What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet of Baháʼuʼlláh, the original text of which has been published in Bisháratu’n-Núr, pp. 43–44.
He is the Forgiver, the All-Wise
O My handmaid, O thou who art adorned with the ornament of My love! Blessed art thou, and happy the woman who hath attained to My days, turned towards My horizon, answered My call when it was raised, made mention of Me when My other handmaidens rejected Me, testified to that which My tongue hath uttered, and acknowledged what hath been revealed in My Book.
Grieve not, O My handmaid, at what came to pass. When We first entered the prison,[1] We sacrificed Mihdí for a matter inscrutable to all save God. In the prime of his youth, that Branch offered up his life and hastened with exceeding gladness to the realm beyond. Whoso ascendeth with the love of God hath ever been, and is still today, the possessor of all good. Were such a one to attain to a trace of the Supreme Pen, this would be a bounty eternal and a bestowal everlasting. Praise be to God that he [Mírzá Mihdí] hath attained that which hath neither peer nor likeness. As the people of the world in this day lack the requisite capacity, the station of the Word of God is concealed from them. I swear by the waves of the sea of God’s utterance that nothing which can be seen today can compare with the words, “O My handmaid!” How many the kings and queens of the earth who died in their longing to hear the words “O My servant” and “O My handmaid,” having never heard them in the end! Anṣárí hath said, “O my God! Shouldst Thou say ‘My servant’ but a single time, my delight would reach the heavens,”[2] and thou hast been addressed with these blessed words repeatedly. Rejoice! God, exalted be His glory, is the Trustee, and He hath reclaimed His trust with joy and radiance. What transpired was the expression of a consummate wisdom. Be patient, for thy Lord is patient, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He, verily, shall not forfeit the reward of the patient.
We convey Our greetings to all the women of that land and exhort them to steadfastness.
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[1] “The Most Great Prison” in ʻAkká.
[2] One of many such prayers by Khájih ʻAbdu’lláh Anṣárí.
A typescript of the complete Persian and Arabic text of this Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 