August 8

Say: Rejoice not in the things ye possess; tonight they are yours, tomorrow others will possess them. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Say: Can ye claim that what ye own is lasting or secure? Nay! By Myself, the All-Merciful, ye cannot, if ye be of them who judge fairly. The days of your life flee away as a breath of wind, and all your pomp and glory shall be folded up as were the pomp and glory of those gone before you. Reflect, O people! What hath become of your bygone days, your lost centuries? Happy the days that have been consecrated to the remembrance of God, and blessed the hours which have been spent in praise of Him Who is the All-Wise. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

August 7

In another sense, by the terms ‘sun’, ‘moon’, and ‘stars’ are meant such laws and teachings as have been established and proclaimed in every Dispensation, such as the laws of prayer and fasting. These have, according to the law of the Qur’án, been regarded, when the beauty of the Prophet Muhammad had passed beyond the veil, as the most fundamental and binding laws of His dispensation. To this testify the texts of the traditions and chronicles, which, on account of their being widely known, need not be referred to here. Nay rather, in every Dispensation the law concerning prayer hath been emphasized and universally enforced. To this testify the recorded traditions ascribed to the lights that have emanated from the Day-star of Truth, the essence of the Prophet Muhammad. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)

August 6

By My life! Neither the pomp of the mighty, nor the wealth of the rich, nor even the ascendancy of the ungodly will endure. All will perish, at a word from Him. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling, the Almighty. What advantage is there in the earthly things which men possess? That which shall profit them, they have utterly neglected. Erelong, they will awake from their slumber, and find themselves unable to obtain that which hath escaped them in the days of their Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised. Did they but know it, they would renounce their all, that their names may be mentioned before His throne. They, verily, are accounted among the dead. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

August 5

By My glory! I will make the infidels to taste, with the hands of My power, retributions unknown of any one except Me, and will waft over the faithful those musk-scented breaths which I have nursed in the midmost heart of My throne; and verily the knowledge of God embraceth all things. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 4

…it is Our wish to disclose unto thee certain stations in the wayfarer’s journey towards his Creator. Perchance all that thine eminence hath desired may be revealed unto thee, that the proof may be made complete and the blessing abundant.

Know thou of a truth that the seeker must, at the beginning of his quest for God, enter the Garden of Search. In this journey it behoveth the wayfarer to detach himself from all save God and to close his eyes to all that is in the heavens and on the earth. There must not linger in his heart either the hate or the love of any soul, to the extent that they would hinder him from attaining the habitation of the celestial Beauty. He must sanctify his soul from the veils of glory and refrain from boasting of such worldly vanities, outward knowledge, or other gifts as God may have bestowed upon him. He must search after the truth to the utmost of his ability and exertion, that God may guide him in the paths of His favour and the ways of His mercy. For He, verily, is the best of helpers unto His servants. He saith, and He verily speaketh the truth: “Whoso maketh efforts for Us, in Our ways shall We assuredly guide him.” [ Qur’án 29:69] And furthermore: “Fear God and God will give you knowledge.” (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)

August 3

O concourse of light! By the righteousness of God, We speak not according to selfish desire, nor hath a single letter of this Book been revealed save by the leave of God, the Sovereign Truth. Fear ye God and entertain no doubts regarding His Cause, for verily, the Mystery of this Gate is shrouded in the mystic utterances of His Writ and hath been written beyond the impenetrable veil of concealment by the hand of God, the Lord of the visible and the invisible. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 2

Out of utter nothingness, O great and omnipotent Master, Thou hast, through the celestial potency of Thy might, brought me forth and raised me up to proclaim this Revelation. I have made none other but Thee my trust; I have clung to no will but Thy Will. Thou art, in truth, the All-Sufficing and behind Thee standeth the true God, He Who overshadoweth all things. Indeed sufficient unto Me is God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Sustainer. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

August 1

Indeed God hath created everywhere around this Gate oceans of divine elixir, tinged crimson with the essence of existence and vitalized through the animating power of the desired fruit; and for them God hath provided Arks of ruby, tender, crimson-coloured, wherein none shall sail but the people of Bahá, by the leave of God, the Most Exalted; and verily He is the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

July 31

Know thou that the passages that We have called “ambiguous” appear as such only in the eyes of them that have failed to soar above the horizon of guidance and to reach the heights of knowledge in the retreats of grace. For otherwise, unto them that have recognized the Repositories of divine Revelation and beheld through His inspiration the mysteries of divine authority, all the verses of God are perspicuous and all His allusions are clear. Such men discern the inner mysteries that have been clothed in the garment of words as clearly as ye perceive the heat of the sun or the wetness of water, nay even more distinctly. Immeasurably exalted is God above our praise of His loved ones, and beyond their praise of Him! (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)

July 30

Say:  O people!  This is the Hand of God, which hath ever been above your own hands, could ye but understand.  Within its grasp We have ordained all the good of the heavens and the earth, such that no good shall be made manifest but that it proceedeth therefrom.  Thus have We made it the source and treasury of all good both aforetime and hereafter.  Say:  The rivers of divine wisdom and utterance which flowed through the Tablets of God are joined to this Most Great Ocean, could ye but perceive it, and whatever hath been set forth in His Books hath attained its final consummation in this most exalted Word—a Word shining above the horizon of the Will of the All-Glorious in this Revelation which hath filled with delight all things seen and unseen. (Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)

July 29

O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love. Sufficient witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient of Days. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

July 28

O servants of God! Be ye patient, for, God grant, He Who is the sovereign Truth will suddenly appear amongst you, invested with the power of the mighty Word, and ye shall then be confounded by the Truth itself, and ye shall have no power to ward it off;  [Qur’án 21:40] and verily I am a witness over all mankind. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

July 27

O peoples of the earth! By the righteousness of God, this Book hath, through the potency of the sovereign Truth, pervaded the earth and the heaven with the mighty Word of God concerning Him Who is the supreme Testimony, the Expected Qá’im, and verily God hath knowledge of all things. This divinely-inspired Book hath firmly established His Proof for all those who are in the East and in the West, hence beware lest ye utter aught but the truth regarding God, for I swear by your Lord that this supreme Proof of Mine beareth witness unto all things... (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

July 26

We all, verily, worship God.
We all, verily, bow down before God.
We all, verily, are devoted unto God.
We all, verily, give praise unto God.
We all, verily, yield thanks unto God.
We all, verily, are patient in God. (Baha’u’llah, excerpt from ‘Prayer for the Dead’, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

July 25

O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Beauty Whom Thou hast revealed and made manifest in truth, He Whom Thou hast sent to all the inhabitants of the world. Among the Highest Concourse Thou hast called Him the Most Great Announcement, and among the people of the world Thou named Him 'Ali[the Báb]. I beseech Thee moreover by His next appearance in the vesture of Abha, to deprive me not of the fragrances of the glory of Thy mercy and suffer me not to be far from the shore of the bounty of Thy nearness and beneficence. Thou verily rulest over all things. (Baha’u’llah, provisional translation, approved by the Universal House of Justice for inclusion in the book ‘Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees’)

July 24

... calamities have always been and will continue to be the lot of God's chosen ones. Therefore, blessed is the one who is satisfied with and thankful for all that hath visited him. For nothing from God touches a person except what is best for him of all that hath been created between the heavens and the earth. Since people are unaware of this mystery and its secrets, they are saddened when calamity strikes. (Baha’u’llah, provisional translation, approved by the Universal House of Justice for inclusion in the book ‘Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees’)

July 23

Consider: He hath declared knowledge to consist of twenty and seven letters, and regarded all the prophets, from Adam even unto Muhammad, the ‘seal,’ as expounders of only two letters thereof. He also saith that the Qá’im will reveal all the remaining twenty and five letters. Behold from this utterance how great and lofty is His station! His rank excelleth that of all the prophets, and His revelation transcendeth the comprehension and understanding of all their chosen ones. A revelation, of which the prophets of God, His saints and chosen ones have either not been informed or which, in pursuance of God’s inscrutable decree, they have not disclosed—such a revelation, these vile and villainous people have sought to measure with their own deficient minds, their own deficient learning and understanding. (Baha’u’llah, the Kitab-i-Iqan; also quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

July 22

Knowledge is twenty and seven letters. All that the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof. No man thus far hath known more than these two letters. But when the Qá’im shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters to be made manifest. (An Islamic tradition quoted by Baha’u’llah in the Kitab-i-Iqan; also quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

July 21

O ye peoples of the world! Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds ye have committed have been blotted from My sight. By My Beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hiddend Words of Baha’u’llah’; ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’; quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

July 20

Say:  O people!  Can ye ever hope to escape the sovereign power of your Lord?  By the righteousness of God!  No refuge will ye find in this day, and no one to protect you, save those upon whom God hath bestowed the favour of His mercy.  He, verily, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.  Say:  O people!  Forsake all that ye possess, and enter beneath the shadow of your Lord, the All-Merciful.  Better is this for you than all your works of the past and of the future.  Fear ye God, and deprive not yourselves of the sweet savours of the days of the Lord of all names and attributes.  Take heed lest ye alter or pervert the text of the Word of God.  Walk ye in the fear of God, and be numbered with the righteous. (Baha’u’llah, Súriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)