“the wisdom of obligatory prayer”

O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked about the wisdom of obligatory prayer. Know thou that such prayer is mandatory and binding. Man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from observing the prayer unless he is incapable of performing it or some great obstacle interveneth. The wisdom of obligatory prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because at that time man with all his heart and soul turneth his face towards the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and companionship. For a lover, there is no greater pleasure than to converse with his beloved, and for a seeker, there is no greater bounty than intimacy with the object of his desire. It is the greatest longing of every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God to find time to turn with entire devotion to his Beloved, so as to seek His bounty and blessing and immerse himself in the ocean of communion, entreaty and supplication. Moreover, obligatory prayer and fasting produce awareness and awakening in man, and are conducive to his protection and preservation from tests. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

Families of Bahá'u'lláh and His wife Ásiyih Khanum possessed great wealth – their daughter recalls

I remember dimly very happy days with my beloved father and mother, and my brother 'Abbas, who was two years my senior.

My father was Mirza Husayn-'Ali of Nur, [Bahá'u'lláh] who married my beautiful mother, Ásiyih Khanum, when she was very young. She was the only daughter of a Persian Vizier, of high degree, Mirza Isma'il. He, as well as Mirza 'Abbas Buzurg, my paternal grandfather, possessed great wealth.

When the brother of my mother married my father's sister, the double alliance of the two noble families roused much interest throughout the land. "It is adding wealth to wealth," the people said. Ásiyih Khanum's wedding treasures were extensive, in accordance with the usual custom in families of their standing; forty mules were loaded with her possessions when she came to her husband's home.

For six months before the marriage a jeweller worked at her home, preparing jewellry -- even the buttons of her garments were of gold, set with precious stones. (These buttons were destined to be exchanged for bread, on the terrible exile journey from Tihran to Baghdad.) 

- Bahiyyih Khanum  ([Bahá'u'lláh’s daughter] quoted by Lady Blomfield in ‘The Chosen Highway’)

“The true fruit of man is… love”

The true fruit of man is, therefore, love. The purpose of a tree is to produce fruit. Man is like a tree; his fruit should be love." 

- ‘Abdul-Baha  (From a conversation; Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 10, Sept. 1917)

Circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus – “meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous test”

…reflect upon the state and condition of Mary. So deep was the perplexity of that most beauteous countenance, so grievous her case, that she bitterly regretted she had ever been born. To this beareth witness the text of the sacred verse wherein it is mentioned that after Mary had given birth to Jesus, she bemoaned her plight and cried out: “O would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!” [Qur’án 19:22] I swear by God! Such lamenting consumeth the heart and shaketh the being. Such consternation of soul, such despondency, could have been caused by no other than the censure of the enemy and the cavilings of the infidel and perverse. Reflect, what answer could Mary have given to the people around her? How could she claim that a Babe Whose father was unknown had been conceived of the Holy Ghost? Therefore did Mary, that veiled and immortal Countenance, take up her Child and return unto her home. No sooner had the eyes of the people fallen upon her than they raised their voice saying: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother.” [Qur’án 19:28]

And now, meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous test. Notwithstanding all these things, God conferred upon that essence of the Spirit, Who was known amongst the people as fatherless, the glory of Prophethood, and made Him His testimony unto all that are in heaven and on earth. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Kitab-i-Iqan')

Sarah Farmer, a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Named by Shoghi Effendi as a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha, she will also be known to posterity as the originator of the concept of the first universal platform in America, which, during its first 33 years, developed into the Green Acre school and conference center (comprising some 200 acres along the banks of the Piscataqua River in Eliot, Maine, four miles up from the sea and opposite the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire). One writer said of her in 1928, "She stands as the actual fulfiller of Emerson in terms of applied influence" and "The roll of speakers who have taken part in the Green Acre Conferences represent well-nigh the flower of modem liberal thought." It was typical of her vision that when opening the center on 4 July 1894 she raised, at the end of the ceremony, a flag of world peace. Two years after the opening, she found and embraced the Faith. She went immediately to see 'Abdu'l-Baha in 'Akka to offer her services to Him. The letters He addressed to her during subsequent years continued to guide her in her work. When He came to America in 1912, He spent a week in August at Green Acre (although Sarah herself was by this time confined to a sanitarium in Portsmouth, which she left for a few hours to welcome Him). Green Acre continues to flourish and develop as a Baha'i school, thereby fulfilling the vision of this remarkable woman and in accordance with the guidance given by 'Abdu'l-Baha in its earliest days.

Sarah Farmer had made the remark many times that she longed to have the Green Acre property electrified. Harry Randall did this for her with the approval of the Trustees of the Fellowship. The buildings, and even the lane from the main road down to the Inn, were wired. Sarah was carried to see it all, with an expression of obvious pleasure at seeing her father's invention in use.

Story for Children: The Black Rose

Do you know who ‘Abdu'l-Baha was? He was a very important person. ‘Abdu'l-Baha was the Son of Baha'u'llah. He was always very kind and good to others. He was a perfect example of what a Baha'i should be. This is a true story about ‘Abdu'l-Baha.

A long time ago, long before you were born, ‘Abdu'l-Baha came to America. While He was on His trip to America, He spoke to many different people ... men and women and children.

He went to many cities - to churches and temples and parks and meetings and houses to tell people about the Baha'i Faith. He spoke to young people and old people and black people and white people and tall people and short people and rich people and poor people...

He told them all about Baha'u'llah.

Wherever 'Abdu'l-Baha went, many Baha'is went with Him. They were Baha'is of all kinds - Persians in Persian clothes, and Americans in American clothes, tall Baha'is and short Baha'is and rich Baha'is and poor Baha'is and old Baha'is and young Baha'is. And all colors - white and yellow and tan and brown and black.

circa 1949: Baha'i Center, Hobart, 63 Elizabeth Street, Tasmania

(The Baha'i World 1946-1950)

The station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

Thou hast asked concerning the station of this servant. 

• The station of this servant is servitude to the Holy Threshold (Baha’u’llah) and I glory and honor in this. 
• Abdu’l-Baha is the standard of the divine love, 
• the sign of the gift of God, 
• the servant of the assemblage of the merciful ones, 
• the light of the meeting of the spiritual ones. 
• He is the orb of peace and reconciliation and 
• the light of love in the world of humanity. 
• He is the herald of the Kingdom of the Merciful One and 
• the promulgator of the religion of rectitude and security. 

This is the station of this servant! This is the Truth!

I hope through the divine grace that the brilliancy of the love of God will pervade all regions, and that he will remove warfare and strife from the world of existence. Then the human world will become expressive of the unity of the merciful world, the inferior world will become a clear and purified mirror reflecting the Supreme Concourse, the East and West will embrace each other like unto two longing ones and the North and South will shake hands and clasp each other in the arms like unto two beloved ones. This is the station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1)

“Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words”

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that hath refused to seek it -verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol.II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and Devotional Attitude)

1902 -- Construction begins of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in the Baha'i world

November 1902 -- Laying the foundation stone of the Baha'i Temple in Ishqabad, Russia. Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi, a cousin of the Báb, is standing next to General Krupatkin in the first row.

Self-defense and individual conduct in the face of civil disorder: - guidance for the Universal House of Justice

We have reviewed your letter of April 11th, asking about the teachings of the Faith on self-defense and any guidance on individual conduct in the face of increasing civil disorder in North American cities.

From the texts you already have available it is clear that Bahá’u’lláh has stated that it is preferable to be killed in the path of God’s good pleasure than to kill, and that organized religious attack against Bahá’ís should never turn into any kind of warfare, as this is strictly prohibited in our Writings.

A hitherto untranslated Tablet from ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, however, points out that in the case of attack by robbers and highwaymen, a Bahá’í should not surrender himself, but should try, as far as circumstances permit, to defend himself, and later on lodge a complaint with the government authorities. In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, he also indicates that in an emergency when there is no legal force at hand to appeal to, a Bahá’í is justified in defending his life. In another letter the Guardian has further pointed out that the assault of an irresponsible assailant upon a Bahá’í should be resisted by the Bahá’í, who would be justified, under such circumstances, in protecting his life.

The House of Justice does not wish at the present time to go beyond the guidelines given in the above-mentioned statements. The question is basically a matter of conscience, and in each case the Bahá’í involved must use his judgment in determining when to stop in self-defense lest his action deteriorate into retaliation.

Of course the above principles apply also in cases when a Bahá’í finds himself involved in situations of civil disorder. We have, however, advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that under the present circumstances in that country it is preferable that Bahá’ís do not buy nor own arms for their protection or the protection of their families. 

- The Universal House of Guidance  (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, May 26, 1969; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968 – 1973’)

Ásiyih Khanum: Bahá'u'lláh’s wife – their daughter recalls many years later

I wish you could have seen her as I first remember her, tall, slender, graceful, eyes of dark blue -- a pearl, a flower amongst women.

I have been told that even when very young, her wisdom and intelligence were remarkable. I always think of her in those earliest days of my memory as queenly in her dignity and loveliness, full of consideration for everybody, gentle, of a marvelous unselfishness, no action of hers ever failed to show the loving-kindness of her pure heart; her very presence seemed to make an atmosphere of love and happiness wherever she came, enfolding all comers in the fragrance of gentle courtesy. 

- Bahiyyih Khanum  (Quoted by Lady Blomfield in ‘The Chosen Highway’)

“The Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us”

The believers, as we all know, should endeavour to set such an example in their personal lives and conduct that others will feel impelled to embrace a Faith which reforms human character. However, unfortunately, not everyone achieves easily and rapidly the victory over self. What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and greatest help in this respect is prayer. We must supplicate Baha’u’llah to assist us to overcome the failings in our own characters, and also exert our own will-power in mastering ourselves. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer dated 27 January, 1945; compilation: ‘Excellence in All Things’)

'Abdu'l-Baha in the garden surrounding the Shrine of Baha'u'llah at Bahji

The instrument ‘Abdu’l-Baha devised for the proclamation of the Faith to the remotest corners of the Earth was the Divine Plan laid out in the fourteen great 'Tablets of the Divine Plan'

As war's inferno was engulfing the world, 'Abdu'l-Bahá turned His attention to the one great task remaining in His ministry, that of ensuring the proclamation to the remotest corners of the Earth of the message which had been neglected -- or opposed -- in Islamic and Western society alike. The instrument He devised for this purpose was the Divine Plan laid out in fourteen great Tablets, four of them addressed to the Bahá'í community of North America and ten subsidiary ones addressed to five specific segments of that community. Together with Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Carmel and the Master's Will and Testament, the Tablets of the Divine Plan were described by Shoghi Effendi as three of the "Charters" of the Cause. Revealed during the darkest days of the war, in 1916 and 1917, the Divine Plan summoned the small body of American and Canadian believers to assume the role of leadership in establishing the Cause of God throughout the planet. The implications of the trust were awe-inspiring. 

(‘Century of Light’, a document, prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published in 2001)

A Baha'i Teaching: Each human being should “investigate the reality underlying the … Word of God”, revealed by the Founders of various world religions, to see their fundamental unity

Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is one and not multiple. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Baha'i World Faith’)

“You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature.”

You are all one family; you have grown out of one root. Each of you is like a branch, a flower, a fruit. You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature. I have come to you as to my own people—brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. My bond is with all mankind; so should yours be. Try to follow the teachings of Baha’u’llah then each one will shine like a star. Since the time of Adam there has been no other teaching; until the end of time there will be no other. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha at Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper’s residence, England, 1911; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 12, 16 October, 1911)

Relics of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Prayer beads, turban, caps worn under turban, comb, shoes, and other articles belonging to 'Abdu'l-Baha

The “unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society”

These recurrent crises which, with ominous frequency and resistless force, are afflicting an ever-increasing portion of the human race must of necessity continue, however impermanently, to exercise, in a certain measure, their baleful influence upon a world community which has spread its ramifications to the uttermost ends of the earth. How can the beginnings of a world upheaval, unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society, throwing into chaos and confusion political systems, racial doctrines, social conceptions, cultural standards, religious associations, and trade relationships—how can such agitations, on a scale so vast, so unprecedented, fail to produce any repercussions on the institutions of a Faith of such tender age whose teachings have a direct and vital bearing on each of these spheres of human life and conduct?

Little wonder, therefore, if they who are holding aloft the banner of so pervasive a Faith, so challenging a Cause, find themselves affected by the impact of these world-shaking forces. Little wonder if they find that in the midst of this whirlpool of contending passions their freedom has been curtailed, their tenets contemned, their institutions assaulted, their motives maligned, their authority jeopardized, their claim rejected.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Greatest Holy Leaf: - “How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials”

How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials, at a time when the forces of schism had rent asunder the ties that united the little band of exiles which had settled in Adrianople and whose fortunes seemed then to have sunk to their lowest ebb! It was in this period of extreme anxiety, when the rigors of a winter of exceptional severity, coupled with the privations entailed by unhealthy housing accommodations and dire financial distress, undermined once for all her health and sapped the vitality which she had hitherto so thoroughly enjoyed. The stress and storm of that period made an abiding impression upon her mind, and she retained till the time of her death on her beauteous and angelic face evidences of its intense hardships. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 July 1932; ‘Baha’i Administration’)

“O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God.”

Wherefore, O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God. Inform yourselves of the evidences that the Most Great Name hath dawned. Open your lips in praise. Adduce convincing arguments and proofs. Lead those who thirst to the fountain of life; grant ye true health to the ailing. Be ye apprentices of God; be ye physicians directed by God, and heal ye the sick among humankind. Bring those who have been excluded into the circle of intimate friends. Make the despairing to be filled with hope. Waken them that slumber; make the heedless mindful.

Such are the fruits of this earthly life. Such is the station of resplendent glory. Upon you be Baha'u'l-Abha. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Youth)

Chicago 1917: Commemorating Baha'u'llah's 100th Birthday

Some prominent Western non-Baha’is who hosted receptions for ‘Abdu’l-Baha

From 1911 to 1913 'Abdu'l-Baha journeyed through Europe and North America, visiting the local Baha'i communities, addressing public audiences in peace societies, universities, churches, Negro conferences and synagogues, meeting distinguished personages in government, clerical and educational life and promulgating by example and eloquent speech the principles of universal peace. The roster of these distinguished persons is too extensive to include here, but the character of 'Abdu'l-Baha's reception in the West may be indicated by naming, among many others, Archdeacon Wilberforce, Reverend R. J. Campbell, Lord Lamington, Sir Michael Sadler, the Maharajahs of Jalawar and Rajputana, Professor E. G. Browne, and Professor Patrick Geddes, in London; the Persian Minister, the Turkish Ambassador, "Church dignitaries of various branches of the Christian Tree," in Paris; Professor Arminius Vambery, several members of Parliament, Count Albert Apponyi, Prelate Alexander Giesswein and Professor Ignatius Goldziher, in Vienna; and in America, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Alexander Graham Bell, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Mrs. William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Admiral Peary, Rabindranath Tagore. 

- Horace Holley  (Introduction to The Secret of Divine Civilization)

Lua Getsinger -- “The immortal Lua, mother-teacher of the American Bahá'í Community, herald of the dawn of the Day of the Covenant …” , a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha

 

circa 1897-9

“the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age”

“…they, and those who will labor after them, must press forward until the processes now set in motion will have each spent its force and contributed its share towards the birth of the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

'Abdu'l-Baha at dedication of Temple site in Wilmette, Illinois, 1912

“'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan… have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet”

…the present Four Year Plan… outlines the duties of the people of Baha until the end of the twentieth century and mobilizes them to forge ahead and accelerate the process of the fulfillment of the divine prophecies. These teaching plans, which have successively set the worldwide Bahá'í community on the move and broadened the boundaries of the Faith, are the results of the creative power of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan, which, for more than eighty years, have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet. These teaching plans will continue until the Golden Age.

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated March 1997 addressed to the Iranian believers - translated from Persian)

1891: Some Baha'i in Tabriz

Third row, sitting third from right is Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, distinguished Baha'i Martyr. First row, second from left is his son Ruhu'llah, who was also martyred.