" ... those who believe in God and the Last Day and who do good have their reward with their Lord. They have nothing to fear, and they will not sorrow."

The Cow (42-46)

And do not obscure truth by falsehood,

or knowingly conceal the truth;

and be constant in prayer,

and give charity,

and worship with the worshipful.

Do you command people to be just

when you forget yourselves

even though you read the Book?

Now won't you understand? 

And seek help

with patience and prayer;

though it is indeed hard

except for the humble,

those who consider

that they will meet their Lord,

and that they will return to God.

(48)

And be wary of a day

when no soul can compensate

for another soul at all,

and no intercession is accepted from it,

and no ransom is taken from it,

and they will not be helped.

(62)

Be they Muslims, Jews,

Christians, or Sabians,

those who believe in God and the Last Day

and who do good

have their reward with their Lord.

They have nothing to fear,

and they will not sorrow.

(83)

Worship nothing but God;

be good to your parents and relatives,

and to the orphan and the poor.

Speak nicely to people,

be constant in prayer,

and give charity.

The Essential Koran, The Heart of Islam, pp. 8-9

Translated and presented by Thomas Cleary

"In hunger, all justice is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in satiety, all grace is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!"

"He is God, exalted is He, the Lord of might and grandeur!

O God, my God! I yield Thee thanks at all times and render Thee praise under all conditions.

In prosperity, all praise is Thine, O Lord of the Worlds, and in its absence, all gratitude is Thine, O Desire of them that have recognized Thee!

In adversity, all honour is Thine, O Adored One of all who are in heaven and on earth, and in affliction, all glory is Thine, O Enchanter of the hearts of those who yearn after Thee!

In hardship, all praise is Thine, O Thou the Goal of them that seek after Thee, and in comfort, all thanksgiving is Thine, O Thou whose remembrance is treasured in the hearts of those who are nigh unto Thee!

In wealth, all splendour is Thine, O Lord of them that are devoted to Thee, and in poverty, all command is Thine, O Thou the Hope of them that acknowledge Thy unity!

In joy, all glory is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in sorrow, all beauty is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In hunger, all justice is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in satiety, all grace is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In my homeland, all bounty is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in exile, all decree is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

Under the sword, all munificence is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and in the safety of home, all perfection is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In the lofty mansion, all generosity is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God, and upon the lowly dust, all favour is Thine, O Thou besides Whom there is none other God!

In prison, all fidelity is Thine, O Thou the Bestower of gifts, and in confinement, all eternity is Thine, O Thou Who art the ever-abiding King!

All bounty is Thine, O Thou Who art the Lord of bounty, and the Sovereign of bounty, and the King of bounty! I bear witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, O Thou Source of bounty, and to be obeyed in Thy behests, O Thou Ocean of bounty, He from Whom all bounty doth proceed, He to Whom all bounty doth return!"

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/715760313

"Mystics! What was hidden now stands for all to see."

 

Crimson Clover © 2021 Chuck Egerton

O Nightingales!
An Ode by Bahá’u’lláh

Nightingales! The season of flowers and trees has come. Mystics! What was hidden now stands for all to see.

 
Lovers! Look! Your Beloved just unveiled her face. Seekers! Look now on the One you had longed to see. 

Beauty has dawned, the lights of God shine bright. Flee the prison of your self—Rise up and be free.

That veiled Beloved, Ruler of the highest realm, now walks here, as Joseph did, through square and alley.

 
She was hidden ‘neath the Mount of infinity. 
She was there concealed from us for eternity. 

Look! She has dawned now, like the morning sun, 
shedding her light from mountain to prairie. 

 
For the fragrance of Her musk-laden locks, 
for the sweetness, the sugar of Her lips, 

Her lovers now will roam the marketplace
seeking the door of the perfumery. 

Wine jars overflow, reason is struck dumb. 
Mortal poison turns to balm—the Cup of God is heavy.

 
Prayer beads for infidels, hypocrisy no more. 
The men devoted to Her love drink in the winery. 

False piety in hiding now, deceit is so ashamed. 
Her slender body floats like a bird over land and sea. 

The hidden Treasure manifest, 
now the phoenix of soul flies free. 

All mysteries have been unveiled, 
and all the veils burned utterly. 

The nightingale leaps to the rose. 
The lover dives into love’s sea. 

The caged parrot returns to the forest. 
Strangers are friends: and strangers friends will be.

Provisional Translation by Nader Saiedi and Anthony A. Lee

http://www.elixir-journal.org/issue6/translation1.php

"Give me then to drink from the cup that brimmeth with the sealed wine of Thy glory."

 

"Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Sanctify mine eye, and mine ear, and my tongue, and my spirit, and my heart, and my soul, and my body, and mine entire being from turning unto anyone but Thee. Give me then to drink from the cup that brimmeth with the sealed wine of Thy glory."

—Bahá’u’lláh
(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/533738942

"But high endeavour and self-sacrifice are needed and the concentration of one’s thoughts is required for the tree of hope to yield its fruit and results to be achieved."

 ...

White Iris © 2021 Chuck Egerton

"Speak openly of all the signs of the Kingdom of God that ye have witnessed with your own eyes and share with the utmost happiness and exultation all that ye have heard of the divine teachings. I fervently supplicate God to bring assurance to your souls and to raise you up with such steadfastness that each of you may withstand an entire nation. May you become so inebriated with the wine of the love of God that ye may cause your hearers to dance with blissful rapture to the song and melody of the love of God.

 
This is the time for gladness, the day of joy and exhilaration, for, praised be God, all doors are opened wide through the bounty of the Abhá Beauty. But high endeavour and self-sacrifice are needed and the concentration of one’s thoughts is required for the tree of hope to yield its fruit and results to be achieved."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks)
www.bahai.org/r/600834684

"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