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Sources: Gems Of Divine MysteriesKnow then that it behoveth thine eminence to ponder from the outset
these questions in thy heart: What hath prompted the divers peoples and
kindreds of the earth to reject the Apostles whom God hath sent unto them
in His might and power, whom He hath raised up to exalt His Cause and
ordained to be the Lamps of eternity within the Niche of His oneness? For
what reason have the people turned aside from them, disputed about them,
risen against and contended with them? On what grounds have they refused
to acknowledge their apostleship and authority, nay, denied their truth
and reviled their persons, even slaying or banishing them?
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Alas, alas, for that which befell Him Who was the Manifestation of the Self of God, and for that which He and His loved ones were made to suffer! The people inflicted upon them what no soul hath ever inflicted upon another, and what no infidel hath w... 26 And At Its Close Have Designated For You Naw-ruz As A Feast #16
The Bab introduced a new calendar, known now as the Badi or Baha'i calendar (see notes 27 and 147). According to this calendar, a day is the period from sunset to sunset. In the Bayan, the Bab ordained the month of 'Ala to be the month of fasting,... 26: O My Friend In Word! Ponder Awhile Hast Thou Ever Heard That Friend
O MY FRIEND IN WORD! Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home. ... 26: O Son Of Being! How Couldst Thou Forget Thine Own Faults And
O SON OF BEING! How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me. ... 27
Hearken then unto that which the Bird of Heaven uttered, in the sweetest and most wondrous accents, and in the most perfect and exalted melodies, concerning them--an utterance that shall fill them with remorse from now unto "the day when mankind shal... 27 Let The Days In Excess Of The Months Be Placed Before The Month Of Fasting #16
The Badi calendar is based on the solar year of 365 days, 5 hours, and 50 odd minutes. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361 days), with the addition of four extra days (five in a leap year). The Bab did not specifically define ... 27: O Son Of Dust! All That Is In Heaven And Earth I Have Ordained
O SON OF DUST! All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation o... 27: O Son Of Man! Breathe Not The Sins Of Others So Long As Thou Art
O SON OF MAN! Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed wouldst thou be, and to this I bear witness. ... 28
Be not veiled by aught that hath been revealed in the Qur'an, or by what thou hast learned from the works of those Suns of immaculacy and Moons of majesty,(22) regarding the perversion of the Texts by the fanatical or their alteration by their corrup... 28 We Have Ordained That These Shall Be The Manifestations Of The Letter Ha #16
Known as the Ayyam-i-Ha (the Days of Ha), the Intercalary Days have the distinction of being associated with the letter Ha. The abjad numerical value of this Arabic letter is five, which corresponds to the potential number of intercalary days. ... 28: O Essence Of Desire! At Many A Dawn Have I Turned From The Realms Of
O ESSENCE OF DESIRE! At many a dawn have I turned from the realms of the Placeless unto thine abode, and found thee on the bed of ease busied with others than Myself. Thereupon, even as the flash of the spirit, I returned to the realms of celestia... 28: O Son Of Spirit! Know Thou Of A Truth: He That Biddeth Men Be Just
O SON OF SPIRIT! Know thou of a truth: He that biddeth men be just and himself committeth iniquity is not of Me, even though he bear My name. ... 29
O thou who art mentioned in this outspread roll and who, amidst the gloomy darkness that now prevaileth, hast been illumined by the splendours of the sacred Mount in the Sinai of divine Revelation! Cleanse thy heart from every blasphemous whispering ... 29 These Days Of Giving That Precede The Season Of Restraint #16
Baha'u'llah enjoined upon His followers to devote these days to feasting, rejoicing and charity. In a letter written on Shoghi Effendi's behalf it is explained that the intercalary days are specially set aside for hospitality, the giving of gifts,... 29: O Son Of Being! Ascribe Not To Any Soul That Which Thou Wouldst
O SON OF BEING! Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it. ... 29: O Son Of Bounty! Out Of The Wastes Of Nothingness With The Clay
O SON OF BOUNTY! Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things. Thus, ere thou didst issue from thy mother's wo... 2: O Son Of Spirit! The Bird Seeketh Its Nest; The Nightingale The
O SON OF SPIRIT! The bird seeketh its nest; the nightingale the charm of the rose; whilst those birds, the hearts of men, content with transient dust, have strayed far from their eternal nest, and with eyes turned towards the slough of heedlessnes... 3
Know then that it behoveth thine eminence to ponder from the outset these questions in thy heart: What hath prompted the divers peoples and kindreds of the earth to reject the Apostles whom God hath sent unto them in His might and power, whom He hath... 3 We Have Enjoined Obligatory Prayer Upon You #6
In Arabic, there are several words for prayer. The word salat, which appears here in the original, refers to a particular category of prayers, the recitation of which at specific times of the day is enjoined on the believers. To differentiate this... 30
O thou who art standing before My Throne and yet remain unaware thereof! Know thou that whoso seeketh to scale the summits of the divine mysteries must needs strive to the utmost of his power and capacity for his Faith, that the pathway of guidance m... 30 The Traveller Not Bound By The Fast #16
The minimum duration of a journey which exempts the believer from fasting is defined by Baha'u'llah (Q and A 22 and 75). The details of this provision are summarized in the Synopsis and Codification, section IV.B.5.a.i.-v. Shoghi Effendi has cl... 30: O Bond Slave Of The World! Many A Dawn Hath The Breeze Of My Loving-kindness
O BOND SLAVE OF THE WORLD! Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving-kindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed of heedlessness fast asleep. Bewailing then thy plight it returned whence it came. ... 30: O Son Of Man! Deny Not My Servant Should He Ask Anything From
O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me. ... 31
Were the peoples of every nation to observe that which hath been mentioned, the matter would be made simple unto them, and such words and allusions would not withhold them from the Ocean of the names and attributes of God. And had the people known th... 31 The Traveller The Ailing Those Who Are With Child Or Giving Suck Are Not Bound By The Fast
they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. 16 Exemption from fasting is granted to those who are ill or of advanced age (see note 14), women in their courses (see note 20), travellers (see note 30) and to women who are pregnant and... 31: O Son Of Being! Bring Thyself To Account Each Day Ere Thou Art
O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds. ... 31: O Son Of Earth! Wouldst Thou Have Me Seek None Other Than
O SON OF EARTH! Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me; and wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty, close thine eyes to the world and all that is therein; for My will and the will of another than Me, even as fire and water, cannot dwell together ... 32
Know, moreover, that it is through such words that God proveth His servants and sifteth them, separating the believer from the infidel, the detached from the worldly, the pious from the profligate, the doer of good from the worker of iniquity, and so... 32 Abstain From Food And Drink From Sunrise To Sundown #17
This relates to the period of fasting. In one of His Tablets, 'Abdu'l-Baha, after stating that fasting consists of abstinence from food and drink, further indicates that smoking is a form of drink. In Arabic the verb drink applies equally to smoki... 32: O Befriended Stranger! The Candle Of Thine Heart Is Lighted By The Hand
O BEFRIENDED STRANGER! The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish... 32: O Son Of The Supreme! I Have Made Death A Messenger Of Joy To Thee
O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom? ... 33
It behoveth him who is a wayfarer in the path of God and a wanderer in His way to detach himself from all who are in the heavens and on the earth. He must renounce all save God, that perchance the portals of mercy may be unlocked before his face and ... 33 It Hath Been Ordained That Every Believer In God
... shall, each day ... repeat Allah-u-Abha ninety-five times. 18 Allah-u-Abha is an Arabic phrase meaning God the All-Glorious. It is a form of the Greatest Name of God (see note 137). In Islam there is a tradition that among the many names of... 33: O My Brother! Hearken To The Delightsome Words Of My Honeyed
O MY BROTHER! Hearken to the delightsome words of My honeyed tongue, and quaff the stream of mystic holiness from My sugar-shedding lips. Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart, and water them with the water of certitude, ...