<101>
يا معشر العلمآء هل يقدر احد منكم ان يستنّ معي في ميدان المكاشفة والعرفان او يجول في مضمار الحكمة والتّبيان لا وربّي الرّحمن كلّ من عليها فان وهذا وجه ربّكم العزيز المحبوب.
O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you that can rival Me in vision or insight? Where is he to be found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance or wisdom? No, by My Lord, the All-Merciful! All on the earth shall pass away; and this is the face of your Lord, the Almighty, the Well-Beloved.
<102>يا قوم انّا قدّرنا العلوم لعرفان المعلوم وانتم احتجبتم بها عن مشرقها الّذي به ظهر كلّ امر مكنون. لو عرفتم الافق الّذي منه اشرقت شمس الكلام لنبذتم الانام وما عندهم واقبلتم الى المقام المحمود.
We have decreed, O people, that the highest and last end of all learning be the recognition of Him Who is the Object of all knowledge; and yet, behold how ye have allowed your learning to shut you out, as by a veil, from Him Who is the Dayspring of this Light, through Whom every hidden thing hath been revealed. Could ye but discover the source whence the splendor of this utterance is diffused, ye would cast away the peoples of the world and all that they possess, and would draw nigh unto this most blessed Seat of glory.
<103>قل هذه لسمآء فيها كنز امّ الكتاب لو انتم تعقلون. هذا لهو الّذي به صاحت الصّخرة ونادت السّدرة على الطّور المرتفع على الارض المباركة الملك لله الملك العزيز الودود.
Say: This, verily, is the heaven in which the Mother Book is treasured, could ye but comprehend it. He it is Who hath caused the Rock to shout, and the Burning Bush to lift up its voice, upon the Mount rising above the Holy Land, and proclaim: “The Kingdom is God’s, the sovereign Lord of all, the All-Powerful, the Loving!”
<104>انّا ما دخلنا المدارس وما طالعنا المباحث اسمعوا ما يدعوكم به هذا الامّيّ الى الله الابديّ انّه خير لكم عمّا كنز في الارض لو انتم تفقهون.
We have not entered any school, nor read any of your dissertations. Incline your ears to the words of this unlettered One, wherewith He summoneth you unto God, the Ever-Abiding. Better is this for you than all the treasures of the earth, could ye but comprehend it.
<105>انّ الّذي يأوّل ما نزّل من سمآء الوحي ويخرجه عن الظّاهر انّه ممّن حرّف كلمة الله العليا وكان من الاخسرين في كتاب مبين.
Whoso interpreteth what hath been sent down from the heaven of Revelation, and altereth its evident meaning, he, verily, is of them that have perverted the Sublime Word of God, and is of the lost ones in the Lucid Book.
<106>قد كتب عليكم تقليم الاظفار والدّخول في مآء يحيط هياكلكم في كلّ اسبوع وتنظيف ابدانكم بما استعملتموه من قبل ايّاكم ان تمنعكم الغفلة عمّا امرتم به من لدن عزيز عظيم. ادخلوا مآء بكراً والمستعمل منه لا يجوز الدّخول فيه ايّاكم ان تقربوا خزآئن حمّامات العجم من قصدها وجد رآئحتها المنتنة قبل وروده فيها تجنّبوا يا قوم ولا تكوننّ من الصّاغرين. انّه يشبه بالصّديد والغسلين ان انتم من العارفين. وكذلك حياضهم المنتنة اتركوها وكونوا من المقدّسين. انّا اردنا ان نراكم مظاهر الفردوس في الارض ليتضوّع منكم ما تفرح به افئدة المقرّبين. والّذي يصبّ عليه المآء ويغسل به بدنه خير له ويكفيه عن الدّخول انّه اراد ان يسهّل عليكم الامور فضلاً من عنده لتكونوا من الشّاكرين.
It hath been enjoined upon you to pare your nails, to bathe yourselves each week in water that covereth your bodies, and to clean yourselves with whatsoever ye have formerly employed. Take heed lest through negligence ye fail to observe that which hath been prescribed unto you by Him Who is the Incomparable, the Gracious. Immerse yourselves in clean water; it is not permissible to bathe yourselves in water that hath already been used. See that ye approach not the public pools of Persian baths; whoso maketh his way toward such baths will smell their fetid odor ere he entereth therein. Shun them, O people, and be not of those who ignominiously accept such vileness. In truth, they are as sinks of foulness and contamination, if ye be of them that apprehend. Avoid ye likewise the malodorous pools in the courtyards of Persian homes, and be ye of the pure and sanctified. Truly, We desire to behold you as manifestations of paradise on earth, that there may be diffused from you such fragrance as shall rejoice the hearts of the favored of God. If the bather, instead of entering the water, wash himself by pouring it upon his body, it shall be better for him and shall absolve him of the need for bodily immersion. The Lord, verily, hath willed, as a bounty from His presence, to make life easier for you that ye may be of those who are truly thankful.
<107>قد حرّمت عليكم ازواج ابآئكم انّا نستحي ان نذكر حكم الغلمان اتّقوا الرّحمن يا ملأ الامكان ولا ترتكبوا ما نهيتم عنه في اللّوح ولا تكونوا في هيمآء الشّهوات من الهآئمين.
It is forbidden you to wed your fathers’ wives. We shrink, for very shame, from treating of the subject of boys. Fear ye the Merciful, O peoples of the world! Commit not that which is forbidden you in Our Holy Tablet, and be not of those who rove distractedly in the wilderness of their desires.
<108>ليس لاحد ان يحرّك لسانه امام النّاس اذ يمشي في الطّرق والاسواق بل ينبغي لمن اراد الذّكر ان يذكر في مقام بني لذكر الله او في بيته هذا اقرب بالخلوص والتّقوى كذلك اشرقت شمس الحكم من افق البيان طوبى للعاملين.
To none is it permitted to mutter sacred verses before the public gaze as he walketh in the street or marketplace; nay rather, if he wish to magnify the Lord, it behooveth him to do so in such places as have been erected for this purpose, or in his own home. This is more in keeping with sincerity and godliness. Thus hath the sun of Our commandment shone forth above the horizon of Our utterance. Blessed, then, be those who do Our bidding.
<109>قد فرض لكلّ نفس كتاب الوصيّة وله ان يزيّن رأسه بالاسم الاعظم ويعترف فيه بوحدانيّة الله في مظهر ظهوره ويذكر فيه ما اراد من المعروف ليشهد له في عوالم الامر والخلق ويكون له كنزاً عند ربّه الحافظ الامين.
Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will. The testator should head this document with the adornment of the Most Great Name, bear witness therein unto the oneness of God in the Dayspring of His Revelation, and make mention, as he may wish, of that which is praiseworthy, so that it may be a testimony for him in the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation and a treasure with his Lord, the Supreme Protector, the Faithful.
<110>قد انتهت الاعياد الى العيدين الاعظمين امّا الاوّل ايّام فيها تجلّى الرّحمن على من في الامكان باسمآئه الحسنى وصفاته العليا والاخر يوم فيه بعثنا من بشّر النّاس بهذا الاسم الّذي به قامت الاموات وحشر من في السّموات والارضين. والاخرين في يومين كذلك قضي الامر من لدن امر عليم.
All Feasts have attained their consummation in the two Most Great Festivals, and in the two other Festivals that fall on the twin days—the first of the Most Great Festivals being those days whereon the All-Merciful shed upon the whole of creation the effulgent glory of His most excellent Names and His most exalted Attributes, and the second being that day on which We raised up the One Who announced unto mankind the glad tidings of this Name, through which the dead have been resurrected and all who are in the heavens and on earth have been gathered together. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Ordainer, the Omniscient.
<111>طوبى لمن فاز باليوم الاوّل من شهر البهآء الّذي جعله الله لهذا الاسم العظيم. طوبى لمن يظهر فيه نعمة الله على نفسه انّه ممّن اظهر شكر الله بفعله المدلّ على فضله الّذي احاط العالمين. قل انّه لصدر الشّهور ومبدئها وفيه تمرّ نفحة الحيوة على الممكنات طوبى لمن ادركه بالرّوح والرّيحان نشهد انّه من الفآئزين.
Happy the one who entereth upon the first day of the month of Bahá, the day which God hath consecrated to this Great Name. And blessed be he who evidenceth on this day the bounties that God hath bestowed upon him; he, verily, is of those who show forth thanks to God through actions betokening the Lord’s munificence which hath encompassed all the worlds. Say: This day, verily, is the crown of all the months and the source thereof, the day on which the breath of life is wafted over all created things. Great is the blessedness of him who greeteth it with radiance and joy. We testify that he is, in truth, among those who are blissful.
<112>قل انّ العيد الاعظم لسلطان الاعياد اذكروا يا قوم نعمة الله عليكم اذ كنتم رقدآء ايقظكم من نسمات الوحي وعرّفكم سبيله الواضح المستقيم.
Say: The Most Great Festival is, indeed, the King of Festivals. Call ye to mind, O people, the bounty which God hath conferred upon you. Ye were sunk in slumber, and lo! He aroused you by the reviving breezes of His Revelation, and made known unto you His manifest and undeviating Path.
<113>اذا مرضتم ارجعوا الى الحذّاق من الاطبّآء انّا ما رفعنا الاسباب بل اثبتناها من هذا القلم الّذي جعله الله مطلع امره المشرق المنير.
Resort ye, in times of sickness, to competent physicians; We have not set aside the use of material means, rather have We confirmed it through this Pen, which God hath made to be the Dawning-place of His shining and glorious Cause.
<114>قد كتب الله على كلّ نفس ان يحضر لدى العرش بما عنده ممّا لا عدل له انّا عفونا عن ذلك فضلاً من لدنّا انّه هو المعطي الكريم.
God had formerly laid upon each one of the believers the duty of offering before Our throne priceless gifts from among his possessions. Now, in token of Our gracious favor, We have absolved them of this obligation. He, of a truth, is the Most Generous, the All-Bountiful.
<115>طوبى لمن توجّه الى مشرق الاذكار في الاسحار ذاكراً متذكّراً مستغفراً واذا دخل يقعد صامتاً لاصغآء ايات الله الملك العزيز الحميد. قل مشرق الاذكار انّه كلّ بيت بني لذكري في المدن والقرى كذلك سمّي لدى العرش ان انتم من العارفين.
Blessed is he who, at the hour of dawn, centering his thoughts on God, occupied with His remembrance, and supplicating His forgiveness, directeth his steps to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and, entering therein, seateth himself in silence to listen to the verses of God, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the All-Praised. Say: The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is each and every building which hath been erected in cities and villages for the celebration of My praise. Such is the name by which it hath been designated before the throne of glory, were ye of those who understand.
<116>والّذين يتلون ايات الرّحمن باحسن الالحان اولئك يدركون منها ما لا يعادله ملكوت ملك السّموات والارضين. وبها يجدون عرف عوالمي الّتي لا يعرفها اليوم الاّ من اوتي البصر من هذا المنظر الكريم. قل انّها تجذب القلوب الصّافية الى العوالم الرّوحانيّة الّتي لا تعبّر بالعبارة ولا تشار بالاشارة طوبى للسّامعين.
They who recite the verses of the All-Merciful in the most melodious of tones will perceive in them that with which the sovereignty of earth and heaven can never be compared. From them they will inhale the divine fragrance of My worlds—worlds which today none can discern save those who have been endowed with vision through this sublime, this beauteous Revelation. Say: These verses draw hearts that are pure unto those spiritual worlds that can neither be expressed in words nor intimated by allusion. Blessed be those who hearken.
<117>انصروا يا قوم اصفيآئي الّذين قاموا على ذكري بين خلقي وارتفاع كلمتي في مملكتي اولئك انجم سمآء عنايتي ومصابيح هدايتي للخلآئق اجمعين. والّذي يتكلّم بغير ما نزّل في الواحي انّه ليس منّي ايّاكم ان تتّبعوا كلّ مدّعٍ اثيم. قد زيّنت الالواح بطراز ختم فالق الاصباح الّذي ينطق بين السّموات والارضين. تمسّكوا بالعروة الوثقى وحبل امري المحكم المتين.
Assist ye, O My people, My chosen servants who have arisen to make mention of Me among My creatures and to exalt My Word throughout My realm. These, truly, are the stars of the heaven of My loving providence and the lamps of My guidance unto all mankind. But he whose words conflict with that which hath been sent down in My Holy Tablets is not of Me. Beware lest ye follow any impious pretender. These Tablets are embellished with the seal of Him Who causeth the dawn to appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the heavens and the earth. Lay hold on this Sure Handle and on the Cord of My mighty and unassailable Cause.
<118>قد اذن الله لمن اراد ان يتعلّم الالسن المختلفة ليبلّغ امر الله شرق الارض وغربها ويذكره بين الدّول والملل على شأن تنجذب به الافئدة ويحيى به كلّ عظم رميم.
The Lord hath granted leave to whosoever desireth it that he be instructed in the divers tongues of the world that he may deliver the Message of the Cause of God throughout the East and throughout the West, that he make mention of Him amidst the kindreds and peoples of the world in such wise that hearts may revive and the moldering bone be quickened.
<119>ليس للعاقل ان يشرب ما يذهب به العقل وله ان يعمل ما ينبغي للانسان لا ما يرتكبه كلّ غافل مريب.
It is inadmissible that man, who hath been endowed with reason, should consume that which stealeth it away. Nay, rather it behooveth him to comport himself in a manner worthy of the human station, and not in accordance with the misdeeds of every heedless and wavering soul.
<120>زيّنوا رؤسكم باكليل الامانة والوفآء وقلوبكم بردآء التّقوى والسنكم بالصّدق الخالص وهياكلكم بطراز الاداب كلّ ذلك من سجيّة الانسان لو انتم من المتبصّرين. يا اهل البهآء تمسّكوا بحبل العبوديّة لله الحقّ بها تظهر مقاماتكم وتثبت اسمآئكم وترتفع مراتبكم واذكاركم في لوح حفيظ. ايّاكم ان يمنعكم من على الارض عن هذا المقام العزيز الرّفيع. قد وصّيناكم بها في اكثر الالواح وفي هذا اللّوح الّذي لاح من افقه نيّر احكام ربّكم المقتدر الحكيم.
Adorn your heads with the garlands of trustworthiness and fidelity, your hearts with the attire of the fear of God, your tongues with absolute truthfulness, your bodies with the vesture of courtesy. These are in truth seemly adornings unto the temple of man, if ye be of them that reflect. Cling, O ye people of Bahá, to the cord of servitude unto God, the True One, for thereby your stations shall be made manifest, your names written and preserved, your ranks raised and your memory exalted in the Preserved Tablet. Beware lest the dwellers on earth hinder you from this glorious and exalted station. Thus have We exhorted you in most of Our Epistles and now in this, Our Holy Tablet, above which hath beamed the Daystar of the Laws of the Lord, your God, the Powerful, the All-Wise.
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