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Tablets were likewise dispatched to other kings, among them an epistle to His Majesty Nasiri'd-Dín Shah. In that epistle Baha'u'llah said: "Summon Me to thy presence and gather all the divines, and ask for proof and testimony, that truth might be distinguished from error."[16] His Majesty sent Baha'u'llah's epistle to the divines and assigned them this task, but they dared not undertake it. He then asked seven of the most renowned divines to respond to this epistle. After a while they returned it, saying, "This man is an opponent of the Faith and an enemy of the King." His Majesty the Shah of Persia was sorely vexed and said, "This is a matter of proof and testimony, of truth and error. What has it to do with enmity towards the government? How pitiful that we have shown forth such respect to these divines, and yet they cannot even reply to this address." (9:17) com1 Briefly, all that was recorded in the Tablets to the kings has come to pass. One need only compare their contents with the events that have transpired since the year 1870 to see that every prediction has been fulfilled, save for a few that remain to be manifested in the future (9:18) Moreover, foreign peoples and non-believers attributed wondrous works to Baha'u'llah. Some believed He was a saint, and some even wrote accounts to this effect, such as Siyyid Davúdí, a Sunní divine of Baghdad, who composed a short treatise in which he related in some connection certain extraordinary feats of Baha'u'llah. To this day there are people throughout the East who do not believe in Baha'u'llah as a Manifestation of God, but who regard Him as a saint and attribute miracles to Him (9:19) To summarize, not a single soul, whether friend or foe, who attained Baha'u'llah's presence failed to acknowledge and attest to His greatness. Although he might not become a believer, he would invariably bear witness to His greatness. No sooner would someone appear before Him than the encounter would produce such an impression as to prevent him, in most cases, from uttering a word. How often would a bitter enemy resolve in his heart to say such-and-such or to argue so-and-so when he had attained His presence, only to find himself amazed, bewildered, and reduced to utter silence! (9:20) Baha'u'llah never studied Arabic, had a teacher or tutor, or entered a school. Nevertheless His eloquence and fluency in spoken Arabic, as well as in His Arabic Tablets, would astonish the most articulate and accomplished among the Arab men of letters, and all acknowledged that in this His attainments were without peer or equal (9:21) If we carefully examine the text of the Torah, we see that none of the Manifestations of God ever said to those who denied Them, "Whatever miracle you desire, I am ready to perform, and I will submit to whatever test you propose." Yet in His epistle to the Shah Baha'u'llah clearly stated: "Gather together the divines and summon Me to thy presence, that the proof and testimony might be established." (9:22) For fifty years Baha'u'llah withstood His enemies like a mountain: They all sought to annihilate Him; they all assailed Him; they plotted a thousand times to crucify and destroy Him; and throughout those fifty years He was in the greatest peril (9:23) As to Persia, which to this day remains in such an abject and ruinous state, every man of wisdom, whether from within or without her borders, who knows her true state of affairs recognizes that her progress, her prosperity, and her civilization depend entirely upon the promulgation of the teachings and the dissemination of the principles of this glorious Being (9:24) In His blessed lifetime Christ educated, in reality, only eleven souls, the greatest of whom, Peter, nonetheless denied Him thrice when put to the test. Notwithstanding this, behold how the Cause of Christ subsequently pervaded the whole earth! In this day Baha'u'llah has educated thousands of souls who, under the threat of the sword, have raised to the highest heaven the cry of "O Thou the Glory of Glories!"[17] and whose faces have shone as brightly as gold in the crucible of trials. Infer then from this what shall transpire in the future! (9:25) com2 Now, we must be fair and acknowledge what an Educator of mankind this illustrious Being was, what marvellous signs He has manifested, and what power and might have been realized in the world of existence through Him
(9:26)
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