- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 31
March 30
Certain ones among both commoners and nobles have objected
that this wronged One is neither a member of the ecclesiastical order nor a
descendant of the Prophet. Say: O ye that claim to be just! Reflect a little
while, and ye shall recognize how infinitely exalted is His present state above
the station ye claim He should possess. The Will of the Almighty hath decreed
that out of a house wholly devoid of all that the divines, the doctors, the
sages, and scholars commonly possess His Cause should proceed and be made
manifest.
The Breathings of the Divine Spirit awoke Him, and bade Him
arise and proclaim His Revelation. No sooner was He roused from His slumber
than He lifted up His voice and summoned the whole of mankind unto God, the
Lord of all worlds. We have been moved to reveal these words in consideration
of the weakness and frailty of men; otherwise, the Cause We have proclaimed is
such as no pen can ever describe, nor any mind conceive its greatness. To this
beareth witness He with Whom is the Mother Book.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
March 29
Lay not aside the fear of God, O ye the learned of the
world, and judge fairly the Cause of this unlettered One to Whom all the Books
of God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting, have testified. ...Will not the
dread of Divine displeasure, the fear of Him Who hath no peer or equal, arouse
you? He Whom the world hath wronged hath, at no time, associated with you, hath
never studied your writings, nor participated in any of your disputations. The
garb He weareth, His flowing locks, His headdress, attest the truth of His
words. How long will ye persist in your injustice? Witness the habitation in
which He, Who is the incarnation of justice, hath been forced to dwell. Open
your eyes, and, beholding His plight, meditate diligently upon that which your
hands have wrought, that haply ye may not be deprived of the light of His
Divine utterance, nor remain bereft of your share of the ocean of His
knowledge.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
March 28
This is a Day, the Light of which Thou hast sanctified above
the sun and its effulgence. Thou hast called it "The Day of God!"
Nothing is to be seen therein but Thy Supreme Self, and naught is to be
remembered save Thy sweetest Name. Wherefore, when He appeared, the foundations
of nations trembled, the learned were bewildered and the wise men were
confounded, save those who came near unto Thee, took from the hand of Favor the
pure wine of Thy Inspiration, and drank in Thy Name, saying: "Praise be unto Thee, O Desire of the nations! Praise
be to Thee, O Beloved of the hearts of the yearning!"
- Baha’u’llah (Star
of the West, vol. 5, no. 1, March 21, 1914)
March 27
…by “Resurrection” is meant the rise of the Manifestation of
God to proclaim His Cause, and by “attainment unto the divine Presence” is
meant attainment unto the presence of His Beauty in the person of His
Manifestation. For verily, “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all
vision.” (Qur’an 6:103)
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 26
Occupy thyself, during these fleeting days of thy life, with
such deeds as will diffuse the fragrance of Divine good pleasure, and will be
adorned with the ornament of His acceptance.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son
of the Wolf’)
March 25
Shed not the blood of anyone, O people, neither judge ye
anyone unjustly. Thus have ye been
commanded by Him Who knoweth, Who is informed of all. They that commit disorders in the land after
it hath been well ordered, these indeed have outstepped the bounds that have
been set in the Book. Wretched shall be
the abode of the transgressors!
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
March 24
Should your words, O people, be at variance with your deeds,
what then shall distinguish you from those who profess their faith in the Lord,
their God, and yet, when He came down to them overshadowed with clouds,
rejected Him and waxed proud before God, the Incomparable, the Omniscient?
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
March 23
God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty of teaching His
Cause. Whoever ariseth to discharge this
duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His Message, adorn himself with the
ornament of an upright and praiseworthy character, so that his words may
attract the hearts of such as are receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence
his hearers. Thus doth God instruct
you. He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving,
the Most Compassionate.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal
[Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
March 22
Happy is the man who hath recognized Thee, and discovered
the sweetness of Thy fragrance, and set himself towards Thy kingdom, and tasted
of the things that have been perfected therein by Thy grace and favor. Great is
the blessedness of him who hath acknowledged Thy most excellent majesty, and
whom the veils that have shut out the nations from Thee have not hindered from
directing his eyes towards Thee, O Thou Who art the King of eternity and the
Quickener of every moldering bone! Blessed, also, is he that hath inhaled Thy
sweet savors, and been carried away by Thine utterances in Thy days. Blessed,
moreover, be the man that hath turned unto Thee, and woe betide him that hath
turned his back upon Thee.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by
Baha’u’llah’)
March 21
Praise be unto Thee, O Lord my God! This is that Day among
Thy Days and that Hour among Thy blessed Hours which Thou hast reserved for
Thine own Self, related to Thine own Being, and exalted in station, that Thy
Name may endure and Thy sovereignty be made manifest. Thou hast made this Day
to be the source of all days, inasmuch as Thou hast showered upon it the
revelations of the Throne of Thy majesty and the signs of Thy transcendent
favour. Thou hast created it anew, at this time, in the most excellent form in
this ancient Temple, so that on this Day, and by its grace, all the dwellers of
earth and heaven might be raised again to life and, unbeknownst to and
unapprehended by all, be called upon to render account regarding Thy Self.
Perchance Thy sacred and celestial blessings and Thy divine and glorious
bestowals might be completed therein, that they may testify to the creation of
all things on the Day of Thy presence and to the appearance of Thy days and the
dawning of the Sun of Thy beauty.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
March 20
Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast ordained this
day [Naw-Ruz] as a festival unto the favoured among Thy servants and the
sincere among Thy loved ones. Thou hast called this day by that Name whereby
all created things have been subdued and the breezes of Thy Revelation have
been wafted between earth and heaven, a Name through which all that hath been
recorded in Thy Holy Books and Sacred Scriptures hath been made manifest, and
which Thy Messengers and Thy Chosen Ones have foretold, that all men might be
made ready to behold Thee, to turn towards the ocean of Thy reunion, to stand
before the seat of Thy throne, and to hear Thy wondrous call from the Dayspring
of Thine invisible Self and the Dawning-Place of Thine Essence.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
March 19
Do not bring our fasts to an end with this fast, O my Lord,
nor the covenants Thou hast made with this covenant. Do Thou accept all that we
have done for love of Thee, and for the sake of Thy pleasure, and all that we
have left undone as a result of our subjection to our evil and corrupt desires.
Enable us, then, to cleave steadfastly to Thy love and Thy good-pleasure, and
preserve us from the mischief of such as have denied Thee and repudiated Thy
most resplendent signs. Thou art, in truth, the Lord of this world and of the
next. No God is there beside Thee, the Exalted, the Most High.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
March 18
He it is, O my God, about Whom Thou hast said: “But for Thee
the Scriptures would have remained unrevealed, and the Prophets unsent.” And no
sooner had He, by Thy behest, been manifested and spoken forth Thy praise, than
the wicked doers among Thy creatures compassed Him round, with the swords of
hate drawn against Him, O Thou the Lord of all names! Thou well knowest what
befell Him at the hands of such as have rent asunder the veil of Thy grandeur,
and cast behind their backs Thy Covenant and Thy Testament, O Thou Who art the
Maker of the heavens! He is the One for Whose sake Thou (the Báb) hast yielded
Thy life, and hast consented to be touched by the manifold ills of the world
that He may manifest Himself, and summoned all mankind in His name. As soon as He
came down, however, from the heaven of majesty and power, Thy servants
stretched out against Him the hands of cruelty and sedition, and caused Him to
be afflicted with such troubles that the scrolls of the world are insufficient
to contain a full recital of them.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by
Baha’u’llah’)
March 17
Say, He is that End for Whom no end in all the universe can
be imagined, and for Whom no beginning in the world of creation can be
conceived. Behold, O concourse of the earth, the splendours of the End,
revealed in the Manifestations of the Beginning!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 16
…strive thou to comprehend the meaning of the melody of that
eternal beauty, Husayn, [Imám Husayn] son of ‘Alí, [Imám ‘Alí] who, addressing
Salmán, spoke words such as these: “I was with a thousand Adams, the interval
between each and the next Adam was fifty thousand years, and to each one of
these I declared the Successorship conferred upon my father… Endeavour… to
apprehend… the mysteries of “end,” “return,” and “creation without beginning or
end.” Endeavour now to apprehend from these two traditions the mysteries of
“end,” “return,” and “creation without beginning or end.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 15
Behold, how many are the mysteries that lie as yet
unravelled within the tabernacle of the knowledge of God, and how numerous the
gems of His wisdom that are still concealed in His inviolable treasuries!
Shouldest thou ponder this in thine heart, thou wouldst realize that His
handiwork knoweth neither beginning nor end. The domain of His decree is too
vast for the tongue of mortals to describe, or for the bird of the human mind
to traverse; and the dispensations of His providence are too mysterious for the
mind of man to comprehend. His creation no end hath overtaken, and it hath ever
existed from the “Beginning that hath no beginning”; and the Manifestations of
His Beauty no beginning hath beheld, and they will continue to the “End that
knoweth no end.” Ponder this utterance in thine heart…
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 14
…the highest and most excelling grace bestowed upon men is
the grace of “attaining unto the Presence of God” and of His recognition, which
has been promised unto all people. This is the utmost degree of grace
vouchsafed unto man by the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days, and the fulness
of His absolute bounty upon His creatures.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 13
Strive thou, that haply thou mayest achieve a deed the
fragrance of which shall never fade from the earth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf’)
March 12
O Son of Man! Magnify My cause that I may reveal unto thee
the mysteries of My greatness and shine upon thee with the light of eternity.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
March 11
Gracious God! [with reference to the “seven powerful
sovereigns ruling the world” in His day] None of them hath been informed of His
[the Báb’s] Manifestation, and if informed, none hath believed in Him. Who
knoweth, they may leave this world below full of desire, and without having
realized that the thing for which they were waiting had come to pass. This is
what happened to the monarchs that held fast unto the Gospel. They awaited the
coming of the Prophet of God [Muhammad], and when He did appear, they failed to
recognize Him. Behold how great are the sums which these sovereigns expend
without even the slightest thought of appointing an official charged with the
task of acquainting them in their own realms with the Manifestation of God!
They would thereby have fulfilled the purpose for which they have been created.
All their desires have been and are still fixed upon leaving behind them traces
of their names.”
- The Báb (From Dalá’il-i-Sab‘ih [Seven Proofs], quoted by
Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
March 10
Verily, these [they “that truly believe in Him Whom God
shall make manifest”] are souls who take delight in the remembrance of God, Who
dilates their hearts through the effulgence of the light of knowledge and
wisdom. They seek naught but God and are oft engaged in giving praise unto Him.
They desire naught except whatever He desireth and stand ready to do His
bidding. Their hearts are mirrors reflecting whatsoever He Whom God shall make
manifest willeth. Thus God will cheer the hearts of those who truly believe in
Him and in His signs and who are well assured of the life to come. Say, the
life to come is none other than the days associated with the coming of Him Whom
God will make manifest.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
March 9
Immeasurably exalted is the state of Thy loved ones who have
clung to the cord of Thy command, held fast to the hem of Thine ordinances,
uttered that which hath been permitted unto them in Thy Tablets, transgressed
not the bounds ordained in Thy Book, and spoken out in Thy lands with wisdom as
decreed in the scrolls of Thy bounty and the epistles of Thy grace. O Lord!
Assist them to arise for the triumph of Thy Cause through what Thou hast
expounded unto them with Thy most exalted Pen and what Thou hast instructed
them in certain of Thy Tablets. O Lord! Leave them not to themselves, but keep
them safe through Thy sovereignty and power and assist them through Thy might
and bounty.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
March 8
By God! This is the Day whereon from the murmur of the
waters can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting”, and from the whispering of whose breezes can be heard: “No
God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Best-Beloved”, and from the rustling of
whose trees can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Most Powerful, the
Ever-Giving, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving”, and beyond them, from the
Tongue of Grandeur can be heard: “This is the Day of the appearance of Him Who
is manifest yet hidden, Who is visible yet concealed. Hasten unto Him, O ye who
are the daysprings of the divine names, and draw nigh unto Him, O ye who dwell
in the kingdom of creation, with hearts that have been purified from
superstitions and vain imaginings and sanctified from the idle talk of men!”
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
March 7
Exalted be this blessed and glorious day [Naw-Ruz] which
Thou hast designated by that beloved Name which is both hidden and manifest,
and which, when it shone forth above the horizon of eternity, the Divine
Lote-Tree called out, saying: “By God! The Lord of creation hath come, Whom no
name can describe.” Whereupon Paradise was set astir and proclaimed with joy
and fervour: “O concourse of the world! He hath come, round Whom circle the
Daysprings of the All-Merciful, the Manifestations of the All-Praised, and the
Dawning-Places of inspiration.” And all things cried aloud: “This is that
Tablet with which the kingdom of creation hath been adorned and through which
the gate leading unto the Divine Presence hath been flung open unto all who are
in heaven and on earth.” Happy the one who hath forsaken every desire and hath
drawn nigh unto the One Whose reality no word or utterance can convey.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
March 6
As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love for God and
for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me from the hosts of
the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My purpose. Should they hide Me away in the depths of the
earth, yet would they find Me riding aloft on the clouds, and calling out unto
God, the Lord of strength and of might.
I have offered Myself up in the way of God, and I yearn after
tribulations in My love for Him, and for the sake of His good pleasure. Unto this bear witness the woes which now
afflict Me, the like of which no other man hath suffered. Every single hair of Mine head calleth out
that which the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai, and each vein of My body invoketh
God and saith: “O would I had been
severed in Thy path, so that the world might be quickened, and all its peoples
be united!” Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the
All-Informed.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of
Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
March 5
O Son of Man! Neglect not My commandments if thou lovest My
beauty, and forget not My counsels if thou wouldst attain My good pleasure.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
March 4
O Son of Being! Walk in My statutes for love of Me and deny
thyself that which thou desirest if thou seekest My pleasure.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
March 3
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. 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. … 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)
March 2
Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting. Verily, the
religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its sun, and obligatory prayer
is its moon. In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous
are distinguished from those who transgress His commandments. We entreat God,
exalted and glorified be He, that He may graciously enable all to observe that
which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book.
- Baha’u’llah (Compilation: 'The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and
Fasting', prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
March 1
In the Name of Him Who hath been promised in the Books of
God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed! The days of fasting have arrived
wherein those servants who circle round Thy throne and have attained Thy
presence have fasted. Say: O God of names and creator of heaven and earth! I
beg of Thee by Thy Name, the All-Glorious, to accept the fast of those who have
fasted for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy good-pleasure and have carried
out what Thou hast bidden them in Thy Books and Tablets. I beseech Thee by them
to assist me in the promotion of Thy Cause and to make me steadfast in Thy
love, that my footsteps may not slip on account of the clamour of Thy
creatures. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. No God is
there but Thee, the Quickener, the All-Powerful, the Most Bountiful, the
Ancient of Days.
- Baha’u’llah (Compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer
and Fasting’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice; The American Baha’i September 2000)
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