cire perdue

This is from one of the tablets writtien to Nasiri'd-din Shah. A proof of the Manifestations is that they will be scorned and rejected.

Consider the dispensation of Him Who is the Seal of the Prophets and the King of the Chosen Ones -- may the souls of all mankind be offered up for His sake! After the Daystar of Truth dawned above the horizon of Hijaz, how great were the cruelties which the exponents of error inflicted upon that incomparable Manifestation of the All-Glorious! Such was their heedlessness that they regarded every injury inflicted upon that sacred Being as ranking among the greatest of all acts, and constituting a means of attainment unto God, the Most High. For in the early years of His mission the divines of that age, both Christian and Jewish, turned away from that Daystar of the heaven of glory, whereupon all people, high and low alike, bestirred themselves to extinguish the light of that 124 Luminary of the horizon of inner meanings. The names of all these divines have been mentioned in the books of old; among them are Wahb Ibn-i-Rahib, Ka'b Ibn-i-Ashraf, 'Abdu'llah-i-Ubayy, and others of their like.

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Finally, matters came to such a pass that these men took counsel together and conspired to shed His pure blood, even as God -- glorified be His mention! -- saith: "And remember when the disbelievers schemed against Thee, that they might lay hold upon Thee, or slay Thee, or cast Thee out; and so they schemed, and God schemed, and God, verily, is the best of schemers."36 Again He saith: "But if their opposition be grievous to Thee -- if Thou canst, seek out an opening into the earth or a ladder into heaven and bring to them a sign; yet if God wished, He could gather them unto true guidance; be Thou not, then, of the ignorant."37 By God! The hearts of His favoured ones are consumed at the purport of these two blessed verses. Such established and undisputed facts have been forgotten, and no one hath paused to reflect, in days past or in this day, upon the things that have prompted men to turn away from the Revealers of the light of God at the time of their manifestation.

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Likewise, before the appearance of the Seal of the Prophets, consider Jesus, the Son of Mary. When that Manifestation of the All-Merciful revealed Himself, all the divines charged that Quintessence of faith with impiety and rebellion. Eventually, with the sanction of Annas, the most learned of the divines of His day, and Caiaphas, the high priest, His blessed person was made 125 to suffer that which the pen is ashamed to mention and powerless to describe. The wide world in all its vastness could no longer contain Him, until at last God raised Him up unto heaven.

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Were a detailed account of all the Prophets to be given here, We fear that it might lead to weariness. The doctors of the Torah in particular assert that no independent Prophet will come after Moses with a new Law. They maintain that a Scion of the House of David shall be made manifest Who will promulgate the Law of the Torah, and help establish and enforce its commandments throughout the East and the West.

(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 123)

LordOfGoblins

It's funny how the most learned of the divines 'Annas' sanctioned the death of Jesus and failed to recognise him. Knowledge is truly a veil. Thats why I rarely try to use quotes from the bible or knowledge of thier religion to teach Christians. It never seems to work as you often end up being defeated by the more knowledgable person.
Thanks for the post.

arthra

"....how great were the cruelties which the exponents of error inflicted upon that incomparable Manifestation of the All-Glorious! Such was their heedlessness that they regarded every injury inflicted upon that sacred Being as ranking among the greatest of all acts, and constituting a means of attainment unto God, the Most High. For in the early years of His mission the divines of that age, both Christian and Jewish, turned away from that Daystar of the heaven of glory, whereupon all people, high and low alike, bestirred themselves to extinguish the light of that Luminary of the horizon of inner meanings. The names of all these divines have been mentioned in the books of old; among them are Wahb Ibn-i-Rahib, Ka'b Ibn-i-Ashraf, 'Abdu'llah-i-Ubayy, and others of their like."

When Baha'u'llah mentions Wahb Ibn-i-Rahib, Ka'b Ibn-i-Ashraf, 'Abdu'llah-i-Ubayy.. I find myself wanting to learn more about them...

When ever the Manifestation cites people it should be worth following up on..

Yeshua

The only thing that strikes me about the names is "Ka'b Ibn-i-Ashraf" and "Wahb Ibn-i-Rahib"....

...If I am not mistaken I think Ashraf was a Jew of the Banu Nadir, a poet who wrote erotic poetry about Muslim women that offended Muhammad very much. Ashraf then plotted against Muhammad along with the Quarysh and was assainated by Muslims on the order of Muhammad.
According to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad called upon his followers to kill Ashraf because the latter "had gone to Mecca after Badr and inveighed against Muhammad. He also composed verses in which he bewailed the victims of Quraysh who had been killed at Badr. Shortly afterwards he returned to Medina and composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women."...I also read somewhere that the reason for killing Ashraf was that he had plotted with a group of Jews to kill Muhammad...

The story of Wahb Ibn-i-Rahib is quite a charming tale really...he's kind of an Islamic "St Paul", a mortal enemy of Islam who became a devoted follower...Wahb was arrested and brought to Muhammad, who gave him a warm welcome and asked for his motives. He replied that he wanted the Badr captives to be released. Muhammad inquired about the sword that Wahb brought with him, and then retold for Umayr the exact events that led him there.... Wahb was so awe-struck by this "telepathy" - I suppose you could call it - that he immediately said his shahada, hence becoming a Muslim. Muhammad then said to his companions, "Instruct your brother in his religion. Teach him the Qur'an and set free his prisoner Wahb ibn Umayr."

arthra

"....inasmuch as the recognized divines of that age, such as `Abdu'lláh-i-Ubayy, Abú-`Amír, the hermit, Ka'b-Ibn-i-Ashraf, and Nadr-Ibn-i-Hárith, all treated Him as an impostor, and pronounced Him a lunatic and a calumniator. Such sore accusations they brought against Him that in recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow, Our pen to move, or the page to bear them.

These malicious imputations provoked the people to arise and torment Him. And how fierce that torment if the divines of the age be its chief instigators, if they denounce Him to their followers, cast Him out from their midst, and declare Him a miscreant! Hath not the same befallen this Servant, and been witnessed by all?"

Source:
Kitab-i-Iqan Part 2


'`Abdu'lláh-i-Ubayy: A prominent opponent of Muhammad; called "the prince of hypocrites."

From the glossary and notes of the Kitab-i-Iqan;

Ka'b-Ibn-i-Ashraf: conspired with the Prophet's arch-enemy, Abu-Sufyán, to compass the Prophet's death.

Source:

Kitáb-i-Íqán: Glossary and Notes



So they added to the afflictions of Prophet Muhammad..

Isn't the internet wonderful!