"Hasten ye toward affinity!
Hasten ye toward faithfulness!
Hasten ye toward generosity!
Hasten ye toward guidance!
Hasten ye toward union!
Hasten ye to behold the Light of the World!
Hasten ye toward love and prosperity!
Hasten ye toward peace and reconciliation!
Hasten ye toward the law of disarmament!
Hasten ye toward harmony and success!
Hasten ye toward co-operation and mutual help in the path of guidance!"
Verily, these wronged ones do sacrifice themselves with infinite joy and happiness for the sake of the people, with all their souls and spirits throughout all regions. Verily, Thou beholdest them weeping at the misfortunes of every one of Thy creatures and becoming grieved at the distress of Thy children; they are kind to all the people and pained at the sight of the calamities of the inhabitants of the world. O my Lord!
make the wings of prosperity to grow upon their shoulders, so that they may ever soar toward the apex of their aspirations; strengthen their loins in the service of Thy people, and confirm them in the thralldom and adoration of the threshold of Thy Holiness.
Verily, Thou art the Merciful! Thou art the Clement, and there is no G.o.d but Thee, the Powerful, the Compa.s.sionate, and the Ancient!
"Glory be unto Thee, O my G.o.d!..."
Glory be unto Thee, O my G.o.d!
Thou seest me rolling my face in the dust of humility and contrition, supplicating toward the Kingdom of Thy Might, yearning for the contemplation of Thy Greatness, entreating Thy Grandeur, invoking at the Threshold of Thy Mercifulness, beseeching the realm of Thy Singleness, acknowledging my shortcomings, longing for Thy bounty, desiring Thy concealing veil and expecting the outpouring of the rain of Thy favor upon all the meadows and mountains!
O my Lord! Verily, Thy power hath enveloped all things, Thy dominion, Thy glory and Thy sovereignty have become manifest as the manifestation of the sun in mid-day; Thy Word hath penetrated the reality of the contingent beings; Thy voice hath been raised on the apex of the world; Thy beaming lights have radiated from the dawning-places of all the horizons and Thy wonderful refulgent signs have become known in all directions; consequently the sights and insights have become dazzled by beholding these manifestations of truth! There is no land in which the fame of Thy Merciful Cause hath not been spread, and there is no region in which Thy manifest ensign hath not been hoisted! Verily, Thy voice hath reached the ears of all the inhabitants of the globe, and the attracted ones have become exhilarated by its holy and divine fragrances!
Praise be to Thee, O my G.o.d! for the bestowal of this most great bounty upon Thy chosen ones; and thanks be to Thee, O my Lord! for this most eminent favor upon Thy righteous servants in suffering them to become the signs of Thy Oneness in this glorious age and the standards of Thy sanct.i.ty in this new cycle!
O my Lord! O my Lord! a.s.sist the weak ones with the Supreme Energy; shelter the indigent ones near the asylum of Thy Greatest Majesty; strengthen the loins of those souls whose faces radiate with Thy lights and whose tongues become eloquent in the glorification and commemoration of Thy Name; make them the plants of Thy luminous orchard, the blossoms of Thy blessed tree, the leaves of Thy Sadrat-el-Montaha(266) and the flowers of Thy exalted rose-garden! Verily, Thou art the Clement, the Lofty, the Magnificent, the Omnipresent and Thou art the Protector, the Guardian, the Helper, the Powerful, the Merciful and the Generous!
"O ye beloved ones of Abdul-Baha! This servant..."
O ye beloved ones of Abdul-Baha! This servant longeth to write a special Tablet to each one of the friends of G.o.d-but what can be done! For there is neither opportunity nor time. The affairs are like unto the waves, and the requirements are like unto the vernal showers. I do not rest a moment, neither do I have leisure for an instant. Letters are received every day from all the regions and it is impossible and impracticable to answer one among ten; yet there is no other mode than to answer the letters which are the most important, for the urgent affairs must be attended to. Therefore, I request the pardon and ask the forgiveness of the friends, that they may overlook these shortcomings and be content and happy with that which is possible.
O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! The East is illumined, the West is perfumed and the world is in motion and acceleration. Such a tumult is visible in the regions; and such a spiritual commotion is perceived in the pillars of the earth! The fame of the grandeur of the Word of G.o.d hath reached the ears of the inhabitants of the world, and the voice of the Cause of G.o.d holdeth universal sway! It is the time for joy and happiness and the moment of exhileration and ecstasy. One must live in accord with the exhortations and advices of the Blessed Perfection and behave with such deeds and actions as to become conducive to the illumination of the world and the manifestion of mercifulness among the nations.
All the denizens of the earth, the communities and the people have taken an axe in their hands to uproot the life-tree of each other; they are blood-thirsty and the instigators of corruption; they are armed to the teeth with destructive implements; each seeketh the death and annihilation of the other. But the heavenly power, the divine energy and the celestial hand of strength, hath raised the canopy of the oneness of the realm of humanity on the pinnacle of the contingent being and hoisted the standard of the most great peace, friendship, love, uprightness and the adoration of truth. The friends are the servants of this canopy and the beloved are the hosts of this standard. Therefore they must with one accord arise to that which is the requirement and the merit of this day, become overflowing with joy and beat.i.tude, perfume the nostrils with the fragrances, sweeten the tastes with the honey and delicacy of love, become the signs of guidance, be the glad-tidings of the Supreme Concourse and the army of the Kingdom of Abha; so that they may destroy the edifice of war and bloodshed, efface the traces of battle and strife from the face of the earth, uproot the tree of foreignness and plant the tree of unity in the rose-garden of the regions, extinguish the fire of hatred and animosity and set in motion the sea of love and affinity, erase the traces of discord from the Tablet of the earth and register thereon the verses of concord, clear the field of existence from the thorns and brambles of hostilities and ill-feeling and adorn it with the hyacinths and anemones of harmony, train and educate the souls and loosen the tongue in the delivery of the instructions and teachings of the Blessed Perfection!
"O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy..."
O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness and the season of running in the arena of sacrifice! Show ye kindness to all; be ye engaged in the refinement of the souls. Become ye as ignited lamps and adorn ye the orchard of being! These days are swiftly pa.s.sing and this mortal life will remain fruitless and without result.
Therefore, while there is yet time and the arrow is in the bow, enter ye the chase and strike ye the game. This game is the good-pleasure of G.o.d, and this chase is the merciful Providence; that is, living in accord with the divine instructions.
"O Thou Pure G.o.d!..."
O Thou Pure G.o.d!
Thou art the Seer and the Hearer! Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty!
The fame of Thy Most Great Cause hath traveled forth and radiated from all the horizons! The believers have attracted to the Face of that Brilliant Orb. The tongues are engaged in Thy Commemoration and the hearts are at all times dilated with the Fragrances of Thy Holiness. The faces are all turned toward Thee; the hearts are captive of Thy Abode, and the souls are athirst for the Salubrious Water of Thy River. The call of Thy Greatest Name hath caused a mighty reverberation throughout all the kingdoms, and the Power of Thy Consummate Word hath unfurled Thy Ensign to the East and to the West! The favored ones supplicate with the utmost humility, and the righteous ones are in an att.i.tude of soulful invocation to the Kingdom of Beauty.
O my G.o.d! a.s.sist Thou all of them and pour upon them the showers of Thy Supreme Confirmations; so that they may become the cause of the tranquility of the world of creation; to be the servants of the human race; to become, with all their hearts and souls, the real friends of all nations; to become with the utmost joy and fragrance, the spiritual companions of the adherents of all religions; to dispel the darkness of strangeness and to spread the lights of friendship in this transitory world!
O G.o.d! Grant Thou to all of them an Asylum in Thy Neighborhood and gladden their hearts and impart to them rejoicing through Thine Incomparable bounties! Thou are the Omnipotent and the Mighty! Thou art the Seer and the Hearer!
"O ye real companions! Day and night Abdul-Baha..."
O ye real companions! Day and night Abdul-Baha is engaged in the remembrances of the friends, and time after time doth he a.s.sociate with them and behold their blessed faces. I entreat in the Threshold of the Lord of Existence to confrim them in a befitting manner and a.s.sist them to follow wholly the Commands of G.o.d!
O ye friends of G.o.d! According to what is heard, some of the friends have celebrated my birthday in some countries on the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (23rd day of May). Although their intention is no other than good, their aim be to promote the Word of G.o.d and to commemorate the True One among the people in this manner, yet, according to the text of the Religion of G.o.d and the irrefutable command, the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (May 23rd) is the day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (the Bab)-may my life be a sacrifice to Him! Consequently, they must celebrate and adorn that Blessed Day in the name of the Declaration of that Orb of regions; make rejoicing and happiness, and impart the glad-tidings of heavenly beat.i.tude to each other. For that holy essence was the Herald of the Most Great Name. Therefore, no one must mention that day of the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (May 23rd) except as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Bab. This is the unquestionable text of the Religion of G.o.d.
Regarding the birth of this servant, which also happened on that day, this is a proof of the favors and bounties of G.o.d toward this servant. However, this Blessed Day must become known as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (Bab) and the beginning of the effulgence of the Sun of Reality. You must on this account be engaged in rejoicing, happiness and gladness. This is the truth! Beware! Beware! that you avoid that which is mentioned; otherwise, it will cause the utmost grief to the heart of Abdul-Baha.
I ask from the inexhaustible bounties of His Highness the Almighty, that the righteous ones become a.s.sisted to live in accord with the Religion of G.o.d; neither do they deviate a hair"s breadth therefrom; and spread this Tablet throughout all regions, so that all the friends may comprehend the truth and act accordingly.
"O ye beloved of G.o.d and maid-servants of the Merciful!..."