Translation, Commentary Surih of Kawthar (2)

whose outward form is pure milk. It is the spirit of prayer, through which man reacheth up to the

summit of Sanctity, and reposeth within the heaven of eternal Reunion. Thus when the servant

reciteth divine prayers, fixing his gaze utterly upon God, he will be drawn unto the court of

nearness, in such wise as none can comprehend save he whom God willeth.

Verily, by virtue of the speedy onrush of the fresh milk of this River, a complete book of prayer

hath streamed forth from My Pen in the course of six hours. Such speed is, verily, the most

glorious sign within the realm of miracles.

Verily, the manifest onrush testifieth to the inner

onrush. That inner voyage is a sorely trying, highly perplexing Cause. All recognise that it is

impossible for anyone to attain it save for the One Whom God Willeth. For the supreme

excellence is not in the mere composition of such outward words, but in traversing the kingdom

of Names and Attributes, in less than the twinkling of an eye

By thy life! Were the people to taste the joy of that milk, they would assuredly be willing to

rend, by their very own hands, their own bodies, that they may recite one single prayer. For

verily, within it vibrateth the spirit of divine Sovereignty, radiateth the mystery of Eternity, and

shineth forth the uttermost word of Servitude before the divine justice….

After thou hast gazed through those lights, and recognised the Manifestation of these mysteries,

thou must comprehend the attributes of the pure Honey, for it verily, floweth out, by the leave of

God, in the mode of sermons and discourses (khutab). Verily it is sweeter than all other

evidences for the understanding of the people who are veiled, for it endureth veils, by the leave

of God, to a higher degree than the first and the second rivers.

Thus many of the enemies of God have confessed the eloquence of My sermons, notwithstanding

the remoteness of their station and the intensity of their denials. Even the third one, may God

delay his punishment, acknowledged in his book the utmost eloquence of the Há’íyyih Sermon,

in spite of the fact that he hath not understood even a single one of Our words, and even if he

could comprehend, he would deny the same, knowingly

For verily, My Cause is manifested in

My sermons in such wise that even those who are unable to recognise its truth as the Revelation

The word áyát here is not divine verses but miracles, because the entire discussion is about the mode of prayer.

This is also clear in the subsequent part when the excellence of servitude is discussed.

Namely the supreme miracle is the meanings of these words, and what happens inside the Báb. He clearly is

affirming that He is not only a medium of revelation of words, but also He is the Word Himself.

The third refers to the third of the three opponents of the Báb, Javád-i-Baraghání, ‘Abdu’l-‘Alíy-i-Harátí, and

Ibráhím-i-Shírází. The Báb identifies the first one as Satan and the other two as the two brothers of Satan.