And now regarding thy question, “How is it that no records
are to be found concerning the Prophets that have preceded Adam, the Father of
Mankind, or of the kings that lived in the days of those Prophets?” Know thou
that the absence of any reference to them is no proof that they did not
actually exist. That no records concerning them are now available, should be
attributed to their extreme remoteness, as well as to the vast changes which
the earth hath undergone since their time.
Moreover such forms and modes of writing as are now current
amongst men were unknown to the generations that were before Adam. There was
even a time when men were wholly ignorant of the art of writing, and had
adopted a system entirely different from the one which they now use. For a
proper exposition of this an elaborate explanation would be required.
Consider the differences that have arisen since the days of
Adam. The divers and widely-known languages now spoken by the peoples of the
earth were originally unknown, as were the varied rules and customs now
prevailing amongst them. The people of those times spoke a language different
from those now known. Diversities of language arose in a later age, in a land
known as Babel. It was given the name Babel, because the term signifieth “the
place where the confusion of tongues arose.”
Subsequently Syriac became prominent among the existing
languages. The Sacred Scriptures of former times were revealed in that tongue.
Later, Abraham, the Friend of God, appeared and shed upon the world the light
of Divine Revelation. The language He spoke while He crossed the Jordan became
known as Hebrew (Ibrání), which meaneth “the language of the crossing.” The
Books of God and the Sacred Scriptures were then revealed in that tongue, and
not until after a considerable lapse of time did Arabic become the language of
Revelation....
Witness, therefore, how numerous and far-reaching have been
the changes in language, speech, and writing since the days of Adam. How much
greater must have been the changes before Him!
Our purpose in revealing these words is to show that the one
true God hath, in His all-highest and transcendent station, ever been, and will
everlastingly continue to be, exalted above the praise and conception of all
else but Him. His creation hath ever existed, and the Manifestations of His
Divine glory and the Day Springs of eternal holiness have been sent down from
time immemorial, and been commissioned to summon mankind to the one true God.
That the names of some of them are forgotten and the records of their lives
lost is to be attributed to the disturbances and changes that have overtaken
the world.
Mention hath been made in certain books of a deluge which
caused all that existed on earth, historical records as well as other things, to
be destroyed. Moreover, many cataclysms have occurred which have effaced the
traces of many events. Furthermore, among existing historical records
differences are to be found, and each of the various peoples of the world hath
its own account of the age of the earth and of its history. Some trace their
history as far back as eight thousand years, others as far as twelve thousand
years. To any one that hath read the book of Jük it is clear and evident how
much the accounts given by the various books have differed.
Please God thou wilt turn thine eyes towards the Most Great
Revelation, and entirely disregard these conflicting tales and traditions.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
