Travel and explore the deserts—places such as the cities of Sáliḥ and Thamúd, the sand dunes of the tribe of Húd, the cities of Lot and of Sheba, and the settlements of the people of Rass and Midian, [ancient communities mentioned in the Qur’an] and other lands. Behold how they have been, even as a defeated army, dispersed and scattered across these barren wastes.
My meaning is that although the Prophets of God and His chosen ones were, in every age and dispensation, alone and forsaken and subjected to relentless attacks by all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, yet their light shone bright and their stars gleamed resplendent, whereas the lamps of worldly power were extinguished, one and all.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)
