Chapter C80
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The Signs of the Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
1)
The Manifestations of God, the signs of God's glory:
XXI. O Salmán! The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever
been, and will continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No
man's understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a
token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He
hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the
Symbols of His divine unity, and hath ordained the knowledge of these
sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self.
Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth to their
call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the
truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself.
Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso
disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God. Every one of them is the
Way of God that connecteth this world with the realms above, and the
Standard of His Truth unto every one in the kingdoms of earth and
heaven. They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of
His Truth, and the signs of His glory.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 49
2)
The signs of God as manifested in the Prophets:
Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own
Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to
recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words He
hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. This is, verily, an
evidence of His tender mercy unto men. He hath endowed every soul with
the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could He, otherwise,
have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them that ponder His
Cause in their hearts. He will never deal unjustly with any one,
neither will He task a soul beyond its power. He, verily, is the
Compassionate, the All-Merciful.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 105
3)
The signs of Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet.
VII. Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the
Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath
been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon
men. It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word
from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased
mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and
the tokens of His glory.
Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred
Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every
Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this
wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise,
yearned to attain it. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His
Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of God's Will, than all,
except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found
dumbfounded and heedless.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 10
4)
Imam Ali, the first Dependent/Lesser Prophet in the era of Muhammad, is the Cord of God, as
indicated in Quran 3:103 and also by Imam Ali himself in the subsequent
passage. The Holy Imams are also the "Clear Signs" referred in the following passage along with many other passages in the Quran which refer to them as the signs of God.
Those who "fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs" and
"reject Faith after accepting it" refers to those who rejected the Holy
Imams.
GOD says in the Qur'án: "Take ye hold of the Cord of God, all of you, and become ye not disunited."[1]
[1 Qur'án 3:103.]
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 100
3:102 O ye who believe! Fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islám.
3:103 And hold fast, all together, by the rope [cord] which God
(stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and
remember with gratitude God's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He
joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren;
and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it.
Thus doth God make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.
3:104 Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that
is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They
are the ones to attain felicity.
3:105 Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall
into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: For them is a dreadful
penalty,-
3:106 On the Day when some faces will be (lit up with) white, and some
faces will be (in the gloom of) black: To those whose faces will be
black, (will be said): "Did ye reject Faith after accepting it? Taste
then the penalty for rejecting Faith."
3:107 But those whose faces will be (lit with) white,- they will be in (the light of) God's mercy: therein to dwell (for ever).
3:108 These are the Signs of God: We rehearse them to thee in Truth: And God means no injustice to any of His creatures.
-- The Qur'an: 3 - AL-I-IMRAN,
The truth is Mine and certitude is at My side. Leadership is Mine and
the righteous shall follow Me. I am the first to acknowledge faith, the
Cord of God
that shall not be broken, the One who will raise the world to justice
even as it hath been brought low by oppression. I am the companion of
Gabriel and the archangel Michael is beside Me. I am the tree of
guidance, and the essence of righteousness. I shall gather together the
world of creation through the Word of God that gathers together all
things. I give life unto humanity and I am the treasury of all divine
commands. To Me hath been given the Luminous Pen and the Crimson Camel.
-- Imam Ali, Sermon of Glorification (a provisional translation by K. Fananapazir).
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/imam-ali_khutbat_iftikhar
5)
Imam Husayn, the third Dependent/Lesser Prophet in the era of Muhammad, is the Sign of God.
Ah! Ah! O Prince of Martyrs and their Sovereign, their Glory and
their Well beloved! I testify that through Thee, the daystar of
detachment hath shone forth over the firmament of creation and through
Thee, the temples of the near ones were adorned with the ornament of
righteousness. Through Thee, the light of divine recognition hath shone
forth in the world of creation. Were it not for Thee, the command to
knit and join together "B" and "E" would not have gone forth and the
sealed "choice wine" would not have been unsealed. But for Thee, the Dove
of divine testimony would not have warbled its melodies upon the
branches of the tree of utterance and but for Thee, the Tongue of
Grandeur would not have spoken amongst the peoples of all Faiths.
Because of Thy sorrow, there hath appeared separation between the two
letters "Há" and "Waw" and the wailing of the believers in Divine Unity
was raised in all lands. Because of Thy misfortune, the Supreme Pen was
prevented from raising Its shrill voice, the ocean of bounty stilled
its waves, the breezes of grace have ceased wafting, the rivers of
paradise have ceased flowing and the daystar of justice was impeded
from casting its rays.
I testify that Thou art the Sign of the All Merciful in the world of being; Thou art the Manifestation of proof and testimony amongst all religions. Through Thee, God hath fulfilled His promise and hath revealed His sovereignty.
Through Thee, the mystery of divine knowledge hath been divulged and
the luminary of certitude hath shone forth above the horizon of
evidence. Through Thee, the dominion of God and His cause, His
mysteries and His wisdom have all been made evident. But for Thee, the
well-preserved Treasure could not have been disclosed and the
irrevocable decree would not have effected. But for Thee, the divine
summons would not have been raised from the Sublime Horizon and the
pearls of wisdom and utterance would not have been revealed from the
treasury of the Abhá Pen. Because of Thy affliction, the joy of
paradise hath been altered and the cry of the denizens of the Kingdom
of Names hath been raised. Thou art He who, by Thy turning unto God,
hath caused the faces of all men to be directed towards God, the Lord
of All Being, and the Sacred Tree hath spoken, "The Kingdom belongeth
to God, the Lord of both the visible and invisible."
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of Visitation for Imám Husayn (a provisional translation by K. Fananapazir).
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_fananapazir_visitation_husayn
6)
The Signs of Imam Ali
and the other Imams.
Say I swear by God! They to whom you attribute knowledge and have
accepted them as your divines they are in the sight of God the worst of
men nay the quintessence of evil flees from them. Thus has the matter
been inscribed in the scrolls of God's knowledge. We testify that they
have not drunk from the fountains of knowledge and they have not
attained unto a word of Wisdom and have not become aware of the
mysteries of Revelation and have been racing in the land of their
selfish desires. Nothing of rejection and denial against a prophet or a
successor of a prophet has come to pass except after their permission.
Thus has always been their injunction carried out on the Countenances
of holiness.
Say to them: O ignorant ones! Did We not reveal in the past: "A Day
that God shall come in the canopies of clouds."[4] How is it that when
He came down in the clouds of Revelation in the Temple of 'Ali [Imam
Ali], you turned away and rejected Him and waxed haughty and brought
about your own perdition?[5] Was it not also revealed in your Book:
" the Day when Thy Lord comes or certain of the signs of Thy Lord."[6]
And when He did come with evident signs wherefore did ye turn away from
those signs and veiled yourselves with the veils of self?..
[4] Qur'án 2:210.
[5] Qur'án 25:18 and 48:12.
[6] Qur'an 6:158.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih-i-Sabr (Lawh-i-Ayyúb), Surih of Patience or Tablet of Job -- (translation by K. Fananapazir)
2:208. O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow
not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy.
2:209. If ye backslide after the clear (signs) have come to you, then know that Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.
2:210. Will they wait until Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds,
with angels (in His train) and the question is (thus) settled? But to
Allah do all questions go back (for decision).
2:211. Ask the Children of Israel how many Clear (Signs) We have sent
them. But if anyone, after Allah's favor has come to him, substitutes
(something else), Allah is strict in punishment.
2:212. The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith,
and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above
them on the Day of Resurrection; for Allah bestows His abundance
without measures on whom He will.
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 2.
The Holy Qur'án hath testified that true Faith is recognition of divine unity and confession to both the Prophet [recognition of Muhammad, the Independent Prophet, the Manifestation of God] and the Imámate [recognition of the Holy Imams, the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Muhammad, the Manifestations of God].
He who attaineth unto both hath fulfilled his faith. A true believer is
the one who does not reject any matter pertaining to Us, for God
Himself hath dilated His Breast such that He may accept all. He will
not doubt or be mistrustful. He who cavileth why and wherefore becometh
a disbeliever. We are, verily, the Cause of God![15]
-- Imam Ali, The Sermon of Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat (Recognition with Luminousness). Translation by K. Fananapazir.
7)
In passage below from Gleanings CXXIX:
"concealed within the Holy Veil" -- refers to the realm of pre-existence of the Dependent/Lesser Prophets, same as the pre-existence of the Holy Imams.
"a company of His chosen ones" -- the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
"Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that have believed in Me" -- the Dependent Prophet rejoins believers of Baha'u'llah after appearing on earth.
"Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him" -- warn
those who reject the Dependent Prophet as the Face of God.
"I am come from the Throne of glory" -- reference to her/his station as a Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah.
"And bear you an announcement from God" -- the declaration of the Dependent Prophet.
"Weigh it with the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of God" -- judge their revelation with same standards you use for Prophets and Messengers of God, as they are.
"And render your works vain, and be numbered with the infidels" -- reference to believers who after serving the faith reject a Dependent Prophet, and thereby render their works vain.
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
8)
The Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, who will "manifest the signs of His sovereignty and might upon earth":
... The day is approaching when God will have, by an act of His Will,
raised up a race of men the nature of which is inscrutable to all save
God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. He shall purify them from
the defilement of idle fancies and corrupt desires, shall lift them up
to the heights of holiness, and shall cause them to manifest the signs of His sovereignty and might upon earth. Thus hath it been ordained by God, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 6
9)
The signs of one of the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, referred to symbolically as, "O Eyes of this Temple!":
1.19
O Eyes of this Temple [the Maid of Heaven, Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet]!
Look not upon the heavens and that which they contain, nor upon the
earth and them that dwell thereon, for We have created you to behold
Our own Beauty: See it now before you! Withhold not your gaze
therefrom, and deprive not yourselves of the Beauty of your Lord, the
All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Erelong shall We bring into being
through you keen and penetrating eyes that will contemplate the
manifold signs of their Creator and turn away from all that is
perceived by the people of the world. Through you shall We bestow the
power of vision upon whomsoever We desire, and lay hold upon those who
have deprived themselves of this gracious bounty. These, verily, have
drunk from the cup of delusion, though they perceive it not.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 10
10)
The signs of another Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah, referred symbolically as, "O Living Temple!":
1.72
O Living Temple!
We have made Thee the Dayspring of each one of Our most excellent
titles, the Dawning-Place of each one of Our most august attributes,
and the Fountainhead of each one of Our manifold virtues unto the
denizens of earth and heaven. Thereafter have We raised Thee up in Our
own image betwixt the heavens and the earth, and ordained Thee to be
the sign of Our glory
unto all who are in the realms of revelation and creation, that My
servants may follow in Thy footsteps, and be of them who are guided
aright. We have appointed Thee the Tree of grace and bounty unto the
dwellers of both the heavens and the earth. Well is it with them who
seek the shelter of Thy shade and who draw nigh unto Thy Self, the
omnipotent Protector of the worlds.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
11)
Say: Verily, the ocean of pre-existence [Abdu'l-Baha] 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 [Glory] -- 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 who soever 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 commanded. Whereupon, thereunto testifieth God,
then His angels, then His messengers, and then His holy servants.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Tablet of the Branch - from BWF
12)
1.81
O Living [the pre-existent Dependent Prophet when on the earthly plane] Temple!
We, verily, have made Thee a mirror unto the kingdom of names, that
Thou mayest be, amidst all mankind, a sign of My sovereignty, a herald
unto My presence, a summoner unto My beauty, and a guide unto My straight and perspicuous Path.
We have exalted Thy Name among Our servants as a bounty from Our
presence. I, verily, am the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. We
have, moreover, adorned Thee with the ornament of Our own Self, and
have imparted unto Thee Our Word, that Thou mayest ordain in this
contingent world whatsoever Thou willest and accomplish whatsoever Thou
pleasest. We have destined for Thee all the good of the heavens and of
the earth, and decreed that none may attain unto a portion thereof
unless he entereth beneath Thy shadow, as bidden by Thy Lord, the
All-Knowing, the All-Informed. We have conferred upon Thee the Staff of
authority and the Writ of judgement, that Thou mayest test the wisdom
of every command. We have caused the oceans of inner meaning and explanation to surge from Thy heart in remembrance of Thy Lord, the God of mercy,
that Thou mayest render thanks and praise unto Him and be of those who
are truly thankful. We have singled Thee out from amongst all Our
creatures, and have appointed Thee as the Manifestation of Our own Self unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 43.
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