Bahá’u’lláh, in one of His Tablets, describes Himself as the "Divine
Joseph" Who has been "bartered away" by the heedless "for the most paltry
of prices". The Báb, in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá, identifies Bahá’u’lláh as the
"true Joseph" and forecasts the ordeals that He would endure at the hands
of His treacherous brother (see note 190). Likewise, Shoghi Effendi draws
a parallel between the intense jealousy which the preeminence of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá had aroused in His half-brother, Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, and the
deadly envy "which the superior excellence of Joseph had kindled in the
hearts of his brothers".
2. We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power.
#5
The consumption of wine and other intoxicants is prohibited in the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas (see notes 144 and 170).
Reference to the use of "wine" in an allegorical sense—such as being the
cause of spiritual ecstasy—is found, not only in the Revelation of
Bahá’u’lláh, but in the Bible, in the Qur’án, and in ancient Hindu
traditions.
For example, in the Qur’án the righteous are promised that they will be
given to drink of the "choice sealed wine". In His Tablets, Bahá’u’lláh
identifies the "choice Wine" with His Revelation whose "musk-laden
fragrance" has been wafted "upon all created things". He states that He
has "unsealed" this "Wine", thereby disclosing spiritual truths that were
hitherto unknown, and enabling those who quaff thereof to "discern the
splendours of the light of divine unity" and to "grasp the essential
purpose underlying the Scriptures of God".
In one of His meditations, Bahá’u’lláh entreats God to supply the
believers with "the choice Wine of Thy mercy, that it may cause them to be
forgetful of any one except Thee, and to arise to serve Thy Cause, and to
be steadfast in their love for Thee".
3. We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you #6
In Arabic, there are several words for prayer. The word "salát", which
appears here in the original, refers to a particular category of prayers,
the recitation of which at specific times of the day is enjoined on the
believers. To differentiate this category of prayers from other kinds, the
word has been translated as "obligatory prayer".
Bahá’u’lláh states that "obligatory prayer and fasting occupy an exalted
station in the sight of God" (Q and A 93). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá affirms that such
prayers are "conducive to humility and submissiveness, to setting one’s
face towards God and expressing devotion to Him", and that through these
prayers "man holdeth communion with God, seeketh to draw near unto Him,
converseth with the true Beloved of his heart, and attaineth spiritual
stations".
The Obligatory Prayer (see note 9) referred to in this verse has been
superseded by the three Obligatory Prayers later revealed by Bahá’u’lláh
(Q and A 63). The texts of the three prayers currently in use, together
with instructions regarding their recital, are to be found in this volume
in Some Texts Supplementary to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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