The magnitude and diversity of the theme, the cogency of the argument, the sublimity and audacity of the language, arrest our attention and astound our minds. Emperors, kings and princes, chancellors and ministers, the Pope himself, priests, monks and philosophers, the exponents of learning, parliamentarians and deputies, the rich ones of the earth, the followers of all religions, and the people of Bahá—all are brought within the purview of the Author of these Messages, and receive, each according to their merits, the counsels and admonitions they deserve. No less amazing is the diversity of the subjects touched upon in these Tablets. The transcendent majesty and unity of an unknowable and unapproachable God is extolled, and the oneness of His Messengers proclaimed and emphasized. The uniqueness, the universality and potentialities of the Bahá’í Faith are stressed, and the purpose and character of the Bábí Revelation unfolded.
The summary draws attention to Bahá’u’lláh’s uncompromising indictment of the conditions of human society for which its leadership is held primarily responsible:
Episodes, at once moving and marvellous, at various stages of His ministry, are recounted, and the transitoriness of worldly pomp, fame, riches, and sovereignty, repeatedly and categorically asserted. Appeals for the application of the highest principles in human and international relations are forcibly and insistently made, and the abandonment of discreditable practices and conventions, detrimental to the happiness, the growth, the prosperity and the unity of the human race, enjoined. Kings are censured, ecclesiastical dignitaries arraigned, ministers and plenipotentiaries condemned, and the identification of His advent with the coming of the Father Himself unequivocally admitted and repeatedly announced. The violent downfall of a few of these kings and emperors is prophesied, two of them are definitely challenged, most are warned, all are appealed to and exhorted.
In a Tablet, the original of which has been lost, Bahá’u’lláh had already condemned, in the severest terms, the misrule of the Ottoman Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz. The present volume includes, however, three other Tablets which address two ministers of the Sulṭán, whose selfish and unprincipled influence played an important role in Bahá’u’lláh’s successive banishments. The Súriy-i-Ra’ís, which addresses ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman Prime Minister, was revealed in August 1868 as the exiles were being moved from Adrianople to Gallipoli, and exposes unsparingly the abuse of civil power the minister had perpetrated. The Lawḥ-i-Ra’ís, which also contains passages directed to ‘Álí Páshá, was revealed shortly after Bahá’u’lláh’s incarceration in the citadel of ‘Akká and includes a chilling denunciation of the character of the Minister. The third Tablet, the Lawḥ-i-Fu’ád, revealed in 1869 shortly after the death of Fu’ád Páshá, the Ottoman Minister to whose machinations it refers, describes the spiritual consequences of the abuse of power, and foretells the imminent downfall of his colleague, ‘Álí Páshá, and the overthrow of the Sulṭán himself—prophecies that were widely circulated and whose dramatic fulfilment added greatly to the prestige of their Author.
It seems especially appropriate, as Bahá’u’lláh’s influence penetrates ever more deeply the life of the larger society throughout the world, that the full texts of these great Tablets should now be available for a broad readership. We express to the committees who were commissioned to undertake and review these translations the deep gratitude we feel for the care and sensitivity they have brought to the task. Bahá’ís will recognize key passages from several of the Tablets that were introduced to the West by Shoghi Effendi. His translations into English of the Bahá’í Holy Texts provide an enduring standard for the efforts of those who rise to the challenge of preparing appropriate renderings into English of these treasures of the Faith.
The Universal House of Justice
Súriy-i-Haykal
This is the Súrih of the Temple which God hath ordained to be the Mirror of His Names between the heavens and the earth, and the Sign of His Remembrance amidst the peoples of the world.