Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
84 stories where gentleness appears.
200 years ago in Persia, there were many with the same expectation, that the Qa’im, the promised one, would soon appear. Amongst them lived Siyyid Kazim, wise man, teacher, spiritual divine, who studied the texts of the Holy books and…
After Bahá’u’lláh's confinement in the Most Great Prison in 'Akka had ended, but while He was yet residing in the town, an Egyptian merchant, ‘Abdu’l-Karim, afire with God's latest message, desired to visit Him. He wrote for permission to…
As he would go about, he would always be complimenting someone. The gardeners, even the gardeners taking care of the garden, he would say, “You planted that very beautifully. Your flowers are very beautiful. I am very pleased with the way…
O phoenix of that immortal flame kindled in the sacred…
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…
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!…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent His early years in an environment of privilege, wealth, and love. ** ‘Abdu’l-Bahá…
On the friends’ final journey he went to Ádhirbáyján, and there, throwing caution to the winds, he roared out the Greatest Name: “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!” The unbelievers there joined forces with his relatives, and they lured that innocent, that…
"he that was created by the light of Bahá" L: Mirza Mihdi with his brother ‘Abdu’l-Baha **Mírzá…
He was a princely individual known for his lavish openhandedness not only in Persia and Iraq but as far away as India. To begin with he had been a Persian vazír; but when he saw how the late Fath-‘Alí Sháh eyed worldly riches, particularly…
He who had been waited upon, now waited on others; he who had been the master was now the servant, he who had once been a leader was now a captive. He had no rest, no leisure, day or night. To the travelers he was a trusted refuge; to the…
On my arrival I found that Husayn Khan, who in the meantime had been searching for me, was eager to know whether I had fallen a victim to the Bab's magic influence. `No one but God,' I replied, `who alone can change the hearts of men, is…
From his years Billy Sears possessed an inordinate interest in God. He asked his parents, his grandfather, the preacher, the mayor, even the local people he met a myriad of questions: 'Did God have a wife? Where was His house? Could He…
84 The letter dated 5 August 1932, from that spiritual friend has been received by the Guardian of the Cause of God, may our lives be sacrificed for him, and he has been informed of your receiving his telegram regarding the ascension…
164 It is clear how that most dire of calamities, that most great disaster which was the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our souls be sacrificed for His meekness, has set our hearts on fire and dissolved our very limbs and members in…
During the winter of 1919–1920 the writer had the great privilege of spending two and half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Haifa and intimately observing His daily life. At that time, although nearly seventy-six years of age, He…
In *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, J. E. Esslemont introduces the Western reader to the Báb as He was before His Declaration: a young merchant of Shíráz, raised by a maternal uncle after His father's early death, known across His district for piety, gentleness, and the scrupulous honesty of His business dealings.
Saskatoon, circa 2020 For some time now the believers across the country [Canada] have heard the name “Saskatoon” appearing with increasing frequency.
When Bahá’u’lláh was nearly eighteen years old, His older sister requested their father's permission for her Brother to marry her husband's sister, Ásíyih Khánúm.
While on pilgrimage in 1906, Florence Khan, the wife of Ali-Kuli Khan [1] related the following heart-warming and incredible incident: One evening, after sunset, Khan [Ali-Kuli Khan] came in great…
During the time when the Báb was in Shiraz, one night in a gathering with three of the believers, He turned suddenly to Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím and said: “‘Abdu’l-Karím, are you seeking the…
In about 1848, four years after recognizing the Báb and becoming His first believer, and receiving the title of Bábu’l-Báb (the Gate of the Gate), Mulla Husayn left the city of Mashhad, in the…
The next morning while I [Ali Kuli Khan] was in our room with my family [in Akka, during their pilgrimage in 1906], a gentle rapping attracted me to the door.
On a hot June day in the year 1892, a middle-aged woman sat in a crowded lecture hall. Despite the heat, her face looked peaceful as she listened to the speaker talk about the life of the spirit.
It was the end of June, 1848. Outside the village of Badasht, located about 400 Km northeast of Tehran, Persia, on the other side of the Elburz Mountains in the Province of Semnan, there was a great…
Abdu’l-Karim was an Egyptian merchant of considerable wealth, who had heard the story of the new Revelation, and accepted it with the ardor of his eager temperament.
Resting place of Ásíyih Khánum and son Mirza Mihdi Many people loved Bahá'u'lláh when He was alive. Pilgrims traveled far distances just to look at His face.
'Abdu'l-Rahim was a fanatical Muslim. He was alarmed. The Baha'i Faith was growing in his town in Persia and he decided that it was time to ask the advice of a Muslim clergyman.
Baha'u'llah lived in Persia. He was a wonderful person. His hair was black and His beard was black. He had happy, laughing eyes, and He made everybody happy because He loved them so much.
Before Mirza Husayn-'Ali was called Baha'u'llah, before He was known as the Promised One of God, He was called by another title: "Father of the Poor." Mirza Husayn-'Ali was born into a wealthy…
Humble Mouse is small and quiet, but she searches for answers to big questions. She often gazes at the sky and wonders, "Where do stars come from?
Mother Earth, full with child, gently tossed on her blanket of fallen leaves and twigs. Soon her baby would be born. She groaned as the child struggled for life.
We are told that in the province of Káshán in Persia the people are very peace-loving, and so gentle are they that violence of any kind is enough to make them very frightened.
Do you remember the story of Shaykh Ahmad, who travelled about telling the people that God was sending them a new Teacher?
It might sound strange to say that Silly was not silly. In fact he was the cleverest boy in his class.
One day, behind the hot stone walls of the prison city of 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh said, "I have not gazed on verdure for nine years." It had been nine years since He had rested His eyes on green and…
From the time when the declaration was made to him at Baghdad Abbas Effendi seemed to constitute himself the special attendant, servant, and body-guard of his father. He guarded him day and night on this journey, riding by his wagon and…
Here’s a story of Ugo Giachery (a Hand of the Cause) who went through the process while on pilgrimage: The first time I beheld the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, I was overcome by deep emotion and, as I walked close to it, trepidation and…
Husayn-‘Ali [later known as Bahá’u’lláh] was born November 12, 1817, at dawn when the birds begin their songs. He was born in the land of Persia, in the city of Tehran. According to the Muslim calendar used in Persia, the day of His birth…
I remember as though it were yesterday another illustration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's divine technique. I was not at all well that summer. A relapse was threatening a return of a condition which had necessitated a major operation the year before.…
I remember when I was a girl the news came to Isfahan from Nabil that Jamal-i-Mubarak [Bahá’u’lláh] was imprisoned in the fortress town of `Akká, shut in behind iron doors, never going out! As I thought of Him in that poisonous climate -…
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá was only a small boy, His family lost almost everything — and one frightening errand showed how brave and gentle He already was.
A gentle young man in a faraway prison made the bravest wish of his whole life — and because of it, people who longed to see Bahá'u'lláh finally could.
Many years ago, Mable Rice-Wray Ives lived in Baltimore. It was in the far away days of streetcars, and in order to reach the down-town shopping district, Mable had to ride the streetcar for a long way from the residential part of the city…
May Bolles (Maxwell) was one of fifteen fortunate pilgrims welcomed in the prison-city from December 1898 to early 1899. She recorded her experiences in An Early Pilgrimage -- a divine love story! In the Holy Land, whose very air was…
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…
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…
Banished to a bleak mountain fortress on the Turkish frontier, where His chief enemy hoped He would be forgotten and the hard people of the region would have no sympathy for Him, the Báb met cruelty with such gentleness that the warden, the guards, and the very Kurds of the district came to revere Him — gathering each dawn at the foot of His prison simply to receive His blessing.
August 28th,…
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…
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and…
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…
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 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…
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,…
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 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 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…
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 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…
Ásiyih Khánum, the wife of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahiyyih Khánum, their lovely daughter, Muniríh Khánum, the Holy Mother, and the four daughters of the Master, have never bemoaned the difficulties of their daily lives. The conditions of suffering…
In April 1918 the Star of the West printed an account from talks of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Holy Land in early 1914 — a small, vivid scene of the Master mediating a long-standing quarrel between two local Arab notables in 'Akká, with His characteristic humour, and turning the household into a place of open laughter and reconciliation.
O thou dear servant of…
O thou heavenly, brilliant and precious…
O thou sign of the Kingdom and the bird singing with the most wonderful melodies in the rose-garden of…
O thou who art attracted by 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 rejoiced by the Divine…
O thou who art rejoicing at the Glad-tidings of…
O thou who art turned to the…
O thou who hast spread the Fragrance of God!—may God confirm…
O thou whose nostrils are perfumed with the Fragrances of…
O ye34 Cohorts of…
O ye members of the shining assembly!222…
O ye205 servants of God and maid-servants of the…
Before there were Bahá'í books, pamphlets, periodicals—before there were, properly speaking, Bahá'í administrative institutions; before ‘Abdu'l-Bahá made His historic voyage to America; before Shoghi Effendi transmitted to the English…
That very afternoon, in my room with two of the believers, I spoke against a brother in the truth, finding fault with him, and giving vent to the evil in my own heart by my words . . . A little later we all went to supper, and my hard…
The ladies of the family are admirable housewives. They make all their own simple wearing apparel, by the aid of a sewing machine from the western world. ...They typify the modern saint, the conception of whom obliges us to revolutionize…
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…
To a minister who came to call on the Master in the Maxwell Home in Montreal, ‘‘Abdu’l-Bahá presented an armful of gorgeous American Beauty roses, standing in a tall vase at His side, sending him away with amazement and awe at the regal…
We are told that there was one name that always brought joy to the face of Bahá’u’lláh. His expression would change at the mention of Mary Magdalen's name. Here was a woman who was transformed 'from the gentle, appealing mistress of…
We were to learn also that His Presence is a purifying fire. The pilgrimage to the Holy City is naught but a crucible in which the souls are tired; where the gold is purified and the dross is consumed. It did not seem possible that…
While in Sari, Quddus frequently attempted to convince Mirza Muhammad-Taqi of the truth of the Divine Message. He freely conversed with him on the most weighty and outstanding issues related to the Revelation of the Báb. His bold and…