Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, and hath
fashioned all that is, Him Who hath raised up the sincere to a station of
honour[1] and hath made the invisible world to appear on the plane of the
visible — yet still, in their drunken stupor,[2] do men wander and stray.
He hath laid down the foundations of the lofty Citadel, He
hath inaugurated the Cycle of Glory, He hath brought forth a new creation on
this day that is clearly Judgement Day—and still do the heedless stay fast in
their drunken sleep.
The Bugle[3] hath sounded, the Trumpet[4] hath been blown,
the Crier hath raised his call, and all upon the earth have swooned away — but
still do the dead, in the tombs of their bodies, sleep on.
And the second clarion[5] hath sounded, there hath followed
the second blast after the first,[6] and the dread woe hath come, and every
nursing mother hath forgot the infant at her breast[7]— yet still the people,
confused and distracted, heed it not.
And the Resurrection hath dawned, and the Hour hath struck,
and the Path hath been drawn straight, and the Balance hath been set up, and
all upon the earth have been gathered together[8] — but still the people see no
sign of the way.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
1. Qur’án 17:81.
2. Qur’án 15:72.
3. Qur’án 39:68; Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 133.
4. Qur’án 74:8.
5. Qur’án 39:68.
6. Qur’án 79:6.
7. Qur’án 22:2.
8. Qur’án 34:39.
