The Bab's Persian Bayan
H-Bahai
Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts, No. 4 (July, 1997 - )


The Persian Bayan of Sayyid `Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the Bab

1.2

trans. Dr. Denis MacEoin





The Second Chapter of the First Unity

The substance of this chapter is that Muhammad and the manifestations of
his self have returned to the world. They were the first servants who
presented themselves before God on the Day of Judgement and who, after
confessing to His singleness, brought the verses of His Gate to all men.
And God made them Imams, according to His promise in the Qur'an: 'We desire
to show Our bounty unto them that have been brought low upon the earth, and
to make them Imams and to render them the inheritors'.

By that same proof whereby the prophethood of Muhammad was established in
days gone by, his return to the world has been made clear in the eyes of
God and those who possess knowledge. That proof consists of the verses of
God, verses whose like cannot be produced by all who dwell on the earth.
There can be no doubt that the honour of the servant consists in affirming
the singleness of his Lord, in recognizing Him, in confessing to His
justice, in obedience to Him, and in (obtaining) His good-pleasure. Nor is
there any doubt that these holy souls attained to the essence of all
exaltation and grandeur before all other men. For any being endowed with
spirit who reflects will see no glory in anything except in the
good-pleasure of God. There can be no doubt that they were the first lights
to bow down before God, to accept the verses that had been sent down upon
His Gate, and to spread them abroad among men. There is no exaltation
higher than this in the world of creation, than for man's heart to show the
way to God, and for him to never to be veiled from his Beloved, even for so
much as a ninth of a ninth of a tenth of a tenth of a ninth part.

For whatever any soul may perform during its lifetime, it seeks for nothing
but the good-pleasure of God, since that is the ultimate goal to which all
things aspire. Nor can there be any doubt but that God's good-pleasure is
no revealed in anything but the contentment of that individual to whom God
has given His proof. Nor can there be any doubt that these holy lights were
content with God's good-pleasure before anything else came into existence.
This is the highest exaltation, above all other exaltation, and the most
splendid elevation, above all other elevation. No doubt is there that their
return in the second revelation is mightier in God's sight that their first
appearance in days gone by.

In this day, the station of the Imam (wilaya ) is established by the very
same thing that established the station of the Prophet in former days, even
though the manifestation of the Point of the Bayan is absolutely identical
with that of Muhammad, which has been brought back to life. Nevertheless,
since he has appeared in the (form of the) revelation of God Himself, all
the names beneath his shadow are God's tokens, for he is the First and the
Last, the Outward and the Inward, and the Beautiful Names belong to him.
In this dispensation (kur ), God has singled out their names as the Letters
of the Living, for there were fourteen holy souls, as well as the hidden
and guarded name, which is known by the names of the Four Gates, or the
Lights of the Throne, or the Bearers of Creation, Sustenance, Death, and
Life. All of these together form the number of 'the Living' (hayy ) , who
were the nearest of the Names to God.

All others were guided by their guidance, for God started the creation of
the Bayan through them, and through them He shall cause it to return. They
were the lights that bowed themselves down from all eternity before God's
Throne, and they are still there in prostration. In every revelation, they
have been known to God by a (different) name, and in every revelation their
physical names have been altered. But the names of their real selves, which
are God's tokens, which are manifest in their hearts, and without which
they would be unable to present themselves before God in the nearness of
their realities, have ever been and continue to be (exactly the same).
God possesses Names infinite and without end, but all things have been
illumined by these names, for all things are guided by their guidance.
Within the hearts of these names, nothing but God can be seen; indeed,
within the heart of any believer whatseover, be it man or woman, nothing
can be seen but that name through which the heart receives assistance from
God, and in that name nothing can be seen but God and God alone, except
that creation and command are His, in the past and in the future. No God is
there save He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting. Every soul who has been a
believer in Muhammad or in someone other than him, has returned in his
shadow. Each one shall have his reward for what he has done. God is witness
over all things.



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