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The fifth Ṭaráz concerneth the protection and preservation of the stations of God’s servants. One should not ignore the truth of any matter, rather should one give expression to that which is right and true. The people of Bahá should not deny any soul the reward due to him, should treat craftsmen with deference, and, unlike the people aforetime, should not defile their tongues with abuse.
In this Day the sun of craftsmanship shineth above the horizon of the occident and the river of arts is flowing out of the sea of that region. One must speak with fairness and appreciate such bounty. By the life of God! The word “Equity” shineth bright and resplendent even as the sun. We pray God to graciously shed its radiance upon everyone. He is in truth powerful over all things, He Who is wont to answer the prayers of all men.
In these days truthfulness and sincerity are sorely afflicted in the clutches of falsehood, and justice is tormented by the scourge of injustice. The smoke of corruption hath enveloped the whole world in such wise that naught can be seen in any direction save regiments of soldiers and nothing is heard from any land but the clashing of swords. We beseech God, the True One, to strengthen the wielders of His power in that which will rehabilitate the world and bring tranquility to the nations."
"The fourth Ṭaráz concerneth trustworthiness. Verily it is the door of security for all that dwell on earth and a token of glory on the part of the All-Merciful. He who partaketh thereof hath indeed partaken of the treasures of wealth and prosperity. Trustworthiness is the greatest portal leading unto the tranquility and security of the people. In truth the stability of every affair hath depended and doth depend upon it. All the domains of power, of grandeur and of wealth are illumined by its light.
Not long ago these sublime words were revealed from the Pen of the Most High:
“We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof in the estimation of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty Throne. One day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: ‘O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Bahá, and the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings.’ Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation.”
O people of Bahá! Trustworthiness is in truth the best of vestures for your temples and the most glorious crown for your heads. Take ye fast hold of it at the behest of Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Informed."
"The third Ṭaráz concerneth good character. A good character is, verily, the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples of His loved ones. By My life! The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun and the radiance thereof. Whoso attaineth unto it is accounted as a jewel among men. The glory and the upliftment of the world must needs depend upon it. A goodly character is a means whereby men are guided to the Straight Path and are led to the Great Announcement. Well is it with him who is adorned with the saintly attributes and character of the Concourse on High.
It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions upon justice and fairness. In the Hidden Words this exalted utterance hath been revealed from Our Most August Pen:
“O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”
They that are just and fair-minded in their judgment occupy a sublime station and hold an exalted rank. The light of piety and uprightness shineth resplendent from these souls. We earnestly hope that the peoples and countries of the world may not be deprived of the splendors of these two luminaries."
"The second Tajallí is to remain steadfast in the Cause of God—exalted be His glory—and to be unswerving in His love. And this can in no wise be attained except through full recognition of Him; and full recognition cannot be obtained save by faith in the blessed words: “He doeth whatsoever He willeth.” Whoso tenaciously cleaveth unto this sublime word and drinketh deep from the living waters of utterance which are inherent therein, will be imbued with such a constancy that all the books of the world will be powerless to deter him from the Mother Book. O how glorious is this sublime station, this exalted rank, this ultimate purpose!
O ‘Alí-Akbar! Consider how abject is the state of the disbelievers. They all give utterance to the words: “Verily He is to be praised in His deeds and is to be obeyed in His behest.” Nevertheless if We reveal aught which, even to the extent of a needle’s eye, runneth counter to their selfish ways and desires, they will disdainfully reject it. Say, none can ever fathom the manifold exigencies of God’s consummate wisdom. In truth, were He to pronounce the earth to be heaven, no one hath the right to question His authority. This is that whereunto the Point of the Bayán hath testified in all that was sent down unto Him with truth at the behest of God, He Who hath caused the Dawn to break."
"The first Tajallí (Effulgences)
which hath dawned from the Daystar of Truth is the knowledge of God—exalted be His glory. And the knowledge of the King of everlasting days can in no wise be attained save by recognizing Him Who is the Bearer of the Most Great Name. He is, in truth, the Speaker on Sinai Who is now seated upon the throne of Revelation. He is the Hidden Mystery and the Treasured Symbol. All the former and latter Books of God are adorned with His praise and extol His glory. Through Him the standard of knowledge hath been planted in the world and the ensign of the oneness of God hath been unfurled amidst all peoples. Attainment unto the Divine Presence can be realized solely by attaining His presence. Through His potency everything that hath, from time immemorial, been veiled and hidden, is now revealed. He is made manifest through the power of Truth and hath uttered a Word whereby all that are in the heavens and on the earth have been dumbfounded, except those whom the Almighty was pleased to exempt. True belief in God and recognition of Him cannot be complete save by acceptance of that which He hath revealed and by observance of whatsoever hath been decreed by Him and set down in the Book by the Pen of Glory.
They that immerse themselves in the ocean of His utterances should at all times have the utmost regard for the divinely-revealed ordinances and prohibitions. Indeed His ordinances constitute the mightiest stronghold for the protection of the world and the safeguarding of its peoples—a light upon those who acknowledge and recognize the truth, and a fire unto such as turn away and deny."
"Tajallíyát (Effulgences)
This is the Epistle of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting
He is the One Who heareth from His Realm of Glory.
God testifieth that there is none other God but Him and that He Who hath appeared is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, the Most Great Book for all peoples, and the Heaven of bounty for the whole world. He is the Most Mighty Sign amongst men and the Dayspring of the most august attributes in the realm of creation. Through Him hath appeared that which had been hidden from time immemorial and been veiled from the eyes of men. He is the One Whose Manifestation was announced by the heavenly Scriptures, in former times and more recently. Whoso acknowledgeth belief in Him and in His signs and testimonies hath in truth acknowledged that which the Tongue of Grandeur uttered ere the creation of earth and heaven and the revelation of the Kingdom of Names. Through Him the ocean of knowledge hath surged amidst mankind and the river of divine wisdom hath gushed out at the behest of God, the Lord of Days.
Well is it with the man of discernment who hath recognized and perceived the Truth, and the one possessed of a hearing ear who hath hearkened unto His sweet Voice, and the hand that hath received His Book with such resolve as is born of God, the Lord of this world and of the next, and the earnest wayfarer who hath hastened unto His glorious Horizon, and the one endued with strength whom neither the overpowering might of the rulers, nor the tumult raised by the leaders of religion hath been able to shake. And woe betide him who hath rejected the grace of God and His bounty, and hath denied His tender mercy and authority; such a man is indeed reckoned with those who have throughout eternity repudiated the testimony of God and His proof.
Great is the blessedness of him who hath in this Day cast away the things current amongst men and hath clung unto that which is ordained by God, the Lord of Names and the Fashioner of all created things, He Who is come from the heaven of eternity through the power of the Most Great Name, invested with so invincible an authority that all the powers of the earth are unable to withstand Him. Unto this beareth witness the Mother Book, calling from the Most Sublime Station.
O ‘Alí-Akbar!We have repeatedly heard thy voice and have responded to thee with that which the praise of all mankind can never rival; from which the sincere ones inhale the sweet savors of the sayings of the All-Merciful, and His true lovers perceive the fragrance of heavenly reunion, and the sore athirst discover the murmuring of the water that is life indeed. Blessed the man who hath attained thereto and hath recognized that which is at this moment being diffused from the Pen of God, the Help in Peril, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.
We testify that thou hast set thy face towards God and traveled far until thou didst attain His presence and gavest ear unto the Voice of this Wronged One, Who hath been cast into prison through the misdeeds of those who have disbelieved in the signs and testimonies of God and have denied this heavenly grace through which the whole world hath been made to shine. Blessed thy face, for it hath turned unto Him, and thine ear, for it hath heard His Voice, and thy tongue, for it hath celebrated the praise of God, the Lord of lords. We pray God to graciously aid thee to become a standard for the promotion of His Cause and to enable thee to draw nigh unto Him at all times and under all conditions.
The chosen ones of God and His loved ones in that land are remembered by Us, and We give them the joyful tidings of that which hath been sent down in their honor from the Kingdom of the utterance of their Lord, the sovereign Ruler of the Day of Reckoning. Make mention of Me to them and illumine them with the resplendent glory of Mine utterance. Verily thy Lord is the Gracious, the Bountiful.
O thou who dost magnify My praise! Give ear unto that which the people of tyranny ascribe unto Me in My days. Some of them say: “He hath laid claim to divinity”; others say: “He hath devised a lie against God”; still others say: “He is come to foment sedition.” Base and wretched are they. Lo! They are, in truth, enslaved to idle imaginings.
We shall now cease using the eloquent language.Truly thy Lord is the Potent, the Unconstrained. We would fain speak in the Persian tongue that perchance the people of Persia, one and all, may become aware of the utterances of the merciful Lord, and come forth to discover the Truth."
"He is.
O thou who wert struck by the pain of separation after having attained thy goal! I am He Who doth not hesitate to create parting. I am He Who doth not fear to cause separation.
If thou wishest to know Me, know thou that I am He Who preventeth those who yearn after Me from attaining My holy presence and debarreth them from access to the seat of My throne. I am He Who consumeth the hearts of ardent lovers in the fire of separation and abandoneth them in the wilderness of the world. I am He Who answereth not when He is invoked and heedeth not when He is called to remembrance. I am He Who in His wealth heareth not the lamentations of the poor and in His glory regardeth not the weak and the wretched. Thus it is when I am seated on the throne of My name the All-Subduing.
But when I am established on the throne of My name the All-Merciful, I guide the wayward to the living waters of My presence and cause them to enter the paradise of reunion with Me, whence I shall never banish them. I am He Who admitteth the poor to the paradise of My wealth, and the weak beneath the tabernacle of My might, and the wretched to the city of Mine ancient glory. I am He Who answereth when He is invoked and remembereth when He is called to remembrance. From all eternity I have been the answerer of the prayers of the needy. I am He Who replieth ere He is petitioned and bestoweth gifts regardless of merit.
Such is My nature. I am He Who weepeth by reason of the tears of those who love Him, and Who draweth near unto those who approach Him. I have opened the portals of My grace unto all who are in heaven and on earth. Blessed are they that enter therein!
He is.
O thou who art present before My throne! I have heard thy cry and thy lamentation in thy separation from Me, and have grieved over what hath befallen thee in accordance with God’s inscrutable decree. We beseech God to enable thee to reach thy home. Verily, more merciful is He than all who show mercy."
~Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/969856770
"O thou who art the manifestation of My truth!
If thou art slumbering upon thy couch, lift up thy head; and if thou art seated, by the power of My name, arise; and if thou art standing, in thy yearning for My beauty, take flight; and if thou art in flight, through My sovereign might, ascend; and if thou art in ascent, by the majesty of My Cause, halt in the firmament of the Spirit. Open then thy lips in My name, the Opener. Move then thy tongue in My name, the Mover. Intone then My melodies and proclaim: O denizens of earth and heaven! By the one true God, verily, He Who is the Lord of Eternity hath appeared and shone forth above the horizon of creation through the power of His most lofty, His most exalted sovereignty."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/772182739
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| Hokusai |
"It is the concern of the True One to reveal, and the concern of men to spread what hath been revealed. He will, verily, promulgate His Cause by the hands of His scattering and well-favoured angels. Spiritual souls will assuredly emerge from behind the veil of divine protection who will gather together the tokens and verses of God and put them into the most excellent order. This is His sure and irrevocable decree."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/457295492
"In My previous Dispensation, the matter of successorship was totally obliterated from the Book of God. As all are aware, all that was revealed from the Pen of the All-Merciful was confined to the Letters and the Mirrors of the Bayán. Also, the number of Mirrors was not fixed."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/463283651
"Let someone say to Hádí:“If thou hadst been possessed of but a jot of understanding, thou wouldst testify that the references to that deceptive soulwere but a token of wisdom and in the interests of the Faith. Consider thou for a moment the beginning of these events, that haply thou mayest become aware of things veiled from the eyes of men, and be certain that, from the beginning, that soul had been as naught. It was with due regard for the good of the Cause and because of divine wisdom that there occurred what did transpire and was noised abroad.”
—Bahá’u’lláh
1 Mírzá Hádí Dawlat-Ábádí
2 Mírzá Yaḥyá
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
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"By God! This is He Who hath at one time appeared in the name of the Spirit,thereafter in the name of the Friend,then in the name of ‘Alí,and afterwards in this blessed, lofty, self-subsisting, exalted, and beloved Name. In truth, this is Ḥusayn, Who hath appeared through divine grace in the dominion of justice, against Whom have arisen the infidels, with what they possess of wickedness and iniquity. Thereupon they severed His head with the sword of malice, and lifted it upon a spear in the midst of earth and heaven. Verily, that head is speaking from atop that spear, saying: “O assemblage of shadows! Stand ashamed before My beauty, My might, My sovereignty, and My grandeur. Turn your gaze to the countenance of your Lord, the Unconstrained, so that ye may find Me crying out among you with holy and cherished melodies.”
—Bahá’u’lláh
1 Jesus Christ
2 Muhammad
3 the Báb
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/107788893
"As to the question thou hast asked concerning the minimum amount of property on which Ḥuqúq is payable, this was mentioned in His exalted and glorious presence and the following is what the Tongue of Grandeur uttered in reply: This matter was revealed in the Most Holy Book in conformity with the pronouncement in the Bayán. Later, however, as a token of wisdom on Our part, We laid down the ruling whereby the minimum amount of property liable to the payment of Ḥuqúq is fixed at Nineteen. The purpose underlying this law is to ensure that the General Treasury is strengthened in the future. Further details may be furnished later."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/221534068
"She was with this Servant for a time.She would not barter one moment’s meeting with this Youth for the sovereignty of this world and the next, nor for less than an instant did she wish for separation. However, that which hath been pre-ordained came to pass."
—Bahá’u’lláh
1 Ṭáhirih
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/549040854
"Blessed is he who in the prime of his youth and the heyday of his life will arise to serve the Cause of the Lord of the beginning and of the end, and adorn his heart with His love. The manifestation of such a grace is greater than the creation of the heavens and of the earth. Blessed are the steadfast and well is it with those who are firm."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/701490307
"He is the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.
Some of the peoples of the world have exerted the utmost effort to converse in their native tongues alone, considering this to be conducive to their exaltation and advancement, even as the people of Persia, who are adorned with the ornaments of talent and capacity, have sought to speak their ancient language and to purge it of all that is foreign. However, that which is pleasing in the sight of this Wronged One is that they should regard the whole earth as one country and strive, as hath been previously stated, to promote a single language or two so that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth and its inhabitants may receive their portion from the Sun of Knowledge and the Ocean of Wisdom.
That which is the cause of the unity of the world and its peoples hath flowed forth from the Pen of the Most High in divers Tablets. God grant that all men may be adorned with the ornament of fairness and enabled to observe justice that they may partake of the fruits of what hath been mentioned and bear witness unto that which hath been ordained by the one true God, exalted be His Glory. He is the One Who guideth, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.
Render thanks unto the Beloved of the world for having graciously aided thee and guided thee to that which lieth concealed from the eyes of most of the people. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved."
—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/564510086
"They tread the perilous paths of imitation and deprive themselves of the ways of true independence."
(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/805158078
..."Even as thou hast witnessed, in the day of the appearance of the Point of the Qur’án—may my soul be offered up for Him—the splendours of God’s manifold grace shone forth, clear and manifest, through that luminous Day-Star upon the whole of creation, and for a thousand years that heavenly grace was vouchsafed unto all lands and regions and unto the realities of all created things. And when that Dispensation drew to a close, those signs and splendours returned to the unseen realm.
And then, a new Day dawned and a wondrous light shone forth. The Morn of Oneness rose, and the Day-Star of the world gleamed bright. The Most Great Ocean surged, and its billowing waves mounted to the Concourse on high. The clouds of bounty gathered above, and the showers of mercy rained down. The light of truth appeared, and the way of guidance was made manifest. The glorious testimony was disclosed and the path of the All-Merciful Lord became plain and evident. Through the limitless grace of the Divine Springtime, the Abhá Paradise was made to adorn the Most Exalted Kingdom. The bounties, the splendours, the mysteries, the signs, the verses, and the proofs of this wondrous Light that hath hoisted its banners on this joyous Day shall remain in effect for five hundred thousand years.
By thy dear life, I have no time to write more; otherwise, I would have written a wondrous commentary, a mighty book, on this blessed verse. The glory of God rest upon thee."
(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 3)
www.bahai.org/r/968615904
... "I beseech and entreat the all-pervasive grace of the Most Bountiful Lord to grant that the hearts of His loved ones may become the repositories of divine inspiration and the daysprings of the effusions of His limitless bounty, so that, with the utmost harmony and fellowship, they may all be freed from the estrangement of the realm of vainglory and may associate with one another with perfect humility and lowliness. May no trace of self be detected from their conduct and manners, from their words and deeds. Man’s greatness lieth in humility, and his abiding glory is found in lowliness, self-effacement, and servitude to the servants of the Lord. This, verily, is the greatest attainment in this resplendent Day.
Thou hast asked concerning the blessed verse “From the heaven to the earth He ordereth all things, and hereafter shall they come up to Him on a day whose length shall be a thousand of such years as ye reckon.”149 By this “day” is meant the Day of the Great Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, for on that Day there shall appear such signs and events, such splendours and occurrences, marvels and wonders, truths and mysteries, precepts and writings, that the revelation of those splendours and signs cannot be contained even in fifty thousand years. Moreover, the precepts and laws, and the writings, teachings, and manifold bounties associated with that Day, which is none other than the “appointed time of a known day”,150 shall remain valid and binding for a full thousand years, nay for five hundred thousand years. Such a span of time is merely an approximation that alludeth to ages and centuries. And on that appointed Day, the outpourings of divine grace shall visibly descend from the kingdom of mercy and the heaven of oneness. And as such outpourings of grace cannot endure forever in this nether world, that glorious light must needs return to the luminous Star from whence it came, and those merciful showers that emanate from the liberal effusions of the sea of oneness must return, once again, to the Most Great Ocean." ...
(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 2)
www.bahai.org/r/508887715
"He is the All-Glorious, the Most Effulgent.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The opening of thy letter bore the words “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” What a call this was, for it caused my heart to leap with joy and my soul to tremble with delight. Glad-tidings encircled me on every side, my eyes were cheered, and my whole being breathed in the sweet savours of a garden of roses. This call, even as the melody of the Concourse on high, filled the soul of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with joy and rapture.
By Him Who hath illumined my face with the light of absolute servitude to His Holy Threshold! No melody can fill this yearning soul with such joy and rapture as the call of “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” And no sweet accents warbled by the birds of the orchards can thrill my heart with such delight as the dulcet tune of “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” This melody causeth my heart to leap with joy, and these wondrous words fill me with blissful rapture, but only on condition that this name be accompanied by no other epithets of praise, and paired with no other titles. The designation should be “‘Abdu’l-Bahá” alone for it to bestow boundless joy upon my heart and soul. This is my qualification and my station, this is my title and my glory, and this indeed is my highest aspiration throughout eternity.
Thou hast commended the beloved of the Lord, saying that they are fully occupied with worship and praise, are seizing the Cup of the Covenant, and, elated with joy at the banquet of the Lord, are unloosing their tongues in gratitude to the All-Merciful. This, indeed, is as it should be, for in this day there is no other path for the friends, and no other testimony for the pure in heart." ...
(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 1)
www.bahai.org/r/856354970
The fifth Ṭaráz concerneth the protection and preservation of the stations of God’s servants. One should not ignore the truth of any matter, rather should one give expression to that which is right and true. The people of Bahá should not deny any soul the reward due to him, should treat craftsmen with deference, and, unlike the people aforetime, should not defile their tongues with abuse.
