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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."
By the Báb · Bahá'í World Centre
Compilation of writings of the Báb.
About the Báb
Forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, who declared His mission in Shíráz on 22 May 1844 and was martyred in Tabríz six years later. His writings include the Bayán and a vast body of Tablets.
1819–1850 · Forerunner
“stifled the Movement at its birth.”
“, and in the same passage calls Himself”
“All praise be to God Who hath, through the power of Truth, sent”
From The Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'
“down this Book unto His servant, that it may serve as a shining”
From The Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'
“light for all mankind... Verily this is none other than the”
From The Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Primary Source'Abdu'l-Bahá
Bahíyyih Khánum: The Greatest Holy Leaf
Cited in Authoritative HistoryVarious
Baha'i Stories for Children
Secondary RetellingVarious
Baha'i Stories Blog
Secondary RetellingVarious
Bahá'í Chronicles
Secondary RetellingBahá'í Chronicles editors
Bahá'ís of the United States
Secondary RetellingBahá'ís of the United States editors
The Báb asked Muhammad Sháh for an audience and was sent instead to the mountain fortress of Máh-Kú. From His imprisonment He wrote to the King, calling him to account and naming Himself the rightful Sovereign of all men.
May the glances of Him Whom God shall make manifest illumine this letter at the primary school.
This is an epistle from this lowly servant to the All-Glorious Lord—He Who hath been aforetime and will be hereafter made manifest.
O ‘Abdu’s-Sáhib! Verily God and every created thing testify that there is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the Best Beloved...
This is an Epistle from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, unto Sulaymán in the land of Masqát, to the right of the Sea.
All majesty and glory, O my God, and all dominion and light and grandeur and splendour be unto Thee.
All men have proceeded from God and unto Him shall all return.
All praise be to God Who hath, through the power of Truth, sent down this Book unto His servant, that it may serve as a shining light for all mankind...
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise be unto God Who was Ever-Existent ere created things were called into being, when there was no one else besides Him.
Are ye wickedly scheming, according to your selfish fancies, an evil plot against Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance of God?
As a token of pure justice, We have indeed sent tidings unto every Prophet concerning the Cause of Our Remembrance, and verily God is supreme over all the peoples of the world.
As this physical frame is the throne of the inner temple, whatever occurs to the former is felt by the latter.
As to those who deny Him Who is the Sublime Gate of God, for them We have prepared, as justly decreed by God, a sore torment.
As to those who have debarred themselves from the Revelation of God, they have indeed failed to understand the significance of a single letter of the Qur’án, nor have they obtained the slightest notion of the Faith of Islám …
At the time of the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest, wert thou to perform thy deeds for the sake of the Point of the Bayán, they would be regarded as performed for one other than God …
At the time of the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest everyone should be well trained in the teachings of the Bayán, so that none of the followers may outwardly cling to the Bayán and thus forfeit their allegiance unto Him.
Be thou content with the commandment of God, the True One, inasmuch as sovereignty, as recorded in the Mother Book by the hand of God, is surely invested in Him Who is His Remembrance...
Be Thou patient, O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, for God hath indeed pledged to establish Thy sovereignty throughout all countries and over the people that dwell therein.
Better is it for a person to write down but one of His verses than to transcribe the whole of the Bayán and all the books which have been written in the Dispensation of the Bayán.
By My glory!
Consecrate Thou, O my God, the whole of this Tree unto Him, that from it may be revealed all the fruits created by God within it for Him through Whom God hath willed to reveal all that He pleaseth.
Consider how at the time of the appearance of every Revelation, those who open their hearts to the Author of that Revelation recognize the Truth, while the hearts of those who fail to apprehend the Truth are straitened by reason of their shutting themselves out from Him.
Consider the manifold favours vouchsafed by the Promised One, and the effusions of His bounty which have pervaded the concourse of the followers of Islám to enable them to attain unto salvation.
Do men imagine that We are far distant from the people of the world?
Do not say, ‘How can He speak of God while in truth His age is no more than twenty-five?’
Do Thou ordain for me, O Lord, every good thing Thou hast created or wilt create, and shield me from whatever evil Thou abhorrest from among the things Thou hast caused or wilt cause to exist.
Doth it seem strange to the people that We should have revealed the Book to a man from among themselves in order to purge them and give them the good tidings that they shall be rewarded with a sure stance in the presence of their Lord?
Everyone is eagerly awaiting His appearance, yet since their inner eyes are not directed towards Him sorrow must needs befall Him.
This is an Epistle from Him Who is the true, the undoubted Leader.
O Sherif!...
The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed.
Glory be unto Him Who knoweth all that is in the heavens and in the earth.
Fear ye God and breathe not a word concerning His Most Great Remembrance other than what hath been ordained by God, inasmuch as We have established a separate covenant regarding Him with every Prophet and His followers.
From the beginning that hath no beginning all men have bowed in adoration before Him Whom God shall make manifest and will continue to do so until the end that hath no end.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art in truth the King of kings. Thou dost confer sovereignty upon whomsoever Thou willest and dost seize it from whomsoever Thou willest.
Glorified be Thy Name, O Lord!
Glorified is He besides Whom there is none other God. In His grasp He holdeth the source of authority, and verily God is powerful over all things.
He is God, the Supreme Ruler, the Sovereign Truth, He Whose help is implored by all.
Glory be to Thee, O God! Thou art the God Who hath existed before all things, Who will exist after all things and will last beyond all things.
He is the Almighty. Glory be unto Him Who is the Lord of all that are in the heavens and on the earth; He is the All-Wise, the All-Informed.
Glory be unto Thee, O God. How can I make mention of Thee while Thou art sanctified from the praise of all mankind.
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord!
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord my God! I beg Thee to forgive me and those who support Thy Faith. Verily Thou art the sovereign Lord, the Forgiver, the Most Generous.
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord my God!
Glory be unto Thee, O Lord, Thou Who hast brought into being all created things, through the power of Thy behest.
God, besides Whom there is none other true God, saith: Indeed, whoso visiteth the Remembrance of God after His passing, it is as though he hath attained the presence of the Lord, seated upon His mighty Throne.
God had, in truth, proposed Our Mission unto the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid thereof.
God hath, at all times and under all conditions, been wholly independent of His creatures.
God is sanctified from His servants and no direct relationship ever existeth between Him and any created thing, while ye have all arisen at His bidding.
God loveth those who are pure. Naught in the Bayán and in the sight of God is more loved than purity and immaculate cleanliness....
God, of a truth, revealed unto Me in the sacred house of the Ka’bah, ‘Verily, I am God, no God is there but Me.
God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms in the heavens and on the earth and all that is between them.
God testifieth that there is none other God but Him, the Almighty, the Best Beloved.
Gracious God! Within the domains of Islám there are at present seven powerful sovereigns ruling the world. None of them hath been informed of His [the Báb’s] Manifestation, and if informed, none hath believed in Him.
In the Name of God, the Lord of overpowering majesty, the All-Compelling.
He—glorified be His mention—resembleth the sun.
Hearken unto the Voice of Thy Lord calling from Mount Sinai, ‘Verily there is no God but Him, and I am the Most Exalted One Who hath been veiled in the Mother Book according to the dispensations of Providence.’
How can I praise Thee, O Lord, for the evidences of Thy mighty splendour and for Thy wondrous sweet savours which Thou hast imparted to Me in this fortress, in such measure that nothing in the heavens or on the earth can compare with them?
How great the number of people who deck themselves with robes of silk all their lives, while clad in the garb of fire, inasmuch as they have divested themselves of the raiment of divine guidance and righteousness …
How numerous the souls raised to life who were exposed to dire humiliation in Thy Path for exalting Thy Word and for glorifying Thy divine Unity!
How vast the number of people who are well versed in every science, yet it is their adherence to the holy Word of God which will determine their faith …
How veiled are ye, O My creatures, ... who, without any right, have consigned Him unto a mountain [Mákú], not one of whose inhabitants is worthy of mention...
I adjure Thee by Thy might, O my God! Let no harm beset me in times of tests, and in moments of heedlessness guide my steps aright through Thine inspiration.
I am aware, O Lord, that my trespasses have covered my face with shame in Thy presence, and have burdened my back before Thee, have intervened between me and Thy beauteous countenance …
I am the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared.
I beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee …
I beg Thy forgiveness, O my God, and implore pardon after the manner Thou wishest Thy servants to direct themselves to Thee.
I implore Thee by the splendour of the light of Thy glorious face, the majesty of Thine ancient grandeur and the power of Thy transcendent sovereignty to ordain for us at this moment every measure of that which is good and seemly and to …
I swear by the most holy Essence of God—exalted and glorified be He—that in the Day of the appearance of Him Whom God shall make manifest a thousand perusals of the Bayán cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by Him Whom God shall make manifest.
If at the time of the appearance of Him Whom God will make manifest all the dwellers of the earth were to bear witness unto a thing whereunto He beareth witness differently, His testimony would be like unto the sun …
Immeasurably exalted art Thou, O my God, above the endeavours of all beings and created things to praise Thee and recognize Thee.
Immeasurably glorified and exalted art Thou. How can I make mention of Thee, O Thou the Beloved of the entire creation; and how can I acknowledge Thy claim, O Thou, before Whom every created thing standeth in awe.
In the manifestation of the Apostle of God all were eagerly awaiting Him, yet thou hast heard how He was treated at the time of His appearance, in spite of the fact that if ever they beheld Him in their dreams they would take pride in them.
In the Name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Holy.
In this Revelation the Lord of the universe hath deigned to bestow His mighty utterances and resplendent signs upon the Point of the Bayán, and hath ordained them as His matchless testimony for all created things.
Indeed We conversed with Moses by the leave of God from the midst of the Burning Bush in the Sinai and revealed an infinitesimal glimmer of Thy Light upon the Mystic Mount and its dwellers, whereupon the Mount shook to its foundations and was crushed into dust...
A short prayer of the Báb, the last of the prayers given in Selections from the Writings of the Báb, beginning "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God?"
Issue forth from your cities, O peoples of the West and aid God ere the Day when the Lord of mercy shall come down unto you in the shadow of the clouds with the angels circling around Him, exalting His praise and seeking forgiveness for such as have truly believed in Our signs.
It behooveth you to await the Day of the appearance of Him Whom God shall manifest.
It is better to guide one soul than to possess all that is on earth, for as long as that guided soul is under the shadow of the Tree of Divine Unity, he and the one who hath guided him will both be recipients of God’s tender mercy …
It is not permissible to ask questions from Him Whom God will make manifest, except that which well beseemeth Him.
It is recorded in a tradition that of the entire concourse of the Christians no more than seventy people embraced the Faith of the Apostle of God.
It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents.
Know thou that in the Bayán purification is regarded as the most acceptable means for attaining nearness unto God and as the most meritorious of all deeds.
He is God, the Sovereign Ruler, the Ever-Living, He Whose help all men implore.
Thou art God, no God is there but Thee. Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art supreme over the realm of being and Thy power pervadeth all created things.
Lauded be Thy Name, O God. Thou art in truth our Lord; Thou art aware of whatsoever is in the heavens and on the earth.
Lauded be Thy Name, O Lord our God! Thou art in truth the Knower of things unseen. Ordain for us such good as Thine all-embracing knowledge can measure.
Let Me set forth some rational arguments for thee. If someone desireth to embrace the Faith of Islám today, would the testimony of God prove conclusive for him?
Likewise consider the manifestation of the Point of the Bayán.
Magnified be Thy Name, O God. Thine in truth are the Kingdoms of Creation and Revelation, and verily in our Lord have we placed our whole trust.
No created thing shall ever attain its paradise unless it appeareth in its highest prescribed degree of perfection.
O Concourse of the faithful!
O God our Lord! Protect us through Thy grace from whatsoever may be repugnant unto Thee and vouchsafe unto us that which well beseemeth Thee.
O Hour of the Dawn! Ere the resplendent glory of the divine Luminary sheddeth its radiance from the Dayspring of this Gate, call thou to mind that the appointed Day of God will indeed be at hand in less than the twinkling of an eye.
O King of Islám!
O Lord! Enable all the peoples of the earth to gain admittance into the Paradise of Thy Faith, so that no created being may remain beyond the bounds of Thy good-pleasure.
O Lord! Render victorious Thy forbearing servants in Thy days by granting them a befitting victory, inasmuch as they have sought martyrdom in Thy path.
O Lord! Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul.
O Lord! Unto Thee I repair for refuge and toward all Thy signs I set my heart. O Lord! Whether travelling or at home, and in my occupation or in my work, I place my whole trust in Thee.
O My God! I have failed to know Thee as is worthy of Thy glory, and I have failed to fear Thee as befitteth my station.
O My God, my Lord and my Master! I have detached myself from my kindred and have sought through Thee to become independent of all that dwell on earth and ever ready to receive that which is praiseworthy in Thy sight.
O My God, O my Lord, O my Master! I beg Thee to forgive me for seeking any pleasure save Thy love, or any comfort except Thy nearness, or any delight besides Thy good-pleasure, or any existence other than communion with Thee.
O My God! There is no one but Thee to allay the anguish of my soul, and Thou art my highest aspiration, O my God.
O My servants! This is God’s appointed Day which the merciful Lord hath promised you in His Book; wherefore, in very truth, glorify ye abundantly the name of God while treading the Path of the Most Great Remembrance...
O People of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious honour which the supreme Remembrance of God hath conferred upon you?
O People of the Bayán! Be on your guard; for on the Day of Resurrection no one shall find a place to flee to. He will shine forth suddenly, and will pronounce judgement as He pleaseth.
O People of the Bayán! If ye believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest, to your own behoof do ye believe. He hath been and ever will remain independent of all men.
O People of the earth!
O People of the earth! To attain the ultimate retreat in God, the True One, are we to seek a Gate other than this exalted Being?...
O People of the Qur’án! Ye are as nothing unless ye submit unto the Remembrance of God and unto this Book.
O Peoples of the earth!
O Peoples of the earth!
O Peoples of the earth! Verily the true God calleth saying: He Who is the Remembrance is indeed the sovereign Truth from God, and naught remaineth beyond truth but error, and naught is there beyond error save fire, irrevocably ordained...
O Peoples of the East and the West!
O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! I recognize in Thee none other except the ‘Great Announcement’—the Announcement voiced by the Concourse on high.
O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Say: Verily I am the One Who is hailed in the Mother Book as the ‘Great Announcement’.
O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn!
O Qurratu’l-‘ayn!
O Spirit of God!
O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the melodies of this mystic Bird warbling in the loftiest heights of heaven.
O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love.
O Thou the Supreme Word of God!
O Thou who art the chosen one among women! He is God; glorified is the splendour of His light.
O ye concourse of the believers! Utter not words of denial against Me once the Truth is made manifest, for indeed the mandate of the Báb hath befittingly been proclaimed unto you in the Qur’án aforetime.
O ye kinsmen of the Most Great Remembrance!
O ye peoples of the earth!
O ye peoples of the earth! During the time of My absence I sent down the Gates unto you. However the believers, except for a handful, obeyed them not.
O ye peoples of the earth! Hearken unto My call, ringing forth from the precincts of this sacred Tree—a Tree set ablaze by the pre-existent Fire: There is no God but Him; He is the Exalted, the All-Wise.
O ye servants of God! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye asked of Him remaineth unanswered, inasmuch as He hath been commanded by God to observe silence, a silence which is in truth praiseworthy.
O Ye unto whom the Bayán is given!
O Ye who are invested with the Bayán!
O Ye who are invested with the Bayán! Ye shall be put to proof, even as those unto whom the Qur’án was given.
On the Day of Resurrection when He Whom God will make manifest cometh unto you, invested with conclusive proofs, ye shall hold His Cause as being devoid of truth …
The Qayyúmu'l-Asmá', the Báb's commentary on the Súrih of Joseph, whose first chapter He revealed on the night of His Declaration in May 1844, and its opening words as given in Selections from the Writings of the Báb.
Ponder likewise the Dispensation of the Apostle of God which lasted twelve hundred and seventy years till the dawn of the manifestation of the Bayán.
Ponder upon the people unto whom the Gospel was given.
Praise be to God that He hath enabled us to become cognizant of Him Whom God shall make manifest in the Day of Resurrection, so that we may derive benefit from the fruit of our existence and be not deprived of attaining the presence of God.
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my Best Beloved! Make me steadfast in Thy Cause and grant that I may be reckoned among those who have not violated Thy Covenant nor followed the gods of their own idle fancy.
Praise be unto Thee, O Lord. Forgive us our sins, have mercy upon us and enable us to return unto Thee.
Praised and glorified art Thou, O God! Grant that the day of attaining Thy holy presence may be fast approaching.
Recite ye as much as convenient from this Qur’án both at morn and at eventide, and chant the verses of this Book, by the leave of the eternal God, in the sweet accents of this Bird which warbleth its melody in the vault of heaven.
Rid thou thyself of all attachments to aught except God, enrich thyself in God by dispensing with all else besides Him, and recite this prayer: Say: God sufficeth all things above all things …
Say, by reason of your remembering Him Whom God shall make manifest and by extolling His name, God will cause your hearts to be dilated with joy, and do ye not wish your hearts to be in such a blissful state?
Say, God is the Lord and all are worshippers unto Him. Say, God is the True One and all pay homage unto Him. This is God, your Lord, and unto Him shall ye return.
Say, God shall of a truth cause your hearts to be given to perversity if ye fail to recognize Him Whom God shall make manifest; but if ye do recognize Him God shall banish perversity from your hearts...
Say, He Whom God shall make manifest will surely redeem the rights of those who truly believe in God and in His signs, for they are the ones who merit reward from His presence.
In the Name of Thy Lord, the Creator, the Sovereign, the All-Sufficing, the Most Exalted, He Whose help is implored by all men.
He is God, the Sovereign Lord, the All-Glorious. Say: Praise be to God Who graciously enableth whomsoever He willeth to adore Him.
Say, verily God hath caused all created things to enter beneath the shade of the tree of affirmation, except those who are endowed with the faculty of understanding.
Say, ye will be unable to recognize the One True God or to discern clearly the words of divine guidance, inasmuch as ye seek and tread a path other than His.
Send down Thy blessings, O my God, upon the Tree of the Bayán, upon its root and its branch, its boughs, its leaves, its fruits and upon whatsoever it beareth or sheltereth.
Should a person lay claim to a cause and produce his proofs, then those who seek to repudiate him are required to produce proofs like unto his.
Should it be Our wish, it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of Our Cause....
Since all men have issued forth from the shadow of the signs of His Divinity and Lordship, they always tend to take a path, lofty and high.
Since that Day is a great Day it would be sorely trying for thee to identify thyself with the believers.
Since thou hast faithfully obeyed the true religion of God in the past, it behooveth thee to follow His true religion hereafter, inasmuch as every religion proceedeth from God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
This is that which We have revealed for the First Believer in Him Whom God shall make manifest, that it may serve as an admonition from Our presence unto all mankind.
Take heed to carefully consider the words of every soul, then hold fast to the proofs which attest the truth.
The acts of Him Whom God shall make manifest are like unto the sun, while the works of men, provided they conform to the good-pleasure of God, resemble the stars or the moon...
The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, descend, by the leave of God, upon this Gate ...’ and circle round this Focal Point in a far-stretching line.
The Bayán shall constitute God’s unerring balance till the Day of Resurrection which is the Day of Him Whom God will make manifest.
The Day of Resurrection is a day on which the sun riseth and setteth like unto any other day.
The divine Revelation associated with the advent of Him Who is your promised Mihdí hath proved far more wondrous than the Revelation wherewith Muḥammad, the Apostle of God, was invested.
The evidence set forth by God can never be compared with the evidences produced by any one of the peoples and kindreds of the earth; and beyond a shadow of doubt no evidence is set forth by God save through the One Who is appointed as His supreme Testimony.
The evidences which the people demanded from the Apostle of God through their idle fancy have mostly been rejected in the Qur’án, even as in the Súrih of the Children of Israel [Súrih XVII] it hath been revealed: ‘And they say …
The glory of glories and the most resplendent light rest upon Thee, O my God.
The glory of Him Whom God shall make manifest is immeasurably above every other glory, and His majesty is far above every other majesty.
The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom there is none other God, and I am indeed the Ancient of Days...
The One true God may be compared unto the sun and the believer unto a mirror.
The people, during the absence of the Báb, re-enacted the episode of the Calf by setting up a blaring figure which embodied animal features in human form ...
The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of God, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved.
The recognition of Him Who is the Bearer of divine Truth is none other than the recognition of God, and loving Him is none other than loving God.
The revelation of the Divine Reality hath everlastingly been identical with its concealment and its concealment identical with its revelation.
The substance of this chapter is this, that what is intended by the Day of Resurrection is the Day of the appearance of the Tree of divine Reality …
There is no doubt that the Almighty hath sent down these verses unto Him [the Báb], even as He sent down unto the Apostle of God.
There is no paradise, in the estimation of the believers in the Divine Unity, more exalted than to obey God’s commandments, and there is no fire in the eyes of those who have known God and His signs …
This Book which We have sent down is indeed abounding in blessings and beareth witness to the Truth, so that the people may realize that the conclusive Proof of God in favour of His Remembrance is similar to the one wherewith Muḥammad …
This Religion is indeed, in the sight of God, the essence of the Faith of Muḥammad; haste ye then to attain the celestial Paradise and the all-highest Garden of His good-pleasure in the presence of the One True God …
This Remembrance is indeed the glorious Remnant of the Light of God, and He will be best for you, if ye in very truth remain faithful to God, the Most Exalted...
Thou art aware, O My God, that since the day Thou didst call Me into being out of the water of Thy love till I reached fifteen years of age I lived in the land which witnessed My birth [Shíráz].
Thou beholdest how vast is the number of people who go to Mecca each year on pilgrimage and engage in circumambulation, while He, through the potency of Whose Word the Ka’bah [the sanctuary in Mecca] hath become the object of adoration, is forsaken in this mountain.
Thou hast asked concerning the fundamentals of religion and its ordinances: Know thou that first and foremost in religion is the knowledge of God.
Thou knowest full well, O my God, that tribulations have showered upon me from all directions and that no one can dispel or transmute them except Thee.
Thou seest, O my Lord, my dwelling-place in the heart of this mountain and Thou dost witness my forbearance.
Through Thy revelation, O my God, Thou hast enabled me to know Thee, and through the radiance of Thine effulgent splendour Thou hast inspired me with Thy remembrance.
Throughout eternity Thou hast been, O my Lord, and wilt ever remain the One true God, while all else save Thee are needy and poor.
Thy letter hath been perused. Were the truth of this Revelation to be fully demonstrated with elaborate proofs, all the scrolls that exist in the heaven and on the earth would be insufficient to contain them.
Twelve hundred and seventy years have elapsed since the declaration of Muḥammad, and each year unnumbered people have circumambulated the House of God [Mecca].
Unto every people We have sent down the Book in their own language.
Verily God hath caused the people of the Bayán to be called into being through the power of Him unto Whom the Bayán was revealed, in preparation for the Day when they will return to their Lord.
In the Name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most High. Verily I am God, no God is there but Me, and aught except Me is but My creation.
Verily I am Thy servant, O my God, and Thy poor one and Thy suppliant and Thy wretched creature.
Verily, on the First Day We flung open the gates of Paradise unto all the peoples of the world, and exclaimed: ‘O all ye created things!
Verily such as ridicule the wondrous, divine Verses revealed through His Remembrance, are but making themselves the objects of ridicule, and We, in truth, aid them to wax in their iniquity.
Verily We made the revelation of verses to be a testimony for Our message unto you.
Vouchsafe unto me, O my God, the full measure of Thy love and Thy good-pleasure, and through the attractions of Thy resplendent light enrapture our hearts, O Thou Who art the Supreme Evidence and the All-Glorified.
Whenever the faithful hear the verses of this Book being recited, their eyes will overflow with tears and their hearts will be deeply touched by Him Who is the Most Great Remembrance for the love they cherish for God, the All-Praised.
Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise.
Ye perform your works for God from the beginning of your lives till the end thereof, yet not a single act is for the sake of Him Who is the Manifestation of God, to Whom every good deed reverteth.
In the first chapter of the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá', revealed on the night of His Declaration in 1844, the Báb calls on the kings to carry His verses to the peoples of Turkey and India and to lands in the East and the West.
In the Persian Bayán, revealed in the fortress of Máh-Kú, the Báb asks the believer, after each prayer, to beg God's mercy and forgiveness for his parents, and promises a thousandfold recompense.
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