O Son of Being! Make
mention of Me on My earth, that in My heaven I may remember thee, thus shall
Mine eyes and thine be solaced.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of
Baha’u’llah’)
December 24
O servants! Pleasant is the utterance
of the Friend: Where is the soul who will taste its sweetness, and where is the
ear that will hearken unto it? Well is it with him who, in this day, communeth
with the Friend and in His path renounceth and forsaketh all save Him, that he
may behold a new world and gain admittance to the everlasting paradise.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle of Unity’)
December 23
O servants! Ye are even as saplings in
a garden, which are near to perishing for want of water. Wherefore, revive your
souls with the heavenly water that is raining down from the clouds of divine
bounty. Words must be followed by deeds. Whoso accepteth the words of the
Friend is in truth a man of deeds; otherwise a dead carcass is verily of
greater worth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle
of Unity’)
December 22
O thou who art
mentioned in these Tablets! Know thou that he who embarketh upon this journey [the
city of the Garden of Wonderment] will marvel at the signs of the power of God
and the wondrous evidences of His handiwork. Bewilderment will seize him from
every side, even as hath been attested by that Essence of immortality from the
Concourse on high: “Increase My wonder and amazement at Thee, O God!” [From a
Hadíth] Well hath it been said:
I knew not what
amazement was
Until I made Thy love my cause.
O how amazing would it be
If I were not amazed by Thee! [From the Díván of Ibn-i-Fárid]
O how amazing would it be
If I were not amazed by Thee! [From the Díván of Ibn-i-Fárid]
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’)
December 21
Were I to recount
unto thine eminence the dire adversities that have befallen Me, thou wouldst be
so grieved as to forsake the mention of all things and to forget thyself and
all that the Lord hath created on earth. But as this is not Our wish, I have
concealed the revelation of the divine decree in the heart of Bahá and veiled
it from the eyes of all that move in the realm of creation, that it may lay hid
within the tabernacle of the Unseen until such time as God will have revealed
its secret. “Naught in the heavens or on the earth can escape His knowledge,
and He, verily, perceiveth all things.” [cf. Qur’án 10:61; 34:3]
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’)
December 20
That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend of the
All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it. The Voice of God
commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in
the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated
unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for
the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth. This same honor,
Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and
glory, to confer upon Him. For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a
sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
December 19
Contemplate with thine inward eye the chain of successive
Revelations that hath linked the Manifestation of Adam with that of the Báb. I
testify before God that each one of these Manifestations hath been sent down
through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose, that each hath been the
bearer of a specific Message, that each hath been entrusted with a
divinely-revealed Book and been commissioned to unravel the mysteries of a
mighty Tablet. The measure of the Revelation with which every one of them hath
been identified had been definitely fore-ordained. This, verily, is a token of
Our favor unto them, if ye be of those that comprehend this truth.... And when
this process of progressive Revelation culminated in the stage at which His
peerless, His most sacred, and exalted Countenance was to be unveiled to men’s
eyes, He chose to hide His own Self behind a thousand veils, lest profane and
mortal eyes discover His glory. This He did at a time when the signs and tokens
of a divinely-appointed Revelation were being showered upon Him—signs and
tokens which none can reckon except the Lord, your God, the Lord of all worlds.
And when the set time of concealment was fulfilled, We sent forth, whilst still
wrapt within a myriad veils, an infinitesimal glimmer of the effulgent Glory
enveloping the Face of the Youth, and lo, the entire company of the dwellers of
the Realms above were seized with violent commotion and the favored of God fell
down in adoration before Him. He hath, verily, manifested a glory such as none
in the whole creation hath witnessed, inasmuch as He hath arisen to proclaim in
person His Cause unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
December 18
From the beginning
that hath no beginning all men have bowed in adoration before Him Whom God
shall make manifest and will continue to do so until the end that hath no end.
How strange then that at the time of His appearance ye should pay homage by day
and night unto that which the Point of the Bayán hath enjoined upon you and yet
fail to worship Him Whom God shall make manifest.
- The Báb (‘Selections from
the Writings of the Báb)
December 17
He — glorified be
His mention — resembleth the sun. Were unnumbered mirrors to be placed before
it, each would, according to its capacity, reflect the splendour of that sun,
and were none to be placed before it, it would still continue to rise and set,
and the mirrors alone would be veiled from its light. I, verily, have not
fallen short of My duty to admonish that people, and to devise means whereby
they may turn towards God, their Lord, and believe in God, their Creator. If,
on the day of His Revelation, all that are on earth bear Him allegiance, Mine
inmost being will rejoice, inasmuch as all will have attained the summit of
their existence, and will have been brought face to face with their Beloved,
and will have recognized, to the fullest extent attainable in the world of
being, the splendour of Him Who is the Desire of their hearts. If not, My soul
will indeed be saddened. I truly have nurtured all things for this purpose.
How, then, can anyone be veiled from Him? For this have I called upon God, and
will continue to call upon Him. He, verily, is nigh, ready to answer.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
December 16
Behold, all the
people are imprisoned within the tomb of self, and lie buried beneath the
nethermost depths of worldly desire! Wert thou to attain to but a dewdrop of
the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true
life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life of
the flesh is common to both men and animals, whereas the life of the spirit is
possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the ocean of faith
and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this
existence is crowned by immortality. Even as it hath been said: “He who is a
true believer liveth both in this world and in the world to come.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
December 15
In another passage
of the Gospel it is written: “And it came to pass that on a certain day the
father of one of the disciples of Jesus had died. That disciple reporting the
death of his father unto Jesus, asked for leave to go and bury him. Whereupon,
Jesus, that Essence of Detachment, answered and said: “Let the dead bury their
dead.” [Luke 9:60]
In like manner, two
of the people of Kúfih went to ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful. One owned a
house and wished to sell it; the other was to be the purchaser. They had agreed
that this transaction should be effected and the contract be written with the
knowledge of ‘Alí. He, the exponent of the law of God, addressing the scribe,
said: “Write thou: ‘A dead man hath bought from another dead man a house. That
house is bounded by four limits. One extendeth toward the tomb, the other to
the vault of the grave, the third to the Ṣiraṭ, the fourth to either Paradise or hell.’” Reflect, had these two souls been quickened by the trumpet-call of ‘Alí, had they risen from the grave of error by the power of his love, the
judgment of death would certainly not have been pronounced against them.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
December 14
Steadfastness in the
Cause is mentioned in the Tablets and set forth by the Pen of the Ancient of
Days. Render thanks to the Beloved of the world that thou hast set thy heart on
Him and art uttering His praise. Many a man hath in this day been deprived of making
mention of the All-Sufficing Lord and of recognizing His truth; and many a
woman hath fixed her gaze upon the Horizon of the Most High, and hath adorned
herself with the garb of the love of the Desire of the world. This is God's
grace which He bestoweth upon whomsoever He pleaseth. By the Day-Star of
ancient mysteries! The sweet-scented fragrance of every breath breathed in the
love of God is wafted in the court of the presence of the Lord of Revelation.
The reward of no good deed is or ever will be lost. Blessed art thou, doubly
blessed art thou! Thou art reckoned amongst those handmaidens whose love for
their kin hath not prevented them from attaining the shores of the Sea of Grace
and Mercy. God willing, thou shalt rest eternally neath the shade of the
favours of the All-Merciful and shalt be assured of His bounties. Engage in the
praise of the True One and rejoice in His loving-kindness.
- Baha’u’llah (The
Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)
December 13
Say: O bearer of My
Name! Upon thee be My glory and My loving-kindness. Thou hast ever been adorned
with the fair robe of trustworthiness and piety. These twin qualities are as
two companions for thee in whom thou mayest find solace. They are as two
sentinels who shall stand watch over thee, and two guardians that shall, by
God's leave, keep thee from harm.
- Baha’u’llah (The Compilation of
Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)
December 12
He is the true
servant of God who, in this day, were he to pass through cities of silver and
gold, would not deign to look upon them, and whose heart would remain pure and
undefiled from whatever things can be seen in this world, be they its goods or
its treasures. I swear by the Sun of Truth! The breath of such a man is endowed
with potency, and his words with attraction...
- Baha’u’llah (Cited in Shoghi
Effendi, "The Advent of Divine Justice")
December 11
They that have kept their promises,
fulfilled their obligations, redeemed their pledges and vows, rendered the
Trust of God and His Right unto Him -- these are numbered among the inmates of
the all-highest Paradise. Thus from His mighty Prison doth the Wronged One
announce unto them this glad-tiding. Blessed are the servants and maidservants
that have performed their deeds and blessed is the man that hath cleaved
tenaciously unto praiseworthy acts and fulfilled that which is enjoined upon
him in the Book of God, the Lord of the worlds.
- Baha’u’llah (The Compilation
of Compilation, vol. I, Huqúqu'lláh)
December 10
Consider those who
opposed the Son, when He came unto them with sovereignty and power. How many the Pharisees who were waiting to
behold Him, and were lamenting over their separation from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of His coming was
wafted over them, and His beauty was unveiled, they turned aside from Him and
disputed with Him. Thus do We impart
unto thee that which hath been recorded in the Books and Scriptures. None save a very few, who were destitute of
any power amongst men, turned towards His face. And yet today every man endowed with power and invested with sovereignty
prideth himself on His Name! In like
manner, consider how numerous, in these days, are the monks who, in My Name,
have secluded themselves in their churches, and who, when the appointed time
was fulfilled, and We unveiled Our beauty, knew Us not, though they call upon
Me at eventide and at dawn. We behold
them clinging to My name, yet veiled from My Self. This, verily, is a strange thing.
- Baha'u'llah (Suriy-i-Haykal
[Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
December 9
You should exhort all the friends to patience, to
acquiescence, and to tranquillity, saying: O ye loved ones of God in that land!
Ye are glorified in all the worlds of God because of your relationship to Him
Who is the Eternal Truth, but in your lives on this earthly plane, which pass
away as a fleeting moment, ye are afflicted with abasement. For the sake of the
one true God, ye have been reviled and persecuted, ye have been imprisoned, and
surrendered your lives in His path. Ye should not, however, by reason of the
tyrannical acts of some heedless souls, transgress the limits of God's
commandments by contending with anyone.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Bahá'í World vol.
XVIII’; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, Crisis and Victory)
December 8
Should a person acquire one hundred mithqals of gold,
nineteen mithqals thereof belong unto God, the Creator of earth and heaven.
Take heed, O people, lest ye deprive yourselves of this great bounty. We have
prescribed this law unto you while We are wholly independent of you and of all
that are in the heavens and on the earth. Indeed there lie concealed in this
command, mysteries and benefits which are beyond the comprehension of anyone
save God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Say, through this injunction God
desireth to purify your possessions and enable you to draw nigh unto such
stations as none can attain, except those whom God may please. Verily, He is
the Generous, the Gracious, the Bountiful.
- Baha’u’llah (The
Compilation of Compilation, vol. I, Huqúqu'lláh)
December 7
Say: Hold ye fast unto praiseworthy
characteristics and goodly deeds and be not of them that tarry. It behoveth
everyone to cleave tenaciously unto that which is conducive to the exaltation
of the Cause of God, your Lord, the Mighty, the Powerful.
- Baha’u’llah (The Compilation
of Compilation, vol. I, Huqúqu'lláh)
December 6
I beseech Thee, O my
God, by all the transcendent glory of Thy Name, to clothe Thy loved ones in the
robe of justice and to illumine their beings with the light of trustworthiness.
Thou art the One Who hath power to do as He pleaseth and Who holdeth within His
grasp the reins of all things, visible and invisible.
- Baha’u’llah (The
Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)
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