17. Part One — 16
1Likewise it is said "The day (whereon) the heaven shall produce a visible smoke which shall cover mankind; this will be a tormenting punishment" (K. S. 44). The Lord of Might hath made all these conditions which are contrary to impure souls and opposed to the desire of people, as a test and standard by which He tries His servants and distinguishes the righteous from the wicked, the believer from the denier; as already stated. In this verse He hath interpreted the supersedure, abolition and removal of customary ceremonies and the destruction of established standards to mean the "smoke." Is there any smoke greater than this which hath enshrouded the people and is such a torment to them that do what they will they are not able to remove it but suffer a new punishment every moment, from the fire of self? When they hear that this wonderful and Divine Cause and this irrefutable and eternal Command hath appeared throughout the earth and is advancing every day, a new fire is enkindled in their hearts; and whenever they witness the power, devotion and firmness of the followers who are day by day becoming more stanch and steadfast through the Providence of God, a new trouble arises in their souls.
2Praise be to God, that in these days the dominion of God hath so prevailed that they dare not speak, and if they meet with one of the followers of God who freely and voluntarily sacrifices a hundred thousand lives in the path of the Beloved, they profess faith through fear, but in private, engage in cursing and execration; as it is said "And when they meet you, they say, 'We believe'; but when they assemble privately together, they bite their finger tips because of their wrath against you. Say (unto them), die in your wrath; verily God knoweth the innermost part of your breasts" (K. S. 3).
3Before long thou shalt find the standards of Divine power hoisted in all regions and see the signs of His sovereignty and dominion manifested in all lands.
4To resume: as most of the divines have not comprehended these verses and are not informed of the purport of "resurrection," they unwittingly interpret them to denote the imaginary resurrection. The One God testifies that with a little perception they may understand all the subjects intended, through the interpretation of these two verses, and attain to the brilliant morn of assurance through the Providence of the Merciful.
5Thus doth the Dove of Eternity sing unto thee upon the twigs of the Sadrat of El-Baha that perchance thou mayest walk in the pathway of Knowledge and Wisdom, through the permission of God.
6As to His saying: "And will send His angels, etc.": These "angels" are souls who through spiritual power have burned human qualities by the fire of Divine Love and become characterized with the attributes of the Exalted Ones and Cherubim. His Holiness Sadik (the sixth Imam) hath said concerning Cherubim: "They are a multitude of our Shi'ite followers, behind the Throne." Although by the words "behind the Throne" many meanings are intended, both outwardly and inwardly, yet in one sense it indicates that no true Shi'ite exists. For he hath said in another place, "A true believer is likened unto the philosopher's stone;" then he asked the listener, "Have you ever seen the philosopher's stone?" See how this symbolical statement, which is more eloquent than a clear explanation, indicates that a true believer doth not exist. This is the saying of Sadik. Consider how many are the unjust people who have not inhaled the fragrance of faith, yet they attribute unbelief to those through whose sayings faith is verified.
7To resume; as these holy beings are sanctified and purified from human inclinations, have become endowed with the attributes of the Spiritual Ones and qualified with the characteristics of the Holy Ones, the name "angel" is applied to them. In brief, this is the meaning of these words, every particular of which hath been explained in clear evidences, sound proofs and manifest arguments.
8As the people of Jesus did not attain to these meanings and these signs did not outwardly come to pass as they and their divines understood, they have not believed in the Holy Manifestations from that day until the present; therefore they have been deprived of all the sacred bounties and veiled from the wonderful Words of eternity. This is the condition of these servants in this Day of Resurrection. They have not even understood that if in any age the signs of a Manifestation were to appear in the phenomenal world in conformity with that which is recorded in the traditions, no one would dare deny or oppose them nor could the pious and the unjust, the sinner and the righteous, be distinguished. Be just; for instance, if these statements recorded in the Gospel be literally fulfilled, and angels descend with Jesus the Son of Mary from the phenomenal heaven in a cloud, who would dare to deny and who would be able to reject or dispute? Nay rather, such agitation would suddenly seize upon the people of earth that they would be unable to speak a word, much less to deny or accept.
9It was owing to the non-comprehension of these meanings that a number of the Christian clergy disputed with His Holiness (Mohammed), saying, "If thou art that promised Prophet, why are not those angels with thee which are recorded in our Book and which were to come with the promised Beauty, to assist Him in His Cause and threaten the servants? "Thus the Lord of Might hath recorded their statement "Why then should not angels descend to him and threaten with him" (K. S. 25)? The purport of this is, "why hath no angel been sent down with Mohammed to warn and threaten people?"