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’)
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“Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide.” (Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Kitáb-i-Aqdas’)
October 5
Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! This is Thy servant who hath
quaffed from the hands of Thy grace the wine of Thy tender mercy, and tasted of
the savor of Thy love in Thy days. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by
Baha’u’llah’)
October 4
None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made
manifest, as Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others
among the more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the intervening
period between the Revelations of Moses and Muhammad, ever altered the law of
the Qiblih. These Messengers of the Lord of creation have, one and all,
directed their peoples to turn unto the same direction. In the eyes of God, the
ideal King, all the places of the earth are one and the same, excepting that
place which, in the days of His Manifestations, He doth appoint for a
particular purpose. Even as He hath revealed: “The East and West are God’s:
therefore whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God.” [Qur’án 2:115]
Notwithstanding the truth of these facts, why should the Qiblih have been
changed, thus casting such dismay amongst the people, causing the companions of
the Prophet to waver, and throwing so great a confusion into their midst? Yea,
such things as throw consternation into the hearts of all men come to pass only
that each soul may be tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be
known and distinguished from the false. Thus hath He revealed after the breach
amongst the people: “We did not appoint that which Thou wouldst have to be the
Qiblih, but that We might know him who followeth the Apostle from him who
turneth on his heels.” [Qur’án 2:143] “Affrighted asses fleeing from a lion.”
[Qur’án 74:50]
(Baha'u'llah, 'The Kitab-i-Iqan')
(Baha'u'llah, 'The Kitab-i-Iqan')
October 3
God hath imposed a fine on every adulterer and adulteress,
to be paid to the House of Justice: nine mithqáls of gold, to be doubled
if they should repeat the offence. Such is the penalty which He Who is the Lord
of Names hath assigned them in this world; and in the world to come He hath
ordained for them a humiliating torment. Should anyone be afflicted by a sin,
it behoveth him to repent thereof and return unto his Lord. He, verily,
granteth forgiveness unto whomsoever He willeth, and none may question that
which it pleaseth Him to ordain. He is, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the
Almighty, the All-Praised. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 2
We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the
station thereof in the estimation of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty
Throne. 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 Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 1
Erelong shall God raise up, through Thee, those with hands
of indomitable strength and arms of invincible might, who will come forth from
behind the veils, will render the All-Merciful victorious amongst the peoples
of the world, and will raise so mighty a cry as to cause all hearts to tremble
with fear. Thus hath it been decreed in
a Written Tablet. Such shall be the
ascendancy which these souls will evince that consternation and dismay will
seize all the dwellers of the earth. (Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, The Summons
of the Lord of Hosts)
September 30
Regard ye the world as a man’s body, which is afflicted with
divers ailments, and the recovery of which dependeth upon the harmonizing of
all of its component elements. Gather ye around that which We have prescribed
unto you, and walk not in the ways of such as create dissension.
Meditate on the world and the state of its people. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf’)
September 29
O concourse of the faithful! Incline your ears to My Voice,
proclaimed by this Remembrance of God. Verily God hath revealed unto Me that
the Path of the Remembrance which is set forth by Me is, in very truth, the
straight Path of God, and that whoever professeth any religion other than this
upright Faith, will, when called to account on the Day of Judgement, discover
that as recorded in the Book no benefit hath he reaped out of God’s Religion...
(The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of
the Báb)
September 28
Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his
son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been
laid down in the Holy Tablet. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 27
Whenever the faithful hear the verses of this Book being
recited, their eyes will overflow with tears and their hearts will be deeply
touched by Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance for the love they cherish for
God, the All-Praised. He is God, the All-Knowing, the Eternal. They are indeed
the inmates of the all-highest Paradise wherein they will
abide for ever. Verily they will see naught therein save that which hath
proceeded from God, nothing that will lie beyond the compass of their
understanding. There they will meet the believers in Paradise, who will address
them with the words ‘Peace, Peace’ lingering on their lips... (The Báb,
excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
September 26
O SON OF MAN! Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung
for thee the choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and contented
thyself with that which is less good? Return then unto that which is better for
thee in the realm on high. (The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
September 25
He Who is the Dawning-place of God’s Cause hath no partner
in the Most Great Infallibility. He it is Who, in the kingdom of creation, is
the Manifestation of “He doeth whatsoever He willeth”. God hath reserved this
distinction unto His own Self, and ordained for none a share in so sublime and
transcendent a station. This is the Decree of God, concealed ere now within the
veil of impenetrable mystery. We have disclosed it in this Revelation, and have
thereby rent asunder the veils of such as have failed to recognize that which
the Book of God set forth and who were numbered with the heedless.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 24
We school you with the rod of wisdom and laws, like unto the
father who educateth his son, and this for naught but the protection of your
own selves and the elevation of your stations. By My life, were ye to discover
what We have desired for you in revealing Our holy laws, ye would offer up your
very souls for this sacred, this mighty, and most exalted Faith. (Baha’u’llah,
‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 23
He, verily, desireth to see in you the manners of the
inmates of Paradise in His mighty and most sublime Kingdom. Hold ye fast unto
refinement under all conditions, that your eyes may be preserved from beholding
what is repugnant both to your own selves and to the dwellers of Paradise.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 22
Lament not in your hours of trial, neither rejoice therein;
seek ye the Middle Way which is the remembrance of Me in your afflictions and
reflection over that which may befall you in future. Thus informeth you He Who
is the Omniscient, He Who is aware. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 21
Say, O peoples of the world! Do ye dispute with Me about God
by virtue of the names which ye and your fathers have adopted for Him at the
promptings of the Evil One? [Qur’án 7:69; 12:40] God hath indeed sent down this
Book unto Me with truth that ye may be enabled to recognize the true names of
God, inasmuch as ye have strayed in error far from the Truth. Verily We have
taken a covenant from every created thing upon its coming into being concerning
the Remembrance of God, and there shall be none to avert the binding command of
God for the purification of mankind, as ordained in the Book which is written
by the hand of the Báb. (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections
from the Writings of the Báb)
September 20
O ye rich ones on earth! If ye encounter one who is poor,
treat him not disdainfully. Reflect upon that whereof ye were created. Every
one of you was created of a sorry germ. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
September 19
O people of Bahá! Subdue the citadels of men’s hearts with
the swords of wisdom and of utterance. They that dispute, as prompted by their
desires, are indeed wrapped in a palpable veil. Say: The sword of wisdom is
hotter than summer heat, and sharper than blades of steel, if ye do but
understand. Draw it forth in My name and through the power of My might, and
conquer, then, with it the cities of the hearts of them that have secluded
themselves in the stronghold of their corrupt desires. Thus biddeth you the Pen
of the All-Glorious, whilst seated beneath the swords of the wayward. If ye
become aware of a sin committed by another, conceal it, that God may conceal
your own sin. He, verily, is the Concealer, the Lord of grace abounding. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf’)
September 18
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Darkness hath fallen upon
every land, and the forces of mischief have encompassed all the nations.
Through them, however, I perceive the splendors of Thy wisdom, and discern the
brightness of the light of Thy providence.
They that are shut out as by a veil from Thee have imagined that they have the power to put out Thy light, and to quench Thy fire, and to still the winds of Thy grace. Nay, and to this Thy might beareth me witness! Had not every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared oppose us, though the powers of earth and heaven were to be leagued against us. Were I to unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom which are laid bare before me, the reins of Thine enemies would be cleft asunder. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
They that are shut out as by a veil from Thee have imagined that they have the power to put out Thy light, and to quench Thy fire, and to still the winds of Thy grace. Nay, and to this Thy might beareth me witness! Had not every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared oppose us, though the powers of earth and heaven were to be leagued against us. Were I to unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom which are laid bare before me, the reins of Thine enemies would be cleft asunder. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
September 17
When once the seeker hath ascended unto this station, he
will enter the City of Love and Rapture, whereupon the winds of love will blow
and the breezes of the spirit will waft. In this station the seeker is so
overcome by the ecstasies of yearning and the fragrances of longing that he
discerneth not his left from his right, nor doth he distinguish land from sea
or desert from mountain. At every moment he burneth with the fire of longing and
is consumed by the onslaught of separation in this world. He
speedeth through the Párán of love and traverseth the Horeb of rapture. Now he
laugheth, now he weepeth sore; now he reposeth in peace, now he trembleth in
fear. Nothing can alarm him, naught can thwart his purpose, and no law can
restrain him. He standeth ready to obey whatsoever His Lord should please to
decree as to his beginning and his end. With every breath he layeth down his
life and offereth up his soul. He bareth his breast to meet the darts of the
enemy and raiseth his head to greet the sword of destiny; nay rather, he
kisseth the hand of his would-be murderer and surrendereth his all. He yieldeth
up spirit, soul, and body in the path of his Lord, and yet he doeth so by the
leave of his Beloved and not of his own whim and desire. Thou findest him chill
in the fire and dry in the sea, abiding in every land and treading every path.
Whosoever toucheth him in this state will perceive the heat of his love. He
walketh the heights of detachment and traverseth the vale of renunciation. His
eyes are ever expectant to witness the wonders of God’s mercy and eager to
behold the splendours of His beauty. Blessed indeed are they that have attained
unto such a station, for this is the station of the ardent lovers and the
enraptured souls. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’, ‘Javáhiru’l-Asrár’)
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