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-Ruz as a feast… 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
Ha, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its
months. It behoveth the people of Baha, 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.
- Baha'u'llah (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)
