What follows is a provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a passage from a Tablet of ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. 1, p. 457.
Thy second question was as follows: Is it necessary for every Messenger to have had knowledge of the Books and Scriptures of the Messengers Who preceded them? Should this be a necessity, how is it that the latter Messengers were unaware of the Books of the former Ones?
The answer to thy second question is thus: Know that the intention of the Books and Scriptures of the Messengers lieth in their meanings, not their words. These meanings are the truth itself, not the mere semblance thereof; they are matter, not form; they are the pearl, not the shell. The truth of the universal meanings that lead the Messengers is one, and it is that truth which guideth them all. In reality, therefore, every Messenger is apprised of the secrets of all Messengers, even should they seem never to have seen, spoken, or heard of their Books, or evaluated the outer forms of their religions, inasmuch as the conduct, the behavior, the mysteries, the verities, and the creeds of the spirit are all one.
A typescript of the original Persian text of this passage appears below.
Adib Masumian 