An Eyewitness Account of Bahá'u'lláh’s Ascension
The famed poet, 'Andalib of Lahijan, was on pilgrimage to Akka in May 1892.
The following poem is his eyewitness account of the passing of Bahá’u’lláh.
It appears in the anthology of ‘Andalíb’s poems, titled Díván ‘Andalíb, pp. 471–74
(text in poet's hand is available here)

Translated by Ahang Rabbani (http://ahang.rabbani.googlepages.com/)


He is the All-Powerful, the All-Mighty, the Beloved.

Oh, in life’s cup the wine-pourer of the feast of decree
Poured life-ending venom instead of spirit-elating wine.

For every ache there is a remedy, for every trouble a solution,
Oh, for this remediless ache and this balmless trouble.

The eye of creation was stunned, the world’s heart darkened,
Heart’s orchard was withered, the nightingale of life silenced.

From this loss, the pillars of existence were dismantled,
From this loss, the eternal throne was crushed.

The waves of the surging Sea of Grace were stilled; instead,
Waves of grief’s ocean gushed in the hearts and souls of the near ones.

The banner of the Most Excellent Names fell to the dust,
The lamentation of God’s Party was raised to the high heavens.

The One by Whose Manifestation the Day of Resurrection dawned upon the world,
By the setting of His sun a commotion made the world to quake.

The One Who in the Sinai of nearness called, “Behold, and thou shalt see,”
Dismayed many a Moses by His roar, “Never shalt thou behold.”

The Most Mighty Ocean sunk its Ruby Ship,
Whence a tempest of tears descended from the eyes of Noah.

Thus was the king of the visible world established upon the placeless throne,
Thus the Sun-like countenance became hid in the West of the eternal Holiness.

The ear was deprived of the song of the Nightingale of Paradise,
The eye was forbid the effulgence of the Sun-like countenance.

For nineteen days that heavenly Beauty was bed-ridden,
At the dawn of Saturday, second of Dhi’l-Qa‘dah He was veiled from us.

It was the sixteenth of the Roman month of Ayar,
It was the thirteenth of the month of ‘Azamat.

Of the Persian Naw-Rúz seventy days had passed,
And of the Migration, one thousand three hundred and nine years elapsed.

Then it was this tragedy occurred, this loss appeared,
And the phrase “Verily the Lord was hidden” became the mark of this tragedy.

With mine own eyes did I behold the clear morn of the Day of Resurrection,
As it surrounded the entire the land of ‘Akká,

As for the funeral ‘Akká’s population entire, low and noble,
Gathered in Bahjí to express their faithfulness.

The Persian believers lamented fate’s unchangeable decree,
And the native Arabs cried out, “Oh our Lord, Oh our Lord!”

For the washing of the Sacred Body in the haram, the Most Mighty Branch
Stood at service solely out of His patience, resignation, and acquiescence.

His Holiness God’s Most Mighty Branch spoke to the friends compassionately,
With a speech eloquent and enchanting.

“No one should be disturbed since God has said,
In His Kitáb-i Aqdas for all creation:

“‘O people, when the Sun of My Beauty has set,
And My heavenly Temple is hidden from all eyes.

“‘All must arise for the triumph of My Cause,
Remain assured and raise its banner the world over.

“‘There was a wisdom in My Manifestation, and a wisdom also in My disappearance,
None will this wisdom comprehend save God Himself.’

“Therefore must we become united in His Cause’s spread,
We must become united both in outward seeming and within our hearts.

“For teaching and triumph of the Faith we must be as one body,
Instill a new spirit by this Call into the temple of the world.

“Eleven were the Disciples of Jesus Christ;
After the passing of God’s Spirit they gave healing to world’s dwellers.

“Praised be God at present our number is several thousand,
All enlightened by the effulgence and the Writings of Bahá.”

Thanks be God’s that we are all beneath the Most Mighty Branch’s shade,
The Branch of that Ancient Stock and the wave of that Ocean of Grace.

Remain constant and assured in this mighty Cause,
Patient in this tragedy, thankful in adversity.

‘Andalíb regrets that ere this tragedy struck
He did not drink a cup borne by death’s angel!
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Baha'u'llah passed away in the early morning of 29 May, 1892, at the age of 75."

Many there were who came to mourn Him.
They did not bear allegiance to Him,
they could not see in Him the Redeemer of Mankind,
yet they knew that a great Being had gone from their midst."They were from diverse backgrounds and sects and faiths and nations - officials and leading figures and priests,
learned men and poets and men of letters, rich and poor, Druses, Sunni and Shi'ih Muslims,
Christians of diverse denominations, and Jews.
From other cities renowned in the history of the world, such as Damascus and Aleppo and Cairo,
they sent their eulogies and poems and panegyrics and tributes."
- Hand of the Cause of God H.M. Balyuzi, Baha'i historian At the time of His ascension, Baha'u'llah was still a prisoner of the Turkish government.
He was laid to rest in the northernmost room of a house adjacent to where He had been living outside of Acre.
The shrine is the holiest place in the world for Baha'is - the point to which they turn in prayer and visit on pilgrimage.

---==---

The following Tablet is read at the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb.
It is also frequently used in commemorating Their anniversaries.

"The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august Self, and the glory which hath shone forth from Thy most effulgent Beauty, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art the Manifestation of Grandeur, and the King of Eternity, and the Lord of all who are in heaven and on earth! I testify that through Thee the sovereignty of God and His dominion, and the majesty of God and His grandeur, were revealed, and the Daystars of ancient splendor have shed their radiance in the heaven of Thine irrevocable decree, and the Beauty of the Unseen hath shone forth above the horizon of creation. I testify, moreover, that with but a movement of Thy Pen Thine injunction “Be Thou” hath been enforced, and God’s hidden Secret hath been divulged, and all created things have been called into being, and all the Revelations have been sent down.
"I bear witness, moreover, that through Thy beauty the beauty of the Adored One hath been unveiled, and through Thy face the face of the Desired One hath shone forth, and that through a word from Thee Thou hast decided between all created things, caused them who are devoted to Thee to ascend unto the summit of glory, and the infidels to fall into the lowest abyss.
"I bear witness that he who hath known Thee hath known God, and he who hath attained unto Thy presence hath attained unto the presence of God. Great, therefore, is the blessedness of him who hath believed in Thee, and in Thy signs, and hath humbled himself before Thy sovereignty, and hath been honored with meeting Thee, and hath attained the good pleasure of Thy will, and circled around Thee, and stood before Thy throne. Woe betide him that hath transgressed against Thee, and hath denied Thee, and repudiated Thy signs, and gainsaid Thy sovereignty, and risen up against Thee, and waxed proud before Thy face, and hath disputed Thy testimonies, and fled from Thy rule and Thy dominion, and been numbered with the infidels whose names have been inscribed by the fingers of Thy behest upon Thy holy Tablets.
"Waft, then, unto me, O my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favors, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy nearness and Thy presence. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, truly, hast been supreme over all things.
"The remembrance of God and His praise, and the glory of God and His splendor, rest upon Thee, O Thou Who art His Beauty! I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed upon one wronged like Thee. Thou wast immersed all the days of Thy life beneath an ocean of tribulations. At one time Thou wast in chains and fetters; at another Thou wast threatened by the sword of Thine enemies. Yet, despite all this, Thou didst enjoin upon all men to observe what had been prescribed unto Thee by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
"May my spirit be a sacrifice to the wrongs Thou didst suffer, and my soul be a ransom for the adversities Thou didst sustain. I beseech God, by Thee and by them whose faces have been illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy countenance, and who, for love of Thee, have observed all whereunto they were bidden, to remove the veils that have come in between Thee and Thy creatures, and to supply me with the good of this world and the world to come. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.
"Bless Thou, O Lord my God, the Divine Lote-Tree and its leaves, and its boughs, and its branches, and its stems, and its offshoots, as long as Thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most august attributes will last. Protect it, then, from the mischief of the aggressor and the hosts of tyranny. Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the Most Powerful. Bless Thou, also, O Lord my God, Thy servants and Thy handmaidens who have attained unto Thee. Thou, truly, art the All-Bountiful, Whose grace is infinite. No God is there save Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous."