"By God, O people! Mine eye weepeth, and the eye of `Al� (the B�b) weepeth amongst the Concourse on high, and Mine heart crieth out, and the heart of Muhammad crieth out within the Most Glorious Tabernacle, and My soul shouteth and the souls of the Prophets shout before them that are endued with understanding... My sorrow is not for Myself, but for Him Who shall come after Me, in the shadow of My Cause, with manifest and undoubted sovereignty, inasmuch as they will not welcome His appearance, will repudiate His signs, will dispute His sovereignty, will contend with Him, and will betray His Cause..."
-- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 250.
By God, O people, My eye weeps, and the eye of `Al� weeps in the Supreme Concourse; My heart throbs, and the heart of Muhammad throbs in the Courts of Abh�; My heart and the hearts of the Prophets lament with the people of knowledge, if you are those who are possessed of sight. My sorrow is not for Myself, but for the One Who comes after Me in the Shadow of the Cause with a clear, undeniable reign; because these will not acknowledge His Manifestation and will deny His evidences and verses, will dispute His power, will antagonize Him and will be traitors to His Cause--as they did to His Person in those days-- and ye were witnesses."
-- Compilation, Baha'i World Faith, p. 436-37.
I thought that the latter referred to Baha'u'llah, because of the word "Manifestation," but I assume that in all likelihood the translator was influenced by what He thought the passage was speaking about, and no doubt it was thought that the passage spoke of the next Manifestation. The latter is identified as a Tablet to 'Abdu'l-Baha, and surely Baha'u'llah wouldn't use such a Tablet to make a prophecy of the next Manifestation. It is regarding 'Abdu'l-Baha, as Shoghi Effendi says in God Passes By. Thus, I can't point to this passage if someone brings up the gender of the next Manifestation. I'm almost certain the next Prophet will be male, however. I had thought this passage in BWF spoke of the next Manifestation, but it turns out I was wrong. Do we know of any passages where Baha'u'llah speaks specifically of the next Manifestation? I'm interested to know, while I'm on the topic, what this passage means:
It is possible, however, that after the completion of a full thousand years, certain Holy Beings will be empowered to deliver a Revelation: this, however, will not be through a Universal Manifestation.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Page: 67)
A while back someone referred to a purported text which said that in a thousand years a few minor Prophets would appear. I don't think this passage was cited, but surely this is the one that would have given rise to such an idea. "Holy Beings" must refer to Prophets. Now, what does the "however" refer to? It seems to be indicating that more than just one Prophet might come after the thousand years. There could be more than one major Prophet at the same time, apparently. I'm a little confused. Any thoughts?
Regards, David
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