For this reason did Muḥammad cry out: “No Prophet of God hath suffered such harm as I have suffered.” And in the Qur’án are recorded all the calumnies and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the afflictions which He suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous was His plight, that for a time all ceased to hold intercourse with Him and His companions. Whoever associated with Him fell a victim to the relentless cruelty of His enemies.
This paragraph continues the discussion of sovereignty, a most fascinating discussion that covers a large section of the book, and was one of the pivotal questions asked by the uncle of the Bab.
Looking at the beginning, though, we are faced with the immediate question of "'For this reason'? For what reason?" Well, this brings us back to the previous paragraph in which Baha'u'llah has described the fierce torment that was instigated by the divines of the age against Muhammad. It was this "fierce... torment" that cause Muhammad to cry out. We may remember, though, back in paragraph 63 Baha'u'llah described the situation of the Bab in the following terms: "How severe the persecutions inflicted upon Him - charges and persecutions the like of which men have neither seen nor heard." If Muhammad cried out at His persecutions, which were severe, Baha'u'llah is pointing out that the Bab's sufferings were even worse. Then, if that wasn't enough, He also just alluded to the beginning of His own sufferings at the end of the previous paragraph. "Hath not the same befallen this Servant and been witnessed by all?"
Something that we see here, which we haven't really commented on for a while, is the word "haply", as well as the phrase "Refer ye thereunto". This reminds us very strongly of Part 1, in which we are regularly encouraged to "reflect", "consider the past", "meditate profoundly", and other phrases used to help us remember to consider what we have already learned through religious history.
Do we think this request that we refer to the past Books is a coincidence? Of course not. Baha'u'llah seems to have carefully prepared us for this. He began this whole book by teaching us how to recognize a Manifestation of God, giving plenty of examples from the stories from history that we already knew. He reminded us to continually look to the past and consider what we are seeing today. He began this exploration of the past, in paragraphs 7 through 17, by reminding us of the sufferings of the Manifestations we already recognize. There, we noticed that the sufferings appeared to increase in intensity as time went on. By looking at the sufferings of Muhammad, we can see that they continue in that direction. Now, He is also saying that the Bab suffered even more, and we can expect that "He Whom God shall make manifest" will suffer even greater torments.
Following this look at the lives of the Manifestations at the beginning of Part 1, He then took a single passage from Jesus, found in Matthew 24, and dissected it phrase by phrase for many paragraphs, showing us just a little of the incredible depths that can be found in that one passage.
Are these not the very tools that we are being encouraged to use here, now?
Beyond that, we also want to remember that this book is supposed to be a template on how to teach. If that's the case, then doesn't this mean that we need to help people, not to mention ourselves, become more familiar with the sufferings and trials suffered by both the Bab and Baha'u'llah, not to mention 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian? Have we actually done this? Do we know anyone who actually became a recognized Baha'i by studying these denials and tests? Honestly, we, the writers, don't.
Many times we see this sort of appeal as just a means of playing on people's emotions. But we need to be clear that this is not the case here. Far from it. Instead, it seems to be a fundamental aspect of strengthening one's faith. Way back in paragraph 6, a couple of sentences we love to quote over and over again we read: "Should you acquaint yourself with the indignities heaped upon the Prophets of God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced by their oppressors, you will surely appreciate the significance of their position. Moreover, the more closely you observe the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God."
We are amazed, even flabbergasted (love that word), at just how important these first few paragraphs are to the rest of the book. We never dreamed that so far into this study we would still be constantly referring back to these same ideas. It just gives us a greater appreciation of this book, and just how tightly knit this entire book really is.
Are these not the very tools that we are being encouraged to use here, now?
Beyond that, we also want to remember that this book is supposed to be a template on how to teach. If that's the case, then doesn't this mean that we need to help people, not to mention ourselves, become more familiar with the sufferings and trials suffered by both the Bab and Baha'u'llah, not to mention 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian? Have we actually done this? Do we know anyone who actually became a recognized Baha'i by studying these denials and tests? Honestly, we, the writers, don't.
Many times we see this sort of appeal as just a means of playing on people's emotions. But we need to be clear that this is not the case here. Far from it. Instead, it seems to be a fundamental aspect of strengthening one's faith. Way back in paragraph 6, a couple of sentences we love to quote over and over again we read: "Should you acquaint yourself with the indignities heaped upon the Prophets of God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced by their oppressors, you will surely appreciate the significance of their position. Moreover, the more closely you observe the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God."
We are amazed, even flabbergasted (love that word), at just how important these first few paragraphs are to the rest of the book. We never dreamed that so far into this study we would still be constantly referring back to these same ideas. It just gives us a greater appreciation of this book, and just how tightly knit this entire book really is.
* * * * *
Addition - As you may have noticed, dear Reader, we have taken the time to go back and review all that we have written about Part 2 before continuing on. Of course, this has meant studying these passages again which naturally leads to more insights. Learning more and more about this book, and grasping some of its countless ideas, is an unending process.
Most of the time we are content to just leave what we have written, not wanting to tire you out with our own ramblings. Today, however, we noticed something that we had missed in all our previous readings of this paragraph.
In the middle, you will note the sentence: "Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be informed of that which hath befallen His Revelation."
"His Revelation"? Wasn't He talking about the sufferings of Muhammad? Shouldn't it be "that which hath befallen Him"? But no. It is "His Revelation".
Why?
Of course, we don't really know, but we can take a guess. Perhaps Baha'u'llah is trying to draw our attention to how far the followers of Muhammad have fallen. When we re-read the Qur'an, and study the sufferings of the early believers, and then compare that to the actions of the Muslims at the time of the Bab, we cannot help but be overwhelmed at the stark contrast.
Then when we look at the actions of the Babis, or the Baha'is later on, we can see how they are exhibiting a similar spiritual station to that of the early Muslims.
Of course, we can also do the same with the Gospel and compare the early Christians to the Christian community of today.
The point here, we believe, is to note how communities are like the seasons, moving from the spiritual springtime to the desolation of winter.
As this book is all about teaching, we can see that Baha'u'llah does not directly condemn anyone here, but instead encourages the uncle to re-read his history and make the comparison himself.
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