Concealment and Revelation

THE J OURNAL OF BAHÁ ’ Í S TUD I E S 9 . 3 . 1 9 9 9

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visible in the subtle equation of the river of revelation with the movement of his Pen. After discussing the river as the symbol of divine revelation, Bahá’u’lláh describes his unveiling of the river analogy as the onrush of the Pen. In other words, the movement of his Pen is the same as the river that dispenses the water of divine revelation. 5. Another implicit reference to Bahá’u’lláh’s majestic station can be found in his quotation, in the tablet, of the first Arabic Hidden Word: “Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.” He states that this passage is taken from the essence of the holy Books (that is, the Hidden Words). He also expounds the special significance of this particular command, calling it “a treasure that pertaineth to Heaven,” “a light that shall never be extinguished, a treasure that perisheth not, a raiment that shall never be outworn, and a revelation that will never be concealed.” Moreover, he refers to it as the “All-Encompassing Word” ( kalimiy-i-jámi‘ih )—a clear reference to the revealed Word of God embracing all spiritual truth. He tells Javád to “preserve” this counsel “if thou desirest to find a path to the Lord of the Mighty Throne.” A more subtle declaration of Bahá’u’lláh’s station is evident in the fact that he is here using “All-Encompassing Word” to describe not only his revealed Word in the Hidden Words, but also his own being as the Manifestation of God. In the writings of both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, the title “All-Encompassing Word” is applied to both the Manifestation and his Revelation. The significance of mentioning this particular statement from the Hidden Words becomes apparent through a careful comparison with the Kitáb-i-Íqán and the Kitáb-i-Badí‘. In these texts Bahá’u’lláh outlines the preconditions of the spiritual search to recognize the Manifestation of God for the age. He calls upon the seeker to renounce all preconceived ideas and conditions, and to recognize the Manifestation through the Manifestation himself. In other words, one should not take human understandings of the previous words of God, or the conceptions of the scholars, as the standard by which to judge the authenticity of divine revelation. In the Book of the River, after rejecting people’s notions of miracles as a standard for recognizing divine revelation, Bahá’u’lláh quotes this Hidden Word, which emphasizes the principle of sincerity of heart, as a concise epistemological principle which is the true “path” leading to recognition of the Manifestation of God. Bahá’u’lláh as the Living Countenance Bahá’u’lláh’s reference in the Book of the River to the “Living Countenance” ( T. al‘at-i-H. ayy ) is a reference to none other than himself. The title has a complex meaning and is an implicit claim to be the Promised One of the Bayán. However, the assumption that one should consult the Bábí literature to find out what Bahá’u’lláh means by the “Living Countenance” is a methodological