“The Word of God
is the king of words
and its pervasive influence is incalculable.
It hath ever dominated
and will continue to dominate
the realm of being…
…The Word is the master key for the whole world
inasmuch through its potency
the doors of the hearts of men,
which in reality are the doors of heaven,
are unlocked…”
Bahá’u’lláh
Year 179 B. E. – Jád/Generosity – Month 19 – `Alá‘/Loftiness
Naught do I now witness
but the manifold evidences
of Thy grace and loving-kindness,
Thy bounty and gracious favours,
Thy generosity and loftiness,
Thy sovereignty and might,
Thy splendour and Thy glory,
and that which befitteth the holy court
of Thy transcendent dominion and majesty
and beseemeth the glorious precincts
of Thine eternity and exaltation.
(The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 181)
Fast Day 17 – Sulṭán/Sovereignty & Jalál/Glory
For Bahá’ís say that the sovereignty of Christ
was a heavenly, divine, everlasting sovereignty,
not a Napoleonic sovereignty that vanisheth in a short time.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 45)
O thou maidservant of God!
Every woman who becometh the maidservant of God
outshineth in glory the empresses of the world,
for she is related to God,
and her sovereignty is everlasting,
whereas a handful of dust will obliterate
the name and fame of those empresses.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 123)
Fast Day 18 – Mulk/Dominion & Jamál/Beauty
Then know that for the dominion of the reality of Christ
there is no beginning and there is no end.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, p. 659)
I ask God
to make thee follow my example
in establishing the Kingdom of Unity and Peace
and building up the Dominion of Love and Faith
which was founded by the Beauty of El-Abhá.
Rest and repose are necessary for thee in these days;
be thou composed in all conditions.
Thou art with me under all circumstances.
Then thank God
for His guidance unto thee.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 300)
Fast Day 19 – ʻAláʼ/Loftiness & Kamál/Perfection
Consider ye! In the day of His Highness Christ,
the grandeur and majesty of their Holiness the Apostles,
was not known.
After three-hundred years the loftiness of the station
and the exaltation of their attainment became manifest.
Ere long the result of the deeds in this cycle of Baháʼu’lláh
will appear and every one of the friends and the maid-servants
will be crowned with a diadem
whose splendid gems will radiate brilliancy
and effulgence throughout cycles and ages.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 532)
The third requirement of perfection
is to arise with complete sincerity
and purity of purpose to educate the masses:
to exert the utmost effort to instruct them
in the various branches of learning and useful sciences,
to encourage the development of modern progress,
to widen the scope of commerce, industry and the arts,
to further such measures as will increase the people’s wealth.
For the mass of the population is uninformed
as to these vital agencies
which would constitute an immediate remedy
for society’s chronic ills.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 39)
Year 180 B. E. – Bahá/Splendour – Month 1 – Bahá/Splendour
I entreat Thee by this great, this wondrous splendour
and by the glory of Thine exalted sovereignty,
O Thou Who art the Lord of indomitable power,
to transform us through Thy bounty
into that which Thou Thyself dost possess
and enable us to become fountains of Thy light,
and graciously vouchsafe unto us
that which beseemeth the majesty of Thy transcendent dominion.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 180)
Naw-Rúz Day 1 – Bahá/Splendour & Fidál/Grace
I beseech Thee, O my Lord,
by Thy most effulgent splendour,
before whose brightness every soul humbly
boweth down and prostrateth itself
in adoration for Thy sake–a splendour
before whose radiance fire is turned into light,
the dead are brought to life and
every difficulty is changed into ease.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 180)
Our grace assuredly pervadeth all that dwell
in the kingdoms of earth and heaven
and in whatever lieth between them,
and beyond them all mankind.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 37)
Day 2 – Jalál/Glory & `Idál/Justice
Far from the glory of God,
the Lord of heaven and earth,
the Lord of creation,
be that which is affirmed of Him
by the peoples of the world,
except by such as faithfully observe His precepts.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 23)
In truth We tested thee
and found that thou wert not of them
that are endowed with understanding,
wherefore, We passed upon thee the sentence of negation,
as a token of justice from Our presence;
and verily We are equitable.
However, shouldst thou return unto Us,
We would convert thy negation into affirmation.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 36)
Day 3 – Jamál/Beauty & Istijlál/Majesty
Number me, O my God,
with those who are privileged to fix their gaze
upon Thy Beauty and who take such delight therein
that they would not exchange a single moment thereof
with the sovereignty of the kingdom of heavens and earth
or with the entire realm of creation.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 216)
And I bear witness unto whatsoever
He hath fashioned or will fashion,
even as He Himself,
in the majesty of His glory,
hath borne witness:
No God is there but Him,
the Peerless, the Self-Subsisting, the Most Wondrous.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 18)
Day 4 – ʻAẓamat/ Grandeur & Istiqlál/Independence
IMPLORE Thee
by the splendour of the light of Thy glorious face,
the majesty of Thine ancient grandeur
and the power of Thy transcendent sovereignty
to ordain for us at this moment
every measure of that which is good and seemly
and to destine for us every portion
of the outpourings of Thy grace.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 186)
We are but the embodiments of poverty,
of nothingness, of helplessness and of perdition,
while Thy whole Being betokeneth wealth,
independence, glory, majesty and boundless grace.
(The Báb, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 179)
“The understanding of His words
and the comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven
are in no wise dependent upon human learning.
They depend solely upon purity of heart,
chastity of soul,
freedom of spirit.”
Bahá’u’lláh