Concealment and Revelation

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Concealment and Reve lat ion

confirmed by another passage at the end of the tablet, where Bahá’u’lláh writes that he has revealed the tablet solely out of his love for Javád, “Otherwise, I have no inclination to set forth any topic, or write a single letter thereon.” But that expression is not the only mistranslation in the passage. It is not “chains” that are hidden in the breasts but hatred. However, it has apparently been assumed that the word aghlál is the plural of ghull (chain). But here aghlál is being used as the plural of the Arabic word ghill (rancor, malice, or animosity). Mughill , from the same root, means a person who is spiteful, deceitful, and bears malice and ill will. Bahá’u’lláh frequently uses the terms ghill and mughill in his tablets to describe the state of his enemies’ hearts. 9 In this phrase Bahá’u’lláh creates two plurals not found in standard Arabic— aghlál as the plural of ghill and as. dár as the plural of s. adr (heart). Note that creating new words and derivatives was one way in which the Báb declared his supreme authority as the Manifestation of God. However, what is indisputable is that in this context Bahá’u’lláh is not talking about chains but animosities in the hearts. The mistranslation makes it more difficult to understand Bahá’u’lláh’s reference to his state of disappointment and his forced silence. With that crucial information and the correction, now when we read the entire paragraph it becomes absolutely clear what Bahá’u’lláh is talking about in this passage: This is especially true if the Eastern Winds begin to blow upon the flood of this heavenly river, which is rushing forth from the North of divine unity. How many exalted souls and possessors of true understanding, how many mighty castles and firm lofty edifices, will be destroyed and perish. By Him Who holdeth the heavens by His might and moveth the oceans by His command! Were it not for fear of the malice hidden in the hearts, I would have assuredly unveiled all the inmost divine analogies and all the subtleties of the heavenly principles with regard to the course of this outward river. Yet, alas, I am disinclined to approach any matter. On account of the intensity of My anguish and sorrow, in these days I am sore tried between the Gog of silence and the Magog of utterance. I beseech God to send down an Alexander who will raise an insurmountable barrier. Here Bahá’u’lláh is saying that although he possesses perfect knowledge of all divine mysteries, and although he can describe all of them through a single metaphor, he is forced to conceal these truths and practice wisdom (that is, the principle that words must be uttered with “due regard unto the exigencies of the occasion and the people” [Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets 172]). He is in between silence and speech: the surging of his spiritual truth urges him to expression and

9. See, for example, Gleanings 255, 273.