There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork! Draw nigh unto Him, O people, and taste the fruits of wisdom and knowledge that have proceeded from Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Whoso hath failed to taste thereof is deprived of God’s bounty, though he partake of all that the earth can produce, could ye but perceive it!
Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favoured servants.
We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish.
O people! Hasten to enter beneath the shadow of God, that it may shield you from the blazing heat of this Day wherein none shall find shelter or refuge save under the shadow of His Name, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.
Bahá’u’lláh
وَقَدِ انْشَعَبَ مِنْ سِدْرَةِ المُنْتَهَى هَذَا الهَيْكلُ المُقَدَّسُ الأَبْهَى غُصْنُ القُدْسِ فَهنيئاً لِمَنِ اسْتظَلَّ فِي ظِلِّه وَكانَ مِنَ الرَّاقِدينَ. قُلْ قَدْ نَبَتَ غُصْنُ الأَمْرِ مِن هَذا الأَصْلِ الَّذِي اسْتَحْكَمَهُ اللهُ فِي أَرْضِ المَشِيَّةِ وَارْتَفَعَ فَرْعُهُ إلى مَقَامٍ أَحاطَ كُلَّ الوُجُودِ فَتَعَالَى مِنْ هَذا الصُّنْعِ المُتَعالِي المُبَارَكِ العَزِيزِ المَنِيع. أَنْ يَا قَوْمِ تَقَرَّبُوا إلَيْهِ وَذوقُوا منْهُ أَثْمارَ الحِكْمَةِ وَالعِلْمِ مِنْ لَدُن عَزيزٍ عَليمٍ. وَمَنْ لَمْ يَذُقْ مِنْهُ يَكُونُ مَحْرُوماً عَنْ نِعْمَةِ اللهِ وَلَوْ يُرْزَقُ بِكُلِّ مَا عَلَى الأَرضِ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ مِنَ العَارِفِينَ
قُلْ يا قَوْمِ فَاشْكُرُوا اللهَ لِظُهُورِهِ لأَنَّه لَهُوَ الفَضلُ الأَعْظَمُ عَلَيكُم وَنِعْمَتُهُ الأَتَمُّ لَكُمْ وَبِهِ يَحْيى كلُّ عَظْمٍ رَمِيمٍ، مَنْ تَوَجَّهَ إلَيْهِ فَقَدْ تَوَجَّهَ إِلى اللهِ فَمنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهُ فَقَدْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ جَمَالِي وَكَفرَ بِبُرْهانِي وَكانَ مِنَ المُسْرِفينَ. إِنَّهُ لَوَدِيعَةُ اللهِ بَيْنَكَمُ وَأَمانَتُهُ فِيكُمْ وَظُهُورُهُ عَلَيكُمْ وَطلُوعُهُ بَيْنَ عِبادِه المُقرَّبينَ
وَإِنَّا قَدْ بَعَثْناهُ عَلَى هَيْكَلِ الإِنْسانِ فَتَبارَكَ اللهُ مُبْدِعُ ما يَشَاءُ بِأَمْرِه المُبْرَمِ الحَكِيمِ. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُمْ مَنَعُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ عَنْ ظِلِّ الغُصْنِ أُولَئِكَ تاهُوا فِي العَرآءِ وَأَحْرَقَتْهُمْ حَرارَةُ الهَوَى وَكانُوا مِنَ الهَالِكينَ
أنِ اسْرِعُوا يا قَومِ إلَى ظِلِّ اللهِ لِيَحفَظَكُمْ عَنْ حَرِّ يَوْمِ الَّذِي لَنْ يَجِدَ أَحَدٌ لِنَفْسِه ظلّاً ولا مَأْوىً إِلا ظِلَّ اسْمِهِ الغَفُورِ الرَّحِيمِ
حضرة بهاءالله
The Súriy-i-Ghuṣn (Tablet of the Branch) is an important Arabic Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in Edirne, Turkey and was addressed to Mírzá ʻAlí-Riḍáy-i-Mustawfí, a native of Khurásán. Surnamed the Mustasharu’d-Dawlih, this believer was the holder of a prominent government position, and had been taught by none other than Mullá Ḥusayn himself. Mírzá ʻAlí-Riḍá was a dedicated believer who continually aided and assisted the friends in need and the poor and the downtrodden.
The main theme of the Súriy-i-Ghuṣn is the unveiling of the station of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá. In it Bahá’u’lláh makes several significant statements about ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s exalted rank and mysterious station, referring to Him as a “sacred and glorious Being,” the “Branch of Holiness,” the “Limb of the Law of God,” and other titles mentioned in the excerpts we have chosen to include for this addition to our Centenary Collection.
Commenting on this Tablet, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá Himself has written:
I affirm . . . that the true meaning, the real significance, the innermost secret of these verses, of these very words, is my own servitude to the sacred Threshold of the Abhá Beauty, my complete self-effacement, my utter nothingness before Him. This is my resplendent crown, my most precious adorning. On this I pride myself in the kingdom of earth and heaven. Therein I glory among the company of the well-favored! . . . No one is permitted to give these verses any other interpretation.
Quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The Dispensation of Baháʼuʼlláh; see The World Order of Baháʼuʼlláh, p. 138
Original Sources
Further References