We did not refuse such material benefits as could relieve Us
from Our afflictions. Every one of Our companions, however, will bear Us
witness that Our holy court is sanctified from, and far above, such material
benefits. We have nevertheless accepted, while confined in this Prison, those
things of which the infidels have striven to deprive Us. If a man be found
willing to rear, in Our name, an edifice of pure gold or silver, or a house
begemmed with stones of inestimable value, such a wish will no doubt be granted.
He, verily, doeth what He willeth, and ordaineth that which He pleaseth. Leave
hath, moreover, been given to whosoever may desire to raise, throughout the
length and breadth of this land, noble and imposing structures, and dedicate
the rich and sacred territories adjoining the Jordan and its vicinity to the
worship and service of the one true God, magnified be His glory, that the
prophecies recorded by the Pen of the Most High in the sacred Scriptures may be
fulfilled, and that which God, the Lord of all worlds, hath purposed in this
most exalted, this most holy, this mighty, and wondrous Revelation may be made
manifest.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
