That which is preeminent above all other gifts, is incorruptible in nature,
and pertaineth to God Himself, is the gift of Divine Revelation. Every
bounty conferred by the Creator upon man, be it material or spiritual, is
subservient unto this. It is, in its essence, and will ever so remain, the
Bread which cometh down from Heaven. It is God's supreme testimony, the
clearest evidence of His truth, the sign of His consummate bounty, the
token of His all-encompassing mercy, the proof of His most loving
providence, the symbol of His most perfect grace. He hath, indeed, partaken
of this highest gift of God who hath recognized His Manifestation in this
Day.

Render thanks unto thy Lord for having vouchsafed unto thee so great a
bounty. Lift up thy voice and say: All praise be to Thee, O Thou, the
Desire of every understanding heart!
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 195
 

This is one of the verities that lie enshrined in My Revelation -- a verity
which I have revealed in all the heavenly Books, which I have caused the
Tongue of Grandeur to utter, and the Pen of Power to inscribe. Ponder a
while thereon, that with both your inner and outer eye, ye may perceive the
subtleties of Divine wisdom and discover the gems of heavenly knowledge
which, in clear and weighty language, I have revealed in this exalted and
incorruptible Tablet, and that ye may not stray far from the All-Highest
Throne, from the Tree beyond which there is no passing, from the Habitation
of everlasting might and glory.

The signs of God shine as manifest and resplendent as the sun amidst the
works of His creatures. Whatsoever proceedeth from Him is apart, and will
always remain distinguished, from the inventions of men. From the Source of
His knowledge countless Luminaries of learning and wisdom have risen, and
out of the Paradise of His Pen the breath of the All-Merciful hath
continually been wafted to the hearts and souls of men. Happy are they that
have recognized this truth.
--Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 144
 

These Manifestations of God have each a twofold station. One is the station
of pure abstraction and essential unity. In this respect, if thou callest
them all by one name, and dost ascribe to them the same attribute, thou
hast not erred from the truth. Even as He hath revealed: "No distinction do
We make between any of His Messengers!" For they one and all summon the
people of the earth to acknowledge the Unity of God, and herald unto them
the Kawthar of an infinite grace and bounty. They are all invested with the
robe of Prophethood, and honoured with the mantle of glory. Thus hath
Muhammad, the Point of the Qur'án, revealed: "I am all the Prophets."
Likewise, He saith: "I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus." Similar
statements have been made by `Alí. Sayings such as this, which indicate the
essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness, have also emanated from the
Channels of God's immortal utterance, and the Treasuries of the gems of
divine knowledge, and have been recorded in the scriptures. These
Countenances are the recipients of the Divine Command, and the day-springs
of His Revelation. This Revelation is exalted above the veils of plurality
and the exigencies of number. Thus He saith: "Our Cause is but one."
Inasmuch as the Cause is one and the same, the Exponents thereof also must
needs be one and the same. Likewise, the Imáms of the Muhammadan Faith,
those lamps of certitude, have said: "Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our
last, Muhammad our all."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 152-153
 

III. The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the
Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished
Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the
Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The
advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred
Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath
strayed from its path and shut out itself from its glory.

Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize
and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts. This is a Revelation,
under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood, myriads of
oceans will be his recompense. Take heed, O friends, that ye forfeit not so
inestimable a benefit, or disregard its transcendent station. Consider the
multitude of lives that have been, and are still being, sacrificed in a
world deluded by a mere phantom which the vain imaginations of its peoples
have conceived. Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as ye have attained unto
your heart's Desire, and been united to Him Who is the Promise of all
nations. Guard ye, with the aid of the one true God--exalted be His
glory--the integrity of the station which ye have attained, and cleave to
that which shall promote His Cause. He, verily, enjoineth on you what is
right and conducive to the exaltation of man's station. Glorified be the
All-Merciful, the Revealer of this wondrous Tablet.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 5-6
 

X. O Husayn! Consider the eagerness with which certain peoples and nations
have anticipated the return of Imám-Husayn, whose coming, after the
appearance of the Qá'im, hath been prophesied, in days past, by the chosen
ones of God, exalted be His glory. These holy ones have, moreover,
announced that when He Who is the Day Spring of the manifold grace of God
manifesteth Himself, all the Prophets and Messengers, including the Qá'im,
will gather together beneath the shadow of the sacred Standard which the
Promised One will raise. That hour is now come. The world is illumined with
the effulgent glory of His countenance. And yet, behold how far its peoples
have strayed from His path! None have believed in Him except them who,
through the power of the Lord of Names, have shattered the idols of their
vain imaginings and corrupt desires and entered the city of certitude. The
seal of the choice Wine of His Revelation hath, in this Day and in His
Name, the Self-Sufficing, been broken. Its grace is being poured out upon
men. Fill thy cup, and drink in, in His Name, the Most Holy, the
All-Praised.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 12
 

For this reason did Muhammad cry out: "No Prophet of God hath suffered such
harm as I have suffered." And in the Qur'án are recorded all the calumnies
and reproaches uttered against Him, as well as all the afflictions which He
suffered. Refer ye thereunto, that haply ye may be informed of that which
hath befallen His Revelation. So grievous was His plight, that for a time
all ceased to hold intercourse with Him and His companions. Whoever
associated with Him fell a victim to the relentless cruelty of His
enemies....
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 25
 

Such revelation is confined to His Prophets and chosen Ones, inasmuch as none
mightier than they hath come to exist in the world of being. This truth all
recognize, and bear witness thereto. These Prophets and chosen Ones of God are
the recipients and revealers of all the unchangeable attributes and names of
God. They are the mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God.
Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who
is both the Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin
of all things, and attainment unto Him, are impossible save through knowledge
of, and attainment unto, these luminous Beings who proceed from the Sun of
Truth.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 142
 

O My servants [believers]! Through the might of God and His power, and
out of the treasury of His knowledge and wisdom, I have brought forth
and revealed unto you the pearls that lay concealed in the depths of
His everlasting ocean. I have summoned the Maids of Heaven to emerge
from behind the veil of concealment, and have clothed them with these
words of Mine--words of consummate power and wisdom. I have, moreover,
with the hand of divine power, unsealed the choice wine of My Revelation,
and have wafted its holy, its hidden, and musk-laden fragrance upon all
created things. Who else but yourselves is to be blamed if ye choose to
remain unendowed with so great an outpouring of God's transcendent and
all-encompassing grace, with so bright a revelation of His resplendent
mercy?...
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 327
 

One day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We beheld
its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their
midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what the pen is powerless to
describe; nor can it set forth that which the eye of the Lord of Mankind
witnessed in that most sanctified, that most sublime, that blest, and most
exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left We gazed on one of the Beauties of the
Most Sublime Paradise, standing on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying:
"O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My
revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and
the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever
will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My
hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Bahá, and the vesture of
glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument
for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings."
Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of
creation.'
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 3
 

By God! This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust, can, besides these
melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able, apart from these utterances, to
unfold innumerable mysteries. Every single note of its unpronounced
utterances is immeasurably exalted above all that hath already been revealed,
and immensely glorified beyond that which hath streamed from this Pen. Let
the future disclose the hour when the Brides of inner meaning will, as
decreed by the Will of God, hasten forth, unveiled, out of their mystic
mansions, and manifest themselves in the ancient realm of being. Nothing
whatsoever is possible without His permission; no power can endure save
through His power, and there is none other God but He. His is the world of
creation, and His the Cause of God. All proclaim His Revelation, and all
unfold the mysteries of His Spirit.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 175
 

XXI. O Salmán! The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been,
and will continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No man's
understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a token of His
mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He hath manifested unto
men the Day Stars of His divine guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and
hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical with the
knowledge of His own Self. Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso
hearkeneth to their call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso
testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God
Himself. Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso
disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God. Every one of them is the Way of
God that connecteth this world with the realms above, and the Standard of His
Truth unto every one in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. They are the
Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of
His glory.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 49