He, for Whose sake the world was called into being, hath
been imprisoned in the most desolate of cities (Akká), by reason of that which
the hands of the wayward have wrought. From the horizon of His prison-city He
summoneth mankind unto the Dayspring of God, the Exalted, the Great. Exultest
thou over the treasures thou dost possess, knowing they shall perish? Rejoicest
thou in that thou rulest a span of earth, when the whole world, in the
estimation of the people of Bahá, is worth as much as the black in the eye of a
dead ant? Abandon it unto such as have set their affections upon it, and turn
thou unto Him Who is the Desire of the world. Whither are gone the proud and
their palaces? Gaze thou into their tombs, that thou mayest profit by this
example, inasmuch as We made it a lesson unto every beholder. Were the breezes
of Revelation to seize thee, thou wouldst flee the world, and turn unto the
Kingdom, and wouldst expend all thou possessest, that thou mayest draw nigh
unto this sublime Vision. (Baha’u’llah, excerpt from a Tablet to Napoleon III; quoted by Baha’u’llah in the ‘Epistle
to the Son of the Wolf’; “The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
To use the Search Feature on mobile devices: scroll down to the very bottom of the page, click on View Web Version. The search box will appear on the top right corner of the screen.
“Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide.” (Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Kitáb-i-Aqdas’)
October 16
The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by
day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its
plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity
will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly
appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then and only then
will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble
its melody. (Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated November
28, 1931; ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah)
October 15
The world is encircled with calamities. Even if at times
some good may be evident, it is inevitable that a great calamity followeth --
and yet no one on earth hath perceived its origin. (Baha’u’llah, quoted by the
Universal House of Justice in a letter dated 10 February 1980; Messaged from
the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)
October 14
Wert thou to address a letter to Him Whom God shall make
manifest, begging that it be delivered unto His presence, perchance He would
graciously forgive thee and, at His behest, turn thy negation into affirmation.
He is in truth the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous, He Whose grace is
infinite. Otherwise, no way shalt thou find open unto thee and no benefit shalt
thou gain from the deeds thou hast wrought, by reason of thy failure to respond
‘yea, here am I’. Verily We have reduced thee and thy works to naught, as
though thou hadst never come into existence nor ever been of them that do good
works, that this may serve as a lesson for those unto whom the Bayán is given,
that they may take good heed when the sacred Writings of Him Whom God shall
make manifest will reach them and perchance, by pondering upon them, may be
enabled to save their own souls. (The Báb, from a Tablet addressed to Sulayman,
one of the Muslim divines in the land of Masqat, ‘Selections from the Writings
of the Báb’)
October 13
Hadst thou observed the contents of the Epistle We sent unto
thee, it would have been far more profitable to thee than worshipping thy Lord
from the beginning that hath no beginning until this day, and indeed more
meritorious than proving thyself wholly devoted in thine acts of worship. And
hadst thou attained the presence of thy Lord in this land, and been of them
that truly believe that the Face of God is beheld in the person of the Primal
Point, it would have been far more advantageous than prostrating thyself in
adoration from the beginning that hath no beginning until the present time.... (The
Báb, from a Tablet addressed to Sulayman, one of the Muslim divines in the land
of Masqat, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb')
October 12
The cruelties inflicted by My oppressors have bowed Me down,
and turned My hair white. Shouldst thou present thyself before My throne, thou
wouldst fail to recognize the Ancient Beauty, for the freshness of His
countenance is altered and its brightness hath faded, by reason of the
oppression of the infidels. I swear by God! His heart, His soul, and His vitals
are melted! (Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day Is
Come’)
October 11
How veiled are ye, O My creatures ...who, without any right,
have consigned Him unto a mountain [Mákú], not one of whose inhabitants is
worthy of mention.... With Him, which is with Me, there is no one except him
who is one of the Letters of the Living of My Book. In His presence, which is
My Presence, there is not at night even a lighted lamp! And yet, in places [of
worship] which in varying degrees reach out unto Him, unnumbered lamps are
shining! All that is on earth hath been created for Him, and all partake with
delight of His benefits, and yet they are so veiled from Him as to refuse Him
even a lamp! (The Báb, excerpt from the Bayan, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The
Promised Day Is Come’)
October 10
Beware lest ye be hindered by the veils of glory from
partaking of the crystal waters of this living Fountain. Seize ye the chalice
of salvation at this dawntide in the name of Him Who causeth the day to break,
and drink your fill in praise of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Incomparable.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 9
The people, during the absence of the Báb, re-enacted the
episode of the Calf by setting up a blaring figure which embodied animal
features in human form [Qur’án 7:146; 20:90] ...
Whenever the people ask Thee of the appointed Hour say:
Verily the knowledge of it is only with My Lord, [Qur’án 7:186] Who is the
Knower of the unseen. There is none other God but Him—He Who hath created you
from a single soul, [Qur’án 4:1] and I have no control over what profiteth Me
or harmeth Me, but as My Lord pleaseth. [Qur’án 10:50] Indeed God is
Self-Sufficient and He, My Lord, standeth supreme over all things. (The Báb,
excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
October 8
We have made it lawful for you to listen to music and
singing. Take heed, however, lest listening thereto should cause you to
overstep the bounds of propriety and dignity. Let your joy be the joy born of
My Most Great Name, a Name that bringeth rapture to the heart, and filleth with
ecstasy the minds of all who have drawn nigh unto God. We, verily, have made
music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto
the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings to self and passion. Truly,
We are loath to see you numbered with the foolish. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 7
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. I beseech Thee … to supply him with the good things Thou dost possess,
and to raise him up to such heights that he will regard the world even as a
shadow that vanisheth swifter than the twinkling of an eye. Keep him safe also,
O my God, by the power of Thine immeasurable majesty, from all that Thou
abhorrest. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
October 6
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’)
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’)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)