Tablet of visitation in honor of Khadíjih Bagum, the wife of the Báb – by Bahá’u’áh

-- provisional translation approved by the Universal House of Justice for inclusion in the book: 'Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees' (by Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani)

He is the comforter of the sorrowful!

O Pen! Verily Thou hast been visited by a great calamity, an immense affliction, which hath caused the inhabitants of the highest Heaven and most lofty Paradise to lament. Through this affliction sorrow hath ascended until it seized the hem of the robe of the Merciful. Blessed be the man who arose to render her service in her lifetime and visited her grave after she winged her flight and ascended to the world beyond. Blessed likewise be the handmaiden who betook herself to her shrine and through her drew nigh unto God.

The glory shining from the horizon of My luminous Brow, and the splendour of the light manifested from the heaven of My Name, the Most Glorious, be upon thee, O thou the fruit of the divine Lote-Tree, the blessed and luminous leaf, the consort of the One through Whose revelation the kingdom of immortality and the realm of creation were wreathed in smiles! I testify that thou art in truth the first leaf who attained the cup of a sure union and the last fruit who offered up her soul because of her separation from Him. Thou art the one whose inner being was consumed, whose heart melted, and whose limbs were set aflame by reason of thy remoteness from the presence of the One Whom God hath made to be the Dawning-place of His Signs, the Dayspring of His Proofs, the Manifestation of His Names, the Source of His laws, and the Seat of His Throne.

O My leaf and the fragrance of the paradise of My good pleasure! Thou art with the Supreme Companion, and this Wronged One maketh mention of thee in the prison of 'Akká. Thou art she who, before the creation of the world of being, discovered the fragrance of the garment of the All-Merciful. Thou wert honoured with meeting Him, attained union with Him, and drank the wine of nearness from the hand of His bestowal. I testify that in thee two signs have been conjoined: The sign of union revived thee in the beginning and the sign of separation encompassed thy death in the end. How many a night did thy sighs ascend because of thy love for God and thy tears flow at the mention of His Name, the Most Glorious! He hath verily been with thee, witnessing thy burning, thy fervour, thine eagerness, thy yearning, and hearing the lamentation of thy heart and the wailing of thine inner being.

Tablet of visitation for the martyrs of Nayriz, Iran – by 'Abdu'l-Bahá

-- provisional translation

He is God!

O Divine Breezes, wafting over that Most Luminous Spot, convey the fire of the love of my heart, the longing of my soul, the deep attachment of my spirit and the ardent desire of my heart yearning to be at that place where the fallen heads were crowned with the greatest martyrdom adorned with jewels shedding light upon the ages and centuries past as they were separated from their bodies in the Path of God.

Say: May the bright lights shining from the Abha Kingdom Illuminate that brilliant sepulcher. May the soft breezes blowing from the gardens of the Most Sublime Paradise waft over that Most Luminous Spot. That verdant garden, that sublime meadow was honored by you.

O heads severed in the Path of your Lord! O faces illuminated by the light of the Sun of Guidance! O eyes brightened by turning towards the Splendor of the Daystar of Thy Revelation! O ears made receptive by listening to the Call of the Lord! O nostrils invigorated by inhaling the pure breath of the Guidance of God! O palates refreshed by tasting every bitterness yet sweetened in the path of the Love of God!

May my spirit be a sacrifice for you! May my being be a sacrifice for you! May my reality be a sacrifice for you!

Surih-i-Sabr, or Lawh-i-Ayyub (Surih of Patience) - by Baha'u'llah

--- Provisional translation by Khazeh Fananapazir

[“… revealed as far back as the year 1863, on the very first day of His arrival in the garden of Ridvan … (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah) “… the ‘Suriy-i-Sabr’ (Surih of Patience), revealed on the first day of Ridvan which extols Vahid and his fellow-sufferers in Nayriz …” (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By)]

This is the City of Patience. Strive ye to enter it, O concourse of the patient ones!

In His name, the Exalted One, He Who is the Most Exalted.

This is the remembrance of God in the City of Patience regarding Job, Our servant, Whom We sheltered under the shade of that Holy Tree planted in His heart, to Whom We demonstrated the fire ignited in His Own Essence, and to Whose Self We revealed Our Own Self by His Own Self. We called Job from this sacred Spot whose environs are sanctified with this call, "Verily, He is God, Thy Lord and the Lord of all things. He is All-Powerful over all things, the Self-Subsisting One." When Job's face was illumined by the fire burning in the sacred Tree, We clothed Him with the garment of Prophethood and commanded Him to instruct men in the essence of graciousness and bounty and to invite the people to the holy and beloved Shore. We established Job on earth and caused the waters of divine munificence to descend on Him so that through riches He became independent of all the inhabitants of the earth. We conferred on Him a bounteous fortune and made Him very wealthy in the kingdom. We caused Him to receive a portion of all wealth and strengthened His back with great power. We gave Him sons from his loins and established an exalted station for Him in all the lands.

Commentary on the Islamic Tradition "I was a Hidden Treasure and loved to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that I might be known." (Tafsír-i-Hadith-i-Kuntu Kanzan Makhfíyyan) – by ‘Abdu’l-Baha

--- provisional translation by Moojan Moomen

[Prelude]

. . . And to continue: To him who looks understands these indications, it is well known with respect to the request of that traveller upon the paths of guidance, that bondsman of the King of Divine Authority, that seeker of the hidden Divine secrets, that knower of the secret Heavenly signs, that lover of the household and family of his holiness Mustafa [i.e. Muhammad], the favoured friend of the wayfarers and he who has clung to the Firmest Handle of God [urwatu'llah al-wuthqa] and to the Strongest Rope, `Ali Shawkat Pasha son of the late Agha Husayn Pasha (may God designate for him whatever He wishes), that he has wished this wayfarer upon the Path to write a brief explanation and a short beneficial commentary upon the Holy Tradition [hadith-i qudsi]: "I was a Hidden Treasure and loved to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that I might be known."

In the pearl of each word of this divine song and this heavenly melody, there undoubtedly lie hid unnumbered pearls of hidden knowledge and in the existence of every letter of it, limitless oceans of meaning are concealed. But a sprinkling from that ocean of waves and a drop from that sea may be disseminated on account of the request of friends. And I hope that the explanation of these holy words and heavenly signs may contain the hidden confirmations of the Lord of Might and that His Assistance and unseen Mercy may be made manifest; verily He is the King, the Helper. In the hidden treasures and store-houses of these Heavenly words, the secrets of created things, the cause of the creation of existing things and the raising up of Contingent Being [6] lie concealed.

Tablet of the Uncompounded Reality (Lawh-i-Basit al-Haqiqa) – by Baha’u’llah

--- provisional translation by Moojan Momen

He is God, exalted be He in Might and Greatness!

Concerning what the questioner has asked regarding the statement of the philosophers (hukamá) that "the uncompounded reality [1] is all things", say: know that what is intended by "things" in this context (lit. station, maqám) is none other than being (wujúd) and the perfections (kamalát) of being in so far as they are existent [and not privative] [2]; and by "all" is meant the obtainer (al-wájid). [3] This "all" contains no plurality and no part of it can be compared to the whole. The meaning is that the uncompounded reality, insofar as it is uncompounded in all respects, is the obtainer and gatherer of all the infinite and endless perfections. [4] As it has been said: "His works are limitless." 

In the Persian language, it may be said that what the philosopher means by the word "things" in the afore-mentioned expression is the perfections of being in so far as these are existent [and not privative]; and by the word "all", is meant possession (dárá'í) that is to say obtaining -- the gathering together of all of the limitless perfections, in an uncompounded manner. They have mentioned similar things throughout their discourse on the Divine unity (tawhíd), power (quwwat), and intensity (shiddat) of existence. 

The meaning of the philosopher was not that the Necessarily Existent [God] has become dispersed among (resolved into, lit. dissolved into, munhal) the innumerable existent things. No! Praised be He! Exalted is He above that! Even as the philosophers themselves have stated: "The uncompounded reality is all things, but is not any one thing."