--provisional translation by Stephen N. Lambden
[Sighting from His howdah the Black Sea, as He approached
the port of Samsun, Bahá'u'lláh, at the request of Mirza Aqa Jan, revealed a
Tablet, designated Lawh-i-Hawdaj (Tablet of the Howdah), which by such
allusions as the "Divine Touchstone," "the grievous and
tormenting Mischief," reaffirmed and supplemented the dire predictions
recorded in the recently revealed Tablet of the Holy Mariner. (Shoghi Effendi,
‘God Passes By’)]
These are verses which were disclosed in the Pavilion of
Eternity and the Howdah of Holiness at the moment when the Greatest Name
arrived at the precinct of majesty in the land of Sāmsūn, at the shore of a
mighty ocean. Then did the hosts of the inspiration of God descend, so
splendidly ornamented, that all who are in the heavens and on earth were
thunderstruck thereat. Before them did the Sun of the Divine Beauty radiate
forth in an holy, ethereal Temple and addressed the Ark with the like of that
which had streamed forth from the Pen of God aforetime, in a Tablet in which We
addressed the Holy Mariner with a secret, sorrowful Call. And this in
accordance with what hath this moment been sent down in this Tablet from an
holy, luminous Pen. And whomsoever desires to comprehend the mysteries of the
Command on the part of One, Wise, All-Knowing, let such an one consider these
two Tablets and thus become cognizant of the mysteries of God; eyes solaced
thereby and one numbered among such as are possessed of certainty.
The times of reclining in the Howdah of Holiness hath been
completed and the Beauty of the Divine Essence hath emerged unto a mighty,
noble panorama. Say: 'The terrestrial
journey hath found completion at the shore of a mighty ocean.' At this did the
Howdah of Immortality weep and a luminous Ship of Holiness rejoice.
O Holy Mariner! (ya mallāḥ al-quds) The promise hath come to
pass just as We promised thee through a sure and knowing Tongue. So be of good
cheer within thyself that the Logos-Self of God, which is naught save Him,
might embark upon the Ark through this novel yet ancient Command. Before thee
shall be made manifest all that We, in very truth, promised thee, if thou art
truly patient. We announced unto thee aforetime all that hath come to pass and
none in all the worlds hath been privy thereto. We made them to be heedless
thereof on account of that which their hands hath wrought. And this, assuredly, is but manifest justice.
By God! Such as enter beneath thy shade shall be seized by a
grievous and tormenting mischief. By God! This is the Touchstone of God. He
hath risen up with justice and shall distinguish between truth and falsehood,
doubt and certitude.
But thou, Purify! thy vision from the limitations of mortal
men and suffer not thy sight to be distracted from this luminous Panorama. Waft
then upon them [a portion] of the breezes of the Divine Bounty perchance they
might be purified of their idle fancies and be oriented towards God, the
Mighty, the Wise; their hearts cleansed of their vain imagining and they be
enabled to attain unto the sacred, wondrous Homeland. And perchance thereby the
veils of imitation be burned up and the Beauty of the Divine Oneness radiate
forth in the ethereal lamp[s] of the hearts. It is not fitting that the
servants [of God] weigh the Balance of God for they shall at every moment be
weighed and so be counted among such as are weighed. So turn aside from them!
And disregard their outrages, for Thou, verily, art One Generous, Possessed of
Grace, All-Knowing. Then, when Thou hast shut Thine eyes to the rebellion and
opened them to that which is most-excellent, waft upon the denizens of
existence fragrances holy and beneficent. This perchance they might become
cognizant within themselves that God hath preferred them above all creatures,
made them to be the associates of His Own Logos-Self, ennobled them through the
Meeting with Him, caused to descend upon them the fruits of Union from an Holy,
Manifest Tree. [He furthermore] made them to be robed in the garment of
distinction, preferred them above such creatures as have been and now exist,
and made their names to be inscribed upon mighty, preserved Tablets. All this
shall assuredly be conferred upon them; as long, that is, as they alter not the
bounty of God unto themselves, comprehend that which God hath graciously
bestowed upon them, and at every moment render thanks unto Him.
And Thou, O Ark of the Cause! Transport them! Embark across
the Ocean with the permission of God, the Mighty, the Powerful.
O Ship of Holiness! Rejoice within thyself for a Beauty,
mighty, and transcendent hath come upon thee.
O Sea of Immortality! Delight thine eyes for there hath come
upon thee a Sea spiritual and ethereal. Wherefore wert thou created before
other seas if thou be of those that are truly aware. Then honor the guests of
God, servants who ride upon thee, and who have arrived before thee, and be not
such as create confusion. Preserve the trustees of God! Act not treacherously
within thyself and be not of those that are perfidious.
O fishes of the Sea! Be joyous within thyselves, then be
mindful of thy Creator, in that thou hast attained to the Meeting with God in
the days in which the Sun of the Divine Beauty hath radiated forth from the
Dawning Place of an Ancient Name.
O Atmosphere of the Sea! Waft thou upon the luminous,
well-fashioned bodies which God created from the Light of His Essence before He
created the heavens and the earth! Exalt within thyself them rejoice in thy
spirit for God hath provided for thee an atmosphere, spiritual and ethereal.
By God! While the inmates of the inhabitants of the sea hath
rejoiced, those that dwell on the land
hath raised tumult for the Beauty of the Divine Essence hath emerged from the
Howdah of Eternity and come to dwell within an Ark proximate and elevated.
Say: `O People of Secret and the Disclosed, the Hidden and
the Manifest! Let nothing sadden thee. Rejoice at the rejoicing of God, the
Sanctified, the Most-Elevated, the All Knowing.'
Say: 'This is assuredly the Jubilation which hath captivated
the totality of things existent and hath encompassed all that inhabit all the
worlds.' Yet hath none been enraptured save such as hath turned towards the Panorama
of God, the Sanctified, the Mighty, the Luminous.
Say: 'This is assuredly the Divine Bounty which hath
inclined all the atoms towards the Beauty of the Divine Essence with a nearness
comparable to the Beloved One's being mindful of the name of the Loved One.'
Thus do We set forth the verses of the Spirit and widen the expanse of the
Divine Bounty for all who are gathered in the earthly dominion.
And Thou, O Depth of Holiness! Raise thou a Call at the
conclusion of this discourse in that the Depth of God, the Help in Peril, the
Victorious, the Steadfast, hath arrived before thee.
O Billowing Ocean of the Divine Oneness! Be joyous in thine
essence in that the Billowing Ocean of Joy hath risen up over thee. This,
verily, is a mighty bounty.
O Fathomless Deep of the Divine Might! Be exhilarated within
thy spirit for the Fathomless Deep of God, the Most-Elevated, the Mighty, the
Powerful, hath compassed thee about. So be thou gladdened in that about thee
are transported those that are nigh unto God. And at this moment hath all atoms
reoriented [their gaze], risen up in thine atmosphere, and are of such as look
on, for the Breezes of Holiness passeth over them from the Shore of the Divine
Oneness, from this Enshrouded, Veiled, Concealed, Manifest, Apparent and Hidden
Ridvān. So blessed be they and such as hath entered beneath His shadow, been
ennobled with the Meeting with Him, drunk deep of His Cup, and taken hold on
His strong and Firm Cord.
In such manner have We graciously conferred Divine Favor
upon those of former and of latter times and sent down from the Clouds of
Holiness that which serves to purify the hearts of such as are possessed of
divine knowledge. And We have decreed the Robe of Guidance for all things
should they give assent to Him and be of the truly pious. Thus hath been
decreed in the Heaven of the Divine Command that which is the cause of the
enrichment of all the worlds.
[From the Right-hand side of the Command / Cause there hath
issued forth (the statement)] There hath indeed been manifest [herein] a
tribulation [test] (fitnah) which We sent down [revealed] in this scriptural
Tablet (al-lawh). We thus spoke forth and such is indeed the certain
Truth-Reality (huwa al-haqq). By God! Such as have entered into Thy shadow,
shall indeed be seized by the torment of a mighty tribulation [test] (‘adhāb
fitnat in `azimin)!