Elijah
(The following quotations seem to establish Elijah as an independent Manifestation of God.)[edit]
"And Elias truly was of our Sent Ones,"
- (Qur'án, 37:123)
- (Rationale: As this usage is apparently also used for Joseph, Who is confirmed in our Writings as a Manifestation of God (see Joseph), it seems this should apply for Elijah here. See also the discussion here under the section "2. The individuals who are called prophets and apostles")
"Thereupon God sent Elijah, the prophet, who redeemed the people, renewed the law of God and established an era of new life for Israel."
"With the transference of the remains of the Báb--Whose advent marks the return of the Prophet Elijah--to Mt. Carmel, and their interment in that holy mountain, not far from the cave of that Prophet Himself, the Plan so gloriously envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, in the evening of His life, had been at last executed..."
- (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 276-277)
"At last affairs reached such a state that the Children of Israel suffered dispersion and eventually there was a state of degradation to such an extent that they worshipped the golden calf. They went to the city of Tyre, where they expressed their devotions to the calf. Thereupon God sent Elijah, the prophet, and Elijah rescued the people of Israel, and renewed the law of God. He reestablished a new life for the people of Israel."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. VI, no. 1, p. 7)
Possible allusions to lesser prophet status[edit]
1) "The prophets of Judah and Israel, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel, were humble men, as were also the apostles of Jesus Christ." (Paris Talks, p. 164)
- (Elijah being grouped with these lesser prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah are clearly verified as being (only) lesser prophets in Some Answered Questions, p. 164) does not mean, however, that He or they belonged to a mere human station.)
2) "Know that the attributes of perfection, the outpourings of divine grace, and the effulgences of divine revelation shine resplendent in all the Manifestations of God, but that the all-encompassing Word of God—Christ—and His Most Great Name—Bahá’u’lláh—have appeared with a revelation beyond all conception. For not only do They possess all the perfections of the former Manifestations, but They also evince beyond those such perfections as to make all others even as Their followers. Thus the Prophets of Israel were all recipients of divine revelation, and so too was Christ, but what a difference between the revelation of Him Who was the Word of God and the inspiration of an Isaiah, a Jeremiah, or an Elijah!" (Some Answered Questions, Chapter 37)
See also David for another case where a lesser prophet might be grouped with a Manifestation of God.
