of sorrows and discouragements! Every one is suffering and no person to
give them courage and brighten their hearts.
Shoghi Effendi hopes that the friends will follow her example and become a
source of inspiration to the world at large, giving hope to the depressed
and joy to the disconsolate. Moreover, he trusts that her passing will
operate as a great impetus in our services to the Cause for which she
suffered so long and so hard.
31: He deeply appreciates your sincere, well-expressed ...
(105) He deeply appreciates your sincere, well-expressed reference, to the
tribute he has written to the dearly beloved Greatest Holy Leaf. You
cannot imagine to what an extent our dear Guardian has, in this loss, been
deprived for ever of the sustaining influence and kindness that this Most
Exalted Leaf used to shower daily upon him. In this beautiful Tribute we
can trace the life of this beautiful soul, witness with anguish all the
sufferings and deprivations that she has endured. Now we should, all of
us, try in turn to follow her saintly path and direct all our energy to
serve the Cause, which has been so dear to her.
32: ...He was deeply touched by the strong ...
(106) ...He was deeply touched by the strong attachment of the friends to
one who, besides being the beloved daughter of Baha'u'llah, exemplified
perhaps more than anyone the true spirit that animates His teachings. His
sincere hope is that your love for our departed Greatest Holy Leaf will
attain such depth and intensity as to enable you to follow on her
footsteps and to carry out with increasing devotion and vigour all that
she cherished so much during the entire course of her earthly life. The
memory of her saintly life will undoubtedly sustain and feed your energies
and will provide you with that spiritual potency of which we are all in
such a great need.
33: The steps of her holy resting-place represent ...
(107) The steps of her holy resting-place represent Local Spiritual
Assemblies, not individual believers. The columns, that is the pillars,
are like the National Spiritual Assemblies, while the dome, which is
raised following the placing of the columns, symbolizes the Universal
House of Justice which, in accordance with the Master's Will and Testament
must be elected by the secondary Houses of Justice, that is, the National
Spiritual Assemblies of East and West.
V: LETTERS OF THE GREATEST HOLY LEAF
1: O Leaf of Paradise! ...
(108) O Leaf of Paradise!
Loose your tongue at all times in gratitude for the blessings of the
Beloved of the Worlds, for you are always mentioned in His Glorious and
Sanctified Presence, and you are ever in the hearts of His maidservants.
The pen is unable to describe the depths of our longing, nor can the
tongue recount the love concealed within our hearts. Should you look into
the mirror of your own heart, which is free from the defilements of this
world of dust, you would clearly see the truth of what has been set forth.
From the time of your departure no day passes without mention being made
of your name. Please God you may in your days and nights hold fast to the
sure handle of detachment, and be occupied in the remembrance of God, the
Wondrous, the All-Glorious.
There is no blessing greater than attainment unto His Holy Presence. Thank
God you attained this bounty.
May the spiritually-minded son, Mirza Badi'u'llah, God willing, be always
safe in the stronghold of God's care and protection.
2: I feel prompted to offer my sincere best ...
(109) I feel prompted to offer my sincere best wishes to you and to
express the agony of separation that has deeply affected me. First of all
let me say that I received with the hand of gratitude and thankfulness
your kind letter which bore the full abundance of your love and amply
portrayed the noble traits of your nature, so richly adorned with laudable
characteristics. In truth, I always pay tribute to your excellent
qualities and eagerly yearn to set my eyes upon your countenance. I often
recall those days when I had the delightful pleasure of your company and
indulged in the fruits of your brilliant sense of humour. Perhaps the days
of reunion shall come again through the favour of the Lord of grace and
bounty. I fervently pray that God--glorified and exalted be He--may endue
your life with vigour and happiness and enable you to achieve your heart's
desire. Moreover, I beseech Him--exalted is He--to grant me the pleasure of
meeting you again very soon. Indeed, He is nigh and readily answers the
call. I hereby offer my best greetings and befitting salutations to your
revered person, and may God perpetuate your life. Every one here enquires
about your distinguished self and sends high expressions of praise and
compliment to you. May God prolong your life.
3: The letter in which that leaf had expressed the ...
(110) The letter in which that leaf had expressed the ardent longing of
her heart and revealed the depth of her devotion has received my eager
attention.
Indeed, the voice of lamentation that the loved ones of God and His
devoted servants have raised on the occasion of this terrible adversity,
this grievous calamity, has caused the fire of His bereavement to rage
more fiercely than ever. In reality no pen can depict the poignant feeling
that surges in our hearts. Every expression would prove utterly
inadequate, even less than the eye of a needle, inasmuch as words and
syllables are incapable of conveying the intensity of this dire suffering.
They are but a tiny drop compared to an ocean. Even in the vast immensity
of inner significances and expositions nothing can portray this calamitous
event. Moreover, the tale of how these prisoners have been consumed by the
fire of bereavement is interminable. During this dark and dreadful
calamity, and to this God bears me witness, our souls melted and our eyes
unceasingly rained with tears.
Nevertheless, when faced with the irrevocable decree of the Almighty, the
vesture that best befits us in this world is the vesture of patience and
submission, and the most meritorious of all deeds is to commit our affairs
into His hands and to surrender ourselves to His Will. Therefore, it
behoves that leaf to take fast hold on the handle of resignation and
radiant acquiescence and to strictly adhere to the cord of patience and
long-suffering. God willing, through His aid and heavenly confirmation you
may be enabled to exalt His Word and to render exemplary service to His
Cause, that perchance the ears of all created things may be purged of the
tales of bygone ages and become endued with the capacity to hearken to the
holy verses that the Lord of all men has proclaimed. Indeed, this is the
underlying purpose of man's existence during the brief period of his
earthly life. Please God, we may all be confirmed and aided to achieve
this.
Every manner of description that I use, and every form of symbolic
expression that I conceive will fail to convey the extent of the ardent
love and affection that I cherish for you; however, it causes the fire of
love to glow more intensely and to burn more brightly. Therefore, I had
better confine myself to these few lines.
At the court of the presence of the Most Mighty Branch--may the lives of
them that yearn after Him and are wholly devoted to Him be sacrificed for
His holy presence--your name has been mentioned and you became the
recipient of His special favours.
4: Despite our overwhelming sorrows and ...
(111) Despite our overwhelming sorrows and afflictions, our heart-burning
and depth of woes, you are always in our thoughts and we call to mind your
cheerful face. When we visit the Most Holy Shrine, the Point round which
revolve the people of the world, we offer our prayers, and visit that
Sacred Spot on your behalf, and on behalf of all the friends, particularly
the well-assured, the faithful and loyal handmaids of the Merciful. We
have prayed and will continue to pray at the Threshold of the Tomb of the
Blessed Beauty for your success, and that of your relatives. Likewise in
the presence of 'Him Whom God hath purposed' you are always remembered.
Several days ago He retired to the Cave of _Kh_idr,(112) and that verdant
spot has been blessed by the steps of our Master, 'Him round Whom all
names revolve'. He intends to stay there for a while, so that He may have
some respite from His countless concerns and cares.
For the most part your previous letters have been answered, but you have
not acknowledged receipt. This letter is in reply to your recent missive,
so that you will be confident that we are, under all conditions, thinking
of you.
Should you enquire about these bereaved ones, through the grace of the
Lord and the bounties of His divine Mystery, we are all well, but our
grief knows no bounds. We supplicate at the Threshold of the Eternal and
Almighty Beloved that He may unlock before us the doors of delight, awaken
the heedless and those in deep slumber, and grant the exponents of
violation a sense of justice, so that its dust may settle down, that this
dissension be wiped out, and once again we may taste the sweetness of the
days of bliss.
O Lord! Graciously enable this servant of Thine as well as those who
supplicate tearfully before Thy face and have turned towards Thee in their
affliction to achieve unity, harmony, friendliness and fellowship, that
they may magnify Thy virtues in the daytime and in the night season, may
chant Thy holy words, may recite verses from Thy heavenly Book, may
eagerly set their hearts toward the retreats of Thy holiness, yearning to
behold the vision of Thy grandeur. O Lord! Fulfil their hearts' desires,
gladden their bosoms with the shining splendour of the Centre of Thy
Covenant, illumine their eyes and rejoice their souls with the goodly
gifts of the light of harmony. Verily Thou art the Lord of the Day of
Judgement.
5: It is my earnest hope that you, His distinguished ...
(113) It is my earnest hope that you, His distinguished leaf, together
with the other maidservants of the All-Merciful in that land, may be so
enkindled by the flame set ablaze by the hand of God as to illumine the
whole world through the quickening energy of the love of God, and that
through the eloquence of your speech, the fluency of your tongue, and the
confirmations of the Holy Spirit you will be empowered to expound divine
wisdom in such manner that men of eloquence, and the scholars and sages of
the world, will be lost in bewilderment. This indeed would not be hard for
Him.
6: O exalted leaf, O distinguished friend! May ...
(114) O exalted leaf, O distinguished friend! May the glory of God and His
praise, His bounty and blessing rest upon you inasmuch as you have
remained faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament.
Your letter so fine and ornate, a gift from the Paradise of the love of
God, and a dear token of the celestial Garden of divine knowledge, has
been received, and perfumed with its spiritual and ethereal fragrance the
nostrils of this maidservant of God, this yearning prisoner.
Praise be to God that He has enabled you, His well-assured leaf, to
magnify at all times the glory of His gracious countenance, has sustained
your life through the remembrance of His Beauty, has suffered you to rid
yourself of all attachment to any one save Him that you may continually
commune with His love. He has graciously assisted you to remain faithful
to His weighty and irrefutable Testament, to cling tenaciously to the hem
of the robe of the Centre of the Covenant of God, the All-Bountiful, and
to fix your gaze entirely upon the luminous face of 'Him Whom God hath
purposed', the One 'Who hath branched from the pre-existent Root'. In
truth, a myriad praises and thanksgiving should be offered in appreciation
of this outpouring of divine favours and blessings. We implore the Kingdom
of our Lord, the All-Glorious, that He may continually waft upon you His
vitalizing breaths, may enrapture you by the uplifting transports of His
delight, may quicken you through His Holy Spirit and may grant you
confirmation to serve His maidservants and His leaves.
7: May my life be sacrificed for those leaves who ...
(115) May my life be sacrificed for those leaves who are steadfast in the
Covenant of God--they whom the slander of the slanderer hinders not from
holding fast to His divine Testament.
I yield praise to God and offer thanksgiving to the Abha Beloved--may my
spirit be offered up for every atom of the dust of His holy
Threshold--inasmuch as the animating breeze of holiness has wafted from the
rose-garden of your love and fellowship. By this is meant that your
letter--a letter fraught with expressions of loving-kindness that that
loved one of my heart and soul penned with such tender affection--has been
received. It brought immense happiness to the grief-stricken heart of this
yearning prisoner and by perusing its contents my whole being has been
flooded with ineffable gladness. Indeed, the nostrils of my heart have
been perfumed by its sweet savours and the channel of my soul has become
redolent with its vitalizing perfume, inasmuch as from its inner meaning
the fragrances of heavenly praise and adoration were inhaled and from its
words the sweet smell of attraction to the love of God was perceived. In
truth, every letter which serves to magnify the glory of the Ancient
Beauty or to extol the virtues of the Most Great Name is sweeter than
honey, for it imparts sweetness to the palate of the soul.
In brief, we all rejoice to know that you and the other handmaids of God
in that region are enjoying good health, that they are all firm and
steadfast in the Cause of God, are shining brightly and are enraptured by
His love; for this token of grace we have offered boundless praise at the
Threshold of our forgiving Lord. We are well acquainted with the matters
you have mentioned in your letter, and in the luminous and holy presence
of the peerless Servant of His Threshold, our Master, 'Abdu'l-Baha--may my
life be sacrificed for Him--your name and the names of all the handmaids of
God and of His enraptured leaves have been mentioned and words of praise
were expressed by Him in your favour. Be well assured that you are always
remembered at the spiritual meetings and gatherings of the friends.
8: From this hallowed and snow-white Spot, ...
(116) From this hallowed and snow-white Spot, this blessed, heavenly
Garden, wherefrom the fragrance of God is diffused to all regions, I hail
you with salutations, most tender, most wondrous, and most glorious, and
impart to you the most joyful tiding. This tiding serves as the
sweet-smelling savour of His raiment to them that long to behold His face,
it represents the highest aspiration of His steadfast leaves, it is the
animating impulse for the happiness of the world, it is the source of
ineffable gladness to the people of Baha, a remedy to the afflicted, and a
refreshing draught for the thirsty. By the righteousness of God, O beloved
friend, through this glad-tiding the ailing are cured and every mouldering
bone is quickened. This most joyful tiding is the news of the good health
and well-being of the blessed, the exalted, the holy person of
'Abdu'l-Baha, 'He Whom God hath purposed'--may the life of all created
things be offered up for His oneness.
9: A number of your spiritual sisters, namely ...
(117) A number of your spiritual sisters, namely the handmaidens who have
embraced His Cause, have arrived here from Paris and the United States on
pilgrimage. They recently reached this blessed and luminous Spot and have
had the honour to prostrate themselves at His Holy Threshold and to behold
the radiant face of 'Abdu'l-Baha, the Centre of the Covenant of Almighty
God--may my life be offered up as a sacrifice for His sake. We have now the
pleasure of their company and commune with them in a spirit of utmost love
and fellowship. They all send loving greetings and salutations to you
through the language of the heart.
10: May the Light of Union radiate with greater ...
(118) May the Light of Union radiate with greater clearness and brilliancy
day by day among the people in your great country--for to this country God
has given much and much is expected from it. But without harmony and love
existing among those who call themselves Baha'is, nothing will be seen
from it whatsoever; for verily the Believers are the pivots upon which the
fate of nations hang; and a difference among two believers is quite
sufficient to consume and destroy a whole country. The one who works for
harmony and union among the hearts of the people in these days will
receive the greatest blessings and the most abundant bounties. There is no
greater work for one to do upon this earth than to try and unite the
hearts of the people--and especially those who are calling upon the Holy
Name of God.
11: O my dear sister! I have read what you ...
(119) O my dear sister! I have read what you wrote, and as I became aware
of the content, I wept bitter tears. Then I carried the letter itself to
'Abdu'l-Baha and He read it from beginning to end. These terrible events
in Yazd call for cries and lamentation, and the shedding of tears of fire.
Although 'Ali's foes, on the plains of Karbila, came as a rushing torrent
of affliction against the Prince of Martyrs,(120) and even as ravening
wolves, tore at the breasts of the favoured ones of the Court of Holiness,
and wreaked their hate upon them and lifted their heads onto pikes--they
leading out an expedition against the hapless victims, and carrying away
all that these possessed--yet the span of that agony at Karbila was but
from the morning until noon, while the ordeal of the martyrs of Yazd
lasted one entire month. And further, the companions of the Prince of
Martyrs--may the souls of all those killed on the holy Path be offered up
for him!--made to defend themselves, and each one of them felled a number
of those foes of 'Ali's House, spilled out the others' blood, before being
martyred themselves. But these innocent victims of Yazd looked on their
murderers with smiles, and gently welcomed them, and in exchange for the
swords' blows offered honey and milk. Those set the blade to the victims'
throats, but the martyrs presented them with sweets; those cursed and
vilified them, while the martyrs implored God to forgive their murderers.
Although the slain on God's path at Karbila were truly victims, helpless,
innocent, so that the Concourse on High wept fiery tears over what the
tyrants did in the desert there, still, we know that before every one of
those great martyrs, some who battled against them fell down and died. But
the martyrs of Yazd, at the onslaught of the foe, and under the tyrant's
sword, uttered not even an unseemly word...
Truly the harried survivors of these wronged ones have been subjected to
the severest of ordeals, nor can any balm be found to soothe their wound,
nor is there any antidote against this lethal drink. For them, every new
morning is a new martyrdom.
Praise be to God, through the grace and favour of the Abha Beauty--may all
souls be offered up for those who are slain upon His path--the friends
everywhere have arisen to do what they can for these survivors. But
whatever we may do in such circumstances and however much we may
sacrifice, it is still not enough, and they merit more. I hope that, with
the confirmations of the Abha Kingdom, we may be enabled to offer up our
hearts and souls for the children of the martyrs, and think of ourselves
as the servants of those noble ones.
12: Concerning the remnants of the martyrs' ...
(121) Concerning the remnants of the martyrs' families, you have mentioned
how eager they are to hear a word of commendation assuring them that this
act of self-sacrifice and martyrdom will be acceptable in the sight of
God. Therefore, I mentioned this matter in His holy presence and I am glad
to say that, in compliance with His instructions, a compilation containing
most of the Tablets which have been revealed in honour of the martyrs of
Yazd and elsewhere has been prepared. I am now sending it to you together
with this letter. You may peruse these Tablets and then recite them in the
presence of the remnants of those who have offered up their lives in the
path of God, that they may be fully aware that those martyrs are
well-favoured at the exalted threshold of the Almighty, and that the
merciful glances of 'Abdu'l-Baha--may our souls be His sacrifice--are at all
times directed towards them.
On behalf of this bereaved and eager prisoner, convey loving greetings and
salutations to all the handmaids of God there, particularly the remnants
of the martyrs' families--and give them the joyful tidings that the memory
of those dear souls, who have laid down their lives in the arena of
sacrifice, has always been and will continue to be remembered at the
fellowship meetings and in His holy presence.
13: O leaf that has been stirred by the breeze of ...
(122) O leaf that has been stirred by the breeze of God! O victim of
oppression in the path of the Abha Beauty!--may my soul and the souls of
the handmaids of God be offered up as a sacrifice for the dust of His Holy
Shrine.
I earnestly hope that you may ever abide in peace and security within the
shelter of the loving-kindness of the One true God, may labour diligently
in those regions to serve His Cause and to diffuse the fragrance of
holiness, that you may be confirmed at all times through His gracious
assistance, and that, at the gatherings of the handmaids of God, you may
shine forth as a bright candle, directing those loved ones of the Beauty
of the All-Merciful to the path of divine guidance, exhorting them to be
firm and steadfast, to be sanctified and detached so that they may, one
and all, arise to fulfil that which is deemed worthy of these days, and by
manifesting a goodly character and noble conduct cause that country to vie
with the blissful Paradise.
14: All praise be to the Abha Beauty, the ...
(123) All praise be to the Abha Beauty, the Best-Beloved, the Desire of
the world, for having enabled His well-assured leaves to remain firm in
the Cause of God and steadfast in His love, even as immovable mountains,
particularly the ladies belonging to the household of the Afnan--the twigs
of the celestial Tree, who are resident in the land of Ya [Yazd]--upon them
be the glory of the Most Glorious. In these days when tempestuous winds of
tests are blowing and an ocean of trials has risen high, they have rid
themselves of all earthly attachments, set their affection on the sacred
beauty of the True One and have turned their hearts to the celestial
kingdom.
The contents of your letter were highly appreciated. Praise be to God that
from the rose-garden of its words and inner meanings the fragrance of
spiritual fellowship was inhaled, and from the meadows of its pages the
sweet melody of love, of remembrance and glorification of God was heard.
It filled our hearts with immense joy, for it indicated that you were
enjoying good health, and so were the saplings of the garden of God and
the handmaids of the Merciful, particularly the remnants of the families
of those who have offered up their lives in the path of the Lord of Mercy.
15: At the exalted Threshold of our Lord, the ...
(124) At the exalted Threshold of our Lord, the Best-Beloved of the world,
I fervently beseech Him to graciously keep that assured leaf and the other
handmaids of the Merciful safe and secure under the shelter of His bounty
and grace.
The love-laden letter penned by that dearly-loved handmaid of God has
reached this yearning prisoner and its perusal has filled my heart with
joy and happiness, inasmuch as it indicates that you have turned in prayer
and supplication to the Kingdom of God and been attracted to His divine
fragrances. It imparted exceeding gladness and radiance, and thereby the
hearts and spirits were inspired. Both at the sublime meetings convened in
His presence and at the fellowship gatherings of the handmaids of the
merciful Lord your name and the names of the beloved handmaids in India
are often mentioned with high praise.