Paragraph 238

Although the outward meaning of “Whom God causeth to err through a knowledge” is what hath been revealed, yet to Us it signifieth those divines of the age who have turned away from the Beauty of God, and who, clinging unto their own learning, as fashioned by their own fancies and desires, have denounced God’s divine Message and Revelation. “Say: It is a weighty Message, from which ye turn aside!” Likewise, He saith: “And when Our clear verses are recited to them, they say, ‘This is merely a man who would fain pervert you from your father’s worship.’ And they say, ‘This is none other than a forged falsehood.’”

We're still continuing on with the quote, "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.” The question, of course, is how does this current quote relate to that.

The generally accepted interpretation of the verse "Whom God causeth to err through a knowledge” is that God already knows who will reject the verses, and He therefore punishes them ahead of time by veiling their eyes and hearts. That doesn't quite seem reasonable, as it appears to take free-will out of the equation. In fact, it reminds us of paragraph 98 where He refutes the idea that the Christians didn't have the real Gospel. The very idea goes against the concept of justice. Similarly, this interpretation that God would punish people ahead of time doesn't make sense either. After all, one of the very first attributes of God mentioned in the Qur'an is the Compassionate. How would this demonstrate compassion?

Instead of this interpretation, Baha'u'llah offers a different one. It isn't an affirmation that God is responsible for people turning away. It is a recognition that there are those who turn away from the Manifestation because of their own learning.

This reminds us of Haji Mirza Karim Khan, that individual who Baha'u'llah talked about in paragraphs 203 - 210. Of him He quoted, “The most grievous of all veils is the veil of knowledge.”

Baha'u'llah isn't slamming knowledge here, though. He is condemning the idea that so many of us have that our knowledge is somehow final. This is the veil that has prevented people over and over throughout history from recognizing the new Manifestation. That is one of the reasons why He recounted all those stories of the other Manifestations at the very beginning of the Iqan. He is showing how this has been the problem in every age.

This is also how it relates to that quote, "those who believe not in the verses of God". When we read those verses, they show that this problem has occurred every single time. So if we are falling into the same pattern, have we really believed in them?

This also goes back to that first paragraph in Part Two, where He says the Manifestation has "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." They come with true knowledge, explaining what the older verses meant, but nobody obeys them because they're too busy obeying their own understanding and desires.  

Baha'u'llah isn't offering the uncle any more facts here. He isn't giving him anything new, in a sense. He is, instead, removing this veil. He is helping the uncle look at the world in a new way. He already knows the Word of God. He already knows the prophecies. What Baha'u'llah does, though, is help the uncle see them in a new light.

Once this happens, then the uncle will be ready to approach the Writings of the Bab without any veils preventing him from seeing them in their true light.

But we do have one more question. Baha'u'llah says that they "have denounced God’s divine Message and Revelation"? Are these two different things? We'd love to hear your thoughts on that.

Paragraph 237

Even as thou dost witness how the people of the Qur’án, like unto the people of old, have allowed the words “Seal of the Prophets” to veil their eyes. And yet, they themselves testify to this verse: “None knoweth the interpretation thereof but God and they that are well-grounded in knowledge.” And when He Who is well-grounded in all knowledge, He Who is the Mother, the Soul, the Secret, and the Essence thereof, revealeth that which is the least contrary to their desire, they bitterly oppose Him and shamelessly deny Him. These thou hast already heard and witnessed. Such deeds and words have been solely instigated by leaders of religion, they that worship no God but their own desire, who bear allegiance to naught but gold, who are wrapt in the densest veils of learning, and who, enmeshed by its obscurities, are lost in the wilds of error. Even as the Lord of being hath explicitly declared: “What thinkest thou? He who hath made a God of his passions, and whom God causeth to err through a knowledge, and whose ears and whose heart He hath sealed up, and over whose sight He hath cast a veil—who, after his rejection by God, shall guide such a one? Will ye not then be warned?”

We're still looking at the quote, "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.” How does this paragraph help advance the argument Baha'u'llah is laying out? How does it help advance the uncle in his understanding and recognition of his Nephew?

He begins by referring the uncle to the past again. Back in Part 1, He asked the uncle to "consider the past", and see how the same issues arose with every single Dispensation. And once again, the same arguments are being rolled out, arguments that the uncle himself asked. How could the Bab be the Promised One when the prophecies were not fulfilled the way the people expect?

He also reminds the uncle of the difficulty that people have had with the phrase, "Seal of the Prophets". Back in paragraph 172, when He first mentioned it, He explained it in terms of all the Manifestations being able to adopt all the various titles. He pointed out that it is a "sore test unto all mankind", but didn't really explain it beyond saying that it can apply to them all. He didn't push the issue, but allowed the uncle to come to an understanding of it that is broader than the general population. He let the uncle discover it for himself.

Here, though, He goes a bit further and says very plainly that it is a veil that has prevented recognition.

Rather than defend His point, He reminds the uncle that the words, by the Qur'an itself, are difficult to grasp. But then He does something very interesting.

In the previous paragraphs talking about this quote, the argument seemed to centre around theology, how the people interpreted the verses. Or it referred to how the people refused to believe that another Prophet could come. But here, in this paragraph, Baha'u'llah shifts the argument back to the moral. He says that they don't believe because of their desires. It moves from an intellectual problem back to a moral issue.

These issues have never been about theology, or interpretation of scripture. They have always been moral issues.

Another point that we find fascinating is the use of descriptors: the Mother, the Soul, the Secret, and the Essence.

Why these four? Why this order?

It would be so easy to skip over them, couched as they are in such a weighty section of the book. But nothing Baha'u'llah does is accidental.

The "Mother" is the source of life. She is the one who gives birth to the body. Perhaps He is alluding to the source, the Manifestation, that gives birth to our understanding.

The "soul" is the source of life that animates the body. It is that unknowable essence within us. Perhaps He is alluding to the fact that the Manifestation is not only the source of our knowledge, but its life, too.

The "secret" is hidden. It is not immediately obvious. When speaking of prophecy and interpretation, perhaps it is a reminder that the Manifestation is that secret hidden within the words.

And the fourth step is the "essence", that which is the very core, the inner reality. And is that not exactly what the Manifestation is?

Here the very source, life, inner reality, and essence of knowledge has appeared and explained the verses. And yet they don't believe Him.

Another point that stands out for us is the phrase "that which is the least contrary to their desire". These people already admit that not everyone can understand all the verses. But when the Manifestation offers a true interpretation, they reject it. Not because of a misunderstanding, but because they don't like it. It challenges their assumptions.

Actually, it's more than that. He doesn't say it is because of something "most contrary to their desires". It is the "least contrary to their desires". In other words, it is not the magnitude of the challenge, but the challenge itself.

And maybe that is why this is, in reality, a moral problem and not an intellectual one.

That would explain why, as He says in paragraph 233, "The understanding of His words and the comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven are in no wise dependent upon human learning."

Paragraph 236

After the denials and denunciations which they uttered, and unto which We have referred, they protested saying: “No independent Prophet, according to our Scriptures, should arise after Moses and Jesus to abolish the Law of divine Revelation. Nay, he that is to be made manifest must needs fulfill the Law.” Thereupon this verse, indicative of all the divine themes, and testifying to the truth that the flow of the grace of the All-Merciful can never cease, was revealed: “And Joseph came to you aforetime with clear tokens, but ye ceased not to doubt of the message with which He came to you, until, when He died, ye said, ‘God will by no means raise up a Messenger after Him.’ Thus God misleadeth him who is the transgressor, the doubter." Therefore, understand from this verse and know of a certainty that the people in every age, clinging to a verse of the Book, have uttered such vain and absurd sayings, contending that no Prophet should again be made manifest to the world. Even as the Christian divines who, holding fast to the verse of the Gospel to which We have already referred, have sought to explain that the law of the Gospel shall at no time be annulled, and that no independent Prophet shall again be made manifest, unless He confirmeth the law of the Gospel. Most of the people have become afflicted with the same spiritual disease.

Baha'u'llah is still continuing with His proofs from the Qur'an. Earlier we said that we saw nine quotes that He was using, with occasional references to support those nine. The case could easily be made that this paragraph is looking at a new quote, a tenth one in addition to the nine we offered. And sure, that can be made. No problem. But we prefer to look at it this other way, focusing our attention on the quotes that are cited at the very beginning of the paragraphs.

For that, we see all these paragraphs, from paragraph 234 all the way through paragraph 241, as explaining the quote, "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.”

They are all about how the people responded to Muhammad after reading or hearing His verses.

They began by calling him a poet, claiming that all He did was rearrange verses from the past. Now they're claiming that they can't be divinely revealed verses because God wouldn't send another Messenger.

You may note that He has already addressed this issue back in paragraph 147, where He quoted, "'The Hand of God,' say the Jews, 'is chained up.' Chained up be their own hands!" This, of course, is referring to the Jewish leaders denying Muhammad based on this exact same argument. He continues in paragraphs 172 and 173, where He talks about the "Seal of the Prophets", saying that the "mystery of this theme hath... been a sore test unto all mankind."

Here He offers the example of Joseph, and how the people denied Him until after He died. What's interesting about this is that he could have mentioned Moses, or Jesus, or even Muhammad, but He chose to reference Joseph here. Why? Possibly because the brothers benefited from Joseph numerous times, once when they sold Him into slavery, and again when He invited them into Egypt to escape the famine. But still, they didn't recognize Him until after He died.

Then they said that God would never raise up another. It is the same argument over and over again, and it all comes back to the idea that "we shall never meet Him". It is a claim of finality, even though all the Scriptures say that He shall return.

The natural question is why is Baha'u'llah addressing this theme yet again? How does it help the uncle advance in his understanding of the station of his Nephew?

The uncle is faced with a question that none of us shall ever face. He essentially asked, very reasonably, "How can my nephew be the Promised One?" And just as Muhammad's uncle was faced with the same question, this uncle had to contend with it, too. Just as Joseph's brothers were faced with the same question.

Baha'u'llah seems to be getting the uncle to raise the question from simple recognition to the more personal question, "Why do I find it difficult to believe?" That is a personal question, not just a theological one. By mentioning Joseph, Baha'u'llah seems to be reminding the uncle that Joseph was the brother of those who betrayed Him. It changes the question from one of evidence to something a little bit closer. He already loves the Bab. He made the journey all the way to Baghdad because of that love. But now he has to contend with the reality that his refusing to believe may be due to it being too close. Joseph was someone's brother. Jesus was someone's carpenter. Muhammad was someone's nephew. And so is the Bab.

The rest of us, though, have a similar variation. We all read in our sacred Texts that the Messenger we follow will return. Sure, we think. Sounds great. I wish I could be there when He does, but it won't be in my lifetime. How could it be?

Well, it has to be in someone's lifetime. So we must be open to the possibility that it is ours. As it says in Matthew 24:44, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

So many of us, if we were faced with that reality, would not believe it. We would be convinced that it must be either a hoax, or the person must be mad, just as they thought of Muhammad.

Aside from the various things Baha'u'llah has said here, we feel that this is just a social reality of the human condition.

But let's look at that last sentence again. He says "Most of the people have become afflicted with the same spiritual disease." Which spiritual disease is He referring to? At this point in the argument, Baha'u'llah seems to be pointing out that the issue is between anticipation and recognition. And that particular point is based on arrogance and pride, which we can easily see as a spiritual disease.

Paragraph 235

Likewise, in this day, thou hast heard the people impute similar charges to this Revelation, saying: “He hath compiled these words from the words of old”; or “these words are spurious.” Vain and haughty are their sayings, low their estate and station!

We're still looking at the quotes from the Qur'an that Baha'u'llah uses to help prove the Cause of the Bab. This particular paragraph seems to refer back to the quotes in the previous one: “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.” Also, “And they say, ‘Shall we then abandon our gods for a crazed poet?’”

Spurious means that they are accusing Him of plagiarizing.

So Baha'u'llah is pointing out that that the people of His day are making the same claims of the Bab that the people of old made of Muhammad, namely that all He is doing is rehashing old ideas.

Ok, that's the paragraph. Pretty straightforward. Now what?

Well, the question that has been growing on us for the last little while is why does Baha'u'llah put this here? How does it help the uncle move towards recognition of the Bab? The simple answer is that it reinforces the idea that these things continually repeat. After all, that was the main point back in the beginning when He told us to look at the Surih of Hud. It is the basic essence of the idea behind the Return.

But there is so much more than that.

Baha'u'llah is also helping him learn to distrust a particular type of argument. After all, it's the same one that was made against Muhammad, so why should it now be relevant against the Bab?

In addition to that, the accusation of it merely being a rehash of the old ideas? Well, of course it is, in the sense that it's familiar. Remember, all the Manifestations refer to the previous faiths. That's part of the nature of Progressive Revelation. They build upon each other. So familiarity should not be a source of confusion. It should help reinforce the validity.

This is part of what Baha'u'llah is helping the uncle see. 

But there is one other point that makes us wonder. Why does He include that last sentence? Why is He calling their words "vain and haughty"? Why is He accusing them of being of low estate and station? Couldn't He just say that they are wrong?

Vain and haughty, to start, means that these words are both unjustly and blatantly proud. What are they proud of? Their learning? The fact that they recognize these words from the past? Perhaps. But then they are missing the point of Progressive Revelation.

In addition to that, He then points out that the "estate and station" of those who make these claims are low. They see the words, but do not understand the essence of them, for they don't recognize them in their new form. They fail to see that the ideas are not only being explained, but elevated and revived for this new day.

Which is exactly what Baha'u'llah is doing here.

He is using the stories of old to help the uncle see his own faith in a new light. He is using the quotes from the Qur'an to help him break free of the shackles of tradition. In short, He is helping the uncle learn how to recognize his own Nephew.

All the quotes He has cited up to this point have essentially told the uncle to read the Writings of the Bab, and judge for himself whether or not they are from God. Here, He is warning the uncle that as he does this, he will likely see things that are familiar. And that he should be prepared for this, expect it, and not see it as a flaw, for it is exactly what has always been done in the past.

And that is worthy of consideration.

Paragraph 234

And likewise, He saith: “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.” Also, “And they say, ‘Shall we then abandon our gods for a crazed poet?’” The implication of this verse is manifest. Behold what they observed after the verses were revealed. They called Him a poet, scoffed at the verses of God, and exclaimed saying: “These words of his are but tales of the Ancients!” By this they meant that those words which were spoken by the peoples of old Muḥammad hath compiled and called them the Word of God.

Baha'u'llah now returns to the quotes from the Qur'an which He is using to encourage the uncle to look at the Writings of the Bab to verify His Cause.

He started by reminding the uncle that the Qur'an is the proof offered by Muhammad, and that there is nothing else like the Word of God. He then showed him what the response has often been to the Revelations. Now He is pointing out that the prophecies about the Return are real, and that he should not doubt it.

Now, in this paragraph there are technically two quotes. "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.” As well as, “And they say, ‘Shall we then abandon our gods for a crazed poet?’”

The question is how do these two relate?

We're not really sure, but it seems that they are unable to imagine that they are actually meeting a Manifestation, and so they default to the idea that He must be crazy, instead.

But these quotes are not coming out the blue. They are part of His overall defense of the Cause of the Bab. The people of the past claimed that all Muhammad was doing was restating things that had been said previously. And while that is partly true, for all Revelations remind people of the truths of old, He also offered a lot more. The uncle, as a Muslim, would be fully aware of this.

However, this contention, that of only restating what had already been revealed before, was also hurled at the Bab. The only way to counter this argument is to actually read the Writings of the Bab for yourself and see how much more He revealed.

But there's another point that we found interesting. The quotes come from the Surah entitled The Spider, and they are found in the story of Lot.

Now, the people who are making these accusations of Muhammad taking stories from the past, and not looking at what He has revealed that is new, is also similar to Lot's story. Why was his wife turned to a pillar of salt? Because she was looking back. That's why she became bitter, which is the metaphor of salt.

Perhaps Baha'u'llah is alluding to the dangers of looking backwards. Way back in paragraph 3 He told us to "Consider the past", but has also given us stern warnings about the dangers of it. Remember, in paragraph 68 He warned, "this servant regardeth the consideration of such records a grave mistake and a grievous transgression". He doesn't want us to dwell on the past. As He so famously said, "Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in..."

In addition to all this, the last sentence stands out for us. The people claimed that Muhammad took some old verses and "called them the Word of God". Going back to the second quote that Baha'u'llah gave us in this section of the Iqan, "then produce a Surah like it...", He did. Muahammad wrote Surah's that are incomparable. And we should see if the Bab is doing the same.