Declaration of the Báb

“O Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the Tree of Thy divine Unity; water it then, O Lord, with the flowing waters of Thy good-pleasure, and cause it, before the revelations of Thy divine assurance, to yield such fruits as Thou desirest…”

“O Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the Tree of Thy divine Unity; water it then, O Lord, with the flowing waters of Thy good-pleasure, and cause it, before the revelations of Thy divine assurance, to yield such fruits as Thou desirest for Thy glorification and exaltation, Thy praise and thanksgiving, and to magnify Thy Name, to laud the oneness of Thine Essence and to offer adoration unto Thee, inasmuch as all this lieth within Thy grasp and in that of none other.”

“O Lord! Assist those who have renounced all else but Thee, and grant them a mighty victory. Send down upon them, O Lord, the concourse of the angels in heaven and earth and all that is between, to aid Thy servants, to succor and strengthen…”

“O Lord! Assist those who have renounced all else but Thee, and grant them a mighty victory. Send down upon them, O Lord, the concourse of the angels in heaven and earth and all that is between, to aid Thy servants, to succor and strengthen them, to enable them to achieve success, to sustain them, to invest them with glory, to confer upon them honor and exaltation, to enrich them and to make them triumphant with a wondrous triumph.”

“Thou art their Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of all the worlds. Strengthen this Faith, O Lord, through the power of these servants and cause them to prevail over all the peoples of the world; for they, of a truth, ar…”

“Thou art their Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of all the worlds. Strengthen this Faith, O Lord, through the power of these servants and cause them to prevail over all the peoples of the world; for they, of a truth, are Thy servants who have detached themselves from aught else but Thee, and Thou verily art the protector of true believers.”

“Verily I am Thy servant, O my God, and Thy poor one and Thy suppliant and Thy wretched creature. I have arrived at Thy gate, seeking Thy shelter. I have found no contentment save in Thy love, no exultation except in Thy remembrance, no eage…”

“Verily I am Thy servant, O my God, and Thy poor one and Thy suppliant and Thy wretched creature. I have arrived at Thy gate, seeking Thy shelter. I have found no contentment save in Thy love, no exultation except in Thy remembrance, no eagerness but in obedience to Thee, no joy save in Thy nearness, and no tranquillity except in reunion with Thee, notwithstanding that I am conscious that all created things are debarred from Thy sublime Essence and the entire creation is denied access to Thine inmost Being. Whenever I attempt to approach Thee, I perceive nothing in myself but the tokens of Thy grace and behold naught in my being but the revelations of Thy loving-kindness. How can one who is but Thy creature seek reunion with Thee and attain unto Thy presence, whereas no created thing can ever be associated with Thee, nor can aught comprehend Thee? How is it possible for a lowly servant to recognize Thee and to extol Thy praise, notwithstanding that Thou hast destined for him the revelations of Thy dominion and the wondrous testimonies of Thy sovereignty? Thus every created thing beareth witness that it is debarred from the sanctuary of Thy presence by reason of the limitations imposed upon its inner reality. It is undisputed, however, that the influence of Thine attraction hath everlastingly been inherent in the realities of Thy handiwork, although that which beseemeth the hallowed court of Thy providence is exalted beyond the attainment of the entire creation. This indicateth, O my God, my utter powerlessness to praise Thee and revealeth my utmost impotence in yielding thanks unto Thee; and how much more to attain the recognition of Thy divine unity or to succeed in reaching the clear tokens of Thy praise, Thy sanctity and Thy glory. Nay, by Thy might, I yearn for naught but Thine Own Self and seek no one other than Thee.”

“Lauded and glorified is He Who is the sovereign Lord of the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them. Say, verily unto Him shall all return, and He is the One Who guideth at His Own behest whomsoever He pleaseth. Say, all m…”

“Lauded and glorified is He Who is the sovereign Lord of the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them. Say, verily unto Him shall all return, and He is the One Who guideth at His Own behest whomsoever He pleaseth. Say, all men beseech His blessings and He is supreme over all created things. He is indeed the All-Glorious, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved. This is an epistle from the letter Thá unto him who is the First Believer. Bear thou witness that verily He is I, Myself, the Sovereign, the Omnipotent. He is the One Who ordaineth life and death and unto Him shall all return. Indeed there is none other God but Him and all men bow down in adoration before Him. Verily Thy Lord, God, shall presently recompense every one as He ordaineth, even swifter than uttering the words “Be thou, and it is.” God hath in truth testified in His Book and so also have testified the company of His angels, His Messengers and those endued with divine knowledge, that thou hast believed in God and in His signs and that everyone is guided aright by virtue of thy guidance. This is indeed a boundless grace which God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, hath graciously conferred upon thee aforetime and will confer hereafter. And since thou didst believe in God before the creation, He hath in truth, at His own behest, raised thee up in every Revelation. There is no God but Him, the Sovereign Protector, the All-Glorious. It behooveth you to proclaim the Cause of God unto all created things as a token of grace from His presence; no God is there but Him, the Most Generous, the All-Compelling. Say: All matters must be referred to the Book of God; I am indeed the First to believe in God and in His signs; I am the One Who divulgeth and proclaimeth the Truth and I have been invested with every excellent title of God, the Mighty, the Incomparable. Verily I have attained the Day of the First Manifestation and by the bidding of the Lord and as a token of His grace, I shall attain the Day of the Latter Manifestation. There is no God but Him and at the appointed hour everyone shall bow down unto Him in adoration. I render thanks and yield praise unto God for having been chosen by Him as the Exponent of His Cause in bygone days and in the days to come; there is none other God save Him, the Glorified, the All-Praised, the Ever-Abiding. Whatever is in the heavens and on the earth is His and through Him are we guided aright. O people of the Bayán! Those who embrace the Truth must turn unto Me, as ordained in the Book and divine guidance will be vouchsafed to whosoever attaineth My presence.”

“Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Every time I am reminded of Thee and muse on Thy virtues, I am seized with such ecstasies and am so enravished by Thee that I find myself unable to make mention of Thy name and to extol Thee. I am carried b…”

“Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Every time I am reminded of Thee and muse on Thy virtues, I am seized with such ecstasies and am so enravished by Thee that I find myself unable to make mention of Thy name and to extol Thee. I am carried back to such heights that I recognize my self to be the same as the remembrance of Thee in Thy realm, and the essence of Thy praise among Thy servants. As long as that self endureth, so long will Thy praise continue to be shed abroad among Thy creatures and Thy remembrance glorified by Thy people. Every man endued with insight among Thy servants is persuaded that my self liveth eternally and can never perish, inasmuch as remembrance of Thee is eternal and will endure so long as Thine own Self endureth, and Thy praise is everlasting and will last as long as Thine own sovereignty will last. By its means Thou art glorified by such of Thy chosen ones as call upon Thee and by the sincere among Thy servants. Nay, the praise wherewith any one, in the entire creation, praiseth Thee proceedeth from this exalted self and returneth unto it, even as the sun which, while it shineth, sheddeth its splendour upon whatsoever may be exposed to its rays. From this sun is generated, and unto it must return, the light which is shed over all things. Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou above any attempt to measure the greatness of Thy Cause, above any comparison that one may seek to make, above the efforts of the human tongue to utter its import! From everlasting Thou hast existed, alone with no one else beside Thee, and wilt, to everlasting, continue to remain the same, in the sublimity of Thine essence and the inaccessible heights of Thy glory. And when Thou didst purpose to make Thyself known unto men, Thou didst successively reveal the Manifestations of Thy Cause, and ordained each to be a sign of Thy Revelation among Thy people, and the Day-Spring of Thine invisible Self amidst Thy creatures, until the time when, as decreed by Thee, all Thy previous Revelations culminated in Him Whom Thou hast appointed as the Lord of all who are in the heaven of revelation and the kingdom of creation, Him Whom Thou hast established as the Sovereign Lord of all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth. He it was Whom Thou hast determined to be the Herald of Thy Most Great Revelation and the Announcer of Thy Most Ancient Splendour. In this Thou hadst no other purpose except to try them who have manifested Thy most excellent titles unto all who are in heaven and on earth. He it was Whom Thou hast commanded to establish His covenant with all created things. And when Thy promise came to pass and the set time was fulfilled, He Who is the Possessor of all Names and Attributes was made manifest unto men. Thereupon all that were in the heavens and all that were on the earth were terror-stricken save those whom Thou didst keep under Thy protection and preserve within the shelter of Thy power and gracious providence. There befell Him, at the hands of such of Thy creatures as have transgressed against Thee, that which the tongue of no one of Thy servants can recount. Look down, then, upon Him, O my God, with the eye of Thy tender mercy, and send down upon Him and upon those that love Him all the good Thou didst ordain in the heaven of Thy will and the Tablet of Thy decree. Aid them, then, with Thy succour, for Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the All-Compelling.”

“Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants and all abide by His bidding! Footnotes 1.This is the first letter of ‘Thamárih’ which means ‘fruit’. Shoghi Effendi, in…”

“Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants and all abide by His bidding! Footnotes 1.This is the first letter of ‘Thamárih’ which means ‘fruit’. Shoghi Effendi, in his writings, refers to the Báb as the ‘Thamárih’ (fruit) of the Tree of God’s successive Revelations. (See Shoghi Effendi’s letter to the Bahá’ís of the East dated Naw-Rúz 110, page 5.)2.In one of His Tablets ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains that some were misled by this statement and thought that the school referred to was a physical school for the training of unlettered children, whereas it referred to a spiritual school sanctified from the limits of the contingent world. Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas also refers to this Epistle of the Báb in the following words: O Thou Supreme Pen! Move over the Tablet by the leave of Thy Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Call Thou then to mind the day when the Fountainhead of divine unity sought to attend the school which is sanctified of all save God, that perchance the righteous might become acquainted, to the extent of a needle’s eye, with that which is concealed behind the veil of the inner mysteries of Thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Say, We, in truth, entered the school of inner meaning and exposition at a time when the minds of all that dwell on earth were wrapt in heedlessness. We beheld what the Merciful Lord had revealed, accepted the gift He [the Báb] had offered Me of the verses of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and hearkened to that to which He had attested in the Tablet. We, verily, are the Witness. We responded to His call at Our Own behest, and We are, in truth, the Ordainer. O people of the Bayán! We entered the School of God when ye were slumbering on your couches, and perused the Tablet when ye were fast asleep. By the righteousness of God, the True One, We had read it before it was revealed, and ye were utterly unaware. Indeed Our knowledge had encompassed the Book when ye were yet unborn. These utterances are revealed according to your measure, not to God’s, and unto this beareth witness that which is enshrined in the knowledge of God, did ye but know. Unto this testifieth He Who is the Mouthpiece of God, could ye but understand. By the righteousness of God! Were We to lift the veil ye would swoon away. Take heed lest ye dispute with Him and His Cause. He hath indeed appeared in such wise as to encompass all things, whether of the past or of the future. Were We to speak forth at this time in the language of the dwellers of the Kingdom, We would say that God raised up this School ere the earth and the heavens were brought into being, and We entered it before the letters ‘B’ and ‘E’ were joined and knit together. 3.1260 A.H. (1844 A.D.)4.Qur’án 8:445.The numerical value of the letters of the word Ḥin is 68. The year 1268 A.H. (1851–1852 A.D.) is the year preceding the birth of the Bahá’í Revelation.6.The Ka’bah in Mecca7.cf. Qur’án 4:1198.Qur’án 139.Qur’án 3:18210.cf. Qur’án 19:4111.cf. Qur’án 17:9012.cf. Qur’án 2:28513.cf. Qur’án 3:5014.cf. Qur’án 14:415.cf. Qur’án 68:4216.cf. Qur’án 7:63, 6917.cf. Qur’án 36:6818.cf. Qur’án 65:7; 94:519.cf. Qur’án 8:4520.cf. Qur’án 2:20421.cf. Qur’án 4:5122.In these passages of the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá the name Qurratu’l-‘Ayn (Solace of the Eyes) refers to the Báb Himself.23.cf. Qur’án 12:2024.cf. Qur’án 78:3825.cf. Qur’án 11:8326.cf. Qur’án 24:2127.cf. Qur’án 83:25–2628.Qur’án 52:629.cf. Qur’án 29:4030.cf. Qur’án 2:20631.cf. Qur’án 2:163–16432.cf. Qur’án 17:8833.cf. Qur’án 74:35–3734.cf. Qur’án 21:4035.cf. Qur’án 2:1436.cf. Qur’án 4:14937.cf. Qur’án 9:3238.cf. Qur’án 4:16939.Qur’án 5:7740.cf. Qur’án 5:15–1841.cf. Qur’án 5:2242.cf. Qur’án 5:7143.cf. Qur’án 2:32; 38:74–7844.cf. Qur’án 7:69; 12:4045.cf. Qur’án 7:146; 20:9046.cf. Qur’án 7:18647.cf. Qur’án 4:148.cf. Qur’án 10:5049.cf. Qur’án 10:1650.cf. Qur’án 10:3351.cf. Qur’án 18:4252.cf. Qur’án 11:12053.cf. Qur’án 6:1054.cf. Qur’án 3:17255.cf. Qur’án 33:7256.cf. Qur’án 6:9357.cf. Qur’án 11:8758.The Bayán is divided into vahíds and chapters, to which these numbers refer.59.Qur’án 8:47; 33:41; 62:1060.Qur’án 29:5061.Qur’án 57:2162.In The Promised Day is Come on page 7 Shoghi Effendi affirms that this passage was revealed by the Báb speaking with the voice of God.63.This is a reference to Quddús, ‘whom the Persian Bayán extolled as that fellow-pilgrim round whom mirrors to the number of eight Vahíds revolve’. (God Passes By, p. 49).64.Qur’án 8:265.Qur’án 19:9266.22 May 184467.From the Declaration of Muḥammad; this occurred ten years before the Hijrah which marks the starting point of the Muslim calendar.68.Qur’án 3:569.Qur’án 68:5170.By ‘night’ is meant the period between two divine Revelations when the Sun of Truth is not manifest among men. In the Persian Bayán, II, 7, the Báb says, ‘O people of the Bayán! Act not as the people of the Qur’án have acted, for if you do so the fruits of your night will come to naught’.71.The Kitáb-i-Asmá’ is divided into vahíds and chapters, to which these numbers refer.72.By ‘night’ is meant the period between two divine Revelations when the Sun of Truth is not manifest among men. In the Persian Bayán, II, 7, the Báb says, ‘O people of the Bayán! Act not as the people of the Qur’án have acted, for if you do so the fruits of your night will come to naught’.73.By ‘night’ is meant the period between two divine Revelations when the Sun of Truth is not manifest among men. In the Persian Bayán, II, 7, the Báb says, ‘O people of the Bayán! Act not as the people of the Qur’án have acted, for if you do so the fruits of your night will come to naught’.74.He Who ariseth (God Passes By, p. 57)75.One Who is guided (God Passes By, p. 58)76.The original of this prayer for protection is written in the Báb’s own hand, in the form of a pentacle.77.Refers to the Báb’s birthday on the first day of the month of Muharram, 1235 A.H. (October 20, 1819).78.Qur’án 37:180–18279.Qur’án 6:103”

“He is God, the Sovereign Ruler, the Ever-Living, He Whose help all men implore. Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord! Both the world of existence and the souls of men bear witness that Thou art transcendent above the revelations of T…”

“He is God, the Sovereign Ruler, the Ever-Living, He Whose help all men implore. Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord! Both the world of existence and the souls of men bear witness that Thou art transcendent above the revelations of Thy handiwork, and the bearers of Thy names and attributes proclaim that Thou art immeasurably exalted above such praise as the dwellers of the dominions of creation and invention may render unto Thee. All appearances and realities indicate the oneness of Thine Essence, and all evidences and signs reflect the truth that Thou art God and there is no peer or partner for Thee throughout the kingdoms of heaven and earth. Immensely high and sanctified art Thou, O Lord! Thy divine Being testifieth that Thou art inscrutable to all that dwell in Thy realm of existence, and Thine inmost Essence proclaimeth that Thou art far above the description of those who reveal Thy glory. The signs which the sanctified essences reveal and the words which the exalted realities express and the allusions manifested by the ethereal entities all proclaim that Thou art immeasurably exalted above the reach of the embodiments of the realm of being, and all solemnly affirm that Thou art immensely high above the description of such as are wrapt in the veils of fancy. Praise be unto Thee, O Lord! Thy divine Being is a sure testimony of the oneness of Thine inmost Essence and Thy supreme divinity beareth witness to the unity of Thy Self, and the realities of all created things testify that no tie of intercourse bindeth Thee to anything in the kingdom of creation which Thou hast fashioned. Every man of perception who hath scaled the noble heights of detachment, and every man of eloquence who hath attained the most sublime station, beareth witness that Thou art God, the Incomparable, and that Thou hast assigned no associate unto Thyself in the kingdom of creation, nor is there anyone to compare with Thee in the realm of invention. Men of wisdom, who had but a notion of the revelation of Thy glory, conceived a likeness of Thee according to their own understanding, and men of erudition, who had gained but a glimpse of the manifold evidences of Thy loving-kindness and glory, have contrived peers for Thee in conformity with their own imaginations. Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O Lord! Every man of insight is far astray in his attempt to recognize Thee, and every man of consummate learning is sore perplexed in his search after Thee. Every evidence falleth short of Thine unknowable Essence and every light retreateth and sinketh below the horizon when confronted with but a glimmer of the dazzling splendour of Thy might. Bestow on me, O my Lord, Thy gracious bounty and benevolent gifts and grant me that which beseemeth the sublimity of Thy glory. Aid me, O my Lord, to achieve a singular victory. Open Thou the door of unfailing success before me and grant that the things Thou hast promised may be close at hand. Thou art in truth potent over all things. Refresh my heart, O my God, with the living waters of Thy love and give me a draught, O my Master, from the chalice of Thy tender mercy. Let me abide, O my Lord, within the habitation of Thy glory, and suffer me, O my God, to emerge from the darkness in which Thy divine obscurity is shrouded. Enable me to partake of every good Thou hast vouchsafed unto Him Who is the Point and unto such as are the exponents of His Cause, and ordain for me that which beseemeth Thee and well becometh Thy station. Do Thou graciously forgive me for the things that I have wrought in Thy holy presence, and look not upon me with the glance of justice, but rather deliver me through Thy grace, treat me with Thy mercy and deal with me according to Thy bountiful favours, as is worthy of Thy glory. Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Glorious, the Bestower of favours and gifts, the Lord of grace abounding. Verily no God is there but Thee. Thou art the All-Possessing, the Most High. Sanctified art Thou, O Lord, Thou unto Whom all render thanksgiving. Whatever I may affirm of Thee would be but a wanton crime before Thee, and whatever mention I may choose to make of Thee would be the essence of transgression, and whatever the praise whereby I may glorify Thee, it would amount to sheer blasphemy. No one else besides Thee hath been or will ever be able to fathom Thy mystery, neither hath any one succeeded nor will anyone succeed at any time in discovering Thine Essence. Magnified art Thou! No God is there but Thee. Thou art in truth the Supreme Ruler, the Help in Peril, the Most High, the Incomparable, the Omnipotent, the All-Powerful. Verily Thou art mighty in Thy prowess, the Lord of transcendent glory and majesty. Protect Thou, O God, whosoever learneth this prayer by heart and reciteth it in the day-time and in the night season. Verily Thou art God, the Lord of creation, the All-Sufficing. Thou art faithful to Thy promise and doest whatsoever Thou pleasest. Thou art the One Who holdeth in His hands the dominions of earth and heaven. Verily Thou art the Almighty, the Inaccessible, the Help in Peril, the All-Compelling.”

“Thou art God, no God is there but Thee. Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art supreme over the realm of being and Thy power pervadeth all created things. Thou holdest the kingdom of creation within Thy grasp and dost…”

“Thou art God, no God is there but Thee. Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art supreme over the realm of being and Thy power pervadeth all created things. Thou holdest the kingdom of creation within Thy grasp and dost call into being in conformity with Thy pleasure. All praise be unto Thee, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by such souls as are eagerly waiting at Thy gate and by those holy beings who have attained the court of Thy presence, to cast upon us the glances of Thy tender compassion and to regard us with the eye of Thy loving providence. Cause our souls to be enkindled with the fire of Thy tender affection and give us to drink of the living waters of Thy bounty. Keep us steadfast in the path of Thine ardent love and enable us to abide within the precincts of Thy holiness. Verily Thou art the Giver, the Most Generous, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Glorified art Thou, O my God! I invoke Thee by Thy Most Great Name through which the hidden secrets of God, the Most Exalted, were divulged and the kindreds of all nations converged toward the focal centre of faith and certitude, through which Thy luminous Words streamed forth for the quickening of mankind and the essence of all knowledge was revealed from that Embodiment of bounty. May my life, my inmost being, my soul and my body be offered up as a sacrifice for the dust ennobled by His footsteps. I earnestly beg Thee, O Lord my God, by Thy most glorious Name whereby Thy sovereignty hath been established and the tokens of Thy might have been manifested, and whereby the oceans of life and of holy ecstasy have surged for the reviving of the mouldering bones of all Thy creatures and for the stirring of the limbs of such as have embraced Thy Cause—I earnestly beg Thee to graciously ordain for us the good of this world and of the next, to enable us to gain admission into the court of Thy mercy and loving-kindness and to kindle in our hearts the fire of joy and ecstasy in such wise that the hearts of all men may thereby be attracted. Verily Thou art the All-Powerful, the Protector, the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.”

“O My God! There is no one but Thee to allay the anguish of my soul, and Thou art my highest aspiration, O my God. My heart is wedded to none save Thee and such as Thou dost love. I solemnly declare that my life and death are both for The…”

“O My God! There is no one but Thee to allay the anguish of my soul, and Thou art my highest aspiration, O my God. My heart is wedded to none save Thee and such as Thou dost love. I solemnly declare that my life and death are both for Thee. Verily Thou art incomparable and hast no partner. O my Lord! I beg Thee to forgive me for shutting myself out from Thee. By Thy glory and majesty, I have failed to befittingly recognize Thee and to worship Thee, while Thou dost make Thyself known unto me and callest me to remembrance as beseemeth Thy station. Grievous woe would betide me, O my Lord, wert Thou to take hold of me by reason of my misdeeds and trespasses. No helper do I know of other than Thee. No refuge do I have to flee to save Thee. None among Thy creatures can dare to intercede with Thyself without Thy leave. I hold fast to Thy love before Thy court, and, according to Thy bidding, I earnestly pray unto Thee as befitteth Thy glory. I beg Thee to heed my call as Thou hast promised me. Verily Thou art God; no God is there but Thee. Alone and unaided, Thou art independent of all created things. Neither can the devotion of Thy lovers profit Thee, nor the evil doings of the faithless harm Thee. Verily Thou art my God, He Who will never fail in His promise. O my God! I beseech Thee by the evidences of Thy favour, to let me draw nigh to the sublime heights of Thy holy presence, and protect me from inclining myself toward the subtle allusions of aught else but Thee. Guide my steps, O my God, unto that which is acceptable and pleasing to Thee. Shield me, through Thy might, from the fury of Thy wrath and chastisement, and hold me back from entering habitations not desired by Thee.”

“The prayer here preserved is among the small body of devotional texts revealed by the Báb during His confinement in the mountain fortress of Máh-Kú in the extreme northwest of Persia, where He was held under the warden 'Alí Khán from the…”

“The prayer here preserved is among the small body of devotional texts revealed by the Báb during His confinement in the mountain fortress of Máh-Kú in the extreme northwest of Persia, where He was held under the warden 'Alí Khán from the summer of 1847 through the early months of 1848. The fortress at Máh-Kú stands on a sheer rock face above a small village near the Turkish border. The cell to which the Báb was confined was small, exposed to the bitter cold of the mountain winters and the harsh heat of the summers, and was intended by the Persian government to function as the maximum-security removal of the Báb from any contact with His followers. The intention failed. Friends and pilgrims found their way to the small village below the fortress; the warden 'Alí Khán, by the alchemy that the Báb's own person seems to have worked in those who guarded Him, became gradually so attached to his prisoner that he allowed the friends to approach freely; and the Báb, in the eight months of His confinement at Máh-Kú, revealed the bulk of the *Persian Bayán,* a substantial body of Tablets, and a number of prayers of which the present is among the simplest and most luminous. > Glorified art Thou, O Lord, my God! I yield Thee thanks that > Thou hast made known unto me Him Who is the Manifestation of > Thy Self. The opening sentence sets the prayer's posture. The Báb, imprisoned by the Persian state, gives thanks for the visible appearance of *Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy Self* — the Promised One whose advent the Báb had announced and whose fuller appearance He had also foretold. The prayer continues through several stations of remembrance: the soul's longing for the Beloved; the Manifestation's role as the meeting-place of God and the human soul; the believer's commitment to obey the Manifestation's commands and to serve the Manifestation's Cause through every trial. The prayer closes, in the manner of many of the Báb's devotional pieces, with a small petition for personal steadfastness: that the soul may not be shaken by the storms of the time; that the love kindled by the recognition may deepen into the strength to endure whatever is to come. The Báb Himself would, within two years of the prayer's revelation, be martyred in the public square of Tabríz on the 9th of July 1850. The prayer, surviving Him, has remained among the small devotional treasures of the Bahá'í community through the long century and a half since its first revelation in the prison of Máh-Kú.”

“All majesty and glory, O my God, and all dominion and light and grandeur and splendour be unto Thee. Thou bestowest sovereignty on whom Thou willest and dost withhold it from whom Thou desirest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Possessi…”

“All majesty and glory, O my God, and all dominion and light and grandeur and splendour be unto Thee. Thou bestowest sovereignty on whom Thou willest and dost withhold it from whom Thou desirest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Possessing, the Most Exalted. Thou art He Who createth from naught the universe and all that dwell therein. There is nothing worthy of Thee except Thyself, while all else but Thee are as outcasts in Thy holy presence and are as nothing when compared to the glory of Thine Own Being. Far be it from me to extol Thy virtues save by what Thou hast extolled Thyself in Thy weighty Book where Thou sayest, ‘No vision taketh in Him but He taketh in all vision. He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving.’79 Glory be unto Thee, O my God, indeed no mind or vision, however keen or discriminating, can ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of Thy signs. Verily Thou art God, no God is there besides Thee. I bear witness that Thou Thyself alone art the sole expression of Thine attributes, that the praise of no one besides Thee can ever attain to Thy holy court nor can Thine attributes ever be fathomed by anyone other than Thyself. Glory be unto Thee, Thou art exalted above the description of anyone save Thyself, since it is beyond human conception to befittingly magnify Thy virtues or to comprehend the inmost reality of Thine Essence. Far be it from Thy glory that Thy creatures should describe Thee or that any one besides Thyself should ever know Thee. I have known Thee, O my God, by reason of Thy making Thyself known unto me, for hadst Thou not revealed Thyself unto me, I would not have known Thee. I worship Thee by virtue of Thy summoning me unto Thee, for had it not been for Thy summons I would not have worshipped Thee. Lauded art Thou, O my God, my trespasses have waxed mighty and my sins have assumed grievous proportions. How disgraceful my plight will prove to be in Thy holy presence. I have failed to know Thee to the extent Thou didst reveal Thyself unto me; I have failed to worship Thee with a devotion worthy of Thy summons; I have failed to obey Thee through not treading the path of Thy love in the manner Thou didst inspire me. Thy might beareth me witness, O my God, what befitteth Thee is far greater and more exalted than any being could attempt to accomplish. Indeed nothing can ever comprehend Thee as is worthy of Thee nor can any servile creature worship Thee as beseemeth Thine adoration. So perfect and comprehensive is Thy proof, O my God, that its inner essence transcendeth the description of any soul and so abundant are the outpourings of Thy gifts that no faculty can appraise their infinite range. O my God! O my Master! I beseech Thee by Thy manifold bounties and by the pillars which sustain Thy throne of glory, to have pity on these lowly people who are powerless to bear the unpleasant things of this fleeting life, how much less then can they bear Thy chastisement in the life to come—a chastisement which is ordained by Thy justice, called forth by Thy wrath and will continue to exist for ever. I beg Thee by Thyself, O my God, my Lord and my Master, to intercede in my behalf. I have fled from Thy justice unto Thy mercy. For my refuge I am seeking Thee and such as turn not away from Thy path, even for a twinkling of an eye—they for whose sake Thou didst create the creation as a token of Thy grace and bounty.”

“Glory be to Thee, O God! Thou art the God Who hath existed before all things, Who will exist after all things and will last beyond all things. Thou art the God Who knoweth all things, and is supreme over all things. Thou art the God Who…”

“Glory be to Thee, O God! Thou art the God Who hath existed before all things, Who will exist after all things and will last beyond all things. Thou art the God Who knoweth all things, and is supreme over all things. Thou art the God Who dealeth mercifully with all things, Who judgeth between all things and Whose vision embraceth all things. Thou art God my Lord, Thou art aware of my position, Thou dost witness my inner and outer being. Grant Thy forgiveness unto me and unto the believers who responded to Thy Call. Be Thou my sufficing helper against the mischief of whosoever may desire to inflict sorrow upon me or wish me ill. Verily Thou art the Lord of all created things. Thou dost suffice everyone, while no one can be self-sufficient without Thee.”

“He is the All-Glorious. This is the garden of Paradise, wherein arise the anthems of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting; wherein ascend the soul-entrancing melodies warbled by the Nightingale of Eternity upon the twigs of the Divin…”

“He is the All-Glorious. This is the garden of Paradise, wherein arise the anthems of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting; wherein ascend the soul-entrancing melodies warbled by the Nightingale of Eternity upon the twigs of the Divine Lote-Tree; wherein abide the Maids of Heaven whom none hath touched save God, the All-Glorious, the Most Holy; and wherein lieth enshrined that which draweth the needy to the shores of the ocean of true wealth and guideth the people to the Word of God. And this, verily, is naught but the manifest truth. By Thy name “He”! Verily Thou art “He”, O Thou Who art “He”! O Monk of the Divine Unity! Ring out the bell, for the Day of the Lord is come and the Beauty of the All-Glorious hath ascended His blessed and resplendent throne. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Húd, Prophet of the Divine Decree! Sound the clarion in the name of God, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful, for the Temple of holiness hath been established upon the seat of supernal glory. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Countenance of immortality! Pluck with the fingers of the spirit the sacred and wondrous strings, for the Beauty of the Divine Essence hath appeared, arrayed in a silken vesture of light. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Angel of light! Sound a blast upon the trumpet at the advent of this Revelation, for the letter Há’ hath been joined to the letter of ancient glory. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Nightingale of heaven! Warble upon the boughs of this celestial garden in the name of the Beloved, for the beauty of the Rose hath appeared from behind an impenetrable veil. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Songster of Paradise! Trill out upon the twigs in these wondrous days, for God hath cast His effulgent rays upon all created things. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Bird of eternity! Soar aloft in these heights, for the Bird of faithfulness hath soared in the atmosphere of divine nearness. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O denizens of Paradise! Sing out and chant in the sweetest of tones, for the melody of God hath been raised within the Tabernacle of matchless sanctity. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O inmates of the Kingdom! Intone the name of the Beloved, for the beauty of His Cause hath shone forth from behind the veils, adorned with a luminous spirit. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O dwellers of the kingdom of names! Bedeck the furthest reaches of heaven, for the Most Great Name is come, riding upon the clouds of transcendent majesty. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O inhabitants of the Dominion of divine attributes in the Realm of Glory! Make ready to enter the presence of God, for the soft breezes of holiness have wafted from the sanctuary of the Divine Essence, and this, verily, is a conspicuous bounty. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O paradise of the Divine Unity! Rejoice within thyself, for the paradise of God, the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, hath appeared. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O heaven of grandeur! Render thanks unto God within thine inmost being, for the heaven of holiness hath been upraised in the firmament of a heart of stainless purity. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O sun of worldly dominion! Eclipse thy face, for above the horizon of a resplendent morn there have shone the rays of the Day-Star of eternity. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O earth of knowledge! Swallow up thy learning, for the Earth of true knowledge hath been outspread through Him Who is the Self of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Bountiful, the Most High. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O lamp of earthly sovereignty! Put out thy light, for the Lamp of God hath been lit within the niche of eternity and hath illumined all that are in heaven and all that are on earth. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O seas of the world! Still the pounding of your waves, for a most wondrous Cause hath made to surge the Crimson Sea. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Peacock of the Divine Unity! Utter thy plaintive cry amidst the thickets of the celestial world, for the melody of God hath sounded near on every side. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O Cockerel of eternity! Sound thy call in the forests of the empyrean heaven, for the Summoner of God hath cried out from every lofty height. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O concourse of ardent lovers! Rejoice in your souls, for the day of separation hath ended, and the Covenant hath been fulfilled, and the Beloved hath appeared arrayed in sublime and majestic beauty. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! O assemblage of mystic knowers! Let your hearts be filled with joy, for the time of remoteness hath passed, and the spirit of certitude hath appeared, and the countenance of the celestial Youth hath beamed forth, adorned with the ornament of holiness in the paradise of His name, the Almighty. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! Glorified art Thou, O Lord, my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Day through which Thou didst bring forth all other days, and in a single moment whereof Thou didst reckon up the appointed time of all that have been and all that shall be—Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”!— And by Thy Name which Thou hast made the sovereign of the kingdom of names and the ruler of all who are in heaven and all who are on earth—Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”!— To graciously enable Thy servants to dispense with all but Thee, to draw nigh unto Thee, and to become detached from aught else save Thee. Thou, verily, art the God of power, of might and mercy. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! Enable them then, O my God, to bear witness to Thy unity and to testify to Thy oneness in such wise that they may behold naught save Thee and shut their eyes to all else. Thou, in truth, art powerful to do what pleaseth Thee. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! Kindle, then, within their breasts, O my Beloved, the fire of Thy love, that it may burn away the mention of aught else, and that they may testify within themselves that from everlasting Thou hast dwelt within the inaccessible heights of Thine eternity, that Thou wert alone with none beside Thee, and that Thou wilt continue unto everlasting to be what Thou hast ever been. No God is there but Thee, the Lord of might and bounty. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! For were Thy servants who long to scale the heights of Thy unity to set their hearts upon aught except Thee, they could not be reckoned among such as have truly believed, nor would the sign of Thy singleness be found within them. Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”! Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Such being the case, I implore Thee to send down from the clouds of Thy mercy that which shall purify the hearts of Thine ardent lovers and sanctify the souls of those who adore Thee. Raise them up, then, through Thy transcendent power, and render them victorious over all who dwell on earth. This, indeed, is that which Thou hast promised Thy loved ones through Thy word of truth: “And We desire to show favour to those who were brought low in the land, and to make them spiritual leaders among men, and to make of them Our heirs.” Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art “He”, O Thou besides Whom there is none but “He”!”

“This is a remembrance of that which was revealed in the year sixty in the days of God, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing. Lo, the gates of Paradise were unlocked, and the hallowed Youth came forth bearing a…”

“This is a remembrance of that which was revealed in the year sixty in the days of God, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing. Lo, the gates of Paradise were unlocked, and the hallowed Youth came forth bearing a serpent plain. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with crystal waters. Upon His face was a veil woven by the fingers of might and power. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty name. Upon His brow there shone a beauteous crown, which cast its splendour upon all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. Upon His shoulders there fell the locks of the spirit, like unto black musk upon white and lustrous pearls. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a transcendent cause. On His right hand was a ring adorned with a pure and blessed gem. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty spirit. Upon it was graven, in a secret and ancient script: “By God! A most noble Angel is this.” And the hearts of the inmates of the eternal realm cried out: “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with an ancient light.” Upon His right cheek was a mark whose sight caused every man of understanding to waver in his faith. And they that dwell behind the veil of the Unseen exclaimed: “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty secret.” This is the Point from which the knowledge of the former and the latter generations hath been unfolded. And the denizens of the Kingdom intoned: “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty knowledge.” This, verily, is the Horseman of the Spirit Who circleth round the fount of everlasting life. And they that lie concealed in the retreats of the highest heaven cried out: “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty unveiling.” He descended from the tabernacle of beauty till He stood, even as the sun in the midmost heaven, arrayed with a beauty at once peerless and transcendent. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with the most joyful tidings! Standing in the midmost heaven, He shone forth like unto the sun in its meridian splendour, illumining the seat of divine beauty with His mighty Name. Whereupon the Crier cried out: “Rejoice! This is the Beauty of the Unseen, come with a mighty spirit.” And the Maids of Heaven cried out from their celestial chambers: “Hallowed be the Lord, the most excellent of all creators!” And the nightingale sang sweetly: “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, Whose like the eyes of the favoured ones of Heaven have never beheld.” And lo, the gates of Paradise were unlocked a second time with the key of His Great Name. “Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty name.” And the Maid of beauty shone forth even as the dawning sun above the horizon of a resplendent morn. Rejoice! This is the divine Maiden, come with surpassing beauty. She came forth with such adorning as to seize with longing desire the minds of them that are nigh unto God. Rejoice! This is the Maid of Heaven, come with alluring charm. Descending from the chambers of eternity, she sang in accents that entranced the souls of the sincere. Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with a mighty secret. Suspended in the air, she let fall a single lock of her hair from beneath her luminous veil—Rejoice! This is the Maid of Heaven, come with a wondrous spirit— Shedding the fragrance of that lock upon all creation. Whereupon the faces of the holy ones grew pale and the hearts of the ardent lovers were filled with the blood of anguish. Rejoice! This is the Maid of Heaven, come with the sweetest fragrance. By God! Whosoever closeth his eyes to her beauty hath fallen prey to grave deception and manifest error. Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with a shining light. She turned, and round her circled the inhabitants of both this world and the world to come. Rejoice! This is the Maid of Heaven, come with a mighty dispensation. She advanced, arrayed with a rare and glorious adorning, till she stood face to face before the Youth. Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with enchanting grace. From beneath her veil she drew forth her hand, golden tinged as a sunbeam falling upon the face of a stainless mirror. Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with a resplendent adorning. Her incomparable ruby fingers seized the hem of the veil that hid the face of the Youth—Rejoice! This is the immortal Beauty, come with a mighty glance— And drew it back, whereupon the pillars of the Throne on high were made to tremble. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. Then did the spirits of all created things part from their bodies. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. And the inmates of Paradise rent their garments asunder as they caught a lightning glimpse of His ancient and shining countenance. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with an effulgent light. At that moment the Voice of the Eternal was heard from beyond the veil of clouds with a sweet and enchanting call. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty enchantment. And from the source of God’s inscrutable decree the Tongue of the Unseen proclaimed: “By God! The like of this Youth the eyes of the former generations have never beheld.” Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. And the maids of holiness cried out from the chambers of exalted dominion. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with manifest sovereignty. By God! This is that Youth Whose beauty is the ardent desire of the celestial Concourse. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. Then did the Youth lift up His head to the concourse of heavenly angels—Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty spirit— And gave voice to a single word, whereupon the denizens of heaven arose, one and all, to a new life. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty trumpet blast. He looked then upon the inhabitants of the earth with a wondrous glance. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty glance. And with that glance He gathered them together each and all. Rejoice! This is the immortal Youth, come with a mighty cause. With another look He signalled to a chosen few, then repaired to His habitation in the everlasting Paradise. And this, truly, is a mighty cause! The Herald of Eternity proclaimeth from his cloud-wrapped throne: O ye that wait expectant in the vale of patience and fidelity! O ye that long to soar in the atmosphere of nearness and reunion! The celestial Youth, hidden ere now within the inviolable treasuries of God, hath appeared, even as the Sun of Reality and the Eternal Spirit, from the Dawning-Place of changeless splendour, adorned with the ornament of the Almighty and the beauty of the All-Praised. He hath rescued all who are in heaven and on earth from the perils of death and extinction, clothed them in the garment of true and everlasting existence, and bestowed upon them a new life. That concealed Word upon which the souls of all the Messengers of God and His Chosen Ones have ever depended hath manifested itself out of the invisible world into the visible plane. No sooner had this hidden Word shone forth from the Realm of inmost being and absolute singleness to illumine the peoples of the earth than a breeze of mercy wafted therefrom, purifying all things from the stench of sin and arraying the countless forms of existence and the reality of man with the vesture of forgiveness. So great was the wondrous grace which pervaded all things that through the utterance of the letters “B” and “E” the gems that lay hid within the repositories of this contingent world were brought forth and made manifest. Thus were the seen and the unseen joined in one garment, and the hidden and the manifest clothed in a single robe; thus did utter nothingness attain the realm of eternity, and pure evanescence gain admittance into the court of everlasting life. Wherefore, O ye lovers of the beauty of the All-Glorious! O ye that ardently seek the court of the presence of the Almighty! This is the day of nearness and reunion, not the time for contention and idle words. If ye be sincere lovers, behold the beauty of the Best-Beloved shining clear and resplendent as the true morn. It behoveth you to be free from all attachment, whether to yourselves or to others; nay, ye should renounce existence and non-existence, light and darkness, glory and abasement alike. Sever your hearts from all transitory things, from all idle fancies and vain imaginings, that ye may, pure and unsullied, enter the realm of the spirit and partake with radiant hearts of the splendours of everlasting holiness. O friends! The wine of eternal life is flowing. O lovers! The face of the Beloved is unveiled and unconcealed. O companions! The fire of the Sinai of love is burning bright and resplendent. Cast off the burden of love for this world and every attachment thereto, and, even as luminous, heavenly birds, soar in the atmosphere of the celestial Paradise and wing your flight to the everlasting nest. For devoid of this, life itself hath no worth, and bereft of the Beloved, the heart is of no account. Yea, the moth-like lovers of the All-Glorious at every instant offer up their lives round the consuming flame of the Friend, occupying themselves with naught save Him. Yet not every bird can aspire to such heights. God, verily, guideth whom He willeth unto His mighty and exalted path. Thus do We bestow upon the dwellers of the mystic realm that which shall draw them nigh unto the right hand of everlasting life and enable them to attain unto that station which hath been upraised in the heaven of holiness.”

“He is the Ever-Abiding, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Lo, the Tongue of Glory hath called aloud and the Word of God hath cried out, proclaiming: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Creator of the heavens and the Lord of all names!” And yet the p…”

“He is the Ever-Abiding, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Lo, the Tongue of Glory hath called aloud and the Word of God hath cried out, proclaiming: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Creator of the heavens and the Lord of all names!” And yet the people, for the most part, are heedless. The entire creation resoundeth with the melodies of the All-Merciful, the realms of sanctity are redolent with the fragrance of His raiment, and the Most Great Name hath shed the splendour of His glory upon all who dwell on earth, and yet the people are wrapped in a palpable veil. O Pen of Glory! Intone the anthems of grandeur, for We have inhaled the fragrance of reunion at the approach of that Day whereon the kingdom of names was adorned with the ornament of Our Name, the Exalted, the Most High. No sooner was this Day mentioned before the Throne than the Maids of Heaven chanted a wondrous melody, the Nightingale pealed out its heavenly song, and the All-Merciful gave voice to that which enraptured the souls of the Messengers of God, His chosen ones, and those who enjoy near access to Him. This is the eve of that Day from whose horizon the ancient Morn hath dawned forth with the splendour of the light beaming from that effulgent horizon. Say: This is the Day whereon God established the Covenant concerning Him Who is the voice of Truth by sending forth the One Who imparted unto humankind the glad-tidings of this Great Announcement. This is the Day whereon the Most Great Sign appeared and proclaimed this mighty Name, captivating thereby all created things with the reviving breezes of the verses of God. Happy the one that hath recognized his Lord and is numbered with them that have attained His presence. Say: He, verily, is the most perfect Balance established amongst the nations, through Whom the measures of all things are made manifest by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He it is Who hath intoxicated every understanding heart with the wine of His utterance, and Who hath torn asunder the veils through the power of My Name that overshadoweth the worlds. He, verily, hath ordained the Bayán to be a leaf of this Garden and adorned it with the mention of this incomparable Remembrance. He hath admonished all men not to withhold themselves from the Dayspring of ancient glory, nor to cling, at the time of His manifestation, to such tales and traditions as are current amongst them. Thus hath it been decreed in accordance with that which He hath revealed, and unto this beareth witness He Who speaketh the truth. No God is there beside Me, the Almighty, the Most Generous. They that have turned away from the latter Manifestation have indeed failed to recognize the former. Thus hath it been ordained by the Author of all causes in this mighty adornment. Say: He, verily, announced unto you this Root; wherefore they that are held back by reason of a mere branch are in truth accounted among the dead. Alas, the people are clinging to the branch and have turned away from God, the King, the Glorious, the All-Praised. He conditioned all that He hath revealed upon Mine acceptance and made every matter contingent upon this manifest and resistless Cause. But for Me, He would not have uttered a single word, nor would He have manifested Himself before all who are in heaven and on earth. How often did He lament My banishment, My captivity, and My tribulations! That which was sent down in the Bayán beareth witness unto this, could ye but perceive it. Powerful indeed is the one who, through the might of God, hath become severed from all else but Him, and powerless the one who hath turned away from Him after He hath appeared with manifest sovereignty. O peoples of the earth! Make mention of God on this Day whereon the Spirit hath spoken and the realities of those who were created by the Word of God, the Mighty, the Exalted, have ascended unto Him. It behoveth everyone on this day to rejoice with exceeding gladness, to clothe himself in his finest attire, to celebrate the praise of his Lord, and to give thanks unto Him for this most great favour. Blessed are they that have apprehended the purpose of God, and woe betide the heedless. Having revealed this Tablet on this night, We desire to send it unto thee as a token of Our grace, that thou mayest be of those who are grateful. After thou hast received it, recite it in the presence of the loved ones of God, that they may hearken unto that which the Tongue of Grandeur hath pronounced and be of those who act in accordance with its counsels. Thus have We singled thee out and adorned thee with that raiment wherewith We have adorned the pure in heart. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds!”

“All praise be to God Who hath, through the power of Truth, sent down this Book unto His servant, that it may serve as a shining light for all mankind.… Verily this is none other than the sovereign Truth; it is the Path which God hath laid o…”

“All praise be to God Who hath, through the power of Truth, sent down this Book unto His servant, that it may serve as a shining light for all mankind.… Verily this is none other than the sovereign Truth; it is the Path which God hath laid out for all that are in heaven and on earth. Let him then who will, take for himself the right path unto his Lord. Verily this is the true Faith of God, and sufficient witness are God and such as are endowed with the knowledge of the Book. This is indeed the eternal Truth which God, the Ancient of Days, hath revealed unto His omnipotent Word—He Who hath been raised up from the midst of the Burning Bush. This is the Mystery which hath been hidden from all that are in heaven and on earth, and in this wondrous Revelation it hath, in very truth, been set forth in the Mother Book by the hand of God, the Exalted.…”

“Do not say, “How can He speak of God while in truth His age is no more than twenty-five?” Give ye ear unto Me. I swear by the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: I am verily a servant of God. I have been made the Bearer of irrefutable pro…”

“Do not say, “How can He speak of God while in truth His age is no more than twenty-five?” Give ye ear unto Me. I swear by the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: I am verily a servant of God. I have been made the Bearer of irrefutable proofs from the presence of Him Who is the long-expected Remnant of God. Here is My Book before your eyes, as indeed inscribed in the presence of God in the Mother Book. God hath indeed made Me blessed, wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon Me to observe prayer and fortitude so long as I shall live on earth amongst you. Chapter IX.”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn!1 We have, verily, dilated Thine heart in this Revelation, which stands truly unique from all created things, and have exalted Thy name through the manifestation of the Báb, so that men may become aware of Our transcendent…”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn!1 We have, verily, dilated Thine heart in this Revelation, which stands truly unique from all created things, and have exalted Thy name through the manifestation of the Báb, so that men may become aware of Our transcendent power, and recognize that God is immeasurably sanctified above the praise of all men. He is verily independent of the whole of creation. Chapter XXIII.”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Say: Verily I am the “Gate of God” and I give you to drink, by the leave of God, the sovereign Truth, of the crystal-pure waters of His Revelation which are gushing out from the incorruptible Fountain situate upon the Holy…”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Say: Verily I am the “Gate of God” and I give you to drink, by the leave of God, the sovereign Truth, of the crystal-pure waters of His Revelation which are gushing out from the incorruptible Fountain situate upon the Holy Mount. And those who earnestly strive after the One True God, let them then strive to attain this Gate.4 Verily God is potent over all things.…”

“O peoples of the earth! Give ear unto God’s holy Voice proclaimed by this Arabian Youth Whom the Almighty hath graciously chosen for His Own Self. He is indeed none other than the True One, Whom God hath entrusted with this Mission from the…”

“O peoples of the earth! Give ear unto God’s holy Voice proclaimed by this Arabian Youth Whom the Almighty hath graciously chosen for His Own Self. He is indeed none other than the True One, Whom God hath entrusted with this Mission from the midst of the Burning Bush. O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Unravel what Thou pleasest from the secrets of the All-Glorious, for the ocean is surging high5 at the behest of the incomparable Lord. Chapter XXIV.”

“O concourse of divines! Fear God from this day onwards in the views ye advance, for He Who is Our Remembrance in your midst, and Who cometh from Us, is, in very truth, the Judge and Witness. Turn away from that which ye lay hold of, and whi…”

“O concourse of divines! Fear God from this day onwards in the views ye advance, for He Who is Our Remembrance in your midst, and Who cometh from Us, is, in very truth, the Judge and Witness. Turn away from that which ye lay hold of, and which the Book of God, the True One, hath not sanctioned, for on the Day of Resurrection ye shall, upon the Bridge, be, in very truth, held answerable for the position ye occupied.… And unto you We have sent down this Book which truly none can mistake.…”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Deliver the summons of the most exalted Word unto the handmaids among Thy kindred, caution them against the Most Great Fire and announce unto them the joyful tidings that following this mighty covenant there shall be everl…”

“O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Deliver the summons of the most exalted Word unto the handmaids among Thy kindred, caution them against the Most Great Fire and announce unto them the joyful tidings that following this mighty covenant there shall be everlasting reunion with God in the Paradise of His good-pleasure, nigh unto the Seat of Holiness. Verily God, the Lord of creation, is potent over all things.”

“And among the evidences of the truth of His manifestation were the ascendancy, the transcendent power, and supremacy which He, the Revealer of being and Manifestation of the Adored, hath, unaided and alone, revealed throughout the world. N…”

“And among the evidences of the truth of His manifestation were the ascendancy, the transcendent power, and supremacy which He, the Revealer of being and Manifestation of the Adored, hath, unaided and alone, revealed throughout the world. No sooner had the eternal Beauty revealed Himself in Shíráz, in the year sixty [AH 1260], and rent asunder the veil of concealment, than the signs of the ascendancy, the might, the sovereignty, and power, emanating from the Essence of Essences and Sea of Seas, were manifest in every land. So much so, that from every city there appeared the signs, the evidences, the tokens, the testimonies of that divine Luminary. How many were those pure and kindly hearts which faithfully reflected the light of that eternal Sun, and how manifold the emanations of knowledge from that Ocean of divine wisdom which encompassed all beings! In every city, all the divines and dignitaries rose to hinder and repress them, and girded up the loins of malice, of envy, and tyranny for their suppression. How great the number of those holy souls, those essences of justice, who, accused of tyranny, were put to death! And how many embodiments of purity, who showed forth naught but true knowledge and stainless deeds, suffered an agonizing death! Notwithstanding all this, each of these holy beings, up to his last moment, breathed the Name of God, and soared in the realm of submission and resignation. Such was the potency and transmuting influence which He exercised over them, that they ceased to cherish any desire but His will, and wedded their soul to His remembrance.”

“And from the moment when the Tree of the Bayán appeared until it disappeareth is the Resurrection of the Apostle of God, as is divinely foretold in the Qur’án; the beginning of which was when two hours and eleven minutes had passed on the e…”

“And from the moment when the Tree of the Bayán appeared until it disappeareth is the Resurrection of the Apostle of God, as is divinely foretold in the Qur’án; the beginning of which was when two hours and eleven minutes had passed on the eve of the fifth of Jumádíyu’l-’Awwal, AH 1260 which is the year 1270 of the Declaration of the Mission of Muḥammad. This was the beginning of the Day of Resurrection of the Qur’án, and until the disappearance of the Tree of divine Reality is the Resurrection of the Qur’án. • • • O people of the Bayán! If ye believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest, to your own behoof do ye believe. He hath been and ever will remain independent of all men. For instance, were ye to place unnumbered mirrors before the sun, they would all reflect the sun and produce impressions thereof, whereas the sun is in itself wholly independent of the existence of the mirrors and of the suns which they reproduce. Such are the bounds of the contingent beings in their relation to the manifestation of the Eternal Being …. • • • I swear by the holy Essence of God, were all in the Bayán to unite in helping Him Whom God shall make manifest in the days of His Revelation, not a single soul, nay, not a created thing would remain on earth that would not gain admittance into Paradise. Take good heed of yourselves, for the sum total of the religion of God is but to help Him, rather than to observe, in the time of His appearance, such deeds as are prescribed in the Bayán. • • • Since all men have issued forth from the shadow of the signs of His Divinity and Lordship, they always tend to take a path, lofty and high. And because they are bereft of a discerning eye to recognize their Beloved, they fall short of their duty to manifest meekness and humility towards Him. Nevertheless, from the beginning of their lives till the end thereof, in conformity with the laws established in the previous religion, they worship God, piously adore Him, bow themselves before His divine Reality and show submissiveness toward His exalted Essence. At the hour of His manifestation, however, they all turn their gaze toward their own selves and are thus shut out from Him, inasmuch as they fancifully regard Him as one like unto themselves. Far from the glory of God is such a comparison. Indeed that august Being resembleth the physical sun, His verses are like its rays, and all believers, should they truly believe in Him, are as mirrors wherein the sun is reflected. Their light is thus a mere reflection. • • • I swear by the most holy Essence of God—exalted and glorified be He—that in the Day of the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest a thousand perusals of the Bayán cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by Him Whom God shall make manifest. • • • O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love. Sufficient witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient of Days.”

“The opening scene of the initial act of this great drama was laid in the upper chamber of the modest residence of the son of a mercer of Shíráz, in an obscure corner of that city. The time was the hour before sunset, on the 22nd day of May…”

“The opening scene of the initial act of this great drama was laid in the upper chamber of the modest residence of the son of a mercer of Shíráz, in an obscure corner of that city. The time was the hour before sunset, on the 22nd day of May, 1844. The participants were the Báb, a twenty-five year old siyyid, of pure and holy lineage, and the young Mullá Ḥusayn, the first to believe in Him. Their meeting immediately before that interview seemed to be purely fortuitous. The interview itself was protracted till the hour of dawn. The Host remained closeted alone with His guest, nor was the sleeping city remotely [Photograph] Declaration chamber, house of the Báb, Shíráz, Írán aware of the import of the conversation they held with each other. No record has passed to posterity of that unique night save the fragmentary but highly illuminating account that fell from the lips of Mullá Ḥusayn. “I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time and of those who awaited me,” he himself has testified, after describing the nature of the questions he had put to his Host and the conclusive replies he had received from Him, replies which had established beyond the shadow of a doubt the validity of His claim to be the promised Qá’im. “Suddenly the call of the Mu’adhdhin, summoning the faithful to their morning prayer, awakened me from the state of ecstasy into which I seemed to have fallen. All the delights, all the ineffable glories, which the Almighty has recounted in His Book as the priceless possessions of the people of Paradise—these I seemed to be experiencing that night. Methinks I was in a place of which it could be truly said: ‘Therein no toil shall reach us, and therein no weariness shall touch us;’ ‘no vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor any falsehood, but only the cry, “Peace! Peace!”’; ‘their cry therein shall be, “Glory to Thee, O God!” and their salutation therein, “Peace!”, and the close of their cry, “Praise be to God, Lord of all creatures!”’ Sleep had departed from me that night. I was enthralled by the music of that voice which rose and fell as He chanted; now swelling forth as He revealed verses of the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, again acquiring ethereal, subtle harmonies as He uttered the prayers He was revealing. At the end of each invocation, He would repeat this verse: ‘Far from the glory of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, be that which His creatures affirm of Him! And peace he upon His Messengers! And praise be to God, the Lord of all being!’” “This Revelation,” Mullá Ḥusayn has further testified, “so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt which, for a time, seemed to have benumbed my faculties. I was blinded by its dazzling splendour and overwhelmed by its crushing force. Excitement, joy, awe, and wonder stirred the depths of my soul. Predominant among these emotions was a sense of gladness and strength which seemed to have transfigured me. How feeble and impotent, how dejected and timid, I had felt previously! Then I could neither write nor walk, so tremulous were my hands and feet. Now, however, the knowledge of His Revelation had galvanized my being. I felt possessed of such courage and power that were the world, all its peoples and it potentates, to rise against me, I would, alone and undaunted, withstand their onslaught. The universe seemed but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: ‘Awake, for, lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest.…”