72
Sources: Gems Of Divine MysteriesWing then thy flight unto this divine Tree and partake of its fruits.
Gather up that which hath fallen therefrom and guard it faithfully.
Meditate then upon the utterance of one of the Prophets as He intimated to
the souls of men, through veiled allusions and hidden symbols, the
glad-tidings of the One Who was to come after Him, that thou mayest know
of a certainty that their words are inscrutable to all save those who are
fire", and "brass-like were His feet", and "out of His mouth goeth a
two-edged sword".(50) How could these words be literally interpreted? Were
anyone to appear with all these signs, he would assuredly not be human.
And how could any soul seek his company? Nay, should he appear in one
city, even the inhabitants of the next would flee from him, nor would any
soul dare approach him! Yet, shouldst thou reflect upon these statements,
thou wouldst find them to be of such surpassing eloquence and clarity as
to mark the loftiest heights of utterance and the epitome of wisdom.
Methinks it is from them that the suns of eloquence have appeared and the
stars of clarity have dawned forth and shone resplendent.
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67 Revert To The People Of Baha #42
Baha'u'llah provides for the possibility that the line of Aghsan would terminate prior to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. He designated that in such a situation endowments shall revert to the people of Baha. The term people of... 67: O Children Of Fancy! Know Verily That While The Radiant Dawn Breaketh
O CHILDREN OF FANCY! Know, verily, that while the radiant dawn breaketh above the horizon of eternal holiness, the satanic secrets and deeds done in the gloom of night shall be laid bare and manifest before the peoples of the world. ... 67: O Son Of Beauty! By My Spirit And By My Favor! By My Mercy And
O SON OF BEAUTY! By My spirit and by My favor! By My mercy and by My beauty! All that I have revealed unto thee with the tongue of power, and have written for thee with the pen of might, hath been in accordance with thy capacity and understanding,... 68
He saith, and He, verily, speaketh the truth: "Shall the dead whom We have quickened, and for whom We have ordained a light whereby he may walk amongst men, be like him whose likeness is in the darkness, whence he will not come forth?"(48) This verse... 68 Shave Not Your Heads #44
In some religious traditions it is considered desirable to shave one's head. The shaving of the head is forbidden by Baha'u'llah, and He makes it clear that the provision contained in His Suriy-i-Hajj requiring pilgrims to the Holy House ... 68: O Children Of Men! Know Ye Not Why We Created You All From The
O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumben... 68: O Weed That Springeth Out Of Dust! Wherefore Have Not These Soiled Hands Of Thine
O WEED THAT SPRINGETH OUT OF DUST! Wherefore have not these soiled hands of thine touched first thine own garment, and why with thine heart defiled with desire and passion dost thou seek to commune with Me and to enter My sacred realm? Far, far ar... 69
Would that pure and stainless hearts could be found, that I might impart unto them a sprinkling from the oceans of knowledge which My Lord hath bestowed upon Me, so that they may soar in the heavens even as they walk upon the earth and speed over the... 69 It Is Not Seemly To Let The Hair Pass Beyond The Limit Of The Ears #44
Shoghi Effendi has made clear that, unlike the prohibition on shaving the head, this law forbidding the growing of the hair beyond the lobe of the ear pertains only to men. The application of this law will require clarification by the Universal Ho... 69: O Children Of Adam! Holy Words And Pure And Goodly Deeds Ascend
O CHILDREN OF ADAM! Holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend unto the heaven of celestial glory. Strive that your deeds may be cleansed from the dust of self and hypocrisy and find favor at the court of glory; for ere long the assayers of manki... 69: O Ye Sons Of Spirit! Ye Are My Treasury For In You I Have Treasured The
O YE SONS OF SPIRIT! Ye are My treasury, for in you I have treasured the pearls of My mysteries and the gems of My knowledge. Guard them from the strangers amidst My servants and from the ungodly amongst My people. ... 6: O Son Of Being! Thy Paradise Is My Love; Thy Heavenly Homereunion
O SON OF BEING! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our exalted dominion. ... 6: O Son Of Earth! Know Verily The Heart Wherein The Least Remnant
O SON OF EARTH! Know, verily, the heart wherein the least remnant of envy yet lingers, shall never attain My everlasting dominion, nor inhale the sweet savors of holiness breathing from My kingdom of sanctity. ... 7
Through the power of God and His might, I shall now relate certain passages revealed in the Books of old, and mention some of the signs heralding the appearance of the Manifestations of God in the sanctified persons of His chosen Ones, that thou maye... 7 When Ye Desire To Perform This Prayer
turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath ... decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity 6 The Point of Adoration, that is, the point to which the worshipper should... 70
O My brother! At every juncture We have restated Our theme, that all that hath been recorded in these verses may, by the leave of God, be made clear unto thee, and that thou mayest become independent of those who are plunged in the darkness of self a... 70 Exile And Imprisonment Are Decreed For The Thief #45
Baha'u'llah states that the determination of the degree of penalty, in accordance with the seriousness of the offence, rests with the House of Justice (Q and A 49). The punishments for theft are intended for a future condition of society, when the... 70: O Son Of Him That Stood By His Own Entity In The Kingdom Of His Self!
O SON OF HIM THAT STOOD BY HIS OWN ENTITY IN THE KINGDOM OF HIS SELF! Know thou, that I have wafted unto thee all the fragrances of holiness, have fully revealed to thee My word, have perfected through thee My bounty and have desired for thee that... 70: O Son Of Worldliness! Pleasant Is The Realm Of Being Wert Thou To Attain
O SON OF WORLDLINESS! Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality; sweet is the holy ecstasy if thou drinkest of the mystic chalice from the hand... 71
Say: O people! The Tree of Life hath verily been planted in the heart of the heavenly paradise and bestoweth life in every direction. How can ye fail to perceive and recognize it? It will in truth aid thee to grasp all that this well-assured Soul hat... 71 On The Third Offence
place ye a mark upon his brow so that, thus identified, he may not be accepted in the cities of God and His countries 45 The mark to be placed on the thief's forehead serves the purpose of warning people of his proclivities. All details concern... 71: O My Friends! Call Ye To Mind That Covenant Ye Have Entered Into
O MY FRIENDS! Call ye to mind that covenant ye have entered into with Me upon Mount Paran, situate within the hallowed precincts of Zaman. I have taken to witness the concourse on high and the dwellers in the city of eternity, yet now none do I fi... 71: O Son Of Man! Write All That We Have Revealed Unto Thee With The
O SON OF MAN! Write all that We have revealed unto thee with the ink of light upon the tablet of thy spirit. Should this not be in thy power, then make thine ink of the essence of thy heart. If this thou canst not do, then write with that crimson ... 72
Wing then thy flight unto this divine Tree and partake of its fruits. Gather up that which hath fallen therefrom and guard it faithfully. Meditate then upon the utterance of one of the Prophets as He intimated to the souls of men, through veiled allu... 72 Whoso Wisheth To Make Use Of Vessels Of Silver And Gold Is At Liberty To Do So #46
In the Bayan the Bab allowed the use of gold and silver utensils, thus abrogating the Islamic condemnation of their use which stems not from an explicit injunction of the Qur'an but from Muslim traditions. Baha'u'llah here confirms the Bab's rulin... 72: O My Servant! Thou Art Even As A Finely Tempered Sword Concealed
O MY SERVANT! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer's knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and ... 73
Behold, then, the foolish ones of bygone times and those who, in this day, await the advent of such a being! Nor would they ever bear allegiance unto him except that he appear in the aforementioned form. And as such a being will never appear, so too ... 73 Take Heed Lest When Partaking Of Food Ye Plunge Your Hands Into The Contents Of Bowls And Platters #46
This prohibition was defined by Shoghi Effendi as plunging one's hand in food. In many parts of the world it has been customary to eat with the hands from a communal bowl. ... 73: O My Friend! Thou Art The Daystar Of The Heavens Of My Holiness
O MY FRIEND! Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with ... 74
I shall now briefly explain the true meaning of this utterance, that thou mayest discover its hidden mysteries and be of them that perceive. Examine then and judge aright that which We shall reveal unto thee, that haply thou mayest be accounted in th... 74 Adopt Ye Such Usages As Are Most In Keeping With Refinement #46
This is the first of several passages referring to the importance of refinement and cleanliness. The original Arabic word latafah, rendered here as refinement, has a wide range of meanings with both spiritual and physical implications, such as ele... 74: O Children Of Vainglory! For A Fleeting Sovereignty Ye Have Abandoned My
O CHILDREN OF VAINGLORY! For a fleeting sovereignty ye have abandoned My imperishable dominion, and have adorned yourselves with the gay livery of the world and made of it your boast. By My beauty! All will I gather beneath the one-colored coverin... 75
Know then that He who uttered these words in the realms of glory meant to describe the attributes of the One Who is to come in such veiled and enigmatic terms as to elude the understanding of the people of error. Now, when He saith: "His eyes were as... 75 He Who Is The Dawning-place Of God's Cause Hath No Partner In The Most Great Infallibility #47
In the Tablet of Ishraqat, Baha'u'llah affirms that the Most Great Infallibility is confined to the Manifestations of God. Chapter 45 in Some Answered Questions is devoted to an explanation by 'Abdu'l-Baha of this verse of the Aqdas. In this cha... 75: O Children Of Negligence! Set Not Your Affections On Mortal Sovereignty
O CHILDREN OF NEGLIGENCE! Set not your affections on mortal sovereignty and rejoice not therein. Ye are even as the unwary bird that with full confidence warbleth upon the bough; till of a sudden the fowler Death throws it upon the dust, and the m... 76
As to the words "brass-like were His feet", by this is meant His constancy upon hearing the call of God that commandeth Him: "Be thou steadfast as thou hast been bidden."(52) He shall so persevere in the Cause of God, and evince such firmness in the ... 76 Unto Every Father Hath Been Enjoined The Instruction Of His Son And Daughter In The Art Of Reading And Writing #48
'Abdu'l-Baha, in His Tablets, not only calls attention to the responsibility of parents to educate all their children, but He also clearly specifies that the training and culture of daughters is more necessary than that of sons, for girls will one... 76: O Son Of My Handmaid! Guidance Hath Ever Been Given By Words And Now
O SON OF MY HANDMAID! Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Every one must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones.... 77
And further He saith: "Out of his mouth goeth a two-edged sword." Know thou that since the sword is an instrument that divideth and cleaveth asunder, and since there proceedeth from the mouth of the Prophets and the Chosen Ones of God that which sepa... 77 God Hath Imposed A Fine On Every Adulterer And Adulteress To Be Paid To The House Of Justice #49
Although the term translated here as adultery refers, in its broadest sense, to unlawful sexual intercourse between either married or unmarried individuals (see note 36 for a definition of the term), 'Abdu'l-Baha has specified that the punishment ... 77: O Son Of Justice! In The Night-season The Beauty Of The Immortal
O SON OF JUSTICE! In the night-season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired from the emerald height of fidelity unto the Sadratu'l-Muntaha, and wept with such a weeping that the concourse on high and the dwellers of the realms above waile... 78
Wert thou to behold all things with the eye of discernment, thou wouldst indeed see that this divine sword doth cleave asunder generations. Would that ye could understand it! All this is by virtue of the word of separation that is manifested on the D... 78 Nine Mithqals Of Gold To Be Doubled If They Should Repeat The Offence #49
A mithqal is a unit of weight. The weight of the traditional mithqal used in the Middle East is equivalent to 24 nakhuds. However, the mithqal used by the Baha'is consists of 19 nakhuds, in accordance with the specification of the Bayan (Q and A 2... 78: O Son Of My Handmaid! Quaff From The Tongue Of The Merciful The Stream
O SON OF MY HANDMAID! Quaff from the tongue of the merciful the stream of divine mystery, and behold from the dayspring of divine utterance the unveiled splendor of the daystar of wisdom. Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of the h... 79
Yea, inasmuch as these people have failed to acquire true knowledge from its source and wellspring, and from the ocean of fresh and soft-flowing waters that stream, by the leave of God, through hearts that are pure and stainless, they have been veile... 79 We Have Made It Lawful For You To Listen To Music And Singing #51
'Abdu'l-Baha has written that Among certain nations of the East, music was considered reprehensible. Though the Qur'an contains no specific guidance on the subject, some Muslims consider listening to music as unlawful, while others tolerate music ...