O friends! You must all be so ablaze in this day with the fire of the love of God that the heat thereof may be manifest in all your veins, your limbs and members of your body, and the peoples of the world may be ignited by this heat and turn to the horizon of the Beloved.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
It is obvious and manifest that the true meaning of the utterances of the Birds of Eternity is revealed to none except those that manifest the Eternal Being, and the melodies of the Nightingale of Holiness can reach no ear save that of the denizens of the everlasting realm. The Copt of tyranny can never partake of the cup touched by the lips of the Sept of justice, and the Pharaoh of unbelief can never hope to recognize the hand of the Moses of truth. Even as He saith: “None knoweth the meaning thereof except God and them that are well-grounded in knowledge. [Qur’án 3:7] And yet, they have sought the interpretation of the Book from those that are wrapt in veils, and have refused to seek enlightenment from the fountain-head of knowledge.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
As to the children: We have directed that in the beginning they should be trained in the observances and laws of religion and, thereafter, in such branches of knowledge as are of benefit, and in commercial pursuits that are distinguished for integrity, and in deeds that will further the victory of God’s Cause or will attract some outcome which will draw the believer closer to his Lord.
We beg of God to assist the children of His loved ones and adorn them with wisdom, good conduct, integrity, and righteousness. He, verily, is the Forgiving, the Clement.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
- Baha’u’llah (Lawh-i-Hikmat, The Baha’i Year Book 1924-1925; Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)
...Glorified art Thou, O God, Thou art the Creator of the heavens and the earth and that which lieth between them. Thou art the sovereign Lord, the Most Holy, the Almighty, the All-Wise. Magnified be Thy Name, O God, send down upon them who have believed in God and in His signs a mighty succour from Thy presence such as to enable them to prevail over the generality of mankind.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Power of Divine Assistance)
These, in brief, are the prerequisites pertaining to those who obtain leave to undertake pilgrimage. First is physical health and a sound constitution. Second is possession of the means of travel, whether financial or otherwise. Most important, however, is obtaining permission prior to departure. Should all these conditions be fulfilled and yet wisdom dictate otherwise, it is not permissible to undertake the journey. The one true God hath revealed that “pilgrimage to the temple is a service due to God”, and to this verse He hath added the qualification “from those who are able to journey thither”.1 We beseech Him to graciously assist all to observe that whereunto they have been commanded. From the Dayspring of the Cause there appeareth naught save that which is conducive to the loftiness, exaltation, love, harmony, and unity of His servants. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
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 Ridvan, 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)
We testify that thou didst enter the prison, that thou didst present thyself and didst stand at the door, and thou didst hear the words of this Wronged One, by Whom all lamps are ignited.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
The third word we have recorded on the third leaf of Paradise is this: “O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee, and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.”
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
Consider how in this day all those who believe in the Scriptures of the past accept that Isaac was a sacrifice unto God; likewise, the people of the Qur’án affirm the same station for Ishmael. This, despite the fact that it is clear and evident to every possessor of insight and understanding that, to outward seeming, no such sacrifice took place, and all agree that an animal was sacrificed. Meditate, therefore, on the reason why a person that hath gone to the altar of sacrifice for the Beloved and yet hath come back alive was clothed with the robe of divine sacrifice and was invested with the ornament of His acceptance. There is no doubt that he attained this station and was adorned with this mantle through the agency of the Word of God. Thus, the appearance, the realization, and the fulfilment of every name, station, and created thing are all dependent upon the Word of God.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
Great is the Day, and mighty the Call! In one of Our Tablets We have revealed these exalted words: ‘Were the world of the spirit to be wholly converted into the sense of hearing, it could then claim to be worthy to hearken unto the Voice that calleth from the Supreme Horizon; for otherwise, these ears that are defiled with lying tales have never been, nor are they now, fit to hear it.’ Well is it with them that hearken; and woe betide the wayward.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)
His first enquiry concerneth the fact that, in the Scriptures of the past, Isaac is said to have been sacrificed unto God, whereas in the Qur’án this station—that is, the sacrifice unto God—hath been revealed and recorded for Ishmael. What he hath mentioned is undoubtedly the truth. All people must, however, fix their gaze upon the Word that hath dawned from the horizon of Divine Utterance. It is incumbent upon every soul to ponder its sovereignty and pervading influence, its might and all-encompassing power. There can be no doubt that these matters are confirmed and proven only through the Word of God. It is the Word of God that standeth supreme over all things. It is the begetter of the world and the educator of its people. It summoneth them that wander athirst in the vale of separation to direct their steps towards the ocean of reunion. It illuminateth the darkness of ignorance with the morning light of knowledge.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
Thou pridest thyself in the things thou dost possess, yet no believer in God and in His signs, nor any righteous man would ever deign to regard them. This mortal life is like unto the carcass of a dog, around which none would gather, nor would any partake thereof, except those who gainsay the life hereafter. Verily it is incumbent upon thee to become a true believer in God, the All-Possessing, the Almighty, and to turn away from the one who guideth thee into the torment of hell-fire.
- The Báb (An extract from an Epistle to Muhammad Shah, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
The state of affairs hath changed, the countries are agitated, and Islam hath thereby been weakened and is beset by enemies. It is incumbent upon this people to supplicate God, at morn and at eventide, and beseech Him to confirm the entire community of the followers of Islam to attain that which is beloved and pleasing unto Him, to raise them up through the power of His might and sovereignty, and to make known unto them that which will exalt their stations and will transmute their abasement into glory, their poverty into wealth, their ruin into prosperity, their agitation into quiet calm, and their fear into peace and security. He is, verily, the All-Merciful. There is no God but Him, the All-Bounteous, the All-Glorious.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. What unspeakable cruelties they that have occupied the seats of authority and learning have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those Gems of divine virtue! Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty. Thus, their eyes beheld not the light of the countenance of the Well-Beloved, nor did their ears hearken unto the sweet melodies of the Bird of Desire.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
The truth is manifest, the kingdom of utterance is resplendent, and the Day of God is clearly revealed! And yet souls who would, wholly for the sake of God, awaken the people and guide them to the True One are as scarce as the philosopher’s stone!
How many the lands that remained untilled and uncultivated; and how many the lands that were tilled and cultivated, and yet remained without water; and how many the lands which, when the harvest time arrived, no harvester came forth to reap! However, through the wonders of God’s favour and the revelations of His loving-kindness, We cherish the hope that souls may appear who are the embodiments of heavenly virtue and who will occupy themselves with teaching the Cause of God and training all that dwell on earth.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
O Husayn! O thou Preceptor! From His Most Great Prison, the countenance of the Ancient of Days is turned towards thee, and He teacheth thee that which will draw thee nigh unto God, the Lord of mankind. Blessed is that teacher who shall arise to instruct the children, and to guide the people into the pathways of God, the Bestower, the Well-Beloved.
- Baha’u’llah (The Compilation of Compilations’, vol. I, Baha’i Education)
Among the Prophets was Noah. For nine hundred and fifty years He prayerfully exhorted His people and summoned them to the haven of security and peace. None, however, heeded His call. Each day they inflicted on His blessed person such pain and suffering that no one believed He could survive. How frequently they denied Him, how malevolently they hinted their suspicion against Him! Thus it hath been revealed: “And as often as a company of His people passed by Him, they derided Him. To them He said: ‘Though ye scoff at us now, we will scoff at you hereafter even as ye scoff at us. In the end ye shall know.’”[Qur’án 11:38] Long afterward, He several times promised victory to His companions and fixed the hour thereof. But when the hour struck, the divine promise was not fulfilled. This caused a few among the small number of His followers to turn away from Him, and to this testify the records of the best-known books. These you must certainly have perused; if not, undoubtedly you will. Finally, as stated in books and traditions, there remained with Him only forty or seventy-two of His followers. At last from the depth of His being He cried aloud: “Lord! Leave not upon the land a single dweller from among the unbelievers.”[Qur’án 71:26]
- Baha’u’llah (’The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
During these days the laws of God have shone forth from the Dayspring of Divine utterance. God willing, they will be sent on later. The following two blessed verses have been revealed in that most exalted, most holy Tablet: “Amongst the people is he who seateth himself amid the sandals by the door whilst coveting in his heart the seat of honour. Say: What manner of man art thou, O vain and heedless one, who wouldst appear as other than thou art? And among the people is he who layeth claim to inner knowledge, and still deeper knowledge concealed within this knowledge. Say: Thou speakest false! By God! What thou dost possess is naught but husks which We have left to thee as bones are left to dogs.” Observe how every vain and worthless soul hath caused a narrow gulf to branch out from the most great Ocean and, prompted by idle imaginings and corrupt desires, hath provoked divisions amongst the people of Islam through evil scheming and deceptions.
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
…certain feeble souls have confined the wide expanse of knowledge within the walls of self and passion, and beneath the cloak of ignorance and blindness, and have thereby veiled themselves from the light of the mystic Sun and the mysteries of the eternal Beloved. They have strayed far from the gem-like wisdom of the resplendent Faith of the Lord of the Messengers,[1] have been shut out of the inner court of the All-Beauteous, and have been banished from the Kaaba of glory. Such is the worth of the people of this age!
- Baha’u’llah (The Seven Valleys, revised translation by the Baha’i World Center included in ‘The Call of the Divine Beloved’)
[1] The Prophet Muhammad
We admonish you to observe trustworthiness, piety, chastity, honesty, and fidelity. In this day, and from this time forth, the hosts of God are none other but goodly deeds and a praiseworthy character. Aid ye the True One with these hosts.…
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
No man shall attain the shores of the ocean of true understanding except he be detached from all that is in heaven and on earth. Sanctify your souls, O ye peoples of the world, that haply ye may attain that station which God hath destined for you and enter thus the tabernacle which, according to the dispensations of Providence, hath been raised in the firmament of the Bayán.
-Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan’)
O people of the world! The fruits of the tree of man are justice and fair-mindedness. Should he not be possessed of these fruits, he is fit but for the fire. Pride hath blinded both their outer and their inner vision. The world is in need of two things: order and justice.…
- Baha’u’llah (‘Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)