What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a passage from the Kitáb-i-Badí‘ of Bahá’u’lláh, which appears on pp. 21–22 of the Bahá’í-Verlag printing (2008) of that Book. This translation was produced in collaboration with Khazeh Fananapazir. While the provisional translation below is not technically an authorized (official) translation, it has been reviewed for accuracy by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice.
Let thou, along with whosoever abideth in heaven and on earth, know one and all that We testify with certitude, We acknowledge openly, We give utterance, We unloose Our tongue, We speak forth, We shout, We cry out and call aloud at the top of Our voice, proclaiming that He [the Báb] is indeed the Exalted Lord, the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing; that He Himself is the all-highest heaven,[1] the Realm of immortality,[2] and the divine Dominion of preexistence;[3] that He is none other than the Spirit of Bahá, the most mighty Mystery, the consummate Word, the Manifestation of the Everlasting Reality, the supremely noble Temple, the adorned Symbol, the Lord of mankind, the turbulent Ocean of might, the most exalted Word, the primal Pearl, the hidden Scroll, the treasured Book, the Beauty of the One True God, the Revealer of His Essence, and the Dayspring of His perpetual Being. But for Him, existence itself would have never come into being; but for Him, the Object of all desire would have never been known; but for Him, the Beauty of the Adored One would have never been revealed. I swear by God that, through His Name, heaven and whatsoever lieth therein were created, and the earth and all who dwell thereon were fashioned. Through Him, every ocean hath surged forth, every river hath flowed, every tree hath given fruit, every divine religion hath been proven true, and the Beauty of the All-Merciful hath been made manifest. By the righteousness of God! Were I to describe Him till the end that hath no end, My heart would find no peace from the burning thirst of My loving desire to recount His names and attributes, how much more My love for His Most Holy, His Most Mighty, His Most Beauteous Self!
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[1] malakútu’l-‘ulá
[2] jabarútu’l-‘amá’
[3] láhútu’l-baqá’
A typescript of the original Arabic and Persian text of this passage, taken from the Ocean of Lights website, appears below. All punctuation and vowel marks have been reproduced identically to how they appear in the Bahá’í-Verlag printing of the Kitáb-i-Badí‘.
Adib Masumian 