We exhort all believers to observe justice and fairness and
to show forth love and contentment. They are indeed the people of Bahá, the
companions of the Crimson Ark. Upon them be the peace of God, the Lord of all
Names, the Creator of the heavens. 
As to thy question concerning interest and profit on gold
and silver: Some years ago the following passage was revealed from the heaven
of the All-Merciful in honour of the one who beareth the name of God, entitled
Zaynu’l-Muqarrabín —upon him be the glory of the Most Glorious. He—exalted be
His Word—saith: Many people stand in need of this. Because if there were no
prospect for gaining interest, the affairs of men would suffer collapse or
dislocation. One can seldom find a person who would manifest such consideration
towards his fellow-man, his countryman or towards his own brother and would
show such tender solicitude for him as to be well-disposed to grant him a loan
on benevolent terms. Therefore as a token of favour towards men We have
prescribed that interest on money should be treated like other business
transactions that are current amongst men. Thus, now that this lucid
commandment hath descended from the heaven of the Will of God, it is lawful and
proper to charge interest on money, that the people of the world may, in a
spirit of amity and fellowship and with joy and gladness, devotedly engage
themselves in magnifying the Name of Him Who is the Well-Beloved of all
mankind. Verily He ordaineth according to His Own choosing. He hath now made
interest on money lawful, even as He had made it unlawful in the past. Within
His grasp He holdeth the kingdom of authority. He doeth and ordaineth. He is in
truth the Ordainer, the All-Knowing.
May the brightness of His glory shining above the horizon of
bounty rest upon you, O people of Bahá, upon every one who standeth firm and
steadfast and upon those that are well grounded in the Faith and are endued
with true understanding.
The people of God should make the utmost endeavour that
perchance the fire of hatred and malice which smouldereth in the breasts of
kindreds and peoples may, through the living waters of utterance and the
exhortations of Him Who is the Desire of the world, be quenched and the trees
of human existence may be adorned with wondrous and excellent fruit. He is, in
truth, the Admonisher, the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful.
The Holy Tree [Sadrat] is, in a sense, the Manifestation of
the One True God, exalted be He. The Blessed Tree in the land of Za’farán
referreth to the land which is flourishing, blessed, holy and all-perfumed,
where that Tree hath been planted.
O My Servant! Purge thy heart from malice and, innocent of
envy, enter the divine court of holiness.
He [the Báb] saith—glorified be His utterance…: “This,
verily, is the thing We promised thee, ere the moment We answered thy call.
Wait thou until nine will have elapsed from the time of the Bayán. Then
exclaim: ‘Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of Makers!’ Say: This,
verily, is an Announcement which none except God hath comprehended. Ye,
however, will be unaware on that day.” In the year nine this Most Great
Revelation arose and shone forth brightly above the horizon of the Will of God.
None can deny it save he who is heedless and doubteth.
O Son of Dust! The wise are they that speak not unless they
obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he
findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart
until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of
wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till
the hyacinths of divine wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and
clay.
I testify that through Him [Baha’u’llah] the Pen of the Most
High was set in motion, and with His remembrance the Scriptures in the kingdom
of names were embellished. Through Him Thy [God’s] fragrances were wafted, and
the sweet smell of Thy raiment was shed abroad amongst all the dwellers of the
earth and the inmates of heaven. Thou seest and knowest full well, O my God,
how He hath been made to dwell within the most desolate of cities, so that He
may build up the hearts of Thy servants, and hath been willing to suffer the
most grievous abasement, that Thy creatures may be exalted.
I testify, O my God, that this is the Day whereon Thy
testimony hath been fulfilled, and Thy clear tokens have been manifested, and
Thine utterances have been revealed, and Thy signs have been demonstrated, and
the radiance of Thy countenance hath been diffused, and Thy proof hath been
perfected, and Thine ascendancy hath been established, and Thy mercy hath
overflowed, and the Day-Star of Thy grace hath shone forth with such brilliance
that Thou didst manifest Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself and the Treasury of
Thy wisdom and the Dawning-Place of Thy majesty and power. Thou didst establish
His covenant with every one who hath been created in the kingdoms of earth and
heaven and in the realms of revelation and of creation. Thou didst raise Him up
to such heights that the wrongs inflicted by the oppressors have been powerless
to deter Him from revealing Thy sovereignty, and the ascendancy of the wayward
hath failed to prevent Him from demonstrating Thy power and from exalting Thy
Cause.
In another connection hath the Voice of the Bayán called
aloud from the loftiest branches. He saith—blessed and glorified be He: “In the
year nine ye will attain unto all good.” On another occasion He saith: “In the
year nine ye will attain unto the Presence of God.” These melodies, uttered by
the Birds of the cities of Knowledge, conform with that which hath been sent
down by the All-Merciful in the Qur’án. Blessed are the men of insight; blessed
they that attain thereunto.
At this moment a Voice was raised from the Lote-Tree beyond
which there is no passing, in the heart of the Most Sublime Paradise, bidding
Me relate unto thee that which hath been sent down in the Books and Tablets,
and the things spoken by My Forerunner, Who laid down His life for this Great
Announcement, this Straight Path. He hath said—and He, verily, speaketh the
truth: “I have written down in My mention of Him these gem-like words: ‘No
allusion of Mine can allude unto Him, neither anything mentioned in the
Bayán.’” And further, He—exalted and glorified be He—saith, concerning this
most mighty Revelation, this Great Announcement: “Exalted and glorified is He
above the power of any one to reveal Him except Himself, or the description of
any of His creatures. I Myself am but the first servant to believe in Him and
in His signs, and to partake of the sweet savors of His words from the
first-fruits of the Paradise of His knowledge. Yea, by His glory! He is the
Truth. There is none other God but Him. All have arisen at His bidding.”
O Queen in London!
Incline thine ear unto the voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind,
calling from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, no God is there but Me, the
Almighty, the All-Wise! Cast away all that is on earth, and attire the head of
thy kingdom with the crown of the remembrance of thy Lord, the All-Glorious.
He, in truth, hath come unto the world in His most great glory, and all that
hath been mentioned in the Gospel hath been fulfilled. The land of Syria hath
been honoured by the footsteps of its Lord, the Lord of all men, and north and
south are both inebriated with the wine of His presence. Blessed is the man
that hath inhaled the fragrance of the Most Merciful, and turned unto the Dawning-Place
of His Beauty, in this resplendent Dawn. The Mosque of Aqsá vibrateth through
the breezes of its Lord, the All-Glorious, whilst Bathá [1] trembleth at the
voice of God, the Exalted, the Most High. Whereupon every single stone of them
celebrateth the praise of the Lord, through this Great Name.
Blessed be the king whose sovereignty hath withheld him not
from his Sovereign, and who hath turned unto God with his heart. He, verily, is
accounted of those that have attained unto that which God, the Mighty, the
All-Wise, hath willed. Erelong will such a one find himself numbered with the
monarchs of the realms of the Kingdom. Thy Lord is, in truth, potent over all
things. He giveth what He willeth to whomsoever He willeth, and withholdeth
what He pleaseth from whomsoever He willeth. He, verily, is the All-Powerful,
the Almighty.
I implore Thee, O Thou Who causest the dawn to appear, by
Thy Lamp which Thou didst light with the fire of Thy love before all that are
in heaven and on earth, and whose flame Thou feedest with the fuel of Thy
wisdom in the kingdom of Thy creation, to make me to be of those who have
soared in Thine atmosphere, and surrendered their will to Thy decree.
…the tongue is a smouldering fire, and excess of speech a
deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue
devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time,
whilst the effects of the latter endure a century.
…this Revelation through which the Most Grievous Convulsion
and the Great Terror have appeared…
…Thy [God’s] most exalted Word—the Word through Which the
heavens of men’s idle fancies and vain imaginations have been split asunder.
Every receptive soul who hath in this Day inhaled the
fragrance of His garment and hath, with a pure heart, set his face towards the
all-glorious Horizon is reckoned among the people of Bahá in the Crimson Book.
Grasp ye, in My Name, the chalice of My loving-kindness, drink then your fill
in My glorious and wondrous remembrance.
…he [1] should regard all else beside God as transient, and
count all things save Him, Who is the Object of all adoration, as utter
nothingness.