Say: O concourse of
priests and monks! Eat ye of that which
God hath made lawful unto you and do not shun meat. God hath, as a token of His grace, granted
you leave to partake thereof save during a brief period. He, verily, is the Mighty, the Beneficent. Forsake all that ye possess and hold fast
unto that which God hath purposed. This
is that which profiteth you, if ye be of them that comprehend. We have ordained a fast of nineteen days in
the most temperate of the seasons, and have in this resplendent and luminous
Dispensation relieved you from more than this. Thus have We set forth and made clear unto you that which ye are bidden
to observe, that ye may follow the commandments of God and be united in that
which the Almighty, the All-Wise, hath appointed unto you.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet
to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts’)