April 29

Thou hast seen the conduct and behaviour of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Follow this example. Act in accordance with the admonitions of the Blessed Beauty—may my life be offered up for His loved ones. That Wronged One of the world consorted with all people with the utmost meekness and humility. Throughout the long period when He resided in Baghdad, not a single heart was saddened by Him. All the inhabitants of that city were thankful and obliged to Him.

Thus we, who are the servants of His threshold, must follow in His blessed footsteps. This, indeed, is the means of success. This, indeed, is the cause of prosperity. Convey my wholehearted greetings to thy brothers and thy relatives. The Glory of Glories rest upon thee. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

April 27

Religion is the light of the world, and the progress, achievement, and happiness of man result from obedience to the laws set down in the holy Books. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)

April 25

The village of the Blessed Beauty in Mázindarán was attacked by a host of twelve thousand brutal men. They plundered and pillaged so relentlessly that no sign of any possession or goods remained; they even left no crop for the inhabitants of the village. They set fire to the straw, burned the oil, and massacred a number of the innocent. They then herded the peasants together in chains, sent them to Tihrán, and cast them into prison. They cut the chin as well as the beard of that spirit of spirits, Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Fattáḥ, and they marched him to Tihrán, barefoot and in chains. Despite his old age and his frailty, the guards showed him no mercy. But even whilst bound by chains and on foot, with blood pouring from his wounded face, that spirit of detachment raised up his voice in prayer, to his very last breath, rendering thanks unto the Lord of Signs for having been made the victim of plunder and pillage, for having been bound in shackles and fetters in the path of the Beloved. With his beard tinged with his own blood, he walked all the way and, upon arrival at the prison in Tihrán, surrendered his soul into the hands of his Beloved and sacrificed himself for the Loving Friend. Beaming with joy, he laid down his life in the path of that great Luminary.  

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

April 23

The purport is this, that to train the character of humankind is one of the weightiest commandments of God, and the influence of such training is the same as that which the sun exerteth over tree and fruit. Children must be most carefully watched over, protected and trained; in such consisteth true parenthood and parental mercy.

Otherwise, the children will turn into weeds growing wild, and become the cursed, Infernal Tree, knowing not right from wrong, distinguishing not the highest of human qualities from all that is mean and vile; they will be brought up in vainglory, and will be hated of the Forgiving Lord.

Wherefore doth every child, new-risen in the garden of Heavenly love, require the utmost training and care. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Family Life’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, March 2008)

April 21

O ye friends of my heart and soul! Slumber not for a moment; relax not, nor linger for an instant. In a spirit of exceeding joy and gladness, with unswerving constancy in the Covenant and the Testament of the ever-forgiving Lord and in anticipation of attaining His luminous horizon, make the greatest effort to diffuse His sweet savours and bend your energies to promote His Cause. Be ye heralds of the Covenant and bearers of the glad-tidings of His Testament. Receive your portion from the breast of His grace, and with high resolve exert your utmost endeavour. Be set aglow with the fire of the love of God, and raise the anthem of jubilation with the full enthusiasm of your heart and soul, so that ye may become intimately familiar with His Call and be initiated into divine knowledge and wisdom. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation: ‘Fire and Light, Selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and from the Letters of Shoghi Effendi’, prepared by the Universal House of Justice, 1986, updated version at Baha’i World Center website)

April 19

O servant of Bahá! Thy detailed letters have been successively received, and despite the lack of a single free moment, they have all been read with the utmost attention. Consider with how many thousands of souls such correspondence must be maintained, and how difficult is the task; there is no time at all. Therefore, a brief reply is being written, which thou wilt surely excuse. I write thee by reason of my love for thee; otherwise, the writing of even a single word would be impossible.

Teaching the Cause in this day is the head cornerstone of the foundation itself. Whosoever ariseth to teach shall be graciously aided by the hosts of the celestial Concourse. Naught else will lead to any success whatsoever. Today is the day for laying the foundation, not the time for organization, repair, or restoration. One must first lay the foundation, and only then organize and arrange.

Laying the foundation consisteth solely in the propagation of the Faith of God, in the diffusion of the divine fragrances, and in detachment from all else but Him. Consider how a skilled builder first procureth the necessary materials for the edifice. He then prepareth the groundwork, layeth the foundation, and raiseth the pillars. Only afterwards doth he attend to its organization, arrangement, and adornment. Were we to concentrate on organization and arrangement at this time, the teaching of the Cause of God and the diffusion of the divine fragrances would be delayed.

Therefore, be thou occupied with naught but the promotion of the Cause…

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

April 17

O nightingale of the rose-garden of God! Singing melodies will bring animation and happiness to the world of humanity, the hearers will be delighted and joyful and their deeper emotions stirred. But this gladness, this sense of emotion is transitory and will be forgotten within a short time. However, praise be to God, thou hast blended thy tunes with the melodies of the Kingdom, wilt impart solace to the world of the spirit and wilt everlastingly stimulate spiritual feelings.  This will last forever and endure the revolution of ages and centuries. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation: The Importance of Arts in Promoting the Faith, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, updated version, Baha’i World Center website)

April 15

Seize thy chance, exert every effort, and pay no heed to matters that do not yield any fruit. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet, ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’, Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

April 13

Indeed, the very foundation of the Law of God is that His loved ones should consort with all the peoples and kindreds of the earth with the utmost kindliness, fellowship, and unity, and with truthfulness, sincerity, and faithfulness. On no account should they behave towards anyone in a manner contrary to this inviolable principle, save for one who is the embodiment of enmity and is intent upon destroying the Law of God. For such souls, there is no remedy whatsoever. No space should be given them to parade and advance. For otherwise they would bring to naught the glorious martyrdom of the Báb, the shedding of the pure blood of all the martyrs, and the trials, afflictions, and imprisonments suffered by the Luminous Beauty for well-nigh fifty years. They would utterly subvert the mighty foundation of the Cause of God.

Therefore, the company of these people should be shunned and none should associate with them, unless they repent unto God. My Lord is verily the Compassionate, the Forgiving. Such repentance, however, must be sincere and not merely in words. The repentance of the Centre of Sedition[1] would consist in his rectifying all that he hath interpolated in the Text, confessing to that which he hath done, and imploring God’s pardon and forgiveness. For, one day, he came to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá through the intercession of ‘Alí-Akbar. He shut the door, confessed his transgressions, and asked forgiveness for his trespasses. This servant did indeed forgive him, but after a few days it became clear and evident that this too had been but one of his deceitful designs. His true intention had been to meet certain persons in private and sow the seeds of doubt in their hearts, for the friends had been shunning his company. The point is that true repentance must be distinguished from false. Only then can it be accepted. Upon you be greetings and praise. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

[1] Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s half-brother

April 11

Question: When an action which someone will perform becomes the object of God’s knowledge and is recorded in the “Guarded Tablet” of destiny, is it possible to resist it?

Answer: The knowledge of a thing is not the cause of its occurrence; for the essential knowledge of God encompasses the realities of all things both before and after they come to exist, but it is not the cause of their existence. This is an expression of the perfection of God.

As to the pronouncements which, through divine revelation, have issued from the Prophets regarding the advent of the Promised One of the Torah, these likewise were not the cause of Christ’s appearance. But the hidden mysteries of the days to come were revealed to the Prophets, who thus became acquainted with future events and who proclaimed them in turn. This knowledge and proclamation were not the cause of the occurrence of these events. For instance, tonight everyone knows that in seven hours the sun will rise, but this common knowledge does not cause the appearance and rising of the sun.

Likewise, God’s knowledge in the contingent world does not produce the forms of things. Rather, that knowledge is freed from the distinctions of past, present, and future, and is identical with the realization of all things without being the cause of that realization.

In the same way, the record and mention of a thing in the Scriptures is not the cause of its existence. The Prophets of God were informed through divine revelation that certain events would come to pass. For instance, through divine revelation they came to know that Christ would be martyred, which they in turn proclaimed. Now, did their knowledge and awareness cause the martyrdom of Christ? No: This knowledge is a sign of their perfection and not the cause of His martyrdom.

Through astronomical calculations, the mathematicians determine that at a certain time a solar or lunar eclipse will occur. Surely this prediction is not the cause of the eclipse. This of course is merely an analogy and not an exact image.

‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre)

April 9

I earnestly hope that thou wilt memorize all the Persian poems revealed by the Blessed Beauty and wilt sing them in a voice of incomparable sweetness at Bahá’í meetings and gatherings. The day is not far distant when these poems will be set to Western music and the sweet accents of these songs will reach the Abhá Kingdom with exceeding joy and gladness. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation: The Importance of Arts in Promoting the Faith, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, updated version, Baha’i World Center website)

April 7

O thou sincere seeker! Strive thou with all thy might to summon the people to the heavenly Kingdom, so that through divine guidance thou mayest enable the human souls to become even as the angels of Paradise, mayest promote universal peace in this distinguished Age and serve the oneness of the world of humanity, and mayest attain unto everlasting life, follow the example of Christ, and become a companion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in this path. Upon thee be greetings and praise. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

April 5

Regarding the Blessed Beauty, He was not born of the line of Ishmael but was, rather, a descendant of one of the other brothers who had migrated to Persia and the Afghan territories. For, apart from Isaac and Ishmael, Abraham had six sons who all moved to Persia and to the Afghan regions. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

April 3

Today firmness in the Covenant is the means of the promotion of the Word of God, and conducive to the effect of the word of man. Any explanation which does not accord with the Covenant will have no effect whatsoever. Therefore, whosoever herald the Covenant of God, unquestionably he is confirmed.

This has been tried a thousand times. Any soul who violates the Covenant and Testament the least degree, immediately he is cut off; even in this material world he will become afflicted with remorse and regret. Consequently, as much as ye are able, call the people to the Covenant and make the souls firm and steadfast. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 5, June 5, 1913)

April 1

Today, the most important affair is firmness in the Covenant, because firmness in the Covenant wards off differences....

...Bahá’u’lláh covenanted, not that I (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) am the Promised One, but that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Expounder of the Book and the Centre of His Covenant, and that the Promised One of Bahá’u’lláh will appear after one thousand or thousands of years. This is the Covenant which Bahá’u’lláh made. If a person shall deviate, he is not acceptable at the threshold of Bahá’u’lláh.  In case of difference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá must be consulted. All must revolve around his good pleasure. After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whenever the Universal House of Justice is organized it will ward off differences.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  (cited in “Star of the West”, vol. IV, no. 14, November 1913; compilation: ‘The Covenant’, Materials assembled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, December 1987; updated at the Baha’i World Center website)