O thou who hast set thy face towards the Realm on High and hast quaffed My
sealed wine from the hand of bounteousness! Know thou that the term
`Infallibility' hath numerous meanings and divers stations. In one sense it
is applicable to the One Whom God hath made immune from error. Similarly it
is applied to every soul whom God hath guarded against sin, transgression,
rebellion, impiety, disbelief and the like. However, the Most Great
Infallibility is confined to the One Whose station is immeasurably exalted
beyond ordinances or prohibitions and is sanctified from errors and
omissions. Indeed He is a Light which is not followed by darkness and a
Truth not overtaken by error. Were He to pronounce water to be wine or
heaven to be earth or light to be fire, He speaketh the truth and no doubt
would there be about it; and unto no one is given the right to question His
authority or to say why or wherefore. Whosoever raiseth objections will be
numbered with the froward in the Book of God, the Lord of the worlds.
`Verily He shall not be asked of His doings but all others shall be asked
of their doings.' He is come from the invisible heaven, bearing the banner
`He doeth whatsoever He willeth' and is accompanied by hosts of power and
authority while it is the duty of all besides Him to strictly observe
whatever laws and ordinances have been enjoined upon them, and should
anyone deviate therefrom, even to the extent of a hair's breadth, his work
would be brought to naught.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 108
 

O thou who soarest in the atmosphere of love and fellowship and hast fixed
thy gaze upon the light of the countenance of thy Lord, the King of creation!
Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as He hath unravelled for thee that which
was hidden and enshrined in His knowledge so that everyone may become
aware that within His realm of supreme infallibility He hath not taken a partner
nor a counsellor unto Himself. He is in truth the Dayspring of divine precepts
and commandments and the Fountainhead of knowledge and wisdom, while
all else besides Him are but His subjects and under His rule, and He is the
supreme Ruler, the Ordainer, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 110
 

In response to thy request the Pen of Glory hath graciously described the
stations and grades of the Most Great Infallibility. The purpose is that all
should know of a certainty that the Seal of the Prophets [Muhammad]--may
the souls of all else but Him be offered up for His sake--is without likeness,
peer or partner in His Own station. The Holy Ones [The Imams]--may the
blessings of God be upon them--were created through the potency of His
Word, and after Him they were the most learned and the most distinguished
among the people and abide in the utmost station of servitude. The divine
Essence, sanctified from every comparison and likeness, is established in
the Prophet, and God's inmost Reality, exalted above any peer or partner,
is manifest in Him. This is the station of true unity and of véritable singleness.
The followers of the previous Dispensation grievously failed to acquire an
adequate understanding of this station.The Primal Point [The Bab] --may
the life of all else but Him be offered up for His sake--saith: `If the
Seal of the Prophets had not uttered the word "Successorship", such a
station would not have been created.'
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 123
 

Praise be unto God Who hath made the Most Great Infallibility the shield
for the temple of His Cause in the realm of creation, and hath assigned
unto no one a share of this lofty and sublime station--a station which is a
vesture which the fingers of transcendent power have woven for His august
Self. It befitteth no one except Him Who is seated upon the mighty throne
of `He doeth what He pleaseth'. Whoso accepteth and recognizeth that which
is written down at this moment by the Pen of Glory is indeed reckoned in
the Book of God, the Lord of the beginning and the end, among the exponents
of divine unity, they that uphold the concept of the oneness of God.

When the stream of words reached this stage, the sweet savours of true
knowledge were shed abroad and the day-star of divine unity shone forth
above the horizon of His holy utterance. Blessed is he whom His Call hath
attracted to the summit of glory, who hath drawn nigh to the ultimate
Purpose, and who hath recognized through the shrill voice of My Pen of
Glory that which the Lord of this world and of the next hath willed. Whoso
faileth to quaff the choice wine which We have unsealed through the potency
of Our Name, the All-Compelling, shall be unable to discern the splendours
of the light of divine unity or to grasp the essential purpose underlying
the Scriptures of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the sovereign Ruler of
this world and of the world to come. Such a man shall be accounted among
the faithless in the Book of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 105-106
 

Essential infallibility is peculiar to the supreme Manifestation, for it
is His essential requirement, and an essential requirement cannot be
separated from the thing itself... Therefore, if one imagines separation
of the Most Great Infallibility from the supreme Manifestation, He would
not be the supreme Manifestation, and He would lack the essential
perfections..

Briefly, it is said that the "Dayspring of Revelation" is the
manifestation of these words, "He doeth whatsoever He willeth"; this
condition is peculiar to that Holy Being, and others have no share of
this essential perfection. That is to say, that as the supreme
Manifestations certainly possess essential infallibility, therefore
whatever emanates from Them is identical with the truth, and conformable
to reality. They are not under the shadow of the former laws. Whatever
They say is the word of God, and whatever They perform is an upright
action. No believer has any right to criticize; his condition must be one
of absolute submission, for the Manifestation arises with perfect
wisdom--so that whatever the supreme Manifestation says and does is
absolute wisdom, and is in accordance with reality...

In short, the meaning of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth" is that if the
Manifestation says something, or gives a command, or performs an action,
and believers do not understand its wisdom, they still ought not to
oppose it by a single thought, seeking to know why He spoke so, or why He
did such a thing. The other souls who are under the shadow of the supreme
Manifestations are submissive to the commandments of the Law of God, and
are not to deviate as much as a hairsbreadth from it; they must conform
their acts and words to the Law of God. If they do deviate from it, they
will be held responsible and reproved in the presence of God. It is
certain that they have no share in the permission "He doeth whatsoever He
willeth," for this condition is peculiar to the supreme Manifestations.

So Christ--may my spirit be sacrificed to Him!--was the manifestation of
these words, "He doeth whatsoever He willeth," but the disciples were not
partakers of this condition; for as they were under the shadow of Christ,
they could not deviate from His command and will.
-- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 171-174
 

Chapter 45 in Some Answered Questions is devoted to an explanation by
`Abdu'l-Bahá of this verse of the Aqdas. In this chapter He stresses, among
other things, the inseparability of essential "infallibility" from the Manifestations
of God, and asserts that "whatever emanates from Them is identical with the
truth, and conformable to reality", that "They are not under the shadow of the
former laws", and "Whatever They say is the word of God, and whatever They
perform is an upright action".
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 199
 

LXXIV. Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with
such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of
them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this
world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most
exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere
revelation of the word "Fashioner," issuing forth from His lips and
proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can
generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands
of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this
resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within
all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such
arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now
witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In
the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never
heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none
can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. In like manner, the
moment the word expressing My attribute "The Omniscient" issueth forth
from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and
limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the
most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the
course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the
All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other
Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every
single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother
letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine
Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it
with them that apprehend this truth.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 141-142
 

He Who is the Dawning-place of God's Cause hath no partner in the Most Great
Infallibility. He it is Who, in the kingdom of creation, is the Manifestation of
"He doeth whatsoever He willeth". God hath reserved this distinction unto His
own Self, and ordained for none a share in so sublime and transcendent a station.
This is the Decree of God, concealed ere now within the veil of impenetrable
mystery. We have disclosed it in this Revelation, and have thereby rent asunder
the veils of such as have failed to recognize that which the Book of God set forth
and who were numbered with the heedless.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 36
 

Should differences arise amongst you over any matter, refer it to God while the
Sun still shineth above the horizon of this Heaven and, when it hath set, refer
ye to whatsoever hath been sent down by Him. This, verily, is sufficient unto
the peoples of the world.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 38
 

Assist ye, O My people, My chosen servants who have arisen to make mention
of Me among My creatures and to exalt My Word throughout My realm. These,
truly, are the stars of the heaven of My loving providence and the lamps of
My guidance unto all mankind. But he whose words conflict with that which
hath been sent down in My Holy Tablets is not of Me. Beware lest ye follow
any impious pretender. These Tablets are embellished with the seal of Him
Who causeth the dawn to appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the
heavens and the earth. Lay hold on this Sure Handle and on the Cord of My
mighty and unassailable Cause.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 61-62
 

XXXVII. Blessed is the man that hath acknowledged his belief in God and in His
signs, and recognized that "He shall not be asked of His doings." Such a recognition
hath been made by God the ornament of every belief, and its very foundation.
Upon it must depend the acceptance of every goodly deed. Fasten your eyes upon
it, that haply the whisperings of the rebellious may not cause you to slip.

Were He to decree as lawful the thing which from time immemorial had been
forbidden, and forbid that which had, at all times, been regarded as lawful, to
none is given the right to question His authority. Whoso will hesitate, though it be
for less than a moment, should be regarded as a transgressor.

Whoso hath not recognized this sublime and fundamental verity, and hath failed
to attain this most exalted station, the winds of doubt will agitate him, and the
sayings of the infidels will distract his soul. He that hath acknowledged this principle
will be endowed with the most perfect constancy. All honor to this all-glorious
station, the remembrance of which adorneth every exalted Tablet. Such is the
teaching which God bestoweth on you, a teaching that will deliver you from all
manner of doubt and perplexity, and enable you to attain unto salvation in both
this world and in the next. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 86
 

I implore Thee, O my God, by Thy Most Great Name, to enrapture the nations
through the potency of the Word which Thou didst ordain to be the king of all
words, the Word whereby the goodly pearls of Thy hidden wisdom were uncovered,
and the gem-like mysteries which were wrapped up within Thee were unraveled.
Deprive them not, by Thy grace and bounty, of the things Thou didst desire for
them, and suffer them not to be far removed from the shores of the ocean of Thy
presence.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 113
 

O friend of mine! The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence
is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of
being. The Great Being saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world,
inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality
are the doors of heaven, are unlocked. No sooner had but a glimmer of its effulgent
splendour shone forth upon the mirror of love than the blessed word `I am the
Best-Beloved' was reflected therein. It is an ocean inexhaustible in riches,
comprehending all things. Every thing which can be perceived is but an emanation
therefrom. High, immeasurably high is this sublime station, in whose shadow
moveth the essence of loftiness and splendour, wrapt in praise and adoration.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 173