through the favor and confirmation of God, that thou mayest organize a
spiritual meeting at Leominster and become the cause of guidance to many
souls."
O thou dear maid-servant of God, Florence! Rest assured in the bounty and
favor of God. I hope thou wilt achieve great services.
"O thou advancer to God!..."
O thou advancer to God!
Verily, I have read thy brilliant letter which is elegantly composed. I
supplicate God to alleviate thy trials and look upon thee with the eye of
His mercy under all aspects. Turn thou to the Kingdom of thy great Lord
with a truthful heart and with all devotion, sincerity and great
spirituality and ask to be healed from pain and passions and be confident
in the great bounty of thy Lord.
"O thou pure soul who art turning toward the Lord of..."
O thou pure soul who art turning toward the Lord of the creatures!
Verily, I received thy letter*** and was informed of its meanings and
contents which indicated thine humbleness before God and thy meekness to
His great realm of might.
O my dear one! This day is the day of purification, the day of
sanctification, the day of turning toward God, the day of severance from
all else save God, the day of lowliness and humiliation, the day of
serving the beloved ones of God, the day of becoming utterly destitute of
and free from egotism and desire and the day of purity and sacrifice in
the path of God. This is incumbent upon thee, so that thou mayest be
accepted in the court of the Almighty and praised in His lofty Threshold
of Holiness.
"O thou whose heart is pure and whose souls is rejoiced!..."
O thou whose heart is pure and whose souls is rejoiced!
Verily, thy revered wife sent unto us thy photograph and we say and
rejoiced at witnessing thy face, even though it was a (mere) image, for,
verily, this image indicateth the reality. Verily, I saw in thine eyes the
sign of acuteness and thought. Let thy thoughts be an eternal thought, a
spiritual reflection and divinely full of meaning. This is but truth and
there is naught beyond truth except extinction.
"O maid-servant of God!..."
O maid-servant of God!
Thank thy Lord for confirming thee unto this wonderful day and new century
and giving thee to drink the cup of His love with the hand of His
providence. Verily, this is a great favor.
Be not sorrowful on account of the maid-servant of God, Madam .........
This is a test on the part of God and its wisdom (or reason) is concealed.
We ask God to gaze on her with the eye of mercy. Verily, He is the
Merciful, the Clement!
"O thou who hath advanced to the Kingdom of his..."
O thou who hath advanced to the Kingdom of his Lord, the Glorious!
Know thou that the Kingdom of God hath pitched its tents, hoisted its
banner and uplifted its pavilions in this extensive space. The hosts of
the angels of God have come down with standards of signs; marched off
towards all horizons; opened the cities of the hearts of the servants by
the power of thy Lord, the Generous; and have blown the great trumpet. The
Hoy Spirit hath freely given eternal life to every pure heart, and the
souls became attracted through the effulgence of the Beauty of the
Glorious Kingdom and through the brilliancy of the Light of Truth over all
regions. The clamor of the spiritual people hath risen with praise and
glory to God, the All-glorious!
As to thee, thank thou thy Lord for that He hath enabled to see the sins
of His Kingdom in this wonderful day. Arise to serve the Cause of thy Lord
and devote thyself to God's service as a penitent servant.
"O thou servant of God!..."
O thou servant of God!
I was assuredly informed of thy confessing the unity of God and that thou
hast drawn from the ocean of the gift of God and thine insight hath
brightened by the light of guidance and by the dependence of thine heart
upon the lights of the Beauty of God. The, glad-tidings be unto thee for
this bounty which God hath assigned unto every holy and spiritual being in
the Kingdom of God.
By the life of God! verily, the gift of guidance, during this great
century and this age of lights, is greater than reigning over the earth
and all that is in it; because the earthly reign is mortal, banishing,
imaginary and of no permanence; but this gift is permanent, eternal,
everlasting and endless. consequently, it is confirmed that this (gift of
guidance) is greater than the sovereignty of the world.
O servant of God! Rejoice, announce glad-tidings and be filled with the
Spirit and preach and call in the Name of God in that region and hear the
good-tidings of God in that land!
Thou shalt hear the sound of this glorious bell in every near and distant
region, and the call of the True One will be elevated in the monasteries
of the world of mankind, just as it was elevated in the assmeblies of the
divine world, and the earthly people will be combined with the divine and
heavenly concourse.
Thereupon thy heart shall rejoice, thy soul shall become pure, thine eye
shall brighten and thou shalt be inwardly revived. Praise be upon thee!
"O thou who art advancing unto the Face of God!..."
O thou who art advancing unto the Face of God!
Blessed art thou for that thou wert saved from the storm of doubts, wert
healed from all manner of disease, wert rejoiced in spirit by the
fragrances of God, held firm to the love of God and God helped thee
through the trials. This we heralded unto thee before and it was an
ordained and firm promise.
Draw night unto God and perservere in (thy) communion with (or prayer to)
thy Lord, so that the fire of God's love may glow more luminously in the
heart, its heat grow stronger and give warmth to that region and its sound
reach the Supreme Concourse.
"O thou maid-servant of God!..."
O thou maid-servant of God!
Truly, I say, complete capacity and ability is the cause of the appearance
of the divine gifts. Souls are many who in the years gone by have listened
to the glad-tidings, but up to this time they have remained veiled,
deprived and unmoved. But, through the bounty of the Beauty of Abha, as
soon as thou didst hear the call, thou didst turn thy face toward the Lord
of Hosts and became a believer in God and assured of His divine verses.
Immediately the Most Great Name made an impression upon thee. Therefore, I
hope thy breath may become also effective and in a short time, like unto
dry wood, become enkindled and ignited.
Do not wonder at the mercy and bounty of God. Consider thou how one spark
sets on fire a great forest. Therefore, there is great hope, and the favor
and grace of the Almighty is limitless.
"O thou advancing maid-servant of God!..."
O thou advancing maid-servant of God!
Thy letter was received and I was informed of its contents. Thanks be to
God! thou art guided to the Light of guidance and hast attained to this
most great gift. I hope thou mayest become a daughter of the Kingdom. Thou
must be thankful to Mrs. ........., for she was the cause of thy guidance;
and thou must forever seek the providence of God in her behalf, for she
hath illumined thine eyes. The love that she hath shown to you, its value
is not known at present, but after departing from this transient world,
its value will become known and evident in the divine Kingdom, and even in
this mortal world its value shall appear in future. In the days of Christ,
guidance had no importance whatever to the deniers; now consider how much
importance it hath gained.
Turn thou with thy heart ot he divine Kingdom and supplicate to Him,
(saying):
""O Compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for..."
"O Compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made
(me) conscious. Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a
hearing ear; hast led me to Thy Kingdom and guided me to Thy Path. Thou
hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the Ark of Deliverance.
O God! Keep me steadfast and make me firm and stanch. Protect me from
violent tests and preserve and shelter me in the strongly fortified
fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament. Thou art the Powerful! Thou art
the Seeing! Thou art the Hearing! O Thou the Compassionate God! Bestow
upon me a heart which, like unto glass, may be illumined wit the light of
Thy love, and confer upon me a thought which may change this world into a
rose-garden through the spiritual bounty. Thou art the Compassionate, the
Merciful! Thou art the Great Beneficent God!"
"O ye friends of God!..."
O ye(288) friends of God!
Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist? This is
the age of the Blessed Perfection and this is the time of the Greatest
Name! This is the century of the Manifestation, the age of the Sun of the
Horizons and the beautiful springtime of His Holiness the Eternal One!
The earth is in motion and growth; the mountains, hills and prairies are
green and pleasant; the bounty is overflowing; the mercy universal; the
rain is descending from the cloud of mercy; the brilliant Sun is shining;
the full moon is ornamenting the horizon of ether; the great ocean-tide is
flooding every little stream; the gifts are successive; the favors
consecutive; and the refreshing breeze is blowing, wafting the fragrant
perfume of the blossoms. Boundless treasure is in the hand of the King of
Kings! Lift the hem of thy garment in order to receive it.
If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall
we wait and for what other time shall we look?
This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering! Take the
cup of the Testament in thy hand; leap and dance with ecstasy in the
triumphal procession of the Covenant! Lay your confidence in the
everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous God; ask
assistance from the Kingdom of Abha; seek confirmation from the Supreme
World; turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help
from the Source of Mercy!
Soon shall ye see the friends attaining their longed-for destination and
pitching their tents, while we are but in the first day of our journey.
"O thou servant of the Threshold of God!..."
O thou servant(289) of the Threshold of God!
I read what flowed from thy pen in the love of God, and found charming
meanings from the contents (of thy letter). I hope, through the gift of
the glorious Lord, that thou wilt be always refreshed and revived by the
fragrances of the Merciful.
As to what thou hast written concerning "Reincarnation": Believing in
reincarnation is one of the old tenets held by most nations and creeds, as
well as by the Greek and Roman philosophers and wise men, the old
Egyptians and the chief Assyrians. But all these sayings and superstitions
are vanity in the sight of God.
The greatest [argument] produced by those who held to reincarnation has
been this: "That it is necessary to the justice of God to give every one
his due. Now everybody who is afflicted by any calamity is said to have
sinned; but when a little child, which is still in the womb of its mother
and hath just been formed, is found to be blind, deaf or imperfect, how
could it have committed any sin that we might say this imperfection is
given to it as a punishment therefore--so, though such a child hath not
done outwardly any sin in the womb of its mother, ye [they say] it must
have sinned when it was in its former body, which hath caused it to suffer
this punishment."
Indeed, these people have been negligent of the fact that had the creation
been carried out in a uniform fashion, how could the statement be true,
that "God doeth whatever He wisheth and God doeth whatever He
desireth!"(290)
Though the fact of "Return" is mentioned in the Divine Books, by this is
intended the return of the qualities, characters, perfections, truths and
lights (of the past age), which re-appear in every age, and not (the
return) of certain persons and souls. For example: If we say this lamp is
the return of that of last night, or that the last year's flower hath
returned in the garden (this year), in this sense the return of the
individual, or identity, or personality is not meant; nay, rather, it is
intended that the same qualities and states existing in that lamp or
flower, which are now seen in this lamp or flower, have returned. That is,
the same perfections and virtues and properties which existed in the past
springtime have returned during this present springtime. For instance:
When one says, these fruits are the same as those of last year; in this
sense, he hath reference to the freshness and delicacy of the fruit, which
hath returned, although there is no doubt that the identical fruit of last
year hath not returned.
Have the friends of God found such enjoyments and respose during their
existence on this visible earth, that they might wish to have their return
renewed and repeated constantly? Are all these calamities, injuries,
trials and difficulties of the once coming not sufficient for them that
they should wish a repeated life in this world? Hath this cup been of such
sweetness that they should long for it successively and repeatedly? No!
the friends of the Beauty of El-Baha neve seek any recompense or reward
except the meeting and the visit (of God) in the Kingdom of El-Baha; and
they never walk but in the valley of desire to attain the Supreme Height.
They only wish the immortal blessing and the eternal gift, which are
sanctified above the worldly understanding.
Because, when thou lookest with the iron sight, thou wilt find that all
mankind is suffering in this earthly world; there is no one in such
tranquility that this (state) might have been a reward for his good deeds
in a former life and there is no soul so happy that this might be the
fruit of his past pain! Had the life of a man in his spiritual being been
only confined to his life in this world, the creation would have proved
useless; the divine qualities would have no result and effect; nay, all
things, created beings and the world of creation would have proved
abortive. I ask pardon of God for such false imaginations and for such
errors!
As the usefulness and powers of the life (of a child) were not seen in
that dark and narrow world (of the womb), but when it is brought into this
vast world, all the use of its growth and development becometh manifest
and obvious in it, so likewise, reward and punishment, paradise and hell,
and the requital of deeds and actions done by it in the present life
become manifest and evident when it is transferred to the world to
come--which is far from this world! Had the life and growth of the child in
the womb been confined to that condition, then the existence of the child
in the womb would have proved utterly abortive and unintelligible; as
would the life of this world, were its deeds, actions and their results
not to appear in the world to come.
Therefore, know thou that the True One possesseth invisible worlds which
human meditation is unable to comprehend and the intellect of man hath no
power to imagine. When thou wilt purify and clarify thy spiritual;
nostrils from every worldly moisture, then thou wilt inhale the holy
fragrances diffusing from the merciful gardens of these worlds.
El-Abha be upon thee and upon all those who are gazing and turning unto
the Kingdom of El-Baha, which God hath sanctified above the understanding
of the heedless souls and from being perceived by the eye of those who
deny!
"O my spiritual friends!..."
O my spiritual friends!(291)
What you have written is perused, all of which was an entreaty and
invocation unto God and a desire for devotion unto the Most High. I hope
through the bounty of God, day by day, your assurance, belief and faith
will increase; moment by moment the flame of the love of God will be
intensified; louder and louder will the proclamation of the Word of God be
heard in that country; the breeze of sanctity will begin to blow; the
attraction of the inner consciousness will cause these districts to be
animated; the mercy and aid of God will be your associates and the
assistance from the Kingdom of compassion will be momentarily bestowed.
Now is the time for those spiritual friends, (i.e., yourselves,) to adorn
the divine meetings, endeavor to spread the Cause of god, arise to diffuse
His breaths and stand for the promotion of His Word; that the breath of
the Holy Spirit may bestow life to the hearts, causing the spirits to
attain the Beloved.
The letter you have previously written is not yet received; if it were you
may be sure it would be answered, because this servant hath great love and
attachment for the believers in that city and will always communicate with
them.
O Thou pitiful God! These friends are perfectly infatuated with Thy
nearness; they have given their hearts for the beauty of Thy face; are
devoted to Thy Kingdom and are intoxicated by the wine of belief. In the
meeting of the covenant they are bearing in their hands the cup of
anxiety, needing Thy benevolence and yearning for the heavenly blessings.
O Mighty Creator! Cause these souls to be the receptacle of Thy mercy,
regarded by divine attention, and render each one as a lighted candle,
that they may illuminate that region with the light of righteousness. Make
them the companions of and partaker with this servant [Abdul-Baha] in the
devotion of Thy Threshold. O my God! Strengthen the weak ones and open the
eyes of those who are anxious to behold the beauty of the Kingdom, that
they may arise with divine strength, heavenly bounty, spiritual blessing,
ethereal breaths and mighty assistance for Thy service, dispelling the
superstitions of the doubters, elucidating the proofs and evidences before
all seekers, healing the sick, being kind to the poor, a refuge and home
for the helpless and a light for the hopeless.
Thou art the Powerful and the Able, the Pitiful and Compassionate God!
O my friends! Endeavor to your utmost ability that, day by day, unity and
harmony will increase and the love of God will so firmly capture the
hearts that they will forget all save Him and be engrossed, night and day,
in mentioning the Kingdom, the heavenly signs and the divine verses. If
love, friendship, association and unity be established among the
believers, the door of all significances will be opened and each believer
of God will be able to explain and interpret all of the holy Books.
O believers! The tests of God are very severe; you should beseech and cry
unto Him that you may be firm and steadfast during all temptations.
"As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child..."
(292) As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child born from Russian
parentage, this is pure imagination. Yea, certain persons shall in this
divine dispensation produce heavenly children and such children shall
promulgate the teachings of the Beauty of Abha and serve His great Cause.
Through a heavenly power and spiritual confirmation they shall be enabled
to promote the Word of God and to diffuse the fragrances of God. These
children are neither Oriental nor Occidental, neither Asiatic nor
American, neither European nor African, but they are of the Kingdom; their
native home is heaven and their resort is the Kingdom of Abha. This is but
the truth and there is naught after truth save superstitions (or fancy).
"O thou spiritual beloved!..."
O thou spiritual beloved!
I have carefully looked at thy picture and found that from thy face
emanates the spiritual glad-tidings, the merciful complaisance and the
heavenly brightness. Their traces shall appear and their lights shall
shine.
"O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom of the..."
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom of the Testament!
I already received thy letter which announced thy receipt of the loving
letter sent to thee by the pen of Abdul-Baha. By God the True One! Verily,
those letters are as gifts of God to thee, to thy noble wife and to thine
honorable daughter. I beg of God to enable thee to perfectly endeavor to
practice according to their contents.
Yes, some of the intellectually cultured people in those countries exert
themselves to reach the loftiest summits of prosperity in worldly affairs
and most of them are desiring wealth and are making an effort to attain it
somehow. But they are unmindful of the treasury of the Kingdom, the
spiritual affluence and the wealth of mind; therefore, thou findest them
subject to the rage of lusts and under the influence of egotistic and
selfish desires, sinking into intemperance and engaged in drinking the cup
of lust. Were they to become mindful of their heedlessness and awakened
from the sleep of ignorance, they would become intoxicated by the cup of
the love of God and exhilarated by the good cheer of the wine of the
knowledge of God.
I beg of God to shine forth unto you with the lights of His sanctity and
send to you divine souls, that they may fully reveal to you the divine
teachings.
The letters which I sent to you are as the fragrant breezes of the garden
of the knowledge of God, which can be smelled by every one whose sense of
smelling is clean and purified from any rheum, because they are
glad-tidings proceeding from pure lips which are fluent in explaining the
mysteries of God. I beg of God to ordain for us to meet one another.
"O thou who art assuredly believing in God!..."
O thou who art assuredly believing in God!
Verily, I read thy letter which showed how thou art believing in God,
assured of the signs of God and art attracted by the love of God.
I thank God for that He hath ignited the fire of His love in thy heart,
hath drawn thee by the magnet of His guidance, hath dilated thy heart
through the light of His knowledge, hath assisted thee to be firm in His
Testament, hath sent down His blessing upon thee, upon thy household and
upon thy children, hath illuminated thy house by igniting therein the lamp
of the praise of God, hath caused those souls who have drawn nigh unto the
Kingdom to abide in thy house(293)--those who deliver the Cause of God, who
speak the praise of God and explain the indisputable proofs of God unto
the servants. It behooveth thee to thank God for this great gift and say:
"O my Lord! Confirm me to serve Thy beloved and to be submissive and
humble before Thy chosen ones. Make me to know the meaning of Thy Words
and inform me of the mysteries of Thy signs. Place me in the shadow of the
standard of Thy Testament and preserve me from Thy tests which break backs
and unveil the sins of the back-sliders and tend to disgrace the party of
deception and the people of wickedness (i.e., the nakazeen). Verily, Thou
art the Mighty, the Pardoner!"
"O thou confident soul who art content and patient!..."
O thou confident soul who art content and patient!
Verily, I read thy welcome letter and was informed of its contents which
gladdened the hearts of the unitarians (i.e., the believers at Acca) of
thy desire for God's confirmation in the service of His Cause among the
sincere servants. Do not consider the weakness of the people, but observe
the power of attainment in this manifest day. Separate thyself from all
thoughts, strip thyself from the unclean garment of attachment to this
drossful (or earthly) world, arise for the service of thy Lord, the
Clement, and be clothed with the robe of assurance (or certainty), so that
thou mayest behold the hosts of confirmation from thy Lord arising from
all sides.
As to thy information concerning the services of Mirza Assad Ullah to the
holy and brilliant Threshold, verily, it gladdened Abdul-Baha and he
thanked God for this great bounty unto him (Mirza Assad Ullah) and the
chosen of God. Verily, I hope, through the favor of my Lord, that He will
confirm ye unto that which he (Mirza Assad Ullah) was confirmed; because
the treasury of the favors of thy Lord are full of bounties. Verily, he
granteth to whomsoever He wisheth what He desireth, and, verily, He is the
Generous, the Giver and the Forgiver!
"O thou spiritual person and heavenly man--may God..."
O thou spiritual person and heavenly man--may God confirm thee!
Know, that the divine springtime hath come with its rains and abundance,
with the heat of its sun, the breeze of its life and the scent of its
fragrance; and through this universal and great abundance, the land of the
holy truth and facts hath moved and brought forth of every kind, good and
beautiful fruits. But the barren, wicked land will not bring forth save
the thorn of denial, of haughtiness and disdain. Therefore, thank thou God
for He hath made thee a good, fertile land by the clouds of the abundance
of God the Chosen.