herewith God hath revived the
hearts of such as have recognized Him.'" In another passage He describes,
briefly and graphically, the impact of the onrushing force of the Divine
Summons upon His entire being--an experience vividly recalling the vision
of God that caused Moses to fall in a swoon, and the voice of Gabriel
which plunged Muhammad into such consternation that, hurrying to the
shelter of His home, He bade His wife, _Kh_adijih, envelop Him in His
mantle. "During the days I lay in the prison of Tihran," are His own
memorable words, "though the galling weight of the chains and the
stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still in those infrequent
moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed from the crown of My head
over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitateth itself upon
the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of My body
would, as a result, be set afire. At such moments My tongue recited what
no man could bear to hear."

In His Suratu'l-Haykal (the Surih of the Temple) He thus describes those
breathless moments when the Maiden, symbolizing the "Most Great Spirit"
proclaimed His mission to the entire creation: "While engulfed in
tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My
head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden--the embodiment of the remembrance
of the name of My Lord--suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she
in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the
good-pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the
All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which
captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My
inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of
God's honored servants. Pointing with her finger unto My head, she
addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: 'By God!
This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is
the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within
you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure,
the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of
Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive.'"

In His Epistle to Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah, His royal adversary, revealed at
the height of the proclamation of His Message, occur these passages which
shed further light on the Divine origin of His miss