Chapter C9
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The Bird of Heaven, the Independent Prophet and the Dependent/Lesser Prophet.
1)
The Bird of Heaven, Bahá'u'lláh, the Independent Prophet.
By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust, can, besides
these melodies, utter a myria songs, and is able, apart from these
utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries. Every single note of its
unpronounced utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath
already been revealed, and immensely glorified beyond that which hath
streamed from this Pen. Let the future disclose the hour when the Brides of inner meaning will, as decreed by the Will of God, hasten forth, unveiled, out of their mystic mansions,
and manifest themselves in the ancient realm of being. Nothing
whatsoever is possible without His permission; no power can endure save
through His power, and there is none other God but He. His is the world
of creation, and His the Cause of God. All proclaim His Revelation, and all unfold the mysteries of His Spirit.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 175
2)
The Bird of Heaven, Imam Ali, the first Dependent Prophet in the era of Muhammad.
Have they not heard the melody of that bird of Heaven [Imam
Ali], uttering this mystery: "A thousand Fatimihs I have espoused, all
of whom were the daughters of Muhammad, Son of Abdu'llah, the 'Seal of
the Prophets?'" Behold, how many are the mysteries that lie as yet
unravelled within the tabernacle of the knowledge of God, and how
numerous the gems of His wisdom that are still concealed in His
inviolable treasuries! Shouldest thou ponder this in thine heart, thou
wouldst realize that His handiwork knoweth neither beginning nor end.
The domain of His decree is too vast for the tongue of mortals to
describe, or for the bird of the human mind to traverse; and the
dispensations of His providence are too mysterious for the mind of man
to comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and it hath ever
existed from the "Beginning that hath no beginning"; and the
Manifestations of His Beauty no beginning hath beheld, and they will
continue to the "End that knoweth no end." Ponder this utterance in
thine heart, and reflect how it is applicable unto all these holy Souls.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 166
3)
The Birds of Heaven, the Prophets.
O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of eternity,
and perchance apprehend the inner meaning of these utterances and their
hidden mysteries. For otherwise, wert thou to interpret these words
according to their outward meaning, thou couldst never prove the truth
of the Cause of Him Who came after Jesus, nor silence the opponents,
nor prevail over the contending disbelievers. For the Christian divines
use this verse to prove that the Gospel shall never be abrogated and
that, even if all the signs recorded in their Books were fulfilled and
the Promised One appeared, He would have no recourse but to rule the
people according to the ordinances of the Gospel. They contend that if
He were to manifest all the signs indicated in the Books, but decree
aught besides that which Jesus had decreed, they would neither
acknowledge nor follow Him, so clear and self-evident is this matter in
their sight.
24 Thou canst indeed hear the learned and the foolish amongst the people
voice the same objections in this day, saying: "The sun hath not risen
from the West, nor hath the Crier cried out betwixt earth and heaven.
Water hath not inundated certain lands; the Dajjal hath not appeared;
Sufyani 18 hath not arisen; nor hath the Temple been witnessed in the
sun." I heard, with Mine own ears, one of their divines proclaim:
"Should all these signs come to pass and the long-awaited Qá'im appear,
and should He ordain, with respect to even our secondary laws, aught
beyond that which hath been revealed in the Qur'án, we would assuredly
charge Him with imposture, put Him to death, and refuse forever to
acknowledge Him", and other statements such as these deniers make. And
all this, when the Day of Resurrection hath been ushered in, and the Trumpet hath been sounded, and all the denizens of earth and heaven have been gathered together, and the Balance
hath been appointed, and the Bridge hath been laid, and the Verses have
been sent down, and the Sun hath shone forth, and the stars have been
blotted out, and the souls have been raised to life, and the breath of
the Spirit hath blown, and the angels
have been arrayed in ranks, and Paradise hath been brought nigh, and
Hell made to blaze! These things have all come to pass, and yet to this
day not a single one of these people hath recognized them! They all lie
as dead within their own shrouds, save those who have believed and
repaired unto God, who rejoice in this day in His celestial paradise,
and who tread the path of His good-pleasure.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 18
4)
The "birds abiding within the domains of My Kingdom", the Dependent Prophets of Bahá'u'lláh.
O thou honoured enquirer! We bear witness that thou didst firmly adhere
unto seemly patience during the days when the Pen was held back from
movement and the Tongue hesitated to set forth an explanation regarding
the wondrous sign, the Most Great Infallibility.
Thou hast asked this Wronged One to remove for thee its veils and
coverings, to elucidate its mystery and character, its state and
position, its excellence, sublimity and exaltation. By the life of God!
Were We to unveil the pearls of testimony which lie hid within the shells of the ocean of knowledge and assurance or to let the beauties of divine mystery which are hidden within the chambers of utterance in the Paradise of true understanding, step out of
their habitation, then from every direction violent commotion would
arise among the leaders of religion and thou wouldst witness the people
of God held fast in the teeth of such wolves as have denied God both in
the beginning and in the end. Therefore We restrained the Pen for a
considerable lapse of time in accordance with divine wisdom and for the
sake of protecting the faithful from those who have bartered away
heavenly blessings for disbelief and have chosen for their people the
abode of perdition.
O thou seeker who art gifted with keen insight. I swear by Him Who
attracted the Concourse on High through the potency of His most sublime
Word! Verily, the birds abiding within the domains of My Kingdom and the doves dwelling in the rose-garden of My wisdom
utter such melodies and warblings as are inscrutable to all but God,
the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven; and were these melodies
to be revealed even to an extent smaller than a needle's eye, the
people of tyranny would utter such calumnies as none among former
generations hath ever uttered, and would commit such deeds as no one in
past ages and centuries hath ever committed. They have rejected the
bounty of God and His proofs and have repudiated the testimony of God and His signs.
They have gone astray and have caused the people to go astray, yet
perceive it not. They worship vain imaginings but know it not. They
have taken idle fancies for their lords and have neglected God, yet
understand not. They have abandoned the most great Ocean and are
hastening towards the pool, but comprehend not. They follow their own
idle fancies while turning aside from God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 106-107
5)
The "celestial Bird, warbling upon the Divine Lote-Tree", the Prophet.
This is the text of that which was revealed aforetime in the
first Gospel, according to Matthew, regarding the signs that must needs
herald the advent of the One Who shall come after Him. He saith: "And
woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those
days...",5 until the mystic Dove, singing in the midmost heart of
eternity, and the celestial Bird, warbling upon the Divine Lote-Tree,
saith: "Immediately after the oppression of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall
all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet."6
In the second Gospel, according to Mark, the Dove of holiness speaketh
in such terms: "For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not
from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time,
neither shall be." And it singeth later with the same melodies as
before, without change or alteration. God, verily, is a witness
unto the truth of My words.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 7
6)
The "Birds of the celestial Throne", the Manifestations of God, the Independent and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
XXII. The Bearers of the Trust of God are made manifest unto the
peoples of the earth as the Exponents of a new Cause and the Revealers
of a new Message. Inasmuch as these Birds of the celestial Throne
are all sent down from the heaven of the Will of God, and as they all
arise to proclaim His irresistible Faith, they, therefore, are regarded
as one soul and the same person. For they all drink from the one Cup of
the love of God, and all partake of the fruit of the same Tree of
Oneness.
These Manifestations of God have each a twofold station. One is the station of pure abstraction and essential unity.
In this respect, if thou callest them all by one name, and dost ascribe
to them the same attributes, thou hast not erred from the truth. Even
as He hath revealed: "No distinction do We make between any of His
Messengers." For they, one and all, summon the people of the earth to
acknowledge the unity of God, and herald unto them the Kawthar of an
infinite grace and bounty. They are all invested with the robe of
prophethood, and are honored with the mantle of glory. Thus hath
Muhammad, the Point of the Qur'án, revealed: "I am all the Prophets."
Likewise, He saith: "I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus."
Similar statements have been made by Imam
Ali. Sayings such as these, which indicate the essential unity of those
Exponents of Oneness, have also emanated from the Channels of God's
immortal utterance, and the Treasuries of the gems of Divine knowledge,
and have been recorded in the Scriptures. These Countenances are the
recipients of the Divine Command, and the Day Springs of His
Revelation. This Revelation is exalted above the veils of plurality and
the exigencies of number. Thus He saith: "Our Cause is but One."
Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also
must needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imams of the Muhammadan Faith, those lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first, Muhammad is our last, Muhammad our all."
It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples
of the Cause of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If
thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all
abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon
the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same
Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of Being, those Luminaries
of infinite and immeasurable splendor! Wherefore, should one of these
Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I am the return of all the
Prophets," He, verily, speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every
subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact,
the truth of which is firmly established....
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 50
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