Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been
received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the
sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of
all men. 
Remember…how, when one of these same companions came before
the King of Ethiopia and recited unto him a Súrih of the Qur’án, he declared to
his attendants: “This, truly, hath been revealed by One Who is All-Knowing and
All-Wise. Whoso acknowledgeth the truth,
and believeth in the teachings of Jesus, can in no wise deny what hath been
recited. We, verily, bear witness to its
truth, even as we bear witness to the truth of that which we possess of the
Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”
The signs and tokens of the Truth shine even as the midday
sun, and yet the people are wandering, aimlessly and perplexedly, in the
wilderness of ignorance and folly. Notwithstanding all the verses of the
Qur’án, and the recognized traditions, which are all indicative of a new Faith,
a new Law, and a new Revelation, this generation still waiteth in expectation
of beholding the promised One who should uphold the Law of the Muhammadan
Dispensation. The Jews and the Christians in like manner uphold the same contention.
All praise, O my God, be to Thee Who art the Source of all
glory and majesty, of greatness and honor, of sovereignty and dominion, of
loftiness and grace, of awe and power. Whomsoever Thou willest Thou causest to
draw nigh unto the Most Great Ocean, and on whomsoever Thou desirest Thou
conferrest the honor of recognizing Thy Most Ancient Name. Of all who are in
heaven and on earth, none can withstand the operation of Thy sovereign Will.
From all eternity Thou didst rule the entire creation, and Thou wilt continue
for evermore to exercise Thy dominion over all created things. There is none
other God but Thee, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the
All-Wise.
The wine of renunciation must needs be quaffed, the lofty
heights of detachment must needs be attained, and the meditation referred to in
the words "One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious
worship" must needs be observed, so that the secret of the wretched
behaviour of the people might be discovered, those people who, despite the love
and yearning for truth which they profess, curse the followers of Truth when
once He hath been made manifest.
Remember the days in which the Sun of Bathá [ie, Muhammad]
shone forth above the horizon of the Will of thy Lord, the Exalted, the Most
High, and recall how the divines of that age turned away from Him, and the
learned contended with Him, that haply thou mayest apprehend that which, in
this day, remaineth concealed behind the veils of glory. So grievous became His plight on every side
that He instructed His companions to disperse.
Thus was the decree made manifest from the heaven of divine glory.
Too high is the All-Merciful for the hearts of those who
have recognized Him to apprehend His true nature, or for the minds of men to
hope to fathom His essence. He verily is
exalted above the understanding of anyone besides Himself, and sanctified
beyond the comprehension of all else save Him.
From all eternity He hath been independent of the entire creation.
And amongst the people are those who claim that He hath
disbelieved in God—yet every member of My body testifieth that there is none
other God but Him; that those Whom He hath raised up in truth and sent forth
with His guidance are the Manifestations of His most excellent names, the
Revealers of His most exalted attributes, and the Repositories of His
Revelation in the kingdom of creation; that through them the Proof of God hath
been perfected unto all else but Him, the standard of Divine Unity hath been
raised, and the sign of sanctity hath been made manifest; and that through them
every soul hath found a path unto the Lord of the Throne on high. We testify that there is none other God but
Him, that from everlasting He was alone with none else besides Him, and that He
shall be unto everlasting what He hath ever been.
Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses
revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the
fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every
righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect,
yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later
exercise its influence upon his soul.
It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding
to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action....
In these days how few are those who abide by the standard
laid down in the Qur’án. Nay, nowhere are they to be found, except such as God
hath willed. Should there be, however, such a person, his righteous deeds would
prove of no avail unto him, if he hath failed to follow the standard revealed
in the Bayán; even as the pious deeds of the Christian monks profited them not,
inasmuch as at the time of the manifestation of the Apostle of God—may the
blessings of God rest upon Him—they contented themselves with the standard set
forth in the Gospel.
O Ye Sons of Spirit! Ye are My treasury, for in you I have
treasured the pearls of My mysteries and the gems of My knowledge. Guard them
from the strangers amidst My servants and from the ungodly amongst My people.
There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred
and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath
sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law
of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the
Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the
whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed,
this mighty, this exalted Handiwork!
O Shaykh! Tell the people of the Bayán: “Ponder ye these
blessed words. He saith: ‘The whole of the Bayán is only a leaf amongst the
leaves of His Paradise.’ Be fair, O people, and be not of such as are accounted
as lost in the Book of God, the Lord of the worlds.” The blessed Lote-Tree
standeth, in this day, before thy face, laden with heavenly, with new and
wondrous fruits. Gaze on it, detached from all else save it. Thus hath the
Tongue of might and power spoken at this Spot which God hath adorned with the
footsteps of His Most Great Name and Mighty Announcement.
He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] is the Trust of God amongst you, His
charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His
favoured servants...
We have made Thee [‘Abdu’l-Baha] a shelter for all mankind,
a shield unto all who are in heaven and on earth, a stronghold for whosoever
hath believed in God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing.
Render thanks unto God, O people, for His [‘Abdu’l-Baha]
appearance; for verily He is the most great Favour unto you, the most perfect
bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened
If the learned and worldly-wise men of this age were to
allow mankind to inhale the fragrance of fellowship and love, every
understanding heart would apprehend the meaning of true liberty, and discover
the secret of undisturbed peace and absolute composure. Were the earth to
attain this station and be illumined with its light it could then be truly said
of it: ‘Thou shall see in it no hollows or rising hills.’ [Qur’án 20:106]
True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter
ignorance of his self.
The heights which, through the most gracious favor of God,
mortal man can attain in this Day are as yet unrevealed to his sight. The world
of being hath never had, nor doth it yet possess, the capacity for such a
revelation. The day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of so
great a favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested unto men.