The Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha : Arthur's Classic Novels

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Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Soon will your swiftly-passing days be over, and the fame and riches, the comforts, the joys provided by this rubbish-heap, the world, will be gone without a trace. Summon ye, then, the people to God, and invite humanity to follow the example of the Company on high.

Some Answered Questions
Now reflect that it is education that brings the East and the West under the authority of man; it is education that produces wonderful industries; it is education that spreads great sciences and arts; it is education that makes manifest new discoveries and institutions. If there were no educator, there would be no such things as comforts, civilization or humanity. If a man be left alone in a wilderness where he sees none of his own kind, he will undoubtedly become a mere brute; it is then clear that an educator is needed.

Foundations of World Unity
The Sun of Reality is one Sun but it has different dawning-places, just as the phenomenal sun is one although it appears at various points of the horizon. During the time of spring the luminary of the physical world rises far to the north of the equinoctial;

See also Writings of Shoghi Effendi

The Secret of Divine Civilization
O people of Persia! Look into those blossoming pages that tell of another day, a time long past. Read them and wonder; see the great sight.

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Bahá’í World Faith
O friends of God! Strive ye so that this darkness may be utterly dispelled and the Hidden Mystery may be revealed and the realities of things made evident and manifest.

Bahá’í Prayers
O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord.

A Traveler’s Narrative
When the divine heard how matters were and had made himself acquainted with the writings, notwithstanding that he was a man expert in knowledge and noted for profound research, he went mad and became crazed as was predestined: he gathered up his books in the lecture-room saying, "The season of spring and wine has arrived," and uttered this sentence: "Search for knowledge after reaching the known is culpable." Then from the summit of the pulpit he summoned and directed all his disciples [to embrace the doctrine], and wrote to the Báb his own declaration and confession.

Paris Talks
When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere. All men are his brothers. Let not conventionality cause you to seem cold and unsympathetic when you meet strange people from other countries. Do not look at them as though you suspected them of being evil-doers, thieves and boors. You think it necessary to be very careful, not to expose yourselves to the risk of making acquaintance with such, possibly, undesirable people.

Memorials of the Faithful
I loved him very much, for he was delightful to converse with, and as a companion second to none. One night, not long ago, I saw him in the world of dreams. Although his frame had always been massive, in the dream world he appeared larger and more corpulent than ever. It seemed as if he had returned from a journey. I said to him, "Jináb, you have grown good and stout." "Yes," he answered, "praise be to God! I have been in places where the air was fresh and sweet, and the water crystal pure; the landscapes were beautiful to look upon, the foods delectable. It all agreed with me, of course, so I am stronger than ever now, and I have recovered the zest of my early youth. The breaths of the All-Merciful blew over me and all my time was spent in telling of God. I have been setting forth His proofs, and teaching His Faith." (The meaning of teaching the Faith in the next world is spreading the sweet savors of holiness; that action is the same as teaching.) We spoke together a little more, and then some people arrived and he disappeared.

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Try it for more information and books about the Koran and Islam, Christianity and The Baha'i Faith.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London
This is a new cycle of human power. All the horizons of the world are luminous, and the world will become indeed as a garden and a paradise. It is the hour of unity of the sons of men and of the drawing together of all races and all classes. You are loosed from ancient superstitions which have kept men ignorant, destroying the foundation of true humanity.

The Promulgation of Universal Peace
Among the senses the most powerful and reliable is that of sight. This sense views a mirage as a body of water and is positive as to its character, whereas a mirage is nonexistent. The sense of vision, or sight, sees reflected images in a mirror as verities, when reason declares them to be nonexistent. The eye sees the sun and planets revolving around the earth, whereas in reality the sun is stationary, central, and the earth revolves upon its own axis. The sense of sight sees the earth as a plane, whereas the faculty of reason discovers it to be spherical.

See also Writings of Shoghi Effendi

Tablet to August Forel

Tablets of the Divine Plan

The Will And Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá

Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas
Hujjat

In Zanjan your love leads them to Paradise fields
Back to the sacred Words of God, to the spirit of the Qur'an
Your blood was spilt out upon the ground
As you prayed devotedly, loyal to the covenant
A thousand lives you wished to sacrifice
A thousand of those loyal shed their bodies for 
The Mihdi, Mirza Ali Muhammad fulfilling
Not as man wanted it, but as God has willed.

The sun is as a shadow of that supreme globe
Our day is as night when seen from that hereafter
The people are as death walking, when they turned away
Their world is but kindling 
for the fires of their infernal desires.

Hujjat, your blood flowed free as if it was nothing
If only you had a thousand lives?
But these modern leaders with fragments they seek to mislead, 
They cling to earthly power, mis-interpreting
They deny your sacrifice as a trifle.
They move away because you demand too much.

No bones have these present idols, rulers of the dust
Your stark sacrifice of the devoted
Means nothing to them, these cowards of the night.
A fragment sentence they use to dismiss your worth
When your act is the very proof that must not be revealed
Throngs are mislead, the losers of the kingdom
Hujjat, you will receive their children back
Back into the religion of the Mihdi
Even as the prophecies say.

Hujjat, you gave wife and children, your friends
You gave them as offering to the Qa'im
You are a Babi, enemy of the Persian Empire
And you are a great friend of the Apostle
Muhammad, you carry his name, Muhammad Ali
Five thousand citizens follow you
Into the fortified region of that city
Men, women and children loyal to the Word
Their blood painting the walls of that quarter of Zanjan
Attacked by an unfaithful, a treacherous generation.

Zanjan, the ruined city that slaughtered their best
Zaynab hero of the hour, youth riding forth
Taking the masculine name of Rustam-'Ali
Three months you lead the charge in their defence
Young girl striking fear into their ill hearts
All Persia is humiliation for their debauchery
Their destiny torn to shreds
Two hundred couples pure and strong, joined for a moment
Separated to defend, to die, now joined again
The cream rises to the top and is skimmed off 
And the milk is spoiled, poisoning the ground.
From Heavenly Poems