dispense with all creatures. Nothing
whatever can either increase or diminish the things He doth possess. If ye
believe, to your own behoof will ye believe; and if ye believe not, ye
yourselves will suffer. At no time can the hand of the infidel profane the
hem of His Robe.
O My servant that believest in God! By the righteousness of the Almighty!
Were I to recount to thee the tale of the things that have befallen Me,
the souls and minds of men would be incapable of sustaining its weight.
God Himself beareth Me witness. Watch over thyself, and follow not the
footsteps of these people. Meditate diligently upon the Cause of thy Lord.
Strive to know Him through His own Self and not through others. For no one
else besides Him can ever profit thee. To this all created things will
testify, couldst thou but perceive it.
Emerge from behind the veil, by the leave of thy Lord, the All-Glorious,
the Most Powerful, and seize, before the eyes of those who are in the
heavens and those who are on the earth, the Chalice of Immortality, in the
name of thy Lord, the Inaccessible, the Most High, and quaff thy fill, and
be not of them that tarry. I swear by God! The moment thou touchest the
Cup with thy lips, the Concourse on high will acclaim thee saying, "Drink
with healthy relish, O man that hast truly believed in God!" and the
inhabitants of the Cities of Immortality will cry out, "Joy be to thee, O
thou that hast drained the Cup of His love!" and the Tongue of Grandeur
will hail thee, "Great is the blessedness that awaiteth thee, O My
servant, for thou hast attained unto that which none hath attained, except
such as have detached themselves from all that is in the heavens and all
that is on the earth, and who are the emblems of true detachment."