Grieve thou not over the ascension of my beloved Breakwell, for he hath risen unto a rose garden of splendors within the Abhá Paradise, sheltered by the mercy of his mighty Lord, and he is crying at the top of his voice: “O that my people could know how graciously my Lord hath forgiven me, and made me to be of those who have attained His Presence!” [cf. Qurʼán 36:25]
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Where now is thy fair face? Where is thy fluent tongue? Where thy clear brow? Where thy bright comeliness?
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Where is thy fire, blazing with God’s love? Where is thy rapture at His holy breaths? Where are thy praises, lifted unto Him? Where is thy rising up to serve His Cause?
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Where are thy beauteous eyes? Thy smiling lips? The princely cheek? The graceful form?
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou hast quit this earthly world and risen upward to the Kingdom, thou hast reached unto the grace of the invisible realm, and offered thyself at the threshold of its Lord.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou hast left the lamp that was thy body here, the glass that was thy human form, thy earthy elements, thy way of life below.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou hast lit a flame within the lamp of the Company on high, thou hast set foot in the Abhá Paradise, thou hast found a shelter in the shadow of the Blessed Tree, thou hast attained His meeting in the haven of Heaven.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou art now a bird of Heaven, thou hast quit thine earthly nest, and soared away to a garden of holiness in the kingdom of thy Lord. Thou hast risen to a station filled with light.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thy song is even as birdsong now, thou pourest forth verses as to the mercy of thy Lord; of Him Who forgiveth ever, thou wert a thankful servant, wherefore hast thou entered into exceeding bliss.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thy Lord hath verily singled thee out for His love, and hath led thee into His precincts of holiness, and made thee to enter the garden of those who are His close companions, and hath blessed thee with beholding His beauty.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou hast won eternal life, and the bounty that faileth never, and a life to please thee well, and plenteous grace.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
Thou art become a star in the supernal sky, and a lamp amid the angels of high Heaven; a living spirit in the most exalted Kingdom, throned in eternity.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
I ask of God to draw thee ever closer, hold thee ever faster; to rejoice thy heart with nearness to His presence, to fill thee with light and still more light, to grant thee still more beauty, and to bestow upon thee power and great glory.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
At all times do I call thee to mind. I shall never forget thee. I pray for thee by day, by night; I see thee plain before me, as if in open day.
O Breakwell, O my dear one!
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
لَا تَحْزَنْ مِنْ صُعُودِ عَزِيزِي برِيكْوِل لِأَنَّهُ عَرَجَ إِلَى الْحَدِيقَةِ النَّوْرَاءِ في مَلَكُوتِ الْأَبْهَى جِوارِ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى وَيُنَادِي بِأَعْلَى النِّدَاءِ يَا لَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ بِمَا غَفَرَ لِي رَبِّي وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ الْفَائِزِينَ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ أَيْنَ وَجْهُكَ الْجَمِيلُ وَأَيْنَ لِسَانُكَ الْبَلِيغُ أَيْنَ جَبِينُكَ الْمُبِينُ وَأَيْنَ جَمَالُكَ الْمُنِيرُ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ أَيْنَ تَلَهُّبُكَ بِنَارِ مَحَبَّةِ اللهِ وَأَيْنَ انْجِذَابُكَ بِنَفَحَاتِ اللهِ وَأيْنَ بَيَانُكَ بِالثَّنَاءِ عَلَى اللهِ وَأَيْنَ قِيَامُكَ عَلَى خِدْمَةِ أَمْرِ اللهِ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ أَيْنَ عَيْنُكَ الْجَمِيلُ أَيْنَ ثَغْرُكَ الْبَسِيمُ أَيْنَ خَدُّكَ الْأَصِيلُ أَيْنَ قَدُّكَ الرَّشِيقُ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ قَدْ تَرَكْتَ النَّاسُوتَ وَعَرَجْتَ إِلَى الْمَلَكُوتِ وَفُزْتَ بِفَيْضِ اللَّاهِوتِ وَوَفَدْتَ عَلَى عَتَبَةِ رَبِّ الْجَبَرُوتِ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ قَدْ تَرَكْتَ الْمِشْكَاةَ الْجِسْمَانِيَّةَ وَالزُّجَاجَةَ الْبَشَرِيَّةَ وَالْعَنَاصِرَ التُّرَابِيَّةَ وَالْعِيشَةَ النَّاسُوتِيَّةَ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ فَتَوَقَّدْتَ سِرَاجَاً فِي زُجَاجِ الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى وَدَخَلْتَ فِي الْفِرْدَوْسِ الْأَبْهَى وَاسْتَظْلَلْتَ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةِ طُوبَى وَفُزْتَ بِاللِّقَاءِ فِي جَنَّةِ الْمَأْوَى يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ قَدْ غَدَوْتَ طَيرَاً إِلَهِي وَتَرَكْتَ الْوَكْرَ التُّرَابِيِّ وَطِرْتَ إِلَى حَدَائِقِ الْقُدْسِ الْمَلَكُوتِ الرَّحْمَانِي وَفُزْتَ بِمَقَامٍ نُورَانِيٍّ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ قَدْ صَدَحْتَ كَالطُّيُورِ وَرَتَّلْتَ آيَاتِ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ الْغَفُورِ وَكُنْتَ عَبْدَاً شَكُوراً وَدَخَلْتَ فِي سُرُورٍ وَحُبُورٍ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ أَخْتَارَكَ لِحُبِّهِ وَهَدَاكَ إِلَى حَيِّزِ قُدْسِهِ وَأَدْخَلَكَ فِي حَدِيقَةِ أُنْسِهِ وَرَزَقَكَ مُشَاهَدَةَ جَمَالِهِ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ قَدْ فُزْتَ بِحَيَاتٍ أَبَدِيَّةٍ وَنِعْمَةٍ سَرْمَدِيَّةٍ وَعِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ وَمُوهِبَةٍ وَافِيَةٍ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ صِرْتَ نَجْمَاً فِي أُفُقِ الْعُلَى وَسِرَاجَاً بَيْنَ مَلَائِكَةِ السَّمَاءِ وَرُوحَاً حَيَّاً فِي الْعَالَمِ الْأَعْلَى وَجَالِسَاً عَلَى سَرِيرِ الْبَقَاءِ يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ أَسْأَلُ اللهِ أَنْ يَزِيدَكَ قُرْبَاً وَاتِّصَالَاً وَيُهَنِّئَكَ فَوْزَاً وَوِصْالاً وَيَزِيدَكَ نُورَاً وَجَمَالَاً وَيُعْطِيكَ عِزَّاً وَجَلَالَاً يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ إِنِّي أَذْكُرُكَ دَائِمَاً وَلَا أَنْسَاكَ أَبَدَاً وَأَدْعُو لَكَ لَيْلَاً وَنَهَارَاً وَأَرَاكَ وَاضِحَاً وَجَهَاراً يَا عَزِيزِي يَا برِيكْوِلُ
حضرة عبدالبهاء
Six months after the first Englishman to convert to the Baháʼí Faith, Thomas Breakwell, succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 30 on 13 June 1902, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá composed this Tablet of Visitation in his honor and at the request of his father. ʻAbdu’l-Bahá Himself is reported to have said to the Baháʼís in ʻAkká, “Did you hear? Breakwell has ascended. I was heartbroken. I have written a moving Tablet of Visitation for him. I wrote it with such emotion that I wept as I wrote. You must translate it well so that he who reads it will not be able to hold back his tears” (Memories of Nine Years in Akka, p. 141).
Throughout this Tablet of Visitation, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá employs a kind of rhymed prose which is known in Arabic as sajʻ (سجع), often drawing on various adjectives and nouns to create these recurring rhymes. Among these nouns are what have sometimes been called “the realms of divine existence,” an originally Islamic framework that factors into some of the Baháʼí Writings. These realms include násút, the realm of physical beings; malakút, the realm of divine sovereignty; jabarút, the realm of divine power; láhút, the realm of the manifested attributes of God; and háhút, the realm of the unmanifested Essence of God. For an in-depth look at these realms, refer to this paper.
Original Sources
Further References