"Forgive, then, O my God, their fathers and their mothers, by Thy favor, and Thy bounty, and Thy tender mercies."

 

"Bless them, O my God, and ascribe unto them such glory as hath shone forth above the horizon of Thy will, and hath shed its splendors from the kingdom of Thine utterance. Immerse them, O my Lord, beneath the ocean of Thy mercy, and illumine them with the dawning light of Thy Revelation. Forgive, then, O my God, their fathers and their mothers, by Thy favor, and Thy bounty, and Thy tender mercies. Send, then, upon them from the right hand of Thy most exalted Paradise the fragrance of the robe of Thine all-glorious Beauty. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, verily, art the Governor, the Ordainer, the All-Bountiful, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

Praise be unto Thee, O Thou the Beloved of the world, and the Adored of the hearts of them that have recognized Thee."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/744667614

"They are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have responded to Thee as soon as Thou didst send out Thy summons, and have set their faces towards Thee when the light of Thy countenance was lifted upon them ..."

 

I beg of Thee, O Thou in Whose hands are the kingdoms of earth and heaven, and in Whose grasp lie all who dwell in the dominions of Thy Revelation and Thy creation, not to withhold the glance of Thy favors from such as have sustained tribulations in Thy path, and tasted of the cup of woe in their love towards Thee, and have been cast into prison in Thy name, and endured what none of Thy creatures and Thy people have endured. They are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have responded to Thee as soon as Thou didst send out Thy summons, and have set their faces towards Thee when the light of Thy countenance was lifted upon them, and turned unto Thee at the time when Thy most exalted horizon shone forth with the brightness of Thy name through which all who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth swooned away. Ordain for them, O my Lord, what Thou didst ordain for Thy chosen ones who have welcomed the darts of the infidels in Thy Cause and for love of Thee, and hasted to attain the orient of tribulation with Thy name on their lips and Thy remembrance in their hearts. Thou art the One, O my God, Who hath promised in Thy perspicuous utterances to remember them in Thy Book as a recompense for their works in Thy days."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/602350052

"I render Thee thanks, O Thou Who hast lighted Thy fire within my soul, and cast the beams of Thy light into my heart ..."

 

Shiva

I render Thee thanks, O Thou Who hast lighted Thy fire within my soul, and cast the beams of Thy light into my heart, that Thou hast taught Thy servants how to make mention of Thee, and revealed unto them the ways whereby they can supplicate Thee, through Thy most holy and exalted tongue, and Thy most august and precious speech. But for Thy leave, who is there that could venture to express Thy might and Thy grandeur; and were it not for Thine instruction, who is the man that could discover the ways of Thy pleasure in the kingdom of Thy creation?

I beseech Thee, O God of bounty and King of all created things, to guard Thy servants from the imaginations which their hearts may devise. Raise them up, then, to such heights that their footsteps may slip not in the face of the evidences of Thy handiwork, which the manifold exigencies of Thy wisdom have ordained, and whose secrets Thou hast hid from the face of Thy people and Thy creatures. Withhold them not, O my Lord, from the ocean of Thy knowledge, neither do Thou deprive them of what Thou didst destine for such of Thy chosen ones as have near access to Thee, and those of Thy trusted ones as are wholly devoted to Thy Self. Supply them, then, from Thy sea of certainty with what will calm the agitation of their hearts. Turn, O Lord my God, the darkness of their fancies into the brightness of certitude, and cause them to arise, and to walk steadfastly in Thy straight Path, that haply Thy Book may not hinder them from recognizing Him Who is its Revealer, and Thy names from acknowledging the One Who is their Creator, and their Provider, and their Origin, and their King, and their Begetter, and their Destroyer, and their Glorifier, and their Abaser, and their Governor, and the Sovereign Protector of their Bearers."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/721015589

"My God, and the God of all things, and my King and the King of all things, and the Beloved of my soul, and the Goal of my desire!"

 

"My God, and the God of all things, and my King and the King of all things, and the Beloved of my soul, and the Goal of my desire! Thou knowest full well that I make mention of Thee, in this day, in the name of such of Thy creatures as have detached themselves from all except Thee, and I extol Thy virtues through the tongue of those of Thy people that have recognized Thy oneness, that haply there may pour out from the sighs which they utter in their love and their yearning for Thee what will melt away all that may hinder Thy servants from setting their faces towards the heaven of Thy knowledge and the kingdom of Thy signs.

This, then, O my God and the God of all names, and the Creator of earth and heaven, is the Day whereon He Whose heart gloweth with the flaming fire of Thy presence is calling upon Thee. Where can separation from Thee be found, O my God, so that reunion with Thee may be clearly recognized at the appearance of the Light of Thy unity, and the revelation of the splendors of the Sun of Thy oneness? I ask pardon of Thee, O my God, for all that hath been said, and for whatsoever hath flowed out, and is now flowing out from my Pen in Thy days. I testify that Thou hast decreed that the offering of prayer should befit not me, but Him Who hath, at Thy bidding and in conformity with Thy pleasure, preceded me. Rather hast Thou ordained that the revelation of verses should be specially attributed unto this mighty Manifestation, and to This Announcement that hath adorned the Scrolls of Thy majesty and Thy Tablet in which account is kept."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/173768826

"How marvelous, then, are the manifold tokens of Thy might, and how great are the diverse evidences of Thy power! "

"How marvelous, then, are the manifold tokens of Thy might, and how great are the diverse evidences of Thy power! The learned have, without exception, admitted their ignorance when confronted with the radiance of the Luminary of Thy knowledge; and the mighty have all confessed their impotence in the face of the billowing Ocean of Thy power; and the rich have one and all acknowledged their poverty before the effusions of the Treasuries of Thy wealth; and the worldly wise have each recognized their nothingness beside the splendors of the Light of Thy beauty; and the exalted have all witnessed unto their abasement when face to face with the effulgence of the Daystar of Thy glory; and they who are in authority have borne witness to their own evanescence and to the evanescence of others, and discovered the eternity of Thy majesty, and of Thy sovereignty, and of Thy sublimity, and of Thy power."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/273041479

" ... from this Pen there floweth out unto all created things the water that is life indeed, and that the Pen itself hath been named by Thee the trumpet whereby the dead speed out of their sepulchers."

 

Pen of Bahá'u'lláh 

"I swear by Thy glory and Thy sovereignty which overshadow the kingdoms of earth and of heaven! Were any of Thy chosen Ones and Thy Messengers to meditate on the manifold evidences of Thy most exalted Pen—a Pen which is driven by the fingers of Thy will—and were he to muse on its mysteries, and its tokens, and all that it showeth forth, he would be so perplexed that his tongue would fail to extol and describe Thee, and his heart would be utterly unable to understand Thee. For he would, at one time, discover that from this Pen there floweth out unto all created things the water that is life indeed, and that the Pen itself hath been named by Thee the trumpet whereby the dead speed out of their sepulchers. At another time he would find that there proceedeth from this Pen such fire as Thine own Revelation can kindle, and as He Who conversed with Thee (Moses) on Sinai hath perceived."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/219382087

"Every man of understanding hath been so bewildered at Thy knowledge, and every man endued with insight been so perplexed in his attempt to fathom the signs of Thy great glory ..."

 

© 2021 Chuck Egerton

"I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the Possessor of all things visible and invisible! Every man of understanding hath been so bewildered at Thy knowledge, and every man endued with insight been so perplexed in his attempt to fathom the signs of Thy great glory, that all have recognized their powerlessness to visualize, and their impotence to soar into, the heaven wherefrom one of the Luminaries of the Manifestations of Thy knowledge and of the Daysprings of Thy wisdom hath shone forth. Who is he that shall befittingly describe this most sublime station and this most august seat—the seat which, as decreed by Thee, transcendeth the comprehension of Thy creatures and the testimonies of Thy servants, and which hath everlastingly been hid from the understanding and the knowledge of men, and been closed with the seal of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/050071210

"This is the Day, O my Lord, whereon every atom of the earth hath been made to vibrate and to cry out ..."

 

"Deny not Thy loved ones, O my Lord, the sweet savors of this Day whereon the mysteries of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting, were unraveled, and all that had been enshrined within the treasuries of Thy wisdom was revealed. This is the Day, O my Lord, whereon every atom of the earth hath been made to vibrate and to cry out: “O Thou Who art the Revealer of signs and the King of creation! I, verily, perceive the fragrance of Thy presence. Methinks Thou hast revealed Thyself, and unlocked the door of reunion with Thee before all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth. I am persuaded through the fragrance of Thy robe, O my Lord, that the world hath been honored through Thy presence, and hath inhaled the sweet smell of Thy meeting. I know not, however, O Thou the Beloved of the world and the Desire of the nations, the place wherein the throne of Thy majesty hath been established, nor the seat which hath been made Thy footstool, and been illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy face.”

~ Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/740818506

"Do Thou ordain for them, O Lord my God, both before and after their death, what becometh the loftiness of Thy bounty and the excellence of Thy loving-kindness."

 

Eliot Porter

"I beseech Thee, however, O Thou Who art the Enlightener of the world and the Lord of the nations, at this very moment when, with the hands of hope, I have clung to the hem of the raiment of Thy mercy and Thy bounty, to forgive Thy servants who have soared in the atmosphere of Thy nearness, and set their faces towards the splendors of the light of Thy countenance, and turned unto the horizon of Thy good pleasure, and approached the ocean of Thy mercy, and all their lives long have spoken forth Thy praise, and have been inflamed with the fire of their love for Thee. Do Thou ordain for them, O Lord my God, both before and after their death, what becometh the loftiness of Thy bounty and the excellence of Thy loving-kindness.

Grant, O my Lord, that they who have ascended unto Thee may repair unto Him Who is the most exalted Companion, and abide beneath the shadow of the Tabernacle of Thy majesty and the Sanctuary of Thy glory. Sprinkle, O my Lord, upon them from the ocean of Thy forgiveness what will make them worthy to abide, so long as Thine own sovereignty endureth, within Thy most exalted kingdom and Thine all-highest dominion. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/393171522

"By Thy Beauty, O Thou Whose glory is uncovered to the face of men! I am not impatient in the troubles that touch me in my love for Thee, neither in the adversities which I suffer in Thy path."

 

Entrance of the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran

"My God, my Master, my Highest Hope, and the Goal of my desire! Thou seest and hearest the sighing of this wronged One, from this darksome well which the vain imaginations of Thine adversaries have built, and from this blind pit which the idle fancies of the wicked among Thy creatures have digged. By Thy Beauty, O Thou Whose glory is uncovered to the face of men! I am not impatient in the troubles that touch me in my love for Thee, neither in the adversities which I suffer in Thy path. Nay, I have, by Thy power, chosen them for mine own self, and I glory in them amongst such of Thy creatures as enjoy near access to Thee, and those of Thy servants that are wholly devoted to Thy Self."

~ Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/909084691

“Praise be unto Thee, O Thou the Desire of the worlds! and glory be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Exultation of the hearts that pant after Thee!”

 

"Thou art, O my God and the Exultation of my heart, the One Who hath adorned Thy Tablet, of which none is aware except Thee, with the mention of this Day which Thou didst call after Thy name, that haply none may on that day be seen save Thy most august Self, and naught else be brought to mind except Thy most sweet remembrance.

No sooner had He revealed Himself than the foundations of the kindreds of the earth shook and trembled, and the learned swooned away, and the wise were bewildered, except such as have, through the power of Thy might, drawn nigh unto Thee, and received the choice wine of Thy Revelation from the hand of Thy grace, and have quaffed it in Thy name, and exclaimed: “Praise be unto Thee, O Thou the Desire of the worlds! and glory be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Exultation of the hearts that pant after Thee!”

~ Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/870862591

" ...He hath come down with the kingdom of His signs, and in a manner that hath caused the atoms of the earth to testify that the whole world hath been filled with these signs."

 

"Thou seest, then, O Thou Who art the Beloved of the world and the Revealer of the Most Great Name, how He hath come down with the kingdom of His signs, and in a manner that hath caused the atoms of the earth to testify that the whole world hath been filled with these signs. And yet, notwithstanding this most manifest and all-glorious Revelation, and these signs which none can appraise except Thee, O Thou the King of names, Thou beholdest how they have broken off from Him Who is the Dayspring of Thine Essence, and have caviled at the One Who is the Fountainhead of Thy wisdom and of Thine utterance. They were so seized with thirst for fame, that they rejected Thy tokens, and Thy testimonies, and Thy signs, which every man of insight perceiveth in whatsoever declareth Thy greatness, and Thy sovereignty, and acknowledgeth Thy Revelation and Thy might. They have so traduced Him as to cause the inmates of the all-glorious Tabernacle and the Concourse on high to lament, and have uttered such calumnies against Him that the souls of Thy chosen Ones and the hearts of them that are dear to Thee have melted. They have erred so grievously that they cast away Thy most resplendent signs, and clung to their idle fancies, O Thou Who art the Possessor of Names and the Lord of the Throne on high and of earth below!"

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/830957912

"There befell Him what must remain inscrutable to everyone except Thee ..."

 

Walker Evans 

"And when the world’s horizon was illumined, and He Who is the Most Great Name was manifested, all disbelieved in Him and in His signs, except such as have been carried away by the sweetness of Thy glorification and praise. There befell Him what must remain inscrutable to everyone except Thee, Whose knowledge transcendeth all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.

Thou well knowest, O my God, that the Revealer of the Bayán (the Báb) hath commanded all mankind concerning Thy Cause, and Thy Revelation, and Thy Sovereignty. He hath said, and sweet is His speech: “Beware lest the Bayán and its Letters keep you back from Him Who is the Most Merciful and from His sovereignty.” He, moreover, hath written: “Were He to produce no more than one verse, ye must not deny Him. Haste ye towards Him, that haply He may cause to descend upon you what He pleaseth, as a token of His grace unto you. He truly is the Possessor of His servants, and the King of creation.” "

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/037379037

"This is the Day, O my Lord, which Thou didst announce unto all mankind as the Day whereon Thou wouldst reveal Thy Self ..."

 

© 2021 Chuck Egerton

"I beg of Thee, O my God, by Thy power, and Thy might, and Thy sovereignty, which have embraced all who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, to make known unto Thy servants this luminous Way and this straight Path, that they may acknowledge Thy unity and Thy oneness, with a certainty which the vain imaginations of the doubters will not impair, nor the idle fancies of the wayward obscure. Illumine, O my Lord, the eyes of Thy servants, and brighten their hearts with the splendors of the light of Thy knowledge, that they may apprehend the greatness of this most sublime station, and recognize this most luminous Horizon, that haply the clamor of men may fail to deter them from turning their gaze towards the effulgent light of Thy unity, and to hinder them from setting their faces toward the Horizon of detachment.

This is the Day, O my Lord, which Thou didst announce unto all mankind as the Day whereon Thou wouldst reveal Thy Self, and shed Thy radiance, and shine brightly over all Thy creatures. Thou hast, moreover, entered into a covenant with them, in Thy Books, and Thy Scriptures, and Thy Scrolls, and Thy Tablets, concerning Him Who is the Dayspring of Thy Revelation, and hast appointed the Bayán to be the Herald of this Most Great and all-glorious Manifestation, and this most resplendent and most sublime Appearance."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, CLXXVI)
www.bahai.org/r/831982309

" ... it becometh evident unto every one, whether free or bond, that Thou art One in Thine own Self, one in Thy Cause, and one in Thy Revelation."

 

Walker Evans

"I cannot think, O my God, of any words wherewith to make mention of Thee, and know not how to express or extol Thee. Were I to attempt to describe Thee by Thy names, I would readily recognize that the kingdom of these names is itself created through the movement of Thy fingers, and trembleth for fear of Thee. And were I to venture to extol Thine attributes, I would be forced to admit that these attributes are Thine own creation, and lie within Thy grasp. It behooveth not Them Who are the Manifestations of these names and attributes to stand before the gate of the city of Thy Revelation, how much less to scale the heights whereon Thou didst stablish the throne of Thy majesty.

I swear by Thy might, O Thou Who art the King of names and the Maker of the heavens! Whatsoever hath been adorned with the robe of words is but Thy creation which hath been generated in Thy realm and begotten through the operation of Thy will, and is wholly unworthy of Thy highness and falleth short of Thine excellence.

And since it hath been demonstrated that Thy most august Self is immeasurably exalted above all that hath been created in the world of being, and is far above the reach and ken of the apprehension of Thy chosen Ones and Thy loved Ones, the splendors of the light of Thy unity are therefore manifested, and it becometh evident unto every one, whether free or bond, that Thou art One in Thine own Self, one in Thy Cause, and one in Thy Revelation. Great is the blessedness of the man who, in his love towards Thee, hath rid himself of all attachment from every one except Thyself, and hastened unto the horizon of Thy Revelation, and attained unto this Cup which Thou hast caused to excel all the seas of the earth."

~ Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, CLXXVI)
www.bahai.org/r/684005534

"This is the Day whereon the hopeless have been clothed with the raiment of confidence, and the sick attired with the robe of healing, and the poor drawn nigh unto the ocean of Thy riches."

 

St. Vital Park © 2021 Chuck Egerton

"Glorified art Thou, O God of all names and Creator of the heavens! I render Thee thanks that Thou hast made known unto Thy servants this Day whereon the river that is life indeed hath flowed forth from the fingers of Thy bounty, and the springtime of Thy revelation and Thy presence hath appeared through Thy manifestation unto all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.

This is the Day, O my Lord, whose brightness Thou hast exalted above the brightness of the sun and the splendors thereof. I testify that the light it sheddeth proceedeth out of the glory of the light of Thy countenance, and is begotten by the radiance of the morn of Thy Revelation. This is the Day whereon the hopeless have been clothed with the raiment of confidence, and the sick attired with the robe of healing, and the poor drawn nigh unto the ocean of Thy riches.

I swear by Thy Beauty, O King of eternity Who sittest on Thy most glorious Throne! He Who is the Dayspring of Thy signs and the Revealer of Thy clear tokens hath, notwithstanding the immensity of His wisdom and the loftiness of His knowledge, confessed His powerlessness to comprehend the least of Thine utterances, in their relation to Thy most exalted Pen,—how much more is He incapable of apprehending the nature of Thine all-glorious Self and of Thy most august Essence!"

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, CLXXVI)
www.bahai.org/r/188438005

" ... whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me ..."

Walker Evans

"I am well aware, O my Lord, that I have been so carried away by the clear tokens of Thy loving-kindness, and so completely inebriated with the wine of Thine utterance, that whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known unto me, and it remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy testimonies. By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence.

I swear by Thy might, O Thou in Whose grasp are the reins of all mankind, and the destinies of the nations! I am so inflamed by my love for Thee, and so inebriated with the wine of Thy oneness, that I can hear from the whisper of the winds the sound of Thy glorification and praise, and can recognize in the murmur of the waters the voice that proclaimeth Thy virtues and Thine attributes, and can apprehend from the rustling of the leaves the mysteries that have been irrevocably ordained by Thee in Thy realm."

~Bahá’u’lláh

(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, CLXXVI)
www.bahai.org/r/468046957

“There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow."

"In the Súriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch) the following verses have been recorded: “There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork!… A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great Tablet—a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people …Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favor unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favored servants… We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish.”

Bahá'u'lláh cited by Shoghi Effendi (referring to 'Abdu'l-Bahá)

(The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/434537677

"I write no more, beleaguered by the flies - That my sweet words have drawn about the page."

 

Walker Evans

"That which I had written ere this hath been eaten by the flies, so rich was the ink to their taste, even as Sa‘dí hath said: 

I write no more, beleaguered by the flies

That my sweet words have drawn about the page.

And now the hand can write no more, and pleadeth that this is enough. Wherefore do I say: Far from the glory of my Lord, the All-Glorious, be that which His creatures affirm of Him!"

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/865037274

"Grievous as is my plight, O God, my Well-beloved, I render thanks unto Thee, and my spirit is grateful for whatsoever hath befallen me in the path of Thy good-pleasure."

 

© 2021  Chuck Egerton

"We might well ponder in our hearts the following passages from a prayer revealed by Bahá’u’lláh which strikingly affirm, and are a further evidence of, the reality of the great and essential truth lying at the very core of His Message to mankind: “Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God, for the wondrous revelations of Thine inscrutable decree and the manifold woes and trials Thou hast destined for myself. At one time Thou didst deliver me into the hands of Nimrod; at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh’s rod to persecute me. Thou alone canst estimate, through Thine all-encompassing knowledge and the operation of Thy Will, the incalculable afflictions I have suffered at their hands. Again Thou didst cast me into the prison-cell of the ungodly for no reason except that I was moved to whisper into the ears of the well-favored denizens of Thy kingdom an intimation of the vision with which Thou hadst, through Thy knowledge, inspired me and revealed to me its meaning through the potency of Thy might. And again Thou didst decree that I be beheaded by the sword of the infidel. Again I was crucified for having unveiled to men’s eyes the hidden gems of Thy glorious unity, for having revealed to them the wondrous signs of Thy sovereign and everlasting power. How bitter the humiliations heaped upon me, in a subsequent age, on the plain of Karbilá! How lonely did I feel amidst Thy people; to what state of helplessness I was reduced in that land! Unsatisfied with such indignities, my persecutors decapitated me and carrying aloft my head from land to land paraded it before the gaze of the unbelieving multitude and deposited it on the seats of the perverse and faithless. In a later age I was suspended and my breast was made a target to the darts of the malicious cruelty of my foes. My limbs were riddled with bullets and my body was torn asunder. Finally, behold how in this day my treacherous enemies have leagued themselves against me, and are continually plotting to instill the venom of hate and malice into the souls of Thy servants. With all their might they are scheming to accomplish their purpose… Grievous as is my plight, O God, my Well-beloved, I render thanks unto Thee, and my spirit is grateful for whatsoever hath befallen me in the path of Thy good-pleasure. I am well pleased with that which Thou didst ordain for me, and welcome, however calamitous, the pains and sorrows I am made to suffer.”

~Bahá’u’lláh cited by Shoghi Effendi

(The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/977506740

e.m.a.

"It is better for a man to guide a soul than to possess all that lies between East and West."

© 2021 Chuck Egerton

" It is for this reason that at the beginning of every Dispensation a vast multitude, who fondly imagine that their deeds are for God, become drowned and ungodly, and perceive this not, except such as He guideth at His behest.  It is better for a man to guide a soul than to possess all that lies between East and West."

~The Báb

(Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 95)

"O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy most glorious light, and all Thy lights are verily glorious."

Mishkin Qalam

"Seek thou the shore of the Most Great Ocean, and enter, then, the Crimson Ark which God hath ordained in the Qayyum-i-Asma for the people of Baha. Verily, it passeth over land and sea. He that entereth therein is saved, and he that turneth aside perisheth. Shouldst thou enter therein and attain unto it, set thy face towards the Kaaba of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and say: "O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy most glorious light, and all Thy lights are verily glorious." Thereupon, will the doors of the Kingdom be flung wide before thy face, and thou wilt behold what eyes have never beheld, and hear what ears have never heard. " 

~Baha'u'lláh

(Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 139-140)

“Glory be to Thee! To Thee do I turn in penitence, and I am the first of them that implore Thy pardon.”

 

© 2021 Gregory Egerton

"When I entrusted this message of love to My pen, it refused the burden and swooned away. Then, coming to itself, it spoke and said, “Glory be to Thee! To Thee do I turn in penitence, and I am the first of them that implore Thy pardon.”¹³⁷ All praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds! 

Let us tell, some other day

This parting hurt and woe;

Let us write, some other way,

Love’s secrets—better so.

Leave blood and noise and all of these,

And say no more of Shams-i-Tabríz.¹³⁸

Peace be upon thee, and upon those who circle round thee and attain thy presence."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/068397785

137 Cf. Qur’án 7:143 

138 Rúmí. Shams-i-Tabríz was the Ṣúfí who exerted a powerful influence on Rúmí, diverting his attention from science to mysticism. A great part of Rúmí’s works are dedicated to him.

"I seek thy nearness, more desired than heaven in mine eyes; I see thy visage, fairer than the bowers of Paradise."

 

Chet © 2020 Chuck Egerton

"I undertook to write this epistle some time ago in thy remembrance, and, since thy letter had not reached Me yet, I began with a few words of grievance and reproach. Now, thy new missive hath dispelled that feeling and hath caused Me to send thee this letter. To speak of My love for thine eminence is needless. “Sufficient witness is God unto us.”¹³⁶

As for his eminence Shaykh Muḥammad—may God, the Exalted, bless him!—I shall confine Myself to the two following lines, which I request be delivered to him: 

I seek thy nearness, more desired than heaven in mine eyes; 

I see thy visage, fairer than the bowers of Paradise."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/538359564

136 Qur’án 4:166.

“O My servant! Obey Me, that I may make thee like unto Myself. For I say ‘Be’, and it is, and thou shalt say ‘Be’, and it shall be.”

 

"The first is His statement “O My servant! Obey Me, that I may make thee like unto Myself. For I say ‘Be’, and it is, and thou shalt say ‘Be’, and it shall be.” And the second: “O son of Adam! Seek fellowship with none until thou hast found Me, and whensoever thou shalt long for Me, thou shalt find Me nigh unto thee.” 
Whatever high proofs and wondrous allusions are recounted herein concern but a single letter and a single point. For such is God’s method, and no change canst thou find in His mode of dealing." ¹³⁵

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/259243560

 135 Cf. Qur’án 35:43, 48:23.

“God hath a people beneath the canopy of grandeur, whom He hath concealed in the garment of poverty to exalt in rank.”

 

Eliot Porter

"Astonishment here is highly prized, and utter poverty greatly cherished. Wherefore hath He said, “Poverty is My pride.”¹³² And again: “God hath a people beneath the canopy of grandeur, whom He hath concealed in the garment of poverty to exalt in rank.”¹³³ These are they who see with His eyes and hear with His ears, as hath been recorded in the well-known tradition.¹³⁴

Concerning this realm there is many a tradition and many a verse, whether of general or specific import, but two of these will suffice, that they may serve as a light for knowing hearts and bring delight to longing souls."

~Baha'u'llah

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/090752371

132 From a Ḥadíth.
133 From a Ḥadíth.
134 See the Seven Valleys, ¶ 44.

"No more than this will I impart to thee: The riverbed can never hold the sea."

 

"How clear this crystal water that the enraptured Cup-Bearer passeth round! How exquisite this pure wine that the intoxicated Beauty doth proffer! How pleasing this draught of joy that floweth from the Heavenly Cup! Well is it with him who drinketh thereof, and tasteth of its sweetness, and attaineth unto its knowledge. 

No more than this will I impart to thee:

The riverbed can never hold the sea.¹³¹

For its mystery lieth hid in the storehouses of His inviolable protection and is laid up in the treasuries of His power. It is exalted above the highest essence of utterance and sanctified beyond the subtlest mode of explanation."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/102640023

131 Rúmí.

“I have turned my face to Him Who hath created the heavens and the earth, following the right religion and submissive before God. I am not one of those who add gods to God.”

 

"This is the food whose savour changeth not and whose colour altereth not. Wert thou to partake thereof, thou wouldst assuredly recite the verse “I have turned my face to Him Who hath created the heavens and the earth, following the right religion and submissive before God. I am not one of those who add gods to God.”¹²⁹ “And thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth, that he might be stablished in knowledge.”¹³⁰ Wherefore, put thy hand into thy bosom, then stretch it forth with power, and behold, thou shalt find it a light unto all the world."

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/276170266

129 Qur’án 6:79.
130 Qur’án 6:75.

"These are they that “know neither sun nor piercing cold”."

 

"Abiding in the court of rapture, the dwellers of this mansion wield with utmost joy and gladness the sceptres of divinity and lordship; and, established upon the lofty seats of justice, they exert their rule and bestow upon every soul its due. Those who drink of this cup abide beneath the canopy of glory, above the throne of the Ancient of Days, and dwell upon the seat of grandeur beneath the tabernacle of majesty. These are they that “know neither sun nor piercing cold”.¹²⁶

On this plane the highest heavens are neither opposed to, nor distinguished from, the lowly earth, for this is the realm of divine favours, not the arena of worldly contraries. Albeit at every moment a new condition be displayed, yet that condition is ever the same. Wherefore He saith in one instance, “Nothing whatsoever keepeth Him from being occupied with any other thing.”¹²⁷And in another He saith, “Verily, His ways differ every day.”¹²⁸

~Bahá'u'lláh

(The Call of the Divine Beloved)
www.bahai.org/r/376933620

126 Qur’án 76:13.
127 A famous adage cited in many Islamic sources.
128 Qur’án 55:29.