Paragraph 224

In the beginning of His Book He saith: “Alif. Lám. Mím. No doubt is there about this Book: It is a guidance unto the God-fearing.” In the disconnected letters of the Qur’án the mysteries of the divine Essence are enshrined, and within their shells the pearls of His Unity are treasured. For lack of space We do not dwell upon them at this moment. Outwardly they signify Muḥammad Himself, Whom God addresseth saying: “O Muḥammad, there is no doubt nor uncertainty about this Book which hath been sent down from the heaven of divine Unity. In it is guidance unto them that fear God.” Consider, how He hath appointed and decreed this selfsame Book, the Qur’án, as a guidance unto all that are in heaven and on earth. He, the divine Being, and unknowable Essence, hath, Himself, testified that this Book is, beyond all doubt and uncertainty, the guide of all mankind until the Day of Resurrection. And now, We ask, is it fair for this people to view with doubt and misgiving this most weighty Testimony, the divine origin of which God hath proclaimed, and which He hath pronounced to be the embodiment of truth? Is it fair for them to turn away from the thing which He hath appointed as the supreme Instrument of guidance for attainment unto the loftiest summits of knowledge, and to seek aught else but that Book? How can they allow men’s absurd and foolish sayings to sow the seeds of distrust in their minds? How can they any longer idly contend that a certain person hath spoken this or that way, or that a certain thing did not come to pass? Had there been anything conceivable besides the Book of God which could prove a more potent instrument and a surer guide to mankind, would He have failed to reveal it in that verse?

Now we are beginning to look at the actual proofs of the Bab's mission as gleaned from Qur'an. Baha'u'llah will use 9 different quotes to prove His case. This is just the first. Of course, He will intersperse commentary between the quotes, but in the end, He is looking at 9 quotes overall. This will take us all the way to paragraph 245. From there, He will look at the transformation of His followers, and then at the life and example of the Bab Himself, before reluctantly considering some of the traditions, and concluding this volume.

The first quote Baha'u'llah consider is: “Alif. Lám. Mím. No doubt is there about this Book: It is a guidance unto the God-fearing.”

Why does He select this one?

Put simply, He shows us that Muhammad Himself said the Qur'an is "a guidance unto all that are in heaven and on earth... beyond all doubt and uncertainty, the guide of all mankind until the Day of Resurrection." Nothing else is. To look to anything else for proof is ridiculous. And while some of the traditions may conform to the Qur'an, they are merely secondary in importance. In general, though, these various traditions are just confusing.

As Muhammad said, "No doubt is there about this Book". There are, however, a lot of questions about which traditions are authentic. People argue over whether one of another is authentic or not. But no Muslim would ever consider the Qur'an to be anything other than valid.

Worse, though, is that many place the words and sayings of various clergy at near the same level as the Qur'an. As Baha'u'llah says here, they "allow men’s absurd and foolish sayings to sow the seeds of distrust in their minds." And this, of course, brings us right back to the very beginning of this book, where He tells us to "be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth", and that we should cease "to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets."

The only standard set forth by Muhammad is the Qur'an itself. Not the traditions. Not the sayings of the clergy. Nothing else except the Word of God, that City of God that we attained when we fulfilled our quest as a true seeker.

The following lines are the various quotes from the Qur'an that Baha'u'llah will use in His defense of the Bab. He cites other verses, too, but they are more in support of His argument, and not really used in the argument itself. Note, of course, the flow of them, as notice how they all direct us back to the Writings themself.

• Alif. Lám. Mím. No doubt is there about this Book: It is a guidance unto the God-fearing.
• And if ye be in doubt as to that which We have sent down to Our Servant, then produce a Súrah like it, and summon your witnesses, beside God, if ye are men of truth.
• 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?
• 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.
• And when he becometh acquainted with any of Our verses he turneth them to ridicule. There is a shameful punishment for them!
• And when Our clear verses are recited to them, their only argument is to say, ‘Bring back our fathers, if ye speak the truth!
• As for those who believe not in the verses of God, or that they shall ever meet Him, these of My mercy shall despair, and these doth a grievous chastisement await.”
• Say, O people of the Book! do ye not disavow us only because we believe in God and in what He hath sent down to us, and in what He hath sent down aforetime, and because most of you are doers of ill?
• And had We sent down unto Thee a Book written on parchment, and they had touched it with their hands, the infidels would surely have said ‘This is naught but palpable sorcery.’

By continually referring to Muhammad's own comments about the Qur'an, and the power of those verses, Baha'u'llah seems to be challenging us to look to the verses of the Bab and see if they hold up.

"Produce a Súrah like it"? The Bab said He did, so check it out for yourself.

"...in what revelation will they believe, if they reject God and His verses?" Read the Bab's verses, and see what you think.

Over and over He indirectly directs our attention to the Bab's writings, subtly encouraging us to read them for ourselves. Of course, while doing this, He also debunks a lot of the criticisms that people had against the Bab, showing that Muhammad also faced those same criticisms.