An able diplomat and devoted adherent of his ancestral
religion, Mánikchí Sáhib was appointed, in 1854, as an emissary on behalf of
the Parsees of India to assist their coreligionists in Iran, who were suffering
under the repressive policies of the Qájár monarchs. Sometime after this he
attained the presence of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad. Although maintaining to the
end of his life allegiance to his Zoroastrian faith, he was attracted to the
teachings of the new religion and, moved by the sacrifice of its early martyrs,
became a lifelong admirer. Years after their meeting he posed a series of
questions to Bahá’u’lláh’s which led to the revelation of two Tablets of
far-reaching significance, the first of which was sent to him in 1878.
The first Tablet, known as the Lawh-i-Mánikchí Sáhib, is
celebrated for its striking and well-known passages epitomizing the
universality of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic claim. Revealed, at Mánikchí Sáhib’s
bold request, in pure Persian, the Tablet responds to the questions he had
raised and proclaims some of the central tenets of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh:
“Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your
deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” “Turn your faces from the darkness
of estrangement to the effulgent light of the daystar of unity.” “Ye are the
fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” “[W]hatsoever leadeth to the
decline of ignorance and the increase of knowledge hath been, and will ever
remain, approved in the sight of the Lord of creation.”
As inferred from the contents of a second Tablet, Mánikchí Ṣáḥib was not entirely satisfied
with this reply, having anticipated a more expansive discussion of his specific
questions. Bahá’u’lláh’s further reply is contained in a lengthy Tablet,
revealed on 14 Sha‘bán 1299 (1 July 1882) in the voice of His amanuensis Mírzá
Áqá Ján. The Tablet is addressed to the eminent Bahá’í scholar Abu’l-Faḍl, who at the time was employed as the personal secretary of
Mánikchí Sáhib, but a lengthy portion of it addresses the latter’s questions.
Bahá’u’lláh states at the outset that he had “failed to consider the matter
closely, for otherwise he would have readily admitted that not a single point
was omitted”, and explains that out of wisdom his questions had not been
directly answered, but that even so, “the answers were provided in a language
of marvellous concision and clarity”. Throughout the remainder of the Tablet,
the text of each of Mánikchí Sáhib’s questions is successively quoted and
detailed replies are given to each, in some cases connecting the questions to
the universal principles enunciated in the first Tablet.
The Tablet is noteworthy for its discussion of a range of
questions regarding the tenets of both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions,
as understood by Mánikchí Sáhib, including the nature of creation, the
connection between faith and reason, the reconciliation of the differences that
exist among the laws and ordinances of various religions, their respective
claims to exclusivity and their differing degrees of eagerness to welcome
others into their fold. Bahá’u’lláh’s responses emphasize that which is right
and true in the various doctrines and beliefs under examination, rather than
discarding them outright for inaccuracy or insufficiency.
These two Tablets are published in the book: ‘The Tabernacle
of Unity’, by the Baha’i World Centre.
(Adapted from the ‘Introduction’ section of ‘The Tabernacle
of Unity’)