O thou who hast set thy face towards the splendors of My
Countenance! Vague fancies have encompassed the dwellers of the earth and
debarred them from turning towards the Horizon of Certitude, and its brightness,
and its manifestations and its lights. Vain imaginings have withheld them from
Him Who is the Self-Subsisting. They speak as prompted by their own caprices,
and understand not. Among them are those who have said: ‘Have the verses been
sent down?’ Say: ‘Yea, by Him Who is the Lord of the heavens!’ ‘Hath the Hour
come?’ ‘Nay, more; it hath passed, by Him Who is the
Revealer of clear tokens! Verily, the Inevitable is come, and He, the True One,
hath appeared with proof and testimony. The Plain is disclosed, and mankind is
sore vexed and fearful. Earthquakes have broken loose, and the tribes have
lamented, for fear of God, the Lord of Strength, the All-Compelling.’ Say: ‘The
stunning trumpet blast hath been loudly raised, and the Day is God’s, the One,
the Unconstrained.’ ‘Hath the Catastrophe come to pass?’ Say: ‘Yea, by the Lord
of Lords!’ ‘Is the Resurrection come?’ ‘Nay, more; He Who is the
Self-Subsisting hath appeared with the Kingdom of His signs.’ ‘Seest thou men
laid low?’ ‘Yea, by my Lord, the Exalted, the Most High!’ ‘Have the tree-stumps
been uprooted?’ ‘Yea, more; the mountains have been scattered in dust; by Him
the Lord of attributes!’ They say: ‘Where is Paradise, and where is Hell?’ Say:
‘The one is reunion with Me; the other thine own self, O thou who dost
associate a partner with God and doubtest.’ They say: ‘We see not the Balance.’
Say: ‘Surely, by my Lord, the God of Mercy! None can see it except such as are
endued with insight.’ ‘Have the stars fallen?’ Say: ‘Yea, when He Who is the
Self-Subsisting dwelt in the Land of Mystery (Adrianople). Take heed, ye who
are endued with discernment!’ All the signs appeared when We drew forth the
Hand of Power from the bosom of majesty and might. Verily, the Crier hath cried
out, when the promised time came, and they that have
recognized the splendors of Sinai have swooned away in the wilderness of
hesitation, before the awful majesty of thy Lord, the Lord of creation. The
trumpet asketh: ‘Hath the Bugle been sounded?’ Say: ‘Yea, by the King of
Revelation!, when He mounted the throne of His Name, the All-Merciful.’
Darkness hath been chased away by the dawning-light of the mercy of thy Lord,
the Source of all light. The breeze of the All-Merciful hath wafted, and the
souls have been quickened in the tombs of their bodies. Thus hath the decree
been fulfilled by God, the Mighty, the Beneficent. They that have gone astray
have said: ‘When were the heavens cleft asunder?’ Say: ‘While ye lay in the
graves of waywardness and error.’ Among the heedless is he who rubbeth his
eyes, and looketh to the right and to the left. Say: ‘Blinded art thou. No
refuge hast thou to flee to.’ And among them is he who saith: ‘Have men been
gathered together?’ Say: ‘Yea, by my Lord!, whilst thou didst lie in the cradle
of idle fancies.’ And among them is he who saith: ‘Hath the Book been sent down
through the power of the true Faith?’ Say: ‘The true Faith itself is astounded.
Fear ye, O ye men of understanding heart!’ And among them is he who saith:
‘Have I been assembled with others, blind?’ Say: ‘Yea, by Him that rideth upon
the clouds!’ Paradise is decked with mystic roses, and hell hath been made to
blaze with the fire of the impious. Say: ‘The light hath shone forth from the horizon of Revelation, and the whole earth hath been illumined
at the coming of Him Who is the Lord of the Day of the Covenant!’ The doubters
have perished, whilst he that turned, guided by the light of assurance, unto
the Dayspring of Certitude hath prospered. Blessed art thou, who hast fixed thy
gaze upon Me, for this Tablet which hath been sent down for thee —a Tablet
which causeth the souls of men to soar. Commit it to memory, and recite it. By
My life! It is a door to the mercy of thy Lord. Well is it with him that
reciteth it at eventide and at dawn. We, verily, hear thy praise of this Cause,
through which the mountain of knowledge was crushed, and men’s feet have
slipped. My glory be upon thee and upon whomsoever hath turned unto the
Almighty, the All-Bounteous. The Tablet is ended, but the theme is unexhausted.
Be patient, for thy Lord is patient.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf’)
