- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
May 14
May 13
The summons and the message which We gave were never
intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its
entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed
unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true liberty. The whole earth
is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God’s Revelation.
- Baha’u’llah (Lawh-i-Dunya [Tablet of the World]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the
Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
May 12
Deal not treacherously with the substance of your
neighbour. 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 (Tablet to
Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts’)
May 11
The Cause of God, all deeds and words, are held within the
grasp of His power. “All things lie imprisoned within the hollow of His mighty
Hand; all things are easy and possible unto Him.” He accomplisheth whatsoever
He willeth, and doeth all that He desireth. “Whoso sayeth ‘why’ or ‘wherefore’
hath spoken blasphemy!” Were these people to shake off the slumber of
negligence and realize that which their hands have wrought, they would surely
perish, and would of their own accord cast themselves into fire—their end and
real abode. Have they not heard that which He hath revealed: “He shall not be
asked of His doings?” [Qur’án 21:23] In the light of these utterances, how can
man be so bold as to question Him, and busy himself with idle sayings?
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
May 10
Wert thou to quaff the mystic Wine of everlasting life from
the chalice of the words of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, thou wouldst be enabled
to forsake all that thou dost possess and to proclaim My Name before all
mankind. Cleanse then thy soul with the waters of detachment. Verily, this is
the Remembrance that hath shone forth above the horizon of creation, which
shall purge thy soul from the dross of the world.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
May 9
All praise be to the one true God—exalted be His
glory—inasmuch as He hath, through the Pen of the Most High, unlocked the doors
of men’s hearts. Every verse which this Pen hath revealed is a bright and
shining portal that discloseth the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure
and stainless deeds.
- Baha’u’llah (Lawh-i-Dunya [Tablet of the World]; ‘Tablets
of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
May 8
…in every age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books
is for no other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning
and unravel their innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without
understanding, is of no abiding profit unto man.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The
Kitab-i-Iqan’)
May 7
….they [Muslims] have foolishly clung to the term “seal,”
and remained utterly deprived of the recognition of Him Who is the Revealer of
both the Seal and the Beginning, in the day of His presence. “If God should
chastise men for their perverse doings, He would not leave upon the earth a
moving thing! But to an appointed time doth He respite them.” [Qur’án 16:61]
But apart from all these things, had this people attained unto a drop of the
crystal streams flowing from the words: “God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and
ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth,” they would not have raised any unseemly
cavils, such as these, against the focal Center of His Revelation.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
May 6
Know of a truth that your subjects are God’s trust amongst
you. Watch ye, therefore, over them as ye watch over your own selves. Beware
that ye allow not wolves to become the shepherds of the fold, or pride and
conceit to deter you from turning unto the poor and the desolate.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III,
Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
May 5
How strange! These people with one hand cling to those
verses of the Qur’án and those traditions of the people of certitude which they
have found to accord with their inclinations and interests, and with the other
reject those which are contrary to their selfish desires. “Believe ye then part
of the Book, and deny part?” [Qur’án 2:85] How could ye judge that which ye
understand not? Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book, after speaking
of the “Seal” in His exalted utterance: “Muhammad is the Apostle of God and the
Seal of the Prophets,” [Qur’án 33:40] hath revealed unto all people the promise
of “attainment unto the divine Presence.” To this attainment to the presence of
the immortal King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already
mentioned. The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more
explicit than “attainment unto the divine Presence” hath been revealed in the
Qur’án. Well is it with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein
most of the people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
May 4
Commit not, O people, that which dishonoureth your name and
the fair name of the Cause of God amongst men. Beware lest ye approach that
which your minds abhor. Fear God and
follow not in the footsteps of them that are gone astray.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet
to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts’)
May 3
They who exhort others unto justice, while themselves
committing iniquity, stand accused of falsehood by the inmates of the Kingdom
and by those who circle round the throne of their Lord, the Almighty, the
Beneficent, for that which their tongues have uttered.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to
Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of
Hosts’)
May 2
Verily, this is the Remembrance that hath shone forth above
the horizon of creation, which shall purge thy soul from the dross of the
world. Abandon thy palaces to the people of the graves, and thine empire to
whosoever desireth it, and turn, then, unto the Kingdom. This, verily, is what
God hath chosen for thee, wert thou of them that turn unto Him… Shouldst thou
desire to bear the weight of thy dominion, bear it then to aid the Cause of thy
Lord. Glorified be this station which whoever attaineth thereunto hath attained
unto all good that proceedeth from Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The
Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
May 1
They that have failed to turn unto the Countenance of God in
this Revelation are indeed bereft of life. They move as bidden by their own
selfish desires, and are in truth accounted among the dead.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of Temple]; ‘The Summons of the
Lord of Hosts’)
April 30
Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn thou towards
the face of thy Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world with the
ornament of the favours of thy Lord, the King of everlasting days. For We
perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is the Desire of all nations
hath shed upon the kingdoms of the unseen and of the seen the splendour of the
light of His most excellent names, and enveloped them with the radiance of the
luminaries of His most gracious favours — favours which none can reckon except
Him, Who is the omnipotent Protector of the entire creation.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
April 29
Shake off, O heedless ones, the slumber of negligence, that
ye may behold the radiance which His glory hath spread through the world. How
foolish are those who murmur against the premature birth of His light. O ye who
are inly blind! Whether too soon or too late, the evidences of His effulgent
glory are now actually manifest. It behoveth you to ascertain whether or not
such a light hath appeared. It is neither within your power nor mine to set the
time at which it should be made manifest. God’s inscrutable Wisdom hath fixed
its hour beforehand. Be content, O people, with that which God hath desired for
you and predestined unto you....
- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of
Baha’u’llah’)
April 28
This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names
of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who
are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: “Put away the cups of Paradise
and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá have
entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the wine of reunion,
from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most
High.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
April 27
Say: This is the Paradise on whose foliage the wine of
utterance hath imprinted the testimony: “He that was hidden from the eyes of
men is revealed, girded with sovereignty and power!” This is the Paradise the
rustling of whose leaves proclaimeth: “O ye that inhabit the heavens and the
earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who, from
everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now come.”
From the whispering breeze that wafteth amidst its branches there cometh the
cry: “He Who is the sovereign Lord of all is made manifest. The Kingdom is
God’s,” while from its streaming waters can be heard the murmur: “All eyes are
gladdened, for He Whom none hath beheld, Whose secret no one hath discovered,
hath lifted the veil of glory, and uncovered the countenance of Beauty.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
April 26
We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse
thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?
The inebriation of Thy presence, O Well-Beloved of all
worlds, hath seized and possessed me.
Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings
that He Who is the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridván and
entered it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath
made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be Our most mighty
Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all mankind.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
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