" ... How, then, can this thrall claim for himself ownership of any other human being? Nay, his very existence before the court of Thy might is a sin with which no other sin in Thy kingdom can compare. ..."

 

enslaved African-Iranian

"Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Behold how one slave hath stood at the door of another, seeking from him his freedom, and this despite the fact that his owner is himself but Thy thrall and Thy servant, and is evanescent before the revelations of Thy supreme Lordship. I testify at this moment, as I stand before Thee, to that whereunto Thou didst testify to Thyself, by Thyself, that verily Thou art God and there is none other God but Thee. From everlasting Thou hast inhabited the loftiest heights of power, might, and majesty, and wilt to everlasting continue to abide in the sublimity of Thy glory, awe, and beauty.

All kings are as vassals before the gate of Thy grace, the rich are but destitute at the shore of Thy sacred dominion, and all great ones are but feeble creatures within the court of Thy glorious bounty. How, then, can this thrall claim for himself ownership of any other human being? Nay, his very existence before the court of Thy might is a sin with which no other sin in Thy kingdom can compare. Glorified, immeasurably glorified, art Thou beyond every description and praise.

O my God! Since he hath asked this servant for his freedom, I call Thee to witness at this moment that I verily have set him free in Thy path, liberated him in Thy name, and lifted from his neck the shackles of servitude, that he may serve Thee in the daytime and in the night-season, whilst I pray that Thou mayest never free mine own neck from the chain of Thy servitude. This verily is my highest hope and supreme aspiration, and to this Thou Thyself art a mighty witness."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/625753576

"...Methinks Thou didst fashion them for Thy love and didst single them out for attraction to Thee ..."

 

photo by Margarete P. 

"I swear by Thy glory, O my God! I am astonished at them and at that which they have manifested in the path of Thy love. Blessings and joy be upon them!... Methinks Thou didst fashion them for Thy love and didst single them out for attraction to Thee; Thou didst infuse into them the spirit of Thy Cause and didst reveal unto them the beauty of Thy oneness."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/324741469

"O Thou by Whose name the sea of joy moveth and the fragrance of happiness is wafted!"

 

photo by Trina G.

"O Thou by Whose name the sea of joy moveth and the fragrance of happiness is wafted! I ask Thee to show me from the wonders of Thy favour that which shall brighten mine eyes and gladden my heart. Thou, verily, art the All-Bounteous, the Most Generous."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)

www.bahai.org/r/638416360

"O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2024

"O Lord, my God! O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty. Thou art, verily, the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful."

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/575481039

"I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight."

CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF BAHA'U'LLAH 

"I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge.

I cheer the faint and revive the dead.

I am the guiding Light that illumineth the way.

I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty.

I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight."

Bahá’u’lláh 

"I am, I am, I am the Promised One!"

Shrine of the Bab, Mt. Carmel, Israel

"I am, I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One Whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at Whose mention you have risen, Whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of Whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily, I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word, and to pledge allegiance to My person."  

The Báb (God Passes By, p. 21)

We are celebrating the twin Holy Days of the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá'u'láh, Saturday November 2nd, and Sunday November 3rd

Mirza Husayn-‘Ali, later known as Baha’u’llah, “the Glory of God,” was born in 1817 in Tehran, the capital of Persia, now called Iran.

Two years later, in 1819, Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad was born in Shiraz, a city in southern Persia. He later took the title, the Bab, meaning “the Gate.”

The Bab and Bahaʼu’llah are revered as central figures of the Bahaʼi Faith. Both are Manifestations of God in their own right. The lives and missions of the Bab and Bahaʼu’llah are inextricably linked. Together, these Divine Messengers are the twin Manifestations of God for this era.

In 1844, in Shiraz, at age 25, the Bab declared that He had been called by God to be humanity’s gateway to a new and glorious future. As one of God’s Divine Educators, the Bab established a new religion.  He called for the people to prepare for the coming of “Him Whom God shall make manifest,” another Divine Messenger Who would soon appear and initiate an era of global justice, unity, and peace. The Bab was an advocate of the poor. He supported the advancement of women, universal education, and the study of science—radical ideas in that time and place.

In April of 1863, Baha’u’llah announced that He was the Promised One foretold by the Bab and all of the Divine Messengers of the past. Baha’u’llah’s Mission was to spiritually re-awaken humanity and unite all the peoples of the world. Through Baha’u’llah God has released a fresh, far-reaching, creative spiritual energy into the world. Baha’u’llah’s teachings shed new light on God’s eternal relationship with humanity and offer a vision of infinite hope and healing.

Bahaʼu’llah wrote that His birthday and that of Bab “are accounted as one in the sight of God.” The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays or the Twin Holy Birthdays refers to two successive holy days in the Bahaʼi calendar that celebrate the births of these two central figures of the Bahaʼi Faith.

Their birthdays are observed on the first and the second day following the occurrence of the eighth new moon after the Baha’i New Year, which is called Naw-Ruz, and occurs on the first day of spring as determined in advance by astronomical tables using Tehran as the point of reference. This results in the observance of the Twin Birthdays moving, year to year, from mid-October to mid-November in the Gregorian calendar.

'We beseech God to enable thee to reach thy home. Verily, more merciful is He than all who show mercy."

 

© Chuck Egerton 2024

He is.

O thou who art present before My throne! I have heard thy cry and thy lamentation in thy separation from Me, and have grieved over what hath befallen thee in accordance with God’s inscrutable decree. We beseech God to enable thee to reach thy home. Verily, more merciful is He than all who show mercy.

—Bahá’u’lláh

(Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/897739116