The essence of detachment is for man to turn his face
towards the courts of the Lord, to enter His Presence,
behold His Countenance, and stand as witness before
Him.
The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s
poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign,
the Gracious, the All-Powerful.
The source of courage and power is the promotion of
the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love.
The essence of charity is for the servant to recount
the blessings of his Lord, and to render thanks unto
Him at all times and under all conditions.
The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance
of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily
his death is better than his life.
The essence of true safety is to observe silence,
to look at the end of things and to renounce the world.
The beginning of magnanimity is when man expendeth
his wealth on himself, on his family and on the poor
among his brethren in his Faith.
The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth
Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth
Me not is indeed of the poor and needy. This
is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendour hath
revealed.
The source of all evil is for man to turn away from
his Lord and set his heart on things ungodly.
The most burning fire is to question the signs of
God, to dispute idly that which He hath revealed,
to deny Him and carry one’s self proudly before
Him.
The source of all learning is the knowledge of God,
exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be attained
save through the knowledge of His Divine Manifestation.
The essence of abasement is to pass out from under
the shadow of the Merciful and seek the shelter of
the Evil One.
The source of error is to disbelieve in the One true
God, rely upon aught else but Him, and flee from His
Decree.
True loss is for him whose days have been spent in
utter ignorance of his self.
The essence of all that We have revealed for thee
is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy
and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His
glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a
searching eye.
Thus have We instructed thee, manifested unto thee
Words of Wisdom, that thou mayest be thankful unto
the Lord, thy God, and glory therein amidst all peoples.
Out of respect, the Baha’is,
rather than addressing Baha’u’llah directly,
would write to His amanuensis, Mirza Aqa Jan, surnamed
‘Servant of God’ and ‘Servant-in-Attendance’.
The reply would be in the form of a letter from
Mirza Aqa Jan quoting words of Baha’u’llah,
but would, in fact, be dictated in its entirety by
Baha’u’llah. Thus all parts of
the Tablet, even those which ostensibly are the
words of Mirza Aqa Jan himself, are Sacred Scripture
revealed by Baha’u’llah. The Tablet
of Maqsud is in this form. It was addressed
to Mirza Maqsud, one of the early believers living
at that time in Damascus and Jerusalem.
He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of Majesty and Power
