Paragraph 232

Heed not the idle contention of those who maintain that the Book and verses thereof can never be a testimony unto the common people, inasmuch as they neither grasp their meaning nor appreciate their value. And yet, the unfailing testimony of God to both the East and the West is none other than the Qur’án. Were it beyond the comprehension of men, how could it have been declared as a universal testimony unto all people? If their contention be true, none would therefore be required, nor would it be necessary for them to know God, inasmuch as the knowledge of the divine Being transcendeth the knowledge of His Book, and the common people would not possess the capacity to comprehend it.

This whole section, paragraphs 224 - 245, is all about demonstrating the Station of the Bab through these quotes from the Qur'an. This paragraph, and the next, deal with the previous quotes from that holy Book.

We found ourselves struggling to understand the basic meaning of this paragraph, but then we realized that it was actually quite simple. Some people, usually the religious leaders, say that the sacred Texts are too difficult for regular people to understand. They say that it requires the training and the scholarship to make sense of it all. Yet the Qur'an is supposed to be a testimony for everyone. How could this be if it can't be understood by all? Quite simply, it can't. And so Baha'u'llah tells us to just ignore anyone who makes such a claim.

But why is this mentioned here? What does it have to do with the previous four quotes?

1. Such are the verses of God: with truth do We recite them to thee. But in what revelation will they believe, if they reject God and His verses?
2. Woe to every lying sinner, who heareth the verses of God recited to him, and then, as though he heard them not, persisteth in proud disdain! Apprise him of a painful punishment.
3. And when he becometh acquainted with any of Our verses he turneth them to ridicule. There is a shameful punishment for them!
4. And when Our clear verses are recited to them, their only argument is to say, ‘Bring back our fathers, if ye speak the truth!

These quotes are all about the very natural reaction to someone making a claim of Prophethood. They show how people respond with ridicule and disdain, how their egos get way out of control. This has happened throughout history.

So why does He now talk about how the Word of God is for everybody?

Throughout the Iqan He has said that the Qur'an is a testimony for all. In fact, the very first quote He uses in His defense of the Bab, back in paragraph 224, states that the Qur'an is "a guidance unto the God-fearing". But if the common person cannot understand it, then that is just not true.

The Kitab-i-Iqan is all about helping the Uncle of the Bab recognize his Nephew's station. He is encouraging him throughout this book to use his own reasoning, with the Qur'an as the standard. Baha'u'llah is essentially telling the Uncle here that he has the capacity to recognize Truth. We all do.

And if anyone tries to tell him otherwise, Baha'u'llah tells him to just ignore them. I mean, we could argue with them, and tell them how ridiculous they are, but isn't that just more contention? Nah, it's best to just ignore them like the gadflies they are.

Of course, we have a lot of other questions about this, but they're all addressed in the next paragraph.