The Vesture of Patience and Submission

The letter in which that leaf had expressed the ardent longing of her heart and revealed the depth of her devotion has received my eager attention.

Indeed, the voice of lamentation that the loved ones of God and His devoted servants have raised on the occasion of this terrible adversity, this grievous calamity, has caused the fire of His bereavement to rage more fiercely than ever. In reality no pen can depict the poignant feeling that surges in our hearts. Every expression would prove utterly inadequate, even less than the eye of a needle, inasmuch as words and syllables are incapable of conveying the intensity of this dire suffering. They are but a tiny drop compared to an ocean. Even in the vast immensity of inner significances and expositions nothing can portray this calamitous event. Moreover, the tale of how these prisoners have been consumed by the fire of bereavement is interminable. During this dark and dreadful calamity, and to this God bears me witness, our souls melted and our eyes unceasingly rained with tears.

Nevertheless, when faced with the irrevocable decree of the Almighty, the vesture that best befits us in this world is the vesture of patience and submission, and the most meritorious of all deeds is to commit our affairs into His hands and to surrender ourselves to His Will. Therefore, it behoves that leaf to take fast hold on the handle of resignation and radiant acquiescence and to strictly adhere to the cord of patience and long-suffering. God willing, through His aid and heavenly confirmation you may be enabled to exalt His Word and to render exemplary service to His Cause, that perchance the ears of all created things may be purged of the tales of bygone ages and become endued with the capacity to hearken to the holy verses that the Lord of all men has proclaimed. Indeed, this is the underlying purpose of man’s existence during the brief period of his earthly life. Please God, we may all be confirmed and aided to achieve this.

Every manner of description that I use, and every form of symbolic expression that I conceive will fail to convey the extent of the ardent love and affection that I cherish for you; however, it causes the fire of love to glow more intensely and to burn more brightly. Therefore, I had better confine myself to these few lines.

At the court of the presence of the Most Mighty Branch—may the lives of them that yearn after Him and are wholly devoted to Him be sacrificed for His holy presence—your name has been mentioned and you became the recipient of His special favours.

Source: Letter of Bahíyyih Khánum, in Bahíyyih Khánum (Bahá'í World Centre, 1982), part V, no. 3. Text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19242.

Khánum, B.. (1982). *Bahíyyih Khánum*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19242/pg19242-images.html