…naught is reaped save that which hath been sown, and naught
is taken up save that which hath been laid down, [cf.Luke 19:21] unless it be
through the grace and bestowal of the Lord.
Hath the womb of the world yet conceived one whom the veils of glory
shall not hinder from ascending unto the Kingdom of his Lord, the All-Glorious,
the Most High? Is it yet within us to
perform such deeds as will dispel our afflictions and draw us nigh unto Him Who
is the Causer of causes? We beseech God
to deal with us according to His bounty, and not His justice, and to grant that
we may be of those who have turned their faces unto their Lord and severed
themselves from all else.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Nasiri’d-Din Shah,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
