> Dear Brent, > That's an interesting point. As you know Muhammad Ali used this verse as an > excuse for attempting to have 'Abdu'l-Baha assassinated.
Right, the Master mentions this on pp. 8-9 of the Will. This is one more example of the fact that, regardless of the clearest Texts ever written, the Covenant-breakers always have a response. For example, I can't think of a clearer verse than that no new Manifestation will appear for at least a thousand years, yet there's a Covenant-breaker who lives in the Rocky Mountains who has persisted for decades in promoting the notion that a new one is going to show up on his doorstep any day now. Likewise citing the warnings in Baha'u'llah's Writings about Mirza Muhammad-`Ali had no effect on the members of the Holy Family who ultimately defected. They didn't follow Muhammad-`Ali [the Master promised there would not be any lingering followers of his]; they simply rebelled against Shoghi Effendi. David's raised an interesting question about the significance of the Aqdas verse and I am inclined to believe that spiritual punishment of such a false claimant is intended. The one being "sent down" might even refer to the next Manifestation, who would pass judgment on the actions of such a person. Often, a wicked person thrives in this world. I have heard from one of the Persian friends that in an untranslated Tablet Baha'u'llah states that for those who give themselves over to the things of this world, in His justice, God gives them bountifully of the material benefits of the world, because, throughout their soul's eternal journey, that's all they're going to get. A verse of similar import is in the Suriy-i-Muluk, addressed, I believe, to the Persian Ambassador to Constantinople, Mirza Husayn Khan, and quoting Qur'an 6:44: "By God! Wert thou to realize what thou hast done, thou wouldst surely weep sore over thyself, and wouldst flee for refuge to God, and wouldst pine away and mourn all the days of thy life, till God will have forgiven thee, for He, verily, is the Most Generous, the All-Bountiful. Thou wilt, however, persist, till the hour of thy death, in thy heedlessness, inasmuch as thou hast, with all thine heart, thy soul and inmost being, busied thyself with the vanities of the world. Thou shalt, after thy departure, discover what We have revealed unto thee, and shalt find all thy doings recorded in the Book wherein the works of all them that dwell on earth, be they greater or less than the weight of an atom, are noted down. Heed, therefore, My counsel, and hearken thou, with the hearing of thine heart, unto My speech, and be not careless of My words, nor be of them that reject My truth. Glory not in the things that have been given thee. Set before thine eyes what hath been revealed in the Book of God, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious: 'And when they had forgotten their warnings, We set open to them the gates of all things,' even as We did set open to thee and to thy like the gates of this earth and the ornaments thereof. Wait thou, therefore, for what hath been promised in the latter part of this holy verse, for this is a promise from Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise -- a promise that will not prove untrue." (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 226 and Gleanings p. 227) Brent ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
