“The first light which shone forth from the horizon of...”

The first light which shone forth from the horizon of Eternity, the first radiance which was cast forth from the Morn of Guidance, and the first mercy which descended from the Kingdom of Heaven, be upon thee,173 O thou manifest light, thou “strong rope,” and the beloved one of the denizens of the exalted heaven, who hast suffered martyrdom in the path of the Lord of the Creatures, and who art submerged in the sea of favors, through the grace of thy Lord, the Clement! the Merciful! El-Baha be upon thee! Praise be upon thee!

By God, the True One! The angels of mercy bless thee in the Kingdom of El-Baha, and the nostrils of the chosen ones are perfumed with the sweet odor which is wafting from the garden of the Supreme Concourse upon thy sepulchre; and hearts are burning, tears are being shed, the power of endurance is cut off by the grievous disaster and great martyrdom, whereby all hearts are consumed!

I testify that, verily, thou art a martyr of faithfulness, thou art peerless among the beloved, thou art matchless among the chosen ones and art fortunate among the pious! Blessed art thou, for they pierced thy shining brow with a nail, and suspended upon it thine outward decoration, tortured thee by reins, made thee to ride on a furious bull, paraded thee in the city, cut off thine ear with a sharp-edged blade, and by force and compulsion made thee to devour it, tormented thee with the torture of the wicked, persecuted thee with a rage like unto the ferocity of ravenous wolves of the plain and desert, and consumed thy pure body with the torture of fire!

Blessed is the pure blood which was shed on the perfumed soil, and which was poured out in the path of the forgiving Lord! Blessed is thy body which was burned by the hand of every transgressor! Blessed is thy throat which was cut by the poniard of every traitor! Blessed is thy breast which was stricken by the oppressors’ darts! Blessed is thy heart which was wounded by a sharp sword! Blessed art thou, for thou hast showed forth all happiness and joy when hou wert being paraded in the streets of the people of haughtiness and the people of wickedness were clapping their hands and oppressing thee with innumerable blows and wounds, whilst thou wert clapping thy hands with them—O thou manifestor of light!—and wert warbling melodies, whereby the people of the Kingdom of El-Abha were moved and breasts dilated (with joy)!

By God, the True One! Verily, Abdul-Baha inhaleth the odor of faithfulness from that remote region, the soil of which is reddened by thy pure blood, and beholdeth the lights of bestowal successively pouring upon thy resplendent tomb, and the rains of grace dropping upon thy blessed resting-place, which is fragrant, brilliant and magnificent!

Blessed is he whosoever may roll his face in the dust of thine excellent grave! Blessed is he whosoever may press his brow on thy great sepulchre!

Upon thee be El-Baha! Upon thee be praise! Upon thee be bestowal, O thou honorable martyr, who hast severed thyself from all things in the pah of thine Ancient Lord, who hast sacrificed thy soul, blood and body in the path of thy Most Beautiful Beloved One!

Upon thee be grace from thy Lord, the Exalted! the Great!

Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html