For instance, the Qur’án was an impregnable stronghold unto the people of Muḥammad. In His days, whosoever entered therein was shielded from the devilish assaults, the menacing darts, the soul-devouring doubts, and blasphemous whisperings of the enemy. Upon him was also bestowed a portion of the everlasting and goodly fruits—the fruits of wisdom from the divine Tree. To him was given to drink the incorruptible waters of the river of knowledge and to taste the wine of the mysteries of divine Unity.
We now find ourselves at an entirely new section of the Iqan. Now that Baha'u'llah has taught us how to read sacred Text in Part One, explained the nature and station of the Manifestations of God, as well as gone into great detail about their two stations, and now that He has outlined for us our role as a true seeker, He is ready to dive into His proofs of the Bab and His mission. He will offer us four types of proof: proofs from the Qur'an, proofs from His followers, proof from His own life, and then, albeit reluctantly, proofs from the traditions of the uncle's faith. The first one, looking at the proofs from the Qur'an, will be unfolded over the next 26 paragraphs.
When describing the nature and station of the true seeker, at the very end of those seven paragraphs He explained to us that what it is we are seeking, that City of God, is, in truth, the Word of God for our day. Just as it was the Pentateuch in the days of Moses, and the Gospel in the time of Jesus, and the Qur'an for those companions of Muhammad, it is now the Bayan in the days of the Bab when this book was written. Of course, following that, it is the word of Baha'u'llah, for we have moved on to a new Day yet again. The important thing here is to recognize the Day in which we are living and to seek out God's guidance specific to our own time.
In this particular paragraph, this moment of transition to the proofs He has been so patiently waiting to use, He is fully stressing the importance of Muhammad and the Qur'an. He is giving great importance to how it protected the people of His day.
In fact, it is worth remembering that He has just fully vindicated all the Books of the past. They are all, as He said, that City of God which we can fully explore once we enter. Attainment unto that City is not the end of our journey. Once we arrive within it, we then need to search it. We need to explore "every blade of grass", "every rosebush", "Its wondrous tulips", "every leaf", and go searching "within every chamber".
As we do so, we should be conscious of the fact that this City will protect us, just as any good city will do. Just as the Tanakh and the Gospel were the impregnable strongholds for the Jewish and Christian peoples, the Qur'an is the same for the Muslims. Each and all of them, as well as all the other sacred books, fulfill the same function, and should be treated with the same regard.
It is interesting to note, as we often do in our explorations of this text, that He begins with the protective qualities of the Word of God. It protects us from "assaults", which tend to be of a more physical nature, close in proximity, as well as the "darts", which tend to be hurled from a greater distance. While the former are fairly easy to try and sidestep, the latter are more dangerous in that we may not see them coming, nor know from which direction they arose. But as Baha'u'llah usually does, He continues with His crescendo. More dangerous than the physical attacks, both near and distant, are the "doubts" and "blasphemous whisperings". And this is where the Word of God really helps us the most. By turning back to the Writings, looking at what the good Book actually says, we will be able to avoid the doubts and whisperings that lead so many astray.
Beyond that, though, even beyond our physical and mental safety, we are also being given both food and drink, which are necessary for sustaining us. The fruits, interestingly, bring us in mind of the book of Genesis, with the Garden of Eden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. From there we move on the water and wine, which, of course, remind us of Jesus. At every step Baha'u'llah continually reminds us of the great spiritual path upon which we, humanity, have been walking. Not content with only looking at the Qur'an, He constantly brings us back to the other books of God, affirming them as good sources of knowledge, worthy of the title "City of God".
When we read these books, we acquire a taste of the simple "waters" of "knowledge" contained within them. But when we dive deep within them and explore with both our heart and soul, then we can imbibe of the far more complex "wine" and recognize those "mysteries of divine unity".
