O thou who art reputed for thy learning! Bid men to do that which is
praiseworthy, and be not of such as tarry. Observe thou with a keen eye.
The Sun of Truth shineth resplendently, at the bidding of the Lord of the
kingdom of utterance, and the King of the heaven of knowledge, above the
horizon of the prison-city of Akká. Repudiation hath not veiled it, and
ten thousand hosts arrayed against it were powerless to withhold it from
shining. Thou canst excuse thyself no longer. Either thou must recognize
it, or—God forbid—arise and deny all the Prophets!
Reflect, O _Sh_ay_kh_, upon the _Sh_í’ih sect. How many the edifices which
they reared with the hands of idle fancies and vain imaginings, and how
numerous the cities which they built! At length those vain imaginings were
converted into bullets and aimed at Him Who is the Prince of the world.
Not one single soul among the leaders of that sect acknowledged Him in the
Day of His Revelation! Whenever His blessed name was mentioned, all would
say: "May God hasten the joy His coming will bring!" On the day of the
Revelation of that Sun of Truth, however, all, as hath been observed, have
exclaimed, saying: "May God hasten His chastisement!" He Who was the
Essence of being and Lord of the seen and unseen they suspended, and
committed what made the Tablet to weep, and the Pen to groan, and the
cries of the sincere to break forth, and the tears of the favored ones to
flow.
Meditate, O _Sh_ay_kh_, and be fair in what thou sayest. The followers of
_Sh_ay_kh_-i-Ahsá’í (_Sh_ay_kh_ Aḥmad) have, by the aid of God,
apprehended that which was veiled from the comprehension of others, and of
which they remained deprived. Briefly, in every age and century
differences have arisen in the days of the manifestation of the Daysprings
of Revelation, and the Dawning-Places of inspiration, and the Repositories
of Divine knowledge, differences which have been caused and provoked by
lying and impious souls. To expatiate on this is not permissible. Thou art
thyself better acquainted and more familiar with the idle fancies of the
superstitious and the vain imaginings of the doubters.
In this day, this Wronged One requesteth thee and the other divines who
have drunk of the cup of the knowledge of God, and are illumined by the
shining words of the Daystar of Justice, to appoint some person, without
informing any one, and despatch him to these regions, and enable him to
remain a while in the island of Cyprus, and associate with Mírzá Yaḥyá,
perchance he may become aware of the fundamentals of this Faith and of the
source of the Divine laws and commandments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account