"Thou hast heard the sweet melodies of the Doves of Utterance cooing on the boughs of the Lote-Tree of knowledge."

"O Shaykh! Thou hast heard the sweet melodies of the Doves of Utterance cooing on the boughs of the Lote-Tree 1 of knowledge. Hearken, now, unto the notes of the Birds of Wisdom upraised in the Most Sublime Paradise. They verily will acquaint thee with things of which thou wert wholly unaware. Give ear unto that which the Tongue of Might and Power hath spoken in the Books of God, the Desire of every understanding heart. At this moment a Voice was raised from the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing, in the heart of the Most Sublime Paradise, bidding Me relate unto thee that which hath been sent down in the Books and Tablets, and the things spoken by My Forerunner, Who laid down His life for this Great Announcement, this Straight Path. He hath said—and He, verily, speaketh the truth: “I have written down in My mention of Him these gem-like words: ‘No allusion of Mine can allude unto Him, neither anything mentioned in the Bayán.’” And further, He—exalted and glorified be He—saith, concerning this most mighty Revelation, this Great Announcement: “Exalted and glorified is He above the power of any one to reveal Him except Himself, or the description of any of His creatures. I Myself am but the first servant to believe in Him and in His signs, and to partake of the sweet savors of His words from the first-fruits of the Paradise of His knowledge. Yea, by His glory! He is the Truth. There is none other God but Him. All have arisen at His bidding.” Such are the words sung by the Dove of Truth on the boughs of the Divine Lote-Tree. Well is it with him that hath given ear unto its Voice, and quaffed from the oceans of Divine utterance that lie concealed in each of these words. In another connection hath the Voice of the Bayán called aloud from the loftiest branches. He saith—blessed and glorified be He: “In the year nine ye will attain unto all good.” On another occasion He saith: “In the year nine ye will attain unto the Presence of God.” These melodies, uttered by the Birds of the cities of Knowledge, conform with that which hath been sent down by the All-Merciful in the Qur’án. Blessed are the men of insight; blessed they that attain thereunto."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 141-142


1. Lote Tree -"Sadratu'l-Muntahá" in Arabic. In the English translation of the Bahá'í Writings, the term sometimes appears translated and sometimes untranslated. The Lote Tree is "the tree beyond which there is no passing." In ancient times, the Arabs planted such a tree to mark the end of a road. In the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Lote Tree generally refers to the Manifestation of God. The implication is that the Manifestation of God occupies a station to which ordinary human beings can neither attain nor surpass.