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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."
253 stories where sacrifice appears.
All the Bahá’ís in Iran loved and respected Haji Amin, and many wonderful stories are told about his sincerity and devotion. Once, when he was about to set off for the Holy Land, a very poor woman gave him a small coin to take with him.…
Among those souls that are righteous, that are luminous entities and Divine reflections, was Jinab-i-Muhammad-Taqi, the Afnan. This eminent Bough was an offshoot of the Holy Tree [the Báb's kindred]; in him an excellent character was…
O phoenix of that immortal flame kindled in the sacred…
The Spiritual Meeting of men and the Spiritual Meeting of women in Chicago are indeed endeavoring to serve. If they unite, as they should, they will produce great results. Especially, if the Spiritual Meetings of Chicago unite with…
As to the seven qualifications (of the divinely enlightened soul) of which thou hast asked an explanation, it is as…
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God. I see the white and colored people together. In the estimation of God there is no distinction of color; all are one in the color and beauty of servitude to him.…
When the darkness of ignorance and heedlessness concerning the realm of eternity and bereavement from the True One had encircled the universe, then the resplendent Luminary dawned and the brilliant Light illumined the horizon of the…
Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls. The first perfection consists in cleanliness and sanctity and in purity from every defect. When man in all conditions is pure…
O ye Cohorts of God! Today in the present world each community is wandering in a wilderness, moving in accord with some passion and desire, and running to and fro in pursuance of his own imagination. Among the communities of the world,…
O ye beloved of God, know that steadfastness and firmness in this new and wonderful Covenant is indeed the spirit that quickeneth the hearts which are overflowing with the love of the Glorious Lord; verily, it is the power which…
The aim of the appearance of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice for His beloved ones!—was the unity and agreement of all the people of the world. Therefore, my utmost desire, firstly, is the accord and union and love of…
The immortality of the spirit is mentioned in the Holy Books; it is the fundamental basis of the divine religions. Now punishments and rewards are said to be of two kinds. Firstly, the rewards and punishments of this life; secondly,…
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers. At this moment that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is immersed in the ocean of calamities,…
O ye friends of…
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause of the “Most Great Peace.” Peace is light whereas war is darkness. Peace is life; war is death. Peace is guidance; war is error. Peace is the foundation of God;…
What is real unity? When we observe the human world we find various collective expressions of unity therein. For instance, man is distinguished from the animal by his degree or kingdom. This comprehensive distinction includes all the…
The blessed letter indicating the election of the Spiritual Meeting was received and proved a source of joy. Thank God, the beloved of that city, in perfect unity, love and oneness, held the new election and were confirmed and…
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past. If comparison be made with the sum total of all former human achievements it will be found that the discoveries, scientific…
This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness; war…
Aqa Husayn-i-Ashchi (Ashchi in Farsi means cook or maker of broth) was Baha'u'llah's cook. His father died on his way to ask for the hand of his brother's daughter to wed 'Abdu'l-Baha. Aqa Husayn-i-Ashchi's uncle Ustad Ismail raised him…
Aqa Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Abhari (Ibn-i-Abhar) received many tablets from Baha'u'llah. For example, Ibn-i-Abhar had posed the question of the well-being and prosperity of the Baha'is of Persia. In a Tablet revealed in 1889 Baha'u'llah in…
He became a candle burning with the love of God, a goodly tree in the Abhá gardens. He led all his household, his other kindred and his friends to the Faith, and successfully rendered many services. ** Hájí…
In the days when the fort of Tabarsi had become the rallying centre for the disciples of the Bab, he languished disconsolate upon a sick-bed, unable to lend his assistance and play his part for its defence. No sooner had he recovered than,…
During the years when Bahá’u’lláh resided in Iraq, Jináb-i-Muníb left Káshán and hastened to His presence. He went to live in a small and humble house, barely managed to subsist, and set about committing to writing the words of God…
Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh had a modest music school in a district of Tihrán called Imám-zádeh Yahyá. A number of so called open minded pupils were following his classes. Music was forbidden in Islamic countries then, therefore the mob had a good…
"he that was created by the light of Bahá" L: Mirza Mihdi with his brother ‘Abdu’l-Baha **Mírzá…
Large crowds of people thronged the approaches to the headquarters of the government, eager to learn what would befall him. "Since last night," the Amir, as soon as he had seen him, remarked, " I have been besieged by all classes of State…
During the nineteen days that he remained there he drank his fill from the life-giving draught of the presence of the Master and on daily basis paid homage to the Sacred Shrine of Baha’u’llah. **Mirza Yusuf Vahid Kashfi Born:**…
Muhammad-Husayn-i-Maraghi i was the last of the Seven Martyrs who with eagerness gave up his life for the Baha'i Faith. ** Muhammad-Husayn-i-Maraghi’i, the last of the Seven…
The clamour of the people that had massed around his house compelled Vahid to order Mulla Muhammad-Riday-i-Manshadi, one of the most enlightened ulamas of Manshad, who had discarded his turban and offered himself as his doorkeeper, to…
He lived apart from friend and stranger alike, lamenting night and day, moaning and chanting prayers. There he remained as a recluse, and waited for the doors to open. **Nabíl-i-Zarandí aka…
Siyyid Isma`ils writings are among the best known in the modern Shi`ism and the most important among them are: Hisnul-Hasin dar Sharh Baladul-Amin, a commentary on his grandfather's important work on statesmanship. ** Siyyid…
Siyyid Mirza Husayn-i-Mutavalli was the recipient of the Tablet Shikkar-Shikan-Shavand. This man was a Babi who had been with 300 others under the leadership of Quddus at the Tabarsi fort, where they were attacked and starved. **…
In May 1878, his travel teaching took Siyyid Mustafa Rumi to Myanmar (Burma). There he would, not yet knowing the local language, together with Jamal Effendi and Haji Siyyid Mihdi, lay the foundation for the Burmese Bahá’í community.…
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…
Táhirih asked to borrow the writings and take them home. Mullá Javád violently objected, telling her: “Your father is an enemy of the Twin Luminous Lights, Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim. **…
Although the young merchant's given name was Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, He took the name "Báb"…
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…
119 O my dear sister! I have read what you wrote, and as I became aware of the content, I wept bitter tears. Then I carried the letter itself to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and He read it from beginning to end. These terrible events in Yazd call for…
85 What you had written concerning the memorial gatherings of men and women believers to mourn the Most Exalted Leaf, who was the peerless fruit of the Holy Tree, and to commemorate the ascension of her who was the most glorious trust…
121 Concerning the remnants of the martyrs’ families, you have mentioned how eager they are to hear a word of commendation assuring them that this act of self-sacrifice and martyrdom will be acceptable in the sight of God. Therefore, I…
122 O leaf that has been stirred by the breeze of God! O victim of oppression in the path of the Abhá Beauty!—may my soul and the souls of the handmaids of God be offered up as a sacrifice for the dust of His Holy…
46 My great love for the Greatest Holy Leaf and my attachment to each one of you prompt me to add these few words in person and to express to you my gratitude for the expression of your valued sympathy. I greatly value your message,…
76 The passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, so cruel in the feelings of unalterable grief that it has evoked, is, indeed, a tremendous loss to us all and particularly to our Guardian. Her presence among us was such a source of…
95 The passing away of the Greatest Holy Leaf was a loss every Bahá’í will feel deeply if only he stops to think about it. She was such a precious soul and so radiantly happy and hopeful even under most adverse circumstances. Every…
56 O ye who share my anguish and are my comforters in my distress and bereavement! In these past few months, from the day of the passing of that fairest fruit of the Undying Tree, of the setting of that wondrous Star in the heavens of…
99 Surely there is nothing that will console the Guardian more than the happy news that the Cause for which the Greatest Holy Leaf lived and suffered is gradually spreading and embracing the whole of the people of the…
103 He fully appreciates the deep sorrow that you, as well as the other friends, feel for the passing away of the Greatest Holy Leaf. All those who met her cannot feel but an emptiness in their hearts. She was always such a source of…
141 It is not unknown to those who stand firm in the Covenant and Testament of God that the centre of violation and his associates, from the day of the ascension of the Ancient Beauty, may His Great Name be ever exalted, have been…
110 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…
142 This dire calamity, this great affliction, the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has shaken us to the very depths. Our lives lie in ruins. In our hearts, the stars of happiness have set, the…
143 Although that supreme calamity, that great ordeal, the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, put the torch to the harvest of our hearts, and brought down both our outer and inner beings, wedding us to grief and ceaseless pain, yet praised be…
145 O God, my…
158 The ascension of Him Who was the Temple of the Covenant, the setting of Him Who was the Orb of harmony, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for the wrongs He suffered, was the most dire calamity, and the most dread of…
160 That supreme affliction, the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was the direst of ordeals; it was an anguish of mourning. The parting with mankind’s Beloved set fire to the hearts of all His lovers, and the souls of the believers dissolved…
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…
168 The good news has come that the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has been read at the meetings of the friends, and we here are rejoiced to learn of their unity and their…
169 In this noblest of all ages the Sun of grace and loving-kindness has shone out from the divine day-spring with such resplendent glory and is casting His beams so bright and far, that He has lit up all the earth and made the hearts…
170 The purport of your letter is highly indicative of your steadfastness in His Cause, of your unswerving constancy in the Covenant, of having set your face toward Shoghi Effendi, the authorized Point to whom all must turn, the Centre…
34 O ye who burn in the flames of bereavement! By the Day-star of the World, my bereaved and longing heart is afire with a grief that is beyond my description. The sudden, the grievous and calamitous news that the Most Exalted, the…
174 A physician treats every illness with a certain remedy and to every painful sore he applies a specially prepared compound. The more severe the illness, the more potent must be the remedy, so that the treatment may prove effective…
180 The letter that you wrote in your burning grief, on the passing of the world’s Beloved, the Orb of the Covenant—wrote with weeping eyes and a heart afire, has come. Once again, it brings back the full force of this calamity, and…
182 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…
185 After the construction of the Báb’s Shrine on Mount Carmel, it was the wish and intention of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—may our lives be sacrificed for His holy dust—to open a path that would lead directly from the Shrine to the German Avenue.…
38 Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith of…
188 Regarding the Centre of Sedition189 and his scrolls of doubt, this individual, for a period of thirty years, both within and without the Cause, was busy with his mischief-making, and planting his seeds of contention and dissension.…
115 May my life be sacrificed for those leaves who are steadfast in the Covenant of God—they whom the slander of the slanderer hinders not from holding fast to His divine…
198 Your letter of 12th October 1922 is just received and refreshed in our memory the many beautiful days that you spent here when the Beloved Lord, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was still on this earth. Those are days that many events of history…
203 It was sometime ago that I received your kind and encouraging letter through your honourable secretary. And although in a joyless world, the love and unity of the friends in Yonkers imparted the utmost joy to this bereaved family.…
205 The Pen of the divine Ordainer has so decreed that this house of sorrows should be encompassed by unending calamity and pain. Even before the dark clouds of one disaster are scattered, the lowering storm of yet a new grief takes…
217 From this hallowed Spot I send heavenly greetings to those two faithful servants of the holy Threshold of the Abhá Beauty. Indeed, no word of compliment could be compared to this expression of praise and commendation, whereby,…
117 A number of your spiritual sisters, namely the handmaidens who have embraced His Cause, have arrived here from Paris and the United States on pilgrimage. They recently reached this blessed and luminous Spot and have had the honour…
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum records the cost of the Adrianople exile to her own body — a winter of exceptional severity, a poor and unhealthy lodging, and dire financial distress that left her, as a young woman, with a permanent loss of vitality and a shadow on her face that would remain until the end of her life.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the years of crisis in Baghdád — when Mírzá Yaḥyá's faithlessness had unsettled the Bábí community and Bahá'u'lláh had retreated for two years to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih — and the delicate, grave tasks the teenaged Greatest Holy Leaf undertook to hold the household together.
Abbás Effendi, Who afterwards assumed the title of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (i.e. Servant of Bahá), was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh. He was born in Ṭihrán before midnight on the eve of the 23rd of May, 1844,20 the very same night in which the…
At that time Akká (Acre) was a prison city to which the worst criminals were sent from all parts of the Turkish Empire. On arriving there, after a miserable sea journey, Bahá’u’lláh and His followers, about eighty to eighty-four in…
To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible without the other. According to Bahá’u’lláh, the purpose of man’s creation is that he may know God and adore Him. He says in one of His Tablets:— The cause of…
This last quotation reveals the spirit which animated the Báb’s whole life. To know and love God, to mirror forth His attributes and to prepare the way for His coming Manifestation—these were the sole aim and object of His being. For…
The great Prophets of religion have always been, at Their coming, despised and rejected of men. Both They and Their early followers have given their backs to the smiters and sacrificed their possessions and their lives in the path of…
In *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, Esslemont preserves Bahá'u'lláh's own brief description of the Síyáh-Chál — the underground prison in Tihrán in which He was held in chains for four months in 1852. The dungeon was *foul beyond comparison*, dark, and crowded with nearly one hundred and fifty fellow-prisoners.
Having glanced at the principal causes of war and how they may be avoided, we may now proceed to examine certain constructive proposals made by Bahá’u’lláh with a view to achieving the Most Great…
In a letter to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, written in 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind. This voluntary sharing is greater…
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<div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the ‘Priceless Pearl’ Ruhiyyih Khanum tells us how in 1920 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent Shoghi Effendi abroad for his studies, in the company of Lotfullah Hakim who was…
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">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…
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Táhirih was a woman of rare accomplishment. Most Persian women were not educated, but Táhirih's father had recognized early on that his young daughter was gifted with an especially keen mind. He loved her dearly and educated her the same…
<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We were awakened one night, ere break of day, by Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb-i-Shírází, who was bound with Us to the same chains. He had left Kazímayn and followed Us to </span><span style="font-family:…
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<div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Muhammad Shah, the king of Persia, was torn between two conflicting desires. He wanted to meet the Báb. He was anxious to see in person this young Man Who could win…
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<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the whole range of Bahá'u'lláh's Writings, the Kitáb-i-Íqán (The Book of Certitude) has most importance, with the exception of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book). It was revealed in Baghdad…
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Corinne True told the story of a cleaning woman who greatly wished to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but was too embarrassed by her rough, work worn hands to do so in the public reception line. Mrs. True urged her to go to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and finally,…
Nabíl's chronicle records that in the autumn of 1852, after the attempt on the life of Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh by two distraught Bábís acting without authorisation, Bahá'u'lláh was arrested at Níyávarán and confined in the underground dungeon of Ṭihrán known as the Black Pit. There, in chains, He received the intimations of the Mission that would shape the next forty years.
Nabíl's chronicle records the death of Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushrú'í, first of the Letters of the Living, in the closing months of the siege of the shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí in Mázindarán. He led the final sortie at dawn on February 2, 1849, and fell with a musket-ball to the chest in the same charge that broke the Imperial line.
Nabíl's chronicle records the conference at Badasht in the summer of 1848 — the meeting at which the eighty-one principal Bábí teachers of the time gathered in three small gardens to consult on the relation of the new Faith to the Islamic past. The decisive moment came when Ṭáhirih appeared before the assembled men with her veil removed.
Nabíl's chronicle records that in the early summer of 1850, Siyyid Yaḥyá-i-Dárábí — known as Vaḥíd — withdrew with his followers from the city of Nayríz to the small fort at Khájih in the surrounding hills, where for several months he held off the forces of the governor of Fárs before being deceived, surrendered, and put to death.
After the destruction of the defenders of Shaykh Ṭabarsí, Bahá'u'lláh — who had set out to join them — was arrested in the town of Ámul, beaten in the local mosque until His feet bled, and stoned in the streets. Shoghi Effendi reads this episode as the moment Bahá'u'lláh stepped into the centre of the stage left vacant by the Báb.
Haji Muhammad-Baqir was a well-known merchant, foremost among the believers in faith, certitude and enthusiasm, and was serving the Cause with devotion and self-sacrifice. This man attained the presence of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad. There He…
From 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Memorials of the Faithful: when Bahá'u'lláh ascended in 1892 at Bahjí, His chronicler Nabíl-i-Zarandí was inconsolable. He calculated the numerical value of the word "shidád" — "year of stress" — at 309, and found that Bahá'u'lláh had foretold the date in His own writings.
Nabíl's narrative of the morning of July 9, 1850, in the barrack square of Tabríz: the young follower Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alíy-i-Zunúzí, called Anís, who begged to die with the Báb; the first volley that severed the ropes; the Báb's interrupted conversation; and His final words to the regiment.
He wasn’t interested in the man. He wasn’t interested in his clothes. All he was interested in was interested in was his character and his devotion to the Cause. Someone knocked on the door of the Western pilgrim house, and I opened the…
How could this Prisoner give to the needy of 'Akká every Friday morning? Had not His exiled family's wealth and property been almost totally confiscated? One pilgrim found that, 'All that the Master gives is a real sacrifice, and is…
I am so delighted by these news that my dear friend and colleague in Bahá’í studies, Hossain Achtchi has enthusiastically agreed to speak at our first cloud conference. What an extraordinary life. His father was Aqa Husayn-i Ashchi,…
I wish to tell you the story of two martyrs; one was a Persian nobleman, a favorite at court, possessed of much wealth and known throughout all the country. When it was discovered that he was a follower of Bahá'o'llah, this glorious man…
Ibn-i-Asdaq often accompanied his father on his teaching tours throughout Persia. Thus he became imbued with the spirit of service to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and eventually developed a passionate love for Him, a love that knew no bounds.…
In 1914 the Master wrote to the friends in Denver concerning how to convey the message of Bahá’u’lláh: ‘The three conditions of teaching the Cause of God are the science of sociability, purity of deeds and sweetness of speech. I hope…
In the afternoon of that first day, the Master went for a ride through Montréal at Sutherland's invitation. When they reached the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame (Marie-Reine-du-Monde) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said he would like to see it.…
In your recalling the bereavement of Bahá’u’lláh upon the loss of His loved son, and honouring a highly significant event in the Faith, we leave it to the discretion of the Assemblies whether they choose to hold special gatherings of…
It is related that His Holiness Christ -- May my life be a sacrifice to Him! -- one day, accompanied by His apostles, passed by the corpse of a dead animal. One of them said: 'How putrid has this animal become!' The other exclaimed: 'How…
It was the last four months of the nine-year plan and I [Jenabe Caldwell] had just come out of India. As usual when I was anywhere near Israel, I would stop for a three day visit, go to the Shrines and thank Bahá’u’lláh for His blessings…
John [Bosch] was present on November 19 at the Master's last public talk; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá pointed to John on this occasion and addressed the talk to him: He spoke of divine love, and how different it is from human love, which fails in the…
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou seest me in this day shut up in my prison, and fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, and beholdest my son (The Purest Branch) lying on the dust before Thy face. He is Thy servant, O my Lord,…
May Maxwell, the mother of Rúhíyyih Khánum, died only a few weeks after pioneering to South America, and was declared a martyr by Shoghi Effendi. (Her story can be read in the Bahá’í World, Vol. VIII, pp. 631-642.) There is no question…
Two brothers from Káshán who emigrated to Adrianople with the community of believers, were arrested with the exiles and brought to 'Akká, and there both fell ill and died on the same night. Without permission for proper burial, the friends sold a prayer carpet to pay for their interment, and the two brothers were laid in a single grave, beneath the earth as in life embraced.
Fáṭimih Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs of Iṣfáhán, lost her father at Badasht in childhood, married a husband whose faith would cost him his life, was stripped of every possession by the government, and ended her years in 'Akká, where the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh proved more than her heart could bear.
Mírzá Áqá of Káshán — known to the Bahá'í community as Jináb-i-Muníb — was a calligrapher, poet, and singer who left his daughter and his livelihood to walk on foot beside Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdád to Constantinople. He died, ill, in a Smyrna hospital during the exile to 'Akká, his last act being to drag himself to Bahá'u'lláh's feet and weep.
Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light. He was the son of the famous scholar Shaykh Muḥammad-i-Shibl; he lived in ‘Iráq, and from his earliest youth was clearly unique and beyond compare; wise, brave, deserving in every way, he was known…
My mother, my Aunt Khánum, my three sisters, and I lived in the bigger house at `Akká with our beloved Father; Bahá’u’lláh lived at Bahji. At this time the people of the place greatly respected and honoured Him and the Master, and we were…
One day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá learned that a lady had cut her lovely hair in order to contribute to the building of the House of Worship in Wilmette. He wrote to her with loving appreciation: ‘On the one hand, I was deeply touched, for thou hadst…
In *The Priceless Pearl* Rúḥíyyih Khánum describes the moment in the spring of 1953 when Shoghi Effendi, looking out from the newly completed Shrine of the Báb on the centenary of its Founder's enthronement, summoned the Bahá'í world to the most ambitious teaching plan in its history — to settle believers in every remaining unopened country and territory of the planet.
November 19th How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of ‘heavenly men’. We are all united in one Divine purpose, no material motive is ours, and our dearest wish is to spread the Love of God…
4 Avenue de Camöens, October…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, November…
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November…
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, Saturday, January 4th,…
‘Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this…
4 Avenue de Camöens,…
November 9th In the Gospel according to St John, Christ has said: ‘Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’8 The priests have interpreted this into meaning that baptism is necessary for…
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…
QUITE an oriental note was struck toward the end of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's London visit, by the marriage of a young Persian couple who had sought his presence for the ceremony, the bride journeying from Baghdad accompanied by her uncle in order to…
Adib Taherzadeh, in *The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh*, traces the mission of Mishkín-Qalam — Bahá'u'lláh's celebrated calligrapher — sent from Adrianople to Constantinople to teach by his art, then arrested through court intrigue and exiled to Cyprus, where he remained imprisoned for nine years.
Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs. If you had come to this blessed place in the days of the manifestation of the evident Light,29 if you had attained to the court of His presence, and had witnessed His luminous…
In the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation of St. John it is…
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and…
Question.—Is the ablution of baptism useful and necessary, or is it useless and unnecessary? In the first case, if it is useful, why was it abrogated? And in the second case, if it is useless, why did John practice…
Question.—What is the manner, and what is the meaning, of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as described in the…
Question.—In verse 22 of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians it is written: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” What is the meaning of these…
When we consider existence, we see that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds are all in need of an…
Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the…
Question.—In the Holy Books there are some addresses of reproach and rebuke directed to the Prophets. Who is addressed, and for whom is the…
It is said in the holy verse: “There is no partner for Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation136 in His Most Great Infallibility. He is, in truth, the exponent of ‘God doeth whatsoever He willeth’ in the kingdom of creation. Indeed the…
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit. Know that the power and the comprehension of the human spirit are of two kinds—that is to say, they perceive and act in two different modes. One way is through…
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom. The outer expression used for the Kingdom is heaven; but this is a comparison and similitude, not a reality or fact, for the Kingdom is not a material place; it is…
As for the Báb—may my soul be His sacrifice!—at a youthful age, that is to say, when He had reached the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, He stood forth to proclaim His Cause.15 It was universally admitted by the Shí’is that He…
Sarah Farmer had a vision of Green Acre as a peaceful and beautiful place where people could study all the various religions in order to create a more spiritual world. In 1894, she dedicated Green Acre to the ideals of peace and religious…
Thou art God, no God is there but…
O Thou cherished Fruit of the heart! Give ear to the melodies of this mystic Bird warbling in the loftiest heights of heaven. The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me to proclaim: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom there is none…
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. Sufficient witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the…
In the early days of His Declaration in 1844, the Báb addressed a Tablet to Mullá Ḥusayn, His first disciple, on the eve of Mullá Ḥusayn's departure from Shíráz to begin the work of teaching the new Cause across Persia. The Tablet preserved in Selections from the Writings of the Báb sets out the spirit in which that mission was to be carried out.
The One true God may be compared unto the sun and the believer unto a mirror. No sooner is the mirror placed before the sun than it reflects its light. The unbeliever may be likened unto a stone. No matter how long it is exposed to the…
O lover of humankind! Thy letter hath been received, and it telleth, God be praised, of thy health and well-being. It appeareth, from thine answer to a previous letter, that feelings of affection were being established between thyself…
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. This is the essence of…
Regarding the statement in The Hidden Words, that man must renounce his own self, the meaning is that he must renounce his inordinate desires, his selfish purposes and the promptings of his human self, and seek out the holy breathings…
O my spiritual loved ones! At a time when an ocean of trials and tribulations was surging up and flinging its waves to the heavens, when multitudes were assailing us and the tyrannical were inflicting upon us crushing wrongs—at such a…
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 roses in the garden of God’s love! O ye bright lamps in the assemblage of His knowledge! May the soft breathings of God pass over you, may the Glory of God illumine the horizon of your hearts. Ye are the waves of the deep sea of…
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter was received. From its contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God. The mass of the people are…
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 sincere servant of the True One! I hear thou art grieved and distressed at the happenings of the world and the vicissitudes of fortune. Wherefore this fear and sorrow? The true lovers of the Abhá Beauty, and they that have quaffed the…
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…
O Thou, my God, Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favours, Who guardest the…
In cycles gone by, each one of the Manifestations of God hath had His own rank in the world of existence, and each hath represented a stage in the development of humanity. But the Manifestation of the Most Great Name—may my life be a…
O thou who art dear, and wise! Thy letter dated 27 May 1906 hath been received and its contents are most pleasing and have brought great…
O ye handmaids of the Lord! In this century—the century of the Almighty Lord—the Day-Star of the Realms above, the Light of Truth, shineth in its meridian splendour and its rays illuminate all regions. For this is the age of the Ancient…
O thou who art serving the world of humanity! Thy letter was received and from its contents we felt exceedingly glad. It was a decisive proof and a brilliant evidence. It is appropriate and befitting that in this illumined age—the age…
O army of God! A letter signed jointly by all of you hath been received. It was most eloquent and full of flavour, and reading it was a…
O ye two favoured handmaids of the Lord! The letter from Mother Beecher hath been received, and truly it spoke for you both, wherefore I address the two of you together. This seemeth very good to me, for ye two pure beings are even as a…
O my well-beloved daughter of the Kingdom! The letter thou hadst written to Dr. Esslemont was forwarded by him to the Land of Desire [The Holy Land]. I read it all through with the greatest attention. On the one hand, I was deeply…
O ye blessed souls!31 The letter ye had written to Rahmatu’lláh hath been perused. Many and various were the joyful tidings it conveyed, namely, that through the power of faith and constancy in the Covenant, numerous gatherings have…
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…
*Star of the West* records the dedication, in 1908, of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the world — at 'Ishqábád (Ashgabat) in Russian Turkmenistan. The community of Persian exiles and emigrants on the steppe had built, with their own hands and from a fund collected over a generation, a nine-sided dome that would for forty years be the model for every subsequent Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.
In 1933 the Bahá'í World, successor to the Star of the West, carried the story of Keith Ransom-Kehler — the American Bahá'í travel teacher who had gone to Iran in defense of the Faith and had died in Isfahán of smallpox, becoming the first American Bahá'í martyr.
The opening issue of the Star of the West, March 21, 1910, carried a memorial account of Mírzá Mihdí — the Purest Branch — younger brother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who fell from the roof of the barracks in 'Akká in 1870 and used his dying breaths to plead that the believers be admitted to see Bahá'u'lláh.
In the spring and summer of 1919 the Star of the West gave its pages to the unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan — the Master's great charter of teaching addressed to the North American believers, formally proclaimed at the New York convention in April 1919.
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…
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my hear, my soul and my spirit,…
178 Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed all things, whose gift is made perfect, whose power hath encircled the world, whose proof is demonstrated, whose signs have become manifest, whose words are promulgated, whose…
298 If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! —before long agreeable results will be obtained, the great newspapers of the world will all engage…
“O loving God! I am a young child, a suppliant, a captive. Be Thou my refuge, my support, my protector. I am in distress: give me the means of tranquillity. I am needy: bestow upon me the treasure of the Kingdom. I am dead: give me the…
O servants176 of the Blessed…
O thou attracted…
O thou dear wise…
O thou esteemed maid-servant of…
O thou faithful…
O thou faithful servant of the True…
O thou favored maid-servant of…
O thou flower of the Rose-garden of…
O thou honorable…
O thou lamp of the Love of…
O thou near servant to the Threshold of…
O thou peerless, matchless, glorious martyr!172…
O Thou Pure God!155…
O thou pure soul who art turning toward the Lord of the…
O thou rose of the Rose-Garden of the Love of…
O thou slave of the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted by the brilliant lights of the Merciful One, shining from the Supreme…
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of…
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of…
O thou who art attracted unto the Beauty of…
O thou who art cheerful in heart, by the Fragrances of the…
O thou who art desirous of the Kingdom of…
O thou who art rejoiced by the Divine…
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire burning in the Tree of…
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire of the Love of…
O thou who hast arisen to render service to the Cause of God in His Great…
O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness and the season of running in the arena of sacrifice! Show ye kindness to all; be ye engaged in the refinement of the souls. Become ye as ignited lamps and…
O ye174 beloved servants of Abdul-Baha and the maid-servants of the Merciful…
O ye34 Cohorts of…
O ye81 dear friends and maid-servants of…
O ye dear friends of…
O ye305 dear servants of…
O ye154 dwellers of the…
O ye120 longing ones! O ye cheered ones! O ye attracted ones! O ye who are beseeching the Kingdom of…
O ye my divine friends!32…
O ye real companions! Day and night Abdul-Baha is engaged in the remembrances of the friends, and time after time doth he associate with them and behold their blessed faces. I entreat in the Threshold of the Lord of Existence to confrim…
O ye273 servants of the True One and the maid-servants of the…
O ye177 sincere ones! O ye favored ones! O ye beseeching ones! O ye supplicating…
O ye spiritual friends of…
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are firm! O ye who are…
The first light which shone forth from the horizon of Eternity, the first radiance which was cast forth from the Morn of Guidance, and the first mercy which descended from the Kingdom of Heaven, be upon thee,173 O thou manifest light,…
To the beloved of God in…
Tonight we met ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and a large number of believers from all parts of the East at the Feast, or Supper, under the shadow of the Blessed Perfection. As we entered the large hall, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá greeted us, extending both hands and…
“Moral life consists in the government of one's self. Immortality is government of a human soul by the Divine Will.” “The soul is the Sanctuary of God; Reason is His Throne.” “Our Actions reveal what we are, no matter what the…
“Today we will speak about Obedience! The Manifestation of God is a perfect example of real obedience. Like Him, we must sacrifice everything; every plan, every longing and ideal must be given up completely to the Will of God. We must…
‘Abdu'l-Bahá sent for me. I found Him in a little room opening from the courtyard. He was sitting upon a raised chair, His beautiful face, majestic in repose and strength, turned toward the only window. He greeted me joyfully. Both the…
“When you give the Message of this Manifestation many say, 'This is nothing new—I prefer the home of my old religious belief which has been so serviceable and trustworthy.'” ‘Abdu'l-Bahá answered: “Bahá‘u'lláh is the same Light in a…
The Báb, during his life, had a certain follower who was specially devoted to him. On one occasion he visited this man in his home. His host said to him that his visit filled him with the greatest happiness of his life; but that he had one…
The following account occurred in the Siyah-Chal prison in Teheran around the Fall/Winter of 1853. The prisoners were awaiting execution for their Faith: We were awakened one night, ere break of day, by Mirza ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab-i-Shirazi, who…
The Master spoke to him in Persian with an interpreter. After saying that 'The Cause of God is like a tree -- its fruit is love', He asked how the believers were. Happy that they were becoming more united He replied, 'This news is the…
This article, reprinted from "International Language", gives an excellent picture of the man who created Esperanto. The author calls him a genius. It would seem clear, however, that his success was due not only to genius, but to divine…
In *A Traveler's Narrative*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes the morning of the Báb's martyrdom in the Tabríz barracks-square on the 9th of July, 1850 — the iron nail driven into the staircase, the two ropes by which He and His amanuensis were bound, the regiment that fired without harming Him, and the second regiment that did.
Touching the individual known as the Báb and the true nature of this sect diverse tales are on the tongues and in the mouths of men, and various accounts are contained in the pages of Persian history and the leaves of European…
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…
correspondence?” Then the Royal Command was issued that their Reverences the learned doctors and honorable and accomplished divines should write a reply to that epistle. But when the most expert doctors of the capital became aware of…
swords be blunted, and their footsteps slip. I know not how long they shall ride the steed of desire and wander erringly in the desert of heedlessness and error. Of glory shall any glory endure, or of abasement any abasement? Or shall…
To the galling weight of these tribulations was now added the bitter grief of a sudden tragedy -- the premature loss of the noble, the pious Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's twenty-two year old brother, an amanuensis of…
Upon His arrival in Jaddih, the Báb donned the pilgrim's garb, mounted a camel, and set out on His journey to Mecca [to perform His pilgrimage]. Quddus, however, notwithstanding the repeatedly expressed desire of his Master, preferred to…
We shall here relate a story that will serve as an example to all. The Arabian chronicles tell how, at a time prior to the advent of Muhammad, Nu'man son of Mundhir the Lakhmite -- an Arab king in the Days of Ignorance, whose seat of…
What most impressed 'Roy' was the spirit of sacrifice which he found among the Bahá’ís in the 'Most Great Prison'. He noted that, 'Nowhere have I witnessed such love, such perfect harmony. The desire of those in that prison was to serve…
While in Paris, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá received a letter warning Him that if He visited a certain country, He would be in danger. When He learned of this, He smilingly remarked to Lady Blomfield, ‘My daughter, have you not yet realized that never,…
While on pilgrimage in Haifa in 1909, Alice Breed asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: if we build the Temple (the American House of Worship) quickly and send a ship for You, will You come to America? Qbdul-Bahá responded: I will come of my own volition…