O Son of Man! Magnify My cause that I may reveal unto thee
the mysteries of My greatness and shine upon thee with the light of eternity.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)
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.
Gracious God! [with reference to the “seven powerful
sovereigns ruling the world” in His day] None of them hath been informed of His
[the Báb’s] Manifestation, and if informed, none hath believed in Him. Who
knoweth, they may leave this world below full of desire, and without having
realized that the thing for which they were waiting had come to pass. This is
what happened to the monarchs that held fast unto the Gospel. They awaited the
coming of the Prophet of God [Muhammad], and when He did appear, they failed to
recognize Him. Behold how great are the sums which these sovereigns expend
without even the slightest thought of appointing an official charged with the
task of acquainting them in their own realms with the Manifestation of God!
They would thereby have fulfilled the purpose for which they have been created.
All their desires have been and are still fixed upon leaving behind them traces
of their names.”
Verily, these [they “that truly believe in Him Whom God
shall make manifest”] are souls who take delight in the remembrance of God, Who
dilates their hearts through the effulgence of the light of knowledge and
wisdom. They seek naught but God and are oft engaged in giving praise unto Him.
They desire naught except whatever He desireth and stand ready to do His
bidding. Their hearts are mirrors reflecting whatsoever He Whom God shall make
manifest willeth. Thus God will cheer the hearts of those who truly believe in
Him and in His signs and who are well assured of the life to come. Say, the
life to come is none other than the days associated with the coming of Him Whom
God will make manifest.
Immeasurably exalted is the state of Thy loved ones who have
clung to the cord of Thy command, held fast to the hem of Thine ordinances,
uttered that which hath been permitted unto them in Thy Tablets, transgressed
not the bounds ordained in Thy Book, and spoken out in Thy lands with wisdom as
decreed in the scrolls of Thy bounty and the epistles of Thy grace. O Lord!
Assist them to arise for the triumph of Thy Cause through what Thou hast
expounded unto them with Thy most exalted Pen and what Thou hast instructed
them in certain of Thy Tablets. O Lord! Leave them not to themselves, but keep
them safe through Thy sovereignty and power and assist them through Thy might
and bounty.
By God! This is the Day whereon from the murmur of the
waters can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting”, and from the whispering of whose breezes can be heard: “No
God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Best-Beloved”, and from the rustling of
whose trees can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Most Powerful, the
Ever-Giving, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving”, and beyond them, from the
Tongue of Grandeur can be heard: “This is the Day of the appearance of Him Who
is manifest yet hidden, Who is visible yet concealed. Hasten unto Him, O ye who
are the daysprings of the divine names, and draw nigh unto Him, O ye who dwell
in the kingdom of creation, with hearts that have been purified from
superstitions and vain imaginings and sanctified from the idle talk of men!”
Exalted be this blessed and glorious day [Naw-Ruz] which
Thou hast designated by that beloved Name which is both hidden and manifest,
and which, when it shone forth above the horizon of eternity, the Divine
Lote-Tree called out, saying: “By God! The Lord of creation hath come, Whom no
name can describe.” Whereupon Paradise was set astir and proclaimed with joy
and fervour: “O concourse of the world! He hath come, round Whom circle the
Daysprings of the All-Merciful, the Manifestations of the All-Praised, and the
Dawning-Places of inspiration.” And all things cried aloud: “This is that
Tablet with which the kingdom of creation hath been adorned and through which
the gate leading unto the Divine Presence hath been flung open unto all who are
in heaven and on earth.” Happy the one who hath forsaken every desire and hath
drawn nigh unto the One Whose reality no word or utterance can convey.
As My tribulations multiplied, so did My love for God and
for His Cause increase, in such wise that all that befell Me from the hosts of
the wayward was powerless to deter Me from My purpose. Should they hide Me away in the depths of the
earth, yet would they find Me riding aloft on the clouds, and calling out unto
God, the Lord of strength and of might.
I have offered Myself up in the way of God, and I yearn after
tribulations in My love for Him, and for the sake of His good pleasure. Unto this bear witness the woes which now
afflict Me, the like of which no other man hath suffered. Every single hair of Mine head calleth out
that which the Burning Bush uttered on Sinai, and each vein of My body invoketh
God and saith: “O would I had been
severed in Thy path, so that the world might be quickened, and all its peoples
be united!” Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the
All-Informed.
O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting
during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Ruz as a
feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the
Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. … The traveller, the ailing, those who are with
child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God
as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous.
Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting. Verily, the
religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its sun, and obligatory prayer
is its moon. In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous
are distinguished from those who transgress His commandments. We entreat God,
exalted and glorified be He, that He may graciously enable all to observe that
which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book.
In the Name of Him Who hath been promised in the Books of
God, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed! The days of fasting have arrived
wherein those servants who circle round Thy throne and have attained Thy
presence have fasted. Say: O God of names and creator of heaven and earth! I
beg of Thee by Thy Name, the All-Glorious, to accept the fast of those who have
fasted for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy good-pleasure and have carried
out what Thou hast bidden them in Thy Books and Tablets. I beseech Thee by them
to assist me in the promotion of Thy Cause and to make me steadfast in Thy
love, that my footsteps may not slip on account of the clamour of Thy
creatures. Verily, Thou art powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. No God is
there but Thee, the Quickener, the All-Powerful, the Most Bountiful, the
Ancient of Days.
...they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for
the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly -- their
ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from
worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth. They should put their
trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be
made worthy of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding,
and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen…
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. [Qur’an 77:20; 32:8]
Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the
month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall
be the manifestations of the letter Ha, and thus they have not been bounded by
the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Baha,
throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and,
beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and
glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name;
O Son of the Throne! Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou
therewith. Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith, that in thine inmost
soul thou mayest testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within Myself may bear
witness unto an exalted station for thee.
Time and again have We admonished Our beloved ones to avoid,
nay to flee from, anything whatsoever from which the odor 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.
O ye that dwell on earth! The distinguishing feature that
marketh the preeminent 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.
It is clear and evident that whenever the Manifestations of
Holiness were revealed, the divines of their day have hindered the people from
attaining unto the way of truth. To this testify the records of all the
scriptures and heavenly books. Not one Prophet of God was made manifest Who did
not fall a victim to the relentless hate, to the denunciation, denial, and
execration of the clerics of His day! Woe unto them for the iniquities their
hands have formerly wrought! Woe unto them for that which they are now doing! What
veils of glory more grievous than these embodiments of error! By the
righteousness of God! to pierce such veils is the mightiest of all acts, and to
rend them asunder the most meritorious of all deeds!