What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh, the original text of which is available on the Bahá’í Reference Library here. The Bahá’í World Center has confirmed to me that that typescript of this authentic Tablet (also reproduced underneath the provisional translation below) is based on a transcript in the handwriting of Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín, a reliable scribe and Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh.
Very little contextual information about this Tablet, revealed in a mixture of Persian and Arabic, is known for sure. Its style and content tether it squarely to the early 1850s, making it one of the earliest Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Indeed, Fáḍil Mázandarání has dated it to 1851 (Táríkh-i-Ẓuhúru’l-Ḥaqq, vol. 4 (Hofheim: Baháʼí-Verlag, 2011), p. 25), and it may be on this basis that the following note is appended to the entry for this Writing in A Partial Inventory of the Works of the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith: “One of the earliest known Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh?” (Version 3.01, June 2023; see catalog ID no. BH00775). The question of whom this Tablet was revealed for has also not been definitively resolved, though Mázandarání states it was Shaykh ‘Alí Turshízí, known as ‘Aẓím (Ẓuhúr, vol. 4, p. 25). In any case, for ease of reference, I have provisionally named this Tablet “the Lawḥ-i-Ḥamd-i-Musha‘sha‘,” meaning “the Tablet of the Effulgent Praise” (after the first few words of its opening sentence), and also interspersed paragraph markers throughout the English translation.
I have formulated more detailed hypotheses on the historical background of this Tablet and also offered a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis of it in “The Lawḥ-i-Ḥamd-i-Musha‘sha‘ (The Tablet of the Effulgent Praise): A Little-Known but Significant Early Writing of Bahá’u’lláh,” a paper published digitally on the Bahá’í Library Online here.
I am deeply grateful to Stephen Lambden for meticulously checking my provisional translation of this Tablet against the original text for accuracy, and also for offering helpful suggestions to improve the English rendering.
—Adib Masumian
8 August 2023
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[¶ 1]
The Ever-Living, the Ancient of Days
[¶ 2]
May a praise effulgent and adorned, brilliant and exalted, ascend to the hallowed realm of nearness unto Him Who is the Beloved; He Who—with but one melody of the heavenly Dove, with one warble of the everlasting Cockerel, and with a single breath of the Bird of inaccessible divinity—hath illumined every follower of the Theophanic Cloud with the dazzling light of His sanctified splendor, and bedecked every scattered clod of infertile soil with the effulgences of His beauteous communion. And yet, not one jot or one tittle had He yet manifested from His Book of glory when all waxed proud and became even as nothing, and were kept back from such fine furnishings as the “green cushions and exquisite carpets.”[1] They deem themselves to be guided aright and doers of good; but nay, by the Lord of the heavens, they are naught but liars and stirrers of sedition.
[¶ 3]
And now that the brilliance of the morn of faithfulness hath suffused the Invisible Essence, and the darksome night of waywardness overtaken the whole earth, the blackening deeds of those who are dear to us have so stained the pages on which they are written that the very mention of them hath estranged all that is visible and invisible. Gracious God! So grievous is it that the ornaments of sorrow are now manifest upon the divine Countenance. Verily, we are God’s, and unto our Lord shall we assuredly return.
[¶ 4]
Say: O people of the Bayán! Were ye to acquire even an ounce of true understanding, and soar awhile in the hallowed firmament of immemorial sovereignty, ye would perceive how flagrantly you have subverted the all-encompassing, the blessed, the pre-eternal Word of God. I swear by the righteousness of the Nurturer of all things visible and invisible—He Who is the King of existence and the chief Desire of all humanity—that that which your hands have wrought and your tongues uttered are clear and apparent before Him Whose knowledge nothing escapeth, be it of heaven above or earth below. Its fruit ye will erelong behold, and these very acts ye have perpetrated shall, at the hour of Resurrection, return to haunt you. Verily, we are God’s, and unto Him shall we return.
[¶ 5]
O my God, my Master, my Best-Beloved! I know not what decree Thou hast willed for me or what thing Thou hast ordained to betide me. Wouldst Thou fain abandon me to the rebellious among Thy creatures? Know, then, that I stand before Thee, ready to comply with fidelity! And if Thou shouldst take my life as I languish in my home in the most wretched abasement, then I swear by Thy glory that I have never sought any refuge but Thy most captivating beauty!
[¶ 6]
Lauded be Thy name, O my Beloved! I testify unto Thee at this moment, before the Countenance of Thy sovereign bounteousness—and cry aloud unto Thee, upon the thrones of holiness, before the exaltedness of Thy supreme sanctity—that Thou art God, and that there is none other God but Thee. Thou, verily, art incomparable, and indeed hast no partner. From eternity Thou hast been firmly fixed within the hidden secret of Bahá, and to everlasting Thou wilt continue to repose upon the Throne of the Theophanic Cloud. None shall ever have the power to soar unto the supernal atmosphere of Thine all-compelling reality, nor will it ever be possible for any one to ascend unto the lofty court of Thine overpowering majesty. All cherish reunion with Thee, and long to behold Thy face—but the path to soar unto the heaven of Thy transcendent singleness is barred to them, and no guide can ever help them to enter the court of communion with Thine unapproachable divinity.
[¶ 7]
Magnified art Thou, O my God and my Master! Inasmuch as I can find no delight but in chanting Thy verses, and no glory but in mentioning Thy favors, I have on this night committed, before Thy presence, to extol Thine Essence by virtue of Thine Essence and laud it with the praises of Thine own Self, that perchance my heart may find peace despite the blowing of the breezes of sorrow from Thy loved ones, and my soul might repose notwithstanding the appearance of the banners of affliction raised high by Thy chosen ones.
[¶ 8]
Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou seest my state in this most lonely house, and perceivest how Thy loved ones do as they please unto him who is Thy Countenance. Thou knowest the secret I have kept before the Letters of the Theophanic Cloud, whilst the chosen ones do with him who is Thy glory [Bahá] as they wish. Thou hearest my bitter wailing in this most wretched abasement, whilst the pious have imagined about Thee whatsoever they like. Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou! I see naught in all this but the things Thou hast done through me, and the beneficence Thou hast deigned to show me. Praise and thanksgiving, then, be unto Thee for all these bounties, for Thou, verily, art God; no God is there besides Thee, and in this do we all believe.
[¶ 9]
Praise be to God, He Who made Bahá to warble the mystery of fidelity, Who seated him upon the Crimson Throne, and Who moved him to intone enchanting verses on this most sorrowful night. And yet, most of the people have failed to behold it, neither are they grateful therefor. Praise be to God, He Who made the Light to dwell within the mystery of Bahá, Who called upon him from the inaccessible realm of divine decree and presented him before the countenances of the Theophanic Cloud, and Who suffered him to endure afflictions at the hands of the infidels in the world of creation. And yet, most of the people have failed to perceive it, neither have they understood it.
[¶ 10]
Praise be to God, He Who mounted me upon the Buráq of light and lifted me up to the golden heights of the realm that lieth in the hidden retreats of the most glorious Essences. And yet, most of the people have failed to discern it, neither have they comprehended it. Praise be to God, He Who caused me to ascend unto the sublime court of Há, Who called me into being before the radiant brilliance of the Countenance of Bá, and Who caused me to enter the house of divinity shrouded in the densest of veils. And yet, most of the people have failed to render thanks therefor, neither have they apprehended it. And still now, after all this, they continue to voice their rejection, uttering that which they understand not, and issuing such pronouncements as they comprehend not.
[¶ 11]
O eternal Dove, O peerless Cockerel, O most glorious Bird, O divine Manifestation, O beauteous splendor! Say: O people of the Book! Wherefore have ye condemned us as infidels, and for what reason have ye refused to recognize us? Are we not the signs of joy? Are we not the chanting of the Lord upon Mount Sinai? Wherefore have ye persecuted us, and for what reason have ye put us to grief? Are we not the hidden retreat of Revelation enshrined in Scripture? Are we not the Countenance of Him Who is the Ever-Living, the Ever-Forgiving? Are we not the Theophanic Cloud of camphor? Are we not clearly reflective of Divine Unity through our manifestation? Wherefore have ye banished us from our land, and for what reason have ye imprisoned us in our homes? Are we not the Beauty of the All-Glorious enwrapped in gloomy darknesses? Are we not the Beloved mysteriously concealed in the core of Há? Are we not the Friend in the very soul of Bahá intoning melodies of the Day of Resurrection? Are we not the Chanter Who abideth in the divinity of the inmost heart and singeth in the ringing tones of birds? Wherefore have ye repudiated us, slain us, and forsaken us?
[¶ 12]
By the righteousness of the one true God! Erelong shall descend upon you “the crushing grip of One Who is mighty and powerful,”[2] and soon will appear unto you the violent force of One Who is severe and subduing.[3] The hour is approaching when ye shall know the One Who will visit a humiliating punishment upon him, and no place will there be for you to flee from our seizure.[4]
[¶ 13]
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, O my Best-Beloved, my Companion, my Manifest Lord! I beg Thy forgiveness at this moment for the offenses I have committed before Thee and the mere twitterings I have chirped in Thy realms, for I am assured that all Thou hast heretofore sent down and shalt henceforth reveal are but inadequate descriptions of Thy Self, and of none else besides Thee; they are tokens of Thy mercy, and of none other save Thine. O my God and my Master! How can I implore Thy pardon for my most egregious trespasses and my most atrocious transgressions, knowing as I do that all this was naught but the Dove of Thine eternity warbling within my soul, the outpourings of Thy loving-kindness surging within My breast, and the Countenance of Thine Essence emerging within mine inmost heart?
[¶ 14]
Magnified art Thou, O my God! I have no existence until I expend it in perseverance before Thee, and I am nothing at all until I mention my Self before the habitation of Thy glory. I have no appearance until I radiate within Thy realms, and I will not stand until I make manifest the banners of Thine aid. I have no glory until I shine in the heaven of the evidences of Thy majesty, nor any expectation until I anticipate the advent of the days of Thy Revelation. I will not rest until I rise to serve Thy Cause, and I have no wish until I abide eternally within the house of Thy glory. All that which I have recounted here are the tokens of Thy holy Being in Thy kingdom and the signs of Thine exalted Self in Thy lands, howbeit none of it shall ever reach the exalted firmament of Thine Essence, neither will it ever ascend unto the lofty heights of Thy oneness. Lauded art Thou, O my God! I, verily, have ever been naught but a sinner before Thee. Indeed, I am the first to repent unto Thee and the lowliest of them that adore Thee.
[¶ 15]
Be not at all saddened, for this is not permissible.[5] Jináb-i-Jináb,[6] may the blessings of God be upon him, hath vanished without a trace and is nowhere to be found. I send my greetings to Akbar Mírzá and Ismá‘íl Mírzá;[7] divide the other piece of rock candy and distribute it between them. The esteemed Amlaḥu’l-Amlaḥín[8] is the quintessence of affection. Some of what is in this Tablet pertaineth to thee, while other parts were written in objection to the believers [more generally] and doth not apply to thee.
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[1] Qurʼán 55:76.
[2] Qurʼán 54:42.
[3] cf. Qur’án 85:12 and other verses.
[4] cf. Qur’án 75:10–11.
[5] This could alternatively be read as, “Be not at all saddened that this is not permissible.” Without more context, it is difficult to tell which reading is the right one.
[6] A reference to Muḥammad Háshim Mírzá, who had the pen name of “Jináb.” He and the other individuals mentioned in this portion of the Tablet were all prominent Bábís of Ṭihrán.
[7] The brothers of Jináb-i-Jináb.
[8] Probably a reference to Fata’l-Malíḥ, the title of Siyyid Muḥammad Gulpáygání.
A complete typescript of the original Persian and Arabic text of this Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 