Súriy-i-Ghusn, the Tablet of the Branch
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Language Of Revelation:
Arabic.

Place And
Date Of Revelation:Adrianople, closing years (See GPB,
 pp. 168-77; King, p. 250).

"...whilst in Adrianople, that same Father
had, in the Suriy-i-Ghusn
(Tablet of the Branch), referred as..." (GPB, p.
242)

Recipient:Mirza `Ali Rida-i-Mustawfi, the Mustasharu'd
Dawlih.

"Mirza `Ali Rida-i -Mustawfi, a native of Khurasan. This
believer
was a titled person--the Mustasharu'd Dawlih. He had a
prominent
position in government circles in the district of Khurasan and
was a
man of great influence there. His teacher was no less a person
than
Mulla Husayn who taught him the Faith in Mashhad. Mirza `Ali-
Rida
became a dedicated believer who in spite of his rank and
position never
hesitated to assist the friends when ever they faced
difficulties; he
always helped the poor and down-trodden among
them. He was the one mainly
responsible for providing the horses
and finance for Mulla Husayn and his
companions when they were
leaving Mashhad for Mazindaran on a mission of
great importance.
With the help of Mulla Sadiq-i-Khurasani, the renowned
teacher of
th e Faith, he succeeded in converting his younger brother
Mirza
Muhammad-Rida, the Mu'taminu's-Saltanih, who became a
devoted
believer. When Mirza `Ali-Rida retired, it was this same
brother who
succeeded him in office. It is interesting to note that in
a T ablet,
Bahá'u'lláh comments on a photograph of Mu'taminu's-
Saltanih, saying that
it bears a striking resemblance to Himself."
(RofB II, p. 388) (See
illustration in Some Eminent Bahá'ís, by Mr. M.H.
Balyuzi, p. 54)

Also
see `Abdu'l-Bahá , p.22, Balyu zi; Some Eminent Bahá'ís, p.
52-9.

Publication In Original
Language:Athar-i-Qlam-i-`Ala , Vol. 4, pp.
331-5.

Translation And Publication In English:Translated in
parts by the Guardian and quoted in Dispensati on of
Bahá'u'lláh,
WO, p. 134. (See EXTRACTS bellow).

The following extract from
God Passes By indicates that a translation
of this Tablet was at
hand as early as the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to
New York:

"...the
reading of the newly translated Tablet of the Branch, in a
general
assembly of His followers in New York,..." (GPB, p.
288)

Summary Of Contents:"Whether in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the
most weighty and sacred of all the
works of Bahá'u'lláh, or in the
Kitab-i-`Ahd,
 the Book of His Covenant, or
in the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch),
such references as have been
recorded by the pen of
Bahá'u'lláh--references which the Tablets of His
Father addressed to Him
mightily reinforce--invest `Abdu'l-Bahá with a
power, a nd surround Him
with a halo, which the present generation can
never adequately
appreciate." (WO p. 133).

"It was during that period that the
Suriy-i-Ghusn (Surih of the Branch)
was revealed, in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá's
future station is foreshadowed, andi n which He is eulogized as the
"Branch of Holiness," the "Limb of the
Law of God," the "Trust of God,"
"sent down in the form of a human
temple"-- a Tablet which may well be
regarded as the harbinger of the rank
which was to be bestowed upon Him,
in the K itab-i-Aqdas, and which was
to be later elucidated and confirmed
in the Book of His Covenant." (GPB.
p. 177)

Bahá'u'lláh declares that
Divine Revelation is sent down from the
hevean of His Tablets bringing joy
to believers and agitations to
unbeliever s; warns against turning our
souls away from God's bounties;
foreshadows `Abdu'l-Bahá's future station;
and instructs people to "render
thanks unto God...for His appearance"; and
stablishes that "Whoso turneth
towards Him hath turned towards God, and
whos o turneth away from Him
hath turned away from My beauty"; He warns
that "They who deprive
themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost in
the wilderness of error,
are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and
are of those who will
assuredly perish.  "; commands the people to seek
the gems of wisdom and
knowledge from Him (`Abdu'l-Bahá). He makes
illusions to Siyyid
Muhammad-i-Isfahani and Mirza Yahya and commands the
people [of
Bayan] to cast them behind and drink from the water of life in
the name o f
their Lord, the Merciful. He enjoins upon every soul the duty
of teaching
His Cause to all mankind; declares that he who revives one
soul under this
Cause, has, verily, revived all souls; and sets conditions
and method of
teaching.

Titles of `Abd u'l-Bahá in
Suriy-i-Ghusn:sacred and glorious Being; Branch of Holiness; the
Limb of the Law of
God; this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this
exalted Handiwork; a sign
of His greatness and power among its people; He
is the most great Favor
un to you, the most perfect bounty upon you;
through Him every
mouldering bone is quickened; He is the Trust of God
amongst you, His
charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His
appearance among
His favored servants;

Passages Indicative Of Subject Matters:
"I affirm," is `Abdu'l-Bahá's own written comment
on the Tablet of the
Branch, "that the true meaning, the real
significance, the innermost secret
of these verses, of these very words,
is my own servitude to the sacred
Threshold of the Abha Beauty, my
complete self-effacement, my utter
nothingness before Him. This is my
resplendent crown, my most precious
adorning. On this I pride myself in
the kingdom of earth and heaven.
Therein I glory among the company of the
well-favored!" "No one is
permitted," He warns us in the passage which
immediately follows, "to
give these verses any other interpretation." "I
am," He, in this same
connection, affirms, "according to the explicit
texts of the Kitab-i-Aqdas
and the Kitab-i-`Ahd the manifest
 Interpreter of the Word of God...Whoso
deviates from my interpretation is
a victim of his own fancy." (GPB, p. 138)

Description By The
Guardian:
"...a Tablet which may well be regarded as the harbinger
of the rank
which was to be best owed upon Him [`Abdu'l-Bahá], in the
Kitab-i-Aqdas,
and which was to be later elucidated and confirmed in the
Book of His
Covenant." (GPB. p. 177)

Notes And
Bibliography:There are tablets of Bahá'u'lláh either addressed to,
or in honor of,` Abdu'l-Bahá several of which are published and well
known: Ad`iyyih-
Hadrat-i-Mahbub, pp. 105-110, four tablets; Tihran
Archives, Vol. 81, pp.
87-89, 3 tablets. These Tablets should not be
confused with the Suriy-i-
Ghusn. Lawh-i-Ard-i-Ba (Tablet of the L and of
Ba, Beirut) falls in this
category.

There are also other Tablets of
Bahá'u'lláh addressed to other believers
in which He refers to
`Abdu'l-Bahá. For instance, in a Tablet addressed to
Haji Muhammad
Ibrahim-i-Khalil He alludes to `Abdu'l-Bahá as
 the one
amongst His sons "from Whose tongue God will cause the signs of
His
power to stream forth," and as the one Whom "God hath specially
chosen
for His Cause." (see GPB p. 242)

Shoghi Effendi, in an
unmatched style, discloses the unique station of 
`Abdu'l-Bahá in the
Bahá'í Dispensation as well as the religious history of
mankind; quotes
extracts from Bahá'u'lláh regarding the station of the
Master, followed by
`Abdu'l-Bahá's own interpretations of text regarding
His Own station;
clarifies certain
 misconceptions regarding the station of
`Abdu'l-Bahá; and sets forth the
guiding principles of Bahá'í belief. See
God Passes By, chapter 18, and
Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, section on
`Abdu'l-Bahá.

Also see
Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, by Mr. A dib Tahirzadih, Vol.
II,
chapter 18.

References In The Writings Of The
Guardian:
"There hath branched from the Sadratu'l-Muntaha this
sacred and
glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him
that hath sought
His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the
Limb of the Law of
God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath
firmly implanted in
the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so
uplifted as to
encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, theref
ore, for this
sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted
Handiwork!...A Word hath,
as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the
Most Great Tablet-- a Word
which God hath adorned with the ornament of His
own Self, and made it
sovereign over the earth
 and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness
and power among its
people...Render thanks unto God, O people, for His
appearance; for verily
He is the most great Favor unto you, the most perfect
bounty upon you; and
through Him every mouldering bon e is quickened.
Whoso turneth towards Him
hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth
away from Him hath turned away
from My beauty, hath repudiated My
Proof, and transgressed against Me. He
is the Trust of God amongst you,
His charge within you, His manif estation
unto you and His appearance
among His favored servants...We have sent Him
down in the form of a
human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who
createth whatsoever He
willeth through His inviolable, His infallible
decree. They who deprive
themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost
in the wilderness of error,
are consumed by the heat of worldly desires,
and are of those who will
assuredly perish." (WO, p. 134-5, Dispensation
of Bahá'u'lláh, 678)

References In Writings Of The Guardian:
GP 177 REF It was during that period that the Suriy-i-Ghusn
(Surih of the Branch)

GP 242 REF To Him, whilst in Adrianople,
that same Father had, in the
 Suriy-i-Ghusn

GP 288 REF Tablet of
the Branch, in a general assembly of Hi s followers
 in New York,

WO
133 REF or in the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch),

WO 134 QTD
In the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch) the following
verses

WO 137 REF but form no part of, the said Tablet of the
Branch.

WO 137 REF interpretation of certain terms and passages in
the Tablet
 of the Branch,

WO 137 REF nor even in the Tablet of
the Branch, nor in any other Tablet,

WO 138 REF the Tablet of the
Branch, "that the true meaning, the
 real significance."
-- Súriy-i-Ghusn, the Tablet of the Branch (Used by permission of the curator)