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They that judge with fairness testify that since the early days of the Cause this Wronged One hath arisen, unveiled and resplendent, before the faces of kings and commoners, before the rulers and the divines, and hath, in ringing tones, summoned all men unto the straight Path. He hath had no helper save His Pen, nor any succourer other than Himself.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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Shouldst thou acquaint thyself with the indignities heaped upon the Prophets of God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced by their oppressors, thou wilt surely appreciate the significance of their position. Moreover, the more closely thou observest the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be thy faith in the Cause of God….
- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Bahá’í Sacred Writings: A comprehensive collection of selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Writings and utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, representing the range of the Bahá’í teachings”, prepared by the Baha’i World Center, July 2025)
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Praise be to God that whatever is essential for the believers in this Revelation to be told has been revealed. Their duties have been clearly defined, and the deeds they are expected to perform have been plainly set forth in Our Book. Now is the time for them to arise and fulfil their duty. Let them translate into deeds the exhortations We have given them. Let them beware lest the love they bear God, a love that glows so brightly in their hearts, cause them to transgress the bounds of moderation, and to overstep the limits We have set for them.
- Baha'u'llah (Words of Baha’u’llah to some pilgrims and a
few resident believers who were admitted into His presence on January 8, 1889,
quoted by Nabil in the ‘Dawn-Breakers, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
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O thou who hast set thy face towards the splendours of My Countenance! Vague fancies have encompassed the dwellers of the earth and debarred them from turning towards the Horizon of Certitude, and its brightness, and its manifestations and its lights. Vain imaginings have withheld them from Him Who is the Self-Subsisting. They speak as prompted by their own caprices, and understand not.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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Morning
Wert thou[1]to ponder a while, thou wouldst bear witness unto the wisdom, and the power, and the sovereignty of God, exalted be His glory. The few who were unaware of this Cause, and had not met Us, have spoken in such a manner that all things, and those souls who are well assured, pleased, and pleasing unto God, have testified unto the imposture of these heedless ones. Wert thou now to exert thyself, the truth of this Cause would be made apparent unto mankind, and the people would be delivered from this grievous and oppressive darkness. Who else but Bahá can speak forth before the face of men, and who else but He can have the power to pronounce that which He was bidden by God, the Lord of Hosts?
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf’)
[1] Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi, known as Aqa Najafi, a son of
Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir who was stigmatized by Him as 'Wolf'. After the death of
his father in 1883, Aqa Najafi succeeded him as a leading mujtahid of Isfahan.
He was an inveterate enemy and formidable opponent of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
(Adib Taherzadeh, ‘The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, vol. 4)
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He [1] hath moreover written that Christians welcome those who decide of their own accord to embrace their religion, but make no effort and exert no pressure to this end. This, however, is a misconception. For the Christians have exerted and continue to exert the utmost effort in teaching their faith. Their church organizations have an expenditure of about thirty million. Their missionaries have scattered far and wide throughout the globe and are assiduously engaged in teaching Christianity. Thus have they compassed the world. How numerous the schools and churches they have founded to instruct children, yet their unavowed aim is that these children, as they acquire an education, may also become acquainted in their early years with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that the unsullied mirrors of their hearts may thus reflect that which their teachers have purposed. Indeed the followers of no other religion are as intent upon the propagation of their faith as the Christians.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle of Unity’)
[1] Mánikchí Limjí Hataria (1813–1890), also known as
Mánikchí (Manekji) Sáhib, born in India of Zoroastrian parents.
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Say, how dare ye flagrantly deny the verses sent down from the heaven of justice, yet ye read the Books of God revealed in the past? How do ye repudiate the meeting with your Lord which was appointed with you aforetime, and fail in this Day to heed His warning? Indeed, by adhering to forms and by following the promptings of your selfish desires, ye have deprived yourselves of the good-pleasure of your Lord, except those whom their Lord hath endowed with knowledge and who in this Day render thanks unto Him for the bounty of being identified with the true Faith of God. Therefore announce ye the Message unto those who manifest virtue and teach them the ways of the One True God, that haply they may comprehend.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the
Writings of the Báb)
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Morning
Reflect, O Shaykh, upon the Shí’ih sect. How many the edifices which they reared with the hands of idle fancies and vain imaginings, and how numerous the cities which they built! At length those vain imaginings were converted into bullets and aimed at Him Who is the Prince of the world. Not one single soul among the leaders of that sect acknowledged Him in the Day of His Revelation! Whenever His blessed name was mentioned, all would say: “May God hasten the joy His coming will bring!” On the day of the Revelation of that Sun of Truth, however, all, as hath been observed, have exclaimed, saying: “May God hasten His chastisement!” He Who was the Essence of being and Lord of the seen and unseen they suspended, and committed what made the Tablet to weep, and the Pen to groan, and the cries of the sincere to break forth, and the tears of the favored ones to flow.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
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This mortal life is sure to perish; its pleasures are bound to fade away and ere long ye shall return unto God, distressed with pangs of remorse, for presently ye shall be roused from your slumber, and ye shall soon find yourselves in the presence of God and will be asked of your doings.
- The
Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
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…in reality it [the Qur’an] hath been interpreted in numerous ways and translated into countless languages. That which men have been unable to grasp are its hidden mysteries and inner meanings. And all that they have said or will say is limited in scope and should be seen as commensurate with their rank and station. For none can fathom its true meaning save God, the One, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle of
Unity’)
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Know thou assuredly that the essence of all the Prophets of
God is one and the same. Their unity is absolute. God, the Creator, saith:
There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all
have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honour
to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be
permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the
same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him. If any man,
therefore, should fail to comprehend this truth, and should consequently
indulge in vain and unseemly language, no one whose sight is keen and whose
understanding is enlightened would ever allow such idle talk to cause him to
waver in his belief.
- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Bahá’í Sacred Writings: A comprehensive collection of selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Writings and utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, representing the range of the Bahá’í teachings”, prepared by the Baha’i World Center, July 2025)
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Praise be to God, the All-Possessing, the King of incomparable glory, a praise which is immeasurably above the understanding of all created things, and is exalted beyond the grasp of the minds of men. None else besides Him hath ever been able to sing adequately His praise, nor will any man succeed at any time in describing the full measure of His glory. Who is it that can claim to have attained the heights of His exalted Essence, and what mind can measure the depths of His unfathomable mystery? From each and every revelation emanating from the Source of His glory, holy and never-ending evidences of unimaginable splendour have appeared, and out of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of eternal light have outpoured. How immensely exalted are the wondrous testimonies of His almighty sovereignty, a glimmer of which, if it but touched them, would utterly consume all that are in the heavens and in the earth! How indescribably lofty are the tokens of His consummate power, a single sign of which, however inconsiderable, must transcend the comprehension of whatsoever hath, from the beginning that hath no beginning, been brought into being, or will be created in the future till the end that hath no end. All the Embodiments of His Names wander in the wilderness of search, athirst and eager to discover His Essence, and all the Manifestations of His Attributes implore Him, from the Sinai of Holiness, to unravel His mystery.
- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Bahá’í Sacred Writings: A comprehensive collection of selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Writings and utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, representing the range of the Bahá’í teachings”, prepared by the Baha’i World Center, July 2025)
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…those who in every subsequent Dispensation preceded the rest of mankind in embracing the Faith of God, who quaffed the clear waters of knowledge at the hand of the divine Beauty, and attained the loftiest summits of faith and certitude, these can be regarded, in name, in reality, in deeds, in words, and in rank, as the “return” of those who in a former Dispensation had achieved similar distinctions. For whatsoever the people of a former Dispensation have manifested, the same hath been shown by the people of this latter generation. Consider the rose: whether it blossometh in the East or in the West, it is none the less a rose. For what mattereth in this respect is not the outward shape and form of the rose, but rather the smell and fragrance which it doth impart.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
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Methinks I heard a voice calling in My inmost being: “Do Thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God, even as Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My sake.” And were I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, by Him in whose hand is My soul, even if all the kings of the earth were to be leagued together, they would be powerless to take from Me a single letter; how much less can such servants as these, who are worthy of no attention, and who verily are of the outcast? that all may know the degree of My patience, My resignation and self-sacrifice in the path of God.
- The Báb
(Quoted by Baha’u’llah in the ‘Kitáb-i-Íqán’)
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Incline your hearts, O people of God, unto the counsels of your true, your incomparable Friend. The Word of God may be likened unto a sapling, whose roots have been implanted in the hearts of men. It is incumbent upon you to foster its growth through the living waters of wisdom, of sanctified and holy words, so that its root may become firmly fixed and its branches may spread out as high as the heavens and beyond.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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Should anyone wax angry with you, respond to him with gentleness; and should anyone upbraid you, forbear to upbraid him in return, but leave him to himself and put your trust in God, the omnipotent Avenger, the Lord of might and justice.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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Consider how a Pharisee who had worshipped God for seventy years repudiated the Son when He appeared, whereas one who had committed adultery gained admittance into the Kingdom. Thus doth the Pen admonish thee as bidden by the Eternal King, that thou mayest be apprised of what came to pass aforetime and be reckoned in this day among them that truly believe.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
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Morning
These same people, [1] though wrapt in all these veils of
limitation, and despite the restraint of such observances, as soon as they
drank the immortal draught of faith, from the cup of certitude, at the hand of
the Manifestation of the All-Glorious, were so transformed that they would
renounce for His sake their kindred, their substance, their lives, their
beliefs, yea, all else save God! So overpowering was their yearning for God, so
uplifting their transports of ecstatic delight, that the world and all that is
therein faded before their eyes into nothingness. Have not this people
exemplified the mysteries of “rebirth” and “return”? Hath it not been witnessed
that these same people, ere they were endued with the new and wondrous grace of
God, sought through innumerable devices, to ensure the protection of their
lives against destruction? Would not a thorn fill them with terror, and the
sight of a fox put them to flight? But once having been honoured with God’s
supreme distinction, and having been vouchsafed His bountiful grace, they
would, if they were able, have freely offered up ten thousand lives in His
path! Nay, their blessed souls, contemptuous of the cage of their bodies, would
yearn for deliverance. A single warrior of that host would face and fight a
multitude! And yet, how could they, but for the transformation wrought in their
lives, be capable of manifesting such deeds which are contrary to the ways of
men and incompatible with their worldly desires?
It is evident that nothing short of this mystic transformation could cause such spirit and behaviour, so utterly unlike their previous habits and manners, to be made manifest in the world of being. For their agitation was turned into peace, their doubt into certitude, their timidity into courage. Such is the potency of the Divine Elixir, which, swift as the twinkling of an eye, transmuteth the souls of men!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
[1] People at the time of Noah before they recognized the
Manifestation of God
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Time and again have We admonished Our beloved ones to avoid, nay to flee from, anything whatsoever from which the odour of mischief can be detected. The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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Behold, the “mystery of the Great Reversal in the Sign of the Sovereign” hath now been made manifest. Well is it with him whom God hath aided to recognize the “Six” raised up by virtue of this “Upright Alif”[1]; he, verily, is of those whose faith is true. How many the outwardly pious who have turned away, and how many the wayward who have drawn nigh, exclaiming: “All praise be to Thee, O Thou the Desire of the worlds!” In truth, it is in the hand of God to give what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and to withhold what He pleaseth from whomsoever He may wish. He knoweth the inner secrets of the hearts and the meaning hidden in a mocker’s wink. How many an embodiment of heedlessness who came unto Us with purity of heart have We established upon the seat of Our acceptance; and how many an exponent of wisdom have We in all justice consigned to the fire. We are, in truth, the One to judge. He it is Who is the manifestation of “God doeth whatsoever He pleaseth”, and abideth upon the throne of “He ordaineth whatsoever He chooseth”.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
[1] In his writings, Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Aḥsá’í placed great emphasis on the Arabic letter “Váv.” In The Dawn-Breakers, Nabíl states that this letter “symbolized for the Báb the advent of a new cycle of Divine Revelation, and has since been alluded to by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in such passages as ‘the mystery of the Great Reversal’ and ‘the Sign of the Sovereign.’”
The name for the letter “Váv” consists of three letters:
Váv, Alif, Váv. According to the abjad reckoning, the numerical value of each
of these letters is 6, 1 and 6 respectively. Shoghi Effendi in a letter written
on his behalf to one of the believers in the East provides an interpretation of
this verse of the Aqdas. He states that the “Upright Alif” refers to the advent
of the Báb. The first letter with its value of six, which comes before the
Alif, is a symbol of earlier Dispensations and Manifestations which predate the
Báb, while the third letter, which also has a numerical value of six, stands
for Bahá’u’lláh’s supreme Revelation which was made manifest after the Alif. (The Universal House of Justice, the 'Notes' section of the 'Kitab-i-Aqdas')
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…consider the substance of copper. Were it to be protected
in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the space of seventy
years, attain to the state of gold. There are some, however, who maintain that
copper itself is gold, which by becoming solidified is in a diseased condition,
and hath not therefore reached its own state.
Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this gold be called copper? Could it be claimed that it hath not attained the state of gold, whilst the touch-stone is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from copper?
Likewise, these souls, through the potency of the Divine Elixir, traverse, in the twinkling of an eye, the world of dust and advance into the realm of holiness; and with one step cover the earth of limitations and reach the domain of the Placeless. It behooveth thee to exert thine utmost to attain unto this Elixir which, in one fleeting breath, causeth the west of ignorance to reach the east of knowledge, illuminates the darkness of night with the resplendence of the morn, guideth the wanderer in the wilderness of doubt to the well-spring of the Divine Presence and Fount of certitude, and conferreth upon mortal souls the honour of acceptance into the Ridván of immortality. Now, could this gold be thought to be copper, these people could likewise be thought to be the same as before they were endowed with faith.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
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…among the Prophets was Noah. When He was invested with the robe of Prophethood, and was moved by the Spirit of God to arise and proclaim His Cause, whoever believed in Him and acknowledged His Faith, was endowed with the grace of a new life. Of him it could be truly said that he was reborn and revived, inasmuch as previous to his belief in God and his acceptance of His Manifestation, he had set his affections on the things of the world, such as attachment to earthly goods, to wife, children, food, drink, and the like, so much so that in the day-time and in the night season his one concern had been to amass riches and procure for himself the means of enjoyment and pleasure. Aside from these things, before his partaking of the reviving waters of faith, he had been so wedded to the traditions of his forefathers, and so passionately devoted to the observance of their customs and laws, that he would have preferred to suffer death rather than violate one letter of those superstitious forms and manners current amongst his people. Even as the people have cried: “Verily we found our fathers with a faith, and verily, in their footsteps we follow.” (Qur’án 43:22)
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
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