Say: He from whom, in
this day, the sweet savours of the remembrance of His Lord, the All-Merciful,
have not been diffused, is indeed unworthy of the station of man. He, verily,
is of them that have followed their own desires, and shall erelong find himself
in grievous loss. Doth it behove you to relate yourselves to Him Who is the God
of mercy, and yet commit the things which the Evil One hath committed? Nay, by
the Beauty of Him Who is the All-Glorified! could ye but know it. Purge your
hearts from love of the world, and your tongues from calumny, and your limbs
from whatsoever may withhold you from drawing nigh unto God, the Mighty, the
All-Praised. Say: By the world is meant that which turneth you
aside from Him Who is the Dawning-Place of Revelation, and inclineth you unto
that which is unprofitable unto you. Verily, the thing that deterreth you, in
this day, from God is worldliness in its essence. Eschew it, and approach the
Most Sublime Vision, this shining and resplendent Seat. Blessed is he who
alloweth nothing whatsoever to intervene between him and his Lord. No harm,
assuredly, can befall him if he partaketh with justice of the benefits of this
world, inasmuch as We have created all things for such of Our servants as truly
believe in God.
- Baha'u'llah (Tablet to Napoleon III, Suriy-i-Haykal [Tablet of
Temple]; ‘The Summons of the Lord of Hosts’)
