- 2.18 -

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Stretch not Thy hands wide open in the Cause, inasmuch as the people would find themselves in a state of stupor by reason of the Mystery, and I swear by the true, Almighty God that there is yet for Thee another turn after this Dispensation.

And when the appointed hour hath struck, do Thou, by the leave of God, the All-Wise, reveal from the heights of the Most Lofty and Mystic Mount a faint, an infinitesimal glimmer of Thy impenetrable Mystery, that they who have recognized the radiance of the Sinaic Splendor may faint away and die as they catch a lightning glimpse of the fierce and crimson Light that envelops Thy Revelation. And God is, in very truth, Thine unfailing Protector.

Chapter XXVIII.

- 2.19 -

O people of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious honor which the supreme Remembrance of God hath conferred upon you? Verily ye have been especially favored by God through this mighty Word. Then do not withdraw from the sanctuary of His presence, for, by the righteousness of the One true God, He is none other than the sovereign Truth from God; He is the most exalted One and the Source of all wisdom, as decreed in the Mother Book.…

O peoples of the earth! Cleave ye tenaciously to the Cord of the All-Highest God, which is but this Arabian Youth, Our Remembrance — He Who standeth concealed at the point of ice amidst the ocean of fire.

Chapter XXIX.

- 2.20 -

O people of the earth! By the righteousness of the One true God, I am the Maid of Heaven begotten by the Spirit of Bahá, abiding within the Mansion hewn out of a mass of ruby, tender and vibrant; and in this mighty Paradise naught have I ever witnessed save that which proclaimeth the Remembrance of God by extolling the virtues of this Arabian Youth. Verily there is none other God but your Lord, the All-Merciful. Magnify ye, then, His station, for behold, He is poised in the midmost heart of the All-Highest Paradise as the embodiment of the praise of God in the Tabernacle wherein His glorification is intoned.

At one time I hear His Voice as He acclaimeth Him Who is the Ever-Living, the Ancient of Days, and at another time as He speaketh of the mystery of His most august Name. And when He intoneth the anthems of the greatness of God all Paradise waileth in its longing to gaze on His Beauty, and when He chanteth words of praise and glorification of God all Paradise becomes motionless like unto ice locked in the heart of a frost-bound mountain. Methinks I visioned Him moving along a straight middle path wherein every paradise was His Own paradise, every heaven His Own heaven, while the whole earth and all that is therein appeared but as a ring upon the finger of His servants. Glorified be God, His Creator, the Lord of everlasting sovereignty. Verily He is none other but the servant of God, the Gate of the Remnant of God your Lord, the Sovereign Truth.

Chapter XXIX.

- 2.21 -

O Thou the Supreme Word of God! Fear not, nor be Thou grieved, for indeed unto such as have responded to Thy Call, whether men or women, We have assured forgiveness of sins, as known in the presence of the Best-Beloved and in conformity with what Thou desirest. Verily His knowledge embraceth all things. I adjure Thee by My life, set Thy face towards Me and be not apprehensive. Verily Thou art the Exalted One among the Celestial Concourse, and Thy hidden Mystery hath, of a truth, been recorded upon the Tablet of creation in the midst of the Burning Bush. Erelong God will bestow upon Thee rulership over all men, inasmuch as His rule transcendeth the whole of creation.

Chapter XXXI.

- 2.22 -

O concourse of Shí‘ihs! Fear ye God and Our Cause which concerneth Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance of God. For great is its fire, as decreed in the Mother Book.

Chapter XL.

- 2.23 -

Recite ye as much as convenient from this Qur’án both at morn and at eventide, and chant the verses of this Book, by the leave of the eternal God, in the sweet accents of this Bird which warbleth its melody in the vault of heaven.

Chapter XLI.

- 2.24 -

Issue forth from your cities, O peoples of the West and aid God ere the Day when the Lord of mercy shall come down unto you in the shadow of the clouds with the angels circling around Him, exalting His praise and seeking forgiveness for such as have truly believed in Our signs. Verily His decree hath been issued, and the command of God, as given in the Mother Book, hath indeed been revealed.…

Become as true brethren in the one and indivisible religion of God, free from distinction, for verily God desireth that your hearts should become mirrors unto your brethren in the Faith, so that ye find yourselves reflected in them, and they in you. This is the true Path of God, the Almighty, and He is indeed watchful over your actions..

Chapter XLVI.

- 2.25 -

O ye peoples of the earth! Hearken unto My call, ringing forth from the precincts of this sacred Tree — a Tree set ablaze by the pre-existent Fire: There is no God but Him; He is the Exalted, the All-Wise. O ye the servants of the Merciful One! Enter ye, one and all, through this Gate and follow not the steps of the Evil One, for he prompteth you to walk in the ways of impiety and wickedness; he is, in truth, your declared enemy.

Chapter LI.

- 2.26 -

Be Thou patient, O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, for God hath indeed pledged to establish Thy sovereignty throughout all countries and over the people that dwell therein. He is God and verily He is powerful over all things.

Chapter LIII.

- 2.27 -

By My glory! I will make the infidels to taste, with the hands of My power, retributions unknown of anyone except Me, and will waft over the faithful those musk-scented breaths which I have nursed in the midmost heart of My throne; and verily the knowledge of God embraceth all things.

O concourse of light! By the righteousness of God, We speak not according to selfish desire, nor hath a single letter of this Book been revealed save by the leave of God, the Sovereign Truth. Fear ye God and entertain no doubts regarding His Cause, for verily, the Mystery of this Gate is shrouded in the mystic utterances of His Writ and hath been written beyond the impenetrable veil of concealment by the hand of God, the Lord of the visible and the invisible.

Indeed God hath created everywhere around this Gate oceans of divine elixir, tinged crimson with the essence of existence and vitalized through the animating power of the desired fruit; and for them God hath provided Arks of ruby, tender, crimson-colored, wherein none shall sail but the people of Bahá, by the leave of God, the Most Exalted; and verily He is the All-Glorious, the All-Wise.

Chapter LVII.

- 2.28 -

The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom there is none other God, and I am indeed the Ancient of Days.…

O people of the Kingdom! By the righteousness of the true God, if ye remain steadfast upon this line which standeth upright between the two lines, ye shall, in very truth, quaff the living waters from the Fountain of this wondrous Revelation as proffered by the hand of His Remembrance.…

I swear by your true Lord, by Him Who is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth, that the divine Promise concerning His Remembrance is naught but the sovereign truth and, as decreed in the Mother Book, it shall come to pass.…

Say, O peoples of the earth! Were ye to assemble together in order to produce the like of a single letter of my works, ye would never be able to do so, and verily God is cognizant of all things.…

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Say: Behold! Verily the Moon hath faded; verily the night hath retreated; verily the dawn hath brightened; verily the command of God, your true Lord, hath been accomplished.…

Out of utter nothingness, O great and omnipotent Master, Thou hast, through the celestial potency of Thy might, brought me forth and raised me up to proclaim this Revelation. I have made none other but Thee my trust; I have clung to no will but Thy Will. Thou art, in truth, the All-Sufficing and behind Thee standeth the true God, He Who overshadoweth all things. Indeed sufficient unto Me is God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Sustainer.

Chapter LVIII.

- 2.29 -

O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love. Sufficient witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient of Days.

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! The words Thou hast uttered in this momentous Call have grieved me bitterly. However, the irrevocable decision resteth with none but God and the decree proceedeth from none save Him alone. By my life, Thou art the Well-Beloved in the sight of God and His creation. Verily, there is no power except in God, and sufficient witness unto me is your Lord, Who is, in very truth, the Omnipotent Avenger.

Chapter LVIII.

- 2.30 -

O peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of God, this Book hath, through the potency of the sovereign Truth, pervaded the earth and the heaven with the mighty Word of God concerning Him Who is the supreme Testimony, the Expected Qá’im, and verily God hath knowledge of all things. This divinely inspired Book hath firmly established His Proof for all those who are in the East and in the West, hence beware lest ye utter aught but the truth regarding God, for I swear by your Lord that this supreme Proof of Mine beareth witness unto all things.…

O servants of God! Be ye patient, for, God grant, He Who is the sovereign Truth will suddenly appear amongst you, invested with the power of the mighty Word, and ye shall then be confounded by the Truth itself, and ye shall have no power to ward it off; and verily I am a witness over all mankind.

Chapter LIX.

- 2.31 -

Verily such as ridicule the wondrous, divine Verses revealed through His Remembrance, are but making themselves the objects of ridicule, and We, in truth, aid them to wax in their iniquity. Indeed God’s knowledge transcendeth all created things.…

The infidels, of a truth, seek to separate God from His Remembrance, but God hath determined to perfect His Light through His Remembrance, and indeed He is potent over all things.…

Verily, Christ is Our Word which We communicated unto Mary; and let no one say what the Christians term as “the third of three,” inasmuch as it would amount to slandering the Remembrance Who, as decreed in the Mother Book, is invested with supreme authority. Indeed God is but one God, and far be it from His glory that there should be aught else besides Him. All those who shall attain unto Him on the Day of Resurrection are but His servants, and God is, of a truth, a sufficient Protector. Verily I am none other but the servant of God and His Word, and none but the first one to bow down in supplication before God, the Most Exalted; and indeed God witnesseth all things.

Chapter LXI.

- 2.32 -

O people of the Qur’án! Ye are as nothing unless ye submit unto the Remembrance of God and unto this Book. If ye follow the Cause of God, We will forgive you your sins, and if ye turn aside from Our command, We will, in truth, condemn your souls in Our Book, unto the Most Great Fire. We, verily, do not deal unjustly with men, even to the extent of a speck on a date-stone.

Chapter LXII.

- 2.33 -

O peoples of the earth! Verily the resplendent Light of God hath appeared in your midst, invested with this unerring Book, that ye may be guided aright to the ways of peace and, by the leave of God, step out of the darkness into the light and onto this far-extended Path of Truth.

God hath, out of sheer nothingness and through the potency of His command, created the heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them. He is single and peerless in His eternal unity with none to join partner with His holy Essence, nor is there any soul, except His Own Self, who can befittingly comprehend Him.…

O peoples of the earth! Verily His Remembrance is come to you from God after an interval during which there were no Messengers, that He may purge and purify you from uncleanliness in anticipation of the Day of the One true God; therefore seek ye wholeheartedly divine blessings from Him, inasmuch as We have, in truth, chosen Him to be the Witness and the Source of wisdom unto all that dwell on earth.…

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Proclaim that which hath been sent down unto Thee as a token of the grace of the merciful Lord, for if Thou do it not, Our secret will never be made known to the people, while the purpose of God in creating man is but for him to know Him. Indeed God hath knowledge of all things and is self-sufficient above the need of all mankind.

Chapter LXII.

- 2.34 -

Whenever the faithful hear the verses of this Book being recited, their eyes will overflow with tears and their hearts will be deeply touched by Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance for the love they cherish for God, the All-Praised. He is God, the All-Knowing, the Eternal. They are indeed the inmates of the all-highest Paradise wherein they will abide forever. Verily they will see naught therein save that which hath proceeded from God, nothing that will lie beyond the compass of their understanding. There they will meet the believers in Paradise, who will address them with the words “Peace, Peace” lingering on their lips.…

O concourse of the faithful! Incline your ears to My Voice, proclaimed by this Remembrance of God. Verily God hath revealed unto Me that the Path of the Remembrance which is set forth by Me is, in very truth, the straight Path of God, and that whoever professeth any religion other than this upright Faith, will, when called to account on the Day of Judgment, discover that as recorded in the Book no benefit hath he reaped out of God’s Religion.…

Fear ye God, O concourse of kings, lest ye remain afar from Him Who is His Remembrance [the Báb], after the Truth hath come unto you with a Book and signs from God, as spoken through the wondrous tongue of Him Who is His Remembrance. Seek ye grace from God, for God hath ordained for you, after ye have believed in Him, a Garden the vastness of which is as the vastness of the whole of Paradise. Therein ye shall find naught save the gifts and favors which the Almighty hath graciously bestowed by virtue of this momentous Cause, as decreed in the Mother Book.

Chapter LXIII.

- 2.35 -

O Spirit of God! Call Thou to mind the bounty which I bestowed upon Thee when I conversed with Thee in the midmost heart of My Sanctuary and aided Thee through the potency of the Holy Spirit that Thou mightest, as the peerless Mouthpiece of God, proclaim unto men the commandments of God which lie enshrined within the divine Spirit.

Verily God hath inspired Thee with divine verses and wisdom while still a child and hath graciously deigned to bestow His favor upon the peoples of the world through the influence of Thy Most Great Name, for indeed men have not the least knowledge of the Book.

Chapter LXIII.

- 2.36 -

O people of the earth! To attain the ultimate retreat in God, the True One, are we to seek a Gate other than this exalted Being?…

When God created the Remembrance He presented Him to the assemblage of all created beings upon the altar of His Will. Thereupon the concourse of the angels bowed low in adoration to God, the Peerless, the Incomparable; while Satan waxed proud, refusing to submit to His Remembrance; hence he is identified in the Book of God as the arrogant one and the accursed.

Chapter LXVII.

- 2.37 -

God, besides Whom there is none other true God, saith: Indeed, whoso visiteth the Remembrance of God after His passing, it is as though he hath attained the presence of the Lord, seated upon His mighty Throne. Verily this is the Way of God, the Most Exalted, which hath been irrevocably decreed in the Mother Book.…

Say, O peoples of the world! Do ye dispute with Me about God by virtue of the names which ye and your fathers have adopted for Him at the promptings of the Evil One? God hath indeed sent down this Book unto Me with truth that ye may be enabled to recognize the true names of God, inasmuch as ye have strayed in error far from the Truth. Verily We have taken a covenant from every created thing upon its coming into being concerning the Remembrance of God, and there shall be none to avert the binding command of God for the purification of mankind, as ordained in the Book which is written by the hand of the Báb.

Chapter LXVIII.

- 2.38 -

The people, during the absence of the Báb, re-enacted the episode of the Calf by setting up a blaring figure which embodied animal features in human form.

Whenever the people ask Thee of the appointed Hour say: Verily the knowledge of it is only with My Lord, Who is the Knower of the unseen. There is none other God but Him — He Who hath created you from a single soul, and I have no control over what profiteth Me or harmeth Me, but as My Lord pleaseth. Indeed God is Self-Sufficient and He, My Lord, standeth supreme over all things.

Chapter LXIX.

- 2.39 -

Doth it seem strange to the people that We should have revealed the Book to a man from among themselves in order to purge them and give them the good tidings that they shall be rewarded with a sure stance in the presence of their Lord? He indeed beareth witness unto all things.…

When the verses of this Book are recited to the infidels they say: “Give us a book like the Qur’án and make changes in the verses.” Say: “God hath not given Me that I should change them at My pleasure.” I follow only what is revealed unto Me. Verily, I shall fear My Lord on the Day of Separation, whose advent He hath, in very truth, irrevocably ordained.

Chapter LXXI.

- 2.40 -

O peoples of the earth! Verily the true God calleth saying: He Who is the Remembrance is indeed the sovereign Truth from God, and naught remaineth beyond truth but error, and naught is there beyond error save fire, irrevocably ordained.…

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Point to Thy truthful breast through the power of truth and exclaim: I swear by the One true God, herein lieth the vicegerency of God; I am indeed the One Who is regarded as the Best Reward and I am indeed He Who is the Most Excellent Abode.

Chapter LXXII.

- 2.41 -

O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of denial against Me once the Truth is made manifest, for indeed the mandate of the Báb hath befittingly been proclaimed unto you in the Qur’án aforetime. I swear by your Lord, this Book is verily the same Qur’án which was sent down in the past.

Chapter LXXXI.

- 2.42 -

O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the melodies of this mystic Bird warbling in the loftiest heights of heaven. The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me to proclaim: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom there is none other God. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.

O My servants! Seek ye earnestly this highest reward, as I have indeed created for the Remembrance of God gardens which remain inscrutable to anyone save Myself, and naught therein hath been made lawful unto anyone except those whose lives have been sacrificed in His Path. Hence beseech ye God, the Most Exalted, that He may grant you this meritorious reward, and He is in truth the Most High, the Most Great. Had it been Our wish, We would have brought all men into one fold round Our Remembrance, yet they will not cease to differ, unless God accomplish what He willeth through the power of truth. In the estimation of the Remembrance this commandment hath, in very truth, been irrevocably ordained.…

God hath indeed chosen Thee to warn the people, to guide the believers aright and to elucidate the secrets of the Book.

LXXXV.

- 2.43 -

Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of Our Cause.…

Truly other apostles have been laughed to scorn before Thee, and Thou art none other but the Servant of God, sustained by the power of Truth. Erelong We shall prolong the days of such as have rejected the Truth by reason of that which their hands have wrought, and verily God will not deal unjustly with anyone, even to the extent of a speck on a date-stone.

Chapter LXXXVII.

- 2.44 -

O ye peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of God, the True One, the testimony shown forth by His Remembrance is like unto a sun which the hand of the merciful Lord hath raised high in the midmost heart of the heaven, wherefrom it shineth in the plenitude of its meridian splendor.…

With each and every Prophet Whom We have sent down in the past, We have established a separate Covenant concerning the Remembrance of God and His Day. Manifest, in the realm of glory and through the power of truth, are the Remembrance of God and His Day before the eyes of the angels that circle His mercy-seat.

Chapter XCI.

- 2.45 -

O hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the divine Luminary sheddeth its radiance from the Dayspring of this Gate, call thou to mind that the appointed Day of God will indeed be at hand in less than the twinkling of an eye. Thus hath the decree of God been issued in the Mother Book.

Chapter XCIV.

- 2.46 -

O concourse of the faithful! Verily the object of each and every sign revealed by God in the Scriptures or in the world at large or in the hearts of men is but to make them fully realize that this Remembrance is indeed the True One from God. Verily God is cognizant of all things through the power of eternal Truth.…

O ye that circle the throne of glory! Hearken unto My Call which is raised from the midst of the Burning Bush, “Verily I am God and there is none other God but Me. Hence worship Me, and for the sake of Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance, offer ye prayers, purged from the insinuations of the people, for verily your Lord, the One true God, is none other than the Sovereign Truth. Indeed such as invoke others besides Him are deservedly numbered among the inmates of the fire, while He Who is the Remembrance of God verily abideth, firm and undeviating, on the Path of Truth amidst the Burning Bush.…”

O peoples of the earth! Inflict not upon the Most Great Remembrance what the Umayyads cruelly inflicted upon Ḥusayn in the Holy Land. By the righteousness of God, the True One, He is indeed the Eternal Truth, and unto Him God, verily, is a witness.

Chapter XVII.

- 2.47 -