Revelations.
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Peace all,
I've been visiting the site more frequently over the summer holidays here and have found understandably a quite different place than what I remember it.
One or two posts on the Bahai faith got me searching some of their official websites and history. What became clear was the claim that at least two individuals 'the Bab' and 'Baha'ullah' allegedly received revelations from God.
I read the kitab-ul-aqdas which is the holiest of holy text for the Bahais on their web site and was met by a text which was clearly limited in time (it talked about kings of Germany and Constantinople for example) - and a book which attempted to codify rituals rather than lead people to signs and awareness of God.
I knew then it was a false book brought by a false prophet.
I then thought deeply on what revelation really is especially in the context of the Koran. Now even though I've read it many times - opening the book randomly never ever ceases to amaze me in terms of the arguments it presents which completely convince the believer that these are revelations.
How do I know? Because I wondered whether one could write something similar - how would one come up with the subject matter and decide what to write. If you've never done the thought experiment then I suggest that you do - it's a lot harder than what you think or expect.
I know that many people here understand what I am conveying but nevertheless I wanted to share this with you all.
I found the following very interesting in my most recent reading
1094 If you have any doubt regarding what is revealed to you from your Lord, then ask those who read the previous scripture. Indeed, the truth has come to you from your Lord. Do not be with the doubters.
1095 Nor shall you join those who rejected GOD's revelations, lest you be with the losers.
These verses are highly important and indicate the nature of revelation. The nature of the "you" might be understood to be the audience of the revelations. However the "you" in these verses to my understanding applies to the messenger himself.
Thus the stories of the messenger actually seeing an angel (Gabriel) let alone conversing with such are falsified by these verses. The messenger was just as liable to doubt and therefore implies that the revelations are coming to him from a non-tangible source.
I'll be studying this more as my understanding grows.
Peace.