May 21

And now, concerning thy question regarding the creation of man. Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting. Unto each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure, as decreed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition. Your own acts testify this truth . . . 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; Compilation on ‘Psychology and Knowledge of Self, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

May 20

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause -- a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh,  attain it; and as to him that hath refused to seek it -- verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘A Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

May 19

Woe betide you for your shamelessness, O people of the Bayán! God is My witness! I am abashed at your deeds and I disavow you, O assemblage of evil ones! Alas for the sufferings He [Baha’u’llah] hath endured at your hands. Alas for what hath befallen Him and doth continue to afflict Him at every moment. O people! Judge with fairness and reflect for but a moment: If ye remain blinded by such veils, then to what end did I reveal Myself and what fruit did My Revelation bear, O concourse of hypocrites? God hath called Me forth to rend asunder the veils and to purify your hearts in anticipation of this Revelation. Yet ye have committed that which caused My tears and the tears of the holy ones to flow. The faces of the former generations blanch at your doings, for ye are more veiled than they, and more heedless than the followers of the Torah, the Evangel, or any other Book.

O would that I had never been born and had never revealed Myself to you, O treacherous ones! I swear by Him Who sent Me forth with the power of truth! I have reckoned up the knowledge of all things, and I know all that is preserved in the inviolable treasuries of God and concealed from the eyes of men, but never have I encountered a people more wayward and more wicked than you. For with all that We have expounded in Our Tablets, and all the admonitions We have addressed unto you in every page thereof, We are unable to conceive that a single soul on earth would dare protest against God, in Whose grasp are the kingdoms of earth and heaven. We are perplexed at your creation and know not from what word ye were fashioned, O ye whose nature and actions astound the hearts of the Concourse on high, and them that are devoted to God, and them that enjoy near access unto Him! 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet in which He speaks in the voice of the Báb [based on the footnotes to the Tablet]; ‘Days of Remembrance’)

May 18

The Comforter Whose advent all the scriptures have promised is now come that He may reveal unto you all knowledge and wisdom. Seek Him over the entire surface of the earth, haply ye may find Him. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah)

May 17

Would that the universe had never been called into existence! Would that the world had never been brought into being! Would that no Prophet had ever been raised up, no Messenger sent forth, and no Cause established amongst men! Would that the Name of God had never been manifested betwixt earth and heaven, and that no Books, Tablets, or Scriptures had ever been revealed! Would that the Ancient Beauty had never been made to dwell among these workers of iniquity, nor to suffer at the hands of those who openly disbelieved in God and who committed against Him that which none on earth had ever dared commit! By the one true God! Wert thou, O ‘Alí, [1] to examine My limbs and members, My heart and vitals, thou wouldst discover the traces of those same bullets that struck that Temple of God. Alas, alas! Thus was the Revealer of verses prevented from revealing them, and this Ocean from surging, and this Tree from bearing fruit, and this Cloud from pouring down its rain, and this Sun from giving its light, and this Heaven from ascending on high. Yet, so hath it been irrevocably decreed in this Day.

Would that I had never been, and that My mother had never borne Me! Would that I had never heard of that which befell Him at the hands of those who worshipped the Names of God and yet slew Him Who is their Author, their Creator, their Fashioner, and their Revealer! Woe betide them for following the promptings of self and passion, and for committing that which caused the Maids of Heaven to faint away in their celestial chambers and the Spirit to cover its face in the dust by reason of that which these wolves have inflicted upon the Lord of Lords. All things weep at the tears I shed for Him; all things lament at the sighs I uttered over Our separation. Such indeed is My sorrow that the melodies of eternity can no longer flow from My lips, nor can the breezes of the spirit waft from My heart. And had I not sought to protect Myself, My body would have been cleft asunder and My life extinguished. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Days of Remembrance’)

[1] Mírzá ‘Alíy-i-Sayyáḥ-i-Marághih’í, the recipient of the Tablet

May 16

Say: Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but His Being, and in My self but His Self, and in My movement but His Movement, and in My acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Praised. There hath not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself naught could be seen but God. 

- Baha'u'llah  ('The Summons of the Lord of Hosts')

May 15

God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause. Whosoever ariseth to discharge this duty must needs, ere he proclaimeth His Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his hearers. 

- Baha'u'llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah’)

May 14

 

Ye have opposed Him [Baha’u’llah] and all that He hath manifested, even though We admonished you in Our Tablets that whoso calleth to mind His most great and most wondrous Name should arise from his place and repeat nineteen times: “Glorified be God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven!”, and then another nineteen times: “Glorified be God, the Lord of all glory and dominion!”, and so forth, as We have revealed in a most mighty Tablet.[1] Ye, however, have disbelieved in Him and in His verses. Nay, not contenting yourselves with that, ye have disregarded the rights of God which revert unto Him, and have given no heed to that commandment of God which pertaineth to His own Self, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing. Ye have rejected all of His actions, one after another, and taken pleasure in deriding Him. Among you is he who saith: “He drinketh tea!”, while another complaineth: “He partaketh of food!” Yet another doth object to His apparel, though every thread thereof testifieth that there is none other God but Him and that He is the Object of the adoration of all who are nigh unto God. I bear witness that at times the Ancient Beauty was in want of even a change of garments. Thus testifieth the Tongue of truth and knowledge. Many a night was He unable to provide sustenance for His kindred, yet He concealed His plight to safeguard the honour of God’s mighty and unassailable Cause, and this notwithstanding that all things were created for His sake and that the key to the treasure-houses of earth and heaven is in His grasp. 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet in which He speaks in the voice of the Báb [based on footnotes to the Tablet]; ‘Days of Remembrance’)

[1] These invocations come from a Tablet of the Báb addressed to Mullá Báqir-i-Tabrízí about Him Whom God shall make manifest.

May 13

The station which he who hath truly recognized this Revelation will attain is the same as the one ordained for such prophets of the house of Israel as are not regarded as Manifestations 'endowed with constancy.' 

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The World Order of Baha'u'llah’)

May 12

Blessed is that teacher who remaineth faithful to the Covenant of God, and occupieth himself with the education of children. For him hath the Supreme Pen inscribed that reward which is revealed in the Most Holy Book. Blessed, blessed is he! 

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations’, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

May 11

Be ye God's manifestations of trustworthiness in every land. So perfectly should ye mirror forth this quality that even were ye to travel through cities heaped with gold, your gaze would not for a single moment be seduced by its allure. This is the standard required of you, O assemblage of true believers. Assist ye your gracious Lord with your wealth and substance so that in all the worlds of God His servants may perceive from you the sweet savours of the one true God. 

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

May 10

Of the new Obligatory Prayers that were later revealed, the long Obligatory Prayer should be said at those times when one feeleth himself in a prayerful mood. In truth, it hath been revealed in such wise that if it be recited to a rock, that rock would stir and speak forth; and if it be recited to a mountain, that mountain would move and flow. Well is it with the one who reciteth it and fulfilleth God's precepts. Whichever prayer is read will suffice. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Compilation on ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

May 9

We, verily, enjoined the people of the Bayán to wear silken garments and to be immaculate in their person and dress, that His [Baha'u'llah's] gaze might not fall upon aught that would displease Him. Likewise, every provision that hath been expounded in Our perspicuous Book is but for His sake, were ye to judge fairly. We created the heavens and the earth and all that lieth between them for His loved ones, how much more for the sake of His most resplendent, His most glorious and radiant beauty. And yet ye have laid hold on that which We have destined for Him and seized upon it to reject My Beloved. What hath made you so heedless, O people of malice? And what will satisfy you in this day, O stirrers of sedition? 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet in which He speaks in the voice of the Báb [based on footnotes to the Tablet]; ‘Days of Remembrance’)

May 8

The Great Being saith: The man of consummate learning and the sage endowed with penetrating wisdom are the two eyes to the body of mankind. God willing, the earth shall never be deprived of these two greatest gifts.... 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

May 7

High, immeasurably high art Thou above the endeavors of the evanescent creature to soar unto the throne of Thine eternity, or of the poor and wretched to attain the summit of Thine all-sufficing glory! From eternity Thou didst Thyself describe Thine own Self unto Thy Self, and extol, in Thine own Essence, Thine Essence unto Thine Essence. I swear by Thy glory, O my Best-Beloved! Who is there besides Thee that can claim to know Thee, and who save Thyself can make fitting mention of Thee? Thou art He Who, from eternity, abode in His realm, in the glory of His transcendent unity, and the splendors of His holy grandeur. Were any one except Thee to be deemed worthy of mention, in all the kingdoms of Thy creation, from the highest realms of immortality down to the level of this nether world, how could it, then, be demonstrated that Thou art established upon the throne of Thy unity, and how could the wondrous virtues of Thy oneness and Thy singleness be glorified?

I bear witness, this very moment, to what Thou hast testified for Thine own Self, ere Thou hadst created the heavens and the earth, that Thou art God, and that there is none other God besides Thee. Thou hast from everlasting been potent, through the Manifestations of Thy might, to reveal the signs of Thy power, and Thou hast ever made known, through the Day-Springs of Thy knowledge, the words of Thy wisdom. No one besides Thee hath ever been found worthy to be mentioned before the Tabernacle of Thy unity, and none except Thyself hath proved himself capable of being praised within the hallowed court of Thy oneness. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

May 6

This is the Book of Generosity which hath been revealed by the King of Eternity. Whoso adorneth himself with this virtue hath distinguished himself and will be blessed by the All-Merciful from His exalted Kingdom of Glory. However, despite his high rank and prominent position, were he to pass beyond the limits, he would be regarded among the prodigal by the All-Knowing, the All- Wise. Cling ye unto moderation. This is the commandment that He Who is the All-Possessing, the Most High hath enjoined upon you in His Generous Book. O ye that are the exponents of generosity and the manifestations thereof! Be generous unto them whom ye find in manifest poverty. O ye that are possessed of riches! Take heed lest outward appearance deter you from benevolent deeds in the path of God, the Lord of all mankind. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Compilation of Compilation, vol. I, Huqúqu'lláh')

May 5

O Son of Spirit! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting. 

- Baha'u'llah  (Hidden Words)

May 4

I testify unto that whereunto have testified all created things, and the Concourse on high, and the inmates of the all-highest Paradise, and beyond them the Tongue of Grandeur itself from the all-glorious Horizon, that Thou art God, that there is no God but Thee, and that He Who hath been manifested is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, through Whom the letters B and E (Be) have been joined and knit together. I testify that it is He Whose name hath been set down by the Pen of the Most High, and Who hath been mentioned in the Books of God, the Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

May 3

God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation. He, in truth, hath manifested Him Who is the Day-Spring of Revelation, Who conversed on Sinai, through Whom the Supreme Horizon hath been made to shine, and the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing hath spoken, and through Whom the call hath been proclaimed unto all who are in heaven and on earth: “Lo, the All-Possessing is come. Earth and heaven, glory and dominion are God’s, the Lord of all men, and the Possessor of the Throne on high and of earth below!” 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

May 2

Say, verily any one follower of this Faith can, by the leave of God, prevail over all who dwell in heaven and earth and in whatever lieth between them; for indeed this is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the one true Faith. Therefore fear ye not, neither be ye grieved.

Say, God hath, according to that which is revealed in the Book, taken upon Himself the task of ensuring the ascendancy of any one of the followers of the Truth, over and above one hundred other souls, and the supremacy of one hundred believers over one thousand non-believers and the domination of one thousand of the faithful over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth; inasmuch as God calleth into being whatsoever He willeth by virtue of His behest. Verily He is potent over all things.

Say, the power of God is in the hearts of those who believe in the unity of God and bear witness that no God is there but Him, while the hearts of them that associate partners with God are impotent, devoid of life on this earth, for assuredly they are dead. 

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Bab’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Power of Divine Assistance)