Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration (Ridván) Sources

1972 - Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63 (Adib Taherzadeh)

Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Baha, as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Such is the inebriating effect of the words of God upon Him Who is the Revealer of His undoubted proofs, that His Pen can move no longer. With these words He concludeth His Tablet: 'No God is there but Me, the Most Exalted, the Most Powerful, the Most Excellent, the All-Knowing.'(7)

1972 - Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63 (Adib Taherzadeh)

On the fifth day of Naw-Ruz, the Lawh-i-Mallahu'l-Quds (Tablet of the Holy Mariner) was revealed. Mirza Aqa Jan, Baha'u'llah's amanuensis, emerged from the tent of Baha'u'llah, gathered the believers around him and chanted that mournful Tablet to them. Although during the last year of His sojourn in Iraq He had, on several occasions, alluded to trials and tribulations which were to come, His companions had not felt previously such sadness as they did on that day.

Nabil, who was present, has recorded the following: Oceans of sorrow surged in the hearts of the listeners when the Tablet of the Holy Mariner was read aloud to them... It was evident to every one that the chapter of Baghdad was about to be closed, and a new one opened, in its stead. No sooner had that Tablet been chanted than Baha'u'llah ordered
that the tents which had been pitched should be folded up, and that all His companions should return to the city. While the tents were being removed He observed: 'These tents may be likened to the trappings of this world, which no sooner are they spread out than the time cometh for them to be rolled up.' From these words of His they who heard them perceived that these tents would never again be pitched on that spot.(1)

He further mentions that the tents had not yet been taken away when an emissary of Namiq Pasha, the Governor of Baghdad, arrived and handed to Baha'u'llah a communication inviting Him to come for interview with the Governor at his headquarters. Baha'u'llah accepted the invitation, but not wishing to visit the authorities in government headquarters, He suggested that the meeting take place instead in a certain mosque in the city on the following day.

Namiq Pasha, like his predecessors, admired Baha'u'llah and was deeply conscious of His innate knowledge and exalted position. He held Baha'u'llah in such high esteem that for three months he could not bring himself to tell Him of the decision of the Ottoman government that He should proceed to Constantinople. After being ordered for the fifth time by the Prime Minister to arrange the transfer of Baha'u'llah to the capital, Namiq Pasha reluctantly took the necessary step of informing Baha'u'llah of this. Feeling ashamed to meet Him face to face on that fateful occasion, the Governor sent his deputy, Amin Effendi, to the mosque to deliver the message. A few weeks later, when Baha'u'llah was in the Garden of Ridvan, Namiq Pasha went there, attained His presence and paid his respects to the One Whom he regarded as one of the lights of the age.

The Tablet of the Holy Mariner is in two parts, one in Arabic and the other in Persian. So far only the Arabic Tablet has been rendered into English and is published.

The theme of this Tablet is the story of the Covenant and man's unfaithfulness to it. Its message is applicable not only to the days of Baha'u'llah, but also to the ministries of Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, and indeed to the present time. Concerning
this Tablet Abdu'l-Baha said: 'Study the Tablet of the Holy Mariner that ye may know the truth, and consider that the Blessed Beauty[1] hath fully foretold future events. Let them who perceive, take warning!'(2)

[1 Baha'u'llah.]

Not only did Abdu'l-Baha ask the believers to study this Tablet during His own ministry, when the Covenant of Baha'u'llah was being violated by the Covenant-breakers, but He urged them shortly before His passing to study it again. For He knew too well that there were a few among His followers who would violate the Covenant and rise up against Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause of God.

1972 - Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Adrianople, 1863-1868 (Adib Taherzadeh)

3 The Exile to Adrianople

When we look at the circumstances which had led the Ottoman Government to remove Baha'u'llah from Baghdad, we recall the outright refusal of that Government to hand Baha'u'llah over to the Persian authorities and its reluctance to banish Him from Baghdad. When Abdu'l-Baha was in the Garden of Ridvan prior to His departure for Constantinople, He wrote a letter to a relative in Persia in which He said that after bringing much pressure to bear upon the Ottoman Government, the Persian Ambassador Haji Mirza Husayn Khan became so frustrated by the Sublime Porte that he cut his relationships with his friends in government circles, stayed at home for seven days and refused to see any of the Sultan's ministers. At last Ali Pasha,[1] a very close friend of his, found no alternative but to give in and order the removal of Baha'u'llah from Baghdad.

[1 The Grand Vizir of the Sultan. See p. 413.]

The Declaration of Baha'u'llah in the Garden of Ridvan was made only to a few of His companions. The news of this historic event was not communicated to most Babis until later. The Suriy-i-Ashab and other early Tablets disclosed the station of Baha'u'llah clearly and openly. Mirza Aqay-i-Munib shared this important Tablet with many souls. Among them was Haji Mirza Haydar-'Ali, who describes his feelings when he read this Tablet for the first time in these words:

...I arrived in Tihran at a time that Mirza Aqay-i-Munir[1] ... was also in the city. The Suriy-i-Ashab had been revealed by the Pen of the Lord of Lords in his honour and was received by him. Since he was aware of my convictions and knew that my heart is turned towards the Ancient Beauty[2] ... he called me and, in private, handed me the Tablet to read. With the perusal of each verse, I felt as if a world of exultation, of certitude and insight was created within me. After reading a few verses with great joy, I asked Mirza Munir whether Siyyid Muhammad had duped Azal, or Azal duped Siyyid Muhammad; or whether the two of them had joined together in denying and opposing [Baha'u'llah] and had taken a course of obstinacy and hostility [against Him]. On hearing this Mirza Munir was so delighted that he hugged me and said, 'Their enmity towards the Ancient

Beauty is the cause of their unity. They deceive and mislead each other so that they may arise in enmity [against Him]'.

[1 Jinab-i-Munib. (A.T.)] [2 Baha'u'llah.]

I was enraptured and set aglow by the Suriy-i-Ashab. It affected me so deeply that even now after the lapse of fifty years at an advanced age when torpidity, stiffness and cold have set in by nature, whenever I read this Tablet or remember my feelings on that day, I find myself filled with such joy that I pass into a state of intoxication and bewilderment.(4)