What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet by Bahá’u’lláh to Mír ‘Abdu’r-Raḥím, an early believer who resided in the city of Qamṣar in Iran. The original text has not been published, but a facsimile of the original text held at the Baháʼí World Center Archives was kindly provided to me by Amir Vojdani, the great-great-grandson of Mír ‘Abdu’r-Raḥím.
Q[1]
Jináb-i-Mír ‘Abdu’r-Raḥím
In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Exalted
O servant! Hearken to the voice of thy Lord—the Exalted, the Most High—from the right-hand of the Court of unfading splendor, that thou mayest be apprised of this Wronged One Who hath been incarcerated in this Most Great Prison, and beyond a prison have the infidels cast Him into this darksome pit, whose depths can never be reached by any one save them that have been willed by God, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Yet if thou art able to do so within thyself, lower the bucket of reliance and faithfulness, that haply this Youth may be lifted out therefrom and the world illumined with the lights of His Countenance.[2] Know, then, that were the Nightingale of Glory to speak of what hath befallen Him, all created things, both visible and invisible, would assuredly perish. Hence, He hath concealed the secrets of the matter within His breast, but the people are heedless indeed.
Say: O people of the Bayán! Fear ye God and contend not with Him Who, if any one were to dispute with Him, such a one would be cursed by every member of the Concourse on High, as well as the realities of the Prophets and Messengers of God. Say: Were you to behold with the eye of God, you would witness that the person of ‘Alí hath rent the raiment of patience, that the reality of Muḥammad hath seated itself upon the dust, and that the Holy Spirit hath wailed aloud at what you have done, O envious ones! Do you make mention of ‘Alí as you slay the One Who sent him in truth? Fie upon you, O heedless souls! Have ye repudiated Him Who created the Spirit[3] through a stroke of the pen moved by the fingers of might? Woe betide you, O concourse of disbelievers! I swear by God that as a result of what hath proceeded from the breath of the All-Merciful in the midmost heart of creation, the realities of the Prophets of God and the hearts of His Messengers have been gathered together, along with those who, even if ye were to soar on the wings of detachment for seventy thousand centuries,[4] ye would never reach the heights of their knowledge, let alone their true essences—lofty, exalted, transcendent, sanctified, glorious, and sublime as they are.
Blinded are your eyes, O assemblage of fools! The Sun of Bahá hath dawned from the Most Glorious Horizon, and yet you have failed to be illumined with Its light, even after both worlds have been brightened therewith. Say: Do ye imagine yourselves to be capable of preventing the clouds of holiness from raining down, or the winds of grace from blowing, or the breezes of God from wafting? Nay, by God Himself, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Knowing! Were you and all the dwellers of the earth to reject Him, it would never hinder in the least those servants of Mine who have prostrated themselves before My all-glorious and wondrous Countenance. Say: Fear ye God, O people, and barter not good for evil, or light for darkness, or the Spirit for the whisperings of Satan ye possess.
Thus have We bidden thee, so thou mayest counsel the people with the words of thy Lord—the Exalted, the Most High—that perchance they may turn their faces toward the Holy Court before the divine Lote-Tree, and hearken unto what the Mystic Dove is warbling upon the branches of exalted glory. Should they listen to what thou sayest, goodness shall be theirs. Otherwise, turn thou away from those souls and pay them no mind. Rather, place thy trust in God, thy Lord; He, verily, shall suffice thee above all the peoples of the earth. Rest thou assured in the grace of thy Lord. Establish thyself upon the seat of steadfastness and independence, and have no fear of any one, for He will suffice thee above any harm that the wicked can inflict. Thus have We exhorted and instructed thee; act in accordance with that whereunto thou hast been bidden by Him Who is the Sovereign Revealer, the Ancient of Days.
May the Spirit rest upon thee, O servant who hast turned thy gaze to the Court of Holiness, and also upon them that have believed in God during these days in which all have opposed the One in Whom they take pride, thereby recording their names among those of the disbelievers.
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[1] Short for Qamṣar, the city for which this Tablet was destined.
[2] Bahá’u’lláh is portraying Himself here as the divine Joseph, in that the Biblical Joseph was cast into a well by his brothers, as recounted in Genesis 37:23–24 and Qur’án 12:10–15.
[3] Jesus Christ.
[4] Equivalent to seven million years.
A typescript of the original Arabic text of the Tablet appears below (all punctuation and vowel marks mine).
Adib Masumian 