Morning
Astonishment here [the station of ‘THE BEAUTY OF THE BELOVED'] is highly prized, and utter poverty greatly cherished. Wherefore hath He said, “Poverty is My pride.” [from a Hadith] And again: “God hath a people beneath the canopy of grandeur, whom He hath concealed in the garment of poverty to exalt in rank.” [1] These are they who see with His eyes and hear with His ears, as hath been recorded in the well-known tradition.
Concerning this realm there is many a tradition and many a verse, whether of general or specific import, but two of these will suffice, that they may serve as a light for knowing hearts and bring delight to longing souls.
The first is His statement “O My servant! Obey Me, that I may make thee like unto Myself. For I say ‘Be’, and it is, and thou shalt say ‘Be’, and it shall be.” And the second: “O son of Adam! Seek fellowship with none until thou hast found Me, and whensoever thou shalt long for Me, thou shalt find Me nigh unto thee.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Four Valleys’, revised translation by the Baha’i World Center included in ‘The Call of the Divine Beloved’)
[1] From a poem cited in a number of Islamic sources
Evening
Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou beholdest my dwelling-place, and the prison into which I am cast, and the woes I suffer. By Thy might! No pen can recount them, nor can any tongue describe or number them. I know not, O my God, for what purpose Thou hast abandoned me to Thine adversaries. Thy glory beareth me witness! I sorrow not for the vexations I endure for love of Thee, nor feel perturbed by the calamities that overtake me in Thy path. My grief is rather because Thou delayest to fulfill what Thou hast determined in the Tablets of Thy Revelation, and ordained in the books of Thy decree and judgment.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
