Chapter C17
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Creation of pre-existent Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
1)
The light from which Muhammad (Independent Prophet) and Imam Ali (Dependent Prophet) are created from.
The following Tradition is attributed to the Prophet: 'God created 'Ali
and me from one light before the creation of Adam... then He split (the
light) into two halves, then He created (all) things from my light and
'Ali's light.'[5]
The First Imam, 'Ali, is reported to have said: 'God is one; He was
alone in His singleness and so He spoke one word and it became a light
and He created from that light Muhammad and He created me and my
descendants (i.e. the other Imams), then He spoke another word and it
became a Spirit and He caused it to settle upon that light and He
caused it to settle on our bodies. And so we are the Spirit of God and
His Word... and this was before He created the creation.[6]
-- cited in, Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Moojan Momen p. 148-149
Salman! We are the Mystery of God [Sirru'llah] that shall not remain
hidden. We are His light that shall never be extinguished, His Grace
that is not to be expected from any one but Him. Muhammad is our first,
Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all.
Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all. He who
recognises us in this regard has consummated the Faith in truth.
O Salman and O Jandab! Muhammad and I were the Light that was voicing
forth the divine eulogy before any other reality started to praise Him.
We were the cause of illumination unto all creation. This one Light was
divided by God in two portions and vouchsafed unto creation the Chosen
"Mustapha" Prophet Muhammad and His Vicegerent in Whom He was well
pleased "Murtada". God, exalted be His Glory, said to each half "Be
Muhammad" "Be 'Ali". The Imperative is Kun the letters B and E. It is
thus that the Prophet said: " I am from 'Ali and 'Ali is from Me. None
can give forth my Trust but Myself and 'Ali".
-- Imam Ali, Sermon of Ma'rifat bin-Nuraaniyyat (Recognition with Luminousness). Translation by K. Fananapazir.
Hast thou not heard what hath been said aforetime: "Muhammad is our
first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all"? And elsewhere: "They all
proceed from the same Light"?
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 30
Before
the creation of the world, from His own light, Allah derived a light
called light of Nubuwwa (prophethood) or exoteric and from that derived
another light called Walaya (Imamah) or esoteric. Allah said "Here is a
Light from my Light, its trunk is the prophecy and its branch is the
Imamate; prophecy belongs to Muhammad, my servant and messenger and
Imamate belongs to Ali, my proof and my friend. Without them, I would
have created none of my creation..." The very names of prophecy and
Imamate are derived from the names of Allah.[16]
-- From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imamate_in_Twelver_doctrine
2)
The light from which Baha'u'llah (an Independent Prophet) is created from.
1.10
I swear by Him Who hath fashioned Me from the light of His own Beauty!
None have I ever seen that surpasseth you in heedlessness or exceedeth
you in ignorance. Ye seek to prove your faith in God through such holy
Tablets as ye possess, yet when the verses of God were revealed and His
Lamp was lighted, ye disbelieved in Him Whose very Pen hath fixed the
destinies of all things in the Preserved Tablet. Ye recite the sacred
verses and yet repudiate Him Who is their Source and Revealer. Thus
hath God blinded your eyes in requital for your deeds, would ye but
understand. Day and night ye transcribe the verses of God, and yet ye
remain shut out, as by a veil, from Him Who hath revealed them.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 6.
3)
The light from which the
handmaidens (a symbolic reference to the Dependent Prophets of
Baha'u'llah) are created. Later in the passage, the handmaidens are
also referred to as "Thy chosen ones", affirming they are Prophets (Dependent). "such as stubbornly oppose Thee [God]" refers to those who will reject them.
Since Thou hast purposed, O my God, to cause all created things to
enter into the tabernacle of Thy transcendent grace and favor, and to
waft over the entire creation the fragrances of the raiment of Thy
glorious unity, and to look upon all things with the eyes of Thy bounty
and Thy oneness, I beseech Thee, therefore, by Thy love, which Thou
hast made to be the mainspring of the revelations of Thine eternal
holiness, and the flame that gloweth within the hearts of such of Thy
creatures as yearn towards Thee, to create, this very moment, for those
of Thy people who are wholly devoted to Thee, and for such of Thy loved
ones as love Thee, out of the essence of Thy bounty and Thy generosity,
and from the inmost spirit of Thy grace and Thy glory, Thy Paradise of
transcendent holiness, and to exalt it above everything except Thee,
and to sanctify it from aught else save Thyself. Create, moreover,
within it, O my God, out of the lights shed by Thy throne, handmaidens
who will intone the melodies of Thy wondrous and most sweet invention,
that they may magnify Thy name with such words as have not been heard
by any of Thy creatures, be they the inmates of Thy heaven or the
dwellers of Thine earth, nor been comprehended by any of Thy people.
Unlock, then, the gates of this Paradise to the faces of Thy loved
ones, that haply they may enter them in Thy name, and by the power of
Thy sovereignty, that thereby the sovereign bounties vouchsafed by Thee
unto Thy chosen ones
and the transcendent gifts granted unto Thy trusted ones be perfected,
that they may extol Thy virtues with such melodies as none can either
intone or describe, and that none of Thy people may conceive the design
of appearing in the guise of any of Thy chosen ones, or of emulating
the example of Thy loved ones, and that none may fail to discern
between Thy friends and Thine enemies, or to distinguish them that are
devoted to Thee from such as stubbornly oppose Thee. Potent art Thou to
do what Thou willest, and powerful and supreme art Thou over all things.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 326-327
4)
Creation of Abdu'l-Baha, the Most Great Branch.
Say: Verily, the ocean of pre-existence [Abdu'l-Bahá] hath branched
forth from this most great Ocean [Baha'u'llah]. Blessed, therefore, is he who abides
upon Its shores, and is of those who are established thereon. Verily,
this most sacred temple of Abha -- -the Branch of Holiness -- -
hath branched forth from the Sadratu'l-Muntaha. Blessed is whosoever
sought shelter beneath it and is of those who rest therein.
Say: Verily, the branch of command hath sprung forth from this root
which God hath firmly planted in the ground of the will, the limb of
which has been elevated to a station which encompasses all existence.
Therefore, exalted be He for this creation, the lofty, the blessed, the
inaccessible, the mighty!
O ye people! Draw nigh unto It, and taste the fruits of its knowledge
and wisdom on the part of the mighty, the knowing One. Whosoever will
not taste thereof shall be deprived of the bounty, even though he hath
partaken of all that is in the earth -- - were ye of those who
know.
Say: Verily a word hath gone forth in favor from the most great Tablet
and God has adorned It with the mantle of Himself, and made it
sovereign over all in the earth and a sign of His grandeur and
omnipotence among the creatures; in order that, through it, the people
shall praise their Lord, the mighty, the powerful, the wise; and that,
through it, they shall glorify their creator and sanctify the self of
God which standeth within all things. Verily, this is naught but a
Revelation upon the part of the wise, the ancient One!
Say: O people, praise ye God, for its Manifestation,
for verily it is the most great favor upon you and the most perfect
blessing upon you; and through Him every moldering bone is quickened.
Whosoever turns to Him hath surely turned unto God, and whosoever
turneth away from Him hath turned away from My beauty, denied My proof
and is of those who transgress. Verily, He is the remembrance of God
amongst you and His trust within you, and His manifestation unto you
and His appearance among the servants who are nigh. Thus have I been
commanded to convey to you the message of God, your Creator; and I have
delivered to you that of which I was commande His messengers, and then
His holy servants.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of the Branch
5)
Creation of "a company of His chosen ones" (the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah) is indicated by
the words: "Be of them whom the tumult of the world, however much it
may agitate them in the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose
purpose the blame of the blamer will never defeat."
There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service
of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men,
who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the
entire human race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who,
before the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven,
shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and
summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. Be of
them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in
the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose purpose the blame of
the blamer will never defeat.
Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that
have believed in Me, and announce unto them tidings of Our most holy
Paradise. Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him. Say: I
am come to you, O people, from the Throne of glory, and bear you an
announcement from God, the Most Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great. In mine hand I carry the testimony of God, your Lord and the
Lord of your sires of old. Weigh it with the just Balance that ye
possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of
God. If ye find it to be established in truth, if ye believe it to be
of God, beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain,
and be numbered with the infidels. It is indeed the sign of God that
hath been sent down through the power of truth, through which the
validity of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto His creatures, and
the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, CXXIX, p. 280
6)
The handmaiden (Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah) created "in the midmost heart of his exalted paradise":
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! Glorified be He that created
her out of the essence of love in the midmost heart of his exalted
paradise!
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! Thereupon the maids of heaven
hastened forth from their chambers, upon whose countenances the eye of
no dweller in the highest paradise had ever gazed.
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High! They all gathered around her, and lo! they found her body fallen upon the dust;
Glorified be our Lord, the Most High! And as they beheld her state and
comprehended a word of the tale told by the Youth, they bared their
heads, rent their garments asunder, beat upon their faces, forgot their
joy, shed tears and smote with their hands upon their cheeks, and this
is verily one of the mysterious grievous afflictions - Glorified be our
Lord, the Most High!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Holy Mariner
7)
Following passage also alludes
to the different essence from which the Bab, an Independent Prophet,
was created compared to humans, "the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade".
THE substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of
which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the
worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover ... I am
one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath
recognized Me, hath known all that is true and right, and hath attained
all that is good and seemly; and whosoever hath failed to recognize Me,
hath turned away from all that is true and right and hath succumbed to
everything evil and unseemly.
I swear by the righteousness of Thy Lord, the Lord of all created
things, the Lord of all the worlds! Were a man to rear in this world as
many edifices as possible and worship God through every virtuous deed
which God's knowledge embraceth, and attain the presence of the Lord,
and were he, even to a measure less than that which is accountable
before God, to bear in his heart a trace of malice towards Me, all his
deeds would be reduced to naught and he would be deprived of the
glances of God's favour, become the object of His wrath and assuredly
perish. For God hath ordained that all the good things which lie in the
treasury of His knowledge shall be attained through obedience unto Me,
and every fire recorded in His Book, through disobedience unto Me.
Methinks in this day and from this station I behold all those who
cherish My love and follow My behest abiding within the mansions of
Paradise, and the entire company of Mine adversaries consigned to the
lowest depths of hell-fire.
By My life! But for the obligation to acknowledge the Cause of Him Who
is the Testimony of God ... I would not have announced this unto
thee... All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right
hand, and all the keys of hell on My left...
I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created
things. I am the Countenance of God Whose splendour can never be
obscured, the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade. Whoso
recognizeth Me, assurance and all good are in store for him, and whoso
faileth to recognize Me, infernal fire and all evil await him...
I swear by God, the Peerless, the Incomparable, the True One: for no
other reason hath He -- the supreme Testimony of God -- invested Me
with clear signs and tokens than that all men may be enabled to submit
to His Cause.
By the righteousness of Him Who is the Absolute Truth, were the veil to
be lifted, thou wouldst witness on this earthly plane all men sorely
afflicted with the fire of the wrath of God, a fire fiercer and greater
than the fire of hell, with the exception of those who have sought
shelter beneath the shade of the tree of My love. For they in very
truth are the blissful...
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 10
O congregation of the Bayán, and all who are therein! Recognize ye the
limits imposed upon you, for such a One as the Point of the Bayán
Himself hath believed in Him Whom God shall make manifest, before all
things were created. Therein, verily, do I glory before all who are in
the kingdom of heaven and earth.
-- The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 168
8)
In the passage below it's also stated that the Prophets "are created of Thee [God]".
The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in
the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace, according to His
saying: "His grace hath transcended all things; My grace hath
encompassed them all" hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to
appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human
temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto
the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the
subtleties of His imperishable Essence. These sanctified Mirrors, these
Day-springs of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of
Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate
Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is
derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a
reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless
glory. They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the
Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace
that is infinite, and by them is revealed the light that can never
fade. Even as He hath said: "There is no distinction whatsoever between
Thee and them; except that they are Thy servants, and are created of
Thee." This is the significance of the tradition: "I am He, Himself,
and He is I, myself."
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 99
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