1. Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Every man of insight
confesseth Thy sovereignty and Thy dominion, and every
discerning eye perceiveth the greatness of Thy majesty and the
compelling power of Thy might. The winds of tests are
powerless to hold back them that enjoy near access to Thee
from setting their faces towards the horizon of Thy glory, and
the tempests of trials must fail to draw away and hinder such
as are wholly devoted to Thy will from approaching Thy
court.
Methinks, the
lamp of Thy love is burning in their hearts, and the light of
Thy tenderness is lit within their breasts. Adversities are
incapable of estranging them from Thy Cause, and the
vicissitudes of fortune can never cause them to stray from Thy
pleasure.
I beseech Thee, O
my God, by them and by the sighs which their hearts utter in
their separation from Thee, to keep them safe from the
mischief of Thine adversaries, and to nourish their souls with
what Thou hast ordained for Thy loved ones on whom shall come
no fear and who shall not be put to grief.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
Prayers and Meditations, I, p. 3
2. Sanctified be
the Lord of all mankind, at the mention of Whose name all the
atoms of the earth have been made to vibrate, and the Tongue
of Grandeur hath been moved to disclose that which had been
wrapt in His knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury
of His might. He, verily, through the potency of His name, the
Mighty, the All-Powerful, the Most High, is the ruler of all
that is in the heavens and all that is on earth.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
Tablets of of Baha'u'llah, p. 5
3. Say: From My
laws the sweet-smelling savour of My garment can be smelled,
and by their aid the standards of Victory will be planted upon
the highest peaks. The Tongue of My power hath, from the
heaven of My omnipotent glory, addressed to My creation these
words: "Observe My commandments, for the love of My
beauty." Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the divine
fragrance of his Best-Beloved from these words, laden with the
perfume of a grace which no tongue can describe. By My life!
He who hath drunk the choice wine of fairness from the hands
of My bountiful favour will circle around My commandments that
shine above the Dayspring of My creation.
Think not that We
have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We
have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and
power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of
Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of
insight!
- Bahá'u'lláh,
The Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 20-21
4. Again I say:
Hearken unto My Voice that calleth from My prison that it may
acquaint thee with the things that have befallen My Beauty, at
the hands of them that are the manifestations of My glory, and
that thou mayest perceive how great hath been My patience,
notwithstanding My might, and how immense My forbearance,
notwithstanding My power. By My Life! Couldst thou but know
the things sent down by My Pen, and discover the treasures of
My Cause, and the pearls of My mysteries which lie hid in the
seas of My names and in the goblets of My words, thou wouldst,
in thy love for My name, and in thy longing for My glorious
and sublime Kingdom, lay down thy life in My path. Know thou
that though My body be beneath the swords of My foes, and My
limbs be beset with incalculable afflictions, yet My spirit is
filled with a gladness with which all the joys of the earth
can never compare.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, pp. 28-29
5. 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.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
The Hidden Words, Arabic #24
6. The
recognition of Him Who is the Bearer of divine Truth is none
other than the recognition of God, and loving Him is none
other than loving God. However, I swear by the sublime Essence
of God--exalted and glorified be He--that I did not wish my
identity to be known by men, and gave instructions that My
name should be concealed, because I was fully aware of the
incapacity of this people, who are none other than those who
have, in reference to no less a person than the Apostle of
God-- incomparable as He hath ever been--remarked, `He is
certainly a lunatic'. If they now claim to be other than those
people, their deeds bear witness to the falsity of their
assertions. That which God testifieth is none other than what
His supreme Testimony testifieth. Were all the peoples of the
world to testify unto a thing and were He to testify unto
another, His testimony will be regarded as God's testimony,
while aught else but Him hath been and will ever be as naught;
for it is through His might that a thing assumeth
existence.
- The Báb,
Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 121
7. Glorified be
God! Man's treasure is his utterance, yet this Wronged One
hath withheld His Tongue, for the disbelievers are lying in
ambush; however, protection is afforded by God, the Lord of
all worlds. Verily, in Him have We placed Our trust and unto
Him have We committed all affairs. All-Sufficient is He for Us
and for all created things. He is the One by Whose leave, and
through the potency of Whose command, the Day-Star of
sovereign might hath shone resplendent above the horizon of
the world. Well is it with him who perceiveth and recognizeth
the Truth and woe betide the froward and the faithless.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 62
8. 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, not
with My state and the melody of My voice.
- Bahá'u'lláh,
The Hidden Words, Arabic #67
9. Lord! Pitiful
are we, grant us Thy favor; poor, bestow upon us a share from
the ocean of Thy wealth; needy, do Thou satisfy us; abased,
give us Thy glory. The fowls of the air and the beasts of the
field receive their meat each day from Thee, and all beings
partake of Thy care and loving-kindness.
Deprive not this
feeble one of Thy wondrous grace and vouchsafe by Thy might
unto this helpless soul Thy bounty.
Give us our daily
bread, and grant Thine increase in the necessities of life,
that we may be dependent on none other but Thee, may commune
wholly with Thee, may walk in Thy ways and declare Thy
mysteries. Thou art the almighty and the Loving and the
Provider of all mankind.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Baha'i Prayers, pp. 20-21
