The Summons of the Lord of Hosts Part 1

The Summons of the Lord of Hosts.

by Baha'u'llah.

INTRODUCTION

The years following Baha'u'llah's arrival in Adrianople witnessed His Revelation's attainment, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, of "its meridian glory" through the proclamation of its Founder's message to the kings and rulers of the world. During this relatively brief but turbulent period of the Faith's history, and in the early years of His subsequent exile in 1868 to the fortress town of 'Akka, He summoned the monarchs of East and West collectively, and some among them individually, to recognize the Day of G.o.d and to acknowledge the One promised in the scriptures of the religions professed by the recipients of His summons. "Never since the beginning of the world", Baha'u'llah declares, "hath the Message been so openly proclaimed."

The present volume brings together the first full, authorized English translation of these major writings. Among them is the complete Suriy-i-Haykal, the Surih of the Temple, one of Baha'u'llah's most challenging works. It was originally revealed during His banishment to Adrianople and later recast after His arrival in 'Akka. In this version He incorporated His messages addressed to individual potentates-Pope Pius IX, Napoleon III, Czar Alexander II, Queen Victoria, and Na?iri'd-Din Shah.

It was this composite work which, shortly after its completion, Baha'u'llah instructed be written in the form of a pentacle, symbolizing the human temple. To it He added, as a conclusion, what Shoghi Effendi has described as "words which reveal the importance He attached to those Messages, and indicate their direct a.s.sociation with the prophecies of the Old Testament":

Thus have We built the Temple with the hands of power and might, could ye but know it. This is the Temple promised unto you in the Book. Draw ye nigh unto it. This is that which profiteth you, could ye but comprehend it. Be fair, O peoples of the earth! Which is preferable, this, or a temple which is built of clay? Set your faces towards it. Thus have ye been commanded by G.o.d, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

During the last years of His ministry Baha'u'llah Himself arranged for the publication for the first time of definitive versions of some of His princ.i.p.al works, and the Suriy-i-Haykal was awarded a prominent position among them.

Of the various writings that make up the Suriy-i-Haykal, one requires particular mention. The Law?-i-Sul?an, the Tablet to Na?iri'd-Din Shah, Baha'u'llah's lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign, was revealed in the weeks immediately preceding His final banishment to 'Akka. It was eventually delivered to the monarch by Badi', a youth of seventeen, who had entreated Baha'u'llah for the honour of rendering some service. His efforts won him the crown of martyrdom and immortalized his name. The Tablet contains the celebrated pa.s.sage describing the circ.u.mstances in which the divine call was communicated to Baha'u'llah and the effect it produced. Here, too, we find His unequivocal offer to meet with the Muslim clergy, in the presence of the Shah, and to provide whatever proofs of the new Revelation they might consider to be definitive, a test of spiritual integrity significantly failed by those who claimed to be the authoritative trustees of the message of the Qur'an.

Included in this collection, as well, is the first full translation of the Suriy-i-Muluk or Surih of the Kings, which Shoghi Effendi described as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Baha'u'llah in which He, for the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire company of the monarchs of East and West". It sets forth both the character of His mission and the standard of justice that must govern the exercise of their rule in this Day of G.o.d:

Lay not aside the fear of G.o.d, O kings of the earth, and beware that ye transgress not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed.

Observe the injunctions laid upon you in His Book, and take good heed not to overstep their limits. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to anyone, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path.

The Tablet introduces some of the great themes that were to figure prominently in the Writings of Baha'u'llah over the next two and a half decades: the obligation of those into whose hands G.o.d has entrusted civil authority to inst.i.tute the reign of justice, the necessity for the reduction of armaments and the resolution of conflicts among nations, and an end to the excessive expenditures that were impoveris.h.i.+ng these rulers'

subjects.

Surveying the princ.i.p.al contents of Baha'u'llah's majestic call to the kings and rulers of the world, Shoghi Effendi has written:

The magnitude and diversity of the theme, the cogency of the argument, the sublimity and audacity of the language, arrest our attention and astound our minds. Emperors, kings and princes, chancellors and ministers, the Pope himself, priests, monks and philosophers, the exponents of learning, parliamentarians and deputies, the rich ones of the earth, the followers of all religions, and the people of Baha-all are brought within the purview of the Author of these Messages, and receive, each according to their merits, the counsels and admonitions they deserve. No less amazing is the diversity of the subjects touched upon in these Tablets. The transcendent majesty and unity of an unknowable and unapproachable G.o.d is extolled, and the oneness of His Messengers proclaimed and emphasized. The uniqueness, the universality and potentialities of the Baha'i Faith are stressed, and the purpose and character of the Babi Revelation unfolded.

The summary draws attention to Baha'u'llah's uncompromising indictment of the conditions of human society for which its leaders.h.i.+p is held primarily responsible:

Episodes, at once moving and marvellous, at various stages of His ministry, are recounted, and the transitoriness of worldly pomp, fame, riches, and sovereignty, repeatedly and categorically a.s.serted. Appeals for the application of the highest principles in human and international relations are forcibly and insistently made, and the abandonment of discreditable practices and conventions, detrimental to the happiness, the growth, the prosperity and the unity of the human race, enjoined. Kings are censured, ecclesiastical dignitaries arraigned, ministers and plenipotentiaries condemned, and the identification of His advent with the coming of the Father Himself unequivocally admitted and repeatedly announced. The violent downfall of a few of these kings and emperors is prophesied, two of them are definitely challenged, most are warned, all are appealed to and exhorted.

In a Tablet, the original of which has been lost, Baha'u'llah had already condemned, in the severest terms, the misrule of the Ottoman Sul?an 'Abdu'l-'Aziz. The present volume includes, however, three other Tablets which address two ministers of the Sul?an, whose selfish and unprincipled influence played an important role in Baha'u'llah's successive banishments. The Suriy-i-Ra'is, which addresses 'ali Pasha, the Ottoman Prime Minister, was revealed in August 1868 as the exiles were being moved from Adrianople to Gallipoli, and exposes unsparingly the abuse of civil power the minister had perpetrated. The Law?-i-Ra'is, which also contains pa.s.sages directed to 'ali Pasha, was revealed shortly after Baha'u'llah's incarceration in the citadel of 'Akka and includes a chilling denunciation of the character of the Minister. The third Tablet, the Law?-i-Fu'ad, revealed in 1869 shortly after the death of Fu'ad Pasha, the Ottoman Minister to whose machinations it refers, describes the spiritual consequences of the abuse of power, and foretells the imminent downfall of his colleague, 'ali Pasha, and the overthrow of the Sul?an himself-prophecies that were widely circulated and whose dramatic fulfilment added greatly to the prestige of their Author.

It seems especially appropriate, as Baha'u'llah's influence penetrates ever more deeply the life of the larger society throughout the world, that the full texts of these great Tablets should now be available for a broad readers.h.i.+p. We express to the committees who were commissioned to undertake and review these translations the deep grat.i.tude we feel for the care and sensitivity they have brought to the task. Baha'is will recognize key pa.s.sages from several of the Tablets that were introduced to the West by Shoghi Effendi. His translations into English of the Baha'i Holy Texts provide an enduring standard for the efforts of those who rise to the challenge of preparing appropriate renderings into English of these treasures of the Faith.

The Universal House of Justice

SuRIY-I-HAYKAL

_This is the Surih of the Temple which G.o.d hath ordained to be the Mirror of His Names between the heavens and the earth, and the Sign of His Remembrance amidst the peoples of the world._

He is the Most Wondrous, the All-Glorious!

1 Glorified is He Who hath revealed His verses to those who understand.

Glorified is He Who sendeth down His verses to those who perceive.

Glorified is He Who guideth whomsoever He pleaseth unto His path. Say: I, verily, am the Path of G.o.d unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth; well is it with them that hasten thereunto!

2 Glorified is He Who sendeth down His verses to those who comprehend.

Glorified is He Who speaketh forth from the Kingdom of His Revelation, and Who remaineth unknown to all save His honoured servants. Glorified is He Who quickeneth whomsoever He willeth by virtue of His word "Be", and it is! Glorified is He Who causeth whomsoever He willeth to ascend unto the heaven of grace, and sendeth down therefrom whatsoever He desireth according to a prescribed measure.

3 Blessed is He Who doeth as He willeth by a word of His command. He, verily, is the True One, the Knower of things unseen. Blessed is He Who inspireth whomsoever He willeth with whatsoever He desireth, through His irresistible and inscrutable command. Blessed is He Who aideth whomsoever He desireth with the hosts of the unseen. His might is, in truth, equal to His purpose, and He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the Self-Subsisting.

Blessed is He Who exalteth whomsoever He willeth by the power of His sovereign might, and confirmeth whomsoever He chooseth in accordance with His good pleasure; well is it with them that understand!

4 Blessed is He Who, in a well-guarded Tablet, hath prescribed a fixed measure unto all things. Blessed is He Who hath revealed unto His Servant that which shall illumine the hearts and minds of men. Blessed is He Who hath sent down upon His Servant such tribulations as have melted the hearts of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of eternity and the souls of those who have drawn nigh unto their Lord. Blessed is He Who hath showered upon His Servant, from the clouds of His decree, the darts of affliction, and Who beholdeth Me enduring them with patience and fort.i.tude. Blessed is He Who hath ordained for His Servant that which He hath destined for no other soul. He, verily, is the One, the Incomparable, the Self-Subsisting.

5 Blessed is He Who hath caused to rain down upon His Servant from the clouds of enmity, and at the hands of the people of denial, the shafts of tribulation and trial; and yet seeth Our heart filled with grat.i.tude.

Blessed is He Who hath laid upon the shoulders of His Servant the burden of the heavens and of the earth-a burden for which We yield Him every praise, though none may grasp this save them that are endued with understanding. Glorified is He Who hath surrendered the embodiment of His Beauty to the clutches of the envious and the wicked-a fate unto which We are fully resigned, though none may perceive this save those who are endued with insight. Glorified is He Who hath left ?usayn to make His dwelling amidst the hosts of His enemies, and exposed His body with every breath to the spears of hatred and anger; yet do We yield Him thanks for all that He hath destined to befall His Servant Who repaireth unto Him in His affliction and grief.

6 While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden-the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord-suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of G.o.d, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of G.o.d's honoured servants.

7 Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By G.o.d! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of G.o.d amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of G.o.d and His Treasure, the Cause of G.o.d and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside.

8 O people of the Bayan! If ye aid Him not, G.o.d will a.s.suredly a.s.sist Him with the powers of earth and heaven, and sustain Him with the hosts of the unseen through His command "Be", and it is! The day is approaching when G.o.d will have, by an act of His Will, raised up a race of men the nature of which is inscrutable to all save G.o.d, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. He shall purify them from the defilement of idle fancies and corrupt desires, shall lift them up to the heights of holiness, and shall cause them to manifest the signs of His sovereignty and might upon earth. Thus hath it been ordained by G.o.d, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving.

9 O people of the Bayan! Would ye deny Him Whose presence is the very object of your creation, while ye rejoice idly upon your couches? Would ye laugh to scorn and contend with Him, a single hair of Whose head excelleth, in the sight of G.o.d, all that are in the heavens and all that are on the earth? O people of the Bayan! Produce, then, that which ye possess, that I may know by what proof ye believed aforetime in the Manifestations of His Cause, and by what reason ye now wax so disdainful!

10 I swear by Him Who hath fas.h.i.+oned Me from the light of His own Beauty!

None have I ever seen that surpa.s.seth you in heedlessness or exceedeth you in ignorance. Ye seek to prove your faith in G.o.d through such holy Tablets as ye possess, yet when the verses of G.o.d were revealed and His Lamp was lighted, ye disbelieved in Him Whose very Pen hath fixed the destinies of all things in the Preserved Tablet. Ye recite the sacred verses and yet repudiate Him Who is their Source and Revealer. Thus hath G.o.d blinded your eyes in requital for your deeds, would ye but understand. Day and night ye transcribe the verses of G.o.d, and yet ye remain shut out, as by a veil, from Him Who hath revealed them.

11 In this Day the Concourse on high beholdeth you in your evil doings and shunneth your company, and yet ye perceive it not. They ask of one another: "What words do these fools utter, and in what valley are they wont to graze? Do they deny that whereunto their very souls testify, and shut their eyes to that which they plainly behold?" I swear by G.o.d, O people! They that inhabit the Cities of the Names of G.o.d are bewildered at your actions, while ye roam, aimless and unconscious, in a parched and barren land.

12 O Pen of the Most High! Hearken unto the Call of Thy Lord, raised from the Divine Lote-Tree in the holy and luminous Spot, that the sweet accents of Thy Lord, the All-Merciful, may fill Thy soul with joy and fervour, and that the breezes that waft from My name, the Ever-Forgiving, may dispel Thy cares and sorrows. Raise up, then, from this Temple, the temples of the Oneness of G.o.d, that they may tell out, in the kingdom of creation, the tidings of their Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and be of them that are illumined by His light.

13 We, verily, have ordained this Temple to be the source of all existence in the new creation, that all may know of a certainty My power to accomplish that which I have purposed through My word "Be", and it is!

Beneath the shadow of every letter of this Temple We shall raise up a people whose number none can reckon save G.o.d, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Erelong shall G.o.d bring forth from His Temple such souls as will remain unswayed by the insinuations of the rebellious, and who will quaff at all times of the cup that is life indeed. These, truly, are of the blissful.

14 These are servants who abide beneath the shelter of the tender mercy of their Lord, and who remain undeterred by those who seek to obstruct their path. Upon their faces may be seen the brightness of the light of the All-Merciful, and from their hearts may be heard the remembrance of Mine all-glorious and inaccessible Name. Were they to unloose their tongues to extol their Lord, the denizens of earth and heaven would join in their anthems of praise-yet how few are they who hear! And were they to glorify their Lord, all created things would join in their hymns of glory. Thus hath G.o.d exalted them above the rest of His creation, and yet the people remain unaware!

15 These are they who circle round the Cause of G.o.d even as the shadow doth revolve around the sun. Open, then, your eyes, O people of the Bayan, that haply ye may behold them! It is by virtue of their movement that all things are set in motion, and by reason of their stillness all things are brought to rest, would that ye might be a.s.sured thereof! Through them the believers in the Divine Unity have turned towards Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation, and by them the hearts of the righteous have found rest and composure, could ye but know it! Through them the earth hath been established, the clouds have rained down their bounty, and the bread of knowledge hath descended from the heaven of grace, could ye but perceive it!

16 These souls are the protectors of the Cause of G.o.d on earth, who shall preserve its beauty from the obscuring dust of idle fancies and vain imaginings. In the path of their Lord they shall not fear for their lives; rather will they sacrifice their all in their eagerness to behold the face of their Well-Beloved when once He hath appeared in this Name, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Most Holy.