There is a well-known
Islamic tradition concerning God and His creation:
I was a Hidden Treasure. I
wished to be made known, and thus I called creation into being in order that I
might be known.
References
and allusions to this tradition are found throughout the Bahá’í Writings…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His commentary on the above-cited
tradition, wrote:
"O wayfarer in the path of the Beloved! Know thou that the
main purpose of this holy tradition is to make mention of the stages of God’s
concealment and manifestation within the Embodiments of Truth, They who are the
Dawning-places of His All-Glorious Being. For example, before the flame of the
undying Fire is lit and manifest, it existeth by itself within itself in the
hidden identity of the universal Manifestations, and this is the stage of the
“Hidden Treasure”. And when the blessed Tree is kindled by itself within
itself, and that Divine Fire burneth by its essence within its essence, this is
the stage of “I wished to be made known”. And when it shineth forth from the
Horizon of the universe with infinite Divine Names and Attributes upon the
contingent and placeless worlds, this constituteth the emergence of a new and
wondrous creation which correspondeth to the stage of “Thus I called creation
into being”. And when the sanctified souls rend asunder the veils of all
earthly attachments and worldly conditions, and hasten to the stage of gazing
on the beauty of the Divine Presence and are honoured by recognizing the
Manifestation and are able to witness the splendour of God’s Most Great Sign in
their hearts, then will the purpose of creation, which is the knowledge of Him
Who is the Eternal Truth, become manifest."
- The Universal House of Justice (The
‘Notes’ section of ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
