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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Stories that 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself told — recorded by listeners.
“One year before ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd was dethroned, he sent an extremely overbearing, treacherous and insulting committee of investigation. The chairman was one of the governor’s staff, Árif Bey, and with him were three army commanders…
In London in September 1911, a painter came to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá whether art was a worthy vocation. The Master answered in three words. Then an actor asked about drama, and the conversation widened into a memory of a Mystery Play that, as a child, had kept Him sleepless for nights.
“After two years of the strictest confinement permission was granted me to find a house so that we could live outside the prison walls but still within the fortifications. Many believers came from Persia to join us but they were not…
Some referred to the teaching of Buddha. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: The real teaching of Buddha is the same as the teaching of Jesus Christ. The teachings of all the Prophets are the same in character. Now men have changed the teaching. If you…
On September 13, 1911, in His first weeks in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a small gathering at the home of Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper. He spoke of the meeting itself as a mirror reflecting the Concourse on High — a quiet declaration that what mattered there was not earthly but heavenly.
God has created the world as one—the boundaries are marked out by man. God has not divided the lands, but each man has his house and meadow; horses and dogs do not divide the fields into parts. That is why Bahá’u’lláh says: “Let not a…
Question.—What is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching concerning the different Divine…
How can one increase in…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: Disease is of two kinds: material and…
The magnet of your love brought me to this country. My hope is that the Divine Light may shine here, and that the Heavenly Star of Bahá’u’lláh may strengthen you, so that you may be the cause of the oneness of humanity, that you may…
To man, the Essence of God is incomprehensible, so also are the worlds beyond this, and their condition. It is given to man to obtain knowledge, to attain to great spiritual perfection, to discover hidden truths and to manifest even the…
During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop. War must cease. Let us be united and love one another and await the result. We know the effects of war are bad. So let us try, as an experiment,…
Someone asked if the Humanitarian Society was good.—Yes all societies, all organizations, working for the betterment of the human race are good, very good. All who work for their brothers and sisters have Bahá’u’lláh’s blessing. They…
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better international understanding. The purpose was good. The causes of dispute among different nations are…
To most men who have not heard the message of this teaching, religion seems an outward form, a pretence, merely a seal of respectability. Some priests are in holy office for no other reason than to gain their living. They themselves do…
In an apartment in Cadogan Gardens sits a spiritually illumined Oriental, whose recent advent in London marks the latest junction of the East and…
We have met together to bid farewell to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and to thank God for his example and teaching, and for the power of his prayers to bring Light into confused thought, Hope into the place of dread, Faith where doubt was, and into…
“We had no communication whatever with the out-side world. Each loaf of bread was cut open by the guard to see that it contained no message. All who believed in the Bahá’í manifestation, children, men and women, were imprisoned with us.…
“With the advent of the Young Turks’ supremacy, realized through the Society of Union and Progress, all the political prisoners of the Ottoman Empire were set free. Events took the chains from my neck and placed them about Hamíd’s;…
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked if he recognized the good which the Theosophical Society has done. He…
O ye beloved of God! When the winds blow severely, rains fall fiercely, the lightning flashes, the thunder roars, the bolt descends and storms of trial become severe, grieve not; for after this storm, verily, the divine spring will…
Arise with every power to assist the Covenant of God and serve in His vineyard. Be confident that a confirmation will be granted unto you and a success on His part is given unto you. Verily, He shall support you by the angels of His…
It is known and clear that today the unseen divine assistance encompasseth those who deliver the Message. And if the work of delivering the Message be neglected, the assistance shall be entirely cut off, for it is impossible that the…
Consider the past, so that thou mayest become informed of the mysteries which shall be disclosed in the future. When the disciples were calling in the name of Christ, the Jews scoffed, scorned and laughed at them. They were saying,…
From the death of that beloved youth due to his separation from you the utmost sorrow and grief has been occasioned, for he flew away in the flower of his age and the bloom of his youth, to the heavenly…
If thou seekest to be intoxicated with the cup of the Most Mighty Gift, cut thyself from the world and be quit of self and desire. Exert thyself night and day until spiritual powers may penetrate thy heart and soul. Abandon the body and…
O thou who warmest thyself by the fire of the love of God, spreading from the Tree of the Covenant! Let thy soul be at ease and thy heart in peace concerning the perfect success and progress which the pen is not able to express, for in…
Now as to what thou askest concerning giving up the scientific attainment in Paris for the sake of confining thy days to the delivery of this Truth, it is indeed acceptable and beloved, but if thou acquire both it would be better and…
It behoveth thee to sever thyself from all desires save thy Lord, the Supreme, expecting no help or aid from anyone in the universe, not even from thy father or children. Resign thyself to God! Content thyself with but little of this…
Concerning thy question whether all the souls enjoy eternal life: Know thou those souls partake of the eternal life in whom the spirit of life is breathed from the Presence of God and all beside them are dead—without life, as Christ…
All the people of the world are, as thou dost observe, in the sleep of negligence. They have forgotten God altogether. They are all busy in war and strife. They are undergoing misery and destruction. They are, like unto the loathsome…
Regarding the “two wings” of the soul: These signify wings of ascent. One is the wing of knowledge, the other of faith, as this is the means of the ascent of the human soul to the lofty station of divine…
In man five outer powers exist, which are the agents of perception, that is to say, through these five powers man perceives material beings. These are sight, which perceives visible forms; hearing, which perceives audible sounds; smell,…
A fire from the Kingdom hath been kindled in the heart of the world, in the Blessed Tree, whose flame shall ere long set aglow the pillars of the earth and its rays illumine the horizons of the nations. All the signs have appeared, all…
...By materialists, whose belief with regard to Divinity hath been explained, is not meant philosophers in general, but rather that group of materialists of narrow vision that worship that which is sensed, that depend upon the five…
O ye friends of God! Today is the day of union and this age is the age of harmony in the world of existence. “Verily, God loveth those who are working in His path in groups, for they are a solid foundation.” Consider ye that he says “in…
O phoenix of that immortal flame kindled in the sacred…
He is the All-Glorious. The world’s great Light, once resplendent upon all mankind, has set to shine everlastingly from the Abhá horizon, His Kingdom of fadeless glory, shedding splendor upon His loved ones from on high, and breathing into…
I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country. In every meeting I find people gathered loving each other; therefore I am greatly pleased. The bond of union is evidenced in this assembly today where…
O thou son of the Kingdom! If one possesses the love of God, everything that he undertakes is useful, but if the undertaking is without the love of God, then it is hurtful and the cause of veiling one’s self from the Lord of the…
If the health and well-being of the body be expended in the path of the Kingdom, this is very acceptable and praiseworthy; and if it is expended to the benefit of the human world in general—even though it be to their material benefit…
You have questioned me about strikes. This question is and will be for a long time the subject of great difficulties. Strikes are due to two causes. One is the extreme sharpness and rapacity of the capitalists and manufacturers; the…
With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent, but they are more or less so, according to the…
I now assure thee, O servant of God, that, if thy mind become empty and pure from every mention and thought and thy heart attracted wholly to the Kingdom of God, forget all else besides God and come in communion with the Spirit of God,…
The Spiritual Meeting of men and the Spiritual Meeting of women in Chicago are indeed endeavoring to serve. If they unite, as they should, they will produce great results. Especially, if the Spiritual Meetings of Chicago unite with…
Then, O ye friends of God! Ye must not only have kind and merciful feelings for mankind, but ye should also exercise the utmost kindness towards every living creature. The physical sensibilities and instincts are common to animal and…
Although a person of good deeds is acceptable at the Threshold of the Almighty, yet it is first “to know,” and then “to do.” Although a blind man produceth a most wonderful and exquisite art, yet he is deprived of seeing it. Consider…
Certain European philosophers agree that the species grows and develops, and that even change and alteration are also possible. One of the proofs that they give for this theory is that through the attentive study and verification of the…
From the time of the creation of Adam to this day there have been two pathways in the world of humanity; one the natural or materialistic, the other the religious or spiritual. The pathway of nature is the pathway of the animal realm.…
The beginning of the existence of man on the terrestrial globe resembles his formation in the womb of the mother. The embryo in the womb of the mother gradually grows and develops until birth, after which it continues to grow and…
Know that there are two kinds of knowledge: the knowledge of the essence of a thing, and the knowledge of its qualities. The essence of a thing is known through its qualities, otherwise it is unknown and…
The connection between God and the creatures is that of the creator to the creation; it is like the connection between the sun and the dark bodies of contingent beings, and is the connection between the maker and the things that he has…
O people of the…
Thou hast asked regarding the means of livelihood. Trust in God and engage in your work and practice economy; the confirmations of God shall descend and you will be enabled to pay off your debts. Be ye occupied always with the mention…
The republic of wise men believes that the difference in minds and opinions is due to the difference of education and the acquisition of ethics. That is, that minds are equal in origin, but education and the acquisition of ethics cause…
The foundation of the Kingdom of God is laid upon justice, fairness, mercy, sympathy and kindness to every soul. Then strive ye with heart and soul to practice love and kindness to the world of humanity at large, except to those souls…
We have now come to the question of the modification of species and of organic development: that is to say, to the point of inquiring whether man’s descent is from the…
This wonderful age has rent asunder the veils of superstition and has condemned the prejudice of the people of the…
In this day, the gathering of a board for consultation is of great importance and a great necessity. For all, obedience to it is a necessity, especially because the members (of it) are the hands of the…
Thou hast written of a verse in the Gospels, asking if at the time of Christ all souls did hear His call. Know that faith is of two kinds. The first is objective faith that is expressed by the outer man, obedience of the limbs and…
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of servitude, of prophethood, and of Deity, but the divine and the contingent perfections are unlimited. When you reflect deeply, you discover that also outwardly the…
O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked the wisdom of prayer. Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally unsound, or an…
When we consider beings with the seeing eye, we observe that they are limited to three sorts: that is to say, as a whole, they are either mineral, vegetable, or animal; each of these three classes containing species. Man is the highest…
The necessity and the particularity of the assured and believing ones is to be firm in the Cause of God and withstand the hidden and evident tests. Thanks be to God that you are distinguished and made eminent by this blessing. Anybody…
As to the seven qualifications (of the divinely enlightened soul) of which thou hast asked an explanation, it is as…
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God. I see the white and colored people together. In the estimation of God there is no distinction of color; all are one in the color and beauty of servitude to him.…
You have written that there were several meetings of joy and happiness, one for white and another for colored people. Praise be to God! As both races are under the protection of the All-Knowing God, therefore the lamps of unity must be…
In these times thanksgiving for the bounty of the Merciful One consists in the illumination of the heart and the feeling of the soul. This is the reality of thanksgiving. But, although offering thanks through speech or writings is…
As to what thou hast written concerning “Reincarnation”: Believing in reincarnation is one of the old tenets held by most nations and creeds, as well as by the Greek and Roman philosophers and wise men, the old Egyptians and the chief…
The greatest bestowal of God in the world of humanity is religion; for assuredly the divine teachings of religion are above all other sources of instruction and development to man. Religion confers upon man eternal life and guides his…
Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and non-progressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are…
You ask if, through the appearance of the kingdom of God, every soul hath been saved. The Sun of Reality hath appeared to all the world. This luminous appearance is salvation and life; but only he who hath opened the eye of reality and…
If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we find that all existing things may be classified as follows: First—Mineral—that is to say matter or substance appearing in various forms of composition.…
Thy letter was received. Praise be to God it imparted the good news of thy health and safety and indicated that thou art ready to enter into an agricultural school. This is highly suitable. Strive as much as possible to become…
When the darkness of ignorance and heedlessness concerning the realm of eternity and bereavement from the True One had encircled the universe, then the resplendent Luminary dawned and the brilliant Light illumined the horizon of the…
Thou hast written of the severe calamity that has befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honorable personage has been so much subjected to the stress and pain of this world that his highest wish became deliverance from…
It has been before explained that spirit is universally divided into five categories: the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of faith, and the Holy…
Souls are like unto mirrors, and the bounty of God is like unto the sun. When the mirrors pass beyond all coloring and attain purity and polish, and are confronted with the sun, they will reflect in full perfection its light and glory.…
Those souls who have the capacity and ability to receive the outpourings of the Kingdom and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, they become attracted through one word. But people who have not the capacity, no matter how much one…
According to divine philosophy, there are two important and universal conditions in the world of material phenomena; one which concerns life, the other concerning death; one relative to existence, the other non-existence; one manifest…
If thou wishest the divine knowledge and recognition, purify thy heart from all beside God, be wholly attracted to the ideal, beloved One; search for and choose Him and apply thyself to rational and authoritative arguments. For…
We have many times demonstrated and established that man is the noblest of beings, the sum of all perfections, and that all beings and all existences are the centers from which the glory of God is reflected, that is to say, the signs of…
Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist? This is the age of the Blessed Perfection and this is the time of the Greatest Name! This is the century of the Manifestation, the age of the Sun of the Horizons and the…
In sooth, there will be found in those regions certain persons like the Pharisees of the time of Christ, who, night and day, will exert themselves with all heart and soul to cast forth doubts, in order that they may deprive the souls of…
Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls. The first perfection consists in cleanliness and sanctity and in purity from every defect. When man in all conditions is pure…
Organize ye Spiritual Assemblies; lay ye the foundation of union and concord in this world; destroy ye the fabric of strife and war from the face of the earth; construct ye the temple of harmony and agreement; enkindle ye the light of…
The spiritual love of God maketh man pure and holy and clotheth him with the garment of virtue and purity. And when man attacheth his heart wholly to God and becometh related to the Blessed Perfection, the divine bounty will dawn. This…
If any differences of opinion may arise in those regions you must keep yourself entirely aloof and show forth love and kindness to all, saying it is better to refer to the ordained Center all the affairs. Whatever He commands that very…
The light hath a center and if one desire to seek it otherwise but from the center, he can never attain to it. In this solar system the source of light is the sun and every light is acquired from it; even the lamps of the night are…
TO THE ASSEMBLIES AND MEETINGS OF THE BELIEVERS OF GOD AND THE MAID-SERVANTS OF THE MERCIFUL IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: Upon them be Bahá’u’lláh El-Abhá!…
O ye Cohorts of God! Today in the present world each community is wandering in a wilderness, moving in accord with some passion and desire, and running to and fro in pursuance of his own imagination. Among the communities of the world,…
O ye beloved of God, know that steadfastness and firmness in this new and wonderful Covenant is indeed the spirit that quickeneth the hearts which are overflowing with the love of the Glorious Lord; verily, it is the power which…
Every flock of the sheep of God which is protected under the shadow of the Divine Shepherd will not be scattered, but when the sheep are dispersed from the flock, they will necessarily be caught and torn by the…
During my visit to London and Paris last year I had many talks with the materialistic philosophers of Europe. The basis of all their conclusions is that the acquisition of knowledge of phenomena is according to a fixed, invariable…
According to the statement of philosophers the difference in degree of humankind from lowest to highest is due to education. The proofs they advance are these: The civilization of Europe and America is an evidence and outcome of…
Verily, I say unto thee that the gifts of thy Lord are encircling thee in a similar way as the spirit encircles the body at the beginning of the amalgamation of the elements and natures in the womb; the power of the spirit begins then…
Know that nothing which exists remains in a state of repose, that is to say, all things are in motion. Everything is either growing or declining, all things are either coming from non-existence into being, or going from existence into…
O friend! Be set aglow with the fire of the love of God, so that the hearts of the people will become enlightened by the light of thy…
The aim of the appearance of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice for His beloved ones!—was the unity and agreement of all the people of the world. Therefore, my utmost desire, firstly, is the accord and union and love of…
O thou party who art assisted by the hosts of the Kingdom of…
The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds. Firstly, the rewards and punishments of this life; secondly,…
Unless the Holy Spirit become intermediary, one cannot attain directly to the bounties of God. Do not overlook the obvious truths, for it is a self-evident fact that a child cannot be instructed without a teacher, and knowledge is a…
Know that people belong to two categories, that is to say, they constitute two parties. One party deny the spirit, and say that man also is a species of animal; for they say, do we not see that animals and men share the same powers and…
Note that thy Lord hath manifested the Magnet of the souls and hearts in the Pole of the existing world, to which all the sacred hearts are attracted from the far distant lands and countries.…
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers. At this moment that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is immersed in the ocean of calamities,…
O ye friends of…
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause of the “Most Great Peace.” Peace is light whereas war is darkness. Peace is life; war is death. Peace is guidance; war is error. Peace is the foundation of God;…
As to the subject of babes and infants and weak ones who are afflicted by the hands of oppressors: This contains great wisdom and this subject is of paramount importance. In brief, for those souls there is a recompense in another world…
O ye beloved of God! O ye children of His…
Know that it is one of the most abstruse spiritual truths that the world of existence, that is to say this endless universe, has no…
The greatest power in the realm and range of human existence is spirit,—the divine breath which animates and pervades all things. It is manifested throughout creation in different degrees or kingdoms. In the vegetable kingdom it is the…
In the day of Christ all nations were expecting that His Holiness Christ should come from heaven, and He came from heaven, though outwardly He came from the womb of Mary. Hence, He hath said in the Gospels: “No one shall ascend to…
The advent of the prophets and the revelation of the Holy Books is intended to create love between souls and friendship between the inhabitants of the earth. Real love is impossible unless one turn his face towards God and be attracted…
What is real unity? When we observe the human world we find various collective expressions of unity therein. For instance, man is distinguished from the animal by his degree or kingdom. This comprehensive distinction includes all the…
The wisdom of the appearance of the spirit in the body is this: the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must traverse all conditions; for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring…
The body is composed, in truth, of corporeal elements and every composition is necessarily subject to decomposition; but the spirit is an essence, simple, pure, spiritual, eternal, perpetual and divine. He who seeketh Christ from the…
Now as to what thou askest concerning the spirit and its “return” to this world of humanity and this elemental space: Know that spirit in general is divided into five sorts—the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human spirit, the…
Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the organization of an assembly in that city. Look not at the small number; nay, rather seek the pure hearts. One holy soul is better than one thousand other souls. If a few souls gather…
Thou hast questioned how thou canst accept this divine Cause, for thou art a member of the church. In the day of the Manifestation of Christ, many souls became portionless and deprived because they were members of the Holy of Holies in…
The blessed letter indicating the election of the Spiritual Meeting was received and proved a source of joy. Thank God, the beloved of that city, in perfect unity, love and oneness, held the new election and were confirmed and…
Thank God for guiding thee unto the Straight Path, manifesting unto thee the Evident Light. He shall give thee a draught of the cup whereby thy spiritual power will be increased. Thou shalt advance unto the Lofty Station, acquire…
In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself. Through the will of God this central luminary is the one source of the existence and development of all phenomenal things. When we observe the organisms of the material…
The Supper of the Lord which His Highness the Spirit ate with the apostles was a heavenly supper and not one of material bread and water, for material objects have no connection with spiritual objects. As at that time material food was…
Thou hast written that thou art a student in the progressive spiritual school. Happy is thy condition! If the various progressive schools join themselves to the universal university of the Kingdom, such knowledge and sciences will be…
All the people have formed a god in the world of thought, and that form of their own imagination they worship; when the fact is that the imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite. Surely the infinite is greater than the…
O ye friends of God! The world is like the body of man—it hath become sick, feeble and infirm. Its eye is devoid of sight, its ear hath become destitute of hearing and its faculties of sense are entirely dissolved. The friends of God…
As to the question whether the souls will recognize each other in the spiritual world: This fact is certain; for the Kingdom is the world of vision where all the concealed realities will become disclosed. How much more the well-known…
O maid-servant of God! This prison is indeed more precious and sweet than a garden to me, this fetter is greater than any liberty and the confinement is broader than the most spacious wilderness. Therefore, grieve not on this account.…
O my friend, verily the Cause is great and great, and the penetration of the Word of God in the temple of all the regions is similar to the pervasion of the soul in a sound…
Praise be to God! that ye are gathered in one assembly like unto the stars of the Pleiades, are illumined with the light of the knowledge of God and through the outpouring of the cloud of the love of God, ye are the fresh flowers of the…
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past. If comparison be made with the sum total of all former human achievements it will be found that the discoveries, scientific…
O beloved of God! Know ye that the world is like unto a mirage which the thirsty one thinks to be water; its water is a vapor; its mercy a difficulty; its repose hardship and ordeal; leave it to its people and turn unto the Kingdom of…
As to thy question concerning training children: It is incumbent upon thee to nurture them from the breast of the love of God, to urge them towards spiritual matters, to turn unto God and to acquire good manners, best characteristics…
Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come upon thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but…
Know thou, that letter sent to thee by me, was only because of my perfect love for thee and my pity upon thee, for I had the desire that the fragrance of the Holy Spirit, which hath perfumed all regions and imbued the entire body of the…
There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the use of remedies, of medicines; the second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and…
Shouldst thou come with the whole of thy being to God and be attracted to the lights of the Kingdom of God and be enkindled by the fire of the love of God, then wilt thou see that which thou canst not see today, wilt comprehend the…
This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness; war…
In this great dispensation, art (or a profession) is identical with an act of worship and this is a clear text of the Blessed Perfection. Therefore, extreme effort should be made in art and this will not prevent the teaching of the…
Verily, I, from this brilliant and Blessed Spot, speak to you face to face, while ye are in that far distant country,…
In Bahá'í World Faith, a short passage of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's writings sets out one of His characteristic teachings: the same sun shines on every object, but the mirror that has been polished receives the light, and the mirror that is dusty does not. Spiritual receptivity, the Master insists, is a matter of the inward instrument we have made ourselves.
In Bahá'í World Faith, 'Abdu'l-Bahá uses the simple image of a seed unfolding into a tree, and the tree producing seeds that will become more trees, to teach that each human being carries within itself the same potential of multiplication — capable of becoming, in due time, a source of life to many.
In a passage preserved in Bahá'í World Faith, 'Abdu'l-Bahá lays out a short, plain principle: the sick are not to be neglected because they are ill, the child is not to be censured because it is undeveloped. Healing and patient training are the first responses; judgment is not.
From 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Memorials of the Faithful: when Bahá'u'lláh ascended in 1892 at Bahjí, His chronicler Nabíl-i-Zarandí was inconsolable. He calculated the numerical value of the word "shidád" — "year of stress" — at 309, and found that Bahá'u'lláh had foretold the date in His own writings.
After His ascension, Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of His Covenant. When friends in the East asked if a day might be observed in the Master's honor, He refused — His birthday already belonged to the Declaration of the Báb — and gave them, instead, the day of His own appointment as Centre of the Covenant. Here is a tablet from that period in which He calls the friends to be firm in that Covenant.
Another of those who left their homeland to become our neighbors and fellow prisoners was ‘Abdu’l-Ghaffár of Iṣfáhán. He was a highly perceptive individual who, on commercial business, had traveled about Asia Minor for many years. He…
When he was very young, people thought of ‘Abdu’lláh Baghdádí as a libertine, solely devoted to pleasure. He was regarded by all as the sport of inordinate desires, mired down in his physical passions. But the moment he became a…
This was a patient and long-enduring man, a native of Káshán. He was one of the very earliest believers. The down was not yet upon his cheek when he drank of the love of God, saw with his own eyes the heavenly table spread out before…
Among those who emigrated and were companions in the Most Great Prison was Áqá ‘Abdu’s-Ṣáliḥ. This excellent soul, a child of early believers, came from Iṣfáhán. His noble-hearted father died, and this child grew up an orphan. There…
Another among the prisoners was Abu’l-Qásim of Sulṭán-Ábád, the traveling companion of Áqá Faraj. These two were unassuming, loyal and staunch. Once their souls had come alive through the breathings of the Faithful Spirit they hastened…
Also among the emigrants and near neighbors was Áqá ‘Alí Najaf-Ábádí. When this spiritual young man first listened to the call of God he set his lips to the holy cup and beheld the glory of the Speaker on the Mount. And when, by grace…
This eminent man had high ambitions and aims. He was to a supreme degree constant, loyal and firmly rooted in his faith, and he was among the earliest and greatest of the believers. At the very dawn of the new Day of Guidance he became…
In all these straits, Áqá Faraj was the companion of Abu’l-Qásim. When, in Persian ‘Iráq, he first heard the uproar caused by the Advent of the Most Great Light, he shook and trembled, clapped his hands, cried out in exultation and…
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Áqá Ḥusayn-i-Áshchí — the household cook of Bahá'u'lláh through the long years of exile, whose patient service in the kitchen sustained the daily life of the prophetic Household for decades.
These two blessed souls, Mírzá Maḥmúd of Káshán and Áqá Riḍá of Shíráz, were like two lamps lit with God’s love from the oil of His knowledge. Encompassed by Divine bestowals from childhood on, they succeeded in rendering every kind of…
Two brothers from Káshán who emigrated to Adrianople with the community of believers, were arrested with the exiles and brought to 'Akká, and there both fell ill and died on the same night. Without permission for proper burial, the friends sold a prayer carpet to pay for their interment, and the two brothers were laid in a single grave, beneath the earth as in life embraced.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Áqá Riḍá of Shíráz — the steadfast companion who served the household of Bahá'u'lláh through the years of exile from Baghdád to 'Akká, never failing in his attendance on his Lord.
This man of God came from the district of Tafrísh. He was detached from the world, fearless, independent of kindred and stranger alike. He was one of the earliest believers, and belonged to the company of the faithful. It was in Persia…
Fáṭimih Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs of Iṣfáhán, lost her father at Badasht in childhood, married a husband whose faith would cost him his life, was stripped of every possession by the government, and ended her years in 'Akká, where the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh proved more than her heart could bear.
Áqá Ṣidq-‘Alí was yet one more of those who left their native land, journeyed to Bahá’u’lláh and were put in the Prison. He was a dervish; a man who lived free and detached from friend and stranger alike. He belonged to the mystic…
1.For the author of The Dawn-Breakers, see Nabíl-i-Zarandí.2.Cf. Nabíl, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 395, note 1.3.Cf. Qur’án 19:98.4.Qur’án 3:91.5.Qur’án 54:55.6.1849–1850.7.1853; 1892.8.Áqá Ján. Cf. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.…
Ḥájí ‘Abdu’r-Raḥím of Yazd was a precious soul, from his earliest years virtuous and God-fearing, and known among the people as a holy man, peerless in observing his religious duties, mindful as to his acts. His strong religious faith…
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Ḥájí Amín — the Trustee of Ḥuqúqu'lláh, whose lifetime of patient travel through the Persian provinces, collecting and disbursing the offerings of the believers, sustained the financial life of the Cause for fifty years.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's portrait of Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-'Alí — the great teacher of Iṣfáhán whose lifetime of imprisonment, exile, and patient teaching across three Sudanese cities earned him the title *the Angel of Carmel.*
In *Memorials of the Faithful* 'Abdu'l-Bahá portrays His own paternal uncle, Mírzá Músá — known as Áqáy-i-Kalím — the loyal full brother of Bahá'u'lláh, who shared in His every exile, sought without success to restrain the rebellion of their half-brother Mírzá Yaḥyá, and bore witness to the moment the fame of the Cause of God reached as far as Díyárbakr.
Yet another of the emigrants and settlers was the valiant Jamshíd-i-Gurjí, who came from Georgia, but grew up in the city of Káshán. He was a fine youth, faithful, trustworthy, with a high sense of honor. When he heard of a new Faith…
Mírzá Áqá of Káshán — known to the Bahá'í community as Jináb-i-Muníb — was a calligrapher, poet, and singer who left his daughter and his livelihood to walk on foot beside Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdád to Constantinople. He died, ill, in a Smyrna hospital during the exile to 'Akká, his last act being to drag himself to Bahá'u'lláh's feet and weep.
Two pure souls of Ádhirbáyján who freed themselves from the superstitions that had blinded them, left their province for Adrianople, and at length followed the exiles to 'Akká, where they died together of the fever that took so many of the early prisoners. Their two luminous tombs are in 'Akká.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Furúghí — the gentle believer of Khurásán whose lifetime of patient service in the countryside, never seeking notice, brought the Cause of God into many small Khurásání villages.
Among the exiles, neighbors, and prisoners there was also a second Mír Imád,57 the eminent calligrapher, Mishkín-Qalam.58 He wielded a musk-black pen, and his brows shone with faith. He was among the most noted of mystics, and had a…
In the flower of tender youth, Muḥammad-‘Alí, the illumined, heard the cry of God, and lost his heart to heavenly grace. He entered the service of the Afnán, offshoot of the Holy Tree, and lived happy and content. This was how he came…
This man, noble and high-minded, was the son of the respected ‘Abdu’l-Faṭṭaḥ who was in the Akká prison. Learning that his father was a captive there, he came with all speed to the fortress so that he too might have a share of those…
Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light. He was the son of the famous scholar Shaykh Muḥammad-i-Shibl; he lived in ‘Iráq, and from his earliest youth was clearly unique and beyond compare; wise, brave, deserving in every way, he was known…
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Mullá Ṣádiq-i-Muqaddas — the Khurásání cleric who, after recognising the Báb, suffered the bastinado in Shíráz with Quddús and went on to give the rest of his life to the Cause through every successive trial of its early decades.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Pahlaván Riḍá — the strong man, the wrestler of Yazd, who heard the Cause of God and turned the whole frame of his powerful life into the service of the Beloved.
The late Pidar-Ján was among those believers who emigrated to Baghdád. He was a godly old man, enamored of the Well-Beloved; in the garden of Divine love, he was like a rose full-blown. He arrived there, in Baghdád, and spent his days…
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Sakínih Sulṭán — the mother of the Iṣfahán martyrs, whose life of steady faith carried her through the deaths of her sons and into the long quiet years of teaching that followed.
Sháh-Muḥammad, who had the title of Amín, the Trusted One, was among the earliest of believers, and most deeply enamored. He had listened to the Divine summons in the flower of his youth, and set his face toward the Kingdom. He had…
Khurshíd Begum, who was given the title of Shamsu’d-Ḍuḥá,105 the Morning Sun, was mother-in-law to the King of Martyrs. This eloquent, ardent handmaid of God was the cousin on her father’s side of the famous Muḥammad-Báqir of Iṣfáhán,…
'Abdu'l-Bahá's tribute to Shaykh Muḥammad-'Alí — the scholar of Khurásán who, after years of distinguished ecclesiastical study in Najaf and Karbalá, embraced the Cause and became, in his maturity, one of the great teachers of the Faith in eastern Persia.
Sulaymán Khán was the emigrant and settler who was given the title of Jamálí’d-Dín. He was born in Tunúkábán, into an old family of that region. He was cradled in wealth, bred to ease, reared in the comfortable ways of luxury. From his…
One of the emigrants who died along the way to the Holy Land was Zaynu’l-Ábidín of Yazd. When, in Manshad, this devoted man first heard the cry of God, he was awakened to restless life. A holy passion stirred him, his soul was made…
This distinguished man was one of the greatest of all the Báb’s companions and all the loved ones of Bahá’u’lláh. When he lived under Islám, he was already famed for his purity and holiness of life. He was talented and highly…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
Sunday, January 12th,…
November 7th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I will speak to you today of Bahá’u’lláh. In the third year after the Báb had declared his Mission, Bahá’u’lláh, being accused by fanatical Mullás of believing in the new doctrine, was arrested and thrown…
October 28th The Creator of all is One God. From this same God all creation sprang into existence, and He is the one goal, towards which everything in nature yearns. This conception was embodied in the words of Christ, when He said, ‘I am…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, Friday morning, November…
Salle de l’Athenée, St Germain, Paris,…
‘What is evil?’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.—‘Evil is imperfection. Sin is the state of man in the world of the baser nature, for in nature exist defects such as injustice, tyranny, hatred, hostility, strife: these are characteristics of the lower plane…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
Friday evening, October…
October 19th All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual. If the sickness is of the body, a material remedy is needed, if of the soul, a spiritual remedy. If the heavenly…
Thursday, October…
November 8th All over the world one hears beautiful sayings extolled and noble precepts admired. All men say they love what is good, and hate everything that is evil! Sincerity is to be admired, whilst lying is despicable. Faith is a…
November 6th This is in truth a Bahá’í house. Every time such a house or meeting place is founded it becomes one of the greatest aids to the general development of the town and country to which it belongs. It encourages the growth of…
November 2nd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: How beautiful the weather is today, the sky is clear, the sun shines, and the heart of man is made glad thereby! Such bright and beautiful weather gives new life and strength to man, and if he has been sick,…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
Monday, November…
November 22nd In this world we are influenced by two sentiments, Joy and Pain. Joy gives us wings! In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the…
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, December 26th,…
October 27th The basis of the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is the Unity of Mankind, and his greatest desire was that love and goodwill should live in the heart of men. As He exhorted the people to do away with strife and discord, so I wish to…
‘The Laws of God are not imposition of will, or of power, or pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá…
August 28th,…
November 19th How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of ‘heavenly men’. We are all united in one Divine purpose, no material motive is ours, and our dearest wish is to spread the Love of God…
4 Avenue de Camöens, October…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Morning of Friday, October…
November 24th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I have just been told that there has been a terrible accident in this country. A train has fallen into the river and at least twenty people have been killed. This is going to be a matter for discussion in…
November 15th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: You are all very welcome, and I love you all most dearly. Day and night I pray to Heaven for you that strength may be yours, and that, one and all, you may participate in the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh, and…
October 16th and 17th,…
4 Avenue de Camöens,…
I.—The Search after…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
November 3rd Paris is becoming very cold, so cold that I shall soon be obliged to go away, but the warmth of your love still keeps me here. God willing, I hope to stay among you yet a little while; bodily cold and heat cannot affect the…
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, November…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris November…
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, Saturday, January 4th,…
4 Avenue de Camöens, October…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Wednesday, October…
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, December…
Monday, October…
Friday, October…
November 23rd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: You should all be very happy and thankful to God for the great privilege that is yours. This is purely a spiritual meeting! Praise be to God, your hearts are turned to Him, your souls are attracted to the…
October 21st ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I hope you are all happy and well. I am not happy, but very sad. The news of the Battle of Benghazi grieves my heart. I wonder at the human savagery that still exists in the world! How is it possible for men…
October 18th The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part of the animal creation, he possesses a power of thought superior to all other created beings.…
‘Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this…
November 11th I spoke yesterday of the first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Search for Truth’; how it is necessary for a man to put aside all in the nature of superstition, and every tradition which would blind his eyes to…
4 Avenue de Camöens,…
November 4th All over Europe today one hears of meetings and assemblies, and societies of all kinds are formed. There are those interested in commerce, science, and politics, and many others. All these are for material service, their…
October 22nd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: It is a lovely day, the sun shines brightly upon the earth, giving light and warmth to all creatures. The Sun of Truth is also shining, giving light and warmth to the souls of men. The sun is the life-giver…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
November 9th In the Gospel according to St John, Christ has said: ‘Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’8 The priests have interpreted this into meaning that baptism is necessary for…
October 30th In the Bible there are prophecies of the coming of Christ. The Jews still await the coming of the Messiah, and pray to God day and night to hasten His advent. When Christ came they denounced and slew Him, saying: ‘This is not…
November 5th Today the weather is gloomy and dull! In the East there is continual sunshine, the stars are never veiled, and there are very few clouds. Light always rises in the East and sends forth its radiance into the West. There are two…
November 1st Today is a day of rejoicing in Paris! They are celebrating the Festival of ‘All Saints’. Why do you think that these people were called ‘Saints’? The word has a very real meaning. A saint is one who leads a life of purity, one…
October 24th An Indian said to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘My aim in life is to transmit as far as in me lies the message of Krishna to the world.’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: The Message of Krishna is the message of love. All God’s prophets have brought the…
Since my arrival in Paris, I have been told of the Theosophical Society, and I know that it is composed of honoured and respected men. You are men of intellect and thought, men with spiritual ideals, and it is a great pleasure for me to…
November 21st Ferocity and savagery are natural to animals, but men should show forth the qualities of love and affection. God sent all His Prophets into the world with one aim, to sow in the hearts of men love and goodwill, and for this…
[‘That religion ought to be a Cause of Love and Affection’ is much emphasized in many of the Discourses of which the Notes are given in this book, as well as in the explanation of several of the other…
November 25th When Christ appeared He manifested Himself at Jerusalem. He called men to the Kingdom of God, He invited them to Eternal Life and He told them to acquire human perfections. The Light of Guidance was shed forth by that radiant…
November 26th I am deeply touched by the sympathetic words which have been addressed to me, and I hope that day by day true love and affection may grow among us. God has willed that love should be a vital force in the world, and you all…
On April 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the men of the Bowery Mission in lower Manhattan — several hundred of New York's poorest, many homeless, gathered in the Mission hall for the evening service. The Master spoke to them as the equals of any king and gave them, at the close of the address, a silver quarter from His own hand.
At the Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn on June 16, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá traced religious discord to one root: the inheritance of ancestral imitations rather than the active investigation of truth. Where conscience is free and every soul may speak its own conviction, He said, growth becomes inevitable.
On the second of June, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá entered the Church of the Ascension at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street in Manhattan, and addressed an Episcopal congregation on the *Collective Center* — the Manifestation of God around whom every people, of every race and belief, can become a single melody.
On June 15, 1912, in a home on West Seventy-eighth Street in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the kind of distinction He wished for the Bahá'ís — not financial or worldly eminence, but a distinction of love, character, and steadfast service.
At the Church of the Divine Paternity on Central Park West on May 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told a New York congregation that religion has many forms but one reality: as the days are many but the sun is one, so the Manifestations are many but the Truth they reveal is single. If religion sets itself against science, it becomes mere superstition; if it becomes a cause of hatred and strife, its absence would be preferable.
At Coronation Hall in Montreal on September 3, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed socialists and labour leaders. Drawing on the body's nervous system as His metaphor, He laid out a vision of economic justice in which no member of the human family could be permitted to remain in want.
On the evening of November 8, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the congregation of the Eighth Street Temple in Washington — and reframed the long history of Jewish-Christian misunderstanding by arguing that it was through Christ that the Torah travelled into six hundred languages.
At the Town Hall in Fanwood, New Jersey on May 31, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá named the chaos of the modern world as a chaos produced by religion itself — by the partisanship of sects clinging to inheritance rather than searching for truth. The true Manifestations, He said, are shepherds; their work is to gather, never to scatter.
On December 5, 1912, on the deck of the steamship Celtic in New York harbor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His final talk before sailing for Europe. After nine months in the West, He left the believers with the standard against which their whole tour was to be measured: the earth is one native land, and all mankind one family.
On November 5, 1912, at the Grand Hotel in Cincinnati, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to friends about the role He saw America playing in the bringing of universal peace — and proposed an international conference of all nations that would surpass even the Hague tribunal.
At Green Acre on August 16, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá enumerated the four fallible standards of human knowledge — sense, intellect, tradition, and inspiration — then turned, in the same talk, to love as the binding force of all phenomena, and ended with a prayer for Sarah Farmer, the founder of the Green Acre Conferences.
On May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a public gathering at Handel Hall on East Randolph Street in Chicago — one of His earliest Chicago talks. The Master spoke of the necessity of an international consciousness as the antidote to the prejudices of nation, of class, and of race that had been the burden of human history.
At a reception given in His honor by the New York Peace Society at the Hotel Astor on May 13, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took the platform with one of His most quoted sentences: peace is light, war is darkness — and asked the assembled American peace movement to lead the world into the new century as the century of lights.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on May 3, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set out the central distinction between two kinds of educators: the philosophers, who train themselves and a circle around them, and the Manifestations of God, who alone have proved capable of universal education across whole nations.
On the afternoon of April 22, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the students and faculty of Howard University in Washington, D.C. — the historically Black institution at the heart of African American higher education. His subject was the station of the human being: created in the image of God, possessed of a divine spark beyond every material limitation.
At a meeting of the International Peace Forum at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church on West 104th Street, New York, on May 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá argued that the United States was uniquely positioned to lead the world toward disarmament — precisely because she carried no imperial baggage.
On May 4, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called at Hull House in Chicago, the pioneering settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889 in the immigrant West Side district. He addressed the assembled residents, social workers and immigrant neighbors in the small main hall and later took tea with Miss Addams herself.
On September 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a gathering of the Twin Cities Bahá'ís and inquirers in the parlour of the Leland Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. He spoke on the Holy Spirit as the living, active, present-tense bond between the human soul and the Divine reality.
On the morning of May 6, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá arrived by train at the Cleveland Union Station and was received by the small Cleveland Bahá'í community. He addressed them on the platform itself with a brief but characteristic speech: that the spirit of the Cause is carried not in great gatherings but in the small, faithful community of two or three friends.
At the dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár grounds in Wilmette on May 1, 1912 — the same gathering at which Nettie Tobin's stone was laid as the cornerstone — 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about the future Houses of Worship that would arise across the world, and gave the specific architectural instruction that the building must be *circular,* never triangular.
At the home of William Sutherland Maxwell and May Maxwell at 716 Pine Avenue West in Montreal on September 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared the human being left to nature to a field overgrown with thorns and thistles, and the Manifestations of God to the cultivators who turn that wilderness into a garden.
On April 30, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at Handel Hall in Chicago. He told the gathering that the colour of skin is accidental in nature; the spirit and intelligence of man is essential, and there alone are the divine virtues to be measured.
Speaking at the Orient-Occident-Unity Conference in Washington on April 20, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá invoked Bahá'u'lláh's image of humanity as *leaves of one tree, drops of one sea,* called America to be the first nation to lay the foundation of international agreement, and thanked the Committee of Union and Progress in Constantinople for the liberation that had made His Western journey possible.
At the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set out six of Bahá'u'lláh's principles in a single sustained address: independent search after truth, the oneness of humanity, the harmony of religion and science, the abolition of prejudices, the equal education of women, and the necessity of a spiritual rather than merely material foundation for universal peace.
On October 7, 1912, at the Japanese Independent Church in Oakland, California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the Japanese Young Men's Christian Association on the destructiveness of prejudice — drawing on what He had personally witnessed during His exile in Rumelia.
At the home of Dr. and Mrs. Florian Krug on Park Avenue in New York on July 15, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá distinguished between thanks given by the tongue and thanks given by the conduct of a life — and asked the friends to send Him away from New York with the sight of unity among them.
Two years before the First World War, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stood in the Assembly Hall of the Hotel Sacramento on October 26, 1912, and warned His audience that Europe had become *like an arsenal* in which a single spark might detonate the whole continent. The remedy, He said, was not in the chancelleries but in the spiritual recognition that all the religions are renewals of one revelation.
On October 7, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the assembled students and faculty of Leland Stanford Junior University in Palo Alto. He took up the great Bahá'í theme of the harmony of science and religion — and warned that the cultivation of one wing without the other could not carry the bird of human progress.
On October 12, 1912, the Reform Jewish congregation of Temple Emmanu-El in San Francisco received an unprecedented visitor: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who had come to speak of Bahá'u'lláh and of Christ from a synagogue pulpit. His subject was the common purpose of every revealed religion: the bond of love among human beings.
On April 23, 1912, days after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gathered with the friends at the Parsons home in Washington and offered consolation: death, He said, is not termination but the soul's birth into greater light, as the infant is reluctantly born into the world.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on May 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the difference between Bahá'í consultation and parliamentary debate — drawing on the example of the early disciples of Christ to show what spiritual conference looks like.
At the Parsons home in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá recounted a Persian historical episode of a Zoroastrian high priest whose prejudice melted when he saw the spiritual authority of the very Arabs his nation had despised — drawing the parallel to His own day.
From Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a Tablet on the spiritual practice of detachment — not the rejection of the world but the freedom of the soul from the bondage of its desires, so that the heart may be ready for the indwelling of the Beloved.
From Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a Tablet setting out the central purpose of religion: not the formal observance of ritual, but the unification of hearts, the elevation of human character, and the establishment of the kingdom of justice and fellowship in the visible world.
From Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a Tablet on the proper character of the spiritual meeting — the gathering of believers in private homes for prayer and consultation, which the Master holds out as the true seedbed of the Bahá'í community life.
From Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a Tablet addressed to the women of the East and the West setting out the principle of the equality of women and men as a foundational teaching of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
In the opening chapter of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá takes up Laura Clifford Barney's question about nature itself — and gives, in one sentence, a sweeping definition: nature is the appearance of composition and decomposition, the meeting and parting of life and death, governed by a single universal law.
Nature is that condition, that reality, which in appearance consists in life and death, or, in other words, in the composition and decomposition of all…
Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs. If you had come to this blessed place in the days of the manifestation of the evident Light,29 if you had attained to the court of His presence, and had witnessed His luminous…
In the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation of St. John it is…
In Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, it is said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and…
We have before explained that what is most frequently meant by the Holy City, the Jerusalem of God, which is mentioned in the Holy Book, is the Law of God. It is compared sometimes to a bride, and sometimes to Jerusalem, and again to…
In this material world time has cycles; places change through alternating seasons, and for souls there are progress, retrogression and…
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and…
A subject that is essential77 for the comprehension of the questions that we have mentioned, and of others of which we are about to speak, so that the essence of the problems may be understood, is this: that human knowledge is of two…
Question.—How was Christ born of the Holy…
A great man is a great man, whether born of a human father or not. If being without a father is a virtue, Adam is greater and more excellent than all the Prophets and Messengers, for He had neither father nor mother. That which causes…
Question.—It is said in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 3, verses 13, 14, 15: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest…
One of the proofs and demonstrations of the existence of God is the fact that man did not create himself: nay, his creator and designer is another than…
Question.—Is the ablution of baptism useful and necessary, or is it useless and unnecessary? In the first case, if it is useful, why was it abrogated? And in the second case, if it is useless, why did John practice…
Question.—The Christ said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”86 What is the meaning of this…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá takes up the question of miracles with characteristic clarity: extraordinary events may have occurred and may yet occur, but they are not the proofs by which a Manifestation of God is finally known. *Miracles are proofs for the eyewitness only*.
Question.—It is recorded that miracles were performed by Christ. Are the reports of these miracles really to be accepted literally, or have they another meaning? It has been proved by exact science that the essence of things does not…
Question.—What is the meaning of Christ’s resurrection after three…
Question.—What is the manner, and what is the meaning, of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as described in the…
Question.—What is the Holy…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the creation of the human being — distinguishing the *species* from the *individual* and explaining the eternal pre-existence of humanity in the divine knowledge.
It is said in the Holy Books that Christ will come again, and that His coming depends upon the fulfillment of certain signs: when He comes, it will be with these signs. For example, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give…
Question.—What is the meaning of the Trinity, of the Three Persons in…
“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world…
Question.—In verse 22 of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians it is written: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” What is the meaning of these…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá presses the case that humanity, left to itself, does not by some natural process improve. It *requires* an educator of universal scope — and the Manifestations of God are precisely the educators sent for that purpose.
When we consider existence, we see that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds are all in need of an…
Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the…
Question.—“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be…
Question.—In the Gospel Christ said: “Many are called, but few are chosen,”110 and in the Qur’án it is written: “He will confer particular mercy on whom He pleaseth.” What is the wisdom of…
Question.—Will you explain the subject of…
Question.—In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is said: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”117 What is the meaning of this…
Question.—If God has knowledge of an action which will be performed by someone, and it has been written on the Tablet of Fate, is it possible to resist…
Know that, speaking generally, there are five divisions of the spirit. First the vegetable spirit: this is a power which results from the combination of elements and the mingling of substances by the decree of the Supreme God, and from…
Question.—What connection has the Reality of Divinity with the Lordly Rising-places and the Divine…
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though They have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations. The first station is the physical; the second station is the human, which is that of the rational…
We said that the Manifestations have three planes. First, the physical reality, which depends upon the body; second, the individual reality, that is to say, the rational soul; third, the divine appearance, which is the divine…
One of those Who possessed this power and was assisted by it was Abraham. And the proof of it was that He was born in Mesopotamia, and of a family who were ignorant of the Oneness of God. He opposed His own nation and people, and even…
Question.—One of the powers possessed by the Divine Manifestations is knowledge. To what extent is it…
Question.—What is the real explanation of the cycles which occur in the world of…
Question.—What is the degree of the power and the perfections of the Thrones of Reality, the Manifestations of God, and what is the limit of Their…
Question.—How many kinds of Prophets are…
Question.—In the Holy Books there are some addresses of reproach and rebuke directed to the Prophets. Who is addressed, and for whom is the…
It is said in the holy verse: “There is no partner for Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation136 in His Most Great Infallibility. He is, in truth, the exponent of ‘God doeth whatsoever He willeth’ in the kingdom of creation. Indeed the…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the prophecies of Isaiah — identifying specific passages of the Hebrew prophet that, in His reading, speak of the Bahá'í Revelation and the age it inaugurates.
Moses was for a long time a shepherd in the wilderness. Regarded outwardly, He was a Man brought up in a tyrannical household, and was known among men as One Who had committed a murder and become a shepherd. By the government and the…
Question.—In the Bible it is said that God breathed the spirit into the body of man. What is the meaning of this…
Question.—Of what degree is the perception of the human world, and what are its…
Afterward Christ came, saying, “I am born of the Holy Spirit.” Though it is now easy for the Christians to believe this assertion, at that time it was very difficult. According to the text of the Gospel the Pharisees said, “Is not this…
Having shown that the spirit of man exists,152 we must prove its…
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit. Know that the power and the comprehension of the human spirit are of two kinds—that is to say, they perceive and act in two different modes. One way is through…
Question.—It is said in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas “...whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed.” What is the meaning of this…
Question.—After the body is put aside and the spirit has obtained freedom, in what way will the rational soul exist? Let us suppose that the souls who are assisted by the bounty of the Holy Spirit attain to true existence and eternal…
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom. The outer expression used for the Kingdom is heaven; but this is a comparison and similitude, not a reality or fact, for the Kingdom is not a material place; it is…
Question.—Is the predestination which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing? If so, is not the effort to avoid it…
Question.—Have the stars of the heavens any influence upon the human soul, or have they…
Now we come to Muḥammad. Americans and Europeans have heard a number of stories about the Prophet which they have thought to be true, although the narrators were either ignorant or antagonistic: most of them were clergy; others were…
Question.—Is man a free agent in all his actions, or is he compelled and…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addresses Laura Clifford Barney's question on the immortality of the human soul — explaining the soul's continuance after the death of the body and the nature of its progress in the further worlds of God.
Question.—Some people believe that they achieve spiritual discoveries—that is to say, that they converse with spirits. What kind of communion is…
Question.—Some people heal the sick by spiritual means—that is to say, without medicine. How is…
Yesterday at table we spoke of curative treatment and spiritual healing, which consists in treating maladies through the spiritual…
The true explanation of this subject is very difficult. Know that beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual, those perceptible to the senses and those…
Know that there are two kinds of torment: subtile and gross. For example, ignorance itself is a torment, but it is a subtile torment; indifference to God is itself a torment; so also are falsehood, cruelty and treachery. All the…
Know that to do justice is to give to everyone according to his deserts. For example, when a workman labors from morning until evening, justice requires that he shall be paid his wages; but when he has done no work and taken no trouble,…
Question.—Should a criminal be punished, or forgiven and his crime…
Certain sophists think that existence is an illusion, that each being is an absolute illusion which has no existence—in other words, that the existence of beings is like a mirage, or like the reflection of an image in water or in a…
As for the Báb—may my soul be His sacrifice!—at a youthful age, that is to say, when He had reached the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, He stood forth to proclaim His Cause.15 It was universally admitted by the Shí’is that He…
Question.—How many kinds of preexistence and of phenomena are…
Question.—What is the truth of the question of reincarnation, which is believed by some…
Question.—How do the Theosophists and the Súfís understand the question of pantheism?171 What does it mean, and how nearly does it approximate to the…
There are only four accepted methods of comprehension—that is to say, the realities of things are understood by these four…
Question.—Those who are blessed with good actions and universal benevolence, who have praiseworthy characteristics, who act with love and kindness toward all creatures, who care for the poor, and who strive to establish universal…
Question.—What is the condition of children who die before attaining the age of discretion or before the appointed time of…
O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man. Laudable are the results and the fruits thereof, abundant the holy evidences deriving from this grace. This is…
O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. Thou didst ask for a rule whereby to guide thy…
My wish is that these children should receive a Bahá’í education, so that they may progress both here and in the Kingdom, and rejoice thy…
O ye who have peace of soul! Among the divine Texts as set forth in the Most Holy Book and also in other Tablets is this: it is incumbent upon the father and mother to train their children both in good conduct and the study of books;…
O true companions! All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and…
The education and training of children is among the most meritorious acts of humankind and draweth down the grace and favour of the All-Merciful, for education is the indispensable foundation of all human excellence and alloweth man to…
O loved ones of God and handmaids of the Merciful! A large body of scholars is of the opinion that variations among minds and differing degrees of perception are due to differences in education, training and culture. That is, they…
As to the difference between that material civilization now prevailing, and the divine civilization which will be one of the benefits to derive from the House of Justice, it is this: material civilization, through the power of punitive…
Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children, young plants of the Abhá Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of salvation,…
Ye should consider the question of goodly character as of the first importance. It is incumbent upon every father and mother to counsel their children over a long period, and guide them unto those things which lead to everlasting…
O ye recipients of the favours of God! In this new and wondrous Age, the unshakeable foundation is the teaching of sciences and arts. According to explicit Holy Texts, every child must be taught crafts and arts, to the degree that is…
As to the organization of the schools: if possible the children should all wear the same kind of clothing, even if the fabric is varied. It is preferable that the fabric as well should be uniform; if, however, this is not possible,…
The root cause of wrongdoing is ignorance, and we must therefore hold fast to the tools of perception and knowledge. Good character must be taught. Light must be spread afar, so that, in the school of humanity, all may acquire the…
In this holy Cause the question of orphans hath the utmost importance. The greatest consideration must be shown towards orphans; they must be taught, trained and educated. The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, especially, must by all means be…
O handmaid of God!... To the mothers must be given the divine Teachings and effective counsel, and they must be encouraged and made eager to train their children, for the mother is the first educator of the child. It is she who must, at…
O ye loving mothers, know ye that in God’s sight, the best of all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the perfections of humankind; and no nobler deed than this can be…
O ye two well-loved handmaids of God! Whatever a man’s tongue speaketh, that let him prove by his deeds. If he claimeth to be a believer, then let him act in accordance with the precepts of the Abhá…
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letters were received. Their contents indicated that thy mother hath ascended to the invisible realm and that thou hast been left alone. Thy wish is to serve thy father, who is dear to thee, and also…
Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is heaven’s kindly light, the Holy Spirit’s eternal breath that vivifieth…
O my dear children! Your letter was received. A degree of joy was attained that is beyond words or writing that, praise be to God, the power of the Kingdom of God hath trained such children who, from their early childhood, eagerly wish…
O thou whose years are few, yet whose mental gifts are many! How many a child, though young in years, is yet mature and sound in judgement! How many an aged person is ignorant and confused! For growth and development depend on one’s…
As to thy question regarding the education of children: it behoveth thee to nurture them at the breast of the love of God, and urge them onward to the things of the spirit, that they may turn their faces unto God; that their ways may…
O thou who gazest upon the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was received and we note that thou art engaged in teaching the children of the believers, that these tender little ones have been learning The Hidden Words and the prayers and what…
The Sunday school for the children in which the Tablets and Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are read, and the Word of God is recited for the children is indeed a blessed thing. Thou must certainly continue this organized activity without…
The changing of teachers should be neither too frequent nor too much delayed; moderation is preferable. Holding your meetings when it is the time of prayer in other churches is not advisable; it would lead to alienation, since the…
O thou servant of the One true God! In this universal dispensation man’s wondrous craftsmanship is reckoned as worship of the Resplendent Beauty. Consider what a bounty and blessing it is that craftsmanship is regarded as worship. In…
Thy letter was received. I hope that thou mayest be protected and assisted under the providence of the True One, be occupied always in mentioning the Lord and display effort to complete thy profession. Thou must endeavour greatly so…
O Friends of the Pure and Omnipotent God! To be pure and holy in all things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary characteristic of the unenslaved mind. The best of perfections is immaculacy and the freeing of oneself…
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter dated 5 December 1918 was received. It contained the good news that the friends of God and the maidservants of the Merciful have gathered in summer at Green Acre, have been engaged day and…
O thou distinguished physician!... Praise be to God that thou hast two powers: one to undertake physical healing and the other spiritual healing. Matters related to man’s spirit have a great effect on his bodily condition. For instance,…
When giving medical treatment turn to the Blessed Beauty, then follow the dictates of thy heart. Remedy the sick by means of heavenly joy and spiritual exultation, cure the sorely afflicted by imparting to them blissful glad tidings and…
There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the treatment of physicians; the second consisteth in prayers offered by the spiritual ones to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be…
O thou who art attracted to the fragrant breathings of God! I have read thy letter addressed to Mrs. Lua Getsinger. Thou hast indeed examined with great care the reasons for the incursion of disease into the human body. It is certainly…
O thou who art voicing the praises of thy Lord! I have read thy letter, wherein thou didst express astonishment at some of the laws of God, such as that concerning the hunting of innocent animals, creatures who are guilty of no…
O ye beloved of the Lord! The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul. Strive ye then with all your heart to treat compassionately all humankind—except for…
O thou handmaid of God! The heavenly glad tidings must be delivered with the utmost dignity and magnanimity. And until a soul ariseth with qualities which are essential for the bearer of these tidings, his words will take no…
O ye two blessed souls! Your letters were received. They showed that ye have investigated the truth and have been freed from imitations and superstitions, that ye observe with your own eyes and not with those of others, hearken with…
Thou didst ask as to the transfiguration of Jesus, with Moses and Elias and the Heavenly Father on Mount Tabor, as referred to in the Bible. This occurrence was perceived by the disciples with their inner eye, wherefore it was a secret…
O thou yearning flame, thou who art afire with the love of God! I have read thy letter, and its contents, well-expressed and eloquent, delighted my heart, showing as they did thy deep sincerity in the Cause of God, thy persevering steps…
O thou dear handmaid of God! Praise thou God, because thou art favoured at His Holy Threshold, and cherished in the Kingdom of His might. Thou art the head of an assembly which is the very imprint of the Company on high, the…
O thou who hast drawn nigh unto the spirit of Christ in the Kingdom of God! Verily the body is composed of physical elements, and every composite must needs be decomposed. The spirit, however, is a single essence, fine and delicate,…
O lover of humankind! Thy letter hath been received, and it telleth, God be praised, of thy health and well-being. It appeareth, from thine answer to a previous letter, that feelings of affection were being established between thyself…
Thou didst write as to the question of spiritual discoveries. The spirit of man is a circumambient power that encompasseth the realities of all things. Whatsoever thou dost see about thee—wondrous products of human workmanship,…
O thou handmaid afire with the love of God! I have considered thine excellent letter, and thanked God for thy safe arrival in that great city. I beg of Him, through His unfailing aid, to cause this return of thine to exert a powerful…
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Thankful, the birds of the spirit seek only to fly in the high heavens and to sing out their songs with wondrous art. But the pitiable earthworms love only to tunnel into the ground, and what a…
O thou who hast eyes to see! That which thou didst witness is the very truth, and it pertaineth to the realm of…
O captive of the love of God! The letter which thou didst write at the time of thy departure hath been received. It brought me joy; and it is my hope that thine inner eye may be opened wide, so that unto thee the very core of the divine…
O thou handmaid aflame with the fire of God’s love! Grieve thou not over the troubles and hardships of this nether world, nor be thou glad in times of ease and comfort, for both shall pass away. This present life is even as a swelling…
O thou believer in the oneness of God! Know thou that nothing profiteth a soul save the love of the All-Merciful, nothing lighteth up a heart save the splendour that shineth from the realm of the…
As to the question regarding the soul of a murderer, and what his punishment would be, the answer given was that the murderer must expiate his crime: that is, if they put the murderer to death, his death is his atonement for his crime,…
O thou handmaid of God! In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit. This is the essence of…
O thou son of the Kingdom! Thy most agreeable letters, with their pleasing style, ever gladden our hearts. When the song is of the Kingdom, it rejoiceth the…
O thou flame of God’s love! What thou hast written hath brought great joy, for thy letter was as a garden from which roses of inner meanings spread abroad the sweet exhalations of the love of God. In the same way, my answers will serve…
O thou servant of the Holy Threshold! We have read what flowed out from thy pen in thy love for God, and found the contents of thy letter most pleasing. My hope is that through the bounty of God, the breaths of the All-Merciful will at…
O ye who are strongly attracted! O ye who are mindful! O ye who are advancing unto the Kingdom of God! Verily with all my heart and soul and with all lowliness do I supplicate the Lord God to make of you ensigns of guidance, banners of…
Grieve thou not over the ascension of my beloved Breakwell, for he hath risen unto a rose garden of splendours within the Abhá Paradise, sheltered by the mercy of his mighty Lord, and he is crying at the top of his voice: ‘O that my…
As to thy question, doth every soul without exception achieve life everlasting? Know thou that immortality belongeth to those souls in whom hath been breathed the spirit of life from God. All save these are lifeless—they are the dead,…
O ye illumined loved ones and ye handmaids of the Merciful! At a time when the sombre night of ignorance, of neglect of the divine world, of being veiled from God, had overspread the earth, a bright morning dawned and a rising light lit…
O thou sincere and loyal handmaid of the Lord! I have read thy letter. Thou art truly attached to the Kingdom and devoted to the All-Glorious Horizon. I beg of God in His bounty to make thee to burn ever more brightly in the fire of His…
O thou who seekest the Kingdom of heaven! This world is even as the body of man, and the Kingdom of God is as the spirit of life. See how dark and narrow is the physical world of man’s body, and what a prey it is to diseases and ills.…
O ye two seekers after truth! Your letter was received and its contents noted. As for the letters ye had previously sent, not all were received, while some reached here at a time when the cruelty of the oppressors had so intensified…
O ye two faithful and assured souls! The letter was received. Praise be to God, it imparted good tidings. California is ready for the promulgation of the Teachings of God. My hope is that ye may strive with heart and soul that the sweet…
O my God! O my God! Verily Thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy…
Thou hadst asked about fate, predestination and will. Fate and predestination consist in the necessary and indispensable relationships which exist in the realities of things. These relationships have been placed in the realities of…
O thou lady of the Kingdom! Praise thou God that in this age, the age of the dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, thou hast been awakened, hast been made aware of the Manifestation of the Lord of Hosts. All the people of the world are buried in…
O ye two patient souls! Your letter was received. The death of that beloved youth and his separation from you have caused the utmost sorrow and grief; for he winged his flight in the flower of his age and the bloom of his youth to the…
O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abhá Kingdom! Praise ye the Lord of Hosts for He, riding upon the clouds, hath come down to this world out of the heaven of the invisible realm, so that East and West were lit by the glory of the Sun…
O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this…
O thou beloved maidservant of God, although the loss of a son is indeed heart-breaking and beyond the limits of human endurance, yet one who knoweth and understandeth is assured that the son hath not been lost but, rather, hath stepped…
Praise be to God, thy heart is engaged in the commemoration of God, thy soul is gladdened by the glad tidings of God and thou art absorbed in prayer. The state of prayer is the best of conditions, for man is then associating with God.…
Those souls that, in this day, enter the divine kingdom and attain everlasting life, although materially dwelling on earth, yet in reality soar in the realm of heaven. Their bodies may linger on earth but their spirits travel in the…
Mortal charm shall fade away, roses shall give way to thorns, and beauty and youth shall live their day and be no more. But that which eternally endureth is the Beauty of the True One, for its splendour perisheth not and its glory…
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God! Every soul seeketh an object and cherisheth a desire, and day and night striveth to attain his aim. One craveth riches, another thirsteth for glory and still another yearneth for fame, for…
O living flame of heavenly love! Thine heart hath been so fired with the love of God that from ten thousand leagues afar its warmth and radiance may be felt and seen. The fire lit by mortal hand imparteth light and warmth to but a…
O maidservant of God! Thy letter dated 9 December 1918 was received. Its contents were noted. Never lose thy trust in God. Be thou ever hopeful, for the bounties of God never cease to flow upon man. If viewed from one perspective they…
O thou possessor of a seeing heart! Although, materially speaking, thou art deprived of physical sight, yet, praise be to God, spiritual insight is thine. Thy heart seeth and thy spirit heareth. Bodily sight is subject to a thousand…
I hope that in this nether world thou shalt attain unto heavenly light, thou wilt free the souls from the gloom of nature, which is the animal kingdom, and cause them to reach lofty stations in the human kingdom. Today all people are…
Regarding the statement in The Hidden Words, that man must renounce his own self, the meaning is that he must renounce his inordinate desires, his selfish purposes and the promptings of his human self, and seek out the holy breathings…
O ye who are holding fast unto the Covenant and Testament! This day, from the realms of the All-Glorious, from the Kingdom of Holiness where hosannas of glorification and praise rise up, the Company on high direct their gaze upon you.…
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. It was like the melody of the divine nightingale, whose song delighteth the hearts. This is because its contents indicated faith, assurance and firmness in the Covenant and the…
O ye blessed souls! Although ye are undergoing crucial tests in view of the repeated and assiduous attempts of some people to shake the faith of the friends in Los Angeles, yet ye are under the guarding eye of the bounty of Bahá’u’lláh…
O ye friends and maidservants of the Merciful! From the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles a letter hath been received. It was indicative of the fact that the blessed souls in California, like unto an immovable mountain, are withstanding…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Three consecutive letters have been received from thee. From their contents it became known that in Cleveland the hearts are afflicted by the murky breaths of the Covenant-breakers and harmony hath…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Thy letter was received. Thou hast expressed satisfaction with the Convention, that this gathering hath been the means of the elevation of the Cause of God and the demonstration of the power of His…
Today, every wise, vigilant and foresighted person is awakened, and to him are unveiled the mysteries of the future which show that nothing save the power of the Covenant is able to stir and move the heart of humanity, just as the New…
Praise be to Him through Whose splendours the earth and the heavens are aglow, through Whose fragrant breathings the gardens of holiness that adorn the hearts of the chosen are trembling for joy, to Him Who hath shed His light and…
Thou seest me, O my God, bowed down in lowliness, humbling myself before Thy commandments, submitting to Thy sovereignty, trembling at the might of Thy dominion, fleeing from Thy wrath, entreating Thy grace, relying upon Thy…
O thou who hast been sore afflicted on the pathway of the Covenant! Anguish and torment, when suffered on the pathway of the Lord, Him of manifest signs, is only favour and grace; affliction is but mercy, and grief a gift from God.…
Today, the Lord of Hosts is the defender of the Covenant, the forces of the Kingdom protect it, heavenly souls tender their services, and heavenly angels promulgate and spread it broadcast. If it is considered with insight, it will be…
It is daybreak, and from the rising-point of the invisible realms of God, the light of unity is dawning; and streaming and beating down from the hidden world of the Kingdom of oneness there cometh a flood of abounding grace. Glad…
O ye the sincere loved ones of the Abhá Beauty! In these days the Cause of God, the world over, is fast growing in power and, day by day, is spreading further and further to the utmost bounds of the earth. Its enemies, therefore, from…
O thou exalted bough of the divine Lote-Tree! ...When thou art disdained and rejected by the wicked doers be not cast down; and at the power and stiffneckedness of the presumptuous be neither vexed nor sick at heart; for such is the way…
O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant! Thy letter of 9 September 1909 hath been received. Be thou neither grieved nor despondent over what hath come to pass. This trouble overtook thee as thou didst walk the path of God, wherefore it…
O thou servant of God! Do not grieve at the afflictions and calamities that have befallen thee. All calamities and afflictions have been created for man so that he may spurn this mortal world—a world to which he is much attached. When…
O thou who art enamoured of the breaths of God! I have read thy letter, which cried out with thy love for God and thine irresistible attraction to His Beauty, and its wondrous theme did cheer my…
O ye sincere ones, ye longing ones, ye who are drawn as if magnetized, ye who have risen up to serve the Cause of God, to exalt His Word and scatter His sweet savours far and wide! I have read your excellent letter, beautiful as to…
O my Lord! I have drawn nigh unto Thee, in the depths of this darksome night, confiding in Thee with the tongue of my heart, trembling with joy at the sweet scents that blow from Thy realm, the All-Glorious, calling unto Thee,…
O my spiritual loved ones! At a time when an ocean of trials and tribulations was surging up and flinging its waves to the heavens, when multitudes were assailing us and the tyrannical were inflicting upon us crushing wrongs—at such a…
O thou who art carried away by the love of God! The Sun of Truth hath risen above the horizon of this world and cast down its beams of guidance. Eternal grace is never interrupted, and a fruit of that everlasting grace is universal…
O ye lovers of truth, ye servants of humankind! Out of the flowering of your thoughts and hopes, fragrant emanations have come my way, wherefore an inner sense of obligation compelleth me to pen these…
O thou who art enamoured of the Covenant! The Blessed Beauty hath promised this servant that souls would be raised up who would be the very embodiments of guidance, and banners of the Concourse on high, torches of God’s oneness, and…
O ye respected souls! From the continual imitation of ancient and worn-out ways, the world had grown dark as darksome night. The fundamentals of the divine Teachings had passed from memory; their pith and heart had been totally…
Praise be to Him Who hath rent the dark asunder, hath blotted out the night, hath drawn aside the coverings and torn away the veils; Whose light thereupon shone out, Whose signs and tokens were spread abroad, and His mysteries laid…
O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty! By night, by day, at morningtide and sunset, when darkness draweth on, and at early light I remember, and ever have remembered, in the realms of my mind and heart, the loved…
O ye servants of the Sacred Threshold! The triumphant hosts of the Celestial Concourse, arrayed and marshalled in the Realms above, stand ready and expectant to assist and assure victory to that valiant horseman who with confidence…
O ye servants of the Blessed Beauty!... It is clear that in this day, confirmations from the unseen world are encompassing all those who deliver the divine Message. Should the work of teaching lapse, these confirmations would be…
O thou distinguished personage, thou seeker after truth! Thy letter of 4 April 1921, hath been read with…
O ye roses in the garden of God’s love! O ye bright lamps in the assemblage of His knowledge! May the soft breathings of God pass over you, may the Glory of God illumine the horizon of your hearts. Ye are the waves of the deep sea of…
When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message, they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries. However, when the…
It is at such times that the friends of God avail themselves of the occasion, seize the opportunity, rush forth and win the prize. If their task is to be confined to good conduct and advice, nothing will be accomplished. They must speak…
The teaching work should under all conditions be actively pursued by the believers because divine confirmations are dependent upon it. Should a Bahá’í refrain from being fully, vigorously and wholeheartedly involved in the teaching…
Follow thou the way of thy Lord, and say not that which the ears cannot bear to hear, for such speech is like luscious food given to small children. However palatable, rare and rich the food may be, it cannot be assimilated by the…
My hope from the grace of the One true Lord is that thou wilt be enabled to spread the fragrances of God among the tribes. This is extremely…
Rest assured that the breathings of the Holy Spirit will loosen thy tongue. Speak, therefore; speak out with great courage at every meeting. When thou art about to begin thine address, turn first to Bahá’u’lláh, and ask for the…
The teacher, when teaching, must be himself fully enkindled, so that his utterance, like unto a flame of fire, may exert influence and consume the veil of self and passion. He must also be utterly humble and lowly so that others may be…
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter, which was surely inspired of heaven, hath been received. Its contents were most pleasing, its sentiments arising out of luminous…
O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He…
The Lord of all mankind hath fashioned this human realm to be a Garden of Eden, an earthly paradise. If, as it must, it findeth the way to harmony and peace, to love and mutual trust, it will become a true abode of bliss, a place of…
O ye who are steadfast in the Covenant! The pilgrim hath made mention of each one of you, and hath asked for a separate letter addressed to each, but this wanderer in the wilderness of God’s love is withheld from correspondence by a…
O ye homeless and wanderers in the Path of God! Prosperity, contentment, and freedom, however much desired and conducive to the gladness of the human heart, can in no wise compare with the trials of homelessness and adversity in the…
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter was received. From its contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God. The mass of the people are…
O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received. Its contents were lofty and sublime, and its aim high and far-reaching. The world of humanity is in need of great improvement, for it is a material jungle wherein trees without fruit…
O ye concourse of the Kingdom of Abhá! Two calls to success and prosperity are being raised from the heights of the happiness of mankind, awakening the slumbering, granting sight to the blind, causing the heedless to become mindful,…
O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received, and was the cause of gladness. Thou hast expressed thine ardent wish that I should attend the Peace Congress. I do not present myself at such political conferences, for the establishment…
O sincere servant of the True One! I hear thou art grieved and distressed at the happenings of the world and the vicissitudes of fortune. Wherefore this fear and sorrow? The true lovers of the Abhá Beauty, and they that have quaffed the…
O thou who dost search after truth! Thy letter of 13 December 1920 hath…
O respected personage! Thy second letter dated 19 December 1918 was received. It was the cause of great joy and gladness, for it showed thy firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant and Testament and thy yearning to raise the call of…
O thou blossom on the Tree of Life! Happy art thou to have girded thy loins in service; to have risen with all thy power in the promulgation of the divine teachings, to have convened gatherings and to have striven for the exaltation of…
As to President Wilson, the fourteen principles which he hath enunciated are mostly found in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and I therefore hope that he will be confirmed and assisted. Now is the dawn of universal peace; my hope is that…
O ye faithful friends, O ye sincere servants of Bahá’u’lláh! Now, in the midwatches of the night, when eyes are closed in slumber and all have laid their heads upon the couch of rest and deep sleep, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is wakeful within the…
O thou who art enraptured by the sweet breathings of the Lord! I have noted the contents of thine eloquent letter, and have learned that thou sheddest tears and thy heart is afire from grieving over the imprisonment of…
O God, my God! Illumine the brows of Thy true lovers and support them with angelic hosts of certain triumph. Set firm their feet on Thy straight path, and out of Thine ancient bounty open before them the portals of Thy blessings; for…
O Thou, my God, Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favours, Who guardest the…
Whoso reciteth this prayer with lowliness and fervour will bring gladness and joy to the heart of this Servant; it will be even as meeting Him face to…
O spiritual youth! Praise thou God that thou hast found thy way into the Kingdom of Splendours, and hast rent asunder the veil of vain imaginings, and that the core of the inner mystery hath been made known unto…
O thou handmaid of God! It is recorded in eastern histories that Socrates journeyed to Palestine and Syria and there, from men learned in the things of God, acquired certain spiritual truths; that when he returned to Greece, he…
O thou who seekest the Kingdom of Heaven! Thy letter hath been received and its contents…
In cycles gone by, each one of the Manifestations of God hath had His own rank in the world of existence, and each hath represented a stage in the development of humanity. But the Manifestation of the Most Great Name—may my life be a…
O leaf upon the Tree of Life! The Tree of Life, of which mention is made in the Bible, is Bahá’u’lláh, and the daughters of the Kingdom are the leaves upon that blessed Tree. Then thank thou God that thou hast become related to that…
O thou who art captivated by the truth and magnetized by the Heavenly Kingdom! Thy long letter hath come and it brought great joy, as it clearly betokened thy strenuous efforts and high purposes. Praised be God, thou wishest well to…
Existence is of two kinds: one is the existence of God which is beyond the comprehension of man. He, the invisible, the lofty and the incomprehensible, is preceded by no cause but rather is the Originator of the cause of causes. He, the…
O thou who art dear, and wise! Thy letter dated 27 May 1906 hath been received and its contents are most pleasing and have brought great…
O ye handmaids of the Lord! In this century—the century of the Almighty Lord—the Day-Star of the Realms above, the Light of Truth, shineth in its meridian splendour and its rays illuminate all regions. For this is the age of the Ancient…
O servant of God! We have noted what thou didst write to Jináb-i-Ibn-‘Abhar, and thy question regarding the verse: ‘Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly…
O thou who art serving the world of humanity! Thy letter was received and from its contents we felt exceedingly glad. It was a decisive proof and a brilliant evidence. It is appropriate and befitting that in this illumined age—the age…
O army of God! A letter signed jointly by all of you hath been received. It was most eloquent and full of flavour, and reading it was a…
O ye two favoured handmaids of the Lord! The letter from Mother Beecher hath been received, and truly it spoke for you both, wherefore I address the two of you together. This seemeth very good to me, for ye two pure beings are even as a…
O handmaid of God, who tremblest even as a fresh and tender branch in the winds of the love of God! I have read thy letter, which telleth of thine abundant love, thine intense devotion, and of thy being occupied with the remembrance of…
O handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received, bringing its news that an Assembly hath been established in that…
Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, and hath fashioned all that is, Him Who hath raised up the sincere to a station of honour4 and hath made the invisible world to appear on the plane of the visible—yet still, in their…
O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant, and staunch! The letter which thou didst write ... hath been shown to me, and the opinions expressed therein were most commendable. It is incumbent upon the Spiritual Consultative Assembly of…
O ye co-workers who are supported by armies from the realm of the All-Glorious! Blessed are ye, for ye have come together in the sheltering shade of the Word of God, and have found a refuge in the cave of His Covenant; ye have brought…
The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and…
The members thereof30 must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his…
The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one…
O ye true friends! Your letter hath been received and it brought great joy. God be praised, ye had made ready an entertainment and established the feast which is to be held every nineteen days. Whatsoever gathering is arranged with the…
O ye loyal servants of the Ancient Beauty! In every cycle and dispensation, the feast hath been favoured and loved, and the spreading of a table for the lovers of God hath been considered a praiseworthy act. This is especially the case…
Thy letter hath been received. Thou didst write of the Nineteen Day festivity, and this rejoiced my heart. These gatherings cause the divine table to descend from heaven, and draw down the confirmations of the All-Merciful. My hope is…
The world’s great Light, once resplendent upon all mankind, hath set, to shine everlastingly from the Abhá Horizon, His Kingdom of fadeless glory, shedding splendour upon His loved ones from on high and breathing into their hearts and…
As to the Nineteen Day Feast, it rejoiceth mind and heart. If this feast be held in the proper fashion, the friends will, once in nineteen days, find themselves spiritually restored, and endued with a power that is not of this…
O servant of the One true God! The Lord be praised, the loved ones of God are found in every land, and are, one and all, neath the shadow of the Tree of Life and under the protection of His good providence. His care and loving-kindness…
Ye have written as to the meetings of the friends, and how filled they are with peace and joy. Of course this is so; for wherever the spiritually minded are gathered together, there in His beauty reigneth Bahá’u’lláh. Thus it is…
It befitteth the friends to hold a gathering, a meeting, where they shall glorify God and fix their hearts upon Him, and read and recite the Holy Writings of the Blessed Beauty—may my soul be the ransom of His lovers! The lights of the…
Whensoever a company of people shall gather in a meeting place, shall engage in glorifying God, and shall speak with one another of the mysteries of God, beyond any doubt the breathings of the Holy Spirit will blow gently over them, and…
We hear that thou hast in mind to embellish thy house from time to time with a meeting of Bahá’ís, where some among them will engage in glorifying the All-Glorious Lord... Know that shouldst thou bring this about, that house of earth…
Thou hast asked about places of worship and the underlying reason therefor. The wisdom in raising up such buildings is that at a given hour, the people should know it is time to meet, and all should gather together, and, harmoniously…
O ye peoples of the Kingdom! How many a soul expended all its span of life in worship, endured the mortification of the flesh, longed to gain an entry into the Kingdom, and yet failed, while ye, with neither toil nor pain nor…
Although to outward seeming the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a material structure, yet it hath a spiritual effect. It forgeth bonds of unity from heart to heart; it is a collective centre for men’s souls. Every city in which, during the days of…
O Lord, O Thou Who dost bless all those who stand firm in the Covenant by enabling them, out of their love for the Light of the World, to expend what they have as an offering to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the dayspring of Thy wide-spread…
O my well-beloved daughter of the Kingdom! The letter thou hadst written to Dr. Esslemont was forwarded by him to the Land of Desire [The Holy Land]. I read it all through with the greatest attention. On the one hand, I was deeply…
O ye blessed souls!31 The letter ye had written to Rahmatu’lláh hath been perused. Many and various were the joyful tidings it conveyed, namely, that through the power of faith and constancy in the Covenant, numerous gatherings have…
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is one of the most vital institutions in the world, and it hath many subsidiary branches. Although it is a House of Worship, it is also connected with a hospital, a drug dispensary, a traveller’s hospice, a school…
O thou favoured handmaid of the heavenly Kingdom! Thy letter hath been received. It conveyeth high aspirations and noble goals, saying that thou hast in mind to make a journey to the Far East, and that thou art ready to endure extreme…
O thou who hast sought illumination from the light of guidance! Praise thou God that He hath directed thee to the light of truth and hath invited thee to enter the Kingdom of Abhá. Thy sight hath been illumined and thy heart hath been…
O thou lady of the Kingdom! Thy letter sent from New York hath been received. Its contents imparted joy and gladness for they indicated that with a firm resolve and a pure intention thou hast determined to travel to Paris, that thou…
O ye who are firm in the Covenant and the Testament! Your letter was received and your blessed names were one by one perused. The contents of the letter were divine inspirations and manifest bounties because they were indicative of the…
Thou hast written concerning organization. The divine teachings and the admonitions and exhortations of Bahá’u’lláh are manifestly evident. These constitute the organization of the Kingdom and their enforcement is obligatory. The least…
O thou ignited candle! Thy letter was received. Its contents imparted spiritual gladness, for they were pervaded by spiritual sentiments and indicated the attraction of thy heart, attachment to the Kingdom of God and love for His divine…
O thou beloved maidservant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents revealed the fact that the friends, in perfect energy and vitality are engaged in the propagation of the heavenly teachings. This news hath caused intense joy…
O thou true friend! Read, in the school of God, the lessons of the spirit, and learn from love’s Teacher the innermost truths. Seek out the secrets of Heaven, and tell of the overflowing grace and favour of…
O daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter hath come and its contents make clear the fact that thou hast directed all thy thoughts toward acquiring light from the realms of mystery. So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he…
O bird that singeth sweetly of the Abhá Beauty! In this new and wondrous dispensation the veils of superstition have been torn asunder and the prejudices of eastern peoples stand condemned. Among certain nations of the East, music was…
Strive with heart and soul in order to bring about union and harmony among the white and the black and prove thereby the unity of the Bahá’í world wherein distinction of colour findeth no place, but where hearts only are considered.…
O thou who hast an illumined heart! Thou art even as the pupil of the eye, the very wellspring of the light, for God’s love hath cast its rays upon thine inmost being and thou hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of thy…
O thou revered maidservant of God! Thy letter from Los Angeles was received. Thank divine Providence that thou hast been assisted in service and hast been the cause of the promulgation of the oneness of the world of humanity, so that…
O thou who art pure in heart, sanctified in spirit, peerless in character, beauteous in face! Thy photograph hath been received revealing thy physical frame in the utmost grace and the best appearance. Thou art dark in countenance and…
O respected personage! I have read your work, The Gospel of Wealth,34 and noted therein truly apposite and sound recommendations for easing the lot of…
O thou who art turning thy face to God! Thy letter was received. From its contents it became known that thy wish is to serve the poor. What wish better than this! Those souls who are of the Kingdom eagerly wish to be of service to the…
Those souls who during the war have served the poor and have been in the Red Cross Mission work, their services are accepted at the Kingdom of God and are the cause of their everlasting life. Convey to them these glad…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant, thy letter was received. Thou hast exerted a great effort for that prisoner, perchance it may prove to be fruitful. Tell him, however: ‘The denizens of the world are confined in the prison of…
O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received, and its contents were…
As for the question regarding marriage under the Law of God: first thou must choose one who is pleasing to thee, and then the matter is subject to the consent of father and mother. Before thou makest thy choice, they have no right to…
O thou memento of him who died for the Blessed Beauty! In recent days, the joyful news of thy marriage to that luminous leaf hath been received, and hath infinitely gladdened the hearts of the people of God. With all humility, prayers…
O ye my two beloved children! The news of your union, as soon as it reached me, imparted infinite joy and gratitude. Praise be to God, those two faithful birds have sought shelter in one nest. I beseech God that He may enable them to…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The letter thou hadst written on 2 May 1919 was received. Praise thou God that in tests thou art firm and steadfast and art holding fast to the Abhá Kingdom. Thou art not shaken by any affliction or…
O thou whose heart overfloweth with love for the Lord! I address thee from this consecrated spot, to gladden thy bosom with mine epistle to thee, for this is such a letter as maketh the heart of him who believeth in God’s oneness to…
O God, my God! This Thy handmaid is calling upon Thee, trusting in Thee, turning her face unto Thee, imploring Thee to shed Thy heavenly bounties upon her, and to disclose unto her Thy spiritual mysteries, and to cast upon her the…
O thou who hast bowed thyself down in prayer before the Kingdom of God! Blessed art thou, for the beauty of the divine Countenance hath enraptured thy heart, and the light of inner wisdom hath filled it full, and within it shineth the…
O ye two believers in God! The Lord, peerless is He, hath made woman and man to abide with each other in the closest companionship, and to be even as a single soul. They are two helpmates, two intimate friends, who should be concerned…
O thou maidservant of God! Every woman who becometh the maidservant of God outshineth in glory the empresses of the world, for she is related to God, and her sovereignty is everlasting, whereas a handful of dust will obliterate the name…
O handmaids of the beauty of Abhá! Your letter hath come, and its perusal brought great joy. Praised be God, the women believers have organized meetings where they will learn how to teach the Faith, will spread the sweet savours of the…
O handmaids of the Lord! The spiritual assemblage that ye established in that illumined city is most propitious. Ye have made great strides; ye have surpassed the others, have arisen to serve the Holy Threshold, and have won heavenly…
O handmaids of the Merciful! Render ye thanks unto the Ancient Beauty that ye have been raised up and gathered together in this mightiest of centuries, this most illumined of ages. As befitting thanks for such a bounty, stand ye staunch…
There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakeable supports of the Faith of God. The mightiest of these is learning and the use of the mind, the expansion of consciousness, and insight into the realities of the…
Were there no educator, all souls would remain savage, and were it not for the teacher, the children would be ignorant…
Thou didst write as to the children: from the very beginning, the children must receive divine education and must continually be reminded to remember their God. Let the love of God pervade their inmost being, commingled with their…
In footnotes referring to the Qur’án the súrihs have been numbered according to the original, whereas the verse numbers are those in Rodwell’s translation which differ sometimes from those of the…
Among the small images 'Abdu'l-Bahá used in conversation with the friends was the parable of a bird with a broken wing — a creature who, having tried every other refuge, at last laid itself in the hand of the One who had made it, and was healed.
'Abdu'l-Bahá would sometimes draw, in His talks with friends, on the great Persian-Turkish folk humour of Mulla Nasrudin — including the famous tale of a man searching for his key in the wrong place because the light there was better, and the searching lesson He drew from it.
Among the household stories 'Abdu'l-Bahá would tell was the account of why He no longer took sugar with His tea — because the believers in a certain Persian village had nothing but black tea, and He could not bring Himself to take a sweetness His friends could not share.
Among the Gospel images 'Abdu'l-Bahá would explain to inquirers was Christ's saying about the camel and the eye of the needle — the small *needle gate* in the wall of an ancient city, the kneeling of the camel, and what the image asks of the rich.
Among the agricultural parables 'Abdu'l-Bahá used in His conversations was the story of a farmer who, having sown his field, dug up the seeds the next morning to see whether they had grown — and the lesson He drew from his disappointment.
Among the parables 'Abdu'l-Bahá would offer to those who came to Him troubled about poverty and station was the story of a king who envied a shoemaker's sleep — and a shoemaker who would not trade his small contented evenings for the king's heavy throne.
Among the Quranic images 'Abdu'l-Bahá would unfold to inquirers was the Verse of Light — the lamp in the glass in the niche — and the careful explanation He would give of how the human heart is at once the niche, the glass, and the lamp's keeper.
Among the small stories 'Abdu'l-Bahá would offer to teach the hidden dignity of the poor was the account of an old village woman who walked seven kos for a load of firewood — and a passing prince who learned, in a single conversation with her, what his court had not been able to teach him.
Among the Biblical and Quranic prophets 'Abdu'l-Bahá would recount in His talks was Joseph — and the moment of His re-encounter with the brothers who had sold Him into slavery, which the Master would draw upon to teach the discipline of pure forgiveness.
Among the conversion stories 'Abdu'l-Bahá would tell to illustrate the suddenness with which a heart can turn was the account of a thief who climbed to a holy man's roof with the intention of robbing him — and came down, before morning, a different man.
Among the parables 'Abdu'l-Bahá used in conversation with friends was the story of three ducks who set off across a meadow to find the great river of which their elders had spoken — and how their different ways of seeking shaped what each one finally found.
Among the parables 'Abdu'l-Bahá told to the friends was the brief story of a wise man and a fool who walked the same road in opposite directions — and the question of which of them was in fact going somewhere.
A sufficient number of Tablets having been gathered together, they have been entrusted to the Baha’i Publishing Society for publication in this concrete form for the enlightenment of the English-speaking…
In a Tablet preserved in *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas* (1909), the Master writes to friends under the pressure of opposition and persecution: the storms they were enduring would in time be remembered as the necessary precursor of a *divine spring* — the same logic by which winter precedes the verdant fields and orchards.
262 Announce greeting on my behalf to the two young Japanese263 and…
281 Announce on my behalf respectful greeting to the maid-servant of god, Madam ........., and…
292 As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child born from Russian parentage, this is pure imagination. Yea, certain persons shall in this divine dispensation produce heavenly children and such children shall promulgate the…
300 Convey my respectful greeting to Mr. ......... and say: “Praise be to God! that there exists in thee capacity and endowment to enter into the Kingdom of God, and that thy wisdom and intelligence are known to the republic.301…
317 Convey my respectful greeting to Mrs. ......... and say: “We hope that day by day thou mayest take higher flights, attain to greater spiritual attractions, thy word become more penetrative through the power of the Spirit and…
Convey my respectful greetings to [Dr.] ... and say: “Have confidence in heavenly bounty and be sure of the favor of the Lord of the Kingdom. Soon thou shalt see that the East hath embraced the West and that the Occident and Orient are…
El-Baha, praise, light, blessing and peace be upon thee,170 O thou fire of the Love of God, thou light of the Kingdom of God, thou radiance of the Gift of God, thou peerless pearl in the Sea of the Mercy of God, thou sturdy lion in the…
Express my affection to Mrs. ... and say: “The grace of God hath chosen thee and distinguished thee for His love, that thou mayest thank Him, a thousand times in every moment. Because of this bounty, you must choose to serve the…
For the information of those who know little or nothing of the Bahai Revelation, we quote the following account translated from the (French) Encyclopaedia of…
“In reality thou art spiritually hungry and athirst for the Water of Life. Therefore I send thee spiritual food and bestow upon thee the Water of Life Eternal. That food is the divine advices and exhortations revealed in the Tablets and…
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my hear, my soul and my spirit,…
Glory be unto Thee, O my…
178 Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed all things, whose gift is made perfect, whose power hath encircled the world, whose proof is demonstrated, whose signs have become manifest, whose words are promulgated, whose…
He is God! O ye heavenly…
Honorable Dr.…
194 I ask God that thou mayest find a perceiving eye, an attentive ear and an eloquent tongue; that thou mayest loosen thy tongue in delivering the Cause of God, promoting the Word of God in that country, educating the children and…
“If the people live and act in accord with the General Tablets which are revealed in the beloved of the East and of the West, this universe will become another universe, and the whole existence of this world will be clad in another…
298 If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! —before long agreeable results will be obtained, the great newspapers of the world will all engage…
III-530 to teach His truth, to deliver His Cause, to promote His Word, and to train the souls whom superstitions have veiled from witnessing the lights of the Bounty of these…
130 Inquire after the health of Miss .........., send her my greeting and say: “Many ideas rise up in the human mind; some of them concern truth and some untruth. Among such ideas those which owe their source to the Light of Truth will…
“It is hoped that wonderful effects will be displayed in the future, that the friends of God may live and act in accord with the heavenly teachings, in order that the region of America may become the Paradise of Abha, that desert and…
An early Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Mrs. Jessie Cole of Chicago, addressing her recent recognition of the Cause and exhorting her to undertake the active teaching work in her city that her conviction made her ready for.
My God! My God! Elohim123…
My God! My God! I am a servant, miserable, humbled, submissive and low at the door of Thy Oneness, supplicating Thee with a heart full of Thy love and a face rejoiced at Thy glad-tidings! O God! Make me of those who are drawn unto light…
My Lord! My…
O attracted maid-servant of…
O bird185 of the Rose-garden of…
O bird without a…
“O Compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made (me) conscious. Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear; hast led me to Thy Kingdom and guided me to Thy Path. Thou hast shown me the…
O dear servant of…
O God! O God!16…
O God! O thou Attracted of the hearts of the favored ones toward the Manifest…
O God who art without…
215 O God! Grant Washington happiness and peace! Illuminate that land with the light of the faces of the friends, make it a paradise of Glory, let it become an envy of the green gardens of the earth! Help the friends, increase their…
O heavenly one! The maid-servant of God ... hath praised thee! I hope thou wilt acquire great proficiency in writing literature, composition, eloquence of tongue and fluency of speech, co-operating with the maid-servant of God in the…
O Lord! O Beloved! The truthful servant, Mr. ........, abandoned home, left his native land and crossed the great ocean until he reached the shore of the Holy Land and arrived at the Blessed Spot. He laid his head upon the threshold of the…
“O loving God! I am a young child, a suppliant, a captive. Be Thou my refuge, my support, my protector. I am in distress: give me the means of tranquillity. I am needy: bestow upon me the treasure of the Kingdom. I am dead: give me the…
O maid-servant of God, thou who hast given up thy life to the service of the Kingdom of…
O maid-servant of God, who art supplicating unto the Sublime…
O maid-servant of God who art swayed like a strong branch by the breeze of…
O maid-servant of…
O maid-servant of the Beauty of…
O my dear friend! Verily, my heart is united with thee even though my body is in a distant land, for verily neither long distance nor immense remoteness can prevent the union between hearts, because the clear hearts are in reality…
O my dear, intimate…
O my God, my…
O my God! O my God! We are servants who have sincerely turned our faces unto Thy grand face, severed ourselves from all else save Thee in this great day and are assembled together in this glorious meeting, of one accord and desire, and…
O my God! O my…
O my Lord, my Beloved, my…
O my Lord, my Hope!84…
274 O my Lord! O my…
O my Lord!279…
O my spiritual…
O my spiritual friends!291…
O my tender…
O seeker of the…
O seeker of…
O servant of…
O servant of…
O servants176 of the Blessed…
O Spiritual Assembly46…
O Spiritual…
O thou dear…
O thou advancer to…
O thou advancing maid-servant of…
O thou artery pulsating in the body of the…
O thou at whose mention I am…
O thou attracted maid-servant of…
O thou attracted one of the…
O thou attracted…
O thou bearer of the Great-tidings of the Kingdom of…
O thou believer in…
O thou beloved and benevolent daughter of the Kingdom of…
O thou beloved maid-servant of…
O thou beloved of my…
O thou bird of pleasing…
O thou bird of the Garden of…
O thou bird of the Rose-garden of the…
O thou bird of the Rose-garden of the Love of…
O thou bird warbling in the Garden of the Love of…
O thou bird who art warbling in the Garden of the Guidance of…
O thou blooming rose in the garden of the Love of…
O thou bright…
O thou candle of the Love of…
O thou candle shining by the light of the Love of…
O thou child of the Kingdom and firm in the…
O thou confident…
O thou confident soul who art content and…
O thou confirmed by an inspiration from the…
O thou cup overflowing with the Wine of the Love of God!…
O thou darling…
O thou daughter of the…
O thou dazzling gem by the light of the Love of…
O thou dear and…
O thou dear…
O thou dear maid-servant of…
O thou dear…
O thou dear servant of…
O thou dear…
O thou dear wise…
O thou effulgence of the…
O thou esteemed maid-servant of…
O thou esteemed maid-servant of the Loving…
O thou esteemed maid-servant of the Word of…
O thou excellent maid-servant of…
O thou faithful and…
O thou faithful maid-servant of…
O thou faithful…
O thou faithful servant of the True…
O thou favored maid-servant in the Threshold of the…
O thou favored maid-servant of…
O thou favored maid-servant of the Kingdom of…
O thou flame of the Love of…
O thou flower of the Rose-garden of…
O thou flower of the Rose-Garden of the Love of…
O thou flower perfumed by the Breaths of the Love of…
O Thou Forgiving Lord!91…
O thou fortunate and righteous, sincere and…
O thou fragrant rose blooming in the Garden of Guidance!…
83O thou fresh, slender branch saturated with the abundant rain of His…
O thou friend of old and O thou incomparable…
O thou gem of the Kingdom and brilliant…
O thou Glorious Lord!252…
O thou Godlike person and spiritual…
O thou handsome…
O thou heavenly, brilliant and precious…
O thou herald of the Kingdom of…
O thou herald of the…
O thou honorable…
O thou honorable…
O thou honored…
O thou ignited…
O thou illumined maid-servant of…
O thou illumined…
O thou kind…
O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly31 is Thine, and that gathering of friends is of Thee. Their eyes are opened, their hearts in tune with Thy love, and their ears in communion with Thy hidden…
O thou kind maid-servant of…
O thou lamp glowing with the fire of the Love of…
O thou lamp ignited by the fire of the Love of…
O thou lamp of the Love of…
O thou lamp who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of…
O thou lamp who art illuminated with the light of the Love of…
O thou leaf who art moved by the Breeze of…
O thou leaf who art well watered through the out-pouring of the cloud of favor from…
O thou lover of humanity!312…
O thou loving torch, flaming by the fire of the Love of…
O thou maid-servant of God who art attracted to the Fragrances of…
O thou maid-servant of God who art attracted unto…
O thou maid-servant of God, who art guided to the Light of…
O thou maid-servant of…
O thou maid-servant of the Blessed…
O thou messenger in the command of…
O thou my beloved…
O thou my dear friend, my associate and…
O thou my dear…
O thou my spiritual…
O thou near servant to the Threshold of…
O thou opened rose in the garden of…
O thou party5 who art assisted by the hosts of the Kingdom of…
O thou peerless, matchless, glorious martyr!172…
O thou plant in the Garden of the…
O thou plant in the garden of the Love of…
O thou plant of the Garden of the Love of…
O thou pure and spiritual…
O Thou Pure God!155…
O thou pure soul who art kindled by the fire of the love of…
O thou pure soul who art turning toward the Lord of the…
O thou pure soul241 who hath turned with a submissive heart to the Kingdom of…
O thou respectful…
O thou revered sincere…
O thou rose of the Rose-Garden of the Love of…
O thou Secretary of the meanings emanated from the hearts of the people of the…
O thou seeing…
O thou seeker after the Beauty of the True…
O thou seeker after…
O thou seeker of the Divine…
O thou seeker of the Heavenly…
O thou seeker of the…
O thou seeker of…
O thou servant of…
O thou servant14 of…
O thou servant of the Beauty of…
O thou servant of the True…
O thou servant who art near and dear to the Glorious…
O thou shining…
O thou sign of the Kingdom and the bird singing with the most wonderful melodies in the rose-garden of…
O thou sign of the Love of…
O thou sincere servant of…
O thou sincere servant of…
O thou sincere servant of the Lord of the…
O thou sincere servant of the True…
O thou slave of the Beauty of…
O thou son of the associate and companion29 of…
O thou son of the…
O thou speaker in the remembrance of…
O thou spiritual…
O thou spiritual…
O thou spiritual…
O thou spiritual…
O thou spiritual leaf who art verdant and well-watered by the outpouring from the Kingdom of…
O thou spiritual maid-servant of…
O thou spiritual man and merciful…
O thou spiritual person and heavenly man—may God confirm…
O thou spiritual…
O thou spiritual temple whose heart is drawn unto the Horizon of…
O thou spiritual youth and merciful young…
O thou spiritual youth!261…
O thou Thahbet (Firm) in the…
O thou that mirror in which the Light of Guidance is…
O thou that virtuous soul and individual who art ready for the confirmation of the Holy…
O thou thrall of the Lord of the…
O thou tree, developed in the garden of the Love of God!…
O thou tree planted in the Garden of the Love of…
O thou tree planted in the Vineyard of…
O thou who are enkindled by the fire of the Love of God!…
O thou who are firm in the…
O thou who art a young tree in the Garden of the Love of…
O thou who art ablaze with the fire of the Love of…
O thou who art accepted of…
O thou who art acknowledging the Oneness of…
O thou who art advanced toward…
O thou who art advanced toward the…
O thou who art advanced towards…
O thou who art advancing to the Dawning-point of Lights!…
O thou who art advancing to the Kingdom of…
O thou who art advancing toward…
O thou who art advancing toward the Divine…
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of…
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of…
O thou who art advancing toward the…
O thou who art advancing toward the Threshold of…
O thou who art advancing towards…
O thou who art advancing towards the Shining Orb of the…
O thou who art advancing unto…
O thou who art advancing unto the Face of…
O thou who art advancing unto the Kingdom of…
O thou who art afflicted by a visitation by which thine eyes are overflowing with…
O thou who art agitated as oceans by the winds blown from the direction of the Kingdom of…
O thou who art always calling on…
O thou who art anticipating the appearance of the Gift of…
O thou who art anticipating the descent of the Gift of…
O thou who art arisen for the service of the Cause of…
O thou who art assured in…
O thou who art assuredly believing in…
O thou who art attached to the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted by a Breath that passed upon thee from the Holy Garden, the Blessed Spot—the Paradise of…
O thou who art attracted by the Breath of…
O thou who art attracted by the Breaths of God! —may God confirm…
O thou who art attracted by the brilliant lights of the Merciful One, shining from the Supreme…
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God and enkindled with the Fire wherein Moses, the Speaker, found…
O thou11 who art attracted by the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of the Kingdom of…
O thou who art attracted by the Love of…
O thou who art attracted by the Speech of…
O thou who art attracted by the Word of god to the Kingdom of…
O thou who art attracted by the Word of…
O thou who art attracted to…
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of the…
O thou who art attracted to the Bounty of…
O thou who art attracted to the Call of the…
O thou who art attracted to the Fire of the Love of God!…
***O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of the Garden of the Covenant and art speaking the praise of the Orb of the…
O thou who art attracted to the Holy…
O thou who art attracted to the Holy…
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of…
O thou who art attracted to the…
O thou who art attracted to the Light of…
O thou who art attracted to the Light of the…
O thou who art attracted to the Spirit of…
O thou who art attracted to the Word of…
O thou who art attracted toward the…
O thou who art attracted unto the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted unto the Beauty of…
O thou who art awakened from the sleep of negligence and…
O thou who art awakened to the Cause of…
O thou who art baptized by the Spirit of the Love of…
O thou who art calling in the cities, the bearer of the Gospel of the Kingdom of…
O thou who art calling in the Name of God and heralding unto the Kingdom of…
O thou who art cheered through the Fragrances of…
O thou who art cheerful in heart, by the Fragrances of the…
O thou who art cheerfully moving by the Fragrances of…
O thou who art commemorating the Name of…
O thou who art commemorating the praises of…
O thou who art confessing the Oneness of…
O thou who art confident in the appearance of the Kingdom of God! Verily I read thy letter, which was beautifully composed and which proved thy great love, the extent of thy knowledge and the illumination of thy sight, by witnessing the…
O thou who art…
O thou who art controlled by the attraction of the Fragrances of…
O thou who art controlled by the attraction of the Holy fragrances of the gardens of God’s…
O thou who art controlled by the attractions of the Fragrance of…
O thou who art desirous of the Kingdom of…
O thou who art directed to the Light of…
O thou who art directed toward the Light of…
O thou who art directed unto…
O thou who art drawn unto God and kindled by the Fire which burned on Mt.…
O thou who art enkindled by the fire of the Love of God!…
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of…
O thou who art enkindled with the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who art esteemed and…
O thou who art esteemed in the Threshold of the…
O thou who art exhilarated by the Wine of the Love of God—young in age and old in…
O thou who art favored in the Kingdom of the…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant and…
O thou who art firm in the Covenant of…
O thou who art firm in the…
O thou who art firm in the love of…
O thou who art gazing toward…
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom of the…
O thou who art gazing toward the…
O thou who art guided by the Light of…
O thou who art honorable and faithful to…
O thou who art honored and…
O thou who art hoping for the…
O thou who art ignited through the brilliant Flame which is blazing in this Blessed…
O thou who art illuminated by the Light of…
O thou who art imploring…
O thou who art kindled as a lamp with the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who art kindled by the Fire of Guidance which blazed and burnt in the Tree of…
O thou who art kindled by the fire of the Love of…
O thou who art kindled with the fire of the Love of God!…
O thou who art longing for the Heavenly…
O thou who art longing for the…
O thou who art longing for the Orb of the Horizons!55…
O thou who art longing to witness the lights from the Beauty of…
O thou who art made happy by the Fragrances of…
O thou who art marching onward to…
O thou who art marching unto…
O thou who art near to the Threshold of…
O thou who art nurtured from the breasts of the Kingdom of God, who wert brought up in the lap of the Guidance of…
O thou who art partaking of the Heavenly…
O thou who art patient and resigning thyself to the judgment (of…
O thou who art preparing to receive knowledge from the Herald of the…
O thou who art quickened by the Divine…
O thou who art rejoiced at the explanation of the maid-servant of God…
O thou who art rejoiced at the Kingdom of…
O thou who art rejoiced by the Appearance of…
O thou who art rejoiced by the Divine…
O thou who art rejoicing at the Glad-tidings of…
O thou who art rejoicing by the Glad-tidings of…
O thou who art remembered by…
O thou who art seeking fire from the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who art seeking for the Power of the Holy Spirit!…
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire burning in the Tree of…
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who art shining with the Kingdom’s…
O thou who art sincere in the Religion of…
O thou who art skilled in the Knowledge of God and wise in the Wisdom of the…
O thou who art speaking the praise of god in that vast and extensive…
O thou who art spreading the Cause of…
O thou who art submissive and humble before the Holy…
O thou who art supplicating unto…
O thou who art supplicating unto the Kingdom of…
O thou who art sweet…
O thou who art tested with a great…
O thou who art the single one of Japan and the unique one of the extreme…
O thou who art tranquilized by the Call of the Kingdom at this…
O thou who art turned to the Kingdom of the Lord, the…
O thou who art turned to the…
O thou who art turning thy heart unto the Kingdom of…
O thou who art turning to the divine…
O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of…
O thou who art turning unto…
O thou who art turning unto the Kingdom of God, and looking unto the Day-spring of the lights of…
O thou who art turning unto the Kingdom of…
O thou who art uttering the mention of…
O thou who art uttering the praise of…
O thou who art waiting for the Appearance of the…
O thou who art wholly advancing unto…
O thou who art witnessing the Light of…
O thou who art yearning for the Glad-tidings of…
O thou who dost believe in the Unity of…
O thou who has advanced towards…
O thou who has sought shelter in the Impregnable…
O thou who has turned towards the Lights of the…
O thou who hast acknowledged the Kingdom of…
257 O thou who hast addressed…
O thou who hast approached the Kingdom of God and hast looked toward the Center of the…
O thou who hast approached toward…
O thou who hast arisen to render service to the Cause of God in His Great…
O thou who hast attained to…
O thou who hast confessed and believed in the Words of…
O thou who hast gained illumination from the Light of…
O thou who hast humbled thyself before the Kingdom of…
O thou who hast prayed to the Kingdom of…
O thou who hast sought illumination from the Light of the Guidance of…
O thou who hast spread the Fragrance of God!—may God confirm…
O thou who hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of…
O thou who hath advanced to the Kingdom of his Lord, the…
O thou who in truth art attracted through the Breaths of the Holy…
O thou who seekest for the Will of…
O thou whom I mention with my heart and…
O thou whose breast is dilated by the Fragrances of God!…
O thou whose breast is dilated (with joy) for the Kingdom of…
O thou whose breast is dilated with the Fragrances of…
O thou whose face is illumined with the Light of the Love of…
O thou whose face is radiant with the light of the Love of…
O thou whose heart hath been filled with the love of the Beauty of…
O thou203 whose heart is attracted and whose breast is dilated with joy by the Holy…
O thou whose heart is empty and pure through the Light of the word of God shining…
O thou whose heart is filled with the Love of…
O thou whose heart is moved by a breeze blowing from the Garden of…
O thou whose heart is overflowing with the love of…
O thou whose heart is pure and whose souls is…
O thou whose heart is soaring in the sky of the love of…
O thou whose nostrils are perfumed with the Fragrances of…
O thou whose tongue is uttering the Name of…
O thou wonderful leaf of the Tree of the Love of…
O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of…
O thou yearner after the Kingdom of…
O thou yearner after the…
O thou yearner after…
O thou yearning…
O thou young in age and great in…
O thou young, incomparable tree of the Rose-garden of the Love of…
O visitant of the Resort69 of spirits (who are) sincere in the Religion of…
O ye196 beloved friends of…
O ye206 beloved! O ye maid-servants of the…
O ye145 beloved of God and His sincere…
O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness and the season of running in the arena of sacrifice! Show ye kindness to all; be ye engaged in the refinement of the souls. Become ye as ignited lamps and…
O ye beloved ones of Abdul-Baha! This servant longeth to write a special Tablet to each one of the friends of God—but what can be done! For there is neither opportunity nor time. The affairs are like unto the waves, and the requirements…
O ye174 beloved servants of Abdul-Baha and the maid-servants of the Merciful…
O ye blessed maid-servant283 of the Beauty of…
O ye243 blessed…
O ye187 brilliant…
O ye33 children of the…
O ye34 Cohorts of…
O ye27 crying voices in the region of…
O ye dear children!280…
O ye81 dear friends and maid-servants of…
O ye dear friends of…
O ye305 dear servants of…
O ye154 dwellers of the…
O ye199 elect and chosen ones of the…
O ye208 esteemed maid-servants of God, and ye revered beloved ones (or men believers) of the…
O ye firm ones in the…
O ye friends of…
O ye153 friends of God and daughters of the…
O ye friends285 of this…
O ye friends!255…
O ye77 illumined faces! O ye divine souls! and O ye spiritual…
O ye leaves25 of the Paradise of El-ABHA, and the maid-servants of the…
O ye120 longing ones! O ye cheered ones! O ye attracted ones! O ye who are beseeching the Kingdom of…
O ye maid-servants297 of God and leaves of the Tree of Eternal Life!…
O ye maid-servants of His Majesty, the Lord—daughters and sons of the Kingdom!304…
O ye79 maid-servants of the Merciful! Leaves of the Tree of…
O ye maid-servants of the…
O ye members of the shining assembly! Each one of you must resist doubts (or false rumors) in those parts like unto a great barrier, until the invisible confirmations may appear and merciful assistance may become manifest. May your…
O ye members of the shining assembly!222…
O ye209 my dear…
O ye my divine friends!32…
O ye real companions! Day and night Abdul-Baha is engaged in the remembrances of the friends, and time after time doth he associate with them and behold their blessed faces. I entreat in the Threshold of the Lord of Existence to confrim…
***O ye real friends of…
O ye248 seekers of…
O ye205 servants of God and maid-servants of the…
O ye servants of the Threshold of…
O ye273 servants of the True One and the maid-servants of the…
O ye shining Assembly!113…
***O ye118 shining faces and spiritual…
O ye148 sincere, O ye firm and steadfast in the Testament of…
O ye58 sincere ones and ye who are attracted and moved by the breeze of the favor of…
O ye177 sincere ones! O ye favored ones! O ye beseeching ones! O ye supplicating…
O ye146 sincere ones! O ye firm ones! O ye heralds of the Kingdom of…
O ye200 sons of the…
O ye spiritual assembly!254…
O ye spiritual friends of…
O ye271 spiritual ones! O ye heavenly…
O ye two41 accepted ones in the Kingdom of…
O ye two237 advancers towards the Kingdom of…
O ye54 two birds in the open-space of the Love of…
O ye47 two birds warbling in the Garden of…
O ye two dear maid-servants of…
O ye93 two doves, flying in the verdant Gardens of the…
O ye two244 kind and beloved maid-servants of…
O ye two135 lamps of the Love of…
O ye two220 maid-servants of…
O ye two merciful assemblies!287…
O ye two134 pilgrims of the Holy…
O ye two147 revered persons, ye servants in the vineyard of…
O ye two269, servant and maid-servant of the Beauty of…
O ye two133 singing birds in the Garden of…
O ye two42 truthful…
O ye verdant and flourishing leaves26 of the Blessed…
O ye114 who are advancing towards the Kingdom of…
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are firm! O ye who are zealous in the service of the Cause of God and are sacrificers of possessions and lives for the promotion of the Word of…
O ye188 who are attracted! O ye who are remembered! O ye who are directed unto the Kingdom of…
O ye119 who are attracted! O ye who are united! O ye who are believers and…
O ye78 who are attracted to the Heavenly Kingdom! O ye who are enlightened by the Light of Guidance! O ye lamps lighted by the Light of Love and…
O ye who are chosen! O ye who are firm! O ye who are calling! O ye who are…
O ye who are considering the Kingdom of your august…
O ye who are firm in the…
O ye76 who are longing for the beauty of…
O ye who are set aglow with the fire of God’s…
O ye7 who are sincere! O ye who are attracted! O ye who are yearning! O ye who are arising for service to the Cause of God, for the promotion of the Word of God and the spreading of the Fragrances of…
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are firm in the Covenant of God in this new…
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are firm! O ye who are…
O ye57 who have advanced! O ye who are…
O ye207 whom God hath chosen from among those who are called!—know that “many are called but few are chosen”!—upon whom He caused the evident Light to descend; whom He guided into the right Path, and to whom He gave the Glad-tidings of…
Rejoice, O maid-servant of…
The first light which shone forth from the horizon of Eternity, the first radiance which was cast forth from the Morn of Guidance, and the first mercy which descended from the Kingdom of Heaven, be upon thee,173 O thou manifest light,…
These Tablets were originally written in Persian and all bear the caption, “He is God!”4 and close with expressions of good will, such as, “Upon ye be greetings and praise!” These expressions have been omitted from this compilation;…
24 *** Thou has written concerning the Board of…
276 Thou hast written concerning the universal peace, that before long the congress of The Hague will be opened277 and discussion will be made in regard to the universal…
108 Thy letter was received. It became conducive to happiness. Up to the present thou hast been serving in the Kingdom of God and hast been assisted. I hope that, in the future, thou wilt become assisted more and serve more. Praise be…
Thy229 letters were received. Although thou hast complained on account of not receiving answers to the petitions of the people, yet thou hast no right to do so, for the letters coming from those regions are like unto a sea—who is able…
An early Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the New York believers, preserved in the 1909 *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas* — addressing the city of New York as the eventual centre through which the Cause will reach the New World and exhorting the friends to prepare for that destiny.
An early collective Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Washington, D.C. community of believers — exhorting them to unity among themselves as the foundation of their effective teaching work in the capital city.
To him who is looking unto God! O thou who art gazing unto the Center of the Covenant—may God confirm…
An early Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Lua Getsinger — the *mother teacher of the West,* one of the first Western pilgrims to 'Akká in 1898 — sent to her after her return to America with a charge to undertake the lifelong teaching work that her pilgrimage had opened.
To the beloved of God in…
To the servant of…
An early Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to a Western servant of God, preserved in *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas* (1909), gives a careful warning about the kind of association into which the Bahá'í community should be drawn — and the patient discernment by which trust should be extended.
Verily I approach Thee, O my God, in the darkest hour of this dark night, and pray Thee with my inmost heart, while I am moving by Thy fragrances, which are being diffused from Thy Kingdom of Abha, and say158…
50 Verily, I read thy magnificent letter, thy brilliant writing, and found its meanings as the chanting of the verses of guidance and its foundation based on righteousness and piety. Verily I beseech God to make thee a sign of…
When you assemble in the meeting of teaching (the truth), it is incumbent on you to chant the following supplication and…
Your letters have been received. God willing, answer will be given very soon, but as a matter of great importance is on foot (afloat), therefore I write it to you in brief and it is this, that his honor Mr. ... must compose a letter of…
18 Your three reports, together with the public announcement19, were received. Praise be to God! all the contents indicated firmness, spirituality and goodness. The friends of the Spiritual Meeting are indeed manifesting efforts in…
In *A Traveler's Narrative*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes the morning of the Báb's martyrdom in the Tabríz barracks-square on the 9th of July, 1850 — the iron nail driven into the staircase, the two ropes by which He and His amanuensis were bound, the regiment that fired without harming Him, and the second regiment that did.
In *A Traveler's Narrative*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá recounts the Báb's confinement in the remote castle of Máh-Kú on the northwestern frontier of Persia — and describes how the warden 'Alí Khán's love for the family of the Prophet led him, despite official orders, to permit conversation between the prisoner and visiting believers.
In *A Traveler's Narrative*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá records the moment in 1844 when the young Merchant of Shíráz — twenty-five years old — began openly to declare His station: the Báb, the Gate, sent to prepare the way for the greater Manifestation soon to come.
Touching the individual known as the Báb and the true nature of this sect diverse tales are on the tongues and in the mouths of men, and various accounts are contained in the pages of Persian history and the leaves of European…
absolutism in [the conduct of] affairs: on his own decisive resolution, without seeking permission from the Royal Presence or taking counsel with prudent statesmen, he issued orders to persecute the Bábís, imagining that by overweening…
When he reached Hamadán his character became known, and, as he was of the clerical class, the doctors vehemently pursued him, handed him over to the government, and ordered chastisement to be inflicted. By chance there fell out from the…
correspondence?” Then the Royal Command was issued that their Reverences the learned doctors and honorable and accomplished divines should write a reply to that epistle. But when the most expert doctors of the capital became aware of…
swords be blunted, and their footsteps slip. I know not how long they shall ride the steed of desire and wander erringly in the desert of heedlessness and error. Of glory shall any glory endure, or of abasement any abasement? Or shall…
In *A Traveler's Narrative*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá relates the encounter between Siyyid Yaḥyá-i-Dárábí — known as Vaḥíd, the most learned cleric of his generation in Persia — and the Báb. Three audiences. In the third, a request for a commentary on the Súrih of Kawthar; and the Báb's spontaneous, written reply that emptied the room of every doubt.
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