BB00662: Javab-i-’Alim-i-Rashti

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate

Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds; and may blessings be upon the One, the Primal, at all times.

To continue: It is no secret to any soul who believeth in God, in His Book, in His Messenger, in the Imams of guidance and the Manifestations of His Cause, that in this day there is no matter more momentous than the knowledge of the Fountain-Head of religion. Wherefore he hath deemed it incumbent upon himself to apprise all of that which he hath himself expounded, that he may not fall under the shadow of the well-known tradition, and that the concise may be made plain by the detailed.

That Cause which, in the year sixty, was made manifest—and upon the tongues of all is mentioned by the name of the Bab—was of the stages of the Promised One in Whom all the sects of Islam have believed and Whose advent they have expected. The proof that hath assured his own heart, and is sufficient for whomsoever God willeth, is the appearance of the verses which he hath witnessed—verses issuing from that Origin in a manner innate to His nature: for, if a soul but request of Him, in the span of five hours a thousand verses, after this fashion, would proceed from that Source. Though other modes and signs, beyond all count and number, have likewise appeared—inasmuch as, within five hours, a thousand supplications were heard to be revealed—this he did not himself behold; yet of the verses he witnessed with his very eyes that in their recitation there was, and is, no pause nor premeditation whatsoever.

This may be verified in divers ways. One is this: From the descent of the Qur’an until the year wherein one thousand two hundred and seventy years elapsed, had it been possible to produce a single verse of the verses of God by human power, it would assuredly have been produced. That it was not—while now the appearance thereof is beheld—leaveth no doubt that it is “from God”, for the incapacity of all is manifest. He himself hath witnessed to the number of one hundred thousand verses; and though all mankind, within the bounds wherein they stand, advance their claims, none hath been seen to bring the like. Is it that they are able yet refrain? Nay, for had it been in their power, long since would they have done so.

It is evident to the people of the world, who, with great toil attain unto the utmost limit of skill, that if they read a single Arabic line, they can indeed compose one; beyond that they can but reflect and falter. And if anyone hath perused the commentaries and compositions ascribed to them against this Cause, he is thereby permitted to render the judgment that is meet; otherwise, he denieth his very sense. All these allusions are but to show the path; else, by the proof of wisdom, if a man desire to know, there is no thing but it pointeth to His knowledge; and He is exalted above being known by aught save Himself—rather, all else is known by Him.

He is, moreover, uplifted above that mention of the True One should be made in that station, for every reality is by Him made real. Its likeness is the sun: wert thou to imagine it to rise and set times without number, there would yet be but one sun. And this is that which, in every Dispensation, shone forth under the Name of the Manifest, and in that Dispensation was the Manifest; until, in the former Manifestation, it was the Muhammadan Reality—blessings of God be upon it and upon the Manifestations of its Cause.

This is the mystery of that tradition transmitted from the Imams—peace be upon them—that at the time of the Advent He will make mention of Adam unto the Seal, after this wise: “Whoso desireth to behold Him, let him look upon me,” for in truth His Reality is that Reality and none other. This is pure Reality, not metaphor nor hyperbole.

That which hath occasioned the veiling of the whole community is the very power of the Cause that is among men: for today, whatsoever occurreth in Islam occurreth under the name of the Manifestation of the Messenger of God—peace be upon Him—whether in the horizons or within souls. For every soul who, between himself and God, determineth to act, whatever verse pointeth him unto God is a verse wherein the Theophany of the Messenger of God is made manifest. Likewise, in the horizons, the Manifestations wherein naught is seen but God—such as the Imams of guidance and the Gates—are verses in which the Primal Reality shineth forth within them. Nay rather, whatsoever in Islam hath appeared until this day hath been through that Manifestation.

And this Manifestation in this era is, openly, the appearance of the Messenger of God: lesser in relation to the cycle that followeth, and greater in relation to the cycle that preceded. What hath veiled the believers therefrom is but their own surmise: they have striven, yet not testified for God, and this is pure fancy. For whatsoever the Muslims hold today of religious ordinances, of degrees of knowledge, of certitude in the Guardianship of the Imams and the Prophethood of the Messenger, of what God sent down in the Qur’an, and of belief in the Day of Resurrection and in the raising, assembling, presentation and meeting with Him, in Paradise and Hell, and other matters mentioned—all return to the authority of the verses, which are the source of every proof. For the prophethood of the Messenger is established thereby and not otherwise; and the ordinances of religion, in fundamentals and branches, are established by the word of the Messenger—peace be upon Him.

As to what is cited in the tokens of appearance, the traditions agreed upon by all are not, one and all, certain in origin; and if they conflict with the Book, they are not to be acted upon. How, then, could the very proof by which prophethood was first established be set aside, and reliance placed upon traditions whose issuance is unproven or whose intended meaning, after establishment, is not made plain by the Speaker?

In sum: It is far from the discerning soul that, by matters which, in manifold degrees, lead back to the Source, he should be veiled from the primal proof. For what we, this despised band, now affirm—we have never heard from any Messenger or Imam a decisive exposition of what is meant by “return” (raj’at), or by “Resurrection” and its concerns; and if one holdeth a belief therein, it is in things he himself hath conceived. Indeed, concerning a single subsidiary question certainty is not attained—how then should it appear in the principal stations?

What we possess is but words we have seen; yet today these do not withstand that proof whereby religion itself is established. For example: among the signs of the Advent is that the sun should rise from the West. If this be as we understand it, then from the days of Adam to the Seal it hath not occurred. How, then, could it not occur for one like unto the Messenger of God in the very hour of His manifestation? While reason pronounceth its impossibility, and will so pronounce though a thousand thousand advents occur—the sun of the heaven shall not be changed. And so in other signs the intellect, by first principles, knoweth that such things are of another import—when, that is, one desireth to understand the traditions. Otherwise, where the manifest proof and the conclusive argument—the verses of God—are present, what need to be veiled by such matters?

That which hath brought perplexity to the bewildered is the failure to adduce any proof other than the verses. Yet in this station it is evident to the discerning soul that, if the Manifestation be established, the authority of the Proof and its bounds sufficeth—according to the explicit word of the noble verse:

“Is it not enough for them that We have sent down unto thee the Book which is recited unto them? Verily in this is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe.”

It is manifest that God, in the Qur’an, in establishing the truth of the Messenger of God, advanced no plea but the verses. It is as though whatsoever is narrated elsewhere hath no place of mention before God—or rather, the most exalted is established, and mention of the lesser is not made.

To summarize: In the Qur’an today, the plea adduced for the proof of prophethood is the verses alone. In the matter of proof they differ not, before the discerning, whether the whole Qur’an or the Surih of Tawhid be cited. As for those who cavil at the niceties of Arab eloquence, grammar and morphology: let them refer to themselves, and they will find their answer. Such objections would hold only were the verses of God revealed in accordance with what the people already possess; whereas all that the people have, they have taken from it. After the establishment of the proof, these become no locus of doubt or dispute. For had aught contrary to what now appeareth been revealed in the Qur’an, who would have been permitted to argue by anything other than what was sent down?

Far be it from God! Nay, this is the strongest proof of the proof: how could one who knoweth these rules utter words of such a kind unless from before Him? By the sanctified Essence of God! His Cause is, for him who pondereth with fairness, more wondrous even than the Cause of the Messenger of God. For the acquisition of these sciences is for the sake of understanding the Qur’an; how then should He Who is their Fountain be encompassed by them? And yet it is seen how those perfected therein have believed—inasmuch as they beheld their own impotence before the verses.

Naught is beheld, among those who have heard and pondered, but the like of the adversaries’ verses that were heard and pondered in the dawn of Islam. How many of the community of Jesus awaited the advent of Ahmad—blessings and peace be upon Him and His kindred!—and when He appeared, it became clear how many were guided. Today the very same affliction hath encompassed all, and all are veiled—though, in their fancy, they act “for God”, in truth it is “besides God”. For there is no soul who, between himself and God, knoweth the creation aright, willeth to attest the truth, and yet, in a station he comprehendeth not, attaineth certainty in the proof thereof—according to the word of God: “And they rejected it, though their souls were convinced thereof, out of injustice.” For that very Soul Who “ordereth the affair, and setteth forth the signs, that haply ye may be assured of meeting your Lord”—the “meeting” intended is this very Manifestation, wherein naught is seen but God, for His verses bear witness to His truth.

Ask whom thou wilt: “Whose word is the Qur’an?” He will say: “The word of God.” Look then upon these verses; if thou findest a difference, remain veiled; otherwise, know of a certainty that it is that same Origin of the Word. For “speech” is not an attribute of the Essence, but of the Will—therefore it appeareth from It.

Consider the Tablet of Fatimah, until He saith: “And He shall perfect that through God: Muhammad, a mercy to all the worlds—upon Him be the perfection of Moses, and the splendor of Jesus, and the patience of Job. My friends in His days shall be abased; their heads shall be borne as are borne the heads of the Turks and Daylamites; they shall be slain and burned, and shall be in fear …”—that thou mayest know what, in the former Manifestation, was sent down. Were it of the sort all could grasp, God would not have revealed thus in the dawn of Islam in the Tablet of Fatimah, nor would our lord Sadiq—in the prayer of Nudbih—have spoken after this manner. Nay, the Cause is even as it appeared at the rise of Islam, and the word of the Messenger of God must be fulfilled: “Islam shall return estranged as it began; blessed are the strangers!”

Gaze upon the Advent of the Messenger of God in the very midst of effulgence, and upon what then befell. Marvel not, then, at what hath come to pass at the appearing of thy Beloved; for “the truth turneth with the True One”—Paradise is with Him and Hell is with Him; it moveth as the shadow moveth with the sun, and pastureth wheresoever He gazeth. Look, perchance thou mayest derive the honor of existence; for if thou art guided, it is for thine own self, and if thou remain veiled, thou wilt be thyself the fire of thine own veil. “God guideth whom He willeth unto the straight Path.”