nd embellished by the
brightness of the light of your knowledge and by the blaze of your
erudition. How is it that you have arisen to destroy yourselves and your
friends with your own hands?

O Afnan, O thou that has branched from Mine ancient Stock! My glory and My
loving-kindness rest upon thee. How vast is the tabernacle of the Cause of
God! It hath overshadowed all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and
will, ere long, gather together the whole of mankind beneath its shelter.
Thy day of service is now come. Countless Tablets bear the testimony of
the bounties vouchsafed unto thee. Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and,
through the power of thine utterance, subdue the hearts of men. Thou must
show forth that which will ensure the peace and the well-being of the
miserable and the downtrodden. Gird up the loins of thine endeavour, that
perchance thou mayest release the captive from his chains, and enable him
to attain unto true liberty.

Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath
the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face
of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen
of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a
new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh
potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide
regeneration. This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by
the Pen of this Wronged One to mankind. Wherefore fear ye, O My
well-beloved ones? Who is it that can dismay you? A touch of moisture
sufficeth to dissolve the hardened clay out of which this perverse
generation is moulded. The mere act of your gathering together is enough
to scatter the forces of these vain and worthless people.

Strife and conflict befit the beasts of the wild. It was through the grace
of God and with the aid of seemly words and praiseworthy deeds that the
unsheathed swords of the Babi community were returned to their scabbards.
Indeed through the power of good words, the righteous have always
succeeded in winning command over the meads of the hearts of men. Say, O
ye loved ones! Do not forsake prudence. Incline your hearts to the
counsels given by the Most Exalted Pen and beware lest your hands or
tongues cause harm unto anyone among mankind.

Referring to the land of Ta (Tihran) We have revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas
that which will admonish mankind. They th