The Lawh-i-Fitnih (Tablet of the Test) is another of
Bahá'u'lláh's Arabic Tablets revealed in Baghdad, in honour of Princess
Shams-i-Jihan. She was a granddaughter of Fath-'Ali Shah, and was known by the
designation Fitnih. Her interest in the Faith began when she came in contact
with, and became a close friend of Tahirih.
Shams-i-Jihan came to Baghdad, attained the presence of
Bahá'u'lláh, recognized His station and became a devoted believer. The Pen of
the Most High has revealed several Tablets for her and bestowed upon her the
title of Varaqatu'r-Ridvan (The Leaf of Paradise).
The Lawh-i-Fitnih, as its title indicates, is all about
tests and trials which are associated with the Day of God. In it Bahá'u'lláh
alludes to His own Revelation and states that through His advent the whole
creation will be tried; no soul will be exempt. All those who are the
embodiments of piety and wisdom, of knowledge and virtue, every accomplished
man of learning, the servants of God and His sincere lovers, the angels that
enjoy near access to God, the Concourse on high, every righteous man of
discernment, every mature embodiment of wisdom, even the realities of the
Prophets and Messengers of God -- all will be tested.
Baha’u’llah states that the tests and trials accompanying His Revelation are so severe that a great many people who believe in God and are well-informed of the mysteries of His Cause will be deprived and left in darkness. Alluding to religious leaders, He foreshadows that these stars of the heaven of knowledge will fall. He affirms that through these tests all that is hidden within men's hearts will be disclosed, that mankind will be separated, some elevated to the heights of faithfulness, others cast down upon the dust. He mentions that the winds of this mighty test of God have already begun to blow and that the full force of their impact would be felt in the year of Shadíd [1] (Stress). This is a reference to the rebellion of Mirza Yahya in Adrianople which shook the Faith to its foundations and temporarily breached the ranks of its followers. It is also an allusion to the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh which brought in its wake the rebellion of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and the breaking of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
(Extracted and adapted from ‘The Revelation of
Baha'u'llah, vol. 1, and ‘The Child of the Covenant’, by Adib Taherzadeh)
[1] The numerical value of Shadíd is 309, meaning 1309 A.H.
(A.D. 1892), the year of the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh.