Ye have been enjoined to renew the furnishings of your homes
after the passing of each nineteen years; thus hath it been ordained by One Who
is Omniscient and All-Perceiving. He, verily, is desirous of refinement, both
for you yourselves and for all that ye possess; lay not aside the fear of God
and be not of the negligent. Whoso findeth that his means are insufficient to
this purpose hath been excused by God, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bounteous.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 9
Consider how a Pharisee who had worshipped God for seventy
years repudiated the Son when He appeared, whereas one who had committed
adultery gained admittance into the Kingdom.
Thus doth the Pen admonish thee as bidden by the Eternal King, that thou
mayest be apprised of what came to pass aforetime and be reckoned in this day
among them that truly believe.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
October 8
O ye that dwell on earth! The distinguishing feature that
marketh the pre-eminent character of this Supreme Revelation consisteth in that
We have, on the one hand, blotted out from the pages of God’s holy Book
whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the
children of men, and have, on the other, laid down the essential prerequisites
of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity. Well is it with
them that keep My statutes.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed
after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 7
Ye have been prohibited from making use of pulpits. Whoso
wisheth to recite unto you the verses of his Lord, let him sit on a chair
placed upon a dais, that he may make mention of God, his Lord, and the Lord of
all mankind. It is pleasing to God that ye should seat yourselves on chairs and
benches as a mark of honour for the love ye bear for Him and for the
Manifestation of His glorious and resplendent Cause.
- Baha’u’llah (The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 6
These same people, [1] though wrapt in all these veils of
limitation, and despite the restraint of such observances, as soon as they
drank the immortal draught of faith, from the cup of certitude, at the hand of
the Manifestation of the All-Glorious, were so transformed that they would
renounce for His sake their kindred, their substance, their lives, their
beliefs, yea, all else save God! So overpowering was their yearning for God, so
uplifting their transports of ecstatic delight, that the world and all that is
therein faded before their eyes into nothingness. Have not this people
exemplified the mysteries of “rebirth” and “return”? Hath it not been witnessed
that these same people, ere they were endued with the new and wondrous grace of
God, sought through innumerable devices, to ensure the protection of their
lives against destruction? Would not a thorn fill them with terror, and the
sight of a fox put them to flight? But once having been honoured with God’s
supreme distinction, and having been vouchsafed His bountiful grace, they
would, if they were able, have freely offered up ten thousand lives in His
path! Nay, their blessed souls, contemptuous of the cage of their bodies, would
yearn for deliverance. A single warrior of that host would face and fight a
multitude! And yet, how could they, but for the transformation wrought in their
lives, be capable of manifesting such deeds which are contrary to the ways of
men and incompatible with their worldly desires?
It is evident that nothing short of this mystic
transformation could cause such spirit and behaviour, so utterly unlike their
previous habits and manners, to be made manifest in the world of being. For
their agitation was turned into peace, their doubt into certitude, their
timidity into courage. Such is the potency of the Divine Elixir, which, swift
as the twinkling of an eye, transmuteth the souls of men!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
[1] People at the time of Noah before they recognized the
Manifestation of God
October 5
Time and again have We admonished Our beloved ones to avoid,
nay to flee from, anything whatsoever from which the odour of mischief can be
detected. The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a
state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously
illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that
which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He,
verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 4
O people of God! In this day everyone should fix his eyes
upon the horizon of these blessed words: ‘Alone and unaided He doeth whatsoever
He pleaseth.’ Whoso attaineth this station hath verily attained the light of
the essential unity of God and is enlightened thereby, while all others are
reckoned in the Book of God among the followers of idle fancy and vain
imagination. Incline your ears to the Voice of this Wronged One and safeguard
the integrity of your stations. It is highly necessary and imperative that
everyone should observe this matter.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah
revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 3
Behold, the “mystery of the Great Reversal in the Sign of
the Sovereign” hath now been made manifest. Well is it with him whom God hath
aided to recognize the “Six” raised up by virtue of this “Upright Alif”; he,
verily, is of those whose faith is true. How many the outwardly pious who have
turned away, and how many the wayward who have drawn nigh, exclaiming: “All
praise be to Thee, O Thou the Desire of the worlds!” In truth, it is in the
hand of God to give what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and to withhold
what He pleaseth from whomsoever He may wish. He knoweth the inner secrets of
the hearts and the meaning hidden in a mocker’s wink. How many an embodiment of
heedlessness who came unto Us with purity of heart have We established upon the
seat of Our acceptance; and how many an exponent of wisdom have We in all
justice consigned to the fire. We are, in truth, the One to judge. He it is Who
is the manifestation of “God doeth whatsoever He pleaseth”, and abideth upon
the throne of “He ordaineth whatsoever He chooseth”.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 2
Gambling and the use of opium have been forbidden unto you.
Eschew them both, O people, and be not of those who transgress. Beware of using
any substance that induceth sluggishness and torpor in the human temple and
inflicteth harm upon the body. We, verily, desire for you naught save what
shall profit you, and to this bear witness all created things, had ye but ears
to hear.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 1
…consider the substance of copper. Were it to be protected
in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the space of seventy
years, attain to the state of gold. There are some, however, who maintain that
copper itself is gold, which by becoming solidified is in a diseased condition,
and hath not therefore reached its own state.
Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant,
cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse
the seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this gold be called copper?
Could it be claimed that it hath not attained the state of gold, whilst the
touch-stone is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from copper?
Likewise, these souls, through the potency of the Divine
Elixir, traverse, in the twinkling of an eye, the world of dust and advance
into the realm of holiness; and with one step cover the earth of limitations
and reach the domain of the Placeless. It behooveth thee to exert thine utmost
to attain unto this Elixir which, in one fleeting breath, causeth the west of
ignorance to reach the east of knowledge, illuminates the darkness of night
with the resplendence of the morn, guideth the wanderer in the wilderness of
doubt to the well-spring of the Divine Presence and Fount of certitude, and
conferreth upon mortal souls the honour of acceptance into the Ridván of
immortality. Now, could this gold be thought to be copper, these people could
likewise be thought to be the same as before they were endowed with faith.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
September 30
O King! The stars of
the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they who seek to establish the truth of My
Cause through the things they possess, and who make mention of God in My
Name. And yet, when I came unto them in
My glory, they turned aside. They,
indeed, are of the fallen. This is,
truly, that which the Spirit of God hath announced, when He came with truth
unto you, He with Whom the Jewish doctors disputed, till at last they
perpetrated what hath made the Holy Spirit to lament, and the tears of them
that have near access to God to flow.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple];
‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
September 29
…among the Prophets was Noah. When He was invested with the
robe of Prophethood, and was moved by the Spirit of God to arise and proclaim
His Cause, whoever believed in Him and acknowledged His Faith, was endowed with
the grace of a new life. Of him it could be truly said that he was reborn and
revived, inasmuch as previous to his belief in God and his acceptance of His
Manifestation, he had set his affections on the things of the world, such as
attachment to earthly goods, to wife, children, food, drink, and the like, so
much so that in the day-time and in the night season his one concern had been
to amass riches and procure for himself the means of enjoyment and pleasure.
Aside from these things, before his partaking of the reviving waters of faith,
he had been so wedded to the traditions of his forefathers, and so passionately
devoted to the observance of their customs and laws, that he would have
preferred to suffer death rather than violate one letter of those superstitious
forms and manners current amongst his people. Even as the people have cried:
“Verily we found our fathers with a faith, and verily, in their footsteps we
follow.” (Qur’án 43:22)
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
September 28
O YE SEEMING FAIR YET INWARDLY FOUL! Ye are like clear but
bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure but of which, when
tested by the divine Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the sun beam falls
alike upon the dust and the mirror, yet differ they in reflection even as doth
the star from the earth: nay, immeasurable is the difference!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
September 27
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my Best Beloved! Make me
steadfast in Thy Cause and grant that I may be reckoned among those who have
not violated Thy Covenant nor followed the gods of their own idle fancy.
- The
Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)
September 26
Arise, in My Name, amongst My servants, and say: “O ye peoples of the earth! Turn yourselves towards Him Who hath turned
towards you. He, verily, is the Face of
God amongst you, and His Testimony and His Guide unto you. He hath come to you with signs which none can
produce.” The voice of the Burning Bush
is raised in the midmost heart of the world, and the Holy Spirit calleth aloud
among the nations: “Lo, the Desired One
is come with manifest dominion!”
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
September 25
O God our Lord! Protect us through Thy grace from whatsoever
may be repugnant unto Thee and vouchsafe unto us that which well beseemeth
Thee. Give us more out of Thy bounty and bless us. Pardon us for the things we
have done and wash away our sins and forgive us with Thy gracious forgiveness.
Verily Thou art the Most Exalted, the Self-Subsisting.
- The Báb (‘Selections
from the Writings of the Báb’)
September 24
…in every subsequent Revelation, the return of the former
Revelation is a fact, the truth of which is firmly established. Inasmuch as the
return of the Prophets of God, as attested by verses and traditions, hath been
conclusively demonstrated, the return of their chosen ones also is therefore
definitely proven. This return is too manifest in itself to require any
evidence or proof.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
September 23
Strengthen my heart, O my God, in Thine obedience and in Thy
love and grant that I may be clear of the entire company of Thine adversaries.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)
September 22
O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH, YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE! Wherefore
do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly ye have become wolves, intent
upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which,
though it seem radiant and luminous, leadeth the wayfarers of My city astray
into the paths of perdition.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
September 21
The breezes of the Most Merciful have passed over all
created things; happy the man that hath discovered their fragrance, and set
himself towards them with a sound heart.
Attire thy temple with the ornament of My Name, and thy tongue with
remembrance of Me, and thine heart with love for Me, the Almighty, the Most
High. We have desired for thee naught
except that which is better for thee than what thou dost possess and all the
treasures of the earth. Thy Lord,
verily, is knowing, informed of all.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
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