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O Ye servants of God! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye asked of Him remaineth unanswered, inasmuch as He hath been commanded by God to observe silence, a silence which is in truth praiseworthy. We have indeed enabled Thee to truly see in Thy dream a measure of Our Cause, but wert Thou to acquaint them with the hidden Mystery, they would dispute its truth among themselves. Verily Thy Lord, the God of truth, knoweth the very secrets of hearts[1]...[1=cf. ibid. 8:45 ] (48:1) O peoples of the world! Whatsoever ye have offered up in the way of the One True God, ye shall indeed find preserved by God, the Preserver, intact at God's Holy Gate. O peoples of the earth! Bear ye allegiance unto this resplendent light wherewith God hath graciously invested Me through the power of infallible Truth, and walk not in the footsteps of the Evil One,[1] inasmuch as he prompteth you to disbelieve in God, your Lord, and verily God will not forgive disbelief in Himself, though He will forgive other sins to whomsoever He pleaseth.[2] Indeed His knowledge embraceth all things... Chapter XVII.[1=cf. ibid. 2:204 , 2=cf. ibid. 4:51 ] (48:2) O Peoples of the East and the West! Be ye fearful of God concerning the Cause of the true Joseph and barter Him not for a paltry price [1] established by yourselves, or for a trifle of your earthly possessions, that ye may, in very truth, be praised by Him as those who are reckoned among the pious who stand nigh unto this Gate. Verily God hath deprived of His grace him who martyred Husayn, Our forefather, lonely and forsaken as He was upon the land of Taff (Karbila). Yazid, the son of Mu'aviyih, out of corrupt desire, bartered away the head of the true Joseph to the fiendish people for a trifling price and a petty sum from his property. Verily they repudiated God by committing a grievous error. Erelong will God wreak His vengeance upon them, at the time of Our Return, and He hath, in very truth, prepared for them, in the world to come, a severe torment. Chapter XXI.[1=Qur 12:20 ] (48:3) O Qurratu'l-'Ayn![1] We have, verily, dilated Thine heart in this Revelation, which stands truly unique from all created things, and have exalted Thy name through the manifestation of the Bab, so that men may become aware of Our transcendent power, and recognize that God is immeasurably sanctified above the praise of all men. He is verily independent of the whole of creation. Chapter XXIII.[1=In these passages of the Qayyumu'l-Asma' the name Qurratu'l-'Ayn (Solace of the Eyes) refers to the Bab Himself] (48:4) The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, descend, by the leave of God, upon this Gate [1] and circle round this Focal Point in a far-stretching line. Greet them with salutations, O Qurratu'l-'Ayn, for the dawn hath indeed broken; then proclaim unto the concourse of the faithful: 'Is not the rising of the Morn, foreshadowed in the Mother Book, to be near at hand?[2]...'[1=Qur 78:38 , 2=cf. ibid. 11:83 ] (48:5) O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Turn Thou eagerly unto God in Thy Cause, for the peoples of the world have risen in iniquity, and but for the outpouring of the grace of God and Thy mercy unto them, no one could purge even a single soul for evermore.[1] O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! The life to come is indeed far more advantageous unto Thee and unto such as follow Thy Cause than this earthly life and its pleasures. This is what hath been foreordained according to the dispensations of Providence...[1=cf. ibid. 24:21 ] (48:6) O Qurratu'[l]-'Ayn! Say: Verily I am the 'Gate of God' and I give you to drink, by the leave of God, the sovereign Truth, of the crystal-pure waters of His Revelation which are gushing out from the incorruptible Fountain situate upon the Holy Mount. And those who earnestly strive after the One True God, let them then strive to attain this Gate.4 Verily God is potent over all things...[1=cf. ibid. 83:25-26] (48:7) O peoples of the earth! Give ear unto God's holy Voice proclaimed by this Arabian Youth Whom the Almighty hath graciously chosen for His Own Self. He is indeed none other than the True One, Whom God hath entrusted with this Mission from the midst of the Burning Bush. O Qurratu'l-'Ayn! Unravel what Thou pleasest from the secrets of the All-Glorious, for the ocean is surging high [1] at the behest of the incomparable Lord. Chapter XXIV.[1=Qur 52:6 ]
(48:8)
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