"Render a myriad thanks unto the All-Glorious, Who hath guided thee on this path and enabled thee to attain the threshold of the Omniscient Lord ..."

 

Crimson Clover  ©2021 Chuck Egerton

Happy Ridván!

"O pilgrim of the Sacred Dust!

Render a myriad thanks unto the All-Glorious, Who hath guided thee on this path and enabled thee to attain the threshold of the Omniscient Lord, to find refuge within the stronghold of His favours, and to obtain that which is the ultimate hope and desire of all His chosen ones.

Now, as thou returnest to Ishqábád, thou must take with thee armfuls of flowers as a gift from the heavenly rose-garden that their sweet scent may perfume the nostrils and stir the senses of the youth. For these lovely youth are the children of the realms above and the tender plants of the all-highest Paradise. They are flowers and fragrant herbs in the garden of certitude, the jasmine and eglantine of the All-Merciful Lord. They have been nursed at the breast of Divine unity and nurtured in the bosom of the wondrous Cause of God. They have become fresh and verdant through the outpourings of the clouds of loving-kindness.

O youth of this century of God! In this new age, this century of the Glorious Lord, ye must be so attracted to the Blessed Beauty and so enthralled by the Beloved of the World that ye may become the embodiments of the truth of this verse: 

I am lost, O Love, possessed and dazed, 
Love’s fool am I, in all the earth.¹

1 Marzieh Gail’s translation, published in Memorials of the Faithful, pp. 22, 30.

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)
www.bahai.org/r/553813452

"these verily attained, after ascending to the Divine Kingdom, unto the Refulgent Light."

"As for thy question concerning those righteous souls who passed away ere they heard the Call of this Revelation, know thou that those who ascended unto God ere they heard this Call, but who followed the precepts of Christ and walked in the Straight Path—these verily attained, after ascending to the Divine Kingdom, unto the Refulgent Light."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)
www.bahai.org/r/871217998

"Helpless are we, yet our refuge and shelter is Bahá’u’lláh."

 

'Abdu'l-Bahá in front of his house.

"Praise be to God that ye are present in this radiant assemblage and have turned your faces toward the Kingdom of Abhá! That which ye behold is from the grace and bounty of the Blessed Perfection. We are as atoms and He is the Sun of Truth. We are as drops and He is the Most Great Ocean. Poor are we, yet the outpouring of the treasury of the Kingdom is boundless. Weak are we, yet the confirmation of the Supreme Concourse is abundant. Helpless are we, yet our refuge and shelter is Bahá’u’lláh.

Praise be to God! His signs are evident.
Praise be to God! His light is shining.
Praise be to God! His ocean is surging.
Praise be to God! His radiance is intense.
Praise be to God! His bestowals are abundant.
Praise be to God! His favours are manifest.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The Morn of Guidance hath dawned.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The Sun of Truth hath shone forth.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The breeze of favour hath wafted.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The showers of the clouds of divine bounty have poured down.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The Sun of the supreme horizon hath shed its radiance upon all the world with boundless effulgence.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The hearts of all are in the utmost purity.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! His all-encompassing splendour hath been revealed.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The celestial concourse is astir.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! Zion is rapt in ecstasy.
Glad tidings! Glad tidings! The Kingdom of God is filled with exultation and joy." ¹

1. A Tablet of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá chanted by Him, the recording of the latter part of which is played for Bahá’í pilgrims during their visit to the House of the Master in Haifa.
(Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)
www.bahai.org/r/272079006

"Wherefore, O faithful friends, raise ye the triumphal cry of Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá!"

 

"O ye beloved friends of God and handmaids of the Merciful!

Call ye to mind the blessed Name of our peerless Beloved, the Abhá Beauty, in an uplifting spirit of unbounded ecstasy and delight, then unloose your tongues in His praise in such wise that the realm of the heart may be purged from the woes and sorrows of the world of water and clay, that the great heights of spiritual perception may be unveiled before your eyes, that the glorious signs of His Divine Unity may shine resplendent, a fresh outpouring of His grace may stream forth, and a liberal effusion of celestial confirmations may be vouchsafed unto you.

His Name is indeed the healing medicine for every illness, and imparteth warmth unto those chilled with cold. It is the sovereign remedy and the supreme talisman. It is the source of life in both worlds, and of salvation unto such as have gone astray. Today this hallowed Name serveth as a shield for all mankind, and as a veritable refuge for the children of men. It is the wondrous accent of the Lord of Mercy, and His celestial melody.

Wherefore, O faithful friends, raise ye the triumphal cry of Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá! O ye who yearn after the Beauty of the Almighty! Lift up your faces toward the Supreme Horizon. Rest not, even for a moment. Breathe not a single breath save in remembrance of His love and in recognition of His grace, in the promulgation of His Utterances and the vindication of His Testimonies.

Verily, this is the Magnet of divine confirmations. This is the mighty Force which will surely attract heavenly assistance."

(Extract from a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá)
www.bahai.org/r/520360382

“We will not chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger.”

 

"In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions, close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate communication.
As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets, such people are excused. In the Qur’án it hath been revealed: “We will not chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger.”¹

Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient times, but it hath been forgotten now."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)
www.bahai.org/r/311166249

1. Qur’án 17:15

"Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would count death itself better than this life."

 

In the eighth of the most holy lines, in the fifth Tablet of Paradise, He saith:

O Ye That Are Lying as Dead on the Couch of Heedlessness!

"Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet not a single breath of purity hath reached Our court of holiness from you. Though immersed in the ocean of misbelief, yet with your lips ye profess the one true faith of God. Him whom I abhor ye have loved, and of My foe ye have made a friend. Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied, heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth you. Were ye but to open your eyes, ye would, in truth, prefer a myriad griefs unto this joy, and would count death itself better than this life."

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words)
www.bahai.org/r/824146051

"Know ye that the Torah is what was revealed in the Tablets unto Moses, may peace be upon Him ..."

 

"Know ye that the Torah is what was revealed in the Tablets unto Moses, may peace be upon Him, and in that which He was commanded to do. But the stories are historical narratives and were written after Moses, may peace be upon Him…. The glorious Book, the Mighty Decree, is what was in the Tablets which Moses, upon Him be peace, brought from Mt. Sinai, and that which He proclaimed unto the Children of Israel, in accordance with the explicit text of those Tablets"

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)

www.bahai.org/r/516462087