The
Lawḥ-i kull al-ṭa`ām
لوح كلّ الطّعام
(The
Tablet of All Food)
BEING REVISED 2006-7
Prov. trans. Stephen N.
Lambden
1984. rev. 1995/2001/ Feb.2003
2006
What follows is my slightly revised prov. trans. of the Lawḥ-i kull
al-ta`ām
("Tablet of All Food"; c. 1854 CE) of Bahā'-Allāh. It first appeared with
commentary in BSB 3:1 (June 1984), pp. 4-67. Various texts were consulted
though I mostly followed the superior ms in INBMC 36:268-277. The texts printed
in Ishrāq Khāvari's Mā'idah-yi āsmānī (4:265-276) and
Raḥīq-i makhtum (2: 416-426) contain quite a few textual errors. No critical edition
exists. The Provisional translation which follows remains a ROUGH DRAFT.
Notification of errors of translation and inadequacies of style would be
greatly appreciated.
LawḤ-i kull
al-Ṭa`ām
THE TABLET OF ALL FOOD
[0]
هو
المقتدر علی ما تشاء بامر من لدنه و هو اللّه كان علی كل شئ قديرا
He is Supremely
Powerful in accomplishing that
which He willeth through a command on
His part.
And He is God,
Powerful over all things.
[I]
[1]
الحمد للّه مموج ابحر النور بالماء
النارية الالهيه و مهيج احرف الظهور بالنقطة العمائية الفردانيه و مطور طور
الغيبيه من فلك الظهور
نفس البطون وجهة الازلانيه و مكور نقطة
الربوبيه من طرز الابهية الصمدانية ليشهدن الكل بانه هو الحق لا اله الا هو
Praise be to God
Who hath caused
Oceans of Light to surge in the Divine Fiery
Water; excited the Letters
of the divine theophany (ḥurūf al-ẓuhūr) in the Incomparable,
beclouded Point and made the Hidden Mount to
revolve
about the Firmament
of the Theophany, the Concealed Self,
the Focal Centre of
Eternality. [2] He caused the Lordly
Point to circle round the Most-Splendid,
All-Enduring Ornament to the end, that all
might testify that He is the True One.
No God is there save
Him.
[3] He, verily, is the
Incomparable, the One, the
Eternal, Who neither
begetteth nor is begotten. He can never be
likened to any single thing. And He, God, is the
Majestic, the All-Compelling. [4] Praise be to God Who
hath caused the Fiery Depths to overflow from the Purified,
Sanctified Temple and made the
Beauteous Deep to sprinkle forth refined, glorious
Dewdrops. [5] He hath attracted
the Countenances characterised by the letter "H" (al-hā') through the unique, eternal melodies and enabled the
Light-filled Dove to sing forth with warblings
timeless and everlasting. [6] This, to the end,
that all might become aware that He is the True One; there is none other
God besides Him, the Beneficent, the Almighty Who cannot be
described by aught save His Essence or characterized by
aught save His Eminence. He, verily, is the
All-Powerful, the Wrathful. [7] Praise be to God Who
hath caused the Light to circle round the
twin Mounts of His Light and made the Light
to revolve around the twin Spheres of
His Light. [8] He hath caused the
Light to beam forth in the Loci of His
Light and made the Light
to be retained in the Repositories
of His Light. [9] He hath also caused
the Light to scintillate through the impulses
of His Light and made the Light
to shine resplendent in the Countenances
of His Light. [10] Praise God! Praised
be God! Worthy of praise is
He Who establisheth His Own worth, for besides Him
there is none other.
[II]
[1]
So praised be Thou,
O My God,
O My God! Bereft of splendor
am I, until invoke Thee through Thy
sanctified verses. [2] No glory have I
until I confide in Thee through Thine
intimate Letters. [3] Without radiance am
I until I experience Thee through the secrets
of Thy Might. [4] And no lustre have I
until I observe Thee in the hidden
retreats of Thy Light.
[III]
[1]
So praised be Thou,
O My God, O My God!
We failed to invoke
Thee at the moment which
Thou made Me one saddened before
the surging of the Deep Sea of Thy
blissfulness,
[2]
and made Me one
grieved in the land nigh unto the
billowing of the Fathomless Deep of
Thy Joyousness.
[3]
Likewise at the
moment which, in Thy House, Thou made Me one
afflicted before the high courses of the
Oceans of Thy Radiance.
[IV]
[1]
So praised be Thou,
O My God,
O My God!
We failed to
adequately bear witness unto Thee in that Thou hast
testified before all things unto Thine Own Self,
through Thine Own
Self, for Thou, verily,
art God, no God is there except Thee.
[2]
Eternally Thou hast
rested upon the Throne of Glory and hath
everlastingly been concealed
by the essence of
Bounty and Justice.
[3]
Eternally and
everlastingly Thou wast hidden in the Image Thou
hadst aforetime in the magnificence
of Glory and Beauty.
[4]
Not a single person
is capable of fathoming the fullness of
Thine Interiority and no soul is able
to describe
the substance of
Thine Identity.
[5]
Whenever the holy
ones attempt to become acquainted
with Thee, they subscribe to
falsity in the holy court of the
King of Thy
Munificence.
[6]
And as often as
those who confess Thy Unity attempt to
characterize Thee,
they join partners
with Thee at the intimate threshold
of the Sovereign of Thy Might.
[V]
[1]
So praised be Thou,
O My God, O My God! Thou art
the One who created Me free of affliction
in Thy dominions
and provided for Me
in such wise that not an atom of
misfortune befell me in Thy regions.
[2]
Such was the case,
until Thou enabled Me to recognise Thy
Remembrance
and inspired Me as
One acknowledging the truth for Thy sake;
One obedient to His
command as befits Thy Truth.
[3]
Thou art the One Who
deposited in Mine inmost essence
a Lamp from
Thy Being, by means of which Thy Logos-Self might become known.
[4]
It beamed forth in
Thy Kingdom and I found a haven
in the court of Thy Might
until oceans of
sadness surged over Me -- a mere drop of which
no soul could bear to drink.
[5]
I wept to such an
extent that the spirit well-nigh departed from My body.
I was so filled with
anxiety that the Spiritual Beings were sorely troubled.
I was overcome with
sorrow so as to grievously distress the Luminous Ones.
[VI]
[1]
And praise be to
Thee, O My Beloved,
on account of all
that Thou madest to appear through Thy Power, ordained through Thy
Will, decreed through Thy
Judgment,
and determined through
Thy power of Accomplishment, for all these things
are a proof of Thy Cause and a path unto the
Sovereign of Thy Graciousness.
[2]
So praise be to
Thee, O My God, O My God! How can I
call upon Thee through the wonders
of Thy Remembrance
when the Path to the
gnosis of the boundary of Thine Essence is cut off ?
[3]
And how can I not
call upon Thee, in that Thou didst
not create Me except for the remembrance
of Thy benefits and the commemoration of Thy favours.
[4]
So praise be unto
Thee!
I, verily, stand
before Thee unto Whom all bow down in adoration.
[5]
So praise be to
Thee, O My God, O My God! We failed
to entreat Thee on those darkest of nights
on which the Dove of
the Command sang out on Mount Sinai, from the right side
of the Crimson Tree, with the melodies of
Thine Eternity;
[6]
or, during those
lengthy periods of gloom, when the
Light-filled Bird warbled beyond the veils of the realm of concealed Divinity
with the warblings
of Thy Perpetuity.
[7]
This inasmuch as
Thou raised Me up unto the Heaven of the Unseen through the
supremacy of the Sovereign of Thine Endless Permanency;
[8]
made Me to ascend
unto the Horizon of Evident Attestation through the power of
the King of Thy Divinity;
[9]
caused Me to
be elevated unto the hidden retreats of Thy Oneness and ennobled Me
through the meeting with Thy Countenance
such that I came to
abide in Thy sanctuary and found a haven in Thine Expanse.
[10]
I reclined upon
cushions of Light through Thy bounty and rose up above
the Heaven of Manifestation through Thy Munificence.
[11]
Thereby did My heart
find peace, My soul comfort,
My being delight and
My essence equanimity,
for thereby was I
numbered among those who are assured through the meeting
with their Lord.
[VII]
[1]
O thou glorious
enquirer
who art set aglow through the Fire of the Friend!
[2]
Be thou assured that
from the very first day that God aided Me through faith in Him
and confirmation in
His Cause,
it was not my desire
to respond to the enquiries of any among the servants.
[3]
But since I
found in thy heart a fire from the Proof of God
and a brand from the
Light of the Manifestation of His Self,
the ocean of My
affection hath surged and it is My wish to reply to thee
through the power
and might of God.
[4]
My munificence
overflows with the sprinklings of servitude in the
Land of the
Theophany,
in order that the
breezes of Light might attract thee unto
the summit of
exhilaration,
and cause thee to
attain that station which God hath decreed for thee
in these days in
which the winds of sorrow have encompassed Me on all sides.
[5]
This on account of that
which the hands of the people have committed
for they have
calumniated me without proof or written testimony.
[6]
O Lord! Cast patience
upon Me
and make Me t o
be victorious over the seditious people.
[VIII]
[1]
Then know that for
this paradisiacal verse [Q. ],
this choice fruit,
divine song and heavenly pearl,
are subtle meanings
endless in their infinitude.
[2]
I, by the grace and
bounty of God,
shall sprinkle upon
thee something of the superabundance of its meanings
that may serve as a
memorial for the believers, a guiding light for
the estranged, and a stronghold for
the agitated.
[IX]
[1]
Then bear thou
witness that for "food" are diverse levels of meaning; it must suffice
thee, however, that We expound four of them.
[2]
It signifieth the
realm of the Throne of He-ness (hāhūt), the Paradise of the
Divine Oneness.
[3]
None is capable of
expounding even a letter of that verse relative to that Paradise.
[4]
This inasmuch as
that realm is that of the Mystery of Endless
Duration, the Unique Sonship, the Incomparable
Israelicity
and
the Resplendent
Selfhood.
[5]
Its exoteric aspect
is the essence of its esoteric aspect and its esoteric aspect
the essence of its exoteric aspect.
[6]
It is inappropriate
that anyone should attempt to elucidate a single letter of it.
[7]
God, however, will
disclose its mysteries when He willeth
unto whomsoever He
willeth.
[8] And I, verily,
in view of My injury and My misery
am not informed of
even a letter thereof.
[8]
This inasmuch as the
matter cannot be related
except on the part
of God,
its Fashioner and
its Originator.
[9]
So praise be unto
God, its Creator and its Lifegiver
above that which
those who confess the Unity of God assert.
[10]
By He in Whose hand
is My Soul!
If oceans of Light
should surge forth in that realm all who are in the
heavens and on earth would assuredly be drowned;
save, that is,
a number of the
Letters of this Dispensation [theophany] (ẓuhūr,
[11]
In this respect God
beareth sufficient witness as regards both Me
and thee.
[X]
[1]
It signifieth the
realm of the Paradise of Endless Duration,
the Throne of the
Divine Realm (Lahut), the Snow-White
Light.
[2]
It is the realm of
"He is He Himself" and there is none
other save Him.
[3]
This Paradise is
allotted unto those servants who are established
upon the Seat of Glory,
who quaff liquid
camphor nigh unto the All-Beauteous One,
and
who recite the
verses of Light in the Heaven of Manifest Justice.
[4]
Thereby are they
enraptured and from that "food" derive comfort.
[XI]
[1]
It signifieth
the Paradise of the Divine Unicity,
the Golden [Yellow]
Land,
the Depths of realm
of the Divine Omnipotence (Jabarut).
[2]
It is the realm of
"Thou art He [God] and He [God] is Thou"
allotted unto those
servants who do not cried out except with the permission of God;
who act according to
His command
and
ever restrain
themselves in accordance with His wisdom
[3]
-- just as God hath
described them [in the Qur'an] for they are the
honoured servants of whom it is written:
"They speak not till
He hath spoken; and they do His bidding"
(Q. 21:27).
[XII]
[1]
It signifieth the
Paradise of Justice, the Verdent [Green]
Land, the Fathomless Deep
of Kingdom of God
(malakūt)
[2]
allotted to those
servants whom "neither traffic nor
merchandise beguile from the
remembrance of God"
(Q. 24:27)
since they are
the companions of
the Light.
[3]
They enter therein
with the permission of God and find rest upon the
carpet of the Almighty.
[XIII]
[1]
It signifieth the
realm of the Paradise of the Divine Bounty,
the Crimson Land, the Golden Secret, the Snow-White
Mystery
and
[2]
the Point of human
realm
(nasut).
In it are the proofs
of the Remembrance greatest, if you are of those
who are informed.
[XIV]
[1]
Ah! Alas! Then Ah!
Alas!
If the Primal Point
were alive in these days and witnessed My grief
he would assuredly,
at all times, comfort Me, treat Me tenderly,
and fill Me with ardent joy.
At every moment
would he strengthen Me.
[2]
So Ah! Alas!
Would that I had
died after him, before these days, or were one quite
forgotten, consigned to oblivion.
[3]
Say: O Thou
Concourse!
Comfort me! Do not
calumniate Me or hasten My affair
for I am a servant
who hath believed in God and in His signs [or verses], and there doth not
remain of My days except a few.
[4]
God, My Lord, is
sufficient protector against you
since he sufficeth
Me and sufficeth he whom he desired aforetime.
[5]
Sufficient is the
careful account of His own Self.
[6]
Lord! Pour out
patience upon Me and make Me victorious
over the
disbelieving peoples
who do not cry out
except in accordance with their own delusions
or move except as
their idle fancies prompt them.
[7]
Say: It is not for
you to ask why it is this way
for you neither
comprehend nor understand.
[XV]
[1]
O Thou Faithful One!
When the breezes of
love spilled over from the right-side of the Sinaitic Tree
you were turned to
the right and to the left;
[2]
in that place, in
the Cave of Light,
you were protected
with the permission of God, the Exalted,
for He is God,
Powerful over all things.
[3]
And you acknowledged
and understood all that We expounded for you.
Then bear witness
that We desire to expound further.
[4]
Then know that the
significance of "food"
is the essence of
knowledge;
that is, all
branches of learning.
[5]
"Israel" signifieth
the Primal Point
and the "children of
Israel"
He whom God, on His
part, made a Proof unto the people in these days.
[6]
" Except what Israel
made unlawful for itself [or himself]";
that is, that which
the Primal Point made unlawful
for his elevated
ones and his servants.
[7]
Then bear witness
that all that God decreed in the Book
through His command
and His power of interdiction is the truth
about which there is
no doubt.
[8]
It is incumbent upon
all to act in conformity therewith
and to assent
thereto.
[9]
Let not the actions
of those who have been
spreading wickedness
in the land veil you.
They suppose that
they are rightly guided.
[10]
Nay! By the Lord of
the Realm of the Divine Cloud !
They are liars and
calumniators.
[11]
The nature of that
party is such that they should never be allowed
to eat even barley
in these days.
[12]
How then, can they
possibly be allowed to eat what
God hath forbidden
in the Book?
So praised be He,
praised be He above
that which the associators assert.
[XVI]
[1]
O Thou Friend!
Since you were
irradiated through the orient light of
the radiance of the
splendours of the Morn of Eternity (subh al-azal)
-- the lights of
which [or, of whom] have filled the horizons
[2]
-- and been
captivated by the winning ways of the Light of Endless Duration
-- the traces of
which [or, of whom] have appeared upon the Temples of the Orient Light --
[3]
then know that the
intention of "food" in these days
in which the Sun
shineth in the centre of Heaven
and the Lamp of
Eternality hath shed splendour
upon the Luminary of
the Realm of Divine Cloud,
is none other than
the Bearer of the Cause.
[4]
"Israel" in this
connection,
signifieth the
Primal Will
by means of which
God created all who are in the heavens and on the earth
and what is between
them.
[5]
The "children of
Israel"
are those servants
who were captivated by the Light of that Primal Will
in the "year sixty"
(= 1260 AH = 1844 CE)
and thereafter
until the "Day" on which He shall assemble the people
before the Lord of
the Worlds.
[7]
God desireth not
that anyone be oppressed
but the people wrong
their own selves.
[8]
So know that the
Light of God hath ever been established
upon the Throne of
Favour
and
will ever remain the
like of what it was;
though the people
neither comprehend nor bear witness.
[9]
Since We have lifted
you up to the summit of the Mount of Light,
elevated you to the
peak of the Mount of Servitude in the Land of Exhilaration,
[10] enabled you to
drink deep of the Water of the Divine Oneness
from the Camphor
Fount at the hand of the All-Beauteous Joseph,
[11]
and given you
rest in the Cradle of Tranquillity
about which the
Gladsome Ant sang forth
-- therein your
spirit enlivened, your soul delighted and your essence gladdened --
[12]
then thank God Who
created you aforetime by a command on His part
and made you to be
numbered among those servants who are rightly guided
through the verses
of God.
[XVII]
[1]
Now, at this moment,
I cease not to
complain of my sorrow and anguish unto God
for He alone
acknowledgeth My anxiety,
is aware of My
plight and heareth My lamentation.
[2]
By He Who hath made
the Bird[s] of Light to soar aloft
in the Land of the
Theophany!
[3]
None is to be found
as dejected as I,
for now do I dwell
at the point of dust in obscure ignonimy.
[4]
There is no
possessor of Spirit in the Dominion of God
except he weepeth
over Me to the degree that
the heavens are
well-nigh cleft asunder,
the earth split open
and the mountains
levelled.
[5]
This inasmuch as the
eye of time
hath not seen anyone
as oppressed as I.
[6]
And I, verily, have
been patient and forbearing;
have sat between the
hands of God,
trusted in Him and
committed the affair unto Him,
perchance He might
comfort Me and protect Me from
all that the people
have committed.
[XVIII]
[1]
Then know, O Kamal!
If I should expound
that verse [Qur'an 3: 87]
from this day until
the days find their consummation in *al-mustaghath*
("the One Invoked
for Help"; abjad 2001] --
which is the Day
when the people will rise up before the
Countenance of the
Living One, the Wondrous,
the extent to which
God would favour me through His grace and bounty
[with numerous
explanations]
could not be
estimated.
[2]
This inasmuch as the
Mystery of the Divine Oneness
hath been set in
motion,
the Ocean of Endless
Duration hath surged
and the Countenance
of Light in the Heavens of the Realm of Unknowing
hath beamed forth
from the right side of the Tree of the Command.
[3]
This, in these days,
in which the Sun of Manifestation
hath risen in unique
manner
though the people
are neither cognisant of its magnitude
nor mindful of its
subtlety.
[4]
So Ah! Alas!
If they [the people]
could but perceive,
the Proof would
never be hidden from them nor the Favour be beyond their grasp.
[5]
Say: It is not for
you to ask why it is so
lest you join
partners with God Who created you
and aided you
through a Light from before Him;
if, that is, you are
of those who truly believe.
[XIX]
[1]
Give ear, O Kamal!
to the voice of this
lowly, this forsaken ant,
that hath hid itself
in its hole,
and Whose desire is
to depart from your midst,
and vanish from your
sight,
by reason of that
which the hands of men have wrought.
[2]
God, verily, hath
been witness between Me and His servants.
God it is Who
beareth witness unto Me in all respects.
[3]
So Ah! Alas!
If the Last Point,
the Countenance of My Love,
Quddus were alive
he would assuredly
weep over my plight
and would lament
that which hath befallen me.
[4]
And I, for My part,
would at this moment beseech his eminence
and supplicate his
holiness that he would enable Me to ascend
unto the court of
His might and recline on the cushion of his sanctity
as I was wont to do
in those days [now past]
when I was free of
the aforementioned misfortunes.
[5]
O Lord! Cast
patience upon Me
and make Me to be
victorious over the transgressors.
[XX]
[1]
O Thou Faithful One!
If you be of those
who dwell in the Snow-White Forest,
the Isle of the
Criterion (al-furqan),
then know that
"food" signifieth al-wilāya
("Divine Providence,
etc) the "Custodianship" which God decreed for His people.
[2]
The intention of
"Israel" in this connection
is the Point of the
Criterion (al-furqan)
and of the "children
of Israel" His trustees [= the Imams]
who succeeded Him
[Muhammad]
and by means of Whom
God recompenseth His righteous servants.
[3]
And if you be of
those who dwell in the Crimson Isle,
the Orchard of the
Exposition (al-Bayan),
then know that
We abandon the
"food" [of the Islamic wilāya?]
and desire the
Primal Point [the Bab],
the Pure Wine of the
Divine Oneness in an elevated station.
[4]
The intention of
"Israel" in this connection
is the Last
Countenance [= Quddus ?],
the Mystery of
Endless Duration in an elevated station
[5]
and the Countenance
of Light, the Disengaged Manifestation,
the Temple of the
Divine Oneness [= Mīrzā Yahya?)
in an elevated
station whom the aggressors
caused to be
imprisoned in the land and concealed in the cities.
[6]
So praised be God
above
that which the hands
of the People commit.
And God is not
unaware of the actions of the people.
[XXI]
[1]
Since, at this
moment,
the fire of love
surgeth in the heart of al-Baha [Baha'u'llah],
the Dove of
Servitude singeth in the Heaven of the Divine Cloud
and the Bird
(Hoopoe) of Light warbleth in the midst of the firmaments,
[2]
the Sinaitic Tree
burneth of itself through the Fire of its own self
above the Ark of the
Testimony beyond Mount Qaf,
[in] the Land of
Realization,
[3]
and the Ant of
Servitude hideth in the Vale of the Divine Oneness
in this "Night" with
mystic fidelity,
wherefore do I
desire to further expound that verse [Qur'an 3:87].
[4]
This inasmuch as God
hath, at this moment,
informed me about it
through His grace and bounty.
And He, verily, is
the Mighty, the Generous.
[5]
Then bear witness
that "food" signifieth the Ocean of the Unseen
which is hidden in
the Scrolls of Light
and treasured up in
the Inscribed Tablets.
[6]
"Israel" signifieth
the Manifestation of the Command in these days
and the "children of
Israel" the people of the Bayan.
[7]
And that "food" was
allowed for them [the Babis];
that is, for all who
desire to ascend unto the Heaven of Bounty
and to drink of the
Water of Manifestation [or Pure Water]
from that Cup, the
Goblet of Servitude,
which resembleth
naught but a shadow in the land.
[8]
I, however, ask
God's forgiveness on account of that limitation.
So praised be God,
One worthy of praise and mighty
beyond the attempts
of the negligent to describe Him.
[XXII]
[1]
So Ah! Alas!
If there should
surge upon me a sprinkling from
the Ocean of Divine
Authorization,
from the Sovereign
of the Realm of the Divine Cloud and King of Glory,
[2]
I would expound that
verse [Q. 3:87] with the accents of the spiritual ones,
the sanctified
myriads, and the melodies of the enraptured ones.
[3]
Since I have not
inhaled, however, the fragrance of realization
or accomplishment
then that which I have already set forth for you must suffice you;
for it is sufficient
proof unto those who were,
in the days of their
Lord, given to remembrance.
[4]
In view of the fact
that you have sought and derived warmth from the Fire of Love
and have found
pleasure in the charm of the trace of ink in these apposite Tablets,
then bear witness
and be assured
that I [Bahā'-Allah]
have claimed naught but servitude to God, the True One.
[5]
And God is my
arbitrator against that which the people falsely allege.
[6]
Say: `Woe unto you
on account of that which your hands have committed;
hereafter shall you
be brought before the Knower of that which is hidden
and that which is
manifest [see Q.9:106b]
and assuredly, in
this respect, be questioned.'
[7]
Say: `O People of
the Concourse!
Be not astonished at
the handiwork of God,
the mercy of God and
His blessings upon you,
if you are of those
who are informed.
[8]
Fear ye God!
and know that the
handiwork of God radiates forth in the
image[s?] of the
Lamp of Eternality among the artistry of the people.
How is it that you
neither consider this nor bear witness unto it?'
[XXIII]
[1]
Then Ah! Alas!
By He Who hath
restrained the dove of sorrow
in the breast of al-Bahā'
[-Allāh]!
[2]
All that I have
witnessed
from the day on
which I first drank
the pure milk from
the breast of My mother
until this moment
hath been effaced from my memory
in consequence of
that which the hands of the people have committed.
[3]
And God is aware of
all that pertains to the people
though they are not
informed.
[4]
Say:
`O People of the
Realm of the Divine Cloud!
Issue forth from
your habitations and
present yourselves
in the Sanctum of Light,
the manifest Divine
Cloud,
the most-great House
of God,
as hath been
decreed,
with the permission
of God,
the Exalted,
Who beareth witness,
in the Tablet of the Heart.'
[XXIV]
[1]
I, verily, conclude
this discourse
in that the Dove of
Light sang forth aforetime
at the moment of its
[His] arrival in the Land of Exhilaration
and warbled with the
accents of the heart.
[2]
And you know, O my
beloved, that,
for the sake of God,
I desired authorization since patience,
on account of my
love for the unveiled beauty of God,
had departed from
me.
[3]
And you know that a
son of adultery
willfully desired to
shed My blood.
[4]
Nay, by the presence
of Thy Might!
I do not pledge
allegiance unto him,
either in secret or
publicly.
[5]
It is God alone Who
causeth the day of the
spilling of My blood
to draw nigh
and when My tears
shall be sprinkled upon the dust.
[6]
So, O would that
this My day were the day of the
shedding of my
blood,
for my ardent desire
is for the soil.
[7]
So praised be God,
One Worthy of Praise
and Mighty,
above that which the
associators assert
with respect to His
description.
And praise be to
God, Wondrous Lord of all the Worlds.
An introduction and commentary upon this
scriptural Tablet of Bahā'-Allāh can
be read in BSB X:XX
BAHA'U'LLAH baha'u'llah Bahá'u'lláh
Baha'-Allah Bahá
LAWH-I-KULLU'T-TA`AM
