Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Peter Terry, Proofs of the Prophets, bahai-library.com.
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PROOFS
OF
THE
PROPHETS

[Type the abstract of the document here. The
Peter Terry
Compiler and Commentator

Volume I of the Bahá‟í Studies Series

Original compilation of texts related to
proofs of prophethood, as found in the
Writings of Bahá‟u‟lláh, the Báb, „Abdu‟l-
Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and in the Sacred
Writings of various religions.

Passages from the Writings of the Báb are
in some cases presented in the compiler‟s
rendering of their French translation by
A.L.M. Nicolas, originally published circa
1900-1911.

Published by Lulu Publications 2008

Copyright © 2008 by Peter Terry

All rights reserved under International and
Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

ISBN: 978-1-4357-1346-8

Manufactured in the U.S.A.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
“The essential requirement for whoso advanceth a claim is to
support his assertions with clear proofs and testimonies.”
(Bahá‟u‟lláh, Suriy-i-Haykal, in Summons of the Lord of
Hosts:242)

FOREWORD…5 20th PROOF…109
PREFACE…7 21st PROOF…117
INTRODUCTION…9 22nd PROOF…121
OUTLINE…15 23rd PROOF…125
1st PROOF…21 24th PROOF…139
2nd PROOF…25 25th PROOF…143
3rd PROOF…29 26th PROOF…149
4th PROOF…35 27th PROOF…153
5th PROOF…37 28th PROOF…161
6th PROOF…41 29th PROOF…163
7th PROOF…51 30th PROOF…165
8th PROOF…57 31st PROOF…167
9th PROOF…63 32nd PROOF…171
10th PROOF…69 33rd PROOF…173
11th PROOF…71 34th PROOF…179
12th PROOF…73 35th PROOF…183
13th PROOF…77 36th PROOF…189
14th PROOF…81 37th PROOF…193
15th PROOF…85 38th PROOF…199
16th PROOF…89 39th PROOF…201
17th PROOF…95 40th PROOF…207
18th PROOF…101 CONCLUSIONS…211
19th PROOF…105 EPILOGUE…214

“Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this
Cause. It is incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to
perceive with the eye of God, and to hearken with His ear.
Whoso beholdeth Me with an eye besides Mine own will
never be able to know Me. None among the
Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath
ever completely apprehended the nature of this
Revelation.” (Bahá‟u‟lláh, The Advent of Divine Justice:77)
“In this day the verses of the Mother Book are resplendent
and unmistakable even as the sun. They can in no wise be
mistaken for any past or more recent utterances. Truly this
Wronged One desireth not to demonstrate His Own Cause
with proofs produced by others. He is the One Who
embraceth all things, while all else besides Him is
circumscribed. Say, O people, peruse that which is current
amongst you and We will peruse what pertaineth unto Us.”
(Bahá‟u‟lláh, Kalimat-i-Firdawsiyyih, in Tablets of
Bahá‟u‟lláh revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas [TB]:74)

“The Cause is manifest, it shineth resplendent as the sun,
but the people have become veils unto themselves. We
entreat God that He may graciously assist them to return
unto Him. He is, in truth, the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
(Bahá‟u‟lláh, TB:79)

“Some of the divines who have declared this Servant an
infidel have at no time met with Me. Never having seen
Me, or become acquainted with My purpose, they have
nevertheless spoken as they pleased and acted as they
desired. Yet every claim requireth a proof, not mere words
and displays of outward piety.” (Bahá‟u‟lláh, Suriy-i-
Haykal, in Summons of the Lord of Hosts:223)

“The breezes of Revelation can never be confounded with
other breezes. Now the Lote-Tree beyond which there is
no passing standeth laden with countless fruits before thy
face; besmirch not thyself with idle fancies, as have done
the people aforetime. These utterances themselves
proclaim the true nature of the Faith of God. He it is Who
witnesseth unto all things. To demonstrate the truth of His
Revelation He hath not been, nor is He, dependent upon
any one. Well nigh a hundred volumes of luminous verses
and perspicuous words have already been sent down from
the heaven of the will of Him Who is the Revealer of signs,
and are available unto all. It is for thee to direct thyself
towards the Ultimate Goal, and the Supreme End, and the
Most Sublime Pinnacle, that thou mayest hear and behold
what hath been revealed by God, the Lord of the worlds.”
(Bahá‟u‟lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf:115)
FOREWORD
Whenever words and phrases are in italics or in CAPITAL LETTERS,
these effects have been adopted for emphasis, and are not integral to
the original source texts.

Long citations from the writings of the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh, and
others who are identified in this study as Prophets are indented, while
in citations from the Writings and utterances of „Abdu‟l-Bahá and the
writings of Shoghi Effendi only the first line of the citation is indented.

All interpretations of texts cited in this study are not original to the
compiler and commentator, and hence he does not claim to be their
inventor. Nor does he claim that his interpretations are the only valid
understandings of the texts cited. Let the reader read, reflect and
come to his own conclusions.

The abbreviated titles of source texts are used almost without
exception in this book:

ABDP: „Abdu‟l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy
ABL: „Abdu‟l-Bahá in London
ADJ: Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice
AHW: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Arabic Hidden Words
BG: Bhagavad-Gita
BP: Bahá‟í Prayers
BWF: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, Bahá‟u‟lláh, Bahá‟í World Faith
ESW: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
FV: Bahá‟u‟lláh, The Four Valleys
GL: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá‟u‟lláh
GPB: Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By
GTT: Shoghi Effendi, Guidance for Today and Tomorrow
JA: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Javahiru‟l-Asrar
JN: Gospel of John
KA: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas
KI: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Kitáb-i-ĺqán
LK: Gospel of Luke
MK: Gospel of Mark
MT: Gospel of Matthew
PDC: Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come
PHW: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Persian Hidden Words
PM: Bahá‟u‟lláh, Prayers and Meditations
PT: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, Paris Talks
PUP: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace
REV: Book of Revelation (The Apocalypse)
SAQ: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions
SDC: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization
SLH: Bahá‟u‟lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
SP: Báb, The Seven Proofs
SV: Bahá‟u‟lláh, The Seven Valleys
SW: Star of the West
SWAB: Selections from the Writings of „Abdu‟l-Bahá
TAB: Tablets of „Abdu‟l-Bahá
TB: Tablets of Bahá‟u‟lláh revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas
TF: „Abdu‟l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel
UAB: Utterances of Abdul Beha Abbas to two young men, American
pilgrims to Acre, 1901; New York: The Board of Counsel, 1902
PREFACE
This book sets forth the proofs of prophethood described in the
writings of Mírzá Husayn 'Alí Núrí (1817-1892), known as Bahá‟u‟lláh.
Bahá‟u‟lláh was born in Tihran, the capital city of Iran, and was
brought up in that city and on various properties in its vicinity and in
the province of Mazindaran, northeast of Tihran. His father was a
minister in the court of Muhammad Shah, the King of Iran, who left
Bahá‟u‟lláh his extensive properties upon his demise, when his eldest
son was only eighteen years of age. In spring of the year 1260
according to the Islamic calendar (1844 Gregorian), at a time of
considerable ferment through the Muslim domains because of the time
prophecies which many believed would be fulfilled with its advent,
Bahá‟u‟lláh received a document from an emissary named Mullá
Husayn-i-Bushru'i. Upon reading that document, Bahá‟u‟lláh was
immediately and unequivocally convinced of the divine inspiration and
prophetic calling of its Author, Siyyid 'Alí Muhammad Shírází (1819-
1850), known as the Báb. Henceforth, Bahá‟u‟lláh was a Bábí, a
follower of the Báb. He was active in the promotion of the new Faith,
and was chiefly responsible for administering the gathering of Bábís
who, in June/July of 1848, affirmed the independence of the Bábi
Scriptures (called Bayán) from the Qur'an and hadith of the Islamic
Dispensation, and the abrogation of the Islamic law (called sha'riah) by
the new Bábí ordinances. Scarcely two years later, in July 1850 the Báb
was executed by order of a group of secular and religious officials in
the city of Tabriz, subsequent to imprisonment in the mountain
fortresses of Mah-Ku and Chihriq. Another two years after this
martyrdom, in August 1852, Bahá‟u‟lláh was arrested and imprisoned
following a failed attempt on the life of Nasiri'd-Din Shah, then
reigning King of Iran, by a few Bábís bent upon revenge for the
government's approval of the execution of their beloved Báb. When
released from this imprisonment, Bahá‟u‟lláh was exiled, along with
family members and other Bábis, from the city of Tihran and the
kingdom of Iran. He journeyed to Baghdad, in the land of 'Iraq,
where the family and devoted friends took up their residence for over
ten years. Bahá‟u‟lláh sojourned near the city of Sulaymaniyyih, in
Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, for two years, from 1854 until 1856,
and before and after this period were spent in Baghdad.

In the same year that Bahá‟u‟lláh became a follower of the Báb, 'Abbás
(1844-1921), known as „Abdu‟l-Bahá was born, the eldest son of this
eminent Exile. This son also became an ardent believer in the new
Faith, whose favorite pass-time in youth was the memorization and
recitation of Tablets revealed by the Báb. The Báb had promised the
appearance of "Him Whom God shall make manifest," another
Prophet to follow soon after the inception of the Bábí Faith, pointing
to the years "9" (1269=1852/1853) and "19" (1279=1862/1863). In
the year "9" „Abdu‟l-Bahá recognized Bahá‟u‟lláh as "Him Whom God
shall make manifest" but the loyal son did not tell anyone this secret,
because the time had not come for its disclosure. However, in the year
"19" Bahá‟u‟lláh openly proclaimed to „Abdu‟l-Bahá and a few other
Bábís, on the even of their departure from Baghdad, that "Him Whom
God shall make manifest" was none other than himself. The family
and many of their Bábí friends were summoned first to
Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, then to
Adrianople, a backwater town to the northwest of Constantinople, and
finally to the prison-city of 'Akka, in the province of Palestine (now
known as Acco, in the state of Israel). During these years of exile, first
in Baghdad, then Sulaymaniyyih, then Constantinople, Adrianople,
'Akka, and finally in the house of Bahji, in the outskirts of 'Akka,
Bahá‟u‟lláh wrote and dictated thousands of pages of prose and verse,
on a fantastic range of subjects, in the Persian and Arabic languages.

One of the themes which is found in many of these Writings are the
proofs of the prophets of God. Bahá‟u‟lláh does not consider only the
proofs of the prophethood claimed by the Báb, or proofs of his own
prophetic claims. He sets forth, in clear and authoritative fashion,
citing verses from the Bible and Qur'an alike, the proofs of all of the
Prophets of God. His son, „Abdu‟l-Bahá, whom he appointed the
authoritative interpreter of his teachings, and his great-grandson,
Shoghi Effendi, appointed to the same office by „Abdu‟l-Bahá, both
elaborated these proofs of prophethood. This book is devoted to
setting forth all of the proofs of prophethood which have been
discovered in their writings and utterances.
INTRODUCTION
Among the teachings of Bahá‟u‟lláh is that science and religion are
compatible; that religion must be in agreement with reason and
science; that each must investigate reality for himself and all are
encouraged to forego blind imitation of others in matters of religious
belief and observance. These are lofty principles, but one might well
wonder how they can be translated into practice. How might they be
realized in the way we live our lives?

The writings of Bahá‟u‟lláh call upon every human being to do two
things: First, to investigate reality, to search after truth, to seek out
knowledge, to learn, and specifically, to read and to meditate on the
Word of God; Second, to strive to understand the teachings, obey the
commandments, live according to the ordinances, and aspire to
approach the ideals set forth in the Word of God. Is the first purpose
fulfilled by joining a religious community, taking an oath, converting
or returning to a Faith? According to conventional wisdom, it is.
Religious belief is generally assumed to be based on emotions which
defy reasonable explanation and have no relation to logical or scientific
thinking. Indeed, those who continue to ask questions after they have
apparently become believers in a particular Faith are often looked
upon with suspicion by their fellow religionists, and their "faith" is
rendered doubtful, their "trustworthiness" is seriously compromised.
This kind of "faith" is not well regarded by Bahá‟u‟lláh. He not only
permits questioning, rather we are invited to ask questions if there is
anything we do not understand. In "Seven Valleys" (Haft Vadi), a
treatise penned in response to the questions of Shaykh Muhyi'd-Din, a
Muslim judge [qadi] in the city of Khaniqin, in 'Iraq, Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

"If any of the utterances of this Servant may not be
comprehended, or may lead to perturbation, the same must be
inquired of again, that no doubt may linger, and the meaning
be clear…"1

Some years later, in the "Book of Certitude" (Kitáb-i-ĺqán), a two-part
reply to the questions of Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, one of the
maternal uncles of the Báb, Bahá‟u‟lláh reaffirmed this principle in
relation specifically to the Word of God:

Seven Valleys [SV], p. 40
"They have even failed to realize, all this time, that, in every
age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books is for no
other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their
meaning and unravel their innermost mysteries. Otherwise
reading, without understanding, is of no abiding profit unto
man."2

He insisted, in that same Book, that the understanding of the Word of
God is not reserved for those with human learning, that it is accessible
to the masses of humanity3:

"Heed not the idle contention of those who maintain that the
Book and the verses thereof can never be a testimony unto
the common people, inasmuch as they neither grasp their
meaning nor appreciate their value. And yet, the unfailing
testimony of God to both the East and the West is none other
than the Qur'an. Were it beyond the comprehension of men,
how could it have been declared as a universal testimony unto
all people? If their contention be true, none would therefore
be required, nor would it be necessary for them to know God,
inasmuch as the knowledge of the divine Being transcendeth
the knowledge of His Book, and the common people would
not possess the capacity to comprehend it.
"Such contention is utterly fallacious and inadmissable. It is
actuated solely by arrogance and pride. Its motive is to lead
the people astray from the Ridvan of divine good-pleasure
and to tighten the reins of their authority over the people.
"And yet, in the sight of God, these common people are
infinitely superior and exalted above their religious leaders
who have turned away from the one true God."

This first purpose of humanity, to investigate reality takes on an
entirely different character when one considers it in the light of an
Islamic tradition, cited by Bahá‟u‟lláh in that same Book:

"We will accordingly make mention of a few traditions, that
these may impart constancy to the wavering soul, and
tranquillity to the troubled mind. Thereby, will the testimony
of God unto the people, both high and low, be complete and
perfect.

2Kitáb-i-ĺqán [KI], p. 172
3KI:210-211
"Among them is the tradition, 'And when the Standard of
Truth is made manifest, the people of both the East and the
West curse it.' The wine of renunciation must needs be
attained, and the meditation referred to in the words 'One
hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious
worship' must needs be observed, so that the secret of the
wretched behaviour of the people might be discovered, these
people who, despite the love and yearning for truth which
they profess, curse the followers of Truth when once He hath
been made manifest."4

What sort of "faith" is this, which proclaims, along with Socrates, that
the unexamined life is not worth living? Bahá‟u‟lláh designated his
eldest son „Abdu‟l-Bahá as the authoritative interpreter of his writings
and the expounder of his teachings. „Abdu‟l-Bahá has defined "faith"
in the following terms:

"Although a person of good deeds is acceptable at the
Threshold of the Almighty, yet it is first "to know,' and then 'to do'…
"By faith is meant, first conscious knowledge, and second, the
practice of good deeds."5

This is not a "faith" merely composed of "belief" nor one grounded in
"imitation"--it is "faith" which is in harmony with science and reason.

Bahá‟u‟lláh has invited all of humanity to recognize the Prophets of
God, not one alone, but all. He affirms that each of the Prophets of
God can be recognized through observing his signs, his proofs, his
evidences and arguments. We may be accustomed to thinking of
"signs" as pertaining to the seasons--April showers bring May flowers,

4KI:238
TAB:III:549 and BWF:383: The original text of this statement is
found, in Persian, in Muntakhabátí az Makátíb-i-'Abdu'l-Bahá, III:99-
100: [avval dánistan ast va ba'da 'amal namúdan/ímán dánistan ast va
'amal khayr majrí dáshtan]; and in English translation, in Tablets of
„Abdu‟l-Bahá (TAB:III:549) and Bahá‟í World Faith (BWF:383). The
same principle was cited in:
“A humanity which has come of age can respond to a directness of
teaching that goes beyond the language of parable and allegory; faith is
a matter not of blind belief, but of conscious knowledge.” (Bahá‟í
International Community, 1992 May 29, Statement on Bahá‟u‟lláh, p.
5)
autumn leaves and winter's snow and ice; and to roads--finding our
way as we drive our cars from place to place to place. It may be quite a
stretch for us to even imagine what the "signs" of God could be.

The terminology of proofs, evidence and arguments may remind us of
mathematical formulas and rhetorical tactics we may have learned in
high-school and college, or of movies about lawyers and newscasts
about politicians. For some these words will recall the occasional
unsympathetic classmate who was certain to counter whatever one
might say with one relentless refrain: "Prove it! Prove it! Prove it!"
How can proofs, evidence and arguments be associated with things of
the Spirit, with religion, with God and His Prophets?

Bahá‟u‟lláh affirms the truth of something we probably take for
granted--that there is one reality. This is not to say that reality is
undifferentiated, but that there are not plural, multiple realities coexisting in the same space and time. That reality is something
objective and verifiable, although the manner in which we experience
its verifiability may be modified depending upon which facet of reality
we are encountering. Bahá‟u‟lláh establishes the prophethood of all of
the Prophets of God on a rational basis, a scientific foundation--this
we will discover in the course of this book. This is not positivistic
reason, materialistic philosophy, a science of physical things which can
be discerned through the senses--the reason and science with which
we are all somewhat familiar. Rather, this is the science of
metaphysics (that is, beyond the physical), the science of the extrasensory, and it is as systematic, logical, inclusive, associative and
reliable as our "physical" science. Indeed, Bahá‟u‟lláh affirms that
inasmuch as this science has been developed under the guidance of the
infallible and divinely-inspired Prophets of God, it is actually more
reliable than any physical science.

This systematic formulation of the proofs of prophethood by a
claimant to the prophetic station is entirely unprecedented in the
recorded history of religion. While it would have been astonishing
enough if Bahá‟u‟lláh had merely set forth scientific proofs in support
of his own prophetic mission, Bahá‟u‟lláh has added astonishment to
astonishment through the establishment of the prophethood of all of
the Prophets of God on the same foundation. Hence, when we find
„Abdu‟l-Bahá stating that the foundation of the religions of God is
one, he is not saying something which is beyond our comprehension,
something we must "believe" and not question, something which does
not satisfy our minds. Rather, in affirming the one foundation of the
teachings of the Prophets, „Abdu‟l-Bahá was simply stating a fact, for it
is upon evident and clear signs, proofs, evidences and arguments that
Bahá‟u‟lláh established the validity of the Prophets of God. This one
foundation of the proofs of prophethood establishes the essential
truth of all of these divinely-revealed Faiths.

There are various terms used in the writings of Bahá‟u‟lláh, „Abdu‟l-
Bahá and Shoghi Effendi to denote the signs, proofs, evidences and
arguments for God and His Prophets. Study of this terminology and
of the subjects it refers to may acquaint us with dimensions of the
Bahá‟í teachings which would otherwise remain hidden and
unappreciated. Those who wish to acquaint themselves with these
terms and their definitions in the original languages of the Bahá‟í
Writings--Arabic and Persian--are invited to read COMPANION TO
PROOFS OF THE PROPHETS, Part One: The Nomenclature of
Proof.
AN OUTLINE:
PROOFS OF THE PROPHETS OF GOD

FIRST PROOF:
PROPHECIES OF PREVIOUS PROPHETS
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:13,17,106,237;JA:7
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:ABDP:43;SW XVI:2:434

SECOND PROOF:
WORDS OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:91-92,197,199-200,216,219-221,227;GL:105
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:ABDP:43

THIRD PROOF:
REVELATION OF GOD
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:139-141;GL:60-62,67,85-86,105,142;BWF:116,117
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:143,377,378

FOURTH PROOF:
DEEDS OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh: KI:197
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:ABDP:44;SAQ:14-42;PUP:364,366;PT:18

FIFTH PROOF:
THE PROPHET IN HIMSELF
Bahá‟u‟lláh: GL:47-48,105; KI:35,72-73,75,91-92,99-100;103-104
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:366;SAQ:43
Shoghi Effendi:GPB:5,11,14,19-21

SIXTH PROOF:
SUFFERING AND SACRIFICE OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:45,224,224-225,225-226,227-228;GL:56-57,75-76,85-86,
88-90,99-100;ESW:36,84-85; WOB:118-119
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:KH:631-633/PUP:461

SEVENTH PROOF:
COURAGEOUS PROCLAMATION OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:35,45,230-234
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:340;SAQ:43-44;SW:XIV:8:231;
SW VIII:13:178
EIGHTH PROOF:
EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:146-147,154-156,221-222;GL:82-85;TB:186; K157
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:125,277,340,401-402;SAQ:30-31

NINTH PROOF:
AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE MADE
LOW
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:33,36,146-147;TB:186;K157

TENTH PROOF:
THE STAR-HERALD OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:62,63,65

ELEVENTH PROOF:
THE HUMAN HERALD OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:62-66;ESW:158,171

TWELFTH PROOF:
THE TRIUMPH OF THE CAUSE OF THE PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:GL:91,219-220;PDC:90
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:405
Matthew 15:13; Acts 5:34,38-39

THIRTEENTH PROOF:
ANNULMENT OF PREVIOUS DISPENSATIONS BY
PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:38-39,44-45,238;GL:147;KA:#7
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:365

FOURTEENTH PROOF:
INNATE, DIVINELY-INSPIRED KNOWLEDGE OF
PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:100;SV:26;GL:58,90-91,219;TB:149;K104
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:ABDP:53-54; SAQ:28-29

FIFTEENTH PROOF:
FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHET'S PROPHECIES
Bahá‟u‟lláh:ESW:148,150;GL:58,221
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:232,339,410,432
SIXTEENTH PROOF:
REPUDIATION OF THE PROPHET BY RELIGIOUS
LEADERS
Bahá‟u‟lláh:GL:56-58,83;TB:206;KI:14-15,165,182,228-229,238
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PT:102;SAQ:30,35-36;PUP:431

SEVENTEENTH PROOF:
PENETRATION AND POTENCY OF THE PROPHET'S
WORD
Bahá‟u‟lláh:TB:173-174;GL:141;KA:#3-5
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SWAB:291-292;PUP:340-341,347;SW IX:9:104

EIGHTEENTH PROOF:
DIVINE AND ETERNAL SOVEREIGNTY OF THE
PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:99-100,106-107,234;GL:302
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:5,210-211,276-277

NINETEENTH PROOF:
PROPHET CONFIRMS THE TRUTH OF PREVIOUS
PROPHET
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:20-21;KA:#182
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:154,234,338-339,393,403,404

TWENTIETH PROOF:
PROPHET IS MATERIAL, HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL
EDUCATOR
Bahá‟u‟lláh:GL:156-158
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SAQ:8-13;PUP:77-78,308-311,352-353, 364,405-406,465

TWENTY-FIRST PROOF:
PROPHET IS THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN
Bahá‟u‟lláh:GL:80-81,213,254-255;KI:247
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:155,171,204;SWAB:59

TWENTY-SECOND PROOF:
MIRACLES ARE THE LEAST SIGNIFICANT OF PROOFS
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:364;ABDP:43-44;SAQ:44-45,115-118

TWENTY-THIRD PROOF:
TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:38-39,120,121
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SWAB:7:20-21;ABDP:43-46;PUP:5-6,61,365-366
TWENTY-FOURTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE SPIRITUAL SEASONS
Bahá‟u‟lláh:GL:27,84,94,167;TB:86
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SAQ:83-86,229

TWENTY-FIFTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE SPIRITUAL SUN OF
REALITY
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SAQ:86-88;WOB:127;PT:127-129,137;ABDP:59-62

TWENTY-SIXTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE MYSTIC HERALD
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:195-200;HWA:#1-2;SV:5-8,11-12
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:277

TWENTY-SEVENTH PROOF:
GARDENER OF MANKIND
Bahá‟u‟lláh:SV:3,4;HWP:#1,2,18;KI:191,211;GL:31,319,320-321
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:BWF:309-310,352,379,420,438;SAQ:225-
226;SW:XIV:2,p.43;TAB:I:641;SWAB:129;PUP:24,51-52,77,118,214-
215,235,353,399,400,427-428

TWENTY-EIGHTH PROOF:
NOT WITHOUT HONOUR SAVE IN HIS COUNTRY
AND OWN HOUSE
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:174;ESW:92;P&M:LXVI:106-110
Shoghi Effendi:GPB:X,163
Jesus:MT 13:57;MK 6:4;LK 4:24;JN 4:44

TWENTY-NINTH PROOF:
EVERY PROPHET IS EXILED FROM HIS HOMELAND
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:174
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:Tablet cited in letter of Shoghi Effendi, dated 9 April
1923;SAQ:IV:15-16
Shoghi Effendi:GPB:VII:107

THIRTIETH PROOF:
PROPHET OF GOD MUST COME FROM THE EAST
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:GPB:XVI:253-254
THIRTY-FIRST PROOF:
PROPHET ALWAYS APPEARS AMONG THE MOST
SPIRITUALLY DEPRIVED AND DEGRADED OF
MANKIND
Shoghi Effendi:ADJ:17-18
Bhagavad-Gita:IV:7
Bhagavata:vol. IX, XXIV:56
Genesis:VI:5-8

THIRTY-SECOND PROOF:
PROPHET FOUNDS A NEW CIVILIZATION
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:SDC:96
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:Khitabat:393-394;PUP:142
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:PUP:375

THIRTY-THIRD PROOF:
ALL PROPHETS MANIFEST THE GLORY OF GOD
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:Muntakhabati: #4:14;SWAB:#4:15;Khitabat:117-
119;PT:68-70;SAQ:IX:35;X:43
Bhagavad-Gita:XI:12
Exodus:24:16-17;33:18-22;34:29-35;Leviticus:9:6;Isaiah:33:18-
22;35:2;40:5
Gospel of Matthew:16:27;Gospel of John:1:14;2:11;17:5,22;2
Corinthians:3:7-11,18;Revelation of St. John:21:23
Qur'an:24:36
Balyuzi:KG:132-133
F.E.Peters:A Reader in Classical Islam:382-383

THIRTY-FOURTH PROOF:
TESTING OF BELIEVERS IN EVERY DISPENSATION
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:49,52-53,68-69,162,255

THIRTY-FIFTH PROOF:
EVERY AGE THE LIGHT IS SEEMINGLY QUENCHED
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:73,127;GL:56-58,101-102;WOB:118-119

THIRTY-SIXTH PROOF:
PEOPLE KNOWN BY THEIR COUNTENANCE
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:173-174
Exodus 13:16;Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18;Ezekiel 9:4
Revelation of St. John 7:3, 9:4, 13:16-17, 14:1, 14:9, 20:4, 22:4

THIRTY-SEVENTH PROOF:
LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:80-82;JA:14,22-24,48,72-73
THIRTY-EIGHTH PROOF:
OPPRESSION IN EVERY DISPENSATION
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:29-31

THIRTY-NINTH PROOF:
RETURN OF THE PROPHETS AND THEIR CHOSEN
ONES
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:116-117,118-119,120-121,148-149,150-152,152-
153,153-154,158-160,161,162,179

FORTIETH PROOF:
REJECTION OF PROPHET IN EVERY DISPENSATION
BECAUSE HE DOES NOT CONFORM TO CURRENT
UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE
Bahá‟u‟lláh:KI:170-171,181-182;GL:82-83
FIRST PROOF:
PROPHECIES OF PREVIOUS PROPHETS

The earliest proof that we come into contact with for every new
Prophet of God are the prophecies of previous, preceding Prophets
which are fulfilled in the manifestation of succeeding Prophets.
„Abdu‟l-Bahá has stated regarding this proof of prophethood:

"One of the proofs is through the fulfillment of former
prophecies...The prophecies deal with dates and symbols which
proclaim the end of each dispensation. In former books the
conditions are explained concerning subsequent manifestors of the
divine plan." (ABDP:43)

On another occasion he categorically asserted that every Prophet
predicted his successor and acknowledged the truth of his predecessor.

"The Prophets of God manifested complete love for all. Each
One announced the glad tidings of His successor, and each subsequent
One confirmed the teachings and prophecies of the Prophet Who
preceded Him." (PUP:234)

"Abraham, on Him be peace, made a covenant concerning
Moses and gave the glad-tidings of His coming. Moses made a
covenant concerning the promised Christ, and announced the good
news of His advent to the world. Christ made a covenant concerning
the Paraclete and gave the tidings of His coming. The Prophet
Muhammad made a covenant concerning the Báb, and the Báb was
the One promised by Muhammad, for Muhammad gave the tidings of
His coming. The Báb made a Covenant concerning the Blessed
Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh, and gave the glad-tidings of His coming for the
Blessed Beauty was the One promised by the Báb. Bahá'u'lláh made a
covenant concerning a Promised One Who will become manifest after
one thousand or thousands of years. That Manifestation is Bahá'u'lláh's
Promised One, and will appear after a thousand or thousands of years.
He, moreover, with His Supreme Pen, entered into a great Covenant
and Testament with all the Bahá'ís whereby they were all commanded
to follow the Centre of the Covenant after His ascension, and depart,
not even to a hair's breadth, from obeying Him." ('Abdu'l-Bahá, from
a Tablet - translated from the Persian, published in SW XVI:2, p. 434;
and in "Bahá'í World Faith" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976),
p. 358); cited in The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, pp. 114-115)

Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" makes several references to this theme
which are quoted in full here:
"And now, ponder upon these things. What could have
caused such contention and conflict? Why is it that the
advent of every true Manifestation of God hath been
accompanied by such strife and tumult, by such tyranny and
upheaval? This notwithstanding the fact that all the Prophets
, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world, have
invariably foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after
them, and have established such signs as would herald the
advent of the future Dispensation. To this the records of all
sacred books bear witness." (KI:12-13)

"Those words uttered by the Revealers of the beauty of the
one true God, setting forth the signs that should herald the
advent of the Manifestation to come..." (KI:17)

"Moreover, the Prophets of old, each and every one,
whenever announcing to the people of their day the advent of
the coming Revelation, have invariably and specifically
referred to that sovereignty with which the promised
Manifestation must needs be invested. This is attested by the
scriptures of the past." (KI:106)

"For whatsoever hath come to pass, hath been prophesied by
them who are the Mines of divine knowledge, and Recipients
of God's eternal law." (KI:237)

"Through the power of God and His might, I shall now relate
certain passages revealed in the Books of old, and mention
some of the signs heralding the appearance of the
Manifestations of God in the sanctified persons of His chosen
Ones, that thou mayest recognize the Dayspring of this
everlasting morn and behold this Fire that blazeth in the Tree
which is neither of the East nor of the West.4 Perchance thine
eyes may be opened upon attaining the presence of thy Lord
and thy heart partake of the blessings concealed within these
hidden treasuries. Render thanks then unto God, Who hath
singled thee out for this grace and Who hath numbered thee
with them that are assured of meeting their Lord. "
(Jawahiru‟l-Asrar [JA]:7)

The detailed and painstaking application of this prophetic proof with
regard to each of the Prophets is undertaken in subsequent books. In
order to be acknowledged as a proof of all of the prophets, this proof
must apply to each one of them. „Abdu‟l-Bahá indicates however, in
reference to Scriptural prophecies, that "those who do not follow
closely these things will not be convinced by proofs such as these.
This then is not a final proof."(ABDP) Many people do not pay much
attention to prophecies in the Holy Books, let alone to the fine points
of their interpretation, and their fulfillment in actual historicallyverifiable events and personalities. As real and infallible even as this
proof may be, it will not be convincing to many of those who are not
familiar with the prophecies. This is a pragmatic statement, and one
which might inspire religionists to reconsider the age-old practice of
repeating arguments 'ad nauseum' when they obviously are not
convincing to many of their listeners simply because they believe them
to be true and they want others to believe as they believe.

Furthermore, inasmuch as "religious traditions are the report and
record of understanding and interpretation of the Book" (PUP:22) and
as "this understanding, this interpretation" has been reached through
"the analysis of human reason"(PUP:22), and as we have already
learned from „Abdu‟l-Bahá "that human reason is not to be relied
upon as an infallible criterion"(PUP:21) then "Inasmmuch as the
source of traditions and interpretations is human reason, and human
reason is faulty, how can we depend upon its findings for real
knowledge?"(PUP:22)

What is intended as a proof of the Prophets of God is turned by many
into a prime reason for denial of and opposition to the Prophets of
God. The essence of the teaching of divine philosophy on this matter
is this: The only reliable, infallible interpretations of the prophecies are
those of the Prophets of God themselves and whomever they may
appoint as their spokesmen after their ascension from this world.
SECOND PROOF:
WORDS OF THE PROPHET

„Abdu‟l-Bahá cites the "second proof" of the prophets of God as
"their creative words and phrases which salute the hearts of
humanity".6 It is imperative that distinction be made at this point
between the Word of the Prophets, that is the actual physically
manifested Word of God, and the process whereby the Word is
revealed, which is called Revelation; and furthermore this must be
distinguished from the Teachings contained in that Word which have
come forth in that Revelation. Here we discuss the physically
manifested Word of God itself as a proof. The most detailed
exposition of this proof of the Prophets of God is found in the
"Dala'il-i-Sab'ih" of the Báb. The seven proofs from which the book
takes its name and which are the primary substance of this work are all
centered on this Second Proof. Furthermore, the Báb bases all of his
arguments in support of this proof upon specific verses from the
Qur'an. The Báb states in the Fourth Proof7:

"The verses and the Book are superior to no matter what
miracle, in such manner that, for the Muslim, there is no other
way but to believe in this superiority which God Himself has
affirmed in the Surah of the Spider"8—“Is it not enough for
them that We have revealed to you the Book for their
instruction? Surely in this is a blessing and an admonition to
true believers.”"

Bahá‟u‟lláh cites this same Qur'anic verse and then writes9:

"This is the testimony which He, Himself, that ordained;
greater proof than this there is none, nor ever will be: 'This
proof is His Word; His own Self, the testimony of His truth.'"

However, the Báb does not assert that all of the prophets of God have
had the proof of the Word of God, the Book. Rather does he affirm
that Muhammad was the first to show this proof10:

6 “„Abdu‟l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy”, p. 43.
7 "Dala'il-i-Sab'ih", p. 14; English translation from the French of

A.L.M.Nicolas.
8 Qur'an, XXIX:50, Dawood translation
“Kitáb-i-ĺqán,” pp. 91-92.
"Dala'il-i-Sab'ih", pp. 6-7; English translation from the French of
A.L.M. Nicolas.
"The essence of this discourse is this that God, in His sublime
wisdom, gave the Qur'an as proof of the Mission of
Muhammad. That was a gift which He had never made in
likeness to any nation before Muhammad, such, that a single
one of its verses is a sufficient proof for all those who are
upon the earth. The impossibility in which all are found to
cause to descend one alone from heaven is a proof of the
power of God."

Hence, the Word of God in this sense of the revealed verses has
existed as a proof of the prophets only from the mission of
Muhammad. While the text of the Scriptures has not been revealed
verbatim in previous Dispensations, nevertheless, the Word of God is
not confined to the past millennium and a half. The most important
reality of the Word of God is not the perfect recollection and
transmission of the exact words of God. Rather it is the existence of a
revealed book, a revealed law, a revealed teaching from God in every
Dispensation. Again this statement must be qualified, for the
existence of such a record can not be proven for any time previous to
the Dispensation of Moses (although the Gathas of Zoroaster or the
Bhagavad-Gita of Krishna may actual predate the Torah in their
original redactions). However, in the historical memory of mankind,
all of the prophets have revealed utterances which were recorded in
books and have been preserved for posterity. Speaking of the
prophets, „Abdu‟l-Bahá states: "Their word is the word of God, the
commandment is the commandment of God, their prohibition is the
prohibition of God."(PUP:193) He reminds us that "There is no
intrinsic meaning in the leaves of a book, but the thought they convey
leads you to reflect upon reality."(PUP:155) "For the Word of God is
collective wisdom, absolute knowledge and eternal truth."(PUP:154)

In the words of Bahá‟u‟lláh:

"...He hath established the words He hath revealed as proof of
His reality and truth. This is, verily, an evidence of His tender
mercy unto men." (Lawh-i-Ashraf, GL:LII:105)

"When the channel of the human soul is cleansed from all
worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive
the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and
will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude."
(KI:197)
"That city is none other than the Word of God revealed in
every age and dispensation. In the days of Moses it was the
Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus the Gospel; in the day of
Muhammad the Messenger of God the Qur'an; in this day the
Bayán; and in the dispensation of Him Whom God will make
manifest His own Book--the Book unto which all the Books
of former Dispensations must needs be referred, the Book
which standeth amongst them all transcendent and supreme."
(KI:199-200)

"And likewise, He saith: 'And had We sent down unto Thee a
Book written on parchment, and they had touched it with
their hands, the infidels would surely have said "This is naught
but palpable sorcery."' [Qur'an 6:7] Most of the verses of the
Qur'an are indicative of this theme. We have, for the sake of
brevity, mentioned only these verses. Consider, hath anything
else besides the verses been established in the whole Book, as
a standard for the recognition of the Manifestations of His
Beauty, that the people might cling to, and reject the
Manifestations of God? On the contrary, in every instance,
He hath threatened with fire those that repudiate and scoff at
the verses, as already shown.
"Therefore, should a person arise and bring forth a myriad
verses, discourses, epistles, and prayers, none of which have
been acquired through learning, what conceivable excuse
could justify those that reject them, and deprive themselves of
the potency of their grace? What answer could they give
when once their soul hath ascended and departed from its
gloomy temple? Could they seek to justify themselves by
saying: 'We have clung to a certain tradition, and not having
beheld the literal fulfilment thereof, we have therefore raised
such cavils against the Embodiments of divine Revelation,
and kept remote from the law of God?' Hast thou not heard
that among the reasons why certain Prophets have been
designated as Prophets 'endowed with constancy' was the
revelation of a Book unto them? And yet, how could this
people be justified in rejecting the Revealer and Author of so
many volumes of verses, and follow the sayings of him who
hath foolishly sown the seeds of doubt in the hearts of men,
and who, Satan-like, hath risen to lead the people into the
paths of perdition and error?" (KI:219-221)

This meaning of the Word of God is more inclusive than the use of
this term (of the verses, "ayat") by Muhammad in the Qur'an and by
the Báb in the Bayán (the collective name for all of His Writings as
well as specifically for the "Bayán-i-Farsi" and the "Bayán-i-'Arabi").
There is, furthermore, yet another meaning of the Word of God which
is universal to all of the prophets of God. „Abdu‟l-Bahá speaks of
this: "Consider the statement recorded in the first chapter of the book
of John: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.' This statement is brief but replete with the
greatest meanings."(PUP:154) "In the Word of God there is still
another unity--the oneness of the Manifestations of God, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh. This is a
unity divine, heavenly, radiant, merciful--the one reality appearing in its
successive Manifestations."(PUP:192) Therefore, generally whatever
applies to Jesus applies to all of the Prophets. "Therefore, as Christ
conveyed the perfect meaning of divine reality and embodied
independent significance, He was the Word...The reality of Christ was
the embodiment of divine virtues and attributes of God. For in
Divinity there is no duality. All adjectives, nouns and pronouns in that
court of sanctity are one; there is neither multiplicity nor
division."(PUP:155)

Consequently, all of the Prophets of God were successive
Manifestations of the Word of God. "The first thing that emanated
from God is that universal reality, which the ancient philosophers
termed the 'First Mind', and which the people of Baha' call the 'First
Will'. This emanation, in that which concerns its action in the world
of God, is not limited by time or place; it is without beginning or end;
beginning and end in relation to God are one."(SAQ:237) The Báb
writes in "Dala'il-i-Sab'ih", that "the first Dhikr, which emanates from
the Primal Will, is similar to the sun...if it rises until the end that will
never have an end, will be, even as it has been in the past, but one only
and the same sun. But it is equally Him Who was manifested in all the
prophets and it is He Who speaks in all their books."(pp. 4-5) He
continues: "In the first evolution He was known under the name
Adam, then under that of Noah in the epoch of this prophet; He was
Abraham in His time, then Jesus, then Muhammad Rasu'l-Allah.
Finally He is Him Whom God shall make manifest after Him Whom
God shall make manifest in His epoch."(Ibid.,p. 6) From the 'First
Will' or 'First Mind' emanated the 'Word of God', the 'Holy Spirit'.
"The reality of prophethood, which is the Word of God and the
perfect state of manifestation, did not have any beginning, and will not
have any end."(SAQ:174) "The intention of this explanation is to
show that the Words of God have innumerable significances and
mysteries of meanings--each one a thousand and more."(PUP:155)1
THIRD PROOF:
REVELATION OF GOD

Divine philosophy requires that we define the terms we propose to use
before any arguments are made. Revelation is defined as "the
effulgence of God", "the bounties of God", and "the reality of
Divinity is like unto the sun, and revelation is like unto the rays
thereof."(PUP:377) "If we should assert that the bounties of God are
not everlasting, we are forced to believe that Divinity can come to an
end, whereas the reality of Divinity enfolds all virtues and by reason of
these bounties is perfect. Were it not possessed of all these
perfections or virtues, it could not be Divinity. The sun is the sun
because of its rays, light and heat. If it could be dispossessed of them,
it would not be the sun. Therefore, if we say that the divinity or
sovereignty of God is accidental and subject to termination, we must
perform think that Divinity itself is accidental, without foundation and
not essential."(PUP:377) "Among the bounties of God is revelation.
Hence revelation is progressive and continuous."(PUP:378) There are
two kinds of Revelation described by Bahá‟u‟lláh:

KI:139-140: "Should they assert that the "Revelation" of God
signifieth a "Universal Revelation", it is clear and evident that
such revelation already existeth in all things. The truth of this
We have already established, inasmuch as We have
demonstrated that all things are the recipients and revealers of
the splendours of that ideal King, and that the signs of the
revelation of that Sun, the Source of all splendour, exist and
are manifest in the mirrors of beings. Nay, were man to gaze
with the eye of divine and spiritual discernment, he will readily
recognize that nothing whatsoever can exist without the
revelation of the splendour of God, the ideal King. Consider
how all created things eloquently testify to the revelation of
that inner Light within them."

And in another source Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

BWF:116,117: "Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on
the earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the
attributes and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom
are enshrined the signs that bear eloquent testimony to the
revelation of that Most Great Light. Methinks, but for the
potency of that revelation, no being could ever exist. How
resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an
atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a
drop!
"...From that which hath been said it becometh evident that all
things, in their inmost reality, testify to the revelation of the
names and attributes of God within them. Each according to
its capacity, indicateth, and is expressive of, the knowledge of
God. So potent and universal is this revelation, that it hath
encompassed all things visible and invisible...Man, the noblest
and most perfect of all created things, excelleth them all in the
intensity of this revelation, and is a fuller expression of its
glory. And of all men, the most accomplished, the most
distinguished, and the most excellent are the Manifestations of
the Sun of Truth. Nay, all else besides these Manifestations,
live by the operation of Their Will, and move and have their
being through the outpourings of Their Grace."

In referring to the second category of Revelation, Bahá‟u‟lláh in
addressing certain Sufis writes:

KI:141-142: "And were they to say that by "divine Presence"
is meant the "Secondary Revelation of God", interpreted as
the "Holy Outpouring", this is admittedly applicable to the
world of creation, that is, in the realm of the primal and
original manifestation of God. Such revelation is confined to
His Prophets and chosen Ones, inasmuch as none mightier
than they hath come to exist in the world of being. This truth
all recognize, and bear witness thereto. These Prophets and
chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the
unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the
mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God.
Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality applicable to
God, Himself, Who is both the Visible and the
Invisible...Therefore, whosoever, and in whatever
Dispensation, hath recognized and attained unto the presence
of these glorious, these resplendent and most excellent
Luminaries, hath verily attained unto the "Presence of God"
Himself, and entered the city of eternal and immortal life.
Attainment unto such presence is possible only in the Day of
Resurrection, which is the Day of the rise of God Himself
through His all-embracing Revelation."

In the "Lawh-i-Tawhid", Bahá‟u‟lláh again addresses this topic of the
specific Revelations of the Prophets of God:

GL:60-61,62: "From each and every revelation emanating
from the Source of His glory, holy and never-ending
evidences of unimaginable splendour have appeared, and out
of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of
eternal light have outpoured...In every age and cycle He hath,
through the splendorous light shed by the Manifestations of
His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that
whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the
signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of
His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favors. How allencompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace!"

In yet another passage from another Tablet, Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

GL:67: "These Essences of Detachment, these resplendent
Realities are the channels of God's all-pervasive grace. Led by
the light of unfailing guidance, and invested with supreme
sovereignty, they are commissioned to use the inspiration of
Their words, the effusions of Their infallible grace and the
sanctifying breeze of Their Revelation for the cleansing of
every longing heart and receptive spirit from the dross and
dust of earthly cares and limitations. Then, and only then, will
the Trust of God, latent in the reality of man, emerge, as
resplendent as the rising Orb of Divine Revelation, from
behind the veil of concealment, and implant the ensign of its
revealed glory upon the summits of men's hearts."

It is evident from these quotations, that by Revelation is meant much
more than the teachings of the prophets. When Bahá‟u‟lláh writes the
"first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self.
Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to
recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words
He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth."(GL:105) Hence,
this Revelation, not just the Universal Revelation of God but even the
Specific Revelation of God is not contained in words. Bahá‟u‟lláh
wrote:

"How great the multitude of truths which the garment of
words can never contain! How vast the number of such
verities as no expression can adequately describe, whose
significance can never be unfolded, and to which not even the
remotest allusions can be made!" (BWF:133;GL:176)

However, he himself revealed innumerable verses. Shoghi Effendi
writes in reference to Bahá‟u‟lláh‟s return from Kurdistan in 1856, that
"during the first two years after His return from His retirement,
according to the testimony of Nabil, who was at that time living in
Baghdad, the unrecorded verses that streamed from His lips averaged,
in a single day and night, the equivalent of the Qur'an! As to those
verses which He either dictated or wrote Himself, their number was
no less remarkable than either the wealth of material they contained,
or the diversity of subjects to which they referred. A vast, and indeed
the greater, proportion of these writings were, alas, lost irretrievably to
posterity. No less and authority than Mirza Aqan Jan, Bahá‟u‟lláh's
amanuensis, affirms, as reported by Nabil, that by the express order of
Bahá‟u‟lláh, hundreds of thousands of verses, mostly written by His
own hand, were obliterated and cast into the river. "Finding me
reluctant to execute His orders," Mirza Aqa Jan has related to Nabil,
"Bahá‟u‟lláh would reassure me saying: 'None is to be found at this
time worthy to hear these melodies.'...Not once, or twice, but
innumerable times, was I commanded to repeat this act."" (Shoghi
Effendi, "God Passes By", US edition 1971, p. 138)

Clearly, although these many thousands of revealed verses were
destroyed by order of Bahá‟u‟lláh himself, this did not hold back in any
way the Specific Revelation from God, either from reaching him, or
from reaching all creation through his intermediation. This Revelation
of the prophet is of course apparent in the outflow of his wisdom, his
teachings, and these come in the form of words. But it is also clearly
evident in all of the events of His time, in the "signs of the times":

GL:142: "Through the mere revelation of the word
"Fashioner", issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His
attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate,
through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands
of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No
sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating
energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the
means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced
and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now
witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this
Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of
which ye have never heard before...Every single letter
proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter,
and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of
Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother
Tablet."

One of the sources of this transformative power of Revelation is the
sacrifice which the prophets of God make in carrying out their mission
to humanity. Each one of these prophets has endured great suffering,
as will be recounted in a subsequent proof.
In the "Lawh-i-Fatah A'dham" Bahá‟u‟lláh describes the influence
upon all creatures of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ:

GL:85-86: "Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up
His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great
weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity
was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed
in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee.
The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the
profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts
which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted
by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the
quickening power released by His transcendent, His allpervasive, and resplendent Spirit. We testify that when He
came into the world, He shed the splendour of His glory upon
all created things."

As a demonstration of the power and influence of divine revelation,
„Abdu‟l-Bahá describes the present century in glowing words:

PUP:378: "Consider how great has been the progress in this
radiant century. Civilization has unfolded. Nations have developed.
Industrialism and jurisprudence have expanded. Sciences, inventions
and discoveries have increased...For example, the sciences of bygone
centuries are not adequate for the present because sciences have
undergone reform. The industrialism of the past will not ensure
present efficiency because industrialism has advanced. The laws of the
past are being superseded because they are not applicable to this time.
All material conditions pertaining to the world of humanity have
undergone reform, have achieved development, and the institutions of
the past are not to be compared with those of this age."

There are practically innumerable references in the writings and talks
of „Abdu‟l-Bahá to this theme, but one more will suffice to show that
the Revelation of God is indeed a potent phenomenon and a
convincing proof of the truth of the new prophet of God:

PUP:143: "In the estimation of historians this radiant century
is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past. If comparison be
made with the sum total of all former human achievements, it will be
found that the discoveries, scientific advancement and material
civilization of this present century have equaled, yea far exceeded the
progress and outcome of one hundred former centuries. The
production of books and compilations of literature alone bears witness
that the output of the human mind in this century has been greater
and more enlightening than all the past centuries together."

Hence it is evident that divine philosophy considers the state of the
world, indeed of the universe (hence of the sun, the other planets,
comets, meteors, and the stars beyond this solar system) as revealing
the truth of the prophet of God. Whether the universal or the specific
Revelation, both are proofs of the prophet. The Báb in "Dala'il-i-
Sab'ih" has stated this argument succinctly as follows:

"And what proof then must you have of His Unity? His
existence is the most complete proof thereof, and the very
existence of exterior things is the most formal proof that they
were created by Him. That is the philosophical proof for him
who voyages upon the sea of Truth." (SP:3)
FOURTH PROOF:
DEEDS OF THE PROPHETS

Bahá‟u‟lláh writes in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" writes that the true seeker will
discover in the “mighty deeds” of the Prophet “the signs of God”:

KI:197: "He will likewise clearly distinguish all the signs of
God--His wondrous utterances [Second Proof], His great
works [Third Proof], and mighty deeds [Fourth Proof]--from
the doing, words and ways of men, even as a jeweller who
knoweth the gem from the stone, or the man who
distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá states this proof succinctly in one of his talks:

"A clear proof of validity lies in the achievements and here we
are confronted by certain irrefutable facts. The prophets have come
from the lowliest and most humiliated of the nations and in each age
the prophet has raised his downtrodden nation to the highest zenith of
prosperity and success among the nations of the earth. For instance,
His Holiness Christ was quite alone. He was a Jew among the Jews.
He came at a time when the Israelites were under the yoke of the
Romans. He revivified the people till they were transferred from one
state of existence into a higher state of existence." (ABDP:44)

„Abdu‟l-Bahá develops this proof in great detail, in the cases of
Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Some
Answered Questions" (pp. 14-42) and in talks collected in
“Promulgation of Universal Peace". "The deeds of Moses are
conclusive evidences of His Prophethood. If a man be fair, unbiased
and willing to investigate reality, he will undoubtedly testify to the fact
that Moses was, verily, a man of God and a great
Personage."(PUP:364) "Christ ratified and proclaimed the foundation
of the law of Moses. Muhammad and all the Prophets have revoiced
that same foundation of reality. Therefore, the purposes and
accomplishments of the divine Messengers have been one and the
same. They were the source of advancement to the body politic and
the cause of the honor and divine civilization of humanity, the
foundation of which is one and the same in every dispensation. It is
evident, then, that the proofs of the validity and inspiration of a
Prophet of God are the deeds of beneficent accomplishment and the
greatness emanating from Him. If He proves to be instrumental in the
elevation and betterment of mankind, He is undoubtedly a valid and
heavenly Messenger."(PUP:366) He distinguishes between the
philosophers who "glory in their exalted thoughts" to which class "the
majority of philosophers belong, their teachings being above their
actions", and the "Spiritual Teacher [who] is the first to follow His
own teaching; He brings down into the world of action His spiritual
conceptions and ideals. His Divine thoughts are made manifest to the
world. His thought is Himself, from which He is inseparable."(PT:18)

The deeds of the prophet of God must be such as to be a convincing
proof of the truth of the station claimed, the station of absolute
servitude to the Threshold of God. The prophet must acknowledge
his total dependency upon God, not just in words, but in his every
action. Only the careful examination of the individual lives of the
prophets as recorded in the Sacred Scriptures and in other reliable
sources can enable the seeker to ascertain the merits of the individual
prophets for himself.
FIFTH PROOF:
THE PROPHET IN HIMSELF

Bahá‟u‟lláh wrote in "Lawh-i-Ashraf", "Say: The first and foremost
testimony establishing His truth is His own Self." (GL:105) Now we
will consider the Self, the Personality of the Prophet apart from His
deeds, His actions. Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" wrote about the
prophets:

KI:99-100;GL:47: "…those luminous Gems of Holiness...are
one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the
central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose.
From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is
derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is
but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His
deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of Divine knowledge,
and the Repositories of celestial wisdom."

Elsewhere in Kitáb-i-ĺqán, Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

KI:103-104;GL:48: "These attributes of God are not and have
never been vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets, and
withheld from others. Nay, all the Prophets of God, His wellfavoured, His holy, and chosen Messengers, are, without
exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of
His attributes. They only differ in the intensity of their
revelation, and the comparative potency of their light."

KI:35: "Immeasurably high are the Prophets of God exalted
above the comprehension of men, who can never know them
except by their own Selves. Far be it from His glory that His
chosen Ones should be magnified by any other than their own
persons. Glorified are they above the praise of men; exalted
are they above human understanding!"

KI:75: "It behooveth us, therefore, to make the utmost
endeavour, that, by God's invisible assistance, these dark veils,
these clouds of Heaven-sent trials, may not hinder us from
beholding the beauty of His shining Countenance, and that we
may recognize Him only by His own Self."

KI:91-92: "Wert thou to explore the sacred domain of truth,
thou wilt find that all things are known only by the light of
His recognition, that He hath ever been, and will continue for
ever to be, known through Himself...greater proof than this
there is none, nor ever will be: “This proof is His Word; His
own Self, the testimony of His truth.”"

„Abdu‟l-Bahá has fully developed this proof but only insofar as it
relates to Bahá‟u‟lláh. However, there are also indications in historical
accounts that identify a "greatness emanating from"(PUP:366) other
prophets of God, and an indication that in the case of earlier prophets
"through the honour of entering his presence, many souls became
confirmed believers; they had no need of other proofs."(SAQ:43)
Two examples which come immediately to mind are those of Jesus
Christ and Muhammad. Simon Peter and his brother Andrew met
Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew (4:18-19), dropped
their fishing nets and became his disciples, while Khadija and 'Ali, the
wife and cousin of Muhammad became respectively the first female
and male believers in his Revelation with no more proof than the
proof of his own Person. In an historical account of the life of the
Báb, we encounter repeatedly attestations to the Báb's personal charm,
which attest to the power of his very presence to attest to the truth of
his claims:

GPB:5: "I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time
and of those who awaited me…"11

GPB:11: "Siyyid Yahyay-i-Darabi, surnamed Vahid, one of the
most erudite, eloquent and influential of his12 subjects...he, in the
course of three interviews, was completely won over by the arguments
and personality of the Báb."

GPB:14: "He was ceremoniously received13, and such was the
spell He cast over the people of that city that, on one occasion, after
His return from the public bath, an eager multitude clamored for the
water that had been used for His ablutions. So magic was His charm
that His host, forgetful of the dignity of his high rank, was wont to
wait personally upon Him."

GPB:19: "An unruly, a proud and unreasoning people were
gradually subdued by the gentleness of the Báb, were chastened by His
modesty, were edified by His counsels, and instructed by His wisdom.

11Shoghi Effendi citing Mulla Husayn's account of witnessing the
declaration of the Báb, from Nabil‟s Narrative; in “The Dawnbreakers”, p. 62.
12Muhammad Shah's.
13This refers to the reception of the Báb in the home of one of the

principal ecclesiastical authorities of Isfahan circa 1846-47.
They were so carried away by their love for Him that their first act
every morning, notwithstanding the remonstrations of the
domineering 'Ali Khan, and the repeated threats of disciplinary
measures received from Tihran, was to seek a place14 where they could
catch a glimpse of His face, and beseech from afar His benediction
upon their daily work."

GPB:20: "Though at the outset he acted with the utmost
severity, he was eventually compelled to yield to the fascination of his
Prisoner. Nor were the kurds, who lived in the village of Chihriq15,
and whose hatred of the Shi'ahs exceeded even that of the inhabitants
of Mah-Ku, able to resist the pervasive power of the Prisoner's
influence. They too were to be seen every morning, ere they started
for their daily work, to approach the fortress and prostrate themselves
in adoration before its holy Inmate."

GPB:20: "On His arrival in that town16 Prince Malik Qasim
Mirza ceremoniously received Him, and was even seen, on a certain
Friday, when his Guest was riding on His way to the public bath, to
accompany Him on foot, while the Prince's footmen endeavored to
restrain the people who, in their overflowing enthusiasm were pressing
to catch a glimpse of so marvelous a Prisoner."

GPB:20-21: "Tabriz, in its turn in the throes of wild
excitement, joyously hailed His arrival. Such was the fervor of popular
feeling that the Báb was assigned a place outside the gates of the city.
This, however, failed to allay the prevailing emotion. Precautions,
warnings and restrictions served only to aggravate a situation that had
already become critical."

It would be inappropriate at this juncture to cite the copious
references to the personality, the charm, the magnetism, the spiritual
gifts of each of the prophets, signs and proofs of their divine vocation.
In succeeding volumes the reader will find detailed evidence provided
for many of the prophets, excepting only those for whom the traces
are dim and fragmentary, be they described in the Tanakh, the Qur'an
or other Holy Scriptures.

There is an entirely different sense in which this proof of the person

14This is related of the Báb‟s imprisonment in the mountain fortress of

Mah-Ku.
15This is related of the Báb‟s imprisonment in the fortress of Chihriq

and refers to his prison warder, Yahya Khan.
16This refers to the Báb‟s sojourn in Urumiyyih.
of the Prophet of God applies to every Dispensation, and this is the
degree to which his person is a test for humanity at that time. For the
Prophet appears to be a human being, a man like other men, and the
people expect something else, something miraculous:

"In another sense, they mean the appearance of that immortal
Beauty in the image of mortal man, with such human
limitations as eating and drinking, poverty and riches, glory
and abasement, sleeping and waking, and such other things as
cast doubt in the minds of men, and cause them to turn away.
All such veils are symbolically referred to as 'clouds.'
"These are the 'clouds' that cause the heavens of the
knowledge and understanding of all that dwell on earth to be
cloven asunder. Even as He hath revealed: 'On that day shall
heaven be cloven by the clouds.' [Qur'an 25:25] Even as the
clouds prevent the eyes of men from beholding the sun, so do
these things hinder the souls of men from recognizing the
light of the divine Luminary. To this beareth witness that
which hath proceeded out of the mouth of the unbelievers as
revealed in the sacred Book: 'And they have said: "What
manner of apostle is this? He eateth food, and walketh the
streets. Unless and angel be sent down and take part in His
warnings, we will not believe.:' [Qur'an 25:7] Other Prophets,
similarly, have been subject to poverty and afflictions, to
hunger, to the ills and chances of this world. As these holy
Persons were subject to such needs and wants, the people
were, consequently, lost in the wilds of misgivings and
perplexity. How, they wondered, could such a personage be
sent down from God, assert His ascendancy over all the
peoples and kindreds of the earth, and claim Himself to be the
goal of all creation,--even as He hath said: 'But for Thee, I
would not have created all that are in heaven and on earth,' --
and yet be subject to such trivial things? You must
undoubtedly have been informed of the tribulations, the
poverty, the ills, and the degradation that have befallen every
Prophet of God and His companions. You must have heard
how the heads of their followers were sent as presents unto
different cities, how grievously they were hindered from that
whereunto they were commanded. Each and every one of
them fell a prey to the hands of the enemies of His Cause, and
had to suffer whatsoever they decreed." (KI:72-73)
SIXTH PROOF:
SUFFERING AND SACRIFICE OF THE PROPHET AND
HIS FOLLOWERS

This proof of the prophets of God is explicitly stated in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán"
as a general principle:

"Moreover, consider the hardships and the bitterness of the
lives of those Revealers of the divine Beauty." (KI:45)

"Other Prophets, similarly, have been subject to poverty and
afflictions, to hunger, and to the ills and chances of this
world...You must undoubtedly have been informed of the
tribulations, the poverty, the ills, and the degradation that
have befallen every Prophet of God and His companions.
You must have heard how the heads of their followers were
sent as presents unto different cities, how grievously they were
hindered from that whereunto they were commanded. Each
and every one of them fell a prey to the hands of the enemies
of the Cause, and had to suffer whatsoever they decreed."
(KI:73)

In His Tablet addressed to 'Abbas Faruq, Bahá‟u‟lláh writes as follows:

"Behold how the people, as a result of the verdict pronounced
by the divines of His age, have cast Abraham, the Friend of
God, into fire; how Moses, He Who held converse with the
Almighty, was denounced as liar and slanderer. Reflect how
Jesus, the Spirit of God, was, notwithstanding His extreme
meekness and perfect tender-heartedness, treated by His
enemies. So fierce was the opposition which He, the Essence
of Being and Lord of the visible and the invisible, had to face,
that He had nowhere to lay His head. He wandered
continually from place to place, deprived of a permanent
abode. Ponder that which befell Muhammad, the Seal of the
Prophets, may the life of all else be a sacrifice unto Him.
How severe the afflictions which the leaders of the Jewish
people and of the idol-worshipers caused to rain down upon
Him, Who is the sovereign Lord of all, in consequence of His
proclamation of the unity of God and of the truth of His
Message! By the righteousness of My Cause! My Pen
groaneth, and all created things weep with a great weeping, as
a result of the woes He suffered at the hands of them that
have broken the Covenant of God, violated His Testament,
rejected His proofs, and disputed His signs. Thus recount We
unto thee the tale of that which happened in days past, haply
thou mayest comprehend.
"Thou hast known how grievously the Prophets of God, His
Messengers and Chosen Ones, have been afflicted."
(GL:XXIII:56-57)

Bahá‟u‟lláh and „Abdu‟l-Bahá have described the sufferings of the
prophets in the context of their redemptive services to mankind. They
have related the hardships and bitterness of Moses amongst his
brethren in Egypt, persecuted by Pharaoh, and languishing in the
wilderness for fourty years; the homelessness and betrayals of Jesus
Christ and his martyrdom upon the crucifix; the attacks upon
Muhammad almost throughout his life; the imprisonment and
martyrdom of the Báb; the imprisonment, exile and betrayals which
were the lot of Bahá‟u‟lláh. Their sufferings in themselves, were due
cause for the redemption of mankind in their respective epochs. As
Bahá‟u‟lláh attests in "Lawh-i-Rida":

"That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend
of the All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it.
The Voice of God commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a
sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His
detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto
men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as
a ransom for the sins and the iniquities of all the peoples of
the earth. This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought
the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer
upon Him. For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a
sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God."
(GL:XXXII:75-76)

In the "Lawh-i-Fatah A'zam", Bahá‟u‟lláh elaborates upon the
influence of this sacrifice of the prophet of God:

"Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath
to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By
sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into
all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the
peoples of the earth, and now manifest before thee. The
deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the
profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts
which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted
by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the
quickening power released by His transcendent, His allpervasive, and resplendent Spirit." (GL:XXXVI:85-86)
In a Tablet addressed to Muhammad Qabl Rida, Bahá‟u‟lláh affirms
that he has submitted to suffering that mankind might be blessed:

"The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains
that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath
accepted to be made a prisioner within this most mighty
Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty.
He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the
peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled
with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the
Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be
abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be
exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might
prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the
whole world, behold, how they have joined partners with God
have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!"
(GL:XLV:99-100)

He returns to this affirmation in "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf":

"In these days there are some who, far from being just and
fair-minded, have assaulted Me with the sword of hatred and
the spear of enmity...Most men have until now failed to
discover the purpose of this Wronged One, nor have they
known the reason for which He hath been willing to endure
countless afflictions...
"O Shaykh! I swear by the Sun of Truth Which hath risen
and shineth above the horizon of this Prison! The betterment
of the world hath been the sole aim of this Wronged One."
(ESW:36)

In "Lawh-i-Burhan" and "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" Bahá‟u‟lláh
universalizes this sacrifice, this suffering of the prophets for the
salvation of humanity:

"Reflect, that haply thou mayest recognize thine iniquity and
be numbered with such as have repented. Thinkest thou that
We fear thy cruelty? Know thou and be well assured that
from the first day whereon the voice of the Most Sublime Pen
was raised betwixt earth and heaven We offered Our souls,
and Our bodies, and Our sons, and Our possessions in the
path of God, the Exalted, the Great, and We glory therein
amongst all created things and the Concourse on high. Unto
this testify the things which have befallen Us in this straight
Path. By God! Our hearts were consumed, and Our bodies
were crucified, and Our blood was spilt, while Our eyes were
fixed on the horizon of the loving-kindness of their Lord, the
Witness, the All-Seeing." (Lawh-i-Burhan, cited in ESW:84-
85)

This theme is reiterated in "Surah al-Dam" by Bahá‟u‟lláh:

"Praise be to Thee, O Lord My God, for the wondrous
revelations of Thy inscrutable decree and the manifold woes
and trials Thou hast destined for Myself. At one time Thou
didst deliver Me [as Abraham] into the hands of Nimrod; at
another Thou hast allowed Pharoah's rod to persecute Me [as
Moses]. Thou, alone, canst estimate, through Thine allencompassing knowledge and the operation of Thy Will, the
incalculable afflictions I have suffered at their hands. Again
Thou didst cast Me [as Joseph] into the prison-cell of the
ungodly, for no reason except that I was moved to whisper
into the ears of the well-favored denizens of Thy Kingdom
an intimation of the vision with which Thou hadst, through
Thy knowledge, inspired Me, and revealed to Me its meaning
through the potency of Thy might. And again Thou didst
decree that I [as John the Baptist] be beheaded by the sword
of the infidel. Again I [as Jesus Christ] was crucified for
having unveiled to men's eyes the hidden gems of Thy
glorious unity, for having revealed to them the wondrous
signs of Thy sovereign and everlasting power. How bitter the
humiliations heaped upon Me [as Imam Husayn], in a
subsequent age, on the plain of Karbila! How lonely did I feel
amidst Thy people! To what a state of helplessness I was
reduced in that land! Unsatisfied with such indignities, My
persecutors decapitated Me, and, carrying aloft My head from
land to land paraded it before the gaze of the unbelieving
multitude, and deposited it on the seats of the perverse and
faithless. In a later age, I [as the Báb] was suspended, and My
breast was made a target to the darts of the malicious cruelty
of My foes. My limbs were riddled with bullets, and My body
was torn asunder. Finally, behold how, in this Day, My
treacherous enemies have leagued themselves against Me, and
are continually plotting to instill the venom of hate and malice
into the souls of Thy servants. With all their might they are
scheming to accomplish their purpose...Grievous as is My
plight, O God, My Well-Beloved, I render thanks unto Thee,
and My Spirit is grateful for whatsoever hath befallen Me in
the path of Thy good-pleasure. I am well please with that
which Thou didst ordain for Me, and welcome, however
calamitous, the pains and sorrows I am made to suffer."
(GL:XXXIX:88-90; WOB:118-119)

„Abdu‟l-Bahá has explained the meanings of this sacrifice of the
Prophet of God in a number of his addresses, including this reference
to the mission of Jesus Christ, in "Some Answered Questions"
(XXIX:137-138):

"But Christ, Who is the Word of God, sacrificed Himself.
This has TWO meanings, an apparent and an esoteric meaning.
[1]The outward meaning is this: Christ's intention was to represent and
promote a Cause which was to educate the human world, to quicken
the children of Adam, and to enlighten all mankind; and since to
represent such a Cause--a Cause which was antagonistic to all the
people of the world and all the nations and kingdoms—meant that He
would be killed and crucified, so Christ in proclaiming His mission
sacrificed His life. He regarded the cross as a throne, the wound as a
balm, the poison as honey and sugar. He arose to teach and educate
men, and so He sacrificed Himself to give the spirit of life. He
perished in body, so as to quicken others by the spirit.
"[2]The second meaning of sacrifice is this: Christ was like a
seed, and this seed sacrificed its own form so that the tree might grow
and develop. Although the form of the seed was destroyed, its reality
became apparent in perfect majesty and beauty in the form of a tree.
"The position of Christ was that of absolute perfection, He
made His divine perfections shine like the sun upon all believing souls,
and the bounties of the light shone and radiated in the reality of men.
This is why he says 'I am the bread which descended from heaven;
whosoever shall eat of this bread will not die.' [John 6:51] That is to
say, that whosoever shall partake of this divine food, will attain unto
eternal life; that is, every one who partakes of this bounty and receives
these perfections will find eternal life, will obtain pre-existent favours,
will be freed from the darkness of error, and will be illuminated by the
light of His guidance....
"The form of the seed was sacrificed for the tree, but its
perfections, because of this sacrifice, became evident and apparent; the
tree, the branches, the leaves and the blossoms being concealed in the
seed. When the form of the seed was sacrificed, its perfections
appeared in the form of leaves, blossoms, and fruits."

In another address, given on 29 November 1912, he expands upon
this theme, citing FOUR meanings for the sacrifice of the Prophet of
God (PUP:450-452):
"In order to understand the reality of sacrifice let us consider
the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. It is true that He sacrificed
Himself for our sake. What is the meaning of this? [1]When Christ
appeared, He knew that He must proclaim Himself in opposition to all
the nations and peoples of the earth. He knew that mankind would
arise against Him and inflict upon Him all manner of tribulations.
There is no doubt that one who put forth such a claim as Christ
announced would arouse the hostility of the world and be subjected to
personal abuse. He realized that His blood would be shed and His
body rent by violence. Notwithstanding His knowledge of what would
befall Him, He arose to proclaim His message, suffered all tribulation
and hardships from the people and humanity--gave His blood in order
to guide the world of mankind. He accepted every calamity and
suffering in order to guide men to the truth. Had He desired to save
His own life, and were He without wish to offer Himself in sacrifice,
He would not have been able to guide a single soul. There was no
doubt that His blessed blood would be shed and His body broken.
Nevertheless, the Holy Soul accepted calamity and death in His love
for mankind. This is one of the meanings of sacrifice.
"[2]As to the second meaning: He said, 'I am the living bread
which came down from heaven.' [John 6:51] It was not the body of
Christ which came from heaven. His body came from the womb of
Mary, but the Christly perfections descended from heaven; the reality
of Christ came down from heaven. The Spirit of Christ and not the
body descended from heaven. The body of Christ was but human.
There could be no question that the physical body was born from the
womb of Mary. But the reality of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the
perfections of Christ all came from heaven. Consequently, by saying
He was the bread which came from heaven He meant that the
perfections which He showed forth were divine perfections, that His
light was the light of Reality. He said, 'If any man eat of this bread, he
shall live forever.' [John 6:51] That is to say, whosever assimilates
these divine perfections which are within Me will never die; whosoever
has a share and partakes of these heavenly bounties I embody will find
eternal life; he who takes unto himself these divine lights shall find
everlasting life. How manifest the meaning is! How evident! For the
soul which acquires divine perfections and seeks heavenly illumination
from the teachings of Christ will undoubtedly live eternally. This is
also one of the mysteries of sacrifice...
"[3]As to the third meaning of sacrifice, it is this: If you plant
a seed in the ground, a tree will become manifest from that seed. The
seed sacrifices itself to the tree that will come from it. The seed is
outwardly lost, destroyed; but the same seed which is sacrificed will be
absorbed and embodied in that tree, its blossoms, fruit and branches.
If the identity of that seed had not been sacrificed to the tree which
became manifest from it, no branches, blossoms or fruits would have
been forthcoming. Christ outwardly disappeared. His personal
identity became hidden from the eyes, even as the identity of the seed
disappeared; but the bounties, divine qualities and perfections of
Christ became manifest in the Christian community which Christ
founded through sacrificing Himself. When you look at the tree, you
will realize that the perfections, blessings, properties and beauty of the
seed have become manifest in the branches, twigs, blossoms and fruit;
consequently, the seed has sacrificed itself to the tree. Had it not done
so, the tree would not have come into existence. Christ, like unto the
seed, sacrificed Himself for the tree of Christianity. Therefore, His
perfections, bounties, favors, lights and graces became manifest in the
Christian community, for the coming of which He sacrificed Himself.
"[4]As to the fourth significance of sacrifice: It is the principle
that a reality sacrifices its own characteristics. Man must sever himself
from the influences of the world of matter, from the world of nature
and its laws; for the material world is the world of corruption and
death. It is the world of evil and darkness, of animalism and ferocity,
bloodthirstiness, ambition and avarice, of self-worship, egotism and
passion; it is the world of nature. Man must strip himself of all these
imperfections, must sacrifice these tendencies which are peculiar to the
outer and material world of existence.
"On the other hand, man must acquire heavenly qualities and
attain divine attributes. He must become the image and likeness of
God. He must seek the bounty of the eternal, become the manifestor
of the love of God, the light of guidance, the tree of life and the
depository of the bounties of God. That is to say, man must sacrifice
the qualities and attributes of the world of nature for the qualities and
attributes of the world of God."

In two other addresses, „Abdu‟l-Bahá stressed the first meaning of the
suffering and sacrifice of the Prophets, and particularly emphasized the
motivation which inspired, indeed which compelled this self-sacrifice:

PUP:256-257: "What an infinite degree of love is reflected by
the divine Manifestations toward mankind! For the sake of guiding
the people They have willingly forfeited Their lives. To resuscitate
human hearts They have accepted the cross. To enable human souls
to attain the supreme degree of advancement, They have suffered
during Their limited years extreme ordeals and difficulties. If Jesus
Christ had not possessed love for the world of humanity, surely He
would not have welcomed the cross. He was crucified for the love of
mankind. Consider the infinite degree of that love. Without love for
humanity John the Baptist would not have offered his life. It has been
likewise with all the Prophets and Holy Souls. If the Báb had not
manifested love for mankind, surely He would not have offered His
breast for a thousand bullets. If Bahá‟u‟lláh had not been aflame with
love for humanity, He would not have willingly accepted forty years'
imprisonment.
"Observe how rarely human souls sacrifice their pleasure or
comfort for others, how improbable that a man would offer his eye or
suffer himself to be dismembered for the benefit of another. Yet all
the divine Manifestations suffered, offered Their lives and blood,
sacrificed Their existence, comfort and all They possessed for the sake
of mankind. Therefore, consider how much Thy love. Were it not for
Their love for humanity, spiritual love would be mere nomenclature.
Were it not for Their illumination, human souls would not be radiant.
How effective is Their love! This is a sign of the love of God, a ray of
the Sun of Reality."

PUP:28: "The Blessed Perfection [Bahá‟u‟lláh] was a prisoner
twenty-five years. During all this time He was subjected to the
indignities and revilement of the people. He was persecuted, mocked
and put in chains. In Persia His properties were pillaged and His
possessions confiscated. First, there was banishment from Persia to
Baghdad, then to Constantinople, then to Adrianople, finally from
Rumelia to the prison fortress of 'Akka.
"During His lifetime He was intensely active. His energy was
unlimited. Scarcely one night was passed in restful sleep. He bore
these ordeals, suffered these calamities and difficulties in order that a
manifestation of selflessness and service might become apparent in the
world of humanlity; that the Most Great Peace should become a
reality; that human souls might appear as the angels of heaven; that
heavenly miracles would be wrought among men; that human faith
should be strengthened and perfected; that the precious, priceless
bestowal of God--the human mind--might be developed to its fullest
capacity in the temple of the body; and that man might become the
reflection and likeness of God, even as it hath been revealed in the
Bible, 'Let us make man in our image.' [Genesis 1:26]
"Briefly, the Blessed Perfection bore all these ordeals and
calamities in order that our hearts might become enkindled and
radiant, our spirits be glorified, our faults become virtues, our
ignorance be transformed into knowledge; in order that we might
attain the real fruits of humanity and acquire heavenly graces; in order
that, although pilgrims upon earth, we should travel the road of the
heavenly Kingdom, and although needy and poor, we might receive
the treasures of eternal life. For this has He borne these difficulties
and sorrows."

This suffering and sacrifice of the Prophet releases a power that
transforms humanity, that recreates all existences. But it is not his
suffering and sacrifice alone that is a proof of his mission, of his truth.
It is the fact that the Prophet of God does not suffer for his own sake,
or even because of the perversity of his oppressors, but for the sake of
humanity. The Prophet of God is the living sacrifice which saves,
which redeems mankind. His sacrifice makes the spiritual life of
humanity possible. Hence one of the signs of all of the prophets is
long-suffering and martyrdom in the path of the love of God.

A further elaboration of this proof indicates that the sufferings and
sacrifices of the followers of the Prophet of God are a proof of his
prophetic station. In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh expatiates upon the
sufferings and sacrifices of the followers of the Báb (KI:222-227), and
he articulates this principle therein in this fashion:

"Doth not the testimony of these holy souls, who have so
gloriously risen to offer up their lives for their Beloved that
the whole world marvelled at the manner of their sacrifice,
suffice the people of this day?" (KI:224)

"Be fair: Is the testimony of those acceptable and worthy of
attention whose deeds agree with their words, whose outward
behaviour conforms with their inner life? The mind is
bewildered at their deeds, and the soul marvelleth at their
fortitude and bodily endurance. Or is the testimony of these
faithless souls who breathe naught but the breath of selfish
desire, and who lie imprisoned in the cage of their idle fancies,
acceptable?" (KI:224-225)

He indicates that this proof is not reserved for the Dispensation of the
Báb by citing the sacrifices of the Imam Husayn, during the
Dispensation of Muhammad, as an earlier example of this proof, and
comparing it to the glory of the Bábi martyrs:

"Were not the happenings of the life of the 'Prince of Martyrs'
regarded as the greatest of all events, as the supreme evidence
of his truth? Did not the people of old declare those
happenings to be unprecedented? Did they not maintain that
no manifestation of truth hath ever evinced such constancy,
such conspicuous glory? And yet, that episode of his life,
commencing as it did in the morning, was brought to a close
by the middle of the same day, whereas, these holy lights have,
for eighteen years, heroically endured the showers of
afflictions which, from every side, have rained upon them.
With what love, what devotion, what exultation and holy
rapture, they sacrificed their lives in the path of the All-
Glorious! To the truth of this all witness. And yet, how can
they belittle this Revelation? Hath any age witnessed such
momentous happenings? If these companions be not the true
strivers after God, who else could be called by this name?
Have these companions been seekers after power or glory?
Have they ever yearned for riches? Have they cherished any
desire except the good-pleasure of God? If these
companions, with all their marvelous testimonies and
wondrous works, be false, who then is worthy to claim for
himself the truth? I swear by God! Their very deeds are a
sufficient testimony, and an irrefutable proof unto all the
peoples of the earth, were men to ponder in their hearts the
mysteries of divine Revelation." (KI:225-226)

"Furthermore, the sign of truth and falsehood is designated
and appointed in the Book. By this divinely-appointed
touchstone, the claims and pretensions of all men must needs
be assayed, so that the truthful may be known and
distinguished from the imposter. This touchstone is no other
than this verse: 'Wish for death, if ye are men of truth.'
[Qur'an 2:94] Consider these martyrs of unquestionable
sincerity, to whose truthfulness testifieth the explicit text of
the Book, and all of whom, as thou hast witnessed, have
sacrificed their life, their substance, their wives, their children,
their all, and ascended unto the loftiest chambers of Paradise.
Is it fair to reject the testimony of these detached and exalted
beings to the truth of this pre-eminent and glorious
Revelation and to regard as acceptable the denunciations
which have been uttered against this resplendent Light by this
faithless people, who for gold have forsaken their faith, and
who for the sake of leadership have repudiated Him Who is
the First Leader of all mankind? This, although their
character is now revealed unto all people who have recognized
them as those who will in no wise relinquish one jot or one
tittle of their temporal authority for the sake of God's holy
Faith, how much less their life, their substance, and the like.
"Behold how the divine Touchstone hath, according to the
explicit test of the Book separated and distinguished the true
from the false. Notwithstanding, they are still oblivious of
this truth, and in the sleep of heedlessness, are pursuing the
vanities of the world, and are occupied with thoughts of vain
and earthly leadership." (KI:227-228)2
SEVENTH PROOF:
COURAGEOUS PROCLAMATION OF THE PROPHETS

The foregoing passage speaks of the fortitude of the prophets in the
face of persecution, trials, tortures, martyrdom. It also speaks of the
courage and steadfastness of the prophets in the proclamation of their
Message, as articulated by Bahá‟u‟lláh in Kitáb-i-ĺqán:

"Reflect, how single-handed and alone they faced the world
and all its peoples, and promulgated the Law of God! No
matter how severe the persecutions inflicted upon those holy,
those precious, and tender Souls, they still remained, in the
plenitude of their power, patient, and, despite their
ascendency, they suffered and endured."(KI:45)

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to the Báb in these words:

"Another proof and evidence of the truth of this Revelation,
which amongst all other proofs shineth as the sun, is the
constancy of the eternal Beauty in proclaiming the Faith of
God. Though young and tender of age, and though the Cause
He revealed was contrary to the desire of all the peoples of
the earth, both high and low, rich and poor, exalted and
abased, king and subject, yet He arose and steadfastly
proclaimed it. All have known and heard this. He was afraid
of no one; He was regardless of consequences. Could such a
thing be made manifest except through the power of a divine
Revelation, and the potency of God‟s invincible Will? By the
righteousness of God! Were any one to entertain so great a
Revelation in his heart, the thought of such a declaration
would alone confound him! Were the hearts of all men to be
crowded into his heart, he would still hesitate to venture upon
so awful an enterprise. He could achieve it only by the
permission of God, only if the channel of his heart were to be
linked with the Source of divine grace, and his soul be assured
of the unfailing sustenance of the Almighty. To what, We
wonder, do they ascribe so great a daring? Do they accuse
Him of folly as they accused the Prophets of old? Or do they
maintain that His motive was none other than leadership and
the acquisition of earthly riches?" (KI:230-231)

Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to his own prophethood in similar terms:

"This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty
and All-Knowing." (Tablet to Nasiri'd-Din Shah3)
"Can anyone speak forth of his own accord that for which all
men, both high and low, will protest against him? Nay, by
Him Who taught the Pen the eternal mysteries, save him
whom the grace of the Almighty, the All-Powerful, hath
strengthened." (Tablet to Nasiri'd-Din Shah, cited in
ESW:39-40)

"Think ye, O people, that I hold within My grasp the control
of God's ultimate Will and Purpose? Far be it from Me to
advance such a claim. To this I testify before God, the
Almighty, the Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Had
the ultimate destiny of God's Faith been in Mine hands, I
would have never consented, even though for one moment, to
manifest Myself unto you, nor would I have allowed one word
to fall from My lips. Of this God Himself is, verily, a
witness." (Tablet to Abu'l-Hasan fi'l-Shayan, GL:XLI:90-91)

"Had it been in my power, I would have, under no
circumstances, consented to distinguish myself amongst men,
for the Name I bear utterly disdaineth to associated itself with
this generation whose tongues are sullied and whose hearts are
false. And whenever I chose to hold my peace and be still, lo,
the voice of the Holy Ghost, standing on my right hand,
aroused me, and the Supreme Spirit appeared before my face,
and Gabriel foreshadowed me, and the Spirit of Glory stirred
within my bosom, bidding me arise and break my silence. If
your hearing be purged and your ears be attentive, ye will
assuredly percieve that every limb of my body, nay all the
atoms of my being, proclaim and bear witness to this call:
'God, besides Whom is none other God, and He, Whose
beauty is now manifest, is the reflection of His glory unto all
that are in heaven and on earth.'" (Tablet to 'Ali Muhammad
Sharaj, GL:L:103-104)

"By the righteousness of God, my Well-Beloved! I have never
aspired after worldly leadership. My sole purpose hath been
to hand down unto men that which I was bidden to deliver by
God, the Gracious, the Incomparable, that it may detach them
from all that pertaineth to this world, and cause they to attain
such heights as neither the ungodly can conceive, nor the
froward imagine." (Tablet to Jinab-i-Muhammad,
GL:LIV:108)

He writes specifically of the longing of the Báb to sacrifice his life in
the path of the Cause of God:
"Gracious God! In His Book, which He hath entitled
"Qayyumu'l-Asma,"--the first, the greatest and mighteous of
all books--He prophesied His own martyrdom. In it is this
passage: "O thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself
wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake; and
have yearned for naught by martyrdom in the path of Thy
love. Sufficient Witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the
Protector, the Ancient of Days!"
"Likewise, in His interpretation of the letter "Ha," He craved
martyrdom, saying: "Methinks I heard a Voice calling in my
inmost being: 'Do thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest
most in the path of God, even as Husayn, peace be upon him,
hath offered up his life for My sake?' And were I not regardful
of this inevitable mystery, by Him, Who hath my being
between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were to be
leagued together they would be powerless to take from me a
single letter, how much less can these servants who are worthy
of no attention, and who verily are of the outcast....That all
may know the degree of My patience, My resignation, and
self-sacrifice in the path of God." (KI:231-232)

And Bahá‟u‟lláh comments upon this extraordinary statement quoted
from the Báb:

KI:232: "Could the Revealer of such utterance be regarded as
walking any way but the way of God, and as having yearned
for aught else except His good-pleasure? In this very verse
there lieth concealed a breath of detachment, which if it were
to be breathed full upon the world, all beings would renounce
their lives, and sacrifice their souls..."

KI:233-34: "Steadfastness in the Faith is a sure testimony, and
a glorious evidence of the truth...And now consider how this
Sadrih of the Ridvan of God hath, in the prime of youth, risen
to proclaim the Cause of God. Behold what steadfastness
that Beauty of God hath revealed. The whole world rose to
hinder Him, yet it utterly failed. The more severe the
persecution they inflicted on that Sadrih of Blessedness, the
more His fervour increased, and the brighter burned the flame
of His love. All this is evident, and none disputeth its truth.
Finally, He surrendered His soul, and winged His flight unto
the realms above."

In an informal talk recorded by Laura Clifford-Barney circa 1904-1906
„Abdu‟l-Bahá said:
SAQ:43-44: "We have undertaken to demonstrate logical
proofs of the truth of His claim. We will cite another which alone is
sufficient for all who are just, and which no one can deny. It is that
this illustrious Being uplifted his Cause in the 'Greatest Prison'; from
this Prison His light was shed abroad; His fame conquered the world;
and the proclamation of His glory reached the East and West: until
our time no such thing has ever occurred."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá refers to this proof in another of his talks, in 1912:

"…we must discover for a certainty whether They have been
real Educators of mankind. Among the revelators of the law of God
was Moses. When He appeared, all the contemporaneous nations
rejected Him. Notwithstanding this, single and alone He promulgated
the divine teachings and liberated a nation from the lowest condition
of degradation and bondage...Christ, single and alone, without
schooling or outward education and trained to labor in the shop of a
carpenter appeared in the world at the time when the Jewish nation
was in the greatest abasement. This radiant Youth, without wealth,
power of armies or prestige, rescued the Jews who believed on Him
from tyranny and degradation and lifted them to the highest plane of
development and glory."(PUP:340)

„Abdu‟l-Bahá was asked in 1912 by a member of the English
Parliament for the most concise and sufficient proof of the
prophethood of Bahá‟u‟lláh, and the response received was this:

SW:XIV:8:231: "The concise and sufficient proof is that
Bahá‟u‟lláh in such a prison as Acre, and when under chains, raised His
banner. In Tihran He was in prison and under chains. In Acre He
was in prison. Under these circumstances He raised His
banner...There is nothing recorded comparable to this. What power is
this, that from the beginning of the world until today such a thing has
not happened!"

Later, in 1914 whilst confined to Palestine by the First World War, he
was asked a similar question and replied:

SW:VIII:13:178: "The greatest proof of the Blessed
Perfection--may my life be a ransom to Him!--consists in the fact that
He was always manifest and evident under all conditions and
circumstances. He was never concealed nor was He disguised for one
day. In Persia, in Baghdad, in Constantinople, in Adrianople, and in
the most great prison (Acca), Bahá‟u‟lláh ever withstood the
persecutions of the enemies and kept His own ground in the face of
the world. He never attempted to protect or shield Himself for one
second. Before all nations and all religions He proclaimed His Cause
and declared His teachings."

These are but the examples of two prophets, both of whom will be
considered in much more detail in subsequent books. However, all of
the prophets have labored for the Cause of God, labored in the face of
opposition, oppression, poverty, betrayal and many other trials.
Ultimately, however much we humans may study the lives of the
prophets, we must remember: "Immeasurably high are the Prophets of
God exalted above the comprehension of men, who can never know
them except by their own Selves."(KI:35) Hence, the best source for
the lives of the prophets are the descriptions of those lives penned by
or attested to by the prophets themselves. This is the true standard by
which all the testimonies of men are to be weighed and judged.
EIGHTH PROOF:
EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE EXALTED

The divine philosophy of Bahá‟u‟lláh and „Abdu‟l-Bahá waxes
luxuriously eloquent upon this Proof, which indicates that the abased
and ignorant ones among humanity are exalted and uplifted through
contact with the prophet and the specific Revelation of God. This
proof is not limited to certain prophets and withheld from others.
Bahá‟u‟lláh writes in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:146: "This station is also one of the signs of the Day of
Revelation; even as it is said: "The abased amongst you, He
shall exalt; and they that are exalted, He shall abase." And
likewise, He hath revealed in the Qur'an: “and We desire to
show favour to those who were brought low in the land, and
to make them spiritual leaders among men, and to make of
them Our heirs.”" [Qur'an 28:5]

We are reminded of the words from the Book of Isaiah (XL:4), also
cited in the Gospel of Luke (3:5):

"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and
the rough places plain."

Also, of the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke (6:20):

"Blessed be ye poor, for your's is the kingdom of God"

And in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke
18:25):

"Again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God.”

Bahá‟u‟lláh elaborates on this same principle in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:146: "And how many of the ignorant who, by reason of
their acceptance of the Faith, have soared aloft and attained
the high summit of knowledge, and whose names have been
inscribed by the Pen of Power upon the Tablet of divine
knowledge."
KI:221-222: "Amongst the proofs demonstrating the truth of
this Revelation is this, that in every age and Dispensation,
whenever the invisible Essence was revealed in the person of
His Manifestation, certain souls, obscure and detached from
all worldly entanglements, would seek illumination from the
Sun of Prophethood and Moon of divine guidance, and would
attain unto the divine Presence. For this reason, the divines
of the age and those possessed of wealth, would scorn and
scoff at these people. Even as He hath revealed concerning
them that erred: 'Then said the chiefs of His people who
believed not, "We see in Thee but a man like ourselves; and
we see not any who have followed Thee except our meanest
ones of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in you
above ourselves: nay, we deem you liars."' [Qur'an 11:27]
They caviled at those holy Manifestations, and protested
saying: 'None hath followed you except the abject amongst us,
those who are worthy of no attention.' Their aim was to show
that no one amongst the learned, the wealthy, and the
renowned believed in them. By this and similar proofs they
sought to demonstrate the falsity of Him that speaketh naught
but the truth."

TB:186: "When the Word of God is revealed unto all created
things. Whoso then giveth ear and heedeth the Call is, indeed,
reckoned among the most distinguished souls, though he be a
carrier of ashes. And he who turneth away is accounted as the
lowliest of His servants, though he be a ruler amongst men
and the possessor of all the books that are in the heavens and
on earth."

K157: "Behold, the 'mystery of the Great Reversal in the Sign
of the Sovereign' hath now been made manifest…In truth, it
is in the hand of God to give what He willeth to whomsoever
He willeth, and to withhold what He pleaseth from
whomsoever He may wish. He knoweth the inner secrets of
the hearts and the meaning hidden in the mocker's wink.
How many an embodiment of heedlessness who came unto
Us with purity of heart have We established upon the seat of
Our acceptance; and how many an exponent of wisdom have
We in all justice consigned to the fire. We are, in truth, the
One to judge. He it is Who is the manifestation of 'God
doeth whatsoever He pleaseth', and abideth upon the throne
of 'He ordaineth whatsoever He chooseth.'"
Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to specific Prophets and their fulfillment of this
proof:

KI:154-56: "For instance, consider that among the Prophets
was Noah. When He was invested with the robe of
Prophethood, and was moved by the Spirit of God to arise
and proclaim His Cause, whoever believed in Him and
acknowledged His Faith, was endowed with the grace of a
new life. Of him it could be truly said that he was reborn and
revived, inasmuch as previous to his belief in God and his
acceptance of His Manifestation, he had set his affections on
the things of the world, such as attachment to earthly goods,
to wife, children, food, drink, and the like, so much so that in
the day-time and in the night-season his one concern had
been to amass riches and procure for himself the means of
enjoyment and pleasure. Aside from these things, before his
partaking of the reviving waters of faith, he had been so
wedded to the traditions of his forefathers, and so
passionately devoted to the observance of their customs and
laws, that he would have preferred to suffer death rather than
violate one letter of those superstitious forms and manners
current amongst his people...These same people, though
wrapt in all these veils of limitation, and despite the restraint
of such observances, as soon as they drank the immortal
draught of faith, from the cup of certitude, at the hand of the
Manifestation of the All-Glorious, were so transformed that
they would renounce for His sake their kindred, their
substance, their lives, their beliefs, yea, all else save God! So
overpowering was their yearning for God, so uplifting their
transports of ecstatic delight, that the world and all that is
therein faded before their eyes into nothingness."

GL:XXXV:83-84: "In like manner, when Muhammad, the
Prophet of God--may all men be a sacrifice unto Him--
appeared and learned men of Mecca and Medina arose, in the
early days of His Revelation, against Him and rejected His
Message, while they who were destitute of all learning
recognized and embraced His Faith. Ponder a while.
Consider how Balal, the Ethiopian, unlettered though he was,
ascended unto the heaven of faith and certitude, whilst
'Abdu'llah Ubayy, a leader among the learned, maliciously
strove to oppose Him. Behold, how a mere shepherd was so
carried away by the ecstasy of the words of God that he was
able to gain admittance into the habitation of his Best-
Beloved, and was united to Him Who is the Lord of Mankind,
whilst they who pride themselves on their knowledge and
wisdom strayed far from His path and remained deprived of
His grace. For this reason He hath written: 'He that is exalted
among you shall be abased, and he that is abased shall be
exalted.' References to this theme are to be found in most of
the heavenly Books, as well as in the sayings of the Prophets
and Messengers of God."

K166: "Call ye to mind the shaykh whose name was
Muhammad-Hasan, who ranked among the most learned
divines of his day. When the True One [the Báb] was made
manifest, this shaykh, along with others of his calling, rejected
Him, while a sifter of wheat and barley accepted Him and
turned unto the Lord."

The transformation of the believers through the influence of the Báb
and Bahá‟u‟lláh are described by „Abdu‟l-Bahá in many of his talks:

SAQ:30-31: "As for the Báb...Many Ulama and public men,
as well as other people, joyfully sacrificed their lives in His Cause, and
hastened to the plain of martyrdom."

PUP:125: "The Báb became a martyr, and over twenty
thousand men and women sacrificed their lives for their faith."

PUP:277: "In this century of the latter times Bahá‟u‟lláh has
appeared and so resuscitated spirits that they have manifested powers
more than human. Thousands of His followers have given their lives;
and while under the sword, shedding their blood, they have
proclaimed, "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha!" Such resuscitation is impossible
except through a heavenly potency, a supernatural power, the divine
power of the Holy Spirit."

PUP:401-402: "In the nineteenth century strife and hostility
prevailed among the people of the Orient. Apathy and ignorance
characterized the nations. They were indeed gloomy and dark,
negligent of God and under the subjection of the baser instincts and
passions of mankind. The struggle for existence was intense and
universal."

The followers of the new Prophet are not the only debased ones who
are exalted in arrival of each new Dispensation. For the new prophet
recreates all of creation, and in the new era everything is turned upside
down and inside out. Civilizations which have withstood the ages
suddenly crumble and vanish--as did Egypt and Assyria in the epoch
of Moses, as did Rome and Persia in the age of Jesus, as did
Byzantium and India in the era of Muhammad, and as is presently
occurring in the civilization of the West--and other new civilizations--
Israel and Judah, India and China in the epoch of Moses; Western
Europe in the age of Jesus; the various Islamic empires in the era of
Muhammad; and the emerging world commonwealth in the present
cycle. Those who have invested most in the old order will lose the
most when it crumbles. Those who had the least to invest are the first
ones to gain. In the old order of things, in every Dispensation, the
poor are powerless and property-less and the rich have all the power
and all the property. When the old order crumbles, either gradually or
suddenly the rich are divested of their power and property, and the
poor become the nouveaux riches and the new masters. Therefore,
the exaltation of the abased has a temporal significance as well as a
much more important spiritual meaning.
NINTH PROOF:
AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE MADE
LOW

Many references which affirm this proof have already been cited in the
portrayal of the previous proof, inasmuch as they are linked together
in every Dispensation. Rather than cite those passages once more, the
reader is directed to read them once more and consider their
application to this proof. One manner of the fulfillment of this Proof
of the Prophets is through the proclamation of the prophet to the
ruling powers, ecclesiastical and secular, and the collapse of those
powers as a consequence of rejecting the call of the prophet. There
are innumerable examples of this scenario recorded in the Tanakh,
including the stories of the prophet Samuel and king Saul; the prophet
Moses and the Pharoah of Egypt; the prophet Daniel and the king
Belshazzar; the prophet Elijah and the followers of Baal; the prophet
Nathan and king David. Such stories are also found in the Qur'an and
in other Scriptures. Jesus Christ was opposed by the combined
powers of the Jewish ecclesiastical authorities and the Roman
surrogate temporal powers. The Jewish priesthood was virtually
eliminated as a governing power structure with the razing of the
Temple less than 40 years following the martyrdom of the Messiah.
The Temple was of course razed by the Roman government, which
worked in league with the Jewish authorities in the prosecution and
execution of Jesus Christ. It took the Roman authorities much longer
to collapse, but in the generation following the mission of the Messiah
the teachings of Christ were preached throughout the Roman Empire,
and within a century there were large and influential communities of
Christians, while in the 4th century the Roman Emperor, Constantine
converted to Christianity, and from henceforth the Roman realms
were governed by the power of Christ.

Muhammad is alleged to have dictated letters to the monarchs of
territories abutting Arabia, inviting them to accept Islam. None of
these monarchs indicated a willingness to do so. Within a century of
the founding of Islam all of these territories were under Islamic
governments, and hence their ruling powers had been overturned,
their ecclesiastics for the most part deprived of influence as the
majority of their populations converted to Islam, and their kings
unseated by the conquering Muslims and replaced with rulers
subservient to the teachings of Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
Likewise, the Báb sent letters to the Shah of Iran, Muhammad Shah; to
the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 'Abdu'l-Majid; to the Valid of
Baghdad, Najib Pasha; to the Sherif of Makka; to the Grand Vizier of
Iran, Hajji Mirza Aqasi; and to many of the Muslim clerics of Iran and
'Iraq. The response to his proclamation was, as in the case of all the
prophets of the past, a negative one, and the consequences for the
rulers will be discussed in the Gate devoted to the Proofs of the Báb.
Bahá‟u‟lláh far outstripped his predecessors, in writing letters including
the "Suriy-i-Muluk", addressed "to the entire company of the
monarchs of East and West, and in which the Sultan of Turkey, and
his ministers, the kings of Christendom, the French and Persian
Ambassadors accredited to the Sublime Porte, the Muslim
ecclesiastical leaders in Constantinople, its wise men and inhabitants,
the people of Persia and the philosophers of the world are separately
addressed"17; first Tablet to the Emperor of the French, Napoleon III;
"the Lawh-i-Sultan, His detailed epistle to Nasiri'd-Din Shah"18, the
Shah of Iran; and to "'Ali Pasha, the Grand Vizir[of the Sultan of
Turkey], Bahá‟u‟lláh addressed the Suriy-i-Ra'is"19. These epistles were
penned in Adrianople.

In Akka, Bahá‟u‟lláh addressed passages of "Kitab-i-Aqdas" to the
"kings of the earth" (K78-K84,K87); to the "Emperor of
Austria"(K85)20; to the "King of Berlin"(K86)21, and to the "Rulers of
America and the Presidents of the Republics therein"(K88)22; penned
His second Tablet to Napoleon III23; addressed an Epistle to

17Shoghi Effendi in "God Passes By", US 1971 edition, p. 171-72.
18Ibid., p. 172.
19Ibid., p. 174.
20"Francis Joseph, the Austrian Emperor and heir of the Holy Roman

Empire"(Ibid., p. 208)
21Kaiser Wilhelm I, "King of Prussia and newly-acclaimed emperor of

a unified Germany"(Ibid.)
22Serving as Presidents of the Republics of the Americas in 1872 were

the following (with the Republics listed alphabetically): Domingo
Faustino Sarmiento, President of Argentina; John A. MacDonald,
Prime Minister of Canada; Federico Errazuriz Zanartu, President of
Chile; Eustorgio Salgar and Manuel Murillo Toro, Presidents of
Colombia; Tomas Guardia Gutierrez, President of Costa Rica;
Buenaventura Baez, President of the Dominican Republic; Gabriel
Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador; Justo Rufino Barrios, President
of Guatemala; Nissage Saget, President of Haiti; Benito Juarez and
Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, Presidents of Mexico; Jose Vicente Cuadra,
President of Nicaragua; Francisco Solano Lopez, President of
Paraguay; Manuel Pardo, President of Peru; Ulysses S. Grant,
President of the United States of America; Lorenzo Batlle y Grau and
Tomas Gomensoro, Presidents of Uruguay; Antonio Guzman Blanco,
President of Venezuela.
23GPB, p. 207.
"Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia"24; "To 'Ali
Pasha, the Grand Vizir of the Sultan of Turkey He addressed, shortly
after His arrival in 'Akka, a second Tablet"25; while "To Queen
Victoria He, during that same period, addressed an Epistle"26, and
"Some of the weightiest passages of His Epistle to Queen Victoria are
addressed to the members of the British Legislature, the Mother of
Parliaments, as well as to the elected representatives of the peoples in
other lands."27 Bahá‟u‟lláh also proclaimed his mission in an Epistle to
Pope Pius IX, "the undisputed head of the most powerful Church in
Christendom, possessor of both temporal and spiritual authority"28; in
the "Kitab-i-Aqdas" he addressed the world's ecclesiastical leaders29;
"To the patriarchs of the Christian Church He issued a specific
summons"30; "To the archbishops of that Church...In passages
addressed to its bishops...The concourse of Christian priests...And
finally, in several passages addressed to the entire body of the
followers of Jesus Christ"31; "To the entire body of Muslim
ecclesiastics Bahá‟u‟lláh specifically devoted innumerable passages in
His Books and Tablets"32. The replies of these various and sundry
leaders to his letters, and the consequences of those responses will be
considered in the volume devoted to Bahá‟u‟lláh‟s prophethood.
Suffice it to say, as did David after the slaughter of king Saul and his
son Jonathan and their army by the Amalekites in fulfillment of the
prophecy of the prophet Samuel, "how are the mighty fallen!"(2
Samuel 1:19b)

This is not however the only significance of this Proof. Bahá‟u‟lláh in
"Kitáb-i-ĺqán" unravels another of the dimensions of this Proof:

KI:33: "And now, concerning His words--"The sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven." By the terms "sun" and "moon",
mentioned in the writings of the Prophets of God, is not
meant solely the sun and moon of the visible universe.

24Ibid.
25Ibid.
26Ibid.
27Ibid., p. 211.
28Ibid, p. 209.
29Ibid.
30Ibid., pp. 209-210.
31Ibid., p. 210.
32Ibid.
Nay, rather, manifold are the meanings they have intended for
these terms. In every instance they have attached to them a
particular significance."

KI:36: "In another sense, by these terms is intended the
divines of the former Dispensation, who live in the days of
the subsequent Revelations, and who hold the reins of religion
in their grasp. If these divines be illumined by the light of the
latter Revelation they will be acceptable unto God, and will
shine with a light everlasting. Otherwise, they will be declared
as darkened, even though to outward seeming they be leaders
of men, inasmuch as belief and unbelief, guidance and error,
felicity and misery, light and darkness, are all dependent upon
the sanction of Him Who is the Day-Star of Truth.
Whosoever among the divines of every age receiveth, in the
Day of Reckoning, the testimony of faith from the Source of
true knowledge, he verily becometh the recipient of learning,
of divine favour, and of the light of true understanding.
Otherwise, he is branded as guilty of folly, denial, blasphemy,
and oppression."

Hence, the exalted are exalted if they submit to the new prophet, but
in most cases the exalted do not submit and hence they are abased.
This is as true of ecclesiastical leaders as it is of temporal leaders,
indeed moreso inasmuch as the religious authorities have a grave
responsibility, that of the spiritual guidance of the masses, and when
they fail to recognize and follow the new prophet they not only
deprive themselves of the Truth but also deprive their followers
thereof. In "Dala'il-i-Sab'ih" the Báb writes that the Proofs are
established for these knowledgeable ones, and in referring to the
Second Proof:

SP:12: "Yes, the sight alone of but one of these verses
(suffices) for those who have the intelligent and perspicacious
eye: for the others, I do not speak of them, for they are not
worthy of similar attention, God having said in the greater
part of the Manifestations that these signs are for those who
have Faith and Intelligence and not for the great majority of
the creatures, who are not in a state to comprehend."

It may be useful for the reader to be reminded that, previous to the
past century, it was not possible for the majority of mankind to
comprehend, to understand the divine verses, inasmuch as the vast
plurality of the human race was illiterate, and depended for what little
learning they had upon an elite of professional educators who were
not in the least motivated to uplift their charges out of the obscurity of
ignorance. These instructors, who were in perhaps all cultures
members of the ecclesiastical power structure, were not encouraged to
facilitate the widespread education of the common people, rather, on
the contrary, they were responsible for keeping the masses in a state of
dependency upon themselves and upon the secular authorities and for
rooting out any and all tendencies towards independent thinking,
innovation and individual initiative. This order of things has persisted
in most cultures until the dawn of the new age in the last century, and
now, at the close of the twentieth century, the majority of humanity,
although still far from its entirety is capable of reading at some level,
and a considerable percentage of these have some training in
systematic research, study and thinking which might enable them to
appreciate the very signs and proofs which would have been
unintelligible to their forefathers; to say nothing of their foremothers!
TENTH PROOF:
THE STAR-HERALD OF THE PROPHET

This divine philosophy makes the extraordinary assertion that
preceding the appearance of every one of the Prophets of God there
has been manifested in the sky a star heralding his coming. For
Christians familiar with the account in the Gospel of Matthew (II:2,9-
10) of the star which the Magi kings followed in search of the
Promised One, this assertion may not seem as curious as it will
certainly for many Jews, Muslims and other religionists. Bahá‟u‟lláh, in
"Kitáb-i-ĺqán" explains this phenomenon:

KI:62: "By "heaven" is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as
when the hour draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the
heaven of justice shall be made manifest, and the Ark of
divine guidance shall sail upon the sea of glory, a star will
appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of
that most great light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a
star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the
earth, shall act as a harbinger of the break of that true and
exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and the
invisible heaven, have announced the Revelation of each of
the Prophets of God, as is commonly believed. Among the
Prophets was Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He
manifested Himself, Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon,
he summoned the soothsayers, who informed him of the rise
of a star in the heaven..."

This story is confirmed in the Sefer ha-Yashar, Ma‟aseh Avraham
(Version B, in Bet ha-Midrash, II:119; also in Rabbenu BaHya in
Torah Shelemah, III:643, n. 89) and in other legendary material which
is not part of the canonical Jewish Scriptures.

KI:63: "After Him came Moses, He Who held converse with
God. The soothsayers of His time warned Pharoah in these
terms: “A star hath risen in the heaven, and lo! it
foreshadoweth the conception of a Child Who holdeth your
fate and the fate of your people in His hand.”"

Similar accounts are found in Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (2.205),
in Pirke Rabbi Eliezer (Torah Shelemah, VIII:48, n.212), Exodus
Rabbah (I:18; Torah Shelemah, VIII:46, n. 202; 47, n. 207; 41, n. 176)
and Asatir (8).
KI:64: "In like manner, when the hour of the Revelation of
Jesus drew nigh, a few of the Magi, aware that the star of Jesus
had appeared in heaven, sought and followed it, till they came
unto the city which was the seat of the Kingdom of Herod.
The sway of his sovereignty in those days embraced the whole
of that land. These Magi said: "Where is He that is born King
of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east and are
come to worship Him!" When they searched, they found out
that in Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, the Child had been
born. This was the sign that was manifested in the visible
heaven."

This is the account found in the Gospel of Matthew, for the Magi
discover the birth place of Jesus by themselves, whereas the Gospel of
Luke has King Herod point them in the right direction.

KI:65: "Likewise, ere the beauty of Muhammad was unveiled,
the signs of the visible heaven were made manifest..."

In the biography of Muhammad authored by Ibn Ishaq (85-151 A.H.),
preserved in the work of Ibn Hisham (d. 213 A.H.), it is related that a
Jew living in Yathrib (later renamed Madinat al-Nabi, city of the
Prophet in honor of Muhammad) told a gathering of his community
on the even of Muhammad‟s birth that “This night the star is risen,
under which the Apostle is born.”

KI:65: "And now concerning this wondrous and most exalted
Cause. Know thou verily that many as astronomer hath
announced the appearance of its star in the visible heaven..."

Astral phenomena associated with the declaration of the Báb in 1844
have been identified by several Seventh Day Adventist writers,
including Leroy E. Froom, “The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers”.

KI:66: "From all that We have stated it hath become clear and
manifest that before the revelation of each of the Mirrors
reflecting the divine Essence, the signs heralding their advent
must needs be revealed in the visible heaven..."

Verification of the actual existence of stars or other celestial
phenomena which heralded the appearance of each of the prophet of
God will be attempted in subsequent volumes devoted to the proofs
of prophethood applied to particular prophets.
ELEVENTH PROOF:
THE HERALDS OF THE PROPHETS

As we have already read, the star appearing in the physical heavens to
announce the coming of the new prophet is complemented in the
invisible heavens, that is in the spiritual realm which is manifested in
holy souls. Bahá‟u‟lláh elucidates in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:62-63: "In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall
be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act
as a harbinger of the break of that true and exalted Morn.
These twofold signs, in the visible and the invisible heaven,
have announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of
God, as is commonly believed. Among the Prophets was
Abraham, the Friend of God. Ere He manifested Himself,
Nimrod dreamed a dream. Thereupon, he summoned the
soothsayers, who in-formed him of the rise of a star in the
heaven. Likewise, there appeared a herald who announced
throughout the land the coming of Abraham. After Him
came Moses, He Who held converse with God...In like manner, there appeared a sage who, in the darkness of the night,
brought tidings of joy unto the people of Israel, imparting
consolation to their souls, and assurance to their hearts. To
this testify the records of the sacred books..."

KI:64-66: "In like manner, when the hour of the Revelation of
Jesus drew nigh...the sign in the invisible heaven--the heaven
of divine knowledge and understanding--it was Yahya, son of
Zachariah, who gave unto the people the tidings of the
Manifestation of Jesus. Even as He hath revealed: "God
announceth Yahya to thee, who shall bear witness unto the
Word from God, and a great one and chaste." By the term
"Word" is meant Jesus, Whose coming Yahya foretold.
Moreover, in the heavenly Scriptures it is written: "John the
Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying,
Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." By John is
meant Yahya. Likewise, ere the beauty of Muhammad was
unveiled, the signs of the visible heaven were made manifest.
As to the signs of the invisible heaven, there appeared four
men who successively announced unto the people the joyful
tidings of the rise of that divine Luminary. Ruz-bih, later
named Salman, was honoured by being in their service. As
the end of one of these approached, he would send Ruz-bih
unto the other, until the fourth who, feeling his death to be
nigh, addressed Ruz-bih saying: "O Ruz-bih! when thou hast
taken up my body and buried it, go to Hijaz for there the Daystar of Muhammad will arise. Happy art thou, for thou shalt
behold His face!" And now concerning this wondrous and
most exalted Cause. Know thou verily that many an
astronomer hath announced the appearance of its star in the
visible heaven. Likewise, there appeared on earth Ahmad and
Kazim, those twin resplendent lights--may God sanctify their
resting-place! From all that We have stated it hath become
clear and manifest that before the revelation of each of the
Mirrors reflecting the divine Essence, the signs heralding their
advent must needs be revealed in the visible heaven as well as
in the invisible, wherein is the seat of the sun of knowledge, of
the moon of wisdom, and of the stars of understanding and
utterance. The sign of the invisible heaven must needs be
revealed in the person of that perfect man who, before each
Manifestation appeareth, educateth, and prepareth the souls of
men for the advent of the divine Luminary, the Light of the
unity of God amongst men."

As for the "sign in the invisible heaven" whom Bahá‟u‟lláh identifies as
having heralded his revelation, he writes in "Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf":

ESW:158: "John, son of Zacharias, said what My Forerunner
hath said: "Saying, repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at
hand. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but
He that cometh after Me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am
not worthy to bear." Wherefore, hath My Forerunner, as a
sign of submissiveness and humility, said: "The whole of the
Bayán is only a leaf amongst the leaves of His Paradise." And
like-wise, He saith: "I am the first to adore Him, and pride
Myself on My kinship with Him."

ESW:171: "The purpose of the Most Exalted One (the Báb)
was to insure that the proximity of the Revelation should not
withhold men from the Divine and everlasting Law, even as
the companions of John (the Baptist) were prevented from
acknowledging Him Who is the Spirit (Jesus).
TWELFTH PROOF:
THE TRIUMPH OF THE CAUSE OF THE PROPHET

In preceding proofs we have seen that all of the prophets have
suffered rejection at the hands of the rulers of their lands and have
been opposed or ignored by the majority of the commoners, so much
so that it may be said, along with Jesus Christ: "A prophet is not
without honour, save in his own country, and in his own
house."(Gospels of Matthew 13:57b; Luke 4:24; John 4:44)
Nevertheless, the True Cause prevails, and nothing can impede it from
eventual triumph. Jesus speaks to this theme, according to the Gospel
of Matthew:

"Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted,
shall be rooted up.
"Let them alone [the Pharisees]: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch." (Gospel of Matthew 15:13-14)

After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Book of Acts
indicates that "one of the council"--that is, one of the Sanhedrin, the
ruling council of Jewish elders in the land of Israel-- "a Pharisee,
named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law" who "who had in reputation
among all the people" (Acts 5:34), spoke these words to the assembled
members regarding the followers of Jesus Christ:

"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let
them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will
come to nought:
"But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest happly ye be
found to fight against God." (Book of Acts 5:38-39)

It appears that this saying was quoted by the author(s) of the Book of
Acts because it agreed with their understanding of this proof of
prophethood. Bahá‟u‟lláh sets forth this proof in "Surat al-Muluk":

GL:219-220: "Dost thou imagine, O Minister of the Shah in
the City (Constantinople), that I hold within My grasp the
ultimate destiny of the Cause of God? Thinkest Thou that
My imprisonment, or the shame I have been made to suffer,
or even My death and utter annihilation, can deflect its
course? Wretched is what thou hast imagined in thine heart!
Thou art indeed of them that walk after the vain imaginings
which their hearts devise. No God is there but Him.
Powerful is He to manifest His Cause, and to exalt His
testimony, and to esta-blish whatsoever is His Will, and to
elevate it to so eminent a position that neither thine own
hands, nor the hands of them that have turned away from
Him, can ever touch or harm it. Dost thou believe thou hast
the power to frustrate His Will, to hinder Him from executing
His judgment, or to deter Him from exercising His
sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the heavens or in
the earth can resist His Faith? No, by Him Who is the
Eternal Truth! Nothing whatsoever in the whole of creation
can thwart His Purpose...If this Cause be of God, no man can
prevail against it; and if it be not of God, the divines amongst
you, and they that follow their corrupt desires and such as
have rebelled against Him will surely suffice to overpower it."
(GL:219-220; the last sentence is quoted in PDC:90)

In another Tablet, "Lawh-i-Abu'l-Hasan fi'l-shin", Bahá‟u‟lláh
underscores this theme with a personal appeal which recalls the words
of Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as
thou wilt."(Gospel of Matthew 26:39b):

GL:91: "Think ye, O people, that I hold within My grasp the
control of God's ultimate Will and Purpose? Far be it from
Me to advance such a claim. To this I testify before God, the
Almighty, the Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Had
the ultimate destiny of God's Faith been in Mine hands, I
would have never consented, even though for one moment, to
manifest Myself unto you, nor would I have allowed one word
to fall from My lips. Of this God Himself is, verily, a
witness."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá has expatiated liberally upon this theme, such as from
this talk that refers to its fulfillment in the case of Moses:

PUP:405: "For example, let us review the events connected
with the history of Moses--upon Him be peace! He dwelt in Midian
at a time when the children of Israel were in captivity and bondage in
the land of Egypt, subjected to every tyranny and severe
oppression...At such a time as this and under such forbidding
conditions Moses appeared and shone forth with a heavenly radiance.
He saved Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh and released them from
captivity. He led them out of the land of Egypt and into the Holy
Land…In a word He led them out of their condition of hopelessness
and brought them to efficiency in the plane of confidence and valor.
They became renowned throughout the ancient world until finally in
the zenith and splendor of their new civilization the glory of the
sovereignty of Solomon was attained."

In subsequent volumes, the case of each of the Prophets will be
considered. The achievements of the prophet Moses have already
been cited in the Eighth Proof, and they will be mentioned again in
relation to yet another proof. How is it possible to recycle this
historical evidence to prove more than one Proof to be correct? In
the first case, we consider a Proof in support of Moses based upon his
exaltation of the abased, through his influence upon his followers over
a lengthy period of time. In order to support such a claim we must
cite historical evidence that such an exaltation occurred. In this
second case, we are considering a Proof founded upon the triumph of
the Cause of God in the face of opposition and separate from the
person and presence of the prophet. The reader must be satisfied that
the historical record shows that the Cause of God in the Dispensation
of Moses did in fact triumph and that this triumph was not dependent
upon the physical presence of Moses. Clearly, much of the same
historical record will be cited for the first case and the second case.
Likewise, as we shall see presently, the same evidence would be
required for a later Proof. In all three cases it is not dogma or belief or
legend or some magical or mystical formula which is being referred to
as corroborative evidence in support of these proofs--it is universally
recognized factual evidence. This is just a reminder to the reader that
divine philosophy is not an obscure theological science, one of "those
which begin with words and end with words"(Bahá‟u‟lláh, "Third
Tajalli", TB:52), rather it is "in reality, the science of Divinity...the
revelation of reality"(PUP:326).

This proof, called "daliil-i-taqriir" (proof of establishment) was much
developed by Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani in his Kitabu‟l-Fara‟id, and
the reader is referred to a fine article on this subject, written by Dr.
Kavian Milani and Dr. Leila Milani, entitled "The Proof Based on
Establishment and the Proof Based on Verses," in JBS:VII:4 (June-
September 1997).
THIRTEENTH PROOF:
PROPHET'S ANNULMENT OF PREVIOUS
DISPENSATIONS

The universality of this Proof is stated briefly in Bahá‟u‟lláh's "Kitáb-i-
ĺqán":

KI:39: "Inasmuch as every subsequent Revelation hath
abolished the manners, habits, and teachings that have been
clearly, specifically, and firmly established by the former
Dispensation, these have accordingly been symbolically
expressed in terms of "sun" and "moon"."

This is written in relation to the interpretation of certain verses in the
Scriptures (Tanakh, Gospels and Qur'an) which refer to the darkening
of the sun and the eclipse of the moon at the time of the end.
Bahá‟u‟lláh interprets this as a symbolic depiction of the annulment of
fundamental laws in each new Dispensation:

KI:38,39: "In another sense, by the terms "sun", "moon", and
"stars" are meant such laws and teachings as have been
established and pro-claimed in every Dispensation, such as the
laws of prayer and fasting...The traditions established the fact
that in all Dispensations the law of prayer hath constituted a
fundamental element of the Revelation of all the Prophets of
God--a law the form and the manner of which hath been
adapted to the varying requirements of every age."

In the interpretation of another verse from the Scriptures, Bahá‟u‟lláh
again makes reference to this theme:

KI:44-45: "As He hath said: "When the heaven shall be cloven
asunder. " By "heaven" is meant the heaven of divine
Revelation, which is elevated with every Manifestation, and
rent asunder with every subsequent one. By "cloven asunder"
is meant that the former Dispensation is superseded and
annulled. I swear by God! That this heaven being cloven
asunder is, to the discerning, an act mightier than the cleaving
of the skies! Ponder a while. That a divine Revelation which
for years hath been securely established; beneath whose
shadow all who have embraced it have been reared and
nurtured; by the light of whose law generations of men have
been disciplined; the excellency of whose word men have
heard recounted by their fathers; in such wise that human eye
hath beheld naught but the pervading influence of its grace,
and mortal ear hath heard naught but the resounding majesty
of its command--what act is mightier than that such a
Revelation should, by the power of God, be "cloven asunder"
and be abolished at the appearance of one soul?"

Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to his own Dispensation, annulling that of the Báb,
in "Lawh-i-Ahmad Quli Khan":

GL:147: "…after the lapse of a few years the heaven of
Divine decree was cleft asunder, and the Beauty of the Báb
appeared in the clouds of the names of God, arrayed in a new
raiment..."

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh writes of the opposition of the people to
the new prophet:

KI:238: "It is evident that the reason for such behaviour is
none other than the annulment of those rules, customs,
habits, and ceremonials to which they have been subjected.
Otherwise, were the Beauty of the Merciful to comply with
those same rules and customs, which are current amongst the
people, and were He to sanction their observances, such
conflict and mischief would in no wise be made manifest in
the world.

Bahá‟u‟lláh reaffirms in "Kitab-i-Aqdas" the principle established in
"Kitáb-i-ĺqán", that the laws of the new Prophet eclipse those of
previous Dispensations:

KA:#7: "Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven
of Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all,
though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every
religion to be cleft asunder. He doeth what He pleaseth."

Bahá‟u‟lláh qualifies this assertion, by affirming that essentially the
Faith of God is “changeless”:
KA:#182: "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the
past, eternal in the future."

This affirmation is embodied in a distinct Proof of the prophets which
will be considered presently. „Abdu‟l-Bahá qualifies the annulment of
divinely-ordained laws, by stipulating that the essential truths of the
Cause of God are renewed in each Dispensation and by each Prophet.
Therefore "the foundations of the religions of God are one
foundation"(PUP:364), and for what "concerns the world of morality
and ethical training of human nature...the advancement of the world of
humanity in general...the knowledge of God...ideal and spiritual
teaching, the essential quality of divine religion" this essence of religion
is "not subject to change or transformation. It is the one foundation
of all the religions of God. Therefore, the religions are essentially one
and the same."(PUP:364-65)

However, religion is not comprised only of essential truths and eternal
spiritual laws. Indeed, "each of the divine religions is separable into
two divisions. One concerns the world of morality..." as we have
already seen." (PUP:364) He elaborates upon the division of laws
which are subject to annulment in every Dispensation by every
Prophet:

PUP:365: "The second classification or division comprises
social laws and regulations applicable to human conduct. This is not
the essential spiritual quality of religion. It is subject to change and
transformation according to the exigencies and requirements of time
and place...During the cycle of Adam it was lawful and expedient for a
man to marry his own sister, even as Abel, Cain and Seth, the sons of
Adam, married their sisters...For instance, in the time of Noah certain
requirements made it necessary that all seafood be allowable or lawful.
During the time of the Abrahamic Prophethood it was considered
allowable, because of a certain exigency, that a man should marry his
aunt, even as Sarah was the sister of Abraham's mother...But in the law
of the Pentateuch revealed by Moses these marriages were
forbidden and their custom and sanction abrogated. Other laws
formerly valid were annulled during the time of Moses."
FOURTEENTH PROOF:
INNATE, DIVINELY-INSPIRED KNOWLEDGE OF THE
PROPHETS

Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to the divine knowledge of all the Manifestations of
God in Kitáb-i-ĺqán:

KI:100: "They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and
the Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is
transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the
light that can never fade."

In other Writings, including the Seven Valleys, a Tablet addressed to
'Abbas Faruq, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and Lawh-i-Hikmat, Bahá‟u‟lláh
refers to his own innate and divinely-inspired knowledge:

SV:26: "There is many an utterance of the mystic seers and
doctors of former times which I have not mentioned here,
since I mislike the copious citation from sayings of the past;
for quotation from the words of others proveth acquired
learning, not the divine bestowal. Even so much as We have
quoted here is out deference to the wont of men, and after the
manner of the friends. Further, such are beyond the scope of
this epistle. Our unwillingness to recount their sayings is not
from pride, but is it a manifestation of wisdom and a
demonstration of grace."

GL:XXIII:58: "Consider this Wronged One...though, in spite
of His not being accounted among the learned, His being
unschooled and inexperienced in the disputations current
among the divines, He hath rained upon men the showers of
His manifold and Divinely-inspired knowledge; yet, behold
how this generation hath rejected His authority, and rebelled
against Him!"

Gl:XLI:90-91: "God is My witness, O people! I was asleep
on My couch, when lo, the Breeze of God wafting over Me
roused Me from My slumber. His quickening Spirit revived
Me, and My tongue was unloosed to voice His Call. Accuse
Me not of having transgressed against God. Behold Me, not
with your eyes but with Mine. Thus admonisheth you He
Who is the Gracious, the All-Knowing. Think ye, O people,
that I hold within My grasp the control of God‟s ulti-mate
Will and Purpose? Far be it from Me to advance such claim.
To this I testify before God, the Almighty, the Exalted, the
All-Know-ing, the All-Wise. Had the ultimate destiny of
God‟s Faith been in Mine hands, I would have never
consented, even though for one mo-ment, to manifest Myself
unto you, nor would I have allowed one word to fall from My
lips. Of this God Himself is, verily, a witness."

GL:CXIII: "Dost thou imagine, O Minister of the Shah in the
City33 , that I hold within My grasp the ultimate destiny of the
Cause of God? Thinkest thou that My imprisonment, or the
shame I have been made to suffer, or even My death and utter
annihilation, can deflect its course? Wretched is what thou
hast imagined in thine heart! Thou art indeed of them that
walk after the vain imaginings which their hearts devise."

KA: #104: "We have not entered any school, nor read any of
your dissertations. Incline your ears to the words of this
unlettered One, wherewith He summoneth you unto God, the
Ever-Abiding. Better is this for you than all the treasures of
the earth, could ye but comprehend it."

TB:149: "Thou knoweth full well that We perused not the
books which men possess and We acquired not the learning
current amongst them, and yet when We desire to quote the
sayings of the learned and of the wise, presently there will
appear before the face of thy Lord in the form of a tablet all
that which hath appeared in the world and is revealed in the
Holy Books and Scriptures. Thus do We set down in writing
that which the eye perceiveth. Verily His knowledge
encompasseth the earth and the heavens."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá states this Proof in reference to all of the Prophets as
follows:

ABDP:53-54: "The sun emanates from itself and does not
draw its light from other sources. The divine teachers have the innate
light; they have knowledge and understanding of all things in the
universe; the rest of the world receives its light from them and through
them the arts and sciences are revived in each age.
"Abraham and Moses went to no school; Jesus had neither
school nor master; Muhammed never had a lesson: the Báb and
Bahá‟u‟lláh had no professors. Read the books written by Bahá‟u‟lláh-
-the philosophers and savants in the Orient will bear witness to His

Constantinople.
eloquence and learning. In the Orient this is considered a proof of His
divinity. There they say, "If some one can write a letter like
Bahá‟u‟lláh, Bahá‟u‟lláh's divinity cannot be denied." No one has yet
competed. How can those who depend on mortals be divine
messengers? How can a lamp which has to be lighted be eternal? The
divine teacher does not come to acquire knowledge, for this tree of life
is a fruit tree by birth and not through grafting. Behold the sacred tree
which spreads its shade over the whole world! This is the mission of
Bahá‟u‟lláh--for under this tree all questions are solved!"

While „Abdu‟l-Bahá makes reference to four prophets in the course of
this argument, very little information is given for three out of the four.
While the lack of schooling and the innate knowledge of Jesus Christ
are reported in the Gospels, those attributes of Muhammad are
reported in the "ahadith" (which, like the Gospels, are the recorded
acts and sayings of the prophet compiled by certain of His followers
after His ascension) in considerable detail but many of these accounts
(in the "ahadith") are difficult or impossible to substantiate. On the
other hand, there are extant testimonies from eye-witnesses to the
childhood and youth of both the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh, and in both of
these cases there seems to have been very little formal education.
„Abdu‟l-Bahá cites one example of the innate knowledge revealed by
Muhammad in the Qur'an:

"Though Pythagoras, and Plato during the latter part of his
life, adopted the theory that the annual movement of the sun around
the zodiac does not proceed from the sun, but rather from the
movement of the earth around the sun; this theory had been entirely
forgotten, and the Ptolemaic system was accepted by all
mathematicians But there are some verses revealed in the Qur'an
contrary to the theory of the Ptolemaic system. One of them is 'The
sun moves in a fixed place,'34 which shows the fixity of the sun, and
its movement around an axis. Again, in another verse, 'And each star
moves in its own heaven.'35
“Thus is explained the movement of the sun, of the moon, of
the earth, and of other bodies. When the Qur'an appeared all the
mathematicians ridiculed these statements, and attributed the theory to
ignorance. Even the doctors of Islam, when they saw that these verses
were contrary to the accepted Ptolemaic system, were obliged to
explain them away. It was not until after the fifteenth century of the
Christian era, nearly nine hundred years after Muhammad, that a
famous astronomer made new observations and important discoveries

34Qur‟an 36:38.
35Qur‟an 36:39-40.
by the aid of the telescope which he had invented. The rotation of the
earth, the fixity of the sun, and also its movement around an axis, were
discovered. It became evident that the verses of the Qur'an agreed
with existing facts, and that the Ptolemaic system was imaginary."
(SAQ:28-29)
FIFTEENTH PROOF:
PROPHET'S PROPHECIES FULFILLED

„Abdu‟l-Bahá asserts that "The purpose in religion is pure love and
agreement. The Prophets of God manifested complete love for all.
Each One announced the glad tidings of His successor, and each
subsequent One confirmed the teachings and prophecies of the
Prophet Who preceded Him. There was no disagreement or variance
in the reality of Their teaching and mission. Discord has arisen among
Their followers, who have lost sight of reality and hold fast to
imitations."(PUP:234) "Each of the holy Manifestations announced
the glad tidings of His successor, and each One confirmed the
message of His predecessor."(PUP:339) "In conclusion, since the
Prophets themselves, the Founders, have loved, praised and testified
of each other, why should we disagree and be alienated?"(PUP:410)
Inasmuch as divine philosophy asserts that all of the prophets have in
turn prophesied of their successors and confirmed their predecessors,
then we must conclude that in all cases the prophecies of the prophets
have been fulfilled. The specific prophecies fulfilled by the Prophets
are discussed in principle in the First Proof and, in great detail, in
subsequent volumes devoted to particular Prophets. Bahá‟u‟lláh refers
to this proof of his prophethood in His Tablet to 'Abbas Faruq:

GL:XXIII:58: "Consider this Wronged One. Though the
clearest proofs attest the truth of His Cause; though the
prophecies He, in an unmistakable language, hath made have
been fulfilled...yet, behold how this generation hath rejected
His authority, and rebelled against Him."

However, the prophet of God does not only prophesy the appearance
of His immediate successor. There are many prophecies of the post-
Mosaic Hebraic prophets recorded in the Tanakh which were not
fulfilled by Jesus; there are prophecies attributed to Jesus Christ which
are not realized in Muhammad; likewise, there are prophecies
associated with Muhammad which were not claimed by the Báb.
Sometimes the prophecies of a particular prophet skip over
Dispensations and are fulfilled in a Dispensation far removed from
that of the prophet himself. Also, a particular prophecy may be
realized in one sense by the appearance of one Prophet and realized in
another meaning through the manifestation of a successive Prophet.

Many of the prophets of God have also prophesied events which had
nothing whatsoever to do with their prophetic successors. Noah
prophesied the Flood to His generation; Abraham revealed that His
descendants would people the Holy Land; Joseph prophesied,
interpreting the dream of Pharoah that there would be seven years of
plenty followed by seven years of famine, and this was so; Daniel
interpreted the dream of Belshazzar, which was prophetic in nature;
Nathan prophesied the death of the firstborn of David and Bathsheba
as a punishment for their wrongdoing; a number of the Hebraic
prophets prophesied the punishment of Israel for its idolatry and
immorality, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos and
Micah. There are also the many testimonies of the prophesies of the
Qur'anic prophets. The fulfillment of these many prophecies is
sometimes attested in the text of the Scriptures, and in other cases
discernible from the historical record.

Both the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh revealed prophecies which were fulfilled
within a matter of years, and both the prophecies and the fulfillments
can be attested by factual evidences which are impossible to
controvert. Speaking of Bahá‟u‟lláh, „Abdu‟l-Bahá cites a portion of
his father‟s "Tablet to the Sultan of Turkey" and says, "There are many
other prophecies in this book, especially in the Epistle to the Shah of
Persia, all of which prophecies have come to pass. As they are lengthy,
we will not have time to quote them."(PUP:399) Speaking again of
these two Epistles and to the Tablets to Napoleon III and to other
world rulers, he says, "The book containing these Epistles to the kings
was published in India about thirty years ago and is known as Suratu'l-
Haykal ("Discourse of the Temple"). Whatever is recorded in these
Epistles has happened. Some of the prophecies contained in them
came to pass after two years; others were fulfilled after five, ten or
twenty years. The most important prophecies relative to events
transpiring in the Balkans are being fulfilled at the present time [1912]
though written long ago. For instance, in the Epistle which
Bahá‟u‟lláh addressed to the Sultan of Turkey, the war and the
occurrences of the present day were foretold by Him. These events
were also prophesied in the Tablet He addressed to the city of
Constantinople, even to the details of happenings now being witnessed
in that city."(PUP:432)

Bahá‟u‟lláh confirms that he did indeed reveal these prophecies and
that they were fulfilled in such a short time interval in "Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf":

ESW:148: "Accordingly in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and in the
Tablets to the Kings, and in the Lawh-i-Ra'is, and in the
Lawh-i-Fu'ad, most of the things which have come to pass on
this earth have been announced and prophesied by the Most
Sublime Pen."
ESW:150: "He, verily, hath manifested that which was hidden,
when He, upon His return, mounted the throne of the Bayán.
All that hath been sent down hath and will come to pass,
word for word, upon earth. No possibility is left for anyone
either to turn aside or protest. As fairness, however, is
disgraced and concealed, most men speak as prompted by
their own idle fancies."

Also, in the "Lawh-i-'Abbas Faruk", Bahá‟u‟lláh also asserts:

GL:58: "Consider this Wronged One. Though the clearest
proofs attest the truth of His Cause; though the prophecies
He, in an unmistakable language, hath made have been
fulfilled; though, in spite of His not being accounted among
the learned, His being unschooled and inexperienced in the
disputations current among the divines, He hath rained upon
men the showers of His manifold and Divinely-inspired
knowledge; yet, behold how this generation hath rejected His
authority, and rebelled against Him!"

And in "Lawh-i-Maqsud" Bahá‟u‟lláh quotes Muhammad:

GL:221: "He said, and He, verily, speaketh the truth: "Will ye
slay a man because he saith my Lord is God, when he hath
already come to you with proofs of his mission? And if he be
a liar, on him will be his lie, but if he be a man of truth, part at
least of what he threateneth will fall upon you." This is what
God hath revealed unto His Well-Beloved One, in His
unerring Book."
SIXTEENTH PROOF:
REPUDIATION OF PROPHETS BY RELIGIOUS LEADERS

"From the beginning of the world until the present time," is the
testimony of „Abdu‟l-Bahá, "each 'Manifestation' sent from God has
been opposed by an embodiment of the 'Powers of Darkness'. This
dark power has always endeavoured to extinguish the light. Tyranny
has ever sought to overcome justice. Ignorance has persistently tried
to trample knowledge underfoot. This has, from the earliest ages,
been the method of the material world. In the time of Moses, Pharaoh
set himself to prevent the Mosaic Light being spread abroad. In the
day of Christ, Annas and Caiaphas inflamed the Jewish people against
Him and the learned doctors of Israel joined together to resist His
Power. All sorts of calumnies were circulated against Him. The
Scribes and Pharisees conspired to make the people believe Him to be
a liar, an apostate, and a blasphemer. They spread these slanders
throughout the whole Eastern world against Christ, and caused Him to
be condemned to a shameful death! In the case of Muhammad also,
the learned doctors of His day determined to extinguish the light of
His influence. They tried by the power of the sword to prevent the
spread of His teaching."(PT:102, UK-11th ed.)

In reference to the Báb he writes: "This illustrious soul arose with such
power that He shook the supports of the religion, of the morals, the
conditions, the habits, and the customs of Persia, and instituted new
rules, new laws, and a new religion. Though the great personages of
the State, nearly all the clergy, and the public men, arose to destroy and
annihilate Him, He alone withstood them, and moved the whole of
Persia."(SAQ:30) In reference to Bahá‟u‟lláh, "At the time when this
great Light suddenly arose upon the horizon of Persia, all the people,
the ministers, the Ulama, and men of other classes rose against Him,
pursuing Him with the greatest animosity, and proclaiming 'that this
man wishes to suppress and destroy the religion, the law, the nation,
and the empire.' The same was said of Christ. But Bahá‟u‟lláh alone
and without support resisted them all, without ever showing the least
weakness."(SAQ:35-36) "When Bahá‟u‟lláh appeared in Persia, all the
contemporaneous religious sects and systems rose against
Him."(PUP:431) "His teachings were spread abroad, and his
exhortations affected many of those who had been the most full of
hatred, and made them firm believers; even the Persian government
itself became awakened, and regretted that which had arisen through
the fault of the Ulama."(SAQ:37)

Bahá‟u‟lláh has written on this theme, in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán," "Lawh-i-
'Abbas Faruq," "Lawh-i-Burhan," and other Tablets cited here:
KI:165: "It is clear and evident that whenever the
Manifestations of Holiness were revealed, the divines of their
day have hindered the people from attaining unto the way of
truth. To this testify the records of all the scriptures and
heavenly books. Not one Prophet of God was made manifest
Who did not fall a victim to the relentless hate, to the
denunciation, denial, and execration of the clerics of His day!"

KI:182: "For it behooveth no man to interpret the holy
words according to his own imperfect understanding, nor,
having found them to be contrary to his inclination and
desires, to reject and repudiate the truth. For such, today, is
the manner of the divines and doctors of the age, who occupy
the seats of knowledge and learning, and who have named
ignorance knowledge, and called oppression justice. Were
these to ask the Light of Truth concerning those images
which their idle fancy hath carved, and were they to find His
answer inconsistent with their own conceptions and their own
understanding of the Book, they would assuredly denounce
Him Who is the Mine and Well-head of all Knowledge as the
very negation of understanding. Such things happened in
every age."

KI:228-229: "Let it be known, however, that none of these
doctors and divines to whom We have referred was invested
with the rank and dignity of leadership. For well-known and
influential leaders of religion, who occupy the seats of
authority and exercise the functions of leadership, can in no
wise bear allegiance to the Revealer of truth, except
whomsoever thy Lord willeth. But for a few, such things have
never come to pass. 'And few of My servants are the thankful.'
[Qur'an 34:13] Even as in this Dispensation [Bábi], not one
amongst the renowned divines, in the grasp of whose
authority were held the reins of the people, hath embraced the
Faith. Nay, have striven against it with such animosity and
determination that no ear hath heard and no eye hath seen the
like. The Báb, the most exalted--may the life of all be a
sacrifice unto Him,--hath specifically revealed an Epistle unto
the divines of every city, wherein He hath fully set forth the
character of the denial and repudiation of each of them."

GL:56-58: "Witness how every time the Day Star of Divine
bounty hath shed the light of His Revelation upon the world,
the people of His Day have arisen against Him, and
repudiated His truth. They who were regarded as the leaders
of men have invariably striven to hinder their followers from
turning unto Him Who is the Ocean of God's limitless
bounty. Behold how the people, as a result of the verdict
pronounced by the divines of His age, have cast Abraham, the
Friend of God, into fire; how Moses, He Who held converse
with the Almighty, was denounced as liar and slanderer.
Reflect how Jesus, the Spirit of God, was, notwithstanding
His extreme meekness and perfect tender-heartedness, treated
by His enemies. So fierce was the opposition which He, the
Essence of Being and Lord of the visible and invisible, had to
face, that He had nowhere to lay His head. He wandered
continually from place to place, deprived of a permanent
abode. Ponder that which befell Muhammad, the Seal of the
Prophets, may the life of all else be a sacrifice unto Him.
How severe the afflictions which the leaders of the Jewish
people and of the idol-worshipers caused to rain upon Him,
Who is the sovereign Lord of all, in consequence of His
proclamation of the unity of God and of the truth of His
Message! By the righteousness of My Cause! My Pen
groaneth, and all created things weep with a great weeping, as
a result of the woes He suffered at the hands of them that
have broken the Covenant of God, violated His Testament,
rejected His proofs, and disputed His signs. Thus recount We
unto thee the tale of that which happened in days past, haply
thou mayest comprehend...
"At no time, in no Dispensation, have the Prophets of God
escaped the blasphemy of their enemies, the cruelty of their
oppressors, the denunciation of the learned of their age, who
appeared in the guise of uprightness and piety. Day and night
they passed through such agonies as none can ever measure,
except the knowledge of the one true God, exalted be His
glory."

TB:206: "What proof did the Jewish doctors adduce
wherewith to condemn Him Who was the Spirit of God,
when He came unto them with truth? What could have been
the evidence produced by the Pharisees and the idolatrous
priests to justify their denial of Muhammad, the Apostle of
God when He came unto them with a Book that judged
between truth and falsehood with a justice which turned into
light the darkness of the earth, and enraptured the hearts of
such as had known Him? Indeed thou hast produced, in this
day, the same proofs which the foolish divines advanced in
that age. Unto this testifieth He Who is the King of the realm
of grace in this great Prison. Thou hast, truly, walked in their
ways, nay, hast surpassed them in their cruelty, and hast
deemed thyself to be helping the Faith and defending the Law
of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."

GL:XXXV:83: "Consider the Dispensation of Jesus Christ.
Behold, the learned men of that generation, though eagerly
anticipating the coming of the Promised One, have
nevertheless denied Him. Both Annas, the most learned
among the divines of His day, and Caiaphas, the high priest,
denounced Him and pronounced the sentence of His death.
In like manner, when Muhammad, the Prophet of God--may
all men be a sacrifice unto Him--appeared, the learned of
Mecca and Medina arose, in early days of His Revelation,
against Him and rejected His Message...

It is evident then, that in every age virtually all of the ecclesiastical
authorities have opposed the new prophet of God. Along with the
opposition of religious leaders there has been in every age the denial
and oppression of secular authorities as well, already indicated as
Nimrod in the epoch of Abraham, Pharaoh in that of Moses, Herod in
that of Jesus, various shaykhs and kings in that of Muhammad,
Muhammad Shah and Nasiri'd-Din Shah and Grand Vizir Hajji Mirza
Aqasi in that of the Báb, Nasiri'd-Din Shah and Sultan 'Abdu'l-Majid
and Grand Vizir 'Ali Pasha in that of Bahá‟u‟lláh. However, divine
philosophy does not regard the oppression and opposition of the
secular leaders with the same seriousness as that of the religious
authorities inasmuch as, in every age, the secular leaders follow the
dictates of the religious authorities in matters of faith, and the
emergence of a new prophet is decidedly a matter of faith. Nimrod,
Pharaoh and Herod were all of them warned by their respective
soothsayers of the immanent appearance of a Manifestation of God,
and it is clear from the Scriptural accounts that these monarchs acted
on the advice of their so-called spiritual guides. This may account to
some degree for the strongly condemnatory language found in the
prophets' writings in repudiation of soothsayers, which is found in the
Tanakh and the Qur'an.

Bahá‟u‟lláh's review of the opposition and denial of the people, the
leaders and the followers, referring to the prophetic missions of Noah,
Salih, Abraham and Moses, to be found in pages 4 through 15 (US
edition, 1970) inclusive in the English translation of "Kitáb-i-ĺqán"
reaches these conclusions. A short excerpt is cited here:

KI:14-15: "Unto every discerning observer it is evident and
manifest that had these people in the days of each of the
Manifestations of the Sun of Truth sanctified their eyes, their
ears, and their hearts from whatever they had seen, heard, and
felt, they surely would not have been deprived of beholding
the beauty of God, nor strayed far from the habitations of
glory. But having weighed the testimony of God by the
standard of their own knowledge, gleaned from the teachings
of the leaders of their faith, and found it at variance with their
limited understanding, they arose to perpetrate such unseemly
acts.
"Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people
from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as
they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some
for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge
and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of
the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of
God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His
flight unto the heights of glory. What unspeakable cruelties
they that have occupied the seats of authority and learning
have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those
Gems of divine virtue! Content with a transitory dominion,
they have deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty."

Bahá‟u‟lláh continues to develop this same theme in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán",
with explanations of the reasons for the opposition of the leaders of
religion which have in turn been largely responsible for the repudiation
of the prophets by the generality of mankind in every age, and indeed,
most of this book is devoted to unraveling this mighty theme along
with establishing the true proofs of the prophets and the true
interpretation of the meanings of the Scriptures. We will leave this
proof for the present with a concluding quote from this peerless
Epistle:

KI:238: "Among them is the tradition['hadith'], "And when
the Standard of Truth is made manifest, the people of both
the East and the West curse it." The wine of renunciation
must needs be quaffed, the lofty heights of detachment must
needs be attained, and the meditation referred to in the words
"One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious
worship" must needs be observed, so that the secret of the
wretched behaviour of the people might be discovered, those
people who, despite the love and yearning for truth which
they profess, curse the followers of Truth when once He hath
been made manifest. To this truth the above-mentioned
tradition['hadith'] beareth witness."
SEVENTEENTH PROOF:
PENETRATION AND POTENCY OF WORD OF PROPHET

Divine philosophy considers that the Word of God, revealed in and
through the prophet of God is a proof of each of the prophets of
God. The penetration and potency of the Word of God is also
considered a proof of each of the prophets of God, but while the first
is a proof in itself, the second is a proof in its effects. „Abdu‟l-Bahá
describes this proof, as revealed in the ordering of the world, an
historical proof.

"Consider the flowers of a garden: though differing in kind,
colour, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the
waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by
the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth
unto their beauty. Thus when that unifying force, the penetrating
influence of the Word of God, taketh effect, the difference of
customs, manners, habits, ideas, opinions and dispositions
embellisheth the world of humanity. This diversity, this difference is
like the naturally created dissimilarity and variety of the limbs and
organs of the human body, for each one contributeth to the beauty,
efficiency and perfection of the whole. When these different limbs
and organs come under the influence of man's sovereign soul, and the
soul's power pervadeth the limbs and members, veins and arteries of
the body, then difference reinforceth harmony, diversity strengtheneth
love, and multiplicity is the greatest factor for coordination"
(SWAB:291)

"In like manner, when diverse shades of thought,
temperament and character are brought together under the power and
influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human
perfection will be revealed and made manifest. Naught but the
celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth
the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent
thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions of the children of men.
Verily, it is the penetrating power in all things, the mover of souls and
the binder and regulator in the world of humanity... Can any power
withstand the penetrating influence of the Word of God? Nay, by
God! The proof is clear and the evidence is complete!"(SWAB:291-
292, 292)

"The proof of the validity of a Manifestation of God is the
penetration and potency ;of His Word, the cultivation of heavenly
attributes in the hearts and lives of His followers and the bestowal of
divine education upon the world of humanity. This is absolute proof.
The world is a school in which there must be Teachers of the Word of
God. The evidence of the ability of these Teachers is efficient
education of the graduating classes."(PUP:341)

We have already encountered a proof of the prophet of God in His
exaltation of the abased, and in the spiritual transformation of His
followers. This present proof is not the proof of the "graduating
classes themselves", but rather of the "efficient education" thereof.
This is the proof of the power of the Word of God, which
distinguishes the words, the utterances and the writings of the
prophets of God from the words, whether spoken or written of
ordinary men and women. „Abdu‟l-Bahá gives a detailed exposition on
this theme to which we will refer presently. First, let us consider the
words of Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Lawh-i-Maqsud" on this subject:

TB:173-74: "The Word of God is the king of words and its
pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated
and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great
Being sayeth: The Word is the master key for the whole
world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the
hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are
unlocked. No sooner had but a glimmer of its effulgent
splendour shone forth upon the mirror of love than the
blessed word 'I am the Best-Beloved' was reflected therein. It
is an ocean inexhaustible in riches, comprehending all things.
Every thing which can be perceived is but an emanation
thereof. High, immeasurably high is this sublime station, in
whose shadow moveth the essence of loftiness and splendour,
wrapt in praise and adoration. Methinks people's sense of
taste hath, alas, been sorely affected by the fever of negligence
and folly, for they are found to be wholly unconscious and
deprived of the sweetness of His utterance. How regrettable
indeed that man should debar himself from the fruits of the
tree of wisdom while his days and hours pass swiftly away.
Please God, the hand of divine power may safeguard all
mankind and direct their steps towards the horizon of true
understanding."

In this passage Bahá‟u‟lláh speaks of the station of the Word of God
and of its spiritual influence upon all things. There seems then to be
one exception however to this influence, and this is in the case of man.
For man in general is "found to be wholly unconscious and deprived
of the sweetness of His utterance...from the fruits of the tree of
wisdom". The Word of God evidently has a universal influence upon
the realities of all things, and, separate from this, a specific influence
upon those men who are conscious and endowed "with the sweetness
of His utterance", who have partaken of "the fruits of the tree of
wisdom". Is this not in one sense Adam and Eve once again, choosing
the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil--and
in choosing what was forbidden already choosing evil--rather than the
permitted fruit of the tree of eternal life? The fruit latter tree was not
forbidden to Adam and Eve until after they had already chosen to
break the commandment of God, until they had polluted themselves
with the evil choice of the forbidden fruit; then, to become eternal as
well as disobedient was not permitted, for man can only have eternal
life if he sacrifices his selfish free will, if he submits his will to the Will
of God, if he returns to his original and perfect state of absolute
obedience. Evil is not permitted eternal existence, it is transitory and
evanescent and hence it is called illusion. Likewise, self-consciousness
is not permitted eternity unless it is transformed and reborn into the
spiritual life in which self becomes dependent upon God rather than
upon man or beast or itself. Hence, even as there is a universal
Revelation and a specific Revelation there is also a universal influence
of the Word of God and also a specific influence of the Word of God.

Regarding the universal potency and penetration of the Word of God,
Bahá‟u‟lláh wrote in "Lawh-i-Sada":

GL:141: "Every word that procedeth out of the mouth of
God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into
every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this
truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have
been manifested through the operation of His supreme and
most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose."

Perhaps the most original aspect of this proof of the prophets is
„Abdu‟l-Bahá's application thereof to the bringing about of unity
amongst divers peoples. In speaking of Jesus Christ, he asserts:

"Furthermore, various people of the Greek, Roman, Egyptian
and Assyrian nations were brought together in unity and agreement;
where warfare and bloodshed had existed, humility and love were
manifest...The power of His Word in cementing these nations together
is as clear and evident as the sun at midday. There is no need of
further demonstration." (PUP:340-41) Speaking of the Arabs in the
epoch of Muhammad, "The nation consisted of warring, hostile tribal
peoples inhabiting the vast Arabian peninsula, and their business
consisted in fighting and pillaging each other, making captive women
and children, killing each other. Muhammad appeared among such a
people. He educated and unified these barbarous tribes, put an end to
their shedding of blood."(PUP:346)

„Abdu‟l-Bahá was modest. The historical facts are much more
overwhelming when an accounting is made of all of the peoples who
identify themselves as Christians and all of those who affirm that they
are Muslims, whether historically or today. In 1912 „Abdu‟l-Bahá
stated that "The Christian people number nearly three hundred
millions and the Muslims about the same."(PUP:347) Historically, the
numbers of Christians and Muslims have numbered in the billions, and
presently they may number as many as one billion in each Faith. This
is a tremendous number of souls to become united under one agency.
Speaking of the prophet Bahá‟u‟lláh, the theme of unity continues:

"Today in Persia and the Orient you will find the followers of
Bahá‟u‟lláh united in the closest ties of fellowship and love. They have
abandoned religious prejudices and have become as one family. When
you enter their meetings, you will find Christians, Muslims, Buddhists,
Zoroastrians, Jews and representatives of other beliefs present, all
conjoined in a wonderful unity without a trace of bigotry or fanaticism,
and the light of the oneness of the world of humanity reflected in their
faces. Day by day they are advancing, manifesting greater and still
greater love for each other."(PUP:341)

Then the meaning of this proof is that the Word of God brings people
together, harmonizes them, makes it possible for them to live together
not just in peace but in love. If the word of the prophets can effect
this influence upon the human soul then indeed it is more powerful
than the word of any merely human being. The human soul though
can not "taste" the "sweetness of His utterance" and partake of "the
fruits of the tree of wisdom" (TB:173,174) unless it comes into contact
with that soul. Speaking of the "sweetness" of the Word of God, says
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:

"The sweetest thing in this world is to obey strictly the
commands of God and shun His prohibitions...For example, there is
nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer. Man must live
in a state of prayerfulness. The most blessed condition is the
condition of prayer and supplication. Prayer is "conversation with
God." The greatest attainment or the sweetest state is no other than
"conversation with God." It creates spirituality, generates mindfulness
and celestial feelings, begets the attraction of the Kingdom and
engenders the susceptibilities of the higher intelligence...Often at night
I do not sleep, and the thoughts of this world weigh heavily on my
mind. I toss uneasily in my bed. Then in the darkness of the night I
get up and pray--"converse with God." It is most sweet and uplifting.
Prayer and supplication are so effective as to inspire one's heart for the
whole day with high ideals and supreme serenity and calmness. One's
heart must be sensitive to the music of prayer."(SW:IX:9:104)

As Bahá‟u‟lláh wrote, those souls which are affected by the "fever of
negligence and folly" are "wholly unconscious and deprived of the
sweetness of His utterance."(TB:173,174). This is a state of mind
which is only possible for the soul that is healthy, that is not sick with
the fever of negligence which neglects its exposure to the Word of
God and the fever of folly which engages in behaviour that further
estranges the soul from the Word of God. It is only possible if the
soul wakes up, and becomes conscious of the sweetness of the Word
of God. Bahá‟u‟lláh also writes in "Kitab-i-Aqdas":

KA:#3: "Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words
which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he
would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession,
renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth
of even one of His commandments, shining above the
Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness."

KA:#4: "Say: From My laws the sweet-smelling savour of My
garment can be smelled, and by their aid the standards of
Victory will be planted upon the highest peaks. The Tongue
of My power hath, from the heaven of My omnipotent glory,
addressed to My creation these words: "Observe My
commandments, for the love of My beauty." Happy is the
lover that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best-
Beloved from these words, laden with the perfume of a grace
which no tongue can describe. By My life! He who hath
drunk the choice wine of fairness from the hands of My
bountiful favour will circle around My commandments that
shine above the Dayspring of My creation."

KA:#5: "Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere
code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine
with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness
that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate
upon this, O men of insight!"

The path which the soul must follow in order to heal itself of the fever
of negligence and folly and in order to become conscious of the
sweetness of the Word of God is elaborated in the scheme of divine
philosophy in subsequent volume. A "mere code of laws" cannot
transform a human soul, let alone unite millions of human beings in a
spiritual community. The "sweetness of the words", the "sweetsmelling savour of My garment" and the "choice wine of fairness",
these all describe the potency and power of the Word of God, the
power of God in the world to entice, to enrapture and to intoxicate
the heart of man.
EIGHTEENTH PROOF:
DIVINE AND ETERNAL SOVEREIGNTY OF THE
PROPHET

The prophet of God is no ordinary man. His reality becomes apparent
to most ordinary men only in the course of history, after the passing of
centuries. The prophet of God is the spiritual king and his sovereignty
is eternal. „Abdu‟l-Bahá compares the temporal monarch with the
spiritual king:

"It is easy to bring human bodies under control. A king can
bring under his rule and authority the bodies of his subjects
throughout a whole country. In former centuries kings and rulers have
absolutely dominated millions of men and have been thereby enabled
to carry out whatsoever they desire. If they willed to bestow happiness
and peace, they could do so; and if they determined to inflict suffering
and discomfort, they were equally capable. If they desired to send
men [in]to the field of battle, none could oppose their authority; and if
they decreed their kingdoms should enjoy the bliss and serenity of
immunity from war, this condition prevailed. In a word, kings and
rulers have been able to control millions of human beings and have
exercised that dominion with the utmost despotism and tyranny. The
point is this: that to gain control over physical bodies is an extremely
easy matter, but to bring spirits within the bonds[bounds] of serenity is
a most arduous undertaking. This is not the work of everybody. It
necessitates a divine and holy potency, the potency of inspiration, the
power of the Holy Spirit. For example, Christ was capable of leading
spirits into that abode of serenity. He was capable of guiding hearts
into that haven of rest. From the day of His manifestation to the
present time He has been resuscitating hearts and quickening spirits.
He has exercised that vivifying influence in the realm of hearts and
spirits; therefore, His resuscitating is everlasting."(PUP:276-77)

"How great the difference between the glory of Christ and the
glory of an earthly conqueror! It is related by historians that Napoleon
I embarked secretly by night from Egypt. His destination was France.
During his campaign in Palestine revolution had broken out and grave
difficulties had arisen in the home government. Christian worship had
been forbidden by the revolutionists. The priests of Christianity had
fled in terror. France had become atheistic; anarchy prevailed. The
ship sailed out into a night brilliant with the light of the moon.
Napoleon was pacing up and down the deck. His officers were sitting
together, talking. One of them spoke of the similarity between
Bonaparte and Christ. Napoleon stopped and said grimly, "Do you
think I am going back to France to establish religion?" Jesus Christ
established the religion of God through love. His sovereignty is
everlasting. Napoleon overthrew governments in war and bloodshed.
His dominion passed away: he himself was dethroned. Bonaparte
destroyed human life; Christ was a Savior. Bonaparte controlled the
physical bodies of men; Christ was a conqueror of human hearts.
None of the Prophets of God were famous men, but They were
unique in spiritual power. Love is the eternal sovereignty. Love is the
divine power. By it all the kings of [the] earth are overthrown and
conquered."(PUP:210-211)

Still speaking of Christ he says:

"Kings and nations rose against Him. Philosophers and the
greatest men of learning assailed and blasphemed His Cause. All were
defeated and overcome, their tongues silenced, their lamps
extinguished, their hatred quenched; no trace of them now remains.
They have become as nonexistent, while His Kingdom is triumphant
and eternal. The brilliant star of His Cause has ascended to the zenith,
while night has enveloped and eclipsed His enemies. His name,
beloved and adored by a few disciples, now commands the reverence
of [the] kings and nations of the world. His power is eternal; His
sovereignty will continue forever, while those who opposed Him are
sleeping in the dust, their very names unknown, forgotten. The little
army of disciples has become a mighty cohort of millions."(PUP:5)

This proof of the prophet of God is clearly described by „Abdu‟l-Bahá,
and although only the example of Jesus Christ is given here, in the
appropriate Gates each of the prophets will be considered from this
perspective, so that the reader may decide for himself whether or not
that prophet is proven to be true. Bahá‟u‟lláh writes of this proof in
"Kitáb-i-ĺqán" in reference to all of the Prophets of God:

KI:106-107: "Yea, the sovereignty attributed to the Qa'im and
spoken of in the scriptures, is a reality, the truth of which
none can doubt. This sovereignty, however, is not the
sovereignty which the minds of men have falsely imagined.
Moreover, the Prophets of old, each and every one, whenever
announcing to the people of their day the advent of the
coming Revelation, have invariably and specifically referred to
that sovereignty with which the promised Manifestation must
needs be invested. This is attested by the records of the
scriptures of the past. This sovereignty hath not been solely
and exclusively attributed to the Qa'im. Nay rather, the
attribute of sovereignty and all other names and attributes of
God have been and will ever be vouchsafed unto all the
Manifestations of God, before and after Him, inasmuch as
these Manifestations, as it hath already been explained, are the
Embodiments of the attributes of God, the Invisible, and the
Revealers of the divine mysteries."

Bahá‟u‟lláh then explains the meaning of this divine sovereignty in
several pages of "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" (pp. 107-112). He returns to this
theme with an explanation of the divine sovereignty of the Báb:

KI:234: "And among the evidences of the truth of His
manifestation were the ascendancy, the transcendent power,
and supremacy which He, the Revealer of being and
Manifestation of the Adored, hath, unaided and alone,
revealed throughout the world. No sooner had that eternal
Beauty revealed Himself in Shiraz, in the year sixty, and rent
asunder the veil of concealment, than the signs of the
ascendancy, the might, the sovereignty, and power, emanating
from that Essence of Essences and Sea of Seas, were manifest
in every land. So much so, that from every city there
appeared the signs, the evidences, the tokens, the testimonies
of that divine Luminary."

This statement will be studied carefully in the volume devoted to the
Báb. Inasmuch as it states that "the signs of the ascendancy, the
might, the sovereignty, and power" of the new prophet were "manifest
in every land" and as soon as the Báb revealed himself, "in the year
sixty", it should be easy enough to ascertain by this one proof alone
whether or not the Báb was a prophet of God. Either there are
evident signs of his power and sovereignty in every land and in every
city or there are not. A study of the historical record should be
sufficient for us to determine the truth of this stupendous claim.
However, Bahá‟u‟lláh does not affirm that the Báb was the only
prophet of God who manifested such signs of sovereignty and power.
In "Lawh-i-Muhammad Zarandi Nabil-i-A'zam" Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

GL:302: "Let thine ear be attentive, O Nabil-i-A'zam, to the
Voice of the Ancient of Days, crying to thee from the
Kingdom of His all-glorious Name. He it is Who is now
proclaiming from the realms above, and within the inmost
essence of all created things: "I truly am God, there is none
other God but Me. I am He Who, from everlasting, hath
been the Source of all sovereignty and power, He Who shall
continue, throughout eternity, to exercise His kingship and to
extend His protection unto all created things. My proof is the
greatness of My might and My sovereignty that embraceth the
whole of creation."...
"Blessed art thou, O My name, inasmuch as thou hast entered
Mine Ark, and art speeding, through the power of My
sovereign and most exalted might, on the ocean of grandeur,
and art numbered with My favored ones whose names the
Finger of God hath inscribed."

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh writes of all of the prophets:

KI:99-100: "These sanctified Mirrors, these Day-springs of
ancient glory are one and all Exponents on earth of Him Who
is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate
Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power;
from Him is derived their sovereignty." (GL:47-48)
NINETEENTH PROOF:
PROPHET CONFIRMS TRUTH OF PREVIOUS PROPHET

Bahá‟u‟lláh articulates this proof in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:20-21: "Every discerning observer will recognize that in
the Dispensation of the Qur'an both the Book and the Cause
of Jesus were confirmed. As to the matter of names,
Muhammad, Himself, declared: "I am Jesus." He recognized
the truth of the signs, prophecies, and words of Jesus, and
testified that they were all of God. In this sense, neither the
person of Jesus nor His writings hath differed from that of
Muhammad and His holy Book, inasmuch as both have
championed the Cause of God, uttered His praise, and
revealed His commandments."

In "Kitab-i-Aqdas" Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

KA:#182: "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the
past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and
as to him that hath refused to seek it--verily, God is Self-
Sufficient, above any need of His creatures."

KA:#183: "Say: This is the infallible Balance which the Hand
of God is holding, in which all who are in the heavens and all
who are on the earth are weighed, and their fate determined, if
ye be of them that believe and recognize this truth. Say: This
is the Most Great Testimony, by which the validity of every
proof throughout the ages hath been established, would that
ye might be assured thereof."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá confirms and expands upon Bahá‟u‟lláh‟s words in many
passages of his talks:

"The Prophets of God manifested complete love for all. Each
One announced the glad tidings of His successor, and each subsequent
One confirmed the teachings and prophecies of the Prophet Who
preceded Him."(PUP:234)

"Each of the holy Manifestations announced the glad tidings
of His successor, and each One confirmed the message of His
predecessor."(PUP:339)
We have already encountered the two of the three proofs articulated in
these statements by „Abdu‟l-Bahá--the prophecies of each of the
prophets and the fulfillment of the prophecies of preceding prophets
by subsequent prophets--and now we encounter the third proof, the
confirmation of the teachings of the prophets by their successors. It
has already been attested that each prophet annuls certain teachings of
His predecessor, and indeed that this annulment constitutes a proof of
the new prophet. „Abdu‟l-Bahá states that

"Each one of the divine religions has established two kinds of
ordinances: the essential and the accidental. The essential ordinances
rest upon the firm, unchanging, eternal foundations of the Word
itself...The accidental laws concern the administration of outer human
actions and relations, establishing rules and regulations requisite for
the world of bodies and their control. They are ever subject to change
and supercedure according to exigencies of time, place and condition."
(PUP:338-39)

"For example, each of the divine religions contains two kinds
of laws or ordinances. One division concerns the world of morality
and ethical institutions. These are the essential ordinances...The second
division comprises laws and institutions which provide for human
needs and conditions according to exigencies of time and place. These
are accidental, of no essential importance and should never have been
made the cause and source of human contention."(PUP:393)

"The divine religions embody two kinds of ordinances. First,
there are those which constitute essential, or spiritual, teachings of the
Word of God...Second, there are laws and ordinances which are
temporary and nonessential. These concern human transactions and
relations. They are accidental and subject to change according to the
exigencies of time and place."(PUP:403,404)

The second category of laws were subject to change in each new
Dispensation, and one of the proofs already advanced for the new
prophet of God is that He annuls certain of these "accidental"
ordinances and enacts new "accidental" ordinances which are adapted
"to the exigencies of time and place".

The ordinances which are confirmed by every one of the prophets,
these are of the first category. „Abdu‟l-Bahá wants the reader to be
entirely convinced that this category of ordinances is of much greater
significance than the second category:
"The essential ordinances rest upon the firm, unchanging,
eternal foundations of the Word itself. They concern spiritualities,
seek to stabilize morals, awaken intuitive susceptibilities, reveal the
knowledge of God and inculcate the love of all mankind...the
fundamental realities of the knowledge of God and the holy
Manifestations, the purification of morals, the awakening of spiritual
susceptibilities--eternal principles in which there is no change or
transformation. Briefly, the foundation of the divine religions is one
eternal foundation...The purpose of all the divine religions is the
establishment of the bonds of love and fellowship among men, and
the heavenly phenomena of the revealed Word of God are intended to
be a source of knowledge and illumination to humanity."(PUP:339)

"These are the essential ordinances. They instill and awaken
the knowledge and love of God, love for humanity, and virtues of the
world of mankind, the attributes of the divine Kingdom, rebirth and
resurrection from the kingdom of nature. These constitute one kind
of divine law which is common to all and never subject to change.
From the dawn of the Adamic cycle to the present day this
fundamental law of God has continued changeless. This is the
foundation of divine religion."(PUP:393)

"First, there are those which constitute essential, or spiritual,
teachings of the Word of God. These are faith in God, the
acquirement of the virtues which constitute perfect manhood,
praiseworthy moralities, the acquisition of the bestowals and bounties
emanating from the divine effulgences--in brief, the ordinances which
concern the realm of morals and ethics. This is the fundamental
aspect of the religion of God, and this is of the highest importance
because knowledge of God is the fundamental requirement of man.
Man must comprehend the oneness of Divinity. He must come to
know and acknowledge the precepts of God and realize for a certainty
that the ethical development of humanity is dependent upon religion.
He must get rid of all defects and seek the attainment of heavenly
virtues in order that he may prove to be the image and likeness of
God."(PUP:403)

For the purpose of our discussion, let us consider the assertion that
every prophet teaches these fundamental truths. "This is the essential
foundation of all the divine religions, the reality itself, common to all.
Abraham promulgated this; Moses proclaimed it. Christ and all the
Prophets upheld this standard and aspect of divine religion."(PUP:404)
"The divine Manifestations have been iconoclastic in Their teachings,
uprooting error, destroying false religious beliefs and summoning
mankind anew to the fundamental oneness of God. All of Them
have, likewise, proclaimed the oneness of the world of humanity. The
essential teaching of Moses was the law of Sinai, the Ten
Commandments. Christ renewed and again revealed the commands of
the one true God and precepts of human action. In Muhammad,
although the circle was wider, the intention of His teaching was
likewise to uplift and unify humanity in the knowledge of the one
God. In the Báb the circle was again very much enlarged, but the
essential teaching was the same. The Books of Bahá‟u‟lláh number
more than one hundred. Each one is an evident proof sufficient for
mankind; each one from foundation to apex proclaims the essential
unity of God and humanity, the love of God, the abolition of war and
the divine standard of peace. Each one also inculcates divine morality,
the manifestation of lordly graces--in every word a book of meanings.
For the Word of God is collective wisdom, absolute knowledge and
eternal truth."(PUP:154)
TWENTIETH PROOF:
PROPHET IS MATERIAL, HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL
EDUCATOR

Bahá‟u‟lláh makes brief reference to this proof in "Lawh-i-'Abdu'l-
Wahhab":

GL:156-57,158: "The Prophets and Messengers of God have
been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to
the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their
revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the
hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and with absolute
detachment, to the throne of the Most High...
"The majority of the truly wise and learned have, throughout
the ages, as it hath been recorded by the Pen of Glory in the
Tablet of Wisdom ["Lawh-i-Hikmat", TB:137-52], borne
witness to the truth of that which the holy Writ of God hath
revealed. Even the materialists have testified in their writings
to the wisdom of these divinely-appointed Messengers, and
have regarded the references made by the Prophets to
Paradise, to hell fire, to future reward and punishment, to
have been actuated by a desire to educate and uplift the souls
of men. Consider, therefore, how the generality of mankind,
whatever their beliefs or theories, have recognized the
excellence, and admitted the superiority, of these Prophets of
God. These Gems of Detachment are acclaimed by some as
the embodiments of wisdom, while others believe them to be
the mouthpiece of God Himself."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá expands upon this theme:

"These are rational proofs; in this age the peoples of the world
need the arguments of reason."(SAQ:8) „Abdu‟l-Bahá offers here a
series of rational proofs, reasonable arguments in support of the need
for, the existence and truth of the prophets of God. Speaking to a
student of divine philosophy: "Therefore it must be our task to prove
to the thoughtful by reasonable arguments the prophethood of Moses,
of Christ, and of the other Divine Manifestations. And the proofs and
evidences which we give must not be based on traditional but on
rational arguments."(SAQ:13)
"When we consider existence, we see that the mineral,
vegetable, animal, and human worlds are all in need of an educator. If
the earth is not cultivated it becomes a jungle where useless weeds
grow; but if a cultivator comes and tills the ground, it produces crops
which nourish living creatures. It is evident, therefore, that the soil
needs the cultivation of the farmer. Consider the trees: if they remain
without a cultivator they will be fruitless, and without fruit they are
useless; but if they receive the care of a gardener, these same barren
trees become fruitful, and through cultivation, fertilization, and
engrafting, the trees which had bitter fruits yield sweet fruits."(SAQ:8)

"Nature is the material world. When we look upon it, we see
that it is dark and imperfect. For instance, if we allow a piece of land
to remain in its natural condition, we will find it covered with thorns
and thistles; useless weeds and wild vegetation will flourish upon it,
and it will become like a jungle. The trees will be fruitless, lacking
beauty and symmetry; wild animals, noxious insects and reptiles will
abound in its dark recesses. This is the incompleteness and
imperfection of the world of nature. To change these conditions, we
must clear the ground and cultivate it so that flowers may grow instead
of thorns and weeds--that is to say, we must illumine the dark world of
nature. In their primal natural state, the forests are dim, gloomy,
impenetrable. Man opens them to the light, clears away the tangled
underbrush and plants fruitful trees. Soon the wild woodlands and
jungle are changed into productive orchards and beautiful gardens;
order has replaced chaos; the dark realm of nature has become
illumined and brightened by cultivation."(PUP:308-309)

"If we should relegate this plot of ground to its natural state,
allow it to return to its original condition, it would become a field of
thorns and useless weeds, but by cultivation it will become fertile soil,
yielding a harvest. Deprived of cultivation, the mountain slopes would
be jungles and forests without fruitful trees. The gardens bring forth
fruits and flowers in proportion to the care and tillage bestowed upon
them by the gardener."(PUP:353)

"Consider this Canadian country during the early history of
Montreal when the land was in its wild, uncultivated and natural
condition. The soil was unproductive, rocky and almost uninhabitable-
-vast forests stretching in every direction. What invisible power
caused this great metropolis to spring up amid such savage and
forbidding conditions? It was the human mind. Therefore, nature and
the effect of nature's laws were imperfect. The mind of man remedied
and removed this imperfect condition, until now we behold as great
city instead of a savage unbroken wilderness. Before the coming of
Columbus America itself was a wild, uncultivated expanse of primeval
forest, mountains and rivers--a very world of nature. Now it has
become the world of man. It was dark, forbidding and savage; now it
has become illumined with a great civilization and prosperity. Instead
of forests, we behold productive farms, beautiful gardens and prolific
orchards. Instead of thorns and useless vegetation, we find flowers,
domestic animals and fields awaiting harvest. If the world of nature
were perfect, the condition of this great country would have been left
unchanged."(PUP:310-311)

"When we look upon the kingdoms of creation below man,
we find three forms or planes of existence which await education and
development. For instance, the function of a gardener is to till the soil
of the mineral kingdom and plant a tree which under his training and
cultivation will attain perfection of growth. If it be wild and fruitless,
it may be made fruitful and prolific by grafting. If small and unsightly,
it will become lofty, beautiful and verdant under the gardener's
training, whereas a tree bereft of this cultivation retrogresses daily, its
fruit grows acrid and bitter as the trees of the jungle, or it may become
entirely barren and bereft of its fruitage."(PUP:77)

"Likewise, we observe that animals which have undergone
training in their sphere of limitation will progress and advance
unmistakably, become more beautiful in appearance and increase in
intelligence. For instance, how intelligent and knowing the Arabian
horse has become through training, even how polite this horse has
become through education."(PUP:77)

"The same is true with respect to animals: notice that when
the animal is trained it becomes domestic, and also that man, if he is
left without training, becomes bestial, and, moreover, if left under the
rule of nature, becomes lower than an animal; whereas if he is
educated he becomes an angel. For the greater number of animals do
not devour their own kind, but men, among the Negroes of Central
Africa, kill and eat each other."(SAQ:8)

"As to the human world: It is more in need of guidance and
education than the lower creatures."(PUP:77)

"If the animals are savage and ferocious, it is simply a means
for their subsistence and preservation. They are deprived of that
degree of intellect which can reason and discriminate between right
and wrong, justice and injustice; they are justified in their actions and
not responsible. When man is ferocious and cruel toward his
fellowman, it is not for subsistence or safety. His motive is selfish
advantage and willful wrong."(PUP:352)

"Reflect upon the vast difference between the inhabitants of
Africa and those of America. Here the people have been civilized and
uplifted; there they are in the utmost and abject state of savagery.
What is the cause of their savagery and the reason of your civilization?
It is evident that this difference is due to education and the lack of
education."(PUP:77-78)

"If man is left in his natural state, he will become lower than
the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The
savage tribes of central Africa are evidences of this. Left in their
natural condition, they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of
barbarism, dimly groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity. If
we wish to illumine this dark plane of human existence, we must bring
man forth from the hopeless captivity of nature, educate him and
show him the pathway of light and knowledge, until, uplifted from his
condition of ignorance, he becomes wise and knowing; no longer
savage and revengeful, he becomes civilized and kind; once evil and
sinister, he is endowed with the attributes of heaven. But left in his
natural condition without education and training, it is certain that he
will become more depraved and vicious than the animal, even to the
extreme degree witnessed among African tribes who practice
cannibalism. It is evident, therefore, that the world of nature is
incomplete, imperfect until awakened and illumined by the light and
stimulus of education."(PUP:309)

"It is neither seemly nor befitting that such a noble creature,
endowed with intellect and lofty thoughts, capable of wonderful
achievements and discoveries in sciences and arts, with potential for
ever higher perceptions and the accomplishment of divine purposes in
life, should seek the blood of his fellowmen upon the field of battle.
Man is the temple of God. He is not a human temple. If you destroy
a house, the owner of that house will be grieved and wrathful. How
much greater is the wrong when man destroys a building planned and
erected by God! Undoubtedly, he deserves the judgment and wrath of
God."(PUP:352)

"In these days there are new schools of philosophy blindly
claiming that the world of nature is perfect. If this is true, why are
children trained and educated in schools, and what is the need of
extended courses in sciences, arts and letters in colleges and
universities?"(PUP:309) "If a child is left in its natural state and
deprived of education, there is no doubt that it will grow up in
ignorance and illiteracy, its mental faculties dulled and dimmed; in fact,
it will become like an animal. This is evident among the savages of
central Africa, who are scarcely higher than the beast in mental
development."(PUP:311)
"What would be the result if humanity were left in its natural
condition without education or training? All scientific discoveries and
attainments are the outcomes of knowledge and education. The
telegraph, phonograph, telephone were latent and potential in the
world of nature but would never have come forth into the realm of
visibility unless man through education had penetrated and discovered
the laws which control them. All the marvelous developments and
miracles of what we call civilization would have remained hidden,
unknown and, so to speak, nonexistent, if man had remained in his
natural condition, deprived of the bounties, blessings and benefits of
education and mental culture. The intrinsic difference between the
ignorant man and the astute philosopher is that the former has not
been lifted out of his natural condition, while the latter has undergone
systematic training and education in schools and colleges until his
mind has awakened and unfolded to higher realms of thought and
perception; otherwise, both are human and natural."(PUP:310)

"Now reflect that it is education that brings the East and the
West under the authority of man; it is education that produces
wonderful industries; it is education that spreads glorious sciences and
arts; it is education that makes manifest new discoveries and laws. If
there were no educator, there would be no such things as comforts,
civilization, facilities, or humanity. If a man be left alone in a
wilderness where he sees none of his own kind, he will undoubtedly
become a mere brute; it is then clear that an educator is
needed."(SAQ:9; see also: SW:XIV:2, p. 43)

Divine philosophy argues that an educator is needed for man. But
what sort of educator? An educator which fits his nature. What then
is his nature? „Abdu‟l-Bahá states that man's "nature is threefold:
animal, human and divine" (PUP:465):

"…education is of three kinds: material, human, and spiritual.
Material education is concerned with the progress and development of
the body, through gaining its sustenance, its material comfort and ease.
This education is common to animals and man. Human education
signifies civilization and progress; that is to say, government,
administration, charitable works, trades, arts and handicrafts, sciences,
great inventions and discoveries of physical laws, which are the
activities essential to man as distinguished from the animal. Divine
education is that of the Kingdom of God: it consists in acquiring
divine perfections, and this is true education; for in this estate man
becomes the centre of divine appearance, the manifestation of the
words, 'Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness.' This is
the supreme goal of the world of humanity."(SAQ:9)
"Now we need an educator who will be at the same time a
material, human, and spiritual educator, and whose authority will be
effective in all conditions. So if any should say, 'I possess perfect
comprehension and intelligence, and I have no need of such an
educator,' he would be denying that which is clear and evident, as
though a child should say, 'I have no need of education; I will act
according to my reason and intelligence, and so I shall attain the
perfections of existence'; or as though the blind should say, 'I am in no
need of sight, because many other blind people exist without
difficulty.'"(SAQ:9-10)

"Then it is plain and evident that man needs an educator, and
this educator must be unquestionably and indubitably perfect in all
respects, and distinguished above all men. For otherwise he cannot be
their educator. More particularly because he must be at the same time
their material and human as well as their spiritual educator; that is to
say, he will teach men to organize and carry out physical matters, and
to regulate the form of society with regard to the establishing of help
and assistance in life, so that material affairs may be organized and
regulated for any circumstances that may occur. In the same way he
will establish human education, that is to say, he must educate
intelligence and thought in such a way that they may attain complete
development, so that knowledge and science may increase, and the
reality of things, the mysteries of beings, and the properties of
existence may be discovered; that day by day instructions, inventions,
and laws may be improved; and from things perceptible to the senses
conclusions as to intellectual things may be deduced. He must also
impart spiritual education; so that intelligence and comprehension may
penetrate the metaphysical world, and may benefit from the
sanctifying breeze of the Holy Spirit, and may enter into relationship
with the Supreme Concourse. He must so educate the human reality
that it may become the centre of the divine appearance, to such a
degree that the attributes and names of God shall be resplendent in
the mirror of the reality of man, and the holy verse, 'We will make man
in Our image and likeness,' shall become true."(SAQ:10-11)

"It is clear that human power is not able to fill such a great
office, and that the reason alone could not undertake the responsibility
of so great a mission. How can one solitary person without help and
without support lay the foundations of such a noble construction? He
must depend on the help of the spiritual and divine power to be able
to undertake this mission. One Holy Soul gives life to the world of
humanity, changes the aspect of the terrestrial globe, causes
intelligence to progress, vivifies souls, lays the foundation of a new
existence, establishes the basis of a marvelous creation, organizes the
world, brings nations and religions under the shadow of one standard,
delivers man from the world of imperfections and vices, and inspires
him with the desire and need of natural and acquired
perfections."(SAQ:11)

"Therefore the universal educator must be at the same time
not only a material, but also a human and spiritual educator; and he
must possess a supernatural power, so that he may hold the position
of a divine teacher. If he does not show forth such a holy power, he
will not be able to educator, for if he be imperfect, how can he give a
perfect education? If he be ignorant, how can he make others wise? If
he be unjust, how can he make others just? If he be earthly, how can
he make others heavenly?"(SAQ:12-13)

"Certainly nothing short of a divine power could accomplish
so great a work. We ought to consider this with justice, for this is the
office of justice. A Cause which all the governments and peoples of
the world, with all their powers and armies, cannot promulgate and
spread, one Holy Soul can promote without help or support! Can this
be done by human power?"(SAQ:11-12) "It has now been proved by
rational arguments that the world of existence is in the utmost need of
an educator, and that its education must be effected by a divine power.
There is no doubt that this holy power is due to inspiration, and that
the world must be educated through this power which is above human
power."(SAQ:13)

"Let me ask: What is the purpose of Prophethood? Why has
God sent the Prophets? It is self-evident that the Prophets are the
Educators of men and the Teachers of the human race. They come to
bestow universal education upon humanity, to give humanity training,
to uplift the human race from the abyss of despair and desolation and
to enable man to attain the apogee of advancement and glory. The
people are in darkness; the Prophets bring them into the realm of light.
They are in a state of utter imperfection; the Prophets imbue them
with perfections. The purpose of the prophetic mission is none other
than the education and guidance of the people. Therefore, we must
regard and be on the lookout for the man who is thus qualified--that is
to say, any soul who proves to be the Educator of mankind and the
Teacher of the human race is undoubtedly the Prophet of His
age."(PUP:405)

"What, then, is the mission of the divine Prophets? Their
mission is the education and advancement of the world of humanity.
They are the real Teachers and Educators, the universal Instructors of
mankind. If we wish to discover whether any one of these great Souls
or Messengers was in reality a Prophet of God, we must investigate the
facts surrounding His life and history, and the first point of our
investigation will be the education He bestowed upon mankind. If He
has been an Educator, if He has really trained a nation or people,
causing it to rise from the lowest depths of ignorance to the highest
station of knowledge, then we are sure that He was a Prophet. This is
a plain and clear method of procedure, proof that is irrefutable. We
do not need to seek other proofs."(PUP:364)

In reference to the prophet Moses, „Abdu‟l-Bahá asks:

"Could He have transformed a people from humiliation to
glory without a holy and divine support? None other than a divine
power could have done this. Therein lies the proof of Prophethood
because the mission of a Prophet is education of the human race such
as this Personage accomplished, proving Him to be a mighty Prophet
among the Prophets and His Book the very Book of God. This is a
rational, direct and perfect proof."(PUP:406)

"Now we must consider justly: did these Divine
Manifestations who have appeared possess all these qualifications or
not? If they had not these qualifications and these perfections, they
were not real educators. Therefore it must be our task to prove to the
thoughtful by reasonable arguments the prophethood of Moses, of
Christ, and of the other Divine Manifestations. And the proofs and
evidences which we give must not be based on traditional but on
rational arguments."(SAQ:13)

„Abdu‟l-Bahá applies this standard, that of the material, the human and
divine educator to several prophets, and these arguments will be cited
in subsequent volumes. In addition to the ones he treats, other
prophets will be examined independently in an attempt to apply this
standard universally to all of the prophets, inasmuch as he has
explicitly stated the following: "Did these Divine Manifestations who
have appeared possess all these qualifications or not? If they had not
these qualifications and these perfections, they were not real
educators."(SAQ:13)
TWENTY-FIRST PROOF:
PROPHET IS THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN

Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Lawh-i-Manakji Sahib" sets forth this proof:

GL:213: "The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the
pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth,
in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own
problem, and every soul its particular asPiration. The remedy
the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be
the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be
anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and
center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements."

In "Lawh-i-Muhammad Ibrahim Khalil" Bahá‟u‟lláh writes:

GL:80-81: "The Prophets of God should be regarded as
physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world
and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may
heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the
right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for
they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the
patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man,
however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the
heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine
Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the treatment
prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to
be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could
it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate
at every stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like
manner, every time the Prophets of God have illumined the
world with the resplendent radiance of the Day Star of Divine
knowledge, they have invariably summoned its peoples to
embrace the light of God through such means as best befitted
the exigencies of the age in which they appeared. They were
thus able to scatter the darkness of ignorance, and to shed
upon the world the glory of their own knowledge. It is
towards the inmost essence of these Prophets, therefore, that
the eye of every man of discernment must be directed,
inasmuch as their one and only purpose hath always been to
guide the erring, and give peace to the afflicted. These are not
days of prosperity and triumph. The whole of mankind is in
the grip of manifold ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life
through the wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of
the unerring Physician hath prepared."
„Abdu‟l-Bahá has applied the same metaphor in his Tablets and talks:

"Every divine Manifestation is the very life of the world, and
the skilled physician of each ailing soul. The world of man is sick, and
that competent Physician knoweth the cure, arising as He doth with
teachings, counsels and admonishments that are the remedy for every
pain, the healing balm to every wound. It is certain that the wise
physician can diagnose his patient's needs at any season, and apply the
cure."(SWAB:59)

"The world of humanity may be likened to the individual man
himself; it has its illness[es] and ailments. A patient must be diagnosed
by a skillful physician. The Prophets of God are the real Physicians.
In whatever age or time They appear They prescribe for human
conditions. They know the sicknesses; They discover the hidden
sources of disease and indicate the necessary remedy. Whosoever is
healed by that remedy finds eternal health."(PUP:204)

In these two separate statements „Abdu‟l-Bahá has stated this proof of
the prophet of God--that He must be a true Physician who knows the
ailments of mankind and prescribes the real remedy needed "for every
pain, the healing balm to every wound." Are the ailments of mankind
always the same, and hence are the treatments prescribed by the divine
Physicians identical? We know already that the answer to this question
is "no". "The treatment ordered by wise physicians of the past, and by
those that follow after, is not one and the same, rather doth it depend
on what aileth the patient; and although the remedy may change, the
aim is always to bring the patient back to health."(SWAB:59) In divine
philosophy every affirmation is supported by evidences, every proof
by arguments, and in this case there are specific examples cited for
certain of the prophets. These will be found in the Gates devoted to
those prophets.

There are definite steps in the healing process of humanity according
to divine philosophy. The first step is that the divine "doctor
diagnoses the case and prescribes treatment. He does not prescribe,
however, until he has made the diagnosis."(PUP:171) The next step,
following diagnosis, is prescription: "the real Physician...appeared,
recognized the symptoms and prescribed the real remedy. What was
that remedy? It was His revealed teaching especially applicable to that
age."(PUP:204) The steps taken so far in this series are those initiated
by God through the agency of His prophet. The next step (or rather
an infinite series in itself) is that taken by the individual man and
collective humanity. Speaking of this remedy of the real Physician in
every age, „Abdu‟l-Bahá stated, "Whosoever is healed by that remedy
finds eternal health."(PUP:204) In speaking of the remedy of the most
recent prophet of God, „Abdu‟l-Bahá said: "His teachings are universal
and the standard for human action. They are not merely theoretical
and intended to remain in books. They are the principles of action.
Results follow action. Mere theory is fruitless. Of what use is a book
upon medicine if it is never taken from the library shelf? When
practical activity has been manifested, the teachings of God have
borne fruit."(PUP:155) "Therefore, we must accept and partake of
this healing remedy in order that complete recovery may be
assured."(PUP:204)

Regarding the consequences visited upon humanity for neglecting the
proper treatment of its maladies, Bahá‟u‟lláh writes in "Lawh-i-Malkah
Victoria":

GL:254-55: "Regard the world as the human body which,
though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted,
through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies.
Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more
severe, as if fell under the treatment of ignorant physicians,
who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred
grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able
physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest
remained afflicted as before. Thus informeth you the All-
Knowing, the All-Wise."

Just who are the "ignorant physicians" to which Bahá‟u‟lláh refers?
One clue as to their identity is found in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":
KI:247: "Wherefore, then, do not these groveling, worm-like
men pause to meditate upon these traditions, all of which are
manifest as the sun in its noon-tide glory? For what reason do
they refuse to embrace the Truth, and allow certain traditions,
the significance of which they have failed to grasp, to
withhold them from the recognition of the Revelation of God
and His Beauty, and to cause them to dwell in the infernal
abyss? Such things are to be attributed to naught but the
faithlessness of the divines and doctors of the age."
TWENTY-SECOND PROOF:
MIRACLES ARE THE LEAST SIGNIFICANT OF PROOFS

Divine philosophy states that while so-called miracles may be the most
commonly demanded proofs of prophethood, and the most popular
proofs of prophethood among the generality of mankind, they are the
least reliable and the least significant of all proofs. In reference to the
prophet Moses „Abdu‟l-Bahá states: "We do not need to mention
miracles, saying that out of rock water gushed forth, for such miracles
and statements may be denied and refused by those who hear
them."(PUP:364) "Miracles are likewise convincing to a limited
number only. For instance, a Buddhist would not be convinced by the
miracles of Moses which are proofs only for orthodox Jews, because
they love and revere Moses. On the other hand, the miracles
attributed to Jesus Christ are refuted by the Jews as a whole, saying
'No one lives today who has seen these miracles performed, therefore,
who can bear testimony to them?'"(ABDP:43-44) „Abdu‟l-Bahá is
cognizant of the great attachment of the followers of the prophets to
the specific miracles which are traditionally claimed for these particular
prophets, and understanding that such an attachment constitutes a veil
between the Beloved and His lovers, a lengthy and detailed
explanation is given of the true status of miracles as proofs of the
prophets of God:

"The Holy Manifestations are the sources of miracles and the
originators of wonderful signs. For them, any difficult and
impracticable thing is possible and easy. For through a supernatural
power wonders appear from them, and by this power, which is beyond
nature, they influence the world of nature. From all the Manifestations
marvellous things have appeared.
"But in the Holy Books an especial terminology is employed;
and for the Manifestations these miracles and wonderful signs have no
importance; they do not even wish to mention them. For, if we
consider miracles a great proof, they are still only proofs and
arguments for those who are present when they are performed, and
not for those who are absent.
"For example, if we relate to a seeker, a stranger to Moses and
Christ, marvellous signs, he will deny them and will say: 'Wonderful
signs are also continually related of false gods by the testimony of
many people, and they are affirmed in the Books. The Brahmans have
written a book about wonderful prodigies from Brahma.' He will also
say: 'How can we know that the Jews and the Christians speak the
truth, and that the Brahmans tell a lie? For both are generally admitted
traditions, which are collected in books, and may be supposed to be
true or false.' The same may be said of other religions: if one is true,
all are true; if one is accepted, all must be accepted. Therefore,
miracles are not a proof. For if they are proofs for those who are
present, they fail as proofs to those who are absent.
"But in the day of the Manifestation the people with insight
see that all the conditions of the Manifestation are miracles, for they
are superior to all others, and this alone is an absolute miracle.
Recollect that Christ, solitary and alone, without a helper or protector,
without armies and legions, and under the greatest oppression, uplifted
the standard of God before all the people of the world, and withstood
them, and finally conquered all, although outwardly He was crucified.
Now this is a veritable miracle which can never be denied. There is no
need of any other proof of the truth of Christ.
"The outward miracles have no importance for the people of
Reality. If a blind man receive sight, for example, he will finally again
become sightless, for he will die, and be deprived of all his senses and
powers. Therefore causing the blind man to see is comparatively of
little importance, for this faculty of sight will at last disappear. If the
body of a dead person be resuscitated, of what use is it since the body
will die again? But it is important to give perception and eternal life,
that is, the spiritual and divine life. For this physical life is not
immortal, and its existence is equivalent to non-existence. So it is that
Christ said to one of His disciples: 'Let the dead bury their dead'; for
'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
spirit is spirit.'
"Observe: those who in appearance were physically alive,
Christ considered dead; for life is the eternal life, and existence is the
real existence. Wherever in the Holy Books they speak of raising the
dead, the meaning is that the dead were blessed by eternal life; where it
is said that the blind received sight, the signification is that he obtained
the true perception; where it is said a deaf man received hearing, the
meaning is that he aquired spiritual and heavenly hearing. This is
ascertained from the text of the Gospel where Christ said: 'These are
like those of whom Isaiah said, They have eyes and see not, they have
ears and hear not; and I healed them.'
"The meaning is not that the Manifestations are unable to
perform miracles, for they have all power. But for them inner sight,
spiritual healing, and eternal life are the valuable and important things.
Consequently, whenever it is recorded in the Holy Books; that such an
one was blind and recovered his sight, the meaning is that he was
inwardly blind, and that he obtained spiritual vision, or that he was
ignorant and became wise, or that he was negligent and became
heedful, or that we was worldly and became heavenly.
"As this inner sight, hearing, life, and healing are eternal, they
are of importance. What, comparatively, is the importance, the value,
and the worth of this animal life with its powers? In a few days it will
cease like fleeting thoughts. For example, if one re-lights an
extinguished lamp, it will again become extinguished; but the light of
the sun is always luminous. This is of importance."(SAQ:115-118)

"I do not wish to mention the miracles of Bahá‟u‟lláh, for it
may perhaps be said that these are traditions, liable both to truth and
to error, like the accounts of the miracles of Christ in the Gospel,
which come to us from the apostles and not from any one else, and
are denied by the Jews. Though if I wish to mention the supernatural
acts of Bahá‟u‟lláh, they are numerous; they are acknowledged in the
Orient, and even by some strangers to the Cause. But these narratives
are not decisive proofs and evidences to all; the hearer might perhaps
say that this account may not be in accordance with what occurred, for
it is known that other sects recount miracles performed by their
founders. For instance, the Brahmanists relate miracles: from what
evidence may we know that those are false and that these are true? If
these are fables, the others also are fables; if these are generally
accepted, so also the others are generally accepted: consequently these
accounts are not satisfactory proofs. Yes, miracles are proofs for the
bystander only, and even he may regard them not as a miracle but as
an enchantment. Extraordinary feats have also been related of some
conjurors.
"Briefly, my meaning is that many wonderful things were done
by Bahá‟u‟lláh, but we do not recount them; as they do not constitute
proofs and evidences for all the peoples of the earth; and they are not
decisive proofs even for those who see them, they may think that they
are merely enchantments.
"Also, most of the miracles of the Prophets which are
mentioned have an inner significance. For instance, in the Gospel it is
written that at the martyrdom of Christ darkness prevailed, and the
earth quaked, and the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the
top to the bottom, and the dead came forth from their graves. If these
events had happened they would indeed have been wonderful, and
would certainly have been recorded in the history of the times. They
would have become the cause of much troublings of heart. The
soldiers would either have taken down Christ from the cross or they
would have fled. These events are not related in any history, therefore
it is evident they ought not to be taken literally, but as having an inner
significance.
"Our purpose is not to deny such miracles; our only meaning
is that they do not constitute decisive proofs, and that they have an
inner significance."(SAQ:44-45)

The testimonies of the prophets themselves and of their disciples
regarding miracles will be reviewed in succeeding volumes. Suffice it
to say, however, that divine philosophy does not regard miracles as
decisive proofs of the prophets of God, but it does affirm that every
one of the prophets of God has been capable of making miracles and
that there are many accounts of such miracles, but that such miracles
were only convincing to the individuals who actually witnessed them.
The prophets themselves may present differing interpretations of the
meaning of miracles, and certainly divine philosophy does not intend
to be dogmatic or exclusionist, nor does it claim to supersede the
revelations of the prophets--not for a moment! „Abdu‟l-Bahá simply
affirms that there is a great difference between what men perceive as
miracles--prodigies and wonders of which we humans are incapable
and which we can perceive (or imagine that we perceive) with one or
more of our physical senses--and the divine reality of miracles. True
miracles are the myriad signs of the prophets of God. In this spirit the
Báb writes in "Dala'il-i-Sab'ih":

SP:9: "If the verses of the Qur'an were not superior to the
miracles of all of the prophets, how could those ones have
been abrogated by these ones? How is it that, alone, the
Qur'an could have remained? That is a strong and perfect
proof that this proof is superior to the rod of Moses and other
antecedent miracles of the preceding Manifestations."

Here, in this the First of Seven Proofs presented by the Báb, the
verses of the Qur'an are described as the miracle of Muhammad, the
miracle which is proof of his prophethood, a miracle superior to the
miracles claimed for all of the prophets who preceded him. The Seven
Proofs will be described in the volume devoted to the Báb, and then
this spiritual interpretation of what constitutes a true miracle and a
convincing proof will be explored. It should be pointed out that while
the Báb asserts the superiority of the Word of God to all physical
miracles, nevertheless, towards the end of his treatise he describes
certain physical miracles which have been associated with his
Revelation. Likewise, while miracles are not regarded as "decisive
proofs"(SAQ:45) by „Abdu‟l-Bahá, and while "we do not recount
them"(SAQ:45), nevertheless, "if I wish to mention the supernatural
acts of Bahá‟u‟lláh, they are numerous; they are acknowledged in the
Orient, and even by some strangers to the Cause."(SAQ:44) The
miracles attributed to each one of the prophets will be discussed in the
volume devoted to each, and always with this qualification--that stories
of physical miracles "do not constitute proofs and evidences for all the
peoples of the earth; and they are not decisive proofs even for those
who see them, they may think that they are merely
enchantments."(SAQ:45)
TWENTY-THIRD PROOF:
TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS

As we have already seen in previous proofs, each of the prophets of
God reveals divine teachings, which constitute the true remedy for the
ills that afflict mankind in the age to which they are addressed, and
these teachings are of two kinds--the primary spiritual teachings, which
are ratified and restated by every one of the prophets, and the
secondary social teachings, which are annulled and recreated to suit the
needs of each stage in the evolution of mankind. In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" we
find that Bahá‟u‟lláh makes reference to certain teachings of the
Prophets which are renewed in every Dispensation:

KI:38-39: "In another sense, by the terms 'sun', 'moon', and
'stars', are meant such laws and teachings as have been
established and proclaimed in every Dispensation, such as the
laws of prayer and fasting. These have, according to the law
of the Qur'an, been regarded, the beauty of the Prophet
Muhammad had passed beyond the veil, as the most
fundamental and binding laws of His dispensation. To this
testify the texts of the traditions and chronicles, which, on
account of their being widely known, need not be referred to
here. Nay rather, in every Dispensation the law concerning
prayer hath been emphasized and universally enforced. To
this testify the recorded traditions ascribes to the lights that
have emanated from the Day-star of Truth, the essence of the
Prophet Muhammad. The traditions established the fact that
in all Dispensations the law of prayer hath constituted a
fundamental element of the Revelation of all the Prophets of
God--a law the form and the manner of which hath been to
the varying requirements of every age."

KI:120,121: "In every age and century, the purpose of the
Prophets of God and their chosen ones hath been no other
but to affirm the spiritual significance of the terms 'life,'
'resurrection,' and 'judgment'...Similarly, the records of all the
scriptures bear witness to this and this most exalted word."

The dual character of the divine Word was explained by „Abdu‟l-Bahá
on a number of occasions, and recorded in numerous sources.36 This

36UAB (Utterances of Abdul Beha Abbas to two young men,
American pilgrims to Acre, 1901; New York: The Board of Counsel,
1902):18-19; SAQ:55-57; PUP:97-98, 106, 168, 338-39, 364-66, 393,
445.
truth was also affirmed by Shoghi Effendi in a number of his letters.37
Separate studies are devoted to a)the essential and b)the secondary
teachings and ordinances of the Religion of God, citing examples from
the extant Scriptures associated with various of the Prophets of God.
Yet another study examines the secondary teachings and laws of
Bahá‟u‟lláh, those which are specific to this Age and Cycle, which
pertain to the outward life of humankind at this time in its evolution.
The twofold character is the Law of God is related to the twofold
station of the Prophets of God, explained by Bahá‟u‟lláh in Kitáb-i-
ĺqán:

"These Manifestations of God have each a twofold station.
One is the station of pure abstraction and essential unity..."
(KI:152)

"We have already in the foregoing pages assigned two stations
unto each of the Luminaries arising from the Daysprings of
eternal holiness. One of these stations, the station of essential
unity, We have already explained. 'No distinction do We
make between any of them.' [Qur'an 2:136] The other is the
station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation
and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each
Manifestation of God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely
prescribed mission, a predestined Revelation, and specially
designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a
different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfils a
definite Mission, and is entrusted with a particular
Revelation." (KI:176)

"It hath ever been evident that all these divergences of
utterance are attributable to differences of station. Thus,
viewed from the standpoint of their oneness and sublime
detachment, the attributes of Godhead, Divinity, Supreme
Singleness, and Inmost Essence, have been and are applicable
to those Essences of being, inasmuch as they all abide on the
throne of divine Revelation, and are established upon the seat
of divine Concealment. Through their appearance the
Revelation of God is made manifest, and by their countenance
the Beauty of God is revealed. Thus it is that the accents of
God Himself have been heard uttered by these Manifestations
of the divine Being.

Included in GTT:2,118,129.
"Viewed in the light of their second station--the station of
distinction, differentiation, temporal limitations, characteristics
and standards,--they manifest absolute servitude, utter
destitution and complete self-effacement. Even as He saith: 'I
am the servant of God. I am but a man like you.'38
"From these incontrovertible and fully demonstrated
statements strive thou to apprehend the meaning of the
questions thou hast asked, that thou mayest become steadfast
in the Faith of God, and not be dismayed by the divergences
in the utterances of His Prophets and Chosen Ones."
(KI:177-178)

We might conclude from these statements of Bahá‟u‟lláh that certain
teachings of the Prophets of God relate to their first station, "the
station of essential unity" (KI:152, 176), while other teachings, which
are particular to certain Prophets and not to others are indicative of
their second station, "the station of distinction" (KI:176), and that
these teachings "pertaineth to the world of creation and to the
limitations thereof." We will discover, in the utterances of „Abdu‟l-
Bahá, a depiction of the twofold character of the Law of God which
appears to represent His interpretation of this teaching of Bahá‟u‟lláh.
In the record of „Abdu‟l-Bahá's utterances, the earliest source for this
fundamental Bahá‟í teaching is found in a talk on 24 November 1901,
in which he explained:

"The law and commandments are divided into two branches,
spiritual teachings and corporeal or material teachings. Spiritual
teachings pertain to morality and character which are the breezes of
the Holy Spirit, the life of the soul. The spiritual teachings will never
be abolished in any cycle, as they are the eternal law. One of the
commandments is the love of God, and is the virtue that crowns the
heads of the believers...
"The material teachings, those which distinguish lawful from
unlawful things, change according to the exigency of the times,
because circumstances and conditions are not always the same."
(UAB:18-19)

In "Some Answered Questions." „Abdu‟l-Bahá elaborates on this
subject:

"--the law of God is divided into two parts; one is the
fundamental basis which comprises all spiritual things, that is to say, it

Hadith; see Qur'an 12:109; 14:11; 18:110; 19:58; 21:7,8
refers to the spiritual virtues and divine qualities; this does not change
nor alter: it is the Holy of Holies which is the essence of the Law of
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, and
Bahá‟u‟lláh, and which lasts and is established in all the prophetic
cycles...
"The second part of the Religion of God, which refers to the
material world, and which comprises fasting, prayer, forms of worship,
marriage, and divorce, the abolition of slavery, legal processes,
transactions, indemnities for murder, violence, theft, and injuries, this
part of the Law of God which refers to material things, is modified
and altered in each prophetic cycle in accordance with the necessities
of the times." (SAQ:XI:55,56-57)

In public and private addresses alike, „Abdu‟l-Bahá returned repeatedly
to this theme during his trips to Europe in 1911, and to Europe and
North America, in 1912-1913. While "Paris Talks" and "„Abdu‟l-Bahá
on Divine Philosophy," both of which were compiled from his
European addresses, contain allusions to this theme, "The
Promulgation of Universal Peace" has a number of explicit references
thereto. In all of these sources, „Abdu‟l-Bahá begins by affirming that
there are two parts, branches, aspects, functions, kinds, divisions to the
law of God:

"The cause of this fellowship and unity lies in the fact that the
divine law has two distinct aspects or functions: one the essential or
fundamental, the other material or accidental. The first aspect of the
revealed religion of God is that which concerns the ethical
development and spiritual progress of mankind, the awakening of
potential human susceptibilities and the descent of divine bestowals.
These ordinances are changeless, essential, eternal. The second
function of the divine religion deals with material conditions, the laws
of human intercourse and social regulation. These are subject to
change and transformation in accordance with the time, place and
conditions. The essential ordinances of religion were the same during
the time of Abraham, the day of Moses and the cycle of Jesus, but the
accidental or material laws were abrogated and superseded according
to the exigency and requirement of each succeeding age." (PUP:97-98)

"Inasmuch as the essential reality of the religions in one and
their seeming variance and plurality is adherence to forms and
imitations which have arisen, it is evident that these causes of
difference and divergence must be abandoned in order that the
underlying reality may unite mankind in its enlightenment and upbuilding. All who hold fast to the one reality will be in agreement and
unity. Then shall the religions summon people to the oneness of the
world of humanity and to universal justice; then will they proclaim
equality of rights and exhort men to virtue and to faith in the loving
mercy of God. The underlying foundation of the religions is one;
there is no intrinsic difference between them. Therefore, if the
essential and fundamental ordinances of the religions be observed,
peace and unity will dawn, and all the differences of sects and
denominations will disappear." (PUP:99)

"Each of the divine religions embodies two kinds of
ordinances. The first is those which concern spiritual susceptibilities,
the development of moral principles and the quickening of the
conscience of man. These are essential or fundamental, one and the
same in all religions, changeless and eternal--reality not subject to
transformation. Abraham heralded this reality, Moses promulgated it,
and Jesus Christ established it in the world of mankind. All the divine
Prophets and Messengers were the instruments and channels of this
same eternal, essential truth.
"The second kind of ordinances in the divine religions is those
which relate to the material affairs of humankind. These are the
material or accidental laws which are subject to change in each day of
manifestation, according to the exigencies of the time, conditions and
differing capacities of humanity.
"In brief, every one of the divine religions contains essential
ordinances, which are not subject to change, and material ordinances,
which are abrogated according to the exigencies of time. But the
people of the world have forsaken the divine teachings and followed
forms and imitations of the truth. Inasmuch as these human
interpretations and superstitions differ, dissensions and bigotry have
arisen, and strife and warfare have prevailed. By investigating the truth
or foundation of reality underlying their own and other beliefs, all
would be united and agreed, for this reality is one; it is not multiple
and not divisible." (PUP:106)

"The religions of God have the same foundation, but the
dogmas appearing later have differed. Each of the divine religions has
two aspects. The first is essential. It concerns morality and
development of the virtues of the human world. This aspect is
common to all. It is fundamental; it is one; there is no difference, no
variation in it. As regards the inculcation of morality and the
development of human virtues, there is no difference whatsoever
between the teachings of Zoroaster, Jesus and Bahá‟u‟lláh. In this they
agree; they are one. The second aspect of the divine religions is
nonessential. It concerns human needs and undergoes change in every
cycle according to the exigency of the time. Therefore, the
nonessentials which deal with details of community are changed
according to the exigency of the time and conditions. But the essential
foundations of the teachings of Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus and
Bahá‟u‟lláh is identical, is one; there is no difference whatsoever. Man
must leave imitation and seek reality. The contemporaneous religious
beliefs differ because of their allegiance to dogma. It is necessary,
therefore, to abandon imitations and seek their fundamental reality."
(PUP:168,169)

"Each one of the divine religions has established two kinds of
ordinances: the essential and the accidental. The essential ordinances
rest upon the firm, unchanging, eternal foundations of the Word itself.
They concern spiritualities, seek to stabilize morals, awaken intuitive
susceptibilities, reveal the knowledge of God and inculcate the love of
all mankind. The accidental laws concern the administration of outer
human actions and relations, establishing rules and regulations
requisite for the world of bodies and their control. These are ever
subject to change and supercedure according to the exigencies of time,
place and condition, the fundamental realities of the knowledge of
God and the holy Manifestations, the purification of morals, the
awakening of spiritual susceptibilities--eternal principles in which there
is no change or transformation. Briefly, the foundation of the divine
religions in one eternal foundation, but the laws for temporary
conditions and exigencies are subject to change. Therefore, by
adherence to these temporary laws, blindly following and imitating
ancestral forms, difference and divergence have arisen among
followers of the various religions, resulting in disunion, strife and
hatred. Blind imitations and dogmatic observances are conducive to
alienation and disagreement; they lead to bloodshed and destruction of
the foundations of humanity. Therefore, the religionists of the world
must lay aside these imitations and investigate the essential foundation
or reality itself, which is not subject to change or transformation. This
is the divine means of agreement and unification." (PUP:338-339)

"But when we speak of religion, we mean the essential
foundation or reality of religion, not the dogmas and blind imitations
which have gradually encrusted it and which are the cause of the
decline and effacement of a national allegiance to the essential
foundation of the divine religions is ever the cause of development
and progress, whereas the abandonment and beclouding of that
essential reality through blind imitations and adherence to dogmatic
beliefs are the causes of a nation's debasement and degradation."
(Khatirat:610-621/PUP:363)

"Furthermore, we wish to establish the point that the
foundations of the religions of God are one foundation. This
foundation is not multiple, for it is reality itself. Reality does not admit
of multiplicity, although each of the divine religions is separable into
two divisions. One concerns the world of morality and the ethical
training of human nature. It is directed to the advancement of the
world of humanity in general; it reveals and inculcates the knowledge
of God and makes possible the discovery of the verities of life. This is
ideal and spiritual teaching, the essential quality of divine religion, and
not subject to change or transformation. It is the one foundation of
all the religions of God. Therefore, the religions are essentially one
and the same.
"The second classification or division comprises social laws
and regulations applicable to human conduct. This is not the essential
spiritual quality of religion. It is subject to change and transformation
according to the exigencies and requirements of time and place. Time
changes conditions and laws change to suit conditions. We must
remember that these changing laws are not the essentials; they are the
accidentals of religion. The essential ordinances established by a
Manifestation of God are spiritual; they concern moralities, the ethical
development of man and faith in God. They are ideal and necessarily
permanent--expressions of the one foundation and not amenable to
change or transformation. Therefore, the fundamental basis of the
revealed religion of God is immutable, unchanging throughout the
centuries, not subject to the varying conditions of the human world."
(Khatirat:610-621/PUP:364-365, 365-366)

"Whence this conflict and strife? The real underlying cause is
lack of religious unity and association, for in each of the great religions
we find superstition, blind imitation of creeds, and theological
formulas adhered to instead of the divine fundamentals, causing
difference and divergence among mankind instead of agreement and
fellowship. Consequently, strife, hatred and warfare have arisen, based
upon this divergence and separation. If we investigate the foundations
of the divine religions, we find them to be one, absolutely changeless
and never subject to transformation. For example, each of the divine
religions contains two kinds of laws or ordinances. One division
concerns the world of morality and ethical institutions. These are the
essential ordinances. They instill and awaken the knowledge and love
of God, love for humanity, the virtues of the world of mankind, the
attributes of the divine Kingdom, rebirth and resurrection from the
kingdom of nature. These constitute one kind of divine law which is
common to all and never subject to change. From the dawn of the
Adamic cycle to the present day this fundamental law of God has
continued changeless. This is the foundation of divine religion.
"The second division comprises laws and institutions which
provide for human needs and conditions according to exigencies of
time and place. These are accidental, of no essential importance and
should never have been made the cause and source of human
contention. Such ordinances, therefore, constitute the second or
nonessential division of the divine religions and are not of importance,
for they deal with human transactions which are ever changing
according to the requirements of time and place. Therefore, the
intrinsic foundations of the divine religions are one." (PUP:393-394)

"In reality, the foundations of the divine religions are one and
the same. The differences which have arisen between us are due to
blind imitations of dogmatic beliefs and adherence to ancestral forms
of worship. Abraham was the founder of reality. Moses, Christ,
Muhammad were the manifestations of reality. Bahá‟u‟lláh was the
Glory of reality. This is not simply an assertion; it will be proved.
"Let me ask your closest attention in considering this subject.
The divine religions embody two kinds of ordinances. First, there are
those which constitute essential, or spiritual, teachings of the Word of
God. These are faith in God, the acquirement of the virtues which
characterize perfect manhood, praiseworthy moralities, the acquisition
of the bestowals and bounties emanating from the divine
effulgences—in brief, the ordinances which concern the realm of
morals and ethics. This is the fundamental aspect of the religion of
God, and this is of the highest importance because knowledge of God
is the fundamental requirement of man. This is the essential
foundation of all the divine religions, the reality itself, common to all.
Abraham promulgated this; Moses proclaimed it. Christ and all the
Prophets upheld this standard and aspect of divine religion.
"Second, there are laws and ordinances which are temporary
and nonessential. These concern human transactions and relations.
They are accidental and subject to change according to the exigencies
of time and place. These ordinances are neither permanent nor
fundamental.
"It has been shown conclusively, that the foundation of the
religion of God remains permanent and unchanging. It is that fixed
foundation which ensures the progress and stability of the body politic
and the illumination of humanity. It has ever been the cause of love
and justice amongst men. It works for the true fellowship and
unification of all mankind, for it never changes and is not subject to
supercedure. The accidental, or nonessential, laws which regulate the
transactions of the social body and everyday affairs of life are
changeable and subject to abrogation." (PUP:403, 404, 404-405)

"We must bestow commendation upon all people, thus
removing the discord and hatred which have caused alienation
amongst men. Otherwise, the conditions of the past will continue,
praising ourselves and condemning others; religious wars will have no
end, and religious prejudice, the prime cause of this havoc and
tribulation, will increase. This must be abandoned, and the way to do
it is to investigate the reality which underlies all the religions. This
underlying reality is the love of humanity. For God is one and
humanity is one, and the only creed of the Prophets is love and unity."
(PUP:410)

"Therefore, we must investigate the reality of divine religion,
discover its reality, reestablish it and spread its message throughout the
world so that it may become the source of illumination and
enlightenment to mankind, the spiritually dead become alive, the
spiritually blind receive sight and those who are inattentive to God
become awakened.
"The teachings and ordinances of the divine religions are of
two kinds. The first are spiritual and essential in nature--such as faith
in God, faith in Christ, faith in Moses, faith in Abraham, faith in
Muhammad, the love of God and the oneness of the world of
humanity. These divine principles shall be spread throughout the
world. Strife and enmity shall disappear, ignorance, hatred and
hostility cease and all the human race be bound together. The second
kind of ordinances and teachings concern the outer conditions and
transactions of the world of mankind. They are the nonessential,
accidental or temporary laws of human affairs which are subject to
change and transformation according to the exigencies of time and
place.
"But the followers of the divine religions have turned away
from the principles and ordinances which are essential and unchanging
in the Word of God, forsaking those fundamental realities which have
to do with the life of the human world, the eternal life--such as the
love of God, faith in God, philanthropy, knowledge, spiritual
perception, divine guidance--holding these to be contingent and
nonessential while wrangling and disagreeing over such questions as
whether divorce is lawful or unlawful, or whether this or that
observance of a minor law is orthodox and true. The Jews consider
divorce lawful; the Catholic Christians deem it unlawful; the outcome
is discord and hostility between them. If they would investigate the
one fundamental reality underlying the laws revealed by Moses and
Christ, this condition of hatred and misunderstanding would be
dispelled and divine unity prevail. Investigation of the one
fundamental reality and allegiance to the essential unchanging
principles of the Word of God can alone establish unity and love in
human hearts." (PUP:444-445,445-446)
"Each divine revelation is divided into two parts. The first
part is essential, and belongs to the world of morality. It is the
exposition of significances and realities. It is the expression of the love
of God, the knowledge of God. This is one in all the religions,
unchangeable and immutable. The second part is inessential. It belongs
to practical life, to transactions and business, and changes according to
the requirements of the time of each prophet." („Abdu‟l-Bahá,
Khitabat, pp. 737-747; "Abdu'l-Baha on Divine Philosophy," chapter
V)

Shoghi Effendi wrote regarding these two parts of the religion of God
in a number of his letters, including those excerpted here:

"The Revelation proclaimed by Bahá‟u‟lláh, His followers
believe, is divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, broad in its outlook,
scientific in its method, humanitarian in its principles and dynamic in
the influence it exerts on the hearts and minds of men. The mission
of the Founder of their Faith, they conceive it to be, to proclaim that
religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is
continuous and progressive, that the Founders of all past religions,
though differing in the non-essential aspects of their teachings, "abide
in the same Tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the
same throne, utter the same speech and proclaim the same Faith."
(Shoghi Effendi, in a letter to the High Commissioner for Palestine,
entitled "The World Religion of Bahá‟u‟lláh: A Summary of Its Aims,
Teachings and History," June 1933)

"The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá‟u‟lláh,
followers of His Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not
absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and
progressive process, that all the great religions on the world are divine
in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their
aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but
facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they
differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines, and that their
missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of
human society. His purpose, far from belittling the station of the
Prophets gone before Him or of whittling down their teachings, is to
restate the basic truths which these teachings enshrine in a manner
that would conform to the needs, and be in consonance with the
capacity, and be applicable to the problems, the ills, and perplexities,
of the age in which we live." (Shoghi Effendi, in a letter to the United
Nations Special Commission on Palestine, entitled "The Faith of
Bahá‟u‟lláh," 14 July 1947; reprinted in "The Promised Day is Come,"
Foreword, p. v, 1961; reprinted also in GTT:2,3)
"The Faith standing identified with the name of Bahá‟u‟lláh
disclaims any intention to belittle any of the Prophets gone before
Him, to whittle down any of their teachings, to obscure, however
slightly, the radiance of their Revelations, to oust them from the hearts
of their followers, to abrogate the fundamentals of their doctrines, to
discard any of their revealed Books, or to suppress the legitimate
aspirations of their adherents. Repudiating the claim of any religion to
be the final revelation of God to man, disclaiming finality for His own
Revelation, Bahá‟u‟lláh inculcates the basic principle of the relativity of
religious truth, the continuity of Divine Revelation, the
progressiveness of religious experience. His aim is to widen the basis
of all revealed religions and to unravel the mysteries of their scriptures.
He insists on the unqualified recognition of the unity of their purpose,
restates the eternal verities they enshrine, co-ordinates their functions,
distinguishes the essential and the authentic from the non-essential and
spurious in their teachings, separates the God-given truths from the
priest-prompted superstitions, and on this as a basis proclaims the
possibility, and even prophesies the inevitability, of their unification,
and the consummation of their highest hopes." (Shoghi Effendi, letter
dated 28 March, 1941, entitled, "The Promised Day is Come," p. 112;
reprinted in GTT:118)

"Nor does the Bahá‟í Revelation, claiming as it does to be the
culmination of a prophetic cycle and the fulfillment of the promise of
all ages, attempt, under any circumstances, to invalidate those first and
everlasting principles that animate and underlie the religions that have
preceded it. The God-given authority, vested in each one of them, it
admits and establishes as its firmest and ultimate basis. It regards
them in no other light except as different stages in the eternal history
and constant evolution of one religion, Divine and indivisible, of
which it itself forms but an integral part. It neither seeks to obscure
their Divine origin, nor to dwarf the admitted magnitude of their
colossal achievements. It can countenance no attempt that seeks to
distort their features or to stultify the truths which they instill. Its
teachings do not deviate a hair-breadth from the verities they enshrine,
nor does the weight of its message detract one jot or one tittle from
the influence they exert or the loyalty they inspire. Far from aiming at
the overthrow of the spiritual foundation of the world's religious
systems, its avowed, its unalterable purpose is to widen their basis, to
restate their fundamentals, to reconcile their aims, to reinvigorate their
life, to demonstrate their oneness, to restore the pristine purity of their
teachings, to co-ordinate their functions, and to assist in the realization
of their highest aspirations, the fundamental principle which
constitutes the bedrock of Bahá‟í belief, the principle that religious
truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is orderly,
continuous, and progressive, and not spasmodic or final." (Shoghi
Effendi, letter addressed to the Western believers, 8 February 1934,
entitled, "The Dispensation of Bahá‟u‟lláh," reprinted in "The World
Order of Bahá‟u‟lláh," pp. 114,115; reprinted in GTT:129,131)

Given the prominence given this teaching in Bahá‟í source literature, it
is not surprising that „Abdu‟l-Bahá cites the teachings of the prophets
as one of the most significant proofs of prophethood:

"When the prophets of God appear upon this earth, their
validity is established by means of certain proofs. One of the proofs is
through the fulfillment of former prophecies...their creative words and
phrases which salute the hearts of humanity...their deeds...their
teachings."(ABDP:43)

"A supreme proof is the teaching. For instance the precepts
of Christ were sufficient proof of His validity. There is no greater
proof than these teachings. They were the light of that cycle and the
spirit of that age. All that He said accorded with the needs of the
humanity of that time. They were peerless and unique. Consider His
Holiness Bahá‟u‟lláh and His teaching[s]. They are the spirit of this
cycle--the light of this age. They illumine the dark places of humanity,
for they address themselves to the heart of the race. For instance, the
greatest evil of this century is war. In the new age Bahá‟u‟lláh has
prohibited war. The need of this century is universal peace--
Bahá‟u‟lláh has instituted it. The most urgent requisite of mankind is
the declaration of the oneness of the world of humanity--this is the
great principle of Bahá‟u‟lláh. That which will leaven the human world
is a love that will insure the abandonment of pride, oppression and
hatred. The principles of Bahá‟u‟lláh are the remedy and balm for the
wounded world; and without their inculcation, reconciliation between
the nations will not be reached. These very teachings of Bahá‟u‟lláh
are the greatest proofs of His claim. Such a power hath appeared
from Him as will suffice to convince the whole world. The proof of
the sun is its light and heat."(ABDP:45-46)

While 'Abdu'-Baha has developed this proof of all of the prophets
mostly through a very detailed exposition of the teachings of the
prophet Bahá‟u‟lláh; nevertheless, this is a universal proof of all of the
prophets as attested in these statements: "In the world of existence the
greatest bestowals of God are His teachings...Without the teachings of
God the world of humanity is like the animal kingdom...the teachings
of God are the bestowals specialized for man."(PUP:61) Regarding
the teachings of Moses, he writes:
"Moses lived in the wilderness of Sinai where crime
necessitated direct punishment. There were no penitentiaries or
penalties of imprisonment. Therefore, according to the exigency of
the time and place it was a law of God that an eye should be given for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It would not be practicable to enforce
this law at the present time...In the Torah there are many commands
concerning the punishment of a murderer. It would not be allowable
or possible to carry out these ordinances today...In fact, laws for the
ordinary conditions of life are only valid temporarily. The exigencies
of the time of Moses justified cutting off a man's hand for theft, but
such a penalty is not allowable now. Time changes conditions, and
laws change to suit conditions. We must remember that these
changing laws are not the essentials; they are the accidentals of
religion. The essential ordinances established by a Manifestation of
God are spiritual; they concern moralities, the ethical development of
man and faith in God. They are ideal and necessarily permanent--
expressions of the one foundation and not amenable to change or
transformation. Therefore, the fundamental basis of the revealed
religion of God is immutable, unchanging throughout the centuries,
not subject to the varying conditions of the human world. Christ
ratified and proclaimed the foundations of the law of Moses.
Muhammad and all the Prophets have revoiced that same foundation
of reality."(PUP:365-66)

"The divine Prophets came to establish the unity of the
Kingdom in human hearts. All of them proclaimed the glad tidings of
the divine bestowals to the world of mankind. All brought the same
message of divine love to the world."(PUP:5)

The essential teachings of Jesus Christ are described:

"His essential teaching was the unity of mankind and the
attainment of supreme human virtues through love. He came to
establish the Kingdom of peace and everlasting life. Can you find in
His words any justification for discord and enmity? The purpose of
His life and the glory of His death were to set mankind free from the
sins of strife, war and bloodshed. The great nations of the world boast
that their laws and civilization are based upon the religion of Christ.
Why then do they make war upon each other? The Kingdom of
Christ cannot be upheld by destroying and disobeying it...Is this
destruction of human life obedience to His laws and teachings?
Where does He command it? Where does He consent to it? He was
killed by His enemies; He did not kill. He even loved and prayed for
those who hung Him on the cross. Therefore, these wars and
cruelties, this bloodshed and sorrow are Antichrist, not Christ...No less
bitter is the conflict between sects and denominations. Christ was a
divine Center of unity and love. Whenever discord prevails instead of
unity, wherever hatred and antagonism take the place of love and
spiritual fellowship, Antichrist reigns instead of Christ. Who is right in
these controversies and hatreds between sects? Did Christ command
them to love or to hate each other? He loved even His enemies and
prayed in the hour of His crucifixion for those who killed Him.
Therefore, to be a Christian is not merely to bear the name of Christ
and say, "I belong to a Christian government." To be a real Christian
is to be a servant in His Cause and Kingdom, to go forth under His
banner of peace and love toward all mankind...to refresh the world by
the water of life of His teachings--in all things to be like Him and filled
with the spirit of His love."(PUP:5-6)
TWENTY-FOURTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE SPIRITUAL SEASONS

While divine philosophy asserts that "first we must speak of the logical
proofs, afterwards the spiritual proofs...which we cannot at the
beginning put forth for the benefit of the materialists"(SAQ:229); and
while this argument in its original context applies to proofs of the
origin of the human species; as we have already understood from
studying the criteria of truth recognized by divine philosophy in the
Introduction, besides logical proofs there are also spiritual proofs.
Inasmuch as all of the logical proofs and traditional proofs have been
stated, now there will be a careful consideration of the spiritual proofs.
The first spiritual proof which we will study is that there are "spiritual
cycles of the Prophets" which correspond in the spiritual realm to the
cycle of seasons in the material world:

"In this material world time has cycles; places change through
alternating seasons, and for souls there are progress, retrogression, and
education.
"Sometime[s] it is the season of spring, at another time it is
the season of autumn, and again it is the season of summer or the
season of winter.
"In the spring there are the clouds which send down the
precious rain, the musk-scented breezes and life-giving zephyrs; the air
is perfectly temperate, the rain falls, the sun shines, the fecundating
wind wafts the clouds, the world is renewed, and the breath of life
appears in plants, in animals, and in men. Earthly beings pass from
one condition to another. All things are clothed in new garments, and
the black earth is covered with herbage; mountains and plains are
adorned with verdure, trees bear leaves and blossoms, gardens bring
forth flowers and fragrant herbs. The world becomes another world,
and it attains to a life-giving spirit. The earth was a lifeless body; it
finds a new spirit, and produces endless beauty, grace, and freshness.
Thus the spring is the cause of new life, and infuses a new spirit.
"Afterwards comes the summer, when the heat increases, and
growth and development attain their greatest power. The energy of
life in the vegetable kingdom reaches to the degree of perfection, the
fruit appears, and the time of harvest ripens; a seed has become a
sheaf, and the food is stored for winter. Afterwards comes
tumultuous autumn when unwholesome and sterile winds blow, it is
the season of sickness, when all things are withered, and the balmy air
is vitiated. The breezes of spring are changed to autumn winds, the
fertile green trees have become withered and bare, flowers and
fragrant herbs fade away, the beautiful garden becomes a dust-heap.
Following this comes the season of winter, with cold and tempests. It
snows, rains, hails, storms, thunders and lightens, freezes and congeals;
all plants die, and animals languish and are wretched.
"When this state is reached, again a new life-giving spring
returns, and the cycle is renewed. The season of spring with its hosts
of freshness and beauty, spreads its tent on the plains and mountains
with great pomp and magnificence. A second time the form of the
creatures is renewed, and the creation of beings begins afresh; bodies
grow and develop, the plains and wildernesses become green and
fertile, trees bring forth blossoms, and the spring of last year returns in
the utmost fullness and glory. Such is, and such ought to be, the cycle
and succession of existence: such is the cycle and revolution of the
material world.
"It is the same with the spiritual cycles of the Prophets. That
is to say, the day of the appearance of the Holy Manifestations is the
spiritual springtime, it is the divine splendour, it is the heavenly
bounty, the breeze of life, the rising of the Sun of Reality. Spirits are
quickened, hearts are refreshed and invigorated, souls become good,
existence is set in motion, human realities are gladdened, and grow and
develop in good qualities and perfections. Universal progress takes
place, and there are resurrection and lamentation; for it is the day of
judgment, the time of turmoil and distress, at the same time that it is
the season of joy, of happiness, and of absolute attraction.
"Afterwards the life-giving spring ends in fruitful summer.
The word of God is exalted, the Law of God is promulgated; all things
reach perfection. The heavenly table is spread, the holy breezes
perfume the East and the West, the teachings of God conquer the
world, men become educated, praiseworthy results are produced,
universal progress appears in the world of humanity, and the divine
bounties surround all things. The Sun of Reality rises from the
horizon of the Kingdom with the greatest power and heat. When it
reaches the meridian it will begin to decline and descend, and the
spiritual summer will be followed by autumn, when growth and
development are arrested. Breezes change into blighting winds, and
the unwholesome season dissipates the beauty and freshness of the
gardens, plains, and bowers. That is to say, attraction and goodwill do
not remain, divine qualities are changed, the radiance of hearts is
dimmed, the spirituality of souls is altered, virtues are replaced by
vices, and holiness and purity disappear. Only the name of the
Religion of God remains, and the exoteric forms of the divine
teachings. The foundations of the Religion of God are destroyed and
annihilated, and nothing but forms and customs exist. Divisions
appear, firmness is changed into instability, and spirits become dead;
hearts languish, souls become inert, and winter arrives; that is to say,
the coldness of ignorance envelopes the world and the darkness of
human error prevails. After this come indifference, disobedience,
inconsiderateness, indolence, baseness, animal instincts, and the
coldness and insensibility of stones. It is like the season of winter
when the terrestrial globe, deprived of the effect of the heat of the sun,
becomes desolate and dreary. When the world of intelligence and
thought has reached to this state, there remain only continual death
and perpetual non-existence.
"When the season of winter has had its effect, again the
spiritual springtime returns and a new cycle appears. Spiritual breezes
blow, the luminous dawn gleams, the divine clouds give rain, the rays
of the Sun of Reality shine forth, the contingent world attains unto a
new life, and is clad in a wonderful garment. All the signs and the gifts
of the past springtime reappear, with perhaps even greater splendour
in this new season."(SAQ:83-86)

Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to the spiritual springtime in which the new Prophet
of God is made manifest in a number of his Tablets:

GL:XIV:27: "The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted
Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching.
Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the
name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all
created things may be regenerated and made new." (Tablet of
Ridvan)

GL:XXXV:84: "God grant that, in these days of heavenly
delight, ye may not deprive yourselves of the sweet savors of
the All-Glorious God, and may partake, in this spiritual
Springtime, of the outpourings of His grace."

GL:XLIII:94, LXXXV:167; TB:86: "It behoveth you to
refresh and revive your souls through the gracious favors
which in this Divine, this soul-stirring Springtime are being
showered upon you." (Lawh-i-Dunya)
TWENTY-FIFTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE SPIRITUAL SUN OF
REALITY

The second spiritual proof of all of the prophets is articulated by
„Abdu‟l-Bahá:

"The spiritual cycles of the Sun of Reality are like the cycles of
the material sun: they are always revolving and being renewed. The
Sun of Reality, like the material sun, has numerous rising and dawning
places: one day it rises from the zodiacal sign of Cancer, another day
from the sign of Libra or Aquarius, another time it is from the sign of
Aries that it diffuses its rays. But the sun is one sun and one reality;
the people of knowledge are lovers of the sun, and are not fascinated
by the places of its rising and dawning. The people of perception are
seekers of the Truth, and not of the places of its appearance, nor of its
dawning points; therefore they will adore the Sun from whatever point
in the zodiac it may appear, and they will seek the Reality in every
Sanctified Soul who manifests it. Such people always attain to the
truth, and are not veiled from the Sun of the Divine World. So, the
lover of the sun and the seeker of the light will always turn towards the
sun, whether it shines from the sign of Aries or gives its bounty from
the sign of Cancer, or radiates from Gemini; but the ignorant and
uninstructed are lovers of the signs of the zodiac, and enamoured and
fascinated by the rising-places, and not by the sun. When it was in the
sign of Cancer they turned towards it, though afterwards the sun
changed to the sign of Libra; as they were lovers of the sign, they
turned towards it and attached themselves to it, and were deprived of
the influences of the sun merely because lit had changed its place. For
example, once the Sun of Reality poured forth its rays from the sign of
Abraham, and then it dawned from the sign of Moses and illuminated
the horizon; afterwards it rose with the greatest power and brilliancy
from the sign of Christ: those who were the seekers of Reality,
worshipped that Reality wherever they saw it, but those who were
attached to Abraham were deprived of its influences, when it shone
upon Sinai and illuminated the reality of Moses. Those who held fast
to Moses when the Sun of Reality shone from Christ with the utmost
radiance and lordly splendour, were also veiled; and so forth.
"Therefore man must be the seeker after the Reality; and he
will find that Reality in each of the Sanctified Souls. He must be
fascinated and enraptured, and attracted to the divine bounty; he must
be like the butterfly who is the lover of the light from whatever lamp it
may shine, and like the nightingale who is the lover of the rose in
whatever garden it may grow.
"If the sun were to rise in the West, it would still be the sun;
one must not withdraw from it on account of its rising-place, nor
consider the West to be always the place of sun-set. In the same way,
one must look for the heavenly bounties, and seek for the Divine
Aurora. In every place where it appears, one must become its
distracted lover. Consider that if the Jews had not kept turning to the
horizon of Moses, and had only regarded the Sun of Reality, without
any doubt they would have recognized the Sun in the dawning-place of
the reality of Christ, in the greatest divine splendour. But, alas! a
thousand times alas! attaching themselves to the outward words of
Moses, they were deprived of the divine bounties and the lordly
splendours!"(SAQ:86-88)

The use of the sun as a metaphor for the prophetic reality has been
anticipated in a number of Sacred Writings and religious practices.
The Báb uses it in many of his Writings, including in this passage from
"Dala'il-i-Sab'ih":

SP:3-6: "If you sail upon the Ocean of Creation, know that
the first "Dhikr", which emanates from the Primal Will, is
similar to the sun which God the Most Exalted created by His
Power...in every Manifestation, it is this First Dhikr which He
has revealed in keeping with His own decision. Know
therefore, that in this sense, He is like the Sun. Indeed, this
star, if it rises until the end that will never have an end, will be,
even as it has been in the past, but one only and the same sun.
But, it is equally Him Who was manifested in all the prophets
and it is He Who speaks in all their books...In the first
evolution He was known under the name Adam, then under
that of Noah in the epoch of this prophet; He was Abraham
in His time, then Jesus, then Muhammad Rasu'l-Allah. Finally
He is Him Whom God shall make manifest after Him Whom
God shall make manifest in His epoch."

This same solar metaphor is found throughout the Writings of
Bahá‟u‟lláh, and is often employed by „Abdu‟l-Bahá as well. As for the
identification of the dawning-points of the Sun of Reality, in other
words the original homelands and nationalities and declaration dates of
the prophets, with the signs of the zodiac, another example of this may
serve to elucidate the purpose of „Abdu‟l-Bahá.

He writes, in a Tablet addressed to a Bahá‟í in Mazandaran:

WOB:127: "The Revelation of the Báb may be likened to the
sun, its station corresponding to the first sign of the Zodiac—the sign
Aries--which the sun enters at the Vernal Equinox. The station of
Bahá‟u‟lláh's Revelation, on the other hand, is represented by the sign
Leo, the sun's mid-summer and highest station. By this is meant that
this holy Dispensation is illumined with the light of the Sun of Truth
shining from its most exalted station, and in the plenitude of its
resplendency, its heat and glory."

That „Abdu‟l-Bahá identified the Revelation of the Báb (who called
himself the "Primal Point") with the first sign of the Zodiac, the sign
Aries is by no means accidental: the sun enters this sign at the Vernal
Equinox, which is the first day of spring, and the first day of the
ancient Persian calendar, called "Naw-Ruz". The Primal Point began
the calendar he revealed in "Bayán-i-Farsi" (Third Vahid) on Naw-Ruz,
hence at the Vernal Equinox, at the point at which the sun enters the
zodiacal sign of Aries. Furthermore, in "Bayán-i-Farsi" the Primal
Point calls this day "the Day of the Point" (Fifth Vahid, Third Báb),
and "the Day of God" (Sixth Vahid, Fourteenth Báb). The attribution
of the zodiacal sign of Leo to Bahá‟u‟lláh will be discussed in a
succeeding volume, along with suggestions as to the apportionment of
other signs to individual prophets according to the traditional histories
and religious observances associated with them.

Before continuing with other proofs, it would seem to be necessary to
explain the apparent contradiction between the first passage cited,
which states that the true seeker will not be attached to the dawningplace of the Sun of Reality, and the second passage quoted which
indicates that the dawning-place does indeed convey important
significances, namely the character and intensity of the divine
Revelation associated with its particular prophet. In the first text the
seeker is advised that unless he is detached from these dawning-places
he will not recognize the new appearance of the Sun of Reality and
hence will be deprived of His divine illumination. The second passage
can be interpreted along the same lines, for if the seeker has failed to
recognize the Primal Point in his day because of his appearance in "the
first sign of the Zodiac" then he will have deprived himself of the
illumination of the Sun of Reality, and if he fails to recognize
Bahá‟u‟lláh because his appearance is not in the same sign as that of
his predecessor, because he is manifested in "the sign Leo, the sun's
mid-summer and highest station" then once again he will be bereft of
the "light of the Sun of Truth shining from its most exalted station,
and in the plenitude of its resplendency, its heat and glory."

Another significance of this comparison of two Revelations with two
zodiacal signs is that the Primal Point became manifest in the East,
and from the province of Fars and land of Persia both of which are
associated historically and prophetically with the sign of the Ram
(which is the animal associated with Aries), while Bahá‟u‟lláh through
his successive banishments--from Tihran to Baghdad, from Baghdad
to Constantinople, from Constantinople to Adrianople, from
Adrianople to Akka and Haifa in the province of Palestine and land of
Syria--journeyed westwards (as does the sun from its rising in the East
to its noontide glory between East and West), manifesting his reality
first to a small company of His closest associates in Baghdad, then
more universally in Adrianople, and finally at the apex of his glory in
Palestine. „Abdu‟l-Bahá associates the Revelation of Bahá‟u‟lláh then
with the western movement of the sun, with its manifestation in full
brilliancy between East and West--which more perfectly describes the
status of the Holy Land than any other place on the planet--and with
the Lion, which is the ancient symbol of the tribe of Judah and hence
of King David, from whose race, according to Jewish interpretations
of their Holy Bible, must come the Saviour of the world. The Lion is
the animal associated with the zodiacal sign of Leo and also gives this
sign its name. This short exposition just begins to explore the
correspondences which exist between the zodiacal signs and the
dawning-points of the prophets of God. The principal principle
underlying this proof however is that "the ignorant and uninstructed
are lovers of the signs of the zodiac, and enamoured and fascinated by
the rising-places, and not by the sun."

"It gives me great joy, for I see that you are seekers after truth.
You are not held in bondage by the chains of prejudice, and your
greatest longing is to know the truth. Truth may be likened to the sun!
The sun is the luminous body that disperses all shadows; in the same
way does truth scatter the shadows of our imagination. As the sun
gives life to the body of humanity so does truth give life to their souls.
Truth is a sun that rises from different points on the horizon.
"Sometimes the sun rises from the centre of the horizon, then
in summer it rises farther north, in winter farther south--but it is
always the self-same sun, however different are the points of its rising.
"In like manner truth is one, although its manifestations may
be very different. Some men have eyes and see. These worship the
sun, no matter from which point on the horizon it may dawn; and
when the sun has left the winter sky to appear in the summer one, they
know how to find it again. Others there are who worship only the
spot from which the sun arose, and when it arises in its glory from
another place they remain in contemplation before the spot of its
former rising. Alas! these men are deprived of the blessings of the
sun. Those who in truth adore the sun itself will recognize it from
whatsoever dawning-place it may appear, and will straightway turn
their faces towards its radiance.
"We must adore the sun itself and not merely the place of its
appearance. In the same way men of enlightened heart worship truth
on whatever horizon it appears. They are not bound by personality,
but they follow the truth, and are able to recognize it no matter from
whence it may come. It is this same truth which helps humanity to
progress, which gives life to all created beings, for it is the Tree of Life!
"In His teaching Bahá‟u‟lláh gives us the explanation of truth,
and I wish to speak to you briefly about this, for I see that you are
capable of understanding."(PT:127-29)

"No one truth can contradict another truth. Light is good in
whatsoever lamp it is burning! A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden
it may bloom! A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or
from the West. Be free from prejudice, so will you love the Sun of
Truth from whatsoever point in the horizon it will arise! You will
realize that if the Divine light of truth shone in Jesus Christ it also
shone in Moses and in Buddha. The earnest seeker will arrive at this
truth. This is what is meant by the 'Search after Truth'.
"It means, also, that we must be willing to clear away all that
we have previously learned, all that would clog our steps on the way to
truth; we must not shrink if necessary from beginning our education all
over again. We must not allow our love for any religion or any one
personality to so blind our eyes that we become fettered by superstition!
When we are freed from all these bonds, seeking with liberated minds,
then shall we be able to arrive at our goal.
"'Seek the truth, the truth shall make you free.' So shall we see
the truth in all religions, for truth is in all and truth is one!"(PT:137)
TWENTY-SIXTH PROOF:
SPIRITUAL PROOF OF THE MYSTIC HERALD

The highest station to which man may aspire is that station wherein he
has become utterly transformed, in which he has been reborn into a
spiritual life which is eternal. In this new life he perceives limitless and
infinite proofs of the spiritual realities including the reality of the
prophets of God. Speaking of this second birth, „Abdu‟l-Bahá states:

"Such resuscitation is impossible except through a heavenly
potency, a supernatural power, the divine power of the Holy Spirit.
Through a natural and mere human power this is impossible.
Therefore, the question arises: How is this resuscitation to be
accomplished? There are certain means for its accomplishment by
which mankind is regenerated and quickened with a new birth. This is
the second birth mentioned in the heavenly Books. Its
accomplishment is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The
resuscitation or rebirth of the spirit of man is through the science of
the love of God." (PUP:277)

Bahá‟u‟lláh describes this second birth, or rebirth, in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:195-200: "Only when the lamp of search, of earnest
striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid
love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's
heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon
his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of
doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of
knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will
the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit,
shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn,
and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the
heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of negligence.
Then will the manifold favours and outpouring grace of the
holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the
seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a
new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate
the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the
hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he
will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the
stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things
the mysteries of divine Revelation and the evidences of an
everlasting manifestation. I swear by God! Were he that
treadeth the path of guidance and seeketh to scale the heights
of righteousness to attain unto this glorious and supreme
station, he would inhale at a distance of a thousand leagues
the fragrance of God, and would perceive the resplendent
morn of a divine Guidance rising above the dayspring of all
things. Each and every thing, however small, would be to him
a revelation, leading him to his Beloved, the Object of his
quest.
"So great shall be the discernment of this seeker that he will
discriminate between truth and falsehood even as he doth
distinguish the sun from shadow. If in the uttermost corners
of the East the sweet savours of God be wafted, he will
assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even though he
be dwelling in the uttermost ends of the West. He will
likewise clearly distinguish all the signs of God--His wondrous
utterances, His great works, and mighty deeds--from the
doings, words and ways of men, even as the jeweler who
knoweth the gem from the stone, or the man who
distinguisheth the spring from autumn and heat from cold.
When the channel of the human soul is cleansed from all
worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly perceive
the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and
will, led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude.
Therein he will discern the wonders of His ancient wisdom,
and will perceive all the hidden teachings from the rustling
leaves of the Tree--which flourisheth in that City. With both
his inner and his outer ear he will hear from its dust the
hymns of glory and praise ascending unto the Lord of Lords,
and with his inner eye will he discover the mysteries of
"return" and "revival." How unspeakably glorious are the
signs, the tokens, the revelations, and splendours which He
Who is the King of names and attributes hath destined for
that City! The attainment of this City quencheth thirst
without water, and kindleth the love of God without fire.
Within every blade of grass are enshrined the mysteries of an
inscrutable wisdom, and upon every rose-bush a myriad
nightingales pour out, in blissful rapture, their melody. Its
wondrous tulips unfold the mystery of the Burning Bush, and
its sweet savours of holiness breathe the perfume of the
Messianic Spirit. It bestoweth wealth without gold, and
conferreth immortality without death. In every leaf ineffable
delights are treasured, and within every chamber unnumbered
mysteries lie hidden. They that valiantly labour in quest of
God's will, when once they have renounced all else but Him,
will be so attached and wedded to that City that a moment's
separation from it would to them be unthinkable. They will
hearken unto infallible proofs from the Hyacinth of that
assembly, and receive the surest testimonies from the beauty
of its Rose and the melody of its Nightingale. Once in about
a thousand years shall this City be renewed and readorned.
"Wherefore, O my friend, it behooveth us to exert the highest
endeavour to attain unto that City, and, by the grace of God
and His loving-kindness, render asunder the "veils of glory";
so that, with inflexible steadfastness, we may sacrifice our
drooping souls in the path of the New Beloved. We should
with tearful eyes, fervently and repeatedly, implore Him to
grant us the favour of that grace. That city is none other than
the Word of God revealed in every age and dispensation. In
the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus
the Gospel; in the days of Muhammad the Messenger of God
the Qur'an; in this day the Bayán; and in the dispensation of
Him Whom God will make manifest His own Book--the
Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must
needs be referred, the Book which standeth amongst them all
transcendent and supreme. In these cities spiritual sustenance
is bountifully provided, and incorruptible delights have been
ordained. The food they bestow is the bread of heaven, and
the Spirit they impart is God's imperishable blessing. Upon
detached souls they bestow the gift of Unity, enrich the
destitute, and offer the cup of knowledge unto them who
wander in the wilderness of ignorance. All the guidance, the
blessings, the learning, the understanding, the faith, and
certitude, conferred upon all that is in heaven and on earth,
are hidden and treasured within these Cities."

We also find these words in his "Haft Vadi":

SV:5-8,11-12 passim: "It is incumbent on these servants that
they cleanse the heart--which is the wellspring of divine
treasures--from every marking, and that they turn away from
imitation, which is following the traces of their forefathers
and sires, and shut the door of friendliness and enmity upon
all the people of the earth. In this journey the seeker reacheth
a stage wherein he seeth all created things wandering
distracted in search of the Friend...
"The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest,
and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor
shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things.
That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all
must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the
spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to
seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of
reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast
away the world...
"And if, by the help of God, he findeth on this journey a trace
of the traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the longlost Joseph from the heavenly messenger, he shall straightway
step into the Valley of Love and be dissolved in the fire of
love. In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the
world-illumining sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love
is ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to
ashes the harvest of reason...
"And if, confirmed by the Creator, the lover escapes from the
claws of the eagle of love, he will enter the Valley of
Knowledge and come out of doubt into certitude, and turn
from the darkness of illusion to the guiding light of the fear of
God. His inner eyes will open and he will privily converse
with his Beloved; he will set ajar the gate of truth and piety,
and shut the doors of vain imaginings. He in this station is
content with the decree of God, and seeth war as peace, and
findeth in death the secrets of everlasting life. With inward
and outward eyes he witnesseth the mysteries of resurrection
and in the realms of creation and the souls of men, and with a
pure heart apprehendeth the divine wisdom in the endless
Manifestations of God. In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a
drop he beholdeth the secrets of the sea...
"After passing through the Valley of knowledge, which is the
last plane of limitation, the wayfarer cometh to the Valley of
Unity and drinketh from the cup of the Absolute, and gazeth
on the Manifestations of Oneness. In this station he pierceth
the veils of plurality, fleeth from the worlds of the flesh, and
ascendeth into the heaven of singleness. With the ear of God
he heareth, with the eye of God he beholdeth the mysteries of
divine creation."

The reader will certainly find many correspondences both between
these two sources4 and between these verses of Bahá‟u‟lláh and the
statements of „Abdu‟l-Bahá. This spiritual proof will be examined fully
in subsequent volumes.
TWENTY-SEVENTH PROOF:
THE PROPHET IS THE GARDENER OF HUMANITY

Bahá‟u‟lláh has used the image, the symbol of the garden to describe a
number of phenomena, all of which are related to the Divine
Gardener, the Prophet of God. In the prologue to the "Haft Vadi", he
writes of the "green garden" of holiness and the "garden" of man's
being:

SV:3,4: "...the bird of thy soul shall...gather the fruits of
communion in the gardens of 'Then feed on every kind of
fruit.' [Qur'an 16:71]
"By My life, O friend, wert thou to taste of these fruits, from
the green garden of these blossoms which grow in the lands
of knowledge, beside the orient lights of the Essence in the
mirrors of names and attributes...thou wouldst soar in the air
even as thou walkest upon the earth, and move over the water
as thou runnest on the land. Wherefore, may it rejoice Me,
and thee, and whosoever mounteth into the heaven of
knowledge, and whose heart is refreshed by this, that the wind
of certitude hath blown over the garden of his being, from the
Sheba of the All-Merciful."

Bahá‟u‟lláh wrote "Kalimat-i-Maknuneh" at about the same time as
"Haft Vadi" and in the Persian work by this name he writes:

HWP:#1,2,18: "The first call of the Beloved is this: O mystic
nightingale! Abide not but in the rose-garden of the spirit...
"O friend! In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the
rose of love...
"O ye dwellers in the highest paradise! Proclaim unto the
children of assurance that within the realms of holiness, nigh
unto the celestial paradise, a new garden hath appeared..."

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh also refers to the "garden" of man's heart:

KI:211: "The understanding of His words and the
comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven are
in no wise dependent upon human learning. They depend
solely upon purity of heart, chastity of soul, and freedom of
spirit. This is evidenced by those who, today, though without
a single letter of the accepted standards of learning, are
occupying the loftiest seats of knowledge; and the garden of
their hearts is adorned, through the showers of divine grace,
with the roses of wisdom and the tulips of understanding."
In the same Book he affirms that these spiritual treasures can only be
found in "the ideal Garden":

KI:191: "O my brother! A divine Mine only can yield the
gems of divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic
Flower can be inhaled only in the ideal Garden, and the lilies
of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except in the city of
a stainless heart."

During twelve days in the month of April (1863 C.E.), while residing
in the garden of Najib Pasha, situated in the midst of an island in the
Tigris River, adjoining the city of Baghdad, Bahá‟u‟lláh declared his
Prophethood to a select group of his followers. Afterwards he
referred to this period as "Ridvan," which originally means "garden" in
Arabic, but has come to mean "paradise" in both Persian and Arabic.
In one of the works which commemorates that season (which he
designated as the Most Great Festival to be celebrated annually),
entitled "Lawh-i-Ridvan", Bahá‟u‟lláh compares the presence of the
Manifestation of God to a "garden of delight":

GL:XIV:31: "Guide, then, the people unto the garden of
delight which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise."

Another Tablet, also written to honor the Festival of Ridvan, sounds
the same theme:

GL:CLI:319: "Release yourselves, O nightingales of God,
from the thorns and brambles of wretchedness and misery,
and wing your flight to the rose-garden of unfading splendor.
O My friends that dwell upon the dust! Haste forth unto your
celestial habitation."

GL:CLI:320-321: "Hear Me, ye mortal birds! In the Rose
Garden of changeless splendor a Flower hath begun to
bloom, compared to which every other flower is but a thorn,
and before the brightness of Whose glory the very essence of
beauty must pale and wither. Arise, therefore, and, with the
whole enthusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness of
your souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concentrated
efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the paradise of His
presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance of the
incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of holiness,
and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celestial glory."
We may compare these pronouncements to the depiction of the
Garden of Eden. Gan Eden (as it is known in Hebrew) was not just
an idyllic environment for man to live in, it was also his training
ground--it was where he learned to name and to govern the creatures
of the earth, and also where he learned the consequences of
disobedience to the divine command:

Bereshit/Genesis1:26: "And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth."

Bereshit/Genesis 2:15-17: "And the Lord God took the man,
and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat:
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá speaks of the first man and his development in
horticultural terms, in "Some Answered Questions":

"Man from the beginning was in this perfect form and
composition, and possessed capacity and aptitude for acquiring
material and spiritual perfections, and was the manifestation of these
words, 'We will make man in Our image and likeness.' He has only
become more pleasing, more beautiful, and more graceful. Civilization
has brought him out of his wild state, just as the wild fruits which are
cultivated by a gardener become finer, sweeter, and acquire more
freshness and delicacy. The gardeners of the world of humanity are
the Prophets of God."( SAQ:XLIX:225-226; BWF:309-310)

In his last "Tablet to America" there is the following reference to the
"Divine Gardener":

"The Divine Gardener cuts off the dry or weak branch from
the good tree and grafts to it, a branch from another tree. He both
separates and unites. This is that which His Holiness Christ says: that
from all the world they come and enter the Kingdom, and the children
of the Kingdom shall be cast out." (BWF:438)
In another Tablet, „Abdu‟l-Bahá explains that the death of a youth
seemingly before his time is actually according to an "inscrutable
divine wisdom" which is known only to the Divine Gardener:

"The inscrutable divine wisdom underlies such heart-rending
occurrences. It is as if a kind gardener transfers a fresh and tender
shrub from a narrow place to a vast region. This transference is not
the cause of the withering, the waning or the destruction of that shrub,
nay rather it makes it grow and thrive, acquire freshness and delicacy
and attain verdure and fruition. This hidden secret is well-known to
the gardener, while those souls who are unaware of this bounty
suppose that the gardener in his anger and wrath has uprooted the
shrub. But to those who are aware this concealed fact is manifest and
this predestined decree considered a favor. Do not feel grieved and
disconsolate therefore at the ascension of that bird of faithfulness, nay
under all circumstances pray and beg for that youth forgiveness and
elevation of station." (BWF:379)

He describes the ideal garden of humanity, in one of the "Tablets of
the Divine Plan":

"When the rain, the heat, the sun and the gentle zephyrs
cooperate with each other, what beautiful gardens are produced! How
the various kinds of hyacinths, flowers, trees and plants associate with
each other and are conducive to the adornment and charm of one
another! Hence the oneness of the bounty of the sun, the oneness of
rain and the oneness of the breeze have so overcome all other
considerations, that the variety of hues, fragrances and tastes have
increased the adornment, the attraction and sweetness of the whole.
In a similar manner, when the divine Collective Center and the
outpouring of the Sun of Reality and the breaths of the Holy Spirit are
brought together, the variety of races and the differences existing
between countries will become the cause of the embellishment,
decoration and elegance of the world of humanity." (BWF:420)

In an address at the Unitarian Church in Dublin, New Hampshire, on
11 August 1912, he likens the Manifestations of God generally (and
Jesus Christ specifically) to Divine Gardeners and Divine Farmers:

"Man though he progress materially, is in need of the breaths
of the Holy Spirit, of divine education, of the outpourings of the
Kingdom. Not until man receives this bounty can he become perfect.
Therefore the holy, divine Manifestations have appeared in every cycle
and dispensation so that they may give the human souls this divine
education, may banish the imperfections of the human world and
make manifest ideal perfections. The world of nature is like a jungle.
His Holiness the Christ was the Divine Gardener. He made this
jungle to be a rose garden, these fruitless trees fruitful. These lands
which according to the laws of nature should bring forth weeds and
tares He filled with roses and tulips. This Divine Farmer sowed the
earth with seeds; the worthless grass He threw away. The thorn
bushes which according to the law of nature should grow He rooted
sout, and through divine education the thorny place became a rose
garden. Had it remained in its original state it would have been either
a jungle or a bramble patch.
"The point is this, that man, however much he may progress
materially, however much he may acquire of material perfection
belongs, still, to the animal world and is in need of the breaths of the
Holy Spirit, of divine education. If man partakes of the breaths of the
Holy Spirit then the divine reality appears in the human world in
utmost perfection and man becomes as the image and likeness of
God." (SW:XIV:2, p. 43)

In an address delivered on 10 November 1912, Bahá‟u‟lláh is likened
to a Gardener of humanity:

"The love of Bahá‟u‟lláh is in your hearts. Your souls are
rejoicing in the glad tidings of Bahá‟u‟lláh. My hope is that the white
and the black will be united in perfect love and fellowship, with
complete unity and brotherhood. Associate with each other, think of
each other, and be like a rose garden...Although different in colors,
yet--praise be to God!--you receive rays from the same sun. From one
cloud the rain is poured upon you. You are under the training of one
Gardener, and this Gardener is kind to all. Therefore, you must
manifest the utmost kindness towards each other, and you may rest
assured that whenever you are united, the confirmations of the
Kingdom of Abha will reach you, the heavenly favors will descend, the
bounties of God will be bestowed, the Sun of Reality will shine, the
cloud of mercy will pour its showers, and the breeze of divine
generosity will waft its fragrances upon you." (PUP:427-428)

The need and function of the Gardener of humanity is explained in
other addresses of „Abdu‟l-Bahá:

"If a piece of ground is left in its natural state, wild weeds,
thorns and trees of the jungle will grow upon it. But if we cultivate
that same piece of ground, the result will be that it will rid itself of
natural imperfections and become transformed into a beautiful rose
garden or an orchard of fruitful trees. This is a proof that the world of
nature is defective." (Address of 7 November 1912; PUP:400)
"When we look upon the kingdoms of creation below man,
we find three forms or planes of existence which await education and
development. For instance, the function of a gardener is to till the soil
of the mineral kingdom and plant a tree which under his training and
cultivation will attain perfection of growth. If it be wild and fruitless,
it may be made fruitful and prolific by grafting. If small and unsightly,
it will become lofty, beautiful and verdant under the gardener's
training, whereas a tree bereft of his cultivation retrogresses daily, its
fruit grows acrid and bitter as the trees of the jungle, or it may become
entirely barren and bereft of its fruitage." (Address of 2 May 1912;
PUP:77)

"If we should relegate this plot of ground to its natural state,
allow it to return to its original condition, it would become a field of
thorns and useless weeds, but by cultivation it will become fertile soil,
yielding a harvest. Deprived of cultivation, the mountain slopes would
be jungles and forests without fruitful trees. The gardens bring forth
fruits and flowers in proportion to the care and tillage bestowed upon
them by the gardener. Therefore, it is not intended that the world of
humanity should be left to its natural state. It is in need of the
education divinely provided for it. The holy, heavenly Manifestations
of God have been the Teachers. They are the divine Gardeners Who
transform the jungles of human nature into fruitful orchards and make
the thorny places blossom as the rose." (Address of 8 October 1912;
PUP:353)

In all of these passages, „Abdu‟l-Bahá likened humanity to a garden,
and the Prophet of God as the Divine Gardener of humanity. In
keeping with this symbolism, he also affirms the oneness of humanity
in the imagery of flowers in a garden:

"Be as one spirit, one soul, leaves of one tree, flowers of one
garden, waves of one ocean...The difference in adornment of color
and capacity of reflection among the flowers gives the garden its
beauty and charm. Therefore, although we are of different
individualities, different in ideas and of various fragrances, let us strive
like flowers of the same divine garden to live together in harmony."
(Address of 17 April 1912; PUP:24)

"Flowers may be variegated in colors, but they are all flowers
of one garden. Trees differ though they grow in the same orchard.
All are nourished and quickened into life by the bounty of the same
rain, all grow and develop by the heat and light of the one sun, all are
refreshed and exhilarated by the same breeze that they may bring forth
varied fruits. This is according to the creative wisdom. If all trees
bore the same kind of fruit, it would cease to be delicious. In their
never-ending variety man finds enjoyment instead of monotony.
"And now as I look into your faces, I am reminded of trees
varying in color and form but all bearing luscious and delectable fruits,
fragrant and delightful to the inner and outer senses." (Address of 23
April 1912; PUP:51-52)

"All mankind are the fruits of one tree, flowers of the same
garden, waves of one sea." (Address of 12 May 1912; PUP:118)

"May you become as the waves of one sea, stars of the same
heaven, fruits adorning the same tree, roses of one garden in order that
through you the oneness of humanity may establish its temple in the
world of mankind, for you are the ones who are called to uplift the
cause of unity among the nations of the earth." (Address of 29 June
1912; PUP:214-215)

"O Lord God! Make us as waves of the sea, as flowers of the
garden, united, agreed through the bounties of Thy love." (Address of
14 July 1912; PUP:235)

"My hope is that the white and the black will be united in
perfect love and fellowship, with complete unity and brotherhood.
Associate with each other, think of each other, and be like a rose
garden. Anyone who goes into a rose garden will see various roses,
white, pink, yellow, red, all growing together and replete with
adornment. Each one accentuates the beauty of the other. Were all of
one color, the garden would be monotonous to the eye. If they were
all white or yellow or red, the garden would lack variety and
attractiveness; but when the colors are varied, white, pink, yellow, red,
there will be the greatest beauty. Therefore, I hope that you will be
like a rose garden." (Address of 10 November 1912; PUP:427)

As will have been noted by the reader, the garden is a symbol for the
physical reality of humanity--their variety and essential harmony--and
also for the spiritual reality of humanity, which is being realized among
the believers at present and which will be more fully and universally
manifested in the world of humanity in the future. In one of his
addresses, that of 8 November 1912, „Abdu‟l-Bahá reads from an
Epistle written by Bahá‟u‟lláh to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire,
which ends with these prophetic words:

"Verily, the Servant hath assuredly come to vivify the world
and bring to union whosoever is upon the surface of the whole earth.
That which God willeth shall overcome, and thou shalt see the earth as
the garden of Abha. Thus hath it been written by the pen of
command in an irrevocable Tablet." (PUP:399)

In an ecstatic Tablet written to celebrate the New Age and at the time
of the vernal equinox, „Abdu‟l-Bahá addresses these words to his
followers:

"The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at
hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and
mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the
wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the
cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose
branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the gladtidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of
their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and
quiver." (TAB:I:641; BWF:352)

He also uses this imagery to describe the hearts of men, each one of
which is a garden which must be properly tended by the Divine
Gardener in order to yield the most beauty and fragrance:

"Be like a well-cultivated garden wherein the roses and
variegated flowers of heaven are growing in fragrance and beauty. It is
my hope that your hearts may become as ready ground, carefully tilled
and prepared, upon which the divine showers of the bounties of the
Blessed Perfection [Bahá‟u‟lláh] may descend and the zephyrs of this
divine springtime may blow with quickening breath. Then will the
garden of your hearts bring forth its flowers of delightful fragrance to
refresh the nostril of the heavenly Gardener." (Address of 17 April
1912; PUP:24)
TWENTY-EIGHTH PROOF:
A PROPHET IS NOT WITHOUT HONOUR, SAVE IN HIS
OWN COUNTRY, AND IN HIS OWN HOUSE

In all four of the canonical Gospels, Jesus the Messiah refers to this
proof of Prophethood:

"A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country,
and in his own house." (Gospel of Matthew 13:57)

"A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country,
and among his own kin, and in his own house." (Gospel of
Mark 6:4)

"No prophet is accepted in his own country…" (Gospel of
Luke 4:24)

"For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in
his own country." (Gospel of John 4:44)

Bahá‟u‟lláh has written, about the people in the days of the
Manifestations of God:

KI:174: "Were these people, wholly for the sake of God and
with no desire but His good-pleasure, to ponder the verses of
the Book in their heart, they would of a certainty find
whatsoever they seek. In its verses would they find revealed
and manifest all the things, be they great or small, that have
come to pass in this Dispensation. They would even
recognize in them references to the opposition and disdainful
arrogance of government and people…"

ESW:92: "Hath, from the foundation of the world until the
present day, any Light or Revelation shone forth from the
dayspring of the will of God which the kindreds of the earth
have accepted, and Whose Cause they have acknowledged?
Where is it to be found, and what is its name? Since the Seal
of the Prophets (Muhammad)--may all else but Him be His
sacrifice--and before Him the Spirit of God (Jesus), as far
back as the First Manifestation, all have at thee time of Their
appearance suffered grievously. Some were held to be
possessed, others were called impostors, and were treated in a
manner that the pen is ashamed to describe. By God! There
befell Them what hath made all created things to sigh, and yet
the people are, for the most part, sunk in manifest ignorance!
Shoghi Effendi refers to this proof in "God Passes By", when he
compares the rejection of various earlier Prophets with that endured
by Bahá‟u‟lláh39:

"More odious than the unrelenting hostility which Abu-Jahl,
the uncle of Muhammad, had exhibited, more shameful than the
betrayal of Jesus Christ by His disciple, Judas Iscariot, more perfidious
than the conduct of the sons of Jacob towards Joseph their brother,
more abhorrent than the deed committed by one of the sons of Noah,
more infamous than even the criminal act perpetrated by Cain against
Abel, the monstrous behavior of Mirza Yahya, one of the halfbrothers of Bahá‟u‟lláh, the nominee of the Báb, and recognized chief
of the Bábi community, brought in its wake a period of travail which
left its mark on the fortunes of the Faith for no less than half a
century."

Chapter X, p. 163.
TWENTY-NINTH PROOF:
EVERY PROPHET IS EXILED FROM HIS HOMELAND

Every Prophet of God has not only been rejected by his people, the
neighbors and associates and often the very family into which he has
been born, but every One has been exiled from his homeland. This is
one of the signs of Prophethood. In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh sets
forth this proof of prophethood:

"Were these people, wholly for the sake of God and with no
desire but His good-pleasure, to ponder the verses of the
Book in their heart, they would of a certainty find whatsoever
they seek. In its verses would they find revealed and manifest
all the things, be they great or small, that have come to pass in
this Dispensation. They would even recognize in them
references unto the departure of the Manifestations of the
names and attributes of God from out their native land and to
the dwelling and establishment of the Universal Manifestation
in an appointed and specially designated land. No man,
however, can comprehend this except he who is possessed of
an understanding heart." (KI:174)

In one of his Tablets40, „Abdu‟l-Bahá states the following:

"Abraham's migration from his native land caused the
bountiful gifts of the All-Glorious to be made manifest, and the setting
of Canaan's brightest star unfolded to the eyes the radiance of Joseph.
The flight of Moses, the Prophet of Sinai, revealed the Flame of the
Lord's burning Fire, and the rise of Jesus breathed the breaths of the
Holy Spirit into the world. The departure of Muhammad, the Beloved
of God, from the city of His Birth was the cause of the exaltation of
God's Holy Word, and the exile and banishment of the Sacred Beauty
led to the diffusion of the Light of His Divine Revelation throughout
all regions. Take ye good heed, O people of insight!"

In "Some Answered Questions" (chapter IV, pp. 15-16; last paragraph
cited in “God Passes By”, Chapter VII, p 107), „Abdu‟l-Bahá writes of
the exile of Abraham and compares it to the exiles of other
Manifestations of God:

Translated by Shoghi Effendi and quoted in a letter dated 9 April
1923 and addressed to a National Spiritual Assembly. The author is
deeply grateful to the Research Department of the Bahá‟í World
Centre for bringing this statement to his attention.
"In consequence of His exile the descendants of Abraham
became powerful, and the Holy Land was given to them in
consequence of His exile a Moses and a being like Christ were
manifested from His posterity, and Hagar was found from whom
Ishmael was born, one of whose descendants was Muhammad. In
consequence of His exile the Báb appeared from His posterity, and the
Prophets of Israel were numbered among the descendants of
Abraham. And so it will continue for ever and ever. Finally, in
consequence of His exile the whole of Europe and most of Asia came
under the protecting shadow of the God of Israel. See what a power it
is that enabled a man who was a fugitive from His country to found
such a family, to establish such a faith, and to promulgate such
teachings. Can any one say that this occurred accidentally? We must
be just--was this man an Educator or not?
"Since the exile of Abraham from Ur to Aleppo in Syria
produced this result, we must consider what will be the effect of the
exile of Bahá‟u‟lláh in His several progresses from Tihran to Baghdad,
from thence to Constantinople, to Roumelia, and to the Holy Land."

Shoghi Effendi writes in "God Passes By" (chapter VII, p. 107):

"This enforced and hurried departure of Bahá‟u‟lláh from His
native land, accompanied by some of His relatives, recalls in some of
its aspects, the precipitate flight of the Holy Family into Egypt; the
sudden migration of Muhammad, soon after His assumption of the
prophetic office, from Mecca to Medina; the exodus of Moses, His
brother and His followers from the land of their birth, in response to
the Divine summons, and above all the banishment of Abraham from
Ur of the Chaldees to the Promised Land--a banishment which, in the
multitudinous benefits it conferred upon so many divers peoples,
faiths and nations, constitutes the nearest historical approach to the
incalculable blessings destined to be vouchsafed, in this day, and in
future ages, to the whole human race, in direct consequence of the
exile suffered by Him Whose Cause is the flower and fruit of all
previous Revelations."
THIRTIETH PROOF:
THE PROPHET OF GOD MUST COME FROM THE EAST

Every one of the Prophets of God has arisen in the East. „Abdu‟l-
Bahá affirms that this has always been the case, and hence this is also
one of the proofs of the Prophet. Shoghi Effendi quotes „Abdu‟l-
Bahá's statement to this effect in "God Passes By" (chapter XVI, pp.
253-254):

"From the beginning of time until the present day," is „Abdu‟l-
Bahá's own testimony, "the light of Divine Revelation hath risen in the
East and shed its radiance upon the West. The illumination thus shed
hath, however, acquired in the West an extraordinary brilliancy.
Consider the Faith proclaimed by Jesus. Though it first appeared in
the East, yet not until its light had been shed upon the West did the
full measure of its potentialities become manifest." "The day is
approaching," He has affirmed, "when ye shall witness how, through
the splendor of the Faith of Bahá‟u‟lláh, the West will have replaced
the East, radiating the light of Divine guidance."

While „Abdu‟l-Bahá only cites two Prophets in this passage in relation
to this proof, Jesus and Bahá‟u‟lláh, in similar statements he refers to
other Prophets who fulfilled this proof:

"In the Holy Books it is recorded that when the Sun of Truth
dawns, it will appear in the East, and its light will be reflected in the
West. Already its dawning has taken place in the East, and its signs are
appearing in the West.
"On Sunday last at Carnegie Hall the revered soul who
introduced „Abdu‟l-Bahá gave voice to the statement that according to
tradition demons would appear from the land of the sunrise, but now
we find angels appearing instead. At the time this statement was made
a reply was not possible, but today we will speak of it. The great
spiritual lights have always appeared in the East. The Blessed
Perfection, Bahá‟u‟lláh, appeared in the East. Jesus Christ dawned
upon the horizon of the East. Moses, Aaron, Joseph and all the
Israelitish prophets such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and others
appeared from the Orient. The lights of Muhammad and the Báb
shone from the East. The eastern horizon has been flooded with the
effulgence of these great lights, and only from the East have they risen
to shine upon the West." („Abdu‟l-Bahá at home of Mr. and Mrs.
Kinney, New York, 17 April 1912, in PUP, p. 23)

"Therefore, it is shown that the divine Manifestations, the
holy Mouthpieces of God, are the Collective Centers of God. These
heavenly Messengers are the real Shepherds of humanity, for whenever
They appear in the world They unite the scattered sheep. The
Collective Center has always appeared in the Orient. Abraham,
Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad were Collective Centers of Their day
and time, and all arose in the East. Today Bahá‟u‟lláh is the Collective
Center of unity for all mankind, and the splendor of His light has
likewise dawned from the East." („Abdu‟l-Bahá at Church of the
Ascension, New York, 2 June 1912, PUP, p. 165)

"I have come from distant countries of the Orient where the
lights of heaven have ever shone forth, from regions where the
Manifestations of God have appeared and the radiance and power of
God have been revealed to mankind." („Abdu‟l-Bahá at Unitarian
Church, Philadelphia, 9 June 1912, "Khitabat," p. 432; PUP, p. 172)

"In the Books of the Prophets certain glad tidings are
recorded which are absolutely true and free from doubt. The East has
ever been the dawning point of the Sun of Reality. All the Prophets of
God have appeared there. The religions of God have been
promulgated, the teachings of God have been spread and the law of
God founded in the East. The Orient has always been the center of
lights. The West has acquired illumination from the East, but in some
respects the reflection of the light has been greater in the Occident."
(„Abdu‟l-Bahá at home of Madame Morey, 29 August 1912, PUP, p.
289)

"And ye who are the people of the Orient--the Orient which
has ever been the dawning point of lights from whence the Sun of
Reality has ever shone forth, casting its effulgence upon the West--ye,
therefore, must become the manifestation of lights." („Abdu‟l-Bahá at
Japanese YMCA, 7 October 1912, "Khitabat," p. 600)

Inasmuch as „Abdu‟l-Bahá has stated that all of the Prophets have
dawned from the East "from the beginning of time until the present
day" this is a universal proof of Prophethood.
THIRTY-FIRST PROOF:
PROPHET OF GOD ALWAYS APPEARS AMONG THE
MOST SPIRITUALLY DEPRIVED AND DEGRADED OF
MANKIND

Bahá‟u‟lláh seems to allude to this proof in this passage:

"Were these people, wholly for the sake of God and with no
desire but His good-pleasure, to ponder the verses of the
Book in their heart, they would of a certainty find whatsoever
they seek. In its verses would they find revealed and manifest
all things, be they great or small, that have come to pass in this
Dispensation. They would even recognize in them references
unto the departure of the Manifestations of the names and
attributes of God from out their native land41; to the
opposition and disdainful arrogance of government and
people42; and the dwelling and establishment of the Universal
Manifestation in an appointed and specially designated land."
(KI:174)

The Manifestation invariably appears in “an appointed and specially
designated land” which is, according to Shoghi Effendi, inhabited by
the most spiritually deprived and depraved of mankind, hence those
who are most in need of the redeeming grace of the Prophet of God,
and whose transformation will most clearly demonstrate the divine
influence of that Prophet. Shoghi Effendi has written eloquently, in
"The Advent of Divine Justice"43, that the Prophets of God have
invariably appeared to depraved peoples:

"How often have the Prophets of God, not excepting
Bahá‟u‟lláh Himself, chosen to appear, and deliver their Message in
countries and amidst peoples and races, at a time when they were
either fast declining, or had already touched the lowest depths of
moral and spiritual degradation. The appalling misery and
wretchedness to which the Israelites had sunk, under the debasing and
tyrannical rule of the Pharaohs, in the days preceding their exodus

41Please see the Twenty-Ninth Proof.
42Please see the Twenty-Eighth Proof.
“The Advent of Divine Justice”, pp. 17-18. The author is most
grateful to the Research Department of the Bahá‟í World Centre for
bringing this passage from Shoghi Effendi's letter dated 25 December
1938 to the Bahá‟ís of Canada and the United States of America to his
attention.
from Egypt under the leadership of Moses; the decline that had set in
the religious, the spiritual, the cultural, and the moral life of the Jewish
people, at the time of the appearance of Jesus Christ; the barbarous
cruelty, the gross idolatry and immorality, which had for so long been
the most distressing features of the tribes of Arabia and brought such
shame upon them when Muhammad arose to proclaim His Message in
their midst; the indescribable state of decadence, with its attendant
corruption, confusion, intolerance, and oppression, in both the civil
and religious life of Persia, so graphically portrayed by the pen of a
considerable number of scholars, diplomats, and travelers, at the hour
of the Revelation of Bahá‟u‟lláh--all demonstrate this basic and
inescapable fact. To contend that the innate worthiness, the high
moral standard, the political aptitude, and social attainments of any
race or nation is the reason for the appearance in its midst of any of
these Divine Luminaries would be an absolute perversion of historical
facts, and would amount to a complete repudiation of the undoubted
interpretation placed upon them, so clearly and emphatically, by both
Bahá‟u‟lláh and „Abdu‟l-Bahá.
"How great, then, must be the challenge to those who,
belonging to such races and nations, and having responded to the call
which these Prophets have raised, to unreservedly recognize and
courageously testify to this indubitable truth, that not by reason of any
racial superiority, political capacity, or spiritual virtue which a race or
nation might possess, but rather as a direct consequence of its crying
needs, its lamentable degeneracy, and irremediable perversity, has the
Prophet of God chosen to appear in its midst, and with it as a lever
has lifted the entire human race to a higher and nobler plane of life
and conduct. For it is precisely under such circumstances, and by such
means that the Prophets have from time immemorial, chosen and
were able to demonstrate their redemptive power to raise from the
depths of abasement and of misery, the people of their own race and
nation, empowering them to transmit in turn to other races and
nations the saving grace and the energizing influence of their
Revelation.
"In the light of this fundamental principle it should be always
borne in mind, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized, that the primary
reason why the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh chose to appear in Persia, and to
make it the repository of their Revelation, was because, of all the
peoples and nations of the civilized world, that race and nation had, as
so often depicted by „Abdu‟l-Bahá, sunk to such ignominious depths,
and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no parallel among its
contemporaries. For no more convincing proof could be adduced
demonstrating the regenerating spirit animating the Revelations
proclaimed by the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh than their power to transform
what can be truly regarded as one of the most backward, the most
cowardly, and perverse of peoples into a race of heroes, fit to effect in
turn a similar revolution in the life of mankind."

Shoghi Effendi's emphatic formulation of this proof of Prophet must
be applied to all Prophets, inasmuch as he affirms it to be "a
fundamental principle." If we look for examples of this state of
degradation, we find plenty in the Bible. For example, in the Book of
Genesis (Bereshit), it is written in the sixth chapter:

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.
"And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the
earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.
"And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created
from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the
creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me
that I have made them.
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (6:5-8)

Also in the story of Abraham, Moses, Jesus (generation of vipers),
Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá‟u‟lláh we have clear examples of this
which will be cited and discussed in subsequent volumes.
THIRTY-SECOND PROOF:
ALL PROPHETS FOUND CIVILIZATIONS

In "The Secret of Divine Civilization" ("Risalih-i-Madaniyyih"),
„Abdu‟l-Bahá wrote, regarding the founding of true civilization:

"By the Lord God, and there is no God but He, even the
minutest details of civilized life derive from the grace of the Prophets
of God. What thing of value to mankind has ever come into being
which was not first set forth either directly or by implication in the
Holy Scriptures?" (p. 96)

This same principle is found affirmed in some of his talks in North
America, published in "The Promulgation of Universal Peace":

"The Prophets of God have founded the laws of divine
civilization." („Abdu‟l-Bahá to Unitarian Conference, Boston, 24 May
1912, "Khatirat," pp. 393/394; PUP, p. 142)

"The philosophers have founded material civilization. The
Prophets have founded divine civilization. Christ was the Founder of
heavenly civilization. Mankind receives the bounties of material
civilization as well as divine civilization from the heavenly Prophets."
(„Abdu‟l-Bahá at Hotel Sacramento, 25 October 1912, PUP, p. 375)

In the application of this proof to each of the Prophets of God, we
will find that each of those Prophets have been the Founders of great
civilizations--Moses the Founder of Israelite and Jewish civilization;
Zoroaster the Founder of Persian civilization; Krishna the Founder of
Hindu civilization; Buddha the Founder of Buddhist civilization; Jesus
the Founder of Christian civilization; and Muhammad the Founder of
Islamic civilization. On the basis of the fulfillment of this proof by the
other Prophets of God, „Abdu‟l-Bahá affirms that the Báb and
Bahá‟u‟lláh are co-Founders of a universal human civilization which is
gradually emerging during our own lifetimes.
THIRTY-THIRD PROOF:
ALL PROPHETS MANIFEST THE GLORY OF GOD

In the Torah and the Books of the Lesser Prophets there are many
references to the radiance of "Kavod Adonai". Dr. Solomon
Mandelkern, in his Biblical Concordance in Hebrew (with definitions
of terms in Latin), entitled "Qonqordantsiah le-Tanakh", revised,
corrected and completed by Rabbi Chaim Mordecai Brecher, with
supplementary corrections and notes by Abraham Avrunin, published
in New York by Shulsinger Brothers, 1955--has defined "Kavod" as
"divitiae; opes; copia; honor, gloria, magnificentia, splendor, maiestas;
praedicatio, hymnus" and in the English translations of the Bible we
usually find this word translated as "Glory". In the book of Shmot
(Exodus), the Prophet Moses has a conversation with the Lord God,
which speaks directly to the heart of this subject and is therefore
pertinent of a full citation here:

Exo 33:12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest
unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know
whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee
by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 33:13 Now
therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me
now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy
sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 33:14 And he
said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
33:15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me,
carry us not up hence. 33:16 For wherein shall it be known here
that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in
that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy
people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also
that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight,
and I know thee by name. 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee,
shew me thy glory [Kavod]. 33:19 And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of
the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 33:20
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man
see me, and live. 33:21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a
place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 33:22 And it shall
come to pass, while my glory [Kavod] passeth by, that I will put
thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand
while I pass by: 33:23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou
shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
The first reference to the radiance of "Kavod Adonai" becoming
manifest in a Prophet is found in these verses of the Book of Exodus:

Exo 34:29: And it came to pass, when Moses came down
from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses'
hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist
not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
34:30: And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were
afraid to come nigh him. 34:31: And Moses called unto them;
and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto
him: and Moses talked with them. 34:32: And afterward all the
children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in
commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in
mount Sinai. 34:33: And till Moses had done speaking with
them, he put a veil on his face. 34:34: But when Moses went
in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off,
until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the
children of Israel that which he was commanded. 34:35: And
the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of
Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again,
Until he went in to speak with him.

There are testimonies to this radiance of the "Glory of God" in the
Scriptures associated with Krishna and Zoroaster. In "Bhagavad-Gita"
we read, in chapter XI (verse 12):

"If the light of a thousand suns were to blaze forth all at once
in the sky, that might resemble the splendour of that exalted
Being." (translation by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, p. 273)

The seminal Zoroastrian principle which F.E.Peters transliterated as
"xvarneh" ("A Reader in Classical Islam," Princeton, 1994, pp. 382-
383); A.V. Williams-Jackson rendered as "hvarneh" ("Encyclopaedia of
Religion and Ethics," 1962, volume 2, p. 269); A.J. Carnoy
transliterated as "xvarenanh" (Ibid., volume 12, p. 862); and Gherardo
Gnoli as "khvarenah" ("The Enclopedia of Religion," 1987, volume
15, p. 587)--is described as that "Glory" and radiance which is
possessed by kings and heros as a sign of the divine right of leadership,
and associated at its apex with the Prophethood of Zoroaster.

In the Book of Isaiah we find a verse with "Kavod Adonai" which was
translated into Greek in the Septuagint (LXX), into Arabic by Rabbi
Saadia ben Yosef al-Fayyumi (ha-Gaon), and which we find in various
English renderings. A comparison of this verse (35:2) finds that
"Kavod Adonai" is "Doxa Theos" in Greek, "Karuma Allah" in
Arabic, and "Glory" in English. In the Gospels we find references to
the "doxa" of the Son of God (Gospel of John 1:14, 2:11, 17:5 and
17:22); to the "doxa" of the Son of Man (Gospel of Matthew 16:27).
In one of the letters of Paul, his Second Epistle to the Corinthians
(3:7-11), he says that "the children of Israel could not steadfastly
behold the face of Moses for the glory [doxa] of his countenance".
The Apocalypse of St. John of Patmos (21:23) tells of the heavenly
Jerusalem, that "the glory [doxa] of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is
the light thereof."

As for translations of the Bible into Arabic, the first of such renditions
to be preserved to this day is that of Saadia ha-Gaon al-Fayyumi.
Saadia has sometimes translated the "Kavod Adonai" as "Nur Allah"
as in Exodus (24:16-17), Leviticus (9:6), and Isaiah (40:5). He has also
translated "Kavod" as "Nur" as in Exodus (33:18-22). The LXX
renders the "Kavod Adonai" of Isaiah 40:5 as "Doxa Kirios"--which
Saadia translated as "Nur Allah".

There are many references to a radiance which emanated from the
Prophet Muhammad, but as these are found in traditions (hadith) and
biographies which are not entirely reliable sources, we will turn to the
text of the Qur'an and to its interpretation by „Abdu‟l-Bahá, found in
"Khitabat" (pp. 117-119) and in "Paris Talks" (pp. 68-70):

"This light of the intellect [nur-i-'aql] is the highest light that
exists, for it is born of the Light Divine [nur ilahi].
"The light of the intellect enables us to understand and realize
all that exists, but it is only the Divine Light [nur ilahi] that can give us
sight for the invisible things, and which enables us to see truths that
will only be visible to the world thousands of years hence.
"It was the Divine Light [nur ilahi] which enabled the
prophets [anbaya'] to see two thousand years in advance what was
going to take place and today we see the realization of their vision.
Thus it is this Light which we must strive to seek, for it is greater than
any other.
"It was by this Light that Moses was enabled to see and
comprehend the Divine Appearance [tajali al-wahiyyat], and to hear
the Heavenly Voice spoke to him from the Burning Bush [Exodus
3:2].
"It is of this Light Muhammad is speaking when he says,
'Allah is the light of the heavens, and of the earth.'" (Khatirat, pp. 17-
118; PT, p. 69)
The Qur‟anic verse to which „Abdu‟l-Bahá refers here is from
"Suratu'l-Nur" (24:36):

"Allah is the Light [nur] of the heavens and the earth. The
similitude of His light is as a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp.
The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a glittering star.
It is lit from a blessed tree--an olive--neither of the east nor of
the west, whose oil would well-nigh glow forth even though
fire touched it not. Light upon light! Allah guides to His light
whomsoever He will. And Allah sets forth parables to men,
and Allah knows all things full well." (translation of Mawlavi
Sher Ali, p. 342)

It is notable that Paul uses the same imagery, of the radiance from
God in a glass in this verse from the Second Epistle to the Corinthians
(3:18):

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory
[doxa] of the Lord, are changed into the same image from
glory [doxa] to glory [doxa], even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

„Abdu‟l-Bahá wrote a Tablet ("Munkhatabati az Makatib „Abdu‟l-
Bahá," No. 4, p. 14; "Selections from the Writings of „Abdu‟l-Bahá,"
No. 4, p. 15) in which he sets forth this proof of Prophet in the case
of Bahá‟u‟lláh:

"And among His signs [ayatih] are His splendours [anwarhi],
rising [al-mashriqih] above the horizon of oneness [min afaq al-tawhid,
His lights [ish'atahi] streaming out [as-salTa'ih] from the dayspring of
might [min al-maTala' al-majid]"

In "Some Answered Questions," „Abdu‟l-Bahá refers to Bahá‟u‟lláh as
"this great Light" (chapter IX, p. 35) and "the evident Light" (chapter
X, p. 43). Furthermore, the Most Great Name (Ism-i-A'zam), "Baha'"
or "Abha" in its superlative form, is rendered as "light, radiance,
brilliancy" as well as "splendor, glory' beauty". But there is yet a more
tangible sign of this proof in Bahá‟u‟lláh, and for a report in
confirmation of this we go to the testimony of Aqa Siyyid Isma'il-I-
Zavari'i, known as Dhabih, who described this meeting with
Bahá‟u‟lláh to Muhammad Zarandi, Nabil-i-A'zam (cited in Balyuzi,
"Bahá‟u‟lláh, King of Glory," pp. 132-133):

"What I have seen cannot be described. After I asked Him
for spiritual sustenance, and He said that it had been granted to me,
door after door opened upon my heart, and my soul became
acquainted with thoughts not of this world. One night, in His biruni,
His Blessed Person asked for a candle to peruse a paper, and I, as
usual lost in wonderment at my own condition, suddenly thought: 'Is it
possible that that visage, the sight of which the Chosen Ones and the
Messengers of God had longed to behold, could be unveiled in a
human temple?' and as soon as this thought passed through my mind,
His blessed voice called out to me: 'Aqa Siyyid Isma'il, look!' and when
I gazed at His blessed face, I saw that which no word can ever
describe. All that I can say is this: it seemed as if a hundred thousand
seas, vast and sunlit, billowed upon that Blessed Face. What happened
then, I do not know. My last word to you is this: never ask for
anything like this and be contented with what is given unto you, and
always say, 'O God! Allow it all to end well with us'--and pray for me
that my own end shall be well."

It is essential that students of the proofs of Prophethood recognize
that the divine "glory" is not manifest in one Prophet alone and
exclusively. No matter how much we may esteem Moses or Jesus,
Muhammad or Krishna, Zoroaster or Buddha, the Báb or Bahá‟u‟lláh,
we would fail to understand this proof if we were to regard any one of
these Prophets of God as the only manifestation of divine "glory";
likewise, if we allege that any one of the Prophets of God is deprived
of this attribute, we have failed to understand the principle animating
this proof. This, then, is one of the proofs of every Prophet of God.
If it is true of one Prophet, then of all the Prophets.
THIRTY-FOURTH PROOF:
TESTING OF THE BELIEVERS IN EVERY
DISPENSATION

In many verses of the "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh indicates that those
who claim to believe in God and in His Prophets are tested in every
Dispensation, and hence it appears that this testing is, in itself, a proof
of authentic prophethood. He explains that there are two kinds of
language employed in the holy Scriptures, and that the symbolic
language is one of the means whereby the believers are tested, whereby
their faith in God and His Prophets is found to be true or false,
depending upon their understanding of the symbolic terms, and their
fulfillment in the appearance of the new Prophet of God:

KI:254-255: "It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven
and Doves of Eternity speak a twofold language. One
language, the outward language, is devoid of allusions, is
unconcealed and unveiled; that it may be a guiding lamp and a
beaconing light whereby wayfarers may attain the heights of
holiness, and seekers may advance into the realm of eternal
reunion. Such are the unveiled traditions and the evident
verses already mentioned. The other language is veiled and
concealed, so that whatever lieth hidden in the heart of the
malevolent may be made manifest and their innermost being
be disclosed. Thus hath Sadiq [1], son of Muhammad [2],
spoken: 'God verily will test them and sift them.' This is the
divine standard, this is the Touchstone of God, wherewith He
proveth His servants. None apprehendeth the meaning of
these utterances except them whose hearts are assured, whose
souls have found favour with God, and whose minds are
detached from all else but Him. In such utterances, the literal
meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what
hath been intended."

Bahá‟u‟lláh has based this exposition upon Surat al-'Imran (3:7), in
which it is revealed that there are two kinds of verses, muhkamatun and
mutashabihatun, and that it is the latter which tests the hearts of men.
He cites one of the traditions of Muhammad al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam,
a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. This proof, which
Bahá‟u‟lláh here articulates as "This is the divine standard, this is the
Touchstone of God, wherewith He proveth His servants" is referred
to in various other verses of "Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:49: "Know verily that the purpose underlying all these
symbolic terms and abstruse allusions, which emanate from
the Revealers of God's holy Cause, hath been to test and
prove the peoples of the world; that thereby the earth of the
pure and illuminated hearts may be known from the
perishable and barren soil. From time immemorial such hath
been the way of God amidst His creatures, and to this testify
the records of the sacred books."

KI: 52-53: "Yea, such things as throw consternation into the
hearts of all men come to pass only that each soul may be
tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be known
and distinguished from the false...
"Were you to ponder, but for a while, these utterances in your
heart, you would surely find the portals of understanding
unlocked before your face, and would behold all knowledge
and the mysteries thereof unveiled before your eyes. Such
things take place only that the souls of men may develop and
be delivered from the prison-cage of self and desire.
Otherwise, that ideal King hath, throughout eternity, been in
His Essence independent of the comprehension of all beings,
and will continue, for ever, in His own Being to be exalted
above the adoration of every soul. A single breeze of His
affluence doth suffice to adorn all mankind with the robe of
wealth; and one drop out of the ocean of His bountiful grace
is enough to confer upon all beings the glory of everlasting
life. But inasmuch as the divine Purpose hath decreed that
the true should be known from the false, and the sun from the
shadow, He hath, therefore, in every season sent down upon
mankind the showers of tests from His realm of glory."

One example of this test in action, the literal rather than symbolic
understanding which most Muslims have of the title, “Seal of the
Prophets” given to Muhammad in the Qur‟an [33:49], which literal
understanding has prevented them from recognizing the Báb:

KI:161-162, 162: "Notwithstanding the obviousness of this
theme, in the eyes of those that have quaffed the wine of
knowledge and certitude, yet how many are those who,
through failure to understand its meaning, have allowed the
term “Seal of the Prophets” to obscure their understanding,
and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold bounties!…
"The mystery of this theme hath, in this Dispensation, been a
sore test unto all mankind. Behold, how many are those who,
clinging unto these words, have disbelieved Him Who is their
true Revealer."
Bahá‟u‟lláh affirms that God can compel all of humanity to embrace
His Cause ("a single breeze...one drop..."), but that the purpose of
God is to test the souls of men, and that this is the pattern in every
Dispensation. He further indicates, that were certain of the symbolic
verses to be fulfilled in the literal sense which many believers expected,
this would so overwhelm the consciousness of men that they would be
unable either to accept or reject the new Prophet of God; thereby
God's purpose would be frustrated:

KI:80-81: "They have even failed to perceive that were the
signs of the Manifestation of God to appear in every age in
the visible realm in accordance with the text of established
traditions, none could possibly deny or turn away, nor would
the blessed be distinguished from the miserable, and the
transgressor from the God-fearing. Judge fairly: Were the
prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be literally fulfilled; were
Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by angels, to descend from
the visible heaven upon the clouds; who would dare to
disbelieve, who would dare to reject the truth, and wax
disdainful? Nay, such consternation would immediately seize
all the dwellers of the earth that no soul would feel able to
utter a word, much less to reject or accept the truth."

He also indicates that there is a way for each soul to pass this test, to
discover the true meaning of the symbolic verses of Scripture:

KI:68-69: "Wert thou to cleanse the mirror of thy heart from
the dust of malice, thou wouldst apprehend the meaning of
the symbolic terms revealed by the all-embracing Word of
God made manifest in every Dispensation, and wouldst
discover the mysteries of divine knowledge. Not, however,
until thou consumest with the flame of utter detachment
those veils of idle learning, that are current amongst men,
canst thou behold the resplendent morn of true knowledge."
THIRTY-FIFTH PROOF:
EVERY AGE THE LIGHT IS SEEMINGLY QUENCHED

Bahá‟u‟lláh points out that in every Age, that is, in every Dispensation
associated with an independent Manifestation of God, it seems that
the combined forces of the temporal world positively eclipse the
radiance of that new Prophet:

KI:73: "You must undoubtedly have been informed of the
tribulations, the poverty, the ills, and the degradation that
have befallen every Prophet of God and His companions."

KI:126-127: "Were the verse 'And verily Our host shall
conquer' [Qur'an 37:173] to be literally interpreted, it is
evident that it would in no wise be applicable to the chosen
Ones of God and His hosts, inasmuch as Husayn, whose
heroism was manifest as the sun, crushed and subjugated,
quaffed at last the cup of martyrdom in Karbila, the land of
Taff. Similarly, the sacred verse 'Fain would they put out
God's light with their mouths: But God hath willed to perfect
His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.' [Qur'an XX:XXX]
Were it to be literally interpreted it would never correspond
with the truth. For in every age the light of God hath, to
outward seeming, been quenched by the peoples of the earth,
and the Lamps of God extinguished by them. How then
could the ascendancy of the sovereignty of these Lamps be
explained? What could the potency of God's will to 'perfect
His light' signify? As hath already been witnessed, so great
was the enmity of the infidels, that none of these divine
Luminaries ever found a place for shelter, nor tasted of the
cup of tranquillity. So heavily were they oppressed, that the
least of men inflicted upon these Essences of being
whatsoever he listed. These sufferings have been observed
and measured by the people. How, therefore, can such people
be capable of understanding and expounding these words of
God, these verses of everlasting glory?"

TB:215: "How numerous the oppressors before thee who
have arisen to quench the light of God, and how many the
impious who murdered and pillaged until the hearts and souls
of men groaned by reason of their cruelty? The sun of justice
hath been obscured, inasmuch as the embodiment of tyranny
hath been stablished upon the throne of hatred, and yet the
people understand not." (Lawh-i-Burhan)
Bahá‟u‟lláh does not restrict his references to the sufferings of the
Prophets. He also writes of the sufferings of the followers of the
Prophets, highlighting those of the Imam Husayn, the third Imam
among the "chosen Ones" and "Lamps of God":

KI:73: "You must have heard how the heads of their followers
were sent as presents unto different cities, how grievously they
were hindered from that whereunto they were commanded.
Each and every one of them fell a prey to the hands of the
enemies of His Cause, and had to suffer whatsoever they
decreed."

GL:XXIII:56-58: "Consider the former generations. Witness
how every time the Day Star of Divine bounty hath shed the
light of His Revelation upon the world, the people of His Day
have arisen against Him, and repudiated His truth. They who
were regarded as the leaders of men have invariably striven to
hinder their followers from turning unto Him Who is the
Ocean of God's limitless bounty.
"Behold how the people, as a result of the verdict pronounced
by the divines of His age, have cast Abraham, the Friend of
God , into fire; how Moses, He Who held converse with the
Almighty, was denounced as liar and slanderer. Reflect how
Jesus, the Spirit of God, was, notwithstanding His extreme
meekness and perfect tender-heartedness, treated by His
enemies. So fierce was the opposition which He, the Essence
of Being and Lord of the visible and invisible, had to face, that
He had nowhere to lay His head. He wandered continually
from place to place, deprived of a permanent abode. Ponder
that which befell Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, may
the life of all else be a sacrifice unto Him. How severe the
afflictions which the leaders of the Jewish people and of the
idol-worshipers caused to rain down upon Him, Who is the
sovereign Lord of all, in consequence of His proclamation of
the unity of God and of the truth of His Message! By the
righteousness of My Cause! My Pen groaneth, and all created
things weep with a great weeping, as a result of the woes He
suffered at the hands of them that have broken the Covenant
of God, violated His Testament, rejected His proofs, and
disputed His signs. Thus recount We unto thee the tale of
that which happened in days past, haply thou mayest
comprehend.
"Thou hast known how grievously the Prophets of God, His
Messengers and Chosen Ones, have been afflicted. At no
time, in no Dispensation, have the Prophets of God escaped
the blasphemy of their enemies, the cruelty of their
oppressors, the denunciation of the learned of their age, who
appeared in the guise of uprightness and piety. Day and night
they passed through such agonies as none can ever measure,
except the knowledge of the one true God, exalted be His
glory.
"Consider this Wronged One. Though the clearest proofs
attest the truth of His Cause; though the prophecies He, in an
unmistakable language, hath made have been fulfilled; though,
in spite of His not been accounted among the learned, His
being unschooled and inexperienced in the disputations
current among the divines, He hath rained upon men the
showers of His manifold and Divinely-inspired knowledge;
yet, behold how this generation hath rejected His authority,
and rebelled against Him! He hath, during the greater part of
His life, been sore-tried in the clutches of His enemies. His
sufferings have now reached their culmination in this afflicted
Prison, unto which His oppressors have so unjustly thrown
Him."

In this passage, Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to Abraham, Moses, Jesus,
Muhammad and himself as examples of "the Prophets of God", not
one of whom has "escaped the blasphemy of their enemies, the cruelty
of their oppressors, the denunciation of the learned of their age...such
agonies as none can ever measure, except the knowledge of the one
true God , exalted be His glory."

GL:XLVII:101-102: "O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying
once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He
hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you.
Deal with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down My
life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the powers
of earth and heaven be leagued against Me. Followers of the
Gospel! If ye cherish the desire to slay Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, seize Me and put an end to My life, for I am
He, and My Self is His Self. Do unto Me as you like, for the
deepest longing of Mine heart is to attain the presence of My
Best-Beloved in His Kingdom of Glory. Such is the Divine
decree, if ye know it. Followers of Muhammad! If it be your
wish to riddle with your shafts the breast of Him Who hath
caused His Book the Bayán to be sent down unto you, lay
hands on Me and persecute Me, for I am His Well-Beloved,
the revelation of His own Self, though My name be not His
name. I have come in the shadows of the clouds of glory, and
am invested by God with invincible sovereignty. He, verily, is
the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. I, verily, anticipate
from you the treatment ye have accorded unto Him that came
before Me. To this all things, verily, witness, if ye be of those
who hearken. O people of the Bayán! If ye have resolved to
shed the blood of Him Whose coming the Báb hath
proclaimed, Whose advent Muhammad hath prophesied, and
Whose Revelation Jesus Christ Himself hath announced,
behold Me standing, ready and defenseless, before you. Deal
with Me after your own desires."

In this Tablet, Bahá‟u‟lláh, personally affirming the station of "essential
unity" (KI:152,176) of the "Manifestations of God" (KI:152,176), "the
standpoint of their oneness and sublime detachment" (KI:177),
specifically identifies himself as one and the same as Jesus, as
Muhammad, as the Báb, and as Him Whom God shall manifest.

WOB:118-119: "Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God, for the
wondrous revelations of Thine inscrutable decree and the
manifold woes and trials Thou hast destined for myself. At
one time Thou didst deliver me into the hands of Nimrod [1];
at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh's rod to persecute me
[2]. Thou alone canst estimate, through Thine allencompassing knowledge and the operation of Thy Will, the
incalculable afflictions I have suffered at their hands. Again
Thou didst cast me into the prison cell of the ungodly for no
reason except that I was moved to whisper into the ears of the
well-favored denizens of Thy kingdom an intimation of the
vision with which Thou hadst, through Thy knowledge,
inspired me and revealed to me its meaning through the
potency of Thy might [3]. And again Thou didst decree that I
be beheaded by the sword of the infidel [4]. Again I was
crucified for having unveiled to men's eyes the hidden gems
of Thy glorious unity, for having revealed to them the
wondrous signs of Thy sovereign and everlasting power [5].
How bitter the humiliations heaped upon me, in a subsequent
age, on the plain of Karbila [6]! How lonely did I feel amidst
Thy people; to what state of helplessness I was reduced in that
land! Unsatisfied with such indignities, my persecutors
decapitated me and carrying aloft my head from land to land
paraded it before the gaze of the unbelieving multitude and
deposited it on the seats of the perverse and faithless. In a
later age I was suspended and my breast was made the target
to the darts of the malicious cruelty of my foes [7]. My limbs
were riddled with bullets and my body was torn asunder.
Finally, behold how in this day my treacherous enemies have
leagued themselves against me, and are continually plotting to
instill the venom of hate and malice into the souls of Thy
servants [8]. With all their might they are scheming to
accomplish their purpose...Grievous as is my plight, O God,
my Well-beloved, I render thanks unto Thee, and my spirit is
grateful for whatsoever hath befallen me in the path of Thy
good-pleasure. I am well-pleased with that which Thou didst
ordain for me, and welcome, however calamitous, the pains
and sorrows I am made to suffer."

Again, in this Tablet, Bahá‟u‟lláh identifies himself as the One
persecuted in the past in the Person of Abraham [1], Moses [2], Joseph
[3], John the Baptist [4], Jesus [5], the Imam Husayn [6], and the Báb
[7], as well as indicating that, once more, He is made to suffer the most
grievous afflictions in this Age and with the name Bahá‟u‟lláh [8]. The
identification of these persons is confirmed in a letter written on
behalf of Shoghi Effendi by his secretary, quoted as #100 in
"Directives from the Guardian" (New Delhi: BPT, n.d., p. 57):

"The names of those cited in Bahá‟u‟lláh's Prayer in the
Dispensation [The Dispensation of Bahá‟u‟lláh, in WOB:97-157] are
quite correct as you gave them (Abraham, Moses, Joseph, John the
Baptist, Christ, Muhammad, Imam Husayn, the Báb and
Bahá‟u‟lláh)…In the prayer mentioned above, Bahá‟u‟lláh identifies
himself with Imam Husayn. This does not make the Imam Husayn a
Prophet, but his position was very unique, and we know Bahá‟u‟lláh
claims to be the 'return' of the Imam Husayn. He, in other words,
identifies His Spirit with these Holy Souls gone before, that does not,
of course, make Him any way their re-incarnation. Nor does it mean
all of them were Prophets."
THIRTY-SIXTH PROOF:
PEOPLE KNOWN BY THEIR COUNTENANCE

Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to another sign of each Dispensation, which might
consequently serve as a proof of prophethood if fulfilled. In "Kitáb-i-
ĺqán" he writes:

KI:173-174: "And it came to pass that on a certain day a
needy man came to visit this Soul, craving for the ocean of
His knowledge...We then asked him saying: 'Hast thou not
read the Qur'an, and art thou not aware of this blessed verse:
'On that day shall neither man nor spirit be asked of his Sin?'
[Qur'an 55:39] Dost thou not realize that by 'asking is not
meant asking by tongue or speech, even as the verse itself
doth indicate and prove it?' For afterward it is said: 'By their
countenance shall the sinners be known, and they shall be
seized by their forelocks and their feet.' [Qur'an 55:41]
"Thus the peoples of the world are judged by their
countenance. By it, their misbelief, their faith, and their
iniquity are all made manifest. Even as it is evident in this day
how the people of error are, by their countenance, known and
distinguished from the followers of divine Guidance."

While it may not be apparent from the literal wording of this text, that
Bahá‟u‟lláh associates this sign with every Dispensation, when one
takes into account the references to this theme in the Qur'an (one of
which is cited here by Bahá‟u‟lláh), in the Jewish and Christian
Scriptures, it becomes clear that this sign is universal. Some selections
from these Scriptures are cited below:

Exodus 13:9: "And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine
hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's
law may be in thy mouth..."

Exodus 13:16: "And it shall be for a token upon thine hand,
and for frontlets between thine eyes..."

Deuteronomy 6:5-6: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might.
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart..."

Deuteronomy 6:8: "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon
thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."
Deuteronomy 11:18: "Therefore shall ye lay up these my
words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign
upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your
eyes."

The Torah speaks here of the sign upon the forehead, between the
eyes, of the children of God, denoting their obedience to His law.
Likewise, some of the other Hebrew prophets speak of the same
principle, albeit in a broader context:

Proverbs 1:7-9: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
"My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not
the law of thy mother:
"For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and
chains about thy neck."

Ezekiel 9:3-6: "And the glory of the God of Israel was gone
up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of
the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen,
which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
"And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the
city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the
foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the
abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
"And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him
through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither
have ye pity:
"Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and
women: but come not near any man upon whom is the
mark..."

The frontlets between the eyes of the Israelites are not sufficient any
longer to redeem them from the destruction of disbelief. Ezekiel
indicates nonetheless that it is a mark upon the forehead which
distinguishes the righteous from the unrighteous, those who are
condemned to death from those who are saved for life. In the
Christian Scriptures are found verses which point to the mark of the
righteous and also the mark of the unrighteous. In this excerpt from
the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus counsels his followers to put on the
"phylacteries" which are the traditional response to the Torah's
commandment to wear the Word of God as "frontlets" between the
eyes:
Matthew 23:1-5: "The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
"All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe
and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do
not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne,
and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not
move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they
do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries,
and enlarge the borders of their garments..."

The most copious source of verses on the importance of the human
countenance is the Book of Revelation. The first such reference is to
those who are "sealed" with the "seal of the living God...in their
foreheads":

Apocalypse 7:2-3: "And I saw another angel descending from
the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a
loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt
the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the
sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God
in their foreheads."

Apocalypse 9:4: "And it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing,
neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal
of God in their foreheads."

These citations from the Revelation (Apocalypse) of St. John are
somewhat similar to the wording of the quote from the Book of
Ezekiel. St. John continues as follows:

Apocalypse 7:4-5: "And I hear the number of them which
were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and
four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."

Apocalypse 14:1: "And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the
mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads."

These verses do not seem to have a parallel in the Jewish Scriptures,
although the association of the "chosen people" ("many are called, but
few are chosen" Matthew 20:16; 22:14) with the tribes of Israel, and
with the number of those tribes--twelve--multiplied by itself and then
by one thousand certainly has roots in the Torah, and in other books
of the TANAKH. St. John also relates a vision of another sort of
mark, one which identifies those who are unrighteous:

Apocalypse 13:11: "And I beheld another beast coming up out
of the earth: and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake
as a dragon...

Apocalypse 13:15-17: "And he had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image
of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name."

Apocalypse 14:9-11: "And the third angel followed them,
saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation;
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his
name."

In another verse, the Apocalypse specifically distinguished the
righteous from those who have received the mark of the beast upon
their foreheads:

Apocalypse 20:4: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of
them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years."

Apocalypse 22:3-4: "And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants
shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall
be in their foreheads."
THIRTY-SEVENTH PROOF:
LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

In every Age and Dispensation, the learned in religion and their
followers interpret the Scriptures in a literal fashion, thereby fail to
recognize the new Prophet of God. Bahá‟u‟lláh refers to this sign of
the new prophetic Dispensation in these words, first in reference to
the Jews, then to Christians, to Muslims, and finally to Bábis:

KI:17-19: "And when the days of Moses were ended, and the
light of Jesus, shining forth from the dayspring of the Spirit,
encompassed the world, all the people of Israel arose in
protest against Him. They clamoured that He Whose advent
the Bible had foretold must needs promulgate and fulfil the
laws of Moses, whereas this youthful Nazarene, who laid
claim to the station of the divine Messiah, had annulled the
law of divorce and of the sabbath day--the most weighty of all
the laws of Moses. Moreover, what of the signs of the
Manifestation yet to come? These people of Israel are even
unto the present day still expecting that Manifestation which
the Bible hath foretold! How Manifestations of Holiness,
how many Revealers of the light everlasting, have appeared
since the time of Moses, and yet Israel, wrapt in the densest
veils of satanic fancy and false imaginings, is still expecting
that the idol of her own handiwork will appear with such signs
as she herself hath conceived! Thus hath God laid hold on
them for their sins, hath extinguished in them the spirit of
faith, and tormented them with the flames of the nethermost
fire. And this for no other reason except that Israel refused to
apprehend the meaning of such words as have been revealed
in the Bible concerning the signs of the coming Revelation.
As she never grasped their true significance, and, to outward
seeming, such events never came to pass, she, therefore,
remained deprived of recognizing the beauty of Jesus and of
beholding the face of God. And they still await His coming!
From time immemorial even unto this day, all the kindreds
and peoples of the earth have clung to such fanciful and
unseemly thoughts, and thus have deprived themselves of the
clear waters streaming from the springs of purity and
holiness."

KI:80-83: "As the adherents of Jesus have never understood
the hidden meaning of these words, and as the signs which
they are the leaders of their Faith have expected have failed to
appear, they therefore refused to acknowledge, even until
now, the truth of those Manifestations of Holiness that have
since the days of Jesus been made manifest. They have thus
deprived themselves of the outpourings of God's holy grace,
and of the wonders of His divine utterance. Such is their low
estate in this, the Day of Resurrection! They have even failed
to perceive that were the signs of the Manifestation of God to
appear in every age in the visible realm in accordance with the
text of established traditions, none could possibly deny or turn
away, nor would the blessed be distinguished from the
miserable, and the transgressor from the God-fearing. Judge
fairly: Were the prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be
literally fulfilled; were Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by
angels, to descend from the visible heaven upon the clouds;
who would dare to disbelieve, who would dare to reject the
truth, and wax disdainful? Nay, such consternation would
immediately seize all the dwellers of the earth that no soul
would feel able to utter a word, much less to reject or accept
the truth. It was owing to their misunderstanding of these
truths that many a Christian divine hath objected to
Muhammad, and voiced his protest in such words: 'If Thou
art in truth the promised Prophet, why then art Thou not
accompanied by those angels our sacred Books foretold, and
which must needs descend with the promised Beauty to assist
Him in His Revelation and act as warners unto His people?'
Even as the All-Glorious hath recorded their statement: 'Why
hath not an angel been sent down to him, so that he should
have a warner with Him?' [Qur'an 25:7]
"Such objections and differences have persisted in every age
and century. The people have always busied themselves with
such specious discourses, vainly protesting: „Wherefore hath
not this or that sign appeared?‟ Such ills befell them only
because they have clung to the ways of the divines of the age
in which they lived, and blindly imitated them in accepting or
denying these Essences of Detachment, these holy and divine
Beings. These leaders, owing to their immersion in selfish
desires, and their pursuit of transitory and sordid things, have
regarded these divine Luminaries as being opposed to the
standards of their knowledge and understanding, and the
opponents of their ways and judgments. As they have literally
interpreted the Word of God, and the sayings and traditions
of the Letters of Unity, and expounded them according to
their deficient understanding, they have therefore deprived
themselves and all their people of the bountiful showers of
the grace and mercies of God. And yet they bear witness to
this well-known tradition: „Verily Our Word is abstruse,
bewilderingly abstruse.‟ In another instance, it is said: „Our
Cause is sorely trying, highly perplexing; none can bear it
except a favorite of heaven, or an inspired Prophet, or he
whose faith God hath tested.‟ These leaders of religion admit
that none of these three conditions is applicable to them. The
first two conditions are manifestly beyond their reach; as to
the third, it is evident that at no time have they been proof
against those tests that have been sent by God, and that when
the divine Touchstone appeared, they have shown themselves
to be naught but dross."

KI:213-215: "Even as thou dost witness how the people of
the Qur'an, like unto the people of old, have allowed the
words 'Seal of the Prophets' to veil their eyes. And yet, they
themselves testify to this verse: 'None knoweth the
interpretation thereof but God and they that are wellgrounded in knowledge.' [Qur'an 3:7] And when He Who is
well-grounded in all knowledge, He Who is the Mother, the
Soul, the Secret, and the Essence thereof, revealeth that which
is the least contrary to their desire, they bitterly oppose Him
and shamelessly deny Him. These thou hast already heard and
witnessed. Such deeds and words have been solely instigated
by leaders of religion, they that worship no God but their own
desire, who bear allegiance to naught but gold, who are wrapt
in the densest veils of learning, and who, enmeshed by its
obscurities, are lost in the wilds of error. Even as the Lord of
being hath explicitly declared: 'What thinkest thou? He who
hath made a God of his passions, and whom God causeth to
err through a knowledge, and whose ears and whose heart He
hath sealed up, and over whose sight He hath cast a veil--who,
after his rejection by God, shall guide such a one? Will ye not
then be warned?' [Qur'an 45:22]
"Although the outward meaning of 'Whom God causeth to
err through a knowledge' is what hath been revealed, yet to Us
it signifieth those divines of the age who have turned away
from the Beauty of God, and who, clinging unto their own
learning, as fashioned by their own fancies and desires, have
denounced God's divine Message and Revelation. 'Say: it is a
weighty Message, from which ye turn aside!' [Qur'an 38:67]
Likewise, He saith: 'And when Our clear verses are recited to
them, they say, "This is merely a man who would fain pervert
you from your father's worship." And they say, "This is none
other than forget falsehood."' [Qur'an 34:43]
"Give ear unto God's holy Voice, and heed thou His sweet
and immortal melody. Behold how He hath solemnly warned
them that have repudiated the verses of God, and hath
disowned them that have denied His holy words."

KI:248: "We entreat the learned men of the Bayán not to
follow in such ways, not to inflict, at the time of Mustaghath,
upon Him Who is the divine Essence, the heavenly Light, the
absolute Eternity, the Beginning and End of the
Manifestations of the Invisible, that which hath been inflicted
in this day. We beg them not to depend upon their intellect,
their comprehension and learning, nor to contend with the
Revealer of celestial and infinite knowledge."

JA:14: "Should they say: "These words are indeed from God,
and have no interpretation other than their outward meaning",
then what objection can they raise against the unbelievers
among the people of the Book? For when the latter saw the
aforementioned passages in their Scriptures and heard the
literal interpretations of their divines, they refused to
recognize God in those who are the Manifestations of His
unity, the Exponents of His singleness, and the Embodiments
of His sanctity, and failed to believe in them and submit to
their authority. The reason was that they did not see the sun
darken, or the stars of heaven fall to the ground, or the angels
visibly descend upon the earth, and hence they contended
with the Prophets and Messengers of God. Nay, inasmuch as
they found them at variance with their own faith and creed,
they hurled against them such accusations of imposture, folly,
waywardness, and misbelief as I am ashamed to re-count.
Refer to the Qur'án, that thou mayest find mention of all this
and be of them that understand its meaning. Even to this day
do these people await the appearance of that which they have
learned from their doctors and imbibed from their divines.
Thus do they say: "When shall these signs be made manifest,
that we may believe?" But if this be the case, how could ye
refute their arguments, invalidate their proofs, and challenge
them concerning their faith and their understanding of their
Books and the sayings of their leaders?"

This theme, of the literal interpretation of Scripture, is discussed by
Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" (pp. 26, 32, 80-84, 126-127, 220, 255-256)
and "Jawahiru‟l-Asrar" (pp. 22-24, 48, 72-73); by „Abdu‟l-Bahá in
"Some Answered Questions" (pp. 38, 85, 100, 106, 111, 123), in
"Foundations of World Unity" (pp. 74, 75, 108), and in "The
Promulgation of Universal Peace" (pp. 199, 245, 246, 291-293, 370,
416, 459, 460, 463) and in "Bahá‟í World Faith" (p. 280). Shoghi
Effendi also wrote regarding the limitations of literal interpretations of
Scripture, in letters quoted in "Directives from the Guardian" (p. 65),
"Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand" (p. 41),
"Dawn of a New Day" (pp. 79-80, 200, 202), "Unfolding Destiny" (p.
427), "Lights of Divine Guidance" (volume II, pp. 66, 66-67), and in
his book, "God Passes By" (pp. 151-152). While most of the
references in these works critique the literal interpretation of Scriptural
verses, particularly by the clergy of every religion, and the obstacle
which such interpretations have been, in every Age, to the recognition
of the new Prophet of God, this should not be taken as a statement of
blanket approval for a metaphorical interpretation of all Scriptural
language.

As was indicated by Bahá‟u‟lláh in "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" (pp. 254-255), and in
the Surat al-'Imran (Qur'an 3:7), there are two kinds of divine verses.
Some of them are meant to be interpreted in a literal fashion.
Bahá‟u‟lláh affirmed this to be the case in "Kitab-i-Aqdas," as follows:

KA:#144: "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...Whosoever interpreteth this verse
otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of
God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things.
Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather
follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise."
(GLCLXV:346)

It is evident, from the language associated with this statement, that the
literal interpretation of the divine verses may be a test to the believers
and an obstacle to their recognition of the new Prophet of God in yet
another fashion from that which has been described heretofore. If the
believers fail to adhere to the literal interpretation of those verses
which are mean to be understood according to their "obvious
meaning" then that literal interpretation becomes a test of their faith,
inasmuch as the one who strays from the authentic literal
interpretation is "assuredly a lying impostor" and "is deprived of the
Spirit of God and of His mercy". Likewise, if the believer does not
adhere to this literal interpretation when intended by God, he will be
tempted to consider the claims of prophetic pretenders who arise "ere
the expiration of a full thousand years"--and as most readers will
readily recognize, there have been a host of such pretenders who have
arisen during the century since the ascension of Bahá‟u‟lláh. If those
believers are seduced by such pretenders, they will fail to recognize the
station of Bahá‟u‟lláh, whose divine authority reigns supreme over
humankind until the coming of the next Prophet of God. Literal
interpretation is a double-edged sword: when it is adhered to when the
divine intention is symbolic, and when it is not adhered to when the
divine intention is straightforward, in both cases it may result in souls
failing to recognize the new Prophet.
THIRTY-EIGHTH PROOF:
OPPRESSION IN EVERY DISPENSATION

One of the proofs of the Prophets of God, is that there will come a
time when, to employ the words of Krishna in the "Bhagavad-Gita"
(Chapter IV, verse 7):

"Whenever there is a decline of righteousness [dharma] and
rise of unrighteousness, O Bharata [Arjuna], then I send forth
Myself." (translation of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, p. 154)

This verse is echoed in "Bhagavata" (volume IX, chapter 24, verse 56):

"Whenever righteousness [dharma] wanes, and
unrighteousness increases the Almighty Lord, Hari, creates
himself." (translation of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, p. 154)

It is at this time that the new Prophet of God becomes manifest in the
world of creation. Bahá‟u‟lláh cites from the Gospel of Matthew in
"Kitáb-i-ĺqán":

KI:24: "In the first Gospel according to Matthew it is
recorded: And when they asked Jesus concerning the signs of
His coming, He said unto them: 'Immediately after the
oppression of those days shall the sun be darkened...'"

The King James Version gives the following version of this verse:

Matthew 24:29: "Immediately after the tribulation of those
days shall the sun be darkened..."

Bahá‟u‟lláh translates this verse from its Arabic version (which he has
earlier cited) into Persian as follows:

KI:25: "When the oppression and afflictions that are to befall
mankind will have come to pass, then shall the sun be
withheld from shining..."

He then explains this verse some pages later:

KI:29: "As to the words--'Immediately after the oppression of
those days'--they refer to the time when men shall become
oppressed and afflicted, the time when the lingering traces of
the Sun of Truth and the fruit of the Tree of knowledge and
wisdom will have vanished from the midst of men, when the
reigns of mankind will have fallen into the grasp of the foolish
and ignorant, when the portals of divine unity and
understanding--the essential and highest purpose in creation--
will have been closed, when certain knowledge will have given
way to idle fancy, and corruption will have usurped the station
of righteousness."

Even as he has affirmed that all of the signs cited in the Gospels by
Jesus refer not only to the appearance of Muhammad, but to the
advent of all of the Manifestations of God, Bahá‟u‟lláh seems to affirm
that this "oppression" takes place prior to the coming of every Prophet
of God. He continues his interpretation, relating it to his own time:

KI:29-30: "Such a condition as this is witnessed in this day
when the reigns of every community have fallen into the grasp
of foolish leaders, who lead after their own whims and desire.
On their tongue the mention of God hath become an empty
name; in their midst His holy Word a dead letter. Such is the
sway of their desires, that the lamp of conscience and reason
hath been quenched in their hearts, and this although the
fingers of divine power have unlocked the portals of the
knowledge of God, and the light of divine knowledge and
heavenly grace hath illumined and inspired the essence of all
created things, in such wise that in each and every thing a
door of knowledge hath been opened, and within every atom
traces of the sun hath been made manifest...

KI:31-32: "What 'oppression' is greater than that which hath
been recounted? What 'oppression' is more grievous than that
a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to obtain unto the
knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and
from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed, and
the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This
'oppression' is the essential feature of every Revelation.
Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made
manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must
needs follow the darkness of the night of error. For this
reason, in all the chronicles and traditions reference hath been
made unto these things, namely that iniquity shall cover the
surface of the earth and darkness envelop mankind."
THIRTY-NINTH PROOF:
RETURN OF THE PROPHETS AND THEIR CHOSEN
ONES

Bahá‟u‟lláh indicates that the Scriptural language which pertains to
spiritual life is not meant to be understood literally, and that this has
always been the case, in every Dispensation:

KI:116-117: "Nay, by „trumpet‟ is meant the trumpet-call of
Muhammad‟s Revelation, which was sounded in the heart of
the universe, and by „resurrection‟ is meant His own rise to
proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring and wayward
arise and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed
them with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them
with the breath of a new and wondrous life."

KI:118-119: "Such things have come to pass in the days of
every Manifestation of God. Even as Jesus said: „Ye must be
born again.‟ [John 3:7] Again He saith: „Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.‟[John 3:5-6] The
purport of these words is that whatsoever in every
dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the
breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those
that have attained unto „life‟ and „resurrection‟ and have
entered into the „paradise‟ of the love of God. And
whosoever is not of them, is condemned to „death‟ and
„deprivation,‟ to the „fire‟ of unbelief, and to the „wrath‟ of
God. In all the scriptures, the books and chronicles, the
sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of
understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against
those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal cup of true
knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace
of the holy Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously
recorded: „Hearts have they with which they understand not.‟
[Qur‟an 7:178]
"In another passage of the Gospel it is written: „And it came
to pass that on a certain day the father of one of the disciples
of Jesus had died. That disciple reporting the death of his
father unto Jesus, asked for leave to go and bury him.
Whereupon Jesus, that Essence of Detachment, answered and
said: “Let the dead bury their dead.”" [Luke 9:60]
KI:120-121: "In every age and century, the purpose of the
Prophets of God and their chosen ones hath been no other
than to affirm the spiritual significance of the terms „life,‟
„resurrection,‟ and „judgment.‟...Wert thou to attain to but a
dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou
wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh
but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common
to both men and animals, whereas the life of the spirit is
possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from
the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This
life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by
immortality. Even as it hath been said: „He who is a true
believer liveth both in this world and in the world to come.‟
If by „life‟ be meant this earthly life, it is evident that death
must needs overtake it."

Bahá‟u‟lláh has indicated that even as these terms relating to spiritual
life in the Scriptures are to be understood symbolically, relating to the
life of faith and not to the life of the mortal flesh, likewise he has
affirmed that the references to the „return‟ of the Prophets and their
chosen ones are to be understood in a similar fashion. He begins by
demonstrating the absurdity of a literal interpretation of certain
Qur‟anic verses which refer to the „return‟ of the Prophets and their
chosen ones:

KI:148-149: "And it came to pass that on a certain day a
number of the opponents of that peerless Beauty, those that
had strayed far from God‟s imperishable Sanctuary, scornfully
spoke these words unto Muhammad: „Verily, God hath
entered into a covenant with us that we are not to credit an
apostle until he present us a sacrifice which fire out of heaven
shall devour.‟ [Qur‟an 3:183] The purport of this verse is that
God hath covenanted with them that they should not believe
in any messenger unless he work the miracle of Abel and
Cain, that is, offer a sacrifice, and the fire from heaven
consume it; even as they had heard it recounted in the story of
Abel, which story is recorded in the scriptures. To this,
Muhammad, answering, said: „Already have Apostles before
me come to you with sure testimonies, and with that of which
ye speak. Wherefore slew ye them? Tell me, if ye are men of
truth.‟ [Qur‟an 3:182] And now, be fair; how could those
people living in the days of Muhammad have existed,
thousands of years before, in the age of Adam or other
Prophets? Why should Muhammad, that Essence of
truthfulness, have charged the people of His day with the
murder of Abel or other Prophets? Thou hast none other
alternative except to regard Muhammad as an impostor or a
fool--which God forbid!--or to maintain that those people of
wickedness were the self-same people who in every age
opposed and caviled at the Prophets and Messengers of God,
till they finally caused them all to suffer martyrdom."

KI:150-152: "Likewise, Muhammad, in another verse, uttereth
His protest against the people of that age. He saith: „Although
they had before prayed for victory over those who believed
not, yet when there came unto them, He of Whom they had
knowledge, they disbelieved in Him. The curse of God on the
infidels!‟ [Qur‟an 2:89] Reflect how this verse also implieth
that the people living in the days of Muhammad were the
same people who in the days of the Prophets of old
contended and fought in order to promote the Faith, and
teach the Cause, of God. And yet, how could the generations
living at the time of Jesus and Moses, and those who lived in
the days of Muhammad, be regarded as being actually one and
the same people? Moreover, those whom they had formerly
known were Moses, the Revealer of the Pentateuch, and Jesus,
the Author of the Gospel. Notwithstanding, why did
Muhammad say: „When He of Whom they had knowledge
came unto them‟--that is Jesus or Moses—„they disbelieved in
Him‟? Was not Muhammad to outward seeming called by a
different name? Did He not come forth out of a different
city? Did He not speak a different language, and reveal a
different Law? How then can the truth of this verse be
established, and its meaning be made clear?
"Strive therefore to comprehend the meaning of „return‟
which hath been so explicitly revealed in the Qur‟an itself, and
which none hath as yet understood. What sayest thou? If
thou sayest that Muhammad was the „return‟ of the Prophets
of old, as is witnessed by this verse, His companions must
likewise be the „return‟ of the bygone companions, even as the
„return‟of the former people is clearly attested by the text of
the above-mentioned verses. And if thou deniest this, thou
hast surely repudiated the truth of the Qur‟an, the surest
testimony of God unto men. In like manner, endeavour to
grasp the significance of „return,‟ „revelation,‟ and
„resurrection,‟ as witnessed in the days of the Manifestations
of the divine Essence, that thou mayest behold with thine
own eyes the „return‟ of the holy souls into sanctified and
illumined bodies, and mayest wash away the dust of
ignorance, and cleanse the darkened self with the waters of
mercy flowing from the Source of divine Knowledge; that
perchance thou mayest, through the power of God and the
light of divine guidance, distinguish the Morn of everlasting of
splendour form the darksome night of error."

KI:152-153: "Thus hath Muhammad, the Point of the Qur‟an,
revealed: „I am all the Prophets.‟ Likewise, He saith: „I am the
first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus.‟" (see KI:162)

KI:153-154: "It is clear and evident to thee that all the
Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of God, Who have
appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with
discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all abiding in the
same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the
same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the
same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of being,
those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendour.
Wherefore, should one of these Manifestations of Holiness
proclaim saying: „I am the return of all the Prophets,‟ He
verily speaketh the truth. In like manner, in every subsequent
Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is a fact, the
truth of which is firmly established. Inasmuch as the return of
the Prophets of God, as attested by verses and traditions, hath
been conclusively demonstrated, the return of their chosen
ones also is therefore definitely proven. This return is too
manifest in itself to require any evidence or proof."

KI:158-160: "O brother, behold how the inner mysteries of
„rebirth,‟ of „return,‟ and of „resurrection‟ have each, through
these all-sufficing, these unanswerable, and conclusive
utterances, been unveiled and unravelled before thine eyes.
God grant that through His gracious and invisible assistance,
thou mayest divest thy body and soul of the old garment, and
array thyself with the new and imperishable attire.
“Therefore, those who in every subsequent Dispensation
preceded the rest of mankind in embracing the Faith of God,
who quaffed the clear waters of knowledge at the hand of the
divine Beauty, and attained the loftiest summits of faith and
certitude, these can be regarded, in name, in reality, in deeds,
in words, and in rank, as the „return‟ of those who in a former
Dispensation had achieved similar distinctions. For
whatsoever the people of a former Dispensation have
manifested, the same hath been shown by the people of this
latter generation. Consider the rose: whether it blossometh in
the East or in the West, it is none the less a rose. For what
mattereth in this respect is not the outward shape and form of
the rose, but rather the smell and fragrance which it doth
impart.
“Purge thy sight, therefore, from all earthly limitations, that
thou mayest behold them all as the bearers of one Name, the
exponents of one Cause, the manifestations of one Self, and
the revealers of one Truth, and that thou mayest apprehend
the mystic „return‟ of the Words of God as unfolded by these
utterances. Reflect for a while upon the behaviour of the
companions of the Muhammadan Dispensation. Consider
how, through the reviving breath of Muhammad, they were
cleansed from the defilements of earthly vanities, were
delivered from selfish desires, and were detached from all else
but Him. Behold how they preceded all the peoples of the
earth in attaining unto His holy Presence--the Presence of
God Himself--how they renounced the world and all that is
therein, and sacrified freely and joyously their lives at the feet
of that Manifestation of the All-Glorious. And now, observe
the return of the self-same determination, the self-same
constancy and renunciation, manifested by the companions of
the Point of the Bayán. Thou hast witnessed how these
companions have, through the wonders of the grace of the
Lord of Lords, hoisted the standards of sublime renunciation
upon the inaccessible heights of glory. These Lights have
proceeded from but one Source, and these fruits are the fruits
of one Tree. Thou canst discern neither difference nor
distinction among them. All this is by the grace of God! On
whom He will, He bestoweth His grace."

KI:161: "From these statements therefore it hath been made
evident and manifest that should a Soul in the „End that
knoweth no end‟ be made manifest and arise to proclaim and
uphold a Cause which in „the Beginning that hath no
beginning‟ another Soul had proclaimed and upheld, it can be
truly declared of Him Who is the Last and of Him Who was
the First that they are one and the same, inasmuch as both are
the Exponents of one and the same Cause. For this reason,
hath the Point of the Bayán—may the life of all else but Him
be His sacrifice!—likened the Manifestations of God unto the
sun which, though it rise from the „Beginning that hath no
beginning‟ until the „End that knoweth no end,‟ is none the
less the same sun. Now, wert thou to say, that this sun is the
former sun, thou speakest the truth; and if thou sayest that
this sun is the „return‟ of that sun, thou also speakest the truth.
Likewise, from this statement it is made evident that the term
„first‟ applicable to the „last‟; inasmuch as both the „first‟ and
the „last‟ have risen to proclaim one and the same Faith."

KI:162: "Hath not Muhammad, Himself, declared: „I am all
the Prophets‟? Hath He not said as We have already
mentioned: „I am Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus‟? Why
should Muhammad, that immortal Beauty, Who hath said: „I
am the first Adam‟ be incapable of saying also: „I am the last
Adam‟? For even as He regarded Himself to be the „First of
the Prophets‟--that is Adam--in like manner, the „Seal of the
Prophets‟ is also applicable unto that divine Beauty. It is
admittedly obvious that being the „First of the Prophets,‟ He
likewise is their „Seal.‟"

KI:179: "Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of
that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all
to proclaim: „I am the Seal of the Prophets,‟ they verily utter
but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they
are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one
revelation."
FORTIETH PROOF:
REJECTION OF PROPHET IN EVERY DISPENSATION
BECAUSE HE DOES NOT CONFORM TO CURRENT
UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh addresses the diversity of the claims
made by the Prophets of God and concludes with this weighty
affirmation:

KI:181-182: "Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth
must needs be pondered, and should their significance not be
grasped, enlightenment should be sought from the Trustees of
the depositories of Knowledge, that these may expound their
meaning, and unravel their mystery. For it behooveth no man
to interpret the holy words according to his own imperfect
understanding, nor, having found them to be contrary to his
inclination and desires, to reject and repudiate their truth. For
such, today, is the manner of the divines and doctors of the
age, who occupy seats of knowledge and learning, and who
have named ignorance knowledge, and called oppression
justice. Were these to ask the Light of Truth concerning
those images which their idle fancy hath carved, and were they
to find His answer inconsistent with their own conceptions
and their own understanding of the Book, they would
assuredly denounce Him Who is the Mine and Wellhead of all
Knowledge as the very negation of understanding. Such
things have happened in every age."

Bahá‟u‟lláh issues a challenge to each of us, that we do our utmost to
comprehend the reason for the rejection of the Prophets of God in
every Dispensation:

GL:XXXV:82-83: "Ponder a while. What is it that prompted,
in every Dispensation, the peoples of the earth to shun the
Manifestation of the All-Merciful? What could have impelled
them to turn away from Him and to challenge His authority?
Were men to meditate on these words which have flowed
from the Pen of the Divine Ordainer, they would, one and all,
hasten to embrace the truth of this God-given, and everenduring Revelation, and would testify to that which He
Himself hath solemnly affirmed. It is the veil of idle
imaginations which, in the days of the Manifestations of the
Unity of God and the Day Springs of His everlasting glory,
hath intervened, and will continue to intervene, between them
and the rest of mankind. For in those days, He Who is the
Eternal Truth manifesteth Himself in conformity with that
which He Himself hath purposed, and not according to the
desires and expectations of men. Even as He hath revealed:
'So oft, then, as an Apostle cometh to you with that which
your souls desire not, do ye swell with pride, and treat some as
impostors, and slay others.' [Qur'an XX:XXX]
"There can be no doubt whatever that had these Apostles
appeared in bygone ages and cycles, in accordance with the
vain imaginations which the hearts of men have devised, no
one would have repudiated the truth of these sanctified
Beings. Though such men have been, night and day,
remembering the one true God, and have devoutly engaged in
the exercise of their devotions, yet they failed in the end to
recognized, and partake of the grace of, the Day Springs of
the signs of God and the Manifestations of His irrefutable
evidences. To this the Scriptures bear witness. Thou hast, no
doubt, heard about it."

In "Kitáb-i-ĺqán" Bahá‟u‟lláh has alluded to this fact, that devout
adherence to religious obligations does not specialize souls for
recognizing the new Prophet of God:

KI:238: "The wine of renunciation must needs be quaffed, the
lofty heights of detachment must needs be attained, and the
meditation referred to in the words 'One hour's reflection is
preferable to seventy years of pious worship' must needs be
observed, so that the secret of the wretched behaviour of the
people might be discovered, those people who, despite the
love and yearning for truth which they profess, curse the
followers of Truth when once He hath been made manifest."
(KI:238)

In every age and Dispensation, the followers of the Prophets of old
have permitted their own understandings to veil them from the truth,
revealed in the Person and Teachings of the new Prophet of God.
They have failed to understand that the Manifestation is not bound by
human standards and limitations, that He doeth whatsoever He
willeth:

KI:170-171: "But apart from all these things, had this people
attained unto a drop of the crystal streams flowing from the
words: „God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth
whatsoever He pleaseth,‟ they would not have raised any
unseemly cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His
Revelation. The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held
within the grasp of His power. „All things lie imprisoned
within the hollow of His mighty Hand; all things are easy and
possible unto Him.‟ He accomplisheth whatsoever He
willeth, and doeth all that He desireth. „Whoso sayeth “why”
or “wherefore” hath spoken blasphemy!‟ Were these people
to shake off the slumber of negligence and realize that which
their hands have wrought, they would surely perish, and
would of their own accord cast themselves into fire—their
end and real abode. Have they not heard that which He hath
revealed: „He shall not be asked of His doings‟? [Qur‟an
21:23] In the light of these utterances, how can man be so
bold as to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?"

As Bahá‟u‟lláh affirmed, in language of the most unmistakable clarity
and spiritual potency in "Kitab-i-Aqdas":

"Say: O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with
such standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for
the Book itself is the unerring balance established amongst
men. In this most perfect balance whatsoever the peoples and
kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed, while the
measure of its weight should be tested according to its own
standard, did ye but know it." (KA:99; GL:XCVIII:198)

The editor of this collection of proofs has attempted to adhere to this
high standard, and to remain faithful to Bahá‟u‟lláh's affirmation, in
"Kalimat-i-Firdawsiyyih":

"In this day the verses of the Mother Book are resplendent
and unmistakable even as the sun. They can in no wise be
mistaken for any of the past or more recent utterances. Truly
this Wronged One desireth not to demonstrate His Own
Cause with proofs produced by others. He is the One Who
embraceth all things, while all else besides Him is
circumscribed." (TB:74)
CONCLUSIONS

This work has been over a decade in preparation. Nevertheless, its
compiler has no doubt that there are other proofs of prophethood set
forth in the Writings of Bahá‟u‟lláh, the Tablets and talks of „Abdu‟l-
Bahá and the letters of Shoghi Effendi, and that proofs not found in
these sources may also be discovered elsewhere, in other Scriptures.
Indeed, he has not yet succeeded in discovering the references in other
Scriptures to all the proofs cited in this book, and has only included
such indicators when they were already familiar to him or when they
became manifest during his investigation of the Bahá‟í texts.
Furthermore, while many proofs have been articulated, yet there are
infinite proofs which have never been written down, which cannot be
written down. Bahá‟u‟lláh speaks of these proofs in "Tafsir Surat va'lshams" (GL:LXXXIX:176):

"How great the multitude of truths which the garment of
words can never contain! How vast the number of such
verities as no expression can adequately describe, whose
significance can never be unfolded, and to which not even the
remotest allusions can be made!"

„Abdu‟l-Bahá refers to such proofs in relation to human recognition of
the existence of God, in "Some Answered Questions" (II:7):

"These obvious arguments are adduced for weak souls; but if
the inner perception be open, a hundred thousand clear proofs
become visible."

The proofs of prophethood set forth in this volume are not just an
abstract paradigm. Bahá‟u‟lláh and his interpreters claim that the
Prophets of God have, each and every one, appeared in conformity
with these proofs. The proofs articulated here are an objective
standard whereby the prophethood of any claimant to divine guidance
may be effectively evaluated. While some examples of the fulfillment
of particular proofs by specific Prophets have been included in this
text, a systematic study of the manner in which any particular Prophet
has embodied these proofs has not been attempted here. In
subsequent volumes, the compiler will apply each of these prophetic
standards to a number of the Founders of religions, including
Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad. Those same
standards will be applied to those two more recent claimants to the
prophetic office, the Báb, and Bahá‟u‟lláh. Is it not appropriate that
Bahá‟u‟lláh should be judged according to the criteria he himself
established for recognizing the truth, the authenticity of the Prophets
of God? The reader familiar with his Writings may recall that
Bahá‟u‟lláh has repeatedly affirmed that he should only be judged
according to his own standards, that he can only be understood when
seen through his own eyes. In his last Book, Bahá‟u‟lláh cites the
following prophecy of the Báb, referring to “Him Whom God shall
manifest”:

ESW:153: "And also He [the Báb] saith: „Know thou with
absolute certainty, and through the firmly established and
most irrevocable decree, that He--exalted be His glory, and
magnified be His might, and sanctified be His holiness, and
glorified be His grandeur, and lauded be His ways--maketh
each thing to be known through its own self; who then can
know Him through any one except Himself.‟...And again, He--
exalted be He--saith: „Look not upon Him with any eye except
His own. For whosoever looketh upon Him with His eye, will
recognize Him; otherwise he will be veiled from Him.‟"

Bahá‟u‟lláh restated this teaching of the Báb in “Kitáb-i-ĺqán”:

KI:199-200: "That city is none other than the Word of God
revealed in every age and dispensation...in the dispensation of
Him Whom God will make manifest His own Book--the
Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must
needs be referred, the Book which standeth amongst them all
transcendent and supreme."

In one of his Tablets, Bahá‟u‟lláh reaffirms the words of the Báb:

ADJ:77: "Whoso beholdeth Me with an eye besides Mine own
will never be able to know Me. None among the
Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever
completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation."

He affirms this as a general principle and not just in relation to his
own Book:

KA:#99: "Say: O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of
God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst
you, for the Book itself is the unerring Balance established
amongst men. In this most perfect Balance whatsoever the
peoples and kindreds of the earth possess must be weighed,
while the measure of its weight should be tested according to
its own standard, did ye but know it."
Whether in consideration of the proofs of prophethood as set forth in
this volume, or in the consideration of the fulfillment of those proofs
by the Founders of various religions, the reader is entirely at liberty to
continue or to discontinue his perusal at any time; s/he is free to
accept or to reject the signs, proofs, evidence and arguments set forth
here. This is a right which is guaranteed to every human being by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recognized by most of
the governments of the world. It is likewise a right which is solemnly
and repeatedly affirmed by Bahá‟u‟lláh himself, in many of his Tablets,
some of which are cited below:

KI:24: "This is My counsel unto thee and unto the beloved of
God. Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever
wisheth, let him turn away."

KI:221: "We have shown thee these two ways; walk thou the
way thou choosest."

BP:210-211: "Thus doth the Nightingale utter His call unto
you from this prison. He hath but to deliver this clear
message. Whosoever desireth, let him turn aside from this
counsel and whosoever desireth let him choose the path to his
Lord." (Lawh-i-Ahmad)

KA:#182: "Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that
hath refused to seek it--verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above
any need of His creatures."

TB:41: "This Wronged One calleth aloud for the sake of God.
Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever
wisheth, let him turn away." (Tarazat)

TB:211: "We exhort, wholly for the sake of God, His servants.
Let him who wisheth turn unto Him, and him who wisheth
turn aside." (Lawh-i-Burhan)
EPILOGUE

Those whose thirst has not been quenched, who wish to consider how
these forty proofs may be applied to each of the Prophets of God may
proceed to the volume devoted to each in this series on Prophetic
Proofs. These volumes will be published sequentially, from the most
recent Prophet to the Prophet most shrouded in legend and mystery.
This will permit the reader to consider the implications of progressive
revelation in reverse order rather than from start to finish. If you do
not have the COMPANION TO PROOFS OF THE PROPHETS
and wish to purchase a copy, it can be ordered from most bookstores
and online from Amazon.com and from the publisher at:
http://www.lulu.com/browse/adv_search.php

If the reader wishes to contact the author with a kind word of
encouragement, a question, or to point out anything in this volume
that is incorrectly cited, ill-conceived, poorly explained, or awkwardly
positioned in the sequence of ideas presented, the author may be
reached at: proofsoftheprophets@yahoo.com

All readers who wish to participate in a community of interest related
to the PROOFS OF THE PROPHETS are invited to become
members of a yahoo group: proofsoftheprophetssubscribe@yahoogroups.com
ENDNOTES
1In conclusion, this Second Proof applies in one sense literally to
Muhammad and to all the prophets who follow him; in another sense
rather literally--in the sense of "There is no intrinsic meaning in the
leaves of a book, but the thought they convey leads you to reflect
upon reality"(PUP:155)--to the prophets who are historically
recognized, all of whom are survived by books which are attributed to
their revelations; and in yet another meaning which applies to all of the
prophets of God, the many named and the many more unnamed.
2„Abdu‟l-Bahá, in a talk given on 3 December 1912, encouraged those

assembled in a home in New York City with words which recall those
of Bahá‟u‟lláh in reference to the followers of the Báb:
"You must become the lamps of Bahá‟u‟lláh so that you may
shine with eternal light and be the proofs and evidences of His truth.
Then will such signs of purity and chastity be witnessed in your deeds
and actions that men will behold the heavenly radiance of your lives
and say, 'Verily, ye are the proofs of Bahá‟u‟lláh. Verily, Bahá‟u‟lláh is
the True One, for He has trained such souls as these, each one of
which is a proof in himself.' They will say to others, 'Come and
witness the conduct of these souls; come and listen to their words,
behold the illumination of their hearts, see the evidences of the love of
God in them, consider their praiseworthy morals, and discover the
foundations of the oneness of humanity firmly implanted within them.
What greater proof can there be than these people that the message of
Bahá‟u‟lláh is truth and reality?' It is my hope that each one of you
shall be a herald of God, proclaiming the evidences of His appearance,
in words, deeds and thoughts. Let your actions and utterances be a
witness that you are of the Kingdom of Bahá‟u‟lláh." (Khitabat, pp.
631-633; PUP:461)
Tablet to the Shah, cited in ESW:11,39.
Bahá‟u‟lláh has also described this state in "Kalimat-i-Maknun-i-
'Arabiyyah":

HWA:#1-2: "O son of spirit!
"My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant
heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable
and everlasting.
"O son of spirit!
"The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not
away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I
may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own

eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of
thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy
neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to
be. Verily Justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My lovingkindness. Set it then before thine eyes."

اختر نصًّا ثانيًا لقراءته بالتوازي — ترجمةً، أو أيّ نصٍّ آخر.