Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure
beings and necessities of free souls. The first perfection consists in
cleanliness and sanctity and in purity from every defect. When man in all
conditions is pure and immaculate, he will become the center of the
reflection of the manifest Light. In all his actions and conduct there
must first be purity, then beauty and independence. The channel must be
cleansed before it is filled with sweet water. The pure eye comprehendeth
the sight and the meeting of God; the pure nostril inhaleth the perfumes
of the rose-garden of bounty; the pure heart becometh the mirror of the
beauty of truth. This is why, in the heavenly Books, the divine counsels
and commands have been compared to water. So, in the Qur'an it is said,
"and we have caused a pure water to descend from heaven;" and in the
Gospel, "Except a man hath received the baptism of water and of the
spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." Then it is evident that
the divine teachings are the heavenly grace and the showers of the mercy
of God, which purify the hearts of men.
The meaning is, in all conditions, cleanliness and sanctity, purity and
delicacy exalt humanity and make the contingent beings progress. Even when
applied to physical things, delicacy causeth the attainment of
spirituality, as it is established in the Holy Scriptures.
External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a great
influence upon spirituality. For example, although sound is but the
vibrations of the air which affect the tympanum of the ear, and vibrations
of the air are but an accident among the accidents which depend upon the
air, consider how much marvelous notes or a charming song influence the
spirits! A wonderful song giveth wings to the spirit and filleth the heart
with exaltation. To return to the subject, the fact of having a pure and
spotless body likewise exerciseth an influence upon the spirit of man.
Now, see how much purity is approved in the Court of God, that it should
be especially mentioned in the Holy Books of the Prophets. So the Holy
Books forbid the eating of any unclean thing, or the use of anything which
is not pure. Certain prohibitions are absolute and imperative for all: he
who commits that which is forbidden is detested by God and excluded from
the number of the elect. This applieth to the things forbidden by an
absolute prohibition and of which the perpetration is a grave sin; they
are so vile that even to mention them is shameful. There are other
forbidden things which do not cause an immediate evil and of which the
pernicious effect is only gradually produced. They are also abhorred,
blamed and rejected by God, but their prohibition is not recorded in an
absolute way, although cleanliness and sanctity, spotlessness and purity,
the preservation of health and independence are required by these
interdictions.
One of these last prohibitions is the smoking of tobacco, which is
unclean, malodorous, disagreeable and vulgar and of which the gradual
harmfulness is universally recognized. All clever physicians have judged,
and have also shown by experiment, that one of the constituents of tobacco
is a mortal poison and that smokers are exposed to different
indispositions and maladies. That is why cleanly people have a marked
aversion for its use.
His supreme Highness the Bab--may my soul be His sacrifice! --in the
beginning of His Cause, openly forbade it and all the friends abandoned
its use. But, as it was a time for caution and he who abstained from
smoking was ill treated, persecuted and even killed, therefore the friends
were obliged, as a matter of prudence, to smoke. Later, the Kitab-i-Aqdas
was revealed and as the prohibition of tobacco was not clearly stated in
it, the friends did not renounce it. But the Blessed Perfection had always
a marked aversion for its use. At the beginning of the Cause, for certain
reasons, He smoked a little, but later He abandoned it completely, and the
holy souls who obeyed Him in all circumstances, also entirely gave up
smoking. I wish to say that, in the sight of God, the smoking of tobacco
is a thing which is blamed and condemned, very unclean, and of which the
result is by degrees injurious. Besides it is a cause of expense and of
loss of time and it is a harmful habit. So, for those who are firm in the
Covenant, it is a thing reprobated by the reason and by tradition, the
renouncement of which giveth gradual repose and tranquility, permitteth
one to have stainless hands and a clean mouth, and hair which is not
pervaded by a bad odor.
Without any doubt, the friends of God on receiving this epistle will
renounce this injurious habit by all means, even if it be necessary to do
so by degrees. This is my hope.
As to the question of opium, disgusting and execrated, I resign myself to
God for its punishment. The formal text of the Kitab-i-Aqdas forbids and
reproves it and, according to reason, its use leads to madness. Experience
hath shown that he who giveth himself up to it is completely excluded from
the world of humanity. Let us take refuge in God against the perpetration
of so shameful a thing, which is the destruction of the foundations of
humanity and which causeth a perpetual unhappiness. It taketh possession
of the soul of man, killeth the reason, weakeneth the intelligence, maketh
a living man dead and extinguisheth the natural heat. It is impossible to
imagine anything more pernicious. Happy is he who never mentioneth the
word opium! But what is the fate of those who make use of it!
O friends of God! Force and violence, constraint and oppression are
condemned in this divine cycle, but to prevent the use of opium, all means
must be employed, so that the human species may be delivered and freed
from this great calamity. Otherwise, alas! for all the negligent before
God.
O Lord! Give to the people of Baha cleanliness and holiness in all
conditions, purify and free them from all defilement, deliver them from
the use of all that is execrated, liberate them from the chains of habits,
so that they may be pure and free, clean and spotless, that they may be
worthy servants of the Sacred Threshold and may deserve to enter into
relation with God. Deliver them from alcohol and tobacco, and save them
from opium, the purveyor of madness! Make them companions of the holy
breezes, in order that they may know the pleasures of the wine of the love
of God, and that they may attain to the joy and the happiness of
attraction to the Kingdom of Abha!
Hast Thou not said, "All that thou hast in thy cellar will not appease the
thirst of my love--bring me, O cup-bearer of the wine of the spirit, a cup
full as the sea!"
O friends of God! Experience hath shown how much the renouncing of
tobacco, wine and opium, giveth health, strength and intellectual
enjoyments, penetration of judgment and physical vigor. There exists today
a tribe which refrains and abstains from tobacco, alcohol and opium and it
completely excels all others in power, in bravery, in health, beauty and
grace. A single one of these men can withstand ten men of other tribes,
and this hath been universally proved; that is to say, generally, the
individuals of this tribe are superior to the individuals of the other
tribes.
Therefore strive that the greatest cleanliness and sanctity, which is the
great desire of 'Abdu'l-Baha, should be resplendent among the Baha'is, and
that the companions of God should surpass the rest of mankind in all
conditions and perfections; that they may be physically and morally
superior to others; that through cleanliness and purity, refinement and
health, they may be the chief of wise men, and that by their
affranchisement, their prudence, and the control of their desires, they
may be the princes of the pure, the free and the wise.