Morning
The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, descend,
by the leave of God, upon this Gate [cf. Qur’án 78:38] and circle round this
Focal Point in a far-stretching line. Greet them with salutations, O
Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, for the dawn hath indeed broken; then proclaim unto the
concourse of the faithful: ‘Is not the rising of the Morn, foreshadowed in the
Mother Book, to be near at hand? [cf. Qur’án 11:83]...’
O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Turn Thou eagerly unto God in Thy Cause, for the peoples of the world have risen in iniquity, and but for the outpouring of the grace of God and Thy mercy unto them, no one could purge even a single soul for evermore. [cf. Qur’án 24:21] O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! The life to come is indeed far more advantageous unto Thee and unto such as follow Thy Cause than this earthly life and its pleasures. This is what hath been foreordained according to the dispensations of Providence...
- The Báb (From the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
Evening
O Living Temple! Stretch forth Thy hand over all who are in heaven and on earth, and seize within the grasp of Thy Will the reins of command. We have, verily, placed in Thy right hand the empire of all things. Do as Thou willest, and fear not the ignorant. Reach out to the Tablet that hath dawned above the horizon of the pen of Thy Lord, and take hold of it with such strength that, through Thee, the hands of all who inhabit the earth may be enabled to lay fast hold upon it. This, in truth, is that which becometh Thee, if Thou be of those who understand. Through the upraising of Thy hand to the heaven of My grace, the hands of all created things shall be lifted up to their Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Gracious. Erelong shall We raise up, through the aid of Thy hand, other hands endued with power, with strength and might, and shall establish through them Our dominion over all that dwell in the realms of revelation and creation. Thus will the servants of God recognize the truth that there is none other God beside Me, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. With these hands, moreover, We shall both bestow and withhold, though none can understand this save those who see with the eye of the spirit.
- Baha'u'llah (Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts)
