We… admonish you to serve all nations and to strive for the
betterment of the world.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant];
‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 30
There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the
world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly
Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances
under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and
exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few
which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a
reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith,
shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension
amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you. This,
verily, is the most exalted Word which the Mother Book hath sent down and revealed
unto you. To this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His habitation of
glory.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 29
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’)
January 28
I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the eyes of
Thy servants, that they may behold Thee shining above the horizon of Thy
majesty and glory, and that they may not be hindered by the croaking of the
raven from hearkening to the voice of the Dove of Thy sublime oneness, nor be
prevented by the corrupt waters from partaking of the pure wine of Thy bounty
and the everlasting streams of Thy gifts.
Gather them, then, together around this Divine Law, the
covenant of which Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy
Messengers, and Whose ordinances Thou hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy
Scriptures. Raise them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to
perceive Thy Call.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
January 27
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 26
Say: O servants! Let not the means of order be made the
cause of confusion and the instrument of union an occasion for discord. We fain
would hope that the people of Bahá may be guided by the blessed words: ‘Say:
all things are of God.’ This exalted utterance is like unto water for quenching
the fire of hate and enmity which smouldereth within the hearts and breasts of
men. By this single utterance contending peoples and kindreds will attain the
light of true unity. Verily He speaketh the truth and leadeth the way. He is
the All-Powerful, the Exalted, the Gracious.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book
of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 25
Verily I say, fear of God is the greatest commander that can
render the Cause of God victorious, and the hosts which best befit this
commander have ever been and are an upright character and pure and goodly
deeds.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 24
…when, as bidden by Thee, [God] I arose and called out, by
Thy leave, all Thy creatures, the wayward among Thy servants opposed me. Some
turned away from me, others disowned my claim, a few hesitated, while others
were sore perplexed, notwithstanding that Thy testimony was set forth before
the followers of all religions, and Thy proof demonstrated unto all the peoples
of the earth, and the signs of Thy might so powerfully manifested as to
encompass the entire creation.
I was, moreover, opposed by mine own kindred, although, as
Thou knowest, they were dear to me and I had desired for them that which I had
desired for mine own self. These are the ones who, when learning that I had
been cast into prison, perpetrated against me what no man else on earth had
perpetrated.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
January 23
This is the Chief of all days and the King thereof. Great is
the blessedness of him who hath attained, through the sweet savor of these
days, unto everlasting life, and who, with the most great steadfastness, hath
arisen to aid the Cause of Him Who is the King of Names. Such a man is as the
eye to the body of mankind.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The
Advent of Divine Justice’)
January 22
O Son of Spirit! The time cometh, when the nightingale of
holiness will no longer unfold the inner mysteries and ye will all be bereft of
the celestial melody and of the voice from on high.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden
Words of Baha’u’llah’)
January 21
Please God, the peoples of the world may be led, as the
result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers and the wise and learned
amongst men, to recognize their best interests. How long will humanity persist
in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and
confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of
society?... The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and
the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The
signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the
prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted
be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant
that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish
that which beseemeth their station.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings
of Baha’u’llah’)
January 20
It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise
moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation
will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things
as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may
favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious
influence upon men...
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah’)
January 19
Our hope is that the world’s religious leaders and the
rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the reformation of this age and the
rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after meditating on its needs, take
counsel together and, through anxious and full deliberation, administer to a
diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy it requireth...
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 18
The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental
purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the
interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of
love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension
and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and
immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and
chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of
countless centuries undermine its structure.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 17
Verily God will raise up Him Whom God shall make manifest,
and after Him Whomsoever He willeth, even as He hath raised up prophets before
the Point of the Bayán. He in truth hath power over all things.
- The Báb ('Selections from the Writings of the Báb'; The Compilation
of Compilations, vol. I, The Covenant)
January 16
Great is your blessedness, inasmuch as ye have forsaken your
homes and wandered the land for the love of your Lord, the Almighty, the
Ancient of Days, until ye entered the Land of Mystery at a time when the fire
of oppression was ablaze and the croaking of the raven of discord had been
raised. Ye are My partners in My tribulations, for ye were present with Us
during the darksome night in which the hearts of those who testify to the unity
of God were agitated. Ye entered this land for the sake of Our love, and
departed therefrom through Our command. By the righteousness of God! Because of
you the earth itself glorieth over heaven. How excellent is this most sublime,
this glorious and exalted bounty! Ye have been deprived of your nest, O birds
of eternity, for the sake of your Lord, the Unconstrained, but your true abode
is beneath the wings of the grace of the All-Merciful. Blessed are they that
understand.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Summons of
the Lord of Hosts’)
January 15
O Son of Justice! Whither can a lover go but to the land of
his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart’s desire? To the
true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of
patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten
to the abode of his beloved.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
January 14
The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent
upon the Aghsán, the Afnán 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. Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Muḥammad
‘Alí] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. He is in
truth the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen ‘the Greater’ after ‘the Most
Great’, as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 13
O Son of Him that Stood by His Own Entity in the Kingdom of
His Self! Know thou, that I have wafted unto thee all the fragrances of
holiness, have fully revealed to thee My word, have perfected through thee My
bounty and have desired for thee that which I have desired for My Self. Be then
content with My pleasure and thankful unto Me.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words
of Baha’u’llah’)
January 12
Say: This Youth hath departed out of this country and
deposited beneath every tree and every stone a trust, which God will erelong
bring forth through the power of truth. Thus hath the True One come and the
command of Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise, been fulfilled. The hosts of
earth and heaven are powerless to resist His Cause, nor can all the kings and
rulers of the world ever frustrate His purpose. Say: Adversity is the oil which
feedeth the flame of this Lamp and by which its light is increased, did ye but
know. Indeed, the repudiation of the froward serveth but to proclaim this Faith
and to spread the Cause of God and His Revelation throughout the world.
- Baha’u’llah (Súriy-i-Ra’ís, addressed to ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman Prime
Minister; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
January 11
Was it in Pharaoh’s power to stay the hand of God from
exercising His sovereignty when he acted wantonly in the land and was of the
transgressors? From within his own house
and in spite of his will We brought forth Him Who conversed with God. Well able
are We to achieve Our purpose. Recall, moreover, how Nimrod kindled the fire of
impiety that its flames might consume Abraham, the Friend of God; We delivered
Him, however, through the power of truth and seized Nimrod with the fury of Our
wrath. Say: The Oppressor [Muhammad Sháh] put to death the Beloved of the
worlds to quench the light of God amongst the people and to debar them from the
wellspring of life eternal in the days of thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most
Bountiful.
We, too, have revealed the Cause of God in His cities and
raised aloft His remembrance amidst them that truly believe in Him. Say: This
Youth hath come to quicken the world and unite all its peoples. The day is
approaching when that which God hath purposed will have prevailed and thou
shalt behold the earth transformed into the all-glorious paradise. Thus hath it
been inscribed by the Pen of Revelation upon this weighty Tablet.
- Baha’u’llah (Súriy-i-Ra’ís, addressed to ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman Prime Minister; ‘The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
January 10
The aim of this Wronged One in sustaining woes and
tribulations, in revealing the Holy Verses and in demonstrating proofs hath
been naught but to quench the flame of hate and enmity, that the horizon of the
hearts of men may be illumined with the light of concord and attain real peace
and tranquillity.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets
of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 9
O ye My Branches! A mighty force, a consummate power lieth
concealed in the world of being. Fix your gaze upon it and upon its unifying
influence, and not upon the differences which appear from it.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after
the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 8
It is incumbent upon
everyone to aid those daysprings of authority and sources of command who are
adorned with the ornament of equity and justice. Blessed are the rulers and the
learned among the people of Bahá. They are My trustees among My servants and
the manifestations of My commandments amidst My people. Upon them rest My
glory, My blessings and My grace which have pervaded the world of being. In
this connection the utterances revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are such that from
the horizon of their words the light of divine grace shineth luminous and
resplendent.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 7
Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden in His
Book. This is a decree of God in this Most Great Revelation. It is divinely
preserved from annulment and is invested by Him with the splendour of His
confirmation. Verily He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after
the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 6
O ye the loved ones and the trustees of God! Kings are the
manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of
God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath invested them with the rulership of the
earth and hath singled out the hearts of men as His Own domain.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after
the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 5
All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing
civilization. The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts of the
field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance,
mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of
the earth. Say: O friends! Drink your fill from this crystal stream that
floweth through the heavenly grace of Him Who is the Lord of Names. Let others
partake of its waters in My name, that the leaders of men in every land may
fully recognize the purpose for which the Eternal Truth hath been revealed, and
the reason for which they themselves have been created.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 4
O Kamál! The heights which, through the most gracious favor
of God, mortal man can attain, in this Day, are as yet unrevealed to his sight.
The world of being hath never had, nor doth it yet possess the capacity for
such a revelation. The day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of
so great a favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested unto men. Though
the forces of the nations be arrayed against Him, though the kings of the earth
be leagued to undermine His Cause, the power of His might shall stand unshaken.
He, verily, speaketh the truth, and summoneth all mankind to the way of Him Who
is the Incomparable, the All-Knowing.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 3
We have a fixed time for you, O peoples. If ye fail, at the
appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily, will lay violent hold on you,
and will cause grievous afflictions to assail you from every direction. How
severe, indeed, is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise
you!
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
January 2
O ye that dwell on earth! The religion of God is for love
and unity; make it not the cause of enmity or dissension. In the eyes of men of
insight and the beholders of the Most Sublime Vision, whatsoever are the
effective means for safeguarding and promoting the happiness and welfare of the
children of men have already been revealed by the Pen of Glory. But the foolish
ones of the earth, being nurtured in evil passions and desires, have remained
heedless of the consummate wisdom of Him Who is, in truth, the All-Wise, while
their words and deeds are prompted by idle fancies and vain imaginings.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
January 1
“This is the Day which past ages and centuries can never
rival. Know this, and be not of the ignorant.” “This is the Day whereon human
ears have been privileged to hear what He Who conversed with God [Moses] heard
upon Sinai, what He Who is the Friend of God [Muḥammad] heard when lifted up
towards Him, what He Who is the Spirit of God [Jesus] heard as He ascended unto
Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.” “This Day is God’s Day, and this
Cause His Cause. Happy is he who hath renounced this world, and clung to Him
Who is the Dayspring of God’s Revelation.” “This is the King of Days, the Day
that hath seen the coming of the Best Beloved, He Who through all eternity hath
been acclaimed the Desire of the World.”
- Baha’u’llah (Excerpts quoted by
Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
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