Say, G.o.d shall of a truth cause your hearts to be given to perversity if ye fail to recognize Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest; but if ye do recognize Him G.o.d shall banish perversity from your hearts...

That day whereon ye were, by G.o.d's Will, initiated into the Bayan, did any of you know who were the Letters of the Living or the Witnesses or the Testimonies or what the names of the believers? Likewise doth G.o.d wish you to recognize Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest on the Day of Resurrection.

Beware lest ye shut yourselves out as by a veil from Him Who hath created you, by reason of your regard for those who were called into being at the bidding of the Point of the Bayan for the exaltation of His Word. Did ye possess, ere the Point of the Bayan had called you into existence, any trace of ident.i.ty, how much less a writ or authority? Disregard then your beginnings, perchance ye may be saved on the day of your return. Indeed had it not been for the exaltation of the name of the Primal Point, G.o.d would not have ordained for you the Letters of the Living, nor those who are the Testimonies of His Truth, nor the Witnesses of His Justice; could ye but heed a little. All this is to glorify the Cause of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest at the time of His manifestation; would that ye might ponder a while.

Therefore it behooveth you to return unto G.o.d even as ye were brought forth into existence, and to utter not such words as why or nay, if ye wish your creation to yield fruit at the time of your return. For none of you who have been born in the Bayan shall gain the fruit of your beginning unless ye return unto Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest. He it is Who caused your beginning to proceed from G.o.d, and your return to be unto Him, did ye but know. XVI, 15.

"How great the number of people who deck themselves ..."

How great the number of people who deck themselves with robes of silk all their lives, while clad in the garb of fire, inasmuch as they have divested themselves of the raiment of divine guidance and righteousness; and how numerous are those who wear clothes made of cotton or coa.r.s.e wool throughout their lives, and yet by reason of their being endowed with the vesture of divine guidance and righteousness, are truly attired with the raiment of Paradise and take delight in the good-pleasure of G.o.d. Indeed it would be better in the sight of G.o.d were ye to combine the two, adorning yourselves with the raiment of divine guidance and righteousness and wearing exquisite silk, if ye can afford to do so. If not, at least act ye not unrighteously, but rather observe piety and virtue...

But for the sole reason of His being present amongst this people, We would have neither prescribed any law nor laid down any prohibition. It is only for the glorification of His Name and the exaltation of His Cause that We have enunciated certain laws at Our behest, or forbidden the acts to which We are averse, so that at the hour of His manifestation ye may attain through Him the good-pleasure of G.o.d and abstain from the things that are abhorrent unto Him.

Say, verily, the good-pleasure of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest is the good-pleasure of G.o.d, while the displeasure of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest is none other than the displeasure of G.o.d. Avoid ye His displeasure, and flee for refuge unto His good-pleasure. Say, the living guides to His good-pleasure are such as truly believe in Him and are well-a.s.sured in their faith, while the living testimonies of His displeasure are those who, when they hear the verses of G.o.d sent forth from His presence, or read the divine words revealed by Him, do not instantly embrace the Faith and attain unto cert.i.tude. XVI, 14.

6: EXCERPTS FROM VARIOUS WRITINGS

"Say, G.o.d is the Lord and all are worshippers unto ..."

Say, G.o.d is the Lord and all are worshippers unto Him.

Say, G.o.d is the True One and all pay homage unto Him.

This is G.o.d, your Lord, and unto Him shall ye return.

Is there any doubt concerning G.o.d? He hath created you and all things.

The Lord of all worlds is He.

Say, verily any one follower of this Faith can, by the leave of G.o.d, prevail over all who dwell in heaven and earth and in whatever lieth between them; for indeed this is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the one true Faith. Therefore fear ye not, neither be ye grieved.

Say, G.o.d hath, according to that which is revealed in the Book, taken upon Himself the task of ensuring the ascendancy of any one of the followers of the Truth, over and above one hundred other souls, and the supremacy of one hundred believers over one thousand non-believers and the domination of one thousand of the faithful over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth; inasmuch as G.o.d calleth into being whatsoever He willeth by virtue of His behest. Verily He is potent over all things.

Say, the power of G.o.d is in the hearts of those who believe in the unity of G.o.d and bear witness that no G.o.d is there but Him, while the hearts of them that a.s.sociate partners with G.o.d are impotent, devoid of life on this earth, for a.s.suredly they are dead.

The Day is approaching when G.o.d will render the hosts of Truth victorious, and He will purge the whole earth in such wise that within the compa.s.s of His knowledge not a single soul shall remain unless he truly believeth in G.o.d, worshippeth none other G.o.d but Him, boweth down by day and by night in His adoration, and is reckoned among such as are well a.s.sured.

Say, G.o.d indeed is the Sovereign Truth, Who is manifestly Supreme over His servants; He is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

"G.o.d testifieth that there is none other G.o.d but Him. His ..."

G.o.d testifieth that there is none other G.o.d but Him. His are the kingdoms in the heavens and on the earth and all that is between them. He is exalted above the comprehension of all things, and is inscrutable to the mind of every created being; none shall be able to fathom the oneness of His Being or to unravel the nature of His Existence. No peer or likeness, no similitude or equal can ever be joined with Him. Yield ye praise then unto Him and glorify Him and bear ye witness to the sanct.i.ty and oneness of His Being and magnify His might and majesty with wondrous glorification. This will enable you to gain admittance into the all-highest Paradise. Would that ye had firm faith in the revelation of the signs of G.o.d.

This is the divinely-inscribed Book. This is the outspread Tablet. Say, this indeed is the Frequented Fane, the sweet-scented Leaf, the Tree of divine Revelation, the surging Ocean, the Utterance which lay concealed, the Light above every light... Indeed every light is generated by G.o.d through the power of His behest. He of a truth is the Light in the kingdom of heaven and earth and whatever is between them. Through the radiance of His light G.o.d imparteth illumination to your hearts and maketh firm your steps, that perchance ye may yield praise unto Him.

Say, this of a certainty is the Garden of Repose, the loftiest Point of adoration, the Tree beyond which there is no pa.s.sing, the blessed Lote-Tree, the Most Mighty Sign, the most beauteous Countenance and the most comely Face.

"From the beginning that hath no beginning all men have ..."

From the beginning that hath no beginning all men have bowed in adoration before Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest and will continue to do so until the end that hath no end. How strange then that at the time of His appearance ye should pay homage by day and night unto that which the Point of the Bayan hath enjoined upon you and yet fail to worship Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest.

"Consecrate Thou, O my G.o.d, the whole of this Tree ..."

Consecrate Thou, O my G.o.d, the whole of this Tree unto Him, that from it may be revealed all the fruits created by G.o.d within it for Him through Whom G.o.d hath willed to reveal all that He pleaseth. By Thy glory! I have not wished that this Tree should ever bear any branch, leaf, or fruit that would fail to bow down before Him, on the day of His Revelation, or refuse to laud Thee through Him, as beseemeth the glory of His all-glorious Revelation, and the sublimity of His most sublime Concealment. And shouldst Thou behold, O my G.o.d, any branch, leaf, or fruit upon Me that hath failed to bow down before Him, on the day of His Revelation, cut it off, O My G.o.d, from that Tree, for it is not of Me, nor shall it return unto Me.

"He-glorified be His mention-resembleth the sun. ..."

He-glorified be His mention-resembleth the sun. Were unnumbered mirrors to be placed before it, each would, according to its capacity, reflect the splendour of that sun, and were none to be placed before it, it would still continue to rise and set, and the mirrors alone would be veiled from its light. I, verily, have not fallen short of My duty to admonish that people, and to devise means whereby they may turn towards G.o.d, their Lord, and believe in G.o.d, their Creator. If, on the day of His Revelation, all that are on earth bear Him allegiance, Mine inmost being will rejoice, inasmuch as all will have attained the summit of their existence, and will have been brought face to face with their Beloved, and will have recognized, to the fullest extent attainable in the world of being, the splendour of Him Who is the Desire of their hearts. If not, My soul will indeed be saddened. I truly have nurtured all things for this purpose.

How, then, can anyone be veiled from Him? For this have I called upon G.o.d, and will continue to call upon Him. He, verily, is nigh, ready to answer.

"The glory of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest is ..."

The glory of Him Whom G.o.d shall make manifest is immeasurably above every other glory, and His majesty is far above every other majesty. His beauty excelleth every other embodiment of beauty, and His grandeur immensely exceedeth every other manifestation of grandeur. Every light paleth before the radiance of His light, and every other exponent of mercy falleth short before the tokens of His mercy. Every other perfection is as naught in face of His consummate perfection, and every other display of might is as nothing before His absolute might. His names are superior to all other names. His good-pleasure taketh precedence over any other expression of good-pleasure. His pre-eminent exaltation is far above the reach of every other symbol of exaltation. The splendour of His appearance far surpa.s.seth that of any other appearance. His divine concealment is far more profound than any other concealment. His loftiness is immeasurably above every other loftiness. His gracious favour is unequalled by any other evidence of favour. His power transcendeth every power. His sovereignty is invincible in the face of every other sovereignty. His celestial dominion is exalted far above every other dominion. His knowledge pervadeth all created things, and His consummate power extendeth over all beings.

"All men have proceeded from G.o.d and unto Him shall ..."