-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy Nolan
My point, which may have been obvious from my previous post,
is that if Baha'u'llah was neither Nabi nor Rasul, if He was of a different
category,
then the "Seal of the Prophets" problem goes away.
That is, if Muhammad said there will be no "X" or "Y" after Him, that
can be seen as not a problem for a Muslim investigating Baha'u'llah,
because Baha'u'llah apparently agrees; He is a "Z", a different category
of Manifestation.
Dear Tim,
I think Baha'ullah taught that any of the Prophets could claim to be the
"Seal of the Prophets". Baha'u'llah wrote "And were they all to proclaim,
'I am the Seal of the Prophets,' they, verily, utter but the truth, beyond
the faintest shadow of doubt." (full quote below)
--- Vaughn
Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: "I am God,"
He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath
been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes
and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes, are made
manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: "Those shafts were God's, not
Thine." And also He saith: "In truth, they who plighted fealty unto Thee,
really plighted that fealty unto God." And were any of them to voice the
utterance, "I am the Messenger of God," He, also, speaketh the truth, the
indubitable truth. Even as He saith: "Muhammad is not the father of any man
among you, but He is the Messenger of God." Viewed in this light, they are
all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were
they all to proclaim, "I am the Seal of the Prophets," they, verily, utter
but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one
person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the
manifestation of the "Beginning" and the "End," the "First" and the "Last,"
the "Seen" and the "Hidden" -- all of which pertain to Him Who is the
Innermost Spirit of Spirits and Eternal Essence of Essences. And were they
to say, "We are the Servants of God," this also is a manifest and
indisputable fact. For they have been �<55>� made manifest in the uttermost
state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly
attain. Thus in moments in which these Essences of Being were deep immersed
beneath the oceans of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when they soared
to the loftiest summits of Divine mysteries, they claimed their utterances
to be the Voice of Divinity, the Call of God Himself.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 54-55)
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