For instance, a certain man, reputed for his learning and attainments, and accounting himself as one of the preeminent leaders of his people, hath in his book denounced and vilified all the exponents of true learning. This is made abundantly clear by his explicit statements as well as by his allusions throughout his book. As We had frequently heard about him, We purposed to read some of his works. Although We never felt disposed to peruse other peoples’ writings, yet as some had questioned Us concerning him, We felt it necessary to refer to his books, in order that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and understanding. His works, in the Arabic tongue, were, however, not available, until one day a certain man informed Us that one of his compositions, entitled Irshádu’l-‘Avám, could be found in this city. From this title We perceived the odor of conceit and vainglory, inasmuch as he hath imagined himself a learned man and regarded the rest of the people ignorant. His worth was in fact made known by the very title he had chosen for his book. It became evident that its author was following the path of self and desire, and was lost in the wilderness of ignorance and folly. Methinks he had forgotten the well-known tradition which sayeth: “Knowledge is all that is knowable; and might and power, all creation.” Notwithstanding, We sent for the book, and kept it with Us a few days. It was probably referred to twice. The second time, We accidentally came upon the story of the “Mi‘ráj” of Muḥammad, of whom was spoken: “But for Thee, I would not have created the spheres.” We noticed that he had enumerated some twenty or more sciences, the knowledge of which he considered to be essential for the comprehension of the mystery of the “Mi‘ráj.” We gathered from his statements that unless a man be deeply versed in them all, he can never attain to a proper understanding of this transcendent and exalted theme. Among the specified sciences were the science of metaphysical abstractions, of alchemy, and natural magic. Such vain and discarded learnings, this man hath regarded as the prerequisites of the understanding of the sacred and abiding mysteries of divine Knowledge.
With this paragraph, Baha'u'llah begins talking about a "certain man". He will talk about this individual for a good ten paragraphs, what we see as the culmination of those twenty-two paragraphs discussing the two stations of the Manifestations of God. Previously He had given us the positive example of a sincere seeker who was willing to look at new ideas in his search for truth. But now He is giving us the negative example of one who was not. To us it gets the reader to ask themselves whether or not they are truly open to this new concept of the Manifestations, and which of these two individuals they want to emulate.
To begin, we want to point out that this "certain man" was Haji Mirza Karim Khan, a disciple of Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim. He had the temerity to "take over" the school founded by Shaykh Ahmad, despite the fact that Siyyid Kazim told his disciples to disperse and search for the Promised One. He fancied himself as the leader of this new movement and became an inveterate enemy of both the Babis and the Baha'is.
Baha'u'llah is using this man as an example from the previous paragraph, in which He talked about people who do not understand what true Knowledge is, and instead follow "those images fashioned by their own fancy and which have sprung from the embodiments of ignorance".
Many people questioned Baha'u'llah about this man, and so He says He had to "refer to his books, in order that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and understanding". This is such a great example of doing the research before commenting.
In fact, it seems to be the exact opposite of what this other man does.
Baha'u'llah is showing humility here. This other man is showing nothing but haughty pride and arrogance. Entitling his book "Guidance unto the Ignorant"? What presumption. To claim that you must master all these various schools of thought before you can understand the Word of God? How ridiculous. The Word of God is there for all, not just the so-called learned. As Jesus said, all you need is faith the size of a mustard grain, not a whole tree.
Of course, He will elaborate on all this in the paragraphs to come.
For now, this all revolves around the dangers of pride. It goes right back to the beginning of the book where He says "Sanctify your souls, of peoples of world". And one of the first steps in sanctifying our soul is to be humble in our search for truth.
If we look back at how Baha'u'llah talks about the earlier Manifestations, back at the very beginning of the book, He regularly encourages the reader to verify what He says. He doesn't place Himself above the reader. Instead He encourages the reader to walk the path of learning for themselves, demonstrating humility while guiding the reader to greater truths.
