A dynamic process, divinely propelled, possessed of
undreamt-of potentialities, world-embracing in scope, world-transforming in its
ultimate consequences, had been set in motion on that memorable night when the
Báb communicated the purpose of His mission to Mullá Ḥusayn in an obscure
corner of Shíráz. It acquired a tremendous momentum with the first intimations
of Bahá’u’lláh’s dawning Revelation amidst the darkness of the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán.
It was further accelerated by the Declaration of His mission on the eve of His
banishment from Baghdád. It moved to a climax with the proclamation of that
same mission during the tempestuous years of His exile in Adrianople. Its full
significance was disclosed when the Author of that Mission issued His historic
summonses, appeals and warnings to the kings of the earth and the world’s
ecclesiastical leaders. It was finally consummated by the laws and ordinances
which He formulated, by the principles which He enunciated and by the
institutions which He ordained during the concluding years of His ministry in
the prison-city of Akká.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)
