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References
on "midmost heart" the place of Manifestation of the Prophets (both
Independent and Dependent/Lesser Prophets) to mankind.
1)
Bahá'u'lláh, an Independent Prophet, Manifested "in the midmost heart of the world".
The breezes of the Most Merciful have passed over all created things;
happy the man that hath discovered their fragrance, and set himself
towards them with a sound heart. Attire thy temple with the ornament of
My Name, and thy tongue with remembrance of Me, and thine heart with
love for Me, the Almighty, the Most High. We have desired for thee
naught except that which is better for thee than what thou dost possess
and all the treasures of the earth. Thy Lord, verily, is knowing,
informed of all. Arise, in My Name, amongst My servants, and say: 'O ye
peoples of the earth! Turn yourselves towards Him Who hath turned
towards you. He, verily, is the Face of God amongst you, and His
Testimony and His Guide unto you. He hath come to you with signs which
none can produce.' The voice of the Burning Bush is raised in the
midmost heart of the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth aloud among the
nations: 'Lo, the Desired One is come with manifest dominion!'
-- Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 18
2)
Bahá'u'lláh, an Independent Prophet, Manifested "in the midmost heart of creation".
168
We, verily, see amongst you him who taketh hold of the Book of God and
citeth from it proofs and arguments wherewith to repudiate his Lord,
even as the followers of every other Faith sought reasons in their Holy
Books for refuting Him Who is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Say: God, the True One, is My witness that neither the Scriptures of
the world, nor all the books and writings in existence, shall, in this
Day, avail you aught without this, the Living Book, Who proclaimeth in
the midmost heart of creation: "Verily, there is none other God but Me,
the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."
169
O concourse of divines! Beware lest ye be the cause of strife in the
land, even as ye were the cause of the repudiation of the Faith in its
early days. Gather the people around this Word that hath made the
pebbles to cry out: "The Kingdom is God's, the Dawning-place of all
signs!" Thus doth your Lord admonish you, as a bounty on His part; He,
of a truth, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 80
3)
"The Moon of eternity hath risen in the midmost heaven.."
5.4
Say: The Sun of vicegerency hath dawned, the Point of knowledge and
wisdom hath been made plain, and the Testimony of God, the Almighty,
the All-Wise, hath been made manifest. Say: The Moon of eternity hath risen in the midmost heaven,
and its light hath illumined the dwellers of the realms above. My face
hath come forth from the veils, and shed its radiance upon all that is
in heaven and on earth; and yet, ye turned not towards Him,
notwithstanding that ye were created for Him, O concourse of kings!
Follow, therefore, that which I speak unto you, and hearken unto it
with your hearts, and be not of such as have turned aside. For your
glory consisteth not in your sovereignty, but rather in your nearness
unto God and your observance of His command as sent down in His holy
and preserved Tablets. Should any one of you rule over the whole earth,
and over all that lieth within it and upon it, its seas, its lands, its
mountains, and its plains, and yet be not remembered by God, all these
would profit him not, could ye but know it.
5.5
Know ye that a servant's glory resideth in his nearness unto God, and
that, unless he draweth nigh unto Him, naught else can ever profit him,
even should he hold sway over the entire creation. Say: The breeze of
God hath wafted over you from the retreats of Paradise, but ye have
neglected it and chosen to persist in your waywardness. Guidance hath
been given unto you from God, but ye have failed to follow it and
preferred to reject its truth. The Lamp of God hath been lit within the
niche of His Cause, but ye have neglected to seek the radiance of its
glory and to draw nigh unto its light. And still ye slumber upon the
couch of heedlessness!
-- Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 186
4)
One handmaiden (i.e. one
pre-existent Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah, the Maid of Heaven)
appears "in the midmost heart of creation," -- is manifested on earth
to true believers.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! Thereupon she summoned unto herself one maiden from her handmaidens,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! And commanded her: "Descend into space from the mansions of eternity,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "And turn thou unto that which they have concealed in the inmost of their hearts.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "Shouldst thou inhale the
perfume of the robe from the Youth that hath been hidden within the
tabernacle of light by reason of that which the hands of the wicked
have wrought,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "Raise a cry within thyself,
that all the inmates of the chambers of Paradise, that are the
embodiments of the eternal wealth, may understand and hearken;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "That they may all come down from their everlasting chambers and tremble,
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "And kiss their hands and feet for having soared to the heights of faithfulness;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! "Perchance they may find from their robes the fragrance of the Beloved One."
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! Thereupon the countenance of
the favored damsel beamed above the celestial chambers even as the
light that shineth from the face of the Youth above His mortal temple;
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! She then descended with such an
adorning as to illumine the heavens and all that is therein.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! She bestirred herself and perfumed all things in the lands of holiness and grandeur.
Glorified be my Lord, the All-Glorious! When she reached that place she
rose to her full height in the midmost heart of creation,
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablet of the Holy Mariner, Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 224
5)
The Bab refers to the Qur'án, revealed "in midmost heart of the Arab world" by the Independent Prophet, Muhammad.
TWELVE hundred and seventy years have elapsed since the declaration of
Muhammad, and each year unnumbered people have circumambulated the
House of God [Mecca]. In the concluding year of this period He Who is
Himself the Founder of the House went on pilgrimage. Great God! There
was a vast concourse of pilgrims from every sect. Yet not one
recognized Him, though He recognized every one of them -- souls tightly
held in the grasp of His former commandment. The only person who
recognized Him and performed pilgrimage with Him is the one round whom
revolve eight Vahids,[1] in whom God hath gloried before the Concourse
on high by virtue of his absolute detachment and for his being wholly
devoted to the Will of God. This doth not mean that he was made the
object of a special favour, nay, this is a favour which God hath
vouchsafed unto all men, yet they have suffered themselves to be veiled
from it. The Commentary on the Surih of Joseph had, in the first year
of this Revelation, been widely distributed. Nevertheless, when the
people realized that fellow supporters were not forthcoming they
hesitated to accept it; while it never occurred to them that the very
Qur'án whereunto unnumbered souls bear fealty today, was revealed in
the midmost heart of the Arab world, yet to outward seeming for no less
than seven years no one acknowledged its truth except the Commander of
the Faithful [Imam
Ali] -- may the peace of God rest upon him -- who, in response to the
conclusive proofs advanced by God's supreme Testimony, recognized the
Truth and did not fix his eyes on others. Thus on the Day of
Resurrection God will ask everyone of his understanding and not of his
following in the footsteps of others. How often a person, having
inclined his ears to the holy verses, would bow down in humility and
would embrace the Truth, while his leader would not do so. Thus every
individual must bear his own responsibility, rather than someone else
bearing it for him. At the time of the appearance of Him Whom God will
make manifest the most distinguished among the learned and the lowliest
of men shall both be judged alike. How often the most insignificant of
men have acknowledged the truth, while the most learned have remained
wrapt in veils. Thus in every Dispensation a number of souls enter the
fire by reason of their following in the footsteps of others. IV, 18.
[1 This is a reference to Quddus, 'whom the Persian Bayan extolled as
that fellow-pilgrim round whom mirrors to the number of eight Vahids
revolve'. (God Passes By, p. 49).]
-- The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 90
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