March 8
Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! These are the days whereon
Thou hast bidden all men to observe the fast, that through it they may purify
their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee, and that
out of their hearts may ascend that which will be worthy of the court of Thy
majesty and may well beseem the seat of the revelation of Thy oneness. Grant, O
my Lord, that this fast may become a river of life-giving waters and may yield
the virtue wherewith Thou hast endowed it. Cleanse Thou by its means the hearts
of Thy servants whom the evils of the world have failed to hinder from turning
towards Thine all-glorious Name, and who have remained unmoved by the noise and
tumult of such as have repudiated Thy most resplendent signs which have
accompanied the advent of Thy Manifestation Whom Thou hast invested with Thy
sovereignty, Thy power, Thy majesty and glory. These are the servants who, as
soon as Thy call reached them, hastened in the direction of Thy mercy and were not kept back from Thee by the changes and chances of
this world or by any human limitations. (Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations
of Baha’u’llah’)
March 7
Lauded be Thy name, O my God! This is the hour when Thou
hast unlocked the doors of Thy bounty before the faces of Thy creatures, and
opened wide the portals of Thy tender mercy unto all the dwellers of Thine
earth. I beseech Thee, by all them whose blood was shed in Thy path, who, in
their yearning over Thee, rid themselves from all attachment to any of Thy
creatures, and who were so carried away by the sweet savors of Thine
inspiration that every single member of their bodies intoned Thy praise and
vibrated to Thy remembrance, not to withhold from us the things Thou hast
irrevocably ordained in this Revelation—a Revelation the potency of which hath
caused every tree to cry out what the Burning Bush had aforetime proclaimed
unto Moses, Who conversed with Thee, a Revelation that hath enabled every least
pebble to resound again with Thy praise, as the stones glorified Thee in the
days of Muhammad, Thy Friend. (Baha’u’llah, 'Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
March 6
Since Thou hast adorned them, O my Lord, with the ornament of the fast prescribed by Thee, do Thou adorn them also with the ornament of Thine acceptance, through Thy grace and bountiful favor. For the doings of men are all dependent upon Thy good-pleasure, and are conditioned by Thy behest. Shouldst Thou regard him who hath broken the fast as one who hath observed it, such a man would be reckoned among them who from eternity had been keeping the fast. And shouldst Thou decree that he who hath observed the fast hath broken it, that person would be numbered with such as have caused the Robe of Thy Revelation to be stained with dust, and been far removed from the crystal waters of this living Fountain. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
March 5
O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence
my drink, and Thy pleasure my hope, and praise of Thee my action, and
remembrance of Thee my companion, and the power of Thy sovereignty my succorer,
and Thy habitation my home, and my dwelling-place the seat Thou hast sanctified
from the limitations imposed upon them who are shut out as by a veil from Thee.
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
March 4
It behoveth thee to consecrate thyself to the Will of God.
Whatsoever hath been revealed in His Tablets is but a reflection of His Will.
So complete must be thy consecration, that every trace of worldly desire will
be washed from thine heart. This is the meaning of true unity. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
March 3
… as the sun and moon constitute the brightest and most
prominent luminaries in the heavens, similarly in the heaven of the religion of
God two shining orbs have been ordained -- fasting and prayer … fasting is its
sun, prayer, its moon. (Baha'u'llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
March 2
These are, O my Lord, the days in which Thou hast bidden Thy
servants to observe the fast. Blessed is he that observeth the fast wholly for
Thy sake and with absolute detachment from all things except Thee. Assist me
and assist them, O my Lord, to obey Thee and to keep Thy precepts. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
March 1
Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that haply thou mayest guide thy neighbor to the law of God, the Most Merciful. Such an act, verily, excelleth all other acts in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Such must be thy steadfastness in the Cause of God, that no earthly thing whatsoever will have the power to deter thee from thy duty. Though the powers of earth be leagued against thee, though all men dispute with thee, thou must remain unshaken. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’; compilation on ‘Unlocking the Power of Action”, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
February 28
O Shaykh, O thou who hast surrendered thy will
to God! By self-surrender and perpetual union with God is meant that men should
merge their will wholly in the Will of God, and regard their desires as utter
nothingness beside His Purpose. Whatsoever the Creator commandeth His creatures
to observe, the same must they diligently, and with the utmost joy and
eagerness, arise and fulfil. They should in no wise allow their fancy to
obscure their judgment, neither should they regard their own imaginings as the
voice of the Eternal. In the Prayer of Fasting We have revealed: “Should Thy
Will decree that out of Thy mouth these words proceed and be addressed unto
them, ‘Observe, for My Beauty’s sake, the fast, O people, and set no limit to
its duration,’ I swear by the majesty of Thy glory, that every one of them will
faithfully observe it, will abstain from whatsoever will violate Thy law, and
will continue to do so until they yield up their souls unto Thee.” In this
consisteth the complete surrender of one’s will to the
Will of God. Meditate on this, that thou mayest drink in the waters of
everlasting life which flow through the words of the Lord of all mankind, and
mayest testify that the one true God hath ever been immeasurably exalted above
His creatures. He, verily, is the Incomparable, the Ever-Abiding, the
Omniscient, the All-Wise. The station of absolute self-surrender transcendeth, and
will ever remain exalted above, every other station. (Baha’u’llah ‘Gleanings
from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
February 27
O SON OF MAN! If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and
if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me
and I may eternally live in thee. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
February 26
O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have
enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have
designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance
shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of
the beginning and the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed
before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and
days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been
bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of
Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their
kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to
hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when
they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them
enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all
mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck,
are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His
grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 25
It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form
of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted
your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One.
Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks
unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth.
Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it
been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the day-star of wisdom and
utterance shineth resplendent. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed
after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 24
The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice
be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bahá, and
should it exceed this number it doth not matter. They should consider themselves
as entering the Court of the presence of God, the Exalted, the Most High, and
as beholding Him Who is the Unseen. (Baha’u’llah. ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
February 23
O Tongue of this Temple! We, verily, have created thee through Our name, the All-Merciful, have taught thee whatsoever had remained concealed in the Bayán, and have bestowed upon thee the power of utterance, that thou mayest make mention of Mine exalted Self amidst My creatures. Proclaim, then, this wondrous and mighty Remembrance, and fear not the manifestations of the Evil One. Thou wert called into being for this very purpose by virtue of My transcendent and all-compelling command. Through thee have We unloosed the Tongue of Utterance to expound all that hath been, and We shall again, by My sovereign power, unloose it to speak of that which is yet to come. Erelong shall We bring into being through thee eloquent tongues that will praise and extol Me amongst the Concourse on high and amidst the peoples of the world. Thus have the verses of God been revealed, and thus hath it been decreed by the Lord of all names and attributes. Thy Lord, verily, is the True One, the Knower of things unseen. Nothing whatsoever shall prevent these tongues from magnifying their Creator. Through them, all created things shall arise to glorify the Lord of names and to bear witness that there is none other God save Me, the All-Powerful, the Most-Glorious, the Best-Beloved. Nor shall those who make mention of Me speak aught unless they be inspired by this Tongue from its lofty station. Few, however, are they who understand! No tongue is there that speaketh not the praises of its Lord and maketh not mention of His Name. Amongst the people, however, are those who understand and utter praises, and those who utter praises, yet understand not. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
February 22
O children of men! If ye believe in the one True God, follow
Me, this Most Great Remembrance of God sent forth by your Lord, that He may
graciously forgive you your sins. Verily He is forgiving and compassionate
toward the concourse of the faithful. We, of a truth, choose the Messengers
through the potency of Our Word, and We exalt Their offspring, some over
others, through the Great Remembrance of God as decreed in the Book and
concealed therein... (The Báb, from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings
of the Báb)
February 21
As to the words—“Immediately after the oppression of those
days”[1]—they refer to the time when men shall become oppressed and afflicted,
the time when the lingering traces of the Sun of Truth and the fruit of the
Tree of knowledge and wisdom will have vanished from the midst of men, when the
reins of mankind will have fallen into the grasp of the foolish and ignorant,
when the portals of divine unity and understanding—the essential and highest
purpose in creation—will have been closed, when certain knowledge will have
given way to idle fancy, and corruption will have usurped the station of
righteousness. Such a condition as this is witnessed in this day when the reins
of every community have fallen into the grasp of foolish leaders, who lead
after their own whims and desire. On their tongue the mention of God hath
become an empty name; in their midst His holy Word a dead letter. Such is the
sway of their desires, that the lamp of conscience and reason hath been
quenched in their hearts, and this although the fingers of divine power have
unlocked the portals of the knowledge of God, and the light of divine knowledge
and heavenly grace hath illumined and inspired the essence of all created
things, in such wise that in each and every thing a door of knowledge hath been
opened, and within every atom traces of the sun hath been made manifest. And
yet, in spite of all these manifold revelations of divine knowledge, which have
encompassed the world, they still vainly imagine the door of knowledge to be
closed, and the showers of mercy to be stilled. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Kitab-i-Iqan’)
[1] Matthew 24:29-31
[1] Matthew 24:29-31
February 20
... know
that the Christian and Jewish peoples have not grasped the intent of the words
of God and the promises He hath made to them in His Book, and have therefore
denied His Cause, turned aside from His Prophets, and rejected His proofs. Had
they but fixed their gaze upon the testimony of God itself, had they refused to
follow in the footsteps of the abject and foolish among their leaders and
divines, they would doubtless have attained to the repository of guidance and
the treasury of virtue, and quaffed from the crystal waters of life eternal in
the city of the All-Merciful, in the garden of the All-Glorious, and within the
inner reality of His paradise. But as they have refused to see with the eyes
wherewith God hath endowed them, and desired things other than that which He in
His mercy had desired for them, they have strayed far from the retreats of
nearness, have been deprived of the living waters of reunion and the wellspring
of His grace, and have lain as dead within the shrouds of their own selves. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
February 19
O friend! As hearing ears are scarce to find, the pen hath
for some time remained silent in its quarters. In truth, matters have come to
such a pass that silence hath taken precedence over utterance and hath come to
be regarded as preferable. Say: O people! These words are being uttered in due
measure, that the newly born may thrive and the tender shoot flourish. Milk
should be given in suitable proportion, that the children
of the world may attain to the station of maturity and abide in the court of
oneness. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to
Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
February 18
February 17
Ye have been forbidden to commit murder or adultery, or to
engage in backbiting or calumny; shun ye, then, what hath been prohibited in
the holy Books and Tablets. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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