He hath moreover deposited within the realities of all created things the emblem of His recognition, that everyone may know of a certainty that He is the Beginning and the End, the Manifest and the Hidden, the Maker and the Sustainer, the Omnipotent and the All-Knowing, the One Who heareth and perceiveth all things, He Who is invincible in His power and standeth supreme in His Own identity, He Who quickeneth and causeth to die, the All-Powerful, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Most High. Every revelation of His divine Essence betokens the sublimity of His glory, the loftiness of His sanctity, the inaccessible height of His oneness and the exaltation of His majesty and power. His beginning hath had no beginning other than His Own firstness and His end knoweth no end save His Own lastness.
- The Báb - Selections From the Writings of The Báb, "IN the Name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Holy. - p111-112

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Báb The King of Messengers




In The Kitab-i-Iqan, The Book of Certitude, Baha'u'llah answers questions posed by Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, an uncle of the Bab. These are related to religious expectations surrounding the advent of the Bab. First Baha'u'llah explains certain realities pertaining to the history of various Manifestations of the past, and to the Manifestations of God collectively, (including some allusions to His own Station). Baha'u'llah then turns specifically, inThe Kitab-i-Iqan, to the truth of the Bab's identity with references such as these:



"God's wondrous Manifestation" (p.201, para.221)


"Gem of Immortality" (p.215, para.210)


"Him Who is the Source of Purity," "Cloud of divine mercy" (p.216, para.240)


"Revealer and Author," "Sun of divine bounty," "divine Soul," "holy Breath" (p.221, para.245)


"most mighty Sovereignty," "His divine Presence," "the Beloved" (p.222, para.247)


"Sun of divine Revelation" (two times, p.223, para.248 and para.249)


"Well-Beloved" (p.224, para.249)


"the All-Glorious" (two times, p.224, para.249 and p.226, para.251)


"resplendent Light," "First Leader of all mankind" (p.227, para.252)


"The Bab, the Lord, the most exalted," (p.229, para.256)


"eternal Beauty" (two times, p.230, para 257 and p.234, para.263)


"the Revealer" (p.232, para.260)


"Sadrih of the Ridvan of God," "Beauty of God" (p.233, para.262)


"Sadrih of Blessedness" (p.234, para.262)


"Revealer of Being," "Manifestation of the Adored," "Essence of Essences," "Sea of Seas," "divine Luminary," "eternal Sun," "Ocean of divine wisdom" (p.234, para.263)


"Beauty of the Merciful" (p.238, para.267)


"celestial Herald," "the Truth" (p.239, para.268)


"the Mihdi" (p.240, para. 269)


"Youth from Bani-Hashim," "Hashimite Light," "divine Manifestation" (p.241, para.270)


"the immaculate Essence of knowledge and of holy utterance," "the Essence of Truth" (p.242, para.270)


"Revealer of the divine mysteries," "Expounder of the hidden and ancient wisdom," "the Qa'im" (p.243, para.272)


"the Primal Point," "the most exalted Word" (p.252, para.279)


"Essence of divine virtue" (p.254, para.282)


*****

In these two passages the Bab refers to His own birth:



Through the revelation of Thy grace, O Lord, Thou didst call Me into being on a night such as this,[1] and lo, I am now lonely and forsaken in a mountain. Praise and thanksgiving be unto Thee for whatever conformeth to Thy pleasure within the empire of heaven and earth. And all sovereignty is Thine, extending beyond the uttermost range of the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation.


Thou didst create Me, O Lord, through Thy gracious favour and didst protect Me through Thy bounty in the darkness of the womb and didst nourish Me, through Thy loving-kindness, with life-giving blood. After having fashioned Me in a most comely form, through Thy tender providence, and having perfected My creation through Thine excellent handiwork and breathed Thy Spirit into My body through Thine infinite mercy and by the revelation of Thy transcendent unity, Thou didst cause Me to issue forth from the world of concealment into the visible world, naked, ignorant of all things, and powerless to achieve aught. Thou didst then nourish Me with refreshing milk and didst rear Me in the arms of My parents with manifest compassion, until Thou didst graciously acquaint Me with the realities of Thy Revelation and apprised Me of the straight path of Thy Faith as set forth in Thy Book. And when I attained full maturity Thou didst cause Me to bear allegiance unto Thine inaccessible Remembrance, and enabled Me to advance towards the designated station, where Thou didst educate Me through the subtle operations of Thy handiwork and didst nurture Me in that land with Thy most gracious gifts. When that which had been preordained in Thy Book came to pass Thou didst cause Me, through Thy kindness, to reach Thy holy precincts and didst suffer Me, through Thy tender mercy, to dwell within the court of fellowship, until I discerned therein that which I witnessed of the clear tokens of Thy mercifulness, the compelling evidences of Thy oneness, the effulgent splendours of Thy majesty, the source of Thy supreme singleness, the heights of Thy transcendent sovereignty, the signs of Thy peerlessness, the manifestations of Thine exalted glory, the retreats of Thy sanctity, and whatsoever is inscrutable to all but Thee.


[1 Refers to the Báb's birthday on the first day of the month of Muharram, 1235 A.H. (October 20, 1819).]


(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 173-174)








Thou art aware, O My God, that since the day Thou didst call Me into being out of the water of Thy love till I reached fifteen years of age I lived in the land which witnessed My birth [Shiraz]. Then Thou didst enable Me to go to the seaport [Bushihr] where for five years I was engaged in trading with the goodly gifts of Thy realm and was occupied in that with which Thou hast favoured Me through the wondrous essence of Thy loving-kindness. I proceeded therefrom to the Holy Land [Karbila] where I sojourned for one year. Then I returned to the place of My birth. There I experienced the revelation of Thy sublime bestowals and the evidences of Thy boundless grace. I yield Thee praise for all Thy goodly gifts and I render Thee thanksgiving for all Thy bounties. Then at the age of twenty-five I proceeded to thy sacred House [Mecca], and by the time I returned to the place where I was born, a year had elapsed. There I tarried patiently in the path of Thy love and beheld the evidences of Thy manifold bounties and of Thy loving-kindness until Thou didst ordain for Me to set out in Thy direction and to migrate to Thy presence. Thus I departed therefrom by Thy leave, spending six months in the land of Sad [Isfahan] and seven months in the First Mountain [Maku], where Thou didst rain down upon Me that which beseemeth the glory of Thy heavenly blessings and befitteth the sublimity of Thy gracious gifts and favours. Now, in My thirtieth year, Thou beholdest Me, O My God, in this Grievous Mountain [Chihriq] where I have dwelt for one whole year.


Praise be unto Thee, O My Lord, for all times, heretofore and hereafter; and thanks be unto Thee, O My God, under all conditions, whether of the past or the future. The gifts Thou hast bestowed upon Me have reached their fullest measure and the blessings Thou hast vouchsafed unto Me have attained their consummation. Naught do I now witness but the manifold evidences of Thy grace and loving-kindness, Thy bounty and gracious favours, Thy generosity and loftiness, Thy sovereignty and might, Thy splendour and Thy glory, and that which befitteth the holy court of Thy transcendent dominion and majesty and beseemeth the glorious precincts of Thine eternity and exaltation.


(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 180-182)

The Bab’s Imprisonment in the Fortress of Chihriq

The fortress of Chihriq where the Bab was imprisoned for almost all of the last two years of His life is located in north-western Iran in the region of Urumiyyih of the province of Azerbaijan. This was the second fortress in which the Bab was imprisoned. The first one was called Maku. The Bab called Chihriq the ‘Grievous Mountain’ .. to differentiate it from Maku which He had called the ‘Open Mountain’ -- although the pattern of imprisonment was similar, with initial strictness eventually giving way to comparative freedom, as the warden, Yahya Khan, became devoted to his prisoner. The Bab received large numbers of visitors at Chiriq, more than He had received at Maku. He revealed many of His Writings in Chihriq, including the Arabic Bayan and His powerful Tablet of ‘Sermon of Wrath’ to the then Persian Prime Minister, Haji Mirza Aqas. It was during this period that a very knowledgeable Persian, whom the Bab later gave the title of Dayyan (Judge), became a believer. He is reported to have been unusual for his range of knowledge and learning which included Syriac and Hebrew and was the recipient of the Bab’s ‘Tablet of Letters’ (Lawh-i-Hurufat). It was also during this period that people in the town of Urumiyyih greeted the Bab very enthusiastically when He went to the public bath and vied with each other in taking the water after He had used it because the water was thus assumed to have acquired holiness. (Adapted and obtained from A Basic Baha’i Dictionary, by Wendi Momen; and A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’i Faith, by Peter Smith)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Birth of the Bab October 20, 1819

Birth of the Bab October 20, 1819



Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, born in Shiraz, Iran on October 20, 1819.
He declared Himself to be the Báb, or “Gate of God,” on May 23, 1844;
this date marks the beginning of the Bahá’í Faith,
the Bahá’í Era (B.E.) and the Bahá’í calendar.
















[while imprisoned in the fortress of Chihriq in 1849, the Báb wrote the following passage in which He briefly relates the events of His life from the time of His birth ]

Thou art aware, O My God, that since the day Thou didst call Me into being out of the water of Thy love till I reached fifteen years of age I lived in the land which  witnessed My birth [Shiraz]. Then Thou didst enable Me to go to the seaport [Bushihr] where for five years I was engaged in trading with the goodly gifts of Thy realm and was occupied in that with which Thou hast favoured Me through the wondrous essence of Thy loving-kindness. I proceeded therefrom to the Holy Land [Karbila] where I sojourned for one year. Then I returned to the place of My birth. There I experienced the revelation of Thy sublime bestowals and the evidences of Thy boundless grace. I yield Thee praise for all Thy goodly gifts and I render Thee thanksgiving for all Thy bounties. Then at the age of twenty-five I proceeded to thy sacred House [Mecca], and by the time I returned to the place where I was born, a year had elapsed. There I tarried patiently in the path of Thy love and beheld the evidences of Thy manifold bounties and of Thy loving-kindness until Thou didst ordain for Me to set out in Thy direction and to migrate to Thy presence. Thus I departed therefrom by Thy leave, spending six months in the land of Sad [Isfahan] and seven months in the First Mountain [Maku], where Thou didst rain down upon Me that which beseemeth the glory of Thy heavenly blessings and befitteth the sublimity of Thy gracious gifts and favours. Now, in My thirtieth year, Thou beholdest Me, O My God, in this Grievous Mountain [Chihriq] where I have dwelt for one whole year.
Praise be unto Thee, O My Lord, for all times, heretofore and hereafter; and thanks be unto Thee, O My God, under all conditions, whether of the past or the future. The gifts Thou hast bestowed upon Me have reached their fullest measure and the blessings Thou hast vouchsafed unto Me have attained their consummation. Naught do I now witness but the manifold evidences of Thy grace and loving-kindness, Thy bounty and gracious favours, Thy  generosity and loftiness, Thy sovereignty and might, Thy splendour and Thy glory, and that which befitteth the holy court of Thy transcendent dominion and majesty and beseemeth the glorious precincts of Thine eternity and exaltation.” (The Báb)
 
------------------------------==============-------------------------------


The mission of the Báb from His own writings

“I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence     hath reared.
   I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche
    and caused to shine with deathless splendour.  
      I am the Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai
           in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst 
               of the Burning Bush.”  (The Báb)
              


Friday, July 2, 2010

Devotion for 9Th July

1--The Bab’s spirit to the souls of martyrs of Islam, in the precincts of the shrine of Muhammad where Shaykh Ahmad also lay buried:  (DB 140-41)
“Fear not, I am come into this world to bear witness to the glory of sacrifice.  You are aware of the intensity of My longing; you realize the degree of My renunciation.  Nay, beseech the Lord your God to hasten the hour of My martyrdom and to accept My sacrifice.  Rejoice for both I and Quddus will be slain on the altar of our devotion to the King of Glory.  The blood which we are destined to shed in His path will water and revive the garden of our immortal felicity.  The drops of this consecrated blood will be the seed out of which will arise the mighty Tree of God, the Tree that will gather beneath its all-embracing shadow the peoples and kindreds of the earth.  Grieve not, therefore, if I depart from this land, for I am hastening to fulfill My destiny.”
========================================= 
2-Bab’s last words to Quddus in Bushihr, bidding Quddus to depart for Shiraz:  (DB 142-143)

“The days of your companionship with Me are drawing to a close.  The hour of separation has struck, a separation which no reunion will follow except in the Kingdom of God, in the presence of the King of Glory.  In this world of dust, no more than nine fleeting months of association with Me have been allotted to you.  On the shores of the Great Beyond, however, in the realm of immortality, joy of eternal reunion awaits us.  The hand of destiny will ere long plunge you into an ocean of tribulation for His sake.  I, too, will follow you; I, too, will be immersed beneath its depths.  Rejoice with exceeding gladness, for you have been chosen as the standard-bearer of the host of affliction, and are standing in the vanguard of the noble army that will suffer martyrdom in His name.  In the streets of Shiraz, indignities will be heaped upon you, and the severest injuries will afflict your body.  You will survive the ignominious behavior of your foes, and will attain the presence of Him who is the one object of our adoration and love.  In His presence you will forget all the harm and disgrace that shall have befallen you.  The hosts of the Unseen will hasten forth to assist you, and proclaim to all the world your heroism and glory.  Yours will be the ineffable joy of quaffing the cup of martyrdom for His sake.  I, too, shall tread the path of sacrifice, and will join you in the realm of eternity.”
 =-======================================
 3---
The Bab 
Dignity and Detachment

When the Bab was given money from the government to use en route to Tabriz, “He refused to expend on Himself the funds provided by the government for the expense of that journey.  All the allowances that were given by the State He bestowed upon the poor and needy, and devoted to His own private needs the money which He, as a merchant, had earned in Bushihr and Shiraz.”

The Bab
Loyalty:

 “His (Bab’s) alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence, had, by this time, completely disarmed and transformed His guards.  They seemed to have abdicated all their rights and duties and to have resigned themselves to His will and pleasure.”
Then, when the guards could not find the Bab one night, Muhammad Big, their leader, remonstrated them saying, “Why feel disturbed?  Are not His magnanimity and nobleness of soul sufficiently established in your eyes to convince you that He will never, for the sake of His own safety, consent to involve others in embarrassment?  He, no doubt, must have retired, in the silence of this moonlit night, to a place where He can seek undisturbed communion with God.  He will unquestionably return to His tent.  He will never desert us.”

The Bab

Thoughtfulness and Kindness:

The Bab met the escort sent by Husayn Khan to bring him to Shiraz, saying:  “The governor has sent you to arrest Me.  Here am I; do with Me as you please.  By coming out to meet you, I have curtailed the length of your march, and have made it easier for you to find Me.”
   When the escort did not want to bring him in, the Bab said, “I prefer to deliver Myself into your hands, rather than subject you and your companions to unnecessary annoyance for My sake.”
  The escort followed the Bab into Shiraz “in an attitude of respectful devotion.  By the magic of His words, He had disarmed the hostility of His guards and transmuted their proud arrogance into humility
====================================================
4---
Ages rolled away, until they attained their consummation in this, the Lord of days, the Day whereon the Day Star of the Bayán manifested itself above the horizon of mercy, the Day in which the Beauty of the All-Glorious shone forth in the exalted person of … the Báb. No sooner did He reveal Himself, than all the people rose up against Him. … "God," said He, "is My witness, O people! I am come to you with a Revelation from the Lord, your God, the Lord of your fathers of old. Look not, O people, at the things ye possess. Look rather at the things God hath sent down unto you. This, surely, will be better for you than the whole of creation, could ye but perceive it. Repeat the gaze, O people, and consider the testimony of God and His proof which are in your possession, and compare them unto the Revelation sent down unto you in this Day, that the truth, the infallible truth, may be indubitably manifested unto you..." The more He exhorted them, the fiercer grew their enmity, till, at the last, they put Him to death with shameful cruelty
-Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, Pages: 144-149


===========================================


5--



Tablet Concerning

the Day of the

Martyrdom of

His Holiness,

the Exalted One

Translated from the Persian into English byKhazeh Fananapazir

He is the All-Glorious!O thou honoured 'Alí Akbar!
This day is the day of the Martyrdom of His Holiness, the Exalted One, may our heart be sacrificed for His sanctified blood.
This Day is the day in which this "Sun of Truth" concealed itself behind the clouds of providence.
This Day is the day in which this luminous Orb did set!
This Day is the day in which that Body, pure and without blemish or spot fell upon and rolled onto the blood soaked earth
This Day is the day in which His chest and His heart, immaculate and pure like unto a spotless mirror, was riddled by thousands of bullets!
This Day is the day in which that "Divine Lamp" became severed from Its physical frame!
This Day is the day in which the cries and lamentations of the Concourse on high are raised
This Day is the day in which the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God weep and moan, the eyes in tears and their hearts torn!--Abdul-Baha
===