“O thou who art anticipating the appearance of the Gift...”
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas, (1909) · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
O thou who art anticipating the appearance of the Gift of God!
Verily, I read thy letter which indicated that thou hast turned unto the Blessed Spot, that the Truth (of God) hath revealed itself to thee, that thy fear is quieted and that thou hast attained to composure, assuredly believing in this great Cause.
Know thou, verily, there are many veils in which the Truth is enveloped: gloomy veils; then delicate and transparent veils; then the envelopment of Light, the sight of which dazzles the eyes, as doth the sun which is enveloped only in its own light and, as we look at it, the sight is blinded and eyes are dazzled.
I beg of God to remove all the veilings and familiarize the light with all eyes, so that man may not be veiled from witnessing the Sun of Truth.
O maid-servant of God! Verily, the tests and trials of God are very great and very violent. Beseech thou God to protect thee from all doubts and to guard thee from the interpretations of parabolical48 verses, as made by those who know not in what valley they are roving, who speak according to their own selfish purposes and after their own evil inclinations; who accept and then reject; who believe in God and then deny Him; and who appear firm and then backslide: thus thou beholdest these oscillating daily.
“Leave them to amuse themselves with their own vain discourses,” and turn thou to the light of the Testament, and rejoice at the bounty of the effulgence, and seek shelter under the shadow of the standard of the Covenant. Thou wilt soon find it fluttering on the highest summits of glory, surrounded by the valiant hosts of the angels of heaven and assisted by spiritual armies of great number that proceed from the Supreme Concourse.
Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do you see service appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
For teens
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
- How could the spirit of service show up in your week?
Reflection
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "“O thou who art anticipating the appearance of the Gift...”" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
“El-Baha, praise, light, blessing and peace be upon thee,...”
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…
“My God! My God!...”
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…
“”O Compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for...”
“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 God! O God!...”
O God! O God!16…