Súriy-i-Javád
Suriy-i-Javád
* Partial Translation *
God hath, through His tongue that uttereth the truth, testified in all His Tablets to these words: "I am He that liveth in the Abhá Realm of Glory."
By the righteousness of God! He, from the heights of this sublime, this holy, this mighty, and transcendent station, seeth all things, heareth all things, and is, at this hour, proclaiming: Blessed art thou, O Javád, inasmuch as thou hast attained unto that which no man before thee hath attained. I swear by Him Who is the Eternal Truth! Through thee the eyes of the inmates of the Exalted Paradise have been gladdened. The people, however, are utterly heedless. Were We to reveal thy station, the hearts of men would be sorely agitated, their footsteps would slip, the embodiments of vain-glory would be dumbfounded, would fall down upon the ground, and would thrust the fingers of heedlessness into their ears, for fear of hearing.
Grieve thou not over those that have busied themselves with the things of this world, and have forgotten the remembrance of God, the Most Great. By Him Who is the Eternal Truth! The day is approaching when the wrathful anger of the Almighty will have taken hold of them. He, verily, is the Omnipotent, the All-Subduing, the Most Powerful. He shall cleanse the earth from the defilement of their corruption, and shall give it for an heritage unto such of His servants as are nigh unto Him.
Say: O people! Dust fill your mouths, and ashes blind your eyes, for having bartered away the Divine Joseph for the most paltry of prices. Oh, the misery that resteth upon you, ye that are far astray! Have ye imagined in your hearts that ye possess the power to outstrip Him and His Cause? Far from it! To this He, Himself, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most Great, doth testify.
Soon shall the blasts of His chastisement beat upon you, and the dust of hell enshroud you. Those men who, having amassed the vanities and ornaments of the earth, have turned away disdainfully from God - these have lost both this world and the world to come. Ere long, will God, with the Hand of Power, strip them of their possessions, and divest them of the robe of His bounty. To this they themselves shall soon witness. Thou, too, shalt testify.
Say: O people! Let not this life and its deceits deceive you, for the world and all that is therein is held firmly in the grasp of His Will. He bestoweth His favor on whom He willeth, and from whom He willeth He taketh it away. He doth whatsoever He chooseth. Had the world been of any worth in His sight, He surely would never have allowed His enemies to possess it, even to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. He hath, however, caused you to be entangled with its affairs, in return for what your hands have wrought in His Cause. This, indeed, is a chastisement which ye, of your own will, have inflicted upon yourselves, could ye but perceive it. Are ye rejoicing in the things which, according to the estimate of God, are contemptible and worthless, things wherewith He proveth the hearts of the doubtful?
* Gleanings From The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pages: 207 - 209 *
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O Javád! Such is the greatness of this Day that the Hour itself is seized with perturbation, and all heavenly Scriptures bear evidence to its overpowering majesty. In this Day the Book solemnly testifieth to His glory and the Balance is moved to lift up its voice. This is the Day wherein the Sirat calleth aloud: \‘I am the straight Path', and Mount Sinai exclaimeth: \‘Verily the Lord of Revelation is come.'
Being overcome by the drunkenness of corrupt inclinations, the people of the earth find themselves in a state of stupor. They are, therefore, debarred from the wondrous signs of God, are prevented from attaining the ultimate goal and are deprived of the liberal effusions of divine grace.
It behoveth the people of God to be forbearing. They should impart the Word of God according to the hearer's particular measure of understanding and capacity, that perchance the children of men may be roused from heedlessness and set their faces towards this Horizon which is immeasurably exalted above every horizon.
O Javád! The manifold bounties of God have ever been and will continue to be vouchsafed unto thee. Praised be God! Thou hast been shielded from the most great terror and hast succeeded in drawing nigh unto the Most Great Bounty at a time when all men were prevented from recognizing the eternal King by the interposition of the veils of outward glory, namely the divines of this day. Cherish thou as dearly as thine own life this testimony pronounced by the All-Glorious Pen and strive with all thy might to preserve it by the potency of the Name of Him Who is the Beloved One of the entire creation, that this sublime honour may be proof against the eyes and the hands of robbers. Verily thy Lord is the Expounder, the All-Knowing.
Convey the greetings of this Wronged One unto all the beloved friends in that region and call to their minds Our wondrous and exalted remembrances, that haply they may forsake the things current amongst them, may set their hearts on that which pertaineth unto God and remain purged from unseemly deeds and pursuits.
May the glory of the Almighty, the All-Wise, be upon thee and upon such as are related unto thee.
* Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Pages: 237-8 *
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O thou who bearest My Name, Jud(1) [Bounty]! Upon thee be My Glory. Give ear unto that which thou didst hear aforetime when the Day-Star of testimony was shining resplendent above the horizon of ‘Iráq, when Baghdád served as the Seat of the Throne of thy Lord, the Exalted, the Mighty.
I bear witness that thou hast hearkened unto the melody of God and His sweet accents, inclined thine ear to the cooing of the Dove of divine Revelation and hast heard the Nightingale of fidelity pouring forth its notes upon the Branch of Glory: Verily there is none other God but Me, the Incomparable, the All-Informed.
O thou who bearest My Name! The glances of the loving-kindness of God have been and continue to be directed towards thee. While in His presence, thou hast heard the Voice of the One true God - exalted be His glory - and hast beheld the unveiled splendour of the Light of divine knowledge. Ponder a while! How sublime is the Utterance of Him Who is the Sovereign Truth and how abject are the idle contentions of the people! The accumulations of vain fancy have obstructed men's ears and stopped them from hearing the Voice of God, and the veils of human learning and false imaginings have prevented their eyes from beholding the splendour of the light of His countenance. With the arm of might and power We have rescued a number of souls from the slough of impending extinction and enabled them to attain the Dayspring of glory. Moreover We have laid bare the divine mysteries and in most explicit language foretold future events, that neither the doubts of the faithless, nor the denials of the froward, nor the whisperings of the heedless may keep back the seekers of truth from the Source of the light of the One true God. Nevertheless some people seem to have been seized with epilepsy, others are torn up even as hollow tree-stumps. They abandon God, the Most Exalted - He before Whose revelation of a single verse, all the Scriptures of the past and of more recent times pale into lowliness and insignificance - and set their hearts on lying tales and follow empty words.
Thou hast surely quaffed from the ocean of Mine utterance and hast witnessed the effulgent splendour of the orb of My wisdom. Thou hast also heard the sayings of the infidels who neither are acquainted with the fundamentals of the Faith, nor have tasted this choice Wine whose seal hath been broken through the power of My Name, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Beseech thou God that the believers who are endued with true understanding may be graciously enabled to do that which is pleasing unto Him.
How strange that despite this ringing Call, despite the appearance of this most wondrous Revelation, We notice that men, for the most part, have fixed their hearts on the vanities of the world and are sorely dismayed and troubled by reason of prevailing doubts and evil suggestions. Say: This is the Day of God Himself; fear ye God and be not of them that have disbelieved in Him. Cast the idle tales behind your backs and behold My Revelation through Mine eyes. Unto this have ye been exhorted in heavenly Books and Scriptures, in the Scrolls and Tablets.
Arise thou to serve the Cause of thy Lord; then give the people the joyful tidings concerning this resplendent Light whose revelation hath been announced by God through His Prophets and Messengers. Admonish everyone moreover to observe prudence as ordained by Him, and in the Name of God advise them, saying: It behoveth every one in this Day of God to dedicate himself to the teaching of the Cause with utmost prudence and steadfastness. Should he discover a pure soil, let him sow the seed of the Word of God, otherwise it would be preferable to observe silence.
Not long ago this most sublime Word was revealed in the Crimson Book by the All-Glorious Pen: \‘The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with two luminaries: consultation and compassion'. Please God, everyone may be enabled to observe this weighty and blessed word.
Certain people seem to be entirely bereft of understanding. By clinging to the cord of idle fancy they have debarred themselves from the Sure Handle. I swear by My life! Were they to reflect a while with fairness on that which the All-Merciful hath sent down, they would, one and all, spontaneously give utterance to these words, \‘Verily Thou art the Truth, the manifest Truth.'
It behoveth thee to turn thy gaze in all circumstances unto the One true God, and seek diligently to serve His Cause. Call thou to mind when thou wert in My company, within the Tabernacle of Glory, and didst hear from Me that which He Who conversed with God [Moses] heard upon the Sinai of divine knowledge. Thus did We graciously aid thee, enabled thee to recognize the truth and cautioned thee, that thou mightest render thanks unto thy bountiful Lord. Thou shouldst safeguard this sublime station through the potency of My Name, the Omnipotent, the Faithful.
Convey greetings on My behalf to My loved ones and suffer them to hearken unto My sweet Voice. Thus biddeth thee the One Who hath bidden thee in the past; I am in truth the Ordainer, the All-Informed. Glory be upon thee and upon those who give ear to thy words concerning this momentous Cause and who love thee for the sake of God, the Lord of the worlds.
* Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Pages: 240-3 *