"And I praise and glorify the first sea which hath branched from the ocean of the Divine Essence, and the first morn which hath glowed from the Horizon of Oneness ..."

"And I praise and glorify the first sea which hath branched from the ocean of the Divine Essence, and the first morn which hath glowed from the Horizon of Oneness, and the first sun which hath risen in the Heaven of Eternity, and the first fire which was lit from the Lamp of Preexistence in the lantern of singleness: He who was Aḥmad in the kingdom of the exalted ones, and Muḥammad amongst the concourse of the near ones, and Maḥmúd 2 in the realm of the sincere ones. “…by whichsoever (name) ye will, invoke Him: He hath most excellent names” 3 in the hearts of those who know. And upon His household and companions be abundant and abiding and eternal peace!"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 1

2. Muḥammad, Aḥmad and Maḥmúd are names and titles of the Prophet, derived from the verb “to praise,” “to exalt.” 
3. Qur’án 17:110.

"Kindle the fire of love and burn away all things, Then set thy foot into the land of the lovers."

"Love’s a stranger to earth and heaven too;
 In him are lunacies seventy-and-two. 5

He hath bound a myriad victims in his fetters, wounded a myriad wise men with his arrow. Know that every redness in the world is from his anger, and every paleness in men’s cheeks is from his poison. He yieldeth no remedy but death, he walketh not save in the valley of the shadow; yet sweeter than honey is his venom on the lover’s lips, and fairer his destruction in the seeker’s eyes than a hundred thousand lives.

Wherefore must the veils of the satanic self be burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may be purified and cleansed and thus may know the station of the Lord of the Worlds.

Kindle the fire of love and burn away all things,
Then set thy foot into the land of the lovers. 6"


-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, pp. 10-11

 5. Jalálu’d-Dín Rúmí (1207–1273 A.D.); The Mathnaví. Jalálu’d-Dín, called Mawláná (“our Master”), is the greatest of all Persian Súfí poets, and founder of the Mawlaví “whirling” dervish order. 
 6. From an ode by Bahá’u’lláh.

"A lover is he who is chill in hell fire; A knower is he who is dry in the sea."

"O My Brother! Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of the Beauty of the Friend; and until, like Jacob, thou forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him: Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea.

A lover is he who is chill in hell fire;
A knower is he who is dry in the sea. 2"

-Bahá'u'lláh,  The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 9

 2. Persian mystic poem.

Mark Tobey

"For the infidel, error—for the faithful, faith; For Aṭṭár’s heart, an atom of Thy pain."

" ... In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the world-illuming sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason.

Now is the traveler unaware of himself, and of aught besides himself. He seeth neither ignorance nor knowledge, neither doubt nor certitude; he knoweth not the morn of guidance from the night of error. He fleeth both from unbelief and faith, and deadly poison is a balm to him. Wherefore Aṭṭár 1 saith:

For the infidel, error—for the faithful, faith;
For Aṭṭár’s heart, an atom of Thy pain."

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 8

1. Faríḍu’d-Dín Aṭṭár (ca. 1150–1230 A.D.), the great Persian Súfí poet.

"Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love."

"Love accepteth no existence and wisheth no life: He seeth life in death, and in shame seeketh glory. To merit the madness of love, man must abound in sanity; to merit the bonds of the Friend, he must be full of spirit. Blessed the neck that is caught in His noose, happy the head that falleth on the dust in the pathway of His love. Wherefore, O friend, give up thy self that thou mayest find the Peerless One, pass by this mortal earth that thou mayest seek a home in the nest of heaven. Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love."


-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, pp. 9-10

Laurent Chehere

"... he will set ajar the gate of truth and piety, and shut the doors of vain imaginings."

... "His inner eyes will open and he will privily converse with his Beloved; he will set ajar the gate of truth and piety, and shut the doors of vain imaginings. He in this station is content with the decree of God, and seeth war as peace, and findeth in death the secrets of everlasting life. With inward and outward eyes he witnesseth the mysteries of resurrection in the realms of creation and the souls of men, and with a pure heart apprehendeth the divine wisdom in the endless Manifestations of God. In the ocean he findeth a drop, in a drop he beholdeth the secrets of the sea.

Split the atom’s heart, and lo!
Within it thou wilt find a sun. 1" ...

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, pp. 11-12


 1. Persian mystic poem.

"Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the loved one; More than this I am not permitted to tell."

"Wherefore, relevant to this, Khájih ‘Abdu’lláh 7 —may God the Most High sanctify his beloved spirit—hath made a subtle point and spoken an eloquent word as to the meaning of “Guide Thou us on the straight path,” 8 which is: “Show us the right way, that is, honor us with the love of Thine Essence, that we may be freed from turning toward ourselves and toward all else save Thee, and may become wholly Thine, and know only Thee, and see only Thee, and think of none save Thee.”

Nay, these even mount above this station, wherefore it is said:

Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the loved one;
More than this I am not permitted to tell. 9"

-Bahá'u'lláh, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, p. 16

7. Shaykh Abú Ismá’íl ‘Abdu’lláh Ansárí of Hirát (1006–1088 A.D.) Súfí leader, descended from the Prophet’s companion Abú Ayyúb. Chiefly known for his Munáját (Supplications) and Rubá’íyyát (Quatrains). “Ansár” means the “Helpers” or companions of Muḥammad in Medina. 
8. Qur’án 1:5. 
9. The Mathnaví.