"O Second Letter of this Temple, betokening My name, the Almighty! We have made thee the manifestation of Our sovereignty and the dayspring of Our Names. Potent am I to fulfil that which My tongue speaketh."
Comments:
• As was explained in the comments associated with Paragraph 1.37, the second Arabic letter of the word Haykal (Temple) is the letter Ya', symbolizing the word Qadir (Almighty), of which Ya' is the third letter.
• In this paragraph we become aware that the attribute of “Almighty” is one of the characteristics of the Primal Will of God, as manifested by Baha’u’llah. He refers to it as “the manifestation” of His “sovereignty” and the “dayspring” of His “Names.” So, once again, as a token of His abiding grace, Baha’u’llah is making us gently aware of the potentialities, qualities and attributes of the Entity called the Primal Will of God, an Entity that throughout the recorded and unrecorded history of man’s existence on this planet has presented Itself as Manifestations of God in our midst.
• The word ‘dayspring’ is defined in the dictionary as ‘dawn’ and the word ‘Almighty’ as ‘having unlimited power and all-powerful.’ So, our “partial and imperfect” understanding will lead us to postulate that just like our physical sun that when it rises at dawn it provides us with a smaller measure of its greater potency that we could experience at noon, similarly, we should perhaps view the attribute of “Almighty” with respect to the spiritual Sun. In other words, although “Almighty” is one of the “names” of the Manifestation of God and that it implies ‘having unlimited power, and the all-powerful’, it does not mean that it represents the full potency of the powers with which God has endowed His Primal Will with His “Names” and Their progressive appearances through His Manifestations.
• Becoming aware that the attribute of “Almighty” is one of the characteristics of the Manifestation of God and then to whole-heartedly accept and embrace it, must be an aspect of our spiritual transformation – a transformation that, with time, will help us to increase our heartfelt posture of humility when interacting with the Word of God. Some of Baha’u’llah’s Writings will naturally evoke such responses. For example the following passage:
“It is in Our power, should We wish it, to enable a speck of floating dust to generate, in less than the twinkling of an eye, suns of infinite, of unimaginable splendour, to cause a dewdrop to develop into vast and numberless oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to empower it to unfold all the knowledge of past and future ages. This, in truth, is a matter simple of accomplishment. Such have been the evidences of My power from the beginning that hath no beginning until the end that hath no end. My creatures, however, have been oblivious of My power, have repudiated My sovereignty, and contended with Mine own Self, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 39)
• The last line of Paragraph 1.38 is a further confirmation of the power that the Creator has endowed His Manifestations. We should have full faith and confidence in Baha’u’llah’s Words when He says “Potent am I to fulfil that which My tongue speaketh.” As we study and ponder on the Word of God revealed through Baha’u’llah, we should remind ourselves of this fact and be certain that His Words are laden with incredible powers that will impact every aspect of our individual and collective lives on our planet. Here is an example:
“Of old it hath been revealed: "Love of one's country is an element of the Faith of God." The Tongue of Grandeur hath, however, in the day of His manifestation proclaimed: "It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world." Through the power released by these exalted words He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God's holy Book.” (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 95)
