و عنقریب است که اعلام قدرت الهی را در هم ه بلاد مرتفع بینی و آثار غلبه و سلطنت او را در جمیع دیار ظاهر مشاهده فرمائی باری اکثر علما چون این آیات را ادراک ننموده اند و از مقصود قیامت واقف نشده اند لهذا جمیع را بقیامت موهوم من حیث لّ یشعر تفسیر مینمایند خدای واحد شاهد است که اگر قدری بصیرت باشد از تلویح همین دو آیه جمیع مطالب که مقصود است ادراک میشود و بصبح منیر ایقان بعنایت رحمن واصل میگردند کذلک تغنّ علیک حمامة البقآء علی افنان سدرة البهآء لعلّ تکوننّ فی مناهج العلم و الحکمة باذن الله سالکا
Ere long, thine eyes will behold the standards of divine power unfurled throughout all regions, and the signs of His triumphant might and sovereignty manifest in every land. As most of the divines have failed to apprehend the meaning of these verses, and have not grasped the significance of the Day of Resurrection, they therefore have foolishly interpreted these verses according to their idle and faulty conception. The one true God is My witness! Little perception is required to enable them to gather from the symbolic language of these two verses all that We have purposed to propound, and thus to attain, through the grace of the All-Merciful, the resplendent morn of certitude. Such are the strains of celestial melody which the immortal Bird of Heaven, warbling upon the Sadrih of Bahá, poureth out upon thee, that, by the permission of God, thou mayest tread the path of divine knowledge and wisdom.
و قوله یرسل ملائکته الی آخر القول مقصود از این ملائکه آن نفوسی هستند که بقوّ ه روحانیّه صفات بشریّه را بنار محبّت الهی سوختند و بصفات عالین و کرّوبیّ ین متّصف گشتند چنانچه حضرتصادق در وصف کرّوب یّین میفرماید قومی از شیعیان ما هستند خلف عرش و از ذکر خلف العرشاگرچه معانی بسیار منظور بوده هم بر حسب ظاهر و هم بر حسب باطن ولیکن در یک مقام مدلسّتبر عدم وجود شیعه چنانچه در مقام دیگر میفرماید مؤمن مثل کبریت احمر است و بعد بمستمعمیفرماید آیا کبریت احمر دیده ئی ملتفت شوید باین تلویح که ابلغ از تصریح است دلّلت میکند بر عدموجود مؤمن این قول آن حضرت و حال مشاهده کن چه قدر از این خلق بی انصاف که رائح ه ایماننشنیده اند مع ذلک کسانی را که بقول ایشان ایمان محقّق میشود نسبت بکفر میدهند
And now, concerning His words: “And He shall send His angels.…” By “angels” is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings and of the Cherubim. That holy man, Ṣádiq,62 in his eulogy of the Cherubim, saith: “There stand a company of our fellow-Shí‘ihs behind the Throne.” Divers and manifold are the interpretations of the words “behind the Throne.” In one sense, they indicate that no true Shí‘ihs exist. Even as he hath said in another passage: “A true believer is likened unto the philosopher’s stone.” Addressing subsequently his listener, he saith: “Hast thou ever seen the philosopher’s stone?” Reflect, how this symbolic language, more eloquent than any speech, however direct, testifieth to the nonexistence of a true believer. Such is the testimony of Ṣádiq. And now consider, how unfair and numerous are those who, although they themselves have failed to inhale the fragrance of belief, have condemned as infidels those by whose word belief itself is recognized and established.
باری چون این وجودات قدس یّه از عوارض بشریّه پاک و مقدّس گشتند و متخلقّ باخلاقروحانیّ ین و متّصف باوصاف مقدّسین شدند لهذا اسم ملائکه بر آن نفوس مقدّسه اطلاق گشته باری اینست معنی این کلمات که هر فقر ه آن بآیات واضحه و دلیلهای متقنه و براهین لّئحه اظهار شد
And now, inasmuch as these holy beings have sanctified themselves from every human limitation, have become endowed with the attributes of the spiritual, and have been adorned with the noble traits of the blessed, they therefore have been designated as “angels.” Such is the meaning of these verses, every word of which hath been expounded by the aid of the most lucid texts, the most convincing arguments, and the best established evidences.
و چون امم عیسی باین معانی نرسیدند و این علامات بر حسب ظاهر چنانچه خود و علمای ایشان ادراک نموده اند ظاهر نشد لهذا بمظاهر قدسیّه از آن یوم تا بحال اقبال ننمودند و از جمیع فیوضات قدسیّه محروم شدند و از بدایع کلمات صمدانیّه محجوب گشتند اینست شأن این عباد در یوم معاد و اینقدر ادراک ننمودند که اگر در هر عصری علائم ظهور مطابق آنچه در اخبار است در عالم ظاهر ظاهر شود دیگر که را یارای انکار و اعراض میماند و چگونه میان سعید و شقی و مجرم و متّقی تفصیل میشود مثلا انصاف دهید اگر این عبارات که در انجیل مسطور است بر حسب ظاهر ظاهر شود و ملائکه با عیسی بن مریم از سماء ظاهره با ابری نازل شوند دیگر که یارای تکذیب دارد و یا که لّیق انکار و قابل استکبار باشد بلکه فی الفور هم ه اهل ارض را اضطراب بقسمی احاطه میکند که قادر بر حرف و تکلمّ نیستند تا چه رسد برد و قبول و نظر بعدم ادراک این معانی بود که جمعی از علمای نصاری بآن حضرت معارضه نمودند که اگر تو آن نبیّ موعودی چرا با تو نیستند آن ملائکه که در کتب ما مسطور است که باید با جمال موعود بیایند تا او را اعانت نمایند در امر او و منذر باشند برای عباد چنانچه ربّ الع زّة از لسان ایشان خبر داده لو لّ انزل الیه ملک فیکون معه نذیرا که مضمون آن این است چرا فرو فرستاده نشد با محمّد ملکی پس باشد با او بیم دهنده و ترساننده مردمان را
As the adherents of Jesus have never understood the hidden meaning of these words, and as the signs which they and the leaders of their Faith have expected have failed to appear, they therefore refused to acknowledge, even until now, the truth of those Manifestations of Holiness that have since the days of Jesus been made manifest. They have thus deprived themselves of the outpourings of God’s holy grace, and of the wonders of His divine utterance. Such is their low estate in this, the Day of Resurrection! They have even failed to perceive that were the signs of the Manifestation of God in every age to appear in the visible realm in accordance with the text of established traditions, none could possibly deny or turn away, nor would the blessed be distinguished from the miserable, and the transgressor from the God-fearing. Judge fairly: Were the prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be literally fulfilled; were Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by angels, to descend from the visible heaven upon the clouds; who would dare to disbelieve, who would dare to reject the truth, and wax disdainful? Nay, such consternation would immediately seize all the dwellers of the earth that no soul would feel able to utter a word, much less to reject or accept the truth. It was owing to their misunderstanding of these truths that many a Christian divine hath objected to Muḥammad, and voiced his protest in such words: “If Thou art in truth the promised Prophet, why then art Thou not accompanied by those angels our sacred Books foretold, and which must needs descend with the promised Beauty to assist Him in His Revelation and act as warners unto His people?” Even as the All-Glorious hath recorded their statement: “Why hath not an angel been sent down to Him, so that he should have been a warner with Him?”63
اینست که در هم ه اعهاد و اعصار اینگونه اعتراضات و اختلافات در میان مردم بوده و همیش ه ایّام مشغول بزخارف قول میشدند که فلان علامت ظاهر نشد و فلان برهان باهر نیامد و این مرضها عارض نمیشد مگر آنکه تمسّک بعلمای عصر میجستند در تصدیق و تکذیب این جواهر مجرّده و هیاکل الهیّه و ایشان هم نظر باستغراق در شئونات نفسیّه و اشتغال بامورات دنیّ ه فانیه این شموس باقیه را مخالف علم و ادراک و معارض جهد و اجتهاد خود میدیدند و معانی کلمات الهیّه و احادیث و اخبار حروفات احدیّه را هم بر سبیل ظاهر بادراک خود معنی و بیان مینمودند لهذا خود و جمیع ناسرا از نیسان فضل و رحمت ایزدی مأیوس و مهجور نمودند با اینکه خود مذعن و مقرّند بحدیثمشهور که میفرماید حدیثنا صعب مستصعب و در جای دیگر میفرماید انّ امرنا صعب مستصعب لّیحتمله الّّ ملک مقرّب او نبیّ مرسل او عبد امتحن الله قلبه للایمان و مسلمّ است نزد خود ایشان کههیچیک از این ثلاثه در حقّ ایشان صادق نیست دو قسم اوّل که واضحست و امّا ثالث هرگز ازامتحانات الهی سالم نماندند و در ظهور محکّ الهی جز غش چیزی از ایشان بظهور نرسید
Such objections and differences have persisted in every age and century. The people have always busied themselves with such specious discourses, vainly protesting: “Wherefore hath not this or that sign appeared?” Such ills befell them only because they have clung to the ways of the divines of the age in which they lived, and blindly imitated them in accepting or denying these Essences of Detachment, these holy and divine Beings. These leaders, owing to their immersion in selfish desires, and their pursuit of transitory and sordid things, have regarded these divine Luminaries as being opposed to the standards of their knowledge and understanding, and the opponents of their ways and judgments. As they have literally interpreted the Word of God, and the sayings and traditions of the Letters of Unity, and expounded them according to their own deficient understanding, they have therefore deprived themselves and all their people of the bountiful showers of the grace and mercies of God. And yet they bear witness to this well-known tradition: “Verily Our Word is abstruse, bewilderingly abstruse.” In another instance, it is said: “Our Cause is sorely trying, highly perplexing; none can bear it except a favorite of heaven, or an inspired Prophet, or he whose faith God hath tested.” These leaders of religion admit that none of these three specified conditions is applicable to them. The first two conditions are manifestly beyond their reach; as to the third, it is evident that at no time have they been proof against those tests that have been sent by God, and that when the divine Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves to be naught but dross.
سبحان الله با وجود اقرار باین حدیث علمائی که در مسائل شرعیّه هنوز در ظنّ و شکّند چگونهدر غوامض مسائل اصول الهیّه و جواهر اسرار کلمات قدسیّه اظهار علم مینمایند و میگویند فلانحدیث که از علائم ظهور قائم است هنوز ظاهر نشده با اینکه رائح ه معانی احادیث را ابدا ادراک ننموده اند و غافل از اینکه جمیع علامات ظاهر شد و صراط امر کشیده گشت و المؤمنون کالبرق علیه یمرّون و هم لظهور العلامة ینتظرون قل یا ملأ الجهّال فانتظروا کما کان الذّین من قبلکم لمن المنتظرین
Great God! Notwithstanding their acceptance of the truth of this tradition, these divines who are still doubtful of, and dispute about, the theological obscurities of their faith, yet claim to be the exponents of the subtleties of the law of God, and the expounders of the essential mysteries of His holy Word. They confidently assert that such traditions as indicate the advent of the expected Qá’im have not yet been fulfilled, whilst they themselves have failed to inhale the fragrance of the meaning of these traditions, and are still oblivious of the fact that all the signs foretold have come to pass, that the way of God’s holy Cause hath been revealed, and the concourse of the faithful, swift as lightning, are, even now, passing upon that way, whilst these foolish divines wait expecting to witness the signs foretold. Say, O ye foolish ones! Wait ye even as those before you are waiting!
و اگر از ایشان سؤال شود از شرایط ظهور انبیای بعد که در کتب قبل است از جمل ه آنها علامات ظهور و اشراق شمس محمّدیست چنانچه مذکور شد و بر حسب ظاهر هیچیک ظاهر نشد مع ذلک بچه دلیل و برهان نصاری و امثال آنها را رد مینمائید و حکم بر کفر آنها نموده اید چون عاجز از جواب میشوند تمسّک باین نمایند که این کتب تحریف شده و من عند الله نبوده و نیست و حال آنکه خود عبارات آیه شهادت میدهد بر اینکه من عند الله است و مضمون همین آیه در قرآن هم موجود است لو انتم تعرفون براستی میگویم مقصود از تحریف را در این مدّت ادراک ننمود هاند
Were they to be questioned concerning those signs that must needs herald the revelation and rise of the sun of the Muḥammadan Dispensation, to which We have already referred, none of which have been literally fulfilled, and were it to be said to them: “Wherefore have ye rejected the claims advanced by Christians and the peoples of other faiths and regard them as infidels,” knowing not what answer to give, they will reply: “These Books have been corrupted and are not, and never have been, of God.” Reflect: the words of the verses themselves eloquently testify to the truth that they are of God. A similar verse hath been also revealed in the Qur’án, were ye of them that comprehend. Verily I say, throughout all this period they have utterly failed to comprehend what is meant by corrupting the text.
بلی در آیات منزله و کلمات مرایای احمدیّه ذکر تحریف عالین و تبدیل مستکبرین هست ولیکن در مواضع مخصوصه ذکر شده و از آن جمله حکایت ابن صوریاست در وقتی که اهل خیبر در حکم قصاص زنای محصن و محصنه از نقط ه فرقان سؤال نمودند و آن حضرت فرمود حکم خدا رجم است و ایشان انکار نمودند که در تورات چنین حکمی نیست حضرت فرمود از علمای خود که را مسل مّ و کلام او را مصدّقید ابن صوریا را قبول نمودند و حضرت او را احضار نمود و فرمود اقسمک بالله الذّی فلق لکم البحر و انزل علیکم المنّ و ظللّ لکم الغمام و نجّاکم من فرعون و ملإه و فضّلکم علی النّاس بأن تذکر لنا ما حکم به موسی فی قصاص الزّانی المحصن و الزّانیة المحصنة که مضمون آن این است که آن حضرت ابن صوریا را باین قسمهای مؤکّد قسم دادند که در تورات حکم قصاص در زنای محصن چه نازل شده عرض نمود یا محمّد رجم است آن حضرت فرمود پس چرا این حکم میان یهود منسوخ شده و مجری نیست عرض نمود چون بختنصّ ر بیت المقدّس را بسوخت و جمیع یهود را بقتل رساند دیگر یهودی در ارض باقی نماند الّّ معدودی قلیل و علمای آن عصر نظر بقلتّ یهود و کثرت عمالقه بمشاوره جمع شدند که اگر موافق حکم تورات عمل شود آنچه از دستبختنصّ ر نجات یافتند بحکم کتاب مقتول میشوند و باین مصالح حکم قتل را از میان بالمرّ ه برداشتندباری در این بین جبرئیل بر قلب منیرش نازل شد و این آیه عرض نمود یحرّفون الکلم عن مواضعه این یک موضع بود که ذکر شد و در این مقام مقصود از تحریف نچنانست که این همج رعاعفهم نموده اند چنانچه بعضی میگویند که علمای یهود و نصاری آیاتی را که در وصف طلعت محمّدیّهبود از کتاب محو نمودند و مخالف آن را ثبت کردند این قول نهایت بی معنی و بی اصلست آیا میشودکسی که معتقد بکتابی گشته و من عند الله دانسته آن را محو نماید و از این گذشته تورات در هم ه روی ارض بود منحصر به مکّّه و مدینه نبود که بتوانند تغییر دهند و یا تبدیل نمایند بلکه مقصود از تحریف همین است که الیوم جمیع علمای فرقان بآن مشغولند و آن تفسیر و معنی نمودن کتابست بر هوی و میل خود و چون یهود در زمان آن حضرت آیات تورات را که مدلّ بر ظهور آن حضرت بود بهوای خود تفسیر نمودند و ببیان آن حضرت راضی نشدند لهذا حکم تحریف در بار ه آنها صدور یافت چنانچه الیوم مشهود است که چگونه تحریف نمودند امّت فرقان آیات کتاب را در علامات ظهور بمیل و هوای خود تفسیر مینمایند چنانچه مشهود است
Yea, in the writings and utterances of the Mirrors reflecting the sun of the Muḥammadan Dispensation mention hath been made of “Modification by the exalted beings” and “alteration by the disdainful.” Such passages, however, refer only to particular cases. Among them is the story of Ibn-i-Ṣúríyá. When the people of Khaybar asked the focal center of the Muḥammadan Revelation concerning the penalty of adultery committed between a married man and a married woman, Muḥammad answered and said: “The law of God is death by stoning.” Whereupon they protested saying: “No such law hath been revealed in the Pentateuch.” Muḥammad answered and said: “Whom do ye regard among your rabbis as being a recognized authority and having a sure knowledge of the truth?” They agreed upon Ibn-i-Súríyá. Thereupon Muḥammad summoned him and said: “I adjure thee by God Who clove the sea for you, caused manna to descend upon you, and the cloud to overshadow you, Who delivered you from Pharaoh and his people, and exalted you above all human beings, to tell us what Moses hath decreed concerning adultery between a married man and a married woman.” He made reply: “O Muḥammad! death by stoning is the law.” Muḥammad observed: “Why is it then that this law is annulled and hath ceased to operate among the Jews?” He answered and said: “When Nebuchadnezzar delivered Jerusalem to the flames, and put the Jews to death, only a few survived. The divines of that age, considering the extremely limited number of the Jews, and the multitude of the Amalekites, took counsel together, and came to the conclusion that were they to enforce the law of the Pentateuch, every survivor who hath been delivered from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar would have to be put to death according to the verdict of the Book. Owing to such considerations, they totally repealed the penalty of death.” Meanwhile Gabriel inspired Muḥammad’s illumined heart with these words: “They pervert the text of the Word of God.”64
و در مقام دیگر میفرماید و قد کان فریق منهم یسمعون کلام الله ثمّ یحرّفونه من بعد ما عقلوه و هم یعلمون و این آیه هم مدلّ است بر تحریف معانی کلام الهی نه بر محو کلمات ظاهریّه چنانچه از آیه مستفاد میشود و عقول مستقیمه هم ادراک مینماید
This is one of the instances that have been referred to. Verily by “perverting” the text is not meant that which these foolish and abject souls have fancied, even as some maintain that Jewish and Christian divines have effaced from the Book such verses as extol and magnify the countenance of Muḥammad, and instead thereof have inserted the contrary. How utterly vain and false are these words! Can a man who believeth in a book, and deemeth it to be inspired by God, mutilate it? Moreover, the Pentateuch had been spread over the surface of the earth, and was not confined to Mecca and Medina, so that they could privily corrupt and pervert its text. Nay, rather, by corruption of the text is meant that in which all Muslim divines are engaged today, that is the interpretation of God’s holy Book in accordance with their idle imaginings and vain desires. And as the Jews, in the time of Muḥammad, interpreted those verses of the Pentateuch that referred to His Manifestation after their own fancy, and refused to be satisfied with His holy utterance, the charge of “perverting” the text was therefore pronounced against them. Likewise, it is clear, how in this day, the people of the Qur’án have perverted the text of God’s holy Book, concerning the signs of the expected Manifestation, and interpreted it according to their inclination and desires.
و در موضع دیگر میفرماید فویل للذّین یکتبون الکتاب بأیدیهم ثمّ یقولون هذا من عند الله لیشتروا به ثمنا قلیلا الی آخر الآیة و این آیه در شأن علمای یهود و بزرگان ایشان نازل شد که آن علما بواسط ه استرضای خاطر اغنیا و استجلاب زخارف دنیا و اظهار غل و کفر الواحی چند بر ردّ حضرت نوشتند و بدلّئلی چند مستدلّ شدند که ذکر آنها جایز نه و نسبت دادند ادلهّ های خود را که از اسفار تورات مستفاد گشته
In yet another instance, He saith: “A part of them heard the Word of God, and then, after they had understood it, distorted it, and knew that they did so.”65 This verse, too, doth indicate that the meaning of the Word of God hath been perverted, not that the actual words have been effaced. To the truth of this testify they that are sound of mind. Again in another instance, He saith: “Woe unto those who, with their own hands, transcribe the Book corruptly, and then say: ‘This is from God,’ that they may sell it for some mean price.”66 This verse was revealed with reference to the divines and leaders of the Jewish Faith. These divines, in order to please the rich, acquire worldly emoluments, and give vent to their envy and misbelief, wrote a number of treatises, refuting the claims of Muḥammad, supporting their arguments with such evidences as it would be improper to mention, and claimed that these arguments were derived from the text of the Pentateuch.
چنانچه الیوم مشاهده میشود که چه مقدار رد بر این امر بدیع علمای جاهل عصر نوشته اند و گمان نمودهاند که این مفتریات مطابق آیات کتاب و موافق کلمات اولی الألبابست
The same may be witnessed today. Consider how abundant are the denunciations written by the foolish divines of this age against this most wondrous Cause! How vain their imaginings that these calumnies are in conformity with the verses of God’s sacred Book, and in consonance with the utterances of men of discernment!
باری مقصود از این اذکار این بود که اگر بگویند این علائم مذکوره که از انجیل ذکر شد تحریف یافته و رد نمایند و متمسّک بآیات و اخبار شوند مطّلع باشید که کذب محض و افترای صرفست بلی ذکر تحریف باین معنی که ذکر شد در اماکن مشخّصه هست چنانچه بعضی از آن را ذکر نمودیم تا معلوم و مبرهن شود بر هر ذی بصری که احاط ه علوم ظاهره هم نزد بعضی از امّ یّین الهی هست دیگر معارضین باین خیال نیفتند و معارضه ننمایند که فلان آیه دلیل بر تحریفست و این اصحاب از عدم اطّلاع ذکر این مراتب و مطالب را نموده اند و دیگر آنکه اکثر آیات که مشعر برتحریفست در بار ه یهود نازل شده لو انتم فی جزائر علم الفرقان تحبرون
Our purpose in relating these things is to warn you that were they to maintain that those verses wherein the signs referred to in the Gospel are mentioned have been perverted, were they to reject them, and cling instead to other verses and traditions, you should know that their words were utter falsehood and sheer calumny. Yea “corruption” of the text, in the sense We have referred to, hath been actually effected in particular instances. A few of these We have mentioned, that it may become manifest to every discerning observer that unto a few untutored holy Men hath been given the mastery of human learning, so that the malevolent opposer may cease to contend that a certain verse doth indicate “corruption” of the text, and insinuate that We, through lack of knowledge, have made mention of such things. Moreover, most of the verses that indicate “corruption” of the text have been revealed with reference to the Jewish people, were ye to explore the isles of Qur’ánic Revelation.
اگرچه از بعضی حمقای ارض شنیده شد که انجیل سماوی در دست نصاری نیست و بآسمانرفته دیگر غافل از اینکه از همین قول نسبت کمال ظلم و جبر برای حضرت باری جلّ و عزّ ثابتمیشود زیرا بعد از آنکه شمس جمال عیسی از میان قوم غایب شد و بفلک چهارم ارتقا فرمود و کتابحقّ جلّ ذکره که اعظم برهان اوست میان خلق او آن هم غایب شود دیگر آن خلق از زمان عیسی تازمان اشراق شمس محمّدی بچه متمسّکند و بکدام امر مأمور و دیگر چگونه مورد انتقام منتقم حقیقیمیشوند و محلّ نزول عذاب و سیاط سلطان معنوی میگردند از همه گذشته انقطاع فیض فیّاض وانسداد باب رحمت سلطان ایجاد لّزم میآید فنعوذ بالله عمّا یظنّ العباد فی حقّه فتعالی عمّا هم یعرفون ای عزیز در این صبح ازلی که انوار الله نور السّموات و الأر ض عالم را احاطه نموده و سرادق عصمت و حفظ و یأبی الله الّّ ان یتمّ نوره مرتفع گشته و ید قدرت و بیده ملکوت کلّ شیء مبسوط و قائم شده کمر همّت را محکم باید بست که شاید بعنایت و مکرمت الهی در مدین ه قدس یّ ه انّا لله وارد شویم تا بمواقع عزّ الیه راجعون مقرّ یابیم انشآءالله باید چشم دل را از اشارات آب و گل پاک نمود تا ادراک مراتب ما لّ نهای ه عرفان نمائید و حقّ را اظهر از آن بینید که در اثبات وجودش بدلیلی محتاج شوید و یا بحجّتی تمسّک جوئید
We have also heard a number of the foolish of the earth assert that the genuine text of the heavenly Gospel doth not exist amongst the Christians, that it hath ascended unto heaven. How grievously they have erred! How oblivious of the fact that such a statement imputeth the gravest injustice and tyranny to a gracious and loving Providence! How could God, when once the Daystar of the beauty of Jesus had disappeared from the sight of His people, and ascended unto the fourth heaven, cause His holy Book, His most great testimony amongst His creatures, to disappear also? What would be left to that people to cling to from the setting of the daystar of Jesus until the rise of the sun of the Muḥammadan Dispensation? What law could be their stay and guide? How could such people be made the victims of the avenging wrath of God, the omnipotent Avenger? How could they be afflicted with the scourge of chastisement by the heavenly King? Above all, how could the flow of the grace of the All-Bountiful be stayed? How could the ocean of His tender mercies be stilled? We take refuge with God, from that which His creatures have fancied about Him! Exalted is He above their comprehension! Dear friend! Now when the light of God’s everlasting Morn is breaking; when the radiance of His holy words: “God is the light of the heavens and of the earth”67 is shedding illumination upon all mankind; when the inviolability of His tabernacle is being proclaimed by His sacred utterance: “God hath willed to perfect His light”;68 and the Hand of omnipotence, bearing His testimony: “In His grasp He holdeth the kingdom of all things,” is being outstretched unto all the peoples and kindreds of the earth; it behooveth us to gird up the loins of endeavor, that haply, by the grace and bounty of God, we may enter the celestial City: “Verily, we are God’s,” and abide within the exalted habitation: “And unto Him we do return.” It is incumbent upon thee, by the permission of God, to cleanse the eye of thine heart from the things of the world, that thou mayest realize the infinitude of divine knowledge, and mayest behold Truth so clearly that thou wilt need no proof to demonstrate His reality, nor any evidence to bear witness unto His testimony.
ای سائل محبّ اگر در هوای روح روحانی طائری حقّ را ظاهر فوق کلّ شیء بینی بقسمی که جز او را نیابی کان الله و لم یکن معه من شیء و این مقام مقدّس از آنست که بدلیلی مدللّ شود و یا آنکه ببرهانی باهر آید و اگر در فضای قدس حقیقت سایری کلّ اشیاء بمعروفیّت او معروفند و او بنفسه معروف بوده و خواهد بود و اگر در ارض دلیل ساکنی کفایت کن بآنچه خود فرموده أ و لم یکفهم انّا انزلنا علیک الکتاب اینست حجّتی که خود قرار فرموده و اعظم از این حجّت نبوده و نیست دلیله آیاته و وجوده اثباتهدر
O affectionate seeker! Shouldst thou soar in the holy realm of the spirit, thou wouldst recognize God manifest and exalted above all things, in such wise that thine eyes would behold none else but Him. “God was alone; there was none else besides Him.” So lofty is this station that no testimony can bear it witness, neither evidence do justice to its truth. Wert thou to explore the sacred domain of truth, thou wilt find that all things are known only by the light of His recognition, that He hath ever been, and will continue forever to be, known through Himself. And if thou dwellest in the land of testimony, content thyself with that which He, Himself, hath revealed: “Is it not enough for them that We have sent down unto Thee the Book?”69 This is the testimony which He, Himself, hath ordained; greater proof than this there is none, nor ever will be: “This proof is His Word; His own Self, the testimony of His truth.”
این وقت از اهل بیان و عرفا و حکما و علما و شهدای آن استدعا مینمایم که وصایای الهی را که در کتاب فرموده فراموش ننمایند و همیشه ناظر باصل امر باشند که مبادا حین ظهور آن جوهر الجواهر و حقیقة الحقائق و نور الأنوار متمسّک ببعضی عبارات کتاب شوند و بر او وارد بیاورند آنچه را که در کور فرقان وارد آمد چه که آن سلطان هویّه قادر است بر اینکه جمیع بیان و خلق آن را بحرفی از بدایع کلمات خود قبض روح فرماید و یا بحرفی جمیع را حیات بدیع ه قدمیّه بخشد و از قبور نفس و هوی محشور و مبعوث نماید ملتفت و مراقب بوده که جمیع منتهی بایمان باو و ادراک ایّام و لقای او میشود لیس البرّ ان تولوّا وجوهکم قبل المشرق و المغرب ولکنّ البرّ من آمن بالله و الیو م الآخر اسمعوا یا اهل البیان ما وصّیناکم بالحقّ لعلّ تسکننّ فی ظلّ کان فی ایّام الله ممدود ا
And now, We beseech the people of the Bayán, all the learned, the sages, the divines, and witnesses amongst them, not to forget the wishes and admonitions revealed in their Book. Let them, at all times, fix their gaze upon the essentials of His Cause, lest when He, Who is the Quintessence of truth, the inmost Reality of all things, the Source of all light, is made manifest, they cling unto certain passages of the Book, and inflict upon Him that which was inflicted in the Dispensation of the Qur’án. For, verily, powerful is He, the King of divine might, to extinguish with one letter of His wondrous words, the breath of life in the whole of the Bayán and the people thereof, and with one letter bestow upon them a new and everlasting life, and cause them to arise and speed out of the sepulchers of their vain and selfish desires. Take heed, and be watchful; and remember that all things have their consummation in belief in Him, in attainment unto His day, and in the realization of His divine presence. “There is no piety in turning your faces toward the east or toward the west, but he is pious who believeth in God and the Last Day.”70 Give ear, O people of the Bayán, unto the truth whereunto We have admonished you, that haply ye may seek the shelter of the shadow extended, in the Day of God, upon all mankind.END OF PART ONE
الباب المذکور فی بیان انّ شمس الحقیقة و مظهر نفس الله لیکوننّ سلطانا علی من فی السّموات والأرض و ان لن یطیعه احد من اهل الأرض و غنیّا عن کلّ من فی الملک و ان لم یکن عنده دینارکذلک نظهر لک من اسرار الأمر و نلقی علیک من جواهر الحکمة لتطیرنّ بجناحی الّنقطاع فیالهوآء الذّی کان عن الأبصار مستور ا
Part TwoVerily He Who is the Daystar of Truth and Revealer of the Supreme Being holdeth, for all time, undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him. He verily is independent of all earthly dominion, though He be utterly destitute. Thus We reveal unto thee the mysteries of the Cause of God, and bestow upon thee the gems of divine wisdom, that haply thou mayest soar on the wings of renunciation to those heights that are veiled from the eyes of men.
لطائف و جواهر این باب آنکه بر صاحبان نفوس زکیّه و مرایای قدسیّه مبرهن و واضح شود کهشموس حقیقت و مرایای احدیّت در هر عصر و زمان که از خیام غیب هویّه بعالم شهاده ظهورمیفرمایند برای تربیت ممکنات و ابلاغ فیض بر هم ه موجودات با سلطنتی قاهر و سطوتی غالب ظاهر میشوند چه که این جواهر مخزونه و کنوز غیبیّ ه مکنونه محلّ ظهور یفعل الله ما یشآء و یحکم ما یریدند
The significance and essential purpose underlying these words is to reveal and demonstrate unto the pure in heart and the sanctified in spirit that they Who are the Luminaries of truth and the Mirrors reflecting the light of divine Unity, in whatever age and cycle they are sent down from their invisible habitations of ancient glory unto this world, to educate the souls of men and endue with grace all created things, are invariably endowed with an all-compelling power, and invested with invincible sovereignty. For these hidden Gems, these concealed and invisible Treasures, in themselves manifest and vindicate the reality of these holy words: “Verily God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.”
و بر اولی العلم و افئد ه منیره واضحست که غیب هویّه و ذات احدیّه مقدّس از بروز و ظهور و صعود و نزول و دخول و خروج بوده و متعالیست از وصف هر واصفی و ادراک هر مدرکی لمیزل در ذات خود غیب بوده و هست و لّیزال بکینونت خود مستور از ابصار و انظار خواهد بود لّ تدرکه الأبصار و هو یدرک الأبصار و هو اللطّیف الخبیر چه میان او و ممکنات نسبت و ربط و فصل و وصل و یا قرب و بعد و جهت و اشاره بهیچوجه ممکن نه زیرا که جمیع من فی السّموات و الأرض بکلمئ امر او موجود شدند و باراد ه او که نفس مشیّت است از عدم و نیستی بحت باتّ بعرص ه شهود و هستی قدم گذاشتند
To every discerning and illumined heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. He is and hath ever been veiled in the ancient eternity of His Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight of men. “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving.”71 No tie of direct intercourse can possibly bind Him to His creatures. He standeth exalted beyond and above all separation and union, all proximity and remoteness. No sign can indicate His presence or His absence; inasmuch as by a word of His command all that are in heaven and on earth have come to exist, and by His wish, which is the Primal Will itself, all have stepped out of utter nothingness into the realm of being, the world of the visible.
سبحان الله بلکه میان ه ممکنات و کلم ه او هم نسبت و ربطی نبوده و نخواهد بود و یحذّرکم الله نفسه بر این مطلب برهانیست واضح و کان الله و لم یکن معه من شیء دلیلی است لّئح چنانچه جمیع انبیا و اوصیا و علما و عرفا و حکما بر عدم بلوغ معرفت آن جوهر الجواهر و بر عجز از عرفان و وصول آن حقیقة الحقائق مقرّ و مذعنند
Gracious God! How could there be conceived any existing relationship or possible connection between His Word and they that are created of it? The verse: “God would have you beware of Himself”72 unmistakably beareth witness to the reality of Our argument, and the words: “God was alone; there was none else besides Him” are a sure testimony of its truth. All the Prophets of God and their chosen Ones, all the divines, the sages, and the wise of every generation, unanimously recognize their inability to attain unto the comprehension of that Quintessence of all truth, and confess their incapacity to grasp Him, Who is the inmost Reality of all things.
و چون ابواب عرفان ذات ازل بر وجه ممکنات مسدود شد لهذا باقتضای رحمت واسع ه سبقت رحمته کلّ شیء و وسعت رحمتی کلّ شیء جواهر قدس نورانی را از عوالم روح روحانی بهیاکل عزّ انسانی در میان خلق ظاهر فرمود تا حکایت نمایند از آن ذات ازلیّه و ساذج قدمیّه و این مرایای قدسیّه و مطالع هویّه بتمامهم از آن شمس وجود و جوهر مقصود حکایت مینمایند مثلا علم ایشان از علم او و قدرت ایشان از قدرت او و سلطنت ایشان از سلطنت او و جمال ایشان ازجمال او و ظهور ایشان از ظهور او و ایشانند مخازن علوم ربّانی و مواقع حکمت صمدانی و مظاهر فیض نامتناهی و مطالع شمس لّیزالی چنانچه میفرماید لّ فرق بینک و بینهم الّّ بأنّهم عبادک و خلقک و اینست مقام انا هو و هو انا که در حدیث مذکور است
The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace, according to His saying: “His grace hath transcended all things; My grace hath encompassed them all” hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable Essence. These sanctified Mirrors, these Daysprings of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the light that can never fade. Even as He hath said: “There is no distinction whatsoever between Thee and them; except that they are Thy servants, and are created of Thee.” This is the significance of the tradition: “I am He, Himself, and He is I, myself.”
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