/> exercise His kingship and to extend His protection unto all created

things. My proof is the greatness of My might and My sovereignty that

embraceth the whole of creation."...



Blessed art thou, O My name, inasmuch as thou hast entered Mine Ark, and

art speeding, through the power of My sovereign and most exalted might, on

the ocean of grandeur, and art numbered with My favored ones whose names

the Finger of God hath inscribed. Thou hast quaffed the cup which is life

indeed from the hands of this Youth, around Whom revolve the

Manifestations of the All-Glorious, and the brightness of Whose presence

they Who are the Day Springs of Mercy extol in the day time and in the

night season.



His glory be with thee, inasmuch as thou hast journeyed from God unto God,

and entered within the borders of the Court of unfading splendor--the Spot

which mortal man can never describe. Therein hath the breeze of holiness,

laden with the love of thy Lord, stirred thy spirit within thee, and the

waters of understanding have washed from thee the stains of remoteness and

ungodliness. Thou hast gained admittance into the Paradise of God's

Remembrance, through thy recognition of Him Who is the Embodiment of that

Remembrance amongst men.





Wherefore, be thankful to God, for having strengthened thee to aid His

Cause, for having made the flowers of knowledge and understanding to

spring forth in the garden of thine heart. Thus hath His grace encompassed

thee, and encompassed the whole of creation. Beware, lest thou allow

anything whatsoever to grieve thee. Rid thyself of all attachment to the

vain allusions of men, and cast behind thy back the idle and subtle

disputations of them that are veiled from God. Proclaim, then, that which

the Most Great Spirit will inspire thee to utter in the service of the

Cause of thy Lord, that thou mayest stir up the souls of all men and

incline their hearts unto this most blessed and all-glorious Court....



Know thou that We have annulled the rule of the sword, as an aid to Our

Cause, and substituted for it the power born of the utterance of men. Thus

have We irrevocably decreed, by virtue of Our grace. Say: O people! Sow

not the seeds of discord among men, and refrain from contending with your

neighbor, for your Lord hath committed the world and the cities thereof to

the care of the kings of the earth, and made them the emblems of His own

power, by virtue of the sovereignty He hath chosen to bestow upon them. He

hath refused to reserve for Himself any share whatever of this world's

dominion. To this He Who is Himself the Eternal Truth will testify. The

things He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of men's hearts, that

He may cleanse them from all earthly defilements, and enable them to draw

nigh unto the hallowed Spot which the hands of the infidel can never

profane. Open, O people, the city of the human heart with the key of your

utterance. Thus have We, according to a pre-ordained measure, prescribed

unto you your duty.



By the righteousness of God! The world and its vanities, and its glory,

and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as

worthless as, nay, even more contemptible than, dust and ashes. Would that

the hearts of men could comprehend it! Cleanse yourselves thoroughly, O

people of Baha, from the defilement of the world, and of all that

pertaineth unto it. God Himself beareth Me witness. The things of the

earth ill beseem you. Cast them away unto such as may desire them, and

fasten your eyes upon this most holy and effulgent Vision.



That which beseemeth you is the love of God, and the love of Him Who is

the Manifestation of His Essence, and the observance of whatsoever He

chooseth to prescribe unto you, did ye but know it.



Say: Let truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning. Suffer not yourselves

to be deprived of the robe of forbearance and justice, that the sweet

savors of holiness may be wafted from your hearts upon all created things.

Say: Beware, O people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose

words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest

to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His

commandments. Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the

professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct.

It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others.

Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole

earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keepeth the precepts

prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.