# Tablet of the Maiden

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

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> In the name of God, the most holy, the most exalted. *
> 
> Praise be to Thee, O God, My God.  I make mention of Thee at this time,
> when the sun of Thy Godhead hath risen from the horizon of the splendid
> divinity of Thy oneness, the lights of Thy lordship have flashed forth
> from the dawning of the ineffable encounter with the eternal kingdom of
> Thy self-sufficiency, and the darkness of this world hath been illumined
> by the radiance of the faithful realm of Thy cause--in such wise that the
> garden of paradise came into being above the essence of Thy glorious
> selfhood.  Therein were planted the trees of Thy quintessence, which put
> forth the fruits of Thine essence, and therein wafted the breezes of Thy
> spirit and the breaths of Thy sanctity.  Therein were foreordained the
> gems of Thy bounties and the substance of Thy munificence; and therein
> were uncovered the treasures of Thy knowledge and mystery.  Over its
> terraces flow the streams of Thy glorious life, the canals of Thy radiant
> eternality, and the springs of the wine of Thine inaccessibility.  When
> Thou didst desire, O my God, to manifest it, Thou didst raise it up to the
> throne of grandeur and greatness, embellish it with the rays of might and
> power, render it effulgent by Thine essence, and didst make to shine upon
> it the sun of oneness from the pre-eternal lights of Thy features.  Thou
> didst light for it the wick of eternity in the lamp of pre-existence. 
> Now, Thy most exalted decree hath come to the kingdom of command by Thy
> signature, so that a visage might appear therefrom, that the brilliance of
> Thy beauty might be manifest to all who dwell on earth, and that the glory
> of Thy countenance might be seen by all who are in the realm of Thy cause.
> 
>  There arose the houri, Who had dwelt in pre-eternity in the pavilions
> of holiness, protection, and glorification and in the canopies of
> sinlessness, greatness and splendor.  Upon Her creamy brow the most high
> pen hath written in crimson ink, "Praise be to God!  This is a houri upon
> Whom none have gazed save God, the exalted, the most high.  God hath
> purified the hem of Her purity from the knowledge of the concourse of
> names in the realm of eternity, and Her face from the view of all who are
> in the kingdom of creation.  When She arose with the ornament of God from
> Her palace, She looked with one glance toward the sky.  The people of the
> heavens swooned at the rays of Her visage and at the wafting of Her
> perfume.  Then She looked with another glance toward the earth, and it was
> illumined by the lights of Her beauty and the loveliness of Her splendor.
> 
>  Praise be to Thee, O my God, for all the wonders of Thy handiwork that
> Thou hast shown Me in Her, for the ensemble of Thy power, manifest in Her
> creation.  She hung there, suspended.  Then She journeyed through the sky
> as though striding across the horizon in mid-air.  It is as though I
> discovered that the chain of being was set in motion by Her footfalls. 
> She descended, drew nigh, and came until She halted before Me.  I was
> bewildered by the subtleties and wonders of Her creation.  Behold, I
> discovered within myself a passion that grew out of my yearning for Her. 
> I raised my hands toward Her, and lifted the hem of Her veil from Her
> shoulder.  I found Her hair to be sandy, wavy and curly, lying on Her back
> in ringlets, hanging down almost to Her legs.  And when the gales blew it
> to the right of Her shoulder, it perfumed the heavens and the earth.  When
> it was blown to the left, from its fragrance there spread a holy musk-like
> scent.  It is as though the motion of Her tresses caused the spirit of
> life to quake in the inner essence of creation, and caused the kingdom of
> mystical insight to tremble in the realities of being.  Exalted be God,
> Her creator, for what He caused Me to see in Her.  Then blessed be God,
> Her fashioner, for the manifestation of might that I witnessed in Her
> beauty, and the modalities of power that I saw in Her splendor.  At one
> time, I perceived Her as the sweet water of life, delicious and flowing
> through the realities of beings and the dark recesses of contingent
> things.  I grew certain that the entirety of being survived by virtue of
> Her eternity, and continued to exist because of Her perpetuity.  At
> another time, I perceived Her as a fire that had blazed forth in the
> divine bush, as though the element of fire had been created from a torch
> ignited by Her glowing embers.  The hearts of both visible and invisible
> being were consumed by Her heat and flame when they were shaken by a
> delicate yearning for Her and a wondrous hankering for Her.  It is as
> though the fragrance of the All- Merciful wafted from the apertures in Her
> garments.  Praise be to God, Her creator, originator and fashioner.  
> 
> Then I drew near, till She stood before my face and gave utterance as a
> dove warbles in the realm of eternity, as though speaking in the wondrous
> music that hath no words, letters or sounds.  It is as though all books
> appeared in commentary on the songs of Her innovation.  I recognized all
> meaning in a single point therein.  When I listened with my entire being,
> I heard the mention of God, the exalted, the most glorious, in Her tunes,
> and the name of God, the exalted, the most high, in Her melodies. 
> 
>  I raised my hand another time, and bared one of Her breasts that had been
> hidden beneath Her gown.  Then the firmament was illumined by the radiance
> of its light, contingent beings were made resplendent by its appearance
> and effulgence, and by its rays infinite numbers of suns dawned forth, as
> though they trekked through heavens that were without beginning or end.  I
> became bewildered at the pen of God's handiwork, and at what it had
> inscribed upon Her temple.  It was as though She had appeared with a body
> of light in the forms of the spirit, as though She moved upon the earth of
> essence in the substance of manifestation.  I noticed that the houris had
> poked their heads out of their rooms and were suspended in the air above
> Her.  They grew perplexed at Her appearance and Her beauty, and were
> entranced by the raptures of Her song.  Praise be to Her creator,
> fashioner, and maker--to the one Who made Her manifest.  
> 
>  Then she
> nearly swooned within herself, and with all her being she sought to inhale
> My fragrance. She opened Her lips, and the rays of light dawned forth from
> Her teeth, as though the pearls of the cause had appeared from Her
> treasures and Her shells.  
> 
> She asked, "Who art Thou?" 
> 
>  I said, "A
> servant of God and the son of his maidservant." 
> 
>  She said, "I discern
> in Thee the signs of sorrow, which so sadden Thee that I find the lamp of
> joy in the niche of Thy heart to have been extinguished, and the lights of
> happiness in the lantern of Thy soul to have been cut off.  I adjure Thee
> by God, other than Whom there is no God, not to conceal from Me what
> befell Thee.  Inform Me, that I might know Thy circumstances with no
> departure from the whole truth, though it be less than a bit of
> overflowing foam."  
> 
>  I said to Her, "Do not ask Me about that, for Thou
> canst not bear to hear from Me concerning my sorrow--not even a mere
> letter thereof.  I entreat you in the name of God, the All-Powerful, the
> protector, the eternal, to lift Thy hand from Me and leave Me alone. 
> Return to Thy place in paradise, and do not ask about what I cannot
> disclose to Thee--even though it be a mere syllable thereof."  
> 
> When She
> saw the quaking of my soul, the wailing of my heart, the lamenting of my
> being, the fire burning in my bones, the shuddering of my skin, the
> disturbance in my soul, and the uneasiness of my body, She called out to
> Me, asking, "Hast Thou a mother to bemoan Thy tribulations?" 
> 
>  I said,
> "I do not know."  
> 
> She asked, "Hast Thou a sister, to weep at Thy fate,
> or a helper, to aid Thee in Thy trial and to give Thee company in Thy
> loneliness?"  
> 
> I said, "By my sorrow, to which no joy ever came, do not
> ask Me anything!  Look at my heart, so that what Thou seekest may become
> apparent to Thee."  
> 
> She bowed Her head in the direction of my heart,
> scrutinizing all my limbs, members, bones and inner organs, as though She
> had lost something and sought it everywhere.  Her examination lasted for a
> long time.  Then She lifted Her head until it reached my breast.  I saw
> that Her condition had undergone an alteration.  Her head tilted once to
> the right, and once to the left.  At one moment, She lifted Her gaze to
> the heavens with grief and misery, and at another She looked at the earth
> in confusion and regret.  I saw Her lips move as though She were saying
> something beneath Her breath.  I trained my ear on Her, and heard a faint
> cry, as though it issued from the depths of Her being in the essence of
> Her heart.  When I brought my head close to Her mouth, I heard words that
> I cannot mention.  Were I to disclose them, by God, nothing would be left
> of this world in the face of the searing of Her soul and the scorching of
> Her heart. 
> 
>  Then She addressed Me, saying, "Thy mother will die, O
> youth.  For I have seen no one like Thee.  My distress and bewilderment
> linger over Thee, and my perturbation hath increased at Thy condition. 
> Would that I had never been created in the divine realm of eternity, had
> never been born from a breath of God in the most exalted chambers, had
> never imbibed the milk of life from the springs of glory!  How sad is what
> I have come to know, and to see, how sorrowful what I have discovered. 
> For however much I searched, I found within Thee no heart, whereby I might
> be informed about Thy circumstances."  
> 
> When I heard Her lift Her head
> up, I saw that Her eyes were overflowing with blood, as though oceans
> appeared from Her every teardrop.  When Her eyes met mine, Her tears took
> the reins of patience from Her, and She shrieked Her lament such that I
> cannot mention or describe it.  Then She was overcome with weeping.  She
> lifted Her hands to my shoulder, and I placed my hand on Her shoulder, and
> we wept without moderation, such that it cannot be reckoned by time,
> eternity, eons, or epochs.  
> 
> When Her weeping subsided, She said, "I
> adjure Thee by the One Who seized the pens in His powerful grasp and
> thereby established whatever He willed, to answer my questions about what
> hath befallen Thee, that I might be Thy companion in Thy calamities and
> make mention of Thine ordeals among the concourse on high in the sublime
> realm."  I said to Her, "My beloved, by my life and Thine, I am not
> able to explain for Thee what befell Me.  But look at my
> breast,** 
> that
> Thou
> mightest discover therein what will satisfy Thy quest, in the inmost
> recesses of my most hidden soul."  Then She tilted Her head and brought
> it near once more to my breast, searching for so long a time that it
> cannot be expressed in the realm of glory, nor can it be uttered by the
> tongues of the eloquent.  But She found no trace.   Behold, I saw the
> earth quake at the trembling of Her soul, and shake at the quivering of
> Her heart.  She remained, before time, after time, above time.  Then She
> raised Her head with a scream that cleft the sky and broke open the earth. 
> Lands moved, and mountains were pulverized.  Then She returned to Me and
> said, "Thy mother hath died, O youth.  Thy circumstances have bewildered
> Me and Thy deeds have caused Me to perish.  I never found anyone with
> neither heart nor breast.  How hast Thou survived on earth, how canst Thou
> exist in this world?"  At that point She was gazing at Me as a lover
> looketh on the beauty of the beloved.  Then I saw Her shaking within
> Herself, as though the breeze of God from this coat had wafted upon Her. 
> She turned to Me outwardly and inwardly and said, "By Thy life, I perceive
> from Thee the fragrance of the beloved.  Thou art the darling of the
> worlds.  If Thou art He, why dost Thou disguise Thy comely features?  Is
> it because of the people of the Qur'an, or because of the people of the
> Bayan?  Woe be unto all created things!"   When I smelled Her perfume
> and saw Her advancing toward Me, I guided Her to my soul.  When She knew,
> She wailed, shook, lamented, trembled, and fell on Her face in the dust
> before my feet.  When I turned to Her, I found Her stretched out on the
> ground, and the spirit had departed from Her as though She had never been
> created therein.  Then the houris suspended in the air howled, and the
> purified houris in the cloud of unknowing lamented, and all of them
> returned to their palaces and their pavilions, forsaking all that had been
> ordained for them and created for their essences.  I was standing over
> Her body, stricken by Her grief, bewildered at Her condition, and Her
> love.  I took Her and washed Her with the tears of my eyes, then wrapped
> Her in a shroud of my own clothing.  Then I brought my lips close to Her
> right ear and gave Her the glad tidings of what no one can hear from Me in
> Her regard.  When I had spoken to Her, She trembled at the Word of God. 
> Then She gave Me the glad tidings of what I must not mention or even
> breathe.  Thereafter, I consigned Her to the sacred receptacles and
> returned Her to the place of intimacy, the station that we had
> foreordained for Her.  Thus do we address you, O concourse of paradise,
> with a vision of eternity.  Interpret it for Me, if ye can interpret the
> vision of the spirit.
> 
> 
> 
> *See also a letter from the Universal House of Justice regarding this translation, as well as a note from the translator.
> ** Lit. "liver." Just as in Islamic
> philosophy the heart was often seen as the seat of the intellect
> (`aql), so is the liver a symbol for the seat of the emotions.
> -J.W.
>
> — *Tablet of the Maiden (Used by permission of the curator)*