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By permission of George Ronald, Publisher
24 Gardiner Close, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3YA, United Kingdom
Telephone 01235 535224, Fax 01235 529137
[email protected]

Copyright of the electronic (website) form are to
Moojan Momen and
Sukhanov Vladimir Nicholaevich and
Sukhanova (Fedoseeva) Valentina Nicholaevna. 2002.

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Preface by Moojan Momen
Preface by E.G. Browne

1. Exordium. Wahid I (Chapters: 1 - 19)
2. Wahid II (Chapters: 1 - 19)
3. Wahid III (Chapters: 1 - 19)
4. Wahid IV (Chapters: 1 - 19)
5. Wahid V (Chapters: 1 - 19)
6. Wahid VI (Chapters: 1 - 19)
7. Wahid VII (Chapters: 1 - 19)
8. Wahid VIII (Chapters: 1 - 19)
9. Wahid IX (Chapters: 1 - 10)

The following item is an unpublished work that is among the papers of E.G. Browne in the University Library at Cambridge. It is an abstract or summary of the Persian Bayan, one of the most important works of the Bab. In Section One of this compilation, we have seen that one of Browne's preoccupations while in Iran in 1888 was to obtain a manuscript of this work. He must have started work preparing this abstract more or less immediately since he has recorded that it was completed on 1 January 1889. His main purpose was at the time to provide material for his paper 'The Babis of Persia' which is reproduced in Section Two of this compilation and which was published in 1889. Browne then put aside the abstract until 1903 when, as he records in the preface to this work, he was asked to write a preface to Myron Phelps's book on 'Abdu'l-Baha. In the course of writing this, he came upon this abstract which he had worked on 15 years previously and decided to prepare it for publication. He therefore wrote a preface and began to work through his manuscript, editing and correcting; however, he did not complete this work. His editing and correcting ceases abruptly at the foot of the 81st page of the manuscript - part-way through Wahid 5, Chapter 11. Although it is not clear what caused him to cease work on preparing the manuscript for publication, we may surmise that perhaps he learned of Nicolas's work in translating the whole Bayan into French (which Nicolas had completed in December 1903 although the first volume was not published until 1911) or perhaps the work on his monumental Literary History of Persia upon which he was then engaged drew his attention away from the project. Another possibility is that he came to the conclusion, as he proceeded with his editing, that the work was not suitable for publication on its own without considerable revision. He did however publish, in his edition of the Kitab-i Nuqtatu'l-Kaf, the index to the contents of the Bayan that he had also prepared and was proposing to publish with the present work.

The unfinished manuscript lay among Browne's papers and was donated to the University Library at Cambridge (Browne Manuscripts Supp. 20 (9)). When I came across this work, I was at first reluctant to include it in this compilation for two reasons: firstly, the unfinished nature of the corrections that Browne had been making leave a manuscript with two definite halves - one half a more or less finished work, the other very unfinished and rough; secondly, this was a product of the very earliest stages of Browne's researches and may therefore be expected to contain inaccuracies which further research would have eliminated. The first problem I have tried to reduce by myself editing the second half of the work using the same guidelines that Browne appears to have used for the first. This has involved among other things standardising the system of transliteration, for Browne in the original manuscript was using the older system of transliteration that he also uses in his paper "'The Babis of Persia", whereas in his later editing of the first half, he was transferring to the system that he used in his later works. It has also involved a certain amount of editing of the text although I have kept this to a minimum, such that I have edited the text of the second part of the manuscript considerably less than Browne himself edited the first part. The result may be that the second half is not quite so readable as the first, but I hope at least that it remains faithful to the intentions of Browne himself. I have allowed to remain a number of inconsistencies of punctuation, such as in the capitalisation of pronouns referring to God or to a prophet. The second problem I have tried to ameliorate with the judicious use of footnotes. This has also proved not easy, for although the Persian Bayan is one of the Bab's clearest and least difficult works, there are nevertheless passages in the book that pose some difficulties and I would not always agree with Browne's interpretations. Some of these I have indicated in the footnotes while others, where I myself am somewhat perplexed, I have left to the efforts of future scholars.

The Persian Bayan is written with each chapter having an Arabic introduction, which usually summarizes the contents of the chapter, followed by the main text in Persian. In this summary, the sections in italic represent the Arabic. All footnotes are Browne's own except those indicated "(M.M.)" which are mine.

All-in-all, I would urge the reader to remember Browne's own assessment of this work in his preface: "It is not very finished work", and to use it as a guide to the contents of the Persian Bayan, refraining from placing too much reliance upon its very incomplete and provisional nature.

The Persian Bayan was writing either in the last half of 1847 or the first few months of 1848 while the Bab was imprisoned in Maku. It is one of the most lucid and systematic of the Bab's works. Its importance lies in several areas. Firstly, it is one of the first works (if not the first) of the Bab in which he unequivocally lays claim to being the Messianic figure of the Imam Mahdi, whose advent the Shi'is were expecting, and at the same time makes it clear that his mission involves the abrogation of the Islamic dispensation. It thus opened a new phase in the Bab's ministry which was to culminate in the open proclamation of his claim to be the Mahdi at his trial in Tabriz and of the abrogation of the Islamic dispensation at the Conference of Badasht. Secondly, in this work, the Bab lays down the laws of the new religion that he has inaugurated, abrogating in the process the Islamic Laws. The third area of importance of this work is the fact that it incorporates the major features of the Bab's exegesis of the eschatological terms of the Qur'an, indicating the manner in which they had been fulfilled by his own appearance. The fourth area of importance is the fact that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole work revolves around and may be said to be a paean of praise to "Him whom God shall manifest", thus setting up the promise of the advent of a future "Sun of Truth" or "Manifestation of God" as the Bab terms the major prophets; a factor that was to be of major importance in the emergence of Baha'u'llah two decades later.

For Baha'is, of course, the Bab is the first of the three "Central Figures" of their Faith. The writings of the Bab are therefore regarded by Baha'is as part of their sacred text. However, the laws of the Bab, many of which were revealed in the Persian Bayan, are considered to have been abrogated and superseded by the laws of Baha'u'llah. Thus it is that when the book Selections from the Writings of the Bab was published by the Baha'i World Centre in 1976, it included lengthy extracts from the Persian Bayan but not any of the sections which deal with legal prescriptions.

The term "Bayan" itself has a somewhat complex usage in the writings of the Bab. Firstly there is the present work, the Persian Bayan, and there is also an Arabic Bayan which may be regarded as a condensation of the Persian Bayan. However, the Bab also uses this term to refer to all of his writings (see Wahid 6, Chapter 1).

The following are notes that may assist the reader with some of the other terms used in this abstract:

The terms "Nuqta (Point)", "Nuqta-i Bayan (Point of the Bayan)", and "Primal Point" all refer to the Bab himself.

The terms "Manifestations of God", "Sun of Truth" and "Tree of Truth" refer to any of the major prophets: Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab or "Him whom God shall manifest".

The term "Him whom God shall manifest" refers to the prophesied next "Manifestation of God" after the Bab, whom Baha'is believe to be Baha'u'llah.

The "Person of the seven letters" refers to the Bab himself whose name 'Ali Muhammad consists of seven letters.

The terms "Letters of the One", "Letters of the Wahid" and usually "Letters" refer to the Letters of the Living.

The term "Fire" refers to "Hell-fire"; "Light" refers to the "Light of Paradise".

The terms "Franks" is Browne's translation of "Farangi" which is the Persian word for Europeans and Westerners in general.

"Nukhud" is a unit of weight notionally equivalent to the weight of a pea and in practice about 0.2 grams.

"Qirat" (carat) was approximately equal to a nukhud, about 0.19 grams, and is usually used in relation to precious metals and jewel-lery.

"Mithqal" is equal to 24 nukhud or 4.8 grams.

"But strive in the Knowledge of the Letters, and Conjunctions of the Numbers of God's Names, and Conjunctions of like words, and Conjunctions of like Writings in their proper place; for Permission hath been accorded for each person to arrange the order of the Bayan in such wise as appeareth sweetest; for though it appear after a thousand fashions, yet do all return to the Soul of the Bayan".

Nearly fifteen years ago, when, on my return from Persia, I was arranging and working through the materials which I had collected for a study of the Babi religion, preparatory to translating the Traveller's Narrative and the New History, I made a complete abstract of the Persian Bayan, which is the most important and systematic of the numerous writings in which the Bab set forth his Teachings, and added to that Abstract an Index¹ of its contents. At that time I had hoped some day to edit and perhaps translate the book in its entirety, and even went so far as to collate some five or six different manuscripts with my own copy. This work there is little likelihood of my accomplishing; and for some years, my attention having been directed to other matters, even the Abstract and Index were laid aside and almost forgotten.

Quite lately I was invited by my friend Mr. Putnam, the American publisher, to write a Preface to Mr. Myron Phelp's book on 'Abbas Efendi, and, my thoughts being thus once more directed towards the Babis, I came upon the work I formerly did on the Persian Bayan. It is not very finished work, but it was laborious in the doing, and, thinking it a pity that it should be lost, or remain inaccessible to other students of the Babi religion, to whom it will at least serve as a guide, I have decided to publish it as it stands.

¹ This Index was published in the Kitab-i Nuqtatu'l-Kaf. (M.M.)

Praise of God, who is above all comprehension. The Point (Nuqta) has existed from all eternity, and all men were created with a natural disposition to know Him and believe in Him. And from His soul God created 18 souls (the "Letters of the Living) before all other things, who were infused into all things that they might know Him. And He (the Point) is the first to believe in "Him whom God shall manifest".

God hath ordained the Creation of all things according to the "Number of All Things" (361, or 19 x 19), and accordingly the Chapters of the Religion of the Bayan have been arranged according to the Number of All Things. ¹

God hath placed in the Nuqta-i-Bayan ("Point of Explanation") the Essence of the Seven Letters.² Do not regard this Word save as you would regard the sun in the heaven, nor regard him who believeth in this Word save as you would regard a Mirror wherein the sun is reflected; for it is the Mirror of God, whereby are illuminated the "Letters of the Living" which are the Mirror of the Kingdom (i.e. the World). In these 1270 years (since the last manifestation, viz. that of Muhammad) the Tree of Unity hath become mature.

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¹ The term Bayan was applied by the Bab to all his later writings, most of which comprise 19 "Unities" (Wahid) of 19 chapters each. Half of this Persian Bayan, however, was left unwritten, that it might be concluded, as some assert, by Him whom God shall manifest.

² i.e. the Seven "Letters of Affirmation" in the words illa'llah. - "but God" (E.G.B.). These being the letters of affirmation in the expression: "There is no God but God". But see also p.326, note 1. (M.M.)

Wahid I, Chapter 2. Every soul which believed in Muhammad (the Prophet), or his subordinates, returned in his shadow, and all are recompensed according to their merits. And God is the witness of all things.

Wahid I, Chapter 3. 'Ali (the First Imam) hath returned to the Life of the World with those who believed in him or his subordinates, and he is the second of those who believed in the Point.

Wahid I, Chapter 4. Fatima hath returned to the Life of the World, with those who believed in her or her subordinates.

Wahid I, Chapter 5. Al-Hasan (the Second Imam) hath returned to the Life of the World with all who believed in him, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 6. Al-Husayn (the Third Imam) hath returned to the Life of the World with all who believed in him, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 7. 'Ali ibn al-Husayn (Zaynu'l-'Abidin, the Fourth Imam) hath returned, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 8. Muhammad ibn 'Ali (Muhammad Baqir, the Fifth Imam) hath returned to the world, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 9. Ja'far ibn Muhammad (Ja'far-i-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam) hath returned to the world, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 10. Musa ibn Ja'far (Musa Kazim, the Seventh Imam) hath returned to the world, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 11. 'Ali ibn Musa ('Ali Rida, the Eighth Imam) hath returned, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 12. Muhammad ibn 'Ali (Muhammad Taqi, the Ninth Imam) hath returned, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 13. 'Ali ibn Muhammad ('Ali Naqi, the Tenth Imam) hath returned, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 14. Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (Hasan 'Askari, the Eleventh Imam) hath returned, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 15. the Qa'im (He who is to arise) or Hujjat ('Proof' i.e. the Twelfth Imam, or Imam Mahdi, whose Return or Advent the Shi'a expect) hath appeared with verses and expositions as the Nuqta-i-Bayan (i.e. the Bab) who is identical with the Nuqta-i-Furqan (i.e. Muhammad). The reason why the Nuqta-i-Bayan is mentioned first, and the Nuqta-i-Furqan second, and the Manifestation of the Qa'im only in the 15th Chapter is that 'the Point' is manifested by the Name of Divinity in the Station of Abstraction (tajarrud), which is the pure manifestation of God; while in the Station of Differentiation (ta'ayyun), which is the First Volition (mashiyyat-i-awwaliyya) he was mentioned in the second place; and in the Station of Qa'im-ship which belongs especially to the 14th manifestation, he was mentioned in the 15th chapter. And the Point hath been and ever remaineth in the Station of Primariness (awwaliyyat), being more worthy to be called by every Name than the Names themselves, since where there is the name of Divinity (uluhiyyat), there are included all the lesser names, such as Lordship (rububiyyat), and what is subordinate thereunto.

Wahid I, Chapter 16. The First Gate (Bab) hath returned to the World with everyone who believed in him, whether truly or not

Wahid I, Chapter 17. The Second Gate hath returned to the World, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 18. The Third Gate hath returned to the World, etc.

Wahid I, Chapter 19. The Fourth Gate hath returned to the World, etc.²

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¹ In Browne's manuscript of the Bayan (Cambridge University Library, Browne Manuscripts, F12; Browne had not yet acquired F13), the positioning of the breaks between the first few chapters was erroneous. In fact Wahid I, Chapter 1 began with the third paragraph of what Browne has designated as the Exordium. What Browne has designated as Wahid I, Chapter 1, is in fact Wahid I, Chapter 2. The latter also includes what Browne has designated as Wahid I, Chapter 2. The divisions are accurately given from Wahid I, Chapter 3. (M.M.)

² The Eighteen 'Letters of the Living' manifested themselves in the last, i.e. the Muhammadan Manifestation in the persons of the Fourteen Holy Souls (i.e. the Prophet himself, his daughter Fatima, and the Twelve Imams of whom the first, 'Ali, was her husband, and the remainder her descendants) and the Four Gates (or Babs) who successively acted as channels of communication between the Twelfth Imam, or Imam Mahdi, and the faithful, during the period of his 'Lesser Occultation' (Chaybat-i-sughra). The terms 'Point' and 'Letter; were originally suggested by the formula Bi'smi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim (In the Name of the Merciful, Compassionate God), which contains 19 letters, the first (B) distinguished by a point or dot beneath it; and by 'Ali's alleged saying, 'All that is in the Qur'an is ... in the Bi'smi'llah ... and I am the Point beneath the B.'

Wahid II, Chapter 1. Concerning the Knowledge of the Proof (Hujjat) and Guide (Dalil) in each Cycle (Kawr). God reveals as His proof that wherein consists the highest glory of the people of that cycle. Thus in the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, men prided themselves most on eloquence, wherefore God made the Qur'an a miracle of eloquence, so that none could produce the like of it. Now in the cycle of the Nuqta-i- Bayan, that wherein men most pride themselves is Knowledge of the Unity, and the subtleties of gnosis; wherefore in this cycle, God hath made His proof the verses of the Bayan in the loftiness of their unitarianism; for if all the creatures of the earth were to assemble together, they could not produce one verse like unto these. One (i.e. the Bab himself) from whose life only 24 years had passed, and who was entirely devoid of all the sciences which others have studied, and who now recites verses in this way without thought or reflection, producing in the space of five hours 1000 verses in prayer without a halt of the pen, this is assuredly from God. But all these proofs are only for the people, else are the things of God too lofty to be understood by other things; rather other things must be understood by them. God asked, 'Whose book is the Qur'an?' All the believers replied, 'It is the Book of God.' Then it was asked, 'Is any difference to be seen between the Qur'an and the Bayan?' The spiritual answered, 'No, by God, both are from our Lord.' Then God revealed, 'That Word (the Qur'an) is by the tongue of Muhammad the Prophet of God, and this Word (the Bayan) of Mine is by the tongue of the Essence of the Seven Letters ¹' of the Gate of God (Babu'llah). In this day whosoever hath recourse to this Soul who recites verses from before Me, hath recourse to Me. For My people there is no Paradise higher than this, that they should stand in the Presence of (him who is as) Myself, and believe in My verses; nor is any Hell-Fire worse than they should fail to do so. Soon ye shall see that your pride will be in believing these verses; but today, when your profession of faith doth most advantage you, ye are veiled from the Truth. I swear by my Holy Essence that no Paradise is higher for My people than My Manifestation and My Verses. That men go astray is the fault of the clergy, who not only go astray themselves, but mislead others. And this verse suffices as proof.²

These verses are without doubt revealed to the Point (i.e. the Bab) just as verses were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad; and 100,000 such verses (here called bayt, not ayat) are now before the people, besides prayers (munajat) and scientific treatises (rasa'il-i-'ilmiyya); while in five hours 1000 verses ³ are revealed with such rapidity that the scribe can scarcely write them down. If men object that these verses are in themselves not a proof, let them look in the Qur'an, and see whether any other proof was ever there insisted on. If people refuse to believe, it is either because they will not and do not wish to, or because they are cautious. In the latter case let them come themselves, or send some one else, and demand the answer of any question they desire to propound in the form of verses, when they will see that these are revealed without hesitation. And if one should take exception to the vocalization or grammar (of the revealed verses), he is rejected, such rules being removed from the verses. Moreover these rules (of grammar) are merely deduced from what God reveals; and how many persons famed for their knowledge have believed? Every Mirror which advances towards the Sun shall itself be illuminated. The shame and disgrace of those who are veiled from this Manifestation is that they not only do not help, or merely refrain from helping, but actively oppose; else had the abode of this Tree not been in this Mountain.⁴

Wahid II, Chapter 2. No one can comprehend the knowledge of what God hath revealed in the Bayan save such as God willeth; namely 'He whom God shall manifest', and those to whom He shall impart His Knowledge. No one is permitted to commentate the Bayan except the 'Letters of Paradise' (Huruf-i-'Illiyin) and the Letters of the Living. The entire Qur'an comprises 114 suras; and each group of 6 suras is in praise of the exalted state of a single letter of the letters of 'Bi'smi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim' (19 letters: 19 x 6 = 114).⁵ The first six suras were from the Point (Nuqta), and the last six from the Mim,⁶ and to these 19 Fields of Manifestation (mazhar) all the Letters of Paradise may be referred, while all other Letters than those of Paradise must be referred to the 19 Fields of Manifestation of the Gates of Fire, all of which are referable to their First Gate; all of which is summed up in the sentence 'There is no God but God' ( La ilaha illa 'llah).⁷ All else besides the Letters of Paradise is in Denial, while whatsoever appertaineth to the Letters of Paradise is Affirmation. All Letters of the Qur'an (i.e. Muhammadans) other than those of Paradise have perished in the Shadow of the First Gate of Fire. Now, during the period of the Manifestation, the 'Letters of Paradise' can be recognized, and likewise the other Letters; but after this Tree hath been taken away, it will only be possible to prove by their outward conformance to God's commands. All say today, 'we believe in God, and in the signs (ayat) of the Qur'an,' whilst the Tree of Truth (the Bab), who is the Revealer of the Qur'an, is dwelling in this mountain (of Maku).⁸

Wahid II, Chapter 3. Concerning what is in Bayan, for in it is the judgement of all things. There are two proofs from God to men: the signs (or verses) of God, and he to whom they are revealed. The first are a permanent and evident proof till the Day of Resurrection; the second is an evident proof only so long as the period of the Manifestation lasts. Though men now pay little heed to the Bayan, soon they will be proud to pay 1000 mithqals of gold to obtain a good copy of it. Even so was it with the Qur'an, which was revealed during a period of 23 years, yet no one collected it till 'Ali caused it to be written down on shoulder-blades of sheep and the like. Every - things is mentioned - either confirmed or forbidden - in the Bayan.

For the 'Silent Book' (Kitab-i-Samit) there is a 'Speaking Book' (Kitab-i-Natiq) appointed by God, and neither one can exist without the other. And the latter is He whom God shall manifest. And when he appear, faith shall be cut off from those who believe, except those who believe in him; and when faith is cut off, how shall confession⁹ remain to those who are confessors? For verily this is a branch of Faith.

Wahid II, Chapter 4. Concerning the mention of the Letters of Paradise and those subordinate to them. For each one of the Letters which God hath sent down there hath been and is a Paradise, which is associated with it. For this reason it is that the believer becomes glad at the mention of Paradise and the Approval of God; but sad at the mention of Hell-Fire. And all the words revealed in the Bayan are included in one of these (two) categories. Now those which are Letters of Paradise, their Spirits are in Paradise, while of the others the Spirits are in Hell-Fire; and all the Letters not of Paradise are referred to La ilaha, but all Letters of Paradise to illa Huwa,¹⁰ each of these being respectively the source of the two kinds of Letters. The five Letters of Denial¹⁰ are crushed down under the dust, while the five Letters of Affirmation¹⁰ are raised to the highest heights of Paradise, and these latter are Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. Now the Five Letters of Hell-Fire when separated become 19, as God says: 'Over it (Hell) are Nineteen';¹¹ and so also the Letters in the Five Letters of Affirmation are nineteen.¹² What is referable to each of these classes (i.e. Words of Affirmation or Denial) will in the Resurrection return to that Word. Whosoever denies is in the Fire of God till the Day of Him whom God shall manifest, and vice versa. Whenever a servant of God reads the Letters of Paradise he becomes tranquil, because their spirits attach themselves to him; and vice versa. No Fire is worse than Denial, nor any Paradise better than Affirmation. Now till the Day of Resurrection all must take refuge with the Point (Nuqta-i-Bayan) and God; but when the Day of Him whom God shall manifest appears, this will not avail them, for refuge with God in that day is refuge with him, and refuge with the Nuqta-i-Bayan is refuge with him; just as in this manifestation, the Musulmans continued to say 'I take refuse with God', but it did not avail them, because they did not recognize the Manifestation of God. For to take refuge with the Prophet is the same to take refuge with God, and to take refuge with the Imams the same as to take refuge with the Prophet, and to take refuge with the 'Gates' (Babs) is the same as to take refuge with the Imams. So today whosoever does not enter into Bayan will not be given refuge from Hell-Fire. And in the Day of Him whom God shall make manifest, all those letters which are placed in his book are saved, and all those which are not, are lost, even though they are in the Bayan.

Wahid II, Chapter 5. Concerning this that by every Good Name revealed by God in the Bayan is intended he by whose side on that day shall stand the Letter of Denial in the Primal Verity.¹³ He whom God shall manifest is intended by every Good Name in the Bayan. So also every Name other than good denotes that Tree which stands opposed to him in Denial. The land where he abides is the acme of Hell-Fire in the Land of Hell- Fire, although over it be the throne of glory. So if the Land of Paradise is mentioned, it refers to the Nuqta-i-Bayan descending from the Land of the Heart (Fu'ad) until he comes to the Land of the Spirit (Ruh) and thence to the Land of the Soul (Nafs) and thence to the Land of the Body (Jasad), until he comes at last to this Land on the Mountain,¹⁴ which is the Gem of all the Earth. And today all the good Names by the Primal Verity are in the Point himself, even unto the mention of that land which has been used as a parable, and by the Second Verity, it is in the letter Sin,¹⁵ until it terminates at the end of being.

Wahid II, Chapter 6. Concerning this that the Bayan is a Measure (or Standard, Mizan) from God until the day of Him whom God shall manifest. He who follows it is (in) Light, and he who turns aside from it is (in) Fire. Few in these days act according to the standard of the Qur'an, and such, if such there be, must enter the Bayan, or their obedience will be useless. So in the day when He whom God shall manifest shall appear, all the people of the Bayan must obey Him.

Wahid II, Chapter 7. Concerning the Day of Resurrection. What is meant by the Day of Resurrection is the day of the Manifestation of the Tree of Truth. None of the Shi'as have understood what is meant thereby, but have imagined a thing which has no real existence. What is really meant thereby is the period from the manifestation of the Tree of Truth till its decline (i.e. till another prophet comes). And the beginning of this Manifestation of the Bayan was when two hours and 15 minutes had passed from the eve of Friday the fifth of Jamada'l-Ula A.H. 1260 (= May 23, 1844), which is the year 1270 of the Call;¹⁶ for the Day of Resurrection of a thing is not till it reaches the station of perfection. So the Day of Resurrection of the Bayan begins on the Day when He whom God shall manifest shall appear. For today the Bayan is in the state of seed, but in the day when He whom God shall make manifest shall appear, it will have reached its highest perfection. So likewise the gathering of the fruit of Islam is naught else than belief and affirmation therein (i.e. in the Bayan), whereas it hath actually borne fruit in a contrary way, and the Musulmans have unjustly caused him (the Bab) to dwell in the mountain of Maku.¹⁷ What is meant by the 'Meeting with God' in the Qur'an is meeting the Bab, for none can meet the Most Holy Essence. O people of the Bayan, have mercy on yourselves, and do not render null and void your long night in the Day of Resurrection, which is the Day of Gathering the Fruit, as did people of Islam, who for 1270 years boasted of Islam, and at the last issued an edict contrary to Islam, thus rendering all of no effect. At least if you do not believe in me, do not treat me as you would not wish to be treated yourselves. And God shall judge between me and thee, and He is the best of Judges.

Wahid II, Chapter 8. Concerning the Truth of Death, that it is true. There are endless applications of the word 'Death' with God. One is that Death known to all, consisting in the taking away of the spirit of man. There is also Death before the Tree of Truth¹⁸ from all besides, which does not become affirmed save by five words: 'There is not God but He', or 'There is not God but God', or 'There is not God but Thee', or 'There is not God but He in whom all rely'. And he whose will is naught but the Will of Him whom God shall manifest, and whose volition, desire, etc. are those of Him whom God shall manifest, he hath understood the truth of Death; for His Will, His Approbation, His Book, etc. are identical with those of God. And by the Barzakh¹⁹ is meant the period between two manifestations. For none knoweth except God, what shall befall men after Death. Blessed is he who sees nothing without discerning therein the Manifestation of His Lord.

Wahid II, Chapter 9. Concerning the truth of the Tomb. Every spirit hath a tomb appointed in the limit of its place and when He whom God shall manifest shall appear all shall culminate in a soul by the resurrection of which all shall be raised, and his resurrection shall be the resurrection of all, and his creation is the creation of all, and his emergence from the tomb, the emergence from the tomb of all; as in the case of the Nuqta-i-Bayan (the Bab), when the manifestation of Divinity raised up in him the Apostle of God from his soul, the resurrection of that which was raised up in his shadow took place when he was raised up. All spirits of truth who are guided by the Bayan will return to the Primal Soul which, on the Day of Judgement, will at the first instant, respond to the Command of God, and confess his Unity, while all others will, in the time of His Manifestation, return to the Tree of Denial. If a soul be one of the States (shu'un) of the Soul of Paradise he will return to it and afterwards in the future uprising will be detached from it; not that he hath become identical with it. Everyone who believed in the Book of Alif (Injil, the Gospel) returned to believe in the book of Qaf (the Qur'an) thereby becoming recreated in the Religion of Islam, and being gradually educated, till its Day culminated in the Day of the Manifestation and Revelation of the Bayan, in the Paradise of which shall he grow and increase till such time as God please, until the day when He whom God shall manifest shall appear, to whose Book he will then become referable. And so, on the other hand, whosoever believed not in the Nuruf-i-Alifiyya (the Gospel) returned as the First who did not believe in the Prophet of God, from whom being separated, he became one of the non-celestial Letters of the Furqan (i.e. the Qur'an) abased beneath the dust; till he returned as the First of the Letters of Denial of the Bayan, after which, having separated himself therefrom, he wanders in his own nothingness till he returns as the First who disbelieves in Him Whom God shall manifest, from whom being separated, his garments in all these worlds become of Fire, though they be silk, and his abode Fire, though it be the highest of places on the earth, and his food likewise; while on the contrary the garments of he who is not thus has been and is created in Paradise, his abode becomes the highest place of Paradise and his food the sweetest fruits of Paradise, though he hath only clothed himself in cotton and only sat on the earth, and only eaten leaves of grass. And the soul of no believer shall be taken but his grave shall become as a garden of the Gardens of Paradise, wherein God hath created that which he loves ready for him. So also there is none who shall disbelieve in the Bayan but shall suffer what the pen dares not write. Happy that person whose soul shall be taken after that he hath believed in Him whom God shall manifest and his words, for he is a believer in the Bayan and all that is in the Bayan.

Wahid II, Chapter 10. Concerning the Questioning of the Angels in the Tomb. In the day of Resurrection the believers in Him whom God shall manifest shall ask men, 'By what things is your religion established?' Then shall they answer, 'By the proof of the Bayan?'. And if they have not believed, then shall sentence go forth against them, and the Angels shall return into the presence of God and declare their state and judgement shall be pronounced against them. And that which is ordained to happen in the Tomb, will befall man's souls in the tomb of the body; which if he be a believer, will be a Paradise of the gardens of Paradise and vice versa. Every place where a believer hath dwelt will, in the Day of Resurrection, become a portion of Paradise; and all else a portion of the Land of Fire. And what is meant by the Return of the Angels to God is the return of the saints to Him whom God shall manifest, for there neither hath been nor is any way of approach for anyone to the Eternal Essence.

Wahid II, Chapter 11. Concerning the Resurrection (Ba'th), that it is true. God hath created all by that which He hath revealed in His Book, by means of the spirits of Paradise which are connected with the Letters thereof, and the others in like manner. And whatever is will be raised up in the Day of Resurrection. For instance, this crystal cup and saucer which is now placed before God²⁰ will be raised up in the Day of Resurrection in its very Being, Essence, Self and Identity at such time as this Tree of Truth shall speak saying, 'This cup and saucer is identical with that (former one).' An inanimate object is taken as an example so that all in all the worlds may understand. So, even as in this Cycle, the Letters of the Living were appointed by His own Word, in that Resurrection also, He will raise up these Letters from whatever soul he desires by His spoken command. For naught but His Word can create anything, since His Word is the Word of God. First as the creation of all things is by a single soul, and the raising up of all by a single soul, so in that moment when that single soul is raised up shall everything else, one by one, be raised up each in its own place. But none can understand the raising up of everything in a single soul till he looks to the Point of Truth.

Wahid II, Chapter 12. Concerning the Bridge of Sirat, that it is true. What is meant by the Bridge of Sirat in all time is the Manifestation of God and his Command. Whosoever is steadfast is on the Sirat-Bridge of the Truth, but otherwise not on the Sirat. And the like of the Sirat-Bridge is as the Nuqta-i- Bayan who is more spacious than the Heavens and Earth - nay more glorious than the Heaven of such things as can be received or the Earth of capacity for receiving - to such as have believed in Him. Now they who pass over this Sirat- Bridge (to wit the verses of the Bayan) are of diverse degrees. Some on first hearing them, said 'Yea this is from God: there is no doubt about it: a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds'. Others believed without hearing the words, merely on beholding them, and these cross the Sirat and are nearer than Kaf to Nun.²¹ Others again heard the verses and hesitated just so long as one might pause to apply the name of a thing to that thing, and these remain in confusion on the Sirat-Bridge for 202,000 years. And whosoever hesitated longer, his sojourn on the Bridge will be more; and many will remain there until another Day of Resurrection, as the Letters of the Book of Alif (the Gospel, Injil) remained on the Bridge of the Sirat of the book of Qaf (the Qur'an) until now, although the Resurrection thereof has passed. And so this Bridge is described as 'finer than a hair and sharper than a sword' for these but 'wider than Paradise' for the believer, who recognise that the same Tree of Truth utters alike the Bayan and the Qur'an. And many will fall into the Fire while crossing this Bridge, and many will be unable to cross.

Wahid II, Chapter 13. Concerning the Balance, that it is true. In every Manifestation the Balance is the same Point of Truth, and the commands arising from the Sun of his Munificence. The highest degree of the Balance in Unification is the word, 'There is no God but He'. Whoever enters the Balance of Denial enters the Balance of Fire, and vice versa; and entrance into Denial is not effected save through friendship for the Gates of Fire and vise versa. For all Denial, as well as all Affirmation, are referred to one Tree. Today whoever follows the Bayan is in Paradise, and vice versa, for the creation of both Hell- Fire and Paradise is realised through the Point of Truth, and God is the Creator both of Light and Fire by his Will (Mashiyyat) which is the Point (Nuqta).

Wahid II, Chapter 14. Concerning the Reckoning. The Reckoning of all is in the hand of God, and none other than God can make this Reckoning; and He reckons all by the Reckoning of the Tree of Truth which is made in each cycle by its Manifestation. Yet is the Reckoning apparent only at the time of Manifestation. And He reckons all things in the Day of Resurrection by one word, even as in this Resurrection He reckons all by this word: 'Verily I am God: 'There is no God but me, the Lord of all things.' Whosoever hesitated was justly reckoned as of the Hell-Fire of Denial and vice versa. For by all on this Earth is meant such as believe in the Qur'an, for all others were reckoned with in the Resurrection of the Apostle of God, and became annihilated, not by bodily annihilation but by annihilation of Faith, for the whole Earth is full of their bodies. Now with those souls which believed in the Qur'an, no argument is stronger in proof of their religion than the Book of God; wherefore God manifested the Tree of Truth with that same proof whereby the religion of those believing souls is established; and this Word (the Bayan), whereby all are reckoned with and will be till the Day of Judgement, is in the same language of the verses of the Qur'an which is the Arabic Language, the most eloquent of all languages. Every verse which God hath sent down hath attached to it, in its Shadow, spirits which return to those souls for whose recompense God revealed these verses. And the Year of Reckoning will be the seventh year from the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest or if he so please, the seventh month, or the seventh day.

Wahid II, Chapter 15. Concerning the Book - What is meant by the Book is that which is manifested from the presence of the Point of Truth, for in the Eternal Essence there is no change. The Book of the Nuqta-i-Bayan is a book which points to God, for none but God is able to produce that Book; and that Book which He whom God shall manifest shall write with his hand is written in the writing of God. (The identity of Christ and the Gospel, Muhammad and the Qur'an and the Bab and the Bayan is further insisted upon.)

Wahid II, Chapter 16. Concerning this, that Paradise is true. Hitherto none had understood what is meant by Paradise and Hell-Fire, nor what is connoted by the mention of Paradise in this world, which is the source and goal of all worlds. And in the opinion of the people of the Bayan, the manifestations of the Divine Mercy in the Qur'an are limited to the Chief Of the Believers ('Ali) in the Primary Reality; since the source of all that is in both worlds is in him and its return also is to him. For instance, from the day of Adam until today in every Manifestation it is by permission of him who (first) believers therein that the opening of the Gates to the Truth and what is beside the Truth is realized; till the Essence of all culminated in this Manifestation. Wherefore if anyone would behold, let him look and see that the beginning of all the worlds was in the station of Volition (Mashiyyat) which becomes existent by Will (Iradat). For the World of Souls exactly corresponds to the World of Horizons... There was no Paradise in the Knowledge of God greater than the Chief of Believers ('Ali). And thus grades of the Gates of Paradise are gradually enumerated till they culminate in the Letters of the One (Wahid = 19). For example, during the manifestation of the Fifth Paradise,²² no Paradise was greater than him, he being then unique; till after him came 'Ali ibnu'l-Husayn.²³ So regard all Paradises, till they culminate in the letter M,²⁴ when they return to the Point. The first Manifestation of the Paradise of the Nuqta-i-Furqan (i.e. Muhammad) was in his Hereafter, which is the Paradise of the Bayan; and till the day of Him whom God shall manifest, there is no Paradise greater than this; but at the moment when He shall be manifested the first Paradise of the Nuqta-i-Bayan will be changed to the last Paradise (of the new Manifestation). And after the Paradise [of the Nuqta-i-Bayan] come the Paradises of the Letters of the Living, who are those Souls who precede all other souls in Belief. And the end of the Manifestation will culminate in the Paradises of the S.²⁵ Not that in each Manifestation the previous Paradise shall not remain in its own place; for instance when the Paradise of the S shall be manifested, the Paradise of B (the first Letter') still continues on its own throne. And God hath appointed 19 gates for every Paradise which is the manifestation of Volition (Mashiyyat). So in the Qur'an all culminates in the Gates (Babs) and the Gates in the People of the House (the Holy Family)²⁶ and the People of the House in the Prophet of God. Thus it is that the fourth Name is projected from God by the third Name, and the Third by Second, and so forth; and he who first entered this Paradise was the Holy Spirit, which before all spirits attained to the Meeting (liqa) and confessed His unity. This is the truth concerning Paradise in this Life, and as for what is after Death none knoweth it save God. O people of the Bayan!... If any soul is patient for an instant beyond 2001 years,²⁷ without doubt he is not in the religion of the Bayan, and shall enter the Fire, unless the Manifestation of God shall appear. My heart is not content that even one should then remain in the Bayan. If anyone believed in Jesus, he must believe in the Muhammad. If anyone has in this life entered the Paradise of the Manifestation of God, he will also enter the Paradise of the Hereafter death, otherwise he will enter the Fire. If anyone shall guide a soul, it is better than that he should rule over all the earth. And many who in one Manifestation are of the highest people of Paradise shall in the next Manifestation become the lowest of the people of the Fire. But the path of guidance is in the way of love and gentleness, not violence and cruelty... All believe in him (i.e. the Bab)²⁸ yet have they placed him in a mountain;²⁹ and all are made glorious through him, yet have they abandoned him alone. No Fire can be fiercer for the people of the world than this action in itself, just as for the believers no paradise can be greater than faith itself. No one shall enter it (Paradise) but it shall say, from its Lord, 'Verity I am God! There is no God but Me!' If that Tree of Truth dwells in the like of these stones,²⁹ then they call those stones 'mirrors', even as they called and call the atoms of the mirrors high set in the 'Imarat-i-Sadri,³⁰ where he dwelt in the days of Sad (Isfahan). So likewise as regards that land where, on that day, above the opposite Tree (i.e. the 'Tree of Denial'), the people of heart beheld it, as it were, annihilated, as though on that day it had become naught.

Wahid II, Chapter 17. Concerning this, that Hell-Fire is true. There are innumerable states for the Fire, but the Essence thereof is lack of wisdom ('irfan). On the first Manifestation of the Point of Exposition (Nuqtq-i-Bayan) that which was good in the knowledge of God was the first to advance towards him, and that which was other than good was the first to turn away from him. For from the Day of the Creation of all things till the first manifestation, the Essential Essence of all Paradises is the First Gate. And the Essential Essence of all Hell-Fire is the First to turn back. God would have made him advance, and He showed towards him the most perfect kindness and sent numerous tablets (alwah) and epistles to him, but he was veiled by that which doth not advantage him and clad himself in his primal garment of Fire. And the Gate of Fire, though innumerable, are reckoned as 19, else 'None knoweth their number but God alone'. All the good which is in the Bayan comes to him who first said 'Yea (Bala)', and all states other than good come to him who first said 'No (La)', for this is that Fire above which naught is imagined in the Bayan.³¹ For the Fire only became Fire by its refusal to worship God. And 'I take refuge with God' in the day of Him whom God shall manifest means believing in him, not saying this word only. Many a Fire shall God through Him whom God shall manifest turn to Light and many a Light to Fire. Should He come in the number of Chiyath (1511) all men shall enter in, not one shall remain in the Fire; and if he comes to Mustaghath (2001)³² all men shall enter in, not one shall remain in the Fire.

Wahid II, Chapter 18. Concerning this, that there is no doubt about the Hour which is to come. In every Manifestation of the Divine Volition, the Hour [is determined] by the Primal Reality thereof, till such time as it shall descend. Expect then Manifestation of God, for assuredly the Hour shall come upon them suddenly.

Wahid II, Chapter 19. Concerning this, that whatever is in the Bayan is a gift from God to Him whom God shall manifest. The writings of the Manifestation of the Truth in each Theophany are a gift from God to Him in His next Manifestation. Thus, for example, what God revealed to Jesus was a gift from God to Muhammad the Apostle of God, for what is meant by 'his Book'³³ is the souls which believe in him.

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¹ The Bab's name 'Ali Muhammad has seven letters. (M.M.)

² Here follows an Arabic verse in the style of the Qur'an, but containing some grammatical errors. The Bab divided all his inspired utterances (Bayan) into five grades (Shu'un-i-khamsa). To the verses of the highest grade (Arabic modelled on the style of the Qur'an) the term ayat, or 'sign', is specially applied. The 'verse' or 'sign' here introduced is for the 'completion of the 'Proof'.

3 Some texts of the Bayan give '2000 verses'. (M.M.)

4 Allusion is here made to the Bab's captivity in the mountain called Maku in Adharbayjan, whence he was afterwards removed to Chihriq. By 'this Tree' he means himself. All men are the leaves and believers the fruits.

5 See footnote 2 in the end of Wahid I.

6 i.e. the Point under the initial B of Bi'smi'llah, and the final M of the word Rahim with which it concludes.

7 For this formula - the basis of Islam - comprises the 'Letters of Denial' (There is no God), and the 'Letters of the Affirmation' (but God). These are generally reckoned as five each, the formula La ilaha illa Huwa (There is no god but He), which contains 10 letters in Arabic, being substituted for the other.

8 Browne had written 'Chihriq' but this is a mistake. (M.M.)

9 Confession of faith or witnessing to faith. (M.M.)

10 See footnote 7.

11 Qur'an 74:30.

12 i.e. Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, which together contain 19 letters in Arabic.

13 It is a cardinal doctrine of the Babis that the Manifestation of the 'Point of Light', or Prophet of each dispensation, must always be accompanied by that of the 'Point of Darkness', his opponent, as, for instance, Moses by as-Samiri (the maker of the Golden Calf), Muhammad by Abu Juhl, and the Bab by Haji Muhammad Karim Khan.

14 i.e. Maku.

15 Sin is the second letter in the formula Bi'smi'llah. (M..M.)

16 The Bab commonly reckons time not, as do most Muslims, from the Flight (Hijrat) of the Prophet, but from his Call (Ba'that), or the beginning of his mission, which he places ten years earlier.

17 See footnote 4.

18 i.e. Annihilation, or self-effacement in the Person of the Manifestation; in this case the Bab.

19 Barzakh is a gulf or barrier between two things or states, e.g. between this life and the next, or between Heaven and Hell, etc.

20 i.e. the Manifestation of God (here, the Bab), for, as said at the end of the last chapter, 'there is no way for anyone to approach the Eternal Essence'.

21 In the Creative Word 'Kun', 'Be!' See Qur'an, 2:117; 3:47; 3:59; 6:73; 40:16; 19:35; 36:82; 40:68.

22 i.e. Husayn ibn 'Ali, the third Imam, but the fifth of the 'Fourteen Pure Souls' (see footnote 2 of the Wahid I), which include the Prophet himself and his daughter Fatima.

23 i.e. 'Ali Zaunu'l-Abidin, the fourth Imam.

24 i.e. the twelfth and last Imam, the Mahdi. See next note.

25 The Muhammadan Bi 'smi 'llah ends in M (the last Letter of Rahim), while the corresponding Babi formula at this epoch was Bi 'smi 'llahi 'l-Amna'i 'l-Aqdas, which ends in S. As we have seen, the 'Letters of the Living' correspond to the Bi 'smi 'llah, so the 'Letter M' is the last of the Muhammadan 'Letters' or Imams, and the 'Letter S' of the Babi 'Letters'.

26 In fact the Imams are meant here. See M. Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Oxford and New Haven, 1985, pp. 16, 152. (M.M.)

27 i.e. the Manifestation of 'Him whom God shall manifest', which shall abrogate and supersede that of the Bayan, will in no case be delayed beyond this period, expressed also by the word Mustaghath, which has the same numerical value.

28 viz. in his previous Manifestation as Muhammad; for the 'Person of the Manifestation' is always the same, as the sun of to-day and the sun of yesterday are the same.

29 viz. His prison of Maku.

30 This was the 'Imarat-i-Khurshid where the Bab was kept safe from his enemies by the Covernor of Isfahan, Manuchihr Khan. See The Dawn-Breakers (US edn Wilmette, 1962), p.211; (British edn London, 1953), p.151. (M.M.)

31 This refers to the well-known Muhammadan belief that after God had created all men's souls, He asked them, 'Am I not your Lord? (A-lastu bi Rabbi-kum)' and those predestined to Salvation answered 'Yea! (Bala)' but the others 'Nay! (La)'.

32 See note 27 (M.M.)

33 For a book consists of letters, and as the individual believers are called 'Letters of Paradise', and the unbelievers 'Letters of Fire', the totality of either is regarded as a Book.

Wahid III, Chapter 1. That whereby the Name of a thing is called is a possession to it whereof it is more worthy than aught else. God created everything for him who points to Him,¹ and he is the Truth, which, without cessation, hath been and is pointing to God. By him all things have been and are created; while he subsisteth by himself in God, and all else trough him. Nothing can possess aught save by him; for he is most worthy of all things and whatever is except him is his property. If the Point of Truth give all things to one thing it is his right, whether he do it actually, or merely ordains it. If, for instance, the Apostle of God hag possessed himself of all things on the earth, he would have had more right to them than the actual possessors thereof. Thus doth God possess all things. For they cry out to Him, 'To Him is creation and command'. In the same way, if He whom God shall manifest should assume control over the Essences of all things, he has more right to them than their very Essences, although he be too great and glorious even to glance at all things, for all things look to his excellence and generosity, while he is in himself independent of all things, needing only of God in his Essence. The fruit of this chapter is this, that if He whom God shall manifest shall order anything, none shall say 'Why?', or 'Wherefore?' And if he shall order one who is to inherit according to the Bayan, saying 'Take not one Qirat', then this is the command of God.

Wahid III, Chapter 2. Concerning this, that by His Word things are created in order that they may speak of Him, for His is the word of God. The sayings of the Tree of Truth are not like the sayings of any created being, since, by His saying, the Essence of a thing is created. Thus, had he not spoken in the Qur'an of the saintship (Wilayat) of 'Ali, that saintship would not have been created. For although 'Ali was without cessation the Saint of God, yet is the origin of this Manifestation from His Word in that Manifestation, not in the Manifestation before it. Hence it is that both Fire and Light revolve round his saying. For instance, if He reveals a verse, without any special mention or order, such as, 'To God belongeth the Dominion of the Heaven and of the Earth and whatever is between them and God is powerful over all things', a Manifestation appears in the Bayan to prove this verse and endless other Manifestations in the shadow of this Manifestation. For in the shadow of each Mirror endless shapes become realized.

Wahid III, Chapter 3. Concerning this, that the Bayan and all that is therein revolves round the Word of Him whom God shall manifest; just as the Alif (the Gospel) and all that is therein revolves round the Word of Muhammad. The prolongation of the gaze of the Bayan is only towards Him Whom God shall manifest, for none but He can take it away, as none but He revealed it. So the desire of the Bayan and such as believe in the Bayan for Him exceeds the desire of all else for its Beloved; and today the Furqan (i.e. the Qur'an) salutes those Letters which exalted it by causing it to enter the Bayan. So also the Bayan salutes such believing souls of its own as shall believe in Him whom God shall manifest, and shall ascend towards His Book; while it seeks curses from God on those Letters of Paradise who, on His manifestation, shall not prostrate themselves to God before Him; or who shall be veiled by aught else from the Meeting with Him. Today nothing is sadder than the Furqan, though all read it, yet have of its mercy naught but curses. If anyone looks at the heart of the matter, the Letters of the Qur'an cry out today 'Help! O Goal and God of all things! Release us from the Fire of our association with that to which we are related, and associate us with Thyself and cause us to enter into the Bayan! This we ask of Thy Bounty!'

Wahid III, Chapter 4. Concerning this, that what God hath revealed to Him of verses and words is greater and higher than what God revealed aforetime. There exists no first but for a second, and no second but for a third, etc. By as much as the Apostle of God was more excellent than Jesus, by so much was his Book superior to the Gospel; and the same holds good of subsequent Manifestations. The things of God have no limit, nor are the Effulgence of God ever interrupted. Blessed is that soul which in each Manifestation becomes arrayed with the garment of the tradition of 'Askari.²

Wahid III, Chapter 5. Concerning this, that the places raised high above the earth continue raised up, if he gives permission. While, if he does not give permission, they are fixed: the decision rests in His hand. When the manifestation of the Tree of Truth has been accomplished, Command belongs to Him, and prohibition is His. For He is a mirror which indicates God alone, the Lord of all things, the Lord of the Visible and the Invisible, the Lord of the Worlds.

Wahid III, Chapter 6. Concerning this, that that whereby the name of a thing is mentioned, excepting God Himself, is created for it in the scope of Creation. God has revealed in the Bayan a word which comprises all knowledge, and it is this: - 'Verily I am God; there is no God but Me. All else is My Creation: fear Me³ then, O My creation!' All things but God are creatures, yet in their degrees they are Manifestations of God, and all point to God; Yea, the ocean of Names and Attributes eternally and increasingly hath pointed and doth point to God, though mentioned within the limit of its own nominality and attributive quality not in that Essentiality and Divinity. For God created everything by His Volition, and created Volition by Himself. Even so today everything is what is related to the Bayan, for the spirit of thing-ness (shay'iyyat) is in these (i.e. the 'Letters' of the Bayan) which were created by the Person of the Seven Letters (i.e. the Bab),⁴ who is the Manifestation of the Primal Will.

Wahid III, Chapter 7. Concerning this, that what God hath revealed touching the Meeting with Him, or the Meeting with the Lord, means naught else than Meeting Him whom God shall manifest, since God in His Essence cannot be seen. The Eternal Essence cannot be comprehended or described, or qualified, or seen, though by It all things are comprehended, described, qualified, and seen; and therefore what is meant in the Heavenly Books by 'Meeting with the Lord' is meeting with the Manifestation of the Point of Truth, which is the Primal Will. Thus in the Qur'an by 'Meeting with the Lord' is meant meeting the Apostle of God, even as it is said of the true believer, 'To behold him is to behold the Prophet of God, and to behold the Prophet of God is to behold God.'⁵ So everything which appertains to an unbeliever is Hell-Fire, since he is related thereto. He is as the Sun, and all else than Him is as mirror in which reflections of the sun appear. Whoever attains to the Meeting with Him whom God shall manifest, attains to the Meeting with God. How can one set opposite (i.e. hold equivalent) the Meeting with the Garment of the Sun and the Meeting with its similitude in a Mirror? For though that is naught other than it, and tells of naught other than it, yet is it in the condition of Contingency beside the Manifestation of Eternity, and of Temporality beside the value of Eternity. And however much anyone may ascend, he transcendeth not his Contingency. And seeing that to know Him [whom God shall manifest] is impossible, how should it be possible to know the Eternal Essence?

Wahid III, Chapter 8. Concerning this, that whatsoever is in the Macrocosm is in the Bayan, and that whatsoever is in the Bayan is in this verse of the Bayan: 'If we had revealed this Bayan to whomsoever is in the Kingdom of Heavens and in the Earth and what is between them, then all would believe in God, their Merciful Lord. Verily there is no God but He, the Living, the Ineffable, the Self- Subsistent. God, that whom there is no other God, the Compelling, the Incomparable, the Inaccessible, the Exalted, the Holy. To Him belong the most Beautiful Names, and to Him singeth praises whatsoever is in the Heavens and in the Earth and what is between them. Glory be to Him. Exalted is He from that which they ascribe! Say; "Verily God is indeed the King, the Ruler, the Powerful. He who maketh known the Supreme Similitudes; before Whom what is in Heaven and Earth and what is between them prostrate themselves, for verily He is the Mighty, the Beloved."'

There are 19 names which indicate God, in whose shadow all Names and Similitudes are mentioned. There are also 19 letters of Negation which are the 19 Gates of Hell-Fire, opposite to the 19 Gates of Paradise. Whosoever believes in the Bayan, and recites these four verses, which represent the stations of Creation, Provision, Death and Life, and believes in the Letters of the One (Wahid), whereof the spirits project themselves by these Names, and seeks deliverance with God from the Gates of Fire, and dissociates himself from them and recognises every good mention which is in the Bayan as referring to the Similitudes and Names, and recognises every un-good mention as referring to the Letters [of Denial], he has, as one may say, read the whole Bayan, and verified all that God hath revealed therein.

And these four verses refer to this verse - 'God beareth witness that there is no God by He; to whom belong the Dominion and the Kingdom; then the Glory and the Power: then Strength and Divinity: then Authority and Humanity. He maketh alive and He causeth to die: then He causeth to die and maketh alive, and verily He is the Living who dieth not, the King who declineth not, the Justice which oppresseth not, the Authority which passeth not, the Incomparable from whose grasp nothing is lost, neither of that which is in the Heavens, nor that which is in the Earth nor that which is between them: for verily He hath Power over all things.' And this verse is referable to the verse, 'God beareth witness that there is no God by He; to Him is Creation and Command, both before and after; He maketh alive and He causeth to die; then He causeth to die and He maketh alive, and verily He is the Living who dieth not. In His Grasp is the Kingdom of all things; He createth what He desireth by his Command, for Verily He is powerful over all.' And this verse is referable to 'In the Name of God the Inapproachable, the Most Holy'. And all the Letters of the Bi'smi'llah return to the Point of the B as in the beginning of all they arose from the Point.

All the Bayan is the expansion of the Point, and the Manifestation thereof in Mirrors; it is like the Sun, and all the Letters are like Mirrors, whence it is reflected: 'The beginning of each letter is It, and the end of each is it; and none is manifest but It, and none concealed but It. And all the Bayan is the Manifestation of the Point, and the Point is the Station of the Volition of the Manifestation of God. And all returns to Him whom God shall manifest, for He it is to whom the Bayan and what is therein return with the most extreme humility. He it is than whom naught else is seen in the Mirrors of the Bayan, so that, for example, if in the Bayan there be a Manifestation of Justice, He is the Just; if of virtue, He is the Virtuous, etc. For in the mirrors naught is seen but the Sun. All the Letters of the Paradise of the Bayan return to Him whom God shall manifest, who is the First Paradise, the Most Great Name manifested by Divinity. So with regard to the Point who is in the Mountain,⁶ all things are but his Manifestation, and all do what they do by him; alike the Letters of the Qur'an and others... If anything be thought desirable in the world of Contingency, it is He who is thought desirable; and if anything be abhorred it is He who is abhorred, for therein is seen naught except the Sun of Volition, whereby that thing has become and is a thing; else if he be removed, it sinks into Sheer Nothingness. Nay, even the existence of the word 'Nothingness' is realized only by Him, else had this too been unmentioned. This is what is meant by the saying of the Apostle of God, 'O God, show me the realities of things as they are!'

Wahid III, Chapter 9. Concerning this, that what is in the Bayan is in each verse of the Bayan. Mention has been made of the 19 Names⁷ and also, in their shadow, of the 19 Letters of Negation. All things return to the human form; whatever points to Affirmation has been mentioned in the Most Beautiful Names and Types; while whatever points to Negation is included in 'From that which they ascribe.'⁸ Blessed is he who believeth in Him who sprinkleth these verses from the Ocean of his Power, and by the Manifestation of the Sun of whose Majesty these similitudes come into being; while all which is connoted by the name of Negation is actualized because it did not humble itself to the Glory of the Holiness of His Exaltation, which is the Nuqta-i-Bayan in this and the Primal Volition in every Manifestation, and He whom God shall manifest himself at the time when he shall appear by permission of His Lord.

Wahid III, Chapter 10. Concerning this, that what is in this verse was in the former verse: 'God beareth witness... Powerful'.⁹ Everything which is in the Station of Spirits (Ruh) is arrayed with the Garment of Limitation; but the Station of Heart (Fu'ad), which is the Station of the Manifestation of the Names of God, there is no limit, for there naught is seen but God and His Names. Letters become differentiated from one another by the Point in writing, and so Plurality arises. By 'People of Hearts' are meant the Proofs of 'There is no God but God'; by 'People of Spirits', the Proofs of the Prophet of God ; by 'People of Souls', the Proofs of the Imams; and by 'People of Bodies' the Proofs of the Gates (Babs); for all the Names and Attributes are the multiplication of this same first Unity. Imagine all to be Mirrors and the Point the Sun in Heaven. If a white Mirror is before it, the sign of Hearts is reflected therein; if a yellow Mirror, the sign of Spirits; if a green Mirror, the sign of Souls; if a red Mirror, the sign of Bodies.

Wahid III, Chapter 11. Concerning this, that whatever is in this verse is in 'Bi 'smi 'llahi-Amna'i 'l-Aqdas'.¹⁰ All letters of speech become existent by the Point of Truth, which in the Qur'an is Muhammad the Apostle of God, and in the Bayan the Person of the Seven Letters (i.e. the Bab).¹¹

Wahid III, Chapter 12. Concerning this, that the likeness of the Point is as the Sun, and the likeness of the other Letters as Mirrors and that all which is in the Bi 'smi 'llah is in the Point. Today the Manifestation of this same Point is in the Bayan: every Soul which believeth in Him will not see in itself that wherein its glory consists except as a form which it sees in a Mirror. If men this knowledge, they would never have regarded 'Ali as equal in greatness with Muhammad. The first of Mirrors which took a reflection from the Sun of Truth has been in all worlds the Lord of the Faithful ('Ali).

Wahid III, Chapter 13. Concerning this, that it is not permissible to question Him whom God shall manifest, save his scripture except in that which is worthy of Him. For his station is the station of the Letter of the Manifestation, nay, the Manifestation itself, and the souls of the Manifestation appear in His shadow, and if there is any excellence in Contingent Being, it is from the reflection of his Bounty. Wherefore should one desire to see His Knowledge, let him look to the learned, who, by knowledge of his Book, are learned concerning the previous Manifestation. So also with His Power and Glory, let them look for these in whom they have been manifested. And the Bayan is from beginning to end the ambush [place of concealment] of all His Attributed and Treasury of his Fire and His Light, while the Spirits thereof on the face of the earth are proofs pointing to His Words from His previous Manifestations, all of which were created for His subsequent Manifestation. And if anyone be wise ('arif) in Him, he becomes dead beside His Will. No Proof is greater for Him than His own Self, for all verses (signs)and words arise from the Ocean of his Bounty. So, if anyone wishes to ask questions, it is only lawful to do so from his Scripture that he may comprehend the joy of receiving an answer as it really is, and that it may be a Sign to him form his Beloved. But only questions suitable to His degree must be asked; for if one be a setter of rubies, and a man ask him the price of chaff, how ignorant must such a questioner be!

It seems as though I see some one asking Him [whom God shall manifest] in his letter concerning that which has been revealed in the Bayan... and He reveals in reply (from God, not from himself): 'Verily I am God; there is no God but Me. I created all things, and sent prophets formerly and revealed unto them books that ye should worship none other than God, my Lord and your Lord; and verily that is indeed the Sure Truth. It is equal unto me that ye should believe in me and be guided for your own benefit; or that ye should not believe in me, nor in that which God hath revealed unto me, and so be veiled (from Truth) for yourselves. And verily I was independent of you formerly, and shall certainly be independent of you hereafter, therefore look to yourselves and believe in My signs. Verily he who believeth nether in me nor in what God hath revealed to me is as one who believeth not in the Person of the Seven Letters and the Bayan. So also if ye know, ye will not contented to look to the Bayan after that God hath revealed verses unto Me, and ye will enter into the religion of God. Verily I am the Nuqta-i-Bayan from aforetime, and God hath manifested me again as He manifested me before. Wherefore see not in me aught but God, my Lord and your Lord, the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Earth, the Lord of all things, the Lord of the visible and the Lord of the invisible, the Lord of the Worlds. Verily that which is with you is like what the mirror shews of the Sun in Heaven; so likewise is what ye adduce in proof from your Scriptures beside that which we revealed to you formerly in the Bayan...'

For He loveth those Hearts which point only to God and His love, and those Spirits and Souls and Bodies which point only to his 'Letters of the Living' which are the same as the Letters of the Bayan, the Qur'an, the Alif, The Ta, the Za¹² and so on till it ends with the book of Adam. Now from the Manifestation of Adam until the first Manifestation of the Nuqta-i-Bayan there have elapsed from the life of this world 12,210 years, and there is no doubt that before this there have been for God worlds and men innumerable, whereof none wottest but God only. And in no world hath the Manifestation of the Divine Volition been other than the Nuqta-i-Bayan, the Person of the Seven Letters; nor have its Letters of the Living been other than the Letters of the Living of the Bayan; nor its Names other than the Names of the Bayan; nor its Similitudes other than the Similitueds of the Bayan. He it is who is known by all things as 'the Prophet' and 'the Book which is of God'...

The Nuqta-i-Bayan was indentically that Adam, the beginning of the First Creation... And that Adam, who was then in the Degree of the Seed, hath now become this man; as for example a boy 12 years of age does not say, 'I am that seed which descended from such an heaven, and settled in such an earth'; for if he says thus, he hath degraded himself and the wise not consider his intelligence mature. Therefore it is that the Nuqta-i-Bayan does not say 'I am all the Manifestations of the Divine Volition from Adam till today'. For the same reason, the Apostle of God did not say 'I am Jesus'. So also the Beautiful yourth 14 years of life ought not say 'I am that same one [mentioned above] of 12 years old'; seeing that things tend upwards, not downwards; although the boy of 12 years of age was in his seed-time Adam, and gradually improved till today he is 12 years of age, and will gradually continue to improve till he reaches 14 years. In each case the subsequent Manifestation is the maturity of the previous one [possessing the fruit of that], together with what it has in itself, just as the letter Ghayn has the 900 of the letter Za while Za has not the 1000 of Ghayn¹³ ...

Paradise in each cycle is the Manifestation of the Perfection of that Ade, and today Perfection is in the Bayan, not in aught else. I swear by the Holy Divine Essence that if the wise and learned of the time of Him whom God shall manifest shall be one with him in faith, he is not content that he should leave one of the people of the Bayan on the Earth, much less others. He will endeavour and strive till naught shall remain but that which enters Paradise. This is the Great Salvation in that Manifestation, when whatever is upon the earth shall adopt His religion in the Shadow of that Manifestation. Then the Divine Volition itself will be satisfied; else is it eternally asking of the goodness of God, until it be so. And the end It must be so, for God hath power over all things... and although He will make all which is upon the Earth a portion of the Greatest Paradise.

Wahid III, Chapter 14. Concerning the command unto each to preserve the Bayan in the most reverent way possible. That which remains amongst men from the Tree of Truth is His words, and the spirits attached to them. Therefore the most they strive to preserve, honour, and exalt His Words, the more will these words be manifest in their spirits. Even small epistles must be bound, for [the Bayan] must not become like the Qur'an, fragments of which are sold in every corner of the mosques in an unseemly manner.¹⁴ Whoever possesses all the Bayan, his good deeds shall be doubled, and all the Angels shall intercede for him. The weight of the book should be light, the writing large, and marginal notes must not be written in it. And it is not permitted to be written otherwise than in a fair handwriting. And God's pleasure is that they should recite it and ponder over it as they read it. There is no word with anyone of which the Spirit does not receive help from the recitation thereof. And this formula may be used before reading: 'Bless Thou, O God, the Bayan and whoever believes in it, in every station, with glory and might. And punish whoever believes not in it with authority and justice.' And all the Splendour (Baha) of the Bayan is He whom God shall manifest. All Mercy is for him who shall believe in Him, and all curses for him who shall not believe.'

Wahid III, Chapter 15. Concerning this, that whosoever believeth in Him whom God shall manifest, it is as though he believed in God and what God hath commanded in all the worlds; and he who believeth not (even though he believe in God, and what God hath commanded in former time), it is as though he had not believed, and he shall enter the Fire. The Manifestation of God in every Manifestation, whereby is meant the Primal Volition, is and was the Splendour of God (Baha'u'llah), beside whom all things are and were as naught. Whosoever believeth in a later Manifestation, it is as though he had believed in all Manifestations, former and latter, in that Manifestation. The young 19 years of age is the same as the boy of 14 was before he reached 19 years. Thus it is that if anyone believes in this Manifestation who has not previously believed, he has , as it were, accepted all, and God is satisfied with him; whereas if he has believed in all the previous ones, and not in this, it is as naught ('scattered dust'). So it was in the time of the Qur'an; wherefore all who did not believe in it were accounted as unbelievers. Many are those who in one Manifestation were in Paradise, in other are in Hell-Fire; and vice versa. And to the Manifestations of God there is neither beginning nor end to be spoken of. If anyone does not believe in a thousand thousand Manifestations, yet believes in the one after these, all his worlds become changed to Faith; but if the reverse is the case, it will be the opposite. If the Letters of the Book of Alif (the Christians) had been faithful to their promise to Jesus, none would have remained in the Fire [in the Manifestation] of the Prophet of God... None knoweth save God as to when the Manifestation shall be. But it is hoped of God's goodness that it will arrive before the [Number of] Mustaghath (2001 years). And the Proof is naught but the signs (verses) and His Being in itself, for all else than Him is known by Him, while He can be known by naught else. Glory be to God above that which they ascribe!

Wahid III, Chapter 16. Concerning this, that it is not permissible to act otherwise than according to the writings of the Nuqta-i-Bayan. Let men not occupy themselves with other writings; but strive in the knowledge of the Letters, and Conjunctions of the Numbers of God's Names, and Conjunctions of like Words, Conjunctions of Writings in their proper place; for Permission hath been accorded to each person to arrange the order of the Bayan in such wise as appeareth sweetest; for though it appear after a thousand fashions, yet do all return to the souls of the Bayan. So if there be ten prayers of 100 verses each, it is best that they should be arranged together. This is of the Bounty of God to those learned in the Bayan, that they may have somewhat wherein to engage until God shall rejoice them with a new Manifestation. The Nuqta-i-Bayan has written three Commentaries on the Qur'an; two in the style of verses (ayat) throughout, one Commentary on the Suratu'l-Baqara in the form of a scientific treatise.¹⁵

Wahid III, Chapter 17. It is unlawful to write any of the writings of the Point save in the best of writing; nor must anyone have an Epistle which is not in the best writing, else will his science be disordered, and he will not be of the believers. All the writings of the Point are called Bayan, but in the Primal Reality this (term) is confined to verses (ayat) though afterwards the trm is used, in the Secondary Reality, of the Station of Devotional Exercises (Munajat), and, in the Tertiary Reality, of the Station of Commentaries (Tafsir), and, in the Quaternary Reality, of Scientific Treatises; and, in the Quinary Reality, of Persian writings. The employment of 'Abdu'l-Bayan as a name is permitted, for the Name of God is derived from the Matter of the Bayan and He was the first to be named with this name when he said in it: 'Verily I am God; there is no God but Me, The One, the Explanation (Bayan)'; and all mystery of the Bayan is manifest in His Name, for the number of the Bayan together with the Unity (Wahid) of the Universal Form (Wahid-i-Surat-i-Jami'a) becomes the Number of God,¹⁶ so that it may be a mirror for the Nuqta-i-Bayan. Everyone must write the Bayan in his best writing, so that in every case the Spirit attached to each Letter in the Bayan may be raised to the greatest height possible for it in the phenomenal world, and that naught may be seen in such as believe in the Bayan save what is perfect in its own degree. Today how dear are the letters of the Alif (Injil, Gospel), more so than those of any other nations! So also shall that which is in the Bayan become; but all this is only on condition that it shall not create difficulty, for God loveth not to look on the soul of a believer in grief. I seem to see, even now in this Mountain (of Maku), finely executed Bayans in the hands of the People of the Bayan, and how they rejoice in the reading thereof.

Wahid III, Chapter 18. Whoever desireth to commentate any one of the writings of the Nuqta, or to compose any book for God's good pleasure, may not give a copy to anyone unless he write first a copy for himself in the best writing, either his own or another's, after which he may give it; else is it not lawful. God desires in the Bayan that, whatever befalls anything, from the embryonic state of that thing up to the highest point of its development may be supreme as regards beauty of form and quality, so that not even one atom of repugnance may be caused to anyone. Whoever, therefore, writes a commentary on the words of the Bayan, or composes a book on any science [connected therewith] if he be able himself to make a copy in his best writing from the original [this is best], but if not, he should give it to another to transcribe it, and afterwards keep it by him, and then shall a copy be given to another, that the writings of each one may be first with himself, and may afterwards come to others, else will his action be disordered. If one point (nuqta) in a book is out of place, it is worthless, and only fit to be thrown into the sea. The people of the Bayan must not be like the present men of learning, who care just as much for a book written in a thousand diverse hands, several on each page, as for the original copy: like a book of Agonies [of the Martyrs] (Masa'ib)¹⁷ which is in this mountain [of Maku].

Wahid III, Chapter 19. Permission is given by God to whomsoever wishes to possess the writings of the Nuqta to expend thereon what he pleases of that which God hath caused him to possess; even though he should spend the whole of what is on the earth as the price of one Bayan. Perhaps when He whom God shall Manifest appears it may not be as it is now: namely, that there should be countless Qur'ans of 1000 (gold pieces) in value and that the Revealer thereof should be [imprisoned] in a mountain: and that his cell should be of bare bricks, although the throne of God has been and is everywhere, whether it be on the Throne of Honour, or on the Earth.

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¹ He who points to God, i.e. the Manifestation of God. (M..M.)

² A Tradition of the 11th Imam, Hasan al-'Askari, which in the text is given thus: 'The Holy Spirit in the Paradise of the Third Heaven has tasted of our untouched Gardens.' (M. M.)

³ I have changed 'them' in Browne's manuscript to 'Me' which is what the text reads. (M. M.)

⁴ The Bab's name 'Ali Muhammad has seven letters (M. M.)

⁵ In the original this is not a quotation. Browne has, in his condensation, somewhat distorted the structure, although not so much the meaning of the original. (M. M.)

⁶ i.e. the Bab in his mountain-prison of Maku.

⁷ See Chapter 8, paragraph 2.

⁸ In the verse of the Qur'an (23:91; 37:159): 'Exalted is God above that which they ascribe.'

⁹ This refers to a verse in Wahid III, chapter 8. (M. M.)

¹⁰ 'In the Name of God, the most Unapproachable, the Most Holy', the formula substituted by the Bab for the Muhammadan Bi 'smi 'llahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Rahim.

¹¹ See note 4.

¹² The Letters of the Alif (Injil = Gospel) are the Christians; the 'Ta' (Tawrat) is the Pentateuch; and the 'Za' (Zubur) the Psalms of David.

¹³ This refers to the numerical equivalents of these letters. (M. M.)

¹⁴ The Qur'an is divided into 30 parts, called juz' (plural, ajza'), which are often sold separately for the use of students and devout.

¹⁵ Of all these three Commentaries on three Suras of the Qur'an (those entitled Yusuf, Wa'l-Asr and al- Baqara) I possess copies. The commentary on the Suras Yusuf (also called Qayyumu'l-Asma) is the largest and most important, and also the least rare. (E.G.B.). However, the Bab is reported to have composed a total of nine commentaries on the whole Qur'an and it may be the first three of these that are here referred to. (M. M.)

¹⁶ The 'Number of the Bayan', i.e. the sum of the numbers equivalent to its component letters, is 63, while the 'Number of God' (Allah) is 66, so that I cannot understand how the number in the text is obtained. (E.G.B.) In fact, the numbers are; al-Bayan (94) plus wahid (1) = Lillah (For God, 95). (M.M.)

¹⁷ The Bab is known to have had in Maku a copy of an account of the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn called Muhriqu'l-Qulub by Hajji Mulla Mihdi Naraqi, the reading of which affected him deeply. See The Dawn-Breakers, US edn, p. 252; UK edn, p. 176 (M.M.)

Wahid IV, Chapter 2. Whatever is referable to the Point is referable to God, and whatever is not referable to him is not referable to God. The Eternal Divine Essence has always been indescribable, incomprehensible and invisible, and what is revealed therefrom is from the Word of Its Volition. Hence in every cycle there are States and Manifestations for his Volition which the wise comprehend. If the people of one Revelation do not accept the next one when it comes, all their knowledge becomes vain and fruitless. So whoever has recourse to Him whom God shall manifest has recourse to Him (God): even as the Ka'ba is called His (God's) House. Nor, indeed, is aught else possible in the Contingent World, for the Eternal Essence does not become proximate to anything; and the first Creation of a thing is dependent on Volition to which, therefore, it is eventually to be referred.

Till He whom God shall manifest appears, if anyone picks up even a grain of millet from the ground he must do it for the sake of, and with the permission of, the Point, but if one moment after the new Manifestation, then for Him whom God shall manifest. I swear by Him whom God shall manifest (which is the greatest of oaths) that no one has brought any grief or sorrow upon him (the Nuqta or his people) who did not profess to do it for God's sake, wherein he lieth. For seven years no one believed in the Qur'an but one person, though the proof was always the same.

Wahid IV, Chapter 3. Concerning this, that God doth in Truth change His plans. God is not worshipped by anything as He is by [the Doctrine of] Al-Bida',² since this is a confession of His power to do what He pleases.

Wahid IV, Chapter 4. Concerning this, that every mention is a bond-slave to him .³ The Spirits of all things culminate in the form of man, and the Paradise of all things is in the Paradise of man. Thus, for instance, if a diamond of incomparable value is in the possession of a believer, the honour of that diamond consists in its serving to increase the honour of that believer. And this (human) form culminates in the [Divine] Name and Attribute, if its Heart (Fu'ad) points to God, it is mentioned with God in the shadow of 'To Him are the Most Beautiful Names'. And if it is an Attribute, it is mentioned amongst his Attributes; and this is the high significance of the Tradition, 'There is naught but God and His Names and Attributes.' But this form [of man] is connected with the Names and Attributes only if in each Manifestation it enters with the shadow of that Manifestation; else, ceasing to be even a Believer, how shall it not cease to be a Name or Attribute? As today it is seen that every good attribute is in the Letters of the Alif (i.e. the Christians); yet today the Attributes of Hell-Fire are mentioned in connection with them. If today anyone believes in the Bayan, he is seated on a throne of glory, though he be seated on the earth. Yet have they imprisoned the Revealer thereof in a Mountain. This is the meaning of the Tradition: 'In Him is a quality of Joseph, for he is sold and bought.'⁴ Please God they will not treat 'Him whom God shall Manifest' as they treated the Point!

Wahid IV, Chapter 5. Concerning this, that the Possessors of the Circles⁵ are signs unto him. Take care, O people of the Bayan, for the Manifestation of God will appear how God pleases, therefore think not untruly concerning the Truth, for his verses are a sign to all. No one is to be slain for unbelief, for the slaying of a soul is outside the religion of God. And from the day when the Sun of Truth shall set, for no one of those who believe in the Bayan is the decree of killing lawful, and if anyone orders it, he is not and was not of the Bayan, for no sin can be greater for him than this. And God has sealed it by His own Holy Essence that He will not pardon anyone who meditates the slaughter of one of those who believe in the Bayan. And those who hold ta'ziyas ⁶ and weep and lament over the misfortunes of the first promulgators of Islam, did nevertheless imprison and oppress that same person whom they lament; while the Doctors of the Law give fatwas against him. And this is so much insisted on in the Bayan, that no one should make another sad, lest perhaps the Lord of the Matter (Sahibu'l-Amr, i.e. He whom God shall manifest) be rendered sad. And even those who have not entered the Religion (if such there be) on that Day, are to be treated with justice.

Wahid IV, Chapter 6. Concerning this, that He is not to be questioned concerning what He does, but all else shall be questioned. The perfection of a mirror is this, that naught should be seen in it but the Sun; for, if it itself be seen, it becomes unworthy of mention. So if there be seen anyone with a will other than the one Primal and Eternal Will, he is disobedient. If anyone look with this regard on the Apostle of God, he will see in Him all the Prophets.

Wahid IV, Chapter 7. Concerning this, that the Beginning is from God through Him, and the Return is to God through Him.

Wahid IV, Chapter 8. Concerning this, that by His verses He createth the tendency of everything as He desireth, and nourisheth and causeth to die, and maketh alive. Ayat-i-Khalq = Fu'ad; Ayat-i-Rizq = Ruh; Ayat-i-Mawt = Nafs; Ayat-i-Hayat = Jasad. If one of the people of the Bayan give so much as a rose-leaf to a believer, this is naught but the action of the Letters of the One, and therein naught is seen but the action of God. This is why none creates but God, and none provides but God, and none causeth to die but God, and none maketh alive but God. Look at the Past. If the verse ordaining Pilgrimage had not been revealed, how would the verses (or sings) which are arranged according to Creation and Provision, Death and Life⁷ in the way of the pilgrimage, be realized? So today one cup of water given by a believer in the Bayan is sweeter to him who knows God than all the luxuries of the earth given by one who does not believe in the Bayan. And if anyone comprehend one state of the states of Him whom God shall manifest, it is better for him than that he should understand all the states (shu'un) of the Bayan.

Wahid IV, Chapter 9. Let every Ruler who shall arise in the Bayan write the mention of his name and what God hath assigned to him from Himself until the day when God shall (again) manifest the Nuqta-i-Bayan, so that every soul may be recompensed with that which is hath acquired: Verily He is swift in reckoning, and verily He is Independent and Exalted. From the [moment of the] Revelation of the Bayan until the Appearance of Him whom God shall manifest every one in authority should strive to exalt the Bayan, till the Point shall return and reward him with the best reward. What reward, indeed, can be higher than this, that he should be mentioned by Him whose mention is God's mention?

Wahid IV, Chapter 10. It is unlawful to teach books other than the Bayan unless there be therein something relating to Scholastic Philosophy (Ilm-i- Kalam), but Logic, 'Principles, and Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and dead languages, and the like, are forbidden, as also what has been written on [Arabic] Grammar and Syntax: unless anyone should desire to learn so much of the latter as may suffice him to read the Bayan, though there are so many of the writings of the Point in Persian that this is unnecessary for him. Nor must he learn more than this, nor other than this. This is the straight path for the believers until the day when the Tree of Truth (He whom God shall manifest) shall become manifest, for that is the Day of the Speaking Book of Truth when recourse to the Dumb Book tends but to veil men from the Speaking Book, which is a book free from the cognitional forms (shu'un-i-'ilmiyya) of the Creature. Even so was it in this Manifestation of the Point, who is seen to be devoid of the sciences of Etymology, Syntax, Logic, and Jurisprudence and the various branches of these. For all these exist only for the understanding of God's Will as expressed in His Word; what need, then, has one whose Word is the Word of God and whose Will is the of God of these forms (shu'un), seeing that God hath bestowed on him such power and utterance that if a swift writer were to write with the utmost rapidity for two days and two nights without intermission there would appear from that Mine of the Word the equal of a Qur'an; such that if all the thinkers on the earth were assembled they could not understand one verse thereof, much less produce the like. All the fruits of the Qur'an are in this verse: 'God who created seven heavens, and on earth the like thereof; between them descends the Command, that they may know that God hath power over all things and that God comprehendeth all things with His Knowledge.'⁸ The fruit of the Qur'an is to know and recognise Him who shall arise (the Qa'im) of the family of Muhammad, and for this all were created; but they were veiled therefrom because they did not regard the Manifestation of His Knowledge and Power, which Knowledge is in Himself of Himself, and in his Creation of His Creation. None are worse than those who glory in their knowledge without having even understood that their knowledge was for the understanding of His words formerly; but at the time of His Manifestation, what need is there for the teaching of these sciences, seeing that His word hath become, and His Will clear?

Wahid IV, Chapter 11. Whosoever oversteps the limits of the Bayan shall not be deemed a believer, be his condition what it may. God, in revealing the Bayan, hath regarded all his people, and fixed limits for all in whatever station they stand, that no one should be in the least grieved in the Paradise of the Bayan. Everything must be brought to its utmost limit of perfection. Thus the Paradise of a text is that they should write it in beautiful writing and adorn it with gold. And anyone who has the power to perfect a thing and does not do so is culpable. Watch for the appearance of Him whom God shall Manifest, for as the revelation of the Bayan was, so shall His be, verse by verse and letter by letter; even as, on the appearance of the Nuqta-i-Bayan, [the Revelation] flashed forth first on two souls, so that little by little it might reach all. Therefore watch for the moment of the Manifestation, so that, if the Effulgences be on one soul, that soul may not be rent asunder by the greatness which he beholdeth. By His Name shall the people of the Bayan become subsistent; learning suddenly that it was He who was with them day and night. Everywhere in the mosques at Karbala and Najaf are written such sentences as 'He who knows you, knows God; and he who loves you, loves God; he who hates you hates God';⁹ and the like and such prayers and expressions are widely used amongst the Shi'ites. Yet have the Imams returned to the world,¹⁰ and no one has recognised them. So the people of the Gospel, who are in the religion of the Franks, did not recognise in the coming of Muhammad the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus, 'One cometh after me whose name is Ahmad',¹¹ and are still waiting, and are therefore eternally in the Fire. O people of the Bayan, do not act thus when He whom God shall manifest shall appear!

Wahid IV, Chapter 12. Concerning the removal of all shrines upon the earth. In each Manifestation which appears from God, the shrines which were aforetime are taken away, as today you see in the Religion of the Apostle of God that his followers know not the shrines, nor even the very names, of the Saints of Jesus, much less their tombs. Tombs of ancient prophets and patriarchs, shown in some places,¹² must also be abolished. The Jews go to Jerusalem; the Muslims to the Ka'ba, and the Christians to some other determined place. Now there is no honour in the mere earth itself; the Essence [of the honour attaching to a Holy Place] is that it is the Horizon of the Divine Command. Today the Muslims eagerly visit the tombs of the Imams, yet are veiled from the Manifestation which confirms their prophet-ship and saint-ship, who is suffered to dwell in the Mountain of Maku. So it was with the Christians in the time of Muhammad, who for 7 years was left to dwell neglected in the mountains of Mecca; and so it is now, when the Muslims flock to the Ka'ba, yet neglect Him by whose Word the Ka'ba became the Ka'ba. For the Nuqya-i- Bayan is identical with Muhammad, the Divine Command being like the Sun which, however often it rises, is but one Sun, whereby all subsist. All previous Manifestations were created for Muhammad; these together for the Qa'im; and all these inclusive for Him whom God shall manifest. The Sun of Truth arises and sets, but has neither beginning nor end. Happy is he who in each Manifestation understands the purpose of God in that Manifestation, and who does not, by regarding the phases (shu'un) of former times, remain veiled from that Manifestation. In each Dispensation countless souls are found slumbering, proud in their concern with the previous Dispensation.

Wahid IV, Chapter 13. Concerning the elevation of shrines to [the Letters of] 'The Unity' (Wahid) and the obligation incumbent on him who possesses any such site upon the earth not to use it otherwise than for these shrines. In each Manifestation a special command appears, and in this Manifestation of the Bayan, God does not desire to see any high place save the shrines of Muhammad and his Family and the Gates (Babs) of Guidance who are called in this Manifestation 'Letters of the One'. And He loves to behold 19 lofty shrines; for the shrines of the other Prophets, faithful ones, Martyrs and believers, whose hearts were the Horizons of the [Divine] Names an Similitudes, exist in the shadow of [in dependence on] these places, so that the matter may not be difficult to men and that anyone who wishes to include them all may be able to do so, since all are [summed up] in this first unity (Wahid), the multiplication of which is loved by God and such as are wise. There are places where the angels descend.

Wahid IV, Chapter 14. Whosoever taketh refuge in these Shrines is safe and is pardoned. Taking refuge in the Shrines of the Letters of the One does not mean going to these places, but is meant spiritually. Thus today the Muslims visit the Tombs of the former Manifestation of the Letters of the One and obey their former sayings, yet give fatwas for their slaughter. ¹³ O people of the Bayan! Agree never to approve for others what you would not approve for yourselves, so that perhaps in the Day of the Manifestation you may not turn against the Letters of the One, even if you are not for them... 1270 years have passed between this Manifestation and last. Have mercy on yourselves, and do not make your actions as scattered dust, and so fashion your souls that if ye be not for anyone, ye may not be against anyone; for this is the way of salvation in this world and the next. [Reference to] The worlds which were before Adam.

Wahid IV, Chapter 15. It is unlawful for anyone to forbid another to take refuge in these shrines when he wishes to do so.

Wahid IV, Chapter 16. In description of the Holy House. There has not been from all Eternity a place for God, nor will there be; but in each Manifestation the Divine Volition makes its House in the land whereunto it is related. If the believers in God had power so to do, verily it would be ordained that this House should be filled with diamonds from the water-level even to its summit, and its water would be red scent.¹⁴ But if [at least] without and within it be decked with mirrors, this will be most pleasing; such mirrors as are in the hands of the artificers of today. And in the land of Fa (Fars) ¹⁵ there is a Mosque in the midst of which is a building like the Ka'ba;¹⁶ the style of this is mentioned in order that there may be a sign in that Land to guide the erection of the House before the Manifestation of God's Dispensation... 1270 years have elapsed since the last Manifestation... The House of God is in reality in the hearts of such as believe in Him whom God shall manifest. If man had made the circuit round this - the Real - House of God, the other (outer one) would not hae been ordained, but because they would not, therefore was this burden laid on their necks. 70,000 souls circumambulate that House of Clay, honoured only because it is related to Muhammad, while He who gave it its true meaning dwells in the Mountain of Maku, only one soul bearing Him company.¹⁷ Yet this same Letter of Shin ¹⁸ who went on foot to His House, now on him is it thus decreed. I myself saw one who spent vast sums on the pilgrimage to Mecca yet withheld from his companion and fellow traveller on board ship a single cup of water because he was of noble birth. The pilgrimage is blessed only for those who behave well to each other. I myself [during the voyage] from Bushire to Muscat, which took 12 days, suffered from thirst since sufficient water could not be carried.

Watch over yourselves, that in no state ye bring sorrow on anyone, for the hearts of believers are nearer to God than is a mere House of Clay. Nothing is more important that this in the way of the pilgrimage, that if one be with another he should neither show vexation himself, nor vex that other, for the quarrelling of the pilgrims to Mecca is most detestable in the eyes of God. Let the practice (sunnat) of the believers be naught but gentleness, modesty and tranquillity. The House of God repudiates those men, who while circumambulating it, regard (only) themselves... On the sea naught but vexation is imaginable, nor can comforts be collected as on land, and if merchants would cease voyaging on the sea, where this is possible, it were better in this Religion for their tranquillity. But inasmuch as [by the abandonment of sea- voyages] the order of the world would be disturbed, there must needs be seafaring folk, who, indeed, approach God in their work; and God rewardeth those who do good, whether they be on the sea or on the land, and doubleth the Reward of those who move on the sea by reason of their weariness, if they be in the religion of God, and behave affectionately to one another; for God rewardeth the well-doers.

And it is meet for a King in whose Kingdom is the Sanctuary of God (nay, for every landowner) that in the limits of his own land, in all parts thereof, from the first to the last, he should station agents to carry the news and letters of that land from one end to the other, which systems is in the highest degree organised in the Land of the Franks. This is so that when He whom God shall manifest shall appear, all the means may exist for the transmission of letters and news, that all may be informed of Him. These facilities must become general; else, even now, those who are in authority have the Chapar; ¹⁹ but of what use is this, since the poor cannot employ it? If any one hear the news of the Manifestation one fraction of a second sooner, and believe, it is better than that he should possess all the earth. God loves those who set in order.

Wahid IV, Chapter 17. It is not lawful to sell in the Precinct of [God's] House; and he who wishes to stop this may lawfully take [what is exposed for sale], even though the owner doth not acquiesce, because God hath more right to property than His servant, who possesseth it for only a few years.

Wahid IV, Chapter 18. Going up to (God's) House is not lawful except to the rich, who need undergo no hardship on the way; let such an one, when he has come up there, give 4 mithqals of gold to him who attends at the First Column (Rukn), and the Second, and the Third, and the Fourth of [God's] House that they may divide it amongst themselves; though they are not permitted to ask for this unless it be given. This is, however, excused to the slave, and to him who serveth on the way, and to them of small estate, and to such as cannot afford it. Everyone who can do so should go once in his life to God's House. But the dead are not have places bought for them there.²⁰ And the obligation [of performing the Pilgrimage] has been removed from women, that no trouble may come upon them in the journey. But those who dwell near the House may go thither yearly, since for them it is not difficult. Each of the four mithqals of Bayanic (i.e. Babi) gold is to weigh 29 nukhud (grains), and four such mithqals may be given to the Nineteen who sit on seats around the House (of God); and these must show the greatest respect to the pilgrims. And these Nineteen must yearly divide this money equally, thanking their Beloved for it; but they must not ask for it. They must sit on silken stuffs, as has been mentioned in the Arabic [Bayan] on lofty coloured seats: White for the First Column (Rukn); yellow for the Second; green for the Third; and red for the Fourth. During the 1270 years which have elapsed since the Mission of Muhammad, countless multitudes have yearly circumambulated the Ka'ba; but when in the last year, the Founder of the House himself went, he saw that of those of all nations gathered there no one recognised him. But he who recognised him and accompanied him on the Pilgrimage was he who truly performed the Pilgrimage. The number of 8 unities (wahids) passed over him during which God gloried in him in the Supreme Assembly for his disinterestedness and sincerity in doing His pleasure. But this Grace was not offered to him alone, for the same Favour was shown to all; but they veiled themselves from that Favour. For in that same year the book of the Commentary on the Suratu Yusuf ²¹ reached all; but they, seeing that they had no companion, stood still, not reflecting that for 7 years none accepted the Qur'an save 'Ali. Everyone has to answer to God for himself, not for another. And in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, the most learned of the Doctors shall be equal with the lowest of the people. It is not that they have not heard [of the Manifestation], for had this been so they would not have been held accontable.

Wahid IV, Chapter 19. Concerning this, that women should enter the Mosque by night to present themselves at the Thrones by the Nineteen Mirrors; such women, namely, as belong to this country. ²² God hath commanded parents to show the greatest possible love for their children, which love He reckons as love for Himself, showing honour to Him whom God shall manifest. All children are commanded to behave with the utmost courtesy to their fathers and mothers and other relatives, that no sorrow may fall on their hearts.

__________________________

¹ Kafur means camphor and is used to denote whiteness, a compound of all colors. Sadhay means simplicity or being unicoloured. The sentence therefore appears to mean that His compoundedness is identical to His simplicity. (M.M.)

² Literally 'Concerning this, that Bida' in God is true'. The Doctrine called al-Bida', viz. that God's decisions are not irrevocable, but are subject to revision and alteration, is reckoned by Shahristani, who wrote on the Sects of Islam and other religions in the early eleventh century of our era, as one of the four characteristic heresies of the extreme Shi'ites or Ghulat.

³ This appears to mean: By every mention of servant ('abd) [is meant] servitude to Him (God). (M.M.)

⁴ The whole of this Tradition, which refers to the Mahdi, Qa'im, or expected Deliverer and Messiah of the Shi'ites, will be found translated as p. 326 of my Translation of the New History (Cambridge University Press, 1893). (E.G.B.) In fact the text given in the New History is from a somewhat different Tradition. (M.M.)

⁵ i.e. women. (M.M.)

⁶ Ta'ziyas are theatrical performances denoting the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn at Karbala. See Momen, Introduction to Shi'i Islam, pp. 240-42. (M.M.)

⁷ These four acts of God (called in Arabic Khalq, Rizq, Mawt and Hayat), are again placed earlier in this chapter in correspondence with Heart, Spirit, Soul and Body ( Fu'ad, Ruh, Nafs and Jasad), of which they are called 'the Signs' (Ayat). cf. Wahid II, 5 supra.

⁸ Qur'an 65:12

⁹ The text in fact makes it clear that these are quotations from the Long General Prayer of Visitation (Al-Ziyara al-Jami'a al-Kabira), used when visiting the shrines of the Imams. It is attributed to 'Ali al- Hadi, the 10th Imam. (M.M.)

¹⁰ See Wahid I.

¹¹ The Muhammadans for Paracletos read Periclytos, which is more or less equivalent in meaning to Ahmad or Muhammad ('the Laudable') and believe that Christ declared, in a verse suppressed by his followers, 'One shall come after me, Ahmad by name.' See Qur'an 61:6.

¹² e.g. that of Daniel, shown at Hamadan in Persia.

¹³ i.e. for the slaughter of their 'Returns' in this, the Babi, manifestation; so that the same mullas who made pilgrimage to Karbala and lamented every month of Muharram over the slaughter of al-Husayn, yet compassed the death of Mulla Husayn of Bushrawayh who was in this Cycle the 'Return' of al- Husayn.

¹⁴ Attar of roses is intended. (M.M.)

¹⁵ Probably in Shiraz, the Bab's native town.

¹⁶ This is the old Jami' Mosque (Masjid-i Jami'-yi 'Atiq) in Shiraz. (M.M.)

¹⁷ Allusion is probably made to Aqa Sayyid Husayn of Yazd, the Bab's amanuensis and the sharer of his captivity.

¹⁸ I think that by 'this Letter Shin' the Bab himself must be meant, but do not understand the allusion.

¹⁹ The Persian government post, called in old times, Barid. The post horses may be hired by private individuals at a charge of a qiran (now not more than 5d or 6d) per horse for each parasang (about 3 and 3/4 miles).

²⁰ As is done by the Persian Shi'ites, who will pay large sums of money to secure for their deceased relatives a resting-place in holy ground, e.g. at Karbala, Qum, Najaf, Mashhad and the like.

²¹ See footnote 17 of Wahid III.

²² Namely Persia; or perhaps only the province of Fars.

Wahid V, Chapter 1. Concerning the Mosque. The first land wherein the bodily form of Him whom God shall manifest shall appear becomes the Holy Sanctuary; for in Him, as in the Nuqta-i-Bayan, the Mystery of the Truth has been and is witnessed. And the more God's dispensation can be exalted, the better it is; as will happen on that day when the [resting-place of the] Red Earth of God shall lie in some region of that Most Mighty Land, and shall become the place of retirement for the servant as is now seen in Mecca. ¹

Wahid V, Chapter 2. Concerning the Eight Mosques [which are] before the Ten. ² It is meet for such as shall be able in the religion of the Bayan to erect 18 new mosques in the Name of the 'Letters of the Living' of Him whom God shall manifest.³ And I seem to see lamps suspended therein according to the Number of Mustaghath (=2001). But fear that Day when these same Letterrs of the Living shall return to the Life of the World, and at least do not forbid them their own places, as was done in the Manifestation of the Nuqta-i-Bayan.

Wahid V, Chapter 3. Concerning the knowledge of the years and months. God hath fixed the number of all years from [the time of] the Manifestation of the Bayan according to the 'Names of All Things' (=361) and hath fixed each year at 19 months, and each month at 19 days, in order that all may behold the Letters of the Unity in 19 degrees from the Point of the Entry of the Sun into the Sign of Aries⁴ until its final arrival in the Sign of Pisces. And the first month is to be called Baha, and the last 'Ala. And the three first months are chiefly set apart for Glorification (tasbih) since in them is created the Fire in the Hearts of All Things; and in the four following months, which are the months of Praise (tahmid), are created the Spirits of all Contingent things, for in them is Sustenance given; and in the six subsequent months, which are the months of Unification (tawhid), God causeth existing things to die, not by a bodily death, but by a Death from Denial and a Life in Affirmation; and in the subsequent six months, which are the months of Magnification (takbir), God gives life to the people who have died from love of all that is beside Him, and have remained firmly established in His Love.

And in the first three months is the Fire of God; and in the four subsequent months, the Air of Eternity without Beginning (Azal); and in the six subsequent months the Water of Unification, which runs over the Souls of all things, from the air of Eternity which is projected from the Fire of God; and the subsequent six months are connected with the Earth, for what appeared from the three elements has become fixed in those three elements. And the first month is the Month of the Point, round which the (18) months of the Living revolve; its similitude amongst the months is as the Sun, while the rest of the months are like Mirrors, and it is named by God the month of Baha, seeing that the splendour (Baha) of all the months is included in it. For God hath set it apart for Him whom God shall manifest; and to each day thereof He hath given an affinity with one of the Letters of the Unity. And the First Day [of this First Month], which is the New Year's Day (Naw-ruz) is the day of 'there is no god but God'. The like of that day is as the Nuqta in the Bayan, by whom all are created, and to whom all return; whom God hath made the Manifestation thereof (i.e. of 'there is no god but God'), the Nuqta-i-Bayan, the Person of the Seven Letters, which is, in this Manifestation, the Throne of Him whom God shall manifest... He it is through whom the reality (shay'iyyat) of all things is, and whose nature is through God. Whosoever shall declare the Unity of God 361 times in that day will remain glad throughout the year.

Wahid V, Chapter 4. Ordering the naming of Names with the Names of God, and the Names of Muhammad and 'Ali, or both of them, and Fatima, and Hasan, and Husayn. The best of all names are such as are related to God like Baha'u'llah and Jalalu'llah, and Jamalu'llah or Nuru'llah or Fadlu'llah, or Judu'llah, and like of these and 'Abdu'llah and Dhikru'llah. Gradually, in later Manifestations, all persons will be named with Names of God until all the Heaven and Earth and what is between them becomes filled with the Name of God. What difference does it make whether man or [a temple of] Clay point to God? Both are creatures, except that the latter was created for the former; for God hath fixed the spirit of the unification of all things in the spirit of man. Thus, for instance, if a believer sits on a piece of ground, the spirit of that ground becomes tranquil and rejoiceth; while if an unbeliever sit there, it becomes disquieted in such a way that none other than God can compute it; and it continually asks of God that the unbeliever may arise and depart from it. Nothing can attain to its own Paradise unless it reaches the utmost limit of perfection possible to it. The perfection of the supremacy of man is in faith in God. Man must not forget the previous Manifestations, or forget to be thankful for them; for a youth 19 years of age must not omit to give thanks for the Day of Conception (Yawm-i-Nutfa); and in like manner if the religion of Adam had not existed, today this religion would not have arrived at this degree.

So regard the things of God to infinity and give thanks to Him for every Effulgence which He hath sent forth in each Manifestation. The fruit of this command is this that, by the mention of these Names, he [i.e. a man] may not depart from the things to which these Names apply; so that perchance by the repetition of these Names the soul may not abandon the things which these Names connote, and so, by their Attraction may grow worthy of its name in the Manifestation. Not that one should be veiled by the Name, for in this Cycle the slayer of the Chief of Martyrs⁵ was named precisely by the very name of that Glorious One (i.e. Husayn). He whom God shall manifest is like a touchstone, discriminating between pure gold and all beside. For instance if a person be named Baha'u'llah (the Splendour of God) and if he believes in the splendour (Baha) of him who was the First to believe, then that Name becomes confirmed for him in Heaven; otherwise he perishes in denial, 'as though he was a thing not mentioned'.

Wahid V, Chapter 5. Concerning the command to take the possessions of those who do not believe in the Bayan, and the command to restore it, if they enter the Faith, except in those countries wherein its seizure is impossible. In the day of the Manifestation of the Apostle of God [Muhammad], the soul of naught that breathed was its own; how then that which is subsidiary to life? Unless it entered his religion; whereupon that which God hath bestowed on it became lawful to it. So also in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, no soul is lawful to its possessor unless it believe in Him, and all shall be taken from all, except that which enter under the shadow of His Religion. This is the Grace of God towards His creatures; for where countries were conquered in the beginning of Islam, they were compelled by force and violence to enter Islam and become partakers of the fruits of Islam, and to such as believed not, no mercy was shown, and till now they have remained in the Fire. So also in this Manifestation with unbelievers, naught appertaining to them is lawful, except to those who enter the Faith, whereby it becomes lawful to them. This command is to powerful Kings in the Faith, not to all. And in countries wherein it would become the cause of sadness or loss to anyone, God hath not ordered it to be made manifest; as, for instance, in the case of merchants in the countries of the Franks; such must keep their accounts with the utmost diligence, lest disgrace befall them. From God comes Permission, while obedience is for His Creatures. If all who were powerful in Islam had acted according to the command of the Qur'an, today all on earth would have believed in the Qur'an; and now that it is not so the fault is on the part of mankind, since [that Command] which was due appear from the Source did appear in the Qur'an. The object is that when He whom God shall manifest shall appear, all shall have been educated in the Bayan, that none of the believers in the Bayan may remain outside belief in Him; should one do so, the Command concerning him is as the Command concerning him who believeth not in God. I swear by God that in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest all shall unite in helping [the propagation of the Faith], not one will remain on the earth who shall not enter into Paradise.

Wahid V, Chapter 6. The Command concerning the possessions which shall be taken in this Religion. If there be anything which is peerless of its kind, none shall possess it but the Nuqta-i-Bayan. But, if the Sun hath set, then let them keep it for its rising-place⁶... And what falls short of this, let there be taken first by the Number of the Ha (5)⁷ somewhat of its Price; then let those who have acquired it in victory take from it with permission, each of them according to the quantity which sufficeth for him. And what remains over, let them transmit it to the poor, or spend it on the Shrines of Pilgrimage, or the like. And if [a share] be given to everyone yea, even to the child which is in its mother's womb, it is better than that it should be spent on Shrines. It is a gift from God and verily He is indeed most Bounteous. The believers are the trustees of the share of Him whom God shall manifest (if the Point has passed away) and if they take therefrom even one qirat, the punishment thereof is Hell-Fire. All things are God's; and who is nearer to God than the Point of Truth? After this share has been set apart for the Point, or for Him whom God shall manifest, a share corresponding with the value of the Ha, shall be taken from the whole and divided amongst the people of the Bayan from the greatest to the least. Then shall the conquerors have their share, each one that is worthy of his state; and if anything be still left over, it may be spent on the shrines, so that a share may come to all the people of the Bayan, yea, even to the child of six months in the womb of its mother. This is better than spending it on the Shrines, if these have been constructed; but, if not, then their construction takes precedence. He whom God shall manifest is most great in the sight of God, and his approval is more than the approval of all else beside Him. And after Him come the 'Letters of the Living'; then the Names; then the Similitudes; then the Prophets, then the Faithful and the Martyrs and the Proximate, ⁸ each according to that which has been ordained to him.

And if the believers in the Bayan cannot observe what is commanded in the Bayan, like unto which there is naught else, it may be changed.⁹ But it is incumbent on them to prescribe the price thereof, and to traffic with it on behalf of its (true) possessor, and therewith to take from it their own lawful share of ten per cent (100 in 1000) that this may become an ordinance amongst all, that all may profit from all in this way, and it is not likely that where the Proof of God acts thus, others should exceed this.

Wahid V, Chapter 7. God hath given permission to him who believes in the Bayan that whatever he buys from those who do not believe in that religion is clean unto him when it comes forth from the possession of the latter and enters his possession, by reason of the honour conferred upon it by its relation to this Religion. God's gift to such as believe in the Bayan is that things obtained by sale or purchased from nonbelievers become pure by their severance from unbelievers and their association with believers. For instance, if there be a rose in the hand of a Christian, it at once becomes pure on his giving it to one of the believers. The believers in the Bayan are permitted to obtain whatever is good in every land, that perhaps in the day of the Manifestation of the Truth that thing may reach the presence of the Lord of Existence and become beloved by Him. For whatever appears gracious in the world, is a drop from the ocean of his Grace.

Wahid V, Chapter 8. Every soul must read the verses of the Bayan, nor must he let them fall short of the Number of the Unity (19)¹⁰ and whosoever is unable (to do so) let him say. 'God! God is my Lord; and I associate none with God my Lord' 19 times. Regard the whole of the Bayan as capital entrusted by one another that he may traffic therewith: the owner thereof is He whom God shall manifest, who has entrusted it to the souls who believe in the Nuqta-i-Bayan, that they may traffic therewith for the day of His Manifestation, when he will take back the capital, and no one shall say 'Why?' or 'Wherefore?' I swear by God that if in the Day of Him whom God shall manifest one should hear a single verse from Him and should repeat it, it is better than that he should recite the whole Bayan 1000 times.

Wahid V, Chapter 9. Concerning this, that one of the Names of God should be repeated over anything which one desires to use. When anyone wishes to use anything he should mention one of the Names of God, either openly or secretly or in intention. The object of this is that each one may see in everything a Manifestation of the Visage of [Him who is] the Manifestation of the [Divine] Will, that naught may be seen in it save God. For instance, the lowest limit of inorganic objects is a stone (sang): in the Sin (S) thereof he should see only Subbuh (glorified), and in the Nun (N), Nur (Light), and in the Kaf (K), Karim (Kind), whether he mentions these attributes verbally or merely thinks of them in his mind without uttering them with his tongue. Naught is visible in this Dispensation but He whom God shall manifest, who is the origin of the Names and Divine Attributes. So at that day each one must cease to regard himself, and regard only Him; not that he can see Him in Himself, except as a Mirror receives a reflection from the Sun when placed opposite to it. All things must ascend in the Bayan to the utmost limit of their perfection, so that all may become Mirrors prepared to the flashing forth of the Sun, that as soon as its light, that is its Signs (Verses), arises, all may point to Him.

Wahid V, Chapter 10. God hath appointed the Figures (Haykal) to Men and the Circles (Da'ira) to Women, that they should write thereon what they will from the Bayan.¹¹ The outside of the Figure (Haykal) is the Ha (5) and the inside the Waw (6).¹² Let each take what he can from the Ocean of Bounty, that what is written on that Figure may appear in his Soul, letter by letter, and point by point. And to them who manifest the Ba (2)¹³ he hath permitted the Circle (typifying) the Garment of the Sun of Truth, and hath fixed it as 5 Unities (Wahid), to each Unity a Unity;¹⁴ that it may point to the Letters L.H. (Lahu = 'to Him')¹⁵ because 'To Him belongeth what is in the heavens and in the Earth and what is between them, and God encompasseth all things'.¹⁶ So shall the Garment of the Sun of Truth shine upon their bosoms and hearts, that perchance in the Day when that Most Great Light shall become manifest, they may only point to Him. The origin of this Circle is according to the manner wherein the Chief of Believers enumerated the Names apparent from the word Ha (5); namely, in the Point, Fard (Single); and in the Ba, Hayy (Living); and in the Alif, Qayyum (Self-subsistent); and in the Ya, Sultan (Authority); and in the Jim, Quddus (Holy); and this is why [the formula] 'Bismi'llahi'l-Amna'i'l-Aqdas' ('In the Name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy') appeared in this Manifestation.¹⁷ And from the Point to the Jim are the four degrees of Creation, Provision, Death and Life. And the fruit of these two commands is this, that the whole Bayan is the creation of the Macrocosm; and as long as it appears in the Figure of the Ba of the Circle, yet does not exceed the limits of the Ha, perhaps in the Year Five of the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest he may attain the Honour of believing in that Sun of Truth. For what is written in the Figures and Circles is His Glorification and the Declaration that He is free from what his enemies ascribe to Him. If anyone, by the Favour of His Bounty, be with Him, yet does not manifest the fruit thereof in the Lines of the five or the six, or in the Houses of the Unity, how shall Fruit be mentioned in connection with him, since he has nullifies the Fruit of his being?¹⁸

This is in order that none of the people of the Bayan may overpass the Five Limits, for in the Pentacle (Haykal-i-Khums), the circumference is with him while in the Circle the Waw (6) keeps the Ha (5).¹⁹ This is the object in the Revelation of His Command and of the man's action in conformity with these two great gifts: that, at the Manifestation of that Sun of Truth, that Light of Eternity Past, that Dawn of Timelessness, those who possess the Pentacles and Circles will detach themselves from all this is on earth. But if the evolution of the Cycle proceed apace, Five Years may become Five Months; nay, perhaps even Five Weeks or Five Days, or Five Hours, or Five Minutes, or even Five Seconds. For there is an indissoluble connection between the Will and what it creates, though God hath from Eternity created between them a diversity of Attributes as between Fire and its burning. For how can Fire be realized without its burning becoming apparent, or how can a lamp become lighted without its light illuminating all things? In every Manifestation behold with the Eye of Certainty this One which pervades all things. If in the Day of Him whom God shall manifest it [the Volition] be seen in any form [Haykal] but His, that [form] is veiled in itself from Him, yet is He more manifest in it than it itself is to itself;²⁰ and what it does it does only for Him, though in its state of veiledness it (imagines that it) acts against Him. This is the meaning of the Verse: 'To God do all things return.'²¹

Wahid V, Chapter 11. Concerning prayers for the new-born and the dead. Utter takbirs (Magnificats) in the prayers of the new-born and recite after the first takbir 19 times: Inna kullun bi'llahi mu'minun; ²² and in the second: Inna kullun bi'llahi muqinun²³ and in the third: Inna kullun bi'llahi muhiyyun;²⁴ and in the fourth: Inna kullun bi'llahi mumitun;²⁵ and in the fifth: Inna kullun bi'llahi radiyun.²⁶ And in the prayers of the dead the takbir must be said 6 times, and after the first takbir let him read 19 times: Inna kullun li'llahi 'abidun; ²⁷ and in the second: Inna kullun li'llahi sajidun;²⁸ and in the third: Inna kullun li'llahi qanitun;²⁹ and in the fourth: Inna kullun li'llahi dhakirun;³⁰ and in the fifth: Inna kullun li'llahi shakirun;³¹ and in the sixth: Inna kullun li'llahi saburun. ³² The birth prayers are to be read for male and female children alike. The meaning of the 5 takbirs and the 6 (at birth and death) is to show that he came from the Ha (5) and has returned to the Waw (6). ³³ Whosoever entered in at the Gate (Bab) found salvation by the Bab by this action not by other actions, for he is the Soul from whom is the source of all things, and towards whom all things return. Everyone believes in 'Ali now only because they were brought up to love him, else, had they lived in the early days of Islam, there would only have been the three as is set forth in tradition;³⁴ as in this cycle, God has laid an obligation on believers according to the number of the Name of the Merciful (ar-Rahman) (299) for the states of affection.

Wahid V, Chapter 12. Concerning the burial of the dead in stone, and the placing on their hands of rings of cornelian. This outward body is the throne of the inward (or essential) body. Therefore must the former be preserved with the utmost care; that no disgust may come upon the latter, for the essential body regards its throne and is gratified if that is treated with respect. Therefore it is commanded that this be treated with the utmost respect, and it is permitted for it to hidden in crystal or polished stone. So also a cornelian ring with an inscription is to be placed on the finger of the corpse that from the blessing of the verse inscribed thereon no sorrow may come upon the essential body, and that it may be veiled from Hell-Fire and abide in the protection of the Light. And on the ring must bee expressed one of the Names of God. The fruit of this command is that since the number of 'Ali' returns to takbir (magnification), the element of earth is mentioned; and the limit of the ascent of earth is the first degree of stone-till that terminates in the highest degree of purity, which is crystal, whereupon praise is manifested in it.³⁵

Wahid V, Chapter 13. Concerning the testamentary book for the dead according to what is ordered in the Bayan. No favour of God's is greater than this, that He has given permission to them to worship Him and has taught them to glorify and praise and unify and magnify Him. At the time of death a testamentary book may be written containing a confession of the Unity and this creation and command is for a memorial;³⁶ a confession of the Divine Point³⁷ and His Letters of the Living, and setting forth the Love of Him, and the manifestations of His Names, and Similitudes, and taking refuge from that which He loves not. And they are commanded to convey this book to Him whom God shall manifest, that if He wills He may answer it and His answer is the same which has descended from God concerning him:³⁸ and the preservation of this [testament] is with his heir that from hand to hand it may come to Him whom God shall manifest; and it must be very beautifully and elegantly written, for the length of time from manifestation to manifestation is clear and the preservation of what is between them is the easiest of things. Thus the Muhammadans all say the Tahlil ³⁹ at their death, according to the word of His former command, yet the Manifestation of this word dwells unjustly imprisoned in a mountain,⁴⁰ therefore do all their (the Musulman's) actions become as scattered dust. In the same way all will write their testamentary books and will say 'I associate nothing with God', but in the day of the Manifestation [of Him whom God shall manifest], their own souls are the manifestation of idolatry and thus they at once nullify their religion. The source of this book is from God, but in what the Nuqta-i-Bayan says; and its return is to God, insofar as it returns to Him whom God shall manifest.

Wahid V, Chapter 14. That which purifies⁴¹ is Fire and Air; then Water and Earth; then the Book of God; then the Point and His Writings; then that over which the name of God is mentioned 66 times: and what the Sun parches and what changes its being: then all which enters this religion: and matters related thereto: also what descends from the hands of the unbelievers into the hands of the people of this religion and if its relation to the former cease and its relation to the latter take place, it is purified. One whose word is pure, God requires not that he should perform ceremonial purifications; the like of that is killing the Prince of Martyrs, and discussing a gnat's tail;⁴² this is the state of that beastly people; but the name of beasts is not fit for them, for beasts harm no one, and it is manifest what these do. Now the manifestations which are pure are -
First, Belief in the Bayan, which changes his [the believer's] body to purity.
Second, The Book of God, and a thing becomes pure on meeting with a verse.
Third, The Name of God. If 'Allahu Athar' (God is most pure) be read over a thing 66 times, it becomes pure.
Fourth, Cessation of relation to other than the people of the Bayan and association with the people of the Bayan.
Fifth, The Tree of Truth in the day of its manifestation, and all His writings.
Sixth, That which changes its being (kaynuniyyat).⁴³
Seventh, The four elements.
Eighth, The Sun.
Moreover a breath⁴⁴ coming from the mouth by means of the toothbrush or toothpick, is permitted and pardoned; but in every case God loves the pure, and in the Bayan nothing is dearer to God than cleanness and purity and neatness. And the impurity of the foot of an animal which travels in the rain and enters a room is removed. God loves not that there should be on anyone anything other than perfume and sweetness, and all should continually be perfectly pure spiritually and bodily, that their souls may not be averse to them. But it matters not if the hair of an animal be near one who is praying, like the things which they bring from the Franks; so also things of bone and ivory: all these things are for comfort.⁴⁵ Let them be thankful for these mercies, and not be careful about a hair marring their prayer and yet not hesitate to condemn the verifier of Religion (i.e. the Bab). Whoever was in the preceding cycle of the Qur'an witnessed this, that those who oppressed the family of the Prophet paid the greatest attention to the details of religion, and the same is seen perfectly in this Manifestation of the Bayan: one who wrote a thousand verses about a trifling detail of religion, rejected the Truth, whereby all religion is established, and he veiled himself by these things from the truth. O people of the Bayan! do not cause any harm to any man or even animal, that you may not acquire what will destroy your religion in the day of HIm whom God shall manifest, as in this manifestation the Nuqta-i-Bayan rewarded those from whom nothing [objectionable] had appeared by His verses.

Wahid V, Chapter 15. Concerning this, that the water through which ye were produced,⁴⁶ God hath made it pure in the book. Yet they should be as cleanly about it as possible where it is easy, not where it is difficult. No one may pronounce the people of the Bayan impure, or he ceases to belong to the Faith. In the days when I myself was at Karbala, one day when the Late Syyid [i.e. Haji Sayyid Kazim of Rasht] came to [my] abode, the owner of the house ordered a door which had been touched by that Tree of Purity to be washed.

Wahid V, Chapter 16. As long as the sun remains above the Horizon (i.e. as long as the Nuqta lives) what is incomparable must be placed before God; when it sets (i.e. when the Nuqta dies) everyone may possess it until the Sun arises from its rising place when it ceases to be lawful to them, and they must restore to him the number of the Wahid (i.e. 19) not above that - if He desires to possess it (if not, they are not bound to do so); unless loss would accrue to the possessor thereof which he cannot support, when he is pardoned therefrom. What God loves most in the people of the Bayan is their love one for another. They should not then dispute with each other, or rebut one another's speeches in religious matters, and if anyone in the Bayan rejects another he must give 95 (19 x 5) mithqals of gold to Him whom God shall manifest, and to none other, who will if He please remit it, or take it. Since He whom God shall manifest is the Sign of 'There is nothing like Him' therefore has God commanded that whatever reaches this degree [of being unique] in the world shall be for Him. And those who cannot give such a thing in the day of Him whom God shall manifest must give 95 mithqals of gold.

Wahid V, Chapter 17. Concerning what is obligatory in every city, that the name of God should be mentioned in every city 95 times, on the first day Allahu Abha;⁴⁷ on the second Allahu A'zam;⁴⁸ until it conclude with Allahu Aqdam⁴⁹ on the 19th day, which is the last day of the month. Between the rising and setting of the sun each one may say Allahu Abha or Allahu A'zam, etc., according to the day, 95 times that perchance in the Day of Resurrection by the recital of these sacred names he may be honoured with guidance, and become directed by the guidance of the Letters of the Living. Not that he should recite these names and remain veiled from those whom they indicate. No one has or will have any way to the Eternal Essence, and what is in Contingent Being is His creation, and the Letters of the One are the signs of His names to His creatures, for in them is naught seen save God alone. Their loftiness is by reason of their hearts being like mirrors, in whom God only is seen. At the takbir look on them, that while looking you may not be veiled, just as you see in the letters of 'Allahu Akbar' naught but God.

Wahid V, Chapter 18. Concerning selling and buying, when there is consent on both sides; and the transaction is valid as long as it is clear that both are satisfied, whether great, or little; bond or free. Interest is also permitted between merchants, as is customary today.

Wahid V, Chapter 19. The mithqal is 19 hammas, and the price of 19 hammas of Gold is 10,000 dinars; and the price of the 19 hammas of silver is 1000 dinars. God is the creator of His creation and Kingdom, and inasmuch as His Kingdom is not with the unbelievers, permission is granted for this that all give to the person who is their wali (ruler), for helping the religion, (whenever a year passes, and their wealth exceeds 540 mithqals) from each mithqal of gold, which is 19 nukhud,⁵⁰ 500 dinars, and from each mithqal of silver, 50 dinars. No worship is more beloved of God than that one should cause joy to enter into heart of another - and the converse. The amount of every mithqal of gold may be 19 nukhuds, and so also silver, and the value thereof according to what is manifest this day. if they wish to change them each shall be changed at 19, that the glory of gold and silver be not changed at the hands of the people of the Bayan. Though a loss for merchants is seen in this decree concerning the value of gold and silver, that will disappear in course of time. And whoever owes a Qiran ⁵¹ must give 28 nukhuds; not the price of it, and so likewise in the price of gold he must give 20 nukhuds; not the price of it. All this is that the heart of no one may become sad in the way of the Truth. And no paradise is in reality more lofty to the believers than acting in accordance with the commandments; nor is any fire fiercer than the transgression thereof, or the tyranny of one soul over another, though it be but the extent of a grain of mustard.

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¹ It seems as though the Bab was here speaking of the Shrine or 'House [of God]' which is to be erected over his own remains; which, long hidden in Persia, have at length found a resting-place at 'Akka in Syria, call in the Kitab-i-Aqdas 'the Red Place' or 'Shrine' (al-Buq'atu'l-Hamra).

² i.e. 'the Eight and the Ten', or the Eighteen.

³ i.e. His Disciples.

⁴ The beginning of the Vernal Equinox, about 21 March, which is the real Persian Naw-Ruz or New Year's Day, still the great festival in Persia, as it was in Zoroastrian times.

⁵ 'This Cycle' of course means the Bab's Manifestation, in which, Mulla Husayn of Bushrawayh was, I think, regarded as the 'Return' of the Imam Husayn. He was killed at Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but I do not know who slew him. (E.G.B.) Mulla Husayn was killed by 'Abbas-Quli Khan-i Larijani but this event had not yet happened at the time of the writing of the Persian Bayan . In fact, the Bab is most probably referring to Husayn Khan, the Governor of Shiraz, who struck the Bab. The Bab evidently regards him as the 'return' of Shimr, the slayer of the Imam Husayn at Karbala. (M.M.)

⁶ i.e. if the Point be dead, let them keep it for Him whom God shall manifest.

⁷ The letter Ha = 5, and Bab = 5; so we find the Babis sometimes calling themselves 'Ha'is'. When the Bab declared himself to be the 'Point' (Nuqta), the title of Bab, set free, was given to one of his disciples. Such Bab is, I think, here meant.

⁸ These different grades of believers (seven, it appears, in all) remind one of the similar graduations amongst the Isma'ilis, when also they were originally seven.

⁹ This paragraf relates to goods help on behalf of Him whom God shall manifest. If these goods cannot be kept in accordance with the commands of the Bayan, they should be sold or changed. (M.M.)

¹⁰ Perhaps this means that at least one complete Wahid or 'Unity' of Nineteen Chapters must be read.

¹¹ These 'Figures' and 'Circles' are both talismanic in character, the former generally in the shape of a pentacle. I have in my possession several which I received from Subh-i-Ezel and his followers. Like so much else of what is occult and mysterious in the primitive Babi doctrine, they appear to have been discarded by the Baha'is.

¹² H.W., i.e. Huwa, 'He', viz. God.

¹³ i.e. women, though I know not why so called.

¹⁴ i.e. Five concentric circles, each divided into Nineteen sections or compartments.

¹⁵ The text in fact reads lillah, 'to God' or 'for God', which is equivalent to 95 or 19 x 5. (M.M.)

¹⁶ Qur'an 4:126. (M.M.)

¹⁷ All this is very obscure, and I cannot wholly fathom the meaning. I take it that the Point and the Ba (which go together) stand for Bism, the Alif for Allah; the Ya for al-Abha; and the Jim for al-Ajmal, a formula to be used by women for the 'Bismi'llahi'l-Akbari'l-A'zam' of the men. Compare Wahid VI, 5 infra.

¹⁸ The meaning of this sentence appears to be: if anyone, by the favour of His Bounty, should attain the presence of Him whom God shall manifest and yet not show forth the fruit, mentioned in these five or six lines or in the houses of the Unity (Wahid), how can the word 'fruit' be mentioned in connection with him when he has nullified the fruit of his own being. (M.M.)

¹⁹ Browne appears to have misread the text here. It should read:... for in the Pentacle, the Ha (5) surrounds the Waw (6), while in the Circle, the Waw (6) guards over the Ha (5). (M.M.)

²⁰ This passage appears to mean: if, in the Day of Him whom God shall manifest, in a form there be seen any form but His form, then that form is, in itself, veiled from Him, yet is He more manifest in it itself is to itself. (M.M.)

²¹ Cf. Qur'an 11:123. (M.M.)

²² We are all, verily, believers in God. (M.M.)

²³ We are all, verily, sure of God. (M.M.)

²⁴ We are all, verily, brought to life by God. (M.M.)

²⁵ We are all, verily, caused to die by God. (M.M.)

²⁶ We are all, verily, content in God. (M.M.)

²⁷ We all, verily, worship God. (M.M.)

²⁸ We all, verily, bow down before God. (M.M.)

²⁹ We all, verily, are devoted unto God. (M.M.)

³⁰ We all, verily, give praise unto God. (M.M.)

³¹ We all, verily, yield thanks to God. (M.M.)

³² We all, verily, are patient in God. (M.M.)

³³ Ha and Wa together make Huwa (He, i.e. God). (M.M.)

³⁴ After the death of Muhammad onlu three remained faithful to 'Ali according to Shi'i traditions: Salman, Abu Dharr and Mighdad. (M.M.)

³⁵ This sentence appears to mean: The fruit of this command is that as the number of 'Ali [Things]' is approaching its manifestation, it glorifies God inasmuch as the element earth is mentioned within it - and the furthest extent of the ascent of earth is, in its first stage, a rock, until in its highest stage of purity which is that of crystal, whereupon the name 'eternal (samad)' is manifest in it. (M.M.)

³⁶ The text reads: '...containing a confession of (or witness to) the Unity of God and that all creation and command are His.' (M.M.)

³⁷ i.e. the Bab. (M.M.)

³⁸ The answer (i.e. acceptance or rejection of the testamentary book) of Him whom God shall manifest is equivalent to God's answer. (M.M.)

³⁹ Uttering the words: 'There is no god but God.' (M.M.)

⁴⁰ i.e. the Bab himself who is imprisoned in the mountain fortress of Maky. (M.M.)

⁴¹ Purification in this chapter is meant in the sense of ritual purification. (M.M.)

⁴² What the text is trying to convey is that these people who take such care over ceremonial matters but deny the source of Purification are like those who killed the Prince of Martyrs (the Imam Husayn) but were greatly concerned about the ritual purity of the blood of a gnat. (M.M.)

⁴³ e.g. a liquid turning to vapour; wood burning to ashes, etc. (M.M.)

⁴⁴ The text in fact reads 'blood'; i.e. whereas blood normally renders anything it touches ritually impure, the Bab is here abrogating the law with respect to bleeding caused by the use of a toothbrush or toothpick. (M.M.)

⁴⁵ These regulations refer to things which in Islamic law render the believer impure and therefore unable to perform prayers. The Bab is here removing the decree of impurity from these things. (M.M.)

⁴⁶ i.e. semen; this again is the abrogation of an Islamic law concerning ritual purity. (M.M.)

⁴⁷ God is most Glorious. (M.M.)

⁴⁸ God is most Mighty. (M.M.)

⁴⁹ God is the Pre-Existent. (M.M.)

⁵⁰ Nukhud is Persian for the Arabic word hammas used above. Both words refer to a pea (usually a dried pea), and this was a unit of weight equivalent to one-fifth of a gram approximately. (M.M.)

⁵¹ See footnote 2 of Wahid IV. (M.M.)

Wahid VI, Chapter 1. Concerning the arrangement of the Bayan.¹ It must not exceed 19 volumes. In the first three, Verses; and the next four, Prayers; and the next Six, Commentaries, and the last six, Scientific treatises. And the chapters in all this are from the One (Wahid) to the Mustaghath (2001). And everyone should have a small book containing at least 1000 verses (of the Bayan). Nothing is dearer to God than moderation. Thus if any one possesses land and if he wishes to show forth moderation in respect thereof, it must be in this way that the owner of an astrolabe measures it with the utmost diligence, not regarding the first thereof as a whit more than the last. If it be thus concerning [a simple piece of] land, how will it be in other cases when moderation is observed? And so God has given permission that in the arrangement [of sacred books], it be not more than 19 volumes arranged with the utmost care, and he must regard the last letter thereof as not a whit less important than the first. Not that it is commanded so [absolutely] but this is more pleasing. But it is not possible amongst men to observe the [symmetry of] numbers in their entirety. The name Bayan is applicable to verses (ayat) alone. This is in the Primal Reality. In the Second Reality it is applied to Prayers (munajat); in the Third, to Commentaries; in the Fourth, to scientific treatises; in the Fifth, to Persian treatises: but all are mentioned in the shadow of verses. The object of this arrangement is that in the Day of the Manifestation of the Lord of the Bayan, all existing things may resemble the Wahid (Unity), that perhaps they may become illuminated by the Sun of Truth, and may present themselves before that Most Great Light by the nearness of their own hearts, and irrespective of their religious or worldly positions. In the first three (volumes) there is incorruptible Water, and in the subsequent four, the milk of which the taste changes not, and in the following six, the wine of Unity, ² and in the last six, what is mentioned in the prop of the takbir yet in each are all explicit and implicit, yea, the beholder may see them in each letter and point. All the Bayan and its spirits are as a garden in the hand of Him whom God shall manifest, and in the shadow of each letter thousands of souls are overshadowed - each one of which is glorified and exalted by an order thereof. This is the essence of all Knowledge, that all became alive by one 'Yes' and all become annihilated by one 'No'³ .

Take care that in the Day of Manifestation of the Truth you make not of these words a veil from him, for the whole of the Bayan is his previous manifestation and he is the most wise of all concerning that which he has revealed, for the spirits of all are in his grasp. If one be the Plato of his time in all sciences, if he do not accept all that He (He whom God shall manifest) says in every science, he has no knowledge, for knowledge is this, that one should know God and His prophet, and the Manifestations of his Command.

And it is right that there should be with each person one volume (sahifa) of at least 1000 verses of the Bayan; whatever pleases him [of the Bayan]. And each 30 letters (harf) is a verse (bayt), which with the vowel points (a'rab) makes 40 letters. The Bayan is like a treasure given over in trust: all of it must be restored to Him whom God shall manifest in His day if He demand it. If one is sitting reading the Bayan, and the messenger of Him whom God shall manifest comes to him, and if he does not accept him, he will at once enter Hell-Fire.

Wahid VI, Chapter 2. The Command of the well is as the command of the Kurr; ⁴ and the command of the latter is removed. All water is pure in itself, and purifies other things by itself. But tanks should exist wherever the faithful are, that cleanliness may be easier. And in whatever house there are not tanks angels pass unwillingly through it, and with disgust. This command as to the purity of even a drop of water is because of the Ocean of Unity, one drop of which points to God as the whole points to God. And it is better for water to be poured over a thing to purify it than for that thing to be plunged into water; for in the first case the water purifies, and in the latter it is contaminated. O people of the Bayan! Be not like the people of the Qur'an who purify their outward bodies so carefully with water, but do not purify their Essential [inner] Bodies with the water of Unity, for no heart in which there is love of aught other than God is pure. Were it otherwise no nation is externally more clean than Christians. Any water may be used except what is too little in amount to be efficient, and what is dirty. But a pure thing though it be changed (in nature) remains pure. Purification with water mixed with earth is not allowed, that the rich may not exalt themselves over the poor. So also with the believer, naught can render him impure. In any case it is desirable that the believer should use pleasant scents and perfume.

Wahid VI, Chapter 3. God has commanded that his servants should build in every village a cleansing house.⁵ Everyone is bound to do everything in the most perfect way. For instance, it is very bad to begin to build a house and then not finish it in the most perfect way of which it is capable, for then it cries out to God for a curse on the maker who has failed to perfect it. So all doors etc. are to be made lofty, that those who are tall may be able to enter without stooping. In the day of Him whom God shall manifest nothing should exist which may cause him sorrow. And concerning the manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, God knows in what limit of years He will manifest him; but watch from the beginning of the Manifestation until the number of the Wahid (19) for in each year Faith in one of the letters will appear.

Wahid VI, Chapter 4. God permitteth not that there should be in the Five Regions other than the Letters of the Bayan, even though the time be prolonged (till then) . In the Land of Fa (Fars), the Manifestations of 'There is no God but He' shone on hearts. And in the Land of 'Ayn ('Iraq), those of 'There is no God but Me'. And in the Land of Alif (Adharbayjan), 'There is no God but God'. And in the Land of Kha (Khurasan), 'There is no God but Thee'. And in the Land of Mim (Mazandaran), 'There is no God but He who created all things by His command'... God knows from what horizon that Sun of Truth (He whom God shall manifest) will arise. Therefore in these regions not an atom of that which God loveth not must remain. A meritorious action in these five regions is better than the worship of 12,000 years. All the prayers now said in Islam are raised up in the shadow of 'Establish prayer'. ⁶ God has created nothing more noble than the essence of Knowledge which is conjoined with action. And there is no Knowledge but Knowledge of the Source of the Command. The difference between a believer and an unbeliever is Knowledge: one knows that such a book is the book of God and the other does not. The truth is like the Sun, and the believer like a mirror, which as soon as it is placed opposite it, speaks thereof. And unbelievers are like stones, on which however much the sun shines, they are incapable of reflecting it. But God, if He wishes is able to make that stone a mirror.

Wahid VI, Chapter 5. Concerning salutation. Men must salute each other with 'Allahu Akbar', and answer with 'Allahu A'zam'; and women with 'Allahu Abha' and answer with 'Allahu Ajmal'. ⁷ And the fruit of this is that perchance in the day of the manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, they will affirm that, after God, He is worthy to be clothed with the raiment of Greatness (Akbariyyat), Mightiness (A'zamiyyat), Brightness (Abha'iyyat), and Beauty (Ajmaliyyat).

When it is commanded that none shall grieve anyone, it is for the sake of Him whom God shall manifest, otherwise what rank has anyone else that the Point of Truth should make such a command? But since eyes him not in the night, none are to be grieved for His sake...until that day when He shall make himself known and say 'I am the owner of that Bayan in accordance with which ye act this day.'

Wahid VI, Chapter 6. The command to destroy all books except such as have been or shall be composed in this religion. So, though there had been many heavenly books from the time of Adam till the time of the Qur'an, all were removed and those who continued to believe in them were pronounced untrue. If it be so with divine books, how shall it be with books of creatures which beside those books are as a reflection in a mirror compared to the Sun? I swear by God that in the Day of Him whom God shall manifest, to recite one of His verses is greater than all the Bayan.

Wahid VI, Chapter 7. Concerning marriage and the illegality of dowries, to the dwellers in cities, exceeding 95 mithqals of gold; and to dwellers in villages, more than 95 mithqals of silver; but they must not be less than 19 (mithqals) in all, and they must only go up or down (in value) by a single wahid (19) not by the wahid itself (1); and the separation between man and woman is abolished, and their joining together is established after their acquiescence by a sentence wherein is mentioned the word of God, e.g. 'Verily I will perform this unto God, the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Earth, and what is between them, and the Lord of all things; the Lord of what is seen and the Lord of what is not seen; the Lord of the two worlds.' There must be witnesses present on both sides. The highest limit of the dowry is 95 - the number of 'Unto God': and the lowest 19. God hath not placed a third (degree) between Truth and Falsehood. All people think that they do what they do for God, whereas they do it for other than God: for no one willingly rebels against God. God tries His servants in each Manifestation that they may make themselves known through themselves whether they have done what they have done for Him or for other than Him. Those who professed to believe in the Gospel in the time of Muhammad, if they truly believed in Christ, believed in Muhammad, and if not, they rejected him. Else no one acts really for God and enters the Fire. Action for God depends on acting for the Manifestations of His Command. And the Mirrors of God were before the Prophet of God, for the 18 mirrors were illumined by the Sun of His munificence... from the first manifestation of the Qur'an till the year 1270... Hasayn [did what he did for the Prophet of God, and so for God; while that which was done to Husayn] was done 'For God', but really 'For other than God'. The Contingent cannot grasp the Eternal Essence, but if ye comprehend His Manifestation, ye have understood Him. No fire is fiercer than this, that one should inflict on his Beloved what he inflicts on him he loves not. In the Day of Him whom God shall manifest every wahid (=19) is a number, which returns to the Absolute Unity which is without number... In this mountain of Maku verses are revealed from God on every subject, yet it produces no fruit in the dwellers therein.

Wahid VI, Chapter 8. He who seeks to bring proofs from other than the book of God and the verses of the Bayan, the like of which none are able to produce, it is no argument for him: and he who recounteth a miracle other than the verses of the Bayan, has no witness for it. But he who assumes to produce (revealed) verses, none should oppose him. Ye must read this chapter once in every 19 days, and ponder on what has been revealed by night and day, that perchance ye may not be veiled from Him whom God shall manifest by states other than (revealed) verses. After the cessation of [the Islamic] revelation, till the manifestation of these verses, no one appeared to produce (revealed) verses. And ye have not so much sagacity as to see that none but God can reveal verses. Know therefore that this is the same Primal Reality to whom God revealed verses in the beginning of Islam. If ye had understood the proof of your own religion, you would also have understood this Dispensation. Just as from the time of Muhammad till now, which is 1270 years, no one has been able to produce verses like it, so after the setting of this sun will it be, till He whom God shall manifest shall appear. It is impossible that anyone other than He whom God shall manifest can lay claim to this Matter... If anyone makes such a claim, and verses appear from Him, none must oppose Him, lest perchance sorrow come upon that Sun of Truth. Had the people of the Qur'an acted in this way, all their books would not have become vain. So now, if you hear of such a matter, and are not certain do not accuse Him lest ye cause Him sorrow, even if He be other than what He claims to be (though this is an impossible conception). But if He merely mentions His Name (He whom God shall manifest) it is far from those who love Him to cause Him sorrow, out of respect to His name. For such a one must either really be Him whom God shall manifest, or not. If he is, and why then should anyone deny the Truth? Or if he is not (an impossible supposition), then leave him alone; it is not for creatures to judge him, out of honour to the Name of their Beloved. But in fact there is no soul who can aspire to such a rank; If it happened in the cycle of the Qur'an, it will happen in this cycle also. His verses are in themselves a proof of the Light of His Being, while the inability of all (to produce the like) is a sing of their poverty and need of Him. If all obey this command, it is (incumbent) on God to manifest the Truth to them, and to cast the proof into their hearts, by clear proofs coming from Him, that believers may be enabled to shew forth certainty concerning Him. And it suffices for all the people of the Bayan to act in accordance with this for their salvation on the Day of Resurrection.

Wahid VI, Chapter 9. Silk clothes are lawful under all circumstances. So also is the use of gold and silver.⁸ This is not to enable people to exalt themselves, or be proud, for such persons are veiled from the Truth, and shewing forth humility to others is giving thanks to God. And there is no glory or honour except in believing in Him whom God shall manifest. For if honour were in outward appearance, none have more than the Christians, yet they are not believers, how then are they honoured? And if anyone has vessels of gold and silver, and thereby rejoiceth the hearts of others, and quickeneth them, it is better for him than all that he possesses and he is in the pleasure of his Beloved. For the hearts of believers are the place of the pleasure of God, and there is no doubt that their pleasure is nearer to God than the pleasure of that soul which owns those things and rejoiceth (therein). A thing whereby He whom God shall manifest becomes glad is greater than that all should become glad.

Wahid VI, Chapter 10. It is obligatory on every one to inscribe on red cornelian this: 'Say that God is the Truth, and all else but God is His creation, and all are His worshippers.' This cornelian should be set in a ring. The object of this is that he may recognise Him whom God shall manifest when He appears. The manifestation of the Truth is Paradise for the people of Truth... He is the Mirror of Divinity, and the Sun of Lordship which points to God alone. And if one wishes to cause himself to enter the Affair of God, let him have engraved on a round cornelian, cut according to the well-known form of the circle, and composed of five Wahids; and in the first, the Ayatu'l-Kursi; and in the second, the Names of the Circle, and in the third, the Letters of the Bismi'llah, and in the Forth, the Six Names of God; and in the Fifth, that which is appropriate to his intent, as long as it exceed not nineteen letters. And if he also write the 19 letters in the First and Second Circles, it is pleasing to God.. But all this on the condition that he understands what is engraved at the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest. For the First is the same letter of the First Wahid which become multiplied in the circumference, until in the fifth degree they are manifested according to the number of 'To God' (lillah, 95). Thou wilt see the same then as in this Resurrection.

Wahid VI, Chapter 11. The teacher is not permitted to strike a child more than five gentle blows: and before it reaches five years of age, it is absolutely forbidden to strike it; and after that, it is not permitted to strike it more than five blows, not on the flesh, but on the clothes; and if he strikes more than five blows, or strikes them on the flesh, he is forbidden to approach his wife for 19 days, and if he has no wife let him expend 19 mithqals of gold for him whom he has struck. And God hath permitted children to play with what they have in their hands, and that each one of them should sit on a chair, for verily the time during which he sits on a chair or a bench or seat is not counted from his life. The object of these commands is that they may not perchance bring sorrow on that soul (He whom God shall manifest) from the ocean of whose munificence they are endowed with existence. For the teacher knows not Him who is his and all men's Teacher, just as in the Manifestation of the Furqan (Qur'an) till forty years had passed no one recognised that Sun of Truth, and in (the case) the Nuqta-i-Bayan 25 years. God knows what he shall have decreed for him of life: while he is not known, those will be the days of his happiness, for all are expecting him, but all are unbelievers and so sorrow will certainly come upon him. Just as before the revelation on the Furqan, all confessed the perfection and piety to the Prophet of God, but look after the revelation of the Furqan, what things did they not say! So also look at the Nuqta-i-Bayan's states before his manifestation, as is clear to those persons who have known him; but after his manifestation, although till today 500,000 verses of diverse sorts have been revealed by him, yet still they say some words which the pen is ashamed to write. Yet if all act according to what God has said, no sorrow will come upon that Tree of Truth. For if it be (that) no one grieves anyone, He also is a soul amongst (other) creatures; if they do not advance to that for which all have been created, let them at least not approach the opposite of that, for no mercy is or has been greater than this. It is seen that the days of his gladness were the days before his manifestation. But see what they do today; all do to him what they do, and are satisfied with it. Verily, O servants of God! Fear Him!

Wahid VI, Chapter 12. Divorce is not permitted, unless the man is patient with the woman for one year, that perchance it may become right between them, but if not, then it is lawful to them, and whosoever wishes to return (after divorce) it is lawful to him until 19 times, but after the return it is not made a condition that he should be patient for more than a month. If in the course of a year after his intention to divorce her affection returns, the (divorce) is abrogated: if not, it is then lawful by a word which indicates it. And after that, until the number of the Wahid (19) he may not lawful take her again. And from the time of conjunction till the time of return, it is incumbent on him to be patient for 19 days, that he (or she) may become free from the influence of the Gates of Fire; and after the number of 19 has been accomplished, conjunction is lawful for him. And up to 19 times he may take her back, but after that he may not, for the decree of duality then does forth on him; and in paradise there is no duality, for all were created from One soul... How difficult is the matter for one who has not recourse to the Source! And how easy for one who has recourse thereto!

Wahid VI, Chapter 13. The House of the Nuqta must not have more than 95 doors, nor must the houses of the Letters more than 5. This is a sign that he is and has been the Mirror of God in whom the Sun of Truth is manifest. The 'Day of Trial' which really proves the sincerity of belief, is only during the Manifestation... Today you see that thousands hold ta'ziyas⁹ for the 5th Letter (Imam Husayn)... What is meant by 'meeting God' (e.g. in the third verse of the Sura-i-Ra'd) ¹⁰ is meeting the Three of Trurh, ¹¹ for the Eternal Essence cannot be met. If in the Bayan any one visit the tombs of the Letters, and in the Day of Resurrection profit not by meeting them themselves, it is in vain what they have done. For 7 years none believed sincerely and really but 'Ali, ¹² and if those who believed subsequently had been sincere, they would not have remained outside in the day of the ascension of the Apostle of God - when only 3 individuals remained. ¹³ Always look at the Essence of the matter, whereby Religion becomes Religion. Today thou art veiled by states which ramify from the origin. Thou hast not considered that the Day of Resurrection has come, and that the Letters of the Wahid have returned. There is no doubt that the difference between Man and Beasts is in the Essence of Knowledge; and that is only manifested by speech or writing. And if you look, you see therein endless degrees, all of which give no fruit, except knowledge of God. Do not regard knowledge of God as an imaginary thing for it is Knowledge of the appearance of the Manifestation, in whose hand is the proof in every Manifestation, else there is no one who believeth not in God. From the day of Adam till now all untrue sects believe in God, and in their (or His) prophet in that time, but they entered not in the succeeding manifestation. This is the meaning of the verse, 'Lord! raise me not up blind, when I was able to see.'¹⁴ It is difficult for thee to believe in the Nuqta but look at the Nuqta-i- Furqan (Muhammad): there is no doubt that the Church of Jesus was expecting the promised Adam; so also thou art expecting the Manifestation of the last of the Imams (on whom be peace). When the blindness of the eye is spoken of, the eye of the heart is meant, for their outward eyes see everything, and are indeed so sharp that they see the countries above the earth in the Moon, and enumerate them. And now that 1270 years have elapsed since Muhammad, if you look carefully you will see that the earth has become full of injustice and tyranny. In the Manifestation of Christ the tree of the Gospel was planted, but not perfected till the time of Muhammad; and had it been perfected one day sooner, on that very day would the sending of Muhammad have occurred - which is the 26th not the 27th of Rajab. ¹⁵ After the planting of the Qur'an, it came to perfection after 1270 years. Had its maturity been at 2 hours of the night of Thursday the fifth of Jamadi'ul- Awwal it would not have appeared 5 minutes later. As soon as men are ready to receive it the Tree of Truth descends from 'I am a Hidden Treasure'. ¹⁶ Knowledge of God is knowledge of how His prophet has described Him in that Manifestation.

Wahid VI, Chapter 14. Concerning the command of God at the passing of the Sun. God has related one day in the year to Himself, and called it the Day of God. One mithqal of gold spent on that day is like 361 mithqals (spent at other times) and so with all states and actions. This day is the day whereon the Sun passes from Pisces into Aries at the moment of its passing, whether it be night or day. And permission is given at that time to use all musical instruments and luxuries which at other times are not permitted. Banquets also ought to be with a single luxury, but that the best of its kind, in each assembly; and multiplicity of musical instruments and luxuries should be arranged in numerous assemblies, for this is nearer to piety with God. And during the night they are permitted to recite this verse according to the number of 'All Things' (361): 'God beareth witness that there is no God but Him, the Ineffable, the Self-subsistent.' And during the day the verse: 'God beareth witness that there is no God but Him, the Precious, the Beloved'. And that day is the day of the Nuqta, the 18 days following being the days of the Letters, more noble than the days of the 18 other months, each one of which is related to one of the decrees of all things. And in the first Wahid (19 days) fasting is not lawful, but all must enter Paradise by the Gates of the Wahid. And in the Day of Resurrection all things will appear as in the form of man, even hours and minutes and night and day and days and months and years.

Wahid VI, Chapter 15. God hath commanded that ye should rise up from your seats when ye hear the name of Him whom God shall manifest and afterwards by the title of the Qa'im: shewing honour to Him from the Nuqta-i-Ula. The object of all this is that they may arise and humble themselves before Him whom God shall manifest, if they live to see His day, without which all their actions become vain. Just as all the Muslims were awaiting the coming of the Qa'im, and humbling themselves before God for his coming, but when he appeared with the greatest signs whereby their religion is established, they rested in their houses after hearing his verses, while he is alone in this mountain of Maku. So, O people of the Bayan, determine that you will not approve for anyone what you do not approve for yourself, and do not make the Truth appear like a lie. Then, even if you do not become overshadowed by Him shadow, at least you do not become overshadowed by aught other, that perchance no sorrow may come upon Him, and all the actions which ye have wrought from the Day of the Nuqta-i- Bayan till that day may not become vain. There is no argument for one who does not believe in him after hearing his words and verses. If you wish to look on the origin of Paradises, look at the beginning of Islam, in which whosoever entered, entered Paradise and whoever did not , entered the Fire.

Wahid VI, Chapter 16. It is not lawful to anyone to travel unless he means to go to the House of God or the house of the Nuqta, he being in a position to do so, or with the intention of trading; or of visiting the Letters of the Living, when he can do so in comfort and ease; or if he wishes to help someone in the way of God: and whoever compelleth anyone against his will to a journey, or enters anyone's house without his permission; or wishes to expel him from his house without his permission; his wife is forbidden to him for 19 months; or if anyone transgress this commandment the people of the Bayan must take from him 19 mithqals of gold: and it is incumbent on anyone aware of this ordinance to come and inform anyone who does not know, and prevent him, and if he knows, and does not do so , his wife is unlawful to him for 19 days, and after that period is not lawful to him until he give 19 mithqals of gold if he is able; and if not, of silver; and if he be not able to do that, let him ask pardon of God 19 times until he be able; ¹⁷ and let him spend it for the witnesses of the Bayan: that they may expend it on him who cries the adhan with loudest voice; then on the poor and the needy of the Faith.

And no one should travel except of necessity, or for pilgrimage, or to appear before the Nuqta, unless he wishes to visit (a shrine) or to trade; and it is not desirable that he should prolong the days of his pilgrimage; and if they are prolonged, he must take with him his family; and the length (of his absence) must not exceed 38 months (2 years of the Babis), ¹⁸ except in the case of one who trades on the sea, and he is permitted to remain away 95 months (5 years of the Babis), but more than this is not allowed. And whoever exceeds these two limits must give 202 mithqals of gold, if he be able; and if not 202 mithqals of silver. And the time is counted from the moment he leaves his house till the moment he re-enters it. The fruit of this command is that in the day of the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest he may journey to Him as soon as he hears of Him, for all the Bayan is for Him. Travel is only permissible when it can be done with ease and comfort except when the Day of Resurrection comes, when it becomes incumbent, even though it be with shoes (i.e. on foot). God loves that all should ascend into Paradise; where no one brings any sorrows on anyone; that all may be in His keeping and protection till the Day of Resurrection, which is the beginning of the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest.

The shorter and lighter stages be in travelling, the more pleasing it is to God. And if he go in two days a journey which could be gone in one, it is for God to double his provision; and if it be grievous for an animal, it results in a curse from God on its owner and in any case it is necessary to regard the capacity of every animal, that he (after he has entered the Bayan) may not carry on it more than it can bear; for what profit be left from this will give no fruit for him: and in travelling you must consider the state of the weak. And consideration of the state of foot-passengers is in every case pleasing to God. And if anyone gives a mount to anyone for one step, in the way pleasing to God, the reward of a pilgrimage is written in the book of his deeds... If travel were possible without fatigue, and with comfort and ease, it would not have been decreed thus. And the journeys of the Arabs are today a witness to that command which formerly existed; so do the cycles improve degree by degree. For all are not able to go more than a farsakh's¹⁹ journey: and God preserveth whom He pleaseth in the way by His permission: verily He is the preserver of all things.

Wahid VI, Chapter 17. The decree of the cleanliness of what comes forth from mice and the non-necessity of avoiding it; and similar is the command concerning the animal which flies at night, and which they call Ababil (the Owl) .²⁰ Still avoidance, as far as possible, is pleasing to God, but it does not destroy cleanliness. He whom God shall manifest has always been in a pure place, and from first to last is the Heaven of Purity and the Earth of Cleanliness, and naught can alter Him. And His fathers until Adam and His mothers likewise have been the pick of creation, and the manifestations of purity.

Wahid VI, Chapter 18. None is permitted to read the letter (or book) of another, except merchants when they give permission to one other, or are sure of each other's permission. Neither closed nor open letters, nor books whether of science or accounts, or written books may be read without the consent of the owner, whereupon it becomes permissible. And this is that all may be clothed with the raiment of modesty.

Wahid VI, Chapter 19. It is incumbent on everyone to answer when he is questioned; and what depends thereon. In this Manifestation everyone must answer letters written to him that perchance in the day when He Whom God shall manifest shall ask: 'Art thou not of thy Lord'? All may say: 'Yes.'²¹ In each Manifestation those who reply are distinguished from those who are silent. The discerning servant is he who in all worlds and degrees answers God whether by writing, or by word of mouth, or by action. Even if a child cry, it is necessary to answer it.

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¹ Here the Bab is using the word 'Bayan' to refer to all of his writings. (M.M.)

² These three expressions refer to Qur'an 47:15: 'The Paradise promised to the righteous has rivers of water which cannot be corrupted; and rivers of milk, the taste of which changes not; and rivers of wine, a delight for those who drink, and rivers of pure honey...' (M.M.)

³ See footnote 31 of Wahid II. (M.M.)

⁴ This is a volume of water which is considered pure in Islamic law. This passage abrogates laws regarding the purity of water. (M.M.)

⁵ i.e. public baths. (M.M.)

⁶ i.e. as a resuit of the Qur'anic injunction: 'Establish prayer' - Qur'an 2:43 and elsewhere. (M.M.)

⁷ God is most Great; God is most Mighty; God is most Glorious; and God is most Beauteous; respectively. (M.M.)

⁸ This is an abolition of prohibitions in Islamic law. (M.M.)

⁹ See footnote 6 of Wahid IV. (M.M.)

¹⁰ Qur'an 13:3. (M.M.)

¹¹ i.e. the Manifestation of God. (M.M.)

¹² 'Ali, Muhammad's nephew and generally considered in the first to believe in Muhammad. (M.M.)

¹³ A reference to the only three Muslims who remained loyal to 'Ali, see footnote 34 of Wahid V. (M.M.)

¹⁴ Qur'an 2:125. (M.M.)

¹⁵ The 'Id-i-Mab'ath commemorating the declaration of Muhammad's mission is celebrated on 27th Rajab by Muslims. (M.M.)

¹⁶ The Tree of Truth denotes the Manifestation of God; the 'Hidden Treasure' is the unmanifested Essence of God. The reference is to a famous Islamic Tradition which begins: 'I was a Hidden treasurer...' (M.M.)

¹⁷ Whereupon his wife becomes lawful to him; but as soon as either of them is able, they must give the 19 mithqals.

¹⁸ Unless his wife and children be with him and unless the journey to his destination be very long.

¹⁹ Farsakh: distance travelled in one hour by a ladened mule: approximately 3 to 5 miles. (M.M.)

²⁰ These are in abrogation of Islamic laws. (M.M.)

²¹ See footnote 32 of Wahid II. (M.M.)

Wahid VII, Chapter 1. Concerning the renewal of all books after 202 years have passed over them; and the destruction of what was written before, or its bestowal on someone. God wishes all things to become new in this Manifestation; therefore every 202 years everyone must renew his books, either cast them into fresh water, or give them to some one. This is that no letter may become capable of causing aversion, for 70,000 angels watch over every letter, and at the moment of its destruction they preserve it. These angels are pleased when they see anything well written; the Bayan must always be written most carefully. The grades of writing are the degrees of the name Wahid (i.e. 19). First 'Khatt-i-Abha', and last 'Khatt-i-Ala'; and it seemeth as though in the Manifestation, the learned will attain to write all 19 handwritings; but perfection in one is better than knowing all, though perfection in all is the highest perfection. It has not yet been heard that the Book of the Self-subsistent of Names (Kitab-i-Qayyumu'l-Asma) of which the suras are according to the number of Qayyum (156) which is the number of Yusuf (156)¹ has been written in a manner due its merit, and yet how many books have been written since the beginning of the Manifestation which being without belief in him, give no fruit. So in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest naught should be written but the writings of that Sun of Truth. For to write one letter thereof is more than to write the whole Bayan.

Wahid VII, Chapter 2. Concerning intent. No one must being to do anything without saying with his tongue 'Verily I arise' or 'Verily I sit down' or 'Verily I do this' 'unto God, the Lord of the Heavens, and the Lord of the Earth, and what is between them; the Lord of all things: the Lord of what is seen, and the Lord of what is not seen; the Lord of the two Worlds'. And if he say it inwardly, God will reward him for it. It is not pleasing that anyone should act for anyone unless he do it for God, and it will not be for God unless he does it for that Manifestation. The Christians did what Christ commanded for God by His Command, but on the manifestation of the Prophet of God, they should have done it for him; otherwise they no longer did it for God.² So with the people who act according to the Bayan, when He whom God shall manifest appears, they must do it for Him, and according to His order, else it is not for God. He who is obeyed from the day of Adam is that same Prophet of God, and all revealed books are the Qur'an which descended upon him. If in the day of Him whom God shall manifest you do what you do for the Nuqta-i- Bayan, it is done for other than God, for in that day the Nuqta-i- Bayan is the same as He whom God shall manifest. If one shall rightly guide another, it is better than that he should reign from East to West, and so also it is better for him who is guided than all upon the Earth. For, by right guidance, after death he shall enter Paradise.

Wahid VII, Chapter 3. The discharge of debts is necessary. Lending money to believers is pleasing to God, and so the discharge of debts is most necessary; if he can restore it, he must not delay. How remove from God is one who restoreth not the right of another.

Wahid VII, Chapter 4. Concerning consecration (takhlis). Every year let the servant consecrate himself, beginning on the eve of the Wahid until the sunset of the last day of the Wahid³ i.e. let him enjoy one of the Names of God.

Wahid VII, Chapter 5. In the day of the manifestation of the Tree of Truth it is not lawful to anyone to hold any religion which he held before that, when he has heard about it (i.e. the new Manifestation), let him present himself before it that it may command him what it pleaseth; but till he comes before it, let him do as he did before, but when he is present (before it) let all his (old) religion cease from him except that which his Lord commandeth him.

Wahid VII, Chapter 6. It is not permitted to carry implements of war except in time of necessity, or in the time of religious war, or those whose proper occupation it is. Let no action emanate from anyone which will be the cause of fear to another, that perchance the eye of the Sun of Truth may not witness anything which is displeasing to it. He for whose meeting all were created dwells in a place where there is not one man of heart.

Wahid VII, Chapter 7. It behoves whomsoever recognises Him whom God shall manifest that he should ask Him for His grace, and if He desireth, He will honour him, even with the dust of His shoes.

Wahid VII, Chapter 8. It is obligatory on all to write from the beginning of one month a wahid in a wahid (?19 x 19) of whichever he pleases of the names of God, such as 'Allahu Akbar' and 'A'zam' or 'Azhar' or the like. And he may count from the beginning of his life till the end, and then write what has passed away of it; and if he die it is for his heirs to write for him what his life hath determined for him. Make the whole world a wahid in a wahid. For the assistance of each thing of a lower grade is from a higher grade, till it reaches one Wahid which is the Primal Wahid. And in that Wahid see naught but the unnumbered Wahid, which is the Primal Letter. Thus you may see naught in the mirrors but the form of the Sun alone. It seems to be realised that the mystery of the Wahid will accumulate currency till it flows through all things, till even the pens in the pen-case will be after the number of the Wahid. For the Manifestation of the Nuqta amongst the pens has the value of all: so if the first pen's value is 19 mithqals of silver, the price of the other 18 should be 18 mithqals...⁴ All the multiple numbers subsist by this Wahid, and this Wahid by the first Wahid, which is without number, and that by itself in God. And God creates what He will, and multiplieth the first Wahid as He pleaseth by His command, for indeed he is capable of all things.

Wahid VII, Chapter 9. It is incumbent on every King raised up in this (religion) to build for himself a house with 95 doors, and a house with 90 doors, in the name of Him whom God shall manifest. The number of the doors of the first must not exceed 95 and of the second 90, that the mystery of the Truth may spread even to inanimate things... It does not seem likely that anyone should be able to learn by heart all the Bayan, and act in accordance with it. O people of the Bayan! be watchful, for there will be no place of refuge in that Day of Resurrection, and He will arise suddenly.

Wahid VII, Chapter 10. Let each soul guard itself by the form of the name of the Mustaghath⁵ at the moment of its birth, and no one should dispense with it. No name amongst the names of God is equal to Mustaghath as regards its number, and that is the supreme fruit of the Names which has reached the Extreme of Manifestation, and wherein naught is manifest but the first Wahid. And in the first Wahid is naught but the Primal Wahid, which is the Prophet of God in the Qur'an, and the Essence of the Seven Letters⁶ in the Bayan, and before the Qur'an it was Jesus, and after the Bayan it will be He whom God shall manifest. Different enthronements appear in different Manifestations, else that which 'ascends the throne', which is free from all limitations, is the same Primal Volition, the enthronement of which changes it not... And no name is superior to the number of Mustaghath in the ranks of the Names. Therefore it is ordained that from conception they should guard that form by a tablet wherein is the number of the Name Mustaghath. For only God knows how long it will be from beginning of a Manifestation until another, but if God please, it will not be more than the number Mustaghath. And in the cycle of the Qur'an, the beginning and return of that was the Name Aghfar (Most Forgiving) minus the name Huwa (He).⁷ And there is no test by which to judge of this matter, which only God knows, for between the Gospel and the Qur'an the number of years did not even reach 1000. And in every case the Tree of Truth regards the capacity of his people: whenever he sees that they are ready for the Manifestation in the mirrors of their hearts, He reveals Himself.

Wahid VII, Chapter 11. It is not permitted to ascend into pulpits; and men are commanded to sit in chairs... No happiness is greater than that men should hear the words of Him whom God shall manifest, and understand their meaning, and not say 'Why', or 'Wherefore'. If one of the religion of Adam were left on the earth, on hearing the Word of God, he should accept it, and if (God forbid) he hesitate, he should offer it (the verse) to all on the earth, and when he sees that they cannot produce the like thereof, he should believe; and till he believes he is in the Fire of ignorance... Be careful not to believe in Him whom God shall manifest by the belief of the people of the Bayan; but believe in Him by reason of himself. This is the meaning of 'Know God by God'... So also see in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, all are liars except those servants who believe in Him.

Wahid VII, Chapter 12. It behoves not him who acts for God that he should associate aught with Him. So in each Manifestation he who acts for that Manifestation acts for God, and vice versa.

Wahid VII, Chapter 13. God hath made it incumbent on all his servants that there should be with them 19 verses from Him Whom God shall manifest in the day of His manifestation in His own writing. Nothing is greater than verses with God. If anyone gives all that is on the earth for such a tablet containing 19 verses written by the Tree of Truth himself, it is cheaply bought, for that is a warrant of salvation from God... If anyone writes a verse of that it is better than writing the whole of the Bayan and the books which have been composed in the Bayan, for all (these) will be removed, and that will remain, till another Manifestation.

Wahid VII, Chapter 14. Repentance is not permitted except to God in the person of His Manifestation, when He is manifested; and if not, ask pardon of God secretly with yourselves. Asking pardon of God is not established but by asking pardon of the Manifestation of His command, which is the Tree of Truth... In Contingent Being there is no way to God for His creatures except the Gates of the Wahid which culminate in the Wahid without number, which is the Tree of Truth, the creator of all numbers to infinity.

Wahid VII, Chapter 15. Concerning the necessity of prostrating oneself at the Gate of the City wherein arises the Divine Point, out of respect for Him from God; verity He is the Dear, the Beloved. All people worship God, and prostrate themselves before Him; but they are prone to despise His Manifestation, seeing Him in a human form like themselves; whereas He is as the Sun, and His verses are like light, and all believers are like mirrors wherein the Sun appears... The place of the arising was the city of Fa (Fars, i.e. Shiraz) and the place of the Manifestation the well-known fortress (probably Maku) until at the new Manifestation this command ceases, and a new order will be given. In each Manifestation the obedience of everyone in the previous Manifestation is made clear, not in that Manifestation. For instance in the day of the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, the submission of mankind to Him is manifest in the Nuqta-i-Bayan; for the beginning of each Manifestation is the Point of the subsequent Manifestation, although the Nuqta-i-Zuhur (Point of Manifestation) is loftier than the maturity of the preceding Manifestation. Those who today act according to the Qur'an are humbling and prostrating themselves before God for the Nuqta-i-Bayan. But since they do not recognise the Sun of Truth, therefore they remain veiled from belief in Him. It makes no difference to the Tree of Truth whether anyone believes in Him or not; it only makes a difference to them, for He is always in Paradise in Himself. Just as the Sun needs not mirrors, nor the images of itself reflected in them. Now 70,000 people visit Mecca at the command of the Prophet of God, yet they let him dwell alone in the mountains of Mecca for 7 years. And now they do not recognise the return of his Manifestation which is stronger than his former Manifestation; yet the commander is of more account than the command.

Wahid VII, Chapter 16. God has made it incumbent on every King who is raised up in the Religion of the Bayan to allow no one in his land who believes not this religion, and the same is incumbent on all men, except in the case of merchants who trade in what is advantageous to men, like the Letters of the Gospel. In the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, the same order holds good of those who do not believe in him. This is that the Tree of Truth may not witness in that land wherein he appears any but believers in him, and that in Paradise, there may be no persons of Hell-Fire. The permission to merchants is only given to those who trade on a large scale, and no unbelievers who are in an inglorious condition are to be allowed in the country at all.

Wahid VII, Chapter 17. Concerning the reading on Fridays of this verse facing the sun, 'The brightness (Baha) is only from God on thine aspect; verily there is no God but Him, the Dear, the Beloved.' God has created Friday for purity and pleasantness, and the resting of His servants from what they undertake on other days, and whatever action is done on the night or day of Friday its reward is like that of the [other] days of the week.

Wahid VII, Chapter 18. Whosoever grieveth anyone must give 19 mithqals of gold; or silver; or must ask pardon of God 19 times. This is lest he should inadvertently grieve that Tree of Truth⁸ while he is still latent, and no one yet recognise him. And he must further ask pardon from that person whom he has grieved. For the heart of the believer is the place of the manifestation of God, and if a sorrow comes thereon, it is as though a sorrow had come on the Letters of the Living, and this is as if it had come on the Tree of Truth; and this as though it had come on God... In the Bayan naught is more acceptable than causing joy to enter the hearts of believers. And on the owners of the circles (?women)⁹ it (the order) is doubled, whether in grief or gladness. And man should continually watch that at least he bring not sorrow on any one, even if he bright not gladness. And if anyone confine anyone, that which was formerly lawful to him is forbidden him, for as long as he confines another: and all his action descends upon him; and if he returns to what is forbidden to him, he must give 19 mithqals of gold every month.

Wahid VII, Chapter 19. Concerning prayer. The first prayer which is laid down is the noon-day prayer according to the number of the Wahid (19), that each one may be one of the Gates of Paradise in the obedience of God, that they may see in that only Him who is manifest in the letter, and from that only the Wahid which is without number. Each man's prayer is according to his degree - the prayer of the Nuqta is to the prayer of the Letters of the Living as the Nuqta is to them, and so on. One 'There is no God but God' from Him whom God shall manifest is better and nobler than the secret or open profession of the Unity of God by all before or after Him, for by that God witnesseth to Himself. Even the prayers of 'Ali, by far the noblest of Believers, are as naught beside those of Muhammad, for it was by the command of the latter that the former prayer. While the prayers of 'Ali include all prayers in value but not in essence.¹⁰ So a profession of the Unity of God from a Christian in the time of Muhammad would not be accepted unless conjoined with belief in Muhammad, and uttered as he commanded in Arabic, and so with the Nuqta, and He whom God shall manifest. Always cast thy glance on the origin; all these (i.e. believers) are beside Him like a ring which is on thy finger; thou movest it in whatsoever way thou pleasest. The one who prays must have God only in his mind, and intend only Him alone. He must turn towards the most holy Divine Essence, which neither bears nor is born, and all other than It is Its creation, and It is not comprehended in Its essence... and naught other than It is to be praised; yet withal let him not go outside the Gates of Guidance that each prostration may be the opening of one of the Gates of Paradise, which is knowledge of the Letters of the Unity in the day of their manifestation; and that is a Paradise more glorious than that there should be therein limited forms; and that Paradise wherein are limited forms, whether of silken garments, or golden vessels, or excellent meals, or pure wine, or mansions or houris, all that is other than this Unity (Wahid) and they are dependent on it; do not remain veiled by these beside that Primal Unity, where is pure love and manifestation. In three prostrations (rik'at) in the beginning of the prayer, declare the Unity of the Essence, and in the following four prostrations, the Unity of the Attributes, and in the six following prostrations, the Unity of Actions, and in the six following ones, the Unity of Worship and Deeds, and see in all 'No God but Him alone, who has no partner'.

So worship God in such a way that if the reward of thy worship of Him were to be the Fire, no alteration in thy worship of Him would be produced. If you worship from fear, it is unworthy of the threshold of the sanctity of God, nor wilt thou then be accounted a believer in the Divine Unity; so also if you gaze is on Paradise, and you worship from hope of that, for then you have made God's creation a partner with Him. For both Paradise and the Fire worship God. And acceptable prayer is that performed with ease and comfort, nor is lengthiness (in prayer) pleasing (to God), and whatever is simpler and more essential is more pleasing to God. And all but the Prayer of the Wahid is abrogated. And know that in prayer thou art standing before One in whose grasp is thy origin and thy return, and from Whom nothing is hidden, and Whom nothing can render powerless, and Who is powerful over al things, and knoweth all things before they exist just as He knoweth them after they exist.

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¹ This is the first major work of the Bab, the Qayyumu'l-Asma which was written in the form of a commentary of the Qur'anic sura of Yusuf (Joseph). (M.M.)

² NB. Observe that the Bab does not proceed with the natural analogy: either because he only regards himself as a forerunner, or so as not to unduly offend the Muhammadans.

³ i.e. one whole Babi month of 19 days. (M.M.)

⁴ Thus symbolically, the other 18 pens are of lesser degree and dependent on the first pen which symbolises the Manifestation of the Nuqta. (M.M.)

⁵ Mustaghath, He whose aid is invoked, i.e. God. Numerically equal to 2001. (M.M.)

⁶ i.e. the Bab, see footnote 1 of Wahid II. (M.M.)

⁷ Aghfar (1281) minus Huwa (11) = 1270. (M.M.)

⁸ i.e. Him whom God shall manifest. (M.M.)

⁹ See the footnote 10 of Wahid V. (M.M.)

¹⁰ i.e. the prayers of the First of the 'Letters' includes all other prayers in the sense that they are better, and in that sense inclusive, as the better includes the less perfect, but not in the same essential way in which the prayers of the Manifestation itself include others, which only exist at its command.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 1. Concerning this that the action of Him whom God shall manifest in regard to the action of others (even though they be exactly in accordance with the will of God) is like the Sun in relation to the stars. And he who first accepts the Sun of Truth is as the moon by knowledge of Him... He [He whom God shall manifest] say as the mouthpiece of God, 'Verily I am God; there is no God but Me and what is other than Me is My creation; say "O My creation. Therefore fear Me."'

So the stars of the Gospel shone after the setting of that Sun of Truth [Jesus] until that Sun arose again [as Muhammad] whereupon no light remained to them.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 2. It is incumbent on everyone to leave to his heirs 19 sheets of fine paper and 19 rings whereon are engraved some of the Names of God; and that none shall inherit from the dead but his father, and his mother, and his wife and his sister, and his brother, and he who has taught him. The degrees of Unity are completed in 7 degrees, which is the Letter of Affirmation, therefore only 7 people shall inherit from the dead, as one may describe God by 7 degrees of each attribute (e.g. Awhad, Wahhad, W'ahid, Wah'id, Mutawahhid, Muwahhid, Muwahhad): And whoever proposes to do anything must call God by each of these 7 possible names according to the number of the Qaf (100) unless the means thereunto are manifest, and the object. If the Manifestation forbids an action (such as Tawaf)¹ commanded by the former Manifestation and a person is just about to do it, he must immediately abandon it (and then he has really performed the Tawaf).² In each Manifestation the true believers are rarer than the philosopher's stone. This is the mystery of what the late Shaykh (Ahmad Ahsa'i) related concerning the tradition of Imam Ja'far-i-Sadiq, that if, when the Qa'im comes, he command believers to give up the wilayat³ of 'Ali, if they do not obey, they become infidels. This is because those who deny this and say 'God forbid', do not look at the origin of the matter, and regard the Qa'im as other than Muhammad. Of course this is impossible, but what is meant is that they should know that this same 'Ali has returned. As 'Ali was exactly the same as the successor of Jesus. If in this Manifestation anyone is assured that this is that same Manifestation of the Nuqta-i-Furqan (i.e. Muhammad), he may have attained to the meeting of the Prophet of God, which is meeting with God. If all the believers in the Bayan are assured in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest, that He is the same as the Nuqta-i-Bayan, perhaps they may have attained to the purpose of God in the Bayan. And since in that day all are assured of the Nuqta-i- Bayan, therefore he is mentioned as an example. It is in reality only a concession to the weakness of man's discernment that any Manifestation is mentioned by the name of the Manifestation before, for really he is much more glorious, and ought not to be described thus.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 3. After the Manifestation 'all things perish but His face'; ⁴ in the day of Resurrection it is obligatory on everyone to ask for pardon from the Divine Tree by himself not by others, unless he has a valid excuse which prevents him being present (there) personally. And they must beg for the repeal of any condemnatory verse such as 'All things perish' until they hear from His own lips even a single sentence like 'Verily we have saved you'. Such a word is more profitable than all earthly wealth, and will save thee till another Resurrection. Do not hesitate to intend and set about this, for if you die while not intending or hesitating, you will perish; but if you have already undertaken preparations to go, perhaps by a word emanating from the Source you may be in Paradise after your death, and your Hell-Fire may be changed to light. No command is more obligatory on the people of the Bayan than this, for their salvation is in this; not in their works. As long as the Sun of Truth is on high the alteration of all orders is possible, but when it has set it is no longer possible till another Manifestation. Whoever shelters himself under the shadow of the Letters of the Bayan is not of those who perish till the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest.

And so with every Manifestation from Infinity till Infinity. If any one in the Bayan really be under the shadow of the Letters of the Living, he will find salvation in the Day of Resurrection, through the blessing of his love. Until today whatever has been manifest has been 'Know God by His proofs'. As the cycles progress, and then improve, the proofs get higher, till at length in 'Know God by God' there shall be no proof needed, and they know the proof through Him, not Him through the proof...

Pray thus: 'O God'; I confide in Tree; give me deliverance on the day of the Resurrection.' And tawakkul⁵ in God is believing in the Tree of 'Truth and God is faithful in His promise, and will without doubt deliver those who trust in Him.

Whaid VIII, Chapter 4. The best of everything is for the Nuqta: and the intermediate for the Letters of the Living: and the lowest for creatures. In every Manifestation it is witnessed that the highest of creatures become the least and the least highest.⁶ If one believes in Him whom God shall manifest after 360 others have believed, he is the last of the Wahid of the number of the Wahid.⁷ If in the day of Him whom God shall manifest there be in His possession 361 diamonds, each of which is 95 mithqals of gold more valuable than the next, and 361 people believe in Him, they are to be divided amongst them singly. Obedience is ineffectual without Faith. Yet it is impossible that the Tree of Truth should make such a command as intelligence cannot comprehend. All must obey the commands of Him whom God shall manifest, in the greatest things as in the least.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 5. It is incumbent on him who is able to take 3 diamonds according to the number of Bism and four yellow amethysts according to the number of Allah and six emeralds, the number of Al- Amna' and six rubies, the number of Al-Aqdas, that he should take them, and salute (or submit himself to) Him whom God shall manifest and the Letters of the Living in the day of His manifestation. All Being is in the Bayan and all the Bayan is in the first Wahid, and the First Wahid is in the First Point (Nuqta), and in all is seen One Water of Life, which is the command of God. These gems are a gift from God for the First Wahid in that Manifestation. And the price of all must be equal to the price of the first one. And those who bring forward proofs of the Divine Unity should behold the Essence, the Attributes, actions, worship, creation, provenance, death, life, praise, glorification, unification, fire, air, water, earth, hearts, spirits, souls, bodies, and the white, yellow, green and red lights; all in the shadow of Bi'smi'-llahi 'l-Amna'i 'l-Aqdas.⁸ And four prayers have been mentioned for each of the four lights which are greater than any prayers.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 6. Concerning personal cleanliness. Every four days everyone is to enter the Cleansing House; and remove the hair of the body with depilatories every 8 days, or every 14 days; and cutting the nails and using henna all over the body; the men writing therewith Ar-Rahman on their breasts, and the women Bism; and looking in a mirror every day and every night. The greatest possible degree of cleanliness is enjoined in the Bayan; if men cut their nails and their hair once every four days it is pleasing to God. And henna may be used either for all or a portion of the body. Men may write on their breasts, which is the place of the love of God, in most excellent writing: 'Allahumma' for the people of the circles (women) and 'Ar-Rahman' for people of the forms (men).⁹ More than this may be written if they like. Seventy sorts of calamity are removed from the body with every hair plucked out. And when he looks in the mirror he should thank his beloved for the beauty of his form. If anyone puts on a shirt and then perspires, he should change it. It is incumbent on each one to observe what is possible for him (as regards cleanliness and perfection in general) then he should shew it forth in himself; for the Tree of Truth is a witness in himself, and sees all and recognises all, but none knows it, nor sees it with its eye as it actually is, for that eye is created after its manifestation, in everything... Happy is he who apprehends the meeting of God in the day of His manifestation.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 7. Concerning printing and the command thereto. Permission has been given to print the Bayan and what is composed in the shadows thereof. So that henceforth there is no excuse for one not possessing any (of these) writings. But it must be printed in the best writing, not as now with any writing, so that the price of a Qur'an is only 28 nukhud of silver. If regard were not had to the weakness of believers, this permission would not have been given; but whosoever can write the Bayan with the best writing, it is better for him than that he should possess a well-printed copy. The veneration given to the Qur'an is only by reason of the Souls in these words, and all the souls in the Qur'an return to the souls of the Letters of the Living, just as their beginning was from those Letters... So regard all the heavenly books, that the veneration bestowed on them is by reason of their relation to God. There is no doubt that the Gospel was the Book of God but after the revelation of the Qur'an, the true souls thereof were taken up to the Qur'an and those who were not were the untrue souls of the Gospel, which remained. So also with the Qur'an and the Bayan.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 8. Permission to shave the hair on the head and remove the hair of the face because of its power, and praying in an'aba, not without it. In every case the removal (or clipping) of the moustache is commanded. Prayer in a jubba is not pleasing, except in time of trouble. When God is not wishing that the accidental body should be in an unlovely state, how much less so in the case of the Essential body and Soul and spirit and heart, which are the place of the Effulgence of the first Wahid?

Wahid VIII, Chapter 9. Let each one write his name and what he hath done of good and otherwise from the beginning of the Manifestation of the Matter until the day of its decline: and let his executors preserve it, until the day wherein the Tree of Truth shall be manifest. Often it happens that the Day of Judgement arrives and even the people of that land are unaware thereof. On that great day the Tree of Truth, whose speech is continually 'There is no God but Me' shall be manifest, and all those who are veiled therefrom imagine him to be a soul like themselves... In the same way in the Manifestation of the Nuqta-i-Bayan if they did not refuse him the name of 'believer', how could they be able to make him dwell in a mountain, whereas the very being of Faith was created by his Word? This is because they have no eyes in their hearts, and those who possess such circle round the Lamp of Truth like moths till they burn. Therefore it is that the Day of Resurrection is called the Greatest Day, else it is but a day like all other days, except that therein is the Manifestation of God manifest. And what the Nuqta-i-Bayan writes concerning that which he hath acquired is this: 'What was before this [i.e. Islam] has been removed to God who revealed it to me.'

Wahid VIII, Chapter 10. Whosoever is of the tribe is permitted to look at and speak to any, whether male or female, and to those who speak much with women, or to such women as speak much with men, it is permitted to speak so much as giveth fruit between them, and if they exceed not 28 words it is better for them. What is meant by 'tribe' is not a tribe like that of the ilyat ¹⁰ but those who believe.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 11. Concerning the washing of the dead three times according to this order; first the head; and say 'O Single!'; then the belly, and say 'O Living!' then the right side, and say 'O Self-subsistent!' then the left side, and say 'O Wise!' then the right foot and say 'O Just!' then the left foot, and say 'O Holy!'; wash with water, or with what you please of camphorated water and shroud the dead with fine garments, and place the ring on his right (hand) with what is written upon it: in the case of men 'And to God belongeth what is in the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and God knoweth all things', and in the case of women, 'And to God belongeth the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and God is powerful over all things.' To wash the dead once is obligatory and to do so three or five times is permitted. For the degrees of Unity are mentioned in five degrees, in 'There is no God but Him' and 'There is no God but Me' and 'There is no God but God', and 'There is no God but Thee', and 'There is no God but He Who...' After this ablution with water it is desirable to wash it with rose- water where possible, or scent it with some other scent. The five shrouds are of various stuffs beginning with silk and ending with cotton, and on these no more than 19 Names of God should be written and let each one write what he pleases. And in every case the corpse must be turned about reverently, for honouring the body is honouring the believer.

And know that death is like life - if the dead yields up his soul believing in that Manifestation, he will be happy in Paradise. But for an unbeliever, after his death, the weightiest of deeds can do him good, nor can good works performed by his successors benefit him. And as the angels take the soul of the believer, so the devils take the soul of the unbeliever; and were the veils removed from the eyes of the devils, even they would not touch them by reason of the fierceness of the heat of the fire in them, but since they are veiled they take them and carry them to the treasure of Fire; but the soul of the believer appears before God, and God looks not on the soul of the unbeliever, and commands the fire to seize it. So trust in God, that Death take thee not.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 12. Concerning the decrees of the Place of the Blow.¹¹ Whoever is in that Land, or within 66 farsakhs, if 29 years of his life have passed upon him, he should visit that place once a year, and tarry there 19 days; and in that place 5 prostrations of prayer are decreed; and whoever is unable (to visit the place) let him thus do in his own house, and to the dwellers (therein) anything more than this is pardoned. If they were not content to be veiled, these limitations would not be in force.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 13. Men are permitted to magnify the Nuqta 95 times at His beginning and His end.¹² Otherwise only 5 takbirs [magnificats] are permitted.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 14. Everyone must read 700 of the verses of the Bayan, night and day. And if he be not able, let him mention God 700 times by saying 'Allahu Azhar' (God is most manifest). The highest limit of ascension of the Unity is the letter Dhal (= 700), the mystery of which is that the number 7 of 'Allahumma' when it passes over the letters of the third degree of the tawhid, the fifth degree is manifest...¹³ So also see in this Manifestation till that day when the plans of God put in movement the essence of Creation; until 313 individuals of the noble were taken in the Land of Sad (Isfahan) which is outwardly the greatest of lands. In each Manifestation strive to deliver yourselves from the fire of the previous Manifestation.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 15. It is obligatory on each one to take a wife, that a soul may remain after him to [testify to the unity of] God, its Lord, and he must needs make endeavour thereunto, and if there appear in one of them what preventeth this, each one is permitted to marry again by the leave of the other, that fruit may appear from him; and conjunction with one who has not entered the Faith is not lawful; and whoever has already taken one, separation is incumbent on him when he witnesses unbelief in that one in the Bayan, and he may have nothing to do with that one till they return to the Bayan. God is the owner of all things, and none but believers are permitted to possess anything, and what thou seest in the hands of unbelievers is unrightfully so, and were the truth able, it would forbid them even their own souls; how then (should it allow them) what (goods) they possess?... So also see the Manifestation of the Bayan: for 40 days none believed in the Bab but the letter Sin (?Mulla Husayn) and little by little the forms of the letters of the Bismi 'llah arrayed themselves in the raiment of faith till the first Wahid was complete, and see now how often this Wahid has been multiplied until today.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 16. Whatever possessions or money anyone has exceeding in value 100 mithqals of gold, the owner must give 19 mithqals to the Letters of the Wahid, one mithqal being for God if the Sun of Truth is shining; and if the night has arisen, they must give it to the posterity of those Letters, but if not, then to them themselves; and let them keep the mithqal of God till it can be restored to Him whom God shall manifest, after whose Manifestation it ceases, except by his permission. After each prayer, each believer should ask pardon for his parents, for a cry will come from God: 'To thee is given 2001 times what thou didst ask ' for thy parents. Blessed is he who commemorates his parents to his Lord, verily there is no God but Him, the Dear, the Beloved.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 17. Silver and gold, when they reach what you weigh at 6005 mithqals, then 95 mithqals are for the Nuqta and verily God will take them from you, and all shall be demanded from you by Him; and you must restore them to Him whom God shall manifest, and keep them as from yourselves. During the Manifestation of the Nuqta they must act according to his permission in effecting a division, and afterwards, by the permission of 19 individuals of the obedient. And the detail of this will be in its proper place. This is the greatest of merchandise, for therein is neither change nor alteration, till another resurrection. Be thankful that you live in the time of the Nuqta-i-Bayan, who is the Imam Mahdi clearly promised by the Prophet, and expected by all who believe in him, great and small; and there is no doubt that the essence of faith is limited to the Shi'ites (Ithna 'Ashariyya), and the region of the true Islam is the Five lands, ¹⁴ the inhabitants of which call themselves Shi'ites; and the people call Fars outwardly the Abode of Knowledge, and though they say: 'Hasten! hasten!', yet none of them recognised him who arose therefrom. And the Nuqta-i- Bayan has appeared in such a way that no child can deny him. And suddenly you see that one whom ye knew (and many of you are his relatives) is manifested, and speaks with the word 'Verily I am God, there is no God but Me'. The believers in the Manifestation of Him whom God shall manifest will see those who remain veiled in that Manifestation more removed from truth than those who are so in this Manifestation.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 18. Concerning the Fast: commemorate God during 19 days of each year, at the end thereof, whilst ye are fasting. The meaning of fasting is abstaining from the love to other than the Prophet of God, and his 'Letters'. And during fasting you must be continually watching the will of God, that if during your fast, the Tree of Truth appear, and command you to cease doing so, you should at once obey him. Those who have not reached the age of puberty need only fast 11 days (according to the number of 'Huwa') and until the sun has passed the meridian.

Wahid VIII, Chapter 19. When the Tree of Truth is mentioned, pay reverence thereunto; and when the Letters of the Living are mentioned, salute them; and commemorate God with praises, and this Manifestation on every Friday, night and day 202 times; also mention God night and day 4000 times. For on Fridays all actions are doubly recompensed.

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¹ Circumambulation of the Ka'ba during the Hajj. (M.M.)

² i.e. he has understood the real meaning of Tawaf which is circumambulation of the Will of God. (M.M.)

³ Guardianship. (M.M.)

⁴ Qur'an 28:85. (M.M.)

⁵ Reliance or Trust. (M.M.)

⁶ That those with the greatest learning become, through unbelief, the least of creatures; while those with no learning or position become, on account of their belief, the most exalted of mankind. (M.M.)

⁷ i.e. he is the 19th member of the 19th Wahid, each Wahid having 19 members. (M.M.)

⁸ See footnote 10 Wahid III (M.M.)

⁹ See footnote 10 Wahid V (M.M.)

¹⁰ Nomadic tribe.

¹¹ The Blow. This would appear to refer to Shiraz where the Bab was struck by Husayn Khan. Nicolas postulates that it may be a reference to the place of the Bab's forth-coming bastinado or martyrdom in Tabriz. See Le Beyan Persan, vol. 4, Paris, 1914, pp. 106-7, note. (M.M.)

¹² Later in this chapter it is clarified that by these terms is meant 'the moment when he [the Bab] sat upon his throne and when he left it' - i.e. on the day when the Bab declared his mission and on the day of his passing. (M.M.)

¹³ Nicolas has postulated, referring to Wahid VIII, 11, that when seven times the number of Allahumma, which is usually pronounced without the initial Alif (=735) is added to the third degree of Unity, la ilah ill 'Allah (=135), the result is the fifth degree of Unity, la ilah ill 'aladhi (=870). See Nicolas, Le Beyan Persan, vol. 4, pp. 111-12 note. (M.M.)

¹⁴ See Wahid VI. (M.M.)

Wahid IX, Chapter 1. The glory of every land is God's; and the dignity of all cities is God's; and the places of former kings. If one of the people of the Bayan prays therein, he must give a mithqal of silver that none may dwell therein but the witnesses of the Bayan, and the Manifestation of the Wahid; and in every assembly of glory which is formed, it is well that they should leave vacant places for the number of the Wahid, that if at that hour He whom God shall manifest were to appear with the Letters of the Living none should be in propinquity. But if the ground be not spacious, let them leave one place for the Wahid without number. And the earth whereon the Nuqta yields up his soul is commanded to be carried to one of the holy places, and there a chamber must be built of mirrors, wherein those who pray may perform their prayers,¹ that there may be an asylum for creatures, in that the Nuqta-i-Bayan was a created servant (of God) and provided for (by God) and born and caused to die, that no one may exalt himself, nor overpass the limit of servitude (to God).

Wahid IX, Chapter 2. Whosoever in His days can write as no other can, let him write 1000 verses for God, and convey them to the Nuqta that God may reward him by His mercy in the day of Resurrection, for He Knoweth all things. And this whatever writing he writes from Abha to 'Ala, which are the degrees of the Wahid. And these must be written on the best obtainable paper, and left with executors to convey them to Him whom God shall manifest in the day of his manifestation, that he may be rewarded... and mentioned by his Beloved. If the writer be poor, the witnesses of the Bayan should pay him for the 1000 verses; if not, he should not fix a price for what is done for God. And of the five kinds of writings of the Nuqta² whatever he writes is acceptable. In this Manifestation no writing is more acceptable than the Shikasta.³ Teach your children the best of writings (Abha 'l-Khatut) that perhaps in the day of Resurrection you may be exalted before your Lord.

Wahid IX, Chapter 3. And every king or sultan who shall be raised up in this religion shall build a house of mirrors for God; let him write for himself the verses of God; and let there be before his eyes the verse mentioned in the following. The Day of Resurrection, for which all were created, is from the appearance to the setting of the Sun of Truth, and this day is like the Sun to the Stars; therefore during that period let none of those who are wise exercise their pens, or write any treatise, or composition of their own, for if a star rise in the day, assuredly there will be no mention of light for it. So must it be even with the most learned of the learned in the days of Him whom God shall manifest. But after the setting of the Sun, they are permitted to write... And it has been mentioned concerning those who are able from Mim and Sin⁴ in the Bayan, that they should make a lofty place of mirrors for themselves, and before their eyes should be written words indicating this: that if He whom God shall manifest shall appear, and he believes and helps him, he will be the most exalted of all creatures, but if not, the lowest. The glances of all, high and low, in each Manifestation, are directed towards the 'Ulama of that Manifestation, for were they faithful in their belief, not one would go astray. And if sorrow comes on the Truth, it is by reason of their turning aside. If they advance, the Grace of God first reaches them; and afterwards to others. The degree of knowledge is a good degree, if it be knowledge of Him whom God shall manifest and His good pleasure; else it is the worst of degrees, and it would be better if they knew not a single word, than that they should have all knowledge, and not believe in Him whom God shall manifest... If all the believers in the Qur'an were certain that the Nuqta-i-Bayan was the promised Mahdi of whom the Prophet of God gave promise, not one would have turned aside from the saying of the Prophet of God.

Wahid IX, Chapter 4. God hath decreed unto men the Mention of the Mystery (Dhikru's-Sirr). Say 'All shall be asked of it'. All Knowledge is knowledge of qualities and attributes whereby man acts; that by means of this science he may witness no sorrow on himself, and bring no sorrow on another, Commands to piety and goodness all refer to this. For instance, if anyone be afflicted with poverty let him not despair, but let him be content. But excessive dhikr⁵ is not pleasing to God, whether private or public, but one mention (dhikr) with ease and comfort is better than 1000 without these.

Wahid IX, Chapter 5. To God are due 19 days from everyone. 19 days to serve the Nuqta on his return, or to act according to his permission when He gives permission.

Wahid IX, Chapter 6. Men must honour the family which produces the Point of Truth, when they believe in Him. The land in which the Point appears, there is none more equable than it, except that wherein is the place of the Manifestation. So his Father and Mother are the best of mankind... 'God sufficeth everything (and renders it independent of everything), and nothing sufficeth thee from God thy Lord, neither in the heavens, nor in the earth, nor what is between them.' And for whatever object you recite this verse according to the number of Qadir (powerful = 314), you shall behold the answer (to your wish).

Wahid IX, Chapter 7. Concerning prohibitions from selling asafoetida ⁶ and the leaf of Zaqqum.⁷ The source of prohibited things is the First Letters of Denial, and whatever comes under its shadow, enters this denial. And tunbaku⁸ is forbidden, and the like thereof; and that which is brought from the region of Khurasan which has an unpleasant smell, and the like of these in whatever way they become changed. What is other than good returns to the First and Second Letters of Denial; and what is good, to Muhammad and 'Ali.

The prohibition of these two things is to preserve the souls of believers, not those of unbelievers.

Wahid IX, Chapter 8. Concerning the prohibition of opium and intoxicating liquors, and drugs generally. In this manifestation whatever is not of the states of the tree of affection is not pleasing and vice versa; but some arts (sana'i'), the practitioners whereof have need of some of these things, are permitted to use them.

Wahid IX, Chapter 9. The prohibition of congregational prayers except in the case of the dead; but in that case no one must stand before the others; they must all stand in rows. The greatest wickedness committed by those who disbelieved in Muhammad was that they said 'Bring God and the angels in a company', for God is freed from such a description, and whatever is possible in creation, it is not meet that it should be mentioned in His abode of holiness. How should He assume being (takawwun)? How many Resurrections of Him whom God shall manifest shall occur and they shall still be expecting him?

Wahid IX, Chapter 10. Concerning the purity of the Land of Souls. Everything has a purification in the Knowledge of God, and everything becomes pure by the mention of God, if they believe in Him whom God shall manifest. And the purification of hearts (af'ida) will not take place except by belief in the first three Letters; nor will purification of spirits (arwah) occur but by the following four Letters, nor of souls (anfus) but by the next six Letters; nor of Essential Bodies but by the last six Letters.⁹ And Purification is in the Kalama-yi Tawhid.¹⁰ Cleanliness is, in the Bayan, the most acceptable sacrifice, and the most excellent of obediences. For instance cleanse thine hearing from listening to aught but the mention of God; so with the eye, and heart, and tongue and hand and knowledge, until you are nourished in a pure paradise. (Promises to such as do thus follow, e.g. the breast which stores up His words will God fill with love, etc.). The denial of each Manifestation enters into the next Manifestation, not into that Manifestation itself, so that denial of the Gospel was shown in the Qur'an, etc. So denial of the Bayan will not be manifest till He whom God shall manifest arises. It were well could the touchstone of proof come into the midst, for then would all be so pure that the heavens and the earth and what is between them would humble themselves before the greatness thereof, as thou hast seen in the Manifestation of the Bayan, and wilt see if thou art in that day that all the Fishes of the Ocean of the Bayan live by that water, but are veiled therefrom.

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¹ The construction here is somewhat difficult but appears to mean: 'The place where the Point dies becomes one of the Holy Places.' (M.M.)

² See Wahid VI. (M.M.)

³ A style of calligraphy. (M.M.)

⁴ Mim - malik, king; Sin - sultan. (M.M.)

⁵ dhikr - remembrance (of God); the term is used by Sufis to indicate the recital of the Names of God and other formulas. (M.M.)

⁶ A resinous gum with an unpleasant smell from Khurasan. (M.M.)

⁷ Zaqqum is a tree in Hell, see Qur'an 44:43; the Bab is here referring to tobacco as a leaf of this infernal tree. (M.M.)

⁸ Tobacco. (M.M.)

⁹ This refers presumably to: Bism (3 letters); Allah (4 letters); al-Amna' (6 letters); al-Aqdas (6 letters) respectively. See footnote 25 of Wahid II. (M.M.)

¹⁰ Word of Unification, i.e. la ilah ill 'Allah, There is no god but God. (M.M.)

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The Persian Bayan:
- Original Persian Text,

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