The “verities of the Faith”

By 'verities of the Faith' he[Shoghi Effendi] means the great teachings and fundamentals enshrined in our Bahá'í literature; these we can find by reading the books, studying under Bahá'í scholars at summer schools and in classes, and through the aid of study outlines. (From a letter dated April 19, 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: Lights of Guidance)

The cause of sickness

Sickness reveals a lack of balance in human organism, an absence of equilibrium in the forces essential for the normal functioning of the human body." (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 8, 1936; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

To become “armed with the love of God and imbued with His purpose for a struggling mankind”

Our prayers ascend at the Holy Threshold that every session of this historic meeting will attract Divine Blessings, and that each soul, armed with the love of God and imbued with His purpose for a struggling mankind, will arise to activate, beyond all present hope, the vast spiritual potentialities of the Americas. (The Universal House of Justice, excerpt from a message dated May 1971, to the Friends of God gathered in the Caribbean Conference; Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha’i World Community – by the Universal House of Justice)

Dawn over the Upper Chamber of the House of the Báb in Shiráz where He declared His mission

Dawn over the Upper Chamber of the House of the Báb in Shiráz where He declared His mission

Entities addressed by Baha’u’llah in the Hidden Words -- selectively grouped

Arabic Hidden Words:

O SON OF THE SUPREME!

O SON OF THE THRONE!

O SON OF SPIRIT!

O SON OF LIGHT!

O SON OF BEAUTY!

O SON OF UTTERANCE!

O SON OF THE WONDROUS VISION!

O SON OF HIM THAT STOOD BY HIS OWN ENTITY IN THE KINGDOM OF HIS SELF!

O SON OF BEING!

O SON OF MAN!

O YE SONS OF SPIRIT!

O CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE!

O CHILDREN OF MEN!

Persian Hidden Words:

Translations of the Writings

Concerning the different translations of the words. It is surely the original text that should never be changed. The translations will continue to vary as more & better translations are made. Shoghi Effendi does not consider even his own translations as final, how much more translations made in the early days of the Cause in the West when no competent translators existed. (From a letter dated 14 August 1930 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Antipodes’)

A “melting pot and a meeting place for the races of men”

The Americas have been a melting pot and a meeting place for the races of men, and the need is acute for the fulfillment of God's promises of the realization of the oneness of mankind. (The Universal House of Justice, excerpt from a message dated May 1971, to the Friends of God gathered in the Caribbean Conference; Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha’i World Community – by the Universal House of Justice)

“…the greatest magnet for attracting people to the Faith and confirming them.”

All the Bahá'ís, new and old alike, should devote themselves as much as possible to teaching the Faith; they should also realize that the atmosphere of true love and unity which they manifest within the Bahá'í Community will directly affect the public, and be the greatest magnet for attracting people to the Faith and confirming them. (From a letter dated 4 April 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Stuttgart, Germany; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s commentary on this well-known Islamic tradition concerning God and His creation: “I was a Hidden Treasure. I wished to be made known, and thus I called creation into being in order that I might be known.”

“O wayfarer in the path of the Beloved! Know thou that the main purpose of this holy tradition is to make mention of the stages of God’s concealment and manifestation within the Embodiments of Truth, They who are the Dawning-places of His All-Glorious Being. For example, before the flame of the undying Fire is lit and manifest, it existeth by itself within itself in the hidden identity of the universal Manifestations, and this is the stage of the “Hidden Treasure”. And when the blessed Tree is kindled by itself within itself, and that Divine Fire burneth by its essence within its essence, this is the stage of “I wished to be made known”. And when it shineth forth from the Horizon of the universe with infinite Divine Names and Attributes upon the contingent and placeless worlds, this constituteth the emergence of a new and wondrous creation which correspondeth to the stage of “Thus I called creation into being”. And when the sanctified souls rend asunder the veils of all earthly attachments and worldly conditions, and hasten to the stage of gazing on the beauty of the Divine Presence and are honoured by recognizing the Manifestation and are able to witness the splendour of God’s Most Great Sign in their hearts, then will the purpose of creation, which is the knowledge of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, become manifest.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted in the ‘Notes” section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)