Praise be to Him Who hath honored the Land of Bá [Beirut] through the presence of Him round Whom all names revolve. All the atoms of the earth have announced unto all created things that from behind the gate of the Prison-city there hath appeared and above its horizon there hath shone forth the Orb of the beauty of the great, the Most Mighty Branch of God—His ancient and immutable Mystery—proceeding on its way to another land. Sorrow, thereby, hath enveloped this Prison-city, whilst another land rejoiceth. Exalted, immeasurably exalted is our Lord, the Fashioner of the heavens and the Creator of all things, He through Whose sovereignty the doors of the prison were opened, thereby causing what was promised aforetime in the Tablets to be fulfilled. He is verily potent over what He willeth, and in His grasp is the dominion of the entire creation. He is the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honored by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings. We beseech God—blessed and exalted be He—that He may honor us with meeting Him soon. He is, in truth, the All-Hearing, the All-Powerful, He Who is ready to answer.
Bahá’u’lláh
حَمْدَاً لِمَنْ تَشَرَّفَ أَرْضَ الْبَاءِ بِقُدُومِ مَنْ طَافَ حَوْلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ بِذَلِكَ بَشَّرَتِ الذَّرَّاتُ كُلَّ الْمُمْكِنَاتِ بِمَا طَلَعَ وَلَاحَ وَظَهَرَ وَأَشْرَقَ وَخَرَجَ مِنْ بَابِ السِّجْنِ وَأُفُقِهِ شَمْسُ جَمَالِ غُصْنِ اللّهِ الْأَعْظَمِ الْعَظِيمِ وَسِرِّ اللّهِ الْأَقْوَمِ الْقَدِيمِ مُتَوَجِّهَاً إِلَى مَقَامٍ آخَرٍ بِذَلِكَ تَكَدَّرَتْ أَرْضُ السِّجْنِ وَفَرِحَتْ أُخْرَى تَعَالَى تَعَالَى رَبُّنَا فَاطِرُ السَّمَاءِ وَخَالِقُ الْأَشْيَاءِ الَّذِي بِسُلْطَانِهِ فُتِحَ بَابُ السِّجْنِ لِيَظْهَرَ مَا أَنْزَلَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ قَبْلِ إِنَّهُ لَهُوَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ عَلَى مَا يَشَاءُ وَفِي قَبْضَتِهِ مَلَكُوتُ الْإِنْشَاءِ وَهُوَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيم
طُوبَى ثُمَّ طُوبَى لِأَرْضٍ فَازَتْ بِقُدُومِهِ وَلِعَيْنٍ قَرَّتْ بِجَمَالِهِ وَلِسَمْعٍ تَشَرَّفَ بِإِصْغَاءِ نِدَائِهِ وَلِقَلْبٍ ذَاقَ حَلَاوَةَ حُبِّهِ وَلِصَدْرٍ رَحِبَ بِذِكْرِهِ وَلِقَلَمٍ تَحَرَّكَ عَلَى ثَنَائِهِ وَلِلَوْحٍ حَمَلَ آثَارَهُ نَسْأَلُ اللّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى بِأَنْ يُشَرِّفَنَا بِلِقَائِهِ قَرِيبَاً إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّامِعُ الْمُقْتَدِرُ الْمُجِيبُ
حضرة بهاءالله
According to Shoghi Effendi, this Tablet is “a letter dictated by Bahá’u’lláh and addressed by Mírzá Áqá Ján, His amanuensis, to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá while the latter was on a visit to Beirut” (The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 136.).
In his history of the Baháʼí Faith, Adib Taherzadeh offers this additional context: “The visit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Beirut in 1879 at the invitation of the Governor of the Province of Syria was a significant event. It clearly demonstrated that the edict of the Sultán condemning Bahá’u’lláh and His companions to life imprisonment within the citadel of ‘Akká had become irrelevant. It also enabled some outstanding personalities such as Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abdú’, who later became the Grand Muftí of Egypt, to come into contact with the magnetic personality of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and become one of his ardent admirers” (The Revelation of Baháʼuʼlláh, vol. 4, p. 240).
Original Sources
Further References