April 10

It is indeed in Our power to take up a handful of dust and to adorn it with the vesture of Our Names. This, however, would be but a sign of our favour, and not an indication of any merit it may have inherently possessed. Thus hath it been revealed in truth by Him Who is the Sovereign Revealer, the All-Knowing. Consider the Black Stone,[1] which God hath made a point whereunto all men turn in adoration.  Hath this bounty been conferred upon it by virtue of its innate excellence?  Nay, by Mine own Self! Or doth such distinction stem from its intrinsic worth? Nay, by Mine own Being, Whose Essence even the wisest and most discerning of men have failed to grasp! 

(Baha'u'llah, ‘Suriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)

[1] A small rock situated low in the eastern corner of the Kaaba

April 9

The word of God which the Supreme Pen hath recorded on the fourth leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is the following: O people of God! Beseech ye the True One — glorified be His Name—that He may graciously shield the manifestations of dominion and power from the suggestions of self and desire and shed the radiance of justice and guidance upon them.

His Majesty Muhammad Sháh, despite the excellence of his rank, committed two heinous deeds. One was the order to banish the Lord of the Realms of Grace and Bounty, the Primal Point; and the other, the murder of the Prince of the City of Statesmanship and Literary Accomplishment. [1] 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

[1] Mírzá Abu’l-Qásim Faráhání, the Qá’im Maqám, a distinguished poet and scholar during the reign of Fath ‘Alí Sháh. He was a friend of Mírzá Buzurg, father of Bahá’u’lláh. Qá’im Maqám became Prime Minister of Persia in 1821, but in 1835 he was put to death by order of Muhammad Sháh, at the instigation of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí.

April 8

…whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs that bear eloquent testimony to the revelation of that most great Light. Methinks, but for the potency of that revelation, no being could ever exist. How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop! To a supreme degree is this true of man, who, among all created things, hath been invested with the robe of such gifts, and hath been singled out for the glory of such distinction. For in him are potentially revealed all the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other created being hath excelled or surpassed. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)

April 7

In this day no less than seventy thousand people make pilgrimage every year to the holy House of God in compliance with the bidding of the Apostle of God; while He Himself Who ordained this ordinance took refuge for seven years in the mountains of Mecca. [1] And this notwithstanding that the One Who enjoined this commandment is far greater than the commandment itself. Hence all this people who at this time go on pilgrimage do not do so with true understanding, otherwise in this Day of His Return which is mightier than His former Dispensation, they would have followed His commandment. But now behold what hath happened. People who profess belief in His former religion, who in the daytime and in the night season bow down in worship in His Name, have assigned Him to a dwelling place in a mountain, while each one of them would regard attaining recognition of Him as an honour. 

(The Báb, excerpt from Persian Bayan; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

[1] For no less than seven years no one acknowledged His Teachings except Imám ‘Ali, His son-in-law.

April 6

O ye the dawning-places of knowledge! Beware that ye suffer not yourselves to become changed, for as ye change, most men will, likewise, change. This, verily, is an injustice unto yourselves and unto others. Unto this beareth witness every man of discernment and insight. Ye are even as a spring. If it be changed, so will the streams that branch out from it be changed.  Fear God, and be numbered with the godly. In like manner, if the heart of man be corrupted, his limbs will also be corrupted. And similarly, if the root of a tree be corrupted, its branches, and its offshoots, and its leaves, and its fruits, will be corrupted. Thus have We set forth similitudes for your instruction, that perchance ye may not be debarred by the things ye possess from attaining unto that which hath been destined for you by Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful. 

(Baha'u'llah, ‘Suriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)

April 5

The word of God which the Supreme Pen hath recorded on the third leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is this: O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself. Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

April 4

By the righteousness of God! The world, its vanities and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay even more contemptible than, dust and ashes. Would that the hearts of men could comprehend it. Wash yourselves thoroughly, O people of Bahá, from the defilement of the world, and of all that pertaineth unto it. God Himself beareth Me witness! The things of the earth ill beseem you. Cast them away unto such as may desire them, and fasten your eyes upon this most holy and effulgent Vision. 

(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

April 3

Hear thou Me once again. God is well-pleased with thee [1], as a token of His grace and a sign of His mercy. He hath made thee to be His companion in every one of His worlds, and hath nourished thee with His meeting and presence, so long as His Name, and His Remembrance, and His Kingdom, and His Empire shall endure. Happy is the handmaid that hath mentioned thee, and sought thy good-pleasure, and humbled herself before thee, and held fast unto the cord of thy love. Woe betide him that denieth thy exalted station, and the things ordained for thee from God, the Lord of all names, and him that hath turned away from thee, and rejected thy station before God, the Lord of the mighty throne.  

(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated December 21, 1939; ‘Messages to America’)

[1] Navváb, the wife of Baha’u’llah

April 2

During the days I lay in the prison of Tihrán, though the galling weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire. At such moments My tongue recited what no man could bear to hear. 

(Baha’u’llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated June 15, 1946; ‘Messages to America’)

April 1

The Bayán is, from beginning to end, the repository of all of His [Baha’u’llah’s] attributes, and the treasury of both His fire and His light. 

(The Báb, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)

March 31

The soul of man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance… 

(Baha'u'llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah’)

(More references about human soul)

March 30

If thou attainest unto His [Baha’u’llah’s] Revelation and obeyest Him, thou wilt have revealed the fruit of the Bayán; if not, thou art unworthy of mention before God. 

(The Báb, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)

March 29

…in the forthcoming Revelation it is He Who is the Remembrance of God, whereas the devotions which thou art offering at present have been prescribed by the Point of the Bayán, while He Who will shine resplendent in the Day of Resurrection is the Revelation of the inner reality enshrined in the Point of the Bayán — a Revelation more potent, immeasurably more potent, than the one which hath preceded it. 

(The Báb, excerpt from Persian Bayan; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

March 28

Salutation and praise rest upon them that have not been kept back by any transitory thing whatever, nor have been alarmed by the violent commotions provoked by the people of the earth-- such people as are immersed in the pursuit of earthly vanities and have been deluded by the gay livery of the world, in such wise that they have cast the Cause of God behind their backs. The day is fast approaching when He will have rolled up their domain and spread out a new one in its spread. Verily, He is the One, the Peerless. the Powerful, the Invincible, the Almighty. 

(Baha’u’llah, compilation: ‘Fire and Light’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The Baha’i World 1979-1983)

March 27

With the utmost unity, and in a spirit of perfect fellowship, exert yourselves, that ye may be enabled to achieve that which beseemeth this Day of God. Verily I say, strife and dissension, and whatsoever the mind of man abhorreth are entirely unworthy of his station. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

March 26

O people of the Bayán! act not as the people of the Qur’án have acted, for if ye do so, the fruits of your night will come to naught. 

(The Báb, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)

March 25

The Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph had, in the first year of this Revelation, been widely distributed. Nevertheless, when the people realized that fellow supporters were not forthcoming they hesitated to accept it; while it never occurred to them that the very Qur’án whereunto unnumbered souls bear fealty today, was revealed in the midmost heart of the Arab world, yet to outward seeming for no less than seven years no one acknowledged its truth except the Commander of the Faithful [Imám ‘Alí]—may the peace of God rest upon him—who, in response to the conclusive proofs advanced by God’s supreme Testimony, recognized the Truth and did not fix his eyes on others. 

(The Báb, excerpt from Persian Bayan; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

March 24

Should anyone acquire one hundred mithqáls of gold, nineteen mithqáls thereof are God’s and to be rendered unto Him, the Fashioner of earth and heaven. Take heed, O people, lest ye deprive yourselves of so great a bounty. This We have commanded you, though We are well able to dispense with you and with all who are in the heavens and on earth; in it there are benefits and wisdoms beyond the ken of anyone but God, the Omniscient, the All-Informed. Say: By this means He hath desired to purify what ye possess and to enable you to draw nigh unto such stations as none can comprehend save those whom God hath willed. He, in truth, is the Beneficent, the Gracious, the Bountiful. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

March 23

The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of God, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved. Let not thy tongue pay lip service in praise of God while thy heart be not attuned to the exalted Summit of Glory, and the Focal Point of communion. 

(The Báb, excerpt from Persian Bayan; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

March 22

Dear friend! Now when the light of God’s everlasting Morn is breaking; when the radiance of His holy words: “God is the light of the heavens and of the earth” [Qur’án 24:35] is shedding illumination upon all mankind; when the inviolability of His tabernacle is being proclaimed by His sacred utterance: “God hath willed to perfect His light;” [Qur’án 9:33] and the Hand of omnipotence, bearing His testimony: “In His grasp He holdeth the kingdom of all things,” is being outstretched unto all the peoples and kindreds of the earth; it behooveth us to gird up the loins of endeavour, that haply, by the grace and bounty of God, we may enter the celestial City: “Verily, we are God’s,” and abide within the exalted habitation: “And unto Him we do return.” It is incumbent upon thee, by the permission of God, to cleanse the eye of thine heart from the things of the world, that thou mayest realize the infinitude of divine knowledge, and mayest behold Truth so clearly that thou wilt need no proof to demonstrate His reality, nor any evidence to bear witness unto His testimony. 

(Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)