What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet from ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-ʻAbduʼl-Bahá, vol. 8, pp. 10–11. According to Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 1, this Tablet was addressed to the Assembly of Oakland, California. An older translation (dated 17 July 1908) appears as item no. 450 in Dwight Barstow’s collection of pilgrim’s notes.
He is God
O denizens of the Kingdom! I have perused the letter which you had written following the Naw-Rúz celebration. Your letter brought me such great joy and gladness that from it I seemed to behold the emanations of light. I pray God that, in this new year, you may hold a celebration even better and more joyous than the one just convened—a celebration truly magnificent. May you hold a feast of fellowship and unity, may you turn your faces to the Kingdom of Signs, and may you be granted your share of grace from the Holy Spirit.
ʻAbduʼl-Bahá was present at your Naw-Rúz celebration with all His heart and soul. He partook in the festivities with much joy and gladness, and shared in the atmosphere of harmony and concord which characterized them. Render thanks unto God, then, that you had a companion such as this, Who in spirit attended your jubilant gathering from a distance of a thousand leagues and extended His heartfelt sentiments.
I cherish the hope that this new year be auspicious and prosperous, and that you be granted abundant confirmations and success therein, that you may become the means whereby the earth is united and the oneness of all humanity announced; that you may make friends of your enemies, and confide to the unaware the secrets of establishing the world’s Great Peace.
You had expressed feelings of anguish and agitation over the calamities and afflictions that have stricken this Prisoner. Be not at all saddened, neither let this perturb you. No need is there for you to be distraught, for to Me this imprisonment is a banquet of exceeding delight, an eternal paradise, and My trials and tribulations are heavenly blessings. Should He not encounter these calamities and afflictions in the path of God, from where else would ʻAbduʼl-Bahá derive His happiness? Indeed, it is the occurrence of these misfortunes, these most dire of adversities, that bringeth solace to His mind.
Convey My praise and salutations unto the friends of God, and inform them that this yearning One doth day and night ardently supplicate the Kingdom of the Day-Star of the world to make them the recipients of His supreme favor, that they may cause the love of God to be spread throughout East and West alike. May they train all mankind, and turn this nether world into the place wherein divine bounties will be made manifest. Thereby shall be illumined this earth, this heap of dust, and its face transformed into the All-Highest Paradise.
Upon you all be the glory of the All-Glorious.
A typescript of the complete Persian text of this Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 