In another passage He likewise saith: “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.” Behold, how lofty is the station, and how consummate the virtue, of these verses which He hath declared to be His surest testimony, His infallible proof, the evidence of His all-subduing power, and a revelation of the potency of His will. He, the divine King, hath proclaimed the undisputed supremacy of the verses of His Book over all things that testify to His truth. For compared with all other proofs and tokens, the divinely revealed verses shine as the sun, whilst all others are as stars. To the peoples of the world they are the abiding testimony, the incontrovertible proof, the shining light of the ideal King. Their excellence is unrivaled, their virtue nothing can surpass. They are the treasury of the divine pearls and the depository of the divine mysteries. They constitute the indissoluble Bond, the firm Cord, the ‘Urvatu’l-Vuthqá, the inextinguishable Light. Through them floweth the river of divine knowledge, and gloweth the fire of His ancient and consummate wisdom. This is the fire which, in one and the same moment, kindleth the flame of love in the breasts of the faithful, and induceth the chill of heedlessness in the heart of the enemy.
Here is the second quote from the Qur'an which Baha'u'llah uses to prove the Cause of the Bab: “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.” It is very reminiscent of the passage from the Tablet of Ahmad, "O people, if ye deny these verses, by what proof have ye believed in God? Produce it, O assemblage of false ones."
He began by showing that we should only use the Qur'an, or more accurately the verses of God, as the basis for our proof. Now He is pointing out that these verses really are beyond compare. He will talk about this quote for two paragraphs.
In essence, though, He is reminding the friends that nobody else can produce verses like what we find in the Holy Books. The very production of them is, itself, a miracle. And this is one of the reasons why we should not "regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets". The words of the Manifestations are their proof, not anything that we could say or do. These words are, in short, divinely revealed. And all of this prepares us for looking at the Writings of the Bab as His proof. Not His fulfillment of prophecy. Not reports of His miracles. His Writings. Everything else is secondary, as demonstrated by this quote from Muhammad.
Baha'u'llah goes on and says that these verses are "His surest testimony, His infallible proof, the evidence of His all-subduing power, and a revelation of the potency of His will". Why these in this order? We're not sure, but we think it all begins with His testimony, His account of the truth that needs to be revealed. This truth is the proof of His Mission, and the Mission itself. It is how the world will be transformed. And this transformation is, in fact, a literal demonstration of His power, and how nothing can resist it. In the end, they truly do show "the potency of His will".
Baha'u'llah compares the the divinely revealed verses to the sun, while all other writings are merely as stars. This is quite a powerful comparison, for we can all visualize the difference between them. The stars are just little twinkling points of light that stand out only because the night sky is so dark. Once the sun rises, though, they fade to nothingness. There is, however, another dimension to this metaphor, of course. Stars can be a source of guidance in the night for sailors, but they fail to guide us in the daylight. During the daytime, sailors look to the sun for guidance. While not discounting the importance of all the commentaries on the Qur'an for helping us find our way over the past thousand years, He gently reminds us that they are not a proof of the validity of the sacred Text. The light of the sun is its own testimony.
One question that has come up a few times is what is the 'Urvatu’l-Vuthqá? We know it translates to the "sure handle" or the "firm cord", and that it refers to the Faith of God, but what exactly is it?
'Urvatu'l-Vuthqá is an old Arabic term referring to the handle on a ceramic vessel. If you imagine an old vessel for getting water in a well, you can picture a handle on it, also made of ceramic. Kind of like the handle on a coffee mug. A cord would be tied through this handle, and it would then be used to lower the vessel into the well to get some water. If you know anything about ceramics, you understand that this handle is the weakest point of the piece. It is the part that is most likely to break.
Now, imagine you are a traveler in the desert. You come across a well, and now you have a choice. If you're thirsty, you will draw out some of the water and drink your fill. Of course, you might not be thirsty, but you probably need to refill your canteens. Either way, this ceramic vessel is very important. And if the handle breaks, you might be in a lot of trouble. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that this handle is a matter of life and death. If it breaks, the chances of dying are quite high, for how else can you get the water you so desperately need?
But there is another aspect to it, namely the work involved. You don't just toss the vessel into the well. You have to carefully lower it and allow it to fill, presuming that there's water in the well. Then you need to haul it up. And just in case you've never done it, lifting a full pail of water out of a well is not easy. It's hard work. It requires determination and strength. And then, once we get it? We're delighted, even relieved. We can now safely continue on our journey.
The 'Urvatu’l-Vuthqá was a reference to the handle that would never break, and has come to be a symbol for the Faith of God. By using this term here, Baha'u'llah is reinforcing the concept of clinging to the Words in the Qur'an, and putting in the work of study, prayer, and faith, for anything else can fail us in our time of desperate need.
At this point we could talk about all the other metaphors He uses here. We could talk about the river, and how if a river stops flowing it becomes stagnant and a source of disease. We could go into detail about the fire, and how it has this duality of being a "flame of love" to some yet "induceth the chill of heedlessness" to others. We could mention how it reminds us of that line from the Tablet of Ahmad, "Be thou as a flame of fire to My enemies and a river of life eternal to My loved ones", or how all of this brings to mind the Tablet of the World. But honestly, there is so much here that we feel we should just move on and let you, dear Reader, find your own connections and inspiration from this dewdrop from the Ocean of Divine Revelation.
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