Lawh-i Kullu't-Ta'am: Tablet of All Food - by Bahá'u'lláh

-- provisional translation by Stephen Lambden

He is Supremely Powerful in accomplishing that which He willeth through a command on His part. And He is God, Powerful over all things.

Praise be to God Who hath caused Oceans of Light to surge in the Divine Fiery Water; excited the Letters of the Dispensation (huruf al-zuhur) in the Incomparable, Beclouded Point and made the Hidden Mount to revolve about the Firmament of the Theophany, the Concealed Self, the Focal Centre of Eternality. He caused the Lordly Point to circle round the Most-Splendid, All-Enduring Ornament to the end, that all might testify that He is the True One; no God is there save Him. He, verily, is the Incomparable, the One, the Eternal, Who neither begetteth nor is begotten. He can never be likened to any single thing. And He, God, is the Majestic, the All-Compelling.

Praise be to God Who hath caused the Fiery Depths to overflow from the Purified, Sanctified Temple and made the Beauteous Deep to sprinkle forth refined, glorious Dewdrops. He hath attracted the Countenances characterised by the letter "H" (al-ha') through the unique, eternal melodies and enabled the Light-filled Dove to sing forth with warblings timeless and everlasting. This, to the end, that all might become aware that He is the True One; there is none other God besides Him, the Beneficent, the Almighty Who cannot be described by aught save His Essence or characterised by aught save His Eminence. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Wrathful.

Praise be to God Who hath caused the Light to circle round the twin Mounts of His Light and made the Light to revolve around the twin Spheres of His Light. He hath caused the Light to beam forth in the Loci of His Light and made the Light to be retained in the Repositories of His Light. He hath also caused the Light to scintillate through the impulses of His Light and made the Light to shine resplendent in the Countenances of His Light. Praise God! Praised be God! Worthy of praise is He Who establisheth His Own worth, for besides Him there is none other.

Tablet of Visitation for Quddús – by the Báb

-- provisional translation

(Originally written as "Ziyarat-Namih-i-Mullá Muhammad ‘Alí-i-Barfurushí")

In the Name of God, the Most Inaccessible, the Most Holy!

Holy, holy, holy (quddus, quddus, quddus)! The glory from God, no other God is there but He, rest upon thy heart and the heart of whomsoever is in thy heart, and upon thy spirit and the spirit of whomsoever is in thy spirit, and upon thy soul and whomsoever is in thy soul, and upon thy body and whomsoever is in thy body. Then, the exaltation from God rest upon thy heart and the heart of whomsoever hath been created from the light of thy praise, and upon thy spirit and whomsoever hath been created from the spirit of thy benediction, and upon thy soul and whomsoever hath been created from the soul of thy unification, and upon thy body and whomsoever hath been created from the light of thy glorification. Thou hast been raised up, nor is there above thee anyone possessed of exaltation like unto thee; thou hast come near, nor is there anyone possessed of proximity like unto thine.

All created things have given praise in unison out of the essence of thy praise, and all atoms have rendered glorification out of the camphor of thy glorification, and all the psychic entities have extolled the oneness of God in unison out of the substance of thine extolling of His unity, and all the individual realities have lauded the greatness of God in unison out of the absolute reality of thy glorification of His greatness. All render praise unto God through thee, and all sanctify God through thee, and all extol God's singleness through thee, and all magnify God through thee. So great hath been thine affliction that the afflictions of all created things are cut off from any connection with it; the calamity that hath overwhelmed thee hath reached so high a station that no other calamity of any created thing may be mentioned in the same breath as it.

Sharh Wahdat al-Wujud (Tablet on the Unity of Existence) – by ‘Abdu’l-Baha

 -- provisional translation

He is God!

Those pre-eminent Sufis who founded the doctrine of the "unity of existence" [wahdat al-wujud] never intended by this term the universally predicated existence which is conceived by the mind. For such an existence is but an accident among others occurring in association with the realities of things. That is to say, these realities are the substance [jawhar], whereas that existence which is conceived by the mind, the universally predicated existence, is but an accident associated with them.

Rather, what these pre-eminent figures have alluded to is an existence compared to which the realities of all things are mere accidents. By this is intended an existence that is pre-eternal [qadim] whilst all other things are contingent [hadith]. Thus, the existence to which they refer is that ineffable Reality whereby all things are realized, or, in other words, by virtue of which all things subsist, but which itself remaineth self-subsistent above the heavens and the earth.  The words "He is the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent" [Qur'an 2:255 and 3:2] bear witness to the truth of this utterance. And since that existence whereby all things are realized is one, there is "unity of existence."

The generality of the Sufis, however, conceive of that ineffable Reality as having resolved itself [hulul] into countless forms, as hath been said:

The sea hath ever been the sea.

And all contingent things its waves and forms

This world resembleth ice, and Thee

Thou art the water at its very source.

In other words, although that ineffable Reality defieth all description, they found themselves obliged to describe it, and hence termed it "existence." In brief, the generality of the Sufis hold that the existence which is above all description and beyond all understanding is like unto the sea, and the realities of all things are even as its waves. Although the waves continually ebb and flow, the sea remaineth ever the same and unchanged.

But in the eyes of the people of Truth, the Baha'is, that unseen and unknowable Being is like unto the sun, which hath dawned above all things and from whose rays all creatures, whether mineral, plant, animal, or human, obtain illumination. That is to say, its effulgent rays shine upon them all and they, in turn, reflect faithfully its light. Thus, if thou dost gaze upon the stone, the earth, the plant, the animal, and man, thou wilt find them one and all to be partaking of the bounty of the sun. In like manner, although the realities of all created things are the recipients of the bounty of the Daystar of Truth, the latter doth not descend from its heights of holiness and sanctity, nor doth it resolve itself into contingent beings. "No thing is there but that it containeth a sign betokening His oneness."[Attributed to Abu'l-'Atahiyah]

Lawh-i-Ru’yá’ (Tablet of the Vision) - by Bahá’u’lláh

--provisional translation by Stephen Lambden

In My Name, that warbleth upon the Twigs!

O My Name! Hearken unto My Call which cometh from the precincts of the heavenly Throne that it might enable thee to attain unto the shore of an opulent Ocean; the fathomless deep of which no seeker hath ever attained. And Thy Lord is assuredly One Knowing and Generous. 

We indeed desired to cast Our Bounty upon thee by making mention of that which We visioned. This to the end that thou mayest witness the Luminous World in this nether world of darkness and be firmly assured that for Us there is many a world within this mortal world. Then render thanks unto Thy Lord, the Well-Informed. And if He desired that He might cause the rays of the Sun to appear from a tiny atom or disclose the waves of the ocean from a mere droplet, He is assuredly capable of this; even as He hath enabled the knowledge of what was and what is to emerge from a single Point!

We were enthroned upon the heavenly Throne when there entered a Luminous Maiden clad in a beauteous, snow white robe. Even as the full moon did her brilliant morning light dawn forth from the horizon of heaven. Exalted be God, her Originator, for no eye hath ever beheld anything like unto her!

When she untied her face covering veil, the heavens and the earth beamed forth; Pre-Existent Being, by virtue of her Radiant Lights, disclosed theophanic splendor thereon. Exalted be God, her Originator, for no eye hath ever beheld anything like unto her!

A letter from the Báb to His mother during His pilgrimage, circa 1844-1845

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

He is God, the Most High!

In the name of God, the Most Merciful of the Merciful! This is a letter written from the port of Mukhá to the honourable mother, may God, the Most Exalted, keep her safe! She is most certainly eager to know about the well-being of her son.

A letter was sent from Búshihr. I trust God, the Most High, that it hath been illumined with the honour of thy perusal. I explained in the letter sent from Búshihr the details up to Musqal. Surely, it hath been conveyed to thy noble presence.

Praised be God, my health until this day that I arrived in Mukhá hath been good and there hath been no change in my condition. With assistance from God, exalted be He, soon I shall reach the spot where prayers are answered. I will most certainly pray on thy behalf and on behalf of honourable grandmother. Through God's bounty, no ground for doubt exists and refusal cannot be imagined.

Mubarak [1] continues to find life in service. He does what he needs to do with the help of the accompanying religious students.

Convey greetings to everyone. To the sister of Aqa Mirzá Siyyid Hasan, [2] surely the letter I sent from Musqat hath been received and she will also peruse this page.

Kiss the faces of núr-i-chashmán [those who solace the eye] [3]

The sister of Jináb-i Shaykh together with ‘Aqá Siyyid Mirzá... have, praised be God, arrived.

Peace be upon thee, and God's mercy and His blessings.

Dated: The 10th day of the month of Dhí Qa'dih. Praised be God, the Lord of all the worlds.

- (Included in the book: 'Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees', by Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani)

[1] The Báb’s Ethiopian servant.

[2] Khadíjih Bagum, the wife of the Báb, whose eldest brother was Mirzá Siyyid Hasan.

[3] Núr-i-chashmán is a term used for referring to one’s own children or the children of the family.

Risálah fi’s-Sulúk ilá Alláh (The Spiritual Journey towards God) – by the Báb [1]

-- provisional translation by Todd Lawson

“In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate” (Qur’an) [2]

Be steadfast, O seeker of piety, in the station of affirming the divine unity. As God, exalted be He, has said:

“As for those who say ‘our Lord is God’ then continue steadfast, the angels descend upon them saying ‘fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the Garden which ye were promised!’” (Qur’an)

Know ye that “the paths to God are as numerous as the breaths of the creatures” yet, there is “no Soul but One” (Qur’an) and there is no religion but the one religion, and it is the “Cause of God and our Command is but a single Act” (Qur’an)

“So set thou thy face steadily towards the True Faith – the Nature made by God – in which He has made men. There is no altering in God’s creation.” (Qur’an)

Verily, Religion is supported by four pillars:

1) Affirming the divine unity

2) Prophethood

3) Guardianship, and

4) The community of true believers

These are four gates, none of which is of any use without the others.

And all of this is the “Face of God which never perish” (Qur’an). And this is the love of the Family of God which is the same as the love of God. This is the Hidden Treasure to which the Prophet, upon Him and His family be peace, openly alluded when He said: “Above each good is another good until one loves us, and when one loves us there is no good higher.” (Qur’an)