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.