The Tablet of the Divine Theophany (Lawḥ-t liqā’),
"The Lawh-i Liqa' (Tablet of the Divine Theophany)"
Arabic text in Makatib-i Hadrat-i `Abd al-Baha' Vol.1:102-108.
Lambden Trans. January, 2017
He is al-Abha
(The All-Glorious)
[1] Praised be to God Who hath divulged His Splendour (tajalla) unto Moses, the Speaker (al-kalim) in the Blessed Spot (al-buq`a al-mubaraka), the Holy Land (al-ard al-muqaddisa), the Vale of Security (tur al-ayman), the Vale of Tuwa, Mount Sinai (jabal Sina')!
[2] And He shone forth unto Jesus, the Messiah (al-masih) in the sacnctified Locale (bariyyat al-muqaddas), the Holy Vale (wadi al-muqaddas), Mount Seir (jabal sa`ir), the Snow-White Spot (al-buq`at al-bayda') and the Apex of Luminosity (al-`adwat al-nura')!
[3] And He was made manifest unto Muhammad, the Beloved One (al-habib) in the Paran of Love (faran al-hubb), the Dawning-Place of the Lights (matla` al-anwar), the Brilliant Apex of the scriptural Configurations (mashriq al-athar), the Batha' [`Open Plain' = Mecca] of the Spirit (batha' al-ruh), the Yathrib [Medina] of the Mysteries (yathrib al-asrar), the Theophanic Radiance evident throughout the four celestial Streams [in Paradise] (zuhur al-diya' fi rabi`at al-nahar)! [4] He shed luminosity and radianted forth in the transcendent Sphere of Being (kaynuniyyat al- a`la), the Quintessential Essence of Laudation (dhatiyyat al-thana'), the Niche of the Supreme Concourse (misbah al-mala' al-a`la), the Primal Point [Locus] of the Horizon of the Divine Unity (al-nuqtat al-awwali ufuq al-tawhid). [5] Then did He tear asunder the veil of things unseen (sitr al-ghayub), He caused tyrannical ways (zallam) and darkness to abate, and enabled the splendors of the locus of transfiguration (subuhat al-majalla) to be disclosed through the Sun of the Divine Theophany [Manifestation] (shams al-zuhur). He raised aloft the coverings (al-niqab), shattered the clouds (al-sahab), and negated of the veils (al-hijab).
Such was the Promised Day of Return (yawm al-i'yab al-maw`ud) anticipated within every sacred writing (suhuf), scriptural work (zubur) and Book (kitab), The Almighty One (al-`aziz), the Bestower (al-wahhab) revealed these things during bygone centuries, ages and epochs (salaf al-qurun wa'l-duhur wa'l-ahqab). Wherefore did the Light of the Divine Beauty (nur al-jamal) shine forth, express radiance, shed luminosity and break forth within the Temple of the Divine Glory (haykal al-jalal) such that the All-Merciful was established upon the Throne of the Realms of Being (`arsh al-akwan), Thereat did the Sun of Reality (shams al-haqiqat)
Revised Translation Stephen Lambden, November 2017
IN PROGRESS
He is the All Glorious
Praise be to God who manifested His glory (tajallī) unto Moses, the Speaker (al-kalīm) in the Blessed Spot, the Holy Land, the Right-Hand side of the Mount (al-ṭūr), the Valley of Towa (wādī ṭuwā, Q. 20:12; 79:16), Mount Sinai. He shone forth in the sacred Locale (burriyyat al-quds), the Sacred Vale (wādī al-muqaddas), Mount Seir (jabal sā`īr), the Snow-White Spot (al-buq`at al-bayḍā’), the Luminous Shore (al-`udwat al-nūrā’) upon Jesus, the Messiah. And He was made manifest in the Parān of Love (fārā al-ḥubb), the Resplendent Rising Point of the Lights (maṭla` al anwār), the Dawning-Place of the Divine Traces (mashriq al-āthār) in the Baṭḥā’ (= Mecca) of the Spirit (al-rūḥ). He caused the drinking deep of the divine Mysteries (al-asrār) and manifested the Radiant Light (al-ḍiyā’) in the four Edenic Streams (rābi`at al-nahār), upon Muhammad, the Beloved One (al-ḥabīb).
Wherefore, did He also cause to shine forth and radiate within the Elevated Realms of Being (kayuūniyyat al-`aliyy), the Quintessence of Laudation (dhātiyyat al-thanā’), the Niche of the Supreme Concourse (miṣbāḥ al-malā’ al-a`lā), the Primordial Point [the Bāb] (al-nuqṭat al-ulyā / awwalī) and the Horizon of the Divine Unity (ufq al-tawḥīd). Then did He split asunder the veil from the Hidden Realms (sitr al-ghuyūb), shatter aside the gloomy-darkness of oppression (ẓilām al-dayjūr), uncover the weighty hybris of self-glorification (al-subūḥāt al-mujallat) surrounding the Sun of the Divine Theophany [Dispensation] (shams al-ẓuhūr). He raised aloft the heavy veil (al-niqāb), scattered abroad the enveloping clouds (al-saḥāb) and split-asunder the enveloping veil (al-hijāb) such that the Promised Day of Return (yawm al-ayāb) mentioned in all the sacred scrolls (al-ṣuḥuf) and writings (zubr) would come to pass. And the Almighty, the Benefactor, sent down a Book (kitāb) at the confluence of the preceding centuries (al-qurūn), eras (al-duhūr) and extended periods of time (al-aḥqāb).
The Light of the Divine Beauty dawned-forth, radiated, glimmered brilliantly, and shone brightly in the Temple of Glory (nūr al-jamāl fī haykal al-jalāl). The All-Merciful was thus established upon the Throne of the Realms of Being (`arsh al-akwān) at which the Sun of Reality (shams al-ḥaqīqat) beamed forth and sparkled brilliantly above the Horizons of Being (āfāq al-imkān)
Then did the Bahā’ (Glory) of the heavens and of the earth become established in the world of both the Unseen and that which is evident. So may the glory and the laudation, the salutation and the peace, be bestowed upon the sacred Realities (ḥaqā’iq al-muqaddasa) and a grace- bestowing power be made manifest from the Pre-Existent Bounty (fayḍ al-qidam). May such be befittingly ennobled through the Lights which shone forth from His Greatest Name (ismihi al-a`ẓam) and thus cause holy souls to be attracted by the sanctified breezes of God (nafaḥāt Allāh). And may they hearken unto the melodies of the Dove which warbleth forth in the [Midianite] Thicket of Laudation (ayk al-thanā’) (cf. Q. 15:78f) and be made to be blaze brilliantly through the Fire ignited in the [Lote-Tree] Sidra of Sinai (sidrat al-sīnā’). This such that they may attain unto the Day of the Divine Theophany [Meeting with God] (yawm al-liqā’)! So render ye thanks unto God for having bestowed upon thee these particular Divine Bounties (al-fayūḍāt) especially set aside for the nuqabā’ (noble chiefs) and the nujabā’ (lofty sages). Such that is, as are never overtaken by any vile reproach regarding their constancy in the Covenant of God (mīthāq Allāh) nor regarding their firm grasp of the Covenant (al-`ahd) inscribed by the Supreme Pen (al-qalam al-a`lā). Is it not clear that they are among the chosen ones of God (awliyā’ Allāh)? Is it not that they are among such as have attained?
Now O thou glorious questioner inclined in the direction of the Mighty Kingdom (al-malakūt al-`aẓīm)! Know that the aforementioned beatific vision on the Day of God (ru’yat fī yawm Allāh) is mentioned in all the scriptural scrolls (al-ṣaḥā’if) and sacred writ (al-zubr); in the tablets (al-alwāḥ) which have been sent down from heaven unto the prophets (al-anbiyā’) throughout ancient times (ghābir al-azām), during bygone eras (al-`uṣūr al-khāliyya), and from the primordial centuries (al-qurūn al-awwaliyya). Every single prophet (nabīyy) among the prophets (al-anbiyā’) announced unto his people the glad-tidings of the Day of the Theophany [Meeting with God] (yawm al-liqā’). Consider then the specific references found in the Gospels (al-injīl), the Psalms (al-zubūr), the Torah [Pentateuch] (al-tawrat) and the Qur’ān.
God Himself says in the Qur’ān : ”Know ye that thou shall indeed meet Him (mulqū-hu)!” (Q.2:223b) on the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyāma)”. And also He says [in the Qur’ān], “Lost indeed are such as cried lies to the Meeting (liqā’) with their Lord (rabb) [God]” (Q. 6:31; 10:45; 23:33; 30:8b; 32:10; 41:54, etc). And again He says [in the Qur’ān], ”Perchance thou might be assured about the Meeting (liqā’) with thy Lord (rabb)” (Q. 13:2b. cf. 6:154, etc). In a tradition (ḥadīth) transmitted by no less than twenty-one of the companions (ṣaḥāba) [of the Prophet Muhammad], it is stated that the Messenger of God (rasūl Allāh) [Muhammad] (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, “Thou shall indeed see thy Lord (rabb), just as thou see the full-moon (al-badr) on its fourteenth night” (see the versions in al-Bukharī and Muslim, etc). And he [Imam] `Alī [ibn Abī Ṭālib, d. 40/661] said [in his Khuṭba al-ṭuṭunjiyya, `Sermon of the Gulf’]: “I saw God and Paradise (Allāh wa’l-afrīdaws) with the vision of the eye (bi-rā’ al-`ayn)”. He also says, “I saw Him and I understood Him, hence I served Him for I never did serve a Lord that I could not see” ….
Now as regards the essence of the enquiry [about the eschatological Theophany] and the reality of the matter, it is that the Liqā’ (Meeting with God) is a matter clearly proven, firmly established and specifically set down in the sacred scrolls (al-ṣuḥuf) and the scriptural Tablets (alwāḥ) of the Living One (al-ḥayy), al-Qayyūm (the Deity Self-Subsisting). This is assuredly the sealed wine (al-raḥīq al-makhtūm) whose seal is of musk …
The Paradise of the Encounter with God (Jannat al-liqa’) is the Most Elevated [Babi] Paradise and the All-Glorious [Baha'i] Kingdom (malakūt al-abhā)