"He is."

 

photo of frozen Greenland lake by Dina S. 

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!"

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/969856770

"Open then thy lips in My name, the Opener. Move then thy tongue in My name, the Mover."

 

photo by artist Thomas Eakins 1884

"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/114208718

"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."

 

"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

"Also, the number of Mirrors was not fixed."

photo by Trina G. 

"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

"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.”

 

Mirza Yahya

"Let someone say to Hádí:¹ “If thou hadst been possessed of but a jot of understanding, thou wouldst testify that the references to that deceptive soul² were 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)
www.bahai.org/r/451587047

“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.”

"By God! This is He Who hath at one time appeared in the name of the Spirit,¹ thereafter in the name of the Friend,² then in the name of ‘Alí,³ 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

"She would not barter one moment’s meeting with this Youth for the sovereignty of this world and the next ..."

 

portrait of Tahirih

"She was with this Servant for a time.¹ 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 ..."

 

photo by Margarete P.

"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

"Salutation and glory rest upon them that have stood fast in His Cause ..."

 

"Praise be to God, Who hath enabled us to recognize His own Self, bestowed upon us the knowledge of His Cause, set forth before us the path of truth and certitude, and revealed unto all created things that which beseemeth His unfailing grace. We render thanks unto Him under all conditions—such thanks as He Himself hath uttered in His Book and hath taught us as a token of His bountiful favour and sovereign might. Salutation and glory rest upon them that have stood fast in His Cause, spoken forth His praise, been privileged to hearken to His Call, set their faces towards the horizon of His grace, and drawn nigh unto the ocean of His mighty Name."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/125693204

"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 ..."

 

Symbol of the Greatest Name

"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

"Into every word that God doth speak a new spirit is breathed ..."

 

photo by Margarete P.

"For if God, glorified be His Name, should today speak a word that all people have spoken heretofore and shall speak hereafter, that word would still be new, were ye to reflect upon it. Consider the term “Divine Unity”, which the Manifestations of God have uttered in every Dispensation, a goodly term which all the divers peoples and kindreds of the world have spoken. Nevertheless, in each Dispensation, it hath been made new and hath in no wise been divested of its novel character. Into every word that God doth speak a new spirit is breathed, and the breezes of life are wafted therefrom upon all things both outwardly and inwardly."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/313265404

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation ..."

photo by Margarete P.

 

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation and deprive themselves of the ways of true independence."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/805158078

"Every tree uttered a word, and every leaf sang a melody."

 

photo by Trina G.

He is God. Glorified be He; Grandeur and Might are His.

On the morning of the blessed Friday, We proceeded from the Mansion and entered the Garden. Every tree uttered a word, and every leaf sang a melody. The trees proclaimed: “Behold the evidences of God’s Mercy”,^1. and the twin streams recited in the eloquent tongue the sacred verse “From us all things were made alive.” Glorified be God! Mysteries were voiced by them, which provoked wonderment: in which school were they educated, and from whose presence had they acquired their learning? Yea! This Wronged One knoweth and He saith: “From God, the All-Encompassing, the Self-Subsistent”.

Upon Our being seated, Ráḍíyih—upon her be My glory—attained Our presence on thy behalf, laid the table of God’s bounty, and in thy name extended hospitality to all present. In truth, all that which stimulateth the appetite and pleaseth the eye was offered,² and indeed that which delighteth the ear could also be heard as the leaves were stirred by the Will of God, and from this movement a refreshing voice was raised, as if uttering a blissful call inviting the absent to this Feast. God’s power and the perfection of His handiwork could enjoyably be seen in the blossoms, the fruits, the trees, the leaves, and the streams. Praised be God, Who hath thus confirmed thee and her.

In brief, all in the Garden were recipients of the choicest bounties and in the end expressed their thanksgiving unto their Lord. O that all God’s beloved had been present on this day!

We beseech God, exalted be He, to cause to descend upon thee, at every moment, a blessing and a mercy and a measure of divine grace from His presence. He is the Forgiving, the All-Glorious.

We send greetings to His loved ones, and supplicate for each one of them that which is worthy of mention and is acceptable in His presence. Peace be upon thee, and upon God’s sincere servants. Praise be to Him, the Lord of all mankind.^3 "

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/840516670

1.  Qur’án 30:50.2Cf. Qur’án 43:51.3Translation of the Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh which is framed and hanging in His room at the Riḍván Garden.

2. Cf. Qur’án 43:51.3Translation of the Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh which is framed and hanging in His room at the Riḍván Garden.

3. Translation of the Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh which is framed and hanging in His room at the Riḍván Garden.

"They that have been faithful unto the Covenant of God are accounted among the most exalted of all creatures before Him Who is the Eternal Truth, the Most High."

 

photo by Trina G.

"They that have been faithful unto the Covenant of God are accounted among the most exalted of all creatures before Him Who is the Eternal Truth, the Most High. They that have turned away therefrom are reckoned among the inmates of the nethermost fire in the sight of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/399531364

"Great is the station of him who hath in this Day perceived and become aware of the truth, and wretched is he who hath failed to comprehend the utterances of the Lord of wisdom and to recognize the newly arrived Friend in His new attire."

 

Venus and Comet, photo by Trina G.

"In the name of God, the All-Loving!

O Mihrábán! One of the friends hath evoked thy remembrance; thus have We remembered thee.

In this glorious Day, everything that can be seen is a witness and calleth all men unto the one true God. Say! This is the Day in which the sun of spiritual discernment is shining forth in the heaven of true understanding. Blessed is he that hath perceived and recognized it. Whatsoever was foretold in former times hath now been fulfilled.
Say, O friends! Suffer not yourselves to be far removed from the ocean of heavenly grace. He is come astonishingly near unto you. He Who had been concealed from men’s eyes is now come. How good is His coming! In one hand He is carrying the water of life, and in the other the charter of true liberty. Cast ye away one thing and take hold of another. Cast away whatsoever pertaineth to the world, and take firm hold of that which the hand of divine providence imparteth unto you. Lo, that which no eye hath ever beheld is now revealed. O friends! Hasten ye, hasten ye; hearken ye, hearken ye!

The deeds of the high priests have caused the people to be estranged from Almighty God. Instead of evincing self-denial, they have given themselves up to inordinate desires and strayed far from the path of the Lord God. They have grievously erred, yet fondly imagine themselves to be treading the right Path. We have, however, warned the leaders of religion and taken them to witness, that they might in this day solemnly affirm His truth and guide His creatures unto the Spirit of Purity.
Say, O high priests! Shake off your slumber, rouse yourselves from unconsciousness, incline your inner ears to the melody of the All-Sufficing, and conduct yourselves in a manner that beseemeth the Day of God Himself.

Great is the station of him who hath in this Day perceived and become aware of the truth, and wretched is he who hath failed to comprehend the utterances of the Lord of wisdom and to recognize the newly arrived Friend in His new attire.
Behold, the Ocean of true knowledge hath appeared, and the Day-Star of wisdom shineth resplendent. Incline your ears to the Voice of the Eternal Lord of Utterance and purge yourselves from whatsoever is deemed unseemly, that ye may become worthy to gain admittance into the court of your Creator. Say, in this Day the Almighty hath unloosed His tongue before the assemblage of men. It behoveth you to draw nigh unto Him and to grasp the truth of His weighty utterance. Indeed His utterance is a messenger that beareth the token of His presence. It delivereth you from darkness and guideth your steps unto the effulgent light of His glory.

Thy name was mentioned before Us, and We have remembered thee in Our Tablet. This remembrance is like unto a sapling that We have planted with the hand of loving-kindness. Erelong will it grow verdant and flourishing, laden with abundant fruits. Thus hath the Lord God ordained, and thus hath He shown the way. He is the Mighty, the Seeing, the Lord of Utterance and Wisdom."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/506062722

"Absolute meekness yieldeth many a result and beareth many a fruit."

 

Savannah Wall © Chuck Egerton 2024

"Gracious God! The people of God suffered themselves to be killed rather than kill. During the events that came to pass, they were the embodiments of utter meekness and even interceded on behalf of the murderers before the governor.¹ Yet the envy and hatred of the heedless only increased; this bountiful grace held no value in their eyes and brought forth no fruit or result. But on account of the meekness of the people of God and their lack of any aid or helper, he who is the possessor of armaments arose to redress the wrongs.² Absolute meekness yieldeth many a result and beareth many a fruit."

—Bahá’u’lláh

1 Reference to the events surrounding the martyrdom of Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍáy-i-Iṣfahání in ‘Ishqábád in 1889. The Bahá’í community interceded with the government on behalf of the murderers, and the Czar agreed to clemency for them. See The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf(www.bahai.org/r/684455299).

2 Reference to Czar Alexander III. The original contains a play on the words siláḥ(armaments) and iṣláḥ(redress the wrongs).

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/816802039

"Die, therefore, in your wrath, O people of oppression and ignorance!"

 

Remedios Varo

"The son of Naṣr Jím

In the name of God, the Most Mighty, the Most Powerful!

This is a Tablet from God unto him who hath been guided through the splendours of the Spirit and is of them that have believed and been led aright.

O servant! Say: “In the name of God, by God and in the name of our Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious!” Soar then upon the wings of true knowledge to the supreme Habitation, that thou mayest hear the melodies of God from the Divine Lote-Tree. Shouldst thou soar once more, thou wilt again hear that which the people of understanding have not heard. And shouldst thou find within thyself the power and the capacity, soar thou yet again, that thou mayest behold the revelations of thy Lord, and witness, shining upon thee, the splendours of the Countenance of God, the Most Mighty, the Most Exalted.

Say, verily He is at this moment calling aloud from His seat of effulgent glory to all creation through His sweet and wondrous melodies; beware lest ye tarry in these days. Tread ye the Straight Path by the leave of your Lord, the Merciful, and be not of them that have erred and strayed. Say, verily He hath been sent down once again from the heaven of Divine Decree and reciteth unto you His mighty verses. This is indeed better for you than the dominion of this world and of the next.

Say, O people! Will ye dispute with the Spirit concerning what He hath seen and witnessed,¹ after He hath proclaimed the truth in the heart of ‘Alí,² and before Him in the heart of Muḥammad and in the hearts of all Who have related the verses revealed unto Them by God, the Exalted, the Most High? Say, O people of the Bayán! Should ye arise together with all the inhabitants of the earth to lead astray but one of the loved ones of God, ye would fail to do so. Die, therefore, in your wrath, O people of oppression and ignorance!

As for thee, do thou sanctify thy soul from corrupt desires; enter, then, the realms on high and follow not them that fly upon the wings of evil passions. Be firm in the Cause of God and His religion, remember that which He hath endured at the hands of His enemies, and be not of the heedless and forgetful. Spirit and glory rest upon thee and upon them that have held fast to the Handle of God and have been guided by the light of sanctity."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/459004236

1 Cf. Qur’án 53:12.
2 The Báb.