Bahai Faith; Kings and rulers; Shoghi, Effendi, 1897-1957 -- Correspondence
Again in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas these words, directed to Emperor Francis
Joseph, are recorded: “O Emperor of Austria! He who is the Dayspring of
God’s Light dwelt in the prison of Akká, at the time when thou didst set
forth to visit the Aqsá Mosque [Jerusalem]. Thou passed Him by, and
inquired not about Him, by Whom every house is exalted, and every lofty
gate unlocked. We, verily, made it [Jerusalem] a place whereunto the world
should turn, that they might remember Me, and yet thou hast rejected Him
Who is the Object of this remembrance, when He appeared with the Kingdom
of God, thy Lord and the Lord of the worlds. We have been with thee at all
times, and found thee clinging unto the Branch and heedless of the Root.
Thy Lord, verily, is a witness unto what I say. We grieved to see thee
circle round Our Name, whilst unaware of Us, though We were before thy
face. Open thine eyes, that thou mayest behold this glorious Vision, and
recognize Him Whom thou invokest in the daytime and in the night season,
and gaze on the Light that shineth above this luminous Horizon.”
In the Súriy-i-Mulúk Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz is addressed in the following
terms: “Hearken, O king, to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth, Him
that doth not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath chosen
to bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the straight Path. He it
is Who summoneth thee unto God, thy Lord, Who showeth thee the right
course, the way that leadeth to true felicity, that haply thou mayest be
of them with whom it shall be well.... He that giveth up himself wholly to
God, God shall, assuredly, be with him; and he that placeth his complete
trust in God, God shall, verily, protect him from whatsoever may harm him,
and shield him from the wickedness of every evil plotter.
“Wert thou to incline thine ear unto My speech and observe My counsel, God
would exalt thee to so eminent a position that the designs of no man on
the whole earth could ever touch or hurt thee. Observe, O king, with thine
inmost heart and with thy whole being, the precepts of God, and walk not
in the paths of the oppressor. Seize thou, and hold firmly within the
grasp of thy might, the reins of the affairs of thy people, and examine in
person whatever pertaineth unto them. Let nothing escape thee, for therein
lieth the highest good.
“Render thanks unto God for having chosen thee out of the whole world, and
made thee king over them that profess thy faith. It well beseemeth thee to
appreciate the wondrous favors with which God hath favored thee, and to
magnify continually His name. Thou canst best praise Him if thou lovest
His loved ones, and dost safeguard and protect His servants from the
mischief of the treacherous, that none may any longer oppress them. Thou
shouldst, moreover, arise to enforce the law of God amongst them, that
thou mayest be of those who are firmly established in His law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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