" ...Gather them then together upon the shore of Thy munificence and bounty, and sever them from all but Thee so that they may stand in fear of no one, nor be overawed by any soul. ..."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2024

I ask Thee then, O my God, by the lights of Thy divine unity, and the hidden mysteries of Thine ancient and everlasting Being, to preserve Thy loved ones after I am gone, lest their feet should slip upon Thy path. Gather them then together upon the shore of Thy munificence and bounty, and sever them from all but Thee so that they may stand in fear of no one, nor be overawed by any soul. Open then their eyes, O my God, through the wondrous evidences of Thy might and the sovereign potency of Thy dominion, in order that they may see all things held within Thy grasp, and all matters contained within the palm of Thine omnipotence. I swear by Thy beauty, O Thou my hope, that shouldst Thou cause them to ascend to this most sublime and all-highest station, they would tell of Thee continually, and would so completely return unto Thee that naught could cause them any perturbation, though all who are in heaven and on earth should rise up unitedly against them.

I ask Thee then, O my God, by Thy light which hath illuminated all beings, and by Thy glory which hath irradiated the whole of creation, to remember Thy servant who hath been designated “Jím” in the realms of Thine eternity and the canopy of Thy grandeur. Cause him then, O my God, to hearken unto the holy melodies of Thy tender mercy, that they may draw him away from himself and from whatsoever is not of Thee, and attract him unto the dawning splendours of Thy love and adoration. Potent art Thou to accomplish this through Thy transcendent might.

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/534027782

"I yield Thee thanks, O my God, in these days when the oppressors amongst Thy people and the rebellious amongst Thy creatures have arrayed themselves against us."

 

photo by Margarete P. (in memory of Bill)

...  I yield Thee thanks, O my God, in these days when the oppressors amongst Thy people and the rebellious amongst Thy creatures have arrayed themselves against us, and are rejoicing at the adversities which, through the mysterious workings of Thy decree, Thou hast caused to descend upon us as gems from the treasury of Thy providence. Such hath ever been Thy custom with Thy loved ones and Thy practice with Thy chosen servants. I swear by Thy might, O my Beloved, that though others may flee from tribulations suffered in Thy path, I am he who, in his love for Thee, yearneth after every woe and trial. I ask Thee, then, by Thy Name through which the seas of names have surged before the evidences of Thy transcendent oneness, and through which Thou hast been exalted above all creation in the hallowed sovereignty of thy Lordship, to send down whatever afflictions Thou hast destined for Thy loved ones upon this Thy servant, lest there should befall them that which would still the quickness of their love for Thee, or dampen the fervency of their devotion. I am he, O my God, who would ransom with his life and soul whatsoever proceedeth from Thee or befalleth at Thy bidding. To all this shall I be true, through Thy power and Thy might. No God is there but Thee, the Generous, the Subtile, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. ...

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/492558827

"Every Prophet is filled with consternation when confronted by the manifold evidences of Thy wrath, and every Chosen One standeth dismayed before the revelations of Thy might."

 

photo by Margarete P.

He is the Almighty, the Self-Subsisting.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I call upon Thee at this time when the accents of the dove of separation are raised from the land of Iraq, and the warbling of the Nightingale of fervent longing is heard from the horizon of the world—at such a time do I call upon Thee, proclaiming: “Thou in truth art God, the King, the Mighty, the Beauteous. From everlasting, O my God, Thou hast been exalted in the supremacy of Thy might, Thy power, and Thy glory, and unto all eternity Thou wilt remain transcendent in the sublimity of Thy grandeur, Thy majesty, and Thy splendour. Every Prophet is filled with consternation when confronted by the manifold evidences of Thy wrath, and every Chosen One standeth dismayed before the revelations of Thy might. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling. ...

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/282063749

"Say: I yield Thee thanks, O my God, and my Master, and my Mainstay, for having aided me to recognize the Dawning-Place of Thy signs ..."

 

photo by Trina G.

He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of wisdom and utterance.

Say: I yield Thee thanks, O my God, and my Master, and my Mainstay, for having aided me to recognize the Dawning-Place of Thy signs, the Dayspring of Thy testimonies, and the Fountainhead of Thy laws and commandments, Him unto Whom Thou didst reveal the Qur’án, and through Whom Thou didst distinguish truth from falsehood and light from darkness. I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all created things and the Educator of all beings, by the billows of the Ocean of Thy favour and the effulgent splendours of the Day-Star of Thy bounty that have been shed upon Thy people, to ordain for this servant of Thine that which will exalt him by Thy name amidst Thy creatures. Write down, then, for me what Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones and Thy loved ones. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all who are in heaven and on earth.

I praise Thee and thank Thee, moreover, for the blessing Thou hast sent down from the heaven of Thy will and the firmament of Thy purpose. I beseech Thee, by Thy most mighty signs and by Thy most great, most holy, and most exalted Cause, to bless his arrival unto us. Do Thou ordain for him what will cause every heart to be gladdened and every eye to be solaced. Verily Thou art God. There is none other God but Thee, the omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.¹

—Bahá’u’lláh

1 Revealed for the recipient on the occasion of the birth of his son.

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh) 

www.bahai.org/r/623165308

"Thine enemies have sharpened their teeth for the flesh of Thy loved ones. Protect, then, Thy companions, O Thou Who layest low the necks of men, O Thou the Lord of the Judgement Day!"

 

photo by Margarete P.

"O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and Fashioner of the heavens! Deliver Thy loved ones from the prison of their foes. Thou, verily, art the Sovereign Ordainer, He Whose light shineth resplendent above the horizon of creation.

O Thou Who art the Essence of immortality! Dash not their hopes, I adjure Thee by the life of Bahá, but render them victorious. Thou, verily, ordainest as Thou pleasest, and holdest in Thy grasp the kingdom of creation.

Thine enemies have sharpened their teeth for the flesh of Thy loved ones. Protect, then, Thy companions, O Thou Who layest low the necks of men, O Thou the Lord of the Judgement Day!

Many a day hath passed in delay. Let them, then, in a state of detachment from all things, repeat nine times these luminous words. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Unconstrained."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/918894002

" ... How, then, can this thrall claim for himself ownership of any other human being? Nay, his very existence before the court of Thy might is a sin with which no other sin in Thy kingdom can compare. ..."

 

enslaved African-Iranian

"Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Behold how one slave hath stood at the door of another, seeking from him his freedom, and this despite the fact that his owner is himself but Thy thrall and Thy servant, and is evanescent before the revelations of Thy supreme Lordship. I testify at this moment, as I stand before Thee, to that whereunto Thou didst testify to Thyself, by Thyself, that verily Thou art God and there is none other God but Thee. From everlasting Thou hast inhabited the loftiest heights of power, might, and majesty, and wilt to everlasting continue to abide in the sublimity of Thy glory, awe, and beauty.

All kings are as vassals before the gate of Thy grace, the rich are but destitute at the shore of Thy sacred dominion, and all great ones are but feeble creatures within the court of Thy glorious bounty. How, then, can this thrall claim for himself ownership of any other human being? Nay, his very existence before the court of Thy might is a sin with which no other sin in Thy kingdom can compare. Glorified, immeasurably glorified, art Thou beyond every description and praise.

O my God! Since he hath asked this servant for his freedom, I call Thee to witness at this moment that I verily have set him free in Thy path, liberated him in Thy name, and lifted from his neck the shackles of servitude, that he may serve Thee in the daytime and in the night-season, whilst I pray that Thou mayest never free mine own neck from the chain of Thy servitude. This verily is my highest hope and supreme aspiration, and to this Thou Thyself art a mighty witness."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/625753576

"...Methinks Thou didst fashion them for Thy love and didst single them out for attraction to Thee ..."

 

photo by Margarete P. 

"I swear by Thy glory, O my God! I am astonished at them and at that which they have manifested in the path of Thy love. Blessings and joy be upon them!... Methinks Thou didst fashion them for Thy love and didst single them out for attraction to Thee; Thou didst infuse into them the spirit of Thy Cause and didst reveal unto them the beauty of Thy oneness."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/324741469

"O Thou by Whose name the sea of joy moveth and the fragrance of happiness is wafted!"

 

photo by Trina G.

"O Thou by Whose name the sea of joy moveth and the fragrance of happiness is wafted! I ask Thee to show me from the wonders of Thy favour that which shall brighten mine eyes and gladden my heart. Thou, verily, art the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)

www.bahai.org/r/638416360

"O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2024

"O Lord, my God! O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty. Thou art, verily, the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/575481039

"I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight."

CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF BAHA'U'LLAH 

"I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge.

I cheer the faint and revive the dead.

I am the guiding Light that illumineth the way.

I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty.

I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight."

Bahá’u’lláh 

"I am, I am, I am the Promised One!"

Shrine of the Bab, Mt. Carmel, Israel

"I am, I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One Whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at Whose mention you have risen, Whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of Whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily, I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word, and to pledge allegiance to My person."  

The Báb (God Passes By, p. 21)

We are celebrating the twin Holy Days of the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá'u'láh, Saturday November 2nd, and Sunday November 3rd

Mirza Husayn-‘Ali, later known as Baha’u’llah, “the Glory of God,” was born in 1817 in Tehran, the capital of Persia, now called Iran.

Two years later, in 1819, Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad was born in Shiraz, a city in southern Persia. He later took the title, the Bab, meaning “the Gate.”

The Bab and Bahaʼu’llah are revered as central figures of the Bahaʼi Faith. Both are Manifestations of God in their own right. The lives and missions of the Bab and Bahaʼu’llah are inextricably linked. Together, these Divine Messengers are the twin Manifestations of God for this era.

In 1844, in Shiraz, at age 25, the Bab declared that He had been called by God to be humanity’s gateway to a new and glorious future. As one of God’s Divine Educators, the Bab established a new religion.  He called for the people to prepare for the coming of “Him Whom God shall make manifest,” another Divine Messenger Who would soon appear and initiate an era of global justice, unity, and peace. The Bab was an advocate of the poor. He supported the advancement of women, universal education, and the study of science—radical ideas in that time and place.

In April of 1863, Baha’u’llah announced that He was the Promised One foretold by the Bab and all of the Divine Messengers of the past. Baha’u’llah’s Mission was to spiritually re-awaken humanity and unite all the peoples of the world. Through Baha’u’llah God has released a fresh, far-reaching, creative spiritual energy into the world. Baha’u’llah’s teachings shed new light on God’s eternal relationship with humanity and offer a vision of infinite hope and healing.

Bahaʼu’llah wrote that His birthday and that of Bab “are accounted as one in the sight of God.” The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays or the Twin Holy Birthdays refers to two successive holy days in the Bahaʼi calendar that celebrate the births of these two central figures of the Bahaʼi Faith.

Their birthdays are observed on the first and the second day following the occurrence of the eighth new moon after the Baha’i New Year, which is called Naw-Ruz, and occurs on the first day of spring as determined in advance by astronomical tables using Tehran as the point of reference. This results in the observance of the Twin Birthdays moving, year to year, from mid-October to mid-November in the Gregorian calendar.

'We beseech God to enable thee to reach thy home. Verily, more merciful is He than all who show mercy."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2024

He is.

O thou who art present before My throne! I have heard thy cry and thy lamentation in thy separation from Me, and have grieved over what hath befallen thee in accordance with God’s inscrutable decree. We beseech God to enable thee to reach thy home. Verily, more merciful is He than all who show mercy.

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/897739116

"He is."

 

photo of frozen Greenland lake by Dina S. 

He is.

O thou who wert struck by the pain of separation after having attained thy goal! I am He Who doth not hesitate to create parting. I am He Who doth not fear to cause separation.

If thou wishest to know Me, know thou that I am He Who preventeth those who yearn after Me from attaining My holy presence and debarreth them from access to the seat of My throne. I am He Who consumeth the hearts of ardent lovers in the fire of separation and abandoneth them in the wilderness of the world. I am He Who answereth not when He is invoked and heedeth not when He is called to remembrance. I am He Who in His wealth heareth not the lamentations of the poor and in His glory regardeth not the weak and the wretched. Thus it is when I am seated on the throne of My name the All-Subduing.

But when I am established on the throne of My name the All-Merciful, I guide the wayward to the living waters of My presence and cause them to enter the paradise of reunion with Me, whence I shall never banish them. I am He Who admitteth the poor to the paradise of My wealth, and the weak beneath the tabernacle of My might, and the wretched to the city of Mine ancient glory. I am He Who answereth when He is invoked and remembereth when He is called to remembrance. From all eternity I have been the answerer of the prayers of the needy. I am He Who replieth ere He is petitioned and bestoweth gifts regardless of merit.

Such is My nature. I am He Who weepeth by reason of the tears of those who love Him, and Who draweth near unto those who approach Him. I have opened the portals of My grace unto all who are in heaven and on earth. Blessed are they that enter therein!"

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/969856770

"Open then thy lips in My name, the Opener. Move then thy tongue in My name, the Mover."

 

photo by artist Thomas Eakins 1884

"O thou who art the manifestation of My truth!

If thou art slumbering upon thy couch, lift up thy head; and if thou art seated, by the power of My name, arise; and if thou art standing, in thy yearning for My beauty, take flight; and if thou art in flight, through My sovereign might, ascend; and if thou art in ascent, by the majesty of My Cause, halt in the firmament of the Spirit. Open then thy lips in My name, the Opener. Move then thy tongue in My name, the Mover. Intone then My melodies and proclaim: O denizens of earth and heaven! By the one true God, verily, He Who is the Lord of Eternity hath appeared and shone forth above the horizon of creation through the power of His most lofty, His most exalted sovereignty."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/114208718

"Spiritual souls will assuredly emerge from behind the veil of divine protection who will gather together the tokens and verses of God and put them into the most excellent order."

 

"It is the concern of the True One to reveal, and the concern of men to spread what hath been revealed. He will, verily, promulgate His Cause by the hands of His scattering and well-favoured angels. Spiritual souls will assuredly emerge from behind the veil of divine protection who will gather together the tokens and verses of God and put them into the most excellent order. This is His sure and irrevocable decree."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/457295492

"Also, the number of Mirrors was not fixed."

photo by Trina G. 

"In My previous Dispensation, the matter of successorship was totally obliterated from the Book of God. As all are aware, all that was revealed from the Pen of the All-Merciful was confined to the Letters and the Mirrors of the Bayán. Also, the number of Mirrors was not fixed."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/463283651

"It was with due regard for the good of the Cause and because of divine wisdom that there occurred what did transpire and was noised abroad.”

 

Mirza Yahya

"Let someone say to Hádí:¹ “If thou hadst been possessed of but a jot of understanding, thou wouldst testify that the references to that deceptive soul² were but a token of wisdom and in the interests of the Faith. Consider thou for a moment the beginning of these events, that haply thou mayest become aware of things veiled from the eyes of men, and be certain that, from the beginning, that soul had been as naught. It was with due regard for the good of the Cause and because of divine wisdom that there occurred what did transpire and was noised abroad.”

—Bahá’u’lláh

1 Mírzá Hádí Dawlat-Ábádí
2 Mírzá Yaḥyá

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/451587047

“O assemblage of shadows! Stand ashamed before My beauty, My might, My sovereignty, and My grandeur. Turn your gaze to the countenance of your Lord, the Unconstrained, so that ye may find Me crying out among you with holy and cherished melodies.”

"By God! This is He Who hath at one time appeared in the name of the Spirit,¹ thereafter in the name of the Friend,² then in the name of ‘Alí,³ and afterwards in this blessed, lofty, self-subsisting, exalted, and beloved Name. In truth, this is Ḥusayn, Who hath appeared through divine grace in the dominion of justice, against Whom have arisen the infidels, with what they possess of wickedness and iniquity. Thereupon they severed His head with the sword of malice, and lifted it upon a spear in the midst of earth and heaven. Verily, that head is speaking from atop that spear, saying: “O assemblage of shadows! Stand ashamed before My beauty, My might, My sovereignty, and My grandeur. Turn your gaze to the countenance of your Lord, the Unconstrained, so that ye may find Me crying out among you with holy and cherished melodies.”

—Bahá’u’lláh

1 Jesus Christ
2 Muhammad
3 the Báb

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/107788893

"She would not barter one moment’s meeting with this Youth for the sovereignty of this world and the next ..."

 

portrait of Tahirih

"She was with this Servant for a time.¹ She would not barter one moment’s meeting with this Youth for the sovereignty of this world and the next, nor for less than an instant did she wish for separation. However, that which hath been pre-ordained came to pass."

—Bahá’u’lláh

1 Ṭáhirih

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/549040854

"Blessed is he who in the prime of his youth and the heyday of his life will arise to serve the Cause of the Lord of the beginning and of the end ..."

 

photo by Margarete P.

"Blessed is he who in the prime of his youth and the heyday of his life will arise to serve the Cause of the Lord of the beginning and of the end, and adorn his heart with His love. The manifestation of such a grace is greater than the creation of the heavens and of the earth. Blessed are the steadfast and well is it with those who are firm."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/701490307

"Salutation and glory rest upon them that have stood fast in His Cause ..."

 

"Praise be to God, Who hath enabled us to recognize His own Self, bestowed upon us the knowledge of His Cause, set forth before us the path of truth and certitude, and revealed unto all created things that which beseemeth His unfailing grace. We render thanks unto Him under all conditions—such thanks as He Himself hath uttered in His Book and hath taught us as a token of His bountiful favour and sovereign might. Salutation and glory rest upon them that have stood fast in His Cause, spoken forth His praise, been privileged to hearken to His Call, set their faces towards the horizon of His grace, and drawn nigh unto the ocean of His mighty Name."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/125693204

"However, that which is pleasing in the sight of this Wronged One is that they should regard the whole earth as one country and strive, as hath been previously stated, to promote a single language or two so that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth ..."

 

Symbol of the Greatest Name

"He is the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.

Some of the peoples of the world have exerted the utmost effort to converse in their native tongues alone, considering this to be conducive to their exaltation and advancement, even as the people of Persia, who are adorned with the ornaments of talent and capacity, have sought to speak their ancient language and to purge it of all that is foreign. However, that which is pleasing in the sight of this Wronged One is that they should regard the whole earth as one country and strive, as hath been previously stated, to promote a single language or two so that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth and its inhabitants may receive their portion from the Sun of Knowledge and the Ocean of Wisdom.

That which is the cause of the unity of the world and its peoples hath flowed forth from the Pen of the Most High in divers Tablets. God grant that all men may be adorned with the ornament of fairness and enabled to observe justice that they may partake of the fruits of what hath been mentioned and bear witness unto that which hath been ordained by the one true God, exalted be His Glory. He is the One Who guideth, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.

Render thanks unto the Beloved of the world for having graciously aided thee and guided thee to that which lieth concealed from the eyes of most of the people. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/564510086

"Into every word that God doth speak a new spirit is breathed ..."

 

photo by Margarete P.

"For if God, glorified be His Name, should today speak a word that all people have spoken heretofore and shall speak hereafter, that word would still be new, were ye to reflect upon it. Consider the term “Divine Unity”, which the Manifestations of God have uttered in every Dispensation, a goodly term which all the divers peoples and kindreds of the world have spoken. Nevertheless, in each Dispensation, it hath been made new and hath in no wise been divested of its novel character. Into every word that God doth speak a new spirit is breathed, and the breezes of life are wafted therefrom upon all things both outwardly and inwardly."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/313265404

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation ..."

photo by Margarete P.

 

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation and deprive themselves of the ways of true independence."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/805158078