- Baha’u’llah (From the Tablet addressed to Shaykh Muhammad
Báqir, denounced by Bahá’u’lláh as the ‘Wolf’; Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed
after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
12/14/19
December 14
12/13/19
December 13
Thou hast, O Chief, committed that which hath caused
Muhammad, the Apostle of God, to lament in the most sublime Paradise. The world
hath made thee proud, so much so that thou hast turned away from the Face
through whose brightness the Concourse on high hath been illumined. Soon thou
shalt find thyself in manifest loss! Thou didst conspire with the Persian
Ambassador to harm Me, though I had come unto you from the source of majesty
and grandeur with a Revelation that hath solaced the eyes of the favoured ones
of God.
- Baha’u’llah (Súriy-i-Ra’ís, Tablet addressed to ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman Prime
Minister, [referred to here as Ra’ís (Chief or Ruler)]; ‘The Summons of the
Lord of Hosts’)
12/12/19
December 12
The whole world hath been set ablaze by the Word of thy
Lord, the All-Glorious, a Word softer than the morning breeze. It hath been manifested in the form of the
human temple, and through it God hath quickened the souls of the sincere among
His servants. In its inner essence, this
Word is the living water by which God hath purified the hearts of such as have
turned unto Him and forgotten every other mention, and through which He draweth
them nigh unto the seat of His mighty Name. We have sprinkled it upon the people of the graves, and lo, they have
risen up, with their gaze fixed upon the shining and resplendent Beauty of
their Lord.
- Baha’u’llah (Súriy-i-Ra’ís, Tablet addressed to ‘Álí Páshá, the Ottoman
Prime Minister; ‘The Summons of
the Lord of Hosts’)
12/11/19
December 11
We see you [“kings of the earth”] rejoicing in that which ye
have amassed for others and shutting out yourselves from the worlds which
naught except My guarded Tablet can reckon. The treasures ye have laid up have
drawn you far away from your ultimate objective. This ill beseemeth you, could
ye but understand it. Wash your hearts from all earthly defilements, and hasten
to enter the Kingdom of your Lord, the Creator of earth and heaven, Who caused
the world to tremble and all its peoples to wail, except them that have
renounced all things and clung to that which the Hidden Tablet hath ordained.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
12/10/19
December 10
He it is Who is established upon this luminous Throne.
Proclaim unto the celestial Concourse, O Pen of effulgent
glory, that lo, the veil of concealment hath been rent asunder and the Beauty
of the Lord hath been revealed from this Scene of transcendent glory with such
radiance as to cause the luminaries of His command to shine above the dayspring
of His almighty Name. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord, that
hath dawned above a horizon of surpassing grace!
This is a festival wherein all things have been adorned with
the vesture of the names of God, and wherein His bounty hath compassed all
things from first to last. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord,
that hath shone above a dayspring of resplendent holiness!
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days
of Remembrance’)
12/9/19
December 9
…the stages that mark the wayfarers’ journey from their
mortal abode to the heavenly homeland are said to be seven. Some have referred
to them as seven valleys, and others, as seven cities. And it is said that
until the wayfarer taketh leave of self and traverseth these stages, he shall
never attain the ocean of nearness and reunion nor taste of the matchless wine.
The first is THE VALLEY OF SEARCH. The steed of this valley
is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere
and attain no goal. Nor should he ever become downhearted: If he strive for a
hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he
should not falter. For those who seek the Kaaba of “for Us” rejoice in the
tidings “In Our ways shall We assuredly guide them.” [Qur’án 29:69] In their
search, they have stoutly girded up the loins of service and at every moment
journey from the plane of heedlessness into the realm of search. No bond shall
hold them back and no counsel deter them.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Seven Valleys’,
2019 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre; ‘The Call of the Divine
Beloved’)
12/8/19
December 8
O Báqir! Rely not on thy glory, and thy power. Thou art even
as the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top. Soon will it fade away, as
decreed by God, the All-Possessing, the Most High. Thy glory and the glory of
such as are like thee have been taken away, and this verily is what hath been
ordained by the One with Whom is the Mother Tablet. Where is he to be found who
contended with God, and whither is gone he that gainsaid His signs, and turned
aside from His sovereignty? Where are they who have slain His chosen ones and spilt
the blood of His holy ones? Reflect, that haply thou mayest perceive the
breaths of thine acts, O foolish doubter! Because of you the Apostle [Muhammad]
lamented, and the Chaste One [Fátimih, daughter of Muhammad] cried out, and the
countries were laid waste, and darkness fell upon all regions. O concourse of
divines! Because of you the people were abased, and the banner of Islám was
hauled down, and its mighty throne subverted. Every time a man of discernment
hath sought to hold fast unto that which would exalt Islám, ye raised a
clamour, and thereby was he deterred from achieving his purpose, while the land
remained fallen in clear ruin.
- Baha’u’llah (From the Tablet addressed to
Shaykh Muhammad Báqir, denounced by Bahá’u’lláh as the ‘Wolf’; Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
12/7/19
December 7
O kings of the earth! He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is
come. The Kingdom is God’s, the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
Worship none but God, and, with radiant hearts, lift up your faces unto your
Lord, the Lord of all names. This is a Revelation to which whatever ye possess
can never be compared, could ye but know it.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the
Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
12/6/19
December 6
This is the day in which to speak. It is incumbent upon the
people of Bahá to strive, with the utmost patience and forbearance, to guide
the peoples of the world to the Most Great Horizon. Every body calleth aloud
for a soul. Heavenly souls must needs quicken, with the breath of the Word of
God, the dead bodies with a fresh spirit. Within every word a new spirit is
hidden. Happy is the man that attaineth thereunto, and hath
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi
Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
12/5/19
December 5
The world of being shineth, in this Day, with the
resplendency of this Divine Revelation. All created things extol its saving
grace, and sing its praises. The universe is wrapt in an ecstasy of joy and
gladness. The Scriptures of past Dispensations celebrate the great Jubilee that
must needs greet this most great Day of God. Well is it with him that hath
lived to see this Day, and hath recognized its station.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by
Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
12/4/19
December 4
We have also heard a number of the foolish of the earth
assert that the genuine text of the heavenly Gospel doth not exist amongst the
Christians, that it hath ascended unto heaven. How grievously they have erred!
How oblivious of the fact that such a statement imputeth the gravest injustice
and tyranny to a gracious and living Providence! How could God, when once the
daystar of the beauty of Jesus had disappeared from the sight of His people,
and ascended unto the fourth heaven, cause His holy Book, His most great
testimony amongst His creatures, to disappear also? What would be left to that
people to cling to from the setting of the daystar of Jesus until the rise of
the sun of the Muhammadan Dispensation?
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
12/3/19
December 3
Erelong We will, in very truth, torment such as waged war
against Husayn [Imám Husayn], in the Land of the Euphrates, with the most
afflictive torment, and the most dire and exemplary punishment.
- The Báb (From
the Qayyúm-i-Asmá, quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
12/2/19
December 2
O Maryam! From the land of Tá, [Tihrán] after countless
afflictions, We reached ‘Iráq, at the bidding of the Tyrant of Persia, [
Násiri’d-Dín Sháh] where, after the fetters of Our foes, We were afflicted with
the perfidy of Our friends. God knoweth what befell Me thereafter! At length,
abandoning My home and all that was therein, and renouncing My life and all
that pertained thereunto, I retired alone and companionless. I roamed the wilderness
of resignation, travelling in such wise that in My exile every eye wept sore
over Me, and all created things shed tears of blood because of My anguish. The
birds of the air were My companions and the beasts of the field My associates.
In such wise did I, even as the flash of the spirit, pass over this fleeting
world. For two years or rather less, I shunned all else but God, and closed
Mine eyes to all except Him, that haply the fire of hatred may die down and the
heat of jealousy abate.
O Maryam! To divulge the heavenly secrets would be
unbefitting, and to disclose the celestial mysteries would be unseemly. By
“secrets” is meant naught other than the treasuries enshrined within Mine own
Being. By the righteousness of God! I have borne what no man, be he of the past
or of the future, hath borne or will bear.
- Baha’u’llah (From the ‘Tablet to
Maryam’; ‘Days of Remembrance’)
12/1/19
December 1
Strive… that thou mayest forsake the path of illusion and
imitation and gain admittance into the realm of inner vision and the kingdom of
spiritual discoveries. For in these days all are bewildered in the drunkenness
of ignorance, save those whom thy Lord hath willed to spare. Some consider the
fading mirage to be the billowing ocean and reckon the impenetrable darkness as
the radiant morn. Others, having forsaken the river of eternal life, content
themselves with a vanishing drop. Such is the state and condition of the
people: “Thus have We created the souls in divers conditions.” [Cf. Qur’án
71:14]
- Baha’u’llah (From the ‘Tablet to Rasúl’; ‘Days of Remembrance’)
11/30/19
November 30
Occupy thyself in remembrance of the Beauty of Him Who is
the Unconstrained at early morn, and seek communion with Him at the hour of
dawn. O ‘Alí! Remembrance of Me is a healing medicine to
the souls and a light to the hearts of men.
- Bahá’u’lláh (From a Tablet;
compilation: ‘Prayer and Devotional Life, Extracts from the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, prepared by the Research Department of
the Universal House of Justice, February 2019)
11/29/19
November 29
Say: O people! Spread not disorder on the earth nor dispute
with your fellow men, for this would ill beseem them that occupy, beneath the
shadow of their Lord, the station of such as are faithful to the one true God.
Whensoever ye encounter a thirsty soul, give him to drink from the cup of
everlasting life; and whensoever ye find a hearing ear, recite unto him the
verses of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Compassionate. Unloose your
tongues with kindly words and, should ye find the people inclined towards the
Sanctuary of God, summon them to the truth; otherwise leave them to their own
selves and to that condition which is the reality of the nethermost fire.
Beware lest ye cast the pearls of inner meaning before the blind and the barren
in heart, inasmuch as they are deprived of beholding the light and are unable
to distinguish the worthless pebble from the precious and gleaming pearl. Wert
thou for a thousand years to recite unto a stone the verses of wondrous glory,
would it ever be affected by them or comprehend their significance? Nay, by thy
Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate! Wert thou to recite unto the
deaf all the verses of God, would they hear a single letter thereof? Nay, by His
ancient and glorious Beauty!
- Baha’u’llah (From ‘The Tablet of Branch’; ‘Days
of Remembrance’)
11/28/19
November 28
Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His
[‘Abdu’l-Baha’s] footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the
beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honoured by hearkening to His
call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that
hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the
scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings.
- Baha’u’llah (’Tablets of
Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
11/27/19
November 27
Say: None shall be immune in this Day from God’s decree;
none shall find refuge save in Him. This, verily, is the truth, and aught else
is but manifest error. God hath made it incumbent upon all to teach His Cause
to the extent of their ability. Such is the decree that the Finger of might and
power hath recorded in the Tablets of supernal glory. Whoso quickeneth but a
single soul in this Revelation, it is as though he had quickened all humanity:
Him will God, on the Day of Resurrection, raise again to life in the paradise
of His oneness, adorned with the raiment of His own Self, the Sovereign
Protector, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. Such is the nature of the
assistance ye can render to your Lord, and naught else is worthy of mention in
this Day in the presence of God, your Lord and the Lord of your sires of old.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablet of the Branch’; ‘Days of Remembrance’)
11/26/19
November 26
A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the
Most Great Tablet—a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own
Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign
of His greatness and power among its people, that all may glorify thereby their
Lord, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, and extol the praise of
their Creator and the sanctity of the Soul of God that holdeth sway over all
created things. This, verily, is none other than a Word sent down by Him Who is
the All-Knowing, the Ancient of Days.
Render thanks unto God, O people, for His 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. Whoso turneth towards Him
hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from
My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the
Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and
His appearance among His favoured servants.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablet of the
Branch’; ‘Days of Remembrance’)
11/25/19
November 25
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! Draw nigh unto Him, O people, and taste
the fruits of wisdom and knowledge that have proceeded from Him Who is the
Almighty, the All-Knowing. Whoso hath failed to taste thereof is deprived of
God’s bounty, though he partake of all that the earth can produce, could ye but
perceive it!
- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablet of the Branch’; ‘Days of Remembrance’)
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