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This poverty and these riches, this abasement and glory, this dominion, power, and the like, upon which the eyes and hearts of these vain and foolish souls are set,—all these things fade into utter nothingness in that Court! Even as He hath said: “O men! Ye are but paupers in need of God; but God is the Rich, the Self-Sufficing.” By ‘riches’ therefore is meant independence of all else but God, and by ‘poverty’ the lack of things that are of God.

Way back in paragraph 102, the first paragraph of Part 2, you will recall He wrote, "He verily is independent of all earthly dominion, though He be utterly destitute." Here, Baha'u'llah is continuing to help us redefine what we think of as common terms: sovereignty, wealth, power, dominion, and the like.

In fact, by citing this particular verse from the Qu'ran, 35:15, He is also reminding us of the entire Surih in which it is found. This Surih, or chapter of the Qu'ran, begins by warning the people not to be deceived by those whose motives are satanic, and then continues on by giving examples of contrasts that are not equal. He reminds us in this Surih, that not all things are equal. There is a great difference between the darkness and the light, the living and the dead. And we would do well to remember this.

It seems to us that every time Baha'u'llah quotes a passage from the Qu'ran, He is not merely quoting that particular passage, but in fact is reminding us of the entire context of the quote itself.

In Part 1 of this book, the Kitab-i-Iqan, Baha'u'llah gave us multiple meanings of those phrases from Jesus, found in Matthew 24. Here, in Part 2, He is redefining basic terms so that these meanings can make sense.

For example, if we think of wealth as the mere acquisition of worldly property, then the statements about the wealth of the Messenger of God make no sense. Neither Jesus nor Muhammad were what we would call wealthy. And if we try to apply this limited definition to the Bab, then we would see that it doesn't apply to Him either.

But when we look at Baha'u'llah's new definition, wealth and riches being independent of all save God, then we recognize the true wealth of all the Messengers and saints.

Whether in science or philosophy or religion, if we have poor definitions of our terms, then we can only go so far in our understanding before things break down. But when we get a better set of definitions, miracles can seemingly occur. The best example we have of this is Einstein redefining our concepts of time and space. Before his new definitions, we had found the limitations of the Newtonian definitions, and could not get any further in our discoveries. But with Einstein's new definitions, we had breakthroughs in various fields like chemistry, nuclear physics, computer technology, and discovered all the wonders and miracles of the modern age.

The same holds true with these new definitions that Baha'u'llah is giving us, too. When we apply the old definitions, we find that we can only go so far in our understanding of the world. Various quotes and traditions make no sense when we examine them closely. But when we use His new definitions, then wonders open up before our eyes, and everything seems so much clearer.

As we discover these new meanings, and begin to embrace them in our lives, and our vision of the world around us, it is as 'Abdu'l-Baha said, "Thou shalt surely behold wondrous traces and shalt discover the signs of thy Mighty Lord."

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In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the companions of Sádiq complained of his poverty before him. Whereupon, Sádiq, that immortal beauty, made reply: “Verily thou art rich, and hast drunk the draught of wealth.” That poverty-stricken soul was perplexed at the words uttered by that luminous countenance, and said: “Where are my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?” Sádiq thereupon observed: “Dost thou not possess our love?” He replied: “Yea, I possess it, O thou scion of the Prophet of God!” And Sádiq asked him saying: “Exchangest thou this love for one thousand dinars?” He answered: “Nay, never will I exchange it, though the world and all that is therein be given me!” Then Sádiq remarked: “How can he who possesses such a treasure be called poor?”

Here, Baha'u'llah is continuing His theme of true wealth.

He says, "In like manner...", and we can see the similar refocusing of our understanding of what is meant by wealth. Whereas in the previous paragraph He talks about how poverty and wealth are an internal perception of the true wealth in the world around us, here He looks a bit more closely at what is truly valuable, namely the love of God.

It's very interesting to read this story, in our overly-consumeristic culture, for the emphasis is placed so directly on the intangible. It touches on detachment from the material, and also on the importance of love.

Today, we focus so much of our attention on work and our paycheck that we often forget about what is truly important in our life. Time and again we read of elders who are on their deathbed saying that they regret not spending more time with their family. They will often comment that they have never heard anyone say that they wished they worked a few more hours. Even as we write this, it sounds ridiculous. And yet, this is how we often define ourselves, and others. We talk about our job, or our salary.

In some cultures, though, the emphasis is on family, or religion. They talk about their ancestors or which faith they follow. In these cultures there is often a healthier balance in their lives.

When we see the true wealth of our relations, whether by blood or love, then we are far more aware of the great bounties in our life.

Baha'u'llah, in His Hidden Words, writes, "I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee." He also says, "I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty?" In both these quotes, He reminds us of the great gifts He has bestowed upon us, and that it is usually ourselves, through our lack of awareness and gratitude, that create our own inner poverty.

Here, in this story, Sadiq reminds his companion that there are many things worth far more than a few measly coins. The love of one's family, the time spent with one's children, those moments spent growing older with one's spouse: how can any of these be worth sacrificing for a bit of pocket change?

Now, this is not to say that we shouldn't work. Of course we should earn a living. But this is just to help put that into a healthy perspective.

And that, we feel, is one of the things we can learn from this paragraph.

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Thus Jesus, Son of Mary, whilst seated one day and speaking in the strain of the Holy Spirit, uttered words such as these: “O people! My food is the grass of the field, wherewith I satisfy my hunger. My bed is the dust, my lamp in the night the light of the moon, and my steed my own feet. Behold, who on earth is richer than I?” By the righteousness of God! Thousands of treasures circle round this poverty, and a myriad kingdoms of glory yearn for such abasement! Shouldst thou attain to a drop of the ocean of the inner meaning of these words, thou wouldst surely forsake the world and all that is therein, and, as the Phoenix wouldst consume thyself in the flames of the undying Fire.

Back in paragraph 102, the first paragraph in Part 2, Baha'u'llah says that the Messenger of God has "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." From there, He goes on to say that He is also "independent of all earthly dominion, though He be utterly destitute."

As He has just talked about the issue of sovereignty, we can now see that He is moving on to the next topic, namely that of wealth and poverty.

Here, in this paragraph, we see that He is connecting this to the previous theme with the word "thus". By going back a sentence we read, "Amidst the darkness of their abasement there shineth upon them the light of unfading glory, and upon their helplessness are showered the tokens of an invincible sovereignty." Now He is connecting this to the issue of wealth and poverty, demonstrating the truth of this assertion with the quote from Jesus, which clearly shows His sovereignty over the world.

If we try to focus on what we typically think of as wealth, then we will fall into the same problem as we did when we thought of sovereignty as being an earthly sovereignty. The Manifestations generally are not wealthy, in the sense that They do not have money stored up in a bank somewhere. Their wealth, Their ability to survive in the world, comes from a different perspective of the world itself. They do not count wealth based on what They can buy. They see wealth as a recognition of what is possible.

If we think of wealth as a recognition of choice, and use the buying of a car as our example, then we can clearly see that the more money we have, the more options we have. But when we recognize that we do not need a car, that our feet will carry us more places with less damage to the world around us, then we realize that we have even more choice then we first considered.

Jesus is pointing out, in this quote, that He will never starve, for He sees all the different bounties that God has given us in the world. He can eat the grass in the field, if need be. He will never be homeless, for the entire world is His bed. He has lights in the night far more beautiful than anything in our modern electric world. This, He seems to say, is true wealth, and we should not be distracted by such trivialities as money.

There is another thing here that catch our attention, too: Thousands of treasures circle round this poverty, and a myriad kingdoms of glory yearn for such abasement!

What does this mean?

Perhaps it is a recognition that this poverty, this lack of material wealth is, in fact, worth far more than any material riches. Gold, we know, can be stolen, or lost, but this perspective of our position in the world is eternal. We may lose everything we have of our material possessions, but this understanding of the true bounty all around us allows us to be detached from them.

Tying it back to the issue of sovereignty, He says that these many kingdoms long for such abasement. It reminds us of E. G. Browne's comment that Baha'u'llah was "the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain", even though to outward seeming He was a prisoner.

We could talk more about this, but really, Baha'u'llah will further explore this theme over the next few paragraphs.

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Should We wish to impart unto thee a glimmer of the mysteries of Husayn’s martyrdom, and reveal unto thee the fruits thereof, these pages could never suffice, nor exhaust their meaning. Our hope is that, God willing, the breeze of mercy may blow, and the divine Springtime clothe the tree of being with the robe of a new life; so that we may discover the mysteries of divine Wisdom, and, through His providence, be made independent of the knowledge of all things. We have, as yet, descried none but a handful of souls, destitute of all renown, who have attained unto this station. Let the future disclose what the Judgment of God will ordain, and the Tabernacle of His decree reveal. In such wise We recount unto thee the wonders of the Cause of God, and pour out into thine ears the strains of heavenly melody, that haply thou mayest attain unto the station of true knowledge, and partake of the fruit thereof. Therefore, know thou of a certainty that these Luminaries of heavenly majesty, though their dwelling be in the dust, yet their true habitation is the seat of glory in the realms above. Though bereft of all earthly possessions, yet they soar in the realms of immeasurable riches. And whilst sore tried in the grip of the enemy, they are seated on the right hand of power and celestial dominion. Amidst the darkness of their abasement there shineth upon them the light of unfading glory, and upon their helplessness are showered the tokens of an invincible sovereignty.

Here we are, the last of the six paragraphs that talk about the Imam Husayn.

It is worth remembering, here, that this is the conclusion of Baha'u'llah's argument about "true sovereignty". This was all in response to the uncle's question about how his Nephew could possibly be the Promised One when He did not appear to be a sovereign at all.

In this paragraph, after a beautiful reminder of the glorious station of the Imam Husayn, Baha'u'llah sums it up for us. Within the darkness of his abasement we could see "the light of unfading glory", and in his helplessness we could see his "invincible sovereignty". There appears to be a strange contradiction here, but this just brings us right back to paragraph 102, the very beginning of Part 2. In that paragraph, you will recall, the Messenger of God holds "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." We can see it so clearly in Husayn, and Baha'u'llah allows us, at this point, to make that connection to the Bab on our own.

He talks of the "mysteries" of Husayn's martyrdom, and the "fruits thereof", reminding us that we don't really know the benefit of his martyrdom. All good Shi'ite Muslims are well aware of Husayn, and revere him, rightly so, but that doesn't mean that they have thought about this aspect of his life and death.

Similarly, we can presume that we don't really know the effects of the martyrdom of the Bab. We do know, though, that although His "dwelling be in the dust," His "true habitation is the seat of glory in the realms above".

There is a lot of metaphor in this paragraph, a lot to do with nature. There are the fruits of his martyrdom, the breeze of mercy, the divine Springtime, the tree of being. We see the Tabernacle again, and following that we get that metaphor of music, as well as those mysterious apparent contradictions.

But what really stands out to us, amidst this wealth of imagery, is that singular word "haply", with luck. We first encountered this word way back in paragraph 1, where we were told "Sanctify your souls... that haply ye may attain that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle which... hath been raised in the firmament of the Bayán." Then we were told to "scan for a while the horizon of divine knowledge, and contemplate those words of perfection which the Eternal hath revealed, that haply the mysteries of divine wisdom... may be made manifest unto you." Over and over again He shows us these great insights into the sacred Texts of the past, hoping that, with luck, we might understand.

When He gets to Part 2, it is no longer just about understanding. In that first paragraph, paragraph 102, He hopes that through all of this, "haply", we may "soar on the wings of renunciation to those heights that are veiled from the eyes of men." He reminds us that these heights are veiled from our sight, but goes on to remind us of what we already know. These heights are real, and, with luck, we may have the opportunity to move up to them, if we but strive.

Most of all, here, we need to be careful not to let ourselves be blinded by the fact that to outward appearances, these holy Souls were disgraced, abased and powerless. Truly, He seems to say, we should know better.

In the end, if we question the validity of the Bab based on our understanding of sovereignty, then we have to question all those great souls of the past that we already revere. But when we re-examine what we understand of true sovereignty, and begin to get a better understanding of the spiritual nature of Their sovereignty, then we not only gain a greater appreciation of those Messengers of the past, and Their followers, we also come to a better understanding of the station of the Bab, Himself. This, presumably, is just a taste of that fruit of "true knowledge".

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Think not that because these things have come to pass after Husayn’s martyrdom, therefore all this glory hath been of no profit unto him. For that holy soul is immortal, liveth the life of God, and abideth within the retreats of celestial glory upon the Sadrih of heavenly reunion. These Essences of being are the shining Exemplars of sacrifice. They have offered, and will continue to offer up their lives, their substance, their souls, their spirit, their all, in the path of the Well-Beloved. By them, no station, however exalted, could be more dearly cherished. For lovers have no desire but the good-pleasure of their Beloved, and have no aim except reunion with Him.

This is the fifth of six paragraphs relating to the Imam Husayn. In it, as you can see, He talks about the sacrifice made by Husayn, and by extension all those who have made such sacrifices in the path of their Lord. It gives a list of some of the things we can offer up in this path, whether it is our life, our material goods, our very soul or spirit, everything.

This is a direct reminder, also, that our actions are not limited in their effect to this world. Do we wish to be like Husayn, or like any of the heroes of the Faith that we admire? Here He is giving us the method. He is showing us how far we have to be willing to go, how much we may be called upon to give up.

And it is very interestingly placed in the context of this book. By this point the uncle of the Bab is likely beginning to see his Nephew as being the Promised One. And while some of us may have been content with convincing the uncle, or anyone for that matter, of the truth of the Cause, Baha'u'llah, quite naturally, goes further. Here He seems to be saying, as we said way back at that juncture between parts one and two, "You believe? Fine. What are you going to do about it?"

Most of the rest of the book deals with those various heroes who have sacrificed their all, and this is just the beginning of those numerous, inspiring stories.

But here, at the very beginning of this paragraph, we are reminded that our actions, his actions, are and were not limited to this world. It is the great danger we all face, thinking that our actions are limited to this world. Here, Baha'u'llah reminds us that if we believe, then this is one of the implications of our belief: We must accept the reality that our actions carry on into the next world.

And yet there is a caution, too. We should not fall into the trap of doing good merely for the reward of heaven. We should "have no desire but the good-pleasure" of our Lord.

It is as 'Abdu'l-Baha said: "In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven... The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God."

This, we are reminded, is the touchstone. Husayn and all those "Essences of being", were prepared to sacrifice literally everything to be nearer to their Lord. How can we do any less?

One last point. We looked at this list that Baha'u'llah gave us: their lives, their substance, their souls, their spirit, their all. And honestly, we don't understand why they are in this order. We'll look at it for just a moment, but ask you, dear Reader, if you can shed more light on it.

To start, offering up your life, difficult as it is, sort of ends there. You offer it up as a martyr, and bang, you're done. That's it.

But when you offer up your substance, your material wealth, as Baha'u'llah did when He became a Babi, there is a very real question of how you survive. How do you pay for your next meal? Your shelter? How do you provide for your family? While martyrdom is quick, in some ways, this becomes more of a life-long martyrdom. So with these two, we see the beginning of that crescendo pattern that we love to look for in the Writings.

The next two, your soul and your spirit, we are stumped on. We just don't get it. Obviously they are of a higher order than both your life and your materials possessions, but why are they in that order? In fact, how are they different? It may make more sense in the original, but for us, we're stuck.

Finally, there is your all. Well, that about takes care of it, doesn't it? You can't get much more than your all. And in fact, there is a story that we are reminded of with this, that of Adam. As Tahirih pointed out, Adam was a Manifestation of God, the first One in the Adamic Cycle. The Cycle was named after Him, so come on, of course He was a Manifestation. But how does this accord with how He is treated in, say, the Bible, or history? For centuries He was regarded as something of a buffoon, having eaten the apple just because Eve asked Him. Well, this doesn't sound like a Manifestation to us. But, as Tahirih said in her incredible poem, Adam's Wish, He sacrificed His reputation to allow us, humanity, to begin this path that has led us to the revelation of both the Bab and Baha'u'llah. He taught us the difference between good and evil, and that opened up the path of choice, which has resulted in this incredible spiritual journey for all humanity. And we, the spiritual children of this glorious faith of ours, have the incredible bounty of helping humanity move on to the next stage in this path.

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Furthermore, call to mind the shameful circumstances that have attended the martyrdom of Husayn. Reflect upon his loneliness, how, to outer seeming, none could be found to aid him, none to take up his body and bury it. And yet, behold how numerous, in this day, are those who from the uttermost corners of the earth don the garb of pilgrimage, seeking the site of his martyrdom, that there they may lay their heads upon the threshold of his shrine! Such is the ascendancy and power of God! Such is the glory of His dominion and majesty!

Here we are at the fourth of six paragraphs that talk about the Imam Husayn. It all falls under the response to the question of the uncle trying to understand how the Bab demonstrated the sovereignty that was to be shown by the Promised One.

By bringing up the Imam Husayn, whom the uncle honours, and pointing out the "shameful circumstances that have attended the martyrdom" of this man, Baha'u'llah is reminding us to look to the past. If this uncle calls into question the validity of the Bab due to His martyrdom, then how can he claim to properly respect the Imam Husayn?

"Call to mind". "Reflect". These are two things that we were regularly asked to do back in Part 1. By this point, we should be fairly decent at this.

There is no question in the mind or heart of the uncle that he already knows this, and Baha'u'llah is helping him reframe his knowledge. He is pointing out the many similarities between the stories of this Imam and the Bab.

And the reference to none taking up his body? That reminds us of the Bab, Himself. At the time, only a handful of people knew that His body had been rescued from the moat outside Tabriz.

Today, people don't just seek the site of His martyrdom, they go to His actual Shrine as part of their Baha'i Pilgrimage.

To us, the importance of this paragraph, and in fact the whole section on the Imam Husayn, is to help remind us to recognize what others feel is important and sacred. We can always use that as a starting point in our teaching. At no point does Baha'u'llah belittle Islam or any of the Imams. He continually reaffirms what the uncle knows and points out those tidbits of knowledge that will help him advance on his spiritual journey.

Baha'u'llah regularly goes back to history, shows what the uncle already knows, and seems to say, "See how this applies today?" He shows how everything that we love in the history of our religion, no matter what religion it is, can be directly applied today.

There are two other interesting points here that seem to come together. The uncle's faith is very much alive. He is a firm believer, but he is not closed-minded about it. He has serious questions that have prevented him from recognizing his Nephew, but he is willing to listen.

It is as if Baha'u'llah is saying that questions are ok. We are not expected to know everything. But we are expected to be open to hearing an answer.

Today, when talking about the Faith with others, it is important to understand this distinction. There are many people who are very spiritual, but closed to hearing anything different. There are also those who are very open to learning new things, but are not spiritual at all. We, however, need to be open to recognizing those who are both spiritual and open.

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But the purpose of these verses is not what they have imagined. Nay, the terms “ascendancy,” “power,” and “authority” imply a totally different station and meaning. For instance, consider the pervading power of those drops of the blood of Husayn which besprinkled the earth. What ascendancy and influence hath the dust itself, through the sacredness and potency of that blood, exercised over the bodies and souls of men! So much so, that he who sought deliverance from his ills, was healed by touching the dust of that holy ground, and whosoever, wishing to protect his property, treasured with absolute faith and understanding, a little of that holy earth within his house, safeguarded all his possessions. These are the outward manifestations of its potency. And were We to recount its hidden virtues they would assuredly say: “He verily hath considered the dust to be the Lord of Lords, and hath utterly forsaken the Faith of God.”

This is the third of six paragraphs talking about the Imam Husayn, and as you can see, Baha'u'llah is directing our attention to the fact that the verses cited are not what we believe they are. They do not mean what the generality of the people believe they mean. If they did, if they were to be taken literally, then they do not accord with known and recognized historical events. So either these quotes don't mean what we generally think they do, or they don't fit in with what we know of history. As we can't change history, it's easier to admit that we just don't quite understand these things correctly.

Here we begin to see with greater clarity one of the reasons He spent so much time looking at that marvelous quote from Jesus in Matthew 24. The methodology that He used in the majority of Part 1 is now being used here to better understand these references to the Imam Husayn, whom the uncle of the Bab reveres. As they were not literal at the time, it is easy to suppose that they may not be literal today, either.

You see, again, Baha'u'llah is taking the uncle from where he is, a devout Muslim who greatly admires the Imam Husayn, and helping him understand how his accurate understanding of the station of Husayn can be applied to the Bab. And make no mistake, this is not mere platitude. Baha'u'llah truly loves and admires the Imam Husayn.

He Highly praises the Imam and even goes so far as to remind the uncle just how spiritually powerful this individual is. Even the mere dust that covers the ground where he shed his blood is a potent remedy and protection.

But this leads us to a second point. It seems to us that Baha'u'llah is not actually saying anything magical here. While it is worth remembering that the Faith is, as all religions are, fundamentally mystical at its core, it also accords with science.

Here we find it just as interesting to read what He is not saying as what He is.

He does not say that we can take this dust and make instant cure-alls with it. He does not say that we can sell it as a home security system. He very carefully says that "he who sought deliverance... was healed..." He points out that those who wished to protect their property used this holy dust with "absolute faith and understanding".

In every religion we find examples of people being healed when they came in contact with the hem of the Manifestation's clothing, or other similar things we might call miracles. But in every case the onus seems to be on the faith of the individual. Baha'u'llah, here, calls this an "outward manifestation" of the potency of this blood, physically linking it to the actual blood that was spilled. But then He talks about the hidden virtues it has. This is what has caught our attention.

It made us go back and re-read the references here in this paragraph, and now we wonder if He could also be alluding to the Imam Husayn's blood, as in his blood-line. Could this be a reference to his heritage, being a descendant of Muhammad's family? Could it also be an allusion to the Bab, Himself, Who is his own descendant?

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Were the verse “And verily Our host shall conquer” to be literally interpreted, it is evident that it would in no wise be applicable to the chosen Ones of God and His hosts, inasmuch as Husayn, whose heroism was manifest as the sun, crushed and subjugated, quaffed at last the cup of martyrdom in Karbilá, the land of Táff. Similarly, the sacred verse “Fain would they put out God’s light with their mouths: But God hath willed to perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.” Were it to be literally interpreted it would never correspond with the truth. For in every age the light of God hath, to outward seeming, been quenched by the peoples of the earth, and the Lamps of God extinguished by them. How then could the ascendancy of the sovereignty of these Lamps be explained? What could the potency of God’s will to “perfect His light” signify? As hath already been witnessed, so great was the enmity of the infidels, that none of these divine Luminaries ever found a place for shelter, or tasted of the cup of tranquillity. So heavily were they oppressed, that the least of men inflicted upon these Essences of being whatsoever he listed. These sufferings have been observed and measured by the people. How, therefore, can such people be capable of understanding and expounding these words of God, these verses of everlasting glory?

This paragraph is the second of six that talks about the Imam Husayn. It's interesting because it continues the discussion about sovereignty, and how it isn't the literal sovereignty that many people believe.

One question we could ask is why Baha'u'llah is spending so much time talking about the Imam Husayn. A possible answer we could give would be that Baha'u'llah is seen as his return, but we think there is a far more plausible answer: He is writing this for the uncle of the Bab. This uncle, as you well know by now, was a devout Shi'ite Muslim. He revered the Imam Husayn and saw him as a paragon of virtue. He was, and still is, held in the highest regard by the Shi'ites. If He were talking to a Catholic, you can well imagine that He would have used Saint Peter as His example. If He were speaking to a Jew, He might have used Aaron as His example. We don't know, but we can presume that He would have used someone that they would highly regard.

On the surface we can see this as a rebuttal of how we traditionally interpret Scripture, namely the awaiting of a literal fulfillment of these prophecies, but really, Baha'u'llah already does this so well that we don't feel we need to go into it any further.

Instead, what we want to consider is how Bah'u'llah does this. Remember, this incredible text can be seen as a model for how we are to teach the Faith.

The main problem here is that the question the uncle asked had to do with a presumptive understanding that the sovereignty spoken of in the Qur'an had to be an earthly, literal sovereignty. Baha'u'llah has to correct him of this misunderstanding before He can go on.

To do this, He is looking at a few quotes that the uncle would have been familiar with, and is showing how they cannot possibly be seen as literal.

Back in paragraph 134, He chose three quotes, and is now repeating two of them. He is not taking new quotes, but using the ones He just quoted. He is even quoting them again in the same order He previously used. This undoubtedly makes it easier for the uncle to follow.

He is also alluding to the Bab, when He says "in every age the light of God hath, to outward seeming, been quenched..." After all, this was another one of the points that confused the uncle. If the Bab really was a Manifestation, how is it that, at the time of this writing, His Faith seemed to be on the verge of extinction?

So really, this applies to us, too. After all, when Husayn was martyred, it looked as if the Shi'ite line was going to go extinct. When Baha'u'llah wrote this book, it seemed as if the Babi Faith was also on the verge of extinction. Both of them, though, were kept alive and vibrant by those followers who kept their eye on the teachings, and continued to spread their beliefs. They survived because the staunch followers were not down-heartened by their seeming lack of success. They were not dismayed by the loss of a few leaves on the tree of their faith, but recognized that this is just a natural part of the growth cycle.

Similarly, we, too, can continue to look forward, seeing the signs of growth where they appear, and continue to work towards the spread of this religion of ours. We may notice various setbacks at times, but can trust that, like the religions of the past, we will grow past them.

After all, remember what Baha'u'llah has continually told us throughout this book? "Consider the past." Isn't that what He is doing? When we consider the past, and reflect on what we already know, we will clearly see that their interpretation does not conform with what we know has happened in history.

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Were the idle contention of these foolish and despicable souls to be true, they would have none other alternative than to reject all these holy utterances and heavenly allusions. For no warrior could be found on earth more excellent and nearer to God than Husayn, son of ‘Alí, so peerless and incomparable was he. “There was none to equal or to match him in the world.” Yet, thou must have heard what befell him. “God’s malison on the head of the people of tyranny!”

Ah yes, another short paragraph. These are usually the most difficult to write about, but not because there is so little there, but rather because they are so jam-packed.

To start, we have to ask the question, "Which idle contention?"

To get an idea, we have to go back a paragraph, to the end of 134. Baha'u'llah has just quoted 3 verses. “And verily Our host shall conquer.” “Fain would they put out God’s light with their mouths: But God hath willed to perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.” “He is the Dominant, above all things.”

Looking at these quotes, and the idea mentioned in paragraph 133, that these quotes must refer to a physical reality instead of a spiritual one, Baha'ullah is pointing out the absurd contradiction to history. If these quotes were supposed to be earthly, instead of spiritual, then how could the religious leaders explain Imam Husayn? He sure didn't conquer. He was defeated at Karbila. Dominant? Nope. He was defeated in battle.

But these leaders recognize the authority of so noble a figure as Husayn, son of Ali, and therefore recognize the spiritual nature of his victory.

Now, the question is how does this apply to us? Well, to us it demonstrates how we can respond to any objection raised against the Faith.

When the religious leaders said that the Bab could not be a Manifestation, they said that He would have to demonstrate earthly sovereignty. Ok, we could reply, how did Husayn show earthly sovereignty?

In fact, the same objection could be, and has been, raised by some Christians. "When Jesus returns, He will be sovereign over the whole earth."

This was the same objection raised against Jesus in His own lifetime. How do they answer this? "He had a spiritual sovereignty."

So did Husayn. So did the Bab. So does Baha'u'llah.

Any objection raised can be turned back upon the objector. Whatever defense they offer can also be offered in this instance.

Whatever objection they present was likely also presented against their own Founder.

Baha'u'llah points out that there must be a consistency of argument. Whatever works for one must work for all.

At no point have any of the Messengers been interested in the authority and power of this world. They have always worked towards the spiritual, striving in every Dispensation to draw our attention upwards, from this earthly plane towards the spiritual worlds of God.

At the very end of this paragraph, He curses the "people of tyranny". Why? Because, like all curses, it is a natural result of their own behaviour. These leaders, these "people of tyranny", are doing all they can to move our vision back down to the earthly plane, which is the very antithesis of these teachings. We know that when our vision is turned towards the heavens, we reflect the light of God, but when we turn our vision to those things of the dust, we reflect that lifeless dust, instead. By being so focused on the physical, so distant from the spiritual, they are forcing themselves to do nothing more than reflect the lifeless dust of this world. Can we imagine a greater curse than this?

Paragraph 134

Know, therefore, O questioning seeker, that earthly sovereignty is of no worth, nor will it ever be, in the eyes of God and His chosen Ones. Moreover, if ascendency and dominion be interpreted to mean earthly supremacy and temporal power, how impossible will it be for thee to explain these verses: “And verily Our host shall conquer.” “Fain would they put out God’s light with their mouths: But God hath willed to perfect His light, albeit the infidels abhor it.” “He is the Dominant, above all things.” Similarly, most of the Qur’án testifieth to this truth.

Here, it would be so easy to continue to talk about how the earthly sovereignty is worthless, but this is what Baha'u'llah is already doing. We could continue to talk about how these quotes are obviously not referring to "earthly supremacy and temporal power", but again, this is so obvious from the context here.

Instead, we would like to look at the three quotes He has chosen to use here: "Our host shall conquer"; "God hath willed to perfect His light"; and "He is the Dominant".

The first is in the future perfect tense, giving us a promise of something that will happen, without question. The second quote seems to explain how, showing that it is through this perfecting of His light. The last one is a reminder that this is what we have always seen in the other religions, their dominance.

So while we can rest assured in the promise, and the example from the past, our primary concern is the how. How will God perfect His light? What does it mean for God to "perfect His light"? And how would the people be able to put it out "with their mouths"?

To get a better idea of this, we decided to look at a few other quotes.

The first one that came to mind was "A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding..."

You see, for God to perfect His light, He uses the tools at hand, namely the followers of the new religion. This is how it was done in the past, and we can presume, given what we have been reading in this book, that this will be His method in the present day.

In fact, there is a marvelous passage from 'Abdu'l-Baha in which He says, "The purpose of the appearance of the Manifestations of God is the training of the people. That is the only result of Their mission, the real outcome. The outcome of the whole life of Jesus was the training of eleven disciples and two women. Why did He suffer troubles, ordeals and calamities? For the training of these few followers. That was the result of His life. The product of the life of Christ was not the churches but the illumined souls of those who believed in Him. Afterward, they spread His teachings."

Given that we seem to be the ones who have the responsibility for passing on these teachings, it seems that we are also instrumental in passing on this light. How do we do it?

Looking at the quote, the one about the lodestone, it seems we are given a bit of a clue. A lodestone, as you know, is a magnet, and so speaking with kindness, quite simply, is attractive. Well, given our experience, that just makes sense. We react far more positively to those that speak kindly than to those that speak harshly. It's the old "attracting flies with honey, as opposed to vinegar" motif, but with more spiritual importance.

In fact, looking at the quote, we realize that when someone speaks harshly, we are less likely to even bother listening to them. And so a kindly tongue really does clothe the words with meaning. After all, if we do not listen to the other person, then their actual words are truly meaningless.

But "the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding"? Again if we talk about the teaching of Baha'u'llah with a kindly tongue, ensuring that we do all we can to be as gracious and gentle as possible, then the person is far more willing to listen, and to listen closely. We can easily imagine our words as a fountain, to which others can approach and from which they can drink. If we fill our words with Baha'u'llah's teachings, then they end up drinking that divine draught.

It is through this teaching that the light of God's message penetrates more and more hearts.

In the Hidden Words, revealed around the same time as this book, Baha'u'llah writes, "Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee." And so we get a better understanding of the nature of this light, and its relation to us.

Honestly, though we can find hundreds more quotes on this theme, if not more, we don't want to bury you, dear Reader, in too many. Instead, let us look at the best example of this process in action that we can think of: Baha'u'llah's revelation of this very book.

When we consider how this book came to be revealed, can we imagine a better example of a kindly tongue perfecting the light of God in another's heart?

And honestly, it is only through the changing of the heart that God's light becomes dominant.

Paragraph 133

And now, ponder this in thine heart: Were sovereignty to mean earthly sovereignty and worldly dominion, were it to imply the subjection and external allegiance of all the peoples and kindreds of the earth—whereby His loved ones should be exalted and be made to live in peace, and His enemies be abased and tormented—such form of sovereignty would not be true of God Himself, the Source of all dominion, Whose majesty and power all things testify. For, dost thou not witness how the generality of mankind is under the sway of His enemies? Have they not all turned away from the path of His good-pleasure? Have they not done that which He hath forbidden, and left undone, nay repudiated and opposed, those things which He hath commanded? Have not His friends ever been the victims of the tyranny of His foes? All these things are more obvious than even the splendour of the noon-tide sun.

"And now..." Here He is implying that He is moving onto a new section, a new thought. And at the very beginning He is asking us to "ponder". Whenever we see this word, or any of its synonyms, such as "meditate" or "consider", we take it very seriously. We have seen, as you will no doubt recall, in Part 1 of this book that every time He tells us to do this, it is so that we can begin to get a deeper understanding of some difficult truth that will become the foundation of what is to come.

So what is happening here? What is it that we are to ponder? And why?

Before we go onto those questions, we want to take a look back at paragraph 102, that first paragraph of Part 2.

You will recall that He talks about "He Who is the Day-star of Truth and Revealer of the Supreme Being" and His "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." Over the past 30 paragraphs, He has helped us redefine our understanding of this "sovereignty". He has carefully moved us away from an earthly understanding, which naturally would lead to God's loved ones being exalted and living in peace, and towards this more accurate understanding of this spiritual sovereignty that He does wield.

When we look at the past, we can see that no Manifestation has had this life of ease that the people imagine, nor have the early followers found lives of peace. The early Christians did not expect to get a warm reception when they delivered the Message. They expected to be crucified.

In the latter part of paragraph 102, Baha'u'llah talks about how we may be able to "soar on the wings of renunciation to those heights that are veiled from the eyes of men." This, we feel, is the key to understanding the rest of Part 2, this renunciation. From here on out, He is going to direct our attention to the tests and trials that the early believers have faced in other religious traditions, namely Islam, since He is addressing the uncle of the Bab. And then, from there, He will direct our gaze towards the early Babi heroes, whom we will be encouraged to emulate.

But, if we have a poor understanding of this sovereignty, it all stops here. For if we expect a life of ease and comfort, we will never make the necessary sacrifices needed to transform the planet and all the peoples on it. It is like the Buddha said to His disciples when He sent them out to teach. "What if they ignore you?" "Then we will be glad that they have not harmed us." "Well, what if they harm you?" "Then we will be glad that they do not imprison us." "What if they throw you in prison?" "We will be glad they do not kill us." "And what if they kill you?" "Then we will be glad to die as martyrs, for what is greater than to die for the glory of God?"

And so, Baha'u'llah gives us these questions to ponder.

He points out, very logically, that if we actually believe that God is the earthly sovereign of this planet, then that would mean that we would all be following and obeying His laws. Clearly, this is not the case. When we look at God's laws, no matter which religion we examine, we will find that the majority of the people on earth are clearly not following this guidance. Wherever we turn, we can easily see that the people are not obeying His laws. In fact, in most areas, the majority are acting contrary to the guidance in the sacred Books of the world.

Doesn't this get us to sit up and think? Pay attention? Do we not, when pondering this, ask ourselves if we are acting according to God's teachings? Or are we acting like most people, being greedy and self-centred?

He ties all this to the stories of the heroes of both Islam and the Babi religion, encouraging the friends to arise, in His day, to the same degree of self-sacrifice. Similarly, today, we are encouraged to use these very same stories of those heroes of the Faith, those Dawn-Breakers, to encourage those around us to their own great feats of service. The stories are wonderful, but if they do not motivate us to serve today, then they are nothing more than mere history. And if they do not encourage us to arise in our own turn, then they are, also, no more than mere stories. It is our reaction to them, our own willingness to strive to emulate their greatness, that give the stories of the heroes the meaning that will last through the ages.

Paragraph 132

This is but one of the meanings of the spiritual sovereignty which We have set forth in accordance with the capacity and receptiveness of the people. For He, the Mover of all beings, that glorified Countenance, is the source of such potencies as neither this wronged One can reveal, nor this unworthy people comprehend. Immensely exalted is He above men’s praise of His sovereignty; glorified is He beyond that which they attribute unto Him!

The first question we have is "What is one of the meanings?" Well, if we look back at the previous paragraph, He has said that the sovereignty alluded to here is the power of the Word of God. This is so much more powerful than any earthly sovereignty, which is what the uncle of the Bab was wondering about.

The next point that catches our attention is the fact that this is only "one of the meanings". We are reminded of Part 1, in which Baha'u'llah spent so much time discussing the myriad meanings in Matthew 24. Obviously, He could do the same here. He can give us meaning upon meaning, writing many volumes all on the meaning and interpretation of this single word, sovereignty.

But that leads us to the next point: He is only going as far as is "in accordance with the capacity and receptiveness of the people". This reminds us very much of what He just said in paragraph 114, that the sacred Word "revealeth itself to the world in direct proportion to its capacity and spiritual receptiveness". That is, it is only revealed as much as we are able to bear it. This also brings us back to Jesus, in John 16:12, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."

Perhaps that is part of the joys of trying to study the infinite: you can never get it all. No matter how much we praise Him, no matter how exalted we think He is, we are guaranteed to fall short.

By the way, it is also interesting to note that this concept of sovereignty is alluded to in the very beginning of the book, in the introductory invocation: "In the Name of our Lord, the Exalted, the Most High". The very title, "Lord", is an allusion to that absolute sovereignty, while even the attributes of exalted and most high are doomed to fall short of His true exaltation and... high-ness? Sure. We'll go with that.

Given that any attempt at a description is destined to fall short, that He is so far beyond anything that we can attribute to Him, how can we even begin to approach any study of Him? If we look back at the very beginning of the book, we will see that a posture of humility is key. We must be detached from anything we know, not forget it, but not be so attached that we are not willing to hear a new perspective. With this stance, we allow ourselves to be open to this new perspective given to us by the Manifestation.

And you know what? It also works in our daily life. As soon as we close ourselves off to a new perspective, we are no longer able to learn. When we no longer are learning, we are moving backwards, for nothing in the world remains in stasis. So this concept of detachment, so pivotal in Part 1, really does come into play here, too.

* * * * *

As we look at this paragraph again, another point comes to mind.

We imagine a town in which the messenger of the King arrives. He proclaims the new message from the King, and reads out the new law that is to take effect. Although the law takes effect immediately, it still takes time for it to spread throughout the town. It takes even longer for it to be understood, and for the people to act upon it. Even though the law is there, there is a mercy from the just sovereign for the first little while, allowing the people to become used to this new law. They will likely have their guards issue warnings for the first little while, and work towards educating the people to this new law. But over time, it will become a routine part of their life.

Similarly, the Messenger of God arrives and proclaims the new Law to the people. In the epochal history with which we are dealing, it likely takes a few hundred years for this gradual effect, the education of the people, to become apparent. But in the end, the new law will become infused within the life of the community.

Paragraph 131

To resume: Our purpose in setting forth these truths hath been to demonstrate the sovereignty of Him Who is the King of kings. Be fair: Is this sovereignty which, through the utterance of one Word, hath manifested such pervading influence, ascendancy, and awful majesty, is this sovereignty superior, or is the worldly dominion of these kings of the earth who, despite their solicitude for their subjects and their help of the poor, are assured only of an outward and fleeting allegiance, while in the hearts of men they inspire neither affection nor respect? Hath not that sovereignty, through the potency of one word, subdued, quickened, and revitalized the whole world? What! Can the lowly dust compare with Him Who is the Lord of Lords? What tongue dare utter the immensity of difference that lieth between them? Nay, all comparison falleth short in attaining the hallowed sanctuary of His sovereignty. Were man to reflect, he would surely perceive that even the servant of His threshold ruleth over all created things! This hath already been witnessed, and will in future be made manifest.

"To resume". Our hearts leap when we read this phrase. Baha'u'llah, through His grace and bounty, is helping us grasp His outline here. He is reminding us of where this is all leading. And this is really wonderful, for by this point we had actually forgotten. It is so good that He reminds us.

So, why did He write all that He had written in these past couple dozen paragraphs? It has been to to demonstrate Bab's sovereignty.

As we mentioned earlier, the overarching theme of this entire half of the book is summed up in the word "sovereignty", as far as we can tell. He first mentions it here in paragraph 102, that first paragraph of Part 2 - He holds, for all time, "undisputed sovereignty over all that is in heaven and on earth, though no man be found on earth to obey Him." He brings it up again in 109 and 110 as one of many attributes the Manifestation of God has. In 113, He looks at the question asked by the uncle about why this sovereignty has not been made manifest in the Bab. Baha'u'llah then proceeds to explain that it was manifest similarly as it was in Muhammad. If we examine the Qur'an we can clearly see that this sovereignty was not manifest outwardly in His life, but is very evident today. If we understand how it was manifested during Muhammad's time, we can see that the same sovereignty is expressed today in the Bab. And this, in short, brings us up to where we are right now.

Here, though, He refocuses the question. The uncle was clearly asking about the earthly sovereignty of kings and rulers, and wondering why the Bab did not demonstrate this. Baha'u'llah reminds him of the true nature of Muhammad's sovereignty, which he clearly recognizes, and asks which is superior. Is the earthly sovereignty superior to the spiritual? Of course not. The spiritual is always more important than the material.

Interestingly enough in this particular paragraph He uses phrases like "King of kings" and "Lord of lords". Why? Why does He use them here? The uncle, like most of us, naturally thinks of the king when he thinks of a sovereign, and has naturally placed the Bab at that level. Why, he is wondering, is the Bab not ruling like a king? Baha'u'llah is reminding us of these phrases, which we are all familiar with, even outside of Handel's Messiah, and that the king of a country, no matter how lofty that throne may be, is only at one level. The Manifestation of God is at a much higher level of sovereignty.

This awareness of the many levels of sovereignty make us think of others, too, such as the throne of our heart, and being sovereign in our own life. It reminds us that even at the level of our own actions, we have to continually remember that the spiritual is always more important than the physical. In other words, we have to act with integrity and truthfulness, trustworthiness and compassion, and not sacrifice these qualities to, say, get a promotion at work.

Another aspect of this paragraph is His graciousness towards the rulers mentioned here. He presumes that they are showing "solicitude for their subjects" and providing "help of the poor". Here He is reminding them of what it is they should be doing. It is as if He is saying "Well, of course they're doing this", and hoping that they arise to do it. But, He also reminds them that this does not inspire "affection or respect". In the political realm, any allegiance is likely only fleeting and outward, not deep and sincere. This should not stop them from doing what is right and just. It should not affect the bounties that they pour out upon their subjects. It's a beautiful reminder, and we can learn from this. Not only should we always do what is right and just, but we should presume the best of others, too, in the hope that they will arise to that station.

Finally, one last point that caught our attention. "Reflect", He says. Over and over this word, or a synonym, comes up, and it usually arises when there is an important point to consider. Here, He is telling us to specifically reflect on "the servant of His threshold", and his station. Well, as soon as we see this phrase, we are immediately put in mind of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Now, if we reflect on the Master, and consider what signs He had already shown in His life when Baha'u'llah was writing this, we can clearly see that He was already showing great signs. It has "already been witnessed". The stories of His childhood abound and show the greatness to which He would rise. Baha'u'llah also mentions that this station "will in future be made manifest". And that, dear Reader, sure feels prophetic.

Paragraph 130

Thou dost witness today how, notwithstanding the radiant splendour of the Sun of divine knowledge, all the people, whether high or low, have clung to the ways of those abject manifestations of the Prince of Darkness. They continually appeal to them for aid in unraveling the intricacies of their Faith, and, owing to lack of knowledge, they make such replies as can in no wise damage their fame and fortune. It is evident that these souls, vile and miserable as the beetle itself, have had no portion of the musk-laden breeze of eternity, and have never entered the Ridván of heavenly delight. How, therefore, can they impart unto others the imperishable fragrance of holiness? Such is their way, and such will it remain for ever. Only those will attain to the knowledge of the Word of God that have turned unto Him, and repudiated the manifestations of Satan. Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial glory. Wert thou to heed these words, wert thou to ponder their outward and inner meaning in thy heart, thou wouldst seize the significance of all the abstruse problems which, in this day, have become insuperable barriers between men and the knowledge of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no more questions to perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing, thou wilt not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the imperishable Sanctuary of thy heart’s desire. Let it now be seen what thy search and endeavours will achieve.

This paragraph still falls under the section in which Baha'u'llah is describing true sovereignty, and how it applies to the Bab. It is the last paragraph in the sub-section in which He describes the meaning of the terms "life", "death", "resurrection", and the like. Therefore this paragraph can be seen, in a sense, as a summary of the preceding paragraphs.

Like we have seen in Part 1, there are clues that lead us to this conclusion. You may recall how often Baha'u'llah used the words "ponder", "reflect", and "meditate" in Part 1, usually after He had given us a particularly difficult or new concept to consider. Here He encourages us, again, to "ponder" these words, paying careful attention to "their outward and inner meaning in (our) heart".

He also brings us back to the very beginning of this book, with the mention of "the shores of the ocean".

So, to us, He seems to be indicating that this new understanding of the Day of Judgment is deep and can be troubling for some, and therefore He gives us ample time to reflect on it. Once we understand what He is saying, though, then we will "have no more questions" to perplex us. We will have attained the "shores of the ocean of true understanding", and even the "Sanctuary of our heart's desire", that tabernacle which has "been raised in the firmament of the Bayan". But that's not the end of it. Now, He says, let's see what we're going to do about it. He is projecting us forward. Up until this point, it has all been about the search, but now He is helping us see past this and asking what we will achieve once we recognize.

But going back to the beginning of this paragraph, let's look at His warning. He is reminding us that so many are clinging to the clergy, "those abject manifestations of the Prince of Darkness". They ask these "learned" people to explain things to them, but they cannot. They don't have the knowledge, and are too concerned about their reputation or wealth. How, He wonders, can such people teach others about God? In fact, He goes further and points out that only those people who repudiate such teachers will be able to understand the Word of God. It is as if we have to recognize this false station of knowledge and deny it if we hope to understand the truth. We have to, in a sense, be able to tell the difference between the stench of egotism and the beauty of humility.

In fact, looking back at paragraph 6, "the more closely we observe the denials... the firmer will be (our) faith in the Cause of God." Here, in paragraph 130, we are told to closely examine the denials of today.

Now, what does all this have to do with sovereignty? Well, if we consider what He has said in the past few paragraphs, we will see that the uncle of the Bab was trying to see how sovereignty, as defined by the Mullas of his day, applied to his Nephew. Quite simply, it didn't, because the definition was a false one. To demonstrate this, Baha'u'llah has shown, using the Qu'ran, how we have misunderstood other terms relating to the Day of Judgment, such as "life", "death", "resurrection" and the like. He has shown how even the people of Muhammad's time misunderstood these terms. We can therefore conclude that we have likely misunderstood the term "sovereignty", as He will demonstrate over the next few paragraphs.

Finally, one last little thing caught our attention: Baha'u'llah does not use the word "haply" in describing the results of our search. Previously, He had often stressed the "luck factor", if you will. So much was dependent on the Will of God. If we go back to paragraph 1 again, we will see that if we sanctify our soul, then, with luck, we might attain this shore. Why? Perhaps because there are good people in all faiths. It is only with luck that we will find the Messenger of God for today by sanctifying our soul. Here, though, Baha'u'llah is pointing out the extreme egotism of the Mullas of His day, and if we merely look for it, we cannot help but see it. There is no luck involved, just unbiased observation. And if we "heed these words" and "ponder their outward and inner meaning", we will clearly see that they are acting exactly as the religious leaders of the past did when they denied the other Messengers.

Paragraph 129

Similarly, the records of all the scriptures bear witness to this lofty truth and this most exalted word. Moreover, this verse of the Qur’án, revealed concerning Hamzih, the “Prince of Martyrs,” and Abú-Jahl, is a luminous evidence and sure testimony of the truth of Our saying: “Shall the dead, whom We have quickened, and for whom We have ordained a light whereby he may walk among men, be like him, whose likeness is in the darkness, whence he will not come forth?” This verse descended from the heaven of the Primal Will at a time when Hamzih had already been invested with the sacred mantle of faith, and Abú-Jahl had waxed relentless in his opposition and unbelief. From the Wellspring of omnipotence and the Source of eternal holiness, there came the judgment that conferred everlasting life upon Hamzih, and condemned Abú-Jahl to eternal damnation. This was the signal that caused the fires of unbelief to glow with the hottest flame in the heart of the infidels, and provoked them openly to repudiate His truth. They loudly clamoured: “When did Hamzih die? When was he risen? At what hour was such a life conferred upon him?” As they understood not the significance of these noble sayings, nor sought enlightenment from the recognized expounders of the Faith, that these might confer a sprinkling of the Kawthar of divine knowledge upon them, therefore such fires of mischief were kindled amongst men.

Baha'u'llah is the exponent of unity. It seems to us that He has corrected our mis-understanding of these previous two stories, the one from Jesus and the one from Ali. As we have pointed out in the past few articles, we believe these other stories were not meant to condemn those that believe differently, but rather to remind us of the choice we all face. Let the dead bury the dead, Jesus said, but go and teach them so that they will become alive. We will all face this bridge, is the harsh reminder from Ali, at the end of our days, and we have the choice as to whether we go to heaven or hell. In both cases, there is the reminder of the importance of our choices while we live.

Here Baha'u'llah seems to be reminding us that there is a difference, though, in the aftereffect of our choice. But the important thing is that it is not for us to judge. That is God's job. Our job is to teach.

In all three cases, we are reminded of the importance of teaching. Jesus tells His disciple to go to the funeral and teach. Ali reminds the two people involved in the contract of the choice before them. And here, Muhammad is clearly showing us that these stories are spiritual in meaning, but no less important for that. After all, he who chooses darkness will not be accounted the same as he who chooses light. It's not we who make that distinction, but they themselves.

Despite the rich discussion that can arise from all this, though, we want to look at a few specific things in this paragraph: the fire and the Kawthar.

To remind us, these stories all fall under the discussion Baha'u'llah is having regarding the spiritual nature of the sovereignty of the Promised One. Remember, this is one of the primary questions that the uncle of the Bab had regarding His Station. How did the Bab fulfill the various prophecies regarding the sovereignty of the Qa'im? All this is part of that answer.

We know that the eternal life that was talked about is a spiritual life. And Baha'u'llah is linking that spiritual understanding with our understanding of the nature of the sovereignty of the Qa'im.

Now, as we said, we would like to look at some of the phrases Baha'u'llah uses here. He talks of "the Wellspring of omnipotence" and "the fires of unbelief", "the Kawthar of divine knowledge" and the "fires of mischief". These metaphors speak of water and fire, fire and water. Kawthar, you will recall, is one of the rivers in paradise. And this going back and forth between these primal elements reminds us of that passage 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, and be not of those who doubt."

It has long intrigued us that the same thing can be a burning fire to one person and a refreshing draught of water to another. It is like what we saw way back in part one of this very book. In paragraph 58, Baha'u'llah points out that God could have stayed the hand of Moses from murder, but chose not to do so. In paragraphs 59 and 60, He asks the question why He "Who was known amongst the people as fatherless", Jesus, was given the mantle of Prophethood. All this leads to the quote "outwardly such deeds and words are the fire of vengeance unto the wicked, and inwardly the waters of mercy unto the righteous". As was pointed out back in those paragraphs, the virgin birth was seen as a barrier for some, acting as a repelling fire keeping them away, but as a compelling proof for others, acting like the water of life.

Here, once again, Baha'u'llah is brining up this duality of fire and water here, while discussing the spiritual nature of the terms "life", "death", "resurrection", "judgment", and so forth. And by extension, He is also applying it to the theme of the spiritual nature of the sovereignty of the Promised One.

Paragraph 128

In every age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and their chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual significance of the terms “life,” “resurrection,” and “judgment.” If one will ponder but for a while this utterance of ‘Alí in his heart, one will surely discover all mysteries hidden in the terms “grave,” “tomb,” “ṣiraṭ,” “paradise” and “hell.” But oh! how strange and pitiful! Behold, all the people are imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried beneath the nethermost depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to but a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common to both men and animals, whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by immortality. Even as it hath been said: “He who is a true believer liveth both in this world and in the world to come.” If by “life” be meant this earthly life, it is evident that death must needs overtake it.


While we could easily say that all these terms are symbolic in nature, and not literal, Baha'u'llah has already done this. And He has done this far better than we could.

Instead, we want to focus on why He is choosing these particular phrases and examples.

When we look back over the previous couple of paragraphs, and the stories of Jesus and Ali, we notice that He is using stories that have been used to set one people over another. These are examples that have been used to demonstrate that one group is somehow superior to another, and this, we feel, is antithetical to the teachings of these great Teachers.

Baha'u'llah is all about unity. He does whatever He can to help us overcome our own egotism and recognize the fundamental oneness of all peoples.

As you may have noticed, it seems to us that these examples, while having been used to divide people and encourage judgment, don't have to be read that way. We see them, instead, as encouraging us to be with others, but seize every opportunity to share this Message. This is a far more coherent understanding, as far as we can tell.

Another point that comes to mind is one that comes from both 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Bab. 'Abdu'l-Baha, as you recall, has said in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, section 21, that there are various kingdoms in creation. He talks about the mineral kingdom, with the power of unity and attraction, and the vegetable kingdom with the power of growth. He moves on to the animal kingdom with the power of the senses, and on to the human kingdom. Without going into too much detail, He has defined reality in a manner different from many scientists, but far more accurately. Many people see reality as a pie, and cut away one section and call it the mineral kingdom. This other part is the animal kingdom, and this slice over here is the mammals, while that slice within it is the felines, and so forth. They see creation as a giant pie to be sliced into ever smaller pieces.

But with 'Abdu'l-Baha's description we can see it more like concentric circles. After all, He says that each kingdom comprehends the kingdoms before it. We can see the mineral kingdom in the centre, surrounded by the vegetable kingdom, and moving out towards the animal kingdom. But if we do this, as concentric circles, then it is just another way of slicing this pie. However, if we subtly shift these circles to being a spiral, then we can see this direct continuity of creation. We can see how if we move outwards from the mineral kingdom, we can see the crystals, which have a degree of the power of growth. If we move outwards from the vegetable kingdom, then we can see how we will encounter plants like the Venus fly-trap, which has a degree of sensory awareness. We can begin to see how these various kingdoms merge into each other, giving us a far more unified vision of the world.

The Bab, in addition to all this, offers us an interesting point when He says that everything in creation has its own heaven, and by extension its own hell. Heaven, He says, is the fulfillment of potential, while presumably hell would be its denial.

If we combine these two concepts, then we can think of the idea of moving outward on this spiral as a form of heaven. It would be, in a sense, moving closer to God, Who would be at the very outer most edges of this eternal spiral. The further out we move, the closer we are getting to God. But if we are moving inwards, then we are denying our potential. You see, it's not that animals are bad. They are an incredible and wonderful part of creation. But if we are moving towards being more animalistic, then we are moving in the wrong direction, and that is why it seems so bad for us. This is why being like an animal is not a good thing for us humans.

Now, what does all this have to do with the Kitab-i-Iqan? Well, if we are supremely concerned about the body, and see all these metaphors in terms of physical life, then we are looking at what distinguishes animals, not humans. When we see the spiritual significance of these terms, and move towards the spiritual in our life, then we are moving outwards in that spiral.

At the beginning of this paragraph, Baha'u'llah makes a very powerful statement that we almost overlooked. He says that "the purpose of the Prophets of God and their chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual significance of the terms" He has mentioned here. This is Their purpose. No other purpose than this.

Really? That's Their purpose? To affirm some definitions? Surely it can't be just that. What about that famous quote "...is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions?"

Well, if we see these new definitions, this spiritual understanding as turning our attention away from the physical world and towards the spiritual, then He is shifting the direction of our gaze from inward towards the centre of the spiral outwards towards the more highly developed spiritual realms. And this will, necessarily, transform the individual, as well as society.

It will help us better understand how these stories from Jesus and Ali are about transformation, and not condemnation.

At this point we could say so much more, but we feel we have said too much already. Besides, Baha'u'llah continues on with this theme for another two paragraphs.

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In like manner, two of the people of Kúfih went to ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful. One owned a house and wished to sell it; the other was to be the purchaser. They had agreed that this transaction should be effected and the contract be written with the knowledge of ‘Alí. He, the exponent of the law of God, addressing the scribe, said: “Write thou: ‘A dead man hath bought from another dead man a house. That house is bounded by four limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the other to the vault of the grave, the third to the Ṣiráṭ, the fourth to either Paradise or hell.’” Reflect, had these two souls been quickened by the trumpet-call of ‘Alí, had they risen from the grave of error by the power of his love, the judgment of death would certainly not have been pronounced against them.

"In like manner"? In like manner to what? In like manner to the reference by Jesus in the previous paragraph, calling those who are concerned with a burial dead, even though they still seem to be moving around.

Now, this is another very interesting little story here. As with the previous statement by Jesus, it appears to be condemning those who have not yet recognized Him, but as we saw, it was more likely a command to His disciple to seize the opportunity to teach. "Let the dead bury the dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."

So what about this story with Ali? On the surface it appears to be a condemnation, but is it? Baha'u'llah seems to imply it, but we don't think it ends here. It appears, to us, to be the moment of choice.

Putting this into a context, it seems strange to us that these two people would appear to be honouring Ali, acknowledging his trustworthiness by asking him to witness a contract. And what does he do? He seems to condemn them, calling them both dead. After all, he is the "Commander of the Faithful", striving to move the entire world towards that destined Kingdom of God on earth. And what do they ask of him? Witness this sale.

On the surface it seems so petty. After all, can you imagine taking up the valuable time of 'Abdul-Baha to ask Him to witness a contract?

And so, in a way, it actually makes some sort of sense that he might be upset, and condemning them for not asking something more meaningful of him.

But, like the previous story, there may be more here than meets the eye.

If we take a look, there seems to be something of a path. While we can presume the limits he mentions are the four walls of the house, he doesn't actually say that they are. They could, instead, be four steps on this path. It begins with the tomb, and continue to the vault of the grave.

Before we continue, let's look at these two steps. What, we wonder, is the difference between the tomb, and the vault of the grave? The tomb, as you know, is the enclosure for burying the dead, usually either a small cave, or a room built for the coffin. The vault, though, is what you see inside the tomb, above you when you are lying there. It seems to us that by mentioning these two, he is moving us from outside the tomb to inside it. We can imagine ourselves dead, approaching this tomb, and then being placed inside of it.

From there, we move to the third step, Sirat, the bridge that spans the chasm of hell and connects this world with paradise. Only the righteous, though, are able to cross it safely. The rest fall off it into the fiery pit.

And this leads us to the fourth step of this path. Will we cross safely to Paradise, or will we fall into the fire? The choice, as we know, is dependent on what we do in this life. And that is where we feel that Ali is taking this opportunity, seizing it firmly, to offer these two people the choice.

It is this choice that seems to be more in line with the teachings of Ali and Islam, as well as what we found from Jesus in the previous paragraph. Neither seem to be condemning the people outright, but instead are offering them a choice, as well as showing what that choice implies. They are not concerned about the things of this world. Their interest lies solely with the spiritual journey, and what lies at the end of it for the person or people involved.

By talking about these two stories here, in the Kitab-i-Iqan, Baha'u'llah seems to be strongly reminding us of the importance of looking at things with a spiritual eye, as well as recognizing the oneness of the teachings between these two faiths.

He also seems to be showing us two marvelous examples of taking mundane things, a funeral and a house sale, and showing how they can be used to teach much more important spiritual lessons. In other words, He is showing us two fine examples of elevated conversations.

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In another passage of the Gospel it is written: “And it came to pass that on a certain day the father of one of the disciples of Jesus had died. That disciple reporting the death of his father unto Jesus, asked for leave to go and bury him. Whereupon, Jesus, that Essence of Detachment, answered and said: “Let the dead bury their dead.”

Wow. What an interesting quote to put here. As we just saw, the previous paragraph references these two possible paths that we can tread. The first began with our spiritual life, while the second started with our spiritual death. Is Baha'u'llah reminding us of what the ramifications of this second path are?

Possibly.

But before we get into that, let's think about how this passage has been traditionally understood. In many churches, it is defense for a non-compassionate, condemnatory attitude. There is a story of a missionary in one such organization whose father had passed away while they were on mission overseas. They asked for permission to fly home to attend the funeral, but the church fathers said no, citing this reference. They felt that it was not a worthy use of the money. Needless to say, when this missionary did go home later, they left that particular church.

Is this what Jesus would have wanted? Was He so unconcerned about those who did not follow Him that He felt His followers shouldn't care about them either?

This doesn't seem likely.

In fact, it seems quite remote from what we know of Him.

So what else could it be?

To begin to get a better idea, we feel that we need to look back at the original reference in the Bible, Luke 9:60. In fact, we really need to look at all of Luke 9.

This is a chapter in which Jesus sends the disciples out to go teach His Cause. Peter has already recognized Him as the Messiah. Jesus has healed people and cast out demons. He has even predicted His own impending martyrdom. Finally, at the very end of this chapter, He points out to these disciples the full cost of truly following Him. He says that they will have no place to lay their head. Then He offers this line, followed by the idea that they will even have to leave their families behind.

But let's look again. The full statement, of which Baha'u'llah only quotes the first half, is "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

When read in the full context of that chapter, it is not a condemnation of those who may be seen as unworthy, but rather a caution of what it will cost them, the disciples, if they really want to follow Him.

Again, looking at this quote once more, it is even possible to read it as a command to go and attend the funeral. "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go...", He says. And while you are there, raise the dead. "...Proclaim the kingdom of God." Waste no opportunity.

This seems more likely. It feels more congruent with the full teachings of all the Messengers of God.

In fact, this notion of offering a choice, to both the disciples as well as the funeral attendees, makes even more sense when we look at the next paragraph.

Finally, by only quoting the first half of this statement of Jesus, Baha'u'llah has prompted us to go back and look at the entire context of the quote. With the simple method of using only a partial quote, He is helping us go back and review sacred Scripture.

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Such things have come to pass in the days of every Manifestation of God. Even as Jesus said: “Ye must be born again.” Again He saith: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto “life” and “resurrection” and have entered into the “paradise” of the love of God. And whosoever is not of them, is condemned to “death” and “deprivation,” to the “fire” of unbelief, and to the “wrath” of God. In all the scriptures, the books and chronicles, the sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace of the holy Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously recorded: “Hearts have they with which they understand not.”

"Such things have come to pass..." What things? Perhaps those things He has mentioned in paragraph 124. The "people strayed from the way of God". The Day of Resurrection has been ushered in. His light and tokens have encompassed everything. The people have "derided Him, gave themselves up to those idols which the divines of that age... had conceived, and deprived themselves of the light of heavenly grace and of the showers of divine mercy." This is the pattern. We saw it in the very beginning of the book when He described the other Messengers of the past, and we are seeing it again.

We also notice that throughout this book, Baha'u'llah has continually referenced the relation between Jesus' prophecies and the Revelation of Muhammad. Here He is doing the same thing. He is quoting Jesus, but now goes a step further. This isn't just in relation to Muhammad, but occurs "in the days of every Manifestation of God". Presumably, if we are seeing a similar occurrence today in the way people are acting, we might be able to presume the cause. By showing us this pattern, He is opening our awareness to look for it.

Here, in the middle of this paragraph, Baha'u'llah offers us two paths, from which we can choose which one we wish to walk. The first is "life", "resurrection", and "paradise". The second is "death", "deprivation", "fire", and "wrath".

This first one begins with our life. It can be likened to the very beginning of this book, in which it is up to us to sanctify our soul, "that haply (we) may attain that station which God hath destined for" us. If we do this, then, with luck, we can be resurrected and find that paradise of nearness to our Creator. This, obviously, is the path that we all wish to walk.

The second path, though, begins with our death. If we are not living a spiritual life, as those first quotes from Jesus point out, then we can be seen as dead. This lack of spirituality leads to our deprivation. We are deprived of the development of our virtues, of the understanding of these spiritual issues, and of so much that can contribute to both our well-being and our happiness. This, quite naturally, will lead to our misery, both in this life and the next. It can truly be seen as a fire. The very fact that we do not believe in the Manifestation for today leads us to so many questions that only He can answer. And this misery of searching in vain leads us to feel as if our very soul is on fire. We search for something that we know is there, but we adamantly deny it when it is presented to us. This is a true torture. The denial itself becomes the source of that wrath of God.

Of course, this word, "wrath" also reminds us of that Hidden Word, "How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me." We were wondering about this word "accursed", when we read it. It seemed so strong here, yet, when we examined the context, we realized that it was perfectly appropriate. We are not, for example, merely noting someone else's faults, but busying ourselves with them. There is an extremeness to it. When we do this, then they, quite naturally, won't want to be around us. They will avoid us. We will be miserable, by only seeing the faults of others. This, it seems to us, would be a fairly good definition of being under a curse. We are, in fact, the very cause of our own cursing.

When we deny the Manifestation of God in Their Day, and act as the fanatics of old have done, we become the very embodiment of that wrath of God, inflicting all that pain upon ourselves.

This, it seems to us, is our choice. We can choose either of these paths, whichever we prefer.

All this is bracketed by those quotes from Jesus. We are reminded at the beginning that this is all referring to a spiritual state, not a physical one, being of the spirit and not of the flesh. And it ends with the reminder that it is the state of our heart that determines our ability to choose.

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Gracious God! How far have that people strayed from the way of God! Although the Day of Resurrection was ushered in through the Revelation of Muḥammad, although His light and tokens had encompassed the earth and all that is therein, yet that people derided Him, gave themselves up to those idols which the divines of that age, in their vain and idle fancy, had conceived, and deprived themselves of the light of heavenly grace and of the showers of divine mercy. Yea, the abject beetle can never scent the fragrance of holiness, and the bat of darkness can never face the splendour of the sun.


"Gracious God!" Well, yes, He is, but this is not a reference to the Graciousness of our Lord, obviously. It is really an exclamation of exasperation. He is stunned and dumbfounded at the obtuseness of the people. Which people? Those people at the time of Muhammad, referred to in the previous few paragraphs, who did not see that the Day of Resurrection occurred at the time of the Prophet. This seems to totally mystify Him.

But then He makes an interesting comment that can be seen as a literal statement, as well as an oblique statement on the people of His day. He says they "gave themselves up to those idols which the divines of that age... had conceived". These were the very people who were so blinded that they preferred to worship the stone and wooden idols in the Kaaba, as opposed to the living Manifestation in their very midst.

It can also be seen as a condemnation of those similar divines who have made an idol of their interpretation of the prophecies and terms of the past. They are so in love with their understanding of such terms as resurrection, judgment, paradise and hell, that if anyone comes along with a different interpretation, they condemn him as a heretic. They have made an idol of their interpretations.

This is so important a theme that He spent almost all of Part 1 of this book talking about it. Remember, He took a single passage from Matthew and showed the many layers of meaning within it. Any single term had multiple definitions and could be seen in numerous ways, all of which led us to a better understanding of the world around us and prepared us for the coming Manifestation.

But again, Baha'u'llah is referring to those people who would deny this, or any interpretation that is not the exact same as theirs. When we fall prey to this form of egotism, believing that we have the answer and everyone else must be wrong, this is when we will find ourselves "deprived... of the light of heavenly grace and of the showers of divine mercy". We are so rapt in our own vain imaginings that we are unable to see the beautiful teachings that we may have missed. And as we get caught up in this egotistic net, we find that we will become more and more fanatical in our defense of this position, thus depriving ourselves of any mercy that we may so desperately need.

It is so easy to think of those poor souls who began with such a love for the sacred Text, but then became dogmatic in their belief. We can just see them frothing at the mouth, forgetting the initial beauty that attracted them, unaware of all that they have lost.

This is when they become like that "abject beetle", which destroys the agriculture in an area and is so hated by those around them. Of course, we are also reminded of those other beetles that live amidst the dung.

This is also when they become like the bat, virtually blind, flitting around in the darkness hoping to catch a few paltry insects to survive. They miss out on the radiant beauty and warmth of the sun.

As if this wasn't bad enough, they even drag so many of those people around them down to their own level. Gracious God, indeed.

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Nay, by “trumpet” is meant the trumpet-call of Muḥammad’s Revelation, which was sounded in the heart of the universe, and by “resurrection” is meant His own rise to proclaim the Cause of God. He bade the erring and wayward arise and speed out of the sepulchres of their bodies, arrayed them with the beauteous robe of faith, and quickened them with the breath of a new and wondrous life. Thus at the hour when Muḥammad, that divine Beauty, purposed to unveil one of the mysteries hidden in the symbolic terms “resurrection,” “judgment,” “paradise,” and “hell,” Gabriel, the Voice of Inspiration, was heard saying: “Erelong will they wag their heads at Thee, and say, ‘When shall this be?’ Say: ‘Perchance it is nigh.’” The implications of this verse alone suffice the peoples of the world, were they to ponder it in their hearts.


This is interesting, as you will recall that it comes at a point in the book when Baha'u'llah is discussing how the Bab demonstrates the sovereignty of the Qa'im. He points out that what we typically think of as the sovereignty that the Promised One is to show is not what He actually will demonstrate in His lifetime. Over and over throughout Part 1 of this book Baha'u'llah has encouraged us to remember what we know of the religions of old, and be detached from our own expectations of what is to come. He shows us very clearly some of the many meanings in the prophecies of ancient times, and reminds us over and over that there is a clear pattern throughout all the religions of God, if we but take notice and keep an open heart.

Here He is reminding us that it is not just the term "sovereignty" that will be redefined by the Manifestation of God, but many terms. The Manifestation does not conform to the will and expectations of the generation in which They live. The people expect these various prophecies to come true at some point in the future, and Baha'u'llah is pointing out that "Perchance it is nigh", as was mentioned in the Qur'an. All of these things refer to the time of Muhammad, as well as the time of all the other Messengers of God.

There are a few things that catch our attention in this paragraph, as you would expect. The first one we want to point out is the various terms that Baha'u'llah is redefining here. We don't think they are random. We suspect that they are very precisely chosen. They are, in order, "trumpet", "resurrection", "judgment", "paradise" and "hell". It seems to us that there is a bit of a path alluded to here. The Messenger is always heralded in with a trumpet blast. This, it warns, is the Day of Judgment. All the various phenotypes of old, as Baha'u''llah points out throughout this book, are resurrected. They come back, again and again. And from there, the Messenger judges the people according to the divine standard, not the low standard set forth by men, and either rewards the people with heaven or condemns them to hell. To us, this feels like another subtle warning. He seems to be saying, as He has a few times previously, that this is another Day of Judgment. Will we be sent to paradise or hell? It is through the path we choose as set forth in this book that will decide where we end up.

Another interesting point here is the sentence that describes this resurrection. Muhammad, He says, called the people out of their speulchres, which is where you would inter a dead body. After calling them arise, He gave them a new robe. He clothed them, so that they were no longer naked, or in their burial shrouds. They were now dressed in beautiful robes. Then, after they were dressed nicely, He gave them a new life.

It's interesting to us because we would have expected the new life to come before the dressing in the new clothes. But it makes sense, doesn't it? You rise up, and are given this faith, but you still have to grow into it. You don't really change when you become a Baha'i, for example. You are given the tools to change. The actual transformation of behaviour takes time and often occurs long after the declaration of faith. Then, with this new behaviour firmly in place, you become more attractive, as someone dressed in fine clothes.

And finally, He reminds us once more to ponder. You will, of course, recall how often He told us to ponder and meditate and reflect throughout Part 1. This always occurred when He had given us a lot to think about, as if we needed a few moments to reflect and allow these new ideas to set in.

So what is the new idea here that we need to ponder? Perhaps it is just this idea of these terms being redefined. Or maybe it is the idea that the Day of Resurrection is now, and not at some distant point in the future. Either way, this is a point in the text where we need to be certain to allow our previously held ideas of what these terms mean to fall by the wayside. We need to open ourselves up to these potentially new definitions, and not instinctively fall back on what we were taught they would mean.