December 4

Therefore, hath it been said: "Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth." It is this kind of knowledge which is and hath ever been praiseworthy, and not the limited knowledge that hath sprung forth from veiled and obscured minds. This limited knowledge they even stealthily borrow one from the other, and vainly pride themselves therein! (Baha’u’llah,‘The Kitáb-i-Iqán’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

December 3

The progress of the world, the development of nations, the tranquillity of peoples, and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances of God. Religion bestoweth upon man the most precious of all gifts, offereth the cup of prosperity, imparteth eternal life, and showereth imperishable benefits upon mankind. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Cultural Diversity in the Age of Maturity)

December 2

They that yearn for the abode of the Beloved, they that circle round the sanctuary of the Desired One, are not apprehensive of trials and adversities, nor do they flee away from that which is ordained by God. They receive their portion from the ocean of resignation and drink their fill from the soft-flowing stream of His mercy. They would not surrender the good-pleasure of the Friend in exchange for the kingdom of both worlds, nor would they barter that which the Well-Beloved hath decreed in return for dominion over the realms of the infinite. They would eagerly drink the venom of woe as if it were the water of life and would drain deadly poison to its bitter dregs just as a sweet and life-giving draught. In the arid wastes of desolation they are stirred with enthusiasm through the remembrance of the Friend, and in the dreary wilds of adversity they are eager and impatient to offer themselves as a sacrifice. Unhesitatingly have they renounced their lives and directed their steps towards the abode of the Best Beloved. They have closed their eyes to the world and fixed their gaze upon the beauteous countenance of the Friend, cherishing no desire but the presence of the loved One and seeking no attainment save reunion with Him. They fly with the feathers of trust in God, and soar with the wings of adherence unto His Will. In their estimation a blood-shedding blade is more desirable than finest silk and a piercing dart more acceptable than mother's milk. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Fire and Light: Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings by Báb, The, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi’ Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The Baha’i World 1979-1983)

December 1

One day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: 'O inmates of earth and heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Bahá, and the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all beings.' Thus have We sent down for thee that which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

November 30

If any man were to arise to defend, in his writings, the Cause of God against its assailants, such a man, however inconsiderable his share, shall be so honoured in the world to come that the Concourse on high would envy his glory. No pen can depict the loftiness of his station, neither can any tongue describe its splendour. For whosoever standeth firm and steadfast in this holy, this glorious, and exalted Revelation, such power shall be given him as to enable him to face and withstand all that is in heaven and on earth. Of this God is Himself a witness. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

November 29

I swear by the righteousness of Thy Lord, the Lord of all created things, the Lord of all the worlds! Were a man to rear in this world as many edifices as possible and worship God through every virtuous deed which God's knowledge embraceth, and attain the presence of the Lord, and were he, even to a measure less than that which is accountable before God, to bear in his heart a trace of malice towards Me, all his deeds would be reduced to naught and he would be deprived of the glances of God's favour, become the object of His wrath and assuredly perish. For God hath ordained that all the good things which lie in the treasury of His knowledge shall be attained through obedience unto Me, and every fire recorded in His Book, through disobedience unto Me. Methinks in this day and from this station I behold all those who cherish My love and follow My behest abiding within the mansions of Paradise, and the entire company of Mine adversaries consigned to the lowest depths of hell-fire . . . (The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb; Fire and Light: Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings by Báb, The, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The Baha’i World 1979-1983)

November 28

Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its affairs, for God hath abandoned them to such as have set their affection upon them. Out of the whole world He hath chosen for Himself the hearts of men -- hearts which the hosts of revelation and of utterance can subdue. Thus hath it been ordained by the Fingers of Baha, upon the Tablet of God's irrevocable decree, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing. (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah; The Baha’i World, 1944-1946)

November 27

O people of Baha! Be as the cloud that from you may be showered that which will refresh and animate the earth. ... Ponder God in your heart, reflect on His Manifestations, and be not of them that are devoid of understanding. ... I came not to proclaim that which ye already possess. Verily, verily, this day is a new day; He that hath come is the Wondrous, and His bidding the wonder of all that is in heaven and on earth. ... We have desired naught for ourselves, but desired for you that which will profit you in the Kingdom of God, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful. ... Glory is not his that proclaimeth his faith, but glory is his that doeth that which the All-Merciful hath revealed in His wondrous Book. (Baha’u’llah, The Baha’i Year Book 1924-1925)

November 26

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)

November 25

We ask God, exalted be His glory, to confirm each one of the friends in that land in the acquisition of such praiseworthy characteristics as shall conduce to the spread of justice and equity among the peoples of the world. The first, the fundamental purpose underlying creation hath ever been, and will continue to be, none other than the appearance of trustworthiness and godliness, of sincerity and goodwill amongst mankind, for these qualities are the cause of peace, security and tranquillity. Blessed are those who possess such virtues. (Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

November 24

It behoveth him that desireth to teach the Cause of his Lord to adorn his head with the crown of detachment and the temple of his body with the fear of God. ... Happy are the righteous that have attained unto the most great truth; happy are the wise that have recognized the straight path of God and turned unto His Kingdom; happy are the glad and sincere, the lamps of whose hearts bum with the knowledge of the All-Merciful and are protected by self-abnegation from the rough winds of test and sorrows; happy are the brave whose hearts the power of the oppressor cannot daunt; happy are the clear-sighted that have learned to distinguish the transitory from the eternal, that have turned their faces to the Imperishable and are named among the Immortals in the realm of power and glory. ... (Baha’u’llah, The Baha’i Year Book 1924-1925)

November 23

O Abu'l Hasan:[1]

May my Glory rest upon thee! Fix thy gaze upon the glory of the Cause. Speak forth that which will attract the hearts and the minds. To demand the Huquq is in no wise permissible. This command was revealed in the Book of God for various necessary matters ordained by God to be dependent upon material means. Therefore, if someone, with utmost pleasure and gladness, nay with insistence, wisheth to partake of this blessing, thou mayest accept. Otherwise, acceptance is not permissible. (Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilation, vol. I, Huqúqu'lláh)

[1] Known as Jinab-i-Amin, Trustee of the Huquq in the days of Bahá'u'lláh

November 22

Although the Realm of Glory hath none of the vanities of the world, yet within the treasury of trust and resignation We have bequeathed to Our heirs an excellent and priceless Heritage. Earthly treasures We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such cares as they entail. By God! In earthly riches fear is hidden and peril is concealed. Consider ye and call to mind that which the All-Merciful hath revealed in the Qur’án: ‘Woe betide every slanderer and defamer, him that layeth up riches and counteth them.’ [Qur’an 104:12] Fleeting are the riches of the world; all that perisheth and changeth is not, and hath never been, worthy of attention, except to a recognized measure. (Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-‘Ahd (Book of the Covenant); Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

November 21

Throughout the centuries and ages many a man hath waited expectant for God's Revelation, and yet when the Light shone forth from the horizon of the world, all but a few turned their faces away from it. Whosoever from amongst the handmaidens hath recognized the Lord of all Names is recorded in the Book as one of those men by the Pen of the Most High. Offer thou praise to the Beloved of the world for having aided thee to recognize the Dayspring of His Signs and the Revealer of the evidences of His Glory. This is a great bounty, a bounteous favour. Preserve it in the name of the True One.... (Baha’u’llah, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)

November 20

All praise be to God Who, from every drop of blood shed by His chosen ones, hath brought forth a vast creation whose number none but Himself can reckon. He hath raised them to be the embodiments of His love and the manifestations of His tender affection. It is they who are the hands of His Cause amongst men. It is they who have rendered aid unto God in every age and have arisen to promote that which He hath purposed in such wise that the majesty of the kings and their dreadful might have failed to affright them, nor have they been hindered from following the path of truth by the clash of arms and the furious clamour of battalions. They have raised their triumphal cry amidst all that dwell in the heavens and on the earth, summoning everyone unto the Lord of all mankind, He Who is the Ruler of this world and of the next, the God of the throne on high and of the earth below. (Baha'u'llah, 'Fire and Light: Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings by Báb, The, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi' Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The Baha’i World 1979-1983)

November 19

O peoples of the world! Verily, verily I declare: This wronged One hath not sought neither doth He seek leadership. His one purpose hath ever been to banish that which causeth difference among the kindreds of the earth and leadeth to the separation of peoples: that all may have peace and freedom to pursue that which profiteth them. We entreat Our friends not to defile the purity of the Cause with the dust of falsehood, nor abase its exalted and sanctified station by recounting marvels and miracles of which they may hear. Gracious God! This is the day when the wise should seek the counsel of this wronged One and supplicate the Almighty to grant them that which is the cause of abiding tranquillity and glory. Yet behold! how on the contrary they have striven with all their power to extinguish this brilliant and shining light. ... In the face of all they have spoken We have remained patient at all times. We have left them in the hands of God. (Baha’u’llah, Epistle to the son of Shaykh Baqir; The Baha’i Year Book 1924-1925)

November 18

Now is the moment in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world. The Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their Books were revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men.... (Baha’u’llah, ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

November 17

Within the treasury of Our Wisdom there lieth unrevealed a knowledge, one word of which, if we chose to divulge it to mankind, would cause every human being to recognize the Manifestation of God and to acknowledge His omniscience, would enable every one to discover the secrets of all the sciences, and to attain so high a station as to find himself wholly independent of all past and future learning. Other knowledges We do as well possess, not a single letter of which We can disclose, nor do We find humanity able to hear even the barest reference to their meaning. Thus have We informed you of the knowledge of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Were We to find worthy vessels, We would deposit within them the treasures of hidden meanings and impart unto them a knowledge, one letter of which would encompass all created things. (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)

November 16

Disencumber yourselves of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, A Chase and Holy Life )

November 15

Say: He it is Who is the Manifestation of Him Who is the Unknowable, the Invisible of the Invisibles, could ye but perceive it. He it is Who hath laid bare before you the hidden and treasured Gem, were ye to seek it. He it is Who is the one Beloved of all things, whether of the past or of the future. Would that ye might set your hearts and hopes upon Him! (Baha'u'llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah’; The Baha’i World 1998-1999)