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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."
160 stories where gratitude appears.
In a tale from Sa‘dí’s Garden of Roses, translated by Marzieh Gail, a wise man calms a terrified slave by having him thrown into the sea, because only one who has known calamity values safety.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled a believer imprisoned with Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká who, with only a rug, a samovar, a cup and a teapot, made his tea each afternoon with such gratitude and joy that every cup seemed better than the last.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was very tired, Agnes Parsons suggested He rest and not worry about the constant stream of visitors. He thanked her and rested until nearly four o'clock.
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.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Fátimih Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs, who bore persecution, poverty and the death of her son with thankfulness, but could not survive her grief at Bahá’u’lláh’s passing.
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.
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God.
In these times thanksgiving for the bounty of the Merciful One consists in the illumination of the heart and the feeling of the soul.
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 in composition, the other in decomposition.
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.
When a Persian Consul pressed him to testify that thieves had stolen far more than his few goods, the Tabríz merchant ‘Alí-‘Askar refused to lie; later, in the ‘Akká prison with his stricken family, he never ceased giving thanks.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers two believers from Ádhirbáyján who lived near Adrianople, missed the exile to ‘Akká, followed on their own, farmed outside the city, and died of fever giving thanks to God.
A learned seeker from Yazd became a carpenter in Baghdad, gathered provisions for the exiles on the road to Constantinople, and served in the ‘Akká barracks, where he revived after Bahá’u’lláh bade that the prayer for healing be chanted.
Muḥammad-‘Alí of Iṣfahán followed Bahá’u’lláh into exile and spent the rest of his life a prisoner in ‘Akká, yet he savored every blessing so gladly that people said even kings were not so happy.
Muḥammad-‘Alí Ṣabbáq, who could neither read nor write, followed Bahá’u’lláh from Baghdád, spent two lonely years in Constantinople helping believers on their way, and shared the exile to ‘Akká before settling in Sidon.
Mullá Muḥammad-‘Alí met Bahá’u’lláh in Ṭihrán before the Báb’s Declaration. Driven from Qá’in for his faith, he lived in poverty in Nazareth, trading needles for eggs, and at last made his home in ‘Akká near Bahá’u’lláh.
A master cabinet-maker, poet and mathematician from Yazd entered Bahá’u’lláh’s presence almost daily in Baghdad, endured exile and hardship in Mosul, and spent his last days praying by the tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, longing for reunion.
Two carpenter brothers from Káshán, driven out by persecution, joined Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Iráq; by different roads, one through Adrianople and one through captivity in Mosul, both reached the prison of ‘Akká, where they worked at their craft, joyful and faithful to the end.
A prosperous builder in Ṭihrán left his work and possessions for the Faith, lost even his bride, walked on foot to the Most Great Prison singing an ode Bahá’u’lláh had written down for him, and ended his days content in a cave near Haifa.
Let these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Bahá, O thou most holy and resplendent Leaf: ‘God, besides Whom is none other God, the Lord of this world and the next!’
O Leaf of Paradise! Loose your tongue at all times in gratitude for the blessings of the Beloved of the Worlds, for you are always mentioned in His Glorious and Sanctified Presence, and you are ever in the hearts of His maidservants.
Your valued message brought strength and solace to my aching heart.
Your sweet and touching message imparted strength and solace to my heart.
The passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf has filled my heart with unutterable sorrow.
The passing of the beloved Khánum has plunged me in unspeakable sorrow.
I wish to express to your distinguished assembly my gratitude for the action they have taken in reproducing in facsimile my humble tribute to the Greatest Holy Leaf.
Moved by an unalterable devotion to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, I feel prompted to share with you, and through you with the concourse of her steadfast lovers throughout the West …
We thank you most sincerely for your kind letters of sympathy, and we appreciate your loving Messages, which are as comforting balm to our wounded hearts.
You have offered up thanks to the Lord for appointing the Centre of His Cause and the Guardian of His Covenant, and have voiced your gratitude and expressed your spiritual sentiments, for this favour and grace.
All praise to the beloved Abhá Beauty, that those nightingales of the gardens of knowledge, those doves of the fragrant bowers of certitude, are singing the holy verses on the boughs of grace and bounty …
‘O God, My God! Thou hast lighted the lamp of Thy Cause with the oil of wisdom; protect it from contrary winds.
Praise be to God that through His gracious bounty you were enabled to visit His exalted, His sacred and luminous Threshold, to refresh and perfume your nostrils with the sweet-scented fragrances of God diffused from these imperishable, holy Places.
O my dear sister!
PRAY ASSURE AMERICAN BELIEVERS BEHALF HOLY FAMILY MYSELF ABIDING APPRECIATION NUMEROUS EVIDENCES THEIR VALUED SYMPATHY.
The Bahá’í teaching is based on moderation, not as asceticism.
At ‘Akká in January 1908 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims of a king who found a ninety-year-old man planting date trees for the next generation, and whose grateful, witty answers earned him three gifts.
A man who once set out to kill a Bahá'í becomes a believer, walks six months to 'Akká, and passes unseen through the guarded prison gate into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh.
Walking home alone on a cold, wet day, a seven-year-old boy finds a shivering white kitten in the mud and carries it home, where his mother praises his kindness to animals.
Jealous courtiers tell a king that his favoured servant creeps each night to a far room with a bundle. The king follows and learns the bundle holds the servant's old rags, which he wears each night so that he will always stay grateful.
In a story told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a ninety-year-old man planting date seeds tells a king that he plants for the next generation. His answers so please the king that he gives him three pieces of money.
Visiting 'Akká in May 1922, Lady Blomfield wrote to her daughter about the small house where Bahá'u'lláh and His family had lived, and about sleeping in the room that had been Ásíyih Khánum's.
At Lady Blomfield's table in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the blessings of freedom and wished the courses could be shared with the poor and hungry. His hosts at once resolved to simplify their dinners.
Before leaving America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá refused the believers' money and asked that the presents they brought for His family be sold for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, saying the love of God is the best of all gifts.
When some of His Persian companions remarked that there was better tea than the one Corinne True served in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá drank it and said it was very good because it had been prepared with love.
Elizabeth Greenleaf had long wished, without telling anyone, for a white Bahá’í ring-stone. One day she opened an old locked trunk in her attic and found one lying on top.
After the Unity Feast at West Englewood in 1912, a seeker asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá what this Cause taught that earlier religions did not. He answered in the moonlit garden, naming its teachings one by one.
Resting in a Montclair park in June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalled days in Baghdád without fifteen paras for a bath. Back at the hotel, two wealthy ladies remarked that He seemed very rich, and He told them what His riches were.
Sailing for America in March 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called the table set for morning tea a divine table, spoke of gratitude, and asked for His first good bath in several months.
On the morning of 30 June 1912 in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá served His companions tea with His own hand and told them that every confirmation they received came from Bahá'u'lláh.
When thieves stole a little merchandise from ‘Alí-‘Askar, the Persian Consul wanted him to say the loss was enormous. He refused to lie, even when the Consul threatened him.
Faraju'lláh of Tafrísh and his father left Persia to live near Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. He went with Bahá'u'lláh to the prison of ‘Akká, and later lived for many years in India.
A learned man from Yazd became a carpenter and a servant to all the friends, and in the prison of 'Akká, after he had stopped breathing, Bahá'u'lláh told the friends to chant the prayer of Yá Sháfí and he recovered.
Muḥammad-‘Alí of Iṣfahán followed Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdád to Adrianople and into the prison of ‘Akká. A prisoner for the rest of his life, he was known there for his contentment and joy.
Worn out by years of travel-teaching with no home of their own, Mable Ives (Rizwanea) agreed to spend one day in prayer before deciding to stop, and was brought to submission, gratitude and love for her circumstances.
This man, noble and high-minded, was the son of the respected ‘Abdu’l-Faṭṭaḥ who was in the Akká prison.
Munírih Khánum writes that the fifty years of her married life with 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and His love, mercy and bounty, could never be adequately described.
From the barracks in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Czar Alexander II of Russia, summoning him to proclaim His Cause and recalling that a Russian minister had helped Him when He lay in chains in Ṭihrán. The Czar did not heed it.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled walking twelve miles in the Baghdád heat to a poor thorn-picker’s hut, where the wife burnt the little cake she made for Him, and called it the best reception He ever attended.
When a pilgrim noticed that no grace was said before meals, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that His heart was always giving thanks. Thornton Chase saw Him begin a meal with ‘In the Name of God’, and He told Lua Getsinger to have spiritual food each morning before breakfast.
October 19th All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual.
4 Avenue de Camöens, October 27th God alone ordereth all things and is all-powerful.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Wednesday, October 25th I regret much that I have kept you waiting this morning, but I have so much to do in a short time for the Cause of the love of God.
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, December 1st When I arrived in Paris some time ago for the first time, I looked around me with much interest, and in my mind I likened this beautiful city to a large garden.
November 4th All over Europe today one hears of meetings and assemblies, and societies of all kinds are formed.
At the Krug home on Park Avenue, New York, on July 15, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted thanks spoken by the tongue with thanks felt in the heart and shown in deeds, and asked the friends to love one another.
He is God, the Supreme Ruler, the Sovereign Truth, He Whose help is implored by all.
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?
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 …
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.
It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents.
O People of Persia! Are ye not satisfied with this glorious honour which the supreme Remembrance of God hath conferred upon you?
O Thou who art the chosen one among women! He is God; glorified is the splendour of His light.
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 …
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].
O thou whose years are few, yet whose mental gifts are many!
O thou servant of the One true God! In this universal dispensation man’s wondrous craftsmanship is reckoned as worship of the Resplendent Beauty.
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.
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.
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 ye friends and maidservants of the Merciful! From the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles a letter hath been received.
O thou who hast been sore afflicted on the pathway of the Covenant!
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.
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.
O ye peoples of the Kingdom!
O ye who are firm in the Covenant and the Testament! Your letter was received and your blessed names were one by one perused.
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.
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.
Announce on my behalf respectful greeting to the maid-servant of God, Madam ........., and say …
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 maid-servants of the Merciful.”
Glory be unto Thee, O my God!
O bird of the Rose-garden of Fidelity! Be of no cheerless heart; have no wing nor feather broken; sigh not, neither do thou wail, and sit not chilled in a corner.
“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 my Lord, my Hope! Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing.
O servant of Baha’! Thy letter written to his honor, Mirza ........, with the enclosed map of the ground of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, hath been seen.
O thou advancing maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received and I was informed of its contents. Thanks be to God! thou art guided to the Light of guidance and hast attained to this most great gift.
O thou artery pulsating in the body of the world! Verily I read thy recent letter which indicated conscious joy and abundant happiness from the glad-tidings of the Kingdom of El-Abha.
O thou blooming rose in the garden of the Love of God! Verily, the heavenly angels address thee from the Supreme Horizon, saying …
O thou cup overflowing with the Wine of the Love of God! Know, verily, that the doors of the Kingdom are being opened to the East and West.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thank and praise God that He hath cause thee to drink from the cup of the gifts and caused thee to suckle from the bosom of guidance while yet very young and didst possess but a few years of age.
O thou dear one! Blessed art thou, for thou hast entered into the bosom of the training of God and drunk the cup of knowledge while thou art young in age among girls.
O thou esteemed maid-servant of the Word of God! Praise be to God! upon thy departure from Acca, thou hast been assisted and rendered successful in serving the Kingdom of God.
O thou excellent maid-servant of God!
O thou faithful and confident! Thanks be to God that thou hast obtained that which was sought by all prophets and holy souls; namely, the knowledge of God and the love of god.
O thou fragrant rose blooming in the Garden of Guidance!
O thou fresh, slender branch saturated with the abundant rain of His bounty!
O thou Godlike person and spiritual friend!
O thou honorable one! Thank thou God that that art instructed in music and melody, singing with pleasant voice the glorification and praise of the Eternal, the Living.
O thou ignited candle! The real light is the light of the love o God.
O thou illumined maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Praise be to God! that thou art assisted and confirmed and, through the light of the love of God, thou art an ignited candle.
O thou kind friend! Thy letter was received and its contents considered. Man must, under all conditions, be thankful to God, the One, for it is said in the blessed text: “If ye be thankful I will increase thee.”
O thou plant in the garden of the Love of God! Open the tongue of praise to the Horizon of ABHA, for having received light from Him in the age of youth, and for having been planted by Him in the paradise of glory.
O thou seeker of Truth! I received the photograph of thy shining figure and I looked at it with thorough attention.
O thou sign of the Love of God!
O thou son of the Kingdom! Consider the bounty of the Lord and the gifts of thy Creator.
O thou spiritual friend!
O thou spiritual lad! May God uphold thee and edify thee in the flower of thy youth and in the spring-time of thy life and may He illumine thy face with the lights of advancement unto God and turning unto the Kingdom of God.
O thou spiritual person and heavenly man—may God confirm thee!
O thou spiritual temple whose heart is drawn unto the Horizon of Certainty!
O thou spiritual youth and merciful young man!
O thou who art accepted of God! Know thou that, verily, the eye of favors is directed to thee and is beholding thee with a divine glance, so that thou mayest, with clear eyes, see the lights of the Kingdom upon the horizon.
O thou who art acknowledging the Oneness of God!
O thou who art advanced toward God! Thy letter was received. Its contents indicated that thou hast become alive through the spiritual breaths of his honor, Mr. .........
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was read; its contents had bearing upon Guidance.
O thou who art attached to the Beauty of God! Verily, I was rejoiced when I read thy excellent letter, which portrayed a spiritual attraction and a rejoicing at the (news) of the merciful Kingdom!
O thou who art directed to the Light of Guidance! Thank thou God, for thou hast chanted the verses of the Mighty guidance in the assemblage of knowledge and hast unfurled the banner of attraction in those most extensive places.
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art esteemed and guarded! Thank God for that by reason of which thy picture hath come into the court of holiness of perfumed breaths.
O thou who art esteemed in the Threshold of the Almighty!
O thou who art longing for the Kingdom! Mr. ......... in thy behalf hath made a great endeavor.
O thou who art rejoicing at the Glad-tidings of God! Thank thou God for that by reason of which He hath enabled thee to traverse the seas and countries and come safe to a Spot wherein the lights are shining with great brilliancy.
O thou who art turning thy heart unto the Kingdom of God! Verily, I read thy recent letter and praised God for having blessed thee with two babes, as a mercy on His part.
O thou who art waiting for the Appearance of the Kingdom!
O thou who has advanced towards Baha’! Truly, I say unto thee, wert thou to spend all that is on earth, thou couldst not obtain this gift which God hath strengthened thee to take freely.
O thou who hast acknowledged the Kingdom of God!
O thou who hast confessed and believed in the Words of God!
O thou who hath advanced to the Kingdom of his Lord, the Glorious!
O thou who seekest for the Will of God! Give thanks to God that thou entered the divine Kingdom and knowest the heavenly Lord of Hosts!
O thou whose heart is soaring in the sky of the love of God!
O thou whose nostrils are perfumed with the Fragrances of God!
O thou young in age and great in mind! [There is] many a young child who is mature and grown up, and many an aged [one] who is ignorant and stupid.
O thou young, incomparable tree of the Rose-garden of the Love of God!
O ye brilliant realities!
O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! Verily I read your reports with great joy. They are a cause of spirituality and fragrance and a source of dilation of souls.
O ye maid-servants of the Merciful! Leaves of the Tree of Life!
O ye servants of God and maid-servants of the Merciful! The letter, which was in reality the congratulation for the entrance of the day of the anniversary of His Highness the Promised One, was received.
O ye servants of the Threshold of God! The weekly reports of ........ were received and I was informed of their beautiful meanings which proved firmness and steadfastness in the Cause of God and solidity in the Covenant of God.
O ye two accepted ones in the Kingdom of God! Your letter was read and its contents caused joy and happiness.
O ye two birds in the open-space of the Love of God! Verily I read your letter and I inhaled therefrom a spiritual fragrance which perfumes the nostrils of the spirit.
O ye two birds warbling in the Garden of Wisdom. Verily, I saw your photographs, whose beauty proved the turning of your hearts unto the Center of Guidance and the dilation of your breasts by the appearance of the Kingdom of God.
O ye two doves, flying in the verdant Gardens of the Kingdom!
O ye two maid-servants of God! The Lord of the Kingdom hath invited, chosen and guided you through His pure favor, feeding you from the heavenly table of divine knowledge!
O ye two singing birds in the Garden of Belief!
O ye who are advancing towards the Kingdom of God!
O ye who are longing for the beauty of El-ABHA!
O ye who have advanced! O ye who are rejoiced!
Rejoice, O maid-servant of God! —for that thou hast known God and heard His call and art attracted to His breaths!
“God has favored us by bringing us together again at His Table. May His Mercy and Bounty make night as day and make the Day everlasting! For night and day are according to the motions of the earth, but, in relation to the sun, day and…
“The disciples of Jesus, passing along the road and seeing a dead dog, remarked how offensive and disgusting a spectacle it was. Then Christ turning to them said, 'Yes, but see how white and beautiful are his teeth'—thus teaching that there is some good in everything.”
'Abdu'l-Bahá accepted no money or costly gifts; when a lady offered a friend's cheque to buy Him a motor-car, He thanked her, held it as though blessing it, and returned it to be used for gifts to the poor.
When Sutherland Maxwell lay near death in the winter of 1949–50, Shoghi Effendi insisted he should not die and had him taken to Switzerland, where he recovered so completely that the Guardian called it miraculous.