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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."



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