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So says an article in today's Science Daily, which reports on a recent study at Northwestern of children from the Philippines. The study finds that children from the Philippines have much lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which indicates better resistance to disease. Exposure to germs was much higher for the children in the Philippines.
So what's wrong with this study? It's a very tenuous association, and from what I can gather in the articles, no attempt was made to ensure the children in the U.S. that were compared to the children in the Philippines were similar in other ways. They might be different in CRP due to other environmental or hereditary factors. Perhaps it's the weather? The diet? One of any number of things could account for the difference.
In addition, the study appears to ignore the much higher infant mortality rate and much lower life expectancy in the Philippines (you can try www.indexmundi.com for life expectancy and other information by country). In other words, even if higher germ exposure does mean lower CRP, does it actually mean less disease and longer life? The broad indication is that it does not.
In order for the study to be valid, it needs to adjust for whatever inherent differences (in addition to germ exposure) exist between Phillipino and US children, and then see if CRP levels are still different. An even better way to do such a study would be to study children living in similar environments (same place, socio-economic situation, etc.) and determine if the ones exposed to more germs had lower levels of CRP when they reached adult-hood.
I've seen articles (see this for example, but I can't find a more definitive one at this time) that indicate that children with early exposure to farm animals have fewer allergies, but nothing showing exposure to more serious germs is good. And some of the germs that we are exposed to are more than just common germs--they are deadly. It might be that those who are exposed to these deadly germs early, and live, are much better off later in life, but that is no reason to expose them to those germs unnecessarily. Of course, you wouldnt give your child a deadly disease so that, if they survived, they'd be resistant to it later in life.
We live in a society that is sometimes alarmist concerning germs, and I have written about this. Yet this doesn't mean that, on the whole, a clean environment does not promote good health, and the article cited above seems to only have the most tenous of indications that it may not.
14 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
You asked for it, you got it. Toyota!
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I think that's how the ad line went. When? maybe 25 years ago.
Well, it seems to apply now. Sudden acceleration. Mention a problem with a car, any problem with any car, and people will start crawling out of the wood-work with the complaint. Why? It's a numbers game. There were more than 100,000 pri-i(?) sold in the US in 2005-9. With that many people driving them around, any tiny problem that is reported is going to be "substantiated" by others. Those of us old enough to remember the Audi 5000 found the high correlation between those Audi's with sudden acceleration and those sold to 85 year-old ladies inexplicable (studies mostly concluded it was driver error--see a recent article here in Wired).
The latest, after the brake-related Prius recall, is the claim of sudden acceleration. A guy in California managed to call 911 while it was happening--pretty amazing, huh? Unless, of course, you made it all up. Here's what the current thoughts about it are (from wikipedia):
"On March 8, 2010, a 2008 Prius allegedly uncontrollably accelerated to 94 miles per hour on a California Highway (US), and the Prius had to be stopped with the verbal assistance of the California Highway Patrol as news cameras watched [86]. Subsequent to the event, media investigations uncovered suspicious information about the alleged runaway Prius driver, 61-year old James Sikes, including false police reports, suspect insurance claims, theft and fraud allegations, television aspirations, and bankruptcy.[87][88] Sikes was found to be US$19,000 behind in his Prius car payments and had $US700,000 in accumulated debt.[87] Sikes stated he wanted a new car as compensation for the incident.[87][89] Analyses by Edmunds.com and Forbes found Sikes' acceleration claims and fears of shifting to neutral implausible, with Edmunds concluding that "in other words, this is BS",[90] and Forbes comparing it to the balloon boy hoax.[88]"
Notwithstanding the apparent CA tale above, the reality is that the rare problem is a tough nut to crack statistically. Suppose there is an issue in 1 in 10,000 Prius' and that this issue only crops up on one in 10,000 rides on those cars. Thus, it's a 1 in 100 million car rides in Prius. Even among those, it may be a very short-lived problem and not cause any injury or accident. Such a rare problem might be drowned out by other driver error problems, such as accidently hitting the gas instead of the break, perceiving that the car is accelarating when it is not, hitting both the gas and the break simultaneously in an attempt to hit the break. Each of these things can be exceedingly rare (1 in a million) and still be 100 times as common as the real problem.
There are other ways to go about teasing out rare events. In the lab, a machine could possibly simulate conditions that were occurring when the supposed sudden acceleration took place and see if it is repeatable. Yet these conditions are hard to figure out, as they are determined with the imperfect information of the person reporting the incident. As might be the case with the recent report, that person could be lying, but even if not, they are likely shooken up enough that they cannot remember the exact conditions very well. Consider airline crashes, where we often have very objective information (the black box), but it is still very difficult to figure out what happened and why.
One thing seems certain to be true: we won't know whether or not Prius cars are at fault for a long time to come, and far fewer of them will be bought in the next couple years.
Well, it seems to apply now. Sudden acceleration. Mention a problem with a car, any problem with any car, and people will start crawling out of the wood-work with the complaint. Why? It's a numbers game. There were more than 100,000 pri-i(?) sold in the US in 2005-9. With that many people driving them around, any tiny problem that is reported is going to be "substantiated" by others. Those of us old enough to remember the Audi 5000 found the high correlation between those Audi's with sudden acceleration and those sold to 85 year-old ladies inexplicable (studies mostly concluded it was driver error--see a recent article here in Wired).
The latest, after the brake-related Prius recall, is the claim of sudden acceleration. A guy in California managed to call 911 while it was happening--pretty amazing, huh? Unless, of course, you made it all up. Here's what the current thoughts about it are (from wikipedia):
"On March 8, 2010, a 2008 Prius allegedly uncontrollably accelerated to 94 miles per hour on a California Highway (US), and the Prius had to be stopped with the verbal assistance of the California Highway Patrol as news cameras watched [86]. Subsequent to the event, media investigations uncovered suspicious information about the alleged runaway Prius driver, 61-year old James Sikes, including false police reports, suspect insurance claims, theft and fraud allegations, television aspirations, and bankruptcy.[87][88] Sikes was found to be US$19,000 behind in his Prius car payments and had $US700,000 in accumulated debt.[87] Sikes stated he wanted a new car as compensation for the incident.[87][89] Analyses by Edmunds.com and Forbes found Sikes' acceleration claims and fears of shifting to neutral implausible, with Edmunds concluding that "in other words, this is BS",[90] and Forbes comparing it to the balloon boy hoax.[88]"
Notwithstanding the apparent CA tale above, the reality is that the rare problem is a tough nut to crack statistically. Suppose there is an issue in 1 in 10,000 Prius' and that this issue only crops up on one in 10,000 rides on those cars. Thus, it's a 1 in 100 million car rides in Prius. Even among those, it may be a very short-lived problem and not cause any injury or accident. Such a rare problem might be drowned out by other driver error problems, such as accidently hitting the gas instead of the break, perceiving that the car is accelarating when it is not, hitting both the gas and the break simultaneously in an attempt to hit the break. Each of these things can be exceedingly rare (1 in a million) and still be 100 times as common as the real problem.
There are other ways to go about teasing out rare events. In the lab, a machine could possibly simulate conditions that were occurring when the supposed sudden acceleration took place and see if it is repeatable. Yet these conditions are hard to figure out, as they are determined with the imperfect information of the person reporting the incident. As might be the case with the recent report, that person could be lying, but even if not, they are likely shooken up enough that they cannot remember the exact conditions very well. Consider airline crashes, where we often have very objective information (the black box), but it is still very difficult to figure out what happened and why.
One thing seems certain to be true: we won't know whether or not Prius cars are at fault for a long time to come, and far fewer of them will be bought in the next couple years.
Throw away your cold medicine again?
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A couple years ago, I wrote about a study that looked at the effect of a seawater nasal spray on the health of children (see that post).
Yesterday's New York Times, explored a very similar claim. Anahad O'Connor's column, "Really? The Claim: Gargling With Salt Water Can Ease Cold Symptoms," looks at a study of 387 Japanese adults aged 18 to 65 (see this page for an abstract). Treatment groups gargled with PLAIN water or a "povidone-iodine" solution. Those gargling with plain water did the best, with 0.17 URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections) every 30 person-days, meaning about 1 in 6 get a URTI per month if they gargle with water. The control group had a rate of .26, meaning about 1 in 4 got a URTI. The iodine group had a rate of .24, also meaning about 1 in 4 go a URTI.
So water looks pretty good. The only caveat, and it is the same as the issue I mentioned in the earlier post, is that the outcomes were self-measured. The people doing the gargling reported whether or not they had a URTI. IN Japan, where the study was performed, there is a strong bias toward water gargling, at least according to the abstract of the study, which says: "Gargling to wash the throat is commonly performed in Japan, and people believe that such hygienic routine, especially with gargle medicine, prevents upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs)." In fact, the article reports that those in the control group gargled one time a day on average as well l (but those in the treated group gargled around 3 times a day). This affinity for water gargling and the belief that it stops infection may result in water-gargles reporting fewer infections, thus throwing the results of the study into question.
The New York Times, by the way, gives recommendations based on an upcoming book by Philip Hagen, to gargle with *salt* water, but cites this study, which is referring to *plain* water only.
My conclusion? If you THINK it is going to work, it's fairly likely water gargling will be effective, and it is a lot cheaper than buying some kind of preventative medicine. If you don't think it will work, this study provides little help in deciding whether it actually will work.
Yesterday's New York Times, explored a very similar claim. Anahad O'Connor's column, "Really? The Claim: Gargling With Salt Water Can Ease Cold Symptoms," looks at a study of 387 Japanese adults aged 18 to 65 (see this page for an abstract). Treatment groups gargled with PLAIN water or a "povidone-iodine" solution. Those gargling with plain water did the best, with 0.17 URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections) every 30 person-days, meaning about 1 in 6 get a URTI per month if they gargle with water. The control group had a rate of .26, meaning about 1 in 4 got a URTI. The iodine group had a rate of .24, also meaning about 1 in 4 go a URTI.
So water looks pretty good. The only caveat, and it is the same as the issue I mentioned in the earlier post, is that the outcomes were self-measured. The people doing the gargling reported whether or not they had a URTI. IN Japan, where the study was performed, there is a strong bias toward water gargling, at least according to the abstract of the study, which says: "Gargling to wash the throat is commonly performed in Japan, and people believe that such hygienic routine, especially with gargle medicine, prevents upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs)." In fact, the article reports that those in the control group gargled one time a day on average as well l (but those in the treated group gargled around 3 times a day). This affinity for water gargling and the belief that it stops infection may result in water-gargles reporting fewer infections, thus throwing the results of the study into question.
The New York Times, by the way, gives recommendations based on an upcoming book by Philip Hagen, to gargle with *salt* water, but cites this study, which is referring to *plain* water only.
My conclusion? If you THINK it is going to work, it's fairly likely water gargling will be effective, and it is a lot cheaper than buying some kind of preventative medicine. If you don't think it will work, this study provides little help in deciding whether it actually will work.
Detecting cheating
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In my professional work, I like being the statistical sleuth, trying to figure out whether a person or company cheated, and how much they cheated. Thus it was with a lot of interest that I read a recent article in USA Today describing suspicious activity that went on some standardized tests in DC schools.
It seems that standardized tests at certain DC schools have improved dramatically. For example, the article says, "in 2008, 84% of fourth-grade math students were listed as proficient or advanced, up from 22% for the previous fourth-grade class." Of course, this could just be part of the amazing turn around.
However, the review found that this dramatic change corresponded with a another interesting statistic: the school had a very high number of erased answers that were changed from wrong answers to right answers (WTR erasures). Again, here's what the article said: "On the 2009 reading test, for example, seventh-graders in one Noyes classroom averaged 12.7 wrong-to-right erasures per student on answer sheets; the average for seventh-graders in all D.C. schools on that test was less than 1. The odds are better for winning the Powerball grand prize than having that many erasures by chance."
Here's my problem with this logic: the calculation of the chances assumes that each student is acting independently and erasing much more than usual. In other words, the chances are calculated assuming that the students are randomly grouped by school with respect to the number of WTR erasures they have, and thus no school should have a particularly high or low number of erasures: number of erasures and the associated school would be statistically independent.
This statistical independence assumption falls apart if there is cheating, wherein teachers erase wrong answers and change them to correct answers after the test is completed. However, the statistical independence assumption also could also fall apart for innocuous reasons.
Suppose the students at this school were instructed to arbitrarily fill in the last 10 questions immediately upon beginning the exam (this might be a good strategy if there is no penalty for guessing and if many students do not finish the exam). Then, for the ones who get to the end of the test, they are erasing most of their guesses. This is a completely legitimate strategy, but it would make raise the number of WTR erasures a great deal. A lot of more complicated test taking strategies would also lead to more erasures, and if this school in particular taught those strategies, there would be a very high chance that there would be far more erasures at this school than at others, and some of the people interviewed cited strategies that may have led to more erasures.
Thus, the high erasure rate, even WTR erasures, may have a relatively simple explanation: this school effectively coached the kids in test taking while other schools did not or coached the children differently.
The article provides a link to several documents summarizing the results of the analysis. What I find interesting is that the worst school, BS Monroe ES, in terms of WTR erasures, also has a lot of WTW (wrong to wrong erasures). On average, this school has about between 2 and 3 WTW erasures per student, or about 1 WTW for every 5 WTR erasures. A more interesting, and I think more revealing, analysis would be to see how this ratio compares to the normal ratio. If the normal ratio is 1 WTW to 5 WTR, it indicates cheating may not have been the reason for the erasures (unless the cheaters were purposefully erasing some and changing them to wrong answers--which seems unliklely since there is no indication potential cheaters realized erasures could be detected at all). If the general ratio is far from 5 to 1, it would be another indicator of a different process going on at BS Monroe ES, perhaps involving cheating though it is still hard to rule out other, innocuous explanations that involve test-taking strategy.
Another analysis would be to look at the WTR vs. WTW erasures student by student. Presumably, students who answered a higher percentage of un-erased problems correctly would have a better ratio of WTR to WTW erasures. If that were not true, then it would lead more clearly to the conclusion that someone else was doing the erasing.
The research revealed in the article shows the correlation of two things: a dramatic increase in test scores and a dramatic number of WTR erasures. Cheating is one explanation for these increases. Another, however, is the implementation of a smart test-taking strategy at the school, which might well be part of an overall program to increase the test scores and improve the school. A statistical test can have a seemingly dramatic result (less likely than winning the lottery), but while defeating a specific hypothesis (independence of erasures by school), it doesn't necessarily prove another hypothesis (cheating).
It seems that standardized tests at certain DC schools have improved dramatically. For example, the article says, "in 2008, 84% of fourth-grade math students were listed as proficient or advanced, up from 22% for the previous fourth-grade class." Of course, this could just be part of the amazing turn around.
However, the review found that this dramatic change corresponded with a another interesting statistic: the school had a very high number of erased answers that were changed from wrong answers to right answers (WTR erasures). Again, here's what the article said: "On the 2009 reading test, for example, seventh-graders in one Noyes classroom averaged 12.7 wrong-to-right erasures per student on answer sheets; the average for seventh-graders in all D.C. schools on that test was less than 1. The odds are better for winning the Powerball grand prize than having that many erasures by chance."
Here's my problem with this logic: the calculation of the chances assumes that each student is acting independently and erasing much more than usual. In other words, the chances are calculated assuming that the students are randomly grouped by school with respect to the number of WTR erasures they have, and thus no school should have a particularly high or low number of erasures: number of erasures and the associated school would be statistically independent.
This statistical independence assumption falls apart if there is cheating, wherein teachers erase wrong answers and change them to correct answers after the test is completed. However, the statistical independence assumption also could also fall apart for innocuous reasons.
Suppose the students at this school were instructed to arbitrarily fill in the last 10 questions immediately upon beginning the exam (this might be a good strategy if there is no penalty for guessing and if many students do not finish the exam). Then, for the ones who get to the end of the test, they are erasing most of their guesses. This is a completely legitimate strategy, but it would make raise the number of WTR erasures a great deal. A lot of more complicated test taking strategies would also lead to more erasures, and if this school in particular taught those strategies, there would be a very high chance that there would be far more erasures at this school than at others, and some of the people interviewed cited strategies that may have led to more erasures.
Thus, the high erasure rate, even WTR erasures, may have a relatively simple explanation: this school effectively coached the kids in test taking while other schools did not or coached the children differently.
The article provides a link to several documents summarizing the results of the analysis. What I find interesting is that the worst school, BS Monroe ES, in terms of WTR erasures, also has a lot of WTW (wrong to wrong erasures). On average, this school has about between 2 and 3 WTW erasures per student, or about 1 WTW for every 5 WTR erasures. A more interesting, and I think more revealing, analysis would be to see how this ratio compares to the normal ratio. If the normal ratio is 1 WTW to 5 WTR, it indicates cheating may not have been the reason for the erasures (unless the cheaters were purposefully erasing some and changing them to wrong answers--which seems unliklely since there is no indication potential cheaters realized erasures could be detected at all). If the general ratio is far from 5 to 1, it would be another indicator of a different process going on at BS Monroe ES, perhaps involving cheating though it is still hard to rule out other, innocuous explanations that involve test-taking strategy.
Another analysis would be to look at the WTR vs. WTW erasures student by student. Presumably, students who answered a higher percentage of un-erased problems correctly would have a better ratio of WTR to WTW erasures. If that were not true, then it would lead more clearly to the conclusion that someone else was doing the erasing.
The research revealed in the article shows the correlation of two things: a dramatic increase in test scores and a dramatic number of WTR erasures. Cheating is one explanation for these increases. Another, however, is the implementation of a smart test-taking strategy at the school, which might well be part of an overall program to increase the test scores and improve the school. A statistical test can have a seemingly dramatic result (less likely than winning the lottery), but while defeating a specific hypothesis (independence of erasures by school), it doesn't necessarily prove another hypothesis (cheating).
Born to Run?
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About a year ago, I read a book called "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall, who last week wrote an article in the New York Times Magazine on the same subject.
McDougall's basic premise is that we were faster and less injury-prone before we started wearing all these fancy running shoes and that they are what's causing running injuries. For example, in the New York times article:
"Back in the ’60s, Americans 'ran way more and way faster in the thinnest little shoes, and we never got hurt,' Amby Burfoot, a longtime Runner’s World editor and former Boston Marathon champion, said during a talk before the Lehigh Valley Half-Marathon I attended last year. 'I never even remember talking about injuries back then,' Burfoot said. 'So you’ve got to wonder what’s changed.'"
Statistics frowns on such anecdotal evidence, though it does make a good story. Did we really run faster? There are a lot of facts that we can look at though average times aren't among them. Marathon records (shown in Wikipedia) for men have indeed only downticked a little since the sixties. In 1970, Ron Hill of the UK (close enough, runnig-shoe wise, to be considered american?) set a record of 2:09:29. This year, a new record of 2:03:38 was set (the most recent US record was 2:05:38 in 2002). Six minutes in 40 years doesnt seem like much, but is it because of the shoes or because the sport has matured? And are Americans seen less because running isnt really a big competitive sport here?
When you look at women's times, the changes are much more dramatic. Women more recently began running marathons and fewer participated in the sport in general until relatively recently. In 1970, the women's marathon record was 3:02:53 (set by an american). In 2003, Paula Radcliffe (England) ran it in 2:15:25. That's a 47 minute improvement, or nearly 2 minutes per mile. In the 2011 New York Marathon, 40 women from the US bested the 1970 record time (see marathon site here for results).
So, I can't agree that we ran "way faster" 40 years ago. This doesn't mean that bare foot runners are slower than shoed runners because changes over the last fourty years in the level of competition, and improvements in training and fitness, rather than shoes, might have been the factors contributing to improved times.
How about injury rates? Do people get more injuries with running shoes than without? Unfortunately, any data on injury rates is tainted by the changes in the makeup of the population that runs (from a small, highly fit population to a large more population more varied in fitness--think of the then-overweight President Clinton running with a stop at McDonalds post-jog), and there haven't been any studies that directly compare injuries over time for barefoot running against running shoe running. A good summary article is here.
A recent article in Nature, while not looking at historical data, supports McDougall's contention that running shoes can be more harmful than bare feet when running. The article is lead-authored by Daniel Lieberman, a big advocate of barefoot running, so his bias may have been to look at things he believed were helpful about barefoot running and not at aspects of barefoot running that may be harmful. The article looks at impact forces and not at injuries, and doesn't consider that runners with shoes may be able to change their stride to reduce the impact forces (McDougall says this is hard to do with running shoes, and, from my own experience, I tend to agree, though I don't think it is impossible).
The statistical net-net is that there is no direct evidence either way right now. I admit some bias but I would say that the lack of evidence, given the power and money behind the shoe industry, tends to make me believe that, at best, fancy shoes are no better than bare feet, because if there were an effect in favor of shoes, I would certainly think we'd have seen a study by now (this is something correctly pointed out by McDougall and other advocates of barefoot running). Therefore, don't be surprised if you see me running with feet au-naturel someday soon.
McDougall's basic premise is that we were faster and less injury-prone before we started wearing all these fancy running shoes and that they are what's causing running injuries. For example, in the New York times article:
"Back in the ’60s, Americans 'ran way more and way faster in the thinnest little shoes, and we never got hurt,' Amby Burfoot, a longtime Runner’s World editor and former Boston Marathon champion, said during a talk before the Lehigh Valley Half-Marathon I attended last year. 'I never even remember talking about injuries back then,' Burfoot said. 'So you’ve got to wonder what’s changed.'"
Statistics frowns on such anecdotal evidence, though it does make a good story. Did we really run faster? There are a lot of facts that we can look at though average times aren't among them. Marathon records (shown in Wikipedia) for men have indeed only downticked a little since the sixties. In 1970, Ron Hill of the UK (close enough, runnig-shoe wise, to be considered american?) set a record of 2:09:29. This year, a new record of 2:03:38 was set (the most recent US record was 2:05:38 in 2002). Six minutes in 40 years doesnt seem like much, but is it because of the shoes or because the sport has matured? And are Americans seen less because running isnt really a big competitive sport here?
When you look at women's times, the changes are much more dramatic. Women more recently began running marathons and fewer participated in the sport in general until relatively recently. In 1970, the women's marathon record was 3:02:53 (set by an american). In 2003, Paula Radcliffe (England) ran it in 2:15:25. That's a 47 minute improvement, or nearly 2 minutes per mile. In the 2011 New York Marathon, 40 women from the US bested the 1970 record time (see marathon site here for results).
So, I can't agree that we ran "way faster" 40 years ago. This doesn't mean that bare foot runners are slower than shoed runners because changes over the last fourty years in the level of competition, and improvements in training and fitness, rather than shoes, might have been the factors contributing to improved times.
How about injury rates? Do people get more injuries with running shoes than without? Unfortunately, any data on injury rates is tainted by the changes in the makeup of the population that runs (from a small, highly fit population to a large more population more varied in fitness--think of the then-overweight President Clinton running with a stop at McDonalds post-jog), and there haven't been any studies that directly compare injuries over time for barefoot running against running shoe running. A good summary article is here.
A recent article in Nature, while not looking at historical data, supports McDougall's contention that running shoes can be more harmful than bare feet when running. The article is lead-authored by Daniel Lieberman, a big advocate of barefoot running, so his bias may have been to look at things he believed were helpful about barefoot running and not at aspects of barefoot running that may be harmful. The article looks at impact forces and not at injuries, and doesn't consider that runners with shoes may be able to change their stride to reduce the impact forces (McDougall says this is hard to do with running shoes, and, from my own experience, I tend to agree, though I don't think it is impossible).
The statistical net-net is that there is no direct evidence either way right now. I admit some bias but I would say that the lack of evidence, given the power and money behind the shoe industry, tends to make me believe that, at best, fancy shoes are no better than bare feet, because if there were an effect in favor of shoes, I would certainly think we'd have seen a study by now (this is something correctly pointed out by McDougall and other advocates of barefoot running). Therefore, don't be surprised if you see me running with feet au-naturel someday soon.
30 Mayıs 2012 Çarşamba
Thousand
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the Words of God have innumerable significances and mysteries of meanings -- each one a thousand and more.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 155)
every day of the cycle of the Blessed Beauty is in reality equal to one year, and every year of it is equal to a thousand years.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 67)
Nabil spent some time thus esteemed and in high favor, but the love he had for God was past all concealing. It burst from his heart, flamed out and consumed its coverings.
A thousand ways I tried
My love to hide --
But how could I, upon that blazing pyre
Not catch fire!
(Memorials of the Faithful, p. 2)
'Bid them recite: "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!" Tell them to repeat it five hundred times, nay, a thousand times, by day and by night, sleeping and waking, that haply the Countenance of Glory may be unveiled to their eyes, and tiers of light descend upon them.'
(Baha'u'llah, God Passes By, p. 119)
With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 51)
it is incumbent upon the friends that are fast and firm in the Covenant and Testament to be ever wakeful lest after this wronged one is gone this alert and active worker of mischief may cause disruption, privily sow the seeds of doubt and sedition and utterly root out the Cause of God. A thousand times shun his company.
(The Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 21)
Thank God that -- praise be to God! -- the glass of thy life and heart hath become bright with the lamp of guidance, and the chalice of hope and desire hath overflowed with the wine of the love of God. This is an attainment and blessing that, if thou give thanks a thousand centuries and cycles, thou wilt not be capable of doing justice. Therefore, in the utmost of joy, gladness, rejoicings and endless happiness thou must open thy tongue in thanksgiving and glorifying the Lord of mercy and become the cause of enlightenment.
(Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, Vol. III, p. 689)
It is necessary for them to meditate, to meditate for a thousand thousand years, that haply they may attain unto a sprinkling from the ocean of knowledge,
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 126)
A month in 'Akká is better than a thousand years elsewhere.
(The Prophet Muhammad, quoted in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 179)
And he that saith in 'Akká: 'Glorified be God, and praise be unto God, and there is none other God but God, and most great is God, and there is no power nor strength except in God, the Exalted, the Mighty,' God will write down for him a thousand good deeds, and blot out from him a thousand evil deeds, and will uplift him a thousand grades in Paradise, and will forgive him his transgressions.
(The Prophet Muhammad, quoted in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 180)
The conceptions of the devoutest of mystics, the attainments of the most accomplished amongst men, the highest praise which human tongue or pen can render are all the product of man's finite mind and are conditioned by its limitations. Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search at His forbidding voice, "Thou shalt never behold Me!"
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 62)
I testify, O my God, that if I were given a thousand lives by Thee, and offered them up all in Thy path, I would still have failed to repay the least of the gifts which, by Thy grace, Thou hast bestowed upon me.
(Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 20)
In these days, praise be to God, the power of His Word hath obtained such ascendancy over men, that they dare breathe no word. Were they to encounter one of the companions of God who, if he could, would, freely and joyously, offer up ten thousand lives as a sacrifice for his Beloved, so great would be their fear, that they forthwith would profess their faith in Him, whilst privily they would vilify and execrate His name!
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 77)
But once having been honoured with God's supreme distinction, and having been vouchsafed His bountiful grace, they would, if they were able, have freely offered up ten thousand lives in His path!
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 156)
At every moment he offereth a hundred lives in the path of the Loved One, at every step he throweth a thousand heads at the feet of the Beloved.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 8)
In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the companions of Sadiq complained of his poverty before him. Whereupon, Sadiq, that immortal beauty, made reply: "Verily thou art rich, and hast drunk the draught of wealth." That poverty-stricken soul was perplexed at the words uttered by that luminous countenance, and said: "Where are my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?" Sadiq thereupon observed: "Dost thou not possess our love?" He replied: "Yea, I possess it, O thou scion of the Prophet of God!" And Sadiq asked him saying: "Exchangest thou this love for one thousand dinars?" He answered: "Nay, never will I exchange it, though the world and all that is therein be given me!"
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 131)
The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 5)
One speck of chastity is greater than a hundred thousand years of worship and a sea of knowledge.
(Baha'u'llah, quoted in The Universal House of Justice, Day of the Covenant 26 November 2003 message to the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the Cradle of the Faith, p. 4 -- from Ocean)
There was once a lover who had sighed for long years in separation from his beloved, and wasted in the fire of remoteness. From the rule of love, his heart was empty of patience, and his body weary of his spirit; he reckoned life without her as a mockery, and time consumed him away. How many a day he found no rest in longing for her; how many a night the pain of her kept him from sleep; his body was worn to a sigh, his heart's wound had turned him to a cry of sorrow. He had given a thousand lives for one taste of the cup of her presence, but it availed him not. The doctors knew no cure for him, and companions avoided his company; yea, physicians have no medicine for one sick of love, unless the favor of the beloved one deliver him.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 13)
It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents. Thereupon God's call will be raised: 'Thousand upon thousand of what thou hast asked for thy parents shall be thy recompense!'
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 94)
I swear by the most holy Essence of God -- exalted and glorified be He -- that in the Day of the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest a thousand perusals of the Bayan cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by Him Whom God shall make manifest.
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 103)
One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other souls.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 80)
O ye friends of God! Today is the day of union and this age is the age of harmony in the world of existence. "Verily, God loveth those who are working in His path in groups, for they are a solid foundation." Consider ye that he says "in groups," united and bound together, supporting one another. "To work," mentioned in this holy verse, does not mean, in this greatest age, to perform it with swords, spears, shafts and arrows, but rather with sincere intentions, good designs, useful advices, divine moralities, beautiful actions, spiritual qualities, educating the public, guiding the souls of mankind, diffusing spiritual fragrances, explaining divine illustrations, showing convincing proofs and doing charitable deeds. When the holy souls, through the angelic power, will arise to show forth these celestial characteristics, establishing a band of harmony, each of these souls shall be regarded as one thousand persons and the waves of this greatest ocean shall be considered as the army of the hosts of the Supreme Concourse.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 401)
Say, God hath, according to that which is revealed in the Book, taken upon Himself the task of ensuring the ascendancy of any one of the followers of the Truth, over and above one hundred other souls, and the supremacy of one hundred believers over one thousand non-believers and the domination of one thousand of the faithful over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 153)
By God, besides Whom is none other God! Should anyone arise for the triumph of our Cause, him will God render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be leagued against him.
(Baha'u'llah, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 57)
Whensoever holy souls, drawing on the powers of heaven, shall arise with such qualities of the spirit, and march in unison, rank on rank, every one of those souls will be even as one thousand, and the surging waves of that mighty ocean will be even as the battalions of the Concourse on high.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 260
Whensoever holy souls, drawing on the powers of heaven, shall arise with such qualities of the spirit, and march in unison, rank on rank, every one of those souls will be even as one thousand, and the surging waves of that mighty ocean will be even as the battalions of the Concourse on high....
("Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sec. 207, p. 260)
0 ye believers of God! Be not concerned with the smallness of your numbers, neither be oppressed by the multitude of an unbelieving world. Five grains of wheat will be endued with heavenly blessing, whereas a thousand tons of tares will yield no results or effect. One fruitful tree will be conducive to the life of society, whereas a thousand forests of wild trees offer no fruits. The plain is covered with pebbles, but precious stones are rare. One pearl is better than a thousand wildernesses of sand, especially this pearl of great price, which is endowed with divine blessing. Ere long thousands of other pearls will be born from it. When that pearl associates and becomes the intimate of the pebbles, they also all change into pearls.
(Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 95)
"O Tahirih!" exclaims in his book on the BábÃs the great author and poet of Turkey, Sulayman Nazim Bey, "you are worth a thousand Násiri'd-DÃn Sháhs!"
(God Passes By, p. 76)
"the Letters of the Living, the chosen disciples of the Báb, whose station is ten thousand times more glorious than any which the apostles of old have attained"
(Baha'u'llah, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 63)
"How thankful must we be for having been made in this Day the recipients of so overwhelming a favor! Would that we had ten thousand lives that we might lay them down in thanksgiving for so rare a privilege, so high an attainment, so priceless a bounty!"
(Abdu'l-Baha, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 110)
the Words of God have innumerable significances and mysteries of meanings -- each one a thousand and more.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 155)
every day of the cycle of the Blessed Beauty is in reality equal to one year, and every year of it is equal to a thousand years.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 67)
Nabil spent some time thus esteemed and in high favor, but the love he had for God was past all concealing. It burst from his heart, flamed out and consumed its coverings.
A thousand ways I tried
My love to hide --
But how could I, upon that blazing pyre
Not catch fire!
(Memorials of the Faithful, p. 2)
'Bid them recite: "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!" Tell them to repeat it five hundred times, nay, a thousand times, by day and by night, sleeping and waking, that haply the Countenance of Glory may be unveiled to their eyes, and tiers of light descend upon them.'
(Baha'u'llah, God Passes By, p. 119)
With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 51)
it is incumbent upon the friends that are fast and firm in the Covenant and Testament to be ever wakeful lest after this wronged one is gone this alert and active worker of mischief may cause disruption, privily sow the seeds of doubt and sedition and utterly root out the Cause of God. A thousand times shun his company.
(The Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 21)
Thank God that -- praise be to God! -- the glass of thy life and heart hath become bright with the lamp of guidance, and the chalice of hope and desire hath overflowed with the wine of the love of God. This is an attainment and blessing that, if thou give thanks a thousand centuries and cycles, thou wilt not be capable of doing justice. Therefore, in the utmost of joy, gladness, rejoicings and endless happiness thou must open thy tongue in thanksgiving and glorifying the Lord of mercy and become the cause of enlightenment.
(Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, Vol. III, p. 689)
It is necessary for them to meditate, to meditate for a thousand thousand years, that haply they may attain unto a sprinkling from the ocean of knowledge,
(Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 126)
A month in 'Akká is better than a thousand years elsewhere.
(The Prophet Muhammad, quoted in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 179)
And he that saith in 'Akká: 'Glorified be God, and praise be unto God, and there is none other God but God, and most great is God, and there is no power nor strength except in God, the Exalted, the Mighty,' God will write down for him a thousand good deeds, and blot out from him a thousand evil deeds, and will uplift him a thousand grades in Paradise, and will forgive him his transgressions.
(The Prophet Muhammad, quoted in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 180)
The conceptions of the devoutest of mystics, the attainments of the most accomplished amongst men, the highest praise which human tongue or pen can render are all the product of man's finite mind and are conditioned by its limitations. Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search at His forbidding voice, "Thou shalt never behold Me!"
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 62)
I testify, O my God, that if I were given a thousand lives by Thee, and offered them up all in Thy path, I would still have failed to repay the least of the gifts which, by Thy grace, Thou hast bestowed upon me.
(Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 20)
In these days, praise be to God, the power of His Word hath obtained such ascendancy over men, that they dare breathe no word. Were they to encounter one of the companions of God who, if he could, would, freely and joyously, offer up ten thousand lives as a sacrifice for his Beloved, so great would be their fear, that they forthwith would profess their faith in Him, whilst privily they would vilify and execrate His name!
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 77)
But once having been honoured with God's supreme distinction, and having been vouchsafed His bountiful grace, they would, if they were able, have freely offered up ten thousand lives in His path!
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 156)
At every moment he offereth a hundred lives in the path of the Loved One, at every step he throweth a thousand heads at the feet of the Beloved.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 8)
In like manner, it is related that on a certain day, one of the companions of Sadiq complained of his poverty before him. Whereupon, Sadiq, that immortal beauty, made reply: "Verily thou art rich, and hast drunk the draught of wealth." That poverty-stricken soul was perplexed at the words uttered by that luminous countenance, and said: "Where are my riches, I who stand in need of a single coin?" Sadiq thereupon observed: "Dost thou not possess our love?" He replied: "Yea, I possess it, O thou scion of the Prophet of God!" And Sadiq asked him saying: "Exchangest thou this love for one thousand dinars?" He answered: "Nay, never will I exchange it, though the world and all that is therein be given me!"
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 131)
The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 5)
One speck of chastity is greater than a hundred thousand years of worship and a sea of knowledge.
(Baha'u'llah, quoted in The Universal House of Justice, Day of the Covenant 26 November 2003 message to the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the Cradle of the Faith, p. 4 -- from Ocean)
There was once a lover who had sighed for long years in separation from his beloved, and wasted in the fire of remoteness. From the rule of love, his heart was empty of patience, and his body weary of his spirit; he reckoned life without her as a mockery, and time consumed him away. How many a day he found no rest in longing for her; how many a night the pain of her kept him from sleep; his body was worn to a sigh, his heart's wound had turned him to a cry of sorrow. He had given a thousand lives for one taste of the cup of her presence, but it availed him not. The doctors knew no cure for him, and companions avoided his company; yea, physicians have no medicine for one sick of love, unless the favor of the beloved one deliver him.
(Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 13)
It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents. Thereupon God's call will be raised: 'Thousand upon thousand of what thou hast asked for thy parents shall be thy recompense!'
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 94)
I swear by the most holy Essence of God -- exalted and glorified be He -- that in the Day of the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest a thousand perusals of the Bayan cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by Him Whom God shall make manifest.
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 103)
One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other souls.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 80)
O ye friends of God! Today is the day of union and this age is the age of harmony in the world of existence. "Verily, God loveth those who are working in His path in groups, for they are a solid foundation." Consider ye that he says "in groups," united and bound together, supporting one another. "To work," mentioned in this holy verse, does not mean, in this greatest age, to perform it with swords, spears, shafts and arrows, but rather with sincere intentions, good designs, useful advices, divine moralities, beautiful actions, spiritual qualities, educating the public, guiding the souls of mankind, diffusing spiritual fragrances, explaining divine illustrations, showing convincing proofs and doing charitable deeds. When the holy souls, through the angelic power, will arise to show forth these celestial characteristics, establishing a band of harmony, each of these souls shall be regarded as one thousand persons and the waves of this greatest ocean shall be considered as the army of the hosts of the Supreme Concourse.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p. 401)
Say, God hath, according to that which is revealed in the Book, taken upon Himself the task of ensuring the ascendancy of any one of the followers of the Truth, over and above one hundred other souls, and the supremacy of one hundred believers over one thousand non-believers and the domination of one thousand of the faithful over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth
(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 153)
By God, besides Whom is none other God! Should anyone arise for the triumph of our Cause, him will God render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be leagued against him.
(Baha'u'llah, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 57)
Whensoever holy souls, drawing on the powers of heaven, shall arise with such qualities of the spirit, and march in unison, rank on rank, every one of those souls will be even as one thousand, and the surging waves of that mighty ocean will be even as the battalions of the Concourse on high.
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 260
Whensoever holy souls, drawing on the powers of heaven, shall arise with such qualities of the spirit, and march in unison, rank on rank, every one of those souls will be even as one thousand, and the surging waves of that mighty ocean will be even as the battalions of the Concourse on high....
("Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sec. 207, p. 260)
0 ye believers of God! Be not concerned with the smallness of your numbers, neither be oppressed by the multitude of an unbelieving world. Five grains of wheat will be endued with heavenly blessing, whereas a thousand tons of tares will yield no results or effect. One fruitful tree will be conducive to the life of society, whereas a thousand forests of wild trees offer no fruits. The plain is covered with pebbles, but precious stones are rare. One pearl is better than a thousand wildernesses of sand, especially this pearl of great price, which is endowed with divine blessing. Ere long thousands of other pearls will be born from it. When that pearl associates and becomes the intimate of the pebbles, they also all change into pearls.
(Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 95)
"O Tahirih!" exclaims in his book on the BábÃs the great author and poet of Turkey, Sulayman Nazim Bey, "you are worth a thousand Násiri'd-DÃn Sháhs!"
(God Passes By, p. 76)
"the Letters of the Living, the chosen disciples of the Báb, whose station is ten thousand times more glorious than any which the apostles of old have attained"
(Baha'u'llah, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 63)
"How thankful must we be for having been made in this Day the recipients of so overwhelming a favor! Would that we had ten thousand lives that we might lay them down in thanksgiving for so rare a privilege, so high an attainment, so priceless a bounty!"
(Abdu'l-Baha, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 110)
These Perspicuous Verses
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- Baha'u'llah's announcement that the prophecies in the Holy Books are fulfilled.
(work in progress)
In many of His Writings, Baha'u'llah announces that He has fulfilled the prophecies of all religions:
This Tablet begins with these words:
It should be noted that the word "perspicuous," which rhymes with the word "conspicuous," means something that is clearly expressed and easily understood. The original words Shoghi Effendi here translates as "perspicuous verses," he has also translated as "words of consummate power and wisdom" and as "firm and conclusive verses".
This Tablet contains a number of the signs of the end times:
THE HOUR
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth (John 5:28)
And that "the Hour" will indeed come - there is no doubt of it - and that God will wake up to life those who are in the tombs (Quran 22:7)
THE MOUNTAINS SCATTERED IN DUST; THE PLAIN
And they will ask thee of the mountains: Say: my Lord will scatter them in dust; and he will leave them a level plain (Quran 20:106)
the day when We cause the mountains to pass away, and thou seest the earth a levelled plain (Qur'an 18:47)
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:9)
The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
(Psalms 104:31)
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed (Isaiah 40:4)
THE VERSES HAVE BEEN SENT DOWN
Now have we sent down to you manifest signs [verses] Qur'an 24:34
THE INEVITABLE
The 56th Surih of the Qur'an is The Inevitable, and begins, "When the inevitable event comes to pass"
EARTHQUAKES HAVE BROKEN LOOSE
there shall be earthquakes in diverse places (Mark 13:8)
Verily, the earthquake of the last Hour will be a tremendous thing! (Qur'an 22:1)
STUNNING (OR DEAFENING) TRUMPET-BLAST
Hence, bethink yourselves of the Last Hour, when the trumpet of judgment shall be sounded with a single blast, and the earth and the mountains shall be lifted up and crushed with a single stroke! And so, that which must come to pass will on that day have come to pass; and the sky will be rent asunder (Qur'an 69:13)
But when the stunning trumpet-blast shall arrive,
On that day shall a man fly from his brother,
And his mother and his father,
And his wife and his children (Qur'an 80:34)
THE CATASTROPHE
22:1 Catastrophe
THE RESURRECTION
22:7-10 Resurrection
THE SELF-SUBSISTING
20:110 The Self-Subsisting (i.e. God) will appear
MEN LAID LOW
69:7 Men will be laid low
TREE-STUMPS UPROOTED
54:20 and 69:7 Tree stumps will be uprooted
THE BALANCE IS SET
55:6-9 Balance is set (also see Isaiah 40:12-15). (I understand this to mean when a scale is calibrated; the Prophet and His Book are that by which all else is measured.)
THE STARS WILL FALL
81:2 Stars will fall
3:11 and 45:4 Those endued with discernment
7:105 and 20:23 Drew forth His hand
THE CRIER WILL CRY OUT
50:40 The Crier will cry out
THE PROMISED TIME
21:103 The promised time will come
52:45 The day when men will swoon away
20:102 There will be a blast on the Trumpet
DARKNESS WILL BE CHASED AWAY BY THE LIGHT OF DAWN
81:18 Darkness chased by light of the dawn
36:51 Trumpet will blast, dead will speed from their graves
THE HEAVENS WILL BE CLEFT ASUNDER
25:27 and 55:37 and 77:9 Heavens will be cleft asunder
MEN GATHERED TOGETHER
11:105 Men will be gathered together
THE WICKED WILL BE GATHERED TOGETHER BLIND
20:102 The day when the wicked will be gathered together, blind
25:11 Gardens in Paradise / mystic roses
39:71-72 Unbelievers/ impious burn in hell (also see Matthew 13:50)
These are all signs of the Judgment Day, the Last Day, the Promised Day, the Day when God will come to the earth. As Baha’u’llah says on p. 132, “all the signs appeared.” And I understand that to be His message in this Tablet.
Also, on p. 212 of God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi quotes a Tablet from Baha’u’llah in which He states that He designated His Tablets to the Kings by these names – Trumpet, Bugle, Catastrophe, Plain, etc., and that he wrote these in the shape of the human temple (GPB p. 213), which He identifies with the Temple in Zechariah (6:12-13) that is built by the “Man whose name is the Branch” which in this instance, as in Isaiah 4:2, refers to Baha’u’llah. Also, Isaiah 11:1-10 says the “resting-place” of the Branch will be glorious.
A number of these terms refer to Baha'u'llah's Tablets to the Kings and Rulers of the earth:
Baha'u'llah refers to a number of prophecies, from the Old and New Testaments, and from the Qur'an. Among them are these:
The original Arabic word here translated as splendors is anwar, sometimes written anvar (this is a difference between Persian and Arabic pronunciation).
HORIZON OF CERTITUDE
Afaq al-yaqeen. “Afaq” here translated as “horizon” is elsewhere translated by Shoghi Effendi as firmament, Dayspring, heaven, orient, fountain, realm, apex, dawning-place, daystar, meridian splendor, heights, high summit, sanctuary, kingdom. Yaqeen, which is related to the word “iqan,” here translated as “certitude,” is elsewhere translated by Shoghi Effendi as absolute certitude, positive knowledge, assurance.
AND ITS BRIGHTNESS, AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS AND ITS LIGHTS
In the original, these words rhyme: Ishraqat, zuhurat, anvarat.
HIM WHO IS THE SELF-SUBSISTING
One of the titles of God, Qayyum. As Siyyid Kazim admonished his disciples before the Advent of the Bab, “Verily I say, after the Qá'im the Qayyum will be made manifest.” (The Dawn-Breakers, p. 41) The Short Obligatory Prayer ends with the word Qayyum.
PROMPTED BY THEIR OWN CAPRICES
Shoghi Effendi also translates this word, prompted by their own desires, prompted by their vain imaginings.
(work in progress)
In many of His Writings, Baha'u'llah announces that He has fulfilled the prophecies of all religions:
"Verily, He Who was hidden in the knowledge of God and is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures hath appeared."One of the most well-known of Baha'u'llah's Tablets on this theme is found in both the Tablet of Ishraqat ("Splendors") and in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, addressed to one of the great oppressors of His faith."He Whose advent hath been foretold in the heavenly Scriptures is come"
"He, in truth, hath come unto the world in His most great glory, and all that hath been mentioned in the Gospel hath been fulfilled.
"The Comforter Whose advent all the scriptures have promised is now come that He may reveal unto you all knowledge and wisdom.
"He that was hidden in the Treasury of Knowledge, and inscribed by the Pen of the Most High in His Books, and His Scriptures, and His Scrolls, and His Tablets, is come!
This Tablet begins with these words:
Among others, these perspicuous verses have, in answer to certain individuals, been sent down from the Kingdom of Divine knowledge: "O thou who hast set thy face towards the splendors of My Countenance! Vague fancies have encompassed the dwellers of the earth and debarred them from turning towards the Horizon of Certitude, and its brightness, and its manifestations and its lights. Vain imaginings have withheld them from Him Who is the Self-Subsisting. They speak as prompted by their own caprices, and understand not. Among them are those who have said: 'Have the verses been sent down?' Say: 'Yea, by Him Who is the Lord of the heavens!' 'Hath the Hour come?' 'Nay, more; it hath passed, by Him Who is the Revealer of clear tokens! Verily, the Inevitable is come, and He, the True One, hath appeared with proof and testimony. The Plain is disclosed, and mankind is sore vexed and fearful. Earthquakes have broken loose, and the tribes have lamented, for fear of God, the Lord of Strength, the All-Compelling.' Say: 'The stunning trumpet blast hath been loudly raised, and the Day is God's, the One, the Unconstrained.' 'Hath the Catastrophe come to pass?' Say: 'Yea, by the Lord of Lords!' 'Is the Resurrection come?' 'Nay, more; He Who is the Self-Subsisting hath appeared with the Kingdom of His signs.' 'Seest thou men laid low?' 'Yea, by my Lord, the Exalted, the Most High!' 'Have the tree-stumps been uprooted?' 'Yea, more; the mountains have been scattered in dust; by Him the Lord of attributes!'I have not included the entire tablet, because the Universal House of Justice has asked that Baha'i writers not publish the entire text of Baha'i Scriptures they are commenting on. In this Day we have only the Text itself, without full annotations, so the people can read for themselves without the imposition of the views of others. You can read the entire Tablet, at the links above to the Ishraqat and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, and I'll have the link again at the end of this post.
It should be noted that the word "perspicuous," which rhymes with the word "conspicuous," means something that is clearly expressed and easily understood. The original words Shoghi Effendi here translates as "perspicuous verses," he has also translated as "words of consummate power and wisdom" and as "firm and conclusive verses".
This Tablet contains a number of the signs of the end times:
THE HOUR
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth (John 5:28)
And that "the Hour" will indeed come - there is no doubt of it - and that God will wake up to life those who are in the tombs (Quran 22:7)
THE MOUNTAINS SCATTERED IN DUST; THE PLAIN
And they will ask thee of the mountains: Say: my Lord will scatter them in dust; and he will leave them a level plain (Quran 20:106)
the day when We cause the mountains to pass away, and thou seest the earth a levelled plain (Qur'an 18:47)
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:9)
The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
(Psalms 104:31)
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed (Isaiah 40:4)
THE VERSES HAVE BEEN SENT DOWN
Now have we sent down to you manifest signs [verses] Qur'an 24:34
THE INEVITABLE
The 56th Surih of the Qur'an is The Inevitable, and begins, "When the inevitable event comes to pass"
EARTHQUAKES HAVE BROKEN LOOSE
there shall be earthquakes in diverse places (Mark 13:8)
Verily, the earthquake of the last Hour will be a tremendous thing! (Qur'an 22:1)
STUNNING (OR DEAFENING) TRUMPET-BLAST
Hence, bethink yourselves of the Last Hour, when the trumpet of judgment shall be sounded with a single blast, and the earth and the mountains shall be lifted up and crushed with a single stroke! And so, that which must come to pass will on that day have come to pass; and the sky will be rent asunder (Qur'an 69:13)
But when the stunning trumpet-blast shall arrive,
On that day shall a man fly from his brother,
And his mother and his father,
And his wife and his children (Qur'an 80:34)
THE CATASTROPHE
22:1 Catastrophe
THE RESURRECTION
22:7-10 Resurrection
THE SELF-SUBSISTING
20:110 The Self-Subsisting (i.e. God) will appear
MEN LAID LOW
69:7 Men will be laid low
TREE-STUMPS UPROOTED
54:20 and 69:7 Tree stumps will be uprooted
THE BALANCE IS SET
55:6-9 Balance is set (also see Isaiah 40:12-15). (I understand this to mean when a scale is calibrated; the Prophet and His Book are that by which all else is measured.)
THE STARS WILL FALL
81:2 Stars will fall
3:11 and 45:4 Those endued with discernment
7:105 and 20:23 Drew forth His hand
THE CRIER WILL CRY OUT
50:40 The Crier will cry out
THE PROMISED TIME
21:103 The promised time will come
52:45 The day when men will swoon away
20:102 There will be a blast on the Trumpet
DARKNESS WILL BE CHASED AWAY BY THE LIGHT OF DAWN
81:18 Darkness chased by light of the dawn
36:51 Trumpet will blast, dead will speed from their graves
THE HEAVENS WILL BE CLEFT ASUNDER
25:27 and 55:37 and 77:9 Heavens will be cleft asunder
MEN GATHERED TOGETHER
11:105 Men will be gathered together
THE WICKED WILL BE GATHERED TOGETHER BLIND
20:102 The day when the wicked will be gathered together, blind
25:11 Gardens in Paradise / mystic roses
39:71-72 Unbelievers/ impious burn in hell (also see Matthew 13:50)
These are all signs of the Judgment Day, the Last Day, the Promised Day, the Day when God will come to the earth. As Baha’u’llah says on p. 132, “all the signs appeared.” And I understand that to be His message in this Tablet.
Also, on p. 212 of God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi quotes a Tablet from Baha’u’llah in which He states that He designated His Tablets to the Kings by these names – Trumpet, Bugle, Catastrophe, Plain, etc., and that he wrote these in the shape of the human temple (GPB p. 213), which He identifies with the Temple in Zechariah (6:12-13) that is built by the “Man whose name is the Branch” which in this instance, as in Isaiah 4:2, refers to Baha’u’llah. Also, Isaiah 11:1-10 says the “resting-place” of the Branch will be glorious.
A number of these terms refer to Baha'u'llah's Tablets to the Kings and Rulers of the earth:
Baha'u'llah refers to a number of prophecies, from the Old and New Testaments, and from the Qur'an. Among them are these:
"Never since the beginning of the world," Bahá'u'lláh Himself affirms, "hath the Message been so openly proclaimed." "Each one of them," He, specifically referring to the Tablets addressed by Him to the sovereigns of the earth -- Tablets acclaimed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as a "miracle" -- has written, "hath been designated by a special name. The first hath been named 'The Rumbling,' the second 'The Blow,' the third 'The Inevitable,' the fourth 'The Plain,' the fifth 'The Catastrophe,' and the others 'The Stunning Trumpet-Blast,' 'The Near Event,' 'The Great Terror,' 'The Trumpet,' 'The Bugle,' and the like, so that all the peoples of the earth may know, of a certainty, and may witness, with outward and inner eyes, that He Who is the Lord of Names hath prevailed, and will continue to prevail, under all conditions, over all men." The most important of these Tablets, together with the celebrated Suriy-i-Haykal (the Surih of the Temple), He, moreover, ordered to be written in the shape of a pentacle, symbolizing the temple of man, and which He identified, when addressing the followers of the Gospel in one of His Tablets, with the "Temple" mentioned by the Prophet Zechariah, and designated as "the resplendent dawning-place of the All-Merciful," and which "the hands of the power of Him Who is the Causer of Causes" had built. (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 212)THE SPLENDORS OF MY COUNTENANCE
The original Arabic word here translated as splendors is anwar, sometimes written anvar (this is a difference between Persian and Arabic pronunciation).
HORIZON OF CERTITUDE
Afaq al-yaqeen. “Afaq” here translated as “horizon” is elsewhere translated by Shoghi Effendi as firmament, Dayspring, heaven, orient, fountain, realm, apex, dawning-place, daystar, meridian splendor, heights, high summit, sanctuary, kingdom. Yaqeen, which is related to the word “iqan,” here translated as “certitude,” is elsewhere translated by Shoghi Effendi as absolute certitude, positive knowledge, assurance.
AND ITS BRIGHTNESS, AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS AND ITS LIGHTS
In the original, these words rhyme: Ishraqat, zuhurat, anvarat.
HIM WHO IS THE SELF-SUBSISTING
One of the titles of God, Qayyum. As Siyyid Kazim admonished his disciples before the Advent of the Bab, “Verily I say, after the Qá'im the Qayyum will be made manifest.” (The Dawn-Breakers, p. 41) The Short Obligatory Prayer ends with the word Qayyum.
PROMPTED BY THEIR OWN CAPRICES
Shoghi Effendi also translates this word, prompted by their own desires, prompted by their vain imaginings.
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