Lawh-i-burhan (tablet Of The Proof)
Sources: Tablets Of Baha'u'llah Revealed After The Kitab-i-aqdas_This Tablet was revealed after the martyrdom of the King of
Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs (see God Passes By pages
200-201) and was addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Baqir, denounced by
Baha'u'llah as the 'Wolf'. In this Tablet Baha'u'llah refers to
Mir Muhammad Husayn, the Imam Jum'ih of Isfahan, surnamed the
'She-Serpent', who was Shaykh Muhammad Baqir's accomplice in the
persecution of the B
and 219). The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was addressed to
Shaykh Muhammad Taqiy-i-Najafi, the son of Shaykh Muhammad Baqir._
HE is the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise! The winds of hatred
have encompassed the Ark of Batha,(66) by reason of that which the hands
of the oppressors have wrought. O Baqir! Thou hast pronounced sentence
against them for whom the books of the world have wept, and in whose
favour the scriptures of all religions have testified. Thou, who art gone
far astray, art indeed wrapt in a thick veil. By God Himself! Thou hast
pronounced judgement against them through whom the horizon of faith hath
been illumined. Unto this bear witness They Who are the Dawning-Places of
Revelation and the Manifestations of the Cause of thy Lord, the Most
Merciful, Who have sacrificed Their souls and all that They possessed in
His straight Path. The Faith of God hath cried everywhere, by reason of
thy tyranny, and yet thou disportest thyself and art of them that exult.
There is no hatred in Mine heart for thee nor for anyone. Every man of
learning beholdeth thee, and such as are like thee, engulfed in evident
folly. Hadst thou realized that which thou hast done, thou wouldst have
cast thyself into the fire, or abandoned thine home and fled into the
mountains, or wouldst have groaned until thou hadst returned unto the
place destined for thee by Him Who is the Lord of strength and of might. O
thou who art even as nothing! Rend thou asunder the veils of idle fancies
and vain imaginings, that thou mayest behold the Day-Star of knowledge
shining from this resplendent Horizon. Thou hast torn in pieces a remnant
of the Prophet Himself, and imagined that thou hadst helped the Faith of
God. Thus hath thy soul prompted thee, and thou art truly one of the
heedless. Thine act hath consumed the hearts of the Concourse on high, and
those of such as have circled round the Cause of God, the Lord of the
worlds. The soul of the Chaste One(67) melted, by reason of thy cruelty,
and the inmates of Paradise wept sore in that blessed Spot.
Judge thou fairly, I adjure thee by God. What proof did the Jewish doctors
adduce wherewith to condemn Him Who was the Spirit of God,(68) when He
came unto them with truth? What could have been the evidence produced by
the Pharisees and the idolatrous priests to justify their denial of
Muhammad, the Apostle of God when He came unto them with a Book that
judged between truth and falsehood with a justice which turned into light
the darkness of the earth, and enraptured the hearts of such as had known
Him? Indeed thou hast produced, in this day, the same proofs which the
foolish divines advanced in that age. Unto this testifieth He Who is the
King of the realm of grace in this great Prison. Thou hast, truly, walked
in their ways, nay, hast surpassed them in their cruelty, and hast deemed
thyself to be helping the Faith and defending the Law of God, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise. By Him Who is the Truth! Thine iniquity hath
made Gabriel to groan, and hath drawn tears from the Law of God, through
which the breezes of justice have been wafted over all who are in heaven
and on earth. Hast thou fondly imagined that the judgement thou didst
pronounce hath profited thee? Nay, by Him Who is the King of all Names!
Unto thy loss testifieth He with Whom is the knowledge of all things as
recorded in the preserved Tablet. When thou didst pen thy judgement, thou
wast accused by thy very pen. Unto this doth bear witness the Pen of God,
the Most High, in His inaccessible station.
O thou who hast gone astray! Thou hast neither seen Me, nor associated
with Me, nor been My companion for the fraction of a moment. How is it,
then, that thou hast bidden men to curse Me? Didst thou, in this, follow
the promptings of thine own desires, or didst thou obey thy Lord? Produce
thou a sign, if thou art one of the truthful. We testify that thou hast
cast behind thy back the Law of God, and laid hold on the dictates of thy
passions. Nothing, in truth, escapeth His knowledge; He, verily, is the
Incomparable, the All-Informed. O heedless one! Hearken unto that which
the Merciful hath revealed in the Qur'an: 'Say not to every one who
meeteth you with a greeting, Thou art not a believer.'(69) Thus hath He
decreed in Whose grasp are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if
thou be of them that hearken. Thou hast set aside the commandment of God,
and clung unto the promptings of thine own desire. Woe, then, unto thee, O
careless one that doubtest! If thou deniest Me, by what proof canst thou
vindicate the truth of that which thou dost possess? Produce it, then, O
thou who hast joined partners with God, and turned aside from His
sovereignty that hath encompassed the worlds!
O foolish one! Know thou that he is truly learned who hath acknowledged My
Revelation, and drunk from the Ocean of My knowledge, and soared in the
atmosphere of My love, and cast away all else besides Me, and taken firm
hold on that which hath been sent down from the Kingdom of My wondrous
utterance. He, verily, is even as an eye unto mankind, and as the spirit
of life unto the body of all creation. Glorified be the All-Merciful Who
hath enlightened him, and caused him to arise and serve His great and
mighty Cause. Verily, such a man is blessed by the Concourse on high, and
by them who dwell within the Tabernacle of Grandeur, who have quaffed My
sealed Wine in My Name, the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful. O Baqir! If thou
be of them that occupy such a sublime station, produce then a sign from
God, the Creator of the heavens. And shouldst thou recognize thy
powerlessness, do thou rein in thy passions, and return unto thy Lord,
that perchance He may forgive thee thy sins which have caused the leaves
of the Divine Lote-Tree to be burnt up, and the Rock to cry out, and the
eyes of men of understanding to weep. Because of thee the Veil of Divinity
was rent asunder, and the Ark foundered, and the She-Camel was hamstrung,
and the Spirit(70) groaned in His sublime retreat. Disputest thou with Him
Who hath come unto thee with the testimonies of God and His signs which
thou possessest and which are in the possession of them that dwell on
earth? Open thine eyes that thou mayest behold this Wronged One shining
forth above the horizon of the will of God, the Sovereign, the Truth, the
Resplendent. Unstop, then, the ear of thine heart that thou mayest hearken
unto the speech of the Divine Lote-Tree that hath been raised up in truth
by God, the Almighty, the Beneficent. Verily, this Tree, notwithstanding
the things that befell it by reason of thy cruelty and of the
transgressions of such as are like thee, calleth aloud and summoneth all
men unto the Sadratu'l-Muntaha(71) and the Supreme Horizon. Blessed is the
soul that hath gazed on the Most Mighty Sign, and the ear that hath heard
His most sweet Voice, and woe to whosoever hath turned aside and done
wickedly.
O thou who hast turned away from God! Wert thou to look with the eye of
fairness upon the Divine Lote-Tree, thou wouldst perceive the marks of thy
sword on its boughs, and its branches, and its leaves, notwithstanding
that God created thee for the purpose of recognizing and of serving it.
Reflect, that haply thou mayest recognize thine iniquity and be numbered
with such as have repented. Thinkest thou that We fear thy cruelty? Know
thou and be well assured that from the first day whereon the voice of the
Most Sublime Pen was raised betwixt earth and heaven We offered up Our
souls, and Our bodies, and Our sons, and Our possessions in the path of
God, the Exalted, the Great, and We glory therein amongst all created
things and the Concourse on high. Unto this testify the things which have
befallen Us in this straight Path. By God! Our hearts were consumed, and
Our bodies were crucified, and Our blood was spilt, while Our eyes were
fixed on the horizon of the loving-kindness of their Lord, the Witness,
the All-Seeing. The more grievous their woes, the greater waxed the love
of the people of Baha. Unto their sincerity hath borne witness what the
All-Merciful hath sent down in the Qur'an. He saith: 'Wish ye, then, for
death, if ye are sincere.'(72) Who is to be preferred, he that hath
sheltered himself behind curtains, or he that hath offered himself in the
path of God? Judge thou fairly, and be not of them that rove distraught in
the wilderness of falsehood. So carried away have they been by the living
waters of the love of the Most Merciful, that neither the arms of the
world nor the swords of the nations have deterred them from setting their
faces towards the ocean of the bounty of their Lord, the Giver, the
Generous.
By God! Troubles have failed to unnerve Me, and the repudiation of the
divines hath been powerless to weaken Me. I have spoken, and still speak
forth before the face of men: 'The door of grace hath been unlocked and He
Who is the Dayspring of Justice is come with perspicuous signs and evident
testimonies, from God, the Lord of strength and of might!' Present thyself
before Me that thou mayest hear the mysteries which were heard by the Son
of 'Imran(73) upon the Sinai of Wisdom. Thus commandeth thee He Who is the
Dawning-Place of the Revelation of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, from His
great Prison.
Hath leadership made thee proud? Peruse thou what God hath revealed to the
Sovereign ruler, the Sultan of Turkey, who hath incarcerated Me in this
fortified stronghold, so that thou mayest be informed of the condition of
this Wronged One, as decreed by God, the One, the Single, the
All-Informed. Art thou happy to see the abject and worthless as thy
followers? They support thee as did a people before them, they that
followed Annas, who, without clear proof and testimony, pronounced
judgement against the Spirit.(74)
Peruse thou the Kitab-i-Iqan and that which the All-Merciful hath sent
down unto the King of Paris(75) and to such as are like him, that thou
mayest be made aware of the things that have happened in the past, and be
persuaded that We have not sought to spread disorder in the land after it
had been well-ordered. We exhort, wholly for the sake of God, His
servants. Let him who wisheth turn unto Him, and him who wisheth turn
aside. Our Lord, the Merciful, is verily the All-Sufficing, the
All-Praised. O concourse of divines! This is the day whereon nothing
amongst all things, nor any name amongst all names, can profit you save
through this Name which God hath made the Manifestation of His Cause and
the Dayspring of His Most Excellent Titles unto all who are in the kingdom
of creation. Blessed is that man that hath recognized the fragrance of the
All-Merciful and been numbered with the steadfast. Your sciences shall not
profit you in this day, nor your arts, nor your treasures, nor your glory.
Cast them all behind your backs, and set your faces towards the Most
Sublime Word through which the Scriptures and the Books and this lucid
Tablet have been distinctly set forth. Cast away, O concourse of divines,
the things ye have composed with the pens of your idle fancies and vain
imaginings. By God! The Day-Star of Knowledge hath shone forth above the
horizon of certitude.
O Baqir! Read and call thou to mind that which was said of old by a
believer of thy stock: 'Will ye slay a man because he saith my Lord is
God, when He hath already come to you with signs from your Lord? If he be
a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part of what
he threateneth will fall upon you. In truth God guideth not him who is a
transgressor, a liar.'(76)
O thou who art gone astray! If thou hast any doubt concerning Our conduct,
know thou that We bear witness unto that whereunto God hath Himself borne
witness ere the creation of the heavens and of the earth, that there is
none other God but Him, the Almighty, the All-Bounteous. We testify that
He is One in His Essence, One in His attributes. He hath none to equal Him
in the whole universe, nor any partner in all creation. He hath sent forth
His Messengers, and sent down His Books, that they may announce unto His
creatures the Straight Path.
Hath the Shah been informed, and chosen to close his eyes to thine acts?
Or hath he been seized with fear at the howling of a pack of wolves who
have cast the Path of God behind their backs and followed in thy way
without any clear proof or Book? We have heard that the provinces of
Persia have been adorned with the adornment of justice. When We observed
closely, however, We found them to be the dawning-places of tyranny and
the daysprings of injustice. We behold justice in the clutches of tyranny.
We beseech God to set it free through the power of His might and His
sovereignty. He, verily, overshadoweth all that is in the heavens and on
earth. To none is given the right to protest against anyone concerning
that which hath befallen the Cause of God. It behoveth whosoever hath set
his face towards the Most Sublime Horizon to cleave tenaciously unto the
cord of patience, and to put his reliance in God, the Help in Peril, the
Unconstrained. O ye loved ones of God! Drink your fill from the
well-spring of wisdom, and walk ye in the garden of wisdom, and soar ye in
the atmosphere of wisdom, and speak forth with wisdom and eloquence. Thus
biddeth you your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
O Baqir! Rely not on thy glory, and thy power. Thou art even as the last
trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top. Soon will it fade away, as
decreed by God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Thy glory and the glory
of such as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is what
hath been ordained by the One with Whom is the Mother Tablet. Where is he
to be found who contended with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid
His signs, and turned aside from His sovereignty? Where are they who have
slain His chosen ones and spilt the blood of His holy ones? Reflect, that
haply thou mayest perceive the breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter!
Because of you the Apostle(77) lamented, and the Chaste One(78) cried out,
and the countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O
concourse of divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the
banner of Islam was hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every
time a man of discernment hath sought to hold fast unto that which would
exalt Islam, ye raised a clamour, and thereby was he deterred from
achieving his purpose, while the land remained fallen in clear ruin.
Consider the Sultan of Turkey! He did not want war, but those like you
desired it. When its fires were enkindled and its flames rose high, the
government and the people were thereby weakened. Unto this beareth witness
every man of equity and perception. Its calamities waxed so great that the
smoke thereof surrounded the Land of Mystery(79) and its environs, and
what had been revealed in the Tablet of the Sultan was made manifest. Thus
hath it been decreed in the Book, at the behest of God, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting.
O My Supreme Pen! Leave Thou the mention of the Wolf, and call Thou to
remembrance the She-Serpent(80) whose cruelty hath caused all created
things to groan, and the limbs of the holy ones to quake. Thus biddeth
Thee the Lord of all names, in this glorious station. The Chaste One(81)
hath cried out by reason of thine iniquity, and yet thou dost imagine
thyself to be of the family of the Apostle of God! Thus hath thy soul
prompted thee, O thou who hast withdrawn thyself from God, the Lord of all
that hath been and shall be. Judge thou equitably, O She-Serpent! For what
crime didst thou sting the children(82) of the Apostle of God, and pillage
their possessions? Hast thou denied Him Who created thee by His command
'be, and it was'? Thou hast dealt with the children of the Apostle of God
as neither 'Ad hath dealt with Hud, nor Thamud with Salih, nor the Jews
with the Spirit of God,(83) the Lord of all being. Gainsayest thou the
signs of thy Lord which no sooner were sent down from the heaven of His
Cause than all the books of the world bowed down before them? Meditate,
that thou mayest be made aware of thine act, O heedless outcast! Ere long
will the breaths of chastisement seize thee, as they seized others before
thee. Wait, O thou who hast joined partners with God, the Lord of the
visible and the invisible. This is the day which God hath announced
through the tongue of His Apostle. Reflect, that thou mayest apprehend
what the All-Merciful hath sent down in the Qur'an and in this inscribed
Tablet. This is the day whereon He Who is the Dayspring of Revelation hath
come with clear tokens which none can number. This is the day whereon
every man endued with perception hath discovered the fragrance of the
breeze of the All-Merciful in the world of creation, and every man of
insight hath hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of His Lord, the
King of Kings. O heedless one! The tale of the Sacrifice(84) hath been
retold, and he who was to be offered up hath directed his steps towards
the place of sacrifice, and returned not, by reason of that which thy hand
hath wrought, O perverse hater! Didst thou imagine that martyrdom could
abase this Cause? Nay, by Him Whom God hath made to be the Repository of
His Revelation, if thou be of them that comprehend. Woe betide thee, O
thou who hast joined partners with God, and woe betide them that have
taken thee as their leader, without a clear token or a perspicuous Book.
How numerous the oppressors before thee who have arisen to quench the
light of God, and how many the impious who murdered and pillaged until the
hearts and souls of men groaned by reason of their cruelty! The sun of
justice hath been obscured, inasmuch as the embodiment of tyranny hath
been stablished upon the throne of hatred, and yet the people understand
not. The children of the Apostle have been slain and their possessions
pillaged. Say: Was it, in thine estimation, their possessions or
themselves that denied God? Judge fairly, O ignorant one that hath been
shut out as by a veil from God. Thou hast clung to tyranny and cast away
justice; whereupon all created things have lamented, and still thou art
among the wayward. Thou hast put to death the aged, and plundered the
young. Thinkest thou that thou wilt consume that which thine iniquity hath
amassed? Nay, by Myself! Thus informeth thee He Who is cognizant of all.
By God! The things thou possessest shall profit thee not, nor what thou
hast laid up through thy cruelty. Unto this beareth witness Thy Lord, the
All-Knowing. Thou hast arisen to put out the light of this Cause; ere long
will thine own fire be quenched, at His behest. He, verily, is the Lord of
strength and of might. The changes and chances of the world, and the
powers of the nations, cannot frustrate Him. He doeth what He pleaseth,
and ordaineth what He willeth through the power of His sovereignty.
Consider the she-camel. Though but a beast, yet hath the All-Merciful
exalted her to so high a station that the tongues of the earth made
mention of her and celebrated her praise. He, verily, overshadoweth all
that is in the heavens and on earth. No God is there but Him, the
Almighty, the Great. Thus have We adorned the heaven of Our Tablet with
the suns of Our words. Blessed the man that hath attained thereunto and
been illumined with their light, and woe betide such as have turned aside,
and denied Him, and strayed far from Him. Praised be God, the Lord of the
worlds!
More
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Tarazat (ornaments)
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And in the third Gospel, according to Luke, it is recorded: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; and the powers of heaven shall be... 10 Cheniston Gardens London W
The subjoined notes are taken from The Quarterly Record of 'Higher Thought' Work, November 1911. One of the most interesting and significant events which have taken place, has been the visit of 'Abdu'l-Baha to London. The Persian Mage ... 10 The Prayer For The Dead #8
The Prayer for the Dead (see Some Texts Supplementary to the Kitab-i-Aqdas) is the only Baha'i obligatory prayer which is to be recited in congregation; it is to be recited by one believer while all present stand in silence (see note 19).... 100
In this valley the wayfarers stray and perish ere they attain their final abode. Gracious God! So immense is this valley, so vast this city in the kingdom of creation, that it seemeth to have neither beginning nor end. How great the blessedness of hi... 100 Should Resentment Or Antipathy Arise Between Husband And Wife
he is not to divorce her but to bide in patience throughout the course of one whole year 68 Divorce is strongly condemned in the Baha'i Teachings. If, however, antipathy or resentment develop between the marriage partners, divorce is permissib... 101
And should the servant ascend to even loftier heights, quit this mortal world of dust, and seek to ascend unto the celestial abode, he will then pass from this city into the City of Absolute Nothingness, that is, of dying to self and living in God. I... 101 The Lord Hath Prohibited
the practice to which ye formerly had recourse when thrice ye had divorced a woman. 68 This relates to a law of Islam set out in the Qur'an which decreed that under certain conditions a man could not remarry his divorced wife unless she had mar... 102
Were We to recount the mysteries of this city, the dominions of the hearts of men would be laid to waste in the intensity of their longing for this mighty station. For this is the station wherein the effulgent glories of the Beloved are revealed to t... 102 He Who Hath Divorced His Wife May Choose Upon The Passing Of Each Month
to remarry her when there is mutual affection and consent, so long as she hath not taken another husband ... unless, clearly, her circumstances change. 68 Shoghi Effendi states, in a letter written on his behalf, that the intention of the passi... 103
How can a true lover continue to exist when once the effulgent glories of the Beloved are revealed? How can the shadow endure when once the sun hath shone forth? How can a devoted heart have any being before the existence of the Object of its devotio... 103 Semen Is Not Unclean # 74
In a number of religious traditions and in Shi'ih Muslim practice semen has been declared ritually unclean. Baha'u'llah has here dispelled this concept. See also note 106 below. ... 104
Gracious God! But for fear of the Nimrod of tyranny and for the protection of the Abraham of justice, I would reveal unto thee that which, wert thou to abandon self and desire, would enable thee to dispense with aught else and to draw nigh unto this ... 104 Cleave Ye Unto The Cord Of Refinement #74
'Abdu'l-Baha refers to the effect of purity and holiness, cleanliness and refinement on the exaltation of the human condition and the development of man's inner reality. He states: The fact of having a pure and spotless body exercises an influence... 105
From this most august and exalted station, and from this most sublime and glorious plane, the seeker entereth the City of Immortality, therein to abide forever. In this station he beholdeth himself established upon the throne of independence and the ... 105 Wash Ye Every Soiled Thing With Water That Hath Undergone No Alteration In Any One Of The Three Respects #74
The three respects referred to in this verse are changes in the colour, taste or smell of the water. Baha'u'llah provides additional guidance concerning pure water and the point at which it is considered unsuitable for use (Q and A 91). ...