"Enter thou among My servants, And enter thou My paradise."

"If the travelers seek after the goal of the Intended One (maqṣúd), this station appertaineth to the self—but that self which is “The Self of God standing within Him with laws.” 1

On this plane, the self is not rejected but beloved; it is well-pleasing and not to be shunned. Although at the beginning, this plane is the realm of conflict, yet it endeth in attainment to the throne of splendor. As they have said: “O Abraham of this day, O Friend Abraham of the Spirit! Kill these four birds of prey,” 2 that after death the riddle of life may be unraveled.

This is the plane of the soul who is pleasing unto God. Refer to the verse:

O thou soul who art well assured,
Return to thy Lord, well-pleased, and pleasing unto Him. 3

which endeth:

Enter thou among My servants,
And enter thou My paradise. 4"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, The First Valley, p. 50

1.Hadíth. 
2.The Mathnaví. Here Rúmí tells a story of four evil birds which, when put to death, changed into four birds of goodness. The allegory refers to subduing evil qualities and replacing them with good. 3.Qur’án 89:27–30.
4.Qur’án 89:27–30.

"He doth verily incarnate the highest, the infallible standard of justice unto all creation."

"Know verily that the essence of justice and the source thereof are both embodied in the ordinances prescribed by Him Who is the Manifestation of the Self of God amongst men, if ye be of them that recognize this truth. He doth verily incarnate the highest, the infallible standard of justice unto all creation. Were His law to be such as to strike terror into the hearts of all that are in heaven and on earth, that law is naught but manifest justice. The fears and agitation which the revelation of this law provokes in men’s hearts should indeed be likened to the cries of the suckling babe weaned from his mother’s milk, if ye be of them that perceive. Were men to discover the motivating purpose of God’s Revelation, they would assuredly cast away their fears, and, with hearts filled with gratitude, rejoice with exceeding gladness."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, LXXXVIII, p. 175

"The Beloved shineth on gate and wall Without a veil, O men of vision."

"The Beloved shineth on gate and wall
Without a veil, O men of vision. 6

Now hast thou abandoned the drop of life and come to the sea of the Life-Bestower. This is the goal thou didst ask for; if it be God’s will, thou wilt gain it.

In this city, even the veils of light are split asunder and vanish away. “His beauty hath no veiling save light, His face no covering save revelation.” 7 How strange that while the Beloved is visible as the sun, yet the heedless still hunt after tinsel and base metal. Yea, the intensity of His revelation hath covered Him, and the fullness of His shining forth hath hidden Him. Even as the sun, bright hath He shined,

But alas, He hath come to the town of the blind! 8

In this Valley, the wayfarer leaveth behind him the stages of the “oneness of Being and Manifestation” 9 and reacheth a oneness that is sanctified above these two stations. Ecstasy alone can encompass this theme, not utterance nor argument; and whosoever hath dwelt at this stage of the journey, or caught a breath from this garden land, knoweth whereof We speak."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, The Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness, pp. 38-39 


6.Faríḍu’d-Dín Aṭṭár (ca. 1150–1230 A.D.), the great Persian Súfí poet. 
7.Hadíth, i.e. action or utterance traditionally attributed to the Prophet Muḥammad or to one of the holy Imáms. 
8.The Mathnaví.
9.Pantheism, a Súfí doctrine derived from the formula: “Only God exists; He is in all things, and all things are in Him.”

Alberto Giacometti

"If the fire of self overcome you, remember your own faults and not the faults of My creatures ..."

"O EMIGRANTS! The tongue I have designed for the mention of Me, defile it not with detraction. If the fire of self overcome you, remember your own faults and not the faults of My creatures, inasmuch as every one of you knoweth his own self better than he knoweth others."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, No. 66 Arabic










Alberto Giacometti

"In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before."

"... In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. In like manner, the moment the word expressing My attribute “The Omniscient” issueth forth from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth..."

-Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, LXXIV, p. 142

"Know that thy true adornment consisteth in the love of God and in thy detachment from all save Him ..."

"Consider a pearl which shineth by virtue of its inherent nature. If it be covered with silk, its lustre and beauty will be concealed. Likewise, man’s distinction lieth in the excellence of his conduct and in the pursuit of that which beseemeth his station, not in childish play and pastimes. Know that thy true adornment consisteth in the love of God and in thy detachment from all save Him, and not in the luxuries thou dost possess. Abandon them unto those who seek after them and turn unto God, He Who causeth the rivers to flow."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Tablet to Pope Pius IX, p. 62

Violence with Impunity: Acts of aggression against Iran’s Bahá'í community

Violence with Impunity: 

Acts of aggression against Iran’s Bahá'í community

During the period from 2005 through the end of 2012, the Bahá'í International Community has documented 52 cases where Baha'is have been tortured or held in solitary confinement while in detention. Another 52 incidents where Baha'is have been physically assaulted—sometimes at the hands of officials and sometimes at the hands of plainclothes or unidentified attackers—have also been documented, as have some 49 incidents of arson against Baha'i homes and shops, more than 30 cases of vandalism, and at least 42 incidents of cemetery desecration. Yet in none of these incidents have attackers – whether government agents, local officials, or plainclothes or otherwise unidentified individuals – been prosecuted for their crimes.

 Read Report