Chapter 1
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Conflicting writings on who are the Manifestations of God. Last updated: July 23rd, 2026.
Note: comments are in blue and writings are in black. In passages 1 - 3 below, Shoghi Effendi and the House claim that only
Independent Prophets are Manifestations of God; which conflicts with the
writings of Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, the Most Great Infallibility, and other Holy Books. In passages 4 - 6 below, Baha'u'llah indicates that the Holy Imams
(Dependent Prophets of Muhammad, one of the two classes of Prophets) and David (a Dependent
Prophet of Moses) are also Manifestations of God. Passage 4 on the
"station of pure abstraction and essential unity" of the Manifestations
of God includes Muhammad, Adam, Noah, Moses and Jesus, who are
Independent Prophets ("Supreme Manifestations"); Imam Ali and the Imams, who are
Dependent Prophets of Muhammad; who "are all invested with the robe of prophethood [are all Prophets]". The writings of the
Bab, Muhammad, and the Holy Imams, also indicate the Holy Imams are Manifestations of God. The writings of Abdu'l-Baha also indicate the two classes of Prophets are all Manifestations of God. According to Baha'u'llah, "all the Prophets", both Independent Prophets and Dependent Prophets, are God's Chosen Ones, are Manifestations of God, are "seated upon
the same throne", are the "Face of God", are "the First" and "the Last"; in keeping with belief in Divine Unity. The following compilation on the Manifestations of God has over a dozen references to Dependent Prophets; including Imam Ali, Imam Husayn, Imam Sadiq, David, the "Moon", Abdu'l-Baha, the "Temples of the Oneness of God", and so on. A number of prophecies about the coming of Baha'u'llah and the Bab were revealed by the Holy Imams. Baha'u'llah, the Most Great Infallibility, says the following about the authority of his words, as distinct from all others: "Were He to pronounce water to be wine or heaven to
be earth or light to be fire, He speaketh the truth and no doubt would
there be about it; and unto no one is given the right to question His
authority or to say why or wherefore. Whosoever raiseth objections will
be numbered with the froward in the Book of God, the Lord of the
worlds.", "it is the duty of all
besides Him to strictly observe whatever laws and ordinances have been
enjoined upon them, and should anyone deviate therefrom, even to the
extent of a hair's breadth, his work would be brought to naught." In passage 8, from the "Bahá’í Sacred Writings",
published in April 2026, most of the paragraph, part of which indicates
that the Holy Imams are Manifestations of God, has been excluded, with no official
explanation provided... In passage 9, from the Tablet of the Branch in the "Bahá’í Sacred Writings", what was previously translated as "the self of God" has been changed to "the Soul of God", among other alterations...
1)
... ; enunciates the doctrine of the "Most Great Infallibility" of the [Supreme]
Manifestation of God; asserts this infallibility to be the inherent and
exclusive right of the [Independent] Prophet; and rules out the possibility of the
appearance of another [Supreme] Manifestation ere the lapse of at least one
thousand years.
-- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 213
2)
[SUPREME] MANIFESTATION OF GOD -- Designation of a Prophet "endowed with
constancy" Who is the Founder of a religious Dispensation, inasmuch as
in His words, His person, and His actions He manifests the nature and
purpose of God in accordance with the capacity and needs of the people
to whom He comes.
-- The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 746 (Glossary)
The essential understanding of Bahá'ís concerning their own Faith is
that its Founder, Bahá'u'lláh, is the latest [Independent] Divine Messenger or
[Supreme] Manifestation from God, Who has established a dispensation for a
duration of at least one thousand years, after which a new
[Supreme] Manifestation will come.
-- The Universal House of Justice, 1995 May 29, Non-membership in other Spiritual Organizations like Subud
3)
That `Abdu'l-Bahá is not a Manifestation of God [`Abdu'l-Bahá, referred to as the "self of God" and "My proof" in the Tablet of the Branch, is a Manifestation of God; like Imam Ali and David], that, though the
successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station, that no
one else except the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh can ever lay claim to such a
station before the expiration of a full thousand years-- are verities
which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both the Founder of
our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings.
-- Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 132.
4)
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."
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 50
I shall restate here My theme, that perchance this may assist thee in
recognizing thy Creator. Know thou that God - exalted and glorified be
He - doth in no wise manifest His inmost Essence and Reality. From time
immemorial He hath been veiled in the eternity of His Essence and
concealed in the infinitude of His own Being. And when He purposed to
manifest His beauty in the kingdom of names and to reveal His glory in
the realm of attributes, He brought forth His Prophets from the
invisible plane to the visible, that His name "the Manifest" might be
distinguished from "the Hidden" and His name "the Last" might be
discerned from "the First", and that there may be fulfilled the words:
"He is the First and the Last; the Seen and the Hidden; and He knoweth
all things!" Thus hath He revealed these most excellent names and most
exalted words in the Manifestations of His Self and the Mirrors of His
Being.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 33
5)
It should first be noted that in one sense the stations of the Prophets
of God differ one from another. For instance, consider Moses [the Independent Prophet, the Manifestation of God]. He
brought forth a Book and established ordinances, whilst a number of the
Prophets and Messengers [the Dependent Prophets of Moses; for example, David, a Manifestation of God] who arose after Him were charged with the
promulgation of His laws, insofar as they remained consonant with the
needs of the age. The books and chronicles annexed to the Torah bear
eloquent testimony to this truth.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle of Unity.
Thy unity is inscrutable, O my God, to all except them that have
recognized Him Who is the Manifestation [Independent Prophet ("Sun") or Dependent Prophet ("Moon")] of Thy singleness and the
Day-Spring of Thy oneness. Whoso assigneth a rival unto Him hath
assigned a rival unto Thee, and whoso hath set up a peer for Him hath
set up a peer for Thyself. No, no, none can withstand Thee in the whole
of creation. Thou hast everlastingly been exalted far above all
comparison and likeness. Thy oneness hath been demonstrated by the
oneness of Him Who is the Dawning-Place of Thy Revelation. Whosoever
denieth this, hath denied Thy unity, and disputed with Thee about Thy
sovereignty, and contended with Thee in Thy realm, and repudiated Thy
commandments.
Assist Thou Thy servants, O my Lord, to recognize Thy unity and to declare Thy oneness, that all may gather together around what Thou didst desire in this Day whereon the sun of Thine essence [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, the Manifestation of God] hath shone forth above the horizon of Thy will, and the moon of Thine own being
[Abdu'l-Baha, the first Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah, the Manifestation of God] hath risen from the Day-Spring of Thy behest. Thou art He, O my Lord,
from Whose knowledge nothing whatsoever escapeth, and Whom no one can
frustrate. Thou doest Thy pleasure, by Thy sovereignty that
overshadoweth the worlds.
-- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 57
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 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!...
O Salmán! We are the Mystery of God[21] that shalt not remain hidden.
We are His light that shalt never be extinguished, His Grace that is
expected from none other save Him. Muhammad
is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all! [cited in the
Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.153] Muhammad is our
first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all. He who recognizeth Us in
this regard hath, in truth, consummated his Faith.
-- Imam Ali, The Sermon of Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat (Recognition with Luminousness). Translation by K. Fananapazir.
These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed
specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the
Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and chosen Messengers,
are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments
of His attributes... Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these beauteous
Countenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed with all
the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, dominion, and the like,
even though to outward seeming they be shorn of all earthly majesty. To
every discerning eye this is evident and manifest; it requireth neither
proof nor evidence.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 103
Every one who is endowed with a clear insight will behold that They
(the Manifestations) were created before the creation of heaven and
earth, and that this has ever been the Throne of the Merciful, and will
forever be as it was; that there is no relation, connection, similarity
or reference between that Throne and all else save it, and that all
things testify with their inmost tongue; "Verily, these (bodies) are
the Thrones of the Merciful One."
-- Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Zuhúr, Tablet of the Manifestation - Provisional translation by an unknown author
6)
None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made manifest, as
Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others among
the more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the
intervening period between the Revelations of Moses and Muhammad, ever
altered the law of the Qiblih. These Messengers of the Lord of creation
have, one and all, directed their peoples to turn unto the same
direction.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 51
7)
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
It follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will continue to
be, able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had
he not been endowed with such a capacity, how could he be called to
account for his failure? If, in the Day when all the peoples of the
earth will be gathered together, any man should, whilst standing in the
presence of God, be asked: "Wherefore hast thou disbelieved in My Beauty
and turned away from My Self," and if such a man should reply and say:
"Inasmuch as all men have erred, and none hath been found willing to
turn his face to the Truth, I, too, following their example, have
grievously failed to recognize the Beauty of the Eternal," such a plea
will, assuredly, be rejected. For the faith of no man can be
conditioned by any one except himself.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 143
8)
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
attribute, 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
honoured 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 splendour. Wherefore, should one of these
Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: “I am the return of all the
Prophets,” He verily speaketh the truth...
-- Baha'u'llah, Bahá’í Sacred Writings, Chapter 1.
He, however, who denied God in His Truth, who turned his back upon Him
and rebelled, who disbelieved and made mischief, the verdict of
"impiety", "blasphemy", "death", and "fire" was passed upon him.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 44
2:174. Those who conceal Allah's revelations in the Book, and purchase
for them a miserable profit, they swallow into themselves naught but
fire; Allah will not address them on the Day of Resurrection, nor
purify them; grievous will be their penalty.
2:175. They are the ones who buy error in place of guidance and torment
in place of forgiveness. Ah! what boldness (they show) for the Fire!
2:176. (Their doom is) because Allah sent down the Book in truth but
those who seek causes of dispute in the Book are in a schism far (from
the purpose).
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali translation), Surah 2.
2:169. They truly who hide the Scriptures which God hath sent down, and
barter them for a mean price - these shall swallow into their bellies
nought by fire. God will not speak to them, or assoil them, on the day
of the Resurrection: and theirs shall be a grievous torment.
2:170. These are they who have bartered guidance for error, and pardon for torment; But how great their endurance in fire!
2:171. This shall be their doom, because God had sent down "the Book"
with the very truth. And verily they who dispute about that Book are in
a far-gone severance from it.
-- The Qur'an (Rodwell translation), Surah 2.
2:174. Lo! those who hide aught of the Scripture which Allah hath
revealed and purchase a small gain therewith, they eat into their
bellies nothing else than fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day
of Resurrection, nor will He make them grow. Theirs will be a painful
doom.
2:175. Those are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, and
torment at the price of pardon. How constant are they in their strife
to reach the Fire!
2:176. That is because Allah hath revealed the Scripture with the truth.
Lo! those who find (a cause of) disagreement in the Scripture are in
open schism.
-- The Qur'an (Pickthall translation), Surah 2.
9)
Say: Out of this Most Great Ocean there hath branched the Pre-existent
Sea; blessed the one that hath attained and found repose upon its
shores.
There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious
Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought
His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law
of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted
in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to
encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this
sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork! Draw nigh
unto Him, O people, and taste the fruits of wisdom and knowledge that
have proceeded from Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Whoso
hath failed to taste thereof is deprived of God’s bounty, though he
partake of all that the earth can produce, could ye but perceive it!
A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great
Tablet—a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self,
and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a
sign of His greatness and power among its people, that all may glorify
thereby their Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, and
extol the praise of their Creator and the sanctity of the Soul of God that holdeth sway over all created things. This, verily, is none other than a Word sent down by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the Ancient of Days.
Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty
upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso
turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away
from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof,
and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His
charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among
His favoured servants.
Thus was I bidden to deliver unto you the message of God, your Creator,
and I have fulfilled that whereunto I was bidden. Unto this bear
witness God, and His angels, and His Messengers, and His sanctified
servants.
-- Baha'u'llah, Bahá’í Sacred Writings, Tablet of the Branch (new translation).
Below is the same excerpt from Bahá'í World Faith, Pages: 204-207:
Say: Verily, the ocean of pre-existence [Abdu'l-Baha, the Branch, the Dependent Prophet] hath branched forth from this
most great Ocean [Baha'u'llah, the Root, the Independent Prophet]. 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 [Abdu'l-Baha, the Dependent Prophet] hath sprung forth from this root
[Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet] 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 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 Bahá'í World Faith, Pages: 204-207
... in the Chapter of The Branch
-- all the meanings of which mean the Servitude of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that
is 'Abdu'l-Bahá -- all that was needed to explain the Center of the
Covenant and the Interpreter of the Book has been revealed from the
Supreme Pen.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 358
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