Suriy-i-vafa(60) (tablet To Vafa)

Sources: Tablets Of Baha'u'llah Revealed After The Kitab-i-aqdas

He is the All-Knowing



O VAFA! Render thanks unto thy Lord for having aided thee to embrace His

Cause, enabled thee to recognize the Manifestation of His Own Self and

raised thee up to magnify Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance in this

glorious Announcement.



Blessed art thou O Vafa, inasmuch as thou hast been faithful to the

Covenant of God and His Testament at a time when all men have vio ated it

and have repudiated the One in Whom they had believed, and this

notwithstanding that He hath appeared invested with every testimony, and

hath dawned from the horizon of Revelation clothed with undoubted

sovereignty.



It behoveth thee, however, to exert thine utmost to attain the very

essence of fidelity. This implieth to be well assured in thy heart and to

testify with thy tongue to that whereunto God hath testified for His Own

exalted Self, proclaiming: 'Verily, self-subsisting am I within the Realm

of Glory.' Whoso is enabled in these days to solemnly affirm this truth,

hath attained unto all good, and the heavenly Spirit shall descend upon

him in the daytime and in the night season, shall graciously assist him to

glorify the Name of his Lord and suffer him to unloose his tongue and

uphold with his words the Cause of his Lord, the Merciful, the

Compassionate. And none can ever achieve this except he who hath purged

his heart from whatsoever is created between heaven and earth, and hath

entirely detached himself from all but God, the sovereign Lord, the

Almighty, the Gracious.



Arise thou to serve the Cause and say: I swear by the righteousness of

God! Verily this is the Primal Point, arrayed in His new attire and

manifested in His glorious Name. He at present beholdeth everything from

this Horizon. Indeed He is supreme over all things. Amongst the Concourse

on High He is known as the Most Great Announcement and in the Realms of

Eternity as the Ancient Beauty, and before the Throne by this Name(61)

which hath caused the footsteps of them that are endued with understanding

to slip.



Say, I swear by God! In this Revelation even before a single verse was

sent down from the realm of holiness and sublimity, the supreme testimony

of God had been fulfilled for all the inmates of heaven and the dwellers

on earth; moreover, We have revealed the equivalent of whatsoever was sent

down in the Dispensation of the Bayan. Fear ye God and suffer not your

deeds to be rendered vain and be not of them that are sunk in

heedlessness. Open your eyes that ye may behold the Ancient Beauty from

this shining and luminous station.



Say, God is my witness! The Promised One Himself hath come down from

heaven, seated upon the crimson cloud with the hosts of revelation on His

right, and the angels of inspiration on His left, and the Decree hath been

fulfilled at the behest of God, the Omnipotent, the Almighty. Thereupon

the footsteps of everyone have slipped except such as God hath protected

through His tender mercy and numbered with those who have recognized Him

through His Own Self and detached themselves from all that pertaineth to

the world.



Hearken thou unto the Words of thy Lord and purify thy heart from every

illusion so that the effulgent light of the remembrance of thy Lord may

shed its radiance upon it, and it may attain the station of certitude.



Know thou moreover that thy letter reached Our presence and We perceived

and perused its contents. We noted the questions thou hast asked and will

readily answer thee. It behoveth everyone in this Day to ask God that

which he desireth, and thy Lord will heed his petition with wondrous and

undeniable verses.



Thou hast asked regarding the subject of the return. Know thou that the

end is like unto the beginning. Even as thou dost consider the beginning,

similarly shouldst thou consider the end, and be of them that truly

perceive. Nay, rather consider the beginning as the end itself, and so

conversely, that thou mayest acquire a clear perception. Know thou

moreover that every created thing is continually brought forth and

returned at the bidding of thy Lord, the God of power and might.



As to the Return, as God hath purposed in His sacred and exalted Tablets

wherein He hath made this theme known unto His servants; by this is meant

the return of all created things in the Day of Resurrection, and this is

indeed the essence of the Return as thou hast witnessed in God's own days

and thou art of them that testify to this truth.



Verily God is fully capable of causing all names to appear in one name,

and all souls in one soul. Surely powerful and mighty is He. And this

Return is realized at His behest in whatever form He willeth. Indeed He is

the One Who doeth and ordaineth all things. Moreover, thou shouldst not

perceive the fulfilment of the Return and the Resurrection save in the

Word of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. For instance, were He to

take a handful of earth and declare it to be the One Whom ye have been

following in the past, it would undoubtedly be just and true, even as His

real Person, and to none is given the right to question His authority. He

doeth what He willeth and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth. Moreover, in

this station take thou heed not to turn thy gaze unto limitations and

allusions, but rather unto that whereby the Revelation itself hath been

fulfilled and be of them that are discerning. Thus do We explain for thee

in a lucid and explicit language that thou mayest comprehend that which

thou didst seek from thine ancient Lord.



Consider thou the Day of Resurrection. Were God to pronounce the lowliest

of creatures among the faithful to be the First One to believe in the

Bayan, thou shouldst have no misgivings about it and must be of them that

truly believe. In this station look not upon human limitations and names

but rather upon that whereby the rank of the First One to believe is

vindicated, which is faith in God, and recognition of His Being and

assurance in the fulfilment of His irresistible and binding command.



Consider thou the Revelation of the Point of the Bayan--exalted is His

glory. He pronounced the First One(62) to believe in Him to be Muhammad,

the Messenger of God. Doth it beseem a man to dispute with Him by saying

that this man is from Persia, the Other from Arabia, or this one was

called Husayn while the Other bore the name of Muhammad? Nay, I swear by

God's holy Being, the Exalted, the Most Great. Surely no man of

intelligence and insight would ever pay attention unto limitations or

names, but rather unto that with which Muhammad was invested, which was

none other than the Cause of God. Such a man of insight would likewise

consider Husayn and the position he occupied in the Cause of God, the

Omnipotent, the Exalted, the Knowing, the Wise. And since the First One to

believe in God in the Dispensation of the Bayan was invested with command

similar to that with which Muhammad, the Messenger of God, was invested,

therefore the Bab pronounced him to be the latter, namely His return and

resurrection. This station is sanctified from every limitation or name,

and naught can be seen therein but God, the One, the Peerless, the

All-Knowing.



Know thou moreover that in the Day of Revelation were He to pronounce one

of the leaves to be the manifestation of all His excellent titles, unto no

one is given the right to utter why or wherefore, and should one do so he

would be regarded as a disbeliever in God and be numbered with such as

have repudiated His Truth.



Beware, beware lest thou behave like unto the people of the Bayan. For

indeed they erred grievously, misguided the people, ignored the Covenant

of God and His Testament and joined partners with Him, the One, the

Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily they failed to recognize the Point

of the Bayan, for had they recognized Him they would not have rejected His

manifestation in this luminous and resplendent Being. And since they fixed

their eyes on names, therefore when He replaced His Name 'the Most

Exalted' by 'the Most Glorious' their eyes were dimmed. They have failed

to recognize Him in these days and are reckoned with those that perish.

Indeed, had they known Him through His own Self or by virtue of that which

He hath revealed, they would not have repudiated Him when He appeared in

this glorious and incomparable Name, which God hath ordained to be the

Sword of His Revelation between heaven and earth, and through which truth

is separated from error, even from now until the Day when mankind shall

stand before the Lord of the worlds.



Know thou moreover that in the Day of His Manifestation all things besides

God shall be brought forth and placed equally, irrespective of their rank

being high or low. The Day of Return is inscrutable unto all men until

after the divine Revelation hath been fulfilled. He is in truth the One

Who ordaineth whatsoever He willeth. When the Word of God is revealed unto

all created things whoso then giveth ear and heedeth the Call is, indeed,

reckoned among the most distinguished souls, though he be a carrier of

ashes. And he who turneth away is accounted as the lowliest of His

servants, though he be a ruler amongst men and the possessor of all the

books that are in the heavens and on earth.



It behoveth thee to look with divine insight upon the things We have

revealed and sent unto thee and not towards the people and that which is

current amongst them. They are in this day like unto a blind man who,

while moving in the sunshine, demandeth: Where is the sun? Is it shining?

He would deny and dispute the truth, and would not be of them that

perceive. Never shall he be able to discern the sun or to understand that

which hath intervened between him and it. He would object within himself,

voice protests, and would be among the rebellious. Such is the state of

this people. Leave them unto themselves, saying: Unto you be that which ye

desire and unto us that which we desire. Wretched indeed is the plight of

the ungodly.



Know thou moreover that the former Manifestation affirmed that the return

and rising of the spirits would occur on the Day of Resurrection, while in

truth there is a return and resurrection for every created thing. However

We do not wish to mention aught that is not set forth in the Bayan, lest

perchance the people of malice raise a great outcry. O would that that

which interveneth between the children of men and their Creator were

dispelled that they might be enabled to behold God's invincible

sovereignty and dominion, quaff from the wellspring of His heavenly

streams, be sprinkled with the outpourings of the ocean of true

understanding and be purged from the defilements of the ungodly and the

suspicious.



As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that

the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their

range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the

All-Wise. Consider thy state when asleep. Verily, I say, this phenomenon

is the most mysterious of the signs of God amongst men, were they to

ponder it in their hearts. Behold how the thing which thou hast seen in

thy dream is, after a considerable lapse of time, fully realized. Had the

world in which thou didst find thyself in thy dream been identical with

the world in which thou livest, it would have been necessary for the event

occurring in that dream to have transpired in this world at the very

moment of its occurrence. Were it so, you yourself would have borne

witness unto it. This being not the case, however, it must necessarily

follow that the world in which thou livest is different and apart from

that which thou hast experienced in thy dream. This latter world hath

neither beginning nor end. It would be true if thou wert to contend that

this same world is, as decreed by the All-Glorious and Almighty God,

within thy proper self and is wrapped up within thee. It would equally be

true to maintain that thy spirit, having transcended the limitations of

sleep and having stripped itself of all earthly attachment, hath, by the

act of God, been made to traverse a realm which lieth hidden in the

innermost reality of this world. Verily I say, the creation of God

embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these

creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can

search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. Do thou meditate

on that which We have revealed unto thee, that thou mayest discover the

purpose of God, thy Lord, and the Lord of all worlds. In these words the

mysteries of Divine Wisdom have been treasured. We have refrained from

dwelling upon this theme owing to the sorrow that hath encompassed Us from

the actions of them that have been created through Our words, if ye be of

them that will hearken unto Our Voice.



Where is the one who can help Me and shield Me from the swords of these

faithless souls? Where is the man of insight who will behold the Words of

God with his own eyes and rid himself of the opinions and notions of the

peoples of the earth?



O servant! Warn thou the servants of God not to reject that which they do

not comprehend. Say, implore God to open to your hearts the portals of

true understanding that ye may be apprised of that of which no one is

apprised. Verily, He is the Giver, the Forgiving, the Compassionate.



Thou hast moreover asked Me concerning the ordinances of God. Know thou of

a truth that whatsoever hath been prescribed in the Book is indeed the

truth, no doubt is there about it, and it is incumbent upon everyone to

observe that which hath been sent down by Him Who is the Revealer, the

All-Knowing. Were a man to put them away despite his being aware thereof,

God would truly be clear of such a one and We too would be clear of him,

inasmuch as His ordinances constitute the fruits of the divine Tree and

none other than the heedless and the wayward will deviate therefrom.



As to Paradise: It is a reality and there can be no doubt about it, and

now in this world it is realized through love of Me and My good-pleasure.

Whosoever attaineth unto it God will aid him in this world below, and

after death He will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise whose

vastness is as that of heaven and earth. Therein the Maids of glory and

holiness will wait upon him in the daytime and in the night season, while

the day-star of the unfading beauty of his Lord will at all times shed its

radiance upon him and he will shine so brightly that no one shall bear to

gaze at him. Such is the dispensation of Providence, yet the people are

shut out by a grievous veil. Likewise apprehend thou the nature of

hell-fire and be of them that truly believe. For every act performed there

shall be a recompense according to the estimate of God, and unto this the

very ordinances and prohibitions prescribed by the Almighty amply bear

witness. For surely if deeds were not rewarded and yielded no fruit, then

the Cause of God--exalted is He--would prove futile. Immeasurably high is He

exalted above such blasphemies! However, unto them that are rid of all

attachments a deed is, verily, its own reward. Were We to enlarge upon

this theme numerous Tablets would need to be written.



I swear by the righteousness of the One true God! The Pen is unable to

move by reason of that which hath befallen its Lord, and it weepeth sore,

and so do I weep, and likewise weepeth the eye of Him Who is the Essence

of Grandeur behind the Tabernacle of Names while seated on the Throne of

His glorious Name.



Purge thou thy heart that We may cause fountains of wisdom and utterance

to gush out therefrom, thus enabling thee to raise thy voice among all

mankind. Unloose thy tongue and proclaim the truth for the sake of the

remembrance of thy merciful Lord. Be not afraid of anyone, place thy whole

trust in God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Say, O people, fulfil

whatever ye understand of the Persian Bayan and whatever ye understand not

ask this unerring Remembrance that He may set forth clearly that which God

hath intended in His Book, for in truth He knoweth that which is enshrined

in the Bayan by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Omnipotent, the

Powerful.



Thou hast enquired about the warning We gave to the people at the time of

Our departure from 'Iraq to the effect that when the Sun disappeareth from

sight, birds of darkness will be in motion and the standards of Samiri(63)

will be reared high. I swear by God! Those birds have stirred in these

days and Samiri hath raised his clamour. Well is it with him who

recognizeth and is numbered with men of understanding. We have also warned

them against the appearance of the calf. God is My witness! All Our

warnings have come to pass, as indeed, they are bound to, inasmuch as they

have issued from the fingers of glory and might. Beseech thou God to

protect thee from the mischief of these men and to purify thee from the

insinuations of the froward. Strengthen thy loins then for the promotion

of the Cause and pay no attention unto the words uttered by the people of

the Bayan, for they are truly incapable of understanding and have failed

to comprehend the essence of the Cause as is revealed in this august, this

Most Great Announcement. Thus have We inspired thee, and infused into thy

heart that which will make thee independent of the allusions of mankind.



The glory of God be upon thee and upon them that give ear unto the words

thou dost utter for the love of God, thy Lord, and remain steadfast in His

Cause. All praise be unto God, the Lord of the worlds.