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 digitally on the Bahá’í Reference Library here.
Immortal is the Friend, while all else shall perish
O Ḥusayn! Commune with the remembrance of God and become oblivious of all but Him, inasmuch as His mention is an intimate free of hypocrisy and a most agreeable confidant. He is a guest bereft of treachery, a companion who poseth no harm and committeth no crime. A trusted associate is He, dependably firm and steadfast. So faithful a friend is He that wherever thou goest, He will come with thee and never leave thy side. He changeth thy sorrow into happiness and cleanseth the rust of heedlessness. This is the day in which the Word of God is suspended between earth and heaven, drawing to itself, even as a magnet, the very essences of the hearts of all creation, while the judgment passed on the peoples of bygone ages—the pronouncement of rejection—is passed by God on whatsoever ascendeth not from the denizens of this earthly realm. I swear by the sun of divine knowledge that if an atom’s worth of essence, nay smaller, were to be hidden in the heart of a mountain, the magnetic power of that Word would assuredly attract that essence and extract it from that mountain. It is even as thou seest in the people of the Bayán; whatsoever was held in the pure hearts, the refined souls, and the luminous breasts of this people hath ascended to the most sublime repository and risen to the habitation of the divine Lote-Tree, while that which belonged to the foul and impure among them hath returned whence it came. Prompted by an idle fancy, they have turned away from an undoubted majesty, and in their contentment with a fleeting shadow, they have remained heedless of an unfading beauty. In this day, they, the most rejected of the world’s outcasts, the most deprived of men, are clearly visible before God. Thus doth He nullify the deeds of them who disbelieve in Him, join partners with Him, and entertain any doubt about the presence of their Lord after He hath appeared with a myriad signs and an omniscient sovereignty.
O Ḥusayn! With this most conclusive of revelations and this most decisive of disclosures, the chalice of immortality is now passed round by the hands of the angels of both heaven and hell. Well is it, then, with him who nourisheth himself with this goblet of life everlasting, and leaveth the cup of ephemeral existence unto them that desire it.
O Ḥusayn! Regard the revelation of God in this day as a sun, and all creation as mirrors. The form of the sun can be seen in every mirror that hath set itself in its direction, and today the splendors emanating from the Countenance of the Most Glorious Beauty are readily apparent in the heart that hath turned towards it. All else are deprived; nay, they are even as nothing. None but a few in this day have inclined themselves thereto, and it is they who are accounted in the sight of God as the essences of being.
The Pen of the Ancient of Days declareth: No ear but Mine can hear My words, nor any eye but Mine apprehend My beauty. How can the eye beclouded by the film of vain desire ever behold the Most Great Vision? The cure for all sickness hath ever been My love, and the healer of every disease will always be My affection. Know thou that the love of God is a purifying agent; wherever it entereth, there no stranger will remain. It turneth illness into health, and changeth sinfulness into mercy. Blessed are they who have attained to this incomparable bounty. Wherefore, render praise, O servant who believest in God, that thou art mentioned as one of the everlasting letters before His presence. The clouds of His heavenly mercy and divine generosity have rained down a bountiful shower upon thee. Thou hast earned thyself a place in that lauded habitation which is the native land of all things: the city of divine love. God grant that thou mayest strive at every moment to be sustained with His wondrous mercy, reserved exclusively for that time, for at every instant the Most Glorious Beauty sheddeth His splendor with a marvelous effulgence, and they who hesitate shall have no share of that celebrated bestowal. Arise with firmness in the Cause of God, and endeavor to thine utmost to teach His Cause, inasmuch as this lofty station is, in the estimation of Him Who is the King of Names and Attributes, the most effective means for drawing nigh unto Him.
O Ḥusayn! Walk in the footsteps of this Youth, and be not at all saddened by the things that have come to pass. By the One in Whose hand is my soul! If the limitless realms of God were confined to this realm alone, and the bounties of this world restricted only to that which its inhabitants possess, I would have never subjected myself to the agony of innumerable afflictions. Reflect on those Prophets who enjoyed near access to God, and ponder the harm that befell them each on His path. I swear by the Ancient Pen that whosoever remembereth this utterance and meditateth thereon, even if he possesseth the smallest possible measure of understanding, shall pay no mind whatever to this world, and in no wise grieve either its existence or its absence. Such a one would likewise achieve that which none hath ever attained, save them whom God hath aided to recognize Him and whose eyes He hath opened to behold His mysteries. And were I to recount the harm that hath befallen me in this city, thou wouldst certainly be saddened, but know this much: that by the One in Whose praise the voice of the mystic Morn hath rung out, such oppression as this hath never occurred from the beginning of creation until now. Thereby have all things been made to wail, and yet they fail to comprehend. Verily I say that nothing befalleth us save that which God Himself hath willed for us. In Him have we placed our trust, and on Him do the near ones rely.
Jináb-i-Muḥammad-‘Alí is with Us; rest thou assured with regard to him. Give thanks unto God that He hath made him to be His companion in the world. Render praise unto God, moreover, that his eyes are set on the Most Great Vision—that his ears are occupied with hearing the words of God, and that his heart is fixed on His remembrance. Blessed is he, and well is it with thee. Convey unto the loved ones of God the mention of the remembrance of this Wronged One.
A complete typescript of the original text of this Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 