"O Fourth Letter of this Temple, betokening the attribute of Grace! We have made thee the manifestation of grace betwixt earth and heaven. From thee have We generated all grace in the contingent world, and unto thee shall We cause it to return. And from thee shall We manifest it again, through a word of Our command. Potent am I to accomplish whatsoever I desire through My word "Be", and it is! Every grace that appeareth in the world of being hath originated from thee, and unto thee shall it return. This, verily, is what hath been ordained in a Tablet which We have preserved behind the veil of glory and concealed from mortal eyes. Well is it with them that deprive themselves not of this manifest and unfailing grace."
Comments:
• The last Arabic letter of the word Haykal (Temple) is Lám. As was mentioned in comments associated with Paragraph 1.37: The word Haykal (Temple) is composed in Arabic of the four letters Ha', Ya', Káf and Lám (HYKL). Its first letter is taken to symbolize the word Huviyyah (Essence of Divinity); its second letter the word Qadir (Almighty), of which Ya' is the third letter; its third letter the word Karim (All-Bountiful); and its fourth letter the word Fadl (Grace), of which Lám is the third letter.
• We recall that earlier in comments associated with Paragraph 1.17 it was indicated that according to Adib Taherzadeh in volume 3 (p. 133) of his book ‘The Revelation of Baha’u’llah’: “In answer to a question, Bahá'u'lláh has stated that the Haykal [Temple] which is addressed in this Surih is the Person of Bahá'u'lláh, and so is the voice which addresses the Haykal.”
• In Paragrpah 1.46 we become aware that the Entity that appears to us as the Manifestation of God is the source of “all grace in the contingent world”. Furthermore, we become aware that this same Entity will “cause” all grace to be “return(ed)" back to the Manifestation of God! And that “through a Word” of “command” Baha’u’llah (representing this Entity for our time) “shall manifest” this grace “again”. Difficult concepts to fully understand – unless we could find specific explanations by the Master or the beloved Guardian. For now, we could postulate some imperfect possibilities. Could one meaning of the appearance and the return of this entity of “grace” be the very soul of each human being that comes from God (through His Manifestation) and then returns back to Him? Could it be the process of progressive Revelation through which each Manifestation of God comes to earth as a sign of God’s grace and then retreats back to His “true habitation”? Could it be each official successor(s) of every Manifestation of God whom through His grace are created and sent to us for our guidance after His passing – like ‘Abdu’l-Baha?
• We also know from Paragraph 1.2 that there is in existence a “heaven of grace”: “Glorified is He Who causeth whomsoever He willeth to ascend unto the heaven of grace, and sendeth down therefrom whatsoever He desireth according to a prescribed measure.” In the comments section it was indicated that: The reference to the “heaven of grace” is very awe-inspiring! Grace is such a comforting word! It’s synonymous with mercy, beauty, favor, a period of time granted beyond the date set for the performance of an act, the unmerited love and favor, and a special virtue, gift, or help given to a person by God. It’s amazing that in this passage Baha’u’llah confirms the existence of a “heaven of grace” and that God would cause “whomsoever He willeth” to “ascend” to this heaven and to send down from this heaven “whatsoever He desireth according to a prescribed measure.” One reference to this heaven is made by Baha’u’llah in a protection prayer in which He teaches a servant to supplicate God and ask Him to “Send down, then, upon me, out of the heaven of Thy mercy, a blessing from Thy side …” What a nice thought to reflect on: To receive “a blessing” from that vast heaven of God’s mercy!
• Baha’u’llah further elaborates on this theme of mercy in Paragraph 1.47 which we will explore later.
• The phrase “betwixt earth and heaven” is another mindboggling concept that one encounters in Baha’u’llah’s and the Bab’s Writings. For instance reflecting on the following passages makes one wonder what that dimension is – and how we typically don’t think of it, and yet it appears that it has its own existence:
Happy are ye, O ye the learned ones in Baha. By the Lord! Ye are the billows of the Most Mighty Ocean, the stars of the firmament of Glory, the standards of triumph waving betwixt earth and heaven. (Baha'u'llah, Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 27)
Lo, the Most Sublime Pen speaketh betwixt earth and heaven. (Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 75)
While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden -- the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord -- suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God's honoured servants. (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 5)
O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to flow. (Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 57)
And this reference from the Bab:
He is God, no God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Best Beloved. All that are in the heavens and on the earth and whatever lieth between them are His. Verily He is the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. (The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 6)
