Paragraph 123

Nay, by “trumpet” is meant the trumpet-call of Muḥammad’s Revelation, which was sounded in the heart of the universe, and by “resurrection” is meant His own rise to proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring and wayward arise and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed them with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them with the breath of a new and wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muḥammad, that divine Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in the symbolic terms “resurrection,” “judgment,” “paradise,” and “hell,” Gabriel, the Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying: “Erelong will they wag their heads at Thee, and say, ‘When shall this be?’ Say: ‘Perchance it is nigh.’” The implications of this verse alone suffice the peoples of the world, were they to ponder it in their hearts.


This is interesting, as you will recall that it comes at a point in the book when Baha'u'llah is discussing how the Bab demonstrates the sovereignty of the Qa'im. He points out that what we typically think of as the sovereignty that the Promised One is to show is not what He actually will demonstrate in His lifetime. Over and over throughout Part 1 of this book Baha'u'llah has encouraged us to remember what we know of the religions of old, and be detached from our own expectations of what is to come. He shows us very clearly some of the many meanings in the prophecies of ancient times, and reminds us over and over that there is a clear pattern throughout all the religions of God, if we but take notice and keep an open heart.

Here He is reminding us that it is not just the term "sovereignty" that will be redefined by the Manifestation of God, but many terms. The Manifestation does not conform to the will and expectations of the generation in which They live. The people expect these various prophecies to come true at some point in the future, and Baha'u'llah is pointing out that "Perchance it is nigh", as was mentioned in the Qur'an. All of these things refer to the time of Muhammad, as well as the time of all the other Messengers of God.

There are a few things that catch our attention in this paragraph, as you would expect. The first one we want to point out is the various terms that Baha'u'llah is redefining here. We don't think they are random. We suspect that they are very precisely chosen. They are, in order, "trumpet", "resurrection", "judgment", "paradise" and "hell". It seems to us that there is a bit of a path alluded to here. The Messenger is always heralded in with a trumpet blast. This, it warns, is the Day of Judgment. All the various phenotypes of old, as Baha'u''llah points out throughout this book, are resurrected. They come back, again and again. And from there, the Messenger judges the people according to the divine standard, not the low standard set forth by men, and either rewards the people with heaven or condemns them to hell. To us, this feels like another subtle warning. He seems to be saying, as He has a few times previously, that this is another Day of Judgment. Will we be sent to paradise or hell? It is through the path we choose as set forth in this book that will decide where we end up.

Another interesting point here is the sentence that describes this resurrection. Muhammad, He says, called the people out of their speulchres, which is where you would inter a dead body. After calling them arise, He gave them a new robe. He clothed them, so that they were no longer naked, or in their burial shrouds. They were now dressed in beautiful robes. Then, after they were dressed nicely, He gave them a new life.

It's interesting to us because we would have expected the new life to come before the dressing in the new clothes. But it makes sense, doesn't it? You rise up, and are given this faith, but you still have to grow into it. You don't really change when you become a Baha'i, for example. You are given the tools to change. The actual transformation of behaviour takes time and often occurs long after the declaration of faith. Then, with this new behaviour firmly in place, you become more attractive, as someone dressed in fine clothes.

And finally, He reminds us once more to ponder. You will, of course, recall how often He told us to ponder and meditate and reflect throughout Part 1. This always occurred when He had given us a lot to think about, as if we needed a few moments to reflect and allow these new ideas to set in.

So what is the new idea here that we need to ponder? Perhaps it is just this idea of these terms being redefined. Or maybe it is the idea that the Day of Resurrection is now, and not at some distant point in the future. Either way, this is a point in the text where we need to be certain to allow our previously held ideas of what these terms mean to fall by the wayside. We need to open ourselves up to these potentially new definitions, and not instinctively fall back on what we were taught they would mean.