23: O Dwellers In The City Of Love! Mortal Blasts Have Beset The Everlasting Candle
Categories: FROM THE PERSIANSources: The Hidden Words Of Baha'u'llah
O DWELLERS IN THE CITY OF LOVE! Mortal blasts have beset the everlasting
candle, and the beauty of the celestial Youth is veiled in the darkness of
dust. The chief of the monarchs of love is wronged by the people of
tyranny and the dove of holiness lies prisoned in the talons of owls. The
dwellers in the pavilion of glory and the celestial concourse bewail and
lament, while ye repose in the realm of negligence, and esteem yourselves
as of the true friends. How vain are your imaginings!
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Encompassed as I am at this time by the dogs of the earth and the beasts of every land, concealed as I remain in the hidden habitation of Mine inner Being, forbidden as I may be from divulging that which God hath bestowed upon Me of the wonders of Hi... 2 We Have Unsealed The Choice Wine With The Fingers Of Might And Power #5
The consumption of wine and other intoxicants is prohibited in the Kitab-i-Aqdas (see notes 144 and 170). Reference to the use of wine in an allegorical sense--such as being the cause of spiritual ecstasy--is found, not only in the Revelation of... 20
O thou whom We have outwardly never met, yet whom We inwardly cherish in Our heart! Be fair in thy judgement and present thyself before Him Who seeth and knoweth thee, even if thou seest and knowest Him not: Can any soul be found to elucidate these w... 20 God Hath Exempted Women Who Are In Their Courses From Obligatory Prayer And Fasting #13
Exemption from obligatory prayer and fasting is granted to women who are menstruating; they should, instead, perform their ablutions (see note 34) and repeat 95 times a day between one noon and the next, the verse Glorified be God, the Lord of Spl... 20: O Son Of Spirit! My Claim On Thee Is Great It Cannot Be Forgotten
O SON OF SPIRIT! My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten. My grace to thee is plenteous, it cannot be veiled. My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed. My light is manifest to thee, it cannot be obscured. ... 20: O Ye That Are Lying As Dead On The Couch Of Heedlessness!
In the eighth of the most holy lines, in the fifth Tablet of Paradise, He saith: O YE THAT ARE LYING AS DEAD ON THE COUCH OF HEEDLESSNESS! Ages have passed and your precious lives are well-nigh ended, yet not a single breath of purity hath reached... 21
Having imparted unto thee, beneath countless veils of concealment, certain hidden mysteries, We now return to Our elucidation of the Books of old, that perchance thy feet may not slip and thou mayest receive with complete certitude the portion which ... 21 When Travelling If Ye Should Stop And Rest In Some Safe Spot Perform Ye
men and women alike a single prostration in place of each unsaid Obligatory Prayer 14 Exemption from obligatory prayer is granted to those who find themselves in such a condition of insecurity that the saying of the Obligatory Prayers is not p... 21: O Moving Form Of Dust! I Desire Communion With Thee But Thou Wouldst
O MOVING FORM OF DUST! I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst put no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebellion hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art ever far from Me. Imperishable glory I have chose... 21: O Son Of Man! Upon The Tree Of Effulgent Glory I Have Hung For
O SON OF MAN! Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung for thee the choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and contented thyself with that which is less good? Return then unto that which is better for thee in the realm on high. ... 22
It is recorded in all the Books of the Gospel that He Who is the Spirit(15) spoke in words of pure light unto His disciples, saying: "Know that heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass away."(16) As is clear and evident to thine ... 22 Upon Completing Your Prostrations Seat Yourselves Cross-legged #14
The Arabic expression haykalu't-tawhid, translated here as cross-legged, means the posture of unity. It has traditionally signified a cross-legged position. ... 22: O Son Of Desire! The Learned And The Wise Have For Long Years
O SON OF DESIRE! The learned and the wise have for long years striven and failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least eff... 22: O Son Of Spirit! Noble Have I Created Thee Yet Thou Hast Abased
O SON OF SPIRIT! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created. ... 23
O My brother! Sanctify thy heart, illumine thy soul, and sharpen thy sight, that thou mayest perceive the sweet accents of the Birds of Heaven and the melodies of the Doves of Holiness warbling in the Kingdom of eternity, and perchance apprehend the ... 23 Say: God Hath Made My Hidden Love The Key To The Treasure #15
There is a well-known Islamic tradition concerning God and His creation: I was a Hidden Treasure. I wished to be made known, and thus I called creation into being in order that I might be known. References and allusions to this tra... 23: O Dwellers In The City Of Love! Mortal Blasts Have Beset The Everlasting Candle
O DWELLERS IN THE CITY OF LOVE! Mortal blasts have beset the everlasting candle, and the beauty of the celestial Youth is veiled in the darkness of dust. The chief of the monarchs of love is wronged by the people of tyranny and the dove of holines... 23: O Son Of The Supreme! To The Eternal I Call Thee Yet Thou Dost Seek That
O SON OF THE SUPREME! To the eternal I call thee, yet thou dost seek that which perisheth. What hath made thee turn away from Our desire and seek thine own? ... 24
Thou canst indeed hear the learned and the foolish amongst the people voice the same objections in this day, saying: "The sun hath not risen from the West, nor hath the Crier cried out betwixt earth and heaven. Water hath not inundated certain lands;... 24 O Pen Of The Most High! #16
Pen of the Most High, the Supreme Pen and the Most Exalted Pen are references to Baha'u'llah, illustrating His function as Revealer of the Word of God. ... 24: O Son Of Man! Transgress Not Thy Limits Nor Claim That Which
O SON OF MAN! Transgress not thy limits, nor claim that which beseemeth thee not. Prostrate thyself before the countenance of thy God, the Lord of might and power. ... 24: O Ye That Are Foolish Yet Have A Name To Be Wise!
O YE THAT ARE FOOLISH, YET HAVE A NAME TO BE WISE! Wherefore do ye wear the guise of shepherds, when inwardly ye have become wolves, intent upon My flock? Ye are even as the star, which riseth ere the dawn, and which, though it seem radiant and lu... 25
Veiled as they remain within their own selves, the generality of the people have failed to perceive the sweet accents of holiness, inhale the fragrance of mercy, or seek guidance, as bidden by God, from those who are the custodians of the Scriptures.... 25 We Have Enjoined Upon You Fasting During A Brief Period #16
Fasting and obligatory prayer constitute the two pillars that sustain the revealed Law of God. Baha'u'llah in one of His Tablets affirms that He has revealed the laws of obligatory prayer and fasting so that through them the believers may draw nig... 25: O Son Of Spirit! Vaunt Not Thyself Over The Poor For I Lead Him On
O SON OF SPIRIT! Vaunt not thyself over the poor, for I lead him on his way and behold thee in thy evil plight and confound thee for evermore. ... 25: O Ye Seeming Fair Yet Inwardly Foul! Ye Are Like Clear But Bitter Water Which To Outward
O YE SEEMING FAIR YET INWARDLY FOUL! Ye are like clear but bitter water, which to outward seeming is crystal pure but of which, when tested by the divine Assayer, not a drop is accepted. Yea, the sun beam falls alike upon the dust and the mirror, ... 26
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 ...