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Detachment is as the sun; in whatsoever heart it doth shine it quencheth the fire of covetousness and self. He whose sight is illumined with the light of understanding will assuredly detach himself from the world and the vanities thereof.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Baha’i World' 1926-1928)
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How many those who entered within the Abode of Paradise, the Seat wherein the throne of God had been established, and stood before their Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most Great, only to inquire about the four Gates or of some Imám of the Islamic Faith! [1] Such was the state of these souls, if ye be of them that comprehend. It is even as ye witness in the present day: those who have disbelieved in God and joined partners with Him cling to a single one of Our Names, and are debarred from recognizing Him Who is the Creator of all Names. We testify that such men are of a truth amongst the people of the Fire. They ask the sun to expound the words of the shadow, and the True One to explain the utterances of His creatures, could ye but perceive it! Say: O people! The sun offereth naught save the effulgence of its own light and that which appeareth therefrom, whilst all else seek illumination from its rays. Fear God, and be not of the ignorant!
- Baha'u'llah (‘Suriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons
of the Lord of Hosts’)
[1] These are examples of the types of questions put to the
Báb. According to the teachings of Shí’i Islám, leadership of the Islamic
community belonged of right, after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, to a
line of twelve successors, descendants of His daughter Fátimih, known as
“Imáms''. This line being eventually severed through the “occultation'' of the
last Imám, communication with the latter was for a time maintained through a
succession of four intermediaries known as “Gates''.
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Let not the world and its vileness grieve you. Happy is he whom riches fill not with vain-glory, nor poverty with sorrow.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Baha’i World' 1926-1928)
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Morning
Unfaithful is the world. Were it worthy of regard or acceptable in the sight of God, they that were the Manifestations of Justice would not have fallen victims to the talons of tyranny. What greater proof of the baseness of the world and its degradation in the eyes of the Almighty!
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Baha’i World 1926-1928)
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…behold this Revelation. The essences of the people have, through divinely-conceived designs, been set in motion and until the present day three hundred and thirteen disciples have been chosen. In the land of Sád [Isfáhán], which to outward seeming is a great city, in every corner of whose seminaries are vast numbers of people regarded as divines and doctors, yet when the time came for inmost essences to be drawn forth, only its sifter of wheat donned the robe of discipleship. This is the mystery of what was uttered by the kindred of the Prophet Muhammad—upon them be the peace of God—concerning this Revelation, saying that the abased shall be exalted and the exalted shall be abased.
- The Báb (From the Persian Bayán; ‘Selections from the Writings
of the Báb)
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Morning
Troubles, such as no eye hath beheld, have touched this
Wronged One. In proclaiming His Cause, He, in no wise, hesitated. Addressing
Himself unto the kings and rulers of the earth—may God, exalted be He, assist
them—He imparted unto them that which is the cause of the well-being, the
unity, the harmony, and the reconstruction of the world, and of the
tranquillity of the nations. Among them was Napoleon III, who is reported to
have made a certain statement, as a result of which We sent him Our Tablet while
in Adrianople. To this, however, he did not reply. After Our arrival in the
Most Great Prison there reached Us a letter from his Minister, the first part
of which was in Persian, and the latter in his own handwriting. In it he was
cordial, and wrote the following: “I have, as requested by you, delivered your
letter, and until now have received no answer. We have, however, issued the
necessary recommendations to our Minister in Constantinople and our consuls in
those regions. If there be anything you wish done, inform us, and we will carry
it out.”
From his words it became apparent that he understood the purpose of this Servant to have been a request for material assistance. We, therefore, revealed in his (Napoleon III’s) name verses in the Súratu’l-Haykal…
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
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Morning
Since that Day is a great Day it would be sorely trying for
thee to identify thyself with the believers. For the believers of that Day are
the inmates of Paradise, while the unbelievers are the inmates of the fire. And
know thou of a certainty that by Paradise is meant recognition of and
submission unto Him Whom God shall make manifest, and by the fire the company
of such souls as would fail to submit unto Him or to be resigned to His
good-pleasure. On that Day thou wouldst regard thyself as the inmate of Paradise
and as a true believer in Him, whereas in reality thou wouldst suffer thyself
to be wrapt in veils and thy habitation would be the nethermost fire, though
thou thyself wouldst not be cognizant thereof.
Compare His manifestation with that of the Point of the Qur’án. How vast the number of the Letters of the Gospel who eagerly expected Him, yet from the time of His declaration up to five years no one became an inmate of Paradise, except the Commander of the Faithful [Imám ‘Alí], and those who secretly believed in Him. All the rest were accounted as inmates of the fire, though they considered themselves as dwellers in Paradise.
- The Báb (From the Persian Bayán; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
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God hath, likewise, as a bounty from His presence, abolished the concept of “uncleanness”, whereby divers things and peoples have been held to be impure. He, of a certainty, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous. Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day of Ridván, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes. This, verily, is a token of My loving providence, which hath encompassed all the worlds. Consort ye then with the followers of all religions, and proclaim ye the Cause of your Lord, the Most Compassionate; this is the very crown of deeds, if ye be of them who understand.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
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In this Revelation the Lord of the universe hath deigned to bestow His mighty utterances and resplendent signs upon the Point of the Bayán, and hath ordained them as His matchless testimony for all created things. Were all the people that dwell on earth to assemble together, they would be unable to produce a single verse like unto the ones which God hath caused to stream forth from the tongue of the Point of the Bayán. Indeed, if any living creature were to pause to meditate he would undoubtedly realize that these verses are not the work of man, but are solely to be ascribed unto God, the One, the Peerless, Who causeth them to flow forth from the tongue of whomsoever He willeth, and hath not revealed nor will He reveal them save through the Focal Point of God’s Primal Will. He it is, through Whose dispensations divine Messengers are raised up and heavenly Books are sent down. Had human beings been able to accomplish this deed surely someone would have brought forth at least one verse during the period of twelve hundred and seventy years which hath elapsed since the revelation of the Qur’án until that of the Bayán. However, all men have proved themselves impotent and have utterly failed to do so, although they endeavoured, with their vehement might, to quench the flame of the Word of God.
- The Báb (From the Persian Bayán; ‘Selections from
the Writings of the Báb)
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Morning
And now regarding His words, that the Son of man shall “come in the clouds of heaven.” By the term “clouds” is meant those things that are contrary to the ways and desires of men. Even as He hath revealed in the verse already quoted: “As oft as an Apostle cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, ye swell with pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying others.” [Qur’án 2:87] These “clouds” signify, in one sense, the annulment of laws, the abrogation of former Dispensations, the repeal of rituals and customs current amongst men, the exalting of the illiterate faithful above the learned opposers of the Faith. In another sense, they mean the appearance of that immortal Beauty in the image of mortal man, with such human limitations as eating and drinking, poverty and riches, glory and abasement, sleeping and waking, and such other things as cast doubt in the minds of men, and cause them to turn away. All such veils are symbolically referred to as “clouds.”
- Baha'u'llah ('The Kitab-i-Iqan')
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By God! however great Our desire to be brief, yet We feel We cannot restrain Our pen. Notwithstanding all that We have mentioned, how innumerable are the pearls which have remained unpierced in the shell of Our heart! How many the húrís of inner meaning that are as yet concealed within the chambers of divine wisdom! None hath yet approached them;—húrís, “whom no man nor spirit hath touched before.” [Qur’án 55:56] Notwithstanding all that hath been said, it seemeth as if not one letter of Our purpose hath been uttered, nor a single sign divulged concerning Our object. When will a faithful seeker be found who will don the garb of pilgrimage, attain the Ka’bih of the heart’s desire, and, without ear or tongue, discover the mysteries of divine utterance?
- Baha'u'llah ('The Kitab-i-Iqan')
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Once the validity of a divinely appointed Prophet hath been established, to none is given the right to ask why or wherefore. Rather is it incumbent upon all to accept and obey whatsoever He saith. This is that which God hath decreed in all His Books, Scriptures and Tablets.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other
Writings’)
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The heart must needs… be cleansed from the idle sayings of men, and sanctified from every earthly affection, so that it may discover the hidden meaning of divine inspiration, and become the treasury of the mysteries of divine knowledge. Thus hath it been said: “He that treadeth the snow-white Path, and followeth in the footsteps of the Crimson Pillar, shall never attain unto his abode unless his hands are empty of those worldly things cherished by men.” This is the prime requisite of whosoever treadeth this path. Ponder thereon, that, with eyes unveiled, thou mayest perceive the truth of these words.
- Baha'u'llah ('The Kitab-i-Iqan')
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To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. He is, and hath ever been, veiled in the ancient eternity of His Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight of men. “No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving.”...
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
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Say: Is there any doubt concerning God? Behold how He hath
come down from the heaven of His grace, girded with power and invested with
sovereignty. Is there any doubt concerning His signs? Open ye your eyes, and
consider His clear evidence. Paradise is on your right hand, and hath been
brought nigh unto you, while Hell hath been made to blaze. Witness its
devouring flame. Haste ye to enter into Paradise, as a token of Our mercy unto
you, and drink ye from the hands of the All-Merciful the Wine that is life indeed.
Drink with healthy relish, O people of Bahá. Ye are indeed they with whom it shall be well. This is what they who have near access to God have attained. This is the flowing water ye were promised in the Qur’án, and later in the Bayán, as a recompense from your Lord, the God of Mercy. Blessed are they that quaff it.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
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Another of his questions: “In the Mahábád and Zoroastrian
religions it is said: ’Our faith and religion is superior to every other. The
other Prophets and the religions they have instituted are true, but they occupy
different stations before God, even as, in the court of a king, there is a
gradation of ranks from the prime minister to the common soldier. Whosoever
wisheth, let him keep the precepts of his religion.’ Nor do they impose upon
any soul…”
Regarding their statement that “our faith and religion is superior to every other”, by this is meant such Prophets as have appeared before them. Viewed from one perspective these holy Souls are one: the first among them is the same as the last, and the last is the same as the first. All have proceeded from God, unto Him have they summoned all men, and unto Him have they returned.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
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In Mázindarán a vast number of the servants of God were exterminated. The Governor, under the influence of calumniators, robbed a great many of all that they possessed. Among the charges he laid against them was that they had been laying up arms, whereas upon investigation it was found out that they had nothing but an unloaded rifle! Gracious God! This people need no weapons of destruction, inasmuch as they have girded themselves to reconstruct the world. Their hosts are the hosts of goodly deeds, and their arms the arms of upright conduct, and their commander the fear of God. Blessed that one that judgeth with fairness. By the righteousness of God! Such hath been the patience, the calm, the resignation and contentment of this people that they have become the exponents of justice, and so great hath been their forbearance, that they have suffered themselves to be killed rather than kill, and this notwithstanding that these whom the world hath wronged have endured tribulations the like of which the history of the world hath never recorded, nor the eyes of any nation witnessed. What is it that could have induced them to reconcile themselves to these grievous trials, and to refuse to put forth a hand to repel them? What could have caused such resignation and serenity? The true cause is to be found in the ban which the Pen of Glory hath, day and night, chosen to impose, and in Our assumption of the reins of authority, through the power and might of Him Who is the Lord of all mankind.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
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On this plane, [THE COURT OF THE ALL-PRAISED] the traveller
meeteth with many a trial and reverse. Now is he lifted up to heaven, now is he
cast into the depths. As it hath been said: “Now Thou drawest me to the throne
of the realms above, again Thou scorchest me in the fire of hell.” The hidden
mystery of this station is divulged in the following blessed verse from the
Súrih of the Cave:
“And thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the right of their cave, and, when it set, leave them on the left, while they were in its spacious chamber. This is one of the signs of God. Guided indeed is he whom God guideth; but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a guardian and guide.” [Qur’an 18:17]
If a soul could grasp the allusions that lie hid in this single verse, it would suffice him. Such indeed are those whom He hath extolled as “men whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of God”. [Qur’an 24:37]
This station is that of the true standard of knowledge and the final end of tests and trials. Nor is it needed, in this realm, to seek after knowledge, for He hath said concerning the guidance of wayfarers on this plane, “Fear ye God; God will teach you”, [Qur’an 2: 282] and again, “Knowledge is a light which God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth.” [From a Hadith]
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Four Valleys’, revised translation by the Baha’i World Center included in ‘The Call of the Divine Beloved’)
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Say: Would ye worship him who neither heareth nor seeth, and who is of a truth the most abject and wretched of all God’s servants? Wherefore have ye failed to follow the One Who hath come unto you from the Source of Divine Command bearing the tidings of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great? O people! Be not like unto those who presented themselves before Our throne, and yet failed to perceive or comprehend; these are indeed a contemptible people. We recited unto them verses that would enrapture the dwellers of the heavenly Dominion and the inmates of the Kingdom on high, and yet they departed veiled therefrom, and hearkened rather unto the voice of him who is but a servant of God and a mere creation of His Will. Thus do We impart unto you that which shall guide you towards the path of God’s favoured ones.
- Baha'u'llah (‘Suriy-i-Haykal, ‘The Summons of the
Lord of Hosts’)
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This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty. He well knoweth the actions of men. He it is Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but comprehend it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the angels of God are seen descending. Say: This is the Day of mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains have passed away, and the heavens have been folded together, and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but understand it. Who is it that can protect you? None, by Him Who is the All-Merciful! None, except God, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Beneficent. Every woman that hath had a burden in her womb hath cast her burden. We see men drunken in this Day, the Day in which men and angels have been gathered together.
- Baha’u’llah (’Gleanings form the Writings
of Baha’u’llah’)
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