Baha’i Justice

This treatise was written in reply to a seeker who had asked how the promised Mihdí could have become transformed into ‘Alí-Muḥammad (the Báb). The opportunity provided by this question was seized to elaborate on a number of subjects, all of which are of use and benefit both to them that seek and to those who have attained, could ye perceive with the eye of divine virtue.

Baha’u’llah, Preface to Gems of Divine Mysteries

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I heard, with Mine own ears, one of their divines proclaim: “Should all these signs come to pass and the long-awaited Qá’im appear, and should He ordain, with respect to even our secondary laws, aught beyond that which hath been revealed in the Qur’án, we would assuredly charge Him with imposture, put Him to death, and refuse forever to acknowledge Him”, and other statements such as these deniers make. And all this, when the Day of Resurrection hath been ushered in, and the Trumpet hath been sounded, and all the denizens of earth and heaven have been gathered together, and the Balance hath been appointed, and the Bridge hath been laid, and the Verses have been sent down, and the Sun hath shone forth, and the stars have been blotted out, and the souls have been raised to life, and the breath of the Spirit hath blown, and the angels have been arrayed in ranks, and Paradise hath been brought nigh, and Hell made to blaze! These things have all come to pass, and yet to this day not a single one of these people hath recognized them! They all lie as dead within their own shrouds, save those who have believed and repaired unto God, who rejoice in this day in His celestial paradise, and who tread the path of His good-pleasure.

Veiled as they remain within their own selves, the generality of the people have failed to perceive the sweet accents of holiness, inhale the fragrance of mercy, or seek guidance, as bidden by God, from those who are the custodians of the Scriptures. He proclaimeth, and His word, verily, is the truth: “Ask ye, therefore, of them that have the custody of the Scriptures, if ye know it not.” Nay rather, they have turned aside from them and followed instead the Sámirí of their own idle fancies. Thus have they strayed far from the mercy of their Lord and failed to attain unto His Beauty in the day of His presence. For no sooner had He come unto them with a sign and a testimony from God than the same people who had eagerly awaited the day of His Revelation, who had called upon Him in the daytime and in the night season, who had implored Him to gather them together in His presence and to grant that they may lay down their lives in His path, be led aright by His guidance and illumined by His light—this very people condemned and reviled Him, and inflicted upon Him such cruelties as transcend both My capacity to tell and thine ability to hear them. My very pen crieth out at this moment and the ink weepeth sore and groaneth. By God! Wert thou to hearken with thine inner ear, thou wouldst in truth hear the lamentations of the denizens of heaven; and wert thou to remove the veil from before thine eyes, thou wouldst behold the Maids of Heaven overcome and the holy souls overwhelmed, beating upon their faces and fallen upon the dust.

Alas, alas, for that which befell Him Who was the Manifestation of the Self of God, and for that which He and His loved ones were made to suffer! The people inflicted upon them what no soul hath ever inflicted upon another, and what no infidel hath wrought against a believer or suffered at his hand. Alas, alas! That immortal Being sat upon the darksome dust, the Holy Spirit lamented in the retreats of glory, the pillars of the Throne crumbled in the exalted dominion, the joy of the world was changed into sorrow in the crimson land, and the voice of the Nightingale was silenced in the golden realm. Woe betide them for what their hands have wrought and for what they have committed!

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But as to Him Who appeared in the year sixty, He standeth in need of neither transformation nor interpretation, for His name was Muḥammad, and He was a descendent of the Imáms of the Faith. Thus it can be truly said of Him that He was the son of Ḥasan, as is undoubtedly clear and evident unto thine eminence. Nay, He it is Who fashioned that name and created it for Himself, were ye to observe with the eye of God.

Baha’u’llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries (excerpts)

Lawh-i Madinatu’r-Rida

(Tablet of The City of Radiance)

By

Baha’u’llah

In the name of God, the exalted, the most high.

[1] Remind his servant of God’s clemency in truth, that he might be honored thereby among the concourse of the worlds, and might give thanks to his lord at all times, insofar as God’s bounties to him and the people of the heavens and the earth have been completed. This is from a Book wherein is mentioned that which will bring the people near to the court of the holy, the manifest. It bears witness that there is no God but him and all are his servants, and all shall return to him. The likeness of those who listen to the melodies of God and follow them is: A light illumined by the radiance of God, the mighty, the All-Powerful. Likewise, gaze at the crystal that ignites fires when the sun shines on it. This is a reminder from us to those who remember. Say, O people of the earth: If you sanctify your souls and spirits, you will find them more fine than crystal, and this is an indisputable truth. And if you allow God, your creator, to shine on them, there would be reflected in them the Word of God, the help in peril, the uncreated. Then the fire of nearness would be ignited therein, whereby your physical and ethereal bodies would be illumined, as would everything that pertains to you. Thus would the torch of love be kindled in the bush of your soul, which would burn away the veils that come between you and the splendor of the divine countenance. Thus do we teach you the paths of the soul, that you might be among the mystic knowers.

[2] Say: If the odor of evanescence lingers in your heart with regard to this world and its baubles, you shall never perceive the fragrance of immortality from the coat of the holy, the radiant One. Follow, people of the earth, what God had enjoined upon you and do not differ with regard to the ordinances ordained in the Book. Then hold fast to the sure handle of God, the omnipotent, the magnificent, the All-Praised. In truth, in this tablet the dove warbles the songs of everlasting life and speaks to you from the kingdoms of the spirit. Herein is guidance and a reminder to the believers. Thus does God single out for his compassion whomever he pleases, and reveals to you from the heaven of glory mighty and wondrous fruits.

[3] Say: People of the earth, the lamp of light has been ignited within the glass of sanctity, whereby the concourse of eternal life has been illumined. Fear God, and do not veil yourselves from him. The ark of God has been fashioned by the hands of the angels of paradise. So cling to it, people of the Bayan. It is better for you than the treasures and the glorious and sparkling gems found in the earth. The sun of beauty has risen to the zenith, but you are lying in the beds of heedlessness, deprived of this grace that even the eyes of the near ones have never seen. Fear God, then set out on the paths of radiant acquiescence in the days of God, the powerful, the splendid, the All-Praised. If you do not know his paths, we shall teach them to you in truth by virtue of a letter that God revealed to me so as to complete his proof to all those who are in the realm.

[4] Know that radiant acquiescence has infinite stages. We shall instruct you in them by means of the words God makes to flow from my pen. This shall enable you to dispense with all that the ancients and moderns possess. Whoever wishes to tread the path of radiant acquiescence must be content with God, his creator, and with what he has ordained for him and written with an exalted pen in truth, and with whatever he has specified in holy and guarded tablets. He must be content with himself. But no one can attain this state until he has severed himself from all who are in the heavens and the earth, if you be among the mystic knowers. For if a human being commits the least iniquity within himself, he will not be content with himself.

[5] This is that which we have shown you in truth, so that you might be content and might ascend to the station wherein honey and poison are the same, since both are decreed by the mighty, the ordainer. Were someone to worship God from all eternity and yet abhors within himself any of the calamities and adversities that have afflicted him, his name shall not be entered in the tablets as among those who are content with the holy and radiant pen. For those who claim in themselves the love of God but who regret their tribulations in his path cannot rightly be called content. This is what we say to you in truth, that you might be steadfast in love. How can someone assert that he has the love of God in his heart and then despise what befalls him from his beloved, the mighty, the generous? Or that he is content with the friends of God in the land and is humble before the believers? For if he deems himself above the believers, it is as though he has grown haughty toward God. We take refuge in God from that, concourse of the sincere! Whoever is content with God, his lord, will be content with his servants, who have believed in him and his signs on the day whereon all who are in the heavens and the earth have swooned. For a servant’s satisfaction with God cannot be demonstrated save by his satisfaction with the friends of God, who have detached themselves from everything but God and depended on him.

[6] Await, then, the day whereon the trump shall be sounded, the dove shall warble, the gates of paradise shall be thrown open, and God shall come with a wondrous Cause. Therefore, hasten to him, people of the Bayan, and do not hesitate for less than an instant. This is the basis of radiant acquiescence. Do not differ regarding it, concourse of near ones. At that time you will discover the breezes of radiant acquiescence from the east of sanctity. You shall be overcome by yearning and you shall be transformed upon the seat of the mighty, the trustworthy. Beware, people of the Bayan, that you do not delay within yourselves. Do not veil yourselves from the beauty of God, the glorious, the All-Praised. By God, it is better for you to stand in his presence once than to possess all that is on earth and in the heavens.

[7] But you, who have asked of God, rejoice in yourself, for you have arrived at the city of radiant acquiescence and wended your way to the squares of sanctity. At this time, we bear witness to you that you have soared into the heaven of contentment. You have avoided your own regions and drawn near to the precincts of God, the mighty, the generous. You have emigrated from your homeland and journeyed unto God, until you arrived in the place that is visited by the people of the pavilions of eternity at morn and eve. Blessed are you and those like you, whom God has enabled to attain to the shore of eternity along the crimson sea. They hastened to the melodies of God from behind the veils of power. Then they made pilgrimage to the place around which circumambulate the bushes of Sinai, wherein all beings, whether among the ancients or the moderns, have removed their sandals.

[8] Then know that your love for God is God’s good-pleasure with you and your good-pleasure with him. This is the religious path that was ordained by the right hand of God’s wisdom, and it shall not change with a change of prophets, nor is it renewed by the advent of a new messenger. Rather, all enjoin this upon the people, and it is a trust of God deposited in the hearts of the sincere. This is what suffices you above all else. Whoever attains this flowing spring shall never forsake an iota of the Book, and shall only be pleased with what God desires for him. Thus do we set forth for you the verses in truth, so that you might attain certitude. After you revive your spirit by means of the warbling of the dove and renew the temple of your soul with the robe of immortality, then return to the house of God in your own land and spread the glad tidings from us among those who rejoice in the gladness of the spirit. Remind them of the verses of God and be as the breezes of spring to the people of your homeland, whereby they may renew their souls and spirits. This is what we command you in truth if you are among those who hear. You shall never be capable of this unless you turn toward God with your entire being and unless you reject all that is in the hands of the people.

[9] Once you have renewed yourself then you will be able to renew the people. This is what the dove counsels you in truth, so that you might be among the reformers who have been encompassed by the guidance of God, who have tasted the sweetness of love and drunk from the springs that flow from the direction of a mighty throne.

[10] Then remind for us all those who believe in God and his verses in your land, as well as those who have emigrated unto God and entered into the precincts of God, the glorious, the noble. Among them is K, who has surpassed all others in virtue, and whom we are at this time mentioning in the book as among the myriad of saints. Also among them is Q, who emigrated toward God in his days and was among the devout. They include H, who emigrated and then returned with our permission, who was immersed in the ocean of love. R heard the melodies of the dove and entered under the shadow of God, the mighty, the knowing. Among them are they who emigrated and returned, but whose names we have not mentioned, all of whom have attained a high station with regard to virtue, which none among the creation can comprehend. God will manifest to them the fruits of their deeds and they shall soar with sapphire wings into the garden of the holy, the generous. Some made the journey with their hearts, and their names were inscribed by the pen of power upon glorious and inaccessible tablets. The doors of paradise shall be thrown open before their faces, and they shall enter therein by virtue of our peace and compassion, where they shall reside. By God, were he to manifest to the people of the heavens and the earth an incalculably small portion of what he has decreed for those who journeyed and emigrated unto God, all would be led to the wondrous and sacred shore. But all have been veiled as a result of what they have committed in the days of God, and they were another, evil people.

[11] Say: Concourse of believers, be patient at what has befallen you and be not anxious concerning the harm and suffering that have afflicted you. He shall bestow full recompense upon the long-suffering. The world and its people shall pass away, and all shall return to their abode in the fire, nor is there any escape for them from the vengeance of the lord, the conquering, the subduing, the mighty, the omnipotent. Say: People of the earth, do you not see the transformations occurring in the land, and the changes the earth is undergoing, such that no second goes by without most affairs therein suffering an alteration? Therefore, what sign reassures your hearts and souls? Woe unto you! Upon what basis have you acted in this vain life? For you have advanced toward your base selves, and turned away from the one who created you, nourished you, and showed greater compassion to you than has any other. Say: By God, you are only as a wayfarer resting in the shade of a tree. But that shade is of necessity ephemeral, and you must not repose your confidence in it or in anything that will pass away. Put your trust in what does not perish, in what endures in the immortality of God, the everlasting, the eternal, the glorious. Have you found that your mornings are like your evenings, or that your youth is like your old age? All this is a reminder to you, Muslims. The contradictions apparent in all things were only ordained to remind you of the impermanence of your selves, so that you might become aware of it and not be obdurate. Hold fast instead to the cord of God, then firmly grasp the firm handle of the Bayan. This is what was writ for you by the finger of the glorious, the true. Thus have we taught you the gems of knowledge, acquainted you with the wonders of wisdom, spoken to you of the realities of mystical insight, and shown you the paths of paradise – so that thereby your hearts and the hearts of the mystic knowers might be reassured.

[12] Praise be to the lord of the worlds, and mercy be upon you, followers of the Bayan. Behold, I desire to sever myself from all names, and to call out to my lord with the melodies that enthrall the hearts of the unitarians. Praise be to you, O God, my God. Send to your lovers what will refresh their hearts and calm their souls, so that they might make mention of you aloud just as they make mention of you in their hearts. That is within your power, which encompasses both the easy and the hard. My beloved, raise the standards of your triumph and victory above the people of your kingdom, that they might gather together in the shade of your loving-kindness. These are the scattered, who have dispersed through your lands, and shall never find for themselves a refuge save with you, or a sanctuary other than you, or an asylum except for you. Then gather them beneath the shadow of the tree of your loving-kindness and honor them with your grace, and verily you are the most generous of the generous.

[13] You know, my beloved, what your enemies have done to your friends, such that they usurped from them everything you had bestowed upon them by your munificence and inflicted on them that of which no ear had ever heard. In every land their blood was shed, and on every pyre their bodies were cremated. How many a little one was left with no elder, how many a mother wailed for her son, and how many a son wept for his father. You have reckoned all of that, and were witness to it. In truth, my God, you witness and see how tyranny has encompassed your earth and your countries such that the traits of justice will not be visible to anyone. All have followed the demons, and affairs have nearly reached the point where your name and attributes have been lifted from the earth. All have adopted a deity for themselves other than you. You are, concerning all this, knowing, informed. The darkness of heedlessness has encompassed all the people of your earth, such that were any of your servants to mention your name, they would ridicule him. My heart, and the breasts of the unitarians, have burned at this. By your glory, my beloved, I shall never find any of your servants following your path, nor shall I ever perceive from them the fragrance of your love. All have adopted this world for themselves as a protector, save for those who returned to you and were among the returnees.

[14] Every day I associate with the servants, and I see them heedless of you, such that they turn their faces toward every countenance but not toward your illumined visage, and they turn toward every city save the city of your glorious divinity. It is as though it was not you who had created them and nourished them. Thus have we found affairs to be among those idolaters. Abasement has reached the point where your friends will be unable to make mention of you, and when they wish to recite your words they will have to hide in their homes. Thus have the hearts of the lovers been filled with sorrow. If you accept this state of affairs for yourself, O my God, then woe betide your pure ones in your land. How can they hear from your enemies what does not befit your station? Would that all of them were struck blind so as not to see it, and struck deaf so as not to hear what is inappropriate to your radiant beauty. In truth, were you to leave them in this condition, by your might, the evidences of your sovereignty would be effaced in your kingdom, the pillars of your rule in your land would be demolished, and your name and epithet would be erased throughout all creation.

[15] O my God and my beloved, do not make them wait, after matters have come to this. Rather, reveal to them what will turn them toward you. Then remove this lad who has arisen against you with his entire being, and those who followed him in his passions, so as to purify your sanctified land from those infidels. I know, O my God, that you desired this every year, but it did not occur because you changed your mind, and this is the evident truth. Then send down, O my God, your fixed decrees and effective laws, which can never be repelled by a change of mind or altered by selfish passion. Then fix all this, my beloved, upon glorious and preserved Tablets and in a holy and wise book that shall never be effaced and which shall not be subject to limitations, but rather in which matters shall be inscribed by the mighty pen of command. Then decree thereafter, my God, what is good for your servants, for in your hand is all good. In truth, you are the ruler, the judge, the knowing, the giving, the wise.

[16] How long, O my God, will you forebear toward your own enemies? By your glory, your patience has reached the point where your servants complain of the wonders of your might, rather they have become convinced it does not exist, whereas I remain certain that you are powerful over all things. In truth, you are the most powerful of the powerful.

[17] You know that my anxiety was not for myself, nor for the abasement of your lovers. Rather, I see that all have risen in opposition to you and your beauty, and have ridiculed your verses. For this reason, my breast burns, my inmost soul cries out, and my eye weeps. In truth, you know what is in my soul, and you encompass all things. Therefore, my beloved, forgive me and my offenses, which I have committed in your presence, for my very mention of you is a sin unmatched by anything in the heavens or on earth. Then forgive my parents, my loved ones, my kith and kin. In truth, you are the most merciful of the merciful. Then forgive the one who hurried unto you and arrived in your presence, and his parents. Do not seize hold of them, my beloved, for their offenses and sins. Rather, show compassion to them and show them forbearance. In truth, you are the most clement of the clement, and the most generous of the generous. This is a Book from Baha to all who are in the heavens and on earth. Praise be to God, lord of the worlds.

These are, O my God, the days whereon Thou didst enjoin Thy servants to observe the fast. With it Thou didst adorn the preamble of the Book of Thy Laws revealed unto Thy creatures, and didst deck forth the Repositories of Thy commandments in the sight of all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth. Thou hast endowed every hour of these days with a special virtue, inscrutable to all except Thee, Whose knowledge embraceth all created things. Thou hast, also, assigned unto every soul a portion of this virtue in accordance with the Tablet of Thy decree and the Scriptures of Thine irrevocable judgment. Every leaf of these Books and Scriptures Thou hast, moreover, allotted to each one of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.

For Thine ardent lovers Thou hast, according to Thy decree, reserved, at each daybreak, the cup of Thy remembrance, O Thou Who art the Ruler of rulers! These are they who have been so inebriated with the wine of Thy manifold wisdom that they forsake their couches in their longing to celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy virtues, and flee from sleep in their eagerness to approach Thy presence and partake of Thy bounty. Their eyes have, at all times, been bent upon the Day-Spring of Thy loving-kindness, and their faces set towards the Fountain-Head of Thine inspiration. Rain down, then, upon us and upon them from the clouds of Thy mercy what beseemeth the heaven of Thy bounteousness and grace.

Lauded be Thy name, O my God! This is the hour when Thou hast unlocked the doors of Thy bounty before the faces of Thy creatures, and opened wide the portals of Thy tender mercy unto all the dwellers of Thine earth. I beseech Thee, by all them whose blood was shed in Thy path, who, in their yearning over Thee, rid themselves from all attachment to any of Thy creatures, and who were so carried away by the sweet savors of Thine inspiration that every single member of their bodies intoned Thy praise and vibrated to Thy remembrance, not to withhold from us the things Thou hast irrevocably ordained in this Revelation—a Revelation the potency of which hath caused every tree to cry out what the Burning Bush had aforetime proclaimed unto Moses, Who conversed with Thee, a Revelation that hath enabled every least pebble to resound again with Thy praise, as the stones glorified Thee in the days of Muḥammad, Thy Friend.

These are the ones, O my God, whom Thou hast graciously enabled to have fellowship with Thee and to commune with Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself. The winds of Thy will have scattered them abroad until Thou didst gather them together beneath Thy shadow, and didst cause them to enter into the precincts of Thy court. Now that Thou hast made them to abide under the shade of the canopy of Thy mercy, do Thou assist them to attain what must befit so august a station. Suffer them not, O my Lord, to be numbered with them who, though enjoying near access to Thee, have been kept back from recognizing Thy face, and who, though meeting with Thee, are deprived of Thy presence.

These are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have entered with Thee in this, the Most Great Prison, who have kept the fast within its walls according to what Thou hadst commanded them in the Tablets of Thy decree and the Books of Thy behest. Send down, therefore, upon them what will thoroughly purge them of all Thou abhorrest, that they may be wholly devoted to Thee, and may detach themselves entirely from all except Thyself.

Rain down, then, upon us, O my God, that which beseemeth Thy grace and befitteth Thy bounty. Enable us, then, O my God, to live in remembrance of Thee and to die in love of Thee, and supply us with the gift of Thy presence in Thy worlds hereafter—worlds which are inscrutable to all except Thee. Thou art our Lord and the Lord of all worlds, and the God of all that are in heaven and all that are on earth.

Thou beholdest, O my God, what hath befallen Thy dear ones in Thy days. Thy glory beareth me witness! The voice of the lamentation of Thy chosen ones hath been lifted up throughout Thy realm. Some were ensnared by the infidels in Thy land, and were hindered by them from having near access to Thee and from attaining the court of Thy glory. Others were able to approach Thee, but were kept back from beholding Thy face. Still others were permitted, in their eagerness to look upon Thee, to enter the precincts of Thy court, but they allowed the veils of the imaginations of Thy creatures and the wrongs inflicted by the oppressors among Thy people to come in between them and Thee.

This is the hour, O my Lord, which Thou hast caused to excel every other hour, and hast related it to the choicest among Thy creatures. I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy Self and by them, to ordain in the course of this year what shall exalt Thy loved ones. Do Thou, moreover, decree within this year what will enable the Day-Star of Thy power to shine brightly above the horizon of Thy glory, and to illuminate, by Thy sovereign might, the whole world.

Render Thy Cause victorious, O my Lord, and abase Thou Thine enemies. Write down, then, for us the good of this life and of the life to come. Thou art the Truth, Who knoweth the secret things. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

Baha’u’llah, Prayers And Meditations LXXXV

The beginning of Wisdom and the origin thereof is to acknowledge whatsoever God hath clearly set forth, for through its potency the foundation of statesmanship, which is a shield for the preservation of the body of mankind, hath been firmly established. Ponder a while that ye may perceive what My most exalted Pen hath proclaimed in this wondrous Tablet. Say, every matter related to state affairs which ye raise for discussion falls under the shadow of one of the words sent down from the heaven of His glorious and exalted utterance. Thus have We recounted unto thee that which will exhilarate thy heart, will bring solace to thine eyes and will enable thee to arise for the promotion of His Cause amidst all peoples.

Excerpted from: LAWḤ-I-HIKMAT (Tablet of Wisdom) by Baha’u’llah

As to the difference between that material civilization now prevailing, and the divine civilization which will be one of the benefits to derive from the House of Justice, it is this: material civilization, through the power of punitive and retaliatory laws, restraineth the people from criminal acts; and notwithstanding this, while laws to retaliate against and punish a man are continually proliferating, as ye can see, no laws exist to reward him. In all the cities of Europe and America, vast buildings have been erected to serve as jails for the criminals.

Divine civilization, however, so traineth every member of society that no one, with the exception of a negligible few, will undertake to commit a crime. There is thus a great difference between the prevention of crime through measures that are violent and retaliatory, and so training the people, and enlightening them, and spiritualizing them, that without any fear of punishment or vengeance to come, they will shun all criminal acts. They will, indeed, look upon the very commission of a crime as a great disgrace and in itself the harshest of punishments. They will become enamoured of human perfections, and will consecrate their lives to whatever will bring light to the world and will further those qualities which are acceptable at the Holy Threshold of God.

See then how wide is the difference between material civilization and divine. With force and punishments, material civilization seeketh to restrain the people from mischief, from inflicting harm on society and committing crimes. But in a divine civilization, the individual is so conditioned that with no fear of punishment, he shunneth the perpetration of crimes, seeth the crime itself as the severest of torments, and with alacrity and joy, setteth himself to acquiring the virtues of humankind, to furthering human progress, and to spreading light across the world.

Abdu’l-Baha’, Selections #105

TRADITIONAL PROOFS EXEMPLIFIED FROM THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs. If you had come to this blessed place in the days of the manifestation of the evident Light, 1 if you had attained to the court of His presence, and had witnessed His luminous beauty, you would have understood that His teachings and perfection were not in need of further evidence.

Only through the honor of entering His presence, many souls became confirmed believers; they had no need of other proofs. Even those people who rejected and hated Him bitterly, when they had met Him, would testify to the grandeur of Bahá’u’lláh, saying, “This is a magnificent man, but what a pity that he makes such a claim! Otherwise, all that he says is acceptable.”

But now, as that Light of Reality has set, all are in need of proofs; so we have undertaken to demonstrate rational proofs of the truth of His claim. We will cite another which alone is sufficient for all who are just, and which no one can deny. It is that this illustrious Being uplifted His Cause in the “Greatest Prison”; 2 from this Prison His light was shed abroad, His fame conquered the world, and the proclamation of His glory reached the East and West. Until our time no such thing has ever occurred.

If there be justice, this will be acknowledged; but there are some people who, even if all the proofs in the world be adduced before them, still will not judge justly!

Thus nations and states with all their strength could not resist Him. Verily, single and alone, imprisoned and oppressed, He accomplished whatever He desired.

I do not wish to mention the miracles of Bahá’u’lláh, for it may perhaps be said that these are traditions, liable both to truth and to error, like the accounts of the miracles of Christ in the Gospel, which come to us from the apostles, and not from anyone else, and are denied by the Jews. Though if I wish to mention the supernatural acts of Bahá’u’lláh, they are numerous; they are acknowledged in the Orient, and even by some non-Bahá’ís. But these narratives are not decisive proofs and evidences to all; the hearer might perhaps say that this account may not be in accordance with what occurred, for it is known that other sects recount miracles performed by their founders. For instance, the followers of Brahmanism relate miracles. From what evidence may we know that those are false and that these are true? If these are fables, the others also are fables; if these are generally accepted, so also the others are generally accepted. Consequently, these accounts are not satisfactory proofs. Yes, miracles are proofs for the eyewitness only, and even he may regard them not as a miracle but as an enchantment. Extraordinary feats have also been related of some conjurors.

Briefly, my meaning is that many wonderful things were done by Bahá’u’lláh, but we do not recount them, as they do not constitute proofs and evidences for all the peoples of the earth, and they are not decisive proofs even for those who see them: they may think that they are merely enchantments.

Also, most of the miracles of the Prophets which are mentioned have an inner significance. For instance, in the Gospel it is written that at the martyrdom of Christ darkness prevailed, and the earth quaked, and the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the dead came forth from their graves. If these events had happened, they would indeed have been awesome, and would certainly have been recorded in the history of the times. They would have become the cause of much troublings of heart. Either the soldiers would have taken down Christ from the cross, or they would have fled. These events are not related in any history; therefore, it is evident they ought not to be taken literally, but as having an inner significance. 3

Our purpose is not to deny such miracles; our only meaning is that they do not constitute decisive proofs, and that they have an inner significance.

Accordingly, today, at table, we will refer to the explanation of the traditional proofs which are in the Holy Books. Until now, all that we have spoken of are rational proofs.

The state in which one should be to seriously search for the truth is the condition of the thirsty, burning soul desiring the water of life, of the fish struggling to reach the sea, of the sufferer seeking for the true doctor to obtain the divine cure, of the lost caravan endeavoring to find the right road, of the lost and wandering ship striving to reach the shore of salvation.

Therefore, the seeker must be endowed with certain qualities. First of all, he must be just and severed from all else save God; his heart must be entirely turned to the supreme horizon; he must be free from the bondage of self and passion, for all these are obstacles. Furthermore, he must be able to endure all hardships. He must be absolutely pure and sanctified, and free from the love or the hatred of the inhabitants of the world. Why? Because the fact of his love for any person or thing might prevent him from recognizing the truth in another, and, in the same way, hatred for anything might be a hindrance in discerning truth. This is the condition of seeking, and the seeker must have these qualities and attributes. Until he reaches this condition, it is not possible for him to attain to the Sun of Reality.

Let us now return to our subject.

All the peoples of the world are awaiting two Manifestations, Who must be contemporaneous; all wait for the fulfillment of this promise. In the Bible the Jews have the promise of the Lord of Hosts and the Messiah; in the Gospel the return of Christ and Elijah is promised.

In the religion of Muḥammad there is the promise of the Mihdí and the Messiah, and it is the same with the Zoroastrian and the other religions, but if we relate these matters in detail, it would take too long. The essential fact is that all are promised two Manifestations, Who will come, one following on the other. It has been prophesied that in the time of these two Manifestations the earth will be transformed, the world of existence will be renewed, and beings will be clothed in new garments. Justice and truth will encompass the world; enmity and hatred will disappear; all causes of division among peoples, races and nations will vanish; and the cause of union, harmony and concord will appear. The negligent will awake, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, the sick will be cured, the dead will arise. War will give place to peace, enmity will be conquered by love, the causes of dispute and wrangling will be entirely removed, and true felicity will be attained. The world will become the mirror of the Heavenly Kingdom; humanity will be the Throne of Divinity. All nations will become one; all religions will be unified; all individual men will become of one family and of one kindred. All the regions of the earth will become one; the superstitions caused by races, countries, individuals, languages and politics will disappear; and all men will attain to life eternal, under the shadow of the Lord of Hosts.

Now we must prove from the Holy Books that these two Manifestations have come, and we must divine the meaning of the words of the Prophets, for we wish for proofs drawn from the Holy Books.

A few days ago, at table, we put forth rational proofs establishing the truth of these two Manifestations.

To conclude: in the Book of Daniel, from the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the martyrdom of Christ, seventy weeks are appointed; for by the martyrdom of Christ the sacrifice is accomplished and the altar destroyed. 4 This is a prophecy of the manifestation of Christ. These seventy weeks begin with the restoration and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, concerning which four edicts were issued by three kings.

The first was issued by Cyrus in the year 536 B.C.; this is recorded in the first chapter of the Book of Ezra. The second edict, with reference to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, is that of Darius of Persia in the year 519 B.C.; this is recorded in the sixth chapter of Ezra. The third is that of Artaxerxes in the seventh year of his reign—that is, in 457 B.C.; this is recorded in the seventh chapter of Ezra. The fourth is that of Artaxerxes in the year 444 B.C.; this is recorded in the second chapter of Nehemiah.

But Daniel refers especially to the third edict which was issued in the year 457 B.C. Seventy weeks make four hundred and ninety days. Each day, according to the text of the Holy Book, is a year. For in the Bible it is said: “The day of the Lord is one year.” 5 Therefore, four hundred and ninety days are four hundred and ninety years. The third edict of Artaxerxes was issued four hundred and fifty-seven years before the birth of Christ, and Christ when He was martyred and ascended was thirty-three years of age. When you add thirty-three to four hundred and fifty-seven, the result is four hundred and ninety, which is the time announced by Daniel for the manifestation of Christ.

But in the twenty-fifth verse of the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel this is expressed in another manner, as seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; and apparently this differs from the first saying. Many have remained perplexed at these differences, trying to reconcile these two statements. How can seventy weeks be right in one place, and sixty-two weeks and seven weeks in another? These two sayings do not accord.

But Daniel mentions two dates. One of these dates begins with the command of Artaxerxes to Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem: this is the seventy weeks which came to an end with the ascension of Christ, when by His martyrdom the sacrifice and oblation ceased.

The second period, which is found in the twenty-sixth verse, means that after the termination of the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the ascension of Christ, there will be sixty-two weeks: the seven weeks are the duration of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which took forty-nine years. When you add these seven weeks to the sixty-two weeks, it makes sixty-nine weeks, and in the last week (69–70) the ascension of Christ took place. These seventy weeks are thus completed, and there is no contradiction.

Now that the manifestation of Christ has been proved by the prophecies of Daniel, let us prove the manifestations of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb. Up to the present we have only mentioned rational proofs; now we shall speak of traditional proofs.

In the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, verse thirteen, it is said: “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” Then he answered (v. 14): “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”; (v. 17) “But he said unto me … at the time of the end shall be the vision.” That is to say, how long will this misfortune, this ruin, this abasement and degradation last? meaning, when will be the dawn of the Manifestation? Then he answered, “Two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Briefly, the purport of this passage is that he appoints two thousand three hundred years, for in the text of the Bible each day is a year. Then from the date of the issuing of the edict of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem until the day of the birth of Christ there are 456 years, and from the birth of Christ until the day of the manifestation of the Báb there are 1844 years. When you add 456 years to this number it makes 2300 years. That is to say, the fulfillment of the vision of Daniel took place in the year A.D. 1844, and this is the year of the Báb’s manifestation according to the actual text of the Book of Daniel. Consider how clearly he determines the year of manifestation; there could be no clearer prophecy for a manifestation than this.

In Matthew, chapter 24, verse 3, Christ clearly says that what Daniel meant by this prophecy was the date of the manifestation, and this is the verse: “As He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” One of the explanations He gave them in reply was this (v. 15): “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand).” In this answer He referred them to the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, saying that everyone who reads it will understand that it is this time that is spoken of. Consider how clearly the manifestation of the Báb is spoken of in the Old Testament and in the Gospel.

To conclude, let us now explain the date of the manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh from the Bible. The date of Bahá’u’lláh is calculated according to lunar years from the mission and the Hejira of Muḥammad; for in the religion of Muḥammad the lunar year is in use, as also it is the lunar year which is employed concerning all commands of worship.

In Daniel, chapter 12, verse 6, it is said: “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and that when He shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” 6

As I have already explained the signification of one day, it is not necessary to explain it further; but we will say briefly that each day of the Father counts as a year, and in each year there are twelve months. Thus three years and a half make forty-two months, and forty-two months are twelve hundred and sixty days. The Báb, the precursor of Bahá’u’lláh, appeared in the year 1260 from the Hejira of Muḥammad, by the reckoning of Islám.

Afterward, in verse 11, it is said: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolation be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” 7

The beginning of this lunar reckoning is from the day of the proclamation of the prophethood of Muḥammad in the country of Ḥijáz; and that was three years after His mission, because in the beginning the prophethood of Muḥammad was kept secret, and no one knew it save Khadíjah and Ibn Nawfal. 8 After three years it was announced. And Bahá’u’lláh, in the year 1290 from the proclamation of the mission of Muḥammad, caused His manifestation to be known. 9

1. Bahá’u’lláh.
2. ‘Akká.
3. Cf. “Miracles,” p. 100.
4. See Dan. 9:24.
5. Cf. Num. 14:34.
6. Cf. Dan. 12:6–7.
7. The reference appears in verses 11 and 12.
8. Varaqat-Ibn-Nawfal, Khadíjah’s cousin.
9. The year 1290 from the proclamation of the mission of Muḥammad was the year 1280 of the Hejira, or 1863–64 of our era. It was at this epoch (April 1863) that Bahá’u’lláh, on leaving Baghdád for Constantinople, declared to those who surrounded Him that He was the Manifestation announced by the Báb.
It is this declaration which the Bahá’ís celebrate by the Feast of Riḍván, this name being that of the garden at the entrance of the city, where Bahá’u’lláh stayed during twelve days, and where He made the declaration.

Abdu’l-Baha’, Some Answered Questions, #10