"I seek thy nearness, more desired than heaven in mine eyes; I see thy visage, fairer than the bowers of Paradise."

 

Chet © 2020 Chuck Egerton

"I undertook to write this epistle some time ago in thy remembrance, and, since thy letter had not reached Me yet, I began with a few words of grievance and reproach. Now, thy new missive hath dispelled that feeling and hath caused Me to send thee this letter. To speak of My love for thine eminence is needless. “Sufficient witness is God unto us.”¹³⁶

As for his eminence Shaykh Muḥammad—may God, the Exalted, bless him!—I shall confine Myself to the two following lines, which I request be delivered to him: 

I seek thy nearness, more desired than heaven in mine eyes; 

I see thy visage, fairer than the bowers of Paradise."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/538359564

136 Qur’án 4:166.

“O My servant! Obey Me, that I may make thee like unto Myself. For I say ‘Be’, and it is, and thou shalt say ‘Be’, and it shall be.”

 

"The first is His statement “O My servant! Obey Me, that I may make thee like unto Myself. For I say ‘Be’, and it is, and thou shalt say ‘Be’, and it shall be.” And the second: “O son of Adam! Seek fellowship with none until thou hast found Me, and whensoever thou shalt long for Me, thou shalt find Me nigh unto thee.” 
Whatever high proofs and wondrous allusions are recounted herein concern but a single letter and a single point. For such is God’s method, and no change canst thou find in His mode of dealing." ¹³⁵

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/259243560

 135 Cf. Qur’án 35:43, 48:23.

“God hath a people beneath the canopy of grandeur, whom He hath concealed in the garment of poverty to exalt in rank.”

 

Eliot Porter

"Astonishment here is highly prized, and utter poverty greatly cherished. Wherefore hath He said, “Poverty is My pride.”¹³² And again: “God hath a people beneath the canopy of grandeur, whom He hath concealed in the garment of poverty to exalt in rank.”¹³³ These are they who see with His eyes and hear with His ears, as hath been recorded in the well-known tradition.¹³⁴

Concerning this realm there is many a tradition and many a verse, whether of general or specific import, but two of these will suffice, that they may serve as a light for knowing hearts and bring delight to longing souls."

~Baha'u'llah

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/090752371

132 From a Ḥadíth.
133 From a Ḥadíth.
134 See the Seven Valleys, ¶ 44.

"No more than this will I impart to thee: The riverbed can never hold the sea."

 

"How clear this crystal water that the enraptured Cup-Bearer passeth round! How exquisite this pure wine that the intoxicated Beauty doth proffer! How pleasing this draught of joy that floweth from the Heavenly Cup! Well is it with him who drinketh thereof, and tasteth of its sweetness, and attaineth unto its knowledge. 

No more than this will I impart to thee:

The riverbed can never hold the sea.¹³¹

For its mystery lieth hid in the storehouses of His inviolable protection and is laid up in the treasuries of His power. It is exalted above the highest essence of utterance and sanctified beyond the subtlest mode of explanation."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/102640023

131 Rúmí.

“I have turned my face to Him Who hath created the heavens and the earth, following the right religion and submissive before God. I am not one of those who add gods to God.”

 

"This is the food whose savour changeth not and whose colour altereth not. Wert thou to partake thereof, thou wouldst assuredly recite the verse “I have turned my face to Him Who hath created the heavens and the earth, following the right religion and submissive before God. I am not one of those who add gods to God.”¹²⁹ “And thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth, that he might be stablished in knowledge.”¹³⁰ Wherefore, put thy hand into thy bosom, then stretch it forth with power, and behold, thou shalt find it a light unto all the world."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/276170266

129 Qur’án 6:79.
130 Qur’án 6:75.

"These are they that “know neither sun nor piercing cold”."

 

"Abiding in the court of rapture, the dwellers of this mansion wield with utmost joy and gladness the sceptres of divinity and lordship; and, established upon the lofty seats of justice, they exert their rule and bestow upon every soul its due. Those who drink of this cup abide beneath the canopy of glory, above the throne of the Ancient of Days, and dwell upon the seat of grandeur beneath the tabernacle of majesty. These are they that “know neither sun nor piercing cold”.¹²⁶

On this plane the highest heavens are neither opposed to, nor distinguished from, the lowly earth, for this is the realm of divine favours, not the arena of worldly contraries. Albeit at every moment a new condition be displayed, yet that condition is ever the same. Wherefore He saith in one instance, “Nothing whatsoever keepeth Him from being occupied with any other thing.”¹²⁷And in another He saith, “Verily, His ways differ every day.”¹²⁸

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/376933620

126 Qur’án 76:13.
127 A famous adage cited in many Islamic sources.
128 Qur’án 55:29.

“Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved.”

 

"This is the realm of pure awareness and utter self-effacement. Not even love can find a way to this plane, nor doth affection have a place therein. Wherefore is it said: “Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved.” Here love becometh but an obstructing veil, and aught save the Friend but a curtain. Thus the wise Saná’í hath written: 

None may approach that well-belov’d
Who harboreth his own desire;
None may embrace that beauteous form
Who’s burdened with his own attire.

For this is the realm of God and is sanctified above every allusion of His creatures."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/794820335