"God grant that all men may be adorned with the ornament of fairness and enabled to observe justice that they may partake of the fruits of what hath been mentioned and bear witness unto that which hath been ordained by the one true God, exalted be His Glory."

 

"He is the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.

Some of the peoples of the world have exerted the utmost effort to converse in their native tongues alone, considering this to be conducive to their exaltation and advancement, even as the people of Persia, who are adorned with the ornaments of talent and capacity, have sought to speak their ancient language and to purge it of all that is foreign. However, that which is pleasing in the sight of this Wronged One is that they should regard the whole earth as one country and strive, as hath been previously stated, to promote a single language or two so that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth and its inhabitants may receive their portion from the Sun of Knowledge and the Ocean of Wisdom.

That which is the cause of the unity of the world and its peoples hath flowed forth from the Pen of the Most High in divers Tablets. God grant that all men may be adorned with the ornament of fairness and enabled to observe justice that they may partake of the fruits of what hath been mentioned and bear witness unto that which hath been ordained by the one true God, exalted be His Glory. He is the One Who guideth, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.

Render thanks unto the Beloved of the world for having graciously aided thee and guided thee to that which lieth concealed from the eyes of most of the people. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. There is no God but Him, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/564510086

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation ..."

 

"They tread the perilous paths of imitation and deprive themselves of the ways of true independence."

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/805158078

"And then, a new Day dawned and a wondrous light shone forth. The Morn of Oneness rose, and the Day-Star of the world gleamed bright."

 

..."Even as thou hast witnessed, in the day of the appearance of the Point of the Qur’án—may my soul be offered up for Him—the splendours of God’s manifold grace shone forth, clear and manifest, through that luminous Day-Star upon the whole of creation, and for a thousand years that heavenly grace was vouchsafed unto all lands and regions and unto the realities of all created things. And when that Dispensation drew to a close, those signs and splendours returned to the unseen realm.

And then, a new Day dawned and a wondrous light shone forth. The Morn of Oneness rose, and the Day-Star of the world gleamed bright. The Most Great Ocean surged, and its billowing waves mounted to the Concourse on high. The clouds of bounty gathered above, and the showers of mercy rained down. The light of truth appeared, and the way of guidance was made manifest. The glorious testimony was disclosed and the path of the All-Merciful Lord became plain and evident. Through the limitless grace of the Divine Springtime, the Abhá Paradise was made to adorn the Most Exalted Kingdom. The bounties, the splendours, the mysteries, the signs, the verses, and the proofs of this wondrous Light that hath hoisted its banners on this joyous Day shall remain in effect for five hundred thousand years.

By thy dear life, I have no time to write more; otherwise, I would have written a wondrous commentary, a mighty book, on this blessed verse. The glory of God rest upon thee."

(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 3)
www.bahai.org/r/968615904

"May no trace of self be detected from their conduct and manners, from their words and deeds. Man’s greatness lieth in humility, and his abiding glory is found in lowliness, self-effacement, and servitude to the servants of the Lord."

 
... "I beseech and entreat the all-pervasive grace of the Most Bountiful Lord to grant that the hearts of His loved ones may become the repositories of divine inspiration and the daysprings of the effusions of His limitless bounty, so that, with the utmost harmony and fellowship, they may all be freed from the estrangement of the realm of vainglory and may associate with one another with perfect humility and lowliness. May no trace of self be detected from their conduct and manners, from their words and deeds. Man’s greatness lieth in humility, and his abiding glory is found in lowliness, self-effacement, and servitude to the servants of the Lord. This, verily, is the greatest attainment in this resplendent Day.

Thou hast asked concerning the blessed verse “From the heaven to the earth He ordereth all things, and hereafter shall they come up to Him on a day whose length shall be a thousand of such years as ye reckon.”¹⁴⁹ By this “day” is meant the Day of the Great Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, for on that Day there shall appear such signs and events, such splendours and occurrences, marvels and wonders, truths and mysteries, precepts and writings, that the revelation of those splendours and signs cannot be contained even in fifty thousand years. Moreover, the precepts and laws, and the writings, teachings, and manifold bounties associated with that Day, which is none other than the “appointed time of a known day”,¹⁵⁰ shall remain valid and binding for a full thousand years, nay for five hundred thousand years. Such a span of time is merely an approximation that alludeth to ages and centuries. And on that appointed Day, the outpourings of divine grace shall visibly descend from the kingdom of mercy and the heaven of oneness. And as such outpourings of grace cannot endure forever in this nether world, that glorious light must needs return to the luminous Star from whence it came, and those merciful showers that emanate from the liberal effusions of the sea of oneness must return, once again, to the Most Great Ocean." ...

(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 2)
www.bahai.org/r/508887715

"This call, even as the melody of the Concourse on high, filled the soul of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with joy and rapture."

 

"He is the All-Glorious, the Most Effulgent.

O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The opening of thy letter bore the words “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” What a call this was, for it caused my heart to leap with joy and my soul to tremble with delight. Glad-tidings encircled me on every side, my eyes were cheered, and my whole being breathed in the sweet savours of a garden of roses. This call, even as the melody of the Concourse on high, filled the soul of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with joy and rapture.

By Him Who hath illumined my face with the light of absolute servitude to His Holy Threshold! No melody can fill this yearning soul with such joy and rapture as the call of “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” And no sweet accents warbled by the birds of the orchards can thrill my heart with such delight as the dulcet tune of “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” This melody causeth my heart to leap with joy, and these wondrous words fill me with blissful rapture, but only on condition that this name be accompanied by no other epithets of praise, and paired with no other titles. The designation should be “‘Abdu’l-Bahá” alone for it to bestow boundless joy upon my heart and soul. This is my qualification and my station, this is my title and my glory, and this indeed is my highest aspiration throughout eternity.

Thou hast commended the beloved of the Lord, saying that they are fully occupied with worship and praise, are seizing the Cup of the Covenant, and, elated with joy at the banquet of the Lord, are unloosing their tongues in gratitude to the All-Merciful. This, indeed, is as it should be, for in this day there is no other path for the friends, and no other testimony for the pure in heart." ...

(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #76, part 1)
www.bahai.org/r/856354970

"In offering gratitude, we have no recourse but to confess our own shortcomings, no remedy but to hold our peace, for we are powerless and wanting, feeble and faltering. "

 

Bahá'u'lláh's house while on exile to Adrianople

"He is God.

O beloved servants and handmaidens of God! In its weakness and frailty, the world of humanity is even as a heap of darksome dust. Yet when the clouds of mercy of the All-Knowing Lord rain down upon it, this dark earth shall bring forth crimson flowers and shall become the resplendent rose-garden of the Concourse on high. Although we are weak and feeble, yet the bounties of the Blessed Beauty are boundless and inexhaustible. In offering gratitude, we have no recourse but to confess our own shortcomings, no remedy but to hold our peace, for we are powerless and wanting, feeble and faltering. Wherefore, praise be to the Lord of creation, through Whose bounty these helpless ants show forth the strength of Solomon, and these needy and feeble gnats become royal falcons of the heights of mystery, causing the bestowals of the Almighty to be manifested.

Now, concerning the recorded tradition that in former times only two letters were revealed but in the days of the Qá’im all the remaining ones shall be made manifest, the following is meant. All the works and sciences, laws and ordinances, inventions and wonders, and the perfections of the human world that had been manifested in bygone times, were even as two letters. But in this wondrous Dispensation, and with the appearance of the glorious Treasure, the perfections and attainments of the world of humanity and its limitless sciences and arts shall advance to such a degree that they may be likened unto all the remaining letters.

That is, this wondrous Dispensation is so different and distinguished from the previous ones that, even as ye witness, though it is still the first century, so many mysteries of creation have, within so short a period, stepped forth out of the realm of the invisible into the visible world. How many well-guarded secrets once enshrined within the realm of the unseen have been revealed! How many discoveries have been made of the hidden realities of things, and how many inventions and wonders have appeared! Infer then from this what the future shall hold. Await the break of His sovereign morn,These are but effects of its early dawn!¹⁴⁸

The Glory of Glories rest upon you."

(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #75)
www.bahai.org/r/685247342

"Those mysteries lie latent and preserved in the innermost reality of the soil of existence and are manifested according to the capacity of the world, bringing forth jasmine and lilies, verdant grass and sweet herbs."

 

"He is the All-Glorious.

O ye who are staunch! O ye who stand firm! When the light of Divine Essence dawned above the horizon of Singleness, the splendour of His Oneness shone forth and the daysprings of existence were illumined with manifest grace. So radiant was the light of that Sun of Truth, and so abundant the outpourings of the clouds of His bounty, that the soil of all beings, even as a fertile field, became the bearer of the mysteries of all that hath been and shall be. Those mysteries lie latent and preserved in the innermost reality of the soil of existence and are manifested according to the capacity of the world, bringing forth jasmine and lilies, verdant grass and sweet herbs.

Those whose icy breath and whispers are as cold as midwinter have now spread in all directions, carrying leaflets of doubt, hoping to wither the soil of the hearts with the biting chill of Covenant-breaking, so that the seeds of divine wisdom that God hath deposited therein may decay and perish. But how far, how very far from the truth! For the glowing fire of the Covenant hath so set the world ablaze that no frost or ice can withstand it for a moment. This, verily, is the truth.

Wherefore, O friends of God, gird up the loins of endeavour, and be so enkindled by the Lord’s burning Fire as to light up the East and the West in such wise that every Covenant-breaker would be put to flight and every wavering soul would take heed. Such a great bounty dependeth on unity, harmony, and concord among the beloved of the Lord. The friends in that region must grow so intoxicated by the wine of unity that they become even as a single sea. Though its waves be many, the sea is one; diversity is not an obstacle to unity. 

Praise be to God, for ye are all illumined by the same Sun and are all brightened by the same Light. Ye are inebriated by the same cup and seek holy ecstasy in the same tavern. Ye are, one and all, enamoured by the countenance of the same Beloved and are captivated by the charm of the same Beauty. Ye quaff from the same wellspring and taste the sweetness of the same draught.

It behoveth every one of you, however, to show the utmost consideration unto the revered Hands who are foremost in service, for they are the dawning-places of the manifold bounties, loving-kindness, and favours of the Blessed Beauty."¹⁴⁷

(Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, #74)
www.bahai.org/r/640605006