He who hath not this hath no portion with El-Baha!
"O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!..."
O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!
I ask from the favors of the Sun of Truth the splendors of the eternal outpouring for thee; I beg everlasting glory and desire for thee and thy family divine gifts, so that all of you may become united and harmonized, rest under the shade of the Tree of Life, and become eternal and established in the Kingdom of Being.
"O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!..."
O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!
I was informed of the contents of thy excellent letter and supplicated the Holy Threshold, the Circuit of the Supreme Concourse, to baptize thee with the water of knowledge and the fire of the love of G.o.d and to make thee a perfect and faithful servant in His Great Vineyard, so that thou mayest water the trees of the love of G.o.d in the Paradise of Abha; and to make thee a sign of meekness and humbleness among the maid-servants of G.o.d and a promulgator of His Cause in those vast and extensive regions.
"O thou pure soul who hath turned with a submissive..."
O thou pure soul(241) who hath turned with a submissive heart to the Kingdom of G.o.d!
Turn thy face to the a.s.sembly of the Covenant and [hear him] say: "Salutations and praise be upon you, the fragrances of G.o.d be upon you!
for that by reason of which ye have awakened from your sleep, arisen from your negligence and heedlessness, aroused from your couches, relied upon your Creator, depended upon your Maker and been kindled with the fire burning in the Spirit on Mt. Sinai and in the Heart of Mt. Paran -from this conflagration shall appear dazzling lights, which shall shine upon all regions.
"Consider the first century of the time of Christ-glory be unto Him! -and the beginning of His Cause. In that time no one but a certain few persons believed in Him; and the great one among them was Peter the disciple, who, through the burning of the fire of test and persecution, was in great fear and denied Christ three times; then the Jews who were scoffing, persecuting, deriding and laughing at Him, despised Him as through He were a thief, a murderer, or a villain, and committed against Him that which made the hearts lament, distressed the minds, caused tears to flow and the foundations of existence to tremble and shake! They thought that they had quenched the Fire which flamed in the tree of Christian certainty; nay, verily, that Lamp hath diffused its dazzling rays unto the Supreme Height and that Fire hath burned until it kindled the hearts of the righteous!"
"Then consider this day, and the day of His existence among those people-how they crowned Him with a diadem of thorns and now how thousands of people adorn their heads in His name, with the Most Brilliant Gem, glittering to the sight! Woe, woe unto the like of such heedless people!
Alas for the souls, because of what they have committed against the Word of G.o.d in the day of His Appearance-and today they worship the dust which the feet of His Beloved have trod! Such is the condition of the people.
Abandon them and let them play until they fall in abas.e.m.e.nt and loss!
"But as to you, O ye beloved of G.o.d, let your b.r.e.a.s.t.s be dilated with joy for that by reason of which ye have attained unto the Day of G.o.d, entered the Kingdom of G.o.d, and tasted the food of Knowledge which hath descended from Heaven!"
"O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!..."
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of G.o.d!
Thy letter was read; its contents had bearing upon Guidance. Praise be to G.o.d! thou possessed a perceiving eye and an attentive ear! Now is the time for thee to give thanks to G.o.d with an expressive tongue; to appreciate this bounty.
Consider in what a great age thou hast stepped into the world of existence and under the shadow of what an Ensign of Guidance thou wert sheltered and attained the hope and greatest desire of the saints!
If thou dost arise to comply with that which is deemed worthy of this favor and is a duty, thou shalt observe that this Guidance is the crown of eternal sovereignty and this attainment is everlasting glory, happiness and the means of the forgiveness of sins and the lamp of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
"O thou who art witnessing the Light of Guidance!..."
O thou who art witnessing the Light of Guidance!
Verily I read thy excellent letter and praised G.o.d, for He hath removed the veil (from thy sight), caused the light of guidance to appear, filled for thee the cup of bestowal and directed thee to His Kingdom.
I supplicate G.o.d to increase thy faith, to encircle thee with the lights of the Kingdom, and to guide thy thirsting and craving sons to the Fountain-head of Mercifulness. And (I beg of Him) to enable thee
"III-530..."
III-530 to teach His truth, to deliver His Cause, to promote His Word, and to train the souls whom superst.i.tions have veiled from witnessing the lights of the Bounty of these days.
O maid-servant of G.o.d! Be filled with joy, so that thine eyes may be overflowing with tears of happiness and beat.i.tude, and beseech thou G.o.d to remove the veil from the face of your sons so that they may find a spiritual understanding of the existence of G.o.d and may know how the human soul can receive bounty from the divine Spirit.
"O thou kind maid-servant of G.o.d!..."
O thou kind maid-servant of G.o.d!
Thy letter was like a perfumed nosegay and from that nosegay the fragrance of faith and a.s.surance was inhaled. Well done! Well done! that thou hast turned thy face toward the invisible Kingdom. Excellent! Excellent that thou art attracted to the Beauty of His Highness the Almighty! Well done!
Well done! How happy thou art that thou hast attained to his Most Great Gift!
"O thou beloved maid-servant of G.o.d!..."
O thou beloved maid-servant of G.o.d!
Thank thou G.o.d that thou hast stepped into the arena of existence in such a blessed Age and hast opened thine ears and thine eyes in such a Promised Day. The Splendor of the Sun of Truth thou hast beheld and the divine Call thou hast heard. To thine ultimate desire thou hast attained and from the sweetness of the love of G.o.d thou hast tasted. Consequently, supplicate ardently for spiritual attraction and ecstacy.
O thou beloved maid-servant of G.o.d! If thou art not seeing dreams (and visions), be thou not sad. Thou are going to see, whilst thou art awake. A wakeful eye is acceptable in the Threshold of the Almighty. Therefore, I hope that thou wilt open the eye of thine insight, travel in all the realms of G.o.d, see the splendor of the Kingdom and behold the effulgence of the Realm of Might.