The Administrative Order “constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilization which the almighty Law of Bahá’u’lláh is designed to establish upon earth”

A word should now be said regarding the theory on which this Administrative Order is based and the principle that must govern the operation of its chief institutions. It would be utterly misleading to attempt a comparison between this unique, this divinely-conceived Order and any of the diverse systems which the minds of men, at various periods of their history, have contrived for the government of human institutions. Such an attempt would in itself betray a lack of complete appreciation of the excellence of the handiwork of its great Author. How could it be otherwise when we remember that this Order constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilization which the almighty Law of Bahá’u’lláh is designed to establish upon earth? The divers and ever-shifting systems of human polity, whether past or present, whether originating in the East or in the West, offer no adequate criterion wherewith to estimate the potency of its hidden virtues or to appraise the solidity of its foundations. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah'; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

“Bahá’u’lláh addressed these words” to the French Emperor, Napoleon III

To the French Emperor, Napoleon III, Bahá’u’lláh addressed these words: “O King of Paris! Tell the priest to ring the bells no longer. By God, the True One! The Most Mighty Bell hath appeared in the form of Him Who is the Most Great Name, and the fingers of the will of thy Lord, the Most Exalted, the Most High, toll it out in the heaven of Immortality, in His Name, the All-Glorious. Thus have the mighty verses of thy Lord been again sent down unto thee, that thou mayest arise to remember God, the Creator of earth and heaven, in these days when all the tribes of the earth have mourned, and the foundations of the cities have trembled, and the dust of irreligion hath enwrapped all men, except such as thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, was pleased to spare.... Give ear, O King, unto the Voice that calleth from the Fire which burneth in this Verdant Tree, upon this Sinai which hath been raised above the hallowed and snow-white Spot, beyond the Everlasting City: ‘Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful!’ We, in truth, have sent Him Whom We aided with the Holy Spirit [Jesus], that He may announce unto you this Light that hath shone forth from the horizon of the will of your Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and Whose signs have been revealed in the West, that ye may set your faces towards Him [Bahá’u’lláh], on this Day which God hath exalted above all other days, and whereon the All-Merciful hath shed the splendor of His effulgent glory upon all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Arise thou to serve God and help His Cause. He, verily, will assist thee with the hosts of the seen and unseen, and will set thee king over all that whereon the sun riseth. Thy Lord, in truth, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.... Attire thy temple with the ornament of My Name, and thy tongue with remembrance of Me, and thine heart with love for Me, the Almighty, the Most High. We have desired for thee naught except that which is better for thee than what thou dost possess and all the treasures of the earth. Thy Lord, verily, is knowing, informed of all...." 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

An example of how the Báb’s “alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence… completely disarmed and transformed His guards” as they approached the city of Qum on their way to Tihran

His [the Báb’s] alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence, had, by this time, [when they left Kashan for Tihran]completely disarmed and transformed His guards. They seemed to have abdicated all their rights and duties and to have resigned themselves to His will and pleasure. In their eagerness to serve and please Him, they, one day, remarked: “We are strictly forbidden by the government to allow You to enter the city of Qum [1], and have been ordered to proceed by an unfrequented route directly to Tihrán. We have been particularly directed to keep away from the Haram-i-Ma’súmih, [2] that inviolable sanctuary under whose shelter the most notorious criminals are immune from arrest. We are ready, however, to ignore utterly for Your sake whatever instructions we have received. If it be Your wish, we shall unhesitatingly conduct You through the streets of Qum and enable You to visit its holy shrine.” “‘The heart of the true believer is the throne of God,’” observed the Báb. “He who is the ark of salvation and the Almighty’s impregnable stronghold is now journeying with you through this wilderness. I prefer the way of the country rather than to enter this unholy city. The immaculate one whose remains are interred within this shrine, her brother, and her illustrious ancestors no doubt bewail the plight of this wicked people. With their lips they pay homage to her; by their acts they heap dishonour upon her name. Outwardly they serve and reverence her shrine; inwardly they disgrace her dignity.”

Such lofty sentiments had instilled such confidence in the hearts of those who accompanied the Báb that had He at any time chosen to turn away suddenly and leave them, no one among His guards would have felt in the least perturbed or would have attempted to pursue Him. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers', translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

[1] The site of the second most sacred shrine in Persia, and the burial-place of many of her kings, among them Fatḥ-‘Alí and Muhammad Sháh

[2] At Qum are deposited the remains of his [Imám Riḍá’s] sister, Fátimiy-i-Ma’súmih, i.e. the Immaculate, who, according to one account, lived and died here, having fled from Baghdád to escape the persecution of the Khalífs.

The ”so brief an interval” between the Revelations of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh’: - “a secret that no man can unravel, and a mystery such as no mind can fathom”

During nine years, as foretold by the Báb Himself, swiftly, mysteriously and irresistibly the embryonic Faith conceived by Him had been developing until, at the fixed hour, the burden of the promised Cause of God was cast amidst the gloom and agony of the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán. “Behold,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself, years later, testified, in refutation of the claims of those who had rejected the validity of His mission following so closely upon that of the Báb, “how immediately upon the completion of the ninth year of this wondrous, this most holy and merciful Dispensation, the requisite number of pure, of wholly consecrated and sanctified souls has been most secretly consummated.” “That so brief an interval,” He, moreover has asserted, “should have separated this most mighty and wondrous Revelation from Mine own previous Manifestation is a secret that no man can unravel, and a mystery such as no mind can fathom. Its duration had been foreordained.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (God Passes By')

The Persian Tablet of Ahmad

There are two Tablets each bearing the name of Ahmad: one in Persian and the other in Arabic. The latter is the one used throughout the Bahá'í world, which the beloved Guardian characterized as being imbued with a special potency.

The Persian Tablet [see a provisional translation] is quite a long one and is written to Ahmad of Kashan. Haji Mirza Jani, who was the first one to embrace the Báb's Faith in Kashan, in whose house the Báb sojourned some days and who was finally martyred in Tihran, had three brothers. One was never moved by his brother's faith, no matter how much the latter endeavoured to teach him. He remained a Muslim and died as such. The second was called Ismail, entitled by Bahá'u'lláh Dhabih (sacrificed) and also Anis (companion); the third one who went to Baghdad was called Ahmad. He remained with the Ancient Beauty and had the honor to be amongst those who were chosen by Him as one of the companions in His exile to Istanbul. But unfortunately in the storms of tests and trials this Ahmad departed from the right path and sided with Azal. He then caused much suffering for the Blessed Beauty, His family and friends. In order to warn this man against such evil deeds and the detrimental consequences for the nascent Faith, Bahá'u'lláh sent him this long Persian Tablet full of exhortations, elucidations of the divine power and advice as to how a true seeker should act and behave. Ahmad remained heedless, unmoved and unchanged, but when he found out that he could no more live in Turkey, he returned to Iraq where he found his old associates and resumed his iniquitous life with them. One of his worst habits was to insult people and curse them in the most bitter and vile language. In one of his disputes with his evil friends, he lashed them with his sharp tongue and the victims, to get rid of him, killed him one night.

Selections from this Persian Tablet appear in the Gleanings.

- Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi  ('A Flame of Fire’)