[page 390]
NOTE X.
TRANSLATION OF THE SUPERSCRIPTION AND
EXORDIUM OF
THE EPISTLE TO THE KING OF PERSIA.
My original purpose was to give in this note nothing more
than a translation of that portion of the "Epistle to the King of Persia" which
is omitted in the text, but the permission so generously accorded to me by Baron
Rosen to make full and free use of the proof-sheets of his still unpublished
work enables me to add the text and translation of the instructions given to the
bearer of the missive. [See p. 102 supra, and footnote.]
The text of these instructions is as follows:-
[ten lines of
Persian/Arabic text]
[page 391]
[ten lines of Persian/Arabic
text]
TRANSLATION.
"This is a copy of what was written on the back
of the
Epistle to the King.
'He is God, exalted is
He.
'We ask God to send one of
His servants, and to detach him from Contingent Being, and to adorn his heart
with the decoration of strength and composure, that he may help his Lord amidst
the concourse of creatures, and, when he becometh aware of what hath been
revealed for His Majesty the King, that he may arise and take the Letter, by the
permission of his Lord, the Mighty, the Bounteous, and go with speed to the
abode of the King. And when he shall arrive at the place of his throne, let him
alight in the inn,
[page 392]
and let him hold converse with none till he
goeth forth one day and standeth where he [i.e. the King] shall
pass by. And when the Royal harbingers shall appear, let him raise up the Letter
with the utmost humility and courtesy, and say, "It hath been sent on the part
of the Prisoner1." And it is incumbent upon him to be
in such a mood that, should the King decree his death, he shall not be troubled
within himself, and shall hasten to the place of sacrifice saying, "O Lord,
praise be to Thee because that Thou hast made me a helper to Thy religion, and
hast decreed unto me martyrdom in Thy way! By Thy Glory, I would not exchange
this cup for [all] the cups in the worlds, for Thou hast not
ordained any equivalent to this, neither do Kawthar and
Salsabíl2 letteth him [i.e. the
messenger] go, and interfereth not with him, let him say, "To Thee be
praise, O Lord of the worlds! Verily I am content with Thy good pleasure and
what Thou hast predestined unto me in Thy way, even though I did desire that the
earth might be dyed with my blood for Thy love. But what Thou willest is best
for me: verily Thou knowest what is in my soul, while I know not what is in Thy
soul; and Thou art the All-knowing, the Informed."'"
Baron Rosen, after quoting the version of Mírzá Badí''s mission and
martyrdom which I published at pp. 956-957 of my second paper on the Bábís in
the J. R. A. S. for 1889, observes that, considering the text of the
above instructions, and the minute obedience yielded by Behá'u'lláh's followers
to his slightest wish, this version is extremely improbable. He says:-
"S'adresser au souverain de la Perse, en lui disant 'j'ai un fermân pour vous'
etc., - cela n'est certes pas l'humilité parfaite dont parle l'hérésiarque." The
opinion thus expressed by Baron Rosen is entirely borne out by the present work
(see pp. 102-105 supra), and I am now quite convinced that it is correct.
He further adds, "Quant ŕ la date de l'événement, j'ai toutes raisons de croire
qu'il s'est passé au mois de Juillet de l'année 1869, indiquée par M.
Browne."
1 Cf. p. 104
supra.
2 The names of two
rivers in Paradise.] rival it!" But if he [i.e. the
King
[page 393]
TRANSLATION OF THE EXORDIUM OF THE EPISTLE.
[Persian
numbers]1, Behá.]
"This
is what was revealed in the 'Heykal2." The
original from which the Kirmán text and the glosses appended to it (which agree
almost exactly with those given by Baron Rosen) were derived would therefore
appear to have been communicated to the Bábís in Persia by Áká Mírzá
Áká Ján ("Jenáb-i-Khádimu'lláh") at the command of Behá'u'lláh's
eldest son 'Abbás Efendí. [See Introduction; Note W, p. 361 supra;
and b. i, pp. 518-519.]' for His Majesty the King. 'He is God,
exalted is His state [in] Might and Power.
'O King of the earth, hear the voice of this servant.
Verily I am a man who hath believed in God and His signs, and I have sacrificed
myself in His way; to this do the afflictions wherein I am (the like of which
none amongst mankind hath borne) testify, and my Lord the All-knowing is the
witness to what I say. I have not summoned men unto aught save unto thy Lord and
the Lord of the worlds. In love for Him there hath come upon me that whereof the
eye of creation hath not beheld the like: in this will those servants whom the
veils of humanity have not withheld from confronting the Chiefest Outlook bear
me out, and beside them He with whom is the knowledge of all things in a
Preserved Tablet. Whenever the clouds of fate rain down the darts of affliction
in the way of God the Lord of the Names, I advance to meet them; to this
testifieth
1 These numerals,
as remarked by Baron Rosen (pp. 146-147), clearly stand for the equivalent
letters ~~~.
2 Concerning the
Súra-i-Heykal (of which the Epistles to the Kings collectively
form only a portion) see note 1 at the foot of p. 108 supra; B. ii, p.
954; and p. 149 of Baron Rosen's forthcoming work. My Kirmán MS. lacks this
heading, for which the following is substituted:- "This Epistle was revealed in
Adrianople specially for His Majesty the King. This servant, the confidential
attendant of their Excellencies [apparently Behá-'u'lláh and his
sons], sends it for you to peruse. The meanings of sundry Arabic phrases
which were in my mind have been written down agreeably to the command of God's
Most Mighty Branch [Ghusnu'lláhi'l-a'zam].
[page 394]
every fair and rightly-informed person. How
many are the nights wherein the wild beasts rested in their lairs, and the birds
in their nests, while this servant was in chains and fetters, and found for
himself none to succour, nor any helper! Remember the grace of God towards thee
when thou wast in prison with sundry others, and He brought thee out thence, and
succoured thee with the hosts of the Invisible and the Visible, until the King
sent thee to 'Irák[i.e. Baghdad] after that We had
disclosed to him that thou wast not of [the number of] the
seditious. Verily such as follow [their] lusts and turn aside
from virtue, these are in evident error. And as for those who work sedition in
the earth, and shed blood, and falsely consume men's wealth, we are quit of
them, and we ask God not to associate us with them either in this world or in
the world to come, unless they repent unto Him; verily He is the Most Merciful
of the merciful. Verily it behoveth him who turneth towards God to be
distinguished in all actions from what is apart from Him, and to conform to that
which is enjoined upon him in the Book: thus is the matter decreed in a
Perspicuous Book. As for such as cast the command of God behind their backs and
follow after their lusts, they are in grievous error.
'O King, I conjure thee by thy Lord the Merciful to regard
[His] servants with the gaze of pitiful
eyes1, and to rule with justice in their midst, that
God may award His favour unto thee: verily thy Lord judgeth as He pleaseth. The
world shall perish with whatsoever of glory and abasement is therein, while
dominion remaineth unto God, the Supreme and All-knowing King. Say, Verily He
hath kindled the Lamp of the Beyán2, and He
will continue it with the oil of ideas and expression: exalted is thy Lord the
Merciful beyond this, that created beings should withstand His command. Verily
He will shew forth what He pleaseth by His authority, and will guard it with a
cohort of the Proximate Angels. He controlleth His handiwork and compelleth His
creation: verily He is the All-knowing, the Wise.
1 Literally, "with the glances of the eyes of thy
clemency."
2 Or "of Utterance" or
"Revelation."
[page 395]
'O King, verily I
was as [any] one amongst mankind, slumbering upon my couch. The
gales of the All-Glorious passed by me and taught me the knowledge of what hath
been. This thing is not from me, but from One [who is] Mighty and
All-knowing. And He bade me proclaim betwixt the earth and the heaven, and for
this hath there befallen me that whereat the eyes of those who know overflow
with tears. I have not studied those sciences which men possess, nor have I
entered the colleges: enquire of the city wherein I was, that thou mayest be
assured that I am not of those who speak falsely. This is a leaf which the
breezes of the Will of thy Lord the Mighty, the Extolled, have stirred. Can it
be still when the rushing winds blow? No, by the Lord of the Names and
Attributes! Rather do they move it as they list, [for] Being
belongeth not to Nonentity in presence of the Eternal. His decisive command did
come, causing me to speak for His celebration amidst the worlds. Verily I was
not save as one dead in presence of His command, the hand of thy Lord the
Merciful, the Clement, turning me. Can any one speak on his own part that for
which all men, whether low or high, will persecute him? No, by Him who taught
the Pen eternal mysteries, save him who is strengthened by One Mighty and
Strong.
'The Supreme Pen addresseth me,
saying, "Fear not; [but] relate unto His Majesty the King what
hath come upon thee. Verily his heart is between the fingers of thy Lord the
Merciful: perchance He will cause the sun of justice and kindness to dawn from
the horizons of his heart." Thus was the command revealed from the
All-Wise.
'Say, "O King, look with the gaze
of justice upon thy servant; then decide according to the right concerning what
hath befallen him. Verily God hath appointed thee His shadow amongst
[His] servants1, and the sign of His
Power to the dwellers in the land: judge between us and those who have oppressed
us without proof or clear warrant. Verily those who surround thee love thee for
their own sakes, while [thy] servant loveth thee for thine own
sake;
1 See footnote on p.
156 supra.
[page 396]
nor doth he desire aught save that he may bring
thee nigh unto the station of Grace and turn thee unto the right hand of
Justice: thy Lord is witness unto that which I say."
'O King, of thou wouldest hear the cry of the Supreme Pen, and the murmur
of the Dove of Eternity on the branches of the Lote-tree beyond which there is
no passing1 in praise of God, the Maker of the Names,
the Creator of the earth and the heaven, verily this would cause thee to attain
unto a station whence thou wouldest behold in existence naught save the
effulgence of [God] the Adored, and [whence] thou
wouldst regard dominion2 as a thing of least account
in thine eyes, leaving it to him who desireth it, and turning toward a horizon
illumined with the lights of [God's] countenance; neither wouldst
thou ever endure the burden of dominion, unless [it were] to help
thy Lord, the High, the Supreme. Then would the people of the Supreme Concourse
magnify thee [saying], "How good is this most glorious state," if
thou wouldest [but] ascend thereunto by authority accorded unto
thee in the Name of God.
'Amongst mankind
are some who say that this servant desireth naught save the perpetuation of his
name, and others who say that he desireth the world for himself, notwithstanding
that I have not found during the days of my life a place of safety such that I
might set my feet therein, but was ever [overwhelmed] in floods
of affliction, whereof none wots save God: verily He knoweth what I say. How
many were the days wherein my friends were disquieted for my distress, and how
many the nights wherein the sound of wailing arose from my family in fear for my
life! None will deny this save him who is devoid of truthfulness. Doth he who
regardeth not [his] life [as assured] for less
than a moment desire the world? [I] marvel at those who speak
after their lusts, and wander madly in the desert of passion and desire. They
shall be questioned as to that which they have said; on that day they shall not
find for themselves any protector nor any
1 See Kur'án, liii, 14.
2 Or, "the world," for the word ~~~ bears this meaning
also.
[page 397]
helper. And amongst them are those who say,
"Verily he denieth God," notwithstanding that all my limbs testify that there is
no God but Him, and that those whom He quickened with the truth and sent for
[men's] guidance are the manifestations of His Most Comely Names,
the day-springs of His Supreme Attributes, and the recipients of His revelation
in the realm of creation; by whom the Proof of God unto all beside Himself is
made perfect, the standard of the [faith of the] Unity is set up,
and the sign of renunciation becomes apparent; and by whom every soul taketh a
course towards the Lord of the Throne. We bear witness that there is no God but
Him; everlastingly He was, and there was nothing beside Him; everlastingly He
will be, even as He hath been. Exalted is the Merciful One above this, that the
hearts of the people of wisdom should ascend unto the comprehension of His
Nature, or that the understanding of such as inhabit the worlds should rise to
the knowledge of His Essence. Holy is He above the knowledge of all save
Himself, and exempt is He from the comprehension of what is beside Him: verily
in Eternity of Eternities was He independent of the worlds.
'Remember the days wherein the Sun of
Bat-há1 shone forth from the horizon of the
Will of thy Lord, the High, the Supreme, [how] the doctors turned
aside from him, and the cultured found fault with him; that thou mayst
understand what is now hidden within the Veil of Light. Matters waxed so
grievous for him on all sides, until those who were [gathered]
round him were dispersed by his [own]
command2: thus was the matter decreed from the Heaven
of Glory. Then remember when one of them came in before the
Nejáshí3 and recited unto him a súra of
the Kur'án. He said to those around him, "Verily it hath been revealed on
the part of One All-knowing and Wise. Whosoever accepteth what is best, and
believeth in that which Jesus brought, for him it is impossible to turn aside
from what
1 i.e.
Muhammad. Bet-há is here synonymous with Mecca.
2 Allusion is made to the flight of the persecuted and
unprotected Muslims from Mecca in the fifth year of Muhammad's mission.
3 Nejáshí is a generic name for
the Kings of Abyssinia, as Kisra is for the Persian, and
Kaysar for the Roman emperors.
[page 398]
hath been read: verily we testify unto
[the truth of] it, even as we testify unto [the truth
of] what is with us of the books of God2 the
Protecting, the Self-Subsistent."
'By God, O
King, if thou wouldest hear the strains of the dove which cooeth in the branches
with varied notes by the command of thy Lord the Merciful, thou wouldest
assuredly put away dominion behind thee and turn unto the Chiefest Outlook, the
station from the horizon of which the Book of the Dawn is seen, and wouldest
spend what thou hast, seeking after that which is with God. Then wouldest thou
find thyself in the height of glory and exaltation, and the zenith of greatness
and independence: thus hath the matter been written in the primaeval
revelation1 by the Pen of the Merciful One. There is
no good in what thou dost possess to-day, for another shall possess it to-morrow
in thy stead. Choose for thyself that which God hath chosen for His elect:
verily He will bestow upon thee a mighty dominion in His Kingdom. We ask God
that He may help thy Majesty to hearken unto the Word whereby the world is
illumined, and preserve thee from those who are remote from the region of
nearness.
'Glory be to Thee, O God! O God,
how many heads have been set up on spears in Thy way! How many breasts have
advanced to meet arrows for Thy good pleasure! How many hearts have been riddled
for the exaltation of Thy Word and the diffusion of Thy Religion! How many eyes
have overflowed [with tears] for Thy love! I ask Thee, O King of
kings, Pitier of thralls, by Thy Most Great Name, which Thou hast made the
day-spring of Thy Most Comely Names and the manifestation of Thy Supreme
Attributes, to lift up the veils which intervene between Thee and Thy creatures,
withholding them from turning towards the horizon of Thy revelation; then draw
them, O God, by Thy Supreme Word from the left hand of fancy and forgetfulness
to the right hand of certainty and know-
1 i.e. the Sacred books which we now possess, the Gospel.
2 Literally "the Mother of
Revelation" or "of the Beyán," a phrase evidently copied from the
expression ~~~, which occurs in several places in the Kur'án
(súras iii, 5; xiii, 39; xliii, 3, &c.).
[page 399]
ledge, that they may know what Thou, in Thy
bounty and grace, desirest for them, and may turn towards the Manifestation of
Thy religion and the Day-spring of Thy signs. O God, Thou art the Gracious, the
Lord of great bounty; withhold not Thy servants from the Most Mighty Ocean,
which Thou hast made to produce the pearls of Thy Knowledge and Wisdom, neither
repel them from Thy Gate, which Thou hast opened unto all who are in Thy heaven
and Thy earth. O Lord, leave them not to themselves, for they know not, and flee
from what is better for them than whatsoever hath been created in Thine earth.
Look upon them, O Lord, with the glances of the eyes of Thy favours and
bounties, and free them from passion and lust, that they may draw nigh unto Thy
Supreme Horizon, and may discover the delight of remembering Thee, and the
sweetness of the table1 which hath been sent down from
the heaven of Thy Will and the air of Thy Bounty. Everlastingly hath Thy Grace
encompassed [all] contingent beings, and Thy Mercy
preceded2 [all] creatures: there is no
God but Thee, the Forgiving, the Merciful.
'Glory be to Thee, O God! Thou knowest that my heart is melted about Thy
business, that my blood boils in my veins with the fire of Thy love, and that
every drop thereof crieth unto Thee with dumb
eloquence3), which, as contrasted with "the tongue of
utterance" (~~~), signifies the words wherewith the state of an inarticulate
thing may appropriately be described.] [saying], "O Lord Most
High, shed me on the earth in Thy way," that there may grow from it what Thou
desirest in Thy books, but hast concealed from the sight of Thy servants, save
such as have drunk of the Kawthar4 of knowledge
from the hands of Thy grace, and the Salsabíl of wisdom from the cup of
Thy bounty. Thou knowest, O God, that in every action I desire nothing save Thy
business, and that in every utterance I seek naught but Thy celebration, neither
doth my pen move except I desire therein Thy
1 Cf. Kur'án v, 112, 114.
2 See note 1 on p. 113 supra.
3 Literally, "the tongue of [its] state" (~~~).
4 Kawthar and Salsabíl,
the names of two rivers in Paradise.
[page 400]
good pleasure and the setting forth of what
Thou hast enjoined upon me by Thy authority. Thou seest me, O God, confounded in
Thine earth: if I tell what Thou hast enjoined on me, Thy creatures turn against
me; and if I forsake what Thou hast enjoined on me on Thy part, I should be
deserving of the scourges of Thy wrath, and far removed from the gardens of
nearness to Thee. No, by Thy Glory, I advance toward Thy good pleasure, turning
aside from what the souls of Thy servants desire: and accept what is with Thee,
forsaking what will remove me afar off from the retreats of nearness to Thee and
the heights of Thy Glory. By Thy Glory, for Thy love I flinch not from aught,
and for Thy good pleasure I fear not all the afflictions in the world: this is
but through Thy Strength and Thy Might and Thy Grace and Thy Favour, and not
because I am deserving thereof.'"
The Epistle
then continues as in the text (pp. 108-151 supra).
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