Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: "I
am God", He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth
thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through
their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of
God, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the
world...
While the Manifestations reveal the names and attributes of God and are
the means by which humanity has access to the knowledge of God and His
Revelation, Shoghi Effendi states that the Manifestations should "never
... be identified with that invisible Reality, the Essence of Divinity
itself". In relation to Bahá’u’lláh, the Guardian wrote that the "human
temple that has been the vehicle of so overpowering a Revelation" is not
to be identified with the "Reality" of God.
Concerning the uniqueness of Bahá’u’lláh’s station and the greatness of
His Revelation, Shoghi Effendi affirms that the prophetic statements
concerning the "Day of God", found in the Sacred Scriptures of past
Dispensations, are fulfilled by the advent of Bahá’u’lláh:
To Israel He was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the
"Everlasting Father", the "Lord of Hosts" come down "with ten
thousands of saints"; to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory
of the Father"; to S̱ẖí’ah Islám the return of the Imám Ḥusayn;
to Sunní Islám the descent of the "Spirit of God" (Jesus Christ);
to the Zoroastrians the promised S̱ẖáh-Bahrám; to the Hindus the
reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.
Bahá’u’lláh describes the station of "Divinity" which He shares with all
the Manifestations of God as
...the station in which one dieth to himself and liveth in God.
Divinity, whenever I mention it, indicateth My complete and
absolute self-effacement. This is the station in which I have no
control over mine own weal or woe nor over my life nor over my
resurrection.
And, regarding His own relationship to God, He testifies:
When I contemplate, O my God, the relationship that bindeth me to
Thee, I am moved to proclaim to all created things "verily I am
God"; and when I consider my own self, lo, I find it coarser than
clay!
161. payment of Zakát #146
Zakát is referred to in the Qur’án as a regular charity binding upon
Muslims. In due course the concept evolved into a form of alms-tax which
imposed the obligation to give a fixed portion of certain categories of
income, beyond specified limits, for the relief of the poor, for various
charitable purposes, and to aid the Faith of God. The limit of exemption
varied for different commodities, as did the percentage payable on the
portion assessable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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