2. Part One — 1
1THE following chapter explains that verily the servants (of God) shall never attain to the shore of the Sea of Knowledge except by complete severance from all that is in the heavens and earth.
2Sanctify yourselves O people of the earth, that perchance ye may attain to the station which God hath ordained for you and enter the tabernacle which God hath elevated in the Heaven of the Beyan.
3The quintessence of this chapter is that travellers in the Path of Faith and seekers for the Cup of Assurance must sanctify and purify themselves from all material things; that is, the ear from hearing statements, the heart from doubts which pertain to the veils of glory (sabahati jalal), the soul from dependence upon worldly belongings, the eye from contemplating mere transitory words. They should thus proceed, trusting in God and relying upon Him, so that they may become fitted for the splendors of the effulgences of the Suns (Manifestations) of Divine Knowledge and Wisdom; recipients of the Invisible and Infinite Bounties. For should a servant desire to make the words, deeds and actions of other servants, learned or ignorant, the standard for knowing God and His Chosen Ones, he shall never enter the Rizwan of the Knowledge of the Lord of Might nor attain to the Fountains of the Knowledge and Wisdom of the King of Oneness; neither shall he reach the bourne of immortality nor partake of the Cup of Nearness and Good Pleasure.
4Consider the former days; how people both high and low were awaiting the Manifestations of Oneness in the Holy Temples, so that they were at all times and moments in anticipation and expectancy, praying and supplicating that perchance the breeze of the Divine Mercy might blow and the beauty of the Promised One step from the Pavilion of the Invisible into the Court of Appearance. But when the clouds of generosity lifted and the doors of favor opened and the Sun of the Invisible appeared from the Horizon of Power, they denied Him and avoided His Meeting which was identical with the Meeting of God. These details are recorded in the Heavenly Books.
5Now reflect a moment as to the cause of this rejection by the people, after their seeking and anxiety. They even denied and opposed in such manner that tongue and pen fail and are unable to explain. Not one of these Manifestations of Holiness and Dawning-places of Singleness hath appeared without being subjected to the contradictions, denials and antagonism of the people. As it is said, "O the misery of men! No Messenger cometh unto them but they laugh him to scorn" (K. S. 36). It is said in another place: "Each nation hatched ill designs against their Messenger that they might get him into their power; and they disputed with vain reasoning, that they might thereby invalidate the truth" (K. S. 40).
6Likewise the revealed Words which have descended from the clouds of the Eternal Power and from the realm of Divine Might are beyond the limit of the knowledge and comprehension of the servants. For the spiritually minded and possessors of perception, the Surat of Hud (Koran) is sufficient. Meditate ye upon that blessed Surat and consider attentively the essential nature, that ye may be informed of the wonders of the affairs of the Prophets and the opposition and denial by words of rejection. Perchance ye may cause the people to fly from the abode of selfish heedlessness to the Nest of Unity and Divine Knowledge; and may drink the clear water of Eternal Wisdom and partake of the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of the Lord of Glory. This is allotted to abstracted souls from the Holy Eternal Table sent down (from Heaven). Should ye become aware of the affliction of the Prophets and the motive and reason of the contradiction of those Divine Suns by the servants, ye will be cognizant of many things. The more ye consider the contradictions of the Day-springs of the Suns of the Attributes of Oneness by the people, the more firm and strong ye will become in your religion and in the Cause of God. Accordingly some of the stories of the Prophets are briefly recorded in these Tablets, to demonstrate and make evident that in all times and ages, they inflicted upon the Appearances of Power and Dawning-places of Might that which the pen is ashamed to relate. Perchance these statements may enable some of the people to avoid the perplexity arising from contradiction and denial by the learned and ignorant of the age, and thus increase their assurance and faith.
7One of the Prophets was Noah, who admonished (lit. lamented) for nine hundred and fifty years and summoned the servants into the peaceful valley of the Spirit; yet no one responded to Him. Each day they scoffed at His Holiness in derision and inflicted so much distress and injury upon that blessed being that they felt certain of His destruction. As it is said, "And as often as a company of his people passed by him, they derided him: but, he said, Though ye scoff at us now, we will scoff at you here after as ye scoff at us and ye shall surely know" (K. S. 11).
8Afterward He repeatedly promised His followers the descent of victory at an appointed time, the fulfilment of which became "bada." Some of His few followers turned away from Him because of this non-fulfilment. These details are recorded in most of the well-known books which have been and will be read. Finally there remained with His Holiness but forty or seventy-two souls, as stated in the books and traditions. At length He cried out saying, "O my Lord, leave not any families of the unbelievers upon the earth" (K. S. 71).