Exalted Pen. If ye
be of the people of the Bayan, the Persian Bayan will guide you aright and
will prove a sufficient testimony unto you; and if ye be of the people of
the Qur'an, ponder ye upon the Revelation on Sinai and the Voice from the
Bush which came unto the Son of 'Imran [Moses].

Gracious God! It was intended that at the time of the manifestation of the
One true God the faculty of recognizing Him would have been developed and
matured and would have reached its culmination. However, it is now clearly
demonstrated that in the disbelievers this faculty hath remained
undeveloped and hath, indeed, degenerated.

O 'Ali! That which they accepted from the Bush they now refuse to accept
from Him Who is the Tree of the world of existence. Say, O people of the
Bayan, speak not according to the dictates of passion and selfish desire.
Most of the peoples of the earth attest the truth of the blessed Word
which hath come forth from the Bush.

By the righteousness of God! But for the anthem of praise voiced by Him
Who heralded the divine Revelation, this Wronged One would never have
breathed a word which might have struck terror into the hearts of the
ignorant and caused them to perish. Dwelling on the glorification of Him
Whom God shall make manifest--exalted be His Manifestation--the Bab in the
beginning of the Bayan saith: 'He is the One Who shall proclaim under all
conditions, "Verily, verily, I am God, no God is there but Me, the Lord of
all created things. In truth all others except Me are My creatures. O, My
creatures! Me alone do ye worship."' Likewise in another instance He,
magnifying the Name of Him Who shall be made manifest, saith: 'I would be
the first to adore Him.' Now it behoveth one to reflect upon the
significance of the 'Adorer' and the 'Adored One', that perchance the
people of the earth may partake of a dewdrop from the ocean of divine
knowledge and may be enabled to perceive the greatness of this Revelation.
Verily, He hath appeared and hath unloosed His tongue to proclaim the
Truth. Well is it with him who doth acknowledge and recognize the truth,
and woe betide the froward and the wayward.

O kindreds of the earth! Incline your ears unto the Voice from the divine
Lote-Tree which overshadoweth the world and be not of the people of
tyranny on earth--men who have repudiated the Manifestation of God and His
invincible authority and have renounced His favours--they in truth are
reckoned with the contemp