"Make of thine effort a glass, perchance it may shelter this flame from the contrary winds ..."

"O Shaykh! Make of thine effort a glass, perchance it may shelter this flame from the  contrary winds; albeit this light doth long to be kindled in the lamp of the Lord, and to shine in the globe of the spirit. For the head raised up in the love of God will certainly fall by the sword, and the life that is kindled with longing will surely be sacrificed, and the heart which remembereth the Loved One will surely brim with blood. How well is it said:

Live free of love, for its very peace is anguish; Its beginning is pain, its end is death. 15

Peace be upon him who followeth the Right Path!"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, pp. 41-42

15. Arabian poem.

" ... the huntsman of envy stalketh this deer of the meadow of love."

"O My friend! Many a hound pursueth this gazelle of the desert of oneness; many a talon claweth at this thrush of the eternal garden. Pitiless ravens do lie in wait for this bird of the heavens of God, and the huntsman of envy stalketh this deer of the meadow of love."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 41

"I do as bidden, and I bring the message, Whether it give thee counsel or offense."

"Likewise He saith, “Go straight on then as thou hast been commanded.” 5 Wherefore, this course is incumbent on those who dwell in the presence of God.

I do as bidden, and I bring the message, Whether it give thee counsel or offense. 6

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 48

 5. Qur’án 11:114; 42:14. 
 6. Sa’dí.

"The death of self is needed here, not rhetoric: Be nothing, then, and walk upon the waves."

"The death of self is needed here, not rhetoric: Be nothing, then, and walk upon the waves. 8

 Likewise is it written, “And be ye not like those who forget God, and whom He hath therefore caused to forget their own selves. These are the wicked doers.” 9"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 52



 8. The Mathnaví. 
 9. Qur’án 59:19.

“Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.”

"This station hath many signs, unnumbered proofs. Hence it is said: “Hereafter We will show them Our signs in the regions of the earth, and in themselves, until it become manifest unto them that it is the truth,” 5 and that there is no God save Him.

One must, then, read the book of his own self, rather than some treatise on rhetoric. Wherefore He hath said, 6
“Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.”

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 51

 5. Qur’án 41:53. 
 6. Qur’án 17:15.

"If a man could know what lieth hid in this one verse, it would suffice him..."

"On this plane, the traveler meeteth with many a trial and reverse. Now is he lifted up to heaven, now is he cast into the depths. As it hath been said: “Now Thou drawest me to the summit of glory, again Thou castest me into the lowest abyss.” The mystery treasured in this plane is divulged in the following holy verse from the Súrih of THE CAVE: 3

 “And thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the right of their cave, and when it set, leave them on the left, while they were in its spacious chamber. This is one of the signs of God. Guided indeed is he whom God guideth; but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a patron.”

If a man could know what lieth hid in this one verse, it would suffice him. Wherefore, in praise of such as these, He hath said: “Men whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of God….” 4"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 53

 3. Qur’án 18:16. This is a reference to the station of complete faith. The companions of the Cave are identified with early Christian martyrs. 
 4. Qur’án 24:37.

“Leave thyself behind, and then approach Me.”

"If the loving seekers wish to live within the precincts of the Attracting One (Majdhúb), 1 no soul may dwell on this Kingly Throne save the beauty of love. This realm is not to be pictured in words.

Love shunneth this world and that world too,
In him are lunacies seventy-and-two.
The minstrel of love harpeth this lay:
Servitude enslaveth, kingship doth betray. 2

This plane requireth pure affection and the bright stream of fellowship. In telling of these companions of the Cave He saith: “They speak not till He hath spoken; and they do His bidding.” 3

On this plane, neither the reign of reason is sufficient nor the authority of self. Hence, one of the Prophets of God hath asked: “O my Lord, how shall we reach unto Thee?” And the answer came,
“Leave thyself behind, and then approach Me.”"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, pp. 54-55


 1. That attribute of God which draws all creatures to Him. 
 2. The Mathnaví. 
 3. Qur’án 21:27