O ye beloved of the Lord! This day is the day of union, the
day of the ingathering of all mankind. ‘Verily God loveth those who, as though
they were a solid wall, do battle for His Cause in serried lines!’ [Qur’an
61:4] Note that He saith ‘in serried lines’—meaning crowded and pressed
together, one locked to the next, each supporting his fellows. To do battle, as
stated in the sacred verse, doth not, in this greatest of all dispensations,
mean to go forth with sword and spear, with lance and piercing arrow—but rather
weaponed with pure intent, with righteous motives, with counsels helpful and
effective, with godly attributes, with deeds pleasing to the Almighty, with the
qualities of heaven. It signifieth education for all mankind, guidance for all
men, the spreading far and wide of the sweet savours of the spirit, the promulgation
of God’s proofs, the setting forth of arguments conclusive and divine, the
doing of charitable deeds.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of
‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
