Khazeh, Awesome stuff ! Please keep it coming.
Khazeh Fananapazir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Khazeh Fananapazir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of faith, they
that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that
is earthly - their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings,
their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth.
They should put their trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in
His way.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Page: 3)
We are still in the first page of this Great Book.
In the Kitáb-i-Íqán itself, Bahá'u'lláh states that, "all the Scriptures,
and the mysteries thereof are condensed into this brief account," (Íqán 237)
and that it can unfold "all the allusions and the implications of the
utterances of the Manifestations of Holiness" (Íqán 28). The following are a
selection of such quotations:
... the things We have already m! entioned suffice the world and all that is
therein. In fact, all the Scriptures, and the mysteries thereof are
condensed into this brief account. So much so that were a person to ponder
it a while in his heart, he would discover from all that hath been said the
mysteries of the Words of God, and would APPREHEND THE MEANING OF WHATEVER
HATH BEEN MANIFESTED BY THAT IDEAL KING. (Íqán 237, emphasis added)
Were you to ponder, but for a while, these utterances in your heart, you
would surely find the portals of understanding unlocked before your face,
and would BEHOLD ALL KNOWLEDGE AND MYSTERIES THEREOF UNVEILED BEFORE YOUR
EYES. (Íqán. 52, emphasis added)
This servant will now share with thee a dewdrop out of the fathomless ocean
of the truths treasured in these holy words, that haply discerning hearts
MAY COMPREHEND ALL THE ALLUSIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE UTTERANCES OF
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF HOLINESS, SO THAT THE OVERPOWERING MAJESTY! OF THE WORD
OF GOD MAY NOT PREVENT THEM FROM ATTAINING UNTO THE OCEAN OF HIS NAMES AND
ATTRIBUTES, nor deprive them of recognising the Lamp of God which is the
seat of the revelation of His glorified Essence. (Íqán. 28, emphasis added)
Thus in the beginning of the Sacred Iqan Baha'u'llah invites humanity to
cleanse, to sanctify, to purify, to get detached and then enter the WAY.
Now it is interesting that in the Islamic Dispensation during the FIVE TIMES
A DAY PRAYER [S.alaat] of Islam, a Moslem turns towards Mecca and says
**** Ihdina alssirata almustaqeema***=
001.006
YUSUFALI: Show us the straight way.
PICKTHAL: Show us the straight path.
Baha'u'llah in revealing His Mission/His Station/ His Revelation links this
very word in the Moslem Prayer with His Mission.
The word that is used in the 5-times a day prayer ie s.iraat. =Way.
He reveals
He is the Most Wondrous, the All-Glorious!
1.1
Glorified is He Who hath ! revealed His verses to those who understand.
Glorified is He Who sendeth down His verses to those who perceive. Glorified
is He Who guideth whomsoever He pleaseth unto His path. SAY: I, VERILY, AM
THE PATH [s.iraat ] OF GOD unto all who are in the heavens and all who are
on the earth; well is it with them that hasten thereunto!
(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 1)
At this time Islam was divided:
Abdullah bin Amar (RA) relates that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
said "Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to
Israelites, they will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles
the other. Verily the Israelites were divided into 72 sections but my people
will be divided into 73 sections.( Other than Tirmidhi, Ibne Maja gives
three independent narrations of the same hadith. Talking about the
authenticity of this hadith Abu Mansur Abd al-Kahir ibn-Tahir Al-Baghdadi
says:
"There are ! many isnad (independent testimonies) for the tradition dealing
with the division of the community. A number of following companions have
handed it down as coming from the Prophet (peace be upon him): Anas
ibn-Malik, Abu-Hurairah, Abu-l-Darda, Jabir, Abu-Sa'id al-Khidri, Ubai
ibn-Ka'b, Abd-Allah ibn-Amr ibn-al-'As, abu-Imamah, Wathilah ibn-al-Aska'
and others.)
Re Christianity [if I could dare to show some benign humour]
***
http://www.calvarymemorial.com/pastor_ray/sermons/pdf/110302rp.pdf
**We Christians love to fight over our deeply-held beliefs. Unfortunately,
sometimes we fight for things that don’t matter very much.
Once upon a time a man took a walk and came to a bridge.
When he got to the middle of the bridge, he saw a man standing on the rail,
obviously about to jump.
The man was distraught so he said, "Don’t jump. I can help you."
"How can you help me?" asked the man on the rail.
The first man replied w! ith a question of his own: "Are you a Christian?"
"Yes, I am."
"That’s wonderful. So am I. Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"I’m Protestant."
"That’s great. So am I. What sort of Protestant are you? Are you Baptist,
Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, or something else?"
"I’m a lifetime Baptist," said the man on the rail.
"Praise the Lord," came the reply. "So am I. Let me ask you this. Are you
Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
"I’m Northern Baptist."
"Are you Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
"I’m Northern Conservative Baptist."
"Well, call Ripley’s. This is amazing. So am I. Are you Northern
Conservative Baptist Fundamental or Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed?"
The man on the rail thought for a moment and then declared, "My father
raised me as a Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed."
"It’s a miracle," said the first man. "Put ’er there, pal. So am I."
Then he ask! ed, "Are you Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed Great Lakes
Region or Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed Great Plains Region?"
The man on the rail said, "That’s easy. My family has always been Northern
Conservative Baptist Reformed Great Lakes Region."
"This is a miracle of miracles. I don’t often meet a brother who shares my
own heritage.
One final question: Are you Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed Great
Lakes Region Council of 1855 or Northern Conservative Baptist Reformed Great
Lakes Region Council of 1872?"
The man on the rail replied instantly, "Since the days of my
great-grandfather, we have always been Northern Conservative Baptist
Reformed Great Lakes Region Council of 1872."
This statement was followed by an awkward pause. Looking up, the first man
cried out, "Die, heretic!" And he pushed him off the bridge.
An instructive story from
http://www.calvarymemorial.com/pastor_ray/sermons/pdf/110302rp.pdf***
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