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’)

“Blessed is he who…”

Blessed is he who is charitable, for he shall inherit eternal life.

Blessed is he who overlooks the faults of others, for he shall enjoy divine beatitude.

Blessed is he who associates with all with joy and fragrance, for he has obeyed the commands of Baha’u’llah.

Blessed is he who loves mankind, for he has heeded the advice of Baha'u'llah.

Blessed is he who is kind to his enemies, for he has walked in the footsteps of Christ.

Blessed is he who proclaims the doctrine of spiritual brotherhood, for he shall be the child of light.

Blessed is he whose heart is tender and compassionate, for he will throw stones at no one.

Blessed is he who will speak evil of no one, for he hath attained to the good pleasure of the Lord.

Blessed is he who will not uncover the sins of others, for he will become favored at the threshold of the Almighty.

Blessed is he who hath a forgiving nature, for he will win the spiritual graces of God.

Blessed is he who diffuses only the sweet fragrance of the flowers of friendship and mutual association, for he will obtain a goodly portion of the bounties of the Merciful.

Blessed is he who teaches union and concord, for he will shine like unto a star in heaven.

Blessed is he who practices loving-kindness and co-operation, for he will be encircled with celestial benedictions.

Blessed is he who comforts the downtrodden, for he will be the friend of God.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to a believer; Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, May, 1913; Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 5, June 5, 1916)

“two thousand and more verses… have streamed from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh and, to a lesser extent, from that of the Báb, addressed to individual monarchs in Europe and Asia”

So much for the epoch-making counsels and warnings collectively addressed by the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh to the sovereigns of the earth, and more particularly directed to the kings of Christendom. I would be failing to do justice to my theme were I to ignore, or even to dismiss briefly, those audacious, fate-laden apostrophes to individual monarchs who, whether as kings or emperors, have either viewed with cold indifference the tribulations, or rejected with contempt the warnings, of the twin Founders of our Faith. I can neither quote as fully as I should from the two thousand and more verses that have streamed from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh and, to a lesser extent, from that of the Báb, addressed to individual monarchs in Europe and Asia, nor is it my purpose to expatiate upon the circumstances that have provoked, or the consequences that have flowed from, those astounding utterances. The historian of the future, viewing more widely and in fuller perspective the momentous happenings of the Apostolic and Formative Ages of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, will no doubt be able to evaluate accurately and to describe in a circumstantial manner the causes, the implications and the effects of these Divine Messages which, in their scope and effectiveness, have certainly no parallel in the religious annals of mankind. 

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

Entire collection of 157 Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh set to music – by Tom Price

The first 23 Hidden Words can be heard now, and two more will be added each week.

They can be heard on YouTube, played in sequence, at this link

Formation of First International Baha’i Council: Forerunner of the Universal House of Justice – Amatu’l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum explains the process

In a cable to the Bahá’i world, 9 January 1951, the Guardian stated, “PROCLAIM NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES EAST WEST WEIGHTY EPOCH MAKING DECISION FORMATION FIRST INTERNATIONAL BAHAI COUNCIL, FORERUNNER SUPREME ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTION DESTINED EMERGE FULNESS TIME ..Shoghi Effendi went on to explain, ‘PRESENT ADEQUATE MATURITY NINE VIGOROUSLY FUNCTIONING NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT BAHAI WORLD COMBINE INDUCE ME ARRIVE THIS HISTORIC DECISION .. No names appeared in this message but Shoghi Effendi had already begun, about two months previously, to summon its members to the World Centre, the first was Dr. Lotfullah Hakim (Lutfu’lláh Hakim), then in Britain, through a cable on 14 November 1950, addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, which simply stated: “KINDLY ARRANGE DEPARTURE LOTFULLAH HAKIM HAIFA FOR NECESSARY SERVICES”; the second cable, of the same date as I recall, was addressed to the American National Spiritual Assembly and with equal brevity and simplicity stated: “APPRECIATE EXTEND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REVELL SISTERS COME HAIFA REQUIRE THEIR SERVICES.” On 22 November they themselves received a confirming cable: “REVELL SISTERS, WELCOME YOUR PRESENCE HAIFA. SHOGHI.” Early in December, Mason Remey and Amelia Collins were likewise summoned by the Guardian to the Holy Land; both planned to arrive later that month. By 2 March 1951 Shoghi Effendi was able to cable the Bahá’í world: “GREATLY WELCOME ASSISTANCE NEWLY FORMED INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL PARTICULARLY ITS PRESIDENT MASON REMEY AND VICEPRESIDENT AMELIA COLLINS THROUGH CONTACT AUTHORITIES DESIGNED SPREAD FAME CONSOLIDATE FOUNDATIONS WIDEN SCOPE INFLUENCE EMANATING TWIN SPIRITUAL ADMINISTRATIVE WORLD CENTRES PERMANENTLY FIXED HOLY LAND CONSTITUTING MIDMOST HEART ENTIRE PLANET.’ A year later the Guardian, in his Naw-Rúz 1952 message to the Bahá’í world, cabled: “… ANNOUNCEMENT ENLARGEMENT INTERNATIONAL BAHAI COUNCIL. PRESENT MEMBERSHIP NOW COMPRISES AMATULBAHA RUHIYYIH KHANUM CHOSEN LIAISON BETWEEN ME AND COUNCIL. HANDS CAUSE MASON REMEY, AMELIA COLLINS, UGO GIACHERY, LEROY IOAS, PRESIDENT, VICEPRESIDENT, MEMBER AT LARGE, SECRETARY GENERAL, RESPECTIVELY. JESSIE REVELL, ETHEL REVELL, LOTFULLAH HAKIM, TREASURER, WESTERN EASTERN ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.” Three years later, on 4 May 1955, the Guardian announced to all National Assem- blies, “... NUMBER MEMBERS INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL RAISED NINE THROUGH APPOINTMENT SYLVIA IOAS.” When one contemplates the above shaping of Bahá’i history and realizes that two of the nine ultimate members of the Council were the modest, humbly employed, relatively uneducated Revell sisters, it gives one pause to think and causes one to rejoice. 

- Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum  (‘The Baha’i World’, vol. 19, 1983-1986)

New Site: Passages about Bahá’u’lláh from Bahá’í Writings & Literature

Passages will be posted every other day.

The “wide embrace of the Plan’s framework”: - The “three simultaneous, overlapping, and coherent areas of action: [1] community-building efforts in clusters; [2] projects and activities for social action; and [3] involvement in the discourses of society”

The friends are called to three simultaneous, overlapping, and coherent areas of action: community-building efforts in clusters; projects and activities for social action; and involvement in the discourses of society, whether in neighborhoods or in personal or professional associations. As the House of Justice highlighted in its Ridván 2015 message to the Bahá’ís of the world, “ultimately, it is systematic, determined, and selfless action undertaken within the wide embrace of the Plan’s framework that is the most constructive response of every concerned believer to the multiplying ills of a disordered society.” In such a context, the friends can gradually address the problems that face them and their surrounding communities.

[social action]

In particular, social action is one means by which capacity can be built within a community to address the social and material needs of humanity, such as those related to agriculture, health, and education. In many instances across the globe, groups of like-minded individuals, having cultivated the habit of studying relevant materials together, including pertinent selections from the Bahá’í writings, come to carry out simple projects aimed at improving an aspect of their collective life. These endeavors can take place with varying degrees of complexity, from the grassroots of a community to the national and international levels, with progress in the area of social action supported by the recently established Bahá’í International Development Organization. The publication For the Betterment of the World… describes, among other things, examples of such initiatives. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 3 December 2020 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

The “nature of the Manifestation and His relationship to God”

The Bahá’í Writings contain many passages that elucidate the nature of the Manifestation and His relationship to God. Bahá’u’lláh underlines the unique and transcendent nature of the Godhead. He explains that “since there can be no tie of direct intercourse to bind the one true God with His creation” God ordains that “in every age and dispensation a pure and stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven”. This “mysterious and ethereal Being”, the Manifestation of God, has a human nature which pertains to “the world of matter” and a spiritual nature “born of the substance of God Himself”. He is also endowed with a “double station”:

The first station, which is related to His innermost reality, representeth Him as One Whose voice is the voice of God Himself... The second station is the human station, exemplified by the following verses: “I am but a man like you.” “Say, praise be to my Lord! Am I more than a man, an apostle?”

Bahá’u’lláh also affirms that, in the spiritual realm, there is an “essential unity” between all the Manifestations of God. They all reveal the “Beauty of God”, manifest His names and attributes, and give utterance to His Revelation. In this regard, He states:

Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am God”, He, verily, speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the world...

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book)

…the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), that

• priceless treasury enshrining for all time the brightest emanations of the mind of Bahá’u’lláh,
• the Charter of His World Order,
• the chief repository of His laws,
• the Harbinger of His Covenant,
• the Pivotal Work containing
• some of His noblest exhortations,
• weightiest pronouncements, and
• portentous prophecies…

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come)

The “flight of the human spirit”

But the flight of the human spirit is through the glad-tidings of God. The flight of the human mind is through the increase of understanding and perception. The flight of the human heart is through the love of God. The divine teachings have been sent down that the human spirit may soar until it reacheth the heights of the most exalted kingdom, and that the human heart may fly through the love of God and attain nearness unto Him. Thus, for everything there is a flight, and whatsoever attaineth its highest degree hath flown in order to attain it. For example, this lamp, when it reacheth its highest degree, hath flown thereto. This flower, when it reacheth its highest degree, hath flown thereto. A human being, too, when attaining the highest station, hath flown to reach there.

• But human flight is through faith.
• Human flight is through the virtues of the world of humanity.
• Human flight is through the acquisition of perfections.
• Human flight is through adherence to the divine teachings.
• Human flight is through service to the oneness of the world of humanity.
• Human flight is through heedfulness to the verses of God.
• Human flight is to become the sign of guidance among the people.
• Human flight is to become a heavenly standard.
• Human flight is to become illumined with the light of truth.
• Human flight is to be detached from all save God.
• Human flight is to turn to the Abhá Kingdom.
• Human flight is to carry out the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh in their entirety.

It is my hope that ye will all take flight; that your spirits, your hearts, and your minds will soar; and all your conditions will fly upwards. Such is my hope. God willing ye will be aided therein. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’, Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

The reported testimony of the man who shot Mulla Husayn at Fort Tabarsi

“The truth of the matter,” is the answer which ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i-Láríjání, whose bullet was responsible for the death of Mullá Husayn, is reported to have given to a query addressed to him by Prince Ahmad Mírzá in the presence of several witnesses, “is that any one who had not seen Karbilá would, if he had seen Tabarsí, not only have comprehended what there took place, but would have ceased to consider it; and had he seen Mullá Husayn of Bushrúyih, he would have been convinced that the Chief of Martyrs (Imám Husayn) had returned to earth; and had he witnessed my deeds, he would assuredly have said: ‘This is Shimr come back with sword and lance…’ In truth, I know not what had been shown to these people, or what they had seen, that they came forth to battle with such alacrity and joy.… The imagination of man cannot conceive the vehemence of their courage and valor.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

New Site: Messages from the Universal House of Justice to Individual Believers

A collection of messages to individual believers in chronological order.

“in these we can discern the faint glimmerings and discover the earliest intimation of the nature and working of the Administrative Order”

• In the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh where the institutions of the International and Local Houses of Justice are specifically designated and formally established;
• in the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God which first Bahá’u’lláh and then ‘Abdu’l Bahá brought into being;
• in the institution of both local and national Assemblies which in their embryonic stage were already functioning in the days preceding ‘Abdu’l Bahá’s ascension;
• in the authority with which the Author of our Faith and the Center of His Covenant have in their Tablets chosen to confer upon them;
• in the institution of the Local Fund which operated according to ‘Abdu’l Bahá’s specific injunctions addressed to certain Assemblies in Persia;
• in the verses of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas the implications of which clearly anticipate the institution of the Guardianship;
• in the explanation which ‘Abdu’l Bahá, in one of His Tablets, has given to, and the emphasis He has placed upon, the hereditary principle and the law of primogeniture as having been upheld by the Prophets of the past—

in these we can discern the faint glimmerings and discover the earliest intimation of the nature and working of the Administrative Order which the Will of ‘Abdu’l Bahá was at a later time destined to proclaim and formally establish. 

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

Utterances of the Báb to Governor of Isfahán, Manuchihr Khán, as he expressed concerns about the safety of the Báb after he has passed away

Fear not I have committed Myself into the hands of God. My trust is in Him. Such is the power which He has bestowed upon Me that if it be My wish, I can convert these very stones into gems of inestimable value, and can instil into the heart of the most wicked criminal the loftiest conceptions of uprightness and duty. Of My own will have I chosen to be afflicted by My enemies, ‘that God might accomplish the thing destined to be done.’ 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga

 

“We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed.”

Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf

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!' Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed. Thus have We preferred thee and raised thee above the rest, as a sign of grace from Him Who is the Lord of the throne on high and earth below. We have created thine eyes to behold the light of My countenance, thine ears to hearken unto the melody of My words, thy body to pay homage before My throne. Do thou render thanks unto God, thy Lord, the Lord of all the world.

How high is the testimony of the Sadratu'l-Muntahá for its leaf; how exalted the witness of the Tree of Life unto its fruit! Through My remembrance of her a fragrance laden with the perfume of musk hath been diffused; well is it with him that hath inhaled it and exclaimed: 'All praise be to Thee, O God, my Lord the most glorious!' How sweet thy presence before Me; how sweet to gaze upon thy face, to bestow upon thee My loving-kindness, to favour thee with My tender care, to make mention of thee in this, My Tablet—a Tablet which I have ordained as a token of My hidden and manifest grace unto thee. 

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf’, prepared by the Research Department of the Baha’i World Center) 

“The law of consultation”

The law of consultation, as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, is a fundamental teaching of the Faith. He tells us that through consultation the “maturity of the gift of understanding” is made manifest. “It is and will always be”, He states, “a cause of awareness and of awakening and a source of good and well-being.” “Consultation bestoweth greater awareness and transmuteth conjecture into certitude”, He further asserts. “It is a shining light which, in a dark world, leadeth the way and guideth.” Consultation paves the path of individual and collective endeavour. The growth, progress, and enduring unity of the community are ensured by its practice. It is indispensable for the ordering of human affairs. ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá refers to consultation as “the cause of great victories”, assuring us that “it attracteth the aid and bestowal of God.”

As you know, Bahá’í consultation is to be undertaken with the utmost love, sincerity, and unity. Its participants must come together in a prayerful attitude, seeking assistance from the Realm of Glory, expressing their thoughts freely, surrendering all attachment to their individual opinions, and giving fair-minded and careful consideration to the views of others, in an effort to reach consensus. ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá advises us that should it be found, in the course of coming to a decision, that discussion has become prolonged or given rise to disputation, consultation should be deferred and taken up at a more propitious time…. Of course, it must be remembered that the purpose of consultation need not always be to arrive at a particular or final decision. Often the aim may simply be to engage in an exchange of views so as to help clarify a certain matter and bring about unity of vision. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 19 May 2009 addressed to the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)