In the Name of God, the Lord of overpowering majesty, the All-Compelling.
HALLOWED be the Lord in Whose hand is the source of dominion. He createth whatsoever He willeth by His Word of command “Be,” and it is. His hath been the power of authority heretofore and it shall remain His hereafter. He maketh victorious whomsoever He pleaseth, through the potency of His behest. He is in truth the Powerful, the Almighty. Unto Him pertaineth all glory and majesty in the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation and whatever lieth between them. Verily He is the Potent, the All-Glorious. From everlasting He hath been the Source of indomitable strength and shall remain so unto everlasting. He is indeed the Lord of might and power. All the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them are God’s, and His power is supreme over all things. All the treasures of earth and heaven and everything between them are His, and His protection extendeth over all things. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them and He truly is a witness over all things. He is the Lord of Reckoning for all that dwell in the heavens and on earth and whatever lieth between them, and truly God is swift to reckon. He setteth the measure assigned to all who are in the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. Verily He is the Supreme Protector. He holdeth in His grasp the keys of heaven and earth and of everything between them. At His Own pleasure doth He bestow gifts, through the power of His command. Indeed His grace encompasseth all and He is the All-Knowing.
Say: God sufficeth unto me; He is the One Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of all things. Through the power of His hosts of heaven and earth and whatever lieth between them, He protecteth whomsoever among His servants He willeth. God, in truth, keepeth watch over all things.
Immeasurably exalted art Thou, O Lord! Protect us from what lieth in front of us and behind us, above our heads, on our right, on our left, below our feet and every other side to which we are exposed. Verily Thy protection over all things is unfailing.1
The Bab
Excerpt from the Lawḥ-i-Salmán I
(Tablet to Salmán I)
O Salmán! Say: O people! Tread ye in the path of the one true God and ponder the ways and words of Him Who is the Manifestation of His ancient Being, that perchance ye may attain unto the Wellspring of the living waters of the All-Glorious. Were believers and non-believers to occupy the same station, were the worlds of God to be confined to this ephemeral plane, never would My previous Manifestation have surrendered Himself into the hands of His foes or laid down His life as a sacrifice. I swear by the dawning-light of this Cause that were the people to grasp the barest intimation of the fervour and longing which overcame that sovereign Beauty when His celestial Temple was suspended in the air, all would, in the intensity of their own yearning, offer up their souls in the path of this Manifestation of supernal glory. Indeed, sugar is the portion of the parrot, while dung is the share of the beetle; the crow hath no part in the warbling of the nightingale, and the bat fleeth the rays of the sun.
قسمتی از لوح سلمان
ای سلمان بگو ای عباد بر اثر حق مشی نمائيد و در افعال مظهر قِدَم تفکّر کنيد و در کلماتش تدبّر. که شايد بمعين کوثر بيزوال ذوالجلال فائز شويد.
و اگر مُقْبلْ و مُعْرِضْ در يک مقام باشند و عوالم الهی منحصر باين عالم بود، هرگز ظهورِ قبلم خود را بدست اعدا نميگذاشت و جان فدا نمينمود. قسم بآفتاب فجر امر که اگر ناس برشحی از شوق و اشتياقِ جمالِ مختار در حينيکه آن هيکل صمدانيرا در هوا آويختند مطّلع شوند، جميع از شوق، جان در سبيلِ اين ظهورِ عزِِّ ربّانی دهند.
باری شِکَرْ بطوطی داده‌اند و زِبلْ بجُعَلْ * زاغ از نغمه بلبل بی نصيب و خفّاش از شعاع شمس در گريز.
زِبل: کود حیوانی
جُعل: سوسک سیاهی که بر فضولات حیوانی می نشیند
The Life of the Báb
On a spring evening in 1844, a conversation took place between two young men that heralded a new era for the human race. A Persian merchant announced to a traveller in the city of Shiraz that He was the Bearer of a Divine Revelation destined to transform the spiritual life of humanity. The merchant’s name was Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, and He is known to history as the Báb (meaning “the Gate” in Arabic).
The middle of the 19th century was one of the most turbulent periods in the world’s history. Great revolutions were under way. In parts of Europe and North America, time-worn social structures and relationships were being challenged by sudden and unprecedented changes in the fields of agriculture, industry, and economics. At the same time, throughout the world followers of divers religions perceived that humanity was on the cusp of a new stage in its development, and many prepared themselves for the imminent coming of a Promised One, praying fervently that they would recognise Him.
A Quest Fulfilled
A young scholar named Mulla Husayn was one such soul engaged in a life-changing quest. He felt drawn, as if by a magnet, to Shiraz—a city renowned for the perfume of its roses and the singing of nightingales. On the evening of 22 May 1844, as he approached the gate of the city, he was greeted by a radiant young man who wore a green turban. This stranger greeted Mulla Husayn as if he were a lifelong friend.
“The Youth who met me outside the gate of Shiraz overwhelmed me with expressions of affection and loving-kindness,” recalled Mulla Husayn. “He extended to me a warm invitation to visit His home, and there refresh myself after the fatigues of my journey.”
The two men spent the entire night immersed in conversation. Mulla Husayn was astonished to discover that each of the characteristics he was seeking in the Promised One was manifest in this young man. Before departing early the next morning, his Host addressed to him these words: “O thou who art the first to believe in Me! Verily I say, I am the Báb, the Gate of God…Eighteen souls must, in the beginning, spontaneously and of their own accord, accept Me and recognize the truth of My Revelation.”
Within several weeks of the Báb’s declaration, seventeen more people had, by their own spontaneous efforts, recognized His station, had renounced the comforts and security of their old way of life, and—severed from all attachments—had set out on the mission of spreading His teachings. These first eighteen followers of the Báb became known collectively as the “Letters of the Living.”
One of them, the poetess Tahirih, was to play a pivotal role in breaking with the past, raising the call to full equality between women and men. The last member of the group, a young man who was given the title Quddus—meaning “The Most Holy”—displayed a level of devotion and courage that made him the most revered of the Letters of the Living.
Mulla Husayn was overwhelmed at the words that poured forth from the Báb that night. The Báb demonstrated an innate wisdom that, even when He was young, had left His family awe-struck. “He is not to be treated as a mere child,” His schoolmaster had told them, “He, verily, stands in no need of teachers such as I.”
The Mission of the Báb
Born in Shiraz, a city in southern Iran, on 20 October 1819, the Báb was the symbolic gate between past ages of prophecy and a new age of fulfilment for humanity. His primary purpose was to awaken the people to the fact that a new period in human history had begun, one which would witness the unification of the entire human race and the emergence of a world civilization of spiritual and material prosperity. This great day would be established through the influence of a divinely inspired Educator, whom the Báb referred to as “He Whom God shall make manifest.” It was His own mission, the Báb declared, to herald the coming of this promised Manifestation of God. The Báb explained that the new Manifestation would usher in an age of peace and justice that was the hope of every longing heart and the promise of every religion. The Báb instructed His followers to spread this message throughout the country and to prepare people for this long-awaited day.
The Báb’s message aroused hope and excitement among people from every walk of life. Although a number of prominent Muslim clerics accepted the Báb, many others felt insecure and threatened by His growing influence and feared their entrenched positions of privilege and authority would be threatened by the empowerment of the people. They denounced the Báb’s teachings as heretical and set out to destroy Him and His followers. Controversy raged in mosques and schools, in streets and bazaars throughout the land.
As a result, the Báb was banished—from city to city, from prison to prison. But none of the plans His enemies devised could prevent His influence from spreading. In every place He was sent, His grace and the magnetic attraction of His personality won the admiration of civic leaders and townspeople. Callous prison governors and soldiers guarding Him became His followers. Each time, believing they were extinguishing the flame of His influence, the authorities merely added fuel to His life-giving light. In time, the Báb’s popularity grew to such an extent that some prominent clergymen appealed to the government to have Him executed. The Bábís, shut off from their leader, boldly defended themselves against the full force of the state, which was summoned for their destruction. Thousands of His followers—men, women and children—suffered cruel and brutal deaths.
منتخبی از لوح غلام الخلد
منادی بقا از عرش عما ندا فرمود که ای منتظران وادی صبر و وفا و ای عاشقان هوای قرب و بقا غلام روحانی که در کنائز عصمت ربّانی مستور بود بِطراز يزدانی و جمال سبحانی از مشرق صمدانی چون شمس حقيقی و روح قدمی طالع شد. و جميع مَنْ فِی السَّمواتِ وَ الْأَرْض را بقميص هستی و بقا از عوالم نيستی و فنا نجات بخشيد و حيات بخشود.
و آنکلمه مستوره که ارواح جميع انبيا و اولياء باو معلّق و مربوط بود از مکمن غيب و خفا بعرصه شهود و ظهور جلوه فرمود. و چون آنکلمه غيبيّه از عالم هويّه صرفه و احديّه محضه بعوالم ملکيّه تجلّی فرمود، نسيم رحمتی از آن تجلّی برخاست که رائحه عصيان از کلّشیء برداشت و خلعت جديد غفران بر هياکل نامتناهی اشيا و انسان در پوشيد. و چنان عنايت بديعه احاطه فرمود که جواهر مکنون که در خزائن امکان مخزون بود از نفحه کاف و نون در ظواهر اکوان بجلوه و شهود آمد بقسميکه غيب و شهود در قميصی مجتمع گشتند و سرّ و ظهور در پيراهنی بهم پيوستند. نفس عدم بملکوت قدم بر‌آمد و جوهر فنا بر جبروت بقا وارد.
پس اي عاشقان جمال ذوالجمال و ای والهان هوای قرب ذوالجلال ! هنگام قرب و وصال است نه موقع ذکر و جدال. اگر صادقيد معشوق چون صبح صادق ظاهر و لائح و هويدا است. از خود و غير خود بلکه از هستی و نيستی و نور و ظلمت و ذلّت و عزّت از همه بپردازيد و از نقوش و اوهام و خيال دل بر داريد و پاک و مقدّس در اين فضای روحانی و ظلّ تجلّيات قدس صمدانی با قلب نورانی بخراميد.
ای دوستان خمر باقی جاری. و ای مشتاقان جمال جانان بی‌نقاب و حجاب. و ای ياران نار سينای عشق در جلوه و لمعان. از ثقل حبّ دنيا و توجّه بآن خفيف شده چون طيور منير عرشی در هوای رضوان الهی پرواز کنيد و آهنگ آشيان لايزالی نمائيد. و البتّه جان را بی آن قدری نباشد و روانرا بی جانان مقداری نه.
باری پروانگان يمن سبحان در هر دمی حول سراج دوست جان بازند و از جانان نپردازند. هر طيری را اينقدر مقدور نه. وَ اللّهُ يَهْدی مَنْ يَشآءُ اِلی صِراطِ عَلِيٍّ عَظيمٍ.
کَذلِکَ نَرُشُّ حينَئذٍ عَلی اَهْلِ الْعَمآء ما يُقَلِّبُهُمْ اِلی يَمينِ الْبَقآء وَ يُدْخِلُهُمْ اِلی مَقامِ الَّذی کانَ فی سَمآء الْقُدْسِ مَرْفُوعاً.
Excerpt from the Súriy-i-Nuṣḥ
(Súrih of Counsel)
1
Announce unto My servants the advent of the One Who came unto them with the power of truth bearing the name of ‘Alí,30 Who dawned above the horizon of holiness with the splendours of a cherished glory, and from Whose right hand flowed the crystal streams of the spirit, laying bare the wonders of a hidden knowledge.
2
“O people!” He declared, “The clouds of wisdom have been lifted and God hath revealed His Cause. This is that which ye were promised in all the Scriptures. Fear ye God and hasten unto Me. I am, O people, a scion of your Prophet. I have brought unto you verses that bewilder the minds of them that perceive, and this is but a token of God’s proof and testimony. Deny them not at the prompting of your idle fancies, and be fair in your judgement. They verily proceed from the religion of God that hath been sent down unto you through the power of truth, would that ye might believe!
3
“I swear by God, O people! I wish only to rid your religions of all that hath in this day become the cause of contention. These verses, O people, are the breezes of the spirit that are wafting over you and would transmute your mortal condition into eternal life, could ye but fix your gaze upon them. O people! The tree of knowledge hath yielded its fruit upon this everlasting Lote-Tree; the Primal Point hath been unfolded; and the Word of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, hath been fulfilled. O people! The beauty of His countenance hath been revealed, the veils have been parted, the Nightingale hath warbled its melody, the Mount of holiness hath been made resplendent, and all who are in the heavens and on the earth have been illumined, could ye but see with the eye of the spirit!”
4
But the people made reply, saying: “We deem Thee a speaker of falsehood; nor do we discern in Thine acts that which we had been promised in the books of our forefathers. Never would we follow Thee, even wert Thou to produce for us all the signs of the world.”
5
“O concourse of men!” He declared, “Fear ye God and consider that which He hath ordained to be His immutable proof and abiding testimony unto all that dwell in the heavens and on the earth, did ye but know it. O people! The truth of all that ye have been awaiting, and all that ye have heard from your forefathers and your divines, is established only through these verses. And these, verily, are the verses of holiness that have been vouchsafed unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth, even as ye yourselves can behold.
6
“If ye believe not in these verses, how then can ye be assured of the truth of your own religion in this day or establish it in the eyes of others? The day is fast approaching when the world and all that it containeth will have perished, and when ye shall stand in the holy court of His presence. Take heed, O people, lest ye be swayed by the elaborate pronouncements of your divines or misconceive the truth of the matter. Hearken unto My counsels and repudiate not the exhortations of God.”
7
The more He extolled the remembrance of God, the greater they waxed in their oppression, until all the divines pronounced sentence against Him, save those that were acquainted with the precepts of God, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Matters came to such a pass that they united to put Him to death. They suspended Him in the air, and the hosts of misbelief flung at Him the bullets of malice and hatred, piercing the body of the One unto Whom the Holy Spirit is a humble servant, the dust of Whose feet is the object of adoration of the Concourse on high, and from Whose very sandals the inmates of Paradise seek a blessing. Whereupon the inhabitants of the unseen realm wept sore beneath the pavilion of eternity, the pillars of the Throne trembled, the inmost realities of all things were stirred into commotion, and the divine Tree received its full measure of His gleaming blood which was shed upon the earth.
8
Erelong will God reveal the mystery of this Tree, make it to flourish through the power of truth, and cause it to intone: “Verily I am God, there is none other God but Him. All are My servants whom We have created to carry out My bidding, and by My bidding they all, verily, abide.”
9
This, in truth, is that which We pledged Ourself aforetime to accomplish: to show favour unto those who were brought low in the land and to humble them that have waxed proud. At no time did We send an Apostle, a Prophet, or a Vicegerent whom these wicked souls did not oppose, even as ye witness how these workers of iniquity are raising objections in this day.
10
Nor have the people ever rejected the truth except after their divines rejected it, and swelled with pride before God, and sought to dispute His verses. Thus did the rejection of the leaders give rise to the rejection of those who followed them in their selfish desires. None among these divines ever bore allegiance unto the new Revelation, save for those who could gaze with the eye of holiness, whose hearts God had tested and proved true for His recognition, to whom He hath given to drink from that chalice of holiness sealed with the musk of the spirit, and who were intoxicated by the wine of certitude which they had quaffed from that chalice. These, verily, are they whom the angels of Paradise will glorify in the garden of eternity and who will delight at every moment in a joy and gladness born of God.
11
No Prophet have We ever raised up except that He was repudiated by the divines whilst they prided themselves in their learning, even as they do in this day. Say: O concourse of divines! Do ye worship the Calf and abandon the One Who hath created you and taught you that which ye knew not?
12
O people of the earth! Ponder the state of these workers of iniquity, what they have wrought in the past, and what they pursue in this day. Say: If He Who hath come unto you with clear verses be not the True One from God, even as ye proclaim this day from your seats of worldly honour, then by what proof can ye establish the truth of Muḥammad, Whom we sent aforetime? Be fair in your judgement, O concourse of ill-wishers!
هر سنه می بينى كه چقدر خلق بمكّه ميروند وطواف ميكنند وحال آنكه كسى كه كعبه بقول او كعبه است در اين جبل وحده است واو بعينه همان رسول الله هست. زيرا كه مثَل امر الله مثل شمس است. اگر ما لا نهايه طالع شود يك شمس زياده نيست. وكلّ باو قائم هستند - بشأنى كه ظاهر است كه كلِّ ظهوراتِ قبل از براى رسول الله (ص) خلق شده، وكلِّ ظهورات و آن ظهور از براى قائمِ آلِ محمّد (ص) خلق شده. وكلّ ظهورات وظهورِ قائمِ آلِ محمّد (ص) از براى مَن يُظهِره الله خلق شده. وهمچنين كلِّ ظهورات و اين ظهور و ظهورِ مَن يُظهِره الله از براى ظهور بعدِ مَن يُظهِره الله خلق شده. وكلّ اين ظهورات از براى بعدِ بعدِ مَن يُظهِره الله خلق شده. وهمچنين الى ما لا نهايه شمس حقيقت طالع وغارب ميگردد واز براى او بدئى ونهايتى نبوده ونيست.
طوبى از براى نفسى كه در هر ظهورى مراد خدا را در آن ظهور بفهمد نه آنكه نظر بشئون قبل كرده واز او محتجب گردد …
Excerpt from Lawḥ-i-Ghulámu’l-Khuld
(Tablet of the Immortal Youth)
The Herald of Eternity proclaimeth from his cloud-wrapped throne: O ye that wait expectant in the vale of patience and fidelity! O ye that long to soar in the atmosphere of nearness and reunion! The celestial Youth, hidden ere now within the inviolable treasuries of God, hath appeared, even as the Sun of Reality and the Eternal Spirit, from the Dawning-Place of changeless splendour, adorned with the ornament of the Almighty and the beauty of the All-Praised. He hath rescued all who are in heaven and on earth from the perils of death and extinction, clothed them in the garment of true and everlasting existence, and bestowed upon them a new life.
That concealed Word upon which the souls of all the Messengers of God and His Chosen Ones have ever depended hath manifested itself out of the invisible world into the visible plane. No sooner had this hidden Word shone forth from the Realm of inmost being and absolute singleness to illumine the peoples of the earth than a breeze of mercy wafted therefrom, purifying all things from the stench of sin and arraying the countless forms of existence and the reality of man with the vesture of forgiveness. So great was the wondrous grace which pervaded all things that through the utterance of the letters “B” and “E” the gems that lay hid within the repositories of this contingent world were brought forth and made manifest. Thus were the seen and the unseen joined in one garment, and the hidden and the manifest clothed in a single robe; thus did utter nothingness attain the realm of eternity, and pure evanescence gain admittance into the court of everlasting life.
Wherefore, O ye lovers of the beauty of the All-Glorious! O ye that ardently seek the court of the presence of the Almighty! This is the day of nearness and reunion, not the time for contention and idle words. If ye be sincere lovers, behold the beauty of the Best-Beloved shining clear and resplendent as the true morn. It behoveth you to be free from all attachment, whether to yourselves or to others; nay, ye should renounce existence and non-existence, light and darkness, glory and abasement alike. Sever your hearts from all transitory things, from all idle fancies and vain imaginings, that ye may, pure and unsullied, enter the realm of the spirit and partake with radiant hearts of the splendours of everlasting holiness.
O friends! The wine of eternal life is flowing. O lovers! The face of the Beloved is unveiled and unconcealed. O companions! The fire of the Sinai of love is burning bright and resplendent. Cast off the burden of love for this world and every attachment thereto, and, even as luminous, heavenly birds, soar in the atmosphere of the celestial Paradise and wing your flight to the everlasting nest. For devoid of this, life itself hath no worth, and bereft of the Beloved, the heart is of no account.
Yea, the moth-like lovers of the All-Glorious at every instant offer up their lives round the consuming flame of the Friend, occupying themselves with naught save Him. Yet not every bird can aspire to such heights. God, verily, guideth whom He willeth unto His mighty and exalted path.
Thus do We bestow upon the dwellers of the mystic realm that which shall draw them nigh unto the right hand of everlasting life and enable them to attain unto that station which hath been upraised in the heaven of holiness.
فرّاشباشی با سه حکم قتل آن مظهر معبود را بسرباز خانه برگردانيد و بدست سام خان ارمنی سپرد که اين سه حکم قتل از سه مجتهد اعلم تبريز است که در دين اسلام قتل اين شخص لازم و واجب است. حال تو هم از دولت مأموری هم از ملّت و بر تو بأسی نيست.
جناب آقا سيّد حسين را در همان حجره که شب در خدمت بودند حبس نمود. ميرزا محمّد علی را خواست که در آن حجره حبس نمايد او جزع و فزع نمود، قسم داد که مرا ببر پيش محبوبم. ناچار او را نيز برد و بدست سامخان سپرده گفت اگر تا آخر پشيمان نشد، اين را هم با او مصلوب کن. و چون سامخان وضع امور را مشاهده نمود، بر قلبش رُعب الهی وارد و در کمال ادب خدمت طلعت اعلی معروض داشت که من مسيحی هستم و عداوتی با شما ندارم. شما را بخدای لا شريک له قسم ميدهم که اگر حقّی در نزد شما هست کاری بکنيد که من داخل در خون شما نشوم. فرمودند تو بآنچه مأموری مشغول باش. اگر نيّت تو خالص است حقّ ترا از اين ورطه نجات خواهد داد. سامخان حکم کرد که در پيش همان حجره که جناب آقا سيّد حسين محبوس بودند نردبان نهادند و بر پايه‌ای که مابين دو حجره بود ميخ آهنی کوبيدند و دو ريسمان بآن ميخ بستند که با يکی طلعت اعلی را و با ديگری حضرت ميرزا محمّد علی را بياويزند.
ميرزا محمّد علی از آنها استدعا نمود که مرا رو بايشان ببنديد تا هدف بلايای ايشان شوم. چنان او را بستند که رأسش بر سينه مبارک واقع شد. و بعد از آن سه صف سرباز ايستادند. هر صف دويست و پنجاه نفر. بصف اوّل حکم شليک دادند. شليک کرده نشستند. و بلا فاصله صف ثانی مأمور شليک شدند. آنها هم شليک نموده نشستند. صف سوم بدون فاصله شليک نمودند. و از دود باروت روزِ روشنِ نيمه روز - مثلِ نيمه شبِ تاريک شد. و بقدر ده هزار نفر در پشت بام سربازخانه و بام هايي که مشرف بسرباز خانه بود ايستاده تماشا ميکردند.
چون دود فرو نشست حضرت ميرزا محمّد علی انيس را ديدند ايستاده و اصلاً اثری از جراحت در بدنشان نيست. حتّی قبای سفيد تازه که پوشيده بودند، غباری بر آن ننشسته بود. ولکن طلعت اعلی را غائب ديدند و همگی ندا نمودند که باب غائب شد.
و چون تفحّص نمودند ايشانرا در حجره‌ای که آقا سيّد حسين محبوس بود يافتند. و همان فرّاشباشی ديد که در کمال اطمينان و آرام نشسته‌اند و با آقا سيّد حسين صحبت ميدارند.
بفرّاشباشی فرمودند من صحبت خود را تمام نمودم. حال هر چه ميخواهيد بکنيد که بمقصود خواهيد رسيد. فرّاشباشی از همانجا عازم خانه خود شد و از آن شغل استعفا داد. و بآقا ميرزا سيّد محسن مرحوم که از اعيان بود و همسايه ايشان اين واقعه را ذکر نمود و همين سبب تصديق و ايمان آقا ميرزا سيّد محسن شده بود. و اينعبد در تبريز ايشانرا ديدم و با بنده بآن سربازخانه آمده محلّی را که ميخ صليب نصب بوده و آن حجره را که طلعت اعلی را با آقا سيّد حسين در آن يافتند نشان دادند.
باری سامخان از ديدن اين امر عظيم فوج خود را برداشت و از سربازخانه بيرون رفت و گفت اگر مرا بند از بند جدا کنند که مرتکب چنين امری شوم هرگز نخواهم شد. و فی الفور آقاجان خان سرتيپ فوج خمسه حاضر شد و فوج خود را که بفوج خاصّه ناصری موسوم بود حرکت داد که اينکار را من ميکنم و اين ثواب را من مي برم.
پس بهمان ترتيب و تفصيل اوّل بستند و حکم بشليک دادند. بر عکس اوّل که فقط يک تير بطناب خورده هر دو بدون آسيب بزمين آمده بودند، ايندفعه ديدند که آن دو هيکل از شدّت ضرب يک هيکل شده بيکديگر ملصق گرديدند. و در همان وقت بادی حرکت نمود سياه. و چنان باد و خاک سياه روز را تاريک نمود که مردم منزل خود را نمی‌‌يافتند. و از ظهر تا شب آنطوفان و باد و خاک سياه باقی بود و بشدّت تاريک. و اهل تبريز که بغيرت و غريب نوازی و حبّ سادات معروف آفاق بودند در چنان وقتی با آنحالت و آن قدرت که سامخان نصرانی متذکّر شد و فرّاشباشی از آنعمل استعفا نمود بيدار نشدند با آنکه در مرتبه ثانی که خواستند آنحضرت را بدار بزنند در پای دار بندای بلند ميفرمودند:
ای مردم اگر مرا ميشناختيد مثل اين جوان که اجلّ از شماست در اين سبيل قربان مي شديد. من آنظهور موعودی هستم که آسمان کمتر مثل او را ديده. سيصد و سيزده تن از نقباء خود را فدای من کردند. اين بياناترا اغلب مردم ميشنيدند. معهذا ايستاده تماشا مينمودند.
AS FOR THE BÁB9—may my soul be His sacrifice!—it was at a young age, that is, in the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, that He arose to proclaim His Cause. Among the Shí‘ihs it is universally acknowledged that He never studied in any school, nor acquired learning from any teacher. To this the people of Shíráz, each and all, bear witness. Nevertheless, He suddenly appeared before the people, endowed with consummate knowledge, and though but a merchant, confounded all the divines of Persia. Alone, He undertook a task that can scarcely be conceived, for the Persians are known throughout the world for their religious fanaticism. This illustrious Being arose with such power as to shake the foundations of the religious laws, customs, manners, morals, and habits of Persia, and instituted a new law, faith, and religion. Though the eminent men of the State, the majority of the people, and the leaders of religion arose one and all to destroy and annihilate Him, He single-handedly withstood them and set all of Persia in motion. How numerous the divines, the leaders, and the inhabitants of that land who with perfect joy and gladness offered up their lives in His path and hastened to the field of martyrdom!
2
The government, the nation, the clergy, and prominent leaders sought to extinguish His light, but to no avail. At last His moon rose, His star shone forth, His foundation was secured, and His horizon was flooded with light. He trained a large multitude through divine education and exerted a marvellous influence upon the thoughts, customs, morals, and manners of the Persians. He proclaimed the glad-tidings of the manifestation of the Sun of Bahá to all His followers and readied them for faith and certitude.
3
The manifestation of such marvellous signs and mighty undertakings, the influence exerted upon the thoughts and minds of the people, the laying of the foundations of progress, and the establishment of the prerequisites of success and prosperity by a young merchant constitute the greatest proof that He was a universal Educator—a fact that no fair-minded person would ever hesitate to acknowledge.
Abdul-Baha
The Execution of the Báb
In 1850, Mirza Taqi Khan (Grand Vizier of Nasiri’d-Din Shah) ordered the Báb’s execution. When the guards came to take Him on the day of His execution, 9 July, the Báb told them that no "earthly power" could silence Him until He had finished all that He had to say. Thousands crowded the rooftops that overlooked the barracks square in Tabríz where the Báb was to be executed by a firing squad. In the intense heat of the noonday sun, He was suspended by ropes against a wall of the barracks, along with a young follower. A regiment of 750 soldiers opened fire in three successive volleys. When the smoke and dust of the gunpowder cleared, the Báb had vanished from sight. Only His companion remained, alive and unscathed, standing beside the wall on which they had been suspended. The ropes by which they had been hung alone were severed. After a search, the Báb was found back in His cell, continuing the conversation with His secretary that had been earlier interrupted.
“Now you may proceed to fulfil your intention,” the Báb told His captors. Again, He was brought out for execution. After the first regiment refused to fire, another was assembled and ordered to shoot. This time the bodies of the Báb and His young follower were shattered. A whirlwind of dust engulfed the city, blotting out the light of the sun until nightfall.
In 1909, after being hidden away for more than half a century, the Báb’s remains were finally interred on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Today, entombed in an exquisite golden-domed Shrine, encompassed by spectacular terraced gardens and fountains, the Báb rests in conspicuous glory, a symbol of the triumph of the Cause that He heralded over the fiercest of opposition. Throughout the world, millions recognize the Báb as the divinely inspired Herald of the Bahá’í Faith and turn reverently to His Writings to discover the “resplendent Light of God.”
استقرار عرش مطهّر در جبل کرمل از قرن بدیع
چه بسيار که از لسان مبارک شنيده ميشد که می فرمودند "هر سنگی از سنگهای مقام و راهی که به آن بقعهء مقدّسه منتهی ميگرديد با اشک چشم و مصائب و مصارف لا تحصی بر داشته شده و در جای خود بر قرار گرديده است". يکی از دوستان که ناظر اوضاع و احوال آن ايّام بوده نقل ميکند که هيكل مبارک فرمودند "يکشب چنان خود را در دريای احزان و آلام مستغرق و ابواب را از هر جهت مسدود و مستغلق يافتم که جز توسّل بدعا و تشبّث بذيل کبرياء چاره ای نديدم اين بود که تمام ليل را بتلاوت ذکری که از حضرت نقطهء اولی داشتم پرداختم و از ترتيل آن آيات اطمينان قلب و راحت خاطر يافتم. فردای آن شب صاحب زمين بنفسه آمد و عذر خواهی کرد و شخصاً تقاضا و استدعا نمود که ملکش را خريداری نمايم".
باری پس از ده سال مصائب و متاعب بيکران و دسائس و تفتينات اعداء داخل و خارج مرکز ميثاق موفّق گرديد در همان سنه که خصم الدّ امر الله از مقام سلطنت مخلوع شد و اوّلين مؤتمر ملّی بهائی امريک برای انتخاب هيأت تنفيذيّه و تمشيت امور مشرق الاذکار آن ارض در مدينهء شيکاغو تشکيل گرديد، امر خطير و عظيمی را که مبادرت فرموده بود بسر منزل مقصود برساند و امانت الهيّه را بمحلّ معلوم و مرکز معهود بسپارد.
و اين اقدام منيع در تاريخ بيست و هشتم ماه صفر ١٣٢٧ هجری (مطابق با ٢٢ مارس ١٩٠٩ميلادی) در يوم نيروز و عيد سعيد فيروز اوّلين عيدی که هيكل مبارک پس از خروج از حبس برپا داشته بودند صورت گرفت. و آن وجود اقدس در آن يوم مکرّم تابوت مرمر را با زحمات بسيار بمقام اعلی که قدس الاقداسش را در بحبوحهء انقلابات ناقضين و مفتشين بيد قدرت بنيان فرموده بود منتقل ساخت و شب هنگام در روشنائی سراج واحد در حضور جمعی از ياران شرق و غرب با وضعی مهيمن و مؤثّر صندوق چوبی حامل عرش مطهّر و رمس جناب انيس را بدست مبارک در درون تابوت در قلب آن ضريح منوّر و مضجع معنبر قرار داد.
و چون اين امر بکمال احترام و احتشام اختتام پذيرفت و عنصر اعزّ الطف حضرت اعلی بتأييدات غيبيّه و توفيقات صمدانيّه آمناً سالماً محفوظاً محروساً در مقرّ ابدی خويش در آغوش جبل مقدّس ربّ استقرار يافت حضرت عبدالبهاء که تاج مبارک را از سر برداشته و کفشها و لبّادهء مبارک را بيک سو نهاده بودند بجانب تابوت خم شدند و در حينی که شعرات نقره ای فام آن طلعت نوّار در حول رأس منير پريشان و چهرهء مبارک مشعشع و درخشان جبين را بر کنار صندوق قرار داده با صدای بلند شروع بگريه نمودند بطوريکه حاضرين از تأثّرات و احزان قلبيّهء هيكل اطهر بناله و حنين در آمدند و آن شب از کثرت تألّمات و خلجان احساسات خواب از ديدگان مبارک متواری گرديد.
پس از انجام اين امر جليل و مقصد رفيع توقيع مقدّسی از يراعهء عظمت مرکز ميثاق نازل و حصول اين موفّقيّت جديد و موهبت حضرت ربّ مجيد را بدوستان الهی و ياران يزدانی بشارت فرمودند قوله العزيز:
طهران حضرات اعضای محفل روحانی عليهم بهاء الله الأبهی
هُوَ اللّه
ای ياران الهی بشارت کبری اينکه هيکل مطهّر منوّر مقدّس حضرت اعلی روحی
له الفداء بعد از آنکه شصت سال از تسلّط اعدا و خوف از اهل بغضا همواره از
جائی بجائی نقل شد و ابداً سکون و قرار نيافت، بفضل جمال ابهی در يوم نيروز
در نهايت احتفال با کمال جلال و جمال در جبل کرمل در مقام اعلی در صندوق
مقدّس استقرار يافت. هذا هُو المَرقدُ الجَليلُ وَ هذا هُوَ الجَدَثُ الْمُطَهَّرُ وَ هذا هُوَ الرَّمْسُ المُنَوَّرُ.
لهذا قلوب احبّای الهی جميعاً مستبشر و بشکرانه اين الطاف الهيّه جميع بستايش و نيايش اسم اعظم پرداختيم. اگر چنانچه مِن بعد کسی روايتی يا حکايتی نمايد که اثری از هيکل مقدّس در جای ديگر است کذّابست. قَدِ افْتَری عَلی اللّهِ. اين تنبيه بجهت آنست که مبادا مِن بعد شخصِ لئيمی را غرض و مرضی حاصل شود، روايت و حکايتی نمايد که دليل بر آن باشد اثری از آن هيکل مکرّم در جای ديگر است. فَانْتَبِهُوا يا اَحِبّاءَ اللّهِ لِهذَا الأمرِ العظيمِ و چون چنين تأييد و توفيقی رسيد که بعنايت جمال مبارک جبل کرمل ای جبل الربّ يعنی باغ الهی زيرا کَرم بمعنی باغ و ئيل خدا است اين موهبت حاصل شد وَ الرَّبُّ بَهاءُ کَرمِلَ منصوص کتب ربّانی ظاهر گشت. لهذا اميد چنانست که بميمنت اين امر عظيم امر اللّه در اطراف و اکناف جلوه ديگر نمايد و طلوع و اشراقی عظيم فرمايد وَ هذا مِن فَضلِ رَبّی. اين تأييدات و توفيقات از فم مطهّر جمالقدم موعود بود. الحمدُ لِلّهِ بحيّز حصول رسيد فَاشکُرُوا اللّهَ عَلی هذِه النِّعمَةِ العُظمی وَ المَوهِبَةِ الکُبری الَّتی شَمَلَتْنا اَجْمَعِينَ مِنْ رَبِّ العالَمينَ. انتهی
Entombment of the Báb’s Remains on Mt. Carmel
No need to dwell on the manifold problems and preoccupations which, for almost a decade, continued to beset ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá until the victorious hour when He was able to bring to a final consummation the historic task entrusted to Him by His Father. The risks and perils with which Bahá’u’lláh and later His Son had been confronted in their efforts to insure, during half a century, the protection of those remains were but a prelude to the grave dangers which, at a later period, the Center of the Covenant Himself had to face in the course of the construction of the edifice designed to receive them, and indeed until the hour of His final release from His incarceration.
The long-drawn out negotiations with the shrewd and calculating owner of the building-site of the holy Edifice, who, under the influence of the Covenant-breakers, refused for a long time to sell; the exorbitant price at first demanded for the opening of a road leading to that site and indispensable to the work of construction; the interminable objections raised by officials, high and low, whose easily aroused suspicions had to be allayed by repeated explanations and assurances given by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá Himself; the dangerous situation created by the monstrous accusations brought by Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí and his associates regarding the character and purpose of that building; the delays and complications caused by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s prolonged and enforced absence from Haifa, and His consequent inability to supervise in person the vast undertaking He had initiated—all these were among the principal obstacles which He, at so critical a period in His ministry, had to face and surmount ere He could execute in its entirety the Plan, the outline of which Bahá’u’lláh had communicated to Him on the occasion of one of His visits to Mt. Carmel.
“Every stone of that building, every stone of the road leading to it,” He, many a time was heard to remark, “I have with infinite tears and at tremendous cost, raised and placed in position.” “One night,” He, according to an eye-witness, once observed, “I was so hemmed in by My anxieties that I had no other recourse than to recite and repeat over and over again a prayer of the Báb which I had in My possession, the recital of which greatly calmed Me. The next morning the owner of the plot himself came to Me, apologized and begged Me to purchase his property.”
Finally, in the very year His royal adversary lost his throne, and at the time of the opening of the first American Bahá’í Convention, convened in Chicago for the purpose of creating a permanent national organization for the construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá brought His undertaking to a successful conclusion, in spite of the incessant machinations of enemies both within and without. On the 28th of the month of Ṣafar 1327 A.H., the day of the first Naw-Rúz (1909), which He celebrated after His release from His confinement, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá had the marble sarcophagus transported with great labor to the vault prepared for it, and in the evening, by the light of a single lamp, He laid within it, with His own hands—in the presence of believers from the East and from the West and in circumstances at once solemn and moving—the wooden casket containing the sacred remains of the Báb and His companion.
When all was finished, and the earthly remains of the Martyr-Prophet of Shíráz were, at long last, safely deposited for their everlasting rest in the bosom of God’s holy mountain, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, Who had cast aside His turban, removed His shoes and thrown off His cloak, bent low over the still open sarcophagus, His silver hair waving about His head and His face transfigured and luminous, rested His forehead on the border of the wooden casket, and, sobbing aloud, wept with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him. That night He could not sleep, so overwhelmed was He with emotion.
“The most joyful tidings is this,” He wrote later in a Tablet announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, “that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb … after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquility has, through the mercy of the Abhá Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Rúz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel … By a strange coincidence, on that same day of Naw-Rúz, a cablegram was received from Chicago, announcing that the believers in each of the American centers had elected a delegate and sent to that city … and definitely decided on the site and construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.”
The Tablet of Visitation
1
The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august Self, and the glory which hath shone forth from Thy most effulgent Beauty, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art the Manifestation of Grandeur, and the King of Eternity, and the Lord of all who are in heaven and on earth! I testify that through Thee the sovereignty of God and His dominion, and the majesty of God and His grandeur, were revealed, and the Day-Stars of ancient splendour have shed their radiance in the heaven of Thine irrevocable decree, and the Beauty of the Unseen hath shone forth above the horizon of creation. I testify, moreover, that with but a movement of Thy Pen Thine injunction “Be Thou” hath been enforced, and God’s hidden Secret hath been divulged, and all created things have been called into being, and all the Revelations have been sent down.
2
I bear witness, moreover, that through Thy beauty the beauty of the Adored One hath been unveiled, and through Thy face the face of the Desired One hath shone forth, and that through a word from Thee Thou hast decided between all created things, causing them who are devoted to Thee to ascend unto the summit of glory, and the infidels to fall into the lowest abyss.
3
I bear witness that he who hath known Thee hath known God, and he who hath attained unto Thy presence hath attained unto the presence of God. Great, therefore, is the blessedness of him who hath believed in Thee, and in Thy signs, and hath humbled himself before Thy sovereignty, and hath been honoured with meeting Thee, and hath attained the good-pleasure of Thy will, and circled around Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe betide him that hath transgressed against Thee, and hath denied Thee, and repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy sovereignty, and risen up against Thee, and waxed proud before Thy face, and hath disputed Thy testimonies, and fled from Thy rule and Thy dominion, and been numbered with the infidels whose names have been inscribed by the fingers of Thy behest upon Thy holy Tablets.
4
Waft, then, unto me, O my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favours, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy nearness and Thy presence. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, truly, hast been supreme over all things.
5
The remembrance of God and His praise, and the glory of God and His splendour, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art His Beauty! I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed upon one wronged like Thee. Thou wast immersed all the days of Thy life beneath an ocean of tribulations. At one time Thou wast in chains and fetters; at another Thou wast threatened by the sword of Thine enemies. Yet, despite all this, Thou didst enjoin upon all men to observe what had been prescribed unto Thee by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
6
May my spirit be a sacrifice to the wrongs Thou didst suffer, and my soul be a ransom for the adversities Thou didst sustain. I beseech God, by Thee and by them whose faces have been illumined with the splendours of the light of Thy countenance, and who, for love of Thee, have observed all whereunto they were bidden, to remove the veils that have come in between Thee and Thy creatures, and to supply me with the good of this world and the world to come. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.
7
Bless Thou, O Lord my God, the Divine Lote-Tree and its leaves, and its boughs, and its branches, and its stems, and its offshoots, as long as Thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most august attributes will last. Protect it, then, from the mischief of the aggressor and the hosts of tyranny. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Powerful. Bless Thou, also, O Lord my God, Thy servants and Thy handmaidens who have attained unto Thee. Thou, truly, art the All-Bountiful, Whose grace is infinite. No God is there save Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
زیارتنامه مبارک
أَلثَّنآءُ الَّذِي ظَهَرَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ الْأَعْلَى وَالْبَهآءُ الَّذِي طَلَعَ مِنْ جَمَالِكَ الْأَبْهَى. عَلَيْكَ يَا مَظْهَرَ الْكِبْرِيَاءِ وَسُلْطَانَ الْبَقَاءِ وَمَلِيْكَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَآءِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِكَ ظَهَرَتْ سَلْطَنَةُ اللّهِ وَإِقْتِدَارُهُ وَعَظَمَةُ اللّهِ وَكِبْرِيَائُهُ.
وَبِكَ أَشْرَقَتْ شُمُوسُ الْقِدَمِ فِي سَمآءِ الْقَضآءِ وَطَلَعَ جَمالُ الْغَيْبِ عَنْ أُفُقِ الْبَدَاءِ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِحَرَكَةٍ مِنْ قَلَمِكَ ظَهَرَ حُكْمُ الْكافِ وَالنُّونِ وَبَرَزَ سِرُّ اللّهِ الْمَكْنُونُ وَبُدِئَتِ الْمُمْكِناتُ وَبُعِثَتِ الْظُّهُوراتُ.
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ بِجَمالِكَ ظَهَرَ جَمالُ الْمَعْبُودِ وَبِوَجْهِكَ لَاحَ وَجْهُ الْمَقْصُودِ وَبِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فُصِّلَ بَيْنَ الْمُمْكِناتِ وَصَعَدَ الْمُخْلِصُونَ إِلَى الذُّرْوَةِ الْعُلْيا وَالْمُشْرِكُونَ إِلَى الدَّرَكاتِ السُّفْلى. وَأَشْهَدُ بِأَنَّ مَنْ عَرَفَكَ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ اللّهَ وَمَنْ فازَ بِلِقائِكَ فَقَدْ فازَ بِلِقآءِ اللّهِ.
فَطُوبَى لِمَنْ آمَنَ بِكَ وَبِآياتِكَ وَخَضَعَ بِسُلْطانِكَ وَشُرِّفَ بِلِقآئِكَ وَبَلَغَ بِرِضائِكَ وَطافَ فِي حَوْلِكَ وَحَضَرَ تِلْقَاءَ عَرْشِكَ. فَوَيْلٌ لِمَنْ ظَلَمَكَ وَأَنْكَرَكَ وَكَفَرَ بِآياتِكَ وَجاحَد بِسُلْطَانِكَ وَحارَبَ بِنَفْسِكَ وَاسْتَكبَرَ لَدى وَجْهِكَ وَجادَلَ بِبُرْهَانِكَ وَفَرَّ مِنْ حُكُومَتِكَ وَاقْتِدَارِكَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ فِي أَلْواحِ الْقُدْسِ مِنْ إِصْبَعِ الْأَمْرِ مَكْتُوبًا.
فَيا إِلَهِي وَمَحْبُوبي فَأَرْسِلْ إِلَيَّ عَنْ يَمِينِ رَحْمَتِكَ وَعِنَايَتِكَ نَفَحاتِ قُدْسِ أَلْطَافِكَ لِتَجْذِبَنِي عَنْ نَفْسِي وَعَنِ الدُّنْيَا إِلّى شَطْرِ قُرْبِكَ وَلِقَائِكَ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ عَلَى مَا تَشَاءُ وَإِنَّكَ كُنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ مُحِيطًا.
عَلَيْكَ يَا جَمَالَ اللّهِ ثَنَاءُ اللّهِ وَذِكْرُهُ وَبَهَاءُ اللّهِ وَنُورُهُ، أَشْهَدُ بِأَنَّ مَا رَأَتْ عَيْنُ الإِبْدَاعِ مَظْلُومًا شِبْهَكَ كُنْتَ فِي أَيّامِكَ فِي غَمَراتِ الْبَلَايَا، مَرَّةً كُنْتَ تَحْتَ السَّلَاسِلِ وَالْأَغْلَالِ وَمَرَّةً كُنْتَ تَحْتَ سُيُوفِ الْأَعْداءِ وَمَعَ كُلِّ ذَلِكَ أَمَرْتَ النَّاسَ بِمَا أُمِرْتَ مِنْ لَدنْ عَلِيمٍ حَكِيمٍ.
رُوْحِيْ لِضُرِّكَ الْفِدَاءُ وَنَفْسِي لِبَلَائِكَ الْفِدَاءُ أَسْئَلُ اللّهَ بِكَ وَبِالَّذِينَ اسْتَضَائَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ مِنْ أَنْوارِ وَجْهِكَ وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا أُمِرُوا بِهِ حُبًّا لِنَفْسِكَ أَنْ يَكْشِفَ السُّبُحَاتِ الَّتِي حَالَتْ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ خَلْقِكَ وَيَرْزُقَنِي خَيْرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ الْمُتَعالِي الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.
صَلِّ اللَّهُمَّ يَا إِلَهِي عَلَى السِّدْرَةِ وَأَوْرَاقِهَا وَأَغْصَانِهَا وَأَفْنَانِهَا وَأُصُوْلِهَا وَفُرُوعِهَا بِدَوَامِ أَسْمَائِكَ الْحُسْنى وَصِفَاتِكَ الْعُلْيا ثُمَّ احْفَظْهَا مِنْ شَرِّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ وَجُنُودِ الظَّالِمِينَ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْمُقْتَدرُ الْقَديرُ.
صَلِّ اللَّهُمَّ يَا إِلَهِي عَلَى عِبَادِكَ الْفَائِزينَ وَإِمَائِكَ الْفَائِزاتِ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْكَرِيمُ ذو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الْكَرِيمُ.
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