Another proof and evidence of the truth of this Revelation, which amongst
all other proofs shineth as the sun, is the constancy of the eternal
Beauty in proclaiming the Faith of God. Though young and tender of age,
and though the Cause He revealed was contrary to the desire of all the
peoples of earth, both high and low, rich and poor, exalted and abased,
king and subject, yet He arose and steadfastly proclaimed it. All have
known and heard this. He was afraid of no one; He was regardless of
consequences. Could such a thing be made manifest except through the power
of a divine Revelation, and the potency of God’s invincible Will? By the
righteousness of God! Were any one to entertain so great a Revelation in
his heart, the thought of such a declaration would alone confound him!
Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into his heart, he would still
hesitate to venture upon so awful an enterprise. He could achieve it only
by the permission of God, only if the channel of his heart were to be
linked with the Source of divine grace, and his soul be assured of the
unfailing sustenance of the Almighty. To what, We wonder, do they ascribe
so great a daring? Do they accuse Him of folly as they accused the
Prophets of old? Or do they maintain that His motive was none other than
leadership and the acquisition of earthly riches?
Gracious God! In His Book, which He hath entitled “Qayyúmu’l-Asmá,”—the
first, the greatest and mightiest of all books—He prophesied His own
martyrdom. In it is this passage: “O thou Remnant of God! I have
sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake;
and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love.
Sufficient Witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient
of Days!”
Likewise, in His interpretation of the letter “Há,” He craved martyrdom,
saying: “Methinks I heard a Voice calling in my inmost being: ‘Do thou
sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God, even as
Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My sake.’ And were
I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, by Him, Who hath my being
between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were to be leagued
together they would be powerless to take from me a single letter, how much
less can these servants who are worthy of no attention, and who verily are
of the outcast... That all may know the degree of My patience, My
resignation, and self-sacrifice in the path of God.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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