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The grace of God through Independent Prophets and Dependent/Lesser Prophets.
1)
The grace of God through the Manifestations
of God.
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
attribute, thou hast not erred from the truth. Even as He hath
revealed: "No distinction do We make between any of His Messengers!"[1]
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
honoured 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 Ali [Imam Ali]. Sayings such as this, 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."[2]
Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also
must needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imams of the Muhammadan
Faith, those lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first,
Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all."
[1 Qur'án 2:285.]
[2 Qur'án 54:50.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 152
2)
The grace of God's chosen Ones (the Independent Prophets and the Dependent/Lesser Prophets).
Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all times,
yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in the
sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected His
coming, how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of divine mercy
might blow, and the promised Beauty step forth from behind the veil of
concealment, and be made manifest to all the world. And whensoever the
portals of grace did open, and the clouds of divine bounty did rain
upon mankind, and the light of the Unseen did shine above the horizon
of celestial might, they all denied Him, and turned away from His face
-- the face of God Himself. Refer ye, to verify this truth, to that
which hath been recorded in every sacred Book.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 4
3)
The following passages are
about Imam Husayn, the third Dependent/Lesser Prophet in the era of Muhammad. In the Tablet of visitation for Imam
Husayn Baha'u'llah refers to him as "the
Sovereign of the Visible and Invisible", and those who opposed him
"have violated God's Covenant and Testament and have denied His proof,
repudiated His grace and disputed with His signs!"...
5.47
Know ye that trials and tribulations have, from time immemorial, been
the lot of the chosen Ones of God and His beloved, and such of His
servants as are detached from all else but Him, they whom neither
merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the Almighty,
they that speak not till He hath spoken, and act according to His
commandment. Such is God's method carried into effect of old, and such
will it remain in the future. Blessed are the steadfastly enduring,
they that are patient under ills and hardships, who lament not over
anything that befalleth them, and who tread the path of resignation.
5.48
That which hath befallen Us hath been witnessed before. Ours is not the
first goblet dashed to the ground in the lands of Islam, nor is this
the first time that such schemers have intrigued against the beloved of
the Lord. The tribulations We have sustained are like unto the trials
endured aforetime by Imam husayn. For he was approached by messengers
from malicious and evil-hearted plotters, inviting him to come forth
from the city; yet when he came unto them, accompanied by his kindred,
they rose up against him with all their might, until at last they slew
him, slaughtered his sons and his brothers, and took captive the
remainder of his family. So did it come to pass in an earlier age, and
God, verily, is a witness unto My words. Of his lineage there survived
none, whether young or old, save his son 'Ali al-Awsat, known as
Zaynu'l-'Abidin [the fourth Imam].
-- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 204
O denizens of the city of names and O countenances residing in the
chambers of the all-highest paradise! O companions of faithfulness in
the kingdom of eternity! Change ye your glad white and red garments
unto black clothes of mourning, for the supreme calamity and the
greatest loss hath come to pass, because of which, the Messenger of God
hath wailed and lamented and the heart of Fátimih hath melted.
Thereupon, the dwellers of the Abhá Tabernacle and those sailing upon
the Crimson Ark, seated upon seats of love and loyalty, wept with a
great weeping.
Ah! Ah! How I lament My sorrows caused by an injustice that hath set
afire the realities of all beings; how I grieve over that which hath
befallen the Sovereign of the Visible and Invisible at the hands of
those who have violated God's Covenant and Testament and have denied
His proof, repudiated His grace and disputed with His signs!
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of Visitation for Imám Husayn (a provisional translation by K. Fananapazir).
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_fananapazir_visitation_husayn
4)
The grace of God through the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah ("His chosen ones"). In the following passage from Gleanings CXXIX:
"concealed within the Holy Veil" -- refers to the realm of pre-existence of the Dependent/Lesser Prophets, same as the pre-existence of the Holy Imams.
"a company of His chosen ones" -- the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah.
"Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him" -- warn
those who reject the Dependent Prophet as the Face of God (similar, for
example, to those who rejected Imam Ali as the Face of God in the era
of Muhammad).
"I am come from the Throne of glory" -- reference to her/his station as a Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah.
"And bear you an announcement from God" -- the declaration of the Dependent Prophet.
"Weigh it with the just Balance that ye possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of God" -- judge their revelation with same standards you use for Prophets and Messengers of God, as they are.
"And render your works vain, and be numbered with the infidels" -- reference to believers who after serving the faith reject a Dependent Prophet, and thereby render their works vain.
There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service
of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men,
who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the
entire human race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who,
before the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven,
shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and
summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the
All-Praised. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. Be of
them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in
the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose purpose the blame of
the blamer will never defeat.
Go forth with the Tablet of God and His signs, and rejoin them that
have believed in Me, and announce unto them tidings of Our most holy
Paradise. Warn, then, those that have joined partners with Him. Say: I
am come to you, O people, from the Throne of glory, and bear you an
announcement from God, the Most Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great. In mine hand I carry the testimony of God, your Lord and the
Lord of your sires of old. Weigh it with the just Balance that ye
possess, the Balance of the testimony of the Prophets and Messengers of
God. If ye find it to be established in truth, if ye believe it to be
of God, beware, then, lest ye cavil at it, and render your works vain,
and be numbered with the infidels. It is indeed the sign of God that
hath been sent down through the power of truth, through which the
validity of His Cause hath been demonstrated unto His creatures, and
the ensigns of purity lifted up betwixt earth and heaven.
Say: This is the sealed and mystic Scroll, the repository of God's
irrevocable Decree, bearing the words which the Finger of Holiness hath
traced, that lay wrapt within the veil of impenetrable mystery, and
hath now been sent down as a token of the grace of Him Who is the
Almighty, the Ancient of Days. In it have We decreed the destinies of
all the dwellers of the earth and the denizens of heaven, and written
down the knowledge of all things from first to last. Nothing whatsoever
can escape or frustrate Him, whether created in the past or to be
created in the future, could ye but perceive it.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 280.
5)
The grace of God through the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah ("the Maids of Heaven"). In the following passage from Gleanings CLIII:
"I have summoned the Maids of
Heaven to emerge from behind the veil of concealment" -- Bahá'u'lláh
has called on His pre-existent Dependent Prophets to appear on
earth. "and have clothed them with these words of Mine -- words of consummate power and wisdom" -- and they
receive their revelation from Him, the Independent Prophet (this is explained
further by Abdu'l-Baha when describing the two classes of Prophets). Bahá'u'lláh, the Independent Prophet,
receives Revelation directly from God. No Independent Prophet will
appear until after at least one thousand years of Baha'u'llah's dispensation have passed.
Wherefore, O My servants, defile not your wings with the clay of
waywardness and vain desires, and suffer them not to be stained with
the dust of envy and hate, that ye may not be hindered from soaring in
the heavens of My divine knowledge.
O My servants! Through the might of God and His power, and out of the
treasury of His knowledge and wisdom, I have brought forth and revealed
unto you the pearls that lay concealed in the depths of His everlasting
ocean. I have summoned the Maids of Heaven to emerge from behind
the veil of concealment, and have clothed them with these words of Mine
-- words of consummate power and wisdom. I have, moreover, with the
hand of divine power, unsealed the choice wine of My Revelation, and
have wafted its holy, its hidden, and musk-laden fragrance upon all
created things. Who else but yourselves is to be blamed if ye choose to
remain unendowed with so great an outpouring of God's transcendent and
all-encompassing grace, with so bright a revelation of His resplendent
mercy?...
O My servants! There shineth nothing else in Mine heart except the
unfading light of the Morn of Divine guidance, and out of My mouth
proceedeth naught but the essence of truth, which the Lord your God
hath revealed. Follow not, therefore, your earthly desires, and violate
not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him. With firm
determination, with the whole affection of your heart, and with the
full force of your words, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the ways of
the foolish. The world is but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing,
bearing the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it.
Break not the bond that uniteth you with your Creator, and be not of
those that have erred and strayed from His ways.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 328
6)
The grace of God through Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet, and the Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah ("temples of the Oneness of God"). "Temples" is one of the terms Baha'u'llah applies to Prophets (both Independent Prophets
and Dependent Prophets), who are the Face of God on earth, affirmed by the words, "temples of the Oneness of God". "Raise up, then, from this Temple," refers to Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet. "the temples of the Oneness of God" refers to the pre-existent Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah summoned to appear on earth by him. "be of them that are illumined by His
light" -- be among the true believers who recognise and follow the Dependent Prophets, who are the Face of God (like the Holy Imams in era of Muhammad), through whom "the bread of knowledge hath
descended from the heaven of grace".
1.12
O Pen of the Most High! Hearken unto the Call of Thy Lord, raised from
the Divine Lote-Tree in the holy and luminous Spot, that the sweet
accents of Thy Lord, the All-Merciful, may fill Thy soul with joy and
fervour, and that the breezes that waft from My name, the
Ever-Forgiving, may dispel Thy cares and sorrows. Raise up, then, from
this Temple [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet], the temples [Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah] of the Oneness of God,
that they may tell out, in the kingdom of creation, the tidings of
their Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and be of them that are
illumined by His light.
1.13
We, verily, have ordained this Temple [Baha'u'llah] to be the source of all existence
in the new creation, that all may know of a certainty My power to
accomplish that which I have purposed through My word "Be", and it is!
Beneath the shadow of every letter of this Temple
We shall raise up a people whose number none can reckon save God, the
Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Erelong shall God bring forth from
His Temple such souls as will remain unswayed by the insinuations of
the rebellious, and who will quaff at all times of the cup that is life
indeed. These, truly, are of the blissful.
1.14
These are servants
who abide beneath the shelter of the tender mercy of their Lord, and
who remain undeterred by those who seek to obstruct their path. Upon
their faces may be seen the brightness of the light of the
All-Merciful, and from their hearts may be heard the remembrance of
Mine all-glorious and inaccessible Name. Were they to unloose their
tongues to extol their Lord, the denizens of earth and heaven would
join in their anthems of praise -- yet how few are they who hear! And
were they to glorify their Lord, all created things would join in their
hymns of glory. Thus hath God exalted them above the rest of His creation, and yet the people remain unaware!
1.15
These are they who circle round the Cause of God even as the shadow
doth revolve around the sun. Open, then, your eyes, O people of the
Bayan, that haply ye may behold them! It is by virtue of their movement
that all things are set in motion, and by reason of their stillness all
things are brought to rest, would that ye might be assured thereof! Through
them the believers in the Divine Unity have turned towards Him Who is
the Object of the adoration of the entire creation, and by them the
hearts of the righteous have found rest and composure, could ye but
know it! Through them the earth hath been established, the
clouds have rained down their bounty, and the bread of knowledge hath
descended from the heaven of grace, could ye but perceive it!
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 8.
7)
The grace of God through the Dependent/Lesser Prophet of Baha'u'llah ("O First Letter of this Temple"). Letter
is another symbolic term use to refer to Dependent Prophets, while Word
refers to the Independent Prophet.
1.37
O First Letter of this Temple [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet], betokening the Essence of Divinity! We
have made thee the treasury of My Will and the repository of My Purpose
unto all who are in the kingdoms of revelation and creation. This is
but a token of the grace of Him Who is the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 21
8)
The grace of God through the Dependent/Lesser Prophet of Baha'u'llah ("handmaidens"). In the following passage from Prayers and Meditations CLXXXIV, "handmaidens" is a symbolic
reference to the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, who assist the "Bride",
Baha'u'llah (the Independent Prophet), referred to in the last passage of the Hidden Words. Later
in the passage, the handmaidens are also referred to as "Thy chosen
ones", affirming they are Prophets.
Since Thou hast purposed, O my God, to cause all created things to
enter into the tabernacle of Thy transcendent grace and favor, and to
waft over the entire creation the fragrances of the raiment of Thy
glorious unity, and to look upon all things with the eyes of Thy bounty
and Thy oneness, I beseech Thee, therefore, by Thy love, which Thou
hast made to be the mainspring of the revelations of Thine eternal
holiness, and the flame that gloweth within the hearts of such of Thy
creatures as yearn towards Thee, to create, this very moment, for those
of Thy people who are wholly devoted to Thee, and for such of Thy loved
ones as love Thee, out of the essence of Thy bounty and Thy generosity,
and from the inmost spirit of Thy grace and Thy glory, Thy Paradise of
transcendent holiness, and to exalt it above everything except Thee,
and to sanctify it from aught else save Thyself. Create, moreover,
within it, O my God, out of the lights shed by Thy throne, handmaidens
who will intone the melodies of Thy wondrous and most sweet invention,
that they may magnify Thy name with such words as have not been heard
by any of Thy creatures, be they the inmates of Thy heaven or the
dwellers of Thine earth, nor been comprehended by any of Thy people.
Unlock, then, the gates of this Paradise to the faces of Thy loved
ones, that haply they may enter them in Thy name, and by the power of
Thy sovereignty, that thereby the sovereign bounties vouchsafed by Thee
unto Thy chosen ones and the transcendent gifts granted unto Thy
trusted ones be perfected, that they may extol Thy virtues with such
melodies as none can either intone or describe, and that none of Thy
people may conceive the design of appearing in the guise of any of Thy
chosen ones, or of emulating the example of Thy loved ones, and that
none may fail to discern between Thy friends and Thine enemies, or to
distinguish them that are devoted to Thee from such as stubbornly
oppose Thee. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest, and powerful and
supreme art Thou over all things.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 326-327
9)
The grace of God through the Dependent/Lesser Prophet of Baha'u'llah ("His servants"). All else besides them are as naught; described
in more detail in the subsequent passage from the Kitab-i-Iqan about
the Manifestations of God.
1.101
Take heed lest ye hesitate in recognizing this resplendent Beauty when
once He hath appeared in the plenitude of His sovereign might and
majesty. He, verily, is the True One, and all else besides Him is as
naught before a single one of His servants, and paleth into nothingness
when brought face to face with the revelation of His splendours.
Hasten, then, to attain the living waters of His grace, and be not of
the negligent. As to him who hesitateth, though it be for less than a
moment, God shall verily bring his works to naught and return him to
the seat of wrath; wretched indeed is the abode of them that tarry!
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 54
And of all men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished and the
most excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. Nay, all
else besides these Manifestations, live by the operation of their Will,
and move and have their being through the outpourings of their grace.
"But for Thee, I would have not created the heavens." Nay, all in their
holy presence fade into utter nothingness, and are a thing forgotten.
Human tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech
can never unfold their mystery. These Tabernacles of holiness, these
primal Mirrors which reflect the light of unfading glory, are but
expressions of Him Who is the Invisible of the Invisibles. By the
revelation of these gems of divine virtue all the names and attributes
of God, such as knowledge and power, sovereignty and dominion, mercy
and wisdom, glory, bounty and grace, are made manifest.
These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed
specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the
Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and
chosen Messengers, are, without exception, the bearers of His
names, and the embodiments of His attributes. They only differ in the
intensity of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their
light. Even as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused
to excel the others."[1] It hath therefore become manifest and evident
that within the tabernacles of these Prophets and chosen Ones of God
the light of His infinite names and exalted attributes hath been
reflected, even though the light of some of these attributes may or may
not be outwardly revealed from these luminous Temples to the eyes of
men. That a certain attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested
by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that they Who are
the Daysprings of God's attributes and the Treasuries of His holy names
did not actually possess it. Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these
beauteous Countenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed
with all the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, dominion, and the
like, even though to outward seeming they be shorn of all earthly
majesty. To every discerning eye this is evident and manifest; it
requireth neither proof nor evidence.
[1 Qur'án 2:253.]
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 102
10)
Reference to the grace of God through Christ, an Independent Prophet.
Man must turn to the light and not think that the form of the
lamp is essential, for the lamp may be changed; but he who longs for
light welcomes it from whatever source it comes. If the Jews had
comprehended Moses, they would have accepted the Christ; but they were
occupied with the name and when that name was changed they denied the
reality.
It is the same with the Christians. What a pity that they are
worshipping a title! They see only the garment. If one recognizes a
king by his garments, one would not know him were he to clothe himself
differently.
Who is the Christ? When one sees the Christ qualities shining from
another source, one must recognize that light. We see this flower is
exquisite; we do not see that it is the only beautiful one, for beauty
is of the divine effulgence that is universal and unlimited in its
manifestations. The marvelous bestowals of God are continuous. Should
the outpouring of light be suspended, we would be in darkness. But how
could it be withheld? If the divine graces are suspended, then divinity itself would be interrupted. Even men ask for continuity.
We have eyes and we desire eternal sight; blindness is an imperfection.
We have ears; deafness is a deficiency. As long as we consider these as
imperfections in the human world, are they not even greater defects in
the divine world?
We must be adorers of the sun of reality from whatsoever horizon it may
appear, rather than adorers of the horizon; for should we concentrate
our attention in one direction, the sun may appear from quite another
and leave us deprived of the sun's bestowals which are the wisdom and
guidance of God and the favor of God, which constitute spiritual
progress.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 32
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