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baha

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Consider Hippocrates, the physician. He was one of the eminent
philosophers who believed in God and acknowledged His sovereignty. After
him came Socrates who was indeed wise, accomplished and righteous. He
practised self-denial, repressed his appetites for selfish desires and
turned away from material pleasures. He withdrew to the mountains where he
dwelt in a cave. He dissuaded men from worshipping idols and taught them
the way of God, the Lord of Mercy, until the ignorant rose up against him.
They arrested him and put him to death in prison. Thus relateth to thee
this swift-moving Pen. What a penetrating vision into philosophy this
eminent man had! He is the most distinguished of all philosophers and was
highly versed in wisdom. We testify that he is one of the heroes in this
field and an outstanding champion dedicated unto it. He had a profound
knowledge of such sciences as were current amongst men as well as of those
which were veiled from their minds. Methinks he drank one draught when the
Most Great Ocean overflowed with gleaming and life-giving waters. He it is
who perceived a unique, a tempered, and a pervasive nature in things,
bearing the closest likeness to the human spirit, and he discovered this
nature to be distinct from the substance of things in their refined form.
He hath a special pronouncement on this weighty theme. Wert thou to ask
from the worldly wise of this generation about this exposition, thou
wouldst witness their incapacity to grasp it. Verily, thy Lord speaketh
the truth but most people comprehend not.
After Socrates came the divine Plato who was a pupil of the former and
occupied the chair of philosophy as his successor. He acknowledged his
belief in God and in His signs which pervade all that hath been and shall
be. Then came Aristotle, the well-known man of knowledge. He it is who
discovered the power of gaseous matter. These men who stand out as leaders
of the people and are pre-eminent among them, one and all acknowledged
their belief in the immortal Being Who holdeth in His grasp the reins of
all sciences.
I will also mention for thee the invocation voiced by Bálinus who was
familiar with the theories put forward by the Father of Philosophy
regarding the mysteries of creation as given in his chrysolite tablets,
that everyone may be fully assured of the things We have elucidated for
thee in this manifest Tablet, which, if pressed with the hand of fairness
and knowledge, will yield the spirit of life for the quickening of all
created things. Great is the blessedness of him who swimmeth in this ocean
and celebrateth the praise of his Lord, the Gracious, the Best-Beloved.
Indeed the breezes of divine revelation are diffused from the verses of
thy Lord in such wise that no one can dispute its truth, except those who
are bereft of hearing, of vision, of understanding and of every human
faculty. Verily thy Lord beareth witness unto this, yet the people
understand not.
This man hath said: ‘I am Bálinus, the wise one, the performer of wonders,
the producer of talismans.’ He surpassed everyone else in the diffusion of
arts and sciences and soared unto the loftiest heights of humility and
supplication. Give ear unto that which he hath said, entreating the
All-Possessing, the Most Exalted: ‘I stand in the presence of my Lord,
extolling His gifts and bounties and praising Him with that wherewith He
praiseth His Own Self, that I may become a source of blessing and guidance
unto such men as acknowledge my words.’ And further he saith: ‘O Lord!
Thou art God and no God is there but Thee. Thou art the Creator and no
creator is there except Thee. Assist me by Thy grace and strengthen me. My
heart is seized with alarm, my limbs tremble, I have lost my reason and my
mind hath failed me. Bestow upon me strength and enable my tongue to speak
forth with wisdom.’ And still further he saith: ‘Thou art in truth the
Knowing, the Wise, the Powerful, the Compassionate.’ It was this man of
wisdom who became informed of the mysteries of creation and discerned the
subtleties which lie enshrined in the Hermetic writings.(53)
We have no wish to mention anything further but We shall utter that which
the Spirit hath instilled into My heart. In truth there is no God but Him,
the Knowing, the Mighty, the Help in Peril, the Most Excellent, the
All-Praised. By My life! In this Day the celestial Tree is loath to
proclaim aught else to the world but this affirmation: ‘Verily, there is
none other God but Me, the Peerless, the All-Informed.’
Had it not been for the love I cherish for thee, I would not have uttered
a single word of what hath been mentioned. Appreciate the value of this
station and preserve it as thou wouldst thine eye and be of them that are
truly thankful.
Thou knowest full well that We perused not the books which men possess and
We acquired not the learning current amongst them, and yet whenever We
desire to quote the sayings of the learned and of the wise,(54) presently
there will appear before the face of thy Lord in the form of a tablet all
that which hath appeared in the world and is revealed in the Holy Books
and Scriptures. Thus do We set down in writing that which the eye
perceiveth. Verily His knowledge encompasseth the earth and the heavens.
This is a Tablet wherein the Pen of the Unseen hath inscribed the
knowledge of all that hath been and shall be—a knowledge that none other
but My wondrous Tongue can interpret. Indeed My heart as it is in itself
hath been purged by God from the concepts of the learned and is sanctified
from the utterances of the wise. In truth naught doth it mirror forth but
the revelations of God. Unto this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur
in this perspicuous Book.
Say, O people of the earth! Beware lest any reference to wisdom debar you
from its Source or withhold you from the Dawning-Place thereof. Fix your
hearts upon your Lord, the Educator, the All-Wise.
For every land We have prescribed a portion, for every occasion an
allotted share, for every pronouncement an appointed time and for every
situation an apt remark. Consider Greece. We made it a Seat of Wisdom for
a prolonged period. However, when the appointed hour struck, its throne
was subverted, its tongue ceased to speak, its light grew dim and its