Note 180

180. Take heed lest the word "Prophet" withhold you from this Most Great Announcement # 167 &Baha'u'llah cautions people "of insight" not to allow their interpretations of the Holy Scriptures to prevent them from recognizing the Manifestation of God. Followers of each religion have tended to allow their devotion to its Founder to cause them to perceive His Revelation as the final Word of God and to deny the possibility of the appearance of any subsequent Prophet. This has been the case of Judaism, Christianity and &Islam. &Baha'u'llah denies the validity of this concept of finality both in relation to past Dispensations and to His own. With regard to Muslims, He wrote in the &Kitab-i-Iqan that the "people of the &Qur'an ... have allowed the words `Seal of the Prophets' to veil their eyes", "to obscure their +P244 understanding, and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold bounties". He affirms that "this theme hath ... been a sore test unto all mankind", and laments the fate of "those who, clinging unto these words, have disbelieved in Him Who is their true Revealer". The &Bab refers to this same theme when He warns: "Let not names shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is their Lord, even the name Prophet, for such a name is but a creation of His utterance."

181. any reference to "Vicegerency" debar you from the sovereignty of Him Who is the Vicegerent of

God # 167

The word here translated "Vicegerency" is, in the original Arabic, "&vilayat", which has a range of meanings including "vicegerency", "guardianship", "protectorship" and "successorship". It is used in relation to God Himself, to His Manifestation, or to those who are the appointed Successors of a Manifestation.

In this verse of the Aqdas, &Baha'u'llah warns against allowing such concepts to blind one to the "sovereignty" of the new Divine Manifestation, the true "Vicegerent of God".