They that are just and fair-minded in their judgement occupy
a sublime station and hold an exalted rank. The light of piety and uprightness
shineth resplendent from these souls. We earnestly hope that the peoples and
countries of the world may not be deprived of the splendours of these two
luminaries. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 11
O people of the earth! Verily the resplendent Light of God
hath appeared in your midst, invested with this unerring Book, that ye may be
guided aright to the ways of peace and, by the leave of God, step out of the
darkness into the light and onto this far-extended Path of Truth [Qur’án
5:15–18]... (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma,
‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
September 10
O Pen! Send down out
of the clouds of Thy generosity that which shall enrich all created things, and
withhold not Thy favours from the world of being. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful in the
heaven of Thine eternity, and the Lord of infinite grace unto all who inhabit
the kingdom of names. Look not upon the
people and the things they possess; look rather upon the wonders of Thy gifts
and favours. Gather then Thy servants
beneath Thy shade that shadoweth all mankind.
Stretch forth the hand of bounty over all creation, and the fingers of
bestowal over all existence. This,
verily, is that which beseemeth Thee, though the people understand it not. Whosoever turneth his face towards Thee doeth
so by Thy grace, and as to him who turneth away, Thy Lord, in truth, is
independent of all created things. Unto
this bear witness His true and devoted servants. (Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal,
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)
September 9
The breeze of the bounty of the King of creation hath caused
even the physical earth to be changed, were ye to ponder in your hearts the
mysteries of divine Revelation. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
September 8
Consider the sun.
Were it to say now, “I am the sun of yesterday,” it would speak the truth. And
should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to be other than that
sun, it still would speak the truth. In like manner, if it be said that all the
days are but one and the same, it is correct and true. And if it be said, with
respect to their particular names and designations, that they differ, that
again is true. For though they are the same, yet one doth recognize in each a
separate designation, a specific attribute, a particular character. Conceive
accordingly the distinction, variation, and unity characteristic of the various
Manifestations of holiness, that thou mayest comprehend the allusions made by
the Creator of all names and attributes to the mysteries of distinction and
unity, and discover the answer to thy question as to why that everlasting
Beauty should have, at sundry times, called Himself by different names and
titles.... (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)
September 7
I am the one, O my Lord, who hath held fast the cord of Thy
loving-kindness, and clung to the hem of Thy mercy and favors. Do Thou ordain
for me and for my loved ones the good of this world and of the world to come.
Supply them, then, with the Hidden Gift Thou didst ordain for the choicest
among Thy creatures. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)
September 6
O people of the earth! To attain the ultimate retreat in
God, the True One, are we to seek a Gate other than this exalted Being?...
When God created the Remembrance He presented Him to the
assemblage of all created beings upon the altar of His Will. Thereupon the
concourse of the angels bowed low in adoration to God, the Peerless, the
Incomparable; while Satan waxed proud, refusing to submit to His Remembrance;
hence he is identified in the Book of God as the arrogant one and the accursed.
[Qur’án 2:32; 38:74–78] (The Báb, excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections
from the Writings of the Báb)
September 5
It is clear to thine Eminence that all the variations which
the wayfarer in the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being,
proceed from his own vision. We shall give an example of this, that its meaning
may become fully clear: Consider the visible sun; although it shineth with one
radiance upon all things, and at the behest of the King of Manifestation
bestoweth light on all creation, yet in each place it becometh manifest and
sheddeth its bounty according to the potentialities of that place. For
instance, in a mirror it reflecteth its own disk and shape, and this is due to
the sensitivity of the mirror; in a crystal it maketh fire to appear, and in
other things it showeth only the effect of its shining, but not its full disk.
And yet, through that effect, by the command of the Creator, it traineth each
thing according to the quality of that thing, as thou observest.
In like manner, colors become visible in every object
according to the nature of that object. For instance, in a yellow globe, the
rays shine yellow; in a white the rays are white; and in a red, the red rays
are manifest. Then these variations are from the object, not from the shining
light. And if a place be shut away from the light, as by walls or a roof, it
will be entirely bereft of the splendor of the light, nor will the sun shine
thereon. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Seven Valleys’)
September 4
“Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live
in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements”. For this
day is the Lord of all days, and whatsoever hath been revealed therein by the
Source of divine Revelation is the truth and the essence of all principles.
This day may be likened to a sea and all other days to gulfs and channels that
have branched therefrom. That which is uttered and revealed in this day is the
foundation, and is accounted as the Mother Book and the Source of all
utterance. Although every day is associated with God, magnified be His glory,
yet these days have been singled out and adorned with the ornament of intimate
association with Him, for they have been extolled in the books of the Chosen
Ones of God, as well as of some of His Prophets, as the “Day of God”. In a
sense this day and that which appeareth therein are to be regarded as the
primary principles, while all other days and whatsoever appeareth in them are
to be viewed as the secondary ordinances deduced therefrom, and which as such
are subordinate and relative. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Tabernacle of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh’s
Responses to Mánikchí Sáhib and Other Writings’)
September 3
It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions upon
justice and fairness. In The Hidden Words this exalted utterance hath been
revealed from Our Most August Pen:
‘O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest
Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see
with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine
own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour. Ponder this in
thy heart; how it behoveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and
the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.’ (Baha’u’llah,
‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
September 2
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Every man of insight
confesseth Thy sovereignty and Thy dominion, and every discerning eye
perceiveth the greatness of Thy majesty and the compelling power of Thy might.
The winds of tests are powerless to hold back them that enjoy near access to
Thee from setting their faces towards the horizon of Thy glory, and the
tempests of trials must fail to draw away and hinder such as are wholly devoted
to Thy will from approaching Thy court. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and Meditations
by Baha’u’llah’)
September 1
O SON OF THE WONDROUS VISION! I have breathed within thee a
breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken
Me and sought a beloved other than Me? (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words of
Baha’u’llah’)
August 31
Deal not treacherously with the substance of your neighbor.
Be ye trustworthy on earth, and withhold not from the
poor the things given unto you by God through His grace. He, verily, will
bestow upon you the double of what ye possess. He, in truth, is the
All-Bounteous, the Most Generous. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
August 30
Truly, none must be careless in the matter of safeguarding
the divine Tablets. In former times, when plans were laid to seize some of the
friends, before all else it was the writings that fell into the hands of the
enemy. This is not permissible. The friends should designate a strong, secure
place for storing the divine verses so that they may not be exposed to the
touch of unworthy hands, even though these verses are, and shall always be,
such as ‘none shall touch but the purified' [Qur'án 79:56] (Baha’u’llah,
compilation ‘Importance of collecting and safeguarding Baha’i Writings’,
prepared by Baha’i International Archives; published in Baha’i Studies Review,
no. 11, 2003)
August 29
O Living Temple! We
have, in very truth, appointed Thee to be the sign of My majesty amidst all
that hath been and all that shall be, and have ordained Thee to be the emblem
of My Cause betwixt the heavens and the earth, through My word “Be”, and it is!
(Baha'u'llah, Suriy-i-Haykal, 'The Summons of the Lord of Hosts')
August 28
We shall always be with you; if We inhale the perfume of
your fellowship, Our heart will assuredly rejoice, for naught else can satisfy
Us. To this beareth witness every man of true understanding. (Baha’u’llah,
‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’)
August 27
In like manner, strive thou to comprehend from these lucid,
these powerful, conclusive, and unequivocal statements the meaning of the
“cleaving of the heaven”—one of the signs that must needs herald the coming of
the last Hour, the Day of Resurrection. As He hath said: “When the heaven shall
be cloven asunder.” [Qur’án 82:1] By “heaven” is meant the heaven of divine
Revelation, which is elevated with every Manifestation, and rent asunder with
every subsequent one. By “cloven asunder” is meant that the former Dispensation
is superseded and annulled. I swear by God! That this heaven being cloven
asunder is, to the discerning, an act mightier than the cleaving of the skies!
Ponder a while. That a divine Revelation which for years hath been securely
established; beneath whose shadow all who have embraced it have been reared and
nurtured; by the light of whose law generations of men have been disciplined;
the excellency of whose word men have heard recounted by their fathers; in such
wise that human eye hath beheld naught but the pervading influence of its
grace, and mortal ear hath heard naught but the resounding majesty of its
command—what act is mightier than that such a Revelation should, by the power
of God, be “cloven asunder” and be abolished at the appearance of one soul?
Reflect, is this a mightier act than that which these abject and foolish men
have imagined the “cleaving of the heaven” to mean? (Baha’u’llah, ‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
August 26
It is Our wish and desire that every one of you may become a
source of all goodness unto men, and an example of uprightness to mankind.
Beware lest ye prefer yourselves above your neighbors. Fix your gaze upon Him
Who is the Temple of God amongst men. He, in truth, hath offered up His life as
a ransom for the redemption of the world. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the
Gracious, the Most High. If any differences arise amongst you, behold Me
standing before your face, and overlook the faults of one another for My name's
sake and as a token of your love for My manifest and resplendent Cause. We love
to see you at all times consorting in amity and concord within the paradise of
My good-pleasure, and to inhale from your acts the fragrance of friendliness
and unity, of loving-kindness and fellowship. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; compilation ‘Unlocking the Power of
Action’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
August 25
Therefore, hath it been said: “Knowledge is a light which
God casteth into the heart of whomsoever He willeth.” It is this kind of
knowledge which is and hath ever been praiseworthy, and not the limited
knowledge that hath sprung forth from veiled and obscured minds. This limited
knowledge they even stealthily borrow one from the other, and vainly pride
themselves therein! (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
August 24
Every discerning observer will recognize that in the
Dispensation of the Qur’án both the Book and the Cause of Jesus were confirmed.
As to the matter of names, Muhammad, Himself, declared: “I am Jesus.” He
recognized the truth of the signs, prophecies, and words of Jesus, and
testified that they were all of God. In this sense, neither the person of Jesus
nor His writings hath differed from that of Muhammad and of His holy Book,
inasmuch as both have championed the Cause of God, uttered His praise, and
revealed His commandments. Thus it is that Jesus, Himself, declared: “I go away
and come again unto you.” (Baha’u’llah, ‘Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah’)
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