This short work, which was revealed in Baghdad, contains an exposition of the stages in the path of the spiritual wayfarer which complements that of the Seven Valleys, and sets forth some of the doctrinal themes which would later be central to The Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude). The volume will further deepen the Western reader's appreciation of a period described by Shoghi Effendi as "the vernal years of Bahá'u'lláh's ministry", and assist students of His Revelation in gaining a more profound insight into its gradual unfoldment.

This work was written in reply to a question from Siyyid Yúsuf-i-Sidihí Isfahání, a religious leader of the Shi'ahs in Najaf, who had asked the question of how the promised Mahdi could have returned in a different human guise).

According to a compilation published in 2000 by researchers at the Wilmette Institute, Siyyid Yúsuf-i-Sidihí Isfahání, who was residing in Karbila when the tablet was written, recognised the divinity of Bahá'u'lláh after reading this tablet.