February 28
O Shaykh, O thou who hast surrendered thy will
to God! By self-surrender and perpetual union with God is meant that men should
merge their will wholly in the Will of God, and regard their desires as utter
nothingness beside His Purpose. Whatsoever the Creator commandeth His creatures
to observe, the same must they diligently, and with the utmost joy and
eagerness, arise and fulfil. They should in no wise allow their fancy to
obscure their judgment, neither should they regard their own imaginings as the
voice of the Eternal. In the Prayer of Fasting We have revealed: “Should Thy
Will decree that out of Thy mouth these words proceed and be addressed unto
them, ‘Observe, for My Beauty’s sake, the fast, O people, and set no limit to
its duration,’ I swear by the majesty of Thy glory, that every one of them will
faithfully observe it, will abstain from whatsoever will violate Thy law, and
will continue to do so until they yield up their souls unto Thee.” In this
consisteth the complete surrender of one’s will to the
Will of God. Meditate on this, that thou mayest drink in the waters of
everlasting life which flow through the words of the Lord of all mankind, and
mayest testify that the one true God hath ever been immeasurably exalted above
His creatures. He, verily, is the Incomparable, the Ever-Abiding, the
Omniscient, the All-Wise. The station of absolute self-surrender transcendeth, and
will ever remain exalted above, every other station. (Baha’u’llah ‘Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
February 27
O SON OF MAN! If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and
if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me
and I may eternally live in thee. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
February 26
O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have
enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have
designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance
shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of
the beginning and the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed
before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and
days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been
bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of
Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their
kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to
hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when
they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them
enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all
mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck,
are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His
grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 25
It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form
of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted
your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One.
Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks
unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth.
Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it
been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the day-star of wisdom and
utterance shineth resplendent. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed
after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 24
The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice
be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bahá, and
should it exceed this number it doth not matter. They should consider themselves
as entering the Court of the presence of God, the Exalted, the Most High, and
as beholding Him Who is the Unseen. (Baha’u’llah. ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 23
O Tongue of this Temple! We, verily, have created thee through Our name, the All-Merciful, have taught thee whatsoever had remained concealed in the Bayán, and have bestowed upon thee the power of utterance, that thou mayest make mention of Mine exalted Self amidst My creatures. Proclaim, then, this wondrous and mighty Remembrance, and fear not the manifestations of the Evil One. Thou wert called into being for this very purpose by virtue of My transcendent and all-compelling command. Through thee have We unloosed the Tongue of Utterance to expound all that hath been, and We shall again, by My sovereign power, unloose it to speak of that which is yet to come. Erelong shall We bring into being through thee eloquent tongues that will praise and extol Me amongst the Concourse on high and amidst the peoples of the world. Thus have the verses of God been revealed, and thus hath it been decreed by the Lord of all names and attributes. Thy Lord, verily, is the True One, the Knower of things unseen. Nothing whatsoever shall prevent these tongues from magnifying their Creator. Through them, all created things shall arise to glorify the Lord of names and to bear witness that there is none other God save Me, the All-Powerful, the Most-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Nor shall those who make mention of Me speak aught unless they be inspired by this Tongue from its lofty station. Few, however, are they who understand! No tongue is there that speaketh not the praises of its Lord and maketh not mention of His Name. Amongst the people, however, are those who understand and utter praises, and those who utter praises, yet understand not. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
February 22
O children of men! If ye believe in the one True God, follow
Me, this Most Great Remembrance of God sent forth by your Lord, that He may
graciously forgive you your sins. Verily He is forgiving and compassionate
toward the concourse of the faithful. We, of a truth, choose the Messengers
through the potency of Our Word, and We exalt Their offspring, some over
others, through the Great Remembrance of God as decreed in the Book and
concealed therein... (The Báb, from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings
of the Báb)
February 21
As to the words—“Immediately after the oppression of those
days”[1]—they refer to the time when men shall become oppressed and afflicted,
the time when the lingering traces of the Sun of Truth and the fruit of the
Tree of knowledge and wisdom will have vanished from the midst of men, when the
reins of mankind will have fallen into the grasp of the foolish and ignorant,
when the portals of divine unity and understanding—the essential and highest
purpose in creation—will have been closed, when certain knowledge will have
given way to idle fancy, and corruption will have usurped the station of
righteousness. Such a condition as this is witnessed in this day when the reins
of every community have fallen into the grasp of foolish leaders, who lead
after their own whims and desire. On their tongue the mention of God hath
become an empty name; in their midst His holy Word a dead letter. Such is the
sway of their desires, that the lamp of conscience and reason hath been
quenched in their hearts, and this although the fingers of divine power have
unlocked the portals of the knowledge of God, and the light of divine knowledge
and heavenly grace hath illumined and inspired the essence of all created
things, in such wise that in each and every thing a door of knowledge hath been
opened, and within every atom traces of the sun hath been made manifest. And
yet, in spite of all these manifold revelations of divine knowledge, which have
encompassed the world, they still vainly imagine the door of knowledge to be
closed, and the showers of mercy to be stilled. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan’)
[1] Matthew 24:29-31
[1] Matthew 24:29-31
February 20
... know
that the Christian and Jewish peoples have not grasped the intent of the words
of God and the promises He hath made to them in His Book, and have therefore
denied His Cause, turned aside from His Prophets, and rejected His proofs. Had
they but fixed their gaze upon the testimony of God itself, had they refused to
follow in the footsteps of the abject and foolish among their leaders and
divines, they would doubtless have attained to the repository of guidance and
the treasury of virtue, and quaffed from the crystal waters of life eternal in
the city of the All-Merciful, in the garden of the All-Glorious, and within the
inner reality of His paradise. But as they have refused to see with the eyes
wherewith God hath endowed them, and desired things other than that which He in
His mercy had desired for them, they have strayed far from the retreats of
nearness, have been deprived of the living waters of reunion and the wellspring
of His grace, and have lain as dead within the shrouds of their own selves. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
February 19
O friend! As hearing ears are scarce to find, the pen hath
for some time remained silent in its quarters. In truth, matters have come to
such a pass that silence hath taken precedence over utterance and hath come to
be regarded as preferable. Say: O people! These words are being uttered in due
measure, that the newly born may thrive and the tender shoot flourish. Milk
should be given in suitable proportion, that the children
of the world may attain to the station of maturity and abide in the court of
oneness. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to
Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
February 18
February 17
Ye have been forbidden to commit murder or adultery, or to
engage in backbiting or calumny; shun ye, then, what hath been prohibited in
the holy Books and Tablets. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 16
By God! This is the
Day wherein the undying Fire crieth out from within all created things: “The Best-Beloved of the worlds is
come!” And before all things there
standeth a Moses, hearkening to the Word of thy Lord, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing. Were We to divest Ourself
of the mortal raiment which We have worn in consideration of your weakness, all
that are in heaven and on earth would offer up their souls for My sake. To this thy Lord Himself doth testify. None, however, can perceive it save those who
have detached themselves from all things for love of their Lord, the Almighty,
the Most Powerful. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Ra’ís,
Tablet addressed to ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman Prime Minister, ‘The Summons
of the Lord of Hosts’)
February 15
Love accepteth no existence and wisheth no life: He seeth life in death, and in shame seeketh glory. To merit the madness of love, man must abound in sanity; to merit the bonds of the Friend, he must be full of spirit. Blessed the neck that is caught in His noose, happy the head that falleth on the dust in the pathway of His love. Wherefore, O friend, give up thy self that thou mayest find the Peerless One, pass by this mortal earth that thou mayest seek a home in the nest of heaven. Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys’)
February 14
The hearts of Thy chosen ones, O my Lord, have melted because of their separation from Thee, and the souls of Thy loved ones are burnt up by the fire of their yearning after Thee in Thy days. I implore Thee, O Thou Maker of the heavens and Lord of all names, by Thy most effulgent Self and Thy most exalted and all-glorious Remembrance, to send down upon Thy loved ones that which will draw them nearer unto Thee, and enable them to hearken unto Thine utterances.
Tear asunder with the hand of Thy transcendent power, O my Lord, the veil of vain imaginings, that they who are wholly devoted to Thee may see Thee seated on the throne of Thy majesty, and the eyes of such as adore Thy unity may rejoice at the splendors of the glory of Thy face. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
Tear asunder with the hand of Thy transcendent power, O my Lord, the veil of vain imaginings, that they who are wholly devoted to Thee may see Thee seated on the throne of Thy majesty, and the eyes of such as adore Thy unity may rejoice at the splendors of the glory of Thy face. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
February 13
This servant will now share with thee a dewdrop out of the
fathomless ocean of the truths treasured in these holy words, that haply
discerning hearts may comprehend all the allusions and the implications of the
utterances of the Manifestations of Holiness, so that the overpowering majesty
of the Word of God may not prevent them from attaining unto the ocean of His
names and attributes, nor deprive them of recognizing the Lamp of God which is
the seat of the revelation of His glorified Essence. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
February 12
Say: The tongue hath been created to bear witness to My
truth; defile it not with falsehood. The heart is the treasury of My mystery;
surrender it not into the hand of covetous desires. We fain would hope that in
this resplendent morn, when the effulgent rays of the Sun of divine knowledge
have enveloped the whole earth, we may all attain unto the good pleasure of the
Friend and drink our fill from the ocean of His recognition. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other
Writings’)
February 11
O King! The stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen,
they who seek to establish the truth of My Cause through the things they
possess, and who make mention of God in My Name. And yet, when I came unto them
in My glory, they turned aside. They, indeed, are of the fallen. This is,
truly, that which the Spirit of God (Jesus Christ) hath announced, when He came
with truth unto you, He with Whom the Jewish doctors disputed, till at last they perpetrated what hath made the Holy Spirit to lament,
and the tears of them that have near access to God to flow. (Baha’u’llah, from
a Tablet to Napoleon, ‘Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf’)
February 10
O FRIEND! In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the
rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy
hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship
with the ungodly. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’) (For an
explanation by Shoghi Effendi please visit Daily Spiritual Food for Thought)
February 9
It hath been ordained that every believer in God, the Lord
of Judgement, shall, each day, having washed his hands and then his face, seat
himself and, turning unto God, repeat “Alláh-u-Abhá” ninety-five times. Such
was the decree of the Maker of the Heavens when, with majesty and power, He
established Himself upon the thrones of His Names. Perform ye, likewise,
ablutions for the Obligatory Prayer; this is the command of God, the
Incomparable, the Unrestrained. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’) (For an explanation by the Universal House of Justice please see Daily Spiritual Food for Thought)
February 8
Do not say, ‘How can He speak of God while in truth His age
is no more than twenty-five?’ Give ye ear unto Me. I swear by the Lord of the
heavens and of the earth: I am verily a servant of God. I have been made the
Bearer of irrefutable proofs from the presence of Him Who is the long-expected
Remnant of God. Here is My Book before your eyes, as indeed inscribed in the
presence of God in the Mother Book. God hath indeed made Me blessed,
wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon Me to observe prayer and fortitude
so long as I shall live on earth amongst you. (The Báb, an excerpt from the
Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
February 7
O Ears of this Temple! Purge yourselves from all idle clamour and hearken unto the voice of
your Lord. He, verily, revealeth unto
you, from the Throne of glory, that there is none other God save Me, the
All-Glorious, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Erelong shall We bring into being through you
pure and undefiled ears which will heed the Word of God and that which hath
appeared from the Dayspring of the Utterance of your Lord, the
All-Merciful. They shall assuredly
perceive the sweet accents of Divine Revelation that proceed from these most
blessed and hallowed precincts. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of
the Lord of Hosts’)
February 6
Do men imagine that We are far distant from the people of
the world? Nay, the day We cause them to be assailed by the pangs of death [Qur’án
68:42] they shall, upon the plain of Resurrection, behold how the Lord of Mercy
and His Remembrance were near. Thereupon they shall exclaim: ‘Would that we had
followed the path of the Báb! Would that we had sought refuge only with Him,
and not with men of perversity and error! For verily the Remembrance of God
appeared before us, [Qur’án 7:63, 69] behind us, and on all sides, yet we were,
in very truth, shut out as by a veil from Him.’ (The Báb, an excerpt from the
Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
February 5
The breezes of the Most Merciful have passed over all
created things; happy the man that hath discovered their fragrance, and set
himself towards them with a sound heart. Attire thy temple with the ornament of
My Name, and thy tongue with remembrance of Me, and thine heart with love for
Me, the Almighty, the Most High. We have desired for thee naught except that
which is better for thee than what thou dost possess and all the treasures of
the earth. Thy Lord, verily, is knowing, informed of all. Arise, in My Name,
amongst My servants, and say: ‘O ye peoples of the earth! Turn yourselves
towards Him Who hath turned towards you. He, verily, is the Face of God amongst
you, and His Testimony and His Guide unto you. He hath come to you with signs
which none can produce.’ The voice of the Burning Bush is raised in the midmost
heart of the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth aloud among the nations: ‘Lo,
the Desired One is come with manifest dominion!’ (Baha’u’llah, from a Tablet to
Napoleon, ‘Epistle to the
Son of the Wolf’)
February 4
On the appearance of fearful natural events call ye to mind
the might and majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all, and say
“Dominion is God’s, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation”.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 3
Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all
times, yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in the
sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected His coming,
how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of Divine mercy might blow, and
the promised Beauty step forth from behind the veil of concealment, and be made
manifest to all the world. And whensoever the portals of grace did open, and
the clouds of divine bounty did rain upon mankind, and the light of the Unseen
did shine above the horizon of celestial might, they all denied Him, and turned
away from His face—the face of God Himself....
Reflect, what could have been the motive for such deeds? What could have prompted such behavior towards the Revealers of the beauty of the All-Glorious? (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
Reflect, what could have been the motive for such deeds? What could have prompted such behavior towards the Revealers of the beauty of the All-Glorious? (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
February 2
O thou who hast set foot in the wilderness of knowledge and
taken abode within the ark of wisdom! Not until thou hast grasped the mysteries
concealed in that which We shall relate unto thee canst thou hope to attain to
the stations of faith and certitude in the Cause of God and in those who are
the Manifestations of His Cause, the Daysprings of His Command, the Treasuries
of His revelation, and the Repositories of His knowledge. Shouldst thou fail in
this, thou wouldst be numbered with them that have not striven for the Cause of
God, nor inhaled the fragrance of faith from the raiment of certitude, nor
scaled the heights of the divine unity, nor yet recognized the stations of
divine singleness within the Embodiments of praise and the Essences of
sanctity.
Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter, that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion, to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom, to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world, and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth. [Qur’án 67:3] (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter, that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion, to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom, to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world, and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth. [Qur’án 67:3] (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
February 1
O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight
is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not
that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and
not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not
through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it
behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My
loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words
of Baha’u’llah’)
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