O Friends of the Pure and Omnipotent God! To be pure and holy in all
things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary
characteristic of the unenslaved mind. The best of perfections is
immaculacy and the freeing of oneself from every defect. Once the
individual is, in every respect, cleansed and purified, then will he
become a focal centre reflecting the Manifest Light.
First in a human being's way of life must be purity, then freshness,
cleanliness, and independence of spirit. First must the stream bed be
cleansed, then may the sweet river waters be led into it. Chaste eyes
enjoy the beatific vision of the Lord and know what this encounter
meaneth; a pure sense inhaleth the fragrances that blow from the rose
gardens of His grace; a burnished heart will mirror forth the comely face
of truth.
This is why, in Holy Scriptures, the counsels of heaven are likened to
water, even as the Qur'an saith: 'And pure water send We down from
Heaven,'(42) and the Gospel: 'Except a man be baptized of water and of the
spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.'(43) Thus is it clear
that the Teachings which come from God are heavenly outpourings of grace;
they are rain-showers of divine mercy, and they cleanse the human heart.
My meaning is this, that in every aspect of life, purity and holiness,
cleanliness and refinement, exalt the human condition and further the
development of man's inner reality. Even in the physical realm,
cleanliness will conduce to spirituality, as the Holy Writings clearly
state. And although bodily cleanliness is a physical thing, it hath,
nevertheless, a powerful influence on the life of the spirit. It is even
as a voice wondrously sweet, or a melody played: although sounds are but
vibrations in the air which affect the ear's auditory nerve, and these
vibrations are but chance phenomena carried along through the air, even
so, see how they move the heart. A wondrous melody is wings for the
spirit, and maketh the soul to tremble for joy. The purport is that
physical cleanliness doth also exert its effect upon the human soul.
Observe how pleasing is cleanliness in the sight of God, and how
specifically it is emphasized in the Holy Books of the Prophets; for the
Scriptures forbid the eating or the use of any unclean thing. Some of
these prohibitions were absolute, and binding upon all, and whoso
transgressed the given law was abhorred of God and anathematized by the
believers. Such, for example, were things categorically forbidden, the
perpetration of which was accounted a most grievous sin, among them
actions so loathsome that it is shameful even to speak their name.
But there are other forbidden things which do not cause immediate harm,
and the injurious effects of which are only gradually produced: such acts
are also repugnant to the Lord, and blameworthy in His sight, and
repellent. The absolute unlawfulness of these, however, hath not been
expressly set forth in the Text, but their avoidance is necessary to
purity, cleanliness, the preservation of health, and freedom from
addiction.
Among these latter is smoking tobacco, which is dirty, smelly,
offensive--an evil habit, and one the harmfulness of which gradually
becometh apparent to all. Every qualified physician hath ruled--and this
hath also been proven by tests--that one of the components of tobacco is a
deadly poison, and that the smoker is vulnerable to many and various
diseases. This is why smoking hath been plainly set forth as repugnant
from the standpoint of hygiene.
The Bab, at the outset of His mission, explicitly prohibited tobacco, and
the friends one and all abandoned its use. But since those were times when
dissimulation was permitted, and every individual who abstained from
smoking was exposed to harassment, abuse and even death--the friends, in
order not to advertise their beliefs, would smoke. Later on, the Book of
Aqdas was revealed, and since smoking tobacco was not specifically
forbidden there, the believers did not give it up. The Blessed Beauty,
however, always expressed repugnance for it, and although, in the early
days, there were reasons why He would smoke a little tobacco, in time He
completely renounced it, and those sanctified souls who followed Him in
all things also abandoned its use.
My meaning is that in the sight of God, smoking tobacco is deprecated,
abhorrent, filthy in the extreme; and, albeit by degrees, highly injurious
to health. It is also a waste of money and time, and maketh the user a
prey to a noxious addiction. To those who stand firm in the Covenant, this
habit is therefore censured both by reason and experience, and renouncing
it will bring relief and peace of mind to all men. Furthermore, this will
make it possible to have a fresh mouth and unstained fingers, and hair
that is free of a foul and repellent smell. On receipt of this missive,
the friends will surely, by whatever means and even over a period of time,
forsake this pernicious habit. Such is my hope.
As to opium, it is foul and accursed. God protect us from the punishment
He inflicteth on the user. According to the explicit Text of the Most Holy
Book, it is forbidden, and its use is utterly condemned. Reason showeth
that smoking opium is a kind of insanity, and experience attesteth that
the user is completely cut off from the human kingdom. May God protect all
against the perpetration of an act so hideous as this, an act which layeth
in ruins the very foundation of what it is to be human, and which causeth
the user to be dispossessed for ever and ever. For opium fasteneth on the
soul, so that the user's conscience dieth, his mind is blotted away, his
perceptions are eroded. It turneth the living into the dead. It quencheth
the natural heat. No greater harm can be conceived than that which opium
inflicteth. Fortunate are they who never even speak the name of it; then
think how wretched is the user.
O ye lovers of God! In this, the cycle of Almighty God, violence and
force, constraint and oppression, are one and all condemned. It is,
however, mandatory that the use of opium be prevented by any means
whatsoever, that perchance the human race may be delivered from this most
powerful of plagues. And otherwise, woe and misery to whoso falleth short
of his duty to his Lord.(44)
O Divine Providence! Bestow Thou in all things purity and cleanliness upon
the people of Baha. Grant that they be freed from all defilement, and
released from all addictions. Save them from committing any repugnant act,
unbind them from the chains of every evil habit, that they may live pure
and free, wholesome and cleanly, worthy to serve at Thy Sacred Threshold
and fit to be related to their Lord. Deliver them from intoxicating drinks
and tobacco, save them, rescue them, from this opium that bringeth on
madness, suffer them to enjoy the sweet savours of holiness, that they may
drink deep of the mystic cup of heavenly love and know the rapture of
being drawn ever closer unto the Realm of the All-Glorious. For it is even
as Thou hast 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 ye, God's loved ones! Experience hath shown how greatly the renouncing
of smoking, of intoxicating drink, and of opium, conduceth to health and
vigour, to the expansion and keenness of the mind and to bodily strength.
There is today a people(45) who strictly avoid tobacco, intoxicating
liquor and opium. This people is far and away superior to the others, for
strength and physical courage, for health, beauty and comeliness. A single
one of their men can stand up to ten men of another tribe. This hath
proved true of the entire people: that is, member for member, each
individual of this community is in every respect superior to the
individuals of other communities.
Make ye then a mighty effort, that the purity and sanctity which, above
all else, are cherished by 'Abdu'l-Baha, shall distinguish the people of
Baha; that in every kind of excellence the people of God shall surpass all
other human beings; that both outwardly and inwardly they shall prove
superior to the rest; that for purity, immaculacy, refinement, and the
preservation of health, they shall be leaders in the vanguard of those who
know. And that by their freedom from enslavement, their knowledge, their
self-control, they shall be first among the pure, the free and the wise.