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Sanctified be the Lord of all mankind, at the mention of Whose name all |
the atoms of the earth have been made to vibrate, and the Tongue of |
Grandeur hath been moved to disclose that which had been wrapt in His |
knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury of His might. He, verily, |
through the potency of His name, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the Most |
High, is the ruler of all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. |
LAWḤ-I-AQDAS (THE MOST HOLY TABLET)(1) |
This is the Most Holy Tablet sent down from the holy kingdom unto the one |
who hath set his face towards the Object of the adoration of the world, He |
Who hath come from the heaven of eternity, invested with transcendent |
glory |
In the name of the Lord, the Lord of great glory. |
THIS is an Epistle from Our presence unto him whom the veils of names have |
failed to keep back from God, the Creator of earth and heaven, that his |
eyes may be cheered in the days of his Lord, the Help in Peril, the |
Self-Subsisting. |
Say, O followers of the Son!(2) Have ye shut out yourselves from Me by |
reason of My Name? Wherefore ponder ye not in your hearts? Day and night |
ye have been calling upon your Lord, the Omnipotent, but when He came from |
the heaven of eternity in His great glory, ye turned aside from Him and |
remained sunk in heedlessness. |
Consider those who rejected the Spirit(3) when He came unto them with |
manifest dominion. How numerous the Pharisees who had secluded themselves |
in synagogues in His name, lamenting over their separation from Him, and |
yet when the portals of reunion were flung open and the divine Luminary |
shone resplendent from the Dayspring of Beauty, they disbelieved in God, |
the Exalted, the Mighty. They failed to attain His presence, |
notwithstanding that His advent had been promised them in the Book of |
Isaiah as well as in the Books of the Prophets and the Messengers. No one |
from among them turned his face towards the Dayspring of divine bounty |
except such as were destitute of any power amongst men. And yet, today, |
every man endowed with power and invested with sovereignty prideth himself |
on His Name. Moreover, call thou to mind the one who sentenced Jesus to |
death. He was the most learned of his age in his own country, whilst he |
who was only a fisherman believed in Him. Take good heed and be of them |
that observe the warning. |
Consider likewise, how numerous at this time are the monks who have |
secluded themselves in their churches, calling upon the Spirit, but when |
He appeared through the power of Truth, they failed to draw nigh unto Him |
and are numbered with those that have gone far astray. Happy are they that |
have abandoned them and set their faces towards Him Who is the Desire of |
all that are in the heavens and all that are on the earth. |
They read the Evangel and yet refuse to acknowledge the All-Glorious Lord, |
notwithstanding that He hath come through the potency of His exalted, His |
mighty and gracious dominion. We, verily, have come for your sakes, and |
have borne the misfortunes of the world for your salvation. Flee ye the |
One Who hath sacrificed His life that ye may be quickened? Fear God, O |
followers of the Spirit, and walk not in the footsteps of every divine |
that hath gone far astray. Do ye imagine that He seeketh His own |
interests, when He hath, at all times, been threatened by the swords of |
the enemies; or that He seeketh the vanities of the world, after He hath |
been imprisoned in the most desolate of cities? Be fair in your judgement |
and follow not the footsteps of the unjust. |
Open the doors of your hearts. He Who is the Spirit verily standeth before |
them. Wherefore keep ye afar from Him Who hath purposed to draw you nigh |
unto a Resplendent Spot? Say: We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates |
of the Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My face? This |
indeed is naught but a grievous error. He, verily, hath again come down |
from heaven, even as He came down from it the first time. Beware lest ye |
dispute that which He proclaimeth, even as the people before you disputed |
His utterances. Thus instructeth you the True One, could ye but perceive |
it. |
The river Jordan is joined to the Most Great Ocean, and the Son, in the |
holy vale, crieth out: âHere am I, here am I O Lord, my God!â, whilst |
Sinai circleth round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: âHe |
Who is the Desired One is come in His transcendent majesty.â Say, Lo! The |
Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is |
fulfilled! This is the Word which the Son concealed, when to those around |
Him He said: âYe cannot bear it now.â And when the appointed time was |
fulfilled and the Hour had struck, the Word shone forth above the horizon |
of the Will of God. Beware, O followers of the Son, that ye cast it not |
behind your backs. Take ye fast hold of it. Better is this for you than |
all that ye possess. Verily He is nigh unto them that do good. The Hour |
which We had concealed from the knowledge of the peoples of the earth and |
of the favoured angels hath come to pass. Say, verily, He hath testified |
of Me, and I do testify of Him. Indeed, He hath purposed no one other than |
Me. Unto this beareth witness every fair-minded and understanding soul. |
Though beset with countless afflictions, We summon the people unto God, |
the Lord of names. Say, strive ye to attain that which ye have been |
promised in the Books of God, and walk not in the way of the ignorant. My |
body hath endured imprisonment that ye may be released from the bondage of |
self. Set your faces then towards His countenance and follow not the |
footsteps of every hostile oppressor. Verily, He hath consented to be |
sorely abased that ye may attain unto glory, and yet, ye are disporting |