The station of essential unity
To
them that are endowed with understanding, it is clear and manifest that,
when
the fire of the love of Jesus consumed the veils of Jewish
limitations,
and His authority was made apparent and partially enforced,
He,
the Revealer of the unseen Beauty, addressing one day His disciples,
referred
unto His passing, and, kindling in their hearts the fire of
bereavement,
said unto them: "I go away and come again unto you." And in
another
place He said: "I go and another will come, Who will tell you all
that
I have not told you, and will fulfil all that I have said." Both these
sayings
have but one meaning, were ye to ponder upon the Manifestations of
the
Unity of God with Divine insight.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
p. 21
XXII.
The Bearers of the Trust of God are made manifest unto the peoples of the
earth
as the Exponents of a new Cause and the Revealers of a new Message.
Inasmuch
as these Birds of the celestial Throne are all sent down from the
heaven
of the Will of God, and as they all arise to proclaim His irresistible
Faith,
they, therefore, are regarded as one soul and the same person. For they
all
drink from the one Cup of the love of God, and all partake of the fruit
of
the
same Tree of Oneness.
These
Manifestations of God have each a twofold station. One is the station of
pure
abstraction and essential unity. In this respect, if thou callest them
all
by
one name, and dost ascribe to them the same attributes, thou hast not erred
from
the truth. Even as He hath revealed: "No distinction do We make between
any
of His Messengers." For they, one and all, summon the people of the earth
to
acknowledge the unity of God, and herald
unto them the Kawthar of an
infinite
grace and bounty. They are all invested with the robe of prophethood,
and
are honored with the mantle of glory. Thus hath Muhammad, the Point of
the
Qur'án,
revealed: "I am all the Prophets." Likewise, He saith: "I am the first
Adam,
Noah, Moses, and Jesus." Similar statements have been made by Imám
`Alí.
Sayings
such as these, which indicate the essential unity of those Exponents of
Oneness,
have also emanated from the Channels of God's immortal utterance, and
the
Treasuries of the gems of Divine knowledge, and have been recorded in the
Scriptures.
These Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and
the
Day Springs of His Revelation. This Revelation
is exalted above the veils
of
plurality and the exigencies of number. Thus He saith: "Our Cause is but
One."
Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also
must
needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imáms of the Muhammadan
Faith,
those
lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first, Muhammad is our
last,
Muhammad our all."
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
p. 50
It
is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the
Cause
of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe
with
discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all abiding in the same
tabernacle,
soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering
the
same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those
Essences
of being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendour.
Wherefore,
should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: "I
am
the return of all the Prophets," He verily speaketh the truth. In like
manner,
in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former Revelation is
a
fact, the truth of which is firmly established. Inasmuch as the return
of the
Prophets
of God, as attested by verses and traditions, hath been conclusively
demonstrated,
the return of their chosen ones also is therefore definitely
proven.
This return is too manifest in itself to require any evidence or proof.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 153
The Station of distinction
The
other is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of
creation
and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of
God
hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a
predestined
Revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one of them
is
known by a different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfils
a
definite Mission, and is entrusted with a particular Revelation. Even as
He
saith:
"Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others. To some God
hath
spoken, some He hath raised and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We
gave
manifest signs, and We strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit."
It
is because of this difference in their station and mission that the words
and
utterances flowing from these Well-springs of divine knowledge appear to
diverge
and differ. Otherwise, in the eyes of them that are initiated into the
mysteries
of divine wisdom, all their utterances are in reality but the
expressions
of one Truth. As most of the people have failed to appreciate those
stations
to which We have referred, they therefore feel perplexed and dismayed
at
the varying utterances pronounced by Manifestations that are essentially
one
and
the same.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 177
Universally,
the Prophets are of two kinds. One are the independent Prophets
Who
are followed; the other kind are not independent and are themselves
followers.
The
independent Prophets are the lawgivers and the founders of a new cycle.
Through
Their appearance the world puts on a new garment, the foundations of
religion
are established, and a new book is revealed. Without an intermediary
They
receive bounty from the Reality of the Divinity, and Their illumination
is
an
essential illumination. They are like the sun which is luminous in itself:
the
light is its essential necessity; it does not receive light from any other
star.
These Dawning-places of the morn of Unity are the sources of bounty and
the
mirrors of the Essence of Reality...
The
Manifestations of universal Prophethood Who appeared independently are,
for
example,
Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.
But the
others
who are followers and promoters are like Solomon, David, Isaiah,
Jeremiah
and Ezekiel. For the independent Prophets are founders; They establish
a
new religion and make new creatures of men; They change the general morals,
promote
new customs and rules, renew the cycle and the Law. Their appearance is
like
the season of spring, which arrays all earthly beings in a new garment,
and
gives them a new life.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 164
-Prophecies from the era of Christ on the coming of Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah
-Prophecies from the era of Muhammad on the coming of the Bab and Baha'u'llah.
-Prophecies
from the era of the Bab on the coming of Baha'u'llah.
All
prophets and their revelation are from one God.
Each revelation is suited to the
spiritual
capacity of believers and the needs of the society in the time of the dispensation
of
the prophet, and each teaches of the coming of future prophets. Jesus said
of his
appearance:
5:17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come
to destroy, but to fulfil.
5:18
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
--
Bible: Matthew
5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
--
Bible: 1 Thessalonians,
Proof of prophethood is their revelation
The
evidence set forth by God can never be compared with the evidences produced
by
any one of the peoples and kindreds of the earth; and beyond a shadow of
doubt
no evidence is set forth by God save through the One Who is appointed as
His
supreme Testimony. Moreover, the proof of revealed verses doth, alone and
of
itself, conclusively demonstrate the utter impotence of all created things
on
earth, for this is a proof which hath proceeded from God and shall endure
until
the Day of Resurrection.
And
if anyone should reflect on the appearance of this Tree, he will
undoubtedly
testify to the loftiness of the Cause of God. For if one from whose
life
only twenty-four years have passed, and who is devoid of those sciences
wherein
all are learned, now reciteth verses after such fashion without thought
or
hesitation, writes a thousand verses of prayer in the course of five hours
without
pause of the pen, and produceth commentaries and learned treatises on
such
lofty themes as the true understanding of God and of the oneness of His
Being,
in a manner which doctors and philosophers confess surpasseth their
power
of understanding, then there is no doubt that all that hath been
manifested
is divinely inspired. Notwithstanding their life-long diligent
study,
what pains do these divines take when writing a single line in Arabic!
Yet
after such efforts the result is but words which are unworthy of mention.
All
these things are for a proof unto the people; otherwise the religion of
God
is
too mighty and glorious for anyone to comprehend through aught but itself;
rather
by it all else is understood.
--
The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 109
Bahá'u'lláh
has written much in explanation of the prophecies of old, but it is
not
on these that He depends for proof of His Prophethood. The sun is its own
proof,
to all that have the power of perception. When it rises we need no
ancient
predictions to assure us of its shining. So with the Manifestation of
God
when He appears. Were all the former prophecies swept into oblivion, He
would
still be His own abundant and sufficient proof to all whose spiritual
sense
are open.
--
Esslemont, Baha'u'llah and the New Era, p. 7
The City of God is the revelation of God in each dispensation.
CXXV.
O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search
in
the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before
all
else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner
mysteries
of God,...
These
are among the attributes of the exalted, and constitute the hall-mark of
the
spiritually-minded...
They
that valiantly labor in quest of God, will, when once they have renounced
all
else but Him, be so attached and wedded unto that City, that a moment's
separation
from it would to them be unthinkable. They will hearken unto
infallible
proofs from the Hyacinth of that assembly, and will receive the
surest
testimonies from the beauty of its Rose, and the melody of its
Nightingale.
Once in about a thousand years shall this City be renewed and
readorned...
That
City is none other than the Word of God revealed in every age and
dispensation.
In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus,
the
Gospel; in the days of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, the Qur'án;
in this
day,
the Bayán; and in the Dispensation of Him Whom God will make manifest,
His
own
Book -- the Book unto which all the Books of former Dispensations must
needs
be referred, the Book that standeth amongst them all transcendent and
supreme.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
p. 264
"The
purpose underlying all creation is the revelation of this most sublime,
this
most holy Day, the Day known as the Day of God, in His Books and
Scriptures--the
Day which all the Prophets, and the Chosen Ones, and the holy
ones,
have wished to witness." "The highest essence and most perfect expression
of
whatsoever the peoples of old have either said or written hath, through
this
most
potent Revelation, been sent down from the heaven of the Will of the
All-Possessing,
the Ever-Abiding God."...
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Cited in Advent of Divine Justice, p. 77
Download
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Compiled by Aziz Mboya.
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Last updated June 26, 2003.
