Chapter C24b
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Discernment needed to recognise the Independent and Dependent Prophets, the Manifestations of God.
1)
The discernment needed to recognise the Manifestations of God:
"If God had pleased He had
surely made all men one people." His purpose, however, is to enable the
pure in spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their
own innate powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that
thereby they who seek the Beauty of the All-Glorious may be
distinguished and separated from the wayward and perverse. Thus hath it
been ordained by the all-glorious and resplendent Pen....
That the Manifestations of Divine justice, the Day Springs of heavenly
grace, have when they appeared amongst men always been destitute of all
earthly dominion and shorn of the means of worldly ascendancy, should
be attributed to this same principle of separation and distinction
which animateth the Divine Purpose. Were the Eternal Essence to
manifest all that is latent within Him, were He to shine in the
plentitude of His glory, none would be found to question His power or
repudiate His truth. Nay, all created things would be so dazzled and
thunderstruck by the evidences of His light as to be reduced to utter
nothingness. How, then, can the godly be differentiated under such
circumstances from the froward?
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 70
2)
The discernment needed to recognise Jesus, the Independent Prophet.
And it is a basic principle of the Law of God that in every Prophetic
Mission, He entereth into a Covenant with all believers -- a Covenant
that endureth until the end of that Mission, until the promised day
when the Personage stipulated at the outset of the Mission is made
manifest. Consider Moses, He Who conversed with God. Verily, upon Mount
Sinai, Moses entered into a Covenant regarding the Messiah,
with all those souls who would live in the day of the Messiah. And
those souls, although they appeared many centuries after Moses, were
nevertheless -- so far as the Covenant, which is outside time, was
concerned -- present there with Moses. The Jews, however, were heedless
of this and remembered it not, and thus they suffered a great and clear
loss.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 206
The obstacle which prevents the so-called religious man from accepting
the teachings of God is literal interpretation. Moses announced the
coming of Christ. The Israelites were awaiting him with the greatest
impatience and anxiety, but when he came they called him Beelzebub.
"The conditions laid down in the Bible for the coming of the expected
one were not fulfilled," they said. They did not understand that the
conditions were symbolical.
For instance, it is written -- "He will come from an unknown place."
Jesus came from Nazareth. "How can this be the Messiah?" they reasoned.
"It is written -- he will carry an iron scepter, that is to say, his
shepherd's staff will be a sword. This man has no sword. It was
prophesised -- he will be seated on the throne of David; behold this
man has not so much as a mat whereon to sit. He was to spread the law
of Moses; this man, on the contrary, seeks to destroy it. How can he be
the promulgator of God's law?" they scornfully laughed.
It was prophesised that the east and west would be united under the
Jewish law; the animals would be at peace one with another; that the
wolf would no longer devour the sheep. They did not see these
conditions fulfilled. Roman tyranny enveloped the world and they
crucified the Christ.
The Jews were blind to reality. The real Christ came from the city of
light in the eternal realms Christ is a king. His shepherd's staff,
that is, his tongue, was a sword dividing the true from the false. The throne of David is not a material throne but an eternal kingdom. Christ
re-established this kingdom; it has been forgotten. Christ conquered
the east and the west. This means a spiritual victory, not a material
one.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 3
3)
The discernment needed to recognise the Prophets when they appear, on the Day of Resurrection, in keeping with the Covenant:
11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
-- King James Bible, John
That Day [of Resurrection] is indeed an infinitely mighty Day, for in it the Divine Tree proclaimeth from eternity unto eternity, 'Verily, I am God. No God is there but Me'.
Yet those who are veiled believe that He is one like unto them, and
they refuse even to call Him a believer, although such a title in the
realm of His heavenly Kingdom is conferred everlastingly upon the most
insignificant follower of His previous Dispensation.
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 78
O concourse of the seen and the unseen! Rejoice with exceeding gladness
in your hearts and souls, for the night hath come for the harvesting of
the ages and the gathering up of past cycles, the night wherein all
days and nights were called into being and the time preordained for
this Revelation was fulfilled at the behest of Him Who is the Lord of might and power. All joy to the Concourse on high at the appearance of so glorious, so wondrous a Spirit!
This is the night wherein the doors of Paradise were flung open and the
gates of Hell were shut fast, the night wherein the paradise of the
All-Merciful was unveiled in the midmost heart of
creation, the breezes of God were wafted from the retreats of
forgiveness, and the Last Hour ushered in through the power of truth,
could ye but know it. All joy to this night through which all days have
been suffused with light, though none can apprehend this save those that are endued with certitude and discernment!
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of the Birth.
For every thing, however, God has created a sign and symbol, and
established standards and tests by which it may be known. The
spiritually learned must be characterized by both inward and outward
perfections; they must possess a good character, an enlightened nature, a pure intent, as well as intellectual power, brilliance and discernment,
intuition, discretion and foresight, temperance, reverence, and a
heartfelt fear of God. For an unlit candle, however great in diameter
and tall, is no better than a barren palm tree or a pile of dead wood.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 33
Thou didst ask whether, at the advent of the Kingdom of God, every soul
was saved. The Sun of Truth hath shone forth in splendour over all the
world, and its luminous rising is man's salvation and his eternal life
-- but only he is of the saved who hath opened wide the eye of his discernment and beheld that glory.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 190
4)
The discernment needed to recognise the "Prophets and the Chosen Ones of God", the two classes of Prophets:
And further He saith:
"Out of his mouth goeth a two-edged sword." Know thou that since the
sword is an instrument that divideth and cleaveth asunder, and since
there proceedeth from the mouth of the Prophets and the Chosen Ones of God
that which separateth the believer from the infidel and the lover from
the beloved, this term hath been so employed, and apart from this
dividing and separating no other meaning is intended. Thus, when He Who
is the Primal Point and the eternal Sun desireth, by the leave of God,
to gather together all creation, to raise them up from the graves of
their own selves, and to divide them one from another, He shall
pronounce but one verse from Him, and this verse will distinguish truth
from error from this day unto the Day of Resurrection.
What sword is sharper than this heavenly sword, what blade more
trenchant than this incorruptible steel that severeth every tie and
separateth thereby the believer from the infidel, father from son,
brother from sister, and lover from beloved? For whoso believeth in
that which hath been revealed unto him is a true believer and whoso
turneth away is an infidel, and such an irrevocable separation
occurreth between them that they will cease to consort and associate
with each other in this world. And so it is between father and son, for
should the son believe and the father deny, they will be severed and
forever dissociated from each other. Nay rather, thou witnesseth how
the son slayeth the father and the father the son. Consider in the same
light all that We have explained and related unto thee.
78
Wert thou to behold all things with the eye of discernment, thou
wouldst indeed see that this divine sword doth cleave asunder
generations. Would that ye could understand it! All this is by virtue
of the word of separation that is manifested on the Day of Judgement
and Separation, were the people to take heed in the days of their Lord.
Nay, couldst thou but sharpen thy sight and refine thy heart, thou
wouldst witness that all the material swords which in every day and age
have slain the infidels and waged war against the impious proceed from
this divine and invisible sword. Open then thine eyes, that thou mayest
behold all that We have revealed to thee and attain unto that which
none other hath attained. We verily exclaim: "Praise be to God, He Who
is the Lord of the Day of Reckoning!"54
-- Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 56
5)
The discernment needed to recognise Imam Ali, the first Dependent Prophet of Muhammad, the Manifestation of God:
He whose acceptance of my guardianship is based on external reality
more than internal truth, he is that one "whose balance will be
light"[Qur`án 7:9] Those whose scale will be light, their souls will be in
perdition.[5] O Salmán! The faith of no believer will attain perfection
unless and until he recognizeth Me with luminousness. If he attaineth
unto this, then he hath truly attained faith; he is the one whose heart
is tested with true faith, whose breast is dilated in true Islám and
whose faith is based on discernment. He who is convicted of shortcoming
in this cognition - he will be a doubter, immersed in disbelief.
O Salmán! and O Jandáb![Abu Dharr] In truth, recognition of Me in luminousness
is the recognition of God,[Ma'rifat Allah] and Recognition and knowledge of God is
indeed knowledge of Me; this is what is meant by sincere devotion.[8]
Mankind was not ordered by God to seek naught except to attain unto
this unity[9]. They were commanded to worship but One God.[Qur`án 9:31 and 98:5] And they
have been commanded no more than this: "To worship God, offering Him
sincere devotion, being true (in faith), to establish regular prayer;
and to practice regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and
Straight." [11]
...
The Holy Qur'án hath testified that true Faith is recognition of divine unity and confession to both the Prophet [recognition of Muhammad, the pre-existent Independent Prophet, the Manifestation of God] and the Imámate [recognition of the Holy Imams, the pre-existent 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![15]
-- Imam Ali, The Sermon of Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat (Recognition with Luminousness). Translation by K. Fananapazir.
6)
The discernment needed to recognise Abdu'l-Baha, the first Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah, the Manifestation of God:
Verily, the Cause of God hath come upon the clouds of utterances and
the polytheists are in this day in great torment! Verily, the hosts of
revelation have descended with banners of inspiration from the heaven
of the Tablet in the name of God, the powerful, the mighty! At this
time the monotheists all rejoice in the victory of God and His
dominion, and the deniers will then be in manifest perplexity...
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!...
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!
-- Baha'u'llah, The Tablet of the Branch - from Bahá'í World Faith, Pages: 204-207
7)
The discernment needed to recognise Baha'u'llah and the "temples
of pre-existence", the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah:
The sun [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet] has risen over the sacred horizon, and the concourse on high
has been illumined by its radiance. The scent of musk has diffused from
the knolls of sanctity, perfuming the temples of pre-existence [Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah]. Happy
is he who adorns himself with these fragrances! The luminary of the
Cause has risen in the midst of the sky, and has taken the form of a
full moon, brilliant in its whiteness. Concourse of the near ones, seek
to be illumined by its splendor! Say: The throne has been established
behind the pavilion of majesty, and about it circle chaste maidens of
beauty [Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah] bearing flagons brimming with the water of life. Blessed is the
person who attains to sprinkled droplets thereof. Say: The Maiden of
Eternity has uncovered Beauty itself with a gut-wrenching gaze. Blessed
is the one who is struck by her glance! Say: The voice of God has been
heard from the sanctuary of eternity, and the hearts of the mystic
knowers have been enthralled by its melodies.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Surah of the Companions. Translation by Juan Cole.
8)
The discernment needed to recognise the "beauties of divine
mystery", the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah:
Praise be unto God Who hath made the Most Great Infallibility
the shield for the temple of His Cause in the realm of creation, and
hath assigned unto no one a share of this lofty and sublime station --
a station which is a vesture which the fingers of transcendent power
have woven for His august Self. It befitteth no one except Him Who is
seated upon the mighty throne of 'He doeth what He pleaseth'. Whoso
accepteth and recognizeth that which is written down at this moment by
the Pen of Glory is indeed reckoned in the Book of God, the Lord of the
beginning and the end, among the exponents of divine unity, they that
uphold the concept of the oneness of God.
When the stream of words reached this stage, the sweet savours of true
knowledge were shed abroad and the day-star of divine unity shone forth
above the horizon of His holy utterance. Blessed is he whom His Call
hath attracted to the summit of glory, who hath drawn nigh to the
ultimate Purpose, and who hath recognized through the shrill voice of
My Pen of Glory that which the Lord of this world and of the next hath
willed. Whoso faileth to quaff
the choice wine which We have unsealed through the potency of Our Name,
the All-Compelling, shall be unable to discern the splendours of the
light of divine unity or to grasp the essential purpose underlying the
Scriptures of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the sovereign Ruler of
this world and of the world to come. Such a man shall be accounted
among the faithless in the Book of God, the All-Knowing, the
All-Informed.
O thou honoured enquirer! [1] We bear witness that thou didst firmly
adhere unto seemly patience during the days when the Pen was held back
from movement and the Tongue hesitated to set forth an explanation
regarding the wondrous sign, the Most Great Infallibility. Thou hast
asked this Wronged One to remove for thee its veils and coverings, to
elucidate its mystery and character, its state and position, its
excellence, sublimity and exaltation. By the life of God! Were We to
unveil the pearls of testimony which lie hid within the shells of the
ocean of knowledge and assurance or to let the beauties of divine
mystery [the pre-existent Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah] which [who] are hidden within the chambers of utterance in the
Paradise of true understanding, step out of their habitation [appear on earth], then from
every direction violent commotion would arise among the leaders of
religion and thou wouldst witness the people of God held fast in the
teeth of such wolves as have denied God both in the beginning and in
the end. Therefore We restrained the Pen for a considerable lapse of
time in accordance with divine wisdom and for the sake of protecting
the faithful from those who have bartered away heavenly blessings for
disbelief and have chosen for their people the abode of perdition.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 105
9)
The discernment needed to recognise Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet:
... O Ahmad! Forget not My bounties while I am absent. Remember My
days during thy days, and My distress and banishment in this remote
prison. And be thou so steadfast in My love that thy heart shall not
waver, even if the swords of the enemies rain blows upon thee and all
the heavens and the earth arise against thee.
Be thou as a flame of fire to My enemies and a river of life eternal to My loved ones, and be not of those who doubt.
And if thou art overtaken by affliction in My path, or degradation for My sake, be not thou troubled thereby.
Rely upon God, thy God and the Lord of thy fathers. For the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His Melody with their own ears. Thus have We found them, as thou also dost witness.
Thus have their superstitions become veils between them and their own
hearts and kept them from the path of God, the Exalted, the Great.
Be thou assured in thyself that verily, he who turns away from this
Beauty hath also turned away from the Messengers of the past and
showeth pride towards God from all eternity to all eternity.
Learn well this Tablet, O Ahmad. Chant it during thy days and withhold
not thyself therefrom. For verily, God hath ordained for the one who
chants it, the reward of a hundred martyrs and a service in both
worlds. These favors have We bestowed upon thee as a bounty on Our part
and a mercy from Our presence, that thou mayest be of those who are
grateful...
-- Baha'u'llah, Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 210
10)
The discernment needed to recognise The Bab, the Independent Prophet:
ADDRESS TO SULAYMAN, ONE OF THE MUSLIM DIVINES IN THE LAND OF MASQAT
THIS is an Epistle from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting,
unto Sulayman in the land of Masqat, to the right of the Sea...
Hadst thou observed the contents of the Epistle We sent unto thee, it
would have been far more profitable to thee than worshipping thy Lord
from the beginning that hath no beginning until this day, and indeed
more meritorious than proving thyself wholly devoted in thine acts of
worship. And hadst thou attained the presence of thy Lord in this land,
and been of them that truly believe that the Face of God
is beheld in the person of the Primal Point, it would have been far
more advantageous than prostrating thyself in adoration from the
beginning that hath no beginning until the present time....
In truth We tested thee and found that thou wert not of them that are endowed with understanding, wherefore We passed upon thee the sentence of negation, as a token of justice from Our presence; and verily We are equitable.
However, shouldst thou return unto Us, We would convert thy negation
into affirmation. Verily We are the One Who is of immense
bounteousness. But should the Primal Point cease to be with you, then
the judgement given in the Words of God shall be final and unalterable
and every one will assuredly uphold it.
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 34
Nay, by God, be thou neither a divine without discernment nor a
follower without discernment, for both of these shall perish on the Day
of Resurrection. Rather it behooveth thee to be a discerning divine, or
to walk with insight in the way of God by obeying a true leader of
religion.
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 123
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