Baha'-Allah - Lawh-i Madinat al-Tawhid (The Tablet of the City of the Divine Unity).

THE

لوح مدينة التوحيد

LAWḤ-I MADĪNAT AL-TAWḤĪD

(THE TABLET OF THE CITY OF THE DIVINE UNITY)

OF

MIRZA HUSAYN `ALI NURI BAHA’-ALLAH (1817-1892 CE).

Completed trans. Stephen N. Lambden, UC Merced. 2006 + 2015 + 2021.

Last revised 01-01-2021

Translated from the Arabic Text printed in Ma'idih 4:313ff   + MAM:307-315+ INBMC 36:396-401...

هو

البهى البهى الابهى

 He is the Splendid, the Splendid, the Most Splendidly radiant.

This is the City of Divine Unity (madīnat al-tawḥīd) .

Enter ye therein, O concourse of the believers in Divine Unity! (mawḥidīn), so that ye may, on account of the glad-tidings of the Spirit  (bisharāt al-rūḥ), be numbered among such as are endowed with mystic insight. ^[1]

He is the Mighty, the One, the Elevated, the Transcendent, the

These are the verses of the Book. I have distinguished its verses making them wondrous, without error as befits the signs of God; [Ma'idih 4:314] a guidance, a light and a remembrance unto whomsoever are resident in the heavens or on the earth. Therein are contained that which will draw the people nigh unto the court of sanctity. It, furthermore, is a Book wherein is contained every  mighty directive ("Cause", amr).  It, in truth, was sent down on the part of One Wise, Knowing. 

"Hearken unto the Day when the Herald raiseth His Call in the midmost heart of the immortal realm, when the Dove of Hijāz warbleth from the land of `Irāq summoning all unto concord, and when the gate of heaven is flung open before the face of the entire creation. This is the Day that shall not be overtaken by the gloom of night, as the sun receiveth its light therefrom, inasmuch as this Day is illumined by the splendour of His radiant face.  By the righteousness of God! At that moment a holy and new earth is spread out at the behest of God, the Omnipotent the Mighty, the Inaccessible" (text Ma'idih 4:326-7; trans. Taherzadeh, BW XIV: 627)

Section translated by Shoghi Effendi GWB:XXVI : 60-64+ GPB:245.

^{Text and transliteraion added Lambden.}

"Praise be to God, the All-Possessing, the King of incomparable glory, a praise which is immeasurably above the understanding of all created things, and is exalted beyond the grasp of the minds of men. None else besides Him hath ever been able to sing adequately His praise, nor will any man succeed at any time in describing the full measure of His glory. Who is it that can claim to have attained the heights of His exalted Essence, and what mind can measure the depths of His unfathomable mystery? From each and every revelation emanating from the Source of His glory, holy and never-ending evidences of unimaginable splendour have appeared, and out of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of eternal light have outpoured. How immensely exalted are the wondrous testimonies of His almighty sovereignty, a glimmer of which, if it but touched them, would utterly consume all that are in the heavens and in the earth! How indescribably lofty are the tokens of His consummate power, a single sign of which, however inconsiderable, must transcend the comprehension of whatsoever hath, from the [61] beginning that hath no beginning, been brought into being, or will be created in the future till the end that hath no end. All the Embodiments of His Names wander in the wilderness of search, athirst and eager to discover His Essence, and all the Manifestations of His Attributes (maẓāhir al-sifāt) implore Him, from the Sinai of Holiness (ṭūr al-muqaddas), to unravel His mystery.

A drop of the billowing ocean of His endless mercy hath adorned all creation with the ornament of existence, and a breath wafted from His peerless Paradise hath invested all beings with the robe of His sanctity and glory. A sprinkling from the un‑fathomed deep of His sovereign and all-pervasive Will hath, out of utter nothingness, called into being a creation which is infinite in its range and deathless in its duration. The wonders of His bounty can never cease, and the stream of His merciful grace can never be arrested. The process of His creation hath had no beginning, and can have no end.

In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendrous light, shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favours. How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their virtue that not a single atom in the [62] entire universe can be found which doth not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name, or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity. So perfect and comprehensive is His creation that no mind nor heart, however keen or pure, can ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of His creatures; much less fathom the mystery of Him Who is the Day Star of Truth, Who is the invisible and unknowable Essence. The conceptions of the devoutest of mystics, the attainments of the most accomplished amongst men, the highest praise which human tongue or pen can render are all the product of man's finite mind and are conditioned by its limitations. Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search at His forbidding voice, "Thou shalt never behold Me!"; whilst a myriad Messengers, each as great as Jesus, stand dismayed upon their heavenly thrones by the interdiction, "Mine Essence thou shalt never apprehend!" From time immemorial He hath been veiled in the ineffable sanctity of His exalted Self, and will everlastingly continue to be wrapt in the impenetrable mystery of His unknowable Essence. Every attempt to attain to an understanding of His inaccessible Reality hath ended in complete bewilderment, and every effort to approach His exalted Self and envisage His Essence hath resulted in hopelessness and failure.

How bewildering to me, insignificant as I am, is the attempt to fathom the sacred depths of Thy  [63] knowledge! How futile my efforts to visualize the magnitude of the power inherent in Thine handiwork ‑‑the revelation of Thy creative power! How can mine eye, which hath no faculty to perceive itself, claim to have discerned Thine Essence, and how can mine heart, already powerless to apprehend the significance of its own potentialities, pretend to have comprehended Thy nature ? How can I claim to have known Thee, when the entire creation is bewildered by Thy mystery, and how can I confessnot to have known Thee, when, lo, the whole universe proclaimethThy Presence and testifieth toThy truth ? The portals of Thy grace have throughout eternity been open, and the means of access unto Thy Presence made available, unto all created things, and the revelations of Thy match-less Beauty have at all times been imprinted uponthe realities of all beings, visible and invisible. Yet, notwithstanding this most gracious favour, this perfect and consummate bestowal, I am moved to testify that Thy court of holiness and glory is immeasurably exalted above the knowledge of all else besides Thee, and the mystery of Thy Presence is inscrutable to every mind except Thine own. No one except Thyself can unravel the secret of Thy nature, and naught else but Thy transcendental Essence can grasp the reality of Thy unsearchable being. How vast the number of those heavenly and all-glorious Beings Who, in the wilderness of their separation from Thee, have wandered all the days [64] of their life, and failed in the end to find Thee! How great the multitude of the sanctified and immortal Souls Who were lost and bewildered while seeking in the desert of search to behold Thy face! Myriad are Thy ardent Lovers Whom the consuming flame of remoteness from Thee hath caused to sink and perish, and numberless are the faithful Souls Who have willingly laid down their lives in the hope of gazing on the light of Thy countenance. The sighs and moans of these longing hearts that pant after Thee can never reach Thy holy court, neither can the lamentations of the Wayfarers that thirst to appear before Thy face attain Thy seat of glory." Trans. Shoghi Effendi, as in GWB