Bahá’u’lláh here alludes to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His Successor and calls upon
the believers to turn towards Him. In the Book of the Covenant, His Will
and Testament, Bahá’u’lláh discloses the intention of this verse. He
states: "The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most
Mighty Branch." The "Most Mighty Branch" is one of the titles conferred by
Bahá’u’lláh on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (See also notes 66 and 184.)
146. In the Bayán it had been forbidden you to ask Us questions. #126
The Báb forbade His followers to ask questions of Him Whom God will make
manifest (Bahá’u’lláh), unless their questions were submitted in writing
and pertained to subjects worthy of His lofty station. See Selections from
the Writings of the Báb.
Bahá’u’lláh removes this prohibition of the Báb. He invites the believers
to ask such questions as they "need to ask", and He cautions them to
refrain from posing "idle questions" of the kind which preoccupied "the
men of former times".
147. The number of months in a year, appointed in the Book of God, is
nineteen. #127
The Bahá’í year, in accordance with the Badí calendar, consists of
nineteen months of nineteen days each, with the addition of certain
intercalary days (four in an ordinary year and five in a leap year)
between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adjust the
calendar to the solar year. The Báb named the months after certain
attributes of God. The Bahá’í New Year, Naw-Rúz, is astronomically fixed,
coinciding with the March equinox (see note 26). For further details,
including the names of the days of the week and the months, see the
section on the Bahá’í calendar in The Bahá’í World, volume XVIII.
148. the first hath been adorned with this Name which overshadoweth the
whole of creation #127
In the Persian Bayán, the Báb bestowed the name "Bahá" on the first month
of the year (see note 139).
149. The Lord hath decreed that the dead should be interred in coffins
#128
In the Bayán, the Báb prescribed that the deceased should be interred in a
coffin made of crystal or polished stone. Shoghi Effendi, in a letter
written on his behalf, explained that the significance of this provision
was to show respect for the human body which "was once exalted by the
immortal soul of man".
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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