Lawh-i-Quds III

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.), p. 375 (selection no. 123). 

The Most Holy, the Most Exalted

This is the Tablet of holiness; it hath been sent down, through the power of truth, by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. From it do the true believers inhale the fragrance of the All-Merciful, and by it are stirred the hearts of them that have turned to this luminous Spot.

We, verily, have revealed clear tokens under all conditions, and have manifested, with Our might, that which overpowereth all the dwellers of heaven and earth. When the infidels beheld the power of God, they pronounced it sorcery, and when they heard His verses, they disbelieved in Him, the Lord of the worlds. How many are the ungodly who have appeared before the Throne! Some of them desired the vanities of this world, while others sought what they deemed to be miraculous—and when We demonstrated it for them, they waxed only greater in their evident loss. How numerous are the servants who set their faces toward the divine Countenance, and, upon hearing a single word proceed from the mouth of thy Lord, offered up their lives on the Path of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful! They who have light in their hearts wish only for what God hath desired for them. They are indeed on the Straight Path! Extolled are they by the denizens of the Kingdom, as well as them that circle round the Throne of thy Lord, the Exalted, the Great.

Blessed art thou, inasmuch as thou didst turn unto God, the Lord of all worlds, and recognize Him after Our heedless servants repudiated Him. Content thyself with God, thy Lord; He, verily, shall suffice thee, and He is, in truth, the Protector of those who are wholly devoted to Him. Shouldst thou detect the fragrance of My love wafting from any heart, convey unto him, with joy and radiance, the remembrance of the All-Merciful, that his eyes may be solaced thereby, and that he might be numbered with the steadfast.

Well is it with him that hath set his heart toward God and cast behind his back all who dwell on the earth. Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds!

A complete typescript of the original Arabic text of this Tablet appears below (all punctuation mine). 

﴿ الأقدس الأعلى ﴾

هذا لوح القدس قد نزّل بالحقّ من لدن عزيز حكيم * يستنشق منه الموحّدون رائحة الرّحمن وتهتزّ به أفئدة الّذين أقبلوا إلى هذا الشّطر المنير*

إنّا نزّلنا في كلّ شأن آيات بينّات وأظهرنا من القدرة ما عجز عنه من في السّموات والأرضين * إذا رأى المشركون قدرة اللّه قالوا هذا سحر وإذا سمعوا آياته كفروا بربّ العالمين * كم من المشركين حضروا تلقاء العرش ومنهم من أراد الدّنيا ومنهم من أراد خوارق ما عندهم من العادات فلمّا أظهرنا لهم ما زادهم إلّا الخسران المبين * كم من عباد أقبلوا إلى الوجه وسمعوا كلمة من فم ربّك فدوا أنفسهم في سبيل اللّه العزيز القدير * إنّ الّذين في قلوبهم نور ما أرادوا إلّا ما أراده اللّه لهم أَلَا إنّهم على صراط مستقيم * يصلّينّ عليهم أهل الملكوت ثمّ الّذين يطوفون عرش ربّك العليّ العظيم *

طوبى لك بما أقبلت إلى اللّه مولى العالمين وعرفته بعد الّذي أعرض عنه عبادنا الغافلون * أن اكف باللّه ربّك إنّه يكفيك وإنّه ولي المخلصين وإذا وجدت من قلب رائحة حبّي فاذكره بالرَّوح والرّيحان من لدى الرّحمن لتقرّ به عينه ويكون من الرّاسخين *

طوبى لمن أقبل بقلبه إلى اللّه ونبذ عن ورائه من على الأرض أجمعين والحمد للّه ربّ العالمين *