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When he saw that his calumnies had no effect, he gradually formed a plan to incite a disturbance. He began stirring up mischief, and went knocking at every door. He started making false accusations to the officials of the Government. He approached some of the foreigners, made himself their intimate, and together with them prepared a document and presented it to the Seat of the Sultanate, bringing consternation to the authorities. Among the many slanderous charges was this, that this hapless one had raised up a standard of revolt, a flag bearing the words Ya Baha'u'l- Abha; that I had paraded this throughout the countryside, to every city, town and village, and even among the desert tribes, and had summoned all the inhabitants to unite under this flag. (217:1) O my Lord, verily I seek refuge with Thee from the very thought of such an act, which is contrary to all the commandments of Baha'u'llah, and which would indeed be a mighty wrong that none but a grievous sinner would ever perpetrate. For Thou hast made it incumbent upon us to obey the rulers and kings. (217:2) Another of his slanders was that the Shrine on Mount Carmel was a fortress that I had built strong and impregnable -- this when the building under construction compriseth six rooms-- and that I had named it Medina the Resplendent, while I had named the Holy Tomb[1] Mecca the Glorified. Yet another of his calumnies was that I had established an independent sovereignty, and that-- God forbid! God forbid! God forbid!-- I had summoned all the believers to join me in this massive wrongdoing. How dire, O my Lord, is his slander! [1=at Bahji]
(217:3)
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