Selections From the Writings of the BábBab, ʻAli Muhammad Shirazi
Religion
Selections From the Writings of the Báb
Bab, ʻAli Muhammad Shirazi
Babism; Bahai Faith
If in the Day of His manifestation a king were to make mention of his own
sovereignty, this would be like unto a mirror challenging the sun, saying:
‘The light is in me’. It would be likewise, if a man of learning in His
Day were to claim to be an exponent of knowledge, or if he who is
possessed of riches were to display his affluence, or if a man wielding
power were to assert his own authority, or if one invested with grandeur
were to show forth his glory. Nay, such men would become the object of the
derision of their peers, and how would they be judged by Him Who is the
Sun of Truth! III, 12.
“It is not permissible to ask questions from Him Whom ...”
It is not permissible to ask questions from Him Whom God will make
manifest, except that which well beseemeth Him. For His station is that of
the Essence of divine Revelation... Whatever evidence of bounty is
witnessed in the world, is but an image of His bounty; and every thing
owes its existence to His Being... The Bayán is, from beginning to end,
the repository of all of His attributes, and the treasury of both His fire
and His light. Should anyone desire to ask questions, he is allowed to do
so only in writing, that he may derive ample understanding from His
written reply and that it may serve as a sign from his Beloved. However,
let no one ask aught that may prove unworthy of His lofty station. For
instance, were a person to inquire the price of straw from a merchant of
rubies, how ignorant would he be and how unacceptable. Similarly
unacceptable would be the questions of the highest-ranking people of the
world in His presence, except such words as He Himself would utter about
Himself in the Day of His manifestation.
Methinks I visualize those who would, prompted by their own deluded
conceptions, write to Him and ask Him questions about that which hath been
revealed in the Bayán, and He would answer them with words not of His Own,
but divinely inspired, saying: ‘Verily, verily, I am God; no God is there
but Me. I have called into being all the created things, I have raised up
divine Messengers in the past and have sent down Books unto Them. Take
heed not to worship anyone but God, He Who is My Lord and your Lord. This
indeed is the undoubted truth. However, alike shall it be to Me; if ye
believe in Me, ye will provide good for your own souls, and if ye believe
not in Me, nor in that which God hath revealed unto Me, ye will suffer
yourselves to be shut out as by a veil. For verily I have been independent
of you heretofore, and shall remain independent hereafter. Therefore it
behooveth you, O creatures of God, to help your own selves and to believe
in the Verses revealed by Me...’ III, 13.
“The Bayán shall constitute God’s unerring balance till the ...”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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