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 has been published in Áthár-i-Qalam-i-A‘lá, vol. 1 (1996 ed.), pp. 268–69 (selection no. 60).
In the Name of God, the Most Effulgent, the All-Glorious
DH. B.[1]
Unto thee hath been sent, from the right hand of the All-Glorious, what was revealed for thee from the heaven of the clemency of thy Lord, and it diffuseth the fragrance of the Most Merciful upon all creation. Take hold of it in the Name of thy Lord—the Exalted, the Great—and call to mind when thou didst reach the shores of the sea and witness the kindred of God in the clutches of the oppressors. Read thou what hath been revealed in this Tablet. By God! That which We had foretold unto thee is now manifest. Thy Lord is, in truth, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. The heavens and whatever hath been fashioned therein may pass away, but what hath descended from them at the behest of Him Who is Omniscient and All-Informed shall never vanish. This is the Day for thee to render aid to thy Lord. Waft thou over the cities with the sweet savors of thy Lord, the Possessor of all names, that perchance the people may rise up from their graves. Thus hast thou been bidden by the Lord of might and power.
We, verily, have heard the cry of the Calf[2] from certain lands. Say: O people! Fear ye God and be not of them that spread disorder. Say: Whoso advanceth a claim ere the expiration of a full thousand years hath indeed disbelieved in God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.[3] By My life! The people are sunk in heedlessness, reckoned with the dead in this Day. They have failed to recognize God; were they to know the One Who hath appeared, their hearts would melt in their longing for Him. Thus hath the All-Knowing informed thee.
Tá’[4] is in turmoil,[5] and from the land of Fá’[6] did My Herald[7] appear; He is, in truth, the Best-Beloved of the worlds. From that land[8] hath its Light been made manifest; implore God, thy Lord, to protect It from fire. Do thou apprehend what thy Lord hath purposed; He, verily, encompasseth all things. Arise in the Cause! Cast the world and whatsoever is in it behind thy back, along with them on whose faces thou findest the dust of hell. Thou hast seen him[9] who hath openly disbelieved in God. Say: O people! I swear by God that, when he was with Us, he resembled a mere servant. Fear ye God and say not what ye understand not.
As for thee, tell the people what thou hast learned of Our Cause, and act in such wise that from thee may be spread the mention of the name of thy Lord among the kindreds of the earth. Were the people to become apprised of what is with thy Lord, the ascendancy of the ungodly would cease to frighten them. Trials have laid hold on most of humanity, and they are dumbfounded in this Day. Breathe into them, then, the breaths of the remembrance of the Lord of attributes at Our bidding. Thy Lord ruleth indeed over whatever He pleaseth.
Convey My greetings to My loved ones. Say: Sorrow not over what hath befallen Us; We, verily, are in a state of utmost joy. Render Him aid and be not of them that are fast asleep. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds!
=========
[1] Short for “Dhabíḥ,” a title that Bahá’u’lláh conferred on the recipient of this Tablet, who was probably Ḥájí Muḥammad Ismá‘íl Káshání; a brief account of his life can be found in Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 2, pp. 411–13. It could not have been Siyyid Ismá‘íl of Zavárih, who was also known as Dhabíḥ, since he died circa 1858 (according to Moojan Momen, The Bahá’í Communities of Iran, vol. 2: The South of Iran, p. 153), several years before Bahá’u’lláh would have revealed Tablets of this sort.
[2] An allusion to the golden calf of Mosaic times, “the Calf” is an epithet applied in the Bahá’í Writings to certain people, such as Mírzá Yaḥyá, who laid claim to revelation from God and misguided others.
[3] Bahá’u’lláh revealed much the same pronouncement in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, ¶ 37: “Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying impostor.”
[4] Ṭihrán.
[5] In an untranslated lengthy Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh revealed in the voice of Mírzá Áqá Ján and dated 29 Sha‘bán 1298 AH [27 July 1881], we find this passage, prompted by the question of an unnamed inquirer: “As to what he had written regarding the turmoil of Ṭá’, it hath not yet occurred. He who beareth the name of God, the honorable J.M. [probably Muḥammad-Javád Qazvíní]—upon him be the Glory of God—hath also asked about this subject. After conveying it at the Holy Presence [of Bahá’u’lláh], He replied, ‘Perchance this turmoil may not redound upon the believers. The knowledge thereof is with God, and it hath not yet come to pass’” (provisional rendering mine; see Áyát-i-Bayyinát, p. 220, and refer to Partial Inventory catalog ID no. BH00173). I have not found an authoritative interpretation that definitely explains what is meant by this turmoil. My guess is that it refers to the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–11.
[6] Fárs, the province of Iran that is home to the city of Shíráz, where the Báb was born.
[7] The Báb.
[8] Presumably Ṭá’ (Ṭihrán).
[9] Perhaps a reference to Mírzá Yaḥyá.
A typescript of the original Arabic text of the Tablet appears below.
Adib Masumian 