What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a passage from a Tablet of Baháʼuʼlláh. The original text has been published in Safíniy-i-ʻIrfán, vol. 6, p. 10.
And now concerning the extensive commentary on the Islamic tradition which begins, “I was a hidden treasure…”[1] During the days of Our sojourn in the Land of Mystery,[2] ʻAlí Páshá[3] had asked the Most Mighty Branch of God[4]—may My life be a sacrifice for the ground which His most pure footsteps have trodden—to provide a commentary on this hadith. This He did in accordance with the exigencies of the time, and His purpose was that all may benefit from it…
=========
[1] The hadith in question has been translated as, “I was a Hidden Treasure and loved to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that I might be known.” Baháʼuʼlláh is referring to ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s commentary on this hadith, which Moojan Momen has provisionally translated: https://bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_kuntu_kanzan_makhfiyyan
[2] Edirne.
[3] ʻAlí Shawkat Páshá (Ali Şevket Paşa).
[4] ʻAbdu’l-Bahá.
A typescript of the original text of this passage appears below.
Adib Masumian 