Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
Apostles appeared, in bygone ages and cycles, in accordance with the vain imaginations which the hearts of men had devised, no one would have repudiated the truth of these sanctified Beings. Though such men have been, night and day, remembering the one true God, and have been devoutly engaged in the exercise of their devotions, yet they failed in the end to recognize, and partake of the grace of, the
Day Springs of the signs of God and the
Manifestations of His irrefutable evidences. To this the Scriptures bear witness. Thou hast, no doubt, heard about it.
Consider the
Dispensation of Jesus Christ. Behold, how all the learned men of that generation, though eagerly anticipating the coming of the Promised One, have nevertheless denied Him. Both Annas, the most learned among the divines of His day, and
Caiaphas, the high priest, denounced Him and pronounced the sentence of His death.
In like manner, when
Muḥammad, the Prophet of God—may all men be a sacrifice unto Him—appeared, the learned men of
Mecca and
Medina arose, in the early days of His
Revelation, against Him and rejected His Message, while they who were destitute of all learning recognized and embraced His
Faith. Ponder a while. Consider how
Balál, the Ethiopian, unlettered though he was, ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude, whilst
‘Abdu’lláh Ubayy, a leader among the learned, maliciously strove to oppose Him. Behold, how a mere shepherd was so
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