As to ….…. and ….…., verily the faces of these are as the
pupil of the eye; although the pupil is created black, yet it is the source of
light. I hope God will make these black ones the glory of the white ones and as
the depositing of the lights of love of God. And I ask God to assist them in
all circumstances, that they may be encompassed with the favors of their Loving
Lord throughout centuries and ages. 
Be thou rejoiced at the glad-tidings of God! Be as a globe
of fire from which the heat of the love of God will be diffused. Sanctify
thyself from the grades of this world, be purified from the superstitions of
people and be characterized with spiritual qualities. Be thou a mountain of
quiescence, a sign of meekness, a sea of patience, a light of love, a standard
of utter separation (from all else save God), so that thou mayest become
everlasting in the Kingdom of God.
O maid-servant of God! Opposition shall surely pass away,
the dark clouds in all regions will be dispelled and the lights of the Covenant
shall shine forth. At that time your value shall appear among the nations of
the world and tribes and people will arise to praise you. Take warning by the
former cycles and the bygone Manifestations.
O handmaid of the Lord! Speak thou no word of politics; thy
task concerneth the life of the soul, for this verily leadeth to ma’s joy in
the world of God. Except to speak well of them, make thou no mention of the
earth’s kings, and the worldly governments thereof. Rather, confine thine
utterance to spreading the blissful tidings of the Kingdom of God, and
demonstrating the influence of the Word of God, and the holiness of the Cause
of God.
The world for the most part is sunk in materialism, and the
blessings of the Holy Spirit are ignored. There is so little real spiritual
feeling, and the progress of the world is for the most part merely material.
Men are becoming like unto beasts that perish, for we know that they have no
spiritual feeling—they do not turn to God, they have no religion! These things
belong to man alone, and if he is without them he is a prisoner of nature, and
no whit better than an animal.
God has created us, one and all—why do we act in opposition
to His wishes, when we are all His children, and love the same Father? All these
divisions we see on all sides, all these disputes and opposition, are caused
because men cling to ritual and outward observances, and forget the simple,
underlying truth. It is the outward practices of religion that are so
different, and it is they that cause disputes and enmity—while the reality is
always the same, and one. The Reality is the Truth, and truth has no division.
Truth is God’s guidance, it is the light of the world, it is love, it is mercy.
These attributes of truth are also human virtues inspired by the Holy Spirit.
…let us scatter over every people the treasured gems of the
recognition of God, and with the decisive blade of the tongue, and the sure
arrows of knowledge, let us defeat the hosts of self and passion, and hasten
onward to the site of martyrdom, to the place where we die for the Lord. And
then, with flying flags, and to the beat of drums, let us pass into the realm
of the All-Glorious, and join the Company on high.
Soon will our handful of days, our vanishing life, be gone,
and we shall pass, empty-handed, into the hollow that is dug for those who
speak no more; wherefore must we bind our hearts to the manifest Beauty, and
cling to the lifeline that faileth never. We must gird ourselves for service,
kindle love’s flame, and burn away in its heat. We must loose our tongues till
we set the wide world’s heart afire, and with bright rays of guidance blot out
the armies of the night, and then, for His sake, on the field of sacrifice,
fling down our lives.
On the outspread tablet of this world, ye are the verses of
His singleness; and atop lofty palace towers, ye are the banners of the Lord.
In His bowers are ye the blossoms and sweet-smelling herbs, in the rose garden
of the spirit the nightingales that utter plaintive cries. Ye are the birds
that soar upward into the firmament of knowledge, the royal falcons on the
wrist of God.
O maid-servant of God! Verily opposition will wax fierce
upon thee and denial and unbelief will day by day increase. People will arise
to oppression and people will torment thee for thou hast believed in God, art
attracted to the fragrances of God and hath spoken His praise among the
maid-servants. They will execrate, revile, curse and oppress thee with acute
tongues. Be not distressed at this; nay, rather continue with an increased
firmness and stanchness in the Cause of God. For through calamity the heart of
Abdu'l-Baha is attracted; through (suffering) oppression the breast of
Abdu'l-Baha is dilated; through enduring afflictions the faithfulness of Abdul-Baha
is proven; through imprisonment the soul of Abdu'l-Baha is cheered; at every
moment he wishes to quaff the cup of sacrifice in the path of God.
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of God! Verily I
read thy excellent letter and was dilated through its excellent contents. Know
thou that the distance of habitation doth not prevent the rising of the lights,
and that time and place only control the bodies and not the spirits which are
free from the contingent beings, not (do they control) the realities which are
sanctified from the stains of the world. When the Spirit is breathed in the
East, its signs immediately appear in the West and it hath a spiritual dominion
which penetrates the pillars of the world.
As you have observed, after His ascension the greatness and
glory of Christ was established both in the realm of the hearts and across the
reaches of the earth, even unto the very dust itself. So long as He dwelt in
the corporeal world, He was despised and reviled by the weakest nation on the
earth, the Jews, who saw it fit that a crown of thorns be placed upon His
blessed brow. But after His ascension the gem-studded crowns of all the kings
became humble and submissive before that crown of thorns.
…the reality of Christ, Who is the Word of God, undoubtedly
precedes all created things in essence, in attributes, and in distinction.
Before appearing in human form, the Word of God was in a state of utmost
sanctity and glory, abiding in perfect beauty and splendour in the height of
its majesty. When, through the wisdom of the Most High, that Word shed its
light from the pinnacle of glory upon the corporeal world, it was assaulted
through the flesh. Thus it fell into the hands of the Jews, became the captive
of the ignorant and the unjust, and was at last crucified. That is why He
called upon God, saying: Release Me from the bondage of the corporeal realm and
deliver Me from this cage, that I may ascend to the heights of greatness and
majesty, regain the former sanctity and glory which I enjoyed before inhabiting
the world of the flesh, rejoice in the everlasting dominion, and wing My flight
to My true abode, the placeless realm of the unseen Kingdom.
It is my hope that through the favour and grace of the Abhá
Beauty, thou wilt fully recover thy health, and engage in serving the Cause
with all thy might. I am aware that thou art much afflicted, and in extreme
distress; but if we taste a drop from affliction’s cup, the Blessed Beauty
drank down a sea of anguish, and once we call this to mind, then every hardship
turneth into peaceful rest, and toil into merciful bliss. Then will a draught
of agony be but refreshing wine, and the tyrant’s wound only a friend’s most
gentle balm. Greetings be unto thee, and praise.”
Know thou that before maturity man liveth from day to day
and comprehendeth only such matters as are superficial and outwardly obvious.
However, when he cometh of age he understandeth the realities of things and the
inner truths. Indeed, in his comprehension, his feelings, his deductions and
his discoveries, every day of his life after maturity is equal to a year before
it.