Say: Doth It Beseem A Man While Claiming

Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llah

Say: Doth it beseem a man while claiming to be a follower of his Lord, the

All-Merciful, he should yet in his heart do the very deeds of the Evil

One? Nay, it ill beseemeth him, and to this He Who is the Beauty of the

All-Glorious will bear Me witness. Would that ye could comprehend it!



Cleanse from your hearts the love of worldly things, from your tongues

every remembrance except His remembrance, from your entire bei g

whatsoever may deter you from beholding His face, or may tempt you to

follow the promptings of your evil and corrupt inclinations. Let God be

your fear, O people, and be ye of them that tread the path of

righteousness.



Say: Should your conduct, O people, contradict your professions, how think

ye, then, to be able to distinguish yourselves from them who, though

professing their faith in the Lord their God, have, as soon as He came

unto them in the cloud of holiness, refused to acknowledge Him, and

repudiated His truth? Disencumber yourselves of all attachment to this

world and the vanities thereof. Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch

as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and

hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path.



Know ye that by "the world" is meant your unawareness of Him Who is your

Maker, and your absorption in aught else but Him. The "life to come," on

the other hand, signifieth the things that give you a safe approach to

God, the All-Glorious, the Incomparable. Whatsoever deterreth you, in this

Day, from loving God is nothing but the world. Flee it, that ye may be

numbered with the blest. Should a man wish to adorn himself with the

ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits

it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to

intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing,

whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants

as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God

hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties.

Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.



O thou that hast fled thy home and sought the presence of God! Proclaim

unto men the Message of thy Lord, that it may haply deter them from

following the promptings of their evil and corrupt desires, and bring them

to the remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. Say: Fear

God, O people, and refrain from shedding the blood of any one. Contend not

with your neighbor, and be ye of them that do good. Beware that ye commit

no disorders on the earth after it hath been well ordered, and follow not

the footsteps of them that are gone astray.



Whoso ariseth among you to teach the Cause of his Lord, let him, before

all else, teach his own self, that his speech may attract the hearts of

them that hear him. Unless he teacheth his own self, the words of his

mouth will not influence the heart of the seeker. Take heed, O people,

lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others but forget to follow

it themselves. The words of such as these, and beyond the words the

realities of all things, and beyond these realities the angels that are

nigh unto God, bring against them the accusation of falsehood.



Should such a man ever succeed in influencing any one, this success should

be attributed not to him, but rather to the influence of the words of God,

as decreed by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. In the sight of God

he is regarded as a lamp that imparteth its light, and yet is all the

while being consumed within itself.



Say: Commit not, O people, that which will bring shame upon you or

dishonor the Cause of God in the eyes of men, and be not of the

mischief-makers. Approach not the things which your minds condemn. Eschew

all manner of wickedness, for such things are forbidden unto you in the

Book which none touch except such as God hath cleansed from every taint of

guilt, and numbered among the purified.



Be fair to yourselves and to others, that the evidences of justice may be

revealed, through your deeds, among Our faithful servants. Beware lest ye

encroach upon the substance of your neighbor. Prove yourselves worthy of

his trust and confidence in you, and withhold not from the poor the gifts

which the grace of God hath bestowed upon you. He, verily, shall

recompense the charitable, and doubly repay them for what they have

bestowed. No God is there but Him. All creation and its empire are His. He

bestoweth His gifts on whom He will, and from whom He will He withholdeth

them. He is the Great Giver, the Most Generous, the Benevolent.



Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Baha, for God hath prescribed

unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as

the most meritorious of all deeds. Such a deed is acceptable only when he

that teacheth the Cause is already a firm believer in God, the Supreme

Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. He hath, moreover, ordained that

His Cause be taught through the power of men's utterance, and not through

resort to violence. Thus hath His ordinance been sent down from the

Kingdom of Him Who is the Most Exalted, the All-Wise. Beware lest ye

contend with any one, nay, strive to make him aware of the truth with

kindly manner and most convincing exhortation. If your hearer respond, he

will have responded to his own behoof, and if not, turn ye away from him,

and set your faces towards God's sacred Court, the seat of resplendent

holiness.



Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its

affairs, for God hath abandoned them to such as have set their affection

upon them. Out of the whole world He hath chosen for Himself the hearts of

men--hearts which the hosts of revelation and of utterance can subdue. Thus

hath it been ordained by the Fingers of Baha, upon the Tablet of God's

irrevocable decree, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the

All-Knowing.