110 We Have Permitted You To Read Such Sciences As Are Profitable Unto You Not Such As End In Idle Disputation #77
Categories: NOTESSources: The Kitab-i-aqdas
The Baha'i Writings enjoin the acquisition of knowledge and the study of
the arts and sciences. Baha'is are admonished to respect people of
learning and accomplishment, and are warned against the pursuit of studies
that are productive only of futile wrangling.
In His Tablets Baha'u'llah counsels the believers to study such sciences
and arts as are useful and would further the progress and advancement
of society, and He cautions against sciences which begin with words and
end with words, the pursuit of which leads to idle disputation. Shoghi
Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, likened sciences that begin
with words and end with words to fruitless excursions into metaphysical
hair-splittings, and, in another letter, he explained that what
Baha'u'llah primarily intended by such sciences are those theological
treatises and commentaries that encumber the human mind rather than help
it to attain the truth.
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102 He Who Hath Divorced His Wife May Choose Upon The Passing Of Each Month
to remarry her when there is mutual affection and consent, so long as she hath not taken another husband ... unless, clearly, her circumstances change. 68 Shoghi Effendi states, in a letter written on his behalf, that the intention of the passi... 103
How can a true lover continue to exist when once the effulgent glories of the Beloved are revealed? How can the shadow endure when once the sun hath shone forth? How can a devoted heart have any being before the existence of the Object of its devotio... 103 Semen Is Not Unclean # 74
In a number of religious traditions and in Shi'ih Muslim practice semen has been declared ritually unclean. Baha'u'llah has here dispelled this concept. See also note 106 below. ... 104
Gracious God! But for fear of the Nimrod of tyranny and for the protection of the Abraham of justice, I would reveal unto thee that which, wert thou to abandon self and desire, would enable thee to dispense with aught else and to draw nigh unto this ... 104 Cleave Ye Unto The Cord Of Refinement #74
'Abdu'l-Baha refers to the effect of purity and holiness, cleanliness and refinement on the exaltation of the human condition and the development of man's inner reality. He states: The fact of having a pure and spotless body exercises an influence... 105
From this most august and exalted station, and from this most sublime and glorious plane, the seeker entereth the City of Immortality, therein to abide forever. In this station he beholdeth himself established upon the throne of independence and the ... 105 Wash Ye Every Soiled Thing With Water That Hath Undergone No Alteration In Any One Of The Three Respects #74
The three respects referred to in this verse are changes in the colour, taste or smell of the water. Baha'u'llah provides additional guidance concerning pure water and the point at which it is considered unsuitable for use (Q and A 91). ... 106
Having, in this journey, immersed himself in the ocean of immortality, rid his heart from attachment to aught save Him, and attained unto the loftiest heights of everlasting life, the seeker will see no annihilation either for himself or for any othe... 106 God Hath Abolished The Concept Of Uncleanness Whereby Divers Things And Peoples Have Been Held To Be Impure #75
The concept of ritual uncleanness, as understood and practised in some tribal societies and in the religious communities of certain earlier Dispensations, has been abolished by Baha'u'llah. He states that through His Revelation all created things ... 107
All that existeth in this city shall indeed endure and will never perish. Shouldst thou, by the leave of God, enter this sublime and exalted garden, thou wouldst find its sun in its noontide glory, never to set, never to be eclipsed. The same holdeth... 107 First Day Of Ridvan #75
This is a reference to the arrival of Baha'u'llah and His companions in the Najibiyyih Garden outside the city of Baghdad, subsequently referred to by the Baha'is as the Garden of Ridvan. This event, which took place thirty-one days after... 108
Erelong shall the faithful behold, in the day of the latter Resurrection, Him Whom God shall make manifest descending with this city from the heaven of the Unseen, together with a company of His exalted and favoured angels. Great, therefore, is the b... 108 The Bayan #77
The Bayan, the Mother Book of the Babi Dispensation, is the title given by the Bab to His Book of Laws, and it is also applied to the entire body of His Writings. The Persian Bayan is the major doctrinal work and principal repository of t... 109
Know, moreover, that should one who hath attained unto these stations and embarked upon these journeys fall prey to pride and vainglory, he would at that very moment come to naught and return to the first step without realizing it. Indeed, they that ... 109 The Destruction Of Books #77
In the Tablet of Ishraqat Baha'u'llah, referring to the fact that the Bab had made the laws of the Bayan subject to His sanction, states that He put some of the Bab's laws into effect by embodying them in the Kitab-i-Aqdas in different wo... 10: O Son Of Desire! Give Ear Unto This: Never Shall Mortal Eye Recognize
O SON OF DESIRE! Give ear unto this: Never shall mortal eye recognize the everlasting Beauty, nor the lifeless heart delight in aught but in the withered bloom. For like seeketh like, and taketh pleasure in the company of its kind. ... 10: O Son Of Utterance! Thou Art My Stronghold; Enter Therein That
O SON OF UTTERANCE! Thou art My stronghold; enter therein that thou mayest abide in safety. My love is in thee, know it, that thou mayest find Me near unto thee. ... 11
And in the fourth Gospel, according to John, it is recorded: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witnes... 11 Six Specific Passages Have Been Sent Down By God The Revealer Of Verses #8
The passages that form part of the Prayer for the Dead comprise the repetition of the greeting Allah-u-Abha (God is the All-Glorious) six times, each followed by nineteen repetitions of one of six specifically revealed verses. These verses are ide... 110
For were they to reach the ultimate object of their quest for God and their attainment unto Him, they would have but reached that abode which hath been raised up within their own hearts. How then could they ever hope to ascend unto such realms as have... 110 We Have Permitted You To Read Such Sciences As Are Profitable Unto You Not Such As End In Idle Disputation #77
The Baha'i Writings enjoin the acquisition of knowledge and the study of the arts and sciences. Baha'is are admonished to respect people of learning and accomplishment, and are warned against the pursuit of studies that are productive only of futi... 111
Know, moreover, that should the cord of assistance binding this mighty Pivot to the dwellers of earth and heaven be severed, they would all assuredly perish. Great God! How can the lowly dust ever reach unto Him Who is the Lord of lords? Immeasurably... 111 He Who Held Converse With God #80
This is a traditional Jewish and Islamic title of Moses. Baha'u'llah states that with the coming of His Revelation human ears have been privileged to hear what He Who conversed with God heard upon Sinai. ... 112
Yea, the seeker reacheth a station wherein that which hath been ordained for him knoweth no bounds. The fire of love so blazeth in his heart that it seizeth the reins of constraint from his grasp. At every moment his love for his Lord increaseth and ... 112 Sinai #80
The mountain where the Law was revealed by God to Moses. ... 113
In these days, inasmuch as We have lifted not the veils that conceal the countenance of the Cause of God, nor disclosed unto men the fruits of these stations which We have been forbidden to describe, thou beholdest them drunk with heedlessness. Other... 113 The Spirit Of God #80
This is one of the titles used in the Islamic and Baha'i Writings to designate Jesus Christ. ... 114
From this station the wayfarer ascendeth unto a City that hath no name or description, and whereof one heareth neither sound nor mention. Therein flow the oceans of eternity, whilst this city itself revolveth round the seat of eternity. Therein the s... 114 Carmel Zion #80
Carmel, the Vineyard of God, is the mountain in the Holy Land where the Shrine of the Bab and the seat of the world administrative centre of the Faith are situated. Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, the traditional site of the tomb of King... 115
Know, moreover, that when We undertook to reveal these words and committed some of them to writing, it was Our intention to elucidate for thine eminence, in the sweet accents of the blessed and the well-favoured of God, all that We had previously men... 115 The Crimson Ark #84
The Crimson Ark refers to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. His followers are designated as the companions of the Crimson Ark, lauded by the Bab in the Qayyumu'l-Asma. ... 116
Yet, should thine eminence reflect upon these brief statements, thou wouldst assuredly acquire every knowledge, attain unto the Object of all learning, and exclaim: "Sufficient are these words unto all creation both visible and invisible!" ... 116 O Emperor Of Austria!
He Who is the Dayspring of God's Light dwelt in the prison of Akka at the time when thou didst set forth to visit the Aqsa Mosque. 85 Francis Joseph (Franz Josef, 1830-1916), Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, made a pilgrimage to Jerusale... 117
Even so, should the fire of love burn within thy soul, thou wouldst ask: "Is there yet any more?" (67) And We say: "Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds!" ... 117 O King Of Berlin! #86
Kaiser William I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, 1797-1888), the seventh king of Prussia, was acclaimed first Emperor of Germany in January 1871 at Versailles in France, following the victory of Germany over France in the Franco-Prussian War. ... 118 The One Whose Power Transcended Thy Power And Whose Station Excelled Thy Station #86
This is a reference to Napoleon III (1808-1873), the Emperor of the French, who was regarded by many historians as the most outstanding monarch of his day in the West. Baha'u'llah addressed two Tablets to Napoleon III, in the second of which He... 119 O People Of Constantinople! #89
The word here translated as Constantinople is, in the original, Ar-Rum or Rome. This term has generally been used in the Middle East to designate Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire, then the city of Byzantium and its empire, and later the... 11: O Son Of Being! Thou Art My Lamp And My Light Is In Thee
O SON OF BEING! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee. ... 11: O Son Of Dust! Blind Thine Eyes That Thou Mayest Behold My
O SON OF DUST! Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself from ric... 12
Such is the text of the verses revealed in the past. By Him besides Whom there is none other God, I have chosen to be brief, for were I to recount all the words that have been sent down unto the Prophets of God from the realm of His supernal glory an...