The eyes of this Wronged One are turned towards naught save
trustworthiness, truthfulness, purity, and all that profiteth men.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
November 30
The eyes of this Wronged One are turned towards naught save
trustworthiness, truthfulness, purity, and all that profiteth men. November 29
The Cause of God hath come as a token of His grace. Happy
are they who act; happy are they who understand; happy the man that hath clung
unto the truth, detached from all that is in the heavens and all that is on
earth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
November 28
O people of the world! When the Mystic Dove will have winged
its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden
habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him ['Abdu'l-Baha] Who hath
branched from this mighty Stock.
- Baha'u'llah (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)
November 27
Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His
[‘Abdu’l-Baha’s] footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the
beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honoured by hearkening to His
call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that
hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the
scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings.
- Baha’u’llah (’Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 26
The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent
upon the Aghsan, the Afnan and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces
towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our
Most Holy Book: 'When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My
Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who
hath branched from this Ancient Root.' The object of this sacred verse is none
other except the Most Mighty Branch [Abdu'l-Bahá]. Thus have We graciously
revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful.
- Baha'u'llah (Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha'u'llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 25
O my brother! A divine Mine only can yield the gems of
divine knowledge, and the fragrance of the mystic Flower can be inhaled only in
the ideal Garden, and the lilies of ancient wisdom can blossom nowhere except
in the city of a stainless heart. “In a rich soil, its plants spring forth
abundantly by permission of its Lord, and in that soil which is bad, they
spring forth but scantily.” (Qur’an 7:57)
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
November 24
All this generation could offer Us were wounds from its
darts, and the only cup it proffered to Our lips was the cup of its venom. On
our neck We still bear the scar of chains, and upon Our body are imprinted the
evidences of an unyielding cruelty.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
November 23
We have consumed this densest of all veils, with the fire of
the love of the Beloved—the veil referred to in the saying: “The most grievous
of all veils is the veil of knowledge.” Upon its ashes, We have reared the
tabernacle of divine knowledge. We have, praise be to God, burned the “veils of
glory” with the fire of the beauty of the Best-Beloved. We have driven from the
human heart all else but Him Who is the Desire of the world, and glory therein.
We cleave to no knowledge but His Knowledge, and set our hearts on naught save
the effulgent glories of His light.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
November 22
… these Essences of being [Manifestations of God] are
immensely exalted above… and… immeasurably glorified beyond all… vain sayings
and above the comprehension of every understanding heart.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
November 21
…it behooveth no man to interpret the holy words according
to his own imperfect understanding, nor, having found them to be contrary to
his inclination and desires, to reject and repudiate their truth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
November 20
By the righteousness of God! Every morning I arose from My
bed, I discovered the hosts of countless afflictions massed behind My door; and
every night when I lay down, lo! My heart was torn with agony at what it had
suffered from the fiendish cruelty of its foes. With every piece of bread the
Ancient Beauty breaketh is coupled the assault of a fresh affliction, and with
every drop He drinketh is mixed the bitterness of the most woeful of trials. He
is preceded in every step He taketh by an army of unforeseen calamities, while
in His rear follow legions of agonizing sorrows.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
November 19
Eschew all manner of wickedness, for such things are
forbidden unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God hath
cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the purified.”
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated 25 December 1938; ‘The
Advent of Divine Justice’)
November 18
The civilization so often vaunted by the learned exponents
of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation,
bring great evil upon men.... If carried to excess, civilization will prove as
prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the
restraints of moderation.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter
dated 25 December 1938; ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
November 17
Disencumber yourselves of all attachment to this world and
the vanities thereof. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt
you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from
entering the straight and glorious Path.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi
in a letter dated 25 December 1938; ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
November 16
Know of a certainty that in every Dispensation the light of
Divine Revelation hath been vouchsafed unto men in direct proportion to their
spiritual capacity. Consider the sun. How feeble its rays the moment it
appeareth above the horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency increase as
it approacheth its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created things to adapt
themselves to the growing intensity of its light. How steadily it declineth
until it reacheth its setting point. Were it, all of a sudden, to manifest the
energies latent within it, it would, no doubt, cause injury to all created
things.... In like manner, if the Sun of Truth were suddenly to reveal, at the
earliest stages of its manifestation, the full measure of the potencies which
the providence of the Almighty hath bestowed upon it, the earth of human
understanding would waste away and be consumed; for men's hearts would neither
sustain the intensity of its revelation, nor be able to mirror forth the
radiance of its light. Dismayed and overpowered, they would cease to exist.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
November 15
Let not, however, thy soul grieve over that which God hath
rained down upon Us. Merge thy will in His pleasure, for We have, at no time,
desired anything whatsoever except His Will, and have welcomed each one of His
irrevocable decrees. Let thine heart be patient, and be thou not dismayed.
Follow not in the way of them that are sorely agitated.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
November 14
Recall thou to mind My sorrows, My cares and anxieties, My
woes and trials, the state of My captivity, the tears that I have shed, the
bitterness of Mine anguish, and now My imprisonment in this far-off land. God…
beareth Me witness. Couldst thou be told what hath befallen the Ancient Beauty,
thou wouldst flee into the wilderness, and weep with a great weeping… Be thou
grateful to God, that We have refused to divulge unto thee the secrets of those
unsearchable decrees that have been sent down unto Us from the heaven of the
Will of thy Lord, the Most Powerful, the Almighty.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
November 13
Say: It behoveth you, O Ministers of State, to keep the
precepts of God…and to be of them who are guided aright. Better is this for you
than all ye possess, did ye but know it. If ye transgress the commandment of
God, not one jot or one tittle of all your works shall be acceptable in His sight.
Ye shall, erelong, discover the consequences of that which ye shall have done
in this vain life, and shall be repaid for them. This, verily, is the truth,
the undoubted truth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah’)
November 12
Call Thou to remembrance Thine arrival in the City
(Constantinople), how the Ministers of the Sulṭán thought Thee to be
unacquainted with their laws and regulations, and believed Thee to be one of
the ignorant. Say: Yes, by My Lord! I am ignorant of all things except what God
hath, through His bountiful favor, been pleased to teach Me. To this We
assuredly testify, and unhesitatingly confess it.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
November 11
That which hath touched this Wronged One is beyond compare
or equal. We have borne it all with the utmost willingness and resignation, so
that the souls of men may be edified, and the Word of God be exalted.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
November 10
Consider that which the Merciful Lord hath revealed in the
Qur’án, exalted are His words: “Worship ye God, join with Him no peer or
likeness; and show forth kindliness and charity towards your parents...”
Observe how loving-kindness to one’s parents hath been linked to recognition of
the one true God! Happy they who are endued with true wisdom and understanding,
who see and perceive, who read and understand, and who observe that which God
hath revealed in the Holy Books of old, and in this incomparable and wondrous
Tablet.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Questions and Answers’, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 9
The religion of God and His divine law are the most potent
instruments and the surest of all means for the dawning of the light of unity
amongst men. The progress of the world, the development of nations, the
tranquillity of peoples, and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the
principles and ordinances of God.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 8
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 7
It is incumbent upon everyone to firmly adhere to and
observe that which hath streamed forth from Our Most Exalted Pen. God, the True
One, beareth Me witness, and every atom in existence is moved to testify that
such means as lead to the elevation, the advancement, the education, the
protection and the regeneration of the peoples of the earth have been clearly
set forth by Us and are revealed in the Holy Books and Tablets by the Pen of
Glory.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 6
Whatever hath been constructed for the worship of the one
true God, such as mosques, chapels and temples, must not be used for any
purpose other than the commemoration of His Name. This is an ordinance of God,
and he who violateth it is verily of those who have transgressed. No harm
attacheth to the builder, for he hath performed his deed for the sake of God,
and hath received and will continue to receive his just reward.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Questions and Answers’, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 5
Religion bestoweth upon man the most precious of all gifts,
offereth the cup of prosperity, imparteth eternal life, and showereth
imperishable benefits upon mankind. It behoveth the chiefs and rulers of the
world, and in particular the Trustees of God’s House of Justice, to endeavour
to the utmost of their power to safeguard its position, promote its interests
and exalt its station in the eyes of the world. In like manner it is incumbent
upon them to enquire into the conditions of their subjects and to acquaint
themselves with the affairs and activities of the divers communities in their
dominions.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 4
The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God’s
holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world;
make it not the cause of dissension and strife.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 3
O Jalíl! He Whom the world hath wronged now proclaimeth: The
light of Justice is dimmed, and the sun of Equity veiled from sight. The robber
occupieth the seat of the protector and guard, and the position of the faithful
is seized by the traitor. A year ago an oppressor ruled over this city, and at
every instant caused fresh harm. By the righteousness of the Lord! He wrought
that which cast terror into the hearts of men. But to the Pen of Glory the
tyranny of the world hath never been nor will it ever be a hindrance.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 2
The people aforetime joined partners with God, though they
professed belief in His unity; and although they were the most ignorant amongst
men, they considered themselves the most accomplished. But, as a token of
divine retribution upon those heedless ones, their erroneous beliefs and
pursuits have, in this Day of Judgement, been made clear and evident to every
man of discernment and understanding.
Beseech thou God, the True One, that He may graciously
shield the followers of this Revelation from the idle fancies and corrupt
imaginings of such as belong to the former Faith, and may not deprive them of
the effulgent splendours of the day-star of true unity.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets
of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
November 1
The fruits that best befit the tree of human life are
trustworthiness and godliness, truthfulness and sincerity; but greater than
all, after recognition of the unity of God, praised and glorified be He, is
regard for the rights that are due to one’s parents. This teaching hath been
mentioned in all the Books of God, and reaffirmed by the Most Exalted Pen.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Questions and Answers’, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)