# Tablet of Blood (Suriy-i-Damm)

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

---

> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of Blood (Suriy-i-Damm), bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Tablet of Blood (Súriy-i-Damm)
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> Juan Cole, translator
> 
> 1996
> 
> We have caused this Surah of Blood to surge forth from the
> Ocean of the Unseen, that it might be a sign of My Manifestation
> among all created things.
> 
> He is eternally seated upon the Throne! In My Name, the
> Glorious, the All-Glorious:
> 
> Hearken, O Muhammad,[1] to the voice of thy Lord from this
> station, which is exalted above the reach of all contingent beings. It
> can never be attained by the hearts of His creatures nor by the inmost
> realities of those who have, for a single instant, been heedless of this
> sanctified, mighty and concealed Cause.
> 
> Say: O people, hasten unto the sanctuary of God and His
> essence, unto the House of God and His Selfhood, unto the
> Manifestation of God and His sovereignty. Be not of them that make
> mention of God with their lips and yet show forth opposition to His
> signs. Say: O people, this is a station around which circles the
> Concourse on High, then the denizens of the canopy of eternity and
> those who dwell beyond the depths of grandeur, if ye be of them that
> comprehend. Say: This is the Shrine, the Presence, the Countenance
> and the Greatness of God Himself.
> 
> Arise and issue forth from your homes, O people of the
> concourse of Divinity, and ye of the grades of divine Dominion, then
> the people of might in the stations both of this earthly world and the
> Kingdom of Heaven. Thus may ye attain unto this station, which none
> have reached save those who detached themselves from all in heaven
> and on earth, and from all that is characterized by name, description,
> direction or allusion, did ye but understand. Say: O people, this is the
> station of God, this is His Court, Garden and Paradise, and this is His
> Tabernacle and Pavilion. Beware, O people, lest ye turn your faces
> toward anyone but Him. Hasten then unto Him, that mayhap ye will
> be given to eat of the fruits of the Spirit. This is a station wherein the
> righteous, and they that circle round the Throne on High, have halted,
> as ye also bear witness.
> 
> As for thee, O Muhammad, perform what the tongue of thy
> Lord doth counsel thee at this time, and accomplish all that which thou
> art bidden by God, the Protector, the Almighty, the Beloved. First of
> all, tear the veils of vain imagination from about thy heart by My
> mighty, powerful and unquestioned Sovereignty. Then enter the
> fortress of the All-Merciful in My Name, the Mighty, the Glorified,
> and pay no heed to all that hath been and shall be. If thou shouldst
> behold Satan[2] seated at its gate, forbidding thee to enter therein, close
> thine eyes to him and take refuge in My Beauty, the Blessed, the Help
> in Peril, the Adored. Beware lest ye sit with those in whom thou
> perceivest the evidences of malice, as heat is evident in summer or cold
> in poison. Flee from them and their ilk, and look not upon them nor
> that which they possess. Turn thy gaze rather to My Cause, and that
> which surpasseth in excellence all else, did ye but perceive it.
> 
> If thou dost wish to travel in various lands, then do thou spread
> the dawning lights of thy Lord throughout those realms. Think thou
> upon the handiwork of thy Lord which thou seest, that thou mayest be
> of those who consider. Adorn thyself with My character, in such wise
> that should anyone treat thee unjustly thou wouldst take no heed of
> him, nor oppose him. Leave him to the judgment of thy Lord, the
> Powerful, Omnipotent and Self-Subsisting. Be at all times a wronged
> one, for this is one of My attributes, though none but the sincere are
> aware of it. Verily, the sighs of patience uttered by one wronged are
> more precious to God than any other deed, did ye but know.
> Therefore, be patient in the face of whatever befalleth thee, and set thy
> trust in thy Lord God in all thine affairs. He, verily, doth suffice thee
> against all the harm which any created thing can wreak toward thee,
> and preserveth thee in the shelter of His Cause and the mighty fortress
> of His guardianship. There is no God but Him. His are the worlds of
> creation and command, and all seek His aid.
> 
> Should anyone slander thee, thou must not retaliate against him
> in kind lest thou become as he is. Turn aside from him, and set thy
> face toward the holy tabernacle in this exalted and sacred canopy. Be
> among men as a sweet-scented knoll, that the fragrance of sanctity
> may be wafted among them. In such wise, thou mightest succeed in
> attracting them to the court of the holy and Beloved One. Shouldst
> thou find a helper among the friends of God, seek his company at
> eventide and dawn, throughout the months and years. In all matters,
> emulate God, thy Succorer. Walk among men with His dignity and
> peace, and teach them the Cause of their Lord to the extent that they
> are able to hear it.
> 
> O hoopoe of Sheba, go thou with My book to the cities of
> God. Should the other birds ask thee concerning the dove of holiness,
> say: "When I left her, she was sore-pressed in the talons of denial and
> the beaks of wickedness. She had no helper save God, Who created
> her, formed her and made her the lamp of His beauty between the
> heavens of the earth, if ye be possessed of certainty."
> 
> Shouldst thou find one of My lovers, if he asks about Me say:
> "By God, I went up out of the Prison City (Adrianople) at a time when
> Husayn was lying upon the ground, while Disgrace knelt upon His
> breast and desired to behead Him. The spears were standing before
> His head, and He expected it to be raised aloft upon them. Such was
> the situation in inmost secrecy, if ye be of them that perceive. I then
> saw Him move His lips, and gaze toward the heavens with a look such
> as would rend every heart, and beyond them the heart of God, the
> Protector, the Mighty, the Self-Subsisting. I moved My head close to
> His lips, and heard that He was beneath the sword, saying 'O people!
> By God, I have not spoken to you out of selfish desire! Nay, rather I
> have given voice to that which the Speaker on Sinai uttered in My
> most pure and sanctified breast. The verses of God leave no doubt as
> to what hath been foreordained in the realm of the divine Decree, or as
> to that which is in this world and the next. O ye who have joined
> partners with God, inhale the scent of these verses that have descended
> from the realm of the divine Essence, from the King of names and
> attributes. Should ye perceive therein the fragrance of the coat of the
> beloved Joseph, then show mercy toward Him and put Him not to
> death with the blades of malice, if ye see with the eyes of justice and
> are equitable in yourselves.
> 
> "'O people! I bolted up the gates of paradise for twenty years,
> lest anything issue from My lips which might cause the fire of hatred to
> blaze forth in your breasts. To this beareth witness the Tongue of
> Grandeur, then the Pen of Command upon the holy and guarded
> Tablets. O people, I verily am 'Ali (the Bab), and this is but another
> Return after the first. I have demonstrated to ye at this time the
> greatest of the things I manifested aforetime. I have come from the
> fountainhead of grandeur and glory, and the treasure hold of exaltation
> and majesty, with verses of which not a single letter hath heretofore
> been revealed in this world. This Tablet is My proof among ye, to ye
> and against ye, if ye be of them that comprehend.
> 
> "'O people, God is My witness that I remained silent in My
> house, and gave voice to no melody. However, the Spirit set my limbs
> quaking, and caused Me to speak forth with the Truth. Its features
> then appeared in My face, if ye descry My beauty. I barred the doors
> of utterance for lo, these many years, but the tongue of God hath
> loosened My tongue, did ye but know. Will ye slay Him by whose
> Command the heavens were raised aloft, the seas surged forth, the
> trees gave fruit, the mysteries were revealed and the beauty of the
> Chosen One shone forth from behind the veil? Fear God, O people of
> the Bayan, and be not of those who repudiate the verses of God. I
> shall never deny these verses, even should ye slay Me and all the
> swords and spears rain down upon Me at every moment. I shall speak
> forth in the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and shall never fear
> anyone. This is My religion, if ye be of them that perceive. This is the
> religion of all the Messengers, and is that which was revealed to 'Ali
> (the Bab) in every Tablet. I know not, however, to which religion ye
> adhere!'
> 
> "When the melodies of that Holy One reached this point, He
> suddenly fell silent by reason of the weakness which had overtaken
> Him. He remained in this state for some time, and when He regained
> consciousness He opened His eyes and turned in the sacred direction
> with a gaze of deep affection, saying,[3]
> 
> '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
> into the hands of Nimrod; at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh's rod
> to persecute Me. Thou, alone, canst estimate, through Thine all-
> encompassing 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. And again Thou didst decree that I
> be beheaded by the sword of the infidel. 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. How bitter the humiliations heaped upon Me, in a
> subsequent age, on the plain of Karbila! How lonely did I feel amidst
> Thy people! To what a state of helplessness was I 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 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.[4]
> 
> "'It is Thou, My God and My adored One, Who hast delivered
> Me into the hands of the infidels. Behold Me, then, in the dust,
> beneath the swords of thine enemies.[5]
> 
> Yet, 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.[6]
> 
> "'I plead with Thee, O My God, by Thy hidden names and Thy
> Beauty, Who, both manifest and concealed, lieth in the dust of
> degradation, to inculcate Thy love in the hearts of Thy servants, and to
> seat them upon the carpet of Thy mercy. Give them shade, O My
> God, beneath the tree of Thy sanctity, and deny them not the breezes
> of Thy holiness, which waft from the paradise of Thy beauty and from
> the direction of Thy favors. Thou art, verily, able to accomplish Thy
> will, and Thou art the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.'"
> 
> O Muhammad, estimate well the number of gem-like mysteries
> We have bestowed upon thee, and think upon the wondrous
> knowledge We have taught thee, knowledge which lay concealed
> behind veils of light. Thus mayest thou become aware of that which
> hath befallen Us, and be of those well-acquainted with the mysteries of
> this Cause. Then say with the tongue of thy spirit in thine inmost soul,
> "Is there any helper who will come to the aid of the Primal Beauty (the
> Bab) in His new guise, or any supporter who will arise to serve the
> Ultimate Point (Quddus) in His Radiance, the Glorious, the Most
> Glorious?" Mayhap thereby God will be persuaded to dispatch
> someone to succor this Youth in these days, wherein the denizens of
> heaven and earth are drunk with heedlessness, save those who have
> gazed from nigh upon this Beauty.
> 
> But O Muhammad, thou wilt encounter the opposition and
> haughtiness of the perverse, and wilt find them engaged in acts of
> hatred against this Youth on all sides, except those for whom it hath
> been decreed otherwise by thy Lord God, the Mighty, the Self-
> Subsisting. Give ear to that which thou art commanded by the Pen of
> the Most High in the kingdom of decree, in these heavens that have
> been sanctified by God from the incarnations of rancor, from the touch
> of the infidels and from the recognition of the malicious. Rend
> asunder the veils, then rise up from the dawning-point of this Cause
> with manifest sovereignty. Call out to the people, telling them of this
> resplendent, mighty and illumined Beauty. Go to the Name of Ha',
> and deliver to him that which hath been bestowed upon thee by the
> Spirit of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Generous. Perhaps he
> will feel admonished within himself, will detach himself from all save
> his Lord and enter the ranks of them that are rightly guided.
> 
> Say: "O My servant, We have revealed for thee Tablets and
> Writings which are known only to God, and therein is that which
> would enable thee to dispense with all creation, and all that is in the
> heavens and on the earth. However, we did not send them to thee,
> because we failed to perceive from thee the fragrance of the exalted
> ones in this Arab Youth. By God, all that thou dost possess will pass
> away, and nothing will remain save what is with thy Lord, behind the
> pavilions of the Powerful, the Inaccessible. Leave the world and its
> people, and detach thyself from all that was created therein. Then turn
> thy face toward the Countenance of God, the Generous, the
> Uncreated."
> 
> Say: "This is 'Ali (the Bab) in very truth, Who hath appeared
> once more in this most pure, manifest and glorious Beauty. He doth
> speak forth with the truth in the realm of eternity, and the exalted
> kingdom, if ye have ears to hear. O people of the Bayan, the spirit of
> true understanding will never speak in your hearts until after My love
> hath entered them. This is a fundamental principle of religion, if ye be
> of those with certitude."
> 
> O people of the Qur'an, the Eternal Truth is come unto ye, and
> that whereby the religions shall be differentiated and truth
> distinguished from falsehood. Fear God, and be not of those who
> oppose Him.
> 
> O people of the Churches, cease from ringing the bells, for the
> Most Great Bell hath appeared. It is, verily, this Trump that hath been
> sent down in the form of these holy verses between the heavens and
> the earth. He crieth out in truth in this resplendent, manifest and
> brilliant Name. Say: He it is by Whose command the verses were
> revealed, and by Whose permission all the scriptures were brought into
> being. To this attesteth the fragrance that issueth from the Camphor
> Fountain through this most Ancient and pre-existent Pen. He speaketh
> forth at all times, uttering verses beyond the comprehension of the
> minds of the wise, the knowledge of the mystic knowers, and the
> hearts of them that have attained. This is what ye were promised in
> the Books of God, did ye but know, and this is that whereby the truth
> was realized from all eternity and shall be realized to all eternity.
> 
> O Muhammad, avert thy gaze from all who are in heaven and
> on earth, so that thou canst enter into the mighty fortress of thy Lord,
> the Bestower, the Almighty. Set the trees of existence ablaze with this
> Fire, that all may speak forth as It did, in the form of light, upon the
> Sinai of Theophany. Thus doth the Ancient Beauty shower His bounty
> upon thee, and command thee in this Cause, that thou mayest detach
> thyself from all things and hold fast to the cord of the Omnipotent, the
> Unattainable.
> 
> Spirit, praises and glory be upon thee, and upon whosoever
> heareth thy tidings of this Great Announcement.
> 
> Notes
> Muhammad "Nabil-i A'zam" Zarandi.
> 
> The text gives "sultan," but I read it "shaytan." I cannot find a way
> to make "sultan" meaningful in this passage, since presumably the
> "king" of the fortress would be God.
> 
> Here begins the translation of Shoghi Effendi, Gleanings XXXIX.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi's translation omits the following sentence.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi's translation resumes.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi's translation ends.
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views12625 views since posted 2003-10-17; last edit 2022-06-19 08:40 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../bahaullah_surih_damm_cole;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
> Inventory #
> BH00358
> Language
> English
> Permission
> translator
> Share
> 
> Shortlink: bahai-library.com/1010
> Citation: ris/1010
> 
> select Collection:
> Archives
> Articles
> Articles-unpublished
> Audio
> Bibliographies
> BIC
> Biographies
> Books
> Chronologies
> Compilations
> Compilations-NSA
> Compilations-personal
> Documents
> East-asia
> Encyclopedia
> Essays
> Etc
> Excerpts
> Fiction
> Glossaries
> Guardian
> Histories
> Introductory
> Letters
> Maps
> Music
> Newspapers
> NSA-documents
> NSA-letters
> Personal
> Pilgrims
> Poetry
> Presentations
> Resources
> Reviews
> Scripts
> Software
> Statistics
> Study
> Talks
> Theses
> Transcripts
> Translations
> UHJ-documents
> UHJ-letters
> Video
> Visual
> Writings
> 
> home
> 
> sitemap
> 
> series
> 
> chronology
> 
> search:
> author
> 
> title
> 
> date
> 
> tags
> 
> adv. search
> languages
> 
> inventory
> 
> bibliography
> 
> abbreviations
> 
> links
> 
> about
> 
> contact
> 
> RSS
> 
> new
>
> — *Tablet of Blood (Suriy-i-Damm) (Used by permission of the curator)*