<161>
طوبى لمن اقرّ بالله واياته واعترف بانّه لا يسئل عمّا يفعل هذه كلمة قد جعلها الله طراز العقآئد واصلها وبها يقبل عمل العاملين. اجعلوا هذه الكلمة نصب عيونكم لئلا تزلّكم اشارات المعرضين.
Blessed is the man that hath acknowledged his belief in God and in His signs, and recognized that “He shall not be asked of His doings.” Such a recognition hath been made by God the ornament of every belief and its very foundation. Upon it must depend the acceptance of every goodly deed. Fasten your eyes upon it, that haply the whisperings of the rebellious may not cause you to slip.
<162>لو يحلّ ما حرّم في ازل الازال او بالعكس ليس لاحد ان يعترض عليه والّذي توقّف في اقلّ من ان انّه من المعتدين.
Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had been forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to none is given the right to question His authority. Whoso will hesitate, though it be for less than a moment, should be regarded as a transgressor.
<163>والّذي ما فاز بهذا الاصل الاسنى والمقام الاعلى تحرّكه ارياح الشّبهات وتقلّبه مقالات المشركين. من فاز بهذا الاصل قد فاز بالاستقامة الكبرى حبّذا هذا المقام الابهى الّذي بذكره زيّن كلّ لوح منيع. كذلك يعلّمكم الله ما يخلّصكم عن الرّيب والحيرة وينجّيكم في الدّنيا والاخرة انّه هو الغفور الكريم. هو الّذي ارسل الرّسل وانزل الكتب على انّه لا اله الاّ انا العزيز الحكيم.
Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental verity, and hath failed to attain this most exalted station, the winds of doubt will agitate him, and the sayings of the infidels will distract his soul. He that hath acknowledged this principle will be endowed with the most perfect constancy. All honor to this all-glorious station, the remembrance of which adorneth every exalted Tablet. Such is the teaching which God bestoweth on you, a teaching that will deliver you from all manner of doubt and perplexity, and enable you to attain unto salvation in both this world and the next. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful. He it is Who hath sent forth the Messengers, and sent down the Books to proclaim “There is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
<164>يا ارض الكاف والرّآء انّا نراك على ما لا يحبّه الله ونرى منك ما لا اطّلع به احد الاّ الله العليم الخبير. ونجد ما يمرّ منك في سرّ السّرّ عندنا علم كلّ شيء في لوح مبين. لا تحزني بذلك سوف يظهر الله فيك اولي بأس شديد يذكرونني باستقامة لا تمنعهم اشارات العلمآء ولا تحجبهم شبهات المريبين. اولئك ينظرون الله باعينهم وينصرونه بانفسهم الا انّهم من الرّاسخين.
O Land of Káf and Rá!10 We, verily, behold thee in a state displeasing unto God, and see proceeding from thee that which is inscrutable to anyone save Him, the Omniscient, the All-Informed; and We perceive that which secretly and stealthily diffuseth from thee. With Us is the knowledge of all things, inscribed in a lucid Tablet. Sorrow not for that which hath befallen thee. Erelong will God raise up within thee men endued with mighty valor, who will magnify My Name with such constancy that neither will they be deterred by the evil suggestions of the divines, nor will they be kept back by the insinuations of the sowers of doubt. With their own eyes will they behold God, and with their own lives will they render Him victorious. These, truly, are of those who are steadfast.
<165>يا معشر العلمآء لمّا نزّلت الايات وظهرت البيّنات رأيناكم خلف الحجبات ان هذا الاّ شيء عجاب. قد افتخرتم باسمي وغفلتم عن نفسي اذ اتى الرّحمن بالحجّة والبرهان. انّا خرقنا الاحجاب ايّاكم ان تحجبوا النّاس بحجاب اخر كسّروا سلاسل الاوهام باسم مالك الأنام ولا تكوننّ من الخادعين. اذا اقبلتم الى الله ودخلتم هذا الامر لا تفسدوا فيه ولا تقيسوا كتاب الله باهوآئكم هذا نصح الله من قبل ومن بعد يشهد بذلك شهدآء الله واصفيآئه انّا كلّ له شاهدون.
O concourse of divines! When My verses were sent down, and My clear tokens were revealed, We found you behind the veils. This, verily, is a strange thing. Ye glory in My Name, yet ye recognized Me not at the time your Lord, the All-Merciful, appeared amongst you with proof and testimony. We have rent the veils asunder. Beware lest ye shut out the people by yet another veil. Pluck asunder the chains of vain imaginings, in the name of the Lord of all men, and be not of the deceitful. Should ye turn unto God and embrace His Cause, spread not disorder within it, and measure not the Book of God with your selfish desires. This, verily, is the counsel of God aforetime and hereafter, and to this God’s witnesses and chosen ones, yea, each and every one of Us, do solemnly attest.
<166>اذكروا الشّيخ الّذي سمّي بمحمّد قبل حسن وكان من اعلم العلمآء في عصره لمّا ظهر الحقّ اعرض عنه هو وامثاله واقبل الى الله من ينقّي القمح والشّعير. وكان يكتب على زعمه احكام الله في اللّيل والنّهار ولمّا اتى المختار ما نفعه حرف منها لو نفعه لم يعرض عن وجه به انارت وجوه المقرّبين. لو امنتم بالله حين ظهوره ما اعرض عنه النّاس وما ورد علينا ما ترونه اليوم اتّقوا الله ولا تكوننّ من الغافلين.
Call ye to mind the shaykh whose name was Muḥammad-Ḥasan, who ranked among the most learned divines of his day. When the True One was made manifest, this shaykh, along with others of his calling, rejected Him, while a sifter of wheat and barley accepted Him and turned unto the Lord. Though he was occupied both night and day in setting down what he conceived to be the laws and ordinances of God, yet when He Who is the Unconstrained appeared, not one letter thereof availed him, or he would not have turned away from a Countenance that hath illumined the faces of the well-favored of the Lord. Had ye believed in God when He revealed Himself, the people would not have turned aside from Him, nor would the things ye witness today have befallen Us. Fear God, and be not of the heedless.
<167>ايّاكم ان تمنعكم الاسمآء عن مالكها او يحجبكم ذكر عن هذا الذّكر الحكيم. استعيذوا بالله يا معشر العلمآء ولا تجعلوا انفسكم حجاباً بيني وبين خلقي كذلك يعظكم الله ويامركم بالعدل لئلا تحبط اعمالكم وانتم غافلون. انّ الّذي اعرض عن هذا الامر هل يقدر ان يثبت حقّاً في الابداع لا ومالك الاختراع ولكنّ النّاس في حجاب مبين. قل به اشرقت شمس الحجّة ولاح نيّر البرهان لمن في الامكان اتّقوا الله يا اولي الابصار ولا تنكرون. ايّاكم ان يمنعكم ذكر النّبيّ عن هذا النّبأ الاعظم او الولاية عن ولاية الله المهيمنة على العالمين. قد خلق كلّ اسم بقوله وعلّق كلّ امر بامره المبرم العزيز البديع. قل هذا يوم الله لا يذكر فيه الاّ نفسه المهيمنة على العالمين. هذا امر اضطرب منه ما عندكم من الاوهام والتّماثيل.
Beware lest any name debar you from Him Who is the Possessor of all names, or any word shut you out from this Remembrance of God, this Source of Wisdom amongst you. Turn unto God and seek His protection, O concourse of divines, and make not of yourselves a veil between Me and My creatures. Thus doth your Lord admonish you, and command you to be just, lest your works should come to naught and ye yourselves be oblivious of your plight. Shall he who denieth this Cause be able to vindicate the truth of any cause throughout creation? Nay, by Him Who is the Fashioner of the universe! Yet the people are wrapped in a palpable veil. Say: Through this Cause the daystar of testimony hath dawned, and the luminary of proof hath shed its radiance upon all that dwell on earth. Fear God, O men of insight, and be not of those who disbelieve in Me. Take heed lest the word “Prophet” withhold you from this Most Great Announcement, or any reference to “Vicegerency” debar you from the sovereignty of Him Who is the Vicegerent of God, which overshadoweth all the worlds. Every name hath been created by His Word, and every cause is dependent on His irresistible, His mighty and wondrous Cause. Say: This is the Day of God, the Day on which naught shall be mentioned save His own Self, the omnipotent Protector of all worlds. This is the Cause that hath made all your superstitions and idols to tremble.
<168>قد نرى منكم من يأخذ الكتاب ويستدلّ به على الله كما استدلّت كلّ ملّة بكتابها على الله المهيمن القيّوم. قل تالله الحقّ لا تغنيكم اليوم كتب العالم ولا ما فيه من الصّحف الاّ بهذا الكتاب الّذي ينطق في قطب الابداع انّه لا اله الاّ انا العليم الحكيم.
We, verily, see amongst you him who taketh hold of the Book of God and citeth from it proofs and arguments wherewith to repudiate his Lord, even as the followers of every other Faith sought reasons in their Holy Books for refuting Him Who is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Say: God, the True One, is My witness that neither the Scriptures of the world, nor all the books and writings in existence, shall, in this Day, avail you aught without this, the Living Book, Who proclaimeth in the midmost heart of creation: “Verily, there is none other God but Me, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
<169>يا معشر العلمآء ايّاكم ان تكونوا سبب الاختلاف في الاطراف كما كنتم علّة الاعراض في اوّل الامر اجمعوا النّاس على هذه الكلمة الّتي بها صاحت الحصاة الملك لله مطلع الايات كذلك يعظكم الله فضلاً من عنده انّه لهو الغفور الكريم.
O concourse of divines! Beware lest ye be the cause of strife in the land, even as ye were the cause of the repudiation of the Faith in its early days. Gather the people around this Word that hath made the pebbles to cry out: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Dawning-place of all signs!” Thus doth your Lord admonish you, as a bounty on His part; He, of a truth, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
<170>اذكروا الكريم اذ دعوناه الى الله انّه استكبر بما اتّبع هواه بعد اذ ارسلنا اليه ما قرّت به عين البرهان في الامكان وتمّت حجّة الله على من في السّموات والارضين. انّا امرناه بالاقبال فضلاً من الغنيّ المتعال انّه ولّى مدبراً الى ان اخذته زبانية العذاب عدلاً من الله انّا كنّا شاهدين.
Call ye to mind Karím, and how, when We summoned him unto God, he waxed disdainful, prompted by his own desires; yet We had sent him that which was a solace to the eye of proof in the world of being and the fulfillment of God’s testimony to all the denizens of earth and heaven. As a token of the grace of Him Who is the All-Possessing, the Most High, We bade him embrace the Truth. But he turned away until, as an act of justice from God, angels of wrath laid hold upon him. Unto this We truly were a witness.
<171>اخرقنّ الاحجاب على شأن يسمع اهل الملكوت صوت خرقها هذا امر الله من قبل ومن بعد طوبى لمن عمل بما امر ويل للتّاركين.
Tear the veils asunder in such wise that the inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent. This is the command of God, in days gone by and for those to come. Blessed the man that observeth that whereunto he was bidden, and woe betide the negligent.
<172>انّا ما اردنا في الملك الاّ ظهور الله وسلطانه وكفى بالله عليّ شهيداً. انّا ما اردنا في الملكوت الاّ علوّ امر الله وثنآئه وكفى بالله عليّ وكيلاً. انّا ما اردنا في الجبروت الاّ ذكر الله وما نزّل من عنده وكفى بالله معيناً.
We, of a certainty, have had no purpose in this earthly realm save to make God manifest and to reveal His sovereignty; sufficient unto Me is God for a witness. We, of a certainty, have had no intent in the celestial Kingdom but to exalt His Cause and glorify His praise; sufficient unto Me is God for a protector. We, of a certainty, have had no desire in the Dominion on high except to extol God and what hath been sent down by Him; sufficient unto Me is God for a helper.
<173>طوبى لكم يا معشر العلمآء في البهآء تالله انتم امواج البحر الاعظم وانجم سمآء الفضل والوية النّصر بين السّموات والارضين. انتم مطالع الاستقامة بين البريّة ومشارق البيان لمن في الامكان طوبى لمن اقبل اليكم ويل للمعرضين. ينبغي اليوم لمن شرب رحيق الحيوان من يد الطاف ربّه الرّحمن ان يكون نبّاضاً كالشّريان في جسد الامكان ليتحرّك به العالم وكلّ عظم رميم.
Happy are ye, O ye the learned ones in Bahá. By the Lord! Ye are the billows of the Most Mighty Ocean, the stars of the firmament of Glory, the standards of triumph waving betwixt earth and heaven. Ye are the manifestations of steadfastness amidst men and the daysprings of Divine Utterance to all that dwell on earth. Well is it with him that turneth unto you, and woe betide the froward. This day, it behooveth whoso hath quaffed the Mystic Wine of everlasting life from the Hands of the loving-kindness of the Lord his God, the Merciful, to pulsate even as the throbbing artery in the body of mankind, that through him may be quickened the world and every crumbling bone.
<174>يا اهل الانشآء اذا طارت الورقآء عن ايك الثّنآء وقصدت المقصد الاقصى الاخفى ارجعوا ما لا عرفتموه من الكتاب الى الفرع المنشعب من هذا الاصل القويم.
O people of the world! When the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock.
<175>يا قلم الاعلى تحرّك على اللّوح باذن ربّك فاطر السّمآء ثمّ اذكر اذ اراد مطلع التّوحيد مكتب التّجريد لعلّ الاحرار يطّلعنّ على قدر سمّ الابرة بما هو خلف الاستار من اسرار ربّك العزيز العلاّم. قل انّا دخلنا مكتب المعاني والتّبيان حين غفلة من في الامكان وشاهدنا ما انزله الرّحمن وقبلنا ما اهداه لي من ايات الله المهيمن القيّوم. وسمعنا ما شهد به في اللّوح انّا كنّا شاهدين. واجبناه بامر من عندنا انّا كنّا آمرين.
O Pen of the Most High! Move Thou upon the Tablet at the bidding of Thy Lord, the Creator of the Heavens, and tell of the time when He Who is the Dayspring of Divine Unity purposed to direct His steps towards the School of Transcendent Oneness; haply the pure in heart may gain thereby a glimpse, be it as small as a needle’s eye, of the mysteries of Thy Lord, the Almighty, the Omniscient, that lie concealed behind the veils. Say: We, indeed, set foot within the School of inner meaning and explanation when all created things were unaware. We saw the words sent down by Him Who is the All-Merciful, and We accepted the verses of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, which He11 presented unto Us, and hearkened unto that which He had solemnly affirmed in the Tablet. This we assuredly did behold. And We assented to His wish through Our behest, for truly We are potent to command.
<176>يا ملأ البيان انّا دخلنا مكتب الله اذ انتم راقدون. ولاحظنا اللّوح اذ انتم نآئمون. تالله الحقّ قد قرئناه قبل نزوله وانتم غافلون. قد احطنا الكتاب اذ كنتم في الاصلاب هذا ذكري على قدركم لا على قدر الله يشهد بذلك ما في علم الله لو انتم تعرفون. ويشهد بذلك لسان الله لو انتم تفقهون. تالله لو نكشف الحجاب انتم تنصعقون.
O people of the Bayán! We, verily, set foot within the School of God when ye lay slumbering; and We perused the Tablet while ye were fast asleep. By the one true God! We read the Tablet ere it was revealed, while ye were unaware, and We had perfect knowledge of the Book when ye were yet unborn. These words are to your measure, not to God’s. To this testifieth that which is enshrined within His knowledge, if ye be of them that comprehend; and to this the tongue of the Almighty doth bear witness, if ye be of those who understand. I swear by God, were We to lift the veil, ye would be dumbfounded.
<177>ايّاكم ان تجادلوا في الله وامره انّه ظهر على شأن احاط ما كان وما يكون. لو نتكلّم في هذا المقام بلسان اهل الملكوت لنقول قد خلق الله ذلك المكتب قبل خلق السّموات والارض ودخلنا فيه قبل ان يقترن الكاف بركنها النّون. هذا لسان عبادي في ملكوتي تفكّروا فيما ينطق به لسان اهل جبروتي بما علّمناهم علماً من لدنّا وما كان مستوراً في علم الله وما ينطق به لسان العظمة والاقتدار في مقامه المحمود.
Take heed that ye dispute not idly concerning the Almighty and His Cause, for lo! He hath appeared amongst you invested with a Revelation so great as to encompass all things, whether of the past or of the future. Were We to address Our theme by speaking in the language of the inmates of the Kingdom, We would say: “In truth, God created that School ere He created heaven and earth, and We entered it before the letters B and E were joined and knit together.” Such is the language of Our servants in Our Kingdom; consider what the tongue of the dwellers of Our exalted Dominion would utter, for We have taught them Our knowledge and have revealed to them whatever had lain hidden in God’s wisdom. Imagine then what the Tongue of Might and Grandeur would utter in His All-Glorious Abode!
<178>ليس هذا امر تلعبون به باوهامكم وليس هذا مقام يدخل فيه كلّ جبان موهوم. تالله هذا مضمار المكاشفة والانقطاع وميدان المشاهدة والارتفاع لا يجول فيه الاّ فوارس الرّحمن الّذين نبذوا الامكان اولئك انصار الله في الارض ومشارق الاقتدار بين العالمين.
This is not a Cause which may be made a plaything for your idle fancies, nor is it a field for the foolish and faint of heart. By God, this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment, where none may spur on their chargers save the valiant horsemen of the Merciful, who have severed all attachment to the world of being. These, truly, are they that render God victorious on earth, and are the dawning-places of His sovereign might amidst mankind.
<179>ايّاكم ان يمنعكم ما في البيان عن ربّكم الرّحمن تالله انّه قد نزّل لذكري لو انتم تعرفون. لا يجد منه المخلصون الاّ عرف حبّي واسمي المهيمن على كلّ شاهد ومشهود. قل يا قوم توجّهوا الى ما نزّل من قلمي الاعلى ان وجدتم منه عرف الله لا تعترضوا عليه ولا تمنعوا انفسكم عن فضل الله والطافه كذلك ينصحكم الله انّه لهو النّاصح العليم.
Beware lest aught that hath been revealed in the Bayán should keep you from your Lord, the Most Compassionate. God is My witness that the Bayán was sent down for no other purpose than to celebrate My praise, did ye but know! In it the pure in heart will find only the fragrance of My love, only My Name that overshadoweth all that seeth and is seen. Say: Turn ye, O people, unto that which hath proceeded from My Most Exalted Pen. Should ye inhale therefrom the fragrance of God, set not yourselves against Him, nor deny yourselves a portion of His gracious favor and His manifold bestowals. Thus doth your Lord admonish you; He, verily, is the Counselor, the Omniscient.
<180>ما لا عرفتموه من البيان فاسئلوا الله ربّكم ورب ابآئكم الأوّلين. انّه لو يشآء يبيّن لكم ما نزّل فيه وما ستر في بحر كلماته من لئالي العلم والحكمة انّه لهو المهيمن على الاسمآء لا اله الاّ هو المهيمن القيّوم.
Whatsoever ye understand not in the Bayán, ask it of God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. Should He so desire, He will expound for you that which is revealed therein, and disclose to you the pearls of Divine knowledge and wisdom that lie concealed within the ocean of its words. He, verily, is supreme over all names; no God is there but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
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